Hong Kong: FS takes calls on radio programme

Financial Secretary Paul Chan this morning spoke about the Governments fiscal consolidation strategy, the removal of residential property sector cooling measures and more as he answered questions from the public about the 2024-25 Budget on a radio phone-in programme.

Besides giving answers on Hong Kongs overall fiscal position and the decision to end demand-side management measures in relation to residential properties, Mr Chan discussed the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project, and the Governments support for green development.

Asked about policies designed to support the citys ongoing post-pandemic recovery, he said: We are implementing a financial consolidation strategy. On the one hand (we are) cutting expenditures, and on the other hand trying to increase our revenue.

Explaining that the Government hoped to minimise any impacts of this strategy on people and businesses, he iterated that the citys economic fundamentals are strong.

The borrowing level of the Government is very low and we have a very strong fiscal reserve, and the economy is growing. We went through a couple of difficult years during the COVID-19 times, (but) last year the economy grew by about 3.2%, and this year it will grow by between 2.5 to 3.5%.

On plans to issues bonds of between $95 billion and $135 billion per annum over the next five years, he added that these would allow the Government to continue to invest in worthwhile capital projects.

The Northern Metropolis development is one (project). The Hung Shui Kiu/ Ha Tsuen New Development Area is another. And we are also (investing) heavily in innovation and technology. That is the reason for us to raise funds from the market.

We are using bonds to tide us over, to continue to make investment. During the interim, the Government's fiscal reserves stand at between 11 to 12 months of our yearly expenditure, which is still a healthy level.

On the removal of demand-side housing measures, the finance chief said these had been introduced at a time when the market was not functioning well but that it was now more stable in terms of the supply of residential units.

I think the volume (of transactions) will probably be going up because by removing all these measures, we release some supplies which have been held because of the restrictive measures before.

Coupled with the relaxation in the mortgage measures, I think for home owners now they will be better able to buy property with these bank loans and there will be more choices for them as well.

He added that the Government will monitor the property sector closely going forward. If (the market is) running out of hand again, nothing stops us from reintroducing those measures.

In response to a question about the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands project, which has been deferred, Mr Chan said it will definitely go ahead but that a pause will allow the Government to take stock and look into different financing options.

We have to complete all the feasibility studies, and then take stock of the findings of those studies to see whether we have to do some mitigating measures to the environment. At the moment, it will be delayed slightly  maybe two or three years  but we are determined to push this project ahead.

He explained that the reclamation project is important in terms of logistics and Hong Kongs overall spatial development, as it will establish a new community on the west side of the city.

Mr Chan was also asked a question about the significance of green development as a growth driver, after announcing a number of Budget measures to support both green initiatives and digitalisation.

Green is a global development, he said. We must embrace this. In the Hong Kong situation we are positioning ourselves as the green tech and green finance centre. If we can marry these (two things) together, they will reinforce each other and create a complete industry chain.

He added: (Digitilisation) is going to cut across different sectors. On the one hand it will be able to empower traditional sectors to upgrade themselves, but on the other hand in itself it can develop into a completely new sector.

This story has been published on: 2024-03-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China urges U.K. to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs

Xinhua) 08:25, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- China firmly opposes the U.K. statement related to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and urges the U.K. to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday.

Mao's remarks came after the release of a statement by the U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Feb. 28, which said that the HKSAR government's legislative proposals on Article 23 of the Basic Law do not uphold the obligations of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and it will have a negative impact on the people of Hong Kong in the exercise of their rights and freedoms, and a risk that the work of international organizations in Hong Kong could be labeled as "foreign interference."

"The statement of the U.K. is a gross interference in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, which lays bare again its deeply entrenched colonial mindset and mentality as a 'lecturer'. China firmly opposes it," said Mao.

She said that the "concerns" by the U.K. have no ground. First, the Sino-British Joint Declaration by no means put the U.K. in a position or gave it any right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

Second, one of the principles that guide the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law is to respect and protect human rights, and protect in accordance with the law the rights and freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of relevant international covenants as applied to Hong Kong, Mao said.

Third, the spokesperson added, there is a clear line drawn between acts that constitute an offence that endangers national security, and normal commercial exchanges and activities in the fields of economy, culture, and science and technology. The normal activities of foreign institutions and personnel in the HKSAR will continue to be protected in accordance with law.

It is worth pointing out that the National Security Act of the U.K. that came into force last year contains many provisions with vague definitions and grants law enforcement agencies sweeping power, which can be easily abused, Mao said.

"We urge the U.K. to find the right mindset, face squarely the fact that Hong Kong has already returned to China, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, reflect on its action, and end double standards," said Mao.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
China had over 47.63 million students at higher-educational institutions of various types in 2023, an increase of 1.08 million over the previous year, or up 2.32 percent year on year, the Ministry of Education said on Friday.



Last year, over 10.42 million students were enrolled in universities, colleges and vocational schools nationwide, up 2.73 percent year on year, the ministry told a press conference. It noted about 1.3 million graduate students were enrolled across China in 2023, an increase of 4.76 percent over the previous year.

The country boasted 3,074 higher-educational institutions in 2023, 61 more than 2022, the ministry said, adding that there were 2.07 million full-time teachers in higher education, up 4.91 percent from the previous year.

The gross enrollment ratio in China's higher education reached 60.2 percent in 2023, up 0.6 percentage points from 2022, the ministry noted.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. told Australias Parliament yesterday that the strategic partnership between the two nations was more important than ever with the rule of law and peace in the region under threat.

Marcos told a special joint sitting of the two chambers during a state visit that the Philippines would not allow a foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory.

It is a declaration he has often repeated since taking office in 2022 and refers to Chinas disputed claims to the Philippines territory in the South China Sea.

Marcos said Australia and the Philippines need to band together against new challenges to the regions peace and stability, as they had against Japanese forces during World War II.

Not one single country can do this by itself. No single force can counter them by themselves, Marcos said. This is why our strategic partnership has grown more important than ever.

Marcos said his father, former President Ferdinand Marcos, and then-Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam reaffirmed that the security of their two countries was bound together in 1974 when they toured the Philippines WWII battlefields of Bataan and Corregidor.

Australia and the Philippines for the first time conducted joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea in November last year.

Marcos said the Philippines and Australia fought to build a rules-based international order after WWII, and that they must now fight to protect that order in the South China Sea.

The protection of the South China Sea as a vital, critical global artery is crucial to the preservation of regional peace and, I dare say, of global peace, Marcos said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reminded Marcos of his words when the leaders last met: prosperity and progress dependent on peace.

That is what is so significant about the maritime cooperation activities our two navies completed together for the first time in November last year, Albanese said.

Our cooperation is an assertion of our national interest and a recognition of our regional responsibility, Albanese added.

Marcos address was interrupted briefly by Senator Janet Rice, from the minor Greens party, who held up a sign that read: Stop human rights abuses, in a protest against the Philippines record on rights.

Rice was later censured by a majority of her colleagues in the Senate with a motion that disapproved of her unparliamentary and disrespectful conduct in her protest and her disregard for the importance of Australia-Philippines relations. The censure is symbolic and carries no consequences for Rice.

Marcos and Albanese yesterday announced new agreements on maritime cooperation, cybersecurity and fair trade regulation.

Following the two-day state visit, which ends on Thursday, Marcos will return to Australia next week with other Southeast Asian leaders to take part in an ASEAN-Australia Summit that marks 50 years of Australias partnership with the regional bloc. ROD McGUIRK, MELBOURNE, MDT/AP
The current mode of age announcement in the polices crime information release is suitable and more precise segmentation in unnecessary, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak has commented.

During a recent press briefing to announce crime figures and data from 2023, the Security official was asked to explain why police forces had become unwilling to give clearer reference to the age groups of stakeholders in crimes or incidents.

Until now, when announcing crime or related data, the police also announced the age of the victim  or at least provided an age range  regardless of whether or not they were deceased.

Now, however, the police decided to widen the age range, using broad categories like youth, middle-aged and old aged.

The same mode of age announcement was used when the information about the demise of two co-residing elderly residents was disclosed earlier this month. The police only said the two residents were middle-aged and senior-aged.

At the press briefing, Wong was questioned about the matter, and he said that young-aged equates to below 30 years, middle-aged includes those aged 31 to 60 years, and senior includes those aged above 60 years.

This is actually very clear and easy to remember, Wong said.

He said the police have no incentive to follow the World Health Organisations (WHO) categorizations. Although he did not find more precise categorization problematic, he didnt find it necessary either.

Another reason behind the vague categorization is demands from the families of the deceased.

They have written letters to and called the police to express their objections [against clear age announcements], Wong disclosed. We understand these demands which focused on preventing secondary damages.

He said news of deaths or suicide will be announced, but will not be as detailed as before. Information such as personal particulars, such as surnames, will not be announced.

There are many rare surnames. Once theyre announced, connections can easily be made, Wong said.
As Russia makes battlefield advances and Ukrainian soldiers run short on ammunition, U.S. adults have become fractured along party lines in their support for sending military aid to Kyiv, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Democrats are more likely to say the U.S. government is spending too little on funding for Ukraine than they were in November, but most Republicans remain convinced its too much. That divide is reflected in Congress, where the Democratic-held Senate  with help from 22 GOP senators  passed a $95 billion package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this month. But the bill, which includes roughly $60 billion in military support for Kyiv, has languished in the Republican-held House as Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to bring it up for a vote.

President Joe Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, passionately urged the Republican speaker during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying that Congress must take care of Americas needs first.

Most Republicans still share Johnsons view, and their opinions havent changed significantly since the fall: 55% say the U.S. is spending too much on Ukraine aid, compared to 59% in November.

Meanwhile, support for increasing Ukraine aid has grown among Democrats. About 4 in 10 Democrats say the U.S. is spending too little on aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia, up from 17% in November. The share of Democrats who say the U.S. is spending too much or about the right amount has also dropped over the same period.

Chloe Henninger, 24, a Democrat from West Hartford, Connecticut, was among those who said the U.S. is spending too little on aid to Ukraine. She said it was important for the U.S. to show commitment to democracies like Ukraine that are under siege.

From a humanitarian point of view, there were sovereign borders agreed upon internationally. And then an autocratic power went and invaded a sovereign territory. The U.S., as one of the major military forces in the world, sort of has a duty to respond, Henninger, who works as a cosmetic chemist, said.

The poll shows that two years after Russias initial invasion, the Ukraine war has become a partisan dividing line: Majorities of Democrats think its extremely or very important to prevent Russia from seizing more Ukrainian territory, to negotiate a permanent ceasefire between the two countries, help Ukraine regain its land and provide general aid to its military, while less than half of Republicans and Independents agree.

Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress have cast the conflict in Ukraine  the largest land invasion in Europe since World War II  as a potential turning point in history. Failing to repel Russian President Vladimir Putins assault, they warn, would have grave consequences, from destabilizing the rest of Europe to emboldening other potential foes such as China and North Korea.

At the same time, Donald Trump, the former president who appears to be marching towards the Republican nomination, has injected serious doubts about Americas involvement in Ukraine and the rest of the world. While McConnell, the top Republican in the Senate, has remained a strong advocate of robust American involvement abroad, Trump has swayed the party towards an isolationist stance, as well as at times heaped admiration on Putins strongman style of rule.

Were throwing all this taxpayer money to Ukraine and to Israel, and we cant even take care of our own people, said Jeffrey Jackson, a 55-year-old Republican from Granbury, Texas. The U.S. government needs to take care of our own people and then worry about the rest of the world later.

Jackson also holds deeply unfavorable views of Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And while Jackson said he was not pro-Putin, he liked the way Putin has led Russia more than how Biden has led the U.S.

Putin is broadly unpopular among U.S. adults, including Republicans. About 8 in 10 U.S. adults have an unfavorable opinion of Putin, including nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and three-quarters of Republicans. Views of Zelenskyy are more reflective of the divisions over the war itself. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of Zelenskyy, with Democrats having a more positive view than Republicans.

Trump has also cast doubt on whether he would uphold commitments to defend fellow NATO countries if he became president again. Jackson agreed with that sentiment, saying he would like to see NATO dismantled.

However, a majority of U.S. adults  including 52% of Republicans  support the spirit of Article V of the NATO military alliance, that an attack on one NATO country represents an attack on all. Nearly 6 in 10 adults say they would favor the U.S. deploying U.S. troops to defend a U.S. NATO ally if it were attacked by Russian forces.

Still, when it comes to Ukraine, partisan divisions persist even on questions about basic diplomacy. For example, around 4 in 10 Republicans say that negotiating a permanent ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine should be an extremely or very important foreign policy goal for the U.S., compared to about 6 in 10 Democrats. Overall, half of adults say its highly important for the U.S. to focus on stopping Russia from gaining more territory in Ukraine.

Six in 10 adults continue to support imposing economic sanctions on Russia. And half favor providing weapons.

Chris Bahr, a 41-year-old from Houston, Texas, who described himself as libertarian politically, said he liked the fact that most of the funding for Ukraine would be spent on U.S.-made weapons. He wanted Congress to approve the aid package as soon as possible.

It helps another allied country defend itself and helps America economically  getting rid of a lot of our older weapons as were ordering new stuff, Bahr said. I think it would save lives in the long run just to not let Russia become expansionist again. STEPHEN GROVES & LINLEY SANDERS, WASHINGTON, MDT/AP
Knickknacks, a vintage 12-person china set, the cherry wood armoire and oodles of clothes that are just sitting in a closet might be considered a treasure in ones home, but in an independent living apartment  not so much. When people are transitioning into retirement and making a move to a community like Cantata Adult Life Services - Assisted Living Services in Brookfield, Illinois, the first call to make is to a reputable moving company that can help navigate the downsizing process from a larger home to a smaller one.

People dont realize how much busier they will be after they move into a new living community, said Bridget Hurst, manager of Moving Day Ready. There are so many more activities and outings there to keep them busy. Most places have some type of meal plan, so individuals find they dont need a half dozen cookie sheets, countless cooking utensils or frying and baking pans. They just wont have the time to use them or even want to use them.

The locally owned company specializes in helping individuals downsize, pack and move more efficiently and affordably. In addition to traditional moving services, Moving Day Ready also helps with junk removal and donation drop-offs and can even provide help with unpacking in the new home.

Hurst understands that downsizing from a family home can be a very stressful experience for individuals. She offers a few tips for those preparing for a move to a senior living facility.

Start sorting through and getting rid of things immediately after signing a contract.

Dont wait until moving day. Begin with the visible stuff: stacks of newspapers or magazines lying around, drawers full of old mail, knickknacks on tables and shelves that no longer serve a purpose. Clothes that havent been worn in years but are still hanging in the closet.

Most people dont realize how much of this stuff they have just lying around. Things theyve collected through the years and just get used to seeing on that one particular shelf, she said. They just think theyll bring everything with them.

Set a specific date for family members and friends to pick up items they want.

When Hurst meets with a client for the first time, she asks to see a floor plan of the new home, which helps provide a more realistic view of what will fit and what will not. The large sectional that might have worked in a four-bedroom home probably wont work as well in a one-bedroom condo. For adult children who may have expressed an interest in the oversized couch or perhaps the antique dining table and china cabinet, Hurst recommends setting a pickup deadline for these individuals, with the caveat that the item will be donated if the date is missed.

Deliver new purchases directly to the new address.

According to Hurst, most seniors will replace an old mattress and box spring or even purchase a smaller couch or kitchen table. She recommends that the items be delivered directly to the new home, eliminating the need to move something twice.

Eat from your pantry and fridge first.

As most independent living facilities provide meal plans, theres no need to move a lot of food from the home. Another suggestion is to stop buying things in bulk, such as toilet paper and paper towels.

Hurst said the Moving Day Ready team also helps individuals set up the new kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, as well as install electronics, so that the home is ready to be lived in that day.

Youll feel at home in no time, she said.

To learn more about Cantata Adult Life Services - Assisted Living Services, please visit cantata.org. For more information about Moving Day Ready, please visit movingdayready.com.

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A shirtless candidate for U.S. Senate broke through the shrinking ice of Lake Mendota Thursday hoping to pour cold water on any notion that hes a soft Californian, not a hardy Wisconsinite.

And then Eric Hovde challenged his Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, to take the plunge as well.

The multimillionaire Republican Hovde is trying to combat attacks from Baldwin and Democrats that hes more Golden State than Dairy State. Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin but also owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California, and is CEO of California-based H Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, Sunwest Bank.

Hovde posted a video on X on Thursday showing him pressing through what he says is about a half-inch layer of ice on on the lake outside of a home he owns.

It was hard to break through but its good to get out here for a good cold plunge, Hovde says before he turns the camera on his shirtless torso.

So the Dems and Sen. Baldwin keep saying Im not from Wisconsin, which is a complete joke, a laughing Hovde says into the camera. Alright Sen. Baldwin, why dont you get out here in this frozen lake and lets really see whos from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Arik Wolk doubled down in the face of the challenge.

If California bank owner Eric Hovde thinks sitting in a lake is going to stop us from telling Wisconsinites about his California bank, California megamansion, and California ties, hes going to be swimming a whole lot for the next eight months, Wolk said in a statement.

While ice still overlays some sections of the lake, Lake Mendota was officially declared open from ice on Wednesday after Wisconsins warmest winter on record.

Is Wisconsin's lost winter a harbinger of winters to come? Many relished Monday's record warmth, but the warmest winter ever in Wisconsin has not been kind to those who depend on cold and snow for a living.
A Dane County jury deliberating the fate of a Sun Prairie man accused of homicide for his role in the shooting death of a man at a troubled Far East Side apartment complex last summer went home late Thursday night without reaching verdicts in the case, following closing arguments earlier in the day.

The jury deliberated for about 6 hours and indicated it was unable to agree on a verdict in a charge of being a party to first-degree intentional homicide against Devonte Gafford, 32, for the July 13 shooting death of Devon Grant, 20, in a parking lot at Harmony apartments off Milwaukee Street.

After consulting with the attorneys on both sides of the case, Circuit Judge Mario White sent the jury home and ordered it to return at 9:30 a.m. Friday to resume deliberations.

During the later stages of the night, the jury sent notes out to White that it was deadlocked, and at around 10 p.m. it said there was no reasonable prospect that would change. In response, White read the jury a final instruction to keep trying and sent it back to the jury room.

At around 11:15 p.m., the jury reported it was still deadlocked.

Gafford is also charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, for firing shots at a car driven by Deshawn Burks, who had stopped to talk to Grant just before the shooting began, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The jury also deadlocked on the endangerment charge.

The homicide charge carries a mandatory life prison sentence. The jury is also allowed to find Gafford guilty of second-degree intentional homicide, a lesser included charge, if it decides a guilty verdict on first-degree intentional homicide charge is not appropriate. That carries up to 60 years of combined prison and extended supervision.

Gafford contends he was defending himself during the shooting.

Police said that after a shootout at Harmony between Gafford and Mark Parks Jr., 21, and friends of Grant, 50 fired bullet casings were left behind -- 29 of them from Gafford and Parks alone, based on the caliber and location of the shells.

Prosecutors said the shooting was done in retaliation for a robbery that happened about three hours earlier, when Grant and three others robbed Gafford in the parking lot of a restaurant on East Washington Avenue.

Gafford was at the restaurant, where he testified Thursday he had brought three of his children, to sell a large quantity of promethazine hydroxide, a prescription antihistamine used to make a drink called "lean." Gafford attempted in his testimony to clarify that promethazine is not a drug but is a pharmaceutical. He characterized himself as a businessman with customers and bristled when asked later on cross-examination whether he is a large-scale drug dealer.

Gafford claimed on the witness stand that he was not out looking for the people who robbed him, seeking revenge. Instead, he said, he happened to be at Harmony on other business when the car he was driving was fired upon, forcing him and Parks to get out and fire their guns in self-defense until their guns were empty.

"I didn't have no choice," Gafford said.

Gafford said the 10mm handgun gun he used wasn't his, but was a gun that a friend, whose name Gafford did not know, had left in the car after getting a ride from Gafford a short time earlier.

In closing arguments Thursday, Deputy District Attorney William Brown told jurors not to believe a word Gafford told them.

"Everything Mr. Gafford said is not believable," Brown said. "He's lying to you."

Brown said the shooting was over stolen "cough syrup," and "it's as senseless and stupid as that."

Gafford's attorney, John Smerlinski, told the jury that there was no doubt that the robbery happened, but he said its importance in the prosecution's case "gets blown out of proportion."

While it was true that Gafford was trying to find the perpetrators of the robbery, he didn't know who they were or where they were, Smerlinski said.

Self-defense claim

When Gafford ended up at Harmony, Smerlinski said, he was fired upon first, and when that happened, "he has a duty to defend himself."

Smerlinski maintained, as Gafford had testified, that an initial volley of bullets disabled the car Gafford was driving, which belonged to Gafford's sister. The bullets also shattered a rear passenger-side window, Smerlinski maintained, and after that, Gafford and Parks got out of the car to defend themselves.

As Brown cross-examined Gafford, he took Gafford moment by moment through a surveillance video that depicted the shooting. He showed Gafford that as his car rolled in, when it was supposed to be buffeted with bullets, nobody else in the picture appeared to be reacting to the sound of any gunshots, including Grant, standing at a car talking to Burks, or Grant's mother, standing at another car speaking to her sister-in-law.

Assistant District Attorney Lexi Keyes also took jurors through those moments during her closing argument, showing that no bullet appeared to strike the window on the car that Gafford said had been shot out. It wasn't hit until several seconds after Gafford and Parks had gotten out of the car and started firing, Keyes argued.

Later, Keyes put up a still image, taken from the video, showing a person kicking in that same back window as chaos following the shooting ensued.

The car wasn't disabled, she said, until Grant's girlfriend picked up Grant's gun as he lay mortally wounded and fired it at Gafford's car.

When Gafford and Parks got back into the car and tried to drive away, it wouldn't move. They got out and ran.

Gafford testified that the same unnamed person whose gun he used picked then him up and drove him to Milwaukee, where he admitted hiding out from police. Gafford was arrested there by federal marshals nearly a month after the shooting.

Parks was arrested in Madison in November. About 10 days ago he was ordered to stand trial following a preliminary hearing. No trial dates have been set but Parks is scheduled to return to court on March 27.
The UW-La Crosse chancellor search committee announced Friday it has selected three finalists for the position, including interim chancellor Betsy Morgan. The candidates will visit the UW-L campus next week for community question-and-answer sessions.

James Beeby

James Beeby is the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Keene State College in New Hampshire. He began as provost in August 2021.

Beeby also served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Southern Indiana from 2016 to 2021. He has worked as a professor and chair at Middle Tennessee State Universitys Department of History.

He earned a doctorate in American culture studies from Bowling Green State University, Ohio in 1991.

Beebys community forum will be held Monday.

Christopher Olsen

Christopher Olsen is the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Indiana State University. He has served in both roles since February 2021.

He was dean of Indiana States College of Arts and Sciences from 2016 to 2021 and chair of its Department of History from 2002 to 2016. He is an affiliated faculty member in African and African American studies and continues to teach on campus.

Olsen earned a doctorate in U.S. history from the University of Florida in 1996.

Olsens community forum will be held Tuesday.

Betsy Morgan

Morgan has worked at UW-L since 1993 as a psychology professor, department chair, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Morgan is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association and previously served as president of the Psi Chi International Honor Society. She has authored two textbooks, several peer-reviewed journal articles and presented at more than 50 conferences across the nation.

She earned her doctorate in social ecology from University of California-Irvine in 1994.

Morgans community forum will be held Wednesday.

Community forums

All three finalists will take part in question-and-answer forums and a final round of interviews before the search committee makes a recommendation to the UW Board of Regents. Public forums will take place from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. each day in Strzelczyk Great Hall in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center on the UW-L campus.

Forums are open to the public and will be available via video conference for those not able to attend in-person. Live video and more information about the finalists can be found at www.uwlax.edu/search-screen/chancellor.

The Board of Regents is expected to name a new chancellor in late March.

UW-La Crosses last chancellor, Joe Gow, then the longest-tenured chancellor in the Universities of Wisconsin system, was already planning to retire at the end of the school year when he was fired in December after producing online pornography.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000, according to health officials.

Israel claimed many of the dead were trampled in a stampede for the food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

Arab countries quickly condemned the attack. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan accused Israel of targeting civilians in the incident. U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern it would add to the difficulty of negotiating a cease-fire in the nearly five-month conflict.

The Gaza City area was among the first targets of Israel's air, sea and ground offensive, launched in response to the Hamas militant group's Oct. 7 attack into Israel.

While many Palestinians fled the invasion in the north of the enclave, a few hundred thousand are believed to remain in the largely devastated and isolated region. Several deliveries of aid reached the area this week, officials said.

Aid delivery difficult

Aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, with crowds of desperate people overwhelming aid convoys. The U.N. says a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes.

Military officials said the pre-dawn convoy of 30 trucks driving to northern Gaza were met by huge crowds of people trying to grab the aid they were carrying.

Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food.

"We've been eating animal feed for two months," he said.

He said Israeli troops opened fire on the crowd as people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks, causing the Palestinians to scatter.

After the shooting stopped, people went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off, he said.

Medics arriving at the scene of the bloodshed Thursday found "dozens or hundreds" lying on the ground, according to Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He said there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and wounded and that some were being brought to hospitals in donkey carts.

Another man in the crowd  who gave only his first name, Ahmad, as he was being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds to the arm and leg  said he waited for two hours before someone with a horse-drawn cart had room to take him to Shifa.

The violence came more than a month after witnesses and health officials in Gaza accused Israeli troops of firing on a previous aid distribution in Gaza City, killing at least 20 people.

At least 112 people were killed, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. The Hamas-run Health Ministry described it as a "massacre."

In separate statements, they called for increased safe passages for humanitarian aid. They also urged the international community to take decisive action to pressure Israel to abide by international law and to reach an agreement for an immediate cease-fire.

Biden spoke with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar about the deaths, according to U.S. officials, and the U.N. Security Council scheduled emergency closed consultations for later Thursday.

"We are urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

Calls for cease-fire

The increasing alarm over hunger across Gaza has fueled international calls for a cease-fire, and the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are working to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a pause in fighting and the release of some of the hostages Hamas took during its Oct. 7 attack.

Mediators hope to reach an agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts about March 10. But so far, Israel and Hamas have remained far apart in public on their demands.

Biden earlier expressed hope that a deal would be done by Monday. He said Thursday that looked unlikely.

"Hope springs eternal," Biden told reporters. "I was on the telephone with people from the region. Probably not by Monday, but I'm hopeful."

When asked if the bloodshed in Gaza City on Thursday would complicate those efforts, he said, "I know it will."

In a statement condemning Thursday's attack, Hamas said it would not allow the negotiations "to be a cover for the enemy to continue its crimes."

Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital, said the facility received 161 wounded patients, most of whom appeared to have been shot. He said the hospital can perform only the most essential surgeries because it is running out of fuel to power emergency generators.

The Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,035, with another 70,457 wounded. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

The ministry maintains detailed records of casualties. Its counts from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N., independent experts and even Israel's own tallies.

In Hamas cross-border raid on Oct. 7, an estimated 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and militants took 250 people captive, according to Israeli authorities.

Hamas and other militants are still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most of the other captives during a November cease-fire.

Today in history: Feb. 29 1916: Dinah Shore
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Military intelligence suggests that the Russians are considering deploying nuclear weapons in space. The weapons systems could pose a serious risk to military satellites that are key to national security. May the force be with us.
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Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) president Dr. Cecilio Pedro is inviting foreign investors and business leaders worldwide to come to the Philippines and explore investment opportunities.

Pedro, in a news briefing Makati Shangri-la Hotel on Feb. 29, 2024, made the call as he announced the activities leading to the 70th anniversary celebration of FFCCCII on March 9, 2024. He said that as of Feb. 19, 14 foreign business delegations already confirmed attendance to visit the Philippines such as those from Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Australia, Macau, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Japan and Thailand.

Pedro said FFCCCII, the umbrella federation of 170 Filipino Chinese chambers of commerce and diverse industry associations, is optimistic about Philippine economic growth despite global uncertainties like recessions in some industrialized countries and geopolitical tension in Ukraine and the Middle East.

He called for continued national unity, stability and socio-economic reforms in the Philippines to boost sustainable and inclusive economic growth. He also expressed hope for continued peace and renewed focus on economic development in Asia.

In celebration of resilience and unity, the FFCCCII is poised to commemorate its 70th anniversary this March, affirming our unwavering commitment to propelling the sustainable and inclusive economic growth of the Philippines, he said.

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He said FFCCCII invited foreign business leaders and industrialists from across the Asia Pacific region to deepen their engagement by investing in the Philippines. Our invitations encompass our ASEAN neighbors like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesiaand our significant biggest trade partners, including China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and more, he said.

He said that over the past seven decades, FFCCCII has been at the forefront of catalyzing foreign investments and promoting international trade, technological cooperation and partnerships for the benefit of the Philippine economy.

In the face of economic challenges plaguing global powerhouses such as Japan, Britain, and Germany now in recession, and amid persisting international economic uncertainties, the FFCCCII remains steadfast in our optimism for the robust economic growth of the Philippines in 2024. This optimism is anchored in national unity, focus on sustained socio-economic reforms, and maintaining social and political stability, he said.

Under the theme Dugong Tsino, Pusong Pinoy (Chinese by blood, Filipino at heart), our 70th-anniversary celebration encapsulates the essence of our shared identity. We express profound gratitude for the acceptance of our ethnic Chinese minority and our cultural traditions, including the Chinese New Year, as integral components of the rich diversity of Filipino national culture, Pedro said.

FFCCCII is the largest nationwide federation of 170 Filipino Chinese chambers of commerce and diverse industry associations from Aparri to Tawi Tawi.

Pedro said that beyond economic pursuits, the federation passionately champions progressive socio-economic development, civic initiatives and philanthropy.

He said these include notable endeavors like the Buy Pinoy movement which advocates patronizing Philippine-made products, promoting national industrialization and the modernization of agriculture and aquaculture for Philippine food security and rural development.

Our conviction lies in the belief that the true strength of our country requires a robust, self-reliant, and globally competitive economy, he said.

Motivated by the Confucian tradition of philanthropy and , compassion for our fellow countrymen, FFCCCIIs many different initiatives include providing relief aid for calamity victims funding and donating 6,200 rural public school buildings under the nationwide Operation Barrio Schools project, conducting regular free medical and dental missions in disadvantaged communities, and supporting the nationwide network of Filipino Chinese volunteer fire brigades which extend assistance to all fire and disaster victims regardless of race or socio-economic background, he said.

As FFCCCII reaches the auspicious milestone of seven decades of public service, our celebration not only commemorates the past but portends a future defined by resilience, unity, compassion, social idealism and a collective commitment to the economic growth and prosperity of the Philippines, Pedro said.
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The Philippines registered $76 million in net outflows of foreign portfolio investments or hot money in January, lower than the $205-million net withdrawals in December 2023, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Friday.

It also marked a reversal of the $291-million net inflows recorded a year ago, data from the BSP showed.

The BSP said transactions on foreign investments registered through authorized agent banks (AABs) showed gross outflows of $1.3 billion and gross inflows of $1.2 billion in the first month of the year.

Hot money refers to foreign funds temporarily parked in the equities and money market to take advantage of short-term interest.

The BSP said the $1.2-billion investments in January went up by $170 million, or 15.9 percent, from $1.1 billion recorded in December 2023.

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It said 62.7 percent of investments went to Philippine Stock Exchange-listed securities amounting to $775 million, while about 37.3 percent were in peso government securities worth $460 million. The balance was placed in other instruments.

The January investments came mostly from the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg and Hongkong with combined share of 85.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the $1.31 billion gross outflows in January also increased 3.2 percent from $1.27 billion in December.

The US remained the top destination of outflows, receiving $600 million or 45.8 percent of total outward remittances.

Data showed that on a year-on-year basis, registered investments in January increased 23.1 percent from $1 billion, while gross outflows went up by 84 percent.

Registration of inward foreign investments delegated to AABs by the BSP is optional under the rules on foreign exchange (FX) transactions. It is required only if the investor or its representative will purchase FX from AABs and/or their subsidiary/affiliate foreign exchange corporations for repatriation of capital and remittance of earnings that accrue on the registered investment.

The BSP said that without such registration, the foreign investor could still repatriate capital and remit earnings on its investment but the FX would have to be sourced outside the banking system.
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The Supreme Court has ordered the disbarment of lawyer Jorge Monroy, a former director of the Bureau of Customs, for engaging in fraudulent activities related to the sale of state-confiscated vehicles.

Monroy was found guilty of breaching some provisions in the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) and has been stripped of his license to practice law.

The SC also imposed a P20,000 fine on him for disregarding orders from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

Court documents reveal Monroys involvement in a deceitful transaction dating back to July 2000. Using his position as one of the directors within the financial services unit of the BOC, Monroy purported to sell a Toyota Land Cruiser to Julieta Co for P1.4 million.

Assuring her of the transactions legality, Monroy convinced Co to proceed with the purchase. Co handed over a check for P150,000 as a down payment, with Monroy insisting on cash payment for the balance.

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Despite assurances, the vehicles release was repeatedly delayed, leading to suspicions. Monroy eventually admitted to Co that the money had been misappropriated.

In addition to his disbarment, Monroy faces criminal charges for violating anti-graft laws and estafa. Despite being found guilty also by the Sandiganbayan, he remains at large.

The Court ruled that the totality of evidence presented clearly proved that Monroy miserably failed to live up to the high moral standards required of members of the legal profession, the SC said, in a statement.

The SC emphasized the gravity of Monroys actions, labeling them as a flagrant violation of legal standards.

The high court noted Monroys abuse of his position within BOC to perpetrate the scheme, demonstrating a clear lack of moral character expected from legal professionals.

Further, Monroys refusal to comply with legal proceedings and orders from the IBP underscores his unfitness to practice law.

The court upheld the penalty imposed by the IBP Board of Governors, solidifying its stance against such egregious violations within the legal profession.

Editors Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline Supreme Court disbars former Customs director over graft, estafa.
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SEOUL  South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Friday for the international community to back unification efforts after Pyongyang earlier this year declared Seoul its principal enemy.

Ties between the two Koreas have been in a deep freeze as Pyongyang accelerates its weapons development programmes and Seoul ramps up military cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

Yoon, who has consistently taken a firm stance against nuclear-armed North Korea, has rarely discussed the topic of unification since assuming office in 2022.

Our unification efforts must become a source of hope and a beacon of light for the people of North Korea, he said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Koreas 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule.

We must come together on a path that leads ultimately to unification of the Korean peninsula, he said, stressing that the international community must pool its strength in a responsible manner.

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Yoon emphasised better ties with Tokyo were helping to counter the Norths ever-increasing military threats.

The security cooperation between the two countries against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats has been strengthened further, he said, adding that the countries were working together to overcome the painful past.

Last month, the North Korean leaders powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said her country would be open to improving ties with Tokyo, even hinting at a possible future invitation to Pyongyang for Japans leader.

Her comments came after Kim Jong Un said in December that he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with the South, blaming Seoul and Washington for creating an uncontrollable crisis.

This year, North Korea conducted live-fire drills near the contested maritime border, prompting counter drills by the South and evacuation orders on two islands.

Pyongyang also declared South Korea its principal enemy and threatened war over even 0.001 millimeters of territorial infringement.

Yoon responded by telling his military to act first, report later if provoked by Pyongyang.

In the event of an attack, he said Seoul will hit back multiple times stronger.

The isolated North has shut agencies dedicated to promoting reunification and fostering communication with Seoul.

The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity, Yoon said on Friday.

South Korea is gearing up for a crucial election on April 10, with Yoons conservative party hoping to regain a parliamentary majority for the first time since 2016. AFP
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THE Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Republic of Korea Air Force

(ROKAF) are set to take to the skies to celebrate the 75th anniversary of bilateral relations through an exhibition dubbed Black Eagles Airshow and Friendship Flight.

The affair will be held March 3-5 at Clark Air Base, Mabalacat City, Pampanga.

Highlighting the event will be an awe-inspiring aerial display by the renowned Black Eagles aerobatic team from South Korea.

They will showcase their breath-taking skills and precision flights with captivating maneuvers throughout the three-day event.

On March 3, a special Friendship Flight takes off, featuring Filipino Air Force pilots flying FA-50s, alongside their counterparts from the Black Eagles flying T-50Bs in a joint display of showmanship and precision.

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Philippines Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., is expected to attend the said event as guest of honor and speaker.

The event will be open to the public on March 4 and 5, with limited slots available.

Interested individuals may register by following the PAF Facebook Page for the registration link.

This event is a testament to the strong ties between the Philippines and South Korea, showcasing their shared commitment to airpower excellence as they celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations.
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Tokyo, JapanThe resignation of a Japanese mayor facing 99 allegations of sexual harassment sparked anger on social media Friday, after he denied some cases and wept at a press conference.

An official investigation accused Hideo Kojima, the mayor of a town in central Gifu region, of several incidents of harassment, including touching a colleagues breasts and buttocks.

The 74-year-old said Thursday he would quit, a day after wiping away tears in front of reporters as he described his brother scolding him.

He denied some of the allegations detailed in a report by an independent committee, including that he had hugged women employees in incidents witnessed by others.

I didnt do it, he said in televised comments, explaining that his gestures may have looked like a hug, but were not.

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The report lacks neutrality and I want them to investigate more carefully, the mayor said.

According to broadcaster NHK, Kojima said he had not read the whole report, which alleged that he would tell subordinates that his hands were fair and smooth to force female employees to touch them.

The report said he would also show off his legs by rolling up his trousers, and tell them to touch.

Some workers used disinfectant spray after being touched, the report said, also detailing inappropriate remarks and demands such as asking an employee to bend over.

No criminal case has been publicly launched against Kojima, who will leave his post on Tuesday.

The probe, launched following reports in the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine, said the mayor had often patted women workers on their heads.

Kojima said this had been meant to express gratitude.

The news was trending on social media platform X on Friday, with many users expressing anger.

He shouldnt be crying. Its the employees who will want to cry, one wrote.

If you say patting someone on their head is just a form of communication, then do it to older men, said another.

During its investigation, the committee even conducted a survey among 193 workers in Kojimas municipality.

Of the 161 who responded, around 53 percent of men and 58 percent of women said the mayor had done something that made them feel uncomfortable.

The global #MeToo movement was slow to pick up in Japan, where many victims are said to be too scared to come forward, but a handful of high-profile cases have recently forced a reckoning.
The Patrick County Board of Supervisors received a favorable independent financial analysis at its regular meeting Monday.

Kyle Laux, Davenport & Co. senior vice president, gave an hourlong presentation on the financial affairs of the county, noting the last time he had presented before the board was in 2018.

Were excited where you are right now as a county, Laux said. Youve had very positive trends over the last five years.

Laux said the county compared favorably to neighboring localities with respect to key demographic and economic indicators, the unemployment rate is the second lowest level seen in a decade, and median household income has grown roughly 41% over the last decade, or about 3.9% annually.

Assessed values have remained stable over the last decade, the real estate tax rate is slightly above those of neighboring localities, population has declined slightly, but the county enjoys a high assessed value per capita, meaning that although fewer residents are paying taxes, the revenue has continued to grow. You have a good solid level relative to your neighbors, Laux said.

The General Fund has produced a surplus in five of the last six years and the net result is a substantial increase in the countys reserves.

The increase was driven in part by one-time federal pandemic related programs, Laux said. The total General Fund expenditures have grown by approximately 3.8% each year over the past five years.

The General Fund surplus amounted to about $20 million in 2014 and was nearly $35 million in 2023.

Your revenues are tracking above your expenditures, allowing you to rebuild your reserves, Laux said. The unassigned fund balance is over 25% of the General Fund and school expenditures, well above the recommended range of 15-20%.

At the beginning of the current fiscal year, Laux said the county had roughly $29.7 million of outstanding governmental debt and the Patrick County Public Service Authoritys operating revenues have grown annually by about 8% over the last five years while operating expenditures have grown at the lesser amount of 6.6%.

When Beth Simms became Patrick Countys new administrator in September, she said she did not know what to expect, but after talking with Laux and seeing the report, she was pleasantly surprised.

The board thanked Laux for his presentation and had no questions following his report.

Woolwine Solar Project

The Patrick County Planning Commission voted 3-2 at a Feb. 20 meeting to recommend the Patrick County Board of Supervisors approve a proposal by Moscato Solar LLC to build a 13.2 megawatt solar facility in Woolwine, capable of producing enough electricity to power more than 3,000 homes.

The facility would require about six months for construction on 213 acres of land. It is estimated the county would receive $256,000 in revenue after the first year of operation and $2.4 million over the 42-year lifespan of the project.

The project is separate from that of the proposed Fairy Stone Solar and is situated nearly eight miles away, a memorandum dated Nov. 21 from Moscato to the Planning Commission stated.

Effort to remove supervisor

Malcolm Roach, chairman of the Patrick County Electoral Board, is circulating a petition for the removal of Doug Perry, vice chair of the Patrick County Board of Supervisors and representative of the Smith River District.

State law provides for the removal of an elected officer by a circuit court if there is a clear case of neglect or incompetence of duties, misuse of the office, or a drug conviction. A petition must also be presented with signatures equal to 10% of the total number of votes cast at the last election for the office that the officer holds.

Perry was elected in 2021, when he ran unopposed. In the election, he received 1,254 votes, nearly 99% of the votes cast.

Hospital building

A spreadsheet of expenses from Foresight Health, owner of the former hospital building in Stuart, has been made public after an investigative report by Cardinal News on Wednesday.

Along with the spreadsheet is an offer from Foresight to transfer the property to the county for half of $1.63 million in expenses. Officials with Foresight have indicated the amount was a complete listing of expenses and is negotiable.

Foresight failed to reopen the facility within its proposed time frame and has indicated that expenses in renovating the dilapidated building are too costly. Additionally, they say they have not been able to create a profitable business plan once the hospital is back in operation.

Of note in the spreadsheet is a total of $22,000 paid by Foresight to former Economic Development Corp. Director Sean Adkins. Adkins told Cardinal News that he consulted with county officials before accepting what was classified as a grants consulting fee. Adkins is now the town manager for St. Albans in Vermont.

County officials seem cool to the offer, while Foresights debt to the county for delinquent real estate taxes is approaching $80,000.

Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick County closed the doors to the old building in 2017 after owner Pioneer Health Services out of Mississippi filed for bankruptcy in 2016 due to financial hardships. The nearest hospitals for the Patrick County community are in Martinsville and Mount Airy, North Carolina.
Mitch Gillespie of McDowell County, who served in the N.C. House of Representatives and as former assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will be honored next week in Raleigh with the Distinguished Public Service Award from the N.C. Chamber.

The organization will hold its 82nd annual meeting and awards ceremony on Tuesday at the Raleigh Convention Center. The N.C. Chamber is the leading business advocacy organization in North Carolina. We work in the legislative, regulatory, and political arenas to proactively drive positive change, ensuring that North Carolina is one of the best places in the world to do business, reads the website for the N.C. Chamber.

Leaders from across the state will convene at this event to celebrate North Carolina and its business community. Each year, the N.C. Chamber recognizes individuals with an outstanding sense of public responsibility who have made an indelible mark on our state by improving their communities and honors them with the Distinguished Citizenship Award and Distinguished Public Service Award, according to the website.

A native of McDowell, Gillespie is receiving the Distinguished Public Service Award for his lifes work.

Gillespie is a former assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), now called the Department of Environmental Quality. Gillespie also served as a member of the N.C. General Assembly, member of the Environmental Management Commission, and senior policy advisor for the state speaker of the House, reads the N.C. Chambers website.

A small business owner from Marion, North Carolina, Gillespie was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1998 and served seven terms. His professional background is in surveying, civil engineering and land development.

A Republican, he represented the 85th District and what was previously served for the 49th District in the state House of Representatives, which included constituents in Avery, Burke, Caldwell, McDowell, Mitchell and Yancey counties.

Gillespie was reelected to an eighth term but resigned to take a position in the executive branch, under Gov. Pat McCrory, in January 2013. While a state legislator, Gillespie was a proponent of regulatory reform, particularly with regards to DENR. He famously drew a bulls eye on his window that, when he sat at his desk, aligned with DENRs headquarters at the opposite end of the state government complex. The bulls-eye served as a representation and reminder to Gillespie of where his attention was focused, according to the N.C. Chambers website.

Gillespie co-chaired North Carolinas Environmental Review Commission, which set the Legislatures environmental agenda. Additionally, he served as an Appropriations Committee Chair and member of the Education, Environment, Rules, and Transportation committees.

During his tenure, Gillespie successfully implemented more than 70 pieces of regulatory reform and worked with more than 100 stakeholders to draft a new state energy policy. He also authored legislation that led to the creation of the State Mining and Energy Commission, which was charged with developing regulations to address fracking while protecting water quality.

He is now participating in events in the local community and serving as an active member at Grace Community Church.

On Thursday, Kim Effler, president of the McDowell Chamber of Commerce, said she would accompany Gillespie and his wife Barbara to the awards ceremony in Raleigh.

Some of the previous recipients of this prestigious award include evangelist Rev. Billy Graham, former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, former Gov. Jim Hunt, former U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Terry Sanford and Hugh Morton, owner of Grandfather Mountain.

In reaction to receiving this award, Gillespie said to The McDowell News: Im a product of the American dream. As a result, Ive always wanted to give back and protect it. The Lord has blessed me, which allowed me to run for office to make a difference. My No. 1 goal was to help my district, providing constituent services second to none and set a high bar. Having a strong determination and tireless work ethic brought results for this district without seeking recognition of which Im continuing today.
Around 30 to 40 people gathered Tuesday at the Marion Community Building for a public meeting about how Mission Health System has changed since it was acquired by HCA Healthcare.

Several of the people who attended said the quality of care, particularly at Missions main campus in Asheville, has declined significantly since HCA took over.

We had a hospital that was world renowned and it has now gone down the toilet, said local resident Carol Jordan. I wouldnt send my dog there.

The meeting on Tuesday evening was held by Gibbins Advisors, the independent monitor of HCAs Mission Health System. Gibbins was hired to monitor HCA Healthcares compliance with the obligations HCA agreed to when it purchased Mission Health System in early 2019. At each meeting, the Gibbins Advisors team discuss its role, provide an update on HCAs 15 commitments and provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and make comments.

Tuesdays meeting in Marion was one in a series of meetings held to gather information about the performance by the for-profit HCA since it acquired the not-for-profit Mission Healths hospitals and physicians practices in western North Carolina. This includes Mission Hospital McDowell in Marion.

No one at Tuesdays meeting said anything critical or negative about Mission Hospital McDowell and its quality of care. Instead, the comments were focused on Missions main campus in Asheville.

The Nashville, Tenn.-based firm of Gibbins Advisors has held numerous meetings open to the public at locations across western North Carolina to provide information on its role and scope as independent monitor and to get feedback on HCAs performance. Ronald Winters with Gibbins Advisors led the meeting.

He said his company is an independent monitor that is not paid by HCA. The goal of the meetings is to determine if HCA is living up to its commitments and the promises that were made as part of the acquisition of Mission Health, he said.

Those commitments include retaining the existing medical services and hospitals, investing in those health care facilities and investing in the health and well-being of those communities in which they exist. Winters said his companys goal is to gather information about what HCA is doing wrong as well as what it is doing right.

Winters listed the 15 commitments that HCA must comply with when the massive healthcare company took over Mission Health System.

The commitments are:

Keep material facilities open for at least 10 years (until 2029).

Continue specified services for at least 10 years (until 2029).

Dogwood Health Trust has a right to bid if hospitals are planned to be closed or sold.

Continue long-term acute care services at St. Joseph campus in Asheville for two years. (This commitment expired on Jan. 31, 2021).

Complete the new Mission Hospital North Tower in Asheville (Opened in late 2019).

Build a new 120-bed behavioral health hospital in Asheville within five years of obtaining necessary permits. (Sweeten Creek Mental Health & Wellness Center was completed in August 2023).

Building a replacement hospital for Angel Medical Center within five years of obtaining necessary permits. (New Angel Medical Care facility opened in September 2022).

Spend $232 million in general capital expenditures within five years. (Expenditure threshold reached in 2022).

Commit to invest $25 million in an innovation fund.

Spend $750,000 per year in community contributions in years two through 10. (This commitment applies from Jan. 31, 2020).

Continue certain community activities, services and programs for at least 12 months. (This commitment expired Jan. 31, 2020).

For 10 years (until 2029), maintain the agreed uninsured and charity care policy and thereafter, maintain policies for the treatment of indigent patients.

Provide graduate medical education (GME) for 10 years at no less than the 2018-2019 levels, subject to the availability of similar GME funding.

Participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs for at least 10 years.

Each year, provide a report that summarizes compliance with certain terms of the agreement.

The biggest concern among medical focuses on the second commitment: Continue specified services for at least 10 years (until 2029). Recently, numerous people have come forward to talk about the quality of care that has declined, specifically at the main campus hospital in Asheville.

In December of last year, Attorney General Josh Stein filed a lawsuit against HCA Healthcare for failing to comply with the Asset Purchase Agreement it executed when it purchased Mission Health System in 2019. Stein alleged that HCA is not providing the quality, consistent emergency and cancer care for western North Carolinians it committed to deliver.

For-profit HCA has broken its promise to the people of western North Carolina and to my office, Stein said in a press release from December 2023. Quality health care is too important  in some cases, a matter of life and death. But HCA apparently cares more about its profits than its patients.

During Tuesdays meeting, one person asked about what would happen if HCA decided to close or sell a hospital. In that event, the Dogwood Health Trust, which was created from the enormous amount of money from the sale of Mission Health, would have the right to bid on that hospital.

Another person who spoke was Dr. Mike Messino, founder of Messino Cancer Centers. He said HCA is used to buying hospitals that are failing.

But Mission wasnt failing and now Mission is in a situation where a lot of the quality is not there anymore, said Messino. And one of the things about this is which HCA is having trouble with is No. 2 and No. 2 is continuing specific services for at least 10 years.

He added the oncology service at Mission and the emergency room are not what they used to be and this means HCA is not complying with the second commitment.

Its a shame because medicine is quality and if you dont have quality you dont have good medicine, Messino said to the crowd.  You want a good doctor. I want a good doctor. You want a good hospital. I want a good hospital. So thats the issue. Its quality. And the people who put this together really snowballed everybody because quality is not mentioned anywhere.

So the problem right now and we will see what the attorney generals office does with their lawsuit and the other lawsuits because quality comes into each one of those lawsuits and what will end up happening is they will step around that saying we never promised quality. So people here if they are having issues, they really do need to speak up.

Messino added almost all of the 15 commitments were easy for HCA to fulfill. The big construction projects were in the works by Mission Health before it was bought out by HCA. Sweeten Creek Mental Health & Wellness Center was the only one that was done by HCA after the acquisition, he said.

Messino said the technology at Mission is still there because Mission built all of that up during a period of 30 years. HCA hasnt built any of that, he added. It was already there. But he is concerned about the quality of care now that HCA has taken over.

Carol Jordan said she is aware of the quality of care declining at Missions main campus in Asheville since HCA took ownership. She added when her daughter was an employee there, the staff was supposed to have four patients per nurse. But that changed to an average of at least six patients per nurse and at night it could be as many as eight patients per nurse. And grievances were filed on a daily basis and somehow they just miraculously disappear and never are addressed, she said.

In October of last year, McDowell EMS leaders took a decisive step by implementing a 45-day pause on interfacility non-emergency transfers between Mission Hospital McDowell in Marion and Mission Hospital in Asheville. Ambulance patient offload times (APOT) that should take 20-30 minutes now frequently stretched for hours as paramedics waited for patients to be transferred to a clean room with a nurse at the bedside. On Thursday, Jan. 18, of this year, McDowell County EMS agreed to lift the temporary transfer pause to Mission Hospital in Asheville, following a comprehensive evaluation of operational metrics. Since the pause was started, EMS leadership diligently monitored the wait times and turnaround times, noting a consistent improvement in the process of paramedics transferring patient care to nursing staff at Mission Hospital in Asheville.

McDowell Emergency Services Director Will Kehler, County Manager Ashley Wooten and Mayor Steve Little attended Tuesdays meeting but they didnt speak to the crowd. South Moore, a representative of the state attorney generals office, was present for the meeting and briefly spoke to the crowd.

A similar meeting was held by Gibbins Advisors on Wednesday evening at Yancey Public Library in Burnsville. This is for people in Mitchell, Yancey and Avery counties.

Questions for the independent monitor can be emailed to IndependentMonitor@gibbinsadvisors.com.

The McDowell News has reached out to Nancy Lindell, a spokesperson for Mission Health, about this meeting. She was present at the Marion meeting.

Regarding the meeting, we are pleased that the Marion community had no concerns for the independent monitor regarding Mission Hospital McDowell, said Lindell. We are grateful for our staff at Mission Hospital McDowell who continue to provide exceptional care to their community.

Regarding the few comments about Mission Hospital, we are pleased that the state surveyors found Mission Health to be in compliance with the corrective action plan previously accepted by CMS, and who are recommending removal of the immediate jeopardy. We are also grateful to all of our colleagues who come to the hospital every day committed to giving their best for our patients. We are especially appreciative of the countless members of our teams from numerous departments who came together over the past several weeks to help explore and develop ways that we could provide more expedited and better care in the Emergency Department. The results of their collective efforts have been noticed by patients, families, and EMS  in addition to the surveyors. We will continue to provide quality care to everyone who visits our hospital.
The United States has called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene and address the nearly year-long conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The U.S. accuses the warring parties of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The U.N. estimates that approximately 25 million people, half of Sudans population, require aid, and around 8 million have been displaced, leading to a worsening hunger crisis.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that it demands greater attention from the Security Council. She urged the council to act promptly to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators accountable, and bring an end to the conflict.

Although the conflict has been persisting since April 15, 2023, the Security Council has issued only three statements expressing concern about the war. Thomas-Greenfield expressed disappointment in the limited attention given to the allegations detailed in the U.N. sanctions monitors report, which revealed ethnic violence resulting in a significant number of casualties in Sudans West Darfur region.

The report indicated that between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in one city in West Darfur last year due to ethnic violence by the RSF and allied Arab militia. Thomas-Greenfield criticized the lack of attention both within and outside the U.N. Security Council regarding these serious allegations. She highlighted her visit to a refugee camp in Chad near the Sudanese border in September and criticized the recent Sudanese governments move to block aid deliveries through Chad, describing it as unacceptable for jeopardizing a crucial supply route to the Darfur region controlled by the rival RSF.

Last year, Reuters extensively documented ethnically targeted violence in West Darfur, revealing survivors accounts of horrific scenes of bloodshed in El Geneina and along the route to the Chad border as people sought refuge.
Zambia has officially declared the ongoing drought in the country a national disaster, as President Hakainde Hichilema expressed concern over its severe impact on the agricultural sector, affecting over one million families. In a televised address from Lusaka, the capital, Hichilema highlighted that the nation has experienced five weeks without rain, compounding the effects of a previous dry spell and flooding from last year.

President Hichilema emphasized the extensive damage caused by the prolonged drought, which has affected 84 out of 116 districts in the country. He attributed the crisis to climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon, posing threats to national food security, water, and energy supply, particularly Zambias dependence on hydroelectric power.

To address the crisis, Hichilema announced the declaration of the prolonged drought as a national disaster, allowing for the mobilization of additional resources. The drought is expected to persist until March, with an estimated loss of one million hectares of planted crops out of 2.2 million.

Humanitarian aid will be provided to prevent hunger, with a call for assistance from cooperating partners beyond grain relief. Plans are also in place to import and ration electricity to sustain industries, particularly the mining sector, vital for Zambias economy as the second-largest copper producer in Africa.

Acknowledging the energy deficit of up to 500 megawatts, President Hichilema outlined the re-alignment of the 2024 national budget to allocate more resources towards mitigating the droughts impact. He highlighted the dire situation of Zambias debt restructuring efforts under the G20 Common Framework, urging official and private creditors to expedite the process to prevent further economic strain.

The El Nino climate pattern, currently affecting global temperatures, exacerbates the crisis, with implications such as wildfires and record heat worldwide.
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The General Medical Council (GMC) should revise its terminology regarding international medical graduates (IMGs) in the UK, argues a new commentary published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (JRSM).

The existing terminology used by the GMC fails to encompass the full spectrum of doctors facing challenges in the UK medical workforce, according to the paper's author, Professor Mo Al-Haddad of Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow.

Notably, he says, the GMC's definition of IMGs overlooks doctors from the European Economic Area (EEA), potentially excluding them from vital support and interventions aimed at reducing the attainment gap between various groups of medical graduates.

Currently, the GMC's definition of IMGs refers only to doctors with primary medical qualifications (PMQs) from countries outside the UK and the EEA. This is because, when the UK was a member of the EEA, doctors from other EEA countries could freely practice medicine in the UK without needing to pass an equivalence exam. Other than for GMC registration purposes, there is little benefit to categorizing IMGs in this way.

Professor Al-Haddad says, "I call on the GMC to change the terminology as a matter of urgency so that the term international medical graduate includes all doctors practicing in the UK and who have a PMQ from outside the UK. We need to accurately report the proportion of IMGs in the medical workforce in the UK, and fully recognize and count the contribution of IMGs who graduate from the EEA. Most importantly, we need to eliminate the risk of excluding EEA IMGs from the interventions and support that non-EEA IMGs receive (or should receive) in the UK."

More information: European international medical graduates (IMGs): are we ignoring their needs and under-representing the scale of IMG issues in the UK?, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1177/01410768241230804 Journal information: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
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Cofilin signaling, including upstream and downstream pathways affected by secondary injury after ICH. Molecular changes impact motor and post-stroke cognitive impairments (PSCI). Cofilin Inhibitor (CI) reversed these effects following ICH. Credit: Pharmaceuticals (2024). DOI: 10.3390/ph17010114

A drug being developed by scientists at The University of Toledo could one day help stroke survivors return to the lives they previously enjoyed.

In a new study, researchers showed the drug improved both cognitive function and motor skills following a hemorrhagic stroke in mice. The results were recently published in the journal Pharmaceuticals.

All strokes are medical emergencies and can prove fatal if not quickly treated.

Part of the challenge with hemorrhagic strokes in particular is that there's both a primary injury brought on by the ruptured blood vessel and a secondary injury brought on by an inflammation response in the hours and days after the stroke.

"It's that secondary injury that determines how well a stroke survivor recovers. The neuroinflammation can have devastating effects, and right now, there is no drug available to treat it," said Dr. Zahoor Shah, a neurobiologist and stroke researcher in The University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Shah, who is leading the research, previously found that a protein called cofilin plays a significant role in allowing the inflammation to spiral out of control, creating a cascade of damage that goes beyond the initial stroke event.

By creating a novel therapeutic agent that targets and inhibits cofilin, researchers were able to tamp down that inflammation and prevent some of the long-term complications so common in stroke survivors.

"If we can block inflammation, we can block neural death," Shah said. "These were very good results that suggest our cofilin inhibitor has real potential therapeutic value as a treatment for survivors of hemorrhagic stroke."

Shah's research was supported by a five-year, $1.95 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Hemorrhagic strokes are significantly less common than ischemic strokes, which occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked, but there are still more than 100,000 incidents in the United States annually.

Nearly half of those who suffer a hemorrhagic stroke will die within a week. For those who survive, recovery is often long and incomplete.

"Doctors are are currently limited in what they can do medically for these patients. Most interventions are focused on preventing another stroke," Shah said. "In lab tests, our cofilin inhibitor made a significant difference in recovery after a stroke. If this works in humans as it has worked in animals, it is going to be a game-changer."

Mice were given the treatment twice a day for three days, beginning the day of the stroke. In addition to improvements in cognition and muscle strength, researchers also noted a significant reduction in hematoma volume in mice who received the treatment.

Shah is hopeful that the study's results will help move the novel drug toward human trials. In the meantime, however, researchers are exploring whether the cofilin inhibitor might also be useful in the treatment of other brain disorders and injuries.

The UToledo research group already has found promising results that the drug may be able to prevent cognitive deficiencies in Alzheimer's Disease and following traumatic brain injuries and also is preparing to investigate whether it can reduce the normal inflammation that comes with aging.

More information: Daniyah A. Almarghalani et al, Cofilin Inhibitor Improves Neurological and Cognitive Functions after Intracerebral Hemorrhage by Suppressing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Related-Neuroinflammation, Pharmaceuticals (2024). DOI: 10.3390/ph17010114
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Two health experts from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy are available to discuss what the Alabama Supreme Court's landmark ruling on frozen embryos could mean for the rest of the country and for the science of human embryo research.

Kirstin Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy, and McClain Sampson, fellow in maternal and reproductive health, spoke about the ruling's implications on American women and the science community on the Baker Institute's podcast with Ed Emmett.

Sampson noted that the ruling has not only had immediate chilling effects in Alabama, but those effects have begun to and will continue to spread around the country. She said that the "fetal personhood" movement is essentially trading the health and value of the mother for that of the embryo.

"We do have a trend going on in this country and it's called the personhood argument," Sampson said. "That's what we're seeing here, and I think that's why you might be observing people jumping to react right now is because we are in fact heading into uncharted territory to start conferring personhood status to frozen embryos. Georgia has already started defining personhood as starting at the moment of fertilization."

"My training is in social work, and I'm well aware of how big that issue becomes when we start talking about child abuse occurring in the womb," she continued. "With things like IVF (in vitro fertilization), you have to undergo hormones, you have to undergo genetic testing, let's say things that could affect the embryos. Are we going to be holding women liable for criminal charges if something happens to the embryo or the fetus? It's really concerning, and it's not well thought out  what we're about to experience."

Matthews explained how the IVF ruling will affect stem cell research, which since the 1970s has typically been permitted for the first 14 days after a human embryo is fertilized. She added that the view that "life begins at conception" isn't supported by the full public or the entire pro-life community.

"There's a specific perspective that life begins at fertilization, and that is a specific subset of the pro-life group," Matthews said. "Not all of the pro-life actually ascribed to that. When we did work on embryonic stem cell research, we had lots of advocates within the pro-life movement that were fine with IVFthey were Christian conservatives. They were fine with donating leftover IVF embryos for research purposes if the parents choose to.

"There's also other perspectives besides the Christian perspectives in our plural society; many Jewish and Muslim faiths do not believe the embryountil later stages around 40 daysas having 'ensoulment.' At this point in time (during IVF), it's a cluster of cells. They view it as a cluster of cells, and then ensoulment happens when (the embryo) starts embedding itself more fully within the woman and growing more fully."
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Smoking changes the way genes are expressed, which later contributes to the development of lung cancer and other smoking-related illnesses. But the link between epigenetics (the study of mechanisms that impact gene expression) and smoking is not fully understood, especially in terms of differences across racial and ethnic groups.

"We know that smoking affects people differently based on their race and ethnicity, but identifying epigenetic signatures of smoking would help us better predict risk for smoking-related diseases," said Brian Huang, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and first author of the new study.

In a National Institutes of Health-funded effort, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine analyzed the link between smoking and DNA methylation, a specific type of epigenetic change that can alter a number of biological processes. The study included data from 2,728 people across six distinct racial and ethnic groups. Researchers found 408 DNA methylation markers (known as "CpG sites") related to smoking, including two that differed depending on race or ethnicity. The results were published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Most past research on smoking and epigenetics has looked at just one or two racial groups at a time, making the new effort one of the largest multiethnic studies yet. In addition, the researchers quantified smoking by calculating participants' total nicotine equivalents (TNEs), a biological measure of nicotine uptake that measures levels of nicotine and several other metabolites of cigarette smoke with a urine sample. That enabled a more accurate calculation of smoking dose compared to much of the existing research, which relies on self-reported measures.

"This study gives us some additional information about the mechanism by which smoking can affect health, and how that could differ across various populations," Huang said. "Ultimately, that can lead to better prediction, early detection and treatment for smoking-related conditions."

Insights from the epigenome

The research team conducted their primary analysis using data from the Multiethnic Cohort Study, a collaboration between USC and the University of Hawaii that includes African Americans, European Americans, Japanese Americans, Latinos and Native Hawaiians. Using biological samples from 1,994 participants, the researchers determined each person's smoking dose (by measuring TNEs), as well as the levels of DNA methylation at CpG sites across the genome (through an epigenome-wide association study, or EWAS).

Across the epigenome, smoking was linked to DNA methylation at 408 sites. That total includes 45 new sites that were not identified in previous studies that relied on self-reports of smoking behavior.

"This gives us an indication that TNEs can provide more information beyond what we already know from self-reported measures of smoking," Huang said.

Of the 408 sites identified, two carried a significant risk difference depending on race or ethnicity. One site on the gene CYTH1 only showed changes in African American people who smoked; another site on MYO1G was more strongly linked with epigenetic changes in Latinos who smoked, compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Those genes perform functions that relate to cancer progression and other disease processes.

The new insights could improve scientists' understanding of why some populations face a higher lung cancer risk than others, Huang said. African Americans who smoke face a higher risk of lung cancer than non-Hispanic whites who smoke, while people of Hispanic origin may face a lower risk.

To further confirm their findings, Huang and his team collected TNE and DNA methylation data from two other groups of participants: 340 people in the Singapore Chinese Health Study and 394 people in the Southern Community Cohort Study. The researchers identified many of the same CpG sites found in the Multiethnic Cohort Study, including the sites most strongly associated with TNEs. That provides evidence that the strongest epigenetic markers of smoking are consistent across multiple racial and ethnic groups, Huang said.

Better prediction of disease risk

In their next study, the researchers will conduct an EWAS of DNA methylation and lung cancer risk: How do epigenetic changes increase a person's risk for lung cancer?

"By conducting these joint studies, we can understand the mechanism by which DNA methylation acts as a mediator between smoking and lung cancer, which can in turn improve our ability to predict lung cancer risk," Huang said.

He and his team also have research underway to study epigenetic changes associated with additional biomarkers of smoking, including biological levels of cadmium, a heavy metal found in cigarette smoke.

More information: Brian Z. Huang et al, Epigenome-wide association study of total nicotine equivalents in multiethnic current smokers from three prospective cohorts, The American Journal of Human Genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.01.012 Journal information: American Journal of Human Genetics
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Schizophrenia is associated with an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, with the association stronger in women, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Jin Komuro, M.D., from the University of Tokyo, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of 4,124,508 individuals aged 18 to 75 years to assess the relationship of schizophrenia with the risk for developing CVD events. The primary end point was a composite of myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and pulmonary thromboembolism.

The researchers observed 182,158 composite end points during a mean follow up of 1,288  1,001 days. In both men and women, there was a significant relationship of schizophrenia with an increased risk for developing composite CVD events, and a stronger association was seen in women. After multivariable adjustment, the hazard ratio for the composite end point was 1.63 and 1.42 in women and men, respectively. For angina pectoris, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, this sex-specific difference in the association between schizophrenia and incident CVD was consistent.

"Our results suggest a need for greater support for individuals (particularly women) with schizophrenia," the authors write. "Psychiatrists, cardiologists, and general physicians should share the findings of this study and apply them to CVD prevention, especially in women."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

More information: Jin Komuro et al, Sex Differences in the Relationship Between Schizophrenia and the Development of Cardiovascular Disease, Journal of the American Heart Association (2024). DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.032625 Journal information: Journal of the American Heart Association

Copyright  2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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In an effort to prevent a shortage, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is advising doctors to conserve the tetanus vaccine because one manufacturer is stopping production.

The vaccine in question is the Td shot, which shields against both tetanus and diphtheria. In an update, the agency said that "MassBiologics has discontinued production of their Td vaccine, TdVax." The product's distributor only expects to have the shot on hand until June, the update added.

While another company, Sanofi, plans to step up production of its own Td vaccine, "it is anticipated that the supply of Td vaccine in the U.S. market will be constrained during 2024," the CDC said.

Doctors do have an alternative: The broader Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine. "Tdap vaccine is available from both U.S.-licensed manufacturers without supply constraints at this time," so physicians should switch to that shot when possible, the CDC advised.

According to CBS News, doctors have already been migrating to use of the Tdap vaccine. A spokesperson for the nonprofit MassBiologics told CBS that "similar vaccines have led to a reduction in demand," leading to the company's decision to cut production.

More information: More Information

Copyright  2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Credit: Anna Tarazevich from Pexels

Home-test kits and mobile labs for detecting a tumor in tissue near the uterus are improving health care in remote or marginalized communities.

Magdalena Rothova is on the frontline of a fight in the EU to reduce deaths from cervical cancer, which tens of thousands of women in Europe develop each year.

She heads a Slovakian non-governmental organization that sends female health care workers to the mostly Roma communities in eastern Slovakia to persuade women that screening is a good idea.

Barrier battle

"Less educated people in the communities we focus on have always been suspicious about the motives of doctors and worried about testing for cancer," said Rothova, director of the Association for Culture, Education and Communication, or ACEC. "One of their unfounded worries is that taking the test for cervical cancer will mean they can't have babies."

Early screening is one of the most important ways of reducing deaths from cervical cancer, which killed more than 13,000 women in the EU in 2020. That same year in the EU, more than 30,000 new cases of the disease occurred, representing 2.5% of all new cancer cases for women.

Globally, the illness in 2020 was the fourth most common cancer in women with more than 600,000 cases and 340,000 deaths, mainly in low- and middle-income countries.

This type of cancer occurs in the cells of the cervix, which is the tissue that links the uterus to the vagina.

When detected early, cervical cancer can be cured through surgery. Screening also reveals cell changes that suggest the disease will develop at a later stage. Removing these cells means a woman's cervix can be restored to a healthy state with minimal disruption or expense.

Physical and cultural obstacles to early screening hinder it from being more widespread. Some parts of the EU population live in remote places and/or distrust such preventive health steps.

ACEC teamed up with a research project that received EU funding to explore the effectiveness of self-testing for cervical cancer in hard-to-reach areas in Slovakia and three non-EU countries: Bangladesh, India and Uganda.

Successful sampling

Called PRESCRIP-TEC, the three-year project ended in January 2024.

Over three months in mid-2023, ACEC collected samples for cervical cancer self-testing from 2,027 women. The organization deployed 21 health care workers for the task.

Rothova chalks up the success of the program to two factors: the ability of the workers to gain the trust of the Roma women one by one and the availability of a do-it-yourself test that avoided the need for a visit to a clinic.

The women did the test at home with a swab and then handed it over to a health care worker, who sent the sample to a laboratory for analysis.

"For many of these women, there are big obstacles to going to the doctor: time, the cost of travel andof coursefear," said Rothova. "Home-testing makes most of these go away."

Virus threat

The swab used in the test flags up the presence of Human Papilloma Virusor HPVinfections, which are by far the biggest risk factor for cervical cancer.

Most HPV infections are eventually cleared naturally by the immune system. The PRESCRIP-TEC team sought to catch women with persistent infections that go on to become cancer.

In all four countries covered by the project, women who tested positive for the virus were referred to a clinic for further diagnostic examination.

Pre-cancerous cells could then be painlessly burned from the cervix, often resulting in complete elimination of affected cells. Cancerous tumors usually require more invasive surgery such as a hysterectomy.

In total, 35,000 samples were collected by health care workers under PRESCRIPT-TEC and analyzed in laboratories.

Big differences in the prevalence of HPV infections were found among the countries. The share of women affected was around 21% in Uganda, 11% in Slovakia and 2% in rural India and Bangladesh.

Women in areas covered by the project were taught about the risks of cancer and the importance of screening through a combination of social media campaigns and information from trusted community health workers.

"It's very important to reach women in poor, rural areas as this is one of the few cancers that can be eliminated by early identification of the virus," said Dr. Jaap Koot, who led the project and is a specialist in public health management at the University Medical Center of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Global vaccination campaign

Since 2006, a vaccine has been available to prevent HPV infection taking root in the first place.

But the vaccine, usually given only to girls, is still unavailable in many less affluent countries.

The World Health Organization has set a goal to eliminate cervical cancer within the next century by vaccinating 90% of girls, screening 70% of women and treating 90% of those with the disease.

"By expanding screening as well as vaccination, we can achieve these results a lot faster," said Koop. "The aim is to reduce it by 50% by 2040 and eliminate it entirely in the next 60 years."

Portable lab

Another EU-funded project is going a step further than PRESCRIP-TEC to increase cervical screening in hard-to-reach communities: swabs from home-testing kits will be evaluated on the spot rather being sent to a lab.

Called ELEVATE, the six-year project runs until the end of 2024 and has focused on remote populations in Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador and Portugal. It is led by Professor Olivier Degomme, director of the International Center for Reproductive Health at Ghent University in Belgium.

"Our engineers are developing a portable lab that allows very quick identification of an HPV infection, with a turnaround time of one hour," said Degomme. "When we go to these communities where women, for various reasons, aren't being screened, we can take our lab facilities with us."

All the equipment needed for the portable lab has been developed and a prototype built. The final elements are now being checked.

The whole package is designed to be compact enough to fit into a backpack that health care workers can carry from village to village. The equipment will both identify HPV infections and test for proteins that show if cancer is developing.

"We want the test to be nuanceda woman may have an infection but no cancer," said Degomme.

Like Rothova in Slovakia, he stresses the importance of health care workers in the whole endeavor.

"It means the woman can be given immediate information about what needs to happen next and a referral for treatment can happen there and then," Degomme said. "We want screening to be available in all hard-to-reach populations around the world, with no woman left behind."
The Missoula Symphony aims to evoke some fresh air this weekend with a masterworks concert called In Natures Realm. That spans not only Beethovens Pastoral Symphony, but a work by a living composer, Vivian Fung, thats informed by Balinese gamelan. Whats more, the orchestra will back Kristin Lee, a virtuoso violinist who Fung wrote the piece for.

Lee traveled to Bali with Fung during the writing process and got acquainted with the percussion-oriented style of music, which feels as though youre immersed in this sound atmosphere, like a sonic experience, she said.

The centerpiece is Beethovens Pastoral Symphony No. 6, which artistic director Julia Tai felt was appropriate for a city in the northern Rockies, particularly with its evocations of bird calls and flowing streams.

In Missoula, we're very aware of our surroundings, she said. The mountains right there, we're doing lots of activities outdoors, all the time. Nature is something that is so important in our lives.

Around that core, she arranged the piece by Fung, whos won the Juno Award in her native Canada. Finally, theres a work by homegrown composer Scott Billadeau that takes its name from a Robert Frost poem, and a selection from Dvoraks nature-inspired series.

The concerts are this Saturday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 3, at 3 p.m. in the Dennison Theatre at the University of Montana. Both Fung and Billadeau will take part in the pre-concert talk, which starts an hour before the performance.

Fung, Violin Concerto No. 1

The guest soloist on this piece is Lee, whos won awards like an Avery Fisher Music Grant. In a rare opportunity, audiences will hear her on the piece, which Fung wrote for her.

Tai said that Fung is rooted in the Western tradition through her training (shes also a pianist) but she brings in other influences. In this case, its Balinese gamelan, a style of music that she's explored extensively.

When Lee took classes from Fung at Juilliard, she was struck by the sound of her music and learned it was informed by Balinese gamelan (which is distinct from Javanese gamelan). Fung even brought a touring group in to perform for them.

I was completely, completely enchanted and mesmerized with this music, and expressed to her how much I loved it, Lee said in a phone interview.

Fung was working with an orchestra called the Metropolis Ensemble, and eventually these ties led to a commission to write her first violin concerto with Lee as soloist.

Lee was in her early 20s, and when the opportunity to travel to Bali with Fung came up, she took it.

They got to see the culture and environment that produced the music firsthand, including nuances you might not pick up on otherwise, like the overwhelming bird song in the morning. Or the way that music is embedded into everyday life.

Playing gamelan, to them, is like their way of unwinding, their way of bonding, their way of really sharing interests, she said.

As a listener, she thought it was a beautiful way for music to function in a society.

You're being entranced with the sounds of the music itself, because it means so much more than just the music.

Early in her career, shed already been keen on minimalists like Steve Reich, whod studied gamelan. The experience of working on this concerto opened her eyes to the musics deep history with Western composers going back to Debussy and Ravel.

She said Fung, while working with Western instrumentation, has evoked the authentic note progressions and rhythms of the Balinese style.

It was the first time Lee had collaborated with a composer. She said Fung builds a relationship with a particular performer to understand them and write to their strengths. In Lees case, she loves virtuosic, passionate playing, which definitely has showcase moments.

The narrative that winds through it starts with a bed of very high-pitch tones.

Tai said its the kind of color that it has that you rarely hear in the symphonic work.

Think shimmery harmonics from the strings, upon which Lee enters in a very high register.

Lee said it depicts the birds, particularly the high-volume calls in the rainforest.

Then a repeated pattern enters thats typical of the progressions and rhythm of gamelan.

When things speed up, theres a showcase for Lees technique that has a deliberately rough approach to it, as though shes trying to depict a gritty human voice  one thats singing a folk song rather than, say, opera. Its about the precise rhythms and percussive nature of gamelan.

Instead of drawing a beautiful phrase, I'm trying to make sure that everything is extremely clear and a little bit aggressive at times, too, she said.

The closing section circles back to a haunting melody thats quoted from a Javanese gamelan folk song.

Lee has performed the piece frequently in the decade since the 2011 premiere, but this is the first this season.

Every time, I've had the great privilege to get some mileage out of this work in my performance, and every time this piece gets programmed, it just makes me so giddy, she said.

Beethoven, Pastoral Symphony No. 6

The concerts centerpiece is this famed symphony, called the Pastoral Symphony due to its theme.

Its not a stretch of interpretation, either. Tai said its the only symphony for which he wrote titles for the movements, the first one being, Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside.

The second is Scene by the Brook, which she said is unusually long for a slow movement. Its built atop a repeated pattern, almost like flowing water. While the key shifts, the pattern doesnt.

Its kind of like scenery changes a little bit, but the river underneath doesnt, even though we explore different colors in different keys, she said.

Toward the end of the second movement, he sets some allusions to bird song along that river pattern, with flute evoking nightingale, a quail call from the oboe, and clarinets mimicking a cuckoo.

The third section, Merry Gathering of Country Folk, may as well take place at Caras Park.

You can imagine people gathering, dancing, maybe drinking a beer, she said.

Then, a glorious thunderstorm depiction follows, with instruments like trumpet, trombone and timpani making their first appearance in the piece. Following the storm, it closes with a beautiful kind of sunshine calmness, she said.

To think that it was composed more than 200 years ago  it's amazing how the feeling that he evokes in people is still there, she said.

Billadeau, 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'

While hes best known for his restaurants and coffee shops, Billadeaus career as a musician and composer predates Liquid Planet.

A native of Superior, he studied music and music technology at the University of Montana and taught there after graduation, and the symphony performed one of his compositions in 2019.

His piece, Nothing Gold Can Stay, takes its title from a Frost poem of the same name about the transient quality inherent in nature.

His music and inspiration comes from this vast landscape we have in this region, so his music is more expansive, Tai said.

To her ear, this piece has a shimmering quality and beautiful harmony, and comes from a very different place than Fungs Western modernist perspective. While his other work has a jazzy and rhythmic feeling, a la Copland, this one is more subdued.

Dvorak, In Natures Realm Overture No. 6

This comes from a trilogy by the Czech composer and bears his language, with memorable melodies and lush harmonies, she said.

As with the Beethoven piece, keep your ears open for his interpretation of bird calls.
Terry Karson, 'Human/Nature'

Missoula Art Museum

This month, the MAM is opening a retrospective of the late Montana artist Terry Karson, who died in 2017. During his career, the Kansas City native and Montana transplant had major shows at the MAM and the Yellowstone Art Museum, working in the uncommon medium of large-scale installation with reused materials and an embedded message about consumer culture's effects on the environment.

According to the MAM, you'll see "tidy displays of objects referred to as 'specimens,' abstraction based on color and grids, and large-scale installation work."

Elsewhere, you can see Helena-based artist Mimi Jungs textile-based sculptures in Just Between Us, that by turns seem biomorphic or 3D-printed. In the Frost Gallery, For the Good of All Things surveys the work being made by residents living on Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal lands. The artists range in career stages from veteran creators such as Frank Finley, Corky Clairmont and Jeneese Hilton to emerging artists like Tailyr Irvine and Aspen Decker.

Details: Open on First Friday, 5-8 p.m.

Jules Lucero, Feeding

Lovechild Gallery

Lucero, a University of Montana graduate, has built a style of woodblock relief prints with a focus on the natural world. In her exhibition, Feeding, the subject of how those animals survive is broached more directly. Shed like viewers to witness the dynamic relationships between predators and prey, as well as the harmonious coexistence of herbivores.

Details: On view all month. The gallery is open to the public on First Friday from 5-8 p.m. and after that by appointment only. Its located at 422 W. Spruce St. in the Folk Medicine building. The entrance is around the back. Find the gallery on Instagram for more information.

12th annual Mini Show

Zootown Arts Community Center

Originally started 12 years ago with deliberately small art items designed to move, the Mini Show fundraiser has gotten bigger over time. It was first held in the basement of the nonprofits old Northside rental space, and now takes over a room at the Missoula County Fairgrounds.

The nonprofits annual fundraiser helps pay for its year-round programming, which spans from classes for kids to all-ages live events including theater, music, comedy and more, and its galleries that host monthly art exhibitions, again ranging from kids to emerging artists and experienced makers.

The theme for the event this year is Welcome to Nashville, which the news release said will apply not just to music and art, but the food. The auction will be held April 6 at the Missoula County Fairgrounds Commercial Building.

The silent auction items go live on March 1. Head to zootownarts.org for more information.

Details: On view through March 31. First Friday reception, 5-8 p.m.

Brian Christianson: Modern Wilderness

The Artists Shop

The Missoula photographers exhibition of photographs, which appear to involve an enviable amount of trail time, continues through March. The pictures were all shot within a 50-mile radius of the city, which naturally includes his now-famous shot of Washington-Grizzly Stadium through the fog, with pink clouds and Ch-paa-qn Peak in the distance and the Griz crushing North Dakota down below.

Details: On view through March 31.

To Still Find Joy

Torrents at the Confluence Center

The gallery, located in the Headwaters Foundations ground-floor, is a reliable stop for a relaxed, old-fashioned First Friday, with community artwork on the walls and conversation happening around. This month, theyre hosting four artists: Heidi West, whos been working with paper collage; Lady Pajama, the abstract and diaristic zine artist; landscape paintings by Nancy Rishoff, and finally floral-centric works by Randy Zielinski.

Details: On view through March 29. Open to the public on First Friday from 5-8 p.m., then by appointment only. Live music by Madelaine Millar.

Full listings

Museums

Historical Museum at Fort Missoula, 728-3476, fortmissoulamuseum.org: In the main gallery: "Missoula, MT: The Bicycle Town." "The Road to Today: 150 Years of Missoula's History," in the North gallery: "Undressing History," in the orientation gallery: "We Can Take It!" Hours: Main museum open Tuesday-Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

Historic St. Mary's Mission and Museum, Stevensville, 777-5734: Featuring guided tours of historic buildings; featured exhibition is an antique toy display. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. with last tour at 2 p.m.

Hockaday Museum of Art, 302 Second Ave. E., Kalispell, 406-755-5268, hockadaymuseum.com: Through March: "In that Still Moment: DG House, Contemporary Native Artist." Through September: Ace Powell works and beadwork from Three Chiefs Cultural Center.

Miracle of America Museum, 36094 Memory Lane, 406-883-6804, miracleofamericamuseum.org: Featuring thousands of artifacts throughout dozens of buildings plus exhibits of WWII memorabilia that includes more than 50 official photos taken by the U.S. Department of the Navy depicting the damage to the fleet. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

Missoula Art Museum, 335 N. Pattee St., 406-728-0447, missoulaartmuseum.org: Through April 13: "Mimi Jung: Just Between Us." Through April 6 in the Frost Gallery for Contemporary American Indian Art: "u X Xl c Xest: For the Good of All Things," featuring work by artists living on Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal lands. Through May 11: "Critical Eye," selections from the Kim and Ruth Reineking collection. Through July 27: Terry Karson: "Human/Nature." First Friday, March 1, 5-8 p.m.

Galleries

Allez! Missoula, 120 N. Higgins Ave., alleyway with the Merc Hotel, 546-6141, 120nhiggins.com: "New Perspectives," featuring temporary, mural scale paintings, prints and photography and sculpture by undergraduates and recent grads from the University of Montana School of Visual and Media Arts: Colton Rothwell, Crystal McCallie, Dagny Walton, Eric Jensen, Erica Hitzman, Jules Lucero, Lily Kip, Lily Luna Bennett and Mickey Haldi. On view through May.

Artists' Shop, 127 N. Higgins Ave., 406-543-6393, missoulaartistsshop.com: In March: "Modern Wilderness," photography by Brian Christianson.

The Clay Studio of Missoula, 11065 Hawthorne St., 543-0509, theclaystudioofmissoula.org: In March: Community Exhibition with works by resident artists, students from classes, studio artists and more. First Friday reception March 1, 5-8 p.m.

Gallery 709 in Montana Art and Framing, 709 Ronan St., 406-531-7100: In March: "Lure of the Local," colored photographs by Jim Hansen. First Friday, March 1, 5-9 p.m.

Lovechild Gallery, 422 W. Main St.: "Feeding," prints by Missoula artist Jules Lucero that explore the natural world. Open 5-8 p.m. on First Friday, by appointment only for the rest of the month. Find the gallery on Instagram for more information. Entrance is in back of the building.

Murphy-Jubb Fine Art, 210 N. Higgins Ave. Suite 300, 406-728-7050, kendahljanjubb.com: In March: Kendahl Jan Jubb's latest floral watercolor paintings; M. Scott Millers acrylic paintings of Missoula evenings as well Richard Smiths wood-fired ceramics. First Friday, March 1, with music by the Pescaderos.

Radius Gallery, 120 N. Higgins Ave.: Closing on March 2: "Tell Me A Story," works by Amy Brakeman Livezey, Lillian Nelson and Kelsey Wickwire." March 8-April 13: "Mysteries Too Marvelous," works by Nina Glaser, Candice Methe and James G. Todd. In Clayworks: "A Beautiful Spirit," works by nine visiting artists at the Bray in Helena, through March 16.

Wildfire Ceramics Studio, 2502 Murphy St. Unit A: Featured in March: "Muddle, Cull & Coalesce," works by Heather Kaplan. First Friday reception, March 1, 5-9 p.m.

Zootown Arts Community Center, 216 W. Main St., zootownarts.org: In the Main Gallery: 12th annual Mini Show, featuring works to be auctioned off to support the nonprofit art center. In the Blackfoot Communications Gallery: sculptural ceramic works by Hannah Kautto. In the Youth Gallery: "A Kindness of Cousins," works by Missoula bird nerds. First Friday opening, March 1, 5-8 p.m.

Art on display

The Badlander, 208 Ryman St.: First Friday Art show March 1, 8 p.m. featuring "Awakening Your Dreamscapes" spring edition of Tickle My Fancy (TMF.) A massive two-night art event celebrating the human experience, promoting body positivity, while building a culture of inclusion and a blossoming community of creators. Ages 21 and up.

Confluence Center, 119 W. Main St., 406-929-6526: First Friday March 1, 5-8 p.m. featuring "To Still Find Joy," works by Heidi West, Lady Pajama, Nancy Rishoff and Randy Zielinski.

Home ReSource, 1515 Wyoming St.: First Friday, March 1, 5-7 p.m. featuring Reuse Art show plus live music, raffle and snacks.

Imagine Nation Brewing, 1151 W. Broadway: First Friday March 1, 5-8 p.m. featuring works by Sage Friss.

Missoula Public Library, 455 E. Main St.: First Friday March 1, 5 p.m. featuring Hellgate High School Art show. Music by Hellgate's Jazz Band.

Paws Up People and Culture Center, 601 S. Third St. W.: First Friday, March 1, 5-8 p.m. featuring metal work by Paul Barmore.

The Wren Hotel, 201 E. Main St.: First Friday pop-up gallery March 1, 5-7 p.m. featuring work by Barbara Morrison.

Xplorer Maps, 1245 S. Third St. W.: First Friday, March 1, 4:30-7 p.m. featuring "Cartography Comes Alive ... for Kids," art activities inspired by maps.
A Missoula city committee has set a plan for a state-required local government survey, which gives the public an opportunity to review and change parts of the city government.

The same process is also happening at the county level. Voters could decide to make major changes, like adjusting the number of city councilors or county commissioners.

Every 10 years, state law says local Montana city and county governments must give the public the option to review and change the government structure.

The process starts with a vote on the June 4 primary ballot, where the public will decide whether or not to move forward with a local government review, City Clerk Erin Tremble told the City Council Committee of the Whole.

The city of Missoula plans to have a seven-person board to create the review, which includes spending up to $200,000 for study purposes.

Missoula County will have a separate vote for its review, and has also proposed a seven-person board with a $200,000 budget.

If voters approve holding either the city or county review process by a simple majority, the public would then vote on members of the review board during the general election on Nov. 5.

"I think people when they hear government study they're like, 'Oh gosh I am not paying for another one of these darn studies,' but the outcome of the study could drastically change what your local government looks like," Ward 6 Councilor Kristen Jordan said.

The review process would last roughly a year, which would include citizen surveys, and the review board would produce a report of their findings, Tremble said.

Then, the review board could propose making changes to the government, and let the public take a final vote on the new process.

Tremble said voters shot down a government review in 2014. Voters did however approve a government study of the city in 2004.

The 2004 review led to some proposed government changes, like an election change that would have required nonpartisan primaries, but voters shot the changes down during the final review step in 2006, Tremble said.

Missoula County Communications Manager Allison Franz said voters also approved a county government study in 2004, which recommended giving the county more decision-making power, establishing a citizens advocate, and redrawing the district lines to require one commissioner district to be outside Missoula city limits. None of those 2004 county proposals were approved.

Changes to local governments also must agree with state law. For example, the city council cannot have 20 councilors, because the state caps councilors at 16.

"It's very specific to the form of government," Tremble said. "This is not a referendum on property taxes, so there are things that this commission can change, but it doesn't change how our property taxes are set up. It's a limited decision space."

Tremble said most things that can be changed by the review would be found in the Missoula City Charter.

New meeting plan

City council is adjusting how its weekly meetings are run, which Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said will make the meetings more engaging and easier for those looking to comment on final council decisions.

"(It) will help our meeting flow with the intention of efficiency and effectiveness and ensure that our meetings are accessible for all people in Missoula," Davis said.

The new agenda order will be used starting March 4. The meeting order change does not alter how meetings are run for decorum or public participation laws. The agenda items have simply been rearranged.

The first four items will be administrative business like approving minutes. The council will then move to public hearings and final decisions. Davis said people who come for larger decisions will voice their opinion earlier.

Public comment for non-agenda items, committee reports, and new business were moved toward the back of the meeting.

Mayor Davis told the Committee of the Whole on Wednesday that there are smaller logistical changes as well, like when a councilor can make a motion in public hearings or speak to a consent agenda item.

Davis said the changes can be modified as needed.
A community effort rescued an injured snowbiker northwest of Seeley Lake on Wednesday evening.

According to a statement Thursday from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, search-and-rescue personnel began responding just after 4 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a 40-year-old man who was injured while snowbiking with two others above Marshall Lake, which is about 11.5 miles northwest of the town of Seeley Lake. A snowbike is a motorcycle outfitted with a ski instead of a front wheel and a powered track instead of a rear wheel.

A Life Flight helicopter was dispatched to the three riders because of their remote location and the challenge of reaching them with ground-based resources, the agency stated. But although the helicopter was able to confirm the riders' location, weather conditions prevented it from rescuing them.

Local residents associated with the Scenic Montana Trails club and Kra-Zs Snowmobile Rental and Backcountry Guide Service set out to reach the injured rider as rescue personnel were preparing, according to the sheriff's office. The agency noted that the private individuals were "very familiar with Marshall Lake and the advanced riding level needed to access the area."

Rescue personnel and private citizens ultimately reached the man, who had non-life-threatening injuries, and his riding partners around 6 p.m. They then packaged him for transport along an "arduous return trip" to a waiting ambulance. The man was transferred to a Missoula Emergency Services ambulance around 8:30 p.m. and taken to a hospital.

The sheriff's office stated that additional responding agencies and individuals included the U.S. Forest Service, Seeley Lake Fire Department, Dr. Michael Kremkau and a Montana Army National Guard medevac helicopter team out of Helena.
RUTHERFORD COLLEGE  The top of a box truck was scraped off after it backed into utility lines Thursday afternoon.

It was around 12:15 p.m. when the North Carolina State Highway Patrol was dispatched to a wreck on Malcolm Boulevard near Harbor Ridge Drive, said Trooper G.A. Metcalf.

A box truck making a delivery to a house on Malcolm Boulevard backed into some utility lines, Metcalf said. The utility lines scraped the top of the box truck off, causing it to overturn and land on its side.

The driver of the truck wasnt injured in the crash.

Lovelady Fire and Rescue responded to the wreck along with NCSHP.
Ron Chernow wrote a wonderful biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Chernow presents Grant as a gracious man whose life was filled with conflict.

He had a domineering father, early life business failures, a challenging life in the army in the Mexican war, separation from wife and family because of his service, terrible battles in the Civil war, conflict as president with reconstruction, violent racism in the South, failures in business ventures, throat cancer that ended his life.

Through all this, he had a loving family life and living his Methodist faith with courage and integrity till his death. During this Lenten season we focus on the person of Jesus, who was a man of integrity, who challenged false religion in the temple cleansing story, announced the new temple of his body, all of which led to the conflict of the cross.

We all have times of conflict and find we need to endure it (another word for faith), wade through the difficulty, hold onto our values and boundaries and trust that God will power us through the difficulties.

Sometimes we need to settle for progress and not perfection in the outcomes.

We also have learned that "peace at any price" can lead to the price being too high, and we need to stand our ground and hold on to our principles no matter the cost. There is, however, often room for honest and loving compromise.

The honest truth is that most often our conflicts have led us to integrity with life lessons that have brought us to spiritual maturity. May the lessons of this season of Lent lead us to that spiritual growth that the Lord has in mind for us and bring us Easter Joy.
After 26 months of court filings, two 11th-hour postponements and other legal twists and turns, two men will go on trial Monday for a bounty hunt in Butte that went sideways and turned fatal.

Jay Steven Hubber and Nicholas John Jaeger are charged with aggravated burglary and deliberate homicide in the December 2021 shooting death of 42-year-old William Harris. He was not the fugitive they were after.

The trial comes 10 months after state lawmakers, prompted mostly by the deadly incident in Butte, passed legislation designed to curb Wild West bounty-hunting tactics in Montana.

The jury is still out on whether the new law is making a difference, and regardless, this trial and rulings already made in the case could set new legal precedents on their own or on appeal.

Prosecutors say Hubber and Jaeger barged into Harris home on Dec. 19, 2021, looking for bail-jumper David Sandoval, and during a struggle with him, Harris was fatally shot.

Defense attorneys say it was a trap house where drugs were used and sold and their clients were being attacked or threatened by one or more people inside, including Harris.

Prosecutors could call nearly 30 people to testify and defense lawyers could have many others take the stand. The witness lists include the actual target of the bounty hunt  Sandoval  and several others who were in the house.

One defense witness is now in the Montana State Prison and can, according to court motions, shed light on the case based on jailhouse talks he had with Sandoval. Subpoenas to appear were also issued to three people listed as homeless.

Family members of the victim and defendants might also testify. Several relatives of Jaeger demonstrated at the courthouse this week with signs that said he acted in self-defense.

District Judge Robert Whelan will preside over the trial, which could take two weeks. Jury selection will start at 9 a.m. Monday at the Maroon Activity Center but the trial itself will be in Whelans courtroom in Butte.

Twice last year, trials in the case were called off just days from their start because of medical emergencies  the first involving Jaegers attorney, David Maldonado, the second sidelining Hubbers lawyer, Palmer Hoovestal.

Just this week, Hoovestal made an 11th-hour request for the Montana Supreme Court to intervene in the case and stay proceedings.

He said Whelan has wrongly concluded that a bondsman privilege does not exist in Montana so Jaeger and Hubber are prohibited from asserting or presenting evidence that either had legal rights to enter Harris home.

Hoovestal says that guts defenses for Hubber, who was a licensed bondsman at the time, and unless justices intervened and reversed Whelans stance, Hubber will undoubtedly be convicted.

The Montana Supreme Court declined to get involved now, saying Hubber could raise that and other issues on appeal if convicted.

Prosecutors say Hubber and Jaeger charged into Harris home looking for Sandoval, who was wanted on bench warrants in cases involving drug, theft and burglary charges. Jaeger, a convicted felon, was assisting Hubber in the bounty hunt.

Hubber used a taser on Sandoval and during a struggle, Jaeger took a gun from Hubber and shot Harris, prosecutors allege. Harris was dead when police arrived and Sandoval got away briefly.

Prosecutors say Hubber and Jaeger had no right to barge into Harris home in the first place and in the course of events, an innocent homeowner was killed.

Jaeger says he used justifiable force to protect Hubber and himself and says the incident took place in a trap house operated by Harris where known fugitives, renegades and outlaws routinely gather. He has said in recent court motions that Harris was armed with a knife.

Maldonado, Jaegers attorney, gave a statement to The Montana Standard on Friday.

We look forward to vindicating Nick Jaeger and showing that he was faced with the most difficult decision when he defended himself, choosing between his life and a person coming at him with a knife, Maldonado said. We believe Nick acted in self-defense.

In court motions, Hubber also says it was a trap house, Sandoval was living there, and Hubber was trying to apprehend him on bail contracts he had violated and outstanding warrants.

Hubber says he twice asked for police assistance in the apprehension and was rebuffed, and during the struggle, several others entered the room and one person  possibly Harris  was kicking Hubber in the head.

Jaeger then removed Hubbers handgun from Hubbers holster and fired two shots when Harris went towards Jaeger, Hubbers pre-trial brief says.

Judge Whelan has previously said he would address any claims raised about Harris character at trial, but added, I am not going to have this trial become a trial of the victim.

More than 100 prospective jurors were summonsed to show up at the Maroon Center on Monday. Whelan asked for that many because it could be hard to seat 12 jurors and three alternates who could serve for two weeks.

Besides an extensive witness list, prosecutors want dozens of items admitted as evidence for jurors to see and consider. They include police and autopsy photos, body-cam footage, transcripts of police interviews with suspects and witnesses and toxicology reports on Harris, Hubber and Jaeger.
The Morin sisters approach their work guided by a fundamental principle: No judgment.

They encounter every day people who have been battered by life and living, people often daunted and desperate but deserving, the sisters believe, of dignity and a glimmer of hope.

Many who are homeless or penniless, many who are seeking refuge or a warm coat, have walked tentatively through the door at the Butte Salvation Army Service Center. From experiences elsewhere, some anticipate the scorn, rejection or worse often accompanying interactions with the larger world.

Tina Morin is director of The Salvation Armys service center in Butte.

Dont judge. Thats The Salvation Army approach to things, she said. Give people as much help as you can.

Her sister, Tracey Morin, works as director of social services at the center, which occupies a building off Harrison Avenue.

The Morins say they find inspiration in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the man who stopped to help a traveler who had been beaten, robbed and stripped along the road. Others, including a priest, had failed to stop.

Which is not to say that the sisters compassion and patience arent sometimes tried by especially challenging clients  including one mentally ill man, addicted to alcohol and drugs, whom they said has been banned from many other agencies in town for occasionally threatening behaviors.

God bless him, Tracey said. I got some of his life story and its atrocious. Its not an excuse, its an explanation.

Numbers show that the Butte Salvation Army Service Center stays busy. Its clients include residents of Butte-Silver Bow County along with a host of regional communities, ranging from Philipsburg to Whitehall, from Boulder to Deer Lodge.

And then there are people passing through.

We sit at the confluence of two interstates, so were serving a transient population that is steady, Tina said. And were right across from the bus station.

In addition, inmates discharged from the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge with a bus ticket to Butte often stop to exchange their state-issued civilian clothing for less obviously institutional duds.

The Butte Salvation Army Center at 1229 Harrison Ave. is a thrift shop that doesnt charge for clothing, furnishings and other goods. It offers a host of other services to those who qualify. They include assistance with rent, emergency housing and utility bills. They include fuel cards and phone cards, bus tickets, referrals to other resources, chemical dependency evaluations, vouchers for vehicle repairs, soup and sandwiches and much more.

Ian Anderson, Salvation Armys Colorado-based executive director of service extension, spoke highly of the Morin sisters and their compassionate and capable advocacy.

Tina and Tracey Morin embody and live out The Salvation Army's founding motto of bringing soup, soap and salvation to people in need, Anderson said. They swing open the doors of our Butte Service Center and open their hearts to people facing homelessness, addiction and hardships.

Anderson said the Morins respond with warmth and facility when facing what he described as profound challenges.

The thing that always resonates with me is their willingness and ability to face people who are broken, feel abandoned and have nowhere to go, and they spend time getting to know them, they serve them and they restore their dignity, Anderson said. Across the Intermountain Division, they have one of the hardest jobs in front of them, but they serve with conviction, joy and love.

And tenacity, it seems.

Five years ago, Tina became director of the Butte Salvation Army Service Center after a period of relative inactivity by the Salvation Army in Butte. Soon, recognizing that Tina was being overwhelmed by administrative tasks, The Salvation Army hired Tracey to help staff the center.

Tina and Tracey Morin and their sister Tammie are identical triplets. They grew up in Arlee, where their father, LeRoy, has worked as a rancher and mechanic, and their mother, Alvaretta, has worked the ranch and run the household. The triplets also have a brother and another sister.

The family lived on the Flathead Reservation but its members are not Native American. Yet the Morin sisters feel a special affinity for the first residents of what became Montana.

Native Americans often slip through the cracks of social service agencies, where Indigenous people are often treated differently, Tina said.

Their response, then, is to avoid resources and services, she said.

The Butte Salvation Army works to establish a safe place for Native Americans, she said.

You can come here and ask us for resources, Tina said. Even if you are, you know, impaired, were still going to give you a pair of gloves, were still going to give you a sack lunch. And were still going to try to get you to sign up with our Native American therapist in the back.

Tracey agreed.

She said there is a learned hesitancy among many Native Americans to trust agencies.

Earning trust can be challenging with all races, creeds and colors for individuals who have encountered derision and disregard.

But one man came regularly. The Salvation Army Service Center helped him put tires on the family car and fill its gas tank. After his wife left him and three young girls, the Morins pitched in with housecleaning and hygiene for the girls to try to avoid them being taken by child protective services.

The father struggles with addictions and might always. But he loves his girls, the Morins said.

Two years ago, on St. Patricks Day, the sisters were in Uptown Butte enjoying the parade when they received a phone call from child protective services. The girls had been living in a trap house and just barely making it to school.

The father had listed the Morins as kin. Child protective services wondered whether the Morins could come get the children.

They could and they did. The girls still live with the Morin sisters in Butte. That arrangement is likely to continue. The oldest recently made the honor roll with a straight-A report card.

The Morins were asked how they avoid burning out.

Chocolate ice cream, Tracey said, laughing. Our focus is on the good Lord. We do this work at the Lords direction. And when you keep your focus there instead of looking for the world to pat you on the back, it really helps.

Which is not to say that the focus does not occasionally slip.

There are times when its overwhelming, Tina said. Youll get the annoying person who comes in here. Completely ungrateful. I dont need a lot of thank yous, just some politeness.

Thats when Tracey intervenes and reminds Tina to see the offending person as God sees them.

And it is challenging at times when the Morins invest their hearts and souls in a struggling persons life and future and nothing happens.

Yet there are sustaining moments of grace even with the clients who return again and again. Fundamental human needs get met  for shelter, clothing, food, kindness.

And there are success stories.

Those are people who have come and gotten help and are now, as far as we know, doing well, Tina said.

The Morins helped shepherd one homeless woman into substance abuse rehabilitation and shes now working full time in Helena with aspirations of becoming a licensed addictions counselor.

History records that The Salvation Army came to Butte in 1888. The historic register sign for The Salvation Armys former home in Uptown Butte reports: Expansion of the mining industry during the 1880s bred a darker side to Buttes get rich quick appeal. Foreign-born miners poured into Butte, often arriving hungry and homeless. The large immigrant population, combined with families left indigent through mining-related accidents, generated an acute need for charitable services.

More than 130 years later, the need remains, even though many of the economic and social forces behind it have changed.

Tina said The Salvation Army in Butte has helped some of their adult clients turn their lives around.

Weve seen great success stories, people who have been through rehab and are now successfully living life, she said. But we still have new faces showing up and I dont know how to, for sure, address that.

The Morins said they believe the centers foster care program could help.

If we can reach the kids early on, with assistance that says, Youre important and somebody loves you and you are deserving of a good life, Im hoping they can take a step back from all the resentment that is building about their situation, Tina said.

When The Salvation Army was founded in England 1865 its converts were considered soldiers for Christ. Among co-founder William Booths early converts were thieves, prostitutes, gamblers and drunkards according to the organizations history.

Today, the Morin sisters often offer prayer to and for the people who seek their services.

Nesan Kistan, an intermountain divisional commander for The Salvation Army, commented in a recent organizational magazine article about the Morins approach.

Tina and Tracey represent the very ethos and DNA of The Salvation Army, Kistan said. Ive seen them in action as they pray with people, and they minister to people. Theyre not just giving food and assistance. Theyre giving Christ to people that are most vulnerable.
St. Patricks Church in Butte will be getting a head start with its St. Patricks Day festivities.

On Thursday, March 14, parishioners are asked to gather at 5:30 p.m. at the Butte Civic Centers southside to help set up the parish float for the St. Patricks Day parade. Pizza will also be served.

At 4 p.m. Friday, March 15, the annual Blessing of Slainte at 8 S. Montana St. will take place. The first 40 parishioners to arrive will enjoy a drink courtesy of the parish.

At 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 16, the parish will be partnering with the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce at the intersection of Park and Main to officially start the St. Patricks Day celebration.

Chamber director Stephanie Sorini will welcome visitors and thank the businesses. Bishop Austin Vetter of the Diocese of Helena will bless the gathering. Also, Father Patrick Beretta will remind everyone to use cabs and to be respectful to B-SB Law Enforcement and the people who serve them. He will then place the Butte community under the protection of St. Patrick and declare the 2024 festivities officially open.

To honor St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, and the namesake of Buttes oldest Catholic church, and recognize the fifth Sunday of Lent, a special Mass will be held at 9 a.m. Sunday, March 17, at St. Patricks, 329 W. Mercury St. It will be the only Mass for the North Unit on that day. Bishop Austin Vetter from the Diocese of Helena will be the celebrant and Father Beretta will give the homily, An Adventure in Resilience  How the Irish Healed the Wounds of their Tragic History. In addition, traditional Irish music will be played and there will be a Hibernian procession.

At noon on St. Patricks Day, Bishop Vetter and children from the parish will ride on the church float and bless the crowd. Montana Tech Campus Ministry students and parishioners will follow the float.
In order to determine where people stay put, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most born-and-bred residents in Montana using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Counties are ranked by the highest percentage of residents that were born in the state according to 2020 5-year estimates.
 Flash

China firmly opposes the U.K. statement related to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), and urges the U.K. to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday.

Mao's remarks came after the release of a statement by the U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Feb. 28, which said that the HKSAR government's legislative proposals on Article 23 of the Basic Law do not uphold the obligations of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and it will have a negative impact on the people of Hong Kong in the exercise of their rights and freedoms, and a risk that the work of international organizations in Hong Kong could be labeled as "foreign interference."

"The statement of the U.K. is a gross interference in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, which lays bare again its deeply entrenched colonial mindset and mentality as a 'lecturer'. China firmly opposes it," said Mao.

She said that the "concerns" by the U.K. have no ground. First, the Sino-British Joint Declaration by no means put the U.K. in a position or gave it any right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

Second, one of the principles that guide the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law is to respect and protect human rights, and protect in accordance with the law the rights and freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of relevant international covenants as applied to Hong Kong, Mao said.

Third, the spokesperson added, there is a clear line drawn between acts that constitute an offence that endangers national security, and normal commercial exchanges and activities in the fields of economy, culture, and science and technology. The normal activities of foreign institutions and personnel in the HKSAR will continue to be protected in accordance with law.

It is worth pointing out that the National Security Act of the U.K. that came into force last year contains many provisions with vague definitions and grants law enforcement agencies sweeping power, which can be easily abused, Mao said.

"We urge the U.K. to find the right mindset, face squarely the fact that Hong Kong has already returned to China, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, reflect on its action, and end double standards," said Mao.
Federal officials have required Montana to implement a corrective action plan to improve what they call unacceptable delays in processing food assistance applications, a problem that the state health department has attributed to the strain that Medicaid redeterminations have created for its workforce over the last year.

In a Nov. 21 letter received by Montana Free Press through a public records request, which has not been previously reported, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition Service informed Montana health department officials that the state agencys rate for timely application processing for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dropped to about 84% in the first half of 2023, more than 10 percentage points below the rate that federal officials consider acceptable.

Montana is severely out of compliance with federal requirements related to SNAP [application processing timeliness]. This has resulted in a hardship to needy households across Montana who are not consistently receiving access to SNAP benefits within 7 or 30 days, the letter stated.

The letter also pointed out that the states timeliness rate for processing applications has been declining since the latter part of 2022. From July through December of that year, the Agriculture Department wrote, Montana had a timeliness processing rate of about 92%. But between October 2022 and March of the following year, that figure dropped to just under 90%.

The federal agency wrote that Montanas continued decline in timeliness is concerning, even as the department acknowledged the difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal public health emergency was the original reason states were temporarily restricted from reviewing Medicaid eligibility, creating the mass redetermination process that began last spring.

[Food and Nutrition Services] recognizes the challenges states have faced after the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, however, low [processing] rates have a real and significant impact on eligible families who struggle to put food on the table. Timely application processing is paramount to customer service and meeting families nutrition needs, the letter states.

In a letter sent to Gov. Greg Gianforte earlier this month, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack also flagged Montana for being marginally out of compliance with its rates of over- and under-payments to benefit recipients and a federally determined error rate for denying, terminating or pausing a households SNAP benefits. The letter noted that the states metrics in those categories seemed to be improving, but urged Montana to improve its processes nonetheless. Similar letters were sent to 46 other state governors.

Timely and accurate SNAP processing is critical to meeting the nutrition needs of low-income families and protecting the integrity of SNAP. Americans in need should have access to essential benefits without unnecessary delays, Vilsack wrote in the February letter. People should not lose access to food because States are unable to review their applications in a timely fashion.

The ripple effects of the Medicaid redetermination process and other pandemic-era changes to safety-net programs have been scrutinized by food policy experts in Montana and nationwide. In a November article by the national health news outlet KFF about the strain on the states food assistance application process, published a week after Montana received notice of the corrective plan, state health department spokesperson Jon Ebelt said SNAP applications were being processed in a timely fashion.

As of January, the states public dashboard shows that SNAP enrollment was down by more than 4,000 people compared to April 2023, the month the Medicaid redetermination process began. During that same time, the number of applications for food assistance had generally increased month over month.

In comments to MTFP this week, Ebelt said that according to USDA, Montana is one of 20 states subject to a corrective action plan.

He also said the federal standard for SNAP processing timeliness does not distinguish between delays caused by clients and [delays caused by] DPHHS. For example, if a client calls to complete an interview on day 30 and verifications are required, we typically allow additional time to collect verifications without denying the case. He declined to provide an additional comment from the department about the corrective action plan.

Wren Grealey, advocacy manager with the Montana Food Bank Network, said the organization has significant concerns about the issues raised by federal officials in recent months. She said the nonprofit has seen an uptick in calls to its helpline during the last few months of Medicaid redetermination as people struggle with long wait times for phone calls and face-to-face meetings at state public assistance offices.

Many Montanans who are struggling most to secure benefits, she said, are older residents and people in rural communities where services can be harder to access.

Were seeing a lot of older people really frustrated with the system and concerned about putting food on the table for the next month, she said. Other families, she said, are panicking because their SNAP didnt come in as expected.

The states corrective action plan was due within 30 days of receipt of the November letter. A copy of that plan, also obtained by MTFP through a public records request, shows that state health department officials attributed the Medicaid redetermination process as one of the root causes of the slowdown in processing food assistance applications.

Beginning in April, the state wrote, its agency began vetting 330,000 Medicaid renewals on a rolling basis, which required longer than normal processing times and additional requests for contact and clarification from Medicaid beneficiaries. Although the food assistance program can be handled separately, the department wrote, The factors surrounding delayed [Medicaid] renewals contributed to an increased workload for eligibility staff which impacted processing time for all programs.

The plan said training staff to handle Medicaid redeterminations took priority for much of 2023, making it harder to keep employees up to speed on applications for SNAP and other public assistance programs. Additional staff were approved to handle SNAP applications throughout December, a strategy the department said would improve processing times.

Delays in interviewing SNAP applicants stemming from busy phone lines was another factor, the department said, a problem it also linked to the surge in Medicaid callers.

[W]e received more calls related to Medicaid cases which tied up callback slots and increased wait times making it more difficult for SNAP recipients to complete interviews early in the month, the department wrote, adding that it has made changes to the states public assistance helpline and added callback slots specifically for SNAP applicants. Callers who still wish to talk to an eligibility worker are placed back into the call queue. This allows more state workers to be available to complete SNAP interviews and call backs.

The federal agencys November letter did not specify how long corrective action will be required, but said it will work with the state to facilitate a steady improvement in processing times over the coming months. If the department does not improve its processing timeliness by at least 5 percentage points every six months, the letter says, federal officials may issue additional warnings for noncompliance.
Get ready for a getaway with the girls to downtown Muscatine.

For the 14th year in a row, the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry, alongside the many businesses of Downtown Muscatine, will be giving local and visiting women a chance to eat, drink, shop and enjoy their own Saturday getaway experience.

Starting this week, residents have the chance to purchase tickets for the event, which will be held on Saturday, April 6. In order to fully enjoy the many goodies offered through the event, guests are advised to purchase their tickets early, with those who sign up by March 25 will receive an official Girls Getaway swag bag.

Kicking off the getaway will be a mimosa-featured brunch, a style show presented by the Halltree Boutique, and fun door prizes at The Merrill Hotel ballroom from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., with doors opening at 9 a.m.

From there, guests will be given a detailed list of all that days specials and activities to enjoy during the rest of the day. More than 20 businesses already are expected to participate in this years getaway, with more businesses potentially being added later on.

2024 getaway businesses include:

Be Your Best You Health & Wellness, which will be offering 20% off injections and drawings for free red-light sessions. Guests will also be able to sample its red light on your face, and those who sign up and pay for a future red-light treatment on the day of event will get 10% off. Travelin' Sips photo booth will be there for fun pictures and will provide cocktails.

Contrary Brewing, which will be offering BOGO on beverages for getaway guests, as well as Creations By Oz, which will be offering wine tasting, drink specials, hors d'oeuvres, in-store specials, and giveaways.

CryoWellness of Muscatine, which will be giving out samples of its services. The first 20 people who visit will also receive a free CryoWellness gift basket which will include a free service.

Feather Your Next Interiors, which will be offering 10% off your entire purchase, as well as Flipped Out Furniture, which will be offering refreshments to guests alongside in-store specials.

Fluidsolution IV Wellness, which will give guests the chance to try out its full body zero gravity massage chair for free. Light snacks and non-alcoholic refreshments will also be provided.

Good Karma Jewelry and Bead Studio, now at its new location, will be offering 15% off all jewelry as well as the opportunity to make a beaded bracelet at its bead buffet.

Other businesses include LivLeo Apparel, Meg's Vintage Collective, Missipi Brew, the National Pearl Button Museum, Persnickety Boutique, Port City Underground, Real Estate Resource Associates, RED&LEE Vintage, Salon Incognito and The HallTree Boutique, as well as Where the Flowers Are Farm, which will have pop-up locations at the Merrill Soap Company & Sal's Take & Bake.

Girls Getaway tickets are $45 each and can be purchased at https://girlsgetaway2024.eventbrite.com. For more information on participating businesses or for any event updates, residents can visit www.muscatine.com/events or the Downtown Muscatine Facebook page.
DES MOINES  Iowa House Republicans passed a bill late Wednesday night, after lengthy debate and vocal opposition by Democrats, that would create a new permitting process for Iowa school districts to arm trained staff.

House File 2586 passed on a party-line vote, 61-34, at around 11 p.m. following nearly two hours of debate, with Democrats opposed. The bill now heads to the Iowa Senate for consideration.

Iowa Code currently allows approved school staff to carry a gun on campus, should they choose. Two districts in northwest Iowa put policies in place but rescinded them last year to avoid being dropped by their insurance carrier for liability coverage.

This years legislation looks to address insurers concerns by putting in place a new permitting process that allows employees at Iowas public and private schools and colleges to carry a firearm on school grounds during school hours. It would also provide qualified immunity and indemnify school districts from criminal or civil liability for all damages incurred pursuant to the application of reasonable force.

Theres no mention of insurance in the bill. House Republican lawmakers said their intent is to bring insurers back to the table, and said theyre confident the permitting, training and indemnity provisions in the bill will alleviate insurers concerns.

School districts would not be required to arm staff. Rather, the bill provides requirements for those districts that choose to do so.

This bill sets a very high standard because we are talking about the safety of our children, said Rep. Phil Thompson, R-Boone, lead sponsor of the bill and chair of the House Public Safety Committee.

The bar must be high. We recognize that this responsibility must be taken very seriously, Thompson said. The strict training regimen outlined in this bill ensures that the employees who acquire this permit are equipped with the skills and proficiency to act appropriately in the event of an emergency.

In order to receive a professional permit to carry weapons, employees would have to pass an annual background check and complete a firearms safety course, in addition to one-time legal training on issues like qualified immunity. They would also have annual communication and emergency medical trainings approved by the Iowa Department of Public Safety, plus quarterly live firearms training.

The bill also would require school districts with at least 8,000 students  among them Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Council Bluffs, Iowa City and Sioux City  to have at least one armed private security guard or school resource officer in each district high school. Districts could opt out of the requirement for having an armed security officer at a high school by a vote of the school board.

Schools with fewer than 8,000 students would be encouraged, but not required, to employ school resource officers or security officers at high schools. The state would establish a school security personnel grant program fund that would match up to $50,000 for employing security personnel.

Identities of school staff issued a weapons permit would be confidential and not subject to disclosure under Iowas open records law.

"I dont have a choice of knowing of how many guns are around my second-grader, House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said.   I dont have a choice of knowing whether Mrs. Kennedy or Mrs. Smith is the teacher I want if I dont want my kids teacher to have a gun.

Staff in the district would be allowed to carry concealed weapons during school hours. It would be up to districts to decide which firearms staff could carry and whether the district would provide those or allow use of personal firearms, Thompson said.

The move comes in the wake of a January shooting at Perry High School that killed 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff, a sixth-grader, and Principal Dan Marburger. Six other people were injured in the shooting. The 17-year-old student who opened fire died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.

Supporters of the bill said the fastest way to respond to a school shooting is to have armed personnel on site, trained and available to respond at a moment's notice.

Parents, law enforcement and school superintendents from rural communities, as well as gun rights activists, have said while school resource officers play an important role in Iowa schools, it is unrealistic to expect a single police officer is always going to be at the right place at just the right time should tragedy strike.

They noted the Perry Community School District employs a full-time school resource officer, and said rural districts do not have the same access to nearby or fully-staffed police or sheriffs departments as those in urban Iowa.

People with bad intentions are going to do bad thing. People with good intentions are there to stop them, said House Majority Leader Matt Windschitl, R-Missouri Valley.   Look at the data. Look at the statistics. Seconds count. Seconds, save lives.

House Democrats oppose arming teachers, citing risks to staff and students. Rather, they said, lawmakers should instead pursue an evidence-based intervention plan that addresses school gun violence and they advocated for providing resources for mental health services.

Most professional education organizations have rejected the call to arm teachers, as has the National Association of School Resource Officers and the American Bar Association.

Opponents said an armed teacher is much more likely to shoot a student bystander or be shot by responding law enforcement than to be an effective solution to an active shooter in a school.

If Im carrying a gun and theres a threat at the door, the thing that stands between me and a threat is 26 kids that I would take a bullet for, said Rep. Molly Buck, a teacher and Democrat from Ankeny. I could never live with myself if I put a bullet in one of them.

Buck noted shes been trained that if theres an armed intruder to safely evacuate students or shelter in place and barricade themselves if theres no safe way out.

If I choose to be armed, what then is my role? Is my role to stay with my kids and keep them safe, or does my role then become to go after an intruder? Buck said.

Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said insurance companies are hesitant to cover schools due to lack of data on staff safety.

There is no data on what would happen if we arm staff in schools, she said. There are too many unknowns, and the risks are high. The risks are unsecured guns left in a restroom, locker room, unlocked desk drawer and a young, curious student finding it and experimenting.

"This bill puts more children in the line of fire and nothing is more frightening.

Rep. J.D. Scholten, D-Sioux City, said there have been more than 100 publicly reported incidents of mishandled guns at schools in the last five years, including a teacher accidentally firing a gun during a safety demonstration.

Wessel-Kroeschell emphasized the need for more adults in schools, rather than armed teachers, to address safety concerns and prevent violence, including providing funding for schools to hire specialists to help students with homelessness, poverty, bullying and more.

"I believe that every student in Iowa deserves to be safe in school. And I believe that every parent deserves to know their child is safe in school, Wessel-Kroeschell said. I want Iowa to make our students safe. Arming teachers does not get us there."

Instead, Democrats urged Republican lawmakers to prioritize violence prevention, intervention and sensible gun safety laws.

The Republican solution to school safety is more guns, said Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque. Iowans are crying out to us for common sense gun safety laws. Iowans want to see universal background checks and investment in safety infrastructure in our schools. The encouragement of safe storage awareness. They want to see legislation on extreme risk protection orders. They want to see an investment in mental health these are the common sense gun safety solutions that Iowans want to see.

Windschitl said House Republicans are moving forward separate bills to address mental health and to bolster school security infrastructure.

This is a broad-spectrum approach. While it may not be all-encompassed in this one House file, we are working on multiple different aspects to provide the safety and protection and quality of education and the environment for our children to grow and prosper, he said. We can all work together on this and we can provide the safety that our children deserve.
Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu said that investigations into recent deaths involving school-going children are underway, and those found culpable shall be brought to book.

Legislators pressed Machogu on Wednesday to indicate whether the ministry had implemented new measures to safeguard the lives of learners.

The CS acknowledged the dangers posed by current school bus designs, which have led to grisly accidents.

In a separate event in Nyeri County, CS Machogu stated that the government is taking steps to ensure that schools across the country have the necessary infrastructure to enhance the quality of education.

Machogu noted that the government has allocated a conditional grant of Ksh3.39 billion to NG-CDF for the construction of Integrated Resource Centres and classrooms in Junior Schools by 2025 to accommodate the first-grade 9 learners.

Furthermore, an additional Ksh9 billion will be provided by the World Bank to support the construction of 9,000 classrooms.

The CS also called on all education stakeholders to support the governments sector-wide reforms following the recommendations of the Presidential Working Party on Education Reforms.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has urged applicants to access the KUCCPS portal and apply for their preferred courses, including degrees, diplomas, craft certificates, or artisan programs offered in universities, colleges, and TVET institutions before the deadline.

As of February 25, 2024, at least 60.8 percent of the applicants who scored a C+ and above (121,391) have already successfully applied to various courses.
The Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) has flagged musicians Chris Embarambamba and William Getumbe over their latest releases, deeming them unsuitable for public consumption, particularly among children.

Chris Embarambambas song, Niko Uchi, has ignited controversy due to its purported gospel theme, which the KFCB argues mocks the Christian religion.

Additionally, the song allegedly includes nudity, and vulgarity, and promotes violent and imitable behaviors, raising concerns about its potential impact on impressionable audiences, especially minors.

Similarly, William Getumbes track, Yesu Ninyandue, has faced criticism for its blasphemous nature and potential to offend religious sensitivities.

KFCB has banned both songs while threatening legal action against the musicians.

On Wednesday, KFCB Acting CEO Nelly Muluka issued a statement identifying Embarambamba and Getumbes works as violating the Films and Stage Plays Act Cap 222 of the Laws of Kenya. This legislation mandates the examination and approval of all content before public distribution or exhibition.

The song titled: Niko Uchi, which is purported gospel invites ridicule to the Christian religion, also contains nudity, vulgarity. It has further been noted that some of the artists dancing styles are violent and others present imitable behaviour, which if copied by children/minors, can be dangerous and disastrous, Muluka said.

KFCB has sent demand letters to Chris Embarambamba and William Getumbe, instructing them to remove any inappropriate content from their respective platforms. Non-compliance with these directives may lead to legal repercussions, as outlined by the Films and Stage Plays Act Cap 222.

Additionally, the KFCB has contacted relevant media platforms, directing them to take down the tracks.

The board at the same time highlighted religious performances by a Bishop known as Johanna, accusing him of using his religious influence to mislead the public through indecent exposure performances with sexual innuendos among other concerns.

Simultaneously, the KFCB CEO asserts that the board maintains its vigilance in enforcing compliance with established regulations. The goal is to promote responsible content creation within the Kenyan creative industry.
President William Ruto has urged the international community to form a huge coalition for collective climate action.

The President expressed concerns over the escalating adverse impacts of climate change, which pose significant threats to humanity.

He said despite increased awareness and efforts, global greenhouse gas emissions are still on the rise.

Pollution patterns are veering in an alarming direction and biodiversity is confronted with escalating threats along with the risk of an accelerating rate of loss, he said.

Additionally, the President said: Undoubtedly, we collectively appreciate this predicament, yet our track record on course correcting is mixed.

He made the remarks on Thursday during the Sixth Session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, UNEA-6, at Gigiri in Nairobi.

The Head of State said UN Member States must work together to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

No economy, community or nation can tackle these challenges single-handedly with any hope of success, he said.

At the same time, President Ruto urged the global community to support Africas position that the Secretariat of the Treaty be headquartered at UNEP.

Present were Presidents Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Somalia), Mokgweetsi Masisi (Botswana), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), Brice Oligui (Gabon), Vice-Presidents (Kembo Mohadi (Zimbabwe), Moussa Al-Kouni (Libya), Prime Ministers Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia), Gervais Ndirakobuca (Burundi), Russell Dlamini (Eswatini), and Edouard Ngirente (Rwanda).

Also present were Ms Leila Benali, President of UNEA 6, United Nations General Assembly President Dennis Francis, UNEP Director-General Inger Andersen and President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Paula Narvaez.

By the Presidential Communication Service
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has claimed that she has received threats due to her stance on the closure of the War Memorial Hospital in the County.

Speaking at the Senate on Wednesday, Karanja alleged that the county leadership is actively working to undermine her role as the Senator of Nakuru County. She claimed that this has escalated to the point where she has been receiving threatening calls from strange numbers following her differences with Governor Kihika.

I come from a county where I think everybody knows that intimidation, blackmailing and frustrations is the order of the day I think everybody knows what the governor is doing to undermine my oversight role is beyond this world.

Ive even been called on private numbers, Ive been threatened, youve never seen me enter here like a mlevi (drunkard) but I have been called mlevi and all sorts of names, Karanja said.

She also claimed that hired thugs were responsible for the recent disruption of peaceful demonstrations in Nakuru by lawyers protesting the ongoing disobedience of court orders.

You saw Chief Justice Martha Koome saying how the governor had disobeyed court orders, said Tabitha.

Karanja urged the Senate Standing Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, and Human Rights to write to the Nakuru county leadership. She further stated that the Council of Governors should caution the Nakuru county executive and other governors who allegedly defy court orders, emphasizing that such actions could jeopardize the essence of devolution.

We need a legal committee to write a letter to the governor and warn her that if she continues in this manner, the senator will bring a vote of no confidence to this house, the senator warned.
The first round from a cold winter storm descending from Alaska brought blinding snow to the Sierra Nevada and, at its heaviest, sheets of sideways rain to the Bay Area on Thursday.

To hear the National Weather Service tell it, that was simply a warm-up for the second round.

The next rain will be heavier, probably the heaviest that were going to have during this three-day storm period, meteorologist Nicole Sarment said Friday morning. But really, the biggest story is the cold thats coming with it.

Thursday in the Bay Area, most cities received between a quarter-inch and a three-quarters of an inch of rain, with the city of Napa receiving 0.35 inch at the Lincoln Avenue bridge over the Napa River. Ben Lomond in the Santa Cruz Mountains had recorded 1 inches of rain in a 24-hour period ending at 5 a.m. Friday, and Valley Christian in the same area had 1.9 inches, the two highest totals. An inch fell on St. Helena in Napa County and 1 inches fell atop Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County.

Elsewhere, four-tenths of an inch fell in Dublin in Alameda County; a quarter-inch fell at Oakland International Airport and in Redwood City, and two-tenths of an inch fell in Concord. San Jose did not receive measurable rain, according to the weather service.

Most Bay Area residents seemed to survive the initial pounding with their power intact. PG&Es power outage map did not show any major power losses of more than 500 customers in the region Friday morning.

The next round of precipitation was expected to arrive with a fury late Friday afternoon or early evening to be followed by another round of rain Saturday. Up to a half-inch was forecast on Saturday at Napa County Airport, according to the weather service.

Sarment said that by Sunday, most of the storm will have cleared the area, but there may still be occasional isolated showers.

The storm has its origins in the Gulf of Alaska and its low-pressure system has absorbed cold, arctic air. Thus, the rain and snow still to come will bring with them temperatures that are chillier than usual, Sarment said.

For the Bay Area, that is likely to mean temperatures that dont get above the mid-50s until early next week. For the Sierra Nevada and Tahoe area, it means temperatures that wont escape the 30s.

Winds also are likely to whip around. A wind advisory for the region was set to go into effect at noon Friday and last through 10 a.m. Saturday. Winds were expected to gust in most places in excess of 40 mph.

In the Sierra Nevada, the storm brought what forecasters called life-threatening conditions. A blizzard warning remained in effect through 10 a.m. Saturday.

Seventeen inches of snow fell at Northstar California Resort in Truckee in the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Friday. Boreal Ridge, Soda Springs, and Sugar Bowl Resort all received 14 inches in the same period; 12 inches fell at Kirkwood and 10 inches fell at Heavenly Valley.

Drivers on Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 50 were required to use chains or four-wheel-drive. Authorities recommended not making an attempt to drive through the storms unless absolutely necessary.

Photos: First look at JCB St. Helena
Two poll workers unintentionally rattled David Bohlken two decades ago when he walked into a petite country church near Tulsa to vote for his first time as an Oklahoman.

They wouldnt offer him a ballot. Only a cup of coffee.

The ballot got flipped upside down on me. I wasnt even allowed to look at it, Bohlken said, noting that the two apologetic poll volunteers  his friends  were just doing their jobs. That kind of made me feel bad.

Bohlken grew up in Minnesota, a state with open primaries, where all registered voters may participate in any partys primary election. He didnt realize his status as a registered independent in Oklahoma would exclude him from partisan primaries.

Millions of voters in states like Oklahoma with primaries that are at least partially closed are shut out from voting in contested races because of their independent status or party affiliation, denying participation in elections their tax dollars fund.

In some cases, those primaries decide who wins the seat outright.

Across nine closed or partially closed primary states, about two in five registered voters in districts with contested U.S. Congressional primary elections in the 2022 midterms were barred from casting ballots in those races, according to a Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team analysis of publicly available data.

Similarly, about two in five registered voters throughout those nine states in districts with contested state legislative primaries in 2022 were prohibited from participation.

In 181 of those 590 contested federal and state primaries, disallowed voters were entirely blocked from a choice in who represents them because the primaries decided who won the office  either directly or with an uncontested general election, according to Lee Enterprises analysis.

Thats almost one in three districts where the excluded voters had no say in their representation.

Jeremy Gruber, a lawyer and senior vice president of Open Primaries, a national advocacy group, frames the issue in stark terms.

There's a country where when you vote in the general election, half the time there's only one person on the ballot. Almost every time it's an uncompetitive election, and half the voters in the country are barred from the first round or limited, Gruber said. And even the voters that can participate are segregated into warring camps. People would say, Well, that doesn't make sense. That doesn't sound democratic.

Where is that? What strange country has that system? But that's us. That's our system.

Gruber is part of a burgeoning movement across the U.S. to open up primaries so all registered voters can participate.

As the 2024 election season begins, there are already about a dozen active campaigns in states across the U.S., including Oklahoma, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Idaho.

Proponents who are pushing for changes  through citizen-led ballot initiatives, state law changes or even lawsuits  say open primaries strengthen American democracy by allowing all registered voters equal access to taxpayer-funded elections while broadening voter choice and improving outcomes through competition.

But open primary efforts are running up against opposition from some political party leaders and partisans who think only party members should choose their candidates for the general election.

In the 20 years since Bohlken first tried to vote in Oklahoma, the states Democratic Party has opened its primaries to independent voters. But neither Republicans nor Libertarians have followed suit.

State Sen. Nathan Dahm, chair of the Oklahoma GOP, said he adamantly opposes open primaries because political parties are private organizations with specific ideals that should be able to decide who participates in their affairs  primary elections included.

"You don't want the out-of-town atheist coming in and voting on who your next pastor should be in your church," Dahm said.

Dahm said no requirements force a person to vote in a primary. In fact, he said, most registered voters don't participate. And many citizens aren't even registered to vote.

"The purpose of the primary is for the party to determine who they want to be their nominee," Dahm said.

However, primaries often are where the real decisions are made, Gruber said. General elections in most state and federal races have ceased to be determinative, he said, becoming more of a dance  a formality.

All of a sudden, we've allowed the parties to control the process that we pay for  that our tax dollars pay for  and it's perverted our democracy in all kinds of ways, Gruber said.

Most U.S. states have some form of open primary  even if advocates like Gruber argue they're more limited or less inclusive than they should be. He emphasized that the de facto model for municipal governments are nonpartisan elections, which he said are effective and elicit the highest satisfaction in voter surveys.

Bohlken, a farmer and rancher who lives in Leonard, an unincorporated town near Tulsa, described his move to Oklahoma from Minnesota as a sort of slap in the face politically. His voting power was erased from primaries that his tax dollars support.

As an independent, he prefers to carefully consider candidates from both sides of the aisle.

I feel like I hesitate to say this out loud, but the primaries seem to drive a lot of real zealots  some people who are really extreme in their views, Bohlken said. So those few people who can show up for a primary really determine whos going to be put in office. And that just kind of freaks me out.

What research has found

The high level of voter disenfranchisement that Lee Enterprises analysis found in states such as Oklahoma was surprising even to a researcher who studies open primaries.

Thats nuts, said John Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University in Wisconsin, a state with open primaries. Johnson said he would be angry if he lived in a state in which he couldnt participate in the primary, particularly if the general election wasnt competitive.

In stark contrast, Wisconsins open primary system doesnt require voters to register with a party and allows them to decide in which partys primary they want to vote.

Its mostly people just voting with the party that they prefer, and then when they cross over its because they genuinely feel some stake in the contest thats happening inside the other party, Jo hnson said.

Johnsons research has found that crossover voting  when Republicans vote in a Democratic primary, for example  happens at such low levels as to be inconsequential in swaying the results, despite fears of party-raiding expressed by opponents of open primaries.

In analyzing both the 2016 and 2018 Wisconsin primaries, an identical share of Republicans and Democrats  2%  crossed over to the opposite party.

Even if this tiny share of people were indeed party raiding, they canceled each other out, Johnson wrote in a summary of the study. But there is no good evidence suggesting they werent voting in good faith.

Still, high-profile stories of voters trying to disrupt primary elections pop up.

For example, some Democratic and independent voters in Wyoming crossed over to the Republican primary in 2022 to try to save former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney from her GOP challenger. They were unsuccessful as Cheney lost by more than 30 percentage points.

Johnson thinks the academic literature is pretty settled in that open primaries dont cause harm  but they do increase voter turnout.

The Bipartisan Policy Center examined the 2022 midterm primaries and found that open primary states had higher voter turnout on average than closed primary states.

The average turnout was 24.5% in states with fully open primaries or what are referred to as top-two or top-four formats, according to Bipartisan Policy Centers analysis. Meanwhile, average turnout was just 21.5% in states with semi-open primaries and 20.7% in states with closed primaries.

Fully open primaries allow individuals to decide in which partys primary they want to vote. Top-two or top-four formats place all candidates on a common ballot for all voters, with the top vote-getters advancing to the general election.

Generally, partially open primaries permit independent or unaffiliated voters to choose a partys primary but dont allow party members to switch to another partys primary.

Closed primaries only authorize party members to vote and only within their designated party. And partially closed primaries let the recognized parties decide whether any independent or unaffiliated or minor party voters can participate.

Primary systems can be nuanced and vary widely by state.

For example, Nevada and New Mexico  technically closed primary states  allow any person to register to vote or switch parties at the polls on primary day.

Other state deadlines for switching parties are weeks or months in advance of primary elections.

Wyoming, for example, requires that individuals who want to change or declare a new party affiliation for the primary must do so before the candidate filing period even begins.

Oklahoma Republican mayor reverses view

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, is now one of the faces of a grassroots movement to open up the Sooner states primaries, called Oklahoma United For Progress.

But a decade earlier, he said he wrongly campaigned against the concept.

Bynum, then a city councilor, opposed the citizen-led ballot question that made Tulsas municipal elections nonpartisan on his mistaken belief that political parties fundamentally are supposed to educate and motivate voters. He had feared voter interest would wane in a nonpartisan process.

At the core of Bynums change of heart?

He said he unexpectedly unseated the Republican incumbent for mayor in 2016 by building a broad coalition that he couldnt have mobilized in a partisan primary. And contrary to his belief, average voter turnout in the three mayoral primaries after Tulsa switched to nonpartisan elections rose 35% compared to the same period before the reform.

In his 2020 re-election bid, Bynum said the center held despite a strong primary challenge from his ideological left and right opponents.

The fact that Im sitting here as a mayor right now and didnt lose in 2020 is testament to the fact that most people are not in the vocal, angry extremes, Bynum told a crowd in July at a burger restaurant in Oklahoma City. Most people are in between there somewhere, but theyre not as loud.

The Lee Enterprises analysis of publicly available voter data for the 2022 midterm primary illustrates how Oklahomas partially closed system  and others like it  stifles voter participation.

In districts with contested U.S. House races, about 49% of registered voters  or 889,880 eligible Oklahomans  were shut out from casting a ballot in them.

Similarly, about 45% of registered voters  or 350,669 eligible Oklahomans  in contested State House races and about 40%  or 252,197  in contested State Senate races were blocked from voting in them.

And 31 of those 52 contested state and federal seats  about 60%  were decided outright by the primary and not the general election, meaning hundreds of thousands of registered voters who were disallowed a primary voice had no vote at all for who would represent them in public office.

Bynum called that data one of the great arguments in favor of open primaries. From a democracy standpoint, he said, its much better to have elected leaders chosen by all of the people  not half of half the people, in many cases.

Dahm, who has been chair of the Oklahoma GOP since May, said it isn't fair to consider closed primaries as keeping voters from participating because all someone has to do is register with the party.

He said Democrats weren't pushing for open primaries when they had control of the state 20 years ago.

"What happened is Republicans organized better," Dahm said. "We got better candidates  people that better represent the will of the people in those districts  and we flipped those seats from Democrat seats to Republican seats.

"And if those people want to continue to participate in that, they can become registered Republicans."

Privately, Bynum said he hears from many elected officials who support the open primaries effort but wont do so in the open.

The party in control in a state  no matter whether Republican or Democrat  doesnt have incentive to change a system that could loosen its grip on power, he said.

He said he is sticking out his neck publicly for a shot at generational change because he sees better focus on policy and improved outcomes in nonpartisan races.

I think a fear of (open primaries) would betray a lack of confidence in the ideas that one political party or another is supporting, Bynum said.

Organized party pushback in some states like Missouri

While momentum to open up primaries is building among the countrys independent voters, some states  including Missouri, Tennessee and Ohio  are facing action in the other direction, forcing advocates to play defense.

In Missouri, voting rights advocates like Denise Lieberman of the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition so far have successfully staved off Republican efforts to close the states open primaries, but the threat is constantly looming, she said.

Major changes to the states voting system already have taken place, such as the 2022 elimination of the Republican presidential primary election in favor of a caucus system, which tends to encourage participation by loyal party members and decrease turnout overall.

This is all part of a national trend to constrict who is able to cast a ballot, Lieberman said. I do think these efforts to close primaries that weve seen in about a half-dozen states are part of this effort to make the electorate smaller.

Lieberman said a consequence of shutting out voters from primaries is making them feel like it was rigged from the beginning.

What we know from the data is that fewer and fewer people are choosing to affiliate with the major political parties, Lieberman said. If you have no say in who the party candidate is going to be, why even bother to show up at the general election to vote?

It remains to be seen what happens in this legislative session in Missouri. A Republican state senator who last year sponsored a bill to close primary elections, Sen. Andrew Koenig, doesnt appear to be focused on it in 2024.

Dave Evans, communications director for the senator, said I dont know that thats an issue thats going to be a burning issue this year.

But Evans said the senators view hasnt changed on the matter.

In fact, the Missouri Republican Party states on its party platform that it believes in closed primaries requiring all voters who cast a ballot to declare a partisan affiliation and maintain declared party affiliations as a public record.

Political parties are in fact private organizations, Evans said. They ought to have the right to have freedom of association like any other group.

Independents the new plurality in Arizona

In swing-state Arizona, independent voters, or individuals not with a recognized party, became the plurality of registered voters in October.

But those voters are excluded from the states version of a presidential primary, called a presidential preference election.

Ray Kimball is a retired U.S. Army officer who is a relatively new independent voter in Arizona after nearly three decades as a registered Republican.

Kimball said the GOP alienated him over its refusal to acknowledge that Joe Biden is the duly elected president, prompting his move to independent status.

Kimballs wife received notice in the mail of the forthcoming presidential preference election and that she automatically will get her partys ballot. Kimball himself wont be sent any such mail and won't be able to participate in what he called a crucial election.

Im fiercely proud of my vote, and I will cast it at any opportunity available, said Kimball, who lives in Gilbert in the East Valley of the Phoenix metro. Im just angry that I dont have the ability to make that voice heard in every election. I think thats wrong.

Kimball, who works in higher education after his military retirement, is open to considering a return to the GOP if it were to find its bearings and embrace reality. But he does find meaning in his fresh status as an independent.

I feel proud to be close to what George Washingtons original vision for politics in this country was  he warned against partisan politics, Kimball said. He was concerned about what it would do to our country. So I feel proud that Im exercising a political tradition that has its roots in the origin of our country.

Paul Johnson, a former Democrat mayor of Phoenix, is helping lead the Save Democracy Arizona petition effort to enshrine nonpartisan primaries and uniform signature requirements into the state Constitution. As it stands, Arizona law requires independent or unaffiliated individuals who want to run for legislative office to come up with tens of thousands of signatures more than someone who is with a recognized political party.

Now an independent, Johnson said voters breaking away from a desire to be identified as a member of a party is one of the most powerful movements ongoing in American politics.

The countrys single greatest achievement has been to empower individuals over itself, he said. He added that the magical key to democracy is talking to people with whom you dont necessarily agree.

The single biggest thing that defines (the parties) is they hate each other. They cannot stand one another, Johnson said. And my answer is, I dont want to eliminate them. I want to get the best from them.

Pennsylvania voters push for open primaries

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania is closer than it ever has been to adopting an open primary system. But its not there yet.

For the first time in October, a bill to open up primary elections to an estimated 1.2 million excluded unaffiliated and independent Pennsylvania voters passed out of a house legislative committee.

One of the key proponents of the bill, Democratic Rep. Jared Solomon of Philadelphia, said he feels a shift, that more and more folks are coming on board.

The proposal has been around forever and its the first time it passed the House (committee), Solomon said. I think its a really big deal.  We need to finally get this bill to the finish line.

However, the full House chamber still hasnt acted on the bill yet. A spokesperson for the House speaker, who has the power to call the bill down for a vote, told Lee Enterprises that the measure is currently being reviewed.

Solomon says hes pushing hard on this because he believes its the right thing to do.

The fastest group of unaffiliated independent voters are people aged 18 to 35, he said. Imagine youre a new voter in Pennsylvania and were basically saying to you no thanks, not welcome, not here.

At the same time, Solomon said the state will take their tax money to prop up the primary system.

It doesnt really roll out of the welcome mat, he said. This is not the look we want in PA.

One of those new young voters is Ethan Barnes, a Dickinson College student who was disappointed to find out upon moving to Pennsylvania that he wouldnt be able to vote in primary elections unless he registered as a Democrat or a Republican.

But at heart, hes an independent, just like his dad, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who instilled in him the importance of being politically active at a young age.

Its really sad that you cant register as an independent and still be able to be as politically active as you could if you were registered as either a Democrat or Republican, Barnes said. Thats what many of my friends (and I) have had to go through.

Why should I not be able to participate just because Im registered as an independent? Barnes said.

The issue led Barnes to join BallotPA, a statewide advocacy group of independent and unaffiliated voters who are trying to push lawmakers on the issue.

I always cared a lot about politics, but I dont know if I would have imagined myself getting this strongly involved in the fight for open primaries, Barnes said. But Im happy that I did.  I think the ability to participate in politics and being able to vote should be open to all.
Has it only been four years since COVID slammed the U.S. It feels much longer.

Before the mandatory California shutdown in March 2020, we were about to host my Nashville sister and her husband for wine country merriment. Their first night we planned to see Kith & Kins St. Patricks show at the White Barn.

When Nashville bailed at the last minute, we went to the concert by ourselves. A surprising number of seats were empty. Folks were already hunkering down.

And so began the COVID era. Although nearly all COVID restrictions have since been lifted, American life hasnt fully returned to the way it was. Note the glut of empty offices, the drop in student test scores, transit systems in search of riders.

Cheryl and I, who never had much of a night life, adopted the ways of people in cloistered religious orders. We havent been to a concert in four years. We havent been back to San Francisco. We let our SFMOMA membership lapse.

Cheryl said goodbye to her old office and came home to work out of our living room. Four years later, surrounded by boxes that still havent been unpacked, shes still there. She and the outside world communicate through Zoom.

I kept going into the Register newsroom, but most of the papers employees skedaddled for home. The silence they left behind made me feel I was living in an apocalypse.

Fifteen months later I retired and went home. Basically, Ive been there ever since.

That first year of COVID was ferocious. A musician hero of mine, John Prine, died of COVID at age 73. This made the threat all too real.

Cheryl and I both scrambled to get vaccinated. And revaccinated. Were now up to five. As soon as a sixth is offered, well line up for it too. People our ages do not need to take unnecessary chances with their health.

Ironically, while COVID prowled the land, killing more than a million Americans, the last four years have been the healthiest of my life. One mild cold and thats it.

This is the benefit of not going off to a crowded office, not flying, not cruising, not crowd surfing. My isolationist tendencies have worked in my favor.

Neither Cheryl nor I have had COVID. Of our five adult children, four have had mild cases. Some have had the virus twice. Even two grandchildren have succumbed. Thank you, day care!

If I were to contract COVID, I feel confident Id survive. I wouldnt have such swagger if I were 10 years older.

I never wore masks much. Didnt go to places where I had to. I have a heap of them in my bedroom, waiting for the day that we mobilize against a new biological threat.

One of my masks is a N95. Its three years old and never been worn. Ive been saving it for a special occasion  maybe a packed plane carrying us to a dream vacation.

We did bust out a time or two while staying close to home. That first year we took a three-day fall vacation to Mendocino. The town was eerily empty. Most shops werent open. Restaurants had us sit outside as darkness and bone-chilling ocean winds swept over us.

On another occasion, we dared attend a Berkeley Rep play based on the music of the Avett Brothers. Masks were mandatory. Looking around, I felt I was sitting among visitors from another world.

Although the COVID threat has diminished, Cheryl and I have been slow to expand our out-and-abouts. Avoiding clustered humanity is our new normal. We dont even think twice about it.

Thats changing very slowly. We had an anniversary dinner three weeks ago at Bistro Don Giovanni. We were packed like sardines, which caused a moment of consternation. Who among us is exhaling the virus?

That moment quickly passed. We returned to the business of dipping crusty bread into olive oil.
 Flash

A Palestinian mourns the victims at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Feb. 29, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

The United Nations (UN) agencies and officials on Thursday warned of growing risks of starvation, desperation and social disorder in war-torn Gaza.

They also condemned the killing of aid-seeking Palestinian civilians and urged an end to the conflict.

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General issued a statement on Gaza on Thursday, saying that the UN chief is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza.

"The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week," the statement said.

The Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid near the Gaza city Thursday, killing at least 104 people.

On the same day, the Hamas-run health ministry said that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October last year.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday warned of an impending famine in Gaza, citing local medical authorities in Gaza as saying that six infants have died of malnutrition and dehydration.

"The risk of death from starvation in Gaza is reportedly growing, disproportionately affecting children and pregnant women, and is exacerbated by inadequate water, sanitation and health services, the severing of power and fuel supplies, and the decimation of food production and agriculture," OCHA said in its latest update report.

According to the latest report by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued on Thursday, as of Feb. 7, the entire 2.2 million population in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, over 50 percent of which are at an emergency level, and at least 1 in 4 faces catastrophic conditions.

FAO said that the food supply chain in Gaza has been severely disrupted, with 97 percent of ground water reportedly being unfit for human consumption.

Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Thursday in a statement that "Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed."

Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the ongoing 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council that he had no words to capture the horrors in Gaza as the total number of people killed in Gaza has exceeded 30,000.

"The war in Gaza must end," he said at an interactive dialogue meeting on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that the Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state and all Palestinian factions must accept the right of Israel to exist in peace and security.
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MPs of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction are concerned that Russian border guards are stationed at Zvartnots International Airport of Yerevan. Artur Hovhannisyan, secretary of the aforesaid faction, stated this during Fridays press briefings in the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia.

According to him, this matter worries not only them, but also most of the Armenian public.

"This matter is on the agenda of our political team. Discussions [in this regard] are underway. When there is a decision, we will all know about it," Hovhannisyan added.

And to the question as to what happened that in the sixth year of being in power it occurred to them that the Russian border guards are a "problem" at Zvartnots airport, Hovhannisyan responded: "Many things happened during these six years. Not in six years, but in several years. Therefore, every reality must presuppose certain judgments, actions, and decisions.

Also, he expressed regret that they "realized" late that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)which Armenia is a member indoes not work.

"This means we have to go and solve the problem," concluded the secretary of the NA ruling faction.
After the events of Nagorno-Karabakh last year, Armenia and Azerbaijan did not have meetings at the level of the leaders and the heads of foreign affairs departments of the two countries, but the parties continued to exchange comments on the draft peace treaty. The meeting of the heads of state in Munich is a positive progress. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ruben Rubinyan, on Friday stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, noting that a meeting between the FMs of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place two days ago.

"In recent years, Armenia and Azerbaijan have been able to reachon various platformsan agreement on the fundamental principles of peace. What are those principles? This is a reaffirmation of territorial integrity based on the Almaty declaration [in 1991]. I want to remind that this declaration was adopted by the two post-Soviet countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The second principle on which we have agreed is the delimitation of the state border between Armenia and Azerbaijanbased on this declaration.

And one more important matter: we [i.e. Armenia] have said that all regional communications will be supported on the basis of the principles of law, equality, and jurisdiction. We believe that if we can accommodate the already-existing principles in the peace talks, then we can very well achieve peace; and I believe we can do it quite quickly. Sadly, I cannot say that we have been able to do this so far. From our side, we are doing everything possible to reflect the principles of the Almaty treaty, but we do not see sufficient efforts on the part of Azerbaijan. We hope that we will be able to get the necessary results," added the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.
Armenia is ready to establish closer relations with the European Union (EU). Artur Hovhannisyan, secretary of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction, stated this during Fridays press briefings in the National Assembly (NA) of Armeniaand commenting on NA speaker Alen Simonyan's statements that Armenia should strive to become a candidate for EU membership.

Hovhannisyan recalled that PM Nikol Pashinyan had publicly announced Armenias readiness to get closer to the EU to the extent that the EU itself is ready for that. Simonyan's statement, Hovhannisyan noted, should be considered in the context of this political line.

The ruling faction MP emphasized that rapprochement with the EU is important to Armenia for several reasons. First of all, he noted the role of the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia. According to Hovhannisyan, this mission plays a major role in guaranteeing the security of Armenia's borders.

"After the arrival of the monitors, the dynamics at the borders of Armenia have changed significantly," said the lawmaker.

In addition, such rapprochement, in his opinion, is also important from the point of view of the need for new markets.

"The rapprochement [of Armenia] with the European Union is also logical from the point of view of the development of democracy and the civilizational development of the country in general. Establishing closer relations with EU countries is an important agenda item of our policy," said the legislator.

According to him, the national interests of Armenia are also taken into account here.

In turn, Vladimir Vardanyan, another MP of the ruling majority Civil Contract Faction and chairman of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of the NA, noted that two of Armenia's four neighbors are candidates for EU membership, and this somewhat brings Armenia closer to EU membership.

"A country's right to participate in integration processes is the sovereign right of every state. No one will deny the fact that from the point of view of economic integration, the example of the EU is one of the bestif not the best," stressed Vardanyan.
 Flash

People comfort each other as they mourn victims at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, on Feb. 29, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 others wounded by an Israeli attack on civilians waiting to receive humanitarian aid in the west of Gaza City, according to Palestinian medical and security sources.

"The Israeli army committed a new massacre against the hungry people who went to the west of the city to get some flour for their families," Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesperson of the Hamas-run Health Ministry, said in a press statement.

Al-Qedra added that the victims were transferred to the hospitals of Al-Shifa, Al-Maamadani, and Kamal Odwan, where medical teams were struggling to treat a number of serious cases with limited capabilities.

"Unfortunately, the number of deaths would increase... Most of the causalities were shot on the upper parts of their bodies," Al-Qedra told Xinhua, calling on the international community to stop the war launched by Israel.

Local eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli army targeted with artillery and guns fire a gathering of civilians near the Nabulsi roundabout on Al-Rashid Street.

"My three brothers and I went there to get some flour when we heard heavy fire everywhere, and we thought that we would be killed," said Mohammed al-Alami, a Gaza-based Palestinian eyewitness.

"As we ran away from the attack, we saw many bodies on the ground and we helped transfer the victims to donkey-drawn carts and the trucks that were supposed to bring humanitarian aid," al-Alami said.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory, an independent non-profit organization active in Geneva, said in a press statement that its team "documented the Israeli army committing a bloody massacre when Israeli tanks fired shells and fire directly at thousands of hungry civilians who were waiting for aid trucks to arrive near the Nabulsi roundabout on Al-Rashid Street, west of Gaza."

But Avichai Adraee, a spokesperson of the Israeli army, said in a press statement that "during the entry of humanitarian aid trucks, a violent stampede broke out at the place by residents around the trucks, trying to loot the goods."

"As a result, part of the large crowd approached the soldiers who were protecting the trucks, which led them to open fire after they felt that their lives were in danger," Adraee said, adding that the army had begun investigating the incident.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian presidency condemned the Israeli attack as "an integral part of the genocidal war committed by the Israeli government against our people."

"It was the international silence that encouraged Israel to persist in shedding Palestinian blood and to commit crimes unprecedented in modern history," the presidency said in a statement, calling on the international community, mainly the United States, to step up pressure on Israel to stop its war against the Palestinian people.

Responding to the incident, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) threatened to stop its truce negotiations with Israel.

"The negotiations are not an open process, and we will not allow the path of negotiations, through which we seek to end the human suffering of our people, created by Israel, to be a cover for the enemy's continued crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip," Hamas said in a press statement.

The movement considered the attack "a brutal, heinous, unprecedented crime in which Israel once again challenges humanity, the international community, and its tools of justice and accountability."

On Jan. 25, about 20 Palestinians were killed and 150 others wounded by Israeli troops who opened fire at a gathering of Palestinians waiting to receive aid near the Kuwait Roundabout, south of Gaza City.

The Gaza City and the northern part of the Palestinian enclave are facing "catastrophic" conditions as a result of food scarcity caused by Israel's siege, according to the Hamas-run media office in Gaza.

In retaliation for the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, Israel has been launching a relentless ground offensive and airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

So far, there are 30,035 Palestinians killed and more than 70,457 others injured in Gaza, said the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Thursday.
Azerbaijan's claims that the constitution of Armenia prevents the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan are refuted by the principles on which the leaders of the two countries have agreedat least on a preliminary level. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ruben Rubinyan, on Friday stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forumand responding to the statement by Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to the president of Azerbaijan, that the Azerbaijani side is waiting for the clarification of the content of the constitution of Armenia.

"The constitution and the legal framework of Armenia are our internal affairs. This has nothing to do with the processes of achieving peace. Armenia has no territorial demands from Azerbaijan, and this has been stated many timeseven in the joint statements of the president of Azerbaijan and the prime minister of Armenia. In the draft peace agreement that is being negotiated, there are two points that have been agreed on at the bilateral levelat least initially. First, it is clearly written that the [two] countries recognize each other's territorial integrity, do not and will not have any territorial claims against each other in the future. Second, the [two] countries will not rely on their domestic legislation to avoid this agreement. The best way to convince each other that we do not and will not demand anything from each other in territorial issues is to sign a peace agreement," Rubinyan said.

According to him, Hajiyev says that it is not a panacea.

"As far as I know, Mr. Hajiyev likes to repeat that signing a peace treaty is not rocket science. I have to agree with him here. If we have confirmed itat least at the leadership level, then only technical work remains. Unfortunately, we do not see the willingness of the Azerbaijani side to reflect these agreed principles on paper, but we hope that something will change," said the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.
Georgia is interested in the development of the process of concluding a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and it offers its reliable neighbors its platform for negotiations. Georgia's Deputy Foreign Minister Lasha Darsalia stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

According to him, peace in the region is important to Tbilisi, and the Georgian side hopes that Yerevan and Baku will reach an agreement from which both sides will benefit.

Darsalia noted that Georgia sees, realizes, and takes into account certain difficulties that exist in the bilateral negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. For this purpose, Tbilisi had earlier come up with the initiative of peaceful neighborliness and offered assistance to the two countries in conducting talks.

"It is clear to us that we should encourage cooperation, rather than letting foreign players into our arena," said the Georgian deputy FM.

He emphasized that there is no alternative to peace in the region, and that is why Tbilisi supports the negotiations and establishment of stability in the South Caucasus.

"A few months ago, we renewed our relations with Armenia, bringing them to the level of strategic partnership. We believe that it will make a great contribution to the cooperation process in the region," said Darsalia.
The work on the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan can be completed already this year. Toivo Klaar, the European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia, on Friday stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, and adding that the EU is engaged in the process of establishing stability and security in the South Caucasus.

The heads of both states must take responsibility and sign the agreement, Klaar said, noting that as a person who has worked on this process for many years, he is convinced that this can be achieved this year. In order to establish long-term peace, it is necessary to reach an agreement that will be perceived as fair by all parties. Europe's history of the last hundred years shows the fragility of a peace imposed by the victor, as well as the significant benefits of reconciliation and overcoming hostilities, the European diplomat added.

According to him, in the context of Armenia and Azerbaijan, it is indispensable to rely on already concluded agreements, including border delimitation based on the border delimitation lines between the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR at the time of the signing of the Almaty declaration in 1991. The agreement should include the opening of the border for the movement of people and goods, including through the territory of southern Armenia, from the main part of Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhichevan, said the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus.

Klaar noted that the EU attaches great importance to the role of Turkey, which has a unique opportunity to contribute to peace by reopening its borders and restoring its transport links with Armenia. In his opinion, the peaceful settlement will benefit not only the directly involved countries, but also to the EU countries, ensuring the reliability of the transport corridor between Europe, Central Asia, and China. Such a step will give the EU confidence in the undisrupted operation of the transport corridor connecting Europe with Central Asia and China. In this case, the EU will also be able to withdraw its civilian monitoring mission from Armenia, which is deployed there to demonstrate the EU's engagement in the region, Toivo Klaar emphasized.
Armenia is ready even now to normalize relations with Turkey and unblock communications. Ruben Rubinyan, deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament and special representative of Armenia for the normalization of relations with Turkey, on Friday stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

"If Serdar [Kilic, the special representative of Turkey for the normalization of relations with Armenia] agrees, we can announce it today. I hope you agree, and this forum will become historic. In July 2022, Serdar and I announced that in the summer of 2023 we would open the [Armenia-Turkey] land border to citizens of third countries, and then to diplomatic passport holders. Sadly, this has not happened yet. The entire infrastructure for this is ready on the Armenian side," Rubinyan said.

He noted that he made such a proposal because he feels that Turkey cannot go further. "But if the two countries want the normalization and reconciliation of relations, the people of the two countries should communicate with each other. Isolation reinforces historical stereotypes and is not based on the interests of each side," added the deputy speaker of the Armenian legislative body.

Rubinyan recalled that during last years devastating earthquake in Turkey, the borders of the two countries were temporarily reopened to provide and receive humanitarian aid; and this, according to him, was a touching moment.

"We should be able to [re]open the borders not only at the time of tragedy, but also to [re]open the borders at a happy, favorable time. I see no reason to keep the border with Turkey closed," added the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia can protect communication security in their territories. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Ruben Rubinyan, on Friday stated this at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

"On behalf of Armenia, I can say that we have a recently created unit within the National Security Service of the country. Thus, we have strengthened the task of security of communications passing through Armenia. This topic is not even worth discussing," he said.

Also, Rubinyan stated that there is no territorial unit called "Zangezur" in Armenia, there is Syunik Province, Meghri city, and other cities in the country, and the latter has never agreed to provide an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan.

"Armenia's position regarding the unblocking of communications in the region is expressed in the Crossroads of Peace project [introduced by the Armenian government]. We want to unblock communications based on the principles of sovereignty, legislation, territorial integrity, equality, and reciprocity," said the deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament.

Hikmet Hajiyev, aide to the president of Azerbaijan, had announced the need to provide a "corridor," arguing that Azerbaijans exclave of Nakhichevan was allegedly under siege, and Turkey's help there was important.

"According to the tripartite statement of November 9, [2020] Armenia had to ensure that access; now the matter is in Armenia's court," Hajiyev had said, in particular.

In response, Ruben Rubinyan said that Armenia named its aforesaid project "Crossroads of Peace" because it wants peace. However, according to him, Baku continues to use the term "Zangezur corridor," whereas Armenia has never agreed to provide an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijan.
Mount St. Marys University senior Claire Doll has been chosen as a semifinalist for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award. If chosen as the recipient of the prominent award, she will have the opportunity to spend a year in the Czech Republic, helping teach English and plan community outreach events.

She was aided in the application process by the Mount Fellows Society, a program run by the Office of Competitive Fellowships, that helps students seek out prestigious fellowships such as the Fulbright Award.

I have Dr. [Christine] Blackshaw to thank for all the application help, and Dr. [Michelle] Ohanian, Dr. [Sean] Lewis, and Dr. [Patrick] Ryan for writing me letters of recommendation, shared Doll.

Doll, who is from Catonsville, Maryland, is majoring in English and secondary education, and minoring in creative writing. She is a member of the Flute Ensemble and a tutor for the Peer Tutoring Program.

She also acts as managing editor for the Emmitsburg News-Journal and editor-in-chief of the Mounts student-produced literary magazine, the award-winning Lighted Corners. In 2023, Doll was the recipient of the William Heath Award for achievement in creative writing, and the Gadamer Liberal Arts Scholarship.

Associate Professor of English Tom Bligh, Ph.D, who has taught Doll several creative writing courses and acts as faculty advisor for Lighted Corners, encouraged her to join the Mount Fellows Society.

Attending the Mount has given me countless opportunities to explore what I really want to do in life. I began as an elementary education major, but I changed to English education when I realized how much I loved reading and writing, she noted.

Doll has published well over a dozen works of creative fiction and nonfiction, her favorites being The Stillness and the Change, published in the literary magazine Capsule Stories, and Sitting Under Starry Skies, in the undergraduate writing anthology, plain china.

She plans to pursue a career as a secondary-education English teacher and to pass on her love of creative writing and literature. My goal is to help my students grow into diligent readers and writers, she stated.

The Competitive Fellowships Committee, comprised of faculty members, includes Director Christine Blackshaw, Ph.D., Associate Director William Christiansen, Ph.D., Associate Director Angy Kallarackal, Ph.D., Josey Chacko, Ph.D., Sarah Krueger, Ph.D., Michelle Ohanian, Ph.D., Garth Patterson, Ph.D., and Eric Sakowski, Ph.D. They oversee applications and conduct the Fulbright on-campus interviews.

According to Fulbright, applicants who reach this stage will be notified if they have been selected, designated as an alternate or not selected between early March and late May, with dates to vary by country.

To learn more about the Office of Competitive Fellowships and the Mount Fellows Program, visit https://msmary.edu/fellowships
First Circuit Judge Christy W. Solverson speaks to Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute participants in the Jackson County Courthouse in Murphysboro, Illinois, in May 2023. (Photo by Russell Bailey)

SIU School of Law Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute seeks students

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  High achieving college sophomores and juniors who want to gain insight into legal careers and prepare for law school are invited to attend the Southern Illinois University School of Law Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute.

Scheduled for May 19-25, the weeklong institute is part of SIU Carbondales commitment to diversifying the legal profession. In the past two years, SIU Law started the institute and has signed agreements with two historically Black colleges and a minority-serving institution to prepare potential students to apply to and succeed in law school.

Limited to 15 students, the institute is free and includes food and housing, an online Law School Admission Test (LSAT) prep course and transportation to events. The application deadline is March 30. Accepted students will be notified by email. Additional information and the registration form is at https://bit.ly/SOL-SUMMER-INSTITUTE.

This is the third year for the summer institute. St. Louis attorney Deidre M. Powell, a 2021 SIU Law school alumna, is program director.

My hope is that this years program will continue to foster relationships among participants, the law school and facilitators, further broadening and exposing future diverse law students to the key concepts of preparing for law school and excelling in law school and beyond, she said.

The institute fits well with SIUs strategic plan, Imagine 2030, which includes a pillar to improve diversity, equity and inclusion, said School of Law Dean Camille Davidson. While celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023, the law school last fall achieved its most diverse class in more than a decade and a 24% increase in first-year students from the previous year.

We see the value of the initiative when participants matriculate and succeed in law school, Davidson said.

A year ago, participating students came from SIU Carbondale, Emory University, Howard University, Morehouse College, SIU Carbondale, University of Illinois, University of Scranton and Xavier University of Louisiana.

Students will participate in legal writing exercises, case briefings and a simulated law class. They will also visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee; network with community leaders; visit the Thompson Coburn law offices in St. Louis, and learn about identifying legal career opportunities and financing law school.
Work (above) by Mia Brooks, a senior at Washington Community High School, won top honors in 3D art in the Creative Futures online high school art contest sponsored by the SIU Carbondale School of Art and Design. Other winners were Rebecca Yee, a senior at Belleville Township East High School in 2D art and Destiny Foronda, a senior at Larkin High School in design/digital art. (Images provided)

Three Illinois high school students win inaugural SIU Creative Futures art contest

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  The talents of Illinois high school juniors and seniors are on display with the Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Art and Design statewide online art competition.

Winners in the first Creative Futures were announced Feb. 23. Five entries received top honors along with 11 honorable mentions selected by SIU faculty in areas from each of the three categories  2D art (painting, drawing, printmaking and photography), 3D art (ceramics, glass, metals and sculpture), and design and digital art (web/graphic design, industrial design, animation and video).

In all, there were 99 entries from students in 27 high schools from throughout Illinois.

This was a wonderful inaugural online high school art competition, said Antonio Martinez, associate professor and head of undergraduate studies. The success of this inaugural competition belongs to the dedicated high school art teachers who encourage and foster creative young minds to express and to represent how they see the world around them.

The online exhibition will be available for viewing through Feb. 14, 2025.

Martinez said the final selections in each category were difficult to narrow down because there were technical strengths and aesthetic merits in each piece.

When evaluating art, jurors typically focus upon immediate visual impact, originality, and the degree of craftsmanship or control of materials and processes, he said.

The honored students are:

2D art

First place  Rebecca Yee, senior, Belleville Township East High School; art teacher, Breanne Pelker. Decomposition.

Second place  Amy Kramarczyk, senior, Larkin High School, Elgin; art teacher, Christine Watts.

Third place  Evelyn McElya, junior, Murphysboro High School; art teacher, Caitlin Langellier. The Mycologist's Bones.

Honorable mention

Yahri Edmond, senior, Carbondale Community High School; art teacher, Jennifer Kennedy. Contrast of Self.: A Chiaroscuro Self Portrait.

Elmedina Kurtovic, junior, James B. Conant High School, Hoffman Estates; art teacher, Jamie Patterson. Mirrored.

Alyssa Rouse, senior, Eldorado High School; art teacher, Ashley Priddy. Egress Through the Universe Embroidery Hoop.

Danica Scoma, senior, LaSalle-Peru Township High School; art teacher, Julie Jenkins. Desensitized.

Lillian Seresbeno, senior, Marion High School; art teacher, Amber Akes. From Rags to Riches.

Morgan Viggers, senior, Metamora Township High School; art teacher, Steve Danner. Fields in Late May.

Kaydn Ward, junior, Goreville High School; art teacher, Jennifer Ingram. Octopus.

3D art

First place  Mia Brooks, senior, Washington Community High School; art teacher, Jayme Banzhoff. Umi no ue de no seikatsu.

Honorable mention

Bella Signore, senior, Metamora Township High School; art teacher, Tiffany Wyse-Fisher; Genesis.

Kimber McMurray, senior, Sesser-Valier High School; art teacher, Anthony Evetts.

Design, digital art

First place  Destiny Foronda, senior, Larkin High School, Elgin; art teacher, Christine Watts.

Honorable mention

Paige Severs, junior, Goreville High School, art teacher, Jennifer Ingram. Fallen Angel.

Elaina Williams, senior, Marion High School; art teacher, Amber Akes. You! You There! Can you Explain the Inner-Machinations of your Mind?

Martinez said he hopes the online competition can reach neighboring states in the future and noted that the School of Art and Design is establishing a recruitment fund that will help support initiatives and events such as Creative Futures.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton interacts with women business owners and leaders at the Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center. (Photo by Amihere Benson)

Lt. Gov. Stratton visits SIU to hear from businesswomen, speak to young womens conference

by Kim Rendfeld

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton met with women business owners and leaders Thursday, Feb. 29, at Southern Illinois University Carbondales Dunn-Richmond Economic Development Center to hear what women need for their businesses to thrive. In addition, participants engaged with each other to build and strengthen their resource network.

Stratton is holding We Chat listening sessions across the state as part of the We Thrive initiative to foster financial freedom and well-being for all women in Illinois. We Chat sessions bring together diverse groups of women to listen and learn from each other.

Financial well-being for women and girls is really about eliminating systemic hurdles that continue a cycle of inequity," Stratton said. Recognizable issues  like the wage gap and insufficient retirement planning  are symptoms of that cycle. Conversations like we had Thursday will help us understand what perpetuates inequity and push Illinois towards becoming the best state in the nation for women and girls."

Strattons visit to Dunn-Richmond is being done in coordination with the universitys Office of Innovation and Economic Development and Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. She will also speak to about 600 young women from Illinois FFA high school chapters, along with industry supporters, this morning (March 1) at the Women Changing the Face of Ag Conference.

Sheryl Tucker, SIUs provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said Strattons visit to campus fits well with SIUs strategic plan, Imagine 2030, and its pillar of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Lt. Gov. Stratton has long advocated for womens economic empowerment, which is key to equity, Tucker said. We are proud to have her as our guest, both to listen to women business owners in our community and to share her wisdom with future women leaders in agriculture.
Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (IT) Ashwini Vaishnaw, during a media interaction following the cabinet's approval of three new semiconductor units, provided a comprehensive overview of India's burgeoning semiconductor ecosystem in a moment for India's technological advancement. Using a whiteboard in his office, the Minister delineated the intricate framework that underpins the country's strategy to become a global player in semiconductor manufacturing. "Imagine this as your fab, and this as your AT&T", Minister Vaishnaw gestured, laying out the foundation of India's semiconductor landscape. "Beyond this lies electronics manufacturing," he continued, "let's call it the circuit. Any circuit in which it will go." Highlighting the core components, Minister Vaishnaw emphasized the crucial role of talent and research and development (R&D). "Below all these, we are creating the primary big strength of talent, talent pool," he elucidated. He pointed out that the most essential and expensive tools in R&D are supplied by Cadence, Synopsis, and Siemens, collectively known as Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. Minister Vaishnaw said, "And second big thing which we are doing is R&D. And here R&D, the way we have structured this is, the most difficult, the most expensive tools, those are tools which are supplied by Cadence, Synopsis and Siemens. These three tools are called EDA tools". " These are very expensive. If someone goes to buy one, you will have to shell out 10 crore rupees, 15 crore rupees for a license", Minister Vaishnaw remarked. "So what we have done is, we have talked to all these 3 companies, we have taken the entire EDA 2 suite of all the 3 companies by the government and we have given this to, all of their license, all of their login, we have given to the 104 universities", said Minister Vaishnaw. However, in a significant move, the government has secured the entire EDA 2 suite from these three companies and provided licenses and login credentials to all 104 universities across the nation. "Not just the IITs but also the other 3 universities," the Minister clarified. "They are now able to expose their students and train their students onto live tools, not classroom, live tools. They can actually take a project to design a new mobile chip and design it using this. And from that only new startups will emerge", Minister explained. Minister Vaishnaw underscored the broader implications of this initiative, stating, "And from that only the talent that will emerge, that talent pool will feed into our large talent pool of 300,000 engineers already". he further added, "And this will feed into your design, your fab and your A-Clip. You are seeing the full picture. In this whole picture, this is the way we are working. It's a very comprehensive program and that's why the foundations are very important. When you all used to ask, when will the fab come? " Reflecting on the journey thus far, Minister Vaishnaw expressed pride in the rapid progress made within a two-year timeframe, surpassing the achievements of many countries in five years. Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw underscores the commitment to excellence and the significant progress made in a relatively short period. By emphasizing the importance of solid work, he implies a dedication to quality and thoroughness in every endeavor undertaken. Despite acknowledging that initial progress may take time, he stresses the importance of laying a strong foundation. Minister Vaishnaw stated, "I always said that whatever we do, we will do very solid work. It takes time in the first work, but always let's do solid work". The Minister highlights the remarkable achievements of India's semiconductor development efforts within just two years, surpassing the accomplishments of many other countries within a five-year timeframe, stating, "And even in that, what we have been able to achieve, what our country has been able to achieve, many countries are not able to achieve that in five years". The achievement is celebrated as a testament to the dedication and effectiveness of India's approach to technological advancement. Furthermore, Minister Vaishnaw discusses the vast potential of the semiconductor industry, noting its expansive ecosystem encompassing various components such as lenses, chemicals, gases, and numerous other elements. He envisions the development of a comprehensive ecosystem akin to that of Applied Materials, a leading manufacturer of equipment in the semiconductor industry. The Minister's remarks emphasize India's commitment to excellence in semiconductor development, the rapid progress achieved, and the ambition to cultivate a robust ecosystem that will drive innovation and propel the nation forward in the global semiconductor landscape. The Minister said, "That much we have been able to do within two years of this timeframe. So today we have all this technology, we have all this and we will start developing this. And with this, the whole ecosystem will come. It has a large ecosystem." "Your lenses, your chemicals, your gases, hundreds and hundreds of things. So now our attempt is also to bring this ecosystem like applied materials. The biggest manufacturer of equipment", he added. Furthermore, Minister Vaishnaw outlined plans to expand the semiconductor ecosystem, including initiatives to attract investments from major players like Applied Materials. "So applied material has started setting up their plant in India. They are designing in India, manufacturing in India, So the equipment also then comes to it. If you think about it, it is completely complete", said Minister. In conclusion, Minister Vaishnaw reiterated the alignment of these efforts with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India a global manufacturing hub. "Everything that is needed in it, all that is there. So the benefit it will get, that benefit will get majorly in every type of manufacturing. So PM sir's vision of making India, that vision is very complete with it", he concluded. (ANI)
NewsVoir Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 1: TVS Motor Company recorded monthly sales of 368,424 units in February 2024 with a growth of 33% as against 276,150 units in February 2023. Two-Wheeler Total two-wheelers registered a growth of 34% with sales increasing from 267,026 units in February 2023 to 357,810 units in February 2024. Domestic two-wheeler registered growth of 21% with sales increasing from 221,402 units in February 2023 to 267,502 units in February 2024. Motorcycle registered a growth of 46% with sales increasing from 126,243 units in February 2023 to 184,023 units in February 2024. Scooter registered a growth of 26% with sales increasing from 104,825 units in February 2023 to 132,152 units in February 2024. Electric Vehicle EV sales registered a growth of 16% with sales increasing from 15,522 units in February 2023 to 17,959 units in February 2024. International Business The Company's total exports grew by 85% increasing from 53,405 units registered in February 2023 to 98,856 units in February 2024. Two-wheeler exports registered a growth of 98% with sales increasing from 45,624 units registered in February 2023 to 90,308 units in February 2024. Three-Wheeler Three-wheeler registered a growth of 16% with sales increasing from 9,124 units in February 2023 to 10,614 units in February 2024. TVS Motor Company (BSE:532343 and NSE: TVSMOTOR) is a reputed two and three-wheeler manufacturer globally, championing progress through sustainable mobility with four state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located in India and Indonesia. Rooted in our 100-year legacy of trust, value, and passion for customers, it takes pride in making internationally accepted products of the highest quality through innovative and sustainable processes. TVS Motor is the only two-wheeler company to have won the prestigious Deming Prize. Our products lead in their respective categories in the J.D. Power IQS and APEAL surveys. We have been ranked No. 1 Company in the J.D. Power Customer Service Satisfaction Survey for four consecutive years. Our group company Norton Motorcycles, based in the United Kingdom, is one of the most emotive motorcycle brands in the world. Our subsidiaries in the personal e-mobility space, Swiss E-Mobility Group (SEMG) and EGO Movement have a leading position in the e-bike market in Switzerland. TVS Motor Company endeavours to deliver the most superior customer experience across 80 countries in which we operate. For more information, please visit www.tvsmotor.com. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire New Delhi [India], March 1: HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank have joined forces with SI-UK, an international education services provider, to support Indian students in securing education loans for their overseas studies. On March 21st, students concerned about the finances required to study abroad can attend the SI-UK Education Loan Carnival, which takes place from 12 PM - 4 PM. At the SI-UK Education Loan Carnival, students can: * Learn about competitive loan options that cover all education expenses* Be informed about no-collateral-required loans to ensure quick and easy approval* Fit loan payments into their budget effortlessly* Take advantage of a quick and easy loan approval process* Speak to dedicated loan officers At the Education Loan Carnival, dedicated loan officers will guide one through their options. They will address any finance-related queries and help one understand their loan and repayment options. Register Now Partnered vendors HDFC Credila HDFC Credila is India's first dedicated education loan provider and provides up to 100% finance to cover tuition costs and other expenses when studying abroad. Established in 1977, HDFC Credila has funded tens of thousands of students from India to over 2500+ educational institutes around the world. ICICI Bank ICICI Bank, formerly the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Bank, offers various financial services. It is renowned for its cutting-edge digital banking services and vast network of branches and ATMs across India, making banking accessible to a broad customer base. Free attendance This collaboration brings SI-UK, HDFC Bank, and ICICI Bank together to leverage their strengths to streamline the financial support process for students pursuing international education opportunities around the globe. Register now for the SI-UK Education Loan Carnival by visiting the SI-UK website or calling 1800-309-9008. Where: OnlineWhen: March 21, 2024 About SI-UK SI-UK provides free and independent advice to international students applying to study in the UK. We believe international students should have access to trusted, expert advice about UK universities and courses and be supported by professional and experienced advisers throughout their whole journey: from the first tentative enquiries, the application process, and right up to their arrival in the UK and throughout their life at university. Celebrating its 17th anniversary in 2023, SI-UK has helped tens of thousands of international students join global universities and now has 92 offices across 40 countries. Contact details: United Knowledge Education Consultants Pvt Ltd Suite 8-13, 1st Floor, Indra Palace H Block, Middle Circle, Connaught Place 110001, India T: +91-11-4202-8200 E: delhi@studyin-uk.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2049109/3974668/SI_UK_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)
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a man named Piyush Jain in connection with its money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in Rajasthan, the agency said on Friday. The ED further said that Piyush Jain was arrested on Thursday and a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Jaipur sent him to four days of ED custody. This is the first arrest by the ED in this case. The ED initiated its investigation following an FIR registered by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) where it was charged that Padamchand Jain (proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company), Mahesh Mittal (proprietor of Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company), Piyush Jain and others were "involved in giving bribes to public servants in order to obtain illegal protection, tenders, getting bills sanctioned and covering up irregularities for work executed by them in respect of various tenders received by them from the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED)". The suspects were also involved in the purchase of stolen goods from Haryana for using the same in their tenders and contracts and had also submitted fake work completion letters from IRCON to get PHED contracts, the federal agency added. The agency further said that it investigation revealed that Padamchand Jain and Mahesh Mittal were involved in securing tenders pertaining to JJM works based on purported fake work completion certificates issued by IRCON and by bribing senior PHED officials. "Several middle men and property dealers have aided the PHED officials in siphoning off the illegally earned money from the JJM scam," it added. ED investigation further revealed that Piyush Jain was managing affairs of the accused firms and was also in receipt of an amount of Rs. 3.5 Crore (approx.) which were nothing but proceeds of crime. "Further CDR analysis of his mobile revealed that was also influencing officials of PHED. In addition to the above, several summons were also issued to the accused in order to enquire about the beneficiary of proceeds of crime but he did not join the investigation," it said. Earlier, ED had conducted searches at more than 70 premises leading to seizure of Rs. 11.03 Crore, including gold and silver worth Rs. 6.50 Crore, till date. Further investigation is under progress. (ANI)
Seeking to ramp up support for start-ups in the state to enable them to scale up operations and forge partnerships, the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) will organise a one-day conclave here on March 4. State Industries Minister P Rajeev will inaugurate the conclave, 'KSIDC Scale-up Conclave-2024', at 10 am on March 4 at the Taj Vivanta in Ernakulam. The conclave will provide a platform for industry leaders, entrepreneurs, administrators, researchers, and young professionals to interact. The event will be a platform to network with other start-ups, policymakers and eco-system enablers, said KSIDC Managing Director S Harikishore, who is also Director, Industries and Commerce. The meet will seek views from delegates on changes, if any, required in the implementation of the incentive schemes through the New Industrial Policy 2023. The event will have around 250 select startups from within Kerala and outside. The conclave, being held against the backdrop of recent achievements of Kerala's start-up ecosystem, will showcase the policy initiatives of the state government. The Union Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ranked Kerala as the 'Best Performer' in India for the last three years. Further, Kerala was also ranked first in Asia in 'Affordable Talent in Global Startup Ecosystem', as per the Global Start-up Ecosystem Report. The conclave will host two pre-lunch sessions, followed by a success-story presentation and a panel discussion in the afternoon. The sessions will be on 'Kerala -- Opportunities Galore' and 'My Journey' by top ten startup employers in the state. The success story presentation will feature five speakers, while the panel discussion on 'Suggestions and Strategies for strengthening the Kerala Start-up and Scale up Ecosystem' will have three speakers. The state boasts of more than 5000 start-ups spread across its 14 districts, traversing sectors including Artificial Intelligence, SaaS, health-tech, manufacturing and fintech. These start-ups have raised investments totaling around Rs 3,000 crore from various funding agencies. Many such nascent companies are in the cusp of scaling up. The speakers at the opening session will include Industries and Norka Principal Secretary Suman Billa, KSIDC Chairman Paul Antony, State Electronics and IT Secretary Dr Rathan U Kelkar, KINFRA Managing Director Santhosh Koshy Thomas and KSUM CEO Anoop Ambika, besides Harikishore. (ANI)
The Uttarakhand government has announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the family of the minor who was found dead in the Race Course area of Dehradun last evening. According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), "Cabinet Minister Prem Chandra Aggarwal met the victim's family in Dehradun on Thursday. The minister said that strict action would be taken against the accused and announced Rs 2 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for the affected family." Earlier on Thursday, a 15-year-old girl, working as a maid, was found hanging in the bathroom of a house in Uttarakhand's Dehradun, a top police officer said. The incident took place at Race Course, a residential colony in Dehradun. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dehradun, Ajay Singh, said, "Police received information that a girl, about 15 years old, was hired to work as a maid. We learned that a family, identified by the surname Luthra, had hired her. The family owns a car and is in the sale and purchase business. They had hired a girl to take care of their two daughters." SSP added that the girl went missing when the family was in the process of moving into a new house. A search was launched and she was eventually found hanging in the bathroom of a house in Dehradun. "The minor girl employed as domestic help was found hanging in the bathroom of a house. The CCTV footage of the immediate surroundings of the scene has been retrieved and a case has been registered. Further probe is underway," SSP Singh said. "Those present at the house (when the girl was found hanging) were taken into custody," he said. Further investigation is underway, he added. (ANI)
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan accepted the mistake on Thursday after the Tamil Nadu government was left red-faced after an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that featured a rocket with the flag of China. Radhakrishnan said that a small mistake was made in the newspaper advertisement by them. "A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area. The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us," said the DMK leader. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Wednesday criticised the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party for using the 'China flag' in rocket advertisement promoting the proposed second launch pad of ISRO in the state. Annamalai alleged that DMK has been 'desperate' to paste stickers since the announcement of the second launch pad coming up in the state was made. "This advertisement by DMK Minister Anita Radhakrishnan to leading Tamil dailies today is a manifestation of DMK's commitment to China and their total disregard for our country's sovereignty. DMK, a party fighting high on corruption, has been desperate to paste stickers ever since the announcement of ISRO's second launch pad in Kulasekarapatinam was released," Annamalai said in a post on X. Earlier, the BJP Tamil Nadu chief further accused the DMK of being the reason Tamil Nadu lost Satish Dhawan Space Centre to Andhra Pradesh "The amount of desperation only proves their attempt to bury their past misdeeds, but we must remind them that DMK was why the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is today in Andhra Pradesh and not Tamil Nadu," Annamalai said. "When the first launch pad of ISRO was conceptualised, TN was the first choice of ISRO. TN CM Annadurai, who could not attend the meeting because of severe shoulder pain, deputed Mathiyazhagan, one of his ministers, for the meeting," the post further mentioned. "ISRO officials were kept waiting for a long time, and Mathiyazhagan was finally brought to the meeting in an "inebriated state" and was incoherent throughout the meeting. And this was the treatment our country's space programme received 60 years ago. DMK hasn't changed much and has only become worse!," he added. The controversy erupted following a newspaper advertisement by the DMK government promoting the laying of the foundation stone for ISRO's second launch pad complex in Kulsekarapatinam, which showcased a 'China flag' among rockets from other countries in the background. Meanwhile, #Thankyoukanimozhi was trending on the micro-blogging site, X, on Wednesday, lauding DMK MP from Thoothukudi, Kanimozhi, for her efforts towards bringing ISRO's second launch pad to Kulasekarapatinam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier in the day, also criticised the DMK government over the newspaper advertisement while he was addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli. "DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China's sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu," PM Modi said while addressing a gathering in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. The Prime Minister alleged that the DMK is 'not ready' to accept India's progress in the space sector. "They are not ready to accept India's progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India's space in it. They did not want to present India's space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it's high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister was on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, during which he launched multiple development projects in the state. (ANI)
Kerala police have arrested six people in connection with the death of a student of the Government Veterinary College at Pookode in Wayanad, officials said on Friday. According to police, six persons were arrested on February 29 and a seventh person has been taken into custody from Palakkad for questioning today. Twenty-year-old JS Sidhharth was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18, the police said. The police had initially started an investigation into a case of unnatural death. Sidhharth''s family claimed that the accused are part of the Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) and accused the college of protecting the accused. It is a case of murder and not suicide, Siddharth''s relative told reporters on Thursday, alleging that Sidhharth was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the police are protecting the accused and urged action against the teachers for allegedly trying to cover-up the matter. "Despite the brutal ragging and assault, the teachers, including the dean, covered it up. Are they even teachers? Such teachers should not teach there under any circumstances. Appropriate action should be taken against the teachers as well", he said. Youth Congress and Muslim Students Federation (MSF), the student wing of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kerala, staged a protest on Thursday demanding the arrest of all the accused Law Minister P Rajeev assured action against the accused, irrespective of the organisation they belong to "Action will be taken against any culprits, irrespective of the organisation they belong to," Rajeev said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the state police chief to form a special investigation team to look into the death of the student and assured strong action against the accused. (ANI)
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to West Bengal today, All India Trinamool Congress attacked the Centre and asked when will you listen to Man Ki Baat of West Bengal deprived MGNREGA beneficiaries. " Hon'ble PM, when will you listen to Man Ki Baat of our deprived MGNREGA beneficiaries? Despite your govt. stopping funds, Mamata Banerjee-led govt by today will clear dues of all deprived MGNREGA beneficiaries in the State," AITC statement said. "Will you suspend CBI-fir named Suvendu Adhikari today from your Party or share the stage with him to prove your 'Modi Ki Guarantee' to shelter corrupt people?" the statement added. TMC MP Saugata Roy took a dig at the Prime Minister saying that despite him campaigning in the state the BJP would not win seats. "In West Bengal, the condition of the BJP is very poor. The PM is trying to lift it up. The PM comes to the state before every election, but it does not make any difference... This time he will do three rallies but it will not make any difference. The PM will not be able to win those seats" Saugata Roy said. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the central government for blocking the disbursement of funds to the state. Banerjee further said that just like the state government is providing beneficiaries with MGNREGA funds, it will do so for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as well if the Centre does not release funds for it by April 1. "If by April 1, the Center does not release money for Awaas Yojna, the state government will release funds for the same, just like we are releasing MGNREGA funds for the deprived beneficiaries," the Chief Minister said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in a public programme where he will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh, Hooghly, West Bengal. At Arambagh, Hooghly, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone and dedicate to nation multiple developmental projects related to sectors like rail, ports, Oil Pipeline, LPG supply and wastewater treatment. The Prime Minister will inaugurate Indian Oil's 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline, developed at a cost of about Rs 2,790 crore. This pipeline passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The pipeline will supply crude oil to Barauni Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery and Guwahati Refinery in a safe, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly manner. The Prime Minister will also dedicate to nation and lay the foundation stone for multiple projects for strengthening of infrastructure at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, worth about Rs 1000 crore. "The projects whose foundation stone will be laid include reconstruction of Berth No. 8 NSD and mechanisation of berth no. 7 and 8 NSD of the Kolkata Dock System," the PMO stated.Prime Minister will also dedicate to nation the project for augmentation of the firefighting system at oil jetties of Haldia Dock Complex, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. The newly installed firefighting facility is a state-of-the-art, fully automated set-up equipped with cutting edge gas and flame sensors, ensuring immediate hazard detection. The Prime Minister will dedicate the third Rail Mounted Quay Crane (RMQC) of Haldia Dock Complex with lifting capacity of 40 tonnes. These new projects at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata will boost the productivity of the port substantially by helping in faster and safer cargo handling and evacuation. He will dedicate to the nation important rail projects worth about Rs 2680 crore. "The projects include the third rail line connecting Jhargram - Salgajhari (90 km); the doubling of Sondalia - Champapukur rail line (24 km); and the doubling of Dankuni-Bhattanagar-Baltikuri rail line (9 km). These projects will expand the rail transport facilities in the region, improve mobility and facilitate seamless service of freight traffic, leading to economic and industrial growth in the region," a staement from the Prime Miniser's office read. The Prime Minister will also inaugurate Indian Oil's LPG bottling plant with a capacity of 120 TMTPA at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore, the LPG bottling plant will be the first LPG bottling plant in the region. It will supply LPG to about 14.5 lakh customers in West Bengal. The Prime Minister will inaugurate three projects related to wastewater treatment and sewerage in West Bengal. These projects, developed at a cost of about Rs 600 crore have been funded by the World Bank. "The projects include Interception and Diversion (I&D) works and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at Howrah with a capacity of 65 MLD and a sewage network of 3.3 km; I&D works and STPs at Bally with capacity of 62 MLD and a sewage network of 11.3 km, and I&D works and STPs at Kamarhati and Baranagar with a capacity of 60 MLD and a sewage network of 8.15 km," the statement added. The Prime Minister will be on a two-day visit to Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar on March 1 and 2. (ANI)
Following the incident, the perpetrator targeted another individual's residence. When the disturbance drew attention from the locals, the assailant fled the scene.

Thereafter, the Palghar Police arrested the double murder accused, Kishor Kumar Mandal, from a mud pond nearby a forest area in Koodan village.

As per reports, the locals of a village in Boisar suspected an individual with erratic behaviour who had been wandering in the village for the past two days.

Meanwhile, the brother of the deceased began searching for him. The accused mercilessly assaulted him as well, inflicting fatal injuries.

Subsequently, the attacker attempted another assault on Rupesh Patil's house, but the door was securely locked from inside. Sensing danger, the residents raised an alarm, prompting the assailant to flee into the darkness and take cover in a marshy area outside the village.

Upon receiving information about the incident, local police arrived at the scene, and residents joined forces to track down the assailant. Later, it was discovered that the suspect had concealed himself in the marshland near a pond in the jungle.

Police arrested the alleged killer from a nearby mud pond in the forest area. (ANI)
Highlighting the significance of the 'double engine' government in fostering state development, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said on Thursday that the Centre has released Rs 4842 crore in tax devolution to the state. Speaking to the media, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai expressed gratitude, stating, "Chhattisgarh is fortunate to have a double-engine government, and we have received a significant amount of 4842 crore in tax devolution." Tax devolution refers to the distribution of tax revenues between the central government and the state governments. It is a constitutional mechanism established to allocate the proceeds of certain taxes among the Union and the states in a fair and equitable manner. Article 280(3)(a) of the Constitution of India mandates that the Finance Commission (FC) has the responsibility to make recommendations regarding the division of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the states. "This funding will be dedicated to the development of Chhattisgarh, and I extend heartfelt thanks to the government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the people," said Sai. He also expressed his best wishes to the students appearing in the board examination and wished for their bright future, suggesting they write the examination without any fear. Meanwhile, following his participation in the BJP core committee meeting in Delhi, Kiran Singh Deo, the State President of the BJP in Chhattisgarh, informed that the candidate list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will be released shortly after detailed discussions with senior leaders of the parliamentary board. Deputy CM of Chhattisgarh, Arun Sao, speaking to the media, revealed, "The BJP will soon unveil the list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. We are committed to sending strong contenders to compete." Exuding confidence in the BJP's victory in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said, "We will win all 11 seats from Chhattisgarh." In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won nine of the 11 seats in Chhattisgarh. The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was held at the party headquarters in the national capital on Wednesday. At the meeting, Party President JP Nadda, along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and representatives and chief ministers of 16 states, were present. The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Sources said that in Madhya Pradesh, the names of prominent leaders, including former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and senior party functionaries Kailash Vijayvargiya and Narottam Mishra, are among the recommendations received by the central leadership from the state unit. The first list for Rajasthan may have 15 names, including some prominent leaders. The list from Odisha is also expected to have the names of some senior leaders and party functionaries, sources revealed. The party is expected to announce over 100 names over the next few days. Sources said the first list is likely to have the names of top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The party may also initially focus on states where it is contesting on its own. The first list may also have some seats the BJP lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has discussed candidates for 14 Lok Sabha seats the party lost in 2019 and the first list could include around 40 names from the electorally crucial state, sources said. The first list may have all names in western Uttar Pradesh and some seats in the Awadh and Purvanchal regions of the state.(ANI)
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Pramod Kumar Mishra, attended the KIIT Knowledge programme in Odisha on Friday and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his efforts to make India a developed country. "It was a very good experience to see so many institutions in such diverse areas, starting from social science, management, technology and medicines...I would like to appeal to young students to work hard. They have great opportunities," Principal Secretary to the PM told reporters on Friday. He further praised the efforts of Prime Minister Modi who he said was putting in efforts to make India a developed country. "The efforts our Prime Minister is putting in to make India a developed country. A lot of work has been done in the last ten years. A very strong foundation has been laid by undertaking different reforms, and infrastructure developments. Our youngsters can do a lot to enhance the technology," Mishra said. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister was conferred with an honorary doctorate by President Droupadi Murmu at the convocation of Utkal University in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. "I would like to appeal to the young students that they must work hard as they have great opportunities," he added. The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has varied work experience in the management of programmes relating to agriculture, disaster management, the power sector, infrastructure financing, and regulatory issues and has an outstanding career profile comprising research, publications, policy formulation and programme and project management. He has vast experience in policymaking and administration and has handled major assignments such as Additional Pr. Secretary to the Prime Minister; Secretary, Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India; Chairman, State Electricity Regulatory Commission; and in the area of Disaster management. Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar is among India's most sought-after universities, attracting students from all over India and more than 53 countries to pursue professional and technical education. (ANI)
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Friday visited the family of JS Sidhharth, a veterinary student who allegedly died by suicide in Kerala's Wayanad on February 18. Venugopal was accompanied by party leaders T Siddique, M Liju, Rahul Mamkootathil and others during his visit to Sidhharth's house at Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram district. Speaking to reporters after meeting the family, Venugopal hit out at the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) over the alleged involvement of members of the Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI (M) in the student's death. "We witnessed heartbreaking scenes in this house. I cannot even face Sidhharth's mother. This type of situation cannot be described in words. The way in which SFI, CPI (M) criminals are attacking innocent students of the state is not at all acceptable," Venugopal said. He further alleged the death to be a murder 'sponsered' by SFI. "This is not suicide, this is a clear-cut murder sponsored by the Students' Federation of India," he said. Earlier in the day, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan visited the deceased student's parents at Nedumangad. The family had met the governor two days ago and handed over a complaint regarding the incident. "I am here to share the grief of the family, especially the mother, who is in a very bad state. The police and the university are saying that the SFI activists are involved in it. Here young people are being trained for violence, but they are merely pawns," the governor said while speaking to reporters after his visit. "Youth's future is getting ruined by it. I appeal to every political party to rethink their strategy, rethink how they want to work, and give up violence," he said. Twenty-year-old JS Sidhharth, student at Government Veterinary College at Pookode in Wayanad, was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18, according to police. It is a case of murder and not suicide, Siddharth's relative told reporters on Thursday, alleging that Sidhharth was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus. Earlier on February 29, Kerala police arrested six persons in connection with the death of the veterinary student. A seventh person was taken into custody for questioning earlier in the day, police said. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the police are protecting the accused and urged action against the teachers for allegedly trying to cover-up the matter. Law Minister P Rajeev assured action against the accused, irrespective of the organisation they belong to. "Action will be taken against any culprits, irrespective of the organisation they belong to," Rajeev said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the state police chief to form a special investigation team to look into the death of the student and assured strong action against the accused. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers including the party's Mahila Morcha workers and Bhopal Mayor Malti Rai burned an effigy of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday while protesting against the Sandeshkhali incident. They burned the effigy at the board office square in the city and raised slogans against CM Matma Banerjee on the occasion. Bhopal Mayor Malti Rai told ANI, "Women are being tortured in Mamata Banerjee's state. She herself is a Chief Minister and being a woman Chief Minister, she should feel ashamed of it. She should immediately arrest those people who torture women. Today we have burnt her effigy because Mamata Banerjee is not ashamed of the atrocities on women taking place in her state." Meanwhile, BJP workers also staged a protest at Phoolbagh Square in Gwalior district on Friday, over the Sandeshkhali incident. BJP District President, Abhay Chaudhary said, "The BJP is protesting against the atrocities that occurred in West Bengal in the entire country today. The West Bengal government is providing open patronage in the incident. The accused has been arrested and the accused should be given capital punishment." Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district had been witnessing widespread protests against Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Shahjahan Sheikh this month as a section of women were seeking justice against alleged atrocities committed by the TMC leader. A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Shajahan Sheikh and his close aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion. Shahjahan was arrested by West Bengal police on Thursday morning in connection with an alleged assault on ED officers during a raid in January earlier this year. West Bengal's Basirhat Court remanded Trinamool Congress (TMC) Sheikh Shahjahan to 10-day police custody on Thursday. Lawyer Raja Bhowmick, who represented Shahjahan in court, said, "14-day police custody (of Sheikh Shahjahan) was demanded, but the court allowed 10-day custody." "On March 10, he will be produced in court again," he said. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress on Thursday suspended Sheikh Shahjahan from the party for six years. (ANI)
Slamming the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that the meaning of JMM has become "jam kar ke khao." Addressing a rally in Dhanbad, PM Modi said that the situation here in Jharkhand has deteriorated since the day JMM-Congress' corrupt, dynastic government was formed. "The meaning of JMM has become 'jam kar ke khao'. 'Rangdaari' is on the rise in Jharkhand, and infiltration is increasing due to appeasement. JMM, Congress leaders have only one work to fill their coffers," the Prime Minister said. He further accused the INDI alliance government of halting and creating obstacles to making houses for the poor in the state. "I am working on solving the water issues... But the INDI Alliance is halting it... Only 50 per cent of the work of the Jal Jeevan Mission has been able to complete... They are creating obstacles to making houses for the poor," he added. PM Modi said that the INDI alliance is anti-development, anti-people and it wants free ration distribution to be stopped but our government will carry on. INDI Alliance government is anti-development and anti-people... Their only vision is to snatch the rights of the people and enjoy... The middlemen are not able to have the commission anymore... Those who have lost their commission are abusing me... But their abuses don't reach me because your blessings are protecting me," he added. The Prime Minister further said that where all hopes from others end, Modi's guarantee begins; BJP committed to weeding out corruption in Jharkhand. "Revival of plants like Sindri fertiliser unit, North Karanpura power project examples of the fulfilment of Modi's guarantee," PM Modi said. PM Modi asserted that the INDI alliance opposes every scheme made by us or creates obstacles to it. "Dhanbad and the surrounding area are full of industrialists and labourers. The INDI alliance opposes every scheme made by us or creates obstacles to it... We will continue the free ration scheme... We implemented the 'One nation, one ration card' scheme... Women power is going to play a huge role in making India develop... In the last 10 years, BJP has solved multiple problems of the women," he added. Earlier, PM Modi unveiled development projects worth more than Rs 35,700 crore, an initiative focused on the fertiliser, rail, power, and coal sectors in Jharkhand. The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar on March 1 and 2. (ANI)
The Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre of Delhi High Court is going to be inaugurated at the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on March 2, 2024, by Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala, Chief Justice, Madras High Court and Justice Rajiv Shakdher, Judge, High Court of Delhi & Chairman, IT and AI Committee. The event will also be attended by members of the Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Committee of the High Court of Delhi and companion judges of the Madras High Court. The Delhi High Court made a paradigm shift in its functioning after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, augmented its various ICT-enabled services, and introduced several new e-initiatives in order to ensure seamless and uninterrupted functioning of the justice delivery system unhindered by any restraint in times of crisis. The Delhi HC, under the aegis of the Information Technology Committee, has taken a momentous decision to install and commission one unit of high-end NetApp Network-Attached Storage (NAS) at the Server Room (within the premises of the Court in Delhi) and the second unit of NAS at its Disaster Recovery (DR) Centre at the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court in Tamil Nadu. It is approximately 2575 kilometres away from Delhi, in a different seismic zone with the facility of live and regular backup and smooth connectivity, so that in case of inaccessibility of onsite NAS/data due to any unforeseen circumstances, the NAS installed at DR Centre at Madurai could be used instantly, and all the courts of the High Court of Delhi could immediately start their functioning remotely by connecting from DR Centre, and the wheels of justice keep moving on uninterrupted for the benefit of lawyers, litigants, and the public at large. The DR Centre at Madurai for High Court of Delhi will have live backup of all the data and applications/software of this Court and as such, it will ensure the safety and security of the data and applications/software of the Delhi High Court in the event of any untoward incident within the premises of the Court in Delhi as well as any cyber security breach. The DR Centre for Delhi High Court is very crucial, as it makes sure that all the the courts of the High Court of Delhi can continue their functioning even in the face of disasters such as natural calamities, cyber attacks, or infrastructure failures. This helps maintain access to critical data and services, allowing the courts to function without prolonged downtime. In the event of a disaster, a well-implemented DR centre can facilitate a quick and seamless transition to backup systems. This minimises downtime, ensuring that court proceedings and services can resume promptly. NAS is a high-end safe and secure storage device attached to a network that allows data to be accessible from multiple authorised users and devices, can connect to the network via standard Ethernet and provides a single access point for storage, making data continuously available to all the concerned users/stakeholders to collaborate and work effectively, regardless of where they are located. The NetApp NAS of the High Court of Delhi is an advanced data storage solution, solidifying its commitment to top-tier technology, includes the All Flash AFF A400 (200 TB usable) and Object Storage (Storage Grid SG 100) with an impressive 1PB usable capacity. Noteworthy features encompass a swift 12 Gbps read performance, catering to the Court's need for simultaneous data access. This state-of-the-art solution introduces efficient data management through tiering, archival, data versioning and immutable data retention capabilities, enabling the court to optimise storage resources effectively. (ANI)
T Jayaprakash, the father of JS Sidhharth, a veterinary student who allegedly died by suicide in Kerala's Wayanad on February 18, alleged that the death of his son seems to be a murder 'sponsored' by the leaders and workers of the Students Federation of India (SFI). Talking to ANI on Friday, Jayaprakash said that one of the friends of Sidhharth informed him that the death of his son was a well-planned murder, adding that 'brutal ragging' is regular in the college. "At the time of the incident, I was in Dubai. When I came back, his (Sidhharth) friend told me that it was a well-planned murder. After that, a few students told me that brutal ragging also happens here but no one informs officials as they are all afraid. The dean or the college officials didn't inform me about anything," he said. Alleging the involvement of SFI workers and leaders in the death of his son, Jayaprakash said, "Even during the postmortem, none of the college officials were there. Right now, I can't say how the investigation is going on because I don't know the clear details. I am 100 per cent sure that SFI workers were involved, not just the workers but the leaders. All those who are suspended in anti-ragging action belong to SFI." Earlier in the day, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal visited the deceased student's parents at Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram. Venugopal was accompanied by party leaders T Siddique, M Liju, Rahul Mamkootathil and others during his visit to Sidhharth's house. Speaking to reporters after meeting the family, Venugopal hit out at the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) over the alleged involvement of members of the SFI, the student wing of the CPI (M), in the student's death. "We witnessed heartbreaking scenes in this house. I cannot even face Sidhharth's mother. This type of situation cannot be described in words. The way in which SFI, CPI (M) criminals are attacking innocent students of the state is not at all acceptable," Venugopal said. "This is not suicide, this is a clear-cut murder sponsored by the Students' Federation of India," he added. Twenty-year-old JS Sidhharth, a student at Government Veterinary College at Pookode in Wayanad, was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18, according to police. It is a case of murder and not suicide, Siddharth's relative told reporters on Thursday, alleging that Sidhharth was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus. Earlier on February 29, Kerala police arrested six people in connection with the death of the veterinary student. A seventh person was taken into custody for questioning earlier in the day, police said. Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the police are protecting the accused and urged action against the teachers for allegedly trying to cover-up the matter. Law Minister P Rajeev assured action against the accused, irrespective of the organisation they belong to. "Action will be taken against any culprits, irrespective of the organisation they belong to," Rajeev said. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the state police chief to form a special investigation team to look into the death of the student and assured strong action against the accused. (ANI)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declined an invitation to dine with Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar, who had extended an invitation a day before to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during his visit to his hometown on March 2. Fadnavis, in a letter to Sharad Pawar on Friday, said that he cannot accept the invitation as he will be engaged in important programmes on March 2. "I received the letter written by you, as well as an invitation for dinner from you. As you are aware that after the efforts of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Namo Maharojgar Melava is being organized in Baramati. This big programme will be held in Baramati, after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj will be held in Badhu Budruk and Tuljapur and immediately after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of revolutionary Lahuji Vastad Salve is scheduled. The whole day is going to be very busy as two important programmes are being organized one after the other. Therefore, I will not be able to accept your urgent invitation this time. Thank you once again," the Maharashtra Deputy CM said. Sharad Pawar, the opposition leader, had invited Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the two Deputy CMs, including his nephew Ajit Pawar, to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during their visit on March 2. In his letter, Sharad Pawar wrote, "After taking the oath as CM of the state, the CM is coming to Baramati for the first time and I am very glad about his visit to attend the Namo Maharojgar Event in Baramati. Therefore, I would like to extend the invitation for the meal at my residence after the event, along with his other Cabinet colleagues." Shinde along with his deputies Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, all political rivals of Sharad Pawar, will be attending a job fair, 'Namo Maharojgar Melava', in the premises of Vidya Pratishthan college in Baramati town of Pune district. The surprise invitation to Shinde and the two deputy CMs by Senior Pawar comes in the backdrop of a split in the NCP, a party founded by him in 1999, and strained ties with his nephew Ajit Pawar, who parted ways with him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year. (ANI)
Launching the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll campaign in Mamata Banerjee's turf for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the TMC government is a big hurdle in the empowerment of poor, farmers, youth and women. PM Modi attacked TMC on Sandeshkhali issue while addressing a public rally in West Bengal's Arambagh urging people to reply in the form of vote to each pain they have suffered. "Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai. Today, the people of West Bengal are asking their CM 'Didi'- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities against women in Sandeshkhali?...All the tall leaders of INDI alliance were silent on the Sandeshkhali incident. INDI alliance leaders were like the three monkeys of Gandhiji...Congress chief said- 'Arey chhoddo, Bengal mein toh yeh sab chalta rheta hai," PM Modi said. He also underlined the mantra of 'GYAN', and said that 'Garib' (poor), 'Yuva' (youth), 'Annadata' (farmers), and 'Nari' (women) are the priorities of the government. On the same day, Prime Minister also addressed a public rally in West Bengal's Hooghly. "We have set a target of making the country 'developed' by 2047. The poor, youth, farmers, and women of the country are priorities of the government," he said. "We have consistently taken steps for the welfare of the poor, the outcome of which is being witnessed by the world. In the past 10 years, 25 crores of people came out of poverty. This shows that the government is relying on fair policies, decisions and directions. The prime reason is that the intent of the government is pure," added the PM. PM Modi further said that he inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of several projects including those related to rail, ports, petroleum, and 'Jal Shakti'. "Today, we have inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of projects worth more than 7,000 crore in West Bengal. This includes rail, ports, petroleum and 'Jal Shakti' related projects," PM Modi said. The Prime Minister further highlighted that the goal of the government is to modernise railway facilities in West Bengal, with the speed at which it is being done in other parts of the country. "India has shown the world how development is done in sync with the environment. From Haldia to Barauni, a crude oil pipeline measuring over 500 Kilometres is an example of this. Today, sewage treatment plant is being commenced in a bid to reduce pollution in the Hugli River," he said. The Prime Minister underlined that a budget worth over Rs 13,000 crores have been alloted for the development of railways in West Bengal. "The central government, this year, has alloted a budget worth over Rs 13,000 crore for development of Railways in West Bengal; this amount is three times higher than that alloted before 2014," said the PM. Prime Minister Modi also threw light on the tenure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the past 10 years. "During the past 10 years, several pending projects were completed. Electrification of railway tracks of more than 3,000 Km was done. Over 100 Railways stations have been re-developed. Five new Vande Bharat Express trains are making the people of West Bengal experience 'modern railways'," he said. (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate has seized Rs 580.78 crore in assets related to the Mahadev Online Book Betting app case, asserting that its activities are being operated from Dubai. The ED's action occurred as the agency conducted raids at 15 locations targeting individuals suspected of involvement in money laundering networks associated with Mahadev Online Book in Kolkata, Gurugram, Delhi, Indore, Mumbai, and Raipur. During the operation, the ED said it retrieved cash worth Rs 1.86 crore, valuables worth Rs 1.78 crore and also frozen and identified proceeds of crime worth Rs 580.78 crore. The searches also resulted in the seizure of a large amount of incriminating evidence, including digital data and the identification of assets. The agency is investigating a case against "Mahadev Online Book", which is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of Benami bank accounts. The ED initiated an investigation on the basis of First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Chhattisgarh Police. Subsequently, other FIRs registered by Visakhapatnam Police and other states were also taken on record. An ED investigation into the matter has revealed that "the operations of Mahadev Online Book are being run from Dubai and it operates by franchising 'panel and branches' to their known associates on a 70 per cent to 30 per cent profit ratio." "The main promoters of Mahadev Online Book are also partners and promoters in multiple such online betting books like 'Reddy Anna' and 'Fairplay'. Large-scale hawala operations are done to syphon off the proceeds of betting proceeds to off-shore accounts," said the agency. In the course of further investigation, the ED successfully identified other major players involved with the promoters of Mahadev Online Book. "It was found that one Hari Shankar Tibrewal, who hails from Kolkata but is currently residing in Dubai, is a huge hawala operator and has partnered with the promoters of Mahadev Online Book. ED conducted searches at his known premises and at the premises of his associates. The searches revealed that Hari Shankar Tibrewal owned and operated one of the illegal betting websites, such as SkyExchange. "He, through his Dubai-based entities, was investing the betting proceeds in the Indian Stock market by way of the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route. He had also employed many of his associates as Director in various companies which were involved in layering of the betting proceeds by investing them in the stock market. He was also involved in large-scale hawala movement of the betting funds," said the ED. Accordingly, security holdings worth Rs 580.78 crore in the name of the entities beneficially owned by Hari Shankar Tibrewal have been frozen by ED under PMLA 2002. Earlier in this case, movable properties totalling Rs 572.41 crore were seized and frozen during searches conducted under the PMLA, 2002. Two provisional attachment orders have been issued, attaching movable and immovable properties valued at Rs 142.86 crore. Prosecution complaints dated October 20, 2023, and January 1 of this year have been filed in the case. Nine accused have already been apprehended in connection with the case. Thus, total attachment and freezing in the case stand at Rs 1,296.05 crore. The move comes almost a month after the federal agency arrested two individuals, Nitin Tibrewal from Kolkata and Amit Agrawal from Raipur. Both accused were arrested in the second week of January. Earlier, the ED had arrested alleged accused Asim Das, Bheem Singh Yadav, Chandrabhushan Verma, Anil Kumar Agrawal, Sunil Dammani, and Satish Chandrakar. The agency stated that the illicit funds generated by the app were used to bribe politicians and bureaucrats. In November last year, the ED had also conducted searches against the money laundering networks linked with the alleged Mahadev Book Online Betting App, which led to the recovery of cash worth Rs 5.39 crore and a bank balance of Rs 15.59 crore. Several celebrities and Bollywood actors have also been summoned by the agency for questioning regarding their connections with the online betting platform and the payment methods involved. ED has filed two charge sheets in the Mahadev app case, including against the main promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. The two promoters were recently detained in Dubai based on an Interpol red notice, and ED is working on their deportation or extradition to India. The first charge sheet alleges that Chandrakar spent around Rs 200 crore in cash for his wedding in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February 2023. The agency claims that private jets were hired to transport Chandrakar's relatives, and celebrities were paid for performances. The projected proceeds of crime in this case are estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. The agency filed the second charge sheet before a special court in Raipur on January 1 of this year. The about 1,700-1,800 page fresh charge sheet specifically named five accused, including alleged cash courier Asim Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, and Shubham Soni, a prominent executive linked to the app, among others. Das and Yadav were arrested by the agency in November last year, just before the first phase of polling for the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh. Soni, who had claimed to be the owner of the app, earlier issued a video statement and sent an affidavit to the ED claiming to have "proof" about kickbacks paid to politicians and their linked persons for allowing the app to run its illegal businesses without any legal action. ED previously asserted that Mahadev app promoters paid approximately Rs 508 crore to former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. These claims, made just before the state assembly polls, were denied by Baghel, who labelled them as attempts to malign his image. The Congress party termed it vendetta politics by the Centre. Chandrakar and Uppal, originally from Bhilai town in Chhattisgarh, are associated with the Mahadev online betting app, which is accused of facilitating illegal betting websites. (ANI)
Interview: GSMA's China chief opposes fragmentation of 6G standards

Xinhua) 08:29, March 01, 2024

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- GSMA opposes the fragmentation of 6G standards and will leverage international platforms including the Mobile World Congress (MWC) to advocate for unified standards, the association's Greater China chief Sihan Bo Chen told Xinhua in an interview.

"We firmly support standardization organizations in their efforts to unify global standards, as fragmentation is highly detrimental to users, the global economy, and industries," she said at this year's MWC in Barcelona, Spain, which runs from Feb. 26 to 29.

She recalled the convergence of all standards through the long journey from 2G to 4G eras, and stressed that "5G has now emerged with a unified standard."

GSMA, which brings together more than 1,000 mobile operators and companies in the global mobile ecosystem and related industries, is the organizer of the MWC.

The number of Chinese exhibitors participating in the ongoing event is almost twice the figure from last year, Sihan Bo Chen said, adding that Chinese companies are playing an indispensable role and Chinese industries well represent the diversity in the mobile ecosystem.

"We are pleased to witness numerous enterprises, whether startups or large corporations, showcasing international innovative ideas and products," she added.

She said China has taken the lead in the global development of the 5G. "2024 marks the first year of 5G-Advanced's commercial use, and China is at the forefront to start the second stage of its 5G development, the 5G-Advanced."

She noted China's remarkable achievements in 5G deployment and its leading position in terms of the number of base stations, connections, and commercial applications. "China's advancements in 5G innovation and development serve as inspiration for other countries and regions worldwide."

China made solid progress in 5G innovation and development last year, with the number of 5G base stations increasing to nearly 3.38 million, the latest data from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The Delhi High Court recently set aside the order of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) directing the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to provide information related to Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The order was challenged by the CBDT. Justice Subramonium Prasad, on February 28, set aside the order of November 30, 2022, passed by the CIC. Justice Prasad relied upon his own judgement of January 22, 2024, passed in the case of "CPIO/Dy Commissioner of Income Tax HQ Exemption, New Delhi vs. Girish Mittal". The counsel for the petitioner stated that information pertaining to an assessee cannot be granted under the RTI Act in view of Section 138(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Earlier, the High Court, on January 17, 2024, stayed the order of the CIC in view of the fact that the CIC had not issued notice to the Trust. The trust is looking after the construction and management of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The Court had said, "The petitioner has made out a prima facie case for granting interim relief, and irreparable injury would be caused to it if the interim relief were not granted." The CPIO had challenged the order, sought its quashing, and stated the order was received on January 3, 2023. The order had directed the CPIO to relook at certain points made in the RTI application and provide the information within 15 days from the date of receiving the order. The RTI applicant, Kailash Chandra Moondra, had sought a copy of the complete application filed by the trust for exemption or deduction under relevant provisions of law for the donation. He had also sought a copy of the trust deed filed along with the application seeking exemption. The applicant was denied the information and he had moved the first appeal before appellate authority. The appeal was also dismissed. Thereafter, the applicant approached the CIC, which passed the order of November 30 directing the CPIO to provide information. While hearing the petition, the High Court said that the Income Tax Act is a special Act and the information relating to the income tax records is exempted under it. (ANI)
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu shot off a letter to Governor S Abdul Nazeer alleging that the ruling Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) is targeting his party leaders through the Andhra Pradesh State Directorate for Revenue Intelligence (APSDRI). "This is to bring to Your Excellency's notice about the manner in which theruling YSRCP is targeting opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leaders andcadre by weakening them economically and politically," Naidu said in his letter. "For this, the ruling YSRCP has formed the Andhra Pradesh State Directorate for Revenue Intelligence (APSDRI) and started targeting TDP leaders in order to weaken them financially and politically by threatening them. In the process, APSDRI instead of performing as per its official mandate, has turned into a weapon in the ruling YSRCP quiver to harass its dissenters and detractors," the TDP chief added. Naidu mentioned that the the APSDRI is "specifically targeting" his party leaders and cadre and going on a rampage in imposing fines, making arrests, and undertakingunscheduled and sudden searches of firms and houses. The former Chief Minister said that after the "epic harassment" of TDP MLA Shri Yeluri Sambasavia Rao, the APSDRI has also targeted former Minister P Narayana in Nellore and senior TDP leader Prattipati Pullarao's son P Sarath. Naidu also claimed that the APSDRI took over Sarath's case, which was already under inquiry by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Hyderabad. "The ruling YSRCP has been using the Crime Investigation Department (CID) as its puppet to settle political scores and similarly formed APSDRI to target dissent voices and weaken them financially and politically by foisting false cases," Naidu mentioned. He added that several businesspeople have approached the court for justice after being unable to bear the harassment of APSDRI. Naidu claimed that the YSRCP is going to lose in the forthcoming Assembly elections and hence it is targeting and harassing TDP leaders and their families in desperation. The Chief Minister appealed to the Governor to intervene in the matter and ensure that "such illegal and cheap tactics" are immediately stopped by the ruling YSRCP. (ANI)
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the accused involved in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram cafe will be traced and punished, adding that opposition parties should refrain from indulging in politics over the incident. As many as nine people have been injured in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast. Addressing reporters in Mysuru, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "CCTV footage from the cafe is being examined. It has come to be known that someone had left a bag at the cafe. The accused in the incident will be punished." Asserting that "multiple explosions have also taken place in the previous governments," the Chief Minister said, "This incident has happened in our government. Disciplinary and strict action will be taken against those who involved. Politics should not be done in this matter." According to sources, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will visit the Bengaluru explosion site as per Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar assured the people of Bengaluru and said that investigative agencies are seriously looking into the matter. "Our officers are investigating the issue, whether there was some business rivalry or not or who did it will be investigated. Whoever it may be, there are videos, complete videos of almost 2-3 kms which is being inspected by the investigating officers there. There is nothing serious, Bengalurians need not to worry law and order situation in the state is fine," he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader PC Mohan had expressed concerns over the explosion that took place in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe and urged the administration to investigate the incident. In a post on X, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central, PC Mohan said, "Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru." Also, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya who represents Bengaluru South Constituency said that the founder of the cafe informed him that blast has occured after a customer left a bag in its premises. The National President of the BJP Yuva Morcha said that the people of Bengaluru are demanding answers from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. "Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured. It's seems to be a clear case of bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM Siddaramaiah," Tejasvi Surya posted on X.(ANI)
According to the Delhi Police, the 28-year-old, identified as Chandan Das, died by suicide due to strained relations with his wife.

"A PCR call was received on March 1 regarding the suicide by hanging of a worker in the STP plant in Basement 2, Imperial Club of India, Vasant Kunj. The caller was found to be Deepanshu, the security guard of the Imperial Club. Das was working as an operator in the STP plant. He was on night shift duty from 8.00 PM to 8.00 AM at Imperial Club Vasant Kunj. The deceased was found hanging with a cloth," the police said.

The police further said that after an inquiry, it was found that the deceased had a matrimonial dispute and, before committing suicide, made a video call to his mother.

After the video call, the wife and mother of the deceased came to the Imperial Club and informed the guard.

"Immediately, the guard went and checked the basement area, where Chandan Das, who was on duty, was found hanging. A crime team was called to the spot and an inspection was conducted. The crime team has inspected the spot," the police added.

Further investigation into the case is underway. (ANI)
Karnataka Director General of Police (DGP) Dr Alok Mohan on Friday informed that nine people were injured in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast. "The CM and the Home Minister have been given complete information on the incident. Nine people were injured in the incident. An investigation is underway. We will get feedback from the FSL team. We will respond after receiving the report," he said. The injured have been shifted to the hospital for treatment, police said. A security guard working at the Rameshwaram Cafe who was present at the time of the incident said, "I was standing outside the cafe. Many customers had come to the hotel. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a fire broke out, causing injuries to the customers inside the hotel." Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader PC Mohan had expressed concerns over the explosion that took place in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe and urged the administration to investigate the incident. In a post on X, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central, PC Mohan said, "Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru." Also, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya who represents Bengaluru South Constituency said that the founder of the cafe informed him that blast has occured after a customer left a bag in its premises. The National President of the BJP Yuva Morcha said that the people of Bengaluru are demanding answers from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. "Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured. It's seems to be a clear case of bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM Siddaramaiah," Tejasvi Surya posted on X. Police teams and fire brigade teams rushed to the blast site and were seen analysing the aftereffects of the explosion. Shattered glass and furniture were seen strewn on the floor of the cafe, which drew attention among residents. A team of forensic experts has also started collecting evidence from the site of the explosion. A dog squad also arrived at the site of the explosion. The area was secured by the police and Fire Brigade teams and the injured were hospitalised. The Rameshwaram Cafe is one of the popular hangouts and is usually extremely crowded during lunch hours. Further details are awaited. (ANI)
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Friday met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata on Friday evening. However, Mamata Banerjee clarified that her meeting was both a protocol meeting and a courtesy meeting. "This is a protocol and courtesy meeting. I am not going to discuss any political things, because this is not at all a political meeting," she said. "It is a protocol that if the President or Prime Minister visits, the CM has to meet them," she added. Mamata Banerjee's meeting with the Prime Minister comes at a time when the state claims that the Centre owes the West Bengal government over lakh crore rupees in due. Earlier, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the central government for blocking the disbursement of funds to the state. Banerjee further said that just like the state government is providing beneficiaries with MGNREGA funds, it will do so for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as well if the Centre does not release funds for it by April 1. "If by April 1, the Center does not release money for Awaas Yojna, the state government will release funds for the same, just like we are releasing MGNREGA funds for the deprived beneficiaries," the Chief Minister said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on February 2 announced that the state government would pay 21 lakh MGNREGA workers their pending wages by February 21. The ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal has consistently protested against the central government, citing delays in fund allocation for initiatives such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and other social security programs in the state. However, the Ministry of Rural Development stated that the release of funds for West Bengal was stopped on March 9, 2022, by Section 27 of MGNREGA because of the state's non-compliance with the directives of the central government. In December last year, a ten-member delegation led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged delay in the release of MGNREGA funds to the state. (ANI)
The Terrorist and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court on Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial blasts case.

The court acquitted Tunda due to a lack of evidence.

Advocate Shafqat Sultani of Tunda said that the CBI failed to present any strong evidence against Abdul Karim Tunda.

Two other accused, Irfan and Hameeduddin, have been sentenced to life imprisonment, taking the total to 12.

Abdul Karim Tunda is a key accused in the serial bomb blasts that took place in trains at Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on December 5 and 6 in 1993.

Two people were killed and several more were injured in the 1993 blasts that took place in trains in five cities.

The CBI had accused Tunda of being the mastermind behind the blasts on four trains on the first anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. (ANI)
In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress state chief YS Sharmila accused him of betraying the people of the state. Addressing party supporters at a meeting in Anantapur on Friday, the PCC chief, who happens to be the sister of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy and was formerly with the ruling YSRCP, said PM Modi failed to live up to his promise of a 'special status' for Andhra Pradesh while also not sanctioning promised funds for developing the state capital--Amravati. Apart from railing against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, the Congress leader outlined the party's guarantee for the welfare of the weaker sections. She added that the grand old party, which is eyeing a return to the helm in Andhra in the upcoming Assembly elections, will lay out its development plans for the state before the people on March 1. She claimed that PM Modi promised a 'special status' for Andhra at a recent public meeting in Tirupati. She added that a 'special status' for the state would go a long way in meeting the pressing needs of the people. In a veiled swipe at PM Modi, she came down heavily against those who 'exploit' the issue and sentiment around the demand for 'special status' for 'political gain'. The PCC chief said the Congress, while campaigning for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, promised to grant a special constitutional status to Andhra for 5 years, adding that the BJP, on the other hand, vowed a similar status for the state for 10 years. She added that the grand old party would raise a renewed pitch for 'special status' at the same venue later. Also invoking PM Modi's promise to make the state a hardware hub and set up a Petroleum Research Centre, Sharmila rued the 'lack of progress' on these fronts. Raising the Centre's 'failed' promise to contribute monetarily to the development of a 'dream capital' of Andhra, Sharmila said if PM Modi continues to 'deceive' the state, both the ruling party and the Congress will come out strongly against the Centre. She said the unfulfilled demand for a 'special status' has set the state back by '25 years' when compared to some other states that had been granted a similar status. Citing Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh as examples of states that profited from the Centre's hand-holding and saw an industrial boom, Sharmila questioned why Andhra should lag while other states mark forward strides. (ANI)
Nand Lal said that the state was progressing by leaps and bounds under the stewardship of Sukhu and expressed full faith in the Chief Minister.

The Chairman added that the State Government had launched various welfare schemes which were benefitting the people of the State.

Meanwhile, taking to 'X', CM Sukhu wrote, "Today, I met the newly appointed Chairman of the 7th State Finance Commission, Nand Lal ji in Shimla. During this, Nand Lal ji said, he has full faith in the state government that the government is working for the welfare of the people of the state, due to which the state is moving on the path of progress."

"Your unwavering faith gives us more strength. We will unite and realize the dream of self-reliant Himachal," added the Chief Minister.

Nand Lal represents the Rampur constitunecy in the Himachal Pradesh assembly. He was elected as an MLA in 2022, for the fourth consecutive term.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, Mohan Lal Brakta and Ram Kumar and MLAs were also present on the occasion. (ANI)
Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, the BJP held meetings of the Central Election Committee on Thursday night to discuss names of candidates for around 156 seats from 17 states, where these two names were among those finalised, said the party sources.

"Both are sitting MPs, Dr Jitender Singh from Udhampur and Jugal Kishor Sharma from Jammu. They will be getting tickets again in upcoming Lok Saha 2024," said the source exclusively to ANI.

Around 17 states including Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Telangana, Assam, Goa and others were discussed in the meeting. Nearly 155 seats were finalised in the meeting last night.

PM Modi, BJP's National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges of various states were present in this meeting. The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Goa were also present.

BJP will release the first list soon, and there will be another round of CEC meetings in the coming days.

PM Modi has set a target of 'Crossing 400' in this year's Lok Sabha elections. BJP aims to win more than 370 seats on its own. (ANI)
After as many as 10 people were left injured after an explosion took place at Bengaluru's popular Rameshwaram cafe on Friday, the incident drew sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has demanded the resignation of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, citing "no law and order in the state". However, the Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government said that the accused involved in the incident will not be spared, and a thorough investigation is underway. The Chief Minister also urged the opposition parties to avoid politicisation of the matter. "The investigation into this case should be handed over to NIA. The CM should take responsibility and immediately resign," Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra said. The Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka also slammed the Siddaramaiah government over the Rameshwaram cafe blast incident and said that the ruling Congress party needs to change its mindset and strictly take action against such nefarious elements who are trying to destabilize the law and order situation in the state. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, R Ashoka said, "The mindset has to be changed. They (Karnataka government) are saying 'Brand Bengaluru' but it will become 'Bomb Bengaluru'. I request that the government to take serious action. There is no law and order. This government is not running properly." Asserting that "multiple explosions have also taken place in the previous governments," the Karnataka Chief Minister said, "This incident has happened in our government. Disciplinary and strict action will be taken against those who involved. Politics should not be done in this matter." A team of National Investigation Agency also visited the explosion site in the Whitefield area. PC Rao, President, Bengaluru Hotel Owners Association, said that the blast incident has not occurred to the cylinder blast. "The reason has not been identified. We are not sure. Inspection is going on, only after investigative reports we can conclude anything. But this is not a gas blast," he said. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party leader PC Mohan had expressed concerns over the explosion that took place in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe and urged the administration to investigate the incident. In a post on X, the BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru Central, PC Mohan said, "Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru." Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tejasvi Surya on Friday said that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must give free hand to agencies to investigate the Rameshwaram cafe blast incident, adding that State government is repeatedly changing its narrative on the matter. Tejasvi Surya, who represents Bengaluru South constituency in Lok Sabha, questioned the Chief Minister's Siddaramaiah's government intentions over the incident. "At first, they tried the narrative of cylinder blast. Now, they are trying the narrative of business rivalry. Why can't the Congress government allow the investigation agencies to do their job? Why preempt? Why prompt? Vote Bank compulsions? CM Siddaramaiah must give free hand to investigate and give clear answers to people of Bengaluru," Tejasvi Surya posted on X. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and State Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara along with DGP Alok Mohan, also visited the Bengaluru explosion site for inspection. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday said that the Rameshwaram cafe blast is being investigated from all angles, adding that 7-8 teams have been formed to probe the incident. Shivakumar also stated that a youth came and kept a small bag, which exploded after an hour. He has also asked the people of Bengaluru not to worry. "It was a low-intensity blast. A youth came and kept a small bag, which exploded after an hour. About 10 people received injuries. 7-8 teams formed to probe the incident. We are looking from all angles. I ask every Bangalorean not to worry," he said. A security guard working at the Rameshwaram Cafe who was present at the time of the incident said, "I was standing outside the cafe. Many customers had come to the hotel. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a fire broke out, causing injuries to the customers inside the hotel." The Rameshwaram Cafe is one of the popular hangouts and is usually extremely crowded during lunch hours. (ANI)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has sent a legal notice to Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh for sharing a 19-second clip from his interview on social media with the intent to "create confusion, sensation, and disrepute" the BJP leader. Gadkari has accused the Congress party of concealing the context and meaning of the interview with an "intent to create confusion, sensation, and disrepute" to the BJP leader and to "build fissure and rift" within the party. The legal notice sent by Gadkari's advocate, Balendu Shekhar, reads, "While pursuing the said sinister act, my client's interview has also been twisted, distorted, and presented on your handle 'X' by uploading the above video, which is bereft and devoid of contextual meaning. The same has been done deliberately and consciously with a selected piece of Hindi captions." The legal notice served by Minister Gadkari and sent by his advocate said, "My client is a Cabinet Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India. Being a part of the Union cabinet of the most dynamic, decisive, visionary, progressive, and powerful government that Bharat, i.e., India, has had since independence under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi, I very often interact with the press and media to highlight the deeds and accomplishments of work carried out in the present government regime. In continuation of the same series, my client gave his interview to an online platform, "THE LALLANTOP," which is still available." My client is part of the National Political Party, "Bhartiya Janata Party," which is also one of the lead components of NOA, which has formed the present Union Government, has been associated with Indian politics for the last several decades and holds a very high reputation in the general public on account of his efficacy and tireless service to the nation and the people, it said. "My client was shocked to know, hear, and see the contents and post on the microblogging site 'X' from your party's (Indian National Congress) official handle at 9:36 AM on March 1, 2024, on which you noticees deliberately posted 19 seconds of audio and visual clipping by concealing the contextual intent and meaning of the client's interview," it said. "The same sinister act has been done with sole intent and ulterior motives to fan and create confusion, sensation, and disrepute to my client in the eyes of the public at large, as well as a futile endeavour to build fissure and rift in the solidarity of the Bhartiya Janata Party, which is all poised to win the trust of people in the upcoming general election under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi," added the notice. The notice further said that the Congress party leaders were trying to build a false and fictitious narrative by falsely attributing the facts and statements of the leaders of the Bhartiya Janata Party. The notice alleges that the Congress leaders were aware of the contents of the interview and deliberately posted the Hindi captions and video by concealing the contextual meaning of the interaction, which is deliberate and malicious to malign the reputation of the BJP leader Gadkari. "The contents of the piece of the video clip, which is devoid of contextual intent of interaction as well as a captioned Hindi title, are completely false, scandalous, factually incorrect, are completely afterthought, and are an intentional attempt by you noticees to insult and demean my client, coupled with your intent to provoke members of the Bhartiya Jan ta Party to develop an ideological rift with my client," read the notice."The presence of your scandalous contents on your X wall has ultimately harmed the reputation of my client as well as of the political party "BJP'', with which my client is associated, in the eyes of the public at large. The contents of your post have been shared and seen on social networking sites in huge numbers, which has resulted in big reputation damage, defamation and a great loss of credibility for my client," it said. The legal notice further demanded that the post be deleted from the Congress party's social media handle within 24 hours of receiving the notice and apologies to Nitin Gadkari within 3 days. If failing to do so, the notice said that the BJP leader would have no other option but to take recourse to all such actions that are open to them, both civil and criminal, at the Congress leader's risk and expense. "A copy of this notice is retained at my office for record and further necessary action," read the notice further. (ANI)
In a testament to the robust partnership between Denmark and India, Danish Ambassador Freddy Svane expressed the strength of their relationship, emphasising shared values and a commitment to global sustainability. "We have worked hard. Denmark and India, and India and Denmark, we are the best friends ever. We work together. We are, let's say, guided by five S's - scale of India is not how many people you are. That's really the size of your potential. The largest of your potential goes. What India and Denmark do together has to be also to the rest of the world and sustainability, green development," Ambassador Svane told ANI. He highlighted the significance of their collaborative efforts, particularly in the Sundarbans region, where the topsoil family from Denmark has played a pivotal role in supporting the area's development. Ambassador Svane, accompanied by his wife, expressed immense happiness at witnessing the positive impact on the local community. The Ambassador commended the initiatives on the ground, noting the inspiring work in the Sundarbans that goes beyond geographical distances. He specifically mentioned the joy of witnessing children build rockets, symbolising India's journey to space with pride. The cultural program and local engagement further reflected the depth of the connection between the two nations. While acknowledging the physical distance of the Sundarbans from the bustling capital of New Delhi, Ambassador Svane highlighted the remarkable achievements on the ground. He encouraged the continuation of such impactful work and pledged ongoing support for future developments in the area. (ANI)
US Central Command on Thursday said it conducted two-self-defence strikes targeting six mobile anti-ship cruise missiles, that were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea. It also shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the southern Red Sea in self-defence. In a post on X, US Central Command stated, "On Feb. 29, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. (Sanaa time), US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted two self-defense strikes against six mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea." "Earlier that evening, at approximately 5:10 p.m. (Sanna time), CENTCOM forces shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over the southern Red Sea in self-defense. CENTCOM forces determined that the missiles and UAV presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to US Navy ships in the region. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels," it added. The strikes come amid heightened tensions in the region, where Houthi fighters have carried out attacks on commercial and military shipping since November. On February 28, US Central Command said that US aircraft and a coalition warship shot down five Iranian-backed Houthi one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the Red Sea on Tuesday between 9:50 pm (Sanaa time) to 10:55 pm (Sanaa time). According to US Central Command, the forces identified these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that they posed an imminent threat to merchant vessels, the US Navy and coalition ships in the region. The US Central Command noted that these actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safe and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels. In a post on X, US Central Command Forces stated, "On Feb. 27, between the hours of 9:50 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. (Sanaa time), U.S. aircraft and a coalition warship shot down five Iranian-backed Houthi one-way attack (OWA) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the Red Sea." "CENTCOM forces identified these UAVs originating from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels, the US Navy and coalition ships in the region. These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for US Navy and merchant vessels," it added. (ANI)
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's (JUI-F) to support their party in the elections for Pakistan's Prime Minister and National Assembly (NA) Speaker posts, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. According to details, the PTI delegation, comprising its nominees for Pakistan Prime Minister Omar Ayub and National Assembly Speaker Amir Dogar and others visited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman's house in Islamabad. PTI's nominee for the PM's slot, Omar Ayub, said that they called on the JUI-F chief to seek their support in the election process. He said, "We came here with a request to vote for the PTI's nominees in the elections for prime minister and National Assembly speaker slots." Asked whether PTI founder Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Adaila Jail, is aware of the development, Omar Ayub responded, "Yes." He said that many political parties have reservations about the results of the polls, according to ARY News report. Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qaiser said that the two parties have some stances regarding the election results and demand that they be announced based on Form 45. He said, "We (PTI and JUI-F) will move forward together in the parliament as well." Asad Qaisar said that the nation cannot flourish until the rule of law is established. Earlier on February 15, a PTI delegation led by Asad Qaiser, including Amir Dogar, Barrister Saif, Fazal Muhammad, and Umair Niazi urged JUI-F chief Moulana Fazalur Rehman at his residence. During the meeting, the PTI leaders conveyed Imran Khan's message to him, ARY News reported. Sources aware of the development said that the two parties discussed matters related to 'massive riggin' in the elections held on February 8. Rehman and the PTI delegation have expressed their reservations about the poll results. Pakistan held its 12th national general election on February 8, amid allegations of rigging and the shutdown of cellular and internet services. The PTI dominated the election results, with the highest number of successful candidates in the February 8 general elections. However, the party has alleged rigging in the polls. Earlier this week, PTI announced its decision to hold a protest on March 2 against the alleged rigging in the elections held on February 8, Pakistan-based Geo News reported. The party founded by Imran Khan announced that other political parties would also join them. PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub, who is also the party's candidate for the prime minister's position, spoke about the "large scale" rigging in the elections. He made the remarks in a press conference after his meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan. Ayub said PTI will hold nationwide protests against "rigging" in elections alongside other political parties. He said, "Our seats were stolen with just a stroke of the pen. The people gave the mandate to the former PTI chairman. The nation's mandate and our seats have been attacked." "He stated that the successful PTI-backed candidate had the Form 45s and added that PTI leaders held a meeting with Imran Khan, who is incarcerated at the prison. The PTI Secretary said Imran Khan is "confident" regarding the party's stance, according to Geo News report. Omar Ayub said that PTI will hold protests in courts and assemblies. He further said, "Ours is the fight of truth." He announced that PTI has nominated Amir Dogar and Junaid Khan for the positions of National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker. (ANI)
US President Joe Biden has ordered US Secretary of Commerce to conduct an investigation into possible security risks of Chinese-manufactured cars, The Washington Post reported. In a statement released by White House, Biden stated, "I am announcing unprecedented actions to ensure that cars on US roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security. I have directed my Secretary of Commerce to conduct an investigation into connected vehicles with technology from countries of concern and to take action to respond to the risks." Biden noted that China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by use of unfair means. He said that China's policies could flood US' market with its vehicles, posing risks to US' national security. He stated that majority of cars these days are connected to mobile phones, navigation, critical infrastructure and to the companies which have manufactured them. He stressed that connected vehicles from China could gather sensitive date about Americans and their infrastructure and send the information to China. In a statement, Biden stated, "China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch." "Most cars these days are "connected" - they are like smart phones on wheels. These cars are connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure, and to the companies that made them. Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People's Republic of China. These vehicles could be remotely accessed or disabled," he added. While announcing the investigation, Biden expressed his desire to ensure that the future of auto industry will remain in the US. He said, "With this and other actions, we are going to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers. In the statement, Biden said, "China imposes restrictions on American autos and other foreign autos operating in China. Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?" The investigation, led by the US Commerce Department, will not place any immediate restrictions on the import or sale of Chinese-manufactured automobiles, The Washington Post reported citing administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday (local time). According to the officials, the agency does not have the authority to ban or restrict sales if it finds any serious risks. The officals said many of the vehicles in question are electric. However, its not their electric motors that pose a concern, but their use of high-tech software, cameras and sensors that could be used to gather data or sabotage vehicles. The decision announced by Biden echoes the US administration's campaign against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which the United States accused of posing security risks to communications infrastructure, according to The Washington Post report. The US has banned the import or sale of Huawei's telecom-network gear. The US administration has also urged allied nations not to use it. Chinese-based telecom company Huawei has accused the US of using national security as an excuse to clobber a globally competitive rival. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that investigation will help the agency to find whether the executive order issued under the Trump administration that gave the US President new powers to protect domestic information and communications technology from national security threats, The Washington Post reported. In a call with journalists, Raimondo said, "Imagine if there were thousands of Chinese vehicles on American roads that could be immediately disabled by somebody in Beijing. It's scary to contemplate." She added, "We are doing [the investigation] now before Chinese-manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our national security." (ANI)
The Tibetan diaspora held a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Vienna on Wednesday, demanding the release of arrested Tibetans in Sichuan who were peacefully protesting the planned construction of a dam in Tibet, local sources stated. The protest was held to showcase their solidarity with Tibetans in China's Sichuan province and the demonstrators called for the immediate release of hundreds of Tibetan monks and villagers. During the protest, the Tibetan diaspora members raised slogans and held flags against this "illegal and inhumane action" by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). These Tibetan individuals also spoke about their stand against China's "draconian laws in the occupied territory." The protesters carried placards that read, "Chinese Communist Party should stop the forced relocation and dam construction in Kham Dege Wonpo villeage in Tibet" and "China stop the demolition of homes and monasteries in Kham Dege in Tibet." One of the protesters said, "The proposed dam would submerge historic monasteries and numerous Tibetan villages. This dam is the sixth in a proposed series of 13 dams on the River Dri Chu. The demonstration in Sichuan province started when CCP officials came to demolish the Yena and Wontoe monasteries for the construction of the dam." "Yena monastery in Shiba village and Wontoe monastery in Wontoe village are cultural landmarks believed to date back over 700 years, and the mural paintings in the monasteries have historical importance," he added. Previously, three youngsters from the Tibetan community in Austria staged a protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Vienna on Saturday over the human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese Communist Party in Tibet. They urged the international community to unite and openly support the Tibetan government-in-exile in their ongoing struggle to protect the human rights of Tibetans in Tibet. Adopting a novel protest, the young Tibetans used a projector and played videos of the forceful displacement of Tibetans by the Chinese in Tibet on the walls of the Chinese Embassy in Vienna. They also projected words highlighting the human rights violations of China and the cultural genocide carried out by China to erase the Tibetan identity. The young Tibetans, associated with the Voluntary Tibet Advocacy Group (V-TAG), Europe, also raised slogans against the large-scale environmental degradation happening in Tibet under the guise of huge projects that are unsustainable for the region. During the protest, the young Tibetans also raised slogans in German to create awareness among the people in Austria about what is happening to Tibetans in Tibet: the deliberate extinction of a community, an identity. According to young Tibetans, these projects, including huge defence establishments, and large dams, would displace a large number of Tibetans from their native homeland. One of the main objectives behind such projects is to forcefully relocate Tibetans and erase their identities. The protesters stressed that the systematic disregard for the fundamental rights of Tibetans by the Chinese government reflects a blatant violation of international human rights law. Protesters said that China, obligated to respect and adhere to mechanisms safeguarding people's rights, has been persecuting human rights defenders, forcibly resettling Tibetans, engaging in forced labour, fostering workplace discrimination, curtailing religious freedom and language rights, assimilating Tibetan children in boarding schools, and perpetrating cultural genocide. (ANI)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 1 (ANI/WAM): The UAE, hosts of the 13th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference (WTO MC13), have announced plans to develop the Trade for Development platform - a technical assistance program that will feature a suite of free available online tools to assist trade officials, negotiators, and policymakers from developing and least developed nations enhance their capacity and skills to engage in the complex and highly technical process of trade negotiations. The new platform underlines the UAE's commitment to inclusive trade, empowering developing nations to better access and engage in the global trading system - an overarching theme in its role as MC13 host nation. During the Ministerial, the UAE confirmed it would gift the platform to eight WTO members: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Comoros, Kyrgyzstan and Barbados. As developing countries and LDCs seek to drive economic growth through increased bilateral trade with regional and global partners, a significant challenge they face in successfully concluding trade agreements is a lack of the technical capacity and expertise required throughout the highly complex process, from developing feasibility studies and economic modelling to developing trade policies and negotiating free trade agreements. The Trade for Development platform, part of a broader set of initiatives designed to support sustainable development and inclusive trade that are expected to be launched during MC13, will feature a virtual library of content from global trade and policy experts, covering a comprehensive range of areas traditionally found in a trade agreement. The platform will serve as an always-available resource for developing country officials to draw on as they formulate trade policy and negotiate trade deals. The audio-visual content will be supplemented with analytical studies, economic modelling, trade agreement implementation plans and a host of other best practice tools developing country officials can reference in order to craft sustainable and mutually beneficial trade agreements. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, said, "The United Arab Emirates, under the vision and guidance of its wise leadership, is keen to transfer its successful experiences to various countries of the world." He emphasised the UAE's role as an active and influential member of the international community, and its continuous efforts to enhance international cooperation for comprehensive development and sustainable growth. Al Sayegh further added, "The UAE continues to launch global initiatives aimed at stimulating economic growth in developing and least developed countries. This commitment is reflected in the recent launch of the 'Trade for Development' platform, which aims to maximise the positive impact of foreign trade on comprehensive development in these countries." Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chair, said, "Strengthening the capacity of negotiators is key to helping developing countries craft agreements that uphold their best interests and support long-term, sustainable growth and job creation. As a champion of trade's power to accelerate development and raise living standards, the UAE believes that providing the materials to enhance the ability of countries across our region and around the world to participate in global trade benefits us all." The announcement was made during the WTO 13th Ministerial Conference, hosted by the UAE. The WTO Ministerial Conference is the highest-level decision-making forum for the organisation, which has the unique mandate to oversee and negotiate the rules of international commerce. (ANI/WAM)
The family of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died two weeks ago in a penal colony in Siberia, faced difficulty in procuring a hearse to drive his body to church ahead of his funeral ceremony on Friday, CNN reported. Navalny's team said that attempts to hire a hearse to drive Navalny's body to his funeral have been thwarted by unknown people, the US news outlet said, adding that Navalny's team alleges the body was held in order to pressure the family into agreeing to hold a private funeral. Navalny team's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh claimed that drivers had been "called by unknown people and threatened not to take Alexey's body anywhere," CNN said. Yarmysh said she had been told that "no hearse agrees to take the body there." Navalny's funeral will be held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow's Maryino district, where the opposition leader lived. He will then be buried at Borisov Cemetery. Navalny's team had initially planned a public farewell and funeral for the late Russian opposition leader for Thursday, but they were told that there were "no available cemetery workers who can dig a grave," Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said. Many venues claimed that they were busy, or refused the booking once Navalny's name was mentioned, while one venue explicitly said they were forbidden from working with Navalny's team, Yarmysh said previously, as CNN reported. Navalny died at the age of 47 on February 16 in the Siberian penal colony, where he was serving a 19-year sentence after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activists and various other crimes in August. He had spent years criticising Putin and his death came weeks before the presidential elections in Russia scheduled to begin on March 15. Navalny's death was met with grief and anger across the world as well as inside Russia and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for her husband's death. The Kremlin has rejected any allegations of involvement in Navalny's death. (ANI)
People in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Friday caried out a rally, expressing their anger over the deteriorating living condition in the occupied territory. During the rally, the protestors denounced the Pakistani administration over the capture of their land and water resources claiming that they are being used without the willingness of the people. The protestors raised slogans, demanding Pakistan's administration and law enforcement agencies to vacate PoK. In addition, people shouted slogans stating their disagreement over capture of land and water resources by the Pakistani administration. In a post on X, United Kashmir People's National Party's (UKPNP) foreign secretary Jamil Maqsood stated, "Muzaffarabad - POK, an occupied territory of Jammu & Kashmir by Pakistan is boiling under political & economic turmoil. Proven that it isn't-1947, but 2024. Pakistan sooner or later would have to Quit both regions under its illegal occupation. No more exploitation, no more corruption". https://twitter.com/jamilmaqsood1/status/1763306324958327210 UKPNP leader Shaukat Ali Kashmiri echoed similar sentiments. PoK has been witnessing protests over various issued faced by local residents. Ranging from the demand of proper educational setup in the area to the incapability of the administration to provide basic amenities to the general public, these protest have been going on from a long time. Previously, there has been growing unrest in the regions of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir over Pakistan's negligent attitude towards the region. The Titri Note area in PoK recently witnessed massive protests. During the protesters, hundreds of people demanded to cross over the border to reach the India's Poonch district, to procure flour, claiming that Pakistan cannot provide them even essentials. During these protests, a senior leader of the Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party underlined the condition of Pakistan and said that "they have nothing left with themselves, hence they will not solve any of our problems. They are bankrupt themselves and they are just making fake promises. They must now give flour to us, many people are waiting on Tetri Note, it is their mistake if they think, that we are satisfied. We know that why they have stopped our flour; it is because we raise our voices for our rights." He said that "the leaders here seem pretty much interested in politics, if they really care about politics and people then they better resign and sit with us in our protests. They enjoy several luxuries because of the money we pay as taxes. It belongs to us instead of them." He noted, "They sit within their luxuries and create confusion in their minds by saying that we protestors are only handful of people instead we are lakhs of people. They must now understand that we are not just a handful of people, our numbers are now in about lakhs." Jammu Kashmir National Awami Party senior leader said that the people in PoK will continue to hold protest in a peaceful way. He said people in the region are forced to take flour with the help of chit system and called the situation embarrassing. He said that the lawmakers that represent the people of the region in the assembly try to "divide" them while they enjoy all the amenities. He said, "We will continue our protests in a peaceful way, we will not harm anyone during our protests. We have reached here peacefully. How embarrassing is this, that the people are forced to take flour with help of chit system." "They will not be able to solve our problem at all as leaders that represent us in the assembly, they try to divide us every time, meanwhile they enjoy all the amenities, the cars that they travel in are there because we pay our taxes. This protest is not the last protest, we will keep our peaceful protests alive and strong," he added. (ANI)
Canadian parliamentarian Jeremy Patzer hosted a Sindhi Round Table on Thursday to celebrate 'International Mother Language Day' at the Parliament of Canada, where he offered a very warm welcome to the Sindhi community and members of the Sindhi Foundation, a press release from the Sindhi Foundation stated. Other participating Canadian parliaments at the event included Cathy Wagantall, Tom Kmiec, as well as Canadian Senator, Salma Attaullahjan, along with the Sindhi-Canadian and Sindhi-American diaspora. The same press statement also stated that "MP Jeremy Patzer presented a petition to the House of Commons and the Government of Canada about the Sindhi language." The petition filed by the Canadian parliamentarian stated that "60 million Sindhi language speakers live in the province of Sindh, as well as in other regions of Pakistan and in the diaspora. Sindhi is recognized as an official language by the province of Sindh, but not by the Canadian Consulate in Karachi or the High Commission in Islamabad." In the petition, he further noted, "The lack of recognition of a prominent regional language may inhibit communication between the Canadian Consulate, the High Commission and the Sindhi peoples." We, the undersigned citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to work with the Canadian Consulate in Karachi and the High Commission in Islamabad to recognize Sindhi as an official language and to provide its services in the Sindhi language. Additionally, Patzer also added, "I was honoured to host a roundtable with members of the Sindhi Community in recognition of Mother Language Day," the statement said. According to the statement, after attending the event, MP Cathy Wagantall interacted openly with the community members. Expressing her views on social media, she said, "Jeremy Patzer, Tom Kmiec, Senator Salma Attaullahjan and I were warmly welcomed by Sufi Laghari, the Sindhi Foundation, and Canada's Sindhi community this week on the Hill. While some around the world attempt to suppress the Sindhi language, important work is being done to protect and promote it for the next generation. Mother languages bind people together. Thank you for your bravery and tireless work in safeguarding your heritage." Canadian Senator Salma Attaullahjan praised the Sindhi language, culture, and music. She especially appreciated the word "Saaiin" as her favourite and the most beautiful word. Sindhi Foundation's Director, Mir Muzafar Talpur, voiced his opinion that, "a language should not be used as a tool of power to suppress and level other cultures and languages." Expressing his concern, Talpur continued, "When a simple mode of communication is turned into a discourse, it then attaches itself to the ideology of the state." Sufi Laghari expressed his heartfelt gratitude to M.P. Jeremy Patzer for hosting the event. He further thanked Senator Salma Attaullahjan, M.P. Cathy Wagantall, M.P. Tom Kmiec and the Sindhi community, especially mentioning Sindhi Canadian Dileep Ratnani. (ANI)
Sharing a video of engagements between India and Bosnia & Herzegovina on social media platform X, Jaishankar posted, "Greetings to FM @DinoKonakovic and the Government and people of Bosnia & Herzegovina on their National Day."

"Committed to further deepen our friendly ties," he added.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1763426948867309699?s=20

President Droupadi Murmu accepted credentials from the ambassadors and high commissioners of Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, Malaysia, Mali and the Marshall Islands.

Kevin Kelly was recently named the Irish ambassador to India while Haris Hrle was named the envoy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vahagn Afyan was appointed as the ambassador of the Republic of Armenia, Brigadier General Felix Diallo was named the envoy from the Republic of Mali, Alexander Carter Bing as ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Muzafar Shah Bin Mustafa was named the envoy of Malaysia.

The Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina recently visited the national capital to take part in the Raisina Dialogue 2024, which took place from February 21-23.

The Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic received a warm welcome on his arrival in New Delhi.

Taking to X, a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson posted about their arrival, stating, "#RaisinaDialogue2024! Warm welcome to FM @DominiqueHasler of Liechtenstein, FM @DinoKonakovic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and FM @elinavaltonen of Finland."

Raisina Dialogue is India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geoeconomics, committed to addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.

The ninth edition of Raisina Dialogue was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was the chief guest and keynote speaker at the 9th Raisina Dialogue.

Ministers, National Security Advisors, senior officials and representatives of industry, technology, finance and other sectors from more than 100 nations participated in the calendar event in the national capital. (ANI)
The Provincial President of the Pakistan Peoples Party, Amjad Hussain Advocate, while addressing a press conference at the Gilgit Press Club in Gilgit Baltistan, highlighted the various wrongdoings of the provincial government. While exposing the provincial government, the advocate stated, "Don't treat Gilgit Baltistan like Balochistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). These strategies have failed; they have failed in Balochistan, and even in PoK, slogans against Pakistan are being raised. All because of these acts of negligence. We had proposed several reforms in tourism, education, power and land, but no one is ready to listen to us." He further explained the conditions of government employees in the province, adding that all of them are struggling. "The conditions in Gilgit Baltistan are so bad that more than 3000 government employees have been struggling for over 10 years, and all the courts are filled with pending cases of these people. Consider any department, be it forest, education or social action. All of the employees are struggling," he added. Highlighting the problems faced by the employees in the education department and the ignorance of Pakistan's administration regarding the matter. The advocate stated, "Today a teacher is only paid PKR 12000 and there are over 4000 such teachers; you are not paying attention to them. And you keep saying that you will hire more when you already have first-grade teachers. Surviving in these conditions is very difficult." Amjad Hussain Advocate, while addressing the press, also stated, "The extent of manipulation and corruption in the medical department, the machine of 37 crores was purchased for 70 crores for a 50-bed hospital. And when an officer opened an inquiry regarding the matter, he was transferred. They want to hide every act of corruption, and this is not the way. There must be strict inquiries regarding such corruption, as there is no transparency in these projects." Previously, a group of teachers and students from Gilgit Baltistan GB in PoK organised massive protests against the deteriorating educational infrastructure in the region. The protest was organised outside the Chief Minister's Secretariat in Gilgit City. The protestors raised alarm over the non-payment of salaries, a severe shortage of teaching staff in several schools, improper rules regarding the promotion of teaching personnel and not following mutually agreed upon conditions. (ANI)
Hailing the 75 years of cooperation between Finland and India, the Finnish ambassador to India, Kimmo Lahdevirta, said on Friday that the relations between the two nations have good potential for mutually beneficial cooperation. He said that, though the journey started 75 years ago, it is worth celebrating it the whole year. "I think it's an exciting journey, certainly, and I'm very proud that we are at this stage now. Of course, it started 75 years ago in September, but we feel that it's worth celebrating the whole year. We now have very good potential for mutually beneficial cooperation in several fields", he said while speaking to ANI. The Finnish envoy also highlighted the DESI initiative which stands for Digitalisation, Education, Sustainability and Innovation. Finland's DESI Initiative with India is a new type of model for closer trade relations. It is Finland's first export promotion programme with India that spans across sectors in a comprehensive way. The envoy spoke on the sidelines of an event hosted by the embassy that felicitated an Indian student on winning the logo design competition to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and India. The design by the student Aman Narayan, a 19-year-old second-year student of Graphics Communications at the School of Communication, World University of Design, was judged the winner by a panel of judges from India and Finland comprising Finnish and Indian graphic designers, embassy representatives, and Business Finland. Explaining his idea behind the logo, Aman said that he drew the inspiration from India's cultural ethos as well as aurora borealis, the famous natural phenomenon in Finland commonly known as northern lights. Speaking at the felicitation ceremony, Ambassador Lahdevirta said: "Today, we applaud Aman Narayan, a talented student from the World University of Design, for his contribution to the Finland-India 75th Anniversary celebrations. The winning logo design symbolizes well the long-standing cooperation between our countries, paving the way for a greener future." The winning logo was earlier officially unveiled by Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Finland, and S Jaishankar, the Minister of External Affairs of India, during their meeting at the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on February 22. Elina Valtonen, Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, said, "The 75-year journey of Finland-India relations has been remarkable. This logo beautifully symbolises our strong friendship and growing partnership. I am honoured to join my Indian counterpart in its unveiling." Both countries have accepted the logo for use in their bilateral communications for the year. India and Finland have traditionally enjoyed warm and friendly relations. In recent years, bilateral relations have acquired diversity with collaboration in research, innovation, and investments by both sides. The Indian community in Finland is vibrant and well-placed. Indian culture and yoga are gaining popularity in Finland. 2019 marked 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (ANI)
A member of Parliament of Nepal's House of Representatives has called for a complete enforcement of law to ban the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok which was banned by the government of Nepal earlier in November 2023. Pradip Yadav, chief whip of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), on Friday's lower housemeeting called for the government's action to completely ban TikTok which was blocked bygovernment owing to complaints of spreading social disharmony. At Friday's meeting, Yadav stated that some of the Internet Service Providers were notabiding by the government's decision to ban TikTok making it operational on theirclient's mobile phones."Government of Nepal weeks back imposed ban on Tik-Tok which indeed is awelcome move. This particular social media platform was being misused to spreadhatred and create social disharmony on the basis of community, religion, culture andcustoms as well as the family structure. It was a means to bring in disparity anddisharmony, it still is progressing because the government-imposed ban on Tik-Tok butit got confined only in paper. Some Internet Service Providers (ISP) haven't abidedgovernment's decision to ban it, the state should take necessary actions," Chief Whip ofJSP, Pradip Yadav said. The Himalayan Nation on November 13 through a cabinet meeting had decided to banthe Chinese video sharing platform Tik-Tok alleging it of disrupting the social harmony,breaking off the family and societal relation. Chinese social media Tik Tok does nothave any provisions to remove offensive contents. Following the cabinet level decision on November, the Nepal TelecommunicationAuthority of Nepal had sent a stern warning to all the Internet Service Providers againstfailure to shut the Chinese social media platform TikTok. "According to the decision of the Council of Ministers of Nepal on 07/27/2080, due to thenegative impact on the social harmony and social environment through Tiktok, which isbeing used as a social network, the authority given by section 15 of theTelecommunications Act, 2053 is used to implement the said decision," release from theNepal Telecommunication Authority states. The NTA also had warned of taking actions as per the Section 47 of Telecommunications Act, 2053 at the time. Following which, the ISPslicense of some of the ISP also were revoked. Though the Chief Whip of JSP called on government to enforce strict measures he didn't mention the name or the number of service providers who is yet to abide by the law. Soon after the ban on Tik-Tok over a dozen petitions were filed at the Supreme Court ofNepal requesting an interim order to immediately lift the ban. But the court on November21, 2023 had denied to issue an immediate order. Instead, the supreme legislative body of Nepal has issued show cause notice againstthe government over its decision to ban the Tik Tok which was made on 13 November,2023. A single bench hearing conducted by justice Binod Sharma had issued the order.A total of 13 writ petitions were filed at the Supreme Court against the move of thegovernment seeking an interim order to lift the ban imposed through the meeting of theCouncil of Ministers. The Government defending the ban has claimed that the app hasbeen violating the harmony in the society. Petitioners also had demanded for an interim order from the Supreme Court over theban on the video sharing social media platform which had about 2 million users in theHimalayan Nation. Writ petitions filed in the Supreme Court claiming the banundermines the Freedom of expression of the public violating the provisions of theconstitutions. Later, through a final hearing the court stayed on the decision of the government to banthe video sharing platform. Meanwhile, in India, the government had in June 2020banned TikTok along with several other Chinese apps, over national security concerns. Prior to the ban, the app had about 150 million monthly active users in India. Moreover, concerning the security issues with the TikTok app, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Afghanistan, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway have imposedpartial or complete bans respectively on the video-sharing application. (ANI)
At least one person was arrested at the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday, CNN reported, citing monitoring group OVD-Info. Moreover, an additional 22 people were detained as soon as they tried to leave their homes to attend the funeral. OVD-Info is an independent media and human rights defence group focused on monitoring and combating repression in Russia. However, CNN could not independently verify the information and Russian authorities did not disclose additional information, according to CNN. Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny was laid to rest at a Moscow cemetery today (Friday), exactly two weeks after his death was announced by Russia's prison service. Reportedly, Navalny's relatives were gathered around the coffin at the Borisovsky cemetery. "Lyoha, bye! Sleep well, dear," someone shouted from the crowd that had converged on the cemetery. Lyoha is a nickname of Navalny's. Others in the crowd were seen chanting, "Let us in to say goodbye!" Moreover, several other videos showed a large number of people streaming towards the burial site, CNN reported, adding that it was unclear whether they would be allowed into the cemetery or not. According to CNN, a several hundred-meter-long queue was formed at the Brateyevsky Bridge. Additionally, foreign diplomats, including the French and US ambassadors to Russia, arrived to pay their respects to Alexey Navalny at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God 'Quench My Sorrows.' Earlier, Navalny's family faced difficulty in procuring a hearse to drive his body to church ahead of his funeral ceremony on Friday, CNN reported. Navalny's team said that attempts to hire a hearse to drive Navalny's body to his funeral have been thwarted by unknown people, the US news outlet said, adding that Navalny's team alleges the body was held in order to pressure the family into agreeing to hold a private funeral. Navalny team's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, claimed that drivers had been "called by unknown people and threatened not to take Alexey's body anywhere," CNN said. Yarmysh said she had been told that "no hearse agreed to take the body there." Navalny's team had initially planned a public farewell and funeral for the late Russian opposition leader for Thursday, but they were told that there were "no available cemetery workers who can dig a grave," Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said. Many venues claimed that they were busy, or refused the booking once Navalny's name was mentioned, while one venue explicitly said they were forbidden from working with Navalny's team, Yarmysh said. Navalny died at the age of 47 on February 16 in the Siberian penal colony, where he was serving a 19-year sentence after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activists and various other crimes in August. He had spent years criticising Putin and his death came weeks before the presidential elections in Russia were scheduled to begin on March 15. (ANI)
Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 1 (ANI/WAM): The inaugural session of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay has commenced at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was chaired by Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, on behalf of the UAE, and Nicolas Albertoni, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, on behalf of Uruguay. The meeting was also attended by Saeed Al Qamzi, Non-Resident Ambassador of the UAE to Uruguay, Alsaghira Al Ahbabi, Director of the American Affairs Department at the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Maria Alejandra Costa Prieto, Director of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Department at Uruguay's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the discussions, the two sides discussed the development of bilateral cooperation and ways to enhance it across political, economic, and trade sectors. Both sides expressed their mutual commitment to fostering sustainable development, particularly in the field of renewable energy. Furthermore, the two sides addressed ongoing regional and global developments, emphasising the respective positions of both countries. They also examined avenues for joint collaboration within regional and international organizations that serve areas of mutual interest and contribute to confronting regional and global challenges. Reem Al Hashimy commended the bilateral relations between the two countries and stressed the keenness of the respective leaderships to enhance the prospects for cooperation to serve the common interests and aspirations of both nations and peoples. She underlined the UAE's unwavering and steadfast commitment to promoting peace and stability on both regional and global levels, and leveraging all means to enhance de-escalation and mitigate tensions across the world. For his part, Albertoni praised the bilateral relations between the UAE and Uruguay and emphasised the two countries' dedication to strengthening cooperation in various fields. At the conclusion of the meeting, the two sides expressed their keenness to continue strengthening bilateral relations and advancing them in a manner that contributes to supporting shared interests and unifying efforts to confront mutual issues. (ANI/WAM)
Former independent legislative candidate Ma Chih-wei has been officially indicted by the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office on charges related to alleged collaboration with China during her candidacy preparations for Taiwan's elections held on January 13, Focus Taiwan reported. The indictment accuses Ma of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act, National Security Act, and Personal Data Protection Act, seeking a 44-month prison term and a fine of NTD2 million (USD63,231). Ma, who has been in custody since January 5, faced allegations of passing information to China and receiving financial support in connection with her election campaign. The indictment points to violations of the Anti-Infiltration Act, designed to prevent interference by "foreign hostile forces" in Taiwan, as Ma allegedly accepted funds from an "infiltrative entity" to finance her election bid, according to Focus Taiwan. The National Security Act charges stem from Ma allegedly sharing "Taiwanese intelligence and other election-related information" with her Chinese benefactors. Prosecutors claim that during a trip to China in April 2023, the 40-year-old established connections with individuals involved in Taiwan affairs. Subsequent discussions between the parties reportedly involved exchanging political intelligence on Taiwan for financial support. Ma's interactions continued with multiple visits between Taiwan and China, resulting in remittances, including cryptocurrency payments. The indictment outlines transactions totaling about NTD1 million, with Ma allegedly providing a confidential book to her handlers. The book contained sensitive information such as job titles, names, and phone numbers of officials in the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan, and National Security Bureau. Despite Ma finishing third in the election with 8.56 per cent of the vote, prosecutors assert that she received instructions from her Chinese contacts on how to conduct her campaign. The Taiwan People's Party (TPP), of which Ma was a member and Taoyuan chapter spokesperson in 2023, disassociated from her after she failed to secure official support and subsequently registered as an independent candidate. Due to Ma's refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing and her lack of cooperation during the investigation, the prosecutors recommended a more severe sentence to the Taoyuan District Court, where she is currently detained. Ma's expulsion from the TPP followed her detention on January 6, further isolating her from the party. TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je had initially considered endorsing Ma as a TPP candidate but withdrew support after she registered independently, Focus Taiwan reported. (ANI)
The ATC Judge Arshad Javed, presiding over the hearing, announced the confirmation of interim bail subject to the submission of surety bonds amounting to PKR 5,00,000.

The cases encompassed charges related to the attack on police near Zaman Park, the murder of PTI activist Zille Shah, the torching of a PML-N office in Model Town, and the burning of a container at Kalma Chowk.

During the proceedings, Imran Khan's counsel urged the court to uphold the bail, while Special Prosecutor Rana Shakeel argued that the PTI founder was the primary accused in the May 9 cases.

Referring to witness statements, Shakeel claimed that Imran Khan had incited workers to commit treason and arson prior to his arrest, according to ARY News.

Simultaneously, another ATC Judge, Naveed Iqbal, extended Imran Khan's interim bail in three cases related to the May 9 violence, extending the relief until March 7.

These cases involved charges of attacking Jinnah House, Askari Tower, and the torching of Shadman police station.

In a separate development on February 28, an Islamabad court acquitted Imran Khan, Asad Umar, Faisal Javed, and others in a protest and vandalism case.

The case, which dated back to February 26, 2022, and involved charges against several PTI figures, including Imran Khan, was dismissed by judicial magistrate Muhammad Shahbir, who accepted their acquittal pleas, ARY News reported. (ANI)
A 16-year-old with a pickax helped stab and kill a 14-year-old in the Virginia woods in 2016, federal officials say.

Now, Edwin Orellana Caballero has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Virginia said in a Feb. 28 news release.

McClatchy News reached out to Orellana Caballeros attorney on March 1 and did not immediately receive a response.

Orellana Caballero was one of 17 people facing charges in the death of 14-year-old Sergio Anthony Arita Triminio, who officials say was a member of the MS-13 gang in Virginia.

The slain teen was in juvenile detention in August 2016 and was released shortly after he turned 14, officials said in a position on sentencing document.

Following a rumor that he was released from detention early, gang members began to suspect the boy was an informant, and someone gave the green light to kill him, according to prosecutors.

On Sept. 26, 2016, they lured him to the woods in Fairfax County on the premise of a meeting, then they stabbed and hacked the victim to death, officials said.

Orellana Caballero was initially on lookout but was later invited to join the group in the slaughtering, prosecutors said.

Someone handed him a pickax, and he hit the boy multiple times, officials said. Other members are accused of using machetes and knives to kill the teen.

The force of some of the blows shattered his skull into over a dozen pieces, authorities reported.

They buried his body in a shallow grave, then removed him as a friend on Facebook, officials said.

Prosecutors pushed to try Orellana Caballero as an adult.

His defense argued he was coerced into participating in the acts, in part by the violent discipline the gang displayed toward its own members, his attorney said in his position on sentencing.

Officials said the 16-year-old was not an unwilling accomplice.

Sergios life was nothing more to the defendant than a means to his end of advancing to the next rung up on the ladder, prosecutors said.

In November 2023, Orellana Caballero pleaded guilty to one charge of maiming in aid of racketeering activity.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, but his attorney pushed for a sentence of less than 20 years.

He argued the sentencing guidelines do not account for the compulsion created by membership in this particular gang. That compulsion is only enhanced when the member in question, like defendant, is still a minor surrounded by and subject to the dictates of older, hardened gang enforcers.

In addition to serving 25 years in prison, Orellana Caballero was ordered to pay the slain boys mother $28,215 in restitution.

Fairfax County borders Washington, D.C., to the west.

Teen wanted for murder found when he goes to church with gun in waistband, AL cops say

20-year-old tortured and killed after texting mom for help, AL cops say. 7 charged

Group joked over text about shooting that left 16-year-old dead, New Mexico cops say

Student found stabbed in school bathroom, Georgia officials say. Classmate arrested
Florida's 2024 legislative session may turn out to be a dud for state workers.

As the final week of session approaches, it looks like bills to expand benefits for public employees will die on the legislative vine. At the same time, a proposal that could actually reduce the pay of tens of thousands of other workers heads to the House floor.

Most legislative committees have stopped meeting, and lawmakers attention has turned to cranking out a multi-billion dollar budget, leaving three proposals that would expand benefits and workplace protections for public employees unheard.

Moreover, a bill that would preempt local living wage ordinances remains in play as a negotiating chip in budget talks between the House and Senate.

One of the planks of our policy platform this year is to provide protection for workers, and weve not been able to really get that across the finish line, House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa said.

The living wage preemption (HB 433) has the backing of business groups and would prohibit city and county heat-exposure regulations and any locally mandated minimum wage for jobs on publicly funded projects.

Rep. Tiffany Esposito at SWFL Inc. State of Region Sept. 7, 2023 - screenshot for video clip

The bill by Rep. Tiffany Esposito, R-Fort Myers, takes aim at living wage ordinances in eleven cities and counties, including Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and St. Petersburg, requiring contractors to pay a rate higher than the state minimum wage of $12.

When the House Commerce Committee took up the measure last week, Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami, questioned Esposito whether it authorized a pay cut for workers now paid under a living wage ordinance of $15 an hour.

So, will employees see their wages cut if their employers decided not to keep the existing wages? Joseph asked. That would be up to the discretion of the private employer, Esposito said.

The bill moved to the House floor on a party-line vote. Democrats in the Senate were able to strip the wage preemption from the companion measure (SB 1492)

Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, the bill's sponsor, said he did so in order to gain support for a statewide mandate to follow federal Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City

Its to create an even playing field and an understanding across every county and in every city that all heat-related ordinances are going to be under the jurisdiction of OSHA, Trumbull told the Senate Rules Committee.

The bill advanced on a party-line vote, setting up a race between the Houses version with the living wage preemption and the Senates, which just deals with heat, to be approved first and then sent to the other chamber where it becomes the starting point for negotiations.

Hopefully we can get ours up and out and over sooner than they can, Trumbull said.

A similiar proposal (HB 705/SB 742) would prohibit local wage and benefits mandates on projects funded with state money has cleared the House and will be read on the Senate floor Friday.

Here's a rundown of four other labor-related bills and their status with the session scheduled to end March 8:

Employment and Curfew of Minors (HB 49/SB 1596)

The House bill has passed that chamber and awaits Senate action. The measure by Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Pete Beach, and Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, would allow employers to schedule 16- and 17-year-olds to work more than eight hours per day without any breaks and more than 30 hour a week.

More: A clash of values Florida teens say they want to work. But will Florida Legislature enable bad bosses?

Paid Paternity Leave (HB 127/SB 128)

This legislation by Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, and Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton, would provide 12 weeks (about 3 months) of paid leave to state employees upon the birth or adoption of a child. It was never heard in committee.

Cost-of-living Adjustment, Florida Retirement System (HB 151/SB 242)

This legislation by Rep. Demi Busatta-Cabrera, R-Miami, and Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Palm Harbor, would restore an annual cost-of-living increase eliminated in 2011 for Florida Retirement System benefits. The measure would boost the pensions of more than 151,000 retirees at the cost of $2 billion.

The House approved the measure unanimously. The Senate version was never given a hearing after President Kathleen Passidomo told reporters she didnt think the bill would make it to the finish line. The House included the proposal as part of the discussions in budget conference negotiations.

More: A billion dollar proposal Legislative panel says 'yes' to boosting state pensions for retired workers

Protection for Public Employees Who Use Medical Marijuana as Qualified Patients (SB 166)

This legislation by Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, would prohibit discrimination in hiring or termination of a public sector employee for a positive THC test.

The measure similar to protections provided workers in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. It was never heard in committee.

More: Opinion: Marijuana is the Swiss Army knife of medicine

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bills to expand benefits, protections for Florida public workers stalled
A 26-year-old Alexandria man was arrested in Conroe, Ark., on an outstanding warrant for second degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a press release issued Friday by the Alexandria Police Department.

A 26-year-old Alexandria man was arrested in Conroe, Ark., on an outstanding warrant for second-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a press release issued Friday by the Alexandria Police Department.

Charges stem from an October 2023 homicide in the 2500 block of Culpepper Road where the victim was struck by gunfire. Shedrick Jordan, 22, of Alexandria, was pronounced dead at a hospital after the shooting, according to an APD press release from October 2023.

The Alexandria Police Department was notified about the shooting by hospital personnel. An investigation began, and it was learned that the shooting happened in the 2500 block of Culpepper Road, according to the 2023 release.

The Alexandria Police were aided by the United States Marshals Service in the arrest.

If anyone has any information about this incident or any other type of crime in the Alexandria area, please contact the Alexandria Police Detective Division at the phone number (318) 441-6416, or APD Dispatch (318) 441-6559. You may also email information to detectives at: APDDetectives@cityofalex.com.

For a cash reward, call Crime Stoppers of CenLa at (318) 443-7867. The Crime Stoppers P3 Tipster App can also be downloaded to leave tips and get a claim number for a cash reward at www.p3tips.com/community/mobile.

This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Alexandria man wanted in connection with murder arrested in Arkansas
Humanitarian workers and government officials working to deliver urgently needed aid for Gaza say a clear pattern has emerged of Israeli obstruction, as disease and near-famine grip parts of the besieged enclave.

The Israeli agency that controls access to Gaza for the multi-billion-dollar aid effort has imposed arbitrary and contradictory criteria, according to more than two dozen humanitarian and government officials interviewed by CNN.

CNN has also reviewed documents compiled by major participants in the humanitarian operation that list the items most frequently rejected by the Israelis. These include anesthetics and anesthesia machines, oxygen cylinders, ventilators and water filtration systems.

Other items that have ended up in bureaucratic limbo include dates, sleeping bags, medicines to treat cancer, water purification tablets and maternity kits.

Israels throttling of aid came into sharper focus Thursday when its military opened fire as desperate Palestinians gathered around food aid trucks in western Gaza City, according to eyewitnesses. This triggered panic and some people were shot while others were plowed by trucks whose drivers tried to flee, eyewitnesses say. At least 112 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were injured, according to health officials. The IDF said it had fired warning shots to disperse a crowd after seeing that people were being trampled.

A White House readout of a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani on Thursday said both leaders agreed the horrific event underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

US Senator Chris Murphy said the situation was a result of the complete breakdown in social order in Gaza, which is spiraling out of control without a massive influx of humanitarian aid and a pause in the fighting.

For months, queues of trucks bound for the enclave have been backed up along the highway leading from the Egyptian town of Arish, a major logistical hub for aid, to the Rafah crossing with Gaza. In a satellite image from February 21, a queue of trucks can be seen stretching out for 4 miles from the crossing.

Across the border, Israels bombardment edges closer to some two million people hemmed in between the southern Gazan city of Rafah and Egypts frontier. Further north, at least six children have died in hospitals in recent days from dehydration and malnutrition, according to Gazas health ministry.

While theres a war being fought in Gaza, we are fighting a different war here, said one humanitarian worker at Egypts Rafah crossing with Gaza. It is a war to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Most of CNNs sources requested anonymity for fear, they said, of reprisals and further Israeli restrictions on an already choked aid pipeline.

Several sources said a substantial portion of the donations they handled were either rejected or held up by a long wait for clearance by Israels Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, which manages the flow of aid into the strip.

It is perfectly engineered chaos, said one CNN source who oversees donations from four different relief organizations at one of the transit routes. Over 15,000 tons of their relief supplies await Israeli approval to enter Gaza, the source said. More than half consists of food items.

Its deliberately opaque, deliberately ambiguous, said another senior humanitarian official. You can receive clearance from COGAT and arrive to find police or finance and customs officials who will send the truck back.

In a statement provided to CNN after publication of this report, COGAT said that it had facilitated the admission of humanitarian aid to Gaza since the beginning of the war. It said that dual use products for humanitarian infrastructures are not sweepingly denied entry, but were subject to security evaluation to prevent them being used by Hamas. In relation to allegations that specific goods were denied entry, it said that these are subjected to security checks to ensure they are not used for terrorist purposes.

COGAT described the testimony given to CNN as false accusations and criticized the decision to go public with the claims.

Israel assists, encourages and facilitates the entry of humanitarian aid for the residents of the Gaza Strip and for medical and other critical infrastructures in the strip, the statement said. Israels war is against the Hamas terrorist organization, not against the residents of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has long barred certain items from entering Gaza. In 2007, it imposed a blockade on the strip after Hamas took over. A year later, COGAT released a list of banned dual use items, making slight modifications to the document in the years that followed.

These are goods which, it said, could be repurposed for military use and would be barred from entering Gaza, such as concrete, agricultural fertilizer, certain chemicals and other miscellaneous items like binoculars, underwater cameras and water skis.

But those criteria appear to have been abandoned in the aftermath of Hamas brutal October 7 attack on Israel, which left about 1,200 people dead and over 250 people held hostage, according to Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military responded with an intensive air, sea and land assault on Gaza that has sent the death toll soaring to over 30,000 people, according to Gazas health ministry, devastating most of the strips buildings and houses, as well as large swathes of its commercial sector and farmlands.

In a January 13 press conference, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about permitting minimal humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

We provide minimal humanitarian aid, Netanyahu said. If we want to achieve our war goals, we give the minimal aid.

The international community has repeatedly criticized Israel for issuing insufficient permits, and security clearances, for aid trucks to Gaza. There have also been instances where the Israeli military struck food deliveries. Looting by desperate civilians and criminal gangs in some of the hardest hit areas in the north of Gaza has intensified that crisis, bringing UN food deliveries there to a grinding halt.

Palestinians flock around a truck carrying bottles of drinking water sent by the United Nations' children's agency, UNICEF, as civilians experience water and food shortages on November 21, 2023. - Abed Zagout/Anadolu/Getty Images

Exacerbating the situation is an apparent ghost list impeding the delivery of a wide range of items.

Ive never seen a supply chain that ought to be so simple be so complicated, said Save the Children US president and chief executive Janti Soeripto. The level of barriers being put in place to hamper humanitarian assistance; weve never seen anything like it.

Soeripto, who visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing with a UN convoy in January, told CNN she saw several items that Israeli inspectors had turned back.

She said toys were rejected because they were in a wooden box rather than a cardboard box, sleeping bags were denied because they had zippers, and sanitary pads were turned back because a nail clipper was included in the hygiene kit.

In January, US Senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley saw maternity kits and water filtration systems among the items Israel turned back from its inspection point in Nitzana.

In no rational world could (these) be deemed dual use or any kind of military threat, Van Hollen told CNN weeks after his trip to Egypts side of the Rafah crossing.

We learned that when a truck with just one of those items is turned down, the entire truck gets turned around and has to go back to the beginning of the process, which can take weeks, Van Hollen said.

We talked to the heads of international aid organizations that had been working in conflicts worldwide for decades, the senator added. They said theyd never seen a more broken system.

The situation prompted Van Hollen to spearhead US congressional efforts to hold Israel accountable for its handling of humanitarian aid, which he described on the Senate floor earlier this month as a textbook war crime.

Israels elusive guidelines on restricted items

Publicly, COGAT claims that it has abided by its 2008 banned items list. In private, COGAT has said that that document is now obsolete, according to a humanitarian official in direct contact with the Israeli unit.

COGAT enforced the 2008 list when the war first erupted on October 7, the official said. About three weeks in, they said that list is not valid for this response. This is a different context. They said ignore the list.

CNNs weeks long investigation has documented multiple examples of the erratic process that followed, with officials sometimes falling back on the 2008 guidelines and other times citing them as redundant.

In one instance on February 14, COGAT rejected a truck-load of sleeping bags because they were the color green, and green means military and according to the 2008 list, military is dual use, the same humanitarian official told CNN.

No one can argue that sleeping bags are going to win a war, the official said. We did push back on that and warned them that it would look pretty silly if this got out.

Four sources described another incident when Israel rejected a shipment of dates  a rich source of nutrients desperately needed by a hungry population. Two of the sources said it was because the seeds were picked up as a suspicious object in the x-ray inspection imaging.

Other trucks carrying dates have been allowed into Gaza, according to UN data. But humanitarian workers have said they are worried about a repeat, and several have resorted to pitting dates prior to inspection.

Donations must pass two COGAT hurdles before entering Gaza. Aid organizations must first get clearance for their shipments from COGAT, then the trucks must clear Israeli inspection points. Items have been rejected at both of those stages, according to CNNs sources.

COGAT provides a range of reasons for these denials. Sometimes it cites bureaucratic issues, such as an incorrect manifest, other times the items are in whole or in part deemed to be dual use, sources said. Some of the reasons provided to humanitarian organizations appeared to be expressly political. Most of the time, COGAT doesnt provide a reason for the rejections at all.

Where do you draw the line? one humanitarian source involved in the aid operation told CNN, referring to Israels elusive criteria on dual use items.

The confusion prompted Israeli rights group GISHA to file a Freedom of Information Act request on February 7 asking the Israeli government to release details of any new restrictions on aid imposed since October 7.

At the moment, there is very little transparency about the policy and procedures by which the government is operating, Tania Hary, executive director of GISHA, told CNN. We believe that Israel, as an occupying power in Gaza, has an obligation to provide for the civilian populations needs in the strip.

The Israeli public has a right to know what is being done in its name in Gaza.

Anesthetics, crutches and other frequently rejected items

CNN has obtained documents from three major participants in the humanitarian operation that list what they called the most frequently rejected items. Among them are essential medical supplies: anesthesia machines and anesthetics, crutches, generators, ventilators, x-ray machines and oxygen cylinders.

For doctors and patients inside Gaza, the implications are excruciating. There are numerous reports of preventable deaths for lack of oxygen and ventilators. Over 1,000 children have undergone leg amputations in Gaza, according to UNICEF, some without anesthesia. That figure was compiled by UNICEF at the end of November and has not been updated since.

One doctor, Hani Bseiso, amputated his 17-year-old nieces leg with a kitchen knife in his home, using only the clothes on his back to stop the bleeding and dish soap to clean her wounds. An Israeli tank missile hit her when she was on the sixth floor of our building, Bseiso told CNN. I didnt know what to do. I didnt have anesthesia or any kind of medication.

There was no anesthesia. My anesthesia was the Quran which I was reciting, the niece, Ahed Bseiso, later told a journalist working with CNN in Gaza. The amputation, carried out on her uncles dining table, was filmed and shared widely on social media.

He brought the kitchen knife and cut my leg off with it. And in that moment, I said praise be to God. Because he brought me patience.

Ahed Bseiso, 17, is seen weeks after her leg was amputated without anesthesia. - Hani Bseiso

Medicines in Gaza began to run out shortly after the war erupted on October 7. Injuries from intensive bombardment skyrocketed while Israel stifled aid deliveries.

Towards the end of my 43 days in Gaza, we had run out of anesthetic, and we were doing procedures with no anesthetic at all, said British-Palestinian surgeon Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah from his clinic in London, two months after his return from Gaza.

We were having to do extremely painful cleaning procedures to stop wound infections on children with no anesthetic and no analgesic.

In the absence of appropriate medical supplies, Abu-Sittah concocted a solution to fight infection: dish soap mixed with vinegar and saline.

I would pour that over the wound and scrub the wound down, Abu-Sittah said. It was probably the darkest moment of my life. The child was screaming. The parent was crying, and youre trying to just block all of this out and do it as quickly as possible.

But knowing that if you hadnt, that child would be dead by the end of the day.

Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a British-Palestinian surgeon, described working without essential medication and painkillers in Gaza as the darkest moment of his life. - Alex Platt/CNN

Another humanitarian source inside Gaza said that in early February he witnessed a six-year-old child with burns covering 40% of her body. She was at a hospital in Rafah, the best supplied population center in Gaza, where medics could only give her aspirin to ease her agony.

Another woman, Um Adel, said her granddaughter died due to a lack of oxygen at a hospital in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.

We were in Khan Younis. We couldnt sleep during the day or the night because of the bombardment, she told another journalist working with CNN in Gaza. My granddaughter died because she was ill and there was no oxygen or any kind of medication for her. May her soul rest in peace.

Israels restrictions have also impacted medicines for the chronically ill. For weeks, COGAT temporarily prevented insulin pens for children with diabetes from entering Gaza, according to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Palestine Jamie McGoldrick and one other source.

On the goods that are being prohibited, its a full range, said McGoldrick in a January 24 press conference. Some of it is medical material such as basic drugs and material for treating not just trauma but for chronic illnesses.

One example would be most recently the pens that are used for insulin for children, he added. In terms of the rationale for it, I really cant explain it because I dont know.

These are essential commodities for us to address the emergency which is currently unfolding in a very dramatic fashion.

Another source told CNN that in February COGAT reversed its decision to bar insulin pens from entering Gaza. CNNs research also found examples of goods considered to be frequently rejected items being green-lit by COGAT  such as on January 3 when the World Health Organization said it brought in anesthesia supplies. But sources have stressed that these instances are rare.

An aid truck enters from Egypt en route to Gaza as seen from the Kerem Shalom crossing in Israel on December 22, 2023. - Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

At one of the waypoints of aid in Jordan, stacked boxes of donations extend for around eight miles, a backlog that would require around a thousand trucks to deliver, Jordans charity officials estimate.

The director of programs and planning for the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), Marwan al-Hennawy, slits open a box of food to show what should be reaching people in Gaza; this one contains rice, chicken stock, tuna and dates. It is enough to feed a family of five for two weeks.

Behind him are dozens of wheelchairs wrapped in dusty plastic. We have 220 wheelchairs and weve been trying to get them in since the start of the war, he told CNN during a rare tour of the warehouses of aid meant for Gaza.

Al-Hennawy scans the sea of boxes around him. Its painful to look around and see all this, he says. I feel like Im trapped. I know Gazans desperately need this help but I cant get it to them. Its like a nightmare.

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The United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Israels war against Hamas.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Friday that US forces would join the Jordanian Air Forces existing mission that has been conducting airdrops of food, medicine and other supplies in recent days.

Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Mr Biden referenced the tragic deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who were killed after the Israeli army opened fire at a crowd trying to get food from an aid convoy on Wednesday, calling the loss of life heartbreaking.

Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid, he said. We need to do more, and the United States will do more.

Israeli officials acknowledged troops fired towards some in the crowd they believed posed a threat. The Israeli military said publicly the incident was under review and disputed the account given by the Health Ministry, saying dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks.

Mr Biden continued: In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies, he continued. The president mistakenly said the airdrops would go into Ukraine before correcting himself.

He also said the US is working to open up other avenues for aid, including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now  its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line, he said.

The president also said the US would work to push Israeli authorities to allow more aid deliveries by land, including more trucks and more routes into Gaza, by pulling out every stop we can to get more assistance.

The decision to send aid into Gaza by air follows a months-long and largely unsuccessful effort by the US to convince its ally Israel to allow much-needed humanitarian supplies in on the ground. Despite those efforts, the United Nations said that 80 per cent of aid deliveries destined for northern Gaza were blocked by the Israeli army in January.

The UN warned this week that some 576,000 people, or one quarter of Gazas population, are one step away from famine. It has also accused Israel of systematically blocking aid deliveries into Gaza and of opening fire on convoys that do make it through.

The US plan to airdrop aid has drawn criticism from humanitarian groups for being insufficient to prevent a looming famine.

Jeremy Konyndyk, who led USAIDs Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance during the Obama administration and oversaw humanitarian air drops to Nepal, the Philippines and Iraq, described the potential US plan to drop aid by air as a major policy failure on the part of the Biden administration.

When the US government has to use tactics that it otherwise used to circumvent the Soviets and Berlin and circumvent Isis in Syria and Iraq, that should prompt some really hard questions about the state of US policy, he told The Independent.

Mr Konyndyk, who is now president of Refugees International, said that airdrops are the most expensive and least effective way to get aid to a population. We almost never did it because it is such an in extremis tool.

The dire conditions on the ground in Gaza were drawn into sharp relief on Wednesday when more than 100 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd that was scrambling to collect aid from food trucks near Gaza City. The Israeli army said its forces had fired at those who posed a threat after some civilians rushed towards the trucks.

The incident was condemned by several US senators on Thursday.

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who voted against sending military aid to Israel last month, said the deaths are another reason why the United States should not provide another nickel for Israels war against Hamas.

Its not only that Israeli troops shot at these people, these people were trying desperately to get food, Mr Sanders told The Independent. And we are not talking about, but were looking at massive levels of starvation. In Gaza right now children are starving to death. Children are right now suffering from malnutrition.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts condemned the shooting as obscene.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war cabinet are expanding a humanitarian disaster beyond anything weve seen in decades, she told The Independent. We need to put pressure on Netanyahu and his right-wing government to change his approach and releasing the hostages, a ceasefire, expanding humanitarian relief and a two-state solution.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Independent that he hoped that there would be a cessation of hostilities and a release of hostages.

I think the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza is so nightmarish right now that Israel needs to suspend military activities temporarily, in order to get food and water and aid out to the people of Gaza in particular, to the northern section of Gaza, which cant receive shipments today, he said.

In his remarks on Friday, Mr Biden said that efforts are still ongoing to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which would include the return of hostages and a six-week pause in fighting to allow a surge of aid to the entire territory.

Yet the need for such a surge  and the US airdrops  are the result of Israels conduct of its war on Hamas, which continues to claim significant civilian lives despite pleas from Mr Biden and other US officials for the Israeli Defence Forces to take action to protect civilians and minimise harm to non-combatants.

Asked why the US was resorting to putting American airmen at risk because Israel  a putative US ally  continues to choke off aid to Gaza under the guise of maintaining security, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the airdrops are necessary because its a war zone and there is nowhere else for Gaza residents to go.

Its not like in some other conflicts where they can they can easily flee, he said.

But Mr Kirby stressed that there would be no need for airdrops but for Hamas decision to touch off this latest conflict by carrying out attacks against Israel in October.

Many people are in desperate need of food, water, medicine and fuel and the United States was and remains and will continue to be the leading provider of humanitarian assistance to them. And we take that responsibility seriously, he said.

However, the White House national security spokesperson said the US would not consider conditioning future military aid to Israel on whether the Israeli government permits humanitarian aid into Gaza, telling reporters: We are still helping Israel with their needs to defend themselves.
Two people are facing charges after the United States Coast Guard found them trying to take over 110,000 eels out of Puerto Rico without proper paperwork, prosecutors said.

Customs and Border Protection officials noticed a suspicious boat about 40 miles off the northern coast of Puerto Rico on the morning of Feb. 21, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Puerto Rico said in a March 1 news release. The boat was described as flagless and outfitted for smuggling.

The U.S. Coast Guard approached the boat and, when it refused to stop, had to neutralize it, prosecutors said.

Once onboard, officials found two people with 22 bags of live American eels, prosecutors said. Each bag held over 5,000 eels, officials said, totaling at least 110,000 eels.

The pair of boaters were heading to the Dominican Republic but did not have the proper licenses or paperwork for exporting wildlife, according to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed by prosecutors on Feb. 22.

Their attorneys did not immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment on March 1.

American eels, scientifically known as Anguilla rostrata, are a species of fish native to the Eastern United States and the Caribbean, prosecutors said. As juveniles, these fish are transparent and measure approximately 2-3 inches in length. Immature eels are sometimes referred to as elvers or glass eels.

Adult American eels can measure between 3 to 5 feet in length, according to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

American eels have not been successfully bred in captivity, prosecutors said. Commercial markets focus on selling glass eels to Asia where they are raised into adults and sold for sushi and other foods.

Prosecutors implied that the boaters were caught with baby eels but did not state this explicitly.

The pair told the Coast Guard that some of the eels were bought in Puerto Rico and others were harvested off the coast, wildlife officials said in the affidavit.

Both individuals were arrested Feb. 22, per court records, and are facing charges of smuggling goods from the United States, transporting and intending to sell the fish in violation of United States regulations and failure to heave to or stop when ordered to by the Coast Guard, prosecutors said.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison, attorneys said in the release.

The illegal harvesting of American eels poses a vital threat to the survival of this essential species and undermines legal fishery management, jeopardizing the ecosystem, Ed Grace, the assistant director of the United States Fish & Wildlife Services Office of Law Enforcement, said in the release.

Extraordinarily misguided man put pythons in pants, boarded bus to US, attorney says

Former worker pours out $600,000 worth of wine, WA cops say. Now hes been arrested

Meth hidden in dolls, hollow books by accused California smuggling ring, feds say
Amidst rumblings that Attorney General Letitia James may start going after Donald Trump's New York property if he can't pay the $450 million+ judgment in his civil fraud trial, E. Jean Carroll is expressing very serious concerns that she'll never see the $83.3 million he owes her.

On Wednesday, a New York appeals court denied Trump's request to freeze the judgement against him in the fraud trial and permit him to post a $100 million bond promising to eventually scrape together the remainder, which Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance commented on during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday, saying, "While he is appealing, New York's attorney general is free to go ahead and begin to execute the judgment she's received against him. She may, for instance, try to go after some of his real property."

Weighing Carroll's judgement against this instability after Trump filed for a delay in enforcing the verdict in her case, lawyer Roberta Kaplan assesses Trump's ability to make good on it, writing in court papers, He simply asks the Court to trust me and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers."

In a statement made to Truth Social this week, Trump continues to frame all of his legal woes as a "witch hunt," writing, "This is a Weaponized Attack on Joe Bidens Political Opponent, unlike anything that has happened in the History of the United States . . . We will continue to appeal until Justice prevails!"
Although I am not a woman small business owner, I have certainly learned what it is like to face big challenges in my career and life. I think I can relate to how many women in small business must feel when theyre building everything from the ground up: like David throwing pebbles at Goliath.

Women starting small businesses are often up against big names and deep pockets. They face challenges from lack of access to capital to a lack of affordable child care. And while I dont believe women need handouts, they do need to be given fair chances to compete.

With that in mind, Im proud to have introduced a bill that supports women-owned small businesses by adding transparency and accountability to government contracting. Its called the WOSB Integrity Act of 2024, and it will help make sure that a government program aimed at leveling the playing field for women small business owners actually does what its intended to do. It is an important part of helping women grow their businesses and thrive in a competitive market.

Historically, the federal government has sought to foster female participation in the marketplace through a federal contracting program called the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program.

The WOSB program is intended to help women-owned small businesses, or WOSBs, compete and succeed against much larger, more established companies. For many businesses, WOSB certification helps put them on the map and increases awareness of their product or services.

That was the case for Lelani Craig, founder and CEO of a women-owned small business in Utah called CommGap, which offers language services. Big, federal military contractors typically get the bulk of large federal contracts. But after CommGap became certified and won a WOSB contract through the Treasury Department, everything changed.

This helped us enhance our business offerings, said Lelani. And as a company that employs minority individuals and contracts with women-owned businesses, the benefits quickly become widespread.

When the pandemic hit a few years ago, the State of Utah gave the job of translating all COVID-related materials to CommGap.

For women-owned small businesses like CommGap hoping to access the WOSB programs unique government contracting opportunities, they must meet the U.S. Small Business Administrations, or SBA, small business size standards, and over half of the business must be owned and operated by women, among other requirements.

Unfortunately, the program is missing its mark. Many women arent receiving those federal contracts. While the government has a goal of awarding 5% of federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses, it has only met that goal twice since it was established over 20 years ago. In 2022, and out of $694 billion in total federal contracts, only 4.6% of all prime federal contracting dollars went to WOSBs.

Additionally, the program is susceptible to abuse. The SBA Inspector General recently found that while the SBA verifies that firms are women-owned, it simply allows applicants to self-certify that they are a small business. This means that a large firm could abuse the program by falsely claiming to be small, taking away federal dollars meant for small businesses. The WOSB Integrity Act of 2024 would help fix this by requiring the SBA and other certifying entities to reasonably verify that only true small businesses receive federal aid through the program.

This isnt about adding red tape. And this isnt about the government picking winners and losers. The government is already doing that. We just want to make sure that women are part of federal contracting, and that the competition is fair. This commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation is a good first step towards leveling the playing field, so women entrepreneurs have a fighting chance in the marketplace.

My bill will also increase transparency and help us understand why the federal governments goal is barely being met, especially when the amount of federal contracting dollars being offered is so small compared to the percentage of women-owned small businesses across the country.

Women in small business are an inspiring piece of the American story. Their big dreams and hard work are paying off. Women own over 40% of small businesses in the country. They generate nearly $1.8 trillion in revenue and employ nearly 10 million people. In 2022, they created about half of all new U.S. businesses. As a member of the House Small Business Committee, I am excited to help advance their ingenuity and determination through increased access to federal contracting programs.

Congresswoman Celeste Maloy, R-UT, represents Utahs 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the House Small Business Committee.
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese President Xi Jinping promised to encourage Chinese firms to invest in minerals-rich but economically ailing Sierra Leone as part of Beijing's long-term drive to deepen economic and political ties with Africa.

China has always regarded cooperation with African countries as a cornerstone of its foreign policy, Xi told visiting Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio in Beijing on Wednesday.

Its relations with Sierra Leone are "a model of unity and cooperation" for other African states," Xi said.

Bio, who is accompanied on this visit by his finance and mining ministers, is hoping to attract more Chinese firms to the West African state and secure investment pledges to upgrade its poor infrastructure.

"We look forward to leveraging strategic opportunities for the benefit of our two countries," Bio wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that he thanked Xi "for his invaluable partnership and support towards Sierra Leone's socio-economic development."

During the meeting, China announced 50 million yuan ($6.95 million) in economic and technical assistance, a 20 million yuan debt cancellation and 1,500 tonnes of food assistance for Sierra Leone, according to a statement from Sierra Leone's State House.

China's engagement with African states is expected to take on a bigger focus in 2024 after the dismantling of stringent COVID-19 curbs and the re-opening its borders to the world.

Since the start of 2023, it has elevated diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, Zambia, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon in a continent whose natural resources have long been a draw.

China is also keen to grow its geopolitical influence just as the United States seeks to deepen its ties with the continent.

Xi told Bio China will support Africa's drive to industrialise and to modernise its agricultural sector.

Chinese firms have invested $6.4 billion in Sierra Leone since 2010, data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank shows, predominantly in metals.

In December, Sierra Leone signed a pact with China Road and Bridge Corporation to build an 8-km (5-mile) bridge crossing the river separating the capital Freetown from the country's main airport at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion.

Freetown has struggled to convince foreign lenders that it could service any debt it might take on despite needing fresh funding to rebuild following an 11-year civil war that ended in 2002.

In November, China granted Sierra Leone $13 million to "support the economic and social development of Sierra Leone."

Freetown owes Beijing around $78 million, or 2.5% of its public debt, International Monetary Fund data shows, ahead of South Korea, from which it has borrowed around $50 million, and India, which it owes $28 million.

($1 = 7.1976 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Joe Cash; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Michael Perry)
COSHOCTON  The City of Coshocton has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the former Carnegie Library building for allowing it to decay into hazardous condition and being an eyesore on the city landscape.

The suit was filed Feb. 22 in Coshocton County Common Pleas Court by City Law Director Bob Skelton against William Deadman of Columbus. It seeks to have 213 N. Fourth St. declared a public nuisance as defined in the Ohio Revised Code.

The former Carnegie Library building at the corner of Chestnut and Fourth streets in the City of Coshocton.

Doing so would it would allow the city to repair the building or raze it with Deadman being charged for the cost. The suit also seeks to hold Deadman accountable for not registering the building as vacant with the city per local ordinance passed in 2018 and to pay associated fees. The Tribune was unable to locate Deadman for comment.

Skelton estimates this to be more than $20,000. He said this portion of the suit could allow him to foreclose on the property if the fees aren't paid. Mayor Mark Mills has previously said he would like to see an organization like Our Town Coshocton take ownership and turn it into a museum focused on local history.

"The city has attempted for years to have the defendant acknowledge the property's deficiencies and bring the property in compliance with city codes and to cure the nuisances," the suit reads. "Plaintiff has served the defendant several notices, charges for violating city code, ordinances and resolutions declaring the defendant's property to be a nuisance, dangerous, hazardous and insecure and order the conditions to be abated. Defendant has failed to abate said nuisance."

Skelton said if immediate action isn't taken he will most likely file similar suits against Deadman and other members of his family who own other vacant properties within the city.

According to the deed attached to the lawsuit, Deadman bought the Carnegie Library property in 1980 for $30,700. The city sold the property at the time as it was determined renovating the structure to be a new city hall wasn't financially feasible.

The suit states Deadman had the property inspected in 2020 with periodic inspections since then to determine city code violations related to maintenance and upkeep. There has been limited corrective action and no plan put forth for correction of violations, the suit said.

Deadman was convicted of failure to register and pay building fees, minor misdemeanors, in July 2023 in Coshocton Municipal Court. He paid the $150 fines, but has taken no corrective action on identified issues.

"Defendant has had ample time to correct any and all deficiencies, but has failed to take the steps necessary, if any at all, to bring the property into compliance," the suit states. "The condition of the property is a menace to the public health and welfare, is unsanitary, is otherwise no longer fit and habitable and in relation to its existing use, constitutes a hazard to the public health, welfare or safety by reason of inadequate maintenance and dilapidation."

The building was the 1,000th library funded by Andrew Carnegie, a businessman and philanthropist from Pittsburgh. A total of 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems. This included 1,689 in the U.S. with others around the world.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: City pursuing lawsuit against Carnegie Library property owner
(SPRINGFIELD, Colo.)  Two farmers from southeastern Colorado have been ordered to pay $6.5 million to resolve allegations that they defrauded federal crop insurance programs by tampering with and damaging rain gauges.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Patrick Esch and Ed Dean Jagers concocted a scheme to defraud federal crop insurance programs by making it appear that there was less precipitation in their area than there actually was. The program was put in place by the United States Department of Agriculture to support farmers and ranchers by paying indemnities when there is less than the usual amount of precipitation.

To carry out that scheme, the DOJ said the members of the conspiracy, including Esch and Jagers, tampered with and damaged rain gauges in southeast Colorado between July 2016 and June 2017 to prevent those gauges from accurately measuring rainfall. Some of the rain gauges that were tampered with belonged to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and were operated by the National Weather Service.

The conspirators used various means and methods to tamper with the rain gauges, the DOJ said. Esch covered gauges with agricultural equipment and used other means as well, such as filling gauges with silicone to prevent them from collecting moisture, cutting wires on the gauges, or detaching and then tipping over the bucket that collected precipitation. The DOJ said Jagers typically used an agricultural disc blade to cover up a rain gauge in Lamar. This tampering created false records, making it appear that less rain had fallen than was the case.

Prosecutors investigated Esch and Jagers both civilly and criminally, and they have been ordered to pay a combined $6.5 million to settle the civil allegations as well pay restitution. Esch was sentenced to be imprisoned for two months, and Jagers was sentenced to six months.

Hardworking farmers and ranchers depend on USDA crop insurance programs, and we will not allow these programs to be abused, said U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan. This case also shows the full measure of justice that can be achieved when our office uses both civil and criminal tools to protect vital government programs.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
Two major pharmacy chains will begin dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone within the month in some states -- potentially making it easier for some patients to access the drug.

Both Walgreens and CVS have now received certification to dispense mifepristone, the companies confirmed to ABC News.

Both pharmacies plan to start providing the pill in a select number of states first, and gradually expand to others where it's legal.

Walgreens expects to begin dispensing the drug "within a week," the company told ABC News. It will start providing the pill in a small number of its pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.

As far as potential expansion, Walgreens is keeping an eye on Kansas, Montana and Wyoming.

The company says it will not be dispensing in states where the laws are unclear, and where a legal gray area could put their pharmacists and staff members at greater risk.

PHOTO: In this Oct. 18, 2023 file photo, a Box of Mifepristone pills is shown at a pharmacy in Tehatta, India. (Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images, FILE)

Walgreens was certified by Danco Labs, the brand name manufacturer. The chain also intends to seek certification from the generic manufacturer GenBioPro in the future.

CVS says it plans to begin dispensing "in the weeks ahead" in states where it's legal and is "working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure the medication and are not yet dispensing it in any of our pharmacies."

The chain will begin filling prescriptions in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and will "expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis."

MORE: Judge rejects argument by abortion pill maker that state ban violates Constitution

The announcements by the two pharmacy chains come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new rules in January 2023 allowing the sale of mifepristone by retail pharmacies. Walgreens began the process to become a certified pharmacy to give out the drug following the ruling.

Those rules are now part of an upcoming case before the U.S. Supreme Court, in which an anti-abortion rights group is arguing the FDA went too far and that the medication is dangerous. The FDA and mainstream medical groups say there is no evidence that the medication is dangerous.

In a statement on Friday, President Joe Biden called the move an "important milestone" in ensuring access to the drug.

"With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacyjust as they would for any other medication. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification," Biden said in the statement.

CVS and Walgreens to begin selling abortion pill mifepristone in some states originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
MUNCIE, Ind.  Delaware County Council decided Tuesday to keep a tax abatement granted to solar energy developers Invenergy and Hawthorn Solar in place as both companies continue to pursue utility-scale solar fields in northern Delaware County.

The two major solar projects remain alive after a new solar ordinance was approved with increased set backs for nonparticipating property owners and a limit of 5,000 acres that can be devoted to such projects in Delaware County.

The council conducted a public hearing Tuesday, in which it asked both companies to provide an update on the status of their planned developments. After representatives of the developers spoke and answered some questions from council members, council voted 5-2 to keep tax abatement for Invenergy's Meadow Forge project in place, with council members Matt Kantz and Ryan Webb voting to abandon tax abatement for a project that has been a divisive issue in the Gaston area.

Invenergy's Grand Ridge Solar project near Streator, Illinois.

No vote was taken concerning the planned Hawthorn development, which is smaller and has generated less opposition than Meadow Forge. The abatement for the Hawthorn project simply remains in place without a council vote.

Invenergy began gathering leases for farm ground in Washington Township in 2020, prior to its application for tax abatement in the fall of 2021 to build a solar field stretching from north of Gaston on to the Grant County line. Some farmers who had been approached rejected Invenergy offers to lease their land and said they were surprised in 2021 to learn the project had come together when the project was announced.

An anti-solar farm sign in Gaston.

Opponents said converting farm fields of some of the most productive ground in the county to acres of solar panels would change the nature of the community in and around Gaston for the worse. Proponents said the lease agreements would provide a guaranteed income for farmers seeking economic security amid the ups and downs of crop farming. Others, including many with connections to Ball State University in Muncie, said the project would serve as a local effort in the battle against climate change by offering more renewable energy.

Both projects would allow energy produced by the panels to hook into electric infrastructure operated by AEP and its subsidiary Indiana Michigan Power. Meadow Forge was to deliver 150 megawatts of power, enough to satisfy the electrical needs of 32,700 homes.

Ben Friedell, executive vice president with National Renewable Energy Corp. of North Carolina and parent of Hawthorn, said its project near Albany would provide 75 to 83 megawatts of electricity when the project in Delaware Township, near the Muncie Dragway, is completed. Hawthorn currently has 700 acres under lease.

Invenergy, at the time of its application for tax abatement, listed 16 landowners with lease agreements. In 2020, Delaware County developed an original solar ordinance designed to facilitate placement of solar fields in the county and provide for regulations regarding their maintenance and decommissioning.

At the time, Brad Bookout, economic development director for the county, said the fact that Delaware County had created an ordinance that laid out rules governing solar farms made it more attractive to developers. But that ordinance would eventually change.

For nearly three years, an ongoing struggle between proponents and opponents of the Meadow Forge project has played out in public meetings involving the the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission, Wes Del Schools, county commissioners and county council. During that time, a moratorium on solar development was put in place in February 2022 and an effort to draw up a new solar ordinance was launched with Meadow Forge opposition included.

The moratorium was to be a year in length but stretched to nearly two years after the January 2023 death of Metropolitan Plan Director Marta Moody.

More: Two solar farms OK'd for northern Delaware County as rural landscape likely to change

Unlike Hawthorn, Invenergy also entered into an economic development agreement with county commissioners that would deliver $200,000 each year to the commissioner's office for 10 years.

The agreement was discussed Tuesday by Matthew Muller, Meadow Forge project manager for Invenergy. Council member Bill Hughes pointed out to Muller that if the assessed value of the property involved in the project is above $8,000 per acre, the payment to commissioners decreases by a compensating amount.

The assessed value of the land, which is set by the state, was more than $14,000 an acre in 2023, Hughes said.

Muller referred questions to Baker Tilly, financial advisors used by Invenergy on the project.

As the Star Press reported in January, council members initially thought language in the Meadow Forge economic development agreement called for the county to pay up to $5 million to Invenergy should the county withdraw its tax abatement for the project. Muller clarified that the council is only required to provide Invenergy any economic development payments it provided with a tax credit if tax abatement is withdrawn, not $5 million.

Invenergy, through its attorney, has maintained that the county can't legally withdraw from the economic development agreement or withdraw its tax abatement.

More: Marta Moody, longtime local planner and public servant, dies

Friedell said that Hawthorn, for its part, only sought tax abatement when it knew it had a prospective development in Delaware County and it was needed. He told the council that his industry was a highly competitive one.

"It isn't that we were looking in any way, shape or form for icing on the cake," he said of the county's tax abatement.

He also said Hawthorn was working with county officials regarding the implementation of provisions of the new solar ordinance.

Muller said that engineers for Invenergy are still working on the physical dimensions of Meadow Forge, but it appears that project would be in the range of 1,000 to 1,100 acres when completed.

"Obviously, it's going to be more spread out now," he said, due to bigger setbacks required in the latest solar ordinance.

Invenergy plans to apply for a zoning special use under the solar ordinance yet this year, according to Muller.

When the time came to vote on the measure to rescind, Kantz said, he was torn on multiple levels, with many people he trusts adamant that the abatement should never have come into play for the projects.

"I realize why that investment looked enticing at the time," he said.

Going forward, the council should do a better job reviewing abatement, Kantz said, with a lot of unknown factors still persisting with the solar developments.

More: Economic development agreement with solar developer says county owes if abatement canceled

"Do I think Hawthorn is going to sue us: Maybe, maybe not." he said of rescinding the abatements. "Do I think Meadow Forge will. Probably, they will. That has been their position from the get-go."

He said the impacts of these developments on the county were still unknown, but, "most likely," the developments will disappear from Delaware County in another 25 years.

Hughes said that, in the end, the financial benefit of the projects wasn't so much of an issue for the county. It was, however, an important land use issue and he was glad the solar ordinance now requires developers to request a special use rather than having solar projects automatically allowable.

Webb said he understands that no local government in Indiana has ever rescinded tax abatement before and it's "scary" with the developers having lawyers ready to go into action.

"I feel like sometimes we may fold our hand out of the threat of litigation," Webb said. "I don't really like doing things that way. I feel like if you have the winning hand and you're in the right, then stand your ground."

More: Solar vs. grain: Farm feud in Washington Township roils community, ends friendships

Council member Eugene Whitehead said he thinks the council in 2021 made a "poor decision" in approving the abatements, but he would not vote to rescind because he did not want to send a message to other employers who might choose to avoid Delaware County out of fear any abatement they might be granted might be taken away.

"We don't need to be turning away any jobs," he said.

Council member Jim Mochal also said he did not want to lose farm ground to solar development but, like Whitehead, feared the message it would send to people who might wish to seek tax abatement for other development in the future.

With the abatements question settled, future local government action regarding the solar projects now moves to zoning action.

David Penticuff is a reporter with The Star Press. He can be contacted at dpenticuff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: By a 5-2 vote, county council keeps abatements for solar developments
Visitors to the Erie Zoo will see lots of familiar animal faces after it opens March 1 for the 2024 season but no new residents just yet.

The zoo does expect to add multiple birds and at least one deer, and officials are hoping to eventually have one or more birth announcements this year. But Scott Mitchell, the zoo's director of development, said none of that will happen until sometime in spring or later. He said it's too early, and in some cases too cold, to ship animals now and no pregnancies have been confirmed.

More: Everything you need to know about visiting the Erie Zoo

What's coming to the zoo

Members of three species of birds and one species of deer will be moving to the zoo this year, Mitchell said.

A pair of Madagascar teal, which are small ducks, will be located in the Main Building exhibit that already features six sacred ibis, which are long-legged birds.

A female black crake, a black waterbird with pinkish legs, will join a male already living in the African Bird Room at the zoo's Kiboka Outpost. Mitchell said the hope is they will breed.

A small flock of speckled mousebirds, both male and female, will also be added to Kiboka Outpost, he said.

In Safariland, which can only be viewed while riding the zoo's train, one and possibly two female Pere David's deer will be added to the female already there, Mitchell said.

What might be coming

Zoo officials are hopeful that its male and female Canadian lynx, who made it through the introduction process before mating season in March, will eventually welcome kittens this year. The zoo's current male, Hunter, was one of two kittens born May 15, 2018, at the Erie Zoo.

"If we do have kittens, they would be born sometime between May and early July," Mitchell said.

Canadian lynx kitten Hunter, left, is shown with his sister, Denali, in 2018 at the Erie Zoo. Officials are hoping that Hunter, who is still at the zoo, will become a dad this year.

He said it is also lemur breeding season, but there have been no confirmed pregnancies yet among the zoo's black and white ruffed lemur.

What isn't on the way

No replacement is headed here for Joe, the Erie Zoo's beloved male orangutan who died in 2022. Mitchell said the zoo wouldn't introduce another male orangutan to female Dasa until Otis, her 7-year-old son with Joe, was older and moved on to another facility. Otis' older brother Ollie left Erie for the San Francisco Zoo in 2019 when he was 9 and older sister Leela, who was born here in 2003, left in 2012 for the Toledo Zoo.

Mitchell said there are no short-term plans to have a male lion join lionesses Eva and Desta. A third lioness, Nala, died in 2022.

He also said the zoo isn't currently taking steps to acquire another Amur tiger to join the remaining female, Nuri. The zoo's male, Victor, died in 2022, leaving female Tikva alone until Nuri arrived in May 2023. Then Tikva died in October.

Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Zoo aims to add these new animals in 2024
A former Correction Department general counsel who courted controversy in 2023 when he said heart failure killed a detainee later found to have died of a skull facture has returned to the agency as a senior advisor, the agency confirmed Friday.

Paul Shechtman, a former federal prosecutor and veteran defense lawyer who previously represented ex-correction union boss Norman Seabrook, is returning after stepping down in early September following a furor over the death of detainee Joshua Valles.

Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said Shechtman will advise Correction Commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie on all department matters.

Shechtman, the former general counsel now an advisor, was originally named general counsel in 2022 under then-Commissioner Louis Molina.

He came under some criticism from the federal monitor tracking violence and use of force in the jails after suggesting May 23 that detainee Valles died of a heart-related issue with no foul play suspected. An autopsy later showed Valles had suffered a skull fracture.

Shechtman then said the head injury could relate to a previous fight but that altercation allegedly took place weeks before Valles died.

On May 31, the federal violence monitor described the remarks as premature at best. There is no question that investigation of this incident is necessary, the monitor wrote.

On June 5, Stan German, head of the New York County Defender Services, called for a federal investigation into Valles death. The monitors disclosure reveals a pattern of obfuscation of the truth within NYC jails, German wrote.

Dwyer, the Correction Department spokesman, said Shechtmans departure had nothing to do with the Valles incident.

Schechtman was previously Seabrooks lawyer in the high-profile federal case alleging the union boss took a bribe from a hedge fund manager in exchange for approving a union investment with the fund.

Seabrook was convicted and sentenced in 2019 to nearly five years in federal prison. He was released early in February 2023 by a federal judge who shortened his sentence to correspond with that of a co-defendant, who had earlier been released.

Meanwhile, the department announced Friday that Francis Torres, previously the deputy commissioner in charge of programs, had been promoted to first deputy commissioner. She succeeds Lynelle Maginley-Liddie, who was appointed correction commissioner by Mayor Adams on Dec. 8.

Torres, a CUNY graduate, joined the agency in 2002 as director of educational services. The tasks of her new post will include overseeing the agencys buildings, its transportation fleet, and its health management  which includes keeping track of officers who are out sick, the department said.

Francis has dedicated the better part of her distinguished career to positively impacting the lives of both uniformed and non-uniformed staff at the Department of Correction, while also developing, managing, and enhancing program opportunities for persons in custody, said Maginley-Liddie.

Torres, notably, was thrust into the spotlight in 2023 when the Adams administration cut $17 million from outside nonprofits which had long provided counseling and other services in the jails. The plan at the time was to run those programs using correction staff  causing a wave of skepticism that it could be done.

The department told the Board of Correction on Tuesday that one of those nonprofits, the Fortune Society, had returned to one jail on a limited basis. It was unclear whether the funding cuts will be restored, however.

Fortune Society President Stanley Richards confirmed the group is providing limited services in the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island and said he appreciated the commissioners outreach.

We hope the city rethinks the cuts and increases our capacity to engage in the full suite of services and provide continuity of care from jail to the community, he said. We need additional funding to reestablish the level and intensity of the programs we once provided prior to the $17 million cut in programs. The previous cuts were penny-wise and pound-foolish.
LANCASTER  The Fairfield County Educational Service Center (ESC) has helped to lead the creation of a county-wide protocol aimed at preventing school violence and cultivating a safer educational environment for students.

The School Threat Assessment and Response program was established in response to the growing need for a unified model for school safety. The protocol was enacted on Jan. 23, during a signing ceremony as part of Fairfield County Juvenile Court Judge Terre Vandervoorts update to the County Commissioners.

Local leaders across Fairfield County join County Commissioners during the signing ceremony for the School Threat Assessment and Response Protocol Community Partner Statement of Support

The protocol is designed to address student safety in a proactive manner, prioritizing prevention over reaction. Representatives from local law enforcement, prosecutors offices, ADAMH, and Fairfield County Juvenile Court signed the Statement of Support affirming the following: Participating partners support the countywide effort to collaborate in the community response to school threats, emphasizing school safety, public awareness, ongoing training, and partner input as the countywide protocol evolves to meet partner and community needs.

By assessing threats and determining their severity, the program allows for early intervention, ensuring that issues are addressed before they escalate. Under this new protocol, low-level threats will be managed by the schools, offering a tailored response that aligns with each district's unique needs.

Fairfield County Juvenile Court is honored to have worked in collaboration with Fairfield County schools, law enforcement, prosecutors and ADAMH Board in developing this countywide protocol, said Judge Vandervoort. Early assessment is critical as school safety is and has always been a community priority, and I am proud to have Fairfield County lead the way in Ohio.

The School Threat Assessment and Response program convenes the efforts of law enforcement, behavioral and mental health agencies, the Fairfield County Prosecutors office, and local schools. This innovative protocol marks a departure from the challenges posed by separate operating procedures, offering a coordinated and proactive response to potential school safety threats.

A key feature of the Fairfield County School Threat Assessment and Response program is its county-wide implementation, meeting the state of Ohios mandate for schools to have a response plan in place in a more efficient way. Recognizing the diversity among schools in Fairfield County, the program has been constructed to accommodate the distinct models employed by each district, ensuring a comprehensive and adaptable approach.

Will Kirby, Assistant Superintendent of Fairfield County ESC, emphasized the program's commitment to community investment, stating, "This program is an investment in the safety of the students and educators in our community. By proactively addressing threats and supporting students through a comprehensive intervention phase, we are fostering a safe and nurturing environment for our students to thrive. We worked with our safety officials, school districts, courts, behavioral health experts and educators to ensure the protocol addresses all of the factors that need to be addressed when challenges arise.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Fairfield County ESC coordinates county-wide school threat program
Defense lawyers and prosecutors clashed over basic questions of ethics and evidence Friday during final arguments in a hearing over whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from Donald Trump's Georgia election fraud case for having an affair with the private lawyer she hired as special prosecutor in the sprawling indictment.

After nearly two hours in which defense attorneys accused Willis of abusing her power, lying on disclosure forms, and concealing a blatant conflict of interest, the district attorney's office fought back, claiming that defense witnesses were unreliable and that there were no legal grounds to remove the prosecutor.

Its ridiculous, its absurd and its desperate, prosecutor Adam Abbate said Friday. Its a desperate attempt to remove a prosecutor from a case for absolutely no reason, your honor, other than harassment and embarrassment.

Willis took a seat in the courtroom during the prosecution's presentation. Wade was also present.

More: Allegations of liars, cheaters and conflicts of interest: Takeaways from the Fani Willis hearing

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a Friday hearing to determine whether she should be removed from the Donald Trump election interference case over he relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor she hired to lead the Trump prosecution.

Lawyers for the former president and other defendants have argued in often-salacious filings and at bombshell televised hearings that Willis romance with prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest, and that she improperly benefited from their relationship when he paid for vacations they took together using some of the more than $650,000 he has made from the case.

Willis and Wade have strenuously denied that she improperly benefitted, and say their relationship began months after she hired him to oversee the investigation into whether Trump and associates broke the law in conspiring to overturn Joe Biden's narrow 2020 victory in the state.

Willis called the allegations "lies" in surprise testimony last month.

"You think Im on trial," Willis said from the witness stand on Feb. 15. "These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020, she added, gesturing to the defense table. Im not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.

More: 'Lies': Fani Willis fights push to remove her from Donald Trump Georgia case

Attorneys for Trump campaign official Mike Roman, the former president, and others charged in the case have worked to introduce evidence that they say demonstrates that Willis and Wade  contrary to their sworn statements  were in a relationship before she hired him to oversee the election prosecution.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he will rule in the next two few weeks over whether to disqualify Willis, Wade and potentially the rest of the DA's office. Defense lawyers for Trump and some of the 14 other remaining defendants also have petitioned McAfee to dismiss the case entirely on the grounds that it is irrevocably tainted by Willis' alleged conflict of interest.

More: Trump lawyer wields cellphone data in bid to discredit Georgia DA Fani Willis in election fraud case

Judge plans to rule within 2 weeks on possible DA removal

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee said he plans to rule within two weeks on whether to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the election racketeering case against Donald Trump.

McAfee closed the hearing Friday saying he was grappling with several legal issues and factual disputes.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee said he will decide within two weeks on a defense motion to remove District Attorney Fani Willis from the Donald Trump election fraud case over her relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the Georgia case.

There are several legal issues to sort through, several factual determinations that I have to make and those arent ones I can make at this moment, McAfee said after three hours of forceful submissions by both sides. I will be taking the time to make sure that I give this case the full consideration its due. I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks.

--Bart Jansen

Prosecutor calls defense allegation that Fani Willis lived lavishly a joke

Prosecutor Adam Abbate ridiculed defense arguments that Fulton County DA Fani Willis hired special prosecutor Nathan Wade to benefit financially from their relationship.

Abbate noted that Willis didnt hire Wade to work on other racketeering cases she was prosecuting. She secured indictments against 19 defendants in the Donald Trump election racketeering case, rather than 39 a special grand jury had recommended. And she sought the fastest possible trial, as early as October 2023 for two of the defendants who pleaded guilty, rather than drag out Wades billing on the case.

Abbate also rubbished the defense accusation that Willis traveled lavishly with Wade. During a trip to Napa Valley in California, Willis stayed at the Double Tree hotel rather than the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons, Abbate said.

I dont know that to be a lavish hotel, Abbate said of the Double Tree. The allegations and assertions that Ms. Willis was living the Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous is a joke, he added, in response to a previous defense statement.

--Bart Jansen

More: QAnon ties, bogus litigation: Book details Trump and the effort to overturn Georgia election

Prosecutor: Defense attempt to remove Willis ridiculous and absurd'

Prosecutor Adam Abbate argued the defense attempt to remove Fulton County DA Fani Willis from the election racketeering case against Donald Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants was "desperate."

Abbate quoted witnesses confirming Williss account of her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which they said began during the investigation and has ended.

Willis father, John Floyd, testified last month that he lived with the district attorney in 2019 and 2020 and never saw Wade at her house  during a time the defense contends they were romantically involved. Floyd also testified that he had taught his daughter to keep substantial amounts of cash at home; Willis had said she repaid Wade for travel in cash.

John Floyd III, father of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis, testified last month that he never saw Nathan Wade while he was living with his daughter in 2019 and 2020.

They were trying to make Ms. Willis a liar, Abbate said.

Willis has testified Wade wasnt her first choice to become special prosecutor on the Trump case. Former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes testified in February that Willis recruited him to become special prosecutor in the Trump case before she offered the job to Wade, but he decided not to join her team.

Its ridiculous, its absurd and its desperate, Abbate said. Its a desperate attempt to remove a prosecutor from a case for absolutely no reason, your honor, other than harassment and embarrassment.

--Bart Jansen

More: Fani Willis hearing: a salacious drama that could undermine Trump election interference case

Prosecutor argues 'star witness' didn't back defense claims

Prosecutor Adam Abbate argued that Nathan Wade's former divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley, failed to support defense claims that he could contradict Willis and Wade's testimony based on personal experience. Abbate said Bradley, who was previously described by the judge as a "star witness," testified 15 times that he didn't have personal, firsthand knowledge about Willis and Wade's romantic relationship.

Abbate also suggested the defense oversold Bradley's potential testimony only to be let down when he took the stand. Abbate pointed to a text message by a defense lawyer asking Bradley whether he thought Willis and Wade's relationship started before she hired him, to which Bradley responded, "Absolutely."

"The question in itself involves speculation," Abbate said. "He doesn't provide any context as to how he knows, and in these text messages and through his testimony with the court, the source of his information was unclear," Abbate said.

Abbate did note one conversation Bradley testified to involving himself and Wade, but argued the conversation never happened. If it had, the defense would have confronted Wade about it when he testified, Abbate argued.

--Aysha Bagchi

Prosecutor argues defense lawyers proved no conflicts to disqualify Willis

Prosecutor Adam Abbate argued that defense lawyers needed to show DA Fani Willis had an actual conflict of interest to remove her from the Donald Trump case, but that the evidence showed she got no financial benefit from her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade because she had repaid him in cash for vacations they took together.

We have none of that here, Abbate said. We have absolutely no evidence here that Ms. Willis received any financial gain or benefit.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee cited a court decision involving the disqualification of a lawyer that mentioned a proverb involving ancient Roman emperor Julius Caesar. The proverb stated that Caesars wife needed to be not just lawful, but beyond reproach.

McAfee asked whether that means prosecutors must be beyond reproach, rather than just avoiding conflicts of interest.

Abbate insisted that an actual conflict, such as getting a fee based on the result of a case, must be proven to remove a prosecutor.

An actual conflict is required to be shown, Abbate said.

--Bart Jansen

Prosecutor calls witness testimony about Willis, Wade relationship absurd

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis entered the courtroom during the break after closing arguments from defense lawyers who are trying to remove her from the case against former President Donald Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants.

She took a seat at the prosecution table while a deputy, Adam Abbate, began his argument. Abbate urged Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee to carefully gauge testimony from Robin Yeartie, a longtime friend and former work colleague of Willis, who said the relationship between Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade began in 2019, well before he was hired to lead the Trump prosecution.

Im asking you to infer that her testimony was at best inconsistent, Abbate said.

Willis and Wade testified their relationship ran from spring 2022 to summer 2023. Abbate argued that defense lawyers asked Yeartie leading questions suggesting that Willis confirmed the relationship began in 2019 and continued in 2020 and 2021.

Its absurd, Abbate said. Its absolutely absurd.

--Bart Jansen

Atlanta DA's office 'is a global laughing stock' over Fani Willis' relationship, lawyer for former Trump official says

Harry MacDougald, who represents Trump co-defendant and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, noted that prosecutors made several objections to the testimony of Terrence Bradley, who was Nathan Wade's divorce attorney, based on the argument that the testimony was protected by attorney-client privilege.

MacDougald noted the privilege at issue belongs to Wade as Bradley's former client, rather than to the state prosecuting team. That shows, he argued, that the district attorney's office is serving Willis and Wade's personal interests, rather than justice.

"It's a continuation of the wrongful pattern of concealment and cover-up that they've engaged in since the beginning, but now they've enlisted the entire office in the enterprise," MacDougald said. "This office is a global laughing stock because of their conduct."

Defense lawyers are trying to have Willis, Wade, and the entire district attorney's office thrown off the case, and have asked that the case be thrown out.

--Aysha Bagchi

Willis 'abused her power...to gain advantage for herself and her boyfriend,' defense lawyer says

Harry MacDougald, a lawyer for co-defendant Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant U.S. attorney general in the Trump administration, accused District Attorney Fani Willis of violating her professional ethics as a lawyer in at least six different ways.

In one example, MacDougald said Willis didnt declare the gifts she got from special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which she contends she repaid in cash.

Theres no boyfriend exception, MacDougald said. Thats an actual conflict of interest between her legal duty of disclosure, her legal duty of candor as a prosecutor and her private and personal interests in concealing the relationship, concealing the gifts and keeping gravy train rolling for as long as possible.

Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, left, looks on during a hearing over whether Fulton County Da Fani Willis should be removed from the case because of her relationship with Wade, whom she hired to lead the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

In another example, MacDougal also criticized Willis for threatening Wades wife with criminal charges by arguing that allegations in their divorce case were hampering the investigation of Trump.

Theres no sugar-coating it, MacDougald said. She abused her power. She abused her position, to threaten her boyfriends wife with criminal prosecution to gain advantage for herself and her boyfriend.

--Bart Jansen

Willis and Wade enjoyed Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous: defense lawyer

Richard Rice, a lawyer for Trump co-defendant Robert Cheeley, accused Fulton County DA Fani Willis of personally benefitting from the investigation into Trump through her romance with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Wade, who Willis hired for the case, paid at least $17,095 toward the relationship, Rice said, citing documents and referring to vacations the two took together. The figure doesnt include dinners and day trips, Rice said.

Attorney Richard Rice, representing Robert Cheeley, questions witness Terrence Bradley, during a hearing last month in the Donald Trump election interference case. On March 1, Rice alleged that District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade "basically lived Robin Leachs Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous. They did this riding on the backs of defendants in this case, funded by the taxpayers of Fulton County and the state of Georgia.

During the pendency of this investigation and this case, Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis basically lived Robin Leachs Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous, Rice said. They did this riding on the backs of defendants in this case, funded by the taxpayers of Fulton County and the state of Georgia.

Wade and Willis acknowledged traveling to Belize, Aruba and California, but said she repaid him in cash.

Rice also cited 2,000 calls and nearly 9,800 texts between Wade and Willis during the first 11 months of 2021  before he was contracted as a special prosecutor.

I dont even think love-struck teenagers communicate that much, Rice said.

--Bart Jansen

Willis played race card and the God card: defense lawyer

Craig Gillen, a lawyer for Trump co-defendant David Shafer, blasted Fulton County DA Fani Willis for giving a prominent speech at a historic church in response to allegations about her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade before responding formally in court.

Willis gave a speech Jan. 14 at Big Bethel AME Church suggesting that defense lawyers were attacking Wade because his is Black rather than two other special prosecutors who are white. Instead, Gillen said Willis should have acknowledged the relationship to the congregation.

More: Georgia DA Fani Willis breaks silence over Donald Trump case prosecutor in church address

Gillen said prosecutors arent supposed to try and win cases through meeting halls or the newspaper but through the court.

She chose to deflect, and to do two things that are reprehensible for any lawyer, but particularly for a prosecutor, Gillen said. She chose to pull out the race card and the God card.

--Bart Jansen

Defense lawyer: 'Prosecutors are held to a higher standard'

Trump lawyer Steven Sadow argued that cell phone records indicated that Willis and Wade gave untruthful testimony about when their romantic relationship started. He said the records suggest there were 35 or more occasions when Wade was in the vicinity of where Willis was staying prior to when the two prosecutors testified the relationship started.

The records reflect two occasions when Wade appeared to spend the night at the apartment, Sadow added. He noted the prosecuting team may not accept that Wade stayed the night.

Sadow argued that if the judge concludes there were ethical violations, and that there is a significant concern about the truthfulness of Willis and Wade's testimony, they should be disqualified.

"Prosecutors are held to a higher standard," Sadow said. "They're the ones that are supposed to be seeking justice."

--Aysha Bagchi

Trump lawyer on ethics: 'Whats good for the goose is good for the gander'

Steven Sadow, a Trump lawyer, said Robin Yeartie, a friend of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and Terrence Bradley, Nathan Wades former divorce lawyer, had each said the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade began before he was hired to lead the Trump prosecution in November 2021.

Sadow said that meant Willis and Wade both lied under oath. I suggest they were clear-cut lies, Sadow said.

Willis and Wade have said Yeartie and Bradley are wrong.

More: Why Nathan Wade, under fire for alleged affair with Fani Willis, is facing new scrutiny

Steve Sadow, a lawyer for former US President Donald Trump, speaks during final arguments in the District Attorney Fani Willis disqualification hearing in Atlanta. Superior Judge Scott McAfee is considering a motion to disqualify Willis over her romantic relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she appointed as special prosecutor in the election interference charges against Trump and more than a dozen others.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee asked Sadow what remedy could be imposed. Where in the law do we find the remedy for an untruthful statement? McAfee asked.

Sadow cited two cases where judges found ethical violations by defense lawyers and disqualified them from those case.

Whats good for the goose is good for the gander, Sadow said. If defense counsel can be kicked off of a case because of ethical violations, I suggest the same thing can happen for prosecutors when the ethical violations deal with truthfulness, candor to the court.

--Bart Jansen

$9,247: 'The amount of money they cannot account for in their testimony'

Attorney John Merchant speaks during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The hearing is to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case because of a relationship with Nathan Wade, special prosecutor she hired in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump.

John Merchant, a lawyer for Trump co-defendant Mike Roman, said in doing the math on what Wade actually paid for and what Wade and Willis testified she paid back in cash for their vacations, $9,247 "is the amount of money they cannot account for in their testimony." That was a personal benefit Willis received through prosecuting the case with Wade on the prosecuting team, he argued.

Judge McAfee asked Merchant whether a personal benefit needed to be significant to justify disqualifying a prosecutor. Merchant replied that a $6 benefit would be enough, though he later conceded giving a fellow prosecutor a pack of gum might not fit the bill.

In this case, however, there's an appearance of a conflict, and that is enough, Merchant insisted.

"They did this, they knew it was wrong, they hid it, and even when they were called out on it, they created an excuse for it by saying it happened after the fact," he said, referencing Willis and Wade's claim that their romantic relationship started after Wade was hired to work on the case.

--Aysha Bagchi

Willis reaped the benefits of relationship: defense lawyer

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade acknowledged having a romantic relationship from spring 2022 to summer 2023 while working on the Georgia election case. But defense lawyers have argued the relationship began in 2019  before Willis hired Wade to work on the case.

How does the timing of the relationship impact the financial interest? Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee asked.

John Merchant, a lawyer for co-defendant Mike Roman, said the timing demonstrates that trips they took together provided her personal benefits from Wade's work on the case. Willis has testified she reimbursed Wade in cash for the vacations, without receipts or documentation.

Because its part of the scheme she created intentionally in order to give benefits to her boyfriend, Merchant said. She put her boyfriend in the spot, paid him and then reaped the benefits of it.

--Bart Jansen

Defense lawyer says DA Fani Willis must be disqualified to protect the entire public confidence in the system

Defense attorneys are going first in the closing arguments in the Fani Willis disqualification hearings, with lawyers for some of the 14 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, alloted 90 minutes, followed by Willis' office.

Defense lawyer John Merchant, appearing for former Trump 2020 campaign official Michael Roman, said Willis had clearly violated state conflict of interest laws and should be disqualified over her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. He also said that the standard of proof, based on Georgia law, should be whether Willis created the appearance of conflict of interest instead of the higher standard of proving it.

"And the reason why the appearance of a conflict is so prescient here is because if this court allows this kind of behavior to go on ... the entire public confidence in the system will be shot, Merchant told Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. And the integrity of the system will be undermined."

The appearance standard dates back to some cases from the 1990s and is so important, Merchant said, because you have to pay attention to what this looks like to the public.

--Josh Meyer

Outright lies: Lawyer decries rumors that DA Fani Willis and special prosecutor had sex in law office

Andrew Evans, a lawyer for special prosecutor Nathan Wade, on Friday denied claims by defense attorneys in the Donald Trump election fraud case that he or his wife walked in on Wade and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis having sex in their office.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Evans denied the accusations and said they were part of a mud-slinging campaign by defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant and other defense lawyers to disqualify Willis and derail the election fraud investigation. The rumors were mentioned in text messages that Merchant exchanged with Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner and divorce lawyer.

I cant speak to the other texts, but the ones about Stacey or I walking in on them are false. Those texts are not even gossipthey are just outright lies, Evans said.

The accusations were made in the last evidentiary hearing in the case, as part of an effort to show that Willis and Wade were engaged in a romantic relationship before she hired him to oversee the racketeering investigation into Trump and dozens of others for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost in Georgia.

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 16: Witness Terrence Bradley looks on from the witness stand during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 16, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)

At the time in question, Evans and his wife Stacey, also a lawyer and now Georgia state representative, had rented office space to Willis.

The issue first came up as part of hundreds of text messages between defense lawyer Merchant and Bradley. In those texts, Merchant asked Bradley if he'd heard a rumor about Andrew Evans walking in on Wade and Willis.

Merchant also asked Bradley about it during an evidentiary hearing two weeks ago in which Bradley was forced to testify. Bradley said he remembered virtually nothing about when Willis and Wade began their relationship, or about when Wade might had visited Willis at her office.

The texts are expected to be one of many issues discussed at todays hearing.

--Josh Meyer

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fani Willis hearing live updates: Will Fulton County DA be removed?
Forced to go outside for hours during the day, only to be funneled back inside a prison without air-conditioning, Florida's inmates are spending the majority of their sentences sweating.

To beat the heat, former prisoner Denny Hughes said he and others had to get creative.

Hughes and other inmates when he was at Charlotte Correctional Institution used to fasten sheets or towels between the bunks and the windows to try and capture any air passing through. But it wasn't long before their only hope of cooling off was confiscated by correctional officers during midnight inspections.

Push back against the removal of the makeshift vents, he said, usually led to consequences  even death in one extreme case.

"I don't even know of anybody that lives in Florida that doesn't have fans," said Hughes, who served time in both Florida's state and federal prisons between 2013 and 2018 after being convicted of grand theft in Broward County.

Appalled by the lack of air-conditioning and numerous other problems in the state prison system for years, state lawmakers were hoping to kickstart change by backing bills that reinforce the rights inmates are to have  things they say should already be considered basic human rights.

But those bills, filed by Democrats in a Republican-dominated Legislature, never received a hearing this legislative session. With committees largely having stopped meeting and lawmakers wrapping up a multi-billion dollar budget for next year, the measures are effectively dead. Session is scheduled to end next Friday.

A pair of identical bills (HB 233, SB 1702) filed by Rep. Dianne Hart, D-Tampa, and Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, focused on four major categories, giving inmates the right to:

Proper ventilation, requiring all housing units to have air-conditioning or air-cooling systems.

Sufficient meal time, receiving a minimum of 20 minutes to eat.

Adequate food supply in case of emergency, requiring each institution to establish a program with a local food bank.

Necessary health products like soap, sanitary napkins, tampons and toothpaste upon inmate request.

The bill would also guarantee necessary protective equipment for prison medical staff during a health crisis. "It's crazy that many of these things should already be in place," Hart said. "However, they're not being done."

'Still people'

Ever since she joined the Legislature in 2018, Hart has made it her mission to improve the state's criminal justice system. She has visited 57 of the 143 facilities run by the Florida Department of Corrections, and she's seen firsthand the life inmates are subject to behind bars.

There are a number of Florida laws that spell out how inmates are to be treated and things they are supposed to receive, Hart said. But based on her visits, a lot of what's already been established isn't happening, she said.

"It's a sad day when you have to force something that is already on the books," Hart said.

The law she and Powell are proposing would also require the DOC to provide all inmates with a printed copy of those rights so they are aware of them, and it allows inmates to file a grievance if they feel one of these rights was denied.

Rep. Dianne Hart speaks during a press conference where gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist announced the second part of his "Justice for All" campaign at the Historic Capitol Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021.

Hart saw the prisons' shortcomings through her visits, finding out things like inmates in numerous institutions were only getting three to four minutes to scarf down their food, or that women weren't being given sufficient feminine products when they needed them.

"They're treating people like animals," she said. "There's no real rhyme and reason for that."

The lawmaker also noted how she's walked into the prisons "nice and dry," and after just a few minutes, comes back out soaking wet with sweat. "It's like torture," she added.

"You won't let your dog in that kind of heat, but you'll allow people in it," she said.

Not having air-conditioning in Florida is simply inhumane, Powell said. "Just about every house in the state of Florida has some type of air-conditioning," he said. "There's no reason not to have it in the prisons."

Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, asks a question during the Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. Florida lawmakers are meeting to consider ways to shore up the state's struggling home insurance market in the year's second special session devoted to the topic. (AP Photo/Phil Sears)

Powell said the lack of cool air is one of the problems that needs to be resolved first. A report from KPMG, the company the DOC hired to devise a prison system "master plan," focused heavily on the lack of air-conditioning in prisons and the conditions of the buildings themselves.

The company reported a stifling statistic  75% of all housing units lack air-conditioning. KPMG's findings sparked widespread conversation, but even after the buzz, Powell said he doesn't see any extra steps being made toward change.

Both he and Hart agree that there isn't enough being done, and the laws already in place aren't adequate. Passing this new law would have firmly reinforced that inmates have rights and aren't just a number, Powell said.

"People who are incarcerated are still people," he said. "We have to give them the best opportunity at rehabilitation and many times we create barriers to success by policy."

Longing for change

One night, Hughes said he woke up to an argument between an officer and a neighboring inmate after the officer told the inmate to remove the sheet  his makeshift air-conditioning unit  and to pick up a cup and magazine that was left out.

"The guy was like, 'Look it's really hot,' and the lieutenant wasn't having it, and he pulled him out of the cell and hit him with his baton," Hughes said. "They kicked him down the stairs; it ended up killing him."

The incident, which was investigated by the DOC and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, was brought before a grand jury where it was decided that the prison failed to collect enough evidence to bring charges against the five guards implicated in the crime.

"This is just one example of the AC issues," Hughes said.

Another set of identical bills (SB 296, HB 181) were filed by Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, and Rep. Angie Nixon, also D-Jacksonville. These two bills solely focused on making air-conditioning mandatory in every housing unit in all Florida correctional institutions. Again, neither was considered this session.

More: Florida prison system needs billions of dollars in repairs  but lawmakers say 'no'

A view outside a state prison in Florida.

Hart said visiting the prisons is what it's going to take for her colleagues to see the importance behind each of these legislative efforts. More lawmakers are starting to make treks out to state prisons, but there still is a lack of support this session for these types of bills, she said.

A lot of people want to blame the DOC because it's easy, but really the willingness of the Legislature isn't fully there, said Denise Rock, the executive director of Florida Cares.

"We're disappointed that this is not a bill that would move or that would pass because it just seems like such a no-brainer," Rock said. "This is about providing humanitarian conditions, and more importantly, humanitarian treatment."

Florida Cares, a nonprofit that advocates for the incarcerated, receives desperate calls from inmates every week who say things like they aren't getting 20 minutes to eat  an issue that would be resolved by this bill, Rock said.

There are a lot of rules the DOC has in place  giving inmates time to eat is one of them  that are frequently neglected, or officers simply don't know them. It takes a law to really ensure they are being enforced, she said.

For example, Rock said she's had to remind officers at institutions about the rule when inmates informed her the guards held competitions to see who could feed a dorm the fastest.

Although motivation to improve prison conditions is low, there is more support this year than last, she said. The DOC wants to see changes like air conditioning, she said, but the power isn't really in their hands.

Even in the face of unlikely odds, Hughes had been hoping lawmakers could put politics aside and bring the change inmates are so desperately longing for.

But, he added, "what's really sad is that I follow these (bills) every year  and they always die."

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X @elenabarreraaa.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Bills to improve Florida prison conditions likely dead this session
A German warship accidentally tried to shoot down a US military combat drone this week.

The frigate Hessen targeted the MQ-9 Reaper as it was on a mission around the Red Sea, a US official said.

A malfunction stopped Germany's missiles from striking the drone.

A German warship accidentally targeted an American combat drone that was operating around the Red Sea earlier this week, but a malfunction spared the US from losing another Reaper drone.

The Hessen, a Sachsen-class frigate, accidentally targeted the MQ-9 on Tuesday while the drone was on a mission in the vicinity of the Red Sea, a US official told Business Insider on Thursday, adding that the Reaper drone did not sustain any damage and the incident is under investigation.

Germany's armed forces confirmed there was an incident in an online statement that said the Hessen engaged a drone that lacked a "friend or foe" identification earlier in the week, and after coordinating with allied units in the area, the warship fired multiple missiles at the drone.

The missiles, however, did not reach the system due to a technical error in the warship's radar system, although Germany said the error was quickly identified and fixed. Berlin's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also confirmed in a briefing that there was an incident where shots were fired at a reconnaissance drone, but nothing was hit.

An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft piloted by Airmen from the 556 Test and Evaluation Squadron flies over the Nevada Test and Training Range and performs live-fire exercises with Air-to-Ground Missile-114 Hellfire missiles and Guided Bomb Unit-12 Paveway IIs, Aug. 30, 2023. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Victoria Nuzzi

According to German military news site Augengeradeaus, which first reported the incident, the Hessen fired two SM-2 missile interceptors.

The incident preceded an engagement with the Houthi unmanned aircraft on Feb. 27. US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said American aircraft and an unspecified coalition warship shot down five one-way attack drones in the Red Sea while Germany said the crew of the Hessen successfully downed two drones in self-defense that evening.

If Germany had actually managed to shoot down the American drone, it would have marked the third time since early November the US military has lost a Reaper. The Houthis already managed to destroy two MQ-9s, most recently downing one last week off the coast of Yemen.

The Hessen leaves a harbor on Feb. 8, 2024. Photo by Sina Schuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images

These drones, which cost tens of millions of dollars, can be well-armed with Hellfire missiles and precision bombs and are able to loiter for extended periods until targets like Houthi missile launchers are spotted.

They are used frequently. Beyond the incidents involving the Houthis, Russia has also harassed, broken, and forced these drones to crash on several occasions over the past year.

The Hessen recently entered the Red Sea as one of four frigates that are part of the European Union's Operation Aspides, which is aimed at protecting international shipping lanes from ongoing Houthi attacks, much like the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.

A US official told BI that following the MQ-9 incident, CENTCOM is working closely with the EU and Operation Aspides to investigate the circumstances that led to the engagement and "to ensure safe deconfliction of airspace." They added that the two operations continue to work alongside each other to protect freedom of navigation.

A missile launches from a US Navy destroyer in the Red Sea earlier this month. Screengrab/US Central Command via X

Meanwhile, with this week's engagements  which saw Germany shoot down the two Houthi drones  Berlin joins the US, UK, and France in eliminating deadly threats launched by the rebels.

The US Navy's Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group has led this charge over the past few months, intercepting Houthi drones and missiles in the air while also destroying these weapons before they can be launched in preemptive strikes on Yemen.

Alongside these preemptive strikes, which are carried out unilaterally and on a routine basis, the US has also conducted several rounds of coordinated and widespread strikes with the UK against the Houthis. Most recently, on Saturday, the two countries hit 18 targets across Yemen.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Germany to deploy troops in Lithuania, first move of its kind since World War II

As NATO allies continue to reject calls to send ground troops into Ukraine, around 5,000 German soldiers are preparing to relocate to Lithuania in 2027, in a historic move that will see the first permanent deployment of German troops since the Second World War.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited troops in Bavaria who will be affected by the move. He said Germany has "experience with foreign deployments, including through the Battle Group".

"Nevertheless, the conditions here are different, as we are talking about several years and, in many cases, deployments accompanied by families," Pistorius added.

Germany is to deploy two combat battalions to support Lithuania following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

The reinforcement of Lithuania is high on the agenda amid mounting concerns about a potential attack from Moscow, whose Kaliningrad enclave borders Lithuania, along with its ally Belarus.

The permanent deployment of German troops will be only 100 km away from the border of Russia. NATO hopes the stationing of the troops will protect Lithuania as they predict Russia could attack the 60km stretch of land on the Polish-Lithuanian border called the 'Suwalki Gap,' if the conflict escalates.

Watch the full report in the player above to find out more
Editor's note: The following guest column was submitted to the Louisiana USA Today Network by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and U.S. Louisiana U.S. Sen. John Kennedy.

Louisianans are some of the most hospitable, fun-loving people on earth, and they deserve to live in safe communities where their families can thrive. Yet in far too many parishes, rampant crime has left families too scared to pump their own gas or sit with their children on their front porches.

This crime wave didnt appear overnight. It was written into law. The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Act, a legislative package former Gov. John Bel Edwards championed seven years ago, prioritized the comfort of violent criminals over the safety of Louisiana families. It shortened prison sentences, reduced penalties on repeat offenders and expanded parole options for suspected criminals  all while trying to paint criminals as misunderstood.

Look where we are now: Louisiana has the second-highest homicide rate and three of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the country. Crimi nals steal one car every hour in some parts of our state. Unless we make the necessary changes, an estimated one out of every 14 Black men under age 35 in New Orleans will be murdered.

As leaders, we cannot sit on our hands and allow failed policies to tear apart more Louisiana families. That is why the Louisiana Legislatures Special Session on reducing crime was so important.

Jeff Landry is sworn in as Louisiana Governor on the steps of the State Capital in Baton Rouge La. Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.

U.S. Sen. John Kennedy

For too long, some Louisiana officials have been operating under the presumption that cops are a bigger problem than criminals. In turn, criminals have been thriving while our law enforcement officers are more demoralized than ever. Louisiana sheriffs offices are short roughly 1,800 officers statewide.

We can recount too many stories of Louisiana families who have suffered because of the last administrations soft-on-crime policies.

Noah Hansard, for example, is learning how to live life in a wheelchair after a juvenile shot him during a violent robbery, leaving him paralyzed. Sherilyn Price, the mother of Brandon Boogie B Montrell, struggled to mourn her sons murder because she was too busy trying to get answers from a district attorney who was less than transparent.

Jania and Jaylan Blount lost their mother, Cassandra Jones, when her ex-boyfriend killed her outside her apartment. Ms. Jones death might not have happened if her murderer  who was out on parole after one of his 25 arrests  had stayed behind bars. We could go on and on.

These stories should be rare, but Louisianas failed criminal justice experiment has made them common.

What you allow is what will continue. Under the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Act, criminals in Louisiana knew they can destroy property, steal cars and shoot people without facing any serious consequences. And Louisianans live in fear because they knew these criminals wouldnt face any consequences, too.

The last administration said emptying the jails would save money. Instead, these policies have cost Louisiana lives.

With this Special Session, the Louisiana Legislature restored law and order and put criminals on notice that they will face punishments for their crimes. It uplifted our police officers and ensured that victims have a transparent pathway to justice.

Louisianans shouldnt have to live in fear when pumping their gas, getting groceries, or walking in their own neighborhoods. This special session was the first step to taking back our streets and empowering our citizens.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Jeff Landry and John Kennedy: Legislation will restore law and order
Maria Coc had just one request for a reporter: publish the photo, the last one she'd taken with her husband of 15 years, Juan Jose Coc.

The snapshot, taken the day before the Bergen County man's Feb. 2 death, shows Juan Jose crouched down with a serious look on his face. Maria, who'd known Juan Jose since their childhood in Guatemala, stood above him in their Fairview apartment, wearing the patterned black dress he'd bought for her.

Coc, 40, died after he fell four stories from a building under construction on Jersey City's west side, according to local authorities. The death is under investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Union leaders have pointed to it and other accidents as a sign of the dangerous conditions for immigrant laborers in the construction industry.

In a vigil outside City Hall last month, Jersey City Mayor Stephen Fulop said his administration would take those concerns seriously, though what officials will actually do remains to be seen.

Fairview resident Juan Jose Coc and his wife Maria as seen in a photo taken on Feb. 1, 2024, the day before he died after falling from a building under construction in Jersey City.

Maria Coc, 43, offered to speak to The Record and NorthJersey.com about her husband. But she later changed her mind, saying she was too grief-stricken and too consumed with the process of returning Juan Jose's body to their homeland to sit for an interview.

Instead, she spoke of him to Vicente Simbana and Laura Mistretta of the Laborers' International Union of North America, asking them to provide her thoughts to a reporter.

Who was Juan Jose Coc?

Maria and her brother Martin Perez offered details to Simbana and Mistretta of the man who left behind a wife and their 10-year-old son, who remains in Guatemala.

Juan Jose Coc had come to New Jersey a little over two years ago, after a challenging trek that was his fourth attempt to enter the United States. (The union officials did not immediately answer a question about how he entered the U.S.)

Maria would join him six months later. Both worked hard to make money, hoping, she said, to eventually build a home in Guatemala and "provide a better life" for their son.

Once settled in this country, Juan Jose lived the life and struggles of a new immigrant. He first found work as a day laborer. Then, a year ago, he got a steady job in construction, including his last one at a six-story, 155-unit multi-family structure going up on Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City.

Fairview resident Juan Jose Coc fell to his death on Feb. 2 from this construction site in Jersey City, according to police.

His wife recalled him waking in the early morning to leave the house at 7 a.m., five days a week, to take public transit to his Jersey City job, a better-paying gig than his previous one at a bakery.

The last day

When he finished work, he would return to their Fairview home before his wife arrived from her job at a local restaurant at 6:30 p.m. That routine ended on Feb. 2.

Maria Coc, in her recounting to the union representatives, said on the day of her husband's death, his construction company called her brother around noon to let him know that Juan Jose had fallen and was found dead.

Later, Jersey City police called Coc's brother and told him someone needed to identify the body at the hospital. Maria Coc headed there with her sister-in-law, Melissa. According to Mistretta, Coc "broke down crying" and was "totally distraught and heartbroken" when she spoke with the union representatives about the ordeal.

Construction workers gather during a vigil in front of City Hall in Jersey City on Feb. 8 to remember Juan Jose Coc and other construction workers injured or killed on Jersey City construction sites.

Remembering laborers lost

Juan Jose Coc was not forgotten by his family and by fellow members of the construction industry. At the Feb. 8 vigil at City Hall, Maria Coc and other attendees heard a roll call of 30 incidents in Jersey City in recent years where a worker was seriously injured or killed on the job in New Jersey's second-largest city.

The Laborers' International Union of North America helped organize the gathering. The union also donated $1,500 toward burial costs for Coc, though he was not a member.

Nine of the ten tallest buildings in the state are in Jersey City. But Michael Hellstrom, vice president of LIUNA and manager of the union's Eastern Region, said the city's rapid pace of construction has come with a price.

While much media attention is given to what is being built in Jersey City, little attention is given to how buildings are constructed and the risk construction workers are faced with each and every day, Hellstrom said during the vigil. In many cases, workers are faced with the horrible choice between earning a paycheck or putting themselves at risk. It shouldnt be an either/or. Workers deserve a fair wage for their labor and the ability to go home after a hard days work healthy and in one piece.

Investigation continues

Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said in a statement to The Record and NorthJersey.com that city police had "conducted a cursory investigation" of Juan Jose Coc's death and then turned the case over to OSHA.

"If the incident is not criminal, the final determination is made by OSHA, along with any accompanying fines. The citys Division of the Construction Code Official monitors construction sites throughout Jersey City, addresses any issues regarding site safety, and makes modifications accordingly. No records of prior incidents at the construction site were found."

More: NJ will spend $2.5M to help legal migrants get jobs, work permits. See who's eligible

Joanna Hawkins, an OSHA spokesperson, said this week that the federal agency's investigation into Coc's death is ongoing. OSHA has up to six months to complete its review, she said.

Nicole Vecchione, the union's director of research, said in an interview that LIUNA organizers have been documenting how many of those working on construction sites in Jersey City are recently arrived immigrants who face risks on the job that need not exist.

"There are standards in construction that have to be followed, but they're clearly not sufficient to protect immigrant workers on construction job sites," Vecchione said. "We believe that more control over the safety of construction sites should be given to officials in places like Jersey City. ... We need to make sure that the folks that are responsible for enforcing safety have the tools to enforce that safety."

Ricardo Kaulessar covers race, immigration, and culture for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.t

Email: kaulessar@northjersey.com

Twitter: @ricardokaul

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fairview NJ wife mourns construction worker killed in Jersey City
Immediately following the Idaho prison systems failure Wednesday to execute the states longest-serving death row prisoner by lethal injection, his attorneys secured a stay of execution from a federal judge and filed a new demand they said was intended to protect their clients constitutional rights.

U.S. District Court Judge Amanda Brailsford for the District of Idaho issued a stay of execution for Thomas Creech about a half-hour after Idaho Department of Correction officials called off his lethal injection when they couldnt locate a vein for an IV. Attorneys for the prison system did not contest the emergency request for the stay from Creechs attorneys, who alleged in their court filing that the execution team had badly botched their clients lethal injection Wednesday morning.

Creechs attorneys wrote that they were not aware at the time of their filing whether the prison system would again try to execute their client during his active death warrant, which expired at the end of the day Wednesday. IDOC Director Josh Tewalt said during a Wednesday afternoon press conference that the prison system decided not to make another attempt to execute Creech.

On Thursday during testimony before an Idaho House committee, Tewalt contested claims that Creechs execution, while unsuccessful, was botched. In fact, he said, the lethal injection policies and procedures worked as intended.

Unequivocally, they made the right call, Tewalt said of the execution team. The worst thing the state could have done is to try to proceed with an execution without having confidence or the ability to administer those chemicals in a way that honored our commitment and responsibility to adhere to the Eighth Amendment and preventing cruel and unusual punishment.

Tewalt and media witnesses said the execution team tried eight times to find a vein in different areas of Creechs body over about an hour. The execution teams failure to carry out a lethal injection proves IDOCs inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution, Creechs attorneys wrote.

A new death warrant  what would be the 13th for Creech since he was convicted of murder for the November 1974 shooting deaths of two men in Valley County  would need to be issued if prison officials were to attempt to execute him again. Creech, 73, has been incarcerated in Idaho for nearly 50 years, the bulk of that time on death row.

Rev. Mike Hollomon of Caldwell United Methodist and Emmett United Methodist prays with protesters against the death penalty outside of the Idaho Maximum Security Institution south of Boise Wednesday during prisoner Thomas Creechs attempted execution.

Talk of firing squad back at the Capitol

Creechs attorneys with the legal nonprofit Federal Defender Services of Idaho argued in their court filing that their clients constitutional rights may have been violated during Wednesdays execution attempt. They issued a legal demand that the prison system preserve all evidence and that the execution chamber be kept in its present condition. They sought to inspect and photograph the chamber, and immediately speak with their client.

This motion is based on Mr. Creechs right to an execution free from cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, wrote Creechs attorneys in a case that named Tewalt, Idaho maximum security prison Warden Tim Richardson and IDOC prisons chief Chad Page as the defendants.

Members of the Idaho attorney generals office objected on their behalf in a response filing, arguing that Creechs attorneys had not stated a viable legal claim. They asked that Brailsford reject the request.

While (the) plaintiff cites the Eighth Amendment, the motion does not contain any legal or other authoritative source citations to support plaintiffs requests that IDOC preserve evidence and the execution chamber, the prison officials attorneys said.

Brailsford held a Wednesday afternoon conference call with attorneys from both sides to discuss the emergency demand, according to the court docket. The judge during the call reminded each side of their responsibility to preserve information they believe could be relevant in a future lawsuit.

Brailsford found the emergency demand to be moot, the docket stated, after attorneys for Creech and the prison system reached agreement during the call on each of the three requests in the legal demand. The terms of that compromise were not immediately clear.

Creech was returned to his cell after prison officials called off the execution, prison officials said. Tewalt said that state officials are considering what they may do next. Reviewing how soon they can potentially implement the firing squad, which Idaho approved last year as its backup execution method, is part of those discussion, he said Thursday.

The math were doing is: Can it be done in a way befitting what this process deserves, as well as controlling as many variables as possible? he told the House committee. We continue to try to work through that process of where, best and how to carry that out.
America in the 19th century is marked with numerous transformative moments from western expansion to the Civil War. During that time is a moment that Iowans might especially be curious to know  when did we become a state?

Whether youre an expert in Iowa history or brushing up on what you learned in school, the Des Moines Register is here to answer the most basic questions about the states origins, including the ones you might be embarrassed to ask.

How old is Iowa?

Iowa became the 29th state on Dec. 28, 1846. The state celebrated 175 years of statehood in 2021.

Who was president when Iowa became a state?

James Knox Polk, the 11th president of America. His term was from 1845 to 1849. During his presidency, America saw great western expansion, according to the James K. Polk Home and Museum.

What number was the state of Iowa when it joined the Union?

A portion of a prairie given to the Iowa Tribe of Kansas, as seen on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022, in Johnson County, Iowa.

Iowa was the 29th state admitted to the Union, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Who were the first settlers in Iowa?

An 1836 map showing the lands assigned to emigrant Native Americans west of Arkansas and Missouri.

The first major expeditions to what is now Iowa were conducted by Frenchman Louis Jolliet and joined by a crew that included a Catholic priest, Father Marquette, in 1673, according to the State Historical Society of Iowa. Settlers with European ancestry continued arriving to parts of what is now Iowa today for decades to come. For example, by the late 1700s Julien Dubuque came to Iowa, then not even a territory, and mined lead  that and the fur trade were economic drivers, said Leo Landis of the State Historical Society of Iowa to the Des Moines Register. But Indigenous peoples lived and traveled across what is now Iowa throughout history. Some of those Indigenous groups include the Iowa Tribe, or Ioway, across northern Iowa, the Ho-Chunk, and the Meskwaki Nation.

What was Iowa before it became a state and how has Iowas boundaries changed?

An 1845 map of Iowa depicting a proposed northern border.

The federal government established Iowa as a territory in 1838, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Previously, the state wasnt a distinct place and existed as part of the Louisiana Territory, Landis said. The states present borders were largely determined in 1846, he said, though there were disputes and early propositions of the states borders around this time. That included a proposed northern boundary that went as far as near what is today St. Paul, Minnesota, according to an 1845 map. There was also dispute over the southern border as Missouri sought to claim farther into Iowa, a boundary that was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1849, Landis said.

Where does Des Moines get its name?

A 1687 map made for the French that depicts a portion of the Midwest, including the Des Moines River.

The French translation of Des Moines means of the monks, and it's that understanding that has lead some to believe thats where Des Moines got its name. But Des Moines gets its name from the Native American tribe the Moingona. A 1687 map created for the French shows the Des Moines River as les Moingona river, suggesting thats the river that connects you to that tribal nation, Landis said.

How did Iowa get its name?

Iowa gets its name from the Siouan languages that is, likely translated to sleepy ones, Landis said.

When was the University of Iowa founded?

The Old Capitol Building is seen as setup continues for the Fox Sports NCAA football Big Noon Kickoff pregame show, Friday, Oct. 8, 2021, on the east side of the Pentacrest on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes host No. 4 Penn State on Saturday in Iowa City. The Big Noon Kickoff show starts welcoming fans to its set starting at 8 a.m.

The public university located in Iowa City was founded in 1847, according to the University of Iowa.

When was Iowa State University founded?

Iowa State University student volunteers Sam Pershing and Ryan Price help new students move into the Friley Residence Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Ames, Iowa.

Then the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, the university was established in 1858, according to Iowa State University.

What is the Iowa state flag?

The Iowa flag is presented during the Iowa State Fair opening ceremonies, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Des Moines.

The Iowa flag depicts an eagle that carries a streamer with the words, Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain. The background contains vertical stripes in the colors red, white and blue. The flag was created by Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville, according to the state historical society. The flag was presented to Gov. William Harding and the state council of defense in 1917, according to a document from the Library of Congress.

What is the Iowa state flower?

The wild rose, which is in bloom from June through late summer, became the state flower in 1897 according to the Iowa Legislature. This flower can be found in shades of pink.

What is the Iowa state bird?

The American goldfinch stops by the bird blind for a snack as the snow falls on Sunday, February 21, 2021 at Jester Park in northwestern Polk County.

The American goldfinch, according to Iowas Ornithologists Union. Males will appear bright yellow with black wings and a portion of its head during the warmer months, according to the American Bird Conservancy.

Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at pbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How old is Iowa and other history facts Iowans should know
The Scoop

Iran is stepping up shipments of attack drones to the Sudanese military, further internationalizing the North African countrys civil war and potentially providing Tehran with a new ally through which to project power into the Red Sea, U.S. and Arab officials tell Semafor.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has been locked in a nearly year-long conflict with the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has split the country and spilled into neighboring countries like Chad and South Sudan. The war provided Iran with an opening last October to reestablish diplomatic relations with the Khartoum government for the first time since 2016 and potentially end Sudans strategic shift towards the West.

The country, previously designated by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism, significantly improved its ties with Washington during the Trump administration and agreed in 2020 to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. Sudans worsening civil war, which has included the targeting of civilians, however, has halted these steps towards normalization. And the Biden administration imposed new sanctions on both the SAF and RSF in recent months.

As part of Irans bolstered ties with Khartoum, Tehran has begun sending attack drones to the SAF in recent months, U.S. and Arab officials familiar with the intelligence told Semafor. The SAF is expected to deploy the Mohajer-6 drones to try and block RSF offensive operations that have allowed the rebels to gain control of large swathes of central and western Sudan, as well as much of Khartoum, over the past year. The Sudanese government and the SAFs commander, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, are largely based today out of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

U.S. and Arab officials said they believe Iran aims to use its relations with the SAF to bolster Tehrans regional alliances and allow the country to project more power into the strategic waterways in the Red Sea. Prior to Sudans 2016 revolution, under dictator Omar al-Bashir, Iran used the North African country as a conduit through which to move arms to allied Palestinian militias fighting Israel from the Gaza strip, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Iran sent military supplies both via the Red Sea and overland through Sudan and Egypt, according to Israeli officials.

Iran has also used the Red Sea to increase pressure on Israel and the U.S. following Hamass October 7 terrorist attack on southern Israel and the ensuing war. The Yemen-based Houthi militia, which receives drones, cruise missiles and intelligence from Tehran, has regularly been targeting Western commercial ships moving through the Red Sea. And Sudan could provide Tehran with another foothold to strengthen its regional position and potentially impede maritime traffic.





Jays view

The Gaza war has made Irans regional network of allies, known as the Axis of Resistance, front-page news. But the reality is that Tehran has been building up this coalition for decades. And gaining leverage, if not control, over the Middle Easts strategic waterways  including the Persian Gulf, Suez Canal, and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait  is a central feature of Irans strategy.

The Houthi attacks in recent months on ships moving through the Red Sea  which need to transit the Suez Canal to reach Europe  has threatened the entire global economy. Many commercial lines, wary of being targeted by Houthi drones and missiles, have redirected their ships to travel south around the Horn of Africa to reach European markets and the U.S. This significantly raises shipping costs and time.

The U.S. and U.K. have launched a sustained campaign of military strikes against Houthi targets in recent weeks in an effort, which has been only partially successful, to free up Red Sea trade. But U.S. and Mideast officials believe Iran views Sudan as providing a second front from which to challenge U.S. and allied navies in the Red Sea. Sudan sits directly across the waterway from Yemen.

Middle East and Africa analysts believe Sudans civil war could potentially split the country. And militias and warlords that are only nominally under either the SAF or the RSF control large parts of Sudanese territory. Iran has proven adept in recent decades of using such instability to build up allied militias in countries like Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Analysts say a similar model could be employed in Sudan.

Given the ways in which Iranian influence has grown elsewhere in the region, there are fears that the Sudanese army, with its Islamist orientation, will morph into a militia group similar to the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, ultimately exerting Irans will in exchange for funding and military support, wrote Areej Elhag, a Sudanese security analyst, last month.

The View From Iran and Sudan

Iranian and Sudanese officials have hailed the resumption of their diplomatic relations in recent months, but havent publicly disclosed any military cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian welcomed his Sudanese counterpart to Tehran earlier this month as part of a process aimed at reopening each countrys embassy. And, according to Iranian state media, the Iranian envoy highlighted Tehrans experience in industrial and technical-engineering services, as well as medical and pharmaceutical products, as being available to Sudan.

Sudans Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq has also promoted Khartoums new relationship with Iran. But hes stressed that this doesnt need to come at the cost of Sudans ties with other nations. Relations between countries are not static, Al-Sadiq said, according to the Sudan News Agency. This resumption follows a period of separation, and it is a normal course of action in international diplomacy.





Notable

Bloomberg reported last month the first shipments of Iranian drones to Sudan.

Africa expert John Prendergast called this month in Foreign Affairs for the U.S. to sanction all outside actors  including Iran and the United Arab Emirates  who are fueling Sudans civil war. He cited intelligence that the UAE is providing arms and funding to the RSF.
Palestinians run towards an air drop of humanitarian aid in Gaza City - AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Israeli military attacks on Palestinian police officers guarding aid trucks have led to a breakdown in law and order in the Gaza Strip, the UN has said.

The claim was made as Hamas said on Friday that seven more hostages seized on Oct 7 had died due to Israeli bombing in recent weeks.

The terror group did not give names or dates for the deaths. Hamas seized around 250 Israelis and foreigners during its attack; about 130 are still captive.

The severity of the security crisis in Gaza was highlighted on Thursday when crowds of desperate people swarmed a convoy of vehicles carrying bags of flour and Israeli troops opened fire, citing threats to its soldiers.

The US pledged to begin air-dropping aid to Gaza amid the precarious situation facing trucks.

Joe Biden, the US president, said that in the coming days were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies and will seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor.

More than 110 people were killed and 750 wounded, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. Israel has claimed tens of those were driven over by the trucks or crushed in a stampede.

Previously, Palestinian police officers  known as the Blue Police because of their distinctive uniforms  would have guarded aid trucks making deliveries, but the force is no longer fully operational.

UN officials have accused Israeli strikes of targeting police guarding aid convoys, as well as police stations and cars. Officers have also not been paid in months due to the war.

That led the force to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing and Gazas streets in early February.

Israeli video image which the army says are Gazans around aid trucks in Gaza City - AFP

David Satterfield, the US ambassador appointed by Mr Biden to co-ordinate humanitarian aid to Gaza, said recently: With the departure of police escorts it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else to safely move assistance in Gaza because of criminal gangs.

Mr Satterfield said Israeli forces had killed as many as nine Palestinian police officers involved in protecting aid convoys, including a commander.

The Blue Police is Hamas-run and composed of Hamas members but also politically unaffiliated people and the remnants of the Palestinian Authority force.

Israel considered it a legitimate target because it is affiliated with Hamas, and therefore, tarnished with the same brush, said Richard Pater, director of the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre.

But experts say the police force is more complicated and sits somewhere in-between. They also point to its necessity for providing security as the war nears its sixth month.

Looting and chaos

The few aid convoys that make it into the territory are now regularly subject to looting and chaos as people desperate for food try to grab whatever they can. The situation is particularly dire in northern Gaza, where Thursdays incident took place.

Aid deliveries in Gaza have almost entirely halted given such logistic challenges, leaving many Palestinians desperate for basic necessities, such as food and water.

The Biden administration has reportedly asked Israel to stop targeting the police force amid concerns that Gaza is turning into Mogadishu, according to sources quoted by Axios, a US news website.

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, was once considered the most lawless and dangerous place in the world.

A breakdown of law and order, from the Israeli perspective, is obviously another symbol of Hamas losing control, Mr Pater said.

In that sense, its kind of indicative of progress militarily, but its a Pyrrhic victory if they dont find a working alternative for what happens with Gaza governance when fighting ends.

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One of the three New Jersey businessmen charged with Sen. Bob Menendez in his federal corruption case has changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud.

A superseding indictment by the Southern District of New York alleges that Menendez, his wife and the three businessmen  Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and prominent North Jersey developer Fred Daibes  were part of a bribery scheme.

Uribe withdrew his previous not guilty plea for seven counts on Friday in New York before Judge Sidney H. Stein.

Manhattan, NY  October 18, 2023 -- Jose Uribe involved in the bribery case involving Senator Robert Menendez enters the Federal Courthouse in lower Manhattan for a hearing on corruption charges.

Uribe is scheduled to be sentenced on June 14.

The indictment alleged that the group was involved in a bribery scheme that netted cash, gold bars and a luxury car for Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez.

According to a plea agreement, Uribe could face up to 95 years in prison, though he could win leniency by cooperating and testifying against the other defendants, which hes agreed to do. The seven-page plea agreement was signed by Uribe and his attorney on Friday.

The plea agreement is typical of any corruption case and enables the government to strengthen its case on Menendez, said Daniel Richman, a Columbia Law School professor and former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York.

"At the core, [the government has to prove] he accepted things of value knowing they were in exchange for official acts," Richman said. [the plea is] It's having someone say, 'I gave this to him for an official act' but doesn't end the case."

Richman suspects Menendez's attorneys will attack Uribe's credibility and argue that Uribe may have thought that he was bribing the senator, but it wasn't what Menendez had in mind.

"But, it does considerably strengthen the government's hand quid pro quo that it needs to," Richman said.

Menendez's legal team said Uribe's guilty plea doesn't change anything.

Senator Menendez has spent months detailing the law and the evidence that demonstrate that charges should never have been filed in this case," Menendez's attorney Adam Fee said. "Today's news of Mr. Uribe's change of plea does not change the core truth: Sen. Menendez is innocent and the prosecutors have got it wrong. Sen. Menendez continues to look forward to proving his innocence to a jury.

The seven counts against Uribe

Uribe was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest service wire fraud, honest service wire fraud, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and wire fraud.

Uribe originally pleaded not guilty in September and was released on a $1 million personal recognizance bond secured by his residence in Clifton, and he is restricted to New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

Uribe was asked to forfeit $246,000, representing the amount of traceable proceeds, according to court documents.

The federal indictment alleges that from 2018 to 2023, Uribe "directly and indirectly, would and did corruptly give, offer and promise something of value to a public official, and offer and promise a public official to give something of value to another person and entity, with intent to influence an official act and to induce such public official to do an act and omit to do an act in violation of the lawful duty of such official."

Specifically, Uribe allegedly requested that a business associate in the Bronx make a payment for a Mercedes-Benz convertible for Menendez and his wife on May 3, 2019. The following day, Uribe had the associate make the payment from a corporate bank account that he opened at a bank branch in the Bronx. Nadine Menendez later sent a text message to Uribe about setting up a meeting with the three of them.

Mike Kelly: It's time. NJ's Sen. Bob Menendez, indicted a third time, must resign

In exchange for the car payments, it's alleged Menendez would use his office and influence to attempt to pressure the New Jersey Attorney General's office to resolve a New Jersey state criminal prosecution of an associate of Uribe and to resolve a New Jersey state criminal investigation involving one of Uribe's employees. Uribe has been an insurance producer.

Last July, two months before the indictment went public, Uribe and his then-counsel allegedly made false and misleading statements to the United States Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.

The tax evasion count is from January 2016 through April 2022, alleging Uribe attempted to "evade and defeat a substantial part of taxes" by maintaining a network of business entities in other individual names that Uribe still controlled.

Messages for Uribe and the attorney's representing Menendez and the other defendents were not immediately returned.

Menendez defends his name

Attorneys for Sen. Menendez and Nadine Menendez have been active this year, calling for warrants to be suppressed, their trials to be separated and dates to be changed.

Menendez spoke from the Senate chamber floor recently, saying that the timing of the indictment, originally filed in September, and then updated in October and again in early January, is part of a plan by the government to keep the sensational story in the press."

The most recent version of the indictment alleges that Menendez received payments including cash and gold bars from Edgewater developer Daibes in return for helping Daibes get a Qatari investment company with ties to that countrys government to invest in a Daibes property by doing things that were viewed as favorable to the government of Qatar.

In June 2021, Menendez allegedly introduced Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family and the principal of the investment firm, who then negotiated a multimillion-dollar investment in one of Daibes' New Jersey real estate properties.

Menendez would allegedly give statements supporting the Qatari government to Daibes before they were released publicly so he could share them with the Qatari investor and a Qatari government official associated with the investment firm, the indictment says.

Menendez was first indicted in this case last fall and faces corruption charges for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Daibes, Hana and Uribe and two other businessmen in exchange for helping them enrich themselves and trying to get them out of legal troubles.

Menendez and the other defendants all entered not guilty pleas last fall.

The indictment also alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship with Hana, Uribe and Daibes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez using his power and influence to protect, to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt even as he sat as chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

More: This cast of characters has been linked to the Sen. Menendez investigation

Bribes allegedly included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz.

The senator has said the allegations that he worked as a foreign agent for Egypt are an unprecedented accusation and it has never ever been levied against a sitting member of Congress.

Menendez is up for reelection this fall, and to secure his spot on the ballot, he will need to win the primary on June 4, likely around the time of closing arguments in the case if the trial date stands.

Rep. Andy Kim and New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy are in the midst of a contentious Democratic primary battle for Menendez's seat.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Jose Uribe, defendant in Bob Menendez case, flips plea to guilty
The aide and fundraiser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams who became the most recent target of a federal sweep on Thursday has long-standing financial relationships with a foreign capital.

The probe swirling around the embattled mayor, which burst into public view last fall with a raid on a top campaign officials residence, has so far centered on individuals linked to Turkey and potential that cash from Ankara had illicitly entered the mayors coffers. The New York Times reported that agents from the Justice Departments Southern District carried out that earlier action, while the one this week was the handiwork of the Eastern Districtwhich the paper noted has spent recent months rolling up influence operations linked to Beijing.

And the woman whose house agents raided, Special Advisor to the Mayor and Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco (born Zheng Qirong), has both influence as a longtime cash-gathering operative for Adams, and ties to China. In November, the New York Post reported that a company she controlled had received funding from the official propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Partys Beijing committee. The newspaper also revealed that two other organizations that received funding from government sources in China had identified her as a consultant, although Greco and City Hall argued that this was an error.

But The Daily Beast has found her trans-Pacific dealings reach back even even farther, to her time as an unpaid volunteer assistant to Adams in his previous position as Brooklyn borough president, and earlier still.

A campaign attorney for Adams noted his client faces no formal allegations of misconduct, and bristled at the suggestion foreign money may have reached the mayors coffers.

The campaign has always and will always follow the law, and neither the mayor nor the campaign have been accused of any wrongdoing, lawyer Vito Pitta told The Daily Beast. Any unfounded implication that the campaign or the mayor accepted any funds from a foreign government is an outrageous and harmful attempt to sell a salacious story.

Home of Longtime Aide to NYC Mayor Has House Raided by FBI: Report

Court and corporation records in New York State show that in 2012when Adams was still in the New York State legislatureGreco created a company called the New York Sino Agricultural Sciences Organization at the same Bronx address the feds hit on Thursday. Local news reporting in 2016 identified this company as a New York-based Chinese investor group" seeking to develop the site of a former prison facility in Orange County, New York, at the edge of the citys metropolitan area.

The organization had earlier launched a service called Valley Fresh Direct, with the aim of exporting farm and artisan items from the area to China, and a paper from the region revealed the venture had inked a distribution deal with Shanghai Join Buy Co. Ltd., a state-backed retailer.

Around the same time, Greco had kicked off another project, this one a nonprofit: the Sino America New York Brooklyn Archway Association, created to arrange for a Beijing-built friendship arch to rise over the main street of Brooklyns Chinatown. In 2014, the Archway Association partnered with Chinese authorities on another project: financing a week-and-a-half long trip for Adams and his staff on the mainland.

A few months later, a Brooklyn blogger posted materials from a Freedom of Information request revealing that Greco had stage-managed a meeting between Adamswhose powers as Brooklyn borough president included influence on some real estate projectsand the leadership of Greenland Holdings, a development firm controlled primarily by Shanghai municipal entities. At that time, Greco boasted publicly of serving as Adams director of China-U.S. affairs, a role with no salary. She also headed another organization called the American Asia Economy and Culture Development Association Corp., which on its website described her as a patriotic overseas Chinese and touted its power in the U.S. and its backing from Beijing.

It has played a great influence in promoting friendly economic and trade development and cultural exchanges between the Chinese and American governments, an archived version of the site reads in translation. It has been supported by the Chinese government; the Chinese National People's Congress; the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the China Friendship Association; and the Chinese Consulate General in New York."

Adams became an adamant endorser of the archway project, and blamed its ultimate failure in 2020 on geopolitical tensions.

But his relationship with Greco had proved successful for them both. In 2017, the year Adams won re-election as borough president, Grecos Archway group and another company she founded, Brooklyn City Tours, partnered with the Chinese Consulate and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture to bring a Chinese New Year event to his office. In the years that followed, as Adams strove for City Hall, Greco held multiple high-dollar fundraisers for him, including a 2019 event where the New York Post reported one of the attendees was a man by the name of Lu Jianwang.

In 2023, the Justice Department arrested Lu and an associate for operating an illegal police station in New York that pursued U.S.-based dissidents on behalf of the Chinese government. As of last summer, the case had entered plea negotiations.

Greco faces a local scandal as well: an investigation into whether she obtained free work on her home in exchange for securing a job for the laborer.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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PROVIDENCE - Gov. Dan McKee signed an executive order setting the stage for the state to potentially take further advantage of artificial intelligence.

Rhode Island recognizes that the rise of AI technology will enhance future government operations and change the way we do business, McKee said Thursday.

Rather than simply react to the changes in the information technology landscape, I want Rhode Island to be a leader as this field evolves. This executive order is the first step in being proactive and preparing state government for this new technology," he said.

When it comes to technology, data security, and individual privacy continue to be our top priorities," said the state's current $237,443.96 a year Chief Digital Officer Brian Tardiff.

"By making our first order of business the crafting of a State Code of Ethics for this work, we are ensuring a human-centric focus that minimizes bias and maximizes support and resources," he said.

ChatGPT is a well-known example of generative artificial intelligence, which refers specifically to AI tools that use algorithms to generate outputs and create content that can include text, audio, code, images and more. (Credit: Olivier Morin, AFP via Getty Images)

Order establishes a new AI task force

The executive order anticipates McKee's appointment of a new task force, chaired by former Congressman Jim Langevin, to assess "the risks and opportunities presented by the proliferation of AI and advise state policy makers." Langevin is the current head of the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College.

It calls for the creation of a "Center of Excellence for AI and Data within state government" and a "single state data governance structure" for data-heavy agencies, such as those under the umbrella of the Executive Office of Health & Human Services.

Here's what this new arm of government, and the new chief data officer, will do:

Explore "efficient and effective use of data and analytics by agencies to enhance government operations."

Create a "state code of ethics for AI to minimize bias and create a framework that supports and guides state employees."

Develop, in consultation, with the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College "a risk analysis and safeguards for the use of AI, including predictions about future trends and advancements."

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: McKee signs order to look at using AI in state government
College students and families planning a spring break in Mexico may want to reconsider, according to an advisory issued by the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico.

The advisory, posted Monday, says that while many thousands of people travel through Mexico safely, Mexico-bound visitors should be aware of high levels of crime (particularly in the downtown areas of popular spring break destinations Cancun., Playa Del Carmen and Tulum), sexual assault, counterfeit or ineffective prescription drugs, unregulated alcohol, high-priced hospitals and strict laws against drunk and disorderly behavior, possession of drugs, guns or ammunition, along with natural dangers such as dangerous beaches without lifeguards or warnings.

Well, if you're looking for a new spring break vacation location, the party did start in Florida.

Ever since a New York university swim coach took his team down to Florida one spring for some early training in the 1930s, the idea of spending a week or two in the warm has been a powerful motivator, building up to hundreds of thousands of bathing-suit-clad students bringing their volleyballs and fake IDs to Fort Lauderdale, Panama City Beach and Daytona Beach in the 1980s. Crackdowns on public behavior and stricter alcohol laws calmed the parties down a bit, and famed party town Miami Beach is pushing back hard against spring break this year.

But Florida still remains a top destination for people wanting a break from the cold, with March temps projected in the 70s.

If you're avoiding Mexico this year and don't want to bother with a passport, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach and Panama City Beach are still top places to relax, unwind and enjoy yourself. But the Sunshine State has other locations to consider besides those annual favorites.

You are going to pay the price: DeSantis sends more cops to Florida spring break hot spots. Heres where

1. TripAdvisor names Siesta Beach one of the best in the world

If you want the best, head to the west. Siesta Beach in Siesta Key, west of Sarasota on the state's west coast, regularly makes TripAdvisor's list of best beaches based on user reviews. Currently listed at No. 2 in the United States and No. 9 worldwide, the site praises the snow-white sand and small-town feel.

"Whether you want to relax or fill your day with activities, Siesta Beach delivers," Tripadvisor said on its website.

"Kick back on the white sand, go swimming in the clear water, play some outdoor sports, or simply admire the sunset  it's up to you. The family-friendly beach is easy to get to via public transportation, offers wheelchair access, and has plenty of parking, restrooms, and a small concession stand. There are a variety of shops and lively restaurants nearby, too."

Siesta Key, on the brilliant green waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is close to lots of restaurants and bars, a thriving arts community, and one of the largest state parks in Florida, Myakka River State Park.

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Take that, Hawaii! : This Florida beach tops Dr. Beach's Top 10 list for 2023

2. Delray Beach a small-town spot with plenty of attraction

Delray Beach, a 15-square-mile city in Palm Beach County, was awarded the prestigious international Blue Flag designation last year, one of only two in the entire U.S., after meeting 33 stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility criteria.

But what visitors will probably be interested in is the vibrant downtown area, huge number of unique restaurants, and, of course, the 7,000 feet of beach with a mile of it blessedly free from looming high-rise condos. Surf, sail, or just hit the water at the beach that "Travel Holiday" magazine named the best public beach in the Southeast for swimming. Or, for some less crowded sand time, head to nearby Atlantic Dunes Park, which features 450 feet of guarded beach.

When the sun goes down or you've just had enough for one day, Delray's Atlantic Avenue is a 20-minute walk from the shore with a staggering assortment of restaurants, bars, art galleries, clothing boutiques and antique stores. A few miles away, Delray Marketplace offers even more. Delray is also convenient to several other excellent beaches and attractions.

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3. New Smyrna Beach is Daytona without the crowds, mostly

Daytona Beach is famed for its 26 miles of hard-packed beach and its worldwide tradition of unbridled spring break madness, but if you want a somewhat calmer version just head a bit south to New Smyrna Beach.

Students (and their families) congregate at the beach and hit the charming shops and restaurants on Flagler Avenue for a relaxing week of sand and surf, within easy driving distance of Daytona Beach, Orlando and Cocoa Beach.

However, keep in mind that the city imposed a youth curfew last year to cut down on disruptions, trash and drunk driving so it's likely there'll be one again this year.

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4. Key West is still a party town

Key West maintains its party atmosphere.

There's an amazing laid-back party scene year-round in Key West, so why not have your spring break there? The southernmost tip of the continental U.S. is just four miles long by one mile wide so once you get there transportation isn't a problem and live music and great food is never very far away.

Plus Key West may have the most activities to do when you're not actually lying on the beach. Swim, dive down to the coral reefs, fish, take one of the many boat tours or sunset sails, jetski, visit some astounding art galleries, watch the performers at the sunset celebration at Mallory Square, visit Ernest Hemingway's house and pet the descendants of his six-toed cats, eat at some fantastic restaurants, or just cruise Duval Street for colorful nightlife.

If Key West gets too crowded there are wonderful beaches and places to visit on the other Keys, and Key Largo is the diving capital of Florida.

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5. Naples is a great family Florida spring break vacation place

Naples in Southwest Florida on the Gulf Coast doesn't get the spring break crowds that nearby Fort Myers does, which may make it more attractive to visitors seeking a more peaceful destination. TripAdvisor calls it a "polished, culture-packed city fringed by blue bays and sugar-sand beaches."

Packed with upscale shopping, parks, art festivals and museums, Naples also boasts nine miles of pristine beaches where you can enjoy the sun, watch for dolphins from Naples Pier (which shoots out 1,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico) and get extremely fresh seafood at one of the many beachside restaurants.

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But really, there are dozens of Florida beachside cities and towns that make great spring break destinations.

Check out the place named best beach town in the nation, or this one Reader's Digest included in their "15 Best Beaches in Florida Locals Want to Keep Secret" list, or the other beaches TripAdvisor named the best, or the places Florida students go, or the Florida shores that Dr. Beach recommends, or the list of "hottest" spring break beaches.

Florida has 825 miles of sandy beaches. If you want a beach holiday, it's hard to miss here.

Bahama, Jamaica also under travel advisories

The U.S. Department of State issued a travel advisory for Mexico last year, with various levels of travel warnings including a Level 2 advisory for Cancun for violent crime. Travel advisories have been issued for the Bahamas and Jamaica as well.

The State Dept. has listed 20 locations around the world under Level 3 advisories, meaning visitors should avoid them and reconsider, and 21 Level 4 places they say Americans should not go to at all.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Spring break in Florida: 5 great beach towns you haven't considered
Missing persons: MH370 was lost with 239 passengers and crew on board (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Late at night on 7 March 2014, 227 passengers and a dozen crew members prepared to board a Malaysia AirlinesBoeing 777 at Kuala Lumpur airport. They were expecting to travel overnight to Beijing on a routine flight designated MH370.

That flight number has become shorthand for the deepest mystery in aviation history. The relatives of the victims have endured 10 years of not knowing the fate of their loved ones.

The aircraft took off at 12.42am on 8 March. The flight proceeded normally, and at 1.19am the captain acknowledged an instruction from Malaysian air-traffic controllers to transition to Vietnamese airspace, saying: Goodnight, Malaysian three-seven-zero. Those were the last words heard from the aircraft.

One minute later, controllers in Kuala Lumpur observed the aircraft passing a waypoint, Igari, about one-third of the way from the Malaysian coast to Vietnam. Within seconds, MH370 had disappeared from radar screens.

Transmissions of technical data (described as pings) to satellites continued intermittently from the Boeing 777 until 8.19am  seven hours after the last verbal message and about two hours after the time the plane was scheduled to land in Beijing.

Over the following weeks, painstaking analysis of radar tracking and a succession of showed the jet had changed course to fly west over the South East Asia peninsula before turning south over the Indian Ocean.

When a passenger aircraft disappears over the sea, there is a well-established method for finding the plane: calculating the likely path, looking for debris on the surface of the water and searching the sea bed in a narrowly defined area. That was how the 2009 wreck of Air France flight AF447 was located in the Atlantic. The so-called black boxes revealed the tragic series of pilot errors that led to the loss of 228 lives aboard the Rio-Paris flight over the Atlantic. An inexperienced pilot reacted calamitously to a perfectly survivable set of technical failures.

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of MH370, together with deducing who was on the flight deck, may provide equally valuable evidence about the fate of the aircraft  and, more importantly, provide some closure for the families and loved ones of the victims.

Yet finding the aircraft has defeated the entire transport safety community. Inevitably, the vacuum has been filled with speculation. Many theories are easily dismissed: a North Korean missile did not down MH370, and nor is the aircraft hidden in a hangar in Kazakhstan.

But that leaves an ocean of possibilities.

Were there actually more than 239 people aboard when the Boeing took off from Kuala Lumpur? Communication with air-traffic controllers was lost, possibly deliberately: did someone deliberately divert the aircraft and crash the 777 into the sea? Or did it simply wander off course and run out of fuel?

Locating the lost aircraft could help to solve the mystery. But after 10 years and two exhaustive seabed searches of a patch of the Indian Ocean, all there is to go on is a scattering of debris washed up on beaches.

Nineteen accident investigators concluded in the official report into the tragedy: The team is unable to determine the real cause for the disappearance of MH370.

These are the key questions; many of the answers are still unknown.

What was the sequence of events?

The Malaysia Airlines jet took off normally from Kuala Lumpur on a routine flight to Beijing. The manifest showed there were 239 people on board  though some speculate there may have been at least one more, hiding in an under-floor bay before perpetrating an act of mass murder).

At 1.19am, the captain acknowledged an instruction from Malaysian air-traffic controllers with the words: Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero. This was the last recorded radio transmission from MH370.

He did not read back the assigned frequency, which was inconsistent with radio-telephony procedures, notes the official investigation report.

During the handover from Malaysian to Vietnamese air-traffic controllers, the aircraft appeared to vanish.

The first the world knew that anything was wrong was when air-traffic controllers in Vietnam were unable to make contact with the Boeing 777.

After much confusion and some fictitious reports that it had diverted over Cambodia or landed in southern China with technical problems, MH370 was declared missing. The plane was presumed to have crashed in the South China Sea.

For a week, rescuers conducted a fruitless search in the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. Then, at a dramatic press conference in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, announced that the aircraft had remained aloft for hours after it disappeared.

What did we discover about where the aircraft might be?

Analysis of radar and satellite dated shows that it suddenly changed course, flew back across peninsula Malaysia, turning south of Penang to the northwest and then towards the southern Indian Ocean.

The plane ultimately ran out of fuel and crashed in the Indian Ocean west of Australia, thousands of miles from its intended destination.

The aircraft was calculated to be somewhere near the so-called Seventh Arc off the west coast off Australia.

From an Australian air force base north of Perth, reconnaissance flights began of the presumed crash area. Plans were made for two unprecedented, and ultimately unsuccessful, sweeps of the seabed.

The biggest underwater search in history, coordinated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, was called off in January 2017 after two years.

An American firm, Ocean Infinity, then spent several months in 2018 searching a different patch of seabed on a no-find, no-fee basis.

A few fragments of the aircraft started washing up on Indian Ocean beaches. But even after analysis of the species of barnacles that had grown up on the aircrafts flaperon, investigators were no closer to locating the wreckage.

Was a pilot responsible?

Investigators have evaluated many explanations to explain the disappearance. All of them have deep flaws. Perhaps the least unlikely is that the aircrafts commander, Captain Zaharie Shah, intentionally hijacked his own aircraft in order either to take his own life and kill everyone on board, or to land and ditch the plane and survive.

A common theory is that Captain Shah locked the first officer out of the flight deck. He switched off the communications systems that were designed to keep MH370 in touch with air-traffic controllers; donned an oxygen mask; and depressurised the aircraft.

At an altitude higher than Everest, the passengers and other crew would soon perish from from oxygen deficiency (hypoxia).

The captain then, the theory goes, flew the aircraft along the frontier between Thailand and Malaysia to avoid raising the interest of the military on either side, before turning south to a location where he believed it would never be found.

But the official report says: There was no known history of apathy, anxiety, or irritability. There were no significant changes in his lifestyle, interpersonal conflict or family stresses.

The first officer was 27-year-old Fariq Abdul Hamid. He was on his first Boeing 777 mission without a training captain overseeing him, and had flown the aircraft only five times before. The investigators said his ability and professional approach to work was reported to be good.

In addition, it seems unlikely that someone with such limited experience of the aircraft would be able to pull off such a plan.

While sadly there have been a number of crashes perpetrated by suicidal pilots  notably the tragic destruction of Germanwings flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, in which the first officer killed himself and 150 others  never has the subsequent crash been so delayed from the moment of seizure.

Besides, the investigators concluded: There is no evidence to suggest that the PIC [pilot in command, ie captain] and FO [first officer] experienced recent changes or difficulties in personal relationships or that there were any conflicts or problems between them.

There had been no financial stress or impending insolvency, recent or additional insurance coverage purchased or recent behavioural changes for the crew.

The investigators also analysed both pilots radio conversations and say they detected no evidence of anxiety or stress.

What do the experts think lies behind the disappearance of MH370?

The man who led the Australian Transport Safety Bureaus two-year search of the seabed, Martin Dolan, says the act was carefully planned: This was deliberate, and it was done over an extended period of time.

The aviation security guru, Philip Baum, concurs: Most agencies are confident that the loss of MH370 was the result of a criminal act and that the aircraft was deliberately, and manually, made to divert from its intended flight plan, he told me.

The question then arises as to who carried out the act and where they were at the time?

What is his hunch?

I still believe that pilot-assisted suicide is the most likely cause of the loss as that would explain almost every aspect of the diversion and the even the lack of proof for any of the alternative scenarios emerging.

All the other scenarios would involve at least one other person being in-the-know, except the stowaway who could also have acted completely independently. And for that reason, I still think the stowaway scenario is a strong possibility.

This theory is that a stowaway concealed in the avionics bay by the flight deck seized control, either in a suicidal mission or with the futile intention of landing at a remote island.

Could a passenger or member of cabin crew be responsible?

Given the large number of passengers onboard, as well as 10 cabin crew, there is a wide range of possible motives. Standard aviation security measures were in place at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. As the tragic events of 9/11 showed, the fact of having passed through a checkpoint does not mean that the passenger poses no threat to the aircraft and the people onboard.

There were a total of 227 passengers (including three children and two infants) on board, with the majority of them from China, followed by Malaysia.

Two Iranian passengers were travelling on passports stolen from an Italian and an Austrian respectively, but they appear to have been illegal migrants who were keen to reach the West rather than harbouring any malicious intent.

All 10 members of cabin crew were married with children, which some have said implies they were unlikely to have hijacked the aircraft.

And will we ever know?

I do have some degree of confidence that the wreckage will be found and that the cause will eventually become known. Just not sure if that will be in my lifetime, says aviation security expert Philip Baum.

For more travel news, views and advice from Simon, download his daily Independent Travel podcast.
[Source]

A village in Michigan will be paying a $320,000 settlement to a man from Japan who was wrongly accused of drunk driving due to a mistake made by a police officer.

Rookies mistake: Caitlyn Peca, who was a rookie Fowlerville officer, misread a breath test of Ryohei Akima, a 37-year-old native of Yonago, Japan. Akima, who was reportedly in the U.S. on a work visa in 2020, blew a 0.02 on the test, but Peca mistakenly read it as 0.22, which is nearly three times over the legal limit in Michigan.

Federal lawsuit: A blood sample later revealed Akimas blood-alcohol level of 0.01, leading to the charges of driving while intoxicated against him dropped days later. The Japanese man subsequently filed a lawsuit in federal court, alleging a violation of the U.S. Constitution, which was approved by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lawsuit settlement: The lawsuit reached a settlement in January, with Fowlerville, a village in Livingston County, agreeing to pay the settlement through insurance. The court highlighted that Peca conveyed over the radio to a colleague, I have no idea what Im doing, at one point during the incident.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

It would be evident to a reasonable officer that (Akima) was, quite apparently, sober, Judge Jane Stranch said. So a reasonable jury could conclude that (the) arrest was not supported by probable cause and that Officer Peca was not entitled to qualified immunity.

Pecas defense: T. Joseph Seward, the attorney representing Peca, expressed disappointment with the court's decision, asserting that Akimas performance on roadside sobriety tests warranted his arrest. However, the appeals court noted that another officer testified that the tests were administered incorrectly, potentially impacting the results.

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Jane Walsh

Name: Jane Walsh

Education: Degree in philosophy & ethics, in master's program for organizational development

Occupation: Manager, Customer Success

Political or civic experience highlights: Newfields School Board, Newfields treasurer, Budget Advisory Committee, Communications Committee, Safety & Security Committee, Policy Committee, Girls on the Run

What would be your top three priorities if you are elected?: All school boards have three major responsibilities: developing the annual budget to run the school system; setting school policies; and hiring and evaluating the superintendent. All of these are very important responsibilities that I will take to heart. My main priority is to manage the school budget closely to balance what the school needs to provide an excellent education and what Newfields can bear in taxes. Newfields taxes have been increasing at hair-raising levels. Safety and security are a big priority for me. I agree with the Newfields police chief that the Newfields Elementary School crosswalk needs to be moved to a safer location, and I will work to get that done. The third priority would be to ensure all students have the support they need in math and English. Our scores have not improved from where they were three years ago. The students deserve to have the opportunity to learn. I am committed to work for the benefit of all students not just a select few students and their parents.

How should the school district handle requests to remove books from the library or curriculum?: Fortunately, this has not been an issue for Newfields. In the unlikely event this happens, it would be the responsibility of the School Board to review all relevant policies, such as inappropriate content or bullying, to see if books are in conflict with preexisting policies and then make a unified decision.

Do you support the expansion of education freedom accounts in New Hampshire?: No. If public schools are not meeting expectations, then we as a community need to work to improve them, not pull funds that hurt public schools. Private schools and homeschoolers who accept public funds should be held accountable to the same standards.

What else should voters know about your views on local schools and public education?: During my previous term on the NES School Board I:

 Maintained fiscally responsible budgets. Hired a new principal. Negotiated two fair teacher contracts. Completed the NES Building Maintenance Plan ahead of schedule.

I also am committed to listening carefully, making informed decisions, and being a voice for families. Newfields is a special place for all of us, and serving my community is important to me. On the School Board, I will continue to advocate for all of us!

I hope I can count on your vote on March 12.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Newfields School Board candidate Jane Walsh
From left, Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick speak at a press conference on election security in Denver on Feb. 28, 2024. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline)

Local elections officials in Colorado will be able to pay for security upgrades to deal with election-related threats with funds from a grant program launched this week by Secretary of State Jena Griswold.

Starting Friday, clerks from Colorados 64 counties can apply for reimbursement for security expenses including locks and key-card access technology, surveillance cameras, cybersecurity infrastructure and more. Accessibility upgrades, like additional handicap parking or language assistance at voter service centers, will also be eligible for the grants.

The $3.5 million in available funding, which comes from federal funds provided under the Help America Vote Act, will help protect Colorados reputation as the gold standard for elections administration, Griswold and leaders from the Colorado County Clerks Association said in a press conference Wednesday at the secretary of states office in Denver.

One of the reasons we are considered the nations gold standard is that we continually innovate, said Griswold. And although we are considered the best state in the nation to cast a ballot, we have not been immune to the dangers and threats facing elections nationwide.

Matt Crane, executive director of the CCCA, said the threat landscape in election security has evolved over the last eight years, following the unprecedented efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to deny and overturn the results of the 2020 election.

In 2016, we saw cyber threats  they were the top of the pyramid of things we were concerned about, from foreign adversaries trying to do nefarious things, Crane said. In 2020, the physical security of our election workers became front and center.

Make no mistake: We are talking about threats against election infrastructure (and) election workers, we are talking about election workers being afraid to do their job, because Donald Trump has lied over and over and over about how elections work.

 Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold

One in three election workers nationwide reported feeling unsafe in the course of fulfilling their duties in the wake of the 2020 election, noted Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick, who currently serves as the CCCAs president.

Clerks across the state have dealt with confrontational encounters with the public, extreme mis- and disinformation and internal threats, Fitzpatrick said. Election workers, judges and staff across the state have endured harassment and threats to their safety.

The Boulder County clerks office has completed a variety of security upgrades over the last several years, including glass partitions and new controlled-access points, Fitzpatrick said, but many counties around the state may not have the funds to take such measures on their own.

The reality is starkly different for smaller, more rural counties where resources are fewer, she said. Its imperative that we foster and facilitate equitable access to funding opportunities, which will empower all counties in Colorado to bolster their infrastructure and their security.

Federal law enforcement agencies have issued dire warnings about potential threats to the 2024 election, with one FBI official telling the winter conference of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Washington earlier this month that the outlook is extremely alarming, according to Stateline.

Though Colorado is unlikely to be a battleground state in a widely expected 2024 rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden, it has been a hotbed of pro-Trump election misinformation and threats of violence. Griswold, an outspoken critic of election conspiracists, has been the target of harassment and death threats, at least two of which have resulted in criminal convictions.

Far-right election deniers with Colorado ties include former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters, who has been indicted for her role in an alleged breach of county election equipment; attorney John Eastman, who spearheaded Trumps efforts to overturn election results while serving as a visiting faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder; and Joe Oltmann, a far-right podcaster who was instrumental in advancing 2020 election conspiracy theories involving Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems and has called for his political opponents to be executed.

Make no mistake: We are talking about threats against election infrastructure (and) election workers, we are talking about election workers being afraid to do their job, because Donald Trump has lied over and over and over about how elections work, Griswold said Wednesday.

Most of the 64 county clerks in Colorado who will be in line to receive security funding through the grant program are Republicans, Griswold noted.

What were seeing today, with the attack on democracy, with the attack on elections, it isnt about a partisan disagreement, she said. Its about one person and extremists around him, trying to use lies to undermine confidence in elections  which is undemocratic and un-American, and we cannot allow it to stand.

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The post Colorado secretary of state launches election security grant program amid 2024 threats appeared first on Colorado Newsline.
India has approved allocating up to $15.2 billion (1.26 trillion Indian rupees) to build three new semiconductor plants, including its first semiconductor fab facility -- part of the country's big bid to take on China, Taiwan and other countries in the chip race.

Significantly, although AI chips are very much the talk of the industry right now, none of the three plants focus on that area of the market, aiming instead for more traction in general-purpose applications.

On Thursday, the Indian cabinet approved the country's first semiconductor fab facility set up by the salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group and Taiwan's Power Chip, which will be established in the Dholera region of Gujarat. The fab facility expects to have the capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month, and it aims to manufacture 3 billion chips annually for a variety of market segments, including high-power computers, electric vehicles, telecom and power electronics.

The Indian IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters at a media briefing in New Delhi that the construction work for the semiconductor fab will start within 100 days.

"A typical semiconductor fab, construction is a three-four-year time frame. We will be compressing it significantly [sic]," the minister said.

Alongside the semiconductor fab, the Indian government has approved the investment of $3.2 billion in a semiconductor assembly, testing, marking and packaging unit planned to be set up in the northeastern state of Assam by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test.

This will be the country's third semiconductor unit and will be able to produce 48 million chips per day. The unit will cater to seven segments: automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom and mobile phones.

The Assam unit will supply chips to a "wide spectrum of companies," including Indian, American, European and some Japanese companies, Vaishnaw said.

"It will be a very good export as well as domestic use," he noted.

In addition to the two plants, the Indian government has approved the investment of $916 million from Japan's Renesas Electronics and Thailand's Stars Microelectronics to work with the Indian company CG Power to produce specialized chips in Sanand of Gujarat. It will manufacture chips precisely for niche sectors, such as defense, space, electric vehicles and high-speed trains.

The specialized chip facility will have a daily production capacity of 15 million chips.

These are not India's first efforts to boost its domestic semiconductor sector. For years, India's had its sights set on being a bigger player in the market, but some of its bigger efforts have failed to generate much interest.

In 2021, the Indian government announced a $10 billion incentive program to gain the attention of chipmakers and display manufacturers and convince them to set up local facilities in the country by offering incentives of up to 50% of capital expenditures to companies establishing domestic manufacturing projects. That scheme had to be modified last year after poor take up from international companies.

The reasons for the lack of engagement ranged from having a complicated application process, through to a lack of pre-existing ecosystem: the world's biggest players were skeptical that India had the right mix of skilled labor and other conditions to build and operate these businesses.

We'd heard that the government was trying to convince TSMC -- the world's largest chipmaker -- to get on board, and that it's pushing companies like Qualcomm, MediaTek and Intel to also lay out more plans for the semiconductors in the country. Notably, all these were absent from today's announcements.

The government also said today that these new units would generate direct employment of 20,000 advanced technology jobs and about 60,000 indirect jobs.

But overall, when you consider the long road ahead for building chipmaking ecosystems in the country, it's perhaps not a surprise that AI chips are not really on the agenda today.

That is not the full story, though. There are also a number of other semiconductor developments in the works.

The IT minister said the Indian government had outlined $7 billion in incentives for the three newly announced semiconductor plants and the $2.75 billion Micron facility, announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the U.S. last year. The U.S. company had committed an $825 million investment for the facility.

India more generally is looking to attract foreign semiconductor manufacturers by offering billions of dollars in incentives. Companies including Foxconn and AMD have already announced their investment plans for setting up local facilities.

Vaishnaw said the government plans to design its semiconductor program for 20 years. The country also has around 300,000 design engineers, who are already designing chips for global companies.

"You will see various other semiconductor initiatives by the government, at least, in the near future," Vaishnaw stated.
Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor, was found dead at his parents home with a catastrophic head injury and a gun close to his body, a coroner has said.

Kingston, 45, died at the property in a Cotswold village on Sunday.

Katy Skerrett, the senior coroner for Gloucestershire, said the financier, who was the son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, had lunch with his parents before his body was found in an outbuilding.

She said a post-mortem had been undertaken and that a provisional cause of death had been given as a traumatic wound to head.

As she opened an inquest into Kingstons death, Ms Skerrett said she had been given evidence of the brief circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.

She said: Mr Kingston was visiting his parents home in the Cotswolds on 25 February. He ate lunch with his parents.

His father went out to walk the dogs. On his return, Mr Kingston was not in the house. After approximately 30 minutes, his mother went to look for him.

His father forced entry into an outbuilding when he couldnt gain entry. Mr Kingston was found inside with a catastrophic head injury. A gun was present at the scene.

Emergency services were called. Police are satisfied the death is not suspicious.

The hearing, at Gloucestershire Coroners Court, lasted less than minutes. Several journalists and a Buckingham Palace representative were present but no family members.

Thomas Kingston was a committed Christian who once worked as a hostage negotiator in Iraq - Mark Cuthbert/Getty Images Contributor

Kingston once worked as a hostage negotiator in Iraq. Known as Tom, he read economic history at the University of Bristol before joining the diplomatic missions unit at the Foreign Office.

He was seconded to Baghdad as project manager for the International Centre for Reconciliation, based at Coventry Cathedral, in 2003. The following year, he cheated death in a suicide bombing in the Iraqi capital that killed 22 people.

Rev Canon Andrew White, then the vicar of St Georges Church, the only Anglican church in Iraq, worked closely with him.

He described him as a fearless and very committed Christian, telling The Telegraph: I loved him so much. The thing about Tom was he was never scared. Whatever I asked him to do, he would do it with a big smile on his face in the middle of a war zone.

Kingston returned to the UK to work for Schroders, the global asset management firm, as an equity analyst before becoming the managing director of Voltan Capital Management and later a director of Devonport Capital, which provides short-term loans to businesses operating in the developing world.

His father was a hugely successful barrister, specialising in planning law. Also a devout Christian, he was elected to the General Synod in 2016. His mother, Jill, is a trustee of a Christian healing centre and runs the Nadezhda Charitable Trust, which supports projects in Zimbabwe.

Kingston was introduced to his royal bride by mutual friends and proposed on the car-free Channel Island of Sark, where his parents have a holiday home.

Lady Gabriellas father, Prince Michael, is Elizabeth IIs first cousin and a grandson of George V. The couple married at St Georges Chapel Windsor in May 2019, in a lavish ceremony attended by an array of senior royals including the late Queen and Prince Philip.

The couple were said to have been happily married to the end and were most recently pictured together, beaming for the camera, on Valentines Day.

Lady Gabriella Windsor paid tribute to Thomas Kingston, calling him 'an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him' - Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Buckingham Palace announced Kingstons death on Tuesday evening. Lady Gabriella, paid tribute to her husband, describing him as an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. She said his death had come as a great shock to the whole family.

Buckingham Palace said the King and Queen joined Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew Kingston in grieving a much-loved member of the family.

A spokesman said: In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and all the Kingston family.

The brief hearing offered no clues to the reason behind Kingstons death.

The news left friends and family stunned. Many have insisted that he and Lady Gabriella, who lived in London, were happily married and had no known financial difficulties.

Some have speculated that the traumas Kingston witnessed in Baghdad might have had long term effects but if so, they appear to have been hidden.

Canon White said this week of their time in Iraq: We survived several suicide bomb attacks. We were regularly caught up in IED [improvised explosive device] attacks. Cars would blow up in front of us and we would just move on. We were always together and had 35 armed guards at all times.

Both men are said to have been in Canon Whites Anglican church when it was targeted in a suicide-bomb attack. They entered the building just before the blast, which killed two of the congregation and 20 others.

The Kingston family is being supported by Buckingham Palace, which along with the police, has taken measures to protect their privacy for their own safety and security.

Prince and Princess Michael attended a memorial service on Tuesday for King Constantine of Greece at St Georges Chapel.

Lady Gabriella, known to friends as Ella, who was a goddaughter to the late King, stayed away as she was comforted by her family.

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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis center, and the special prosecutor Nathan Wade, right, during a press conference to announce the indictment of former President Donald Trump and others, in Atlanta on Aug. 14, 2023. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Terrence Bradley, an Atlanta-area lawyer, had been billed as the star witness in the effort to disqualify Fani Willis, the district attorney leading the election interference case against former President Donald Trump in Georgia. But when Bradley took the stand this week  and twice earlier this month  he was a deeply reluctant witness.

His testimony did little to resolve a question at the heart of the defenses attempt to show that Willis had an untenable conflict of interest: whether the romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, the lawyer she hired to help run the Trump case, began before or after he joined her staff.

But hundreds of text messages obtained by The New York Times show that Bradley, a former law partner and friend of Wade, helped a defense lawyer to expose the relationship between the two prosecutors.

The texts reveal that Bradley, who served for a time as Wades divorce lawyer until the two men had a bitter falling-out, assisted the effort to reveal the romance and provide details about it for at least four months  countering the impression he left on the witness stand that he had known next to nothing about the romance.

In the text exchanges, which began in September of last year and were reported late Wednesday by CNN, Bradley claimed some knowledge of when the relationship began. He even offered the defense lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, reassurance as she submitted her motion to disqualify to the court.

I am nervous, Merchant texted to Bradley on Jan. 8, the day she filed the motion. This is huge.

You are huge, Bradley encouraged her. You will be fine.

Ultimately, it will be up to the judge to assess the credibility of Bradley and determine whether the text messages bolster the case for disqualifying the prosecutors.

Lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants have argued that the relationship between the prosecutors amounted to self-dealing, because Wade, who has made more than $650,000 working for Willis office, paid for vacations that the couple took together. A series of hearings delving into the issue has plunged the overall case into turmoil.

When contacted Thursday morning, a lawyer for Wade, Andrew Evans, said that the texts contain several outright lies. Among them, Evans said, was an assertion from Bradley that either Evans or his wife, Stacey Evans, a Democratic state representative, had witnessed Wade and Willis having sex.

A lawyer for Bradley, Bimal Chopra, Jr., declined to comment.

Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, has defended her conduct. She has acknowledged that she had a romantic relationship with Wade. But she has said that it started after she hired him and argued that the relationship did not create a conflict under Georgia law.

Both Wade and Willis have told the court that they divided the costs of the vacations about evenly between them.

Bradley was one of two witnesses called by Merchant to testify, expecting they would say that the relationship started before Willis hired Wade in November 2021. The other was Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Willis and former employee of the DAs office, who testified in mid-February that the romance started before Wade was hired.

The business partnership between Wade and Bradley soured after Bradley was accused of sexually assaulting an employee, an accusation he vigorously denied during his testimony. Bradley told the court this week that he had not spoken to Wade in more than a year.

Before exposing the romance in her Jan. 8 filing, Merchant asked Bradley in a text, Do you think it started before she hired him?

Absolutely, Bradley replied, adding that the romance had started when the two served as local judges, before Willis election as district attorney in 2020.

But on the witness stand this week, Bradley said he had only been speculating about the timing. Although Wade had told him about the relationship, he said on the stand, he did not have direct knowledge about when it began.

The text messages  some of which Merchant described in court after Bradley did not provide the testimony she was hoping for  show that Bradley was trading messages with Merchant about the prosecutors and their romance as long ago as September. Bradley made suggestions about who might know about the romance and be able to corroborate it. He encouraged Merchant to subpoena members of Willis security detail and other members of her staff.

He also helped Merchant as she tried to pinpoint the location of an apartment where Willis was staying. And he accused Wade and Willis of arrogance.

Merchant texted Bradley in early January that she had records showing the two prosecutors had traveled to the Napa Valley in California and had taken a Royal Caribbean cruise together, writing that she was shocked they were so careless.

Damn what else, he replied.

When Merchant was writing the motion to disqualify the prosecutors, she assured Bradley that I protected you completely, adding, I kept you out of it.

Merchant also told Bradley that she was becoming president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and wanted him to become more involved in the group, including by becoming a program director for an upcoming seminar.

Their mutual trust developed to the point that Bradley agreed when she asked if she could subpoena him.

You are my friend and I trust you, he told her.

Weeks later, on the witness stand, Bradley appeared to be dismayed that Merchant had ended up making him a central witness on the matter. They clashed during his testimony when it became evident that his prior enthusiasm for talking about the prosecutors romance had vanished. At one point during a hearing Tuesday, a frustrated Merchant said to the presiding judge, Scott McAfee of Fulton Superior Court, Judge, he doesnt remember much of anything right now.

Steven Sadow, a lawyer for Trump, pressed Bradley on the text exchanges at the hearing, seeking to cast doubt on Bradleys claim that he had merely been speculating in the text messages about when the relationship began.

Why would you speculate and say that in a text? Sadow asked, repeating the question several times.

I dont recall why I thought that it started at that time, Bradley replied.

The hearings delving into the romantic relationship do not change the underlying details of the election interference case itself, in which Trump and his allies are charged with conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 election. Four of the 19 original defendants have already pleaded guilty.

Even so, the effort to disqualify the prosecutors has been an extraordinary detour that has turned the case upside down, with defense attorneys acting more like prosecutors, and vice versa.

Another defense witness, Yeartie, testified that the romance started before Wade was hired. Yeartie left the DAs office on bad terms, a turn of events that ended her friendship with Willis.

Even if McAfee allows Willis to keep the case, she is likely to face tough scrutiny, including from a new state commission with the power to remove prosecutors and from the Georgia Senate, which has opened an investigation.

Many observers, including some who support the election interference case, believe that Willis needs to cut ties to Wade and have him leave her office. So does Bradley, according to his texts: She needs to fire nathan but she wont, he wrote to Merchant, to which she replied, yep, adding, She will go down in flames for Nathan.

Merchant declined to comment Thursday, except to say that she had not provided the text messages to the media. Another hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday, but a decision on the disqualification issue is not expected until next week at the earliest.

c.2024 The New York Times Company
New Yorkers will soon be able to buy abortion pills at select Walgreens stores as the pharmacy giant, as well as CVS Health, begins dispensing the mifepristone abortion pill in some states.

The newly expanded access to the abortion pill comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its sale at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. Patients will still need a prescription but will no longer be required to pick it up in person at a doctor's office or clinic.

CVS stores in New York were not included in that pharmacy chains initial rollout of the abortion pills, but CVS has said it plans to add more states in the future.

Which Walgreens in NY will sell abortion pills?

Certified medical providers will be able to direct patients to locations to pick up their abortion pill prescriptions, Walgreens said in a statement Friday.

"But in the interests of pharmacist and patient safety, (Walgreens) will not disclose the number of sites per state nor identify the pharmacies that are dispensing," the pharmacy chain noted.

Mifepristone is used with another medication called misoprostol to end a pregnancy that is less than 70 days developed. The pills are taken about two days apart.

If a prescription is received at a non-certified Walgreens in an active state, Walgreens team members will assist the patient to locate an alternate pharmacy that is able to dispense the medication, the statement added.

Walgreens will begin selling the abortion pill in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.

The initial abortion pill sales at CVS stores included Rhode Island and Massachusetts before adding other states, the chain told media outlets Friday.

Abortion politics: NY shields doctors who provide abortion pills via telehealth. Who can access them?

What about independent pharmacies?

Independent pharmacies have also expressed interest in dispensing the abortion pill, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents about 19,400 independent pharmacies nationwide.

These pharmacies must go through the FDA certification process that CVS and Walgreens have completed.

New York abortion: Westchester repeals abortion clinic buffer law teed up for Supreme Court challenge

What is REMS?

A Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) is a drug safety program that the FDA requires for certain medications with safety concerns to help ensure the benefits of a medication outweigh its risks, Walgreens noted.

The FDA modified the mifepristone REMS program in January 2023 to remove the restriction that did not allow mifepristone to be dispensed from retail pharmacies.

What is mifepristone?

The mifepristone pill is used to begin the process to terminate an early pregnancy. the drug is used to dilate the cervix and block the hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy.

While mifepristone is followed up with a second medication called misoprostol that causes the uterus to contract and expel tissue, the FDA rule only applies to the first drug.

Bailey Schulz of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Walgreens, CVS to begin selling abortion pill mifepristone. UWhat to know in NY
A pedestrian crossing a street with a child is seen through a taxi window in Tokyo, Monday, July 19, 2021. The number of babies born in Japan last year fell for an eighth straight year to a new low, government data showed Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, and a top official said it was critical for the country to reverse the trend in the coming half-dozen years.

Japan's birth rate is the lowest it has ever been since the country first collected the statistic in 1899. Government officials said the rate is in "critical condition," after the eighth consecutive year the birth rate decreased.

In 2023, Japan welcomed 758,631 babies  but the number is a 5.1% decrease from the previous year, according to Japan's Health and Welfare Ministry.

One of the key reasons behind the declining birth rate in Japan is a drop in married couples.

Marriages fell by 5.9% to 489,281 couples  the first time in 90 years the number was less than half a million. Births to unmarried parents are rare in Japan, due to traditional paternalistic family values, the Associated Press reported.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters earlier this week, The period over the next six years or so until 2030s, when the younger population will start declining rapidly, will be the last chance we may be able to reverse the trend, Hayashi continued. There is no time to waste, the AP reported.

Why is the birth rate shrinking?

About half of unmarried people under 30 in Japan are uninterested in having children, a survey by a pharmaceutical firm showed. Respondents said the burden of childbirth and parenting were a reason they had no interest in having kids, along with economic concerns.

A high cost of living that's outpacing pay increases is one reason why young Japanese adults are not interested in becoming parents, the survey found. Bleak job prospects and intense corporate cultures are also discouraging to young adults who are in their child-bearing years.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida previously called the low births the biggest crisis Japan faces, and put forward a package of measures that have included more support and subsidies mostly for childbirth, children and their families.

How will a declining birth rate impact Japan?

Japans population is expected to decrease about 30% to 87 million by 2070, with four out of every 10 people aged 65 or older, the AP reported.

An aging and declining population is a cause for concern over national security issues and can cause economic challenges for the country.

What other countries have a declining birth rate?

China and South Korea also face a declining birth rate: The average number of expected babies for a birthing person in South Korea fell to a record low of 0.72 from 0.78 in 2022, according to data from Statistics Korea.

The U.S. faced a declining birth rate as well: Between 2007 and 2022, the birth rate fell from 14.3 births per 1,000 people to 11.1, or nearly 23%, according to the CDC. But the rate increased slightly between 2021 and 2022 from 11 births per 1,000 people to 11.1 births per 1,000 people.

The Economist reported that the the 15 largest countries by GDP all have fertility rates below the replacement rate the number of children born per birthing person that would be needed to replace the current population.

The global fertility rate was 2.7 births per birthing person in 2000, slightly above the replacement rate of 2.1. In 2023, the fertility rate was 2.3 and declining.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fewer marriages, babies push Japan birth rate to lowest since 1899
John Jasinski, a finalist for the president job at Missouri State University, addressed his exit from Northwest Missouri State University during an open forum Tuesday.

Two members of the Board of Regents at Northwest Missouri State University said Thursday the reason John Jasinski recently gave for losing the president's job there was a work of fiction.

"We took the high road on this for two years. We took the slings and arrows. We said 'Let's not comment on this' so I am surprised I'm here talking to you," board member Jason Klindt told the News-Leader on Thursday. "I can't sit by while he spins a narrative where he is the victim of some grand conspiracy."

Klindt added: "He's made up a narrative to try and get himself a new job."

Jasinski, provost of Missouri State, is one of three finalists in the running to succeed the retiring Clif Smart and become the university's 12th president.

A question about Jasinski's exit from Northwest surfaced this week, as he was going through the formal interview process for Missouri State presidency. In at least two settings, including an open forum Tuesday, Jasinski discussed the June 2022 departure.

"I made some tough decisions as a president and the bottom line with that is I had to remove a Greek organization. I took a lot of heat for that," he said Tuesday.

"... Removing that Greek organization led to some individuals getting on the board and not renewing my contract. But you know what? It was the right thing to do."

In separate interviews Thursday, Klindt and fellow Northwest Missouri board member John Moore said the ouster of fraternities years earlier was not part of the decision.

"Absolutely zero  no factor whatsoever," said Moore, who retired in 2014 as chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. "Were there some alumni of those fraternities that were frustrated by that and concerned by that? Of course. But did it have anything to do about a decision about him and whether to extend his contract? None whatsoever."

John Jasinski, a finalist for the Missouri State University president job, answers questions at a forum in the Plaster Student Union auditorium on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.

Moore said Jasinski was offered a two-year contract extension in 2020 and told it would be his last. His contract was set to expire June 30, 2022  and it did.

"There was a belief by a majority of the board that we would be better off discontinuing his service but doing so in a way that was fair and recognized a number of good things that had happened," said Moore, of Raymore, who has been on the university board for six years and was chair at the time. "It was time to move on to somebody new."

Klindt said the board gave Jasinski two years to find a new job.

"It was supposed to be a win-win situation. He'd go out on a high note and we'd get to pick out a new leader. At the end of the two years, he came back and asked for a new two-year contract. We didn't give it," Klindt said.

Moore praised the role Jasinski played in strengthening the university's financial situation and establishing an online learning program that increased enrollment. "I like to be totally balanced and honest. I will tell you there were some very good things that were accomplished during his time."

Asked why the contract was not renewed, Moore said he would not discuss specifics.

He said when Jasinski was reminded in spring 2022 that the contract was not going to be renewed, then-president Jasinski sent a message to the entire campus.

In the "All That Jazz" message sent April 1, 2022, Jasinski told the campus he was leaving.

"Northwest's Board of Regents has chosen not to renew my contract that ends June 30," he wrote. "The board chair indicated this to me verbally and told me it was nothing to do with the institution's or my performance, that the board feels like we accomplished a tremendous amount since 2009 and the institution is in a far better place than it was 13 years ago, but the board wishes to turn a new chapter."

Missouri State University Provost John Jasinski talks with guests at a meet and greet with MSU Administration on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.

In the campus message, Jasinski listed numerous accomplishments during his tenure but then turned his attention to the board.

"I ask you to look critically at the Board of Regents. Understand the innerworkings and ties to others, discern the intended direction, ascertain support or lack thereof for critical issues and weigh in on the institutions future. Civility with accountability are words that come to mind as you do so," Jasinski wrote in the message.

"As for Mrs. J and me, we continue to be patient as this stage of our life unfolds. We are considering a range of options, but please know Denise and I will continue our journey of helping others and uplifting the communities we serve."

An April 2022 story in the campus newspaper, the Northwest Missourian reported that Jasinki's exit was expected. It referenced speculation of a rift with the board.

One example cited in the story was that Moore and Klindt expressed frustration the board was not consulted or told in advance about a decision Jasisnki made to move student housing during the pandemic.

The campus newspaper reported that news of Jasinski's exit created an uproar with students, faculty and alumni voicing their concerns on social media. A letter calling for the board to be transparent about the nonrenewal decision was signed by more than 100 people.

"He put out this clarion call for folks to come to his defense and really no one answered. We had a few emails and a few letters from people who were frankly friends of his but there was no campus outcry," Klindt said.

John Moore

Moore said board members wanted to respond to questions raised by Jasinski's message and exit but were advised against it by an attorney.

"We were counseled ... that we could speak about anything that we individually felt. We were not allowed to discuss what any of the other members of the board said in the discussion. However, we were subjected to the possibility of being sued for defamation should we say something and therefore it was the attorney's recommendation that we not say anything unless we were specifically mentioned by him first," Moore said.

"I am not comfortable talking about any of that. I am comfortable telling you that it had nothing to do with one or two fraternities being expelled from campus."

Moore and Klindt confirmed they were not contacted by anyone from the MSU Board of Governors when Jasinski was hired as provost or named a finalist.

Moore said given the legal advice that he received when Jasinski left, it was a relief. "I'm not sure what I would have said had I been reached out to."

More: MSU presidential finalist John Jasinski talks track record, 'growth mindset' at forum

He said Northwest's Board of Regents was recently faced with the difficult decision of finding its next president.

"We just tried to be as thorough as possible and touch base with as many different people as possible so that we went in fully with our eyes open," Moore said. "I would recommend that to any board or search committee on any major position like this."

Missouri State University Provost John Jasinski talks with MSU President Clif Smart at a meet and greet with MSU Administration on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.

The News-Leader made multiple attempts to contact Jasinski Thursday  leaving a voicemail, sending an email and requesting an interview or statement from him through Suzanne Shaw, Missouri State's vice president for marketing and communications. She responded Friday that Jasinski would not be available.

Klindt, of Kearney, said he was compelled to speak out after his name appeared in a story about Jasinski's exit published by the Springfield Daily Citizen. He was named by the media outlet, not Jasinski.

The 1999 graduate was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, one of the fraternities later expelled from the university.

"I can tell you with absolute certainty that in my entire time on the board, this was never a topic of discussion. It was not a controversial decision and there was not even a single member of the (current) board serving at the time it happened," Klindt said of expelling the fraternity, which has since returned. "It is just a total red herring."

Klindt appeared on a podcast and the Elijah Haahr radio show on KWTO to respond to Jasinski's recent comments.

He said a total of five members of the board voted against renewing Jasinski's contract in two separate votes, which were each 4-2 because of absences. The other two wanted to extend his contract, Klindt said.

"I've never spoken about this and the reason I haven't is because I didn't think it was smart to get into a tit-for-tat over strengths and weaknesses," Klindt said.

He said Jasinski has offered other explanations since 2022 about why the contract was not renewed. In this one, Klindt said he "creates a tale."

"It's insulting to anyone's intelligence who hears it. It doesn't make sense," Klindt said. "I feel like this is the narrative he's created in his mind so he looks like the good guy and we look like the bad guy. I was stunned. I heard him say four or five other excuses about why his contract was not renewed but this is the first time I've heard this one."

Asked why Jasinski's contract was not extended beyond 2022, Klindt said he can only speak to his vote and does not represent the entire board.

Klindt said he was concerned when the university lost "top quality staff" during Jasinski's tenure.

"He had a leadership and a management style that was no longer working," Klindt said. "In my judgment, he had a bad relationship with the truth and it was time to make a change."

More: As Missouri State seeks new leader, provost John Jasinski builds on 'record of success'

The News-Leader asked why Klindt did not speak up when Jasinski initially took the job in Springfield.

"Everybody should get another chance. I don't have any ill will toward him," Klindt said. "When I joined the board in 2018, I knew John previous. I knew him and I liked him. I thought he was a great guy."

Board member Deb Roach posted a reply to this story on X, formerly known as Twitter. She wrote: "Dr. Jasinski was a great President for Northwest Missouri State University! He brought the university to the level of success they are at today."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Northwest board members refute John Jasinski's account of job exit
MADISON  As a trust fund created to help address Wisconsin's "forever chemical" problem languishes, Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over how to spend the money and who should be held responsible for contamination.

The $125 million at the center of the debate was created as a part of the budget process last year, and immediately Republicans proposed legislation that would allot money for grant programs for things such as testing, remediation and research. But notably, it would also potentially constrain the Department of Natural Resources from taking certain actions.

Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said earlier this week he would veto the bill, a decision Republicans blasted.

"The only alterations to the DNRs authority is to protect municipalities from getting punished for taking a grant to voluntarily address PFAS contamination and to protect victims of pollution from the threat or issuance of costly enforcement. These parties are not polluters, and they did not cause the contamination!" Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay said in a statement Tuesday.

Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, said in an interview Thursday that Evers' plan to veto the bill was upsetting.

"I think it's one of the largest mistakes he's made since he's been elected, and that says a lot," she said. "I would like to see those funds get out to people, but I also don't want to just create a slush fund for the DNR to not utilize in ways that are not going to best help the citizens."

Democrats introduce PFAS bill they say wouldn't limit DNR

Meanwhile, Sen. Brad Pfaff, D-Onalaska, introduced two bills Thursday aimed at regulating PFAS and banning the substance in manufacturing in the state.

More: 2 Republican legislators push to set standards for PFAS in groundwater

The two bills would set standards for PFAS in drinking and groundwater; create grant programs to assist local governments, organizations and private well owners in testing and to clean up the compounds; funding for communities to access clean water supplies, resources for additional testing and clean up and use of the trust fund as a funding source for new grant programs.

The second bill would ban the intentional use of PFAS in cases where the compounds are avoidable, and allow a manufacturer to be fined if they do use them.

We cant wait for clean water. This is about keeping families safe in their own homes. Toxic PFAS chemicals are a threat to our health, economy, and communities  whether they are in our water or in everyday household products," Pfaff said in a release.

Pfaff represents the Town of Campbell, which has been dealing with a large-scale contamination spreading out from the La Crosse Regional Airport. Hundreds of private wells on the island have been impacted, and the state has been paying for bottled water for residents for years.

The airport terminal is shown Feb. 10, 2021, on French Island in La Crosse. At least 40 wells that provide drinking water for residents near the airport were found to be contaminated with PFAS that are above recommended standards.

Families in the Town of Campbell have been forced to drink bottled water for three years because their water has been contaminated with these toxic chemicals," he said in the release. "Their kids cant take baths with the water coming out of their faucets because it contains PFAS. It is far past time that we ensure the people of Wisconsin have the necessary tools and resources to keep their water safe."

The bill is seemingly in response to the Republican legislation that Evers vowed to veto.

More: Gov. Tony Evers calls out Republicans over 'breathtaking' inaction on PFAS

In particular, Evers and clean water supporters have noted that the innocent landowner protections and limits on DNR testing in some cases could protect the entities that manufactured or used PFAS in the production of their products, something that Republicans have vehemently denied.

Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, one of the authors of the Republican bill, is still calling on Evers to sign it to give a pathway for money from the trust fund to flow. He said Thursday that the Peshtigo Town Board approved a resolution to support the bill. The Peshtigo area has been contending with contamination tied to Tyco Fire Products, based in nearby Marinette.

This resolution is yet another clear sign that communities devastated by PFAS want the reforms outlined in SB 312," Wimberger said in a release. "Its clear that Governor Evers has yet to actually take the time to time to listen to the needs of the people and communities impacted by PFAS. If he had, the Town of Peshtigo wouldnt need to issue resolutions correcting the Governors false claims and urging him to sign this needed relief into law.

Cowles said the Republican bill would only slightly modify the DNR's ability to implement the law invoked when contamination is found on a property, known as the Spills Law. The Republican bill would shield from liability landowners not directly responsible for the presence of PFAS.

"It's not a wholesale obliteration of the Spills Law," he said. "It's a very limited thing, in order to protect what we would characterize, and I think almost everybody else agrees, should be protected, these innocent people."

If a bill isn't passed, what comes next for PFAS funds?

Earlier this year, the DNR submitted a request to the legislature's powerful budget committee to release money from the trust fund to pay for testing, remediation and filtration.

But so far that request has gone unanswered. The committee met Thursday, but addressing PFAS was notably absent from its agenda.

When the trust fund was created, legislators stipulated that legislation was going to be needed to guide how and where the money was spent.

More: 'It just makes you wonder': PFAS contamination discovery at Menomonie 3M site raises worries

"We're still trying to convince the governor to sign the bill," Cowles said in an interview Thursday afternoon. "I mean, that's why we're doing this bill."

The Joint Finance Committee could still either release the funding as a whole to the DNR, or the DNR  which has been without a secretary since November  could bring forward proposals on how the funding should be spent and have it approved and released in certain amounts. But it's not clear if that could or would happen if a bill isn't signed into law.

Felzkowski, who is a member of the budget committee, said she may be open to that, but still urged the governor to sign the bill.

"I'm very disappointed that the governor rejected (the bill) because I would think he would want to protect innocent landowners, Felzkowski said. "But if the DNR could bring us something that was workable, and it actually got to the root of the problem and we were helping our constituents, I'd be very open to that."

Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: PFAS trust fund unspent in Wisconsin as Republicans, Democrats feud
Poland will consider banning food imports from Russia after it "analyzes" the results of Latvia's decision to do so, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 29, citing Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Latvia became the first EU member to ban imports of grain and other foodstuffs from Russia and Belarus. The ban will come into force in March.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics supported the ban, arguing that Russian grain imports support the Russian economy, and therefore its army.

Tusk said that Poland is open to imposing similar regulations, and that he will discuss the issue at a meeting with protesting farmers later on Feb. 29.

Polish farmers have been holding protests across Poland and at the border with Ukraine in opposition to Ukrainian agricultural imports and the EU's Green Deal.

According to Warsaw, the influx of cheaper Ukrainian products threatens the domestic production and livelihoods of Polish farmers, which Kyiv denies. Poland has already instituted a ban on several Ukrainian products, such as grain.

In a meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina, Tusk told reporters that the problem of oversupply and "unequal" competition stems from imports of Russian and Belarusian goods, in addition to Ukrainian goods.

Read also: Warsaw eyes imposing embargo on additional Ukrainian goods

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden said Friday the U.S. would airdrop humanitarian assistance into the Gaza Strip to help alleviate hunger and suffering triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.

Biden, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said innocent people have died in Gaza. He said the airdrops would start "in the coming days."

The humanitarian aid will be delivered by a U.S. military aircraft, according to a U.S official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

"Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid," Biden said. "But we need to do more, and the United States will do more."

Palestinians burn tires in protest against the rising prices of food and supplies due to shortages, on February 28, 2024, in the Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip.

Biden said the U.S. would join Jordan and other countries to provide airdrops of supplies into Gaza and would seek to open up other avenues into the region, including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance.

"Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now  it's nowhere nearly enough," he said. "Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line."

Humanitarian officials have warned that hunger and disease are spreading fast in Gaza, particularly in the northern part of the strip, as the result of five months of attacks in the war.

A deal that would trigger a six-week ceasefire is also on the table, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said later in the day. A cease-fire would allow aid to flow more freely, he said.

Top U.N. officials said earlier this week that at least one quarter of Gazas population  576,000 people  is one step away from famine and that virtually the entire population desperately needs food. Some aid trucks have been shot at, looted and overwhelmed by hungry people.

In addition, 1 in 6 children under the age of two in northern Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting, where the body becomes emaciated, officials said.

Biden twice referred to Gaza as Ukraine while discussing the matter. "In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance," Biden said.

It is the first of a series of expected airdrops. The White House could not say precisely when they would begin. Kirby stressed that the airdrops will supplement the existing deliveries of humanitarian aid.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden says US will airdrop humanitarian aid to Gaza
President Biden followed by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso land at El Paso International Airport aboard Air Force One. Biden will address new border enforcement operations and humanitarian efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border during visit Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited Texas border towns on Feb. 29. Here is a look back at their visits to El Paso. The following reports were gathered from the El Paso Times archives, with multiple staff members contributing:

Trump held his first re-election campaign rally of 2019 in El Paso on Feb. 11 at the County Coliseum. A counter-rally led by El Pasoan and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke was held nearby at the same time.

After taking the stage, the president said he was fighting for all Americans.

Trump thanked Texas leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, for their support.

He mentioned the support he received at the El Paso rally.

He said, "69,000 signed up to be here. The arena holds about 8,000," then thanked the Fire Department for getting in 10,000.

A Fire Department spokesman said 6,500 were inside the coliseum and denied any special accommodations were made.

"Tens of thousands of people are watching the screens outside," Trump said.

More: Fact check: President tones down claim on crime, boosts crowd sizes at County Coliseum

'Build the wall'

Protesters disrupted the rally a few times.

"Go home to mommy," Trump told the protesters, including one who tried to unfurl a banner."Is there any other place more fun than a Trump rally?" he asked the audience.

He joked that the people of Texas wouldn't care about what he had to say next: The U.S. is now the No. 1 producer of oil and gas in the world. The crowd cheered.

As the crowd shouted, "Build the wall," he said, "You really mean finish that wall because we've built a lot of it."

He rejected calls by some Democrats to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement but said legal immigrants are welcomed.

He called for reform of the U.S. immigration system.

'Walls save tremendous numbers of lives'

The president refused to back down his statement that a wall would cut crime.

"You know where it made a big difference? Right here in El Paso."

He said he doesn't care if the mayor is a Democrat or a Republican, "they are full of crap if they say it didn't make a difference."

He said that in 2018, Juarez had 1,200 murders, while El Paso had 23.

"Walls work," he said. "Actually, there's nothing like them for what we're talking about."

"Walls save lives. Walls save tremendous numbers of lives."

The president called for bipartisan immigration reform, the passage of Katie's Law to provide funding to states to implement minimum and enhanced DNA collection processes for felony arrests, the ending of catch-and-release of undocumented immigrants, the shutting down of sanctuary cities, and deporting criminal aliens to keep coyotes, traffickers and drug dealers "the hell out of our country."

Trump cited Texans' battle against Mexico as helping make America the great nation it has become and said that by working together, Americans can help "make America great again."

Trump visits after mass shooting

Trump visited El Paso four days after the Aug. 3, 2019, mass shooting that left 23 dead and 25 injured.

The president did not meet with any of the eight survivors convalescing at UMC.

Three of the eight survivors were unable to meet Trump because they were in too poor condition or because of a Spanish language barrier, Henry Gallardo, UMC's chair of the hospital board of managers, said.

Five declined the offer.

Trump later spoke at the Emergency Operations Center at 6055 Threadgill Ave., telling a room full of dozens of El Paso police officers, El Paso firefighters, Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol and FBI agents that there were many heroes that day.

Trump called then El Paso police Chief Greg Allen a "winner," adding the shooter "went out like a coward."

"I just want to thank you," he said.

More: Biden visits US-Mexico border as administration tackles illegal migration

Biden greeted by Abbott, tours border wall on El Paso visit

President Joe Biden stopped in El Paso Jan. 8, 2023, to address new border enforcement operations and humanitarian efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was his first visit to the border while president.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott greeted Biden at the base of Air Force One. He presented him with a scathing letter condemning the president's approach to immigration and border security.

Biden's first El Paso stop was at the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry. The port received more than $600 million in federal infrastructure funding for a makeover. Biden watched a demonstration of security measures, including dogs sniffing for contraband and border patrol agents illustrating how they search hidden compartments.

President walks along border wall

The president then walked along the border wall with Border Patrol members and spoke with a couple of agents near a section of rusted steel mesh fencing.

Biden next stopped by the El Paso County Migrant Services Center, which greets people who have been released from Border Patrol and helps them find transportation and other needed services. Biden met with local officials and faith and community leaders are partners in managing the surge of migrants fleeing political oppression and economic collapse in their home countries. Workers showed him packages with socks, shoes, clothing and other materials. "If I could wave the wand, what should I do?" he asked. More funding is needed, they said.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who traveled with Biden aboard Air Force One, said she's grateful that Biden accepted her invitation. "It is important to me that he hear from those on the ground who are working directly with the migrants," she said, "because border communities like ours have had to shoulder a significant responsibility that comes with this historic western hemispheric refugee crisis."

Biden's visit lasted four hours.

Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com or 915-546-6179.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden visit El Paso: A look back
Manhattan prosecutors intend to use Donald Trump's words, including quotes from books of his like "Trump: The Art of the Deal," against him in his criminal hush money trial later this month, according to recent court filings. In a defense filing, the Manhattan district attorney's office gave the former president's legal team a list of past remarks he made  including four dozen quotes from books published between 1987 and 2015  that they plan to introduce as evidence during the trial, ABC News reports.

Lawyers for Trump have rebuked the strategy, arguing that it risks prejudicing the jury and is limited in relevance to the case. "Whatever President Trump's style of business operations was in 1987, 2004 and 2007 ... is by no means probative for how he would have operated those businesses when he was President of the United States of America," attorney Todd Blanche argued in a filing released this week. But prosecutors will likely use the quotes, which pertain to Trump's business approach, to show how involved he was with his companies, former FBI general counsel Andrew Weissmann predicted.

What they want to show is he is a hands-on boss, that he is frugal, he watches every dime  thats going to be the theory of their case. Thats why these statements are going to be relevant to them, Weissmann said on MSNBC News Thursday. Obviously, those are bricks that you use to build a wall  and the defense will have to figure out how theyre going to attack that, he added. But thats the reason for why those statements are going to be something that the prosecution wants to introduce to help build their case.

Trump has denied all wrongdoing in the case, which is slated to go to trial March 25.
WASHINGTON  Republicans in Congress want answers from the FBI after basing their impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden largely on faulty information from an FBI informant.

In a letter to FBI director Christopher Wray on Friday, Republicans asked for documents showing how they vetted the informant and how much they paid him  and suggested the Justice Department arrested him to protect the Biden family.

Federal prosecutors revealed the informant to be a dual U.S.-Irsaeli citizen named Alexander Smirnov last month when it announced charges against him for fabricating a bribery allegation against the president.

Republicans publicized Smirnovs bribery allegation despite Justice Department warnings that the raw material had not been vetted. Still, the department vouched for Smirnov, saying hed been a trusted informant on the FBI payroll for years.

Only after Mr. Smirnov reported that President Joe Biden accepted a bribe from a Ukrainian energy company in exchange for using his official position to oust the Ukrainian Prosecutor General did the FBI apparently take a hard look at this CHS, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said in a letter to Wray.

This episode is just another example of how the FBI is motivated by politics, Comer and Jordan wrote.

Senior U.S. diplomatic officials have maintained for years that when Biden was vice president, his push for the ouster of a Ukrainian prosecutor reflected U.S. policy and had not been done as a favor to his son, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

Smirnovs bribe claim, memorialized in an FBI document known as an FD-1023 form, reinvigorated Republican allegations that ousting the prosecutor reflected corruption by the Bidens. The revelation that Smirnov made it up dealt a death blow to their impeachment inquiry.

The indictment revealed that investigators figured out Smirnov was lying when they checked his story after Republicans made his bribe bluff public. Prosecutors said he made up this allegation in 2020 because he opposed Bidens bid for the presidency.

Comer and Jordan insinuated the Justice Department was protecting the Biden family and demanded information about Smirnov as part of their impeachment inquiry.

Although the FBI and Justice Department received Mr. Smirnovs information in 2020, it was only after the FD-1023 was publicly released nearly three years later  implicating President Biden and his family  that the FBI apparently decided to conduct any review of Mr. Smirnovs credibility as a CHS, the Republicans said.

The FBI declined HuffPosts request for a comment.

Related...
One of the many pets rescued in Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That disaster spurred the creation of AKC Pet Disaster Reliefs emergency response trailers.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005, the tragedies seemed to be endless.

One of the many heartbreaking scenarios during and after the storm was the impact it had on family pets. News reports showed images of people who had to leave their pets behind to seek shelter. Some Katrina victims refused to leave without the furry members of their family because emergency response plans did not accommodate pets.

It's hard to know the exact number of dogs, cats and other pets affected, but the Animal Welfare Institute estimates that as many as 250,000 pets were separated from their families, and approximately 150,000 died.

Tragedy leads to positive change

Those tragedies inspired something good, however. AKC Reunite, an affiliate of the American Kennel Club, developed emergency trailers, which can help communities on a daily basis and be deployed to disaster areas during times of need.

AKC Reunite's 110th pet disaster relief trailer was donated to Newton on Feb. 27, the first donation in the state of Iowa.

The trailer will generally be used in Poweshiek and Jasper counties, where it will do things like help reunite lost microchipped pets with their owners.

In the event of tornadoes, floods or other disasters, the trailer can provide relief for pets in any of Iowa's 99 counties.

Just last year the area experienced such severe weather, the governor declared a disaster," Tom Sharp, president and CEO of AKC Reunite, said in a news release. "Now the local emergency management will have the materials they need when disaster strikes.

More: 'Antiques Roadshow' picks a historic setting to film its Iowa episodes

An AKC Pet Disaster Relief trailer has been donated to Newton for Poweshiek and Jasper counties. It's the first trailer AKC has donated in Iowa and will serve all 99 counties during disasters.

What do Pet Disaster Relief trailers hold?

AKC Pet Disaster Relief trailers have equipment to create a safe place to house at least 65 pets for 72 hours after a disaster is declared.

With crates and carriers as well as a universal microchip scanner, the trailer is an emergency shelter for animals.

The trailers are also equipped with the necessary bowls, collars and leashes as well as fans, lighting and a generator, cleaning supplies and maintenance items.

Who helped make the pet trailer donation possible?

AKC Reunite, the largest non-profit microchip identification and recovery service in the U.S., sponsors AKC Pet Disaster Relief. It partners with AKC dog clubs and pet lovers to make the trailer donations possible.

Newton's trailer was made possible by the Central Iowa Kennel Club, Poweshiek County Alliance and Grinnell College.

The Central Iowa Kennel Club is proud to partner with AKC Reunite, Poweshiek and Jasper County Emergency Management Agencies, and Grinnell College to bring to Iowa our first AKC Reunite Pet Disaster Relief Trailer, Kristina DeLisi, president of the Central Iowa Kennel Club, said in a news release. Iowa regularly experiences tornados and other severe weather that can devastate whole communities. This trailer will be a resource for all 99 counties to keep pets safe during these emergencies, as well as reuniting them with their owners.

Brian Paul, coordinator at Poweshiek County Emergency Management, acknowledged in the news release that the trailer fills a resource gap that's existed for a long time.

"(W)e are excited that this is the first trailer of its kind in Iowa, Paul said. It will undoubtedly be a valuable resource to our two counties and we look forward to the partnerships and increased resiliency it creates.

The trailer will enhance communities' capacity to care for beloved animal companions during emergencies, said Jamey Robinson, EMA director at Jasper County Emergency Management.

"Together, we are building a resilient community that extends its protective embrace to every member, ensuring that no pet is left behind in times of crisis," Robinson said.

More: Iowa musicians root for Byron's in Pomeroy, raising money with weekend music event

Reporter Ronna Faaborg can be reached at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa's first pet disaster relief trailer will help all 99 counties
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., center, speaks about a bill to establish federal protections for IVF as, from left, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., listen during a press event on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

A Republican senator has blocked legislation that would protect in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technologies in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are children under state law.

Prominent Republican officials and candidates have voiced support for IVF since the Alabama ruling, though Democrats have responded with skepticism, arguing that the GOP paved the way for the ruling with antiabortion policies. The effort by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) to pass the measure using unanimous consent, which allows the Senate to bypass a rule of procedure to expedite the process and is generally used for routine, noncontroversial measures, tested their stance.

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Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) objected to Duckworths move for a vote, calling the bill a vast overreach that goes way too far. She said she is in favor of total access to IVF but downplayed the consequences of the Feb. 16 Alabama decision, saying it did not ban IVF.

On Wednesday, several Democrats said the block shows that some GOP senators public support for IVF is unsubstantiated.

At least three in vitro fertilization clinics in Alabama halted treatment following the courts decision, which drew strong criticism from medical organizations. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said it puts in vitro fertilization, which makes use of lab-fertilized embryos, in peril and sets an incredibly concerning precedent for IVF access across the United States.

IVF involves fertilizing eggs in a lab setting. Some of the resulting embryos may be frozen for later use, disposed of or used for research. If health-care providers find themselves at risk of civil or criminal charges for disposing of or damaging frozen embryos, they will not be willing to provide IVF, medical organizations said in response to the ruling.

The treatment may be recommended to patients struggling with conditions such as blocked fallopian tubes, severe male infertility, endometriosis or multiple miscarriages - or for whom artificial insemination did not work.

For all their talk about supporting IVF, when it came down to it, Republicans blocked IVF protections, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement that connected the Alabama ruling to Republican-backed bans and severe restrictions on abortion across the country. This has always been about conservative politicians controlling womens bodies, she said.

Duckworth said in the Senate on Wednesday that she struggled with infertility for a decade after serving in Iraq, and that she was able to have children only as a result of IVF. IVF made my heart whole and full, but for countless women in Alabama, that desperately sought-after dream of becoming a mom just became so much harder.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called access to IVF a basic issue of reproductive freedom in a statement on Wednesday. Every woman in this country should have the freedom to make the decision to have a child, she said.

About 1 in 5 women in the United States struggle with infertility, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, and hundreds of thousands of American patients rely on IVF and similar treatments each year.

- - -

Patrick Svitek contributed to this report.

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A missing 13-year-old boy was found over 200 miles from his home, New Mexico police said.

The nonverbal teen was last seen at 4 a.m. Feb. 27 in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, according to a Facebook post by New Mexico State Police.

My mom woke up, and he was no longer in the house. The front door was unlocked, and he was just gone, the boys brother, Mikel Desmond, told KRQE.

The family called police and in hopes of identifying him, officers posted a picture of him on Tucson polices social media shortly before 7 a.m. Feb. 27, officials said.

Then, shortly after 9 p.m., New Mexico State Police shared a photo of a teen, seeking his identification on behalf of the Deming Police Department in New Mexico.

He was found at Walmart in Deming, officers said.

After seven minutes, someone recognized the boy from a Tucson police post, police said.

The boy had gone inside the Walmart to buy snacks but didnt have any money, KRQE reported. He then hid in the bathroom until officers found him.

In no way possible did we think he would be found in another city, let alone another state entirely, the family said on Facebook.

Tucson police are investigating how the boy traveled the 200 miles, KRQE reported.

Deming is about 220 miles west of Tucson.

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A San Bernardino County woman who heroically saved a 8-year-old girl moments after she was attacked by a stray dog that had the little girl by the head is speaking out about the terrifying ordeal.

The incident occurred just after 7 a.m. in the 13800 block of Mesa Linda Avenue in Victorville on Feb. 29.

Maria Hernandez, who was able to pull the girl to safety, told KTLAs Shelby Nelson that the experience has left her shaken.

Just thinking about it, its still unreal to me, she said.

Surveillance video captured the harrowing attack just outside Hernandezs home. In the footage, a dog can be seen jumping on the little girl who was walking with her two siblings. In seconds, the situation escalated with the dog dragging the little girl into the yard.

It was Hernandezs daughter, who was looking out the window at the time, who alerted her to the situation, telling her the dog had the girl by the head.

I got up and just ran down and the first thing I grabbed was my broom, she explained.

Ordering her kids to stay inside the house, Hernandez can be seen running in the direction of the 8-year-old and the dog.

By the time I got out, the dog had the little girl on the other side of the neighbors driveway, she said. He had her by the leg. He had ripped off all her clothes.

Hernandez said she used the broom as a barrier between her and the dog. She pulled the little girl, who was bleeding from her head, behind her and they started walking toward her front door, but the dog wasnt ready to give up.

He actually followed us to my door, and I had just the broom, she said. When we got to the door, we could open the door. Thats when he got a little more aggressive. He tried jumping toward her.

She managed to get the girl and herself safely inside the house, then attempted to wrangle the little girls siblings, but they had run off.

Surveillance cameras captured a stray dog attacking a 7-year-old girl on Feb. 29, 2024.

Surveillance cameras captured a stray dog attacking a 7-year-old girl on Feb. 29, 2024.

Surveillance cameras captured a stray dog attacking a 7-year-old girl on Feb. 29, 2024.

Surveillance cameras captured a stray dog attacking a 7-year-old girl on Feb. 29, 2024.

A stray Belgian Malinois mix that is not microchipped that attacked a young girl is seen in this photo. (VPD)

The girl, whose name is Genesis, was later taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center for treatment of her injuries. She was later released, sustaining 17 staples in her head as well as several more cuts and scrapes on her body, her mother told KTLA.

Deputies did get a call and responded along with our city animal control, Maria Rodriguez with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department said.

Neighbors said they had seen the stray Belgian Malinois mix, which has since been captured and is in quarantine with animal control, the night before. Officials say the stray is not microchipped.

Thursdays attack comes just two days after a man and his mother were attacked by a pack of pit bulls in Azusa. L.A. County Animal Care and Control officers responded to the home and impounded all four dogs.

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The two victims were expected to survive.

Earlier this month, pit bulls fatally mauled their owner in Compton.

As for Hernandez, who said shes speaking out because she wants parents to be aware, she believes the situation could have been much worse had she not stepped in.

He would not have let go. He was after her, she said. I can only imagine what shes going through.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Demonstrators gather at Washington Square Park in Manhattan to call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza on Saturday, March 2, 2024. (Amir Hamja/The New York Times)

In the nearly five months since Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, igniting the most divisive foreign policy crisis of the Biden presidency, Donald Trump has said noticeably little about the subject.

He criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, before quickly retreating to more standard expressions of support for the country. And he has made blustery claims that the invasion never would have happened had he been president. But his overall approach has been laissez-faire.

So you have a war thats going on, and youre probably going to have to let this play out. Youre probably going to have to let it play out, because a lot of people are dying, Trump said in an interview with Univision a month after the attack. His main advice to Netanyahu and the Israelis, he said then, was to do a better job with public relations, because the Palestinians were beating them at the public relations front.

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Trumps hands-off approach to the bloody Middle East conflict reflects the profound anti-interventionist shift he has brought about in the Republican Party over the past eight years and has been colored by his feelings about Netanyahu, whom he may never forgive for congratulating President Joe Biden for his 2020 victory.

Trump has offered no substantive criticisms of Bidens response to the Hamas invasion and Israels retaliation in the Gaza Strip. Instead, he has pinned the blame for the entire crisis on Bidens weakness, in the same way he often does when violence or tragedy occurs.

You would have never had the problem that you just had, the horrible problem where Israel  Oct. 7, where Israel was so horribly attacked, the former president told a crowd in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on Feb. 23, before switching to more practiced attack lines against Biden.

It is unimaginable that in a pre-Trump Republican Party, the standard-bearer would have had so little to say about a major terrorist attack against Israel and a broadening regional conflict in the middle of a presidential campaign.

This is one of Americas closest allies under attack. And its stunning that in such circumstances, you have heard so little from Trump, said John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Trump who became a sharp critic of him and who has long been hawkish in support of Israel.

Yet people close to Trump, who leads Biden in polls, feel little if any urgency for him to put out more detailed foreign policy plans  about Israel or any other matter.

In 2016, Trump gave one major speech and a number of interviews about foreign policy. But it is unclear whether he will do the same in this campaign. He has a record in office to point to now. And when it comes to supporting Israel, his advisers see that record as unimpeachable.

President Trump did more for Israel than any American president in history, and he took historic action in the Middle East that created unprecedented peace, said Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for his campaign. She added, When President Trump is back in the Oval Office, Israel will once again be protected, Iran will go back to being broke, terrorists will be hunted down, and the bloodshed will end.

Moreover, Trump has faced no dissent within his party over his stance on Israel and Gaza.

By contrast, the Democratic Party is tearing itself apart over the Israel-Hamas war. Biden confronted a protest vote in Tuesdays Michigan primary aimed at pressuring him to alter his approach toward the conflict. And a New York Times/Siena College poll from December found broad voter disapproval over his handling of the conflict. Among voters ages 18-29  a demographic crucial to Democrats electoral success in recent years  nearly three-quarters of voters disliked Bidens handling of the war in Gaza.

Trump has enthusiastically consumed news about young progressives turning against Biden over Israel. And his campaign and its allies plan to exploit that division to their advantage.

One idea under discussion among Trump allies as a way to drive the Palestinian wedge deeper into the Democratic Party is to run advertisements in heavily Muslim areas of Michigan that would thank Biden for standing with Israel, according to two people briefed on the plans who werent authorized to discuss them publicly.

Trump allies have gleefully deployed similarly underhanded tactics to suppress the Democratic vote in his two previous campaigns. But the latest idea is especially audacious, given that Trumps Middle East policy as president unapologetically and lopsidedly favored Israel against the Palestinians. He gave Netanyahu nearly everything he wanted, including moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of U.S. foreign policy and bucking the United Nations, while lashing the Palestinians with aid cuts and diplomatic punishments, before brokering accords among Israel and four Arab states.

Given Trumps pro-Israel record, the Oct. 7 attack would have seemed to present the opportunity to lean into his credentials by describing how he would deal with the crisis as president.

Other candidates have seized on such moments. Richard Fontaine, who was a foreign policy adviser to Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, recalled how McCain responded that summer when Russian troops entered Georgia  an international land invasion that Europe had not seen in decades.

McCain offered a list of aggressive actions the United States should take to punish the Russians and told a Pennsylvania crowd that he had assured Georgias leader that I know I speak for every American when I said to him, today, we are all Georgians.

Todays Republican Party is a long way from the we are all Georgians era. But there is still a strong pull toward Israel, especially among evangelicals.

Michael Allen, a former national security aide to former President George W. Bush, said a pre-Trump Republican candidate might have highlighted what he would have done differently from the incumbent president to support and supply Israel, and gone further to say that the predominant, malign influence in the region is Iran, and we cant move forward without dealing with them in some effective way.

Instead, Trumps initial instinct in the days immediately following the greatest single-day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust was to use Israels national trauma to settle a personal score with Netanyahu.

On Oct. 11, Trump publicly attributed the Hamas invasion to Netanyahus lack of preparation, praised the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah as very smart, and piled on another even more gratuitous attack: claiming Netanyahu had let us down during the Trump presidency by declining to participate in the January 2020 strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

What happened next, behind the scenes, seems to have left a lasting impression on Trump. Close Trump advisers and allies described his public castigation of Netanyahu as an unintended act of political self-harm  even if many privately shared some frustrations with the Israeli leader  and privately urged him to issue a statement making clear his support for Netanyahu and for Israels right to defend itself, according to two people with direct knowledge of the outreach who insisted on anonymity to describe it.

One of those people was David Friedman, Trumps former ambassador to Israel, according to the people with knowledge of the outreach. Friedman did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Trump followed their recommendations. In the fallout from his remarks, Trump walked back his criticism, posting on social media that he stood with Netanyahu and Israel. And he proposed expanding his administrations travel ban on predominantly Muslim nations to cover Palestinian refugees from Gaza.

As something of a makeup effort, Trump, in an Oct. 28 address to the Republican Jewish Coalition, vowed unyielding support for Israel against Hamas, promising to defend the country from what he called the barbarians and savages and fascists that you see now trying to do harm to our beautiful Israel.

More recently, he has promised simply to stand proudly with our friend and ally, the state of Israel, as he told a gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters in Nashville, Tennessee, last week.

Still, the initial criticism of Netanyahu aggravated concerns among a broad network of Jewish groups and others on the pro-Israel right that Trumps personal grievances and transactional politics could make him a less reliable partner for Israel in a second term than he was in his first.

The worry is that he may allow his animus toward Netanyahu to color his approach to the relationship, and that he may still court favor with antisemites such as rapper Kanye West or white supremacist Nick Fuentes, whom he hosted at Mar-a-Lago in late 2022.

Those Trump allies are working quietly to ensure that Trump feels that he has incentives to support Israel if he is elected.

Bolton counts himself among the ranks of those concerned.

Anybody who thinks that hes going to be pro-Israel as he was in his first term could well be in for a surprise, Bolton said. Like everything else for Donald Trump, support for Israel he saw as a political plus for him. And if he ever saw it as not a political plus, the support would disappear.

c.2024 The New York Times Company
The U.S. on Thursday warned American citizens traveling to Mexico for spring break to exercise increased caution.

"Crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, including in popular tourist destinations," the U.S. Mission to Mexico said in a news release. It advised travelers to maintain situational awareness and promptly leave potentially dangerous situations.

The advisory said travelers should be particularly cautious in downtown areas of popular spring break destinations, including Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum, especially after dark.

Thursday's advisory also cautioned against using synthetic drugs, unregulated alcohol and counterfeit medication while in the country, noting previous, correlated deaths and injuries of U.S. citizens after using or consuming such substances.

The warning came after several recent incidents concerning foreign tourists in Mexico. Earlier this month, an American woman and a man from Belize were killed in what appeared to have been a dispute between drug dealers at a beach club in the resort city of Tulum.

In May 2023, a Canadian tourist was shot to death in Mexico's Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido, days after a tourist from Argentina died after being attacked by a machete in another coastal town in Oaxaca. An American tourist was shot in the leg in March 2023 by unidentified assailants in the resort town of Puerto Morelos on Mexico's Caribbean coast.

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Former President Donald Trump said Gov. Greg Abbott is on his short list for vice president in a Thursday interview on Fox News.

Trump, appearing with Abbott on Hannity, said the Texas governor is absolutely on the list, when asked about possible VP running mates by host Sean Hannity. Trump has not secured the Republican nomination, but is the front runner and has recently confirmed several vice president contenders.

Trump called Abbott a spectacular man and said he was honored to get his endorsement for president.

Hes done a great job, Trump said. Yes, certainly, he would be someone that I would very much consider.

Trump and Abbott were in Eagle Pass on Thursday, as President Joe Biden visited Brownsville.

Abbott has in the past said hes focused on Texas, when asked about his interest in being Trumps running mate.

My focus is solely on Texas, he said in Feb. 25 interview on CNNs State of the Union. And my interest is first of all, supporting the president, President Trump, getting elected, and that means helping him find the right vice presidential candidate who will help President Trump get elected, and then help him be successful when he does get elected.

Abbott continued, I think theres so many people other than myself who are best situated for that. I can best help President Trump by being the leader of Texas, helping him achieve what he needs to achieve in the great state of Texas.

In an interview with CBS 11, Abbott said he plans to run for reelection as Texas governor.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
In December, in Youngstown, Ohio, a mail carrier was robbed of his key to collection boxes, leaving potentially thousands of pieces of mail vulnerable to thieves.

Two days later in the Youngstown suburb of Boardman, a letter carrier was assaulted and also robbed of his key.

In February, federal authorities announced rewards up to $150,000 for information leading to arrests in a recent string of robberies against letter carriers in the Dallas area.

According to the National Association of Letter Carriers, attacks against letter carriers in the United States appear to have increased at a rate never seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 2,000 instances have been reported across the country since 2020, the group said.

Robberies of postal carriers have exploded, surging 78% to nearly 500 in 2022, according to data provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to The Associated Press.

Now, the NALC union is warning that carriers in the Oklahoma City area are increasingly targets of robberies and physical assaults as they deliver the mail.

Here in the Oklahoma City metro area in the last two years, weve had six robberies or attempted armed robberies, Eric Beu, vice president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Oklahoma City Branch 458 said at a rally Thursday at the state Capitol. The most recent one, thankfully, was thwarted by some customers. Were not asking anybody to put themselves in harms way, but if anybody sees something, say something.

Jeremiah Grant, local letter carrier who was robbed at gunpoint, tells of his ordeal at a press conference on the south plaza of the Oklahoma Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

As they have in other parts of the country recently, NALC members rallied in Oklahoma City to draw attention to increased violence against letter carriers and to call on prosecutors to step up enforcement.

NALC President Brian Renfroe said just 14% of attacks against letter carriers since 2020 have resulted in both an arrest and a federal prosecution.

We are calling on federal prosecutors right here in the state of Oklahoma and around the country to prioritize every single case of violence against letter carriers, Renfroe said.

Dan Versluis, the top NALC officer in the five-state region and a letter carrier for more than 30 years, said such brazen attacks on letter carriers were unimaginable even a decade ago.

Letter carriers hold signs at a press conference on the south plaza of the Oklahoma Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Today, letter carriers have to have their heads on a swivel, he said. They have to have eyes in the back of their head, because not only are they still trying to do their job, and serve the American public, they also have to watch out and watch (their) backs.

Jeremiah Grant, a U.S. Postal Service worker, said he was robbed of keys at gunpoint while delivering mail to an Oklahoma City apartment complex on the afternoon of April 7, 2022.

The armed gunman wore a mask and demanded Grant hand over his phone. The robber smashed Grants phone on the ground before fleeing. Grant used his smartwatch to call police.

He has taken another position with the Postal Service, one where he doesnt have to live in fear while delivering the mail.

The responsibility I feel as a provider for my family has been weighed down by the remarkably heavy burden of this experience, Grant said. I face each day with an unwelcome sense of vulnerability and a desire to forget that it ever happened.

National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) president Brian Renfroe speaks at a press conference on the south plaza of the Oklahoma Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Letter carrier union in OKC rallies for protection amid growing violence
Sebastian Ibarra, centre, is shown with his mother and five-year-son, Xavi, during his parents' last visit to British Columbia in October. His parents and brother, who are supposed to visit him from Mexico this summer, will be affected by Ottawa's new visa rules. (Submitted by Sebastian Ibarra - image credit)

Having just tucked his oldest son into bed on Wednesday evening, Sebastian Ibarra walked into his living room at home in British Columbia's North Okanagan district and saw a text from his spouse asking if he'd seen the news.

He did a quick online search and learned that the federal government was reimposing some visa requirements on visiting Mexican nationals to curb the number of asylum claims in Canada and stem the flow of people crossing into the United States.

Taken aback, Ibarra said he thought of his parents and brother  who are supposed to visit him from Mexico this summer.

"I was disappointed," he said. "The system [is trying] to find a scapegoat rather than actually finding a permanent, long-term solution to this issue."

Ibarra is among those whose loved ones are affected by Ottawa's new rules, which take effect at 11:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Several people who spoke with CBC News said they can understand the need to improve the country's immigration system, but they believe the changes introduced this week could turn visitors, tourists and separated families into collateral damage.

WATCH | How new visa requirements in Canada affect Mexican nationals:

Ibarra, then 19, arrived in Winnipeg from Mexico City in 2006. He finished his undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba and completed his master's degree in B.C. before taking a job in Prince Edward Island. In 2021, he and his spouse moved back west so their sons  Xavi, 5, and Niko, 2  could be closer to their maternal grandparents.

Now in his 30s, Ibarra said he is acutely familiar with the country's immigration system. He went through multiple visa renewals, work permits and permanent resident applications before becoming a Canadian citizen 2 years ago.

Submitted by Sebastian Ibarra

His parents are in their 70s, and his brother is a graduate student with a one-year-old child. Ibarra said he can't see them taking the time to apply for a visa and pay the fees just for a summer visit.

"I think that perhaps spending time with my families this summer will definitely be affected by this," he said in a phone interview on Thursday.

"And I recognize that I'm a privileged individual looking to spend leisure time with their family, hoping to inviting them and spend time with us," he said. "There's other individuals that may have not seen their family for a long time due to financial constraints, [like] international students here in Canada maybe looking forward to spend the summer with their parents back in Mexico."

On Thursday, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Ottawa would be reinstating visa requirements for travellers from Mexico to reduce the number of asylum claims and the number of people crossing from Canada into the United States.

More than 25,000 Mexicans applied for asylum in Canada last year, making Mexico the top source of asylum claims, according to statistics from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. There are currently more than 28,000 backlogged claims from Mexico currently filed with the board.

The U.S. government has been asking Ottawa to bring back the visa requirement. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Quebec Premier Francois Legault had also urged Ottawa to mitigate the number of asylum claims.

WATCH | Mexico visa policies could violate refugees' rights, advocate says:

Alberto Garcya, a Mexican national who holds a Canadian work permit, said he can understand the rationale behind the rule change but worries the requirement will impact visitors and tourists who have no intent to stay in the country for the long term.

"I think there's a lot of collateral damage, and that's the sad part or downside of it," said Garcya, whose parents in Mexico will now have to apply for a visa to come visit him and his daughter.

Diana Castillo, a Canadian citizen, said she thinks the government made the right decision to ensure people who intend to stay permanently follow the rules, as she had to do when she emigrated from Mexico.

"We know what it's like to wait and to have to follow protocol and rules and have everything in order to receive a permanent residency and then a citizenship. So it is a lengthy process, but everybody should should try to follow it," Castillo said in an interview from Vancouver International Airport on Thursday.

"It's kind of sad again because that'll put restrictions on people who come and visit for vacation only, but I think it's a necessary measure to take."

Ibarra said he believes Canada bowed to political pressure coming from the U.S. during a presidential election year.

"There may be some pressures from the base of certain parties to take stronger stance on some of these issues that unfortunately have become too political and too hot," he said.

"It's that old saying: When the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold."

40% of people travelling from Mexico will need visa

An estimated 60 per cent of people travelling from Mexico will not actually need a visa under the new rules, according to the federal government.

Mexican citizens flying to Canada can apply for an electronic travel authorization if they have held a Canadian visa within the last decade or if they have a valid U.S. visa.

Any electronic travel authorizations that had been issued before Thursday evening are invalid unless the person also has a valid Canadian work or study permit.

People travelling to Canada without a work or study permit must reapply for authorization or apply for a visitor visa.
Theres nothing wrong with Congressman Mark Green changing his mind about his political future.

Elected officials who gain new insights, experiences and information should not be bound forever to a position they took in the past, let alone two weeks ago.

But because of his decision to get back in the race for re-election just 15 days after he bowed out, Tennessee District 7 constituents have a right to wonder if the Clarksville Republicans heart is really into it.

Remember that on Valentines Day, Green broke his supporters hearts by announcing he was through with Washington and planned to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of his term in January 2025.

Our country  and our Congress  is broken beyond most means of repair, he said. I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington. As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country  but in a new capacity.

He added the nations Framers intended citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home.

That changed quickly and it looks like he wants to take the fight back within Washington.

Does border security really require waiting a year?

On Thursday, Green said in a statement that while he held a strong desire to retire, colleagues, constituents and former President Donald Trump persuaded him to stay in the race.

Congressman Mark Green, R-Tenn., chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, left, makes opening statements while Ranking Member Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., right, listens during the House Homeland Security committee hearing "Open Borders, Closed Case: Secretary Mayorkas Dereliction of Duty on the Border Crisis" on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

He spoke about his sense of duty that the Army veteran carried from his West Point days and asserted: I will be running for re-election so I can be here on Day 1 next year to help President Trump end this border crisis once and for all.

Running for duty and country is great, but he also has to want to be there, and he also has to want to legislate regardless of who is elected president.

Even if Trump wins in November, Biden will still be commander-in-chief through January, and if border security is really that pressing, there needs to be action now, not starting in 2025.

Green is in a unique position to act on this issue because he chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.

Rep. Mark Green, (R-TN) Chairman, U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

He led the Houses recent effort to impeach Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The first attempt failed on Feb. 6, but he and his Republican colleagues succeeded by one vote on Feb. 13  the day before Greens retirement announcement.

Congress members must work with rivals to pass legislation

A few weeks before, I wrote a column saying that Green could do two things at once: seek accountability that he thought was necessary and also pursue border security measures.

One down, one to go.

Unfortunately, Congress is at a stalemate on border security legislation. House Republicans recently rejected a bipartisan deal from the Senate.

But Congress is not like the Tennessee General Assembly where the Republicans have a super majority and can pass legislation with little opposition.

In divided government, with a slim GOP majority in the House, slim Democratic majority in the Senate, and a Democratic president, getting things done takes work, effort and compromise.

Immigration and border security issues matter to Americans, according to polling, including the recent survey by USA TODAY and Suffolk University. Its not just a top issue for Republicans anymore.

Momentum on border security could put Green and Trump at odds

On Thursday, both Biden and Trump made trips to separate parts of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Could that spur momentum in Congress?

Trump is discouraging any deal that could favor Biden in the election.

If this really is a crisis, however, shouldnt there be action now? Shouldnt Green use his leadership position to act sooner than later?

Of course, that would infuriate Trump, who, remember, encouraged the congressman to get back in the race.

But if duty is a prime motivator, Green and his colleagues must start making progress now and not just wait for opportune political moments.

Sadly, this is the story of Congress over the last several decades where border security and immigration reform efforts have failed repeatedly.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, Tennessee, speaks with John Ladd, an Arizona rancher, who was telling Green about the migrants coming across the U.S.-Mexico border who died from the elements while making the dangerous trek. (Photo submitted by Congressman Green's office).

Green, of course, is not automatically guaranteed re-election.

He may have a Republican opponent in the Aug. 1 primary election, and former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is seeking the Democratic nomination and the chance to face Green on Nov. 5.

While Green has a political advantage given his incumbency, his rivals could exploit his about-face on seeking re-election and going back on his words to be a citizen-legislator.

Thats why he must make the case to voters that he really wants to be in Washington and that he has some something to show constituents for his service.

David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Rep. Mark Green reverses course and is no longer sick of Washington
BEDFORD  A week after touring a former school complex under construction to become new apartments and a boutique hotel, Bedford Town Council granted a contract extension Tuesday to the developer working on the restoration.

Waukeshaw Development, Inc., a Petersburg-based company, is working to transform the former Bedford Middle School into 62 market rate apartments to be called the Flora Apartments and a former school directly next door on Longwood Avenue into Hotel Fauna, a 30-room and suite boutique hotel. The performance agreements original deadline was March of this year  the contract extension is for the apartments to be substantially complete by Jan. 1, 2025, deadline and by April 1, 2025, for the future hotel.

Council and Michael Lockaby, the towns attorney, discussed the term substantially complete and what it entails. Lockaby said generally it means a punch list of items has been done and the building inspections department of the county can give a final inspection and be close to issuing a certificate of occupancy.

Dave McCormack, who heads Waukeshaw, led council on tours of the renovation work on Feb. 22. The project was delayed after a January 2020 fire heavily damaged the former middle school, an act of arson; and McCormack at a council meeting last fall gave council an explanation on the delay after concerns were raised.

McCormack during the tours said much progress has been undertaken since he last addressed council nearly five months prior. Vice Mayor C.G. Stanley said he was very pleased by the progress he observed, adding the last time he was in the old middle school site was four years ago, not long after the fire.

Im happy with what I saw and appreciate what hes doing, Stanley said.

After a Zoom call with McCormack during councils meeting Tuesday, council voted unanimously to extend the contract.

Councilor Bruce Johannessen, who said he was reluctantly voting in support, spoke of being impressed by the views of the Peaks of Otter from the top of the former middle school during the Feb. 22 tour.

Bedford apartments, boutique hotel work progressing at former school complex Just more than four years after a fire ripped through the former Bedford Middle School building on Longwood Avenue, work is moving along to transform the structure that many consider an iconic local treasure into a new 62-unit complex for market rate apartments.

They still have a ways to go but theyll get there, Johannessen said.

The hotel will include a restaurant, a bar and event space in a former gymnasium and auditorium that will host events such as weddings and business meetings with a full-service catering kitchen available. The former middle school closed seven years ago to make way for the current Liberty Middle School facility on Virginia 122 near Liberty High School.

Johannessen asked McCormack during Tuesdays discussion if he plans any added security measures such as cameras and lighting. McCormack said the company keeps it secure and has been in talks with the town police department about stepping up patrols, adding he is not aware of any security breach incidents since the fire.

Mayor Tim Black said the project is making substantial progress and asked McCormack if the added time is adequate to get the work done.

I want to make sure you feel really, really comfortable on these deadlines, Black told McCormack.

McCormack said he feels the project is in a position to meet the Jan. 1 and April 1, 2025, deadlines.

I think were over the hump  everything is getting there, McCormack said. Were mostly roughed in and ready to insulate.

McCormack said Waukeshaw typically gets a third-party architect to look over the work to find it is substantially complete while tying up loose ends, a measure in addition to the building inspection. He said the town will be informed when that third-party review is done.

I have to say the one person who wants to see this job get done more than any of you guys is me, McCormack told council. I have no incentive to slow down or to keep racking up interest  our goal is to get it done as quickly as possible.

Also during the meeting, council approved a conveyance of easement to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation for a new recreation pedestrian trail around the memorial attraction near U.S. 460.

Black said the parcel council is granting an easement for is small and the walking trail will be an enhancement for the memorial, a major tourist attraction in town.

Glad we can do it, Stanley said.
Three new memorials will be added to Lynchburgs Monument Terrace, with city councils unanimous support of the additions Tuesday.

Rather than vote individually, all seven council members stood and applauded the veterans filling several rows in city council chambers during the meeting.

A new plaque, sculpture and bench will recognize veterans of the Gulf War and the global war on terror. The Piedmont Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars, the Lynchburg Area Veterans Council and the Military Order of the Purple Heart fundraised and commissioned the memorials, and a vote of approval from council was needed to see them added to the monument.

A 36-inch by 24-inch bronze plaque on the north wall of the Purple Heart terrace will honor fallen veterans of both conflicts; Lynchburg citizens who have died in those conflicts can have their names engraved on the limestone surrounding the plaque. A Purple Heart bench also will be added to that level of the terrace for citizens to view the memorial.

Third, a bronze soldiers battlefield cross sculpture  a symbol honoring fallen service members  will be added to the bottom left side of Monument Terrace in the landscaped area, near where local veterans have been gathering every Friday since 2001 to recognize troops.

Marine veteran, two-time Purple Heart recipient and troop rally organizer, Steve Bozeman told council the battlefield cross sculpture was an addition envisioned by 99-year-old World War II Army veteran John Burch. Serving as a combat medic, Burch saw so much carnage at the Battle of the Bulge, Bozeman said.

Originally from Lynchburg, Burch was visiting from Florida about eight years ago, when he stopped by Monument Terrace on a Friday for the weekly troop rally with his nephew. According to Bozeman, Burch was so affected by the Lynchburg veterans display of a soldiers battlefield cross that he wanted a bronze sculpture of the cross  made with a fallen soldiers boots, rifle and helmet  to be added to Monument Terrace.

His vision became my passion so I took it up, I got with the vets, we had a fundraiser, we got the money raised very easily, we ordered it, not knowing that eventually city council would approve it, but we had faith that it would be approved, Bozeman said Tuesday.

Burch has since moved back to Lynchburg but couldnt be at the council meeting due to a recent hip injury.

Reached by phone Feb. 19, he said, I just love Monument Terrace and what it represents so much.

He said the terrace is both a beautiful work of architecture and a holy place.

Those steps, they go to the sky, Burch added.

He said seeing the soldiers battlefield cross sculpture added to the monument is one of the most important things Ive ever undertaken.

If I can get this statue there to speak to the world that these are Lynchburgers that gave everything, thats all I want.
TOKYO, Mar 01 (News On Japan) - Corporate briefings for students graduating in the coming spring have commenced, marking the start of the job-hunting season.

Amid a labor shortage, there is an increase in companies eager to secure talent, while the number of new graduates is declining.

According to a survey by major job information service "Mynavi," approximately 80% of companies anticipate that recruitment activities will become more challenging.

Aspiring for careers in finance, real estate, and public service, job seekers prioritize:

"I want to choose a company that offers a fulfilling work-life balance and a positive workplace atmosphere."

Those interested in travel, railways, and infrastructure emphasize:

"I'm looking for a job where I can easily take time off, and I'm focusing on the rate of paid leave usage and the rate of parental leave uptake."

With the new regulations allowing companies to use information from internships in their selection process, the competition for talent is expected to intensify further this year.
HYOGO, Mar 02 (News On Japan) - A mountain opening ceremony was held at the Takeda Castle ruins on Friday, marking the start of the spring tourism season.

Mayor of Asago City, Hyogo, Yu Fujioka, exclaimed, "Now, for the mountain opening of Takeda Castle!"

Just after 8 a.m., the gates to the hiking trail were opened, and Mayor Fujioka, wearing armor, welcomed tourists. Known as the "Castle in the Sky," the Takeda Castle ruins had been off-limits during winter for the protection of historical sites and the safety of tourists.

A tourist expressed, "The scenery is beautiful, and the remnants of the past are preserved, making it a truly valuable experience."

A representative from Asago City mentioned, "We are hoping for a return to the bustling activity seen before the pandemic."

Source: YOMIURI
Artist Weston Thomson poses for a portrait near his mural, Dream Builder, which can be seen on the First Avenue trail-facing wall at 29 S. 21st St. Thomson was one of the four artists selected to paint murals that can be seen from the trail.
The Madison County Board of Commissioners met on Tuesday morning for its regularly scheduled session. All commissioners were present, in addition to two members of the public, several county staff members and county sheriff Todd Volk. The meeting lasted 30 minutes. A recap of the meeting is below.
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Mrs Samira Sitail presented, on Thursday at a ceremony at the Elysee Palace, her credentials to President Emmanuel Macron, as Moroccos Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary Ambassador to France.

Mrs Sitail was appointed to the position by King Mohammed VI on November 30, 2023.

The French Ambassador to Morocco had presented his credentials to King Mohammed VI in Rabat early October 2023.

Ties between Rabat and Paris have been warming up lately after a series of diplomatic crises that marked bilateral relations during the past two years.

The warming up highlighted by the visit last week of French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne to Morocco, where he held talks with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita.

Few days before his visit, Stephane Sejourne told the media he would invest in improving ties with Morocco, saying that the Republics President has personally asked me to invest in French-Moroccan relations to open a new chapter in our ties. I will be committed to that.

Now, it is time to move forward. I will do everything in the upcoming weeks and months so that France and Morocco get closer, he said, adding that his priority will be rebuilding trust.

As a signal of the thawing of Moroccan-French ties, Frances First Lady Brigitte Macron, welcomed lately the three sisters of King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the Elysee Palace for a luncheon.
In a landmark development, participants in the first Policy Conference of the Coalition for Autonomy in the Sahara (AUSACO) lauded Moroccos commendable efforts in advancing the new development model for the Southern provinces. The conference, held in Dakhla, aimed to position the region as a pivotal gateway connecting Morocco to Africa and beyond.

The conferences final statement, titled Dakhla Declaration, expressed appreciation for the leadership of King Mohammed VI and commended various Royal initiatives. These include the ambitious Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline and the Sovereigns Initiative enabling Atlantic access for Sahel countries.

According to the declaration, these initiatives align with a strategic vision to transform the Moroccan Sahara into a hub for security, stability, and co-development across the Atlantic, the Saharan, African, and Mediterranean regions.

Participants also hailed the prevailing climate of peace, security, freedom, and democracy in the Moroccan Sahara region. Notably, 32 countries from diverse continents have opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, reinforcing an irreversible trend in support of the Saharas Moroccan identity.

While affirming support for the Saharas Moroccan identity, AUSACO members from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America called on nations worldwide to explicitly back the Moroccan autonomy initiative. The aim is to join the 110 countries that have already firmly expressed support for the initiative.

On a diplomatic note, the Dakhla Declaration presented by AUSACOs Africa Coordinator Abdellatif Aidara, urged Algeria to fulfill its international humanitarian obligations. This call is aimed at ending the situation of lawlessness in the Tindouf camps located on Algerian territory.

AUSACO members further appealed to Algeria to facilitate the dignified return of populations in these camps to their homeland, Morocco. Additionally, they urged Algeria to acknowledge its historical responsibilities in the genesis, evolution, and persistence of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. The plea included a call for Algerias engagement in the UN process with a spirit of realism and compromise.

AUSACO, an independent organization uniting over 3,000 individuals from politics, diplomacy, academia, journalism, law, and civil society globally, is dedicated to defending the Moroccan Autonomy Initiative. This initiative is regarded as the sole and comprehensive solution to resolve the regional dispute, gaining traction across various political, parliamentary, and academic spheres.
British-Moroccan trade is thriving and the potential for the development of commercial relations is tremendous, said special envoy of the British Prime Minister for trade Rob Butler, who is on a visit to Morocco.

Last year, bilateral trade amounted to nearly 3.5 billion. This is a real illustration of the potential opportunities that exist between the UK and Morocco, Butler told the press after a meeting Thursday in Rabat with Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.

The United Kingdom and Morocco can develop their commercial relations in various sectors, he argued, specifying that green energy is an area that offers huge potential for both our countries.

He noted that trade can serve as a locomotive, not only for economic growth but also for the development of society and the emergence of prosperous nations.

London and Rabat maintain extremely important relations marked by strong commercial potential, stated further the special envoy of the British Prime Minister for trade in Morocco.

Rob Butlers visit reflects the UKs ambition to strengthen economic ties with Morocco, especially in terms of trade and investment, and to explore cooperation prospects in various sectors such as infrastructure, aerospace, healthcare, agriculture, and education.
WASHINGTON  For Vladimir Putin, victory in Ukraine may run through Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

In recent weeks, Russian state media and online accounts tied to the Kremlin spread and amplified misleading and incendiary content about U.S. immigration and border security.

The campaign seems crafted to stoke outrage and polarization before the 2024 election for the White House, and experts who study Russian disinformation say Americans can expect more to come as Putin looks to weaken support for Ukraine and cut off a vital supply of aid.

In social media posts, online videos and stories on websites, these accounts misstate the impact of immigration, highlight stories about crimes committed by immigrants, and warn of dire consequences if the U.S. doesn't crack down at its border with Mexico. Many are misleading, filled with cherry-picked data or debunked rumors.

The pivot toward the United States comes after two years in which Russia's vast disinformation apparatus was busy pushing propaganda and disinformation about its invasion of Ukraine. Experts who study how authoritarian states use the internet to spread disinformation say eroding support for Ukraine remains Russia's top priority  and that the Kremlin is just finding new ways to do it.

"Things have shifted, even in the last few days," said Kyle Walter, head of research at Logically, a tech company that tracks disinformation campaigns. While experts and government officials have long warned of Russia's intentions, Walter said the content spotted so far this year "is the first indication that I've seen that Russia is actually going to focus on U.S. elections."

This month Logically identified dozens of pro-Russian accounts posting about immigration in the U.S., with a particular interest in promoting recent anti-immigration rallies in Texas.

Many posts highlight crimes allegedly committed by recent immigrants or suggest migrants are a burden on local communities. Some claims were posted by accounts with tiny audiences; others were made by state media sites with millions of followers.

This week the accounts seized on the recent death of a Georgia nursing student and the arrest of a Venezuelan man who had entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.

The killing that quickly became a rallying cry for former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who suggest that migrants commit crimes more often than do U.S. citizens. The evidence does not support those claims.

The content, crafted in English, has quickly found its way to websites and platforms popular with American voters. Footage of a recent anti-immigration protest broadcast by Russian outlet RT, for example, was racking up thousands of views this week on social media, and prompting angry replies from other users.

The Russian outlet Sputnik ran a story this week about growing calls to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, a priority for Trump, who failed to complete the job as president. An analysis of other sites that later linked to the Sputnik piece shows than half were in the U.S., according to data from the online analytics firm Semrush.com. Overall, Americans make up the English-language Sputnik's largest audience.

U.S. officials warn that Russia could seek to meddle in the elections of dozens of countries in 2024, when more than 50 nations accounting for half of the world's population are scheduled to hold national votes. While Russia has a strategic interest in the outcome of many of them  the European Parliament, for one  few offer the opportunity and the prize that America does.

For Russia's bid to conquer Ukraine, this year's U.S. election stakes couldn't be higher. President Joe Biden has pledged to fully back Ukraine. Republicans have been far less supportive. Trump has openly praised Putin and the former president has suggested he would encourage Russia to attack America's NATO allies if they don't pay their fair share for the military alliance.

More than half of Republicans believe the U.S. is spending too much on Ukraine, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that found Democrats to be much more supportive of additional aid.

Soon after the war started, Russia mounted a disinformation campaign designed to cut into support for Ukraine. Claims included wild stories about secret U.S. germ warfare labs or Nazi conspiracies or that Ukrainian refugees were committing crimes and taking jobs from people who had welcomed them.

The online landscape has dramatically shifted since Russia sought to meddle in America's 2016 presidential race won by Trump.

Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have banned many Russian state accounts and built new safeguards aimed at preventing anyone from exploiting their sites. In one recent example, Meta, the owner of Facebook, announced last fall that it identified and stopped a network of thousands of fake accounts created in China in an apparent effort to fool American voters.

Other platforms, including X, have taken a different approach, rolling back or even eliminating content moderation and rules designed to stop disinformation. Then there is TikTok, whose ties to China and popularity with young people have set off alarms in several state capitals and Washington.
Recently, former New York Times opinion editor Adam Rubenstein published an account in the Atlantic of his unhappy time at the paper, focusing on the now-infamous episode when Tom Cottons op-ed set off an internal firestorm. There are certainly strong grounds to argue with Rubensteins conclusion  most notably, his implication that the Times opinion page has shut down ideological diversity, when, if anything, it is growing more open to it.

But Rubensteins argument did not make it controversial. The controversy instead centered on his opening anecdote. Rubenstein repeated a story about an orientation event in which he named his favorite sandwich, from Chick-fil-A, only to be rebuked by an HR representative, We dont do that here. They hate gay people, a comment met with snaps of approval by others in the room.

On social media, various left-wing journalists asserted immediately this episode was a fabrication. Never happened, wrote New York Times Magazine writer and journalism professor Nikole Hannah-Jones. Is anyone going to contact the Atlantic to ask them about the process behind publishing this egregiously fake anecdote, pleaded left-wing podcaster Michael Hobbes.

Various reporters have in fact taken up this challenge and contacted the Atlantic. Jesse Singal reached out to the magazine and was told the entire story was fact-checked and the details of the anecdote in question were confirmed by New York Times employees who had contemporaneous knowledge of the incident in question.

Numerous acquaintances of Rubenstein (one of whom communicated with me) have affirmed that he told this story contemporaneously. Washington Post media reporter Erik Wemple reports, According to several sources, Rubensteins encounter with the HR official itself became an HR issue in the weeks following the incident. Rubenstein told some colleagues about it, including longtime columnist David Brooks, who was his supervisor.

Its not irresponsible to question the veracity of a factual claim in the media, even one in a fact-checked publication like the Atlantic. Sometimes fact-checkers get fooled. Whats striking about this episode is that professional journalists stated without qualification that the incident was not merely dubious but definitively and obviously untrue.

This raises the question of why these critics expressed such confident skepticism. The only possible answer is that they believed the anecdote was so outrageous it couldnt possibly have happened.

I did believe the chicken-sandwich story because I find cringy behavior like that in elite institutions a not-uncommon phenomenon. But imagine Rubenstein had written something different  say, that he had brought to his Times editors evidence that President Biden had committed serious crimes and they told him they wouldnt publish it because it would hurt the Democratic Party. I would react with skepticism toward an anecdote like this because I dont believe thats how the Times operates.

But if the anecdote was proved true, I would have to concede that I had been wrong  not just about the episode but in my larger assumptions about the subject matter of the story. If the Times was shown to do something I thought was totally at odds with its culture, then I would rethink my view of the Times culture. I would hope the skeptics who insisted that the chicken-sandwich story was so outlandish it couldnt possibly have happened will concede not only that it did but that their assumptions about the culture of the Times were wrong.

There is a lively strain of left-wing media criticism that almost monotonously attacks any mainstream organ that publishes any story that creates discomfort for the political left. Hobbes has attracted an influential following by leveling these critiques. He insisted Jamie Reeds whistleblower account of her work at a youth gender clinic in St. Louis was the fabricated claims of a front-desk staffer, when Reeds main claims (including her involvement in patient care) were later confirmed by a Times reporter. He scolded reporters for writing about public concern about President Bidens age, insisting, If people have a meritless concern, journalists job is to tell them its meritless.

There is a ravenous appetite for a strain of media criticism that relentlessly dumps on any reporting that casts the left in a negative light. Of course, some of those criticisms are valid  Ive made many of them myself. But the criticism has been a tactic so common it has a name, working the refs. Many of these critics take advantage of the high standards of truth aspired to by mainstream media to nitpick their reporting. But episodes like chicken-sandwich-gate clarify whats actually going on. These critics dont care whats true. They only care about whats useful.
Photo: Eric Gay/AP

In a shouty Truth Social video posted earlier this week, Donald Trump complained that the radical left Democrats are always accusing him of misspeaking, when its obvious hes just joking.

You take a look at when I use Barack Hussein Obama and I interject him into where its supposed to be Biden, and I do it purposely for comedic reasons and for sarcasm, Trump said.

So I guess Trumps complaint on Thursday about migrants flooding into the country using languages nobody speaks was supposed to be funny?

Nobody can explain to me how allowing millions of people from places unknown, from countries unknown, who dont speak languages  we have languages coming into our country  we have nobody that even speaks those languages. Theyre truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them, Trump said during his speech by the border in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Trump: People who don't speak languages. We have languages coming in to our country, nobody that speaks those languages. They're truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them pic.twitter.com/IzRKM5TOue  Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024

Sure, theres some gallows humor in the leading GOP presidential candidate rambling nonsensically about people speaking languages no one speaks. But did Trump make this flub intentionally for comedic reasons? Lets review what he said earlier in the speech, just to make sure were not missing some crucial context:

Donald Trump lists statistics on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants before claiming:



Theyre coming from jails, and theyre coming from prisons, and theyre coming from mental institutions, and theyre coming from insane asylums, and theyre terrorists. pic.twitter.com/nIJdByUK7T  The Recount (@therecount) February 29, 2024

Nah, Trump claims migrants are coming from jails, coming from insane asylums basically every time he talks about the border these days. And as CNN explained while cutting away from Trumps speech, its nonsense:

Conjured out of thin air. CNN cuts out of Trumps speech after he tells several lies. They have their fact-checker, Daniel Dale, standing by, who immediately goes to work. CNN has finally wised up. Every single network must do this when Trump is speaking. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/9GAOnygmMe  Mike Sington (@MikeSington) February 29, 2024

Well, maybe Trump said something later in his interview with Sean Hannity that explains how all these false statements are comedic.

Lets see: Trump told Hannity that China isnt exporting elderly people or women, just tens of thousands of men of fighting age, while the Congo is sending incarcerated people who make our prisoners look like very nice people. He concluded, So its a very terrible thing whats  our country is being poisoned. We are really being poisoned.

Trump: Our country is being poisoned pic.twitter.com/LLyJgnyCgN  Acyn (@Acyn) March 1, 2024

Weird. It sounds like Trump is just spewing more racist, Nazi-ish rhetoric about migrants being vermin who are poisoning the blood of America. But I guess I just dont get his humor!
Photo: Caroline Rubinstein-Willis/Mayoral Photography Office

On Thursday morning, FBI agents descended on Pelham Bay to raid two houses owned by Winnie Greco, a top member of Mayor Eric Adamss administration and a former fundraiser for his campaign. Greco, who serves as Adamss director of Asian affairs, is the third City Hall aide whose property has been targeted by federal authorities, though its not yet evident that her situation is linked to the other two. Adams himself has not been implicated in any of the investigations. Heres what we know so far.

What happened?

Federal agents executed a search warrant on two homes on Gillespie Avenue in the Bronx around 6 a.m. on Thursday, blocking an intersection and remaining in the neighborhood for several hours. A law-enforcement source described the action to the Daily News as a court-authorized law enforcement activity. It was later confirmed that the properties in question are owned by Greco. In her administration role, Greco takes home a $100,000 yearly salary per city payroll records.

The City later reported that the FBI also conducted a third raid on the New World Mall in Flushing. According to the outlet, the mall was the site of several fundraising events Greco hosted during her time as a campaign fundraiser for Adams.

Video from Fox 5 shows agents removing boxes and files from the homes into their vehicles. PIX11 reported that devices were also removed from the properties.

The FBI currently loading boxes and what looks like paper files into their car parked outside the home of @NYCMayor top advisor Winnie Greco



A City Hall source says that @NYCMayor has not been contacted by the FBI today on this raid https://t.co/0RAnrmu3Lc pic.twitter.com/h9K0wbpB6s  Morgan McKay (@morganfmckay) February 29, 2024

According to city officials, Greco is officially on sick leave after experiencing a medical episode during the raid, prompting agents to call an ambulance to transport her to a nearby hospital. Its not clear what happened, though a source told the Daily News that Greco complained of back pain. Once shes well, she will be barred from her governmental duties and is expected to go on unpaid leave while the investigation continues.

Why was the raid conducted?

Although it is not yet apparent what the agents were looking for, this isnt the first time Greco has come under scrutiny. Last August, The City reported on the existence of potential straw donors to Adamss 2021 mayoral campaign. One group of donations appeared to stem from employees at the New World Mall, with some donors recounting being reimbursed for a sum of money or even having their signature forged on a payment they never made.

The mall was the site of several major fundraising events for Adams. Greco is said to have played a significant role in arranging the events, which raised tens of thousands of dollars for the campaign. The citys Department of Investigation officially opened an inquiry into Greco after The Citys reporting, but any connection between the searches and that investigation has not been confirmed.

How does this relate to other existing investigations?

Greco is now the third aide in the Adams administration to come under federal scrutiny. Brianna Suggs, another campaign fundraiser, had her Brooklyn home raided by the FBI in November. That same month, authorities searched the New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova, the director of protocol for the Mayors Office for International Affairs. Abbasova was placed on leave, and Suggs was reportedly reassigned and is no longer fundraising for the campaign.

The searches conducted on Suggss and Abbasovas properties both appear connected to a federal investigation into the campaigns ties to the Turkish government. That inquiry is said to be headed by the U.S. attorneys office in Manhattan. The investigation involving Greco is being led by the U.S. Attorneys office in Brooklyn, the New York Times reports, citing law-enforcement sources.

What has City Hall said?

Although the raid concerned a close member of his administration, the mayor has not been named or implicated in the matter.

Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines, Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement. As we have repeatedly said, we dont comment on matters that are under review but will fully cooperate with any review underway. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers

For the many women who prefer menstrual cups to tampons and pads, the payoff is undeniable. Reusable menstrual cups are less wasteful; they dont have to be changed as often; and they save a lot of money over time since they can last for years. Youve probably heard of the DivaCup  the one so popular women use its name as a catchall, much like Kleenex for tissues  but since I started reporting this story, there are now tons of brands these days putting out highly specific period cups in different shapes and sizes in an effort to comfortably fit each of the millions of different vaginas and periods in the world.

If youve never used a menstrual cup before or have questions about where to start, Jennifer Conti, M.D., a clinical assistant professor in Stanfords Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, recommends consulting the site Put a Cup in It, which offers a quiz asking nine questions about factors like age, whether youve had a baby, your activity level, and cervix to determine which menstrual cup to use. Nicole Bullock, D.O., an OB/GYN based in Abilene, Texas, is even more relaxed: The vaginas pretty elastic and forgiving. It just has to fit comfortably. Dr. Lucky Sekhon, a reproductive endocrinologist and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, who tells us theyre also great for women who want to have sex during their period, agrees, saying, Dont settle. If you can feel or detect it, it probably isnt the right cup for you or its not positioned right. Try a few different sizes or brands until youre satisfied.

I spoke to various professionals, enthusiasts, and gynecological experts about the best menstrual cups. While I originally found menstrual cups to be intimidating and messy, after hearing all this praise, I then tested out their top pick for myself. (And chatted with several Strategist team members about the ones theyve personally vetted).

What were looking for Size The size of the cup is the first and most important metric you should consider before buying. Most cups come in at least two sizes. Generally, if you have a light-to-medium flow, fall into a younger age range, or have yet to give birth, opt for the smaller size. If you have a medium-to-heavy flow, are in the older age range, or have given birth, go for the larger. Firmness While menstrual cups should be made from medical-grade silicone (the same material used in body-safe sex toys), the firmness of the silicone varies and will affect how the cup feels when worn, as well as how easy it is to insert. In general, firmer silicone cups are easier to insert since they tend to snap back open once inside and form a strong seal, while softer silicone cups pop open more slowly and can be more leak-prone compared to firmer cups. However, soft silicone is a better choice for those who are more sensitive, have sensitive bladders, or experience bad menstrual cramps.

Best menstrual cup overall

Diva Cup 1 $35 $35 Size: Three sizes | Firmness: Medium firmness The popularity of the DivaCup may have something to do with its availability. Since the companys beginnings in 2003, it has been one of the only name brands widely available in pharmacies and grocery stores. But it has also built a loyal fan base, so while I originally found menstrual cups to be intimidating and messy, after hearing all the praise when reporting this story, I decided to try out our top pick to see what all the fuss was about. Admittedly, it took me a few tries to figure out the C-fold insertion, but once I did, I found the DivaCup to be fairly comfortable. While I dont think it will replace my personal routine of period underwear and tampons, it does have plenty of other superfans, like Gabrielle Moss, a former Bustle editor and the author of Paperback Crush. She says she started using a DivaCup when you still had to go to a Portlandia-style feminist bookstore to buy one, adding that she never contemplated trying a different brand because the DivaCup is so reliable. In my pre-cup life, I was always either dripping blood onto my underpants or pulling out a too-dry tampon, she explains. DivaCup introduced me to a life where I dont have to be uncomfortable or splattering blood everywhere. Writer Beca Grimm has been using the brand for over a decade. She says, Its super-easy to maintain (just boil between periods  ideally at a time when your roommate isnt home). Grimm also loves how much money she saves and how it cuts down on tampon waste. Plus, the DivaCup comes in three different sizes. $35 at Target Buy $35 at Diva Buy

Best menstrual cup for beginners

Lena Sensitive Menstrual Cup $30 Size: Two sizes | Firmness: Soft For beginners, I suggest the Lena Cup. It comes in two sizes, making it great for both teens and adults, and is made from 100 percent medical-grade silicone (meaning most people wont have allergy concerns). The shape of the cup makes it super-easy to insert and remove, and the level of firmness makes it extremely comfortable (compared to the DivaCup above, its softer). We feel confident in recommending the Lena Sensitive as a great starter cup that should work well for most people, say the founders of Put a Cup in It, Kim Rosas and Amanda Hearn, who have helped thousands of women find the best menstrual cup for their bodies. Jackie Bolen, author of the The Ultimate Guide to Menstrual Cups, is also a fan of the Lena Cup and specifically recommends the sensitive model because it doesnt give her cramps like some of the stiffer cups and is also a breeze to put in. $30 at Amazon Buy

Best menstrual cup thats customizable

MeLuna Menstrual Cup $28 $28 Size: Four sizes | Firmness: Firm Of all the menstrual cups on this list, the MeLuna has the most options to customize your cup to your body. MeLuna offers four sizes (the most of any cup on this list), three handle options, and two levels of firmness. It also makes a Shorty cup for those with low cervixes. I appreciate how many options there are with the MeLuna cups, and its guidance is helpful and makes choosing one less overwhelming, says Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang, who counts herself as a fan of the brand. $28 at MeLuna Buy

Best menstrual cup for easy insertion

Cora The Cora Cup $28 $28 Size: Two sizes | Firmness: Soft If you find insertion to be tricky, the Cora Cup has indentations on the sides of the cup, which help with insertion and placement. The Cora cup comes in two sizes. The brand recommends size 1 for those who have not given birth, first-time users, and those with light-to-medium flows and who dont experience bladder leaks. Size 2 is best for those who have given birth, experience bladder leaks, and have a medium-to-heavy flow. $28 at Amazon Buy $28 at Target Buy

Best menstrual cup for sensitive users

Yuuki Soft Menstrual Cup From $21 From $21 Size: Two sizes | Firmness: Soft If youre more sensitive, the Yuuki is a great option. Former Strategist newsletter editor Mia Leimkuhler went through a lot of cups before finding the Yuuki. For her, the DivaCup was really easy to use but didnt have the capacity she was looking for to let her go longer between bathroom visits. The next one she tried was the Super Jennie cup, which she says solved the capacity issue but wasnt quite the right shape for her body. The Intimina Lily Cup was a better fit, but she found it hard to get an easy grip on it while removing because of the smooth sides. The Yuuki cup ended up being my Goldilocks cup, says Leimkuhler, who credits its high capacity, long length, and easy-to-pinch rings at the bottom with making up her mind. She has the soft silicone Yuuki in clear and is thinking about getting a second one in the rainbow color. And if youre worried about leaks, Leimkuhler assures that it pops open really easily, so shes never had any issues. From $21 at Yuuki Cup Buy

Best menstrual cup for heavy flow

Saalt Soft Menstrual Cup $29 $29 Size: Two sizes | Firmness: Soft Saalt is a newer period-care brand on the market, well known for its line of menstrual cups and discs, which come in a range of pastel colors. Its been over three years since Strategist writer Tembe Denton-Hurst first tried the Saalt menstrual cup she calls a perfect fit. When I first admitted my menstrual cup ignorance, Tembe chatted with me for close to an hour about how much she loves the Saalt cup and made such a compelling case Im considering buying one of my own. For her, the Saalt has saved her from worrying about bleeding through her clothes while working out, or laughing too hard and ending up in a pool of her own blood. Plus, its sustainable and saves her money on pads. Denton-Hurst describes her periods as heavy and messy with backbreaking cramps. But, as she writes in her ode, the Saalt cup has made having her period much less of a thing: I sleep better knowing I wont ruin my clothes and sheets and can do anything during my period, including wearing white pants on day three. $29 at Amazon Buy $29 at Target Buy

Best menstrual disc

Saalt Disc $33 $33 Size: Two sizes | Firmness: Soft If you havent had luck with menstrual cups, you may want to try a menstrual discs, which are much more flexible than menstrual cups, and sit differently inside the body, which is why many women find them more comfortable. And because a disc doesnt rely on suction to stay in place, the way cups do, theyre great for those with sensitive bladders and weak pelvic floors. Menstrual discs are also more comfortable for couples having period sex because they dont have a stem like menstrual cups do. Saalt, which makes Tembes favorite menstrual cup, recently released its version of a disc, which features the same soft materials and includes a finger notch that makes it easy to remove. It comes in two sizes: small, which has a three-to-four-tampon capacity and is recommended for those who typically have a light-to-average flow, and regular, which has a five-to-six tampon capacity and is recommended for people with an average-to-heavy flow. $33 at Target Buy $33 at Saalt Buy

Best menstrual disc for beginners

Cora Perfect Fit Menstrual Disc $30 $30 Size: One size | Firmness: Medium firmness Period-care brand Coras Perfect Fit menstrual disc is a good option for beginners because it has a handy finger notch for easy insertion and removal and a firmer rim. The cup can hold the equivalent of five to seven tampons and can be worn for up to 12 hours. If you have vaginal or bladder sensitivities, Cora recently launched its super-squishy Soft Fit Disc, which is designed with a soft rim for a gentler fit. $30 at Amazon Buy $39 at Target Buy

Best disposable disc

Instead Softcups 12-Hour Feminine Protection $14 for 14 $14 for 14 Size: One size | Firmness: Soft If youre less concerned with reusability, Softcups is a great choice. Because they dont have to last a decade, disposable discs like Softdisc dont need to be made out of such firm materials, so its a good option for sensitive users. While graduate student Ansley Hayes has a DivaCup at home, it can sometimes put too much pressure on her cervix. Whenever that happens, she switches to Softcups, which are much softer. $14 for 14 at Amazon Buy

Best menstrual cup cleaner

Saalt Steamer $39 $39 Size: N/A | Firmness: N/A Saalt has just come out with a steamer  news that several Strategist staffers are very excited about (This is a big deal in my book, says Strategist senior writer Liza Corsillo). Normally, to sanitize a cup or disc, you have to boil it in water, but this portable vessel allows you to clean your accessory quickly without the hassle of pulling out a pot. Just plug in your steamer, add water, and turn it on. $39 at Saalt Buy

Our experts

 Jackie Bolen, author of the The Ultimate Guide to Menstrual Cups

 Dr. Nicole Bullock, OB/GYN

 Dr. Jennifer Conti, M.D., a clinical assistant professor at Stanfords department of obstetrics and gynecology

 Liza Corsillo, Strategist senior writer

 Tembe Denton-Hurst, Strategist writer

 Beca Grimm, writer

 Ansley Hayes, graduate student

 Amanda Hearn, Put a Cup in It co-founder

 Mia Leimkuhler, former Strategist newsletter editor

 Gabrielle Moss, a former Bustle editor and the author of Paperback Crush

 Kim Rosas, Put a Cup in It co-founder

 Dr. Lucky Sekhon, reproductive endocrinologist and board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist

 Winnie Yang, Strategist senior editor

get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best womens jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.


China's top 10 science advances in 2023 released

Xinhua) 08:32, March 01, 2024

This aerial photo taken on April 22, 2023 shows LHAASO in Daocheng County, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Frontier fields such as life sciences, artificial intelligence, quantum science, astronomy and energy were celebrated Thursday when the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) released the country's top 10 science advances in 2023.

The use of AI models for enhanced precision in forecasting weather was highlighted by the annual list.

Huawei's Pangu model demonstrated high precision compared to traditional numerical prediction methods for forecasts, which could take anywhere from an hour to a week, and its prediction speed is 10,000 times faster.

Also among the advances was the precise energy spectrum for the highest-energy gamma-ray radiation from the brightest gamma-ray burst observed to date, captured by China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), a high-altitude cosmic ray observatory.

In life science, the list included how certain elements with viral origins in our genomes become awakened and contribute to the aging process; how DNA's unzipping machine works; how light suppresses blood sugar metabolism; the precise integration of large DNA sequences in plant genomes; as well as the discovery of a "tangible" biological clock in the brain and a key gene in a crop that might substantially improve yields from alkaline soil.

The advances also included the extension of the quantum information's storage time and the chemical reaction processes in lithium-sulfur batteries.

The NSFC is a major source of funding in China for basic research and frontier exploration. More than 2,100 experts, including over 430 Chinese academicians, voted on the results.

About 45 percent of researchers attached to the studies are aged less than 45, revealing that young scientists have become a driving force in China's basic research, according to the NSFC.

Some achievements were contributed by enterprises including Huawei and Qi-Biodesign Biotechnology, which reflected the increasingly important role that firms are playing in innovation.

In an interview with Xinhua, the NSFC announced new measures to extend funding for outstanding undergraduates to conduct pilot project basic research, and to offer long-term funding for excellent researchers with a maximum of nearly 30 million yuan (4.17 million U.S. dollars) over a 15-year period.

The foundation also vowed to establish a global fund for science projects between Chinese and overseas scientists, and support overseas scientists to work in China on a long-term basis, in a bid to build a platform for international cooperation in basic research.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The author with her Wallace Sewellcovered YUYU hot water bottle. Photo: Chantel Tattoli

As a lifetime hot-water-bottle user, I have waxed poetic about them before, and I am a purist. The vessels should be all-natural rubber. And they should of course be traditionally shaped, like square whoopee cushions. Or so I thought until our water heater broke down in Paris in early November. After a month of multiple repair attempts, thankfully, a brand-new system was installed, and during that time of baths via electric-kettle-zapped water and cold radiators, my husband gave me a YUYU.

Richard Yu  who grew up Sri Lanka and Australia before settling in the U.K.  debuted his hot-water bottle at Harrods in 2011. I just walked in  I didnt have a meeting. I had a gold foil box, Yu remembered on a call. He approached a brand manager, popped the lid, and peeled back some Japanese tissue paper to reveal a hot water bottle made from biodegradable, grade-A rubber sourced in Sri Lanka. It was also thin and long at about 32 inches. This is a more practical shape, Yu explained of his invention, which was enrobed in a cashmere cover with mother-of-pearl buttons. Six weeks later, they were for sale, he told me. Today, the YUYU is among Harrods top-20 best sellers in homewares.

YUYU soon began to make (and still makes) private-label hot water bottles for luxury hotels and resorts such as the Ritz London, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and Six Senses. Cedric Waterkeyn, who leads the 24-hour butler service at Hotel de Crillon, said the butlers like to give special attention to our guests who have caught a cold by offering them a YUYU HWB accompanied by a cup of tea.

Around 2013, a woman with endometriosis suggested the hot-water-bottle-maker add a tie function to the ends of the covers, so that you can secure it against yourself  around the waist or back, like a cummerbund, or along the chest, like a pageant sash  and the YUYUs warm hug has since earned it numerous love letters from people using hot applications for pain or discomfort due to conditions ranging from Crohns disease to chemo, Yu said.

My husband gave me my YUYU with a cover by Wallace Sewell. It is lambswool, in one of its pixelated weaves, and so pretty that Ive run into the grocer, the boulangerie, and the banh mi spot downstairs while wearing it. The Wallace Sewell covers were a pilot  the brand only made a few dozen, and those sold out within days. Theyll be back this fall. YUYU makes a range of covers  from fleece (about $40, with the bottle and before shipping) to Mongolian cashmere (about $140), Liberty Fabrics (about $90), Indian waffled cotton (about $45), and Scottish woolen tartan (about $120). N.B.: the worms for kids (about $35).

During the winter, instead of blasting the heat, I often work at my desk with a hot water bottle on my lap. The YUYU, however, can be draped over sore shoulders and cinched around a cramping belly or lower back. Ive been wearing mine nonstop in January and February, especially during the recent subzero snap in Paris. I work from home now, but it used to be that Id bring a mini red hot water bottle to One World Trade Center and tank it up at the tea counter. (The offices were arctic  something to do with the buildings anti-biological-terrorism setup, as I remember being told.) If you have an electric kettle at work, and your workplace is uncomfortably cold, you could wear the YUYU without raising brows. It can scan as a scarf. Ive been sleeping with my YUYU, which keeps warm through the morn. I packed it (along with a couple of traditional hot water bottles) on a recent long weekend in Burgundy, and my friend Catharine Dahm, who works in fashion and upscale hospitality, wore it day and night and did some yoga with it on, then demanded, Where do I get one?

You can buy copycats on Amazon, but Yus is the original lanky hot water bottle. While YUYU plans to launch a U.S. site this year, for now, Americans can order from the Great Britain site (shipping starts around $30) or buy from Hamptons-based cookshop Loaves & Fishes, which just received a shipment of YUYUs with stone-, mint-, and ocean-colored Belgian linen covers ($118), and takes orders by phone and FaceTime.

YUYUs can be filled with icy water but should not be frozen. (The rubber becomes brittle.) The company has a newer ice recovery bottle in the same dimensions  for sporty types (users include rugby and volleyball teams, the Orlando Magic, Olympians, and Formula 1 racers) and those recovering from injuries or coping with inflammation, menopause, and other heat waves. As they say, take care.

Three more wellness-y things weve written about 

get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
Kate has been asked to be the Ambassador for this year's Record Store Day: https://t.co/a20gHhUI0T @RSDUK pic.twitter.com/mOBmB9JIhx  Kate Bush (@KateBushMusic) February 28, 2024

What a huge honour to have been asked to be Ambassador for this years Record Store Day. It really is a great privilege. Isnt it great to see how the resurgence in vinyl has taken the music industry by complete surprise? It had decided to leave vinyl far behind, but it would seem that not everyone agrees! I love that!

I know there are many, many artists who are just as excited to see the audience turning the tide. In the same way that some people like to read a book on Kindle but also want to have a book as a physical object, a lot of people like vinyl and streaming. Both have different appeals.

The added bonus of vinyl is that it encourages people to listen to albums. An art form that Ive always thought can be treasured in a unique way. An album on vinyl is a beautiful thing, given a strong identity by its large-scale artwork. Theres a much more personal connection with the artist and their work.



[ Rest of the Statement ] Its been fun putting designs together for some of the previous RSDs. This years design echoes the cancelled release of Eat the Music as the first single from the album, The Red Shoes. The image was intended to be on the cover of the single bag and is now on the disc as a UV print.

The title, Eat the Music, is meant to be a playful nod to 'If music be the food of love, play on,' from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Each year Record Store Day gathers more attention, more momentum, and attracts more people who cram into indie record stores all over the world to see whats up. Whats new? This year, I hope you have a fantastic time at this very important event, and that you get to celebrate music thats been specially released for you. Very best wishes, Kate

It's been announced that Kate Bush will be the Record Store Day Ambassador for 2024! She has made a statement on the official website:She's also releasing a 10"-picture disc of "Eat the music" off of her album "The Red Shoes". You can read details and see videos of the production process at her official website. Sources 1 ONTD, which single would you have picked for this occasion, and why would it have been literally anything other than "Eat the music"?
men are gross.

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I'm so unsurprised that someone within RBR is using this as an excuse to to stab him in the back and I dearly hope he loses his job because that investigation was a farce.



But I also doubt that whoever leaked all of that cares about the victim or took precautions to protect her privacy. I really worry for her.



Also, fuck Daniel Ricciardo for saying that Horner has always been nice to him when asked about the allegation. He's doing the most to get that seat next season 



Manifesting a Charles win tomorrow as a Ferrari girlie but also because I hope RBR never win anything ever again

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Daniel only ever puts his foot in his mouth when he's asked about something serious. I know Charles catches a lot of jokes for being a Himbo, but Daniel is a straight up fucking moron.

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Daniel has been on someone podcast episode full of misogynistic jokes too. I don't expect male athletes to be woke but at least know when to shut the fuck up  even Max gave a better answer and that's saying a lot

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Yeah, Daniel going onto barstool sports last year the weekend of F1 Academy, and saying women don't belong in Formula One cars was the pinnacle of me being over his bullshit

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he has to outqualify Tsunoda to get that seat and I'm not convinced.

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I mean Ricciardo liked Johnny Debts' post when he won the suit, I dunno why ppl still like him.





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Lol come thru daily mail.

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Me reading Christian Horners alledged leaked messages #F1 pic.twitter.com/w9ryooNTk7  Unicorn (@hamburgerh0tdog) February 29, 2024 I'm really sorry about using DM as a source, but it was the only one where I found tweets about it, searching for "Christian Horner" on twitter now gets me only memes or the risk of seeing the alleged naked pictures and I don't want that

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Lol DM sucks but I can always count on them for the messy gossip and expose.



I only feel for the victim though :S

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I was gonna post about this at the round up... he is disgusting. I can't believe he still has a job. Also I saw his dick against my will. And I'm pissed

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luckily I managed to avoid seeing that, but I had to stop looking for tweets about it because I knew the risk was there

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It's mainly in the comments section of almost every screenshot. I saw it TWICE, I need him fired and sent to oblivion.

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I was just flicking through the pics not expecting to see it and MY EYES  its like a newborn baby mouse 

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He should've lost his job.

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Not Verstappen fans calling Hamilton fans a cult. But they are straight up saying everything is fake and AI pictures... lmao get real

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How that vacuum of a personality even has fans.. istg.

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Say it with your chest. Can't stand the Wilhelmus anymore 

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The only thing about Max I dont get is he said so many controversial things even backed Piquet against Lewis and fucking Marko against his own teammate and every single driver is catching strays for any minor cancellable offends (not talking just about Daniel here) yet Max still has so much support because hes pookie and bad at padel which is so endearing apparently and of course my 9/11 Lestappen



Edited at 2024-03-01 08:51 pm (UTC)

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Also, I'll say that a lot of the comments CH made (and that RBR fans/men are saying are innocuous) remind me of my own sexual harassment case and that asshole ended up getting fired.

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So many dudes are like "This seems like a consensual affair / flirting" meanwhile I'm having trauma flashbacks to that time my boss really wanted to give me a full body message and I had to joke my way out of it. I pity the women in these guys' lives

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YEP. They are just outing themselves as fucking creeps and sex pests. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

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She was leading him on makes me ANGRY angry. Hes her fucking boss and shes trying to be coy enough that shit doesnt get worse for her.



Men. Ugh.

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During my first year of college. I remember being in the cafeteria and hearing these guys from my dorm casually say, Well, no means maybe, and maybe means yes. It is really chilling and upsetting to know how many men truly have this attitude and interpret basically any kind of conversation with a woman as shes totally into me.

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They excuse it because they too would do the exact same thing

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Men don't seem to understand that when there is a power imbalance and a woman fears how it would negatively impact her career, women will try to just laugh it off or sorta go along with it to appease the person in power.

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I loooooove reading texts of dudes just not getting the NOT INTERESTED signal.

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I wasn't gonna read any of it but now I have to, lmao

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So much of him trying and just NOTHING.

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I think that has to be a kink. Like how many times does a woman has to decline your video call for you to leave her tf alone

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there's a korean actor that just got exposed and his texts were something like:



Him: The other day when we were in the hotel together...ive never experienced something so beautiful in my life

Girl: lmaooooooooooooo

Him: I can remember every inch of your skin...the soft suppleness of your legs

Girl: lmao

Him: Just thinking about it is causing my heart to race, I cant feel my insides

Girl: Maybe you have the flu?

Him: It feels like someone is abruptly lighting up little by little a closed amusement park with electricity

Girl: LMAOOOOOOOOO

Him: Sorry I dont have a more tame way of telling you how I feel

Girl: lmfaooooo



its been days and i still havent gotten over the deep embarassment

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the text representation of this



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eww

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I know nothing about F1 but I hope he loses his career (I know it's not gonna happen since rich entitled creeps always look out of for their fellow rich entitled creepy friends so they can keep validating each other, but one can hope)



Why does Gerri's humiliation needs to be stated when it should be on Christian to bare all the shame and humiliation of his own actions and abuse of power?

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i also dont get like...she's humiliated but she's going to be with her husband? what are we supposed to feel with mixed messaging like that

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Her going to Bahrain to meet her husband makes sense given this is the type of situation that merits a face-to-face conversation no matter what either party wants the outcome to be but the phrasing of it irks me since no one knows how she's processing this. Anyone in her position would feel humiliation among other far stronger feelings so throwing that in there feels gross and unnecessary.

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The article shouldn't be about her at all but the media loooove a shamed wife narrative.



That said, she's made a couple of comments defending him while the investigation was ongoing so I'm privately judging tf out of her. Gerardine, sis... what about ~girl power

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Not related to the Horner situation but I NEED to talk about this

... some italian journalist said that allegedly, Toto was the one to leak the Lewis to Ferrari news. And George Russell said that Lewis went to Toto's house to tell him early in the morning some time in Jan, and George was also there "because he'd slept over."



THIS is juicy gossip and I wish I could give it my full focus and enjoy silly drama instead of sexual harassment and being reminded that this sport hates women

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I thought Toto leaking it was a joke started on Twitter.



Yes, George had been running his mouth all week talking about sleepovers with his boss or about how much Toto works out to keep I'm shape.

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Ivan Capelli from skysport Italy reported it! Idc for his opinions but I'm choosing to believe him on this because it's messy and hilarious

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Yes, George had been running his mouth all week talking about sleepovers with his boss or about how much Toto works out to keep I'm shape.







George is so fucking weird George is so fucking weird

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George is such a suckup to Toto and he boast about it so proudly lol Anyone would have just said they were visiting their boss but nooo George has to really put emphasis on the fact he was sleeping there....

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I mean it makes sense. As much as everyone wanted it to be Sainz Sr idk how that would benefit Carlos but like Toto is so upset and I think hes way more upset at Fred than hes letting on.



But also hes sf gross who has slumber parties with their employee and talks to said employee about how much they can lift? Like

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I'm still not going to read the messages, because I know that the victim did not like them, and it's a huge invasion of her privacy, but them gaining traction is interesting. Only for MBS and Horner to be shown during qualifying, hugging it out and shaking hands on camera. Formula one is really for the boys. 

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Yeah same here, Im still not reading them. F1s boys club ripped off the veneers that Liberty Media forced onto them.

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now we're stuck with their scraggly teeth out and about

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these texts are painful

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fuck men

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Ascending Safely

Why choosing stairs over ladders is the smarter choice for rooftop safety.

As 2024 unfolds, its an ideal time for businesses to reassess and innovate in workplace safety. A case in point is a leading national manufacturer that recently contacted my company for help with a significant safety overhaul. Theyre transitioning from ladders to stairs for rooftop access across all their facilities, signaling a major shift in industrial safety practices.

This initiative is more than an upgrade; its part of a broader movement thats gaining momentum in the industry, setting new benchmarks for safety and efficiency. Lets investigate the key challenges of using ladders and help you make an informed decision for your facility.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set forth specific guidelines and standards for ladder use in the workplace. These guidelines include proper ladder selection, inspection before use, correct positioning, and safe climbing practices. Despite these precautions, the inherent risks associated with ladder use remain high. OSHAs statistics show that falls from ladders comprise nearly a third of all fall-related deaths in construction (OSHA Publication). This alarming figure underscores the need for safer alternatives, such as stairs, in industrial settings.

Ladders: The Challenge of Maintaining Three Points of Contact

One of the fundamental safety rules when using ladders is to maintain three points of contact (two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand) at all times. This practice is crucial for stability and balance, reducing the risk of falls. However, in an industrial setting, where workers often need to ascend with tools or materials, following this rule becomes challenging. Ladders demand a balancing act, asking of workers to ascend to dizzying heights with only one hand free for support.

This high-wire act can be both strenuous and hazardous, adding extra risk to work environments that are already teeming with potential hazards. Carrying items up a ladder often means compromising on this safety principle, as one hand is typically used to hold the item, leaving only one hand and two feet for support. This not only increases the risk of losing balance but also makes the climb up more strenuous and hazardous. In contrast, stairs allow workers to use handrails for support and balance, even when carrying tools or materials, thereby adhering more effectively to safety protocols and reducing the risk of accidents.

This article originally appeared in the February/March 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
Exxon's challenge of Chevron's acquisition of Hess could result in a windfall for Exxon shareholders, a new report from Reuters speculates.

As we wrote earlier this week, Exxon is challenging Chevron's acquisition of Hess by challenging the terms of a stake in a major Guyana oil field. Exxon said it could exercise pre-emptive rights that could block Chevron from acquiring a 30% stake in the field, which sits at the center of the potential Hess acquisition.

MKP Advisors said in a note reviewed by Reuters that Exxon is "very possibly looking to extract a pound of flesh from Chevron to support the deal proceeding." They speculated that "It is very possible they want greater commitments from Chevron than Hess has previously signed up to."

Exxon could be targeting Chevron to make concessions elsewhere, or to raise commitments already in place for the Guyana project. And it may be easier for Chevron to make concessions than to fight proceedings in court.

Stewart Glickman, energy equity analyst at CFRA Research, told Reuters: "It's impossible to say if Chevron's lawyers or Exxon's lawyers are correct."

We noted earlier this week that ExxonMobil and China National Offshore Oil Corporation are "asserting their right to pre-empt its purchase of a stake in a Guyana oil project that is central to the deal."

Related: Could This Unknown Company Help Solve Europes Energy Crisis?

Exxon and CNOOC are joint owners of the Stabroek Block project, the report says. A Chevron regulatory filing out this week says it is in discussion with the parties regarding a right of first refusal provision in the joint operating agreement and Exxon has said it is engaged in conversations with Hess and Chevron and those conversations will continue.

The full text of Chevron's new disclosure states:

Chevron may not complete the acquisition of Hess Corporation within the time frame the company anticipates or at all, which could have adverse effects on Chevron.

The completion of the acquisition of Hess Corporation (Hess) is subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by Hess stockholders of the adoption of the merger agreement. Additionally, Hess and Chevron have been engaged in discussions with Exxon Mobil Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation regarding a right of first refusal provision in the joint operating agreement for the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana.

Related: This Could Be A Gamechanger For Natural Gas In Europe

If these discussions do not result in an acceptable resolution and arbitration (if pursued) does not result in a confirmation that such right of first refusal provision is inapplicable to the merger, then there would be a failure of a closing condition under the Merger Agreement, in which case the merger would not close.

Exxon also confirmed earlier this week it was in talks regarding the deal, stating: We owe it to our investors and partners to consider our pre-emption rights in place under our joint operating agreement to ensure we preserve our right to realise the significant value weve created and are entitled to in the Guyana asset.

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The most likely outcome is one in which the . . . deal is ultimately consummated, perhaps with a bit of a delay," analyst Jason Gabelman with TD Cowen told FT.

By Zerohedge.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The price of a WTI barrel soared to heights not seen since November as the market braces for an OPEC+ decision on oil production levels in April and beyond.

WTI was trading at $80.04 per barrel at 10:42 am ET, an increase of $1.78 per barrel on the day, or 2.27%. Behind the rise in price is the markets anticipation that OPEC+ will extend its voluntary production cuts for the next quarter and the volatility that could come from updated U.S. crude oil and crude products inventory data that will be released from the American Petroleum Institute (API) at 4:30 pm ET on Tuesday.

WTI prices are now at their highest level since early November 2023.

Brent crude oil prices were also trading up on the day, at $83.66 per barrel, up $1.75 or 2.14%--also to their highest level since November.

The market is anxiously awaiting a decision from OPEC+ on the plan for Q2 2024. The group has yet to divulge a date when it will meet to discuss the issue with its members, although April is quickly approaching. OPEC+ will need to determine whether it will stay the course and extend the current voluntary production cuts into the second quarter, whether it will deepen the cuts, or whether it will scale them back or scrap the cuts altogether. Most industry watchers favor the first option, arguing that OPEC+ has no choice but to extend the current level of production cuts if it wants to keep prices from falling.

Tuesdays price rise does provide OPEC+ with a bit of cover, although OPEC+ still insists it is not managing prices but managing supply based on market needs.

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On the Red Sea, keep a close eye on reports of Iranian weapons shipments to Sudan (Sudanese Armed Forces), which is embroiled in a civil war. In the same manner that the Iranians are helping Yemens Houthis arm themselves, they

Despite Middle tensions over Israels aggressive retaliation in Gaza, Israel says its gas exports to Egypt and Jordan rose 25% in 2023, with Tel Aviv noting that this is proof of the strategic value of Israels newfound gas assets.

Iranians headed to the polls on Friday for parliamentary elections for the Assembly of Experts, which in turn chooses the next Supreme Leader. The vote is widely believed to be rigged in favor of the incumbent conservatives. Most Reformists have already been disqualified from running. Former president Rouhani is among those disqualified. The only real vote here is between factions among the hardline conservatives, and overall observers are expecting low voter turnout.

Tel Aviv added more fuel to the fire in the conflict with Gaza this week by announcing an expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that prompted a backlash in Washington. The U.S. views the move as a violation of international law and one that promises to further intensify the conflict - including the potential for the conflict to gain momentum in proxy conflict zones. Israel also this week reiterated that it would not retreat until Hamas was completely annihilated.

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict

Tel Aviv added more fuel to the fire in the conflict with Gaza this week by announcing an expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move that prompted a backlash in Washington. The U.S. views the move as a violation of international law and one that promises to further intensify the conflict - including the potential for the conflict to gain momentum in proxy conflict zones. Israel also this week reiterated that it would not retreat until Hamas was completely annihilated.

Iranians headed to the polls on Friday for parliamentary elections for the Assembly of Experts, which in turn chooses the next Supreme Leader. The vote is widely believed to be rigged in favor of the incumbent conservatives. Most Reformists have already been disqualified from running. Former president Rouhani is among those disqualified. The only real vote here is between factions among the hardline conservatives, and overall observers are expecting low voter turnout.

Despite Middle tensions over Israels aggressive retaliation in Gaza, Israel says its gas exports to Egypt and Jordan rose 25% in 2023, with Tel Aviv noting that this is proof of the strategic value of Israels newfound gas assets.

On the Red Sea, keep a close eye on reports of Iranian weapons shipments to Sudan (Sudanese Armed Forces), which is embroiled in a civil war. In the same manner that the Iranians are helping Yemens Houthis arm themselves, they could also expand the Houthis Red Sea campaign to Sudan. If Sudan were to direct its Iranian weapons to its Red Sea coast, it could target vessels coming from the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal toward the Arabian Sea. For the reserve journey, vessels could be targeted first by the Houthis at Bab el-Mandeb and then off Sudan.

Discovery & Development

Pemex has increased its refining output for January, with its six in-Mexico refineries processing nearly a million bpd of crude oil. This is a 14% increase over January 2023, and 20% more than the 2023 average. Despite the increase, Pemex is still only running its refineries at half capacity. Refineries produced 308,000 bpd of gasoline, 193,000 bpd of diesel, and 312,000 bpd of fuel oil in January. For gasoline in particular, thats a 41% increase over January 2023. Mexico still imports a substantial portion of the gasoline it consumes.

An Impact Oil & Gas and TotalEnergies consortium is continuing its appraisal well drilling of its Venus oil discovery in Namibias Orange basin in Block 2913B. Africa Oil is a 31.1% shareholder in Impact Oil & Gas. So far, Mangetti-1X has intersected hydrocarbon bearing intervals in the Mangetti fan prospecta separate fan system to Venus. The Venus-2A appraisal well is now being drilled and 3D seismic data is currently being gathered. Results from Venus 1X and 2A will be incorporated in development studies.

CNOOC said it had discovered the worlds largest metamorphic rock oilfield in the south Bohai Sea in the Bozhong 26-6 oilfield. Bohai 26-6 achieved record-breaking production levels with 40 million cubic meters of proved oil and gas reserves, bringing the cumulative proven reserves of the field to more than 200 million cubic meters. The oilfield could yield as much as 30 million cubic meters of oil and produce more than 11 billion cubic meters of nat gas, CNOOC said.

Wintershall DEAs appraisal well 6507/4-4 S boosted slightly the resource estimate for a gas/condensate discovery near the Norwegian Seas Dvalin field, which was drilled to confirm a previous discovery known as the Adriana, made in 2021. Previous estimates were that the discovery held between 3 and 5 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent, but new information from the appraisal well shows it could be between 4 and 7 standard cubic meters. Partners in the project, production license 211CS, are Petoro, Aker BP, and PGNiG.

Deals, Mergers & Acquisitions

Macquarie Group is prepared to sell off its stake in the $55B green energy project known as the Australian Renewable Energy Hub. The project includes 1700 wind turbines and 26GW of solar panel capacity. BP said it could snap up the stake, leaving it with a 64% share of the project.

A squabble has reared up in Guyana over Chevrons $53B deal for Hess, with Exxonwho has already found significant oil in the countrys Stabroek block, balking at the deal, arguing that it has the right of first refusal. Exxon owns 45% of the Stabroek block and is operator, while Hess currently owns 30%. Chevron has warned that if talks with Exxon didnt result in an acceptable resolution, its deal with Hess could be called off.
Entire swathes of Tajikistan were left without electricity for around three hours on March 1 amid what appears to have been a major technical malfunction.

Households in the capital, Dushanbe, reported power outages at around 11 a.m. local time. Electricity supplies were restored three hours later.

Many homes were left without heating and hot water, both of which are supplied by means of a centralized system.

After weeks of unseasonably warm weather, daytime temperatures in Dushanbe have in recent days slipped to near or below freezing. This has prompted many to fall back on electric heaters, which appears in turn to have triggered staggered outages. Cold weather conditions are forecast to persist over the weekend.

Over the duration of the outage, no government officials publicly commented on the situation.

Independent media outlet Asia-Plus cited unnamed sources as saying there had been an unspecified incident at the Nurek hydroelectric power plant. According to the World Banks estimates, Nurek, which first went online in 1972, provides around 50 percent of the countrys total energy needs. Asia-Plus said it was unable to get through to state-run power company Barki Tojik or Dushanbe city hall for official comment.

Some Dushanbe residents reported being left without running water at all. Certain mobile internet providers were also down. Mobile banking apps, which are increasingly used by Tajiks for their daily shopping needs, were not functioning.

There were indications that some parts of the country were spared the blackout. Asia-Plus said electricity was being supplied to homes in the southern city of Bokhtar.

Related: This Could Be A Gamechanger For Natural Gas In Europe

Another region of the country that should have been unaffected was the mountainous Pamirs region of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO, which is provided with electricity by local hydroelectric generators.

While Dushanbe has latterly become unused to experiencing lengthy power outages, the rest of the country accepts them as a routine.

When the temperature sinks below a certain level, output from the Nurek plant grinds to a near-halt. Under the annually imposed economy regime, which is meant to be ending sometime this month, households outside the countrys largest urban centers endure blackouts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

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This article was updated following reports that power had been restored in Dushanbe.

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NATO has, for all intents and purposes, given Kyiv the green light to target anything within Russias borders, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenburg telling RFE/RL that Kyiv would be within its defensive rights to strike military targets outside of Ukraine.

The problem with that, of course, is that these strikes on Russia would likely be accomplished with Western (and primarily U.S.) weapons which would amount to more than a NATO green light. That would be a Western attack, by proxy, for which Putin has threatened significant escalation.

At the same time, Frances Macron is being rather provocative (as is his nature) with statements to the effect that European nations are prepared to send troops to Ukraine (even though his fellow Europeans have not agreed to this). Macron likes to be dramatic, and this was a great opportunity for him, prompting a backlash from Washington and other European capitals (though Slovakia also said that the EU and NATO were considering troops on the ground).

From Putins perspective, there were quite a few red lines crossed in just a week - and about three weeks from presidential elections in Russia. However, the end result was for Macron to look like a fool playing Napoleon and a bit of a panic on the NATO media front as they attempted to walk this boots-on-the-ground threat back.

Another red line for Putin was Hungarys move this week to give parliamentary approval to Swedens
- According to S&P Global, even for the most efficient shale gas producers the Henry Hub breakeven in Haynesville stands at $2.67 per mmBtu; for producers seeking to return 30% of free cash flow that same metric rises to $3.2 per mmBtu.

- The collapse of US natural gas prices is ratcheting up pressure on Haynesville shale producers as mild weather and booming gas output is rendering production uneconomical and prompts shutdowns.

- Shipping giant Maersk expects Houthi attacks to persist throughout the second half of 2024, with Red Sea transit volumes for oil products down 45% since last October and transited LNG volumes plunging to zero.

- At the same time, the amount of oil that is sailing on water has risen to the highest level since the summer of 2023, indicating that temporary physical shortages might become more frequent as Europe needs to buy products from elsewhere.

- According to Kpler data, onshore inventories in developed nations have plunged to their lowest for this time of the year in post-pandemic history, with buyers failing to purchase enough to replenish stocks.

- The price squeeze in the Atlantic Basin market has mostly stemmed from longer and costlier voyages of crude oil and products around the Cape of Good Hope, a direct consequence of Red Sea disruptions.

1. Red Sea Disruptions Shrink OECD Crude Inventories Further

- The price squeeze in the Atlantic Basin market has mostly stemmed from longer and costlier voyages of crude oil and products around the Cape of Good Hope, a direct consequence of Red Sea disruptions.

- According to Kpler data, onshore inventories in developed nations have plunged to their lowest for this time of the year in post-pandemic history, with buyers failing to purchase enough to replenish stocks.

- At the same time, the amount of oil that is sailing on water has risen to the highest level since the summer of 2023, indicating that temporary physical shortages might become more frequent as Europe needs to buy products from elsewhere.

- Shipping giant Maersk expects Houthi attacks to persist throughout the second half of 2024, with Red Sea transit volumes for oil products down 45% since last October and transited LNG volumes plunging to zero.

2. US Gas Price Slump Puts Haynesville Producers in Jeopardy

- The collapse of US natural gas prices is ratcheting up pressure on Haynesville shale producers as mild weather and booming gas output is rendering production uneconomical and prompts shutdowns.

- According to S&P Global, even for the most efficient shale gas producers the Henry Hub breakeven in Haynesville stands at $2.67 per mmBtu; for producers seeking to return 30% of free cash flow that same metric rises to $3.2 per mmBtu.

- Even with Chesapeakes production cut pledge and a continuously increasing backlog of DUCs in the basin, Haynesville production is expected to remain flat at just over 15 Bcf per day, raising the risk of further curbs.

- Henry Hub natural gas futures recovered a little this week to $1.85 per mmBtu, although they remain in steep contango, the steepest since October 2023, with the M1-M3 spread rising to $0.40 per mmBtu.

3. Despite Weak 2023 Drilling, Majors Remain Wary to Boost Exploration Spending

- Oil majors are in no hurry to ramp up exploration spending, with Rystad finding that the likes of ExxonMobil, Shell or TotalEnergies will have spent a combined $7 billion each year between 2020-2024 on drilling.

- Such exploration expenditures are substantially lower than the pre-pandemic average of $10 billion per year, even though oil majors are increasingly looking at deepwater projects for boosting reserves.

- Conventional discoveries plummeted to a mere 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in 2023, a 68% drop year-on-year after 2022 saw huge oil finds in Namibia, with drilling in frontier basins providing only 20% of reserves found.

- As the cost of capital is much higher than in 2016-2019, oil majors are looking for frontier area breakthroughs akin to Guyanas surge, landing a whopping 112,000 km2 of awarded acreage, more than a third of which came from Shells Uruguay expansion alone.

4. Pipeline Rupture Halts Sudan Oil Exports

- The Dar Petroleum Oil Company, South Sudans key consortium of oil producers, declared force majeure on loadings of the countrys key Dar Blend crude following a rupture on the only export pipeline that evacuates oil through Sudan.

- South Sudan produces around 160,000 b/d of oil, triple the amount of its northern neighbor, however armed strife in Sudan has first restricted its pool buyers as shippers refused to dock in Port Sudan and now forced DPOC to cut flows altogether.

- Sudan has been engulfed in a bloody conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF militia since April 2023, with opposition forces occupying key areas in the countrys south, along the pipelines route.

- Dar Blend, a heavy sweet grade that is very acidic and has a high arsenic content, has been mostly used for fuel oil blending in Fujairah, increasing the pressure on fuel oil supply in the Persian Gulf.

5. Germany Eyes Higher Gas Utilization Amidst Improved Switching Economics

- German power-generating companies are incentivized to switch their plants to natural gas as a more than 25% slump in TTF prices in 2024 so far helped make gas generation more profitable than coal.

- European coal prices only dropped by 10% in 2024 to date, bringing the coal-to-gas switching price to 26.8 per MWh and giving natural gas some 3.5 per MWh of cost advantage over coal.

- Gas-fired power generation emits less than half of the pollution of coal plants, suggesting Germanys CO2 emissions could improve even if electricity production moves higher.

- Power generating companies might not react immediately to improved gas economics as electricity producers must have confidence that the switching would not flip back to favor coal again.

6. Chinas Solar Power Expansion Moves

- For the first time since 2020, China installed more solar panels in dedicated power plants than on residential rooftops, marking a turning point in Beijings forced roll-out of industrial-scale solar power.

- According to Chinas National Energy Administration, the country added 120 GW of utility-scale solar capacity against 96.3 GW of new distributed capacity, with developers now focusing on inland areas.

- Chinas solar installation growth  in one year launching more than all the solar panels installed in the US  was further boosted by plunging module prices that were driven down by the countrys overproduction of polysilicon.

- Despite Beijings push to boost renewables, Chinas oil, gas, and coal consumption in 2023 increased by 9%, 7.2%, and 5.6%, respectively, keeping the countrys carbon emissions per unit of GDP stagnant.

7. Indonesia Cools Down Hopes of Nickel Bulls, Supply Surge to Stay

- Indonesias top energy officials have indicated that the countrys nickel processing boom will continue, arguing prices are unlikely to rise above the $18,000 per metric tonne that the transition metal is currently trading on the London Metal Exchange.

- Jakarta has argued its interest is in ensuring that the nickel market remains well supplied to keep costs lower for EV manufacturers, defying calls to curb production to allow for higher prices globally.

- Indonesia is forcing other nickel producers that dont have the same low production costs out of the business, with the current $17-18,000/mt pricing making operations unprofitable for nearly half of all operations worldwide.

- Arguing Indonesian producers need good profitability, not an excessive one, the government seeks to guarantee prices above the assumed Indonesian breakeven of $15,000/mt, Jakarta warned that below that level local producers would be prompted to cut.
China imported in February a record volume of LNG for the month, as buyers took advantage of plummeting spot prices in Asia amid ample inventories and tepid demand.

Chinese LNG imports last month  the highest-ever for February  topped 5.5 million tons, rising by 15% compared to February last year, ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg showed on Friday.

In February 2024, Chinese LNG importers were on the lookout for cheaper supply of liquefied natural gas on the spot market as prices in North Asia halved from October levels and slid to a nearly three-year low by the middle of the month.

China  the worlds top importer of the fuel after outstripping Japan, again  has returned to the spot market in search of cheaper LNG supply as prices tumble. Currently, spot LNG supply is competitive with local gas and oil products, according to Bloombergs sources.

As natural gas inventories in Europe and Asia are at comfortable levels for a winter season, and demand is tepid in both continents, the average spot LNG price for April delivery into Northeast Asia tumbled in February, also in view of the end of the winter heating season.

As the winter season in the northern hemisphere is drawing to a close, spot LNG prices are expected to further slide into the spring, analysts have said.

In Asia, spot LNG prices for April delivery into northeast Asia slumped last week to the lowest in nearly three yearssince April 2021, amid higher-than-usual inventories and weak Chinese buying due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Japans LNG demand is also lower than in previous years due to restarts of nuclear reactors, high gas inventories, and increased renewable power generation.

This week, the average LNG price for April delivery into north-east Asia was unchanged from last week, at $8.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), according to estimates from industry sources reported by Reuters on Friday.

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Nigeria has yet to approve the sales of onshore assets announced in recent years by international oil majors, much to the frustration of both buyers and sellers who say that the slow progress continues to hamper the rebound in Nigerias oil production.

Majors including ExxonMobil, Shell, Eni, and Equinor are still waiting for government clearance for their sales of oil assets, mostly to local companies. The buyers and Nigerias domestic oil producers expect the approvals to give clarity to the companies and revive oil production in the country.

Sellers and buyers see an urgent need to conclude these transactions, Osagie Okunbor, managing director of Shell Nigeria, said at a conference in Abuja, as carried by Bloomberg.

Shell announced in January that it would exit Nigerias onshore oil and gas industry but would remain a major investor in the countrys energy sector through its deepwater and Integrated Gas businesses.

U.S. supermajor ExxonMobil intends to sell its shallow water business in Nigeria to Seplat, the biggest Nigerian energy company by market value. The deal is still bogged down at the Nigerian regulator, although the chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, told Reuters in October that the commission was very optimistic the $1.3-billion sale would move forward.

Last year, Italys Eni signed a deal with Nigerias energy company Oando PLC to sell Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), the wholly Eni-owned subsidiary focusing on onshore oil and gas exploration and production in Nigeria, as well as power generation. Eni continues to operate in the country, focusing on operated offshore activities.

But Enis deal also awaits regulatory clearance, as does one by Norways Equinor, which announced in November the sale of its Nigerian business to local firm Chappal Energies.

Approving the deals remains the most realistic and successful avenue to bolster national crude oil production by the turn of the decade, said Abdulrazaq Isa, chairman of Waltersmith Petroman Oil and head of the association of Nigerian producers, as quoted by Bloomberg. Waltersmith Petroman Oil is part of the Renaissance consortium of five companies buying the assets Shell is selling.

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OPEC raised its oil production in January despite voluntary production cuts that the group was supposed to be adhering to, according to new data published on Friday by Bloomberg.

A new Bloomberg survey showed that OPECs production rose by 110,000 barrels per day to 26.68 million barrels per daywith Libya accounting for much of the increase as it brought production back online at its Sharara oilfield.

Sharara has been closed due to unrest in the country.

Iraqa chronic overproducer, did lower its February production, but it is still producing more than its agreement with OPEC calls for. The survey showed that the UAE also produced more than its quota.

OPEC voluntarily agreed to deepen its oil production cuts for the first quarter of this year, although several members have been struggling to meet those commitments. Several countries have promised to make up for any overages in subsequent months.

Most analysts predict that OPEC+ will extend its production cuts into the second quarter, and the market is eagerly awaiting the news from the group regarding their plans for April and beyond.

OPEC+s voluntary production cuts could even be extended through the end of the year, three OPEC+ sources told Reuters earlier this week. The sources said that extending the cuts into the second quarter was likely.

OPEC+ members collectively decided to voluntarily cut 2.2 million bpd from the groups production this quarter, although much of that was production cuts that were already in effect, including Saudi Arabias 1 million bpd voluntary cut. Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, has always left the door open to extending the cuts, saying as far back as December that the production cuts could extend beyond March should the market require it.

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Russias state-controlled oil giant Rosneft has launched a sales process seeking to divest its German assets, which include a majority stake in a major refinery that is currently under German trusteeship, a spokesperson for Germanys economy ministry told Bloomberg on Friday.

In September 2022, a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany put the local business of Russias Rosneft under trusteeship, handing control over the Schwedt refinery to the countrys energy market regulator.

With the trusteeship, the threat to the security of energy supply is countered and an essential foundation stone is set for the preservation and future of the Schwedt site, the German government said at the time.

Schwedt is the fourth-largest refinery in Germany, it is 54% owned by the Russian state oil giant, and it gets its oil from the Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia. The Schwedt refinery supplies 90% of the fuel needs of Germanys capital city Berlin.

The trusteeship of Rosnefts assets has been extended twice for a period of six months, and the current six-month period of trusteeship expires on March 10, 2024.

Rosneft Russia has now stated that it has started a sales process and wants to finalize this during the period of a further trusteeship extension, the spokesperson of the economy ministry said in a statement carried by Bloomberg.

We will announce any decisions in good time, including a possible extension of the trusteeship, the spokesperson added.

Last month, government sources told Reuters that Germany was considering a nationalization of Rosnefts German assets, including the stake in the Schwedt refinery.

However, todays comments could suggest that a nationalization was not a preferred option.

According to the economy ministrys spokesperson, the primary goal of Germany in these affairs is to secure energy supply and especially the continued operations at the Schwedt oil refinery.

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Brimming with many tourist spots like Sefa Utaki, Okinawa World, and beautiful beaches, Nanjo City hardly ceases to amaze Okinawa visitors throughout the year. On a sunny winter day, I hopped in the car and headed to this southern city to treat myself to a nice day trip.

Chura Strawberry

My first stop of the day was Chura Strawberry Nanjo House. This was my first time trying strawberry-picking. Growing up in Okinawa, tangerine-picking is common, and strawberries didnt seem to fit in with the sub-tropical climate. It seems, however, that strawberry-picking is growing in popularity on the island, so I figured it was time to give it a try.

I headed to Chura Strawberry in Nanjo City because of the great views and famous tourist spots I could also visit nearby.

Chura Strawberry farm is in Kakinohana District and is one of the biggest farms on the island. The farms three greenhouses are where the delicious berries are grown.

At the entrance, I was handed a plastic plate to hold picked strawberries. Masamichi Tokashiki, vice president of Chura Ichigo farm, showed me how to properly pick the berries. Although there was nothing complicated about it, it did require technique to make sure the strawberry detaches from the stems end and does not damage the stem itself.

To pull this off, you have to reach for a ripe strawberry from underneath, then tilt the bottom of the berry away from you. Next, pull the top down towards you to allow for it to detach easily.

Inside the greenhouse, many folks were busy finding ripened ones and picking them. While some were focused on harvesting by quietly picking one after another, others were cheering with joy and eating them as soon as they picked them.

In my case, I fell in the second category. As soon as I found a red strawberry hanging, I picked it and put it straight to my mouth. The berries were bursting with juicy, sweet flavor and literally wowed me.

I had never tasted a supermarket strawberry this good.

You see, fresh strawberries are hard to beat, Tokashiki said with a smile.

Dazzled by the eye-opening experience and flavorful berries, I had to have more. And, though I was concerned that there might not be enough ripe berries for everyone, there were plenty. Chura grows four types of strawberries, and all are planted in different sections across the three greenhouses.

Each strawberry I picked tasted so good and were difficult to resist. I chomped on one after another, almost forgetting to take photos for this story. If I had not been there for this article, I would just have just kept on picking and eating. These strawberries were that good!

If you still havent tried strawberry picking, youre definitely missing out!

Also, MCCS Tours+ and Kadena ITT are offering tours to Ginoza Village in the north for strawberry picking.

Strawberry picking at Chura Ichigo Nanjo Farm

*Reservation through the website required.

*Please put on a mask except when you eat the strawberries. Stay hydrated because the greenhouses get warm. Use sanitizer, and measure body temperature at the entrance. Refrain from visiting the farm if you dont feel well. Maintain proper social distance.

*On that day, the admission cost me a little less than $20 for 40 minute-all-you-can-eat. For detailed info on the fees, hours, and reservations, please check out the link below.

Website

GPS Coordinates: N 26.157737, E 127.789188

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Tsukishiro Soba

I could not remember how many strawberries I had at the farm, but I was very satisfied for sure. I felt like I would not need food for a while. At least thats how I felt until I found Tsukishiro Soba, a soba joint just a 5-minute drive from the farm.

The blue cottage-style building caught my attention as I was heading toward the Niraikanai-bashi Tenboudai observatory, so I decided to make a detour for some soba there.

One step inside and its slick interior made it feel like a cafe rather than a soba joint. The menu items were unique, too. In particular, Niraikanai soba, Tsukihsirosobas signature menu item for 900 yen had an unconventional look.

This soba dish came topped with various ingredients like pork belly, pork ribs, Japanese omelet, a leafy green, mozuku seaweed, fine strips of raw cibol, green onion, and semi-dried tomato, which made it look more culinary art than ordinary soba.

As a soba fundamentalist who prefers simple toppings, I was not sure how this unconventional soba would taste. I ordered out of pure curiosity.

When I finally dug in, it only took one taste of the rich, umami broth to give me a sense of the dish. The broth was so delicious I could just keep on gulping it down even without noodles or toppings (which, in fact, I did once I was done with the ingredients and the noodle.)

The toppings and noodles did not fail to add depth and layers to the dish. The broth, vegetables, and seaweed created variations of taste and texture, which hardly ceased to tickle my curiosity.

The tender and flavorful pork belly and ribs were intoxicating and satisfying, like how I feel when I eat barbecue. And though the dish had a unique presentation and flavor, Tsukishiro kept their soba simple with the standard chewiness and softness youd expect from a bowl anywhere else.

Later on, I learned that the broth was made of local produce and pork bones. And the joint itself opened in Sept. 2022.

I was glad that the blue cottage exterior led me to have the second eye-opening experience of my day in Nanjo.

Tsukishiro Soba

Hours: 10 a.m.  4 p.m. (Mon-Wed, Fri); 10 a.m.  8 p.m. (Sat, Sun)

*Closed on Thu, and one Friday each month, so call ahead.

GPS Coordinates: N 26.16166, E 127.79597

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Niraikanai-bashi Tenbodai (observatory)

My stomach satisfied, I took a 5-minute drive to Niraikanai-bashi Tenbodai (observatory). This location overlooks Niraikanai Bridge curving along the beautiful coastline. The iconic scenery is often quoted by tourist guides and TV commercials as a must-see location.

If youre driving to this spot, you wont find parking there. Instead, there is a small space at the foot of the slope leading to the observatory wide enough for a few cars.

After a one-minute walk, I found myself at the observatory, which sits on a tunnel that overlooks Niraikanai Bridge.

Facing east, I could see the bridge running toward the coast drawing big curves, like a snake or a dragon. Somewhere behind the bridge, there should be Sefa Utaki, a famous sacred site, but it was not visible behind the brush.

Further in the distance, I could also see Kudaka Island floating in the ocean, where Amamikyo, a god who is thought to have landed and begun building Ryukyu (Okinawa). The observatorys name Niraikanai refers to a legendary source of life, which the god is believed to have come from. Looking at the locations that became the stages for Okinawas legend and myth, I forgot the time for a short while.

Niraikanai-bashi Tenbodai (observatory)

GPS Coordinates: N 26.167464, E 127.815014

Kakinohana Hiija

To close my trip to Nanjo City, I decided to swing by Kakinohana Hiija spring, about a 10-minute drive from the observatory. Selected as one of the 100 meisui (best water) in Japan in 1985, this spot is visited by both locals and tourists who look for clean water and beautiful scenery.

This spring overlooks the southeast coast of the city and can be accessed via either a local residential area above the spring or a hilly road that branches off Route 331 at the bottom of the slope.

I chose the latter and went up the slope going through trees and bushes. The ground was muddy due to water running down the slope here and there.

After about a five-minute walk, I came to an area where paddy fields spread. Here, with no trees to block the view, I could see the beautiful coast shining under the sun. Walking for another five minutes or so, a stream of water running down vertically into a spring came into my sight. The sound of the water felt lulling. Near the spring, I found a middled-aged man taking a nap on a bench. I would have done the same if I had had time. In this calm and peaceful atmosphere, I felt very much rejuvenated.

Kakinohana Hiija

GPS: N 26.147653, E 127.796920 (The south end of the slope that leads up to the spring)

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May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows youre dead.

Traditionally, the Irish offer up this toast  and many others  with a pint of stout beer or a shot of whiskey in hand. This year for St. Patricks Day, Bottles & Barrels in Omaha will be doing exactly the same.

Its commonly believed that monks brought distilling to Ireland back in the fifth century, said Jimmy Ellsworth, Bottles & Barrels owner. Whereas Scotch is made primarily from malted barley, Irish whiskey typically uses malted and unmalted barley, along with other grains like corn and wheat.

After going through a triple distillation process, Irish whiskey goes down smooth and light, often exhibiting tasting notes of honey, fruit and vanilla.

We sell a lot of Irish whiskey in March, of course, Ellsworth said. Jameson is the best-selling Irish product from a volume standpoint, but other well-respected brands include Redbreast, Glendalough and Bushmills. Our Scotch sales, along with Irish Whiskey sales, also tend to pick up around St. Pattys Day.

As with American whiskeys like bourbon and rye, the smaller Irish whiskey market offers a wide selection of distinctive flavor profiles, characteristics and price points to explore. Bottles & Barrels customers will have an opportunity to sip and sample for themselves during their Celtic Spirits Showcase: A Journey through Irish Whiskies and Scotch event on Saturday, March 9, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Well be pouring about 20 different kinds of Irish whiskey and Scotch, including a handful that retail for $200 and up, and discussing the historical and scientific differences between each, Ellsworth said. We plan on opening some very nice bottles like a Bushmills 21-year single malt, a Redbreast 15-year single pot still and a Redbreast PX thats been finished in sherry casks.

Not to mention, the event is free of charge. If you find something you like or if youre unable to attend the tasting but are still interested in stocking up on some Irish whiskey before St. Patricks Day, Bottles & Barrels will also be offering aggressive sales on over 30 Irish Whiskies and Scotch between March 3 and March 17.

Once you get them home, Ellsworth says the best way to enjoy Irish whiskey or Scotch is neat or on the rocks.

You probably dont want to use these for cocktails, he said. Irish whiskey is so light and smooth to begin with, you can lose the nuances if you start adding in other mixers. Same with Scotch; its smokiness and peat can overwhelm other flavors. The most you want to do with these is maybe add just a splash of water.

For more information about the Celtic Spirits Showcase, along with other Bottles & Barrels seasonal in-store events and a complete list of St. Patricks Day sale items, go to bottlesandbarrels.com.

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LINCOLN  Nebraskas auditor this week flagged flagrant abuses of a Medicaid program meant to cover costs of hygiene, mobility and housekeeping services for disabled clients that has been plagued by longstanding fraud.

Auditor Mike Foley said Wednesday that his office has been raising concerns for years over the Medicaid-funded personal assistance services program that pays providers approved by the Department of Health and Human Services to assist clients with disabilities or chronic conditions with tasks like bathing.

But after HHS officials took little action to crack down on fraud following prior audits warning of suspect billings paid out by the program  which is funded by a mix of state and federal tax dollars  Foleys office set out to drill down and really prove to them how bad it is, he said.

His offices probe revealed what appear to have been flagrant abuses, including suspected fraud committed by certain care providers fleecing the program to receive unearned payments, Foley said in a press release Wednesday night accompanying the audit.

Auditors found that HHS approved tens of thousands of dollars of questionable payments to providers who sometimes billed the state for services they could not have possibly rendered.

In one such case, a provider billed HHS for 24.5 hours of service that she claimed to have provided in a single 24-hour day.

That same provider claimed to have provided more than 87 hours of service per week for three different clients despite simultaneously holding down two other jobs as a dental hygienist and pharmacy technician, Foley said.

In another case, a provider billed HHS for 32 hours of work supposedly performed in a single day. She, too, maintained two other jobs that conflicted with the hours she billed the state for.

And another provider claimed to provide nearly 100 hours of service per week for four clients despite holding full-time employment elsewhere. On at least nine days, she billed HHS for services she ostensibly performed when her Facebook postings showed her to be traveling to Indianapolis, Dallas and Phoenix, Foley said.

You dont think of an auditor going on Facebook, Foley told the Journal Star. But we do.

Foleys staff identified the suspect billings while conducting in-depth audits of only 10 service providers  finding issues with nine of the 10 that amounted to $14,397 in potentially fraudulent payments and another $89,000 in questioned costs.

The sampling suggests that fraud within the personal assistance services program could cost taxpayers between $1 million and $1.5 million annually, Foley said.

HHS paid out a total of $9.5 million in claims submitted under the program in the 2023 fiscal year, $3.8 million of which were state tax dollars.

Foley said the audit convinced him that the program is in desperate need of an overhaul.

His office turned some of its findings over to criminal prosecutors and recommended HHS implement procedures to ensure payments issued under the program are proper and in response to billings that include adequate documentation.

HHS officials agreed with the offices findings, pledging in a response to the audit to work with state auditors to improve the identification of and actions taken against potential fraud, waste and abuse.

The release of the audit comes just over a week after Foley told the Legislatures Appropriations Committee that HHS, then led by former CEO Dannette Smith, attempted to bypass the scrutiny of his office last year by seeking its own hand-picked private accounting firm.

Foley said Thursday that the agencys new CEO, Steve Corsi, really means business and would never try to pull that kind of stunt.

The appointment of Corsi, who is Gov. Jim Pillens controversial pick to replace Smith atop the states largest agency, has not yet been approved by the Legislature.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024
A Bellevue man was arrested Tuesday after allegedly shooting a bullet into a tree stump.

Police were dispatched to the 1500 block of Sunshine Boulevard at about 12:40 p.m. Tuesday on a report of shots fired, according to Lt. Howard Banks of the Bellevue Police Department. The incident raised concern, since it was just blocks from Bellevue West High School.

Because of the proximity, Bellevue police put us into secure, said Amanda Oliver, director of communications for Bellevue Public Schools.

In that mode, the school is locked, and no one is allowed to enter or exit the building, she said.

On arrival, police found that the suspect had apparently shot a stump and then shut himself in his home. He refused to come out for 20 to 40 minutes, Banks said. Eventually, officers convinced him to exit the building and took him into custody.

Tavis Whitesell, 51, was arrested on charges of discharging a firearm inside city limits, disturbing the peace and obstruction of official acts.

He was released later that day after posting 10% of his $5,000 bond, according to Sarpy County Jail officials.
Matthew Frederick Strohl, of metropolitan Omaha, was sentenced Feb. 28 in federal court in Omaha for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr has announced.

U.S. District Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Strohl to 150 months in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a five-year term of supervised release.

On April 22, 2022, an Omaha Police officer stopped Strohl for a traffic violation. During the traffic stop, officers found Strohl in possession of a meth pipe and small amounts of narcotics.

Officers believed that Strohl had more narcotics in his apartment, which was located in Sarpy County. With assistance from the Sarpy County Sheriffs Office, Strohls apartment was searched. Inside, officers discovered nine different types of narcotics, including 69 grams of meth, hydrocodone, Adderall, Xanax, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms.

Strohls prior criminal history was taken into consideration during sentencing. In 2009, he was sentenced in an Omaha federal court to 120 months for drug and firearm charges.

This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department and Sarpy County Sheriffs Office.
After seven days of testimony, a Sarpy County jury deliberated for just over two hours before they found a Bellevue man guilty of the first-degree murders of his young children.

Adam Price, 38, will receive an automatic minimum sentence of life in prison without parole when he is sentenced in May. The jury found that he intentionally and with premeditated malice smothered his 5-year-old daughter, Emily, and 3-year-old son, Theodore, to death before posing their bodies in their beds and fleeing from the state.

The case was submitted to the jury shortly before 11:25 a.m. Thursday, and it returned a guilty verdict at 1:42 p.m.

Deliberations were preceded by closing arguments from Sarpy County Deputy Attorney Gage Cobb and public defender Tom Strigenz on Thursday.

Cobb portrayed Price as a man who planned his childrens deaths after his marriage failed.

Strigenz sought to portray Price as a loving father broken up by his failed marriage. He also criticized many aspects of the law enforcement investigation, including the determination of cause of the childrens deaths, what items were submitted for evidence and how they were tested.

This case is a tragedy, Strigenz said. Any time a child dies its tragic.

At the time of the deaths, Price and the childrens mother, Mary Nielsen, were in the midst of divorce and custody proceedings. In February 2021, Price and Nielsen were granted joint legal and physical custody of their two children, according to court documents. They were ordered to alternate custody every week, and each party was to have phone or FaceTime visitation with the children every day the children were with the other party.

Shes not breathing. Shes dead. The little boy is dead, too

On May 10, 2021, Nielsen saw her children alive for the last time when she dropped them off to spend the week with Price. Nielsen was living in Illinois at the time and would meet Price at a halfway point in Iowa each week to exchange custody.

When she couldnt get in touch with Price or her children via FaceTime on May 14 or 15, Nielsen twice called 911 to request a welfare check. Police went to the Bellevue home both times but said they lacked probable cause to enter.

It was a friend of Nielsens, Morgan Clark, who walked into the unlocked home and found the bodies of Emily and Theodore on May 16. Clark, the first witness prosecutors called, cried throughout her testimony as she recalled finding the children and attempting CPR on Emily. A recording of her 911 call was played in court.

Please, please send an ambulance, she had said to the dispatcher. Shes not breathing. Shes dead. The little boy is dead, too.

Photos taken by investigators and published at trial showed Emily and Theodore tucked into their beds with closed eyes and purple lips. Emily was laying under a pink comforter with a stuffed giraffe tucked under her arm. Theodore was underneath a black and red blanket.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty

Nielsen also testified, as did two priests Price visited in California after fleeing from the state.

On May 16  the day of his arrest  Price confessed to killing his children to a Roman Catholic priest in San Francisco, who then called police and waited with Price until they arrived. He was then extradited to Nebraska.

Speaking with reporters after the verdict, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said he doesnt believe that the confession Price made set a new precedent for evidence submitted to the court.

We just have to rely on what the conditions are, not only the rules that the priesthood (falls) under but also the rules and laws of the state, Polikov said. It was an interesting aspect. But I dont have any concerns.

Strigenz told reporters Prices confession that helped lead to the guilty verdict could be the basis for an appeal. Strigenz also said his office is also looking at other issues related to the evidence.

We knew it was a tough case. We put on a fantastic defense, he said. We understand the jury did what the jury did. Were still unpacking the jury result. Were going to have to talk to our client and see what the next steps are going to be.

Strigenzs office had filed a motion last year seeking to not have Prices confession entered into evidence. But Sarpy County District Court Judge George Thompson denied the motion, ruling that the confessions were not made in confidence and that the priests did not have duties to keep their conversations with Price secret.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty for Price. Polikov said he strongly considered the death penalty but decided not to do so. Polikov added Price is going to face a significant sentence although it will be up to a judge what exactly that sentence will be.
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BROWNSVILLE, Texas  Three hundred miles apart, President Joe Biden and likely Republican challenger Donald Trump walked along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas Thursday, in dueling trips underscoring how important immigration has become for the 2024 election.

They each got a briefing on operations and issues, walked the border and gave remarks that overlapped. But that's where the comparisons ended.

Biden, who sought to spotlight how Republicans tanked a bipartisan border security deal on Trump's orders, went to the Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville. For nine years, this was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, but they have dropped sharply in recent months.

The president walked a quiet stretch of the border along the Rio Grande and received a lengthy operations briefing from Homeland Security agents who talked to him bluntly about what more they needed.

"I want the American people to know what we're trying to get done," he said to officials there. "We can't afford not to do this."

Trump, meanwhile, continued his dialed-up attacks on migrants arriving to the border, deriding them as "terrorists" and criminals after harnessing rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue migrants are poisoning the blood of America.

"The United States of America is being invaded," he said.

Trump was in Eagle Pass, about 325 miles northwest of Brownsville, in the corridor that's currently seeing the largest number of crossings. He went to a local park that has become a Republican symbol of defiance against the federal immigration enforcement practices.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas National Guard soldiers gave him a tour, showing off razor wire they put up on Abbott's orders and in defiance of a U.S. Supreme Court order.

"This is like a war," Trump said.

Border crossings

The number of people who are illegally crossing the U.S. border has risen for years for complicated reasons that include climate change, war and unrest in other nations, the economy, and cartels that see migration as a cash cow.

The administration's approach has been to pair crackdowns at the border with increasing legal pathways for migrants designed to steer people into arriving by plane with sponsors, not illegally on foot to the border.

Arrests for illegal crossings fell by half in January, but there were record highs in December. The numbers of migrants flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border have far outpaced the capacity of an immigration system that has not been substantially updated in decades.

Trump and Republicans claim Biden refuses to act, but absent a law change from Congress, any major policies are likely to be challenged in court.

Among those voters, worries about the nation's broken immigration system are rising on both sides of the political divide, which could be especially problematic for Biden.

According to an AP-NORC poll in January, the share of voters concerned about immigration rose to 35% from 27% last year. Fifty-five percent of Republicans say the government needs to focus on immigration in 2024, while 22% of Democrats listed immigration as a priority. That's up from 45% and 14%, respectively, from December 2022.

From Air Force One, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas noted how badly his department that manages the U.S.-Mexico border needed extra funding that would have been contained in the collapsed bill.

"This visit is focused on the work that we do, not the rhetoric of others," he said. "This is focused on operational needs, operational challenges and the significant impact that legislation would have in enhancing our border security."

Debate in DC

In a symbol of the political divide, the Republican-controlled House voted recently to impeach Mayorkas over the Biden administration's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats say the charges amount to a policy dispute, not the "high crimes and misdemeanors" laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution.

Since the president was last at the border a year ago, the debate over immigration in Washington has shifted further to the right. Democrats have become increasingly eager to embrace border restrictions now that migrants are sleeping in police stations and airplane hangars in major cities.

During bipartisan talks on an immigration deal that would have toughened access for migrants, Biden himself said he'd be willing to "shut down the border" right now, should the deal pass.

The talks looked promising for a while. But Trump, who didn't want to give Biden a political win on one of his signature campaign issues, convinced Republicans to kill the deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared the deal dead on arrival.

Biden vowed to make sure everyone knew why.

"Every day, between now and November, the American people are gonna know that the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends," Biden said earlier this month, referring to the former president's Make America Great Again slogan.

Where each Trump case stands Classified documents case Election interference Hush-money scheme Georgia election indictment Civil cases
A judge in Montana rejected abortion restrictions, the attorney general in Missouri is accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally transporting minors for abortions and new data shows how the way abortions they're provided continues to shift in a nation where some states have bans and others are protecting access.

More than a year and a half since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion, the details of what that means are still in flux. With lawsuits still pending and ballot questions on the horizon, that's the one thing that's not likely to change quickly.

Here are things to know about developments across the country this week.

MONTANA JUDGE BLOCKS RESTRICTIONS

A Montana judge on Thursday rejected restrictions on abortion that were adopted in 2021, possibly setting up a chance for the Montana Supreme Court to revisit its 1999 ruling that protected a woman's right to abortion until the fetus is viable.

The 2021 laws were put on hold and never took effect.

They would have banned abortion after 20 weeks' gestation, banned telehealth prescription of abortion pills, required a 24-hour waiting period after giving consent and required providers to show women an ultrasound or hear a fetal heart tone before providing an abortion.

The state government plans to appeal the ruling, possibly putting it on a path for another showdown at the state's top court. The high court has previously declined to reverse the 1999 decision  including when it backed up a lower court's decision to pause enforcement of the 2021 laws.

A judge last year also put on hold enforcement of more restrictions the state adopted last year, including a ban on dilation and evacuation abortions  the most common procedure after 15 weeks' gestation.

Abortion rights groups are pushing for a ballot question to amend the state constitution to protect reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion.

REPORT FINDS CHANGES IN HOW ABORTIONS ARE PROVIDED

There have been legal and legislative battles over abortion access in the U.S. for generations, but everything changed when the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had protected access nationwide.

Since then, bans have taken effect in most Republican-controlled states, including 14 where abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy, with varying limited exceptions. Most Democrat-controlled states have sought to protect access.

Those changes are reflected in data released this week by #WeCount for the Society of Family Planning. The group finds that the number of abortions per month nationally is similar to what it was before the court's ruling.

Although the number of monthly abortions has dropped to nearly zero in states with bans, they have risen in states that allow abortion  and a larger portion of them use pills prescribed by telehealth.

STATES PUSH VIDEOS TO DISCOURAGE ABORTION, CLARIFY POLICIES

West Virginia's state Senate this week approved a measure to require eighth and 10th graders to see a video on fetal development.

The Baby Olivia video is being used in classrooms in North Dakota and there's legislation that aims to require it in Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.

Though it was approved in West Virginia's Senate, Republican Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, a pulmonologist, objected, saying the video has grossly inaccurate information contradictory to science. The bill now heads to the House of Delegates.

Meanwhile, South Dakota is looking to produce another video to guide medical providers on when to apply the one exception to the state's abortion ban. Under state law, abortion is allowed only to save the life of the woman.

This week, the state Senate approved the plan, which had already passed the House, this week. It now heads to Republican Gov. Kristi Noem for her signature.

MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Missouris attorney general is suing Planned Parenthood, asserting that the organization is illegally transporting minors from Missouri  where most abortions are banned  to obtain them in Kansas.

The claim is based on a conservative groups hidden-camera video of someone seeking an abortion for a fictitious 13-year-old.

Planned Parenthood denies the claim.

The office of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican running for election this year, has not said whether criminal charges could be filed, too.

TEXAS OFFICIAL PUNISHED OVER MURDER CHARGE IN ABORTION CASE

The abortion bans across the U.S. seek to criminalize doctors and others who provide abortions and in many cases those who help women seeking abortions  but they stop short of allowing charges against those women themselves.

Still, a 26-year-old who self-managed an abortion in 2022 in Texas was charged there with murder and spent two nights in jail before being released and having the charges dropped.

It was revealed this week that the prosecutor who oversaw the case has been disciplined for his role in it. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez must pay a $1,250 fine and have his license held in a probated suspension for 12 months under a settlement agreement with the State Bar of Texas.

Ramirez says he made a mistake and agreed to the deal because it will keep his office running.

ALABAMA LAWMAKERS MOVE TO PROTECT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION AFTER COURT DECISION

Alabama lawmakers this week advanced bills to protect fertility clinics after the state's Supreme Court issued a ruling last month that could be devastating for them.

The court ruled that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. Three large clinics quickly halted offering in vitro fertilization, a devastating outcome for people trying to expand their families.

Abortion rights advocates  including U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on a visit to Alabama this week  have framed the court's ruling as a consequence of overturning Roe v. Wade and part of a conservative effort to ban abortion by declaring that embryos and fetuses have the rights of people.
In a split decision, the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Nebraskas deferred judgment law after it had been deemed unconstitutional by a lower court in Madison County.

The case arose after a Madison County judge declined to consider a defendants request for deferred judgment because the judge didnt agree with the state statute and didnt believe he had the constitutional authority to do so. As a result of the opinion, the case will be sent back to the lower court for the judge to consider the request for deferred judgment.

Three of the seven justices on Nebraskas highest court dissented in full or in part to the courts decision, which was penned by Chief Justice Michael Heavican. Five justices would have had to find the statute unconstitutional for it to be deemed as such.

Deferred judgment is a type of plea bargain in criminal cases adopted by the Nebraska Legislature in 2019. According to the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association, the provision essentially  provides judges with the option of deferring a final sentence for a defendant but still place that offender on probation for a period of time.

In other words, a defendant could be placed on probation without being adjudicated as guilty, and if they successfully complete the probation term, the plea can be withdrawn and the case dismissed. According to a national survey by the Collateral Consequences Research Center, as of 2022, all 50 states have some form of judicial diversion or deferred adjudication legislation on the books, though Nebraskas law is one of the broadest.

Court documents show this case stemmed from a May 2022 incident in Stanton County, Nebraska, in which a Norfolk man, Nathaniel Gnewuch, led law enforcement on a pursuit across multiple counties. He was eventually stopped and charged with flight to avoid arrest, a felony, and two misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and obstruction.

Gnewuch accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to one felony count of operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest. Prior to sentencing, he filed a motion for deferred judgment on the grounds he was a veteran with diagnosed mental health issues and was experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of the pursuit.

Madison County District Court Judge James Kube denied Gnewuchs motion for deferred sentence after hearing arguments from Matthew Kiernan, a prosecutor with the Madison County Attorneys Office. Kiernan said the state had serious constitutional concerns about the statute.

Kube agreed and declined to consider deferred judgment because he thought the state statute was unconstitutional, according to a transcript of the sentencing.

I dont agree with the legislation, Kube said. I would be placing you on probation when theres no conviction. That would be similar to me sentencing you to jail even though you havent been convicted I dont think thats constitutional and I dont think I have the authority to do that, regardless of the fact that the legislature has deemed fit to make that a law.

In his opinion for the court, Heavican said he found the arguments that the deferred judgment statute violated the separation of powers clause unpersuasive, as the judicial branch maintains broad discretion over whether or not to approve deferred judgment. He also wrote that Kube had a duty under state law to consider if deferred judgment was an appropriate punishment for Gnewuch.

Deferred judgments have been declared the law and a public policy of this state, Heavican wrote. Therefore, it is the responsibility and duty of the judicial branch to consider whether such a punishment is appropriate in each applicable case.

Three justices  William Cassel, Jeffrey Funke and John Freudenberg  wrote dissenting opinions arguing that the statute violated Nebraskas constitution. Freudenberg specifically argued the statute violates the state constitution by essentially giving the judicial branch pardoning power, which is an executive function.

The legislature has created a conviction without a conviction and a sentence without a sentence to give the judicial branch the power to pardon a person who has been charged with and found guilty of a crime, Freudenberg wrote. The statutory scheme of deferred judgments gives powers that our founders never intended the judiciary, or any branch of government, to have. It breaks the beam from which our system of checks and balances is suspended and should not be tolerated.

Gnewuchs case is not the first instance of a district court declining to consider deferred judgment on constitutional grounds, but it is the first time the issue appealed. In 2022, according to reporting by News Channel Nebraska, a district court judge in Richardson County declined a request for deferred judgment for two defendants who pleaded guilty to marijuana offenses because she considered the law to be unconstitutional. Attorneys for those two defendants did not appeal the judges ruling.
More than three dozen horses expected to go to auction Saturday in Palmyra, Nebraska, have received a reprieve.

Epona Horse Rescues Lin Guyton said she received a call from the Gage County Sheriffs Office on Thursday night informing her that no court order to sell the horses had been issued by a judge. The sale was off.

Guyton said she and her allies are attempting to buy all of the horses when they do come up for sale to keep them out of any kill pen buyers who would send them to slaughter.

It gives us more time to head into a better resolution for them, she said.

According to Nebraska law, when horses such as those in Gage County are seized, they are live evidence and there would have to be a court order to sell them.

The 37 horses that would have gone to the Palmyra Livestock Auction were confiscated in August from the Blue Valley Veterinary Clinic and Pickrell Veterinary Clinic owned by veterinarian Jennafer Glaessemann.

Glaesemann has been cited by the Sheriffs Office on suspicion of animal neglect. The Gage County attorney, however, has not filed formal charges.

Guyton said a court order to auction the horses could still come at any time.

Ultimately, this is going to happen, and were going to have to attempt to buy back as many as we can, she said.

The Sheriffs Office is referring all questions about the horses to County Attorney Roger Harris. His office said he is not be available for comment.

The decision to auction off the horses would be up to Gage County District Court Judge Rick Schreiner, who said he could not comment on the case.

I am ethically prohibited about cases that I have in front of me for decisions, he said.

Guyton said $54,150 has been raised through a GoFundMe account to buy the horses at auction and then find them good homes.

Shes frustrated that a disbursement order wasnt given last fall, but she said she will continue to care for the now fat and healthy horses.

We want this over with. We want it done, she said. We want to be able to let these horses move on to a new life.

World-Herald staff writer Kevin Cole contributed to this report.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024
LINCOLN  Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen denied a request Thursday to remove a voter referendum that seeks to repeal a new set of tax credits for donations to private and parochial school scholarship funds.

The request was made by State Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of the Omaha area, who had introduced the bill last year that established the tax credits, Legislative Bill 753. She alleged that the referendum violated a section of the Nebraska Constitution that gives the power of taxation to the Legislature.

In Evnens decision, he said that some of the arguments Linehan made are outside the purview of his office, and are best left up to the courts. He referenced prior case law that stated the power of the referendum must be liberally construed to promote the democratic process.

Linehan said she hasnt decided yet whether she will pursue a legal challenge, but she is considering asking the Legislature to move forward on a lawsuit. She said Evnens opinion could jeopardize senators authority to legislate any and all tax policies in the future.

LB 753 drew opposition from its introduction, most notably from public school educators who said it risked diverting money from public education and would give the biggest tax benefits to wealthy Nebraskans.

The bill established dollar-for-dollar tax credits for individuals and entities making donations to scholarship funds that help students attend private and parochial schools. Linehan had proposed similar measures for years and finally got the bill passed in 2023.

Shortly after Gov. Jim Pillen signed the bill, a new group called Support Our Schools Nebraska launched a petition drive to force a vote to repeal the bill in the November 2024 general election. That petition drive was successful, with the Secretary of States Office announcing in October that the group gathered roughly 30,000 signatures more than the minimum required to place the issue on the ballot.

During the three-month petition drive, another new group called Keep Kids First worked to discourage people from signing the petition. Linehan, who is affiliated with Keep Kids First, has said petitioners misled the public in an effort to gather signatures.

Linehan has made several other efforts to nullify the referendum effort, including introducing LB 1402 this year that would appropriate $25 million in state support for private and faith-based school scholarships  the same amount appropriated for LB 753. That bill recently advanced out of committee, and Linehan has said that if it passes, she would support a repeal of LB 753.

Linehan said its important to her to ensure this program survives because it helps low-income children who dont have the same educational opportunities as children in higher-income households.

I will drive every avenue to address that, she said.

Meanwhile, supporters of the referendum celebrated Evnens decision. Rebecca Firestone, executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute, noted in an email that the petition drive gathered over 117,000 signatures in just a few months. She said that signals that voters want to weigh in on the legislation, and she criticized LB 1402 for trying to negate that.

LB 1402 could block Nebraskans from the opportunity to vote on this key issue for the future of our state, Firestone wrote.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024
The suspect

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibadan zonal office has arrested one Ayodele Saheed Olaniyi, for defrauding unsuspecting investors in a phoney N343,880,000 (Three Hundred and Forty Three Million, Eight Hundred and Eighty Thousand Naira) investment scam.

Olaniyis arrest followed a petition to the EFCC in February, which was investigated by EFCC operatives. The petition had alleged that Olaniyi duped 89 persons collecting money from them at various times amounting to N343,880,000.

Olaniyi was said to have persuaded his victims into investing in a network structure called Beerbanc Traders Network, in which the participants would pool resources together to establish a beer retailing business.

The proceed was expected to be shared every month among the investors and the purported coordinating company.

But rather than bring succour, Olaniyi accentuated their frustration as they neither received a dime as profit on their investment since October 2018, nor did they get their invested money back.

Investigations into the petition revealed that the suspect was operating eight different accounts through which he enlisted 114 people into the phoney scheme. It was also established that a sum of N396.5 million found in the accounts were never invested in any business.

It was also established that the company under which Olaniyi was operating the business was not registered with the Central Bank of Nigeria as a financial institution.

After taking his statement and conducting a search on his house and business address at Oluyole, Ibadan, he was granted administrative bail; he was however, unable to meet the terms.

However, having realised that it was game up, and that there was likelihood of him facing the consequence of his actions, Olaniyi tried playing a smart one on the Commission, as he feigned illness.

He claimed to be suffering from Hepatitis B in a bid to secure his release on health ground.

However, a medical laboratory test conducted on him established that he was not infected as he claimed.

He will soon be charged to court.
A Court of Appeal sitting in Benin on Friday dismissed an application for joinder filed by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, for the Delta APC annulment judgment for lack of merit.

Omo-Agege is the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District.

The Court also struck out an application for joinder by the lawmaker-elect for Ughelli North, South and Udu Federal Constituency, Francis Waive.

Omo-Agege and Waive had approached the Court for leave to be joined as parties to the suit in which the Federal High Court, sitting in Asaba, sacked the Jones Erue-led APC State Executive Committee, which conducted primaries where both of them emerged as candidates of the party for the 2019 National Assembly election.

In a unanimously decision read by Justice Philomena Mbua Ekpe, the court ruled that both applications filed by Omo-Agege and Waive lacked merit and subsequently dismissed the case with a fine of N300, 000 against the appellants (Omo-Agege and Waive).

The Appeal Court said the plaintiffs could not claim to be unaware of the case, hence they could not seek to be joined or challenged the judgement, at this moment.

The Court held that only Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) that were parties to the case could bring an application to appeal the Asaba Federal High Court annulment judgment.

Recall that Omo-Agege and Waive had through their Counsel, Alex Iziyon, SAN, while seeking the leave of the court to appeal the judgement, filed an exparte motion which was granted to enable them serve Chief Cyril Ogodo by pasting service at the state party secretariat in Asaba.

The Federal High Court 1, Asaba, in its March 18, 2019, judgement delivered by Justice Toyin Adegoke, sacked the Jones Erue-led State Executive Committee, and upheld the Cyril Ogodo faction as the authentic partys State Executive Committee.

The court also in its judgement annulled all actions taken by the sacked Jones Erue-led executive committee, including party primaries and the list of candidates which emerged from their factional primaries declaring it null and void.
Luck has finally ran out on six internet fraudsters after they were nabbed with 200 female panties. The police division in Okpanam community, Delta State arrested the guys with 200 female pants in the area.

Delta state Acting Police PRO, ASP Chucks Orisewezie, who confirmed the arrest of the suspects, told newsmen in Asaba that they include:

Chucks Okolie, Francis Ogbereh, Collins Ederah, Felix Nnamdi, Goodluck John, and Steve Akpokona.

The suspects were arrested upon intelligence gathered by the police detectives in the bush of Okpanam community where they allegedly packaged the underwears into a sack and were about moving out of the area.
By Odimmegwa johnpeter/Abuja

The Federal Government has said that it will commence full commercial

operations on the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Railway after three months of free

train test ride even as Stations are nearing completion.

The Minister of Transportation, Rt . Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi disclosed this

to newsmen on Thursday 11th April, 2019 at Agbor Railway Station in Delta

State shortly after the inspection tour of the project.

Amaechi directed the Nigerian Railway Cooperation (NRC) to fix the

commensurate price for the Itakpe-Warri railway and stop the free train rides

forthwith.

He said The commercial activities should resume fully today, I have already

directed the MD to start collecting money.

The Minister further informed that the construction of Stations at Agbor is

nearing completion and will be fully completed by September or October this

year.

Hear him: The station buildings are nearing completion at Agbor and Julius

Berger have assured that they will be out of site by June, then, CCECC would be

left to do the track work and when they finish the track work, this place will be

up for use

The Minister continued: We have completed the track work, what would be

outstanding are the stations and by September or October they would have

completed the stations if they continue with the same pace of work they are

currently doing.

Amaechi further added that by the time they finished building the Stations, the

track as well as offices would have been completed and it will pave the way for

the companies that are mining Iron Ore to move their products and passengers

freely by using the track unhindered.

By the time they finish, there would be track, offices and the companies mining

iron ore would be able to move their goods and passengers would be able to use

the train when completed According to him, none of the station buildings have been completed; although

they are at different levels of completion and some have finished the structural

work, just the finishing work is remaining.

Furthermore, the Minister affirmed that he was impressed by the progress of

work despite the fact that Government is yet to pay the contractors for some

already completed jobs.

Beyond the fact that we are owing them, am impressed at the level of work. If

you recall, the first time we came, this place used to be bushy, no business

activities and by this second visit, the offices are almost completed, he

explained.

Post Views: 85
The immediate past Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and loser of guber primary in Ekiti has been suspended indefinitely from the party.

Segun Oni was suspended over alleged anti-party activities.

In a letter dated May 1, 2019 and addressed to Mr Oni by the partys executives in his (Oni) Ifaki Ward II, Ekiti, the party said it took the action over the failure of the party chieftain to appear before them to clear the allegations against them.

The letter was signed by the Chairman and Secretary of Ifaki Ward II, Shina Akinloye and Ogunyemi Taiwo respectively as well as 24 other executive members in the ward.

The APC executive in Ido /Osi Local Government through its Assistant Financial Secretary and Assistant Organising Secretary, A. Suleiman and Olanrewaju Olamope, respectively also signed.

Apart from being a former governor, Mr Oni also served as the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the party under the tenure of John Oyegun.

The letter entitled, Suspension from All Progressives Congress Ward II, Ifaki Ekiti read:

Subject to Article 21 Subsections I, II and X of the APC constitution 2014 as amended.

We the undersigned executive members of the APC hereby suspend you indefinitely from our great party, based on your refusal to honour our invitation for investigation and fact finding into the allegation of anti-party activities leveled against your person by the members of our party.

We are by the copy of this letter informing both the local government and state working committee of the party for necessary information and action, it stated in part.

The party had in a letter dated 24th April 2019 and signed by the ward executives invited Mr Oni to appear before a panel.

The letter read: We the executive members of the APC in Ifaki Ward II, hereby request your presence at the Ilero town hall, Ilogbe, Ifaki Ekiti to clear the allegations by members of the APC in your ward.

Kindly indicate by informing the APC chairman the convenient time and date to appear before members within the next seven days of reception of this letter, it stated.

The letter of invitation was received on Mr Onis behalf by one Segun Adetunji on 25th April, 2019.

Oni s problem with the party began last year when he dragged Governor Kayode Fayemi and the party to court after the May 26, 2018 APC governorship primary.

He had challenged Mr Fayemis emergence as candidate and his eligibility to participate in the election.

The former governor had insisted that, going by the constitution of the party, Mr Fayemi, being a minister in the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari, ought to have resigned his post 30 days to the primary.

He had also claimed that Fayemi was not qualified to contest, alleging that he had been found guilty of certain offences by a Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by former Governor Ayo Fayose and which also banned him from holding public office for 20 years.

Mr Fayoses 10 year ban was, however, upturned by an Abuja High Court as well as the Appeal Court.

He later won the July 14 governorship election by defeating the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Kolapo Olusola.

The Supreme Court also dismissed Onis suit for lack of merit, saying Mr Fayemi did not breach the law by resigning after the primary.

Post Views: 96
A female lawyer identified as Adaobi Nweke, her mum, her boyfriend, some other family members and their herbalist have been arrested for dealing in illicit substances in Abia State, southeast Nigeria.

It was learnt that the suspects were arrested during a joint operation conducted by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and State Homeland Security around 11 pm on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, at 23 Arochukwu Street, Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

A statement signed by Femi Babafemi, NDLEA Director of Media & Advocacy, on Sunday, stated that the illicit drug business was passed on to the female lawyer by her late father.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to establish a comprehensive framework to address volatility in the foreign exchange market.

Muhammad Sani Abdullahi, the CBNs Deputy Governor of Economic Policy, said this during a crucial strategic dialogue session with international investors.

In a partnership with the CBN, this online engagement was orchestrated by the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX).

It was further supported by various global financial titans, including Standard Bank, Citi Bank, J.P. Morgan, and Standard Chartered. It was earlier scheduled to be held on Wednesday but was moved to Thursday.

Abdullahi said: We plan as much as possible and we are working with the IMF on this to provide a framework where we can allow for a bank where there is excess volatility to be able to see if that volatility is due to lack of supply, then the CBN will step in to improve supply not as a price discovery issue but to provide stability in whatsoever segment is being volatile.

Abdullahi expressed the central banks unwavering commitment to ensuring the utmost stability across all foreign exchange (FX) market segments.

READ ALSO: CBN makes U-turn, resumes dollar sales to BDCs

He highlighted the CBNs proactive approach towards identifying and mitigating instances of undue volatility, whether emanating from the banking sector or the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment. As Abdullahi pointed out, the primary goal is not to manipulate market prices but to establish and maintain stability across the board.

He said: We want to ensure as much as possible stability in all segments of the FX market. So, whenever we see volatility, excess volatility, whether from the bank side or the BDC segment, then the CBN will step in not to drive prices but to provide that stability.

Shifting focus to the proposed guidelines for BDC operations, Abdullahi provided insights into the exposure draft aimed at overhauling this crucial sector.

The exposure draft that was provided on the bureau de change activities is done firstly to bring that segment more in line with AML/CFT regulations, various reporting requirements, to introduce technology, and to ensure that segment can provide a service to that customer base that still uses that segment in a way that is more improved, streamlined and supervised.

He added that a part of the plan is to remove Nigeria from the Financial Action Task Forces (FATF) grey list.

The CBN recently unveiled an initiative to narrow the growing disparity in the exchange rate. Dr. Hassan Mahmud, the Director of the Trade & Exchange Department at the CBN, issued a new circular announcing the plan to allocate $20,000 to each qualified BDC operator within the nation.

This fresh allocation is set to be sold at N1,301/$, mirroring the lower boundary rate of the completed spot transactions within the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on the last trading day, February 27, 2024.
The Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Thursday, renewed the call for the restructuring of the country.

Soyinka, who spoke at the Punch Nigeria Limiteds 50th Anniversary Lecture titled: Recovering the Narrative at Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos,  said Nigerias restructuring has become inevitable for it to prevail over its challenges.

He stressed that Nigerians did not have to go through unending hardship to live better.

The playwright noted that restructuring remained the panacea to sustainable development of the country.

Soyinka said those leading the country recognised the importance of restructuring and its inevitability, but were not adopting it for whatever reason.

The Nobel laureate and a few other prominent Nigerians, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, had in the past identified the restructuring of Nigeria as the ultimate solution to its numerous challenges.

He said: It is about time that leaders of this nation stopped taking us for a ride. Do we have to go through surrogates, dismantling empires to come to fulfillment?

READ ALSO: Tinubus victory helped by disunity between Atiku, ObiSoyinka

Decentralise simply so that the government can come closer to the people and productivity ability manifested as a product of citizens, not simply as a manna from heaven.

Let me state quite clearly that no one has ever claimed that fecentralisation  a precise word I personally prefer  will end hunger in the land or terminate religious conflicts and other forms of national malaise, no.

We simply insist that this is central to the incomplete mission of  nation-being.

It is essential to activities of basic existence such as food production, and access to such products. Palliatives remain crude, short-term, stop-gap measures only.

According to him, restructuring is necessary to maximize development in the country.

He noted that the provision of palliatives to the suffering masses was just a stop-gap.

Soyinka, who called for genuine action on restructuring, lamented that many conferences on the subject had not yielded positive results.

He challenged the government to restore dignity to citizens and guarantee three square meals a day for the people.
A former lawmaker representing the Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Iwajowa/Kajola Federal Constituency of Oyo State in the House of Representatives, Shina Peller, on Thursday dumped the Accord Party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

Peller was received into the PDP alongside several members of the Accord Party in Oyo North Senatorial District by Governor Seyi Makinde, at Ode-Oba, Iseyin, Iseyin local government area of the state.

The ex-lawmaker dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Accord Party before the 2023 general election.

Makinde, who was represented at the event by his deputy, Bayo Lawal, welcomed Peller to the party. He also handed over the PDP flag to the ex-lawmaker.

The governor said: You will not regret joining the PDP. Now that Peller has joined this party, we must not hear of another party in Iseyin in particular, or in Oke Ogun in general.

READ ALSO: Lagos Shuts Shina Pellars celebrities night club, Quilox

I want to advise our PDP executives in local governments to cooperate with them. The ward chairmen and local government chairmen of our PDP should give them a chance to operate.

On his part, Peller said he joined the PDP because of Makindes exemplary leadership qualities.

Seyi (Makinde) is a visionary leader, thats why I joined the party.

I have seen the reason to align with his vision. There is no leadership when there is no vision. And we have seen the good work Makinde has done in this zone, Oke-Ogun. It has never happened in the history of Oyo North Senatorial district.

From Moniya to Iseyin, Oyo to Iseyin, Ogbomoso to Iseyin and so on. It has never happened before. So, if you have a visionary leader like him, you have to support him. Thats why we have decided to join Governor Makinde and the PDP to move the state forward.
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has assured Nigerians that President Bola Tinubu will transform Nigeria.

He said Tinubu will do it just like he did in Lagos State.

In a statement by his media assistant, Segun Tomori, Alake expressed the optimism that Nigeria would soon overcome its current economic hardship.

Alake said the hardship was because Nigeria is still going through what he described as a gestation period of economic restructuring and reforms.

Alake noted that President Bola Tinubu remains determined to revamp Nigerias economy and put it on a pedestal for sustainable growth through his Renewed Hope agenda.

According to him, the president has a track record of changing the economic tides of a region, just as he did when he was the governor of Lagos State.

Going down memory lane to the experience in Lagos state, the then governor Tinubu in 1999, met a state that was almost insolvent, with a monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N600 million, Alake said.

And a wage bill of over N1.1 billion monthly, with little or no resources to cater to infrastructure and other sectors of the economy.

President Tinubu took similar measures in Lagos as he is taking in Nigeria, to turn the tide and financially re-engineer the state. Today, the state is the fifth largest economy in Africa, bigger than most African countries.

What we are going through is the gestation period of reforms and policies for economic restructuring and like the President will say, it is like throes of pregnancy, that a pregnant woman goes through. After delivery, she heaves a sigh of relief.

The minister urged Nigerians to be patient with the government as the current economic situation would soon stabilise with positive results from ongoing reforms.

For the first time, Nigeria has a president well-versed in public finance. I am confident in this administrations capacity to diversify the economy, plug leakages, and redirect the economy to a path of sustainable growth, he said.

The future of this country is extremely very bright. What we need to do is to exude confidence in our ability and capacity to weather the storm of restructuring, economic and societal restructuring.

As we restructure our economy, putting in physical infrastructure, we must also restructure our minds and mental capacity to be at par with physical development.

 So that we can efficiently and judiciously enjoy the benefits of physical development. With the cooperation of Nigerians, the tide will turn very soon, and we all will be proud, he added
A tragic incident in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, has claimed the life of one person due to complications from consuming allegedly poisoned cassava flour used to make Amala, a renowned South West meal.

The incident unfolded in the Temidire Atoyebi area along Ajaawa Road in Ogbomoso, where a family of six consumed the meal for dinner on Wednesday night.

The family, consisting of Mrs. Victoria Paul Adewole (the grandmother), her four children, and a granddaughter, consumed the food and later experienced discomfort.

It was discovered that the family prepared the amala by extracting it from cassava peels, which they ground and turned into flour.

This was due to their inability to purchase yam or cassava flour.

According to undisclosed sources, the distress call from the six family members caught the attention of neighbors, who rushed in and took them to a private hospital in the Ogbomoso Baptist High School area, where the granddaughter reportedly died.

They were taken to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso, where medical personnel are presently battling to save the lives of the remaining family members.

A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, However, one of the children managed to disclose that it was cassava peels that they ground and made into flour, which they prepared as amal, since they could not afford to buy yam or cassava flour. The complication from the peels, which could have been poisoned or contaminated, resulted in the death of the youngest granddaughter, whose immune system might be very low.

The mother and her other four children are still battling with life in the hospital. We plead with kind-hearted people to please assist the family in whatever way they can so that fatality is no longer recorded among them.

Professor Olawale Olakulehin, the Chief Medical Director of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, confirmed the incident and stated that four out of the five remaining family members are still responding well to treatment in the hospital.

He emphasized that one of the victims remains in critical condition.

The one that gave up died before getting to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.

As of this afternoon, four of the five undergoing treatment are in stable condition. However, one of them is in critical condition. I have just been updated.

Kanyi Daily recalls that the Oyo State Government had sealed a new-generation church located in Golden Estate, Oluyole, Ibadan, the state capital.
President Bola Tinubu has accused the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of playing politics with its recent nationwide strike action.

The NLC embarked on peaceful protests across the country on Tuesday over the economic hardship faced by most Nigerians.

But speaking at the commissioning of the Lagos Red Line Train in Lagos on Thursday, Tinubu said Labour Union should understand that despite its acclaimed right and freedom, it cannot fight an administration which is just nine-month old.

Tinubu insisted that there was no going back on the removal of fuel subsidy and other reforms despite resistance by some persons.

Tinubu restated that the current hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the exchange rate is only temporary, while pleading with Nigerians to persevere.

There is very bright light at the end of the tunnel. Nigeria will be out of economic problem, we just need to persevere and work hard, Tinubu said.

He added: Allow me to throw a jab here. The Labour Union should understand that you are not the only with freedom and rights.

If you want to participate in the electoral process, meet us in 2027. If not maintain peace. You are not only voice of Nigeria.
Nigerian Army Troops in conjunction with hybrid force and operatives of Civilian Joint Task Force, in an offensive operation conducted on Wednesday 28 February 2024, successfully overran Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) Terrorists stronghold in Timbuktu triangle in the Lake Chad Region, recovering a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, gun truck mounted with an anti-aircraft gun and a cache of arms and ammunition, after a fierce battle with the insurgents.

Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement @HQNigerianArmy on Friday disclosed that during the operation, insurgents attacked own troops with Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), Mortar, Gun trucks and motorbikes, but fell under the overwhelming superior fire power of the troops, forcing them to abandon their stronghold, armaments and equipment in disarray.

He noted that the operation proved to be a major setback to the insurgents, as the gallant troops neutralized three terrorists and recovered one MRAP, one gun truck, one Dushka Machine Gun, one AK 47 Rifle and one locally fabricated gun. Troops also captured one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Bomb, 273 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition, one Pumping machine, 65 Dushka links, 48 General Purpose Machine Gun links and three motorbikes.

The gallant troops are presently exploiting their success in pursuit of the routed insurgents.

In a separate operation, troops of the Nigerian Army conducted a fighting patrol to criminals hideouts in Katakpa Village in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. During the operation, troops neutralized one of the criminals and recovered two AK-47 Rifles, one Pump Action semi- automatic rifle, three AK-47 magazines and 90 rounds of 7.62 mm Special ammunition.

.

The Chief of Army Staff has commended the troops for the successful operations and charged them to remain resilient and sustain the momentum of the operations.
A former Rector of the Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos State, Engineer Obafemi Omokungbe, in a keynote address at the 10th anniversary of the African Women Foundation for Nation Building (WINBAFRICA) at the Alliance Francaise, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, called on African countries to renew their commitment to womens empowerment as a crucial step towards nation building in the continent.

Omokungbe, a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, aligned his advocacy with the broader initiative of WINBAFRICA for womens empowerment in Africa, which aimed at improving access to education, healthcare, economic opportunities, and political participation. He emphasized that this multifaceted effort aims to eliminate gender inequality, uphold womens rights, and create an environment where women can thrive socially, economically, and politically.

WINBAFRICA is a non-profit organization that implements diverse intervention projects, including Education First Series, Project Sapphire, Orphanage Challenge, Project Back-to-School, WINBAFRICA Monthly Round Table, WINBAFRICA Food Bank, and Monthly Newsletter production.

According to Omokungbe, the journey towards womens empowerment in Africa involves a comprehensive approach that spans various sectors, including education, healthcare, economy, and politics. By investing in womens empowerment, the scholar believes, African countries can cultivate a more equitable society where women can achieve their full potentials and contribute to the growth and development of their nations.

Omokungbe declared: These renewed commitments would require collaboration and partnership among governments, Civil Society, the Private sector and International Organizations. They include the implementation of programmes and initiatives to promote womens entrepreneurship, access to credit, land ownership, and participation in the formal economy including targeted support for women in agriculture and small businesses. Commitment to increasing womens representation in political leadership and decision-making positions through measures such as quotas, training programmes, and support for womens political participation at all levels of government and comprehensive strategies to prevent and address gender-based violence including legal reforms, support services for survivors and campaigns to change social norms and attitudes that perpetuate violence against women.

President, WINBAFRICA, Dr Bukola Bello-Jaiyesimi, said the event, with the theme  Bridging the Gap: Celebrating a decade of Nation Building  was designed to celebrate the legacy and advancement of womens course.

Nation-building is an ongoing effort carried out by women of every generation. As we reflect on our accomplishments over the past decade, we remain committed to empowering future generations in all sectors of the economy. We provide tuition, teaching equipment, and other resources to young girls and boys to show them that we care about their education and that they are the ones who will continue this effort. Our ultimate goal is to promote unity and peace and to inspire hope for a better future, she submitted.

A school debate competition between Steady Steps School in Lekki and Bomak International Schools in Surulere, Lagos highlighted the commemorative event. The two schools had made it to the final stage of the competition. Victoria Osademe of Bomak International Schools, Surulere, Lagos emerged as the best speaker of the day while Steady Steps School, Lekki won the WINBAFRICA Young Nation Builders Trophy (WYNBT).

During the WINBAFRICA Business Roundtable, senior secondary students of Bomak International College in Surulere, Lagos discussed Environmental Responsibility. Additionally, 20 young girls and boys were beneficiaries of the WINBAFRICA scholarship program at the event.

Other dignitaries at the occasion include Dr Kemi Akiyode Adebayo (BOT, WINBAFRICA), Toyin Joe Bassey (Secretary General, WINBAFRICA), Dr Oluseun Popoola (Panelist Chairperson) among others.
Recall earlier today, police officers had taken control of the partys secretariat under the directive of the state Governor.

However, Agada and his team pushed through the heavily armed security personnel, leading to a confrontation that resulted in gunshots being fired.
By Izunna Okafor, Awka

Barely two years after the destructive attack on the Local Government Headquarters of Nnewi South in Ukpor, Anambra State, by unidentified gunmen who also set many structures in the local government headquarters ablaze; the Secretariat has been renovated and re-dedicated for use.

Recall that a gang of heavily-armed hoodlums and arsonists, under the tag of Unknown Gunmen, on March 31, 2022, stormed the Nnewi South Local Government Secretariat where they wrecked havoc with bullets, after which they set the Local Government Secretariat ablaze, destroying several buildings, including the education office, traditional rulers meeting chamber, works department, among other facilities they destroyed.

The staff of the local government had, since then, been working at some designated points and centres other than their usual offices, while repairs and reconstruction works at the Secretariat were ongoing.

However, history was made on Thursday, February 29, 2024, as the newly-renovated local government headquarters was re-dedicated for use, while the workers happily moved into their new offices.

Speaking during the rededication service which held at the Council premises, the Anglican Bishop of Amichi Diocese, Rt. Revd. Ephraim O. Ikeakor, while appreciating God for his protection and faithfulness upon His people, also described the renovation of the Local Government Secretariat as a laudable feat.

The Anglican Bishop also hailed the government of Anambra State, under the leadership of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, as well as the Nnewi South Local Government headed by Hon. Ikenna Aniagboso, for their relentless efforts and their commitment towards the completed renovation of the Local Secretariat.

While commending the staff of the local government for their dedication and perseverance throughout the trying period, Bishop Ikeakor further charged them to be more steadfast, faithful, and efficient in the discharge of their duties with every sense of humility and accountability, on the belief that God is the rewarder of all labourers.

In his remarks at the event, the Transition Committee Chairman for the Local Government, Hon. Aniagboso went memory lane on the condition of the local government headquarters and the experience of its staff from the time of its destruction to its renovation and rededication, attesting of Gods faithfulness.

While appreciating Governor Soludo and the States Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Tonycollins Nwabunwanne for beginning and completing the project; the L.G. Chairman also hailed the perseverance of the local government workers. He further expressed optimism that the renovation of the Secretariat and the consequent improved working condition therein, would further enhance the performance and boost the morales of the workers in their service deliveries towards achieving the Governors vision of making Anambra a livable and prosperous homeland.

Hon. Aniagboso also recognized the gallantry of the security men shielding the Local Government Secretariat, especially those who lost their lives during the tragic incident, even as he consoled their families and prayed for the continuous repose of the deceased.

Efforts by this reporter, Izunna Okafor, to get the reaction of the States Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Nwabunwanne, on the completed renovation and rededication of the Local Government Secretariat, proved abortive, as he declined to pick his calls.

The well-attended rededication attracted top government functionaries and stakeholders from Nnewi South, including the Member representing Nnewi South Constituency II and Minority Leader of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Johnbosco Akaegbobi; his Nnewi South Constituency I counterpart, Hon. Chuddy Atuchukwu; and the Chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the Local Government Area, Hon. Azubuike Osuchukwu.

Others include the President-General of Ukpor Improvement Union, Chief Ignatius Nwawulu; the Traditional Ruler of Akwaihedi community, Igwe Col. Wisdom Onebunne; as well as the Secretary of the Local Government, Hon. Anselm DGreat, among others.

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President Bola Tinubu has given his approval for the appointment of new members to the management team of FGN Power Company Limited.

The announcement was made through a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale.

The President emphasized the crucial role of power supply in driving enterprise and industrial development, highlighting that these appointments are part of comprehensive efforts to reform the power sector and ensure energy security for all Nigerians.

Tinubu envisions that, with the newly constituted management team, FGN Power Company Limited will diligently pursue the core objectives of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).

According to him, this involves working closely with Siemens Energy for a holistic overhaul, modernization, and expansion of the national grid, along with other critical measures to promote the growth of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

The appointed members of the management team are as follows:

1. Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO)  Kenny Osebi Anuwe (reappointed)

2. Company Secretary/Legal Advisor  Prof Mamman Lawal (reappointed)

3. Chief Technical Officer (CTO)  Ebenezer Olawale Fapohunda

4. Chief Commercial Officer (CCO)  Babatunde Daramola Oniru

5. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)  Julius Oyekola Olabiyi
Climate Action Africa (CAA), a leading social enterprise focused on environmental sustainability, reaffirmed its commitment to fostering an inclusive climate action ecosystem at the ongoing Omniverse Summit 2024.

Co-founded by Innovation Support Network (ISN Hubs) with support from GIZ/Digital Transformation Center Nigeria (GIZ/DTC Nigeria), the Omniverse serves as a meeting point for diverse stakeholders across sectors, including development partners, public entities, regulatory agencies, academia, startups, finance professionals, media, and the creative industries.

As a key participant at the four-day event, Climate Action Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to being at the forefront of driving climate innovation for a sustainable future. The organization emphasized the need to integrate environmental sustainability models, technology, and community-driven innovation to address climate change challenges.

Emphasizing the pivotal role of innovation in identifying and scaling solutions to address the imminent climate crisis in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, Alice Eze, Chief Operating Officer of Climate Action Africa, said: Our participation at The Omniverse Summit 2024 reflects our conviction that fostering innovation is crucial in discovering and amplifying solutions to address the imminent climate crisis, not only in Africa but also globally.

Climate Action Africas participation includes thought-provoking discussions on offering climate-resilient solutions, engaging exhibitions, active involvement in deal room discussions, and cultivating strategic partnerships towards the upcoming Climate Action Africa Forum 2024, among others.

Climate Action Africa remains dedicated to engaging with critical stakeholders and advocating for a multi-stakeholder approach to addressing climate change challenges. The organizations presence at The Omniverse Summit 2024 reflects its commitment to this collaborative approach, which is essential for knowledge exchange and shared solutions to navigate the complex climate challenges facing the African continent and its communities.
A man, Musa and Fatima, wife of a businessman, who stubbornly continued their illicit affair despite being warned to end it by the husband of the woman, have been eating the hard bread of regret and shame after they got stuck together in the heat of raunchy sex. The duo had to be surgically separated in a hospital.

The scandalous incident happened in Nasarawa State after the aggrieved husband, Yakubu, who could no longer endure the embarrassment of his wifes open, adulterous relationship with Musa resorted to the use of a special charm to avenge his hurt.

According to Sunday Sun, Yakubu and Fatima met in Jalingo, Taraba State, during one of his frequent business trips. A romantic relationship developed them and they married in 2009. But the relationship went sour as Fatima claimed that Yakubu could not sexually satisfy her and began an extramarital affair with Musa.

Yakubu said that he made several attempts including threatening his wife and demanding that Musa should leave his wife alone. His warnings to Fatima and entreaties to Musa were ignored as the lovers carried on with the affair, seemingly unconcerned.

When he could no longer bear the psychological trauma, he decided to seek help from a native, who prepared a charm that would make the two lovers stick together in the heat of the sex act.

The native doctor advised him to apply the charm on the inner surface of his wifes pant. He did as the native doctor advised and then travelled to Kano on a business trip. Three days after, Fatima visited Musa and passed the night as she had regularly done. While Musa and Fatima were deeply engrossed in the sex act, Musa suddenly found that he couldnt withdraw and the entire sexual act came to a halt as they were gripped by excessive pain. Try as they could, the duo could not separate from each other.

The intensity of the pain made them groan till daybreak when their cries of agony drew the attention of neighbours, who broke down the door and got a vehicle to convey them to the hospital. A crowd gathered to watch them carried out on one stretcher and taken to the casualty department of the hospital.

At the hospital, a healthcare professional debunked the claim that the incident was caused by a charm and gave a medical explanation of what really happened.

He said: When the penis is in the vagina, it may become increasingly become engorged. The muscles of the womans pelvic floor contract rhythmically at orgasm; while those muscles contract, the penis becomes stuck and further engorged. Though it is not common but it happens, that is my believe but if you people choose to attribute it to witchcraft, fine.

He said that the vaginal muscles would ultimately relax at the end of the day as the blood would flow out of the penis and the man would withdraw after the prolonged intercourse.

When the lovers were eventually separated, Musa who is on admission at the hospital said he had regretted his actions and the shame it had brought to him, noting that he never expected it.

Efforts to talk to the woman (Fatima) in the hospital after the separation proved abortive as the medical personnel did not allow Sunday Sun reporter into the ward to speak with her.
Daughter of Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Suhaila Zakzaky has insisted the group will continue its protests till her father is released.

Suhaila said this in a video published on Facebook.

President of the IMN media forum had on Wednesday announced that the protests have been suspended.

However, reacting to the statement, Suhaila said: Even as I speak right now, earlier today, there was a protest in Abuja and there will be tomorrow, and there will continue to be on every weekday.

I just wanted to clarify because I saw news agencies stating that spokesperson of this movement released the statement.

First of all, the Islamic movement has no such thing as a spokesman. And the person who wrote this article (is) the chairman of the media forum; the media forum, just like the numerous forums we have in the Islamic movement, is just a forum that is there for people within that field to have their own space and activities within the Islamic movement.

This person has nothing to do with the people organising this protest that have been going on in Abuja and will continue to go on till El-Zakzaky is freed.

The IMN members have been protesting the continued detention of El-Zakzaky who was arrested after the group clashed with a convoy of the chief of army staff in Kaduna state in 2015.

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The police on Thursday said it had arrested a comedian, Augustine Valentine, popularly known as `MC Fine, for alleged spread of fake news.

Biodun Makanjuola, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the force in Bwari, FCT, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that Mr Valentine posted a false report on facebook alleging the apprehension of a female kidnapper.

After investigation, we found the report to be fake, he said.

NAN reports that the middle-aged woman, simply identified as Zulai, had been attacked on Wednesday, around Zenith Bank area in Bwari, over the suspicion that she had attempted to kidnap a two-year-old male child.

The police, who were quick to intervene, arrested the woman and, during investigation, found out that she was physically and psychologically unstable.

The DPO told NAN that while the investigation was going on, Mr Valentine posted misleading information on the incident, on the social media platform.



When she was brought here, I asked my people to first take her to the General Hospital for medicals. They came back with a medical report indicating that she was suffering from depression.

The report also referred her to Karu Psychiatric Hospital for proper evaluation. Right now, we are preparing to take her there.

We were still on the matter when I started receiving calls about a post on Facebook claiming that the woman was a kidnapper. The report claimed that her phone had message conversations on how many children to be kidnapped.

I made efforts and finally discovered who posted the story, brought him here for questioning, and he confessed he only added some of the details to add glamour to the story.

The DPO, while expressing displeasure over the incident, cautioned against spreading unverified news, pointing out that such actions could cause a negative impact on people involved and result in a security breach in the affected community.

We are working with the affected families to douse the tension. This town can be volatile, so we are not taking anything for granted, he said.

Speaking with NAN, Mr Valentine, who regretted his action, admitted that he was not at the scene of the incident when it occurred on Wednesday.

According to him, the pictures and the alleged story were sent to him via Whatsapp, a social media platform, by an unknown number.

He had earlier raised a fake alarm, through his facebook account, that a woman was caught in Bwari attempting to steal a child who was playing with his mates around the Bwari market.

Mr Valentine, on facebook, claimed that the crowd gathered, checked her phone which revealed how many children she was asked to provide by her accomplices.

Dikko Samuel, Mai Angwuan Bwari, who is also the grandfather of the child Ms Zulai was accused of attempting to kidnap, told NAN that his wife called his attention to the incident when he was on his farm.

According to him, his wife, who was cooking corn by the roadside, turned and saw the suspected kidnapper holding the child and walking away.

That was when she raised an alarm and people gathered and started attacking the woman. They were about to lynch her when we intervened and told the angry crowd that she was insane.

I was also made to understand that she loves children and that they always followed her around because she gave them sweets and biscuits.

When NAN visited the house of the suspected kidnapper, the son of the owner of the property on which she lived, who also pleaded anonymity, said that she had lived in the house for more than a decade.

According to him, Ms Zulai had been unstable for a long time but was harmless and had never shown any sign of violence or criminal behaviour.

He also said that she sometimes had a lot of children in her company, buy sweets and other food items for them when they surrounded her, with no parent complaining of a missing child.

Aisha Aliyu, Assistant Secretary, Muslim Women Indawa in Bwari, who also spoke with NAN, said that Zulai was a member of the Muslim group.

Ms Aliyu said that she had known Ms Zulai for the past 15 years in Bwari town, and expressed happiness that the situation was well handled by the police who intervened and saved Ms Zulai from the mob.




Omoyele Sowore

The Federal Government of Nigeria has re-arraigned activist and convener of #RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, on a fresh two-count charge of treasonable felony, on Thursday.

At the court today, the prosecution counsel, Aminu Alilu asked that the previous seven-count charge, which was filed in September 2019, be substituted with the amended charge.

Sowore and Olawale Bakare, his co-defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The former charges bordering on fraud, cyber-stalking and insulting the president have been removed from the new list.

According to the charge, the accused staged a revolution campaign on 5th day of August 2019, tagged #RevolutionNow aimed at removing the president during his term of office by unconstitutional means.
Goodluck Jonathan

An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Shehu Shuaibu, said on Tuesday that alleged donations towards the 2015 presidential campaign of former President Goodluck Jonathan were still being probed.

Shuaibu pointed out to Justice Rilwan Aikawa that some monetary inflows into the bank account of a firm, Joint Trust Dimensions Limited, which is being tried for money laundering in connection with Jonathans campaign funds.

The firm is the fourth defendant in the N4.9bn fraud charges filed by the EFCC against a former Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Yusuf Danjuma.

Fani-Kayode was the Director of Publicity of Jonathans presidential campaign organisation for the 2015 elections.

He, alongside others, is being tried on 17 counts, bordering on conspiracy, unlawful retention of proceeds of theft and money laundering.

Shuaibu is the third prosecution witness to testify in the case before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

While being cross-examined on Tuesday by Usmans lawyer, Chief Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), Shuaibu, going through the statement of account of Joint Trust Dimensions Limited, pointed out some inflows into the firms account.

He identified N500m from Global Scan System Ltd on February 11, 2015; N300m from Diamond Bank on January 30, 2015; N250m from Castillo Torres BDC Ltd on February 11, 2015; N100m from Afrigate Energy Ltd, and N500m from Chief Emeka Ofor on March 13, 2015.

However, he said, I am not sure if they were truly donations, as some of these alleged donated monies are still under investigation.

Orbih then asked the investigator, Since 2015, how many of those who made inflows into this account have you charged to court?



In reply, Shuaibu said, It is not my duty to charge anyone, I am just an investigator.

But when Orbih asked him, Did you say you found that government money was stolen and paid into the account of Joint Trust Dimensions Limited? Shuaibu said, Yes.

Who then stole this government money? Orbih asked.

In reply, Shuaibu said, They (the defendants) conspired to transfer the monies from government account into Joint Trusts account, without executing any contract.

When a car is involved in an accident, do you leave the driver of the car and charge the conductor? Orbih further asked the investigator, to which he replied, My Lord, I am not a lawyer.



Justice Aikawa adjourned till Wednesday for further proceedings.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has setup a N2 billion Emergency Relief Fund to assist victims of Sundays explosion at Abule Ado area of the state.

KanyiDaily had reported that a massive explosion rocked Abule Ado on Sunday morning, with 15 people confirmed dead, and many houses and vehicles destroyed.

Sanwo-Olu, who visited the scene on Monday morning, announced the establishment of the Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund .

According to him, three account numbers had been opened at different banks for well-meaning Nigerians to assist the state government in assisting the victims.

He said that the banks with the same account name as Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund included Polaris Bank 4030017510, Zenith Bank 10171845716 and GT Bank 0586615680.

I have set up Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund; it is a N2 billion relief fund and the state government will immediately put in N250 million to that fund and overnight, I have gotten three banks to open account for that fund and what that are we trying to achieve? This is beyond what the state government can achieve on its own. This is beyond what a government, nation or state level can undertake on its own, I am aware that some of my fellow governors have called, and have also received phone calls from the private sector, so what this fund will do is to give everybody the opportunity to be part of it and to be able to donate into it. Of course, the utilisation of this fund, which will also be headed by the deputy governor will also be part of the responsibility the committee will be saddled with. Just to know we are serious and are committed to it. I have three account numbers already: I have the Polaris Bank, with the account number-4030017510 account name is Abule Ado Emergency Relief Fund. Other account numbers are: Zenith Bank, with account number-10171845716 and GTB, with account number-0568615688, he said.

Sanwo-Olu also inaugurated a fact-finding committee to investigate the cause of the incident, saying that the committee was expected to submit its report in two weeks time.

He governor told the residents that his administration was working with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the National Emergency Management Agency {NEMA] to make life easier for the victims.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with families who lost loved ones, and all those affected by the explosion in Lagos State.
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerian voters to go out en masse and vote in Saturdays Governorship and State Assembly elections.

Mr Buhari, who spoke in a video message Wednesday, said the second and final phase of the 2019 elections is as important as the Presidential election which held on February 23.

Mr Buhari also once again extended condolences to the families of those who lost their lives or sustained injuries as a result of accidents or criminal violence during the presidential elections which he won.

The onus is once again on qualified people to turn out in large numbers to exercise their civic rights.

With the presidential poll behind us, let us not become complacent, and fail to vote in the gubernatorial poll.

The forthcoming elections are as important for good governance as that of the presidency and the National Assembly, he said.

Mr Buhari said governance at the state level is closer to the people which also touch everyone more directly.

That is why it is vital for us to participate in the choice of who governs us at the state levels.

I, therefore, urge you to troop out massively on Saturday to elect your governors and state lawmakers, he said.

The president said as a member of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), he is recommending those standing on the platform of the party to Nigerian voters.

He said candidates of the APC are guided by progressive ideals, assuring that they will not disappoint Nigerians.

The president implored citizens to comport themselves properly, as they turn out for the election.

Avoid all deviant behaviours like ballot stuffing, ballot snatching, and any other action that does not conform with best electoral practices.

I assure you that the security agencies will be on hand to protect voters, and ensure that the process is not undermined in any way.

Lets make the gubernatorial polls much better than the presidential, which local and international observers have adjudged to be free and fair, he said.

The president repeated his appeal to the youth of Nigeria to not allow themselves to be used to cause violence or to break the law or otherwise disturb the peace.

He said he has pledged a decent and credible electoral system for the country, adding, I stand by that promise.

Let us together do the right thing on Saturday, so that the best hands can emerge at the states, and take us faster to the Next Level, Mr Buhari said.
NORMAL  A Thursday forum hosted for the provost and vice president of academic affairs for the University of Cincinnati wrapped up a series of public talks by applicants to be Illinois State University's next president.

Valerio C. Ferme was the third finalist for the president to visit the Redbird campus, and the fourth candidate announced for the position after Elizabeth Mullenix, a former assistant dean at ISU who holds a similar post to Ferme at Miami University in Ohio, spoke at Monday's finalist forum.

The weekend before last, ISU Interim President Tarhule was first named as a contender in the search and presented his forum a day later. Donald Easton-Brooks, a University of Nevada college dean, followed as second.

Before Ferme took his current provost role in 2021, he served as dean of UC's College of Arts and Sciences, the largest college on the university campus, instructing over 50,000 students. He was also dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Northern Arizona University.

In his introduction Thursday, he said what audience members would be more interested in learning about him was not his work experience listed on his cover letter, but the "intangibles" and "unknowns."

His presentation projected an illustration of a famous comic book character. Ferme then said: "What I am not... I'm not a Superman, and I don't ride unicorns.

"I do, however, walk, and I walk a lot around campus, and that's the way that I would get to know people."

He said that's the essential way in which anyone "in this unique community" would do that.

Bug for service

Ferme said he was raised by parents of Italian and Spanish heritage. He was the third of nine siblings, all of whom finished a college education.

He also has over 19 years of experience teaching Italian and comparative literature at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was chair of the French and Italian Department.

He completed his doctorate in comparative literature from the University of California at Berkeley, after earning master's degrees in Italian studies and comparative literature at Indiana University. Ferme attended Brown University for undergraduate degrees he earned in biology and religious studies.

Accomplishments as provost highlighted in his cover letter included managing a budget over $1 million; increasing student applicants by 22% and enrollment by 6.1% in the current academic year; launching a student success initiative for retaining students; and increasing support for embedded mental health counselors.

In his speech Thursday, Ferme recalled his experiences on a rowing team, which he said taught him how to earn the trust of others, as well as grit and resilience.

"When you're going full speed backward, you have one person only who can actually see where you're going. You better trust that person to do the right thing," he said. Ferme added that trust extends to everyone on the team.

He also said Peter Parker is his favorite superhero alter-ego, and he likes him more than Spiderman. Ferme said the bug that bit him pushed him toward servant leadership, also noting the position of the president comes with responsibility and service to society.

He said that bug also called him to ask how he can better the educational landscape, and foster a culture where people buy into making a difference.

Collegiate concerns

Ferme said high education in the United States is facing a lot of challenges. He listed them in presentation slides as:

Public opinion

COVID disruptions

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning

Enrollment cliff

Dismantling of affirmative action

Workforce preparedness

Changing employment landscape

I always think of the challenges as also the opportunities, Ferme said. Its not an either/or, its actually both.

He said the country can do so much better if we continue to value the education we impart on people.

After his presentation, Ferme was first asked by a forum attendee to elaborate on his work for diversity, equity and inclusion, and how he would ensure stakeholders like the Board of Trustees understand the importance of that work.

The candidate responded that a pragmatic approach is to consider how national demographics can shift some minority groups to a majority within several years.

It makes sense to prepare ourselves to be a welcoming place, said Ferme, adding it makes financial sense too.

But you dont do it just on hopes, he continued. You also have to set up the structures that allow people to feel they are welcomed at this institution.

A non-tenure track instructor asked how Ferme would work with unions.

Ferme said universities have tight budgets, and the question comes down to honoring the work their employees perform while being strategic with their resources.

Universities have a problem. We continuously expand We grow and we grow and we grow, and you dont know where to stop, he said.

The finalist also said they may need to re-calibrate areas that may not need the same amount of resources that they did in the past. Ferme said maintaining a relationship with collective bargaining units is necessary, and incremental steps should be made in resolving stuck budgets.

Ferme was asked what he learned about campus as he prepared for his interview and visit, and if anything surprised or concerned him.

He said part of what made him interested in the job was ISUs history and reputation as an educational institution, and that it has a tradition of a teacher-scholar model.

The balance between teaching and research is important to me, Ferme said. Its not exclusive.

Ferme said what surprised him about ISU was 92% of students are from Illinois.

Thats almost unheard of right now, he said of universities designated within the top two tiers of research universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

The other surprise, he said, was how little funding the state provides to universities.

We need to be better, Ferme said. I dont know if I have to. ride a unicorn into the legislature to say something.
NORMAL  At least 100 students, activists and community members gathered in Normal late Thursday afternoon to call for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian aid in Palestine.

Student activist Nicte Rivadeneyra-Braswell and others organized the Peace for Palestine vigil on the Quad at Illinois State University, working alongside local religious organizations to bring awareness and honor those who have died in the war between Israel and Hamas.

Rivadeneyra-Braswell said she wanted to bring people together in person because aside from online posts, she has not seen much in terms of public support of a ceasefire and humanitarian aid for Palestinians in what she and others consider a genocidal war.

Palestinian civilians have been caught in the crossfires of the war and even as recently as Thursday, when Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City, Rivadeneyra-Braswell said. More than 100 people were killed in this incident, bringing the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the war to more than 30,000, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

She added it was important for the vigil to be visible to others who could witness the call to action and hopefully consider joining the cause.

"The main message here is calling for peace and an immediate ceasefire," Rivadeneyra-Braswell said. "We just want humanitarian aid to help these people and to stop the killing now."

Bloomington Alderwoman and Episcopal Church Priest Mollie Ward shared in calls for peace by reading a November statement from the Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church.

"We are called to love, even and especially when it seems impossible," Ward added. "We must call upon our leaders, President Biden, members of Congress and others to be unequivocal that we need to stop the killing today. This is clearly what love demands."

Mike Matejka, co-chair of Not In Our Town Bloomington-Normal, said his message from the national branch of NIOT is less about "what we should do politically but how we should look into our own hearts and look at our own prejudices and look at how we build that safe and inclusive community."

Matejka said Arab-Americans, Jews and Muslims across the country are experiencing a dramatic rise in violent crime and that together  through leadership, courage and perseverance  people can stop hate.

"Not in Our Town will always stand up to offer a space for people to express their problems, and we will hold our community grief, and we will always work with diverse people to help them come together and find a way to listen to each others' pain and act to stop hate," Matejka said.

Democratic political advocate Karla Bailey-Smith encouraged everyone to contact their local congressional representatives about the issue.

Additionally, Bailey-Smith said people should be prepared to use their voices and their votes in November, but if they are thinking of withholding their vote, they should let their elected officials hear that, and know why.

"If you have that phone number (of your elected official), you can call every single time there's a new devastating piece of news. You can call every day," Bailey-Smith said. "Certainly Congressional offices and Senate offices, they're required to keep records of how many calls they get supporting an issue, so that's how you can use your voice."

High school students and other activists rally 'Free Palestine' vigil RAISING AWARENESS 052922-blm-loc-2palestine 052922-blm-loc-3palestine
SPRINGFIELD  For U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, in vitro fertilization is more than just a political issue  it's as personal as it can get.

The Illinois Democrat struggled with infertility for at least 10 years. But IVF opened the door for the birth of her two daughters, now 9 and 5 years old, allowing her to "experience the chaos and beauty, the stress and joy that is motherhood."

"IVF is the reason that my husband and I arent just 'Tammy and Bryan.' Were 'Mom and Dad,'" Duckworth said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, IVF is a treatment for infertility in which mature eggs are collected from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab.

One or more of these fertilized eggs, called embryos, are then inserted into the uterus with the goal of establishing pregnancy.

Extra embryos are often frozen, but can also be disposed of.

An Alabama Supreme Court ruling last week that established frozen embryos as human beings put the process into question for others by possibly opening patients and health care providers up to civil and criminal liability.

Some providers in Alabama have halted the process in wake of the ruling.

As a result, and amid worries that similar rulings could be made elsewhere, Duckworth took to the Senate floor Wednesday seeking fast-track passage of legislation that would federally protect access to in vitro fertilization.

"It's a little personal when a majority male state Supreme Court suggests that people like me, who became parents with the help of modern medicine, should be in jail cells and not nurseries," said Duckworth, who disposed of three of her five embryos that were deemed nonviable. "And I know I'm not the only one who struggles to understand how elected representatives who back these kinds of policies can call themselves members of the so-called 'party of life.'"

Despite Duckworth's plea, the legislation did not move forward after Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., objected to her request for unanimous consent, labeling it "a vast overreach that is full of poison pills."

Duckworth's bill, first filed in 2022 and later refiled last month, would federally guarantee people access to assisted reproductive technology such as IVF and allow them to use or dispose of fertilized eggs. The bill would also allow the federal government, individuals and health care providers to pursue civil action against states that limit access to these services.

It comes about two years after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion.

Though not directly related to IVF, many advocates for reproductive health say the ruling opened the door for "personhood" rulings such as the one in Alabama.

It puts Republicans on defense once again on reproductive rights, an issue that many attribute for the party's relatively poor performance in the 2022 mid-term elections and as a major vulnerability heading into 2024.

Several have sought to get in front of it, namely former President Donald Trump.

Trump, in a post to his Truth Social account earlier this week, said he "strongly support(s) the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby," calling on the Alabama legislature to remedy the situation.

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled Alabama House overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at protecting IVF access. It needs support from the state's Senate and Gov. Kay Ivey to become law.

Other Republicans have voiced similar sentiments to Trump  though they still blocked Duckworth's bill. And 125 of them have signed on to the "Life at Conception Act," proposed legislation that would guarantee "the right to life ... at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization."

All three Republicans in Illinois' congressional delegation, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro; Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria; and Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, have signed on as co-sponsors to that bill.

LaHood spokesman John Rauner said the Peoria Republican "does not believe that we should prohibit safe fertility treatments like IVF, which has been a pathway to great joy for many families." But he did not say whether or not LaHood would support Duckworth's bill or a similar bill providing federal protections.

Bost and Miller's offices did not immediately responded to requests for comment on their positions on Duckworth's bill or federal protections of IVF in general.

Joe McGraw, a Republican candidate in the swingy 17th Congressional District, told Lee Enterprises in a statement that he supports IVF.

IVF and fertility-related services are a blessing for those seeking to start a family and have children," McGraw said. "I support access to IVF and oppose its restriction that would prohibit the ability for Americans to have the opportunity for parenthood.

Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, said in a statement that "with the Alabama decision, we are seeing in real-time the devastating impact that the overturning of Roe is having on so many aspects of our lives beyond abortion care." He said he supports federal protections for IVF.

"The government must stay out of personal and health care-related decisions that should be left to women and families," he said.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, said IVF was "a critical tool that members of my own family have leaned on while struggling with fertility."

"The impacts of this ruling are just one more reason to fight back against far-right government overreach into the private lives of American women and their families," she said, adding that she'll "keep encouraging voters to elect a pro-choice majority in 2024 to guarantee access to reproductive health care for all women.

After being denied unanimous consent to pass her bill, Duckworth could seek a roll call vote. But it will have to go through the regular legislative process.

And from there, the bill's fate is uncertain in the Republican-controlled House.

Despite concerns in other states, IVF is protected in Illinois.

Illinois' ruling Democrats, from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to state legislators, have enacted among the most liberal reproductive health laws in the country in recent years leading up to and following the Dobbs v. Jackson decision in 2022, which reversed Roe v. Wade.

At an unrelated press conference Wednesday morning, Pritzker said he welcomed proposals from lawmakers "who are looking at new ways for us to protect doctors and patients on IVF."

"People who live in other states who want to have children using IVF: Come to Illinois. We're protecting your rights in so many ways, but specifically regarding IVF," Pritzker said, repeating a sales pitch he has made for people seeking other reproductive health services, such as abortion.

5 changes to reproductive health care in the US since Roe's reversal 5 changes to reproductive health care in the US since Roe's reversal 24 states have banned or significantly restricted abortion access, while some states have joined forces to create reproductive rights havens Both state and federal legislatures have moved to defund Planned Parenthood resources More than 60 clinics ceased abortion services, and abortion training for medical professionals may also become restricted At-home abortion pills have come under fire, while mail-order birth control has boomed Inequities in reproductive care access have deepened
CHICAGO  Migrant families are reporting a shortage of diapers in the citys shelters, forcing some parents to reuse dirty diapers on their babies, according to migrants and a network of volunteers working closely with those living in shelters.

The desperation of the families has galvanized mutual aid groups to collect diapers, toilet paper and other hygiene products after city officials told them they couldnt keep up with supplies, said Anna Gomberg, a lead volunteer helping migrants on the North Side.

Hygiene products, including diapers and toilet paper, are provided by the citys emergency operations centers logistics section, which was created to coordinate and allocate resources for migrants. The city receives supplies from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and outside vendors.

Mary May, a spokesperson for the city, acknowledged that supply shortages from IEMA and FEMA can result in temporary shortages of some supplies for migrants, but said in the statement last Friday that officials had received a large delivery of supplies that included diapers to deliver to shelters.

Shelter staff can only distribute what they have in supply. If inventory levels of certain items get low, emergency deliveries of the items are made, May said.

On Wednesday, Esperanza Gil, 39, said she has constantly worried about having enough diapers for her 2-year-old since they arrived at the Inn of Chicago in Streeterville about three weeks ago. Diapers are restocked every few days, she said, but there are too many families with babies that need them.

She said she sometimes has to reuse diapers for her son.

What else can I do? she asked.

She said migrants have begun to gather in the room where they eat at the Inn to pool their resources.

Because we cant work, we all dont have many options, she said.

Migrant families at the Inn of Chicago, one of the largest city-run migrant shelters, began to report the need for diapers more than two weeks ago, said volunteers, who quickly learned that many more were in need in shelters across the city. Katharina Koch Staley, a volunteer helping migrants, said Tuesday a shelter in Rogers Park was in need of toddler diapers.

Elizabeth Huggins, a volunteer who was helping migrants when they were staying at the Grand Central District (25th) police station, said she is concerned about the ability of asylum-seekers to pay for diapers if they have little to no steady income, and worried about the sanitation inside crowded shelters.

When youve got children, their bodies are learning to adapt to diseases. You dont want to reuse things like diapers.  We are exposing people to feces and urine, she said. We can expose them to what made them sick or make them sick all over again.

More than 36,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have arrived in the city since August 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing asylum-seekers from the southern border to sanctuary cities. City and state officials have struggled to keep up with the number of migrants in need.

More than 12,100 migrants live in the citys 23 shelters, which are managed by Favorite Staffing under a contract that has cost the city millions of dollars and garnered controversy for its sizeable overtime.

Favorite staff submit order requests with the logistics team and make sure residents receive whats needed, May said.

Volunteers say it is not clear who rations diapers and toilet paper if shelters experience a shortage. The city did not respond to a question about who is in charge of rationing the supplies.

Outside the largest city-run shelter on the Lower West Side that houses over 2,000 migrants, Angel Cardena, a father from Maracay, Venezuela, stood outside in flip-flops in 20-degree weather Wednesday holding his 3-year-old son.

Cardena, 25, said he has been at the shelter for about a month but has not received diapers from shelter staff.

Some people get more help than others, he said. But the majority of people here buy their own supplies.

Migrants sleep in large rooms with hundreds of other people and are provided with little to no supplies or care, he said. He hasnt been able to find work, partly because the single dad doesnt want to leave his son alone at the shelter.

Last Saturday, several migrant parents living in city-run shelters picked up diapers at a monthly community store set up by Southwest Collective, a mutual aid group, at Edwards Elementary in Archer Heights.

Jaime Groth, of Southwest Collective, said volunteers told migrant parents that diapers would be available at the donation store. Some parents took several buses and trains to pick up the diapers, Groth said. Out of about 30 boxes of diapers of different sizes, they only had two boxes left.

Groth said that parents are also requesting formula and powder milk because the children are weak and malnourished. She urges the public to step in to help.

Theres a lot of people and not enough diapers and the more we supply, the more people come and the more things we need, Groth said.

May said that those who wish to help can purchase items directly from an Amazon Wish List set up in partnership with Instituto del Progreso Latino. The Wish List is regularly updated to meet the needs of migrants in the citys shelters.

The wish list can be found at Chicago.gov/support (donations) or at InstitutoChicago.org. Additional ways to donate and volunteer can also be found at Chicago.gov/Support.

Website to donate items to Southwest Collective: swcollective.org/freebies-for-families.

Photos: Pritzker Military Archives Center
If you are planning to vote in the Republican primary for State House District 88, consider casting that vote for Regan Deering. Regan is a family-oriented person, wife and mother of three, who has served as the volunteer chair of the Decatur Public School Foundation, oversaw the building of a new community food bank and currently sits on her local school board. She's a former educator and small business owner.

When you meet Regan, you meet the real Regan, not someone who has been in politics for over a decade. Regan is conservative in her approach to issues that plague Illinois and pledges to stand up to the Chicago cabal in the General Assembly that seeks to rule downstate Illinois.

Her opponent in the primary, lawyer Chuck Erikson, has served for 12 years on the McLean County Board and chairs the Land Use Committee. He bears the responsibility, by his voting record, for the proliferation of the ruinous wind energy projects that carpet McLean County and pollute the night sky with flashing red lights. Rural living has been tainted all for a negligible impact on global CO2 emission. He should not be elected to the state house.

Instead of another lawyer, lets put Regan in the state house to fight for local governance in downstate Illinois.

Pat Ryan, Farmer City
As the CEO of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois representing engineering firms that employ over 12,000 people in Illinois, I am writing to express our sincere gratitude to Representative LaHood for his crucial vote in favor of The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024.

Representative LaHoods vote will encourage greater investment in research and development that will help Illinois continue rebuilding and modernizing its infrastructure by the nations most innovative and forward-thinking engineering firms located right here in our state.

Illinois engineering firms invest a great deal in research and development. Over the years, this investment has yielded exciting new ways to expand electric vehicle infrastructure, new processes to treat wastewater, replace lead water lines and the development of materials that allow roads and bridges to last longersaving taxpayers critical dollars while reducing commuter delays.

Our engineering firms understand firsthand the importance of efficient tax policies that incentivize innovation. Without the fix Representative LaHood supported, the current R&D amortization increases the tax bill for small businesses, disincentivizes new solutions, and sends more money to Washington instead of keeping it here in the Central Illinois region.

We urge our Senators to follow Representative LaHoods lead and recognize the importance of long-term policy solutions that support American innovation and vote to fix R&D amortization.

Kevin Artl, President and CEO,

American Council of Engineering Companies of Illinois
Professor Kofi Agyekum, popularly known as Opanin Agyekum has appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) to rescind its decison to optionalise the study of Ghanaian language.



The linguistics professor revealed on Peace FM's Kokrokoo Morning show, that there is an alleged attempt to scrap the local language from the compulsory courses to be studied in schools across the basic and secondary levels.



On the 21st of February, Ghana observed the International Mothert Tongue Day, a day that seeks to promote the speaking of local lnagugaes amongst people.



It will be recalled that, Parliament, this year, suggested that local dialects be used as part of their parliamentary discourse.



According to Opanin Agyekum, if local languages are made optional, many teachers who teach such courses will lose their jobs.



"The purpose for the study of the Ghanaian language is to enable learners to be able to speak and understand the local dialects upon completing the basic education. The study of the course also helps the learners identify themselves as Ghanaians. If it is made optional, a parent can suspend the ward from studying the Ghanaian language which presupposes that Ghanaian language teachers will be relieved of their teaching appointments because the school will not be in need of them''



He added that, "if this is not looked at carefully, our Ghanaian language will be extinct because we will not get persons who will be able to speak the local language."



Opanin Agyekum further added that the current trend of spelling the local names is gradually depleting the Ghanaian identity.













Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com









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Rare Disease Ghana Initiative (RDGI) a Non-Governmental Organisation recently held its annual celebration on the 29th of February, 2024.



The event, held to commemorate Rare Disease Day, brought together individuals, families, and advocates to raise awareness and support for those affected by rare diseases.



In a moving event that illuminated the importance of raising awareness for rare diseases in Ghana, the initiative lighted up the Greater Accra Regional Hospital to commemorate the celebration.



From heartfelt speeches to interactive workshops, the event provided a platform for dialogue and collaboration, emphasizing the importance of solidarity in addressing the challenges faced by the rare disease community.



Addressing the gathering, the Executive Director of the RDGI who is also a Clinical Psychologist, Mr. Samuel Agyei Waife, shared his passion for the organization's mission and the impact of their work on the lives of individuals living with rare diseases.



He said their goal is an organisation is to ensure that no one facing a rare disease feels alone or unsupported. Through education, advocacy, and community engagement, we strive to create a more inclusive and understanding society for all.



According to him, every year on the last day of February they come together to observe Rare Disease Day.



It is a day dedicated to raise awareness and create support for over 300million who live with rare disease around the world, he added.



He further explained that it is a global event which has been happening for seventeen years but Ghana joined in since 2018 and this is the seventh Rare Disease day we are observing.



Mr. Waife called, policy makers, the general public, clinicians, researchers, the patients community and everyone to all come together to make sure that the needs and interest of persons living with rare disease is considered.



The Clinical Psychologist bemoaned that a significant number of people living with the disease are undiagnosed so they use this moment to raise the voice and make sure that they find those disease that have not yet been diagnosed.



He also called on the government for a National Policy on Rare Diseases and part of this policy is for government to be very intentional in training health professionals to be able to identify and treat rare diseases within our healthcare systems.



This, he said will help them to adequately diagnose and manage rare diseases.



Moreover, We also need to inculcate genetic services in our healthcare because that is one of the tests you need to diagnose many rare diseases. This will also include having new born screening where every child born in Ghana would be tested before leaving the hospital, he told the media.



He urged that,  have to get treatments into the country for treatments thus it has to be included in on our essential medicine list and the National Health Insurance that will take care of the cost for rare diseases.



The Head of Clinical Services at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr. Ralph Armah, expressed gratitude for the celebration saying It is the day where we as clinicians and general public get to know more about diseases that are uncommon and do occur in our society.



To Mr. Armah, most of these rare disease turn to have genetic background and so usually there are certain things ascribed to it because they are uncommon.



As in being due to some spiritual disease or witchcraft but these things are things we know from literature and every now and then when they do occur they become conditions by which we as clinicians turn to learn, he also explained.



So basically it is a collaboration between clinicians and diagnostics in arriving at a clinical conclusion with whichever case weve seen and we move on to the treatments, he concluded.





Source: Prince Baffour Asamoah/Peace FM Newsroom









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Zambias President Hakainde Hichilema has declared a national disaster to tackle the prolonged drought affecting the country.



Addressing the nation on Thursday afternoon, Mr Hichilema said 84 districts out of a total of 116 were affected.



Zambia has been experiencing poor rain, with fears mounting that the country may experience hunger and struggle to meet its electricity demands as most of its energy is from water sources.



Water levels at Kariba Dam - which Zambia and neighbouring Zimbabwe use for hydroelectricity - had fallen to about 11.5% of usable storage as of last December.



The president said the drought would affect the generation of more than 450 megawatts of power.



He said almost half of the land used for planting crops had been affected by the dry spell.



Mr Hichilema said his government would work to ensure that additional maize and other food was brought into the country to make up the deficit.



He said he would use Zambia's defence forces in this fight to save our lives and save families and create a longer-term solution to drought".



We will work together to get together farmers to plant more crops. We shall also enhance the social support programmes for the farmers that have been affected by the drought, he said.



We call upon all our local and international partners to avail any excess food on hand to provide relief. Some partners have already extended their commitment to offer their support, such as the British, the UN system, the World Bank Group and others."



He called on farmers to use irrigation methods to cope with the dry spell. An estimated one million farmers have been affected by the drought.



Mr Hichilema said his government would work with different stakeholders, opposition politicians and the church to tackle the situation.



Social media has been awash with videos and pictures of fields with dying crops.

Source: BBC









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Senegal's president has confirmed that he will stand down when his term expires on 2 April.



In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, President Sall noted that a "national dialogue" had called for the election to be held on 2 June.



This date has not been confirmed.



"My departure is absolutely firm" he said.



Its unclear who would lead the country after Mr Sall steps down.



The election was due on 25 February but the president tried to delay it until December, so that disputes over the eligibility of other candidates could be resolved.



This led to violent protests across the normally stable West African country.



But the country's top court said the delay was unconstitutional, and called for the election to be held "as soon as possible".

Source: BBC









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Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka has urged the government at all levels to desist from taking citizens for a fool so as to bridge the gap between leaders and the led.



Soyinka, who was a guest speaker at the Punchs 50th-anniversary lecture themed Recovering the Narrative, insisted that the government ought to be close to the people.



According to Soyinka, its about time leaders stop taking us for a ride so that the government can come close to the people.



We dont want the nation to break, suppose the nation is breaking informally.



Let nations die so that humanity may live. I dont like to use the word restructuring. Politicians understand the terms when they are not in office but turn to something else when they assume office. It is the same thing with reconstruction, and it is time to look into it because it is not a slogan. Soyinka noted.



In his remarks, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammed Idris Malagi, while commending Soyinkas fatherly role in nation-building, noted that the President Bola Tinubu-led government has always been pro-active in policies that would help mitigate the suffering of Nigerians.



He said, Punch has been here for 50 years, and what that tells you is that its a story of resilience, trust, hard work, and commitment to the Nigeria project. These are the exact virtues President Bola Tinubu upholds.



Nigeria is going through hard times now, but its not new and its not peculiar to this country. All the issues we are discussing now are issues other countries are discussing. A few weeks ago, we heard that the United Kingdom had gone into an economic recession.



President Bola Tinubu has taken very bold steps. The first day after his assumption of office, he took away fuel subsidy, Before he assumed office, the economy was a dead horse standing. So whether the subsidy is removed or not, the economy is going to be challenging.



He ensured that the subsidy went away for the benefit of all. We knew from day one that its not going to be an easy sail, but we are seeing the effects of the decision, and the good story is that the government is taking very pro-active decisions to ensure that we turn the corner and Nigerias economy bounce back again.



All these things happening are for the good of the country, and the economy is going to bounce back. We foresee a situation where, in another year, this country is going to get better. Lets talk about the good things happening in this country, its not bad news all the time. The National Bureau of Statistics said we are improving by about 66 percent.



Our fuel consumption has gone down by about a billion liters. These challenges will continue to exist, but the important thing is that the government will always take proactive measures to ensure that the challenges disappear. Very soon, we are going to have a major policy shift in the petroleum sector.

Source: vanguard









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Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah has appealed to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not to hesitate in assenting to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.



The bill titled Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill has been passed by Parliament to enforce its provisions prohibiting homosexual activities in Ghana.



The bill criminalizes the promotion, advocacy and practices of the LGBTQ+ community.



Offenders will face a minimum of 6 months to 5 years imprisonment.



But the international community has condemned this bill saying it is an abuse of the freedom and rights of the homosexual society.



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk describes it as deeply harmful and implores the President not to append his signature to making it a law.



The bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people  simply for being who they are  and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people.



I call for the bill not to become law. I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized, Mr. Turk also argued.



US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer also says the bill undermines human rights.



I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghanas international reputation and Ghanas economy, she wrote on the embassys X page.



But Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a Governance Lecturer at Central University, has admonished the President not to fall for the pressure from the international community.



He asked Nana Addo to quickly assent to the bill to enforce Ghana's proper human sexual rights and family values.



"Sign it quickly and immediately. Don't let it delay on your table at all," he briefly said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Parliament has praised the immediate past Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, over the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.



The bill, which is to come into effect after President Nana Akufo-Addos assent, is to ensure a proper human sexual behavior and uphold Ghanaian family values.



The bill criminalizes all activities of the LGBTQ+ community and prohibits activism of homosexual practices.



Offenders will face a jail term of not less than 6 months to 5 years.



Speaking on behalf of the members of Parliament who championed the bill, Sam George, Ningo-Prampram lawmaker, disclosed the instrumental role of Hon. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who doubles as Suame MP.



According to him, Hon. Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu played a key role in modifying the bill ensuring it doesnt trample on fundamental human rights.



We cannot thank Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu enough for the fantastic work he did with amendments to make sure that this bill has come out well. We believe that the majority of the NPP side, I cannot forget the immediate past Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, the Hon. Dr. Afriyie, who actually helped us to improve the definition of sex by adding chromosonal structure to the definition of sex. So, there has been a massive support from the Majority side and overwhelming support from the Minority side. The House has stood united, he told the media following the passage of the bill.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the Ghana First Coalition (GFC) have appealed to the President to assent to the Promotion of Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill passed by Parliament into law.



The request by the two bodies is a major support the passage of the bill has received amid the controversy it has stirred internationally, with the US Embassy in Ghana and other international bodies expressing concern about the bill.



The CCG and the GFC said presidential assent was needed urgently to kick in the implementation of the law to deal with the threats that triggered the bill.



The two bodies stated their positions in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic following the passage of the anti-gay Bill.



The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr Cyril G. K. Fayose, said the council, which was one of the sponsors of the bill, welcomed its passage into law, stressing that the bill was in the right direction and that "we would want to encourage the President to assent to it".



He said the bill went through a rigorous process and the invitation of views from civil society, religious and traditional organisations and that the comprehensive process gave the opportunity to people to make inputs.



"I am satisfied with the outcome with it," he said, adding that, "I think due diligence was done."



The US Embassy in Ghana has been one of the first critics of the passage of the Bill but Rev. Dr Fayose said the law was for Ghana and not the US.



He, however, welcomed the comments of some Ghanaians and civil society organisations on the matter since it bothered the citizenry.



"All the issues have been raised by competent people in our society and it has been looked out carefully, and this is the final verdict, he said.



Rev. Dr Fayose said all those who opposed the Bill still had the right to their opinion on the matter, but collectively this is what we have decided to do as a Parliament.



Parliament represents the people and not a single one of them said no to the Bill," he said, adding that although it was overwhelmingly passed, people still had the right to their opinion.



He said the council would continue to educate those involved in the practice so they mended their ways since the council considered the practice a sin.



"The Christian position is that it's a sin, but we still love the sinner; we don't hate anyone and we would not encourage anyone to infringe on their human rights.



We respect them, love them but we just want them to do the right thing," he said.



The GFC, for its part, expressed gratitude to Parliament for passing the bill.



The values, as upheld by the bill, it said, resonated with the desires of the majority of Ghanaians.



We appreciate the strong bipartisan support for the Bill and congratulate both sides of the house on acting in the national interest.



Our special gratitude goes to the courageous and diligent efforts of the Bill's sponsors, led by the Member of Parliament of Ningo Prampram, Sam George and seven other bipartisan Members of Parliament.



We echo the clarion call from all citizens, urging and requesting the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to promptly give his assent to this Bill into law, a statement signed by the Chairman of the GFC, Bishop Dr S. N. Mensah, said.



The assent to the Bill, it said, would enable the citizenry to begin playing their part in reversing the insidious advance of such practices and their encroachment on Ghanaian cultural values.

Source: graphiconline









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Francis Asenso-Boakye, the new Minister for Roads and Housing, has assured the government of Japan of the continued commitment of the government of Ghana on initiatives within the roads and highways sector.



He made this known when he received His Excellency Mochizuki Hisanobu, the Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, for a brief meeting at the Ministry for Roads and Highways.



The discussions also addressed issues on the progress of key projects such as the Kumasi Inner Ring Road (Asokwa to Santansi Roundabout) and the Tema-Motorway Interchange Phase 2 where necessary measures are being put in place to ensure smooth delivery of the projects.



Furthermore, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide additional grant funding to cover the increased costs incurred during the construction of the Assin Praso-Assin Foso Road Project. The extra expenses, totaling about 30.5 million Yen, were primarily due to factors such as fuel price hikes, material escalation, and challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.



The bilateral meeting underscored the appreciation of the Ghanaian government for Japan's consistent support in driving socio-economic development, particularly in the infrastructure sector. I wish to express the appreciation of the government of Ghana to the Prime Minister and the people of Japan for their contributions to the development of our country, particularly in the provision of infrastructure, said Mr. Asenso-Boakye.



Minister Asenso-Boakye further urged Ambassador Hisanobu to expedite the process of securing additional funding for the Volivo bridge project, highlighting its importance for enhancing connectivity and facilitating economic activities in the region.



In response, Ambassador Hisanobu assured that efforts were underway to facilitate the necessary funding arrangements for the Volivo bridge project, affirming Japan's commitment to fostering continued collaboration with Ghana.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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As Ghana marks its annual celebration of Ghana Month this March, Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, the visionary founder of Divaloper, is embarking on a groundbreaking initiative to honor and celebrate the achievements of hardworking and successful women across the nation.



Through her innovative "See Ghana Agenda", Zulaiha aims to leverage technology to spotlight the invaluable contributions of women to Ghana's development and prosperity.



The "See Ghana Agenda" is a pioneering initiative launched by Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, aimed at recognizing and celebrating the remarkable achievements of women in various fields including technology, entrepreneurship, education, and social activism.



As part of this initiative, Divaloper will utilize its cutting-edge technological solutions to showcase the stories, experiences and accomplishments of inspirational Ghanaian women who have made significant strides in their respective fields.



Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, a trailblazer in the tech industry and a staunch advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment, believes that celebrating the achievements of women is essential for fostering a culture of inclusivity, diversity and innovation in Ghanaian society.



Through the "See Ghana Agenda, she hopes to inspire and empower future generations of women to pursue their dreams and aspirations with confidence and determination.



"In celebrating Ghana Month this March, we have a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on the incredible achievements of women who have played pivotal roles in shaping the trajectory of our nation, Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah said.



"Through the 'See Ghana agenda,' we aim to amplify their voices, celebrate their accomplishments, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps.



As part of the "See Ghana Agenda, Divaloper will launch a series of digital campaigns, online events, and interactive platforms designed to showcase the diverse talents, achievements, and contributions of Ghanaian women.



From virtual exhibitions to live panel discussions and social media campaigns, these initiatives will provide a platform for women to share their stories, insights, and experiences with a wider audience.



Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah invites individuals and organizations across Ghana to join hands in celebrating Ghana Month by participating in the "See Ghana Agenda" and supporting the recognition of women's achievements in the country.



Through collective action and collaboration, she believes that Ghana can truly embrace its rich cultural heritage and celebrate the extraordinary contributions of its women to the nation's progress and development.











Source: Zulaiha Dobia Abdullah, Founder of Divaloper









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Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, Member of Parliament for South Dayi Constituency and one of the sponsors of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, otherwise known as Anti-Gay Bill, has called for the immediate resignation of Lawyer Joseph Akanjolenur Whital, the boss of the the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) following the latter's comment over the passage of the Anti-gay bill.



Mr. Whital was cited on myjoyonline to have said that, We cannot just use the principle of our cultural values and throw all of us under the bus. We need to be very careful as a people.



In his response to the views of Mr. Whital, the South Dayi legislator expresssed his dispelasure about the statement made by the learned lawyer thereby asking for his immediate resignation of the office he occupies.



''Whital should resign for saying this . . . I haven't heard it. What is Whital saying? Whital is my senior in the law and I am so disappointed in him for saying something so embarrassing as this," Rockson fumed.



Citing Article 11 of the 1992 constitution, Dafeamekpor said that, the constitution is clear on making laws based on cultural norms or ethics of a country or society, hence, what the CHRAJ boss said should be disregarded.



Speaking on United Televisions (UTV's) 'Mpu ne Mpu' programmme, the lawmaker emphasised that, some sections of the public are holding on to the content of the old bill forgertting that Parliament has made amendments to the bill before it was passed.



Whital, granting an interview on Joy News, he said, "this bill is not a law, so it cannot be used against anybody. There are still processes to make it a law. That is why I am raising the challenge to the presidency to consider whether he shouldnt exercise his right of rejection on the basis of constitutionality aired against human rights. If it makes it through him, and if he also assents, I know there is a bunch of people who are ready to challenge the constitutionality of this bill before the Supreme Court."



Hon. Dafeamekpor acknowldged that, he is not going to be surpirised if the President fails to assent to the bill because there has been two bills that are still with the President awaiting his assent.



The South Dayi MP revealed that, the bill has been scrutinised, hence the President will definitely assent to it because it has over 90% of Ghanaians agreeing to the passage of the bill.



Watch video below





Source: Kobina Darlington/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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Governance expert and former United Nations Advisor on Governance, Prof Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has revealed that the NPP 2024 presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has a narrow chance of breaking the eight following President Akufo-Addos State of the Nation Address (SONA 2024).



Prof. Agyeman-Duah maintained that it would be very difficult for Dr Bawumia to dissociate himself from the current economic situation in the country.



Prof. Agyemang-Duahs comment came to light following President Akufo-Addos SoNA delivered in Parliament on Tuesday, February 27, wherein the latter claimed that all government appointees and officials only offer advice to the President.



It would be an unwise President that would pretend to have all the answers, and refuse the advice of his officials, but the fact remains that the President holds the executive power, said President Akufo-Addo.



The statement by the President only seems to buttress the assertion of Dr. Bawumia during his 7th Februarys Vision lecture at the UPSA where he had emphasized that the Economic Management Teams role is only advisory.



Prof Agyeman-Duah had a dissenting view.



Speaking on TV3s Ghana Tonight monitored by Peacefmonline.com, Prof. Agyemang Duah opined it will take a lot of convincing on the part of Vice President Bawumia to break the eight.



He said, This is a very interesting situation.



His [President Akufo-Addo] vice president, with whom he has ruled the country for eight years, is seeking to be president and the public and himself know that there are so many policies of his government that have not been satisfying to the public and of course, he works together with the vice president, he stressed.



According to Prof Agyeman-Duah, for Dr Bawumia to succeed in breaking the eight for the NPP, he would need to devise different strategies.



But seeking the presidency, the vice president has to find a clever way to distance himself from some of the failed policies, adding that it is a dilemma for any vice president seeking the office of the president while the incumbent is still in office.



The Governance Expert further stated that, I think [Dr] Bawumia is in a very tight situation because, on one hand, he cannot publicly denounce the policies of the president of which he was part, and at the same time he is aware that certain policies have not been very good and he cannot carry that to the campaign trail.



The situation, according to him, is a difficulty both of them are facing, adding that it has become a puzzle for the president and the vice president.







Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com









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The National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has announced Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate for the 2024 Presidential election, according to Peacefmonline.com sources.



Highly-placed sources within the camp of the largest opposition party say Prof Naana Opoku-Agyemang was the name former President Mahama settled on when he officially submitted his nomination for running mate to the party's Council of Elders on February 27, 2024.



The former Education Minister, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, was Mahama's running mate in the 2020 election.



It would be recalled that, earlier this week, the NDC's General Secretary, Fiifi Kwetey, issued a statement indicating that the nomination process was carried out in accordance with Article 45 of the NDC Constitution.



According to Fiifi Kwetey, The NDC is confident that the Running Mate will bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and dedication to our campaign.



He said that the selection of the running mate would align with John Mahamas vision as they collectively strive to "Build the Ghana We Want together."



Apart from Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, other names that were rumoured to partner Mahama included former Chief of Staff to President Mahama, Julius Debrah; an economist, Dr Nii Moi Thompson, Member of Parliament for Asunafo, Eric Opoku; and retired Police Commissioner, Nathan Kofi Boakye.



Ghanaians now await the official announcement next week.







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A former Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier Joseph Nunoo-Mensah has admonished government to consider the experiences of neighbouring countries to avoid any uprising from the citizenry.



According to the retired army officer, the surrounding countries failed to take the plight of their citizens which, thereafter, resulted in the recent governmental overthrows.



Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah expressed grave worry over the manner in which the incumbent government has ignored the plight of Ghanaians.



Let's look at the nations that have had coup detat in recent times in the ECOWAS sub-region, let's look at ourselves. We have to be honest with ourselves.



Today in Ghana, we are facing serious economic and social problems; very serious ones but our governments are behaving as if there is no problem.



"When you look at the ordinary people in this country, how they are facing life it is hard, it is rough, but we dont even want to accept that times are hard, Brigadier Nunoo-Mensah lamented.



Speaking to Raymond Acquah on Joy News monitored by Peacefmonline.com, Brigadier Nunoo- Mensah continued to pour out his disappointment in President Akufo-Addos inability to tackle the draconian economic issues when delivering his last State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Tuesday.



According to him, prices of food and commodities have sky rocketed leading to a financial distress on the living conditions of Ghanaians.



He said, When my good old friend, our president spoke I was looking forward to answers to these problems that we are facing especially with food. You cannot buy local food cheaply. If at my level, I cannot buy simple food like gari, cassava, or yam cheaply then there is a problem."



The problem is going to get even harder and when we dont want to accept that it is going to get pretty rough if we dont take care, we are going to have a massive food crisis that might lead to all kinds of problems.



He underscored the need for the government to consult some senior citizens who have the expertise to offer their solutions to the seemingly unending economic challenges.



At the age of 80 getting to 88, I dont have too much time to live. I dont like the Ghana I am leaving behind. We are looking for answers to our political, and socioeconomic problems.



We need to find a solution. The NPP, NDC thing it is not working and one must be honest about it, he added.

Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com









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Hannah Weiss demonstrates the multidirectional tapping task administered with augmented reality (AR) glasses. Credit: Hannah Weiss

When shifting from the microgravity of a spacecraft to the gravity-rich environment of the moon or Mars, astronauts experience deficits in perceptual and motor functions. The vestibular system in the inner ear, which detects the position and movement of the head, must adjust to reinterpret new gravity cues.

A University of Michigan-led team, including researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder's Bioastronautics Lab and NASA's Neuroscience Lab at Johnson Space Center, developed a multidirectional tapping task administered in augmented reality (AR) to detect sensorimotor impairments similar to those observed in astronauts after spaceflight.

The results, published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, could support mission operations decisions by establishing when astronauts are able to perform tasks that require full coordination, like piloting vehicles or operating other complex systems.

Field tests to assess sensorimotor impairment have previously been conducted upon the return of International Space Station crew members to Earth. Most of the crew fully recovered the ability to perform vestibular coordination tests within two to four days after landing. However, crew members received intensive treatment from strength, conditioning, and rehabilitation specialists during their recovery.

When making gravity transitions to destinations beyond Earth, astronauts will need a method to test recovery within the limited space of their spacecraft without the assistance of experts.

"Space is really a type of telehealth where we need to make decisions without the experts present. Tools to support that decision-making can make future space missions more efficient and help decrease risks," said Leia Stirling, co-author on the paper and an associate professor of industrial and operations engineering and robotics at the University of Michigan.

The research team developed a hand-eye coordination task, viewed through AR glasses, as a lightweight and space-conscious solution. This format enables hand and eye tracking while allowing users to view their physical surroundings along with computer generated perceptual information.

AR facilitates the development of tailored assessments, adapting functional tasks to meet mission requirements or individual crew needs. Leveraging embedded sensors, these AR-based evaluations track and analyze astronauts' hand-eye coordination, head kinematics, and task-specific performance metrics, offering valuable insights into their sensorimotor capabilities.

"Data from AR-based evaluations enable targeted feedback and the creation of personalized rehabilitation programs or countermeasures," said Hannah Weiss, co-author of the paper and doctoral graduate from the University of Michigan.

The hand-eye coordination task features 16 targetsadapted from an established human-computer interaction standardholographically projected in the user's physical space and arranged in an equidistant circular array. The aim is to tap the targets as quickly and accurately as possible in a predetermined sequence.

To test the impact of vestibular disruption on this task, the researchers applied electrical stimulation to the study participants' mastoid processes, just behind the ear, to disrupt their sensation of motion. Based on participants' swaying motion, the resulting vestibular impairment simulated the vestibular disorientation astronauts would experience one to four hours post-flight.

Both the speed and accuracy of tapping targets decreased after vestibular stimulation, indicating this type of impairment may hinder a crew's ability to acquire known target locations while in a static standing posture. Head linear accelerations also increased, indicating the attempt to keep balance interfered with their performance.

Future research efforts will explore balance and mobility tasks to complement this hand-eye coordination assessment to provide a clearer picture of an astronaut's adjustment to local gravity. Before deployment, determining readiness thresholds will also be necessary to guide decisions. Weiss, now a Human Factors Research Engineer at NASA Johnson Space Center, is extending this work to support astronaut testing.

"We will be testing this task in microgravity through a program at Aurelia Aerospace that enables students to perform studies in simulated microgravity using parabolic flight," said Sitrling.

"Sensorimotor challenges pose major risks to crew members, and we are working towards using electrical vestibular stimulation to train astronauts to operate in these impaired states prior to spaceflight to improve their outcomes," said Aaron Allred, first author on the paper and a doctoral student of Bioastronautics at the University of Colorado Boulder.

"Here on Earth, the assessments and impairment paradigms we are developing could inform telehealth patient care, such as for those who experience vestibular loss with age," added Allred.

More information: Aaron R. Allred et al, An Augmented Reality Hand-Eye Sensorimotor Impairment Assessment for Spaceflight Operations, Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance (2024). DOI: 10.3357/AMHP.6313.2024
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Credit: Arvind Philomin from Pexels

The Dental Anthropology Group at the Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana (CENIEH) has published a paper in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology on the morphological differences between the canines of men and women, underlining their importance in the creation of biological profiles.

The differences in size and morphology of the canines are almost imperceptible to the naked eye in Homo sapiens, but the study shows that male canines conserve traits inherited from the internal structure of our ancestors, which are potentially valuable for devising new sex estimation methodologies.

This investigation centers on sexual dimorphism in the dentine of the canines, which present notable differences between the sexes, in both primates and human beings.

Modern male canines show vestiges of the so-called canine-premolar honing complex, a structure observed in many other primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas. This complex plays a crucial role in facilitating the maintenance and efficacy of the canines, which are used as weapons when competing for resources or for females of the group in these species.

These differences are detectable because the dentine tends to be conserved. This structure, which lies below the enamel in dental pieces, presents morphological characteristics similar to those seen on the outer surface of the tooth. However, in the dentine, the traits are generally expressed more clearly.

In addition, as it is subject to fewer external environmental pressures than the enamel, the dentine is capable of retaining certain traits, making it more conservative from a morphological perspective.

As Cecilia Yacobi Izquierdo, the main co-author of this study, emphasizes, it was possible to assess the dentine thanks to the application of computerized axial microtomography and 3D morphometric geometry. Using the micro-CT facility at the Microscopy and Micro-Computed Tomography Laboratory at the CENIEH has enabled the authors of this study to analyze precisely the internal structure of the canines, highlighting the importance of these techniques and their enormous potential for physical anthropology.

"Our work shows, once again, that the canines exhibit sufficient dimorphism to be employed in devising new techniques for sex estimation in human remains, but also stresses the importance of micro-CT techniques in fields ranging from archaeology to legal medicine," explains Yacobi, who is a doctoral student on the Doctorate in Biology program at the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (UAM), under the supervision of Cecilia Garcia Campos and Daniel Garcia Martinez, affiliate researchers at the CENIEH.

More information: Cecilia GarciaCampos et al, Sexual dimorphism in the enameldentine junction (EDJ) of permanent canines of European modern humans, American Journal of Biological Anthropology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24913

Provided by CENIEH
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Velia Fowler (standing), chair of the Department of Biological Sciences and pioneering researcher in the architecture of cells, examines F-actin and other proteins in the structure of red blood cells with lab manager Megan Coffin. Fowler has shown that dysregulation of F-actin can contribute to a wide range of health issues, including blood disorders, cataracts and osteoarthritis. Credit: University of Delaware

Human bodies make 2 million red blood cells per second. They each live for 120 days and spend that time zooming completely around the body every 20 seconds, carrying oxygen from the lungs to other tissues and bringing back carbon dioxide that is exhaled.

Velia M. Fowler, professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware, can tell you almost everything about the architecture of those cells.

The disk-shaped cells have two dimples, one on each side, and are perfectly symmetric when at rest. In the blood stream, they flexibly deform and fold to squeeze through narrow capillaries smaller than they are, returning to their original biconcave shape when they emerge.

"I always liked the red cell shape because it's just so beautiful," Fowler said. "I always wanted to figure out how it worked."

Fowler's lab at UD studies cell architecture and how each cell's interior structural scaffolding creates its unique shape, mechanical strength and physiological functions. This scaffolding is made of a protein called actin, which assembles into filaments (F-actin) that resemble a helical strand of beads. Unlike the structural scaffoldings in buildings, the F-actin in cells is dynamic, with actin subunits, "beads," coming on and off the filament ends every second.

F-actin is a key regulator of cellular architecture and how appropriate cellular forms support cellular functions, according to Fowler. Dysregulation of F-actin can lead to changes in cell shapes and biomechanics, which can contribute to a range of diseases including blood disorders, immunodeficiencies, muscle myopathies, cataracts, presbyopia, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and tendinosis.

The lab studies how the dynamic F-actin scaffolding creates particular cell shapes and how this contributes to normal cell function or dysfunction. The research is focused on red blood cells, the cells in the ocular lens and cells in the musculoskeletal system.

"We're trying to understand the locations of F-actin structures [inside the cells], their dynamic organizations, shapes and the gradients of concentration, and how they contribute to cell functions. I just love that interplay," Fowler said.

Fowler and her team are examining two different aspects of F-actin in red blood cells: how the red blood cell precursors rearrange their F-actin to get rid of their nucleus, enabling the mature cells to circulate many times through the tiny capillaries; and how F-actin assembles into a thin network at the membrane (skin) of the cell and interacts with a motor protein called myosin to control cell shape and flexibility.

The work with the ocular lens studies how F-actin structures in lens cells contribute to lens transparency and focusing for vision. The research in bone, cartilage and tendon cells examines how F-actin structures are maintained to prevent problems in the musculoskeletal system. The latter work is done with the Delaware Center for Musculoskeletal Research Center.

The broad impact of F-actin in cells was one of the reasons biomedical engineering doctoral student Heather Malino joined Fowler's lab. She was attracted to the foundational aspect of the research, rather than specializing in practical solutions to health problems like prosthetics.

"Learning about the fundamental biological phenomenon that happens can be really rewarding because you're looking at the cellular and molecular processes," she said. "You find out something about the lens, but cells are cells. So things that we learned about the lens, can also be more overarching to different processes in the body."

Building on the past

The work builds on groundbreaking discoveries related to the F-actin network that Fowler has made throughout her 40-year career. As a post-doctoral fellow Fowler was the first to discover myosin in red blood cells. Without myosin motors pulling on F-actin networks to create tension, the red blood cell precursors would not be able to generate enough force to expel their nucleus, and the mature cells would not be able to withstand the repetitive cycles of deformation, folding and unfolding required during their lifespan.

She also discovered a previously unknown protein called tropomodulin. Tropomodulin stops the ends of the F-actin from growing or shrinking, stabilizing them at a certain length. When the filaments are the same length, the networks they create when binding to other proteins in various types of cells are stronger and more stable. If the filaments are different lengths, the networks are irregular and mechanically weaker, and cell shapes are abnormal.

Fowler showed that tropomodulin's function is critical for development of the heart and blood cells, and for proper function of many cells and tissues, including eye lens, neurons in the brain, epithelial cells lining the gut, endothelial cells lining blood vessels, as well as platelets, red blood cells. It is required for efficient muscle contraction in both skeletal and cardiac muscles.

"I started with a molecule that had a function in one tissue, and I thought the function had to happen in these other tissues," she said. "I connected the dots."

Recently, Fowler was part of a team that discovered that a mutation in the tropomodulin proteins which prevents the protein from functioning properly causes a severe inherited cardiomyopathy in children. This is the first time the protein's function has been directly linked to heart disease in humans. The research was published in the journal Communications Biology.

Fowler was recently recognized as a 2023 Lifetime Fellow of the American Society of Cell Biologists (ASCB), partly for her work on tropomodulin. She is one of 19 scientists from around the world to receive the honor this year. The society includes the top researchers in the field and counts several Nobel Prize winners as members.

"Dr. Fowler has advanced our understanding of fundamental questions in cell biology," Jia Song, associate professor of biological sciences, said in her letter nominating Fowler for the award. "Her groundbreaking work, published in more than 140 research articles, has significantly advanced our understanding of actin cytoskeletal function in architecture and behavior of diverse cells."

More information: Catalina Vasilescu et al, Recessive TMOD1 mutation causes childhood cardiomyopathy, Communications Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05670-9 Journal information: Communications Biology
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(a) Illustration of the thermal Hall experiment. A longitudinal heat gradient is applied to the material in the presence of an external magnetic field, resulting in the generation of a transverse thermal gradient by phonons in insulating iridate single crystals. (b) Sketch of part of the crystal structure of Sr 2 IrO 4 . Yellow arrows indicate the spins of the iridium atoms that confer an antiferromagnetic property to the material. The introduction of Rh doping at the Ir sites causes a thermal Hall signal that is 30 times more intense than that observed when substituting Sr atoms with La atoms. Image obtained from: Martelli, V. Phonons bend to magnetic fields. Nat. Phys. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-023-02288-w

The thermal hall effect (THE) is a physical phenomenon characterized by tiny transverse temperature differences occurring in a material when a thermal current passes through it and a perpendicular magnetic field is applied to it. This effect has been observed in a growing number of insulators, yet its underlying physics remains poorly understood.

Researchers at Universite de Sherbrooke in Canada have been trying to identify the mechanism behind this effect in different materials. Their most recent paper, published in Nature Physics, specifically examined this effect in the antiferromagnetic insulator strontium iridium oxide (Sr 2 IrO 4 ).

"Our current research activity on the THE in insulators started with our discovery of a large THE in cuprate superconductors," Louis Taillefer, co-author of the paper, told Phys.org.

"This came as a big surprise to everyone, in particular the fact that the large THE persisted all the way to zero doping, where cuprates are Mott insulators. This immediately sparked interest among various theorists, including Steve Kivelson at Stanford and Subir Sachdev at Harvard."

Shortly after their discovery, the researchers were able to determine that the heat carriers responsible for this effect in cuprate insulators are phonons, waves of oscillatory atomic vibrational energy. These findings were outlined in a paper published in Nature Physics in 2020.

"The idea behind this work was to send the heat current perpendicular to the CuO 2 planes, a direction along which only phonons can travel, but not electrons or spin-related excitations," Taillefer said. "This showed that phonons are the relevant heat carriers, as found just before by Kamran Behnia's group in strontium titanate."

On the left is PhD student Amirreza Ataei, the lead author of the article, and on the right is Professor Louis Taillefer, the principal investigator of the project. Credit: Michel Caron, Universite de Sherbrooke

The team's experimental results indicated that phonons underpinned the THE they observed in cuprate insulators, yet the physical mechanism through which they enabled this effect remained unknown. Their work subsequently inspired many theoretical physicists to offer a possible explanation for this mechanism, including Kivelson at Stanford University, Sachdev at Harvard University, Allan MacDonald at Texas University and, Leon Balents at KITP Santa Barbara.

"Our experimental approach has been to search for the phonon THE in a wide variety of materials," Taillefer explained. "One such material is the antiferromagnetic insulator Cu 3 TeO 6 . Another is the iridate Sr 2 IrO 4 , which is the topic of our latest paper in Nature Physics."

As part of their recent study, therefore, Taillefer and his colleagues specifically searched for the effect of impurities on the phonon induced THE in Sr 2 IrO 4 . To do this, their collaborator Veronique Brouet at the Laboratoire de Physique des Solides at Universite Paris-Saclay introduced two types of impurities into the material; firstly rhodium (Rh) impurities and then lanthanum (La) impurities.

"The big surprise was the huge enhancement of the THE that we saw when a small concentration of Rh impurities was added," Taillefer said. "We observed a 70-fold increase with only 5% of Rh substituting for Ir. This is a strong indication that the phonon THE is caused by the scattering of phonons off impurities that are embedded in an antiferromagnetic environment (in this case the IrO 2 layers)."

The new findings gathered by Taillefer and his colleagues hint at a possible mechanism that could underpin the phonon THE observed in Sr 2 IrO 4 . This mechanism involves the scattering of phonons by impurities, possibly through resonant processes such as those suggested by Kivelson or Sachdev. Meanwhile, the researchers plan to continue their research into the THE effect, focusing on various other materials.

"One direction for future research will be to see whether materials that are candidates for quantum spin liquid states generate a THE that is not from phonons, but rather from exotic emergent excitations, such as Majorana fermions or spinons," Taillefer added.

"Candidate materials include RuCl 3 and Na 2 Cu 2 TeO 6 . Another direction, this time for the phonon THE, will be to understand how some materials can generate a THE when the applied magnetic field is parallel to the heat current; the so-called 'planar THE.' Baffling!"

In late 2023, Taillefer and his colleagues published various papers probing the planar THE in different classes of materials. Their studies have so far focused on frustrated antiferromagnetic insulators, Kitaev materials, and cuprates.

More information: A. Ataei et al, Phonon chirality from impurity scattering in the antiferromagnetic phase of Sr2IrO4, Nature Physics (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-024-02384-5. Journal information: Nature Physics

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The St. Jones Reserve, a temperate salt marsh in Delaware, hosts a new study on wetland methane emissions. Credit: Rodrigo Vargas

Global atmospheric methane concentrations have risen steadily since 2006. Growth in agriculture, transportation, and industry are partly to blame, but so too is the rise in biogenic emissions, or emissions from natural sources.

Biogenic sources are as varied and complex as the ecosystems from which they deriverecent work highlighted tree stems as one overlooked emitterbut wetlands stand out as the largest natural methane contributor. In fact, they account for about a third of total methane emissions, natural or otherwise. But understanding wetland methane dynamics is complicated because they are affected by so many factors, ranging from salinity to temperature to vegetation types to water levels. Into these soggy reaches wade Andrew Hill and colleagues, with an approach to disentangle these variables.

The authors combined empirical dynamic modeling and convergent cross mapping to analyze 5 years' worth of methane flux measurements in a salt marsh in the St. Jones Reserve, part of the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve and the AmeriFlux network. The algorithms incorporated 18 environmental measurements, from wind speed to atmospheric pressure, to characterize how they interact to shape methane emissions. The research is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.

The results showed that methane levels' response to environmental shifts can lag by up to 35 days. During the day, emissions changes were most closely tied to the ebb and flow of water levels. But seasonal patterns of emission rates were most influenced by fluctuations in temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, and gross primary production.

As methane emissions continue to climb, they could trigger a positive feedback loop in which rising atmospheric methane concentrations instigate greater ecosystem releases. By revealing the mechanics of methane dynamics in the salt marsh, the study offers a framework for improving wetland emission estimates and may help clarify a strategy for mitigating the rise in global methane concentrations.

More information: Andrew C. Hill et al, Empirical Dynamic Modeling Reveals Complexity of Methane Fluxes in a Temperate Salt Marsh, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2023JG007630

This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original story here.
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Orca (killer whale) predation timeline. Credit: Christiaan Stopforth, Drone Fanatics SA

An orca (killer whale) has been observed, for the first-ever time, individually consuming a great white sharkand within just two minutes.

"The astonishing predation, off the coast of Mossel Bay, South Africa, represents unprecedented behavior underscoring the exceptional proficiency of the killer whale," remarks Dr. Alison Towner from Rhodes University, who led an international research team into the discovery.

Their findings are published in African Journal of Marine Science.

The groundbreaking insight is the latest from Dr. Towner and the team, who, in 2022 in the same journal, revealed that a pair of orca were hunting and killing great white sharks off the coast of South Africa since 2017managing to drive large numbers of the sharks from their natural aggregation sites.

Orcas are generally known to work together to catch large prey like sea lions, seals, and even other whalesand of course, sharks too. By hunting together, they can surround prey and use their combined intelligence and strength to attack.

They can hunt large animals individually. However, this is the first such occurrence on what is one of the world's largest predatorsthe great white.

"Again, as previously in South Africa, the orcas are exhibiting a strong preference for extracting and consuming the lipid-rich livers of white sharksa specialized feeding behavior," explains Dr. Towner, who has studied great white sharks for the last 17 years, learning about their movement patterns through tagging data.

"But what we witnessed was an orca, nicknamed Starboarddue to his collapsed dorsal finperforming alone to incapacitate and consume a white shark within an astounding two-minute timeframe.

"Starboard was observed preying on a 2.5-meter (8.2 feet) juvenile white shark, later carrying the shark's liver in its mouth past a boat.

"This sighting revealed evidence of solitary hunting by at least one killer whale, challenging conventional cooperative hunting behaviors known in the region.

"These are groundbreaking insights into the predatory behavior of this species, and our findings significantly contribute to the global understanding of Killer Whale predation dynamics, enhancing knowledge of marine ecosystems and predator-prey relationships."

During the observed interactions of this event, at least two white sharks were killed, as evidenced by the discovery of a second carcass measuring 3.55 meters (11.6 feet) nearby.

Photo of great white shark carcass. Credit: Christiaan Stopforth, Drone Fanatics SA

"The study raises critical questions about the impact of killer whale predation on shark populations in South Africa," Dr. Towner says. "The displacement of various shark species due to killer whale presence may have implications for mesopredator release and potential trophic changes in the marine ecosystem."

Understanding the ecological dynamics of killer whale predation is paramount for marine conservation efforts. The authors state that this event "underscores the urgent need for adaptable conservation strategies and vigilant ecological monitoring amidst changing environmental conditions."

Founding Director and Principal Scientist at Sea Search Research & Conservation, and at the Department of BotZoo, University of Stellenbosch, Dr. Simon Elwen, is an expert in the ecology, behavior, and conservation status of whales.

Commenting on the importance of Dr. Towner's team's findings, he says, "The observations reported here add more layers to the fascinating story of these two killer whales and their capabilities. As smart, top predators, killer whales can rapidly learn new hunting techniques on their own or from others, so monitoring and understanding the behaviors used here and by other killer whales in South Africa is an important part of helping us understand more about these animals."

The involvement of land-based observers, tourists on vessels, and collaborating institutions played a "pivotal role" in capturing this crucial data and footage of the predation events.

This particular event "underscores the benefits of citizen science as a collaborative effort between researchers, tourists, and organizations," the authors state.

Esther Jacobs, from the marine conservation initiative, Keep Fin Alive, recounts her experience witnessing the predation: "Upon reaching Mossel Bay's Seal Island, the scent of shark liver oil and a noticeable slick indicated a recent kill. Tracking Port and Starboard near the island, they remained separated.

"Witnessing a white shark's fin break the surface initially sparked excitement, but that turned to a somber realization as Starboard swiftly approached. The moment Starboard rapidly preyed on my favorite shark species was both devastating and intensely powerful."

Co-author Dr. Primo Micarelli, from the Shark Studies Center and Siena University, was on board the vessel White Shark Africa and said, "Over two decades of annual visits to South Africa, I've observed the profound impact these killer whales have on the local white shark population. Seeing Starboard carry a white shark's liver past our vessel is unforgettable.

"Despite my awe for these predators, I'm increasingly concerned about the coastal marine ecology balance."

Concluding, Dr. Towner highlights that the new findings on killer whales provide important further insights into how adaptable mammalian predators specialize and diverge ecologically.

"The presence of these shark-hunting killer whales possibly ties into broader ecosystem dynamics. Rapid developments in this phenomenon, make it challenging for science to keep pace, prompting us to publish these timely short communications."

More information: Further insights into Killer Whales Orcinus orca preying on White Sharks Carcharodon carcharias in South Africa., African Journal of Marine Science (2024). DOI: 10.2989/1814232X.2024.2311272. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/1  814232X.2024.2311272
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Artists impression of the interstellar object, 'Oumuamua, experiencing outgassing as it leaves our solar system. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser

On October 19th, 2017, astronomers with the Pann-STARRS survey observed an interstellar object passing through our system1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua. This was the first time an ISO was detected, confirming that such objects pass through the solar system regularly, as astronomers predicted decades prior. Just two years later, a second object was detected, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov. Given 'Oumuamua's unusual nature (still a source of controversy) and the information ISOs could reveal about distant star systems, astronomers are keen to get a closer look at future visitors.

For instance, multiple proposals have been made for interceptor spacecraft that could catch up with future ISOs, study them, and even conduct a sample return (like the ESA's Comet Interceptor). In a new paper by a team from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Alan Stern and his colleagues studied possible concepts and recommended a purpose-built robotic ISO flyby mission called the Interstellar Object Explorer (IOE). They also demonstrate how this mission could be performed on a modest budget with current spaceflight technology.

The study was conducted by Alan Stern, the Principal Investigator for NASA's New Horizons missions, and his colleagues at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado. This included Principal Scientist Silvia Protopapa, manager Matthew Freeman, researcher/director Joel Parker, and systems engineer Mark Tapley. They were joined by Cornell Research Associate Darryl Z. Seligman and Caden Andersson, a researcher with Colorado-based company Custom Microwave Inc. (CMI). Their paper was published on February 5, 2024, in the journal Planetary and Space Science.

Interstellar objects (ISOs) abound

Since 'Oumuamua first buzzed our system, scientists have assigned a high value to ISOs, which represent material ejected from other solar systems. By obtaining samples and studying them up close, we could learn much about the formation of other stars and planets without actually sending missions there. We could also learn a lot about the interstellar medium (ISM) and how organic material, and maybe even the building blocks for life, are distributed throughout the galaxy (aka. Panspermia Theory). As they state in their paper:

"ISOs represent the leftovers from the formation of planetary systems around other stars. As such, their study offers critical new insights into the chemical and physical characteristics of the disks from which they originated. Additionally, a comprehensive analysis of their composition, geology, and activity will shed light on the processes behind the formation and evolution of planetesimals in other solar systems.

"Close encounters with small bodies in our solar system have vastly enhanced our understanding of these objects, contextualized our ground-based observations, and advanced our knowledge of planetesimal formation models. Similarly, a close flyby of an ISO promises to be equally transformative. It stands as the logical next step in exploring the early history of both our solar system and exoplanetary systems."

Moreover, population studies of ISOs have indicated that about seven pass through our solar system every year. Meanwhile, other research has shown that some are periodically captured and are still here. With next-generation instruments becoming operational, scientists anticipate that there will be a significant increase in the rate of ISO discoveries in the late 2020s and the 2030s. This includes the Vera C. Rubin Observatory currently under construction in Chile, which is expected to gather its first light in January 2025.

Researchers anticipate the observatory will gather data on more than 5 million Asteroid Belt objects, 300,000 Jupiter Trojans, 100,000 near-Earth objects and more than 40,000 Kuiper belt objects. They also estimate that it will detect about 15 interstellar objects in its first 10-year run, known as the Legacy Survey of Space and Timethough other estimates say up to 70 ISOs a year. For their study, Stern and his colleagues assume that any ISOs within a distance of about twice the distance between Earth and the sun (2 AU) would be bright enough to be detectable by the LSST.

Objectives and instruments

As Stern and his colleagues explain in their paper, their proposed IOE would have two main science objectives. These include determining the "composition of the ISO to provide insights into its origin and evolution." As noted, these studies would provide invaluable information on the initial conditions of the ISO's host solar system. In this respect, the IOE would provide information similar to what the New Horizons mission revealed about the Kuiper belt object Arrokoth or how the ESA's Rosetta mission detected the building blocks of life in the comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko.

'Oumuamua (l) and 2I/Borisov (r) are the only two ISOs we know of for certain. Credit: (left) ESO/M. Kornmesser; (right) NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA)

Second, the IOE would determine or constrain the "nature, composition, and sources of the ISO coma activity and determine the processes responsible for [the] observed activity." Typically, coma activity results from ice sublimating as objects approach a star, which releases dust grains and refractory organic molecules from the nucleus. As previous observations have shown, the activity of comets depends on solar heating and the comet's own physical characteristics. As Stern and colleagues expressed in their paper:

"By characterizing the composition and spatial distribution of an ISO's coma, IOE can directly determine the primary components of its target ISO, identify the mechanisms behind coma activity, and deepen our insights into the composition and processes extant in its protoplanetary formation disk, where planetesimals like it were forming Furthermore, comparing the physical properties (i.e., the chemical composition, size distribution, type of mixing) of ices and refractories in the coma with those on the surface can provide insights into potential processes that may have modified the surfaces."

Based on these science objectives, Stern and his colleagues listed what instruments the IOE would need. These include:

A panchromatic visible-wavelength imager with arcsecond-class angular resolution and high dynamic range

A visible-wavelength imager with three filters (min) and an infrared imaging spectrometer that spans the 12.5 um wavelength range (possibly up to 4 um) with a resolving power of at least 100

An ultraviolet spectrometer spanning the wavelength range of 7001970 angstrom (A) with a spectral resolution of equal or greater than 20 A

A panchromatic visible-wavelength imager and UV and infrared imaging spectrometers

Mission profile

Next up is the design of the spacecraft itself, which is dictated by the ephemeral nature of ISOs. As 'Oumuamua and Borisov demonstrated, the velocity of ISOs means that they are likely to remain undetected until they are close to the inner edge of the Main Asteroid Belt. In addition, their hyperbolic trajectories mean that they are likely to zip around our sun and become unreachable shortly after they are detected. Last, there's the positioning of the intercept mission itself, which directly affects the spacecraft's ability to deploy and reach the target ISO.

For their study, Stern and his team selected a "storage orbit" location at the Earth-moon L1 Lagrange Point, located between the Earth and moon. This location has several advantages, most notably how a spacecraft positioned will need to generate very little thrust to achieve escape velocitymeaning that most of its available acceleration (delta-v) will be put towards its intercept trajectory. This storage orbit also means less propellant and less time is needed to get underway, and allows for a quick gravitational assist from a near-Earth flyby.

For their study, Stern and his team set a detectability limit of 2 AU and simulated ISOs with a mean velocity of 32.14 km/s (~20 mps) and a closest solar approach of 10 AU or less. Other constraints that were considered included the positions of the Earth and ISO at the time of its detection, the ISO's orbit parameters, the maximum distance that a mission could intercept an ISO (aka the "heliocentric radius of intercept"), and the relative velocity between the spacecraft and ISO. To effectively analyze this data, the team generated an algorithm to optimize the intercept trajectory and establish a small subset of ISOs that could feasibly be intercepted.

They simulated all of these calculations over a period of 10 years and (using previous missions as precedents) derived several key parameters. As they established, the mission would need to be capable of an acceleration (delta-v) of 3.0 km/s, establish a minimum flyby altitude of 400 km (~250 mi), intercept the ISO within 3 AUs of the sun, and achieve a flyby velocity of 100 km/s (62 mps). With this "detectability sphere" established, they found that the chances for a successful intercept increased considerably at higher velocities3 to 3.9 km/s (1.86 to 2.4 mps)and at distances closer to 3 AU.

The study of ISOs is a burgeoning field of astronomical research encompassing next-generation observatories (like Vera Rubin) and proposed intercept missions. In addition to the IOE, similar concepts have been proposed since the detection of 'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisovincluding Project Lyra, a proposal made by the Institute for Interstellar Studies (i4is). While such a mission may be years from realization, detailed studies such as this will help inform the next phase of developmentthe designing and testing of mission concepts themselves.

Stern and his colleagues acknowledge that more research is needed before this can happen but emphasize that their work is an important first step. "More detailed work will be needed next to better prepare the mission concept to be proposed to a future NASA mission opportunity," they write, "but this report provides the mission's basic objectives, key requirements, and attributes as a starting point."

More information: S. Alan Stern et al, A study of an interstellar object explorer (IOE) mission, Planetary and Space Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2024.105850
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Map showing the high sand dunes, > 30 m height, to the south of Chinguetti. Credit: arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2402.14150

Three physicists have taken a new look at the circumstances surrounding the mysterious Chinguetti meteorite and developed a means for confirming whether it exists or not. In their paper posted to the arXiv preprint server, Robert Warren, Stephen Warren and Ekaterini Protopapa suggest that there are only a few possible places the meteorite could be and thus a magnetometer-based survey over the region could solve the mystery.

In 1916, Gaston Ripert, an official with the French consulate, reported to his colleagues that he had found what he described as an "iron hill" in a part of the Sahara desert, approximately 45 kilometers from Chinguetti, Mauritania, in northwest Africa. He brought back what he claimed was proof of its existencea piece of stone he claimed to have chiseled off its surface. Scientists suggested the only possible explanation for such an object to exist in the desert was a meteorite strike.

Since that time, many scientists have studied Ripert's account and have scrutinized the area where he claimed to have seen the iron hill, but to date, no evidence has ever been found. In this new effort, the researchers took another look at the existing evidence and conducted research of their own to solve the mystery.

After studying the results of past work, the researchers suggest that there are good arguments both for and against its existence. They point out that in his description of the iron hill, Ripert observed what he described as metallic needlesit was not until 2003 that scientists discovered that such metallic needles sometimes occur in meteorites that contain abundant nickel. Also, it seemed possible that any crater produced by the impact would be covered in sand. They also note that it appears many prior searches were done in the wrong area.

The researchers state that if such a meteorite exists, it would have to be covered by a dune at least 40 meters high. Studying digital elevation models, they determined that there were two likely areas such a meteorite could exist in the region. And that, they conclude, means that a simple magnetometer-based survey of the two areas could solve the mystery.

More information: Robert Warren et al, New evidence on the lost giant Chinguetti meteorite, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2402.14150 Journal information: arXiv

 2024 Science X Network
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Instantaneous solution quantities shown for a static Mach 1.4 solution on a mesh consisting of 33 billion elements using 33,880 GPUs, or 90% of Frontier. From left to right, contours show the mass fractions of the hydroxyl radical and HO, the temperature in Kelvin, and the local Mach number. Credit: Gabriel Nastac/NASA

A U.S. mission to land astronauts on the surface of Mars will be unlike any other extraterrestrial landing ever undertaken by NASA.

Although the space agency has successfully landed nine robotic missions on Mars since its first surface missions in 1976 with the Viking Project, safely bringing humans to Mars will require new technologies for flight through the Martian atmosphere. But these technologies and systems can't be comprehensively tested on Earth beforehand.

Since 2019, a team of NASA scientists and their partners have been using NASA's FUN3D software on supercomputers located at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, or OLCF, to conduct computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, simulations of a human-scale Mars lander. The OLCF is a DOE Office of Science user facility located at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The team's ongoing research project is a first step in determining how to safely land a vehicle with humans onboard onto the surface of Mars.

"By its very nature, we don't have validation data for this. We can do valuable but limited tests in ground facilities like a wind tunnel or on a ballistic range, but such approaches cannot fully capture the physics that will be encountered on Mars. We can't flight-test in the actual Martian environmentit's all or nothing when we get there. That's why supercomputing is so critically important," said Eric Nielsen, a senior research scientist at NASA's Langley Research Center and principal investigator for the five-year effort at the OLCF.

Unlike in recent Mars missions, parachutes are not part of the operation. Instead, the leading candidate for landing humans on Mars is retropropulsionfiring forward-facing rockets built into the craft's heat shield to decelerate.

"We've never flown anything like this before. The fundamental question from the outset was, "Are we going to be able to safely control this vehicle?'" Nielsen said.

Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

The reason that NASA is investigating retropropulsion rather than conventional parachutes is a matter of physics. Previous Mars landers have weighed about 1 ton; a vehicle carrying astronauts and all their life-support systems will weigh 20 to 50 times more, or about the size of a two-story house. Mars' thin atmosphereabout 100 times less dense than Earth'swon't support a parachute landing for such a large craft.

"With a conventional vehicle, we fly through a very clean, predictable environment. All of that goes out the window with this concept, where we will be traveling through an extremely dynamic environment consisting of high-energy rocket exhaust," said NASA team member and CFD expert Gabriel Nastac.

With guidance from NASA mission planners, the team formulated a multiyear plan consisting of increasingly sophisticated simulations aimed at the key question of controllability.

In 2019, the team conducted CFD simulations on the Summit supercomputer at resolutions up to 10 billion elements to characterize static vehicle aerodynamics at anticipated throttle settings and flight speeds ranging from Mach 2.5 down to Mach 0.8, conditions in which the vehicle's rocket engines will be required for initial deceleration.

Throughout 2020, an intense code development effort focused on porting FUN3D's general reacting-gas capabilities to Summit's graphics processing unit, or GPU, accelerators.

"Realizing efficient performance of an unstructured-grid CFD solver in the face of complex physics-laden kernels is an enormous challenge in a GPU-based computing environment. But we were ultimately able to restructure critical segments of code to deliver the performance we were after," said NASA research computer scientist Aaron Walden, who leads the team's multi-architecture software development.

The work set the stage for an important 2021 campaign that enabled the team to address the complex interactions of the liquid oxygen/methane rocket engines with the Martian atmosphere, which consists of primarily carbon dioxide and nitrogen. A petabyte (equivalent to 1,000 terabytes) of output data for each simulation conducted using 15,00020,000 GPUs on Summit yielded key insights into critical differences in vehicle aerodynamics versus those observed using the prior simulation's perfect-gas assumption.

Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

For the 2022 campaign, the team took a major step forward by incorporating the state-of-the-art NASA flight mechanics software known as the Program to Optimize Simulated Trajectories II, or POST2, into the workflow. Moving beyond simulations that assume a static flight condition, the team now sought to "fly" the vehicle in the virtual supercomputing environment. This test would represent a first attempt to quantify and address critical unsteady dynamics that would be encountered during an actual powered descent to the Martian surface.

The team enlisted key experts from Georgia Tech's Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory; this group was led by Brad Robertson. These experts had already spent several years developing a coupling algorithm to replace the low-order aerodynamic models within POST2 with real-time, physics-based FUN3D simulations to ultimately realize high-fidelity trajectory simulations that leverage sophisticated flight control algorithms.

"Coupling FUN3D and POST2 was quite a challenge. We had to juggle five or six reference frames and the data transformations between them. But the reward was being able to adopt all the hard work done by other NASA engineers on detailed guidance, navigation, control and propulsion models and to bring them all into a single, unified, multiphysics simulation," said team member Zach Ernst, a Georgia Tech doctoral student at the time, who worked with NASA graduate intern Hayden Dean on the effort.

Incorporating POST2 brought an additional challenge. Because POST2 is subject to more restrictive export-control regulations than FUN3D, team member Kevin Jacobson was tasked with developing a remote coupling paradigm in which POST2 would execute on a NASA facility while communicating in real-time with FUN3D running at leadership scale at the OLCF.

Establishing and maintaining this connection while accounting for firewalls, network interruptions and job schedulers presented numerous challenges. This work required about a year of planning and coordination with cybersecurity personnel and system administrators at both facilities.

The additional effort paid off when the team achieved their long-term goal of flying a substantial portion of the descent phase in the virtual environment.

The arrival of OLCF's Frontier supercomputer could not have come at a better time for the project. With exascale computing power (a quintillion or more calculations per second) now a reality, the team could afford to reintroduce the desired physical modeling and other lessons learned over the life of the project.

Credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory

In 2023, the team focused on the ultimate simulation they had hoped for years earlier: a truly autonomous, closed-loop test flight leveraging the world's most powerful supercomputing system.

While the eight main engines are used to control pitch (up-and-down rotation) and yaw (side-to-side rotation) as the guidance system aims for the designated landing zone, POST2 also issues commands to instruct FUN3D to periodically fire four reaction control system, or RCS, modules arranged circumferentially around the backside of the lander to perform roll corrections in flight.

"These capabilities will be critical for assessing the controllability of future vehicles," said Georgia Tech's Alex Hickey, who led development of the RCS modeling.

The team's long-term goal became a reality in late 2023, as OLCF staff assisted in coordinating a careful sequence of high-priority jobs over a two-week period at scale on Frontier.

"For the first time, we were able to return to the original question of safely controlling this type of vehicle in autonomous flight," Nielsen said. "In a typical aerospace CFD simulation, one might compute a second or two of physical time. Here, Frontier enabled us to successfully fly 35 seconds of controlled flight, descending from 8 kilometers (about 5 miles) altitude to about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) as the vehicle approached its landing phase.

"The resolution, physical modeling and temporal duration are beyond anything we could attempt on a conventional high-performance computing system," Nielsen added "The sheer speed of the GPUs implemented at leadership scale is truly enabling, and we are deeply grateful for the many opportunities and world-class expertise that the OLCF has provided."

More information: Jan-Renee Carlson et al, High-Fidelity Simulations of Human-Scale Mars Lander Descent Trajectories, AIAA AVIATION 2023 Forum (2023). DOI: 10.2514/6.2023-3693 Ashley M. Korzun et al, Application of a Detached Eddy Simulation Approach with Finite-Rate Chemistry to Mars-Relevant Retropropulsion Operating Environments, AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum (2022). DOI: 10.2514/6.2022-2298 Gabriel Nastac et al, Computational Investigation of the Effect of Chemistry on Mars Supersonic Retropropulsion Environments, AIAA SCITECH 2022 Forum (2022). DOI: 10.2514/6.2022-2299
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Personalized PCA, a statistical tool capable of distinguishing shared and unique features, can help disentangle complex data from multiple sources, such as smartwatch data. Credit: This image was generated by OpenAI's DALL-E 2, prompted by Naichen Shi.

When facing a daunting dataset, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), known as PCA, can help distill complexity by finding a few meaningful features that explain the most significant proportion of the data variance.

However, PCA comes with the underlying assumption that all data sources are homogeneous.

The growth in Internet of Things connectivity poses a challenge as the data collected by "clients," like patients, connected vehicles, sensors, hospitals or cameras, are incredibly heterogeneous. As this increasing array of technologies from smartwatches to manufacturing tools collect monitoring data, a new analytical tool is needed to disentangle heterogeneous data and characterize what is shared and unique across increasingly complex data from multiple sources.

"Identifying meaningful commonalities among these devices poses a significant challenge. Despite extensive research, we found no existing method that can provably extract both interpretable and identifiable shared and unique features from different datasets," said Raed Al Kontar, an assistant professor of industrial and operations engineering.

To tackle this challenge, the University of Michigan researchers Niaichen Shi and Raed Al Kontar developed a new "personalized PCA," or PerPCA, method to decouple the shared and unique components from heterogeneous data. The results will be published in the Journal of Machine Learning Research.

"The personalized PCA method leverages low-rank representation learning techniques to accurately identify both shared and unique components with good statistical guarantees," said Shi, first author of the paper and a doctoral student of industrial and operations engineering.

"As a simple method that can effectively identify shared and unique features, we envision personalized PCA will be helpful in fields including genetics, image signal processing, and even large language models."

Further increasing its utility, the method can be implemented in a fully federated and distributed manner, meaning that learning can be distributed across different clients, and raw data does not need to be shared; only the shared (and not unique) features are communicated across the clients.

"This can enhance data privacy and save communication and storage costs," said Al Kontar.

With personalized PCA, different clients can collaboratively build strong statistical models despite the considerable differences in their data. The extracted shared and unique features encode rich information for downstream analytics, including clustering, classification, or anomaly detection.

The researchers demonstrated the method's capabilities by effectively extracting key topics from 13 different data sets of U.S. presidential debate transcriptions from 1960 to 2020. They were able to discern shared and unique debate topics and keywords.

Personalized PCA leverages linear features that are readily interpretable by practitioners, further enhancing its use in new applications.

More information: Naichen Shi et al, Personalized PCA: Decoupling Shared and Unique Features, arXiv (2022). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2207.08041 Journal information: arXiv
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A firefighter battling the Smokehouse Creek Fire, near Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle.

Gusty weekend winds were threatening to worsen a million-acre wildfire that has already killed two people in the southern US, as a monster blizzard engulfed California's mountains Friday.

Fires are burning across northern Texas and neighboring Oklahoma, fueled by an unseasonably warm winter and ferocious winds.

After a slight dousing of rain that brought limited reprieve to firefighters on Thursday as they sought to get a handle on the out-of-control blazes, danger was forecast for Saturday.

"Critical fire weather conditions are expected to return midday Saturday and once again after sunrise Sunday," tweeted the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas.

Wind gusts up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) an hour could push the blaze into very dry grassland, spreading the boundaries of the fire even further.

The Smokehouse Creek fire started Monday and after merging with another blaze has now become the largest-ever wildfire in Texas at over one-million acres (over 4,000 square kilometers).

That makes it around the size of Rhode Island, or about three times the size of London.

Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead urged Texans to be careful over the weekend, when many celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2.

"As firefighters continue to suppress active fires, we urge Texans to be cautious with any outdoor activity that may cause a spark," he said in a statement.

A 44-year-old truck driver died in an Oklahoma City hospital on Thursday, having been rescued near her smoke-engulfed truck in Smokehouse Creek on Tuesday, according to several local media.

While evacuations were ordered in some places, the body of an 83-year-old woman was found in the city of Stinnett, a Hutchinson County emergency services spokesperson told ABC News.

She also said about 20 structures in Stinnett had been razed by the fire.

A 120-year-old Texas ranch said it lost 80 percent of its 32,000-acre property near the area of the largest fire.

"The loss of livestock, crops, and wildlife, as well as ranch fencing and other infrastructure throughout our property as well as other ranches and homes across the region is, we believe, unparalleled in our history," the managers of Turkey Track Ranch said.

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Over on the US West Coast, the Sierra Nevada mountain range was getting walloped Friday by a blizzard that could dump as much as 12 feet (over three-and-a-half meters) of snow.

The life-threatening winter storm was bringing ferocious winds, with gusts as high as 145 miles an hour recorded at Palisades Tahoe in the northern part of the range.

There will be "whiteout conditions with near zero-visibility at times due to blowing snow," the NWS warned.

"Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay in your vehicle."

Backcountry areas could also experience avalanches, the Sierra Avalanche Center warned.

Meteorologists say the weather system is particularly strong and very cold, coming in from the Pacific Northwest and ferrying a lot of moisture inland.

Courtney Carpenter of the NWS in Sacramento told the San Francisco Chronicle that a storm of this magnitude happens once every few years.

"This just happens to have the perfect combination of enough cold air and just the track of the storm that leads to a lot of snow flowing up into the mountains," she said.

While both winter storms and wildfires are naturally occuring and expected phenomena, human-caused climate change is exacerbating the strength and unpredictability of both.

A warmer atmosphere disrupts long-established weather patterns, bringing more intense periods of drought in some areas and heavier precipitation in others.

 2024 AFP
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An onmyoji, an expert on yin and yang, performs divination with counting rods in an Edo-period illustration. Credit: Kyoto University Library/Wikimedia

"The Tale of Genji," often called Japan's first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, "Dear Radiance""Hikaru kimi e"is based on the life of its author, Murasaki Shikibu: the lady-in-waiting whose experiences at court inspired the refined world of "Genji."

Romantic relationships, poetry and political intrigue provide most of the novel's action. Yet illness plays an important role in several crucial moments, most famously when one of the main character's lovers, Yugao, falls ill and passes away, killed by what appears to be a powerful spiritas later happens to his wife, Aoi, as well.

Someone reading "The Tale of Genji" at the time it was written would have found this realisticas would some people in different cultures around the world today. Records from early medieval Japan document numerous descriptions of spirit possession, usually blamed on spirits of the dead. As has been true in many times and places, physical and spiritual health were seen as intertwined.

As a historian of premodern Japan, I've studied the processes its healing experts used to deal with possessions, and illness generally. Both literature and historical records demonstrate that the boundaries between what are often called "religion" and "medicine" were indistinct, if they existed at all.

Vanquishing spirits

The government department in charge of divination, the Bureau of Yin and Yang, established in the late seventh century, played a crucial role. Its technicians, known as onmyojiyin and yang masterswere in charge of divination and fortunetelling. They were also responsible for observing the skies, interpreting omens, calendrical calculations, timekeeping and eventually a variety of rituals.

Today, onmyoji appear as wizardlike figures in novels, manga, anime and video games. Though heavily fictionalized, there is a historical kernel of truth in these fantastical depictions.

Starting from around the 10th century, Onmyoji were charged with carrying out iatromancy: divining the cause of a disease. Generally, they distinguished between disease caused by external or internal factors, though boundaries between the categories were often blurred. External factors could include local deities known as "kami," other kami-like entities the patient had upset, minor Buddhist deities or malicious spiritsoften revengeful ghosts.

In the case of spirit-induced illness, Buddhist monks would work to winnow out the culprit. Monks who specialized in exorcistic practices were known as "genja" and were believed to know how to expel the spirit from a patient's body through powerful incantations. Genja would then transfer it onto another person and force the spirit to reveal its identity before vanquishing it.

Court physicians

While less common than spirit possessions, the idea that physical factors could also cause illness appears in sources from this period.

Since the late seventh century, the government of the Japanese archipelago had established a bureau in charge of the well-being of aristocratic families and high-ranking members of the state bureaucracy. This Bureau of Medications, the Ten'yakuryo, was based on similar systems in China's Tang dynasty, which Japanese officials adapted for their own culture.

The bureau's members, whom scholars today often call "court physicians" in English, created medicinal concoctions. But the bureau also included technicians tasked with using spells, perhaps to protect high-ranking people from maladies.

Not either/or

Some scholars, both Japanese and non-Japanese, compare the practices of members of the Bureau of Medications with what is now called "traditional Chinese medicine," or just "medicine." They typically consider the onmyoji and Buddhist monks, meanwhile, to fall under the label of "religion"or perhaps, in the case of onmyoji, "magic."

But I have found numerous signs that these categories do not help people today make sense of early medieval Japan.

Starting in the seventh century, as a centralized Japanese state began to take shape, Buddhist monks from the Korean Peninsula and present-day China brought healing practices to Japan. These techniques, such as herbalismtreatments made of plantslater became associated with court physicians. At the same time, though, monks also employed healing practices rooted in Buddhist rituals. Clearly, the distinction between ritual and physical healing was not part of their mindset.

Similarly, with court physicians, it is true that sources from this period mostly show them practicing herbalism. Later on, they incorporated simple needle surgeries and moxibustion, which involves burning a substance derived from dried leaves from the mugwort plant near the patient's skin.

However, they also incorporated ritual elements from various Chinese traditions: spells, divination, fortunetelling and hemerology, the practice of identifying auspicious and inauspicious days for specific events. For example, moxibustion was supposed to be avoided on certain days because of the position of a deity, known as "jinshin," believed to reside and move inside the human body. Practicing moxibustion on the body part where "jinshin" resided in a specific moment could kill it, therefore potentially harming the patient.

Court physicians were also expected to ritually "rent" a place for a pregnant woman to deliver, producing talismans written in red ink that were meant to function as "leases" for the birthing area. This was done in order to keep away deities who might otherwise enter that space, possibly because childbirth was believed to be a source of defilement. They also used hemerology to determine where the birthing bed should be placed.

In short, these healing experts straddled the boundaries between what are often called "religion" and "medicine." We take for granted the categories that shape our understanding of the world around us, but they are the result of complex historical processesand look different in every time and place.

Reading works like "The Tale of Genji" is not only a way to immerse ourselves in the world of a medieval court, one where spirits roam freely, but a chance to see other ways of sorting human experience at work.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
A day entirely dedicated to girls interested in STEM is returning for the first time since before COVID to Glens Falls High School.

Carole Geruso, a technology instructional support specialist at the school is leading the return of Girls STEM Day with a special presentation from Assemblywoman, Carrie Woerner, on employment opportunities in STEM fields. The event is for girls in grades six through nine, but is not limited to Glens Falls City School students.

The activities we are offering during Girls STEM Day aim to inspire and encourage our young women to pursue interests in STEM, challenge stereotypes and promote gender diversity in these fields, Geruso said.

Local women will give presentations about their STEM professions and workshops will be available throughout the event for the girls to participate in. The workshops will feature STEM activities like crime scene fingerprinting, artificial intelligence, engineering design, stop motion animation, microprocessor programming, and more.

One local presenter, Elizabeth Little-Hogan, will have a unique hands-on activity involving microprocessors.

Some workshops will be challenging while others are more entertaining. For my section, girls will program microprocessors using MAKECODE and see my latest microprocessor project, an old fashion telephone that senses when someone is near, rings, and then plays a segment of a Taylor Swift song through the receiver, Little-Hogan said.

The workshop of Dr. Michelle Grimm, Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Albany, will be about the engineering design process involved in designing biomedical devices, autonomous cars, theaters, and amusement parks.

Dr. Robin Flatland, a computer science professor from Siena College, will have a workshop on digital art and design.

Other presenters include an architect, nurse, chemical engineer, pilot, and welder.

The Post-Star reported that 31 school districts are advocating for an increase in New York State funding for career and technical education programs, and making those educational opportunities one of their priorities for 2024.

Eric Wood, president of Finch Paper in Glens Falls, said he fully supports the prioritization of women in STEM and believes the introduction of STEM should happen early.

I did graduate as an engineer at University of Illinois. I graduated with 350 electrical engineers and four females. Which is a problem, Wood said at the BOCES 2024 Legislative Breakfast in January. I started researching and realized that you need to introduce girls, or anyone, to STEM at very young ages, preferably before fifth grade.

Wood has been partnering with regional school districts in the area to assist in the introduction of STEM to students, including the Glens Falls City School District.

Girls STEM Day is another step by Glens Falls City School District to prioritize STEM for students.

The five-hour long event, open to local girls between sixth and ninth grade, will be hosted at Glens Falls High School on Mar. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Girls STEM Day is supported by the Glens Falls PTSA, Cool Beans, Ludlow Chemical Engineering Hardware, Rayno Electric, and Deckworks.

Pre-registration is required. Please contact Carole Geruso at cgeruso@gfsd.org with any questions.
A portion of Route 9 in Queensbury and of Call Street in Lake Luzerne will remain closed into Friday, after a wind storm Wednesday night and into Thursday took down trees and power poles. More than 200 power poles in the upstate region came down, power company National Grid said in a press release.

To help those affected, National Grid is setting up dry ice and water distribution on Friday March 1 from noon to 4 p.m. for people who have lost power to well pumps and refrigeration, the company said in the release. (See the list of locations at the bottom of this post.)

How long will the outage last?

About 1,624 people are without power in Essex, Warren and Washington counties, according to the National Grid Power Outage map at 4:30 a.m. Friday March 1. This number is down to well under 10% of customers.

At the peak of the outages, nearly 20% of Warren County customers were without power, and over 20% in Essex. Washington County was not hit as badly with the outages.

According to the National Grid press release, by 7 p.m. Thursday evening, power was restored to 175,200, or 90%, of the nearly 194,000 customers who lost service, throughout the North Country.

Power will be returned to most of the remaining customers by 11:50 p.m. Friday March 1. National Grid expects that repairs to power lines throughout the area may continue into Saturday, March 2, especially for outages in the remote locations or outages that affect just one address. Getting to those final locations will take longest, the company said.

The counties affected include the entire North Country from the Capital Region's Albany and Schenectady counties to St. Lawrence and Franklin counties on the Canadian border. NYSEG handles power in Clinton County and part of Essex. Its outage map is showing hundreds still without power.

"The storm brought damaging winds to Central, Eastern and Northern New York  including wind gusts of up to 72 mph recorded in Essex County on Wednesday evening  and heavy snows measuring nearly a foot in some areas of Madison, Oneida, Onondaga and Oswego counties," the National Grid press release says. "Crews have been challenged by icy and impassable roads, and difficult-to-reach equipment repairs in remote areas. Reports of debris-covered streets with wires down in cities and villages challenged cleanup efforts as municipalities and National Grid had to take additional time to make areas safe so that roads could be open."

The lines came down north of the intersection of Route 9 and Route 149 near the Outlet Malls in Queensbury, just north of Exit 20 on the Interstate 87 Northway. For a couple hours Thursday afternoon, the road was closed from that intersection to Bloody Pond Road. The current closure is to Norton Road, The Post-Star learned through the emergency scanner.

I am told there was a live wire down on Route 9, Don Lehman wrote in a text message on Thursday to The Post-Star. Lehman is the communications director for Warren County.

In Lake Luzerne, a section of Call Street was closed as well.

Warren County opened two warming centers during the day on Thursday, at the Hague Fire Station, 4 West Hague Road, in the Town of Hague and at the Lake Luzerne Senior Center, 539 Lake Avenue (Route 9N) in Lake Luzerne.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures should rise above freezing Friday.

What is the latest in Washington County?

Washington County fared better than Warren County in terms of restoration during the day Thursday. The countys Deputy Director of Public Safety Tim Hardy wrote in an email Thursday afternoon that National Grid and New York State Electric and Gas had been working all day with county staff to repair or restore the power infrastructure.

While significant progress on repair and restorations have been made since this morning, there are still some outages remaining due to the damage and some newer outages that have popped up this afternoon from some reports of additional gusty winds this afternoon. Per our utility partners, restoration efforts in some areas may extend into late tonight or tomorrow depending on the location and significance of damage in the specific outage area(s), Hardy wrote.

Washington County is asking that people who may need a warming shelter, contact the public safety team at 518-747-3325.

Residents are reminded to never touch utility lines and to call 911 when spotting a line that is down. Those wishing to report non-emergency storm damage in Warren County can do so online through warrencountyny.gov/stormreport.

Where can customers get dry ice and water?

National Grid will distribute dry ice and bottled water tomorrow in Eastern New York locations hit hardest by the storm. Customers are asked to bring a cooler or paper grocery bags to transport dry ice and company personnel will provide information about the proper handling of dry ice.

Dry ice and bottled water distribution locations for Friday, March 1 from noon to 4 p.m. (Please note hours of operation)

Essex County Fulton County Warren County

Schroon Lake Fire Department

28 Industrial Dr.

Schroon Lake, NY 12870

Warren County Municipal Center

1340 U.S. Route 9

Lake George, NY 12845

Fulton County Office of Emergency Management

231 N. Perry St.

Johnstown, NY 12095

Additional distribution sites and times may be announced depending on community needs.

The Post-Star will update this story throughout the day as needed.
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ATLANTIC CITY  As Ramadan approaches, local, county, state and federal law enforcement went over what they would be doing to keep the citys Muslim community safe during the religions holiest month of the year.

With the uptick in bias, discrimination and violence against Muslims in the wake of the ongoing war in Gaza, working together to keep everyone safe was a priority for all.

Of course, we have a concern that Ramadan is coming. We have a big problem, but I have a whole bunch of faith that the Prosecutors Office, the Mayors Office, police chief, they will actually look for it, said Amer Kashmiri, president of the Atlantic City Merchants Association. The real cooperation makes us more protected and safer in our environment.

During a meeting Thursday at Masjid Muhammad, faith leaders and other members of the Muslim community were able to express their concerns and ask how law enforcement would keep them safe during the communitys month of fasting and prayer starting March 10. The meetings have been held the past four to five years, officials said.

Building relationships and solidarity, when you have that, safety comes with it, said Imam Amin Muhammad of Masjid Muhammad.

Although U.S. Census data doesnt track religious populations, the Association of Religious Data Archives estimates 1% of Atlantic County practiced Islam in 2020.

Law enforcement standing in unity and solidarity with the Muslim community is the main way to ensure safety during Ramadan, said City Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz, who hosted the meeting.

Representatives of federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies also attended.

Were going to be connected with our partners at the hip ... and well make sure that everything is safe and secure so you guys can have a safe holy month of Ramadan, said police Chief James Sarkos. I also wanted to just let you know that our relationship is really important. The Muslim community in Atlantic City is an important piece of the fabric that makes Atlantic City such a wonderful town. I say this many times, but what truly makes Atlantic City a great city is that we are a true melting pot here, with so many different religions and cultures living within these small 48 blocks.

Some attendees said they wanted law enforcement do some sort of sensitivity training geared toward Muslims. Sarkos said officers undergo specialized training specifically for that every year through the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office.

Others wanted police to address homeless issues on Florida and Texas avenues, which is where the Islamic Center of Atlantic City and Masjid Al-Taqwa are located.

Sarkos said there would be an increased police presence and patrols around city mosques during Ramadan, especially at dusk and dawn. That is when the community temporarily breaks fast to have its fixed Sahur and Iftar meals, along with its special Isha and Tarawih night prayers.

Neighborhood coordination officers also will be communicating with religious leaders so police can address any concerns.

State Police and the FBI gave resources on whom to contact about bias and discrimination in their communities.

It is our responsibility as your law enforcement officials to work together to try to prevent that from happening, said Nelson Delgado, FBI-Newark assistant special agent in charge. What I can say is your community has done a wonderful job of coordinating, connecting and maintaining a relationship with local, township, county and state as well as our federal partners. And whatever it is that you need from them, just kindly let us know. It is always going to be a two-way dialogue, and for us to keep you safe, you have to let us know whats on your mind.
A Mount Holly woman was sentenced Thursday to a decade in prison after she admitted to running over her boyfriend outside a rehab center nearly three years ago, the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said.

Tina C. Lewis, 35, pleaded guilty in September to aggravated manslaughter in the death of Craig Everett, the Prosecutor's Office said Thursday in a news release.

Lewis and Everett were at the Recovery Centers of America in Mays Landing on Sept. 24, 2021, when Everett attempted to get Lewis into the facility. After she refused, Lewis reentered the vehicle on the passenger's side and climbed over into the driver's seat, authorities said.

As Everett got into the passenger's seat, Lewis sped away from the center and turned onto Atlantic Avenue before Everett exited the vehicle and began walking along the shoulder, police said.

Police said Lewis then drove the vehicle onto the shoulder and ran over Everett, killing him.

Lewis fled the scene and returned to the center, where she denied knowing what happened to Everett.

Everett suffered several skull fractures, a brain bleed, rib fractures, a femoral fracture and a pelvic fracture. He was pronounced dead a day later.

Lewis was discovered to have a blood alcohol level of .22, more than double the legal limit, investigators said.
A group of New Jersey residents is waging a legal battle against a Middlesex County borough over the towns approval of cannabis sales, a fight the state Attorney Generals Office says could improperly nullify the states marijuana legalization law.

The anti-cannabis group  seven Highland Park residents and a group called Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators  say the towns leaders are violating federal law by green-lighting the sale of marijuana within its borders and are ignoring the insidious and minimized hazards of cannabis.

The group filed suit against Highland Park last week, about a year after a similar lawsuit was dismissed by a state Superior Court judge. The earlier complaint is set to be heard by an appellate panel later this month, where the plaintiffs case is opposed by Attorney General Matt Platkins office. That office told the court that the plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge the states marijuana legalization law, known as CREAMMA (New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act).

Appellants declaration that they brought this suit to promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare confirms that their claim to standing reduces to their abstract policy disagreement with CREAMMA. If that sufficed, then every citizen would have standing to challenge every government policy with which they disagreed, rendering standing a nullity, Deputy Attorney General Nathaniel Levy told the court in a filing last month.

The legal fight was first reported by the New Jersey Law Journal. David G. Evans, the attorney for the plaintiffs, and the boroughs officials did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

This isnt the only court battle being waged over whether New Jerseys cannabis legalization law improperly conflicts with federal restrictions on marijuana. When New Jersey civil service officials ordered Jersey City to reinstate police officers the city fired over testing positive for cannabis, the city sued the state in federal court, saying federal law bars them from allowing armed police officers to use cannabis off duty. That lawsuit remains ongoing.

Recreational cannabis sales began in New Jersey in April 2022 after voters approved legalizing marijuana via ballot question in 2020. Since then, more than 100 stores selling weed products have opened statewide, including at least one in Highland Park. State law allows towns to decide whether to allow businesses to sell cannabis, and Highland Park has approved at least five retail cannabis businesses.

Plaintiff Mary Botteon said shes trying to keep Highland Park from turning into a Pot City Destination.

The result of these elected individuals acting without regard to all the laws that they are sworn to uphold, without regard to providing only honest and factual information to the public, without regard to public input when folks convey valid opposition to land uses, is the danger of setting a precedent that I and others adamantly oppose, she wrote in a filing in the newer case.

The plaintiffs argument hinges on the claim that no one in the borough or state is exempt from the federal prohibition on marijuana, despite CREAMMA. They say the possession, production, growth, distribution, and sale of marijuana violates the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is a Schedule I drug  a category that includes heroin, LSD, and other drugs with no medical value and high potential for abuse. Last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced it would review whether cannabis should be reclassified to another level. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also recommended that marijuana be moved to the Schedule III category, where drugs like Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids are categorized.

The plaintiffs in the Highland Park case cite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that aimed to halt the enforcement of a federal ban on medical marijuana sales in California. The court said that the Constitutions supremacy clause clearly states that if there is any conflict between federal and state law, federal law should prevail.

Plaintiffs realize that they are taking on powerful and well-funded political and commercial interests in filing this Complaint. Plaintiffs have faith that all will be equal before the Appellate Division, and that the law and not politics or commercial profit, will be the deciding factors here, the plaintiffs said in a brief.

This story first appeared on the New Jersey Monitor.
NEW YORK  A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, agreeing to a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to testify in the corruption case against the powerful Democrat and his wife.

Jose Uribe, of Clifton, New Jersey, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery from 2018 to 2023, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege that he gave the Menendez's wife a Mercedes-Benz.

According to a plea agreement, Uribe could face up to 95 years in prison, though he could win leniency by cooperating and testifying against the other defendants, which he's agreed to do. He also agreed to forfeit $246,000, representing proceeds traceable to his crimes.

Uribe was among three businessmen charged in the corruption case against Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which was revealed last fall. Authorities say the couple accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and the luxury car in exchange for his help and influence over foreign affairs.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Uribe entered the plea before Judge Sidney H. Stein on Friday during a proceeding that the media was not told about in time for reporters to attend. He remains free on a $1 million bond, which was set when he was arrested. His plea deal, dated Thursday, was signed by him on Friday.

Uribe had been charged with providing Nadine Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator called a government official about another case involving an associate of Uribe.

Uribe's attorney, Daniel Fetterman, declined to comment.

Curtis Bashaw wins Atlantic County GOP convention nod for U.S. Senate The Atlantic County Republican Committee held its convention Saturday and endorsed Cape May businessman Curtis Bashaw to run for U.S. Senate.

Menendez, his wife and the two other New Jersey businessmen are scheduled to go on trial in May.

Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used his position to take actions that benefited foreign governments in exchange for bribes paid by associates in New Jersey.

An indictment contends that Menendez and his wife took gold bars and cash from a real estate developer, and that the senator used his clout to get that businessman a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund.

Menendez is also accused of helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt. Prosecutors allege that in exchange for bribes, Menendez did things that benefited Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid.

Menendez also has been charged with using his international clout to help a friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, including by taking actions favorable to Qatar's government.

Uribe was accused of buying a luxury car for Nadine Menendez after her previous car was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing the street. She did not face criminal charges in connection with that crash.

The indictment says the senator helped Uribe by trying to persuade prosecutors to go easy on one of his business associates who was the subject of a criminal investigation.

Attorneys for Menendez and his wife did not immediately comment.
A trial date of April 15 has been set in the murder case against Dewaun Anthony Berry.

The date was set Friday after a hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the case. The motion was based on delays in getting to trial, and evidence found by the Rock Island County State's Attorney's Office in January which was not turned over to defense counsel in timely manner.

Berry, 46, is charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court with one count of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery with a firearm in connection with the Aug. 29, 2020, shooting in the District of Rock Island in which Jesse Brand Jr., 43, of Rock Island, was killed.

Darien Ramsdale, Nathan Hacker and Othel Gay were wounded in the shooting. Ramsdale died in October 2021.

The shooting occurred at 2:08 a.m. at 18th Street and 2nd Avenue.

Berrys attorney, Tionn Fambro-Carter, was assigned to the case on Aug. 29, 2023, and is the fifth attorney to represent Berry since the shooting. Fambro-Carter filed a motion to dismiss on Feb. 22 claiming that the States Attorneys Office had not turned over all of the files related to the case, and that Berry had not been brought to trial within the statutory 120 days.

Assistant Rock Island County States Attorney Meeghan Lee argued the files in question were found when she was at the Rock Island Police Department finishing up the prep work for the murder trial, which had been scheduled to begin Feb. 26.

The police department and States Attorneys Office have been using Axon and Evidence.com to preserve electronic evidence that includes video and audio files from squad cams, audio recordings, business surveillance cameras and interview rooms.

Lee said when she discovered the files in January, she turned them over to Fambro-Carter immediately.

Fambro-Carter said that the files she received would take at least 100 hours to view, and that she and her staff were having difficulty opening many of the files. She also claimed that there was exculpatory evidence within the files that could benefit her client.

Lee said she prepared the case against Berry without the files in question, and that she didn't need them, saying the files contain inculpatory evidence rather than exculpatory evidence.

Lee said she could not say why or how the files in question did not make it to the States Attorneys Office.

Both sides said they had technological challenges in viewing or listening to the files, and that they had to download the proper viewing applications.

In his ruling, Circuit Judge Peter Church said that from March 20, 2020, until Oct. 1, 2021, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended the states speedy trial rule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Church further noted that most of the delays were at the request of the defense, meaning the time passed did not count towards the 120 days.

Out of all the delays, only about 14 days could be attributed to the state. Church said that the state is responsible for the delay in the trial from March 1 until April. That still remains well under the 120-day statutory rule.

As far as the files Lee discovered at the Rock Island Police Department, Church said that all the materials disclosed after Jan. 24 were barred from being used by the prosecution.

Technology is an advancing process, and one that we hope will make our jobs more efficient rather than less, Church said. I dont find that the state has engaged in deliberate, willful, sanctioned conduct. But I do note that the state has an ongoing duty to supplement disclosure, even if its going to be barred.

It is not up to the courts to micromanage discovery, he added. It is up to the parties involved in the cases to find the programs they need to open the evidence files and view the contents.

Church said both sides need to cooperate to ensure there are not mechanical and technological issues that prevent discovery from working the way its supposed to work.

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A man accused of killing another at a Rock Island house party testified Thursday that he acted in self defense.

Glen J. Evans Jr., 19, Rock Island, faces a single count of first-degree murder, according to court records. Authorities allege he killed Zavion A. McNair, 19, on Aug. 19, 2023, at a house party in the 2000 block of 33rd Street in Rock Island.

When the shooting began, Evans and McNair were arguing over a gun that McNair had apparently taken from Evans, according to previous testimony. Both men were armed when the confrontation occurred.

One of Evans attorneys, Kelvin McCabe, and Assistant States Attorney Jessie Brockway questioned Evans during his testimony on Thursday.

Evans testimony included that when he confronted McNair about the missing handgun, he saw that McNair had it under his arm.

Evans said he had one of his fathers pistols, which Evans found in the glovebox of his car while looking for the missing handgun.

Evans is the son of Rock Island County Republican Central Committee Chairman Glen J. Evans Sr.

McNair approached him and had his finger on the trigger, Evans said.

Evans told the court that during this encounter he asked McNair for the gun and that McNair told him they should take it outside. He testified someone is not supposed to have their finger on the trigger of a gun unless that person intends to use it.

When McNair approached him, Evans told the court that he interpreted McNairs actions as a threat.

Evans took his own gun out and told McNair he was not going to let McNair shoot him, Evans testified Thursday.

Evans had his firearm pointed down when he entered the room, he said. When McNair saw Evans was also armed, McNair moved deeper the room.

Other people told McNair to give up the gun and one juvenile teen attempted to get the firearm, Evans testified. He continued trying to get the gun back from McNair.

Then McNair stepped to the side of the juvenile and shot Evans in the leg, Evans said from the stand.

Evans account of the encounter differs from accounts given by other witnesses earlier in the trial, including the juvenile who attempted to mediate.

During her cross-examination Brockway asked Evans if it was possible he shot himself. Evans replied that based on his wound, there was no way hed shot himself.

After he was shot, he fell toward the door of the room, retrieved his own firearm back out of his pocket and returned fire, Evans testified.

After the first shot, everyone ran out of room, Evans testified. He and McNair were first and McNair got ahead of him.

Evans could see that McNair still had the firearm, he testified.

The shooting was recorded by a security camera at the residence where it occurred. Brockway played that video Tuesday while Rock Island Police Detective Luke Serra provided context from the stand.

There is the sound of gunfire. People scream then some run out of the house.

One of them is the person Serra identified as McNair. He falls down the porch stairs to the concrete path, where he remains prone.

The person Serra identified as Evans follows and stands over McNair, fires several more shots at the prone body, grabs something that Serra told the court was thought to be a firearm from near the body.

Evans then walks through the yard out of view.

When he saw McNair fall on the porch, Evans testified Thursday, he did not know if McNair had tripped. He could not tell if hed shot McNair.

He said McNair still had the gun.

Evans continued shooting until he saw McNair no longer held the firearm, he testified. He felt threatened until McNair dropped the firearm.

McNair died on the way to the hospital, police said previously. Evans, shot in the leg, was treated and released.

Evans chose to have a bench trial, so Judge Daniel P. Dalton, not a jury, must decide Evans culpability once testimony is concluded.

In December, McCabe filed a notice of affirmative defense, stating Evans could argue he acted in self defense, or defense of a person, at trial.

The trial began Tuesday and Brockway rested her case Thursday morning after presenting a number of witnesses.

Among the prosecutions witnesses were Dameon Anderson and the juvenile teenager who testified they were in the room with Evans and McNair during the argument and when the first shot was fired.

The two witnesses testified both men held firearms while they argued.

Evans gun was in his hand but he had it pointed at the ground, the witnesses said. McNairs gun was also in his hand, but was near his side under his armpit.

Evans moved his hands as he talked, but Anderson, 19, said he did not see Evans point the weapon at anyone.

McNair was not waving his gun around, Anderson said.

He also did not point his firearm at anyone, the two testified, nor did he make any aggressive moves toward Evans.

The teen told the court she offered to try to get the gun back from McNair for Evans, but McNair would not let her have it.

Both witnesses testified they heard the first shot but did not see who fired it.

Anderson said he ran from the room and saw McNair, who was his friend, also running.

The teenager said she heard the shot behind her and felt the discharge near her foot. She testified Evans was behind her.

The Rock Island County States Attorneys Office initially charged Evans on Aug. 21, 2023, with second-degree murder, according to previous reporting.

Underlying that charge was the allegation that Evans thought the circumstances he found himself in would justify the killing or exonerate him, according to previous reporting. Prosecutors alleged that belief was not reasonable.

The states attorneys office amended the charge to first-degree murder on Aug. 25, according to previous reporting.

Upon completion of Evans testimony on Thursday afternoon, the trial concluded for the day.

It is scheduled to resume Friday with further defense testimony.
Students at All Saints Catholic School in Davenport donated 120 chemo care bags to Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities this week, as part of a school-wide service project.

Gildas Club offers no-cost services and programs to those affected by cancer, including its chemo care bag program.

"Each bag is filled with items to bring a smile and help individuals feel more prepared and comfortable when going into treatment for the very first time," a Gilda's Club press release states. "Over 100 of these bags are handed out monthly at the various (area) cancer centers."

To support this initiative, All Saints students spent the past three months working on these bags  painting each with a Japanese Plum branch, a symbol of hope.

Students also painted hope-inspired imagery on rocks to accompany the care packages, and parents contributed fuzzy socks, hard candies, journals and other comfort-inducing items.

The partnership between Gilda's Club and All Saints came after Judith Costello, a paraeducator at the school, shared her personal cancer journey with Principal Mindy Altman.

Altman, touched by Costello's resilience, saw an opportunity to educate All Saints students about cancer's impact and the importance of compassion.

Nora Bosslet  Gilda's Club Children, Teen and Family Coordinator  gave a "Cancer 101" presentation at All Saints last December, highlighting the chemo care bags.

"The students at All Saints were really engaged with the Cancer 101 presentation  They had a lot of good questions," Bosslet said in the press release. "We loved the Chemo Care bags they designed."

Students delivered the chemo care bags on Tuesday, also touring Gilda's Davenport location and the Genesis West infusion center.

Close Diane Budding of Wilton stands next to Julie Hayes of Davenport on Monday, Oct. 17. The pair are part of Gilda's Club, a group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Gilda's Club Quad Cities opened a new branch in Davenport Sept. 1. The 8,500 square foot space is inside the Genesis West campus on the second floor. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Each leaf on this art piece was designed by a local member of Gilda's Club and painted by a cancer survivor. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Each room is named specifically after Gilda Radner or someone close to her family. Take a look inside Gilda's Club in Davenport Diane Budding of Wilton stands next to Julie Hayes of Davenport on Monday, Oct. 17. The pair are part of Gilda's Club, a group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Gilda's Club Quad Cities opened a new branch in Davenport Sept. 1. The 8,500 square foot space is inside the Genesis West campus on the second floor. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Each leaf on this art piece was designed by a local member of Gilda's Club and painted by a cancer survivor. Gilda's Club, a is group designed to help those effected by cancer find support during their battle. Genesis opened a club Sept. 1 on the second floor of the west campus. Each room is named specifically after Gilda Radner or someone close to her family.
Former talk show host Oprah Winfrey is leaving WeightWatchers board of directors and donating all of her interest in the company to a museum.

Shares of WW International Inc. tumbled more than 23% in Thursday morning trading.

Winfrey, who told People magazine in December that she was using a weight-loss medication, has served on the company's board since 2015. She will not stand for re-election at WeightWatchers annual meeting in May.

WW International said in a regulatory filing that Winfrey's decision was not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the companys operations, policies or practices. The size of its board will go from 10 to nine members following its annual meeting, the New York company added.

I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity, Winfrey said.

According to FactSet, Winfrey's stake of about 1.1 million shares made her the company's largest individual shareholder, with a stake of 1.43%.

Winfrey said that she will donate her interest in WeightWatchers to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. The company said that it supports Winfrey's decision to donate all of her stake to the museum during WeightWatchers upcoming trading window in March.

Ms. Winfrey is making the donation to support the NMAAHCs goal to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans and to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications, the company said. In addition, Ms. Winfrey intends to donate the proceeds from any future exercises of her WW stock options to NMAAHC.

Photos: Oprah Winfrey through the years

Nearly a year ago, WeightWatchers said it too was getting into the prescription drug weight loss business with a $106 million deal to buy Sequence, a telehealth provider with annual revenue of about $25 million and about 24,000 members.
BOX ELDER  The 2024 South Dakota Legislature considered two spending measures for construction projects aimed at preparing for an influx of military personnel and civilians arriving with the launch of the new B-21 Raider bomber program at Ellsworth Air Force Base.

The state funds were proposed in one bill to help build a new elementary school to accommodate rapid student population growth in Box Elder and through another measure that would include the Rapid City Regional Airport in a funding package to aid expansion of airports across the state.

In this tight budget year, lawmakers rejected the plan to spend up to $15 million to help pay for a new $60 million elementary school in the Douglas School District, which serves many families that live and work in and around the base.

But as the 2024 legislative session winds down, legislators are still considering a proposal to spend up to $90 million in state funds to offset costs of expansion projects at municipal airports across the state. At the Rapid City Regional Airport, some of it could help pay for $220 million in planned improvements and expansions to prepare for expected large increases in passengers and flights due to the launch of the B-21 program at nearby Ellsworth.

Ellsworth was officially chosen in June 2021 as the main base of operations and training location for the Air Force's new B-21 Raider bomber, a $700 million long-range stealth jet with nuclear capabilities that is intended to replace the B-1B Lancer bomber that has been based at Ellsworth for years.

BRAC memories, worries still fresh

In pitching the spending packages, lawmakers from western South Dakota argued that state financial support is needed for the school and airport projects to accommodate the B-21 program and to ensure the long-range viability of the base that was nearly closed by the federal government during the Base Realignment and Closure process in 2005-2006.

Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, sponsored Senate Bill 204 to help fund the proposed elementary school, starting at a $15 million request and then reducing the ask to $5 million after debate. Duhamel reminded members of the Senate Education Committee of the harrowing process South Dakota leaders went through in trying to keep Ellsworth off the final BRAC list in 2006. Duhamel said the effort required support from the South Dakota congressional delegation, state officials and local leaders to persuade the federal government to keep Ellsworth open.

"This did not happen by accident," Duhamel testified. "It was hard work, investment with an eye on the future and a willingness to help when needed."

When the 2005 BRAC process began, Ellsworth was home to about 3,500 active duty personnel, 800 civilian employees and created a $350 million annual impact in South Dakota, Duhamel said. Saving the base protected jobs and revenue across the region, and now helping the local school system and regional airport would show the Air Force that Ellsworth is valued not only within the military but by South Dakota and the local community as well, she said.

"It's time to help again," Duhamel said, pointing out that the annual economic impact of the base will rise to $480 million a year once the B-21s arrive. "South Dakota needs to do its part to support the military when the military supports us."

Military wants to see local investment

Scott Landguth, executive director of the South Dakota Ellsworth Development Authority, told lawmakers that local investments are an important factor for the military when it decides whether to maintain or expand its bases. Air Force officials often ask about local "quality of life" issues, which includes the local school system, he said.

Ellsworth has obtained greater stability by aggressively seeking new and expanded roles within the Air Force, Landguth said. Examples include the addition of the Air Force Financial Services Center at Ellsworth in 2007, adding the command and control mission for the MQ-9 Reaper drone program to the base in 2010 and the 2015 opening of the 35,000-square-mile Powder River Training Complex, a major airspace training expansion northwest of Ellsworth.

"We've always been on the offensive so we're not back to where we were (with BRAC)," Landguth said. "The quality of schools is definitely on the radar of the Air Force because they want their airmen and families to be taken care of. And they want the communities where they are investing to be part of that."

Investments help ease stress

Col. Derek Oakley, commander of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth, said at a recent meeting in Rapid City that the Air Force will embark on nearly three dozen individual construction projects on the base at an estimated cost of at least $1.5 billion.

The B-21 program will add more than 4,000 new military personnel, families and civilian workers to the base over the next 20 years, bringing the total base population to nearly 12,000 people, Oakley said.

The Air Force projected in its B-21 Economic Impact Statement that development of the new bomber program at Ellsworth will create nearly 600 local jobs and almost $24 million in local economic impact. Once the bombers arrive, some state officials estimate the program will create an annual benefit of $480 million to the state.

As on-base preparations take off, signs of growth are visible throughout Box Elder, which for years has had strong population growth but not significant retail or commercial development. New houses and apartments are being rapidly constructed, and the town of 12,000 a few miles east of Rapid City has several new businesses already built or in progress, including a McDonald's, a Starbucks, a Pizza Hut, new bank branches and at least two major gas station/convenience stores.

During a November luncheon hosted by the Black Hills Forum and Press Club, Oakley spoke of the importance of making sure base personnel are well cared for as they take on extended duties due to the B-21 preparations and eventual arrival.

Oakley stressed the importance of ensuring that existing airmen and airwomen, as well as the new arrivals, are not overworked or face hardships outside their work lives.

"It's a lot to put on their backs for airmen right now," Oakley told News Watch in an interview. "Our biggest challenge is keeping them engaged and not overworking them. We talk about mental health and taking care of our airmen on and off the base, making sure they have the right time off and things like that."

Officials, lawmakers oppose school money

Many of those new military personnel have young children, and Douglas schools will have an estimated enrollment increase of 1,500 in the next 15 years, said superintendent Kevin Case.

The district has already spent $6.2 million on planning for the new elementary school, he said. The federal government is expected to pay about $40 million of the $60 million total construction cost. The district has a limited tax base upon which to draw and sought the state money to make the deal complete, Case said.

But Morgan Gruebele, a budget analyst with the state Bureau of Finance and Management, told senators it would be unfair to provide extra state money to Douglas schools when other districts across the state are not receiving it.

She also noted that the district currently carries no debt, has an existing capital fund of $2.4 million, accepted $10 million in COVID-era funding and received $24.8 million in "impact aid" that the federal government provided Douglas in 2023 to cover lost property tax revenues due to the base's presence in the district.

"Douglas has many funding sources," Gruebele said in opposing the spending measure. "If the state would decide to fund the Douglas school construction, there would be many other schools wondering why they didn't receive state support for their projects."

The Senate Education Committee passed the bill on a 5-2 vote, but the Joint Appropriations Committee rejected it in an 11-7 vote.

FAA funding dip a reason for state aid to airports

As of Feb. 28, the proposal to use state funding to expedite expansion of airports statewide still had life in the Legislature.

The Joint Appropriations Committee passed Senate Bill 144 on a 15-2 vote, but lowered the funding level to $1 prior to passage. Passing the bill with no meaningful funding allows for negotiations to continue by appropriators to find a funding level that will be acceptable to the full Legislature and Gov. Kristi Noem.

Initially, the measure would have provided $90 million over five years for airport projects that the state Aeronautics Commission deemed appropriate. The sponsor submitted an amendment cutting the spending to $30 million, but appropriators so far have not decided on a spending level.

Airport officials told lawmakers the state money is needed because funding from the Federal Aviation Administration has been stagnant and is not sufficient to make expensive improvements needed to accommodate passenger growth, especially in the Sioux Falls and Rapid City markets.

The Sioux Falls Airport Authority in 2022 approved a $170 million, two-phase plan to add eight new gates to the airport as well as other improvements, including a concourse expansion. State money is needed to help pay for those improvements, Sioux Falls Regional Airport executive director Dan Letellier told lawmakers.

$220M plan includes more California flights

The Rapid City Regional Airport in late 2023 embarked on a three-phase expansion effort estimated to cost $220 million over the next few years, according to Megan Johnson, spokeswoman for the airport.

The first phase, now underway, would redo the aging baggage handling and Transportation Security Administration checkpoint areas at a cost of $83 million, Johnson said. Future projects would add five new gates and upgrades to the rental and baggage claim areas, she said.

Johnson told News Watch that the airport expansion is driven by steadily rising passenger counts in recent years but also due to the expectation that departures and arrivals will need to increase to accommodate growth from the B-21 program.

"We certainly expect an influx of travelers, families and support personnel due to the base," she said. "I would say that the state funding is critical if you want to expand the airports because federal funding doesn't cover every part of every project."

Airport officials expect to see increased arrivals, especially from Southern California, where the B-21 planes are built. The airport recently announced the launch of a new Allegiant Airlines direct flight between Rapid City and Los Angeles that will start in June.

"When we speak to airlines, we have to provide a case for service to new cities," Johnson said. "When we speak with airlines, we tell them, 'Hey, we have Ellsworth Air Force Base and they're bringing in these new jets.'"
A Pennington County judge Thursday morning sentenced a Rapid City man to the maximum amount of prison time allowed for domestic violence charges, calling his behavior "sadistic, violent, despicable, unhinged and self-centered."

Circuit Court Judge Matt Brown sentenced Chad Ingling, 39, to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault and 10 years in prison for tampering with a witness. The sentences will run concurrent to one another, although Brown said he considered imposing consecutive sentences.

He said he refrained from imposing consecutive sentences out of respect for the plea agreement, which he noted he already exceeded.

Per the agreement, the state requested 12 years for the aggravated assault charge with a concurrent 10-year sentence for witness tampering.

Ingling pleaded guilty to the two charges on Sept. 18, 2023 in exchange for the state dismissing six other charges  aggravated assault, witness tampering, aggravated child abuse, simple assault and two no contact order violations.

Deputy Pennington County State's Attorney Natalie Gronlund said Ingling struck a woman with a shillelagh  a wooden stick traditionally used in Ireland as a weapon  in early April 2022. Later that month, he struck her with a gun-cleaning rod.

After Ingling was arrested, he sent a letter to the victim, violating the court's order.

Ingling said he sent the letter because the woman sent him something while he was in the jail, and he thought she wanted to get back together.

"He made choices, and they were the wrong choices," Gronlund said.

Aside from the charges Ingling pleaded guilty to, court documents alleged various instances of abuse and threats throughout the years. Gronlund said part of the plea deal included the state refraining from filing additional charges against Ingling.

Conor Duffy, Ingling's defense attorney, asked the judge to sentence his client to time served and a lengthy probationary sentence. Duffy touched on Ingling's mental state during the period of abuse, not to excuse the behavior, he said, but to explain it was during an "aberrant period."

He said Ingling worked with the bodies of children and infants at a funeral home around the time he lost his own infant daughter, was drinking heavily, attended school at the same time as he worked, and descended into an "extreme interpretation of conservative Catholicism."

"He was in a place of darkness," he said.

Duffy said Ingling  at his own request  has spent his time in the jail in segregation "in prayer, solitude and contrition."

"Makes a monk look like a playboy," Duffy said.

Ingling spent more than a half hour speaking to the court, more than the time it took the victim, the state and his defense attorney to complete their remarks.

"My behavior's been vicious and horrible," he said.

Ingling said he has been working on himself, and he wants the victim to know he is not "after her."

"I am contrite. I have spent a lot of time weeping in the shower," he said.

Ingling told the judge he would take the 12 years in prison the state requested.

"I'm not opposed to that if it gives her peace of mind," he said.

The woman asked the judge for a higher sentence than the plea deal.

"It's mine and my children's lives at stake," she said.

As Ingling's remarks went on, he continued to apologize, explaining the state of mind he was in, and then thanking the prosecution before stating he understood they have to "exaggerate."

Ingling ended his remarks after he turned to the victim and began to apologize  an action that led the state to object and the judge to remind Ingling to only address the court.

Before announcing the sentence, Brown said mitigating factors in the case included Ingling's lack of a prior criminal history and the fact the victims were spared from having to go through a trial because of Ingling pleading guilty and taking responsibility.

In aggravation, Brown highlighted the violence. He noted "some remorse" on Ingling's part but "empty justifications for the behaviors" and "a lot of victim blaming."

"What this court has observed is not love," Brown said.
Recently announced funding from the Department of the Interior will go to reintroducing bison to Glacier National Park and helping Yellowstone expand its program of bison transfers to tribes.

The funding was announced Tuesday in a press release from the department touting $195 million in investments across the nation for climate restoration and resilience projects over the next decade.

National parks across the United States will use this funding to prepare for the impacts of climate change, protect species, restore ecosystems and invest in conservation jobs, the Interior Department announced.

The states include Montana and Wyoming.

Glacier public information officer Gina Icenoggle said the park is still in the planning stages for how the money will be used.

Yellowstone is targeted for a $3 million investment in expanding its capacity to increase the return of Yellowstone-origin bison to tribes through its transfer program. So far, the park has sent 414 bison to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes in Eastern Montana to finish out their required quarantine protocol to insure they are free of the disease brucellosis.

The Fort Peck Reservation then works with the Intertribal Buffalo Council to move the animals to tribes. Since its inception in 2018, the transfer program has sent bison to 26 tribes in 12 states.

Americas national parks drive economic opportunity, extend nature-based solutions in our fight against climate change, and provide the chance for people of all ages to explore and enjoy the great outdoors, said Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in the press release. Through historic resources from President Bidens Investing in America agenda, we are investing in these precious places, safeguarding endangered species and making our communities more resilient to climate change.

Also included in the funding is $722,400 for an inventory of cultural resources at high elevations in Yellowstone, Glacier and Grand Teton national parks. Protection and restoration of federally threatened whitebark pine in Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier  along with other parks in California and Washington  will see a $2.25 million boost.

Other funding, nationwide and to regional parks, focuses on restoring landscapes by managing invasive plants and restoration of abandoned mines and sagebrush ecosystems.

This investment in conservation demonstrates an unprecedented commitment towards tackling the climate crisis and strengthening Americas resilience, said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. From protecting species to rebuilding outdoors infrastructure, this investment will support ongoing efforts to protect and preserve our nations most cherished places.

The $195 million investment announced Tuesday will support more than 40 projects across hundreds of national parks, including initiatives that:

 Promote climate resilience in forests from the West Coast to the East Coast;

 Prioritize coral health and resilience to climate change in the Southeast;

 Mitigate the impacts of climate change and improve food security for subsistence users through co-stewardship arrangements with Tribal Nations; and

 Support the expansion of the Community Volunteer Ambassador youth program, focusing on increased volunteerism and community engagement.

The full list of projects is available on the National Park Services website.
The Bob Marshall Wilderness welcomes visitors like a primordial librarian, offering stories spread across millions of acres of mountains.

Arnold "Smoke" Elser has spent his life learning those tales in the way theyre told  through footsteps and hoofprints and hoots of owls and creaks of trees. Along the way, Elser himself has become woven into some of those records, changing the landscape by testifying to its wonder.

Elser likes to say he interprets the land. His job for the past seven decades has been taking care of people as they explore the Bob Marshall and similar wild places, by helping them translate what the land tells them. And when needed, hes hauled his stories out to halls of power where hes used words to defend the places he loves.

Thanks to a friendship with a German political science professor who discovered a love of horse-packing when she took a post at the University of Montana, Elsers stories are now preserved in book form. Hush of the Land: A Lifetime in the Bob Marshall Wilderness hit bookstores March 1.

Eva-Maria Maggi came to the United States 15 years ago to complete her Ph.D. in Seattle. She had learned to ride horses in her native Germany, and sustained her passion every summer with trips to visit her husbands family in Hamilton. There, she joined the Backcountry Horsemen to continue trail riding in the mountains.

She moved to Missoula in 2017 for her teaching job and soon found herself enrolled in Elsers packing class. She was fascinated by his mix of teaching and yarn-spinning.

I tell a lot of stories with my packing, Elser said. It has to connect with what youre doing. Eva wanted to tape them.

Maggi said a book wasnt on her mind  more a sense of preservation of knowledge for future generations of packers. Then she looked down and realized she had more than 500 hours of taped conversations over about three years of chatting once or twice a week.

She also started practicing her riding and packing skills at Elsers barn below the Mount Jumbo saddle. She lived half a mile away in the Lincoln Hills neighborhood, and Elser would sometimes shine a light between his place and hers to scare away the bears when she walked across the woody drainage separating their homes.

Theres a big difference between an oral story and a written one, Maggi said. It was very important to me that the stories stay in his voice. I wanted it to feel like youre sitting next to him at the campfire. His mountain lion story is so intense  so exciting  and then you think that theres sometimes mountain lions right outside this barn.

That story unspools in classic Smoke Elser fashion. When I think about that scream, my hair still stands up. It was fairly close to us but down in the basin. A mountain lion. It was clear what had to be done. I had to go after the hunter, and Robin (his fellow guide) stayed by the fire.

But what comes next is a beguiling-yet-fascinating dissertation on how to set and operate a hunting camp in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. In Smokes voice, Maggi weaves in his lessons on how to pick a camp spot where the wind piled snow just past the tents instead of on them, near a climbable ridge that opened up lots of downhill hunting opportunities, occupied by dudes who make up with enthusiasm what they lack in route-finding skills.

Elser recounts how he sizes up client hunters for shooting skill, stamina and good sense, then starts revealing how to find the wallows where elk roll to squish mosquitos. Until it starts to rain in the dark, and the hunter named Bill with the missing toes hasnt come back to camp and they hear a gunshot followed by a mountain lions scream.

To this day, Robin tells me how glad he was he didnt have to go down into Conger Basin, Elser concluded.

I sat with him so long, kind of translating him, that I was able to put myself into his shoes there, Maggi said. I was the blank page that he needed. I wanted to show how people live in an environment like that, and the challenges of running a camp. It was important to weave that into the mountain lion story.

At the same time, Maggi herself disappears in the text of Elsers voice. Hush of the Land is not a memoir, although Arnold Elser does recount much of his biography growing up in Ohio, getting nicknamed Smokey while working as a wildland firefighter at Ohio State University, and how Montana outfitter Howard Copenhaver thought it wasnt much of a name for a packer and changed it to Smoke.

I could have approached this very differently, and sought out a lot of different perspectives to get to the truth, Maggi said. But this is Smokes story. This is Smokes truth. It was very important to me to keep this Smokes book.

Elser said he wasnt planning on writing a book either. People had suggested he do one for years, after hearing him tell stories at campfires or congressional hearings. Hed helped found the Backcountry Horsemen organization, and occasionally when its meetings couldnt book a program, its leaders would simply ask him to extemporize.

Hed produced one book on packing mules and horses, based off some tapes made during one of his eight-week training sessions. More than 30,000 students have taken those courses over 37 years, including squads of Navy SEALs and other military special forces units who needed to know how to haul artillery across the mountains of Afghanistan.

In 2013, Elser worked with Montana PBS and the Forest Service to produce 3 Miles an Hour  a documentary about his experience in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. It became one of the highlights of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The title refers to the pace of a trail horse, Elsers favorite speed for experiencing wild places. It also marked some of the last times he was young enough (in his 80s) to ride those horses. Elser turned 90 in January.

Maggi never got to ride together with Elser in those mountains. But his vivid story-telling style makes his landmarks come alive every time she visits the places where he packed a TV set so a family could watch the Apollo moon landing in the middle of the Bob Marshall in 1969, or where he recovered that lost and soggy toeless hunter from the mountain lion. Her horses share a corral with Smokes mules (he still has some who come to a side door of his barn office for treats).

Shed ask the right questions, Elser said of Maggi. Id say the snow was deep, and shed say, How deep? The snow was a foot and a half deep. Shed say, How cold? Good outfitters interpret the country to their guests  all the history and anything else they can about it.

I was just trying to pass on the experiences Ive had in the West  places like Gila (New Mexico), the Bitterroot, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and the Bob Marshall. The Bob Marshall in particular  its talking to me all the time.
In this article, Laura Freeman shares her observations on how Virginia Tech is empowering the next-generation of national security leaders.

As a nation, weve arrived at a complex crossroads.

The combination of our aging federal workforce is being met head-on with an ever-evolving, evermore connected technological landscape and in an increasingly complex geopolitical context. Just look at the news. Foreign wars, spy balloons and cyber theft  these are the ingredients of potentially devastating security vulnerabilities.

This space  where policy, security and emerging technologies collide  will not only create difficult issues to resolve, but will also generate opportunities to propel research, education and society forward. Both security and success, however, rely on the availability of highly skilled, experienced and innovative defense and intelligence professionals.

At the Virginia Tech National Security Institute, our Hokies are ready to face these challenges and, more importantly, to lead others through them. We know this because at that same intersection  and in the thick of those same problems  our students learn through hands-on experience starting on their very first days with us. They are not just solving tomorrows problems but implementing those solutions today alongside partners from government and industry.

The Virginia Tech National Security Institute, launched in 2021, prioritizes the development of a robust and talent-ready workforce by partnering with government and industry to pinpoint critical labor shortfalls and emphasize mission-critical skills. We combine basic and applied research with experiential learning to give undergraduate and graduate students problem-solving experience on real-world projects with real-world partners.

Building on the workforce development mission of the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology, students are taken out of traditional classroom settings and placed in the middle of the worlds messiest problems. This experience moves students beyond traditional academias definition of interdisciplinarity  for example, teaming an aerospace engineer with a computer scientist  into more expansive spaces including public policy, ethics and other human factors.

Because of this important work, I joined Virginia Tech in 2019 after nine years supporting the Department of Defense from the Institute for Defense Analyses. Helping provide students with applied learning opportunities is the best part of my job, and I know the value of that learning experience.

During my own education, I had the opportunity to conduct research with NASA, and I was thrown into the middle of a problem that I honestly didnt fully understand. Being a statistician, I thought I had to come ready with answers. But I very quickly learned that when dealing with hard problems, its most important to ask questions, actively listen to the answers and ask even more questions.

That work, that stress and that experience working on a real problem is what set me up for success when I began supporting senior leaders in the Pentagon. I love that we are providing not only hands-on research and problem-solving to our students, but also helping them learn to clearly communicate their research through activities such as mock presidential briefings.

What does all this actually look like?

Our institute currently engages close to 900 undergraduate students and 70 graduate students who work on dozens of government agency or industry sponsored projects with partners such as the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, Raytheon, CACI, Leidos, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and numerous other companies in the D.C. area and across the country.

Our recent 10th annual Hume Center Colloquium convened more than 100 students from across Virginia Techs academic disciplines to discuss their ongoing work. Projects included securing underwater communications, developing algorithms that leverage the speed of quantum computing and improving confidence in and managing uncertainty for artificial intelligence algorithms. Students presented on the use of 3D printing for in-space assembly as well as many security-related policy problems, such as the use and abuse of personal information by domestic and foreign actors and potential national security risks of social media platforms.

At our state-of-the-art research facilities in both Blacksburg and the D.C. area, students work with specialized computer systems and test beds while partnering with Virginia Techs world-class faculty. This work includes figuring out how to test and evaluate high-tech, high-dollar government tools such as drones, stealth fighters, submarines and satellites and exploring how machine learning and artificial intelligence can be used to support national security and to safely improve society. This model supports the defense and intelligence missions of the country while leading students to the challenging and rewarding careers they seek.

Not only can our students count these experiences toward their degree, but it is the Virginia Tech National Security Institute's priority to make sure all students can take advantage of these opportunities by eliminating financial barriers to participation. Thats why we prioritize paying students for their research and learning through our sponsored research projects, which improves access to these experiences for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds.

This supports Virginia Techs university-wide, multi-year commitment to remove barriers for students from underserved communities and offer the broad educational experience to undergraduate students from Virginia, while also emphasizing the importance of equity and inclusion in recruiting the breadth of skills and experiences needed for the next generation of intelligence and defense leaders. Our worlds toughest problems do not discriminate, and these complex problems will be best solved by bringing people together with a broad spectrum of perspectives, opinions and life experiences. This is why we actively recruit from a diverse range of backgrounds and strive to provide a work environment that accommodates our employees needs for a strong sense of work-life balance.

There has perhaps never been a more critical time for this work. Congress and the Department of Defense recently acknowledged through the authorization of Defense Civilian Training Corps, of which Virginia Tech is a pilot institution.

Virginia Tech has a long tradition of placing students at the intersection of service and emerging technologies. As one of six senior military colleges in the United States and built on the foundation of our universitys motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech has a history of supporting the nations security, and our motivation to continue doing so sets us apart from our peers.

Few universities have our history. Few have our passion for service. And even fewer have a commitment to this nations security that runs all the way to the top of their Board of Visitors. Take, for an example, Tish Long, Virginia Tech rector, July 2021-2023, who was the first woman to lead a major U.S. intelligence agency.

The Virginia Tech National Security Institute exists at this complex crossroads and, because of that, is able to guide students through their academic careers and toward the critical needs of the country today and tomorrow.

We are here to lead. Partner with us today.

Laura Freeman is the deputy director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. She is also the assistant dean of research for the Virginia Tech College of Science in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area and research professor in the Department of Statistics, and an affiliated researcher with the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative.
At least 43 dead as devastating blaze rips through high-rise building in Bangladeshi capital

Xinhua) 08:46, March 01, 2024

Firefighters battle a fire raging on a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh Samanta Lal Sen told Xinhua early Friday that they had confirmed the deaths.

The minister said 33 bodies were brought to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 10 others to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.

Anwarul Islam, an inspector of the Fire Service and Civil Defence Headquarters in Dhaka, earlier told Xinhua that around 75 people, including 42 in an unconscious state, were rescued from the "Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall" and were rushed to several hospitals.

Islam said rescuers were working at the site. He said they sent the firefighters after receiving information about the fire around 9:30 p.m. Thursday local time. At least 12 firefighting units rushed to the spot and doused the fire at about 11:30 p.m.

The official said the seven-storeyed building houses a restaurant, an outlet and several other shops.

The death toll in the devastating inferno is likely to rise, warned another fire official, who did not want to be named.

TV reports early Friday showed fires were still raging in some parts of the building. The cause of the fire could not be known immediately.

Photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows fire raging on a commercial building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters battle a fire raging on a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

People help firefighters to battle a fire raging on a commercial building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Rescued people are transferred to safe place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Rescued people are transferred to safe place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters battle a fire raging on a building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Rescued people are transferred to safe place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Rescued people are seen on a fire ladder at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Rescued people are seen on a fire ladder at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

Firefighters conduct rescue work at the site of a building fire in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Feb. 29, 2024. At least 43 people were killed Thursday night after a devastating fire tore through a high-rise building in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka. (Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
PHNOM PENH, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet will attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations in Australia's Melbourne on March 4-6, said a foreign ministry press release on Friday.

His attendance will be made at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the news release said.

"The special summit is an opportune moment for leaders to chart future directions together and further deepen relations through full and effective implementation of key priorities under the ASEAN-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership," the news release said.

"Leaders are scheduled to adopt the Melbourne declaration and the ASEAN-Australia leaders' vision statement," it added.

On the sidelines of the summit, Hun Manet will have bilateral talks with Albanese and several ASEAN country leaders to further strengthen bilateral relations, according to the news release.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
A group of Richmond residents, a city councilor and a preservation organization are calling for Virginia Union University to save the old Richmond Community Hospital.

VUU plans to tear down the vacant two-story brick building, the citys first Black-owned hospital, as part of a $40 million development project.

Farid Alan Schintzius, 75, a Richmond resident, said the hospital has an illuminating and inspiring story, given that Black leaders raised money to construct it in the 1930s despite the racist and segregated community in which they lived.

But the universitys president, Hakim Lucas, said the development project shows how Virginia Union is building on its 158-year history and shaping the regions future.

Those who want to preserve Black history should look to VUU, Lucas said.

At play are two important and competing interests  creating more affordable housing and preserving Black history.

Virginia Union plans to build up to 200 residences for general use on 2 acres of its campus. A New York-based investor, the Steinbridge Group, has committed $40 million to the project, in which the investor and the university will be co-owners of the property.

The original Richmond Community Hospital was founded in 1902 in Jackson Ward as the citys first Black-owned hospital. In the 1930s, the owners bought land from Virginia Union and built a new art deco-style hospital at 1209 Overbrook Road. Across the street was a neighborhood of prominent Black residents, called Frederick Douglass Court, that later was home to civil rights attorney and federal judge Spotswood Robinson.

Community was one of the few destinations for Black patients, as hospitals were segregated until the 1950s. The hospital moved to its current location in Church Hill in the 1980s. Bon Secours later purchased it and gave the North Side property back to Virginia Union.

It has been vacant ever since. The city of Richmond was scheduled to inspect the property on Thursday, according to the citys website, in response to a resident complaint that cats wander in and out of the brick structure, which is marred with graffiti.

The university determined theres no way to preserve it, a spokesperson for VUU said last month.

Learn from the past

A group of Richmond residents are moving to save the hospital from a demolition crew. Schintzius said that for Richmond to achieve its full potential, its residents need to understand its history. He started a Facebook group to save the hospital.

Viola Baskerville, a former Richmond City Council member, state delegate and Cabinet secretary in Gov. Tim Kaines administration, operates the group alongside Schintzius. She lives less than two miles from the site, and she appreciates the history of Richmonds Black medical trailblazers. Her husband, Dr. Archer Baskerville, has practiced medicine in Richmond for more than 40 years.

Learn from the past, she wrote on Facebook. Do not destroy it.

Andreas Addison, a current member of the City Council representing the 1st District, also opposes demolition. Richmond Community was a beacon of hope and compassion for Black Richmonders who could not get the same care as white residents, he said.

A local nonprofit that focuses on preservation, Historic Richmond, said the building has historical significance, the community wants to save it and it can be incorporated into the larger residential project.

Defenders of the building and staff from VUU plan to meet there Sunday at 1 p.m.

The university welcomes broad participation in how we memorialize the important history of the site, as we plan for its future, Lucas said.

The president added that erecting more attainable housing in North Side will help preserve the role of the African American community. The Richmond area lacks sufficient housing, which has catapulted home prices upward.

Mayor Levar Stoney supports the overall project, a spokesperson for his office said. Asked if Stoney agrees with universitys desire to tear down the hospital, the spokesperson did not respond.

Hospital lacks historic designation

Richmond Community is not named on the Virginia or national lists of historic landmarks. The hospital likely has the credentials to appear on both lists, said Julie Langan, director of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. But those lists are honorary and do not save a building from a wrecking ball.

The city of Richmond offers some protection to buildings zoned in an Old and Historic District. But the hospital is not in one of those districts, and the city generally cannot compel landowners to rezone against their wishes. Because the hospital building is on VUU land, the university more or less has the right to tear it down.

By contrast, VUUs gymnasium, called Barco-Stevens Hall, the Belgian Friendship Building and the 165-foot Vann Memorial Tower are zoned historic and are protected by an easement with the state.

Not only does the hospital lack historic designation, it does not have a large silver highway marker explaining its past. The reason, said Marc Wagner, a senior architectural historian for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, is that the department generally issues markers based on requests. The department has been inundated with requests, and no one has asked for a marker for Richmond Community.

The department considers the hospital and the nearby neighborhood priority locations for future markers, Wagner said.

Most old buildings can be preserved if the builder can afford to do the work, Wagner said. A building that appears to be in terrible condition often can be restored, but it might come at a high cost.

Before the Maggie L. Walker Governors School on Lombardy Street was rebuilt in 2001, it was in such bad condition, the roof had collapsed.

If the hospital has a basement and, if the basement flooded, mold growth would likely require significant remediation, Wagner said. Because the building is made of brick and mortar, it likely has a strong shell.

The rehabilitation of old buildings is encouraged by tax credits. The state and federal governments issue credits that can substantially reduce an owners tax obligation.

Old famous buildings  or their facades  still dot the city. In North Side, Laburnum House was constructed around 1907 by Joseph Bryan, the first owner of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The mansion was later incorporated into an adjacent hospital and is now owned by Veritas School.

The outer shell of the Branch Public Baths building, which is more than 100 years old, serves as the entranceway to the Gladding Residence Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

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In his 20-plus years as an officer, Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards has seen his share of heartbreak.

Ive been to hundreds of crime scenes throughout my career, Edwards said, but Ill never forget showing up at that (one).

On Friday, one day after Amari Pollard pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the June 6 shooting death of Shawn Jackson following the Huguenot High School graduation at the Altria Theater, Edwards sat down with the Richmond Times-Dispatch to discuss the horror of that day and his thoughts on the sudden plea deal.

Sitting at a table inside Richmond police headquarters and dressed in full uniform, Edwards said the sight of abandoned gowns, bloodstained graduation cards with cash still inside and dozens of pairs of womens shoes littering the streets and sidewalks around Monroe Park is an image that has not faded.

When I realized that these women were running for their lives and they ... literally ran out of their shoes ... I was struck by it, he said, looking down at the table. And it happened at what should have been a joyous event. It happened where people were having the best day of their young lives, and it turned into the worst.

The events of that day may have been shocking, but the chief said he was not surprised by the guilty plea that abruptly ended the prosecution of Pollard.

I think a lot of people were surprised, he said. I wasnt. As the trial progressed and (the defenses) position got more challenging, I assumed they would come back and agree to a plea.

One of those challenges for the defense was a ruling by Judge W. Reilly Marchant that Pollards case did not meet the legal threshold for self-defense. After the ruling, Pollards lawyers changed course. Pollard entered a guilty plea and received a sentence of 43 years in prison with 18 suspended, meaning he will spend at least 25 years behind bars.

And while the plea marked the end of a saga that has unfolded since that evening in June, Edwards remarked that, for those impacted by it, the wounds are permanent.

(There are) two broken families, Edwards said. When I see an 18-year-old young man (like Jackson) killed, I just think of my own sons and I think of ... how all that potential is wasted, that whatever he was going to be ended that day.

Edwards said Pollards family would also never be the same again.

This is a ... young man who has given up the best years of his life over a stupid dispute, Edwards said. And it cost so many people there.

Conflicts, guns and social media

The conflict that boiled over on June 6 had been bubbling for months over social media platforms like Instagram, authorities have said. During the trial, prosecutors presented digital message exchanges between Pollard and Jackson, whose relationship had deteriorated significantly since they were childhood friends.

In January, six months before the shooting, Jackson messaged Pollard on Instagram, warning him to tread lightly. Jacksons close friend Jamon Flowers messaged Pollard on the same day, saying you might be next.

Shortly after, Pollard bought a Glock pistol. He told a jury during his trial that he did not know the dealer, but that he had seen the gun advertised on Instagram for $500.

In a Thursday news conference on the steps outside the courthouse following the plea deal, Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin said social media and ease of access to firearms were contributing factors to the shooting.

She called the tragedy a cautionary tale and said she supported monitoring social media, as well as placing security cameras in Richmonds public housing projects, storefronts and schools.

None of us want Richmond to be the site of the next mass shooting, McEachin said.

Asked about the prospect of implementing surveillance over social media, Edwards said he did not think the idea was practical.

We dont have a scraping mechanism to pull that kind of stuff off, Edwards said. Theres no way to accurately do it.

While Edwards said Richmond police do not actively survey social media, investigators do work with Richmond Public Schools when school officials become aware of online disputes and report threats to police.

Richmond police were not contacted to investigate the social media threats made against Pollard, Edwards said. He said the case is a good example of how important it is for family members and loved ones to intervene when conflicts like the one between Pollard and Jackson begin to escalate.

If you learn nothing else from this trial, (its that) we have to discuss the importance of family members reviewing social media platforms for their loved ones, he said. Last year, (in) over 30% of our known homicide(s), the motive was based on an argument.

If they see these types of arguments escalating, its important to intervene, Edwards emphasized. You have to have a conversation with your kids when you see them making threats, showing pictures of guns, talking about murdering someone.

Edwards did not comment on the process by which Pollard acquired the gun he used in the shooting, but said the case underscored the importance of gun safety.

The Second Amendment is a right, he said. But it is also a responsibility. ... Were in a state where its very easy to buy guns and possess guns, and the challenge with that is that everyone has access to guns.

The specific problem, Edwards said, is that situations get really complicated when you start looking at how we can intervene.

One deterrent to gun violence that Edwards said has been effective is preemptive deployment to areas where gunfire is most prevalent. He partially credited this strategy with a 7% reduction in violent crime in 2023.

But events like the Huguenot High graduation shooting show that there is more work to do, Edwards said.

We have to find a better way to secure weapons, he said. If someone had caught Amari Pollard driving to this graduation with a gun concealed, we would have been able to charge him and this tragedy never occurs.

Investigations ongoing

Pollard was sentenced for the death of Jackson, but Jackson was not the only person killed that day. Jacksons stepfather, Renzo Smith, also died in the shooting, and five other bystanders were injured.

One of the bullets in Smiths body could not be traced back to Pollards gun, according to ballistic analysis. Two friends of Jackson  Flowers and Dominique Fowler  have been charged with reckless use of a firearm in the incident, but it was not immediately clear whether one of them is believed to have shot Smith.

Flowers and Fowler were juveniles at the time of the shooting.

McEachin on Thursday repeatedly declined to comment on the charges against additional suspects, citing ongoing investigations. Edwards on Friday also said he could not provide any details regarding the cases.

Ill let the trial play that out, he said. Ill leave it at this: You can see the progression of the charges and why Pollard wasnt charged with (Smiths killing).

We owe our community (and) victims in this case ... the truth about what happened, Edwards said. And the truth, as you know after watching the trial, is very complicated. ... So I cant really speak to that.

The RPS report

Edwards has been in touch with Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras, but said he cant really speak to the report on the shooting commissioned by the city School Board.

The report indicated that RPS staff were aware of the threats made against Pollard and that Jackson, who was on homebound instruction, had participated in the graduation without proper clearance from school officials.

Were committed to working with RPS to ensure safety, Edwards said. Were already talking about graduation for 2024.

Edwards said police presence at upcoming graduation ceremonies would be overt and likely would include him and other senior personnel with the Richmond police. Police have already provided security for the vigils related to the shooting and for Jacksons funeral.

The goal, Edwards said, is to make sure nothing like what unfolded outside the Altria Theater on June 6 ever happens again.

For people ... to see someone take their last breath, to see someone (they) knew joyfully accepting a diploma minutes earlier who is now dead ... is traumatic, Edwards said. I want parents and students to be able to enjoy that very sacred day, and were going to work tirelessly to ensure that.
Tamara Sterling, who is identified on the Petersburg City Public Schools website as the superintendent, is no longer with the district, according to her LinkedIn profile, which now lists her as an independent education professional.

It says her tenure as Petersburgs superintendent lasted from September 2022 to February 2024.

Petersburg city and school officials refused to answer questions this week about Sterlings status or who is in the superintendent role.

Petersburg Public Schools spokesman Terrance Dixon did not answer questions from the Richmond Times-Dispatch at the school district headquarters on Tuesday regarding who is the superintendent, whether there is an acting superintendent or the status of Sterling, among other questions. Dixon said the district cannot comment on personnel matters.

Kenneth Pritchett, chair of the Petersburg School Board, did not answer several phone calls, voicemails, text messages and emails over the course of several days.

Pritchett also did not answer questions when a Times-Dispatch reporter approached him in person outside of his workplace on Tuesday afternoon.

Sterling did not answer phone calls from a Times-Dispatch reporter.

The spokeswoman for the city of Petersburg said the city and the mayor do not comment on the citys school system.

Before assuming the role in Petersburg on Dec. 1, 2022, Sterling was the superintendent of Franklin City Public Schools. Prior to that, she was a school administrator in Chicago, Houston and Providence, Rhode Island.

According to state data, the Petersburg school division enrolls about 4,300 students, 86% of whom are Black and 86% of whom are deemed by the state to be economically disadvantaged, a rough gauge of poverty. The district is under a Memorandum of Understanding with the Virginia Department of Education due to its schools troubles.
Richmonds former Freedom of Information Act officer Connie Clay filed a whistleblower complaint against the city in Circuit Court on Friday morning.

The 17-page complaint, which seeks $250,000 in damages, claims Clay was unlawfully terminated by Petula Burks, the citys strategic communications and civic engagement officer, on Jan. 19 for refusing to engage in illegal and unethical activities in violation of FOIA.

Clay, the citys FOIA officer for the past six months, said she was told when she was fired that she was not a good fit.

In the lawsuit, Clay also alleges the city routinely failed to comply with state FOIA laws, intentionally withheld information from the public and charged exorbitant fees to deter requests.

Transparency is important, Clay said Friday. I was hired to be the FOIA officer to ensure the citys in compliance with the FOIA law  that $250,000 says that is important.

Richmond City Attorney Laura Drewry responded to the complaint stating, the city believes the claims are baseless and intends to defend the lawsuit in court.

The Freedom of Information Act is state law that allows citizens access to either full or partial disclosure of information and documents from public entities in a timely manner. Once a request is made, the responding agency has five working days to meet the request. If it needs more time, it can ask for a seven-day extension.

According to the complaint, Burks instructed Clay that each time she received a FOIA request, she should wait until the day the response was due and then invoke an extension regardless of whether the city could timely produce the required information.

In one instance, Clay said the city responded to a FOIA request more than a year after it was requested.

The city hired Clay, a family law attorney, in July to serve as FOIA officer and public information manager. When she took over the position, Clay said the office did not keep track of requests made and did not have a docketing or invoice system.

Withholding information

In September, the Richmond Times-Dispatch submitted an FOIA request to acquire the citys FOIA logs  which are essentially a log of every request submitted to the city, when the request was made, how long it took to complete and when it was finished.

In an email, Clay stated the city did not keep logs until she took over, but could provide logs from July and August.

According to the complaint, which cites this incident as an example of wrongdoing, Burks asked Clay to delete columns on the logs with Clays notes describing internal communications even though no FOIA exemption covered such a redaction.

When Clay refused to remove the column, Burks sent emails and left messages with the reporter before she allowed Clay to release the logs. In voicemails, Burks repeatedly asked the reporter why the request was being made in order to better meet the request.

The Times-Dispatch has faced numerous issues with the city denying requests for public information.

Currently, the newspaper is in an ongoing discussion with Burks regarding FOIA requests pertaining to meals tax levies. The requests were made on Feb. 12. Fourteen business days later, the city has yet to provide the requested information.

The Times-Dispatch has another request first submitted in January. The request asked the city to provide all penalty and interest waivers from residents who cited mail delivery issues. The city denied the request, claiming the reports did not exist and they could not be compiled due to taxpayer information.

(Sheila) White admitted that the records existed, the complaint reads. Clay told White that the records could be redacted to protect taxpayer privacy. White still refused to release them.

In a series of emails obtained by WTVR earlier this week, Burks stated to Clay, Why are we still going back and forth with [Times-Dispatch reporter Em Holter]? and Em should be talking to the post office.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said that regardless, public entities are responsible for ensuring they are in compliance with the law. There is no legitimate excuse for the city to not retrieve records.

When I read the internal correspondence (between Burks and Clay), it seemed like someone was trying to do their job but was facing pushback from administration, Rhyne said.

Termination timeline

After Clay was instructed to deny personnel records related to the mayors office for two requests that came from Rep. Abigail Spanbergers gubernatorial campaign, Clay was told by two separate city officials to no longer answer mayors office FOIA requests, the complaint reads.

On Jan. 11, Clay interviewed for the Civilian Review Board manager position in an effort to transfer to a new position that did not report to Burks.

A week later, Clay requested a meeting with Burks to discuss outstanding FOIA requests with the finance department. Burks informed Clay that the finance director was the only one to review and redact emails.

In response, Clay stated, I will not misstate facts for you, Sheila White, the city of Richmond or anyone else. If your excuse for being late on this FOIA request is that only Sheila White can redact the records, you need to call or email Tyler Layne. Layne is a WTVR reporter who filed the request.

On Jan. 19, Clay emailed Burks informing her that there were several overdue FOIA requests and she could not get anyone to respond to her emails. Later that day, Clay was fired from her position. Burks is serving as the citys FOIA officer in the interim, a position she previously held.

Clay filed the complaint under the whistleblower complaint purview, which states no employer may discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate or retaliate against a whistleblower whether acting on his own or through a person acting on his behalf under his direction.

In recent months, the city had two lawsuits filed against it for noncompliance with FOIA requests. One came from Layne, who requested records regarding the death of a department of public utilities worker while on the job. When Layne filed his lawsuit, the city provided the documents and Layne withdrew the case.

The other came from transparency activist Joshua Stanfield, who requested the city provide overtime records. In similar fashion, the city released the records and Stanfield withdrew the complaint.

Clay is represented by Sarah Robb Law, an employment lawyer who specializes in workplace discrimination. Clay is requesting a trial by jury.

At first, I thought it was ignorance. I think I really wanted to believe that, Clay said. But the idea of going along to get along is not who I am.

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A bill headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkin aims at a longstanding complaint of Virginia prisoners and their families: the cost of a phone call.

Legislation that would require the Department of Corrections prison pay phones and debit-card calling contract for these services at the lowest possible rate does not go quite as far as its sponsor, Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, had hoped.

But he says it should mean a less burdensome deal for inmates and their families.

I dont think any Virginian should be taken advantage of, Rasoul said.

His bill would also direct the states prison agency to allow prisoners to call more people. Currently, their phone lists are limited to 15 numbers, but Rasouls bill would increase that to at least 20.

The bill also says any video or online visitation systems or electronic messaging systems should also be contracted for at a lowest possible rate.

Rasoul had originally proposed that the prisons offer free phone calls, but the House Appropriations Committee amended the measure to say the phone services should be provided at the lowest price.

Currently, prison calls are billed at 4.09 cents a minute, the rate to which the department reduced them in 2015. They had been 33 cents a minute for prepaid calls for the prior decade, with the department collecting commissions that varied between 35% and 41%.

Telephone companies serving Virginia do not normally present their charges on a per-minute basis, although CenturyLinks tariff, accessed through a link on the State Corporation Commission website, says its per-minute charge for local-switched service is 2.406 cents a minute.

Last year, Global-Tel Link, the firm that provides prison phone services in Virginia, collected $10.1 million, state records show.

Rasouls bill bans commissions for prison communications services. While the corrections department no longer collects a commission on phone calls, it does receive a commission under a separate contract to provide tablets with products and services: secure messages, books, music and games. That totaled $103,000 last year.

The measure, House Bill 801, passed the House on a 56-41 vote and the Senate by a 30-9 vote.

Another measure aiming at what inmates pay, House Bill 912, would direct that profits from the stores and phones in local and regional jails must be used for educational, recreational or medical purposes for the benefit of the inmates to include behavioral health, substance abuse and rehabilitative service.

It passed the House 97-1 and the Senate 39-0.

Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly 2024
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles needs $30 million to update its 40-year-old information technology system for citizen services  from driver history to vehicle registration and titling.

The Virginia State Police needs $43.5 million to consolidate half a dozen aging IT systems, and the Department of Accounts needs $30 million to improve its 15-year-old Cardinal system for human resources and procurement.

The needs are great throughout state government, as Gov. Glenn Youngkin tries to make his case for big investments in modernizing IT systems that have not kept pace with unrelenting changes in technology for delivering services to the public  an estimated $477 million in demands at 49 agencies, by his administrations count.

Im really concerned about how we get to the next level of technology ... so that we can better serve the citizens of Virginia, said Secretary of Administration Lyn McDermid, a former IT executive at Dominion Energy and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

But who decides which agencies and services to modernize, with limited taxpayer dollars to pay for them?

Youngkins bid for a $150 million fund for his administration to spend on its IT priorities fell flat with the new General Assembly, which prefers to make its own decisions about paying for specific projects after state agencies make a case for them.

Demand for limited resources

When we are dealing with the pressures of running government, everybody knows were dealing with unlimited demand for limited resources, said Del. Cliff Hayes, D-Chesapeake, chair of the House Appropriations subcommittee on general government and capital outlay. Its up to you to state your case for what those priorities would be.

The House of Delegates and the Senate decided that the Youngkin administration had not made the case for setting aside $150 million in the governors $185 billion two-year budget for spending on projects that are not clearly defined.

Its like casting a net, said Hayes, whose subcommittee recommended appropriating only $25 million to replace the states aging taxation and revenue management system instead of funding what it called open-ended information technology upgrades.

The Senate rejected the governors budget request entirely.

Were not going to give him a big pile of money to spend it as he likes, said Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, who chairs the Senate Finance subcommittee on general government.

Like Hayes, Surovell said the assembly customarily has required agencies to make their case for funding their proposed IT projects. The budget proposal represents an attempt by the governor to take the authority away from us, he said. Its not a power grab, but it would severely limit our oversight of what have often been very expensive projects.

Youngkin featured his IT modernization proposal in his speech to assembly money committees on Dec. 20, when he introduced his proposed budgets for the current fiscal year and the next two years.

Right now, our government spends $250 million every year maintaining and patching outdated IT infrastructure with obsolete systems that have high cybersecurity risk, he said, calling his proposal a first step to bring our critical IT systems into the 21st century.

McDermid, who noted that she was asked to join the administration because of my IT experience, said state government relies on outdated technology. She said the state depends too much on outside vendors for services and should develop more IT talent within government itself.

The agencies dont have the talent, and we need to develop it, she said in an interview.

Some systems are 20 years old

Chief Information Officer Bob Osmond, who leads the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, or VITA, prepared a presentation for the Senate Finance Committee that estimates that 15% of state governments more than 2,500 operating systems are more than 20 years old and 42% are more than 10 years old.

VITA, created nearly 20 years ago under then-Gov. Mark Warner, would support the modernization program, using the proposed money as a centralized funding source that agencies would apply to tap.

The governors office would decide how the proposed fund would be used, with approval required by McDermid and Secretary of Finance Steve Cummings, according to Osmonds presentation, which he provided in writing but did not present to Senate Finance on Jan. 30 because of its crowded docket.

Osmond selected 10 agencies  including DMV, the State Police, the Department of Accounts and the Department of Taxation  as examples of the need to modernize state systems. The estimated cost for those 10 agencies alone was $247 million spread over two to five years.

Were not going to fund this in two years, but if we dont get started now, well be three to four years behind, McDermid said.

Hayes, who chairs the relevant House Appropriations subcommittee, said he has not heard directly from the administration about the proposed fund.

It would have helped if there had been some communication, he said.

Virginia General Assembly opens 2024 session
Attending Advocacy Day at the General Assembly this year with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action was a little different than in years past. Some things were the same: For the sixth year, I was standing alongside my fellow volunteers from across the state listening to powerful speeches from elected officials about the need to pass gun violence prevention legislation, all of us wearing red shirts and orange pins and united in our resolve to change our commonwealth.

This time, though, I wasnt only a volunteer standing in solidarity with other advocates calling for gun safety. For the first time, I was also standing up as a member of the House of Delegates, preparing to give my own speech about the gun violence prevention legislation I was carrying this year: House Bill 498.

House Bill 498 is a gun safety measure that would require school boards to annually notify parents of their legal responsibility to safely store any firearm present in the household and the risks associated with improperly stored firearms. Gun violence is the no. 1 cause of death for children and teens in Virginia and secure storage laws are a crucial part of the solution. Approximately 4.6 million children live in homes with guns that are not safely stored.

As a parent, former school board member and preschool teacher, I know how critical schools are in our collective fight to keep our communities, especially our kids, safe from gun violence.

In fact, it was school safety that got me involved in the gun violence prevention movement. After the shooting in 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, my school board member called for teachers to be armed in our schools. While I absolutely share the desire to keep our schools safe, I knew that this was a dangerous and misguided idea. In fact, research shows that arming teachers introduces new risks of gun violence in schools and puts the lives of students, teachers and law enforcement in danger.

Angry, afraid and grieving from the devastating loss of life in Parkland  and alarmed by the extreme policy proposals of some elected officials, including those in my community  I knew that I needed to do more to keep our kids safe. Inspired and encouraged by my fellow Moms Demand Action volunteers, I ran for a seat on my school board, and won.

I ran again for office in 2023, only this time it was to represent the 15th District in the House of Delegates. Once again, I was inspired and encouraged by my fellow Moms Demand Action volunteers, but this time I didnt run alone. Nine of us were elected to the House in 2023, and we former Moms Demand Action volunteers make up nearly 20% of the Democratic caucus. We all ran for office on a simple message: strong gun laws save lives, and our commonwealth needs more of them.

Thanks to my colleagues in both the House and Senate, Virginia is on its way to delivering the progress on gun safety that voters demanded in 2023 and House Bill 498 is one of many commonsense bills now headed to Gov. Glenn Youngkins desk, awaiting his signature.

Each of these bills would strengthen Virginias gun violence prevention laws, keeping weapons of war out of our communities and guns out of the hands of people who could pose a danger to themselves or others. From a requirement that firearms be stored securely around children and prohibited persons to a ban on assault weapons to accountability for bad actors in the firearm industry and increased funding for community violence programs, we have introduced and passed bills that will help address the crisis of gun violence from all angles.

2023 was a benchmark year for gun safety in Virginia and its clearer than ever that our communities want  and desperately need  commonsense gun safety laws to keep us safe.

The safety and security of our communities and our precious children are at stake. Its up to Gov. Youngkin to put us first. No parent, child or member of our community should have to experience the tragedy of gun violence when we have tools to prevent it.

Gov. Youngkin has the opportunity to join us in protecting our families and communities by signing these bills into law.

Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly 2024
Faulty wiring said cause of fire that destroyed school

Bacalar, Q.R.  A school in the community of Margarita Maza de Juarez of Bacalar was destroyed in a fire. The small Mayan school suffered extensive damage after bad wiring left the building in ruins.

The fire happened earlier this week at the Carlos Lugo Lopez Telesecundaria in the municipality of Bacalar. School Director Luis Alcocer Balam says the Ministry of Public Education is aware of the fire that destroyed the secondary school, including all teaching material and furniture.

Balam says they are waiting on local authorities to provide support so students can return to class. That support will come from the Secretary of Education of Quintana Roo.

The entire building was gutted by the fire.

An investigation into the fire determined faulty wiring to have been the cause.
Mexico kicks off 2024 forest fire season

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  The National Forestry Commission has officially kicked off the 2024 forest fire season across Mexico. Dozens of Coordinacion Nacional de Proteccion Civil (CNPC) officials along with National Forestry Commission (Conafor) personnel met yesterday.

Federation, states and municipalities met to coordinate efforts to prevent and combat forest fires during the 2024 season.

Laura Velazquez Alzua, head of the CNPC, lead the Thursday National Civil Protection meeting. The meeting was attended by personnel from across the country.

Velazquez Alzua said the meeting was held with the aim of coordinating the effective response of the three levels of government to guarantee the safeguarding of the population and reduce the impact on forest ecosystems caused by alterations in fire regimes.

All photos: Comision Nacional Forestal February 29, 2024.

During the meeting, which was highlighted by the participation of the General Director of the Conafor, Luis Meneses Murillo and Morelos Governor Cuauhtemoc Blanco Bravo, details were provided about the task force, technical resources available and extensive reviews of response protocols. A

Representatives of the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena), Secretary of the Navy (Semar), National Guard (GN), National Water Commission (Conagua), National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp) and heads of the 32 state Civil Protection units throughout the country, attended.

At the meeting, Velazquez Alzua said during 2023, Mexico recorded 7,611 forest fires which were attended to by 315,540 combatants of the federal government belonging to Conafor, Sedena, Marina and Conagua.

She said that during 2023, 84 percent of the fires were controlled and extinguished in less than 72 hours. Likewise, 11 percent of the cases required up to seven days to be resolved, while only five percent required more than a week to reach 100 percent settlement.

The most affected regions in terms of area were Jalisco, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Nayarit and Durango. However, the highest number of fires was recorded in Jalisco, State of Mexico, Mexico City, Michoacan and Chihuahua.

Velazquez highlighted that, according to Conafor, more than 95 percent of forest fires are the result of human activities.
Suspect demanding 800,000 in extortion payment captured in Cancun sting operation

Cancun, Q.R.  A suspect who made a request for an 800,000 peso extortion payment has been arrested in Cancun. Julio Alexi N was arrested in a sting operation after the extortion victim filed a complaint with local authorities.

According to the State Attorney General on February 26, Julio Alexi N went to a money exchange house located on Uxmal Avenue of Cancun where he requested the exchange of $20 USD.

After making the currency exchange, the now-detained is alleged to have handed the money exchange employee an envelope containing a telephone number that the manager was to answer.

On February 28 of this year, the victim received a call to demand payment of floor rights in the amount of 800,000 pesos as a down payment and that the subsequent monthly payments would then be established, the State Attorney said in a statement.

Due to his probable participation in events that could constitute the crime of extortion to the detriment of two victims, the State Attorney Generals Office, through the Specialized Prosecutors Office in Combating the Crimes of Kidnapping and Extortion, arrested a male person in the streets of Cancun, they added.

After constantly changing the delivery address, Julio Alexi N finally went to a point to collect the agreed amount, where he was secured by elements of the Investigative Police.
NAIROBI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Some 18.6 million people are internally displaced in the Horn of Africa region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a report released on Friday.

The United Nations migration agency noted that the displaced population is mostly in Sudan (49 percent), Somalia (19 percent), Ethiopia (19 percent) and South Sudan (11 percent).

"There are 8.1 million newly forcibly displaced people due to the outbreak of conflict in Sudan, including 6.3 million internally and 1.9 million in neighboring countries," the IOM said.

Other causes of displacement in the region are natural disasters like drought and floods linked to El Nino rains, it said.

"Movements tracked due to natural disasters increased in May 2023 and remained relatively high until January 2024. Movements due to food insecurity also increased between May and October 2023 due to widespread floods in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia causing livestock death and crop failure," the IOM said.

Most of these movements, said the IOM, were heading to camps in Ethiopia (87 percent), Kenya (8 percent) and Somalia (5 percent).

The number of internally displaced persons may increase in the coming months as the region is forecasted to experience enhanced rainfall between March and May.

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Climate Prediction Center, in its latest forecast, noted that Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan as well as Uganda and Tanzania would experience heavy rainfall and flooding, exacerbating the lingering effects of El Nino rains that happened in 2023 and drought earlier in the year.

About 58 million people are acutely food insecure in the Greater Horn of Africa region due to recent floods, conflict and drought, according to IGAD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 
Tanker passing Isla Holbox locates foreign vessel

Holbox, Q.R.  A tanker passing the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula reported the sighting of a vessel in Quintana Roo waters. The small boat was found adrift carrying seven crew north of Isla Holbox in the Gulf of Mexico.

The crew were brought aboard the tanker while Mexican Naval personnel met the cargo ship to recover the seven people found. The Secretary of the Navy reported personnel from the Ninth Naval Region met the tanker Wednesday in the rescue of seven foreigners in the territorial water areas of the state of Quintana Roo.

All photos: Secretaria de Marina February 28, 2024.

The navy set out to meet the passing tanker after receiving an emergency call in the Command and Control Room. The call reported that a foreign tanker sighted a smaller vessel adrift with seven crew members on board approximately 58 nautical miles (107 kilometers) north of Cabo Catoche, which were rescued by the aforementioned ship.

A Defender rescue vessel from the Naval Search, Rescue and Maritime Surveillance Station (ENSAR) of Isla Mujeres set out to meet the ship. According to the Secretary, navy personnel intercepted the aforementioned vessel approximately three nautical miles (five kilometers) north of Isla Mujeres, to receive the seven people.

Once the rescued people were received, they were treated by Naval Health personnel. All seven were of foreign nationality and eventually transferred to INM facilities.
Two killed in targeted shooting outside convenience store

Puerto Morelos, Q.R.  Police in the community of Leona Vicario arrived to a crime scene Wednesday where two men lay dead outside a store. Both men were the target of an armed attack that happened Wednesday evening in the municipality of Puerto Morelos.

The shootings took place outside a community convenience store on Miguel Dominguez Street where three people were shot. One of the victims, a woman, was injured and taken to a Cancun hospital by family members. The other two victims, both men, died at the scene.

Witnessed were able to provide police with a description of the red truck that arrived with the armed men who shot at the three people who were on foot.

Elements of the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit (SMSCyT) , State Police, National Guard and Army were at the site. Police scoured the area for the described vehicle, but did not locate it.

Several shell casings were found at the scene near the bodies. The deceased have not been identified.
Based on the numbers of the latest Religious Freedom Index from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, religious Americans may have reason to worry about Gen Z (those in the age range of 1226). Although 63% of them profess a nominal tolerance for diverse faiths, 61% of them also think that religion was part of the problem  when it comes to issues and what happens today in our country, and 57% of them specifically said people of faith were part of the problem. In other words, the Zoomers think that religion is OK so long as its dogmas and members are suppressed.

Its likely no coincidence that this view comes from the same generational cohort that suffers most from anxiety,depression, and loneliness. The lack of religious affiliation for so many young adults has resulted in fewer relationships and more unhappiness, and instead of seeing religion as the solution to these problems, they blame religion for causing them. This would even explain their apparent contradictory stance towards religion: they want the advantages of religion without the judgement and discipline that comes with it.

But this is incoherent. Try as people might, trading off the richness of an ancient spiritual tradition for a pale copy will inevitably leave them poorer. This in turn kicks off endless cycles of scapegoating religion for societys problems. As college student Natan Ehrenreich concludes about the recent college protests against Israel, it wasnt solely motivated by anti-Semitism, but by a resentment of all religion. In his opinion, the animus against Israeli Jews is a canary in the coalmine and that more such hateful outbursts can be expected for all religious believers in the coming years.

However, in order to fix this problem, its essential to understand its cause, which seems to be a prevailing ignorance about what religion actually is. For too many Zoomers, religion has come to mean any spiritual movement that seeks to oppress. Not only are kids taught in schools that religion was a tool of white colonizers to subdue and enslave indigenous populations, but their popular media are saturated with this narrative. It does not occur to so many of them that religion is an empowering force that answers mankinds greatest questions and helps people transcend tribal differences.

All this would suggest that churches need to do a better job on the apologetics front, informing todays young adults of the truth and debunking popular myths. Indeed, this has been the argument of Bishop Robert Barron, who has devoted his life to providing resources showing the reasonableness of faith.

And yet, as a high school English teacher who works with Gen Z, I would say this problem goes beyond mere messaging. From what I observe, there seems to be a shortage of religious role models to do the messaging in the first place. For too many young adults, religion is the exclusive province of older, more conservative believers. Anyone below the age of 40 is expected by church leaders and ostensible evangelizers to accept this state of affairs, respect their elders, and do the important work of being seen, not heard.

To be clear, saying this doesnt mean that adolescents should be elevated to positions of authority, nor does this mean that churches should pander harder to them with more youth programs and Christian rock music. This is still just another way to exclude young people from the life of faith. As Catholic editor Jason Craig explains, kids in youth ministry programs are still stuck with their peers and segregated from the rest of the communityand thus often fall away from the church when they get older.

It would be far better if religious adults went further in personally modeling their faith for this generation. This is an idea I apply in my high school English classes every day. Rather than just telling them to read or write something, I model how to read and write by doing it with them.

When we read an essay, Ill pause at each juncture of the argument, give my thoughts on whats happening, and then move on. I make it clear that a good reader should be able not only to summarize a text but also to explain how it workshow its framed, organized, and worded. I also try to show them how to appropriately criticize or praise a text.

The same approach applies to teaching writing. Before I was writing essays for publication, I was writing essays responding to the same prompts I gave my students. I would then show my essay along with some student samples, discussing the choices we made and some of the challenges that arose with each prompt.

As obvious as this style of instruction appears, its not all that popular. Most students would prefer that I send them off to work on a pointless group project, not read an article with them. Hardly any of them want to write, let alone read over sample essays. Rather, they want to spend weeks of instruction noodling with one essay with an easy-to-implement checklist on hand that they can use to earn a good grade. Their initial reluctance suggests that Im more the exception than the rule when it comes to teaching my subject.

Fortunately, over time, my students master the process and learn to appreciate what I do for them. Not to brag, but despite my high expectations and lack of charisma (or riz, as the Zoomers say), most of my students come to love my class. I can only attribute this outcome to my commitment to modeling and actively including them in something real. No longer do they feel like students in an English class, but fellow practitioners of the language arts. As such, they are part of a greater community of thinkers who are doing something meaningful.

Unfortunately, Im only one teacher and its only one year. Most other high school classes will do what most churches currently do: keep the students busy with something engaging in the short term but useless in the long term. And, as with religious practice, these students end up seeing schooling as a useless idea that is only fun when it makes no real demands on anyone. I wouldnt be surprised if Zoomers soon add high school English to the list of things that contribute to the worlds problems.

Although it may sound trite to treat the anti-religious sentiment of Gen Z as a cry for help, I believe this to be the case. Those who practice their faith and want to prevent religious persecutions in the future should find ways to include younger generations through active modeling. Not only would this entail better religious instruction (talking the talk), but regular religious practice (walking the walk). If they persist in this effort, their modeling will have the double effect of changing the hearts and minds of this generation as well as amplifying the positives for the already faithful.

What Christ said to His disciples applies to all believers (and teachers): Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven. When this truth is forgotten, society is condemned to cultural and spiritual darkness.
Annette Lewis, who has just retired as president and CEO of Total Action for Progress, is an inaugural inductee of the National Community Action Foundation Hall of Fame.

The award will be presented during the 2024 NCAF Washington Conference on March 14. The Washington, D.C.-based foundation is a federal advocate for anti-poverty policies, supporting the extensive nationwide community Action network.

Annette Lewis is so deserving of induction into the community action hall of fame, Erik Johnston, VACAP president and CEO, said in an email announcement. She is a humble servant leader, whose wisdom, compassion, and support for her staff, partners, and fellow leaders has inspired so many successful efforts to create pathways out of poverty for thousands across our state and nation.

He said Lewis vision and ability to transfer hope and urgency to the need for us to find common ground ways to help our neighbors living in poverty to achieve their dreams is a legacy she leaves with TAP, our state, and nation.

The email said Lewis leadership at TAP best personifies the intent and vision of President Lyndon Johnson and Sargent Shriver when they launched the War on Poverty with an emphasis on local leaders addressing the causes and effects of poverty.

The efforts of Lewis, TAPs third leader, have helped lift hundreds of thousands of individuals out of poverty in Virginia said NCAF President and CEO David Bradley, adding, Someone of her skill, passion, dedication, and commitment comes along all too rarely in public service.

Lewis said she is surprised, humbled, and honored to be inducted into the hall of fame, adding, Any contribution that I have made on the local, state, or national level has been a direct result of the amazing community action leaders, colleagues, and families that I have had the pleasure of learning from and growing with over my 35-year journey at TAP.

The TAP board last month named longtime TAP executive Angela Penn to take over as president and CEO as of March 1.

Books donated to TAP preschool program

Hollins University recently donated 182 childrens books to Total Action for Progress Head Start preschool program in conjunction with its annual Hollins Day celebration.

The books represent the universitys founding and are some of the many submissions Hollins receives each year for its Margaret Wise Brown Prize in Childrens Literature, which recognizes the author of the best text for a picture book published during the previous year. The award honors a Hollins alumnae and beloved childrens author.

Hollins Day pays tribute to all who played a crucial role in the universitys institutional history, and this years event centered on giving back to the Roanoke community in gratitude for serving as the institutions home for nearly two centuries.

Hollins is dedicated to academic excellence, creativity, belonging, and preparing students for lives of purpose, said Hollins President Mary Dana Hinton. That is our mission, and that includes our service to our community. Hollins Day is about celebrating who we are at Hollins today and creating a vibrant pathway for the future.

As part of Hintons inauguration as Hollins 13th president in 2022, the university donated more than 250 books across the Roanoke community to engage and encourage the imagination and literacy of children in the area.

Seeking Scrabble competitors

Blue Ridge Literacy is seeking teams and sponsors for its 18th annual Scrabble tournament on April 13.

The event, with teams of three players competing against other teams, will be held at St. Johns Episcopal Church in downtown Roanoke.

In past years, BRL Scrabble tournaments have helped raise more than $10,000 to provide literacy services to hundreds of learners throughout the region. Founded in 1985 by two librarians, BRL supports achievement of life goals by providing tutor and classroom training to strengthen literacy skills to adults in the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, Alleghany and Craig and the cities of Roanoke and Salem.

The entry fee per Scrabble team is $120, and individuals wanting to be placed on a team can sign up for $40. For more information or to register to play, contact the BRL office at 540-265-9339.

Goodwill relocates Roanoke program offices

Goodwill Industries of the Valleys has relocated its Roanoke Program Offices from Melrose Avenue to 3601 Thirlane Road, Suite 5, in Roanoke.

The location is open Mondays through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. to provide program services such as Career Navigation, Discovery Services, Senior Community, Service Employment Program, Supported Employment Services, and YouthBuild.
Regulators have suspended the medical license of Salem physician Gregory Alan Alouf over what they said was a mishandled tummy tuck following multiple earlier violations of the standards of care.

The Virginia Board of Medicine said in a Feb. 15 order that it suspended Aloufs license and that a substantial danger to public health or safety warrants this action.

Zeroing in on a surgery he performed in his outpatient surgery center on Nov. 16, 2021, regulators accused Alouf of engaging in unprofessional conduct that either injured the patient or was likely to do so. The tummy tuck patient needed to go to the hospital for emergency surgery within hours of her procedure and stayed hospitalized for five days, according to the statement of allegations.

The operator of Alouf Aesthetics in Salem, Alouf was summoned to appear at a hearing scheduled for April 5 in Richmond to further address the matter. He has been licensed as a physician in Virginia since 2001.

It was not clear why 27 months elapsed between the surgery and the license suspension. Board officials were unavailable to discuss the case Thursday.

A person who answered the phone at Aloufs office said Thursday that he was out of the office. The office manager declined to comment and added that Alouf did not wish to comment as far as I know. The office manager declined to give her name.

On Nov. 16, 2021, during a high-risk surgery to improve the shape and appearance of the patients abdomen and remove fat, Alouf removed more than eight liters of material, an amount that exceeded the guidelines of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, according to the statement.

The patient went home with red fluid collecting in drainage bags, vomited upon eating, had trouble walking and became incoherent, at which point an ambulance was called. Rescuers found her with blue lips and low blood pressure, according to the statement.

The statement of allegations continued:

At the hospital, the patient received four units of blood and intravenous fluids and was assessed, leading to the discovery of a bruised abdominal wall. During emergency surgery in the evening, doctors removed clotted blood and tied up bleeding arterial perforations. The hospital released the patient after five days, having been diagnosed with hemorrhagic shock and acute blood loss anemia.

Among other issues, Alouf undertook the surgery without providing for continuity of care for Patient A post-surgery in the form of 15-24 hours of monitoring of vital signs and urine output in a facility with emergency capabilities, according to the statement.

In addition, Alouf lacked admitting privileges at a local hospital or a transfer agreement in case the patient needed hospital care, according to the statement said. His informed consent form failed to disclose those limitations, according to the statement.

Alouf would have a chance to respond to the allegations at the April hearing.

Board records show Alouf was reprimanded in 2011 and 2021 over issues with the quality and correctness of his care. In 2009, he was reprimanded over a finding that he diverted drugs for his personal use and an admission that he was addicted to narcotics.
Two people were hurt on Wednesday morning after a Max Meadows woman drove her car through the front of Wythevilles Dollar Tree, police said.

It was the second time in less than a year that the 360 Commonwealth Drive business had been damaged by a vehicle.

According to the Wytheville Police Department, 71-year-old Georgia Jane Ward said she was pulling into the handicap parking space at around 9:30 a.m. when she confused the accelerator pedal for the break pedal and lost control of her Ford Taurus.

Ward wasnt injured, but a customer was hurt by falling shelving and a clerk was pinned between two cash register islands, police said.

Both individuals were treated by EMS and taken to Wythe County Community Hospital.

No charges were filed, but police asked for a medical review of Wards driving privileges with the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Police did the same thing last summer when a 92-year-old woman crashed her car into the store. No one was hurt in that incident, but part of the stores damaged glass front was still covered with plywood at the time of Wednesdays crash.

In an online post this week, a Wytheville Dollar Tree employee said the store would be closed at least a week and maybe longer.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
At least 3 injured in shooting at Southern California dental office, suspect in custody

Police say they have taken a man into custody in connection with a shooting in Southern California that left at least three people injured
Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers, which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993, or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1@Gmail.com. Also, visit dennisbeaver.com.
Gregg Hart represents the California Assemblys 37th Assembly District, which includes Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Buellton, Solvang, Lompoc, Guadalupe, Santa Maria, Orcutt, and Nipomo. He currently serves as chair of the Assembly Joint Committee on Legislative Audit.
SINGAPORE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Singaporean government will provide more than 300 million Singapore dollars (223 million U.S. dollars) to intensify competition in the tourism sector, Alvin Tan, minister of state for trade and industry, told Parliament Friday.

The capital injection will support the local tourism industry in developing new intellectual properties, rejuvenating existing tourism offerings, and lifting the skills of tourism workers, Tan said during a debate on the budget this year.

He noted that the mutual 30-day visa exemptions between China and Singapore starting on Feb. 9 was good news for the tourism industry.

"We expect this to boost arrivals and spending across tourism-related sectors. The longer visa exemptions also made it more convenient for Singaporeans to visit China for leisure and business," Tan said.

Singapore received 13.6 million international visitor arrivals in 2023. The Singaporean government expects the number this year to reach 15 million to 16 million, bringing in 26 billion to 27.5 billion Singapore dollars in tourism revenue. 
The MUSC Florence Research Center, located at MUSC Health-Florence, is one of four community-based clinical research sites across the Southeast chosen to participate in the Equitable Breakthroughs in Medicine Development Initiative.

The initiative seeks to build a clinical trial network of community-based sites to attract more people of color to participate in clinical research. The selection of these sites is part of the coalitions plan to identify an initial 10 community-facing clinical trial sites in historically underrepresented communities of color across the country.

The effort is led by Yales School of Medicine, which has deep expertise in running clinical trials. Yales collaborators on the initiative include Vanderbilt University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the Research Centers in Minority Institutions Coordinating Center at the Morehouse School of Medicine, with grant funding from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The initiative seeks to bring together researchers, patients, communities and trial sponsors to co-design research studies that will engage people of color and then to make those trials accessible to them in their local communities.

We are very honored to be chosen as a site and to partner with EQBMED. We know that access is a huge barrier for our patients locally in terms of research, said Rami Zebian, M.D., chief medical officer at MUSC Health-Florence. Bringing additional clinical trials to the area and building on the efforts that we have spent in developing our research site locally will be a huge benefit to our patients. As a physician, and I can speak for my colleagues, we are very excited about the prospect of clinical trials here locally.

Historically, most clinical trials have been centralized in urban academic medical centers, with the expectation that participants would come to them. However, distance and transportation costs have barred many rural residents, especially those of color, from participation. To address that problem, the EQBMED program aims to restore these communities trust in science through outreach and community engagement activities. The program is intended to provide people of color easy access to clinical trials in their own communities and to adapt trial designs to better suit the needs and preferences of regional hospitals and the populations they serve.

Through the efforts of the South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR), MUSC Health had already begun building research capacity throughout its Regional Health Network. SCTR obtained funding from the Duke Endowment to build clinical trial infrastructure and train personnel at MUSC Health-Florence and other regional hospitals.

Several barriers to pursuing clinical research were identified. Physicians busy clinical schedules often hindered their ability to lead trials. The local community was not always aware that clinical trials were available nearby. The timely delivery of study medications to community-based sites presented a significant challenge. It soon became clear that more needed to be done to ensure the sustainability of clinical research at the regional sites, and SCTR reached out to the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium for ideas.

Thanks to these discussions, Tesheia Johnson, chief operations officer of Yales CTSA, the Center for Clinical Investigation, was aware of both SCTRs ambitions to expand the clinical research footprint in South Carolina and the challenges it faced. She informed SCTR leaders that opportunities existed with EQBMED and nominated the MUSC Florence Research Center as a site.

After applying in October and a virtual site visit by EQBMED leaders in late November, SCTR and Florence leaders were notified in January that they had been chosen as a site, and that Yale would be their hub partner. MUSC will work collaboratively with the Yale EQBMED hub site to expand clinical trial capacity at the MUSC Florence Research Center and to increase awareness of and access to those trials by the diverse community residing in the greater Florence area. The Yale hub will also create a sponsor front door, which will enable industry sponsors to learn more about the site and its capabilities and should help to attract more trials to Florence.

We have had early success in establishing a research footprint in Florence and other sites through support from the Duke Endowment, said SCTR co-director Patrick Flume, M.D. This new opportunity will help us grow the program further on a path to sustainability, bringing clinical research to the community.

The partnership with EQBMED brings to the table experts in this area who can help us to navigate some of the challenges that we have and can bring studies that will benefit the Florence region while being well-suited to community hospitals, said SCTR administrator and director of MUSCs Office of Clinical Research Royce Sampson.

For MUSC Health-Florence, the partnership between the MUSC Florence Research Center and EQBMED will mean that more of its patients and members of the surrounding community have access to cutting-edge therapies through industry-sponsored clinical trials. It will ensure that its physicians can refer their patients and engage in clinical research. It will lead to stronger ties between community hospitals and communities of color and the selection of trials focused on diseases of greatest concern to residents of the region.

For SCTR, it will mean that lessons learned about building sustainable clinical trial infrastructure at MUSC Health-Florence can be applied at other community hospitals in its Regional Health Network.

For EQBMED, this collaboration with MUSC Health-Florence and other selected sites located in racially diverse communities across the Southeast and eventually across the nation will yield more representative data to inform decisions regarding the approval of new drugs and therapies, thereby ensuring equitable access to clinical breakthroughs for all Americans.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Harry Arnette McFadden spoke to Trinity Collegiate School students during their morning break recently.

McFadden, a self-described Afro-Carolinian, has 22 years of experience as an educator. He has been employed with Florence One Schools, Florence School District Three, and now South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice.

An announcement from the school said:

He expresses an innate calling to create from an ancestral space within his DNA. A space that serves as an interactive outlet for the viewer. To him, art is not as much about what is on the canvas as it is about what caused it to be there. His point of view is southern, rural, Black, and male. His work has been described as provocative, energetic, intriguing, whimsical, and powerful.

His formal education was received in the public schools of Williamsburg County, where he is a 1986 graduate of Kingstree High School, Francis Marion College, 1990, and Lesley University, 2006, with a master of education in instruction and curriculum with a specialization in teaching through the arts.

He has presented at the Palmetto State Arts Education Conference.
SAVANNAKHET, LAOS - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 March 2024 - Following successful launches in Vientiane Capital and the tourist town of Vang Vieng, Xanh SM Laos has officially expanded its electric taxi service to Savannakhet Province. This marks not only Xanh SM's next step in brand development but also the company's continued commitment to promoting electric vehicles and environmental protection in the "Land of a Million Elephants."





The first Xanh SM taxis arrive in Savannakhet province (Laos).



Starting March 1, 2024, both residents and tourists in Savannakhet province can utilize our 100% electric vehicles and 5-star service standards. These standards include premium vehicle quality and a dedicated team of professional drivers. Booking is easy through the Xanh SM Laos application, by calling our hotline at 021 988 888, or by hailing a car directly on the street. For clarity and convenience, every trip's route and fare information will be transparent.



To celebrate this event, Xanh SM Laos will launch exclusive promotional programs dedicated to Savannakhet. Specifically, from March 1st to March 10th, customers who download the Xanh SM Laos app and book a car will receive two 100% discount codes (up to 50,000 kip) each day. In addition, on the occasion of the opening of the Laos Tourism Year in Savannakhet, Xanh SM Laos will continue to offer 100 fifty-percent discount codes (up to 50,000 kip) each day for customers (up to 3 trips/day) from March 11th to March 17th.



Initially, Xanh SM Laos will deploy a fleet of 100 VinFast VF 5 Plus cars, painted in the brand's signature cyan color, operating in Savannakhet province.





Starting from March 1st, locals and tourists in Savannakhet can use the Xanh SM electric taxi transportation service.



Choosing Savannakhet to expand the service is part of Xanh SM Laos' plan to develop electric taxi services in Laos, while contributing to popularizing green mobility solutions to the local population and international tourists. In the future, Xanh SM Laos will continue to extend the "green journey" to other provinces and cities such as Luang Prabang, Champasak...



In addition, the expansion of Xanh SM Laos' services in Savannakhet will also contribute to creating hundreds of jobs for locals with comprehensive training programs, stable incomes, and comprehensive welfare policies.



Thanks to the outstanding advantages of VinFast electric vehicles, which are zero-emission and noise-free, Xanh SM Laos has made a strong first impression on the Lao people after its launch in Vientiane on November 9, 2023. The Xanh SM Laos app attracted over 200,000 downloads within the first month, and quickly rose to the top of the "Free Apps" and "Travel Apps" categories on the App Store and Google Play.



The success of Xanh SM Taxi in Vientiane and Vang Vieng is a positive step for the company to continue expanding its services to Savannakhet as well as many other provinces and cities in the upcoming phase.



Customers can find out more information about Xanh SM electric taxi in Laos at the website: https://www.xanhsm.com/laos/ or download the Xanh SM Laos app via the following links:



ADVERTISEMENT

Customers who book a Xanh SM taxi for the first time will receive 2 additional 50% discount codes (maximum 50,000 kip) valid for 7 days from the time of installing and registering an account on the Xanh SM Laos app.

Hashtag: #Vinfast





https://www.xanhsm.com/laos/

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
One of the Sentosa Sky Lantern festival's organisers, Shiermie Bautista from Asian Couture and Boutique, confirmed on 27 Feb that ticket sales for the event were non-refundable. (PHOTO:Facebook/shiermie.bautista)

SINGAPORE  Clearance has not yet been granted for the rescheduled Singapore Sky Lantern Festival following the cancellation of the event's candle light-up at the last minute, despite the organisers saying tickets would not be refunded but could be used for the later event.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Thursday (29 Feb) that the event organiser, Asian Couture and Boutique, informed them about the decision to reschedule the event but did not provide details regarding the new date or venue.

"As SCDF is still following up with the EO on the details and the implementation of the fire safety guidelines, we have not given any clearance for the rescheduled event," the SCDF said.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said that while it is aware of the organiser's intention to reschedule the event, it has not received any further details.

"As of 28 February 2024, they have not shared any details such as date, venue and how they plan to conduct the event," CAAS director (Airspace Policy) Jean Yee told Yahoo Southeast Asia.

No refunds, tickets remain valid for rescheduled event

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Shiermie Bautista from Asian Couture and Boutique said that the rescheduled event would likely take place around the first week of April.

She also mentioned that no refunds would be issued to attendees of the 21 February event, and their tickets would remain valid for the rescheduled event.

The festival, held at Palawan Green, charged $50 per person excluding booking fees and advertised a picturesque lantern light-up with burning candles.

However, attendees were disappointed to find out upon arrival that the plans had changed due to "unforeseen circumstances."

Instead of the promised lanterns with burning candles, LED candles were provided, and attendees were given pens to write their wishes on the lanterns before tying them to barricades.

This unexpected change led to backlash on social media, with some attendees demanding refunds.

Story continues

15 consumer complaints surface; SDC expresses disappointment over refund decision

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) informed Yahoo Southeast Asia on Thursday that it had received 15 consumer complaints against the event organiser. The complaints cited the lack of communication regarding the cancellation of the sky lantern release, which was marketed as the event's highlight.

CASE president Melvin Yong said, "Affected consumers are seeking refund from the event organiser. CASE is engaging Asian Couture and Boutique to seek full refund for affected consumers," he added.

The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) told Yahoo Southeast Asia that it was "disappointed to hear that, contrary to their earlier stance, the event organiser has now decided not to provide refunds".

"As this is a third-party event, the event organiser makes the final decision to issue refunds or to reschedule," the SDC spokesperson added. SDC also mentioned that the organiser had approached them regarding interest in hosting a similar event.

"We reiterated to them on the need to apply for all necessary licences/permits and abide by all requirements from the authorities before engaging us on (a) possible venue," said the SDC spokesperson.

For events hosted in Sentosa, the SDC advises organisers on the regulatory processes of various agencies and the requirements that must be met. Organisers are required to provide proof of these approvals before the event can proceed.

The spokesperson also highlighted the need for event organisers to factor in the lead time required for license and permit applications and approvals, considering the unique complexities associated with each event.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
Sri Lanka on Thursday announced it would stop issuing free long-term visas to Russian and Ukrainian nationals who have been on the island for the past two years to escape Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

The Russian and Ukrainian nationals willing to extend their stay in the Indian Ocean island nation would have to pay $50 (39) for a 30-day visa, public security minister Tiran Alles said.

"Whoever wants to stay back can apply for new visas," the minister told Reuters, adding: "They can immediately renew their visas and remain here."

The announcement comes after the immigration controller issued a notice to the tourism ministry last week asking Russian and Ukrainian nationals staying on free extended tourist visas to depart within 7 March. The notice triggered a fury on social media, prompting a response from the president's office denying its approval.

Just over 288,000 Russians and nearly 20,000 Ukrainians have traveled to Sri Lanka in the last two years since the war began, according to official data.

However, about 300 to 400 Russians and Ukrainians were estimated to have been staying in the island since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, said chair Priantha Fernando of the island's tourism body.

The new long-stay visa rules announced on Thursday would not apply to "normal tourists" visiting the country, Mr Fernando clarified. "We are more than welcoming them ... there is no issue," he added.

New Russian tourists will be eligible for free visas under a separate promotion scheme, which was adopted last November, under which tourists would be issued free visas till 31 March.

Sri Lankan authorities have also shared concerns over foreign nationals setting up their own restaurants and nightclubs, with some hosting "white-only" parties.

Tourism minister Harin Fernando told Daily Mirror that the ministry has been receiving complaints of some Russian tourists running unregistered and illegal businesses in the southern part of the country.

Story continues

A Russian business owner in Sri Lanka this week apologised after a white-only" party triggered a backlash on the second anniversary of Russia's Ukraine invasion.

"We apologise! The party planned for Saturday will not take place. We have urgently cancelled this event. Also, we have severed ties with the organisers who planned this party at our venue," said Sarayka Lounge, the Russian restaurant bar at the centre of the controversy.

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russians have been one of the largest groups of tourists visiting Sri Lanka. From 2021 to 2023, Russians have been the second largest source market for Sri Lanka tourism.

The island has received about 400,000 tourists in 2024 and aims to welcome about 2.2 million tourists by December in its efforts to recover from the worst financial crisis in decades.
The moment you step through the front door, you realize you have entered an exceptional gem of architecture. Designed in 1927 by an international Swedish architect, the rich details welcome all who enter. It takes a moment to soak in the double mahogany staircases, original crystal lighting and exquisite mosaic Italian floor tile. The living room with beamed ceilings is set off by the focal point fireplace with flanking Inglenooks. Peaceful, southern light floods the room. Across from the center hall, sits the large formal dining room with coved ceilings. The charming breakfast room offers more intimate dining. The original kitchen footprint has been enlarged and is currently a clean slate for you to design your gourmet kitchen. A passageway from the kitchen accesses the three~stall garage and proposed Southern Terrace. Ascending one of the double staircases on the second floor is the light filled family room. Designed to offer space for social gatherings, this original feature of the house has 6~foot~tall windows on three sides and access to the exterior Western Terrace. Also on the second floor is the large primary bedroom as well as two large bedrooms. A proposed primary bathroom on the front of the house will make for a beautifully designed ensuite. The deep basement features an original game room, two new egress windows, a proposed fourth bedroom, full bathroom, and laundry room. You will find endless opportunities for customization of this space!! Considerable structural and mechanical updates have been added within the past year including a 400~amp electrical service, new HVAC system, plumbing upgrades and a new Ludowici clay tile roof. Located in one of Sioux Citys premier Historic neighborhoods, the sweeping Prairie style design offers eight large original outdoor planters on the terraces to bring the feel of the outside inside. Offered to the public for the first time in years, here is your chance to make this significant piece of Prairie design yours!!!
Mark Eckstrom likes to joke that he came out of the womb knowing where to place an ottoman.

His mother, Dorothy Eckstrom, was an interior designer. His life took a different path, through magazine publishing in New York to marketing and sales development for a Fortune 100 food company in Omaha.

Like many, though, the COVID-19 pandemic changed that trajectory. He and partner Mikal Eckstrom now run a design firm called Studio Eckstrom.

I think we all began to assess our larger selves and what makes us truly happy, Mark Eckstrom said. And for me, it was decorating.

One of their projects has been to re-imagine the interior of their Regency townhome.

The transformation happened organically, with the design changing to reflect how they were living in the house. The art, furniture and objects, often collected on their varied travels, worked together to tell a unique story.

Every day we get to pinch ourselves that we created a magical environment for ourselves, our doggies and our family and friends, Eckstrom said. We love that our home inspires entertaining. The rooms are structured 'salon style' to encourage multiple conversation groupings. Even our dressing room draws a crowd. Its not uncommon during a party to find a group of people gathered around the island in our closet.

There were plenty of rabbit holes and false starts, too. Their home became a decorating laboratory, Eckstrom said, and ultimately a success.

In what they call a dream come true, their townhome was recently featured in an Architectural Digest web-exclusive home tour. Around the same time, they learned they had been selected as AD PRO interior designers, a list of editor-approved designers.

So professionally, it has established our career, Eckstrom said. AD has put us on the radar for many residential and commercial jobs.

McKendree visited Omaha last summer and spent two days photographing their home, finishing with 20 photos the Eckstroms planned to use on their website and to promote their work.

McKendree said the Eckstroms have a unique and varied collection of pieces that have blended together to create a beautiful and comfortable home.

That they are doing this type of work far away from the design world of New York or LA really speaks volumes to their talent and passion, he said.

The Eckstroms were blown away by the proofs and ten Have helped connect them to Architectural Digest. She said they are daring, original designers with a strong sense of color and a compelling point of view.

The magazine receives thousands of submissions from interior designers from around the world, and the Eckstroms didnt want to get their hopes too high.

Then they got the call saying that AD was assigning a writer, John Wogan.

We were literally screaming for joy, Mark Eckstrom said.

Since the article, their professional pipeline through Studio Eckstrom has continued to grow.

Hiring an interior designer, they say, is no different than any other professional whether it be a doctor, lawyer or accountant.

Youre paying for creativity, education, ability and talent, Eckstrom said. Part of their expertise is interpreting client stories and creating spaces that reflect those varied lives.

World-class interior design not only takes expertise and elevated creativity and taste; it also requires a bit of chameleon-like cosplaying and ESP, Eckstrom said. Were constantly putting ourselves inside someone elses head and home.

Eckstroms love everything about their house 'experiment'
LOS ANGELES  Security comes with an Oscar nomination.

Or so Bobi Wine and his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi discovered when Bobi Wine: The Peoples President was nominated for Best Documentary in this years Academy Awards race.

As a result of the attention, we have a bit of protection, Kyagulanyi says. There is some shame to the government because they know the world is watching.

A former member of the Ugandan Parliament and a superstar musician, Wine ran against the dictatorial regime in the 2021 presidential election. He had a groundswell of support but the party in power repeatedly arrested him during the campaign. On Jan. 16, the electoral commission announced that Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the incumbent, had won with more than 58 percent of the vote. Wine refused to accept the results and said the election was the most fraudulent in Ugandas history.

The Ugandan dictatorship has been in power for 38 years, says Moses Bwayo, director of the documentary. Before that, there was about 24 years of coups. Uganda has never had a smooth transition to power. It has never had a democratic system in place. The people of Uganda, led by Bobi Wine, continue to fight for this and the repression continues back in Uganda. This is a current story. It has not stopped.

Bobi Wine Bobi visiting the ghetto.

Music, Wine says, introduced him to the nation. That endeared me to the people, he adds. Initially, my music was about the girls and the party and the beer. At the height of my success, I had a situation where I was attacked and beaten by security. I was not safe and thats when my music changed to address the social issues and injustices.

That prompted others to view him as a spokesperson for the underprivileged. When I ran for office, I was already popular  not a popular artist, but a popular public spokesperson. The regime back home (thought) it was just the music. They banned my music and paid other popular artists to come and contradict the message that I give, but it did not work.

Unofficially, Wines music has been banned in Uganda; the venue he bought has been blocked. So many people are in prison for being found playing my music publicly because its seen as dangerous to the minds of society.

Still, Wine continues to record and uses social media to spread the word. I perform, only not in Uganda.

To chronicle his political journey, Bwayo spent six years following him.

He was enemy No. 1 of the state, and it was very dangerous covering this story, Bwayo says. I was shot in the face at close range. I was arrested, locked up in prison, interrogated. Just before we released the film, my wife and I had to flee the country. We live here and were seeking political asylum.

Bobi Wine Bobi at a rally in his red beret.

Before word spread about the documentary, the participants had to worry about abduction.

These days, Kyagulanyi says, They wait for the dark. They make sure there is no camera record around. They use more tactics.

The Wines have been allowed to leave the country, even when they know we are coming (to the United States) to cause more damage, Kyagulanyi says. I know theyre waiting for when the lights and cameras stop so they can resume the shameless and more intense crackdown on us.

A week before the Oscar nominations, the couple were under house arrest. On the very day at the film came out, the military withdrew from our home, Wine says. Museveni invited a director to make a documentary about the beauty of Uganda. Theyre not sharing (information) about the schools and hospitals but there has been more safety for us and more effort to cleanse the image. It is thanks to this film that the mask was pulled off.

Wine laughs at the idea he and his wife are campaigning for the Oscar.

For us, its a campaign for life, he says. For us, this is a lifeline. Every opportunity we get to show the situation in Uganda, we are extending our lease on life. The more Americans see this film, the more Europeans see this film, the more attention will be drawn to our home. Our greatest achievement is to make sure that we achieve conditions put on the $1 billion U.S. dollars that are given to General Museveni by the U.S. every year. If the U.S. doesnt facilitate General Musevenis rule anymore, it will be the end of the story for him.

Bobi Wine: The Peoples President is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. The Academy Awards air March 10 on ABC.

Bobi Wine A worried Bobi Wine is seen in "Bobi Win: The People's President," an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary.
Cabrera-Escobar is accused of setting a bible on fire in his locked bedroom in the upstairs apartment of an apartment house in the 1300 block of Jones Street in the early morning hours of Feb. 13. According to court documents, Cabrera-Escobar set the bible on the floor, igniting the carpet and filling the room and the rest of the apartment with smoke. Cabrera-Escobar's brother broke into the room and extinguished the fire. Three others were in the apartment at the time, and the first-floor apartment also was occupied.
SAC CITY, Iowa  The reward fund for a missing Wall Lake, Iowa, trucker now exceeds $28,000.

Sac County Crime Stoppers, which manages funds used for law enforcement investigations in the Northwest Iowa county, announced in a Facebook post Friday that the reward fund for 53-year-old David Schultz has increased to $28,400 due to donations through the Iowa State Bank account and Venmo.

The Facebook post also included a missing person's flyer for Schultz in Spanish.

David Schultz shown with his twin boys David Schultz is shown with his twin boys Joseph, left, and Isaack by his Peterbilt semi. His wife Sarah's name is painted on the passenger door.

In January, the Sac County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to use $25,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds for the reward.

Schultz, a married father of 10-year-old twin boys, vanished before Thanksgiving. He was last heard from in the early morning hours of Nov. 21, according to the Lake View Police Department.

Schultz's red Peterbilt semi with white stripes was found the afternoon of Nov. 21 parked in the middle of the northbound lane of County Road N-14, not far from where it intersects with D-15 in northeastern Sac County. The trailer he rents was loaded with pigs, but Schultz was nowhere to be found on that stretch of paved roadway, which is flanked by cornfields.

Anyone with information concerning Schultz's disappearance is asked to call the Sac County Communications Center at 712-662-7127 or email tips@saccountyiowa.gov.
NAIROBI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Friday signed an agreement with Haiti to deploy 1,000 police officers to a multi-national security support mission, aimed at combating gang violence in the Latin American country.

The signing ceremony, held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, was attended by Kenyan President William Ruto and visiting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

"From Kenya, we are ready for this deployment, and I urge all our global partners to join us in providing a timely response," Ruto said, noting that a court petition had been filed, resulting in a ruling that highlighted the need for a reciprocal instrument between the two countries to enable the deployment.

Sources indicate that the police team could depart for Haiti as early as next week following a ceremony to be presided over by Ruto. Henry assured that his government would offer full support to the Kenyan contingent to ensure the success of the mission.

The multi-national security support mission in Haiti was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 2, 2023, under Resolution 2699, in response to widespread gang violence that has left much of the country lawless and ungovernable.

A Kenyan court, however, recently ruled the proposed deployment unconstitutional. Despite this, officials from the two countries have been working on a deal to expedite the arrival of forces in Haiti.

For years, Haitians have endured gang violence exacerbated by political turmoil, which has weakened state capacity, undermined security and hindered the delivery of essential services.

Armed clashes erupted in Haiti Thursday, coinciding with Henry's visit to Kenya, as a gang attacked the country's main international airport, police stations, and government agencies, disrupting normal operations.

The attacks occurred shortly after Henry met with Caribbean leaders in Guyana, where he reportedly pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. 
HINTON, Iowa  A man was arrested on multiple charges Tuesday, after he allegedly fired a rifle during a disturbance at his rural Hinton home.

The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Thomas B. Wendt, 40, was booked into the Plymouth County Jail on charges of felon in possession of a firearm, a class D felony, and misdemeanor charges of domestic abuse assault -- first offense, simple assault, and reckless use of a firearm.

In 2013, Wendt pleaded guilty in Woodbury County District Court to operating a vehicle while intoxicated -- third offense, a class D felony.

"This conviction would prohibit him from possessing firearms or ammunition in the state of Iowa," a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in Plymouth County District Court said.

According to the complaint, at 9:12 p.m. Tuesday, Plymouth County dispatchers received a report of a disturbance, during which a gun had been fired, at a residence in the 29000 block of Juniper Ave.

The Plymouth County Sheriff's Office, Hinton Police Department, Le Mars Police Department and Iowa State Patrol all responded to the scene.

An investigation revealed that Wendt became upset with family members, took a .22 caliber rifle into a bedroom and fired it, causing damage to the ceiling, according to the complaint.

Wendt's teenage son took possession of the firearm and unloaded it. As Wendt, who was intoxicated, tried to leave the residence, the teen tried to stop him, according to the complaint. That's when the complaint said Wendt punched the teen in the face approximately eight times. Wendt's wife tried to stop the altercation and was "pushed to the ground by the defendant," according to the complaint.

Ultimately, Wendt was placed under arrest and taken to the Plymouth County Jail.
SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for a July shooting in which one man was killed and another wounded.

Michael Lundgren Jr., 42, pleaded guilty Thursday in Woodbury County District Court to charges of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, assault causing serious injury, reckless use of a firearm and felon in possession of a firearm.

As part of a plea agreement, charges of attempted murder, going armed with intent and willful injury were dismissed.

Lundgren admitted to shooting Mark Epstein in the chest and stomach during a July 30 disturbance at 2013 Metropolitan St.

Lundgren had entered Epstein's home with Daniel Winge and was upset because his girlfriend was there. Lundgren pulled a gun on Epstein, who then retrieved a gun from his bedroom. The two began shooting as they argued. Lundgren's girlfriend told police she did not know who fired first and fled when the shooting started. After it stopped, the woman saw Epstein leaving the house while calling 911, Winge lying in the front yard and Lundgren lying in a doorway. Lundgren's girlfriend took him to the hospital.

Winge, 42, of Springfield, South Dakota, was pronounced dead at the scene, and Epstein was taken to an Omaha hospital. Police said he will have to live in a long-term care facility because of the severity of his injuries. Lundgren was ordered to pay restitution to him in an amount to be determined.

Lundgren also was charged with second-offense possession of a controlled substance after officers found methamphetamine in his pocket after his Jan. 5 arrest and faced another drug possession charge in a previous case. He pleaded guilty to both charges on Feb. 21 and was sentenced to 55 days in jail. He was given credit for time already served while awaiting trial.
SIOUX CITY  The Sioux City Community School District signed a resolution in support of Area Education Agencies Thursday.

The resolution, approved during a special meeting Thursday, encouraged the Iowa Legislature to "engage in open conversations and collaboration involving stakeholders familiar with AEAs' work about ways that the AEAs can adapt and improve their structure, services and costs."

It states the school district has "extensively" utilized the AEA and may continue to do so under the proposed bill.

"In the end, it shows that this board supports the services that the AEA provides," Board President Jan George said. "As the House and Senate files make their way through the legislative process, I would encourage all stakeholders to reach out to your elected representatives and to express your opinion."

The board also asked legislation to recognize that districts should contribute to AEA media, educational services and professional development "at amounts commensurate with the level of services consumed."

The district's expenditure to the Northwest AEA is budgeted at $7.8 million for the fiscal year that ends June 30, according to analysis done by board member Dan Greenwell based on information compiled by the district.

The district's fiscal 2024 AEA expenses include $5.6 million for special education, $$1 million for media services and $1.2 million for educational services, for a total of $7.8 million.

To move it in-house, the district would incur costs estimated at $3.8 million for special education services, $575,000 for media services and $295,000 for educational services, resulting in annual savings of $3 million. District staff emphasized the estimates presented were hypothetical.

The move came the same day a proposal by Iowa House Republicans to reorganize the funding and oversight of Iowas area education agencies was passed out of the chamber. House Republicans proposed the bill after they blocked a more expansive and dramatic proposal from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, that would have allowed school districts to spend their special education dollars outside the AEAs. The House bill, House File 2612, would keep Iowas AEAs as the sole provider of special education support in the state. State funding for special education services would go to the school districts, and they would be required to use that funding with the AEAs.

Reynolds has also asked the Iowa Legislature to increase starting teacher pay to $50,000, and to set a minimum salary of $62,000 for teachers with at least 12 years of experience. The current minimum starting teacher pay in Iowa is $33,500.

The resolution by the Sioux City Community School urged the Iowa Legislature to address the proposed teacher pay increase in a separate discussion, instead of being attached to the AEA bill.

"Address teacher pay in legislation separate from discussion of the AEAs, focused specifically on financially sustainable solutions for ensuring high-quality, Iowa teachers are fairly compensated for their commitment to educational excellence in our state," according to the resolution.

The Journal Des Moines Bureau's Caleb McCullough contributed to this story.
DES MOINES  A bill Republicans say will strengthen protections for religious expressions in Iowa that Democrats contend would give legal cover to discriminate against LGTBQ Iowans and others is headed to Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds desk.

Iowa House Republicans on Thursday voted 61-33 to approve Senate File 2095, referred to by supporters as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bill now heads to the governor for her expected signature.

Twenty-three states around the country, with both Republican and Democrat governors, have passed similar laws. Now, its Iowas turn, Reynolds said in a statement.

Under the bill, state and local government shall not "substantially burden" someone's exercise of religion unless it is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and must be narrowly tailored in the least restrictive means of pursuing that interest.

A person, corporation, church, foundation or other entity whose exercise of religion has been burdened would have the power to go to court to seek damages, injunctive relief or other means of redressing the harm against them.

The bill defines exercise of religion as action "substantially motivated by one's sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

Two dozen states have passed similar laws

Supporters say the bill is needed because, in their view, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have eroded religious freedom protections that were passed into federal law in 1993 by a Democrat-majority Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

"People of faith and our places of worship are facing more and more government intrusion into their rights to worship consistent with their beliefs, said Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, lead sponsor of a companion bill in the House.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the religious liberty of every American, every Iowan, regardless of their religion or lifestyle, Holt said. It is not a sword, or a shield. It is good policy for everyone that guarantees that everyone gets a fair day in court when the government intrudes in one of our most sacred freedoms.

The federal law applies only to the federal government, but at least two dozen states have passed state-level versions of the legislation.

The Iowa House debated the proposed legislation for two hours before approving on party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

Democrats: States with similar laws report LGBTQ, housing discrimination

Democrats warned that such a law would lead to state-sanctioned discrimination, using religious freedom as a defense.

Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, a Presbyterian pastor, introduced an amendment that would have inserted into the bill protections against discrimination as prescribed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

The amendment aims to restore the original purpose of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act while preventing its misuse to erode civil rights and sidestep non-discrimination laws, James said.

The proposed amendment was defeated along party lines.

We have seen some good applications of RFRA throughout the years, James said.   Unfortunately, many of these state-level RFRA have expanded and misapplied original intent to RFRA to allow the religious belief of one to violate the civil liberties of another.  Without this amendment, we will be voting on a bill that legalizes discrimination, and that weaponizes religious beliefs to justify discrimination.

House Democrats cited instances of LGBTQ+ discrimination and examples of employment discrimination and denial of reproductive health care in states that have passed similar laws.

Although the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was originally intended to protect religious liberty, it has been misused to cause harm, to discriminate and to deny people health care, said Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City. Its been exploited to allow employers to ignore laws that protect workers and denying people access to, for example, HIV prevention medication

These bad faith interpretations which push the law far beyond its original intended purpose most often cause harm to queer people.

Others said the bill would undermine inclusivity, and harm Iowa's economy, making it harder for Iowa businesses to recruit workers from out of state and retain current residents.

Some business groups oppose the bill; religious groups support it

Several business groups and chambers of commerce were registered opposed to the bill, including Krause Group, the Technology Association of Iowa, Principal Financial Group and the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

Holt, the bills floor manager, called the arguments against the bill hyperbolic and misinformed.

Holt said the bill protects religious freedom in a narrow way and requires a balancing test by courts when evaluating restrictions on religious freedom.

"A compelling government interest narrowly tailored would not produce these nightmare scenarios that weve heard tonight, he said. Its a balancing test  as it should be for one of our most fundamental rights in the Constitution of the United States.

Versions of Iowa Republicans religious freedom bill have been introduced annually since at least 2018. This is the first time the bill has passed the Iowa Legislature.

Christian conservative and religious groups registered in support of the bill include The Family Leader, Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, Iowa Catholic Conference and Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church.

Not all religious groups in the state support the bill, though.

Religious freedom is one of our countrys most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is already protected under the Iowa and U.S. constitutions, Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said in a statement.

There is no rationale for legislation that misuses religious freedom as a means to justify discrimination against others, Ryan said. No person should be allowed to use their faith to impose their beliefs on another person, or to take away their rights.

Rural people don't practice religion more than their urban counterparts, survey shows Rural people don't practice religion more than their urban counterparts, survey shows Profession of a faith tradition does not directly equate to religious service attendance 1. Partisanship 2. Economics Lower income rural people attend services more often than urban people. But higher income urban people attend more often than rural people. 3. Race The percentage of non-white people who never attend is higher than the rate of Black never-attenders, but not as high as the white never-attenders 4. Age 5. Education Having a graduate degree increases religious attendance among rural respondents by 6 more percentage points above those who have a bachelor's degree
A bill that aims to make it easier for people to obtain occupational licenses became one of the first bills to pass the Nebraska Legislature in 2024.

Lawmakers voted 42-1 to pass the bill (LB16) Thursday and send it to Gov. Jim Pillen. There was no discussion in its final round of floor debate, but the bill has received widespread support from state senators in previous rounds.

LB16 was originally introduced last year by former Sen. Tom Briese, who has since resigned from the Legislature to take up the post of state treasurer. Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, who was a co-sponsor of the bill last year, took ownership of the bill and made it her priority bill for this session.

The bill includes multiple proposals to ease regulations on obtaining individual work licenses in Nebraska in an attempt to help the states ongoing labor shortage.

This is about removing needless red tape, Conrad said in an earlier floor debate.

Among other things, LB16 would make it easier for the states licensing boards to issue licenses to people with licenses or experience in other states. It also clarifies which criminal offenses would exclude someone from getting a license.

The bill says licensing boards can still deny licenses to people with criminal records if the crime directly conflicts with the work they are seeking, or if they could pose a threat to public safety.

Prior to the session, lawmakers pinned workforce development as one of the top priorities for the year. LB16 has been seen as one way to help address statewide labor shortages.

Multiple supporters of LB16 spoke on the bills provisions that would help released prisoners obtain licenses, agreeing with Conrads argument that helping former prisoners find steady jobs could reduce recidivism.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2024
Local jurisdictions in Nebraska would be able to distribute hypodermic needles to drug users to reduce the spread of infectious diseases under a bill approved Thursday, but Gov. Jim Pillen is expected to veto it.

Lawmakers voted 30-7 for the bill (LB307). Its introducer, Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, said Pillen has told her he intends to veto the legislation, and she is working to retain the 30 votes necessary to override a veto.

LB307 would let public health programs set up needle distribution programs, with approval from cities or other jurisdictions. If it becomes law, Nebraska would be one of the last states to legalize such programs.

Often referred to as Syringe Service Programs (SSPs), the programs are a way to encourage treatment of drug addiction and reduce the spread of infectious diseases like HIV. Programs also may offer a range of other services, such as on-site vaccinations and referrals to various other treatments.

"When a person steps into an SSP, they build trusting, nonjudgmental relationships with clinic providers, staff  often many of these staffers, including providers, are people who have experienced addiction themselves," Hunt said during a previous debate. "And they get the care they need where they can get to a better place."

Nebraska's HIV infection rate is rising even as the nationwide rate is falling, Hunt said, with a 26% increase in infections recorded in 2021. She said Nebraska also logged 229 deaths linked to fentanyl use in 2022.

Hunt said needle distribution programs can reduce the spread of used needles and the risk of first responders receiving needle-stick injuries. Addicts who access the programs are more likely to seek drug treatment, she said.

LB307 drew widespread support from lawmakers during earlier debates. Some said they were initially hesitant but were swayed by several factors, including a letter of support from Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hansen and the fact that local governments would make the call on establishing an SSP.

"I see this as dealing with reality," said Speaker of the Legislature John Arch. "We have an issue, and while we would all like to see drug abuse completely go away, I don't think this increases the issue. I don't think this encourages drug use, and I think that it actually helps with the spread of communicable disease."

Pillen's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hunt said she had expected more support for LB307 in Thursday's vote, but expressed confidence that the bill would succeed on a veto override. Several lawmakers who supported LB307 during previous rounds of debate were absent Thursday.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2024
A bill to regulate the use of traffic cameras in Iowa is again making its way through the statehouse, as lawmakers struggle to agree on how much to regulate the systems in use in several Iowa communities.

Police chiefs from across Iowa were at the Capitol on Thursday to show their support for the measure, even as they have opposed a separate bill in the Senate to ban the use of traffic cameras entirely. Revenues from speeding tickets issued by cameras often go to fund police departments.

Senate File 489 would require cities and counties to apply for approval from the state Department of Transportation to install traffic cameras to monitor speed limit and red light violations. The bill, which passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee last year, passed out of a Senate tax policy subcommittee on Thursday.

Iowa's majority Republicans have long debated measures to rein in the use of traffic cameras, which many see as an unfair revenue generating scheme for cities without improving public safety. A separate Senate bill, which has moved out of the Judiciary Committee, would ban the use of traffic cameras entirely. That measure is paired with stricter prohibitions on the use of a cell phone while driving.

The bill discussed Thursday was the one favored by law enforcement officials, who said traffic enforcement cameras have a legitimate use and can significantly improve public safety while freeing up officers to respond to calls for service.

Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel told lawmakers that he is not opposed to regulation of traffic cameras, but they are effective in changing drivers behavior and an important piece of a communitys public safety strategy.

We ask a lot of a police officer each and every day, he said. Traffic is one of those pieces. So having the ability to embrace that technology, having the ability to put those in the hands of the officers, when used right in a public safety interest are very impactful for the holistic safety of our community.

Cedar Rapids Police Chief David Dostal said that there was around a 47% chance that an accident would result in an injury before the city installed traffic cameras along Interstate 380, and that number has fallen to around 27% since putting up the cameras.

Under the bill, local governments that apply for a traffic camera permit would need to show the record of traffic violations and collisions at a location where they want to install a camera. The application would need to include a list of alternative enforcement measures the city or county has taken or considered, and an explanation of the need at that location.

Cameras approved by the state could only be used to cite a driver for speeding or not stopping at a red light or railroad crossing. The cameras could not be used to monitor license plate numbers when investigating non-traffic crimes.

Cameras could only be put up in neighborhoods, school zones, construction zones, or areas where alternative traffic enforcement is difficult or dangerous. Speeding tickets issued by the cameras could range from $75 for 10 miles per hour over the speed limit to $500 to 30 miles per hour over. The fines would be higher in a construction zone.

Cities and counties with a population under 20,000 could be approved for a camera, but they could only to use them to issue warnings, not citations.

Some lawmakers favor regulation over ban

Sen. Mike Klimesh of Spillville, the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee who proposed the regulation bill, said it responds to concerns that some traffic cameras are being used solely to drive revenue for a city, while still allowing them to be used when they improve public safety.

If we regulate, it removes the bad actors in the space and ensures that the ones that are up are actually providing legitimate public safety to those communities that need it, he said.

The full traffic camera ban was proposed and championed by Sen. Brad Zaun, a Republican from Urbandale. The bill, which also includes a ban on phone use while driving, had enough support to pass committees in the Senate and House, but its unclear whether there is support to pass it in either full chamber.

Rep. Brian Best, R-Glidden, the chair of the House Transportation Committee, said he does not believe there are enough votes to pass that measure through the House. He said he wants to move forward with a bill similar to what Klimesh proposed rather than an outright ban.

We've got to get something done. We can't do nothing, he said. Because doing nothing just means that were going to have more and more and more pop up in places where they're not necessary. And then we're just using them as a taxation tool, and we got to get away from that.
The eviction notice came as a shock to Crystal Hoss. The single mother of four was only $250 behind on rent and thought she had more time to catch up.

Hoss had been excited to restart her life in Omahas public housing when she moved from her native western Illinois into a Southside Terrace row house in 2022.

A year after she settled in, the eviction sent Hoss and her children back to Illinois in a U-Haul truck stuffed with all the belongings they could fit.

The abrupt return to Illinois was disruptive for the family. But Hoss didnt feel the full effect of her eviction until eight months later when a phone alert informed her that a new debt in collections had dropped her credit score.

Her debt to the Omaha Housing Authority had ballooned to $1,372 by the time it appeared on her credit report.

Hoss worries the hit to her credit could hurt her chances of finding housing in the future.

It ruined a lot of stuff in my life, Hoss said.

Between 2019 and 2023, OHA referred at least 284 former tenants debts to Credit Bureau Services, a Fremont-based collection firm that often pursues lawsuits against debtors. OHA received up to 60% of any cash recovered by the company.

Omahas public housing agency is doing this, as are a couple others in Nebraska, even as subsidized housing providers elsewhere in the Midwest have moved away from the practice.

Advocates contend that turning evicted public housing tenants over to debt collectors pushes extremely poor renters further into the cycle of poverty. Debts in collections could follow an ex-tenant for years and hamper their ability to find housing and financial stability, they said.

OHA recently switched to a new debt collector, Omaha-based Clear Recovery, that will not report ex-tenants debts to credit bureaus, said OHA CEO Joanie Poore.

While OHA is expected to collect on debts owed, we do not wish to adversely affect the credit of tenants while doing so, Poore said.

OHA didnt always send former tenants to a collection agency. The practice arose after a damning audit and a subsequent review by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found financial shortcomings at OHA during the 2010s.

We werent doing it (debt collections) for a really long time. I dont think anyone here really wants to do it. I view it actually as pretty staff-intensive and worthless from a perspective of business, said OHA attorney Brian Hansen during a November interview.

HUD required OHA to make changes, and in early 2019, the two agencies agreed on several new measures, including more robust debt collection, said Poore, who arrived at OHA a few months later.

There is no federal policy or directive requiring OHA to use a debt collection agency, said HUD spokesman Brian Handshy. That decision is at the sole discretion of a public housing agencys leaders, he said.

In 2023, OHA referred 106 former tenants to Credit Bureau Services for collections. OHA doesnt know how much money it recovered through debt collection, but the agency writes off hundreds of thousands of dollars in tenant debts every year, Poore said.

Nebraskas second-biggest subsidized housing agency also refers ex-tenants to collections  on a much smaller scale.

Last year, the Lincoln Housing Authority sent 16 ex-tenants owing about $30,000 to debt collection firm Credit Management Services. Of that amount, about $1,100 has been recovered  and only $700 went back to LHA.

LHA Director Chris Lamberty said making diligent efforts to collect tenant debts is a good management practice, adding that the agency tries to set up monthly repayment plans with debtors before referring them to the collection agency.

The west Omaha-based Douglas County Housing Authority did not send any ex-tenants to collections last year, but it has referred at least two evicted residents to Credit Bureau Services since 2019, according to court records reviewed by the Flatwater Free Press.

Every dollar that the housing authority does not collect that is owed to them is a dollar we dont have to help another family, said Section 8 and Public Housing Director Beverly Valasek.

Many former public housing tenants are judgment-proof, meaning they dont have money or assets for a debt collector to seize when a court order requires payment.

But a debt in collections can still be financially burdensome for ex-tenants  a stain on their credit makes it even harder to find housing for a renter with an eviction already on their record, said Marybeth Shinn, a professor at Vanderbilt Universitys Department of Human and Organizational Development.

Debt collections and evictions are both pretty harmful to anybody going through them. To have those things paired from the public housing authority  is disappointing, said Erin Feichtinger, a lobbyist for the Womens Fund of Omaha.

The Chicago Housing Authority doesnt use a collector because a debt in collections can hinder former tenants access to resources and benefits that require a credit check, said spokesman Matthew Aguilar.

Public housing agencies in Des Moines and Kansas City, Missouri, no longer use collectors because they have found the practice ineffective for recouping debts.

Youre sending a debt collector to go after someone who simply cannot pay. Whats going to be my success rate? said Edwin Lowndes, director of Housing Authority of Kansas City.

Both agencies say they have found more success by having tenants repay their debts when they reapply for subsidized housing. Kansas Citys agency also has the option to garnish debtors state tax refund.

Jasmine Frampton barely made it six months in Southside Terrace before OHA evicted her over $225 in unpaid rent and security deposit charges.

The mother of three boys had no income, and in hindsight, she feels the agency doomed her by failing to inform her of a rent exemption that could have prevented the eviction.

A couple of months after she got the boot, Frampton received a letter from OHA that said she owed the agency $725, including a $200 court fee.

Frampton said she hasnt been put in collections for her debt to OHA, but she worries that outcome would put more strain on her family.

Its good that the agency switched to a debt collector that doesnt refer to credit bureaus, but people who never knew of their right to apply for a rent exemption shouldnt owe anything, she said.

Its crazy that they do people like this when were going through difficult times, Frampton said.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

Top Journal Star photos for February 2024
DES MOINES  A bill Republicans say will strengthen protections for religious expressions in Iowa that Democrats contend would give legal cover to discriminate against LGTBQ Iowans and others is headed to Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds desk.

Iowa House Republicans on Thursday voted 61-33 to approve Senate File 2095, referred to by supporters as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bill now heads to the governor for her expected signature.

Twenty-three states around the country, with both Republican and Democrat governors, have passed similar laws. Now, its Iowas turn, Reynolds said in a statement.

Under the bill, state and local government shall not "substantially burden" someone's exercise of religion unless it is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and must be narrowly tailored in the least restrictive means of pursuing that interest.

A person, corporation, church, foundation or other entity whose exercise of religion has been burdened would have the power to go to court to seek damages, injunctive relief or other means of redressing the harm against them.

The bill defines exercise of religion as action "substantially motivated by one's sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

Two dozen states have passed religious freedom laws

Supporters say the bill is needed because, in their view, U.S. Supreme Court rulings have eroded religious freedom protections that were passed into federal law in 1993 by a Democrat-majority Congress and signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

"People of faith and our places of worship are facing more and more government intrusion into their rights to worship consistent with their beliefs, said Rep. Steve Holt, R-Denison, lead sponsor of a companion bill in the House.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the religious liberty of every American, every Iowan, regardless of their religion or lifestyle, Holt said. It is not a sword, or a shield. It is good policy for everyone that guarantees that everyone gets a fair day in court when the government intrudes in one of our most sacred freedoms.

The federal law applies only to the federal government, but at least two dozen states have passed state-level versions of the legislation.

The Iowa House debated the proposed legislation for two hours before approving on party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats opposed.

Democrats: States with similar laws report LGBTQ, housing discrimination

Democrats warned that such a law would lead to state-sanctioned discrimination, using religious freedom as a defense.

Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, a Presbyterian pastor, introduced an amendment that would have inserted into the bill protections against discrimination as prescribed in the Iowa Civil Rights Act.

The amendment aims to restore the original purpose of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act while preventing its misuse to erode civil rights and sidestep non-discrimination laws, James said.

The proposed amendment was defeated along party lines.

We have seen some good applications of RFRA throughout the years, James said.   Unfortunately, many of these state-level RFRA have expanded and misapplied original intent to RFRA to allow the religious belief of one to violate the civil liberties of another.  Without this amendment, we will be voting on a bill that legalizes discrimination, and that weaponizes religious beliefs to justify discrimination.

House Democrats cited instances of LGBTQ+ discrimination and examples of employment discrimination and denial of reproductive health care in states that have passed similar laws.

Although the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was originally intended to protect religious liberty, it has been misused to cause harm, to discriminate and to deny people health care, said Rep. Elinor Levin, D-Iowa City. Its been exploited to allow employers to ignore laws that protect workers and denying people access to, for example, HIV prevention medication

These bad faith interpretations which push the law far beyond its original intended purpose most often cause harm to queer people.

Others said the bill would undermine inclusivity, and harm Iowa's economy, making it harder for Iowa businesses to recruit workers from out of state and retain current residents.

Some business groups oppose the bill; religious groups support it

Several business groups and chambers of commerce were registered opposed to the bill, including Krause Group, the Technology Association of Iowa, Principal Financial Group and the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

Holt, the bills floor manager, called the arguments against the bill hyperbolic and misinformed.

Holt said the bill protects religious freedom in a narrow way and requires a balancing test by courts when evaluating restrictions on religious freedom.

"A compelling government interest narrowly tailored would not produce these nightmare scenarios that weve heard tonight, he said. Its a balancing test  as it should be for one of our most fundamental rights in the Constitution of the United States.

Versions of Iowa Republicans religious freedom bill have been introduced annually since at least 2018. This is the first time the bill has passed the Iowa Legislature.

Christian conservative and religious groups registered in support of the bill include The Family Leader, Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, Iowa Catholic Conference and Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church.

Religious freedom is one of our countrys most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is already protected under the Iowa and U.S. constitutions, Connie Ryan, executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, said in a statement.

There is no rationale for legislation that misuses religious freedom as a means to justify discrimination against others, Ryan said. No person should be allowed to use their faith to impose their beliefs on another person, or to take away their rights.
After over a year in court, millions of dollars on lawyers fees, an overhaul of the states highest court, and an all-out battle to throw out New Yorks congressional districts and replace them with something more favorable for Democrats, the New York legislature, empowered with the ability to flip control of the House single-handedly, voted to confirm new maps, signed by the governor into law. The result: The number of Trump-won districts in the state has officially increased from five to six.

Read that again. Not a typo! The most anticipated Democratic gerrymander of the 2024 election cycle has resulted with Democratswielding supermajority control of the Legislature and a newly enshrined liberal majority on the states highest courtactually increasing the number of congressional districts in areas won by a Republican in 2020. They made swing districts like NY-01 even redder, likely putting them out of reach for Democrats. (Swingy NY-19, too, is ever so slightly redder than before.) The new map is barely distinguishable from the 2022 map that contributed to New York Democrats disastrous midterms performance and gave the Republicans the House majority.

Democrats managed to make two districts meaningfully bluer: NY-03, which Democrat Tom Suozzi already won handily just a few weeks ago, and NY-22, which was won by Republican Brandon Williams by less than a point. Williams was already the most vulnerable Republican on the map; these changes dont affect the likely outcomes of these races at all.

Still, politics watchers guessed that a redraw could net Dems as many as five seats in November; now they expect Dems to add half of one. Congressional Republicans can barely contain their glee.

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How did we get here? In early 2022, the states Independent Redistricting Commission deadlocked, unable to agree on nonpartisan congressional maps. So the commission sent two separate mockups to the Legislature, which voted both down; the IRC then missed a deadline to fix them. The Democratic-controlled Legislature then drew up its own version, which Republicans hated, and the courts conservative majority, installed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, agreed. The court directed an out-of-state special master to draw the maps for 2022. When Democrats face-planted in November 2022, losing four Biden districts to Republicans, they claimed that the maps were to blame, a storyline that conveniently distracted from the thoroughgoing institutional decay of the state Democratic party, which lacks basic organizing and turnout infrastructure.

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So they brought a case against those maps, claiming that they were valid only for 2022. The Court of Appeals, with a new liberal majorityyou can read here about how Gov. Kathy Hochul nearly botched that onewas amenable. Procedural necessity required that the IRC get one more shot, but it barely changed the 2022 maps, seemingly resigned to the fact that the Dem Legislature would be drawing its own version. The state Senate and even Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries came out strongly against the low-effort revision. I thought this was so in the bag that I wrote a piece proclaiming as much.

Then came the reveal: a map that was basically identical to the voted-down IRC do-over, which was basically identical to the reviled 2022 maps. Democrats literally could have drawn a map with 26 Biden districts and zero Trump districts and tried their hand before the states newly liberal highest court. Instead, they went from a 215 Biden to a 206 Biden configuration. The Legislature hastily voted it through, and Hochul signed it into law.

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New York Republicans cant believe their great luck. Republican House Rep. Nicole Malliotakis posted her new district lines on X beneath the caption Hello, Gorgeous. New Yorks 17th District remains largely unchanged, GOPer Mike Lawler tweeted with glee. Republicans, who were almost certainly going to sue over the Legislatures map, and were preemptively crying foul, announced upon seeing it that they would bring no legal contest. Numerous state Republicans across both chambers voted in favor.

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The Alabama and Louisiana Republican Parties, both of whom were compelled by courts to redraw their own lines, adding a Democratic district in the process, will have officially done more to help Democrats retake the House in 2024 than the New York Democratic Party, its Senate supermajority, and its packed court (AL Republicans had their states final map foisted upon them by the court).

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Charitably, New York Democrats were probably afraid that if Republicans sued successfully, a court could redraw the map with no solicitude for Democratic incumbents. They were trying to protect themselves, with little concern for national Democrats. But if Republicans had sued to thwart a gerrymander and won, the cost would have been minimal: The Legislature would merely have to try again. Instead, it didnt even try, choosing instead to shore up its individual fates at the expense of the party broadly. New York Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, and that truth is etched into this map. What was the point of flipping the court, of bringing the lawsuit, of all of it?

Its absolutely astonishing. Weve seen how feckless NY Dems have been in so many ways for so many yearsdecades, reallyso Im disgusted more than I am surprised, said David Nir, publisher of Daily Kos Elections, which closely tracks redistricting efforts. If its better than the 22 map, its barely any better.

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Jeffries could well have sewn up his first speakership with even a modest gerrymander. One would think he would be furious over the missed opportunity and the wasted resources in his very own home state. But no: His official statement was supportive of the map, saying it delivers the type of fair representation that the people of New York State deserve.

Related From Slate The Blue States Where Democrats Had a Bad Night Read More

Jeffries cheered the maps on the puzzling grounds that they reduce the number of split counties (counties flayed and parceled out into separate congressional districts). But as Nir pointed out, the number of split counties is dramatically higher on the new map than on the reviled 2022 map. That version had only 16 splits; the new map has 21!

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Lets compare, for a moment, New York Democrats to North Carolina Republicans. There, the state GOP flipped the court, which promptly overturned the previously liberal courts ruling on gerrymandering, threw out the maps, and redrew a wild gerrymander. The state went from a 7R7D split, to an 11R3D map basically overnight. If a GOP House minority leader was from a state that had an opportunity to deliver majority control, he would tell his incumbents to suck it up for the good of the party nationally, said Nir. Instead, Democrats have recommitted to fighting with one hand tied behind their back. Republicans never behave this way, he added.

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So here we are, back to square one. House Democrats are comforting themselves with the fact that the party has allocated some $45 million to boost the congressional campaigns on Dems in six swing districts in New York, which is supposed to paper over the weakness of the state party apparatus and, now, the unfavorable district lines. Never mind the fact that outside Democratic groups spent almost a third of that on just one recent race, New Yorks 3rd Congressional District, that will have to be reproduced and defended, alongside at least five others in November.

If Jeffries comes up a seat or two short of a majority in Novembers election, an entirely plausible outcome, hell have nowhere to look but at his home state, and no one to point the finger at but himself.
STOCKHOLM, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Denmark announced the end of its investigation into the 2022 Nord Stream natural gas pipeline explosion this Monday, joining Sweden, which dropped its probe on Feb. 7, giving neither a clear conclusion nor further directions.

The elusive and absurd results add mystery to the attack on a key piece of infrastructure designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Europe.

ELUSIVE CONCLUSION

What did they find? Nothing conclusive.

Danish police found deliberate sabotage responsible for blasts but no sufficient grounds for a criminal case. The Swedish Prosecution Authority concluded in February that Swedish jurisdiction does not apply and has handed over to Germany "material that can be used as evidence in the German investigation."

Though tight-lipped regarding the final results, Swedish prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in April that a state actor was "directly or at least indirectly behind all this" and that this was the "absolute main scenario," without naming any country.

The German federal prosecutor's office said on Monday that its investigation continues and that it would not provide more information.

No culprit. And no further legal procedures are to follow.

"The situation is close to absurd. On the one hand, (authorities) have recognized that a deliberate sabotage had taken place, and on the other hand, there would be no further progress," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"We will certainly monitor (the situation), and if there will be any opportunities to obtain information, we will use these opportunities, but for now the situation is quite paradoxical," Peskov said.

Earlier on Sept. 26, 2022, leakages were reported in three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines running from Vyborg, Russia to Lubmin, Germany through the Baltic Sea. The blasts occurred in international waters to the southeast of the Danish island of Bornholm and within the economic zones of Denmark and Sweden, which both opened investigations into the incident in addition to Germany. Denmark, Sweden and Germany all refused to include the Russian side.

With one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes intact, Russian President Vladimir Putin reconfirmed Russia is ready to supply natural gas to Europe in an interview in February.

Nord Stream is a collaborative project between Russia and German, Dutch, and French stakeholders with the Russian state-owned enterprise Gazprom holding the majority.

Nord Stream 1 entered service in 2012 while Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but has never entered into operation due to U.S. obstruction until the explosion, when both pipes were filled with gas but not operating due to the Ukraine conflict.

THEORIES ABOUND

Various theories regarding the most likely suspects abound.

A popular claim from the West insists that Russia sabotaged the pipeline to threaten Europe. However, many analysts pointed out that if Russia wanted to cut off the gas supply, it only needed to switch off the valve, without blowing up the pipeline that it had invested money to build.

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-winning American investigative journalist, released a detailed report in February 2023, on the U.S. operation to blast the pipeline with assistance from the Norwegian army. Hersh said that the United States destroyed the pipeline to prevent Germany from using this "energy artery" to ensure that European countries follow NATO in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Observers share the consensus that Washington has both the ability and the motive for such behavior.

In March 2023, Western media including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Der Spiegel reported claims from U.S. intelligence officials that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the blast without the knowledge or involvement of Ukrainian authorities. The Russian side brushed off such a claim as "sheer nonsense" that was trying to cover up the real culprit.

With Washington, Moscow, and Kiev all denying responsibility, it has become hard to navigate the delicate geopolitical situation.

The investigation is "a hot potato" for Sweden, security reporter John Granlund said in an analysis on Swedish television after Stockholm closed the case.

"Every decision by the authorities risks having consequences for security policy. By all accounts, the choice ultimately fell on the easiest path -- to let Germany finish the job," he said.

"I believe that the Germans cannot reach any other conclusion," Kenneth Buhl of the Royal Danish Defense College was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. "They may open the lid a little more, but not much." 
Digging holes in the sand is a staple beach activity for kids. But a fatal accident last week is a reminder that sand holeseven relatively small onespose a very real threat to children who climb inside them. While on vacation in Florida, a 7-year-old girl and her older brother were buried when the approximately 5-foot hole they were digging suddenly collapsed in on them. Even though bystanders immediately worked to extricate them, the girl later died at the hospital.

Sand hole collapses claim at least a few lives each year. Back in May, a 17-year-old boy died in North Carolina when a dune fell into the hole he was digging; in March, a 14-year-old boy died in rural Minnesota; in 2022, at least two teenagers were killed, one in Utah and the other in New Jersey. The most recent study to crunch the numbers, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that there were 52 incidents of dangerous collapsing sand holes in the U.S. between 1990 and 2007. Over half of the incidents were fatal, and many of the survivors required resuscitation.

Capt. Butch Arbin, who oversees the Ocean City Beach Patrol in Maryland, has been involved in several such rescues during his five decades on the job. Parents actually may be digging their own kid a grave and dont even realize it, he says.

The more frequent concern at the beach, says Arbin, is shark attacks. But while deaths from either are somewhat rare, sand holes are about as deadly as sharks: During that same nearly two-decade span that the NEJM study looked at, there were 24 instances of deadly shark attacks in the U.S.one involved a boat that sank, and several people were killedcompared to the 31 who died from sand hole collapses. We should perhaps be a little more afraid of sand holes than we are.

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Being buried in almost any substance would be dangerous. But sand has a few things going for it that makes it a particularly deadly material.

For starters, sand on the beach can appear quite sturdy. When sand is wet, the water helps hold grains of sand together, explains Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University who studies how sand moves. That cohesion allows sand to be shaped into a castle, or a tall pile, or to be dug down into.

But the sturdiness of a wall of sand, whether above or below ground level, is an illusion, Daniels says. A pile of sanddry or wetis always very close to falling apart. All it takes is the smallest disturbance to dislodge a grain, and all the grains behind it could follow. A footfall near a sand hole can be enough to shatter its integrity and cause the sand to start to move.

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While individual grains are solid, a big group of them can move a lot like liquid, says Daniels. Falling grains bounce off each other like atoms in a cascade of water, losing energy as they tumble. Once all that energy is gone, the sand settles back into a state that physicists call a marginal solid.

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Sands aptitude for flow makes it prone to cave-ins, and its ability to go rigid makes it dangerous for anyone caught beneath it.

The water that glued together the walls of a sand hole wont ultimately prevent sand from falling, but it will return to serving as a glue once the sand hole has collapsed, holding the grains together and making it harder for a person or their rescuers to dig a way out. It also adds to the weight of the sand: Wet sand can weigh as much as 130 pounds per cubic footthats equivalent to 20 bricks piled on your chest. (Dry sand already weighs a lot: 90 to 110 pounds per cubic foot.)

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The lethality of sand is its ability to compact around you, says Christopher Moir, a pediatric trauma surgeon at Mayo Clinic who published a report in 2004 on two boys who died after accidental sand burial (one in a sandbox and one at a construction site). The children had no sand in their airway: they were unable to breathe at all.

Sand is horrible because it will flow around to every single part of your body so that youre encased, says Moir. You are entombed, essentially. Because grains of beach sand are so fine, they can squeeze in very close to each other. And that compaction makes it so that a buried persons chest and diaphragm are unable to expand, so they literally cannot take a breath.

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Even if you could, you wouldnt want to: If you can breathe, youre breathing in the sand, Moir says.

Thats the other way sand can kill. Sand is fine enough that it can travel deep into the lungs, blocking off access to the alveoli, which is where the lungs hand off their oxygen to the blood. The more sand packs in, the more it prevents air from getting to those alveoli, effectively suffocating the person. Even if a person can be resuscitated, theyll need specialized medical treatment to remove the sand from their lungs.

Twenty years later, Moir still vividly remembers one of the buried boys, who was dead upon arrival at the hospital: I still see that child, and I still see his face.

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In his report on the incident, Moir and his co-authors wrote: Greater awareness by public health and safety officials at beaches, sandboxes, sandpiles, and natural play areas may prevent potentially lethal accidents.

For rescuers, getting someone out of a hole is not as simple as digging. Its important to pull the sand away from the point of collapse rather than attempt to dig straight down, says Arbin; that can just lead to further collapse. In Ocean City, the lifeguards are trained to form two concentric circles around the collapsed hole, with everyone in the smaller circle moving sand back toward the circle behind them, where those lifeguards do the same.

The idea is to slowly widen the area.

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For parents, the message isnt to never let kids dig. But know that there are limits, says Moir. The most dangerous holes are the deep ones, because their sand is wetter (and thus heavier), with less stability and a larger volume to fall on the person below. But any hole can possibly be dangerous: The NEJM study found that some of the deaths happened in as little as 2 feet of sand. A good rule of thumb is to make sure holes are no deeper than the knee of the shortest person digging it.

What many people dont understand, says Arbin, is that watching digging kids closely is not good enough, because sand collapse can happen in an instant and without warning. Adults argue with us, Im here watching,  he says. Im not going to let you watch your kid dig a 6-foot hole and then get buried, because were not going to be able to get him out. Monitor kids as they dig holes that are more shallow than the knee of the shortest personbut for deeper holes, says Arbin: Cover it up.
Grants can breathe new life into your business. Upgrade your facade, improve accessibility, or enhance energy efficiency without taking on debt. Attract new customers, boost curb appeal, and revitalize your local community.

Grants can help you stand out and showcase your dedication while saving your hard-earned cash. Dont miss out on this chance to invest in the future of your business and transform your storefront into a vibrant hub for your community.

Many communities are working to fill vacant storefronts throughout their commercial districts. Business closures, many affected by the pandemic, have left these areas with fewer storefronts and decreased economic activity. Small business grant programs are one tool that some states and communities are using to incentivize businesses to fill these spaces.

Small Business News March 1, 2024

This week, the roundup begins with news of the launch of a new funding competition to bolster the entrepreneurial skills of women veterans by the SBA. The IRS follows with a reminder to farmers and fishermen about the looming tax deadline for March 1, 2024. For these and more small business news, read the rest of the roundup.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has unveiled a new funding competition to bolster the entrepreneurial skills of women veterans. This initiative is designed to empower non-profit organizations and private sector firms to offer specialized entrepreneurship training to this distinguished group.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has reminded farmers and fishermen about the looming tax deadline for March 1, 2024. This notice explicitly targets those who opted not to make estimated tax payments by January and are now required to file their 2023 federal income tax return and settle all due taxes by the upcoming Friday deadline.

In a legal move to combat tax fraud, the Justice Department has initiated a lawsuit aimed at permanently barring Ohio-based tax return preparer Emmanuel Antwi, along with his businesses Manny Travel Agency & Business Services Inc. and Manny Financial, Insurance & Accounting Firm LLC, from the tax preparation industry. The civil complaint, filed in the U.S.

Instagram is taking strides to enhance the ease of collaboration between brands and creators. With the initial launch of the creator marketplace in the United States in 2022, Instagram provided a pivotal platform for these partnerships. Following its success, the social media giant is now broadening its horizons to include eight additional markets.

Adobe and TikTok have unveiled a pioneering integration, melding TikToks Creative Assistant into Adobe Express. This integration, announced on February 13, 2024, heralds a new era for creators, brands, marketers, and small businesses, enabling them to craft and disseminate TikTok video content with unprecedented ease and effectiveness.

The Justice Department has initiated legal action against Julius T. Price and his business, Prices Accounting Firm Inc., seeking a permanent injunction to prevent them from preparing federal income tax returns for others. This move, announced by Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A.

Wondering how to file taxes effectively? If so, youre probably wondering the best way to tackle the process. Just like the saying goes, The longest journey starts with a single step. So, lets take the first step with this essential guide for how to file taxes for the 2023 tax year.

The 2023 tax year ended for calendar-year businesses on December 31, 2023. You closed your books and made resolutions for 2024. But theres still one chore remaining that relates to 2023, and thats filing a federal income tax return to report your business activities. While 2023 is over, its not too late to make certain tax decisions that can minimize your tax bill for 2023.

You work hard enough to ensure that your small business survives, and you dont want to overlook any potential tax deductions that can maximize your savings. In this article, well cover the most important small business tax changes for 2023 and also provide information about solar energy installation credits and EV vehicle credits.
More than 1,000 cases waiting for redistribution around the country.

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Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) has managed to accomplish one of his main pre-election goals. After almost 20 years of its existence, the Special Prosecutors Office, headed by former politician and lawyer Daniel Lipsic, will cease to exist on March 20.

President Zuzana Caputova wasnt able to stop the abolition of the Special Prosecutors Office (USP). She challenged Ficos rapid and extensive changes in criminal policy at the Constitutional Court on February 19. However, in the section related to the abolition of the USP, the panel of 12 judges did not comply with her proposal to suspend the amendment. The end of the Office is thus irreversible.

In relation to the Special Prosecutors Office, we expected the relevant laws not to be suspended, as the existence of the USP does not have a constitutional dimension, the Office said on Facebook.

The Office, however, noted that only 32 percent of people were in favour of abolishing the Office in February 2024, citing an Ipsos poll.

Prosecutors added that they are fulfilling their duties in preliminary proceedings and in court proceedings. They also noted that they have filed charges with the court against 63 people and motions to approve plea agreements for 14 people since the start of this year. But three weeks before the end of this anti-corruption institution, USP prosecutors dont know what the entire abolition process will look like.
Ex-Smer member and presidential hopeful Peter Pellegrini joined the event via video.

Smer politicians during their International Women's Day tour on February 28, 2024 in Presov, eastern Slovakia. (Source: Korzar)

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The Smer political party started its traditional nationwide tour ahead of International Womens Day (MDZ) on Wednesday evening, and the Jonas Zaborsky Theatre in Presov, eastern Slovakia, was completely packed.

But a crowd of protesters was also waiting for the party members in front of the theatre.

We do care about what happens next with Slovakia. Heading east is very dangerous, one of them, Stanislav Felix, told the Korzar, The Slovak Spectators sister publication.

Our country has lost its political compass, Richard Janos continued.

However, female visitors to the event were clearly in the majority. And they left it satisfied.

A very nice, good program. We come here regularly, said the pensioner Maria from Presov after the event.

She did not take it as a political event.

A professionally arranged program awaited those present, which started with an emotional video containing sequences of women from various film classics. Slovak musician Peter Bazik, who also took on the role of presenter, recited from the well-known poem Marina by Slovak poet Andrej Sladkovic, the worlds longest love poem, and quoted Russian novelist Maxim Gorky, who wrote The Mother in 1906. The program included folk music performed by the professional ensemble PULS, founded by the Presov Region, and Carovne Ostrohy, an artistic dance group that presents folklore in a modern way. World-famous pop songs by Michael Jackson and Ruslana, a Eurovision winner from Ukraine, were mixed with Slovak folklore at the event. People seemed to love it. Bazik performed with violin and guitar, and the legendary Slovak group Modus also came on stage. This band had also played in Smers pre-election campaign.

(Source: Korzar)

Thanking Fico for his existence

The program continued with its political part. Speaker of Parliament and former Smer member Peter Pellegrini was not missing at the event. He addressed the women present from the video.
A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia.

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Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent.

An Americans passion for Slovak folk costumes

Helene Cincebeaux has, for an American, a really unusual hobby  she collects Slovak folk dresses. She has more than 3,000 pieces in her private collection. It has been exhibited all over the United States and the world, as Slovakia's public-service broadcaster RTVS reported.

Cincebeaux is a descendant of Czechoslovak emigrants who grew up in the state of New York. When she was 13, she went to visit her great-aunt Anna in Detroit, who dressed her in her wedding clothes; another great-aunt painted her portrait.

This affected me so much that from that moment I wanted to learn more about my cultural heritage and get to know the land of my ancestors, Cincebeaux said, as quoted by RTVS.

She visited Czechoslovakia for the first time in 1969. Later, she and her mother, Helen Zemek Baine, visited dozens of villages in Slovakia, Moravia and Bohemia, where they learned more about the folk customs, as well as hearing some of the fascinating stories, memories and legends behind the pieces. This later led to the Baine/Cincebeaux Collection of Slovak Folk Dress & Folk Art.

Cincebeaux said that Slovaks are extremely skilful and creative people, which is proved by the folk dresses. On one occasion, Jimmy Carter, who was then US president, admired them, RTVS reported.

You can listen to a feature about Cincebeaux published by Radio Slovakia International in 2022 here.

Slovaks develop a unique diagnostic device

Using artificial intelligence, a device developed by Slovak scientists can help to diagnose several diseases in 10 seconds.

[These] are miniaturised analytical devices designed for rapid preliminary diagnosis of certain diseases from bodily fluids, said Samuel Furka, who developed the device together with his brother Daniel, as quoted by the TASR newswire. It combines several physical and chemical analyses and, with the help of machine learning, subsequently evaluates the presence of diseases that are in its internal database, he added.

The devices can reveal kidney and bladder diseases, diseases of the digestive system, various inflammatory diseases, diabetes and oncological diseases.

Their aim is not to replace expensive and complex laboratory methods, but to quickly and reliably guide the doctor, who will subsequently decide on additional examinations, Furka explained to TASR.

The developers would like to see the devices being used in Slovakia and other EU countries. Other areas where they can be used are in field diagnostics, by emergency services and for diagnosis in places where hospitals are out of easy reach. This is why they plan to use the device and collect data in remote parts of Kenya, beginning in May this year.

Young Slovak artists win at international art competition

Laura Gajarska and Lea Hybbenova (second and third from the right) won the Art Teen category with the piece titled Otter. (Source: Dana Vrablikova)

Two young students from Slovakia enjoyed success at the 2023 edition of the Danube Art Master competition, organised by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR).

The Otter (Source: ICPDR)

Laura Gajarska and Lea Hybbenova from the Matej Bel Primary School in Samorin, western Slovakia, won in the Art Teen category (for children aged 12-18 years) with their piece, titled Otter.

The Danube Art Master competition is a unique platform where children and teenagers from the Danube River Basin (which includes 14 countries) are encouraged each year to reflect on the health of their local rivers and to contemplate how they can contribute to preserving these vital waters for the future. Participants are encouraged to use materials sourced, inspired, or directly taken from the environment to create their artworks, emphasising the importance of their local surroundings as a primary source of inspiration, the ICPDR wrote in a press release.

The 2023 edition saw over 1,300 children from 133 schools across the Danube River Basin participating. In total, they created 300 artworks that celebrate the beauty and significance of the Danube River. The winners were selected by a jury comprising members of the ICPDRs Public Participation Expert Group.

Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read:

Political meme of the week

(Source: Hej, ty!  Gyore)

On the second anniversary of the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) has delivered several statements in which he repeated pro-Russian talking points about the war. In a video published on Facebook, he accused the West of the false demonisation of Vladimir Putin, said that the EU's plan is to support the mutual killing of Slavs, and asserted that the war was started by Ukrainian neo-Nazis. He even falsely suggested, ahead of a meeting of EU leaders on February 26, that several NATO and EU member states plan to send soldiers to Ukraine, and implied that Slovakia might be forced to do the same. Here are some explanations for where these falsehoods come from, and why Fico keeps repeating them.

You can read more about this story in the latest edition of our Last Week in Slovakia newsletter and in James Thomson's column.

You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you!
Forbes Slovakia platforms leaders in biotech, AI and automotive innovation.

Slovakia can be proud of its promising scientists and entrepreneurs, Forbes Slovakia reports. (Source: Simicek, Vladimir)

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Business magazine Forbes Slovakia has published a list of individuals that it characterises as 'changemakers', who it says are transforming Slovakia for the better. The list was published on Thursday, February 29.

"The current media space is inundated with numerous diversionary topics meant to distract attention from real challenges. With Forbes Changemakers, we aimed to redirect focus onto individuals addressing issues that genuinely concern us as a society," explained Milan Cupka, the editor of Forbes Slovakia.

Personalities were selected for their achievements in four categories such as artificial intelligence, green initiatives, modern medicine, and education. Forbes selected three influential figures in each category.

Among them is Pavol Cekan, a scientist and the CEO of biotechnology startup MultiplexDX. He is recognised for his groundbreaking work in developing a unique breast cancer test and personalised treatment.

Additionally, recognition extends to Maria Bielikova, the director of the Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies, for her notable contributions in the field of artificial intelligence.

What do these changemaking Slovaks do?

For the green transformation sector, Forbes recognised the efforts of Andrea and Martin Basila, who introduced a waste monitoring solution. Bureaucrat Martin Kriz earned a place in the ranking for advocating educational reform and assisting teachers in navigating information overload.

Milan Jurky, who convinced a multinational corporation to develop new electric vehicle systems in Kysuce, is also highlighted. His initiative supported the creation of hundreds of new jobs and positioned Slovakia as a hub for specialised centres in new technologies.

Forbes based its rankings on statistics regarding quality of life in Slovakia and public opinion surveys addressing the most pressing issues for Slovaks. "Subsequently, we identified an intersection of these problems with globally resonant topics, forming part of a significant transformation that is challenging and propelling human society forward," added Cupka.
Slovaks still stand with Ukraine, events tips for the next week, and the presidential race is neck and neck.

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Good evening. Here is the Friday, March 1 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.

Defence minister takes delivery of the first of 14 brand new US-made fighter jets

Defence Minister Robert Kalinak officially took delivery of the first two F-16 fighter jets. (Source: Ministerstvo obrany SR)

Slovakia officially received its first two F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets in a handover ceremony at the manufacturer Lockheed Martin's facility in Greenville, South Carolina. The event, attended by Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer), marks the beginning of a new era for Slovakia's air force. The F-16s, the first of 14, will initially be used to train Slovak personnel in the United States before being deployed to secure Slovakia's airspace.

The jets, which are scheduled to arrive in Slovakia in the second quarter of this year, will replace the air defence cover supplied by NATO allies since Slovakia withdrew from service its previous MiG-29 fleet in 2022. Minister Kalinak said the American-made F-16s were a guarantee of top-notch quality and the safety of Slovak soldiers.

The expression of confidence in US technology contrasts somewhat with recent comments by Kalinak's boss and key political ally, Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has been highly critical of Slovakia's NATO allies, especially the USA.

The procurement contract for 14 F-16 C/D Block 70 fighter jets was finalised by Slovakia at the end of 2018. However, due to the pandemic, the delivery schedule was delayed.

More stories from The Slovak Spectator website

If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you.

FEATURE STORY FOR THE WEEKEND

Slovaks who have not given up on Ukraine

Marcel Rebro in Ukraine. (Source: Marcel Rebro/Jana Cavojska)

In the midst of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the stories of three Slovaks exemplify a steadfast commitment to providing crucial aid. Eliska Horsakova, a 34-year-old entrepreneur and volunteer, goes to places that larger humanitarian organisations often avoid, reaching villages in eastern Ukraine that are usually overlooked. Despite the dangers posed by mines, Horsakova delivers humanitarian aid directly to those in need, offering not only essential supplies but also psychological support to individuals in war-torn areas.

Blogger Marcel Rebro found himself on an unexpected humanitarian mission when his photographic trip to Ukraine turned into a commitment to aid those affected by the war. Regularly traveling to Ukraine, Rebro organizes collections for medical supplies, cars, and drones for the Ukrainian armed forces. His dedication is driven by a belief in the importance of supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion, preventing the conflict from reaching Slovakia's doorstep.

Designer Dodo Dobrik leads the "Gift for Putin" initiative, a project that transparently showcases the costs of war and allows ordinary individuals to contribute directly to the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine. Despite initial moral considerations, Dobrik argues that a stronger Ukraine, equipped with adequate weapons, is crucial for halting the aggressor. These three individuals embody a resolute commitment to aiding Ukraine and making a tangible impact during a challenging time.

Explore the full article on The Slovak Spectator website to delve into more details about these courageous and compassionate Slovaks making a significant impact amid the ongoing conflict.

EVENT FOR THE NEXT WEEK

Wondering how to spend the next week? Top 10 events in Bratislava

(Source: Pexels)

On March 4 the movie Dune: Part Two, will be shown at the Lumiere cinema. For party enthusiasts DJs Kinet & Thomas Tracy will play on March 6 at the Nu Spirit Bar. For those who prefer your music at a less frenetic pace, the concert Hommage a Pantaleon Hebenstreit will be held on March 5 in the Slovak Philharmonic.

These are just three highlights; for more tips on how to make the most of the upcoming week, delve into the full article on The Slovak Spectator website.

In other news

A late-February opinion poll by MEDIAN SK for RTVS puts current the speaker of parliament, Peter Pellegrini (Hlas), neck and neck with his main challenger, former foreign minister Ivan Korcok. It predicts that Korcok, on 36 percent, would beat Pellegrini, on 32.7 percent, in the first round. No other candidate recorded more than 12 percent support. In the second round run-off, the poll suggests, Pellegrini would emerge slightly ahead, with 51.7 percent to Korcok's 48.3 percent. The poll was conducted on a representative sample of 1214 respondents between February 23 and 27, 2024. (TASR)

It predicts that Korcok, on 36 percent, would beat Pellegrini, on 32.7 percent, in the first round. No other candidate recorded more than 12 percent support. In the second round run-off, the poll suggests, Pellegrini would emerge slightly ahead, with 51.7 percent to Korcok's 48.3 percent. The poll was conducted on a representative sample of 1214 respondents between February 23 and 27, 2024. (TASR) The political party Sloboda A Solidarita (SaS) has unveiled its candidate list for the upcoming European Parliamentary elections. Richard Sulik, the party's chair, leads the list, followed by sitting MEP Eugen Jurzyca and current MPs Vladimira Marcinkova and Jana Bitto Ciganikova. Elections to the European Parliament are scheduled for June 8, with parties required to submit their candidate lists by March 10. (SITA)

Richard Sulik, the party's chair, leads the list, followed by sitting MEP Eugen Jurzyca and current MPs Vladimira Marcinkova and Jana Bitto Ciganikova. Elections to the European Parliament are scheduled for June 8, with parties required to submit their candidate lists by March 10. (SITA) President Zuzana Caputova has been shown the altered statutes of the Slovak Information Service (SIS), the country's main intelligence agency. The government changed them recently in what is believed to be an attempt to bypass the president. She confirmed that the government's decision allows it to directly appoint its candidate as SIS head, although she suggested that the appointment could be reversed were she later to object (at present, nominations may not proceed until the president agrees). Caputova expressed reservations about the government's nominee, Pavol Gaspar, and mentioned that she needs more time and information to make a decision. She also referred to a Constitutional Court decision that highlights the president's right to have sufficient time to consider the constitutional, legal and personal aspects of nominees. (SITA)

The government changed them recently in what is believed to be an attempt to bypass the president. She confirmed that the government's decision allows it to directly appoint its candidate as SIS head, although she suggested that the appointment could be reversed were she later to object (at present, nominations may not proceed until the president agrees). Caputova expressed reservations about the government's nominee, Pavol Gaspar, and mentioned that she needs more time and information to make a decision. She also referred to a Constitutional Court decision that highlights the president's right to have sufficient time to consider the constitutional, legal and personal aspects of nominees. (SITA) Over 200 new soldiers took their military oath on Friday at SNP Square in Martin. Representatives of the Armed Forces command, Defence Ministry and the public attended the event. The new soldiers had completed a seven-week basic training course. In the coming days, they will undergo further specialised training and be assigned to their respective units. Some will continue training for officer ranks and leadership roles. The decision to hold the oath-taking in a public place linked to military history is part of a push to reconnect with traditions and emphasise the main mission of the Armed Forces - to protect Slovakia's territory, whatever the personal cost to service members. (SITA)

WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND

Saturday will be mostly cloudy, with sporadic breaks in the clouds, especially towards the evening in the far southwest. Some fog may occur in the morning. It will be pleasantly warm for the time of year, with daytime temperatures ranging between 10C and 15C. You can expect very similar temperatures on Sunday. (SHMU)

MARCH 2-4 NAME DAYS IN SLOVAKIA: Anezka (2), Bohumil, Bohumila (3) and Kazimir (4).

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P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/3-billion-experiment-involving-us-tunnels-may-help-unravel-questions-about-the-universe-1117064611.html

$3 Billion Experiment Involving US Tunnels May Help Unravel Questions About the Universe

$3 Billion Experiment Involving US Tunnels May Help Unravel Questions About the Universe

Sputnik International

The DUNE project is an international flagship project aimed at studying neutrinos.

2024-03-01T01:54+0000

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2024-03-01T01:54+0000

beyond politics

science & tech

neutrino

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The DUNE projectDeep Underground Neutrino Experimentis an international flagship project aimed at studying neutrinos. The project is being led by scientists at the US Department of Energys Fermilab and will require the use of tunnels beneath the US state of South Dakota.As a result of the estimated $3 billion project, crews that began excavating 800,000 tons of rock out of the former gold mine now have three underground caverns that are 500 feet long, and almost tall enough to hold a seven-story building.That excavation work has recently been completed, and the next step is to install the first of four particle detectors about a mile below the surface at the Sanford Underground Research Laboratory in Lead, South Dakota, according to a release from the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).Particle accelerators at Fermilab outside Chicago, Illinois will first fire an extremely powerful beam of neutrinos through a detector at Fermilab. That beam will then travel underground for 800 miles to the detector at the South Dakota Sanford Underground Research Facility.Neutrinos are sometimes referred to as ghost particles, and are incredibly difficult to study. They live all around us, and pass through us, unnoticed. The existence of neutrinos was first theorized in 1930, but experimenters only discovered the subatomic particles 26 years later. They are tiny, neutral and weigh so little that it is impossible to measure their mass. But they are also the most abundant particles that have been made in the universe. They are created by the sun, supernovae, and are even produced by the natural radioactivity of potassium in bananas.Those in the DUNE experiment hope their research will help them discover why the universe is composed of matter instead of antimatter, how an exploding star creates a black holes, and answer the question as to whether or not protons decay.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/biden-aides-trying-to-shield-us-president-from-protesters-at-campaign-events--reports-1117080270.html

Biden Aides Trying to Shield US President From Protesters at Campaign Events  Reports

Biden Aides Trying to Shield US President From Protesters at Campaign Events  Reports

Sputnik International

US President Joe Biden's aides have adopted several tricks to protect their boss from protesters who are increasingly dissatisfied with the White House's policies in the Middle East and unlimited support for Israel, NBC reported on Friday

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joe biden

bill clinton

barack obama

white house

virginia

palestine-israel conflict

gaza violence

gaza protests

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Biden's aides tactics include avoiding protesters at events by making them smaller, keeping precise locations secret from the media and the public until the last moment, avoiding college campuses, and hiring a private company to filter attendees, the report said. Even though the tactics have already shown their success and over the past five weeks there has not been a single incident of an attempt to interfere with Bidens speech at an event, it also has drawbacks, including the presidents appearance in front of a smaller number of potential voters, according to the report. But the downside is that means he doesnt reach as many voters, an aide was quoted as saying. The point is to reach as many voters as you can, and those small events dont. White House aides are planning to use the tactics at an upcoming fundraiser event this month with Biden and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. More specifically, event organizers are going to hire a private company that will vet attendees to exclude those who can disrupt it, the report added. In January, Biden's campaign rally in Virginia was disrupted eight times by protesters demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240210/biden-aide-secretly-admits-missteps-in-response-to-war-in-gaza-1116711688.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/colombia-suspends-arms-purchases-from-israel-after-gaza-aid-incident-1117067139.html

Colombia Suspends Arms Purchases From Israel After Gaza Aid Incident

Colombia Suspends Arms Purchases From Israel After Gaza Aid Incident

Sputnik International

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Thursday that Bogota suspends all arms purchases from Israel against the background of the deadly incident during an aid delivery to Gaza City.

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On Thursday, Palestinian authorities accused Israel of striking a street in western Gaza City, saying that the shelling had left at least 112 people killed and 760 others injured. All the victims were awaiting the arrival of humanitarian aid, the Palestinian authorities added. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said that a group of Gazans had allegedly tried to rob trucks with humanitarian aid in the northern part of the enclave, with the incident resulting in a stampede that left dozens of people dead and dozens of others injured. Following the incident, several countries, including Canada, France, Italy, Jordan, and Egypt, and international organizations, including Amnesty International, have called for unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and a ceasefire. On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 30,000 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, 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. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240227/no-safe-area-gaza-crisis-nearing-its-peak-as-netanyahu-appears-committed-to-an-assault-on-rafah-1117000528.html

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Job seekers attend a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Job seekers line up to enter a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Job seekers attend a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Job seekers attend a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Job seekers attend a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

Job seekers attend a career fair in Toronto, Canada, on Feb. 29, 2024. A career fair was held here on Thursday, attracting hundreds of job seekers.

Canada's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent in January, the first decline since December 2022, Statistics Canada said. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/full-transcript-of-german-top-military-officials-leaked-plot-to-attack-crimean-bridge-1117078481.html

Full Transcript of German Top Military Officials' Leaked Plot to Attack Crimean Bridge

Full Transcript of German Top Military Officials' Leaked Plot to Attack Crimean Bridge

Sputnik International

On February 19, 2024, a conversation took place among Grafe (department head for operations and exercises at the Air Force Forces Command of the Bundeswehr), Gerhartz (Bundeswehr Air Force Inspector), Fenske and Frohstedte (employees of the Air Operations Command within the Space Operations Center of the Bundeswehr).

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world

bundeswehr

germany

ingo gerhartz

boris pistorius

ukraine

mbda

air force

f-35

high mobility artillery rocket system (himars)

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Earlier in the day, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, published the text of a conversation among high-ranking Bundeswehr representatives discussing the attack on the Crimean Bridge with Taurus missiles and other issues. Full audio is here and full transcript is below.Gerhartz: Greetings, everyone! Graefe, are you currently in Singapore?Graefe: Yes.Gerhartz: Good. We need to verify the information. As you've probably heard, Defense Minister Pistorius intends to carefully consider the issue of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine. We have a meeting scheduled with him. We need to discuss everything so that we can start working on it. So far, I don't see any indication of when these deliveries will start. The Chancellor never told him, "I want the information now, and tomorrow morning we'll make the decision." I haven't heard anything like that. On the contrary, Pistorius is evaluating all this ongoing discussion. Nobody knows why the Federal Chancellor is blocking these deliveries. Of course, the most incredible rumors are going around. For example, yesterday a journalist, who is very close to the Chancellor, called me. She heard somewhere in Munich that the Taurus missiles would not work. I asked her who told her that. She replied that someone in a military uniform did. Of course, this is a low-level source of information, but the journalist clung to these words and now wants to make it into a piece of news with a headline like: "Now we know why the Chancellor refuses to send Taurus missiles  they won't work." All this is nonsense. Such topics are only available to a limited circle of people. However, we see what kind of garbage is spreading in the meantime. I want to coordinate this issue with you so that we don't move in the wrong direction. Firstly, I have some questions for Frohstedte and Fenske. Has anyone spoken to you about this? Did Freyding approach you?Frohstedte: No. I only spoke to Graefe.Fenske: Same here, I only spoke to Graefe.Gerhartz: He might reach out to you later. I might have to participate in budget committee hearings because there are issues related to the escalating costs of upgrading the F-35 in Buchel. I have already passed my recommendations through Frank that we have slides to visualize the material. We showed him a draft presentation where Taurus missiles were mounted on a Tornado carrier or other carrier required by the mission. However, I can hardly imagine that. Remember, it's a half-hour meeting, so don't prepare a 30-slide presentation. The report should be brief. We need to show what the missile can do and how it can be used. We need to consider the consequences if we make a political decision to transfer missiles as aid to Ukraine. I would appreciate it if you could inform me not only about the problems we have, but also on how we can solve them. For example, if were talking about delivery methods... I know how the English do it. They always transport them on Ridgback armored vehicles. They have several people on-site. The French don't do it that way. They check with the Ukrainians on the quality of loading Scalp missiles. Storm Shadows and Scalps have similar technical specifications for their installation. How are we going to solve this problem? Are we going to transfer MBDA missiles to them using Ridgbacks? Will one of our people be posted to MBDA? Graefe, report to us on our position on this issue. Fenske and Frohstedte, Gentlemen, report on how you see the situation.Graefe: I'll start with the most sensitive issues, with the existing criticism regarding the deliveries. Discussions are taking place almost everywhere. There are several key aspects here. Firstly, it's about the delivery timelines. If the Chancellor decides now that we should deliver missiles, they will be transferred from the Bundeswehr. Fine, but they will only be ready for use in eight months. Secondly, we cannot shorten the time. Because if we do, there might be an error in its use, the missile might hit a kindergarten, and there will be civilian casualties again. These aspects need to be considered. It must be noted in the negotiations that without the manufacturer, we cannot do anything. They can equip, rearm, and deliver the initial missiles. We can speed up production a bit, but we shouldn't wait until 20 units have accumulated. We can deliver them in batches of five. The delivery time of these missiles directly depends on the industry. Who will pay for this? Another question to consider is which weapon systems will these missiles be mounted on? And, how should the interaction between the company and Ukraine be maintained? Is there already some form of integration established?Gerhartz: I don't think so. Because the manufacturer, TSG, stated that, they can solve this problem within six months, whether it's a Sukhoi aircraft or an F-16.Graefe: If the Federal Chancellor decides to go for this, there must be an understanding that it will take six months just for the production of mounts. Thirdly, theoretically, the question of training may concern us. I've already mentioned that we cooperate with the missile manufacturer. They handle the maintenance training, and we handle the tactical application. This takes about three to four months. This part of the training can take place in Germany. When delivering the initial missiles, we need to make quick decisions regarding the mounts and training. We may have to turn to the British for these matters and use their know-how. We can provide them with databases, satellite images, and planning stations. Apart from the delivery of the missiles themselves, which we have, everything else can be provided by the industry or the IABG.Gerhartz: We need to consider that they can use aircraft with mounts for both Taurus and Storm Shadow missiles. The British have been there and outfitted aircraft. There is not much difference between the systems, they can be used for Taurus as well. I can talk about the experience of using the Patriot system. Our experts initially also tallied up long timeframes, but they managed to do it within a few weeks. They managed to get everything up and running so quickly and in so much quantity that our staff said, "Wow. We didn't expect that." We are currently fighting a war that uses much more modern technology than our good old Luftwaffe. This all suggests that when we plan deadlines, we shouldn't go overboard with them. And now, Fenske and Frohstedte, Gentlemen, I would like to hear your opinion on possible deliveries to Ukraine.Fenske: I would like to focus on the question of training. We have already looked into this, and if we deal with personnel who already have relevant training and will undergo training concurrently, it would only take approximately three weeks for them to become familiar with the equipment and then proceed directly to Air Force training, which would last about four weeks. Thus, it is much less than 12 weeks. However, this is all under the assumption that the personnel meet the necessary qualifications, training can be conducted without the need for translators, and a few other conditions are met. We have already engaged in discussions with Mrs. Friedberger regarding this matter. If we are talking about combat deployment, then in that case, de facto, we will be advised to support at least the initial group. Planning for this undertaking has proven to be challenging; it took approximately a year to train our personnel initially, and we are now aiming to reduce this timeframe to just ten weeks. Moreover, there is the added concern of ensuring they are capable of handling off-road driving in an F1 car. One possible option is to provide scheduled technical support; theoretically, this can be done from Buchel provided secure communication with Ukraine is established. If this were available, then further planning could be carried out. This is the main scenario at least - to provide full manufacturer support, support through the user support service, which will solve software problems. Basically, it's the same as we have in Germany.Gerhartz: Hold on a moment. I understand what you're saying. Politicians might be concerned about the direct closed connection between Buchel and Ukraine, which could imply direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict. But in that case, we can say that information exchange is going to take place through MBDA, and we'll send one or two of our specialists to Schrobenhausen. Of course, this is cunning, but from a political standpoint, it probably looks different. If the information exchange goes through the manufacturer, then it has nothing to do with us.Fenske: The question will arise as to where the information goes. If we're talking about information on target engagement, ideally including satellite images providing maximum accuracy of up to three meters, then we must first process them in Buchel. I think regardless of this, we can somehow organize an information exchange between Buchel and Schrobenhausen, or we can explore the possibility of transmitting information to Poland, doing it where it's accessible by car. This matter needs to be examined more closely; options will surely emerge If we are supported, in the worst case scenario we can even travel by car, which will reduce the reaction time. Of course, we won't be able to react within an hour because we'll need to give our consent. In the very best case, only six hours after receiving the information will the planes be able to execute an order. For hitting specific targets, an accuracy of more than three meters is sufficient, but if target refinement is necessary, well need to work with satellite images that allow for modeling. And then the reaction time can be up to 12 hours. It all depends on the target. I haven't studied this issue in detail, but I believe such an option is possible. We just need to figure out how to organize information transmission.Gerhartz: Do you think we can hope that Ukraine will be able to do everything on its own? After all, it's known that there are numerous people there in civilian attire who speak with an American accent. So it's quite possible that soon they'll be able to use everything themselves, right? After all, they have all the satellite images.Fenske: Yes, they get them from us. I would also like to touch on air defense issues briefly. We need to seriously consider having equipment in Kiev to receive information from IABG and NDK. We must ensure this is provided to them, which is why I have to fly there on February 21. It is crucial that we plan everything meticulously, unlike what happened with the Storm Shadows where we failed to plan out checkpoints properly. We need to think about how to fly around or fly below the radar coverage sector. If everything is prepared, the training will be more effective. And then we can revisit the question of the number of missiles. If we give them 50, they will be used up very quickly.Gerhartz: Exactly, it won't change the course of military actions. That's why we don't want to hand them all over. And not all at once. Perhaps 50 in the first batch, then maybe another batch of 50 missiles. It's perfectly clear, but thats all big politics. I suppose that's what it's really about. I've learned from my French and British colleagues that in reality, with these Storm Shadow and Scalp missiles, it's the same as with the Winchester riflesthey might ask, "Why should we supply the next batch of missiles when we've already supplied them? Let Germany do it now." Perhaps, Mr. Frohstedte wants to say something on this matter?Frohstedte: Allow me to add a bit of pragmatism. I want to share my thoughts on the Storm Shadows characteristics. Regarding air defense, flight time, flight altitude, and so on, I've come to the conclusion that there are two interesting targetsthe bridge to the east and the ammunition depots, which are higher up. The [Crimean] bridge to the east is difficult to reach, it's a relatively small target, but the Taurus can do it, and it can also strike the ammunition depots. Considering all this and comparing it with how much the Storm Shadows and HIMARS have been used, I have a question: "Is our target the bridge or the military depots?" Is it achievable with the current shortcomings that the REDs and Patriots have? And I've come to the conclusion that the limiting factor is that they usually only have 24 shells...Gerhartz: That's clear.Frohstedte: It makes sense to involve Ukraine in the process. It'll take a week. I think it's advisable to consider task planning and centralized planning. Task planning in our unit takes two weeks, but if there's interest, it can be done faster. If we're considering the bridge, then I believe Taurus is insufficient, and we need to have an understanding of how it can work, and for that, we need satellite data. I don't know if we can prepare the Ukrainians for such a task in a short time, in a month, for instance. What would a Taurus attack on the bridge look like? From an operational perspective, I can't assess how quickly the Ukrainians will learn to plan such actions and how quickly integration will occur. But since we're talking about the bridge and military bases, I understand they want to seize them as soon as possible.Fenske: I would like to add something regarding the destruction of the bridge. We've been intensely studying this issue, and unfortunately, we've come to the conclusion that due to its size, the bridge is akin to a runway. Therefore, it may require more than 10, or even 20 missiles.Gerhartz: There's an opinion that the Taurus can achieve this if the French Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft is used.Fenske: They would only be able to create a hole and damage the bridge. And before making important statements, we ourselves...Frohstedte: I'm not advocating for the idea of targeting the bridge; I pragmatically want to understand what they want. And what we need to teach them, so it turns out that when planning these operations, we will need to indicate the main points on the images. They will have targets, but it's important to consider that when working on smaller targets, planning needs to be more meticulous, rather than just analyzing pictures on the computer. When targets are confirmed, it's simpler, and less time will be spent on planning.Gerhartz: We all know they want to destroy the bridge, which ultimately signifies how it's guardednot only because of its military-strategic importance but also its political significance. Even though they have a ground corridor now. There are certain concerns if we have direct communication with the Ukrainian armed forces. So the question arises: can we use such a ruse and assign our people to MBDA? Thus, direct communication with Ukraine will only be through MBDA, which is much better than if such communication exists with our Air Force.Graefe: Gerhartz, it doesn't matter. We have to make sure that from the very beginning there is no language that makes us a party to the conflict. I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, but if we tell the minister now that we are going to plan meetings and travel by car from Poland so that no one notices, that's already participation, and we won't do that. If we're talking about the manufacturer, the first thing to ask is whether MBDA can do it. It doesn't matter if our people will then deal with it in Buchel or in Schrobenhausenit still means involvement. And I don't think we should do that. From the very beginning, we defined this as a key element of the "red line," so we'll participate in the training. Let's say we'll prepare a "roadmap." The training process needs to be divided into parts. The long track will take four months, where we'll thoroughly train them, including practicing scenarios with the bridge. The short track will be two weeks so that they can use the missiles as soon as possible. If they are already trained, then we'll ask the British if they are ready to take over at this stage. I believe these actions will be the right onesjust imagine if the press finds out that our people are in Schrobenhausen or that we're driving somewhere in Poland! I find such an option to be unacceptable.Gerhartz: If such a political decision is made, we must say that the Ukrainians should come to us. First and foremost, we need to know whether such a political decision constitutes direct involvement in task planning. In that case, the training will take a bit longer, and they will be able to tackle more complex tasks, possibly with some experience and high-tech equipment already in use. If there's a possibility to avoid direct involvement, we can't participate in task planning, do it in Buchel, and then forward it to themthat's a "red line" for Germany. We can train them for two months; they won't learn everything, but they'll learn something. We just need to ensure they can process all the information and work with all the parameters.Graefe: Zeppel said we can create both an extended and a brief "roadmap." The goal is to get a quick result. And if the initial task is to hit ammunition depots rather than complex objects like bridges, then we can proceed with an abbreviated program and get results quickly. As for information from IABG, I don't see this as a critical issue since they are not tied down to a specific location; they must conduct reconnaissance themselves. It's clear that efficiency depends on this. This is what we discussed regarding missile delivery. It's not decided yet, but that's the plan for now.Gerhartz: And this will be the main point. There are ammunition depots where short-term preparation won't be possible due to very active air defense. We'll need to seriously look into it. I believe that our people will find a solution. We just need to be allowed to try first so that we can provide better political advice. We need to prepare better so as not to fail because, for example, the KSA may not have an accurate idea of where the air defense systems actually are. The Ukrainians have this information, and we have data from the radars. But if we're talking about precise planning, we need to know where the radars are installed and where the stationary installations are, and how to bypass them. This will allow us to develop a more accurate plan. We have a superb means, and if we have precise coordinates, we can apply it accurately. But there's no basis to say we can't do this. There's a certain threshold where the "red line" politically passes, there's a "long" and "short" path, and there are differences in terms of utilizing the full potential, which the Ukrainians will be able to utilize better over time as they practice and continually work on it. Personally, I don't think I need to be present at the meeting. It's important to me that you present a sober assessment and don't create disruptions that just aren't convincing enough while other countries are supplying Storm Shadow and Scalp.Graefe: The longer they take to make a decision, the longer it will take us to implement it. We need to break everything down into stages. Start with the simple first, and then move on to the complex. Or we can ask the British if they can support us at the initial stage, and have them take on the planning issues? We should facilitate whatever falls within our area of responsibility. Developing mounts for missiles is not our task; Ukraine should resolve this with the manufacturers on their own.Gerhartz: Right now, we wouldn't want to encounter problems with the budget committee. It could make it impossible to start construction work at the airbase in Buchel in 2024. Right now, every day counts when it comes to the program.

germany

ukraine

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/german-bundeswehr-chatter-nato-teetering-on-edge-of-direct-conflict-with-russia--1117078308.html

German Bundeswehr Chatter: NATO Teetering on Edge of Direct Conflict With Russia

German Bundeswehr Chatter: NATO Teetering on Edge of Direct Conflict With Russia

Sputnik International

Western forces have long been fighting on Ukraine's side, intelligence veteran Leonid Reshetnikov told Sputnik, commenting on the German military representatives' discussion about blasting the Crimean Bridge with Taurus missiles.

2024-03-01T17:15+0000

2024-03-01T17:15+0000

2024-03-04T11:29+0000

nato

world

military & intelligence

leonid reshetnikov

olaf scholz

americans

ukraine

united kingdom (uk)

russia

special forces

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A recording of German military officers discussing a potential attack on the Crimean Bridge was released by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, on March 1. Judging from the transcript, NATO soldiers from the UK, the US and France have been operating in the Ukraine combat zone for quite a while."A significant part of the weapons used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces is supplied from the West," Leonid Reshetnikov, a retired lieutenant general of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), told Sputnik. Likewise, when transferring sophisticated and high-precision weapons to Ukraine, NATO countries usually also dispatch maintenance personnel, repair staff and crews to operate this equipment to the combat zone, the retired intelligence officer continued."They have no time for training the Ukraine military in the midst of the special military operation. Therefore the crews of these [NATO] countries have been operating or firing systems such as Patriot air defense systems and other systems supplied by the Americans, NATO members, the French, and the British for quite a while. Of course, they are not deployed at the very forefront, but they operate artillery, air defense systems, and partially tanks," Reshetnikov said.Similarly, NATO Special Forces disguised as mercenaries have also been deployed in the zone of the special military operation, according to the intelligence veteran.Reshetnikov explained that under this scenario, NATO Special Ops soldiers formally leave their unit and go to the zone of the special military operation as volunteers. However, they are not only paid for participating in hostilities on Ukraine's side, but also retain the income they received while serving in the army of a NATO country. Thus, Special Forces from the US, the UK and France are fighting on the ground pretending to be mere mercenaries.Given all of the above, one can see that NATO is really involved in the Ukraine conflict and is actively fighting on the side of the Kiev regime, the intelligence veteran emphasized.NATO Deeply Divided Over Sending Forces to UkrainePrior to the Bundeswehr release, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came under fierce criticism for disclosing information about the presence of the British and French military in the combat zone in Ukraine. According to Scholz, Western soldiers have been dispatched to operate long-range Storm Shadow and SCALP cruise missiles and help Ukrainian fire at Russian targets.Speaking to journalists in Berlin earlier this week, Scholz explained why Berlin hesitates to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine."This is a very far-reaching weapon," Scholz said about the Taurus. "What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and support for target control cannot be done in Germany."Berlin's French and British allies lambasted the German chancellor for what they called a "flagrant abuse of intelligence".Earlier, the Financial Times cited French President Emmanuel Macron who failed to rule out sending the alliance's troops to Ukraine at a gathering with his NATO allies. What's more, a senior European official told the newspaper that Western troops have long been covertly deployed in Ukraine.Commenting on media leaks and statements by Western politicians, Reshetnikov outlined two opposite trends. According to him, there are Western politicians, who, like Emmanuel Macron, are willing to expand NATO's involvement in the Ukraine conflict. However, there are also others, who fear that the alliance's presence in the conflict zone may lead to direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.The latter are openly speaking about NATO's involvement to trigger a public debate and resentment about getting bogged down in Ukraine, according to the intelligence veteran.Indeed, the US and EU's latest surveys have shown that as the Kiev regime's forces continue to sustain defeats, the Americans and Europeans are calling for a negotiated settlement instead of further arming Ukraine.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/full-transcript-of-german-top-military-officials-leaked-plot-to-attack-crimean-bridge-1117078481.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/uk-privately-pushing-germany-to-send-ukraine-missiles-capable-of-reaching-russia---reports-1117076129.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/macrons-idea-to-send-nato-troops-to-ukraine-made-him-look-very-foolish--1117069472.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240228/how-nato-has-enhanced-its-presence-in-ukraine-1117040336.html

ukraine

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russia

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Ekaterina Blinova

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Ekaterina Blinova

german officers discussed attacking crimean bridge, nato forces deployed in ukraine, ukraine war, how many nato troops are deployed in ukraine, russian civilian infrastructure, nato forces helping ukrainians to target russian civilian infrastructure
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/israel-is-destroying-itself-how-western-media-helps-in-the-slaughter-of-palestinians-1117081677.html

'Israel is Destroying Itself': How Western Media Helps in the Slaughter of Palestinians

'Israel is Destroying Itself': How Western Media Helps in the Slaughter of Palestinians

Sputnik International

Seyed Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian American academic and political analyst, told radio Sputnik that the Western media paved the way for Israel's actions in Gaza.

2024-03-01T21:33+0000

2024-03-01T21:33+0000

2024-03-01T21:33+0000

analysis

palestinians

seyed mohammad marandi

gaza strip

palestine

israel

the new york times

hamas

sputnik

americans

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The New York Times and other Western media outlets paved the way for Israels slaughter, Seyed Mohammad Marandi, an Iranian-American academic and political analyst, told Sputniks The Critical Hour on Thursday.The Times articles co-author was later revealed as a former Israeli Defense Force officer who had no prior reporting experience and had liked posts that called Gazans human animals and advocated turning the Gaza Strip into a slaughterhouse. The family of one of the victims featured heavily in the article later said the newspaper misled them, and the victims brother-in-law and sisters denied there was evidence that their family member was raped.The Times has since said it is reviewing the authors social media accounts, but has not retracted the article.Marandi noted that anyone who is denying that Israelis are intentionally massacring Palestinians has been closing their eyes to reality, especially in the wake of videos released on Thursday that appear to show IDF forces firing on Palestinians gathering food from aid trucks.Its quite clear that the Israelis use the trucks as bait and when starving people gather to find food for their starving children, the Israelis open fire. More than 100 people were killed and more than 750 injured in the attack, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.But it is the mainstream medias portrayal and non-coverage of these events that brainwash the masses, Marandi said.Despite the propaganda, the images coming out of Gaza are so horrific that even some of Israels most adamant supporters are turning against the US policy of unconditional support.Two-thirds of Americans [oppose] the current policy, according to one poll, the majority of even white evangelicals and the majority of American Jews are [in favor of a permanent ceasefire], Marandi explained, referring to a recent Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) poll.The irony is that while the Israeli regime and its allies in Washington are the ones who are preventing a ceasefire from taking place, these are the ones who are going to lose the most by continuing the war, Marandi argued. They can kill more Palestinians and they want to kill more Palestinians, but they are destroying their image. They are destroying their legitimacy in the eyes of those who thought they were legitimate previously across the world. So in my opinion, Israel is destroying itself.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/colombia-suspends-arms-purchases-from-israel-after-gaza-aid-incident-1117067139.html

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genocide in gaza, humanitarian crisis in gaza, what is happening in gaza, media bias for israel
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/japan-urges-israel-to-obey-intl-law-after-deadly-gaza-aid-incident-1117070210.html

Japan Urges Israel to Obey Int'l Law After Deadly Gaza Aid Incident

Japan Urges Israel to Obey Int'l Law After Deadly Gaza Aid Incident

Sputnik International

The Japanese government continues to support Israel's right to self-defense but also insists that Israel must exercise this right in full compliance with international humanitarian law, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said on Friday in the wake of a deadly shooting at Palestinian aid seekers in the Gaza Strip.

2024-03-01T07:16+0000

2024-03-01T07:16+0000

2024-03-01T07:16+0000

world

palestine-israel conflict

israel

japan

gaza strip

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On Thursday, the Palestinian authorities said the Israeli military opened fire at a crowd of Gaza civilians waiting to receive humanitarian aid, killing 112 and injuring 760 others. Israel denied that the death toll from its shooting was that high and claimed that most of the victims died in a crowd crush as people stormed the trucks loaded with aid. Japan's top diplomat declined to directly comment on the incident in the Gaza Strip, saying that it was "difficult to comprehensively assess the situation now." On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 30,000 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/colombia-suspends-arms-purchases-from-israel-after-gaza-aid-incident-1117067139.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/no-one-in-europe-planning-to-send-troops-to-ukraine---czech-republics-prime-minister-1117066248.html

'No One in Europe' Planning to Send Troops to Ukraine - Czech Prime Minister

'No One in Europe' Planning to Send Troops to Ukraine - Czech Prime Minister

Sputnik International

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday that none of the European countries are planning to send their troops to Ukraine.

2024-03-01T04:34+0000

2024-03-01T04:34+0000

2024-03-01T08:12+0000

ukrainian crisis

nato

petr fiala

emmanuel macron

world

russia-nato showdown

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After a Paris-hosted conference on Ukraine on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said Western leaders had discussed the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and no consensus had been reached, but nothing could be ruled out, and they would do everything to stop Russia from winning. He added that Macron put forward the idea on the sidelines of the Paris meeting, and it was a "minimal topic" there, the report said. The Czech prime minister added that the overwhelming majority of participants of the Paris meeting had agreed that the question of sending troops to Ukraine would not be discussed or even considered further. On Thursday, during his annual address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the consequences of a potential NATO intervention in Ukraine would be tragic for the alliance's troops, if they were sent there.Putin castigated the claims made in the West that Russia is planning to launch an attack on Europe as "nonsense." Western countries, including member states of the European Union, have been providing military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's military 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/20240229/us-defense-secretary-austin-says-nato-will-be-in-fight-with-russia-if-ukraine-falls-1117061184.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/recent-leaks-prove-ukraine-conflict-is-russias-resistance-to-nato-aggression-1117080365.html

Recent Leaks Prove Ukraine Conflict is Russia's Resistance to NATO Aggression

Recent Leaks Prove Ukraine Conflict is Russia's Resistance to NATO Aggression

Sputnik International

A recording of high-ranking German officers' conversation has added to a pile of evidence indicating NATO's deep involvement in Ukraine's conflict, as well as raising questions about the transatlantic alliance's highly provocative behavior, Western military veterans told Sputnik.

2024-03-01T18:54+0000

2024-03-01T18:54+0000

2024-03-01T18:54+0000

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A transcript of chatter between high-ranking German officers that was released by Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, suggests that the West is growing desperate, according to Earl Rasmussen, a retired lieutenant colonel with over 20 years in the US Army and an international consultant.During the conversation, Bundeswehr representatives discussed a potential attack on the Crimea Bridge with one of the officers claiming that more than 10 or even 20 missiles may be needed to destroy it. Another mentioned the planned trip to Ukraine on February 21 to coordinate attacks on Russian objects."Everyone knows Crimea is never going back to Ukraine, no matter what negotiations are," Rasmussen said.Germany's Participation Would be 'Act of War'If the plot discussed by the German officers were to be implemented it would be an "act of war", according to the expert."Definitely it is an act of war," he said. "Just like the Nord Stream pipeline was really an act of war. And yet they just kind of let it happen and with no response from European countries. Germany specifically stood there right next to [US] President [Joe] Biden and just kind of like, 'okay'."According to Rasmussen, where these missiles are fired from and who's behind the button are important details.NATO Trying to Drag Russia Into Direct ConflictMeanwhile, a rift is deepening within NATO ranks as the Ukrainian military continues to retreat, according to the retired lieutenant colonel. "They're in a very critical, desperate situation," he noted.Perhaps, in a bid to "unite" the bloc's member-states, the NATO leadership is trying to turn the ongoing conflict into an "existential one", Rasmussen presumed.If that's the case, "it's careless, reckless, dangerous," argued the military veteran: "I don't know if there's money involved, or if there's pressure from the US. It just doesn't make sense. The populations are against this. You know, three-fourths of the population is against it in France. I would gather the same amount, maybe more in Germany. So if the populations realized what their politicians are doing, I don't know what would happen."For his part, Mikael Valtersson, a former officer of the Swedish Armed Forces/Air Defense and former chief of staff with the Sweden Democrats, argued that "It's not in Russia's interest to escalate the conflict and risk an all-out war with the West." According to him, Russia "wins diplomatically by showing restraint."Russia's Existential StruggleThe admission by a senior European official that NATO forces have been deployed for quite a while in Ukraine alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's acknowledgment that British and French military are assisting Ukrainians to fire SCALP and Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles at Russia's targets could prompt a shift in the perception of the conflict, according to Valtersson.This revelation makes it easier for the Russian leadership to show that the conflict is not actually about a Russo-Ukrainian confrontation but a struggle between the entire Western world and Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/full-transcript-of-german-top-military-officials-leaked-plot-to-attack-crimean-bridge-1117078481.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/german-bundeswehr-chatter-nato-teetering-on-edge-of-direct-conflict-with-russia--1117078308.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/russia-has-to-call-for-bundestag-probe-into-alleged-german-plot-to-strike-crimean-bridge---official-1117071549.html

Russia Must Press Bundestag to Look Into Alleged German Plot to Strike Crimean Bridge - Official

Russia Must Press Bundestag to Look Into Alleged German Plot to Strike Crimean Bridge - Official

Sputnik International

It is necessary to send a demand for an investigation to Bundestag, the German parliament, after information about a recording of German officers discussing an attack on the Crimean Bridge, Russian lower house speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Friday.

2024-03-01T10:03+0000

2024-03-01T10:03+0000

2024-03-01T10:47+0000

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"The information that has emerged with recordings of discussions by high-ranking German officers about plans to strike the Crimean Bridge  as well as how to do this so that suspicion does not fall on German Chancellor [Olaf] Scholz, deserves the most serious discussion and response  I also think it is correct to send a demand to the Bundestag to conduct an investigation," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel. The issue will be discussed by the State Duma lawmakers on March 11, the speaker added. "The fact that the conversation was recorded compels the German leadership to provide an explanation  Does Scholz understand that these actions will require Russia to retaliate?" Volodin added.Earlier, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent media group, said she had obtained an audio recording of high-ranking officers of the German Bundeswehr discussing "how they will bomb the Crimean bridge". The recording lasts 40 minutes, Simonyan writes. The German officers also mention colleagues from the United States and Britain, "discussing that these people have been directly involved in the conflict for a long time".Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he is so far unaware of an audio recording of German military officials discussing the attack on the Crimean Bridge but will listen to it when possible."No. We don't know anything about this content. I don't know if this recording is available," Peskov told reporters, adding that he will listen to the recording when it becomes available.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/russia-ready-to-hand-over-to-ukraine-bodies-of-those-killed-in-il-76-crash---moskalkova-1117066083.html

Russia Ready to Hand Over to Ukraine Bodies of Those Died in Il-76 Crash

Russia Ready to Hand Over to Ukraine Bodies of Those Died in Il-76 Crash

Sputnik International

Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has told Sputnik that Russia is ready to hand over to Ukraine the bodies of those killed in the crash of the Russian cargo plane Il-76.

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"Yes, we are ready, everything necessary in terms of the procedure is in place ... The bodies can be handed over in accordance with the existing procedures," she said. Moskalkova has told Sputnik earlier that she maintains contact with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, on the downing of the Il-76 aircraft. On January 24, six Russian crew members, three Russian servicepeople and 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war aboard the airplane were killed after a missile hit the Il-76 airplane. The aircraft was en route for a planned prisoner exchange that was subsequently canceled.Russian President Vladimir Putin said following the incident that Ukrainian intelligence knew that there were Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the Il-76 military transport plane, but struck it anyway. The Russian Investigative Committee said that the Ukrainian armed forces used the MIM-104A guided missile of the Patriot system to shoot down the plane.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/russia-ukraine-peace-settlement-attempt-sabotaged-in-march-2022---erdogan-1117081326.html

Russia-Ukraine Peace Settlement Attempt 'Sabotaged' in March 2022 - Erdogan

Russia-Ukraine Peace Settlement Attempt 'Sabotaged' in March 2022 - Erdogan

Sputnik International

The attempt to reach a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 was "sabotaged," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday

2024-03-01T18:56+0000

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"The Ukrainian crisis has moved into its third year. Here in Antalya, the Istanbul process was launched. At that time, hopes for peace reached a new level. But unfortunately, due to the lack of the necessary support, our efforts have failed. The historic opportunity to achieve peace, to save tens of thousands of lives from destruction and to save tens of thousands of lives was actually missed, or, more precisely, sabotaged," Erdogan said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. The diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya is taking place from March 1-3.In November 2023, Ukraines former chief negotiator with Russia, David Arakhamia, said then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson talked Kiev out of signing an agreement with Moscow to end the conflict in spring 2022. Johnson denies it.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231127/uk-media-mum-on-shocking-claims-boris-johnson-sabotaged-russia-ukraine-peace-talks--1115230732.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/russias-lavrov-arrives-in-turkiye-to-participate-in-antalya-diplomacy-forum-1117064138.html

Russia's Lavrov Arrives in Turkiye to Participate in Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Russia's Lavrov Arrives in Turkiye to Participate in Antalya Diplomacy Forum

Sputnik International

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in the Turkish city of Antalya to take part in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, taking place from March 1-3, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

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During the two-day visit to Turkiye, Lavrov will meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan for talks. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Fidan will discuss a wide range of regional and international issues, including the situation in the South Caucasus, the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia and the Black Sea region. The ministers will pay special attention to the Ukraine conflict during the talks.On the sidelines of the forum, Lavrov will also meet with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, Kyrgyz Foreign Affairs Minister Jeenbek Kulubaev, Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov and the King of Eswatini, Mswati III.The 3rd Antalya Diplomacy Forum, hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will bring together more than 20 heads of state from over 100 countries, as well as over 90 ministers and 80 representatives of international organizations. The overarching theme of this year's forum will be "Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil". The previous diplomatic forum in Antalya was held in March 2022.

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A revised constitution and new media regulations are redefining the relationship between Ethiopias deeply religious society, the media and the state, a new study has found. While the easing of media restrictions following the new media proclamation in 2021 has allowed religious organizations to apply for broadcasting licenses, Ethiopian authorities are taking a cautious approach to issuing broadcast permits.

The study, titled Media and Religion in Ethiopia, notes that between 2021 and 2023, up to 50 religious organizations had applied for and acquired broadcasting licenses but the permits mask underlying restrictions in media and religious freedom.

The broadcasting licenses do not permit local radio stations or transmission through terrestrial television but are a registration system to map organizations which use the internet and satellite to distribute religious programmes to Ethiopian audiences, note the authors of the study, Mulatu Alemayehu Moges and Terje Skjerdal.

Instead, religious expression has found its way into mainstream media where presenters on state television are seen wearing Orthodox crosses and Muslim hijabs, which was unheard of just five years ago. The open confession of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as an evangelical Christian has also boosted the infusion of religion in the public arena since 2018.

According to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom, close to half (44 percent) of Ethiopias population of more than 114 million (mid-year 2022) are members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) while 23 percent identify as Christian Protestant. 31 percent are Muslims mainly occupying the southern and eastern parts of the vast country.

In a nation that prides itself in having its main religious denomination dating back to the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by apostle Philip, conversion from EOC to Protestant is not generally encouraged. But Muslim converts face ostracism and attacks by families, friends or Islamists. Open Doors ministry, which tracks Christian persecution, estimates that 15 Christians were killed for their faith in Ethiopia in 2023 while 284 churches and christian properties were attacked.

The study notes that tensions come to the fore during religious festivals and that this is when the independence of the media is tested. The state media tends to neglect or downplay religious conflict issues in the coverage.

However, with the many private media outlets as well as the social media on the scene, it has become harder for the state media to control the narrative around religious issues altogether, states Moges.

A Covid-19 miracle

A lockdown in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic provided a divine opportunity. The state broadcaster, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC), started daily one-hour religious programmes targeting faithfuls who could not attend in-person services. Soon, other state-affiliated and private stations followed EBCs step.

The programmes only lasted for about two months, but at that point they had already made a lasting change in the state medias treatment of religionthe formerly strict policy against showing religious practice in the official media had eroded, said one religious leader interviewed in the study.

Nevertheless, the expansion of this freedom is tied to the social cohesion that is enforced by the Ethiopian Media Authority (EMA). In a case that exemplifies the delicate balance between media freedom and religious rights, EMA temporarily withdrew the license of an Orthodox YouTube channel after it reported a drawn out conflict that involved the controversial appointment of 26 bishops.

State media firms deliberately avoid divisive religious topics and maintain their neutrality as a principle of separation of state and religion. The independent media are more prone to give room for worldview and religion in their reporting. Outlets which have obtained a religious broadcasting license, however, are careful to avoid any conflict reporting in their programming.

We calm down the people and follow the rules of the government, said one manager of a religious TV station.

The authors of the study observe that the Ethiopian government continues to hold a tight rein on faith-based media outlets and in relation to religious media content. The authors note that this policy stands in contrast to that of other Sub-Saharan African countries.

The study interviewed 20 representatives from the media, religious leaders and the regulator. It also analyzed 98 stories on religion which made headlines in ten different media outlets between 2020 and 2023.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/uk-privately-pushing-germany-to-send-ukraine-missiles-capable-of-reaching-russia---reports-1117076129.html

UK Privately Pushing Germany to Send Ukraine Missiles Capable of Reaching Russia - Reports

UK Privately Pushing Germany to Send Ukraine Missiles Capable of Reaching Russia - Reports

Sputnik International

The UK government is privately pushing Germany to supply Ukraine with the long-range Taurus missiles, which are capable of striking deep into Russian territory, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter

2024-03-01T14:22+0000

2024-03-01T14:22+0000

2024-03-01T14:22+0000

military

olaf scholz

germany

ukraine

united kingdom (uk)

russia

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On Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he was reluctant to send the Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine due to their range being long enough to hit Russian territory if used incorrectly. He said it was fraught with making Germany a party to the conflict with Russia. UK ministers and other high-ranking officials have repeatedly given Berlin to understand that Ukraine needed its Taurus missiles badly, Bloomberg cited its sources as saying. London has even proposed several compromise solutions, such as sending Ukraine its own long-range Storm Shadow missiles and then replenishing the stock by buying Taurus missiles from Germany, the report read. At the same time, some UK politicians and lawmakers have been vocal with their criticism of Scholz's stance and also of his comment to the effect that, that unlike the UK and France, which provide Ukraine with training to operate long-range missiles, Germany would not do it and no German soldier would set foot on Ukrainian soil. The main issue with the supply of Taurus missiles is their range of 500 kilometers (311 miles), which makes them capable of striking deep into Russian territory. Berlin has previously not supplied Kiev with weapons with similar characteristics. The German expert community has even discussed whether the missiles could be programmed so that they could not be used to strike the Russian territory. It was precisely this issue that interested Scholz, and therefore negotiations were allegedly held with representatives of the military industry, Der Spiegel magazine reported.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240224/taurus-missiles-wont-help-ukraine-may-bring-war-to-germany-bundestag-mp-warns-1116955449.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240125/what-weapons-will-west-supply-to-ukraine-in-2024-1116386809.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/uks-rwanda-deportation-scheme-may-cost-london-23mln-per-migrant---reports-1117074341.html

UK's Rwanda Deportation Scheme May Cost London $2.3Mln Per Migrant - Reports

UK's Rwanda Deportation Scheme May Cost London $2.3Mln Per Migrant - Reports

Sputnik International

The United Kingdom's plan to relocate illegal migrants to Rwanda may cost its taxpayers 1.8 million pounds ($2.3 million) per deportation, or over 500 million pounds by 2030, British media estimated using new fresh investigation by the UK National Audit Office (NAO) into the true costs of the government's controversial scheme.

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The Home Office has not so far revealed the total amount already spent on the deportation scheme apart from the 290 million pounds it disclosed last year. NAO's investigation was requested by members of parliament in December 2023 as they expressed their concern over a lack of transparency on the government's end. "In implementing the partnership, the Home Office would make two types of direct payments to the Government of Rwanda. These are: payments to the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund [ETIF] ... and payments to cover asylum processing and operational costs for individuals relocated to Rwanda," NAO said in its findings. The Home Office has promised the Rwandan government 370 million pounds in ETIF payments  of which it has already paid 220 million pounds and committed to pay another 50 million pounds each in April 2024, 2025 and 2026  as well as further payments depending on the number of people relocated: 120 million once 300 people have been relocated and then 20,000 pounds per each relocated person. This is in addition to 151,000 pounds needed per each relocated person to cover their asylum processing and operational costs, NAO said. Separately, the Home Office needs funds for "setting up and operating the partnership," including staff costs, legal costs, and migrant travel costs. "As at February 2024, the Home Office had incurred costs of 20 million, which it expects to rise to 28 million by the end of 2023-24. The Home Office estimates that it will also incur further costs of approximately 1 million per year in staff costs and 11,000 per individual for flight costs. It will also incur costs to escort individuals to Rwanda. These include training costs of 12.6 million in 2024-25 and 1 million per year thereafter in fixed costs, plus further escorting costs which are dependent on the number of flights required," NAO said in its findings. The United Kingdom and Rwanda signed a migration agreement in 2022, under which people identified by the UK government as undocumented migrants or asylum seekers will be deported to Rwanda for processing, asylum and resettlement. The plan has drawn criticism from human rights organizations and some politicians who believe the measure will not help stem the flow of migrants. The first deportation of migrants from the UK to Rwanda was scheduled to take place on June 14, 2022. However, the flight was canceled at the last minute due to the intervention of the European Court of Human Rights. Last November, the UK Supreme Court declared the government's initial scheme unlawful, saying it could not guarantee the safety of asylum seekers after their deportation to Rwanda. The government responded by signing a new deal with Rwanda which addressed the court's concern about the African country's safety for asylum seekers.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240225/us-cities-see-their-budgets-squeezed-as-migrant-flow-increases-1116976732.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20240301/watch-russian-sharpshooter-snuff-out-ukrainian-servicemen-1117069650.html

Watch Russian Sharpshooter Snuff Out Ukrainian Servicemen

Watch Russian Sharpshooter Snuff Out Ukrainian Servicemen

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Snipers play a crucial role in the special op, eliminating high-profile targets, including enemy officers and highly skilled specialists. Sometimes, however, these elite troops may also hunt down ordinary enemy soldiers.

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The Russian Ministry of Defense recently released footage of a sniper engaging in combat in the area of Avdeyevka. Ukrainian soldiers were attempting to change positions under cover of night when they were spotted by the skilled Russian sharpshooter, who swiftly neutralized them. Snipers adhere to a unique set of rules governing their combat behavior, operating discreetly in the shadows and striking unexpectedly.

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Watch Russias Su-25s Wipe Out Ukrainian Stronghold in Special Op Zone

Watch Russias Su-25s Wipe Out Ukrainian Stronghold in Special Op Zone

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The Russian Aerospace Forces Su-25 is a versatile attack aircraft, designed to provide air support for ground troops by engaging targets such as tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as fortifications.

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As part of the ongoing special military operation, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has released a video showing the crews of Su-25 fighter jets destroying a Ukrainian troop position in the Avdeyevka area. The Su-25s fired unguided S-8 missiles at the position, using a pitching maneuver accompanied by a sharp climb to set a certain angle for the S-8 launch, the MoD said in a statement.The pilots then released the heat traps before returning to the home airfield to prepare for the next flight, according to the MoD.

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Leaping up in class on Leap Day, Hankscoltfortyfive overpowered the field first over to spring an 11-1 upset  his second straight victory  in Thursdays (Feb. 29) feature at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, an $16,081 conditioned pace.

Hankscoltfortyfive was jumping up from conditioned claimers, but owner/trainer/driver Brady Jenson did not hesitate to send him first up from fourth. The five-year-old Western Trademark-Hanks Chip gelding gobbled up the leader, Take A Closer Look, and rolled home in a career-best 1:54.2, three-quarter lengths better than Colby Jack. A trapped-in Aintbluenomore found late racing room for show.

Elsewhere on Thursdays card, The Meadows and the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association welcomed back driver Chris Shaw, who made his first purse start since suffering multiple serious injuries in a Sept. 28, 2021 race mishap at The Meadows. His return was successful, as he finished third aboard Yankee Gambol, a three-year-old trotting filly trained by Shaws wife, Ashley Brown.

Aaron Merriman, Dave Palone, Ridge Warren, Ronnie Wrenn Jr., trainer Michael Burke and Jenson each enjoyed a double on the 13-race card.

Live harness racing at The Meadows continues on Friday, March 1 when the 13-race program features an $836.03 carryover in the Pick 5 (race nine). First post is 12:45 p.m.

(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)
The Maritime Breeders Association announced on Thursday, Feb. 29 that Metro Home Building Centre of Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Truro Home Building Centers of Bible Hill, N.S., the title sponsors of the Home Hardware Maritime Breeders Stakes, have extended their sponsorship contract for another three-year term.

The renewed sponsorship by both locally owned businesses will mean the addition of $40,000 per year in sponsorship money added to stakes purses for two- and three-year-old Maritime-sired trotters and pacers competing in the stakes program.

On behalf of the Maritime Breeders Association, I would like to thank Peter Smith of Metro Home Building Centre, Charlottetown, PE and Arnold Hagen of Truro Home Building Centers, Bible Hill, NS for their continued support of the Home Hardware Maritime Breeders Stakes," said Earl Watts, Chair of the Maritime Breeders Association. "This lucrative sponsorship by two locally owned companies has helped to build this stakes into a marquee event for Maritime-sired pacers and trotters."

The Home Hardware Maritime Breeders Stakes will consist of a new format beginning in the 2024 stakes season. The provinces of Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia will alternate playing host to all divisions of the event annually. This will give fans in each province the chance to see the stars of the Maritime stakes circuit compete at their local tracks. Prince Edward Island will host the 2024 Home Hardware Maritime Breeders Stakes events at the dates and location listed below.

Oct. 24 at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park for two- and three-year-old colt and filly trotters.

Oct. 26 at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park for two and three-year-old colt and filly pacers. (This will be a double header with the two-year-old pacers racing on the afternoon card with a 12 p.m. post time and the three-year-old pacers racing on the evening card with a 6 p.m. post time.)

(With files from Red Shores & Maritime Breeders Association)
The connections of retired Ontario stakes winner Armbro Warranty have reported the pacing stallion passed away on Feb. 20, 2024 at the age of 25.

Owned by Petrina Lawrence since he was a yearling, Armbro Warranty was a $17,000 purchase from the 2000 Forest City Sale and went on to earn 49 wins, 38 seconds and 33 thirds from 251 starts while banking $722,295 during his racing career. The son of Village Jiffy out of the Slapstick mare Vivian Lobell last raced in 2010 and spent his retirement years at Lawrence's farm in Rodney, Ont., breeding a few mares over the years and establishing a patriarchal presence at the farm.

Armbro Warranty was trained for the majority of his starts by former co-owner Fred Logan, Alan Logan and later Russell Gowan and Charles Rohde Jr.

The Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) graduate took his mark of 1:50.3 at Woodbine Racetrack in a Gold elimination as a three-year-old in 2002, setting what was then an all-time OSS record. In addition to multiple OSS victories, Lawrence counts winning the Flamboro Downs Breeders Stakes and competing in the 2003 Gold Cup & Saucer among the highlights of her belover pacer's career. Armbro Warranty later competed in the Open and Preferred ranks at racetracks across the province until his retirement.

"He was just a really good, sweet horse with a huge personality. He was really a pleasure to be around," said Lawrence. "He's really going to be missed."

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Armbro Warranty.

(Standardbred Canada)
On Wednesday, February 28 Ghanas legislative body passed a bill in the countrys parliament that introduces new criminal penalties for LGBTQ+ activity, advocacy, and promotion. This development follows the rejection last Wednesday of an amendment by ruling-party lawmaker Alexander Afenyo-Markin that would have replaced prison time with non-custodial sentences including counselling. Currently, gay sex is punishable in the West African nation by up to three years in prison, a penalty that would increase to five years if the President Nana Akufo-Addo signs the bill into law.

If enacted, the law would prohibit gay marriages and subject citizens who have undergone gender reassignment surgery to potential imprisonment for up to five years. Furthermore, the bill aims to restrict public displays of affection between individuals of the same sex or those who identify as a gender different from their biological sex and criminalize individuals identifying as LGBTQ+ or engaging in same-sex relationships or sexual activities. Penalties are also applicable to cross-dressing.

General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Ghana Rev. Jude Hama challenged Afenyo-Markins arguments for less punitive punishments.

Do armed robbers and burglars have human rights? Yet when they are convicted of their human behaviours, which are inimical to the well-being of society, they are incarcerated, he said. So why cant those who practice grossly deviant human sexual behaviours, which are also inimical to the well-being of society and threaten the survival of the human race, be incarcerated?

The United Nations, in a 2021 report, criticized the proposed legislation, known as The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values. It stated that it would institutionalize a system of state-sponsored discrimination and violence against sexual minorities.

However, African religious leaders frequently decry such criticism as both misguided and hypocritical. They point to the criminalization of polygamy, incest, sexual relations with minors and other forms of physical relationships that are deemed immoral in most Western nations and are punished with punitive measures which include prison sentences.

It also presents itself as a new form of colonialism if Western nations seek to tie humanitarian aid to requirements of normalizing and legalizing behaviour that is incompatible with biblical values as well as African culture.

Meanwhile, the increasing openness of certain historic global church traditions towards accepting non-traditional family models has led to tensions between believers in the Global North versus the Global South.

One example is the Roman Catholic Church where Pope Francis has previously condemned laws criminalizing homosexuality as unjust, emphasizing that God loves all individuals as they are and urging Catholic bishops to embrace LGBTQ+ individuals within the Church.

In a recent interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, Pope Francis acknowledged the perspective of Catholic bishops in Africa who oppose a new Vatican policy authorizing same-sex blessings.

Those who protest vehemently belong to small ideological groups he said. A special case are Africans: for them, homosexuality is something bad from a cultural point of view, they dont tolerate it.

African Catholic bishops had earlier expressed disagreement with Pope Franciss stance on same-sex marriages, emphasizing the unchanged doctrine of the Church regarding Christian marriage and sexuality. In a statement, they asserted, The Church's doctrine on Christian marriage and sexuality remains unchanged For this reason, we, the African Bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples.

The bill was sponsored by Ghanas faith sector, which comprises a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders.
Maria J. Kirby-Smith has become one of the citys sculptors of choice.

Her hands created statues of the writer O. Henry on Elm Street and dentist Dr. George Simkins outside the Old Guilford County Courthouse, where his lawsuit would be a catalyst for desegregating hospitals accepting federal funds. Also, theres a physical homage to Jim Melvin, the former mayor who has brought to life big ideas as well as philanthropist Joe Bryan.

And now, Henry and Shirley Frye.

The bronze and granite statue, unveiled Tuesday at Center City Park, where it rises from the heart of the city roughly 9 feet high and weighs 6,000 pounds, depicts Henry Frye, 91, the first Black chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, and wife Shirley, 92, one of only a few women to have a building bearing her name in the city.

Gov. Roy Cooper referred to them as a dynamic duo during the dedication ceremony, where he and others shared stories about the efforts they made to open doors for others  and to create them where there were none.

I know how much you have meant to so many people you have never met, Cooper said before a crowd that outnumbered seats.

The Camden, S.C.-based artist had earlier sat in the presence of the two, listening in awe at their stories and even taking note of the way they looked at each other.

Kirby-Smith met several times with the Fryes in her studio and their home. She also got critiques in her studio from Melvin, attorney and former City Councilman Justin Outling and Ted Oliver, a financial analyst who initiated the project after News & Record Opinion Editor Allen Johnson questioned in a column why there wasnt a monument to Frye, one of the most significant figures in Greensboros history.

The sculptor opted to frame the Fryes as they are in their 90s, as opposed to during their history-making years decades ago.

Youre not just holding a mirror up to the face reflected, but the face also shows the soul underneath, Kirby-Smith said. You see the geography of the face and the journey theyve been on and the strength of their character.

****

After the statues velvet cover was drawn away, the couples great-granddaughter summed up what Cooper, the chancellor of nearby N.C. A&T and former mayors had spent the better part of an hour sharing through stories.

They made a difference in the world, 10-year-old Avery Hairston said of the two as a crowd gathered.

Both left small towns for A&T.

The former Edith Shirley Taylor grew up in the Wayne County town of Fremont.

Her father, a hog farmer, could not send her to college at the same time as an older sister. The third of five children, she graduated high school at age 15.

When she got to A&T, she was a year behind Henry E. Frye, then a sophomore.

The eighth of 12 children and the son of a farmer and sawmill operator, Frye was from Ellerbe, a small town in Richmond County.

Frye had many interests and options, including potentially following his father into farming. His mother wanted him to be a minister, and in their small church he and a friend ran the Sunday school with Frye teaching and his friend acting as superintendent.

At A&T he studied chemistry and biology and joined the ROTC.

He was also on the 1950 sophomore debate team that went up against a freshman team that included Shirley Taylor. The freshman-sophomore debate was an annual event and the sophomores won that year, although Shirley Taylor was named Best Speaker.

The clean-cut Henry wouldnt catch her eye until Beta Kappa Chi, an honor society for chemistry and biology majors, held a party at the Magnolia House. At the time it was a bed and breakfast for Black travelers in the segregated South as well as a place for celebrations and other formal events.

At the time, Henry didnt have a steady girlfriend. The member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity also didnt have a date for the upcoming Kappa Sweetheart Ball.

I said the next decent-looking girl I see Im going to ask her for a date, he told himself while on campus one day. And here comes Shirley.

She was smart, personable, stylish, worked on the school newspaper and had pledged Alpha Kappa Alpha.

And sure enough he asked.

They have largely been inseparable since.

****

Shirley Taylor finished her degree in English and education in three years and they both graduated with honors in 1953.

Henry Frye earned a degree in biology with a double minor in chemistry and air science. After graduation, he went to the Air Force and was stationed in Japan and Korea during the Korean War. Shirley wrote him daily letters on special, scented stationary she only used for him.

The mailman got to the place where he would call me and say, Lieutenant, you got three of those good-smelling letters here from E. Shirley, Henry Frye recalled.

She had signed her name E. Shirley because she didnt like Edith, her first name. And E. Shirley is what he called her.

When he finished his tour in 1956 with the rank of captain, he had moved back home to Ellerbe with his parents as he looked for a job. He also told Shirley that the drives to Greensboro, where she was now an elementary school teacher, were getting to be a bit expensive so he wouldnt be coming as much.

The following weekend, back in Ellerbe, his mother found him pacing throughout the house.

You thinking about E. Shirley? she asked.

He said he was. His mother told him to go see her.

He said, Im coming to Greensboro and when I get there we should decide on whether we are going to spend the rest of our lives together, Shirley recalled.

****

Henry also had other unfinished business on his mind. He had served in the military and when he came home was not allowed to register to vote in his hometown.

A month after getting married, Henry enrolled in UNCs law school to challenge wrongs, such as voting rights for Blacks, and would be the first African American to enroll as a first-year student.

Frye graduated in June 1959 and their first son, Henry Jr., came that July. Harlan would later follow.

He came home one day with about 10 names of people he had gotten who could help Shirley around the house. He told her she wouldnt have to work.

Shirley Frye, however, would follow the example set by her parents.

I said I was going to support Henry in whatever goals he had, she said, and that I could find something I could do that would make me happy at the same time.

She felt like she had something to offer her community.

They feed off each other, described Whitney Frye, a granddaughter, but they give each other space.

****

In 1963, Henry would be asked by U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedys administration  looking to put more Black attorneys on their team  to serve as an assistant U.S. attorney, making him one of the nations first African Americans to do so.

After an unsuccessful attempt, he again ran for an N.C. House seat in 1968 and won, making him the first African American elected to the General Assembly since 1899.

Over the years his interests varied but his intentions remained focused on the people. Frye would, for example, organize and serve as president of Greensboro National Bank, which was the first African American-owned bank in the city.

He served six terms in the House and later a term in the Senate.

Then-Gov. Jim Hunt called him on a Sunday morning in 1983, asking if he would serve as an associate justice on the states highest court, making him the first Black person to do so. In 1999, Hunt appointed him chief justice to replace retiring Justice Burley Mitchell, making him the 25th and first Black chief justice in the state.

In administering the oath before prominent politicians and scores of A&T Aggies, Associate Justice Sarah Parker called her colleague a scholarly, thoughtful, fair-minded jurist.

Few people knew that Frye would often leave court to teach children how to read as part of a tutoring program.

Years later, an iconic photo would show Frye and then-President Barack Obama in an embrace.

I was turned away from registering to vote in the 1950s, he said to a cheering Greensboro crowd, now Im introducing the president.

****

Shirley Frye maintained her sense of identity outside of being Justice Fryes wife.

After getting a masters degree in psychology and special education from Syracuse University, she taught mentally-disabled children and was fueled by watching them reach successes they had not seen before.

She had planned to work on a doctorate, but instead focused on issues in her community. Her method was to choose something she really loved and cared about  then put her heart into it.

Known for her ability to lead groups through issues to solutions, she has done so in ways that touch the whole community.

She led the merger in 1970 of the citys two segregated YWCAs, serving as the new organizations first president and what would become a model for other communities across the country. The merged group became the first civic organization in Greensboro to integrate its board, staff, membership and programs. It would normalize integration for other groups.

In 1971, she worked on an advisory committee that smoothed the way for desegregating city schools.

Over the years, the one-time Woman of the Year has served on the former Greensboro City Schools Board of Education and in leadership roles on the boards of the United Arts Council of Greensboro and United Way of Greater Greensboro.

Long involved with organizations such as Action Greensboro and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation, she has chaired the N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation Board and served on the board of trustees for High Point University.

During this time, she also worked in positions that appealed to her  she intentionally did not stay in a job for more than 10 years  including executive posts at A&T and Bennett College and as vice president of community relations for local TV station WFMY.

At the unveiling of her name on the YWCA building  easily visible to the 32,000 motorists passing daily pre-pandemic on East Wendover Avenue  Yvonne Johnson said it had been Frye, her Girl Scout leader, who had helped to instill in her the confidence that would lead her to become Greensboros first Black mayor.

Youve got one fine wife there, Councilwoman Nancy Hoffmann told Henry Frye at the YWCA gathering.

Thank you for recognizing that, he responded with a smile.

****

Tuesdays unveiling, with a tone set by a soul-tingling rendition of the National Anthem by A&Ts University Choir, included a variety of speeches from the citys dignitaries, each showering the couple with the accolades deserving of a life spent in service. Mayor Nancy Vaughan proclaimed: We are a better city because of them.

And there were others with kind words until Shirley Frye, in an quintessential Shirley Frye way, took the podium with her husband to a standing ovation.

Thats enough, she said in a firm but gentle way  that left the crowd chuckling.

We are more than humbled by it all, she said. Neither of us likes to be the focus of attention. But what do we do now? We are here.

We believe sincerely, that we were placed on this Earth not to be served, but to serve.

Henry followed his wife with the kind of good-natured banter between the two that 67 years of marriage brings.

I want to begin by saying Im filing to run for the next president of the United States, joked Frye, unable to stifle his own laugh. I might reconsider but let me think about that....

He will reconsider, Shirley Frye interjected.

You see who runs things here, Frye said.

Among his most heartfelt words were aimed at those who sat and stood before him.

Shirley and I would like to thank each of you for sharing this moment with us.
Breakfast in North Carolina public schools received another serving of funding as Gov. Roy Cooper announced $1.3 million in grants to 42 public school districts and public charter schools, including the Iredell-Statesville School System. That means expanded access to a healthy school breakfast for more than 51,000 students.

Our public schools not only provide safe places for children to learn but also healthy meals for students who sometimes face food insecurity at home, Cooper said in a news release. These grants will help more public schools provide breakfast for children in the classroom so they can start their day ready to learn and be successful.

That includes Iredell-Statesville Schools.

As educators, we know that students dont always show up ready to learn. They face a variety of obstacles. Providing students with a healthy school breakfast each day ensures one obstacle is removed. When a student eats a healthy breakfast, it fuels their body to produce the energy needed to grow and learn, Dr. Jeff James, I-SS superintendent, said.

The N.C. Innovative School Breakfast Grants were funded through federal funds directed by the governor in October 2023.

Nearly 60% of public school students in the Tar Heel State qualify for free or reduced-price meals and some may only receive regular meals at school due to food insecurity issues. Nearly 1 in 6 children in North Carolina live in households without consistent access to food according to the governors news release.

In Iredell-Statesville Schools, 8,015 students have qualified for free or reduced-price meals. Jada Jonas, public information officer with Iredell-Statesville Schools, said that 26 I-SS schools are classified as Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which take part in a pilot complimentary breakfast and lunch program.

The governor declared 2024 the Year of Public Schools and has made a push to highlight public school spending.

More than 258 public charter schools and districts will receive grant funds from the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) to make school meals available to all students at no cost to their families.

School meals are an instructional intervention, Lou Anne Crumpler, director of the Carolina Hunger Initiative, said. From reducing chronic absenteeism to improving reading achievement, small changes in how school breakfast is served can make big impacts on student success. We appreciate Gov. Coopers commitment to providing access to healthy breakfast at school to more students.

The goal of the N.C. Innovative School Breakfast Grants is to expand student participation in school breakfast, as research shows that eating a healthy school breakfast and lunch improves attendance, discipline and academic performance among students. According to the news release, funds will be used to purchase kitchen equipment to increase meal prep capacity and serving equipment to more easily and efficiently distribute meals to students.

We know that hungry kids cant learn, Morgan Wittman Gramann, executive director of the N.C. Alliance for Health, said. These grants enable schools to find creative ways to make sure that every child has the nutrition that they need to focus on learning.
The head of Indonesias counter-terrorism agency said officials are focussing on protecting teenaged children and women from Islamic radicalization as they have become the most targeted groups.

Citing a report by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, Rycko Amelza Dahniel of the National Counter-terrorism Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme, or BNPT) on Feb. 20 said that from 2016 to 2023, the percentage of high school students in five cities who moved from passive intolerant to active intolerant doubled, from 2.4 percent to 5 percent.

While those categorized as intolerant intensified from passive to active, tolerance among teens overall increased during the period, with those in the tolerant category moving from 61.6 percent to 70.2 percent, he said, citing The Setara Institutes survey, The Tolerance of Senior High School Students, of May 2023.

Along with the increase among teenagers from passive intolerant to active intolerant, those who are active become exposed to radicalization, Rycko said at the BNPT 2024 National Working Meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 20. High school students exposed to radicalization groups increased from 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent, he said.

As active intolerance increased, the proportion of passive intolerant high school students shrank from 35.7 percent o 22.4 percent over the period, he said.

In the results of research conducted from 2016 to 2023, although the increase in migration is only single digit, this vulnerable group is the nations next generation, said the three-star police general.

Rycko said the Indonesia Knowledge Hub (I-Khub) BNPT Outlook 2023 showed that women, children and teenagers were the groups most targeted for radicalization, both offline and online.

As a result, women, children and teenagers are the focus of the counter-terrorism agency for both protection against radicalism and the threat of terrorist acts, he said.

Bonar Tigor Naipospos, deputy chairman of Setara Institute, told Morning Star News that, In the eyes of the Islamists, young people and women are not only beneficial for the future but also demographically the largest age group.

Muslim extremists indoctrinate them with the idea that Islam is a persecuted religion, he said.

The issue they usually raise is Islam as an isolated and oppressed religion even though Islam is the solution for all life, Bonar said. For them, non-Islamic parties always have an interest in weakening Islam; if Islam does not rule and Islamic law is enforced, Muslims will forever be backward.

Growing radicalism among youth mainly takes the form of intolerance, rather than violence, he said.

For example, exclusivity only among themselves  they cannot mix with people of different religions, Bonar said. [They] do not accept class presidents or student council presidents of different religions, etc.

Some evidence of such influence occurred in October 2020 at a high school in the capital, SMAN 58 Jakarta, where a Muslim teacher in East Jakarta allegedly sent a text message discouraging students from voting for non-Muslim candidates for chairmanship of the Student Executive Organization.

The message from the teacher, reportedly a religious studies and civic education teacher identified only as TS, went virtal on social media, according to The Jakarta Post.

Be careful not to vote for non-Muslim OSIS chair candidates number 1 and 2, the message read. No matter what, we are the majority. We need a leader who shares our beliefs.

The head of the DKI Jakarta Education Department, identified only as Nahdiana, said the teacher has been moved to another school.

A Jakarta city council member discovered the incident. Council Member Ima Mahdiah told media outlet IDN Time that she received a recording of a conversation in which a teacher said non-Muslim candidates for student council president should not advance despite having passed several selection steps.

Addressing school facultys concerns that two of five students selected as candidates for president were non-Muslims, Ima stated that attaining the position should be based on personal abilities and capabilities, not religion.

These teachers stated that this was done because they were afraid that if the elected OSIS president was not a Muslim student, they would be inclined to create an OSIS program that was not pro-Islamic, Ima reportedly said.

Indonesia ranked 42nd on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

 2023 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. https://morningstarnews.org. Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone.
The journalist from a state newspaper posted a message of solidarity from Tartous, challenging the narrative of betrayal, according to the Syrian Network of Human Rights

Three days have elapsed since Mahmoud Ibrahim, a journalist for Al-Thawra, a state-run newspaper, was detained in Tartous for endorsing the peaceful protests in Suwayda through a Facebook post. His current whereabouts remain unknown.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights informed Enab Baladi that Ibrahim is still in custody, with no details available regarding his detention location or the arresting entity. Initially expected to be transferred to Tartous Central Prison from the Palace of Justicewhere he was apprehendedhe has yet to arrive, leading to speculation of military securitys involvement in his arrest and interrogation.

Concerns are mounting over Ibrahims health as he battles multiple ailments and requires ongoing medical attention, raising alarm among his family members regarding his wellbeing.

The Backstory

The saga began on August 25, 2023, amid the burgeoning movement in Suwayda, when Ibrahim posted a message of solidarity from Tartous, extending peace and a thousand peace without further commentary. This was followed by a reflection on how longstanding ties within state roles, civil institutions, and the military have shaped perspectives towards the movement in Suwayda, challenging the narrative of betrayal and coercion promoted by certain quarters.

These posts were perceived as a declaration of support for the Suwayda movement, leading to repercussions for Ibrahim. By January 1, his salary from the Al-Wahda Printing and Publishing Corporation, overseeing Al-Thawra, was halted without formal notice. The Tartous newspaper director remained silent on the matter, further isolating Ibrahim.

Ibrahim accused a colleague, Shaaban Ahmed, of filing a security report against him, which precipitated his summons for interrogation and subsequent charges of supporting armed disobedience, violating Syrias constitution, and tarnishing the states prestige. These accusations culminated in the termination of his contract with Al-Wahda and a ban on future government employment, underscoring the consequences of his solidarity with the Suwayda protests.

External Advocacy Versus Internal Apathy

While international human rights and media organizations, along with journalists and activists abroad, have rallied for Ibrahims release, domestic support has been notably absent. Despite being a member, the Syrian Journalists Union remained passive, with only close acquaintances expressing solidarity online. Conversely, the Syrian Journalists Association has called for the protection of journalists and the cessation of arbitrary legal actions against them, highlighting the precarious situation of media professionals in regime-held areas.

Arrests Beyond Ibrahim

The Syrian regimes crackdown extends beyond Ibrahim, with other journalists facing arrest for dissenting voices. Kenan Waqaf, a former Al-Wahda journalist, and Hala Al-Jarf, a state television journalist, represent cases where posts on social media have led to detention, underscoring the regimes intolerance towards free expression. This oppressive climate has positioned Syria near the bottom in global freedom of expression rankings, with a 175th place out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders 2023 index.

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.
Farid al-Qasim, who had previously faced allegations of misconduct, is relieved of his duties with Salem Turki al-Antari assuming command, according to pro-government Athr Press

The US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) operating in the al-Tanf region of southern Syria has announced a significant change in its leadership, with Farid al-Qasim being relieved of his duties and Salem Turki al-Antari assuming command.

The faction made this announcement on its official account on the X platform, stating, Today, the Free Syrian Army underwent a change in command and welcomed its new leader, while withholding details regarding Qasims current status.

Qasim had previously faced allegations of misconduct. In May, reports surfaced accusing him and his brother, Tariq, of misappropriating funds provided by Abdul Aziz Abu Turki, a native of al-Qaryatayn in the eastern countryside of Homs and a resident of Saudi Arabia. The funds allegedly embezzled amounted to $86,000.

Tensions and disagreements within the faction had escalated since al-Qasim assumed leadership of the FSA on September 25, 2022. In March 2023, several leaders and members of the faction resigned in protest against his actions.

On October 3, 2022, the United States officially appointed Qasim as the new commander of the FSA in Tanf, southern Syria. Sources from Athr Press indicated that British forces played a significant role in Qasims appointment, particularly due to their interest in the Rukban camp and the Tanf area.

Sources from Athr Press also revealed that British forces, who had supported Qasim, had threatened his opponents with removal from their positions and prevented them from leaving the de-escalation zone, known as the 55 km zone, encompassing Tanf and the Rukban camp.

The Tanf area, where the FSA operates, is situated in the 55th area on the border triangle between Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, hosting one of the most crucial US military bases in Syria.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
The Turkish FM said in a recent television interview that the Syrian regime's insistence on preconditions was misguided, al-Souria Net reports

On Thursday, Russian warplanes carried out airstrikes on the city of Idleb, resulting in civilian casualties. According to reports from the White Helmets, the airstrikes targeted a furniture workshop located on the western outskirts of Idleb city.

The attack resulted in the death of one civilian and injuries to five others. The White Helmets confirmed that two warplanes conducted four raids on the site, utilizing high-explosive missiles.

This bombardment in Idleb occurred just before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs scheduled visit to Turkey. He was invited by Turkeys Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday outlined that Lavrov and Fidan would discuss the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Specifically, they planned to focus on the normalization process in Syria and enhancing Turkish-Syrian dialogue in a quadripartite format.

The statement emphasized the importance of involving Iran as a guarantor of the Astana format to facilitate the resolution of the Syrian crisis.

Efforts to establish dialogue between Ankara and the Assad regime have stalled, particularly regarding conflicting priorities such as the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria.

The Assad regime insists on the withdrawal of Turkish forces from northern Syria as a precondition for any normalization process with Turkey. However, Turkish officials deem this demand unrealistic due to ongoing terrorist threats along the border.

Hakan Fidan expressed in a recent television interview that the Syrian regimes insistence on preconditions is misguided, noting that the regime is currently unable to engage in meaningful negotiations.

The Russian envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, acknowledged that the path to reconciliation between Turkey and the Assad regime encountered obstacles last autumn. He attributed this to the Syrian sides insistence on guarantees regarding the eventual withdrawal of Turkish military forces from Syria.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
On February 28th, protests escalated following the tragic death of a demonstrator during a forcible dispersal by Syrian regime security forces, Shaam Network reported

Suweida governorate entered a tumultuous phase on Wednesday, February 28th, as protests escalated following the tragic death of a demonstrator during a forcible dispersal by Syrian regime security forces at al-Karama Square in Suweidas center.

This incident marks a significant shift since the inception of popular protests in Suweida on August 19, 2023, where the Syrian regime had initially shown considerable restraint towards demonstrators, predominantly comprising members of the Druze community.

The regimes heightened crackdown on protesters in Suweida coincides with renewed Russian involvement in southern Syria, prompted by a decrease in activity due to the conflict with Ukraine, as reported by Syria TV.

Confidntial sources indicate that Russia, particularly since the onset of conflict in Gaza, has been actively seeking to reestablish its mediation role in southern Syria. This effort has included deploying observation points in Quneitras countryside near the Golan Heights, conducting air patrols, and planning ground patrols in coordination with Israel.

Moscow has assured Tel Aviv of its commitment to keep Iran-backed militias away from the Israeli border and has signaled willingness to tolerate limited Israeli military actions within Syrian territory for security reasons.

Russias broader aim is to facilitate renewed coordination between Israel and Syria while preventing escalations amidst the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Future efforts may involve facilitating discussions between Syrian and Israeli officers to address Tel Avivs concerns.

Both the Syrian regime and Russia believe that Israel holds sway over events in Suweida due to its influential ties with religious figures, such as Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, who have significant influence in the Druze community.

In addition to Russian involvement, the Syrian regime has sought support from Jordan to quell the protests in Suweida. Major General Hossam Luqa, head of General Intelligence, has reportedly visited Jordan multiple times to request mediation, offering concessions related to combating drug and arms trafficking in exchange.

During these meetings, discussions have included proposals for opening a crossing between Suweida and Jordan to facilitate humanitarian aid and trade, potentially improving the governorates economic situation.

The Syrian regimes recent actions in Suweida indicate a testing of neighboring countries tolerance for increased repression amidst renewed diplomatic channels opened during the Gaza conflict and subsequent mediation efforts between Syria, Israel, and the UAE, exploiting Jordans interest in controlling cross-border smuggling.

The violent dispersal of protesters, resulting in the death of Jawad al-Baroudi, has galvanized the resolve of Suweidas peaceful demonstrators, as affirmed by the spiritual leader of the Druze community during Baroudis funeral, vowing to continue their nonviolent struggle despite the regimes intentions to escalate the situation through force.
Iran's Ambassador to Damascus dismissed the notion that the withdrawal of IRGC commanders from Syria would halt Israeli military strikes, Shaam Network says

Irans Ambassador to Damascus, Hussein Akbari, has dismissed the notion that the withdrawal of Iranian Revolutionary Guard commanders from Syria would halt Israeli military strikes. Akbari views such attacks as efforts by Israel to sow discord within the resistance front rather than a response to Iranian presence. He argues that Israels aggression is not contingent on the presence of Iranians in Syria, suggesting that the absence of Iranian forces would not lead to a cessation of hostilities, nor would it prompt Israel to make concessions such as returning the Golan Heights or seeking forgiveness.

Akbari characterized the belief in Israels potential for peaceful retreat as overly simplistic. He acknowledged the Israeli militarys targeting of residential areas housing Iranian advisors, which resulted in casualties, as part of an attempt to instill fear among Syrians regarding the Iranian presence. Despite this, Akbari highlighted Irans significant contributions to Syria, including the presence of Iranian companies and families, and emphasized Irans unique position to assist Damascus without regard for U.S. policies.

The Syrian populace, particularly those loyal to the Assad regime, has expressed growing concern over the Iranian military footprint in residential zones. This apprehension stems from an uptick in Israeli airstrikes, particularly those penetrating deep into Damascus, prompting calls for the relocation of Iranian militia bases away from civilian areas. Some residents have gone so far as to resist renting properties to Iranians to avoid turning their homes into military targets.

Criticism of the Assad regimes alliance with Iran has become increasingly vocal among its supporters, who now publicly denounce the Iranian presence as an occupation contributing to the countrys strife. This sentiment is reflected in social media posts and comments, illustrating a shift in public opinion among regime loyalists. They blame the regime for the proliferation of Iranian influence, which they argue has led to increased vulnerability to Israeli attacks.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

Turkey bears responsibility for possible war crimes in Syria, Human Rights Watch says

Human Rights Watch says Turkey bears responsibility for some of the abuses and possible war crimes committed in Syria, mostly against Kurdish residents in northern Syria

In swathes of northern Syria, Turkiye is an occupying power.

It exercises administrative and military control on the Syrian side of its southern border both directly and through a de facto proxy it helped create, the Syrian National Army (SNA), a loose coalition of armed opposition groups that is largely made up of former Free Syrian Army (FSA) fighters.

The Turkish government has stated that it aims to turn the areas it occupies into safe zones, both to create a security buffer on its southern border and to accommodate returns of Syrian refugees living in Turkiye. But these areas are not safe; they are rife with human rights abuses primarily perpetrated by factions of the SNA and life for the regions 1.4 million residents is characterized by lawlessness and insecurity. Everything is by the power of the weapon, said one former resident who lived under SNA rule for just under 3 years.

Based on interviews with 58 victims, survivors, relatives, and witnesses of violations, as well as various representatives of non-governmental organizations, journalists, activists, and researchers, this report documents abductions, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, including of children, sexual violence, and torture by the various factions of the SNA, the Military Police, a force established to curb such abuses, and members of the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkish intelligence agencies, including the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and a number of military intelligence directorates.

It also documents violations of housing, land, and property rights, including widespread looting and pillaging as well as property seizures and extortion, and exposes the abject failure of most of the accountability measures introduced in recent years to curb abuses or to provide restitution to victims. As long as impunity for grave and systematic human rights abuses and possible war crimes reigns, hopes of return for the hundreds of thousands displaced and dispossessed Syrians who fled their homes during and after Turkiyes successive military operations into the region continue to diminish. Many live in overstretched and underserved camps and collective shelters across northeast Syria today.

Since 2016, Turkiye has conducted three military operations into northern Syria aimed at weakening the Kurdish presence along its border. In its first operation in 2016, it occupied the predominantly Arab region north of Aleppo that included Azaz, al-Bab, and Jarablus, which had previously been under the control of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS). In its second incursion in 2018, it captured Afrin, a Kurdish majority enclave just west of Azaz which had been under the control of Kurdish-led forces since 2012. And in its third incursion in 2019, Turkish Armed Forces wrested control of a roughly 150-kilometer-long and 30 km deep narrow strip of land between Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain (Kurdish name: Serekaniye) in northeast Syria from Kurdish-led forces.

It carried out all three operations with the help of various local armed groups, including Turkmen groups, former Free Syrian Army groups, and other Islamist groups that in 2017 became collectively known as the Syrian National Army (SNA). The military incursions led to massive displacement and were fraught with serious abuses of both human rights and humanitarian law, including indiscriminate shelling, summary killings, unlawful arrests, torture and enforced disappearances, and systematic pillaging and unlawful seizure of property.

Israeli Airstrikes Hit Iran-Backed Militia Bases In Syria

Israeli forces have hit Iran-backed militia in two locations near Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported, quoted by IranInternation.com.

According to the NGO, the attack resulted in the deaths of two Syrian Hezbollah supporters, while six other people were wounded.

Syrias defense ministry also reported Israeli strikes near Damascus Wednesday night, marking the latest in a series of attacks against Iran-backed forces in the region.

The Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of sites in the Damascus countryside, the ministry said in a statement carried by state media.

The Israeli Defense Forces did not comment on the strike.

Lebanese television channel Al Maydeen, known for its pro-Iranian stance, reported a significant explosion heard in the heavily fortified Sayeda Zainab neighborhood of the Syrian capital, where a major Shiite shrine is located. No additional details were provided.

The neighborhood is in southern Damascus, where Iran-backed groups have a string of underground bases.

Syriac Union Party Condemns Turkish Drone Strikes in Syrias Derik

The Syriac Union Party condemned on Thursday the Turkish drone strikes that resulted in the killing of three Syriac members of the Sutoro Police, affiliated with the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish), in the city of Derik (al-Malikiyah) in the far northeast of Syria, North Press reported.

The Syriac Union Party urged in statement the U.S.-led Global coalition, the U.S., and Russia to pressure Turkey to cease its attacks on areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).

The statement added that Turkeys ongoing threat to Northeast Syria destabilizes the region, which in turn affects the activities of the Islamic State (ISIS) and militias affiliated with Turkey, Iran, and the Syrian government.

Furthermore, the statement added that the AANES has never posed a threat to Turkish national security and that it always seeks to establish good neighborly relations with all bordering countries.

On Feb.28, Turkish drone strikes targeted four vehicles in Derik, resulting in casualties and material damage to areas surrounding the scene of the attacks.

Lebanon serves as intermediary for money transfers to Syria

Enab Baladi published a report arguing that Lebanon acts as a key intermediary for financial remittances to and from Syria, circumventing the Syrian regimes stringent currency controls. With open borders and no restrictions on handling foreign currencies, Lebanon provides a vital channel for Syrians to send and receive money, avoiding the regimes penalties on unlicensed transactions. Despite government efforts to regulate and benefit from currency exchanges, many Syrians prefer the black market for better exchange rates. Economic sanctions and currency control decrees have deeply affected Syrias economy, making remittances through Lebanon an essential support for Syrian families.

Lebanon has emerged as a crucial intermediary for financial remittances to and from Syria, offering a workaround to the strict currency regulations imposed by the Syrian regime. The Syrian government has issued several decrees to control foreign and local currency transactions within its borders, including bans on dealing in foreign currencies for commercial exchanges and stringent penalties for unlicensed currency exchange and international money transfers.

Syrians, including individuals and both official and unofficial remittance offices, navigate these restrictions to maintain the flow of remittances, vital for the livelihoods of both senders and recipients. Lebanons role as a financial conduit is attributed to its open borders with Syria, daily private transport links, and the absence of prohibitions on handling foreign currency remittances, making it a safer option for avoiding legal repercussions in Syria.

Remittance transactions through Lebanon involve either physical transfers to Syria via intermediaries connected to the Syrian security apparatus or maintaining liquidity in Lebanon for future transactions. The choice of Lebanon is also driven by the need to circumvent liquidity shortages in Syrian offices, especially in less populous areas or even Damascus, with money often transferred via taxi drivers or coordinated with border officers for larger sums.

The fees for these remittances vary based on several factors, including the amount, destination city, and the number of intermediaries involved. Despite the regimes attempts to control currency transactions and benefit from exchange rate differences, many Syrians prefer the black market for better rates. The sanctions on Syria have severely impacted its economy, pushing the regime to issue decrees aimed at keeping foreign currencies within the country and limiting expatriates options for sending money back home.

At the time of reporting, the exchange rate of the Syrian pound was significantly lower on the black market compared to the official rate, influencing Syrians preference for black market remittances. The Syrian regimes latest salary increase does little to alleviate the financial pressures faced by its citizens, further underscoring the importance of remittances in supporting families within the country.

Lebanon serves as intermediary for money transfers to Syria.
A Vancouver woman is in custody after a police chase ended with a crash and the rescue of a dog Wednesday afternoon.

According to a report from the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, Elizabeth J. Johnson, 19, of Vancouver, was in Kalama when she drove off in someone else's Honda, with a pet husky in the back seat.

Her bail was set at $20,000 Thursday after her first appearance in Cowlitz County Superior Court.

After taking the Honda in the 2400 block of Kalama River Road, another person attempted to stop the suspect but was struck by the fleeing vehicle.

The suspect took authorities onto southbound I-5, being pursued by Cowlitz County deputies, officers from the Kalama and Woodland police departments, plus Washington State Patrol troopers.

The chase ended after a Woodland police officer used spike strips, causing the tires of the stolen Honda to flatten. Deputies and officers then managed to corner the vehicle on an I-5 southbound on-ramp in Woodland.

The suspect ignored police orders to surrender, the sheriff's office reports, prompting law enforcement to break a window of the victim's Honda and use chemicals agents to take her down.

Johnson was booked into Cowlitz County Jail on suspected charges from robbery, assault, theft of motor vehicle, attempt to elude, resisting arrest and taking a pet animal.

The dog was returned to the owner uninjured.
First, honor the animated blue heeler Bluey from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday with bingo, crafts and prizes.

Then, celebrate the release of the new Dog Man graphic novel by Dave Pilkey at 5:30-6:30 p.m. March 19 with more crafts and a chance to win a copy of the new release Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder.
Clark County residents craving a cheeseburger animal style are in luck. California fast-food chain In-N-Out submitted an application earlier this month for a Ridgefield location.

The location would be the first In-N-Out in Washington, according to planning documents submitted to the city of Ridgefield.

The company plans to build a restaurant near the under construction Ridgefield Costco at Union Ridge Town Center, just off Interstate 5 on Pioneer Street.

The city expects the In-N-Out building to be a unique and really high quality design that compliments Ridgefield and In-N-Out, said Ridgefield City Manager Steve Stuart.

The company hasnt given the city any indication of when the new restaurant would open, Stuart said.

A representative for In-N-Out didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Union Ridge Town Center openings, including In-N-Out, wouldnt be dependent on Costco opening, Stuart said. The Columbian previously reported Costco expects to open the third Clark County warehouse store by the end of the year.

Road construction around the shopping center is already underway and expected to be completed this fall.

The city is moving ahead with its Pioneer Street widening project, set to go out to bid in April with work beginning in June.

The closest In-N-Out to Clark County is in Keizer, Ore., just outside Salem. Though the restaurant chain has proposed several in the Portland-metro area, none have come to fruition.

In-N-Out first opened in Oregon in 2015 with a location in Medford. There is also a location in Roseburg.

The restaurant chain has worked with the city of Ridgefield in getting to the application stage, according to planning documents.

The location will not be a typical In-N-Out design but will instead incorporate darker colors and different building materials as desired by the city.
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Homepage of the EmoAda Software System. On the homepage, the digital persona will provide guidance, and a user can access various function modules by clicking on the relevant icons or options or using voice commands. Credit: Dong et al

The rapid advancement of natural language processing (NLP) models and large language models (LLMs) has enabled the development of new use-specific conversational agents designed to answer specific types of queries. These range from AI agents that offer academic support to platforms offering general financial, legal or medical advice.

Researchers at Hefei University of Technology and Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center recently worked to develop an AI-based platform that can provide non-professional, but potentially helpful, psychological support. Their paper, presented at the International Conference on Multimedia Modeling held in Amsterdam from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, introduces EmoAda, a conversational system trained to engage in emotional conversations, offering low-cost and basic psychological support.

"Our paper originated from a concern over the increasing prevalence of psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the significant gap in the availability of professional psychological services," Xiao Sun, co-author of the paper, told Tech Xplore.

"This work builds on various research efforts, such as those by Fei-Fei Li et al on measuring depression severity from spoken language and facial expressions, those by Xiao Sun et al on multimodal attention networks for personality assessment, and the development of AI-based emotional support systems, like Google's LaMDA and OpenAI's ChatGPT."

The primary objective of this recent study was to create a cost-effective psychological support system that could perceive the emotions of users based on different inputs, producing personalized and insightful responses. This system is not designed to substitute professional help, but rather to alleviate stress and assist users in increasing their mental flexibility, a feature that has been associated with good mental health.

"EmoAda is a multimodal emotion interaction and psychological adaptation system designed to offer psychological support to individuals with limited access to mental health services," Sun explained. "It works by collecting real-time multimodal data (audio, video, and text) from users, extracting emotional features, and using a multimodal large language model to analyze these features for real-time emotion recognition, psychological profiling, and guidance strategy planning."

The architecture of the Multimodal Emotion Interaction Large Language Model. The researchers used the open-source model baichuan13B-chat as the foundation, integrating deep feature vectors extracted from visual, text, and audio models through an MLP layer into baichuan13B-chat. They employed a Mixture-of-Modality Adaptation technique to achieve multimodal semantic alignment, enabling the LLM model to process multimodal information. The team also constructed a multimodal emotion fine-tuning dataset, including open-source PsyQA dataset and a team-collected dataset of psychological interview videos. Using HuggingGPT[6], they developed a multimodal fine-tuning instruction set to enhance the model's multimodal interaction capabilities. The researchers are creating a psychological knowledge graph to improve the model's accuracy in responding to psychological knowledge and reduce model hallucinations. By combining these various techniques, MEILLM can perform psychological assessments, conduct psychological interviews using psychological scales, and generate psychological assessment reports for users. MEILLM can also create comprehensive psychological profiles for users, including emotions, moods, and personality, and provides personalized psychological guidance based on the user's psychological profile. MEILLM offers users a more natural and humanized emotional support dialogue and a personalized psychological adaptation report. Credit: Dong et al

EmoAda, the platform created by Sun and his colleagues, can detect a user's emotions by analyzing various types of sensory data, including their voice, video footage of their face, and text. Based on these analyses, the system produces personalized emotional support dialogues, delivering them via text or via a digital avatar.

Based on a user's needs and the difficulties they mention, the platform might suggest various activities that might be beneficial. Some of these activities are facilitated by content available on the EmoAda platform, such as guided meditation practices and music for relaxation or stress relief.

"When tested with real users, EmoAda has been shown to provide natural and humanized psychological support," Sun said. "In these trials, we found that some users prefer conversing with AI because it can significantly reduce their anxieties about privacy breaches and social pressure. Engaging in dialogues with AI creates a safe, non-judgmental environment where users can express their feelings and concerns without fear of being judged or misunderstood. AI systems like EmoAda also offer round-the-clock support, free from time constraints, which is a significant advantage for users who need help at any given moment."

In initial test trials, the researchers found that one of the most appreciated aspects of EmoAda is its anonymity. In fact, users often mentioned that they felt comfortable with sharing private information that they would find difficult to discuss with other people face-to-face.

In the future, this new AI-based system could be deployed as a basic support service for people who cannot afford professional psychological care or are waiting to access available mental health services. In addition, EmoAda could serve as an inspiration for other research groups, paving way for the development of other AI-based mental health-related digital platforms.

"Our next studies will focus on addressing current system limitations, including optimizing the multimodal emotional interaction large language model to reduce misinformation generation, improve model interference performance, reduce costs, and integrate a psychological expert knowledge base to enhance system reliability and professionalism," Sun added.

More information: Tengteng Dong et al, EmoAda: A Multimodal Emotion Interaction and Psychological Adaptation System, MultiMedia Modeling (2024). DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-53302-0_25

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We are facing three major crises today, he said. But the crises he was referring to were not the outward contributors to orphanhood and vulnerability among children, such as war, drug abuse, climate change or pandemics  all very relevant and important to understand in the context of a global event that seeks to address them.

Yet, the crises that Alexandru Ilie talked about in his address to the more than 500 participants at World Without Orphans global forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand, were the ones deep in the human heart. The crises that are at the root of the human failure to care for the orphan and vulnerable in their midst.

An adoptive father of seven, Ilie shared the story how he and his wife experienced a lot of difficulty and struggles after each adoption. The children who had experienced abuse in their past needed to heal from the trauma and the path to healing was not easy. Yet each time after the situation got better, they went on to adopt more children.

The youngest one was the most extreme case as he needed countless surgeries due to severe medical issues and he continues to suffer of various disabilities. His name is Eric.

But today, the family of nine  plus dogs and cats, as Ilie made sure to add  is a family filled with thankfulness towards God.

He cautioned participants not to misunderstand. People think we are spiritual people. But it's about an extraordinary God using ordinary people.

I am not passionate about children or orphans, but I am passionate about the gospel, he added.

As the Executive Director of the Romania Without Orphans Alliance (ARFO), Ilie has been involved in the orphan movement for many years and had an opportunity to experience many issues surrounding orphans first-hand. His reflection? At the root, there is a three-fold crisis in the soul.

The crisis of othering the orphans

Referring to Mark 12:30-31 where Jesus famously quotes the two greatest commandments from the Old Testament  to love God and to love ones neighbor  Ilie said the first issue is our selfishness. We should love, but we are so selfish, so its a crisis, he said.

He went on to tell the anecdote of some religious scholars who tried to come up with a definition of who is not our neighbor, in order to define who may be excluded from that commandment of love.

The result was that anyone who was sufficiently different, whether because of social status or race or education or any other social criteria, should not be considered a neighbor. They became the others.

While it would seem ridiculous to try to manipulate Gods commandment in this way, this is exactly how humanity has acted on many occasions where people who were different were stigmatized and dehumanized. And one such group is orphans.

Ilie showed a picture of dozens of orphaned children crammed into a room, which was taken at the time when the communist regime in Romania fell, and the horrific conditions of the nations orphanages became public.

The reason why anyone could treat children in this way is because they looked at orphans as others, Ilie said. There were not seen as part of us.

Othering is a big issue and it something entirely incompatible with the Bible that teaches that every human being is Gods creation and that we are all neighbors.

The crisis of the weakest link

When talking about the second crisis, Ilie brought up 1 Corinthians 12 that speaks about the unity of the body of Christ and how each believer is a member of the body.

The world likes to think in terms of who is the weakest link and how to remove them. In human society, orphans and vulnerable children are among the weakest and therefore often scorned or neglected.

The Word of God, however, teaches a very different perspective, Ilia pointed out. He highlighted verse 22 that says, On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

I cannot help thinking about Eric, the nights that we spent up, the days we spent with him at the hospital, he said. The second crisis today is generated by the thinking of the weakest link. But the Bible says everyone is important. And the weakest is indispensable.

The crisis of the why

Finally, Ilie referenced the story in John 9 where Jesus and the disciples encounter a man who was born blind. The disciples see the man and ask Jesus who was responsible for his mysery, whether it was his sin or the sin of the parents. Jesus rebukes their thinking saying, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

When terrible things happen, we start to ask why? Ilie said. We want an explanation. And we ourselves come with all kinds of strange explanations.

Just like the disciples question implied the legalistic thinking of cause and punishment, there is a human tendency to look for guilt and blame someone for the misery in the life of the vulnerable.

But Jesus perspective is different. Referring to his youngest son, Ilie said, Why is someone born blind? Why does Eric suffer so much? The reason is, so that the works of God may be displayed.

Encouraging participants to overcome the crises to experience new hope, Ilie reminded them that we don't have to force ourselves to do it out of our own strength. We cannot do it alone. I am not sufficient for my children but with Gods help we can overcome. They are indispensable. We love them and we need them, and they bring glory to God. And they are good for our souls, they bring hope to our souls.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The EU asked Meta to provide information about Threads, a platform it rolled out last year in Europe.

The EU on Friday used new regulatory powers to query Meta about ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram as well as claims some voices are suppressed online in a phenomenon known as "shadow banning".

The European Commission made a request for information under the mammoth content moderation law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force last August for online giants like Meta.

The EU's executive arm has launched a wave of probes under the DSA to quiz platforms on how they are addressing concerns from consumer protection to children's activity online.

The latest request is a first step in a possible compliance procedure, but does not itself suggest there have been breaches of the law or a move towards punishment.

The commission's list of questions is long.

It wants more information about Meta's offer from November for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to pay monthly subscriptions to use the platforms without adverts and without their data being tracked for targeted advertising.

Privacy and consumer rights campaigners have slammed the subscriptions, and filed separate formal complaints with data protection authorities.

Now the commission wants Meta to give "additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations concerning Facebook and Instagram's advertising practices, recommender systems and risk assessments" related to subscriptions.

Recommender algorithms are used by platforms to push more personalised content. Under the DSA, platforms must mitigate risks arising from such systems as well as offer users a non-personalised feed that does not rely on "profiling".

Greater transparency

Brussels also demanded Meta "provide information related to the practice of so-called shadow banning and the launch of Threads", a spin-off of the Instagram photo app.

Individuals, including politicians, and groups accuse some media platforms of shadow banningor actively limiting the reach of certain viewpoints, including conservative opinions.

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October, there have been accusations against platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, of censoring pro-Palestinian voices in particular.

The platforms have firmly denied such claims.

Meta must respond to the EU's questions by March 22.

"The DSA mandates transparency around 'shadow banning' and similar content moderation", such as deletion and suspension, a commission spokesperson told AFP.

"In some cases, such practices could have a bearing on the societal risks that (large platforms) need to identify and mitigate," the spokesperson added.

For example, if a user has been "moderated", the largest platforms need to give a "very comprehensive" explanation for why such a decision has been taken.

The EU's request comes after Instagram last month said it would not "proactively recommend content about politics" on users' Instagram and Threads recommended feeds.

Meta has taken similar steps to reduce the amount of political content on Facebook.

The commission is also seeking "additional information" on issues including terrorist content, risk management related to elections, and the protection of minors, after previous requests made since October 2023.

It added Meta had until March 15 to respond on these issues.

Meta did not respond immediately to AFP's request for comment.

 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:

Taiwan has been the target of persistent cyberattacks in recent years.

Hackers stole "sensitive information" including military and government documents from Taiwan's largest telecom company and sold it on the dark web, the island's ministry of national defense has said.

The confirmation of the democratic island's latest major data leak followed a report by local news channel TVBS on the hack of telecom giant Chunghwa Telecom.

That report included a screenshot of a post in which hackers announced they were "selling Chunghwa Telecom 1.7 TeraBytes of data" that included government contracts.

"The initial analysis of this case is that hackers obtained Chunghwa Telecom's sensitive information and sold it on the dark web, including documents from the armed forces, foreign affairs ministry, coast guard and other units," the defense ministry confirmed in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.

Taiwan is one of the world's top targets for cybersecurity attacks, according to digital data experts. Some have suggested that tactics employed against Taiwanese infrastructure bear the hallmarks of Chinese state-sponsored groups.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan's defense ministry added that an air force contract included in the Chunghwa leak was "not confidential information, thus (there was) no information leakage".

Correspondence between the navy department and Chunghwa also contained no classified information, the ministry said.

"We have asked the contractor involved to strengthen its information security control to prevent any further incidents," it said.

Neither the ministry statement nor the TVBS report identified the hackers or said where they were located.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the leak.

Chunghwa, a publicly traded company, announced in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange on Thursday that it had "conducted investigations to clarify the cause of the suspected incident".

"Currently, there is no significant impact on the Company's operations," it said, referring to potential losses from the data theft.

Government officials have said that persistent cyber threats are a form of "gray zone harassment" engaged in by China on a near-daily basis, including flying warplanes around the island and sending vessels to its surrounding waters.

While stopping short of clear acts of war, these tactics are enough to keep Taiwan's military and digital security agencies occupied, experts say.

Last year, Microsoft flagged the threat from a China-based group called Flax Typhoon that was targeting Taiwan.

The US tech giant said Flax Typhoon intended "to perform espionage and maintain access" to various Taiwanese organizations for as long as possible.

 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:

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun went to Capitol Hill in January following a major safety incident on an Alaska Airlines flight.

Shares of Spirit AeroSystems surged Friday on news Boeing is in talks to potentially acquire the supplier as the aviation giant seeks to right itself amid its latest safety crisis.

Spirit finished Friday's session up more than 15 percent following a Wall Street Journal report that it hired bankers and was holding preliminary talks to be bought by Boeing.

Boeing confirmed the report after the stock market closed, describing the discussions as "preliminary," while adding that there was "no assurance" a deal would be completed.

"We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems' manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders," said a statement from Boeing, which ended Friday's session down 1.8 percent.

Spirit, which manufacturers fuselages and other large aerostructures, also confirmed the talks, echoing the caveat that there are "no assurances" of a deal.

"The Spirit Board of Directors and management team are committed to enhancing shareholder value and regularly review the Company's opportunities to further this objective," Spirit said.

A deal would return Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit to Boeing after the larger company spun it off in 2005.

The talks come as Boeing faces intensified scrutiny from Washington after a January 5 incident on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX that experienced a panel blowout on the fuselage mid-flight.

A preliminary US investigation found that four bolts, which help secure the panel, were missing.

The probe has pointed at Boeing's activities in Renton, Washington, where the plane was assembled. But Boeing over the last year also disclosed manufacturing and quality control problems at Spirit, which in October replaced its chief executive.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan to address quality control issues.

On January 31, Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told CNBC that Boeing had sent a "huge team" to work with staff at Spirit.

Calhoun acknowledged that the company's earlier moves to rejigger its supply chain processes such as the sale of Spirit probably "went too far."

But "it's here and now," Calhoun told the network. "And now I've got to deal with it. And we're going to do it with engineers and mechanics working constructively together."

Boeing originally divested the Wichita assets to Canadian private equity firm Onex in February 2005. The company went public as Spirit AeroSystems in November 2006.

Alan Mulally, who was Boeing's CEO at the time, described the move as allowing Boeing to focus on plane assembly, "which is where we are most competitive and can add the most value to our airplanes and services," he said, adding that an independent Wichita operation would lead to lower procurement costs for Boeing.

But in the wake of the Alaska Airlines problem, Boeing is under pressure to show improvement as it falls further behind arch-rival Airbus at a time of strong demand for new planes.

 2024 AFP
To round out the second annual Texas A&M University Mental Health and Suicide Awareness Week, A&M University Health Services and the University Police Department held a presentation Thursday on the importance of securing weapons and possible dangerous medications.

The weeklong awareness program debuted last year to combat the social stigma often associated with mental health and treatment, according to the university. The restricting access to lethal means seminar was added to the awareness campaign this year in an attempt to create safer communities. As part of the program, UPD is also now offering free gun locks to anyone who requests them.

Megan McCarty, a licensed professional counselor-supervisor and mental health co-responder with the UPD, opened the presentation by discussing the importance of restricting weapons access to people who might be facing a mental health crisis.

In particular, what this means is we try to help people who are in a suicidal crisis and keep their environment safe, McCarty said. You very well could be an identified support system for someone and you need to know what you can do in those situations.

Safety planning is essential in making sure that someone is equipped with the necessary resources if or when a crisis emerges, McCarty said. Many steps in the process progressively go up as the risk for possible self-harm increases.

The most serious step is making sure their environment is safe and they have peoples contacts to reach out to, she said. Research has proven that suicide risk increases and decreases.  Some of the most identified ways people participate in suicide will be overdosing  something to do with medication  and firearms. So were going to focus on those two specifically and talk about safety around those two means.

Yolanda Hickman, a UPD Community Service Unit Officer, discussed the importance of properly securing firearms for a friend or family member who might be experiencing a crisis.

We will never ask you to jeopardize your safety when it comes to this, Hickman said. If youre uncomfortable, just immediately call us. When we get called to the scene, it doesnt always mean someone is going to jail. Were trained to deal with people in crisis with weapons, so that is kind of our specialty.

There are two types of common gun locks, Hickman said, one that snakes through the open chamber and out the bottom of the gun and one that only restricts the trigger.

This is the preferred device because it is going to make it really hard if someone wanted to try to use this, Hickman said about the lock that snakes through the gun preventing it from even being loaded. It would keep anything from being charged in the weapon as ammunition and keep anything from going in [the chamber].

Since medication is often more easily accessible, people need to take care in disposing of their unused medication, said Michael Anthony, Chief Pharmacist for the A&M Beutel Health Center.

There were approximately 6.3 billion prescriptions written last year in the U.S., Anthony said. Of that, 191 million were for opioids. There were 111,000 deaths from overdoses and 92% of those were preventable.

There is no point in keeping unused medication, Anthony said, and many pharmacies offer free disposal of unwanted medication.

Its also a liability issue because we live in such a litigious society, he said. It used to be if somebody stole your medication, took it to a party and someone else got ahold of it and overdosed, the individual that stole it and gave it to them would be the one that gets in trouble. Now, it goes back to the original person because they didnt secure it properly.

A list of nearby locations that offer year-round drug drop-off locations can be found on the U.S. Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration website.

Both A&M University Health Services and UPD also said that anyone facing a crisis should call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which was launched nationwide in July 2022.
Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Free Report) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,961 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $7,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. JSF Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.6% during the second quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 10,680 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Red Wave Investments LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.4% during the second quarter. Red Wave Investments LLC now owns 4,719 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.2% during the second quarter. Riverview Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,654 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,082 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,775,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% during the third quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 9,396 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on JPM. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $190.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James Dimon sold 821,778 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.73, for a total transaction of $150,163,493.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,782,092.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James Dimon sold 821,778 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.73, for a total value of $150,163,493.94. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 595,316 shares in the company, valued at $108,782,092.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marianne Lake sold 32,243 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $5,158,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 131,962 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,113,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 877,626 shares of company stock worth $159,500,516 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the companys stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE JPM traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $184.59. 1,574,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,223,949. The companys 50-day moving average price is $173.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $123.11 and a 52-week high of $185.75. The company has a market capitalization of $531.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.73 by ($0.69). JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The company had revenue of $38.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $39.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.57 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.87 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 4th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

(Free Report)

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services to consumers and small businesses; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services.

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Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,153 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX grew its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.2% in the third quarter. Texas Capital Bancshares Inc TX now owns 1,771 shares of the companys stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 111.3% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 7,386 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,967,000 after purchasing an additional 3,891 shares during the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 60.5% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 231,129 shares of the companys stock valued at $124,146,000 after purchasing an additional 87,164 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.9% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,725,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the third quarter valued at $4,313,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 14,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $630.28, for a total value of $9,068,468.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,754,422 shares of the companys stock, valued at $62,873,217,098.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 195,055 shares of company stock valued at $125,254,657 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock traded down $7.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $749.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,200,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,312,903. The firm has a market cap of $712.51 billion, a PE ratio of 130.63, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $309.20 and a one year high of $794.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $666.05 and a 200 day moving average of $607.00.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 51.22%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is presently 89.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $805.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $680.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, November 9th. They set a hold rating and a $535.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $815.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $663.33.

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Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. acquired a new position in TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE:THS  Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,900 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $824,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of TreeHouse Foods by 5.2% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 32,412 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TreeHouse Foods by 9.4% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 51,469 shares of the companys stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 4,405 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in TreeHouse Foods by 18.9% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 5,652 shares of the companys stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in TreeHouse Foods by 72.2% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 36,709 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 15,386 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of TreeHouse Foods by 52.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,727 shares of the companys stock worth $927,000 after acquiring an additional 9,923 shares during the period. 99.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial lowered TreeHouse Foods from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on TreeHouse Foods from $47.00 to $42.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded TreeHouse Foods from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $46.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Hunter sold 4,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.86, for a total transaction of $167,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,734.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.93% of the companys stock.

TreeHouse Foods Stock Performance

Shares of THS stock opened at $35.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.76 and a 200 day moving average of $42.09. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. has a 1 year low of $35.01 and a 1 year high of $55.30.

TreeHouse Foods (NYSE:THS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $910.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.87 million. TreeHouse Foods had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 1.51%. The companys revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that TreeHouse Foods, Inc. will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current year.

About TreeHouse Foods

(Free Report)

TreeHouse Foods, Inc manufactures and distributes private label foods and beverages in the United States and internationally. The company provides snacking product, such as crackers, pretzels, in-store bakery items, frozen griddle items, cookies, snack bars, and unique candy; and beverage and drink mix, including non-dairy creamer, single serve beverages, broths/stocks, powdered beverages and other blends, tea, and ready-to-drink-beverages.

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Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vitesse Energy, Inc. (NYSE:VTS  Free Report) by 144.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,969 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 64,444 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Vitesse Energy worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vitesse Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $739,000. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 16,666 shares of the companys stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the period. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. GoodHaven Capital Management LLC now owns 265,635 shares of the companys stock worth $6,080,000 after buying an additional 32,211 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 78.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 90,584 shares of the companys stock worth $2,073,000 after buying an additional 39,864 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Vitesse Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 55,344 shares of the companys stock worth $1,267,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.55% of the companys stock.

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Vitesse Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

Vitesse Energy stock opened at $22.73 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $21.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Vitesse Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.91 and a 12 month high of $27.39.

Vitesse Energy Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.80%. Vitesse Energys dividend payout ratio is presently -263.16%.

Separately, Alliance Global Partners started coverage on Vitesse Energy in a report on Thursday, November 16th. They set a buy rating and a $27.00 target price on the stock.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Vitesse Energy

About Vitesse Energy

(Free Report)

Vitesse Energy, Inc focuses on acquisition, ownership, exploration, development, management, production, exploitation, and dispose of oil and gas properties. The company acquires non-operated working interest and royalty interest ownership in North Dakota and Montana. It also owns non-operated interests in oil and gas properties in Colorado and Wyoming.

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Chinese VP meets with chairman of French shipping giant

Xinhua) 09:00, March 01, 2024

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Rodolphe Saade, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group, in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Rodolphe Saade, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group, on Thursday in Beijing.

Han said that the Chinese and French economies are highly complementary, and that cooperation between CMA CGM and Chinese shipping companies has achieved mutual benefits.

China is committed to opening up to a high level and building a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment, Han said, adding that China welcomes multinational companies, including CMA CGM, to deepen their cooperation with China and achieve better development in the country.

Speaking highly of China's economic and social development achievements, Saade said that CMA CGM attaches great importance to cooperation with China.

Saade said CMA CGM will adhere to its long-term development strategy in China, continue to pursue greater success in the Chinese market, and push for more achievements of mutually-beneficial cooperation between France and China.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
In the evening of February 29, World Without Orphans (WWO) kicked off its third global forum in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with the theme together from crisis to hope. Bringing together more than 500 participants from over sixty countries, the event started off with a reminder that amid the overwhelming needs of overlapping crises today, human efforts cannot help but fall short. Instead, what God is looking for is believers who faithfully follow the leading of His Spirit to transform their community.

Five million kids live in orphanages although most of them still have family, making them social orphans. 150 million children have lost one or both parents, making them legally orphans. And a staggering one billion children in the world suffer some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse each and every year, which means that one of two children in the world are significantly vulnerable today, said WWOs principal coordinator Karmen Friesen.

WWO, a global movement that seeks to mobilize the Church to respond to the needs of vulnerable children in every nation, held its first global gathering in the same location in 2016 and the second event three years later in 2019 just before the pandemic hit that led to millions more orphaned children who lost one or both parents due to Covid-19.

While the numbers and trends appear bleak, there is hope because God is at work even in the darkest of places, Friesen said.

We have hope because we have seen God provide in some of the most challenging situations. We have seen God's people respond, he said, adding that our hearts are for these children because God's heart is with these children.

He then shared a story how one night about a year ago, he woke up three times in the middle of the night and each time was just awake for a moment long enough to be reminded of a verse in Zechariah 4: Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.

It inspired Friesen to study the context of the verse and as he read through the book of Zechariah chapter by chapter, he realized the relevance for orphan ministry today. The prophet brought hope to a people in exile. They were forcibly displaced, hopeless and weary but God reminded them that He is with them and that His heart desires to see Gods people and their communities restored.

This change, however, would not come about by people devising strategies and resolving issues in their own strength. Instead, there first needs to be a heart of repentance about the sin that is underlying all the crises that lead to broken communities and families, and then leaning on God and following His Spirit.

This is how God works. It's not about working harder but to rest in his calling. He creates the opportunities that we could never create ourselves. He takes our faithful steps to accomplish his purposes, Friesen said.

He then pointed to Zechariah 8 that pictures Gods vision of the restored community and shared how the passage struck him because it shows the family as central to restoration. The passage says, Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there. (Zechariah 8:4-5)

God's heart is community transformation, this is not our idea. His heart is all generations living together in loving families, thriving communities, safety and loving families for all children, that is God's passion, he said.

How has God called us to lead towards community transformation? What is your part in your nation and community? What does it look like for us to fully trust God and His promise? Friesen asked participants and then encouraged them that, God in His amazing grace uses people just like us.

The forum will continue until March 3 and feature a variety of plenary and breakout sessions aimed at equipping leaders to respond more effectively to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children today.
AQR Arbitrage LLC increased its position in shares of Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:ZTR  Free Report) by 261.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 333,705 shares of the investment management companys stock after buying an additional 241,471 shares during the period. AQR Arbitrage LLCs holdings in Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund were worth $1,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ZTR. Mariner LLC acquired a new position in Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund during the first quarter worth $212,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund by 5.8% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,113,093 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $10,864,000 after purchasing an additional 60,543 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund by 22.1% in the first quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 45,065 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 8,144 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund by 20.8% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 453,615 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $4,427,000 after purchasing an additional 78,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eudaimonia Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund in the first quarter valued at $195,000. 40.16% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:ZTR opened at $5.29 on Friday. Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund Inc. has a one year low of $4.50 and a one year high of $6.61. The firms fifty day moving average price is $5.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.23.

About Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund

Virtus Global Dividend & Income Fund Inc is a closed-ended balanced mutual fund launched by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc The fund is co-managed by Virtus Investment Advisers, Inc, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC and Newfleet Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the public equity and fixed income markets of the United States.

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AQR Arbitrage LLC increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE:MYN  Free Report) by 47.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 256,203 shares of the investment management companys stock after purchasing an additional 81,908 shares during the period. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned 0.66% of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund during the third quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund during the third quarter valued at approximately $109,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund during the second quarter valued at approximately $118,000. 24.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund Stock Performance

Shares of MYN opened at $10.48 on Friday. BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.47 and a twelve month high of $10.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $10.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.68.

BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund Announces Dividend

BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund Company Profile

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 15th were paid a $0.0442 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 14th. This represents a yield of 5.28%.

(Free Report)

BlackRock MuniYield New York Quality Fund, Inc is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests primarily in a portfolio of long-term investment grade municipal bonds exempt from federal income taxes and New York State and New York City personal income taxes.

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Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) by 60.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,174 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 129,887 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotias holdings in Newmont were worth $12,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 1.5% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 252 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 25.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,354 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the period. S.A. Mason LLC lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 15.1% in the third quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Antonetti Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 30.0% in the third quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Newmont by 1.4% in the first quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 21,317 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. 79.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Macquarie initiated coverage on Newmont in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. They issued an outperform rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Newmont from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Newmont from $50.00 to $43.50 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial reiterated an outperform overweight rating on shares of Newmont in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Newmont in a report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $53.02.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Robert D. Atkinson sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total transaction of $226,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,238,396.26. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the companys stock.

Newmont Stock Performance

NYSE:NEM opened at $31.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.13, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.25. The businesss fifty day moving average is $35.70 and its 200 day moving average is $37.60. Newmont Co. has a 52-week low of $29.42 and a 52-week high of $52.76.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. Newmont had a positive return on equity of 6.21% and a negative net margin of 20.95%. Newmonts revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Newmonts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -67.23%.

About Newmont

(Free Report)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and Ghana. As of December 31, 2022, it had proven and probable gold reserves of 96.1 million ounces and land position of 61,500 square kilometers.

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Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP  Free Report) (TSE:BEP) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 636,780 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 73,539 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.22% of Brookfield Renewable Partners worth $13,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 7.5% in the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 73,897,686 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $2,179,243,000 after acquiring an additional 5,148,270 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,135,145 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $387,355,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523,830 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,659,034 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $314,335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,333,635 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,490,296 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $141,099,000 after purchasing an additional 57,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its position in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners by 170.1% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,530,214 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $133,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2,853,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.36% of the companys stock.

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Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BEP opened at $22.41 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.16. Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $19.97 and a fifty-two week high of $32.76.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

Brookfield Renewable Partners ( NYSE:BEP Get Free Report ) (TSE:BEP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a return on equity of 2.23% and a net margin of 12.23%. The businesss revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.16) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a dividend of $0.355 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.34%. Brookfield Renewable Partnerss payout ratio is -421.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on BEP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Monday, November 13th. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group lowered shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $34.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $37.00 to $33.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and set a $28.00 price target (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a report on Monday, February 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $30.91.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Brookfield Renewable Partners

Brookfield Renewable Partners Company Profile

(Free Report)

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. owns a portfolio of renewable power generating facilities primarily in North America, Colombia, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, pumped storage, cogeneration, and biomass sources.

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Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (NYSE:BXSL  Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.77 per share on Friday, April 26th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th.

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a payout ratio of 91.4% indicating that its dividend is currently covered by earnings, but may not be in the future if the companys earnings decline. Analysts expect Blackstone Secured Lending Fund to earn $3.23 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 95.4%.

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Blackstone Secured Lending Fund Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BXSL opened at $29.59 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $28.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.95. Blackstone Secured Lending Fund has a 52-week low of $23.61 and a 52-week high of $30.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11 and a beta of 0.47.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $415,000. Venture Visionary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $3,040,000. PARK CIRCLE Co purchased a new stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $663,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,491 shares of the companys stock worth $7,532,000 after acquiring an additional 8,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Blackstone Secured Lending Fund by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 33,573 shares of the companys stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 13,905 shares in the last quarter. 36.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BXSL shares. Raymond James reissued a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone Secured Lending Fund in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Blackstone Secured Lending Fund from $28.50 to $30.50 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $30.42.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BXSL

About Blackstone Secured Lending Fund

(Get Free Report)

Blackstone Secured Lending Fund is business development company and a Delaware statutory trust formed on March 26, 2018, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment Fund. On October 26, 2018, the fund elected to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the 1940 Act).

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group decreased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $1,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 525 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.98% of the companys stock.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BMY opened at $50.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.38. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $47.58 and a one year high of $71.07.

Bristol-Myers Squibb ( NYSE:BMY Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $11.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.19 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 50.95% and a net margin of 17.83%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 6.61 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the biopharmaceutical company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 1st. Investors of record on Friday, January 5th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. This is a positive change from Bristol-Myers Squibbs previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio is presently 62.18%.

Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, CEO Christopher S. Boerner acquired 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $49.78 per share, for a total transaction of $99,560.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,672 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,115,412.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $58.00 to $51.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. They set a hold rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $77.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Bristol-Myers Squibb currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $61.17.

Get Our Latest Analysis on BMY

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

Further Reading

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Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM  Free Report) by 33.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 550,928 shares of the technology companys stock after purchasing an additional 138,680 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.06% of International Business Machines worth $77,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Delta Asset Management LLC TN increased its position in shares of International Business Machines by 23.5% during the second quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 6,096 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 18.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 372,307 shares of the technology companys stock worth $52,235,000 after purchasing an additional 57,170 shares during the last quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 3.2% in the third quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 21,880 shares of the technology companys stock worth $3,070,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the third quarter worth approximately $661,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in International Business Machines by 33.6% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 32,245 shares of the technology companys stock worth $4,524,000 after purchasing an additional 8,117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.16% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on IBM. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Friday, January 5th. They issued a hold rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $179.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Evercore upgraded shares of International Business Machines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of International Business Machines from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a research note on Monday, November 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $171.92.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE IBM opened at $185.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $169.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.71. The firms fifty day moving average is $175.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.71. International Business Machines Co. has a 52-week low of $120.55 and a 52-week high of $196.90.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The technology company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.78 by $0.09. International Business Machines had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.55%. The company had revenue of $17.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. International Business Machiness revenue for the quarter was up 4.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 9th. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $6.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. International Business Machiness payout ratio is 81.67%.

International Business Machines Profile

(Free Report)

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through four business segments: Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing. The Software segment offers hybrid cloud platform and software solutions; software for business automation, AIOps and management, integration, and application servers; data and artificial intelligence solutions; and security software and services for threat, data, and identity.

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Chart Industries (NYSE:GTLS  Free Report) had its price objective raised by TD Cowen from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. TD Cowen currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products companys stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on GTLS. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a buy rating and set a $224.00 price target on shares of Chart Industries in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Chart Industries from $167.00 to $149.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 14th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Chart Industries in a report on Friday, January 26th. They issued a neutral rating and a $136.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Chart Industries from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $197.69.

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Read Our Latest Stock Report on Chart Industries

Chart Industries Stock Performance

Shares of Chart Industries stock opened at $142.60 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 375.26, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Chart Industries has a 52 week low of $101.44 and a 52 week high of $184.65.

Chart Industries (NYSE:GTLS  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.12. Chart Industries had a net margin of 1.00% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 130.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Chart Industries will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew R. Cichocki bought 400 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $126.88 per share, for a total transaction of $50,752.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,337.76. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Chart Industries news, Director Andrew R. Cichocki acquired 400 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $126.88 per share, with a total value of $50,752.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,177 shares in the company, valued at $149,337.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Linda S. Harty acquired 500 shares of Chart Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $134.44 per share, for a total transaction of $67,220.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,310 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $982,756.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Chart Industries

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GTLS. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Chart Industries by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,090,885 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $813,473,000 after purchasing an additional 14,235 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Chart Industries by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,163,475 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $567,607,000 after purchasing an additional 39,130 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Chart Industries by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,948,174 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $268,088,000 after purchasing an additional 101,404 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Chart Industries by 63.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,339,412 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $230,071,000 after acquiring an additional 517,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Chart Industries by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,153,477 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $212,643,000 after acquiring an additional 19,413 shares in the last quarter.

Chart Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Chart Industries, Inc manufactures and sells engineered cryogenic equipment for the industrial gas and clean energy markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Cryo Tank Solutions, Heat Transfer Systems, Specialty Products, and Repair, Service & Leasing.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crane (NYSE:CR  Free Report) by 12.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,649 shares of the conglomerates stock after purchasing an additional 24,790 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Crane worth $20,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CR. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Crane by 97.2% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,031,020 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $584,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,145 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Crane during the second quarter worth about $168,567,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Crane by 93.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,666,141 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $193,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285,048 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its holdings in Crane by 77.0% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 2,410,330 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $180,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,595 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Crane by 110.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,440,120 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $102,501,000 after acquiring an additional 756,198 shares during the period. 85.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Crane from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Crane from $124.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Vertical Research initiated coverage on Crane in a research report on Monday, November 20th. They issued a hold rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $107.83.

Crane Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CR opened at $121.36 on Friday. Crane has a one year low of $67.28 and a one year high of $127.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 32.89, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.34.

Crane (NYSE:CR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The conglomerate reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.09. Crane had a return on equity of 24.45% and a net margin of 13.10%. The firm had revenue of $532.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $519.55 million. As a group, analysts predict that Crane will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crane Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Cranes previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Cranes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Crane Profile

(Free Report)

Crane Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells engineered industrial products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. The company has three segments: Aerospace & Electronics, Process Flow Technologies, and Engineered Materials. The Aerospace & Electronics segment supplies critical components and systems, including original equipment and aftermarket parts, primarily for the commercial aerospace, and the military aerospace, defense, and space markets.

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Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL  Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.47, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $22.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.17 billion. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 2.92% and a negative return on equity of 150.29%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. Dell Technologies updated its Q1 2025 guidance to 1.050-1.250 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance to 7.250-7.750 EPS.

Dell Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Dell Technologies stock opened at $94.66 on Friday. Dell Technologies has a 1 year low of $35.96 and a 1 year high of $94.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $82.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.93. The company has a market capitalization of $67.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.90.

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Dell Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 23rd were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 22nd. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Dell Technologiess dividend payout ratio is presently 40.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Dell Technologies

Institutional Trading of Dell Technologies

In other Dell Technologies news, Director Iv (Gp) L.L.C. Slta sold 239,112 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.43, for a total transaction of $18,992,666.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 293,812 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,337,487.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . 48.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DELL. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Dell Technologies by 17.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,076 shares of the technology companys stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,117 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at about $304,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Dell Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $568,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 254,266 shares of the technology companys stock worth $12,762,000 after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dell Technologies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 38.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on DELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Dell Technologies from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Dell Technologies from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Dell Technologies from $80.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Dell Technologies from $58.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.13.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG).

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Innovo Publishing LLC Releases 'High and Dry on the Beach' by P. M. Hoekstra

Summary / Description: Innovo Publishing LLC is excited to release High and Dry on the Beach, a non-fiction book documenting the history of LST-311. From a diary written by a crew member and other eye-witness accounts, this is the tale of World War II as a crewmember of an LST. With more than seventy never-before-seen photos, High and Dry on the Beach presents a black and white pictorial history that illuminates the experience of LST crews fighting the war in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. The hardback case edition is available now in the US and internationally.

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Innovo Publishing LLC

March 1, 2024

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 1, 2024 /Christian Newswire/ -- Innovo Publishing LLC is excited to release a new historical title, High and Dry on the Beach, written by P. M. Hoekstra. In July 1941 Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt stating that in the fight to save the world from the Nazis, it would be necessary not only to have great numbers of tanks but also to have sea-going vessels capable of landing them directly onto the beaches of Europe. Soon thereafter the Landing Ship Tank (LST) was designed.

By late 1942, LSTs of the U.S. Navy were afloat and active in the war effort. This outwardly clumsy and unsightly vessel quickly became one of the most important and effective warships in the Allied victory in World War II. Whether student or teacher, young or old, all readers will be captivated by the truly remarkable stories forged in the great walls of this marvelous vessel of war.

This beautifully illustrated book provides a detailed view into the historical events that took place on and around one seemingly insignificant sea vessel. With first-hand accounts from landmark events such as the crossing of the Atlantic, the invasion of Sicily, the bombing of LST-313, and landings at Salerno, this book is captivating in its commitment to story and factual detail. Readers who enjoy history will no doubt discover something new in this compelling and educational masterpiece. -- Dr. Bart Dahmer, Founder and CEO, Innovo Publishing LLC

High and Dry on the Beach is available now in the US and internationally in case hardback (ISBN: 978-1-61314-977-5) edition.

About the Author: Philip Hoekstra is a writer from Memphis, TN. He is a chemist by trade, author of many technical papers, and recipient of two Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards. Raised on a farm in Iowa, as a young boy, Philip listened to war stories told by his uncles, describing their experiences in WWII. This is his fathers war story.

SOURCE Innovo Publishing LLC

CONTACT: Bart Dahmer, bartdahmer@innovopublishing.com
Eventide Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 8,450 shares of the auto parts companys stock, valued at approximately $815,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 188.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,468,058 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $510,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Autoliv by 9.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,264,937 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $507,961,000 after acquiring an additional 459,147 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Autoliv by 21.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,814,404 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $138,693,000 after purchasing an additional 315,473 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Autoliv by 185.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,455,700 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $135,904,000 after purchasing an additional 945,517 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Autoliv by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,445,950 shares of the auto parts companys stock worth $122,966,000 after purchasing an additional 30,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.70% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on ALV. Barclays raised their target price on Autoliv from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Berenberg Bank raised Autoliv from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $120.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 12th. Wolfe Research cut Autoliv from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Autoliv from $106.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Autoliv from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, January 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $112.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total value of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 327 shares in the company, valued at $35,868.63. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mikael Hagstrom sold 327 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.69, for a total transaction of $35,868.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,868.63. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Colin Naughton sold 782 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.68, for a total value of $86,551.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,594 shares of the companys stock, valued at $619,143.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,388 shares of company stock worth $921,757 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Autoliv Price Performance

Shares of ALV stock opened at $117.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $108.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.71. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12 month low of $79.66 and a 12 month high of $117.18.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The auto parts company reported $3.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.75 billion. Autoliv had a return on equity of 27.13% and a net margin of 4.66%. The companys revenue was up 17.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.74 EPS for the current year.

Autoliv Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be given a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 11th. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Autolivs payout ratio is 47.30%.

Autoliv Profile

(Free Report)

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.

Further Reading

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Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS  Free Report) had its price target lifted by Truist Financial from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the information technology services providers stock.

FIS has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $79.00 to $71.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $62.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Fidelity National Information Services from $71.00 to $67.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.47.

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View Our Latest Report on Fidelity National Information Services

Fidelity National Information Services Stock Performance

NYSE FIS opened at $69.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Fidelity National Information Services has a 12-month low of $46.91 and a 12-month high of $69.55. The firm has a market cap of $39.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.16, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.95.

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The information technology services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). Fidelity National Information Services had a negative net margin of 54.30% and a positive return on equity of 13.06%. The business had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fidelity National Information Services will post 4.7 EPS for the current year.

Fidelity National Information Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to buy up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fidelity National Information Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Fidelity National Information Servicess dividend payout ratio is currently -18.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fidelity National Information Services news, Director Ellen R. Alemany purchased 735 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.32 per share, for a total transaction of $44,335.20. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 35,333 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,131,286.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 332.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 484 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 83.3% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 286 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Spotlight Asset Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fidelity National Information Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.67% of the companys stock.

Fidelity National Information Services Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc provides technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses worldwide. It operates through Banking Solutions, Merchant Solutions, and Capital Market Solutions segments. The Banking Solutions segment provides core processing and ancillary applications; mobile and online banking; fraud, risk management, and compliance; electronic funds transfer and network; card and retail payment; wealth and retirement; and item processing and output solutions.

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Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Skyline Champion Co. (NYSE:SKY  Free Report) by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 88,745 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 44,728 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLCs holdings in Skyline Champion were worth $5,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Skyline Champion by 19.1% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,112,034 shares of the companys stock worth $70,859,000 after purchasing an additional 178,099 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Skyline Champion by 5.7% in the third quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 600,406 shares of the companys stock worth $38,258,000 after purchasing an additional 32,480 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Skyline Champion by 4.9% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,365 shares of the companys stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in Skyline Champion by 1.5% in the third quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC now owns 392,635 shares of the companys stock worth $25,019,000 after purchasing an additional 5,895 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC raised its holdings in Skyline Champion by 14.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 48,216 shares of the companys stock worth $3,156,000 after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the period.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Keith A. Anderson sold 18,750 shares of Skyline Champion stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total value of $1,368,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 238,098 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,381,154. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.00% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SKY. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Skyline Champion from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 1st. Wedbush restated a neutral rating and set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Skyline Champion in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Skyline Champion from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Skyline Champion from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $71.40.

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Skyline Champion Stock Up 2.5 %

Skyline Champion stock opened at $83.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.50. Skyline Champion Co. has a 1-year low of $52.12 and a 1-year high of $84.10. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Skyline Champion (NYSE:SKY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $559.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.20 million. Skyline Champion had a net margin of 10.19% and a return on equity of 15.45%. Research analysts anticipate that Skyline Champion Co. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Skyline Champion

(Free Report)

Skyline Champion Corporation produces and sells factory-built housing in North America. The company offers manufactured and modular homes, park models RVs, accessory dwelling units, and modular buildings for the multi-family and hospitality sectors. It builds homes under the Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Genesis Homes, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Atlantic Homes, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, ScotBilt Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, and Titan Homes brands in the United States; and Moduline and SRI Homes brand names in western Canada.

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Fred Alger Management LLC raised its holdings in Skyline Champion Co. (NYSE:SKY  Free Report) by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,745 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 44,728 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 0.15% of Skyline Champion worth $5,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Skyline Champion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $57,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new position in Skyline Champion during the third quarter worth approximately $94,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Skyline Champion by 8,505.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,635 shares of the companys stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Skyline Champion during the first quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Skyline Champion in the first quarter valued at about $216,000.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Keith A. Anderson sold 18,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.00, for a total transaction of $1,368,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 238,098 shares of the companys stock, valued at $17,381,154. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SKY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Skyline Champion from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $72.00 price objective on shares of Skyline Champion in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Skyline Champion from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Skyline Champion from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Skyline Champion currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $71.40.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SKY

Skyline Champion Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of SKY opened at $83.85 on Friday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $74.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.51. Skyline Champion Co. has a 12-month low of $52.12 and a 12-month high of $84.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03 and a beta of 1.50.

Skyline Champion (NYSE:SKY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. Skyline Champion had a return on equity of 15.45% and a net margin of 10.19%. The firm had revenue of $559.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $505.20 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Skyline Champion Co. will post 3.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Skyline Champion Profile

(Free Report)

Skyline Champion Corporation produces and sells factory-built housing in North America. The company offers manufactured and modular homes, park models RVs, accessory dwelling units, and modular buildings for the multi-family and hospitality sectors. It builds homes under the Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Genesis Homes, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Atlantic Homes, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, ScotBilt Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, and Titan Homes brands in the United States; and Moduline and SRI Homes brand names in western Canada.

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Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its stake in shares of Halliburton (NYSE:HAL  Free Report) by 18.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,741,648 shares of the oilfield services companys stock after selling 400,416 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebecs holdings in Halliburton were worth $70,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Halliburton in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $34,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Halliburton in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Halliburton by 443.8% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the oilfield services companys stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Halliburton in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.09% of the companys stock.

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Halliburton Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HAL opened at $35.36 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.06. Halliburton has a 52 week low of $27.84 and a 52 week high of $43.85.

Halliburton Increases Dividend

Halliburton ( NYSE:HAL Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The oilfield services company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.78 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 31.59%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Halliburton will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Halliburtons previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 5th. Halliburtons dividend payout ratio is 21.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HAL shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Halliburton from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Halliburton from $49.00 to $47.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Halliburton from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Halliburton has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $48.63.

Get Our Latest Analysis on HAL

Halliburton Profile

(Free Report)

Halliburton Company provides products and services to the energy industry worldwide. It operates through two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services that include stimulation and sand control services; cementing services, such as well bonding and casing, and casing equipment; and completion tools that offer downhole solutions and services, including well completion products and services, intelligent well completions, and service tools, as well as liner hanger, sand control, and multilateral systems.

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR  Get Free Report) insider Helen McCabe sold 213,315 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 366 ($4.64), for a total transaction of 780,732.90 ($990,275.11).

Helen McCabe also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, January 26th, Helen McCabe bought 3,942 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 307 ($3.89) per share, with a total value of 12,101.94 ($15,350.00).

On Thursday, December 21st, Helen McCabe bought 3 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of 4,042 ($5,126.84) per share, with a total value of 12,126 ($15,380.52).

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Price Performance

Shares of RR stock opened at GBX 369.10 ($4.68) on Friday. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has a 12 month low of GBX 132.26 ($1.68) and a 12 month high of GBX 375 ($4.76). The firm has a market capitalization of 31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,272.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 1.75. The companys fifty day moving average price is GBX 312.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 259.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 400 ($5.07) to GBX 475 ($6.02) and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank reiterated a sell rating and issued a GBX 240 ($3.04) price target on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 310 ($3.93) price target on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Finally, Shore Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Rolls-Royce Holdings plc presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of GBX 276.20 ($3.50).

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc operates as an industrial technology company in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Civil Aerospace, Defence, Power Systems, and New Markets. The Civil Aerospace segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells aero engines for large commercial aircraft, regional jet, and business aviation markets, as well as provides aftermarket services.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR  Free Report) by 1,313.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 463,087 shares of the construction companys stock after acquiring an additional 430,318 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned about 0.34% of KBR worth $27,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in KBR during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new stake in KBR during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spire Wealth Management boosted its position in KBR by 110.6% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 697 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in KBR by 113.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 814 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its position in KBR by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

KBR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on KBR from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on KBR from $75.00 to $66.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on KBR from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised KBR from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $69.00.

KBR Stock Performance

KBR stock opened at $60.01 on Friday. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.37 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The businesss fifty day moving average is $54.82 and its 200-day moving average is $56.30.

KBR (NYSE:KBR  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.69. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. KBR had a positive return on equity of 25.08% and a negative net margin of 3.81%. The firms revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. Research analysts predict that KBR, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from KBRs previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. KBRs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -26.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total transaction of $471,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,524 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,270,989.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About KBR

(Free Report)

KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

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Invitation Homes (NYSE:INVH  Free Report) had its target price cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $38.00 to $37.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Invitation Homes in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Invitation Homes in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a hold rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Invitation Homes from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Invitation Homes from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Invitation Homes in a report on Monday, January 22nd. They issued an outperform rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $37.37.

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Check Out Our Latest Report on INVH

Invitation Homes Price Performance

Invitation Homes Increases Dividend

Shares of NYSE:INVH opened at $34.07 on Tuesday. Invitation Homes has a 12 month low of $28.49 and a 12 month high of $36.53. The stock has a market cap of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.56, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.95. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $33.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.20 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Invitation Homess previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 26th. Invitation Homess payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invitation Homes

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of INVH. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Invitation Homes by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,600 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC bought a new stake in Invitation Homes in the first quarter worth $373,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Invitation Homes in the first quarter worth $480,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Invitation Homes by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 36,134 shares of the companys stock worth $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in Invitation Homes during the 1st quarter worth $225,000. 96.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Invitation Homes Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Invitation Homes, an S&P 500 company, is the nation's premier single-family home leasing company, meeting changing lifestyle demands by providing access to high-quality, updated homes with valued features such as close proximity to jobs and access to good schools. The company's mission, "Together with you, we make a house a home," reflects its commitment to providing homes where individuals and families can thrive and high-touch service that continuously enhances residents' living experiences.

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CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA  Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $49.00 to $62.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an overweight rating on the stock. Morgan Stanleys price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.07% from the companys current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CAVA. William Blair reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $65.00 target price (up from $59.00) on shares of CAVA Group in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen initiated coverage on CAVA Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $46.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on CAVA Group from $46.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on CAVA Group from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $55.10.

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CAVA Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CAVA opened at $58.45 on Wednesday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $47.67 and its 200-day moving average is $40.03. CAVA Group has a 1 year low of $29.05 and a 1 year high of $59.84.

CAVA Group (NYSE:CAVA  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $175.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.03 million. CAVA Group had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 1.82%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 52.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that CAVA Group will post 0.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CAVA Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $449,000. Revolution Growth Management Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $265,169,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CAVA Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,937,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 172.5% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 46,377 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 29,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of CAVA Group by 45.2% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 768,693 shares of the companys stock valued at $23,545,000 after acquiring an additional 239,471 shares in the last quarter. 61.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CAVA Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CAVA Group, Inc owns and operates a chain of Mediterranean restaurants. The company offers salads, dips, spreads, toppings, and dressings. It sells its products through whole food markets and grocery stores. The company also provides online food ordering services. Cava Group, Inc was founded in 2006 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia.

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Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 29th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share by the shipping company on Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 11.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 19th. This is a boost from Nordic American Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.06.

Nordic American Tankers has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.9% per year over the last three years. Nordic American Tankers has a dividend payout ratio of 28.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Nordic American Tankers to earn $0.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.9%.

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Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NAT stock opened at $4.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $849.82 million, a P/E ratio of 7.27 and a beta of -0.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.81. Nordic American Tankers has a fifty-two week low of $3.26 and a fifty-two week high of $4.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Nordic American Tankers ( NYSE:NAT Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 29th. The shipping company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $48.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $53.04 million. Nordic American Tankers had a return on equity of 21.50% and a net margin of 42.78%. Research analysts forecast that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Nordic American Tankers from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Nordic American Tankers from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $5.33.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Nordic American Tankers

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Nordic American Tankers by 266.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 19,603 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 14,253 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.98% of the companys stock.

About Nordic American Tankers

(Get Free Report)

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 19 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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The "Englishman" is back in New York, as Sting performs with eight-time Grammy winner Christian McBride in a momentous fundraising event for Jazz House Kids (JHK), a nationally recognized education and performance non-profit, last Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Ralph Pucci International's NYC gallery.

This event was first announced last Feb. 27.

A Night of Celebrating Jazz's Importance in the Community

Raising just about $800,000 in a spectacular night of jazz, the duo performed some of The Police's former frontman's most beloved classics like "Roxanne," "Moon Over Bourbon Street," "Walking On the Moon," "Message in a Bottle" and "Every Breath You Take."

The event saw over 200 guests mingling and grooving to jazzy tunes and also featured an opening performance from the Jazz House's Soulful Voices Choir, comprised of talented pupils from both its Montclair and New York programs, singing their gorgeous take on the 17-time Grammy winner's "Fields of Gold" and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic."

For the finale, Sting and McBride called JHK's choir and instrumentalists to hop back on stage in an ensemble performance of the rock icon's poignant introspective track, "Fragile."

A long-standing supporter of the Jazz House's mission to nurture the next generation of musicians, Sting similarly possesses a passion for advancing the institutional movement of jazz and exercising its transformative and educational capabilities for the benefit of the community.

Of JHK's event, Sting said: "I'd like to offer my appreciation for the important work you are doing, a gift to our community and also the entire world, the gift of music."

"They say that music education is usually the first thing that is cut when there are cuts," he added. "It's not some frivolous extra, it's so important for kids to play music."

Read Also: A Retrospective on the Best Oscar-Winning Scores in the Last Decade Ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards

The Jazz House Kids' Annual Ralph Pucci Jazz Set

This annual, one-night-only event sees Ralph Pucci International's 30,000-square-foot NYC headquarters transform into an immaculate jazz club that features a unique special guest performance each year.

Last Wednesday's jazz set was its 8th overall iteration welcoming Sting as the guest performer, aside from him, however, the event has also featured iconic artists like Norah Jones, Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, Laurie Anderson, Gregory Porter, John Pizzarelli and Esperanza Spalding.

The annual jazz set has accumulated nearly $2 million for the organization since its inauguration eight years ago.

All of these funds that have been raised allow the non-profit organization to further help the achievement gap and drooping graduation rates in educational institutions through its year-long music programs, classes, and private lessons.

"I'm so glad Sting was able to join us for this year's annual Ralph Pucci Jazz Set to benefit Jazz House Kids," said McBride. "He is a dear friend of mine and someone full of knowledge and wisdom."

"I am sure I speak for Sting when I say how music has defined and transformed our lives, beyond our wildest dreams," he continued. "I personally know the power it has in the lives of young people, especially those who might not otherwise have access to such enriching experiences that many take for granted."

Echoing McBride's sentiment, the event's host Ralph Pucci himself spoke of the non-profit and its mission, saying, "I believe Jazz House Kids is a brilliant and important organization and I'm pleased to help raise funds to nurture jazz for the next generation."

Read More: 'From the Ashes': Fundraising Exhibition of Artworks Made From Amazon Burn Remnants, in Aid of Indigenous Communities

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Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI  Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Monday, PriceTargets.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for Owens & Minors Q1 2024 earnings at $0.20 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.40 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.62 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $1.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.92 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.24 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.63 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Owens & Minor from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Owens & Minor from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. SVB Leerink began coverage on Owens & Minor in a research note on Monday. They issued a market perform rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Owens & Minor from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Owens & Minor from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.29.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on OMI

Owens & Minor Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:OMI opened at $24.33 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.06, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.34. Owens & Minor has a 1-year low of $11.79 and a 1-year high of $25.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $20.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.53.

Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Owens & Minor had a positive return on equity of 11.62% and a negative net margin of 0.40%. Owens & Minors quarterly revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Owens & Minor will post 1.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Owens & Minor

In other news, SVP Michael Wayne Lowry sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,791,350. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Jonathan A. Leon sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.08, for a total transaction of $135,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 83,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,504,491.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael Wayne Lowry sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,654 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,791,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $492,300. 3.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Owens & Minor

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Owens & Minor by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 11,896,845 shares of the companys stock valued at $523,700,000 after purchasing an additional 168,282 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Owens & Minor by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,479,209 shares of the companys stock valued at $185,504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,275 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Owens & Minor by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,592,904 shares of the companys stock valued at $138,861,000 after purchasing an additional 25,891 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Owens & Minor by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,552,955 shares of the companys stock valued at $332,482,000 after purchasing an additional 77,252 shares during the period. Finally, Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C raised its holdings in Owens & Minor by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 6,435,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $103,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.04% of the companys stock.

Owens & Minor Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Owens & Minor, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a healthcare solutions company worldwide. It operates in two segments, Products & Healthcare Services and Patient Direct. The Products & Healthcare Services segment offers a portfolio of products and services to healthcare providers and manufacturers.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI  Free Report) by 23.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 951,384 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 292,117 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLCs holdings in NiSource were worth $23,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Veritable L.P. grew its stake in shares of NiSource by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Veritable L.P. now owns 8,329 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the period. Brinker Capital Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 18,197 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Spreng Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 11,637 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. 94.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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NiSource Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NI opened at $26.03 on Friday. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.86 and a 1-year high of $28.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.07 and a 200 day moving average of $26.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

NiSource Increases Dividend

NiSource ( NYSE:NI Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that NiSource Inc. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.265 per share. This is a positive change from NiSources previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. NiSources dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of NiSource from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, February 24th.

View Our Latest Report on NiSource

NiSource Company Profile

(Free Report)

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 859,000 customers in northern Indiana, as well as approximately 2.4 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Scorpio Tankers Inc. (NYSE:STNG  Free Report) by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 493,400 shares of the shipping companys stock after selling 299,000 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned about 0.91% of Scorpio Tankers worth $26,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 263.9% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 13,495 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 99,744 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 6,505 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,578,947 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $55,136,000 after purchasing an additional 57,184 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,472 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 21,160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Scorpio Tankers by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 12,099 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. 66.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

STNG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Scorpio Tankers from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Scorpio Tankers from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $74.00.

Scorpio Tankers Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE STNG opened at $67.15 on Friday. Scorpio Tankers Inc. has a 12 month low of $40.34 and a 12 month high of $72.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.95 and a 200-day moving average of $58.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.22.

Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The shipping company reported $2.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $336.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $335.70 million. Scorpio Tankers had a net margin of 40.78% and a return on equity of 22.86%. The companys revenue was down 31.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Scorpio Tankers Inc. will post 12.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Scorpio Tankers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Scorpio Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Scorpio Tankerss dividend payout ratio is 14.08%.

About Scorpio Tankers

(Free Report)

Scorpio Tankers Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 23, 2023, its fleet consisted of 113 owned, finance leased, or bareboat chartered-in tankers, including 39 LR2, 60 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 7.2 years.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM  Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,324 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 37.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 641 shares of the companys stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.73% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ADM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Roth Mkm downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $98.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from an overweight rating to an underweight rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $67.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ADM opened at $53.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a 12 month low of $50.72 and a 12 month high of $87.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midlands previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Archer-Daniels-Midlands dividend payout ratio is presently 27.86%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

(Free Report)

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company procures, transports, stores, processes, and merchandises agricultural commodities, products, and ingredients in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC reduced its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB  Free Report) by 46.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,309 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 8,091 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLCs holdings in Schlumberger were worth $543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Schlumberger in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% in the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC raised its position in Schlumberger by 51.5% during the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 79.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLB. Barclays cut their target price on Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Schlumberger currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $70.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total value of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 163,515 shares in the company, valued at $8,806,917.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 178,441 shares of company stock worth $8,972,947. Insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

Schlumberger Price Performance

Shares of SLB opened at $48.33 on Friday. Schlumberger Limited has a fifty-two week low of $42.73 and a fifty-two week high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $68.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. The businesss 50-day moving average is $49.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.04.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 12.68%. The firm had revenue of $8.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Schlumberger Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumbergers payout ratio is 34.25%.

About Schlumberger

(Free Report)

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,477 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Advocates Investment Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 3,881 shares of the business services providers stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,224 shares of the business services providers stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,363 shares of the business services providers stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 288 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.34% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $163.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Waste Management from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. HSBC cut Waste Management from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $197.57.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WM opened at $205.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $148.31 and a one year high of $209.78. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $188.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.11. The stock has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.70.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.00, for a total value of $1,690,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $28,742,676. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,954 shares of company stock valued at $7,648,660. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Profile

(Free Report)

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

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Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP  Free Report) had its price target upped by B. Riley from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Squarespaces Q4 2023 earnings at $0.08 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.07 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.09 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.99 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. JMP Securities upgraded Squarespace from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Squarespace from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Squarespace from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Squarespace from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Squarespace from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $36.93.

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Squarespace Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:SQSP opened at $33.29 on Thursday. Squarespace has a 52-week low of $22.73 and a 52-week high of $34.62. The businesss fifty day moving average is $32.06 and its 200 day moving average is $30.25.

Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.12). Squarespace had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 2.24%. The company had revenue of $270.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $263.41 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.07) earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Squarespace will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Squarespace

In related news, CEO Anthony Casalena sold 45,029 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.55, for a total value of $1,285,577.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,936,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,398,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Anthony Casalena sold 45,029 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.55, for a total value of $1,285,577.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,936,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,398,323.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Nathan Gooden sold 5,129 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.85, for a total value of $163,358.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 66,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,118,120.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 500,737 shares of company stock valued at $15,547,908. Corporate insiders own 47.14% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Squarespace

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SQSP. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Squarespace by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,015,353 shares of the companys stock valued at $203,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,894,084 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Squarespace by 56.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,645,279 shares of the companys stock worth $93,392,000 after buying an additional 1,313,755 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Squarespace in the 1st quarter worth $27,254,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Squarespace by 38.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,427,924 shares of the companys stock worth $108,117,000 after buying an additional 956,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Squarespace by 266.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,160,423 shares of the companys stock worth $36,582,000 after buying an additional 843,404 shares during the last quarter. 43.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Squarespace

(Get Free Report)

Squarespace, Inc operates platform for businesses and independent creators to build online presence, grow their brands, and manage their businesses across the internet. Its suite of integrated products enables users to manage their projects and businesses through websites, domains, e-commerce, marketing tools, scheduling, and hospitality services, as well as tools for managing a social media presence.

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StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fortuna Silver Mines (NYSE:FSM  Free Report) (TSE:FVI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Separately, TheStreet upgraded shares of Fortuna Silver Mines from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th.

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View Our Latest Report on FSM

Fortuna Silver Mines Stock Up 2.7 %

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortuna Silver Mines

NYSE:FSM opened at $2.71 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The companys 50-day moving average is $3.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.19. Fortuna Silver Mines has a 1-year low of $2.58 and a 1-year high of $4.20.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stableford Capital II LLC purchased a new stake in Fortuna Silver Mines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 2,106.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,756,609 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $8,967,000 after purchasing an additional 2,631,699 shares during the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,952,000. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 691.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 337,242 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 294,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Fortuna Silver Mines by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,035,190 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $81,767,000 after purchasing an additional 135,263 shares during the last quarter. 31.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortuna Silver Mines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc engages in the precious and base metal mining in Argentina, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Peru, and Cote d'Ivoire. It holds interest in the Caylloma silver, lead, and zinc mine located in southern Peru; the San Jose silver and gold mine located in southern Mexico; the Lindero gold project located in Northern Argentina; Yaramoko gold mine located in south western Burkina Faso; and Seguela gold mine located in south western Cote d'Ivoire.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report) by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,935 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after buying an additional 967 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,534,104 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $3,479,806,000 after purchasing an additional 17,826 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 961,574 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,261,239,000 after purchasing an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 10.4% during the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 660,610 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $866,482,000 after purchasing an additional 62,487 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 2.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 514,524 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $673,428,000 after purchasing an additional 14,397 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Mettler-Toledo International by 5.6% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 488,953 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $641,330,000 after purchasing an additional 25,877 shares during the period. 93.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total transaction of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 316 shares in the company, valued at $372,042.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Mettler-Toledo International news, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 300 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,210.83, for a total transaction of $363,249.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,950,018.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of Mettler-Toledo International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total value of $295,514.85. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 316 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $372,042.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Price Performance

NYSE:MTD opened at $1,247.22 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,197.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1,136.81. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a 1 year low of $928.49 and a 1 year high of $1,615.97. The company has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.15.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.32 by ($0.92). The company had revenue of $934.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $959.45 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 20.82% and a negative return on equity of 904.59%. Mettler-Toledo Internationals revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $12.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 39.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MTD. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,425.00 to $1,270.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,185.00 to $1,030.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered Mettler-Toledo International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,520.00 to $1,300.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a sell rating and issued a $975.00 price target (down previously from $1,050.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a report on Monday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $1,223.71.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Mettler-Toledo International

Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments.Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (BATS:VLUE  Free Report) by 47.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,837 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 9,308 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF were worth $2,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 5,945 shares of the companys stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 0.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,739 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,851,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 18.8% during the third quarter. Concourse Financial Group Securities Inc. now owns 1,019 shares of the companys stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 0.7% during the third quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 23,762 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,156,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF by 3.7% during the third quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,904 shares of the companys stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Stock Up 0.7 %

VLUE stock opened at $102.84 on Friday. iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF has a 52 week low of $71.21 and a 52 week high of $89.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.51 and a beta of 1.04.

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (VLUE) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Enhanced Value index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap US equities. Stocks are selected and weighted using fundamental metrics (earnings, revenue, book value and cash earnings), aiming for exposure to undervalued stocks in each sector.

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TransAlta (TSE:TA  Free Report) (NYSE:TAC) had its price objective reduced by TD Securities from C$15.00 to C$14.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. National Bankshares dropped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$13.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. CIBC lowered their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$18.50 to C$18.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$15.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of C$15.80.

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TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TA opened at C$9.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 4.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 161.55, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.62. TransAlta has a 1-year low of C$9.16 and a 1-year high of C$13.97. The companys fifty day moving average price is C$10.05 and its 200-day moving average price is C$11.13.

TransAlta (TSE:TA  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported C($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.18 by C($0.45). The company had revenue of C$624.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 43.58%. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.4067368 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Aron John Willis sold 35,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.08, for a total transaction of C$392,830.32. In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 76,941 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.84, for a total value of C$834,348.20. Also, Senior Officer Aron John Willis sold 35,454 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$11.08, for a total value of C$392,830.32. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About TransAlta

(Get Free Report)

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydro electrical-generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.

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Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT  Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $10.00 to $11.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services providers stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on GDOT. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Green Dot from $15.00 to $12.50 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays downgraded shares of Green Dot from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and reduced their price target for the company from $8.00 to $7.00 in a report on Thursday, December 14th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Green Dot from a c- rating to a d rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Green Dot from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, November 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.13.

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Green Dot Price Performance

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Green Dot

Shares of Green Dot stock opened at $8.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Green Dot has a fifty-two week low of $7.30 and a fifty-two week high of $21.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $9.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $10.94. The company has a market cap of $430.61 million, a PE ratio of 63.16 and a beta of 1.04.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Green Dot by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 42,984 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,362 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in shares of Green Dot during the 4th quarter worth about $330,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Green Dot during the 4th quarter worth about $1,006,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in shares of Green Dot by 64.9% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 73,098 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 28,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Green Dot by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 180,721 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 27,530 shares in the last quarter. 92.12% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Green Dot Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Green Dot Corporation, a financial technology and bank holding company, provides various financial services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Consumer Services, Business to Business Services, and Money Movement Services. The company offers deposit account programs, including consumer and small business checking account products, network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards and gift cards, and secured credit programs.

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Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK  Free Report) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,137 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 3,182 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLCs holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. CKW Financial Group bought a new position in Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $29,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 63.68% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.57, for a total value of $277,710.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,213 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,315,697.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on DUK. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $101.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Duke Energy from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised Duke Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $100.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Duke Energy

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $91.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.27. The company has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.74. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $83.06 and a 52-week high of $100.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 8.93% and a net margin of 9.78%. The business had revenue of $7.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.11 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.025 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 15th. Duke Energys payout ratio is 115.49%.

About Duke Energy

(Free Report)

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments, Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I) and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest; and uses coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, oil, solar and wind sources, renewables, and nuclear fuel to generate electricity.

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MARTINSVILLE  Not well-known outside of the firefighting community, Martinsville and Henry County has developed the reputation of having an international fire-training program.

If one doubts the validity of such a statement, recent confirmation could be found among firefighters from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, as well as from Wyoming and Washington State in the U.S., who were suited up and undergoing their final day of training at the Emergency Training Center facilities on DuPont Road.

We started a program called Air Track Management back in 2011 with John Taylor, said Martinsville Assistant Fire Chief Dwayne Robertson. He came down here and started teaching us some of his theories of fire behavior.

In 2007, Taylor published a book, Smoke Burns, based on his career as a firefighter and fire officer. Taylor said his book is the culmination of good practices handed down by generations of firefighters, worldwide, who have instinctively known of the inherent dangers of flashovers and backdrafts. The purpose of his book is to make fighting fire less dangerous.

Weve been teaching classes since 2011 here, trying to make the people fighting fire safer, Robertson said. Were not trying to change what they already know, were just trying to make them a little safer by knowing what the fire is doing.

Robertson said Taylors theories involve learning how to gauge a fire by observing the smoke.

John has five conditions that he wrote about in his book, said Robertson. There is a condition when smoke is connected to the fire and then where its not connected. If its not connected, then it can pre-mix to its ideal mixture and thats where you can start having explosions.

Logan Peters is a Martinsville paramedic and firefighter, and also serves as one of the Air Track Management instructors. As Peters and Robertson prepared the training structure for the next exercise, Peters said while it might look to the casual observer like an out-of-control fire, they were in full-control of all aspects of the site where the firefighters trained.

With firefighter gear, air tanks, and masks, the trainees gathered and made final plans for their entry into the structure.

They are from all over the world, but they all speak some English, said Flashpoint Fire Equipment representative Arlene Guenette of Canada. Its the common language used.

Michael Reick of Germany, a regional fire chief for 42 fire departments in his country, was one of the trainees on Friday, along with Frank Burr, from Gruibingen, a small city in southern Germany with a population of just over 2,100.

Along with Reick and Burr, Oscar Donohoe of the United Kingdom prepared for the first exercise of the morning.

When we have under-pressure or over-pressure, that means that the oxygen from outside is traveling to the fire and smoke is coming out, Robertson told the trainees as smoke billowed from the training structure.

Robertson said before Taylors theories were widely known, many people, firefighters included, did not know that smoke burns.

It isnt different from something like propane, Robertson said. Its a gas, so we can read that and then tell what stage the fire is in by the condition of the smoke.

Robertson said Taylor still visits Martinsville periodically and will bring a group of firefighters with him.

We will host the class for him, said Robertson. Its really good for us because we can learn what others are doing and their techniques. Its as much a learning experience for us as it is for them. When a group finishes up and leaves, we all have learned so much.

Martinsville Fire Chief Dan Howell described the program as an effort to improve firefighter safety by preparing them for the modern fire environment.

This program has allowed the department to train hundreds of firefighters in the city of Martinsville, Henry and Patrick counties and localities beyond, Howell said. During this time, we have received immense support from other departments in the United States, England, and Europe. The training this week is a continuation of this support, and we sincerely appreciate their willingness to travel so far and participate in this training.

The group that trained on Thursday arrived in Martinsville on Sunday and received four full days of instruction before heading home.

We often get asked how are you all doing all this when youre so small, and I always tell them we dont have the stuff other cities have, but not many have a setup like this where you can do the fire behavior under live conditions, said Robertson. I think its extraordinary because everyone loves what we are able to accomplish and our knowledge base has grown so much by learning from so many.
Being a dispatcher entails a lot of responsibility.

When bad things happen, 911 operators have to stay calm, elicit important information from the caller and get the right people on the scene.

The Grand Island/Hall County Emergency Management and Communications building at 1210 N. North Road is the center of this areas emergency response.

One dispatcher sees her job as keeping both officers and callers safe.

Our 911 dispatchers are really fantastic at their job, said Jon Rosenlund, director of emergency management for Grand Island and Hall County.

Its a challenging job, with a lot of ups and downs and every day they have an opportunity to provide lifesaving assistance to people in need, Rosenlund said.

Through their great work, dispatchers are able to provide excellent customer service to callers and also able to support law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel by making their jobs safer and easier, Rosenlund said.

Dispatchers have to sift through excited voices and flaring tempers to get crucial information.

When someone calls about a car accident, What we need to know is where youre at and how many cars are involved? said Shanna Binderup. Is anyone trapped? Is medical assistance needed?

Some callers are mostly concerned about whether the accident was their fault.

Sometimes, theyll say to the dispatcher, Why do you ask so many questions? Just get them there.

But the questions uncover important information, said Binderup, who is deputy director of 911 communications.

Because of the good work by dispatchers, firefighters know exactly what they need before they arrive at a fire.

Dispatchers also convey information to callers that will keep them safe, Rosenlund said.

Speed is important. Dispatchers say that seconds save lives, Binderup said.

Dwight Richards, whos been a dispatcher for 33 years, say the job is exciting and rewarding.

Its very seldom boring, said Richards, whos commonly known as Brad.

On the morning Richards was interviewed, four people were on the job, taking care of more than 50,000 people, he noted.

On some calls, its hard to get information out of callers. They might be frightened, or they dont know where they are. If a fight is in progress, dispatchers keep the caller on the line, asking questions and updating officers en route.

The emergency management center dispatches calls not just to Grand Island police and fire and the Hall County Sheriffs Department. The dispatchers also work with Grand Island Rural Fire and the Grand Island street department.

After hours, the 911 center takes calls for the Central Nebraska Humane Society.

Dispatcher Tehya Lind says the the job is pretty fast-paced.

The best part is being able to help people, knowing theyre the first person the caller talks to and just kind of building that bridge between them and our first responders, Lind said.

When someone calls, the first questions dispatchers ask is their location and their phone number. The number helps in case we get disconnected, Lind said. On medical calls, dispatchers follow a set list of questions.

Calls are difficult when things are progressing and you dont know whats going on. You cant see the situation, Lind said. The dispatcher can hear plenty of things, but its frustrating not being able to see.

When a tragedy occurs, dispatchers sometimes have no time to take a breath.

A person might die. And you dont have time to walk away. You have to take the next call, Celine Richards-Zlomke said.

Dispatchers are there at the beginning of a story, but they oftentimes dont know how the story ends.

One of the hardest things is going home at night and hoping that you made a difference, but there is never closure for us, Richards-Zlomke said.

Most of the time we dont know how that ended. Did they live? Did they die? Did they find the person that needed to be arrested for hurting that child or person? We dont know.

Sometimes, they might get further information from an officer or a firefighter. But a lot of times we just accept that we dont get closure and we move on, Richards-Zlomke said.

They keep in mind that they did what they could and that they made a difference.

It also helps if they have a good support system at home, Binderup said.

The calls that affect dispatchers the most are those involving children, or an officer or first responder at risk.

The calls Binderup enjoys most are my baby calls and helping mommas, she said.

When a woman is giving birth, its stressful, Richards-Zlomke said. But you let your training kick in and take a deep breath.

You do your best to calm down the parent on the phone and then we just work through it, she said.

Dispatchers have a good medical program that helps them work through the birthing process and help those on scene deliver the baby.

Its scary because you want it all to come out right, Richards-Zlomke said. But when you hear that baby take its first breath and cry, its overwhelmingly exciting and its a relief.

Binderup stayed on one call a very long time after she brought in a Ukrainian translator, and set up a three-way connection with a hospital.

The dispatchers sit close enough together that we know whats going on with each other, Binderup said. When one dispatcher is busy with an important call, colleagues step up to pick up the slack.

Dispatchers help people. All the time, Binderup says. I really love it.

Through experience, dispatchers become adept at staying calm, communicating effectively and generating some order out of the chaos thats happening on the other side of the phone, Rosenlund said.

Callers should remember to lead off with whats most important.

Richards was alerted to a Grand Island murder on what seemed to be a routine call from an alarm company.

Richards thought he was dealing with a simple case of glass breakage until the caller mentioned that someone had been shot. The sense of urgency went from zero to a hundred in just two seconds, he said.

Some calls placed to 911 have happy endings. But not all.

Some calls, Binderup said, will stick with you 30 years later.
When Gov. Jim Pillen signed the Opportunity Scholarships Act last year, Nebraska families were closer to education freedom than ever before. Sadly, right after the program was signed into law, a politicized organization affiliated with the state teachers union employed every dishonest tactic in the book to trick families into signing a petition to repeal the life-changing scholarship program.

But Nebraska families and students are not giving up on school choice programs like the Opportunity Scholarship, which allows low and middle-income families to receive scholarships to private schools. They shared touching and heartfelt testimonies in support of a new bill proposal  LB1402  that would move beyond the attempt to take education freedom away from parents and students.

LB1402 would allocate $25 million in state general funds and provide scholarships to almost 2,800 Nebraska students (average $9,000 per student) to attend a school of their choice. Students from low-income families and students with special needs would be prioritized first.

Knowing how much families, and especially my Hispanic community, need school options, I worked all summer in Nebraska, trying to stop the lies spread by the teachers union.

Despite teachers union-funded opponents claims, public schools are not the best option for every student, and the students who need options cannot afford to wait.

Nebraska has more significant math and reading achievement gaps than the rest of the country. These gaps are more considerable for African American and Hispanic children.

A recent Gallup poll revealed that 55% of Americans are dissatisfied with K-12 education as it is now. Some of the reasons for the dissatisfaction include poor or outdated curriculum, the rigor of teaching methods, and failure to teach the basics like Math and English. Yet, all across America, polling shows that 71 percent of families want options.

This is not news to me. I work with Hispanic families nationwide, and I have seen firsthand how the K-12 education system has failed not only to recognize and accommodate the students who may need extra help, but also those students who are experiencing bullying, or who just feel unsafe in their schools. Low-income students of color who dont have access to other options are often hit the hardest by this lack of options.

Take, for example, two Nebraska natives, Betzy Bravo and Brandon Villanueva. They both testified in support of LB1402, speaking straight from the heart.

Appearing in front of the Appropriations Committee, Bravo testified that she did not feel safe in her residentially-assigned public school. There were constant fights, lockdowns and even a stabbing at her school. She was scared that her siblings would have to experience this as well. Her parents were able to switch to a new school and now she is thriving in a safe environment, but thats only possible because of a private scholarship she received.

Brandon Villanueva Sanchez learned from his parents that education is the only way to have a better life.

Although he did receive some private scholarships, Brandons parents each worked two jobs to make up for the difference the scholarships did not cover. At that time, Nebraska did not offer school choice; therefore, the financial responsibility fell solely on his parents.

As a first-generation college student, Brandon successfully graduated from high school and is now attending college something his parents were never able to do because they both had to work to provide for their families at a very young age.

LB1402 can offer a lifeline for parents like Brandons and Betzys who want to obtain the best quality education possible without killing themselves with numerous jobs just to afford that chance. These upcoming months of Nebraskas legislative session we should all be working to ensure families, especially low-income families, can choose the educational environment that gives their children the best shot at a successful future.
A 28-year-old Grand Island man was arrested after he fired his shotgun numerous times Wednesday night in the area of Kens Auto Service, 823 W. Anna St.

The suspect allegedly fire shotgun pellets in the direction of a tow truck driver who was unloading a vehicle at Kens Auto and a woman who was seated in a car.

Police dont know if Troy Behnken was aiming directly at those people or if he was firing in their general direction.

The shotgun rounds hit the front windows of Kens Auto as well as two vehicles on the property.

No one was injured.

Behnken lives in an apartment at 626 S. Eddy St. It appears that he fired the shots while standing on his back porch, said GIPD Capt. Dean Elliott.

After Behnken allegedly fired the shots, he went back inside his apartment.

About eight police responded after the shots were fired at about 10:50 p.m. The situation wasnt resolved until after 3 a.m., when more than 20 officers were on the scene.

The officers tried to get him to come out and surrender, Elliott said.

But Behnken refused to obey orders.

Hed peek out at us every once in a while, Elliott said. Police obtained a search warrant for his residence and summoned the departments tactical response team because police knew he had a weapon.

Law enforcement specialists tried to negotiate with the suspect. But, he refused to even talk to them, Elliott said.

Eventually, police breached the front door to go in. Officers also broke out a picture window and sent a small drone inside. Officers found him essentially passed out inside the house, Elliott said.

Elliott said he was heavily intoxicated.

With this shotgun, Behnken hit a coaxial cable that ran from a pole to his building, causing damage.

In carrying out his actions, police dont know what Behnkens motive might have been

Behnken was arrested for two counts of attempt of a Class 2 felony, two counts of use of a firearm to commit a felony, three counts of criminal mischief totaling $501 to $1,499 and one count of criminal mischief totaling $0 to $500.
An Omaha lawmaker wants to ensure Nebraska voters know when campaign advertisements use deep fakes to smear a candidate or cause.

But Sen. John Cavanaugh told colleagues on the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Wednesday that he doesn't believe his own proposal does the job correctly.

Cavanaugh said his bill (LB1203) requires more study and discussion to properly balance free speech rights with voters' need to know when artificial intelligence applications are being used to show a candidate saying or doing something that never happened.

"Political speech is the most highly protected, and people do have a right to tell half-truths, mistruths and mislead," Cavanaugh said. But technology has created a situation, he said, in which easily accessible AI can be used to make lies appear to come out of the mouth of a campaign opponent.

"My interest is trying to figure out how to give the public the tools to make their determination and make sure they have the opportunity to judge for themselves," Cavanaugh said.

As introduced, his bill would require that political ads include statements informing viewers or listeners if any part of the ad was created using artificial intelligence.

The bill would bar the distribution of "materially deceptive" media, which it defines as media that falsely represents a person, is done within 90 days of an election, is intended to hurt a person's reputation or election prospects and is meant to deceive voters into changing their votes.

The prohibition would not apply if the media included a disclaimer informing viewers or listeners that the image, audio or video had been manipulated by AI and depicts speech or conduct that did not occur.

LB1203 would allow the Nebraska attorney general, people depicted in AI-created ads, targeted candidates or voter advocacy organizations to seek a court injunction against violators.

Heidi Uhing, public policy director for Civic Nebraska, supported the bill, saying the success of democracy depends on voters being informed and having access to accurate information. She said it would help for public to know when they are seeing manipulated material.

But Uhing also acknowledged the difficulty of addressing the issue now. The federal government, other states and private companies are all trying to figure out ways to deal with AI. The regulatory picture so far is "a mess," she said.

David Hunter, executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, which would be charged with overseeing the new requirements, opposed the bill. He said that, while misuse of AI is a concern, the commission would not be able to enforce the proposed law.

"We are not equipped to be fact-checkers," he said, nor do staffers have the expertise to determine if AI has been used.

Cavanaugh said he plans to continue working on the issue before the next legislative session. Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, the committee chairman, said the Government and Judiciary committees are looking to collaborate on an interim study of AI-related issues this summer.

Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2024
The Legislatures Education Committee advanced a bill that aims to reimburse school districts that contract with licensed psychologists for mental and behavioral health services.

The bill (LB1014) from Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont would allow school districts to recoup the costs of working with those providers at rates set by the Nebraska Department of Education.

School psychologists said the measure would give districts the ability to expand access to school psychologists amid a shortage of those professionals across the state.

At a hearing in January, the Nebraska School Psychologist Association said school districts have paid more than $2 million to independent psychologists to meet their federal and state requirements.

The committee briefly discussed but did not take any action on a series of school safety-related bills, including a measure (LB1339) from Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon that would authorize school districts to allow off-duty and retired law enforcement to carry guns onto school property.

Brewer's bill would also give  but not require  school districts the ability to adopt policies allowing for teachers or other staff to be armed, and set guidelines for training.

LB1339 also includes a proposal from Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair that would provide grants to schools to complete maps for use by law enforcement agencies in an emergency response.

Other bills advanced by the committee on Wednesday include:

STUDENT TEACHERS: Omaha Sen. Kathleen Kauths bill (LB953) providing full-tuition waivers for student teachers attending the University of Nebraska or the Nebraska State College System was moved to general file.

A fiscal note on Kauths bill estimates the waivers, which would be available beginning in the 2025-26 school year and run through the 2030-31 school year, would cost the university and state college system $2.6 million in the first year.

The bill includes an intent to appropriate up to $3 million to those institutions to fill in that funding gap.

SCHOOL TRAINING: A bill (LB1377) from Walz providing school districts more flexibility in how they determine what kinds of training school employees are required to complete each year was also advanced.

Walz introduced the measure on behalf of Gov. Jim Pillen to reduce the annual requirements for teachers. The bill gives school boards authority to not make teachers or other school employees complete classroom or behavior management training each year.

An amendment adopted by the committee before it was advanced to the floor would remove school resource officers or security guards from the bill, requiring them to continue to complete the requirements.

MERCATOR MAPS: The committee also advanced a bill (LB962) from Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha that would require public schools to use only the Gall-Peters or AuthaGraph projection maps in classes.

Wayne said the Mercator projection map, which was first developed in 1569 as a navigational tool and became widely used in the 1800s, distorts the size of land masses based on their position; those closer to the poles appear larger than those closer to the equator.

In a Feb. 20 committee hearing, Wayne said he believed schools should be showing students maps that accurately reflect the sizes and positions of the continents and bodies of water. An opponent to the bill said the Legislature should not be mandating which maps school districts are using in their curriculum.

Top Journal Star photos for February 2024
Indonesia asks social media platform X to remove gambling ads

By VNA Fri, March 1, 2024 | 8:14 pm GMT+7

Indonesias Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) summoned representatives from the Singapore office of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to address concerns regarding online gambling advertisements on the platform.

Speaking at a press conference on February 29, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director-general of informatics application at the ministry, said the ministry wanted to streamline the process of identifying and removing gambling content without manual intervention.

The logo of social media platform X shown in a smartphone. Photo courtesy of Antara News.

Pangerapan said that they issue a notice to take down for such content, but it becomes cumbersome if it repeats. Indonesian authority asked the platform to develop a system for automatic handling.

Concerns among netizens have escalated due to the proliferation of online gambling advertisements on X, involving public figures. This was deemed disruptive, appearing in search results even for users who did not follow accounts promoting online gambling.

According to a recent survey by Populix, 63% of internet users claimed they have been exposed to online gambling ads, with 41% of respondents admitting an interest in visiting online gambling sites after seeing such advertisements. Out of this group, 16% eventually tried online gambling.

In 2023, Kominfo took down 810,785 pieces of content related to online gambling, nearly quadrupling the number removed in 2022.

Kominfo Minister Budi Arie disclosed that stern warnings and ultimatums were issued to various social media platforms, including Meta in October 2023 and X in January 2024. These warnings led to Meta removing 1.65 million online gambling content pieces and 450,000 related advertisements from August to October 2023.

Indonesia's law governing electronic transactions and information prohibits online gambling, imposing severe penalties of up to ten years imprisonment and fines of up to Rp10 billion ($645,000) for operators found guilty of operating gambling sites.
Intel, Vietnam telco Viettel partner up in AI, 5G, data center, smart devices

By Tri Duc Fri, March 1, 2024 | 10:51 am GMT+7

Vietnamese telecom giant Viettel and U.S. technological firm Intel have signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate research & development (R&D) and advanced technologies at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024.

The two sides will cooperate in developing concepts, experiments, and commercial deployments of products related to artificial intelligence (AI), 5G technology, smart devices, data centers, and computing platforms.

Delegations of Viettel and Intel at a meeting within the MWC 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on February 26, 2024. Photo courtesy of Viettel.

Per the agreement signed at the event in Barcelona, Spain, Intel will provide Viettel with technological suggestions and early access to Intels latest software and hardware to help optimize the production.

At the MWC 2023, Viettel and Intel also signed a memorandum of understanding on network transformation strategies and joint innovations, focusing on digital services, 5G, and cloud services. In particular, the two sides will cooperate in the visual cloud, 5G network transformation, data centers, efficient and sustainable computing structure, idea incubation, experiments, and commercial implementation.

At the MWC 2024 from February 26-29, Viettel officially announced its 5G chipset and human artificial intelligence (AI) named Vi An. This was the seventh time Viettel has participated in the MWC as the only technology representative from Vietnam. Viettel also presented 17 products in network infrastructure, cloud computing infrastructure, digital platforms and future technologies.
Patrons of glitzy Dubai bars could be sipping beverages cooled by a cube of ancient Arctic ice carved from a Greenland iceberg and shipped to the emirate  destined no longer to melt into the ocean, but into a very expensive drink.

The startup company, Arctic Ice, shipped its first container of around 22 tons of Greenland ice to Dubai this year for sale to high-end bars and restaurants. Founded in 2022 by two Greenlanders, Arctic Ice has an interesting  and controversial  business model.

It scours the fjord near the countrys capital city of Nuuk for icebergs that have naturally detached from the ice sheet. We are looking for the clearest and thereby also oldest and purest ice, said Malik V. Rasmussen, one of the co-founders of Arctic Ice.

Once they have spotted an iceberg they like, they haul it onto a ship using a crane, cut it into smaller pieces and pack it into insulated crates.

A sample of each iceberg is tested in a lab to make sure there are no microorganisms or bacteria. Then the ice is shipped from Greenland to Dubai, first aboard one of the nearly empty cargo ships returning to Europe after dropping off produce in Greenland, and then on a second ship to Dubai, where it is repacked and sold.

Arctic Ice claims its offering a novel way to harness a natural resource, carving out new economic opportunities and raising awareness of the Arctic.

To critics, its wasteful to ship a product thousands of miles on fossil fuel-powered ships when Dubai already makes its own ice.

Few people likely spend much time considering the provenance of the ice in their coke, coffee or cocktail, but its big business.

Ice used to be chipped off natural sources like glaciers, but that changed with the advent of machines able to mass-produce for bars and restaurants, or to manufacture the bags of cubes that lurk in peoples freezers. The market for cubes, blocks and crushed ice was worth more than $5 billion in 2022.

Various attempts have been made over the past few decades to bring back natural ice commercially, but with little success. In 2015, one company tried to sell ice cubes carved from the Svartisen glacier in northern Norway, but its plan faltered amid local opposition.

Rasmussen hopes that by targeting the right markets, he can make it work.

But perhaps inevitably for a business model that involves shipping a diminishing natural resource halfway across the world, Arctic Ice has attracted controversy.

The comments under the startups Instagram videos are peppered with criticism. As if you were doing a good deed for the planet While you are helping to destroy it! said one. Another asked: What is this dystopia?

Rasmussen said the level of vitriol he has received on social media has been shocking.

We knew there was going to be criticism but did not anticipate it to amount to death threats and constant harassment, he said.

Arctic Ice says its operations are designed to minimize environmental impact, and the company has future plans including swapping out fossil fuel-run ships for hybrid or battery-powered vessels.

It also wants to remove three times as much carbon pollution from the atmosphere as it emits  though these ambitions are for an unspecified time in the future and some experts remain unconvinced.

A great deal of energy will be required to transport (ice) to Dubai in refrigerated ships, said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

The ice could also still be polluted by natural sources such as wildfire smoke, dust or even ash from volcanic eruptions, Francis added.

I would file this under the category of highly energy-wasteful gimmicks that appeal to ultra-wealthy individuals, she said. I would wager that no one could tell the difference in taste between glacier ice and non-glacier ice.

Rasmussen disputes this. There are advantages, he said: Ancient glacial ice has little to no taste, meaning it doesnt affect the flavor of drinks as it melts  unlike ice made from tap water or mineral water  while its denser structure means it melts more slowly.

Its also about the experience, he said. Giving people the opportunity to sample ice that has never been polluted by humankind can create more awareness about the Arctic and vulnerable glaciers, he said.

Awareness-raising could be the only upside of the business, Francis said. But, she added, no doubt the story about how much energy was needed to bring that chunk of ice to a persons drink will not be told.

Others, however, have no problem with the concept of commercializing Greenlands ice.

There will be a lot of people moaning, said Jason Box, a glaciology professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, but in my view, the love of the ice, the aesthetic of the shape and story of the ice, far outweigh environmental concern.

Its fractal geometry will make it look like a tiny iceberg in a glass, he told CNN.

Its like fine art. It gets people talking. And of course they will feel a little sorrow for being part of the global warming problem.

___

From wildfires to floods, photos reveal intensity of climate change in 2023
A 23-year-old man accused of murdering someone at an Orangeburg house party will get a new trial after photos were discovered that could affect the case.

Attorney Aimee Zmroczek says the new evidence could exonerate her client, Tyler Jamal Givens of Johns Island, according to WIS-TV.

Givens is charged with murder in the 2019 shooting death of Donovan Tayshaun Smalls, a 20-year-old Benedict College student.

Hes also charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, discharging a firearm in the city limits and attempted murder.

The trial started Monday. Circuit Judge Maite Murphy declared a mistrial on Thursday after Givens attorney received a cellphone extraction from another witness during the trial.

First Circuit Assistant Solicitor Phil Giese said photos were found on phone records of Givens co-defendant, Ozante Tayshaun Fields.

Fields, 25, of Denmark, is charged with murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and attempted murder. His charges are pending.

Giese said neither the prosecution nor the defense counsel knew about the photos prior to trial.

Giese said he is working with Givens attorney to pick a date for retrial as early as possible, which he hopes will be at the end of April or early May.

The two men are charged in the April 14, 2019 shooting that left Smalls dead.

A 21-year-old female Claflin University student was also injured. Warrants claim she was shot in her chest and surgeons had to remove the bullet from her body.

The shooting took place outside of a Summers Avenue house party in Orangeburg.
The Orangeburg-Calhoun-Allendale-Bamberg Community Action Agency Head Start/Early Head Start Program encourages families at all income levels with children ranging from ages zero to 4 years old, including those with disabilities, to apply now to enroll their young children for the 2024-25 school year.

Head Start welcomes families from all racial, ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and supports the cultural diversity of enrolled families as well as children who are dual-language learners. Priority for enrollment is given to children who are homeless, in foster care, have family incomes at or below the poverty line, and families qualifying for public assistance such as TANF, SSI and SNAP.

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Head Start serves 3- and 4-year-olds at Head Start Centers in Orangeburg, Bowman, Neeses, Santee, Elloree, Holly Hill, St. Matthews, Allendale, Denmark and Bamberg. Early Head Start in Denmark serves zero to 3 -year-olds in Bamberg County only. Children receive free health care, education, social development, meals, and an array of high quality services to help prepare them for school entry. Most centers provide transportation for children at no cost.

Members of the community are asked to help agency staff identify children not served in an early education program, and make them aware of the advantage of giving them a head start towards school readiness. Churches and community organizations hosting meetings, health fairs, and other events are encouraged to invite Head Start representatives to provide information and help ensure that all eligible children are enrolled.

Parents should apply online, OCAB Head Start website- www.ocabcaa.org, in person at a center near you or call Head Start centers to complete an application via telephone.

In Allendale, call 803-584-4026, 252 Marion St.; Bamberg, call 803-245-5521, 211 Zeigler St.; Denmark, call 803-793-4689, 80 Cedar Ave.; Neeses, call 803-247-4455, 706 Rice St.; St Matthews, call 803-874-3588, 304 Agnes St., John Ford Community Center; Orangeburg, call 803-585-7789 or 803-585-7785; Santee, Elloree, Bowman and Holly Hill, call 803-536-1027; Denmark Early Head Start call 803-793-3010.

For additional information about enrollment or to partner with OCAB Head Start call Sharon D. Daniels, Family/Community Partnership Manager at 803-536-1027. Help is available for Spanish speakers as well.
Areas of Old State Road, Railroad Avenue and Gardner Boulevard in Holly Hill are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Its a big honor, Holly Hill Mayor Billy Chavis said.

We have to preserve a lot of history that we have. In order to move forward, we have to remember where we came from, he said.

The National Park Service approved Holly Hills application to add its historic district to the National Register in January. The town has 27 contributing properties and seven non-contributing properties that make up the historic district.

The district runs along Old State Road from the Holly Hill depot to Gardner Boulevard. Portions of Gardner Boulevard and Railroad Avenue are also included.

Eligible properties on the National Register may receive preservation benefits and incentives.

Chavis said property owners in the historic downtown district may receive additional funding because they are located in a federal Opportunity Zone.

Opportunity Zones encourage economic growth and job creation in low-income communities while providing tax benefits to investors, according to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Thats two separate pots of money now that businesses can grab from to help do the (building) facades and other preservation efforts, Chavis said.

Chavis said the town hopes to build a museum now that its downtown business district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum will showcase how main street looked over the transition of time, he said.

He noted the town has photos of the downtown area in 1913.

Several of the contributing buildings are noted for specific architectural features, but mainly the buildings are recognized for their significance in business from 1907 to 1973.

The town was officially chartered in 1887.

A few of the contributing buildings on Old State Road include:

 B.R. Bennett Inc./Bennett Funeral Home, located at 8636 Old State Road. B.R. Bennett built and initially used the building as a hardware store and a funeral home. It was likely constructed in the late-1910s.

Bilton Furniture Store began operating a business there in 1961. It is currently vacant.

The red brick building stands two stories.

 Bulls Drug Store, located at 1 Old State Road. According to the National Register application, it was one of the longest-running businesses in town. Dr. C.I. Goodwin opened the drug store there in 1925 and Tumpie Bull purchased it in 1930.

Richard Franklin Way, a Holly Hill landowner, built it.

He also owned a large store and hotel at present day 8614 Old State Road in 1911.

The hotel and store burned in 1924 but was rebuilt shortly after and Way likely built the drug store at the same time.

A fire destroyed Ways hotel in 2001 when it was occupied as Marys Children Shop.

 First National Bank, located at 8618 Old State Road, was built in 1922.

It is the most elaborate building downtown, according to the application.

Prior to the chartering of the First National Bank in 1905, the Bank of Holly Hill operated there in 1904.

In 1907, a fire damaged the first brick building that was there, but the bank was rebuilt at the same spot within a year.

However, in 1922, First National Bank rebuilt as a two-story Classical Revival design.

The building remains unoccupied today.

It is made of brick and stone. Its red brick is laid in a Flemish bond.

On either side of the main entrance to the bank are two massive Greek columns that are set on stone. They protrude slightly onto the sidewalk.

 Holly Hill Depot, located at 8603 Old State Road, was built in 1921. It was restored in 1997.

It is currently occupied by the Tri-County Regional Chamber of Commerce.

It is a Craftsman-style building with knee braces and wide, sheltering eave overhangs, the application states.

Other Old State Road buildings include:

 The old post office building at 8612 Old State Road

 The former Farmers and Merchants Bank at 8610 Old State Road

 The former Piggly Wiggly at 8606 Old State Road

 J.P. Brownlees Quality Market, later occupied by Jackies Young Fashions, at 8617 Old State Road

 The Barbershop and bakery that once occupied 8619 Old State Road

 Holly Hill Hotel/Jakes Department Store, 8623 Old State Road

 Dry goods and clothing store, 8627 Old State Road

 O.D. Rhames store, 8629 Old State Road

 Grocery/dry goods store, 8361 Old State Road

 J.A. Gardners store, 8633 Old State Road

 Four buildings at 8635 Old State Road, functioning as various businesses over the years

Contributing buildings on Railroad Avenue:

 A one-story block building located at 210 Railroad Avenue.

The building was likely associated with Harvey & Rhame, a produce distributor, the application says.

O.D. Rhame and E.C. Harvey founded the business in 1930.

The property also functioned as A.B. Bennetts garage and stables at one time.

 At 212 Railroad Avenue, a one-story painted concrete block building was likely the Harvey & Rhame office.

The company bought it from A.B. Bennett in 1944.

Its currently occupied by a financial services office.

 A former grocery store, then sporting goods store, at 214 Railroad Avenue, built prior to 1950.

Contributing buildings on Gardner Boulevard:

 A single-story concrete block building at 418 Gardner Boulevard. It was likely built between 1938 and 1946. Recently, a pool hall operated there, but its now vacant.

 Four single-story block buildings at 416 Gardner Boulevard. The buildings were likely built in 1955.

 A single-story block building at 419 Gardner Boulevard. It was likely built in 1940.

A detailed application process must be completed before properties can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town didnt spend any money applying for the downtown districts nomination to the National Register.

Coldwell-Banker owns several buildings in downtown Holly Hill and they paid a special consultant for the work, Chavis said.
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College's spring enrollment saw the second-highest percentage increase among the state's 16 technical colleges.

OCtech President Dr. Walt Tobin told area commissioners last week that the college's spring enrollment is up 7.9 percent, bringing the student enrollment to 2,072. The fall student enrollment increase was about 4.8 percent.

He said Trident Technical College had the largest percentage enrollment increase in the state at 16.5 percent.

"A win is win, but a win when we are second is even better," Tobin said.

Commissioner David Rickenbaker asked the reason for the increase.

OCtech Vice President of Student Services Dr. Sandra Davis said there are two reasons for the increase.

She said the college had its inaugural Senior Acceptance Day in March 2023 for high school seniors from Orangeburg and Calhoun counties. OCtech provisionally accepted the students into the college.

Senior Acceptance Day is a partnership between the Orangeburg County School District and OCtech called The Hope Initiative.

Davis said course offerings for OCtechs seven-week terms are also better than when the college offered late-start classes.

We have more courses for students to choose from in session one and session two compared to just those late-start classes," Davis said. "Those two things I would attribute a part of the success to.

Davis said the college is not done with spring enrollment. The deadline to register for the second term of the spring semester is March 15. Summer and fall registration will begin March 25.

OCtech Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Murphy also gives credit to the concerted effort by Academic Affairs, advisors, deans and coordinators in reaching out to new students and continuing students.

I think we had a lot of things going in our favor this past year, Murphy said.

Tobin said the college created a team approach.

There is a three-pronged approach to helping students get through that enrollment advisory process," Murphy said.

Tobin said the college also revisited its orientation day and Student Services worked together to host first-week experience activities.

College Vice President for Business Affairs Kim Huff said increased enrollment means additional tuition revenue.

That makes our budgets look much better, Huff said. We are in real good shape for the current year. As of now, we are enjoying some nice increases in our tuition revenue.

You all are to be commended, Rickenbaker said. That is a big jump and to be second in the growth of the whole state and the whole system  that is pretty impressive.

Commission Chair Landy Weathers asked how other colleges did following OCtech. Tobin said Northeastern Technical College in Cheraw had the third-largest enrollment percentage increase at 5 percent.
Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel were described by their friends as full-time yachties.

The fate of an American couple who went missing between Sunday, 18th February and Monday, 19th February is unknown.





However, according to Superintendent of Police (SOP) Junior Simmons, Head of the Royal SVG Police Force Public Relations and Complaints Department, at a press conference on Monday, 26th March, "Based on the investigation thus far it is presumed Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brendel are deceased.





And with the case wide open, a joint investigation, involving personnel of the Police Forces of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, has been mounted. A team from the Royal Grenada Police Force arrived here on Thursday, 22nd February, 2024.





A life at sea





According to widespread magazine coverage in the USA since the disappearance of the couple, the couple - Ralph a 66-year-old financial advisor and Kathy a 71-year-old retired real estate agent who worked from their yacht, Simplicity, lived full-time aboard the boat and spent their retirement sailing the eastern seaboard and Caribbean.





They were described by those who knew them as experienced adventurers, sailing south in the winter for the last several years. The couple had recently participated in a sailing rally which ended in Antigua to kick off the new year in December. Once the rally had ended, they planned to spend the rest of the winter hopping from island to island, spending a few weeks at each. They had arrived to Grenada two weeks prior and were scheduled to spend an additional week before departing back north.





Their sons, who arrived in the Caribbean during this week, told People Magazine that their parents had been cruising in Grenada when they suddenly stopped communicating with family on February 18.





Connecting the dots





Meanwhile, three Grenadian male prisoners - Ron Mitchell, 30 years; Trevon Robertson, 25 years; and Atiba Stanislaus, 23 years - who escaped lawful custody on Sunday, 18th February, 2024 while being held at the South St. George Police Station in Grenada on charges of rape, robbery with violence, and other serious offences are the main suspects in the disappearance of the couple.





According to the Royal SVG Police Force account, investigations thus far indicate that after the three Grenadians escaped, they hijacked a yacht named "Simplicity that was moored at Grand Anse Beach in Grenada, and kidnapped the couple.





"Investigation further revealed that while sailing from Grenada the suspects committed several criminal acts including bodily harm to the couple, Simmons told the press conference.





On Monday, 19th February 2024, the escapees/suspects illegally entered the South Western Coast of SVG, sometime in the afternoon, and docked the yacht off Walliabou Anchorage.





Acting Commissioner of the Royal Grenada Police Force, Don McKenzie, said at a news conference on Monday in Grenada, that it is believed the suspects "disposed of the occupants on their way to St. Vincent.





On February 21, the Simplicity was found in an abandoned state, anchored off the coast of St. Vincent. The mainsails had been torn, and the boats tender was missing its outboard motor.





The SVG Coast Guard and the Crime Scene Unit (CSU) were dispatched to the location where the yacht was found.





The scene was processed and found to be consistent with signs of violence. Several items were strewn on the deck and in the cabin, and a red substance that resembled blood was seen on board. There was no discovery of bodies on board the yacht.





A manhunt was immediately launched and the men were recaptured on Wednesday at about 4:35 p.m., during an operation by members of the Narcotics and Rapid Response Units in the North Western village of Petit Bordel. Two (2) other Grenadian nationals were also apprehended during the operation.





The Public Relations and Complaints Department head said that the Acting Commissioner of Police in charge of crimes, Trevor Bailey, met with family members of the couple and their legal representatives to update them on the status of the investigations.
While investigations continued, up to press time Thursday, into the presumed killing of U.S citizens, Ralph Hendry and his common-law wife Kathy Brandel, the main suspects are behind bars awaiting sentencing for illegal entry into SVG.





Around 4:30pm on February 21, local police apprehended the suspects, Ron Mitchel, 30; Trevon Robertson, 25; and Atiba Stanislaus, 23; all of Paradise, St. Andrews, Grenada.





The men were held at Petit Bordel on the North Western coast, after illegally entering the shores, following their escape from lawful custody, on February 18, while being held at the South St. George Police Station in Grenada on charges of rape, robbery, and other serious offenses.





The men appeared before the Senior Magistrate Colin John at the Kingstown Magistrates Court on Monday and pleaded guilty to entering the state of SVG other than at a port of entry; entering the state by boat, and disembarking without the consent of an Immigration Officer; being a prohibited immigrant entered the state by boat without a passport; and knowingly and willfully allowing themselves to land as prohibited immigrants.





The Grenadians, who were unrepresented, have been remanded until next Monday, March 4, for presentation of facts and sentencing on the immigration charges.





In a statement issued, on February 26, the RSVG Police Force disclosed that joint investigations by local law enforcement, and their Grenadian counterparts are ongoing into the disappearance and presumed death of the two U.S citizens, and the main suspects are the three Grenadians.





According to the release, the investigations thus far, indicate that after the men escaped lawful custody in Grenada, they hijacked a yacht named, Simplicity that was moored at Grande Anse Beach in Grenada and kidnapped the couple. While sailing from Grenada they committed several criminal acts, including bodily harm to the couple.





On Monday, February 19, the fugitives illegally entered the South Western coast of St. Vincent and the Grenadines sometime in the afternoon and docked the yacht off Walliabou anchorage.





On Wednesday, February 21, the police received certain information concerning the escapees and the discovery of the yacht in the area. A manhunt was immediately launched and the local Coast Guard and the Crime Scene Unit were dispatched to the location where the yacht was found. The scene was processed and found to be consistent with signs of violence. Several items were strewn on deck, and in the cabin; and a red substance resembling blood was seen on board, but no bodies were recovered.





The suspects are said to be cooperating with the investigations.
Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, according to reports, sounded optimistic when he announced the closure of talks with the CDB.

Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, announced over the weekend that negotiations between Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and his government over the sale of aircrafts had concluded, and that all governments with shares in LIAT have agreed to sell them to LIAT 2020.





This announcement did not attract either a comment far less confirmation by the CDB, and there were no details, from either party, of what were the conditions of sale.





Isaac Solomon, acting President of the CDB, chose instead, in a press conference in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Tuesday 20th February, to address the issue of intra-regional air travel in a broad sense.





Solomon reiterated the Banks support for efforts to boost intra-regional travel after the collapse of LIAT 1974 and underscored CDBs willingness to provide assistance in resolving the air transportation limitations affecting the Caribbean.





"We are encouraged by the number of private actors who entered the space as part of the Covid-19 recovery, Solomon said.





He proceeded to highlight the importance of air transport in the region saying, "Air transport is critical for our development, and it is part of the whole connectivity ecosystem. Connectivity is very important for our development as a regionconnectivity in all its dimensions is about maritime transport, air transportand given the diverse cultural nature of some of our countries, we are connected in that way as well.





Prime Minister Brownes approach to the CDB to purchase the remaining LIAT fleet came as he moved with renewed vigor to establish his LIAT 2020 airline as a replacement for LIAT (1974) Ltd.





The fleet became the property of the CDB when LIAT failed to honour a commitment on a loan the Bank had provided for purchase of the fleet from French suppliers.





Towards establishing LIAT 2020, the Gaston Browne led government made provision for some $43 million as an investment in the new company which, according to Browne, would have Air Peace, a Nigerian airline, as a major shareholder along with interests by other regional governments.





Meanwhile, conflict continues between the government and the Antigua and Barbuda Workers Union (ABWU) regarding outstanding severance pay for hundreds of former LIAT (1974) workers.





The Prime Minister recently said he is prepared to restart talks but will still not entertain discussions that revolve around the payment of full severance.





The governments latest offer is for a 32 percent payment in cash and bonds, which amounts to approximately EC$110 million.





ABWU General Secretary David Massiah has maintained his stance of fighting for 100 percent severance pay.
Thousands of dollars worth of agricultural produce leaves Kingstown for Port of Spain on a weekly basis.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has proposed several temporary measures aimed at addressing the problems associated with traders in agricultural produce (traffickers) being paid in Trinidad and Tobago.





On December 31, 2023, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago terminated its arrangement with the ECCB to facilitate payment to persons trading goods in that country.





This arrangement dated back to 2018 when a solution was arrived at involving both central banks and the Bank of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (BOSVG), to facilitate transactions for local small traders in TT dollar notes up to TT$1.5 million per month.





The issue arose in the Question for Oral segment of Parliament on February 22 when opposition Senator Israel Bruce asked for an update on the issue.





In response, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves told the Parliament that the Governor of the ECCB, Timothy Antoine, had advanced, on February 9, proposals for a temporary solution.





The first proposal was for the establishment of an arrangement with Republic Bank for the clearing of TT dollar (Bank) drafts, bought by traders in Trinidad and Tobago and brought to the BOSVG by the traders for clearing.





"The proposal is for the clearing of the drafts to be done by Republic Banks head office in Trinidad and Tobago, Gonsalves explained but pointed out the disadvantage with this proposal, to wit, only drafts will be considered and not all traders had arrangements in place to exchange their TT dollars for a TT bank draft.





The second proposal was for small traders to establish accounts with the Republic Bank here, which allows them to deposit TT cash or draft with a Republic Bank branch in Trinidad and Tobago.





"Some banks give you difficulties in opening accounts, so we will have to facilitate that with them, Dr. Gonsalves noted.





And as a last resort, Antoine noted that the ECCB could arrange to sell Republic Bank SVG the corresponding US dollars to offset the TT dollar that was cleared by the head office in Trinidad and Tobago.





Republic Bank SVG could in turn transfer its US currency through their US dollar correspondent bank account to their head office correspondent bank account.





This, Antoine noted, occurs within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union but would warrant some investigation to determine if the same type of arrangement is in effect with the head office in Trinidad and Tobago.





The issue is at the centre of ongoing discussions between the Central Banks of Trinidad and Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean and BOSVG, and the matter was expected to be raised at the just concluded CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Guyana, Gonsalves added.
Jeremiah Samuel will have to answer for causing the death of a one-year-old infant.

Twenty-two-year-old Jeremiah Samuel of Rose Hall will make his next Court appearance on June 25 on murder and kidnapping charges.





The charges stem from the February 10 slaying of his one-year-old cousin, Janae Samuel-Wright.





Samuel has been charged with stealing and carrying away the baby without the consent of her mother, Jonessa Samuel, 19, of Rose Hall. He is also charged with the infants murder.





Both offenses were reportedly committed at Rose Hall on February 10.





Samuel, who has been in police custody since February 11, was eventually interviewed by investigators after being examined by a mental health-related person, not a psychiatrist as would be expected.





The police had held off interviewing him since he had showed signs of mental instability.





Samuel made a brief appearance at the Kingstown Magistrates Court on Monday, February 26. He was unrepresented and was not required to plea to the indictable charges when he stood before Senior Magistrate Colin John.





He was remanded, and the matter was adjourned to June 25 and transferred to the Serious Offenses Court.

Police had reported, following the incident, that Preliminary Investigations revealed that Samuel stole the baby from her home and slashed her throat.





The infants body was later discovered about 51 yards from her home and pronounced dead by a medical practitioner.





When the Crime Scene Unit (CSU) processed the scene, items of evidential value were collected, including an instrument suspected to be used to commit the offense.





The babys mother is said to be the first cousin of the accused, making the baby his second cousin.





Sergeant Biorn Duncan of the Major Crime Unit (MCU) is leading the investigation.





The case of Jeremiah Samuel brought into focus once again, the fact that this country has been without the services of a psychiatrist for some time.





Had the police not been able to successfully solicit the services of a retired mental health person, they would not have been to interview the suspect.





Not having a psychiatrist in place has caused many a high court case/sentencing to have to be adjourned because accused persons ordered for mental/psychiatric assessment cannot so be so assessed, leaving Judges in with no alternative than to send the accused back on remand.





Police investigations are also hindered because of the lack of this vital service.





Janae Samuel-Wright is the second infant to have been allegedly killed by a relative.





In May 2023, a month-old infant was said to have been thrown to her death from an apartment building by an adult relative, who was said to have mental issues.




James Rosales from Dallas, Texas, was becoming intrigued by the English Premier League but didn't have a club to support until one was presented to him by complete chance.

When global superstar James Rodriguez joined Everton in September 2020, fan website and forum GrandOldTeam tweeted the playmaker's new number but pressed send early and, as opposed to tagging @JamesRodriguez, they linked to @JamesRo.

Shocked to find his account peppered with notifications, Rosales suddenly had hundreds of Toffees in his mentions and from that moment, he belonged.

First buying a royal blue Everton shirt, complete with 'James' on the back, Rosales has since gathered with fellow Americans in the early hours to catch the Blues' in action and has even flown to Merseyside to see the team live at Goodison Park.

Here, Rosales recalls the moment he was 'Chosen', as the famous Everton quote states, and shares what it's been like to follow Everton throughout one of the most turbulent times in the club's history.

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

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The Casper City Council decided to add Metro Animal Services, the citys animal shelter, to the list of organizations that could reapply for 1-cent funding during its Tuesday work session.

The application for $85,000 of formerly allocated 1-cent tax money reopened for community nonprofits and organizations after Wyoming Food for Thought went through a leadership change and asked councilors if it could change what it originally asked for. Councilors declined the organizations specific ask in December, but invited it and other organizations that didnt receive funds for various reasons to reapply, essentially opening up the application process for them once again. If they choose to do so, they could only reapply for up to $85,000.

Other organizations that would be able to reapply include Natrona County Interfaith, Casper Legion Post 2 and Salvation Army.

(The 1-cent tax adds another penny to Wyomings 4% sales tax; said penny stays in the county, however.)

But on Tuesday night, councilors opened the door for one more applicant: Metro Animal Services.

Lt. Scott Jones and police Capt. Ryan Dabney explained that the shelter is not only beyond capacity but understaffed. There are additional issues: There is no space for an employee break room, barking is audible throughout the building, the roof in the 40-year-old building leaks and theres no space for expansion.

The shelter was 30 dogs over its maximum capacity this week, they said.

The original ask of the presentation was approving the purchase of temporary outdoor kennels, equipped with proper drainage, heating and safety mechanisms. The thumbs of council pointed up for that. They also asked if council would approve a needs assessment to be performed for the shelter at large, to which they also said yes.

As far as the 1-cent discussion, its roots were in methodology, not necessarily discussing what organization would get what amount of money, or if they would get no money at all. City staff recommended to councilors in a memo that no organizations that originally received funding would be eligible to reapply, though the aforementioned organizations could apply using the original application for as much as they wanted and the application period would last for a few weeks.

Mayor Steve Cathey proposed that council at least consider allowing Metro to apply. The majority of present councilors (Ray Pacheco and Amber Pollock were absent) agreed. Councilors Jai-Ayla Sutherland and Gena Jensen opposed, with Sutherland citing the amount of projects going on within community organizations themselves as good enough reason to leave the entire amount of money to them.

Councilor Brandy Haskins agreed the city should allow Metro into the room of potential applicants.

It is something that we desperately need to be taking care of right now, she said. Its not a problem we can keep ignoring.
One the most closely watched water bills in the Wyoming Legislature this session moved decisively through committee this week in a sign of hope for some of the states water-dependent industries.

The bill, SF 66, seeks to address heightened anxiety around the Colorado River, whose diminishing flows have set off a scramble by its seven user states to draft new rules and contingency plans ahead of a 2026 deadline from the Bureau of Reclamation, the agency charged with overseeing water management in the west.

In the meantime, the amendments aim to provide a sense of security to junior water rights entities who depend on water transfers, including municipalities, trona mine operators and oil refineries in the Green River Basin. With river curtailment increasingly probable in the face of prolonged drought, those industries hope to extend exchange contract limits in order to sustain operations in the event of mandatory Colorado River drawdowns.

If there is no water, there is not gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the greater Rocky Mountain Region, said Joshua Jemente, vice president of government affairs for HF Sinclair, Wyomings largest refining company, whose water-intensive processes yield a combined average of 124,000 barrels per day at its Carbon and Natrona county refineries.

Representatives raised concern that the new rules could open the door for industry to buy and dry existing ranchland. Instead, proponents say, the amendments would help stave off such outcomes.

Why this [bill] is such a sought-after tool is because it bridges the gap. You dont have to come in and buy a ranch and ... dry that ranch up to be able to use the water. This provides a middle ground such that only when its needed [by industry] would ag have to forgo that use, said State Engineer Brandon Gebhart, testifying to the House Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee on Tuesday.

Such dynamics would have little impact in HF Sinclairs refining practices, Jemente told the committee, as the company intends to predominantly utilize water exchanges during the non-agricultural months of February to April, and that water is thereafter returned to the system to make waterways whole.

For the states trona mining industry  which contributes as much as $100 million to state taxes annually  the implications of water shortfalls cannot be overstated.

The trona industry must have water for operations. Without water, there is no trona industry, said Aaron Reichl of Genesis Alkali, one of the biggest soda ash producers in the state.

The likelihood of a curtailment on the Colorado River is a serious threat to the trona industry. ... If we dont encourage the use of this exchange, the trona industry will be forced to pursue permanent separation of senior water rights from ag lands.

Quote If there is no water, there is not gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for the greater Rocky Mountain Region. Joshua Jemente, vice president of government affairs for HF Sinclair,

The committee voted unanimously in support of the amendments.

Yet even as SF 66 is moving forward with little resistance, the same week saw a conceptually kindred bill killed in the House Agriculture, State & Public Lands & Water Resources Committee, underscoring the challenges faced by resource managers seeking to modernize decades-old water policies.

The failed bill, SF 65, which sponsors already say they intend to bring back in the next session, similarly aimed to streamline bureaucratic processes while increasing stability for junior users holding temporary water rights. The effort would have extended temporary permits from 2 years to 5 years and left open the ability to renew for up to ten years.

However, in attempting to improve administrative flexibility, some say the bill unduly expanded eligibility and gave too much discretion to the State Engineer, stoking fears that the bill could incrementally disrupt the status quo. Conservation advocates expressed concern that extending temporary use permits may result in detriment to landscapes and natural resources, through minimized return flows to lands with critical forage crops.

The diverging paths of the sessions two big water bills underscore the hyper-nuanced nature of Wyoming water law, where seemingly simple phrases like beneficial purposes can set off major pushback from traditional agricultural users whod prefer to leave decades old statutes alone.

In this situation, I feel like gridlock is good. I like gridlock. As an irrigator, thats my protection, and when Wyoming water law isnt flexible I take comfort in that , said Chris Williams, an irrigator in Saratoga, testifying at the committee hearing.

I feel like temporary uses should be scrutinized and shouldnt be easy.
CHEYENNE  The Wyoming Legislature is closing in on its final days of the 20-business-day session and over 35 bills are close to heading to Gov. Mark Gordons desk.

The Legislature convened Feb. 8 to set the states budget for 2025-26.

The 37 bills approved in both legislative chambers on Wednesday and Thursday now only require the signatures of Speaker of the House Albert Sommers and Senate President Ogden Driskill before going to the Republican governor. The bills become law if Gordon signs them.

The Senate approved 14 bills for the third time on Wednesday, then 12 more on Thursday.

Among the bills passed on Wednesday are new rules regarding prior authorization and changes to vehicle registration.

House Bill 14 places regulations on prior authorization, a process used by health insurance companies to approve and deny medical care.

Prior authorization has been heavily criticized by doctors and health providers as time- and resource-consuming while patients wait for care, and Wyoming is the only state without laws that govern the process.

The bill eliminates the need for prior authorization for medication to treat opioid use disorder, guarantees access to previously approved medication and treatment for at least 90 days after they switch health insurance plans and patients can access rehabilitative services  such as physical or occupational therapy  without needing prior authorization.

The bill also includes a provision that prohibits health insurance companies from requiring a patient to repeat step therapy if they have previously failed it.

Step therapy is a process where health insurance companies require patients to take one or more, usually less expensive, medication before stepping up to another medication.

House Bill 23, sponsored by Rep. J.T. Larson, R-Rock Springs, will allow for vehicle registrations to be available in physical or electronic form and provide a 30-day grace period for license plate validation stickers to be displayed.

The Senate on Thursday moved bills forward that would limit rules on environmental rulemaking in Wyoming, establish Wyoming Reads Day and provide cancer screenings for firefighters.

House Bill 35 states that the environmental quality council, a seven-member committee that holds public hearings for the states Department of Environmental Quality in any cases, may not implement rules more strict than those of the federal government.

House Bill 54, sponsored by Rep. Art Washut, R-Casper, would designate every third Tuesday in May as Wyoming Reads Day in recognition of John and Sue Jorgensen and the citizens of Wyoming who are dedicated to the importance of early childhood literacy, according to the bill.

The bill also recommends that celebrations should be held to advance the cause of childhood literacy and encourage early enthusiasm for reading on Wyoming Reads Day.

House Bill 66, sponsored by Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, seeks to provide annual cancer screenings to employed or volunteer firefighters who have served more than 10 years.

Cancer is a leading cause of death among firefighters, who are at higher risk of certain types of cancers when compared to the general population, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The House has approved fewer bills for third reading, seven on Wednesday and four on Thursday.

Among the bills approved on Wednesday was Senate File 4, which would allow for retired firefighters to be rehired and continue to receive retirement benefits.

Senate File 3, also passed on Wednesday, would allocate up to 24 hours of leave for every state officer and employee to be used for service or training as a rostered volunteer with a volunteer fire department, licensed ambulance service or county search and rescue organization in Wyoming.

Senate File 9 passed on Thursday following 11 proposed amendments to the bill by the House with seven being adopted.

That bill lays out new rules for school districts to provide students parents and guardians notice of information regarding students. Schools must notify parents or guardians if there is any change to the students educational, physical, mental or emotional health or wellbeing.

Procedures adopted under this paragraph shall reinforce the fundamental right of parents and guardians to make decisions regarding the care and control of their children, the bill states.

Notification of parents will encourage a student to discuss issues relating to his wellbeing with his parent or guardian or to facilitate discussion with the parent or guardian, the bill continues.

The bill bars school districts from preventing parents or guardians from accessing any of their students records that are created, maintained or used by the school district or from being notified of any changes to a students educational, physical, mental or emotional health or wellbeing.

Districts must also obtain written or electronic permission from each students parent or legal guardian prior to the student participating or receiving instruction in any training, courses or classes that address sexual orientation or gender identity.

Permission for a parent or guardian will also be needed for any wellbeing questionnaire or health screening tool for students.

Parents and guardians will be provided any routine health care services offered or provided at the students school at the beginning of each school year and parents have the option to withhold consent or decline any routine specific health care service.

The bill specifies that the rule does not prevent school district personnel from rendering first aid to a student or summoning emergency responders if needed.
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.
Smiles and laughs are so pre-pandemic. Any modern comic worth their salt is making people desperately sad or uncontrollably angry.

14 Frankie Boyle on Expensive Ceremonial Funerals Three million for the funeral of Margaret Thatcher? For three million, you could give everyone in Scotland a shovel, and we could dig a hole so deep we could hand her over to Satan in person.

13 Jimmy Carr on Religious Intellectuals Saying that you dont believe in magic but do believe in God is a bit like saying you dont have sex with dogs, except Labradors.

12 Suzy Izzard Weighs in on God If there is a God, his plan is very similar to someone not having a plan.

11 Ricky Gervais with the Edgelords Anthem Remember, if you dont sin, then Jesus died for nothing. Advertisement Advertisement

10 Katherine Ryans Got a Novel Take on Taking a Minor Across International Borders You know that guy who got done for taking a 15-year-old to Paris? Anyone whos been on holiday with a teenager knows that man deserved a medal, not prison.

9 Michael McIntyre Makes a Good Point, re: Arses I have never towel-dried my arse in my entire life. I dont need to. I dont leak water from my arse. Advertisement Advertisement

8 Russell Howard Documented an Extremely Dark Childhood Fantasy My cousins six. I was talking to him the other day, and I said, What do you want to be when youre older? He looked at me and went, A unicorn! And I was like, Why is that? He said: So I can stab people with my head!

7 Sarah Millicans Got One Way to Look at Aging I just need to make it to 34, and Ive beaten Jesus at living. Advertisement Advertisement

6 Anthony Jeselnik with the Misdirect My ex-girlfriend owned a parakeet. Oh my God, that fucking thing would never shut up. But the bird was cool.

5 Anthony Jeselnik on the Wrong Reason to Have a Child My sister had a baby to try to save the relationship. But I still dont talk to her. Advertisement Advertisement

4 Frankie Boyle on the Quickest Possible Apocalypse Scientists have just built the worlds biggest supercollider, and theyre doing experiments to see what makes up protons. I hope that if the experiments successful, the whole of our reality will dissolve, and a big sign will come up that says: Level Two.

3 Jimmy Carr let this one hang in the air for a moment: Say what you want about the deaf Advertisement Advertisement

2 At Least Gervais Knows Hes a Weenie I can have a go at the French cause Im half French, half English with a stupid name like Gervais. No I am, Im half French, half English and, um, Ive got qualities of both, French and English which is good, so um Im crap in bed, but at least Ive got bad breath.
For almost 72 years, Mi Nidito has been a Tucson staple.

Year after year, people would flock to South Fourth Avenue and patiently wait in line for a chance to indulge in a classic Mexican meal, reminiscent of the home cooked meals you would eat at your grandmothers house.

Everyone from Bill Clinton to Steve Kerr to Linda Ronstadt made themselves at home in the serape-striped booths eating bean tostadas, chile rellenos and enchiladas.

From the very beginning, the Lopez family kept this iconic spot up and running, but the day has finally come where they are ready to leave their little nest.

Owners Jimmy and Ernie Lopez have sold Mi Nidito to Edgar Gonzalez, who owns Guillermos Double L, another historic Mexican restaurant on South Fourth Avenue.

I think we're ready for retirement. I mean, the restaurant has been open 72 years, Jimmy Lopez said. I turned 70 and Father Time is catching up to me.

Ernesto and Alicia Lopez originally opened Mi Nidito, which translates to my little nest, in 1952 at 1813 S. Fourth Ave. Ernesto wanted to open a tortilla factory, but Alicia wanted a restaurant instead.

You know who won that argument, Jimmy Lopez previously told the Star.

During that time, the kitchen was in the area that is now the lobby. Jimmy Lopez remembers when his grandmother, Alicia, would cook the meals in small two- and three-quart pots.

Over the years, Mi Nidito grew and expanded with Jimmys parents Ernest Lopez Jr. and Yolanda Lopez eventually taking the reins.

Mi Nidito became known for its traditional Mexican meals, like the chile rellenos and enchilada-style burritos. There's also the Presidents Plate, which is the meal Bill Clinton had when he visited in 1999. His order consisted of a bean tostada, birria taco, chile relleno, chicken enchilada and a beef tamale.

Around 10 years ago, Ernest Lopez Jr. took on a smaller role at the restaurant, allowing his sons Jimmy and Ernie to step up to the plate. Jimmy Lopez took on most of the load since he had been working at the restaurant the longest.

When his father passed away three years ago, Jimmy and Ernie officially took over the place.

After working at the restaurant for 53 years, Jimmy Lopez felt like it was finally his time to retire.

My father always told us that if we decided to sell the business, make sure you sell it when it's doing good, not when its doing bad, Jimmy Lopez said. So we took his advice and that's what we're doing.

Mi Nidito has been in the Lopez family for three generations, but other family members aren't interested in taking it over, Jimmy Lopez said. The next generation was either too young to take the reins or are not interested in getting into the restaurant industry.

We didn't want to turn it over to a third party, like a management company, because I'm going to be home thinking about it and I'm not going to have peace of mind, Jimmy Lopez said.

That left him with two other options: sell the property or sell the restaurant to somebody who would keep it going. If they were to sell the property, that would mean his employees, some who have been there for 40 years, would have to look for new jobs.

The brothers decided to look for somebody to buy it. Luckily, Gonzalez had been interested in Mi Niditio for the last five years, Jimmy Lopez said.

While they did have other offers, Jimmy Lopez said Gonzalez continued to come to the table because he really wanted the place.

'The caretakers'

Guillermo's Double L opened in 1948 across the street from Mi Nidito. The restaurant was originally a drive-in barbecue joint before switching to Mexican food.

Since Gonzalez was 8 years old, he has loved Mi Nidito, saying he always felt like there was something special about it.

"I never really thought I was going to get the chance to get it," Gonzalez said. "I would joke about it as I got older and ask him (Jimmy) until one day it really happened. It just felt so surreal."

Gonzalez wants to ensure the community that nothing about Mi Nidito will change, keeping the same old charm that it has always had.

"We don't see ourselves as the owners, we see ourselves as the caretakers," Gonzalez said. "Our job is to make sure we take care of the place. All the locals can still enjoy the same quality. It's more than just the food, it's all the memories, too, so we are going to make sure we take care of that."

Gonzalez will officially be charge of the restaurant starting Wednesday, March 6, Jimmy Lopez said. Even though Gonzalez owns Mi Nidito now, Guillermo's Double L will remain open.

I'm confident that he's going to do his best to take care of it. I mean, he's not going to invest big money and then let it go, Jimmy Lopez said. My brother and I are going to be there as consultants for the transition.

For the next three months, Jimmy and Ernie will help Gonzalez with the transition, after that, they are stepping back from their familys restaurant.

While its going to take some time to get used to not working around the restaurant, Jimmy Lopez plans on taking retirement one day at a time.

For years, the Lopez family has made sure customers feel at home and leave their little nest with full bellies. As they navigate this new phase of life, Jimmy Lopez said hes going to miss his employees and customers the most.

I'm going to miss the interaction with the public. All the people that I've met over the years, and it's thousands of people that I've appreciated, Jimmy Lopez said. I mean, I have to appreciate all these loyal customers over the years that supported me and I hope they continue to.
A man who was shot and killed last month after authorities say he charged deputies while carrying a sword has been identified.

Devon Lewis, 23, was shot after 10 p.m. Feb.24, when deputies say they found him outside a hotel in the 4800 block of South Palo Verde Road after a 911 caller reported a man was there yelling and waving a sword, the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team said in a news release.

Lewis was shot by Deputy Ramon Morales when he pulled the sword from its sheath and ran toward deputies, the release said.

Lewis died at the scene.

Morales, who has been with the department about a year, was not injured, the release said.

As usual, the multi-agency team that investigates officer-involved shootings here will present its findings to the Pima County Attorney's Office.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department is conducting a separate investigation to determine if department policy was followed.
A driver is facing criminal charges after authorities say he struck and killed an 11-month-old infant being pushed across the street in a stroller Tuesday night on Tucson's northwest side.

The infant was struck about 8:30 p.m. at West Ruthrauff Road and North Kain Avenue, west of North La Cholla Boulevard, the Pima County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

The unidentified infant and Marquese Reese, 34, were taken to the hospital. Reese had minor injuries but the infant died, the release said.

Reese, accompanied by two adults, was pushing the stroller across Ruthrauff when an eastbound vehicle struck the pair, the release said.

The driver, Colton Ortiz, was jailed in suspicion of manslaughter, aggravated assault and aggravated driving under the influence, the release said.

The investigation is ongoing.
Fred DuVal is stepping down as chair of the Arizona Board of Regents after Gov. Katie Hobbs fiery statement Monday that the board failed in its oversight of University of Arizona finances.

Additionally, ABOR Executive Director John Arnold is taking a leave of absence from that position as he continues to serve as the UAs interim chief financial officer dealing with the universitys $177 million deficit.

Both changes are effective immediately, ABOR announced Thursday evening.

Its imperative that we move away from the heat of rhetoric and politics and refocus on addressing the genuine challenges facing our institution, DuVal said. By resigning as board chair, I aim to do my part to create space for collaborative efforts toward real solutions.

Personally, this transition allows me to dedicate more time to serving the University of Arizona during my remaining two years on the board, DuVal stated.

Earlier Thursday, Phoenix NPR station KJZZ reported that a spokesperson for Hobbs said she was exploring whether she has the power to expel members of the Board of Regents, who oversee the states three public universities. DuVal was appointed to the board by former Gov. Doug Ducey.

Hobbs and UA faculty senators have said Arnolds position as both executive director of ABOR and interim chief financial officer at the UA was a potential conflict of interest.

In a letter released in January, Hobbs said she was concerned there was a real or perceived conflict of interest in Arnolds appointment at UA and likened it to a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.

Hobbs, in her second statement criticizing the board, released Monday, demanded a private meeting with regents leaders and with UA President Robert C. Robbins. Arnold and Robbins said they are scheduled to meet with her next Wednesday.

New facts have come to light, Hobbs wrote, that once again show the Arizona Board of Regents failed in their oversight role and highlight a university leadership that was clueless as to their own finances.

The governors statement Monday also blasted DuVal for sending a cease-and-desist letter last week to UA Faculty Senate Chair Leila Hudson. Hudson accused DuVal of a conflict of interest for his previous employment, when he was not on ABOR, at Amicus Investors, which invested in universities. DuVal called the suggestion defamatory; Hudson said it was protected speech. Hobbs wrote that threatening faculty with a lawsuit is not leadership.

ABORs statement late Thursday said DuVal was emphasizing the need for all stakeholders to dial down the intensity surrounding recent controversies at University of Arizona.

DuVals appointment as board chair was set to end on July 1, while his term as a regent continues until January 2026.

Chair-elect Cecilia Mata will take over early as leader of the board.

Mata has appointed ABOR Vice President of Academic Affairs and Institutional Analysis Chad Simpson to serve as interim executive director of the board, subject to full board approval.

DuVal said he will be at the UA March 5-6 to hear from anyone who wants to talk to him, as ABOR and UA set strategies to fix the universitys financial situation.

I will plan to be available on campus Tuesday, March 5, from 1-5 p.m. and Wednesday, March 6 from 8-10 a.m. to visit with anyone who wants my ear, DuVal said. I will be available in the Madera Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Student Union. We must solve this together and in my remaining two years on the board I plan to do so constructively and with an open mind.
Two more cases of rabies have been confirmed on the east side of Tucson, but state wildlife officials are not calling it an outbreak just yet.

Three horses were attacked by a coyote at two neighboring properties off of Harrison Road north of Irvington Road on Feb. 22.

The coyote was trampled by the horse in one of the attacks, which allowed wildlife officials to recover and euthanize the animal, said Arizona Game and Fish Department spokesman Mark Hart.

A test on the coyote came back positive for rabies on Wednesday, Hart said.

Post-mortem testing also showed rabies in a fox from the Vail area that was dropped off at the Tucson Wildlife Center on Feb. 21.

Hart said there have now been four confirmed cases of the fatal disease in the past six months and at least as many cases where rabies was suspected but the animal could not be collected for testing.

Theres a lot of smoke with this, and theres somewhat of a cluster on the east side, he said. We need to raise public awareness.

The other confirmed cases so far include a bobcat that attacked a woman in her carport off east Redington Pass Road and was killed by authorities on Nov. 27 and another diseased bobcat in Benson last year.

The unconfirmed cases came on Feb. 1, when a gray fox was filmed acting strangely on the patio of a home on East Chukut Trail, not far from Agua Caliente Park; Jan. 21, when a bobcat bit and scratched a man on Cactus Forest Drive in the Rincon Mountain District of Saguaro National Park; Jan. 13, when a skunk bit a man and chased others at the Proctor Trailhead in Madera Canyon; and Dec. 27, when a gray fox bit one person and tried to attack another at the Molino Basin campground in the Catalina Mountains.

Rabies was also suspected in the case of a sick, slobbering coyote that was filmed on Feb. 10 in Tucson Estates, a west side neighborhood off Kinney Road near Ajo Highway, though Hart said distemper or even poisoning could also explain that behavior.

Another coyote was found dead in the Starr Pass area about two weeks ago, he said, but that animal did not have rabies.

Last weeks coyote attack on the horses was partially captured by the security cameras at a house on Millmar Road.

In one video clip, the animal enters a corral and gets kicked by a horse after nipping at its back legs. In the second clip, the coyote latches onto the tail of a miniature horse in a different corral, only to get swung around in circles by the horse. The predator then briefly grabs the miniature horse by the fly mask covering its face before being shaken off and trotting away.

Dr. Jonathan Henrichs from Reata Veterinary Hospital is the equine veterinarian who treated those horses. He said both of them are doing fine, thanks to up-to-date rabies vaccinations and only minor bite wounds.

The horses will be kept in state-mandated quarantine for 45 days, just in case, Henrichs said.

Rabies is 100 percent fatal for any animal that contracts the disease and is not vaccinated, he said.

The third horse was attacked at an address on Graf Lane, one street north of Millmar.

Henrichs didnt need to see the test results to know the coyote in question was almost certainly rabid. It is extremely rare for a healthy coyote to attack a horse, he said.

Ultimately, Hart said, it will be up to a Game and Fish veterinarian or the Arizona Department of Health Services to decide whether the current surge in rabid wildlife qualifies as an outbreak, but the 28 cases recorded in Pima County over the past year are well below the annual average of 57 seen from 2014 through 2019.

That surge in cases peaked at 77 in 2017.

Rabies is transmitted through saliva, with bats, skunks and foxes as the most common carriers.

Hart said people dont need to avoid the outdoors, but they should be on the lookout for animals behaving strangely, especially around water sources.

Rabid animals are basically dying of thirst  they want to drink, but they cant because the virus causes paralysis of the throat, he said. Hence the foaming at the mouth.

Other symptoms include unsteady movements, disorientation and aggression.

Hart said the Tucson area  and the east side in particular  can probably expect more cases of rabid wildlife as the year rolls on. But the only way to know whats happening for sure is to collect more sick or newly dead animals for testing.

Thats about all we can do right now, Hart said. We are highly reliant on prompt reports from the public.

Anyone who sees a sick or possibly rabid animal is asked to call the Arizona Game and Fish Departments 24-hour dispatch center at 623-236-7201.
At 5:30 p.m. nearly every Monday, a group of 10 local teenagers walk into a large garage on Tucsons northwest side.

No, theyre not getting ready for band practice, studying the latest TikTok dance, learning to work on a broken-down car or any other cool teenage activity you might typically find happening in a garage nowadays.

As they put on their safety glasses, they begin working on something much bigger.

Theyre building a small airplane.

Its not unusual for teens to participate in extracurricular activities after school. They might volunteer at soup kitchens, play sports, practice musical instruments and join clubs.

However, local nonprofit Southern Arizona Teen Aviation is taking extracurriculars to new heights with its free plane-building program that hopes to ignite a love of aviation in teens.

We love aviation obviously, and we tried to figure out ways to engage kids, said Alan Muhs, the co-founder of SATA and a pilot with several decades of experience. I think as adults, we have a responsibility to help the next generation be successful. And I look at this program as giving them an opportunity to experience something that (they) probably wouldn't otherwise. (We) give them an opportunity to discover something they're interested in. And some kids come in, they're interested. Some kids come in and they're not. But at least they have a chance.

Throughout the three-hour Monday evening session, the teens work on various parts of the RV-12 airplane  a small, single-engine, two-seater aircraft from Vans Aircraft  thats about 90% completed as we're writing this.

Some are using a rivet gun to secure rivets into the planes ailerons, while others are working on the wiring of the aircrafts avionics (under the supervision of one of SATAs many mentors, of course).

Although they are working on a serious project, you cant help but be reminded of their youth as they crack a joke or two and make (almost) harmless bets with one another about shaving off an eyebrow for the person who finishes their rivets last.

The 10 student participants consist of five girls and five boys  sophomores through seniors from various local high schools including Catalina High School, Amphitheater High School, Ironwood Ridge High School, Pusch Ridge Christian Academy and Catalina Foothills High School. This is the program's first year with an equal amount of boys and girls. Typically, it's primarily boys.

Many of the teens heard about SATA through one of their high school science classes and thought the program sounded like a good opportunity to learn about aviation while meeting new people.

Senior Amanda Miranda was one of the only students to join the program after her mother discovered the program online. Its her first and last year in the program because she's a graduating senior, but she says shes enjoyed the journey so far.

This is kind of unrelated to the aviation aspect, but I think (my favorite part is) meeting a bunch of older people and talking to them and seeing their perspectives, she said. Talking to them about going to college or figuring out the next step. Their perspective is cool to see. We hear a bunch about their experiences and how they got into aviation and how I can get into aviation, too.

Like many others in the program, Miranda aspires to have a career in aviation. She says she can see herself becoming a commercial airline pilot.

For second-year participant Noah Parrish, joining the program was the first step in honoring his grandfathers legacy as an engineer and pilot.

Its been great, he said. Ive learned so much about tools and working on planes and anything with planes.

He says after his final year in the program next year, he wants to become an aerospace engineer, start his own space company and send people to the moon.

Similarly, junior and first-year participant Fenton Goldener hopes to become a helicopter pilot for the Army after high school.

Just coming here and not only being able to build an airplane but also getting to talk to people like Noah, Sarah, Amanda and talk with my mentors like Mr. Chabolla, Mr. Sanchez, its all great, Goldener said.

First-year participant Sarah Zuber plans to become a veterinarian or an aerospace engineer and became involved in the program to see if she would truly enjoy an aviation career or if she wants to stick to the veterinarian path.

I love working here. I didnt even know how to use a drill when I first got here, so its been very informative and I know how to do a bunch of things now, she said, adding: I like all the opportunities it gives us but I also really like working with the metal and riveting and the (overall) hands-on experience of it.

SATA currently meets weekly on Sunday afternoons and Monday evenings to work on their current aircraft. Since the program is centered around teens, the organization follows an academic calendar.

For safety reasons, the program is capped at 10 students per academic year. The application period for the next academic year is scheduled to open next month, according to Muhs.

We teach them to work together, how to read the plans, how to do inventory, how to use the tools and theyre getting a wealth of experience and knowledge and growth, Muhs said. There's no shop classes in high school anymore. There are no hands-on (opportunities) in the classroom. They get lectures, they do tests, and maybe in science classes, there's a little bit of that (hands-on experience). We tell them when they come in theres no test, no homework. But we do expect you to come and work and give the effort that we all believe it deserves and should have.

We love aviation. We love sharing it with young people and we love helping them be successful.

SATA has worked on this particular RV-12 aircraft for a couple of years, mostly due to a pause in the program and shipping delays during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, it can take between 700 and 900 hours for experienced builders to put together this aircraft, according to Vans Aircrafts website.

Muhs and the rest of SATA chose the Vans Aircraft RV-12 because its the only small aircraft kit in the country that comes with everything you need. The kit comes with the engine, wings, frame, canopy  you name it. The total kit cost around $110,000, Muhs says.

This airplane comes complete. So we can take it from beginning to end, Muhs said. And they (teens in the program) do all the work. We get involved once in a while when things go south. But one of the things I really impress upon them is this is a safe place.  We're not going to give you a hard time if you make a mistake. I expect you're going to make mistakes and I want you to learn how to fix mistakes. You're gonna make mistakes your whole life. You learn how to fix them, how to get past them and how to move on. So, we just tell them when they make a mistake, Fess up, let's figure it out.

The RV-12 that the current SATA teens are working on is the organizations third plane. Like their previous aircrafts, once completed, they test-fly the plane, take the teens for rides and then begin the selling process to raise additional money for more RV-12 kits.

As a nonprofit, SATA primarily runs on monetary and resource donations. The current workshop garage that SATA works out of is owned by construction contractor Matt North, a friend of Muhs who lets the organization utilize it free of charge. Locals Joey and Neal Bowker also provided an airplane hangar at Ryan Airfield that SATA can use for free as they test, store and even work on planes.

Of course, theres an invaluable donation made to SATA every week  the time and knowledge of the organizations volunteers who mentor teens in the program.

SATAs mentors come from a variety of backgrounds including ex-military members who flew fighter jets and helicopters, commercial airline pilots, flight instructors, a public safety helicopter pilot, an electrical engineer from Boeing and more.

Altogether, the mentors have decades of experience and thousands of hours of flying time.

I really wish when I was thinking of doing this that there was somebody I couldve asked questions to about the military, about commercial (flying), about everything and there wasnt, said Miguel Chabolla, a SATA mentor and former military pilot and commercial pilot for United Airlines. So, I love being available to them to answer any questions or give them some guidance or whatever they need.

One of the newer mentors is 21-year-old Wyatt Scott  a certified aircraft mechanic who currently works for SkyWest Airlines. Scott was a SATA student back in 2018 and returned to SATA as a mentor in 2021.

Everybody starts somewhere and I had people helping me from where I was to where I am now and I figured that it would be a good thing to come back and continue the program. But also, its cool working on airplanes. So, if I have an excuse to come work on an airplane, Im going to, Scott said.

Scott credits the program with helping him find a direction career-wise after high school.

We have a wide variety of experiences as far as builders, mechanics, pilots, he said. Even if youre not here to work on airplanes, you get to fly them, you get to talk to people who have flown them, you can talk to people here about a career path and where you want to go after high school and thats very valuable for students.

Since its founding in 2017, Muhs estimates that between 60 and 70 local teens have participated in the program. Many past participants have gone on to become pilots in the military, flight instructors and engineers.

We've had a lot of great kids come through here and it's just wonderful to spend time with them, Muhs said.

As for whats next for SATA, the team plans on finishing their current project aircraft  their third RV-12  this summer, followed by putting more work into their fourth aircraft which they have already started. They also hope to have a livestream of their workdays up on their website soon.

More importantly, theyre looking forward to continuing their mission of helping local teens find a passion for aviation, whether thats professionally or just as a fun hobby.

I'm very happy where it's going right now. We bring our kids in, we spend time with them. I get to meet a lot of really neat young people, Muhs said, adding: Were a bunch of retired guys, for the most part. We love aviation. We love sharing it with young people and we love helping them be successful.

For more information about Southern Arizona Teen Aviation, check out their website.
PHOENIX  Three former employees of the Arizona Department of Education have been indicted on charges of cheating the school voucher program out of more than $600,000 through fraudulent applications.

Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Thursday that in some cases the three, as employees of the department involved in approving requests for voucher funds, created "ghost children'' with forged birth certificates.

In other cases, funds were requested for real people but they were adults, not children eligible to receive the tax money to attend private and parochial schools, Mayes said.

Mayes declined to say how the employees spent the more than $600,000. But she said it appears the money did not go to educating any children but instead was spent on unspecified luxury items, some in the neighborhood of $20,000 to $40,000 each.

Mayes said there also were instances where the three employees submitted forged paperwork saying students had special needs that entitled them to more than the typical $7,300 voucher from the program.

Mayes, a Democrat, said the fraud was made possible by the fact the Republican-controlled Legislature never provided proper oversight of the program, formally known as "empowerment scholarship accounts,'' when it opened its eligibility in 2022 to all public school students.

That expanded the program from 12,000 children, mostly with special needs, to more than 70,000 students, the attorney general said, "many of whom were already attending private schools on their parents' dime before this taxpayer-funded coupon for the wealthy was passed by the Legislature.''

Mayes acknowledged the three employees had worked there since before the expansion occurred in 2022. Their tenure also predated January 2023 when state schools chief Tom Horne, a Republican and a supporter of universal vouchers, took office from Democrat Kathy Hoffman, who opposed the expansion.

Mayes said, though, that her investigators found that the start of the alleged fraud pretty much coincided with the expansion.

But House Speaker Ben Toma, the architect of voucher expansion, said the three indicted employees "began defrauding the state well before the passage of universal ESAs.''

Mayes also said the problems were not caught by Horne, who heads the education department, or his staff.

"Our investigators were tipped off about the case not by the Arizona Department of Education but rather by a credit union who noticed unusually large in-person cash withdrawals and contacted our office,'' Mayes said.

She said the employees were not fired until her investigators began to look into the issue.

Indicted were Delores I. Sweet, Dorrian J. Jones and Jennifer Lopez, on a 40-count indictment alleging conspiracy, fraud, forgery and money laundering. Sweet, Jones and Lopez were in a position to accept and review requests for vouchers and then approve them, Mayes said.

Horne said it is important to note that all three were employees he inherited from the Hoffman administration, "whose oversight of the empowerment scholarship account was lax."

"In fact, it was so loose that when I took office, I faced dozens of parents at State Board of Education meetings furious at me for placing more controls on expenses and spending requests," Horne said.

That, however, relates to parents' requests for authorization for specific expenses, not the question of fraudulent applications which is at issue here.

Horne also said that so far this year he has referred seven instances of suspected fraud to Mayes' office.

"And, despite her efforts to smear this department, we will continue to do so," he said.

Toma said it would be wrong to blame the fraud on universal vouchers.

"As we've seen in cases involving school districts, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, unemployment insurance, and other governmental entities and programs, criminals invariably seek to exploit systems for personal gain,'' he said in a prepared statement.

"Yet the law stands ready to hold them accountable,'' Toma said. "I'm pleased to see today's indictments for fraud from the attorney general, which highlights the effectiveness of the state to identify fraud.''

Toma took a swat at Mayes for blaming it on the expansion. "It's regrettable that critics of Arizona's highly popular and successful ESA program are predictably seizing this opportunity to politicize and undermine it,'' he said.

Vouchers of public funds to let students attend private and parochial schools were originally made available in Arizona, more than a decade ago, only for students with special needs that could not be met in public schools.

Over the years the Republican-controlled Legislature expanded it, taking in foster children, children of military families, reservation residents and students in schools rated D or F.

The 2022 law made it available to all 1.1 million students attending public schools after proponents, led by Toma, rejected calls for limits, such as an income cap.

Strictly speaking, the amount of individual vouchers is only slightly more than per-student state aid to public schools.

But that does not take into account students who previously were in private schools with the cost being paid by their parents. There is evidence to show that the sharp rise in voucher participation is from those students.

That has led to charges by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs that the expanded cost of vouchers is part of the reason the state is looking at a deficit of $1.8 billion for the balance of this fiscal year that ends June 30 and the new budget year beginning July 1.

There also have been charges that the Department of Education is approving expenses for items that have no apparent educational value, such as ski trips, driving lessons and even a Lego set.

Mayes said Thursday that's a separate issue than the question of providing dollars for individuals who are not eligible, either because they are adults or they don't exist at all. She said that, aside from the acts of the three former employees, she knows where the blame lies.

"I believe it is high time for the Legislature to get serious about putting some regulations to prevent the fraud that we're seeing today from happening in the first place,'' she said.

What isn't known, Mayes said, is whether this kind of fraud is more common than the indictments reflect.

"That's what we want to get to the bottom of,'' she said. "And I will tell you this: from what our investigators found there are very few controls and very little accountability in terms of analyzing birth certificates at the Department of Education.''

As proof, Mayes displayed one of the certificates submitted for a "ghost'' student, which she said had clearly been torn and manipulated.

Other signs should have been obvious, she said, like the fact that one of the former employees submitted three certificates all bearing the same date of birth. Mayes said that should have caught the attention of someone in the process  if there was proper oversight.

"One of the issues is, does ADE even have the resources right now to analyze those birth certificates?'' Mayes asked. "There are legitimate questions about how many of these birth certificates are actually being scrutinized by the Department of Education and what they're doing to scrutinize them.''
PHOENIX  State senators voted Thursday not to allow the Arizona House to adjourn for more than a week so 17 of its members can travel to Israel.

But House Speaker Ben Toma, who is going on the trip, said he has a legal work-around.

And Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat who organized what she said is an educational trip for lawmakers, said it is still on. She called Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, who led the effort to block it, a profanity.

A section of the Arizona Constitution says neither the House nor Senate can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other chamber. Such permission has been routinely granted for reasons such as long holiday weekends.

This time, however, the House asked for permission to be gone from March 5 until March 12.

Kern said he was "appalled'' that the House leadership would make such a request even before lawmakers adopt a state budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget is the one thing lawmakers are constitutionally obliged to do each session.

The trip is being financed by itrek, a nonprofit based in New York City which says it "brings the richness of complexities of Israel to life through Israel treks that combine education, culture and fun.''

"This is to educate people to what Israel's all about,'' Hernandez said. "The trip is not a luxury vacation. There's a war going on.''

Hernandez, who has championed several measures promoting Holocaust education in public schools, said the trip will help inform other lawmakers of the importance of such programs.

"One of our stops is at Yad Vashem,'' she said, Israel's official memorial to victims of the Holocaust. "It's very important ... to have them see, when I'm talking about these things, this is really important, this is what we're talking about.''

Hernandez said there also are plans to meet with families of some hostages who were taken when Hamas invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. Meetings also are planned with elected officials and students.

Asked about what is currently happening in Gaza as the Israeli military has bombed and invaded and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, Hernandez responded, "If you're asking if we're going there? Of course not."

"That's something we're not able to do,'' she said. "But we are meeting with Palestinian students.''

Kern said it's not about the trip. He said he doesn't even mind if it's being paid for by lobbyists, something Hernandez said is not true.

The issue, he said, is being gone during the legislative session, which always is scheduled from early January through at least late April.

"The voters to me are not being represented well,'' Kern said, citing the lack of a budget, which has to be done by June 30. "They can go in August, they can go in September,'' he said.

Toma sniffed at that reason for blocking adjournment. The speaker said there is no progress on the budget because Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has so far refused to negotiate with the Republican-led Legislature. He said other activities, including committee meetings by the remaining representatives in the 60-member House, will continue.

Toma blamed politics for Kern's action.

Both he and Kern  along with others  are running to be the GOP nominee for the congressional seat that is opening up next year when Republican Debbie Lesko leaves the post.

"What's happened right now is basically a desperate attempt by a fledgling legislator to be relevant in a congressional race where he has zero chance of winning,'' Toma said. "So he's decided to be petty about it.''

Toma has been endorsed by Lesko and various area mayors. Abe Hamadeh, also running in the Republican primary, has the backing of former President Donald Trump.

While the Senate refusal requires the House to meet  at least every three days  there are options.

Toma told Capitol Media Services he is looking at having Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, who is the speaker pro-tem, come in every three days with at least one other lawmaker. That would enable them to gavel the House into session, note there is no quorum, and adjourn.

Other Republican senators who are more politically aligned with Kern than Toma also criticized the trip, however.

"This isn't about the trip itself,'' said Sen. Justine Wadsack of Tucson. "I think any one of us would be honored to go on trip to Israel. But not during session.''

Wadsack also pointed out, pursuant to common practice, lawmakers are paid a per diem allowance, on top of their $24,000 annual salary, for every day the Legislature is in regular session. That means not only the normal Monday-through-Thursday meeting schedule but also on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

And in this case, she said, they would be paid for the days they are out of the country.

"If they were taking an unpaid leave, that might be a different story,'' she said. "But they're all still getting paid to work.''

Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, also said this isn't about Israel.
PHOENIX  A judge has rebuffed yet another attempt by two special interest groups to hide the names of their donors from the public despite a 2022 voter-approved law requiring their publication.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott McCoy rejected the latest arguments by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Center for Arizona Policy that disclosing the names of those who finance their efforts to influence elections will harm the organizations, their staffers or their contributors. He called their arguments speculative at best.

McCoy was no more impressed by claims by two people who donate to these organizations  neither of whom is identified in the lawsuit  that the law will lead to harassment or retaliation for supporting the positions taken by the organizations.

The ruling comes eight months after the same judge rejected attempts by both organizations to have him declare Proposition 211 and its disclosure requirements a violation of constitutional rights.

But McCoy, in that ruling, gave both groups a separate chance to argue that the law shouldnt be applied to them because they would be subject to threats or harassment. Now, after hearing arguments, he concluded they again failed to make their case.

An appeal is planned, said Scott Freeman, an attorney at the Goldwater Institute, which is representing both organizations.

We respectfully disagree with the judges decision, he said.

Approved by voters in November by a nearly 3-1 margin, the initiative says that any organization that spends more than $50,000 on a statewide race  half that for other contests  has to publicly disclose anyone who has given at least $5,000.

It goes on to say those recipient groups have to trace the money back to the original source.

Until now, a donation or expenditure could be listed as coming from some group with a name like Arizonans for Arizona, with no clue who formed that group. This ensures that those who actually have financed that organization also must be made public.

The challenging groups argued all that interferes with constitutional rights.

The act violates Arizonans right to speak freely by chilling donors from supporting causes they believe in and wish to support, lest their charitable giving become public knowledge, argued Freeman of the Goldwater Institute.

In his June ruling, however, McCoy said states are free to enact restrictions if they are substantially related to sufficiently important governmental interests. And he said Proposition 211 fits within that definition.

McCoy also said disclosure laws deter corruption by permitting voters to assess whether donors receive post-election favors. And the judge said thats true in the case of Proposition 211 and its requirements to disclose the original source of dollars which prevents cloaking actual contributors by using intermediaries.

But McCoy said at the time he was willing to consider any arguments either group had that should be exempt from the disclosure because of any special risk they faced.

What he got from CAP was a list of its controversial positions on everything from vouchers and legalization of marijuana to its arguments that marriage should be limited to one man and one woman.

CAP President Cathi Herrod said there have been protests, harassing emails and other communications. And Herrod said she and staff have been called various names, like ignorant fascists, race baiters and medieval throwback horrible anti-woman garbage.

Such name-calling, offensive comments and criticism are certainly rude, McCoy said.

Many of the comments themselves, however, are protected speech, he continued. And 20 or so nasty comments in nearly 30 years of public advocacy does not demonstrate that CAP itself has been subjected to threats, harassment, and reprisals.

He also pointed out that CAP has not identified a single donor or supporter who has been subject to such actions due to their association with the organization. And he said that also is true for CAP board members even though their names appear on public websites and filings at the Arizona Corporation Commission.

Nor was the judge swayed by the fact that CAP hired private security guards on two occasions, saying here, too, there was no evidence of harassment or threats.

The Free Enterprise Club made similar arguments about its special need, citing its positions on tax policy as well as its efforts to tighten up voter registration procedures, make it harder for voters to put initiatives on the ballot and opposition to taxpayer-funded light rail. But here, too, McCoy said a few isolated incidents of harassment and threats it cited against its staff are insufficient to show that its donors would be subject to those same threats if their names were public.

And the judge specifically rejected arguments that the organization or its donors will be subject to harassment or retaliation by the Citizens Clean Election Commission, which administers Proposition 2011, because of litigation or policy disagreements.

Others who have challenged the initiative have had no better luck.

In December, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Ryan rejected a bid by House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen to block implementation of the law ahead of the 2024 election. Their attorney had argued that the initiative, approved at the ballot a year ago by a nearly 3-1 margin, infringed on the rights of the Republican-controlled Legislature.

But Ryan said voters have an absolute right to enact laws requiring full disclosure of the true source of political donations even if GOP lawmakers dont like it.

In his 12-page ruling, Ryan pointed out that the people have the same authority as legislators to enact laws. He said that, just like measures approved by the Legislature, they are presumed just as valid unless there is something unconstitutional about them.

And the judge said there is no such evidence here that would allow him to keep what voters approved from taking effect.

The citizens of Arizona voted to receive more information about the sources of money trying to influence Arizona elections, he wrote. The public interest weighs heavily in favor of protecting Arizona voters constitutionally protected legislative authority, and their interests in being fully informed when choosing their representatives and voting on initiatives and referenda, as expressed in Prop. 211.
PHOENIX  A federal judge blocked Arizona from enforcing two more provisions of a pair of controversial 2022 laws imposing more restrictions on voter registration.

But she upheld most of the rest of them.

In a 104-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton affirmed claims by attorneys for the state that Arizona has a legitimate interest in ensuring those who vote in elections are citizens. She upheld several provisions about requirements to prove citizenship, investigating the legal status of voters and procedures for canceling registrations.

The court concludes that Arizonas interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizonas elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to prevent documentary proof of citizenship, the judge wrote.

Bolton also rejected arguments by a host of rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice that the Republican-controlled Legislature acted with discriminatory intent in approving the laws.

But she said there is no reason county recorders should be precluded from allowing individuals to register simply because they do not provide the state or country of their birth. The judge concluded that information is not relevant to whether the person is a citizen.

Bolton also found fault with a mandate to county recorders that they must conduct monthly checks through certain federal databases on registered voters who they have reason to believe are not citizens.

She said that provision purportedly applies to confirming the citizenship of all voters. But one of those databases  known as SAVE, operated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  requires an immigration number.

Naturalized citizens will always be at risk of county recorders subjective decision to further investigate these voters citizenship status, whereas the reason to believe provision will never apply to native-born citizens, Bolton wrote. That, she said, violates requirements to apply equal scrutiny to all.

The decision drew mixed reactions from those involved.

I am pleased to see that the court found that plaintiffs failed to show that Arizonas common-sense voting laws were enacted with discriminatory intent, said House Speaker Ben Toma. But the Peoria Republican said he is still reviewing the rest of the decision.

Yadira Sanchez had a different take.

While this decision unfortunately leaves in place many discriminatory provisions, we are extremely heartened to see the court strike down a modern Jim Crow law that targeted naturalized voters in our community, said the executive director of Poder Latinx, one of the organizations that sued over the laws. She was referring to the section requiring county officials to investigate when they have reason to believe someone is not a citizen.

And Joseph Garcia, vice president of public policy at Chicanos Por La Causa, said its not the end of legal battles.

This is the second time Bolton has voided parts of the 2022 laws.

She previously blocked Arizona from enforcing another part of the law that sought to extend Arizonas demand for proof of citizenship to those who are voting in the presidential race.

Bolton said Arizonans who use a federal voter registration form, which does not require such proof, are entitled to cast a ballot in presidential elections. And she said the state cannot enforce another provision that says anyone who uses this federal form cant vote by mail.

Both of the challenged 2022 laws have their roots in claims advanced by Donald Trump and his political allies that the results of the 2020 election in Arizona were affected by votes cast by people who are not citizens.

Trump lost to Joe Biden by 10,457 votes in Arizona. At the same time, though, there were about 21,000 Arizonans who registered using a form designed by the federal Election Assistance Commission.

It entitles residents to vote only in presidential and congressional races without proof of citizenship. It requires that applicants sign a sworn statement avowing, under penalty of perjury, they are in fact citizens.

The provisions in both Arizona bills were designed to keep those who could not provide what the state considers documentary proof of citizenship from registering, regardless of the form they used. They also sought to purge the voter rolls of those who did not provide that proof.

The lawsuit claimed the Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the laws with discriminatory intent, which would run afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act.

Bolton agreed to let challengers pursue that theory, even to the point of allowing them to question both Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen. Neither could recall the Legislature being presented with or considering evidence of non-citizen voter fraud in Arizona.

But the judge said there was no proof of discriminatory intent.

Nothing in the legislative hearings evince a motive to discriminate against voters based on race or national origin, she wrote.

Nor was she swayed by testimony from former state Sen. Martin Quezada that Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli frequently made racially motivated comments to him. Borrelli denied to Capitol Media Services making such remarks.

Bolton said its irrelevant what the Lake Havasu Republican did or did not say.

Even assuming Sen. Borrelli expressed discriminatory remarks, plaintiffs may not impute his motives to other individual legislators or the Arizona Legislature as a whole, the judge wrote. And while Sen. Quezada testified as to his reasons for voting against the (challenged) voting laws, the concerns expressed by political opponents during the legislative process are not reliable evidence of legislative intent.

Bolton also brushed aside the failure of lawmakers to consider the impact of the laws on people of color or naturalized citizens. She said that also is insufficient to show a discriminatory motive.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

As a student at the University of Arizona I am very concerned about the fact that the U.S. Department of Education is currently considering a proposal that would eliminate a program that provides course materials to students on the very first day of class, while at the same time driving the increased affordability of those materials.

Im proud to say that I serve as a Pearson Campus Ambassador, which means that I facilitate feedback from fellow students about their course materials. I can tell you that I have received many positive comments about this program, which is called Inclusive Access at our school.

Students appreciate the fact that Inclusive Access lets you purchase materials using grants and loans rather than having to pay out of pocket. The student consensus I have heard is that its a huge relief to not have to find outside sources of funding to get access to the course materials that are required for our courses.

I also hear positive feedback about the content of these programs. Like the other students I speak to, I value having access to things like eTextbooks and digital courseware with new AI study tools, video tutorials, lab simulations, and quizzes. All of these help me to engage easily and at my own pace.

And Im not the only one who thinks these programs help with learning. Research has shown that programs like Inclusive Access directly impact student success rates and improved course completion rates. Students who were in Inclusive Access courses were over 15% more likely to complete their course than students who did not have Inclusive Access, in one research study. And female students with Inclusive Access materials were more than 4% more likely to get a C or better than students without the program. Black students are even 13% more likely to increase their success rates with Inclusive Access.

Of course, with the skyrocketing costs of college, one of the most important issues for students today is finances. I hear a lot of great feedback on these programs cost as well: because the current Department of Education rules require that publishers offer these course materials at below current market rates, they deliver real value. In fact, my school estimates that students can save upwards of 60% when they source course materials through our Inclusive Access program.

Independent statistics back up my schools stats: an independent research group called Student Monitor says that these programs have fueled a decline of 41% in spending in the category over the past decade. Another group that looks at campus spending, Student Watch, estimates the savings to be even greater, reporting a 57% decline in spending over the past ten years that is attributable in large part to these programs.

When I started my courses in business management, one of the first things I was taught was that a good business leader trusts the facts and listens to feedback from their customers.

I am hoping that the Department of Education follows those same guidelines: its a fact that these course material programs deliver value, the statistics show substantial savings, and the students I talk to recognize the value of Inclusive Access.

The Department of Education also seems to be thinking about modifying the rules for Inclusive Access so that students could know more about how the process around these programs works. I am all for greater transparency, and I think that kind of rule change would be reasonable.

Its unclear to me why, exactly, the Department of Education would eliminate Inclusive Access as a choice for students and their teachers. But I firmly believe that these programs ought to be protected and preserved at the University of Arizona, and at other schools across the country.
A new establishment that plans to pair fine wine, classic cocktails, good food and eclectic music is taking shape in a small space near the intersection of 15th Street and Peoria Avenue.

Called Lofi (pronounced low fie), it is scheduled to open by the end of March at 1303 E. 15th St., the former site of Prairie Fire Pie.

Lofi is the first concept of Pastis Hospitality LLC, a new entity under the umbrella of the Tulsa-based GB Provisions, whose other ventures include Vintage Wine Bar, The Saturn Room and Topeca Coffee Roasters.

The menu will feature pizzas made with a sourdough crust, house-made charcuterie and other items that pair well with wine and cocktails, said chef Trevor Tack.

The plan is for this place to be a bit more drinks-forward, but we are planning on serving a lot of food, he said. In that way, its going to be a bit like Hodges Bend.

GB Provisions also owned Hodges Bend, the coffee and cocktail bar that helped spearhead the development of the East Village district when it opened in 2013, and Lowood Modern Woodfire, which was named the Tulsa Worlds Best New Restaurant in 2019.

Both businesses were destroyed in late 2023 when a fire broke out in the 100-year-old building that housed the restaurants as well as upstairs apartments.

In the aftermath of the fire, there was some speculation about reviving the two concepts in new locations. In a Tulsa World interview last year, Tack said the group was considering a lot of things we thought we might try in the long run. Theyve just all of a sudden got moved to the front of the line.

One of those things is Lofi, which Tack said was an idea the group began thinking about realizing long before the fire.

We came across this place that was a wine bar with a DJ booth, and we kind of fell in love with the general concept, Tack said. Music is another passion we all share, and we were wanting music to be an integral part of this place.

GB Provisions also purchased the Palace Cafe space, 1301 E. 15th St. The two restaurants, which were owned and operated by chef James Shrader, closed in December.

Were wanting to get Lofi up and running before we start really working on the other space, said Noah Bush, who with John Chip Gaberino are the proprietors of GB Provisions. Were thinking it should be six to eight months.

The other space will be a take on the modern French brasserie and will be called Ava June, named in honor of Bushs grandmother.

Renderings for Lofi show the area behind the bar containing a pair of turntables, with specially angled mirrors so guests can observe the spinning discs, as well as shelves to house scores of record albums.

A DJ booth, which will be fitted out with all the necessary equipment, is being constructed next to the bar.

We arent doing a lot of major renovations, Bush said. The place was in very good shape, so were focusing more on aesthetic changes.

Its about getting all the little details right that maybe arent that obvious to the guests but which really make for a good experience, he said. Its things like the lighting, the way the space looks and feels. And sound is a big part of that. You dont want it to be too tinny or too loud and echo-y to the point where you cant have a conversation.

The whole point is to create a place where people feel comfortable, where they can kind of detach from their day and enjoy some good food and good drinks, Bush said.

Quinn Hulsey, a former mixologist at Hodges Bend, is overseeing the drinks program for Lofi.

The idea is for this to be more wine-forward, he said. Were also going to streamline the cocktail menu, just to make it a little easier for the customers to order and to give our bartenders more time to interact with our guests. But we will have the things we need to do a few things that show off our mixology skills.

Hulsey added that Lofi will also feature some mocktails, for those wanting to avoid alcohol.

Issa Morrow, who was part of the team at Lowood, will be the sous chef at Lofi. Its her sourdough starter that will be the source of the dough for the restaurants pizza crusts.
Two Oklahoma badmen serving long terms may be the only prisoners to ever escape from escape-proof Alcatraz Prison -- if they made it out.

That's a big if.

Federal prison officials and the FBI believed that Theodore Cole, 27, of Stroud and Ralph Roe, 33, of Duncan died before reaching the mainland from the fog-shrouded island prison in San Francisco Bay on Dec. 16, 1937. No bodies were ever found, but the sea was rough and could have washed their remains away.

"I doubt if even the most powerful swimmer could have survived those currents," Warden James Johnston said. "And neither of the prisoners was physically powerful."

In spite of official belief that the two died trying to swim from the prison, reports of sightings of the two came from California, Peru, Chile, Kansas, Tulsa and other places for several years. But those reports didn't change the officials' minds.

A former prisoner told authorities that Cole had told him his outside contacts would arrange to have a boat pick him up in the bay on a foggy day and that he would make the break just after the noon check.

The Alcatraz warden declined comment on that report but pointed out that "every prisoner in Alcatraz thinks of escape, and it's no news that Cole had such plans."

Among the sightings claimed was one in 1939 when a suspect in the slaying of a Kansas undersheriff told officers that he had played poker with Cole and Roe less than a week earlier.

Several Tulsans, including a drug store clerk, told police in 1940 that they had seen the two here. Two hitchhikers told police they had been given a ride by a man who boasted of escaping from Alcatraz. He told the hitchhikers that his companion was following in another car and the two were looking for a bank to rob in a small town near Tulsa.

Cole, who had once been sentenced to death by a Tulsa judge, was serving a 50-year term for kidnapping a Cushing man, and Roe was serving 144 years for robbing a Sulphur bank. Both had been transferred to Alcatraz from Leavenworth, Kan., on Oct. 3, 1936.

Cole had been a criminal since he was 11. He had shot an officer in Hot Springs, Ark., when he was 14. Roe's criminal career started when he was 19.

A Tulsa judge sentenced Cole, then 17, to die in the electric chair when he pleaded guilty in 1929 to a $415 robbery of a bottling plant. Within two months, Judge Saul Yeager had received about 3,000 letters from around the country condemning him for such a sentence.

"The boy is a potential killer and deserves such a sentence," Yeager said. But Gov. William J. Holloway heard from several women's organizations and was instrumental in getting the term reduced to 15 years.

Cole killed his prison cellmate at the state penitentiary in McAlester a few months later but was acquitted on a self-defense claim.

He also had made other escape attempts and was critically wounded by a gunshot when he tried to break out of the prison yard at McAlester. Less than two months after his recovery and return to the prison, he escaped by concealing himself in a bag of outgoing laundry.

While free, he committed several robberies and kidnapped a Cushing man and forced the man to drive him to Illinois. After his capture, he was held in the Oklahoma County jail where he tried to escape by hiding in the garbage.

That escape might have been successful if he hadn't sneezed while in the garbage can, giving officers a tip something was up.

Cole and Roe were among 34 prisoners who attempted to escape from Alcatraz during its 29 years as a federal prison. Twenty-three were captured, six were shot during their break attempt and two drowned.

Only the fate of Cole and Roe among those who tried to escape is unknown. They are listed officially as missing and presumed dead, according to the Bureau of Prisons Web site.

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

A man who is alleged to have pointed a laser at a Tulsa police helicopter can be prosecuted on a felony charge, despite a state law that makes it a misdemeanor crime, a split state appellate court ruled Thursday.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in a 3-2 ruling reversed a lower court decision that found that prosecutors had presented insufficient evidence to charge William Edward Johnson Jr. with felony assault with a deadly weapon.

The trial court concluded that the evidence failed to demonstrate intent to do bodily harm, according to the ruling, authored by Judge David Lewis. Viewed in the light of controlling law, we respectfully find this conclusion is contrary to the logic and effect of the evidence.

(Johnson) repeatedly and deliberately struck a police helicopter in flight with the beam of a laser, dangerously illuminating the cockpit at least once with a starburst that posed a threat of temporary or permanent vision loss or impairment.

Lewis was joined in the opinion by Vice Presiding Judge William Musseman and Judge Robert Hudson.

Defendant never intended to hurt anyone

The Tulsa County Public Defenders Office, which is representing Johnson, issued a statement in response to a request for comment from the Tulsa World.

We respectfully disagree with the split (3-2) majority decision from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in Mr. Johnsons case, said Tulsa County Assistant Public Defender Kayla Cannon. We believe that the lower court made the right decision in sustaining Mr. Johnsons Motion to Quash based on Insufficient Evidence.

We believe, along with the lower court, that the State failed to prove that Mr. Johnson intended to cause bodily harm in this case, which the State is required to do when it charges an individual with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. Mr. Johnson never intended to hurt anyone.

At its core, as the law was written by our Legislature, we believe that this should be a misdemeanor offense under the Laser Safety Act, which specifically prohibits individuals from pointing a laser at a police officer and/or an aircraft and is punishable by a fine only.

Two appeals court judges agreed with the Public Defenders Office and lower court judge.

Presiding Judge Scott Rowland and Judge Gary Lumpkin filed separate dissenting opinions that challenged the majoritys view.

Rowland noted that a 1992 Oklahoma law, The Laser Safety Act, made it a misdemeanor to point a laser at law enforcement aircraft.

Even if such acts could be charged as a felony assault with a dangerous weapon, Rowland said there is insufficient evidence in this case of intent to harm, making the felony charge inapplicable.

I simply cannot agree with the majority that projecting the laser several times in the span of a few minutes, and then covering up the crime by discarding the laser device, is sufficient evidence of intent to harm to satisfy the requirements of assault with a deadly weapon.

Dissent points out court creates new felony crime

This marks the second time in about 10 months that the appeals court has ruled for Tulsa County prosecutors in the 2021 case.

In March 2022, Tulsa County District Judge Tracy Priddy remanded the case for misdemeanor charges after dismissing the felony charges against Johnson.

The Court of Criminal Appeals, in a May 4, 2023, 3-2 ruling, found that nothing prohibits the prosecutor from choosing which charge to pursue in this case.

That ruling prompted Rowland, in another dissent, to write: Today the State of Oklahoma gains a new felony offense of pointing a laser device at an aircraft. No bill creating such an offense was ever introduced or debated by the Legislature, nor was it ever considered by the Governor.

Instead, this new felony crime was enacted entirely from an unpublished decision of this Court.

Police arrested Johnson on June 7, 2021, after officers reported that a police helicopter had been hit eight times with a laser pointer while flying about 700 feet above the ground.

During one of the strikes, the pilot was forced to use a camera feed to safely operate the aircraft, according to court records filed in the case.

Officers in the helicopter guided officers on the ground to where the laser was emitted.

After being detained, Johnson told officers he initially thought the laser was a pen and that when he pressed the button he accidentally pointed it once at the helicopter, according to court records. Officers found a disassembled laser pointer near Johnson, which they were able to reassemble and make operational.

Cannon said there are no current plans to appeal the decision further.



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Kirsten Lang Tulsa World Meteorologist Follow Kirsten Lang 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

Thursday is Leap Day  a rare day in itself on the calendar. So why not throw a little unusual weather event to go with it?

By Thursday evening precipitation started moving into Tulsa. Temperatures at the surface were at a mild 50 degrees  far from that freezing mark  but reports of sleet were coming in from surrounding areas.

For sleet to form it typically starts as snow high in the atmosphere just as it falls from the cloud. It then hits a pocket of warm air, which causes it to melt into a liquid form  rain  before then hitting another cold pocket of subfreezing air which causes it to freeze again.

But as I mentioned, temperatures are well above freezing at the surface, so what is going on with this particular situation?

It has to do with a process called evaporative cooling.

Very dry air aloft is causing evaporation and cooling of the air, said Steve Piltz, meteorologist with the Tulsa National Weather Service.

In short, the air was so dry near the surface that it forced the surrounding air to cool to just around that freezing mark.

According to Piltz, the rain started falling into that cooled air from above.

The result was a deep enough layer just above the ground to freeze some rain drops into sleet form, Piltz said.

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

Legislation opposed by a coalition of such disparate partners as the AARP, Americans for Prosperity and the Glass Packaging Institute passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Thursday with a promise that it will give customers more say in future utility rate decisions.

House Bill 4097, by Rep. Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, deals with the building, ownership and operation of 300-kilovolt electric transmission systems  the big highlines that carry electricity from generation to distribution points.

In a nutshell, it would result in the states three investor-owned utilities owning and operating any transmission lines built in the future.

Some say thats good for ratepayers. Some say its bad.

I never operated from the perspective of Company X, Company Y or Company Z, Caldwell told the House. Ive always operated from the (perspective) of ratepayers.

In this case, Companies X, Y and Z are OG&E, PSO and Liberty Utilities, which provides electricity to some northeastern Oklahoma communities. HB 4097 opponents say those three are precisely the reason the bill even exists.

This bill  further entrenches legacy utilities monopolistic control, said Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City.

HB 4097, said Dollens, means more money for (utility) shareholders and less money for ratepayers.

A central issue is whether HB 4097 would provide existing utilities a right of first refusal, or ROFR, on new transmission projects. Caldwell says it would not, since it would provide for an open bidding process that he believes will pass judicial tests that ruled out similar legislation in other states.

Opponents said HB 4097 would provide a right of first refusal under another name and is anti-competitive.

Although only six pages long, HB 4097 prompted much head-scratching at the often obscure complexities of utility governance and ratemaking. After two hours of discussion and debate, the bill was sent to the Senate by a vote of 65-29.

HB 4097 seeks to ensure that the investor-owned utilities ultimately own most electric transmission lines, regardless of who builds them, and bring the lines under Oklahoma Corporation Commission regulation.

Transmission rate regulation is complicated. It generally is considered interstate commerce and subject to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but the Corporation Commission can also be involved.

Caldwell maintained that giving the Corporation Commission more authority over transmission would allow for more input from intervenors  that is, an opportunity for the public to object to rate hike requests.

If the public is going to grant a monopoly, it should have oversight of it, he said.

Opponents said that is a smokescreen.

House Bill 4097 will lead to bad outcomes for all ratepayers, regardless of age, said AARP Oklahomas Joy McGill. The framework of the bill is anti-competitive in nature.

Caldwell contends that present law is anti-competitive because only a handful of companies, including the utilities, can compete for transmission line jobs because the federal government requires bidders to show they can build and operate the lines for the life of the system  typically 50 years.

His bill allows for companies not connected to Oklahomas three investor-owned utilities to bid on new lines, but only to construct them. Ownership would pass to the incumbent utilities upon completion.

Caldwell argued that this would lower construction costs on the front end and therefore transmission costs component in overall rate structures. Opponents argued that the inability to benefit from operation of the lines will actually drive potential builders away.

McGill acknowledged that Oklahoma needs more electric transmission capacity but said, We dont think this is what we need to see that growth.

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

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has asked a federal judge to dismiss tribal charges pending against an Okmulgee County jailer involved in a December scuffle with Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police.

Drummond claims in his petition, filed Wednesday in Muskogee federal court, that the Muscogee Nation exceeded its legal authority when it charged Matthew Joseph Douglas in tribal court with felony battery involving law enforcement.

In his petition, Drummond asks a federal judge to dismiss the tribal charges against Douglas and seeks injunctive relief against continued prosecution.

By filing charges against (Douglas), the tribe asserts authority that Congress has not granted, Drummond wrote in the petition.

The Muscogee Nation on Dec. 20 filed one felony count against Douglas in tribal court, according to the petition.

The charge stems from a Dec. 18 physical confrontation between Douglas and Lighthorse Police at the Okmulgee County jail when tribal police tried to book a man on state crimes.

Okmulgee County jail staff initially blocked Lighthorse Police from booking the non-tribal citizen into the jail.

Okmulgee County does not have a cross-deputization agreement with Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Police.

Body-worn camera footage from a Lighthorse officer released afterward shows Douglas refusing to accept the detainee, claiming that it was against the jails policy to accept prisoners from Lighthorse police.

But Muscogee Nation officials said the arrest was made under a cross-deputization agreement with the Grand River Dam Authority, which Muscogee Nation Attorney General Geri Wisner noted has law enforcement authority in counties that include Okmulgee County.

At some point, a physical altercation between Douglas and Lighthorse Deputy Chief Dennis Northcross ensued in an adjoining room, video shows. As other Lighthorse officers tried to enter the room, a brief shoving match ensued at the door.

Wisner characterized Douglas actions during a subsequent press conference as assault on a tribal officer.

The nation obtained a tribal warrant for Douglass arrest, citing the tribes authority to charge him under a 2022 amendment to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.

Drummond, in his petition, agrees that the 2022 amendment authorized tribes to prosecute non-tribal members for assaults on tribal justice personnel.

But Drummond claims that the law applies only when assaults are connected to certain covered crimes defined by federal statute. In Douglas case, the tribal officer was attempting to book an arrestee on state narcotics charges.

Congress does not include narcotics charges or violation of any state laws as covered crimes, Drummond wrote in the petition.

Because the arrestee was not charged with, or convicted of, a covered crime, the MCN (Muscogee Creek Nation) has no jurisdiction to charge Douglas, Drummond wrote.

The Muscogee Nations view differs from Drummonds view of the federal law.

The nation issued the following statement when asked to comment on Drummonds petition:

Muscogee (Creek) Nation is aware that Attorney General Drummonds office has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the authority of the Nation to file criminal charges in its own court and under its own laws against a non-Indian defendant for acts occurring within the Muscogee Reservation, even though Congress has already affirmed the authority of Tribal nations to exercise this authority in certain situations.

The Nation has yet to be served with the petition, but the Nation will respond appropriately when the time comes.

It is unfortunate that AG Drummond will spend the States resources challenging the authority of the Nation to prosecute crimes in its own Reservation when that defendant has his own attorney and is free to make those challenges for himself in court.

The arrestee was eventually booked into the jail.



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Ginnie Graham Tulsa World Editorials Editor Follow Ginnie Graham 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

Dont be fooled by a sex education bill parading as a parental choice option.

It would damage progress made in reducing teen births and educating on sexual assault prevention. It also takes a swipe at LGBTQ+ people and relationships.

House Bill 3120, which recently passed the House General Government Committee 4-3, curiously did not go through the education committees. It can be brought to a floor vote at any time.

Lawmakers would be wise to ignore it. Its an overreach into local control that would put into law specific values regarding sex and sexual identity that not all Oklahomans share.

The bills author, Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, tries to sell it by focusing only on the parental opt-in to sex education programs, rather than the current opt-out. But it goes significantly further with major consequences to schools.

It would eliminate using health departments in sex education programs and take out the teaching of sexual consent, which is defined in the criminal code.

In the committee discussion, Williams repeatedly said the purpose was to get more parents involved in their childrens education. He said parents sometimes miss school notes and notifications.

The real goal is to put permission and responsibility in the hands of parents and guardians, he said.

This doesnt explain how parents not keeping up with their kids will all of a sudden be paying attention.

The safety of my children regarding sexual assault and sexually transmitted infections depends on the education their peers receive. All youths need to have the same knowledge base when making these intimate decisions.

Public health and safety cannot be left only to parents who are responsible or comfortable enough to talk about sex with their kids.

Too many Oklahoma children are in homes full of chaos and trauma. Those kids deserve a complete education, too, and benefit from seeing how healthy relationships look.

Sex education programs are not available in all districts, and many dont use evidence-based programs approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats a bigger problem.

Evidence-based programs teach youths how to advocate for themselves in relationships and to protect against disease.

Nearly 12% of Oklahoma high school students reported having been physically forced to have sexual intercourse, on the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In addition, 13% reported having experienced other types of sexual violence; 8.5% said they have experienced sexual dating violence and 8% physical dating violence.

Not surprisingly, girls experienced those traumas at twice the rate of boys.

Consent has a legal definition. Good bet many parents dont know the law.

As teens grow into young adults, this ignorance can lead to a minimum of misunderstandings or a maximum of assault.

About 40% of college students say nonverbal actions like nodding, taking off clothing or getting a condom are enough for consent. Another 40% say those dont give a green light, according to a 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation-Washington Post survey.

Williams, who is 74, told an anecdote about talking to his grandchildren about sex.

My grandson said that when you go out, girls expect you to do things. When I was a kid, girls didnt expect you to do things. They were fighting you off, he said.

That sounds like a pretty good argument to keep teaching consent.

Williams said he would reconsider allowing sexual consent to be taught, but his bill has not been changed yet. There are many other problems in the proposal.

A red flag is in the prohibition on using health departments to teach sex education programs. For decades, health departments have invested in developing these programs with trained educators. They are the experts.

Instead, HB 3120 would allow only district certified teachers to teach the programs. Often, they dont want to do this and dont have the depth of knowledge that health departments offer.

The bill would micro-manage what schools can teach. A few of the proposals details:

Do teach that sexual identity and sexual expression is within the binary concept of male and female.

Do emphasize the importance of monogamous, heterosexual relationships within the context of marriage.

Do emphasize the risks or potential side effects of contraceptives other than abstinence.

Dont encourage students to seek help from other than parents or guardians.Dont advocate any form of sexual activity that deviates from the understanding of sexual norms within a traditional family structure.

Dont endorse or promote non-heterosexual orientations as preferable to heterosexual orientations.Dont teach about gender identity and gender expression outside the binary concept of male and female.

Williams denied that the proposal contains valued-base language. Hes wrong, as Rep. Jared Deck, D-Norman, argued.

At what point in time are local communities going to get to make decisions for themselves? This is a wide change in what is being taught in schools based on social mores, whether you believe that or not, Deck said. Oklahoma has done a lot of work to bring down the teen pregnancy rate, led by efforts in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

Between 1996 and 2020, Oklahoma teen births dropped from 16% of all births to 6.8%. The state is still No. 4 in the nation, as of 2021. Thats because all other states were quicker to offer evidence-based sex education programs in schools and greater access to contraception.

Tulsa and Oklahoma City schools started using CDC-approved sex education curriculum about 2010. In five years (2013-2018), teen births fell by 35% in Tulsa County. Abortions among Oklahoma teens fell 24% between 2013 and 2019.

Williams says he doesnt see a direct correlation between sex education programs and the drop in teen births, saying it could be circumstances.

On the flip side, sexually transmitted infections are among the worst in the nation. Oklahoma is one of seven states with the highest rural burden of HIV.

Oklahoma ranks fourth for primary and secondary syphilis cases per 100,000 residents. The state ranks No. 5 in congenital syphilis cases, No. 13 for gonorrhea infections and No. 20 in chlamydia.

Deck said: Were seeing trends in our older populations who didnt get sex education with skyrocketing rates. How will (HB 3120) affect us long term?

After asking for the definition of STIs, Williams put blame on those who contract the infections.

A lot can be attributed to drugs and alcohol and lack of responsibility and lifestyle choices, he said. That didnt have anything to do with education. They knew they were taking chances when they did it and choose to do it anyway, and it got out of hand.

Whats out of hand are the morality police at the Capitol. Lawmakers need to move forward, not backward, when it comes to sex education.

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The home and kitchen segment has consistently ranked among the top-selling categories for Vietnamese selling partners on Amazon over the past three years, according to the e-commerce giant.

The furniture and home decor category witnessed remarkable growth from 2020 to 2022, according to Amazon.

Within this category, a significant portion is represented by expansive wooden furniture items, including chairs, bed frames, shelves, indoor and outdoor wooden flooring, and various other products.

This sector is characterized by the prevalence of various major manufacturers.

Newly established Vietnamese brands, operating on a smaller scale with limited financial resources, encounter difficulties in competing not just with other domestic brands in the U.S., where the total e-commerce value for furniture and home decor reached US$145.56 billion in 2022, but also contend with foreign suppliers from nations like China and Mexico.

These global competitors often possess cost and transportation advantages, presenting additional challenges for the smaller Vietnamese brands.

Many Vietnamese companies have thus tried their best to compete and thrive on the e-commerce platform.

"Amidst a sea of opportunities, one can either be overwhelmed and submerged, or carve out a unique path," said Trung Bui, founder of TIDITA, a Vietnamese wooden kitchenware company in Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2017, during the initial stages of the business, Trung faced challenges due to a constrained budget and a mismatch between product offerings and market demand, resulting in losses and stagnation.

Trung Bui, founder of TIDITA, a Vietnamese wooden kitchenware company in Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, gestures while discussing business with his staff.

Nevertheless, through the use of Amazon tools to gain a deeper understanding of the market and customer needs, Trung's business has gradually overcome these obstacles and achieved success, logging over threefold growth in sales during the past few years.

By harnessing abundant local raw materials and a skilled workforce, we, along with other Vietnamese businesses, possess the capability to compete on par with major global suppliers through our reputable brands and high-quality products, Trung said.

In my observations, many Vietnamese entrepreneurs demonstrate a flexible mindset, understanding their capabilities and market appetite, allowing them to adeptly identify and address market gaps.

Trung recognized the importance of identifying a smaller, underexplored product niche with growth potential, leveraging Vietnam's manufacturing capabilities.

Utilizing Amazon's Product Opportunity Explorer, he analyzed genuine customer demand and pinpointed the upward trend of vintage-style home decoration products in recent years.

In light of these findings, he opted to specialize in kitchen household items with 'home decor' applicability, making an international debut on Amazon.

His business has not only increased sales but also bolstered competitiveness with high-quality products meeting international preferences.

This solidifies the position of Vietnamese wooden products globally, enhancing the recognition of the Vietnamese brand.

The synergy of Vietnam's manufacturing prowess, global consumer needs, and the firm's brand building effort offers valuable insights for Vietnamese sellers in navigating cross-border e-commerce successfully.

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DHAKA -- A massive fire that raced through a six-storey building overnight in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka has killed at least 43 people and injured dozens, the country's health minister said.

The fire originated in a popular biryani restaurant in Dhaka's Bailey Road late on Thursday and quickly spread to other floors, fire service officials said.

At least 43 people have died and 22 others are being treated at hospitals with burn wounds, Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters on early on Friday after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

"All 22 people admitted with severe burns are in critical condition," Sen added.

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze, which was under control after two hours of effort by 13 firefighting units, fire service officials said.

Survivor Mohammad Altaf, speaking to reporters, recounted narrowly escaping the blaze through a broken window. Two of his coworkers perished, he said.

"When the fire started in the front and broke the glass, our cashier and servicemen made get everyone out. But both of them died later. I went to the kitchen, broke a window and jumped to save myself," Altaf said.

Firefighters operate after a fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 29, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Relatives of the fire victims gathered at the hospital in the early hours of Friday to receive the bodies of their loved ones, while some were seen grieving outside the emergency department.

Many people were dining with family members including children in the building that houses mostly restaurants along with several clothing and mobile phone shops. Most of the people who perished died from suffocation and some died as they jumped off the building, doctors said.

Firefighters used cranes to rescue people from the charred building, fire service officials said.

Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Director Brigadier General Main Uddin said the fire could have originated from a gas leak or stove.

"It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases," he told reporters.

A five-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident.

Firefighters rescue people from the roof after a fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 29, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Volunteers carry a water pipe as firefighters spray water to douse the fire after a fire that broke out in a multi-storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 29, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Intense scrutiny of Bangladesh and the major international clothing retailers that manufacture in the country has helped prevent disasters in the garment sector since a fire in 2012 and a building collapse in 2013 together killed more than 1,200 workers.

But in other industries, mainly catering to Bangladesh's booming domestic economy and without an equal emphasis on safety, hundreds of people have died in fires in recent years.

Fires are common in densely populated Dhaka, which has experienced a boom in new buildings, often constructed without adequate safety measures. Fires and explosions have occurred due to faulty gas cylinders, air conditioners and poor electrical wiring.

Volunteers hold a water pipe after a fire broke out in a multi-storey building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 29, 2024. Photo: Reuters

In July 2021, at least 54 people were killed including many children at a food processing factory outside Dhaka.

A fire that engulfed a centuries-old area of Dhaka killed at least 70 people in February 2019.
What you need to know today in Vietnam:

Politics

-- Tu Chinh Reef, internationally known as Vanguard Bank, is part of Vietnam's continental shelf and the country has been consistently protecting its legitimate rights and interests at sea, Pham Thu Hang, spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on Thursday, in response to requests for comment on China's coast guard ships operating around the reef.

Society

-- Authorities in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam approved on Thursday a scheme to build infrastructure for conserving red-crowned cranes at a cost of VND11.6 billion (US$470,588). All facilities, including cages, will have been built by 2025.

-- Chinese-made C919 and ARJ21 aircraft will be on display at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday.

-- Police in Ho Chi Minh City booked about 16,000 instances of drivers violating regulations on blood alcohol content last month, according to statistics unveiled on Thursday.

Business

-- Japanese visitors to Vietnam and the Japanese community in the country will be entitled to discounts when using services at over 70 locations in the ecosystem of Saigontourist Group from March 1 to December 31.

-- Vietnam earned about $9.84 billion worth of agricultural, forest, and aquatic product exports in January-February, up 50 percent year on year, Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, told reporters on Thursday.

Lifestyle

-- The 9th Vietnam-Japan Festival will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from March 9 to 10, as part of the efforts tighten the friendship between the two countries, Vietnamplus cited Tran Phuoc Anh, director of the municipal Department of External Relations, as saying on Thursday.

World News

-- A massive fire raced through a six-storey building in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka late on Thursday, killing at least 43 people and injuring dozens, Reuters reported the country's health minister as saying.

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Hanoi strongly objects to any actions that violate its sovereignty over Tu Chinh Reef, internationally known as Vanguard Bank, as it is part of the Vietnamese continental shelf in the East Vietnam Sea, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Thursday.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang was speaking in response to reporters questions about Vietnams reaction to China sending a coast guard vessel to the area recently.

Tu Chinh is part of the Vietnamese continental shelf and is established in full accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS] 1982, Hang stressed.

The spokesperson affirmed that Vietnam maintains a consistent stance on Tu Chinh, which has been reiterated on multiple occasions.

Vietnam resolutely opposes any acts violating its sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction over its waters as established in full conformity with international law, especially the UNCLOS 1982, she stated.

The diplomat emphasized that Vietnam is committed to safeguarding its legal and legitimate rights and interests at sea through peaceful means, in adherence to international law.

According to news site Atlas News, the China Coast Guards Zhaotou-class Patrol Cutter, the Haijing-5901, entered Vietnams exclusive economic zone to conduct patrols near Vanguard Bank on February 21.

The ship left after sailing around the area for a few hours.

The vessel, 165 meters long, is armed with a H/PJ-26 76mm naval gun, many autocannons and anti-aircraft heavy machine guns, two medium-utility helicopters or unmanned vehicles, and a large helipad, the site said.

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Police in Tien Giang Province, southern Vietnam on Friday detained a man who broke into a local kindergarten and held two kids at knifepoint the same day.

The man came to Tuoi Than Tien Kindergarten in My Tho City, Tien Giang Province at about 7:00 am.

He showed unusual signs indicating a mental health problem.

Within the kindergarten premises, he held one child in his arm while wielding a knife against another, steadfastly maintaining his position in a classroom.

The kindergarten staff, alarmed by the situation, quickly evacuated some children from the classroom and promptly reported the incident to local police.

Local police officers block the kindergarten.

After being informed of the case, dozens of police officers rushed to the kindergarten to rescue the children.

Colonel Nguyen Van Nhut, director of the Tien Giang police agency, and vice-chairman of the provincial administration Nguyen Thanh Dieu also reached the scene at over 8:00 am.

By 9:00 am the same day, police officers had arrested the man and saved the two kids.

The man was later identified as N.B.Q., a 37-year-old resident in Soc Trang Province, also in southern Vietnam, according to Le Thi Be Phuong, vice-chairwoman of the Peoples Committee of My Tho City.

Q. was working in Ho Chi Minh City and has a child with a woman in My Tho.

Vice-chairman of the Tien Giang administration Nguyen Thanh Dieu (in a white shirt) and Colonel Nguyen Van Nhut, director of the provincial Department of Public Security, calm down a child after the case. Photo: Hoai Thuong / Tuoi Tre

He returned to My Tho and had an argument with the woman on Thursday night. Q. later took his child to a nearby boarding house.

On Friday morning, he caused a disturbance at the boarding house and later took his child to Tuoi Than Tien Kindergarten, even though the child is not enrolled at the preschool.

Q. used the knife to threaten two of the children there.

Phuong affirmed that the children were absolutely safe. While one of them sustained a minor injury to the neck, local medical personnel promptly administered the necessary care.

Some parents later rushed to the kindergarten to pick their children up.

Some parents rush to the kindergarten to pick their children up.

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BBC Studios, the BBCs commercial content studio and media & streaming business, has taken full ownership of BritBox International, acquiring ITVs 50% share for 255 million (A$495m).

Launched jointly by BBC Studios and ITV in 2017, BritBox International is the leading British specialist streaming service, delivering high quality British scripted content, the service has surpassed 3.75 million subscribers. It is is available in eight countries -USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden- with hits include Archie, Death in Paradise, Father Brown, Line of Duty, Sherwood and Shetland.

Tom Fussell, BBC Studios CEO said: This is an important acquisition for us. We are taking full ownership of a successful, growing service we know well and that fits with our stated ambition to double the size of our business. Britbox International has British content at its heart and it generates and satisfies demand for British shows outside the UK. We will continue to make significant investments in the future to deliver long term value to the BBC.

Carolyn McCall, ITV CEO said: The sale of 50% of BritBox International means ITV is focused on its core strategic goals of continuing to build on ITVXs success and growing ITV Studios.

BritBox International will become part of BBC Studios Global Media and Streaming division.

Rebecca Glashow, BBC Studios Global Media & Streaming CEO said: I am thrilled to further our involvement in BritBox International  its a profitable business and a winning proposition. We see tremendous opportunity to grow this unique service and take it to even greater heights for its subscribers, with the full power of the BBC behind it.

Following BritBox Internationals move into BBC Studios Global Media & Streaming division, its global CEO Reemah Sakaan is stepping down.

As part of the transaction, BBC Studios has also extended its licensing agreements for ITV content.
As tipped, SBS has now formally confirmed next Wednesday is the day it will reveal Australias entry to the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden.

SBS Australias social platforms will also offer for an extra surprise teaser on Monday 4 March.

Last year, beloved Perth synth-metal band Voyager placed ninth in the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with their song Promise. This year, the avid Eurovision fans  and now national treasures  are seated, ready to see who will represent the country in only a matter of months.

In a historic win, Swedens Loreen took out the 2023 title with her song Tattoo. This year marks the seventh time Sweden will host Eurovision after previously hosting three times in Stockholm (1975, 2000, 2016), twice in Malmo (1992, 2013) and once in Gothenburg (1985). It will also be 50 years since ABBA won the contest with their song Waterloo, setting them on course for global success.

Eurovision Song Contest is held from Tuesday 7 May  Saturday 11 May 2024 (CEST).

Stay tuned to the SBS Eurovision website for updates: sbs.com.au/Eurovision and to sbs_australia (Instagram) and SBS Eurovision (Facebook)

#SBSEurovision #Eurovision2024
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South Africa releases white paper on electric vehicles to facilitate economic growth

09:31, March 01, 2024 By Liu Chang, Madiketso Motaung ( People's Daily Online

The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition in South Africa recently released the "Electric Vehicles White Paper," signaling a pivotal moment in the country's automotive sector. This document acknowledges the global shift away from internal combustion engines (ICE) and the consequential risks to South Africa's automotive industry. To address these challenges, the paper proposes a strategic move towards manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs) and their components, leveraging existing infrastructure and resources.

The shift towards EV manufacturing aligns with South Africa's economic development goals by ensuring the long-term sustainability and growth of the automotive sector. The white paper recognizes this alignment and outlines opportunities and challenges in the transition to EVs. Moreover, proposed reforms in infrastructure, such as ports, energy, and railroads, not only support the EV transition but also contribute to the broader economic development of South Africa.

Beth Dealtry, the head of Policy & Regulatory Affairs at National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), highlighted the economic importance of the automotive industry to South Africa's GDP, exports, and employment. Asked about her opinions on how the proposed shift towards EV manufacturing aligns with the country's economic development goals and challenges, Dealtry said that the automotive industry has been the backbone of South African manufacturing for decades. Critically, it contributed 4.9 percent of GDP in 2022 and employed over 110,000 people directly. Component manufacturing, particularly, is a critical section of the industry, employing roughly 73 percent of the industrys total employees. The industry has also proven to be a critical export category for South Africa with more than half of South Africa produced vehicles being exported and similarly, a large volume of components. These statistics all illustrate the importance of the sector in terms of supporting the countrys economic development and growth.

Commenting on the white papers impact on the automobile market and Chinese electric vehicles, Yun Liu, executive deputy general manager of Chery Auto South Africa said that the release of the white paper on the automotive industry has stirred significant interest and speculation about its potential impact, particularly on the development of the country's automobile market and the entry of Chinese electric vehicles. This proactive step by the government is seen as a crucial move towards transforming the local automotive industry and promoting the adoption of new energy sources.

He said, For Chinese EV manufacturers eyeing the South African market, the release of the white paper provides a conducive environment for growth. It prompts these manufacturers to accelerate the preparation of new energy products tailored to the local market. The emphasis on local infrastructure development and consumer incentive measures in the second phase of the white paper is particularly encouraging for Chinese EV manufacturers looking to expand their presence in South Africa.

The white paper represents a significant step towards a cleaner, more sustainable, and competitive automotive market in South Africa. By addressing economic, environmental, and regulatory considerations, the paper sets a clear path for the country's transition to electric vehicles, ensuring a brighter and more sustainable future for the automotive industry.

Dealtry also noted some challenges. I think it has also reflected on many of the obstacles and challenges to South Africa's development which is important. For instance, some of the key interventions in the paper are port, energy and railroad reforms. Improving these vital infrastructure will not only support the EV transition, but also support growth within the wider automotive industry and South African economy at large, she said.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang)
Bill Wight looks on Feb. 24 at the well that was leaking high volumes of salt water on his land in Crane County. It took crews over a month to seal the well and stop the leak. Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune

IMPERIAL  Mounds of dirt towered over Bill Wight, who stared helplessly at the piles that had once been pasture for his cattle.

After a few moments, he turned his head and surveyed a vast pool of water that had spilled over his land after an abandoned well exploded in early December. The water that sprang from the forgotten hole drilled searching for oil or water contained so much salt that it scrubbed the life off the land. It decimated the soil.

A rancher who spent a decade tending to the sprawls of this West Texas ranch, Wight was suddenly a stranger in his own land.

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Nobody really knows what youre supposed to do about something like this, Wight said in January.

The massive pool of salt water on Wights ranch is the latest human-made disaster resulting from abandoned oil and water wells across the state. The incident here offers a reminder of the ambitious work that Texas faces mapping and securing thousands of wells left behind by oil and gas companies over a century of drilling across the state.

It also highlights an uneven approach to environmental cleanup by the Railroad Commission of Texas, critics say. The commission is tasked with regulating the states oil and gas sector. It has millions of dollars to plug orphan wells. However, the three-member elected body has fought with groundwater districts and landowners about who is responsible for plugging certain wells.

Complicating the effort are thousands of undocumented wells, like the one that erupted on Wights land. With no record of its existence, its difficult to determine who is responsible for securing the well.

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Despite there being no record of the well that erupted on Wights ranch, the commission paid $2.5 million to plug it and clean up the spill to ensure safety, a spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the commission is seeking to identify the person or company responsible for drilling it.

Left untreated, these wells threaten the regions groundwater supply and vegetation used to feed cattle.

Texas has plugged wells for decades, but the urgency has increased in recent years as orphaned wells in the Permian Basin began to leak salt water and, in some cases, hazardous liquids.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021, included a $4.7 billion nationwide injection to plug orphan wells on public and private lands. Texas received $25 million in 2022 and an additional $80 million in January. The commission operates a separate state plugging program for which it requested $63 million for 2024 and 2025. In fiscal 2023, Texas plugged 1,754 wells with state funds and 730 wells with federal funds.

Meanwhile, scientists and regulators are scrambling to determine the cause of the leaks, geysers and blowouts.

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If you can identify the problem earlier, it will be cost-saving, said Zhong Lu, a geophysicist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Commission touts swift response

Wight reported the blowout to the commission Dec. 7. Inspectors arrived later that day.

The first inspection report indicated that water covered 300 square feet and was a foot deep in some places. The next day, inspectors reported roughly 14,000 gallons were flowing out of the ground every hour, according to reports obtained by Inside Climate News and the Texas Tribune. The average American family of four consumes 12,000 gallons of water a month, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

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For the next month, commission staff visited daily and recorded the mounting costs of containing the water. Trucks began to haul it away. Water vacuumed up at the site was transported to saltwater disposal facilities and injected into the ground at a different site.

Inspection reports during January indicated there was ongoing difficulty in plugging the well. But at the commissions Jan. 30 meeting, a staff member made an unusual public presentation about their effort at Wights property and said the agency had the well plugged.

A pit built to collect the leaking water is seen Feb. 24 on Bill Wights land in Crane County. Crews contracted by the Railroad Commission of Texas would then further haul the collected water offsite. The Railroad Commission built similar pits in the surrounding area. Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune

Wight is content with the plugging job, particularly because he didnt have to pay for it, but he worries about more water seeping out in other parts of the ranch and region.

Im more concerned about the rest of the area, he said.

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Saltwater clusters in Permian

The commission has not always been so quick to act on abandoned wells, frustrating groundwater officials and landowners.

Ty Edwards, general manager of the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District, which serves the residents of Pecos County, said the response to the blowout on Wights land proves that the commission can plug wells it previously ignored. The groundwater district has documented leaking abandoned wells and taken legal action against the Railroad Commission to compel the agency to plug more wells in the district.

However, the commission has said it does not have jurisdiction over some of these wells because there is no record they ever produced oil. Under state law, landowners are responsible for plugging costs of water wells. There are no state programs to assist landowners in plugging water wells, though some groundwater districts can help with the costs.

Edwards said that in order to plug a well, the commission expects him to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that it produced oil or gas.

But theyll go plug a well with no documents at all in Crane County, he said. I dont understand how they can do that.

The commission said it relies on a prioritization system to determine what wells to plug first.

Ten miles southwest of Wights land, an abandoned well in Pecos County created a body of water now known as Lake Boehmer. It began to form about two decades ago and now is a half-mile wide.

Despite public protest, the commission said that because Lake Boehmer was formed by a water well, it was not the agencys responsibility.

Whether the wells were drilled for oil or water, they can threaten groundwater resources.

Bill Wight is pictured on his property in Crane County. He bought the property over a decade ago, hoping to leave a legacy for his family to inherit. Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune

The San Antonio Testing Laboratory tested samples of the water spewing on Wights ranch on behalf of the commission, finding it contained 0.05 milligrams per liter of benzene, a widely known carcinogen. Thats 10 times the EPAs maximum allowable level for drinking water. Benzene is a chemical found mostly in crude oil and gasoline.

Traces of benzene in Wights spill were the only chemical suggesting that the well could have been drilled for oil and gas, the commission said in a statement.

The commission said it has not tested the groundwater at Wights ranch for contamination.

If they actually check it with any basic analysis, were going to find some issues, Edwards said.

From 1993 to 2008, orphaned wells contaminated Texas groundwater 30 times, according to a 2011 report by the Ground Water Protection Council. A 2017 study in the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas found that leaking wells could create a pathway for groundwater contamination if the right conditions exist. In a 2023 paper, scientists said leaking wells in the Permian Basin were a growing threat to water sources and human health.

Were able to prevent (groundwater contamination), said David Alleman, of the Department of Energys Office of Resource Sustainability. And if its happening now, were able to stop that by plugging these wells.

Averting the next flood

The blowout on Wights land shows that if wells remain unattended, they can pose serious environmental risks. Finding and plugging them is a monumental task.

Undocumented wells are a byproduct of lax record keeping in the earliest days of the oil and gas industry, according to a federal report that documented 117,000 known orphaned wells.

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission estimated in a 2021 report that there are 310,000 to 800,000 undocumented orphaned wells nationwide. The Department of Energy is funding research on undocumented orphaned wells.

Hari Viswanathan, an Earth and environmental sciences fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, said they are locating orphaned wells using drones, methane sensors, magnetometers and other tools.

There is a lot of cutting-edge science, he said. What we have found is theres no silver bullet.

Cause of blowouts perplexes

Finding wells is only part of the puzzle. Researchers and local groundwater experts are piecing together what is causing wells that were abandoned decades ago to blow out or leak now.

High levels of salt water resulting from a leaking well have left a white tint on the soil on Bill Wights property in Crane County. Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune

Zhong Lu has studied sinkholes, earthquakes and subsidence  the gradual sinking of the ground  in the Permian Basin. Layers of limestone and salt formations make the surface vulnerable to the intensive drilling from the oil and gas industry, according to Lus research.

He and several colleagues used satellite data to measure how the ground moves in the Permian Basin. Then, they use drilling and injection records to determine what underground forces contribute to the movement on the surface.

In January 2022, a well break less than one mile west of the blowout on Wights land created a towering geyser. Chevron eventually plugged the well, which its predecessor Gulf Oil may have drilled decades earlier. The exact origin of the well, much like on Wights land, was unclear.

Lu is conducting ongoing research on that blowout along with SMUs Jinwoo Kim and Vamshi Karanam. Lu said their preliminary findings indicate the blowouts are likely related to saltwater injection wells used to dispose of water left over from fracking.

They wrote in a memo that water is possibly moving from injection wells through an underground channel toward the site of the 2022 blowout. Lu  who has not studied the event on Wights ranch  recommended more widespread monitoring of surface level changes in the Permian Basin.

Edwards, of the groundwater district, doesnt see an end in sight.

Youre going to find this is going to happen again within a few months, he said. Were going to have another well blowout. I hate to say that.

Its been roughly three months since tens of thousands of gallons of salt water furiously flooded Wights property. On a recent February day, he strolled past strewn steel pipes left over from the cleanup. The water had mostly dried out. The soil shimmered a white hue under the sun, resembling the white sands of New Mexico  scenes of the aftermath.

Around him, piles of dirt.

Wight was relieved to see the water gone and the trucking activity dying down as he returned to the quiet life of ranching. There will be pump jacks, trucks and disposal tanks on his land the way they have for as long as hes been in the ranch. The oil fields would always be a part of West Texas.

But he wont have to deal with them  not directly, at least. And he doesnt intend to. He isnt an activist or a politician. The thought of being any of the two repel him. Hes just a rancher, he said.

Bill Wight walks on Feb. 24 on the portion of his property in Crane County that was ravaged by rupturing salt water from an abandoned well. Crews contracted by the Railroad Commission of Texas took over a month to plug the well causing the leak. Sarah M. Vasquez for The Texas Tribune

Sometimes, the 76-year-old wonders whether there will even be a ranch to leave behind for his family. Hes concerned about the rest of the area, knowing water is still underground trying to find its way out, feeling powerless against its force.

For now, he just worries about the soil.
LUXEMBOURG, February 29, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SES S.A. has today published its 2023 Annual Report, following the announcement of the companys full year financial results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2023.

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SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless data connectivity services around the world. As a leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES owns and operates the worlds only geosynchronous orbit and medium earth orbit (GEO-MEO) constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance. By leveraging its vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES delivers high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the worlds leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SESs video network carries over 6,400 channels, reaching 363 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com.

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A French journalist arrested last week in Ethiopia on suspicion of conspiring to create chaos was released on Thursday, his employer, the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, said.

Antoine Galindo was "freed after a week in prison and was able to leave Addis Ababa to return to Paris," Paul Deutschmann, an editor-in-chief at the publication, told AFP.

Galindo, who heads the publication's East Africa section, had travelled to Ethiopia to cover the African Union summit earlier this month and was arrested on February 22.

Authorities accused the 36-year-old reporter of conspiring "to create chaos" in the country.

"I'm well and I'm in good health," he told AFP before leaving Addis Ababa.

"I've been treated well," he added, despite what he described as difficult conditions in detention.

Deutschmann said Galindo's release was a "real relief" to the entire staff of Africa Intelligence, who were eager to be reunited with him.

Galindo was arrested at a hotel in Addis Ababa while meeting an official from the opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) party.

He was brought before a judge on Saturday, who ordered his detention be extended until March 1.

Media watchdogs urged the government to release Galindo, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying Monday that his "unjust arrest highlights the atrocious environment for the press in general in Ethiopia".

(AFP)



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Ghana has joined Uganda and Kenya in passing harsh legislation that not only penalises LGBTQ+ people, but also those who defend them, with up to 10 years' imprisonment. Activists have vowed to challenge the bill, which still needs the president's signature to become law.

Ghana's parliament unanimously approved the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill on Wednesday.

According to the constitution, President Nana Akufo-Addo has now seven days, up to 6 March, to sign the legislation.

We will go to court to show how untenable this law is, said Audrey Gadzekpo, a professor of communications at the University of Ghana and chairperson of the non-profit Ghana Center for Democratic Development.

We are mobilising all our resources to fight it and show how it violates key fundamental human rights provisions in Ghanas 1992 constitution.

Advocacy criminalised

First proposed in 2021, the bill sets prison terms ranging from six months to three years for people who take part in LGBTQ+ sexual acts  which are already illegal in Ghana, though they rarely lead to prosecution.

The new legislation also criminalises people who advocate in favour of LGBTQ+ rights, who could be imprisoned for up to 10 years if their campaigns are aimed at minors.

This bill is very open to interpretation, says Gadzekpo. It is not clear at all. For example, what does that mean for the media in Ghana  will they not be able to talk about LGBTQ+ issues or invite people to discuss such matters?

Anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+ faces up to three years in prison.



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google canada

Canadas antitrust watchdog widened its investigation into whether Googles online advertising business is engaging in predatory pricing.

As part of the Competition Bureaus probe  which expands on an investigation that initially began in 2020  the law enforcement agency obtained an order from the Federal Court of Canada requiring Google to producing relevant records and written information, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Competition Bureau was issued its first court order related to their investigation into Googles conduct in the online-display-advertising market in October 2021, which sought to determine whether the Alphabet subsidiary was impeding the success of competitors and surging prices as a result, The Journal reported.

Canadas antitrust watchdog, the Competition Bureau, expanded on an investigation that initially began in 2020. On Thursday, the agency said it would look into whether Google is using predatory pricing and harming competition. dennizn  stock.adobe.com

The bureau said Thursday that its also now examining whether Google is using its market power across display-advertising-technology services to harm competition.

In addition, the Competition Bureau is looking into Googles potential predatory pricing, according to The Journal, which is a strategy often deployed to weaken rivals by establishing extremely low prices.

The investigation is ongoing and there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time, the bureau told The Journal.

A Google spokesperson argued in a statement to The Post that the advertising technology industry is highly competitive and constantly evolving, which has lowered costs and expanded choices for consumers.

We will continue to engage constructively with the Canadian Competition Bureau and demonstrate the benefits of our products to Canadian businesses and consumers, the spokesperson added. Canadian businesses choose to use our advertising products because theyre effective and reliable at helping them reach their customers and grow.

The Competition Bureau announced the expanded investigation on Thursday. X / @CompBureau

The Competition Bureaus investigation adds to the scrutiny Google is facing from other organizations around the globe.

On Wednesday, the Mountain View, Calif.-based tech behemoth was hit with a $2.3 billion lawsuit by media giant Axel Springer and 31 other publishers, alleging that they suffered heavy losses due to the search giants practices in digital advertising.

Story continues

The move by the group  which include publishers in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden  comes as Europes antitrust regulators crack down on Googles ad tech business.

The media companies involved have incurred losses due to a less competitive market, which is a direct result of Googles misconduct, the media firms counsel at Geradin Partners and Stek Lawyers said in a statement obtained by The Post.

Crucially, these funds could have been reinvested into strengthening the European media landscape.

They cited the French competition authoritys nearly $240 million fine against Google on its ad tech business in 2021 as well as the European Commissions charges last year to buttress their group claim.

Google said that it will oppose the claims vigorously, and called the lawsuit speculative and opportunistic.

The Sundar Pichai-led firm also similarly said last year that it disagreed with EU antitrust charges against its ad tech business where it is involved in both the buy-side as well as the sell-side of the ad-tech business.

The European Union  which has implemented tougher regulations on Big Tech firms than American officials with the Digital Service Act, which took effect earlier this month  also slapped Google with a $2.7 billion antitrust fine in 2017 for market abuse related to its shopping service.

The bureau widened its probe the day after Google  a subsidiary of Alphabet, both headed by Sundar Pichai  was hit with a $2.3 billion lawsuit filed by 32 media groups across Europe. AFP via Getty Images

In the years since, Google has tried to skirt the fine, but Europes top court struck down the companys last-ditch effort to avoid the payment last month, dealing a potential blow to the worlds most popular internet search engine.

All the while, Google has been involved in a historic in-court battle with the US Justice Department, which alleged the company wielding illegal monopoly power that has harmed consumers.

Throughout the trial, which kicked off last month, the DOJ has made an effort to expose Googles shady tactics and anticompetitive practices.

US District Judge Amit Mehta is expected to render a decision in May.
More gas could be on the way for the EU through the Southern Gas Corridor

Plans to expand the Southern Gas Corridor and provide more gas for Europe have been discussed in Azerbaijan.

23 countries in the Southern Gas Corridor council met in Baku to discuss the capacity of gas supply expansion, seen as a crucial route of gas supply diversification for the EU and its neighbouring countries.

High on the agenda was the exploration of joint goals to ensure long-term energy security, diversification of supply, and a transition to green and renewable energy.

"We do it not because we lack traditional resources, but because we want to contribute, using the financing, using the revenues which we get from oil and gas sales to invest in renewables and to create a common understanding about the need for that," said Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.

The strategic energy partnership between Azerbaijan and the EU was also discussed, along with the achievements and next steps in the operation and development of the Southern Gas Corridor.

Last year, Azerbaijan increased its gas exports by nine per cent up to 22 billion cubic metres. Its main buyers are currently Italy, Greece, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria.

"There are many, new, partner countries who are willing to receive additional volumes of natural gas, even though we are transitioning away from fossil fuels," said Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.

"But, this takes some decades. Now we want to establish also the futureproof cooperation," she added.

Collaboration across the industry is seen by many as key to its further development for the foreseeable future.
Senegal's President Macky Sall has again insisted he will leave power on 2 April, the day his mandate ends, despite postponing the election that would have picked his successor. The opposition has demanded that the vote be held before Sall's term is up, but so far the president has only committed to calling an election before the end of July.

A "national dialogue", which began earlier this week at Sall's request, proposed holding the poll in June  and suggested that he should remain in power until a new president is elected, prompting an outcry from his opponents.

"The National Dialogue has called for the 2nd of June 2024 as the new date for presidential elections in Senegal," Sall's social media accounts posted on Thursday.

"I want to make it categorically clear that I will step down from office on the 2nd of April, as I have previously made clear," the statement added.

"My departure date is absolutely firm."

In response, civil society group Aar Sunu Election ("Protect our Election") said it was joining forces with opposition candidates and other activists to ensure the presidential election is held before Sall's mandate runs out.

They have been organising under the name Fippu ("Resistance") with a common objective: to hold the vote by April.

But the political crisis talks that Sall called on Monday and Tuesday concluded that the presidential vote he postponed could not be held by the time his mandate ends.

(with newswires)



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Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema declared the countrys debilitating drought a national disaster and emergency on Thursday.

He said it has devastated food production and electricity generation as the nation battles to recover from a recent deadly cholera outbreak.

Like some of its neighbours, the southern African country is suffering a severe drought as the El Nino weather pattern worsens harsh weather conditions attributed in part to climate change.

In an address to the nation, Hichilema said he has instructed security forces to focus more on food production in the largely peaceful country.

He added that 84 of the countrys 116 districts are affected by the prolonged drought. Authorities will take food from areas where there is an excess and distribute it to needy areas.

In addition, the country plans more food imports and is mobilising United Nations agencies and local businesses to assist.

Drought brings food and electricity shortages

The drought has destroyed about 1 million hectares of the 2.2 million hectares planted with the staple maize crop, he said.

This drought has devastating consequences on many sectors such as agriculture, water availability and energy supply, risking our national food security and the livelihoods of millions of our people," Hichilema explained.

"The dry spell is projected to continue even into the month of March, affecting over one million of our farming households.

Electricity generation hasn't been spared either, with the country expecting a power deficit of about 430 megawatts potentially reaching 520 megawatts by December, according to the Zambian President, as water levels decline at the countrys major source of hydropower, the Kariba Dam, which it shares with neighbour, Zimbabwe.

To cope, the country will import electricity and also ration supplies to its approximately 20 million people, he said.

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Zambia was recently hit by one of its worst cholera outbreaks that killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000.

Some Zambians, weary of continued crises, have coined songs labelling the outbreaks of coronavirus and cholera as well as the current drought as a triple tragedy, said Hichilema.

The driest February in 40 years

Although many countries in southern Africa are yet to declare a national disaster, they are also in a dire situation because of the influence of El Nino weather patterns, according to the UN agency, the World Food Program.

Parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are experiencing the driest February in the past 40 years, while severe rainfall shortages have been recorded in southern Malawi, eastern Angola and parts of Mozambique, said the WFP in a bulletin this week.

The United States Agency for International Development, the US governments foreign aid agency, has estimated through its Famine Early Warning Systems Network that 20 million people in southern Africa will need food relief between January and March.

Many people in the areas of highest concern such as Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, parts of Mozambique and southern Madagascar will be unable to feed themselves into early 2025 due to El Nino, USAID said.
South Korean brand Time made its Paris Fashion Week debut with creative director Choi Jung In delivering competent, commercial staples rooted in minimalism with a slight 90s vibe.

A series of smart trenchcoats in chocolate, caramel and sand were key looks, along with slouchy suiting featuring generously pleated trousers that pooled at the hem, and wide-lapeled blazers. Shorter jackets had softly rounded shoulders for a cocooning effect, and there were comfy-looking capes too.

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The 90s touches were especially evident on eveningwear, such as a high-square neckline on an LBD or the bias cut of a deep red velvet slipdress inspired by Patricia Arquettes va-va-va-voom version in David Lynchs Lost Highway. A cream column erupted below the knee in pleats.

Choi paid attention to small details, such as beaded elbow-patches on the back of a fluffy coat, or studs down the spine of a black turtleneck tunic.

The designer said she thinks about how a woman actually moves through her day, noting that the Korean customer is a little bit more traditional, so she looked to different fabrications and cuts as the brand eyes the international market.

Fringe appeared on sequined skirts, for example, or a lace top was made of nubby silk-cotton blend for a look thats a little more roughed up and less prim.

Launched in 1993, Time bills itself as Koreas top homegrown clothing brand in terms of sales, topping more than 370 billion won with its combined mens and womens lines in 2022, or about 250 million euros.

The Paris Fashion Week show follows Times inaugural runway show last July in Seoul. The brand is backed by Hyundai Department Store Group subsidiary Handsome Corp., which has plans to establish the brand as a fashion player and grow it into a global name.

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The company is already looking for Paris flagship space, with the eye toward opening in 2025. With 30 years of history, Time is seizing the moment.

For more Paris Fashion Week reviews, click here.

Launch Gallery: Time Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection

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Demolition of Muslim rat-hole miners home in Delhi sparks protest

Leaders and activists cutting across the party lines Thursday Feb 29, 2024 expressed their anger over the Delhi civic bodys bulldozer drive which resulted in demolition of a number of homes including that of a Muslim rat-hole miner who was recently in news for saving 41 lives. Read More

Friday March 1, 2024 10:11 AM , ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

New Delhi: Leaders and activists cutting across the party lines Thursday Feb 29, 2024 expressed their anger over the Delhi civic bodys bulldozer drive which resulted in demolition of a number of homes including that of a Muslim rat-hole miner who was recently in news for saving 41 lives.

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Wednesday carried the demolition drive in the Khajoori Khas area of Northeast Delhi. The DDA said the drive was carried out to clear the structures built illegally on a planned development land.

The DDA demolition drive left hundreds homeless including Wakeel Hassan  the leader of the 12-member team of 'rat-hole' miners from Rockwell Enterprises who successfully rescued the 41 trapped workers from the under-construction Silkyara Bend-Barkot Tunnel, in Uttarkashi district, on November 29, 2023.

Wakeel Hassan said his home was demolished without notice. Munna Qureshi, one of Wakeel Hassans team members, said they were beaten up by the police. Hasan also said he along with his daughter was detained by the police and kept under custody for more than 8 hours.

Expressing her anger over the Delhi Development Authoritys (DDA) brutal action that left hundreds homeless, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called the incident an example of Anyay Kaal in a veiled criticism of PM Modis oft-repeated claim of running Amrit Kaal  a golden era.

"Then, for their publicity, big leaders of the BJP had gotten photographs clicked with him. Now when the publicity is over, today the same Wakeel Hassan was locked in the police station and his house was demolished and the roof was taken away from the heads of his children," Priyanka wrote on social media platform X while sharing a video of Wakeel Hassans wife outside her demolished home. "Demolishing the houses of the poor, crushing them, torturing and humiliating them - this injustice is the truth of the BJP's 'anyay kaal'. The public will definitely respond to this injustice," the Congress general secretary said.

In the video shared by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Wakeel Hassans wife can be heard saying that her husband was hailed as a hero for saving 41 labourers. But in return we have been snatched of our home, she moaned.

       41                     !



                        -  pic.twitter.com/7exJnU5F9f  Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) February 29, 2024

Condemning the DDA demolition drive, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief and former Chief Minister Jammu Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, said the Muslims were singled out for demolition because of their religion.

"So much love for Pasmanda Muslims that Vakil Hassan, commended by the PM for his heroic act in saving lives of 41 workers trapped in Silkiyara tunnel, that his humble abode was singled out and demolished by DDA (Delhi Development Authority). "Instead of rewarding him for his bravery, he is punished only for being a Muslim. Is this how BJP intends to uplift so-called Pasmanda marginalised Muslims?" Mufti said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said Wakeel Hassans house has some legal issues and assured that the miner will be allotted a new home under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna very soon.

Delhi LG VK Saxena too said the government will "compensate Wakeel Hasan and he will be provided a house".

Wakeel Hasan however said he has no knowledge of any such offer and has received no official communication in this regard.

Wakeel Hasan also refuted the DDA claim that his home was built on illegal or encroached land. He said he had taken loan to purchase the land of which he has all the documents.

The plot on which we are living on since 1987 was regularized in 2008. We have all the documents, he said.

Commenting on the government's compensation offer, Saleem Sarang, Maharashtra NCP leader, said, "First you make someone homeless, putting their children's lives in danger and then comes up with assurances. Wwhat kind of negligence is this? Thank you Delhi LG for being so (kind)??"





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No Respite from Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes in 2024

The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism Mumbai has listed the hate crimes against Muslims and categorized them as communal riots, hate speeches, Hindu vigilantes, state funding of Hindu religious activities, demolition drives, etc. Read More

Friday March 1, 2024 10:35 PM , Syed Ali Mujtaba

It is not even two months in 2024 and there are a number of antiMuslim hate crimes reported from different parts of the country.

The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) Mumbai has come out with a report on the communal situation in India, since January 2024.

The Centre for Study of Society and Secularism Mumbai has listed the hate crimes against Muslims and categorized them as communal riots, hate speeches, Hindu vigilantes, state funding of Hindu religious activities, demolition drives, etc.

Communal Riots

Five communal riots have taken place in January 2024. They are directly related to the Pran Pratisthan event held in Ayodhya on January 22. Out of the five communal riots, two were reported in Mumbai, one in Nagpur, one in Vadodara, and one in Shajapur in Madhya Pradesh. All these riots took place in the BJP-ruled states.

The communal riots in Mira Road, Mumbai had origin in local tension where scuffle gave way to stone pelting resulting in Municipal Corporation stepping in to use bulldozers. The Corporation bulldozers demolish about 15 structures in the Muslim-dominated area on Mira Road. In the incident, more than nine persons were injured.

The second incident took place in Thane, near Mumbai. Here stones were pelted by miscreants at a vehicle rally taken out on the occasion of Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya. A clash broke out between members of two communities and several people were injured in the ensuing clashes.

The communal riot in Nagpur took place in the Garib Nawaz Nagar locality where an altercation between members of two communities took place to celebrate the consecration event in Ayodhya. This led to a scuffle between two communities in which 12 persons were injured.

In Bhoj, Vadodara communal riot took place on January 22 after stones were allegedly pelted on a procession, Shobha Yatra, to celebrate the idol consecration in the Ram temple at Ayodhya.

In Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh communal riot took place on January 8, when participants of a religious procession were allegedly pelted with stones leading to clashes where several persons were injured.

Hate Speeches

According to the CSS report, there were seven instances of hate speeches reported in January. These speeches broadly called for the demolition of mosques made baseless allegations of love jihad, boycott of halal certification meat, use of bulldozers against Muslims, and called for stricter action against Muslims.

The hate speeches were made by BJP leaders, MLA T Raja and MLA Nitesh Rane in Solapur and Mumbai in Maharashtra, MLA Geeta Jain in Mumbai, and Anantkumar Hegde, BJP Member of Parliament and BJP leader KS Eshwarappa from Karnataka.

Government funding Hindu Religious symbols

The government in the BJP-ruled states has shown its largesse to spend public funds on the promotion of heritage associated with Hindu gods and symbols. Some of the examples include the curating of a wax museum in Ayodhya on the theme of Ramayana. In Chhattisgarh Shri Ramlala Darshan (Ayodhya Dham) scheme has been launched and in Puri, the Odisha Parikrama project has got started through public money.

The Municipal Corporation of Ayodhya allotted 2.5 acres for setting up the Ramayana Wax Museum in a 7-crore project floated by the UP government. There will be about 100 life-size wax statues of all the important characters from Ramayana.

The first phase will depict 30-35 scenes from Ram Katha, including Sitas Swayamvar, Vanvaas, and Lanka Dahan.

In Chhattisgarh, the state government has announced that it will roll out the Shri Ramlala Darshan (Ayodhya Dham) scheme, under which 20,000 people from the state will be taken to Ayodhya in UP every year, free of cost, for a visit to the newly constructed Ram Temple.

In Odisha, the government is set to inaugurate an ambitious Shree Mandira Parikrama project of Rs 800 crore. This heritage corridor is planned around Puris renowned Jagannath Temple which is aimed at improving infrastructure for visiting devotees.

The Parikrama project includes a 75-metre corridor surrounding the Jagannath temple complex, which will provide pilgrims with a visual connection with the temple.

The Odisha government has planned to mobilize around 10,000 people daily for a month to visit the Parikrama Project.

Public Holiday

Ten BJP-ruled states - Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tripura and AAP-ruled Delhi, declared a complete holiday or half-day holiday on January 22 to celebrate the Pran Pratisthan ceremony in Ayodhya.

This implied that schools, colleges, and government offices amongst other state establishments remained closed on that day.

Some of these state governments also prohibited the sale of non-vegetarian food items, meat, and alcohol on that day.

Hindu Vigilante activity

There was a significant spurt in Hindu vigilante during January 2024. In Uttar Pradeshs Shahjahanpur district, there was an alleged incident of removing a green flag from a mosque and replacing it with a saffron flag on January 23.

In a similar incident, eleven miscreants hoisted saffron flags atop a mosque in the Tajganj area of Agra district during a Shobha Yatra on January 22.

Demolition of Muslim properties

It is seen that Hindu leaders were at the forefront of inciting local tensions into a big communal riot leading to bulldozers stepping in to demolish Muslim homes using the pretext of illegal encroachments.

Apart from the demolition drive in Mira Road, Mumbai, there was a report of demands for the demolitions of Muslim properties in Panvel, where communal tension prevailed on January 22.

On February 8, 2024, violent clashes erupted in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, following the court order to demolish an unauthorized madrasa and a mosque situated in the predominantly Muslim-inhabited area. The municipal authorities demolished the Muslim religious structure claiming they were illegal construction. The consequent clash between the residents and the police claimed five lives and left over 100 injured.

Reclaiming Muslim Sites

An alarming trend of reclaiming Muslim places of worship has been seen after the Pran Pratisthan event. Soon after the event in Ayodhya, a Varanasi district Court ordered allowing puja inside the Gyanvapi mosque in its Vyas Tehkana.

Thereafter, the Shahi Idgah case flared up in Mathura. The place is now peddled as Krishna's birthplace and is being reclaimed by the Muslims in a bid to convert it into Krishna Janamsthan.

In the same vein mentioned may be made about Maharashtra, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced to "liberate" Haji Malang Dargah in Mumbai and convert it into a Hindu site.

In this election year, more such incidents are waiting to happen. It is seen that the BJP gains significantly from such religious polarization. What is apparent that Muslims may have no respite from hate crimes in 2024.

[Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com]





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President Joe Biden talks with the U.S. Border Patrol, as he looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Evan Vucci/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as visits Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press

It was a race to the border, with one candidate landing in Brownsville and the other about 300 miles northwest in Eagle Pass.

It was a political double-header, a November showdown on the last day of February as Texas voters were slowly streaming to the polls for early voting that ends today for Super Tuesdays Democratic and Republican primaries.

On Tuesday, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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What we saw Thursday on the border, at least in the early hours, was more stunt than substance. Over the next few days, pundits will debate who won, if a victor becomes apparent.

But it was clear from the start that Thursdays dueling border visits were the start of the presidential campaign, more political theater starring a president whose reelection wont be easy and a former president fighting to get back to the White House and outrun his legal problems.

Former President Donald Trump landed in Del Rio and made impromptu comments that promised the largest deportation effort in U.S. history if elected. He then traveled to Eagle Pass, where Gov. Greg Abbott continues his long-running political showdown in which he plays president of a new Texas republic.

Politicians of all stripes find the border an easy place to politick.

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President Joe Biden made the trip to Brownsville, which often records some of the lowest numbers for illegal crossings and where residents have said it isnt facing a border crisis.

Early Thursday, reports surfaced that he was considering a sweeping executive action that will restrict asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border if such refugees crossed illegally.

Bidens visit came after Republicans in Washington blocked a bipartisan border bill he endorsed. They did so at the behest of Trump, who frankly needs a divided nation to hear about a chaotic, dangerous border to make his political return.

The bipartisan bill brought a modicum of hope for increased funding for agents, not just the enforcement kind, but included a provision giving authority to the president to shut down the border when he sees fit.



Trump seems to have far more pressing business than a visit to the border. Hes facing overlapping trials involving a range of personal, business and political accusations, all seemingly leading to disaster over keeping sensitive documents, longstanding business practices and a massive settlement reached in his sex-assault conviction.

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Still, Trumps border visit was scripted long ago. In the past, the border has equated to chaos, danger and violence for Trump, who has used xenophobic language echoed by Texas Republican leaders, white nationalists who caravanned to the border recently as well as mass shooters whove evoked invasions when carrying out their crime sprees.

Both camps sought to out-maneuver one another, each angling for support from their respective bases.

Frankly, neither party and no one in Congress, in fact, has done enough to address real border issues, including streamlining legal immigration so it doesnt take two decades to migrate legally.

As a political class, Washington fails on so many fronts, including making the amnesty process clear and efficient. Too little is done to facilitate cross-border traffic and trade that allows border families to visit one another and shop in each others towns, to travel back and forth with more ease for school, family events and business.

It means better equipping agencies at ports of entry and between those ports while setting high bars for professional conduct among agents.

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The dueling Biden-Trump visits set the stage for the wedge issue of wedge issues in a presidential election year: immigration. Its an easy way to divide and conquer, to appeal to voters' worst instincts.

Trump began his 2016 campaign the same way, with a vicious attack on Mexican immigrants, describing them as rapists, drug smugglers and criminals.

Some, I assume, are good people, he added.

The worst of it is that U.S. voters may learn little about the border in the process. Few will see ordinary life on the border, the safety the great majority of border residents enjoy, the cultural events, the ordinary workings of communities.

Theyll never visit that border, or Mexico, or even get to South Padre Island, where so many Mexicans vacation.

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Im not sure that even Bidens visit ultimately will be good for the border. It may be more beneficial to his campaign than the border itself.

Its a presidential year. Thats all this is.

The next seven months could spell anguish as far-right white nationalists stir violent rhetoric around border issues. That can lead to no good end, especially as Texas attempted to institute an anti-Latino show-me-your-papers law, or SB4, which was blocked by a federal court in Austin on Thursday.

The law may not be dead in its attempt to turn all law enforcement officers into immigration agents, resulting in racial profiling and targeting mixed-status families especially.

Neither visit may advance the overwhelming need to update the nations immigration laws, make legal migration more efficient, welcome needed workers, maintain a humanitarian asylum system and get more agents hired, not just on the enforcement side.

Politicians often get the border all wrong, a lot of times intentionally and for political gain.

For them, its all show.
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With new updates, Microsoft adds more value to Windows 11, more power to Copilot

Tech giant Microsoft Thursday February 29, 2024 released new updates for Windows 11 and Copilot, adding more value to the former and making the later more powerful. Read More

Friday March 1, 2024 8:11 PM , ummid.com News Network

[Image source: Microsoft]

San Francisco: Tech giant Microsoft Thursday February 29, 2024 released new updates for Windows 11 and Copilot, adding more value to the former and making the later more powerful.

The latest updates released for Windows 11 included AI editing capabilities in Photos, enabling easier video editing with the preview of Clipchamp, and improvements to features like Snap, Widgets and Inking.

We are adding new AI editing capabilities in Photos designed to make creating simpler, enabling easier video editing with the preview of Clipchamp silence removal, and launching improvements to features like Snap, Widgets and Inking, making it even easier to get things done, Microsoft said in a blog post.

Microsoft has also introduced plugins for other popular apps like OpenTable, Shopify and Kayak, as well as new skills to simplify daily tasks and use of Windows.

The new features in Copilot are built on the introduction of the Copilot Key on new Windows 11 PC keyboards, updates to the Copilot icon on the taskbar, and the ability to dock, undock and resize the Copilot pane.

Microsoft Thursday also released two new features - Generative Erase and Clipchamp silence removal preview, that the tech giant believes will make creating simpler.

When using the Photos app, you can now select and remove unwanted objects or imperfections from your images using the new Generative Erase feature. Snapped the ideal sunset photo but want to remove the airplane flying above? Generative Erase in Photos can do just that, the company said. With the addition of Clipchamp silence removal, removing the gaps in the audio track becomes easier. The preview of silence removal in Clipchamp starts to become available today, it added.

Microsoft also released today Voice Shortcuts and Multi Display, the two features will help users finish their tasks faster.

Among other features included in the latest Windows 11 update are Intelligent Snap suggestions, Widgets, Windows Ink, and more advanced file sharing options to share contents on third part apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, Snapchat and others.





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HA NOI  Facing adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worlds economic and political issues, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has suggested authorities promulgate and issued many unprecedented solutions in terms of taxes, fees, and charges to assist people and businesses.

Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan made the remarks while addressing a dialogue on taxation and customs policies with Korean businesses in Ha Noi on February 29.

He noted that each year, the MoF handled hundreds of petitions from Korean firms about problems during their operations in Viet Nam. In response, it had sought consultancy and proposed policy amendments and supplements to maximise assistance for foreign direct investment (FDI) companies.

The issuance and implementation of tax, fee, and charge-related solutions had received support and high evaluation from businesses, including Korean entities, he said, adding that such solutions had helped firms weather difficulties and stabilise production and business activities.

To respond to the implementation of Pillar 2 on global minimum tax of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative, the MoF had worked with other ministries and sectors to consult with FDI companies, including Korean businesses, to propose the National Assembly issue a resolution on the imposition of top-up corporate income tax under the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) rules from January 1, 2024, the official added.

Tuan said that the MoF would continue perfecting mechanisms and policies, step up administrative procedure reform, and boost comprehensive digitalisation in the fields of taxation and customs to create a more equal, transparent, and optimal environment for both domestic and FDI businesses to further develop, create jobs, and contribute to local socio-economic development.

He also expressed his hope that South Korean businesses would also actively seize opportunities to promote their competitiveness and grow while complying with taxation and customs regulations to help with Viet Nams development.

At the event, representatives of the MoF, the General Department of Taxation, and the General Department of Customs presented recent taxation and customs results. They also fielded questions from Korean firms about related issues.

As of January 2024, there were 8,058 businesses with over 50 per cent of their charter capital invested by the RoK, accounting for 28 per cent of all FDI firms in Viet Nam. This makes the East Asian nation the biggest among the 144 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam at present, data from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed.

Over the last five years, despite challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse impacts of the global economy, South Korean businesses' contributions to the state budget have continually increased, approximating VN175 trillion (US$7 billion), according to the Deputy Minister.  VNS
HA NOI  The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the extension of the deadline to issue the final conclusion on the investigation of the product scope of wooden cabinets imported from Viet Nam, according to the Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV).

The final conclusion is expected to be issued on April 5, it said.

The DOC also decided to extend the deadline to issue the preliminary and final conclusions of its investigation into the alleged circumvention of trade defence tax evasion of Vietnamese wooden cabinets. It plans to issue the preliminary and final conclusions of the case by April 19 and July 18, 2024.

The DOCs investigations of the product scope for wooden cabinets imported from Viet Nam and trade defence tax evasion were launched in May and June 2022, respectively.

In September 2023, the DOC issued an investigation notice to adjust the preliminary conclusion that it issued in March 2023, which listed three cases of wooden cabinets imported from Vietnam, which have suspected components made in China.

According to TRAV, since April 2020, the US has imposed anti-dumping and subsidy duties on wooden cabinets originating from China, with anti-dumping duties ranging from 4.37 per cent to 262.18 per cent and anti-subsidy duties ranging from 13.33 per cent to 293.45 per cent.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urged the acceleration of construction of T3 passenger terminal of Tan Son Nhat airport and Long Thanh airport so that the projects can be put into operation before April 30, 2025 and in the first half of 2026, respectively.

In a document issued recently by the Government Office on the PM's instructions after his inspection over key transport projects from February 12-13, the PM directed the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) to speed up and make breakthroughs in the construction of the Long Thanh airport in 2024 and 2025, in order to complete the project and put the airport into operation in the first half of 2026.

He also required relevant ministries and sectors to accelerate work on related projects to ensure they are in sync with the progress of the airport's construction.

The PM underlined the urgent need to put the T3 terminal of Tan Son Nhat into operation to reduce the overloading of the T1 terminal and requested that the ACV strive to complete the project ahead of schedule towards the deadline of April 30, 2025.

The ACV should also promptly study options for connection of the three terminals of the airport, ensuring smooth movements of passengers.

The PM asked the Ministry of National Defence to consider a plan for the relocation of the command centre of the Air Force Division 370 to transfer ground to the ACV for the exploitation of the T3 project, as well as measures to ensure security and defence in the area, and report the plans to the PM within April.

The Peoples Committee of HCM City was ordered to direct relevant agencies to promptly complete roads around T3 terminal in 2024.

For the Belt Road No.3 of HCM City, the PM assigned the city Peoples Committee to early finalise a plan to supply construction sand for the project. The PM tasked Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha to chair meetings of relevant agencies and localities to seek solutions to ensure construction materials for the project and complete the work within March.

The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai province was urged to complete ground clearance activities to hand over the ground for the project by June 30, 2024.

The Ministry of Transport was requested to direct the My Thuan management board to speed up the construction of Nhon Trach bridge so as to complete the bridge by April 30, 2025. - VNA/VNS
HCM CITY  Diversifying long-term strategies in supporting businesses to offer high-quality products is among the orientations set out by the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Products for the 2024-2028 tenure to promote circular economy.

At its third congress on March 1, the association decided that it will coordinate with domestic and foreign units to step up activities to equip farmers, businesses and startups with knowledge about domestic and foreign market standards.

To achieve the set targets, it will build a chain of indigenous specialty stores nationwide, introducing made-in-Vietnam high-quality products, those with geographical indication (GI) certifications, and items under the One Commune-One Product programme.

The association will continue its coordination with Mekong Delta cities and provinces to roll out effective models and programmes such as the Mekong Connect Forum to look into issues regarding state policies and the utilisation of local resources, said its chairwoman Vu Kim Hanh.

Over the past tenure, apart from studying the market and collecting feedback from consumers to select high-quality Vietnamese products, the association played a role in trade promotion and the communications work, and intellectual property (IP) protection.

The congress elected a 15-member executive board for the 2024-2028 term, with Hanh re-elected as its chairwoman.  VNA/VNS
Augie's Alamo City BBQ Steakhouse on Broadway said it lost customers due to nearby construction. Courtesy Augie's Alamo City BBQ Steakhouse

After a decade at 909 Broadway, Augie's Alamo City BBQ Steakhouse has shut its doors permanently.

The restaurant's owner said that construction launched in summer 2020 stunted business by making it impossible for guests to visit without traversing street closures and barricades.

"We have invested so much into serving our community and are heartbroken by not being able to continue our legacy at this location," owner Augie Cortez said in a news release, "but at this point we have no other choice."

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City Council proposed a "construction mitigation pilot program" in 2022 that would spend the better part of $400,000 on marketing for affected businesses, but owners said it was too little too late. They said they needed direct aid to cover looming rent and mortgage payments.

"We understand that the city is doing everything they can to make things better for the city," Cortez said. "We pray that someday they will find a solution to help work with and better support small businesses."
HCM CITY  HCM City needs to adopt policies and channel financial resources to develop a carbon credit market in an effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions and respond to global warming, experts said.

Speaking at a seminar on Thursday, Dr. Su inh Thanh, director of the University of Economics HCM City, the events organiser, said it was vital for the city to establish a carbon credit market to shape standards and trends for other localities to promote the carbon market.

The establishment of a carbon credit market will create green financial resources for technological innovation enterprises in the city, Thanh said.

The city is preparing for a pilot phase of carbon trading, which is set to begin in 2025, with full operations expected to commence in 2028.

The carbon market is expected to attract investment in renewable energy, environmental technology, and international climate finance.

It will also promote a green economy and create new job opportunities while enhancing the citys international reputation in climate change mitigation efforts.

Within Southeast Asia, only Indonesia has implemented a mandatory carbon market for the energy sector.

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As a dynamic and fast-growing city, HCM City is facing various environmental challenges, particularly air pollution, with annual carbon emissions exceeding 60 million tonnes, accounting for over 20 per cent of the nation's emissions.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, a research group member on the carbon market at the University of Economics HCM City, said the city needed to exploit specific mechanisms and policies through the National Assembly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and respond to climate change.

Resolution 98 allows the city to pilot a financial mechanism for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions via the use of the citys budget for carbon credit exchange, according to Nhung.

These mechanisms enable the city to control environmental pollution, attract sustainable investments, generate revenue and funding for environmental projects, and fulfil international commitments on emission reduction.

Moreover, voluntary development of the carbon market will help the city generate significant revenue through issuing and selling carbon credits and from emission reduction projects using abundant energy sources such as solar, wind, and waste.

Hoang Le Nam Hai, another research group member on the carbon market at the University of Economics HCM City, said the carbon market would create opportunities to attract investment in renewable energy, environmental technology, and international climate finance.

It would also promote a green economy and create new jobs while enhancing the citys international reputation in climate change mitigation efforts.

HCM City has set a target of reducing emissions by 10 per cent by 2030 and moving towards a low-carbon economy, with the possibility of a 30 per cent reduction.

Experts also recommended the city equip businesses and the community with knowledge while enhancing awareness of the carbon market.

It also needs to implement policies to encourage and support businesses in voluntarily setting emission reduction targets, and engaging in carbon credit transactions to offset their emissions.

Viet Nam plans to officially run a carbon trade exchange in 2028 under a project conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Under the scheme, Viet Nam will pilot the operation of this carbon credit market in 2025 to connect and exchange carbon credits with regional and international markets.

From now until the end of 2027, the country will focus on developing regulations on carbon credit management and the exchange of greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits.

The operation of the carbon trade exchange contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions under previous climate commitments, especially the goal of Viet Nam to reduce net emissions to zero by 2050 under the COP26.

A carbon credit is a kind of permit that represents one tonne of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere.

They can be purchased by an individual or, more commonly, a company to make up for carbon dioxide emissions that come from industrial production, delivery vehicles or travel.  VNS
WASHINGTON D.C  The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) will break its own record on the number of US businesses joining an annual delegation to Viet Nam, even higher than the 51 firms joining the delegation in March last year, according to President & CEO of the council Ted Osius.

The former US Ambassador to Viet Nam said that this will be an important visit taking place after the upgrade of the US-Vietnam relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development and on the occasion of the 40th founding anniversary of the USABC.

He said that US businesses have shown great interest in Viet Nam. From almost no trade relations in the 1990s, the two sides enjoyed two-way trade of US$138 billion in 2022, and Viet Nam has become the eighth largest trade partner of the US.

According to Osius, three areas that attract US investors the most are technology, energy, and health care. In the technology sector, the US is committed to helping Viet Nam develop its semiconductor industry through investing in workforce development for Viet Nam.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) is investing $100 million in workforce development and announced just a few days ago an additional commitment to improve workforce qualifications through Arizona State University, he stated, holding that US companies are also greatly interested in the continuous development of the Vietnamese workforce.

US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez who visited Vietnam recently said that 15 companies are ready to invest $8 billion in the semiconductor industry, but there will be challenges when they want to buy clean energy from sources such as clean natural gas, solar power, hydropower and wind power. Therefore, the USABC will discuss with them measures to deal with this task in March, he added.

US firms also want to be able to produce pharmaceuticals and medical equipment in Viet Nam and invest in the healthcare sector, said Fernandez, expressing confidence in this great potentials and affirming that during the trip in March, some of those potentials will be realised.

According to Osius, Viet Nam is considered a stable and open country that always welcomes American people and businesses. The Vietnamese Government is ready to take steps to create favourable conditions for investors and to address challenges, he commented.

The USABC leader hailed the openness in business cooperation between the two countries, especially in the field of high technology because Viet Nam has many talents and great potential. According to him, this sector can reach $1 trillion across ASEAN by 2030 and account for 30 per cent of Viet Nam 's economy in a few years. This is a dynamically growing part of the Vietnamese economy and an attractive area for US companies that will accompany him on the March trip, he underlined.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has always put its relations with Laos and Cambodia at the top of its foreign policy agenda.

Viet Nam's Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Chi Dung made this remark at the 13th Meeting of the Joint Coordination Committee on the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam (CLV) Development Triangle on Friday.

The meeting was co-chaired by Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, Laos' Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy, and Cambodia's Minister of Commerce Cham Nimul.

Dung said the establishment of the triangle had helped boost economic growth and reduce poverty in the three countries, and strengthened regional ties in a wide range of areas, including trade, education, healthcare and technology, over the past 25 years.

However, there is still ample room for improvement.

He suggested the three countries direct resources to build more routes to transport goods and commodities among commercial hubs and ports.

He called for more efforts to develop a high-quality workforce, especially in sectors where the three countries have advantages such as renewable energy and mining, to attract investments.

The three countries, he said, needed to press ahead with an action plan to quickly implement the agreements they signed in the framework of the triangle.

Additionally, they needed to formulate special policies for the triangle to incentivise trade and investment, with priority being given to trilateral cross-border trade and the construction of border infrastructure.

Simplifying cross-border administrative procedures to cut costs and creating favourable conditions for high-tech agriculture and renewable energy in the region would be equally crucial.

In addition to economic cooperation, the minister also called for measures to boost trilateral cooperation in security, environment and diplomacy.

In the meeting, the three ministers underlined the trilateral efforts in preparing the Report on the Implementation of the Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development in the CLV Triangle until 2020 and put forward a draft Report on the CLV Triangle Outlook to 2030.

They agreed to submit the two reports to the 12th CLV Development Triangle Summit in Cambodia in 2024.

They urged relevant agencies in the three countries to work together to develop action plans for the Scheme for Tourism Development in the CLV Triangle between 2020 and 2025 with a Vision to 2030, and the Scheme for the Sustainable Development of the Rubber Industry in the CLV Triangle.

They appraised the trilateral efforts in putting the Agreement on Trade Promotion and Facilitation in the CLV Triangle into action, and called on relevant agencies in the three countries to step up trade promotion and business-matching activities to attract more foreign enterprises to the region.

They reaffirmed the determination to tighten trilateral cooperation in security, diplomacy and climate change responses to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

At the end of the meeting, the committee chairpersons ratified the meeting minutes and urged relevant agencies in the three countries to quickly implement the commitments their countries had made.

The Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Development Triangle was established in 1999 to strengthen trilateral cooperation, promote stability and security, reduce poverty and foster socio-economic growth in the region.

Over the past 25 years, Vietnamese enterprises have invested more than US$3.7 billion in the triangle with 110 projects.  VNS
HA NOI - A talk on photography in Southeast Asia will be conducted by Zhuang Wubin in Ha Noi tonight at 6.30pm, free of charge.

The talk, entitled A Short History of Documenting in Southeast Asia, focuses on the basic function of a camera, to create a document. Since the inception of photography, photographers across Southeast Asia have understood and utilised the act of documenting in different ways.

The different ways in which they approached the act of documenting have been shaped by the social milieu and the desires of individual photographers, and those of the state and other institutions.

In this session, Singaporean writer and researcher Zhuang will share examples of how documenting was used by the elites during the colonial period, how it was understood by the salon photographers, and how it has been deployed during decolonisation and the making of the nation.

Zhuang is a writer who makes photographs, publications and exhibitions. He received his PhD by Published Work (ResearchPhotography) from University of Westminster, London.

Among Zhuang's educational and curatorial activities in Viet Nam is Love and Desire: A Reunion Show, an exhibition showcasing eight personal projects by Vietnamese participants in his workshops from 2013 to 2018.

His fourth book Photography in Southeast Asia: A Survey (2016) is an independent research work that aims to map the emergence and trajectories of photographic practices in Southeast Asia. Spanning 12 years, the research cumulates in a 10-chapter book correlating with 10 countries.

Its Viet Nam chapter starts with the pioneering ang Huy Tru and Khanh Ky, and includes war photojournalists, photo artists, and post-oi moi contemporary practitioners from different parts of Viet Nam as well as overseas Vietnamese.

One of a few comprehensive surveys of photography in the region, the book provides a much-needed reference and lays the foundation for further study of the field.

The talk, in English, will be held from 6.30pm - 8pm with free entrance at Matca Space for Photography, 48 Ngoc Ha Street, Ba inh District.

Zhuang will also conduct a workshop on writing photography, held from March 2 to 6. - VNS
HCM CITY  The mountainous tourist city of a Lat is captured in a collection of aerial photos by veteran photographer and journalist Gian Thanh Son.

The photos were taken during Sons 12-hour flight, from Long An Province to a Lai, on a Mi-171 Helicopter of the Air Division 917 in January.

These works portray the beauty of a Lat, located in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Lam ong. It spans 394sq.km and has a population of about 260,000 from many ethnic groups.

Last year, the city launched many cultural activities to celebrate the 130th anniversary of its establishment (1893  2023).

Each photo is lively and brings viewers a feeling that a Lat is so close to them that they can just open a door, and see, touch and feel it.

Forests, farms, lakes, buildings and houses are captured beautifully through the eyes of the artist.

I hope my photos of a Lat will help to spread love for the city, said 67-year-old Son, who is a professional in aerial photography.

Son said he is working to exhibit his latest aerial photos in a Lat next month as his thanks to the city and its people.

Son is a member of the Viet Nam Journalists Association and Viet Nam Lawyers Association. As a journalist for 45 years, he has travelled to 60 countries and territories, and participated in many United Nations conferences and summits.

Son has set four national records recognised by the Vietnam Books of Records for photography.

He released several photo books featuring Viet Nam, its culture and lifestyle.

a Lat and other localities in Tay Nguyen are home to the culture of cong chieng (gongs), recognised by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in November 2005.

The city welcomed about 153,000 tourist arrivals from February 8 to 12 for the first five days of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, an increase of 22.4% year on year, reported the municipal Peoples Committee.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on February 29 sent a letter of congratulations to his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet on the countrys successful organisation of the Senate election for the 5th term.

The election was held in the form of non-universal suffrage at 33 polling stations in eight regional constituencies across Cambodia on February 25. Its official results are set to be announced on April 2. VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Directive No. 27-CT/TW, which has recently been issued by the Politburo regarding the enhancement of the Partys leadership over thrift practice and wastefulness prevention, has received strong support from public opinion to effectively fight wastefulness at its root, an evil that is as harmful to society as corruption.

The policy to encourage thriftiness and prevent wastefulness is not a new one. President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed that frugality is one of the virtuous qualities of a revolutionary.

Corruption is harmful, but wastefulness is sometimes even more harmful. It is more harmful than corruption because it is more common, the late leader had said.

Over the years, thrift practices and wastefulness combat have received great attention from the Party and State. The 6th National Party Congress defined the way for comprehensive national reform with economic reform being the core, during which thrift practices and wastefulness control is a significant part. The Party has considered frugality as a major policy that must be applied in all production, construction and consumption activities.

In 1987, the Council of Ministers issued a decision on thorough frugality practising. In 1993, the 9th National Assembly adopted a resolution on thrift practices and wastefulness and corruption prevention. In 1998, the 10th National Assembly Standing Committee released an ordinance on thrift practices and wastefulness combat. The same year, the Government issued a decree specifying the implementation of the ordinance.

In 2005, the 11th National Assembly passed the Law on Thrift Practice and Anti-Wastefulness. The 3rd session of the 10th Party Central Committee released a resolution on strengthening the Partys leadership over corruption and wastefulness prevention and control.

The efforts have produced positive changes. A report from the National Assembly's supervision team over the implementation of policies and laws on thrift practices and wastefulness combat in the 2016-2021 period showed that the policies have resulted in more effective mobilisation and use of human, material and financial resources, tightened management and use of state budget and other state resources, along with more streamlined state apparatus and substantial administrative reform.

Resources for many stagnant projects have been revoked, including nearly 100,000 hectares of land, while many economic cases causing serious losses of state capital and assets have been strictly handled.

However, in reality, thrift practice and wastefulness combat activities have still seen a lot of shortcomings and limitations, according to the report, citing an incomplete report from ministries, sectors and localities showing that in 2016, there were 1,448 projects lagged behind schedule. The figure was 1,962 projects in 2021, including important national projects and key projects.

Wastefulness has been found in social life and become common in many areas and many localities, causing a waste of thousands of billions of VND.

At a meeting with voters on the threshold of the 5th session of the 15th National Assembly, NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue stressed that wastefulness even caused greater losses than corruption.

Wastefulness is clearly causing unpredictable consequences and creating invisible barriers in socio-economic development. More seriously, wastefulness and corruption are threats to efforts to turn Viet Nam into a developed and high-income country by 2045 as set by the 13th National Party Congresss resolution.

This is the reason that the Politburo has issued Directive 27-CT/TW, in which the Politburo underlined the need to consider frugality as the behavioural culture of every official, Party member, public servant and every citizen, especially leaders and managing officials.

Through the directive, the Politburo asked for special attention to areas prone to loss, waste, and negativity such as bidding, auction, management and use of land, resources, credit, and asset management, public investment, the use of state capital and assets in enterprises.

Particularly, with the issuance of Directive 27, the Politburo emphasised the need to thoroughly deal with problems in key national projects, projects using ODA, and inefficient BOT and BT projects that cause great losses, as well as weak commercial banks and halted projects, thus revoking assets to serve socio-economic development.

With the directive, wastefulness is expected to be stopped at the root. VNS
DUBLIN  Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Irelands Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defense of Ireland Micheal Martin agreed on orientations and measures to strengthen the relations between the two countries in the time ahead, during their talks in Ireland on Thursday (local time).

At the talks, held as part of Sons official visit to Ireland, Martin welcomed the visit, the first to Ireland by a Vietnamese foreign minister over the past 20 years, and congratulated the Southeast Asian nation on its socio-economic achievements.

Speaking highly of Viet Nams position and role in the region and the world, the host said Ireland viewed the country as a leading partner in the Asia-Pacific, and that Irish people give special sentiments to Viet Nam.

For his part, Son affirmed the importance Viet Nam attaches to its relations with Ireland, and its wish to enhance political trust and deepen multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, for sustainable development, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.

For measures to foster bilateral collaboration in politics and diplomacy, the two ministers consented to step up delegation exchanges and contacts at all levels, especially the high one, raise the efficiency of legislative cooperation, effectively implement cooperation mechanisms, and intensify the close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums such as the United Nations and cooperation mechanisms between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU).

Martin said he hoped that Viet Nam would soon open its embassy in Ireland to boost their bilateral ties.

For economic, trade and investment cooperation, a pillar of their bilateral relationship, the two sides concurred to maintain their close coordination and maximise the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Son suggested Ireland encourage its businesses to invest in Viet Nam in the areas which Ireland has strengths in and match Viet Nams socio-economic development orientations including digital transformation, energy transition, and high-tech agriculture.

The Irish side emphasised that Viet Nam was a leading trade partner of Ireland, and ample room remained for bilateral cooperation in this field.

Martin pledged that Ireland would consider Viet Nams suggestion about the acceleration of the ratification of the EU-Viet Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Ireland would also propose the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood, he said, asking Viet Nam to facilitate the import of high-quality farm produce and food from Ireland.

Son hailed Irelands aid projects to Viet Nam over the past time, and called on the country to continue its official development assistance (ODA), especially in human resources development, support for disadvantaged groups, and the settlement of bomb and mine consequences.

In national defence and security, the two countries would promote policy consultations and UN peacekeeping training for Viet Nam, further exchange expertise, and work together to fight organised, cross-border and high-tech crimes.

The ministers also agreed on measures to boost cooperation in education-training, labour, tourism and people-to-people exchange, and exchanged views on cooperation opportunities in new, potential spheres such as renewable energy, digital economy, and climate change.

They touched upon regional and international issues of shared concern, and expressed their support for multilateralism and rules-based international order, saying disputes should be settled by peaceful measures in accordance with the UN Charter.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they shared the stance on ensuring peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region, and handling disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law and the UN Charter, and respect for the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On this occasion, the officials signed an agreement to tighten cooperation between the two ministries in the time to come.

While in Ireland, Son met with Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann (speaker of the upper house) Jerry Buttimer, and Ceann Comhairle of Dail Eireann (speaker of the lower house) Sean O Fearghail.

The minister stressed that Viet Nam wished to forge its parliamentary ties with Ireland, thus contributing to advancing the relationship between the two countries in the coming time.

The hosts affirmed the importance they attach to the Viet Nam-Ireland relationship, and commended Viet Nams achievements in socio-economic development, poverty reduction and social welfare.

They also noted support for a cooperation agreement between the Irish parliament and the Vietnamese National Assembly.

The two sides held that substantial opportunities remain for the two countries to expand their relations, and agreed to increase all-level delegation exchanges, including those between committees and working groups of the legislatures, while beefing up cooperation at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP).

Son also appealed to the Irish parliament to soon ratify the EVIPA and urge the EC to soon lift the yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood.

Fearghail lauded contributions by the Vietnamese community to Irelands socio-economic development, and promised to help them further integrate into the host society.

The same day, Son had a meeting with Honorary Consul of Viet Nam in Dublin Patrick Gerard McKillen, during which the minister expressed his belief that the Honorary Consul would serve as an important bridge of friendship between the two countries, especially in business-to-business connectivity, education and training.  VNS
HA NOI  President Vo Van Thuong called on the Border Guard Forces, in co-operation with border localities, to accurately grasp and forecast the situation, adopting appropriate policies and measures and avoiding passivity and surprises in all circumstances.

He made the request on the mission to safeguard the countrys borders, seas and islands in the new situation at the ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Border Guard Forces' Traditional Day (March 3, 1959  March 3, 2024), and the 35th anniversary of the All People's Border Defence Day (March 3, 1989  March 3, 2024) held on Friday in Ha Noi.

President Thuong awarded the second-class Military Exploit Order to the Border Guard Forces for their outstanding achievements in the fight against crimes such as illicit production, trade, transportation and storage of military weapons, contributing to maintaining political security and social order.

In his speech at the ceremony, President Thuong stated that the Border Guard Forces had actively researched and advised the Party and State on numerous policies and measures to protect sovereignty, territorial integrity and national border security, successfully combatting many cases of drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trading, explosives materials, smuggling and commercial fraud, and resolving complex security situations in border areas.

Border diplomatic work had been strengthened, contributing to nurturing solidarity and friendship between our military, especially the Border Guard Forces, with the border management and protection forces of neighbouring countries, as well as the authorities and people on both sides of the border.

The Border Guard Forces had initiated numerous movements to assist the people in socio-economic development. In these efforts, all officers and soldiers always identify themselves with the people, actively helping and supporting them in building a new life, and earning the trust and high appreciation of border party committees, authorities and people.

The President commented that over the past 35 years, the All People's Border Defence Day had truly become a special day focusing on the border and islands, aiming to inspire patriotism in every citizen, enhance vigilance, and reaffirm each individual's responsibility in protecting the homeland and building a strong national border defence system.

The success of the All People's Border Defence Day once again confirmed that this was a correct and insightful policy of the Party, he added.

President Thuong stressed that the national border held a particularly strategic position concerning defence, security, economy and foreign affairs. Faced with rapid and unpredictable developments in the world situation, the task of safeguarding the homeland and protecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and national border security posed even higher new demands.

Given the requirements of the mission to protect the homeland, safeguard borders, seas and islands in the new situation, the President proposed enhancing education, raising awareness and responsibilities of the entire Party, people and military about the task.

Additionally, there was a need to continue improving the quality of training and education, closely linked with combat realities; applying the achievements of science and technology in managing and protecting national borders.

Strict combat readiness must be maintained, solidly managing and protecting border security, sovereignty and national territory while facilitating favourable conditions for exchanges and cooperation for the countrys socio-economic development following the Party and State's international integration policy.

President Thuong suggested harnessing the strength of national unity in building a comprehensive national border defence system and a strong border defence posture, constructing a robust defence area.

He also noted the growing role of the military in poverty alleviation and cultural advancement in border and island areas. The military should act as a solid and reliable connection between the Party, State and the People.

President Thuong emphasised the flexible, creative and effective defence diplomacy, border diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy. He urged the Border Guard Forces to build leaner, stronger, more efficient and effective border soldiers with high combat readiness.

The President proposed that central committees, ministries, sectors, organisations, as well as central and local authorities, continue to pay attention and take practical actions to firmly protect the national borders and build peaceful, friendly, cooperative, stable and developed border areas.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Ha Noi on March 1 for Italian Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry Francesco Lollobrigida, calling for a further strengthening of bilateral ties, particularly in the agricultural sector.

PM Chinh reaffirmed Viet Nam's commitment to deepening its strategic partnership with Italy, believing that Lollobrigida's visit would solidify bilateral political, economic and trade relations, especially in agriculture.

Welcoming the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, he urged them to concretise and effectively realise the MoU to achieve new milestones in agricultural cooperation, overcome challenges, and strive for a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship.

The PM emphasised the importance of collaboration in deep processing of agricultural products, technology transfer, innovation, digital transformation, green economy and circular economy in agriculture, and fostering connections between businesses to develop agricultural economy.

Viet Nam is ready to welcome a greater presence of Italian farm produce to serve local consumers, he said.

Noting that Viet Nam is the first country to carry out the 1-million-ha low-emission, high-quality rice programme in the Mekong Delta, contributing to the global climate change adaptation, he suggested exploring regional agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

He also urged Italy to accelerate the European Union's removal of the yellow card warning on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Viet Nam and hasten the approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

On the global and regional issues, Chinh proposed continued cooperation to address global challenges like climate change, food security and water security. He also called for the effective implementation of cooperation activities within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) Declaration between Viet Nam and G7 countries.

Viet Nam is ready to serve as a bridge to foster the development partnership between Italy and ASEAN - the current growth centre, as well as promote relations between Italy and African countries and other nations through the tripartite cooperation model in ensuring food security, he said.

Minister Lollobrigida, for his part, lauded Viet Nam's significant potential and strengths in agriculture.

He expressed Italy's readiness to share experience, technology and machinery, crop varieties and livestock achievements with Viet Nam to develop sustainable agriculture with lower emissions and more added values targeting premium markets. Italian universities are also prepared to train Vietnamese students in the field, he added.

The minister said Italy hopes to become Viet Nam's leading agricultural partner in the EU, believing that more Italian agricultural products would be present in Viet Nam and the Asia-Pacific. Italy will actively urge relevant EU agencies to remove the yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood at the earliest, he added.

Italy is now the third largest trade partner of Viet Nam in the EU, behind Germany and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Viet Nam is Italy's biggest trade partner in ASEAN, with two-way trade surpassing 6 billion USD in 2023. In 2023, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of bilateral strategic partnership.  VNS
Frontier Airlines is offering flights for under $100 out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in March. Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Spring breakers in San Antonio can rest easy knowing that flights around the country this month from Austin-Bergstrom Airport won't break the bank.

All flights listed below are one-way and cost less than $100, although travelers should be aware that fees for checked bags and other add-ons will increase the price. Each flight is either nonstop or has one stop.

If you are feeling sick or showing symptoms of respiratory illness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing a mask during travel or postponing your trip.

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Cheapest Options

The most wallet-friendly option for a March vacation is Fort Lauderdale, which is just a $32 flight away on March 25 with a nonstop Spirit Airlines flight. Getaways to Denver and Omaha are both $39. Head to nonstop to Denver on March 27 on Frontier Airlines or jet off to Omaha with Allegiant Air nonstop on March 21.

Orlando

A flight to Orlando on March 26 is just $40 nonstop on Spirit Airlines.

Las Vegas

Allegiant Air travelers are hitting the jackpot March 25 with a $43 nonstop flight to Las Vegas.

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Orange County

Fly to Orange County on March 18 for $48 with a nonstop flight on Allegiant Air.

Asheville, N.C.

Head to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville nonstop with Allegiant Air for $57 on March 18.

Atlanta

Atlanta is a $59 flight away on March 25 with Spirit Airlines. Travelers will have a layover in Fort Lauderdale.

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Knoxville

A nonstop flight to Tennessee on March 18 is $60 on Allegiant Airlines.

Salt Lake City
CANBERRA  Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam highlighted the significance of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouses upcoming visit to Australia from March 5-9 to attend the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations.

This visit marks the first time a Vietnamese PM has visited Australia since the two countries elevated their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2018. It takes place at a special time when the two countries recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of comprehensive strategic partnership, contributing to generating a new impetus for bilateral ties in the foreseeable future.

For Viet Nam, this visit aligns with the 13th National Party Congress foreign policy of developing relations with regional partners, including Australia.

About the PMs agenda during the visit, Tam said following the official welcome ceremony in Canberra, Chinh is scheduled to engage in various significant activities, including talks, signing and exchange of documents, press conferences, a courtesy call to the Australian Governor-General and engagements with high-ranking Australian leaders, intellectuals, businesses, educational establishments and research institutes there.

On this occasion, both sides expect to sign and exchange numerous important cooperation documents across national defence, energy, trade, banking-finance, diplomacy, education, justice, sci-tech, among others.

According to Tam, Viet Nam and Australia have become one of each other's top 10 trading partners, with two-way trade reaching US$13.8 billion in 2023. Australia has 621 investment projects in Viet Nam, which invests in 92 projects in Australia. Notably, Australia continues to be one of the leading suppliers of official development assistance (ODA) to Viet Nam and among the top 15 destinations for Vietnamese tourists.

He added that significant cooperation achievements that align with interests of both countries after more than five decades of diplomatic ties continue driving their strong relations, including growing political trust; a strong commitment and goodwill toward cooperation demonstrated by their leaders, people and enterprises; a robust legal framework with signed cooperation documents, including the Australia-Vietnam Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy (EEES); and deep cooperation in traditional areas such as economy, trade, education-training, tourism and people-to-people exchange.

Underscoring the Australian Government's strong focus on its relationship with Southeast Asia, including Viet Nam, the diplomat noted Australia's recognition of ASEAN's central role in the region, evidenced by the launch of its Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 in September 2023.

In his view, the demands of the Industry 4.0 era also bring new impetus to both countries to expand new cooperation areas such as innovation, green economy, digital economy, digital transformation, clean energy transition, environment and climate change adaptation.

Concerning the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit marking their 50th anniversary of dialogue relations, he said Australia's hosting of the event is a clear sign of the country's commitment to further fostering ties with the bloc. It provides an opportunity to reflect on their past achievements and chart a course for the future in line with the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The leaders will also discuss global and regional issues of common concern.

Looking ahead, Ambassador Tam highlighted promising prospects of ASEAN-Australia ties, particularly in economy, trade, and investment, buoyed by geographical proximity, high political determination, and the recent upgrade of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).

He concluded by stressing Australia's position as one of ASEAN's comprehensive strategic partners and among the top economic partners, with bilateral trade and investment in 2022 nearing pre-pandemic levels. VNA/VNS
HA NOI  The Ha Noi Centre for Employment Service (HCES) aims to comprehensively innovate and fundamentally change its professional job creation activities this year.

The HCES, under the Ha Noi Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, has organised an online job transaction session connecting nine northern provinces and cities  the first of its kind this year.

The session was held at No 215 Trung Kinh Street right after the Lunar New Year festival.

To ensure convenience for workers to conduct transactions, the HCES rearranged departments, dedicating the entire first floor to the tasks of consulting policies, employment and recruitment.

Deputy Director of the HCES Vu Quang Thanh said, "Upgrading, renovating and modernising the centre requires a lot of time and resources. Therefore, we proactively rearrange working areas to become more scientific and effective, creating the best conditions for workers and businesses to connect, access job opportunities and recruit.

The rearrangement was carried out before the Tet holiday.

Now workers coming to HCES can search for job opportunities either in person or online, and participate in online interviews with employers via the computer system.

In addition, job trading sessions are organised synchronously at all 15 job trading floors in Ha Noi, providing timely support to businesses and workers in job introduction, vocational training, labour export and implementing unemployment insurance policy.

Strengthen connection

Notably, the HCESs innovation also aims to well conduct the unemployment insurance policy in the capital city, creating conditions for unemployed workers to not only receive benefits from unemployment insurance, but also have access to labour market information in the easiest way.

Accordingly, the HCES organises a department in the second floor to handle administrative procedures on unemployment insurance.

At the same time, right at the HCES, unemployed workers are consulted and provided with recruitment and employment information, including vocational training information if they need to change jobs.

Vu inh Phuc, living in Thuong Tin District in Ha Noi, had worked for a Japanese manufacturing company but lost the job not long ago because the company cut its staff.

He said, "Coming to the HCES, along with resolving unemployment insurance, I can access many sources of labour recruitment. I see many new job opportunities because many other enterprises need more workers. The important thing is to consider and learn about a working environment that suits my ability and skills."

To Thi Thuy Hang, who lives in Cau Giay District, just graduated from the Ha Noi Community College majoring in Information Technology and participated in internships at many businesses.

At the job transaction session, I got a lot of recruitment information from companies and believe that I will have a stable job in the near future," she said.

Bui An, Manager of the ong Anh Satellite Job Exchange, located at the Bac Thang Long Technical and Economic School, said that following the HCES's policy, the exchange had many innovations in its work.

In addition to organising synchronous sessions with other exchanges, ong Anh will also arrange monthly sessions with the participation of 20-25 businesses.

It coordinates with communes and towns to collect information about workers who need vocational training and to find jobs.

On that basis, the exchange selects businesses with job positions that suit the needs of workers to proactively connect supply and demand.

Deputy Director Thanh said, "The HCES's staff is determined to comprehensively strengthen connections between labour supply and demand, reduce unemployment, and support sustainable career changes for workers. We also promote information technology application and improve our work efficiency."

All of the HCESs efforts aim to successfully complete the general goals of the municipal labour, invalids and social affairs sector this year, which are to create new jobs for 165,000 workers, reduce the urban unemployment rate to less than three per cent, and raise the rate of trained workers to 74.2 per cent.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City vows to help strengthen the Viet Nam - Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World, part of the 64th birthday celebration of the Emperor of Japan, Naruhito (February 23), held on the evening of February 29.

During the event held by the Consulate-General of Japan in the city, Bui Xuan Cuong, deputy chairman of HCM City Peoples Committee, send warm wishes to the Emperor of Japan on behalf of the citys authority and people.

In 2023, relations between Viet Nam and Japan saw many important achievements, most notably elevation of the relation to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World, he said.

The elevation was an important milestone for the 50th anniversary of establishing bilateral relations, and recognises the large co-operation potential and opportunities between the two countries.

HCM City has made numerous contributions to the relations, such as the successful 8th Viet NamJapan Festival last year, which attracted nearly 500,000 visitors and helped strengthen the sharing of friendship and culture between the two nations.

In 2023, the city drew in nearly 100 new investment projects from Japan, bringing the number of Japanese projects in the city to nearly 1,700, with an investment capital of over US$5.7 billion.

The citys leader believes that with the support from the Emperor of Japan and efforts from both sides, Viet Nam and Japans partnership will deepen, creating more development opportunities for the two countries.

HCM City wishes to become a key and trustworthy partner for Japans localities.

Ono Masuo, consul general of Japan in HCM City, expressed his happiness with the strong development of Viet Nam - Japan relations across all fields.

Japan leads in terms of Official Development Assistance funding to Viet Nam, and is the second biggest investor to the country.

The Japanese Business Association of HCM City has over 1,060 members.

Ono Masuo gave his thanks to the city for welcoming, helping and creating favourable conditions for Japanese investors.

Around 500,000 Vietnamese are living in Japan, which is a foundation for the strong friendship between the two countrys people to grow even more, he said.

A musical performance was held at the event with a song called Tomodachi  Tinh ban (Friendship).  VNS
Thu Trang

My twin daughters will take the entrance exam to high school this year. They are both working hard to prepare for the exam, which will be held in about four months.

My daughters are dedicated in their studies, but I cannot help worrying as the number of public schools is limited while the candidates are many, and I cannot afford private school fees.

During the past five years, many localities across the country such as Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Quang Tri and Nghe An have added one or two priority marks, exempted from exams, and directly recruited candidates with International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores of 4.0 or higher, to high schools.

The effort aimed to promote foreign language skills among local students.

Knowing this, my worry doubled or even tripled. My daughters are interested in literature and history, and they gained excellent results with city-level awards. But they have not attended any IELTS classes or competitions.

How can they compete against others with IELTS certificates?

I breathed a sigh of relief after the Ministry of Education and Training on Friday asked localities to stop direct admission for 10th graders with IELTS certificates.

Candidates are directly admitted to 10th grade if they belong to one of four groups: studying in ethnic group boarding schools; from ethnic groups with very little population; are disabled; or win national and international awards in culture, arts, sports, science or technology.

And many other parents shared my joy.

Vu Hoang Ngan, a mother in Ha Noi, said she totally agreed with the ministrys decision.

Children at this age need to develop a lot of knowledge and skills, foreign language is just one part of it. Taking the IELTS certificate as an admission standard makes parents worry, and rush to send their children to costly IELTS classes, she said.

The students may lack knowledge in other majors and not have time to practise other skills. This will be a serious difficulty for children whose strength is not in foreign languages but still have to strive for the certificate, said Ngan.

The decision also received agreement from teachers and students.

Pham Quynh Trang, a teacher of English at the Nhan Chinh Junior Secondary School in Thanh Xuan District in Ha Noi, said that English should be considered a communication tool, and should not be used to evaluate student abilities.

Human abilities need to be evaluated comprehensively. Relying on an English certificate to directly enrol into grade 10th would be unsuitable," she said.

"I believe that when students enter high school, the things that need to be prioritised are activities that contribute to the community," said Trang.

Sharing the same view, Nguyen Minh Huong, a student of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University, with a 7.5 IELTS score last year, said many contents in IELTS were only suitable for adults, for instance, science, law, social relationships, careers and university education.

Learners need to have a complete foundation of natural and social knowledge to understand and perform the tasks in this test. At the age of 15, it is very difficult for students to thoroughly understand those topics, she said.

Nguyen Mai Hong, lecturer of the English Faculty at a university in Ha Noi, said that studying IELTS at a young age was not a good choice.

It even can cause inequality between rich and poor, rural and urban students, because fees for the test are quite high, especially for those living in rural areas, she said.

Mai believes that the ministrys decision will ease pressure on many students and parents.

Students should start preparing for the IELTS exam from grade 10, preferably grade 11, if they really need the certificate to apply for admission to domestic or foreign universities, she said.

It must be acknowledged that, with the development of society and the trend of international integration, foreign language skills, especially in English, will lead to many opportunities for everyone.

It is a great advantage for students and will open doors for them to enter different countries with different cultures.

Nevertheless, we should not place too much importance on foreign language certificates at the expense of other subjects.

Children of any age can learn English, but if we force them to study and achieve a set result in exams, that may defeat the purpose.

The main purpose of learning a foreign language is to actually use it in daily communication and work. It should be considered as one of many possible skills, not a norm to assess students capacity.

For students at age 14-15, comprehensively developing every skill is more important. Its a good time to raise their desire to learn and love English, such as letting them listen to or read good stories in English, but not force them to study and understand difficult topics to prepare for competitive exams.

Now my twin daughters, with strength and passion for social subjects, will be more confident for the coming exam.  VNS
Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province receive the saved foreign sailors from a fishing vessel of Binh Thuan province on late January 29. (Source: bariavungtau.com.vn)

Ba Ria - Vung Tau - Ten Indonesians and one Malaysian who are crewmembers of vessel Samudra Indah II in distress off the coast of Vietnam were handed over to representatives of the two countries consulates general in Ho Chi Minh City on February 29.

The hand-over event was held by the Border Guard Command, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Public Security of southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau province.

At 4:50pm on January 29, a fishing vessel from the south-central province of Binh Thuan found vessel Samudra Indah II of Malaysia sinking at a place about 20 nautical miles northeast of Con Dao island, and saved 11 crewmembers drifting at sea.

Being notified of the incident, the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Border Guard Command asked for coordination from relevant forces and vessels operating near the area to search for the missing and bring the 11 rescued sailors to Con Dao.

The sailors were safely brought to Con Dao island at 10:50pm on the same day.

At the hand-over event, Encun Asun, a crewmember of Samudra Indah II, said they had gone adrift for 17 hours before being rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.

Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau arranged accommodation, supplied essential items, and sent doctors to examine their health, he said, adding that they will never forget these deeds.

Indonesian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Agustaviano Sofian thanked the Vietnamese authorities and fishermen for saving and caring for the crewmembers as well as handing over them to the consulates general for repatriation.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau: Ready to become the leading luxury tourism centre in Vietnam The tourism industry in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province is making a strong breakthrough in both high-class tourism products and services, bringing visitors world-class resort experiences worthy of one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam.

Digital solutions to bring sustainable growth to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Digital transformation marks a significant step in narrowing the economic gap and geographical distance between Ba Ria-Vung Tau and other localities, but the province is still facing a rough path to success.
Boeing agrees to $51 mn settlement for export violations, Photo Roslan RAHMAN / AFP

The US aerospace company's export violations date back years, and were all voluntarily disclosed, the State Department said in a statement.

Among the violations it cited was Boeing's unauthorized export of defense items as well as technical information exported to foreign employees and contractors.

This included "unauthorized exports of technical data" to China.

Under the terms of settlement, "Boeing will pay a civil penalty of $51 million," the State Department said, adding that $24 million of the penalty would be suspended to allow Boeing to strengthen its compliance program.

Boeing will also have to engage an "external special compliance officer" for at least two years, and agree to at least two external audits of its compliance program.

"We are committed to our trade controls obligations, and we look forward to working with the State Department under the agreement announced today," a Boeing spokesperson told AFP.

The spokesperson added that most of the 199 violations "predate the significant improvements we have made to our trade controls compliance program since 2020."

"We are committed to continuous improvement of that program, and the compliance undertakings reflected in this agreement will help us advance that objective."

Boeing CEO: Alaska Airlines incident 'our mistake,' vows transparency Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun took responsibility on Tuesday for a near-catastrophic Alaska Airlines incident last week, vowing "complete transparency" as the aviation giant tries to pivot from its latest crisis.

Boeing shares take another hit from latest safety problem Shares of Boeing plunged Tuesday on expectations that toughened federal scrutiny following the aviation giant's mid-air safety problem earlier this month will drag on its financial performance.
Tran Viet Huy, managing director of Tracimexco  Supply Chains and Agency Services JSC (TRA-SAS), told VIR that, "The Red Sea disruption is impacting ocean freight via the Red Sea and Suez canals. It is mainly hitting shipments from Asia to Europe and some US routes. The cost of ocean freight to EU ports from Asia has gone from less than $2,000 per 40-foot shipping container before December 2023 to over $5,000."

Almost shipping lines must turn it routes via the Cape of Good Hope instead of Suez Canal which increases expenses and transit time. The lack of empty containers has also been raised by shipping lines.

"However, the increasing freight costs seem unreasonable. They have been amplified by shipping lines to cover the cost of new vessels that are set to launch in 2024. Container warehouses are running under capacity. The extra cost incurred from shipping a container via the Cape of Good Hope is less than $300 versus the increase of $3,000 per 40-foot shipping container," Huy added.

Huy emphasised that some industries which have big volume of trade between the EU and Asia are feeling the impact such as textiles and garments, agriculture, and seafood.

Echoing this view, Jan Segers, general manager of Noatum Logistics Vietnam Co., Ltd, said, "In the short term, Red Sea shipping disruption is increasing the rates by adding a war risk surcharge or by going via the Cape of Good Hope route which is longer and needs more fuel.

He further noted that the Red Sea issue is being escalated might last for years. It will be difficult for buyers and sellers to adopt different strategies to deal with it. However, the challenge facing shipping lines needs collaboration at a government level.

According to Fitch Ratings, shipping costs have increased by more than 150 per cent since December 2023 as a result of disruptions to maritime traffic in the Red Sea. These increases are likely to be reflected in rising import prices in the coming months, and longer shipping times will reduce supplies of intermediate inputs and consumer goods. The outlook for shipping costs is uncertain, but a plausible scenario is that they will remain high for several quarters.

Economist Brian Lee Shun Rong at Maybank said, The Red Sea ship disruptions are one risk worth watching, as any major and prolonged escalation may disrupt supply chains, inflate shipping costs and dampen trade. Indeed, rising tensions in the Red Sea have led to delivery delays and surging container freight costs, which may have disrupted shipments.

He cited data by the General Statistics Office showing declines in production of phone components (down 15.3 per cent), televisions (down 11.3 per cent) and mobile phones (down 3.5 per cent). A slump in production volume runs contrary to rising phone exports, and may suggest that companies are cautious about the demand recovery and/or disruptions in the Red Sea.

Thailand seeks measures to cope with escalating situation in Red Sea Thai exporters have been urged to promptly refine their export strategies given the escalating situation in the Red Sea that is affecting shipping costs and available vessel space while extending shipping duration.

Exporters struggle with escalating shipping costs Undergoing turbulent an 2023 with fewer order, sinking revenues, and reduced profits, exporters are facing further obstacles from early 2024 amidst the soaring shipping costs.
North America provides grapes for Vietnam while New Zealand exports some types of berry, Photo: Le Toan

Vietnam will be a key export market for fruit products originating from Japan, according to an event to promote imports organised by the Japan Fruit and Vegetables Export Promotion Council in collaboration with the Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Centre in January.

Currently only apples, pears, and tangerines are officially imported from Japan to Vietnam. Japanese fruits are favoured by many Vietnamese consumers and chosen as gifts despite higher prices due to strict quality control.

Seiki Furudate, deputy consul general of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, said, In the ASEAN region, the income of Singaporeans is higher than that of Vietnamese people, but more Vietnamese buy Japanese fruit even though the price is quite high. Vietnam is a high potential market for Japanese fruit exporters because of its high population and great demand for safe and quality fruit products.

In addition to pears that are out of season, apples and tangerines are two Japanese fruits currently widely sold in supermarkets and imported fruit stores in Vietnam. There are three main types of Japanese apples on the market, including fuji, kinsei yellow, and sekaiichi red.

Yuya Arashima, CEO of Star Kitchen, a Japanese fruit business at Takashimaya Trade Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, commented that Japanese fruits often have higher prices than others on the market. However, they possess perfect taste and appearance, so they are often chosen by Vietnamese consumers as gifts, especially during holidays.

In addition to the three main fruits, we hope that grapes and strawberries will also be introduced into the Vietnamese market, said Yuya Arashima.

Vietnam imported about $1.96 billion of fruit and vegetable products in 2023, according to data from the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association. The main import markets include Australia with grapes, oranges, and cherries; New Zealand with apples, kiwis, and blueberries; North America with apples and grapes; and South Korea with pears, strawberries, and grapes.

According to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, the total value of Australian horticultural exports to Vietnam grew 15.6 per cent to $127.4 million for the 12 months to July 2023, the end of the Australian financial year.

Vietnam is now Australias second-largest export market and accounted for 7 per cent of all Australian horticultural exports over this period. In comparison, the General Department of Vietnam Customs reported that horticulture exports to Australia in 2022 were worth more than $164.2 million, including fruits, vegetables, and cashew nuts.

Last December, Australia also began promoting exports of popular summer fruits including peaches and nectarines to Vietnam.

Agricultural products and fresh fruits will continue to become a key trade promotion focus in the close diplomatic relationship between the two countries. Australia will be interested in developing fruit products here in the near future, said trade and investment commissioner of the Australian Trade Promotion Agency in Vietnam, Chris Morley.

In the fiscal year 2022-2023, Australias total agricultural products exported to Vietnam hit $3.4 billion, an increase of 51.7 per cent on-year. As such, fruits and nuts accounted for 3.8 per cent of total agricultural exports to Vietnam.

Figures from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), food and beverages (F&B) account for 77 per cent of New Zealands total exports to Vietnam, with produce fruits and nuts forming 23.4 per cent of those F&B exports. New Zealand has consistently posted double-digit growth of the exports of apples and kiwi to Vietnam over the past few years.

With consistent growth of New Zealands export of apples and kiwis to the Vietnamese market over the last few years. The potential for further growth of imported fruit consumption looks to continue, especially in the apple sector where considerable growth opportunities are present in Vietnam, said Giang Nguyen, head of F&B Business Development of the NZTE.

Although it is believed to possess long-term growth potential, many foreign fruit importers and exporters assess that the market will decline slightly in 2024 due to reduced purchasing power caused by the economic recession.

Le Viet Si, CEO of imported fruit distribution business Tony Fruit, said it is forecast that imported fruit output will decrease by nearly 10 per cent compared to last year.

Importers currently do not dare to commit to output with foreign exporters. Except for Japanese fruits, most imported fruits this year have lower prices than previous years, Si said.

According to Le Huu Tinh, who is the senior marketing manager of Thiso Retail, the owner of the South Korean joint venture supermarket chain Emart, although some products such as gala apples are in good season due to increased shipping costs, the selling price also increases.

Instead of bringing American apples and green grapes to Vietnam by sea, which will be delayed, affecting product quality and business seasons, importers choose air freight. Therefore, there will be less diversity, some items will have high prices, Tinh informed.
The year 2023 marked Grab Vietnam's emphasis on strategies to provide high quality, affordable offerings to consumers and introduce more tech innovations to improve productivity for driver-partners on the platform.

By simultaneously implementing these strategies, Grab efficiently operated its platform with sustainable growth, providing long-term benefits for consumers and partners.

In 2023, Grab also intensified its open partnership strategy with top companies in various sectors to strengthen and expand the super-app ecosystem in Vietnam.

Accordingly, Grab has facilitated people's access to the digital platform and the advantages of the digital economy. Amid economic challenges, the Grab platform became a reliable choice, bringing more digital benefits and new earning opportunities to hundreds of thousands of new driver-partners and merchant-partners nationwide.

For some, Grab was the first gateway for them to experience email, own a bank account, or access digital financial services.

In addition, it also supports driver-partners in maximising every minute on the Grab platform and making accepting and completing trips as seamless as possible.

Key tech features implemented in 2023 included optimised airport queue experience, Ride Guide, and Share Live Location. Continuous tech innovations helped Grab driver-partners improve productivity and optimise earnings, with the average monthly rides in Q4 2023 increasing more than 14 per cent compared to Q1 2023.

Grab also supports merchant-partners in enhancing digital literacy and increasing revenue online with various tech innovations and booster programmes to help them self-service and manage campaign creation, optimisation and reporting, thus driving more sales.

The average monthly revenue of Grabs merchant-partners in Vietnam increased more than 22 per cent in Q4/2023 compared to the same period last year.

Another highlight was the introduction of more affordable options to help consumers save even more. Regarding mobility, Grab introduced GrabBike Tiet Kiem and GrabCar Tiet Kiem services where consumers enjoy a significantly lower fare compared to regular GrabBike and GrabCar.

As for food delivery, GrabFood added the Saver delivery option with lower delivery fees for consumers who are willing to accept a slightly longer delivery time. Between March to December 2023, GrabFood consumers in Vietnam have saved nearly VND28 billion ($1.14 million) thanks to Saver delivery.

The company also facilitates the consumption of agricultural products, promoting digital transformation in the agricultural sector. From May to September 2023, nearly 700 tonnes of fruits and agricultural products were sold on GrabMart.

Bringing children in remote areas to school safely is another notable initiative.

Grab, in partnership with The National Fund For Vietnamese Children, launched the construction of two combined spillway bridges in Nam Nhun district, Lai Chau province, with a total implementation budget of $85,000.

The two bridges were inaugurated on January 4, 2024, helping over 7,000 students, teachers, and local people to commute safely and conveniently.

This development also creates better conditions for goods transportation, contributing to the economic growth of the local communities. As of now, the GrabBridge project has successfully constructed eight bridges nationwide.

"In 2023, we have introduced more affordable options for consumers, advanced our tech capability to help our driver-partners improve their productivity and optimise earning opportunities, and provided digital tools to help merchant-partners increase revenue, while still ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of the Grab platform," said Alejandro Osorio, managing director of Grab Vietnam. "This strategy empowered us to drive robust growth in 2023 despite the challenging economic climate, demonstrating the effectiveness of Grab's business strategies and laying the groundwork for stronger growth in 2024."

In 2023, Grab also expanded its partnership strategy with leading companies in various sectors such as digital payments, banking, fintech, and consumer services.

In particular, Grab has become an integrated advertising solutions provider that offers advertisers with multiple channels.

At the SMARTIES VIETNAM 2023 awards ceremony organised by the MMA Global (Global Mobile Marketing Association), Grab won nine awards, including the prestigious Publisher of the Year and Brand of the Year awards.

"With nearly 10 years of operation in Vietnam, Grab has expanded our footprint to over 50 provinces and cities nationwide, serving a large consumer base with an extensive partner network, along with in-depth market insights and world-class tech capabilities. These advantages enable us to provide the best partnership solutions to help our business partners fuel their growth. Partnership strategy will continue to be one of our key focuses, and we look forward to becoming a valuable partner of more companies in more sectors in 2024," Osorio added.

Grab navigates affordability and sustainability Over the past year, Grab has rolled out a number of new initiatives, aimed at benefiting both consumers and driver-partners. Alejandro Osorio, CEO of Grab Vietnam, talked to VIRs Linh Le about his company's response to the evolving dynamics in the Vietnamese economy, focusing on an affordability strategy to stay relevant in a challenging economic climate.

Grab proposes simplified administrative procedures for ridesharing Grab proposes Vietnam to remove administrative procedures that are hindering the sharing economy, as well as promote the development of electric vehicles.
The guidelines set out in Singapore establish a framework for businesses seeking to design, develop, and deploy AI. They give Southeast Asias businesses a clear baseline in terms of the characteristics they should prioritise in designing AI, such as explainability, fairness, robustness, and accountability.

There is good reasoning behind this. A recent study by management consulting firm Kearney estimates that AI adoption in ASEAN may add around $1 trillion in value to regional GDP in just five years. This adds up to a massive economic opportunity for small and large companies across the regionbut it is an opportunity, not a guarantee.

As it stands, however, many of the tools used to build and control AI may be developed with limited input from users and representatives from Southeast Asia. Until recently, there was no clear consensus on a set of standards and practices for AI development here.

What this means is that the diversity of this region may not be considered in AI design, which can have serious consequences on issues like AI bias, transparency, governance, and safetywhile the usability and interoperability of AI systems designed by local businesses and individuals is also potentially limited.

AI development in ASEAN needs to take Southeast Asias cultural distinctiveness into account. It is widely known that existing Large Language Models (LLMs)which are the core building blocks of Generative AI systemsdemonstrate biases in terms of cultural values, political beliefs, and social attitudes when they are built using data drawn mostly from English-speaking users.

It may not be surprising that the ten member-nations which make up ASEAN are grossly underrepresented in these existing popular LLMs. To illustrate this, consider the term 'LOL', or 'laugh out loud', which is so widely used that it may come as a shock to some that most non-anglophone countries across ASEAN use entirely different terms.

In Thailand, they use '5555' because the number five is pronounced ha in Thai, while Indonesians use 'wkwkwk', with wk representing 'gue ketawa'or 'I laugh' in Bahasa Indonesia. Losing out on these unique cultural and linguistic markers means that AI built on popular LLMs may simply not be relevant in this region.

In response to this, AI Singapore, a national initiative launched by the Singaporean government, has recently introduced the Southeast Asian Languages In One Network (SEA-LION) LLM family, which is specifically tuned for Southeast Asian languages and cultural indicators.

Part of SEA-LIONs tuning includes the use of purpose-built methods aimed at enabling AI systems to comprehend and process text in Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Thai, and Vietnamese. SEA-LION will also be expanded to process other languages, such as Burmese and Lao.

By using more inclusively designed LLMs like SEA-LION, AI systems can be trained on data that better reflects Southeast Asia, leading to AI software that can better service the needs of users and companies across the area.

The guidelines adopted at ADGMIN are also significant for governments, as they set the tone for national-level regulations governing AI, encouraging the adoption of risk-based approaches that allow regulators to effectively address gaps in existing frameworks, and promote responsible AI development.

All in all, ASEANs adoption of these guidelines is an important step towards introducing a coherent set of standards and practices for AI across the region. Using these guidelines, companies in every ASEAN member-nation can focus their efforts on the right checks and balances for the AI systems they seek to develop, knowing that these are the same priorities endorsed ASEAN-wide.

This reinforces ASEANs position as a proactive driver of growth for the regions burgeoning AI industry, broadening the market for AI businesses in any member economy by allowing them to access opportunities under the same terms they might find at home.

Furthermore, as part of ASEANs effort to ensure that the guidelines were as holistic as possible, it consulted the private sector, including AWS, for input. We were proud to have been able to contribute our views and endorse this important document.

As 2024 unfolds, another development we can look forward to in ASEAN is the much-anticipated Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).

Aside from ensuring AI systems take ASEANs cultural and linguistic uniqueness into account and adhere to common standards of governance, governments across the region must ensure that AI remains accessible to as much of the population as possible.

Through Digital Trade Agreements like DEFA, ASEAN should aim to promote inclusive and broader adoption of AI, and enable access to the right tools and data to effectively use AI.

DEFA has the potential to do this by securing commitments on cross-border data flows that allow businesses in ASEAN to access the same high-quality AI tools as elsewhere in the world  so a developer in Hanoi should have access to the same AI tools as a developer in San Francisco. Adopting international standards to ensure AI use cases developed here can be used anywhere else will also be important.

It is clear that 2024 will be a pivotal year for AI in the region. With the strides that have already been made to date, however, we can be confident that strong foundations are being laid for Southeast Asia to move boldly into an AI-powered future.

AWS is helping Asia-Pacific get 'AI-ready' We hear from Andrew Sklar, director of Training and Certification at Amazon Web Services for Asia Pacific and Japan, about the tech giant's new training initiatives that are helping businesses and individuals in the region prepare for the next big evolutionary step in technology.

AWS re:Invent 2023 showcased future of AI AWS re:Invent 2023 made a big impression with some groundbreaking announcements, thought-provoking keynote speeches, and immersive experiences to help businesses plan the future of their cloud transformation journey.
An unidentified man died after he was shot multiple times. Officers responded to the shooting Thursday in the 6900 block of Northeast Loop 410 East. mbbirdy/Getty Images

San Antonio police found a 27-year-old man shot and killed Thursday on the Northeast Side.

According to a police preliminary report, officers responded to a shooting around 4 p.m. in the 6900 block of Northeast Loop 410 East.

ALSO READ: Teen accused of murder after a drug deal went wrong in Converse

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Officers found an unidentified man with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the 27-year-old met with two men at the location, and for unknown reasons, the men shot him multiple times, the report states.
Logo of social media X shown in a smartphone. (Source: Antara)

Jakarta  Indonesias Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) summoned representatives from the Singapore office of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to address concerns regarding online gambling advertisements on the platform.

Speaking at a press conference on February 29, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director-general of informatics application at the ministry, said the ministry wanted to streamline the process of identifying and removing gambling content without manual intervention.

Pangerapan said that they issue a notice to take down for such content, but it becomes cumbersome if it repeats. Indonesian authority asked the platform to develop a system for automatic handling.

Concerns among netizens have escalated due to the proliferation of online gambling advertisements on X, involving public figures. This was deemed disruptive, appearing in search results even for users who did not follow accounts promoting online gambling.

According to a recent survey by Populix, 63% of internet users claimed they have been exposed to online gambling ads, with 41% of respondents admitting an interest in visiting online gambling sites after seeing such advertisements. Out of this group, 16% eventually tried online gambling.

In 2023, Kominfo took down 810,785 pieces of content related to online gambling, nearly quadrupling the number removed in 2022.

Kominfo Minister Budi Arie disclosed that stern warnings and ultimatums were issued to various social media platforms, including Meta in October 2023 and X in January 2024. These warnings led to Meta removing 1.65 million online gambling content pieces and 450,000 related advertisements from August to October 2023.

Indonesia's law governing electronic transactions and information prohibits online gambling, imposing severe penalties of up to ten years imprisonment and fines of up to 10 billion Rp (645,000 USD) for operators found guilty of operating gambling sites.

Indonesia warns of climate change-induced rice price hikes Climate and weather changes are causing crop failures, thereby leading to the rice prices soaring across the world, including Indonesia, said Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Pho (Rice noodle) Festival 2024 to be held from March 15-17 in Nam Dinh (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi  The Pho (Noodle) Festival 2024 will be held from March 15-17 in the northern province of Nam Dinh  the birthplace of renowned Pho Co.

With the theme "Journey of Vietnamese Pho," the festival aims to honour and preserve a long-standing craft, which is rich in cultural values and diverse in variations of Vietnamese people, from 'pho' in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, and Ho Chi Minh City to those with regional characteristics such as pho made from maize of the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang, and pho made from artichoke in the Central Highlands of Lam Dong. More specifically, dossiers are being prepared to make it in the list of world intangible cultural heritages.

This year, the festival will comprise more than 50 stalls, offering about 15,000-20,000 bowls of pho served by exchanging coupons. Each coupon is equivalent to one bowl at any stall, all priced at 15,000 VND (0.61 USD).

Main activities include a "Journey of Vietnamese Pho performance demonstrating the ancient pho making process of Van Cu craft village, a seminar discussing the profession from the past to the present, and cooking a record pot of this dish.

Vietnamese Pho among worlds 100 most popular dishes: TasteAtlas Pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup sold in almost all street corners in Vietnam, finds itself at the 34th place in a list of 100 most popular dishes in the world as complied by international food magazine TasteAtlas.
Over 100kg bomb successfully deactivated in Binh Dinh, Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Binh Dinh  A 115kg bomb that remained intact and had high dangerousness has been successfully deactivated in the central province of Binh Dinh.

The bomb, about 100cm in length and nearly 30cm in diameter, was discovered by some workers while they were leveling the ground at Go Cay industrial cluster in Binh Thanh commune of Tay Son district.

Be informed of the bomb, the Binh Thanh Peoples Committee ordered the communes military command to examine and seal off the site in case of an explosion.

At about 9am on February 28, sappers from the Binh Dinh Military Command moved the bomb to the training ground of a military unit in Binh Thanh commune to deactivate it in line with regulations.

Germany's Kurz unveils $40 million Binh Dinh plant German thin film technology company Kurz celebrated the inauguration of its advanced foil and thin film manufacturing facility at the Becamex VSIP Binh Dinh Industrial Park on September 8. The facility's primary product will be the high-tech 'hot stamping foil'.

Binh Dinh province seeks investment from RoK A delegation from the central province of Binh Dinh led by Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Ho Quoc Dung on November 3 organised an investment promotion conference in the Republic of Korea (RoK) as part of their visit to the country.
Last week, SCB X Public Company Limited (SCBX), Thailand's fourth-largest bank by assets, announced that it will scoop up all of the charter capital in Home Credit Vietnam for VND20.97 trillion (approximately $860 million). The move is part of the Thai lender's bid to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia.

Home Credit Vietnam is a part of Home Credit Group, which was established in 1997 in the Czech Republic. The Home Credit Group operates in multiple countries across Asia and Europe and is owned by PPF Group, an international investment company.

Arthid Nanthawithaya, CEO of SCB X, said, The acquisition of Home Credit Vietnam marks a significant milestone in SCBXs journey to become a top regional financial technology group. This strategic acquisition strengthens our presence in the high-growth ASEAN market and also increases value and maximises return to our shareholders in the long term.

Vietnam, with its dynamic economy averaging 7.5 per cent GDP growth over the past decade and a tech-savvy population, is a key strategic market for SCBX, Nanthawithaya said. This acquisition marks the beginning of SCBX Groups expansion into Vietnam, a country with a population of over 100 million. Home Credit Vietnam has a 15 million customer base, 14,000 point-of-sale locations, and an experienced management team of European and Vietnamese members.

She further noted that Home Credit Vietnam will serve as an important base for SCBX Groups presence in Vietnam and immediately contribute positive bottom line to the group after deal completion. This acquisition also diversifies the groups income base for future strength, while maintaining a superior capital adequacy ratio both at SCBX and the bank after the completion of the transaction.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the first half of 2025, subject to approval from relevant authorities.

In early February, Central Pattana, Thailands leading retail property developer and a member of Thailand's Central Group, also announced its subsidiary CPN Global Co., Ltd. has set up a presence in Vietnam.

CPN Global Vietnam will be involved in real estate management to develop future projects on behalf of Central Pattana. With a registered capital of VND20 billion ($815,245), CPN Global Vietnam is a one-member limited liability company, in which CPN Global Co., Ltd. holds a 100 per cent stake.

Central Pattanas foray into Vietnam is also aligned with the expansion of its sister firm Central Retail in the country. Central Retail has a plan to invest $1.45 billion in Vietnam from 2023 to 2027. The group aims to reach a sales target of $4.33 billion by 2027 and nearly double the number of its stores to 600.

Likewise, WHA Group, Thailand's leading developer of industrial estates, logistics facilities, industrial utilities and power, is continuing its expansion in Vietnam. Besides WHA Industrial Zone 1 - Nghe An, of which phase 1 has been highly successful with more than 77 per cent of tenancy reached, and the second phase currently under development planning, the company has plans for a further three industrial zone projects.

In addition, the company has set a target of reaching total sales of 178 million cubic metres for both water supply and wastewater management, divided into 142 million in Thailand and 36 million in Vietnam. This represents a growth rate of over 14 per cent, driven by the expansion of all types of water services in new WHA industrial estates and outside, as well as the continuous growth in demand for water from customers in Vietnam.

Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Nikorndej Balankura told local media that Thailand has become Vietnams largest trading partner in ASEAN with total trade volume of nearly $20 billion. Thai investments in Vietnam have also tripled to 735 projects with a total value of more than $14 billion, making it the ninth largest foreign investor in the country.

Looking ahead, numerous promising prospects are expected in 2024 for Thailand and Vietnam as both sides join hands in paving way for the elevation of their relations to a new height of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which will contribute to comprehensively strengthening and deepening bilateral relations as well as subregional and regional stability and prosperity, he said.

Thailands Kasikornbank to expand operation in Vietnam Kasikornbank (KBank), Thailands second-largest lender by total assets, is focusing on expanding its international banking business this year in Vietnam and Indonesia, given the two ASEAN economies high growth potential.

Thailand's Central Pattana sets up Vietnamese subsidiary Central Pattana Public Company Limited has announced that its subsidiary, CPN Global Co., Ltd., has established a presence in Vietnam, according to a notification sent to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on February 2.

Thailands high household debt affects automotive sector The rising debts of households in Thailand have prompted financial institutes to employ stricter criteria in granting auto loans, resulting in the automotive industry's production and sales down in January compared to the same period last year, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)s Automotive Industry Club.
More than 500 domestic and foreign enterprises are participating in the Vietnam International Textile and Garment Industry Exhibition (VIATT 2024) taking place from February 28 to March 1 at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City.

The exhibition is focusing on specialised fields including fibres, fabrics and textile accessories, textiles, textile technology and sewing machines. It is being chaired by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and organised by the Department of Trade Promotion in partnership with Messe Frankfurt Group from Germany.

VIATT 2024 has over 500 booths being run by more than 500 domestic and international businesses from 16 countries and territories, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Bulgaria, Italy, the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and China.

In her opening speech, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang assessed that in recent years, Vietnam's textile and garment industry has developed strongly and plays an increasingly important role in the growth of the economy.

Among all current industrial export products, textiles and garments have the highest export turnover and growth rate, accounting for 12-16 per cent of the country's total export turnover.

According to Thang, Vietnam's textile and garment export turnover has increased nearly 6 times since it became a member of the World Trade Organisation 15 years ago.

In addition, the textile industry currently employs more than two million workers, accounting for more than 10 per cent of the country's industrial workforce.

Statistics show that in 2023, textile and garment exports reached $40.3 billion, down 9.2 per cent compared to 2022.

The highlight of the textile and garment industry last year was the expanding efforts to new markets. In addition to traditional markets such as the US, Japan, Korea, and the EU, Vietnam exported a significant amount of textiles and garments to Canada, China, the UK, Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and India.

As of February 15, Vietnam's textile and garment export turnover had reached $4.9 billion, an increase of 17 per cent over the same period last year.

The textile and garment industry expects to achieve export turnover of $44 billion in 2024, an increase of 9 per cent compared to 2023, Thang said.

To help textile and garment enterprises find new customers and markets, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is coordinating with industry associations to build a sustainable development plan that includes leather and footwear.

Policies will also be proposed to help textile and garment enterprises convert production to a green and sustainable model, she added.

Held for the first time, VIATT 2024 had created better conditions for businesses in the textile and garment sector in Vietnam to form trade connections with international businesses and participate in the global production chain, forming links from raw material production to final products.

At the same time, major brands from around the world are being encouraged to transfer technology, management experience and participate in the process of developing raw materials and auxiliary materials to form a domestic supply chain.

The textile and garment industry will also have access to modern and advanced technology from the EU, as well as investment and support projects to promote green production transformation, helping Vietnamese goods meet EU standards.

Currently, Vietnam is the world's third largest exporter of textiles and garments with much potential for further development.

Many international textile manufacturers have been expanding their operations in Vietnam to boost the already strong domestic industry. Being a member of international trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement will continue to support the development of the country's textile industry.

Japanese textile enterprises consider shrinking production in Vietnam Facing labour cost increases and a low localisation rate, some Japanese textile companies are thinking about cutting production in Vietnam.

Vietnam's garment and textile companies eye sustainable products Companies seek to diversify supply chains to tap into opportunities from a wide range of new-generation free trade agreements and an increasing flow of investments into the local market.
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ATLANTA (AP)  A man who killed his former girlfriend three decades ago is set to be put to death in March in what would be Georgia's first execution in more than four years.

A judge on Thursday signed the order for the execution of Willie James Pye, who was convicted of murder and other crimes in the November 1993 killing of Alicia Lynn Yarbrough. The execution is scheduled for March 20 at 7 p.m., after the judge set an execution window between noon that day and noon on March 27.

Pye, 59, would be the first person executed in Georgia since January 2020. Georgia executions are carried out at the state prison in Jackson by injection of the sedative pentobarbital.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, executions were effectively halted for a certain group of people on Georgia's death row by an agreement between their attorneys and the state. Pye's lawyer cited that agreement when asking a court Wednesday to prohibit the state from seeking an execution warrant against him for the time being.

Pye and Yarbrough had dated on and off, but at the time of her death Yarbrough was living with another man, according to court filings. Pye, Chester Adams and a 15-year-old boy had planned to rob that man and bought a handgun before heading to a party in Griffin, prosecutors have said.

The trio left the party around midnight and went to the house where Yarbrough lived, finding her alone with her baby. They forced their way into the house, stole a ring and necklace from Yarbrough and took her with them when they left, leaving the baby alone, prosecutors have said

They drove to a motel, where they took turns raping Yarbrough and then left the motel with her in the teenager's car, prosecutors have said. They turned onto a dirt road and Pye ordered Yarbrough out of the car, made her lie face down and shot her three times, according to court filings.

Yarbrough's body was found on Nov. 17, 1993, a few hours after she was killed. Pye, Adams and the teenager were quickly arrested. Pye and Adams denied knowing anything about Yarbrough's death, but the teenager confessed and implicated the other two.

The teenager reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and was the main witness at Pyes trial. A jury in June 1996 found Pye guilty of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape and burglary, and sentenced him to death.

Pye's lawyers had long argued in courts that he should be resentenced because his trial lawyer didn't adequately prepare for the sentencing phase of his trial. Pye's lawyers argued that his trial attorney failed to do a sufficient investigation into his life, background, physical and psychiatric health to prevent mitigating evidence to the jury during sentencing.

They presented evidence that his childhood was characterized by poverty, abuse and neglect. They also argued that he suffered from frontal-lobe brain damage, potentially caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, that harmed his ability to plan and control his impulses.

A federal judge rejected those claims, but a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Pye's lawyers in April 2021. But then the case was reheard by the full federal appeals court, which overturned the panel ruling in October 2022.

Adams, now 55, pleaded guilty in April 1997 to charges of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, armed robbery, rape and aggravated sodomy. He got five consecutive life prison sentences and remains behind bars.

When Georgia courts were under a judicial emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic, lawyers for a group of people on death row entered into an agreement with the office of state Attorney General Chris Carr to temporarily suspend executions and establish conditions under which they could resume.

The agreement said that, with one named exception, executions wouldnt resume until six months after three conditions had been met: the expiration of the states COVID-19 judicial emergency, the resumption of normal visitation at state prisons and the availability of a COVID vaccine to all members of the public.

The agreement applied to death-sentenced prisoners whose requests to have their petitions reheard were denied by the 11th Circuit while the judicial emergency was in place. That agreement is currently the subject of litigation in Fulton County Superior Court with executions for the prisoners in question on hold for now.

Pyes lawyer argued in a court filing Wednesday that he qualifies as a third-party beneficiary of that agreement even though the 11th Circuits final rejection of his request for a rehearing came in March 2023. He asked the court to allow him to join the pending litigation, which would protect him from execution for the time being.

Lawyers for the state responded in a filing Thursday that Pye was not covered by the agreement and should not be allowed to join the pending litigation.

The judge who signed the execution order also wrote that Pye is not part of the agreement and that it, therefore, does not prevent his execution from proceeding.
SPARTANSBURG, Pa. (AP)  Search warrant filings for the Pennsylvania home where a pregnant Amish woman was killed this week said she appeared to have suffered cutting wounds to her neck and head.

Two search warrants were issued at the request of state police regarding Monday's slaying of Rebekah A. Byler, 23. Her body was found in the living room of her home a few miles from Spartansburg.

The slaying shocked the rural community in northwestern Pennsylvania, where people say the Amish, who restrict the use of technology and are known for their traditional clothing, get on well with non-Amish in the area.

The warrant applications regarding the home and outbuildings that were submitted by an investigator, Trooper Adam Black, said the victim's husband, Andy Byler, found her body a short distance inside the home shortly after noon.

Black wrote that a woman, previously described by police as a family friend, called 911 at 12:36 p.m. to report that she and Andy Byler found Rebekah Byler unresponsive when they arrived.

Trooper Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press on Thursday the investigation and autopsy have given police an idea of what the murder weapon may have been, but they do not have it in their possession.

Two young Byler children at the home were not harmed, Schick has said.

Arriving at the crime scene, state police officers found Rebekah Byler on her back in the living room, Black wrote. The warrants sought knives, blades, cutting instruments and other items.

Police have not said how she was killed. They also said they have not developed any suspects and want the public to contact them with any tips.

The home is located along a dirt road in a very remote farming area. There were no signs of activity Thursday afternoon at the house, where a buggy, a bike and a truck were parked outside. A few miles away, a gift shop displayed a handwritten sign offering prayers for their Amish neighbors.

Scores of Amish turned out for calling hours Thursday evening at a home in the community. Many arrived by buggies lit by headlights along the narrow country roads. A representative of the community told a reporter outside the home that the community would not be commenting on the matter.

Lindsey Smith, president of the womens auxiliary of the Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department, said everyone is sad and shocked by the tragedy.

Its not something that happens around here, she said as she and other volunteers prepared food on Thursday afternoon at the department for its Friday fish fry. Were worried about our Amish.

Residents said the Amish had a longstanding presence here and mix well with the surrounding community. Amish and non-Amish visit each other's homes, and the Amish work jobs for the non-Amish and attend events like the fish fries, they said. Neighbors have been raising money to help the Byler family.

They are a big part of our community, Smith said. They support us a lot.

Katie Rhodes, a waitress at the Dutch Treat Restaurant in Spartansburgs small business district, said people are still absorbing the shock of the news.

My heart breaks for the family, for the little kids, she said.

The Amish generally follow basic Christian beliefs and practices but are not homogeneous, according to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. They are known for simple clothing and for relying on horses and buggies for transportation. Local congregations maintain a variety of rules and restrictions regarding dress, the use of technology and participation in American society.

The overall Amish population is nearly 400,000 people in hundreds of settlements across 32 states, Canada and Bolivia. Pennsylvania has one of the greatest concentrations of Amish.

Scolforo reported from Lemoyne, Pennsylvania.
Spring break camps

Spots are still available for spring break camps at Dewey, Doris Miller and South Waco community centers. Camps will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. March 4-8. The registration fee is $75 per child for kids ages 5-13.

The camps include outdoor adventures, crafts, games and educational activities.

To sign up, go to waco-texas.com/parks.

Waco Block Party

Waco Block Party, a free three-day extravaganza showcasing Wacos cultural scene, local talent, film and businesses, will continue through Saturday in downtown Waco.

The event will feature a battle of the bands, podcast convention, film festival and a headlining performance, providing a platform for local talent and businesses. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to support the nonprofit Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of McLennan County.

For more information, call 254-466-6441.

Chili supper

Hewitt Methodist Church, 600 First St. in Hewitt, will host a chili supper from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Meals cost $10 for adults and $5 for children.

Sunrise hike

Friends of Cameron Park Waco will host a sunrise hike at 7 a.m. Saturday starting from the Cameron Park Clubhouse.

The gathering spot is at the top of Jacobs Ladder, to the side of the clubhouse. The parking lot for the clubhouse may not be open at 7, but street parking is available. The hike will be 1.5 to 2 hours, though the hike time is flexible with longer and shorter options offered.

The hike is free, but donations are appreciated. Members of the newly organized Friends Of Cameron Park Waco are encouraged to bring friends and family along. Membership is $25 a year.

For more information, email friendsofcameronparkwaco@gmail.com.

Beekeepers school

The Fourteenth Annual Central Texas Beekeepers School will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Brenham High School, 525 A H Ehrig Drive. The school is open to the public for anyone interested in keeping bees or who wants to learn about bees.

Early admission to the school is $90 for the first adult and $85 for additional adults in the family. Admission is $70 for active and retired military members; $35 for students older than 12, including college students; and $20 for children younger than 12 attending with a parent. Registration the day of the school will be $110.

The cost of the school includes a catered barbecue meal with Blue Bell ice cream and a school book with information about beekeeping.

For more information, call 979-277-0411 or email centraltexasbeekeepers@gmail.com. This event is not sponsored by Brenham High School or Brenham ISD.

Sip and Stroll

The West Warrior Kids Foundation will hold a Sip and Stroll 0.5K at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in downtown West to help support Mighty Maverick. Registration is $35 for adults, $10 for kids.

The rigorous course will truly test the determination and grit as participants stroll, saunter, walk or skip their way through. There will be plenty of stops for participants to recharge their batteries and help them push through.

The after party will include food, music and fun.

To sign up, go to runsignup.com.

Acting workshop

Bradyn Braziel and Mission Waco will offer an acting workshop for ages 15 and up from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Jubilee Theatre, 1319 N. 15th St.

The workshop was rescheduled from Saturday.

Participants will workshop engaging and challenging scenes, working solo, with a duet partner or in a small group.

The class is $25, and tickets are available at brushfire.com/missionwaco.

Chorus auditions

The Central Texas Choral Society will hold auditions starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Central United Methodist Church, 5740 Bagby Ave.

The groups next concert, May the Road Rise to Meet You, will be June 10. To sign up for an audition time or for more information, go to centraltexaschoralsociety.org, or email centexchoralsociety@gmail.com.

Lester Gibson Collection

An unveiling event for the Lester Gibson Collection will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. March 8 at Baylor Universitys Mark & Paula Hurd Welcome Center, 905 S. University Parks Drive, hosted by the Baylor Collections of Political Materials at W. R. Poage Library.

Former U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards will share remarks at 3:15 p.m.

To RSVP, call 254-710-1268.

Barbecue competition

La Vega High School, 555 N. Loop 340, will host a regional high school barbecue competition from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 9.

Teams will cook porkchops, skirt steak, chicken, ribs and chili as they compete to advance to a state competition May 4 in Burnet.

For more information, contact Slade Rodriguez at slade.rodriguez@lavegaisd.org or 254-299-8620.
Jordan Jackson is a go-getter. A hustler. An entrepreneur. He inherited the trait  maybe its a gene  he says, from his father, Greg Jackson, who never believed in excuses.

Were Jacksons, said Jordan, imitating his fathers lifelong admonition to him. That means get it done. ... We endure. We persevere. We get it done.

Greg Jacksons words sunk in from the start. Jordan Jackson mowed lawns. He scooped driveways. He dabbled in landscaping, and he deejayed weddings.

Heck, he was even a garbage collector.

And then during the pandemic, while surfing the internet, he came across a recipe for birria, a Mexican delicacy from the state of Jalisco, where goat meat is slow-cooked in a spicy broth for hours. Once fall-apart tender, the meat is shredded and used to make tacos.

Nobody here sells them, he said, seeing a hole in the market.

So, he settled on a recipe that substituted beef for goat meat and soon began selling the tacos out of his house with the help of four small flat-top griddles.

The birria tacos were an instant hit. They were so popular, it wasnt long before he forked out more than $30,000 for a food truck that he parked in front of Craft Axe Throwing, 1821 N St.

Maybe serving good food was in the cards all along. Consider that Greg Jackson owned Poppis BBQ more than a decade ago, while Nick Maestas, owner of Muchachos, was Jordan Jacksons mentor in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program more than 20 years ago.

And when Charles Brewer, another strong influence, came along it all seemed like it was meant to be.

It was just a matter of timing, Brewer said.

Brewer called Jackson, whose food truck business was thriving, in early October to ask if Jackson would be interested in taking over the lease of his downtown Stur 22 location in November.

The 32-year-old lifelong Lincolnite didnt have to think twice.

Birria Boss opened in late November at 1320 O St. and in about three months of operation, Jackson says business has exceeded all expectations.

Owning a brick-and-mortar operation had always been a dream, but some dreams  the really lofty ones  are too big to ever truly believe.

And then Brewer called.

Brewer had been in the next stall at a food truck event last summer and got a first-hand glimpse at the kind of business Birria Boss was doing.

His line was out the door, and Im like, What is going on? What is this guy doing? Brewer said. He was like that the whole time. He was just busy, busy. It was pretty impressive how busy he was, and he just handled it like a pro.

By that point, Brewer was planning his exit strategy. Having someone take over his lease was preferred, but not essential.

Jackson, who drove his food truck year-round, was not looking forward to another winter of slinging tacos out in the cold. Moving into Brewers location would allow him to kick the tires on downtown without a lease that bound him there in case it didnt work.

Hes tweaked his hours of operation by opening for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then closing the doors until 5 p.m. He stays open until 9 p.m. during the week but expands the hours to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays to get a slice of the bar-hopping crowd.

Were doing a lot more than we did in the food truck, said Kylie Mullen, a Beatrice native who runs the Birria Boss kitchen. We have pretty good crowds. Sometimes, its crazy.

What Jackson has found is that Lincoln is a taco town. There are a few places that do it right, Jackson said. They stay true to the culture and have grabbed their share of the market.

His time in the food truck  and his social media presence that has more than 8,000 followers  has allowed him to find a niche in a culinary market that has become just as popular as burgers.

Maybe thats the reason Birria Boss has had some early success, Brewer says. Tacos, while considered international, have become widely accepted  a great option for both lunch and dinner  by most people in Lincoln.

People like what were doing, he said, remembering a customer who came into the restaurant with her family  an elderly Mexican woman who spoke no English  who told Jackson (through an interpreter) something hell never forget.

She said my tacos reminded her of home, he said. It turns out she was from Jalisco. That was the greatest compliment I could have ever had.

In a short time, Birria Boss has earned its credentials. The restaurant has been nominated for five Lincoln Choice Awards, including best Mexican restaurant and best under-the-radar eatery.

In addition, it will be a No. 10 seed in KLINs annual Munch Madness tournament, which pits 64 eateries in a bracket-style competition that will crown Lincolns best restaurant.

Those are indicators that the hustle was worth it, that after kicking a lot of cans down the road, Jackson may have at last found his place.

This is what Ive always wanted to do, he says. Ive always been a cook. I always loved cooking. My dad was a cook and so Ive always been, like, around it.

Im doing what Ive always wanted.

Here are some of Lincoln's hidden gem restaurants, according to Reddit Daffodil Mediterranean Cuisine and Catering Heoya Afghan Village Cuisine Norm's on 48th El Potro Mexican Restaurant L's Kitchen Fattoush Restaurant Super Taco
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who is seeking a third term, is adept at attracting media attention, a possible throwback to his past life as a public information officer for the San Antonio Police Department. Above, he greets guests at an annual fundraising event at a Mexican restaurant on the Northwest Side. Ronald Cortes Dennis Casillas, center, a Republican candidate for Bexar County sheriff, with his wife, Zulma, right, at a candidate forum at the Del Webb Community Center on the far West Side. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News Sharon Rodriguez is challenging Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar in the March 5 Democratic primary. Sharon Rodriguez has worked in a few law enforcement agencies in Bexar County, including the sheriff's office. She finished a distant second to Salazar in the 2020 primary. Nathan Buchanan is a Republican candidate for Bexar County sheriff. In the past, Buchanan, 40, ran unsuccessfully for Precinct 3 constable and Bexar County judge. Courtesy of Nathan Buchanan Victor A. Mendoza, right, a Republican candidate for Bexar County sheriff, recites the pledge of allegiance at a candidate forum at Del Webb Community Center on the far West Side. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News Dennis Casillas is seeking the Republican nomination for Bexar County Sheriff. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News

The three candidates seeking the GOP nomination for Bexar County sheriff often talk past one another in their eagerness to attack Sheriff Javier Salazar, a Democrat.

Indeed, he's a too tempting target for the Republican candidates  Nathan Buchanan, Dennis Casillas and Victor A. Mendoza  to resist. (Casillas and Mendoza formerly worked in the sheriff's office.)

While Salazar is facing a challenger in the Democratic primary election Tuesday, the two-term incumbent is seen as the heavy favorite to make it to next fall's general election. He's running against Sharon Rodriguez, who has worked in a few law enforcement agencies in Bexar County, including the sheriff's office, and was a distant second to Salazar in the 2020 primary.

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And Salazar, 53, is adept at attracting media attention, staging numerous news conferences, a possible throwback to his past life as a public information officer with the San Antonio Police Department. And he doesn't shy away from politically charged controversies.

He recommended felony and misdemeanor charges of unlawful restraint after operatives working for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew more than 50 asylum-seekers on two charter planes from San Antonio to Marthas Vineyard in September 2022.

Salazar railed against DeSantis in an October episode of "60 Minutes." And in June, he met with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after another DeSantis operation flew migrants from Texas to Sacramento.

Casillas, who served as deputy chief under Salazar, sometimes calls his former boss Hollywood Javi.

And he claims Salazar's reaction to the migrant flights to Martha's Vineyard was intended to distract voters from the sheriff's office's long-running investigation of the Anaqua Springs Ranch shooting in 2019.

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Nichol Olsen, 37, and her two daughters, Alexa Montez, 16, and London Bribiescas, 10, were found dead in a home they shared with Olsens boyfriend, Charles Wheeler, in the Anaqua Springs Ranch gated community near Leon Springs. Five years after the killings, no suspect has been arrested, and families of the victims have been critical of Salazar's handling of the matter.

The sheriff recently told the San Antonio Express-News Editorial Board that he's keeping the investigation open and that he still has unanswered questions about the case.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar, who is seeking a third term, is adept at attracting media attention, a possible throwback to his past life as a public information officer for the San Antonio Police Department. Ronald Cortes

Tough balancing act

In 2020, Salazar became the first Bexar County sheriff to be reelected since 2004. But his time in office hasn't been problem-free.

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The sheriff's job is twofold: to operate the Bexar County Jail, which currently has about 4,400 inmates, and to patrol and investigate crimes in the 629 square miles of unincorporated Bexar County  though his department's jurisdiction encompasses the county's entire 1,240 square miles.

Salazar hired a new jail chief as part of his effort to get the facility back on track, and he sought advice early in his second term from a consultant to improve jail operations.

READ MORE: What to know about voting in the 2024 Texas primary election

Salazar has been trying to fill numerous vacant positions in the jail, which has led to many employees working 16-hour shifts, forcing the county to spend millions of dollars on overtime.

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The policing side of his department also has a number of jobs waiting to be filled.

In August, Bexar County deputies got pay raises to try to ease the department's retention problems. Salazar also introduced the Straight to the Streets program, which allows people to apply for law enforcement positions without first serving in the jail. Working in the lockup before going out on patrol had been a longstanding requirement.

Salazar said Straight to the Streets has not affected the number of jailers on the job and that the wage increases have improved employee retention rates.

The sheriffs office employs about 1,500 uniformed officers, 900 of whom work in the jail. In August, Salazar said the jail had 250 job vacancies and law enforcement an additional 30. Last month, he said vacancies had dropped to 200 and 10, respectively.

Its helped, Salazar said of the pay increase. But its not one of those things where just overnight its going to solve our manpower issues, but were starting to see the needle move in the right direction.

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The sheriff oversees an annual budget of $167 million.

Victor A. Mendoza, a Republican candidate for Bexar County sheriff, speaks at a candidate forum at the Del Webb Community Center on the far West Side. Salgu Wissmath/San Antonio Express-News

Battling for the badge

Ronald Tooke, president of the Deputy Sheriffs Association of Bexar County, speaks highly of Salazar and his accomplishments, notably the pay raise for deputies. The union's political action committee has endorsed Salazar.

Tooke said Salazar often highlights deputies who perform well in their jobs but is also a strict enforcer of department standards.

"Whether people believe it or not, we have the same goals," Tooke said. "We want better for our people. We want our reputation to be better. So we're in line on a lot of stuff."

But Casillas contends the job vacancies are the result of low morale under Salazar. He says the sheriff is a poor manager of personnel and the budget.

Casillas has the most experience of anyone gunning for Salazars seat. He worked in the sheriffs office from 1983 through 2020.

He ran a write-in campaign against Salazar and the Republican nominee, Gerry Rickhoff, in 2020. Casillas garnered 389 votes  less than 1% of the total number of votes in the race in the general election.

Casillas is also focusing in his campaign on the number of jail inmate deaths under Salazar.

Throughout Salazars tenure, 78 inmates have died, according to data provided by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Many of those inmates died after being transported from the jail to a hospital. Five of the deaths were homicides, while the rest were classified by the commission as accidental, natural or suicide.

This is my family, this is my house, and I feel that by running for election and getting elected, that I can right this sinking ship, Casillas said.

Salazar said he and Casillas butted heads when they worked together, and he called Casillas' management methods antiquated.

For their part, Casillas opponents in the Republican primary have raised concerns about his political affiliation  he used to be a Democrat.

Casillas, however, said he left the Democratic Party because of what he views as overly permissive stances on law enforcement, including the decriminalization of marijuana.

Mendoza is entering the race with 27 years of law enforcement experience, with almost two decades as a deputy in the sheriffs office. He'd left the department by the time Salazar took over as sheriff.

Like Casillas, Mendoza, a 55-year-old VIA Metropolitan Transit police officer, believes he could run the office more efficiently than Salazar, saying he would make major improvements within his first 100 days in office if he is elected.

For him, running for this position has been a longtime dream.

I always knew I wanted to be the sheriff, he said.

Buchanan, 40, has run several unsuccessful campaigns, first for Precinct 3 constable in 2016 and 2020 and then for Bexar County judge in 2022. He did not respond to requests for an interview.

On his social media platforms, he has been strongly opposed to San Antonios Centro de Bienvenida, formerly known as the Migrant Resource Center. The facility on San Pedro Avenue temporarily houses asylum-seekers traveling through the city and helps them get plane or bus tickets to leave the city  many have court hearings scheduled out of state.

My first week in office, mark my words, that place will be raided, Buchanan said in a video posted on X, formally known as Twitter. And people if they interfere  I dont care if it is the police officers working there doing a part-time job, they will be arrested if they interfere and try to stop us from doing it.

During the pandemic, Buchanan, a small-business owner, criticized Bexar County leaders for issuing emergency shutdown orders that hurt local businesses.

The only person directly going up against Salazar in Tuesday's primary election is Rodriguez, who lost to the sheriff in the Democratic primary four years ago. Rodriguez, 36, was one of four challengers in 2020. She finished second but received only 17.6% of the vote, to Salazars 53.8%.

Rodriguez had brief stints in a few local law enforcement agencies: the sheriffs office, the Hollywood Park Police Department and the Precinct 2 constables office.

Despite the difference in experience, Rodriguez said she thinks her desire to focus on public safety above all else makes her stand out.
WATERLOO  Hawkeye Community Colleges courtyard is getting a $4.16 million makeover.

The board of trustees this week approved a contract with Cardinal Construction of Waterloo for renovation of what will be called the First Impressions Courtyard.

Estimated costs were $4.7 million, including architect fees and contingencies.

The triangular courtyard is surrounded by a group of buildings on the colleges main campus. The project is intended to create a more pleasant and inviting space and act as a focal point. The courtyard will have updated landscaping, new trees, outdoor seating, new lighting, a recreation space and an expanded bioswale water retention area.

A new rerouted water main will replace the existing aging and failing main. New gas lines will be run as well.

Construction is set to start in April be completed by June 30, 2025.

Truck driver training

An estimated $2.34 million renovation and expansion of the Regional Transportation Training Center is also expected to get underway this spring. The board approved seeking bids on the project. A public hearing will be held March 26 and trustees will consider awarding a contract.

Work on the building at 6433 Hammond Ave. is being proposed as its commercial drivers license and transportation programs continue to gain in popularity. College officials told the trustees that the programs have grown 53% in the last year as 407 students have enrolled during 2024.

Proposed plans outline three additions at the RTTC: a north building, which will have classroom and office space; a south addition,which will have a truck maintenance bay along with simulator space; and the west side of the building, which will receive a new canopy structure.

Construction is estimated at $1.85 million. A contingency fund is budgeted at $170,000. Professional fees are estimated at $171,000.

Part of the project will be paid for with a $1 million grant that Hawkeye received from the state in October to expand the center and enhance the CDL training program. A news release announcing the grant notes that Iowa is projected to need more than 10,000 commercial drivers annually between 2020 and 2030. Grant funds accommodate that need, remove costly barriers to driver training and, ultimately, to creating more drivers with commercial drivers licenses across Iowa.

One of the cool things this grant from the governor gave us, the $1 million, was she asked us to expand access to transportation, explained Christopher Hannan, director of Workforce Training and Community Development. He noted that some new lights will be installed as part of the improvements to help accomplish that.

We have two certified (Department of Transportation) testing locations at the center. One is accessible at night because it has lights, the other is not, said Hannan. So we will be able to test more students faster and add night classes, which is going to meet the demand that the governor put on us for the $1 million.

Work on the center is to be completed by Dec. 31.

What $100K is worth in the largest U.S. cities: A 2024 study What $100K is worth in the largest U.S. cities: A 2024 study Key findings
WATERLOO  Downtown visitors may see changes in what they pay to park their car  and how  by the end of this year.

The city, with the help of Main Street Waterloo, is looking at options for its metered and ramp parking. A study, conducted by Michigan-based company Fishbeck, was presented to the council during a work session earlier this month.

Fishbeck and Main Street Waterloo believe there should be some free parking before parkers have to pay.

Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart said a total parking study hasnt been completed in many years.

It was just time for us to really take a look at where were at as a community with our downtown, since were seeing much more success, he said.

About 1,300 Waterloo residents and visitors took part in a survey that asked about fees, convenience, walkability and availability.

The survey showed most people park on the street, visit during 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, and mostly go to restaurants and bars. Most people stay downtown for one to four hours.

More than two-thirds of respondents believed parking should be free. Nearly everyone thought it shouldnt be more than $1 per hour. If paying with coins, the current fees are 50 cents per hour. There is an extra fee when paying with the parking app.

About 35% of respondents did not think the price was reasonable. Another 35% were neutral on how they felt about the cost.

When asked what entity should bear the cost of building and maintaining parking infrastructure, most people thought the city should pay for it through tax dollars. Survey takers second choice would be for the business and property owners to pay. Many thought parking users and customers should be the last resort for funding the facilities.

Another important issue for parkers is how close they are to where they want to go. Most of the respondents said they do not like walking far from their car to their destination. About 46% of survey takers thought they should have to walk less than one block, while 39% thought they should be able to walk a maximum of two blocks.

There are about 1,400 parking spaces on the street and in ramps downtown.

During the presentation, a representative from Fishbeck said downtown visitors treat the area like the suburbs, thinking they shouldnt have to park far or pay. Hart said the study shows there are hundreds of spaces but they are just not utilized because people dont want to walk.

The majority of people are able to get a parking spot during busy times 1 1/2 blocks away from their location, he said. Which is outstanding for a city.

The Fishbeck representative said most people prefer predictability and ease of use more than free parking. Jessica Rucker, the executive director of Main Street Waterloo, said completely free parking is rarely recommended by any study or group.

Hart also said towns the size of Waterloo, with a population of almost 70,000, usually has some type of paid parking.

If you dont have some type of parking enforcement, you may have people that take parking in front of the same businesses, he said. If they want free parking, patrons will never be able to park close to (where they are going).

Main Street Waterloos task force recommended two hours of free parking, and then $4 per hour after those two hours. They proposed citation fees should increase to $20 for the first violation, $40 for the second and $60 for the third. Currently, someones first violation is $10.

Fisbeck recommended that for on-street metered parking, the first 90 minutes would be free and then would cost $1 per hour after that. Meters would be enforced from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays would still be free. There would also be citation forgiveness programs, as well as relaxed enforcement when there are large downtown events.

Less than 4% of survey respondents said they typically park in the parking ramps, which are located at East Park Avenue and Sycamore Street; East Fifth and Cedar streets; and West Fifth and Commercial streets.

To incentivize use, Fishbeck recommended that the first three hours of ramp parking would be free and that it would cost $3 for all-day parking.

In the survey, many comments were made about the lack of safety in ramps, as well as their infrastructural conditions. If the recommendations are applied, there would be a 20 year maintenance plan that could improve safety and appearance.

However, all these proposed changes come with a cost. The city wants to replace individual parking meters with payment kiosks  devices that look similar to an ATM. There would likely be one or two payment kiosks per block.

Installing payment kiosks is estimated to cost more than $300,000, as well as $30,000 of annual expenses.

The cost changes would also affect the citys revenue. From July 2022 to June 2023, the city received $392,266 in parking revenues. If the recommendations are implemented, revenues are expected to be $250,000 for the first year.

Hart expects some sort of parking changes by the end of this year. Changes in rates and the purchase of equipment has to come before and be approved by the City Council.
WASHINGTON  Black Americans have endured considerable injustices and barriers to prosperity and equality throughout U.S. history. But their social, economic and political advances in the 60 years since the enactment of major civil rights legislation have been unsatisfactory, according to a new annual study on racial progress.

The "State of Black America" report by the National Urban League, which has compiled research and analysis on the status of Black Americans in the U.S. for decades, cites legal challenges to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and backlash to efforts meant to advance racial progress such as affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion policies for decelerating progress.

"Doors have been opened in higher education, government and the private sector in that sixty year period. That's important. Every measure shows progress," National Urban League President Marc Morial said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the report's release Friday.

"But I would have thought we would have been much further along than we are in 2024 with respect to achieving a sense of parity in America," Morial said.

Barriers to advancement

Despite significant economic advancement over several decades, the report also highlights numerous barriers to economic advancement. The result, the report's authors write, is persistent economic and political disparities. The racial income gap has been virtually unchanged for more than 20 years, with Black Americans making on average 64% of the income of white people, the report notes.

Similarly, the study highlighted barriers in opportunity. For instance, Black students are still more likely than their white counterparts to have uncertified and inexperienced teachers. At the same time, the number of Black students dropping out of primary education decreased from 13.1% in 2000 to 3.9% in 2024.

The view of Black civic participation is also mixed. While the percentage of Black Americans registered to vote stood at 69% in 2020 compared to 64% in 2000, the percentage of Black people who voted in 2022 stood at 42.3%, a drop from 54% who cast ballots in 2002.

At the current pace, it would take anywhere from one to three centuries for most Black Americans to achieve parity with their white peers, depending on their region of the country, according to a McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility study in February.

Diversity efforts under attack

While major institutions, including top corporations, governments and media have increased the number of Black leaders in their ranks, such efforts are being limited as diversity and inclusion initiatives face court challenges, public backlash from conservative activists and restrictions by some state and local Republican lawmakers.

"Notwithstanding the effort to move forward, there's always been a movement of resistance to that progress and that resistance has played a role in decelerating the progress that we need to make on the journey to parity. We see it being played out right now, " Morial said, referencing issues such as political gerrymandering, book bans in schools and attacks on diversity policies.

Morial pointed to the current U.S. Supreme Court, which he said "has demonstrated a hostility to the tools necessary to correct the long history of racial discrimination.'

The Urban League's study also evaluates President Joe Biden's performance in office and finds his administration's efforts fall short of promises made to Black Americans, even as the Democrat faces significant opposition from Republican lawmakers and some in his own party.

The report, however, broadly approves of Biden's policy agenda. A record-low Black unemployment rate, as well as efforts to expand health care access and affordable housing for Black Americans are signs of progress, the authors wrote.

Still, the "political opposition" that blocked the enactment of policies considered top priorities by Black Americans, such as voting rights and policing reform, are major letdowns.

"We are in a world of deep attack by an ideological extreme that wants to erase so much of the civil-rights movement," said Maya Wiley, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and co-author of the study.

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, said federal watchdogs are ready to ensure the nation's civil rights laws are followed.

"We've been working across the country to reach underserved communities so that we understand the problems that communities face," Clarke said in an interview with the AP. "Our country thrives when everyone has a voice in our democracy and we remain vigilant and work to counter voting discrimination and voter suppression wherever it rears its ugly head."

On the eve of the Bloody Sunday anniversary events commemorating voting rights marches in Selma, Alabama, this weekend, Morial called on federal officials to increase their efforts to protect civil rights and to better support sociopolitical advances in the Black community.

"This moment is a reminder about our obligation to confront voter suppression and continuing threats that we see when it comes to access to the ballot box," he said.

Meet America's Black billionaires Meet America's Black billionaires #10. Tyler Perry #9. LeBron James #8. Tiger Woods #7. Tope Awotona #6. Alexander Karp #5. Michael Jordan #4. Jay-Z #3. Oprah Winfrey #2. David Steward #1. Robert F. Smith
A psychiatric nurse has become "hypervigilant" in his work environment after a patient assaulted him, a court heard.

Robert Jordan was giving evidence at Castlebar District Court in the case against Noel Tierney, aged 39, of 20 Summerfield, Castlebar, who pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Jordan at the Adult Mental Health Unit in Mayo University Hospital on October 23, 2022.

Mr Jordan was working in the unit at the time when Tierney, who had been a patient there for the previous three days, approached him. He was agitated and looking for a phone charger. He attempted to punch Mr Jordan and missed, but then connected with a headbutt.

Mr Jordan suffered an injury to his nose, swelling on his cheekbones and a pain in his neck. The psychiatric nurse told the court he took two months of "assault leave" following the incident but the psychological effects were longer lasting. He is now "anxious and hypervigilant" when in similar situations at work and has availed of HSE staff supports.

There is a certain level of aggression expected in our job but this was beyond the level expected, he said.

Tierney has one previous conviction.

Solicitor Ita Feeney said her client, who previously lived in Australia, had voluntarily admitted himself to the Mental Health Unit and he wished to apologise to Mr Jordan for his behaviour.

Judge Fiona Lydon expressed concern about the "unwarranted assault" and ordered a pre-sanction report as well as a hair follicle test to prove Tierney is drug-free.

His liberty is at stake, she said, adjourning the case until May 7.
Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (29 February 2024)

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and delivered strikes at enemy manpower and hardware near Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Up to 50 Ukrainian troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles were neutralised.

In the course of the counterbattery warfare, one U.S.-made M198 howitzer, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, one Msta-B howitzer, one D-30 howitzer, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems were eliminated.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line and inflicted fire damage on cluster of manpower and military hardware of the 28th mechanised and 92nd assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Andreyevka, Kleshcheyevka, and Kurdyumovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Four counter-attacks of the AFU 10th Mountain Assault Brigade were repelled close to Berestovoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 600 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, two armoured personnel carriers, and ten motor vehicles.

In counter-battery warfare, the Russian troops hit one Uragan MLRS vehicle, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 gun, and three D-30 howitzers.

In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of AFU 53rd, 61st mechanised, 59th motorised infantry brigades near Berdychi, Severnoye, Orlovka, and Pervomayskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

Up to 495 Ukrainian troops, seven tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, four armoured fighting vehicles, and 11 motor vehicles were neutralised.

In the course of counter-battery warfare, three D-20 howitzers, one Msta-B howitzer, one Gvozdika self-propelled system, and two D-30 howitzers were eliminated.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces delivered complex strikes at AFU manpower and hardware near Rovnopol, Staromayorskoye, and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 105 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, one D-20 howitzer, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

In Kherson direction, Russian units took more advantageous positions and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware clusters of the AFU 128th mountain assault, 118th mechanised, 35 marine brigades near Rabotino, Stepovoye, Malye Shcherbaki (Zaporozhye region), and Tokarevka (Kherson region).

The enemy lost up to 50 Ukrainian troops, five motor vehicles, as well as one Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station.

In Kherson direction, the Russian Group of Forces neutralised one Ukrainian sabotage group of the 73rd Marine Special Operations Centre in an attempt to land close to Tendra Spit using speedboats.

As a result of a short battle, four of the speedboats with the landing groups were destroyed and sunk, the fifth turned round and travelled at high speed in the opposite direction.

The enemy lost up to 25 Ukrainian troops. One serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was taken prisoner.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation hit: a command post of Kupyansk Task Force, two command posts (72nd mechanised and 59th motorised infantry brigades), one S-300PS anti-aircraft missile system, three ammunition depots, as well as manpower and military hardware in 126 areas.

Air defence systems have shot down nine HIMARS MLRS shells and two JDAM aerial guided bombs.

In addition, 93 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down close to Lisichansk, Golikovo (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Kurdyumovka, Pervomayskoye, Krinichnaya (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Mikhailovka (Zaporozhye region).

In total, 575 airplanes and 267 helicopters, 13,715 unmanned aerial vehicles, 475 air defence missile systems, 15,286 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,227 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,223 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 19,211 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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A survivor of six heart attacks and a brain tumor, a grumpy bear of a man, whom has declared Russia as his new and wonderful home. His wife is a true Russian Sweet Pea of a girl and she puts up with this bear of a guy and keeps him in line. Thank God for my Sweet Pea and Russia.
School leaders took another look Thursday at the impact a proposal to reorganize the grades across the district's three elementary schools would have on special education, transportation, preschool and early education as well as families whose children would attend multiple elementaries.

The proposal, first offered by Winona Area Public Schools Board of Education members Nancy Denzer and Michael Hanratty in February, would place students in an elementary based on grade level, rather than geography.

The plan would place pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at Goodview Elementary, first and second graders at Washington-Kosciusko Elementary and third and fourth graders at Jefferson Elementary.

Placing some pre-kindergarten students at Washington-Kosciusko is also considered.

The rationale behind the proposal is to offer more equity by providing comparable experiences for all students, more classes that fit into the recommended class sizes, fewer constraints on scheduling and less travel time for staff who work at multiple schools in the district.

Public reaction

Former school board member Allison Quam, along with her young daughter Rosie, addressed the board Thursday about the possible reconfiguration of the elementary schools. Both opposed the idea.

Rosie, an elementary student in the district, was concerned about parents who would need to bring their elementary students to separate schools and separating the siblings.

Quam said she worried whether students would be able to build relationships with adults working in the schools, like principals, as they would have to go to new schools every two years.

When I first heard the idea, of course my gut reaction was this was the wrong direction, Quam said.

Additional costs

Large financial expenses related to special education would be expected if the proposal was approved.

The district expects three more special education teachers and four more educational assistants would need to be hired, costing the district about $498,000.

Several changes would have to be made at Jefferson and Washington-Kosciusko to meet the needs of students. The list of improvements needed include additional Hoyer lifts, more sensory and calming rooms, better playground accessibility, and more.

As for preschool offerings, the board learned that having preschool exclusively at Goodview would allow for balanced classrooms, along with offering larger capacity than what Washington-Kosciusko can handle due to its small rooms.

Key Kids would be held at all of the elementary schools.

Transportation costs

The school district could need one to four more bus routes to accommodate the reorganization. Each additional bus route would cost the district about $62,000 in the upcoming school year.

Busing for middle and high school students would not be impacted.

Elementary students who attend the public schools would likely have to be bused separately than those who attend the charter and non-public schools if they live in the cities of Winona, Goodview or Minnesota City.

If they live outside of city limits, they would continue to be bused together.

Many families would have elementary school students spread between multiple schools.

As of last week, of the 642 households with children enrolled in the districts early childhood offerings through grade 4, 104 households would need to have their children spread between multiple elementary schools.

After learning about these topics, multiple concerns were expressed by some board members, like the speed of the proposed changes and the cost.

Facilities plan

Former school board member Steve Schild questioned how much the district's staff had been involved in developing the proposal and its overall impact on the district's finances.

He said he was concerned about the district's ability to keep its facilities open while facing reduced enrollment and financial questions.

The proposal is expected to be voted on as an action item at the next regular school board meeting March 21.

A special board meeting is scheduled for March 14 where district staff specifically can offer input on the proposal.

Community members are encouraged to give feedback about the proposal by attending the March 21 school board meeting and providing public comment or by reaching out to their school board representative.
Hjalmer Holand wrote in 1908, All those hills which a person sees to the south of Camp Douglas, New Lisbon, and west of Mauston are crawling with Norwegians. Had he been writing about the hills southeast of Mauston, Lyndon Station. and beyond, he would have described them as Crawling with Irish!

In Ireland, most of the Irish people depended on potatoes as the staple food, but from 1845-1847 Irelands potato crop failed due to a plant disease. About 750,000 persons died of starvation or disease and hundreds of thousands left the country. Hundreds of these Irish landed in Wisconsin and walked from Milwaukee, Portage, Kenosha and other places to what became Juneau County. Before long, well over 95% of the town of Seven Mile Creek residents were of Irish descent. The mouth of Seven Mile Creek is about seven miles up from the mouth of the Lemonweir, thus its name.

In 1848, Robert Doyle came to Portage to work that summer on the canal. That winter, he worked at Andrew Dunns Mill in Clearfield, chopping wood with the crew. The next spring, there was great excitement over land claims. Doyle and his friend Paul Mooney were getting ready to go back to the canal work at Portage that summer, mulling over if they should stake a land claim, both feeling like greenhorns about soil, the land and farming. Their story, handed down for generations, was, We stopped to rest at Whisky Point, after buying a glass or two, our courage was greatly enhanced, thinking now or never to make us a home. So, we climbed up Sheep Pasture Bluff, looking eastward and saw the beautiful valley below. We went down and blazed the trees around our claims, each taking a liberal slice of land. The Doyle and Mooney land joined, eventually, most of that section was owned by their relatives. For three or four years, Doyle walked to Portage, carrying his provisions in a bag on his back, to work on the canal in summer, then winters working on his own land. On one of these journeys, he overcame Mrs. J. Powers of Seven Mile Creek, carrying her baby in her arms. She had walked the 40 miles to Portage to have her child baptized. That done, she was on foot walking the 40 miles back home. Just a few years later, Lyndon Station had the first church in the county, St. Bridgets log Catholic Church.

More than 50 years ago, The South-Central Shamrock Club began in Portage by people who were of Irish heritage. Eventually, the club expanded to include residents of Adams, Columbie, Juneau, Marquette, Richland and Sauk counties. Membership is open to anyone of Irish ancestry and to any friend of Ireland. Many Irish eyes will be smiling on March 16 when the Shamrock Club holds its 54th St. Patricks Day Celebration at the Reedsburg Country Club. Rosemary Milligan Dorow has been selected as the Irish Rose for 2024. She grew up in Mauston, daughter of Harold and Margaret Powers Milligan. Rosemary and her husband Dean operated a dairy farm near Wisconsin Dells for many years. The Irishman for 2024 is fourth generation partner of Gavin Bros Auctioneers and Gavin Real Estate. James R. Gavin resides on a farm between Reedsburg and Baraboo. He descends from the very early Doyle Family that settled in Juneau County.

The intention of this Irish club is to offer one or more $1,000 scholarships in honor of Marguerite I. Heerey Murray to students who plan on pursuing a teaching degree at a four-year college in the field of special education. She grew up in Mauston, was a teacher in Juneau County, and for many years in Sauk County. She and her husband Eugene have both been honored as Irish Rose and Irishman in past years.

This celebration features great food, fun and the possibility of winning a trip to Ireland. If interested, call 608-847-5117.
Tourists are expected to flood into Llano during the total solar eclipse. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

The city of Llano is advising its residents to "hunker down" the week of April 8 as visitors surge into the area to watch the total solar eclipse.

Locals should stock up on groceries, prescriptions and fuel at least a week before the eclipse, Llano Mayor Marion Bishop recommended in a social media post.

"The chances of running out of any particular item in the stores is fairly significant," Bishop wrote.

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Llano is in the path of totality of the rare total solar eclipse, meaning that the moon will appear to completely cover the sun for viewers in the area.

The Austin and Hill Country areas were named the top spot for Airbnb reservations during the eclipse, and nearby Bell County declared a state of emergency, anticipating its population will double.

Bishop warned that it could become difficult to travel throughout the area with increased tourist traffic, suggesting that Llano residents stay home.

"We don't know for sure how many will be here, but we have prepared as best we can as a city to meet the challenge," Bishop wrote.

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A shirtless candidate for U.S. Senate broke through the shrinking ice of Lake Mendota Thursday hoping to pour cold water on any notion that hes a soft Californian, not a hardy Wisconsinite.

And then Eric Hovde challenged his Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, to take the plunge as well.

The multimillionaire Republican Hovde is trying to combat attacks from Baldwin and Democrats that hes more Golden State than Dairy State. Hovde was born and raised in Wisconsin but also owns a $7 million estate in Laguna Beach, California, and is CEO of California-based H Bancorp and its primary subsidiary, Sunwest Bank.

Hovde posted a video on X on Thursday showing him pressing through what he says is about a half-inch layer of ice on on the lake outside of a home he owns.

It was hard to break through but its good to get out here for a good cold plunge, Hovde says before he turns the camera on his shirtless torso.

So the Dems and Sen. Baldwin keep saying Im not from Wisconsin, which is a complete joke, a laughing Hovde says into the camera. Alright Sen. Baldwin, why dont you get out here in this frozen lake and lets really see whos from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Arik Wolk doubled down in the face of the challenge.

If California bank owner Eric Hovde thinks sitting in a lake is going to stop us from telling Wisconsinites about his California bank, California megamansion, and California ties, hes going to be swimming a whole lot for the next eight months, Wolk said in a statement.

While ice still overlays some sections of the lake, Lake Mendota was officially declared open from ice on Wednesday after Wisconsins warmest winter on record.
FILE - People take photos of the FBI building headquarters in Washington, Aug. 13, 2022. A federal judge has held veteran investigative reporter Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge her source for a series of Fox News stories about a Chinese American scientist who was investigated by the FBI but never charged.
The Washoe County District Attorney's Office has determined that an October 2022 deadly shooting was justified by Sparks Police.

Authorities say the suspect, 36-year-old Jason Thorpe entered the public entrance of the police department building around 2:38 a.m. on October 18.

They say he showed a gun to civilian staff who were working in the records division, parking lots and employee entrances about 18 times over the course of 20 minutes.

They say he showed a gun to civilian staff who were working in the records division, parking lots and employee entrances about 18 times over the course of 20 minutes.

The building security footage shows around 22 minutes later the man firing a shot into the air, while hiding behind some bushes.

Police say staff were moved to a secure location as officers arrived and used a loud speaker to negotiate with the suspect for two hours.

Officers say it ended after the suspect fired his gun towards the Sparks Police headquarters.

Police say he then ran towards officers with the gun still in his hand and that's when officers fired their weapons.

Authorities say Thorpe was shot and killed by an officer at the Sparks Police Department.

Thorpe died on scene.

Police say Thorpe fired at least two shots in the area before they fired at him.

** Note: The below video may be disturbing to some viewers.
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Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer reads a letter from a parent of a transgender child with people oppsoing SB14 lining the staircase behind him at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas, on May 12, 2023. SB14, if passed, would ban gender affirming care for minors including those already receiving such care. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News A person raises their hands above their head as they are pushed out of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, with fellow protestors of SB14 on May 2, 2023. Josie Norris/San Antonio Express-News

An LGBTQ advocacy group is suing the Texas attorney general after his agency requested information that the group said would reveal the identities of its members, including those who sought to stay anonymous in recent suits.

The suit, filed Wednesday by PFLAG, argued that the requests violate its members right to free speech, to petition and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

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The group accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of targeting people who have fought new anti-transgender laws in recent cases against the state.

Members of the group have previously sued the state over a new law that bans common medical treatments for transgender youth, as well as transition surgeries, which are rare. Their challenge against the ban, known as SB 14, is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

The plaintiffs in that case include five families who used pseudonyms to protect their identities.

In the new suit, PFLAG asked a judge to block the request. If not, the group asked the judge to extend the deadline and refine its scope.

The attorney generals demand of PFLAG National is just another attempt to scare Texas families with transgender adolescents into abandoning their rights and smacks of retaliation against PFLAG National for standing up for those families against the states persecution, said Karen Loewy, senior counsel at Lambda Legal, which is helping represent PFLAG in the suit. We will fight to protect them.

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Paxton said Thursday that the request was part of an investigation into whether medical providers are breaking any laws to help patients to circumvent the new ban, including by committing insurance fraud.

Texas passed SB 14 to protect children from damaging, unproven medical interventions with catastrophic lifelong consequences for their health, Paxton said in a statement. Any organization seeking to violate this law, commit fraud, or weaponize science and medicine against children will be held accountable.

But Paxtons request, sent Feb. 9, asked for information and sworn statements as part of an investigation into whether the group violated the states deceptive trade practices law. It gave them 20 days to respond.

The request focused on information that may show how Texans are accessing transition care after the ban.

For example, in a sworn statement tied to a suit challenging the ban, PFLAG CEO Brian Bond had said that members families have been asking the group for alternative avenues to maintain care in Texas. The AGs office requested all documents, meeting minutes and communications pertaining to Bonds affidavit.

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It also asked for any communications with a group of hospitals and clinics in and outside of Texas.

The list includes providers who were issued similar demands from Paxton last year that became public after one of them, Seattle Childrens Hospital, sued to block the request in a case thats still pending.

The Houston Chronicle reported last month that QueerMed, a Georgia-based telehealth clinic, had also received a demand.

Both were among the list of entities whose communications Texas requested from PFLAG. The others were Texas Childrens Hospital; Baylor College of Medicine; QueerDoc and Plume Health, both telehealth clinics that provide gender transition care.

Bond also mentioned that families had asked his group for help figuring out their contingency plans after the ban.

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Families were looking for providers in the event that their primary providers stop providing gender-affirming care or leave the state as a result of SB 14 (Texas transition care ban), Bond said in his affidavit.

The state asked PFLAG for a list of all such providers and any recommendations or referrals the group has made.
The governor's office said the Annapolis Police Department locked down the Maryland State House late Thursday afternoon after a security threat to the State Capital around 5 pm.

The Annapolis Police immediately told the Maryland Capitol Police, Maryland State Police, the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and security at the House and Senate office buildings after the reports.

Maryland State House on Lockdown Amid Security Threat

According to WBALTV, the Maryland Department of General Services said in a statement following the lifting of the lockdown that the Annapolis City Police Department received a call on Thursday afternoon from an individual threatening to target the Maryland State House.

The WMAR2News reported that the governor's office claimed that staff members and community members were requested to remain indoors and follow any instructions from law enforcement. Maryland State Police, Maryland Capital Police, and Annapolis Police thoroughly searched the State House based on the phoned-in threat.

Police told 11 News that a threatening call initiated armed officers to assemble in the building with guns drawn. The top floor of the building was searched first, and the police also checked the bottom floor and the ground. The authorities said that the incident appeared to stem from the ground floor.

SkyTeam 11, Baltimore's only news helicopter, captured footage of several police and emergency vehicles encircling the State House facility. Police cars were parked in front of every entrance surrounding State Circle.

Furthermore, the authorities concluded that the areas were safe and free of potential threats. The lockdown and shelter-in-place were lifted around 6:52 pm, and all individuals still inside the building, including the senate president, lieutenant governor, and governor, were escorted outside the building.

According to the Annapolis Police, they found no suspicious activities or items inside the building. Bernie Bennett, public information officer for the Annapolis Police Department, said in a statement that no suspects have been identified. State House grounds have resumed standard security procedures and protocol.

Read Also: Dehydration, Malnutrition at Gaza Hospitals Kill Six Children

State Officials Praises Law Enforcement Officers

Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne Jones released a joint statement, saying, "We want to thank all the law enforcement officers who responded today. We and everyone else in the legislative complex are grateful for their presence as we continue to do the people's work."

Gov. Wes Moore also released a statement and expressed gratitude to the authorities. He said that their family is grateful for the members of the Maryland Capitol Police, Maryland State Police, Annapolis Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department who secured the State House Grounds and kept them safe today from the security threat.

Moore noted that these brave men and women are not just Maryland's fines but they are Maryland's promise as they define what it means to be a Marylander.

Related Article: Manhunt Underway for Times Square Gunman


In a momentous career milestone, Amit Kumar Nanchahal has announced his new role as the Head of Corporate Communications at PepsiCo India.

With a heartwarming declaration on Linkedin, Nanchahal expressed, "Dreams do come true :) Happy to share that I am starting a new position as Head of Corporate Communications at PepsiCo India. He further adds: The journey has been Amazing and in the typical Pepsi language I would love to say Yeh Dil Maange More. Nanchahal's journey to this esteemed position has been nothing short of remarkable. Having joined PepsiCo India in 2019 as Senior Manager, he has consistently demonstrated excellence in his field. Prior to his tenure at PepsiCo, Nanchahal served as a Senior Manager at Ola (Ani Technologies), showcasing his versatility and expertise across various industries.

Nanchahal's contributions to innovative projects, such as Lay's smart farm and biochar initiatives, earned him prestigious accolades, including the Cannes Lions award.

As an experienced communications professional, Nanchahal brings a wealth of expertise to his new role. He is renowned for his ability to shape both internal and external environments in alignment with business objectives through strategic communication and sustainability initiatives. Nanchahal's proficiency extends to developing corporate reputation programs, cultivating leadership positions, and driving initiatives across diverse themes such as employer branding, brand communication, sustainability, and advocacy. In his own words, Nanchahal emphasizes, "I firmly believe that business can only grow if the communities in which they operate grow." With this ethos guiding his endeavors, Nanchahal is poised to lead PepsiCo India's corporate communications efforts to new heights, embodying the spirit of growth, innovation, and community engagement.
Future Generali India Life Insurance today announced the appointment of Alok Rungta to the position of Managing Director & CEO effective 1st April, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals. Alok, currently serving as the Deputy CEO and CFO, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his new role. He takes the reins from Bruce De Broize, who is the MD & CEO until 31st Mar 2024.

Jaime Anchustegui Melgarejo, CEO International at Generali, said, "Aloks appointment as MD & CEO marks a significant moment for Future Generali India Life Insurance. His leadership skills and deep understanding of diverse markets positions him well to steer the company towards continued growth. As a Group, we have constantly invested in development programs that are designed to equip our employees with the skills and experience they need to reach their full potential, while nurturing their talent. Aloks elevation is a true testimony of the success of an effective planning.

Rob Leonardi, Regional Officer International  Asia at Generali, said, "We express our sincere gratitude to Bruce for his exceptional leadership and invaluable contributions made to Future Generali India Life Insurance. We now welcome Alok as our new MD & CEO for the company. His proven track record of driving growth and profitability, coupled with a strategic vision for the Indian market, aligns seamlessly with our commitment to delivering innovative insurance solutions. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the company's accomplishment and expansion under his guidance."

With an extensive background spanning over two decades in the insurance industrys diverse markets, Alok adds his valuable expertise across the companies he has worked in the past. In his current serving role as Deputy CEO & Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Future Generali India Life Insurance since February 2023, he has contributed immensely towards the company's growth. Before this, he held executive positions at prominent insurance companies in the Philippines, Hong Kong and India, highlighting a dedicated career towards leadership journey.

Speaking about his new role, Alok expressed his gratitude, saying, Being a part of Future Generali India Life Insurance, elevating a leadership position is both a privilege and a progression. I'm committed to continuing the good work of my predecessors, focusing on steady growth and creating a difference. Leading in the dynamic Indian market, my goal is to bring new ideas, expand our reach, and ensure we add value to the lives of our customers and stakeholders.

Future Generali India Life Insurance is steadfast in its commitment to providing innovative insurance solutions and exceptional service to its customers across the nation. With Alok at the helm, the company looks forward to embarking on a new era of growth and success.
The 18th edition of the India Digital Summit (IDS) concluded on February 28, 2024, in Mumbai bringing together on one platform some of the best minds related to Indias digital ecosystem over two days. IDS 2024 was organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the Ministry of Tourism, UIDAI, Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Government eMarketplace, In-Space and Skill India Digital. The Summit is Co-Powered By Peak XV and WhistleFEED, and Brough to You by META.

Pressing issues of the digital domain were addressed 360 degrees in a plethora of sessions including keynotes, fireside chats, panel discussions and roundtables. Three Government of India Secretaries, and more than 60 founders addressed the Summit.

Speaking in a panel discussion on Decoding Desi DNA: The Science and Soul of Building Brand for the Indic Audience, Narin Shetty, Group President  Revenue, Valueleaf said, "In India, each region has its unique preferences and emotions, so it becomes crucial for brands to delve into the nuances of local culture. To truly make a lasting connection with their audience, brands must break free from generic content and instead embrace a localized approach that celebrates the beauty of diverse cultures. The days of relying on traditional English content and creatives are over. By incorporating local influencers and regional content, brands can reach maximum ROI and create meaningful relationships with their audience that will last a lifetime. By understanding the true value of metrics like CTR and CPC, brands can unlock powerful insights that help them improve their marketing efforts and drive greater engagement and conversions."

On the second day of IDS 2024, Chandrashekhar Naik, Senior Vice President, Valueleaf Group deep dived into the topic Creating a seamless gaming marketing strategy along with other panellists. He said, "Crafting the perfect pitch that resonates with the marketing goals of the advertisers is no easy feat. But with the right approach and strategy, it is achievable. It's imperative for brands to thoroughly comprehend how they wish to be perceived and portrayed by their intended audience. After all, a strong brand image is the foundation of a successful business! OEM marketing is a successful strategy, as it covers 70% of Indias smartphone makers allowing brands to pre-install their games and provide a seamless gaming experience to users. Appography is a promising strategy that can help capture users, increase engagement, and improve immersive experiences. To maximize ROI, brands should target users who are already in the gaming space, acquire traffic from a highly-intended user base, and offer them alternative gaming experiences."

Yashwant Deshmukh, Founder Promoter DATAEYE ASIA, who addressed a session at IDS 2024 on February 28, said, The Indian economy is described as an elephant. But understanding the Indian market or Indian consumers remains a game of Blind man's elephant. The Digital consumption in India is not just growing at a phenomenal rate, but also throwing fresh challenges to understand this media consumption maze. The proposed new Indian Socio Economic Classification (ISEC) is best placed to decode this puzzle and Data Eye Asia is ready with research to find the missing pieces.

Among the key speakers who addressed the Summit were, Shri S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY; Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, MIB; Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India; Shri Brijesh Singh, Principal Secretary to Honourable Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra; Harsh Jain, Chairman, IAMAI and CEO & Co-Founder, Dream Sports; Rajesh Magow, Vice-chairman, IAMAI, and Co-Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, MakeMyTrip; Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express; Anil Kapoor, Actor & Producer; Anupam Mittal, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Shaadi.com; Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Director, Producer, Writer, Earthsky Pictures LLP; Avnish Bajaj, Founder & Managing Director, Matrix Partners India; Dr. Bijna Kotak Dasani, MBE, FRSA, Managing Director, ArthAum Group; Bharat Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Jagran New Media; Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, IndiaMART; Goldie Behl, Director, Rose Audio Visuals; Hitesh Oberoi, Co-Promoter, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Naukri; Murugavel Janakiraman, Chief Executive Officer, BharatMatrimony; Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, Physics Wallah; Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Peak XV and Surge, and Rohit Jain President, Lionsgate Play Asia.

Instituted under IDS are two of Indias most prestigious digital awards: the India Digital Awards and the Digital Responsibility Awards. These awards honour outstanding achievements in the digital world across various categories, recognizing the best and brightest in the industry. Winners of both were announced at the Summit.

The 14th edition of the India Digital Awards ceremony was held on February 28, 2028. The awards were given away in 10 broad categories, with 58 categories, recognizing, 360 degrees, the brightest and the best, individuals as well as enterprises, in Indias digital ecosystem. The jury of the India Digital Awards (IDA) has adjudicated Sameer Nigam, CEO, PhonePe to be the Digital Person of the Year. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was awarded for being the Digital Start-up of the Year. For a complete list of the 14th IDA categories and winners please visit: https://ida.iamaiawards.in/?#home

From this year IAMAI also introduced a major bouquet of awards, the Digital Responsibility Awards (DRA), which primarily aims to address the issue of digital divide prevalent in India in various forms by encouraging digital enterprises and entrepreneurs to walk the extra mile in this regard. DRA recognise and celebrate companies who have displayed exceptional initiatives to bridge the digital disparities through various activities. The DRA has nine categories. Below are the names of the DRA categories with the winners, which were announced at a gala ceremony on February 27 at the IDS:

Other IDS partners include Aaj Tak, Affle, Agrahyah Technologies, Air India Express, AiSensy, Albatross Media, Asianet News, Atmegame, Australia Trade & Investment Commission, Bharat BillPay, BillDesk, Builder.ai, Careers360, Chalo, Dataeye Asia, DigiBoxx, Ethinos, Fi Money, HERE India, indixital, Infinity Learn, Infobip, Interactive Avenues, ixigo, Jagran New Media, JOJO, Lionsgate, Liqvd Asia, MakeMyTrip, MapmyIndia, Markscan, Neokred, PhonePe, PhysicsWallah, PivotRoots - A Havas Company, Razorpay, Shiprocket, Sinch, Times Internet, Transport Corporation of India, True Balance, ValueFirst, and Zupee.
Continuing with its focus on foraying into the gaming space, Philips India today announces a strategic partnership with Red Bull for the highly anticipated Soapbox Race in Hyderabad. This collaboration is designed to captivate the vibrant and dynamic Gen Z audience. Philips aims to connect with this demographic, fostering the spirit of fearlessness embodied in its revolutionary male grooming product, OneBlade.

As an integral part of this partnership, Philips India is set to make a thrilling entry into the Red Bull Soapbox race with a non-motorized car cleverly designed in the shape of the OneBlade. This aims to highlight the exceptional features of the OneBlade while seamlessly aligning with the overarching brand narrative of 'Move Fearlessly.' By staying true to the 'No Nicks, No Cuts' brand promise, this association goes beyond mere product representation, serving as an inspiration for the youth, encouraging them to approach life with confidence and groom their beards effortlessly.

Commenting on this strategic collaboration, Deepali Agarwal, Business Head, Personal Health, Philips India Subcontinent, said, "As a brand committed to technology and innovation that enhances self-care rituals among consumers, Philips India continually seeks new avenues to connect with diverse audiences. In line with our focus on the youth, we are excited to partner with Red Bull Soapbox Race for this adrenaline-fueled event. Our unique offering, OneBlade, champions bold and unconventional choices for teenage boys in India. The uniquely designed OneBlade soapbox cart resonates with the Gen Z audience, showcasing the OneBlade philosophy of #MoveFearlessly that align seamlessly with the thrill of the race. We look forward to an electrifying race and an unforgettable experience for everyone attending the event."

Through this collaboration with Red Bull Soapbox Race, Philips aims to incorporate the grooming technology of OneBlade to connect with younger audiences in a fun and original way compared to traditional media approaches. Participants can immerse themselves in the Philips OneBlade experience through the on-track elements such as the activation area, which will feature backstage styling with OneBlade and a 'Move Fearlessly' wall for spray painting.

Philips will curate content during the Red Bull Soapbox Race and leverage this partnership through various social media channels. Anticipating over 15,000 fans and an expected viewership of 125 million (TV + digital), this collaboration aims to leave a lasting impact on social media, with an ambitious goal of generating over 100 million impressions.

The Red Bull Soapbox Race, making a notable comeback to India after an eight-year hiatus, assures an exciting downhill race where teams are encouraged to unleash their creativity in crafting non-motorized soapbox cars. In this amusing competition, gravity becomes the ultimate ally as teams hurtle down the track in a spectacle of speed and innovation. Red Bull Soapbox Race, born in 2000 in Brussels, Belgium, has been organised in more than 52 countries, 95 cities (138 events), with over 4.5mn spectators including countries like Spain, Italy, UK, USA, France, and Germany among others. Since 2000, the Red Bull Soapbox race has featured multitudinous variations of creativity, such as The Joker, Donald Trump, Le Mans, and food delivery. The event on 3rd March 2023 promises a day filled with laughter, high-octane action, and the sheer joy of creativity on wheels. This year, it is time for Hyderabad to witness this next level. The previous editions of Red Bull Soapbox Race in 2012 and 2016, both held in Mumbai, witnessed some creative vehicles that gained tremendous acknowledgment from the crowd.

Follow the link to know more: https://www.redbull.com/in-en/ events/red-bull-soapbox-race- india-2024
Redhill Communications, a Singapore-headquartered full-service global communications agency with presence in more than 20 countries, has marked the commencement of its 10th founding anniversary with strategic enhancements to its India presence and structure. In response to evolving market needs, Redhills integrated communications offering is expanded with digital, design, content creation & sustainability capabilities through VS Story, which Redhill acquired in 2022.

Gaurav Prabhu, a seasoned PR and Communications professional with over 15 years of experience, has been appointed as Redhills India Country Head. He will spearhead client counsel, brand positioning, and strategic initiatives, contributing to the growth and success of Redhill in the Indian market. As a result of a regional regrouping initiative, Redhill India will now fold within the newly minted Redhill India-Middle East-Africa (IMEA) region, with Anit Kurian as Managing Director. Redhills impact services such as Digital and Sustainability Communications will be led globally by social entrepreneur and VS Story founder, Jacqui Hocking.

Manisha Seewal, President, Redhill, said: "With Jacqui, Gaurav, and Anit leading our new India story and growing our reach and offerings in India, we are confident of our 10th year being a landmark one. Our client conversations in India are often ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to the need for an integrated communications solution, and agility and multi-market presence are often the deciding factor. By strengthening our suite of offerings to now include Sustainability and CSR Storytelling, we believe that we have created the right solution as we grow our presence and impact, enabling us to expand on the range of work that we do every day."

Gaurav Prabhu, Country Head  India, Redhill said: I am excited to assume the role of Country Head - India at Redhill. Leading our exceptionally talented team on this journey is not just a privilege, but a profound responsibility. We are committed to delivering not only innovative strategies but transformative solutions that will redefine the standards of excellence for our clients across India. With our combined expertise, we stand resolute in our mission to ignite impact change and pave the way for unparalleled success.

Redhill India (including VS Story) has a staff strength of more than 20 professionals across six cities in India, and counts Amazon India, Essilor Luxottica, Emirates Group, Dormer Pramet, Danone, PayPal, LinkedIn, and Builder.ai among its clients. Under Redhills One Contract model of one-time contracting for multi-geography work, Redhill has also delivered in India for Redhill global clients from multiple international markets. Redhill Studios portfolio of offerings includes storyboarding, filming, photography and post-production of various projects such as sustainability reports, authentic documentaries, employee engagement video campaigns, visual graphics and animation, infographics, aerial videography and more.
Seqrite, a leading enterprise cybersecurity solutions provider, is delighted to announce the appointment of Samuel Sathyajith as the Senior Vice President  Enterprise Sales.

With nearly three decades of experience in the IT industry, Samuel brings a wealth of expertise in scaling businesses, leading start-ups to prominence, and driving market innovation. Prior to joining Seqrite, Samuel served as the Head of India & SAARC at Cloudflare, where he played a pivotal role in steering the company to the forefront of the Network Security sector in the region.

His journey began in the Indian Air Force, where he served as a Commissioned Officer in the Aeronautical Engineering branch, laying the foundation for his exceptional leadership skills. Leveraging his Bachelor of Engineering Degree in Instrumentation Technology from Bangalore University, he has consistently demonstrated innovation and excellence in the IT sector.

Commenting on the appointment, Vishal Salvi, Chief Executive Officer of Quick Heal, said, "We are delighted to welcome Samuel Sathyajith to our team. Given his extensive experience and proven track record, we are confident that he will play a pivotal role in positioning Seqrite as a global leader in the enterprise cybersecurity space. His strategic vision and leadership are poised to significantly contribute to the ongoing success of our enterprise sales division, particularly in the Mid and Large Enterprise markets, guiding Seqrite into a future where it distinguishes itself not only for innovative solutions but also for significant collaborations and contributions to the industry.

Expressing his enthusiasm, Samuel Sathyajith said, "Seqrite is more than a brand; it signifies a commitment to cybersecurity excellence. As India's only end-to-end provider of CSMA-aligned solutions that are powered by insights from the country's largest malware analysis facility  Seqrite Labs, we are poised to set new industry benchmarks. I am honored to associate with a brand that has demonstrated consumer cybersecurity leadership over the past three decades, and now, our strategic aim is to position Seqrite as a global frontrunner in the enterprise space. Leading this passionate team is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the future of cybersecurity, particularly as we focus on steering Seqrite to new heights on a global scale."

Highlighting the companys collaboration with the U.S. Government on the NIST-NCCoE's Data Classification project distinguishing itself as the only Indian company and its leadership within the SMB segment, Samuel reaffirms his commitment to contributing to a brand making a meaningful impact in the field of cybersecurity and establishing it as a leader in the Mid-market and Large Enterprise segments.

The current appointment reaffirms the company's commitment to enriching its team with top-tier industry talent. Recently, Dr. Lalit Mohan has assumed the role of Chief Product Officer, while Ajit Zanjad has been appointed as the Vice President and Head of Delivery.
Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

Bern, 01.03.2024 - The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), which is responsible for sanctions, decided on 29 February to impose further sanctions against Russia. Switzerland is thus joining the 13th sanctions package of the European Union (EU), adopted in response to Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine over the past two years. The measures will enter into force at 6pm on 1 March.

As part of a 13th package of sanctions adopted on 23 February, the EU imposed new sanctions in response to Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine, which has continued for more than two years. The EAER followed suit on 29 February by expanding the Swiss sanctions lists under its jurisdiction to include a further 106 individuals and 88 entities and organisations.

The individuals, entities and organisations newly placed under sanction are primarily those operating in Russia's military-industrial complex and involved in the manufacture of missiles, drones, anti-aircraft missile systems and other military equipment. The new listings also target Russian companies and individuals involved in supplying Russia with defence equipment from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Sanctions have also been placed on judges and officials from the occupied territories of Ukraine and on individuals and organisations involved in the forced transfer of Ukrainian children.

Additional trade sanctions have been introduced to further prevent Russia from acquiring sensitive goods and technologies for the Russian military. These measures add 27 entities to the export ban on dual-use goods and on goods that may contribute to Russia's military and technological enhancement. The list of goods included in the export ban has also been expanded: for example, the sale and export to Russia of components used in the design and manufacture of drones is now prohibited.

All measures enter into force at 6pm on 1 March 2024.

Address for enquiries

Enquiries from the media:

EAER Communications

info@gs-wbf.admin.ch

058 462 20 07



Enquiries from businesses:

sanctions@seco.admin.ch

058 464 08 12

Publisher

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch




The last day of the State Legislature budget session for the year 2024-25 began with wrestling between the minister Dada Bhuse and MLA Mahendra Thorve, they both got into an argument, allegedly after the latter went and asked Bhuse about his pending work. Bhuse got upset and turned violent. Both leaders shouted at each other, minister Shambhuraj Desai and MLA Bharat Gogawale rushed to pacify Bhuse and Thorve. The incident prompted the Opposition to slam the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the media too had a good laugh. They both are Shiv Sena leaders from the Eknath Shinde faction got into a heated argument inside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly premises. The incident took place in the lobby of the Vidhan Bhavan on Friday afternoon

Rest of them went calm, and the newly elected government presented the full budget. The state government has decided to present an additional full-fledged budget in its next session in July. With the Lok Sabha elections slated for April-May, and the state assembly elections slated for October, populist pre-poll sops are expected to be announced in the budget. In a bid to bait state government employees demanding the old pension schemes (OPS) reinstatement, CM Shinde, announced the revised National Pension Scheme (NPS), where market linked risks in the NPS will be borne by the government.

As per the new scheme, employees will have the option to get a pension of 50 per cent based on their last drawn salary and Dearness Allowance (DA). In addition, employees can get a family pension of 60 per cent of their pension and DA. This will be applicable to state government employees who joined service after November 1, 2005. This will be a one time option and employees have to opt within the next six months if they choose to remain under the old NPS or the revised one. In February, the state government had issued an order awarding OPS to 26,000 government employees who were chosen before November 2005.

Currently, the government has 13.45 lakh employees, of which 8.27 lakh come under the NPS. The state government spends up to Rs 52,689 crore annually under the OPS, while its expenditure under the NPS for the same time period is Rs 7,686 crore. Its total annual expenditure on salary is Rs 1.27 lakh crore. In Maharashtra NPS was implemented from April 1, 2015.Retired government employees were to get benefits equal to 50 per cent of their last drawn salaries which was given as a pension in the OPS. However, after the OPS was scrapped, retired government employees under the NPS got a 60 per cent lump sum after retirement and a separate 40 per cent invested in annuities as pension. Under the OPS, government employees did not contribute any amount, but under the NPS, they contributed 10 per cent of their salary (a summation of their basic salary and DA), while the governments contribution was 14 per cent.

In October last year, employee unions had organised a strike across Maharashtra demanding restoration of the OPS. In the budget session held last year in March, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said that the state government was not entirely negative about the OPS adding that the government will have to take a decision in this regard only after taking the state finances into consideration. He further added that even if the state government restarted the OPS, it will not be affected as its real liability will come in 2030. Incidentally, Fadnavis, during the winter session held in December 2022, had told the state assembly that the government would need Rs 1.10 lakh crore to implement the OPS, potentially running the state into bankruptcy. his is an interim budget to provide for the first four months. A proposal has been sent to UNESCO for 11 forts at Shivneri to go to the world level. Swatantrya Veer Savarkar Versova  Bandra Sea Bridge will be extended to Palghar. Vilasrao Deshmukh Eastern Freeway will be extended to Thane city. Rs. 22 thousand 225 crores for land acquisition for the Virar-Alibag multi-modal corridor; Rs.10 thousand 519 crores for land acquisition for Pune Ring Road; Rs. 2 thousand 886 crores for land acquisition of Jalna-Nanded Expressway

Rs 10 thousand 629 crores to Urban Development Department, Rs19 thousand 936 crores to Public Works (Roads) Department, 7 thousand 500 km road works under Annuity Scheme Part-2 through Maharashtra State Infrastructure Development Corporation; upgradation of 7 thousand km long roads at a cost of Rs.7 thousand 600 crores is approved.

Land acquisition for new railway lines Kalyan-Murbad, Pune-Nashik and Solapur-Tuljapur-Dharashiv started; 50 percent financial participation approved for new railway lines Phaltan-Pandharpur, Kampa-Chimur-Varora, Jalna-Jalgaon and Nanded-Bidar; 50 percent financial participation for Jalna-Khamgaon, Adilabad-Mahur-Washim, Nanded-Hingoli, Murtijapur-Yavatmal Shakuntala railway and Pune-Lonavala route 3 and 4; 26 percent participation of Maharashtra Maritime Board in Vadhvan Development Project  Total cost Rs 76 thousand 220 crores are sanctioned.

Construction of well-equipped jetty radio club near Gateway of India in Mumbai under Sagarmala scheme at a cost of Rs.229 crores 27 lakhs; port development works to be undertaken- Bhagwati Port, Ratnagiri-Rs 300 crores, Marine Fort Janjira, Raigad-Rs 111 crores, Elephanta, Mumbai-Rs 88 crores; Modernization of Mirkarwada Port, Ratnagiri, for benefit of 2 thousand 700 fishermen. Fund of Rs.578 crore 45 lakh for land acquisition for expansion of airport at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar allotted.

Rs 9,280 crore agreed to the Rural Development Department for program expenditure for the year 2024-25 and Rs 4,094 crore to the Home (Transport, Ports) Department. Revised industrial, electronics, space and defence manufacturing policy and new micro, small and medium enterprise policy for industrial development. Creation of about 36,000 employment opportunities by setting up 18 small-scale garment industry complexes. Integrated and Sustainable Textile Policy 2023-28 announced- Free distribution of one saree per family on Antyodaya ration card.

Rs 450 crores in infrastructure development program to promote exports; Rs.400 crores to provide special incentives to exportable components; five Industrial Parks to promote exports. Incentive fund of about Rs 7,000 crores in the coming year from package scheme of incentive. Chief Ministers Employment Creation Program -25 thousand industry units to be established, out these 30 percent to be women entrepreneurs  50 thousand new jobs will be created. with 7 thousand km of road works, Versova will take Bandra Sea Bridge to Palghar. Rs 15,554 crores have been allocated for railway lines and projects in Maharashtra by the Union government.

Work is in progress to give 1 saree to a woman while distributing rations under the textile policy. 5 Industrial Parks are being created to increase exports. Rs 196 crore tender process has been implemented under the Make in India policy. A mall will be made at this place.Employment for 1 lakh women, solar energy for 37 thousand Anganwadis. 40 per cent non-conventional energy will be implemented. 44 lakh farmers who have suffered losses have been assisted with Rs 3 thousand crores. One lakh women will be given employment; 5,000 pink rickshaws will be provided for women.

New Micro and Small Enterprise Policies to be implemented. 18 small-scale industries will be established in the state, and more than 3 lakh industries will come to the state as per the agreement in Davos. Provision of Rs 10 thousand crores for urban development. 19 thousand crores have been reserved for public works. The Solar Agriculture Pump scheme will be launched for the farmers. 8 lakh 50 thousand new solar agricultural pumps will be installed in this.

In the last day question answer session CM Shinde warned those people who are the reason for unrest in the state, he expressed no tolerance. He also spoke about the law and order situation in the state and assured womens safety.
There are speculations in political corridors that Mrs. Ajit Pawar is contesting against Supriya Sule. Sharad Pawars dinner invitation to the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers comes as Sunetra Pawar, the wife of Ajit Pawar, has increased her outreach among the Baramati voters amid buzz that she could be fielded to take on Supriya Sule.

Sule, who is looking at a possible challenge from Ajits wife in the Baramati seat, has said her father was only upholding the tradition of Atithi Devo Bhava (a guest is like god). Sharad Pawars political party is already in the doldrums and now his daughters career is at stake. Pawars well-earned reputation as an excellent host, especially to visitors to Baramati, and as a leader who retains the art of breaking bread across parties, employing yet another of those googlies that his opponents find hard to read. In the recent past, Sharad Pawar has invited CM Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar for lunch as they visit his home turf, Baramati, on Saturday.

All three top state government functionaries are puzzled by the invite, particularly nephew Ajit, who didnt just take more than half the NCP from Pawar Senior but also the party name and symbol. Those watching on with more than a tad of apprehension include Pawars allies Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), who know better than to take the gesture by the old warhorse at face value.

At this dinner party, Uddhav Thackeray and Sanjay Raut will also be present. No one is able to read the mind of Pawar, but political pundits predict that this move could be for reunion and Senior Pawar may set some equations ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Pawar has chosen not to offer any reason or explanation, except what he said publicly: that he wanted to give Shinde a traditional welcome as it was his first visit to Baramati in Pune district after becoming CM.

What is coming is to unveil an employment scheme, the Namo Maharozgar Yojna, at Baramati. While a similar event was held in Nagpur, Fadnaviss home town, a couple of months ago, the choice of Baramati was clearly meant to rattle Pawar, with the NDA parties having declared their intention to wrest the Baramati Lok Sabha seat from his familys control this time.
The Alabama House of Representatives and Senate have passed legislation to allow access to in vitro fertilization following a controversial state Supreme Court ruling that embryos are children, raising questions about the treatment in Alabama.

The state senate approved the bill after passing the lower chamber by a vote of 94 to 6.

Alabama Passes Bill To Protect IVF

According to The Guardian, the legislation is expected to be signed by the governor, which could make the provision law early next week. The bill, HB 237, was approved following a three-hour debate.

It followed an earlier rally where medical professionals, IVF patients, and their families urged lawmakers to resolve the issue quickly.

The bill states that unless an act or omission is intentional and not arising from or related to IVF services, no action, suit, or criminal prosecution shall be brought or upheld against anyone who will provide IVF goods or services.

Furthermore, the bill stipulates that any act, omission, or course of services that are not the subject of litigation on the effective date of this act would be covered retroactively by immunity.

Republican congressman Terri Collins, the bill's sponsor, said it would at least keep the clinics open and the families moving forward while lawmakers consider if more action was required.

However, Republican lawmaker Mark Gidley expressed concerns to the chamber and said the measure was a "knee-jerk reaction" as he did not want Alabama to lose its status as a pro-life state. According to Al.com, he stated that frozen embryos needed to be recognized as human life.

Democrat Laura Hall questioned Collins about why certain IVF facilities in the state were still operating. "I know you're coming with this Band-Aid today," Hall said.

She continued that a big open wound out there needs to be taken care of. Collins said she did not know why some had closed while others remained open.

Alabama House Democrats have introduced an amendment to the state constitution, saying that human embryos held in storage outside a woman's uterus are not considered an unborn child or human being for any purpose under state law.

During the debate, Chris England, a Democrat from Tuscaloosa, highlighted the delicate nature of the issue by saying if embryos are truly children, then the state, which prohibits abortion except in cases of rape, may have to take custody of them if the owner ceases paying for the service.

Representative Arnold Mooney, a Republican, stated that "bio ethics is a massive issue." Mooney said, "God creates, not man."

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that three couples whose frozen embryos were destroyed in a storage mishap could file wrongful death lawsuits for their "extrauterine children," which led to the introduction of the new legislation.

Read Also: Canada Lawyer Faces Law Society Probe After Citing Fake, AI-Generated Cases

US Senate Republicans Block IVF Protection Bill

On Wednesday, a federal bill was introduced that would make it illegal to restrict IVF treatments, bringing up questions in the thinking of anti-abortion, pro-IVF Republicans.

Florida Republican senator Marco Rubio said he supports IVF, but he also believes that human lives are being wasted when frozen embryos are utilized for operations. Rubio stressed, "In the balance of things, how do our laws recognize the dignity of that human life and also understand what it enables is a life-creating procedure?"

However, Mississippi Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith opposed the bill, named after Senator Tammy Duckworth, saying it went too far since no state banned IVF. Hyde-Smith argued that he support the ability for mothers and fathers to have total access to IVF and bring new life into the world.

Related Article: Abortion Rights: French Senate Votes To Enshrine Protections Into Constitution


When Guy Fieri puts his Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives spotlight on Mobiles Meat Boss on Friday, he wont just be sampling treats like rib candy and the deliciously smoky Boss Burger. One way or another, itll be a tribute.

Meat Boss started small in 2012. Benny Chinnis had a background in steel work and home construction, but hed also built smokers and he enjoyed large-scale cooking. When he decided to turn professional, he opened what his wife, Dara Chinnis, has described as an indoor food truck. The smoker was outside. Inside was a prep area, a counter and no seating. It was takeout-only, lunch-only hole in the wall.

Chinnis lived up to the joints name with hard work. Dara Chinnis said he was obsessive about doing barbecue right.

He babied these meats, she once told AL.com. We have a night crew now. But for many years, Benny would go up there every two hours and check the meats. Every night, every two hours.

Meat Boss started out in one corner of this Cottage Hill Road building and has repeatedly expanded into new space.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

The business grew, adding dining rooms, sprawling across multiple sections of the commercial building it occupied. Thanks to some high-tech thermometers, he could check temperatures any time he wanted from home, while the night crew tended the smoker.

When the COVID-19 pandemic came along, Meat Boss roots in that indoor food truck mindset helped the business pivot back to a takeout-oriented model. Catering work disappeared for a while, and that had to be built back up. The restaurants business trade faded and eventually was dropped, meaning the loss of options such as the Hog in a Blanket  ham, Conecuh sausage, patty sausage and bacon folded up on a large pancake.

Meat Boss had been a family business from the start, with Dara Chinnis handling a lot of outside-the-kitchen business as Mrs. Boss. It took a few years to persuade her, but daughter Leah Lott, a bona-fide culinary-school-trained chef whod been operating her own food truck, came on board.

There was an obstacle bigger than COVID to come. Chinnis battled cancer in the last months of his life, passing in October 2022. His obituary said that he had considered the restaurant more of a ministry than a business. He never hesitated to provide for those in need  He invested in people and loved them deeply.

Benny Chinnis founded Meat Boss, a restaurant on Cottage Hill Road in Mobile.Courtesy of Dara Chinnis

Lott and Dara Chinnis carried on. And Chinnis said thats one thing she hopes the DDD segment gets across loud and clear.

When she got word that Meat Boss might be considered for a segment on the show, she said, she knew it was something her late husband would have loved.

I dont know if it was an email or a call first, she said. But when we first heard about it, my first thought was, we had talked about that over the years and Benny always said that was the one show that he would love to do.

For the record Dara Chinnis is herself a Guy Fieri fan from way back.

The funny thing about this is  when Guy first got started and he was on a cooking competition many years ago, I voted for him, she said. (That likely was The Next Food Network Star, which Fieri won in 2006, earning a shot at having his own show. Needless to say, he ran with the opportunity.)

We laughed about that, she said. I mean, he was larger than life. He was just a great personality and I remember thinking, Wow, he is, he is going to go far.

She and her husband liked to watch cooking shows, so they were well aware as Fieris empire grew. The notion of being featured on a show such as DDD was an obvious one.

We never pursued anything, she said. So we never knew if that was going to come down the road for us.  My first thought was he [Benny Chinnis] would just be so excited, he would be excited to know that we were going to have the experience, but he would also be excited to know that America is going to see kind of the new Meat Boss, you know, the legacy.

By the new Meat Boss, she means her daughter.

Guy Fieri is shown at the smoker with Chef Leah Lott at Meat Boss in Mobile, Ala., as seen on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." (Courtesy of Food Network)Citizen Pictures

They worked together for maybe five years before he passed away, she said. So she knows how he did everything, how he did the meat because thats not necessarily something they teach in culinary school. But she can do anything she puts her mind to. She learned all that from him and she handles it.

Lott doesnt come to the shop every night like her dad did in the early days, Chinnis said, but she can monitor temperatures remotely just like he did later on.

Some nights she comes up here, you know, said Chinnis. The Meat Boss smoker, constructed by Benny Chinnis, is completely wood-fired, she said. So its all hands on. Sometimes if it doesnt act the way its supposed to, she comes up here and, you know, talks to it. She takes care of it and watches it now.

Dara Chinnis wasnt at liberty to give away spoilers of what went down during Fieris visit. And since she hadnt seen a preview, she couldnt be sure how much time the segment might spend on her late husbands story. (Still, it seems promising that Meat Boss will be featured in the first episode of a new season, and that only two restaurants will be covered rather than the usual three.)

Meat Boss sandwiches are served in brown paper bags, even for dine-in customers, and many visitors have used them for tributes and artwork that adorns the walls of the dining rooms in the Mobile, Ala., restaurant.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

I would love for a couple of things to see come from the show, she said. I would like people to remember Benny. And I would like for people to know that we are moving forward to continue his legacy. Thats the two biggest things that I hope to come out of it when the show airs.

I hope they edit it and make sure that its hes honored, she said. But also that  You know, we get asked all the time. People come in still, after a year, theyll say Im so sorry to hear about him. Are yall gonna close? People still question that and I feel like the shows gonna maybe answer that.

Signs are, itll be an emphatic answer. The episode, titled Smokin Southern Decadence, promises a look at a bomb Boss Burger with a side of rib candy and a stellar smoked brisket sandwich.

Meat Boss is the sixth of six segments produced when Fieri visited the Mobile area last June. The other featured restaurants are The Noble South, Southwood Kitchen in Daphne, The Hummingbird Way, Roosters and Front Yard Tacos.

The new episode airs at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. Central time on the Food Network on Friday, March 1. Repeats are scheduled for 10 p.m. Saturday, March 9, and 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 5.
Justice Murphy made a big first impression on the American Idol judges, and that doesnt seem like a fluke: The Alabama State University student describes her outlook with a stars presence and confidence.

For example: She knows that the further she advances, the more shell be pushed out of whatever genres she might consider her comfort zone. The thought does not faze her in the least.

Im very versatile, she said. I dont think I have a strength. I can sing anything. I can sing opera songs. If you gave me an opera song right now and told me I had 30 minutes to learn it, just like Aretha Franklin, I would go out there and I will sing that opera song. I will sing it how it needs to be sung.

As she told Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry in the episode that aired Feb. 25, shes done most of her public singing in a church setting. Initially that was Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Marianna, Ark., near her hometown of Forrest City. Since she started at ASU its been First Baptist Greater Washington Park in Montgomery. She said it was Worship Arts Director Guenada Lambert who pushed her to sign up for an online Idol audition.

Yeah, it started online in my room, said Murphy, 21. I was actually getting ready to go to work. Im a waitress. I had no intentions on auditioning but my choir director, she had asked me, she was like, I really think you should do it. I really think its time. And I was like, OK, well, if you think its time, then it has to be time.

In that first session she sang songs associated with two previous Idol winners: Before He Cheats by Season Four winner Carrie Underwood, and the jazz standard Summertime, sung by Fantasia on her way to winning Season Three in 2004. Murphy said she sang for multiple listeners in that audition session, and by the time it was over shed been told she was moving forward.

We learned right there, she said. So thats the great part about it.

The next stop was the Tuskegee audition shown in the broadcast. She tackled Summertime again and got the approval of all three judges. Perry and Richie said the performance as a little over the top  Perry called it a little bit Broadway-esque  but all three said they saw star power. Everything about you really sets off all of the right emotions for what we look for in American Idol, said Bryan.

Murphy said the critique didnt bother her.

It was actually great, she said of the feedback. Like, I mean, Summertime is a jazz song. So I just wanted to give it that jazzy feeling. But besides that, I was, I was fangirling the entire time. Anything that they told me I was taking it all in and I was willing to work on anything that they said.

She said fangirling was particularly true of getting to sing for Perry.

That was mind blowing for me, she said. Literally, like, Katy Perry was somebody that I danced in my room in the mirror to. I used to play on the playground with my friends and wed come up for dances and songs and Katy Perry was definitely one of those artists. So that was so amazing.

While she doesnt consider herself a student of the show, its no accident that she auditioned with songs referencing Fantasia and Underwood. Murphy said she appreciates the way they went on to stardom after winning on the show.

I absolutely love that, she said. And thats what I love about Idol, too, that your career doesnt stop. It keeps going. And Fantasia, I grew up with Fantasia like all through my house. Just to see her overcome so many things, that is just so amazing, to see her get everything that she deserves.

Murphy is a biology student who aims to continue on to dental school and become a pediatric dentist. Shes got it mapped out  but Idol will make for an interesting diversion. And if she continues to build on her first impression, it could be a big one.

I want people to know that I am a sweet girl when you get to know me, she said. Im very talkative. Im outgoing. Im full of life. Whenever you see me, Im never scared. Im never shy. Im just full of life like Im just a kid.

Somebody told me that, You have favor over your life. But when youre anointed, its just so hard for people to bring you down to a lower level or to make you feel less of yourself. So I just thank God that he has placed this anointment over my life.

So when people see me and they get a feel of who I am, its just so amazing, she said. So Im so excited for people to see the kind of person that I really am and just to see how different I am as a star on the stage and then just a regular person in regular life.
It was touch and go there for a minute, but when Dawson Slade of Moulton got his golden ticket on the Feb. 25 episode of American Idol, it was another step forward in a story that began when he was just 5 years old.

He reckons thats when he got his first six-string. And it was only a few more years down the road when he discovered songwriting as an emotional outlet.

I got my first guitar when I was around 5 years old, said Slade, whos now just 17. I started, you know, trying to learn the melodies and what sounded right on the guitar and just trying to teach myself everything I could. I took some guitar lessons for about a week and it never really worked out. So I ended up just teaching myself all the basic stuff.

When he began trying to write his own songs, thats what really fueled the fire and kept me going to music, he said. It really helped me clear my head and it was just something that was always there.

Dawson Slade is shown during his audition in the second episode of the 2024 season of "American Idol." Slade, 17, is from Moulton, Ala. (Disney/Eric McCandless )Disney

By age 9 or 10, he said, he was started writing songs to perform for other people. I started doing a hometown festival called the Strawberry Festival, he said.

Fast forward a few years to 2023, when auditions began for the 2024 season of American Idol. For a few years hed considered submitting an audition video, without ever pulling the trigger, just getting a little nervous or whatever.

This year he got a little push, he said, and obviously it paid off: The next thing he knew, he was headed for an in-person audition in Tuskegee, hometown of celebrity judge Lionel Richie. Slade knew it was a rare moment.

His song Stuck On You is probably one of my top favorite songs, Slade said. So hes always been in my playlist. Ive always listened to Lionel. So, just to be there, especially in his hometown and face to face with them and be able to perform and show my style of music and 17-years-old, Im very grateful for that.

Richie, and fellow judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry, were not blown away by Slades take on Lee Ann Womacks I Hope You Dance. Perry said he had a great voice but wasnt attacking the song. Richie said he heard a performer who needed to put more time in. Bryan said he was hearing a songwriter, not a powerhouse performer.

It looked pretty grim, but Bryan wanted to hear a little more. So Slade sang Justin Moores Somebody Else Will and got just enough traction to change some minds.

It might not have been the most auspicious start, but a golden ticket is a golden ticket: Slade will advance to the shows Hollywood Round. Though hes got a strong country vibe, he said hes not worried about being pushed to perform in other genres.

When I started songwriting, it was more of a folk vibe, he said. So I feel like I have a wider variety of music other than just country. I describe my music as from the heart.

I try to, I try to keep it as real as possible, he said. No matter my age, no matter how young I am, Ive seen a little bit of life and so I just try to keep it as real as possible and as relatable as possible. My music is more on the, you know, love, sad breakup, love song kind of stuff. So I try to keep it real and relatable.

These days, Slade divides his time between Tennessee and north Alabama. In Tennessee, he works on the ranch of a mentor whos helping him dip his toes into the Nashville scene, he said. In Alabama, hes closer to his infant son, Stetson.

Stetson made an appearance on Idol, carried by Slades mom, who got a big reaction because she looks like she could be Perrys sister. Slade said he knew that was coming, because hes been dealing with it all his life.

Yeah, growing up, that was always a thing, he said. You know, Ive always been protective. Wed go to Walmart and, some older man -- or a younger man, my age, I mean  would flirt with her, come up to her and be like, You look like Katy Perry and sometimes theyd ask for a picture.  So, going to Idol, we were really excited to see how it was going to be.

While Slade might sometimes have been uncomfortable with the attention, he said it never turned his mom off on her lookalike.

She loves Katy Perry, he said.

For those who like what they saw on Idol, Slade said he has new music coming out soon. His debut single, Home in My Heart, can be heard on YouTube and other streaming platforms.
A University of South Alabama professor instrumental in preserving the history of Mobiles Africatown community is hoping to take a small group of students to Africa this spring  but the planned trip could use some help from potential sponsors.

Kern Jackson figured prominently in the award-winning Africatown documentary Descendant, and not just on-screen: He was credited as a co-writer with director Margaret Brown.

For the short May semester following USAs spring graduation ceremony, Jackson has outlined an ambitious study-abroad program that will take participants to Benin, Ghana and Togo. The cost is about $5,000 per person, which covers international health insurance, accommodations, in-country transportation, most meals and excursions. (It doesnt cover the $2,000 or so for air fare, which the students themselves must handle.)

The program title is USA in West Africa: Dreams of Alabamians in Africa, which is a full-circle play on the title of a significant historical work on Africatown, Sylviane Dioufs Dreams of Africa in Alabama.

Jackson said most of the students lined up to participate are from Alabama. Most are taking classes in in the African American Studies program he heads, but are majoring in other fields, including science and medical studies.

He said he expects them to reap multiple benefits while doing field work that helps understand the complex reality of race in the African diaspora.

From my own experience as participant in study abroad, its a community altering situation because people typically come home from these experiences and engage civically in ways that they hadnt before, he said.

We always talk about creating leaders but very rarely do, he said. Such trips address that, he said: We put these students in position where they have to demonstrate leadership. And when they get that experience, they fly, they take off and fly. Thats, thats been my experience with them. They see themselves differently and they see the potential of their contributions, not being just to this county, they see it being global.

He said the trip will visit the coastal Ghana town of Keta; Lome, the capital of Togo; and Ouidah, Benin. In 1860, when the Clotilda made its infamous voyage, Ouidah was a slave port that was part of the kingdom of Dahomey. In addition to visiting where the Clotilda was, our students will be doing some field work in Keta with a collective of drum makers and a collective of weavers, Jackson said.

The trip is still open to students and non-students, with a mid-March deadline. Jackson said that while donors and sponsors already have made commitments, thousands of dollars are needed to help interested students meet the cost of participating.

Two online channels have been set up for contributions, including one set up by USA at https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/44838/donations/new. Donations also can be sent via the Society of Clotilda. Anyone wanting more information on the trip can contact Jackson via email at Kemjacks@southalabama.edu.
Three men  one from Minnesota and two from Michigan  are behind bars in Alabama after guns, drugs and cash were seized from their Cadillac following a police chase in north Alabama.

Alabama State Troopers tried to stop the Cadillac for speeding about 3:45 p.m. Wednesday on Alabama 24 in Franklin County. The driver fled and a pursuit ensued, said Senior Trooper Cody Farrar.

The chase ended in Lawrence County. Moulton police officers and Lawrence County sheriffs deputies assisted.

A search of the vehicle turned up $50,000 in cash, 12.5 pounds of marijuana, 121 doses of Liquid TCH, three handguns and a rifle.

The driver, 29-year-old John Borelli of Chesterfield, Mich., is charged with drug trafficking, felony eluding, possession of firearm with altered serial number, second-degree receiving stolen property, reckless driving and speeding.

The passengers, Darius Braden, 28, of Detroit, Mich., and Cortae Davidson, 20, of Rochester, Minn., are charged with drug trafficking.

All three are being held in the Lawrence County Jail.
Kensington Palace is shutting down conspiracy theories regarding Kate Middletons health as the Princess of Wales continues recovering from last months abdominal surgery.

The previously scheduled procedure was announced in tandem with Buckingham Palace revealing King Charles would also be hospitalized for an enlarged prostate. The royals were treated at The London Clinic at the same time, just ahead of the monarch, 75, announcing hed been diagnosed with an unrelated cancer.

But while Charles has since been seen attending church with Queen Camilla and strolling the grounds of their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, the princess has not been seen since the royal familys annual Christmas outing.

That, along with a lack of updates on her condition, prompted a flurry of online speculation and conspiracies, including a theory that Kate was in a coma due to complications.

We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant, a spokesperson said Thursday, per People, noting the 42-year-old is doing well.

The palace announced on Jan. 17 that the princess had undergone the successful surgery the previous day and would remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days before recovering at home.

Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter, the palace said at the time.

While Kensington acknowledged the interest this statement will generate, the palace expressed Middletons desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.

Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness progress when there is significant new information to share, the statement added.

Much of the speculation about Middletons well-being followed Prince William unexpectedly pulling out of Tuesdays memorial for his late godfather, King Constantine of Greece, for reported personal reasons. A royal source said that day that the princess continues to be doing well, but that didnt stop the internets wheels from turning.

Hours after the memorial service, which King Charles also missed, news broke that the royal family suffered a major loss with the sudden death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of Lady Gabriella Kingston  Charles second cousin and goddaughter to Constantine. Lady Gabriella, 42, is the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

The financier, 45, was found dead Sunday at a property in Gloucestershire. His cause of death is under investigation, but its not believed to involve suspicious circumstances, CNN reported.

2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
State lawmakers scrambling to provide legal protection for in vitro fertilization clinics passed bills in the Alabama House and Senate on Thursday after removing automatic repeal dates that were in earlier versions of the legislation.

One of the two bills could become law as soon as next Wednesday.

The Senate passed SB159 by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, by a vote of 34-0. Melsons bill originally had an automatic repeal date of June 1, 2025. But that was removed from the bill before it passed.

Melson said the repeal date was initially included as an incentive to make lawmakers proactive about exploring the issues of IVF clinics and studying what future legislation might be needed to help govern them long-term.

Melson, who is a physician, said the repeal date was removed because of the potential impact on families decisions to seek IVF services if they knew the law governing the services would change in the next year and recognizing that the IVF process takes months.

When you think about it, this doesnt happen overnight, Melson said. Its a process. You have to go through a lot of steps.

Several large providers of IVF services in Alabama have paused operations after a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos stored at clinics have the status of unborn children under state law. The court found that clinics could be liable under Alabamas wrongful death act for the destruction of embryos.

SB159 says no action, suit, or criminal prosecution for the damage to or death of an embryo shall be brought or maintained against any individual or entity when providing or receiving services related to in vitro fertilization.

Melson said he hopes that if SB159 becomes law, it would provide the immunity to allow the clinics to resume services. He acknowledged that many questions remain about the IVF process and how to reconcile it with the Supreme Court ruling.

There is other concerns that we need to address, but well continue to work on those, Melson said.

Some Democratic lawmakers, in recent days and during debates on the House and Senate floor Thursday, said lawmakers need to directly address the question of whether an embryo in storage in a clinic outside of a womans uterus has the same legal status as an unborn child.

Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, proposed an amendment to Melsons bill that said: Any fertilized human egg or human embryo that exists in any form outside of a human uterus is not considered an unborn child, a minor child, or a human being for any purpose under state law.

The Senate declined to add that amendment to the bill.

Melson said lawmakers must be careful with legislation that seeks to define when life begins.

Its a tough question, Melson said. Again, we have a very strong pro-life stance, especially on the Republican side. Democrats too, they just feel uncomfortable saying it the same as us. But they appreciate and respect the sanctity of life.

I dont have the answer, Melson said. I wish I did and I would have accepted that amendment or offered it. Shes probably right, were going to have to make a decision eventually.

The IVF process generally results in creating embryos that are not eventually implanted inside the mothers uterus. The questions concern what happens with those embryos and what is their legal status under the Alabama law.

In 2018, Alabama voters approved a constitutional amendment that recognizes the rights of the unborn, including the right to life. Alabama House Democrats have proposed an amendment to that part of the constitution that says, for the purpose of this section, an extrauterine embryo is not an unborn life or unborn child. That bill, HB240, was not considered on Thursday.

The House passed HB137 by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, by a vote of 94-6 after about two-and-a-half hours of debate. HB137 is almost identical to Melsons bill. It originally included an automatic repeal date of April 1, 2025. That was removed from the version that passed the House.

Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said lawmakers did not want patients to be put on hold again because the law changed and the legal immunity for the clinics expired.

If you think about the process, it takes a number of months for somebody to go through that, Ledbetter said. What we didnt want to do is run up to the end of it and the same thing happened that happened this last week, where they shut them back down and then people thats right in the middle of going through the process of the shots and through getting the embryo would be shut down. So thats something we just didnt want the women to have to deal with again.

Ledbetter said the plan is to organize a group to study what the Legislature needs to do in the long-term regarding the IVF process and the clinics. He said that was why the repeal date was originally included.

It was just to make sure that we got something done permanently, thats why it was put in there, just to make sure there was a fix instead of a Band-Aid solution, Ledbetter said.

I think doing it this way and trying to get some folks together and figure out a solution is a positive step.

The Legislature returns on Tuesday. SB159 or HB237 could receive final passage as early as Wednesday.
Seven Jefferson County restaurants scored 84 or below when they were inspected by the county Health Department in February, meaning that they will need to be reinspected by the county within the next 60 days.

Among the violations spotted by county health inspectors include a cook handling food with their bare hands, mold and slime inside drink nozzles and floors soiled by liquid, residue and debris.

Here are those seven establishments, in order from highest score to lowest:

Wing City

3094 Allison Bonnett Memorial Dr., Hueytown

Score: 84

Critical violations: 2

Inspection date: Feb. 9

An inspector found five food handlers without food safety training, which cost Wing City four points.

Wing City was also cited for a cleaner being stored on a shelf above the refrigerator maketable  a five-point deduction.

The restaurant had food containers and bowls stacked while wet, a condensation leak in the freezer and a missing drain plug for the dumpster, among other infractions.

Concord Travel Center

4795 Hwy. 78 West, Graysville

Score: 82

Critical violations: 3

Inspection date: Feb. 5

Concord Travel Centers three critical violations were all worth four points.

The travel stop was cited for not providing food safety training to all food handlers.

It also did not have soap in the mens bathroom while a large container of cooked ground beef was stored without a date mark.

Ceiling tiles were missing because of a water leak.

Hollywood Chevron

2909 Independence Dr., Homewood

Score: 82

Critical violations: 4

Inspection date: Feb. 14

This Homewood gas station convenience store had five violations, with four of them considered critical four- or five-point violations.

Chicken wings did not have a discard time.

Mold and slime was found inside drink nozzles.

Several pizza ingredients were not marked with a date, causing the person in charge to discard all the items.

There were also no towels at either hand sink.

A Little Caesars pizza franchise.Little Caesars Pizza

Little Caesars

406 West Valley Ave., Homewood

Score: 82

Critical violations: 3

Inspection date: Feb. 13

Little Caesars lost 14 points from critical violations alone.

Chemical spray bottles were stored on the food rack, which cost the pizza joint five points.

It lost another five points because the establishment was unable to show proof that it communicated an employee health policy to its workers.

Little Caesars also couldnt find test strips to measure the concentration of sanitizing solutions.

An inspector also cited Little Caesars for a leaky faucet and having the side doors and lids on two dumpsters open.

Cracker BarrelStaff-Shot

Cracker Barrel #368

4710 Norrell Dr., Trussville

Score: 78

Critical violations: 3

Inspection date: Feb. 5

The Trussville Cracker Barrel lost 14 points just from critical violations.

The grill cook was seen loading raw sausage patties onto the grill with her bare hands, then handled clean dishware for plating a customer order. She eventually washed her hands properly after she was interrupted and told to do so.

The inspector also noticed damaged floor tiles and flooring that needed to be regrouted.

There was also grease drippage from the top of the filter mounts, ceiling and edge of the canopies in the ventilation hood system.

Condensation leaks from plumbing lines was falling from the ceiling onto food packaging, shelving and the floor.

In this Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 photo a KFC sign stands in front of a Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food restaurant, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)AP

Kentucky Fried Chicken

7909 Crestwood Blvd., Birmingham

Score: 78

Critical violations: 4

Inspection date: Feb. 19

KFC on Crestwood Boulevard lost 17 points alone from critical violations.

It lost five points for not providing employees with a health policy.

Another four points was deducted from KFCs score because the person in charge had no vomit and diarrhea clean up procedures in place, according to the inspectors report.

Four points were also knocked off KFCs score because of no paper towels at the hand sink and no chemical test strips in the establishment.

The floors were also found to be soiled with liquid, residue and debris.

Taziki's tomato-basil soup paired with grilled pimento cheese sandwiches.

Tazikis Restaurant

4520 Overton Rd., Birmingham

Score: 77

Critical violations: 4

Inspection date: Feb. 8

Tazikis four critical violations knocked 17 points off its score, which was the lowest of any Jefferson County establishment in February.

Its worst violation  costing Tazikis five points  was for a block of cheddar cheese sitting on a shelf in the dry storage area at 55 degrees when it should have been at 41 degrees or below.

The inspector also noticed residue on a can opener and several utensils in storage soiled with debris.

Meanwhile, several pans were stacked while wet and handwashing signs were missing at several hand sinks.
New roads lead to Costco.

Madison County Commissioners this week approved a deal to widen Wall Triana Highway to five lanes ahead of the discount warehouse chain, which would eventually sit on U.S. 72 near Clift Farms.

WAFF reported construction crews have already been working along Wall Triana preparing the lanes to be widened.

There is no word yet on when the store might open.

Costco has four locations in Alabama, including one in Huntsville on North Memorial Parkway that opened in 2000.

According to the station, some residents are concerned about how much traffic will be coming to an area already seeing a lot of vehicles.

Were excited about the Costco being close, were definitely concerned about the traffic its going to bring, especially since its already so busy right around here, Madison resident Corey Salata said.
The death last year of a Walker County jail inmate was a homicide caused by medical neglect, according to the county coroners death certificate posted online Thursday by advocates of Anthony Tony Mitchell.

Mitchell, 33, died Jan. 26, 2023 at Walker Baptist Medical Center, just over two weeks after he was arrested on charges that he fired on Walker County deputies as they responded to a welfare check requested by his family.

Walker County Coroner Joey Vick confirmed the authenticity of the certificate posted Thursday on the Facebook group Justice for Tony Mitchell.

Yes, this is the death [certification] that we signed, Vick told AL.com Thursday night.

The documents, which showed they were filed on Feb. 1, 2023, listed Mitchells manner of death as homicide and listed the causes as hypothermia and sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.

Mitchells manner of death would be a factor in determining whether any criminal charges would be filed.

Lawyers for Mitchells mother, Margaret Mitchell, filed a federal lawsuit in March 2023, claiming that jail deputies tased Mitchell and locked him in a freezer, causing his death.

Jon Goldfarb, the lead attorney representing Margaret Mitchell, could not immediately be reached for comment on the autopsy.

The lawsuit alleges abuse and medical neglect of Mitchell at the hands of Sheriff Nick Smith and staff at the county jail, including corrections officers, nurses and an investigator.

A response to the lawsuit filed by jail nurses disputed Mitchells familys claims that he was locked in a freezer.

Attorneys for the sheriffs office also said Mitchell was never placed in a freezer, and asked that the allegation be removed from the lawsuit.

He was not held in a freezer, the document stated. In fact, the only times that he left the booking area was to attend his 72-hour hearing and to be transported to the hospital.

This case embodies the adage, A lie is halfway around the world before the truth can put on its boots,' lawyers wrote.

Mitchell family attorneys responded by saying the claim was mischaracterized.

They said the claim about the freezer was not definite, but rather a likely possible explanation for Mitchells death and that a physician they interviewed for the case told them as much.

If defendants had another means of bringing an inmates body temp. to 72 degrees or lower, plaintiff will uncover that during the discovery phase of this case, the familys lawyers argued.
China, U.S. hold new round of foreign policy planning consultation

Xinhua) 09:43, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States held a new round of foreign policy planning consultation on Feb. 27 in Shanghai.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry, Miao Deyu, assistant foreign minister and director-general of the Department of Policy Planning, and Salman Ahmed, director of the U.S. Secretary of State's policy planning staff, held the consultation.

The two sides had candid, in-depth and constructive communication on respective foreign policies, international situation and regional hotspot issues.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Hunter Biden testified during his Wednesday removal investigation deposition that his father, Joe, was "the big guy" in an email about a business deal with a Chinese state-linked energy firm that made millions for Biden family members and other associates, more than three years after The Post broke the story. He denied that the president was ever penciled in for a 10% stake.

The 54-year-old Hunter is the first to admit that his previous partner in business James Gilliar was referring to Joe Biden when he suggested on May 13, 2017, that the first son keep a ten percent share of the profitable CEFC China Energy joint venture "for the big guy," as per New York Post.

Hunter Biden's Foreign Business Deals

Hunter Biden openly admitted to being under the influence and facing terrible ideas throughout his business career, which he feels has affected his memory of previous happenings. The individual discussed an email exchange regarding a Chinese deal, mentioning "10 held by H for the big guy," and described it as an explanation of proposed cuts from a lucrative deal.

Despite acknowledging putting his father on speakerphone during business lunches with associates, Hunter Biden emphasized there was nothing untoward about it and denied discussing business matters during those calls.

Regarding his infamous laptop, he claimed not to remember leaving it at the repair shop, stating that if he were to drop off a laptop, it would be at the Apple store, not a random repair shop.

Hunter Biden denied allegations of facilitating an introduction between his father and Ye Jianming, the founder of Chinese state-affiliated CEFC, at a meeting at the Four Seasons, stating he did not remember what happened, according to Daily Mail.

Read Also: Palestinian Death Toll Surpasses 30,000

Probe Into Biden Business Allegations

The discussion investigated claims regarding Joe Biden's alleged receipt of a 10 percent stake in a business agreement with CEFC, as mentioned in an email from Hunter Biden's former associate James Gilliar. Hunter Biden said he had no idea of this and strongly denied ever calling his father 'the big guy.' He disregarded Gilliar's mention, suggesting it was probably wishful thinking since Joe Biden had not officially taken on the role.

The president's son confirmed the reliability of his business transactions with CEFC, stating they aligned with his area of expertise. He made it clear that none of the funds from the transactions were received by the president, highlighting that the deals took place while his father was not in office.

The interview also touched on a text message where Hunter Biden complained about giving Joe "half" of his salary, explaining it was during a difficult period when he was struggling with suicidal thoughts.

As the investigation progresses, Hunter Biden continues to assert the legality and ethicality of his business dealings, arguing that his father was not involved and did not receive any financial benefit from these businesses. The testimony brings up doubts regarding the truthfulness of the email mentions and the depth of Joe Biden's involvement in Hunter Biden's business dealings, Fox News reported.

Related Article: Hunter Biden Associate Eric Schwerin Questioned Over Then-VP Joe Biden's Use of Pseudonyms to Discuss Ukraine Business
A young Birmingham mother abducted, tortured, and murdered was tough on the outside, but soft on the inside, said those who knew her best.

Nearly 100 family members and friends gathered Thursday at the apartment complex where 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson was held against her will. They cried, they prayed, and they remembered better times.

Everybody that knew her knew she didnt play, and they knew she was full of love behind all that toughness she had, said Jacksons older sister, Jazmyne Maddox. She had a big heart.

Maddox said her sister would be stunned at outpouring of emotion and support from the community following her death.

She wouldnt believe this, Maddox said. She would be like, Really? This is for me?

Mahogany Hatch Jackson, 20, was reported missing Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, after messaging her family that she was being held hostage in southwest Birmingham.(Contributed)

Seven people have been charged with an array of crimes  three of them charged with capital murder - in Jacksons killing.

An eighth suspect  a 23-year-old woman  was booked into the Birmingham City Jail on a 48-hour hold pending the ongoing investigation. She has not been charged with any crime.

The investigation began when Jackson messaged her mother at 7:46 a.m. Sunday, saying, Send the police apt 3 held hostage dont call. She also sent her location to her sister.

Here is full coverage of the case

Police and family flocked to Serenity Apartments, but Jackson was nowhere to be found.

One of the charged suspects  Teja Lewis  told police Jackson had been there but had left at 2 a.m.

Police spent all day and night searching for Jackson, interviewing witnesses and potential suspects, and tracking other leads before her body was found in Mondays predawn hours under a mattress in an illegal dumping site in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue in southwest Birmingham. She had been shot at least one time.

Parts of Jacksons time in captivity was video recorded, including both physical and sexual assaults.

Some of those videos have made their way onto social media, prompting Jacksons mother, Gail Maddox, to issue a plea on Facebook for people to stop sending them to the family.

Thats my child. Please stop. I cant take it, she wrote.

Family and friends gathered for a vigil at a Birmingham apartment complex where 20-year-old Mahogany Jackson was held before she was tortured, sexually assault and murdered on Feb. 25, 2024.(Carol Robinson)

Birmingham police Chief Scott Thurmond called Jacksons murder one of the worst hes seen in his law enforcement career.

It was absolutely disgusting, Thurmond said.

Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr described it as heinous and unimaginable.

The actions displayed by these defendants were barbaric and have no place in society, Carr said. The senseless and inhumane treatment perpetuated on young Mahogany Jackson was very disturbing and violent.

Jacksons uncle, the Rev. Otis Bates of Blessed Assembly in Hueytown, led Thursdays vigil and balloon release.

There has been a chain broken within our family, but love has replaced its link, Bates said. We stand united as a family. We love our Mahogany.

Bates prayed with crowd and reminded them to each remember their own precious moments with Jackson. Nothing can destroy that, he said.

She has been taken from our hands, but never our hearts, he said. We say to the world, Were still standing.'

We have submitted the case to God, and we have bound ourselves together in love, Bates said. We ask that you pray for us as we go through this difficult. To God be the Glory.
A chaotic Senate committee meeting ended this week without a vote on the gambling legislation already approved in the Alabama House or expected substitute bills.

Substitute bills were being prepared Wednesday but werent discussed publicly.

The Senate Tourism and Economic Development Committee had posted earlier in the week its 1 p.m. meeting, but didnt list the bills it would discuss, as is legislative protocol. It also didnt mention a planned public hearing.
Nine candidates in the Alabama congressional district 2 race gave their thoughts on education policy, gun control, election reform, residency, school safety, and more during a candidates forum Thursday in Mobile.

But the story underscoring the event dubbed a Conversations with the Candidates, was the fact that one of the candidates was not allowed on stage five days before a high-stakes primary election that could play a significant factor in which political party takes charge of the U.S. House after November.

State Rep. Napoleon Bracy, a Democratic lawmaker from Mobile County, sat in the audience as an observer, disqualified from participating because one of the forums organizing groups claimed he did not submit an RSVP before a deadline.

Though polling in the race has been limited, one released in December by the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund showed Bracy in the lead, though nearly half of the electorate was undecided. He also has the endorsement of the influential Alabama Democratic Conference, a predominately Black caucus led by longtime Alabama Democratic Party head Joe Reed.

There were a lot of whispers in the room tonight wanting to know what was going on, said Bracy. All of the polling data comes out and it shows Im one of the top candidates in the election. I think its a shame that one of the top candidates is sitting in the audience and an open seat was at the table.

RSVP concerns

An empty chair on the stage of the Bernheim Hall inside the Ben May Library in Mobile, Ala., during a congressional district 2 forum that was held on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com

Bracy sat in the second row of Bernheim Hall inside the Ben May Library in downtown Mobile while a group of seven Democrats and two Republicans fielded questions from two moderators. An empty chair was on stage.

Kiwana Brooks, who is in charge of political awareness and involvement with the Mobile Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theat Sorority, said there should have been more than just one chair on the stage to represent the three candidates who she said RSVPd to participate, but were unable to attend  State Sens. Greg Albritton and Merika Coleman, who were both in Montgomery for official state duties during the legislative session, and Vimal Patel, who was unable to attend.

Brooks said the debate hosts could not accommodate Bracy because he did not RSVP before a deadline.

We were not able to accommodate anymore participates after the deadline, Brooks said. The RSVP date was there to accommodate all participants.

Bracy told the local media after the forum that he submitted his RSVP on Feb. 22, exactly one week before the debate and ahead of what he said was the deadline. It was unclear on the exact RSVP date.

Bracy said he initially balked at participating out of concerns that participants with the events original host organizers was affiliated with one of his opponents campaigns. He declined to name the organization.

When one of the original organizers of the forum reached out, I felt some bias, Bracy said. Like anything we participate in, I wanted to make sure it was a fair situation we were walking into. I brought (the political connection) to the organizers, and they restructured and brought in other groups to participate.

Bracy said that once he learned the forum had been restructured, he reached back out to the organizers last week. The forums hosts included the Mobile Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, the Mobile chapter of the League of Women Voters, the Greater Mobile Alabama Chapter of the Links Incorporated, and Mobile United.

I responded to that because of space and time constraints, I would not be able to participate in the forum, Bracy said. But as you can see, there is an empty chair there. Three candidates did not show up. It wasnt even acknowledged that I was present.

He said he suspects someone who was with the forums organizers might have been upset with him for expressing initial concerns about one of the groups members affiliation with one of the participating candidates.

Brooks said that wasnt the case, adding that Bracys lack of involvement was a matter of fairness to the other candidates.

There were multiple guidelines set, she said. To make sure we were fair to all the candidates, we wanted to make sure all of those guidelines were followed. Thats all I can speak on with regard to Bracy.

Bracy said he plans to address the forum questions during a Facebook event on Sunday.

Democrat participants

Some of the candidates who will appear on the March 5, 2024, primary ballot in the Alabama congressional district 2 race appear on the stage of Bernheim Hall inside the Ben May Library during a forum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com

The forum, aside from Bracys lack of involvement, featured few fireworks despite the closeness of the primary election day and the high-stakes at play: Democrats are looking to pick up a seat long held by Republicans at a time when the GOP has a razor-thing 219-213 majority in the House. Among the competitive races being charted by Cook Political Report, the 2nd district in Alabama is listed as likely Democrat.

The race is possible because of Allen v. Milligan, the federal case that led to a surprising U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that the Alabama Legislatures congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and had to be redrawn.

A federal court approved a new Alabama Congressional District 2 as part of a new congressional map in October. The district radically shifted from a safe Republican district to one where voters could elect the second Democrat and second Black representative in Alabamas seven-member Congressional delegation.

The district includes cities like Mobile and Montgomery, as well a host of rural counties through Alabamas Black Belt region.

Some of the candidates, including House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels and former U.S. Department of Justice official Shomari Figures, drew upon connections to Mobile. Daniels, a Huntsville Democrat criticized by other candidates for a lack of residency to the 2nd district, touted his support as a state lawmaker in 2016, of diverting more BP oil spill settlement money to Mobile and Baldwin counties. Figures -- son to state Sen. Vivian Figures and the late former Sen. Michael Figures  said he intended to give back where I came from if hes elected to Congress.

Figures, asked about the 2020 election, said he felt claims that undermined President Joe Bidens victory do nothing but undermine the security of our nation and the security of our democracy as a whole.

Other candidates expressed concerns about the future of democracy.

State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said in her opening remarks that democracy is under attack, and that voting rights are also under attack. She also raised concerns about restrictions to teaching Black history in schools, saying that Republicans are attempting to strip away Black history, a history that deserves to be told here in the United States.

I support any effort to keep history, whether its Black history or (Native American) history or whoevers history, she said. But to take away history from a race of people  its unacceptable. I wont support it.

Daniels and State Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, weighed in on labor relations with Daniels saying there was a place for labor unions to co-exist more with corporate America. Gray said there was a greater need for unionized businesses to boost low pay in rural counties where the median average annual salaries are considerably lower than the states average.

Two recent Democratic congressional candidates also made their pitches.

James Averhart, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from Mobile, and current executive director of the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, made an emphatic closing statement to say he was the Democratic nominee for Congress in 2020  in the 1st congressional district race, which he lost to Republican Jerry Carl  and that hes gotten smarter and more involved.

Phyllis Harvey-Hall, a career educator who twice rain against Republican U.S. Rep. Barry Moore in the 2nd district in 2020 and 2022, said she wants to advocate for womens rights, and more pay equality adding that we have to make sure we all have a portion of the American pie.

Willie Lenard, a retired businessman, made perhaps the boldest of all vows by saying he would make sure he secured $8 billion in federal money to rebuild roads and bridges throughout the district.

Weve waited 159 years for this opportunity, he said. We must send someone to Congress who must represent us.

Republican viewpoints

State Sen. Dick Brewbaker, R-Montgomery, speaks during an Alabama congressional district 2 candidates' forum on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, inside the Bernheim Hall at the Ben May Library in downtown Mobile, Ala.John Sharp/jsharp@al.com

Two Republicans participated in the event including former State Sen. Dick Brewbaker of Montgomery, who said he supported arming school personnel who were trained in active shooter situations. He said that a schools tax base could erode if students and their parents do not feel comfortable with a school.

If kids arent safe, parents will find alternatives, Brewbaker said. As students leave, does the tax base.

He added, Having armed people in schools? Yes. Untrained people? No. But I do believe armed people should be on campus in case of an incident.

Republican Stacy Shepperson of Washington County weighed in on residency concerns within the race, saying that she is uncertain how anyone can represent the congressional district if they do not live within it.

By working in Mobile, I know what is needed, she said. Ive worked throughout this area and I am very familiar and engaged with it. I dont know how you can effectively work in a district if you dont know it.

The Republican candidates who did not RSVP or attend the forum, but who will the ballot next week, included Caroleene Dobson, Karla DuPriest, Hampton Harris and Belinda Thomas.
This is a guest opinion column

This weekend, thousands will gather in Selma to commemorate the 59th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. For a couple days, the earth will seem to stop spinning for those assembled as they are immersed in history  walking in the same steps as the marchers that day, reflecting on the ruthlessness employed to prevent Black citizens from registering to vote and strategizing over the ongoing efforts to keep and construct new barriers to voting for Black and Brown communities.

This year though, amid the solemn events observing the anniversary and important discussions on how to overcome the ongoing challenges, there may be a little more optimism in the air than usual. This is because over the last year there have been two major developments that have significantly expanded the political power of Black citizens, especially in the South.

It was 60 years ago this November that Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential candidate that year, flipped the Democratic South. His victories in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina set the trajectory for politics in those states for the next six decades.

In the months leading up to that election, President Lyndon Johnson had signed the Civil Rights Act and purportedly confessed to a staffer that while it is an important gainwe just delivered the South to the Republican Party for a long time to come.

He wasnt the only one aware of the potential political impact of that legislation and the growing movement for equality. Around the same time, at a meeting of Republican Party leadership, Goldwater made the case for a GOP Southern Strategy, what he called, going hunting where the ducks are. White voters in the Deep South were increasingly unsettled over the Civil Rights Movement threatening their hold on political power. In the years that followed, Republicans, stoking racial resentment and fear of what could be coming, drove a wedge between white Southern voters and the Democratic Party.

Though Goldwater lost that election to Johnson by a margin greater than any presidential candidate in history, his victory in the Deep South established the party realignment that has endured for sixty years and a landscape where a major proportion of the nations Black population resides in states in which white conservative politicians control state legislatures and governors mansions.

But the Democratic National Committees (DNC) recent move of South Carolina and other more diverse states to the front of the partys nominating process - at the urging of President Biden  marks an important shift.

While most of the media coverage has focused on the notion that this is payback for Bidens victory in South Carolinas 2020 Primary and an effort to excite Black voters ahead of the 2024 election, that narrative drastically downplays the significance of this move and its ability to change the course of national politics.

For many years, Democratic party leaders have known the calendar and the order of the states nominating process needed change. Despite the critical role Black voters play in the partys electorate, they have had little say in the nominating process. Bidens plea to make South Carolina the first state to host a primary, and the DNCs decision to implement it, embraces the critical role voters of color have in any Democratic national victory, could significantly grow the partys electorate and increases their political muscle.

The impact of this move goes far beyond the primary nominating process. Black voters will not only have the chance to vote earlier in the process, they will also have a greater opportunity to help steer the public conversation and shape the partys policy agenda. Think about the countless interactions between mostly white voters in Iowa and New Hampshire and Republican candidates that we have seen over the past months. In the coming years, voters of color will join this key nominating role of questioning and testing the candidates.

While Black voters have been essential to the Democratic Partys base, their turnout has remained disproportionately lower than white voters for decades. Much of this can be attributed to voter ID laws and restricted voting access efforts targeting Black and Brown communities. But, it is also the result of decades of being disenfranchised by the political system because the Republican Southern strategy didnt just affect national elections. Many Black Americans long ago grew accustomed to living under white political leaders who rarely responded to their communities concerns or needs and at times actively worked to undermine them.

This reordering of the nominating contest offers an opportunity for these disaffected voters to reengage with the political process just as margin of victories have been growing closer in many elections.

At the same time, through unexpected victories in Alabama and Louisiana, advocates have secured new congressional maps which provide Black voters in those states an enormous opportunity for better representation at the federal level. For years, Black Alabamians were scattered throughout the states congressional districts or packed into one of the seven districts. This meant that despite making up over a quarter of the states population, they only had one district where they had the political power to elect a candidate of their choice. Similarly in Louisiana, courts forced state legislators there to also create a second majority-Black district.

These gains are intensified by growing cracks in the GOPs solid South. Voters in Georgia elected a Black man and a Jewish man to the U.S. Senate and turned the state blue in the 2020 presidential election. And, in Mississippi, the sitting Republican Gov. Tate Reeves recently narrowly beat his Democratic opponent in what the Associated Press described as the most competitive governors race in a generation.

There is no doubt that much work and many challenges lie ahead for advocates of voting rights and fair representation  especially when Congress has been unable to reauthorize and update the Voting Rights Act for years now. But hopefully these recent steps forward bring new energy to this years commemorations and the ongoing struggle.

Marion Steinfels is a public policy advocate and political strategist based in Alabama. She is also a former adjunct professor at the University of Alabama, where she taught courses on presidential politics and the impact of political discourse on the nations policy priorities.
A weekly newsletter that delivers original reporting and dives into the top headlines involving reproductive justice, sexual health, relationships, parenting and more every Tuesday. Enter your email to subscribe today.

Originally published by The 19th

An Alabama Supreme Court has effectively ended access in the state to IVF, leaving families navigating infertility in limbo.

The decision has sent shockwaves across the country. Democratic lawmakers have used the ruling to push for nationwide IVF protections, promoting a bill that Senate Republicans blocked on Wednesday afternoon. President Joe Biden has criticized the decision, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra traveled to Alabama this week to meet with affected patients.

Outside of Alabama, IVF patients have begun to question the security of their own treatment. Amanda Zurawski, the lead plaintiff in a case challenging Texas abortion bans, said this week she is moving her frozen embryos in case her state is next to curb access to IVF.

But the rulings implications outside of Alabama remain uncertain. Legal researchers have their eyes on a handful of states where similar changes could take effect, though its unclear when or how that might happen.

Its always difficult to predict what will happen in other states, said Sonia Suter, a legal professor and bioethicist at George Washington University. But there are other states that are very, very conservative that have strong evangelical leanings. You worry about it happening in those states.

Now, the future of IVF access in other states boils down to how the treatment works, how state courts and legislatures decide to treat the rights of embryos, and the ever-evolving politics of restricting access to forms of reproductive health care.

Below, The 19th explains what that means in practice.

How does IVF work?

People receive hormones that allow doctors to retrieve their eggs, which are then fertilized with sperm in a lab setting. Some of those develop into embryos. Doctors screen those embryos to determine which are able to yield a viable pregnancy, and patients can then choose to have one implanted in their uterus. Excess embryos can be frozen for potential future pregnancies, can be donated to other families or for research, or can be discarded. IVF is considered the most effective option for people with infertility, and almost 100,000 babies a year are born through the process in the United States.

Why has IVF become controversial?

Because not every cultivated embryo will keep growing, and not every embryo will be healthy enough to implant, doctors say that creating multiple embryos is critical to the process. But that component of IVF, and in particular the potential discarding of any embryos that are not implanted, has made the procedure a target for a contingent of the anti-abortion movement. With Roe v. Wade overturned and states moving to ban abortion, limits on IVF could emerge as a subsequent goal.

The Alabama decision stemmed from a question of whether unintentional loss of embryos stored at a fertility clinic constituted wrongful death. In a post on X, the Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal group that opposes abortion rights, called the Alabama ruling a tremendous victory for life. Students for Life, a prominent anti-abortion group, has long opposed IVF.

What does this have to do with abortion?

Strident anti-abortion groups have argued in favor of banning IVF. They argue that life begins at the moment of fertilization, and that destroying or discarding embryos should be treated as a crime.

As a result, many abortion bans  by outlawing termination from that point, without specifying that the embryo must be in utero  could be interpreted to criminalize discarding embryos, making IVF impossible to provide.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing states to enforce total abortion bans, some IVF patients scrambled to move their frozen embryos to jurisdictions that protected access to the procedure, just in case their states new anti-abortion laws might be interpreted to outlaw discarding embryos as well.

National anti-abortion bills  including the Republican-backed House bill known as the Life at Conception Act, which has 125 GOP sponsors  do not exempt IVF and could be used to outlaw the procedure. In some states, abortion bans specifically exempt IVF. But others  such as Texas, the largest state to ban abortion  are silent on the issue. For now, lawyers have broadly interpreted abortion prohibitions as unlikely to affect IVF. But some abortion opponents have made clear that limiting IVF remains a long-term policy.

Is banning IVF a new push within anti-abortion efforts?

Banning IVF is unpopular even among Republicans, who are more likely to favor abortion bans. GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has sought to distance himself from the Alabama ruling, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a memo last week instructing candidates not to back restrictions on the procedure. But the politics arent enough to push the GOP to embrace full-on protections; no Republican lawmakers have signed on to Democratic bills to secure access to IVF.

What could other states do?

There are a host of existing mechanisms that could be used to curb access to IVF.

Similar lawsuits to Alabamas wrongful death case could be filed in other states. Louisiana already has a law that treats viable embryos as judicial persons, effectively meaning that embryos cannot be destroyed, though they can be transferred out of state. That law hasnt stopped health care providers in the state from offering IVF, though it has made the process more cumbersome, physicians in the state said. They now have to send all excess embryos, including ones that will likely never be used for pregnancy, to out-of-state storage facilities.

Some legal scholars suggested that the Louisiana law could be leveraged in an argument for broader fetal personhood  the idea that a fetus, or even an embryo should be given the same legal rights as a person  and in turn reinterpreted to limit access to IVF. But so far, there are no pending cases in the state.

Laws granting legal protection to embryos  particularly so-called fetal personhood laws, which are on the books in 11 other states  could be interpreted to outlaw the discarding of embryos, making IVF, if not directly illegal, effectively impossible to provide. But those laws vary in their expansiveness, noted Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis who studies the anti-abortion and fetal personhood movements.

Georgias fetal personhood law, for instance, only applies to embryos in the uterus and at six weeks of pregnancy and later, meaning it is unlikely to affect IVF. But an Arizona law, currently on hold while being litigated in federal court, applies personhood more broadly, including embryos. If upheld, multiple legal experts said, that is a law with the potential to undercut access to IVF.

More important, Ziegler said, is the makeup of individual courts and their willingness to embrace the same legal reasoning as Alabamas. She pointed in particular to Florida and South Carolina, where members of the respective supreme courts have expressed interest in fetal personhood.

You need a particular kind of group of people to make a ruling like this, Ziegler said. Definitely not just justices who are conservative but who are also interested in taking on this question at a time when doing so will be controversial and divisive.

Should IVF patients in other states be worried?

People pursuing IVF, especially in states with leadership hostile to abortion, are navigating a new kind of uncertainty: whether it is safe to keep frozen embryos. Embryos that cannot be discarded must be used or stored indefinitely, a prospect that can be prohibitively expensive.

People are wise to think carefully about the risks involved in keeping their embryos stored in abortion-restrictive states that either have personhood or are contemplating personhood, said Katherine Kraschel, an assistant professor of law and health at Northeastern University. Like so many other things involving reproduction its a very personal choice, and they should talk to their providers about benefits and risks.

Andrea Edwards, a 38-year-old mother from Pennsylvania, called the uncertainty terrifying. Her son was born last July through IVF, and she and her husband still have two embryos frozen. They arent sure yet if they want another child, or if they would either discard those final embryos or donate them for medical research.

Edwards family doesnt plan to relocate their embryos to another state. Though Trump has criticized the Alabama courts decision, she said, she fears nationwide restrictions on the procedure if he is reelected, at which point she doesnt know what options she would have  including whether she and her husband would have to quickly decide whether to pursue a second pregnancy or discard their final embryos quickly.

I didnt even know that this was something I would have to wrestle with before we started thinking about IVF, she said. Its overwhelming and its scary and I just dont understand how we got here.

Whats happening in Alabama now?

Alabamas attorney general has indicated he does not intend to prosecute medical providers or patients for using IVF. But the state Supreme Courts decision has chilled access all the same.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, the states largest provider of the IVF, has stopped offering the service. So have multiple fertility clinics in the state. Meanwhile, medical transport companies have stopped shipping embryos out of the state, fearing that they could be in violation of the ruling.

IVF patients in the state  including those who were about to have embryos transplanted  have had their treatment suspended indefinitely.

State legislators are scrambling to pass some kind of law that might protect IVF providers from civil or criminal liability, restoring access to the procedure. Republican lawmakers, who control the Alabama legislature, are on board. But both proposed bills are still in committee, and any timeline is unclear.










English News Hainan's Wenchang achieves big success in space-themed tourism

Alwihda Info | Par People's Daily - 29 Fevrier 2024



At the Hainan Aerospace Engineering Breeding Research Center, engineer Yao Tong was introducing aerospace fruits, vegetables, and melons to middle school students from Beijing. The center has selected 37 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers from 128 aerospace breeding experiments for cultivation and is open for public visits.

By Zhao Peng, Sun Haitian, People's Daily At 22:27 on Jan. 17, a Long March-7 Y8 carrier rocket soared into the sky in Wenchang, south China's Hainan province, carrying cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-7.



The rocket shot straight into the clouds, capturing the attention of thousands of people. On the beaches, streets, and rooftops of residential buildings, space enthusiasts pressed the shutter button, capturing this unforgettable moment.



"Me and my family drove all the way from Jiangsu, and I was particularly excited at the moment when the rocket took off," said a tourist surnamed Chen.



The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site is the youngest space launch site in China and the first open coastal space launch facility. Leveraging the space launch base, Wenchang is developing space-themed tourism to promote the deep integration of space and tourism industries.



Wenchang is located on the northeast corner of the Hainan Island, with three sides facing the sea. The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site is closer to the equator compared to other launch sites, which gives rockets a higher carrying capacity under the same conditions.



The sunshine and beaches in the city are attractive to not only tourists, but also a large number of "rocket chasers."



The Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site is situated on the outskirts of Longlou township. In the past two years, this township with a permanent population of less than 30,000 received over 1.5 million visitors. Since 2016, the number of hotels in Longlou township has grown from five to over 50, and the number of restaurants from 230 to over 900. The regional GDP has also surged from 589 million yuan ($81.83 million) to over 4 billion yuan in the past decade.



Zhang Zuoxing, who runs a youth travel organization, told People's Daily that "rocket chasing" tourism routes in Wenchang are very popular, attracting tourists from various age groups.

"We have organized 11 events so far, with over 300 participants," Zhang said.



At 10:30 am, a tourist surnamed Zhang arrived at the entrance of the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site in Wenchang with her daughter for a newly launched "spacecraft launch site tour".



When arrived at the No. 1 launch pad by taking a shuttle bus, they could see No. 2 launch pad under construction not faraway.



"As China's first commercial spacecraft launch site, Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site plans to achieve regular launches this year. Currently, the planned capacity of the No. 1 and No. 2 launch pads is 16 launches per year," a guide explained.



Later, tourists on the bus proceeded to a space exploration base to visit a 1:1 model of the Long March-8 Y2 carrier rocket and experienced space exploration with virtual reality equipment.



In the future, once regular launches are achieved, the launch site will have viewing platforms, including a general viewing area and a professional photography area, where visitors can witness the entire process of rocket launches up close.



"In the past, the development of space-themed tourism in Wenchang mainly focused on providing observation sites and supporting facilities such as guesthouses and agritainment. Tourists often came to 'chase rockets' and would leave after that. In the future, the launch site will achieve frequent launches under a new commercial space model, possibly with rocket launches happening every month or even every week. We are exploring new tourism models that deeply integrate with space science education," said Fan Nanhong, director of the brand promotion department of Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch Co., Ltd.



At the Hainan Aerospace Engineering Breeding Research Center, engineer Yao Tong was introducing aerospace fruits, vegetables, and melons to middle school students from Beijing. The center has selected 37 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and flowers from 128 aerospace breeding experiments for cultivation and is open for public visits.



At the Wenchang aerospace supercomputing center, which is a national industrial tourism demonstration base, a digital exhibition cluster has recently started trial operations.



"Wenchang's aerospace tourism is not just about sightseeing. It also has a technological aspect," said Ye Shiyang, chairman of Wenchang Aerospace Supercomputing Intelligent Management Co., Ltd.



In addition to space-themed tourism, Wenchang is actively exploring local tourism and cultural resources, launching various "one-day trips" and "deep travel" projects to leverage the enthusiasm for space travel and promote tourism across the region.



So far, Wenchang has established attractions such as a space science center, a coconut tourist factory, and the Tongguling tourism area. These sites offer different tourism products, including space-themed family trips, cultural tours, and educational trips.



During rocket launches, Wenchang also organizes events like the space carnivals to promote the deep integration of space technology and cultural tourism.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's cruise economy embraces rapid development China still considered favorable investment destination by foreign companies China will remain staunch force for peace, stability, progress of world Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
Circa 1990, journalist and author Rita Kramer (19292023) toured the country to study premier schools of education. She was already an expert on our K12 schools, having published a highly praised book about Maria Montessori and from years of reporting on education for ABC. Now Kramer sensed that something new and dangerous was growing in the shadows of America: a tendency toward promoting socialism. She wanted to know why. Her journey resulted in an excellent book: Ed School Follies, 1991.

The activities in our public schools are interesting but rarely the real story. The real story was that Professor John Dewey, starting roughly in 1900, was planning an attack on America. He wanted to transform the ed schools into weapons. They would churn out many tens of thousands of indoctrinated teachers, who would transform every public school in the country. The first clever step was to convince John D. Rockefeller, one of the worlds earliest billionaires and much hated, that he should donate one tenth of his income to charity  specifically, the construction of hundreds of ed schools. In this way, the dumbing down of K12 could begin.

Harold Rugg, another top educator, described the plan in his book The Great Technology (1933): Through the schools of the world we shall disseminate a new conception of government  one that will embrace all the activities of men, one that will postulate the need of scientific control ... in the interests of all people.

Ruggs new conception of government" means socialism. QED: Rockefeller will end up looking good, Dewey will be hailed as the fabulous founder of American education, and totalitarian socialism will prevail.

Of course, socialist writing always focuses on the fulfillment of the human species and the liberation of workers. But the practical effect was rampant growth of centralized power, which was a mentality exactly fitted to abet Hitlers dreams of total control. Ditto for Stalin.

I briefly communicated with Rita Kramer toward the end of her life. I sent several questions late in 2023. Here are her answers:

BDP: What were the things that offended you the most as you worked on your book in 1990?

Rita Kramer: Finding out that teachers were being taught to teach political propaganda as opposed to academic subjects. What I observed firsthand back then was the groundwork being laid for the crisis in education today.

BDP: Looking back over the last 30 years, which problems seemed to come out of nowhere?

Rita Kramer: It seems to me that the schools are substituting politicization for learning even more than back then, but todays students and their parents have less defense against what would have in the 1990s been considered reckless child endangerment.

BDP: Generally speaking, was ideology the main cause or mental confusion?

Rita Kramer: Back then, I saw the incompetence as resulting from bad values. Now its clear that malicious ideology is behind the deep indoctrination of children and young people.

BDP: Was there any pressure on you to treat certain subjects in certain ways?

Rita Kramer: No. I held nothing back. The publisher was conservative and did not interfere in any way.

BDP: When you finished the book, what was your mood about the future?

Rita Kramer: I was pessimistic about the future because I saw no resistance in the face of anti-American and ultimately anti-intellectual politicization.

BDP: Did you have your own formula for how things should be organized?

Rita Kramer: If it had all been up to me, I would have replaced Ms.Ed. degree requirements with a subject Masters. However, given whats going on in higher education today  with the substitution of any semblance of tertiary education by woke indoctrination  my solution at that time would not have worked in the long run. However, it might still have influenced a couple of generations of students positively.

BDP: Last comment?

Rita Kramer: If I were invited to sit in on a classroom today  whether in public or private school  I would be outraged at the abuse of the classroom as a center of socialist/communist indoctrination.

Scientific control says it all. If you want to serve this program of subversion and social engineering, thats one thing. But to be shanghaied without consent is criminal. Really, the sinister trademark of Deweys schemes is that they would be implemented in secrecy, without the permission of teachers, students, or citizens. Top educators would be unseen chess masters; teachers would be their pawns.

We rarely see anything discussed in our media at anything but a superficial level. Try to find an article in the archives of your local paper going back 70 years where it said anything similar to, Hey, you know what? Sight-words dont work. Everything Rudolf Flesch told you in Why Johnny Cant Read is exactly true. Similarly, The New York Times et al. dont actually examine education so much as they try to distract you from examining education. Please, everyone, do your own examination. Youll be shocked.

Our Education Establishment rarely tells you why our schools are declining. The main activity seems to be inventing more and dumber jargon so nobody will know whats going on.

In summary, Rita Kramer is a lovely person who wrote a lovely book. Shes polite and gracious even as she homes in on the main point: that ed schools rarely concern themselves with anything so trivial as knowledge. Rather, they are obsessed with telling future teachers what to think.

Ed School Follies is on Amazon with many enthusiastic reviews, one by me written in 2007.

Bruce Deitrick Price is the author of Saving K12: What Happened to Our Public Schools? How Do We Fix Them? His podcast is Lets Fix Education.

Image via Pxfuel.
Trump supporters have rarely had much to celebrate in recent times.

The Democrats are relentless, vicious, hateful, and determined to destroy not just the political career but the life of President Trump. They want to seize his wealth and send him to prison for the rest of his life. Their goal is not just to punish President Trump, but also to send a warning to anybody else who intends to challenge the establishment.

The aim is also to criminalize political opposition and establish a one-party system like they always had before Trump. There may be elected officials with the letters 'R' and 'D' after them. They may claim to have differences on social issues. But when it comes to crucial issues, such as funding needless foreign wars, they stand together.

It is important to reiterate that there is no basis for any of these cases against Trump. Had he not run for President in 2016 these cases would never have existed. Perhaps if he had struck a deal with the establishment in 2020 to never run again and to abandon the MAGA agenda, he would have been spared.

The persecution of the January 6th protestors is proof that Trump supporters will also not be spared. The goal is to crush the MAGA movement, which is the first truly grassroots movement, one so successful that it won the topmost elected office in the country and the world.

For Trump supporters, the real disappointment occurs when elected GOP officials either behave like bystanders or worse, join the Democrats whenever President Trump is targeted. Many of these officials are there because of endorsement from President Trump.

It is said that an uncaring ally is worse than a sworn enemy because the enemy is doing what is expected. But in being a spectator during times of need, the ally is engaging in an act of unforgivable betrayal.

Well, this week Trump supporters had some reason to celebrate, thanks to Congressman Pat Fallon from Texas. This occurred during the hearing of Biden's defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, who faced Congress publicly for the first time.

The main goal behind this hearing was to question his failure to immediately notify the Biden administration, Congress, and indeed the taxpaying public about his hospitalization last month for complications from cancer surgery.

Public hearings are usually a charade in which the inquisitor from Congress often engages in theater. They are rude, they often shout and use coarse language. The goal is to have these clips circulating on social media with a provocative title such as 'Rep X destroys Y' or 'Sen A humiliate B'.

It enables the members of Congress to raise their profile and more importantly, funds. Voters often conflate words with action and the official is reelected. What is often ignored is that very little change occurs after the hearings. Rarely is anyone held accountable.

Back to Rep. Fallon, who adopted a different tactic during his turn to question Defense Secretary Austin.

He didn't make it about himself, but instead about the issues and President Trump's foreign policy.

He began by asking Austin if he thought Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan was a success, Austin claimed it was a success. The fact remains that Afghanistan has plunged into chaos now. The fact that the head of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in Kabul, Afghanistan following U.S. drone strikes, proves that the country is in control of terrorists. The risk is they may be planning another terror attack on U.S. soil.

Next, in a series of elementary questions, Fallon asked the defense secretary about casualties in Afghanistan during President Trump's tenure and Joe Biden's tenure. Fallon asked about the number of military personnel who perished during the Trump administration compared to the Biden administration.

Austin looked uncomfortable because he had to concede the fact that no defense personnel were killed during Trump's tenure. He therefore opted to claim that 'very few' were killed. Fallon was quick to correct Austin, to which he nodded.

Next, Fallon refreshed Austin and everyone else's memory that 13 defense personnel lost their lives after Biden's unplanned and hasty withdrawal. Fallon also reminded everyone about the expensive and sophisticated weaponry left behind and the prison break in Bagram.

Fallon also quizzed Austin about President Putin's conduct during the tenures of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden versus President Trump.

Fallon reminded everyone that in 2008, Putin annexed territories in Georgia during the Bush administration. In 2014 Putin annexed Crimea when Obama was president. Obviously, in 2022, Putin engaged in a military intervention in Ukraine.

Fallon then asked Austin if he remembered who the president was from 2017 to 2021. Austin once again was hesitant, he pretended not to hear the question properly and then said with reluctance that it was President Trump.

Fallon asked Austin if Putin embarked on any military interventions during the Trump administration, and Austin admitted that there were none.

This is another debunking of the Trump-Russia collusion hoax based on fact. This was a very skilled display on the part of Rep. Fallon. He wasn't rude or aggressive or insulting. He was instead firm and assertive. He asked specific questions and extracted the right answers without allowing Austin to filibuster.

The exchange serves as a reminder that when one deals with hard facts, President Trump was much more effective at his job than most previous presidents from the past decades and his incompetent successor. This is true for not just foreign policy but also the economy and the border.

This is also a reminder that if the media was fact-oriented and the political class cared for the betterment of the nation, the U.S. would be in great shape today.

But alas, the media is the PR wing of the D.C. Democrat establishment. Since they cannot get Trump on facts they concoct hoax after hoax. Sadly, a significant section of the public still believes whatever they consume in the media and hence they will never ever vote for President Trump. These individuals are so utterly brainwashed that they vote against their interests without any consideration.

The establishment is solely focused on enriching themselves and their cronies while the citizens suffer on many fronts. President Trump is a threat to their monopoly hence they want to finish him and the movement he pioneered.

Cynics may say that Fallon's exchange was merely words. But this is still very significant because it is on the record. Rep. Fallon managed to get a top Biden official to concede that President Trump, the man they despise, was more effective than Bush, Obama, and indeed his boss Joe Biden.

Do not expect this clip to appear on any of the mainstream news channels on T.V.

Hopefully, the Trump campaign will use this clip when they produce campaign advertisements. Hopefully, the clip will become viral on social media.

Image: U.S. Congress
I recently watched an interview of Xi Van Fleet by Tucker Carlson. Van Fleet lived through the Chinese Cultural Revolution and eventually was able to flee Communist China to the United States in the mid-1980s. Her harrowing story was all too familiar to my family and the many who have fled communism to find freedom in the United States of America.

My husbands family fled Communist Hungary in the early 1970s. He paid a heavy price. My in-laws had to leave my husband behind in order to escape when he was only three years old. They believed they would be able to get him out of the country within a few months because Hungarian law stated that you could not separate a child from his parents. Unfortunately, after they left the country, the law was changed, and it took them almost five years to be reunited with their son.

My husbands parents were forced to flee because they could not get housing or proper work. They were living in a laundry kitchen until my mother-in-law became pregnant with my husband. Since they were not members of the Communist Party, they were put on a ten-year waiting list to be able to rent an apartment. In desperation, my father-in-law stole bricks and mortar to build an illegal room with a dirt floor onto his mothers very small home for them to live in.

Life in Communist Hungary was difficult. My mother-in-laws family was devoutly Catholic, even in spite of communisms heavy repression of religion. Communist watchers in every community would mark down every family that attended church. Since my mother-in-law went to church with her family, she was put on a list to be denied opportunities in school. She was advanced in mathematics and science, and even though she excelled in school, she was denied the ability to move ahead academically because she was Catholic. Instead of being able to go to college, she was forced into factory work. They made only enough money to eat, and if they needed a new pair of shoes or underwear, they would have to skip meals and groceries to save up money.

Twenty-three years ago, I lived in Communist China during a summer exchange program in college. I was in my early twenties and naive; I had no idea what I was going to experience, and it changed my life.

I had assumed there was no poverty in China. Even though I knew that the people lived simply, I did not expect abject poverty. I didnt expect to see babies and families living in the gutter, literally. I lived in the foreign teachers apartments, which were posh by Chinese standards, with tile floors, a small kitchen, a Western toilet, and air-conditioning that occasionally worked. When I would visit my friends, who were professors at the college, I was shocked by how they lived. They lived in 12-by-12 cinderblock rooms with cement floors, a small sink, a bed, and a small table. The student dorms were even more reminiscent of prison cells, with six students per room and nothing more than stacked beds for furniture. Toilets? There were none, besides the shared squatty-hole down the hall.

The students would often cheat on their exams, because if they failed, they would be kicked out permanently and be forced into hard labor. They were not allowed to choose their majors or career paths; they were given aptitude tests in high school, the results of which were what they had to do, without appeal or choice, for the rest of their lives.

The experiences of people like Xi Van Fleet, who have escaped communist regimes, are all too common and yet all too unknown in America today. Americans should be frightened by these stories, as we can see the diabolical ideology of Marxism rapidly infiltrating American society, institutions, and government. Marxist ideologies such as CRT, DIE, and Queer Theory have gotten a stranglehold on every corporation, university, public school, legacy media outlet, and government bureaucracy in the United States.

Many of us feel the icy grip of Marxism encroaching upon and destroying the hard won rights of our nations Founding Fathers. Unfortunately, a large portion of U.S. citizens are oblivious to what is going on around them, while a zealous few even encourage it and cheer it on.

When the citizenry finally wakes up and sees that all of their rights have been stripped away and realize they are nothing but slaves, it will be too late. That is, it will be too late for everything except Stockholm syndromebased self-delusion and trying to make yourself feel better by turning in your friends and neighbors for anti-American beliefs. Then come the arrests, the incarcerations, the gulags, the substance abuse and death on a scale not seen even in wartime.

The United States of America was the shining city upon a hill for the whole world because it was where freedom lived and thrived. If the United States falls to communism, there will be nowhere left to flee. If the United States dies a Marxist death, it will be the end of freedom and liberty in the world.

My in-laws reminisce about their favorite billboard, which they saw shortly after arriving in the U.S. It was clearly visible from the New Jersey Turnpike, and it stated, The 3 things that made America Great: God, Guts, and Guns. This was true then, and it is still true today.

Image: Praveenp via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
On Thursday, Feb. 21, a tragic incident unfolded during food aid distribution in Gaza, resulting in over 100 Palestinian civilians killed and more than 700 injured. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza attributes the incident to the Israel Defense Forces.

Officials said that Israeli soldiers opened fire while hungry and desperate Palestinians were just trying to get food supplies. Israel has denied the allegation.

Now, Arab nations are trying to push a UN motion blaming Israel for the incident. Unfortunately, the U.S. decided to block it. Here's why.

Deadly Gaza Aid Convoy Incident Update: US Blocks UN Motion Blaming Israel

According to The Times of Israel, Arab countries tried getting immediate support for a UN Security Council motion that would blame the IDF for the deadly aid convoy incident in Gaza.

Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said that 14 out of the 15 council members supported the motion against Israel during a closed meeting.

Algeria presented a draft declaration attributing the incident to Israeli forces opening fire. Despite Algeria's expression of deep concern in its UN motion draft, the U.S. did not support the statement.

"The parties are working on some language to see if we can get to a statement," said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood. "The problem is that we don't have all the facts here," he added.

Read Also: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Says He Can't Promise Hostage Deal, Military Operations To Continue Until 'Total Victory'

More Countries Blame Israel for Deadly Gaza Aid Convoy Incident

CBS News reported that an increasing number of countries are now blaming Israel for the food aid convoy tragedy that happened in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia condemned the Israeli government for the incident on Friday, Mar. 1. Now, Turkey and China are joining these nations, alleging Israeli soldiers' responsibility for the deadly incident

But, Israel has claimed that the tragedy wasn't caused by their soldiers present during the aid distribution.

According to the Times of Israel report, Israeli officials blame the tragedy on a stampede. They added that most people died because of it and asserted that only less than 10 of the casualties were caused by Israeli fire.

Related Article: Food Aid Reaches North Gaza in First Major Delivery as UN Warns Worsening Starvation
After the release of Special Counsel Kennth Hurs report on Joe Bidens mishandling classified documents and then the Presidents performance several hours later in his hastily convened press conference, a number of Democrats fleetingly expressed misgivings about the head of their partys reelection prospects next November. Lets face it -- if your Grandpa likewise raved and ranted after his memory and mental acuity had been called into question, you would seriously start to consider taking away his car keys. Adding to the Dems electoral hyper-anxiety is the fact that the Presidents forgetfulness and confused ramblings wont ameliorate on the hustings over the next eight months -- they can only worsen. Conversely, Donald Trump, while only a few years younger, campaigns as if possessed of the vitality of a honey badger.

If, as Democrats tirelessly pronounce, Donald Trump indeed posed such a grave threat to democracy, not to mention the American Way of Life, you would think their partys leaders would have substituted a less-doddering presidential candidate with higher approval polls long before now. The success of Democrat candidates up and down Novembers ballot depend on a strong showing from Biden in the general election. Admittedly, the President might not willingly be pushed aside because he has a son and brother to protect from even a slightly more independent DoJ. Theoretically, the leaders of his party could bring overwhelming pressure to bear on Biden and his family for him to bow out for health reasons before the August National Convention, effectively triggering a Dismissal on Request (DOR). But any such move is unlikely this side of a disabling stroke or conspicuous manifestations of acute dementia, because they simply cannot put forward any replacement candidate who is both politically propitious and acceptable.

Ordinarily, Bidens understudy in these circumstances would be his Vice-President Kamala Harris. However, Harris is, in her own inimitable way, as rambling and incoherent as the 81-year-old man she would replace on the ballot. Harris immeasurably distresses loyalists in her own party whenever she appears before a camera even more than Biden does, because she frequently speaks as though she were a skipping record. Even more distressing, Harris is the only national politician holding even lower approval ratings than Biden. But you cant tell that to the Vice-President: shes blithely announced that shes ready to serve as our nations chief executive; pushing her aside without her protesting terrifically, even if only behind the scenes, would be next to impossible.

Were Democrat sachems somehow able to find a way to bully Harris into stepping aside graciously for another nationally prominent Democrat, such as California governor Gavin Newsom, bypassing the vice president would result in an even greater electoral disaster by infuriating two of the Democrats' key constituencies: women and African Americans. Before the party consensus unexpectedly (and conveniently) coalesced around Biden shortly into the 2020 DemocraticParty primary season, Harris and no less than five other women, no matter how briefly, vied for their partys nomination and might be seen by woman voters as rightfully possessing the prior claim. Going back for grievances even further, some African Americans declined to cast a vote for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential general election in part because she had the effrontery to run against Barack Obama in the Democrat primaries eight years earlier  notwithstanding his enthusiastic support of her campaign against Donald Trump. The unavoidable downside to the Democrats topmost electoral strategy of turning out huge margins from the core segments of their base on Election Day is that they cannot afford to disaffect any of those needed voters to any significant degree.

Privately, Democrats may be pining badly for Michelle Obama to leap-frog ahead of the vice president without splintering the party faithful. The former first lady would presumably campaign arm-in-arm with her husband on the old party platform of two presidents for the price of one. But on more than one occasion, Ms. Obama has essentially announced through her and her husbands political associates that she has no intention of running for the Oval Office. Who can blame her? She has always been repelled by the tawdriness of retail American politics, and she is well satisfied with her and her husbands place in American history. Whoever becomes president next year will encounter a continuing steam of foreign and domestic calamities, as well as well-nigh insurmountable financial challenges. Michelle Obama is justifiably prudent in her unwillingness to subject herself and her family to lower approval ratings this time next year than either Joe Biden or Donald Trump are scoring this year.

Following a reassessment of their November prospects therefore, the Democrat party has fallen in lockstep, however wistfully, behind the candidate its got. In order to thwart the fascist Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican followers, Dems will force themselves to campaign as though they did not privately dread that Biden might -- at any minute -- manifest an acute level of clinical senility in public. Tactically, Democrat politicians and administration officials are now recounting second-hand instances of Bidens astounding total recall and cerebral mastery, no matter how these accounts are belied by what the public has seen and will see in the months to come. At the same time, party apparatchiks have been launching ferocious attacks on the so-called gratuitous remarks in the Special Counsels report, entirely forgetting that the SC learned the art of drafting knife in the back no-charges prosecutorial memoranda during his time working for SC Robert Mueller on the Russian Collusion investigation. And when the voters see the transcripts of Bidens interviews with SC Hur or hear the actual recordings, should the White Houses recently lodged objections to their release be overcome, Democrats may find that gratuitousness is often in the eye of the beholder.

But you cant really blame the Democrats for desperately trying to hide, minimize, and outright reject the perturbing and increasingly embarrassing progression of physical and cognitive deficits in their partys candidate for president. Right up until the day after Tuesday, November 5, they got no place else to go.

Image: White House
Some four years ago, the radical left staged what amounted to a coup detat and took control of the United States government. The events surrounding that coup  and the horrific policies that followed  have been described many times: the COVID vaccine hoax, rigged elections, imprisoning dissenters, weaponizing the Judiciary, open borders, the pointless killing in Ukraine. Yet no one has explained why all this happened or how to stop it.

The fact that no scholars or media have even attempted to explain this power-grab itself partly reveals the explanation. If we ask why people on the left took power, then eventually someone will ask why people on the right allowed it to. The next logical question then arises: why should we continue listening to them, following them, giving them money...?

Preaching to the converted and hurling anathemas at the left can accomplish only so much, and yet this is what we the politicians, pundits, and parlor intellectuals of the professional right mostly do. If we want to extricate ourselves from this debacle, we must start examining what the right  and the rest of us  are doing wrong.

Failure of the Right

The conservatives defeat is so glaring that some are finally acknowledging what to everyone else is obvious. The establishment Rights failures over the last generations have been manifold, writes one, belatedly:

Since the end of the Cold War, what trajectory-altering successes or victories can the Right cite to demonstrate its worth? ... Despite spending billions of dollars supporting its infrastructure ... the establishment Right has registered no clear gains and many clear losses.

You could even argue that it abetted most of it[s defeats], another suggests. Where official conservatisms opposition hasnt been ineffectual, its been collaborationist.[1]

So they admit to squandering our trust (and donations) as pointlessly as the government they criticize squanders our taxes. Isnt it time we start asking why?

None of this excuses the rest of us. If the establishment right allowed the left to win, we all allowed the right to lose. Excoriating RINOs and neocons can become as unconstructive as inveighing against leftists. The only remedy lies in re-examining serious mistakes we would all rather just forget.

The Rise of the Politicos

The first stage in the coup was when Americans abdicated control over their civic life to paid professionals. Instinctively, we blame elected politicians for our ills, but their puppet-masters in the larger political class may pose the greater danger.

This innovation came from the left, with the invention of public interest lobbying firms (todays almighty NGOs). Corporate lobbyists have a bad name because their money buys politicians and legislation on behalf of wealthy interests, but in the long run, those who claim to speak for us and the public interest may do more to undermine our freedom.

So effective were they at imposing elitist, leftist agendas on the population that they were quickly imitated by rightist versions. Thus was born the Washington political class: professional surrogate citizens we pay to perform the duties of citizenship for us.

These firms do not empower citizens; citizenship is precisely what they eclipse and muzzle. Like courtroom lawyers advising their clients, the message of the lawyer-lobbyists to the citizenry is, Be quiet and let me do the talking, as if we are accused criminals on trial. Small wonder that that is precisely what we are becoming.

Nothing did more to decimate Americas civic culture; transfer power to a judicial priesthood; and entrench an ideological duopoly operated not simply by Democrat and Republican politicians, but by the larger political classes of left and right. Media, universities, think-tanks, and other cultural institutions abandoned their detachment and joined the ranks of professional advocates and activists.

Eclipsing the Churches

The professional pressure groups also displaced the civic organizations that traditionally provided moral leadership and channeled citizens voices in opposition to governments abuses of power: churches. Since long before the American Republic was even founded, churches served vital civic functions without which the United States as we know it would never have come to exist and for which no substitute is possible.

Professional conservatives complain endlessly that the left hates religion and seeks to have it banished from the public square. But it is the professional conservatives themselves, with their lobbies and law firms (ostensibly Christian or not), that pushed the churches out of active public engagement  or gave them the excuse to run away.

Unlike citizens and churches, whose interest lies in resolving public problems so they can return to the business of life (earning a living, spending time with the family, saving souls), professional operatives on both left and right have a vested interest in perpetuating the problems they are paid to solve.

This principle lies behind all our ills.

Blueprint for the Deep State

When explaining the tyranny closing in around us, we naturally blame centers of hidden and unaccountable power: rogue security services, health authorities spreading illness, plutocrats re-engineering the planet.

But these are not where it began. Like many good intentions gone awry, it all began with how we addressed the most basic problem of modern industrial society: the problem of the poor. If the Deep State is defined as powerful people using impersonal bureaucracies to forcibly control the private lives of millions of non-criminal citizens, the original Deep State is the welfare state.

The 2020 coup began with George Floyds death in a Minneapolis ghetto  that is, within dysfunctional and violent welfare communities. Welfare also provides the political base for groups like Black Lives Matter and elevates mediocrities like Kamala Harris to office, starting usually as prosecutors before becoming politicians.

Welfare accomplished what slavery and segregation could not: it destabilized the African-American family and created a permanent underclass of impoverished single mothers, fatherless children, and criminalized fathers. Because every social pathology is directly attributable to fatherless homes, the result was a self-destructive horde of criminals, delinquents, truants, addicts, prostitutes, and derelicts that proceeded to tear down their own communities and quickly populated the worlds most massive prison system. It also created armies of functionaries to administer their lives, with a self-interest in perpetuating their dependency and expanding the havoc. It also bred an angry subculture of victimization, entitlement, and resentment.

The Canary in the Mineshaft

But the welfare states pivotal achievement was the degradation of a figure whom everyone, left and right, now loves to hate: the young, low-income black male. Conservatives cite wasteful social programs as proof that America is not racist and even expect gratitude, but none of the programs benefited black men in any way. All served to marginalize and emasculate the black male: state officials usurping his provider role with numerous handouts to single mothers, along with the acquisition of quasipolice powers by social workers that not only usurped his protector role, but then targeted him as the foremost threat to his own women and children, with measures ostensibly against child abuse and domestic violence and enforcing child support.

The resulting tidal wave of both real criminality and concocted criminalization, parallelling similar trends elsewhere, rationalized the criminal justice system abolishing civil liberties and due process protections. Assembly-line hearings (lasting a minute or two), eliminating jury trials, extortionate plea bargaining, fabricated evidence, framing defendants, crimes for which acquittal is not possible  all this was pioneered for young black men before being expanded to the rest of us. It provided the rehearsal for todays weaponized lawfare operations against Donald Trump, the January 6 defendants, and anyone else who resists the leftist takeover.

The military was likewise transformed into a gargantuan welfare state, catering to single mothers and expelling servicemen for sexual harassment. Welfare policies even became part of military operations themselves. Universities followed, abandoning both education and scholarship in favor of activism, reinforced with similarly trumped up accusations of sexual something-or-other. Most devastating of all, the welfare machinery and the underclass it bred expanded throughout middle-class society, using no-fault divorce, accompanied by more sexual accusations, producing more dysfunctional fatherless adolescents and empowered functionaries.

So successful was this mass feminization that #MeToo expanded operations still more by targeting celebrities and political opponents. The contempt for black men was extended to all men. This furnished the radical left with the weapons and machinery to stage its coup.

As all this overwhelms us, the professional right-wing establishment averts its eyes, holds its tongue, buries its head, and looks for excuses to do nothing or even to abet the left. Its foolish, too-often-repeated insistence that this is all simply cultural Marxism serves as an excuse to avoid these issues, ignore the dynamics that brought the left to power, preserve its own privileges and fiefdoms, and run away from danger. We defeated communism, after all, so if we just continue fighting the Cold War and extolling the virtues of private ownership and free markets, we will stop the left from mutilating children, starting wars, and imprisoning its opponents, and it will relinquish power.

In short, professional conservatism tries to extricate us from the fiasco it permitted by continuing more of the foolishness that permitted the fiasco in the first place.

Waking, Not Woking, the Few

Todays best commentators on these horrors speak and write from frustration. Because they do not see where this came from, they cannot offer a way out.

Our habitual assumption, as we call on Americans to wake up, is that once awakened (awoken?), they will vote for the right candidates, support the right parties, and donate to the right nonprofit groups, who will do battle for the right solutions. In short, they will build a new political class and hope it is somehow better than the previous one. But it does not work that way.

The only way to loosen the politicos grip is to restore the sovereignty of the unpaid citizen. This is feasible. Enough citizens will spontaneously rise to the occasion (and are already doing so). The trick is to ensure that they are not obstructed and sabotaged by a political class that postures as their friends, stabs them in the back, and imposes a tyranny that is less physical than mental. That means bypassing the political class of the right more than the left. It is they whose fecklessness enables the tyranny. As long as we defer to them, rather than seizing the initiative, we enable it, too.

Stephen Baskerville is Professor of Political Studies at the Collegium Intermarium in Warsaw. His latest book, Why Did It Happen? Why America Went Communist and How to Undo It, where points in this article are documented and specific remedies suggested, will be published by Amsterdam Books. His other books can be found on www.StephenBaskerville.com.

[1] Arthur Milikh, ed., Up from Conservatism: Revitalizing the Right after a Generation of Decay (Encounter, 2023), Introduction, vii; Michael Anton, The Pessimistic Case for the Future (in the same volume), 14. See my review in Chronicles magazine, A Conservative Self-Critique, January 2024.

Image: Don Hankins via Flickr, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
When Hollywood produces a film about Italian-Americans, it usually is of a certain vintage, and the purveyors of such art are usually their descendants. In a change of pace, enter the talented duo of director Alejandro Monteverde and screenwriter Rod Barr, who collaborated last year on the highly acclaimed Sound of Freedom, one of the most successful independent films ever. Thats a feat difficult to match, let alone top, but their film Cabrini is poised to do just that, opening in over 3,000 theaters nationwide next week.

When Barr was pitched by the films producers to write the screenplay of a sainted Catholic nun in a period piece that begins with her immigration to the United States in 1889, he was incredulous. However, after immersing himself in all things Cabrini, he was sold.

Monteverde, a wide-ranging artistic director, was perhaps an easier sell, saying, There are films you want to do and films you are called to do.

With Cabrini, he fulfilled both.

The engrossing Cabrini preview struck a chord. I was somewhat familiar with Mother Cabrini and knew she was the first canonized American saint  something most Catholics of Italian descent are familiar with.

Mother Cabrini was not the typical saint, provided there is such a profile. Saints are Asian, black, Indian, white, men and women. You want diversity? Look no further than the communion of saints. Georges Bernanos, the French Catholic writer, said that modernists think  either out of arrogance or regret  that the era of the saints is over. Saints, and the miracles that accompany them, exist and have existed in every era.

The petite Italian native Francesca Cabrini was the youngest of 13, born two months prematurely, and struggled with poor health her entire life. Pursuing her religious vocation, she was initially rejected three times as being too weak of constitution. After establishing the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she petitioned Pope Leo XIII to commence missionary work in China. She told the pope, We can serve our weakness, or we can serve our purpose. We cant do both.

The pope finally agreed but sent her to New York instead. Upon arrival in Manhattan, Mother Cabrini and her sisters were not greeted by any clergy as promised, but found more of what she had left: resentment, along with and plenty of New World impoverishment, crime, and illness.

Mother Cabrini met anti-Italian prejudice head-on, even among Catholics of Irish descent, including the archbishop. Despite city and Church politics, her faith overcame the odds to establish a humanitarian province unmatched not just in New York and the nation, but the world. She converted them on her path to canonization, which occurred in 1946, a short 29 years after her death.

Italians were not considered white, not until it was more convenient  proving how all ethnic groups faced bigotry of varying levels during assimilation. In a testament to a change of perspective, New York recently offered prepaid credit cards to migrants. All the state must do now is extort a Manhattan billionaire out of $355 million  weekly.

Cabrinis fortitude and determination is this generations Rocky Balboa, but with a nuns habit, whose story is not some fictional character, but the real deal. If you need proof, Sylvester Stallone was premiering the film in Florida, according to Barr.

Cabrini is a testament to the transformative power of one womans determination to make a difference despite overwhelming negative circumstances. Christian heroism is the willingness to undertake trials out of love, without any meaningful gain in this life.

Despite having an aversion to water, Cabrini, whose name in Italian means one who sails, lived up to that name, having made 23 trans-Atlantic crossings. During her ministry, she was given no more than three years to live but conquered living to 67.

Barrs screenplay is littered with a sequence of memorable lines. When a construction foreman questions Mother Cabrinis request that half the construction workers on a hospital building project be Italian, she quips, We built Rome. Im sure we can handle a hospital.

Mother Cabrini established 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages around the world, all run by women, proving that the world is too small for what I intend to do. The cinematography is captivating and complements a remarkable epic that is not in any way preachy  a story that transcends generations.

Cristiana DellAnna, an Italian actress in the Meryl Streep mode, transforms herself physically and vocally with virtuosic skill and gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Mother Cabrini. Regrettably, her flawless effort will go unrecognized by the secular and hedonistic Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The same is true for Monteverde and Barr.

The film opens on International Womens Day, March 8.

When I asked Barr if Mother Cabrini would approve of the film, he said she would, especially if it inspires a new generation to serve something greater than themselves.

Saint Mother Cabrini, pray for America.

Image: LIDayo via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Looks like Adam Schiff's big-dollar campaign of weirdly nice attack ads against Republican Steve Garvey in the California Senate race is not quite having the effect he thought it would have.

According to a left-leaning poll from the Los Angeles Times and UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies , seen on RealClearPolitics:

In the primary, Garvey is favored by 27% of likely voters, Schiff 25% and Porter 19%. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) garners 8%, while 12% of likely voters pick a different candidate and 9% are undecided.

That's right: Garvey is now ahead of Schiff in a year when President Trump is leading all polls.

So Schiff's campaign to knock Democrat rival, Katie Porter, out of the top-two-on-the-ballot in November setup isn't working. Schiff put out television ads and mailers breathlessly saying Garvey voted for Trump twice, favors the border wall, and is "too conservative for California" to get Republicans to knock his Democrat rival out of the race. However, that may be working just a little too well, with Garvey now pulling ahead of Schiff in the multi-candidate race.

A poll like this looks like the campaign may have shot itself in the foot.

Sure, it seems to be an old California blue-state machine-politics trick for the top leftist to goose the Republican vote now that the election setup is to hold an open primary and then put the top two vote-getters onto the November ballot.

My own congresswoman, Qualcomm billionaire heiress Sara Jacobs, has been accused of this cynical election maneuver in San Diego back when she was first elected in 2020, apparently boosting the Republican candidate on the sly in a bid to get him into the second-place slot to sideline her other Democrat rivals and scarf up all Democrat votes, preventing a split. It didn't work because the Republican wasn't trying very hard to win, so the other Democrat, Georgette Gomez, ended up on the ballot anyway at the final vote. Jacobs won anyway, and I wrote about that here.

Gomez, though, wasn't done, and she filed an FEC complaint saying the pro-GOP mailers didn't say who they came from, amounting to illicit campaign spending of some kind. I have not found the result of that complaint, but in this matter, Schiff avoided that little issue by not hiding anything.

Here is my mailer from Schiff telling me, a registered Republican, that Garvey is "too conservative for California."

Apparently, Schiff thinks Republican voters are stupid and won't see the cynicism of what's going on. Like Eddie Haskell, he'd like them to know, Mrs. Cleaver, that Garvey is rising in the polls, and he's just too conservative for California, which, between us, he can't be because it's not allowed.

Of course, he wants to goose Republican turnout.

It's just that that's a risky game when jackasses play it. He must be counting on all the Californians who fled his state to propel him into certain victory with the remaining blue voters.

But in the Jacobs case, the GOP candidate only managed to get 10% of the vote. This 27% that Garvey has -- coming from a leftwing pollster and a much lower base in previous polls -- suggests Schiff may have motivated more Garvey support than he meant to. There is no way he would like to see polls with this much rocketing support for Garvey (topping even his own) with such a poll.

I won't say it won't work at this point, given that Schiff's vote is divided between many leftist candidates who are likely to pick Schiff over Garvey if those two emerge as the top two in November. But stranger things have happened in politics and this may be a wave year for President Trump. Could the unwaveringly pro-Trump Garvey ride those coattails as Democrats stay home, not wanting to give their votes to senile Joe Biden?

It's possible because anything is possible at this point. Schiff may be in the comeuppance of his life now that Garvey's voters now top his, and they haven't stopped rising.

Image: Frypie, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
On February 14, Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that his panel had made available to all Members of Congress information concerning a serious national security threat.

This announcement made headline news, followed by statements from Turners colleagues in the House. Some of them, like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), even before the briefing on this subject, said that this is additional proof of Putins attack on our freedom and democracy.

However, Republican congressman Andy Ogles from Tennessee demanded that House speaker Mike Johnson open a probe into the impact of Mr. Turners call for President Biden to go public with a national security threat that caught lawmakers and the White House by surprise.

In hindsight, it has become clear that the intent was not to ensure the safety of our homeland and the American people, but rather to ensure additional funding for Ukraine and passage of an unreformed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, Mr. Ogles said.

In addition, it turned out that earlier this month, in Kyiv, Mr. Turner assured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. stands in full support of Ukraine and is working diligently to secure funding necessary for his country to defend itself against Russian aggression.

Moreover, prior to the release of his statement, Turner cleared it with the White House.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan spilled the beans further when, during his public address from the briefing room, he suggested that nobody worry about this threat but, after a pause, added that more important is to continue funding Ukraine.

Mr. Johnson said that there is no need for public alarm. Having been caught in a lie, secretary of state Antony Blinken had to echo him.

Fox News immediately picked up this story and recalled other instances when politicians manipulated facts and news to achieve their goals.

For example, in April 2021, on the eve of the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, who was not happy about this summit, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing about worldwide threats that the Russian military is an existential threat to the United States.

Back to February 2024: Considering that the bills fate, with $60 billion for Ukraine, is in the hands of Republicans in the House of Representatives, and contrary to Turner, many of them dont like this bill, the Russian threat proved to be a convenient instrument in Washington.

Needless to say, the U.S., Russia, and China are definitely working on new space technology that can be used in potential future conflicts. But, as was noted by officials in the know, Russia does not appear close to deploying these weapons, and officials dont consider any such deployment to be an urgent threat. Also, the same officials dont claim that Russia is abandoning the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans orbital nuclear weapons.

The U.S. also experiments with versions of this technology but has yet to deploy anything. China is obviously in the same loop.

The most logical thing in these circumstances, when the talk of nuclear WW3 is getting more and more alarming, would be an urgent summit among U.S., Russian, and Chinese leaders, something like Yalta 2.0, to resemble the historic Yalta Conference, held February 411, 1945, by the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, which helped to avoid WW3 for almost 80 years.

With Biden in the White House, it is highly unlikely, because some other forces from the so-called Deep State are ruling U.S. foreign policy. Donald Trump could be more inclined to do it, but the same forces are desperately trying to prevent him from winning or the presidency or even continuing his campaign.

Granted, Biden instructed his foreign policy team to enter into negotiations with Russia on space security. But one wonders if Russia will agree to do it without expanding the agenda to ending the war in Ukraine.

To summarize, it looks as though this year could be fateful. Gird your loins.

Image via Public Domain Pictures.
The news is depressing: Our economy is stagnant or failing, our border is broken, our ostensible president is a hard-left, dementia-riddled puppet, the Middle East is aflame, Ukraine sucks up our wealth and military materiels, China is rising, racial schisms fracture our nation, our children are targets of institutionalized sexual predators, and Donald Trump is facing unprecedented civil and criminal lawfare. However, sometimes, things must get really bad for people to react, and this reaction has Wayne Allyn Root seeing something miraculous happening: The nation is consolidating behind Donald Trump.

Root, a former Vegas oddsmaker, is famous for making money off of smart predictions and being a relentless but still pragmatic optimist. In other words, hes not a mindless Candide who perpetually insists that were living in the best of all possible worlds, even as everything collapses around us. Instead, he looks at the evidence and, when possible, sees positive outcomes.

Image by AI.

And when it comes to Trumps status as the inevitable Republican candidate, Root is seeing a very positive outcome. After detailing how every powerful institution in America is actively working against Trump, Root argues that Trump is not falling under the pressure of those onslaughts. Instead, he is triumphing:

Yet after all of that, President Trump holds the lead over Joe Biden in virtually every national poll; leads in every battleground state that determines the election; leads among Generation Z (the youngest voters); and in some polls leads among Latino and black males. A recent poll showed Trump leading among Jewish voters in New York state.

Root then closes with two anecdotes (and I know theyre not evidence, but they are compelling) that should cheer you immensely. I urge you to read the essay to put a smile on your face.

And now my two cents. What Root is seeing is a trend line. If you ever listen to the brilliant, eclectic Scott Adams, one of the things he says is that one should always watch for trends. If you dont get hooked on specific data points or statistics but watch the way the wind is consistently blowing, youll get a sense of who are the winners and the losers.

Its not just that blacks and Jews are beginning to turn on Biden. What were also witnessing are judges starting to stamp out extremism, whether from the parties before them or, in the case of appellate courts, from activist judges. Judges are political animals (especially leftist judges) and, whether we like it or not, they will respond to political trends. If they see that the nation is consolidating behind Trump, they will not want to put their imprimatur on dubious (at best) court rulings that seek to deny the majority of American people the ability to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.

Exhibit A may be that the Supreme Court, on Wednesday, said that it would take up Trumps claim that he is immune from prosecution, throwing a serious wrench in the Democrats efforts to take Trump out before the election. Jonathan Turley, a serious legal analyst, explains how helpful this is for Trump:

The real victory here for Trump deals with the calendar, Turley told Special Report host Bret Baier. You know, the overriding push of Smith, the special counsel, has been to get a trial before the election. He is running out of runway. If this opinion doesnt come out until June, perhaps, you have to remember that even if Smith wins, the mandate goes back to the district court, which has to handle all the pre-trial motions. That could take months.

In practical terms, the Supreme Court is ensuring that the People, not a manifestly biased judicial system, get to say whether Trump should lead this nation. Even hard leftists understand this. The Hollywood types are melting down, while a more astute leftist like Andrew Weissman (who has abused his prosecutorial power against Trump and his supporters) bemoans that the Court is essentially saying that [Trump] is de facto immune and that the DC case is now on life support.

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the plaintiff in a case accusing Trump and two local GOP poll watchers of defamatory statements regarding election fraud has withdrawn the suit. Maybe it got too expensive. Maybe the evidence showed that truth is a defense. It doesnt matter. What matters is that the withdrawal reflects a turning tide.

This is why Root is optimistic and why you should be optimistic, too. Of course, optimism doesnt mean being the hare in Aesops fable; that is, assuming victory and ceasing all effort.

Instead, it means working harder than ever to ensure this positive trend continues until it is an unstoppable force. That force means that, in 2024, we elect a president, a Congress, state legislatures, city councils, and school boards that honor the Constitution and laws of the United States, support our true allies and stand up against our real enemies, protect our children, and truly Make America Great Again.
Sen. Mitch McConnell announced this week he is leaving his leadership post in November and will serve out his current term, which ends in 2026. However, he may be planning to leave earlier than that.

With the SCOTUS probably delaying Donald Trumps federal trials for the remainder of the year, The Trumpster has an excellent chance to win the presidential election. Mitch has no interest at this point serving another Trump administration.

Remember also, for many reasons only Mitch knows, that he previously had the Republican Legislature pass a convoluted Senate vacancy law in 2021. However, Democrat Governor Andy Beshear was re-elected last year and has made it known that he will try to circumvent this law, to appoint his own person.

Now Kentucky Republicans are moving through H.B. 622, which mandates an immediate special election for any U.S. Senate vacancy, just as we have in U.S. House elections. No appointments for anyone.

This bill would become law in June. It may be a simple precaution by Republicans to cover all the bases. Or the senator may already have the wheels in motion to get his successor picked this summer and timed the voting for the November general election, when Trump will easily carry along any GOP nominee.

As Mitch McConnell fades into the sunset, I might point out that he was neither the genius Hugh Hewitt seems to think he is nor the evil genius Howard Fineman imagines. (Fineman, by the way, worked many years here in Louisville, on our Democrat-cheerleading daily newspaper, where he stood out even then as the most partisan hack of all their writers.) Rather, McConnell is just one of those people who knew from an early age what he wanted to do; and had a good idea how to go about it. But rather than something like professional musician or medical doctor, etc., Mitch was determined to be a U.S. senator, like his hero, the liberal Republican John Sherman Cooper. Working for Cooper and later for his mentor, Sen. Marlow Cook, Mitch saw up close the vicious Senate race in 1974 waged by Democrat Wendell Ford to unseat Cook. Mitch then took a job with the Gerald Ford DOJ, impotently watching the Democrat Sen. Ford place holds on Republican judicial nominees.

When Mitch followed Marlow Cook, first as Jefferson County judge/executive and then in the U.S. Senate in 1984, he was all too happy to rejoin the confirmation battles with Ford and other Democrats like Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer.

As one of the last liberal Southern Republicans in the Reagan Era, Mitch eventually understood that he had to be pro-life and get on board, if unenthusiastically, with the rest of the modern conservative agenda. What became his pet causes in the Senate, however  judicial appointments and protecting the fundraising ability and free speech rights of politicians  proved popular with the GOP base and with Senate Republican colleagues. The campaign fund laws were of particular interest to the burgeoning network of conservative legal foundations, starting with the landmark 1976 case Buckley v. Valeo.

In his many decades in office, McConnell has always been a reliable Republican partisan, because thats who he is  but not a promoter of conservative ideas, because he was never a true believer.

McConnell is best remembered for stopping Justice Scalias replacement in 2016. This was great, but lets face it: it was a no-brainer. Conservatives around the country were demanding this. If he had not done so, Republicans in Kentucky would have tarred and feathered him.

I remember, a few minutes after Scalias death was announced Saturday morning, Feb. 13, I was texting Republicans around our state to contact McConnells office to demand No Obama Replacement. This was a good time to do this, because it was right in the middle of the presidential primary, and all my buddies with the Trump, Cruz, and Paul campaigns were thinking the same thing. By that afternoon, national bloggers were posting the idea as well. McConnell, after all his battles with Harry Reid, was happy oblige us later that day.

McConnell would go on to shepherd a record number of conservative justices onto the court, thanks in large measure to Harry Reid ending the appointments filibuster when the Democrats ran the Senate. McConnell would never have changed the Senate rules by his own volition, but Harry Reid crossed him with the Nuclear Option. McConnell was then only too glad to repay the Democrats with their own rules when the GOP took back the Senate.

So the most consequential SCOTUS appointments in 80 years came about, not because of ideology, or grand strategy, or intellectual brilliance, but mere partisan tit-for-tat. Thats how a lot of things happen in DC. And it explains how the least popular politician in America was also the longest serving Senate leader in history.

Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky.

Image: Mitch McConnell. Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A February 12, 2024 Slay News.com article reported that thousands of elderly COVID patients in the United Kingdom (U.K.) were secretly euthanized in April 2020 by injection with the drug Midazolam. This disturbing claim came from an investigation directed by Wilson Sy, director, Investment Analytics Research Australia, and made public by Craig Kelly, the national director of the (conservative) United Australia Party.

The alleged euthanasia claim seems unlikely because in the U.K., it is regarded as either manslaughter or murder by the National Health Service (NHS) and carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. And unlike in Trudeaus Canada, even voluntary assisted suicide is illegal and punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. In addition, the drug Midazolam is not for euthanasia. Its a widely used anti-anxiety medication. However, Drugs.com cautions that it is risky for patients with a cough, wheezing, or trouble breathing.

Having had a career in analytics, I was skeptical. I reviewed the ResearchGate investigation documentation fully expecting to find fake news. Instead, I found that the report was exceptionally well researched and documented, and the claim appears valid. The truth was buried on pages 1416 (emphasis mine):

Shortages of hospital beds were already felt before the pandemic. Therefore, there was apprehension that UK hospitals could not cope with the anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases. It is clear that the highest priority of UK public health policy, early in the pandemic, was to avoid hospitals being overwhelmed, like those sensationally reported in northern Italy around that time. The NHS created new guidelines in March 2020 to facilitate discharges from hospitals, stating Unless required to be in hospital, patients must not remain in an NHS bed. In a move which was later judged irrational, many elderly were discharged from hospital and died in care homes across England. As a result About 28,000 care home residents died in April 2020 across England, which represented about one third or 33.5 percent of all deaths in England. Many of the UK elderly with comorbidities or terminal illnesses have died with euthanasia in care homes, and not from COVID-19 due to few cases of infections early in 2020. ... New guidelines were rapidly developed in early 2020 by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for managing COVID-19 symptoms, including those at the end-of-life. The rapidly developed new guidelines effectively opened the door to implement a policy of euthanasia in UK during the pandemic.

However, while researching for a previous article in October 2021, titled COVID and Medical Ethics, I recalled that the statistics from Our World in Data confirm the initial overall COVID death rate in the U.K. was disproportionately higher than in the European Union. However, those initial high death rates occurred months before April 2020 and reoccurred a year later. This inspired a second look.

Open COVID-19 Data Explorer  Our World in Data to view the updated trend chart used in that earlier analysis and compare COVID daily death trends for the U.K., the U.S., Sweden, and India. At a glance, it is easy to see some puzzling variations in each countrys daily death rates. These anomalies were likely due to differing COVID treatment protocols, the timing of new variants, vaccine policy, and other variables.

This simple forensic analysis helped confirm an even greater medical mass murder:

United Kingdom, population 67 million: The COVID death trend data for JAN 2020 and FEB 2021 confirms it was disproportionally high. The real blame goes to its government provided free healthcare because hospitals were overwhelmed even before the pandemic. Their treatment protocols, like those of most wealthy countries also placed all bets on the vax, lockdowns, etc. and this decision likely contributed to other variations as well. And anyone criticizing the government treatment protocols was censored. Final: 3,472 deaths per million people thru 2/18/2024.

Sweden, population 10 million: Sweden was included because it alone rejected severe lockdown measures and as a result it had achieved herd immunity by around FEB 2021. That lasted until Sweden inexplicably mandated the vax and boosters. It is now known that repeated jabs confuse the immune system so when a new variant attacks, it fails to recognize it as the real threat and instead attacks the ghosts of older variants. Sweden alone continued to experience spikes in deaths well beyond MAR 2022. Was it a coincidence that each major surge in boosters administered was followed by a similar surge in deaths a couple of months later? Final: 2,576 deaths per million people thru 2/18/2024.

United States, population 333 million: The US is known to have exaggerated its death rate by including deaths with COVID. Nevertheless, Americas initial two death spikes rose and fell like both Sweden and the UK and all three increased somewhat when the Delta variant arrived around the middle of 2021. By then the first round of vax had been widely distributed and mandated. The U.S. death trend remained slightly elevated until the end of March 2022. Coincidentally, its downturn in deaths resumed as people became more aware of the vaccines deadly side effects and several red states had cancelled their vax mandates. Like in the UK, any dissent was silenced. Final: 3,472 deaths per million people thru 2/18/2024.

India, population 1.4 billion: This huge country posted a consistently low COVID death rate and set an ideal benchmark. India alone encouraged the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) starting immediately when COVID arrived. Indias death rate spiked only once when the Delta variant showed up and HCQ proved less effective. However, their medical establishment reacted quickly to replace it with Ivermectin, and daily deaths once again returned to near zero for the duration. India had access to the vaccines, but it was not a priority. The data confirms that Indias inexpensive treatment protocol saved millions of lives. Final: 376 deaths per million people thru 2/18/2024.

I conclude that the Slay News report and the investigation are accurate and confirm the death of medical ethics in the U.K. But wait  more proof that medical ethics is also dying worldwide was provided by the Our World in Data COVID-19 death trend comparisons. These data strongly suggest that if more countries had adopted, rather than outlawed India's effective treatment protocols, millions of deaths globally could have been prevented.

Many worldwide medical establishments lied, and people died. The responsibility for this indirect form of mass murder, either for profit or control, belongs to the many elites in leadership positions and their minions who aided in the crime. Unless punished, they will do it again. And the WEF and the WHO have an encore performance waiting for Disease X.

Image: qimono via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
We hear that a judge in Illinois wants President Trump off the ballot. This is the story:

A Cook County judge ruled Wednesday that the Illinois State Board of Elections must take former President Trumps name off the state's March 19 primary ballot but placed her order on hold until Friday to allow an appeal. Judge Tracie Porter issued her decision after a group of voters trying to remove Trumps name from the primary ballot over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol sued to counter the election board's unanimous rejection of its effort. The five voters argued that Trump is ineligible to hold office because he encouraged and did little to stop the Capitol riot and insurrection.

There is that word insurrection again! I guess that liberal judges think that you are guilty of insurrection even though you have not been accused or convicted of it.

So what happens now? Well, the Supreme Court will likely reverse Colorado et al., and put the former president back on the ballot. Also, all of these crazy attacks on #45 will enhance his chances of returning as #47. I think that its fair to say that more and more Americans are tired of what we call law-fare or using the government to target a man that you dont like.

So when will they ever learn? I dont know but they keep messing it up.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos.

Image: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.
When someone comes to America, land of the free, as a refugee, presumably to escape some awful homeland, does it seem funny that such a person then jumps on a flight to Cuba to advocate for its superior model?

It does to me.

According to the Miami Herald:

A delegation of the U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus traveled to Cuba last week in a trip that has not previously been disclosed by the legislators nor reported in Cuban state media. The group of about a dozen people was led by Democratic U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal of the state of Washington and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. It included a congressional staffer from the office of California Rep. Barbara Lees office, sources with knowledge of the trip told the Miami Herald. Jayapal and Omar, members of the informal left-wing group of lawmakers known as the squad, did not reply to emails and messages seeking comment. Lees office also did not reply to a request for comment. After the Herald published this story, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, comprising more than 100 lawmakers and chaired by Jayapal, confirmed the trip. Representatives Jayapal and Omar traveled to Cuba last week, where they met with people from across Cuban civil society and government officials to discuss human rights and the U.S.-Cuba bilateral relationship, said a Caucus spokesperson.

The secrecy is strange, here, given the brazenness with which Cuba supporters have shown for cutting sugar cane and praising socialism on their illegal trips to Cuba in the past. Michael Moore certainly didn't keep his trip to Cuba secret, nor did pop tart Beyonce, prancing at the Malecon to make a lucrative video, nor did Barack Obama, doing the wave at some stadium with Raul Castro, Cuba's military dictator. Why keep it under wraps when Joe Biden and Barack Obama have both loosened travel restrictions on the communist island hellhole to permit free travel?

And if the aim was to meet with Cuba's civil society dissidents, most of whom have been imprisoned in the Castro oligarchy's dank, filthy, dungeons anyway, why keep that secret? Cuba jails its civil society members. It sends 'turba' mobs to encircle their homes baying and screaming, flinging bags of urine and fecal matter. Being a civil society member takes a lot of bravery in Cuba these days. Wouldn't meeting Cuba's nascent democrats be worth making some political hay about?

More likely, since Cuba arranged this, they weren't real dissidents. They were more likely Potemkin dissidents, put out there as a fig leaf, a dog-and-pony show, to give the group some kind of cover if the trip was found out. Notice that no names were released of these vaunted 'civil society' members they met with "across Cuban civil society." As if there were any 'across' in that socialist hellhole.

The Herald noted that it was a weird claim, given how many times these visiting leftists had voted against measures in Congress to support Cuba's dissidents, who are mostly people of color fighting Cuba's white and rich nomenklatura ruling elites.

It's hard to think the Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which India-born Jayapal and Somalia-born Omar are chair and deputy chair respectively, were heading on down to Cuba to meet with Castroite communist leaders for anything other than to discuss how they can promote Cuba's interests in Congress. Cuba has many, after all -- lawsuits from surviving members of families who have died at the hands of their spies, an end to the paltry sanctions that remain against the island, the importance of voting against any dissident-supporting measure in Congress, taking Cuba off the list of state-sponsors of terror, preventing the U.S. from blocking Russian, Iranian and Chinese spy bases to spy on the U.S., allowing more remittances and banking privileges, and of course, promoting the millions of migrants they've shipped into the states, keeping these potential dissidents out of the Castro oligarchy's hair as well as slipping in a spy or two with this open-borders morass to keep an eye on the Miami Cubans and pick a few off. And the big one the Castroites want more than anything else: A bailout of their socialist mismanagement and a new sugar daddy to draw money from. They've already "used up" everyone else.

Omar in the past, has been a reliable supporter of Cuban interests, doing exactly what they want in every instance.

Why else would they want to keep this trip secret until someone leaked it? Omar already has been a big supporter of Cuba's interests through her congressional votes, as Minnesota Peace Project described here Rep. Omar voted no on H.Res.760, which passed the House 382-40. This resolution expresses solidarity with the Cuban people, condemns Cuba's repression of peaceful protesters and journalists, and calls on Cuba to not arrest or detain peaceful protestors and to release all political prisoners and arbitrarily detained individuals. Further, it urges specified U.S. actions: working to expand internet access for the Cuban people; supporting the Cuban peoples inherent right to demonstrate peacefully; standing behind the aspirations of the Cuban people for the rights that they have been denied by the regime since 1959; assessing whether the United States can develop methods to allow remittances, medical supplies, and other forms of support from the United States to directly benefit the Cuban people in ways that alleviate humanitarian suffering without providing United States dollars to the Cuban military; and rallying the international community to join in condemning human rights abuses and honoring the Cuban peoples demands for freedom. - Nov. 3, 2021 [congress.gov] ...and... Rep. Omar was one of a group of 75 Democratic Members of Congress who sent a letter to President Biden urging him to take swift executive action to reverse the Trump Administrations draconian policies towards Cuba, return to the diplomatic path charted by the ObamaBiden Administration, and pursue an ultimate end to the nearly six-decade-long economic embargo. - March 4, 2021 [https://lee.house.gov/news/press-releases] ...and... Rep. Omar was part of a group of congresspersons who signed a letter to President Biden, asking him to prioritize the well-being of the Cuban people. The current humanitarian situation in Cuba is growing ever more dire, with shortages of food and goods and decreasing access to medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We urge you to take immediate humanitarian actions -- as the United Nations has urged repeatedly -- to suspend U.S. regulations that prevent food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance from reaching the Cuban people. We also support a more comprehensive shift to deepen engagement with Cuba and move towards normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, wrote the legislators. Specific recommendations were made such as: removing licenses required to send medical supplies, lifting restrictions on financial transactions related to humanitarian aid, removing restrictions on remittances, rolling back restrictions on travel to Cuba, and removing Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism after a new review. - Dec. 14, 2021 [ https://justfacts.votesmart.org/public-statement/1577134/letter-to-joseph-biden-president-of-the-united-states-of-america-support-human-rights-and-humanitarian-needs-in-cuba She does whatever they want.

Cuba has a lot of interests, and even though Omar has seemed unconnected in the past in this socialist dictatorship, somehow the Cubans knew they could go to her.

That's what appears to have happened in a braggy article Omar posted on her congressional website

Republicans said they removed Omar, D-Minn., for her years-old comments that referenced antisemitic tropes, taking away a platform she sometimes used to criticize U.S. foreign policy, particularly on human rights. But in the four months since her ouster, Omar has gained more clout with foreign embassies, visiting parliamentarians, the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers than she had managed in four years on the committee. Its been actually fascinating, Omar said in an interview last week in her office. Since I was removed from committee, I think Ive had more visits from parliamentarians around the world and visits with ambassadors in the last three months than I would in a year or two while I was on the committee." ... Omar is now sought out for meetings by ambassadors, particularly those from Africa. She introduced a bill in March that would overhaul the arms export process; in April she was appointed a member of the House Democracy Partnership, a bipartisan group that seeks to deepen ties with foreign legislatures; and in May she launched the U.S.-Africa Policy Working Group that is meant to be a parallel forum to the Foreign Affairs Africa Subcommittee for oversight and legislative work.

That's like saying you've hung a shingle out for every anti-American dictatorship out there to do their bidding, and who knows, be repaid in return by some through various shell mechanisms. Cuba, of course, doesn't pay and wasn't mentioned in the piece, (the socialist hellhole relies on the boundless love of socialism for the loyalty of its acolytes), but Middle Eastern, African, and Chinese interests have been known to pay in other cases. It's creepy stuff to hear that Omar is getting lots of visits from ambassadors from potentially hostile and greedy countries, as well as likely anti-American agents who know exactly who to go to with this information she's disclosed. No doubt Cuba was one of her courting rogue-state foreigners, given that this trip happened.

The secrecy of the trip is disturbing and merits a congressional inquiry as to what this group was really up to, given that they've been known to promote anti-American interests, which in fact is all they ever do. What was Omar doing in Cuba and why did she not want anyone to know about it?
Per ABC News, an attorney with the special counsel Jack Smith's team told a judge Friday that holding former President Donald Trump's classified documents trial before the November election would not violate Justice Department policy.

In a Florida court conference attended by the former president, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is currently considering arguments about rescheduling the May 20 trial date in Trump's federal classified documents case.

Special Counsel Prosecutor Jay Bratt urges a July start date, emphasizing that holding a trial within 60 days of an election would not violate the Justice Department's policy of bringing politically charged cases so close to an election.

Trump's attorney, Todd Blanche, argued that it would be "unfair" to put Trump on trial for mishandling classified documents before the election.

"We very much continue to believe that a trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen," Blanche said during the scheduling conference in Fort Pierce, Florida.

What Has The Judge Said Thus Far?

Judge Cannon broke for lunch offering little information on how she might rule other than noting the 20 pre-trial motions she still needs to decide, reported ABC.

"A lot of work needs to be done," she said.

Based on Trump's claim of presidential immunity, his legal team contends that the case should be dropped entirely. The Supreme Court has signaled its intention to review this claim in Trump's federal election interference proceedings.

In an article published by BBC, some legal experts have accused Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, of slow-walking the pre-trial process, including by postponing key deadlines.

She hinted at a delay in the original schedule back in November, referencing a complaint from the Trump team about the time required to review what she referred to as the "exceptionally large amount of unclassified and classified discovery" in the case.

BBC revealed that the material includes 1.3 million pages of unclassified documents, 5,500 pages of classified documents, and 60 terabytes of closed-circuit television footage.

On Wednesday, she rejected Mr. Trump's request to see more of the classified government filings than it already has access to.

The judge's call to reschedule the trial date will be instrumental in defining the timeframe for Mr. Trump's upcoming court proceedings.
Axel Springer and 31 other media publishing groups sued Google on Wednesday, Feb. 28 for 2.1 billion in the Netherlands. The figure equates to $2.3 billion, and the lawsuit is the latest to hit Google in recent years. The company has come under scrutiny for its digital advertising business of late, both by media publishers and governments. This time, it isnt an antitrust filing, but Googles latest legal challenge is related to its alleged monopolistic practices. The publishers argue that Googles anticompetitive practices caused them to incur losses. As such, theyre seeking $2.3 billion in damages.

The 32 media outlets are represented by lawyers from Geradin Partners and Stek, who commented on Wednesdays filing in statements to Reuters. The media companies involved have incurred losses due to a less competitive market, which is a direct result of Googles misconduct, the lawyers said. Without Googles abuse of its dominant position, the media companies would have received significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for ad tech services. Crucially, these funds could have been reinvested into strengthening the European media landscape.

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Google has not publicly commented on this specific litigation. However, the company has consistently denied claims that it grew its ad-tech business illegally. In response to a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit that also concerns its advertising business, Google said the governments case reflected a flawed argument. Google has similarly denied antitrust claims throughout Europe in the past. It has also tried to appease regulators in some aspects. For example, by agreeing to pay millions in annual fees to German publishers.

Why the $2.3 billion suit was filed in the Netherlands

Media publishing groups and brands participating in the lawsuit notably included Axel Springer and Schibsted. Overall, groups from 13 different countries formed a coalition in the suit: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden. Some of the other notable European outlets participating are Krone, DPG Media, and Ringier. Though a wide range of publishers are included in the suit, and many countries are represented, the choice of which one to file the lawsuit in was strategic.

The groups lawyers told Reuters that they filed the litigation in the Netherlands due to the countrys history. It has been a source for antitrust cases in the European Union in the past. There is also precedent in the country. The group also noted that they wanted to avoid filing multiple lawsuits in multiple EU countries. While the $2.3 billion lawsuit has been officially filed against Google, itll likely be a while before we reach a resolution.
The Google Pixel 8 series has won the category of Best Smartphone of the Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO) at MWC 2024, after winning our AH Award for Best Smartphone of 2023. Hosted by the GSMA, the Global Mobile Awards recognize excellence and innovation in the mobile industry, with the Best Smartphone category being one of four in the Device section. The others are Breakthrough Device Innovation, Best Connected Consumer Device, and Best in Show. Notably, judges considered the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 the Best Connected Consumer Device while the HONOR Magic V2 RSR Porsche Design has clinched the honor of Best in Show.

The GSMAs criteria for the Best Smartphone award emphasize outstanding performance, innovation, and leadership demonstrated by devices on the market throughout the year. Competing against industry giants such as Apples iPhone 15 Pro series and Samsungs Galaxy S23 series, the Google Pixel 8 series emerged victorious, highlighting its exceptional capabilities and impact on the market.

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Google Pixel 8 series marks Googles first time securing the Best Smartphone title at MWC

Rick Osterloh, Googles Senior Vice President of Devices & Services, celebrated the win, underscoring the Pixel communitys role in achieving this milestone. This triumph marks Googles first time getting the Best Smartphone title, reflecting the companys dedication to pushing boundaries and delivering cutting-edge technology to users worldwide.

The Pixel 8 series success builds upon Googles previous achievements in the mobile space, with the Pixel lineup consistently pushing the envelope in terms of innovation and user experience. Notably, the Pixel 6 Pro was shortlisted in 2021, while the Pixel 3s Night Sight feature earned a GSMA award for Disruptive Device Innovation in 2019.

Furthermore, reports indicate that Googles Pixel 8 series achieved significant sales milestones in 2023. With 10 million devices shipped that year, the Google Pixel 8 series has not only garnered critical acclaim but also resonated strongly with consumers, solidifying its position as a frontrunner in the competitive smartphone market.

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Google Pixel 8 series comes with some noteworthy features exclusive to Pixel devices

The Google Pixel 8 series runs on the Google Tensor G3 platform and enables a number of exclusive features to the Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro. These include features like Zoom Enhance, Best Take, and Magic Editor to name a few. Zoom Enhance uses generative AI to intelligently fill in the gaps between pixels in the frame. As Googles SVP Rick Osterloh said during the Made By Google event last year, this feature of the Pixel 8 Pro enables you to take photos without thinking much about the framing, as you can crop in and adjust the framing later without losing image quality.
The Apple iPhone 15 series seems to be underperforming in the worlds largest smartphone market. The market in question is China, of course, and based on recent reports, retailers are offering various discounts in order to boost demand, reports Bloomberg.

The iPhone 15 series has seemingly been underperforming in the worlds largest market

The iPhone 15 series has been underperforming in China since launch. Various discounts have been in place since then, but some additional ones are on offer now. Why is this the case, though? Apples iPhones have usually been very popular in China.

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Well, there are several reasons why this may be the case. At least several come to mind straight away. The first one that we thought of is Huawei. Huawei has started releasing phones with 5G once again, in its homeland, thanks to its new Kirin processor.

Huawei did not have a 5G phone to offer since the US ban took place. The company has seen huge demand in its homeland, so huge that it had serious issues keeping with it: We are talking about the flagship Mate 60 series here, by the way.

Huawei definitely grabbed a piece of the market from Apple, as it has been on the rise

So, Huawei definitely took a piece of Apples pie in China. The second reason could be the deflating Chinese economy, as Phone Arena reports, while the iPhone ban in government agencies and state-backed companies is yet another reason to add to the list. Other Chinese companies have also applied pressure on Huawei, by releasing very compelling products. Companies like Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo.

A Chinese retailer, Tmall, which is huge, and owned by the Alibaba Group, discounted the iPhone 15 Pro Max by $180. That is $60 more than Tmall offered in the same period last year. JD.com is also running a similar deal for the device.

Reuters says that some retailers in the country also discounted the iPhone 14 Pro in order to attract demand. The demand for iPhones in general doesnt seem to be that high, not only the iPhone 15 series.
Samsung plans to revolutionize everyday wellness with its Galaxy Ring. Slated to arrive later this year, the wearable offers a wide range of sensors and health features in a small, lightweight product. This allows for comfortable wear for a long time, enabling continuous health monitoring. But if you planned to pair the smart ring with your iPhone, you might be out of luck. The Korean firm intends to support Android devices only.

Galaxy Ring may not be compatible with iPhones

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring at MWC 2024, which concluded yesterday. The company didnt share detailed specs and features but suggested that the smart ring will be a comprehensive health monitoring device. It is as capable as a Galaxy Watch in activity tracking and monitoring your everyday wellness. You could get the same level of health and fitness insights with either device.

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However, if you wear both, they can work in tandem with one another to deliver more accurate data. We know that, for example, the performance of sleep staging (the classification of five different sleep stages) goes up when both devices are worn, said Dr. Hon Pak, Samsungs VP & Head of Digital Health. The company still doesnt see the Galaxy Ring as a companion for the Galaxy Watch. It is more about giving customers choices.

People who dont like wearing watches to sleep can rely on the ring for health monitoring. By pairing it with a Galaxy Watch, they can switch between the two according to their convenience or wear both for more accurate results. Since Samsungs watches arent compatible with iPhones, the same will seemingly apply to the Galaxy Ring. You must use it with an Android phone that supports the Samsung health app.

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The ring is extremely lightweight and boasts an excellent battery life

To ensure a proper fit for people of all sizes, Samsung plans to release the Galaxy Ring in nine sizes. Bigger units will give you a bigger battery and runtime on a single charge. According to a CNET report, the smallest model will pack a 14.5mAh battery. The battery capacity will increase incrementally with the size of the ring. If you pick up the biggest model, you get a 21.5mAh battery. Thats almost 50% more battery juice on the biggest Galaxy Ring.

Since the rest of the specs and sensors are expected to remain unchanged, the battery life on the latter should be notably longer than the former. Samsungs mobile business head, TM Roh, recently claimed that the Galaxy Ring will boast a battery life of five to nine days, depending on usage. This means you will have to charge the ring up to five times less often than a Galaxy Watch, depending on usage.

Of course, the bigger Galaxy Ring will be heavier too. But Samsung has done incredibly well to make it lightweight. The upcoming smart ring reportedly weighs between 2.3 and 2.9 grams. Even the biggest unit is lighter than the smallest Oura Ring, which weighs between 4 and 6 grams, depending on the size. We should get to know more about the Galaxy Ring, including its price, in the build-up to its launch.
If you are a Google Drive user, then youve likely tried to stream some of your saved videos using the platform. Well, using Google Drive to stream videos hasnt been the best. Fortunately, Google Drive will use the DASH protocol when screaming videos, so the experience will be much better.

When streaming videos on Google Drive, the video player doesnt take into account how fast or slow your internet connection is. This means that you will experience a lot of buffering if your connection isnt the greatest. Video streaming platforms like YouTube, on the other hand, will raise or lower the resolution based on your connection speed. This is one thing that helps keep the streaming experience smooth.

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Google Drive will use the DASH protocol for streaming videos

If you are confused about what DASH is, it stands for Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. This will automatically adjust the bit rate of the video youre watching so that it can play better no matter how weak your connection is. Also, videos will start faster when you open them.

The introduction of DASH will make watching videos on Google Drive a much more streamlined experience. Google will enable DASH for new videos going forward. As for videos that already exist on the platform, itll be a while before you see DASH make it to them. Google plans to update existing videos on Drive by the end of the year. So, thats 10 months we will have to wait.

Simplified navigation

Finding different content types on Google Drive is about to change a bit for the mobile app. Normally, when you are searching for files using the search bar, you will see a horizontally scrolling carousel of chips right under the search bar. These chips would all be specific types of files like documents, PDFs, images and videos, Etc.

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Well, in a future update, Google will move all of those file types into a drop-down menu. So, when you are in the search section, you will see three drop-down menus where the chips used to be. There will be three drop-down menus. The first one is called Type, and it will show you all of the different document types. The second one is called People, and it will show you all of the contacts youve communicated with on Drive. The last drop-down menu is called Modified, and it will show you your most recently modified files.

Google is currently rolling these features out to Drive, so you should expect them within the coming weeks.
After Europe, Facebook News is shutting down in the US and Australia. Starting in April, the News tab will no longer be available in these markets. Meta says this change is part of its ongoing effort to better align its investments. The company plans to focus on products and services that its users value the most.

Facebook News is shutting down in the US and Australia

Facebook News is a dedicated section for news within Facebook. Launched in the US in October 2019, the social media behemoth paid publishers to show their news stories. It signed multi-million-dollar deals with major media houses to bring the latest news from all industries directly to the app. Things got off to a great start and Meta (still called Facebook back then) expanded news to other regions.

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It arrived in the UK in August 2020 before gradually making its way to other European countries, including France and Germany. Facebook News also arrived in Australia. However, the hype was short-lived, likely because very few people used Facebook as their primary source of news. As such, Meta decided to discontinue News. The section was pulled down in the aforementioned three European markets last December.

Now, Meta has announced that it will deprecate Facebook News in the US and Australia. The deprecation will begin in early April. The company will honor existing agreements with publishes until they expire. The section will slowly disappear from the app once all agreements expire. You can still see news and news links posted directly on the feed of a Facebook account, be it a publisher or an individual.

According to Meta, news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed. The company made the same statement last September when it announced the deprecation of Facebook News in the UK, France, and Germany. It appears the situation hasnt improved. The number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the US has dropped by over 80% last year, Meta said in its official press release.

Meta is done with news content and news-related products in these countries

With Facebook News shutting down, Metas experiment with news content and news-related products is coming to an end, at least in these five countries. It no longer plans to sign new commercial deals for traditional news content. The company will also no longer develop Facebook products specifically for news publishers. The social media giant says it will invest more in products and services that drive user engagement.
We are at the dawn of the AI phone era, and the first rays of sunlight are peeping through the window. Samsung made a big splash with Galaxy AI, but another notable tech brand wants to challenge it. Motorola just posted a teaser for the Moto X50 Ultra, its first AI phone. Weve been following rumors about a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-powered phone from Motorola, so this might be it.

At this point, we may as well admit that the AI phone is the phone of the future. Samsung unveiled Galaxy AI; however, other companies are also adding AI to their phones. Oppo is working on its AndesAI model, and Tecno recently announced that its working on adding powerful AI to its future phones. So, its evident that the AI phone will dominate the market.

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Motorola teases the Moto X50 Ultra, its first AI phone

Motorola is really big in the mid-range market, but it does have a few bombastic flagship phones. The Motorola Edge+ (2023) is a shining example of an amazing premium device. However, the company is looking forward

On the Chinese social media site Weibo, Motorola posted a teaser of the upcoming Moto x50 Ultra. We see a video of a Formula 1 racing car interlaced with flashing clips of the Motorola phone. The Formula 1 car is a reference to the Formula 1 season starting tomorrow.

In the video, we see a teaser of the actual device. Being a teaser, we are only presented with a silhouette of it. However, based on what we can see, it appears that the phone will have a rounded rectangular camera package situated on the top left of the backside. It looks like itll be pretty large. Also, it appears that this phone will have a leather or faux leather back panel.

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One important thing about this teaser is the fact that Motorola displays the text AI pretty prominently. This lets us know that Motorola plans to center its upcoming flagship phone around artificial intelligence. Right now, the potential for artificial intelligence on phones is still being tapped. However, what weve seen so far typically includes text translation, text generation, text summarization, and photo editing.

So, if the Moto x50 Ultra does have similar AI technology to what were seeing today, then we should expect those features and a few more. As for the AI model this phone will use, we are pretty certain that it will use Gemini Nano. However, thats just speculation.

Rumored specs

Details about this phone are scarce. So far, rumors point to this phone having a 4,500mAh battery with a whopping 125W wired charging and 50W wireless charging.
A report surfaced yesterday, claiming that the second Unpacked event of the year will take place in early July. July 10 was highlighted as the most probable date. Well, a new report just appeared, reconfirming the early July launch for the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, while it also adds the event location.

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 event location has seemingly been revealed, and the choice is interesting

This information comes from The Bell, a South Korean publication, and it has been relayed by Revegnus, a tipster. It is said that the second Unpacked event will take place in Paris, France.

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Now, the Summer Olympics are also taking place in Paris, starting on July 26. That was the date of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 launch last year. That is also a Wednesday, by the way, and Samsung tends to host Unpacked events on Wednesdays.

Yesterdays report did mention that the Summer Olympics are probably the reason why Samsung moved up its event. Now its even more clear why, as both events will be taking place in the same city.

The July 10 launch date fits, as thats most probably the final choice for Samsung

In any case, this report does mention that the event will take place in mid-July, 1-2 weeks earlier than last year. So, the July 10 date does fit, definitely. The report also says that we should not expect new form factors, such as double folding or sliding phones.

Its mentioned that both the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 will utilize Qualcomms AP. That is what everyone expected. It is also mentioned that TM Roh, the head of Samsung Mobile, is holding a negative perception of budget foldables.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 likely wont be the only devices to launch at the event. The Galaxy Ring will likely arrive too, the companys very first smart ring, whose design was revealed at MWC 2024.

We may see some additional products on top of these devices, like some new tablets, for example. More info will surface as we get closer to July.
Americans are no longer required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to remain home from work or school for five days following a positive COVID-19 test.

This modification aligns the COVID-19 guidance with other respiratory viruses like the flu and RSV.

The simplified guidance encourages people to stay home when sick and symptomatic, regardless of the virus causing the illness. They can then resume normal activities if their symptoms improve and they remain fever-free for at least 24 hours without medication.

According to The Hill, CDC officials said the change recognizes that the COVID-19 landscape has changed immensely since the start of the viral outbreak in 2020 when businesses and schools were ordered to close, and people stayed home.

It is still an important health threat. said the agency. But it is no longer the emergency it once was.

"Today's announcement reflects the progress we have made in protecting against severe illness from COVID-19," CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a statement. "However, we still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick."

A Decline In Health Scares

Weekly emergency department visits and hospital admissions for COVID-19 have been decreasing since late December, and they are down more than 75 percent from the peak of the initial Omicron wave in January 2022, The Hill reported.

Despite a weekly average of approximately 2,000 deaths attributed to the virus, the agency notes a significant decline of more than 90 percent from the Omicron peak. In 2022, COVID-19 contributed to over 245,000 deaths, marking a substantial increase from the approximately 76,000 deaths recorded the previous year.

Other public health experts and officials said the new guidelines make sense because the message is simple.

"What we've seen is that flu hospitalizations have exceeded COVID hospitalizations this winter. So I think it's really important that people stay home when they're sick and can leave when they get better, and not just think about positive or negative if they have COVID," said David Margolius, public health director for the city of Cleveland.

He said the widespread availability of effective vaccines and treatments as well as underlying population immunity from prior infections, will make the change easier.

"We've always been dependent on what people will choose to do, and I think we're lucky at this point, with widespread immunity from vaccines and prior protection, that we can simplify the guidance," Margolius said.
President Joe Biden talks with the U.S. Border Patrol and local officials, as he looks over the Southern border on Thursday in Brownsville. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas looks over the Southern border on Thursday in Brownsville along the Rio Grande, with the U.S. Border Patrol. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, adjutant general for the State of Texas, right, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursdayin Eagle Pass. Eric Gay/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gets members of the National Guard at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday. Eric Gay/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday in Eagle Pass. Eric Gay/Associated Press

The two-ring presidential circus performed along Texas border on Thursday, injecting cash into the local economy but adding little to the national debate over one of the years most consequential issues.

President Joe Biden met with local officials in Brownsville and blamed Republicans in Congress for blocking new border security spending for political advantage. He correctly stated the broken asylum system encourages desperate people to gamble their life savings for a chance to live in the United States.

If they get by the first day, theyve got another five, seven, eight years before they have to do anything because they know (the immigration courts) cannot handle the caseloads quickly, and theyll be able to stay in this country, Biden said.

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With the new policies in this bill and the addition of 4,300 additional asylum officers, well be able to reduce that process to less than six months, he added.

Former President Donald Trump paraded before U.S. flags and uniformed National Guard troops in Eagle Pass. He renewed themes popularized by the Ku Klux Klan a century ago, sowing fear of foreigners and painting his opponent as a friend of dark-skinned criminals.

Theyre coming from jails, and theyre coming from prisons, and theyre coming from mental institutions and theyre coming from insane asylums. And theyre terrorists. Theyre being let into our, our country, Trump said in a rambling, bigoted speech. Its not just South America. Its all over the world. The Congo, very big population coming in from jails from the Congo.

Immigration is the most critical problem facing the nation, Americans told a recent Gallup poll. The issue was top of mind for 57% of Republicans, 22% of independents and 10% of Democrats.

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A separate question in the survey finds a record-high 55% of U.S. adults, up eight points from last year, saying that large numbers of immigrants entering the United States illegally is a critical threat to U.S. vital interests, Gallup added.

Most voters believe Trump would do a better job on border security, while only 28% of Americans approve of Bidens immigration policies. Biden is in deep trouble, with only a 38% approval rating and a base already angry over his Middle East policies.

Anyone whos spent time along the border will tell you most Americans dont understand what goes on there. For example, asylum seekers are not invading the country; they turn themselves in as quickly as possible. Most of the $29 billion worth of drugs smuggled into the United States crosses at commercial entry points, which are the arterial roads keeping our economy going.

Migrants, documented or not, are critical for our workforce and society. I know people like to draw distinctions between documented and undocumented migrants, but both contribute more to the United States economy than they take. Most undocumented workers would happily pay a fine to get right with the government.

In Houston, immigrants make up almost a quarter of the population and 31% of the workforce, U.S. census data analyzed by the American Immigration Council, the Texas Association of Business and the Center for Houstons Future found. Immigrants in the Houston statistical area earned $66.5 billion and paid $11.1 billion in federal taxes.

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Houston is home to more than 572,000 undocumented migrants whose households earned $13 billion in 2021. Most have fake documents and paid $794.8 million in federal taxes and $595.6 million in state and local taxes, the U.S. Congressional Budget Office reported.

If Trump rounded these people up and deported them, as he promised, the construction, hospitality and hospital services would collapse.

Meanwhile, Biden must come up with a new approach to processing asylum seekers after Congress made it clear they will not help. But he must overcome opposition from within his party and federal courts.

Federal and international law requires the United States to grant asylum to anyone with a well-founded fear of persecution. However, establishing which claims meet that high standard under current policies can take years.

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Trumps speech on Thursday was craven but likely effective. Bidens blame-shifting onto Republicans in Congress is disingenuous and ineffective.
Eleven people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a converted terraced house in South Kensington.

Emergency services were called to reports of a fire at a five-storey building on Emperors Gate just after midnight on Friday.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said 11 people were treated on scene before being taken to London hospitals and major trauma centres.

London Fire Brigade said the injured were treated for smoke inhalation.

The service said 15 fire engines and about 100 firefighters attended the scene, where half of the ground floor of the building was alight.

Around 15 people left the building before firefighters arrived, with around 130 people in total evacuated from the property where the fire started and its neighbouring buildings.

The brigade said two people were rescued from a second floor flat, one person was rescued from a first floor flat and another two were rescued from a flat on the fourth floor.

Station Commander Steve Collins said: The fire has spread from the ground floor to the top floor and roof of the property.

Crews worked extremely hard to contain the (fire) to stop it spreading to adjacent buildings.

About 100 firefighters attended the blaze (James Manning/PA)

Road closures are in place and likely to remain well into the morning rush hour so motorists are advised to avoid the area. However, there is no impact on rail services and they will be running as normal.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said council staff are providing assistance at a nearby hotel where residents are being sheltered.

Deputy leader councillor Kim Taylor-Smith said in a statement: We are on the ground and providing support and accommodation to residents impacted.

I also want to thank the emergency services for the incredible job they have done in very challenging conditions, and to staff at the council who have sprung into action in the middle of the night.

Emergency services remain at the scene.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Another RTE board member has resigned amid continuing turmoil at the national broadcaster.

It has emerged Dr PJ Mathews, who has been an RTE board member for almost 10 years, is to step down just over one week since the resignation of board chairwoman Siun Ni Raghallaigh in the wake of much-criticised comments from the media minister.

Minister Catherine Martin refused to express confidence in Ms Ni Raghallaigh during a live television appearance on Thursday night, saying she had been misinformed about the chairwomans role in approving a controversial exit package for an RTE executive.

Ms Ni Raghallaigh resigned hours later, leaving the board without a chairperson at a critical time for RTE.

Ms Martin has been criticised for her handling of the situation with opposition TDs claiming she had effectively sacked the chair live on air.

Former RTE chairwoman Siun Ni Raghallaigh (Brian Lawless/PA)

She met remaining members of the board on Friday morning and gave an absolute commitment for a Government decision on sustainable funding for RTE before the summer.

The minister was also notified that Dr Mathews, who has been an RTE board member for almost 10 years, is to step down.

Ms Martin said her immediate focus was on appointing a new chair and additional board members very shortly.

In a statement, she said: This morning I held a positive and forward-looking meeting with the board of RTE.

I expressed my appreciation for the significant commitment which the board has demonstrated over what has been a very difficult eight months.

Media minister Catherine Martin (Brian Lawless/PA)

The board members updated me on the important work, at board level and throughout the organisation, on RTEs new strategy and the reforms which have been put in place.

I acknowledged the dedication and commitment which the former chair had shown in this regard. I also acknowledged the contribution of Dr PJ Mathews, who has notified me of his decision, for work-related reasons, to resign from the board.

She added: I also provided assurances of my absolute commitment to a Government decision on a new and sustainable funding model by the summer.

The board also characterised the morning meeting as positive.

A spokeswoman said: The board welcomed the open and constructive meeting, focused on the future of RTE and public service media.

The board brought the minister through the work currently under way on the new strategy for RTE and discussed the importance of continuing this work following the publication of the reports by the Government-appointed expert advisory committees.

Both the minister and the board paid tribute to the work of the former chair, Siun Ni Raghallaigh, and board member, Dr PJ Mathews, who is stepping down after almost 10 years on the board, due to work commitments.

The board looks forward to the appointment of a new chair and new board members.

Meanwhile, RTE appointed Mari Hurley as its new chief financial officer.

Ms Hurley, who will take up the role in late summer, said: Im delighted to be joining RTE and its leadership team at this critical time for the organisation and for the future of public service media in Ireland.

I look forward to working with the director-general, the RTE Board, its audit and risk committee and the finance team to develop RTEs financial strategy and to bring my experience of successfully leading and implementing change and transformation programmes to RTE, in line with the unique values and obligations of public service.

She was previously chief financial officer for AA Ireland, Lotto operator Premier Lotteries Ireland, Hostelworld Group plc and Sherry FitzGerald Group.

Ms Hurley, a UCC graduate who has completed an executive management programme at Harvard Business School, has also non-executive board experience in two of Irelands leading semi-state entities: NAMA and Ervia.

RTE director-general Kevin Bakhurst said: Mari is a highly experienced CFO with extensive experience in setting and driving the strategic direction of global businesses.

Maris broad corporate finance experience means she is skilled at embedding strong governance and controls in regulated businesses. Her proven deliveries in the development of systems for enhanced governance, control processes and provision of regular reporting, aligns strongly with RTEs renewed mission around transparency, accountability and good governance.

She joins recent appointments to RTEs leadership team, including Gavin Deans, commercial director, and Daniel Coady, director of legal.
The family of a man murdered after he started a relationship with a pathologically jealous domestic abusers ex-partner have said the young couple were failed by the police.

Marcus Osborne, 35, has been given a whole life order for murdering Katie Higton and her new boyfriend Steven Harnett in a ferocious and merciless knife attack.

Osborne said Romeo and Juliet can die together now after the double killing which left Ms Higton, 27, with 99 injuries and Mr Harnett, 25, with 24 wounds including mutilated genitals.

Leeds Crown Court heard that on May 10 last year  five days before the murders  Ms Higton went to Huddersfield police station to make a complaint about Osborne, and spoke to a member of police staff over the phone later that day. She was visited by an officer on May 11.

During phone calls to the police, Ms Higton said Osborne had told her that if she ever got a boyfriend, he would kill them both.

On May 12, Osborne was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence offences and bailed with conditions not to go back to their home, but went to the street to spy on her over the following days.

Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Mr Harnetts twin brother Jordan Harnett said: The police have failed Steven and Katie  a young couple who had their whole lives ahead of them.

Marcus Osborne was handed a whole life order (West Yorkshire Police/PA)

Now Im not saying Steven and Katie arent here anymore completely because of the failures of both West Yorkshire Police and a ludicrous system we have in place in protecting victims of domestic violence  there is still a monster at the other end of the knife.

This sorry, pathetic excuse of a man couldnt contain his jealousy and now her children must grow up without a mummy and my niece now must grow up without her dad.

The core duty of the police is to prevent crime, so how is a man with a history of domestic violence allowed to walk freely from a police station just a couple of days prior to him murdering my brother and his girlfriend.

Katie went to the police originally with the intent of making domestic violence allegations against Marcus. She was told to come back tomorrow to give a statement.

A woman plucking up the courage to speak out about her abuser should be heard there and then.

Katie Higton had been in a relationship with Osborne for five years (West Yorkshire Police/PA)

Detective Superintendent Alan Weekes of West Yorkshire Police said Osbornes release was to allow an investigation and a file of evidence to be built for consideration by the CPS, and that sadly, the measures that were put in place, including bail conditions, were not successful.

Asked by reporters why Osborne had been released on bail given his history of domestic violence, Mr Weekes said the case was being reviewed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and that it would be inappropriate to comment further.

The court heard Osborne lay in wait for Ms Higton and attacked her as soon as she came through the door of the house they once shared in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

He then used Ms Higtons phone to pretend to be her and send messages luring Mr Harnett to the house.

Osborne also raped another woman, who he had held captive in the house overnight, at knifepoint.

Osborne used Ms Higtons phone to pretend to be her and send messages luring Steven Harnett, pictured, to the house (West Yorkshire Police/PA)

The court heard four children were in the house during the murders, which happened in the early hours of May 15 last year.

Ms Higton had been in a relationship with Osborne for five years, but left him in early May after an assault on April 28 which was the last straw.

She later told police that the relationship had become coercive, controlling and physically abusive in the last two years and that she had been regularly assaulted, including one incident when he threw a cat at her, the court heard.

Osborne also has convictions for violent offences against two previous partners in 2011 and 2012, it was said.

A victim personal statement by Ms Higtons mother Nicola McAlister, read in court, said Osborne was a monster of the worst kind.

The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, said Ms Higtons murder was a merciless and sustained attack on a woman who was completely defenceless.

She said that during the attack, which started before (Ms Higton) even got through the front door, Osborne was heard saying: I warned you I was going to kill you  this is your fault this is happening.

The judge said the woman who was held captive in the house described Osborne washing himself between killings, laughing and jeering, later even inviting a neighbour into the living room to see the bodies as if you were proud of what you had done.

She imposed 10-year concurrent sentences for the rape and false imprisonment of the other woman in the house.

The judge told Osborne: There are no mitigating factors in your case other than your guilty plea. There is no psychiatric or other evidence placed before me to explain or help me understand your actions.

This is a case of such exceptional seriousness that even a very long minimum term would not be a just punishment. What you did that night was horrific.

A family member shouted I hope you rot in hell from the public gallery as Osborne was taken away.
George Galloway will return to Parliament after one of Britains most divisive politicians won the Rochdale by-election.

A firebrand orator and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, Mr Galloway has enjoyed support from some left-wing groups for his staunch support of Palestinian causes, but been accused of stoking division and using sexist, homophobic and antisemitic language by his opponents.

It was Palestine that formed the cornerstone of his campaign in Rochdale, where he became the favourite after Labour withdrew support from its own candidate over remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

And Palestine has been a major theme of Mr Galloways political career, one marked by ferocious opposition to British and American foreign policies, both in the Middle East and, more recently, in their support for Ukraine.

George Galloway proved a thorn in the side of the Labour leadership, but it was his opposition to the 2003 Iraq War that saw him expelled from the party (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

One of his first political campaigns as a youthful Labour Party activist was to press for his home town of Dundee to be twinned with Nablus on the Palestinian West Bank.

He first entered Parliament in 1987, winning Glasgow Hillhead from former home secretary and leading SDP figure Roy Jenkins.

But his relationship with Labour was not a happy one. As early as 1988, the executive committee of his constituency party passed a vote of no confidence in him, and he narrowly survived a selection contest in the next year.

He was widely criticised over a 1994 visit to Iraq when he was filmed apparently praising Saddam Hussein for his courage, strength and indefatigability  although he always insisted his comments were addressed to the Iraqi people.

His outspoken opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq finally brought his long-running feud with the Labour hierarchy to a head.

George Galloway won Bethnal Green and Bow from his old party in 2005 following his expulsion from Labour (Matthew Fearn/PA)

He was expelled from the party after accusing Tony Blair and George W Bush of acting like wolves and urging British troops to disobey their illegal orders.

He went on to found the Respect party, defeating Labour MP Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005, overturning a 10,000 majority with a campaign aimed at the East London constituencys Bangladeshi community.

He lost the seat in 2010, only to make an even more remarkable comeback two years later taking Bradford West from Labour in a by-election, after again targeting the seats largely Asian and Muslim communities.

He lost the seat again in 2015 after a campaign that saw him accused of sexism against Labours Naz Shah.

Away from Politics, George Galloway is probably best known for his appearance on Big Brother, where he impersonated a cat and pretended to lick milk from the hands of another contestant (Channel 4/PA)

Further bids for election came in the 2016 London mayoral contest, the 2017 and 2019 general elections, and the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election, a contest mired in claims of intimidation and homophobia.

Away from politics, he is perhaps best known for his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, when he impersonated a cat and pretended to lick milk from the hands of another housemate.

He was also interrogated by a US Senate committee in connection with claims he had profited improperly from trading in Iraqi oil, claims he denied in a fiery Senate hearing. He was later accused by the same committee of lying under oath, which he again denied.
The emotional parents of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have said holding a second funeral for their son was much harder than the first time.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, alongside Harrys twin brother Niall and their partners Bruce Charles and Tracey Dunn, attended a private service on Friday after remains were found on his clothing and returned to funeral directors last month.

Mrs Charles told the PA news agency the second funeral service had retraumatised the family, adding that the pain is extremely deep-rooted.

Harry Dunns mother Charlotte Charles and his twin brother Niall Dunn attending his second funeral on Friday (Jacob King/PA)

The Dunn family spent more than three years campaigning for US citizen Anne Sacoolas to face a UK court  a fight that saw the teenagers parents change laws and secure a meeting with former US president Donald Trump at the White House.

The 19-year-olds killer, described by her own lawyer as an employee of the US State Department, was flown out of the UK on the orders of her countrys government, after she collided with Mr Dunns motorbike while driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, in August 2019.

Diplomatic immunity was asserted on her behalf by Mr Trumps administration, and she was able to leave the country 19 days after the crash.

Sacoolas appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via video-link in December 2022, where she was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Northamptonshire Police said Harrys clothing, bike and helmet were removed from the crash site and as they were examined to repatriate them to the family, human remains were discovered on the clothing.

Det Chief Supt Emma James said she would be meeting the family in the coming days to ensure complete transparency.

Speaking after the service at Banbury Crematorium, Harrys father said he hoped it was the last time he would have to say goodbye to his son.

He told PA: It breaks you still every time when this comes.

You think youre moving forwards, moving on with your life, but you just cant do it  it just seems to kick you again and again.

Hopefully now Ive said my last goodbye to my son and we can move forward with this part of it  hopefully now he can be at peace, at rest.

Only my son could have two funerals.

Mrs Charles said the short 15-minute service they held for Harry had a picture of the large numbers of people who had attended his first funeral displayed on a screen.

She said: It was worse than last time I think  not numb this time, not in shock any more.

The pain is extremely deep-rooted, more than you could ever really comprehend, and you wouldnt want anyone to be able to comprehend.

Mrs Charles said the situation had retraumatised the family (Jacob King/PA)

Im weirdly glad weve had the opportunity to do it, because of the rumours that were flying round last time  that Anne Sacoolas had fled and we didnt know how to deal with that back on September 18 2019.

Im angry at whats happened, today.

But me being the person that I am, trying to find the positives, Im glad we had the opportunity today to do it our way and go and have our family time now, just the few of us, and remember him in the way we want to remember him without worrying about what people were saying to us that afternoon.

Little did we know four-and-a-half years ago we had all of what weve been through to come.

Today is very much about the fact weve ridden those storms and this is another terrific storm that were riding and well get the answers we need and well come out the other side.

Mr Dunn also said the second funeral was much harder than the first.

He said: It was much harder this time.

First time around we were just numb still from what we were going through at the time.

Harry was killed when Anne Sacoolass Volvo crashed into his motorbike while she was driving on the wrong side of the road in August 2019 (Family handout/PA)

After the realisation four-and-a-half years on, that was quite hard to go through that.

I dont know what else to say really, it just keeps giving this situation were in  we just never seem to get to the end of it.

Mrs Charles added: It retraumatises, without a doubt, of course it does.

Being back in a place like this  you never think youre going to come here twice for the same loved one  so when its your son I dont think it can be any worse.

So yes, it retraumatises but were glad of the knowledge weve got since the first time and its made us stronger as a family, stronger in ourselves as people and theres nothing now we can be faced with that we cant come out the other side of.

Every hurdle we get given, everything we stumble across and everything we seemingly keep finding out that can be beyond your wildest thoughts  its phased me at the moment but it wont phase us in the long run.

The big screen had a photograph of the trail of motorbikes, so that was of paramount importance to us, to know that the biking family were also with us today, even though some of them may not know it was important for us to have the biking family up there on screen just to know that they are still there.

But today otherwise was very much, personally, just for us.
Troopers in the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment assembled in the Parade Square at Hyde Park Barracks to take part in an annual event to find the best turned out soldier and horse.

The Princess Elizabeth Cup dates back to 1949 when the then-Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, proposed the idea for the Richmond Horse Show. It crowns the best turned out trooper from the two most senior regiments in the British Army.

The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, locked in a rivalry stretching back to the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660, each put forward six challengers to compete for eight places at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May.

The top eight finishers were selected on Friday. The Life Guards will be represented by Troopers Joe Jessop, Kieran Jones, Vittorio Vettraino and Watts-Fleming, while The Blues and Royals will be represented by Troopers Seth Adams, Dandie, Ethan Jeffrey and Siobhan Mottram.

Two members of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals pose together (Victoria Jones/PA)

The eight troopers will meet the King and form His Majestys Retinue on the Kings Birthday Parade in June, and the regiment of the winning trooper will receive all-important bragging rights for a year.

In the six weeks of preparation for Fridays event, every part of the horse and harness and the troopers uniform must be meticulously scrubbed clean and polished.

More than 200 hours is spent shining the ceremonial jackboots alone, using a minimum of 2kg of beeswax melted by blowtorch.

Trooper Vittorio Vettraino, 23, from Glasgow, trained as a third officer in the Merchant Navy before making the jump to land.

After dismounting from the Life Guards One Troops primary charger, MWH Lancelot, he said: The most challenging part was putting it all together. Its all fun making it shiny, laying it all out, but until you put it together, you have to rely on other experienced people and it can be heartbreaking if you get a crack.

Members of the Life Guards prepare their horse (Victoria Jones/PA)

The troopers work was assessed by 12 judges, including three generals, German defence attache Brigadier Torsten Gersdorf, the Chief Officer of the Army Benevolent Fund, Tim Hyams, and experts from across defence.

Judges gave a score of one to five points for 37 specifications, from the cheek pieces to the saddle flaps, while a further 15 points were available for overall impression.

Last year, Trooper Amy Brooke of the Life Guards broke the Blues and Royals winning streak.

It was daunting to begin with, she said of her campaign, but it teaches discipline and attention to detail. You strive to be the best.

In a briefing before the inspection, Trooper Brooke reminded judges of key battlegrounds in turnout: The jackboots and the nose band  those will be the two places where people will put in the most effort. Jackboots are an iconic symbol of the Household Cavalry.

Members of the Blues and Royals and the Life Guards are judged (Victoria Jones/PA)

Reflecting on the drizzle during Fridays inspection, Trooper Vettraino said: You get scared because a lot of people will juice their boots. Its like a floor cleaner that makes the boots very shiny and it reacts to the rain. It makes them blue.

Naturally, everyone today juices at the last minute and you think, Oh my lord, Im going to have blue boots, Im going to look like a Smurf when I come on.

Warrant Officer Class One Regimental Corporal Major Dan Snoxell said the competition is integral to a troopers development and stoking healthy rivalry between the two regiments.

This is where they will learn about themselves, about time management and pushing themselves, he said, adding: It keeps the rivalry going, Life Guards versus Blues.

You have got to work as a team. You have to trust your team members, the people that youre working with, to put your kit together properly.

It takes a whole troop to prepare a competitor, especially on the morning of the event when the horse is rubbed down with warm water, its white parts chalked and hooves manicured and varnished, while the harness and troopers uniform are made spotless before being shrouded by a white cloak for protection.

Troopers pose for a group photograph after the judging (Victoria Jones/PA)

Tipped as a favourite to win by observers on the day was Trooper Ethan Jeffery, 25, from Ashford, Kent, who rode MWH Montgomery  named after the famous field marshal.

Montgomery was the first horse Trooper Jeffery rode in the Blues and Royals, and together they earned the accolade of cleanliest pairing which gave them the prestigious place of No 1 Box at Horse Guards for the coronation of the King.

Trooper Seth Adams, 24, of One Troop, the Blues and Royals, was looking to go a step further than his father who came second in the cup in the 1980s

A third generation cavalryman from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, whose grandfather served in the Second World War, Trooper Adams rode MWH Northumberland, who won the cup in 2022.

The Life Guards, in red tunics with white plumes, and the Blues and Royals, in dark blue tunics with red plumes, take it in turns to perform guard duty at the official entrance to the Royal Palaces in Horse Guards Parade.
Scotlands First Minister and the Justice Secretary will meet the mother of murder victim Emma Caldwell next week, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

It follows the conviction of Iain Packer who was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years on Wednesday after being found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering the 27-year-old in 2005.

He was also convicted of 11 rapes and 21 further charges including sexual assaults and abduction, involving multiple women, over 26 years.

Scotlands Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: Our thoughts are with Margaret Caldwell and Emmas friends for their tragic loss, and to the many victims in this horrendous case.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar with Margaret Caldwell and other family members outside the High Court in Glasgow (Andrew Milligan/PA)

For Margaret Caldwell and the other victims in this case, justice has taken far too long.

As the First Minister has very clearly stated, we are giving serious consideration and are open to a judge-led public inquiry.

He was also clear that he wants to hear directly from Margaret Caldwell before we take any decision and the First Minister and I will meet with her next week.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar, who has represented Emma Caldwells mother Margaret Caldwell since 2016, said his client is looking forward to meeting with Humza Yousaf and Ms Constance next week.

Mr Anwar said he will meet with Mr Yousaf and Ms Constance to reiterate calls for a judge-led public inquiry.

The solicitor said the failures to investigate Miss Caldwells murder was the worst scandal to ever hit our justice system.

Emma Caldwells mother Margaret wants a public inquiry (Andrew Milligan/PA)

He told the PA news agency: We welcome the First Minister agreeing to meet with Emmas mother Margaret, Emmas brother Jamie and myself next week.

As Margaret said after the verdict, the police have apologised after nearly 19 years, but that is not good enough.

In that time six of the 25 victims died never to see justice.

How many more do we not know of?

For Emmas family, nothing less than a fully independent public inquiry will suffice  this is the worst scandal to ever hit our justice system and the police or Crown Office cannot be allowed to investigate itself, escape scrutiny or accountability.

Mrs Caldwell looks forward to meeting with Mr Yousaf and says that if he genuinely cares about the victims then he has no other option but to organise a judge-led public inquiry that acts without fear or favour  that is the very least her Emma and the many women who spoke up deserve, for far too long those in the police or Crown who failed them remained in the shadows.

For Margaret, only a public inquiry can reveal the corruption, the criminality and the motivation.

Accountability, that is what the police and the Crown always fear, and they cannot be allowed to dictate the terms as they have done for over 18 years.

Police Scotland has apologised to the family of Miss Caldwell and Iain Packers other victims, admitting they were let down by policing.

Ms Constance added: The outcome of this trial is the result of a thorough and complex reinvestigation of the case by Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, but it is absolutely right that Police Scotland has recognised and apologised for the failures of the original investigation.

While I do think this means that many lessons have been learned by Police Scotland, at the time there is no doubt that women were failed.

More widely, we need to eradicate the abhorrent violence against women and girls that is still prevalent, and all of our institutions need to continue to play a part in this journey.

The only way we can fully protect women and girls and end violence is through fundamental societal change  a change in the actions and behaviour of those who perpetrate violence and abuse and to address and root out the causes of that violence, including toxic masculinity and gender inequality, that leads to violence, harassment, misogyny and abuse against women.

Margaret Caldwell will meet with Humza Yousaf and Angela Constance next week (Jane Barlow/PA)

Solicitor Aamer Anwar, who has represented Mrs Caldwell since 2016, called for a judge-led public inquiry by someone independent of Police Scotland and the Crown Office.

In a statement sent to the media on Thursday, Mr Anwar said the family will accept nothing less than the truth, transparency and accountability.

He added: This is not simply a case of the police just saying sorry in the belief they can move on as it was all about 2005  the reality is that for over a decade the police engaged in a concerted cover-up, followed by Police Scotland carrying out unlawful spying on Sunday Mail journalists and police officers who had identified Iain Packer as the murderer.

In that whole period the Crown ordered no further investigation into the killer or the police  it must beg the question why? What were they trying to hide?

The scale of the crimes and the failures are so catastrophic and vast that nothing less than a robust judicial public inquiry will suffice  (Margaret Caldwell) welcomes the comments of the First Minister but for her, time is of the essence.

Neither the Police nor Crown Office, nor anyone connected to the police, can be allowed or trusted to investigate themselves and their former bosses.

Mrs Caldwell would welcome any move to select an independent judge from elsewhere in the UK to conduct the statutory pubic inquiry.

Earlier in the week, Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection, Bex Smith, said: Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.

A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police.

Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.

It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emmas murder following the initial inquiry in 2005.

The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.
The Atlas statue dates back to the fifth century BC. Photograph: Giuseppe Greco

A colossal statue of Atlas that lay buried for centuries among ancient ruins has been reconstructed to take its rightful place among the Greek temples of Agrigento in Sicily, after a 20-year research and restoration project.

The statue, standing at 8 metres (26ft) tall and dating back to the fifth century BC, was one of nearly 38 that adorned the Temple of Zeus, considered the largest Doric temple ever built despite never being completed.

The Atlas will become one of the highlights of the Valley of the Temples, said Francesco Paolo Scarpinato, a cultural heritage assessor, in a joint statement with the Sicilian governor, Renato Schifani. We can finally introduce this imposing work to the international community.

The statues were discovered in 1812 by Charles R Cockerell, a young British architect who was visiting Agrigento to study the ruins of the ancient city of Akragas, founded in about 582BC. Cockerell was one of the first people to realise that a massive piece of sandstone near the old Temple of Zeus was not a part of the sanctuarys pediment but instead the head of a statue of Atlas.

In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan or god, who was forced to bear the sky on his shoulders after being defeated by Zeus, one of the next generation of gods called Olympians.

Cockerell later identified other pieces of the statues. According to archaeologists, the Atlases were located on the outer part of the Temple of Zeus, frozen in the act of supporting the temple and helping to sustain the entire entablature of the sanctuary, which was never completed because it was still lacking a roof when Akragas was conquered by the Carthaginians.

Over time the temple was toppled by earthquakes and in the 18th century it was quarried to provide building materials for Agrigento and Porto Empedocle.

The statue was reconstructed by taking blocks of sandstone and stacking each piece on shelves attached to a metal structure.

In 1920, the archaeologist Pirro Marconi unearthed various artefacts that led to the reconstruction of the first Atlas, which is preserved inside the Archaeological Museum of Agrigento.

In 2004, the Valley of the Temples park launched an extensive research campaign led by the German Archaeological Institute of Rome and overseen by Heinz-Jurgen Beste. This study, apart from providing new insights into the monument, led to the meticulous cataloguing of 90 more fragments belonging to at least eight different Atlases and the decision to assemble a new Atlas, piece by piece, and place it upright in front of the Temple of Zeus.

Roberto Sciarratta, the director of the Valley of the Temples park, said: The idea was to reposition one of these Atlases in front of the temple so that it may serve as a guardian of the structure dedicated to the father of the gods.

The Valley of the Temples is now a Unesco world heritage site and the largest archaeological park in the world, covering 1,600 hectares (3,950 acres) and featuring the ruins of seven temples, city walls, an entry gate, an agora, a Roman forum, as well as necropoli and sanctuaries.

The nearby city-state of Akragas was one of the leading population centres in the region during the golden age of ancient Greece.

Built on a high ridge over a span of 100 years, the seven temples remain among the most magnificent examples of Greek architecture. In the fifth century, more than 100,000 people lived there. According to the philosopher Empedocles, they would party as if theyll die tomorrow, and build as if they will live for ever.

The city was destroyed in 406BC by the Carthaginians, and its prosperity did not return until the rise of Timoleon in the late third century BC. During the Punic wars, the Carthaginians defended the settlement against the Romans, who seized control of the city in 210BC.

During the Roman era, the city  renamed Agrigentum (subsequently known as Girgenti)  underwent a period of monumental urban redevelopment with new public buildings, including at least two temples.

The statue stands over what remains of the temple itself  a broad stone platform, heaped with tumbled pillars and blocks of stone.

The work we have carried out on the Atlas and the Olympian area is part of our mission to protect and enhance the Valley of the Temples, said Sciarratta. Bringing these stone colossi back to light has always been one of our primary objectives.
Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

This pair of trousers from The White Company are loved by shoppers for their comfort. (The White Company / Yahoo Life UK)

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A wide leg pair of trousers is a failsafe option to have at your disposal. They can be dressed up or down, worn to work events and out to dinner, or even for travel.

With plenty of glowing reviews, especially related to their comfort, fit and versatility, we're certain they'll stand the test of time for years to come.

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Available in sizes four to 18, this pull-on pair of trousers come in black and navy, so will easily pair with many items you already own.

A great wardrobe staple, they're made from super soft double jersey with a wide-leg, cropped design and pleats in the front and back for added shape.

This wide leg pair need little ironing and are super soft. (The White Company)

They come designed with a flattering pleat at the front and back. (The White Company)

You can shop them in two versatile colours: black and navy. (The White Company)

The perfect pull-on pair of trousers, they feature a cropped leg  great for spring. (The White Company)

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Made from a soft, premium double jersey and said to have an "excellent fit", they're not the cheapest of trousers at 69 a pair, but no doubt make up the investment in versatility and wear.

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Vicky McClure will talk about dementia care on an episode of Crimewatch Live on BBC One.

The Line Of Duty actress, 40, has long campaigned for awareness and help for the condition that causes issues with memory loss, movement and speech.

McClure, who founded Nottinghamshire charity Our Dementia Choir  which uses music as a form of therapy  will discuss her new dementia care partnership with Nottingham Police in the studio.

She has helped promote the Herbert Protocol, a form which carers and families can use to alert police in advance of a person with dementia going missing.

McClure began the choir after her late grandmother Iris was diagnosed with Alzheimers and found comfort in music and has looked at issues surrounding the care system in a BBC documentary about the ensemble.

Crimewatch is returning on Monday with presenters Rav Wilding and Michelle Ackerley to BBC One.

Cases being tackled in the latest series included a police investigation into the impersonation by a man who took thousands from his own father by posing as his recently deceased mother and lorry driver David Smith being convicted of the murder of Sarah Crump, 30 years on from the crime.

Smith was jailed for more than 25 years in May 2023.

Crimewatch presenter Michelle Ackerley (BBC Studios/Glyn Rainer)

Other stories tackled include a drug gang who dressed as police to steal from rivals, cocaine dealers laundering through multiple cryptocurrency accounts and a man being jailed for nine years in 2022 for a rape committed more than 30 years ago.

Ackerley said she was really looking forward to the new season.

Each year we work closely with police forces, helping to crack down on crime by broadcasting appeals from across the UK, she added.

Having the opportunity to go behind the scenes with some of the UKs most respected emergency service teams is a real privilege.

Once again, we need the viewers help in order to solve important cases.

Crimewatch runs regular appeals for information and audiences can contact the show by calling 08000 468 999, with the phone lines remaining open until 12.45pm on the morning of the programme.

The series returns to BBC One at 10.45am on March 4 and McClure will appear on Crimewatch Live on March 5.
The Ying Yang Twins performing on stage at The Big E in West Springfield, Mass., Sept. 25, 2021. Vertical Horizon / Contributed photo

Bun B's All-American Takeover at RodeoHouston is shaping up to be quite the nostalgia trip.

Crunk duo the Ying Yang Twins is the latest act to be added to the lineup. Bun B made the announcement Thursday night on "The Isiah Factor" on Fox 26 Houston.

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The Ying Yang Twins rose to popularity in the early aughts (the decade from 2000 to 2009) with the singles "Salt Shaker" and "Whistle While You Twurk." They also collaborated with Lil Jon on "Get Low," Bubba Sparxxx on "Ms. New Booty" and were featured on Britney Spears' "In the Zone" album.

Bun B collaborated with the Ying Yang Twins on the single "Git It" from his solo debut album "Trill." The duo released the single "God's Calling Me" this year.

Bun B's All-American Takeover will feature Nelly, E-40, Too Short, Rick Ross and, as announced exclusively to the Chronicle, That Mexican OT. The show is March 12 at NRG Stadium.

"Everybody should be really ready because when we get to the last names on this list, if you ain't got your ticket, it's going to be a wrap at that point," Bun said.

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A cannabis abuser who claimed he stabbed his girlfriend and three of her family members as a sacrifice has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 46 years for their murders.

Joshua Jacques, 29, was fuelled by drugs and alcohol when he attacked Samantha Drummonds and her family with a knife in their home in Delaford Road, Bermondsey, south London, early on April 25 2022, the Old Bailey heard.

Police found the bodies of Ms Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hills partner, Denton Burke, 58, after being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour.

Dolent Hill, 64, and Denton Burke, 58, were killed on April 25 2022 (Met Police/PA)

Officers found Mr Burkes body at the foot of the stairs and the three women heaped together in the kitchen.

Mr Justice Bryan said Jacques had committed the horrific catalogue of murders after abusing skunk cannabis.

Addressing Jacques in the dock, Mr Justice Bryan said he had inflicted the murders in the most brutal of circumstances on three generations of the same family after increasing his daily intake of skunk cannabis.

He said that Jacques offending had been contributed to by cannabis abuse, and that he was well aware of the impact of it on his mental health.

He added: It is a salutary lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug.

It is, and its deleterious effect on mental health and its potential to cause psychosis is well established.

The court heard that Jacques took 3g of skunk cannabis a day and refused to consider cutting down, saying he would carry on smoking marijuana even if it killed him.

Jacques appeared emotionless as he was sentenced.

A cry of murderer could be heard from the public gallery as he was sent down.

Samantha Drummonds, 27, was stabbed to death (Metropolitan Police/PA)

At the scene, armed officers discovered Jacques naked and lying in the upstairs bathroom in a praying position, screaming Allah, take me!, Kill me now, Get rid of me, and God please forgive me.

Later, at Lewisham Hospital, Jacques said: I aint even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice, and also warned: I will do something stupid again.

Paul Raudnitz KC, mitigating for Jacques at the sentencing hearing, said the attack was not pre-meditated.

He also read out an apology from his client to the victims families  the first time that Jacques has expressed remorse for his actions.

I would like to say to the family of the deceased, I am truly and sincerely sorry for all of the anguish, pain and heartache I have caused, Jacques wrote.

Tracey-Ann Henry (right)  the aunt of Samantha Drummonds, sister of Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and daughter of Dolet Hill  gave a victim impact statement (PA)

He added: I have discussed it with myself and I cannot believe that I am the cause of this monstrosity.

In a victim impact statement, Tracey-Ann Henry, the daughter of Ms Hill and the sister of Ms Ofori-Akuffo, said her mother had only just beaten cancer before she was murdered.

She said her mother had her last radiotherapy session the day before she was stabbed to death.

Ms Henry, who is the aunt of Ms Drummonds, said: How could someone kill four people in one night?

It is like something from a horror movie.

Danny Ofori-Akuffo, the husband of Tanysha, said in his impact statement that he had cried like a child following the incident.

I am a proud man and I have cried like a child in front of so many people, he said.

He described his horror at having to identify his wifes body.

I remember wailing out in pain, he said.

My heart had shattered into pieces.

Jacques admitted manslaughter but denied murder on the basis that he was mentally unwell at the time.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for two hours to find Jacques, from Minard Road, Lewisham, south-east London, guilty of four counts of murder.
An MP is calling on Police Scotland to provide urgent clarification on why officers took days to launch a murder investigation following the death of a man.

Brian Low, 65, was found dead beside his dog on a path the outskirts of Aberfeldy, in Perthshire on Saturday February 17.

But a murder investigation was not launched until Friday February 23, after a post-mortem examination confirmed that Mr Low, from Aberfeldy, had been shot.

Police Scotland has already said that officers initially treated his death as medical or non-suspicious.

Brian Lows body was found on a rural path near Aberfeldy (Andrew Milligan/PA)

But Detective Chief Inspector Martin Macdougall said `while criminality was only established on February 23, there were concerns around the injury which were raised two days earlier.

Speaking on Thursday, the police said the initial assessment was that of a non-suspicious and medical death but it had now been established to be a murder.

He stated: The professional standards department of Police Scotland will be informed and given any further information.

However, with the public not informed that Mr Low had been shot until Tuesday February 27, Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart said locals had contacted him with concerns about how the shocking incident had been handled.

He has written to Police Scotland in a bid to discover why their murder investigation was not launched sooner.

The SNP MP said: A number of my constituents have contacted me about the tragic shooting of Brian Low, and the various concerns they have about how this has been handled.

In light of this shocking incident, the local community in Aberfeldy are now understandably fearful for their safety, and, more than anything, Brian Lows family are still without answers.

I have therefore written to Police Scotland, calling for urgent clarification on what is known to have happened thus far, and why the investigation was not launched sooner.

He added: Going forward, it is vital that Police Scotland ensure full transparency as this situation develops.

Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
The Prince of Wales has joined primary school children to celebrate St Davids Day.

Pupils at Ysgol yr Holl Saint, or All Saints School, in Gresford, Wrexham, North Wales, performed folk songs and dances for William when he visited on Friday, the feast day for the Welsh patron saint.

William wore the national flower, a daffodil, pinned to his suit for the visit and many of the children donned traditional costumes to mark the day.

He commented on the outfit of four-year-old Esme Dale, who wore a collar-sized daffodil around her neck, telling her: I like your daffodil, thats amazing.

William commented on the daffodil accessory worn by four-year-old Esme Dale (Ben Birchall/PA)

The prince donned an apron to have a go at stirring a mix for bara brith  a Welsh tea bread  and was presented with a loaf to take home.

As he left, after posing for a group photo with the school, students gave him three Welsh dragon toys to pass on to his children George, Charlotte and Louis.

He said: The children will like these when I come home with these guys.

Accepting a bouquet of flowers, he added: Ill pass those on to Catherine.

William was presented with flowers and toy dragons to give to his family (Ben Birchall/PA)

The princess is recovering from an abdominal operation.

James Douglas, 11, who gave two of the toy dragons to the prince, said: It was very good because we knew that he was the Prince of Wales and we knew it was St Davids Day so it was kind of a coincidence that he came today and it was really, really fun.

Mason Trueman, also 11, said the visit was really special.

He added: He was really nice and kind and it was really nice to meet him.

William spent time chatting to the pupils during his visit (Ben Birchall/PA)

While at the school, William heard from pupils who had made it through to the UK finals of the Formula 1 in Schools competition.

Speaking to 11-year-olds Layla Conlin and Harlow Taylor about the car they had designed for the contest, he said: It is very important we get more girls into engineering. Crucial. This is a great way to do it.

He also met pupils who had been working on projects linked to the Gresford mining disaster in 1934, when an explosion and fire at the villages colliery killed 266 men.

After hearing from the children, William said: That was a very good run-through of what happened and a very good history lesson for me, as well.
Political maverick George Galloway swept to victory in the Rochdale by-election, winning almost 40% of the vote in a contest mired in controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.

Labour said Mr Galloway only won because Labour did not stand after it disowned its candidate Azhar Ali for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas October 7 attacks.

Mr Galloway, a former Labour MP who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, gave a flavour of the pressure he plans to pile on Labour in his victory speech, telling Sir Keir Starmer he will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe in Gaza.

He also declared a shifting of the tectonic plates away from Sir Keirs party.

Here, the PA news agency examines how significant his triumph in the greater Manchester contest really is.

George Galloway is a divisive figure known for his fiery rhetoric (James Speakman/PA)

 Who is George Galloway?

A veteran political agitator, Mr Galloway has enjoyed support from some left-wing groups for his staunch support of Palestinian causes, but been accused of stoking division and using sexist, homophobic and antisemitic language by his opponents.

First being elected as a Labour MP in 1987 and expelled from the party in 2003 over his outspoken opposition to the Iraq war, he has since been a thorn in his old partys side.

He made remarkable comebacks as a Respect Party MP, unseating Labour in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005 and in Bradford West in 2012.

Never straying far from controversy, he was ridiculed for his impersonation of a cat on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.

Palestine has been a major theme of his political career and formed the cornerstone of his campaign in Rochdale, which also featured personal attacks on Labour leader Sir Keir.

 What happened in Rochdale?

Mr Galloway managed to capitalise on the strength of feeling on the Gaza war among the seats many Muslim voters.

The 69-year-old Scot became the firm favourite for the contest when Labours campaign was thrown into disarray by a leaked recording of Mr Alis inflammatory remarks about Israel, which led to the party withdrawing its support for him.

Labour withdrew support for its candidate Azhar Ali after he made inflammatory remarks about Israel (Peter Byrne/PA)

After a chaotic and divisive campaign, Mr Galloway ended up storming to victory.

His majority of 5,697 votes amounted to 18.3% of the total, on a turnout of 39.7%.

Surprise runner-up David Tully, a political newcomer, secured more than 6,600 votes, followed by Conservative Paul Ellison with 3,731.

Mr Ali, who remained listed as the Labour candidate as the partys decision to drop him came too late for ballot papers to be changed, netted only 2,402 votes, followed by the Lib Dem and Reform candidates.

 What does this mean for Labour?

The result was embarrassing for the Labour Party, which had been expected to win the by-election triggered by the death of veteran Labour MP Tony Lloyd, before the fiasco surrounding Mr Ali.

Pollster Sir John Curtice described the collapse of the Labour vote by over 40% as the biggest drop in Labour support in a post-war by election.

Sir Keirs party on Friday apologised to the people of Rochdale for not fielding a candidate.

It said Mr Galloway only won because Labour did not stand and that it was now focused on selecting a new Labour candidate for the general election.

But the debacle surrounding the dumping of its candidate in a previously safe seat and Mr Galloways ultimate win will be deeply uncomfortable for Labour, with questions around the speed of its selection process.

 But does this mean Labour is in trouble at the general election?

Probably not. Even though Mr Galloway declared his triumph marked a shifting of the tectonic plates away from Sir Keirs party, commentators believe it is unlikely Workers Party of Britain candidates will remove other Labour MPs at a national vote.

Polling guru Sir John noted Rochdale was a unique contest contested by a candidate with a unique ability to appeal to the Muslim population in a town that also has a past record of voting on local issues.

Savanta pollster Chris Hopkins said: I dont think Keir Starmer will be losing any sleep over this result

Of course, if George Galloway can all of a sudden manufacture 20-30 clones to stand in the seats with the highest Muslim populations, and generate adequate resources to run a general election campaign, then maybe he can pose Labour a serious threat.

But realistically, Galloway is a bit of a maverick, a one-off, and has taken huge advantage of a non-campaign from the established parties in Rochdale.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has faced divisions within his ranks over his position on Gaza (Dan Kitwood/PA)

 Does this spell trouble for Labour over its stance on Gaza?

The campaign highlighted divisions within Sir Keirs party on the Middle East conflict, which Mr Galloway sought to capitalise on by calling it a referendum on Gaza and using it to stage a protest against his former party.

He is set to use his return to Parliament to continue piling pressure on the Labour leadership.

Left-wing pressure group Momentum said Sir Keirs failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need left the door open for George Galloway and that he should stand up for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

But Labours deputy national campaign co-ordinator Ellie Reeves suggested Labour would not change its position on the Israel-Hamas war  calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire with some caveats  in the wake of Rochdale.

Labour has warned Mr Galloway will stoke fear and division, which comes against a backdrop of already heightened tensions that have led Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to argue that the UK is descending into mob rule.

 What are the wider political implications of Rochdale?

Looking at other parties, Mr Sunaks Tories performed poorly, with polling expert Sir John telling BBC Breakfast: The Conservative vote down by 19 points  its the biggest drop in the Conservative vote in a Labour-held seat in a by-election in this parliament.

There is no sign here of the electoral gloom that hangs over the Conservative Party is in any way dissipated by Sir Keir Starmers difficulties.

The Conservatives may at least be relived that Reform did badly too, following relatively strong showings in last months Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections that gave the Tories the jitters.

(PA Graphics)

The Reform candidate, former Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, who was barred from standing for Labour in 2017 after he admitted sending inappropriate messages to a 17-year-old girl, secured a little more than 6% of the vote.

More widely, commentators have suggested that there are no significant lessons to be drawn from the result.

Keiran Pedley, director of politics at Ipsos, tweeted: The reason its hard to find a read across for Galloways win in Rochdale to national politics is because there isnt one.

Savantas Mr Hopkins said the by-election result should be taken with a truckload of salt.

The immediate what does this result mean? questions are inevitable, but in my view the answer is: very little.

This by-election was bizarre beyond recognition; of the established parties, Labour and the Greens effectively disowned their candidates, the Liberal Democrats had their own local campaign controversy, the Reform candidate was a disgraced former Labour MP, and the Conservative candidate took a holiday midway through the campaign.

All of these factors have contributed, to some extent, to Galloway winning and an inexperienced independent coming second.
The relationship between local authorities and the Scottish Government has broken down, one council leader has said, after he issued a funding plea to the UK Government.

Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe wrote to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove this week, urging him to come to the aid of Scotlands local authorities.

The approach, which was echoed by West Dunbartonshire Council, pressed for an urgent intervention from Mr Gove to secure extra cash.

The council leader defended the letter on BBC Radio Scotland on Friday, saying: Weve got a United Kingdom Conservative Government, we deal with them all the time over lots of things.

The reality is the relationship between the Scottish Government and local government has broken down, so we are perfectly entitled to go to the UK Government.

On Thursday, Scottish council umbrella body Cosla joined with local government associations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, sending a letter to Jeremy Hunt urging him to provide sufficient investment to local government.

On Thursday, Mr McCabes council defied the Scottish Government, voting to increase council tax by 8.2% this year and 6% next year.

The plan, he said, would not be universally popular, adding: But we did consult the local population before we took a decision and, in terms of responses we received, 66% of our respondents said they would be prepared to pay up to a 9% council tax rise to protect jobs and services.

Asked if the increase could be afforded, Mr McCabe said the impact would be nominal.

Most of our population live in the lower band of properties, 46% of the population lives in band A, their council tax will go up by 1.50 a week, he said.

The average increase of all those who will pay council tax will be 1.99 a week. I dont think that is an unreasonable amount to pay extra to protect jobs and services.

The Scottish Government and the UK Government have both been contacted for comment.
Scotland has become a stagnation nation under the SNP, with the future of the country now on the line in this years general election, the Torys deputy leader at Holyrood has warned.

Meghan Gallacher said that after 17 years of the SNP has left Scotland in a rut.

Addressing her partys conference, she insisted it was only the Tories who can beat the SNP and take Scotland forward.

With an election almost certain to take place this year, Ms Gallacher warned: The future of Scotland is on the line.

Right across Scotland, people are sick and tired of SNP incompetence and neglect. The Scottish Conservatives are working hard to deliver our alternative vision to deliver on your real priorities and take Scotland forward.@MGallacherMSP #SCC24 pic.twitter.com/2Iec1aic9m  Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) March 1, 2024

Under the SNP, we are a stagnation nation.

Attacking the SNP-led Government over its record, she claimed the education system resulted in children leaving primary school not being able to read and write while saying businesses now face a struggle to keep their doors open because the SNP have made Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.

She went on to complain that issues with healthcare meant Scots faced a struggle to get a face-to-face appointment with their GP, while claiming that in the justice system the perpetrator of a crime is favoured over the victim.

Ms Gallacher insisted: The fact is, the SNP has no idea how to fix these problems  they have simply run out of ideas.

The Tories, she said, were offering something different to voters on key issues such as education, justice, the economy, and health.

She went on attack the Greens, who are in government with the SNP at Holyrood, with Ms Gallacher suggesting if they are allowed to remain in government our present will be a misery and the next generation of Scots will be pushed all the wrong values.

With the Greens in Government, the Tory said: In our schools, children will be force-fed gender ideology and asked intrusive questions about sex and relationships, when kids should just be left to be kids.

And aspiration and hard work will be taxed to the point where its just not worth anything anymore.

Ms Gallacher said: This is not a future I want for my daughter.

And the Scottish Conservatives will fight tooth and nail to stop dangerous green ideologies from entering our schools and workplaces.

She went on to challenge First Minister Humza Yousaf to call time on the powersharing deal, saying: The Bute House Agreement, the nationalist coalition between the Greens and the SNP, needs ripped up.

The Greens need to be sent back to the extreme fringes of our politics where they belong.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to be drawn on offering more money to councils at the urging of local authority leaders.

On Thursday, local authority bodies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland wrote to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt urging him to provide sufficient investment to local government.

All four bodies warned public services could suffer without extra cash.

The Prime Minister spoke to journalists at the Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen amid tensions between authorities and the Scottish Government over funding settlements.

Asked if next weeks Spring Budget could see the UK Government step in, the Prime Minister said: The UK Government is already providing the Scottish Government with a record block grant  41 billion.

The last two fiscal events did see an extra two-and-a-half billion pounds or so as well.

Scottish ministers, he said, were accountable for how theyre choosing to spend that money when it comes to councils.

Asked if his answer meant there would be no funding announced for councils that would filter through to the devolved administrations, the Prime Minister repeated the amount of funding the Scottish Government received this year from Westminster, adding that they were investing directly in local communities.

The question is, really, why are the SNP Government choosing to make the decisions they are and not able to prioritise the things that matter to people, he said.

Thats what happens when youre focused on the wrong priorities  if youre obsessively focused with independence and not on public services like the NHS, like schools, like cutting crime, people are going to see the result of those decisions.

First Minister Humza Yousaf announced a council tax freeze in his first leadership speech to the SNP conference without consulting local authority leaders.

Argyll and Bute Council and Inverclyde Council representatives have voted to increase the levy regardless of the Governments stance  although Inverclyde has since offered to freeze its rates in exchange for a recurring increase in funding.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: As outlined by the Deputy First Minister, the UK Governments autumn statement was the worst-case scenario for Scotlands finances.

The Scottish Governments block grant has fallen by 1.2% in real terms since 2022-23 and its capital funding is being slashed by almost 10% in real terms between 2023-24 and 2027-28.

The spring Budget is a vital opportunity for the UK Government to change course  investment in public services must be the priority.

Final confirmation of the consequentials resulting from additional funding for local government in England would also be welcome and enable the Scottish Government to provide greater certainty to councils on the commitments ministers have made to them.
Rishi Sunak has insisted his Rwanda deportation scheme is a worthwhile investment despite the public spending watchdog disclosing the cost of the policy could soar to half a billion pounds.

In a revelation branded a national scandal by Labour, the National Audit Office (NAO) said the plan could cost taxpayers nearly 2 million for each of the first 300 asylum seekers sent to the east African nation.

The Home Office had so far refused to say how much more money, on top of the 290 million already confirmed, the UK has agreed to pay Kigali under the stalled plan but a NAO report uncovered millions more in spending including 11,000 for each migrants plane ticket.

The Prime Minister on Friday defended his flagship asylum scheme, which is central to his pledge to stop migrants crossing the Channel in small boats.

Speaking during a visit to Scotland, Mr Sunak told reporters: The current situation is unsustainable and unfair. Taxpayers are already forking out millions of pounds a day to house illegal migrants in hotels across the country, thats not right. Thats why I made stopping the boats one of my priorities.

Im pleased that weve made progress, last year the numbers were down by a third.

He continued: In order to fully resolve this issue we need to have a deterrent. We need to be able to say if you come here illegally, you wont be able to stay, we can remove you to a safe country.

If you come to the UK illegally you will be stopped from making late claims and attempts to frustrate your removal. You will be removed in weeks, either to your own country if it is safe to do so, or to a safe third country like Rwanda. pic.twitter.com/8NFaa4DbwT  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 7, 2023

Thats why the Rwanda scheme is so important. Its a worthwhile investment and Im determined to see it through.

No asylum seeker who has arrived in the UK via unauthorised means has been removed to Rwanda under the policy because of the legal challenges that resulted in the Supreme Court finding the scheme unlawful.

Even if no one is deported in the future, Mr Sunak has already agreed to pay 370 million over the five-year deal.

Asked whether Mr Sunak believed it was a good idea to commit millions to Rwanda without a guarantee that any migrants will be sent there, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister is committed to getting flights off the ground and ensuring that the Rwanda partnership gets up and running.

Echoing the Home Office response to the NAO report, the spokeswoman said: The cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach 11 billion per year by 2026. And the Home Office is now spending 8 million a day on hotels. So doing nothing carries significant costs, exceeding the amount provided to Rwanda.

Among the NAOs key findings were:

 The Home Office will pay 370 million to the Rwandan government, plus a further 20,000 for every migrant and 120 million once 300 people have been relocated.

 The UK will hand Kigali nearly 151,000 per person over five years to cover asylum processing and integration costs. If a migrant leaves Rwanda, Kigali gets 10,000. Rwanda has already received a down payment of 20 million.

 The Home Office will also incur direct costs of 28 million in establishing the agreement by the end of March. Future costs will include 11,000 in flight costs per deportee, and 12.6 million in training staff over the next year.

Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Diana Johnson said: These are staggering figures. For all its rhetoric about ensuring value for money in the asylum and immigration system it is unclear how schemes such as Rwanda or Bibby Stockholm achieve that.

Huge initial outlay and ongoing costs raise serious questions about how this can be cost effective, even compared to high hotel accommodation costs.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the costs of the failed Rwanda farce were even higher than previously thought (Maja Smiejkowska/PA)

What we are left with is a very expensive programme the Government hopes may offer a deterrent to those seeking to cross the Channel in small boats. Yet, there is little evidence for this either

This also does little to allay the serious concerns about the lack of openness on the cost implications of the Rwanda scheme from the Home Office. For a scheme whose importance is apparently self-evident, we would expect the evidence base to be far clearer, not presented in dribs and drabs and getting worse every time.

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: This report reveals the national scandal the Tories have been trying to hide. Its shocking analysis shows the costs of the failed Rwanda farce are even higher than previously thought.

In order to send less than 1% of UK asylum seekers to Rwanda on a few symbolic flights, the taxpayer will be forced to fork out over half a billion pounds  with no ability to recover any of the money already sent. This is the equivalent of nearly 2 million per person sent.

Rishi Sunak has staked his position on this scheme. He must account for this fiasco.

Mr Sunak is trying to revive the policy and prevent further legal challenges by passing legislation deeming Rwanda a safe country and ratifying a new treaty with Kigali. The Rwanda Bill is making its way through a House of Lords that is hostile to the scheme.

The Home Office conceded that bad weather contributed to the 64% drop in the number of Channel crossings between October and December 2023, compared to the previous year (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

So far this year, 2,255 migrants have arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel, provisional Home Office figures to the end of last month show.

The combined total for January and February is down 24% on the number that made the journey over the same period last year, but up 52% on arrivals recorded in the first two months of 2022, PA news agency analysis suggests.

It comes after the Home Office conceded in documents published on Thursday that bad weather did contribute to the 64% drop in the number of Channel crossings between October and December 2023, compared to the previous year.

This may partly have been due to poorer weather conditions, among other factors, the department said in a report.

Earlier this year, Home Secretary James Cleverly  who has set himself a target of meeting Mr Sunaks stop the boats pledge by the end of 2024  insisted the weather was not a contributory factor to last years falling number of migrant crossings, instead putting the decrease down to the Governments efforts to stop the boats.

But the Immigration Services Union, which represents border staff, described the drop in numbers as a potential glitch, with higher numbers of Channel crossings expected this year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak used a Friday evening address to warn that democracy is being targeted by extremists.

Mr Sunak said there are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.

Speaking at a lectern outside the doors of No 10 Downing Street, Mr Sunak warned about the current situation in Britain, in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.

And he said the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election was beyond alarming.

In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality, he said in a hastily arranged address to the nation.

What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

Jewish children, fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Long-standing parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

And its beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.

In his victory speech, newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway announced that his win was for Gaza following a feisty campaign dominated by the conflict.

Asked by Sky News for his view on the Prime Ministers speech, Mr Galloway said the address was a political statement from a leader in the fag end of his premiership and made in the aftermath of his Conservative Party being crushed in the by-election.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak opted to give his address about extremism in Downing Street (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Mr Sunak, in a message aimed at those taking part in pro-Palestine protests, urged people to reject extremist messages.

The Tory Party leader said: I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: dont let the extremists hijack your marches.

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree, we will never be disunited.

Further local demos are planned for this weekend before another national march, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, takes place in central London on Saturday March 9.

The Prime Minister said a line has to be drawn so that while people should be able to march and protest with passion in support of Gaza, demonstrators cannot call for violent jihad, justify the actions of Palestinian militant group Hamas  a proscribed group in the UK, which bans any show of support  or call for the eradication of a state or any kind of hatred or antisemitism.

George Galloway said his victory in Rochdale was for Gaza (Peter Byrne/PA)

He confirmed he has met senior police chiefs to tell them the public expected the pro-Palestine protests to be policed rather than simply managed.

I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action, he said.

He said those instructions to police would be backed up by further action from the Government.

What he called a new robust framework would be introduced to ensure we are dealing with the root cause of this problem, the Prime Minister said.

Mr Sunak said ministers would redouble their support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities stop extremist activity on campus and act to prevent people from entering the country whose aim is to undermine its values.

He also said Home Secretary James Cleverly has instructed that those in the UK on visas who choose to spew hate will have their right to be in the country removed.

You cannot be part of our civil life if your agenda is to tear it down, he warned.

The Prime Minister had a message for those continuing to take part in pro-Palestine protests (Lucy North/PA)

The Prime Minister spent most of Friday in Scotland, giving a speech to the Scottish Conservative conference in the afternoon.

Shortly after the Conservative leader had finished taking questions from party members in Aberdeen, No 10 confirmed he would be travelling immediately to London.

His decision to focus on division in Britain was condemned by critics who accused the Prime Minister and other senior Tory figures of having helped sow the seeds of division for years.

Former deputy Tory chairman Lee Anderson was stripped of the party whip last weekend after he accused Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London, of being controlled by Islamists, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman regularly branded protests in favour of a ceasefire in the Middle East as hate marches.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who urged Mr Sunak to call a general election, said: The British people will take no lessons from a Prime Minister and Conservative Party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.

This is the same Prime Minister who made Suella Braverman his Home Secretary and Lee Anderson his partys deputy chairman.

Lee Anderson was suspended by the Tories this week for comments about London mayor Sadiq Khan (Victoria Jones/PA)

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, appeared to back Mr Sunaks intervention.

In a statement, he said: The Prime Minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.

Citizens have a right to go about their business without intimidation and elected representatives should be able to do their jobs and cast their votes without fear or favour.

Organisers of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations this week vowed to continue protesting at least until a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war is reached.

They also defended using the from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free chant, a slogan some critics claim calls for the eradication of the state of Israel.

Further casualties this week in Gaza, which has come under a constant barrage of Israeli attacks in the past five months, saw the Palestinian death toll pass 30,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
One person was killed and two other people were injured when a gunman opened fire inside a dental office in El Cajon, California, on Thursday afternoon.

The suspect, identified as Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was taken into custody late Thursday local time by San Diego police, El Cajon Police Capt. Rob Ransweiler said.

Police responded to a 911 call at the office on North Magnolia Avenue at 4:15 p.m. local time and performed "lifesaving support" for the three victims.

The deceased victim is male. The coroners office will publicly identify him, police said.

Ransweiler said at a news briefing Thursday evening that officers found the victim who died inside the office during the shooting and took him outside, where it was safer to perform lifesaving measures.

armed police response (NBC San Diego)

The two injured victims  a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s  were taken to area hospitals, where they were stable, Ransweiler said.

The father of the woman who was wounded told Telemundo San Diego that is she is 27 years old, and that she was shot in the legs.

Police declined to say whether they believe the shooting was targeted and whether they believe the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, knew the victims.

The shooting unfolded in the dental office, and everyone involved was inside the office, Ransweiler said, adding that other people were inside when the shooting occurred. No other injuries in the building were reported.

Police said a camera system used throughout the city identified the suspect's vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup. They said they then confirmed the suspect had rented the truck.

The truck was later found, and Abdulkareem was taken into custody near where the vehicle was located, Ransweiler said.

FBI San Diego and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.

El Cajon is a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego.
Sonia Garcia is a trending food reporter for the Houston Chronicle. She can be reached at sonia.garcia@houstonchronicle.com.

A Rio Grande Valley native, she previously was an editor and writer for the Austin digital news startup Austonia after graduating from Texas State University. She enjoys trying new restaurants in Houston, where she lives with her 14-year-old Chihuahua.
We have received compensation to create this article, and receive commission from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

It may seem like everyone on the internet has a super stylish home these days, but can we let you in on a little secret? It's actually super affordable  and ridiculously easy!  to make your home look a lot more expensive than it really is.

Of course, there are labor-intensive design hacks that'll make your space look extra luxurious  like color drenching" a room in the same shade from top to bottom, adding bold wallpapers or attaching decorative crown molding to your ceilings  but these solutions aren't necessarily accessible to everyone. They can require a lot of time, effort and money, three extremely precious commodities in today's economy.

Instead, adding elegant yet budget-friendly pieces throughout your home is an easy and low-effort way to make your interiors look more lavish. Our advice? Look for brands that exude the aesthetic youre going after. For example, Kelly Clarksons Home collection is perfect for simple French country vibes, or decorate your dinner party table with Spode crockery to inspire visions of a summery Italian getaway.

And of course, who better than Wayfair when it comes to affordable furniture and home decor? Below are 10 of our editor-approved Wayfair finds that will easily upgrade any space. They're all under $100, but look like they cost you way more. (Don't worry though, your secret's safe with us.)

1. Centerpiece-worthy brass candlestick holders

2. A throw blanket in a bold complementary color

Wayfair Dakota Fields Crafton Cotton Throw A bold punch of color is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to show that youre not afraid to go big in your home decor. This one is made of 100% cotton and has a subtle herringbone look woven throughout in monochrome shades of olive and green. The tassels add a touch of texture without being overpowering. Drape it over your reading nook armchair or keep it in your home office for when you feel chilly. $21 at Wayfair

3. Minimalist patterned sheets

Wayfair Longshore Tides Green Walfried Microfiber Sheet Set, Queen Most of us have boring solid sheets. Adding a pattern to your bed can change the way you think about mixing and matching prints and patterns in your home  which is an important skill to master to nail a space that looks elegant and refined rather than gauche and messy. Try mixing bold, complementary colors for punchy contrasts, or lean into the monochrome trend with mismatched shades of the same color. You might be pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to tie patterns together. $29 at Wayfair

4. A vintage-meets-contemporary ceiling pendant

Wayfair Kelly Clarkson Home Somers Antique Copper Shaded Pendant Updating your ceiling lights is probably one of the single best ways to take your space from drab to luxurious. This antique schoolhouse-inspired ribbed glass pendant from the Kelly Clarkson Home line is understated without being boring. The copper accents alongside the frosted glass feel both vintage and modern at the same time. The ribbed texture scatters light giving cozy spaces like living rooms and dining rooms a soft and relaxed glow. Pair it with a ceiling medallion for a classic and elegant update to your ceilings. $78 at Wayfair

5. A cheval mirror for a farmhouse or cottage aesthetic

Wayfair Charlton Home Gumbert Oval Oak Floor Mirror Depending on your design aesthetic, you might opt for a modern and sleek metal-framed mirror. But if youre leaning towards a rustic, farmhouse look in your home, this oak wooden floor-standing mirror is a truly spectacular steal for under $70. Its bobbin detailing, curved feet and traditional cheval tilting design make it a lush addition to a bedroom, walk-in closet or even a spacious entryway. Keep in mind that it has an unfinished back, so youll want to keep it angled in a way that only showcases the front. $68 at Wayfair

6. A well-made vase from a beloved English brand

Wayfair Spode Blue Italian Table Vase English ceramic brand Spode has been making fine potteries and homewares since its founding in 1770, so its safe to say the company is an authority on British style. This oversized porcelain vase from the Blue Italian collection has been part of their signature lineup for more than 200 years  its timeless colorway and scenic pattern have stood the test of time. The piece makes a great gift or treat yourself. Pull it out on special occasions or display it front and center on a mantle with a fresh bouquet. $70 at Wayfair

7. A rustic bench that can double as an ottoman

Wayfair Kelly Clarkson Home Virginia Tufted Bench Every home needs a bench  or two. Theyre versatile and useful pieces of furniture that can find a spot in nearly every room of your house. This one features a neutral linen-inspired fabric thats durable and easy to clean with simple tufted detailing. The limewashed wooden legs make it look rustic, but the carved detailing elevates it to something more sophisticated and special. Use it in the entryway for putting shoes on or place it at the foot of your bed to hold decorative pillows at night. You could even use it as a footstool or coffee table in a smaller living area! $99 at Wayfair

8. A patterned  but minimalist!  rug to add visual interest

Wayfair Wade Logan Ayuna Machine Woven Ivory Rug, 5' x 7' If you dont have much pattern going on in your room, step it up with this neutral and modern area rug. The fluid design adds texture and focuses the eye on the center of your space, without overpowering it with too many prints and colors. Plus, its made of a kid- and pet-friendly material thats low maintenance and easy to clean. $75 at Wayfair

9. Faux plants, for those with a brown thumb

Wayfair Sand & Stable 71" Faux Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree As much as a plant can be trendy, fiddle leaf fig trees are trendy. These large-leafed beauties draw your eye to them and add volume and color to whatever corner of the room theyre tucked away in. If you dont have a green thumb  or simply dont want to deal with the hassle of caring for a fully grown fig plant  this faux option is a convincing alternative. Place it in a stylish pot or even a woven seagrass basket, and top the faux soil with a little bit of real soil to make the illusion even more realistic. $90 at Wayfair

10. Nicer frames to replace the cheap plastic ones you've used for years
A civil employee serving an eviction notice and a police officer who responded to a call for help were killed Thursday in Independence, Missouri, authorities said.

The shooting happened at a home in the area of Elsea Smith and Bundschu Road, the Independence Police Department said on Facebook.

Police Chief Adam Dustman called the fallen officer, Cody Allen, 35, a hero.

He did exactly what the men and women of law enforcement are called to do day in and day out. And I could not be more proud of him and his service to this community, Dustman said at an afternoon news conference.

Allen had been back with the department for about two years, Dustman said, after having left law enforcement for other work.

But Allen realized "he missed it," Dustman said, and returned to a calling that was ingrained in him.

The civil process server who was killed worked for the 16th Circuit Court of Jackson County. Authorities identified him as Drexel Mack.

Mack called 911 for help, authorities said.

Two other Independence police officers were wounded but are expected to make full recoveries, Dustman said.

A male suspect was in custody, authorities said.

16th Circuit Court Judge Jalilah Otto said Mack, who was in his early 40s, had more than a dozen years of experience and was "simply doing his job  serving eviction papers."

Otto called the civil process server "a true public servant."

She said Mack was engaged to be married and had adult children.

Otto said authorities were looking into what kind of eviction notice was being served, adding there are many types, including for rent or delinquent taxes.

A call came across the radio about an officer down at 1:09 p.m. local time, the police spokesperson said.

State Highway Patrol Cpl. Justin Ewing said Thursday at a separate media briefing that more than one process server was at the home when one was fatally wounded. That's when Independence police were called to assist, which led to additional gunfire.

Kansas City, Missouri, Police Capt. Jake Becchina said his department's tactical unit had surrounded the home to keep neighbors safe. No one with the unit had made it inside the home where the eviction notice was being served, and it was unknown late Thursday afternoon whether anyone else was in there, Becchina said.

Chief Dustman lauded his department, noting officers went toward danger to the civil process server and officers who were wounded.

He said his department was shattered by the loss.

"We are a broken family," Dustman said. "But as any other family, we will surround each other and lift each other up."
Five relatives  including three siblings  were killed in a car wreck, according to South Carolina officials.

They were killed in a head-on crash with a tractor-trailer hauling cars on Interstate 26 at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger told McClatchy News in an email.

The tractor-trailer and another vehicle crashed into each other on the interstate, causing the semi to veer out of control and cross the median, Clevenger said. The car hauler then collided with a 2004 Honda Accord, which had the five relatives inside, he said.

The coroners office identified them as 35-year-old Ashia Michelle Ballenger, 14-year-old Ashton Isaiah Olley, 11-year-old Jaicurious Treyvon Gist and 8-year-old Jalecia Andrea Gist. The fifth person has been presumptively identified as 57-year-old Leroy Covington, according to the coroners office. DNA results to confirm Covingtons identity are still pending, Clevenger said.

Ashton, Jaicurious and Jalecia were siblings, Clevenger said. Ballenger was their aunt and Covington was their grandfather, he said.

The childrens older sibling, Alexis Olley, had just seen Jalecia and Ballenger the day of the car crash. The loss of the five family members is heartbreaking, Olley wrote on Facebook.

Never knew Saturday would be the last goodbye or last I love you man this is so hurtful, Olley wrote.

The loss of the three siblings also devastated the local community, Spartanburg County School District Six wrote on Facebook on Feb. 28. They were each a special part of the schools they attended and will be remembered for their vibrant personalities and the joy they brought to our classrooms, the district said.

Ashton, Jaicurious, and Jalecia were all loving students with infectious smiles, the district wrote.

Their deaths are an unimaginable loss for those who knew them, the school system said.

The tremendous loss of the children, their grandfather and their aunt was unexpected for the rest of the family, according to a GoFundMe. Now, the family is planning funeral arrangements to honor them, according to the GoFundMe.

Our family was not prepared for this horrific tragedy, the GoFundMe said.

Spartanburg County is about 90 miles northwest of Columbia.

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President Biden and former President Trump made dueling trips to the southern border on Thursday that had them in simultaneous meetings with local officials followed by back-to-back remarks.

The split-screen moment with Biden and Trump in locations hours apart offered the most glaring preview of how they will handle the hot-button issue of immigration and compete over other matters in 2024.

Biden visited Brownsville, Texas, where he met with Border Patrol agents and chastised congressional Republicans who fell in line behind Trump to oppose a bipartisan border security deal, which was later scrapped from a larger aid bill.

Trump, meanwhile, was joined in Eagle Pass by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and local law enforcement.

Here are five takeaways from the dueling trips.

2024 election preview

Thursdays competing visits served as a preview of the general election campaign that will occupy the next eight months, with Biden and Trump on track to square off in November.

Fox News showed a literal split screen at one point of Biden chatting with Border Patrol agents while Trump received a briefing from the governor and local law enforcement.

For Trump, the visit to the border was on more comfortable terrain. Cracking down on immigration has been part of his agenda and speeches since he ran for the White House in 2016. He made multiple trips to the border during his time in office, and polling has shown voters trust him more than Biden on the issue of immigration and border security.

For Biden, it was a chance to try and flip the script on a political liability. The president visited the border last year, but immigration is shaping up to be a significant election year issue, and Democrats believe he is better off confronting it head-on than ignoring it.

We hope this is just the beginning of many more visits to our region, not only in this presidency, but in the next, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) said.

Blame game

Both Trump and Biden accused the other of being responsible for the state of the southern border, where there have been record levels of apprehensions in recent months and a backlog of court cases for those waiting for hearings.

For Trump and his allies, the surge in migration and a spate of recent high-profile crimes involving migrants were a sign of Bidens failed policies.

This is a Joe Biden invasion. This is a Biden invasion, Trump said, claiming the U.S. was being overrun by Biden migrant crime. He specifically pointed to the death of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia student who was killed last week. Police charged a Venezuelan migrant in the case.

Brandon Judd, the president of the Border Patrol union, said Bidens policies continue to invite people to come across the border.

Biden, meanwhile, bemoaned that Trump had discouraged Republicans from backing a bipartisan border security bill that had the support of the Border Patrol union, the Chamber of Commerce and The Wall Street Journal editorial board. Congressional Republicans fell in line behind Trump to tank the legislation.

The truth is, Donald Trump doesnt want to secure the border. He prefers chaos and cruelty because hes betting it helps him politically, Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. Last time he was in office, kids were held in cages, families were ripped apart, and violent crime skyrocketed. Its a bad bet  one that he will pay for at the ballot box this November.

But Biden did strike a different and more conciliatory tone at one point as he looked for a path forward.

I understand my predecessors in Eagle Pass today, the president said. So heres what I would say to Mr. Trump: Instead of playing politics with the issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together.

Eagle Pass vs. Brownsville

Trump chose to travel to Eagle Pass with Abbott to highlight an area experiencing an influx of migrants that has been the epicenter of issues between state officials and the Biden administration.

The border crossing in Eagle Pass has led to state troopers filing the area, as well as long lines of migrants, buses, razor wire and a lack of U.S. Border Patrol agents.

Texas officials blocked Border Patrol out of parts of Eagle Pass and took control of a riverfront park earlier this year. The Texas National Guard prevented private citizens, city officials and Border Patrol officers from entering the park.

Abbott accused Biden of visiting a sanitized location that did not give the president a clear picture of the situation.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas explained the decision for the president to travel to Brownsville on Thursday, saying the location provides a very good glimpse of how dynamic and challenging the migration phenomenon is.

He said in April and May of 2023, approximately 30 percent of all border crossings were in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes Brownsville. He said now those numbers have been reduced, which he attributed to enhanced law enforcement in Mexico.

Mayorkas added that because Biden spoke to the Mexican president, Mexico has renewed their enforcement efforts.

Impeached Mayorkas joins Biden

Mayorkas traveled from Washington, D.C., to Texas with Biden on Thursday, just two weeks after he was impeached by the House over GOP opposition to his handling of the border.

He flew on Air Force One with the president, spoke to reporters and stood by Bidens side throughout the visit and during his remarks.

Though Congress has not yet provided the resources we need, [the Department of Homeland Security] will continue to enforce the law and work to secure our border, Mayorkas said in Brownsville.

The House impeached Mayorkas on Feb. 13 in a narrow 214-213 vote after their first effort failed. It was the first impeachment of a Cabinet official since the 1870s. After that, the White House insisted Mayorkas would go forward with business as usual and that the impeachment wouldnt impact his work.

The Senate is now eying an impeachment trial after Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Whip John Thune (S.D.), the top GOP leaders, earlier this week called for the upper chamber to conduct a full trial, but one has not yet been put on the Senate calendar.

No executive actions announced

Biden didnt use his visit to Texas to make an announcement about a unilateral move to curb the influx of migrants at the border.

Biden had been wrestling with whether to take executive action on how asylum claims are handled at the southern border, a move that would take some of the blame off of him for the situation. But, reporting that Biden is considering that option already angered progressives, and such executive action would likely be hit with legal challenges.

During his visit, he steered clear of any policy announcements and instead pushed House Republicans to take up the Senate-negotiated and White House-endorsed bipartisan border deal.

Mayorkas suggested on the way to Texas that Biden wouldnt be announcing any unilateral new actions while in the state.

There will not be any executive actions announced today, Mayorkas told reporters. The legislation is what we need; it is the enduring solution. Actions taken outside of legislation are often met with litigation challenges in court.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Courts decision this week to hear arguments over Donald Trumps claims for immunity from prosecution is fanning fears that the former president wont go to trial before the November presidential election and could escape accountability for his efforts to overturn his loss in the last one.

The 6-3 conservative high court could have simply declined Trumps request for a hearing, letting stand a prior unanimous D.C. appeals court decision that flatly rejected his argument that everything he did related to Jan. 6, 2021 he did as an official act as president.

Instead, the justices agreed to take up the case and set oral arguments for April 22  a two-month delay that will prevent Trumps trial from starting in May, as had been previously scheduled. How long the court takes to reach a verdict after that hearing and whether it decides it needs to hear more information from the appeals court could delay the start of Trumps trial even further.

The delays in the case are starting to add up, unnerving Trump critics who fear that if his federal prosecutions stretch past Novembers election and he manages to win another White House term, he could order the Department of Justice to put them on hold or simply dismiss them.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called the case a ginormous self-test for the Supreme Court, invoking its controversial Bush v. Gore decision that ensured George W. Bushs victory in the 2000 presidential election over then-Vice President Al Gore.

If they quickly rule 9-0 that there is not the kind of presidential immunity that Trump asserts, then it will be all to the good, Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told HuffPost. If not, then it stands to be Bush v Gore 2.0 with them inserting themselves into a presidential race.

Delaying the January 6 trial suppresses critical evidence that Americans deserve to hear, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) wrote Friday on X, formerly Twitter. Donald Trump attempted to overturn an election and seize power. Our justice system must be able to bring him to trial before the next election. SCOTUS should decide this case promptly.

The hope of a trial in the Jan 6 case before the election is fading fast. Very fast, former U.S. attorney and CNN commentator Preet Bharara added.

Of course, the Supreme Court may move more quickly than expected. A ruling affirming the appeals court decision in May, for example, would allow jury selection for Trumps trial in D.C. to begin sometime in the fall. Its not clear, however, that a trial would conclude before the Nov. 5 presidential election or even January 2025, when the winner of the 2024 presidential election is due to be sworn in.

Former Donald Trump speaks during a rally on Jan. 6, 2021. via Associated Press

The justices also have yet to rule in a separate case seeking to take Trump off the ballot in the state of Colorado due to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The oral arguments over that question, which the court is very likely to reject, took place nearly a month ago.

By not expediting this case, the MAGA Supreme Court once again proves theyre not there to defend the lawtheyre there to protect Trump, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote Friday of the Jan. 6 election subversion case.

The Court has sped up trials when it wantsbut not in this case, he added.

Trump appointed three justices to the court: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Comey Barrett. Two other justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are also reliable conservative votes who have ruled in his favor in past cases. Thomas has rejected calls to recuse himself in the Jan. 6 case  even though his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Republicans are counting on the court to side with Trump and make the whole thing go away.

This is an abuse of power and a persecution of President Trump, and I very much hope the Supreme Court puts a stop to it, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said during a NewsNation interview this week.

Trump is charged with conspiring to defraud the United States; obstructing an official proceeding; conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiring to deprive millions of Americans the right to have their votes counted. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.

Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Thursday proposed a July 8 trial start date in a separate federal criminal case over former President Trumps handling of classified documents. But the former presidents attorneys argued that a fair trial cannot be held until after the 2024 Presidential election is concluded.

However, the DOJ said Friday that Trumps criminal trials could take place near the election and that they would not be in violation of a rule that prevents the department from engaging in activities that could influence an election 60 days before it takes place.

The government told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed judge who is presiding over his classified documents case in Florida, that the rule doesnt apply to cases that have already been brought.

Arthur Delaney contributed reporting.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article referred to Preet Bharara as a former New York district attorney. He is a former U.S. attorney.

Related...
The Justice Department is resisting subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee for the testimony of four government attorneys involved in the criminal investigation of Hunter Biden, in the latest impeachment probe showdown between the Biden administration and congressional Republicans.

In a letter to Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, obtained by NBC News, the DOJs assistant attorney general for congressional affairs said the subpoenas, which have not previously been reported, were neither justified nor constitutional.

The targets of the subpoenas are not named in the DOJ letter, but people familiar with the matter said that they are Matthew Graves, U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.; Lesley Wolf, a former Delaware federal prosecutor who was involved in the Hunter Biden investigation; and two line attorneys in the DOJs tax division.

The subpoenas are part of the House impeachment investigation into President Joe Biden, which included an examination of whether he abuse[d] his power as President to impede, obstruct, or otherwise hinder investigations (including Congressional investigations) or the prosecution of Hunter Biden.

Russell Dye, a House Judiciary Committee spokesman, called the DOJs arguments about the relevance of the witnesses to the impeachment inquiry patently ridiculous.

The Committee has uncovered substantial irregularities in the investigation and prosecution of the Presidents son, he said in an email. DOJs position is that because interviews with certain witnesses(havent) uncovered any evidence to directly implicate the President, the Committees investigation of the matter should end, and no more witnesses should be interviewed.

Dye added that the two line tax attorneys were directly involved in irregularities that are under scrutiny. They could provide explanations for the irregularities that would be exculpatory. Or they could give testimony regarding political causes for those irregularities that would be inculpatory.

Jim Jordan in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images file )

Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte, the DOJ's head of congressional affairs, wrote that the agency has taken extraordinary steps to assist the committee in its investigation, including allowing the special counsel, David Weiss, to testify.

Graves and Wolf have also already testified in front of Congress about the Hunter Biden investigation. People familiar with the matter said that the DOJ is most concerned about trying to protect the line tax attorneys, who are career public servants, from partisan attacks. Executive branch agencies are typically reluctant to subject mid-level bureaucrats to a congressional grilling.

None of the four individuals the Committee now seeks to depose has responsibility for the Departments responses to congressional inquiries, including on this matter, the letter said. Put simply, there is a mismatch between the information demanded and the asserted purpose and scope of the Committees investigation, including as described in the impeachment resolution.

The letter also pushed back against claims by Republicans that the Hunter Biden investigation was tainted by political influence.

It said Weiss closed door testimony showed that he had authority to determine where, when, and whether to bring charges, and was never blocked from bringing charges or taking any investigative steps by the U.S. Attorneys for the District of Columbia or the Central District of California, whose approval or partnership he did not require to pursue charges in districts outside of Delaware.

Nor was Weiss ever blocked from bringing charges or taking any investigative step by the Tax Division, the letter said, adding, David Weiss first requested to be appointed Special Counsel in August 2023. He never requested, nor was he denied, Special Counsel status before then. When he requested Special Counsel status, he was promptly appointed.

After Weiss testified, Jordan said his story doesnt stack up.

The DOJ letter does not explicitly say the agency will not comply with the subpoenas. It asks committee to send written questions and grant extra time to respond.

We also request that the Committee defer any attempts to enforce the subpoenas, which at the very least would be premature," the letter concludes, adding that a demand that the attorneys testify without DOJ lawyers in the room advising them means the subpoenas lack legal effect and cannot constitutionally be enforced.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends the closing arguments in the Trump Organization civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., January 11, 2024.

Donald Trump was in court in Florida on Friday, as a judge hinted she could delay his criminal trial for alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Originally scheduled to start in May, the trial has been held up by a legal battle over what evidence Mr Trump's legal team will be able to review.

Prosecutors are pushing for a 8 July start, while Mr Trump instead wants a date after the election, or in August.

But despite being widely expected, a trial date was not set on Friday.

Instead Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, haggled with each side during the three-hour session over the pre-trial procedures and hearings that may be needed to get the case to trial.

"The one thing the parties can agree on is this case can be tried this summer," said Jay Bratt, the deputy to Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation.

Todd Blanche, an attorney representing the former president, argued that the "easy solution" was to begin in late November, after the 2024 election, to avoid "working ourselves into almost a frenzy".

His client, he added, was already slated to go on trial in New York from late March through mid-May and "cannot effectively prepare for this trial by July".

He was referring to Mr Trump's trial later this month - set for 25 March - related to allegations related to money he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Mr Blanche is defending Mr Trump in that case too.

Judge Cannon said pre-trial deadlines proposed by the government were "unrealistic", suggesting she would build space in the timeline to "allow for flexibility".

Mr Trump, who sat silently with his lawyers, has pleaded not guilty to 40 felony charges in this case.

He is accused of retaining sensitive national security files at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after leaving office in January 2021 and then obstructing repeated government efforts to get them back.

Indicted alongside him on related charges are his personal aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira.

The ex-president is expected to unofficially clinch the Republican nomination for president later this month and has painted the four criminal cases he faces this year as a politically motivated "witch hunt" brought by Democrats to hurt his re-election prospects.

He has fought, with some success, to delay each case against him. If he returns to office, he will have the power to either end, weaken or further delay each effort to prosecute him.

People gathered outside court in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the motorcade of Mr Trump arrived

On Thursday, his lawyers in the Florida case said in a court filing: "As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution."

A trial that takes place before the election would interfere with Mr Trump's "Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceedings" as well as the "First Amendment right that he shares with the American people to engage in campaign speech", they claimed.

Prosecutors say Mr Trump illegally held onto classified files at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida estate

Some legal experts have accused Judge Cannon of slow-walking the pre-trial process, including by postponing key deadlines.

She first hinted at a delay in the original schedule last November, citing a Trump team complaint about the time it would need to review what she called the "unusually high volume of unclassified and classified discovery" in the case.

That material includes 1.3 million pages of unclassified documents, 5,500 pages of classified documents and 60 terabytes of closed-circuit television footage, she said.

But Judge Cannon sided with prosecutors in two key rulings earlier this week regarding what evidence may be presented.

On Wednesday, she rejected Mr Trump's request to see more of the classified government filings than it already has access to. And the previous day she ruled that Mr Nauta and Mr de Oliveira did not require access to any of the classified discovery submitted by Special Counsel Jack Smith's team of prosecutors.

The judge's eventual decision on the trial start date will be key in shaping the timeline of Mr Trump's other court dates.

His trial in New York related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels begins on 25 March and is expected to last six weeks. His federal case in Washington on election interference charges, also brought by the special counsel's office, is on hold as the US Supreme Court rules on Mr Trump's claim that he should be immune from prosecution.

A trial in Georgia on similar charges awaits a court date and has been upended by an effort to remove the local district attorney leading the prosecution.
Hailey Biebers sister, Alaia Baldwin, has hoped to make a name for herself over the years despite being from a famous family.

Alaia is the eldest child of Stephen Baldwin and Kennya Baldwin and the niece of actor Alec Baldwin. It is really frustrating because youre trying to do this on your own, but you still have that connection, Alaia told Marie Claire of her star-studded relatives in April 2016. For me, its not that bad because my familys not single-handedly taking over the world at once like the Kardashians.

Bieber, for her part, told Fashion magazine in August 2017 that she and Alaia managed to have a normal childhood despite their familys status. The way my parents raised my sister and me, [Hollywood] was always separate  that was Dads work life, she explained. When we were home, we were just home, hanging out.

The sisters have remained close over the years, from introducing the Jonas Brothers on Saturday Night Live together in 2009 to being a part of each others wedding bridal parties.

Hailey Bieber Is the Embodiment of Minimalist Chic at Baby2Baby Gala

Ahead of Haileys second wedding ceremony to husband Justin Bieber in September 2019, Alaia exclusively told Us Weekly that the pop star got her stamp of approval.

I appreciate that he is always his genuine self, and thats what Id say I like the most about him, she said of Justin in May 2019.

Keep scrolling for five things to know about Haileys sister, Alaia:

Who Is Alaia Baldwins Husband?

Alaia tied the knot with Andrew Aronow in September 2017. On January 2, 2014 on the moonlit beach of Parrot Cay our journey began with our first kiss. On May 2, 2014 you asked me to be your girlfriend, she captioned an Instagram pic from their big day. And now, on September 2, 2017, I married the man I fell in love with the first time I laid eyes on him in Parrot Cay. Even if I didnt want to, I could never stop falling in love with you.

Alaia shared a sweet Instagram tribute in honor of the couples fifth wedding anniversary in 2022. What a journey it has been. We met when we were babies and now we have our



, she captioned a slideshow of photos from over the years. Youre my favorite person to grow up with. The transition to parenthood isnt easy but we navigate it together. Im so proud of how much you (and we) have grown. I love you then, I love you now and Ill love you always



.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Does Alaia Baldwin Have Kids?

Alaia and Aronow became parents in 2020 when they welcomed daughter Iris Elle. She is absolutely perfect, we are all happy and healthy, Alaia wrote via Instagram after giving birth.

Alaia frequently shares adorable pics of her little girl via social media. You make me so proud to be your mom every day. The moment you arrived is when my life really made sense, she captioned an Instagram slideshow in celebration of Iris 3rd birthday in August 2023. You continue to amaze me with your empathy, love, confidence



, grace and depth. Every day you teach me something new. Your perspective gives me hope for the future of this world we live in. Exploring the world with you is my favorite. Happy Birthday Iris, lets keep this rollercoaster going















.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin's Quotes About Having Kids

What Is Alaia Baldwins Job?

Like Hailey, Alaia built a career as a professional model and worked with brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. One of my ambitions is to take this career and view it as art, she told Marie Claire in 2016. I think thats sort of a lost concept because everyone is so focused on social media and making money. At the end of the day when I get frustrated and get upset, I remember how much I love getting into character and creating a fashion story.

Outside of modeling, Alaia has become an advocate for endometriosis awareness since being diagnosed with the condition in 2016. She also serves as an ambassador for the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

In March 2020, Alaia wrote the foreword for Dr. Tamer Seckins informational book, EndoMEtriosis: A Guide for Girls. Thats really been a big motivation for me to share and just be an open ear to anyone that wants to have someone to talk to or who understands, she said in an August 2020 interview about the book. Because it can be so isolating when youre in the middle of those [painful] moments by yourself. You dont have anyone who knows what thats like.

Is Alaia Baldwin Close With Her Family?

While Alaia and Hailey share a close relationship, Alaia also has a strong bond with her cousin Ireland Baldwin. During an April 2022 episode of Red Table Talk, Ireland credited Alaia with helping her overcome mental health and substance abuse issues.

Alec Baldwin and Daughter Ireland Baldwin's Ups and Downs Over the Years

[Alaia] was the one who booked the ticket from New York and came to L.A. to see me. She was like, Somethings up.  I sense something, she explained at the time. She saved my life. I think I would have committed suicide, or I would have been dead for sure. I was so close. I could feel it getting to that point. And she saved my life. She pulled me out of it.

Ireland has also popped up on Alaias Instagram feed dozens of times. Cant wait to meet my lil hollandaise











I love you so much already



, Alaia captioned photos of herself and her cousin at Irelands March 2023 baby shower. (Ireland and her boyfriend, musician RAC, welcomed their daughter, Holland, in May 2023.)

Chatham County Sheriff

Why Did Alaia Baldwin Get Arrested?

Us confirmed in February 2024 that Alaia was arrested for simple assault, simple battery and criminal trespassing at a Georgia bar. According to a police report obtained by Us, Alaia allegedly assaulted several employees after entering an employees-only bathroom to change her tampon. The report claims that Alaia pulled at a security guards hair and allegedly threw a used tampon at another staff member in self-defense. Alaia did not respond to Us request for comment at the time.
Lil Yachty Taking Let's Start Here On Tour This Fall

More from Spin:

It was just an audio call. But it was easy to sense a shrug and a sly smile from Faye Webster, all the way from a tour stop in Brisbane, Australia, when asked about deeper meanings in the title of her new album, Underdressed at the Symphony.

I mean, she says, my thought about the title is always just quite literally, Im wearing cargoes at the symphony or whatever.

No metaphor for her life, she says. It was her life, at least part of it. Atlanta Symphony Hall is just a short skip from her Midtown home. As she set to work on this album, her fifth, she was dealing with both a rough break-up and various emotional and creative challenges in the face of rising acclaim over the last few years, and with it rising expectations.

Faye Webster performs at Laneway Festival on February 11, 2024 in Perth, Australia. (Credit: Matt Jelonek/Getty Images)

Nights at the symphony were just what she needed. Whatever she had on.

It kind of served as therapy for me, says Webster, 26. So yeah, I think it became an important part of this era, when I was making this record.

Often she would just go, last minute, not even knowing what was on the program.

Yeah, all the time. I would randomly be like, Is there a show tonight? It was just really therapeutic to me.

It worked. The album is an engaging, personal statement, fashioned into a colorful array of sometimes folky, sometimes jazzy chamber-pop with her tight-knit band: pedal steel player Matt Pistol Stoessel, keyboardist Nick Rosen, bassist Bryan Howard, and drummer Charles Garner. Strings and winds pop up here and there, including guest appearances from pals old (Lil Yachty, a close friend since middle school) and new (Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, who became a fan and friend when Webster opened for his band on a 2021 tour).

At its core is Websters poetic account of her inner struggles, her confusions and doubts, captured in words at once spare and vivid. Take the song But Not Kiss:

I want to sleep in your arms but not kiss

I long for your touch but dont miss

Dont want to regret any of this

Thats one of just three short verses, the rest of the song merely her repeating the word yeah a couple of dozen times, her slightly quavering voice lilting over evocative chamber-folk. Most of the albums songs are no wordier than that. She says what she needs to say, nothing more.

I call that one an anti-romantic love song, she says. I was going through a time where I had so much love and care for a person, but it was not good for me. Like, it was bad, she says. I was kind of looking for other songs that were portraying this really anti-romantic-but-still-in-love feeling, and I couldnt really find them. So thats why I wrote that one.

She still hasnt found any others. But she stopped searching. Im not really in that mindset anymore, she says.

Underdressed at the Symphony

How is it now, singing that intense song with the feeling having passed? I dont know, she says. When Im playing live, Im just, yeah, singing my songs and not really trying to emotionally get into it.

Quickly, she takes that back. I mean, well, thats not true. She laughs at how that had sounded. Sometimes, she says, sometimes, yeah, I dont knowSometimes songs can change meaning for me over time, too.

Those emotional shifts mark the album. She wants something. She doesnt want it. She needs something. She doesnt need it. Shes in the moment. The moment passes. Shes there. Shes not there. Even talking about the symphony she is vague. Did any works move her? Any composers? I just really admire orchestral music and like symphonies.

But then she springs to life. There is a performance that she holds in her heart. Not something she experienced in person, though, but a recording. Still, she talks about it with such joy, its as if she had been there. I have this record from when Hatsune Miku performed with a symphony, she says. Im obsessed with it. Hatsune Miku, literally, was not there  or anywhere. Shes not a person.

Shes a vocaloid, Webster says of the synthesized creation  a.k.a. CV01  that in the guise of a 16-year-old anime Japanese girl became an international pop sensation. They had her hologram projected over the symphony, she says, glowingly. Theres a photo on the back of the album. I saw a video once, she says. I listened to that vinyl a lot.

Real or not, no matter. I love her! I love her so much!

I wanna quit all the time

I think about it all the time

Its the attention that freaks me out

 Faye Webster, Wanna Quit All the Time

Webster, of course, is flesh and blood. Shes uncomfortable with attention. But she relishes connecting through her music. Touring is some of my favorite moments, because I just get to physically be there, physically see fans, she says. Thats the most meaningful thing to me. What I look for in music and what I hope that everyone sees in my music is, like, feeling understood, or related to.

That is happening. Both her artistry and fan affection have exploded in the last few years. Her last album, 2021s I Know Im Funny Haha, reached No. 35 on the Billboard album chart, with word-of-mouth momentum building considerable anticipation for the new one.

Wilcos Nels Cline has watched it closely. Listening with Wilco leader Jeff Tweedy to Webster and her band from the wings off stage in 2021, Cline was impressed by the then-understated performer.

Very beguiling and alluring sounds! he says in an email. Jeff added in a whisper something like, Her lyrics can be really funny. And its so true!

And each night Webster would join the headliner on Wilcos Impossible Germany, her favorite song of all time. (She loves the band so much that her original title for the new albums opening song You was Wilco-type beat.) Recently, though, Cline has seen something more. I sat in on a show in Chicago last year and witnessed not only what has become a show  light design, set design  but the swooning and screaming of her young fans. Wow! It was really quite a night.

(Credit: Michelle Mercado)

Cline and Tweedy are not the only older fans. Former President Barack Obama, no less, has shouted her praises, featuring the song Better Distractions, from her third album, Atlanta Millionaires Club, on his annual year-end music favorites list for 2019  a choice he credited to his daughter Sasha.

And Mark Mulcahy, who led the 1980s-90s alt-rock band Miracle Legion and fronted the house band on the 90s alt-TV series The Adventures of Pete & Pete, has included Websters Jonny on a new album of him covering songs by young artists, mostly women, he was turned on to by his kids.

Fayes phrasing and maybe her voice a little remind me of Melanie, he says, also in an email. Love her. Ive watched her a bunch live on YouTube. Shes free and relaxed, and it seems every nights a little different.

This has been evolving since she was a pre-teen. By high school she was in a rap group with friends. But the music she first embraced was more rustic. Her mom played guitar and fiddle, and folk and country were household staples.

A lot of Alison Krauss, she says. Her vocals were just beautiful. I remember hearing her and being, like, I cant believe people can sing like this. I think my vocal style is still really inspired by her, cause shes so delicate and gentle.

Thats prominent in her first album, Run and Tell, which she released herself when she was just 16  Hatsune Mikus age, as it happens. Its straightforward modern country, nicely sung, but nothing standing out. Its streaming if you want to check it out, though she doesnt ever listen to it.

No, she says, crisply.

A few years later, she signed to Atlanta rapper Fathers label Awful Records, opened for Sean Rowe on a dozen tour dates, and released what she considers her true debut, Faye Webster.

After high school, when everybody was like, Okay, you gotta figure out what you want to do now, that was when I was like, Oh, well, theres only one thing I know how to do. She laughs. I feel like thats when I was really taking it seriously and trying to find myself.

Her search took shape in her Atlanta community of rappers, punks, and rockers. Her band coalesced into a strong, supportive unit, with Stoessels steel its signature feature. Soon she signed to indie powerhouse Secretly Canadian, and with Atlanta Millionaires Club and I Know Im Funny Haha the growth in songwriting and expressiveness continued impressively.

And last year she took a revealing side-trip with the Car Therapy Sessions EP, showing the extent of her vocal abilities, singing songs of hers arranged for, yes, a full orchestra. The Symphony album is not a continuation of this, in title or approach. But Car Therapy gave her a new sense of ambition and achievement leading into the new album.

That was one of my favorite projects Ive ever done, she says. Its just really beautiful.

Overthinking in my head again

Im good at making shit negative

Right now I hate the color of my house

Faye Webster. Wanna Quit All the Time

So what did she do after giving her voice full rein on the EP? She buried its beauty in Auto-Tune.

I had Auto-Tune on everything, she says of the early recordings for Symphony.

It didnt last. They made me take if off, like, five songs, she says, they being bandmates, friends, anyone she asked for their thoughts, who said it was distracting or something.

I was like, Okay, Ill take it off if I can keep it on this one where it makes absolutely no sense.

The song she kept it on is Feeling Good Today. Its another case of mixed feelings, half-way emotions, little shrugs:

I got paid yesterday

Ill probably buy something dumb

Because I am pretty childish

Its not really ill-fitting, the electronic voice alterations embodying the uncertainties she expresses. Theres a video for the song in which she hides herself beyond just the voice, girded in layers of prosthetic flesh to look rather dumpy.

So what dumb thing would she buy? What does Faye Webster really want?

Theres a song about that, too.

She wants a Lego ring.

I want a Lego ring

Its a mood ring

Itll pick for me

It was just something I wanted, she says. I wanted a Lego ring! So I just wrote about it, I guess.

Lego Ring is the song that features Lil Yachty, who wrote and raps a verse at the end of the song celebrating their friendship  You and me are like a dream team / Always together like string beans  and appears with her in the video, the two of them on a sofa playing a kids-level rock band-like video music game, just being sweet, goofy friends.

She is, well, happy.

Im depriving myself of happiness

Something Im really good at

 Faye Webster, Underdressed at the Symphony

Every time I feel like Im going through a hard time, Im kind of dwelling in it, she says. If Im feeling sad, its all I want to do. I feel like I let myself live in that moment.

And theres the album, her whole approach. It tells the story of those moments.

I think it does, she says. Ive always joked about the album telling a story, but in a really confusing way. I dont feel the track list is in the order of the story. But at the end of the day, if you listen to it youre going to get the story.

Theres eBay Purchase History.

You could learn a lot about me, she sings. Always bored and Im never satisfied.

She doesnt want your sympathy. She just wants you to feel along with her. It comes clear in the closing song, Tttttime, a meditation on, well, time  two short verses and then the title word repeated, stretched, savored.

Thats a really lighthearted one for me, she says. I was finding myself really isolated, spending a lot of time by myself. I think it really reflected into my songwriting. I just feel like when youre alone long enough or bored long enough, like I have thoughts like the lyric about calling my mom.

I get lost in a song

Take a walk, call my mom

Dont go out anymore

In half an hour Ill be bored

I never wouldve wrote that song if I wasnt, like, so She laughs, unable to find the words to complete the thought. I was just writing about little things. Should kind of matter a lot.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
Families of the University of Idaho college students killed in an apartment house in November 2022 voiced frustration Friday after a judge this week suggested the highly anticipated murder trial likely won't begin until 2025.

"We want to start healing, we do, we want to find justice and try to move on from this horrible tragedy so please, please, start making some decisions, get to work and quit playing the delay game," the families of two of the four victims, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle, said in a statement.

Bryan Kohberger, 29, was initially set to be tried in October on four counts of first-degree murder, but waived his right to a speedy trial as his lawyers attempted to have the indictment dismissed.

Legal wrangling between Latah County prosecutors and the defense only hindered a new trial date, as District Judge John C. Judge has had to consider motions, including banning cameras in the courtroom, the disclosure of certain DNA evidence and a request by the defense for a change of venue.

During a hearing on Wednesday, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson said he could be ready to present his case in March 2025 for a trial lasting about six weeks.

But Anne Taylor, Kohberger's lead public defender, suggested she would not be ready until June 2025, given the large number of potential witnesses and voluminous records.

Judge ultimately decided to push back a decision on setting a trial date to first hear arguments in May on a potential change of venue. Kohberger's defense filed its request for moving the trial based on what it says is "extensive, inflammatory pretrial publicity" in the case.

"I'm trying to be fair and realistic about when we could really be ready for trial and I only want to do it once," Judge said.

The Goncalves and Kernodle families, however, called the mounting delays fools gold and said they were meant to keep the parties from making mistakes.

"This illusion by everyone involved that they can control what happens is frustrating," the families said. "A jury will hear the evidence and return a verdict. But we need to get there sooner rather than later."

Judge in December denied Kohberger's attempt to have his murder indictment dismissed on claims of lack of sufficient admissible evidence, prosecutorial misconduct and grand jury bias.

The slayings of University of Idaho housemates Goncalves, Kernodle and Madison Mogen, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, in the early morning of Nov. 13, 2022, stunned the college community of Moscow, sparking weeks of speculation and thousands of tips before culminating in an arrest.

Prosecutors say Kohberger, a doctoral student at Washington State University at the time of the killings, was connected to the scene through male DNA that was left on a knife sheath found facedown on a bed next to the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves.

Genetic genealogy and garbage collected from Kohberger's family home in Pennsylvania, as well as his cellphone use and surveillance, ties him to the crime scene, authorities have said.

Kohberger has not spoken publicly since his arrest in December 2022. A gag order was issued barring lawyers, police and other officials from making statements in the case.

How Kohberger might have known the victims or why he would have targeted them or the house remains unclear. The murder weapon, believed to be a large fixed-blade knife, has not been recovered, Moscow police have said.

His defense attorneys said they plan to corroborate through expert testimony that Kohberger was not at the home where the murders took place but gave a curious response in an alibi-related court filing in August that "he has long had a habit of going for drives alone. Often he would go for drives at night. He did so late on Nov. 12 and into Nov. 13, 2022."

Kohberger is being held in Latah County Jail without bond.
Rolled and sliced Prime ribeye cap, aka Butchers Butter, atop garlicky spinach leaves at Ben Bergs rodeo pop-up, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse Alison Cook/Staff The crush of Houston rodeo-goers waiting to claim their 5 p.m. tables at Ben Bergs tented pop-up, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse. Alison Cook/Staff Tortilla soup at Ben Bergs rodeo pop-up, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse Alison Cook/Staff B&BButchers chef Tommy Elbashery with restaurateur Ben Berg in the industrial-scale kitchen that serves the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse at the 2024 Houston Rodeo Alison Cook/Staff Distinguished gentlemen of the Houston Rodeo conferring over a steak dinner at Ben Bergs Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse. Alison Cook/Staff Prime rib with beef jus and Yorkshire pudding at Ben Bergs rodeo pop-up, the the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse Alison Cook/Staff A fried cowboy croissant  from the takeout window at Ben Bergs rodeo pop-up, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse. Alison Cook/Staff

For 20 days, we have the busiest restaurant in Texas, said prolific Houston restaurateur Ben Berg.

Dressed in a safari-style jacket, black jeans, black cowboy boots and a well-pressed pink shirt, Berg stood beneath the tented ceiling of his rodeo pop-up, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse  16,000 square feet of climate-controlled Wild West fantasyland.

He sounded proud and slightly disbelieving. On day two of the restaurants brief life in 2024, he had 1,200 seats booked for both Friday and Saturday night.

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I had been in my own state of disbelief since I climbed the steep wooden staircase to claim my 5:15 p.m. table. The midnight-blue billows of tenting, the streaks of red uplighting at its margins, the chandeliers, the outsize western art, the Indian blankets, the sea of bentwood saloon chairs, the expanses of plastic ivy  it was a lot to take in.

I had been skeptical of the whole crazy-sounding undertaking when I booked my reservation on Open Table, and deeply curious. Wouldnt the experience be more like a massive catered affair, I wondered? How could items like grilled steaks and chops  the essence of a la minute cooking  happen in such an ad hoc environment?

I wanted to see for myself. Ive always thought Berg  whose Berg Hospitality Group restaurants include B&B Butchers steakhouse, the Annie Cafe, B.B. Lemon, Benny Chows and the splashy new Annabelles Brasserie, among others  was a genius at creating environments Houstonians loved, never mind the food, which ranged from decent to very good.

Berg has staffed the vast Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse with employees pulled from his various restaurants plus vetted freelancers. So of course I got busted early on by a favorite waiter I met at the late, lamented Chivos, who now works at Annabelles. He was working the elevated VIP stakeholder section set slightly above the dining room for regular mortals.

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That is, regular mortals with nice fat wallets, because, whoa  these were luxury steakhouse prices and then some, I realized as I scanned the broad, laminated menus. Forty-four bucks for four mini crab tostadas; $52 for a dozen halfshell oysters; $275 for an A5 Japanese wagyu 12-ounce rib-eye.

But there were USDA Prime steaks for something approaching normal high-end prices, and  look! I exclaimed to my dining companion. Theres the tortilla soup from the Annie, a nod to the famed creation of Cafe Annie founding chef Robert Del Grande. A bit of Houston culinary history and the cheapest of the starters at 16 bucks. I had to have it.

Poured with ceremony at the table, the soup was splendid, the dish of the night  its compelling red-chile-fied broth hiding sparks of avocado relish and spongy-soft cubes of queso fresco that melted a bit as we ate. A tall curlicue of fried tortilla strip rode the deep-bronze sea.

After that came a perfectly good wedge salad with Roquefort dressing and a slice of flavorless winter tomato; the aforementioned crab mini-tostadas, gentle and fresh-tasting but lacking a certain spark; and a statuesque prime rib ($78) that my guest found not quite up to the standard he holds for USDA Prime. Good, not great.

But the hollow pouf of Yorkshire pudding that came alongside the prime rib earned our respect. This airy pastry is hard to pull off in the best of circumstances, let alone in back of a rodeo tent. Two women at the next table oohed and aahed over it as we ripped the shell apart, sopped it in beef jus pooled on the plate, and swiped up a bit of horseradish cream.

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I kinda loved my $92 splurge of rib-eye cap  one of my favorite steak cuts, for its rich marbling and deep flavor  here billed somewhat opaquely by Berg himself as Butchers Butter. They had rolled the Snake River Farms American wagyu cap and sliced it into half-inch spirals of 2 ounces each. The slightly too emphatically salted, medium-rare rounds sat on top of spinach leaves wilted with garlic, a bold choice. I order a glass of deep, dreamy Rioja to go with it, the only non-American choice among the by-the-glass reds.

My guest had insisted on mac and cheese  the plainest of the four-count-em-four guises on offer  and it turned out to be magnificent stuff, all stretchy cheese and crisped crumbs. Which was good, since it cost 20 bucks. For dessert, we got a taste of the nutty-sounding deep-fried cowboy croissants the Ranch Saloon is selling through a midway-style takeout window. I passed on the Nutella version (I shun the stuff), but found the vanilla-pastry-cream-filled number surprisingly delightful. If youre walking around eating carnival midway food, seek it out. Fried croissants beat fried Oreos by a mile.

Afterward, Berg gave us a tour backstage so I could see how all the food happened. It was hardly the catering setup I had imagined, with vast cold and hot boxes trucked in, their shelves full of premade everything. Nope, behind the curtain (er, the western mural) was an industrial scale kitchen with flaming grills, a vast walk in cold room, a butchering station and a whole section dedicated to dishwashing and tabletop place settings.

Bergs B&B Butchers initial steakhouse chef, Tommy Elbashary, was back there running the show. Now Bergs leading executive chef, hes the inventor of the improbable Tommys Bacon dish, thick-cut hunks topped with blue cheese and truffle-infused honey, that I once pronounced crazy good. Yes, they are on the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse menu, at $29.

If you go, expect a 23% service charge to be added to your bill. And prepare to approach your visit as if you were planning a military campaign. First, you must find an available table on the Ranch Saloons Open Table platform, and good luck with that! Youll need to try a variety of times (they usually open at 3 p.m.) and dates, some of which are sold out.

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But if youre willing to try your luck, make your way to the Ranch tent at the northwest corner of the Astrodome, in the shadow of NRG stadium. The big bar inside the tent is walk-ins only, with a separate menu minus those big-ticket entrees; and theres a covered porch that is first come, first served, too. The dinner crowd surges in before the rodeo concerts next door; and afterward, the Ranch tent offers a rear club section that goes until late, with live DJs, bands, and a few tables reserved for bottle service with a $500 minimum.

Like the private tents at the barbecue cook-off, the Ranch Saloon & Steakhouse is geared for entertaining clients and friends and general Houston networking. At the heart of it is one of Houstons premier networkers, who has been glad-handing since he arrived in town from New York in 2011 to manage the late Smith & Wollensky steakhouse.
Attorneys for special counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump proposed new trial dates Thursday for Trump's criminal trial on charges that he mishandled classified documents and national security secrets.

Federal prosecutors proposed a July 8 start date, while attorneys for Trump suggested he stand trial Aug. 12. Trump's proposed date was a surprise, because he and his attorneys have maintained that the trial should be held after the presidential election in November.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, had asked both sides to propose a schedule ahead of a hearing on the issue Friday in Fort Pierce, Florida. The case was initially scheduled to go to trial in May, but it has been expected that the original start date would be pushed back because of a number of outstanding legal issues that have yet to be decided by the court.

If Cannon were to agree to Trump's proposed date, the timing could conflict with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' trial plans for the Trump election interference case in Georgia. Her office is seeking an August trial date.

In their filing Thursday, Trump's attorneys said the schedule they laid out was out of respect to Cannon's request for a proposal from each side, but they made it clear that they believe the trial should be pushed back even further.

"As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution," his attorneys wrote, adding that there are some issues Trump wants dealt with sooner rather than later.

"President Trump seeks to timely vindicate important rights through these proceedings, including his motions to dismiss pursuant to the Presidential Records Act, presidential immunity, and based on selective and vindictive prosecutionfor which significant disclosures and fact-finding will be necessary," the filing said.

His attorneys also contended that the Supreme Court's plans to hear and decide Trump's presidential immunity claims in the federal election interference case could "provide guidance as Your Honor evaluates President Trumps motion to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity. President Trump respectfully submits that all of these considerations are relevant as the Court considers proposed schedules for the remainder of this unlawful case."

The court fight over the immunity claims has already delayed the federal election case, which had been set to begin Monday. The case is now on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the immunity dispute, and it said this week it won't hear arguments until the week of April 22.

The Georgia election case could wind up being delayed, as well. Arguments are scheduled for Friday afternoon over whether Willis should be disqualified from the case because of an alleged conflict of interest involving the special prosecutor she appointed to the case.

That leaves just one of the four impending Trump criminal trials with a firm start date  the Manhattan district attorney's case alleging Trump falsified business records to cover up hush-money payments. That's scheduled to go to trial March 25. Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case and denied any wrongdoing.

Trump was indicted in the documents case in June on charges that he misled federal investigators to hold on to sensitive materials that he knew were still classified after he left the White House. He was later hit with additional charges alleging he tried to obstruct the investigation.

Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Letters on a fence read MSD Strong outside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Wednesday, July 5, 2023. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow 18-year-olds to buy firearms, lowering the previous age minimum of 21.

The Republican-controlled state House passed the controversial measure that would permit 18-year-olds to purchase rifles and shotguns on 1 March in a 76-35 vote. The state Senate has not yet voted on the bill.

According to gun safety group Everytown, federal law mandates someone be at least 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed firearm dealer, however, it only mandates a person to be 18 to buy a long gun  including an assault weapon.

Opponents of the measure cited the 2018 Parkland shooting, in which a 19-year-old shot up Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

Democratic state Rep Robin Bartleman slammed colleagues, saying shame on us, over lawmakers decision to renege the 2018 law  enacted shortly after the school shooting  that increased the gun-purchasing age to 21.

Unbelievable!!! The Florida House of Representatives just voted to gut the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act - bipartisan common sense gun sense legislation. Shame! Broken promises! #brokenpromises #commonsensegunlegislation @MomsDemand @GIFFORDS_org pic.twitter.com/ea4kFpr0NC  Robin Bartleman (@Robin_Bartleman) March 1, 2024

We told the citizens of Florida that we were going to protect them, she added.

In 2023, a federal appeals court upheld the state law, blocking a challenge from the National Rifle Association.

The bills sponsor, Republican state Rep Bobby Payne, argued that the bill supports rights laid out in the Second Amendment: Im not worried about our schools. Our schools are safe in FloridaWhat Im worried about is my kids, my grandkids and your kids that cant defend themselves because were restricting their rights.

If passed, it would go into effect on 1 July.
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former U.S. ambassador will plead guilty to charges of spying for Cuba for decades, court records showed on Thursday, in what the Justice Department described as one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. government by a foreign agent.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

Victor Manuel Rocha, who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, was charged in December with committing multiple federal crimes, including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport.

The U.S. had accused Rocha of having secretly supported Cuba and its clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against Washington since 1981.

KEY QUOTES

He pleaded not guilty in mid-February and the parties in the case announced on Thursday he "will be changing his plea," according to an entry in the U.S. online court records system. It added that a sentencing was set for April 12.

Rocha was arrested in December. His legal representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONTEXT

Rocha worked for the State Department from 1981 to 2002, the Justice Department said when he was charged. He served on the White House's National Security Council from 1994 to 1995, and worked as an adviser to the commander of the U.S. military's Southern Command from around 2006 to around 2012, the department added.

Rocha admitted his decades of work for Cuba in a series of meetings in 2022 and 2023 with an undercover FBI agent who posed as a covert Cuban General Directorate of Intelligence representative, according to a court document.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said fast food chain Panera Bread is not exempt from the states new minimum wage law amid claims that the law would benefit a Newsom donor who owns several Panera restaurants.

Californias minimum wage is $16 per hour. Starting April 1, most fast-food restaurants must pay their workers at least $20 an hour under new legislation that Newsom signed last year, but it does not apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item, The Associated Press reported.

According to a report by Bloomberg News, the bread and bakery exemption to the law came from Newsom himself and would benefit billionaire Greg Flynn, who owns more than 20 Panera restaurants in the state and has donated to Newsoms campaigns.

Alex Stack, a spokesperson for Newsom, told The Hill that Newsom and Flynn never met about the bill and the story is absurd. The governors legal team believes Panera Bread is not exempt from the law, Stack said in an emailed statement.

To be exempt from the minimum wage law under the bakery exemption, restaurants must produce bread on-site. Newsoms office said chain bakeries such as Panera mix dough at an off-site location and ship it to the restaurant to be baked.

Flynn reportedly told the AP that he met with Newsoms staff about the bill but did not speak with the governor about it himself. He denied asking for special considerations and said he was surprised the exemption made it into the final piece of legislation.

After the law passed in 2023, Republican lawmakers in the state criticized Newsom for the potential personal connection in the bill.

Californians deserve answers about Gavins crooked PaneraGate deal, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Newsoms got no business lecturing anyone about democracy when hes using his power to do favors for his special interest donors.

California state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R) authored a letter with Gallagher and Assemblyman Joe Patterson (R), asking state Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) to investigate the allegations of pay-to-play politics in the drafting of the bill.

Updated March 2, 8:20 a.m. ET.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
This leaf adds a heady fragrance and vibrant green hue to dishes from cakes to curries.

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Pandan is Southeast Asias aromatic, enigmatic green muse. The flowering tropical plant thrives in the region and is so abundant that if not for its culinary significance, it might be considered a weed.

There are hundreds of species of pandan, but only the leaves of Pandanus amaryllifolius exude a tantalizing fragrance. The scent of its elongated, spearlike, glossy deep-green blades is elusive, but envision the melding of toasted rice, freshly mown grass, and sweet blooming jasmine, and youll begin to get the idea.

In savory dishes, pandan amplifies sweetness, bringing a unique depth of flavor. In Singapore and Malaysia, pandan leaves are simmered in coconut milk to produce the rich, fragrant coconut rice pivotal to nasi lemak (coconut rice topped with fried anchovies and peanuts). In Indonesia, pandan joins forces with turmeric to make nasi kuning (turmeric rice).

The realm of pandan-tinted sweets is even more vast and varied. Theres the honeycomb-textured Vietnamese cake banh bo nuong, and Singapores ethereal pandan chiffon cake that seemingly dissolves on the tongue. Pandan has a special affinity for coconut: Indonesians and Malaysians enjoy kue dadar gulung, fluorescent green pandan-flavored pancakes rolled around a sweet coconut filling; kaya, the beloved pandan and coconut jam; and kuih seri muka, a steamed, sticky glutinous-rice cake snack with layers of white coconut and green pandan.

To me, pandans allure rests not just in its flavor but also in its versatility and rich traditions, which Ive used as inspiration for a layered Pandan and Coconut Cake. Every time I make it, I wonder at the power of such a humble ingredient  a simple leaf  to dazzle and perfume.

Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen

Related: Pandan and Coconut Cake

How to source pandan

Whole pandan leaves are typically steeped in liquid (a pot of rice; a simmering stew) to impart its aroma and a very subtle green hue to dishes. Refrigerate fresh leaves upright in a jar of water or wrapped in a damp towel in an airtight container, or buy them frozen.

Bottled pandan can turn your treats a glow-stick fluorescent green, so it should be used a little at a time until the desired color is achieved. (Start with 1/8 teaspoon.) Pick one that has mostly natural ingredients, like Koepoe Koepoe pandan paste. $9 at amazon.com

Pandan powders work well in doughs, cakes, and batters, adding a mellow mint-green hue. Some are made from evaporated pandan juice and others from the more aromatic freeze-dried leaves. My favorite is Suncore Foods Emerald Pandan Leaf Powder. $20 at suncorefoods.com

Dried pandan leaves rehydrate once steeped in hot liquid, so toss dried pandan directly into your rice, curries, desserts, or soups. They will keep for a year or more, but once theyve lost their fragrance, they should be discarded and replaced. $6 for 0.5 ounce at amazon.com

This clear pandan-flavored liquid is available from brands such as McCormick and Star Brand and can be used in desserts or beverages to add aroma and taste but without the signature green color imparted by fresh pandan leaves. $3 at umamicart.com

Pandan juice

Also known as pandan water or homemade extract, pandan juice is made from fresh or frozen pandan leaves that have been roughly chopped and blended together with water, then strained. Store pandan juice in the fridge in a sealed jar for three to four days or in the freezer up to three months.

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"Happy Days" star Anson Williams opened up about finding true love in his later years.

The 73-year-old actor married writer and real estate broker Sharon Scott Williams, 65, in May 2023 at their home in Ojai, California. The pair recently collaborated on a one-woman stage play based on Sharon's book "Crazy Mama: A Memoir of Love and Madness."

During an interview with Fox News Digital, Williams recalled how he and Sharon first met while they were both married, lost touch and reconnected again more than a decade later.

HAPPY DAYS STAR ANSON WILLIAMS RECALLS 45-YEAR FRIENDSHIP WITH LATE CINDY WILLIAMS: JUST HAD THIS SPARK

"It's a very interesting story," Williams said. "I bought my Ojai house, almost 14 years ago, and at the time, Sharon was in real estate, and she sold it to me and to my wife at the time."

"Happy Days" star Anson Williams opened up about finding true love in his 70s.

He continued, "And, years later, I mean, years later, when I was divorced and went through all that, and I ended up with the Ojai house."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Williams filed for divorce from his second wife, Jackie Gerken, in September 2019, but requested a dismissal of the divorce filing the following month. The TV star filed for divorce from Gerken again in June 2020. The former couple were married for 32 years and share daughters Olivia Jean and Gabriella Rose, both 20, and Stella Rayne, 15.

WATCH: Happy Days star Anson Williams shares how he found true love in his 70s with wife Sharon

In the aftermath of his divorce and following an earlier battle with colon cancer, Williams said that he found himself in a low place and began thinking again of the woman he had met years earlier.

The 73-year-old actor married writer and real estate broker Sharon MaHarry in May 2023.

"She never left my mind," Williams said of Sharon. "Always kind of there. And I was up here all alone and just, you know, not in a great  not a great place. And I just called one day."

"I didn't know her situation, but it turned out her husband had passed and all this went on. And so I asked her to lunch, and we've been together since that lunch," he said.

"But here's what's funny," Williams continued. "We're having lunch and it's been years. And she's sitting down at a table. I sit down and we have a three-hour lunch. And I mean, just an amazing three hours crying and just such, such a connected experience."

"And finally we say, you know, We got to go. We got to  you know  and she goes, Yeah, yeah. Can you please hand me my crutches?' I go, Excuse me?' It turned out that she had taken a fall, a bad fall down the stairs, was in the hospital for a month, had all this corrective surgery on her knee and was one day out of the wheelchair," he recalled.

WATCH: Happy Days star Anson Williams says he and wife Sharon have an undefinable chemistry

"So I help her out. And she had this challenge of going to a writer's retreat in Italy in not that much time, like maybe six weeks. And so the challenge was getting her to walk well enough to be able to walk on the cobblestones of Italy and get to that retreat."

"And we did it," he said. "So the whole beginning of our relationship was giving and caring and, it's just progressed from there into such a  just a monumental relationship and now a creative partner."

In July 2023, Sharon told People magazine that prior to reconnecting with Williams, she had given up hope of finding love again after losing her husband of 35 years to a long-term illness.

"I just thought this was it. Im a widow, this is who I am now," she recalled.

"I wrote kind of a synopsis of where I was when I met Anson," Sharon said. "I've never been in such a dark place. And he completely turned that around. It was like a gift from God that I met him."

Sharon recalled that she agreed to accept Williams' lunch date invitation at the encouragement of her daughter. She told the outlet that receiving her daughter's blessing "absolutely freed me to take advantage of this, whatever it was,"

"And I wasn't sure what it was at that moment, but what a beautiful gift she gave me," Sharon added.

The pair met over a decade ago when Sharon MaHarry sold an Ojai, California, home to Anson WIlliams and his then wife.

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Williams reflected on how he and Sharon had changed each other's lives. He compared their connection to the chemistry that he shared with his former "Happy Days" castmates.

"Selfless love goes a long way," he said. "It reminds me a little bit of Happy Days. It's an undefinable chemistry,"

"And someone who always sees the best in you. Boy, that changes you. When someone sees the best in you, you work  you make sure you're going to stay the best."

"When someone sees the worst in you, you're always  you're always scratching to get air," he continued. You know what I mean?"

"It's just you don't grow," Williams explained. "You don't get better, you know? And when you have someone that really loves you and sees the best in you, you just grow. You grow. You grow as a human being. And it's like breaking through the clouds to the blue sky. And it's like that every day. Every day."

"That makes a relationship," he added. "And teamwork too."

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The California native's "Happy Days" co-star and close friend Don Most served as the best man during Williams' and Sharon's wedding, which took place in the backyard of the home that the bride first sold to the groom in 2010.

Williams recalled how he was touched by the speech that Most gave in honor of the newlyweds during their nuptials.

"Just a wonderful, heartfelt, you know, bro speak, brother," he told Fox News Digital. "Just so happy for me. So happy for us."

"I mean, who would have known that we'd be together? Together as a team doing a play, Crazy Mama,"he said. "It's such a great team and I mean, the love of your life and you're able to work together? And to be able to take this award-winning writer and do something so important for her life."

Williams continued, "You know, for her, it's a wonderful opportunity to let go too and express and to help through her life experience with humor and brilliant writing, helping other families get through hard situations."

Anson Williams said he never forgot Sharon MaHarry, and they reconnected 13 years later.

Starring two-time Emmy Award nominee Lee Purcell, "Crazy Mama" is a one-woman play with musical accompaniment that is based on Sharon's memoir "Crazy Mama, A Memoir of Love and Madness." The book was the winner of the 2014 Southwest Writers Competition, and won the Santa Barbara Writers Conference Fiction Award, per Sharon's website.

The play chronicles the "soul-crushing grip of her mothers mental illness, the steely resilience of the human heart, and how, by the grace of some invisible power, Sharons dream to get her real Mama back comes true," according to a press release.

"Crazy Mama" will be staged April 12-14 at the Theater of The Museum at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, New York.

WATCH: Anson Williams recalls Happy Days co-star Don Most's best man speech at his wedding

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Williams recalled how he and Sharon decided to adapt her memoir into a one-woman show.

"[Sharon] is a fabulous writer, and she wrote short memoirs about her life, growing up with a schizophrenic mother who had a total breakdown when she was 8 years old," Williams said. "And she did it with gut-wrenching moments, humor, really, really connected with everyone who read it and made mental illness a real tactile, embraceable situation."

He continued, "And she won awards, major awards. And I thought to myself, 'You know, this is a one-woman show. This is a play."

"I said it would be sensational and also entertaining, educational, opening doors to reconnect and at the same time really bringing focus to the problem of mental illness."

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Sharon adapted her memoir into the play, which Williams is directing. The Golden Globe nominee is an experienced television director whose credits include helming episodes of "Melrose Place," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Lizzie McGuire" and "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and a number of TV movies.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, Williams shared his thoughts on the most challenging aspects of directing "Crazy Mama."

"Well, it's funny, I started in theater years ago before directing film and so for years now, decades, I've been directing mostly television and going back to theater is exciting," he said.

Williams continued, "But what's really challenging about this is it's a one-woman show with a blues guitar player. So the simplicity of it is challenging and it's all performance."

He went on to praise the play's star, Purcell, as a "fabulous actress."

"She's memorizing an hour and a half of material, playing about 18 different characters," he said. "And she's sensational. She's sensational, and we're very, very lucky. But really, the challenge is not getting in the way of it. Not over directing it, simplifying it, keeping it focused toward the audience."

"And it's going just fantastic," Williams continued. "And I just can't wait for people to come out there and see this show. It literally is the best script I've ever been part of. It's so important and so entertaining and just will be a memorable experience for everyone in that audience."

"Also, I'll be there at every show and sign autographs, talk to people, whatever. You know, whatever I can bring to the show. But it's going to be just a memorable show and a memorable opening for the Theater for Bethel Woods."

The two recently collaborated on the new one-woman play "Crazy Mama."

Williams also shared his thoughts on what he hopes audiences will take away from watching "Crazy Mama."

"I want them to take away the importance of family, the importance of education, the importance of embracing a problem, not running away from it," he said. "And also what's wonderful about Crazy Mama is it took four years, but she gets her mother back. And, it's a very much a rocky ending."

He continued, "And I want people to feel closer together when they leave the theater than when they came in. I want them to embrace their family, embrace their friends, reprioritize their lives, and also get involved with mental illness."

"The way to correct this is in a very tactile, human way. Everybody has some kind of problem, which is so interesting," Williams added. "No, not every mother had a psychotic breakdown. But everyone has some problems someway connected with that audience in so many different ways. Positively, it opened them up again. They're not alone. And the one thing the show gives people, the one word is hope. It really does. It gives people hope."

The actor shared that he becomes emotional every time he watches the play.

"I can't get through without crying, and I cry hopeful tears, I cry. It brings me back to my life, my problems growing up. And it actually softens problems because my parents aren't there anymore," he said.

Williams continued, "But what it did, it brought me back. And so much I was holding in, I let out, I went, Oh my God, I was wrong. I embraced it now from afar. It really soothed my feelings. You know, it stopped so many wrongful memories with understanding of the situation."

"The play does that for every single audience member. They walk out of there again, feeling closer and having hope and commitment to facing their problems together."

Tickets for "Crazy Mama" are on sale now and can be purchased here: BethelWoodsCenter.org/CrazyMama





Original article source:Happy Days star Anson Williams found selfless love in his 70s: 'An undefinable chemistry'
It will be a hatching seen around the world.

Live cameras pointed at a bald eagle nest in the mountains of Southern California are broadcasting views of the impending arrival of three eagle chicks.

Tens of thousands of people have been tuning in to watch the parents-to-be, a female eagle named Jackie and a male named Shadow, tend to three eggs that were laid in late January. The chicks could emerge anytime in the coming days, prompting a lively "hatch watch" online.

The nest is located about 145 feet high up, atop a Jeffrey Pine tree in the San Bernardino Mountains, according to Friends of Big Bear Valley, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates the nest cameras.

Activity at the nest is being closely monitored, with the group providing live updates that include vocalizations from the birds of prey, as well as daily recaps on the comings and goings of Jackie and Shadow.

On Thursday, for instance, it noted that Shadow visited four times and spent 3 hours and 2 minutes at the nest. The soon-to-be-father also delivered one fish to Jackie.

This week, the nonprofit group has been on the lookout for signs of the pip, the first tiny crack or hole in the eggshell that signals that a chick is ready to break out.

As the chick reaches maximum size inside the egg, the amount of oxygen supplied through the egg membranes becomes insufficient. Sitting comfortably inside the egg is no longer an option, its time to go and do some hard work! Friends of Big Bear Valley wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week.

The organization added that the hatching process usually takes between one to three days and is a very strenuous process.

It is a major test for the chick, it wrote.

All three eggs in the nest were laid weeks ago: one Jan. 25, the second Jan. 28 and the third Jan. 31.
Athens-Clarke County police block traffic and investigate at the UGA intramural Fields after the body of a women was found with visible injuries in the woods around Lake Herrick in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.

Legislation that would restrict funding for Georgia law enforcement agencies that fail to aid federal immigration authorities passed on Thursday in the state House, backed exclusively by Republican lawmakers.

House Bill 1105, which would withhold federal and state funding from sheriffs who refuse to report undocumented detainees and prisoners to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, passed in the House on Crossover Day in a 97-74 vote, adding teeth to an existing state law that has largely gone unenforced.

The bill, also called the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024, was introduced by state Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) in January. It gained momentum soon after the death of 22-year-old Athens nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia campus. UGA police have charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, an undocumented Venezuelan man living in Athens, with her murder.

FILE - Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savnnah) on the Georgia General Assembly House floor. House Bill 1105, authored by Petrea, passed the state House on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The bill would withhold funding to law enforcement agencies that fail to report to ICE any undocumented detainees.

In addition to restricting funding for law enforcement agencies that refuse to partner with federal immigration authorities, sheriffs who do not comply with the law may be charged with violating their oath of office, a misdemeanor offense. The measure would also require sheriffs and jailers to publicly post the number of undocumented inmates who are booked into their facilities.

A number of House Democrats took the floor to voice concerns about how the bill would impact communities of color and immigrants in Georgia.

We have had enough of minorities and immigrants having to refuse police services because they fear being twice victimized simply because their skin is brown or they have an accent, Rep. Pedro "Pete" Marin (D-Duluth) said. HB 1105 is an overreach. It goes too far.

More: Georgia Republicans seek new laws to crack down on immigrants after Laken Riley's death

Petrea dismissed concerns that the bill would impact most immigrant communities, arguing that it would only impact undocumented individuals who violate Georgia laws.

This issue is not about immigrants, Petrea said as he presented the bill on the House floor. This issue is about people illegally in the country, not immigrants. They are two different things.

The latest iteration of the measure incorporates language from House Bill 1415, which was authored by state Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens).

Georgia state Representative Houston Gaines

The revised bill would require that all eligible law enforcement agencies partner with ICE by participating in the national 287(g) program, or risk losing state funding. Georgia currently has five counties enrolled in the program, as well as the state Department of Corrections.

Supporters of the bill say the measure will help ensure that sheriffs across Georgia are properly enforcing current immigration laws.

Representatives from multiple organizations spoke out against the bill at a Wednesday hearing. Opponents say that similar immigration bills have resulted in an increase in racial profiling and prompt many immigrants not to report crimes to authorities.

If passed, this legislation will drive a wedge between local public safety officials and the communities they serve, said Kyle Gomez-Leineweber, the director of public policy for the GALEO Impact Fund.

Maria del Rosario Palacios, the executive director of Georgia Familias Unidas, said she knows from personal experience how fear can convince minorities from acting in their own self interests by seeking police help.

When I was a legal permanent resident, before I became naturalized, I thought twice about calling law enforcement because if there was any kind of scratch on the abuser from me defending myself, then I knew what would happen," she said. "I knew that law enforcement could take both of us into custody, and that my immigration status would be in question.

The bill passed in the House after about 90 minutes of debate. It now heads to the state Senate for further debate.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: House passes bill defunding the police for refusing to work with ICE
A measured and defiant Hunter Biden provided context for a litany of allegations he faced during six hours with Republican lawmakers Wednesday, according to a transcript released Thursday of the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees' closed-door proceeding as part of their impeachment inquiry into his father, President Joe Biden.

The deposition appeared to include no major bombshells as Hunter Biden repeatedly invoked his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction -- telling the committee he was "embarrassed" by some of his conduct at the time -- while not once invoking his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

The GOP-led committees have yet to present firm evidence linking President Biden to his family's business arrangements.

MORE: Defiant Hunter Biden testifies behind closed doors in GOP impeachment inquiry

In explaining his putting his father on speakerphone in the presence of business associates, Hunter Biden said that he always answers the phone when his dad calls -- which he said is often -- citing the multiple family tragedies that the Bidens have endured over the years.

"My dad calls me like I'm sure a lot of your parents do, or a lot of you do with your children, and if I'm with people that are friends of mine, I'll have him say hi," Hunter Biden said. "It is nothing nefarious, literally."

Devon Archer, a former business partner of Hunter Biden's who is another witness in the probe, said earlier that he witnessed Hunter Biden put his father on speakerphone 20 times during their 10-year relationship.

"So that means, over the course of 10 years, twice a year, my dad would call me," Hunter Biden said, "and I would be in the middle of a dinner, and I always answer his call. I always answer his call, based upon my life's experience."

PHOTO: Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, leaves after a closed door interview as part of the Republican-led House of Representatives impeachment inquiry at the O'Neill House Office Building, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 28, 2024. (Michael Reynolds/EPA via Shutterstock)

"You understand my relationship with my family," he said. "When my dad was 29 years old, he woke up one day, went to work, and got a phone call and lost his wife and his daughter. And, in that same accident, he also lost almost my brother and myself. And then, when I was 46 years old, my 47-year-old brother died."

"And in our family, when you have a call from -- I call him or he calls me or I call one of my -- his grandkids or one of my children, you always pick up the phone. It's something that we always do," he said.

Other topics that Hunter Biden addressed included:

The 'big guy' email

When asked about a 2017 email from one of his business associates proposing that Joe Biden accept a share of profits from a prospective deal with a Chinese energy firm -- the infamous "10 held by H for the big guy" email -- Hunter Biden said the person who sent it, James Gilliar, had no basis for the suggestion.

"I truly don't know what the hell that James was talking about," Hunter Biden said.

The college recommendation

Asked about a college recommendation letter his father penned for the son of his Chinese business associate, Jonathan Li, Hunter Biden acknowledged that it happened -- but explained that "there was a rule in my family."

"My dad was often asked to write recommendations for hundreds of people that -- I'm sure over the course of the last 50 years," he said. "But the rule was that, if you were going to ask, that they had to be close friends; you had to know them well."

"And I knew both Jonathan, and I knew his son, who was applying to universities here in the United States," Hunter Biden said.

Jared Kushner

Hunter Biden at one point brought up former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, regarding Kushner's own foreign business dealings in an attempt to draw a contrast with the scrutiny he's received from the committee.

"Unlike Jared Kushner, I've never received money from a foreign government," he said.

Money for his father

Hunter Biden also reiterated that none of his money went to his father. He said he only sent money to his uncle James Biden and Hallie Biden -- but not his dad.

"But it's all my money, and it's none to my dad," he said. "But I am telling you this: is that if you can show me where any money that I've ever had went to my father, other than, for instance, the repayment of the $1,300 for a loan for a truck -- OK?" he said.

The Beijing meeting

Asked about a 2014 trip he took on Air Force Two to Beijing -- during which he reportedly introduced his father to Li -- Hunter Biden claimed it was not a meeting, but a rope-line event.

"When we returned from an event to the hotel, there was a rope line, and Jonathan Li was in the lobby of the hotel where I was going to meet him for coffee. In that line I introduced my dad to Jonathan Li and a friend of his, and they shook hands and I believe probably took a photograph," Hunter Biden said.

"And then my father went up to his room, and I went to have coffee with Jonathan Li," he said.

On Wednesday, during the early stages of Hunter Biden's closed-door interview, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz made an appearance before the press and said it is "a mirage to believe" the younger Biden was engaged in legitimate business overseas.

In a statement released Thursday following the release of the transcript, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Oversight Committee's ranking Democrat, said, "Hunter Bidens testimony debunked and demolished -- once more -- all the false claims and conspiracy theories that make up this hopeless impeachment inquiry."

"Its time to fold up the circus tent and send all the jugglers, clowns, and elephants home," Raskin said.

ABC News' Will Steakin and Christopher Boccia contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden addressed numerous allegations under questioning from lawmakers, transcript shows originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
A small petri dishes holding several embryos is positioned onto a microscope stand used to extract cells from each embryo to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) Michael Wyke/Associated Press Lab staff prepare small petri dishes holding several embryos onto a microsope stand and adjust the small pipettes used to extracted cells from each embryo to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) Michael Wyke/Associated Press Lab staff hold a blue stick containing an egg along with a stainless steel "cane" into a small portable liquid nitrogen container used to take eggs and embryos from large frozen storage containers to the lab at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) Michael Wyke/Associated Press Lab staff use a microscope stand and articulated hand controls to extract cells from 1-7 day old embryos, shown on the monitor at right, that are then checked for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) Michael Wyke/Associated Press

Texas fertility specialist Dr. Kaylen Silverberg has spoken to about 100 patients since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through in vitro fertilization should be considered children.

Its all the same thing, said Silverberg, a reproductive endocrinologist at Texas Fertility Center in Austin. Are we going to be affected by this ruling in Alabama?

The Alabama ruling earlier this month, which allowed three couples whose embryos were destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic to proceed with wrongful death lawsuits, sent shock waves through the IVF industry. Several Alabama fertility clinics paused IVF services as they consider the repercussions of the decision. Patients currently undergoing IVF or who have embryos in storage have also been left in limbo.

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The decision also set off alarms in other states, including Texas, that have banned or restricted abortion. Opponents of abortion have long sought to extend personhood status to fetuses and embryos. Proponents of IVF worry that it would have a chilling effect on an industry that is responsible for approximately 2.3% of all infants born in the United States each year.

But doctors and legal experts say they do not see an imminent threat to the future of IVF in Texas. They pointed to the reaction from politicians on both sides of the aisle who have signaled support for IVF in the wake of the Alabama ruling. They believe there is enough broad support for IVF that access to the procedure will ultimately be protected.

Ive said to my patients, We are not going to be (affected), said Silverberg, who has advocated for access to IVF as a lobbyist in Austin and Washington, D.C., because I dont think the same thing would happen in Texas.

The backlash to the Alabama ruling has already led to a response from lawmakers. Alabamas Senate and House of Representatives each voted Thursday on bills to protect doctors from civil and criminal liability if the embryos created through IVF are subsequently damaged or destroyed. Both chambers are expected to vote next week on a unified version of the bill before Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey can sign it into law.

Yet some doctors and advocates remain wary. Assisted reproductive technologies, of which IVF is the most popular, are critical for the estimated 1 in 6 people across the globe who are affected by infertility. They worry that if legislation defines life as beginning at fertilization  and does not specify whether that occurs in a womb or in a lab  it could limit access to those procedures.

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If a bill before a legislature said, We want to prohibit in vitro fertilization, I dont think a bill like that would pass any legislature in the country. And I dont think it would be close, said Sean Tipton, the chief advocacy and policy officer for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.  But if the question is Do you believe that all life should be protected, and life begins at the moment of conception, theres a legislature where that is going to pass.

The more significant threat, though, could be a court ruling similar to the Alabama decision.

Seema Mohapatra, a professor at Southern Methodist Universitys Dedman School of Law who is an expert in health law and bioethics, said the Alabama ruling opens the door for copycat decisions in other states.

We may be seeing either potential for states to kind of mimic the same kind of language, or state supreme courts or state judges thinking that this is how theyre going to interpret the law, she said.

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The landscape in Texas

In Texas, there is at least one lawsuit before the Texas Supreme Court seeking to have embryos treated as children under the law  but the Denton woman who filed it said she had no intention of getting involved in a political debate.

Caroline Antoun underwent IVF when she was married to her ex-husband. They had twins but had three more embryos in storage when they divorced in 2022. The contract she signed with her fertility clinic awarded those embryos to her ex.

Her suit seeks to have the embryos treated as children rather than property so they can be afforded the additional scrutiny of a custody hearing in her divorce.

I think we have to assign some kind of human value and dignity to an embryo. We cant see them as property, she said. Theyre not a car. Theyre not a house.

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However, proponents of IVF worry that treating embryos as children under the law could have serious repercussions. Patients may not be allowed to discard unhealthy or unused embryos or donate them for scientific research. Clinics also could face criminal penalties if an embryo is destroyed, either on purpose or accidentally, or does not survive being thawed for implantation.

Rulings like the one in Alabama could force fertility clinics and their patients to keep their embryos in storage for perpetuity if they dont want to have more children or donate them, said Dr. Michael Allon, a reproductive endocrinologist at Advanced Fertility Center of Texas in Houston. Storing a single embryo can cost hundreds of dollars per year.

Its a really big mess, Allon said. Anything theyre going to do now, the clinic and the doctors are going to be wary of the potential implications of what they do and what they decide.

Antoun is cautious of wading into the debate about discarding embryos because she is not left or right enough. But she does not believe the Texas abortion law, which bans the procedure after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, applies to embryos.

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Theres no heartbeat, so if people are going to go the route of discarding them, thats not illegal, she said. Its just not.

Antoun said she did not intend to insert herself into the political debate over personhood for embryos. If the Texas Supreme Court opts to take up her case, court documents filed by Antouns attorney say its justices could make a ruling that avoids directly addressing the question of personhood.

READ MORE: Woman suing Texas over abortion ban is moving her embryos out of state in wake of Alabama ruling

Antoun said she believes embryos should be treated as children so they are given more scrutiny in cases like hers, and so IVF patients like the ones in Alabama have more recourse to hold fertility clinics accountable for mistakes. But she understands that being pulled into the debate may be unavoidable.

If thats what ends up happening, so be it, she said. But its not my intention.

Repercussions for IVF

Doctors and advocates said the biggest concern with the Alabama ruling is that it left many in the IVF industry with questions.

The process involves collecting mature eggs from a patients ovaries, then fertilizing them in a lab. Those fertilized eggs, or embryos, are transferred to the patients uterus, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. If a patient has additional healthy embryos, they are typically frozen and stored in a lab.

The Alabama decision calls aspects of the process into question, Tipton said. What if an embryo is developing abnormally, with too few or too many chromosomes? Success rates for IVF vary depending on the patient and not all fertilized eggs will develop into viable embryos, Tipton said.

One of our challenges is to explain to the public and to policymakers what the medical reality is, Tipton said. Policies and judicial decisions need to actually reflect reality, and not just the ideological desires of the policymakers or the judges.

The challenge, Allon said, comes in trying to explain the science to lawmakers and judges who dont have a background in assisted reproductive medicine.

Theres a legal part that doesnt mesh so well with the medical side of things, Allon said. You cant mix them up very well most of the time.

READ MORE: Patients urge Alabama lawmakers to restore IVF services in the state

Estimates vary on the number of embryos in storage across the nation. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services puts the number at 600,000, while the National Embryo Donation Center estimates more than 1 million. In states that recognize embryos as children, they may need to be stored in perpetuity, donated or transferred to another state.

Mohapatra said any court rulings or legislation that impacts IVF could widen the gap in access to a procedure that is already expensive. Estimates put the cost of a single cycle of IVF at $12,400. Traveling to another state to undergo IVF or paying to transfer embryos to a state that does not treat them as children under the law would be even more expensive, she said.

That really also adds to the inequities that are already in place for IVF, Mohapatra said.

Dr. Reem Sabouni, a reproductive endocrinologist at Aspire Houston Fertility Institute, said there was shock and fear in Texas after the Alabama ruling. But she believes there has been a silver lining to the fallout.

Gov. Greg Abbott is among the Republican politicians who have expressed support for IVF after the ruling, though he did not directly call for legislation to protect access in Texas. But on Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican from Mississippi, blocked quick passage of a measure that would establish federal protections for IVF.

Sabouni noted that IVF is broadly popular; a recent Axios poll found that 66% of Americans oppose frozen embryo personhood and legal repercussions for anyone who destroys them. She believes the procedure will continue to be available in Texas in the future.
India has reported surprisingly robust economic growth, ending 2023 on a high note and providing a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi just weeks before an election that could give him a third term in office.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the worlds fastest growing major economy surged 8.4% in the final three months of 2023 compared with a year prior, up from growth of 7.6% in the June-to-September period, the countrys statistics office said Thursday.

The latest increase was much stronger than analysts expected and means Indias economy ended last year with a bang, Thamashi De Silva, assistant India economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note.

That pace of growth was the strongest among major economies last quarter, she added.

The data will further bolster optimism over the economic prospects of the worlds most populous nation. According to a report Wednesday from real estate consultancy Knight Frank, the number of ultra-rich Indians, those with a net worth of at least $30 million, will rise 50% over the five years to 2028, the biggest increase globally.

Buoyed by the strong GDP numbers, Indias stock markets hit new all time highs on Friday. Indian investors have been driving shares steadily higher over the past 12 months, pushing the combined value of companies listed on Indias exchanges above $4 trillion late last year.

The International Monetary Fund expects Indias economy to expand by 6.7% for the fiscal year through March, while the Modi government has a much higher estimate of 7.6%. The IMF projects the economy to grow by 6.5% in the fiscal year starting April 1.

Robust 8.4% GDP growthshows the strength of Indian economy and its potential, Modi said on X Thursday. Our efforts will continue to bring fast economic growth which shall help 140 crore [1.4 billion] Indians lead a better life.

A sustained expansion will rapidly push India up the rankings of the worlds biggest economies. Analysts at Jefferies expect the country to become the worlds third-largest economy by 2027, up from fifth currently.

India is also widely seen as an alternative to China for countries and companies looking to diversify their supply chains, particularly as the relationship between Washington and Beijing sours.

Modis government has been actively courting multi-national firms to set up factories in the country, as it spends billions to upgrade roads, ports, airports and railways.

Some of the worlds biggest companies, including Apple (AAPL) supplier Foxconn, are already expanding their operations there. And Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said last June that his company was looking to invest in India as soon as humanly possible.

On Thursday, the Modi government approved an investment of over $15 billion for the construction of three semiconductor plants by firms including the Tata Group, marking a major step towards its goal of making India an electronic manufacturing hub.

The factories are expected to create 20,000 advanced technology jobs and about 60,000 jobs in the wider community, the government said in a statement. It said the investment was a giant leap for Indias semiconductor ambitions.

India already has deep capabilities in chip design. With these units, our country will develop capabilities in chip fabrication, the statement said.

Keep calm

Despite the euphoria surrounding the latest growth figures, economists are advising caution.

All that glitters is not growth, Nomura wrote in a note on Friday. Underlying growth is weaker than what the headline suggests.

It added that consumption continues to lag and the agriculture sector, which contributes 16% to Indias GDP and is a major source of employment, has underperformed.

HSBC economists said calm was needed as manufacturing and construction were softer compared to the previous quarter, even as they acknowledged the country is growing at an incredible pace.

India remains an oasis of strong growth and macro stability in a volatile global backdrop, they wrote in a note on Friday.

De Silva at Capital Economics noted that the momentum behind Indias red-hot economic growth may fade a touch, as weak global growth weighs on exports, while tighter restrictions on unsecured lending in the country may limit household spending.

But any slowdown in growth will be mild, particularly as the governments infrastructure drive is likely to prop up activity, she added.

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An attorney with the special counsel Jack Smith's team told a judge Friday that holding former President Donald Trump's classified documents trial before the November election would not violate Justice Department policy.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is hearing arguments today on moving the May 20 trial date in Trump's federal classified documents case during a court conference in Florida that the former president is attending in person.

Special counsel Prosecutor Jay Bratt pushed for a July start, saying that holding a trial within 60 days of an election would not violate the Justice Department's typical aversion to bringing politically charged cases so close to an election.

Bratt told Judge Cannon a trial is permissible because the policy does not apply to already indicted matters.

"We are in full compliance with the Justice Department manual," said Bratt.

"This case can be tried this summer," Bratt said, accusing the defense of "trying to wring out of the court" endless hearings that do not need to be held.

Trump attorney Todd Blanche argued that it would be "unfair" to put Trump on trial for mishandling classified documents before the election.

"We very much continue to believe that a trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen," Blanche said during the scheduling conference in Fort Pierce, Florida.

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives on stage at a Get Out The Vote rally at Winthrop University, Feb. 23, 2024, in Rock Hill, S.C. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)

Blanche said the trial would take between four and five weeks, not including jury selection, and would be better suited to start after the country votes.

"There's no reason this trial can't start until late November," Blanche said.

Trump watched the morning's proceedings from a seat at the defense table, hunched forward with his hands clasped together on the table

Special counsel Jack Smith was seated behind two prosecutors from his team, Bratt and David Harbach. It was the first time Smith and Trump were in the same courtroom together since the D.C. Circuit court heard arguments on presidential immunity.

Trump's co-defendants, longtime aide Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago staffer Carlos De Oliveira, are also attending the hearing.

Judge Cannon broke for lunch offering little indication how she might rule, other than noting the 20 pretrial motions she still needs to decide.

"A lot of work needs to be done," the judge said.

Smith, in a filing Thursday, proposed a new trial date of July 8, while Trump's legal team is continuing to propose a trial date after the 2024 election -- but said in their own filing that Aug. 12 could be an alternative if Cannon were to disagree with that proposal.

Trump's lawyers have also argued that the case should be entirely dismissed based on Trump's claim of presidential immunity -- an argument that the Supreme Court on Wednesday said they would consider in Trump's federal election interference case.

Trump pleaded not guilty last June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation's defense capabilities, and took steps to thwart the government's efforts to get the documents back. The former president has denied all wrongdoing in the case.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee will hear final arguments Friday afternoon on the potential disqualification of District Attorney Fani Willis from the election interference case she brought against Trump and 18 others, on the grounds that she allegedly benefited financially from a romantic relationship she had with one of the prosecutors she hired for the case.

And with only 25 days until jury selection begins in Trump's criminal hush money case in New York, Friday's court proceedings could fundamentally realign the former president's legal battles as he races toward the 2024 presidential election.

The former president has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing in all cases.

Friday's court conference in Florida will address multiple motions to dismiss the classified documents case, as well as issues surrounding the classified materials in question and scheduling challenges.

It follows several sealed hearings that were held this month to address access to evidence. The special counsel's team and Trump's attorneys have clashed over how much discovery information should be redacted -- or completely withheld from public view.

Wednesday's decision by the Supreme Court granting Trump's request to consider whether he should have immunity from prosecution in his federal election subversion case has cast further doubt on whether the former president will stand trial on those charges prior to the 2024 election. Whether Trump can convince Judge Cannon to similarly delay his classified documents trial will be a central issue in Friday's hearing -- and could ultimately determine whether either case brought by Smith is ever heard by a jury.

In court filings, Trump's lawyers have argued that the same argument of presidential immunity should apply to Trump's alleged retention of classified documents, since the decision to remove the documents from the White House occurred while Trump was still president.

"The alleged decision was an official act, and as such is subject to presidential immunity," defense lawyers wrote last week in a motion to dismiss the case.

In an additional series of motions, Trump's attorneys argued that the case should be dismissed because Smith's appointment as special counsel was unlawful; that Smith charged Trump with statutes that shouldn't apply to the former president; and that Trump should have been able to have custody of the documents in question, even after he was president, because of the Presidential Records Act.

Complications surrounding the handling of classified documents in the case could also result in a delay. In November, Judge Cannon said she would make a decision on whether to move the trial date once the parties determined how classified discovery is handled at trial; however, the parties in the case still face multiple unresolved issues surrounding how classified information should be handled at trial and in pre-trial litigation.

MORE: Special counsel says Trump and co-defendants 'will stop at nothing' to delay classified docs trial

Trump has been attempting to delay the trial for several months, with his attorneys arguing in court filings last year that the extraordinary nature of the case means there should be no reason to expedite the trial. Earlier this month the special counsel's team said that Trump and his co-defendants "will stop at nothing to stall the adjudication of the charges against them by a fair and impartial jury of citizens."

Judge Cannon previously ruled that Smith's team must file a cache of documents on the public docket, but in a motion last month, Smith urged her to reconsider her ruling, saying that doing so would, among other things, reveal the names of potential witnesses in the case, "exposing them to significant and immediate risks of threats, intimidation, and harassment."

"These risks are far from speculative in this case," Smith argued in his filing. "Witnesses, agents, and judicial officers in this very case have been harassed and intimidated, and the further outing of additional witnesses will pose a similarly intolerable risk of turning their lives upside down."

Smith is asking Judge Cannon to suspend her ruling until the matter is resolved, suggesting that he might try to appeal the ruling to a higher court if Cannon doesn't reverse course.

Misconduct hearing in Georgia

Five hundred miles away from Judge Cannon's Florida courtroom, the Fulton County judge overseeing Trump's Georgia election interference case will hear arguments on Friday about the potential disqualification of DA Fani Willis.

"At this point, I need to start hearing the arguments and the law and what we've heard so far," Judge McAfee said on Tuesday following three days of witness testimony. "If I think I'm able to reach a ruling based on that, I will."

Defense lawyers have argued that Willis benefited financially by hiring a prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship and suggested that they both perjured themselves when they testified two weeks ago about the timing of their romantic relationship.

Both Willis and the prosecutor Nathan Wade said their romantic relationship started in the spring of 2022 -- months after Wade was hired by the Fulton County district attorney's office in November 2021.

MORE: Fani Willis ethics case may reverberate long after judge decision: Experts

"You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020," Willis testified, vehemently pushing back on the allegation that she benefited financially from the relationship.

"I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial," she said.

Defense lawyers initially argued that Wade's former law partner and divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley, would contradict Wade and Willis' claim about when the relationship began, but Bradley testified this week that any past statements he made to that effect were "speculation on my part."

"I do not know when the relationship started between Mr. Wade and Ms. Willis. I cannot recall that," Bradley repeated during Tuesday's two-hour hearing.

Special counsel says holding Trump's classified docs trial before election would not violate DOJ policy originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake claimed Thursday that if former President Trump were reelected, he would quickly wrap up the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the war between Israel and Hamas.

I think when we get President Trump back in the White House, these wars are going to wrap up quickly, Lake said at a press conference in Phoenix. And so I really believe that were not going to have to be continuing to pour money into endless wars because President Trump is about peace.

Lake, the Trump-endorsed candidate, narrowly lost the Arizona gubernatorial race in 2022 to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D). A former TV anchor, Lake has challenged her loss to Hobbs, maintaining without evidence that the election was stolen and not secure.

She announced she would run for Senate in October and was immediately endorsed by Trump. Lake is currently running against Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) for the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who has not yet announced whether she will run for reelection.

A strong ally of Trumps, Lake said Thursday that the former president was on the verge of bringing us world peace when he was in office. She highlighted the fact that Trump was wrapping up wars that he never started, and he did not start a single war.

And since Joe Biden has been in office, we have all kinds of trouble around the globe. And thats why we need a strong leader. And President Trump, one who puts America first, knows how to deal with world leaders, and I look forward to that, Lake said.

Trump has held his stance that if he were reelected, he would solve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. Nearly a year ago, Trump said he would speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which would be a very easy negotiation.

Zelensky has pushed back on the claim and has invited Trump on multiple occasions to visit the wars front line and show him that it isnt that simple.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A driver has been rescued from the cab of a truck that was left dangling dramatically over the edge of a bridge in Louisville, Kentucky, after her vehicle crashed through a barrier.

The woman was unharmed, officials say. Video showed rescue workers descending to pull her out of the cab.

Attention now turns to how to remove the truck from its precarious position, as it hangs over the Ohio River.

It is not yet clear how the incident happened. The bridge has been closed.

Police have confirmed there was a "motor vehicle collision" on the bridge, saying they expected the route to be close "for a period of time".

Firefighters confirmed the driver was pulled from the truck using ropes and ladders, and was back safely on the bridge in about 45 minutes. They added that nobody ever entered the water below.

"She held it together like a champ," Louisville Fire Department Chief Brian O'Neill said in a news conference, describing the woman as very calm throughout her ordeal.

"But I will say, the second she hit solid ground she was able to let those emotions go and just have that relief. It's a pretty impressive thing."

He added that it was "extremely lucky" that the vehicle never plunged into the water, roughly 75ft (23 meters) below.

One of the rescuers, firefighter Bryce Carden, said his training prepared him for the encounter, telling reporters "we've certainly done some crazy things but this tops it so far".

The rescue included a firefighter dangling from a ladder by a rope to access the truck

Police urged people to stay away from the scene.

The city's mayor, Craig Greenberg, saluted those who "swiftly responded", saying: "Your bravery is unmatched and we're grateful for your lifesaving work."

The vehicle has been described as a semi-truck, consisting of a cab which tows a trailer.

The driver of another vehicle involved in the Friday afternoon crash was taken to hospital with unspecified injuries.

The structure in question - the Clark Memorial Bridge, also known as the Second Street Bridge - connects Kentucky with southern Indiana.

Sysco, the company that owns the truck, released a statement saying it was "enormously grateful to rescue services and law enforcement who quickly and safely resolved the accident".

"We are thankful our Sysco colleague is safe and thank the first responders for their courageous efforts rescuing our driver.

"Safety is a priority at Sysco, and we are cooperating with the law enforcement investigation."
In October last year, the UN Security Council backed Kenya's offer to lead a multinational security force to Haiti

Around 1,000 Kenyan police officers are set to be deployed to Haiti in a bid to combat raging gang violence.

Last year, Kenya volunteered to lead a multinational security force in the troubled Caribbean nation.

Yet in January the High Court blocked the plan, ruling the government did not have the authority to deploy police to other countries without an agreement.

It also ruled that the National Security Council lacks the legal authority to send police outside Kenya.

On Thursday, Haiti's PM arrived in the East African state to salvage the plan.

In January, a UN envoy said that gang violence in Haiti had reached "a critical point", with nearly 5,000 deaths reported last year, more than double the number seen in 2022. While in that month alone, more than 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped.

In a statement on Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto said he and Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry had signed an agreement and discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment.

Along with the Kenyan officers, the Bahamas has committed 150 personnel. Jamaica and the state of Antigua & Barbuda have said they are willing to help, while the US has pledged 158m ($200m) to support the deployment.

Earlier this week, Benin offered 2,000 troops.

However, many Kenyans are opposed to the deployment, arguing that security challenges need to first be tackled at home.

Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who filed the initial petition against the deployment, told the AFP news agency on Friday that he would lodge a case "for contempt of court".

"We will question the validity of this secretive agreement," he said.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere and gang violence has increased following the 2021 assassination of former president Jovenel Moise. No one has replaced Mr Moise and elections have not been held since 2016.

Under a political deal concluded following Mr Moise's assassination, Haiti was supposed to hold elections and the unelected Mr Henry cede power by 7 February, but that did not happen.

Not only has the country been engulfed by widespread civil and political unrest, but with huge swathes of it under the gangs, Haiti's economy and public health system are also in tatters.

In recent weeks, thousands have taken to the streets to demand Mr Henry step down after he refused to do so as scheduled.

Since he left the country for Kenya, violence in Port-au-Prince has escalated even further, with prominent gang leader Jimmy Cherizier (nicknamed 'Barbecue') declaring a coordinated attack by armed groups to oust the prime minister.

"All of us, the armed groups in the provincial towns and the armed groups in the capital, are united today," the former police officer, who is thought to be responsible for numerous massacres in Port-au-Prince, said in a video posted on social media before the attacks began.

"The country is in a situation it can no longer cope with. The country is not run, there is no leader, the population is in famine, people can't go out because of the insecurity.

"The population is tired, it can't take it any more."

"The first objective of our fight is to ensure that Ariel Henry's government does not remain in power by any means."

The wave of shootouts and public panic in the capital has left four police officers dead and five injured.

Reports say the airport has been attacked, multiple airlines have cancelled flights, and that university students were briefly taken hostage with one shot and wounded.
Elishea Jones has lived in Alabama her entire life, but since the states highest court ruled that embryos are legally children last week and three major fertility clinics halted in vitro fertilization procedures because of the potential legal liability, Jones is questioning everything.

Its not a political issue. They claim that were about saving the babies and whats good for the children. This is what makes children happen for some families, said Jones, who attended a rally outside Alabamas State House on Wednesday to advocate for IVF protections.

Jones, 34, and her wife, Paige, 41, live in Alabaster with their 4-year-old son, Fendley. The couple conceived Fendley through IVF in 2020 and froze three more embryos in the hope of having another child in the future.

Elishea Jones, left, and her wife Paige. (Courtesy Elishea Jones)

Last week, Katherine Robertson, the chief counsel for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, said in a statement that Marshall has no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers.

Jones said the statement did not give her much comfort: I dont trust that.

One day after the attorney generals assurance, an explosive device detonated outside Marshalls office. No one was hurt, but Alabama authorities released a video of the suspect Wednesday in an effort to identify them.

For many same-sex couples, the events of the last week have felt deeply unsettling.

While IVF and other assisted reproductive technology procedures are not unique to same-sex couples, such couples rely on them more than heterosexual couples if they are trying to conceive children biologically.

Making IVF services off-limits or of uncertain legality disproportionately affects LGBTQ parents, said Mary Ziegler, a professor at the University of California Davis School of Law whose expertise includes the history and politics of reproductive rights.

The IVF process for Jones  including sperm, medications and her egg retrieval procedure  cost upward of $25,000 and took a significant toll on her body.

It was one of the toughest things Ive ever been through, like mentally, physically, she said, but she said with a shrug, It was the only way to have kids.

Jones has explored moving the embryos out of state but worries about the legal implications.

Could I get in trouble if I try to move them? she asked. As soon as I can get them out of the state, I will.

Carrie McNair holds a sign for IVF rights (Stew Milne / AP for The National Infertility Association)

Polly Crozier, the director of family advocacy for GLAD, an LGBTQ legal rights group, said the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling adds to the many challenges already facing LGBTQ parents in the state.

It is an environment where it is difficult to protect your legal parent-child relationship, even when your children are born, she said. So I think that LGBTQ people see a ruling like this, and I think it really strikes terror in their hearts.

This IVF case is obviously a very clear sign that the anti-abortion movement really has its sights set much broader than abortion, Crozier added. For some out-there activists, the vision is the only real family is a mother and a father who have created their children through sexual intercourse and are genetically related to them.

On Thursday, the state House and the state Senate passed bills that would grant legal protections to IVF providers and patients. Both chambers of the Legislature would need to vote on a unified bill before it could make its way to Gov. Kay Ivey. Critics say the bills fail to address whether or not an embryo created via IVF should be considered a child under state law, the core issue raised by the state Supreme Court ruling.

Caroline Veazey is not waiting to see what happens with the state legislation. Veazey, 30, went through one unsuccessful round of IVF last year before she tried again and successfully froze six embryos last summer. The process cost her over $20,000.

When the Supreme Court decision was reported, she launched a GoFundMe campaign and started frantically searching for ways to transport her embryos out of state.

I literally Googled how to move embryos out of a state or how to ship embryos and started getting quotes, said Veazey, who splits her time between Birmingham and Woodstock, Georgia. You can prepare for all the money for IVF; you cannot prepare for Oh, my gosh, I need to get my embryos out of Alabama immediately.

Caroline Veazey, right, and her fiancee Kandis Pulliam (Courtesy Caroline Veazey)

For Veazey, becoming a mother would be a dream come true. As someone who identifies as a lesbian, I knew at some point  partner or no partner  that I was going to go through IVF, she said.

I have a really rough relationship with my mother, who is unaccepting of my sexuality, said Veazey, a licensed counselor with many LGBTQ clients. And I could only hope and dream of having a baby who I could give complete acceptance and support to. That is my goal. Its what Ive always wanted.

Though moving the embryos to a storage facility near Woodstock would seem like a natural solution, Veazey is not confident something similar would not happen there. Georgia is a red state. It can go both ways, and I need to get them to a safe state, she said.

On Wednesday, Veazey signed paperwork waiving her IVF clinics liability so it can release the frozen embryos to a company that will transport them to a storage facility in Washington state.

Former state Rep. Patricia Todd, who in 2006 made history as the first openly gay lawmaker elected to the Legislature, worries about Alabamas future.

I think that a lot of younger same-sex couples will decide to leave Alabama, said Todd, who now works on LGBTQ advocacy across the state. They dont want to live in a state thats this regressive.

Moving is something Elishea Jones has begrudgingly started to question. Vermont is too cold. Colorado is too far from family. She gets emotional thinking about how she will explain all of this to her son one day.

I fought so hard to have him, so Im going to fight for him. If s--- goes down, were gone, she said, wiping away a tear, and then laughed. Ill protect his embryo-siblings.
Getty/Margie Rischiotto



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When it comes to working with crystals, you cant just pick any pretty rock. Each crystal has its own unique properties, meanings, and symbolism, making them suited for certain tasks and situations. Additionally, some crystals require special care, because some are more fragile or porous than others. When it comes to sodalite, this pretty blue stone is traditionally associated with intellectual strengths, like rational thought, clarity, and objectivity. Lets talk more about sodalite crystals.

What Is Sodalite?

Sodalite is a blue stone that is durable and easy to cut. Visually, it looks similar to lapis lazuli, but there are some differences. According to the International Gem Society , lapis lazuli is composed of the mineral sodalite as well as the minerals lazurite, hauyne, and nosean, while sodalite crystals contain the mineral sodalite but not contain lazurite, hauyne, and nosean. Sodalite is found in many locations around the world, with particularly large outputs from Canada, Namibia, the United States, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Greenland, Guina, India, Myanmar, Norway, Russia, and Scotland. One popular variety of sodalite is called hackmanite.

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The History of Sodalite Crystals

According to Fire Mountain Gems, the use of sodalite dates back to around 2,600 B.C., when the Caral peoples in modern-day Peru and the Tiwanaku peoples in modern-day Bolivia both traded for it. According to Caldera Gem , the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Mayans also used sodalite.

More recently, Europeans later discovered sodalite in Greenland in 1811, and it became widely used in jewelry and decor after large deposits were found in Canada in 1891. Sodalite is sometimes called Princess Blue because the Canadian deposits were discovered during a visit from members of the British royal family. Additionally, sodalite is sometimes called poor mans lapis of its visual similarities to lapis lazuli.

Sodalites Spiritual Meaning and Healing Properties

Sodalite is traditionally associated with intellectualism and communication. Its thought to improve clarity, self-expression, intuition, insight, wisdom, emotional stability, and calm. Sodalite is frequently recommended for artists, writers, and other creatives. Its even sometimes called  the Poets Stone .



How to Work with Sodalite Crystals

There are several ways you can work with sodalite. First, you can simply wear it, put it in your pocket, or place it around your home or workplace (for example, on your desk) and then soak up its ~vibes~. You can also use sodalite in meditation, by holding a sodalite stone in your palm while you meditate.

How to Care for Sodalite Crystals

Sodalite crystals are tough but can scratch easily; they typically rank 5.5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, making them softer than quartz (7-7.5) and topaz (8), but harder than fluorite (4) and calcite (3). Be careful to store sodalite apart from your other crystals so they dont get scratched by your quartz! To clean sodalite, the International Gem Society recommends using warm water, mild detergent, and a soft brush.

When to Wear Sodalite Crystals

Wear sodalite crystals any time you want a boost to creativity, clear communication or some reassuring calm vibes. For example, you might wear sodalite when brainstorming an idea for a new creative project or giving a big presentation at work. Or, you can simply wear them because they look so pretty!

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Where to Place Sodalite Crystals at Home

Crystal pros often recommend you place crystals around your workspace, whether thats your office or the desk where you're writing your novel at home. They boost your intellectual energy, creativity, and focus, so theyre particularly helpful for brainpower. Some people also recommend keeping crystals around your bed, like on your bedside table, under your bed, or even under your pillow. They boost creativity, intuition, and wisdom, so you might have some extra meaningful dreams or wake up feeling inspired.

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WASHINGTON  Nikki Haley got her first Senate endorsement on Friday from Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump.

America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President  and in this race, there is no one better than her, Murkowski said in a statement ahead of the Alaska GOP primary on Tuesday.

Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans, the senator added.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) swiftly followed, telling the Bangor Daily News that she considered Haley to be extremely well-qualified.

She has the energy, intellect, and temperament that we need to lead our country in these very tumultuous times, Collins told the outlet.

Both Murkowski and Collins voted to convict Trump in his Jan. 6 impeachment trial.

Collins has offered only mild criticism of the former president in recent months, and spoke out against Maines decision to leave him off the GOP primary ballot.

Murkowski, meanwhile, has been sharply critical of the former presidents tone and conduct, saying recently that his rhetoric is poisoning our country.

She and Collins are only Haleys second and third congressional endorsements so far. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) is the lone House member backing her 2024 campaign.

Republicans who oppose Trump are on an island in their party right now. Trump swept all four early GOP presidential nominating states and he has the backing of more than 130 Republicans in the House and over 30 Republicans in the Senate, despite facing 91 criminal charges across several jurisdictions.

Haley acknowledged earlier this week its very possible the GOP has fully become the party of Trump.

What were doing is if 70% of Americans say they dont want Donald Trump or Joe Biden, we are giving them an option, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on CNN.

This weeks announcement by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that he will step down as his partys leader in the Senate after nearly two decades in the post also underscored the GOPs stunning transformation from the traditional conservatism of Ronald Reagan to Trumps brand of populist isolationism.

His replacement is likely to be far more closely aligned with Trump even if he loses the 2024 presidential election.

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A New Jersey businessman charged with attempting to bribe Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) with a Mercedez-Benz for his political sway has pleaded guilty in the far-reaching corruption case after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.

Jose Uribe entered a guilty plea Friday in federal court in New York to charges that include conspiracy to commit bribery, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion, court filings show.

Under his plea deal, Uribe must truthfully and completely disclose all information with respect to the activities of himself and others concerning all matters about which this Office inquires of him, which information can be used for any purpose.

He also is required to testify truthfully at any future proceedings, including Menendezs trial, if called upon. The Hill has requested comment from Menendezs attorneys.

Uribe was first indicted on two charges in the fall, and his plea includes five more charges newly unveiled Friday.

Uribe was originally accused of helping secure a Mercedes-Benz convertible for Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, in exchange for Menendezs help disrupting a criminal investigation into the businessman by New Jerseys attorney general. Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to four counts each.

The businessmans plea, however, acknowledges many of the facts at the center of the charges against the senator.

Uribe also pleaded guilty Friday to an obstruction of justice charge for claiming to prosecutors in July  before charges were brought  that the payments Uribe made for the convertible were a loan. Prosecutors in charging documents said the false and misleading statement was an effort to interfere with the investigation of the senator.

The businessman also pleaded guilty to tax evasion for not reporting certain income from 2016 through 2021.

The Court accepts the guilty plea, the court wrote in a brief docket entry.

Two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were charged alongside Menendez and have pleaded not guilty.

Hana and Menendezs wife are accused of plotting with Menendez between January 2018 and June 2022 to aid the Egyptian government. Menendez also allegedly recommended President Biden nominate an individual as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey with the belief that person could be influenced regarding a criminal prosecution involving Daibes.

Uribes sentencing is set for June 14, just weeks after Menendezs trial is set to begin May 6.

The New Jersey senator has brushed off calls for him to step aside in the wake of the indictment, though he did step down from chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty, Menendez said in the fall after being charged. I intend to continue to fight for the people of New Jersey with the same success Ive had for the past five decades. This is the same record of success these very same leaders have lauded all along.

Updated at 4:18 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Police are searching for two men involved in an attempted home invasion Sunday, Jan. 28 in the Eastex-Jensen area. Houston Chronicle

Seabrook police have recovered the body of an elderly man previously reported to have gone missing, according to officials.

The body of James Allen Benge, 67, was discovered Wednesday morning in a body of water at the Seabrook Marina and Shipyard, said Detective Jason Smith of the Seabrook Police Department.

Police responded to a call about a deceased person near the shipyard address, and the body was later identified by the Harris County Medical Examiners Office as that of Benge, who had been the focus of Silver Alert investigation since Feb. 26.

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On Feb. 25, officers had been dispatched to the Shipyard Drive address in response to a suspicious circumstance and welfare concern call involving an abandoned vehicle near the shipyard with the engine running, Smith said.

Police were able to identify Benge as the owner of the vehicle and began an extensive search along the shipyard and its vicinity.

When we did the initial search for him (Benge), we were looking all over the place on both land and water, Smith said.

When the search, conducted by Seabrook police, the Seabrook and Nassau Bay fire departments and the U.S. Coast Guard, was unsuccessful in locating Benge, Seabrook PD issued the Silver Alert just after 1 a.m. Feb. 26.

We did everything we could to locate him as far as a land and water search, and unfortunately he was located in the water several days later, Smith said.

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Police did not provide additional details on the circumstances of Benges disappearance.

In Texas, Silver Alerts are issued to notify the public about missing older adults and those elderly adults with a documented cognitive impairment condition. Police did not confirm whether Benge had been diagnosed with such a condition.
When OB-GYN Dr. Chavone Momon-Nelson thinks about the Black maternal mortality crisis, one particular patient sticks out to her. In her late 30s, Black and aware of the higher maternal mortality rate for her race, this woman wanted to speak to Momon-Nelson about whether to have another child. Even though she wanted one, she felt afraid. The last time she was pregnant, she had preeclampsia and didnt realize how close to dying she was. The two had a candid chat about her health and the risks of being pregnant and Black.

She decided to keep her IUD because she was like, I think its a little bit too risky, Momon-Nelson, who practices in rural Pennsylvania, tells TODAY.com.

For Momon-Nelson, this moment touched to the core of who I am as an OB-GYN and who I am as a Black woman and reminded her how much medicine still needs to change to improve Black maternal mortality.

We can do so much better. I love medicine. I have been dreaming about doing this job since I was a little girl, she says. Thats why Im so hopeful that in my career that there will be some changes.

Black maternal mortality and racism in medicine

Pregnancy can be dangerous for Black people. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Black people are three times more likely to die than white people during pregnancy or up to a year after. Many factors contribute to that, including reduced access to health care and preexisting conditions.

To reduce the Black maternal mortality rate, there needs to be a fundamental change in the actual foundation of health care systems, Dr. Jessica Shepherd, an OB-GYN at Sanctum Med + Wellness in Dallas, tells TODAY.com. That would be (addressing) insurance coverage, that would be (increasing) access to resources and tertiary care hospitals or systems that are in food desserts, underprivileged areas.

While systemic issues are at play, lingering stereotypes about Black peoples bodies remain pervasive in medicine and likely contribute to worsened maternity outcomes for Black people, experts say.

That is real, Momon-Nelson says. A lot of people dont want to talk about it, but it is real. And we can go back to slavery to see how racism has impacted medicine.

Dr. Kameelah Phillips encounters myths regularly that she believes contribute to negative outcomes for Black pregnant people. If they come up when shes working with residents and medical students, she uses that as an opportunity to start a dialogue.

There are conversations that we have in training now, talking to medical students about how there is a perception that Black women bleed differently, or bleed more often or somehow have different blood, that we know is not the case, Phillips, the founder of Calla Womens Health in New York City, tells TODAY.com. These beliefs can impact them greatly when were dealing with, for example, postpartum hemorrhage.

Another myth she often encounters is that Black people experience pain differently. This can mean that they do not receive appropriate care.

Dr. (Marion) Sims and how he experimented on enslaved women without anesthesia really cemented this idea that Black women, women of color, process pain somehow differently, she explains. That is a subject that Im still touching base with my residents and medical students all the time  helping them remember that they subconsciously learn things that are based in racist behaviors and ideology.

Studies show that people who are treated by doctors who look like themselves have better outcomes, Momon-Nelson says. But its not realistic to simply recommend people of color seek out doctors of color.

Black physicians make up about 5-6% of all physicians. Black female physicians make up 2% of all physicians, she says. If you only have 2-5% of people who look like you (as doctors), the likelihood that someone would be cared for by somebody who is Black is very low.

Phillips has also noticed that her patients are more aware of the Black maternal mortality crisis.

In my practice people are coming in  sometimes a little afraid ... but then what I do is quickly turn it to not a spirit of fear but a spirit of action, Phillips says. Coverage on social media and other places has really helped us engage patients with conversations.

She also notices that these chats she has with patients make them more invested in their care and compliant with recommendations, such as taking iron or monitoring their blood pressure regularly.

Weve spent time in the office talking about different interventions that we might use, she says. When Im interacting with patients, its a much more informed and seamless engagement.

Making sure your pregnancy concerns are addressed

Phillips says its a doctors role to identify and address new symptoms in pregnancy and look out for patients so they don't have to advocate for themselves. Yet, she knows that patient concerns, especially for Black people, are often overlooked or dismissed.

Even if a patient has a good relationship with the doctor, the experts agree that bringing a support person to prenatal and postnatal visits can help people feel more empowered to speak up if they feel they're not being heard, Momon-Nelson says.

For those who can hire a doula, whose job is to advocate and provide emotional support during pregnancy and childbirth, it can be beneficial. Research shows that having a doula decreases the likelihood of having a C-section, and the need for oxygen and pain medication during delivery, TODAY.com previously reported.

Doulas and midwives really have a good sense of being champions of making sure the patient is heard, their desires are heard and trying to make sure that those objectives and goals that the patient has are reached, Shepherd says.

The doctors also recommend that people write down any questions they have about their condition and then the answers. That can help them have a better understanding of their health and the plan of treatment.

Momon-Nelson says people should also record when a new symptom occurs between visits.

If something happens in between one appoint to the next and you dont find it super urgent, go ahead and write it down so you dont forget to tell me, she says.

She also suggests people use their health systems patient portal to send quick notes about changes and whether it is concerning.

What to say if you're dismissed

If a patient mentions symptoms or concerns and their doctor dismisses them, Phillips recommends using specific language, which includes:

Im concerned about (insert problem).

What are the steps to manage (insert problem)?

What is my follow up for (insert problem)?

If it remains unclear, she recommends following up until they feel comfortable that a plan is in place.

If they feel like they dont have an understanding and say, Sorry doctor, unfortunately I still dont understand what my risk for X is. What the intervention is, Phillips says. (I hope) they really dont feel pressure to leave the situation until they have an understanding.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Boeing is in talks to buy back Spirit Aerosystems, which makes fuselages for Boeings 737 Max jets, according to a person familiar with the matter, as both companies scramble to stamp out manufacturing flaws on the top-selling plane.

Shares of Spirit were up 13% as of early afternoon on Friday, while shares of Boeing were down about 1%. Spirit Aerosystems had a market capitalization of $3.3 billion as of Thursdays close.

We do not comment on market speculation, a spokesperson for Spirit Aerosystems told CNBC. Boeing also declined to comment.

Boeing in 2005 spun off operations in Kansas and Oklahoma that became the present-day Spirit Aerosystems. About 70% of Spirits revenue last year came from Boeing, and about a quarter comes from making parts for Boeings main rival, Airbus.

The repurchase talks were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

It comes less than two months after a section of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all of the planes in January, leading to investigations into the accident and Boeings production lines.

It was the latest and most serious in a host of flaws on the Boeing 737 Max, Boeings best-selling jet.

The bolts on the door plug of the Max involved in the January accident appeared not to have been attached when it left Boeings Renton, Washington, factory, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Boeing has disclosed several production problems and quality flaws on the fuselages that Spirit makes, including incorrectly drilled holes and incorrect spacing on some fuselage components, problems that slowed deliveries of new jets to airlines.
Then-President Trump and Joe Biden debate during the 2020 campaign. (Getty Images)

In 2020, Joe Biden beat then-President Trump in California by more than 29 points, amassing a statewide margin of more than 5 million votes  the largest in the history of presidential elections.

Three years in office have not been kind to Biden.

Biden will win Tuesdays primary  he has no serious opposition. And barring a sudden turn for the worse in his health, hes not at risk of losing deeply Democratic California in November.

But hell be lucky to achieve half the margin he ran up last time around, according to the latest Times statewide poll with UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies .

The poll of voters in California, the nations largest Democratic stronghold, highlights the problems the president faces nationwide as he seeks another four years in the White House.

Third-party candidates hurt Biden

One problem is the potential impact of minor-party and independent candidates.

The Berkeley IGS poll shows Biden leading Trump by 18 points statewide in a head-to-head matchup. But that drops to 12 points when independent and minor-party candidates are included.

In swing states, where Biden doesnt have a Democratic cushion to protect him, the impact of those independent and minor-party candidates could be enough to swing the outcome.

Of the three independent and third-party candidates the poll tested, the Green Partys Jill Stein and Cornel West, who is running as an independent, draw support away from Biden, the poll found. When the poll asked voters their second choice, most West and Stein backers said Biden.

Neither has much support  2% and 3%, respectively  but if that were mirrored in closely divided states, it could be enough to matter. In 2016, Steins vote was larger than Trumps margin in three swing states, causing Democrats to charge that she cost Hillary Clinton the election. How many of Steins voters might have voted for Clinton is unknown, but the risk of third-party candidates drawing support away from Biden has haunted Democrats.

A third independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had 11% support in the poll, but his voters were almost evenly split between Trump and Biden as their second choice.

Those candidates, especially West and Stein, may have more impact in California than elsewhere in the country because of the states liberal electorate, noted Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS poll.

The impact of those candidates could fade by November  that typically happens. They may not even make the ballot in some swing states. Each state sets its own rules for ballot access  some, including California, are easy, others are very difficult, and the deadline remains months away.

But the large number of voters who currently say they would vote for a third-party or independent candidate is a measure of the disaffection with Biden, DiCamillo said.

Latino and young voters dismayed

Another central problem for Biden is the alienation of some key Democratic constituencies.

Just after he was inaugurated, almost two-thirds of California voters had a favorable view of Biden. Today, fewer than half, 45%, still do, the poll found.

Among Democrats, 26% now have an unfavorable view of the president, up from just 7% when he took office.

That drop isnt only  or even primarily  coming from voters on the left angered by Bidens support of Israel in the war in the Gaza Strip. Bidens support has dropped 24 points among voters who identify themselves as moderates, 15 points among those who call themselves somewhat liberal and 16 points among the strongly liberal.

Especially concerning to Democratic strategists, the percentage holding a favorable view of Biden has dropped 30 points over the last three years among voters younger than 30 and 20 points among Latino voters, only 43% of whom now see him favorably.

The younger voters are a key segment in this election, said DiCamillo. A 30-point decline is huge, DiCamillo said, and underscores the concern among Democrats that many younger voters may just decide not to vote.

Even if that wouldnt cause Biden to lose the state, Democrats further down the ballot fear that a lower turnout could lead to Democratic losses in closely fought swing congressional districts. California has at least four districts that both parties consider toss-ups, enough to potentially determine which party controls the House next year.

To the extent that the poll has good news for Biden, its this: His standing with voters may have bottomed out. After rising consistently in polls over the last three years, the share who see him unfavorably, 49%, hasnt changed from the last Times-Berkeley IGS poll in early January.

Moreover, in a reelection match against Trump, who is also very unpopular, Biden can still win voters who have an unfavorable view of him. Of the voters who back Biden in a head-to-head matchup with Trump, about 1 in 6 view the president unfavorably. About two-thirds of those who said they remained undecided also disapprove of Biden.

But getting votes from people who have a negative view is definitely doing things the hard way. Boosting the number of voters who see the president favorably remains job No. 1 for his reelection campaign.

Trump dominates the GOP

Despite Nikki Haleys best efforts to inject suspense into the Republican primaries, the outcome isnt really in doubt. Trumps dominance of the GOP wobbled briefly after the Republicans poor showing in the 2022 midterm elections, but he surged back into control in 2023.

Among likely Republican primary voters in California, 75% now say they plan to vote for Trump, compared with just 15% for Haley, the poll found. Trumps support is up from 66% in early January and 57% in October.

In the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, Haley got a lot of her support from independent voters. But they cant participate in Californias Republican primary. With only registered Republicans eligible to vote, Trump dominates all major demographic groups in the California primary.

The only significant group among whom Haley currently leads is the small share of Republicans who plan to vote for Biden in the fall, the poll found.

Key group: Double disapprovers

With both Trump and Biden unpopular, key voters to watch are those who take a dim view of both.

In California and nationwide, thats close to 1 in 5 voters.

In 2016, the double disapprover group was similarly large and broke decisively in favor of Trump over Clinton. Double disapprovers were much less of a factor in 2020 because Biden was relatively popular.

So far in this election cycle, voters nationwide who dislike both candidates have fluctuated a lot in their preferences, according to an analysis of national polls by Charles Franklin at Wisconsins Marquette University.

Marquettes numbers show that 37% of voters nationwide land solidly on Bidens side, with a favorable view of the president and an unfavorable view of Trump. On the other side, 42% have a favorable view of Trump and an unfavorable view of Biden.

In California, with its heavily Democratic electorate, 43% have a favorable view of Biden and an unfavorable view of Trump; 29% view Trump favorably and Biden unfavorably, the Berkeley IGS poll finds.

Almost no one likes both candidates, either nationally or in California, and a majority of voters consistently say theyd rather not face this rematch. But barring accident or illness that could befall either of the two elderly candidates, the rematch is what the country faces. Currently, Trump holds the edge. Biden can regain it, but as the California numbers show, he has a hill to climb.

The Berkeley IGS poll was conducted online in English and Spanish Feb. 22-27, among 6,536 California registered voters, including 1,053 Republicans likely to vote in the GOP presidential primary.

The results were weighted to match census and voter registration benchmarks, so estimates of the margin of error may be imprecise; however, the results for the full registered voter sample have an estimated margin of error of 1.5 percentage points in either direction. The estimated margin of error for the sample of likely Republican primary voters is 3.5 points.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CVS and Walgreens announced on Friday that they will soon start dispensing mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortions, in states where abortion is allowed.

The two large pharmacy chains said they had received certification to dispense mifepristone, following a rule change the Food and Drug Administration finalized in January 2023.

The FDA decision broadened the availability of abortion pills by allowing pharmacies to dispense them to patients in person or or by mail, though neither CVS nor Walgreens are sending the medication by mail yet. Previously, patients were required to pick up the medication in person at a clinic, medical office or hospital.

Mifepristone is the first of two pills used in medication abortions. The second is misoprostol.

The FDA policy still requires pharmacies to meet certain requirements and complete a set of forms to get certified to sell mifepristone  that's the process CVS and Walgreens have completed.

Walgreens said it will begin dispensing mifepristone pills within a week  consistent with state laws  in select locations in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.

We are beginning a phased rollout in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety, and privacy for our patients, providers, and team members, Walgreens said in a statement.

CVS said it is working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure the medication and are not yet dispensing it in any of their pharmacies.

The statement added that pharmacies will begin to fill prescriptions in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead, then will expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.

CVS and Walgreens said mifepristone will be only dispensed at their physical pharmacy locations, though Walgreens added that home delivery via a courier service will be available for customers at select locations in accordance with state and federal laws.

Pharmacies in states where abortion is banned will not sell mifepristone.

Medication abortion made up more than half of all U.S. abortions in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that advocates for abortion access.

Boxes of mifepristone at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. (Allen G. Breed / AP file)

Following the CVS and Walgreens announcements, President Joe Biden issued a statement praising the change.

With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacyjust as they would for any other medication, Biden said. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification.

CVS and Walgreens announcements come as the Supreme Court is poised to hear oral arguments in March in a high-stakes case that takes aim at FDA policies that have expanded access to mifepristone in recent years. It will be the first significant abortion case before the Supreme Court since its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the constitutional right to abortion.
By Jonathan Allen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - FBI agents searched the New York City home of a senior policy adviser to Mayor Eric Adams early on Thursday, according to News 12.

The FBI, which typically does not publicly discuss ongoing investigations, did not respond to questions about the search by dozens of agents at the Bronx home of Winnie Greco.

But it comes after the FBI seized the mayor's electronic devices in November and searched his chief fundraiser's home as part of a criminal inquiry into whether Adams' 2021 election campaign team conspired with a Brooklyn construction company and the Turkish government to illegally obtain foreign donations, the New York Times has reported.

Greco could not be reached for comment and it was unclear whether she had an attorney. She went on leave from work on Thursday, according to City Hall. She has volunteered and worked with the mayor for many years, both as a fundraiser on his election campaign and presently as his adviser for Asian affairs.

A spokesperson for the mayor released a statement repeating earlier statements that the mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. No one has been charged in the federal investigation into the mayor's campaign fundraising.

"Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines," the statement said. "As we have repeatedly said, we don't comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway."

The FBI also searched two other properties on Thursday including a second home belonging to Greco, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed officials.

In November, the city's Department of Investigation opened an inquiry into Greco at the request of City Hall following a report by The City news outlet that she had tried to benefit from her government position in violation of city ethics rules.

(Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Jeffrey Sherer, at the Dental Design Studio, told the BBC some practices could provide more NHS treatment

An underspend of 18.3m ring-fenced for dentistry in Norfolk and Waveney could be spent elsewhere due to a lack of dentists, the NHS says.

The amount is more than a quarter of the area's 65.5m budget for dentistry.

Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association (BDA), warned that the money was being used to plug "black holes" in other healthcare budgets.

The area's Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it was investing "as much of the dental budget" as it could.

Norfolk and Waveney has been described by people in the sector as a "dental desert".

The Association of Dental Groups said there were 38 NHS dentists for every 100,000 people in the area in May 2022, one of the lowest rates in England.

One patient told the BBC how he resorted to pulling out two of his own teeth - and another said he had paid privately for treatment in Spain.

Norfolk and Waveney's underspend in dentistry is the largest for any ICB area in the east of England

Mr Crouch added: "In areas of the country where the ICBs have been more radical and actually used the funding [for dentistry], we've seen a reduction in the number of people phoning 111 for emergency care."

In November, NHS England told ICBs they could divert unspent money to pay for other healthcare, like drugs and hospital operations.

A spokesperson said: "NHS England has ringfenced dental allocations and on behalf of patients we are supporting dental contractors to deliver on their commitments in full, so this money is spent. However, if dental contractors underdeliver on their commitments this results in an underspend.

"The Dental Recovery Plan will support practices to deliver on their obligations and increase access for patients."

Jeffrey Sherer, the clinical director of the Dental Design Studio, which has six practices in the area, said: "In some of our practices, we have capacity to do more, but because we're only commissioned for a certain amount of NHS treatment, that's the only amount we can provide."

After taking over a practice in North Walsham, he said 3,000 people asked in the space of 24 hours whether it was taking on additional NHS patients.

There are no surgeries in Norfolk and Waveney taking on new adult NHS patients.

Dr Kristina Nadizadeh made the decision to only see private patients

The number of NHS dentists in Norfolk and Waveney reduced by 85, to 372, between 2014-15 and 2022-23, with the trend continuing in 2023-24.

The BDA believes staff will be incentivised if the NHS increases what it pays dentists for each examination.

In Norfolk and Waveney, these are being increased to a minimum of 30, which the ICB said was higher than the 28 recommended in the government's recently published dental recovery plan.

However, Mr Sherer pointed out these payments were on average higher in Yorkshire and added: "Most dentists are self-employed and will want to go where they are getting paid the most for delivering treatment."

Private dentist Dr Kristina Nadizadeh said she would never work in the NHS, adding: "It is too much stress for too little money."

Stephen Ward said he lost his NHS dentist when the practice went private

Mr Ward, who pulled out two of his teeth, said the NHS needed to pay dentists more

Stephen Ward said he pulled out two of his teeth - another two fell out - and four were broken. He took painkillers but said it still felt "excruciating and eating hurt".

Mr Ward said he wanted to become a new patient at the North Walsham practice and said he had not had an NHS dentist for four years. He receives universal credit.

"Even when you're in desperate pain on the NHS, it seems impossible [to be treated]... it's going back to the dark ages," he said.

"I called round every dentist I could find the number for in Norfolk, and some in Suffolk, and got nowhere."

Peter, 64, and Pauline Dunkley, 63, from Watton, said they lost their NHS dentists after the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Mr Dunkley had a tooth removed and a filling while on holiday in Velez-Malaga, Spain. Ms Dunkley also had a filling.

"Maybe I wouldn't have had the need for my tooth to be removed if I'd have had treatment on the NHS," said Mr Dunkley.

'Encouraging dentists'

Norfolk county councillors have written to the health secretary to outline concerns regarding the national pay contract for dentists.

The government said its dental recovery plan would include "a new marketing campaign to help everyone who needs one to find a dentist".

It said up to 240 dentists across England would be offered 20,000 to work for three years in under-served areas.

A spokesperson for NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB said: "The ICB is committed to improving patient access to high quality NHS dental care.

"We are investing as much of the dental budget as we can to support delivery of dental services and improve patient access to services.

"We don't have the level of NHS provided dental services we need in Norfolk and Waveney, and we have been working hard since we took over responsibility for the commissioning of NHS dentistry on 1 April 2023 to increase availability of NHS dental care.

"We are working to build relationships with dental practices to provide support and encourage them to work with the NHS contract. We have uplifted the amount we pay dentists to provide NHS care to a minimum of 30 per Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) to make our rates more attractive and encourage more dentists to come and work in our area."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
GOP Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, has decided to seek reelection after announcing earlier this month that he was planning to retire, according to a GOP source close to the Tennessee Republican.

The quick reversal comes after Green received encouragement from multiple Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, to stay in Congress.

Axios was first to report Greens decision.

Trump praised Green on social media earlier in the day, saying hed endorse the congressman if he ran for reelection.

Mark Green has had lots of options because of his political talents, and the great job he has done as a Congressman, but given the fantastic work hes doing as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, I hope he runs for Re-Election to the U.S. House of Representatives. If he does, he has my Complete and Total Endorsement! Trump wrote on Truth Social.

In announcing he wouldnt run for reelection on February 14, Green said he had accomplished what he set out to do in Congress. He pointed to the House voting to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, an effort he helmed from his committee, and passing H.R. 2, a sweeping GOP border security bill  neither of which is likely to move forward in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

I feel like there are other fights for me to get into, he told CNN shortly after announcing he wouldnt be running. CNN reported at the time that Green had expressed interest in running for governor of Tennessee, according to multiple sources.

The Tennessee lawmakers reversal comes as several House GOP committee chairs have announced plans to leave Congress. Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas, and Energy and Commerce Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers will not seek reelection.

This report has been updated with additional information.

Annie Grayer, Morgan Rimmer and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.

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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) touted his role in pushing the FBI to investigate the allegations made by ex-FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who has since been charged with making up false claims central to the GOPs impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

Last July, Grassley released a lightly redacted document  an FD-1023 form  detailing unfounded allegations of the Biden familys corruption and bribery. The form featured conversations Smirnov had with the FBI, in which he relayed that the head of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma told him he paid both President Biden and his son Hunter Biden $5 million each.

In his floor speech Tuesday, Grassley said the FBI finally acted because of the documents release.

In other words, we embarrassed them, he said. And by that time, as Ive said by my timeline, the document was over three years old. Three years they didnt do their job. So, the 1023 sat with the FBI collecting dust, until we, in Congress, acted. My releasing the 1023 got the FBI to do its job that they should have been doing three years before.

The forms details came back to light earlier this month after Smirnov was arrested and charged with making false statements to the FBI. He is accused of making up the allegations in the wake of his opposition to Bidens presidential candidacy.

Grassleys release of the form drew scrutiny at the time, notably from Democrats, while he maintained he did it for the sake of transparency.

Its all pretty simple. I didnt promote or vouch for the allegations in the 1023 as the truth, like some confused Democrats and partisan media have falsely said, Grassley said on the Senate floor Tuesday. I pushed the FBI to do their job because thats my responsibility to the taxpayers and the people of Iowa.

Grassley reiterated his point in an exclusive call with Iowa reporters Wednesday, per a USA Today report.

He told reporters his role in the investigation was misinterpreted and that he only released the document to make sure the FBI was properly following up on a lead he thought was being ignored, USA Today reported.

Just think of what I did for the people [of] this country  making sure that somebody [who] was misleading the FBI is no longer going to mislead them, he reportedly said. And think what I did for the people of this country to make sure that the FBI is doing its job.

The Hill reached out to the FBI for comment.

A federal judge on Monday ruled Smirnov will remain jailed after federal prosecutors raised concerns he was planning to flee the country because he made plans to travel outside the U.S. to meet with multiple foreign intelligence agencies who could relocate him.

Prosecutors also alleged Smirnov received information from Russian intelligence and said he had access to more than $6 million in liquid funds, which would allow him to live comfortably overseas for the rest of his life.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Reuters) - Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has committed to holding general elections by Aug. 31 next year, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) said in a statement on Thursday, a day after the conclusion of a regional summit in Guyana.

CARICOM said it would send an assessment team to evaluate electoral needs by March 31 of this year to support planning and establishment of the relevant institutions.

Henry, who came to power after the assassination of the country's last president Jovenel Moise in 2021, had previously pledged to step down by early February, but later said security must first be re-established in order to ensure free and fair elections.

Crowds came to the streets to protest around the previous date, and on Thursday there was fresh violence marked by heavy gunfire in downtown Port-au-Prince as prominent gang leader Jimmy Cherizier called for Henry's government to be toppled.

Since Moise's assassination, hundreds of violent gangs have since expanded their territory, coalescing around two main alliances, and are now estimated to control most of the capital.

The Caribbean nation last held elections in 2016 and its last senators' terms expired more than a year ago.

Henry had in October 2022 called for a "rapid" international security force to help under-resourced national police fight the heavily armed gangs, and though the U.N. ratified sending such a body a year later there is still no set deployment date nor are there details on how large the force would be.

On Thursday, a U.N. spokesman said the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad had formally notified the United Nations of their intent to contribute personnel. Kenya has offered to lead the mission with some 1,000 police officers.

Kenya's proposed leadership is facing a constitutional challenge at home, but officials from Haiti and the African country have continued to hold meetings. Public pledges of support are overwhelmingly from developing nations.

The United States has meanwhile pledged $200 million in support, Canada around $60 million and France close to $4 million. The U.N. spokesman said less than $11 million has so far been deposited into the U.N.'s designated trust fund.

The ratification of the force is tied to the goal of facilitating electoral conditions as well as securing routes for humanitarian aid, as the conflict plunges millions of Haitians into acute hunger and blocks off access to medical care.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry)
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Haiti's prime minister arrived Thursday in Kenya to try to salvage a plan to have the African country deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence.

Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti, but the Kenyan High Court in January ruled the plan unconstitutional in part because of a lack of reciprocal agreements between the two countries.

The office of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he was traveling at the invitation of Kenyan President William Ruto to finalize modalities for agreements between the countries on the deployment, which would send 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti.

It was not immediately clear how, or if, the agreements could circumvent the courts ruling, which also said that Kenya's National Police Service cannot be deployed outside the country.

Ruto and Henry met Thursday at the State House in Nairobi.

Ruto said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Kenya associates itself with the people of Haiti because of a common heritage. We are offering the experience and expertise of our police" for the proposed Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, Ruto said.

Ekuru Aukot, an opposition leader who has challenged the deployment in court, has said that even if the Kenyan government establishes an appropriate agreement with Haiti, its prime minister lacks the legitimacy to sign the document on behalf of the country.

Henry has repeatedly pledged to hold elections since being sworn in as prime minister and interim president after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, but he and other officials say gang violence has not allowed them to move forward on those promises.

Caribbean leaders said late Wednesday that Henry has agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025.

Aukot says he also opposes the deployment because Kenya is facing security challenges that require police intervention. Among them are the Somali-based al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab who have been carrying out retaliatory attacks since 2011 on Kenya for sending its troops to Somalia to fight the militants. He also has cited high rates of crime, including cattle rustling in Kenya's northwest.

Human rights groups also have noted that the Kenyan police have been implicated for years in human rights abuses, including extra-judicial executions.

In Haiti, gangs have grown more powerful and political instability has increased since the assassination of President Moise, who had faced protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges and claims that his five-year term had expired.

More than 8,400 people were reported killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti in 2023  more than double the number reported in 2022. The gangs continue to fight over territory, and are estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.
China's agricultural fields grow seeds of sci-tech progress

Xinhua) 10:18, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- In the Taigu District of the city of Jinzhong, north China's Shanxi Province, tall and bright vegetable greenhouses standing next to each other have hosted busy workers before the Spring Festival this year.

With a total area of 330,000 mu (about 22,000 hectares) for grain planting, a 60,000 mu facility for vegetable growing, and an annual output of 300,000 tonnes of livestock products, Taigu has become known for agriculture.

"Our current efforts are aimed at increasing the production of pumpkins," said Shi Jingnan, manager of Taigu Defeng Seed Co., Ltd. The company has found an all-female strain, which is expected to be used in developing hybrid pumpkin seeds to deliver a major yield breakthrough.

TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES EVIDENT IN FIELDS

In Hancun Village of Taigu, villagers participated in agricultural technology development by applying research outcomes in the fields and sending feedback to researchers.

The upgrading of seed technology is inseparable from large-scale planting, according to Shi. "Farmers have true ideas of the advantages and disadvantages of an agricultural product."

"They hoped to diversify the ripening season of pumpkins, and so we developed early and extremely early varieties," Shi said. "We also maintain the size and weight of the products within a stable range."

From single varieties to hybrids, the company combined traditional breeding methods and high-tech solutions to cultivate a group of high-quality pumpkin and zucchini seeds, which were introduced to overseas markets.

In a biological breeding research center in Taigu, a seed selection center, experimental production base, promotion and trading platform, and germplasm resource storage facility have combined to greatly improve the innovation ability of the seed industry.

China unveiled its "No. 1 central document" for 2024 earlier this month, outlining the priorities for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization this year.

The document called for consolidating support for agricultural science and technology and intensifying research concerning the core technologies of germplasm resources.

The development of seeds is a vivid illustration of the significant agricultural advances made in Taigu. This district has cultivated 44,460 mu of high-standard farmland, which accounts for more than 66 percent of total farmland in the district, and has developed a 24,400 mu efficient water-saving irrigation area, thanks to facilities and equipment upgrading initiatives based on science and technology.

All this work is to make pumpkins more marketable and increase the income of farmers. The net profit of each vegetable planting greenhouse reached 100,000 yuan (about 13,900 U.S. dollars) in 2023, said Cheng Xiaowu, head of a village committee in Taigu. Some village households in this district have crops growing in as many as five greenhouses.

INDUSTRY ADVANCE VIA TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS

The introduction of modern science and technology has made traditional agriculture more efficient and effectively improved agricultural production methods.

Mountain monorail transport trucks, loaded with fertilizer and farm tools, climbed steadily along a track to the terraces of olive trees in Wudu District of the city of Longnan, northwest China's Gansu Province.

A single journey by one such truck carries a load of up to 200 kilograms, said Zhao Haiyun, an official with the district. It takes only 11 minutes to climb 500 meters, which means this innovation has effectively eased transportation challenges in terms of both production materials and agricultural products in mountainous areas with steep or extensive slopes.

Longnan has completed a total of 66.7 kilometers of mountain monorail transport tracks consisting of 106 lines.

With only seven percent of the world's arable land, China feeds about 20 percent of the global population and has made remarkable progress in agricultural development, said Yu Ningkai, director of the rural development institute under the Shaanxi Academy of Social Sciences

Over thousands of years of Chinese agricultural development, each upgrade in farm tool technology has resulted in progress in human agricultural civilization, Yu added.

A biological pesticide made of materials based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, combined with modern biopharmaceutical methods, is being promoted in more than 10 provinces nationwide, including Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Fujian. It has been widely used for the cultivation of vegetables and Chinese medicinal herbs, covering a planting area of nearly 3.6 million mu.

Biopesticides are natural, said Shen Tong, a professor with Lanzhou Jiaotong University in Gansu. They can effectively control crop diseases and pests as well as ensure food safety and protect the agricultural environment.

China is witnessing continuous research and development in terms of new agricultural technologies, which are beefing up industrial modernization upgrading in the country.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the contribution rate of agricultural scientific and technological progress exceeded 62 percent in 2022, with the overall mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvesting reaching 73 percent.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Judge Erica Hughes is one of several Black female judicial candidates who have been sued by white male incumbent opponents seeking to disqualify them ahead of the Democratic primary elections. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer

Who do you think you are?

Its a simple rhetorical question that has a sting of How dare you?

Its not the kind of question a lawyer usually hurls at a sitting judge, but Houston attorney Ben Aderholt leveled it at immigration judge Erica Hughes last week. On his firms letterhead, no less.

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Hughes is one of several Black female judicial candidates who have been sued by white male incumbent opponents seeking to disqualify them ahead of the Democratic primary elections.

Hughes was dragged into court to prove the authenticity of the petition signatures she gathered in order to run for judge in Houstons 151st Civil Court, after incumbent state District Judge Mike Engelhart sued her over them.

MORE FROM SEWING: New Texas law is being used to discredit two Black women running for judge

Aderholts was one of many threatening letters that Hughes says shes received since the Texas Supreme Court dismissed Engelharts suit.

Who do you think you are? Running against a Democrat, a highest rated judge, wrote Aderholt, who has since apologized. Political animals who treat our judiciary as political games should be soundly defeated.

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Nevermind that she was the first Black woman to serve as presiding judge of Harris County Criminal Court of Law No. 3 and, in 2021, was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to serve as an immigration judge.

Hughes said Engelharts lawsuit has created an atmosphere in which people feel encouraged to intimidate her. The letter from Aderholt was emailed through his legal assistant at the firm, she said.

I served in the military and expected to face battle, but I never expected I would have to face these types of threats running for office, she said. It lets me know what were up against. Billions of dollars are decided in these courts. These threats have made me want to pursue the seat even more, and win.

Houston Lawyers Association president Simone R. Bray responded swiftly, releasing a statement on Tuesday. The association, which is an affiliate chapter of the National Bar Association, was founded in 1955 to address the needs of Black lawyers and the Black community.

Black attorneys make up 4.5% of the total attorney population, Bray said. As such, Black attorneys are already working in a population that does not always value or understand our contributions. Judge Hughes and every candidate should have the opportunity to run for office without coercion, harassment and ridicule from others, especially other colleagues.

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In an email statement to Fox 26, Aderholt called his actions unintentional and careless and an error of judgment for which I sincerely apologize.

The TV station also reported Aderholt was terminated by the Coats Rose firm for writing the letter. I reached out to Coats Rose for a response, but have not heard back.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a rising conservative voice in the Senate, confronted Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) during a private meeting Thursday evening over McConnells opposition to Hawleys proposal to compensate victims of radioactive exposure around St. Louis.

Hawley says McConnell led the effort to strip his proposal to expand and extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) from last years defense authorization bill, even though Hawleys amendment got 61 votes on the Senate floor.

We had a discussion about RECA, and I just told him directly to his face what I told all of you, which is I didnt appreciate that he took it out of the [National Defense Authorization Act]. Thats a direct affront to my state. There are thousands of people who are dying, and that hes the problem and that I take that personally, just on behalf of my state, and its not acceptable to me, Hawley said after walking out of the meeting in McConnells Capitol office.

Hawley told McConnell that he wants him to back the proposal, which Hawley has since modified to also cover victims of radioactive exposure in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alaska.

He further modified his original amendment to reduce the cost of the proposal by $100 billion without substantially impacting the coverage for victims.

McConnell didnt appear to change his opposition to Hawleys legislation but didnt block a deal Hawley secured with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to vote next week on a stand-alone bill to reauthorize and expand the radioactive exposure compensation fund.

He brought up the cost and I said I didnt hear a lot of grousing about the cost when we were voting on Ukraine funding or anything else for that matter. He called it an entitlement. I said its not an entitlement, its a compensation program for people the government has poisoned, Hawley said after the meeting. I was very direct.

Hawley has made reauthorization of the RECA, which expires in the spring, a top priority to address the suffering of constituents in the St. Louis and St. Charles area who were exposed to improperly stored radioactive waste left over from the World War II-era Manhattan Project.

He got Schumer to agree to schedule a vote on the legislation next week after briefly holding up the short-term government funding package that Congress needed to pass by Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Hawleys bill needs 60 votes to pass.

I feel good about it. Its progress. Its overdue, Hawley said.

If it passes the Senate, it would need to also pass the House to make it to President Bidens desk for a signature.

I hope theyll take it up. If they dont, Ill keep attaching it to stuff, he said.

The Senate attached Hawleys amendment to the annual defense authorization in July by a vote of 61-37.

It was later stripped from the defense bill during negotiations with the House, and Hawley blamed McConnell for leading the charge to remove it.

Schumer said before they even had a Four Corners meeting, he said McConnell went to him and said I dont want RECA in there. I want to get rid of it. From the very beginning, it was like, McConnells going to be a problem, Hawley told The Hill in December.

McConnells allies told The Hill at the time that Hawleys proposal would have created a huge unfunded mandate  something Hawley disputes.

McConnells allies pointed out that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also opposed Hawleys proposal.

A Senate GOP aide said Hawleys bill to reauthorize the RECA would have cost more than $100 billion over 10 years, a number Hawley said far overestimates the actual cost of compensating radiation victims in Missouri.

Hawley insisted at the time that he would make the decision to block compensation for victims of radioactive exposure in his home state as painful as I possibly can.

You cant roll over the people of Missouri. You cannot roll over all those who have had radiation exposure, take away the lifesaving help theyre depending on and just expect me to be quiet about it, he said.

Hawley and McConnell had another clash right before Christmas when the Missouri senator blocked the confirmation of two former McConnell aides who have been nominated to serve on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Hawley placed holds on Andrew Ferguson and Todd Inman, who were nomination to serve on the FTC and NTSB, respectively.

Ferguson is McConnells former chief counsel, and Inman is a former McConnell campaign aide who also previously served as chief of staff to former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, McConnells wife.

Hawley was one of 10 Republican senators who voted against McConnells reelection as Senate GOP leader after the 2022 midterm election.

This week, he praised McConnells decision to retire from leadership at years end as a good decision and a chance for the Senate Republican conference to start fresh.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A group of hunters shot two deer from a vehicle in Tennessee, then one threatened to kill a property owner who confronted him, officials say.

Now the 22-year-old has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

The man and two companions were road hunting in Hawkins County at around 11:30 p.m. last August with a spotlight, officials said in a news release.

From a vehicle, they shot and killed a doe and a seven-point buck while the deer hunting season was closed, wildlife officers said.

A property owner confronted them, and the 22-year-old is accused of pointing his gun at the man and threatening to kill him.

When a deputy later found the group, the hunters had a spotlight and hunting rifles, officials said. They were taken into custody, and a third person was charged as an accessory.

In Tennessee, its illegal to use light to hunt deer from a motor vehicle unless you are on your own property or have explicit written permission from the property owner.

About a month after the incident, an officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was serving the man with a criminal summons when he found a buck deer carcass in the backyard, officials said.

Four days later, wildlife officers executed a search warrant at the mans residence. They reported finding 11 sets of deer antlers, which they say were poached.

In addition to the antlers, investigators said the man shot a bearded hen turkey and did not check it in, and they also said he checked in the deer carcass as an archery harvest despite not having an archery license.

Over a three and a half year period, (the hunter) was charged with killing or assisting in killing 15 deer illegally, and admitted to poaching 20 deer from the road in 2020 alone, wildlife officer Justin Pinkston said in the release. Sadly, most of these deer were left lying and were never recovered.

The man was convicted of poaching in May 2021 and pleaded guilty to similar charges at the time.

Now, his hunting privileges have been revoked for life.

He pleaded guilty Feb. 23 to aggravated assault, spotlighting deer, hunting from a motor vehicle, and a second and third offense of hunting big game in closed season, wildlife officials said.

Hell serve concurrent sentences of six months in prison and has been ordered to pay $12,500 in restitution, officials said. Wildlife officers also confiscated hunting equipment and items harvested from animals.

The mans attorney information is not available in case records.

Hawkins County is in northern Tennessee near the North Carolina and Virginia border, about 80 miles northeast of Knoxville.

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A federal judge on Thursday denied prosecutors request to detain Roger Golubski, an ex-Kansas City, Kansas, police detective accused of rape and other crimes primarily against Black women and girls, until trial after Golubski was caught on camera entering a Culvers fast food restaurant.

During a hearing in the federal courthouse in Topeka, U.S. Magistrate Judge Rachel Schwartz tightened her order of house arrest for Golubski, saying the former cop is not supposed to be out in the community.

She strongly advised Golubski, a 71-year-old diabetic, to plan ahead for medical emergencies, saying the unsanctioned stop did not align with her house arrest order. And she said she continues to believe Golubski is not a flight risk or that he poses a significant risk to the community at large.

Earlier this week, federal prosecutors filed a motion to revoke Golubskis supervised release after learning that a person had filmed him visiting the restaurant at the Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kansas.

Under the terms of his pretrial release, Golubski is on location monitoring and largely restricted from travel to places outside of court and doctors appointments.

Christopher Joseph, Golubskis defense attorney, acknowledged the violation in a court motion this week but said the former detective had stopped along the route between his home and doctors office to manage low blood sugar.

He argued Golubski had already been punished by his supervising probation officer in the form of revoked discretionary leave.

Golubski, who reached the rank of homicide captain over a 35-year career with KCKPD, is facing life in federal prison after he was twice indicted roughly 17 months ago.

In the first indictment, a grand jury charged the ex-cop with depriving the civil rights of two women by raping them on six occasions between 1998 and 2002.

One of those women, identified in court documents as S.K., told investigators the sexual abuse began when she was a 13-year-old girl. She accused Golubski of raping her more than 10 times and told her grandmother she had a miscarriage while attending middle school.

Another is Ophelia Williams, 62, who has shared her story publicly. She has said Golubski assaulted her in her home, and forced her into sex acts in his squad car as two of her teenage sons were being investigated for murder in 1999.

Golubski is accused of raping others, primarily targeting young Black women and girls in KCK for decades while employed by the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, where he worked from 1975 until 2010.

Seven more women who were assaulted or fought off his advances  all with strikingly similar accounts, spanning between 1983 and 2004  are willing to testify against him when the case goes to trial, prosecutors have said.

In a second conspiracy indictment, which followed two months later, Golubski is accused of using his police badge to shield 61-year-old convicted drug kingpin Cecil Brooks  and alleged associates LeMark Roberson, 62, and Richard Bone Robinson, 60  from local law enforcement.

All are accused of running a sex trafficking ring where girls were raped at an apartment complex Brooks, a self-described major player in KCK crack-cocaine dealing, operated at Delavan Avenue and 26th Street in KCK.

Details of serious criminal allegations and official police misconduct have hovered over Golubski for years. Many first surfaced publicly in a civil lawsuit brought by Lamonte McIntyre, an innocent man who spent 23 years in prison for a 1994 double murder, and his mother Rose McIntyre.

The McIntyres accused Golubski of framing Lamonte McIntyre, 17 years old at the time of his arrest, because Rose McIntyre rejected the ex-detectives sexual advances.

Lamonte McIntyre was exonerated in 2017. In 2022, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the civil lawsuit.

During the federal detention hearing Thursday, Schwartz declined to hear oral arguments as she provided her decision immediately after calling the case. She also noted revocation was an unusual request from prosecutors, saying federal law spells out the specific reasons.

After prosecutors and the defense were given copies of her proposed order, Joseph, Golubskis defense attorney, asked whether his client would be permitted to stop for gas if needed.

Get gas and keep going  wont go inside and stop for a hot dog or anything like that, Joseph said.

Schwartz said that would generally be permitted, though issued a reminder that Golubski needs to be in touch with his probation officer.

You may have thought that was OK in the past, Schwartz told Golubski. That is absolutely not going forward.

Outside the courthouse Thursday, Williams, one of the women who has publicly accused Golubski, told reporters she was unsurprised by the judges decision. But she says she still has faith justice will be served.

I believe it is gonna come around, she said.
JOSE ANTONIO IBARRA

CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. - The man accused of killing 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Hope Riley on the University of Georgia campus in Athens has decided not to seek bond.

A motion to defer bail determination was filed with the Athens-Clarke County court on Feb. 29.

Riley was brutally murdered during her morning run on Feb. 22. Her body was found by police shortly after she was reported missing by a friend in a wooded area near Lake Herrick and UGA's intramural fields.

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On Friday, a man named Jose Antonio Ibarra from Venezuela, who entered the country illegally in 2022 and was living in Athens, was arrested for her murder. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another. Police confirmed on Friday evening that Riley died from blunt force trauma.

The Athens-Clarke County Coroner officially attributed Riley's death to blunt force trauma to the head on Monday.

Jose Ibarra's prior encounters with police in Athens

FOX 5 has learned this isn't Ibarra's first encounter with law enforcement in Athens.

On Wednesday, we obtained a field report from Athens-Clarke County police from October 2022, when both Ibarra and his brother Deigo were charged with shoplifting from a Walmart.

Immigration attorney Eduardo Soto said police generally check any arrestees' immigration status, but since the shoplifting charge was a misdemeanor, both brothers were cited and released on the scene.

Immigration status confirmed

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed on Sunday that Jose Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and was previously arrested in New York City in 2023. Ibarra's wife told the New York Post that she has known Jose her entire life and claimed he was a calm person who was not aggressive.

Ibarra's brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested during the search for Riley's killer. Diego Ibarra reportedly presented authorities with a fake green card. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Macon.

Mayor defends the city

The mayor of Athens-Clarke County says the county is taking steps to address safety concerns after the tragic murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia's campus. Mayor Kelly Girtz says he will ask county commissioners to approve multiple initiatives aimed at making the metro area safer at Tuesday's meeting.

Girtz also defended the city. Since Riley's death, Athens has been thrust into the national debate over immigration, with some state officials saying that the county's alleged "sanctuary city" status was to blame. Girtz says that Athens is not a sanctuary city and has cautioned against conflating immigration with crime.

Funeral for Laken Hope Riley

A visitation will be held for Laken Hope Riley from noon until 2 p.m. March 1 at Woodstock City Church, according to her online obituary. The funeral will follow at 2 p.m. Poole Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Woodstock.

RELATED: What we know about Laken Riley

Riley attended UGA before transferring to the Augusta University nursing program in Athens.
FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP)  A man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman after the SUV she was riding in mistakenly drove into his rural driveway in upstate New York was sentenced Friday to more than 25 years to life in prison.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death last April of Kaylin Gillis. She was riding in a caravan of two cars and a motorcycle that was trying to leave after pulling into Monahan's long, winding driveway while looking for a party at another person's house in the town of Hebron.

I think its important that people know that it is not OK to shoot people and kill them who drive down your driveway, Judge Adam Michelini said. Apart from the wider deterrent effect, Michelini said it's important that Monahan remain behind bars rather than be free to harm more people.

The judge handed down the maximum sentence after Gillis' father, boyfriend and best friend told Monahan and the packed court room about their anguish and the immeasurable void in their lives.

Kaylin was a sweet and loving soul, something you can only wish to achieve, boyfriend Blake Walsh said from the stand, as Monahan sat with a stony face. Kaylin was everything you wish you could be. I will never be able to forgive you for your actions. I wouldnt even think about it.

The judge sentenced Monahan to 25 years to life for the second-degree murder and handed down a consecutive sentence of one-and-a-third to four years for tampering with physical evidence. A sentence for reckless endangerment will be served concurrently.

Michelini scolded Monahan for showing no remorse.

You murdered Kaylin Gillis. You shot at a car full of people and you didnt care what would happen and you repeatedly lied about it. You deserve to spend the maximum time in prison allowable under the law, the judge said.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum. The defense asked for leniency. Monahan declined an opportunity to speak. And then he was led away, to applause and a shout of coward from the gallery.

Defense attorneys said they would appeal.

Gillis death drew attention far beyond upstate New York. It came days after the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City. Yarl, who is Black, was wounded by an 84-year-old white man after he went to the wrong door while trying to pick up his younger brothers.

On the night of Gillis' death, the group of friends had realized their error and were turning around in the driveway. Monahan came out to his deck and fired two shots, the second striking Gillis in the neck as she sat in the front passenger seat of an SUV driven by her boyfriend, prosecutors said.

Monahan maintained the fatal shot was an accident and that the shotgun was defective. He also said he believed the house about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Albany was under siege by intruders, and said he came out to fire a warning shot to try to scare the group away while his wife hid inside.

Prosecutors argued that Monahan was motivated by an irrational rage toward trespassers.

A jury deliberated for less then two hours before returning guilty verdicts in January against Monahan for murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

Walsh, who was behind the wheel of the SUV that night, told Monahan that he took the life of someone who never, not for a second threatened him. Alexandra Whiting, who was a passenger in the car, told the court she still struggles with the loss of her best friend.

Not only do I never get to see my best friend again, but I now have a new deep-rooted fear and hatred for the world. I feel afraid in everyday situations, Whiting said in a soft, quavering voice.

Andrew Gillis told the court that the milestones of his daughter's young life  graduating college, getting married, having children  had been cruelly stolen from them.

Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that that shes no longer here," he said. We will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter or simply be able to hug her.
WASHINGTON  The former lead singer of a David Bowie tribute band who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, licensed his footage to media outlets, and now works as a writer for Glenn Beck's "The Blaze" website has been arrested on misdemeanor Capitol attack charges after turning himself into federal authorities in Texas.

Steve Baker, a musician and libertarian writer who was a frequent presence at the federal courthouse in Washington during the Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial and other Jan. 6 cases, faces the same four standard misdemeanors as many lower-level Capitol riot defendants.

A copy of a FBI affidavit, provided to NBC News by defense attorney William Shipley, indicates that federal prosecutors will focus on comments from Baker that show he was sympathetic to the mob, including when he referred to Nancy Pelosi as a "b----" after talking about the mob raiding the former House speaker's office, and a comment in which he said he regretted that he didn't steal government property during the attack.

Steve Baker at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

Look out your windows bitches, look whats coming," Baker allegedly said as he recorded himself approaching the Capitol on Jan. 6.

"They got Pelosi's office and, you know, it couldn't happen to a better deserving b----," Baker said in a video after the attack, according to the FBI affidavit.

"The only thing I regret is that I didnt, like, steal their computers because God knows what I couldve found on their computers if Id done that," Baker said, according to the affidavit.

Do I approve of what happened today?" Baker said in another interview on Jan. 6, according to the FBI filing. "I approve 100%."

Video footage previously posted by Baker shows him approaching two officers inside the Capitol and asking them if they were going to use their weapons on protesters. You gonna use that thing on us? Baker asked one officer. Are you really going to use that on us? Baker asked another. He later asked the same question of two other officers in the aftermath of the shooting of Ashli Babbitt, video showed.

After witnessing first responders trying to save the life of Babbitt, a Jan. 6 rioter shot as she jumped through a broken window leading into the Speaker's Lobby, Baker said he "may have just seen the true first shot in this war," the FBI affidavit said.

Steve Baker at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

Baker has friendly relationships with reporters who have covered Jan. 6 cases and was in the media room during trials at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, where his own case will now unfold. A reporter for NBC News met Baker at the courthouse back in August, when Baker dropped off materials in response to a grand jury subpoena he received for the videos he recorded on Jan. 6. Recently, Baker had been working closely with House Republicans, and gained access to thousands of hours of Jan. 6 surveillance footage.

Baker was accompanied by a camera crew from The Blaze when he surrendered on Friday morning, and he broadcasted live from outside the courthouse after he was released. Baker quickly received support from former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

In a phone interview after his arrest, Baker called the process "humiliating," but said that law enforcement officers he dealt with were friendly and cordial. Baker said he had no regrets about the language he used on Jan. 6, and that some of his comments, like those during his discussions with his friend over drinks on the night of the riot, were taken out of context.

"With the 'couldn't happen to a nicer b----' comment... when the FBI asks me why I said that I said, 'Because it wasn't McConnell's office.' I said, 'If it had been McConnell's office, I would've said it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bastard.' And then I followed that up by saying, 'What part of me being a libertarian do you not understand? I don't like either side,'" Baker said.

Baker has a court date set in Washington, but said that he wasnt sure how he will proceed from here.

My gut instinct is to take it all the way to trial, but obviously we have to wait and see who the judge is, Baker said. "One of the primary axioms of classic liberalism, libertarianism, is that if there's no victim, there's no crime. And what's happening to a lot of people, is that their words are being criminalized."

Steve Baker at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

Baker explained in a podcast after Jan. 6 that, as a full-time musician he found himself suddenly unemployed in 2020 after the Covid lockdowns, and so decided to ramp up a project hed started a decade earlier: An online community known as The Pragmatic Libertarian, which he later rebranded as The Pragmatic Constitutionalist.

Two days before Jan. 6, Baker wrote he was headed to Washington not because he thought "a crowd of any size is going to force government into a real investigation of the election results, but because the 'powers that be' on all sides of the political equation need to see WE THE PEOPLE in force, letting them know that WE ARE WATCHING."

"WE are not going to lay down to any level of tyranny  whether it come from the right or the left, the Democrats or the GOP," Baker wrote, adding that he was "hoping to document on video anything 'special' that might happen, and perhaps get a few interviews from a variety of voices."

In a post after Jan. 6, he wrote that he'd "confess to being truly inspired at the sight of so many patriots about to make what would surely be a powerful visual statement to the oath-breaking criminals who  at that very moment  were debating the certification of the Electoral votes."

In that post-Jan. 6 podcast, Baker said it was "no secret" that he was not a Trump fan back in 2016, thinking that neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton were good candidates. He said he did vote for Trump in 2020, and endorsed him, first because "the Bolshevik Democratic Party machine is now a fully-realized, openly neo-Marxist organization" and because of his "wishful thinking that Trump  for all his faults, (and maybe because of them), would finally be exposing and bringing down the Deep State."

More than 1,300 people have been arrested in the more than three years since the Capitol attack, and prosecutors have secured more than 900 convictions. Sentences have ranged from short terms of probation for the type of misdemeanor charges Baker is facing, to 22 years in federal prison for Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys on his seditious conspiracy conviction.

Other Jan. 6 defendants have tried to avoid convictions by pointing to their media ties, but Baker is the first who was working for an established media company at the time of his arrest. He was not associated with a news publication three years ago on Jan. 6, when the alleged misdemeanor took place.

Steve Baker at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

A former commentator for The Blaze, Elijah Schaffer, had posted on social media during the riot that he was inside Pelosis office and "with the thousands of revolutionaries who have stormed the Capitol. Video released in another Jan. 6 case shows Schaffer saying that he was part of a group "occupying" Pelosi's office. Unlike Baker, Schaffer was wearing an official Capitol press credential, and has not been charged.

Another Jan. 6 defendant, Stephen Horn, was convicted on four misdemeanor counts at trial after presenting himself as an independent journalist.

His journalism started when he needed an excuse for his criminal liability, a federal prosecutor told jurors in that case, according to The Washington Post. Prosecutors sought 10 months in federal prison in Horn's case, but a judge sentenced Horn to one year of probation and a $2,000 fine.

John Sullivan, an "anti-establishment" activist who prosecutors say went to the Capitol with the "goal of inciting the crowd," was convicted at trial after being found guilty of a variety of charges, including felonies. Sullivan too tried to present himself as a journalist, and news outlets (including NBC News) had licensed his footage after the attack. But jurors found him guilty after prosecutors presented evidence that he encouraged the mob and claimed to be armed with a knife.
Qian Weizhong/VCG/Newscom

"The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime. It's a new form of vicious violation to our country," said former President Donald Trump during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday.

Trump's remarks come at a tense moment in the nation's sentiment toward immigration. Americans now say that immigration is "the most important problem facing the U.S.," according to the results of a Gallup poll published this week. Earlier in February, 57 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center said that "the large number of migrants seeking to enter the country leads to more crime." For many, those ideas became more salient last week, when Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan man who immigrated to the U.S. illegally, was charged with the murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley.

Riley's murder, along with incidents such as migrants drinking alcohol and consuming drugs in public and getting into fights in New York City, have spurred increased coverage of a "migrant crime" wave. "Over the past month, Fox News hosts, guests and video clips have mentioned 'migrant crime' nearly 90 times, more than half of those in the past 10 days," reported The Washington Post's Philip Bump on Thursday. Numerous right-of-center media outlets have similarly warned about the "migrant crime wave" in recent headlines.

There's no question that some undocumented immigrants have committed heinous crimes. But there are many reasons to be doubtful that recent incidents are evidence of a surging migrant crime wave.

For one, crime is down in the cities that received the most migrants as a result of Texas' busing operations under Operation Lone Star, per an NBC News analysis. "Overall crime is down year over year in Philadelphia, Chicago, Denver, New York and Los Angeles," NBC News reported.

David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, echoes that finding. "We don't have real-time data, but the partial crime data that exist for this year show consistent declines in major crimes in major cities," he says. "The most significant crime spike in recent years occurred in 2020when illegal immigration was historically low until the end of the year."

"National crime data, especially pertaining to undocumented immigrants, is notoriously incomplete," since it "comes in piecemeal and can only be evaluated holistically when the annual data is released," cautions NBC News. What's more, "most local police don't record immigration status when they make arrests."

However, several analyses conducted at both the state and federal levels find that immigrantsincluding undocumented onesare less crime-prone than native-born Americans. Looking at "two decades of research on immigration and crime," criminologists Graham Ousey and Charis Kubrin found that "communities with more immigration tend to have less crime, especially violent crimes like homicide," wrote The Washington Post's Glenn Kessler. A 2015 Migration Policy Institute report indicated that undocumented immigrants have a lower rate of felony convictions than the overall U.S. population does.

The Cato Institute's "research has consistently shown that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes and less likely to end up incarcerated than natives," Bier continues. An article this week by Alex Nowrasteh, vice president for economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, indicated that illegal immigrants have a lower homicide conviction rate in Texas than native-born Americans do, while legal immigrants have a lower conviction rate than both groups.

"Few people are murderers, and illegal immigrants are statistically less likely to be murderers. Still, some illegal immigrants do commit homicide, and that statistical fact is no comfort to victims and their families," wrote Nowrasteh. But "we should understand that more enforcement of immigration laws will not reduce homicide rates."

This has not been Trump's conclusion. "Migrant crime is taking over America," he said in a video posted to Truth Social on Wednesday. "How many more innocent victims must be harmed and how much more innocent blood must be spilled until we stop this invasionand remove these illegal alien criminals from our country?"

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have proposed tightening legal pathways, such as asylum, as a way to reduce border crossings and improve security. "Banning asylum is not the answer," counters Bier. "Under Title 42 from 2020 to 2023, asylum was completely banned for many crossers, which only led to more people evading the Border Patrol, eliminating the opportunity for people to be screened at all."

Rather than relying on broad-stroke enforcement to capture once and future criminal migrants, there are several more targeted policies the U.S. government could adopt. "It should be legal [for migrants] to obtain a visa in their home countries, which would allow more people to be vetted more carefully abroad and free up Border Patrol to interdict those who evade detection," Bier says. The U.S. could also "negotiate better access to criminal databases in other countries and improve the quality of their data," and "supply foreign governments with advanced fingerprinting and booking technology on the condition that U.S. border agencies have access to the data," he continues.

Riley's death is unquestionably a tragedy. But U.S. immigration policy will be better served by statistically informed conclusions than the emotions sparked by individual crimes.

The post The Myth of the Migrant Crime Wave appeared first on Reason.com.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said that all of former President Donald Trump's legal cases should be "dealt with" before the presidential election.

"I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November," she said Thursday in an interview with NBC News "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker in Falls Church, Virginia, where voters will cast their primary ballots Tuesday.

"We need to know what's going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I don't think any of it's going to get heard," she continued.

Haley spoke a day after the Supreme Court agreed to decide whether Trump could claim presidential immunity in response to criminal charges. It could take months for the high court to reach a decision, pushing back the potential timeline for his election interference trial.

politics political politician (Sally Bronston / NBC News)

I just think a president has to live according to the laws, too. You dont get complete immunity, she said, addressing the Supreme Court's decision to take the case. She added that presidents should not get free rein to do whatever they want to do.

Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also swiped at Trump, as well as President Joe Biden, in her reaction to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells announcement Wednesday that he would step down as the GOP head in the Senate later this year.

"I really commend him for realizing that we need a new generational leader. I wish that our presidential candidates would do the same thing," she said, reiterating her frequent criticism about Biden's and Trump's ages.

Haley also criticized the two party front-runners for issues at the southern border, arguing that "both of these men are responsible" and calling Thursday's dueling visits in Texas "comical."

Haley, who has yet to win a state primary or caucus, said she was "excited" ahead of Super Tuesday next week, when 874 Republican delegates are at stake.

Pressed by Welker about whether she is confident she can win a Super Tuesday state, Haley did not directly answer, responding instead to a separate question about what she would tell voters before they cast their ballots.

"I remind them that in a general election, you're given a choice, but in a primary, you make your choice," she said. "This is a chance for them to make their choice."

Asked separately about whether she saw Super Tuesday as her "last stand," she said she is looking instead for a "good, competitive showing."

"You keep going to make sure people have a choice," she said. "That's what this is all about."

Republican voters in 16 Super Tuesday states and American Samoa will cast their votes for the GOP presidential nominee next week. A candidate must win at least 1,215 delegates to clinch the Republican nomination.
Its still early, but former President Donald Trump could well win every single Republican presidential nominating contest  a feat that hasnt been accomplished by a non-incumbent presidential candidate in more than two decades.

This weekend, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley may have her best chance to stop that from happening.

So far, Trump has racked up a 5-0 record against Haley in the states with the first primaries and caucuses, including Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Michigan.

The current delegate count stands at Trump 110, Haley 20  with looming contests in the likes of Idaho (on Saturday), Washington, D.C. (with primary voting concluding on Sunday), North Dakota (on Monday) and more than a dozen primaries and caucuses (on Super Tuesday). In particular, Washington, D.C., where Trump got just 14% in a very low-turnout 2016 primary, provides an opportunity for Haley to notch her first win of 2024.

Marco Rubio, with a political coalition then similar to Haleys, won the district in 2016.

A pair of Super Tuesday states also could be opportunities for Haley: Virginia (where she campaigned on Thursday) and Massachusetts (where registered Republicans made up less than half of the electorate in its 2016 GOP primary).

Otherwise, Trump looks set to run the GOP table, making the 2024 Republican race the least competitive presidential nominating fight since 2000.

That was the last time that a non-incumbent presidential candidate went undefeated in primaries and caucuses in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, when then-Vice President Al Gore did it.

The closest that Democratic rival Bill Bradley got to Gore was in the 2000 New Hampshire primary, where he lost by a few percentage points.

In 2004, Democrat John Kerry easily won his partys nomination after his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire, but he still lost North Carolina and South Carolina to John Edwards (who hailed from the Tar Heel State), Oklahoma to Wesley Clark, and Vermont to home-state favorite Howard Dean, the former governor.

In 2008, eventual GOP nominee John McCain traded early primary and caucus victories with Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, while Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled until the very end of that cycles Democratic race.

In 2012, Romney lost contests against Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich before securing the GOP presidential nomination.

And in 2016 and 2020, nominees Trump, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden lost their fair share of primaries and caucuses to their rivals.
WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish farmers protested on the border with Lithuania on Friday against what they say are imports of Ukrainian grain through the Baltic country, something Vilnius denies.

Small groups with banners and Polish flags and joined customs officers checking trucks coming over the frontier from Lithuania, but made no attempt to block the Budzisko crossing, which is also used by vehicles carrying goods to and from Latvia and Estonia.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks against constraints placed on them by EU regulations meant to tackle climate change, as well as rising costs and what they say is unfair competition from outside the EU, particularly Ukraine.

The EU has waived quotas and duties on imports from Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022, angering farmers from neighbouring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia who say it undercuts their prices.

Polish farmers argue that some Ukrainian grain which is brought to Lithuania is later re-exported to other countries as European grain.

"Today's protest is taking place to draw attention to this uncontrolled inflow of grain into the European market, grain coming from Ukraine, from Russia," protest organiser Karol Pieczynski told Reuters.

"It arrives in Lithuania, Latvia, documents are changed and those products are then distributed throughout Europe as a European product, which says it meets all standards, but it meets no sanitary standards."

Lithuanian officials denied the accusations.

"I think people that are organising such events are mistaken, and this leads us into some escalation and some problems, logistical problems, between European countries, so it's quite sad," Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre, said.

It wouldn't make commercial sense to bring Ukrainian grain to Lithuania and then re-export it to other countries, he added.

The agriculture ministers of Poland and Lithuania released a joint statement urging farmers not to block the Budzisko crossing.

"They called on Polish farmers ... to allow the government institutions of both countries to complete investigations into grain trade flows between Lithuania and Poland," the statement read.

(Reporting by Janis Laizans and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Crystal Chesters)
** ADVANCE FOR USE MONDAY, FEB. 21, 2011 AND THEREAFTER ** FILE - This 1894 file photo shows Booker T. Washington. The famous ex-slave was a boy when Emancipation came to his Virginia plantation. He had been called only ABookerA until enrolling in school. AWhen the teacher asked me what my full name was, I calmly told him, ABooker Washington,AA he wrote in his autobiography, AUp from Slavery.A George Washington's name is inseparable from America, and not only from the nation's history. It identifies countless streets, buildings, mountains, bridges, monuments, cities _ and people. In a puzzling twist, most of these people are black. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 163,036 people with the surname Washington. Ninety percent of them were African-American, a far higher black percentage than for any other common name. (AP Photo/Library of Congress, File) AP Photo/Library of Congress, File

Little is known about the Rosenwald School that once sat in Cedar Bayou in Harris County back in the 1920s. But, whats not debatable is the purpose behind the school and its mission: educating Black youth in a time when segregation existed.

It was nothing like the education that was being provided for white children, said former Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson and Rosenwald School alumnus in the 2015 documentary Rosenwald by Washington filmmaker Aviva Kempner. Separate but equal never was equal. It was always very unequal. The idea was to keep them uneducated and to keep them fit for work in the fields and work as servants.

The Rosenwald School Building Program, from 1912 to 1932, helped fund the creation of thousands of schools in the United States.

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According to the Texas Historical Commission, Harris County only had one Rosenwald School. Built in 1920, the school remained open through 1921. The lone building housed one teacher for its students.

President of Sears, Roebuck and Company, Julius Rosenwald teamed up with president of the Tuskegee Institute and former slave Booker T. Washington to lead the Rosenwald Schools Project. Washingtons vision of closing the education gap in the rural south disproportionately affecting Black children led him to share his ideas with Rosenwald  a member of the Tuskegee board of trustees.

They were similar kinds of people. They were both very pragmatic. They werent philosophers, werent dreamy. They were very reality-based, both of them, said Stephanie Deutsch, author of You Need a Schoolhouse: Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South.

Through a collaborative effort involving the Rosenwald Fund and Black community members, they raised funding for the construction of more than 5,000 school buildings, teacher homes and shops from 1912 to 1932, per the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Between 1920 and 1932, the Rosenwald Fund donated more than $28 million across 15 states, according to the Texas Historical Commission. One in three Black children in the rural south attended a Rosenwald School during the 1930s.

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It had four big classrooms, said Robinson in the Rosenwald documentary. I remember this building as if we were sitting there right now. I remember the light in the building. That light was one thing that they thought about when they designed the schools.

Once schools across the United States were ordered to desegregate as a result of the U.S. Supreme Courts Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954, the need for Rosenwald Schools became nonexistent, leading to the closure of many through demolition or vacancy or neglect. Records from the Texas Historical Commission show the Rosenwald School Fund created 466 school buildings, 37 teacher homes known as teacherages and 33 shops across 82 counties. To date, 21 buildings have been confirmed as demolished with 39 still in existence. The commissions database indicates nearly 85% of all the schools in Texas have not been surveyed or accounted for. Before its demise, Rosenwald Schools educated thousands of children including poet Maya Angelou, late Congressman John Lewis, civil rights activist Medgar Evers and Little Rock Nine member Carlotta Walls.

I thought my school was grand, said Maya Angelou in the documentary.

Research by the Texas Historical Commission indicates many of the schools continued to operate until the 1960s. Some of the buildings ended being converted into churches or community centers. It wasnt until 1998 that the National Park Service approved the commissions request for a Historic and Architectural Resources Associated with the Rosenwald School Building Program. As a result, several Rosenwald Schools in Texas have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places including:

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Sweet Home Vocational School in Seguin (Guadalupe County) -1998

Lockhart Vocational School in Lockhart (Caldwell County) - 1998

Garland Teacherage in vicinity of DeKalb (Bowie County) - 2002

Pleasant Hill Rosenwald School in Linden, (Cass County) - 2004

Blanton School in Wolfe City (Hunt County) - listed 2006; demolished 2008

Lott-Canada School in Beeville (Bee County) - 2010

Hopewell School in Cedar Creek (Bastrop County) - 2015
By John Irish and James Mackenzie

PARIS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Pressure mounted on Israel on Friday over the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid in an incident during which its soldiers fired at the crowd, with several countries backing a U.N. call for an inquiry.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces had killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City early on Thursday, with famine looming nearly five months into the war that began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had "in a limited response" later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

The incident has underscored the collapse of orderly aid deliveries in areas of Gaza occupied by Israeli forces with no administration in place and the main U.N. agency UNRWA hamstrung by an inquiry into alleged links with Hamas.

The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and involved the seizure of 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave say.

With a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, many countries have urged a ceasefire, but U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday's incident will complicate talks for a deal involving a truce and hostage release.

France and Germany have backed a call for an international inquiry. The U.S. has also urged an inquiry. India said it was "deeply shocked" at the deaths and Brazil said the incident was beyond "ethical or legal limits"

South Africa, which has brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, condemned the deaths. Israel denies genocide.

French President Emmanuel Macron voiced "deep indignation" and the "strongest condemnation of these shootings". Germany said "the Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened."

Israel's closest ally, the United States, has also urged a thorough investigation, saying the incident shows the need for "expanded humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza".

In Israel, ultra-rightwing security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged "total support" to Israeli soldiers who had "acted excellently against a Gazan mob that tried to harm them".

However, an opinion piece on the N12 online news site said the incident showed the lack of any civil administration or rule of law in Gaza, and that this "may place Israel in a difficult position in terms of legitimacy for continuing the fighting".

A columnist in the biggest daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said the incident would "create a turning point in the war" and could "exert international pressure that Israel will not be able to withstand, including from the White House," it said.

AID DELIVERY ROW

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, particularly the north, after nearly five months of an Israeli air and ground campaign that has ruined swathes of the crowded coastal enclave and pushed it to the edge of famine.

With people eating animal feed and even cactuses to survive, and with medics saying children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration, the U.N. has said it faces "overwhelming obstacles" getting in aid.

The U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said obstacles included "crossing closures, restrictions on movement and communications, onerous vetting procedures, unrest, damaged roads and unexploded ordnance."

Last week the U.N. said aid flows into Gaza were drying up and it was becoming increasingly hard to distribute aid within the enclave because of a collapse in security, with most residents hemmed into makeshift camps.

Israel has said there is no limit on humanitarian aidin Gaza and has said the quantity and pace of delivery was down to the U.N.

Israel's military said Thursday's delivery was operated by private contractors as part of an aid operation it had been overseeing for the previous four days.

OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said the delivery was made without any coordination with the U.N.

The war has driven out the Hamas-run government that previously administered Gaza and rendered municipal police helpless, while the work of the main U.N. agency operating in the enclave has been constrained by Israeli accusations it was complicit in the Oct. 7 attack, which it denies.

"This tragic massacre, as some are calling it, is an illustration of why UNRWA needs to be distributing aid in Gaza to stave off mass starvation, which has already begun," said Chris Gunness, a former UNRWA spokesperson.

"It's an illustration that you cannot leave the protection of the Palestinians in Gaza in terms of food security to the Israelis," he added.

(Reporting by John Irish, James MacKenzie, Rachel More, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber and Angus McDowall, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSWav)
WASHINGTON  The Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Thursday released the full transcript of Hunter Biden's closed-door testimony from the previous day.

The document, at 229 pages with some redactions, underscores the disconnect between what House Republicans have repeatedly alleged are criminal actions by Hunter Biden and his father and the documentation and testimony they have made public as part of their impeachment inquiry.

We wanted a quick and full release of the transcript, a representative from Hunter Bidens legal team told NBC News on Thursday. This transcript shows why this [investigation] needs to end. They have nothing.

The deposition was conducted by the Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, two panels that have been leading the impeachment inquiry, which began last year. During that time, Republicans have not presented any evidence of wrongdoing by the president.

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement Thursday night that Hunter Biden's testimony confirms much of our evidence uncovered to date in our impeachment inquiry of President Biden. However, parts of Hunter Bidens testimony are inconsistent with other witnesses testimonies. Its clear we need a public hearing to get the truth for the American people.

Read the transcript here:
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Koreas presidential office claimed Thursday that the countrys move to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba would deal a political and psychological blow to the Souths war-divided rival North Korea, whose diplomatic footing is largely dependent on a small number of Cold War allies.

The comments followed an announcement by South Koreas Foreign Ministry on Wednesday night that it has agreed to open ambassador-level relations with Cuba following a meeting between their United Nations representatives in New York.

With authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un embracing the idea of a new Cold War, North Korea has recently been boosting the visibility of its ties with Russia and China in an effort to break out of isolation and join a united front against Washington amid tensions over its nuclear weapons ambitions. North Korean state media has yet to comment on the South Korea-Cuba agreement.

A senior South Korean presidential official, speaking to reporters in Seoul, noted that North Korea has traditionally portrayed its relations with Cuba as brotherly ties and said the opening of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Havana would inevitably deal a significant political and psychological blow to Pyongyang.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity during a background briefing, as according to department rules, said the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol had been actively working to establish ties with Cuba, but that Cuba was initially hesitant because of its relations with North Korea.

Cuba has maintained close relations with North Korea since the 1960s and has an embassy in Pyongyang.

The opening of diplomatic ties (with Cuba) is a culmination of our efforts to expand our diplomacy to nations that had been part of the socialist bloc, including countries that have been friendly to North Korea, the South Korean official said. It clearly shows where the main tide lies in the flow of history, and also who is involved in that main tide.

The official said South Korea informed the United States in advance of its decision to open relations with Cuba. The U.S. currently maintains an economic embargo of Cuba that was first imposed in the 1960s, following the revolution led by Fidel Castro and the nationalization of properties belonging to U.S. citizens and corporations.

Lim Soosuk, a spokesperson for South Koreas Foreign Ministry, said Cuba had been the only nation in the South American and Caribbean region that didnt have official ties with Seoul. He said the opening with Cuba will allow new business opportunities for South Korean companies and make it easier for South Korea to provide consular assistance to its nationals in that country.

In the future, our government will actively engage in further discussions with the Cuban government to promote friendship, including opening embassies mutually, said Lim. He refused to provide details on the discussions between South Korean and Cuban diplomats leading up to the agreement in New York.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in years, after Kim dialed up North Korean weapons demonstrations and issued provocative threats of nuclear conflict toward rivals in recent months. In a parliamentary speech last month, Kim declared that North Korea is abandoning its long-term objective of reconciliation with South Korea and threatened to annihilate the South with nukes if provoked.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday doubled down on his calls to reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy for migrants trying to enter the U.S. and recounted telling President Biden that Mexico will do what we say if the administration decides to implement the policy.

Speaking to reporters about migration, Johnson touted H.R. 2, the House-approved GOP border bill that includes many elements of former President Trumps policies.

How do you reduce the flow? The answer is simple. You reinstate Remain in Mexico, that alone would reduce the flow by 70 percent  thats their estimate, Johnson said.

I told the president that at the White House again. He acted as though he had never heard that, didnt understand, said he couldnt do it. I said, Thats not true.'

Well, Mexico doesnt want that, said Johnson, relaying his account of Bidens response.

Mr. President. Were the United States, Mexico will do what we say, OK. President Trump did it. Why cant you do it?

Johnsons statement comes amid tensions between Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and U.S. administration officials, stoked by a series of news stories about investigations into financial ties between drug cartels and Lopez Obrador aides.

Over the past week Lopez Obrador has dropped a range of accusations of foreign intervention, particularly after a New York Times report found U.S. officials had begun  and quickly scrapped  investigations into drug money connections to his victorious 2018 presidential campaign.

Ahead of that story, Lopez Obrador doxed The New York Timess bureau chief in Mexico, Natalie Kitroeff, projecting and reading aloud her phone number, and over subsequent days defended his actions, alleging presidential liberty trumps Mexicos strict privacy laws.

The countrys independent transparency agency opened an investigation into Lopez Obrador the day after the incident.

His anger over the story has not subsided, and he has threatened to skip the upcoming North American Leaders Summit, where he is scheduled to meet Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Lopez Obrador on Thursday added Canadas reinstatement of visa requirements for Mexican nationals to the list of reasons why he wont attend the summit.

Still, the Mexican president remains a key player, painstakingly courted by the Biden administration, in controlling migrant flows toward the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lopez Obradors office did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

While Remain in Mexico has been discounted by many border experts as a dangerous and inefficient way to reduce border crossings, Johnsons recounting of its implementation was accurate.

In 2019, Trump threatened to impose tariffs if Mexico did not agree to receive third-country nationals awaiting asylum processing in the United States, and he quickly obtained Lopez Obradors acquiescence.

That, among other things, is the tone and the muscle memory left by the way in which Lopez Obrador folded  and how he did it  with Trump in March of 2019, tweeted Arturo Sarukhan, Mexicos former ambassador to the United States.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
ATLANTA - Closing arguments are scheduled for March 1 in a hearing that could decide the future of the Trump election interference case.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump and some of his co-defendants have argued that a romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and one of her special prosecutors, Nathan Wade, poses a conflict of interest so serious that she should be removed from the case and the indictments.

Both Willis and Wade have acknowledged having a "personal relationship," but argued there are no grounds to dismiss the case or to remove her from the prosecution.

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Willis-Wade timeline

The FOX 5 I-Team has put together a timeline of the Willis-Wade relationship.

2015: Nathan Wade says marriage to wife Joycelyn was "irretrievably broken," but stayed together until the children were out of school.

2017-18: Wade hires law firm partner Terrence Bradley as his divorce attorney

Oct. 2019: Willis and Wade meet at the new municipal judges training conference. Former friend Robin Yeartie testified this is when a romantic relationship started. Bradley texted the same to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant.

2020-21: Wade is battling cancer and testified he did not date anyone.

2021: Wade is part of Fani Willis transition team.

2021: CellHawk analytics cell phone data indicate 2000 voice calls and 12,000 interactions between Wade and Willis. Cell phone towers showed 35 "extended periods of time" Wade's phone was near the Hapeville condo where Willis was temporarily staying to avoid death threats from Trump investigation.

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether DA Fanni Willis and Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)

Jan. 25, 2021: Terrence Bradley hired by Willis as first appearance prosecutor to clear up backlog she inherited.

Feb. 3, 2021: First racial harassment incident happened at Willis' house prompting her to move. Still hasn't returned.

Spring 2021: Wade says in court statement he and two others were asked by Willis to help her find "competent, trustworthy attorney" to lead the Trump investigation. $250/hr capped monthly. His previous government rate was $550/hr.

April 2021: Willis takes over the lease of the Hapeville condo from now estranged friend Robin Yeartie.

Sept. 11, 2021: CellHawk analytics suggest Wade's phone arrived at Hapeville address at 10:45 p.m. not leaving until 3:28 a.m. Sept. 12. Sent a text to Willis at 4:20 a.m. after he returned to Cobb County.

Sept. 2021: According to his court filing, Wade said he was approached to serve as special prosecutor but turned it down.

Oct. 26, 2021: Former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes meets Willis and turns down special prosecutor job. Wade is there in meeting.

Nov. 1, 2021: Wade signs contract for special prosecutor.

Nov. 2, 2021: Wade files for divorce from wife.

Nov. 29, 2021: Cell phone data show Willis called Wade at 11:32 p.m. He arrived in Hapeville at 12:43 a.m. and stayed until 4:55 a.m.

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 15: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Judge Scott McAfee is hearing testimony as to whether Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade should be disqualified from the case for allegedly lying about a personal relationship. (Photo by Alyssa Pointer-Pool/Getty Images)

Jan. 2022: Willis moves out of Hapeville condo to undisclosed location.

March 2022: Wade says relationship with Willis began (she says February-April).

April 2022: First vacation together in Tennessee for Wade's 49th birthday.

July 2022: Bradley leaves the law firm to go out on his own.

Oct. 28, 2022: Bahamas cruise with Wade's mother.

Nov. 1, 2022: Wade's mother returns home, Willis and Wade continue on to Aruba.

Nov. 15, 2022: Wade renews contract.

Dec. 30, 2022: Willis says she paid for second Bahamas cruise.

March 18, 2023: Belize trip -- they testified she reimbursed him $2,500 cash for travel expenses. It was Wade's 50th birthday present.

Feb.-April, 2023: Wade believed relationship ended. Willis says June-Aug.

May 2023: Napa Valley trip. Wine tour operator remembers Willis paying $400 cash.

May 2023: Bradley stops representing Wade in divorce.

May 2023: Wade swears in divorce filing that he had no sexual relations with anyone during the time of separation and up to the present. He testified otherwise in Trump motion hearing.

Aug. 14, 2023: Trump and 18 others indicted in Fulton County.


WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump's lawyers and special counsel Jack Smith's team are at odds over how much about their personal politics potential jurors have to disclose on a questionnaire for the classified documents case.

The two sides' joint proposed jury questionnaire agreed on most questions but noted their disagreements on some  including those about political affiliations.

The defense proposed questions about whether potential jurors were registered to vote and registered with a political party and whether they voted in the 2020 election. The special counsel's team objected to the questions in the filing Wednesday.

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records in a storage room at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., that were photographed on Nov. 12, 2021. Trump is facing 37 felony charges related to the mishandling of classified documents according to an indictment unsealed Friday, June 9, 2023. (Justice Dept. via AP file)

The special counsel proposed asking potential jurors whether they believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Trumps team objected to the question.

Trumps team is pushing to add a question about whether potential jurors view politicians in a negative light. The questionnaire also asks about views about federal prosecutors, law enforcement, criminal defense attorneys and judges.

The proposed questions could give lawyers insight into potential jurors' political affiliations or biases, which can influence how the sides attempt to fill the jury. The trial, which centers on allegations that Trump improperly handled classified documents, is scheduled to begin May 20.

The two sides disagreed over how to characterize the length of the trial to potential jurors. Smiths team said the trial will last about four to six weeks, while Trumps team is arguing for framing it as a longer trial, at eight to 10 weeks.

While a selection of the questions prompted disagreements, the two sides agreed on most of the 31-page questionnaire.

Smith's and Trump's teams agreed to a question about whether potential jurors have displayed bumper stickers or magnets on their vehicles in the last five years. Such magnets are often used to show support for politicians or issues.

The parties also agreed to questions asking potential jurors to name three people whom they admire the most and the least, with explanations.

Trump's defense and the special counsel's team agreed to the question "What are your main sources of news and commentary?" However, the special counsels team would like potential jurors to check all sources that apply, and Trump's team wants them to rank sources that apply. The news outlets jurors can select include local and national outlets and outlets across the political spectrum.

Later in the questionnaire, Smith's team entered a question asking potential jurors to "describe the amount of media coverage you have seen or heard about this case." Trump's team objected to the language.

On Thursday, Smith's and Trump's legal teams proposed new trial dates. Trump's lawyers proposed an August start date, while Smith's team suggested starting in July.

Trump was indicted in June on charges related to allegations of mishandling of classified documents. In July, he was hit with additional charges, which alleged that he was part of a scheme to obstruct the investigation. Trump and his two co-defendants pleaded not guilty.
By Andrew Goudsward

FORT PIERCE, Florida (Reuters) -Donald Trump's lawyers told a U.S. judge on Thursday that he believes he cannot get a fair trial this year on charges of mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House, while he campaigns to try to recapture the presidency.

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is bringing the case against Trump, asked on Thursday for a July 8 start to the trial.

Lawyers for the former president said in their filing that Trump "strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution."

After making that assertion on the filing's first page, however, they went on to suggest an Aug. 12, 2024, start to the trial on the seventh page. A Trump attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the discrepancy.

The filings were made ahead of a Friday court hearing where U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon plans to consider arguments on when to start the trial, one of four criminal prosecutions facing Trump, the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Cannon previously pushed back several pre-trial deadlines, but said she would wait until Friday to consider moving the scheduled May 20 trial.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 40 federal counts accusing him of retaining sensitive national security documents at his Florida resort after leaving office in 2021 and obstructing U.S. government efforts to retrieve them.

Trump is charged alongside his personal aide Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, a property manager at his Mar-a-Lago resort. Both have pleaded not guilty.

Trump has repeatedly sought to delay all four of the criminal cases against him, which he has claimed are part of a politically motivated effort to damage his election campaign.

Trump is due to face trial in state court in New York beginning on March 25 on charges that he falsified records to pay hush money to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

The timing of the other three cases remains uncertain and it is unclear whether any will go to trial before the November election.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
A 90-year-old Pakistani man and an 89-year-old Indian man, who were childhood friends before the partition of the subcontinent, are building a renewed bond after meeting again in the U.S. A TikTok of their story and emotional reunion is going viral.

Megan Kothari, 32, documented the experience of reuniting her grandfather Suresh Kothari with his childhood best friend, AG Shakir. The two grew up together in Deesa, Gujarat, and were separated in 1947, when the division of the country forced Shakirs family to flee to Pakistan. They were both around 12 years old.

He talks a lot about this one friend, Kothari said of her grandfather. How they were very close, they were very mischievous together  then he remembers, overnight, how he had to leave.

The two reunited in October on the occasion of Shakirs 90th birthday party, where they greeted each other with an eager embrace and spent much of the evening hand-in-hand. Having filmed the whole experience, Kothari decided to share it on TikTok this week. In two days, her post quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views and comments.

Suresh Kothari, left, and AG Shakir. (Courtesy Megan Kothari)

The story struck a chord with South Asian users, most of whom have their own partition stories to tell, Kothari said.

Pakistani people commenting, Indian people commenting, theyre all coming together, which is so beautiful, she said.

Deesa, in the Indian state of Gujarat, is located just a few hours from the Pakistani border. On Aug. 15, 1947, the then-British-ruled country was divided in two: a Muslim-dominated Pakistan and a Hindu-dominated India.

The mass migration that followed was the most violent event in South Asian history, leaving 500,000 to 2 million people dead and 15 million displaced. Shakirs family left the city on a boat to Karachi in October 1947, his daughter Saeema Shakir told NBC News. Fleeing in the middle of the night, they didnt have time to inform friends or loved ones of their journey.

Suresh Kothari, who was studying in Bombay at the time, returned home to the news that his best friend was gone.

The specifics of the partition, he doesnt really talk about, Megan Kothari said of her grandfather. I think its very common with that generation because they all endured so much trauma.

Suresh and Shakir tried to write to each other over the years, but the geopolitical tensions between the two countries eventually made it impossible, Kothari said. The men had no communication between 1948 and 1982, during which time Shakir moved to Connecticut. A chance encounter with a fellow Deesa-native in New York City finally put the friends back in touch.

When Suresh also came to the U.S. for work in 1982, Shakir picked him up from JFK airport. They stayed together the next four days to catch up on the years spent apart, the granddaughter said. For a while, the two met and spoke regularly, until Shakir moved to Virginia, and the two were separated again, she said.

After nearly nine years, at Shakirs 90th birthday party, the two met again last year. Kothari and her grandfather made the four-hour trip to Virginia, and she filmed on her phone as Suresh got ready to see his best friend again.

My grandfather wore his best suit, she said. He definitely did his hair to look really cute  They were like inseparable all night.

Kothari recalled the two talking about memories from their childhood in Deesa, which is still Sureshs home when hes not with family in New Jersey. It seemed, she said, like no time had passed for them. They hope to reunite in New Jersey at Sureshs upcoming 90th birthday.

Suresh Kothari, left, and AG Shakir. (Courtesy Megan Kothari)

When I watch the video, I still cry, she said. It just showed that theres so much love between both people and, despite all the obstacles in their friendship, still after 80 years they were able to maintain that relationship.

Hailing from two countries that are now very different, Suresh and Shakirs story reminds Kothari of the things people in the diaspora have in common. Thousands of comments on her post reflect the same sentiment, she said, and demonstrate a hunger for more stories like this to be shared.

You see the way that my grandfather hugs his friend, and the way that theyre talking about the same things. But they come from two countries where its a very tense situation, she said. The power of human connection can never be really extinguished by governments and borders and distance.
GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights chief on Friday said that the apparent deliberate denial of safe access for humanitarian agencies within war-torn Sudan could amount to a war crime.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been fighting Sudan's army for control of the country since April last year in a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions of people inside and outside the country and sparked warnings of famine.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Sudan had become a "living nightmare."

"The apparently deliberate denial of safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies within Sudan itself constitutes a serious violation of international law, and may amount to a war crime," he said.

"I call - again - on the warring parties to meet their legal obligations by opening humanitarian corridors without delay before more lives are lost."

Aid supplies have been looted and humanitarian workers attacked, while international agencies and NGOs have complained about bureaucratic obstacles to get into the army-controlled hub of Port Sudan to get humanitarian assistance into the country.

Millions of people in Sudan's Darfur region are at risk of dying of hunger after a decision by the Sudanese government to prohibit aid deliveries through Chad, an advocacy group for internally displaced people said on Tuesday.

The order effectively shuts down a crucial route for supplies to Darfur, which is controlled by RSF.

Half of Sudan's population - around 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection, while millions of people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, according to the United Nations.

"With more than eight million forced to flee within Sudan and to neighbouring countries, this crisis is upending the country and profoundly threatening peace, security and humanitarian conditions throughout the entire region," Turk said.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics teams latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In todays edition, national political reporter Ben Kamisar reports on a focus group of Black voters in North Carolina who are not fans of Joe Biden or Donald Trump. Plus, senior national politics reporter Jonathan Allen explains why the president's trip to the border shows his likely 2024 opponent's bet on immigration is paying off.

Wavering Black voters: Biden is flawed, but Trump is unacceptable

By Ben Kamisar

What do you do if youre faced with a choice between two candidates you dont like?

That question could help decide the 2024 presidential election, and its why we investigated it in our latest NBC News Deciders Focus Group series.

Along with our friends from Engagious, Syracuse University and Sago, we spoke with 14 Black voters in the battleground state of North Carolina who view both Joe Biden and Donald Trump negatively to learn more about how they might cast their ballot in November.

Do you have a news tip? Let us know

What did we learn? That most of these voters are deeply disappointed in a Biden administration that they feel is underperforming. But almost all of them ruled out supporting Trump.

I feel like its a lesser of two evils. Its either a politician who is making attempts to do things for the entire country, or someone whos just about themselves or their party, their particular party and their people.  Candice D., a 44-year-old from Charlotte

Still, the discontent with Biden was real. After the respondents were shown a White House fact sheet trumpeting its accomplishments in helping Black Americans, they unilaterally panned it. One called it political mumbo-jumbo, while another cut at one of the biggest challenges the Biden White House is facing as it looks to find a winning message on the economy.

Im sure the numbers are statistically accurate, but they havent been statistically significant. If it was a significant change in those areas, then it would be obvious. We could all see it and we could feel it in our day-to-day lives.  Michael G., a 54-year-old from Greenville

Their comments about Trump were brutal: Three called him racist without prompting. And after seeing clips of remarks Trump made over the weekend  including that the Black people like him because hes been discriminated against in the legal system  six others agreed. No matter their frustration with Biden, voting for Trump was a non-starter for all but two people.

But thats not Bidens only potential worry. While only one participant affirmatively said theyd back Trump in a one-on-one race, four others chose third-party candidates when given the option.

One 28-year-old who criticized Bidens handling of Israels war with Hamas shed light on a particular challenge Biden faces on his left. That participant, Shaleeya L., backed Biden unenthusiastically in 2020, but chose activist Cornel West on a five-way ballot. That said, Shaleeya questioned whether a vote for West was even worth it, and weighed not voting at all.

For a fact, Im not voting for Trump. So if I dont want to vote for Biden either, then my choice is to not vote.  Shaleeya L., a 28-year-old from Gastonia

Read the full story 

Dueling border visits show Trumps immigration bet is paying off

Analysis by Jonathan Allen

Presidents rarely admit mistakes, especially when theyre seeking re-election.

But Bidens trip to the southern border Thursday is a raw, if tacit, concession that hes botched the politics of immigration policy  and evidence that Trumps bet in focusing heavily on the issue is paying off.

Biden didnt have much choice. The president and his team could only plug their ears, close their eyes and stick out their tongues for so long as Americans increasingly express concern over immigration.

A Gallup survey released this week found that 28% of Americans said immigration was the most important problem facing the country, more than any other issue. Trump led Biden 57% to 22% among registered voters on the question of who would better handle immigration in an NBC News poll last month. And 61% of registered voters, including 30% of Democrats, said in an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll this month that they disapprove of Bidens approach to the issue.

The fact that he made just his second trip to the border as president on the same day as Trump  who made a border crackdown the centerpiece of his first campaign, his presidency and now his bid to return to the Oval Office  only underscores the electoral stakes for Biden.

Were underwater on immigration, but things like today, like the visuals, this is a big gesture, a Biden campaign adviser told NBC News Kelly ODonnell. We are slowly going to turn that message and that narrative on their head and going there, having the (border visit) visuals, driving it home.

Biden is banking on his ability to blame Republicans in Congress, and Trump, for blocking his spending package for border security  a likely justification if he takes executive action in the coming days to stem the tide of crossings.

Its a tricky issue for Biden because it unites Republicans, who are focused on border security, and divides Democrats. If there was something he could do without the risk of alienating one segment of his party or another, he would have done it long ago.

Now, Biden has to focus on winning a half-dozen swing states in November, and his instinct has always been to move toward the center as a general election approaches.

The two parties bases are likely to be displeased with any Biden rhetoric or executive action on immigration  progressives because its too much and conservatives because its too little  but they arent the presidents targets.

The Democratic Party should take comfort that hes giving more attention to an issue thats been killing him with the broader electorate. Whether it works to blunt Trumps edge on immigration remains to be seen.

Thats all from The Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback  likes or dislikes  email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com.

And if youre a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner speaks during a press conference in December, 2023, in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer

More than 100 Houston special assignment officers have been tasked with reaching those affected by the thousands of sexual assault cases suspended by police over lack of personnel, Chief Troy Finner announced Thursday on X.

The cases are among 264,000 cases the department has dropped since 2016 using a lack of personnel code. Finner said the officers will join the 32 already assigned to investigate the dropped cases. He said advocates in Victims Services Divisions will also help with survivors.

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Initially, Finner announced about 4,000 sexual assault cases had been dropped using the code, but that grew to over 264,000 across multiple departments Monday. The cases makes up about 10% of the departments 2.8 million filed since 2016, Finner said. About 100,000 of those are property crimes, he wrote.

While Finner initially promised a briefing on the investigation earlier this week, he walked it back, writing on X that the focus instead remains on reaching survivors.

"As promised, we will do everything we can to reach everyone who filed an adult sex crime incident report," he wrote on Twitter.
A judge strongly admonished a 66-year-old man Friday before sentencing him to 25 years to life in prison for shooting and killing a woman who was a passenger in a car that mistakenly drove up his driveway in rural New York last year.

I think you really could possibly do the same thing again, Washington County Judge Adam Michelini told Kevin Monahan before imposing his sentence for second-degree murder. Its obvious to me that you feel justified. You dont take any responsibility for the outcome of your actions. You just dont get it.

Additionally, the judge imposed a concurrent sentence of up to seven years in prison for reckless endangerment and a consecutive term of up to four years in prison for tampering with evidence.

Monahan was convicted last month in the April 2023 death of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, a passenger in a vehicle that Monahan shot at when it accidentally turned into his driveway while its occupants were looking for a friends house. Gillis died a short time after the shooting.

Prosecutors argued that the 66-year-old defendant acted recklessly. The defense said what happened was a terrible accident, and Monahan took the stand at trial to explain his actions.

The first thing you do on the witness stand when you come up here and testify is you made a joke to the jury about them finally being able to see your face, Michelini told the defendant.

You senselessly took the life of Kaylin Gillis and you have the gall to sit here and talk about how you plan to finish up the work on your house and race motocross in the future. You dont deserve that. What would make you think that you deserve those things?

In killing Gillis, the judge said, Monahan took away a friend, you took away a girlfriend, you took away a daughter, a granddaughter and a sibling. You took away so much unrealized potential, her potential to enrich other peoples lives and to contribute to our society.

Michelini added, Any remorse you have isnt for the harm youve caused. The only regret you have is that youre finally facing the consequences for your actions. You murdered Kaylin Gillis. You shot at a car full of people and you didnt care what would happen and you repeatedly lied about it. You deserve to spend the maximum time in prison allowable under our law, and I dont make this decision because its easy. I make it because its whats deserved. I make it because its whats just.

Prosecutors had asked for the maximum penalty. The defense asked for leniency, saying Monahan was remorseful and had no criminal record at the time of the shooting.

After sentencing, Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan praised the testimony and composure of the young people who had been with Gillis the night she was killed.

When you consider what his selfish acts put these kids through, the juxtaposition between him and them on the witness stand is spectacular, Jordan told reporters. You know, they sat up there and shared a very personal experience of horror, and yet did so with grace.

Jordan said the stern rebuke from the court on Friday showed what the vast majority of people whove paid attention to this view this as: It was the act of an angry, selfish male who had no regard for the life of other people.

The judge was spot on  that he is a grave risk to society and if hes released back into society he would do it yet again, said Jordan, referring to Monahan.

Monahan testified he felt threatened

Monahan declined to address the court before the judge handed down the sentence. At trial Monahan testified he felt like he and his wife were under siege that day and that he only wanted to protect his wife, Spectrum News 1 reported.

Monahan told jurors that he and his wife were awakened by three vehicles in his driveway: two SUVs and a motorcycle revving its engine, the station reported. He testified that he told his wife to hide in their closet, and he loaded his 20-gauge pump-action shotgun before going outside.

Monahan testified that he thought about past criminal activity in the area and fired a warning shot into the air. The vehicles began to leave slowly, he testified, and he lost his balance on some nails on his deck when the second fatal shot was fired, Spectrum News 1 reported.

Under cross-examination, Monahan was not able to point out in a photograph the nails that caused him to lose his balance. He was emotional when asked how Gillis death made him feel, telling the jury that his soul is dead, the station reported.

Kaylin Gillis - From GoFundMe

Gillis was fatally shot just days after a Black teenager in Kansas City was shot twice by a White homeowner after going to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. Both cases made national headlines.

In the New York shooting, after the shots were fired Gillis group drove away from the house, looking for cell phone service, and then called 911.

They were found around 5 miles away from the home in the town of Salem. First responders began administering CPR but Gillis was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police officers went to Monahans home in Hebron and found him to be uncooperative, the Washington County sheriff told reporters at the time.

Gillis family issued a statement at the time praising her as a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her.

She was a big sister, much loved daughter, devoted friend and partner to her loving boyfriend. She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love, the family said. Kaylin was a talented artist, an honor student, a Disney fanatic and loved animals. She was looking forward to starting college in Florida to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist.

Gillis graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021 and held the position of flyer on the cheerleading team.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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A 68-year-old man has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of assault after he shot four people -- two of whom died -- during an eviction at a home in Independence, Missouri, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. The shooting came as a result of a yearlong eviction process, likely due to unpaid taxes.

Four people were shot in the incident -- three officers from the Independence Police Department and one civil process server from the Jackson County Circuit Court, Justin Ewing of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said during a press conference Thursday night.

The police chief identified those killed as Independence police officer Cody Allen and court employee Drexel Mack. The other two officers who were shot are recovering from their injuries, the chief said.

Mack and another civil process server were there to complete the service of process and evict Larry Acree from the property and had been there before, officials said. Mack and those with him took multiple steps to make sure the property was secured and safe to go into, according to Baker.

They knocked and announced their presence but there was no answer or indication that anyone was there, authorities said. When the locks were removed and Mack and the others entered the front door, they were met with gunfire, Baker said.

PHOTO: Law enforcement on the scene of where two police officers were shot, Feb. 29, 2024, in Independence, Mo. (KMBC)

Additional officers attempted to save Mack's life and remove him from the property but they were met with gunfire too, which resulted in Allen's death. When more responding officers arrived, they were able to shoot Acree and take him into custody, according to Baker.

Baker and her team are looking into why Acree was being evicted but she said it appears he had unpaid taxes and no longer had the legal right to the property. The process of eviction from the property began about Feb. 9, 2023.

Acree is in custody on $2 million bond and is currently in the hospital but will be transferred to the Jackson County Detention Center when he is able. Baker said there will be more charges brought against Acree.

At 1:09 p.m. local time, the first calls came in from the scene saying that a civil process server from Jackson County Circuit Court was shot at the residence, Ewing said.

MORE: 1 dead, 6 others shot in Orlando shooting: Police

Missouri State Highway Patrol is now handling the investigation and the Jackson County Circuit Judge announced that the case against Acree will not go through Jackson County, as they will recuse themselves because Mack was a court process server. A judge in another county will get the case.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson released a statement on X as the situation unfolded confirming that officers were shot and injured.

"Teresa and I are praying for the @IndepMoPolice officers involved and all who work to protect us," Parson said.

The mayor also released a statement mourning the two deaths.

"It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we come together to mourn the tragic loss of an Independence Officer, Cody Allen and Circuit Court process server, Drexel Mack. Today our city grieves the passing of two dedicated guardians and public servants," Independence Mayor Rory Rowland said in a statement.

ABC News' Darren Reynolds, Victoria Arancio and Matt Foster contributed to this report.

Police officer, court employee killed during Missouri home eviction likely over taxes originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Snow began falling in Californias Sierra Nevada on Thursday and was expected to continue through the weekend, forecasters said as the mountains faced up to 10 feet of snow from a winter storm.

Your safe travel window is over in the Sierra  best to hunker down where you are, the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, which covers parts of California that include Lake Tahoe and Donner Pass, said on X.

The danger of avalanches at all elevations in the eastern Sierra was expected to rise to high Friday, the weather service said.

Image: Blizzard Conditions, And Snow Of Up To 12 Feet Expected In California's Sierra Nevada (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

By late afternoon, increasing snowfall and strong to extreme southwest winds will build dense slabs at all elevations. Conditions will continue to deteriorate overnight and throughout the weekend, the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center said in an alert.

The center issued an avalanche watch until 7 a.m. Sunday.

By the time the storm is over Sunday, Donner Pass  named for the ill-fated expedition that became stranded by snow in the 1840s  could get between 5 and 10 feet of snow.

The weather service in Sacramento said conditions along the Interstate 80 were deteriorating overnight, with increasing snowfall and winds. "Travel is *HIGHLY* discouraged!!" the service said on X.

A blizzard warning was in place for the area, including Lake Tahoe communities, until 10 a.m. Sunday. The weather service warned that blizzard conditions were especially likely from Friday evening to Saturday morning.

There could be whiteout conditions with zero visibility, the weather service said.

South Lake Tahoe, which has a population of around 21,000, said workers used an anti-icing treatment for roads and recommended against travel.

"The forecast for Heavy Snow is holding and its looking pretty grey out there!" the city said on Facebook Thursday.

South Lake Tahoe police told outsiders to stay away.

"If you live here, please take time to get supplies and be ready. If youre from out of the area, we dont recommend travel to the Lake Tahoe region this weekend. Please heed these warnings and stay safe," the police department said on social media.

Thursday night blizzard warnings covered a swath of eastern California bordering the Nevada state line, from the tiny community of Bieber south to Mammoth Lakes and other areas.

The number of people affected was estimated at more than 555,000, and included areas of eastern Nevada, which also had blizzard warnings, according to the weather service.

The National Parks Service advised visitors to leave Yosemite National Park by Friday afternoon and not to return until Sunday.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate majority leader. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AP

The Senate has passed a short-term funding bill following a House vote on Thursday afternoon, narrowly averting a partial government shutdown that was due to occur this weekend.

Related: Huge tax breaks: private equity prepares for a boon from Congress

Ahead of the Senate vote, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, addressed the chamber floor, saying that he saw no reason this should take a very long time.

This agreement is proof that when  bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government.

The temporary extension funds the departments of agriculture, transportation, interior and others through 8 March. It funds the Pentagon, homeland security, health and state through 22 March.

These bills will adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act discretionary spending limits and Januarys top-line spending agreement, congressional leaders said on Wednesday.

The extension comes after congressional leaders said there was agreement on six of the 12 annual spending bills and plans for them to be signed before March 8, before they would face another partial shutdown.

The short-term extension bill is on its way to Joe Biden, who is expected to sign it ahead of its Saturday shutdown deadline.

Meeting with congressional leaders earlier this week alongside Kamala Harris, Biden said that a government shutdown would significantly damage the economy.

At the end of the process, Congress is set to approve more than $1.6tn in spending for the fiscal year that began in October  roughly in line with the previous fiscal year. Thats the amount that former speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with the White House last year before eight disgruntled Republican lawmakers joined with Democrats a few months later and voted to oust him from the position.



Some of the Houses most conservative members wanted deeper cuts for non-defense programs than that agreement allowed through its spending caps. They also sought an array of policy changes that Democrats opposed. They were hoping the prospect of a shutdown could leverage more concessions.



Last I checked, the Republicans actually have a majority in the House of Representatives, but you wouldnt know it if you looked at our checkbook because we are all too willing to continue the policy choices of Joe Biden and the spending levels of Nancy Pelosi, said Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican.



But Chuck Fleischmann, a fellow Republican from Tennessee, countered before the vote that shutdowns are damaging and encouraged lawmakers to vote for the short-term extension. I want the American people to know, Mr Speaker, that this negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt, Fleischmann said.

The renewed focus on this years spending bills doesnt include the separate $95.3bn aid package that the Senate approved for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this month, with much of that money being spent in the US to replenish the countrys military arsenal. The bill also contained about $9bn in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, and others caught in war zones.
Katie Yu/FX



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When FX sent Shogun by James Clavell to Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo, it was not a book the husband and wife creative team had read beforebut it was one they were very aware of. "We came to it as the book that was on everyone's parents' nightstand growing up," Marks jokes.

The task of adapting the story for television (it had previously been adapted as a miniseries back in 1980, starring Richard Chamberlain, Toshiro Mifune, and Yoko Shimada) was not something that initially interested Marks and Kondo. "It had a huge impact on the culture," Marks tells T&C, "and because of that, I think it cast a very big silhouette."

Katie Yu/FX

That silhouette, for him, made him wary to tackle Shogunfirst and foremost because he is a white man. "I remember looking at that book from a modern lens, [and] I was a little conflicted by it. There's the representational side of this, where you have a gentleman who looks like me, wearing clothes that belong to a culture that's not his own. That, I was troubled by."

Marks continues that his second hesitation was rooted in how often the "stranger in a strange land" story has been told in the decades since Clavell published Shogun. "The side that I could really approach it from, as someone who looks like me, was to look at it from the creative placewhere I just frankly had seen that story before a thousand times," he says. The impact of this book is so great that there have been so many movies, so many television shows that have ripped off from it over the years. As writers, we like to say we're always in search of new cliches and I don't know where to find new cliches in that [story]. And so we were really worried going in: Is there really anything new to say?"

Shop Now Shogun, Part One (The Asian Saga) amazon.com $16.24

But then Marks and Kondo read the bookeight hours a day, for three weeks.

"It's a big book, and what you find is all the answers are actually right there. In spite of the things that have parroted it over the years, this book has a lot to say through a modern lens. This book is an amazing story of how we encounter other cultures, how we otherize other cultures, and how we encounter ourselves when we do that," he says.

While reading it, Marks found that the "stranger in a strange land" narrativeof English sailor John Blackthorne washing up on the shores of Japandidn't come through. "That savior narrative that we all assume belongs to Shogun, it's actually quite the opposite when you read the text," he says.

Katie Yu/FX

The new direction for Marks and Kondo's adaptation actually comes straight from Clavell's original story. Instead of a white savior narrative, the series explores what it's like to "show up with all the bluster and all the, 'here I am ready to bring my culture's technology and all this stuff to another culture," and then find that they're generally indifferent to it, because they're doing just fine. It's great and unexpected. So we wanted to use that."

Blackthorne no longer became the only main characterinstead, he's one of three leads, alongside Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai), a noblewoman, and Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). What results is an adaptation that's true to the original bookbut one rooted in authenticity, and deep care for the Japanese point of view.

The first two episodes of Shogun are now streaming on Hulu, with new episodes dropping weekly. Watch now

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Professor Msomi Moor has a special greeting for everyone who comes into his African American History class.

Welcome Black, says the Florida Memorial University professor. FMU is South Floridas only private Historically Black College or University, meaning his classes dont have to abide by the states anti-woke legislation.

It might be subtle but Moors greeting centers Blackness, something especially important in a state like Florida where Black history is being either whitewashed, sidelined or just ignored. A generation of Black children is potentially in danger of never truly learning about Black history in an academic context. For many students, higher education has historically filled in the blanks yet because of the chilling effect caused by Gov. Ron DeSantis legislation aimed at dictating how professors can teach, HBCUs like FMU could become Floridas safest space to have honest discussions about Black history.

Read More: Fed up with Florida legislators, faith leaders create Black history program for churches

The law in Florida is if you make white folks feel bad in class, you cant teach that, Moor told the Miami Herald, referring to HB 7, a Florida law that has been challenged in courts that would prohibit K-12 and higher education institutions from teaching history in a way that could cause students to feel guilt from past actions by members of a shared group. Keep in mind this is the second Blackest state in the nation. Florida is number two, Texas is number one in regards to population. If you can eliminate the presence of historically-engaged Blacks here, erase their past and cancel their future, youre getting ready to create a permanent inferior class. Its like what they did in the 1860s, 1870s, 1880s, 1890s- youre downgrading the citizenship of Blacks.

Professor Msomi Moor, left, as he teaches his African American studies class at Florida Memorial University.

A class like Moors underscores the important role HBCUs play in supplementing Black history education among Black students. Born out of the desire to teach Black Americans outside of the Eurocentric education system at a time when many white institutions wouldnt admit people of color, HBCUs have always played a crucial role in this countrys history. The institutions have produced some of the best and brightest Black thinkers who have shaped society. And at a time in Florida when books are being banned and the states educational standards say that enslaved Africans benefited from their bondage, their purpose has become even more critical.

Read More: 83-year-old historian spoke to Miami middle schoolers about racism. Heres how it went

The HBCUs have to continue the role consistent with their mission, said Miami-Dade school board member and Florida A&M graduate Steve Gallon III. Most HBCUs, if not all, were established when Blacks didnt have a choice. Their mission was to educate Blacks who didnt have other options. Now that Blacks have more options, its incumbent that HBCUs not run away from but run towards their core mission.

More than that, Moor characterizes the role of HBCUs as the place where the three Es happen  exposure to the diversity of the Black experience, enlightenment about history and empower one another to go change the world.

The HBCU is a place for empowerment for Black folks, Moor added. Its where we come to get away from racism and learn about each other.

Inside the FMU/FIU Auditorium, the location of Moors Intro to African American History 1 and 2 classes, about 20 students dot the seats. Moor, donning a yellow dashiki with a long gold rope chain, strolls around the classroom discussing how Black consciousness has evolved since the end of slavery. Names like Martin Delany, Tunis Campbell and W.E.B. DuBois are tossed around. Some students sit on the edge of their seats, jotting notes on their laptops or in notebooks. A few whisper among themselves  to the point that the begin to compete with Moor. The professor, however, never yells or gets upset.

Those who are ready, you give them what you can, Moor later says. You cant be mad at the ones who arent ready.

Instead, Moor will find a different way to reach the student. Maybe talk to his or her friends. Maybe sit down with the student one-on-one. Maybe leave the student alone until he or she is ready to open up. The students who are engaged, however, often have some sort of personal connection to his teaching. History, after all, is rooted in experience, according to Moor.

History is not something you study, its something you can experience, he said. To me, history is a tool. Its like a clock. It tells you where youre at as a people. 

If HBCUs arent producing critical Black thinkers, then what are they producing?

Black education has always been problematic to America.

Between 1866-1872, roughly 20,000 Black and White Americans were killed for trying to educate Black people, historian Shawn Leigh Alexander said in the documentary Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Between 1864 and 1874, white mobs razed more than 600 Black schools, according to Campbell F. Scribner, author of the book A is for Arson: A History of Vandalism in American Education. Between 1993 and 2023, more than a dozen southern states including Florida, Mississippi and Alabama significantly deprived their HBCUs by more than $13 billion due to their inability to equitably match federal grants for land-grant institutions, according to the Biden administration.

In a letter sent by the Biden administration letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, it was noted that the disparity in funding for University of Florida and FAMU, for example, has robbed the HBCU of nearly $2 billion. A discrimination lawsuit that FAMU students filed in light of this discrepancy was tossed out in late January.

Still, HBCUs have persisted, churning out some of the most influential Black figures over the last two centuries including Martin Luther King, Jr. (Morehouse College), Ida B Wells (Rust College) and DuBois (Fisk University).

This is one of the main reasons students like Deja Deleveaux chose to attend a HBCU. A junior criminal justice major at FMU, Deleveaux didnt quite know what to expect when she saw Moors class listed as a requirement for graduation. It didnt take long for her to be hooked.

It gives me a foundation and sense of purpose, Deleveaux said of Moors class. Although she attend Miami Northwestern High, she didnt learn anything more than the basics of Black history. With Moor, she found a bit of herself  especially considering that his midterm required every student to do their family tree. Dr. Moor breaks down so you know your culture so that you know where you came from in order to know who you are.

That is part of Moors mission. A graduate of Howard University, Moor came up under the same department pioneered by Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black history.

If HBCUs arent producing critical Black thinkers, then what are they producing? Moor said.

Professor Msomi Moor, left, as he teaches his African American studies class at Florida Memorial University.

Part of that teaching also requires a connection to the present. As Moor likes to say, everything is connected. So it was no surprise when Moor started off the class with something that wouldve certainly sent shockwaves through Tallahassee.

What you see today is a continuation of anti-Black legislation, Moor said to his students.

Moor then cycled through the Dredd Scott decision (Black people in the United States have no rights which the white man is bound to respect.), the Compromise of 1877 (White folks in 1877, 150 years ago, decided amongst themselves that this country will always place national order over Black advancement.) and Jim Crow (By law, weve been considered less than human longer than weve been free.). The purpose, he later says, is to make his students ask themselves how do I fit in?

White folks have been telling us how they felt about us since they trafficked us here, Moor said to the class. In private, he calls Florida a representative model for the modern-day destruction of Blackness.

How these teachings will affect the next generation of students still remains to be seen. For Tameka Bradley Hobbs, the Library Regional Manager for the African American Research Library and Cultural Center, her first Black history class at FAMU awoke in her a passion for the subject itself.

It completely revolutionized my understanding of my place in society and my place in the family, Hobbs said. She learned about the chronology of Jim Crow. About the drastic difference between her grandparents neighborhoods and the white side of town. About how her parents attended segregated schools. Those are things you see but no one ever put into context. It was through that Black history class that I finally began to understand the contours and impact of racial discrimination in America.

And while Moor will no longer teach at FMU after the end of the 2023-24 school year, its clear he has made an impact on his students.

His course is so important and its sad hes leaving, said Dana Domingue. Although shes set on majoring in psychology, Moors class has her thinking about changing her minor to African American history and even buying a house in a Black neighborhood. If you dont learn your Blackness in this class, I dont know where you would learn it.
Matthew Georgia sits at the defense table on Monday at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay. Georgia was charged with homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle in the 2020 death of Christian Warzniak.

GREEN BAY - A Suamico man was acquitted Thursday of a charge related to the death of 5-year-old Christian Warzniak.

Warzniak was run over by a truck in a driveway and died in February 2020. After nearly six hours of deliberations, a Brown County jury found Matthew Georgia, 42, the driver of the truck, not guilty of causing the accident with criminally negligent behavior  on the date of Warzniak's fourth death anniversary.

A charge of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle was dismissed. The trial lasted four days.

According to attorneys, Georgia and Christian's mother, who had been in an on-and-off-again relationship got into an argument on Feb. 29, 2020, after Georgia saw a text on Christian's mother's phone. When they returned to the driveway of her home in De Pere, the argument continued, and Georgia threw the phone out the window, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said.

Christian's mother got her son out of the vehicle and grabbed some items out of the truck. Lasee said Georgia backed out before Christian's mother had a chance to shut the truck door. Christian was knocked down and run over by the right front wheel of the truck.

Georgia called 911, and first responders arrived on scene quickly. Christian was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Lasee argued Georgia should have known backing out of a driveway in that manner was likely to cause death or great injury.

The 12-person jury deliberated for about 5 hours before coming back to the courtroom and telling the judge it could not come to a decision. Brown County Judge Timothy Hinkfuss told them to go back and try again based on juror instructions.

Hinkfuss, who has been a circuit court judge since 2007, said it was the first time on cases he presided that the jury said it couldn't come to a verdict.

After going back to deliberations, the jury returned with the final verdict in a half-hour.

According to Wisconsin law, criminal negligence is "conduct that the actor should realize creates a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or great bodily harm to another."

Over the course of the trial, Georgia's two defense attorneys, Jolly and Shane Brabazon, argued that not enough evidence existed that showed Georgia knew backing the truck out of the driveway was going to kill Warzniak.

More: Trial for Suamico man charged in death of 5-year-old De Pere boy begins with opening statements

Kelli Arseneau contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Suamico man acquitted on charge related to death of 5-year-boy in 2020
For one day at least, Russias opposition came alive to mourn its lost leader.

The funeral of Alexei Navalny on Friday almost did not happen at all. But thousands ultimately turned out  braving the snow, heavy security and weeks of Kremlin efforts to derail the event  so that they could pay their respects to the man who challenged President Vladimir Putin with a vision for a democratic Russia.

Bearing flowers, candles and placards, the crowd chanted Navalnys name as his body was first delivered to a church in southern Moscow for a brief funeral and then to a nearby cemetery.

There were also riskier words uttered in a country where the state crushes even modest displays of dissent. Russia without Putin! Russia will be free! and even Putin is a murderer! were all audible cries from the clamorous masses.

Funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (Reuters)

Navalnys supporters say he was poisoned on Putins instruction, a charge the Kremlin denies.

The funeral was viewed around the world, with a YouTube livestream set up so that those who saw hope in Navalnys struggle could follow the event online. Earlier in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov gave a reminder to those taking part: Any unsanctioned gathering would be punished.

As such, there was a heavy security presence at the event, including police stationed on rooftops and guarding Navalnys old house nearby. Opposition media reports suggested that at least two people had been detained during the event and, in the past, Russian intelligence services have used surveillance footage to track down protesters and punish them after the fact.

Navalnys death and the ensuing crackdown shows an absolute panic on Putins side, said Bill Browder, an American businessman turned arch Kremlin critic. Despite the presidents almost certain victory in an election two weeks away, Browder believes that Putin is clearly feeling scared in advance of this so-called election  which isnt really an election and that his tactics are just pure repression at this point to keep people in line.

Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. (AP)

The day was also tinged with the geopolitical tension between Moscow and the West, with a crowd of diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne M. Tracy, in attendance a day after Putin reiterated his threats of nuclear war.

Navalny remains a shining example of what Russia could and should be, the U.S. Embassy said in a post on X. His death is a tragic reminder of the lengths the Kremlin will go to silence its critics.

And in a nod to Russias ongoing war in Ukraine, which Navalny opposed, some of the crowd chanted, No to war! Its difficult to gauge public opinion in Russia given the crackdown on dissent, but polls suggest war opponents are still in the minority and the Kremlin has been able to boast of battlefield advances in recent weeks.

Before today, around 400 people were arrested for simply laying flowers at Navalny memorials nationwide following his Feb. 16 death in an Arctic penal colony. That was a deliberate Kremlin tactic to dissuade mourners from attending his funeral, according to Browder, author of Red Notice: A True Story of Corruption, Murder and how I became Putins no. 1 enemy. That intimidation made their defiance Friday doubly remarkable, he said.

That you had several kilometers of people bravely coming out to honor his memory, I think, was a surprise for everybody, because all of them were taking extreme risks, he said. For every person who is on the street showing their face, there are probably 100 or 1,000 more back home who are scared but still outraged.

Funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (Reuters)

When the time finally came to lower Navalnys coffin into the earth at Moscows Borisovskoye Cemetery, it was done to the music from the iconic final scene of 1991s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which sees Arnold Schwarzenneggers eponymous character lowered into molten steel.

Navalny considered it the best film on earth, according to his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh. And its clear why a story about a small but impassioned group fighting back against an impossibly powerful enemy might resonate with him. This final flourish was redolent of the comic persona that Navalny displayed during court appearances from his prison cell in the final months of his life.

But remarkable as Fridays overt show of resistance from his supporters might have been, it will likely change little in the immediate future: Later this month, Putin will almost certainly win a landslide in an election he has purged of all credible opposition.

First elected in 2000, Putin, 71, has already been in power longer than any predecessor since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, a reign that has become ever more repressive, rights groups say.

Funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (Reuters)

At the funeral were the remnants of this opposition, the exiled, the incarcerated and the dead. But perhaps most notable was who wasnt there: Navalnys wife, who has vowed to take up his fight.

I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to make you happy for me and proud of me up there, Yulia Navalnaya wrote in a final tribute on social media. I dont know if I can handle it or not, but I will try.
Former President Trump said Thursday he hasnt decided on a set number of weeks after which abortion should be banned, after it was reported he privately has indicated he likes the idea of a 16-week ban.

More and more Im hearing about 15 weeks. I havent decided yet, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Also, we got it back to the states where it belongs. A lot of states are taking very strong stances, he added, citing Kansas and Ohio.

The number 15 is mentioned. I havent agreed to any number; Im going to see. We want to take an issue that was very polarizing and get it settled and solved so everybody can be happy, Trump added.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Trump has told advisers and allies that he favors a 16-week ban on abortion that includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. Democrats immediately seized on the report as evidence Trump would push for a national abortion ban if he wins reelection.

Trump, who is on track to be the GOP nominee in November, has over the past year repeatedly dodged questions when asked whether he would sign a national abortion ban if reelected, and he has attacked Democrats for being radical and supporting abortions deep into pregnancy. The former president has blamed Republicans messaging on abortion for their election struggles in the 2022 midterms.

At the same time, Trump has said he is responsible for terminating Roe v. Wade through his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices.

On Thursday, he also called an Alabama court ruling that frozen embryos are people  which cast uncertainty on access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment  very harsh.

Trump said one of the people who reached out to him on the issue was Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who is delivering the Republican response to next weeks State of the Union address and has been floated as a potential vice presidential pick.

Katie Britt, a very wonderful young senator in Alabama  said friends of mine were coming up and almost attacking her they were so upset about it, Trump said.

And I said, Whats the issue? What is it? Explain, Trump continued. And were talking about the IVF, and I said, We want that. We want people to help. Were on the side of women.

Trump voiced his support for protecting IVF in the wake of the Alabama ruling, and Republican lawmakers followed suit. But some GOP senators blocked an effort Wednesday that would federally protect access to IVF.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach in February. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A federal judge overseeing Donald Trumps criminal case over his retention of classified documents appeared inclined to reject a proposal by special counsel prosecutors that she set a schedule culminating in a July trial, suggesting at a court hearing on Friday she found the timeline unworkable.

The US district judge Aileen Cannon did not set a new trial date from the bench  it is currently set for May but almost certain to be scrapped  and it was unclear whether she would adopt competing schedules proposed by Trump and prosecutors, or set her own.

Related: Trump again presses for delay of classified documents trial until 2025

Trump himself attended the entirety of the hearing, which he often spent smirking and whispering to his lead lawyer, Todd Blanche. When Trump departed the courthouse, his motorcade slowed down so Trump could wave to supporters who had assembled with flags several lines deep.

The apparent jubilation of Trump after the hearing was striking. Trump has been surly in all of his court hearings to date but watching Cannon engage in tense exchanges with prosecutors  as the special counsel Jack Smith watched with alarm  seemed to energize his mood.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, chose to attend the hearing in the classified documents case instead of a hearing in Atlanta as a judge there considers whether the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, should be disqualified over supposed conflicts of interest.

At the roughly five-hour hearing, Cannon expressed particular reservation with the proposed timetable submitted by prosecutors, saying part of their schedule was unrealistic, and putting in doubt the probability she would move forward with proceedings that would mean Trump going to trial in July.

The skepticism from Cannon came as prosecutors and lawyers for Trump sparred over forthcoming deadlines, which could have profound implications for the scope and viability of not just the documents case but also for the federal 2020 election interference case in Washington.

Prosecutors complained at the hearing that Trumps proposed schedule was too slow, which drew a sharp response from Trumps legal team, who told the judge it was impossible for Trump to be on trial in New York for his hush-money case and attend hearings at the same time in Florida.

The deputy special counsel, Jay Bratt, exasperated by the situation, at one point quipped: We want to keep the case moving along  which drew an instant rebuke from Cannon, who replied that while it may not be apparent to them, theres a lot of working getting done behind the scenes.

Trumps lawyers reiterated that they wanted Cannon to delay the classified documents trial until after the 2024 election in November, claiming once again that it was unfair to his presidential campaign and unfair to him personally because he could not be in courtrooms in New York and in Florida.

The issue with a July trial date, Blanche said, was that Trump would be stuck in a Manhattan courtroom for roughly six weeks starting on 25 March when he faces charges that he falsified business records in hiding hush-money payments before the 2016 election.

Adopting prosecutors schedule, Blanche said, would make it impossible for Trump and his lawyers, some of whom are involved in both cases, to attend both the New York trial and major hearings as he is entitled to as a defendant during that period before Cannon.

The hearing only got worse for the special counsel after the lunch break.

Prosecutors had asked Cannon to reverse a recent order in which she allowed Trump to file redacted court documents and exhibits that would expose the identity of potential trial witnesses  but Cannon again expressed deep skepticism of the governments position.

The request to reverse the order, known as a motion for reconsideration, had argued Cannon applied the wrong legal standard to allow dozens of identities to become public, which could result in potential harassment or intimidation.

Cannon signalled she disagreed with prosecutors, repeatedly asking why they believed civil precedent about sealing motions that referenced discovery otherwise shielded by a protective order extended to criminal cases, where there is greater weight to keeping court filings public.

The judge also appeared inclined to grant Trumps request to hold an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the scope of the prosecution team should be expanded to include additional FBI agents, officials from the US intelligence community and components of the Biden White House.

Trump has sought for weeks to have the prosecution team encompass more entities, in large part because it would force those agencies to provide more information in discovery, further slowing down the timeline to trial.
Police block intersection at Brady and Eastwood in Houston on Thursday, Feb. 29 2024. John Wayne Ferguson

A Houston Police Department officer shot and killed a man Thursday in what authorities described as a shootout in Second Ward.

Police were searching for the man around 5 p.m., shortly after he had allegedly robbed an insurance company on Harrisburg and an ice cream shop on Brady.

The man used a handgun during the robberies, and left the businesses riding an electric scooter, said Larry Satterwhite, the Houston Police Departments executive assistant chief.

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Following the second robbery a patrol officer in a car spotted the man and began to follow him, police said. The officer attempted to stop the man near the intersection of Eastwood and Brady, where the shooting happened, Satterwhite said during a briefing.

The officer pulled in front of the man and ordered the man to stop, police said. The man refused, ran away, and hid behind a tree before shooting his gun at the officer as he fled, police said

The officer fired his weapon and shot the man, killing him, Satterwhite said. It wasnt clear how many shots were fired in the exchange. The officer wasnt wounded. Investigators on Thursday night were looking for evidence of damage from the shootout in the residential area.

Police on Friday identified the officer as Alfonso Yanez, a 30-year veteran of the police department assigned to the Eastside division.

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The man who was shot was described as being in his late 20s or early 30s. His name wasnt immediately released.

At the news conference, Satterwhite said the man was also a suspect in three other recent robberies in the area, but didnt provide details about when and where they occurred.

Yanez was placed on administrative duty, which is typical after a police shooting.

This is the first fatal shooting by a Houston police officer this year, according to officer-involved-shooting reports submitted to the Texas Attorney Generals Office. There have been six other fatal shootings in Houston this year by officers from other agencies, including the Harris County Sheriffs Office and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, according to the database

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Janet Yamanaka Mello was accused of regularly submitting fraudulent paperwork asking for funding for a fake vendor she created

KSAT 12/YouTube Janet Yamanaka Mello

An employee of the U.S. Army plans to plead guilty after being accused of stealing more than $100 million in Army funds to spend on items such as jewelry, clothing and vehicles.

Janet Yamanaka Mello, a 57-year-old civilian financial program manager at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, signed a plea deal this week after being indicted for charges previously announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas back in December.

As reported at the time, Mello faced 10 counts related to a fraud scheme and was alleged to have regularly submitted fraudulent paperwork requesting funding from the Army for her Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development (CHYLD) organization.

The indictment argued that Mello's CHYLD did not provide any services, and that she instead used the funds to purchase millions of dollars in jewelry, clothing, vehicles and real estate.

According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Mello signed her plea agreement on Thursday. She has since been ordered to appear in court in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Mello's plea deal charges her with five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return, per the San Antonio Express-News, which noted that each mail fraud count comes with a 20-year maximum jail sentence  five years for tax fraud.

A lawyer for Mello did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Friday.

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Per the U.S. Attorney's Office, she was initially charged with five counts of mail fraud, four counts of engaging in a monetary transaction over $10,000 using criminally derived proceeds and one count of aggravated identity theft, as she was alleged to have falsified the digital signature of a supervisor on multiple occasions.

At the time, it was reported that she could see a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for defrauding the Army and up to 10 years in prison for spending the funds. Falsifying her supervisor's signature also came with a potential sentence of two years in prison.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, Mello created her false vendor for the military's 4-H program in 2016, and had been accused of submitting fraudulent paperwork and receiving checks at UPS mailboxes she rented. Among the goods Mello used the funds on, the Express-News reports (citing court documents) that they were used to purchase over 80 vehicles, expensive meals, mansions and designer clothing.

Mello, who included CHYLD on her personal income tax forms, had her home raided in August after the IRS partnered with criminal investigators for the Army, per the Express-News.

Related: U.S. Army Employee Accused of Stealing $100 Million to Buy Jewelry, Clothing, Vehicles and Real Estate

The outlet also noted that the government is going after 31 properties under her name  in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and beyond  as well as 35 vehicles, 42 motorcycles and $18 million discovered in six bank accounts.

"Despite the massive amount of money that went to CHYLD, defendant's supervisors trusted defendant and did no independent verification that CHYLD actually provided services consistent with the purpose of the program, did no review of defendant's relationship to CHYLD, and took no additional steps to confirm the funds defendant authorized and requested were lawfully used consistent with the purpose of the program," Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons wrote in a court document, per the Express-News.



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Republican House speaker Mike Johnson at the Capitol in Washington, on 29 February 2024. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP

Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress managed to ward off a damaging federal government shutdown with a last-minute compromise reached this week  but remain deadlocked over approving further military assistance for Ukraine and Israel, and tightening immigration laws.

Congress was up against a Friday midnight deadline to reauthorize government spending or see a chunk of the federal departments cease much of their operations.

Related: Senate passes short-term funding bill to avert government shutdown

On Wednesday, top lawmakers including Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, and Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, announced they are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government, and the following day lawmakers passed a short-term spending measure that Joe Biden signed on Friday.

But similar agreement has proven elusive when it comes to funding both the continuation of Ukraines grinding defense against Russias invasion and Israels assault on Gaza.

Last month, a bipartisan Senate agreement that would have paired the latest tranche of military aid with measures to limit the number of undocumented people and asylum seekers crossing into the country from Mexico was killed by Republicans  reportedly so Donald Trump, who is on the cusp of winning the Republican presidential nomination, could campaign on his own hardline approach to immigration reform.

The Senate then approved a $95bn bill that would authorize aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without changing policy at the border, but Johnson has refused to put it to a vote in the House. Meanwhile, the government funding saga isnt quite over. This weeks agreement pushed the funding deadlines for the two bills authorizing spending to 8 and 22 March. In their joint statement, the House and Senate leaders said lawmakers would vote on the 12 separate appropriations bills funding federal departments before these dates.

As Russias invasion enters its third year, enthusiasm for Kyivs cause has cooled among the American right. While it still has high-profile champions among the GOP, including the partys top senator, Mitch McConnell, it is Democrats who have been loudest in sounding the alarm over the holdup of aid as Russia advances in the country.

Every day that House Republicans refuse to hold a vote on the bipartisan National Security Supplemental, the consequences for Ukraine grow more severe, Biden said on Thursday.

And though Bidens administration faces intense criticism from some of his allies for his support for Israel  on Tuesday, a write-in campaign to protest his Middle East policy picked up 100,000 votes in vital swing state Michigans Democratic primary  the president insisted the aid would help both Israels fight against Hamas and the needs of Gazas civilians.

This bill will help ensure that Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats. And it will provide critical humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people and those impacted by conflicts around the world. Because the truth is, the aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere near enough, and nowhere fast enough. Innocent lives are on the line, he said.

Related: Biden calls for compromise while Trump goes full red meat at US-Mexico border

The biggest obstacle at this point appears to be Johnson, a rightwing lawmaker and Trump ally elevated to the speakers job in October after an unusual intraparty revolt cast Kevin McCarthy from the post. On Wednesday, a coalition of parliamentary leaders from European countries including France, Spain, Finland and Ukraine sent an open letter to Johnson asking him to allow a vote on Ukraine aid.

While Speaker Johnson believes we must confront Putin, and is exploring steps to effectively do so, as he said at the White House, his immediate priority is funding Americas government and avoiding a shutdown, the speakers office replied.

Centrist lawmakers in Congresss lower chamber, which the GOP controls by a meager two seats, are reportedly planning to circulate a discharge petition, which, if signed by a majority of members, could force Johnson to put Ukraine aid up for a floor vote. Asked about that at a press conference, the Democratic House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, was not ready to endorse the idea.

The most effective way to secure aid for our democratic allies, including, but not limited to, Ukraine, is to take the bipartisan bill that is pending before the House right now and put it on the floor, Jeffries said, adding: All legislative options remain on the table.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she was launching an investigation into the nationwide AT&T service outage that affected about three-quarters of its customers.

In a press release Thursday, James said her office will investigate the causes of and the companys response to the outage and urged New Yorkers who were affected by it to file complaints with her office.

Americans rely on cell service providers for consistent and reliable service to help them with nearly every aspect of their daily lives, James said in a statement.

Nationwide outages are not just an inconvenience, they can be dangerous, and its critical that we protect consumers when an outage occurs. I encourage any New Yorker who was affected by this disruption to file a complaint with my office, she added.

Her announcement comes one week after a nationwide outage disrupted millions of customers service.

In a press release Feb. 25, AT&T said that, based on an initial review, it has determined the outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used while working to expand our network.

AT&T said in the release that it will automatically credit each account affected by the outage with the cost of one day of service.

We all know that our customers receive tremendous value and convenience for the nominal daily cost of our service, and outages sometimes have outsized impacts on some subscribers that may be greater than the face value of the credit, AT&T wrote in the statement. For that reason, I believe that crediting those customers for essentially a full day of service is the right thing to do.

AT&T did not respond to an immediate request for comment from The Hill.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.


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The Hattie Mae White Education Support Center is seen before a Houston ISD school board meeting, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in Houston. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

Houston ISD's chief operating officer  one of the only senior staffers from former Superintendent Millard House II's cabinet prior to last year's state takeover  left HISD in January, district records show.

Wanda Paul joined HISD as chief operating officer in 2021 after four years in that role at The School District of Palm Beach County in Florida. Her departure leaves Scott Gilhousen, HISD's chief technology officer, and Catosha Woods, the district's general counsel, as the only holdovers from House's administration in Superintendent Mike Miles' 12-person cabinet.

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The rest of House's cabinet submitted their resignations before the state's takeover of the district became official on June 1, when the Texas Education Agency appointed Miles and a Board of Managers to replace House and the elected Board of Trustees. Paul is one of nearly 500 employees who left the district in January, compared to an average of about 300 departures in January over the last five years.

HISD officials declined to comment on Paul's departure, citing it as a personnel issue, and, regarding the staff turnover, said that Miles has been clear from day one that "HISD will be a school system with a high-performing culture."

"We are restructuring the district to serve all students well," the district said in a statement. "Those changes make it difficult to compare data from this year to previous years."

Jim Terry, formerly HISD's chief finance officer, has taken the title of chief finance and operations officer as he assumes Paul's duties while the district conducts a search for her replacement, an HISD spokesperson said.

As chief operating officer, Paul oversaw 6,000 employees in transportation, nutrition, facilities and several other departments. Her annual salary of $235,000 made her, along with five other administrators who earn the same amount, HISD's third-highest paid employees. Only Miles, who makes $380,000, and his chief of staff, Kerri Briggs, who makes $250,000, earn more, records show.

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More from Sam Gonzalez Kelly: UH education professor suspends course in protest of HISD's rigid lessons

District staffing records list Paul's separation from HISD in January as "voluntary." In a LinkedIn post last month, Paul announced that she would be working as an educational consultant at Paul Consulting Group, LLC, a business that she registered with the Secretary of State's office in June 2022, tax records show.

Paul did not return multiple requests for comment.

News of her departure comes on the heels of an "efficiency report" released by Miles last week, which he said illustrated years of wasteful spending practices at HISD, some of which would have fallen under Paul's purview as chief operating officer. The report characterized the district's transportation system, in particular, as "dysfunctional," lamenting that there has been "no significant change to the methodology of transporting students" while average ridership on the district's 520 bus routes is fewer than 17 students per route.

The report states that the district has adopted a new busing software to improve transportation management, and that the district will conduct a review to develop a more "cost-effective system and more effective organizational structures and procedures to reduce costs and provide better service."

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MORE ON HISD:Superintendent Miles announces major overhaul to tackle 'inefficiencies,' pay for NES expansion

Before joining The School District of Palm Beach County in 2017, Paul worked with Miles in Dallas ISD, where she served as chief operating officer during most of his tenure there as as superintendent between 2012 and 2015. She applied to lead Broward County Public Schools in Florida after the Texas Education Agency announced formal plans to take over the district last spring, but lost out on the job to Peter Licata, a former colleague of hers in Palm Beach County, in June.
BEIJING, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Nearly 100 journalists from 87 countries have joined the China International Press Center 2024 Program to gain a unique insight into China through a media exchange program featuring cultural immersion and exchange of experience.

The media exchange program, organized by the China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC), kicked off on March 1 in Beijing.

CIPCC Director Yu Lei and other CIPCC staffers presented the program to the visiting media representatives at the opening ceremony in Beijing.

The four-month exchange program will enable international media representatives to get a first-hand experience of China by attending major events, he said, notably the upcoming annual plenary session of the countrys top lawmaking body.

The second session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), the countrys legislature and highest organ of power, and the second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the countrys top political advisory body, are set to take place next week. As both bodies hold their yearly meetings at the same time, they are collectively called the Two Sessions. The advisory body starts its session a day or two earlier than the legislature, in order to hold consultations and make policy recommendations. Provincial, prefecture, and county level sessions are held before the national level meeting. The sessions are held at the Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. CPPCC members include experienced politicians, celebrities, experts and scientists from various areas, as well as representatives of various social groups.

The media exchange program will also feature presentations about Chinas socio-economic development, diplomacy, culture, science and technology, and provide insights into major enterprises, think tanks, media organizations and government departments.

This article has been written as part of the China International Press Communication Center (CIPCC) media exchange program.
Rheinmetall has been awarded a further contract to supply Skynex air defence systems to a European customer. The order has a value in the lower three-digit million euro range. The deliveries will take place throughout 2025 and, as with the initial contract, will also include the associated Rheinmetall-made HX trucks.

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Relying on automatic 35mm gun-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts where guided missiles are ineffective (Picture source: Rheinmetall)

Relying on automatic cannon-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts where guided missiles are ineffective. Moreover, the use of programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition, as developed by Rheinmetall for this purpose, is significantly less expensive than comparable guided missile-based systems. Equally important: 35mm ammunition cannot be influenced much less jammed by electronic countermeasures when fired. The success of the self-propelled Flakpanzer Gepard antiaircraft system in Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of 35mm gun-based air defence against aerial targets, especially cruise missiles and drones.

The advanced Skynex air defence system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors. Owing to this modularity, and depending on the mission, the necessary assets can be linked to the command-and-control network. The system enables the integration of radar equipment from various manufacturers. Skynex also offers great freedom concerning effectors, enabling the integration of many different advanced air defence weapons into the system.

Having its own tracking unit is the sole prerequisite. Besides individual sensors and effectors, existing air defence systems like the Skyshield and Skyguard families can be built into the new architecture as fire units. In a remotely located command and weapon engagement centre, the recognized air situation is depicted on a map together with the sensors and effectors positioned in the field, thus simplifying the allocation of targets to air defence assets connected to the system.

Defense News March 2024
The program, which formed out of its acquisition of TruMethods in 2021, will act as a peer group for Kaseya managed service providers (MSP), bringing them together on a regular basis.

According to Kaseya, TruPeer members will have access to quarterly in-person and virtual peer meetings with other MSPs, alongside bi-weekly accountability.

TruPeer will also offer webinars, coaching and training material covering topics including profitability, scalability and company value, as well as sales, packaging and pricing.

Running the program locally is former Virtual IT Group CEO Daniel Garcia, who has joined Kaseya, and is overseen by TruMethods president Gary Pica and Kaseya executive VP of the channel Dan Tomaszewski.
The Melbourne-based software and services provider announced the sale of its Microsoft Business Applications (MBA) practice on 29 February to privately owned financial advisory and accounting firm Findex.

The remainder of the company will now be split into FiveP, which will focus on Microsoft Teams and Sharepoint, and Baret, a new company focused on the global expansion of its eponymous messaging tool.

The business known as FiveP will continue to focus on modern workplace solutions while expanding into security, identity and Copilot artificial intelligence (AI) offerings under the leadership of founder and CEO David Dennis.

Meanwhile, Baret will be led by current FiveP CMO Matt Krosch as CEO and CTO Jane Prowse, who will be retaining her title but will transition to focus solely on the solution's product development.

The duo now plan to launch Baret in the United States and other markets in Asia Pacific. "Moving into new markets and serving new industries provides us with a compelling opportunity for growth," said Krosch.

"Our customers believe in our product and its ability to empower frontline workers in hospitals and care services to focus on providing the best care possible."

The divestment will also open Baret up for usage by non-Teams users and external collaboration. According to Krosch, Baret experienced a 619 per cent year-on-year increase in end-user adoption across its client base. Monthly platform interactions have also increased rapidly, exceeding one million in January 2024 alone, he claimed.

"External parties, not just Microsoft Teams users, can now benefit from Baret's role-based messaging capabilities," said Prowse.

"We're unlocking even more product innovation at an increased pace for our growing customer base. Continuing to provide unparalleled value and meeting the unique needs of our users is what drives us forward.

Founded in 2013, FiveP offers digital products and consulting services in Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 platforms.

Under Findex's ownership, the Microsoft Gold partner will transition its business applications customers and the 13 staff members from MBA department to join the accounting firm's Digital Consulting business.

FiveP will continue to act as a partner to Findex, helping mutual customers move to Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement, Business Central and Power Platform services.

"We are entering our next stage of growth in the software-as-a-service space led by the impact that our role-based messaging solution, Baret, is delivering for health services across Australian," Dennis added.

"All of these changes represent an exciting shift in the FiveP and Baret businesses."
Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs who defied party line by cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha polls

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, HP Congress Committee (HPCC) President Pratibha Singh with central observers and others during a press conference, in Shimla. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government in Himachal Pradesh breathed a sigh of relief as threats to its stability subsided on Thursday.

Congress observer D.K. Shivakumar said, Congress government is intact with Sukhu as the CM. All MLAs support a Congress government for 5 years... No Operation Lotus here.

On Thursday, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified six Congress MLAs who defied party line by cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha polls and abstained from voting on the Budget. The MLAs include Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur, and Chetanya Sharma.

In an effort to showcase unity amidst the turmoil, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu convened a breakfast meeting with party MLAs at his official residence, although some notable figures like state cabinet minister Vikramaditya Singh chose not to attend.

Speaking to the media alongside party observer Bhupinder Hooda, Shivakumar stated that after individual discussions with Congress MLAs and deliberations with Sukhu and state Congress chief Pratibha Singh, internal differences had been resolved. It was agreed to form a coordination committee to address internal matters, with Hooda mentioning, A 6-member coordination committee comprising the CM, PCC, Deputy CM, and three members will be formed.

However, despite efforts to project unity, underlying tensions within the party remain palpable. State Congress president Pratibha Singh expressed concern that the disqualification of the six MLAs could impact parliamentary elections in the state, criticising the lack of dialogue as a contributing factor.

Former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur criticised the government's handling of the situation, alleging manipulation to pass the Budget due to a lack of majority, echoing broader condemnation of Congress behaviour nationwide.

Insiders suggest that while the Congress high command may have temporarily placated rebel MLAs led by Vikramaditya Singh, long-term stability remains uncertain. Failure to address the balance of power could potentially reignite rebellion within the state.
PM slams I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners of the TMC for their silence on the Mamata Banerjee-led government's failures for the sake of votes

Kolkata: Embarking on a two-day West Bengal visit after a gap of almost three years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pitched for the BJP's victory in all 42 Lok Sabha seats of the state in the upcoming general election. He asserted that the poll results would set the countdown for the end of the Trinamul Congress' (TMC) rule in the state.

Modi, who inaugurated Central welfare projects worth Rs 7,200 crore at Arambagh in Hooghly, also invoked Sandeshkhali violence and multiple government job scams in his blistering attack on the TMC. He also slammed the I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners of the TMC for their silence on the Mamata Banerjee-led government's failures in the state for the sake of votes.

Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal government of encouraging corruption in the state, Modi pledged to fulfil his guarantee to despatch the lootera.

He told a party rally: Bharat will prosper when Bengal prospers. For this, lotus needs to bloom in all seats of the state in the coming elections. Won't it happen?!

Reaching out to the minority electorate, Modi said, The TMC believes that it has a secured vote bank. But this time, their vanity will be shattered. Muslim sisters and daughters will also come forward to uproot goondaraj of the TMC. The Lok Sabha poll results will start the countdown of the TMC government's defeat and departure from Bengal.

Raking up the Sandeshkhali issue, Modi alleged, The entire country is witnessing the situation in Bengal and is pained and fuming over what TMC, the drumbeaters of Maa-Mati-Manush, did with the sisters of Sandeshkhali. Raja Rammohan Roy's soul, wherever it is now, must have been sad and crying over these people's acts there. What the TMC leader did with the women of Sandeshkhali has crossed all limits of audacity.

Modi claimed: When the women raised their voice and sought help from the Chief Minister, Didi and her government, in return, threw their entire weight behind the TMC leader to protect him. Facing pressure from the BJP, the Bengal police bowed down before you and had to arrest the accused yesterday.

He added: The accused TMC leader remained at large for nearly two months under TMC rule. There must be someone who was protecting him! Will you forgive such a TMC? Won't you take revenge for what happened with the mothers and sisters of Sandeshkhali? People are asking Didi if some people's votes have become more important to her than the women's victims. Shame on you...a strong reply must be given while voting in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections...

Slamming the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, the Prime Minister observed, I get surprised to see the rest of the leaders of the INDIA bloc who are keeping their eyes, ears and mouths closed on Sandeshkhali... The Congress president even called the Sandeshkhali incident a routine affair in Bengal. Isn't this an insult to the rich cultural heritage of Bengal? This is the reality of the Congress and INDIA bloc leaders. They back corruption and dynasties. That is their biggest job.
State Congress chief Pratibha Singh openly criticises party's performance, while admiring the BJP's governance

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu with cabinet ministers and MLAs leaves after a meeting with Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania at the Vidhan Sabha, in Shimla, Friday, March. 1, 2024. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: The turmoil within the Himachal Pradesh Congress Party shows no signs of abating as state minister Vikramaditya Singh engaged in a closed-door meeting with rebel MLAs, while his mother and state Congress chief, Pratibha Singh, openly criticised the party's performance, while admiring the BJP's governance.

In a candid statement to reporters, Pratibha Singh remarked, "A lot remains to be addressed within the Congress. Through my interactions with constituents, I've gathered feedback suggesting the BJP's administration surpasses ours." She emphasised the urgency for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to fortify the partys organisation, acknowledging the formidable challenges ahead.

From Day 1, I had been telling the CM that we will be able to face the upcoming elections only if he strengthen the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground. On the other hand, the BJP is doing a lot of things by working as per the directions of Modi.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu acknowledged his discussion with rebel leader Vikramaditya Singh during a recent Cabinet meeting, expressing concern over Singh's efforts to sway other MLAs. He disclosed ongoing dialogue with Singh, urging him to communicate with the party's central leadership.

Meanwhile, the six disqualified rebel Congress MLAs, contesting their disqualification for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections, have escalated the conflict by challenging the decision in the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

To address the internal discord, the Congress central leadership proposed a six-member coordination committee. While Pratibha Singh and Vikramaditya Singh reluctantly accepted this decision, discontent lingers. Urgent intervention from the Congress high command is imperative to prevent further destabilisation within the Sukhu government.
According to official documents consulted by the website Rappler, the former Philippine president and his family own a huge amount of firearms: 358 - including an assault rifle - are personally registered in the name of Rodrigo Duterte. Who in the last days of his term also passed a law extending the validity of the gun licence to 10 years

Manila (AsiaNews/Agencies) - There are almost 500 - precisely, according to the Rappler investigation, 477 - firearms owned by just four members of the family of Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines until 30 June 2022, and the first Mindanaoian to hold this position.

The arsenal comprises mainly of pistols and about a hundred rifles. Most of these weapons are registered to Rodrigo, 358, while his son, the current mayor of the city of Davao, Sebastian Duterte, has 66 weapons. His son-in-law Manases Carpio is 30 and his daughter Sara, Carpio's wife and vice-president of the country and minister of education, is 23. All for an economic value of 14 million pounds.

The journalistic investigation was able to verify these numbers thanks to documents from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Bureau (PNP-FEO). It is no coincidence that at the end of his mandate the former president passed a law that extended the validity of carrying firearms to 10 years, when previously it stopped at four.

Duterte therefore benefited from his own law because the license of his 358 firearms was renewed immediately and will remain valid for the following 10 years.

The new law he passed, RA-11766, also made it easier to obtain a permit to carry guns outside of residence. Part of the changes made have also accelerated and facilitated the issuing of permits with the introduction of two new "clauses": that is, that an elected official - whether in office or former - like him - can obtain a weapons licence. The same goes for law enforcement personnel, both active and retired. His children and relatives also benefited from this law.

The Philippines has a long-standing problem with gun violence and there are numerous private armies linked to influential clans and families in the country. Political attempts to abolish them have failed due to watered-down legislation, such as not placing a cap on the number of guns an individual can own.

The current code in fact says that an individual who owns at least 15 weapons is identified as a "weapons collector" and can obtain a "type 5 licence", provided that he passes pharmacological and psychological tests, as well as an inspection of the place where they are guarded.

However, the norm does not impose a limit. For comparison: one of the most passionate collectors in the country, the former commissioner Kim Henares, reaches "only" 40. Yet he too believes it is right that the law does not impose a ceiling, but "regulators must be strict on a psychological level test.

This because there is no difference if a person has 1 or 10 weapons, if he is unstable, it's the same thing." Also notable in the inventory of Duterte's collection is an FN Herstal P90, a rifle classified as a submachine gun by the manufacturer, but which in the former president's records is listed as a "light weapon".

These numbers appear disturbing also in light of the words said by Duterte while the International Criminal Court (ICC) is still investigating the six years of his bloody "war on drugs" punctuated by thousands of killings and the years of his mandate as mayor of Davao for the murders committed by the alleged 'death squad': If they come to get me, if they arrest me here, there will be a shootout, and I will finish them all off, Duterte said.

Finally, the shadows on the weapons in the hands of the former president also come from the trial against Duterte's friend and spiritual advisor, the controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy, leader of the religious group Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC), accused of various crimes, murders and of sexual violence: a witness saw Rodrigo and Sara Duterte leaving the preacher's compound with bags full of weapons. In the case, the former president denied that Quiboloy gave him weapons, saying in Davao City on February 27: "Accepting weapons from Quiboloy? That's really stupid. Why would Pastor Quiboloy give me a gun"?
by Shafique Khokhar

On Monday, the Pakistani Senate voted on the Christian Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2023. For Christians, the legal age of marriage goes from 16 to 18 years of age. The battle to protect young women and girls from the practice of child brides and forced conversion began in November 2022. Now many hope it can be extended to all religions.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), the body of the Pakistani Catholic Church leading the fight for rights and freedoms, has welcomed a law recently approved by the Pakistani Senate.

The Christian Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2023 voted by the upper house on Monday raises the marriage age for Christians from 16 to 18 years.

Senator Kamran Michael, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), introduced the bill in the Senate to amend Section 60 of the Christian Marriage Act 1872 by raising the minimum age for marriage by two years.

The legislative process began on 24 November 2022 when Naveed Aamir Jeeva, a member of the National Assembly for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), supported by NCJP, tabled a bill in the house to raise the marriage age to 18. It was voted on the next day.

In a joint statement, Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad, who chairs the NCJP and is the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan, NCJP national director Fr Bernard Emmanuel, and NCJP executive director Naeem Yousaf Gill expressed their gratitude for the passage of the law.

We are grateful to the Senate of Pakistan for fulfilling our long-standing request to increase the marriage age to 18 for both Christian boys and girls. This will help curb the trend of child marriages of underage girls, especially in rural areas, the statement says.

We extend our sincere appreciation to Senator Kamran Michael for his commendable work in presenting the Christian Marriage Bill to the Senate and to Mr Naveed Amir Jeeva for presenting it to the National Assembly.

"This law will play a vital role in promoting inclusivity and respect for the Christian community within our legislative framework. This bill will certainly pave the way for defending and protecting our young women and girls from forced conversion and marriages."

Finally, the NCJP leaders call on Pakistans incoming government to "work to make forced conversion a criminal offence" with penalties for abuses and violations.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Ata-ur-Rehman Saman, a human rights activist, expressed his appreciation for the law approved by the Senate, calling it "a success" in the ongoing struggle "for the realisation of our rights.

For him, This measure will certainly boost our morale and strengthen human rights organisations working to protect the marginalised sections of society." What is more, it will protect underage Christian girls" from abuses like the infamous practice of child brides.

Hopefully, "This is the beginning of the realisation of the rights of underage girls of all religions in Pakistan. I wish this age limit for marriage is extended to every Pakistani.

In fact, to protect girls of religious minorities from forced conversion and forced marriages, the incoming government should criminalise the act of forced conversion of religious minorities to Islam. This would impart a sense of protection among minorities and improve our image internationally as well, he added.
by Nirmala Carvalho

In her address to the state Legislative Assembly, Governor Anusuiya Uikey assessed the situation following months of interethnic strife between Meitei and Kuki. Some 10,000 First Information Reports have been filed in connection with the violence. Compensation has been paid to victims families. For Archbishop Lumon, the latter is important but the situation remains difficult. It is unclear whether churches and businesses will be compensated.

Imphal (AsiaNews)  The Indian state of Manipur has been embroiled in interethnic violence since May last year with 219 people killed and revenue losses to the exchequer to the tune of eight billion Indian rupees (US$ 96 million), this according to Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey in her address to the states Legislative Assembly.

It is unfortunate that due to the violence 219 persons have lost their lives, she told state lawmakers. Those families who have lost their dear ones are being given compensation of 10 lakh[*] each based on verification. Bodies of victims have been given to their families and their last rites performed, she added.

Governor Uikey also told the House that 198 companies of the Central Armed Police (CAPF) and 140 army columns have been deployed in the state to maintain public order.

She reported that an audit of weapons stolen during the looting of government warehouses has been done, noting that the missing armament is being progressively recovered.

About 187,143 people have been detained in the state since May 2023 as a preventive measure and were released after legal formalities. About 10,000 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed in connection with the ethnic violence.

For transparent and independent investigation, the government has transferred 29 cases to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and one to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The pis underway to hand over four more cases to the CBI and another five to the NIA, Uikey said.

Each person displaced by the violence received a thousand rupees (US$ 12) three times to meet their clothing and other needs.

So far, the state government has spent two billion rupees (US$ 24 million) on relief operations, and is hopeful that the Union (federal) Home Affairs Ministry will reimburse the state, which is struggling to cope with the added financial burden.

Archbishop Emeritus Dominic Lumon of Imphal spoke to AsiaNews about the governors statement.

"The government is doing its best to bring the situation back to normal, so the fact that on the first day of the session of the Manipur Assembly, the head of the state addressed the issue was a welcome thing, said the prelate. However, society itself is divided, internal dissent and disagreements are still present. The situation remains very difficult."

Other local sources told AsiaNews that the figure of 219 dead is the official one, and does not include all possible deaths.

The government is worried about revenue losses but no assessment has been made of the damage, the destruction of homes, churches, and the loss of livelihoods.

Despite repeated appeals, no guarantees have been offered by the authorities on this..."

INDIAN MANDALA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO INDIA. TO RECEIVE A WEEKLY UPDATE EVERY FRIDAY, CLICK HERE.

[*] One million rupees, US$ 12,000.
People hug each other after paying their respects to Audrii Cunningham during public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Brad Butler, student minister at First Baptist Church of Livingston and spokesman for Livingston ISD, wears a purple ribbon to speak about Audrii Cunningham's public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas. As mourners prepare for the funeral of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston, the community wants answers about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history of violence. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle) Yi-Chin Lee/Associated Press People wear memorial t-shirts as they pay their respects to Audrii Cunningham during public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Crosses with purple bows line up the driveway for Audrii Cunningham's visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas. As mourners prepare for the funeral of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston, the community wants answers about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history of violence. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle) Yi-Chin Lee/Associated Press A person brings balloons to pay their respects to Audrii Cunningham during public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Audrii Cunningham's casket is brought out following a public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer People gather on the lawn with glow sticks to send off Audrii Cunningham following a public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

Purple flowers and child sized angel wings surrounded Audrii Cunninghams closed Lisa Frank casket Friday evening as hundreds of mourners gathered at Livingstons First Baptist Church for her visitation service.

Audrii is now known across Texas as the 11-year-old who was found on the banks of the Trinity River Feb. 20, five days after her family reported her missing. To friends and family, shell be remembered for her good humor and positive outlook on life.

Well forever be at a loss without her radiant smile and engaging personality, said Phillip Munsch, Audriis grandfather, after the service. Tonight, youve heard from some of those who have been forever changed by her special gift which helped her touch the hearts of all that knew her.

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A purple flower wreath is donned on a vehicle at Audrii Cunningham's public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024 at First Baptist Church in Livingston, Texas. As mourners prepare for the funeral of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston, the community wants answers about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history of violence. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle) Yi-Chin Lee/Associated Press

In the sanctuary, members of the Bandidos motorcycle club wore purple handkerchiefs in their back pockets, while uniformed law enforcement officers and first responders stood in the back.

Bandidos Motorcycle Club members pay respect to Audrii Cunningham during a public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

There were people in the crowd who did not wear Audriis favorite color  Texas Equusearch members were in yellow and teachers from Livingston ISDs Creekside Elementary, where Audrii was in fifth grade, wore green and white.

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Audriis artwork still hangs in the schools hallway, said Brad Butler, student minister and Livingston ISD representative. A green and white Livingston Lions letterman jacket with Audriis name stitched on its lapel greeted mourners at the church entrance.

Theres a family who loves her, but theres really a community thats come together that loves her, Butler said. We love our kids and were committed to protecting them.

Details of the service depicted the life of a normal, happy child gone far too soon.

People want to remember her as a smiling, beautiful little girl, head pastor Brett Lester said. Not that she will be remembered for this tragedy and crime or events of the last two weeks, but who she was when she was at (school), who she was with her friends and teachers.

People gather on the lawn with glow sticks to send off Audrii Cunningham following a public visitation Friday, March 1, 2024, at First Baptist Church in Livingston. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer

After the service, pallbearers brought Audriis casket to the churchs front lawn as friends and family members surrounded her. Mourners lit glowsticks and made a heart formation while family, friends and community leaders spoke.

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Our peace has been shattered, said Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons. But we do serve a God thats good enough, thats gracious enough that even in times like these, he can reach down and still comfort me and you.

Audrii will be laid to rest in a private funeral and burial Saturday morning.

'Cool kids club'

Audrii loved singing, video games, dancing, reading and painting, according to family members and her obituary.

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Most of all, she loved animals, the family of Audriis father, Joshua Lee Cunningham, said in a Tuesday release. Her mother, Cassie Matthews, said her child wanted to be a veterinarian and walked the neighbors dogs.

Caring for and playing with animals was her passion, the fathers family said in a release. Every day, Audrii was out caring for our pets and walking our dog.

Audrii was goofy even as a baby, Matthews said. She joked that she was part of the cool kids club with her uncle because they both wore glasses, and when she and her mom watched a Spider-Man movie for the first time, she climbed on the coffee table and pretended to shoot webs from her hands.

She had so much energy and brought a passion to everything she did, the family said.

Audrii is survived by Matthews, Joshua Lee Cunningham and grandparents Phillip and Tabitha Munsch and Mark and Annie Cedars. She is also survived by two siblings, brother Evan Cunningham and sister Acacia Matthews-Goodman, an aunt and several uncles.

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Family seeks change to legislation

Don Steven McDougal, a family friend who lived in a camper behind the Cunninghams home, was charged with capital murder in relation to her death. Matthews, who did not have custody of Audrii, said she will continue to advocate for her daughter in a Tuesday interview with television journalist Nancy Grace.

I failed my daughter once by being bullied into submission and being made to believe she was in a good home, but I will not fail my daughter again, Matthews said.

Audrii lived with her father and grandmother. McDougal had a series of arrests across the Houston area but was not added to the sex offender registry after pleading no contest in 2008 to two felony counts of enticing a child.

The fathers family is advocating to amend that legislation, according to the release.
The worst case is Myanmar, where both the regular army and armed resistance make extensive use of landmines. Almost half of the countries that are not signatories to the UN treaty are in Asia or the Middle East. In Southeast Asia region, Cambodia has become a leader in demining.

Milan (AsiaNews)  Twenty-five years since the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines[*] came into force, which Pope Francis mentioned in this week's general audience, the production and use of landmines continue in Asia, particularly in Myanmar, scene of a civil war that broke out in 2021 pitting the countrys military against armed resistance groups.

According to a UNICEF report covering the period from January to September 2023, at least 858 civilians were injured or killed as a result of unexploded munitions, an increase of 220 per cent compared to 390 reported by the United Nations in 2022. Other studies put the death toll that year at 384, with 124 wounded.

According to the UN children's agency, 22 per cent of the victims are children, compared to 34 per cent in 2022; a trend that is likely to continue in 2024. In January of this year, at least 22 people were injured or killed according to local reports.

In Myanmar, most incidents took place in the Sagaing region, a major scene of fighting. A report by the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor released in December 2023 suggests that more than half of Myanmar's townships are at risk of contamination from explosive remnants of war.

In fact, both Myanmars army and ethnic resistance groups use anti-personnel mines at strategic targets (telecom towers, mines, gas pipelines, etc.) to protect them.

Before civil war broke out, unexploded mines were mostly found in border areas, where armed ethnic groups are fighting for greater autonomy from the central government. However, the military have also placed them near churches as well as farmland to prevent farmers from coming back.

Like several other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Myanmar is not a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty.

Along with the Middle East and North Africa region, the Asia-Pacific has the largest number of countries not to sign the agreement, which was agreed upon in 1997. In total, about 14 of the 33 non-signatory countries are in Asia.

The treaty bans the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines and requires signatories to clean up contaminated areas, assist victims, and destroy their stockpiles.

According to the latest information, almost all of the countries that still reserve the right to produce anti-personnel mines are in Asia: Armenia, China, India, Iran, Myanmar, North and South Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, and Vietnam. One outlier is Cuba.

India, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Russia are thought to be actively engaged in manufacturing anti-personnel mines; South Korea did as well until 2021.

According to estimates, less than 50 million landmines are currently stored in 30 of the 33 countries that are not signatories to the Treaty, all in Asia.

In Southeast Asia, Cambodia is leading its neighbours in demining. In 2022, it cleared more than 88 square kilometres of land; in November 2023, it hosted the 21st meeting of the signatory states of the Ottawa Treaty.

Civilians, especially children, are still largely paying for the extensive use of anti-personnel mines, with 85 per cent of all casualties. In 2022, 4,710 people were killed or injured by anti-personnel mines.

[*] Formally known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.
How Listening to Music at Night Can Help Lower Blood Pressure

Bed Kingdom Has Revealed 3 Benefits of Listening to Music at Night

The Story

Sleepless nights are no fun at all, and unfortunately it's a problem that millions of people from all around the world face regularly. In fact, research suggests that insomnia could be affecting around one in three people. That's a lot of people.

So with this in mind, an expert from Bed Kingdom has revealed three benefits of listening to music for a good night's sleep.



The Snapshot

Ever considered listening to music at night? Here are a few reasons to turn up the music:

Keeps your body relaxed  Music not only fosters a relaxing headspace but also boasts plenty of physical advantages. Soothing and relaxing melodies can slow down your breathing, reduce your heart rate, and decrease your blood pressure while also alleviating muscle tension.

 Music not only fosters a relaxing headspace but also boasts plenty of physical advantages. Soothing and relaxing melodies can slow down your breathing, reduce your heart rate, and decrease your blood pressure while also alleviating muscle tension. Reduces your stress levels  Listening to music can significantly reduce stress levels by decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity and lowering stress hormones like cortisol. Research suggests that 74% of people feel less stressed when listening to music, which can leads to better quality sleep.

 Listening to music can significantly reduce stress levels by decreasing sympathetic nervous system activity and lowering stress hormones like cortisol. Research suggests that 74% of people feel less stressed when listening to music, which can leads to better quality sleep. Helps keep your mind distracted  Music can serve as a form of relaxation and distraction from intrusive thoughts, helping to quiet the mind and promote mental peace. By listening to soothing melodies and rhythms, individuals may experience a shift in attention away from sources of worry or anxiety, paving the way for a more peaceful sleep experience.

The Lesson

"For those who struggle to relax and unwind in the evenings, a peaceful bedtime playlist could offer a soothing remedy, helping them transition from stressful thoughts to a peaceful night's sleep," says the expert from Bed Kingdom.

Music can clearly help, but it's not going to fix insomnia for everyone. If you're really struggling with sleep, it's important to seek help.

You should seek help after one or two weeks of struggle, says Donn Posner PhD., president of Sleepwell Consultants and an adjunct clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. I've always said we should have a series of public service announcements out there that says, Don't let this linger. We should treat acute insomnia just like an infection.

The root cause is sought out first and things like medication are prescribed on an as-needed basis. But according to Posner, the ideal is to act fast, before you start to develop compensatory behaviors, and head off chronic insomnia before it has a chance to settle.

I'm not trying to scare anybody. When you start thinking about all the terrible things that sleep deprivation will do to you over time, that's really long term stuff, says Posner. You're not developing Alzheimer's this year because you didn't sleep all year long. The idea is not to panic, but also not to let this go.

If your sleep problems are getting in the way of your daily functioning, you should seek medical help, says Rajkumar (Raj) Dasgupta, MD. Dr. Raj is the Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.

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Purchased the vehicle new (Camry SE) in January of 2013. I drive a good bit so I quickly rack up miles on a vehicle. Fuel mileage has been good. The lowest mileage that it has given was 25 mpg, this was sitting in heavy stop and go traffic. Most of the time it averages 28 to 30 mpg commuting to and from work. The only thing that I can complain about is the tires, they seem as if they are low quality (cheep) and generate some road noise. Other than that the car has been great.

Purchased the vehicle new (Camry SE) in January of 2013. I drive a good bit so I quickly rack up miles on a vehicle. Fuel mileage has been good. The lowest mileage that it has given was 25 mpg, this was sitting in heavy stop and go traffic. Most of the time it averages 28 to 30 mpg commuting to and from work. The only thing that I can complain about is the tires, they seem as if they are low quality (cheep) and generate some road noise. Other than that the car has been great.  Read More

Purchased the vehicle new (Camry SE) in January of 2013. I drive a good bit so I quickly rack up miles on a vehicle. Fuel mileage has been good. The lowest mileage that it has given was 25 mpg, this was sitting in heavy stop and go traffic. Most of the time it averages 28 to 30 mpg commuting to and from work. The only thing that I can complain about is the tires, they seem as if they are low quality (cheep) and generate some road noise. Other than that the car has been great.  Read More

I bought this car used with the warranty been expired. A few days after purchase, i felt vibrations in the car as I accelerate. I took it to a toyota dealership for inspection and was told it was the torque converter. I cam back so sad because i knew i bought a bad car. I then went on to toyotanation forum and inquired about the problem. I found out that it has been a problem with the 2012-2014 models. To fix it will cost over 2000$ and there is no guarantee it will totally eliminate the problem. I am so disappointed Toyota gave a limited warranty for the fixing of the problem. Sometimes, the vehicle goes way over 150000 miles before the problem begins to prop up.

I bought this car used with the warranty been expired. A few days after purchase, i felt vibrations in the car as I accelerate. I took it to a toyota dealership for inspection and was told it was the torque converter. I cam back so sad because i knew i bought a bad car. I then went on to toyotanation forum and inquired about the problem. I found out that it has been a problem with the 2012-2014 models. To fix it will cost over 2000$ and there is no guarantee it will totally eliminate the problem. I am so disappointed Toyota gave a limited warranty for the fixing of the problem. Sometimes, the vehicle goes way over 150000 miles before the problem begins to prop up.  Read More

I bought this car used with the warranty been expired. A few days after purchase, i felt vibrations in the car as I accelerate. I took it to a toyota dealership for inspection and was told it was the torque converter. I cam back so sad because i knew i bought a bad car. I then went on to toyotanation forum and inquired about the problem. I found out that it has been a problem with the 2012-2014 models. To fix it will cost over 2000$ and there is no guarantee it will totally eliminate the problem. I am so disappointed Toyota gave a limited warranty for the fixing of the problem. Sometimes, the vehicle goes way over 150000 miles before the problem begins to prop up.  Read More

'13 Camry XLE Hybrid... wow, what a car! By Lyndmc | on 5.0
This was no ordinary car but a one-off product custom-made by Rolls-Royce for a customer who wanted a vehicle like no other, and the British luxury brand produced it.

With a name inspired by Greek mythology, the Arcadia came alive as a heavenly vehicle built for someone who wished to feel like they were on cloud number nine. This vehicle was part of a series of four bespoke products, all sharing the drop tail moniker and each being built in a different way. They all evoked a specific idea. So, after the La Rose Noire, which envisioned the rarity of a black Baccara rose, and the Amethyst Droptail that celebrated the rarity of a jewel, the 2024 Arcadia followed. It was mostly handcrafted from the ground up by British automaker specialists. Furthermore, it featured a few astonishing details that only a true connoisseur would see and appreciate. Surprisingly, the Droptail sibling products were not built on the same platform as other Rolls-Royce products. They benefited from a custom-made one. The only thing that was shared with other stablemates was the smooth-running V12 powerplant under the hood.

The only thing that could stop the automaker from creating a stunning vehicle was its designers imagination. Fortunately, they were inspired. At the front, the 2024 Arcadia featured a broad, hand-built silver grille in the middle. Rolls-Royce flanked it with high-mounted narrow laser headlights that featured the RR logo inside them. A thin line of LEDs ran above them as eyebrows. Raising from the contrasting-color black hood was the Spirit of Ecstasy that bowed toward the RR badge.

From its profile, the big and white open-top vehicle featured clean panels with just a slight crease that slowly descended from the front fenders toward the rear wheel arches, crossing the rear-hinged door. A set of bespoke, 22-inch alloy wheels. At first sight, it was a minimalist design, but it was incredible in terms of tiny details that made the car so gorgeous. The read deck, for instance, sported 76 wood pieces. Underneath it, the automaker placed the trunk and the retractable hard top. To select and add protection for the veneer pieces, Rolls-Royce specialists were inspired by the superyachts industry and perfected the testing methods. As a result, it took them 8,000 hours to create all 233 pieces of wood veneer that were installed on the vehicle.

The cabin was a statement of fine details and luxury. Take, for instance, the analog clock that adorned the wood-covered dashboard. It featured 119 facets because the customer saw the Arcadia project in 2023 when the car manufacturer celebrated 119 years of existence. There were just two seats in the cabin that sported the same colors as the bodywork and the wood pieces. A few metallic parts adorned the cockpit, including the speakers covers from the rear panel and from the door cards. On the dashboard, a revolving panel concealed the touchscreen infotainment system placed above the center stack. There was an incredible level of detail that only Rolls-Royce could achieve.

The automaker wasnt keen to say anything about the drivetrain. But it was just natural for it to choose the same V12 powerplant from the other two Droptail versions, the 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged powerplant developed by BMW.
If you don't know what is the Hobby Shop Garage, you're about to find out  though be sure to sit down. Long story short, a couple of designers are currently showing us a future build that's going to be done in a ludicrous manner and in an incredibly short amount of time.

Now, the longer story. Because I like to keep tabs on many folks who are part of the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, I came across this (ahem) bonkers project through Joao Henrique Miranda, the freelance digital creator behind the johnrendering account on social media. He usually likes to create digital projects involving real automobiles, but not only.Also, he's working on this idea with the pixel master tucked behind the amzingdesigns account, who is primarily passionate about older or old-school automobiles. Somehow, they were deemed fit to help us visualize  ahead of time  one of those ideas that may or may not completely break the internet.So, let's head out to the Hobby Shop Garage, an aftermarket outlet located in the picturesque Lighthouse Point in Florida. You may or may not have heard of them before this crazy feat, even though the enthusiast owner sure makes everything possible to be heard everywhere on social media, as the venue has a presence virtually everywhere: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Kick, and Twitch!For the purpose of sanity  mine and yours, as it's pretty clear theirs has gone on vacation  let's stick to Instagram channels. So, not long ago, they came into possession of a relatively pristine, white R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R. These things are collectibles  an ultra-rare 2000 V-Spec N1 just found a new owner recently for $325k, or the average price of a 2024 Ferrari 296 GTB!As such, you probably don't want to mess with a Skyline GT-R or even touch it. Well, that option sailed down the drain and drowned somewhere in Mexico as the outlet filmed "The Last Ride" before transforming the car into something else entirely during a 48-hour Livestream event. Not only does the event last that long  during the timeframe they want to complete 'Scumbag R34,' too. And we're not talking about mild-mannered things like an aftermarket wheel or something.Instead, the good folks over at Hobby had a ' hold my beer ' epiphany moment and decided that it's a stellar idea to stuff the R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R with something that screams 'Murica from the top of its towering blower assembly. Yes, it's hard to believe it, but this LS engine seems tall enough to give an average man a complex of inferiority  and they want the V8 assembly in the space occupied by the RB25 in just 48 hours!!!!Sorry for the exclamation marks, but I'm still troubled by the thought. Curiously, while a lot of people will thoroughly hate them for doing this wild swap (and me for saying this), the pre-visualization renderings aren't shabby at all. Somehow, the black-painted blown monstrosity looks nice towering from inside the engine bay of the white GT-R, and the gold touches on the wheels and exhaust pipes are spot on. What do you think?
The Ford Motor Company sold 105,665 units of the Bronco last year in the United States of America, of which 7,527 examples have been hit with a recall. Optioned with hard tops, the suspect vehicles were produced at the Wayne-based Michigan Assembly Plant between November 2023 and December 2023.

Photo: Ford

On December 4 last year, a brand-new Bronco equipped with a hard top didn't pass the glass cut-out adhesion verification test at the aforementioned production facility. Said incident was brought to the attention of the Critical Concern Review Group, which tasked Ford Research Laboratory to examine suspect rear quarter glass panels. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis determined that the clearcoat primer was  curiously  absent.The panels are shipped from the glass supplier to the sequencer facility prior to installation at the Michigan Assembly Plant. According to Ford, the sequencer facility had been shut down from September through October 2023. Work resumed in November 2023 with a handful of new operators.Interviews with the new personnel determined that one of the new operators wasn't using the clearcoat primer during the two-stage primer application process. Without said primer, which promotes adhesion between another layer of primer and the glass, the rear quarter panels may detach while driving. This would create road hazards for other traffic participants. Fortunately, the Ford Motor Company isn't aware of any warranty claims or field reports associated with the described condition.Dealers have already been instructed to inspect the left and right rear quarter glass. In case of no clearcoat primer, dealers will reinstall the panels at no charge to affected owners. The Ford Motor Company intends to inform affected owners by first-class mail between April 8 and April 12.Four part numbers are listed in the document attached below, split between two rear quarter windows for the four-door Bronco and two for the two-door Bronco. The supplier is Fuyao Glass America Inc. of Moraine, Ohio. In addition to the Ford Motor Company, the supplier also works with GM, BMW, Honda, and Bentley.46 percent of the recall population is believed to exhibit said condition. That's 3,462 units or just under 3.3 percent of total deliveries for the US market in 2023. Owners can easily determine whether their hard-topped Broncos are affected or not by entering the VIN on Ford's recall portal.The Bronco entered the 2024 model year in August 2023 with a starting price of $39,130 before destination charge. That's $4,240 more than before, which might seem ludicrous. The truth is, the starting price ballooned this much due to Ford discontinuing the Base trim level. The Big Bend serves as the most spartan spec available for MY24.Also worthy of note, Ford has made the Bronco a bit pricier by $500 for those in the market for the seven-speed manual. Trim levels that come standard with the crawler-gear manual are the Big Bend, Black Diamond, Badlands, and Heritage Edition. The $500 increase results in starting prices of $39,630 for the Big Bend, $43,330 for the Black Diamond, $48,55 for the Heritage Edition, and $50,095 for the Badlands in two-door flavor. At $90,035 from the outset, the four-door Raptor remains the most expensive grade.
If you're a long-time Android Auto user and think you've seen them all, you probably didn't see this new error coming.

The most common problems in the Android Auto world concern the connection between the smartphone and the head unit. Users regularly complain of voice command errors, too, while others say applications like Google Maps and Waze lose GPS tracking or fail to configure navigation.The latest issue reported by users on Google's forums starting in late February is something else. Android Auto causes the screen to freeze when the smartphone is connected to the car's receiver, so users cannot interact with what happens on the screen.Some reports indicate that the app launch doesn't fail in 100% of the cases. Android Auto sometimes loads correctly but is still unresponsive, taking up to several minutes to load. The touchscreen still isn't responsive, so despite Android Auto's interface appearing on the screen, interacting with an app is impossible.The first report on Google's forums landed on February 23, with several others confirming the same behavior in the last few days. The post currently has 15 upvotes.Based on users' reports, it seems the Xiaomi Poco X6 is primarily impacted by the bug, so the issue can reside either in the phone's software or in Android Auto. A compatibility glitch between the two could also be the culprit, as some users claim their older phones work correctly with Android Auto in their cars.Most users struggling with the problem have recently upgraded to the Poco X6, so you can imagine that hitting a critical Android Auto bug ruins the fun of getting a new phone.A workaround doesn't exist, especially because the bug doesn't come down to just a specific Android Auto version. The typical fixes in the Android Auto world, which include clearing the cache and the data, downgrading to an earlier app build, or changing cables, don't help with this problem.Google has already asked for more information about the error, but it's clear nobody knows what happened. A frozen touchscreen makes it impossible for users to run Android Auto, so the only option is to rely on Bluetooth to route calls and music to the car's speakers. The navigation experience must run exclusively on the mobile device.Meanwhile, it's unclear if the error can be resolved by upgrading to Android Auto wireless. If you have an Android Auto wireless adapter around, you should try connecting the mobile phone to the device, as products like Motorola's MA1 and AAWireless have helped deal with a significant number of problems.If you also encountered the same error and found a fix, please drop me a line in the comment box after the jump so I can post a follow-up to help all these people struggling with the glitch.
Ford officially ended the 2023-2024 winter with the first official battery replenishment session at one of Tesla's Supercharger stalls. It was the first legacy automaker to announce the move to NACS and access for its buyers to the now Texas-based EV maker's high-power charging network. So, it wasn't a surprise that the Blue Oval received this perk. But now it's time for Rivian to shine. Here's what you need to know.

EV

kWh

Supercharger access is coming to Rivian  thats 15,000 more fast chargers for Rivian owners across North America. In March well be adding Supercharger sites to our vehicle and app trip planner with adapter shipments to owners starting soon after. Start planning your road trips!  Rivian (@Rivian) February 29, 2024

Current and future owners of a Rivian equipped with the CCS Combo 1 connector can start planning summer vacations with their R1T and R1S EVs without worrying about where they can fast charge. Rivian just confirmed that access to the Supercharger network is coming in March, and the adapters will be shipped soon after the systems integration is complete.The young Irvine-basedmaker will also add all the Superchargers to its proprietary app and vehicle trip planner.There's no clear timeline regarding the adapter shipments, but we expect Rivian to move fast because it has a planned factory downtime for the Normal factory during summer. We believe the brand wants to be done with sending adapters before it refocuses on improving the R1T and R1S If you're an informed EV owner or simply like to keep up with what's happening in the sector, this doesn't feel like major news anymore because Tesla started fitting some of its pedestals with the "Magic Dock," an in-house adapter for CCS-equipped EVs. Around 520 pedestals have it.However, it still represents a great step forward for all-electric car owners. The brand may have originally wanted to tap some government funds by opening its charging network to other EVs. But in doing so, Tesla has also convinced its peers to stop spending money on coming up with charging alternatives or keeping the CCS connector alive.The world's most valuable automaker prides itself on being a pioneer in the fast-charging sector. Unlike some other competitors, it has been constantly praised for taking care of its electricity dispensers. Besides that, Tesla says that one stall is erected and turned on every hour in North America. That's something!Only Ford, Rivian , General Motors, Volvo, and Polestar owners will have access to more than 15,000 Supercharger pedestals until the end of spring.Just make sure you're checking theprice before plugging in. Some EV owners have discovered that fast charging can be quite expensive. We even had Rivian owners saying they won't take the EV on road trips anymore because of unexpectedly high charging costs Finally, Rivian has a charging network of its own. The promising marque plans to allow other CCS-equipped EVs to use its high-power dispensers. The Level 2 Waypoints were accessible from the get-go.
A 1.5 inch petri dish, where each dot holds an embryo fertilized 1-7 days earlier, is prepared for cells to be extracted from each embryo to test for viability at the Aspire Houston Fertility Institute in vitro fertilization lab Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke) Michael Wyke/Associated Press

All eyes are on Alabama after the states Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are considered children under state law, which led some clinics to suspend in vitro fertilization services.

The decision has raised questions about whether the ruling could be copied in other states with abortion bans, including Texas.

IN-DEPTH LOOK AT IVF RULING: Texas doctors wary but hopeful IVF will be protected after Alabama ruling

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What is IVF?

In vitro fertilization, or IVF, is a series of procedures that can help people become pregnant. It is used for people with infertility or to prevent children from inheriting a parents genetic issues, according to the Mayo Clinic. The process involves removing eggs from ovaries and fertilizing the eggs with sperm in a lab to create embryos. One or more of the embryos may be placed in the uterus.

Couples may use their own eggs and sperm, or eggs and sperm from donors.

What could the Alabama ruling mean for IVF?

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF are considered children. This comes after three couples whose embryos were destroyed in an accident at a fertility clinic filed wrongful death lawsuits, which proceeded in court and led fertility clinics to halt IVF services.

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IVF supporters worry the ruling could affect how the clinics handle fertility treatments and freezing embryos and that facilities and patients could be penalized for discarding unused or unhealthy embryos.

The ruling caused appointment cancelations and apprehension for some people planning for IVF procedures.

Could something similar to Alabama's IVF ruling happen in Texas?

The decision has risen into discussion throughout states, including Texas, that have implemented or considered bans or restrictions on abortion. Under Texas law, abortions are prohibited after a fetal heartbeat has been detected.

COULD ROE V. WADE AFFECT IVF?: Abortion bans have hopeful parents worried about the future

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However, doctors and legal experts told the Chronicle they don't foresee an impending threat to IVF in Texas. State political leaders, both Republican and Democrat, have expressed support for IVF.

According to some experts, there may be potential for state supreme courts to make similar rulings to the one in Alabama. Republican politicians have pushed for an extension of "personhood" to embryos and fetuses.

A Texas woman filed a lawsuit before the state Supreme Court seeking to have embryos treated as children under the law after three embryos that she and her ex-husband had in storage were awarded to her ex-husband. However, she claimed to have no intention of getting involved in the political debate about the IVF process with embryos.

ABORTION BAN: Woman suing Texas over abortion ban is moving her embryos out of state

How is the medical community responding to the Alabama IVF ruling?

Although some medical professionals don't believe the Alabama ruling will affect Texas, others still feel that the decision could have serious repercussions. Several expressed concerns over patients being prevented from discarding unhealthy or unused embryos, or even donating them for scientific research. Clinics also could face criminal penalties if an embryo is destroyed whether purposefully or accidentally.

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Critics of the ruling worry it could force fertility clinics and patients to keep their embryos in storage indefinitely, even if they don't want to have more children or donate them. Some medical professionals have expressed hope that the support for IVF from the states residents and leaders will lead to the procedure being protected.

How are politicians responding to the Alabama IVF ruling?

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has indicated he supports IVF after the ruling. In an interview on CNN, Abbott said he believed a lot of Texans agree with Former President Donald Trump's statement on Truth Social calling for the Alabama legislature to "find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF."

However, Abbott didnt explicitly call for state legislation to protect IVF access, the Chronicle reports.

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While a decade or two it would have been unfathomable to see ultra-luxury brands get down and dirty by digging their hands into the off-road SUV scenario, today, we're losing track of the numerous models dwelling around the stratosphere.

AMG

SUV

When thinking about mega-crossovers , a few easy names spring to mind  Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Aston Martin DBX, Bentley Bentayga, and Lamborghini Urus, for example. But they're not the only ones, considering the fresh BMW XM Label Red or the Ferrari Purosangue, and even true off-roaders like the Mercedes-G 63 or Range Rover like to flirt with this sector. In fact, we sometimes forget about some obscure models  like the Maserati Levante or the new Toyota CrownWith the V12-powered Cullinan and Purosangue battling for supremacy, it's safe to say that anyone who seeks to stand out in a crowd has an option or two. But here's the thing. While some of these automakers don't make more than a few thousand vehicles each year, they still aren't perceived as true exotics. No worries, things can change easily  McLaren could launch an SUV, or Bugatti might pull a rabbit out of their hat and reinvent expectations for their next model.In fact, let's do an exercise of imagination and let the dream realm of digital car content creators give us a reason to root for the creation of the latter  we already know that in the real world, McLaren is struggling at the moment, and their SUV plans have been postponed somehow. Meet Cole Kessel, a virtual artist better known as colekessel_ , who uses AI as his "creative outlet," and luckily for us, loves to play with automotive stuff to the point of making his digital projects indistinguishable from real cars.The latest feature has the author thinking a bit better than Bugatti's corner office head honchos  a hypothetical 'leak' presents the surprising new Bugatti model coming out after the Chiron hypercar as an SUV featuring a new V16 (instead of W16) hybrid powertrain. Of course, no one knows (100%) what comes next from the French brand, but it's something with a more 'natural' arrangement than a W16 and most likely with electric aids. After all, they're overseen by CEO Mate Rimac of Bugatti Rimac nowadays.It makes sense that Bugatti would add an SUV to its lineup, right? That way, it would tier above all of the other ultra-luxury super-SUVs by inaugurating the hyper-SUV category with flying colors. However, do take this rendering with a healthy dose of salt, even though the author somehow makes it feel like the fast crossover is about to become as real as you and me. Anyway, it won't be long before we find out what comes next for Bugatti Automobiles after the Veyron (2005-2015) and Chiron series, plus the Divo, Centodieci, Bolide, and Mistral.The reason we say that is simple  this year it's the centenary anniversary of their ultra-legendary Bugatti Type 35, and we all know that the brand loves its historical motorsport ties, given that the latest Sur Mesure gem is the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport ' Hommage T50S .' As such, it stands to reason that maybe the best way to celebrate a century since the introduction of that major racing car milestone would be to announce the next chapter of the modern Bugatti saga.
Senior Armenian and Azerbaijani officials sparred over the matter during a panel discussion held as part of an international security forum in the Turkish city of Antalya.

Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs top foreign policy aide, said Baku is still awaiting Yerevans clear answers regarding legal provisions which it says contain territorial claims to Azerbaijan.

Aliyev said on February 1 that Armenia should remove from its constitution a reference to its 1990 declaration of independence which in turn mentions a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and the then Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

Pashinian countered afterwards that during their peace talks and written exchanges last year two sides agreed to make sure that they cannot refer to their respective laws to refuse to comply with any provisions of the peace treaty. The treaty would commit them to recognizing each others territorial integrity.

Ruben Rubinian, a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament attending the Antalya forum, repeated Pashinians argument when he responded to Hajiyev. Rubinian also said that Armenias legislation is its internal affair and has nothing do to with Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks.

The verbal exchange came the day after the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers ended two days of talks in Berlin. Neither side gave indications of major progress made by them towards the signing of the peace accord.

Both ministers proceeded to Antalya to participate in the annual conference. It was not clear whether they will hold any follow-up discussions there.

Pashinian himself declared in January that Armenia needs a new constitution reflecting the new geopolitical environment in the region. His political foes and other critics say that he did so under Azerbaijani pressure.

Pashinian has denied that he wants to scrap the current Armenian constitution at the behest of Baku. Still, he has said that peace with Azerbaijan will be impossible as long as the constitutional reference to the 1990 declaration remains in place.
During the meeting, the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey was discussed and readiness to achieve their full normalization was reaffirmed, read a statement released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

Mirzoyan and Fidan exchanged views on possible concrete steps in that direction, added the statement. It did not say whether any agreements were reached by them.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry did not immediately issue a statement on the Antalya meeting.

The two ministers previously held talks in Tehran last October on the fringes of a multilateral meeting of the top diplomats of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Russia and Turkey. The five countries make up the so-called Consultative Regional Platform 3+3 launched in December 2021 in Moscow.

Shortly after the Tehran talks, Mirzoyan said that there may soon be some good news on the implementation of interim normalization agreements reached by Ankara and Yerevan in 2022. But he complained in January that the Turkish side is still dragging its feet over their implementation.

One of those agreements calls for the opening of the Turkish-Armenia border for holders of Armenian or Turkish diplomatic passport as well as citizens of third countries. Another agreement reached by Turkish and Armenian negotiators envisaged air freight traffic between the two neighboring nations. There have been no signs of its implementation, even though the Turkish government officially allowed cargo shipments by air to and from Armenia in January 2023.

The agreements were the result of several rounds of negotiations held by Turkish and Armenian special envoys, Serdar Kilic and Ruben Rubinian. Both men spoke during a panel discussion in Antalya held earlier on Friday.

Kilic publicly proposed that he and Rubinian meet in Yerevan next week. The Armenian official was noncommittal on the proposal.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders have repeatedly made clear that further progress in the normalization process is contingent on the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord sought by Azerbaijan. Speaking at a November summit of the leaders of Turkic states in Kazakhstan, Erdogan also demanded that Armenia open an extraterritorial corridor to Azerbaijans Nakhichevan exclave. Yerevan continues to reject these demands.
1 March 2024 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Azerbaijan continues to diversify its economy and exports to wane the effect of oil on the country's economy. For this purpose, the Azerbaijan government intensifies its work with different organizations and businesspersons to attract foreign investors to the country.

Recently Baku hosted a delegation of the Eastern Business Association of Germany, which was headed by Michael Harms. Besides, Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov received the delegations, and during the meeting, business opportunities and conditions were discussed between the sides.

Many believe that cooperation with German businesspersons is important not for only Azerbaijan but also for the entire region. It is no coincidence that economist and MP Vugar Bayramov also agrees on this issue.

In a comment to Azernews on the issue, Bayramov noted that Germany is one of the countries with the strongest economy in the world. Therefore, German investors' investing more in the economy of Azerbaijan can be a great contribution to both the economy of Azerbaijan and the region. He emphasized that on the one hand, this will allow the production of more innovative products and the creation of new jobs in the economy of Azerbaijan. On the other hand, it is also very important in terms of technology transfer.

"At the same time, it can increase the export potential of the region and increase interest in the region from an economic point of view. Considering that the Azerbaijani President once again mentioned the importance of attracting foreign capital at the swearing-in ceremony, the intensification of the work done in this direction is also being observed. Because attracting foreign investment is one of the main directions in the strategy covering the years 2022-2026. Therefore, the investment attracted especially from developed countries is not only funds and investment but also the transfer of technology and know-how," Bayramov said.

The MP pointed out that cooperation with Germany is of great importance for the economy of Azerbaijan in terms of attracting and transferring technology and innovation. Of course, the non-oil sector is attractive for German entrepreneurs. A preliminary assessment shows that the Germans intend to invest in the agricultural sector, the manufacturing sector, and the service sector. He added that as a member of parliament, I also had a meeting with German entrepreneurs, and during the discussion, entrepreneurs showed their interest in agriculture and the processing of agricultural products. Some entrepreneurs want to invest in the industry. Therefore, attracting German investment is also important in terms of expanding the non-oil sector and increasing production. This corresponds to the priority goals of Azerbaijan in terms of economic diversification. We can say that the attraction of this investment will stimulate the development of the non-oil and gas sector.

"It is also important in terms of expanding exports. In general, Azerbaijan's non-oil exports have been increasing in recent years. At the end of 2023, Azerbaijan exported non-oil and gas products worth 3.4 billion dollars. This means maintaining the growth rate of previous years. Therefore, attracting investment will also expand export opportunities in the non-oil sector and create opportunities for exporting more products. Taking into account that it is also possible for those products to enter the German market and the European market. Therefore, the more innovative products, the more products according to international standards are produced, as a result, it can contribute to the increase of Azerbaijan's non-oil exports," the economist added.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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1 March 2024 17:31 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Despite all criticism and slander, the South Gas Corridor (SGC), which is considered Azerbaijan's source of pride, proved to be of vital importance for Europe. Besides, it foreshadows the farsightedness of Azerbaijani political decision-making. Prior to the SGC, many attempts to form public opinion around the world by gossiping about the project would be unsuccessful because Azerbaijan does not have enough natural gas to meet the demands of the project. However, Azerbaijan did not waste time paying attention to nonsense and resolutely continued its work.

Currently, Azerbaijan supplies eight countries, of which six are situated in Europe, with natural gas. Besides, changing geopolitical situations in Europe increased Azerbaijan's importance, and other countries requested Baku for gas. In other words, as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his address at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held in Baku on March 1, it is a success story.

The Southern Gas Corridor has already been operating for three years. It is a really success story. It is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Eurasia, said President Ilham Aliyev.

Besides, considering SGC as a pipeline transferring oil from the Caucasus to Europe could not be proper. First of all, it connects several countries and requires the collaboration of these countries. Occurrences in the Old Continent and speeches of the Azerbaijani president give us bases to predict that SGC will expand further to deliver Azerbaijani gas deep in Europe. So, SGC is also the fruit of the solidarity of countries that come together thanks to the initiative of Azerbaijan and its political leaders. As President Ilham Aliyev said, This project is a project of energy security and a project of cooperation because without cooperation between all the countries, which are situated on the route of the Southern Gas Corridor, it wouldnt have been possible to implement this project.

As a matter of course, it is very hard to bring different countries together from different continents and different cultures. Frankly speaking, it is a job that requires a lot of hard work. However, Azerbaijan has surmounted it discreetly. The country proved itself to be a reliable partner, which is not only uttered by Azerbaijani politicians but also emphasised by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. President Ilham Aliyev also touched on the issue and said, Azerbaijan already proved to be a reliable partner. Our word means the same as our signature.

Azerbaijan has achieved such respect with its behaviour. The country has realised all its plans and projects that were put forward and is committed to its obligations. Thus, whenever the political leader of Azerbaijan makes promises, everyone is sure that they will be fulfilled in the near future. As President Ilham Aliyev mentioned, All the plans, which we've put in front of ourselves, I'm sure, will be implemented because only the performance of the last year demonstrates that.

President Ilham Aliyev also spoke about the projects that will happen soon. As he said, We expect the beginning of natural gas production in the first quarter of next year from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli deep gas project. This is a very promising structure. For many years, the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli has been the main source of our oil exports, being an additional source to gas supply along with the Shahdeniz and Absheron.

However, today, some forces in the world try to put blame on oil and gas production. These romantic and adventurist forces try to form public opinion that the world does not need fossil fuels. However, it is not correct. According to the research, the world will use fossil fuels for a long time. On the other hand, it is a reality that the world is entering a new era that demands new kinds of energy, more precisely green energy. To transfer new energy, the world needs finance. However, the finance must not be selective, and it must not hinder the gas projects. As the Azerbaijani president said, The financing of the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor and any other project related to natural gas must be done in such a way as not to undermine our main target. There was and there is a big demand from Europe for Azerbaijani gas.

Despite having enough fossil fuel to meet its demands for 100 years, Azerbaijan is the leading country, paying special attention to shifting to green energy in the region. The country has 200 GW of green energy potential, and it plans to turn some of these energies into electricity. In this way, the country, on the one hand, will export 4 GW of electricity to Europe and, on the other hand, meet its electricity demand. So, with the help of green energy, the country could save plenty of fossil fuels that are used to generate electricity.

To demonstrate how seriously the country approaches green energy and climate issues, the country is going to host COP 29 in 2024. To host this global event on climate change shows the will of Azerbaijan.

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Qabil Ashirov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @g_Ashirov

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1 March 2024 10:59 (UTC+04:00)

Fatime Letifova Read more

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) discussed the development of the securities market, Azernews reports, citing the CBA.

A meeting with representatives of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Organization was held as part of the visit of the Central Bank delegation to the UAE.

The development of the UAE's securities market, the current investment opportunities and the prospects of cooperation between the supervisory bodies of both countries discussed in the meeting.

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1 March 2024 10:40 (UTC+04:00)

The Turkish company can create the production of important raw materials for the mining industry in Azerbaijan, Azernews reports, citing a post shared by Azerbaijani economy minister Mikayil Jabbarov.

Azerbaijani Minister received Yasin Ozturk, founder of Turkiye's TYO Yatrm (Investment) company. The meeting discussed the production project of sodium cyanide in Azerbaijan.

The sides exchanged views on the available resources for sodium cyanide production, crucial for the mining industry, and explored the prospects of the project.

During the meeting with Yasin Ozturk, founder of Turkiyes TYO Yatrm company, our discussions focused on the sodium cyanide production project in our country. We exchanged views on the available resources for sodium cyanide production, crucial for the mining #industry, and pic.twitter.com/NG5nXW1qaH  Mikayil Jabbarov (@MikayilJabbarov) February 29, 2024

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1 March 2024 13:59 (UTC+04:00)

Fatime Letifova Read more

Kenyan President William Ruto said that he is ready to work closely with Azerbaijan in the organisation of COP29, Azernews reports, citing the post shared on COP29's official X account.

Kenyan President said this in his meeting with Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's Ecology and Natural Resources Minister, President of COP29.

The head of state of Kenya wished Azerbaijan success in this matter. They also discussed the importance of working together to address climate change.

@COP29_AZ President-Designate, Mukhtar Babayev met his Excellency @WilliamsRuto, President of the Republic of Kenya, to discuss the importance of working together to address climate change. President Ruto wished Azerbaijan every success in hosting COP29 also underlining his pic.twitter.com/itxSUiyzFW  COP29 AZ (@COP29_AZ) March 1, 2024

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1 March 2024 14:57 (UTC+04:00)

Fatime Letifova Read more

The Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Zheenbek Kulubaev, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Azernews reports, citing the post shared by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official X account.

The ministers discussed the expansion of brotherly relations and the further development of the strategic partnership in multiple areas.

Minister @Bayramov_Jeyhun met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of #Kyrgyzstan on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.



The Ministers discussed expansion of brotherly relations, and further development of the strategic partnership in multiple areas.@MFA_Kyrgyzstan pic.twitter.com/FWUahdB20W  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) March 1, 2024

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1 March 2024 12:35 (UTC+04:00)

Fatime Letifova Read more

Azerbaijan's natural gas is of decisive importance for the common future of Europe.

According to Azernews, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said this at the 10th meeting of ministers within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor Consultative Council and the 2nd meeting of the ministers within the framework of the Green Energy Consultative Council held in Baku on March 1.

The Albanian PM emphasised that the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) plays an important role in Europe's energy security.

According to him, the SGC project has turned countries, companies, and international financial institutions into a bridge of intensive cooperation.

"Today, we can all testify that the Southern Gas Corridor has already changed the lives of many people and made Europe safer. At a time when Europe is increasing its supply of liquefied natural gas, the Southern Gas Corridor will undoubtedly remain one of the few stable and competitive sources of pipeline gas for the European Union."

E. Rama noted that Albania aims to continue to benefit from the SGC by investing in renewable energy projects and developing sustainable infrastructure.

Recall that today, the 10th ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 2nd ministerial meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council kicked off at the Gulustan Palace in Baku.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, addressed the event. ministerial meeti

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Attorney and former Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill listens to Dr. Steven Hotze as they held a press conference to discuss his election fraud claims and answer questions about the arrest of an ex-cop who he hired to investigate the claims Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, in Houston. Steve Gonzales/Staff photographer John Devine, (R), candidate for Supreme Court, Place 4. photo courtesy of the candidate Judge Ramona Franklin give her ruling on a defense motion, after doctors determined he is terminally ill, to either release Eric Cano or lower his bail on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 in Houston. Cano, who is in jail on a murder charge, was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer

Usually this time of year, we try to aid our readers and our democracy by recommending candidates to vote FOR. You can find our endorsement summaries, one each for Democrats and Republicans, at houstonchronicle.com/voterguidee, and we'll print the list printed in the newspaper again on Tuesday, March 5, Election Day.

Today, though, we're recommending candidates to vote AGAINST.

We don't take these anti-endorsements lightly. We've picked through the 65 races we assessed to pluck out the seven match-ups on the Harris County primary ballots that carry the most risk for Texans. Some of these folks you've never heard of. They're not the ones in high-dollar races funding incessant TV ads. They're pivotal nonetheless. Five of the races below include a candidate who presents a clear and present danger to our democracy or court system. Two involve a candidate severely lacking in judicial experience running against a stellar jurist with a proven record. We hope you'll review all our picks for the primary. But if you have time to consider only seven, these are it.

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Republicans

NOT John Devine

We cant keep track of all the ways Justice John Devine has broken the public trust, so well focus on the one involving a sex abuse case against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler that came before the Texas Supreme Court. The case appeared to implicate others around Pressler, including his law partner Jared Woodfill, who testified that he paid young men to work from Presslers home despite warnings. What's more, Justice Devine worked at the same law firm as Pressler when the crimes allegedly took place, a clear conflict, but he didnt recuse himself from the Supreme Courts decision. His challenger, Brian Walker, is a strong conservative justice on the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.

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NOT Gina Parker

Back in 1876, the framers of the states new constitution abhorred the centralized power of the post-Civil War state government. So when they wrote that the attorney generals powers were limited to civil matters, its clear that they meant it. Thats why the all-Republican Court of Criminal Appeals, including Justice Barbara Hervey, ruled that Attorney General Ken Paxton couldnt bring voter fraud cases without the cooperation of the local district attorney. Now Paxton wants revenge. The challenger hes backed in this race, Gina Parker, has more experience selling dental plaster from her Waco business than with legal cases that come before the highest criminal court in Texas.

NOT Bianca Garcia

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State Rep. Briscoe Cain voted to impeach Paxton and now faces a challenger backed by the vengeful AG. Never mind that after being acquitted in the Texas Senate, Paxton told a real court he would accept a judgment against him in the whistleblower case that led to the impeachment. Cains opponent, Bianca Garcia, was meeting with Proud Boys and Oath Keepers before the violence at the Capitol and repeatedly invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege not to incriminate herself during the Jan. 6 congressional hearings. Were no fans of state Rep. Briscoe Cain and his botched attempt to lead the passage of a voter suppression bill, but well take his buffoonery and occasional principled stand over the far edges of extremism.

NOT Jared Woodfill

Yes, this is the same Jared Woodfill mentioned above, the one who is implicated in the sex abuse case against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler. He's also accused of misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of his law clients' money. Heaven knows that we've often disagreed with incumbent Lacey Hull. She's helped pass just about every major conservative landmark bill since 2021, and took lead roles on ones placing limits on transgender student athletes and condemning critical race theory. But shes also got some bipartisan accomplishments to her name, including a law that requires law enforcement to participate in a national database to identify missing persons.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Readers weigh in on 2024 Primary

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Democrats

NOT TaKasha Francis

TaKasha Francis, the challenger in this race, has done laudable work as the director of neighborhoods under Mayor Sylvester Turner. The problem is that she chose to run against one of the most respected judges in Texas. Chosen by his peers on the bench to be the administrative judge from 2013 to 2021, Schaffer led the Harris County court system to safely reopen during the COVID pandemic. Now that hes gone back to hearing cases full-time, a state panel has assigned his courtroom the most complex trials  ones involving hundreds of litigants  including the Texas opioid cases. It would be utter folly to throw him out.

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NOT Ursula Hall

Judge Ursula Hall simply has not done her job. The appeals courts and the State Commission on Judicial Conduct have reprimanded her. The Houston Bar Association survey gives her a failing grade on making timely and decisive rulings. Court records also show that, among civil judges, shes held very few jury and non-jury trials. That matters to both defendants and plaintiffs seeking compensation from car crashes, or payment for their work, or damages from medical malpractice. The challenger, Jill Yaziji, is an experienced and thoughtful lawyer who says shell get this court moving again.

NOT Ramona Franklin
1 March 2024 14:21 (UTC+04:00)

The Southern Gas Corridor has already been operating for three years. It is a really success story. It is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Eurasia, said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held in Baku on March 1.

This project is a project of energy security and a project of cooperation because without cooperation between all the countries, which are situated on route of the Southern Gas Corridor, it wouldnt have been possible to implement this project, the head of state emphasised.

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1 March 2024 16:10 (UTC+04:00)

Fatime Letifova Read more

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Turkiye, Azernews reports.

The parties met within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

During the meeting, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov discussed the post-conflict situation in the region with Sergey Lavrov.

Besides, ministers also talked about bilateral and multilateral cooperation agenda.

It is worth noting that Sergey Lavrov also met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

Recall that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) is hosting representatives from 147 countries around the world.

The forum, themed Elevating Diplomacy Amidst Crises, will cover various topics such as global issues, climate change, migration, Islamophobia, trade wars, and artificial intelligence.

The 2021 forum had about 2,000 attendees, but this year, nearly 4,500 are expected. In 2022, 30 panels were organized, while this year, from March 1-3, 52 panels will be held.

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1 March 2024 17:44 (UTC+04:00)

Ulviyya Shahin Read more

The representatives of leading German companies visited the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) and met with the Chairman of the Board of the AFEZ Authority, Mr. Valeh Alasgarov, Azernews reports.

The visit was organized by the German Eastern Business Association. The delegation was led by Mr. Michael Harms, Managing Director of the German Eastern Business Association.

During the meeting, Mr. Alasgarov provided detailed information about the main activities of the AFEZ, its strategic geographical location, unique legal framework, industrial land plots with ready-to-use off-site and on-site infrastructure and utilities, and the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives package for the investors.

Afterwards, Mr. Jawad Dbila, Managing Director of Silk Way AFEZCO, informed the delegation about the new Cargo Airport that will be located on the territory of the AFEZ and will serve the needs of AFEZ investors, as well as other clients in international cargo transportation. Following this, Mr. Zaur Akhundov, President of Silk Way Group, talked about the strategic importance of the Cargo Airport and its significance for the investors of AFEZ and other clients.

The meeting was followed by a Questions-and-Answers (Q&A) session.

Note that the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) is a special economic zone in Azerbaijan that is established pursuant to the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan and offers free zone opportunities. At the outset, we shall note that, in certain circumstances, Alat Free Economic Zone is incorrectly called as "Alat Free Zone" or "Alat Trade Zone". It must be emphasised that AFEZ is practically designated for the production industry, not for the trading of goods (therefore, literally it is not a "free trade zone" in this sense).

The legal and economic relations related to the establishment and management of special economic zones in Azerbaijan and the rules for organising entrepreneurial activity in those zones are regulated by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on "Special economic zones" which was adopted in 2009. According to the Law on Special economic zones, a special economic zone is a limited part of the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan where a special legal regime is applied for the implementation of entrepreneurial activity.

On May 18, 2018, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Alat Free Economic Zone" (hereinafter referred to as Law) was adopted. This law sets out the legal framework for the operation, development, and governance of the Alat Free Economic Zone. With respect to the legal definition, the Alat Free Economic Zone is the zone established by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for carrying out entrepreneurial and investment activities.

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1 March 2024 21:45 (UTC+04:00)

Ulviyya Shahin Read more

An agreement on economic cooperation has been signed between Azerbaijan and Albania.

The agreement on economic cooperation was signed between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Council of Ministers of Albania. According to the document, the promotion of collaboration in priority projects between Azerbaijan and Albania is envisioned, including areas such as trade, investment, energy, transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, environmental protection, humanitarian efforts, and other directions.

A meeting took place between the Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, the President of SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, Belinda Balluku. During the meeting, the importance of developing relations with Albania was emphasised, highlighting the significance of high-level reciprocal visits and conducting negotiations to expand cooperation. It was noted that strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries holds a significant place in the context of bilateral relations. Therefore, the organisation of business trips, meetings, and various events is beneficial for the establishment of effective economic partnerships.

The meeting provided information about the favourable business and investment environment in Azerbaijan, opportunities created for investors, and highlighted the potential for strengthening cooperation with Albania in the fields of energy, trade, investment, industry, agriculture, tourism, transportation, and infrastructure.

The parties discussed opportunities for mutual business partnerships, investment, and the promotion of joint activities.

On March 1, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, held a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, as well.

The meeting in question took place at the "Gulustan" Palace in Baku during the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council.

During the meeting, the President touched upon the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Albania and emphasized the active cooperation of the two countries in various fields.

"We have quite an active political dialogue. Whether it is in Azerbaijan or Albania, or during various international events, we maintain a regular agenda for our meetings. We support each other in international organisations and actively work on energy security issues. Albania has played a significant role in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and continues to play an important role as a member of the TAP team. Currently, we are discussing various aspects of our energy cooperation. I am confident that, during our discussion today, the Prime Minister will cover all the current issues on the agenda."

The president specifically emphasises that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner.

"I believe that Azerbaijan has already proven itself to be a reliable partner. Our word is as valuable as our signature. I am confident that all the plans we have set for ourselves will be implemented because the performance indicators of the past year alone are evidence of this."

Historically, diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Albania have been generally positive. Countries often engage in cooperation across various sectors, including trade, investment, culture, and politics. Both nations may explore opportunities for collaboration in areas such as energy, infrastructure, tourism, and economic development.

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A new project, "Our Musical Identity," has been launched in the country.

The project was co-organized by the Culture Ministry, Ganja-Dashkesan Regional Department of Culture, Ganja State Philharmonic Hall, and the Azerbaijan Ashiqs Union, within the framework of which evenings dedicated to ashug art and epics will be held, Azernews reports.

The Urban Centre under the Ganja State Philharmonic Hall hosted the literary and artistic event "Evening of the Epic" (Dastan axsam).

At the opening ceremony, the director of the Ganja State Philharmonic Hall, Honoured Artist Ramil Gasimov, spoke about the state`s concern for ashiq art, which is the basis of national folk art and is included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It was noted that the main goal of the project is to promote national values among young people and present the ancient heritage to the general public. Ashugs Elbrus Huseynov and Shokhrat Karimov performed at the music evening.

Note that an evening dedicated to the memory of the Azerbaijani ashiq art and saz performer Ashiq Alasgar will be held on March 2 at 19:00.

Media partners of the event Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, Milli.Az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr

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1 March 2024 20:20 (UTC+04:00)

YARAT Contemporary Art Space is pleased to announce a new exhibition project by YARAT residents titled "Doesnt make Sense?!".

The exhibition displays art works by talented artists Fidan Nazim qizi and Aghamali Aliyev. The curator of the project is Aynur Abutalibova, Azernews report.

In the society in which we grow up under the influence of social constructions, our way of life is determined by the idioms that have been reinforced and perpetuated to this day and by people who are not "us", rather ourselves. When we grow up, we resign from everything we want to be, shape our real "I" according to the masculine and feminine moulds ordered by society, and become a statistical sample of society. Perhaps, if we go beyond this system, we will reach the calmness necessary to find our "real and ideal self" without taking into account the absurdities around us through small objects. For this, how can we get rid of these absurdities, can we be, should we be? This exhibition doesn't tell us any solutions, but instead, while showing the imagined chaos in society, it actually questions the quiet routines around us, the burdens passed down to us. Perhaps, choosing to adapt to society without thinking about any of these, we have forgotten who we are. Should we drown in this rainy desolation and become lonely, or should we see and feel the freedom that is flying around us?

Both artists look at this subject through their own eyes and choose to describe reality in their works in a sarcastic and poetic form. Remember, the choice is ultimately yours.

Aynur Abutalibova (b. 1996, Azerbaijan) graduated from the Geography Faculty of Baku State University in 2017. She completed her studies at the YARAT School of Modern Art in 2022 and received a residency grant. Presently, she serves as an independent curator of contemporary art and is a member of the Salaam Cinema Baku Art Space team. Her curatorial practice is centred on making art inclusive and socially accessible to all. She curates various exhibitions addressing societal issues, focusing on the development of modern art to shape new perspectives within society. She has curated several group exhibitions, including Traces from Past Generations (ARTIM Project Space, Baku, 2023); Am I holy or sinful (Gender Hub, Museum of Azerbaijan Painting of the XX-XXI centuries, Baku, 2023), among others. Additionally, she has collaborated on art projects with international organizations, as well as local and foreign artists, such as the CEC Artslink Art Prospect Fellows Curatorial Education program (USA, 2023) and Goethe Institut - EU4Dialogue's Cultural Management Academy (Bucharest, Romania, 2021), alongside Jessica Segall, Daria Pugacheva, Katya Taylor, and others.

Multimedia artist Aghamali Aliyev (b. 1996, Baku) graduated from the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Faculty of Azerbaijan National Aviation Academy in 2014. He also participated in the 1-year program at the YARAT Contemporary Art School. His approach to the themes in his work is satirical and absurd, primarily working in animation and video-art techniques. The artist has been part of various group exhibitions and festivals, including Between the Sky and the Earth (Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, 2023); Babil 2 (ARTIM Project Space, 2023); Gurama Art Festival (Baku Photography House, 2023); and the V Booktrailer Festival (winning 2nd place for Penguins fly, Marie, 2020).

Photographer Fidan Nazim gizi (b. 1991, Azerbaijan) obtained a master's degree in Library and Information Science from Baku State University. She also studied Fundamentals of Photography at Light and Composition University and attended the YARAT Contemporary Art School. Despite years of working in the library and later in accounting, she has redirected her focus entirely to photography in recent years. Frequently finding answers to her photographic inquiries in underground libraries, she creates handmade photo books influenced by these spaces. The primary theme of her work revolves around calmness, ageing, and emotions. She actively engages in projects covering various social issues. Utilising the Cyanotype alternative method, in use since 1843, she prints and tones her photographs in her home laboratory. Currently, she works as a photo editor and photographer at the BNW Light and Shadow Photography Association.

She has participated in numerous local and foreign exhibitions, including the final graduation exhibition of the YARAT Contemporary Art School students (ARTIM Project Space, Baku, 2023); Week of Art (Georgia, 2023); Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival (2022); LMA (Portugal, 2022); Bursa Photo Fest (Turkiye, 2022); A Letter (F37union, Baku, 2021); CIP Festival (Greece, 2020), among others. Her works have been published in various publications, such as Baku Magazine (2024); Women Warriors of Azerbaijan (The Pictorial List, 2023); femLens Documentary Photography (2023); Pourtant (France, 2022); Gelatin Magazine (USA, 2021); BNW Awards, Light and Shadow (Japan, 2021); Saudade (Germany, 2020), and more.

Location: ARTIM Project Space, Icherisheher, Kichik Gala Street 5

Admission: Free

Exhibition duration: February 29  April 7, 2024

Exhibition opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM

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1 March 2024 16:00 (UTC+04:00)

Ulviyya Shahin Read more

Armenia and Azerbaijan were able to reach an agreement on the main principles of the peace agreement.

This was said by the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, the special representative for the normalisation of relations with Turkiye, Ruben Rubinyan, during his speech at the panel on "Peace, Development, and Communication in the South Caucasus" within the framework of the III Diplomatic Forum in Antalya province.

Talking about the process of normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, Rubinyan expressed hope that the parties would be able to achieve the necessary results.

He reminded that Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed on the main principles of peace: the recognition of each other's territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration and the opening of regional communications based on the principle of sovereignty.

"If we can include the principles already agreed upon by the heads of the two countries in the agreement, then we can achieve peace quickly," Rubinyan said.

Speaking about the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkiye, the special representative noted that the most important issue at such a sensitive moment is the implementation of agreements.

According to R. Rubinyan, if agreements are reached between Armenia and Turkey in the future, it is necessary to implement them.

He noted that, despite the low level of trust between the nations, the parties are trying to normalise relations.

"We are continuing this process, and I hope that Sardar Klc and I will achieve the goal we set together - the complete normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkiye and the establishment of diplomatic relations," he added.

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Azerbaijani cinema has been enriched by the remarkable contributions of Honored Artist Shamil Mahmudbayov, who left an indelible mark on the industry.

Shamil Mahmudbayov's films have captivated audiences with their unique storytelling and compelling narratives.

The Azerbaijan State Film Fund has celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mahmudbayov's birth, recognising his significant impact on Azerbaijani cinema, Azernews reports.

As part of the event, a photo exhibition was organised reflecting the life and work of the film director with the support of the Culture Ministry and the Cinema Agency.

Director of the Azerbaijan State Film Fund, Honoured Artist Jamil Guliyev, who spoke at the event, noted that he remembered Shamil Mahmudbayov as a modest person and a professional director. Films created by the talented director, including "Romeo is my neighbor", "Chernushka," and others, were included in the golden fund of Azerbaijani cinema.

People's Artist Ogtay Mirgasimov, Honoured Artists Aydin Kazimzade and Nizami Abbas, actor Arif Karimov, and producer Rasim Hasanov shared their memories of the film director.

Shamil Mahmudbayov has worked at the Azerbaijanfilm film studio since 1955.

Mahmudbayov is the director of a number of documentaries and short and full-length feature films like "Equal bread" (1969), "Life tests us" (1971) as well as "Dervish blows up Paris" (1976), shot together with Kamil Rustambayov.

In 1969, Shamil Mahmudbayov was awarded the State Prize of the Azerbaijan SSR and, in 1976 - the title of Honoured Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR.

In addition to directing, Mahmudbayov also played in feature films like "The Unconquered Battalion" (1965), "Scream" (1993), etc.

At the end of the event, the film "Man" was shown, the latest work of the film director.

The unfinished film was completed in 2010 by the honoured artist Nizami Abbas at the New Wave Production Centre.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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1 March 2024 12:06 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of the Environment and Energy Security of the Italian Republic Gilberto Pichetto Fratin who is participating in the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Azernews reports.

Gilberto Pichetto Fratin congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election and on securing the hosting of COP29 in Azerbaijan.

The head of state thanked him for the congratulations.

Saying that his country currently holds the presidency of the G7 format this year, the Italian minister stressed the importance for Azerbaijan, as the host of COP29, to participate in the special meeting of G7 Ministers' Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment within this partnership format, and extended an invitation in this regard.

During the meeting, the sides touched on the economic relations between the two countries and praised the collaboration of numerous Italian companies, including Ansaldi, Leonardo, Maire Tecnimont, and several others, with Azerbaijan. They also applauded the operations of Italian companies in Azerbaijan`s liberated territories.

During the conversation, they exchanged views on the prospects for cooperation.

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1 March 2024 12:26 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Haluk Gorgun, President of the Defence Industry Agency of Turkiye, Azernews reports, citing a post shared by the Azerbaijani ministry.

The parties met within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

They discussed areas of strengthening and possible facilitation of defence industry cooperation.

Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov met with the President of the Defense Industry Agency of Turkiye @halukgorgun @AntalyaDF.



Areas of reinforcing cooperation on defense industry and possible facilitation by the @AzerbaijanMFA were discussed during the meeting. pic.twitter.com/ilC37H9bNF  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) March 1, 2024

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Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley talks to members of the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, at the Houston Chronicle office in Houston. Jon Shapley/Staff photographer

Primary voting

Regarding How to vote five times in Texas without breaking the law (Editorial), (Feb. 29): To those citizens who only vote in the fall elections and complain about the selection of candidates: wake up.

The critical elections are the primaries, where one can vote for the candidate who they believe is best suited to do the job. While that candidate may not win, if they have a strong showing in the primary, there is a chance that their beliefs could affect the winners position on critical subjects.

Michael Fitzgibbons, The Woodlands

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I most heartily concur with this editorial. It is long overdue for mass media to finally educate the voting public on exactly what the power of the vote is and how much their vote actually does count. In this example, your vote counts many times over in the primary elections versus the general. The editorial clearly explains the simple math behind its reach.

It is the regular and recurring voter who will decide for everyone who stays away. Voting demographics will usually show that the older generations will be at the polls in larger numbers at elections, be it primary, general or even a water district. In this current call for old people to step away from political stations they have held for decades, why would you let old people continue to decide who gets to run and then who gets to serve? Dont vote, younger generations. Just keep letting us old folks decide for you.

John LePage, Conroe

I appreciate your article about the March primary election and low voter turnout. It is a shame. My husband and I applied for absentee ballots as we are not in the county during the election period. I emailed our applications and then sent the hard copy the same day through the U.S. Postal Service, as directed on the application. I received a letter from the county stating that our ballots were rejected as the hard copies were not received within four days of the submission of the emailed ballot application.

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I am frustrated and appalled. In years past when I was not in the county during an election cycle, I received my absentee ballot. This cycle, I followed directions; the new rule of emailing the ballot and challenges with the USPS have disenfranchised me as a voter. Shameful! I will vote in November and will practice my civic responsibility to vote. I encourage others to vote. Do not be silenced!

D. Linda, Houston

AT A GLANCE: See the editorial board's full list of 2024 primary endorsements

Regarding 2024 Texas Primary Election Endorsements, (Feb. 29): I read your editorial board endorsements and pay attention to what you are saying. I dont always agree with every one of them, but I do thoughtfully read them and then, if necessary, do some extra research on my own. There is a lot of information available. Thank you for the care you give to your endorsements and to your wording of those decisions. The Chronicle is an important resource for me to determine who will get my vote. I appreciate your work.

Brenda Harrison, Sugar Land

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Mental state

Regarding Candidates aging brains are factors in the presidential race  4 essential reads, (Feb. 16): When I was 70 and just before I became president of the Houston Methodist Hospital medical staff, I spent three hours with a psychiatrist to make sure my brain worked well enough to accept the challenges of leading the medical staff at one of the best hospitals in the world.

Why in the heck dont we require that of politicians who have much more responsibility? The screening through a Montreal Cognitive Assessment takes 30 minutes and will assure us all that our leaders have a brain that works!

C. Richard Stasney, chairman emeritus, Houston Methodist Hospital Center for Performing Arts Medicine

My husband is reading todays Chronicle, and he just made a comment Id like to pass along: We didnt elect Joe Biden because of his memory, we elected him because of his judgment.

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Gypsy Savage, Richmond

I was filled with outrage when I saw the Chicago Tribune cartoon on the Opinion page of the Feb. 14 print Chronicle making fun of President Joe Bidens memory. President Biden does not have dementia. But there are millions of people who do, like my husband who died from Alzheimers on Feb. 19, 2018.

This is not a laughing matter, and it shouldnt be treated as one.

Sandra Walsh, Houston

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The Chicago Tribune cartoon is a horrible and biased depiction of a nonexistent problem. Does the Chronicle have any medical information to indicate the president has a memory problem that affects his job? As the major Houston newspaper, communications should be reported based on facts.

On another note, the probable challenger to the president has exhibited many criminal and other moral tendencies supported by facts. Thats the kind of information that should be the topic of your editorial page.

Doug Pierre, Spring

Even many of Trumps supporters acknowledge that his selfishness is one of his major shortcomings. Now President Biden has elected to place his own ego above the interests of this nation. How else can it be explained that he persists in his quest for a second term given his mental decline? How is it that we are unable to identify two qualified individuals to choose from in the upcoming presidential election who simply place the nations interests above their own? Are there none in the entire country?
1 March 2024 15:42 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his counterpart from Panama, Janaina Gob, in Turkiye within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Azernews reports, citing a post shared by the Azerbaijani MFA on its official X account.

The post reads that the sides discussed the prospects of bilateral relations and the future development of multilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister gave detailed information to his counterpart about preparations for COP29, peace and reconstruction efforts in the region.

On the sidelines of #ADF2024, @Bayramov_Jeyhun, Foreign Minister of the Republic of #Azerbaijan met @JanainaGob, Foreign Minister of the Republic of #Panama to discuss prospects of bilateral relations & further development of multilateral cooperation between the two countries. pic.twitter.com/8xwKEuJg25  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) March 1, 2024

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1 March 2024 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Alimat Aliyeva

The Czech Republic will modernize the JAS-39 Gripen fighters in its Air Force, Azernews reports, citing foreign media outlets.

The fighters will be upgraded based on the conclusion of an additional agreement with Sweden to their lease agreement. The document will be signed in the first half of the year. The cost will amount to 1.028 billion crowns (about $43.5 million).

The upgrade will affect aircraft communication and identification systems. The capabilities of the weapons installed on them will be expanded. The fighters, according to the agency, will be able to carry out round-the-clock in-flight refueling.

There are 14 Gripen in the Czech Air Force. The fighters were leased from Sweden in 2005. Its term expires in 2027. The annual rent is approximately 1.7 billion kronor (about $75 million).

Prague, as the Czech media informed earlier, is negotiating with Stockholm to extend the lease of the squadron until 2035, when Swedish aircraft in the national Air Force should replace 24 American F-35 fighter jets. Their purchase in September 2023 was approved by the Czech government.

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1 March 2024 12:58 (UTC+04:00)

Georgian Health and Social Protection Minister Zurab Azarashvili left his post, Azernews reports.

The administration of the Georgian government has released information about this.

It was noted that Azarashvili spoke with the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, before making the decision.

The head of government will announce the name of the new minister of health in the next few days.

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FILE - President Donald Trump smiles after autographing a section of the border wall during a tour, June 23, 2020, in San Luis, Ariz. Trump will return to the Southern border for a visit Sunday as he leans in on a hardline second term immigration agenda that would be far more expansive than his first. Evan Vucci/AP

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are both traveling to Texas border towns on Feb. 29, 2024, and are expected to fault each other for chaos in border enforcement and the high number of undocumented migrant crossings.

Their dueling visits follow a failed Senate proposal to tighten border security and make it tougher for people to get asylum in the U.S. They also coincide with Americans rising concern about immigration.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been battling with the Biden administration since 2021 over the states ability to secure its border with Mexico. Under Abbotts leadership, Texas has sent Texas National Guard troops and state troopers to its 1,254-mile-long border with Mexico. Texas is the only border state that has built its own wall, partially dividing itself from Mexico. Texas has also constructed more than 100 miles of other barriers along the border.

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I am a scholar of Texas politics and government at Rice Universitys Baker Institute. Texas attempts to control its border with Mexico and intervene on immigration issues  historically both the responsibility of the federal government  derive in part from the fact that many Texans believe that their Lone Star State is unique.

Texas, for starters, is the largest U.S. state among the lower 48, geographically speaking, and the second-most populous after California. It has a distinct state culture and the history of being an independent republic.

Today, Texas is the most powerful and influential red state pushing back against the Biden administration on many policy issues. It is also home to a small but growing political movement advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S. and become an independent country.

There is a great deal of truth to the popular saying that everything is bigger in Texas.

Border security battles

Texas is now enmeshed in a series of skirmishes with the Biden administration over border security and immigration. Abbott, bolstered by the unanimous support of Texas Republicans who dominate the state legislature, and Republican voters, has made Texas more involved in day-to-day border security and immigration enforcement than any state in recent history.

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In December 2023, Abbott signed controversial new state legislation that makes it a state crime to cross the border without a visa. This legislation, which goes into effect in March 2024, also gives Texas authorities the right to deport undocumented migrants  which is generally considered the federal governments responsibility.

Now, Texas is spending $5.1 billion on trying to patrol the border from 2023 through 2025.

This doesnt include the additional $1.5 billion Texas has allocated for expansion of its border wall over the next few years.

Since 2022, Texas has sent more than 100,000 immigrants who arrive in Texas to liberal cities like New York and Chicago.

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And in 2023, Texas constructed a buoy barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande, although a federal appeals court ruled in December that Texas must remove those barriers from the river.

The Biden administration has challenged virtually all of these actions in court.

The federal government argues that Texas border and immigration activity is unconstitutional, since only the federal government can enforce immigration law. The federal government maintains that the new Texas immigration law that allows state authorities to deport migrants also would interfere with the federal asylum process.

In response, Texas says that its border and immigration work is legal, in part because the federal government cannot adequately secure the border. Abbott and other Republicans characterize migrants crossing into Texas as an invasion, which they say gives Texas the right to defend itself, as they say the U.S. Constitution allows.

Whats unique about Texas

Understanding Texas particular history and Texans sense of pride for their state helps to better understand the context behind this current conflict.

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In Texas, you cant travel far without seeing the Texas flag fluttering outside of houses and business storefronts. It is quite common to see people carrying Texas flag-themed koozies, or wearing Texas flag shirts and hats.

Texas is one of the only U.S. states that went directly from being an independent republic  from 1836 to 1845  to getting statehood. More than nine out of 10 Texans voted for Texas to become part of the U.S. in 1845.

Texas has also been led continuously by a Republican governor since 1992, when George W. Bush was first elected. No Democrat has won any statewide race in Texas since 1994.

Today, Texas executive branch  led by Abbott, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton  is the countrys most powerful and vocal opponent of the Biden administration.

A push to secede

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While the Texas state government is challenging the federal governments immigration and border powers, there has also been a rise in support for a political group called the Texas Nationalist Movement, which since 2005 has been advocating for Texas to secede from the U.S.

Texas Republican political leaders have not embraced this secession movement, often called TEXIT. Recently, Matt Rinaldi, the ultra-conservative chair of the Texas Republican Party, kept a Texas secession proposition off the Republican primary ballot.

Abbott and other Texas Republican politicians agree with former conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote in a letter in 2006, If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede.

But these same Republicans still want Texas to have greater state autonomy from the federal government.

Texas pride

Abbott and other Texas Republicans continue to assert their right to secure the border and deport undocumented immigrants because they say the federal government is failing to do either effectively.

In addition, Republicans continue to use immigration and border security as a top issue to rally Republican and independent voters heading into the 2024 election.

And, while TEXIT is not going to happen, Texas Republicans will continue to vigorously promote Texas autonomy, appealing to their voters Texas pride.

This article was updated to reflect that Texas is one of the only states to have first been a republic.
Two hospitals are alleging North American Partners in Anesthesia's noncompete clauses violate antitrust laws, according to lawsuits filed Feb. 26.

The two hospitals, St. Joseph's Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., and Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., are affiliates of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health and filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, respectively.

The suits allege NAPA uses noncompete clauses to restrict competition and "demand exorbitant payments for critical and understaffed patient services." It also alleges the clauses "impede the free movement of its providers so that it can capture the value of their scarce services'' by prohibiting their anesthesia providers from being employed directly by the hospitals.

North American Partners in Anesthesia is looking for a multimillion-dollar payment to waive the noncompetes, according to court documents.

"While we are not able to comment further on active litigation, our patients are the priority, and we do all we can to provide timely, high-quality care," a spokesperson for Trinity Health said in a statement shared with Becker's.

"We have and will continue to provide safe and quality anesthesia care to our patients and remain committed to our anesthesia clinicians," a NAPA spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker's. "We believe there is no merit to their claims and are prepared to defend against their allegations and seek appropriate relief for the hospitals' actions in the judicial system. Because we are now in active litigation with the hospitals, we cannot provide further responses or comments."

Noncompetes have been the subject of scrutiny recently as some states look to reform their legislation.

"Many large health systems have a footprint that spans several states," Marsha Haley, MD, a clinical assistant professor of radiation oncology at the University of Pittsburgh, told Becker's in August. "If a physician is let go or leaves the practice, this requires the physician to move a long distance to meet the noncompete clause. Given the size and vertical integration of health systems, they are in no danger of losing a significant number of patients to the departing physician. The physician, however, is now required to move a great distance away from children's schools and extended family to make a living."










The shortage of anesthesia providers has put pressure on Wshington's hospitals, the Journal of Business reported Feb. 29.

"It really came to a head immediately after the height of COVID, where we found ourselves in a situation where we had a lack of anesthesia personnel," Erik Condon, MD, chief of surgery at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Providence Holy Family Hospital, both located in Spokane, Wash., told the Journal of Business.

The health system has had to rely on traveling anesthesia providers, and some anesthesia staff must work longer hours, Dr. Condon told the Journal.

However, Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System has been able to mitigate some of the effects of the crisis.

"In the Inland Northwest, we have a close working relationship with our anesthesia group, and while staffing shortages have affected us, we have not had to stop or delay any services due to anesthesia staffing shortages," Dan Springer, chief operating officer for MultiCare Deaconess Hospital in Spokane and MultiCare Valley Hospital in Spokane Valley, told the Journal.

There are two bills currently going through Washington's legislature that aim to address the anesthesia workforce shortage. One would make anesthesiologist assistants a new health profession, and the other would expand educational opportunities for CRNAs, according to the Journal.
A Baton Rouge, La., physician was sentenced to 52 months in prison and fined $200,000 for tax evasion.

Melissa Barrett, MD, 49, who owned and operated two urgent care clinics, submitted a false form that underreported her income and assets to the IRS to avoid paying approximately $1.6 million in income taxes, according to a Feb. 29 news release from the Justice Department. Dr. Barrett avoided detection by avoiding depositing her cash into banks and using other people to purchase millions in real estate and personal property.

In addition to the imprisonment and fine, Dr. Barrett was ordered to serve one year of supervised release, according to the release.
A Florida-based real estate company has purchased a Brownsburg, Ind.-based medical office building for $39 million, according to a Feb. 29 report from the Business Observer.

The two-story facility first opened its doors last May and houses a rehabilitation facility. The 56,000-square-foot space is fully leased to Community Health Network Rehabilitation Hospital West  a joint venture between Indianapolis-based Community Health Network and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, a business unit of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Lifepoint Health.

The Community Health facility treats patients recovering and suffering from strokes, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, complex neurological disorders, orthopedic conditions, multiple traumas and amputations.
Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine is planning to build a nearly $300 million cancer center at Princeton Medical Center. The effort aims to differentiate the hospital in Plainsboro, N.J., as a leader in advanced medicine amid increased competition from other institutions in the region, executives said during a Feb. 29 board meeting when the plans were approved, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

During the University of Pennsylvania board meeting, executives said a range of possibilities were considered to elevate Princeton's offerings, but cancer stood out amid competition from West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health, which includes Rutgers Cancer Institute, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Plans for the 195,000-square-foot facility  which will adjoin Princeton Medical Center  include more than 40 exam rooms, at least 30 infusion chairs and two linear accelerators. The total cost of the project is $401 million and includes plans for a six-level parking garage and a 31,000-square-foot outpatient imaging center.

Construction on the garage will begin in 2026, with construction on the cancer and imaging center set to begin in 2028, a spokesperson told Becker's. Care teams at the cancer center will collaborate with physicans across Penn Medicine who work at the system's Philadelphia-based Abramson Cancer Center.

"Cancer is our sweet spot, so we opted to push forward on an advanced platform around the cancer program," Kevin Mahoney, CEO of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which is part of Penn, said during the meeting, the Inquirer reported.
Russia-based ransomware gang ALPHV/Blackcat, aka BlackCat, has made headlines due to its attack on Change Healthcare, but the group has been targeting healthcare for a while.

"This group in particular has been very aggressive targeting healthcare and has been responsible for numerous high-impact attacks," John Riggi, the American Hospital Association's national adviser for cybersecurity and risk, told Becker's.

BlackCat, which uses a ransomware-as-a-service model, is known as the "second most prolific ransomware-as-a-service variant in the world," according to the Justice Department.

The group has targeted the computer networks of more than 1,000 victims within the U.S. and worldwide and has been increasingly focusing on the healthcare industry.

According to a cybersecurity advisory published by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, most of its 70 victims since December have come from the healthcare industry. And most recently, the FBI said the group's administrator encouraged affiliates to attack hospitals after the FBI infiltrated its operations in December.

News outlet Wired reported that even though the FBI thought they dismantled BlackCat, the group bounced back, launching a new dark web site which promised a higher rate of payment.

"Because we can't arrest the core operators that are in Russia or in areas that are uncooperative with law enforcement, we can't stop them," Allan Liska, a ransomware-focused researcher for cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, told the publication.

So far, BlackCat has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Allentown, Pa.-based Lehigh Valley Health Network and Change Healthcare.

Additionally, Rhysida ransomware group has emerged as another ransomware group that has been increasingly targeting the healthcare industry.

Most recently, Rhysida listed Chicago-based Lurie Children's on its extortion site on the dark web and is trying to offload the stolen data from the health system for 60 bitcoins, or just over $3.4 million.

HHS warned in August that Rhysida was targeting the healthcare industry. The group has also taken credit for hacks on Culver City, Calif.-based Prospect Medical Holdings and Ocean Springs, Miss.-based Singing River Health System.
Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine has implemented Epic Cloud Read-Only, marking its first step to moving its EHR system to the cloud, TechnologyMagazine.com reported March 1.

This move, according to Tim Calahan, PhD, chief technology officer of the organization, positions it alongside innovations like generative AI, reshaping both patient care delivery and the overall patient experience.

"This allows us to change how we deliver patient care and how we deliver a patient experience. By moving it into the cloud, we enable those broader suites of features and functionality that the cloud provides," he told TechnologyMagazine.com.

One of the advantages to the moving is scalability, according to Dr. Calahan.

"We've got about 14,000 users here at Michigan Medicine," he told the magazine. "On a Monday morning at 10 a.m., I've got about 14,000 users hitting our Epic system. But on Monday at 2 a.m., I might only have 1,000. By moving things to the cloud, I have the ability to scale compute up and down in a very responsible way that I can't do on-prem."

Additionally, another benefit of the move, according to Dr. Calahan, is that it allows compute infrastructure to be standardized, offering cost efficiencies and improved performance.

Dr. Calahan stated that Epic upgrades involve significant infrastructure investments every six months. By standardizing compute infrastructure, Michigan Medicine aims to provide a seamless environment for Epic, enhancing performance and eliminating the need for frequent ad-hoc adjustments.

Dr. Calahan further highlighted that this migration brings an added advantage in enhancing protection and recoverability in the event of a cyber incident.

"There is not a week that goes by that you don't hear about a healthcare system suffering from a cyber attack. One of the goals of our cloud initiative is to enhance and improve upon the very traditional backup and recovery processes and procedures we use today to provide a much more streamlined and efficient method to perform recovery, which will thereby improve resiliency," he told the publication. "We aim to inject backup and recovery capabilities into the very foundation of our cloud operating platforms, which will make it capable at identifying and recovering from a cyber event."
From Change Healthcare confirming it was hacked by a ransomware gang to Allina Health announcing it will transition 2,000 IT and revenue cycle employees to Optum, here are 10 RCM headlines Becker's reported in February.

1. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare completed or announced three deals to sell nine of its hospitals. All three deals include agreements with Tenet's Conifer Health Solutions subsidiary to provide revenue cycle management services.

2. Optum's Change Healthcare confirmed Feb. 29 that it was hacked by a ransomware gang after the group claimed to have stolen massive amounts of data. Many of Change Healthcare's applications, which span revenue cycle management to prescription processing, have been down since Feb. 21, disrupting operations at hospitals, physician practices and pharmacies across the country.

3. A group of R1 RCM investors is weighing whether to take the revenue cycle management company private. The deal is opposed by a major shareholder.

4. Healthcare management consulting firm is joining Epic's new Rev Cycle Partners program, which is designed to help healthcare organizations optimize their use of Epic to improve revenue cycle outcomes.

5. Ten parties were responsible for initiating 78% of all No Surprises Act disputes in the first six months of 2023. Many are  or are represented by  large practice management companies, medical practices or revenue cycle management companies representing hundreds of individual practices, providers or facilities.

6. St. Louis-based SSM Health and UnitedHealth Group's Optum ended their administrative partnership around inpatient care management, digital transformation and revenue cycle management after the two organizations were not able to meet "mutually agreed-upon expectations."

7. Tenet combined Conifer and its hospital operations into a single operating segment.

8. KLAS Research, a healthcare IT data and insights company, named its "Best in KLAS" revenue cycle management tools for 2024.

9. Revenue cycle management company Conifer Health Solutions and Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth Health will continue their partnership through a new multiyear deal.

10. Minneapolis-based Allina Health will transition 2,000 IT and revenue cycle employees to Optum as part of a new partnership between the organizations. The transition is expected to begin May 5.
A proposal to overhaul the American Academy of Dermatology's diversity, equity and inclusion program is facing mixed reactions from members, Bloomberg reported Feb. 29.

Brian Raphael, MD, a New York-based dermatologist, recently introduced a resolution to end AAD's current DEI program, citing concerns about the politicization of DEI work and increased antisemitism. The proposal contends there have been "instances where the DEI movement has been perceived as being filled with antisemitism, weaponizing the concept against Jews by labeling them as 'oppressors' and allegedly justifying extreme hate speech and violence."

Mr. Raphael told Bloomberg he'd like AAD "to adopt an even more inclusive policy in its place, one that promotes the end of racism and hate speech."

Dermatologists have raised at least two other resolutions supporting the existing DEI program, one of which proposes creating a task force on antisemitism, racism, anti-Arab bias and Islamophobia, according to the report.

AAD's board of directors is slated to vote on the resolutions during its annual meeting March 8-12 in San Diego.

Dermatology is the second-least diverse medical specialty behind orthopedics, according to a 2020 study published in Clinics in Dermatology. As part of its DEI efforts, AAD runs a mentorship program for medical students from underrepresented groups. The association also has a partnership with Johnson & Johnson to more than double the number of dermatology residents from Black, Latino and Indigenous communities by 2027.

"The American Academy of Dermatology's commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and access to quality of care for all is part of our strategic plan. The academy is also committed to an environment in which our members, employees, and strategic partners feel welcome, included, and understood," the association said in a Feb. 29 statement. "We celebrate diversity in all forms including but not limited to religious, ethnic, cultural, gender, and racial identities and aim to improve disparities in healthcare. We are ardent opponents of any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate and racism of any kind."
Lawmaker proposes fertility policy tailored for rural population

10:42, March 01, 2024 By Liu Caiyu ( Global Times

Photo taken on Feb. 22, 2022 captures lovers sharing a tender moment at a Marriage Registration Office on the special "Twosday" in Changchun City, north China's Jilin Province. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Yao)

A Chinese lawmaker has proposed implementing a fertility policy specifically designed for the rural population to address the growing dilemma in rural regions where there is a trend of people not getting married, mirroring the situation in urban areas.

Li Shulin, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), China's national legislature, and chairman of the labor union at Sichuan Tongwang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Group Co, said there is a declining fertility rate and worsening aging population situation in Yingshan County, Southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, where he comes from. He has noticed a shift in the demographics of his village. Just a few years ago, the village was predominantly populated by elderly people, women, and children. However, now there are almost exclusively elderly residents left in the village.

Li found in his in-depth research that the rapid decline in the rural population is multifaceted, and one phenomenon that worries him is the increasing number of single men in rural areas.

In a village near the county seat, there are some 25 unmarried young men and women over the age of 30, and 20 are young men. Not being able to afford to get married is just one of the factors, but most of them just don't want to get married, Li noted.

Li found that most people think that the pressure after marriage is too great  buying a new house, children's education, and supporting the elderly  all of which lead to young people being afraid of marriage.

The traditional custom of bride prices for marriage has also become a heavy financial burden for families in rural China. Many young men leave their rural homes to work in cities in the hope of improving their family's financial situation, only to return and find that they have not earned enough to afford a bride.

The bride price varies in different regions, but it can be as high as 200,000 yuan in some rural areas, such as some villages in East Chinas Jiangxi Province. For an ordinary family, it takes them many years to save up enough money.

Yuan Xin, a Tianjin-based demographer, told the Global Times on Thursday that multiple factors have caused the increasing number of single men in rural areas.

In traditional cultural beliefs there is a preference for boys over girls, so many rural areas have experienced decades of unbalanced sex ratios at birth, leading to a gender imbalance in the marriageable age group, with a surplus of men and a deficit of women, Yuan said.

Population migration is another factor, especially with more women going to towns to work, experiencing the outside world and not wanting to return to the countryside to marry local men. Since women are scarce overall, in some rural areas, especially in poor rural areas, women are even less willing to marry local men, preferring to marry in better-off areas, Yuan noted.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, the total population of the country is 1,409.67 million, a decrease of 2.08 million from the previous year.

Based on the data for urban and rural populations released in 2024 and 2023, there has been a trend toward urbanization in population distribution. The urban population has been consistently increasing, while the rural population has been decreasing. As of 2023, there are 932.67 million urban residents and 477 million rural residents. In comparison, as of 2022, the numbers were 920.71 million urban residents and 491.04 million rural residents.

To solve the challenges facing rural areas, Li suggested the introduction of a special fertility policy, targeting those without fixed jobs or low incomes and offering reasonable policies for having a second child.

Financial incentives, such as housing subsidies or education support are other possible options to encourage more births and ensure population stability in rural regions, the deputy proposed.

In addition, he suggested that local governments could include prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis for pregnant women in government livelihood projects, further enhancing the prevention and control of birth defects and further improving the maternity leave system.

Yuan emphasized the importance of recognizing the unique population circumstances in rural areas, noting that Chinas rural regions vary greatly. In many parts of the central and western regions, traditional values surrounding marriage and child-rearing remain strong.

He said that the prevalence of single men in rural areas is influenced by a variety of factors, and addressing this issue requires a thorough and data-driven approach.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, Adjutant General for the State of Texas, right, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press A person dons a Trump 2024 flag as they ride in a vehicle rolling down Main Street in Eagle Pass, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, ahead of a visit from former president Donald Trump. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard an entrance to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, ahead of a visit from former president Donald Trump. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News President Joe Biden talks with the U.S. Border Patrol, as he looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande, with the U.S. Border Patrol. Evan Vucci/Associated Press

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday praised Texas efforts to crack down on migrant crossings and compared the situation at the Mexican border to a war.

In a brief speech from Eagle Pass, where Texas has seized a public park to roll out its expanding border operation, Trump railed against the Biden administration and the Democratic leaders of Arizona and California. Gov. Greg Abbotts controversial initiative to address the surge in crossings, called Operation Lone Star, was a welcome outlier, Trump said after touring state law enforcement facilities.

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The operation that they showed me is nothing less than incredible, Trump said. And I'll say this  its a military operation. This is like a war.

Trumps comments started just 15 minutes before President Joe Biden was scheduled to give a dueling speech in Brownsville, another border town about five hours from Eagle Pass. Trump blasted his Democratic successor for dismantling border security orders that had been implemented during his time in office, including Title 42, a pandemic-era policy allowing federal officials to quickly turn away migrants at the border.

We were doing a great job, and that's where it stood, Trump said. And then we had an election  and very bad things happened. And from that moment on, it was a whole different ball game in Texas and all over. But the governor of Texas picked up the ball.

Trump was joined by Abbott, National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd and dozens of law enforcement officers. The event was limited to invited press only.

Abbott called Bidens Texas visit obligatory and said the president is not doing his job to secure the Mexican border, so the state has had to stop the United States from being invaded.

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Biden does not care about either Texas or the border and what's going on, Abbott said. As a result, you see a disaster. The United States of America is dealing with more deadly consequences than we have in my entire lifetime because of Joe Bidens policies on the border. And it did not have to be this way.

His comments came hours after a federal judge in Austin blocked a new law Abbott championed that would give state authorities the power to arrest and deport migrants. U.S. Judge David A. Ezra, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, called those provisions patently unconstitutional.

Ezra also wrote that record border crossings do not amount to an invasion. Critics of the term have called it racist and dangerous, noting that the gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 posted a hate-filled online manifesto against a Hispanic invasion of Texas.

Attorney General Ken Paxton immediately appealed the decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which could step in before the law's scheduled Tuesday roll out.

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A little more than 300 miles away, Biden called for a bipartisan effort to reform immigration policies and curb illegal crossings. Senate Republicans this month blocked a border security proposal after Trump had urged them not to give the Democratic president a political victory just months before the November election, when the two are likely poised for a rematch.

Still, Judd said Border Patrol agents are mad as hell that Biden decided to go to Brownsville instead of Arizona, San Diego or Eagle Pass, where more people have crossed the border.

Border Patrol agents are upset that we cannot get the proper policy that is necessary to protect human life  to protect American citizens, to protect the people that are crossing the border illegally, he said. We want to protect them as well, and we can't do that, because President Bidens policies continue to invite people to cross here.

Trumps campaign has floated rounding up immigrants into camps and mass deportations if he retakes the White House.

A Gallup poll released this week found 28% of Americans say immigration is the most important issue facing the country, the largest share ever to rank it first and the first time immigration has ranked ahead of all other issues since 2019.

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U.S. and Michigan lawmakers are seeking answers to concerns regarding the recently announced transition of services at Aspirus Ontonagon (Mich.) Hospital.

In a letter to Aspirus Health CEO Matthew Heywood, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, Michigan state Sen. Ed McBroom and Michigan state Rep. Greg Markkanen point to plans announced in 2021 to replace Aspirus Ontonagon and close its skilled nursing facility. Construction on the new hospital was expected to cost $15.8 million and begin in spring 2022.

"As recently as March of 2022, Aspirus put out a press release saying that plans for the new hospital were being finalized  although it appears that this release is no longer available to view on Aspirus Health's website," the lawmakers' letter reads.

"It seems the plan to invest in a new facility was quietly abandoned in favor of closing hospital services altogether."

In February, Aspirus Health announced it is investing $30 million in Laurium, Mich.-based Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital as part of a renovation and expansion project. The system said it will also transition Aspirus Ontonagon into a rural health clinic, effective April 20, replacing its hospital and emergency services with outpatient-only services.

The lawmakers said in their letter that their primary concern with these plans is the closure of emergency room operations.

"Even without full inpatient care, rural emergency rooms are essential for quickly treating and stabilizing patients before they are transferred to a larger facility," they wrote. "Ontonagon Hospital hosts the only ER in Ontonagon County  the third largest county in the state. Closure of the Ontonagon ER will have very real consequences and could directly endanger the lives of Michiganders."

The lawmakers also expressed concerns about how the plans will affect access to emergency medical services in the area, and posed five questions to Mr. Heywood related to how decisions were made and what steps were taken.

A spokesperson for Aspirus Health told Becker's the organization does not have additional information to provide outside of the information it provided earlier this month related to the plans.

In a Feb. 20 news release, Aspirus Upper Peninsula Region President Christine Harff, BSN, said: "Aspirus Health is committed to the Upper Peninsula, and to continuously transforming to meet the changing needs of its communities. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and recent economic challenges, we have stayed strong through foresight, integration and rigorous continuous improvement. We are happy to be able to invest these resources in support of the people who depend on us for excellent, compassionate care."

The release also stated that the transition of Aspirus Ontonagon to a rural health clinic "will provide services that better match local needs in a community that has changed dramatically in recent years."

The lawmakers' letter came one day before Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health and Duluth, Minn.-based St. Luke's announced they officially combined, forming a 19-hospital system with almost 14,000 employees.

Read the full letter here.
Keith Hobbs spent nearly three years acclimating to Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center before becoming its CEO, according to a Feb. 13 blog post from the hospital.

Craig Leach  who had served as the hospital's CEO for 17 years  left big shoes to fill when he retired on Oct. 31. Mr. Hobbs' first day at the helm, Nov. 1, was "a major milestone in Torrance Memorial history, to be sure," according to the blog post.

"But for the hospital community at large, it was a perfectly normal weekday in a carefully planned, seamless transition of leadership," the post continued: "Nothing had been left to chance."

Mr. Hobbs joined the hospital  a 512-bed affiliate of Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai  as executive vice president in March 2021. He was "hand-picked" by Mr. Leach and identified by the executive search firm Spencer Stuart; when he left the helm of USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, Calif., he knew that he would eventually take Mr. Leach's place.

Mr. Leach calculated that two years would be enough time for his successor to "to really get to know the culture of the organization, to fit in and build relationships," according to the blog post. Mr. Hobbs led a number of projects at the hospital, including the planning of a new ambulatory surgery center, the expansion of laboratory outreach programs, and a growth strategy for the physician network, before he was officially promoted to "president" in February 2023.

When Mr. Hobbs became CEO in November, he had been an integral part of the health system and its executive suite for nearly three years, the blog post said. That familiarity made the transition as seamless as could be, according to the hospital's board chair, Greg Geiger.

"It's hard replacing a trusted, longtime leader like Craig Leach, but the task was made easier with Keith Hobbs as the candidate," Mr. Geiger said. "We already know what kind of leader he's going to be because he's been here for a few years. We have all the confidence in the world in him."
No one owns the title "doctor," according to Shakeel Ahmed, MD, CEO of St. Louis-based ASC group Atlas Surgical Group.

In a March 1 Forbes article, Dr. Ahmed said the crux of the debate of nurse practitioners using the title "doctor" lies within some NPs earning DNP degrees while physicians train, on average, for years more than NPs.

At a minimum, physicians undergo 11 years of post-secondary education and training. After earning a Bachelor of Science in nursing, NPs train between 18 months and three years for a master's, or up to four years for a doctorate.

The American Medical Association and California Medical Association assert that nurse practitioners could confuse patients regarding their healthcare providers' education level. Dr. Ahmed cited this argument, adding that DNPs in academic settings should be recognized for their status as a doctor but clinical settings require a distinction.

An ongoing lawsuit in California filed by three NPs questions a state law that allots the title "doctor" solely for surgeons and physicians. In February, a California physician who supervised a nurse practitioner with a doctorate was fined $25,000 for improper supervision.

Dr. Ahmed advocates for a middle ground.

"Perhaps over time, NPs will be given greater autonomy, educational exposure and clinical expertise to bring them up to par with MDs for basic medical care," he wrote. "In the same breath, MDs might slowly transition into a more complicated clinical role. At the end of the day, it is about the patients."

He recommends nurse practitioners always identify themselves to patients as an NP, follow state requirements and respect physicians' work while demanding respect for their own credentials.
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has acquired five radiation oncology centers from GenesisCare, a cancer care services provider.

The centers are in Modesto, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Stockton and Templeton, all in California, and will benefit from the nonprofit, integrated health system's practices, additional cancer resources and technologies, according to a March 1 Sutter Health news release shared with Becker's.

"Keeping continued cancer care accessible in these communities was a driving force for Sutter to acquire these care centers," Warner Thomas, president and CEO of Sutter Health, said in the release. "We are excited for the promise these centers hold for existing patients and for those who may need this type of care in the future."

Many GenesisCare team members at the centers will be joining Sutter Health. Sutter has also identified future capital investments for the centers, which include new technologies and radiation oncology equipment, along with additional patient care support services.

Sutter Health comprises hospitals, medical groups, urgent care clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, home health and hospice services. It has more than 57,000 employees and clinicians, including more than 12,000 affiliated physicians.
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has started 2024 with a flurry of hospital sales.

The for-profit system announced Feb. 1 it completed its $2.4 billion sale of three South Carolina hospitals to Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health. Also that day, Tenet announced it reached a definitive agreement to sell four Southern California hospitals and associated outpatient locations to Orange, Calif.-based UCI Health for $975 million. That deal is expected to close in the spring.

"It is important to note that these sales were completed at very attractive EBITDA multiples, evidencing the strength of our assets and the quality of care they provide in their communities. Collectively, these transactions will substantially improve our leverage position," Tenet CEO Saum Sutaria, MD, said on the system's Feb. 8 earnings call.

On Feb. 29, Tenet announced it signed a definitive agreement to sell two California hospitals to Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health in a $550 million deal.

All three transactions involved agreements for Tenet's Conifer Health Solutions subsidiary to provide revenue cycle management services. Conifer will provide RCM services for 15 years to the three South Carolina hospitals sold to Novant. Tenet did not specify the details of the agreement with UCI Health, but Dr. Sutaria said on the earnings call that the deal includes a contract for Conifer services. Conifer also will enter an agreement to provide hospital and physician revenue cycle services for Adventist. Conifer will provide services for more than $3.5 billion in net revenue for the health system.
















Artificial intelligence is a big part of the hospital-at-home program at Orlando (Fla.) Health, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

AI helps determine which patients are the best fit for the care model and remotely monitors patients once they're admitted, alerting nurses when they need assistance, according to the Feb. 29 story.

"Could you do [hospital at home] without AI? Probably could, but I think you might not quite get the same scope and traction," Siddharaj Shah, MD, senior medical director for Orlando Health's hospital-at-home program, told the newspaper.

Some hospital-at-home leaders told Becker's for a December story that they were also looking at AI for patient identification. Orlando Health is one of the newer health systems to provide acute-level care at home, with its program launching in 2023.
From a Wisconsin judge denying a temporary injunction to delay the close of two Hospital Sisters Health System-owned hospitals to a Waterbury Hospital alleging she was fired for her age, here are 10 lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since Feb. 22:

1. Albany, N.Y.-based St. Peter's Health Partners and its Troy, N.Y.-based Samaritan Hospital filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James's office seeking relief from the court regarding the office's investigation into the hospital's planned closure of its Burdett Birth Center.

2. A lawsuit alleges that the University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center  the health science education branch of the university's Tyler campus  is fraudulently hiring physicians as medical school professors to protect them from lawsuits. These physicians allegedly are not working as professors for the university but are practicing within its for-profit health system, UT Health East Texas.

3. Two affiliate hospitals of Livonia, Mich.-based Trinity Health filed lawsuits against North American Partners in Anesthesia, alleging the group's noncompete clauses stifle competition and violate antitrust laws.

4. St. Charles Health System, a private, nonprofit system in Bend, Ore., is facing a lawsuit for allegedly denying charity care to eligible patients.

5. More than 20 hospitals and affiliated companies have united in multidistrict litigation that suggests in a complaint that drug distributors, pharmacies and other entities have contributed to the opioid epidemic, which has negatively affected hospital finances and strained patient aid capabilities.

6. St. Louis-based Ascension agreed to pay $2.6 million to settle a lawsuit brought by former employees who alleged that scanning their fingerprints violated their privacy.

7. A Wisconsin judge denied an orthopedic practice's request for a temporary injunction that sought to delay the closure of two Hospital Sisters Health System-owned hospitals in the state.

8. The estate of a man who died at Medford, Ore.-based Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in February 2022 filed an $11.5 million lawsuit against the health system and a former nurse, claiming the nurse's drug diversion led to a fatal infection.

9. A former Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital executive filed a lawsuit against her ex-employer alleging she was fired for her age.

10. A North Carolina federal court judge said the potential class of North Carolina health plans is permitted to proceed with its antitrust claims against Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.
Physicians in Alabama could be shielded from criminal or civil liability for performing in vitro fertilization procedures after the state's legislature passed a bill Feb. 29, The Washington Post reported.

The vote was nearly unanimous in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that classified frozen embryos as children. The decision initially led to nearly every IVF clinic and provider in the state halting procedures out of fears over possible legal repercussions for normal IVFphysician tasks like getting rid of non-viable or less optimal eggs.

The bill will protect clinicians from criminal or civil liability "for death or damage to an embryo to any individual or entity when providing or receiving goods or services related to in vitro fertilization," according to its text. The wording of the House and Senate bills, which differ slightly, must be reconciled before it goes to the governor's desk.
A Michigan surgeon was arrested Feb. 27 and charged with one count of a false report or threat of terrorism, a felony punishable by up to 20 years. The charge is related to alleged threats to staff at Ascension St. Mary's Hospital.

Court records allege that in January, Omar Marar, MD, 37, became upset over a CO2 tank malfunctioning in the operating room at the Ascension hospital in Saginaw, Mich. He grew more upset and allegedly threatened to "get his bomb belt and blow everyone up," according to court documents cited by local news outlets MLive and ABC affiliate WJRT.

Prosecutors wrote that several people who were present feared Dr. Marar would follow through on the threats. Court documents also referenced an incident in December 2022 in which the surgeon allegedly threatened to shoot himself as well as staff members when staff were not performing to his standards during a procedure.

Dr. Marar posted his bond and was released shortly after his arraignment Feb. 28. He was ordered not to have contact with three specific employees at the hospital as part of his bond conditions.

"We are fully cooperating with law enforcement officials in their investigation," an Ascension spokesperson said in a statement Feb. 29. "Ascension St. Mary's Hospital is committed to providing a healing, safe environment for all, and aggressive behavior is not tolerated."

The system did not address whether Dr. Marar was still providing services at St. Mary's. The surgeon's attorney told local news outlets he is pleading not guilty.
Fall of 2023 was the first time a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus became available for those most at risk, but now data shows the shots may have caused a few cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, The New York Times reported March 1.

"At this point, due to the uncertainties and limitations, these early data cannot establish if there is an increased risk for GBS after vaccination in this age group," Thomas Shimabukuro, MD, the director of the CDC's Immunization Safety Office said during a Feb. 29 briefing.

The CDC's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system revealed 37 preliminary reports of adverse effects from RSV vaccines, 23 of which were verified by medical records. Pfizer's Abrysvo vaccine was linked to 15 of those reports and GSK's Arexvy vaccination was linked to eight, according to the Times.

Health officials acknowledged that while cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome caused by the vaccines are rare, ongoing surveillance and monitoring will be important to continue.

"I will say that these rates are higher than rates that we've observed for high-dose influenza and for Shingrix," Dr. Shimabukuro told the Times, adding that the data shows there were around three more cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome than anticipated per 1 million doses of Abrysvo.

"Due to the small number of GBS cases and size of the prelicensure studies, it is not known at this time whether these GBS cases or other neuroinflammatory events occurred due to random chance, or whether RSV vaccination might increase the risk of these events," a slide from the Feb. 29 meeting reads.

Overall, the benefits of vaccines still outweigh the adverse effects and risks, officials told The Times. For each 1 million doses of RSV vaccines given to adults over 65 years old, the vaccines help prevent an estimated 25,000 outpatient visits, 2,500 hospitalizations and around 130 deaths, the outlet reported in July.
State Rep. Jarvis Johnson, one of six Democrats running to succeed Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate, chats with potential voters while block-walking in the Heights on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Jasper Scherer Democrat Molly Cook, an ER nurse and one of six Democrats running to succeed Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate, chats with a potential voter while block-walking in Acres Homes on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024. Jasper Scherer Yard signs for Molly Cook, one of six Democrats running to succeed Mayor John Whitmire in the Texas Senate, and Amanda Edwards, a former Houston council member mounting a primary challenger to U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, are pictured in the Heights on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Jasper Scherer Candidates on the Democratic ballot of U.S. Representatives TX-18 district, incumbent Sheila Jackson Lee, right, and challenger Amanda Edwards discuss their differences in front of the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Todd Litton on Sept. 23, 2018, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff photographer Attorney Alberto Beto Cardenas has filed his candidacy to run for the Texas State Senate. Alberto Cardenas Karthik Soora, candidte for Texas state senate district 15, speaks during a protest against SB 147 outside Sen. Lois Kolkhorsts office Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Katy. Kolkhorst is the author of the bill. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Michelle Bonton Jill Karnicki/Staff photographer

For the last 30 years, as Harris County politics saw transformational change and churned through thousands of politicians, two things seemed preordained: Voters would return John Whitmire to Austin and Sheila Jackson Lee to Washington, D.C.

That run came to an end in December when Whitmire trounced Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral election, leaving his Texas Senate seat vacant for the first time in decades.

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It also put Jackson Lees future in doubt for the first time since she was elected to Congress in 1994. The longtime Democrat, bruised by a landslide defeat, promptly filed for another congressional term only to find herself fighting for political survival against fellow Democrat Amanda Edwards, the former Houston council member whom she had effectively elbowed out of the mayors race months earlier.

The falling dominoes have produced two of the hottest primary races in Harris County and offered Democratic voters in those districts a rare dose of competition  particularly where the two seats overlap in northwest Houston and unincorporated parts of north Harris County.

The effects have even rippled into a local House district, represented by Democrat Jarvis Johnson, who is running to succeed Whitmire instead of seeking reelection to the lower chamber. That seat, too, has seen turnover only once since the 1980s: when Johnson replaced 27-year incumbent Sylvester Turner upon Turners elevation to mayor in 2016.

That means thousands of voters north of the Loop and between U.S. 290 and Interstate 45, a Democratic stronghold that includes Acres Homes and Oak Forest, will pick new representation in both chambers of the Legislature this year, while also helping decide a barn burner between their longtime representative in Congress and her former intern-turned-political rival.

Even with an onslaught of campaign mail and yard signs peppering the districts, few voters appear to be seizing the opportunity. With early voting ending Friday in the primaries  the contests that will effectively decide who represents the three heavily Democratic districts  just 166,000 voters had turned out for either partys primary across Harris County through Thursday, or around 6% of more than 2.6 million registered voters.

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In Jackson Lees congressional district, nearly 24,000 people had voted in the Democratic or Republican primary, out of nearly 410,000 registered voters, resulting in a turnout of about 6%.

I think the general vibe is a little down, said Molly Cook, an emergency room nurse and one of six Democrats running to succeed Whitmire. I think everybody kind of feels that.

The stakes are high in all three primaries because it can be hard to uproot incumbents once theyre in office.

Whitmire was first elected to the Senate in 1982. When he defeated Cook two years ago by about 17 percentage points, it was his narrowest win since the early 1990s. Jackson Lee, meanwhile, went without a primary challenger in 10 of her 14 reelection bids before this year  suggesting Edwards, 42, could keep a similarly durable grasp on the seat if she wins Tuesday.

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In Texas, particularly in the Democratic Party, theres a tremendous incumbency advantage, said Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University. Elected officials tend to support other elected officials, and the Austin lobby and big donors tend to support the incumbents.

But with little intrigue atop the ticket  aside from a sleepy race to decide who will take on U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz  down-ballot candidates are left to whip up most of the turnout on their own. That can feel like an uphill battle with an electorate that is more attuned to the November presidential election than the relatively obscure legislative races taking place barely two months after New Years.

Cook got a flavor of this on a recent round of block-walking through Acres Homes, when she encountered several people hanging outside the Grab & GO convenience store on De Priest Street. As she distributed her campaign literature to the prospective voters, Cook asked if anyone planned to vote in the primary.

A few seconds of silence passed. One person said no, another responded by complimenting her tattoo. A third asked Cook if she was going for Joe Biden again?

Im going for Molly Cook for Texas Senate, thats what Im going for, she answered with a laugh.

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In Jackson Lees primary, Jones said, some less engaged voters may be wondering, after two rounds of mayoral voting, why they are being asked to vote for her for the third time in four months.

What tends to happen in these low-turnout elections is, the campaigns go for the low-hanging fruit  the people with a history of voting in party primaries, Jones said.

Many of those are hard-core voters who turned out for the mayoral election and are going to vote rain or shine, regardless of whats going on, he added. But theres probably some fatigue among other voters who say, Didnt I do this once in November, once in December already?

The race to succeed Whitmire is all but certain to head to a May runoff between the top two finishers. With the vote divided among six candidates, nobody is expected to reach the majority needed to win Tuesdays election outright. The Democratic primary to replace Johnson offers a similar outlook, with five Democratic hopefuls.

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Turnout can be especially paltry in House and Senate primary runoffs. In May 2016, when Johnson won the nomination for his first full House term, about 2,900 people turned out  3.2% of the districts registered voters.

Ive got the skill set

In Whitmires old district, the Democratic candidates have focused on a similar slate of liberal priorities, led by abortion rights and pumping more money into the states beleaguered public education system.

The only public polling on the race has shown Cook and Johnson tied atop the field with 18% support. Todd Litton, an attorney-mediator who ran for Congress against Dan Crenshaw in 2018, narrowly trailed with 14%.

Three other candidates  attorney Beto Cardenas, renewable energy developer Karthik Soora and charter school leader Michelle Bonton  each trailed with 6% or less.

Johnson argued that his experience in Austin sets him apart from a field with few ideological disparities.

This is not the time to have people training in the Senate to try to figure out what politics is all about, he said. Unfortunately, none of my opponents have ever worked one day in somebodys (legislative) office, let alone been an elected official and had relationships.

Cook said she sees that as a little bit of a tired argument. In a nod to her medical background, which she has also emphasized in her campaign ads, Cook said the Senate should look like a healthy nursing unit, with a mix of new, midlevel and experienced nurses.

Experienced nurses can train young nurses, Cook said. They also may be a little set in their ways and tend to cut some corners over time.

She argued that she is well versed in the legislative process too, pointing to a new law she advocated for last year that cracks down on a loophole certain corporations use to secure tax breaks on market-rate apartment units.

Litton said his experience resolving disputes as a mediator  along with leading various nonprofits and working in investments  would help him connect with people who see things differently in a Senate dominated by Republicans.

Its like, how do you look at problems and try to reach solutions and bring people to table and look at it in different ways? Litton said. I think Ive got the skill set and experience that can help us get there.

Johnson, who has not shied from speaking his mind on the House floor, said its crazy town in the Senate under its leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and youve got to bring a strong voice to fight back. He argued that its possible to take that approach while also being open and honest so that Patrick and other Republicans know what theyre getting.

I believe in decorum. I believe in being respectful, Johnson said. But it comes a point where you cant be rational with irrational people. I cant have decorum and call you sir, when youre calling me out by name. And Im gonna bring that heat if you bring that funk.

Beyond the candidates backgrounds, voters are also likely to weigh factors like race, ethnicity and gender when they head to the polls.

In the Senate primary poll, Johnson dominated among Black voters with 43% support, more than the others combined. Jones said Johnson would be aided by the overlapping congressional primary, in which Edwards and Jackson Lee are both looking to turn out their own bases of Black voters.

Cardenas, meanwhile, is the only Latino candidate in a district where about 28% of the voting-age population is Hispanic, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In the primary poll, however, Jones and co-author Renee Cross, senior executive director of the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs, estimated that Latino voters would make up about 15% of the Democratic primary electorate.

Soora, a former chemistry teacher and the son of Indian immigrants, has noted that he would be the first Indian American  and the first member of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community  to serve in the Texas Senate.

Cook is helped, Jones said, by being the only viable woman in the race with an electorate that is somewhere between 57% and 60% female.

Some of Littons strongest support in the poll came from older white voters, and its not clear if he can turn out enough of them in order to get elected, Jones said.

Litton said hes not concerned about his status as the only white male in the race. He has touted his endorsements from the Harris County Tejano Democrats and the Harris County chapter of the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats

The work is to represent every person in the district, Litton said. Hopefully people will see and understand that Im serious about that.
Once eliminated from the U.S., measles appears to be making a comeback, with 41 cases reported so far in 2024. That amount is already more than half of the total number of cases reported in 2023, according to CDC data.

While it is not the largest outbreak in recent history, the continuing trend of fewer parents deciding to vaccinate their children against the virus is causing concern among health experts.

The amount of cases already showing up as of Feb. 22 led Lori Handy, MD, associate director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, to predict more may be on the horizon.

"It's always challenging to predict how a disease will spread in a given year, but current vaccination rates of U.S. kindergarteners raise concern that we will see increased outbreaks instead of isolated cases," Dr. Handy told JAMA in a Feb. 28 article.

Experts worry that if the trend continues, herd immunity will drop below the level needed to maintain it and avoid additional outbreaks. And some epidemiologists are not so sure that clinicians are prepared for these pop-up outbreaks.

You can't detect what you don't understand

Since measles was eradicated from the U.S. at one point, many newer nurses and physicians may not know what its presentation looks like outside of a textbook, Thomas Talbot, MD, chief hospital epidemiologist at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center and president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, told Becker's.

Because of this, clinical leaders should prioritize doubling down on education about the virus and infection control procedures.

Even a single case is worrisome due to the virus's extremely contagious nature. According to the CDC, 20% of cases in unvaccinated individuals result in hospitalization, and 9 of every 10 unvaccinated individuals exposed to measles will also be infected.

"We still have a fairly immune population in the U.S. so I'm not as worried about a big wave of measles cases creating a surge in hospitalizations," Dr. Talbot said. "To me, though, the concern within a healthcare system is having a case introduced that people don't recognize and then spread within that healthcare facility.  A lot of clinicians, the only place they have seen measles is in a textbook or when they were in training. They haven't seen it in the patient."

Even throughout his own 25-year career, Dr. Talbot has only seen two cases of measles in person.

To be proactive in the midst of likely increasing pop-up cases of measles throughout the U.S., Dr. Talbot says hospital leaders should make sure clinicians are educated about measles and its presentation in patients; create an easy, streamlined way for nurses and physicians to order measles tests; make sure healthcare staff have received an MMR vaccine themselves; and, when in doubt or if suspecting a case of measles, isolate the patient as soon as possible, just in case.

"It's still low likelihood that folks in healthcare will see a case of measles, but when we have these outbreaks, that likelihood starts to climb," Dr. Talbot said, "and you don't want to be the healthcare facility where you don't see that measles case come in, and then you suddenly have more than one."

Waning vaccine uptake

Vaccines are also a crucial component of measles prevention, but more and more are turning away from the healthcare practice. During the 2022-2023 school year, vaccine exemptions among school age children increased in 40 states, according to a CDC report. For the 2022-2023 school year, vaccination coverage for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) was 93.1%  a 2% drop from the year prior.

Messaging is an important piece of discussing why measles vaccines are important to uptake, but marketing and messaging campaigns for COVID-19 vaccines fell flat, and it's important for infectious disease physicians and epidemiologists to find an approach that will work with the public, Dr. Talbot told Becker's.

"I think there's a lot of dialogue on vaccine hesitancy and how we really need to change our approach and our messaging to fit in, listening to the other side's messages, while still staying true to the science," Dr. Talbot said. "You don't want to make bold statements. Then we must make sure that we message it in a way that people receive it and that resonates with them, just like the anti-vax messages are resonating. I don't think we've really succeeded in that."
Fremont, Calif., is the happiest city in the U.S. and Detroit is the least happy, according to an analysis released Feb. 27 by personal finance website WalletHub.

To determine the nation's happiest cities, analysts compared more than 180 of the largest U.S. cities across 29 metrics. Metrics pertained to three key dimensions  emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment  and ranged from the depression rate to average leisure time spent per day. Read more about the methodology here.

Here are the 10 happiest cities, according to the analysis:

1. Fremont, Calif.

2. Overland Park, Kan.

3. San Jose, Calif.

4. Madison, Wis.

5. Irvine, Calif.

6. Honolulu

7. San Francisco

8. Pearl City, Hawaii

9. Columbia, Md.

10. Scottsdale, Ariz.

Here are the 10 least happy cities, according to the analysis:

1. Detroit

2. Cleveland

3. Montgomery, Ala.

4. Birmingham, Ala.

5. Shreveport, La.

6. Huntington, W.Va.

7. Toledo, Ohio

8. Jackson, Miss.

9. Mobile, Ala.

10. Akron, Ohio
Nearly two dozen universities have promised to meet 100% of their undergraduates' financial needs without loans, CNBC reported Feb. 28.

The universities  all on the Princeton Review's list of the "389 best colleges," and largely located on the East Coast  have completely eliminated student loans from their financial aid packages. But that doesn't mean their education will be completely free. Students might still have to pay for an expected family contribution, books and other fees  and depending on the school, they might be required to participate in a work study.

"Post-Covid, more schools are rolling out no-loan policies mostly on the back of Princeton, which had the money in its endowment to do something," Menaka Hampole, PhD, an assistant professor of finance at New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Management, told CNBC. "Princeton takes the lead and other schools follow suit  but it's the top universities that can afford to do this."

Ms. Hampole added that these universities, including Yale, are "giving [no-loan packages] out like candy now."

One such university is Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., where families with household incomes up to $200,000 have their financial needs met through grants and work study  no loans attached. Though national college enrollment has been declining since COVID-19, the no-loan policy has helped Lafayette gain new applicants, according to Forrest Stuart, PhD, its vice president for enrollment management.

"Typically, you will see a fairly sizable increase in the number of admissions applications [with a no-loan policy]," Mr. Stuart said. "It puts your school on the map. The more you can have your name out there, the more robust class we can put together."

Student debt has been a topic of national discussion as President Joe Biden continues to forgive billions of dollars in loans. Healthcare has a particularly concerning debt-to-income ratio; a recent survey from Laurel Road found that nurses' student debt loan amounts to 50% of their annual income before taxes, and physicians' debt comprises 58% of their annual income before taxes. Montefiore's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City recently announced that it would offer free tuition in perpetuity following a $1 billion gift from Ruth Gottesman, EdD, chair of its board of trustees.

"This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it," Yaron Tomer, MD, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at Einstein, said in a news release shared with Becker's.

These 23 universities have committed to fully meeting students' calculated financial needs sans loans, according to CNBC:
Bundled payments can be used as an alternative to fee-for-service in spine surgery. Some spine surgeons believe in their potential for patient access, while others are more cautious about the arrangement.

Five spine surgeons discuss bundled payments in the industry and where they can go in the future.

Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity.

Question: Can spine bundles attract more surgeons, practices?

Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (West Bloomfield, Mich.): By offering bundled payment options for spine surgeries, ASCs can provide a more transparent and cost-effective option for both patients and providers. This can help increase patient volume and revenue for the ASC, while also attracting surgeons who are looking for streamlined payment models and increased efficiency in their practice. Additionally, spine bundles can help promote collaboration between surgeons, anesthesiologists and other healthcare providers, leading to better outcomes for patients.

Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: I am not sure if "attract" is the right word. At some point, I am fairly certain we as surgeons may be forced to accept bundled payments. I think if that does happen it is a devastating mistake for the healthcare system. Surgeons will undoubtedly find better ways to make a living than taking calls at acute care hospitals. It will be a shameful moment for everyone. The best way going forward, rather than doing bundled payments and asking the foxes to guard the henhouse, is to enforce antitrust legislation, undo the exemptions from the law for monopolies that insurance companies enjoy, and pay reasonable rates. The only entity bundled payments will save money is the insurance companies. I for one do not believe hospitals and healthcare systems as they are can dutifully and ethically disperse payments appropriately. There is too much temptation for them to create new ways to not pay physicians.

Richard Kube II, MD. Prairie Spine & Pain Institute (Peoria, Ill.): Spine bundles have never had a problem attracting doctors. I've been in this space for several years, and my experience is the challenges occur on the buyer side of the equation. I believe Keith Smith, MD, and Jay Kempton, founders of the Free Market Medical Association, would generally agree. Once self-funded, self-insured businesses realize they essentially function as cash buyers, they can take on a true consumer role for their companies and those they employ. Operating using cash bundles is the least time-consuming work that I do. There is no one between me and the patient. Payment occurs immediately and without hassle. I do not know any physicians with an aching desire to do more utilization reviews or hire more billing and collections personnel. If the cases are there, the providers will come. I have exclusively worked out of an ambulatory setting for almost 10 years as a spine surgeon. Other than deformity, there aren't any cases we refer, so the average community surgeon can easily transition to this model once comfortable in the outpatient setting.

What is needed is for the employer consumers to wake up to the realization of the vast sums of money they leave on the table annually. They must start asking how everyone in the room gets paid. This is the first question to ask any broker. Metrics in the insurance/broker world are not aligned with cost containment for the employer. Employers must look at their data. If they can't get data from their broker, it's time to fire the broker. The ball is in the consumer court so to speak. Based upon EOBs we have in our office, we save employers an average of $80,000 to $85,000 per spine surgery, and that is compared to their in network rate at the local hospital. If implants are used that number is into six-figures per surgery. If businesses are looking for ways to improve their bottom line, this is a no brainer. There are free market general surgery, and orthopedic surgery out there as well as spine surgery like myself and Surgery Center of Oklahoma City. My business uses free market concepts for our staff. My family and I use it too. We are far happier with the care. Even though my business now covers all employee health membership as well as DPC, including family, we spend $100k less annually for healthcare today than we did when we switched in 2019.

As businesses choose to become educated and to keep their money instead of handing it willingly to the broker/BUCA cartel, bundled markets will grow. There are already medical professionals waiting.

Vladimir Sinkov, MD. Sinkov Spine (Las Vegas): While spine surgery "bundles" may initially sound like a good idea by providing a predictable level of reimbursement for spine surgeons, one must keep in mind the original intent of such arrangements. The main reason the insurance companies are willing to create and pay for bundles is to transfer the risk of excessive costs from themselves to entities willing to accept such arrangements. Their goal is to save money, not "reward doctors for better care." By accepting bundled payment arrangements, spine surgeons accept the risks of excessive financial losses associated with complications or poor outcomes, which are quite often beyond the surgeon's control. One of the ways the surgeons might mitigate that risk is to offer surgeries in "bundled" situations only to patients who are very unlikely to have complications or poor outcomes. This would inevitably result in potentially denying medically necessary surgical interventions to patients with greater than average risk factors. I would strongly recommend for a surgeon or a practice to carefully examine their "bundle" contract before signing to understand which risks they are accepting in exchange for predictable payments.

Christian Zimmerman, MD. St. Alphonsus Medical Group and SAHS Neuroscience Institute (Boise, Idaho): Yes and No. Spine bundled payments, likened to orthopedic episode-based payment or packaged pricing, are a single payment based on expected costs/outcomes for clinically-defined segments of deliverable care.

Typically, spine bundled payments typically cover a sixty-day global period, facility fee, physicians fees, anesthesiology, instrumentation costs, pain management and rehabilitation and post-operative care. Any excesses or additional risks are absorbed by the surgeon/organization. Enhanced economies of scale are added with implant savings and more rigid regimens. Ease of practice and logistics are apparent.

The idea of "all in one" packaging effort is more the nouveaux standard of care, there persists some ASC's with additional balance billing practices which are soon to be eliminated in my opinion.
Private equity has remained a hot topic in and outside of healthcare, but what role should it play in orthopedics?

Two orthopedic surgeons connected with Becker's to discuss the role private equity should play in orthopedics.

Ask Orthopedic Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting orthopedic care. We invite all orthopedic surgeon and specialist responses.

Next question: What will the orthopedic industry look like 50 years from now?

Please send responses to Riz Hatton at rhatton@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CST Thursday, March. 7.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Nicholas Grosso, MD. President of the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics (Bethesda, Md.): Private equity hasn't been involved in medicine for all that long. We began to see private equity make its way into healthcare in the late '90s and early 2000s, mainly in the dermatology and ophthalmology space. Today, private equity, whether you like it or not, is here to stay  at least for the near future. The real question is to what extent it will affect healthcare in general, specifically orthopedics. It is important to note that private equity has a single agenda, which is to make a profit. Their priorities are not to provide the best care for patients or make doctors happy. Their agenda is solely to maximize the return on investment.

Unfortunately, many groups go with private equity because of its ease and financial stability.

While I am an advocate of private practice medicine, my viewpoint does not stand alone. An article published in Bloomberg in May of 2020 was titled "How Private Equity is Ruining Healthcare." The article cites an example that shows how private equity's involvement with dermatology in California caused one of the biggest dermatology groups in the state to go bankrupt and dissolve. More recently, The Washington Post and The New York Times wrote about the link between private equity dominance in the market to higher prices of care in the anesthesiology and gastroenterology spaces.

Lastly, I am not a fan of private equity in medicine because physicians  are truly committed to providing value-based care, reducing costs, improving efficiency and improving outcomes. Private equity is all about maximizing profits for its investors. I don't see how the two agendas can be reconciled.

I have real concerns with private equity being involved in medicine. Private equity is fine in other industries, but medicine is a bit different than manufacturing widgets. I believe that for the long-term health of orthopedics, and healthcare in general, it is important for physicians to maintain control.

Scott Sigman, MD. Founder and Chief Medical Officer of OrthoLazer Orthopedic Laser Centers (Chelmsford, Mass.): Healthcare consolidation of all types is occurring at a remarkable pace. The question is why are successful orthopedic practices joining managerial service organizations that are backed by private equity?

1. Solidarity against healthcare consolidation.

2. Shared best practices.

3. Scalable expense reduction.

4. Equity in your practice and your future.

5. Liquidity to expand.

These basic principles are what is driving highly regarded orthopedic practices to band together under one umbrella. All private equity-backed platforms are not equal. Culture is king. It is important to do your due diligence if considering joining.
William Doran, DO, orthopedic surgeon and joint replacement specialist at TidalHealth Orthopedics in Seaford, Del., has completed 1,000 joint replacements using Stryker's Mako robot, according to a Feb. 29 report from the Daily State News.

He is the first surgeon in Delaware to reach the milestone and was an early pioneer of the Mako robot in the region.

Since introducing Mako at the health system in 2018, he has performed more robotic procedures than any other surgeon in the state, according to the report.

The robot allows surgeons better accuracy and control and better outcomes for patients. At his current rate, Dr. Doran is on track to complete 2,000 Mako procedures by early 2025, he told the State News.
A jury awarded a Texas man, who was left a paraplegic after spine surgery, $6.2 million, according to his lawyers.

Mark Silver, MD, performed an elective lumbar spine procedure for Bill Proctor in 2018, the law offices of Laird & McCloskey said in a Feb. 29 news release. Mr. Proctor had surgery to address chronic lower back pain, but Dr. Silver overly stretched or compressed nerves affecting mobility.

Mr. Proctor filed a lawsuit in 2020 that also alleged the surgical team with Advanced Intra-Operative Monitoring Specialists didn't properly perform neuromonitoring procedures to detect changes in nerve conduction to avoid permanent injury.

Jurors found Dr. Silver was 60% responsible for the injuries, and under Texas law he is being held accountable for all damages.

Attorneys for Dr. Silver filed a motion asking the court to enter a judgment in favor of evidence in the trial, according to a March 4 statement shared with Becker's.

"The evidence and testimony during the trial clearly showed that Dr. Silver was not notified of changes in the patients condition during the operation," the statement said. "It is important to note that Mr. Proctor settled with other parties in the case."

Note: This article was updated March 4 to include a statement from Dr. Silver's defense attorneys.
Future targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions should not be loosened, the UKs independent climate advisers have warned (Gareth Fuller/PA)

SSE, the regions largest provider of natural gas, will reduce its prices by 22.8%, saving a typical household customer around 320 a year.

Power NI also announced on Friday that its prices will fall by 6.3%  2p per unit, saving customers 64 per year on average.

New tariffs will come into effect from April 1.

Todays cut is the fourth consecutive decrease by Power NI.

It previously announced a 7.1% decrease in electricity prices last June, following a review by the Utility Regulator. This followed a March 2023 announcement that its domestic electricity tariff would be reduced by 16.2% (6.61p per unit).

Read more Risky regional rates tactic may well result in drastic measures later on

Colin Broomfield, director of markets at the Utility Regulator, said: While this is good news for consumers, we recognise that many households and businesses are still struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council, said the tariff decreases were welcome news, indicating a downward trend in wholesale energy prices.

"We work closely with the Utility Regulator and regulated supply companies to help protect and support consumers during price increases and we also ensure that that any cost savings are passed onto consumers as soon as possible during price decreases.

We know from our research that most consumers in Northern Ireland are still really worried about home energy prices. We urge anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills or top-up their meters to contact their supplier directly for help and support.

William Steele, director of Power NI customer solutions, said: As wholesale prices in the global market have fallen, Power NI has been able to deliver yet another decrease in unit prices for our customers, with our fourth consecutive tariff reduction.

Despite market volatility we have been able to keep our tariffs below the equivalent GB and RoI average, enabling us to continue to provide stability and delivering hundreds of pounds in savings for local households over the last year.

Mr Steele added: We are continuing to work closely with our charity partners and other key stakeholders across our local communities to provide support to those in need.

We have a range of support available from tariff advice to energy saving tips and account support, so if anyone is worried about paying bills, please contact us directly, we are here to help.

Andrew Greer, SSE Airtricity general manager said: Im pleased to be sharing this good news with our customers today.

"We know energy costs are a primary concern for customers across Northern Ireland, and that wholesale market volatility has impacted households and business so this price reduction will no doubt provide some welcome relief.

However, we recognise that energy costs will remain difficult for many customers, so, as well as reducing prices whenever we can, we also work with customers to offer additional support and services.

Despite tariff reductions from suppliers, households have nonetheless faced increases in their bills since last summer. The government's Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) formerly meant a typical household's annual gas and electricity bill had been 2,100, but it expired in June last year.

An announcement about Firmus Energys regulated gas tariff will be made next week.
The Texas Supreme Court hears arguments in a 2018 case. On Monday, attorneys for CPS Energy and a Dallas-based power generator argued to the justices that the states grid operator doesnt have sovereign immunity from civil lawsuits. Spencer Selvidge for the San Antonio Express News / Spencer Selvidge for the San Antonio Express News

In the Republican primary for a position on the Texas Supreme Court, one candidate paid an investigator thousands of dollars to produce a video about his opponents allegedly dodgy ethics.

In the Democratic primary for an appeals court seat, the incumbent says he is the victim of a damaging robocall campaign tied to a litigious local developer who wants to unseat him because of an unfavorable ruling. His opponent has suggested he is a racist.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton has unleashed an aggressive and derogatory campaign to replace judges on states highest criminal court who ruled against his office. One of his preferred candidates has been called out for a judges ruling that he defaulted on his home mortgage.

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Welcome to the new rough-and-tumble era of high-court judicial politics. Once stuffy affairs in which aspiring judges pursued the bench with noble, if vague campaigns about trust and experience, contests for Texas most powerful judicial seats have become increasingly infused with the hardball tactics more common to bitter legislative races.

Texas is one of only seven states that elects judges at all levels, a system the states Supreme Court chief justices have regularly railed against as corrosive and corrupting. To a degree, all judges must become politicians.

Our system is bad, said Wallace Jefferson, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 2004 to 2013. If you have a bad system, its difficult to blame the participants for utilizing it.

Yet while judges behaving politically isnt new, he added, I do think its getting worse.

Mark Jones, a Rice University political scientist, said one reason is the increasing importance of the party primaries. With most judicial districts having clear party majorities, more is at stake in the primaries than in the general.

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And primary battles in recent years have been dominated by ideological extremes on both sides. So it was only a matter of time before judicial elections became more like others, Jones said. That is especially true in Texas this year, where the dominant Republican Party has fractured into open warfare with itself over private school vouchers and Paxtons impeachment last year.

Candidates and political influencers also have discovered judicial primaries can be swung with little effort, Jones added. Because most primary candidates qualifications blend together for voters  they are of the same party, they are lawyers, state law requires everyone to have 10 years of experience  separating yourself from your opponent often is as easy as deploying one or two tidbits of sticky information.

The first time most primary voters see the name of a judicial candidate is when theyre voting, Jones said. So anything you can do to push them to vote one way or another helps.

Michelle Slaughter, one of the incumbent justices being targeted by Paxton, said that sounded familiar.

Weve had to defend against all of this misinformation and outright lies, she said. Its unlike any primary Ive ever seen when it comes to a judicial race.

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New era of judicial politics

Though they may like to see themselves as Solomonic readers of the law presiding above the fray, judges have been yanked into the middle of the countrys bitterly divided politics. Former President Donald Trump blasts those hearing his cases as crooked and politically motivated. A flurry of news reports linked Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to Republican moneymen.

In Houston, Crime Stoppers and Fox News host Breaking Bond, in which judges are blamed for releasing offenders who committed additional crimes. Gov. Greg Abbott last year appointed one of the hosts to a position on the states Commission on Judicial Conduct, which investigates complaints.

This new era of judicial politics is here to stay, concluded a recent report by New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice, which monitors the skyrocketing spending in state supreme court races.

Over the years, political tactics have occasionally filtered into Texas judicial races. Thomas Phillips, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1988 to 2004, recalled his campaign did not shy away from highlighting selected clips from an infamous 60 Minutes segment called Justice for Sale? featuring his opponent. I didnt hide that under a bushel barrel, he conceded.

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As one of only a small handful of states to elect most of its judges, Texas has regularly flirted with reform. When partisan politics is the driving force and the political climate is as harsh as ours has become, judicial elections make judges more political, and judicial independence is the casualty, the Texas Supreme Courts current chief justice, Nathan Hecht, warned the Legislature in 2019. Make no mistake: A judicial selection system that continues to sow the political wind will reap the whirlwind.

The following year, the Texas Commission on Judicial Selection, which conducted exhaustive research, held public hearings and consulted with experts, unanimously concluded the states judicial selection system was bad. But members disagreed about how to fix it. Some, for example, preferred a nonpartisan appointment system, with public elections being held only to retain or remove a judge.

Jones, who participated in the process, speculated the main sticking point was politics. With each party enjoying judicial domination in its own realm  statewide judgeships go to Republicans, benches in large Texas cities are filled with Democrats  neither was ready to cede any advantage.

So instead of sweeping reforms, state lawmakers last year passed a modest bill. It requires candidates for appellate-level judicial positions to fill out a minimal job application, listing their basic qualifications for the technical job.

For interested voters, however, the new information is not so easy to find, said George Christian, senior counsel for the Texas Civil Justice League, which supported the law. The completed forms are kept at state and local political party headquarters. But Christian said few of the officials hes reached out to have responded to his requests for copies of the filings.

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For a law promoted to help citizens select judicial candidates, its pretty ridiculous, he said.

Still, supporters said they hoped eventually getting such information in front of voters might at least make judicial selection more about qualifications than the free-floating scraps of information that often inform such races, such as a candidates familiar-ish-sounding name or gender.

The form is being used for the first time this year, so its unclear how many voters consulted it. But candidates themselves already have turned to it seeking political advantage.

Campaign allegations

In January, Peter Kelly, seeking reelection to the 1st Court of Appeals, which covers Harris and its surrounding counties, filed a writ seeking to remove his opponent in the Democratic primary. Amber Michele Boyd-Cora, he wrote, was misleading voters by exaggerating her experience on the new form.

It was one of two Harris County challenges against Black women candidates leveraging the new form. Boyd-Cora has dismissed the allegations, which were tossed by the Texas Supreme Court, as nitpicking. Her lawyer Lloyd E. Kelley has said they were racially motivated; her opponent is white.

The Texas Democratic Party is trying to resurrect the white Primary by using the subjective test to disqualify Black candidates, Kelley said, referring to the new form.

Kelly denies it and has asserted instead that he is the victim of an ongoing campaign by a local developer to oust judges who ruled against his business interests. Suspiciously, Kelly said, his office recently has been contacted by confused constituents reporting a caller who informed them Kelly had issued warrants for their arrest for missing jury duty.

It was mind-boggling, recalled a 63-year-old Realtor who received one of the calls. Ive only done jury duty once. More relevant: Appellate judges dont hear jury cases.

Lee Amador, a deputy constable who looked into the incident, said it sounded like a catfishing scheme, in which a caller uses fake information to talk people out of their money. To Kellys lawyer, Susan Hays, it sounded more like dirty campaigning.

Of all the people for a scammer to impersonate, Why pick the name of an obscure appeals judge? she said, noting the system incentivizes such tactics. The dynamics of judicial elections are such that a single pissed-off litigant with money can clean slate.

Boyd-Cora had nothing to do with that, her attorney said.

One level up in the judicial hierarchy, Brian Walker, a Fort Worth appeals court judge, is running to unseat Supreme Court Justice John Devine. He has accused Devine and his wife of mishandling the legal guardianship of a former tea party activist who has dementia. Walker said he hired Wayne Dolcefino, a Houston private investigator, to look into the matter.

In his resulting report, Dolcefino said Devine was violating a rule in the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct that forbids judges from acting as a trustee to the estate of a non-family member. He and Walker have also questioned the sale of jewelry and other items from the estate.

The guy just lacks an ethical compass, Walker said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board.

Devine did not respond to a request for comment. He told Dolcefino that hes not breaking any rules because he considers the woman to be like family.

Shes held me out to be her son for 30 years, he said.

Devine, meanwhile, has attacked his colleagues, calling them brainwashed for focusing too much on legal procedure in cases important to conservatives, according to a leaked audio recording obtained by the Texas Tribune.

Across the aisle, at the states highest criminal court Paxton has been scorching earth around three fellow Republican members of the Court of Criminal Appeals who ruled with the majority in 2021 that the Office of the Attorney General was barred from taking the lead on election fraud cases, one of Paxtons pet projects.

In retaliation, Paxton has rallied to unseat Presiding Judge Sharon Keller and Judges Barbara Hervey and Michelle Slaughter, all fellow Republicans. Paxton has suggested, without evidence, that the three were installed by Democratic funder George Soros. His ads were paid for by a political action committee funded in part by the billionaire far-right bankroller Wilks family.

Earlier this week, Trump, Paxtons political ally, endorsed the attorney generals picks to replace the three justices.

Stepping down from the hush of the bench to respond, his targets say they have been forced to push back. Keller called Paxtons campaign misinformation; Hervey labeled it pathetic.

Typically in judicial races, Slaughter said, we try not to say a whole lot other than our judicial philosophy and experience and that sort of thing because we are bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct. But in this one, Ive found myself having to say a lot just to try to help voters understand whats happening, and that we are being attacked baselessly.

Part of that defense has included pointing out a district judges ruling against her opponent, Collin County attorney Lee Finley, which found he and his wife defaulted on their mortgage on a home they share. Theyve been ordered to pay nearly a half-million-dollar judgment. Finley, who did not respond to a request for comment, has appealed, arguing the mortgage company was to blame.
Asda has revealed a pay rise for more than 120,000 workers ahead of changes to the national minimum wage (Richard Walker/Asda/PA)

Asda has said it will invest 150 million into giving more than 120,000 staff an 8.4% pay rise.

The UKs third largest supermarket chain said it will increase basic pay for retail workers to 12.04 an hour later this year, with those at stores inside the M25 receiving 13.21.

It is the latest supermarket group to hike pay rates, ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage in April.

The national minimum wage will increase from its current rate of 10.42 to 11.44 on April 1.

Asda currently pays an hourly rate of 11.11 to staff, with that increased to 12.28 within the M25.

It said it will give staff an interim increase to the new national minimum wage in April, with those inside the M25 receiving 12.61, before it launches the larger pay deal in July.

Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, is recommending members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on March 15.

Mohsin Issa, Asda co-owner, said: This record investment will see Asda become the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day.

We want to be a company that people are proud to work for, which is why we are proposing increasing pay for retail and Express colleagues by more than 8% this year.

The announcement comes as the supermarket group opens its 1,000th UK store in Stevenage, amid the rapid expansion of its convenience business following its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in 2021.

On Friday, Mr Issa also told the BBC that he plans to hand over the running of the supermarket group to a chief executive after completing a reset.
Oprah Winfrey has announced that she is leaving the WeightWatchers board after recently admitting she has been using weight-loss drugs.

Winfrey joined the company programm3, acquired a significant stake in it and also became a board member in 2015.

She announced she will leave the executive position in May and donate her shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, according to a statement.

She said she was leaving to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications.

WeightWatchers shares plunged nearly 25% after the announcement.

Despite leaving the health company, the actress said she would continue to be involved in the message behind WeightWatchers. I look forward to continuing to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognising obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity, she said.
Charlotte Tilbury Beauty has denied that it ended its contract with model Bella Hadid over her personal views.

It comes after media speculation that the brands professional relationship with American supermodel Hadid, who is of Dutch and Palestinian heritage, has come to an end due to her political beliefs about the conflict in Gaza.

The 27-year-old, who has modelled as a Victorias Secret angel, started working with Charlotte Tilbury Beauty in March 2023.

The beauty brand said it ended its contract with Hadid as she is launching her own beauty products.

A statement from the company, seen by the PA news agency, said: Bella Hadid and Charlotte Tilbury Beautys professional relationship has come to its end as Bella prepares to launch her own beauty brand.

It is absolutely not the case that any personal views held by Bella impacted our contract or relationship with her.

As a female-led business, Charlotte Tilbury Beauty continues to support Bella and looks forward to the exciting launch of Orebella later this year.

The brand also said the model remains a close friend of Charlotte Tilbury Beauty.

Bella Hadid is a Dutch-Palestinian model (Doug Peters/PA)

Hadid modelled for the Airbrush Flawless Lip Blur campaign in June 2023 where she channelled 90s supermodel glamour in a latex catsuit.

Models Kate Moss and Jourdan Dunn and actress Lily James are among the other celebrities who have been the face of the brand.

Hadid, who is the daughter of Palestinian property tycoon Mohamed Anwar Hadid, has been vocal about her support of Palestinians amid the conflict in Gaza.

In May 2021, she joined a Free Palestine march in New York City and later that year, in a social media post, she said she would not stop talking about the systematic oppression, pain and humility that Palestinians face on a regular basis.

On October 26 2023, after the attacks by Hamas against Israel earlier that month, she said she had been sent hundreds of death threats and added: I stand with humanity.

Hadids representatives have been approached for comment.
Education Minister Paul Givan urged to end the teacher pay dispute swiftly

The Northern Secretary of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has told the Education Minister work must begin immediately to restore pride in the teaching profession.

Mark McTaggart said Minister Paul Givan, who will be in attendance as the union holds its annual conference this weekend, must bring an end to the teacher pay dispute swiftly as a first step in ensuring teachers feel valued.
NSPCC reveals there were 690 offences recorded by the PSNI in 2022/23

Crimes involving child abuse images have risen more than 30% in Northern Ireland in the past year, new data has revealed.

Since 2017/18, when the NSPCC first called for social media regulation, almost 3,000 child abuse image crimes have been recorded in Northern Ireland.

Data obtained by the NSPCC reveal that in 2022/23 there were 690 offences recorded by the PSNI compared to 521 in 2021/22.

The PSNI data was obtained through Freedom of Information requests sent to 34 police forces throughout the UK.

The figures reveal that across the UK, more than 33,000 offences where child abuse images were collected and distributed were logged in 2022/23.

This is up 79% since 2017/18 when the NSPCC first called for social media regulation, with almost 160,000 crimes recorded while children and families waited for online safety laws.

Since 2017/18, there have been 2,988 child sexual abuse image crimes recorded in Northern Ireland.

Harrowingly, insight from Childline shows young people being targeted by adults to share child abuse images via social media and the calculated use of end-to-end encrypted private messaging apps by adults to find and share child abuse images.

A 14-year-old girl told the NSPCC-run service: One night I got chatting with this guy online who Id never met and he made me feel so good about myself. He told me he was 15, even though deep down I didnt believe him.

I sent him a couple of semi-nudes on Snap(chat), but then instantly regretted it.

I asked him to delete the pics, but he just kept on making me do stuff for him not to post them  like getting me to strip live on camera.

I just want to block him, but if I block him he will just post the pictures.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy told Childline that he had tried to stop those doing this on the internet with grim results.

A while ago I saw a video on YouTube about how a guy was busting paedophiles and creeps on the internet by pretending to be a kid, and I kind of wanted to do a similar thing. I looked around Instagram for the creepiest accounts about kids my age and younger.

In the end, I came across this link on one of their stories. Its a link to a WhatsApp group chat in which [child sexual abuse material] is sent daily!

There are literally hundreds of members in this group chat and theyre always calling the kids hot and just being disgusting.

The charity said the figures show the need for swift and ambitious action by tech companies to address what is currently happening on their platforms and for Ofcom to significantly strengthen its approach to tackling child sexual abuse through effective enforcement of the Online Safety Act.

The new data from across the UK shows the widespread use of social media and messaging apps in child sexual abuse image crimes which the NSPCC say results largely from a failure to design child safety into products.

Specific data on apps was not available for Northern Ireland but across the UK it showed that Snapchat was flagged in almost half of instances (44% and over 4,000 times) and Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were flagged more than 2,500 times making up a 26% of known instances.

Sir Peter Wanless, NSPCC Chief Executive, said: Its alarming to see online child abuse continue to rise, especially when tech companies should be acting to make their sites safe by design ahead of incoming regulation.

Behind these crimes are children who have been targeted by adults who are able to organise and share sexual abuse with other offenders seamlessly across social media and messaging apps.

Information on how to help keep your child safe online can be found at www.nspcc.org.uk
It comes after some areas of NI woke up to blankets of snow on Friday morning

Cold temperatures are to continue throughout the weekend in Northern Ireland, but snow is likely to be confined to more hilly areas, the Met Office have said.

Friday evening will be mainly dry, with some showers across the west of NI. Showers will become more frequent and widespread during the early hours of Saturday morning, with strengthening northerly winds.

A minimum temperature of 1C has been forecast.

Saturday will bring a rather cold and cloudy day with some scattered showers, but will be driest in the south east.

There will be some brisk northerly winds during the early part of the day, with a maximum temperature of 7C.

Sunday will see some showers, with rain spreading north on Monday.

Further rain is expected early on Tuesday, with conditions becoming drier and milder as the day progresses.

It comes after snow, sleet and rain caused disruption across NI on Friday morning, with a weather warning put in place from 4am until 10am covering counties Derry, Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone.

Police received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in the Enniskillen area.

There were also reports of fallen trees due to snow on Irvinestown's Mill Street, Lisbellaw's Main Street and Enniskillen's Derrylin Road, while Boa Island Road in Belleek, Lisnakea Road and Derrygonnelly Road were blocked by snow.

A lorry was stuck on a snowy Lisnagole Road in Lisnaskea.

Salting of roads on the scheduled network considered to be at risk of ice and snow was carried out on Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Department for Infrastructure engineers will continue to monitor the weather and roads due to a degree of uncertainty in the forecast.

Falling sleet and snow also led to some travel disruption in the Republic of Ireland.

Met Eireann issued weather warnings for more than a dozen counties on Friday morning.

However, Met Eireann meteorologist Brandon Craig said the country had not been fully prepared for the snowfall, indicating it was notoriously difficult to predict.

"It wasn't clear until this morning that it was going to be as heavy as it is and as widespread," Mr Craig told RTE Radio One. "The model had the freezing levels too high up over hills and higher areas but it turns out that... complex dynamics pushed the snow down further than what it should have and that's what led to the lying snow over most areas.

"There was a signal for snow but it was over higher ground to the north.

"Snow is notoriously the most difficult in meteorological parameters to forecast in Ireland. If we had a crystal ball and we knew exactly what was going to happen maybe that would have been an orange warning but given the risk at the time we don't take our warnings lightly at all.

"We can't over-warn otherwise people won't believe the orange warnings when they come. The warnings that were put out were based on the most accurate evidence at the time."
The play park in the Antiville area had been under threat of closure.

Scarlett's mum had campaigned for the park to be retained

A play park under threat of closure in Larne has been saved following a campaign by the mother of an eight-year-old schoolgirl who died in a tragic crash last year.

Carolanne Rodgers appealed to the community for support to restore the playground at Bardic Drive in Antiville estate and named Scarletts Park in memory of Scarlett Rossborough.

Scarlett, who was a pupil of Linn Primary School, in Larne, died in a single-vehicle traffic collision in Carrickfergus town centre, on August 9, which left both towns numb with grief.

The playground is one of a number in Mid and East Antrim which has been earmarked for closure by the council due to maintenance costs.

An independent annual inspection of play parks last March highlighted a number of sites around the borough with significant issues of concern with regard to health and safety.

Read more Case lifted the lid on murky world of informers, but put the final nail in use of supergrass evidence

However, after a public consultation by the council in December, retention of the playground was approved at a meeting of Mid and East Antrim Borough Councils Neighbourhoods and Communities Committee on Tuesday evening.

Lindsay Houston, the councils parks and open space development manager, said local feedback will result in the site being refurbished in the financial year 2024/25.

Scarlett's mum had campaigned for the park to be retained

A petition to save the playground was signed by 2,153 people and a further 143 contacted the council in opposition to the proposal.

DUP councillor Andrew Clarke, who started the petition to save the park, said: I am thrilled that council has agreed to Scarletts Park. Everyone should acknowledge the bravery of Scarletts mother, Carolanne, as we worked on this.

I am hoping the tribute will be of some comfort to the grieving family circle. The community has been terrific in their support with large backing for the consultation period and an unprecedented response to the consultation.

It is vital that we have the proper facilities for the next generation in our communities, I will continue to press for investment in play park facilities throughout the area I represent.

Speaking at the meeting, Knockagh DUP Councillor Marc Collins described the retention of the park at Bardic Drive as a nice, fitting tribute for Scarlett.

The meeting was also told two play parks in Whitehead, in Windsor and Ransevyn estates and another in Magheramorne will be kept under review.

Meanwhile, Alliance councillor Maeve Donnelly asked for the opening hours to be extended at the playground at the Gobbins visitor centre in Islandmagee. She noted when the centre closes for the evening, the park is also closed which she described as a frustration in the area.

She also reported unsavoury items, including needles, have been discovered in the playground in the Tullygarley area of Larne recently.
Snow, sleet and rain are affecting parts of Northern Ireland today following a yellow weather warning.

The weather warning was in place from 4am until 10am and impacted counties Armagh, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone.

Police received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in the Enniskillen area.

There were also reports of fallen trees due to snow on Irvinestown's Mill Street, Lisbellaw's Main Street and Enniskillen's Derrylin Road, while Boa Island Road in Belleek, Lisnakea Road and Derrygonnelly Road were blocked by snow.

A lorry was stuck on a snowy Lisnagole Road in Lisnaskea.

A Translink spokesperson said in a post on X that "all services operated by Enniskillen are currently suspended... due to extreme weather conditions".

Read more NI Weather: Cold spell to continue over the weekend

Road users were advised to travel with extra caution and to consider whether their journeys were necessary.

Salting of roads on the scheduled network considered to be at risk of ice and snow was carried out on Thursday evening and Friday morning, and Department for Infrastructure engineers will continue to monitor the weather and roads due to a degree of uncertainty in the forecast.

Snow in Enniskillen today. Image: Andrew Paton/PressEye

The Met Office said an area of rain, sleet and snow which has extended northwards across the south and west of Northern Ireland is expected to be slow moving for a time on Friday morning, before gradually moving back southwards before midday.

Some slushy accumulations of 1cm to 2cm are possible this morning, while a few higher spots could see up to 8cm of snow before conditions are expected to change this afternoon.

A cloudy start is forecast for the day, turning drier and brighter through the morning with a maximum temperature of 6C.

It is expected to be mainly dry this evening with a few showers across the west. These showers will become more frequent during the early hours with snow on the hills and a minimum temperature of 1C.

Looking to the weekend, a cold and cloudy day with scattered showers is forecast for Saturday, and there is a chance of a few showers on Sunday.

Watch: Morning snow falls across Republic of Ireland

Falling sleet and snow also led to some travel disruption in the Republic of Ireland.

Met Eireann issued weather warnings for more than a dozen counties on Friday morning.

It said temporary accumulations of snow and falls of sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions amid icy stretches on untreated roads.

A status yellow warning for snow and ice was in place until 10am on Friday morning for Cavan, Monaghan, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo. A snow warning for Donegal expired earlier.
Voters cast their ballots during early voting at the West Gray Multiservice Center last October. Michael Wyke/Contributor

Friday is the final day for Houston-area residents to cast early ballots in the 2024 primary elections.

Voters have until 7 p.m. to head to any of Harris County's 79 polling sites to cast a ballot. Election Day is Tuesday, March 5.

Democratic and Republican voters in Texas will select which candidates to send to the November general election, nominating hopefuls for U.S. president, Congress, the Texas Legislature and a slew of local offices.

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Anyone can cast a ballot in the primary elections, and voters in Texas do not need to register with a party to vote. Instead, residents choose which party they want to vote for at the polling site.

Heres what you should know.

VOTER GUIDE: A comprehensive look at the local and national races on your March 5 primary ballot

Can I vote in the Texas primary election?

As long as your voter registration is active, you should be able to vote in the primary elections. Youll have to tell a poll worker which partys election you would like to participate in, and dont forget to bring one of seven acceptable IDs. They include a drivers license, a passport, a military card or a handgun license.

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Texas does not offer same-day registration, so you will not be able to register to vote in the March 5 primaries if you have not registered already. To register for future elections  including the primary runoffs and November general election  visit the secretary of states website or the countys website to get a form that you can mail to your county election office. Texas does not offer online voter registration.

VOTING FAQ: The Chronicle answered all of your voting questions

Where can I vote in Houston?

Use the Chronicles search tool to find the voting site closest to you, and check the countys website for wait times.

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Whos on the ballot for the Texas primary?

Democrats and Republicans will be picking candidates for everything from the president of the United States to state lawmakers and local judges.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will be at the top of their respective ballots, with Trump seeking to build on his lead over primary challenger Nikki Haley.

Sen. Ted Cruz also is on the GOP ballot. Multiple Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, are seeking the nomination to challenge him.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is facing her toughest Democratic primary battle yet after a lopsided loss in the Houston mayors race last year. Former City Council Member Amanda Edwards is running for her seat.

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There is also a crowded field looking to replace Mayor John Whitmire in the state Senate, including Molly Cook, a community organizer and ER nurse who garnered 42% of the vote against Whitmire in 2022; state Rep. Jarvis Johnson; and Todd Litton, an attorney and former congressional candidate.

Locally, District Attorney Kim Ogg also faces a robust challenge from one of her former division chiefs, Sean Teare.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and UUP leader Doug Beattie at a fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie has said he is not in favour of electoral pacts with other unionist parties.

The UUP and DUP both appeared at a Queens University event discussing the future of unionism in Northern Ireland this week.

With a Westminster election looming later this year, pacts are expected to come back under the spotlight.

However, Mr Beattie cooled talk of any link-up with the DUP aimed at maximising the number of unionist MPs returned to Parliament.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I don't think it works for unionism, I don't think it works for the electorate here in Northern Ireland."

He added: "As an Ulster unionist, I think it's important there's a UUP member on the ticket so that Ulster Unionists around the country have someone to vote for.

"If it comes to the time I don't have the people to run in certain constituencies, that's a different issue and there's nothing I can do about that.

"As it stands now, it's important we give people the choice."

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he believes the UUP leader is "up for working together".

"If we can explore the common ground as unionists, our ability to work with others is also strengthened. No one is talking marriage but we can have a very civil relationship."

Earlier this week, Sir Jeffrey said unionists must recognise they no longer live in a place where 70% of the population are red, white and blue British.

Addressing his party members in Newry and Armagh on Wednesday night, the DUP leader said the choices unionists make today will either grow support for Northern Ireland or will cede ground to the enemies of the Union.

Sir Jeffrey said that Northern Irelands future did not lie with a court or Parliament, it rests in the hands of our children and grandchildren: they will determine the Unions longevity.
Mr Heaton-Harris has compared the stadium build to the dropped HS2 project in northern England

The UK Government will not plug the rising funding shortfall for the Casement Park rebuild, NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris has said.

The cost  originally set at 77.5m  has spiralled to a reported 308m, a figure confirmed in a leaked letter sent by Mr Heaton-Harris to NI Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

The contents of the letter  first reported by UTV  have also revealed the UK Governments reluctance to fund a project without a guarantee that costs will not rise further.

Casement Park was first earmarked for redevelopment in the early 2010s and the stadium closed in 2013.

Since then, it has been beset by legal challenges, breakdowns in regional government and issues over finding a contractor.

The stadium has been announced as one of the venues for the Euro 2028 tournament, where it it due to host up to five games.

"I need to be clear that the UK Government will not accept a position where it is expected to cover the scale of a funding gap there appears to exist for a project in which costs have increased considerably with no guarantee that costs will not rise further, wrote Mr Heaton-Harris.

"I have made clear that I would like to see EURO 2028 take place at Casement Park but any taxpayer contribution to the Casement Park project will need to be made on a value for money basis.

The UEFA delegation visiting Casement Park this week. Pic: Pacemaker Belfast

"The government has demonstrated through decisive action on HS2 that if a project becomes unreasonably expensive and does not represent value for money, then a different approach needs to be taken.

Last year UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a long-term plan to build a high-speed rail line in northern England would not go ahead because of spiralling costs amounting to billions of pounds.

New GAA President Jarlath Burns has said the organisation will not be increasing their original 15m, while the Executive contribution also remains at its original figure of 62.5m.

Last month the Irish government pledged a further 43m, which leaves an estimated shortfall of 187.5m.

Before committing to providing funding, Mr Heaton-Harris has asked the Communities Minister to clarify the most recent cost estimate, whether the Executive has considered increasing its contribution and the current funding deficit.

Earlier this week, DfC Permanent Secretary Colum Boyle said the funding shortfall remained a major issue but that the project was in good shape.

Today, Antrim GAA posted a picture of diggers at Casement Park to its X account, adding the caption: Great to see the diggers starting work at Pairc Mhic Asmaint (Casement Park) which is a very welcomed sight for Antrim Gaels and beyond.

"Positive news for the next generation.

Ulster GAA have been approached for comment.

It comes after UEFA officials visited the west Belfast site on Wednesday, with Chair of Casement Park Stadium Development Project Board Tom Daly leading the delegation around the site.

The officials had also been in Belfast for the NI Womens teams 1-1 draw with Montenegro on Tuesday night, a result which saw the side retain their current Nations League status, winning 3-1 on aggregate.

Michelle ONeill had become the first Sinn Fein First Minister to attend a match at Windsor Park, attending the match alongside deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.

A GAA delegation  including President Jarlath Burns  was also at the match.
George Galloways party claims he is on course to win the Rochdale by-election and return to Parliament for his third party (James Speakman/PA)

George Galloways party believes it has won the Rochdale by-election, one of the most divisive contests of recent years.

Representatives of Mr Galloways Workers Party of Britain said they expected to win the election comfortably as votes continued to be counted in the Greater Manchester constituency.

James Giles, Mr Galloways campaign manager, told the PA news agency: It is going better than our wildest hopes. George will win here by a fair margin.

Mr Giles said Labours one-time candidate Azhar Ali, who the party disowned after an antisemitism row, had also failed badly.

He added: Mr Alis family were here earlier to scrutinise the votes  and they left within the hour.

Votes being counted at Rochdale Leisure Centre, where George Galloways party expect he will be announced as the winner of Thursdays by-election. (Peter Byrne/PA)

Independent candidate William Howarth said votes were piling up for Mr Galloway and another independent candidate, local businessman David Tully.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP and deputy leader of Mr Galloways party, said the result would send shockwaves through the Palace of Westminster.

He told Sky News: It will also, I think, give hope to tens of thousands, if not millions of people in the country who are looking for a genuine alternative, because our democracy has been stolen from us.

The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are effectively often the same thing.

He added that a victory for Mr Galloway represented a total rejection of mainstream party politics.

Early on Friday, officials announced a turnout of 39.7%, slightly higher than recent by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood.

Alleged death threats, candidates wearing stab vests and vandalism were reported during campaigning to win the seat after the death last month of sitting MP Sir Tony Lloyd.

Former Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Mr Galloway emerged as the frontrunner after Labour withdrew its support from candidate Azhar Ali, who was filmed suggesting Israel was complicit in the massacre of its own people in the October 7 terror outrage launched by Hamas.

Mr Ali remained on the ballot as the Labour candidate, with the partys decision coming too late to change the papers, but will sit as an independent if he wins.

George Galloway has emerged as the favourite to take the Rochdale seat in Thursdays by-election. (James Speakman/PA)

Mr Galloway has campaigned heavily on the Palestinian cause in Gaza, aiming to use the issue to mobilise Muslim voters in Rochdale.

Rival candidate Simon Danczuk, representing Reform UK, accused Mr Galloway of being divisive and said he would be the MP for Gaza rather than Rochdale.

Mr Danczuk himself previously represented the seat as a Labour MP but was barred from standing for the party in 2017 after apologising for inappropriate text messages sent to a 17-year-old girl. He stood as an independent that year and received only 883 votes.

During the 2024 campaign, he reported being the subject of a death threat with police reportedly making an arrest.

Guy Otten, the Green Party candidate, has also had party support withdrawn over comments made on social media, but his name will also appear on the ballot paper.

The town, which is one of the most deprived in England and voted 60% in favour of Brexit, has been the subject of Asian grooming gang scandals, with a major report in January concluding that young girls were left at the mercy of paedophiles due to failings by senior police and council bosses.

Billy Howarth, a local man, is involved in the Parents Against Grooming UK group and is standing as an independent.

Mr Howarth said he has taken to wearing a stab vest while campaigning, such are tensions in the town.

Also standing are Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrats), Paul Ellison (Conservative Party), Michael Howarth (Independent), Ravin Rodent Subortna (Official Monster Raving Loony Party) and David Tully (Independent).

The result is expected to be announced at around 3am on Friday.
George Galloway has built a political career on fierce opposition to Western foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. (James Speakman/PA)

George Galloway will return to Parliament after one of Britains most divisive politicians won the Rochdale by-election.

A firebrand orator and former Celebrity Big Brother contestant, Mr Galloway has enjoyed support from some left-wing groups for his staunch support of Palestinian causes, but been accused of stoking division and using sexist, homophobic and antisemitic language by his opponents.

It was Palestine that formed the cornerstone of his campaign in Rochdale, where he became the favourite after Labour withdrew support from its own candidate over remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict.

And Palestine has been a major theme of Mr Galloways political career, one marked by ferocious opposition to British and American foreign policies, both in the Middle East and, more recently, in their support for Ukraine.

George Galloway proved a thorn in the side of the Labour leadership, but it was his opposition to the 2003 Iraq War that saw him expelled from the party (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

One of his first political campaigns as a youthful Labour Party activist was to press for his home town of Dundee to be twinned with Nablus on the Palestinian West Bank.

He first entered Parliament in 1987, winning Glasgow Hillhead from former home secretary and leading SDP figure Roy Jenkins.

But his relationship with Labour was not a happy one. As early as 1988, the executive committee of his constituency party passed a vote of no confidence in him, and he narrowly survived a selection contest in the next year.

He was widely criticised over a 1994 visit to Iraq when he was filmed apparently praising Saddam Hussein for his courage, strength and indefatigability  although he always insisted his comments were addressed to the Iraqi people.

His outspoken opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq finally brought his long-running feud with the Labour hierarchy to a head.

George Galloway won Bethnal Green and Bow from his old party in 2005 following his expulsion from Labour (Matthew Fearn/PA)

He was expelled from the party after accusing Tony Blair and George W Bush of acting like wolves and urging British troops to disobey their illegal orders.

He went on to found the Respect party, defeating Labour MP Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005, overturning a 10,000 majority with a campaign aimed at the East London constituencys Bangladeshi community.

He lost the seat in 2010, only to make an even more remarkable comeback two years later taking Bradford West from Labour in a by-election, after again targeting the seats largely Asian and Muslim communities.

He lost the seat again in 2015 after a campaign that saw him accused of sexism against Labours Naz Shah.

Away from Politics, George Galloway is probably best known for his appearance on Big Brother, where he impersonated a cat and pretended to lick milk from the hands of another contestant (Channel 4/PA)

Further bids for election came in the 2016 London mayoral contest, the 2017 and 2019 general elections, and the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election, a contest mired in claims of intimidation and homophobia.

Away from politics, he is perhaps best known for his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006, when he impersonated a cat and pretended to lick milk from the hands of another housemate.

He was also interrogated by a US Senate committee in connection with claims he had profited improperly from trading in Iraqi oil, claims he denied in a fiery Senate hearing. He was later accused by the same committee of lying under oath, which he again denied.
The family of Harry Dunn attending his second funeral, at Banbury Crematorium in Oxfordshire (Jacob King/PA)

The emotional parents of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have said holding a second funeral for their son was much harder than the first time.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, alongside Harrys twin brother Niall and their partners Bruce Charles and Tracey Dunn, attended a private service on Friday after remains were found on his clothing and returned to funeral directors last month.

Mrs Charles told the PA news agency the second funeral service had retraumatised the family, adding that the pain is extremely deep-rooted.

Harry Dunns mother Charlotte Charles and his twin brother Niall Dunn attending his second funeral on Friday (Jacob King/PA)

The Dunn family spent more than three years campaigning for US citizen Anne Sacoolas to face a UK court  a fight that saw the teenagers parents change laws and secure a meeting with former US president Donald Trump at the White House.

The 19-year-olds killer, described by her own lawyer as an employee of the US State Department, was flown out of the UK on the orders of her countrys government, after she collided with Mr Dunns motorbike while driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, in August 2019.

Diplomatic immunity was asserted on her behalf by Mr Trumps administration, and she was able to leave the country 19 days after the crash.

Sacoolas appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via video-link in December 2022, where she was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Northamptonshire Police said Harrys clothing, bike and helmet were removed from the crash site and as they were examined to repatriate them to the family, human remains were discovered on the clothing.

Det Chief Supt Emma James said she would be meeting the family in the coming days to ensure complete transparency.

Speaking after the service at Banbury Crematorium, Harrys father said he hoped it was the last time he would have to say goodbye to his son.

He told PA: It breaks you still every time when this comes.

You think youre moving forwards, moving on with your life, but you just cant do it  it just seems to kick you again and again.

Hopefully now Ive said my last goodbye to my son and we can move forward with this part of it  hopefully now he can be at peace, at rest.

Only my son could have two funerals.

Mrs Charles said the short 15-minute service they held for Harry had a picture of the large numbers of people who had attended his first funeral displayed on a screen.

She said: It was worse than last time I think  not numb this time, not in shock any more.

The pain is extremely deep-rooted, more than you could ever really comprehend, and you wouldnt want anyone to be able to comprehend.

Mrs Charles said the situation had retraumatised the family (Jacob King/PA)

Im weirdly glad weve had the opportunity to do it, because of the rumours that were flying round last time  that Anne Sacoolas had fled and we didnt know how to deal with that back on September 18 2019.

Im angry at whats happened, today.

But me being the person that I am, trying to find the positives, Im glad we had the opportunity today to do it our way and go and have our family time now, just the few of us, and remember him in the way we want to remember him without worrying about what people were saying to us that afternoon.

Little did we know four-and-a-half years ago we had all of what weve been through to come.

Today is very much about the fact weve ridden those storms and this is another terrific storm that were riding and well get the answers we need and well come out the other side.

Mr Dunn also said the second funeral was much harder than the first.

He said: It was much harder this time.

First time around we were just numb still from what we were going through at the time.

Harry was killed when Anne Sacoolass Volvo crashed into his motorbike while she was driving on the wrong side of the road in August 2019 (Family handout/PA)

After the realisation four-and-a-half years on, that was quite hard to go through that.

I dont know what else to say really, it just keeps giving this situation were in  we just never seem to get to the end of it.

Mrs Charles added: It retraumatises, without a doubt, of course it does.

Being back in a place like this  you never think youre going to come here twice for the same loved one  so when its your son I dont think it can be any worse.

So yes, it retraumatises but were glad of the knowledge weve got since the first time and its made us stronger as a family, stronger in ourselves as people and theres nothing now we can be faced with that we cant come out the other side of.

Every hurdle we get given, everything we stumble across and everything we seemingly keep finding out that can be beyond your wildest thoughts  its phased me at the moment but it wont phase us in the long run.

The big screen had a photograph of the trail of motorbikes, so that was of paramount importance to us, to know that the biking family were also with us today, even though some of them may not know it was important for us to have the biking family up there on screen just to know that they are still there.

But today otherwise was very much, personally, just for us.
Emma Caldwell was murdered by Iain Packer in 2005 but it took until 2024 for him to face justice (Family Handout/PA)

Scotlands First Minister and the Justice Secretary will meet the mother of murder victim Emma Caldwell next week, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

It follows the conviction of Iain Packer who was jailed for life with a minimum term of 36 years on Wednesday after being found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of murdering the 27-year-old in 2005.

He was also convicted of 11 rapes and 21 further charges including sexual assaults and abduction, involving multiple women, over 26 years.

Scotlands Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: Our thoughts are with Margaret Caldwell and Emmas friends for their tragic loss, and to the many victims in this horrendous case.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar with Margaret Caldwell and other family members outside the High Court in Glasgow (Andrew Milligan/PA)

For Margaret Caldwell and the other victims in this case, justice has taken far too long.

As the First Minister has very clearly stated, we are giving serious consideration and are open to a judge-led public inquiry.

He was also clear that he wants to hear directly from Margaret Caldwell before we take any decision and the First Minister and I will meet with her next week.

Solicitor Aamer Anwar, who has represented Emma Caldwells mother Margaret Caldwell since 2016, said his client is looking forward to meeting with Humza Yousaf and Ms Constance next week.

Mr Anwar said he will meet with Mr Yousaf and Ms Constance to reiterate calls for a judge-led public inquiry.

The solicitor said the failures to investigate Miss Caldwells murder was the worst scandal to ever hit our justice system.

Emma Caldwells mother Margaret wants a public inquiry (Andrew Milligan/PA)

He told the PA news agency: We welcome the First Minister agreeing to meet with Emmas mother Margaret, Emmas brother Jamie and myself next week.

As Margaret said after the verdict, the police have apologised after nearly 19 years, but that is not good enough.

In that time six of the 25 victims died never to see justice.

How many more do we not know of?

For Emmas family, nothing less than a fully independent public inquiry will suffice  this is the worst scandal to ever hit our justice system and the police or Crown Office cannot be allowed to investigate itself, escape scrutiny or accountability.

Mrs Caldwell looks forward to meeting with Mr Yousaf and says that if he genuinely cares about the victims then he has no other option but to organise a judge-led public inquiry that acts without fear or favour  that is the very least her Emma and the many women who spoke up deserve, for far too long those in the police or Crown who failed them remained in the shadows.

For Margaret, only a public inquiry can reveal the corruption, the criminality and the motivation.

Accountability, that is what the police and the Crown always fear, and they cannot be allowed to dictate the terms as they have done for over 18 years.

Police Scotland has apologised to the family of Miss Caldwell and Iain Packers other victims, admitting they were let down by policing.

Ms Constance added: The outcome of this trial is the result of a thorough and complex reinvestigation of the case by Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, but it is absolutely right that Police Scotland has recognised and apologised for the failures of the original investigation.

While I do think this means that many lessons have been learned by Police Scotland, at the time there is no doubt that women were failed.

More widely, we need to eradicate the abhorrent violence against women and girls that is still prevalent, and all of our institutions need to continue to play a part in this journey.

The only way we can fully protect women and girls and end violence is through fundamental societal change  a change in the actions and behaviour of those who perpetrate violence and abuse and to address and root out the causes of that violence, including toxic masculinity and gender inequality, that leads to violence, harassment, misogyny and abuse against women.

Margaret Caldwell will meet with Humza Yousaf and Angela Constance next week (Jane Barlow/PA)

Solicitor Aamer Anwar, who has represented Mrs Caldwell since 2016, called for a judge-led public inquiry by someone independent of Police Scotland and the Crown Office.

In a statement sent to the media on Thursday, Mr Anwar said the family will accept nothing less than the truth, transparency and accountability.

He added: This is not simply a case of the police just saying sorry in the belief they can move on as it was all about 2005  the reality is that for over a decade the police engaged in a concerted cover-up, followed by Police Scotland carrying out unlawful spying on Sunday Mail journalists and police officers who had identified Iain Packer as the murderer.

In that whole period the Crown ordered no further investigation into the killer or the police  it must beg the question why? What were they trying to hide?

The scale of the crimes and the failures are so catastrophic and vast that nothing less than a robust judicial public inquiry will suffice  (Margaret Caldwell) welcomes the comments of the First Minister but for her, time is of the essence.

Neither the Police nor Crown Office, nor anyone connected to the police, can be allowed or trusted to investigate themselves and their former bosses.

Mrs Caldwell would welcome any move to select an independent judge from elsewhere in the UK to conduct the statutory pubic inquiry.

Earlier in the week, Assistant Chief Constable for Major Crime and Public Protection, Bex Smith, said: Emma Caldwell, her family and many other victims, were let down by policing in 2005. For that we are sorry.

A significant number of women and girls who showed remarkable courage to speak up at that time also did not get the justice and support they needed and deserved from Strathclyde Police.

Police Scotland launched a re-investigation of the case in 2015 after instruction from the Lord Advocate.

It is clear that further investigations should have been carried out into Emmas murder following the initial inquiry in 2005.

The lack of investigation until 2015 caused unnecessary distress to her family and all those women who had come forward to report sexual violence.
MP Pete Wishart is demanding urgent clarification from Police Scotland following the killing of Brian Low (House of Commons/PA Archive)

An MP is calling on Police Scotland to provide urgent clarification on why officers took days to launch a murder investigation following the death of a man.

Brian Low, 65, was found dead beside his dog on a path the outskirts of Aberfeldy, in Perthshire on Saturday February 17.

But a murder investigation was not launched until Friday February 23, after a post-mortem examination confirmed that Mr Low, from Aberfeldy, had been shot.

Police Scotland has already said that officers initially treated his death as medical or non-suspicious.

Brian Lows body was found on a rural path near Aberfeldy (Andrew Milligan/PA)

But Detective Chief Inspector Martin Macdougall said `while criminality was only established on February 23, there were concerns around the injury which were raised two days earlier.

Speaking on Thursday, the police said the initial assessment was that of a non-suspicious and medical death but it had now been established to be a murder.

He stated: The professional standards department of Police Scotland will be informed and given any further information.

However, with the public not informed that Mr Low had been shot until Tuesday February 27, Perth and North Perthshire MP Pete Wishart said locals had contacted him with concerns about how the shocking incident had been handled.

He has written to Police Scotland in a bid to discover why their murder investigation was not launched sooner.

The SNP MP said: A number of my constituents have contacted me about the tragic shooting of Brian Low, and the various concerns they have about how this has been handled.

In light of this shocking incident, the local community in Aberfeldy are now understandably fearful for their safety, and, more than anything, Brian Lows family are still without answers.

I have therefore written to Police Scotland, calling for urgent clarification on what is known to have happened thus far, and why the investigation was not launched sooner.

He added: Going forward, it is vital that Police Scotland ensure full transparency as this situation develops.

Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
The overall number of applications for secondary school places in London dropped (Ben Birchall/PA)

Around three in 10 children in London missed out on a place at their top choice of secondary school, according to figures collated by London Councils.

The total number of applications for places at secondary schools in the capital fell compared to last year, in line with a general picture of decreasing applications across England.

Overall, 70.5% of children who applied to start at a London secondary school this autumn received an offer from their first preference, compared to 69.78% last year, figures show.

Meanwhile the total number of applications made was 90,348, a decrease of 2.48% compared to last year.

A recent report by London Councils predicted a drop in demand of 4.3% for secondary school places over the next four years, the group said.

The decrease for pupils entering Year 7 translates to 4,040 places, roughly equivalent to 134 classes.

The group said that a reduction in places, which impacts the amount of funding a school receives, will force schools to make further difficult decisions to balance their budgets.

In real terms, this could mean narrowing the curriculum, offering fewer after-school clubs or reducing the number of teaching and support staff.

In some cases, school leaders and local authority leaders will have to make difficult decisions to merge or close schools, London Councils added.

The group said application numbers were affected by a number of reasons, including the falling birth rate across London, the effect of the UK leaving the EU, and families leaving London due to changes in circumstances and working patterns.

A breakdown by London borough shows significant differences in the proportion of families securing their top choice, with nearly two in five youngsters missing out in some areas.

Hammersmith and Fulham had the lowest proportion of children getting their top choice at 62.47%, and in Lewisham just 63.24% secured their first preference.

Barking and Dagenham had the highest proportion of first preferences at 82.47%, followed by City of London where 77.78% secured their preferred school.

Ian Edwards, executive member for children and young people at London Councils, said: It is positive that once again the overwhelming majority of Londons children have an offer from one of their preferred schools.

Boroughs have worked diligently with schools to ensure there are sufficient places to meet the demand for school places across the capital, particularly in the context of falling school rolls and the impact this is having on some schools.

He added: Londons population has always ebbed and flowed, so it is likely that the birth rate will pick up in due course. However, it is difficult to predict when and if this will happen, so local authorities will have to work closely with communities, schools and other local services in the meantime to ensure that we dont lose vital assets, such as schools, that we may need in the future.

We remain keen to work with Government to respond to pressures surrounding secondary school places, ensuring that all London pupils have the best start in life.
President Joe Biden announced that the US will begin air-dropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza strip (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops.

The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

President Joe Biden announced the drops would begin in the coming days (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mr Biden said the air drops will begin soon and that the United States was looking into additional ways to facilitate getting badly needed aid into the war-battered territory to ease the suffering of Palestinians.

In the coming days, were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies and will seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor, Mr Biden said.

The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way.

President Joe Biden meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mr Biden made the announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough, Mr Biden said.

Now, its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line.

We wont stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that her country supports the US mediation efforts (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Mr Biden said earlier this week that he was optimistic that a ceasefire deal could be reached by early next week.

However, the president acknowledged that a prospective deal may have been set back after Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off the aid convoy on Thursday.

With Ms Meloni by his side, Mr Biden expressed cautious optimism on Friday that a deal can still be struck.

Weve been working and hopefully well know shortly, he said.

Ms Meloni said solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was Italys top priority.

We need to co-ordinate our actions to avoid an escalation, and this regard we fully support the US mediation efforts, she said.
Residents flee their homes during clashes between police and gang members in the Portail neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

Heavy gunfire paralysed Haitis capital on Thursday, and at least four police officers were killed, as a powerful gang leader announced that he would try to capture the countrys police chief and government ministers.

The move came during the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya as Kenya and Haiti signed agreements on Friday to try to salvage a plan for the African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence that has surged to unprecedented levels.

Gunmen shot at Haitis main international airport and other targets in Port-au-Prince, including police stations, in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise.

At least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.

Youths raise their hands to show police they are not carrying weapons during an anti-gang operation at the Portail neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, suspended all flights.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue and leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, was seen in a recorded video announcing that the aim was to tie up the police chief and government ministers and prevent Mr Henry from returning to Haiti.

With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country, he said.

A spokesman for the prime ministers office could not be immediately reached for comment. The head of Haitis National Police, Frantz Elbe, and police spokesman Garry Desrosiers did not return messages asking for comment.

Gunfire still rang out Thursday evening and dozens of Haitians were seen carrying children and fleeing their neighbourhoods.

Armoured vehicles patrolled empty streets in downtown Port-au-Prince while others remained stationed near gang-controlled slums.

Residents in some neighbourhoods, including Canape Vert and Turgeau, set up roadblocks to prevent gangs from entering.

Police take cover during an anti-gang operation in Port-au-Prince (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

Pierre Alex Boucher, a maths teacher who lives in Port-au-Prince, said he heard heavy gunfire before dawn. Several hours later, as the gunfire continued, he stood on his roof and said he saw police in an armoured car trying to fight gang members and then abruptly leave.

The shooting then worsened, and when he saw what he believes were teenagers with machine guns, he fled his home.

The area is completely invaded by gangs, Mr Boucher said. A lot of people couldnt make it out, and some locked themselves inside their homes.

The country has to revolt against the gangs, he said. No one is safe.

It was not clear if the gang leader had the backing of other major gangs that are estimated to control up to 80% of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.

Diego Da Rin, with the International Crisis Group, noted that Barbecue in his speech referred to a coalition called Viv Ansanm, which means living together in Haitian Creole. The coalition was created last year as part of a peace pact between Barbecues federation and another powerful gang called G-Pep and had as a main goal to bring down Mr Henrys administration.

However, the coalition crumbled just days after it was announced, and Mr Da Rin said it remains to be seen whether Barbecue truly has the support of other gang leaders.

I dont know how much credibility to give Barbecue right now, Mr Da Rin said. Rivalries between gangs are so strong and alliances ever shifting that its complicated they could act in a concerted manner for a long time without much trouble.

However, he noted that gunmen launched co-ordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. In addition to the attack on the main international airport, gunmen also set fire to a police station in downtown Port-au-Prince.

The attacks came a day after Mr Henry met Caribbean leaders in Guyana, and pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. It is the third time he has announced such a deadline, with previous promises made in 2022 and 2023.

There are currently no elected officials in Haiti, with Mr Henry sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Mr Henry travelled from Guyana to Kenya in the hope of moving forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. A court in the East African nation ruled last month that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, but Mr Henry and Kenyan officials have been working on the deal that would allow forces to arrive in Haiti soon.

There has always been the danger that as discussions progress and the goal of the mission gets closer that the gangs will try to flex their muscles and discourage the troops, Mr Da Rin said.

The government of Haiti said in a statement that Mr Henry arrived in Kenya on Thursday. They did not say when he would return to Haiti.
John Whitmire, second from left, laughs alongside Jovanka Gonzalez, center, and other members of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association after the organization announced its endorsement of him for the Houston mayoral race at UPFFA Union Hall, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Houston. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer

Mayor John Whitmire said he has reached a tentative agreement with the Houston firefighters union over their yearslong pay dispute, but declined to reveal details about the total compensation owed to firefighters or how the city plans to finance the back pay.

The city of Houston and its firefighters have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle ever since a contract impasse in 2017. The citys roughly 4,000 firefighters have not had a contract during nearly all of former Mayor Sylvester Turners tenure.

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Whitmire has kept close ties to the firefighters during his political career and vowed to put an end to the contract stalemate during his mayoral campaign last year. The Thursday announcement came after regular meetings between the two parties and reflects significant compromises from both sides, the mayor said.

A world-class city like Houston deserves a well-funded fire department to attract and retain talented individuals who are willing to risk their safety for us during our times of need, Whitmire said in a statement. This agreement resolves a long-festering pay dispute with firefighters, avoids further unnecessary litigation costs, and allows us to move forward together.

The Whitmire administration has aimed to resolve the dispute and create a plan to finance eight years of back pay  estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars  by the end of February. City Attorney Arturo Michel said it could take an additional two to three months to finalize the agreement and clarify the finance plan.

Paying for the agreement will likely require a combination of the citys general fund dollars and new debt, which could require either a judges approval or a voter referendum, Michel said. In his announcement, Whitmire called on all Houstonians to support efforts to fund public safety operations.

I will ask City Council members and all Houstonians to support this arrangement once final details are settled with our partners at the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, Whitmire said.

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Union President Marty Lancton praised Whitmire for the progress, contrasting the new mayors swift action with what he described as the inaction of Turners administration.

To say the last eight years have been an unrelenting nightmare for Houston firefighters, their families and Local 341 is an understatement, Lancton said. In just seven weeks, we have resolved a dispute the previous administration kicked down the road for eight years.

Turner was able to work around the lack of contract and give firefighters a three-year, 18% pay raise in 2021. But the salary increases were never formalized in a contract.

The former mayor repeatedly warned of the fiscal consequences of additional pay raises. As federal COVID-19 relief dollars are set to dry up, officials have forecast deficits between $114 million and $264 million during Whitmires first term.

A trial date is currently set for March 25 to address the contract impasse from 2017. Whitmires office said the administration will reveal the next steps in negotiations in an upcoming announcement.
Workers carry the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny out of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow on Friday (AP)

Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony.

The crowds who thronged to honour Mr Navalny outside a church and cemetery in a snowy south-eastern suburb of the capital chanted slogans for him and against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, turning the event into one of the largest recent displays of dissent. But police did not act against them.

At least 91 people were detained at events across Russia in Mr Navalnys memory, said OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, with most stopped while trying to lay flowers at monuments dedicated to victims of Soviet repression.

When his death was announced on February 16, police detained hundreds who tried to leave flowers.

Mr Navalny was buried after a short Russian Orthodox ceremony, with vast crowds waiting outside the church and then streaming to the fresh grave with flowers.

Mr Navalnys widow, Yulia, who was not seen at the funeral but has vowed to continue his work, lovingly thanked him for 26 years of absolute happiness.

In a post on Instagram, she wrote: I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to do it in a way that you up there are proud of me and happy for me.

Mr Navalnys 23-year-old daughter, Daria, also shared a tribute to her father.

Ever since I was a child, you taught me to live by certain principles. To live with dignity. You gave your life for me, for mum, for (my brother) Zakhar, for Russia, she wrote on Instagram.

I promise you that I will live my life in the way that you taught me, in a way that will make you proud  and most importantly, with a smile on my face.

The funeral follows a battle with authorities over the release of his body.

His supporters say several churches in Moscow refused to hold the service before Mr Navalnys team got permission from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in the capitals Maryino district, where Mr Navalny once lived before his 2020 poisoning, treatment in Germany and subsequent arrest on his return to Russia.

Many Western leaders blamed the death of Mr Navalny on the Russian leader, an accusation the Kremlin angrily rejected.

On live-streamed footage, his coffin could be seen being taken out of the vehicle, with the crowd applauding and chanting in the background: Navalny! Navalny!

Some also shouted: You werent afraid, neither are we! and later No to war!.

Alexei Navalnys parents Anatoly Navalny and Lyudmila Navalnaya, walk to the church (AP)

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any unauthorised (mass) gatherings are violations.

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was encircled by crowd-control barriers, did not mention the service on its social media page.

Hours before the funeral was set to start, hundreds waited to enter the church under the watch of riot police who deployed in big numbers.

Western diplomats, including US Ambassador Lynn Tracy, were among those who attended, along with presidential hopefuls Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova. Both wanted to run against Vladimir Putin in the upcoming presidential elections and opposed his war in Ukraine; neither was allowed on the ballot.

Hundreds gather outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow (AP)

Authorities lined the road from from a nearby subway station to the church with crowd-control barriers.

A photo from inside the church showed an open casket with Mr Navalnys body covered with red and white flowers, and his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, sitting beside it holding a candle.

After the short funeral, a crowd of thousands marched from the church to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force for the burial.

With the casket open, Mr Navalnys parents and others kissed his body. Meanwhile, a large crowd of supporters gathered at the gates of the cemetery, chanting: Let us in to say goodbye!

The coffin was lowered into the ground. In keeping with his irreverent sense of humour, music from the The Terminator 2 was played, a movie his allies said he considered the best in the world.

Mourners streamed by his open grave, tossing handfuls of soil onto the coffin as a large crowd waited at the cemeterys entrance. As dusk fell, workers shovelled dirt into the grave while Ms Navalnaya watched.

A mound of flowers, funeral wreaths, candles and a portrait of Navalny sat nearby. Mourners continued to stream into the cemetery until it was closed by police shortly after 10pm local time.

Alexei Navalny during a hearing in the Moscow City Court in Moscow (Moscow City Court via AP)

Ms Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his February 16 death at Penal Colony No 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometres (1,200 miles) north-east of Moscow.

Authorities originally said they could not turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Ms Navalnaya, 69, made a video appeal to President Vladimir Putin to release the body so she could bury her son with dignity.

People gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow (AP)

Once it was released, at least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Mr Navalnys supporters, the spokeswoman for Mr Navalnys team, Kira Yarmysh, said on social media. They also were unable to find a hearse for the funeral.

Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Ms Yarmysh said on Thursday.

Russian authorities still have not announced the cause of death for Mr Navalny, 47, who crusaded against official corruption and organised large protests as Mr Putins fiercest political foe. Many Western leaders blamed the death on the Russian leader, which the Kremlin angrily rejected.

Riot police officers guard the area near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow on Friday (AP)

Mr Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organisations by the Russian government in 2021.

Ms Navalnaya, accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, Yulia Navalnaya wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

And in a post on Friday, Ms Navalnaya paid tribute to her husband, saying: I dont know how to live without you, but I will try make you up there happy for me and proud of me.

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Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event for Mr Navalny and late opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday, citing Covid-19 restrictions, politician Yekaterina Duntsova said on Thursday.

Mr Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of February 27 2015.

Ms Yarmysh also urged Mr Navalnys supporters around the world to lay flowers in his honour on Friday.

Everyone who knew Alexei says what a cheerful, courageous and honest person he was, Ms Yarmysh said on Thursday.

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny addressing the European Unions parliament on Wednesday (Jean-Francois Badias/AP)

But the greater truth is that even if you never met Alexei, you knew what he was like, too. You shared his investigations, you went to rallies with him, you read his posts from prison. His example showed many people what to do when even when things were scary and difficult.

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Mr Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that his funeral had initially been planned for Thursday  the day of Mr Putins annual state-of-the-nation address  but no venue agreed to hold it then.

In an interview with the independent Russian news site Meduza, Mr Zhdanov said authorities had pressured Navalnys relatives to have a quiet family funeral.
A mother searches for her son who went missing after a fire broke out at the seven-story Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall on Bailey Road in Dhaka, March 1, 2024.

At least 44 people, including 21 women and four children, were killed in a fire that ripped through a multi-story shopping mall in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka overnight, authorities said Friday.

The fire started at a restaurant on Dhakas Bailey Road at about 9:50 p.m. Thursday and quickly spread throughout the seven-story building, fire officials said. It was brought under control just before midnight.

Early Friday, Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said that 43 bodies had been taken to two hospitals in the capital and at least 22 people were being treated for critical burns.

Separately, Police Inspector General Abdullah Al-Mamun confirmed another man was brought dead to the Central Police Hospital.

It is a very sad incident. We are trying to heal those who are admitted, Sen told reporters in front of the emergency department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown and authorities had not yet identified all the deceased on Friday morning, as distraught relatives began gathering outside the two hospitals.

The Criminal Investigative Department (CID) cordoned off the scene of the fire at the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in Dhaka, March 1, 2024. [Photo Credit: Jibon Ahmed/Benarnews]

Syed Riad was waiting outside Dhaka Medical College Hospital on Friday morning to retrieve the bodies of his relatives.

His cousin Syed Mubarak Hossain, a Bangladeshi who lives in Italy, returned to Dhaka a month ago to take his wife, two daughters and son back to Europe with him.

My cousin was preparing to take his wife and children there [Italy], he told BenarNews. The visa was done for everyone. But they cannot go  they died in the Bailey Road fire, he said, adding he suspected they were having dinner in the building when the fire started.

All floors of the building were used for commercial purposes, including several restaurants such as Kacchibhai, KFC and Pizza Inn.

Brig. Gen. Main Uddin, the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence director, said about 75 people were rescued from the fire and taken to hospital, 42 of whom were unconscious.

There were clothes shops on the second floor of the building while there were restaurants on other floors ... The fire spread quickly and burned aggressively. More people died from suffocation than burns, Uddin told reporters.

There were gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases, which is very dangerous.

A five-member investigatory body has been formed to look into the incident, he said.
A Rohingya mother and her child sit on a bench while waiting to see a doctor at the Qatar Fund for Development Clinic in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 25, 2024.

If it wasnt for the generosity of Malaysias refugee community, things could have been a lot worse for Rohingya man Rashid Ahmad Abdul Kadir.

In January, the 35-year-old was struggling with pain so bad from gallstones that he could barely breathe.

I was scolded by the doctor because he said I came too late and my organs had been damaged, said Rashid Ahmad, who arrived in Malaysia from Myanmars Rakhine state in 2012.

The cash-strapped father of two only got through the ordeal after his friends raised 3,800 Malaysian ringgit (U.S. $800) for his operation at a public hospital.

I could not afford the amount for surgery on my own, he told BenarNews.

Malaysias nearly 200,000 refugees already have it tough because they are not legally allowed to work, many live in appalling conditions, and their children are often denied education. But a little talked about concern is their access to affordable healthcare, which could make the difference between life and death.

Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees are viewed as illegal migrants and must pay much higher foreigners rates at government hospitals and clinics.

That puts an enormous financial strain on people like Rashid Ahmad, who earns a meager living working odd jobs such as washing dishes or cutting grass, with no rights or social security benefits.

After being discharged from hospital in February, Rashid Ahmad had to skip the daily dressing of his wounds at a nonprofit medical clinic because, even at a subsidized price, he could not afford it.

I cannot move on my own. Trips to the clinic also need money, said Rashid Ahmad, who lives in Ampang near Kuala Lumpur.

Debbie Stothard, founder of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, an advocacy group, described Malaysias policy of denying refugees access to affordable public healthcare as illogical and irresponsible.



We are preventing Rohingya and other refugees from contributing to Malaysian society, she told BenarNews. To ensure they can contribute, they must be healthy enough. It is just that basic.

Rohingya refugee Rashid Ahmad Abdul Kadir, who recently had an operation for severe gallstones, is cared for by his wife at home in Ampang, Malaysia, Feb. 13, 2024. [Ahmad Mustakim Zulkifli/BenarNews]

Some 186,490 refugees, most of whom are ethnically Rohingya from Myanmar, are registered in Malaysia with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR.

Healthcare is the No. 1 concern for most of them, said U.S.-based Rohingya activist Norhayati Ali during a recent visit to Malaysia.

Refugees and asylum seekers with UNHCR cards are charged 50% of the foreigners rate at public healthcare facilities. But for those who are undocumented, the fees can be 40 times the cost charged to Malaysians, according to advocacy groups.

Otherwise, refugees have access to subsidized care at 15 nonprofit health clinics across the country. However, these offer only basic healthcare that does not require hospitalization or specialist treatment.

Ahmad Ikram, general manager of a nonprofit clinic in Kuala Lumpur, said it was not uncommon to hear of cases where refugees could not pay for treatment.

Some refugees have had to stay in the hospital even though they should have been discharged because they could not pay the medical costs. In one case, a patient ran away because he could not afford to pay before being discharged, he told BenarNews.

At his clinic, Ikram said he most commonly saw refugees for conditions like diabetes, hypertension and skin diseases. He offers only general treatment, vaccinations and family planning consultations.

Typically, his referrals to hospital were cases involving preterm births, respiratory diseases, infections, gastrointestinal issues and surgical procedures.

The number of refugees seeking help at the clinic is normally between 70-80 per day, but when authorities conduct raids around here, those numbers could halve, he said.

When we ask why, they say they are afraid of getting caught while seeking treatment and being sent back home.

Refugees wait for a check up at the Qatar Fund for Development Clinic in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 25, 2024. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Parliament in June last year that Malaysia was establishing a comprehensive database on the number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

This would help the government tailor policies towards them, including for healthcare, he said.

In the meantime, Rohingya community leaders like Rafik Shah Mohd Ismail are calling on Malaysians to show compassion.

Everyone gets sick. For refugees, whether registered with UNHCR or not, hospital bills are expensive, he told BenarNews.

A deposit is required before surgery is performed; these can range from around 1,500 ($317) ringgit to 5,500 ringgit ($1,160).

While the community tries to help out with hospital fees when possible, it is often too expensive, said Ismail, who is based in Selayang, Selangor state.

Weve encountered situations where babies remained hospitalized because their parents couldn't afford the bills, he said.
People light candles at a memorial to Philippine media workers killed in the line of duty, at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communications in Quezon City, Metro Manila, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2023.

Three international press freedom watchdogs said they gave Philippine police and justice officials new information Friday that they believe could lead to an arrest of a politician suspected in the murder of a Filipino broadcaster 13 years ago.

Representatives from the Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said they met in Manila with Assistant Justice Secretary Jose Dominic F. Clavano IV and national police Chief Benjamin Acorda Jr. to discuss updates in the Gerry Ortega case.

Gerry Ortega is not forgotten, said Beh Lih Yi, the Asia program coordinator for New York-based CPJ. His case is emblematic of the entrenched impunity when it comes to journalist killings in the Philippines.

The media advocacy groups said they had information to share on the whereabouts of fugitive former Palawan Gov. Joel T. Reyes, the alleged mastermind behind Ortegas killing. Ortega, a well-known environmentalist and a local broadcaster in the province, was gunned down shortly after signing off from his radio program on Jan. 24, 2011.

In a joint statement, the coalition said it had met with Philippine justice and national police officials to provide new and actionable information that could lead to the arrest of the alleged mastermind behind the 2011 murder of radio journalist Gerry Ortega.

Officials from the three Western-based groups also met with Clavano and Acorda to discuss the slow progress in the case and expressed hope that the Philippine judicial system would finally bring justice to Ortegas family, their statement said.

According to the media coalition, during Fridays meeting the Philippine Department of Justice pledged to act on the case and implement a warrant for Reyes arrest.

Yi warned that until the case was solved, Ortegas murder would continue to have a chilling effect on the Philippine press, which has been under attack for years from politicians and other groups including, most recently, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte.

We believe he is still in the Philippines, Yi told BenarNews in response to a question on where Reyes may be hiding.

The police department, Justice department officials and Clavanos office did not immediately respond to BenarNews requests for comment.

Joel Reyes, the former governor of Palawan province in the Philippines, is escorted by Thai police officers as he arrives at the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok, Sept. 24, 2015. Thai police had arrested the former Philippines provincial governor and his brother Mario Junior Reyes, both wanted in their home country for the murder of Gerry Ortega, a journalist who had been campaigning against mining interests. [Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters file photo]

Ortega had reported about alleged corruption in the government of Reyes, and despite what the media consortium described as damning evidence linking him to the killing, the former governor remains at large.

Reyes was arrested earlier but was freed after the Court of Appeals in 2018 ruled that the Regional Trial Court in Palawan had no basis to continue with the trial as its findings against the accused were wrong.

The following year, in 2019, however, the decision was reversed and a re-arrest warrant was issued against Reyes.

The coalition urged the DoJ, the PNP, and other law enforcement agencies to act upon this significant piece of information to arrest Reyes, who is facing a non-bailable charge of murder, the groups said in their statement.

The coalition called on the Philippine government to exhaust all legal remedies to effect the immediate arrest of Reyes and compel him to face trial before the proper courts for the murder of Ortega, they added.

Jos Bartman, lead investigator of the Amsterdam-based Free Press Unlimited, said they welcomed the Philippine authorities commitment to ensure that justice is delivered in the Ortega case.

Achieving justice in the case of Gerry Ortega could set an example around the globe and show that prosecuting masterminds of journalists' murder is not impossible, Bartman said.

Cedric Alviani, director of RSFs Asia-Pacific bureau, said the information they shared provided all the keys to finding and arresting Reyes. He did not disclose those findings to the press, however.

Patricia Ortega, the wife of slain Philippine radio broadcaster and environmental activist Gerry Ortega, shows a picture of her late husband at a pet shop in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, Feb. 16, 2011. [Noel Cellis/AFP file photo]

In 2022, the Southeast Asian nation ranked as the seventh most dangerous country for journalists on the Global Impunity Index, prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists, alongside war-torn nations such as Somalia, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Since 1986, there have been 199 journalists killed in the Philippines, based on the data and monitoring from the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines.

In 2009, members of a powerful political clan and their associates killed 58 people, including 32 journalists, in an execution-style attack in southern Maguindanao province.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, the chief executive and co-founder of Philippine online news publication Rappler had also had to weather several legal cases filed against her by the Duterte administration (2016-22).

Duterte, who is now the subject of an International Criminal Court investigation over thousands of execution-style deaths of alleged drug addicts and dealers during his six-year term, once famously warned that journalists were fair game.

Just because youre a journalist you are not exempted from assassination, if youre a son of a bitch, Duterte said shortly after being elected in 2016.

Jason Gutierrez and Jeoffrey Maitem reported from Manila.
Sripai Kaeo-eam, 58, a farmer who is struggling to repay loans, shows her debt repayment notes at her house in Chainat province, Thailand, Aug. 30, 2023.

Thai small business owner Watcharin Romyen thought she had solved her mounting debt after coming across leaflets left by money lenders on an electricity pole in her neighborhood.

Little did the 42-year-old know that she was entering into a cycle of high-interest collection in which, she said, loan sharks pursued her, leaving her in near financial ruin and with a mental breakdown.

I had borrowed from all my relatives and I didnt know what to do, Watcharin, who owns an ice distribution business, told BenarNews.

She recalled how, one morning, she had decided to call the number of a money lender listed on one of the leaflets.

And by noon he arrived at my door. He looked like he was well-to-do. He dressed well and drove a nice car.

After I took out loans from money lenders and failed to pay up the interest, they called me and said they would come to destroy my house.

Despite being an upper-middle income country, the minimum wage in Thailand is as little as U.S. $10 (328 baht) per day and its household debt is among the highest in Asia.

In January, Thai economic think-tank TTB Analytics said that by the end of 2024, household debt could reach 16.9 trillion baht ($469 billion), or 91% of the GDP. It blamed factors including stagnant growth, high costs and a lack of financial discipline hindering a debtors ability to pay.

As one of those debtors, Watcharin decided to join the governments informal loan fixing program following its launch in December. To date, as many as 10 money lenders have agreed to default her loans as a result of the negotiations mediated by government representatives.

By the end of January, more than 135,000 people holding loans valued at over 9 billion baht ($250 million) had registered in the program. About 15,000 cases have entered into a debt settlement process, according to the government, which noted that in 165 cases a settlement could not be reached and had been prosecuted by the police.

Loan company website pages opened in a mobile phone browser are seen in this photo illustration taken in Bangkok, June 28, 2014. [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]

The loan values are only the tip of the iceberg. The Thai government earlier estimated that informal loans  those given through sources other than banks and lending institutions  totaled 50 billion baht ($1.4 billion).

Informal debts have eroded Thai society for so long and are the causes of many social problems, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, whose government took office in September, said in November.

The people are the foundation of the country, but they are vulnerable because of overwhelming debts that cannot be paid off. I consider Informal debts to be a modern-world slavery that takes away freedom and dreams from the people in our time.

Slow recovery

Back during the COVID-19 lockdown in Thailand, Watcharins business took a hit as many of her clients, including restaurants and coffee shops, went under.

Located an hour outside of Bangkok, Watcharins business orders blocks of ice, cuts them up and delivers them to other businesses. Recovery has been slow since the pandemic passed.

I have six men working with me. They all drive three delivery trucks, so I pay them and pay for the gas and the ice every day. I also have three children, all in school, and I am a single mother.

While Watcharin needed cash in June 2023, borrowing from a loan shark led to even more debt as interest  extracted on a daily basis  accumulated. Her failure to keep paying resulted in a default of all interest already paid.

I had to borrow from the loan sharks because if I borrow from the bank, the money cannot (arrive) soon enough for me to use it.

I borrowed 15,000 baht ($418) from him, but I received 13,500 baht ($376) because 750 baht ($209) was deducted for the document process and another 750 baht was interest.

The money lenders scheme is that 750 baht has to be paid every day within a 24-day cycle. If Watcharin were to complete this cycle, she would have paid 18,000 baht  the original 15,000 baht loan and 20% interest paid in less than a month.

Thai law stipulates that a lender cannot provide a loan with an interest of more than 15% per year.

A breakup of this cycle would mean invalidation of any interest payment, no matter how much she had paid. Because Watcharin struggled to complete the cycle with different money lenders, she kept missing her interest payment.

By December when she joined the governments program, she estimated she had paid 130,000 baht ($3,625) to lenders as she kept restarting the cycle without paying off the actual loans.

Getting out of debt

The governments efforts to clear up debts include acting as a mediator between the lender and the borrower. Watcharins case was handled by a local district official who negotiated with her lenders, citing outstanding interest from the illegal rate she had paid.

But a larger aim is to prevent people falling into debt again while supporting access to regular bank loans, said Srettha, who also serves as the finance minister and aims to fix the economy and Thais income.

Other measures to overhaul Thailands debt problems include fixing a debtors credit, devising new payment schemes for credit card debtors, low-interest loans, for example. A finance ministry spokesperson said this month the scheme would cover over 10 million people with institutional loans and some 1.6 million with informal loans.

Thai small business owner Kavita Wongyakasem, who lives in Nonthaburi province, reacts as she realizes she does not have enough money to pay bills, April 28, 2023. [Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters]

Achin Chunglog, president of the Supa Wongsaena Foundation for Debtors Rights Reform, a local NGO, has been working on debt cases for over two decades and has consulted with Watcharin. She said this period was the worst she had seen.

Individual debts started to accumulate before COVID, and when COVID started they exploded because people were out of jobs and failed to service their debts, Achin told BenarNews. Most people borrow to cover everyday expenses because they dont earn enough.

Achin said debtors come in all forms. They can be workers indebted to loan sharks or institutional loans such as mortgages, while others can be owners of small and midsized businesses with debts ranging from 20 million to 30 million baht ($558,000) to ($837,000).

Certain workers in Thailand such as teachers could be in debt 200 to 300 times their salary, Achin said, because teachers saving co-ops provide loans without checking their credit details.

She advised debtors to divide a sum of money for expenses and debt payments as part of their plans.

Most Thai people dont have savings or fail to set up an emergency fund for a three-month or six-month period. We should look forward to creating this emergency money in the future, Achin said.


United States President Joe Biden arrives at Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport to visit the Texas border and remark on immigration reform on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville . Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer United States President Joe Biden visits the Texas border and speaks to Border Patrol agents on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville . Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer United States President Joe Biden visits the Texas border to remark on immigration reform on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville . Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he visits the boat ramp at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press Texas Department of Public Safety officers patrol the Rio Grande river along Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, ahead of a visit from former president Donald Trump. The park has been the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Mary Marin and Arturo Cervera of Piedras Negras, Mexico, stand along Main Street in downtown Eagle Pass, Texas, hoping that they can catch a glimpse of former President Donald Trump as he arrives to Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens during a briefing on a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press President Joe Biden talks with the U.S. Border Patrol, as he looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Noeh Hidalgo, top center, 10, of Eagle Pass uses a monocular to take a look down Main Street in downtown Eagle Pass, Texas, while waiting to catch a glimpse of former president Donald Trump on his arrival to Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks as he arrives for a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press People line up along Main Street in downtown Eagle Pass, Texas, hoping to catch a glimpse of former president Donald Trump as he arrives to Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News People line up along Main Street in downtown Eagle Pass, Texas, hoping to catch a glimpse of former president Donald Trump as he arrives to Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News People wait at the intersection of Commercial and Main Streets in Eagle Pass, Texas, to catch a glimpse of former president Donald Trump arriving at Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News A person dons a Trump 2024 flag as they ride in a vehicle rolling down Main Street in Eagle Pass, Texas on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, ahead of a visit from former president Donald Trump. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, along the Rio Grande, with the U.S. Border Patrol. Evan Vucci/Associated Press Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard an entrance to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, ahead of a visit from former president Donald Trump. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to Maj. Gen. Thomas M. Suelzer, Adjutant General for the State of Texas, right, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press Robert Cruz, right, shows off a Texas for Trump flag to passersby while parked along Commercial Street in Eagle Pass on Thursday morning, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Cruz set up a block away from Shelby Park, where former president Donald Trump scheduled a speech to address the immigration crisis. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard the stage set up for former President Donald Trump at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The republican presidential nominee planned to give a speech about immigration at the park, which is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Flags are displayed on Robert Cruzs vehicle ahead of former President Donald Trumps visit to Shelby Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. The park is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a briefing during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press

President Joe Biden on Thursday used his second trip to the Texas border while in office to blast congressional Republicans for killing a bipartisan immigration bill and made a personal plea to former President Donald Trump who was about five hours to the northwest in Eagle Pass.

Join me, Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan security bill, Biden told more than 200 people packed into the Border Patrol station in Brownsville. We can do this together. You know and I know this is the toughest, most efficient  effective  border security bill this country has ever seen.

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Minutes earlier, Biden and Border Patrol officials outlined key provisions of the legislation that would have helped them do their jobs. Specifically, they said it would enable them to hire thousands more Border Patrol officers and immigration judges and to acquire new drug detection technology and equipment overall. The deal  which also included reforms to the country's asylum system and new authority for the president to turn away migrants  died after Trump and other Republicans mounted a pressure campaign against it, arguing it would be a political victory for Biden months before the presidential election.

I promise you we are going to fight like hell to get you this bipartisan proposal that Democrats and Republicans supported, Biden told Border Patrol officials, assuring them he hasnt given up on trying to revive the proposal.

The president's remarks came just after Trump gave a dueling speech in Eagle Pass, where Texas officials have seized a public park as part of their growing border security effort. Trump blasted Biden on Thursday for dismantling federal border security orders that had been implemented during his own time in office, including Title 42, a pandemic-era policy allowing federal officials to quickly turn away migrants at the border. He also praised Texas efforts to crack down on crossings and compared the situation at the Mexican border to a war.

The operation that they showed me is nothing less than incredible, Trump said after touring state law enforcement facilities. And I'll say this  its a military operation. This is like a war."

The dueling trips, just days before Tuesday's primary, come as Biden has sought to go on the offensive on border security  an issue long wielded against him by Trump and the GOP. Polling shows Americans are increasingly concerned about the issue after record migrant crossings and months of Republican political attacks on it.

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Before the remarks Thursday, Biden toured a section of the Texas border, met with local law enforcement and received a briefing from Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials about conditions on the ground. Biden last visited the Texas border in January 2023, traveling to El Paso, where he met with aid workers and had briefings with Border Patrol officials.

By being in Brownsville, Biden was in a region of the border that has been a bright spot for his administration. The Rio Grande Valley has been one of the most crossed sections of the U.S. border with Mexico over decades, but the number of crossings has dropped over the last three years, even as migration soared in Eagle Pass and El Paso.

In January, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 7,300 border encounters there  the lowest monthly total during Bidens tenure in the White House.

Still, the border as a whole has seen record border encounters. Federal data shows the Border Patrol encountered 2.5 million migrants in 2023.

Republicans have blamed Bidens policies for ushering in migrants. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who was in Laredo on Sunday, said Biden inherited a quiet border thanks to the Trump administration and blew it during his first days in office by stopping construction of the border wall and later ending Title 42.

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Cruz said Biden caused the border influx "with unilateral executive action and can solve it with unilateral executive action.

Trump is calling for a major clampdown on immigration going even further than in his first term, and his campaign has floated rounding up immigrants into camps and mass deportations if he retakes the White House.

A Gallup poll released this week found that 28% of Americans say immigration is the most important issue facing the country, the largest share ever to rank it first and the first time immigration has ranked ahead of all other issues since 2019.
Bennington, VT (05201)

Today

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the morning. High near 40F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Snow showers. Low 28F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump points to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he speaks at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a briefing during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/Associated Press Former President Donald Trump and Gov. Greg Abbott tour Shelby Park along the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The republican presidential nominee and Texas governor gave speeches about immigration at the park, which is currently the epicenter of an immigration enforcement battle between Texas officials and the federal government. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he visits the boat ramp at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. From left are Freeman Martin, deputy director of Texas Homeland Security Operations, Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, Adjutant General for the State of Texas, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Michael Banks, special adviser to the governor on border matters. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as visits Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Eric Gay/Associated Press

WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump said Gov. Greg Abbott is absolutely on his list of potential running mates after touring the states border security operations in Eagle Pass on Thursday.

Certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider, Trump said of Abbott, who he said has done a great job and is a spectacular man.

Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee, made the comments during a joint appearance with Abbott on Sean Hannitys Fox News show. Hannity asked Trump if he would consider Abbott as vice president.

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Ive been hearing that more and more from friends of mine, Trump said. After the show, I think Im going to hear it a lot more, too.

On Friday, Abbott said his focus is entirely on the state of Texas.

Obviously its very nice of him to say, Abbott said, when asked about Trumps comments during an unrelated press conference. As you know, Im working right now on the midterm election process. Ive already talked about, that Ive announced that Im running for reelection two years from now. And so my commitment is to Texas, and Im staying in Texas.

The show was taped after the former president toured Shelby Park, a stretch of border Texas seized in January for its border operations. The public park has been the site of a standoff between Abbott and the Biden administration, as state soldiers have prevented Border Patrol agents from apprehending and processing migrants there. Trump praised Texas efforts to crack down on migrant crossings and compared the situation at the Mexican border to a war.

President Joe Biden also visited the Texas border Thursday. After meeting with federal immigration authorities and local leaders in Brownsville, Biden urged Trump to join him in calling on Congress to pass a bipartisan proposal aimed at curbing crossings. Trump was a big part of killing the proposal, which he rallied Republicans against, saying the bill would deliver Biden an election year victory.
On the Rio Grande, 300 miles apart, Biden and Trump try to use immigration to election advantage

Three hundred miles apart, on the bank of the same winding Rio Grande, President Joe Biden and GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Thursday surveyed the U.S.-Mexico border
This Story in History is selected from the archives by Jeannie Maschino, The Berkshire Eagle.
You are the owner of this article.
Jazz pianist Mary Lou Williams, shown in an updated photo, stepped away from the music scene in 1954 and converted to Catholicism. She spent the rest of her life helping others.
Gov. Maura Healey outlined her proposal for a cumulative $2 billion investment in the state's life sciences industry and the emerging climate tech field during a news conference in Somerville on Feb. 29.
Many women throughout history have set out on their own to share the gospel with people in countries where they have never heard about Gods saving grace through Jesus Christ.

Here are the stories of three women missionaries who strongly sensed Gods calling to go. They persevered when faced with challenging situations to follow through on their calling. Often their paths were filled with what seemed like impossible hurdles to cross and overcome, yet, with determination, each one faithfully pursued their vision and mission.

We can draw encouragement from them for our own journeys, whether they take us into the mission field across the world, or in sharing Jesus love within our own communities and families.

These women exhibited Christ-like selflessness and obedience, often giving up much comfort in their personal situations, living frugally and in hardship. Courageous in the face of difficulties, they have made a difference to the lives of many, giving people across the world the opportunity to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Gladys Aylward 1902 - 1970

Gladys Aylward was born in London in 1902. She grew up in a small, happy family and her father was a postal worker. Gladys left school at age fourteen and worked in domestic service as a maid.

God, however, worked in her life during her teenage years and she responded to His call to give her life to Him. By her late twenties, she sensed God calling her to China. Gladys began training with the China Inland Mission, however, she failed to pass the examination requirements of the mission, and was also told she was too old to learn the Chinese language.

Determined to get to China somehow, Gladys began saving what little money she could for the journey. Eventually, she learned of another older female missionary, Jeannie Lawson, looking for a younger woman to help in her work in China. Gladys set out to join her. However, with limited funds she was unable to purchase boat fare to China. Instead, she traveled the arduous and dangerous journey alone on the Trans-Siberian Railway. With many setbacks she eventually arrived in Yancheng.

The two women set to work converting their run-down home into an inn for mule trains. However, the local people were suspicious of foreigners. So, Gladys had the job of persuading the head mule to turn into their courtyard so that the men had no choice but to follow. They gave food and lodging to the men and animals, and in the evening shared stories from the Bible with them.

Jeannie Lawson died, but Gladys work in China was only just beginning. She continued running the inn, but also took on other responsibilities. With the practice of foot binding being prohibited, Gladys was chosen by the local mandarin to go into homes and ensure the custom was not being followed. At another time, she was asked to intervene in a prison riot, which eventually led to prison reform.

In 1936 Gladys became a naturalized Chinese citizen. From being a foreign devil, she became known as Ai-weh-deh which means Virtuous One.

War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, but Gladys refused to leave. As the enemy approached, Gladys learned that a reward had been offered for her capture, dead or alive, for her work with Chinese Intelligence. Only then did Gladys decide to flee for safety. However, she was not on her own. Gladys had been taking in orphaned and neglected children to live with her at the inn; she set out with 100 children to reach Sian. With very little belongings and only the smallest amount of food and water, they walked for nearly a month across the mountains, and miraculously found a Chinese patrol to help them safely cross the Yellow River.

In 1947, Gladys returned to England. She then attempted to return to China in 1957, but when she was refused entry, she moved to Taiwan where she founded the Gladys Aylward Orphanage and stayed until her death in 1970.

Her autobiography can be found in Gladys Aylward: The Little Woman.

Amy Beatrice Carmichael 1867 - 1951

Amy Carmichael was born in Ireland in 1867, not far from Belfast. She was the eldest of seven children and said to be impulsive, headstrong, and tomboyish. As a teenager, she attended a Wesleyan Methodist girls boarding school in England. However, when her father died in 1885, while she was still in her teens, Amy was taken under the wings of Robert Wilson, one of the pioneers of the Keswick Conventions in England, who had lost his daughter. Amy went to live with Wilsons family.

Through the Keswick Conventions, Amy received her calling to be a missionary in 1892. However, her missionary career started erratically. The China Inland Mission declined her for health reasons. Then in March 1893 she simply set off for Japan. After a short time in the country, she left for health reasons, also deciding God had called her to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon. Her time in Ceylon was even shorter as she received news that Robert Wilson had suffered a stroke and so she returned home.

Eventually in 1895 an opportunity came with an Anglican mission, the Church of England Zenana Missionary Society. And so, Amy set off for southern India. This would become her home for more than fifty-five years.

Amys passion became the treatment of women and children trapped in temple prostitution, and infant and child marriage.

In 1901, Amy began caring for her first child and the Dohnavur Fellowship was founded. Here, Amy became known as Amma which means mother in Tamil, the language that Amy learned and mastered. By 1904, there were seventeen children under her care.

In 1931, Amy fell and broke her leg. Her health never fully recovered, but she lived for another twenty years and during this time wrote thirteen books, adding to books she had already written, one of which was Things As They Are: Mission Work in Southern India created from her letters in which she wrote about the harsh realities of being a missionary. With worsening health and another fall, Amy died on January 18, 1951, aged 83.

The Dohnavur Fellowship still exists today, as a home for at risk rescued children. Nowadays, children are rescued from difficult situations and referred by government agencies to be admitted into the home.

Amys story is written about by another courageous woman missionary, Elisabeth Elliott, in her book A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael.

Faye Elva Edgerton 1889 - 1968

Faye Edgerton was born in Nebraska in 1889. She grew up in the Presbyterian church and as a child and teenager lived without a care in the world.

She moved to Chicago to study music, but became sick with scarlet fever, which for a while left her completely deaf. Although her hearing recovered, this incident changed the trajectory of her life. She decided to attend Moody Bible Institute to train as a missionary.

In 1918, Faye went to Korea with the American Presbyterian Mission, studying Korean on the journey there. However, she lived there for only four years, until 1922, when she returned to America due to ill health.

Faye moved to teach at a school in Arizona on a Navajo reservation, as the weather in that area was believed to be better for her health. There she discovered that children were required to speak in English rather than their native Navajo. She longed to speak to them in their native language. Faye also believed the Navajo people needed the Bible in their own language so they could fully understand Gods Word within their own cultural setting. It was here she realized that God had called her to work.

In 1944 she joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and set about mastering the Navajo language. She immersed herself in the culture, living amongst the people on a reservation in New Mexico. God had answered her prayer to live where no English was spoken. She painstakingly studied the language. Then, alongside teaching, came her first opportunity to translate Scripture, beginning with the Gospel of Mark.

Translation took long hours and extensive research, particularly in the original Greek, not only to make sure the grammar was correct but also to include concepts familiar to and understood within the Navajo language and culture.

After ten years, the New Testament in Navajo was complete. Concern that the Navajo people would either not buy the New Testament or could not afford it were immediately put to rest. The first edition sold 2,500 copies in five months. By the end of 1967, it had been reprinted seven times.

Faye then proceeded to work on the translation of Old Testament books and the Psalms into Navajo, overseeing the work of other translators. Faye then moved to live with the Apache and translated the Apache New Testament.

At age 77, Kaye moved to Alaska to work with translators on the Inupiat New Testament. She continued working on translating up to her death in 1968.

Faye Edgertons story is written about in the book God Speaks Navajo.

Sources

Gladys Aylward

Biographical Sketches of Memorable Christians of the Past

Encyclopedia.com

Amy Carmichael

The Donhavur Fellowship

History Ireland

Boston University School of Theology

Faye Edgerton

Geni - Faye Elva Edgerton

Wycliffe Bible Translations

50 Women Every Christian Should Know, Michelle DeRusha, Baker Books 2014

Photo credit: Getty Images/George Muresan
The Scripture teaches us that the Pharaoh we read of in Exodus had a heart that was hardened. But who was responsible for that hardening? In some passages, it appears like he hardened his own heart. Yet, in many other passages, God claimed credit for the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. So just who was responsible for his hardened heart? Pharaoh? God? Or some combination of the two?

God Hardened Pharaoh's Heart

Throughout the Exodus story, we find references to God either hardening Pharaoh's heart or telling Moses that he would harden him. In Exodus 4:21, as God was calling on Moses to return to Egypt, he made it clear that he would harden the Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let Israel go. In Exodus 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17 we find this same thing expressed; God would harden Pharaoh's heart. In the last of those references, the hearts of the Egyptians as a whole were hardened, not just Pharaoh's.

It should be clear from this that God actively hardened Pharaoh's heart. Repeatedly, the inspired Scriptures affirm that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Regardless of what else we may find about the hardening of his heart, God was playing an active role in it.

Pharaoh Hardened His Own Heart

When Moses first called on Pharaoh to let Israel go, he responded with, Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go (Exodus 5:2). While this verse says nothing specific about Pharaoh's heart being hard, it does show that Pharaoh was unwilling to listen to what God had to say. The scene was set here with Pharaoh setting himself up in opposition to God.

In Exodus 8:15, 32; and 9:34, we are told explicitly that Pharaoh hardened his own heart. There are several other passages in this account, like Exodus 7:13, where we see that Pharaoh's heart became hard, but with no reference as to who was responsible.

And yet other passages speak of Pharaoh's resistance to God. In Exodus 3:19, God made clear to Moses that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless a mighty hand compels him. Exodus 7:14 says that Pharaoh's heart was unyielding and that he would refuse to let Israel go. And Exodus 13:15 says that Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let Israel go. You might understand Pharaoh's stubbornness to be a consequence of Gods hardening. But I believe it is more likely that these passages describe Pharaoh's own hardness of heart.

God Raised Him Up for a Purpose

One of the attributes of God that most Christians affirm is his sovereignty. But precisely what is meant by Gods sovereignty is a topic of debate. Does sovereignty require absolute control of everything that happens within the creation  including the thoughts and actions of humans? Or is there a place for true libertarian freedom for humanity within Gods sovereignty?

A complete answer to that debate is beyond the scope of this article. Yet it has a bearing on how we understand the topic at hand. Lets look first at Gods sovereign activity here. And later, we will look at any responsibility Pharaoh may have had in hardening his own heart.

Exodus 9:15-16 is a crucial passage in understanding what God was doing as he hardened Pharaohs heart. In this passage, the Lord told Pharaoh, For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

This passage reveals that God had at least two options available for delivering Israel from Egypt. He could have just destroyed Pharaoh and all of Egypt. And by so doing have freed Israel and allowed them to return to Canaan. But he did not.

The second option was what God chose to do. He chose this specific person to be Pharaoh. He put him into power at that time and place for a purpose, so that Gods name might be proclaimed throughout the earth. This second option became a contest between the gods of Egypt and the LORD God of Israel. In each of them, the power of God is demonstrated, and he gains renown among the nations  not to mention among his own people.

God chose this man to be Pharaoh. God placed him into power at the head of Egypt, and he did so for his own reasons. The Pharaoh of the Exodus may have thought he had his place because of his birth or ability. But those were only secondary reasons that God used to accomplish his primary reason. And that reason was, to put it somewhat crudely, to make a punching bag out of him.

Was Pharaoh a Helpless Pawn?

The question then is what responsibility Pharaoh had for his actions. Was he just a helpless pawn in Gods hands? Or did he have some freedom to have acted differently than he did?

I believe that Paul can shed some clarity on this question. 2 Thessalonians 2 discusses the coming of the antichrist and the peoples response to him. And in this discourse, we find the following:

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

This lawless one that Satan sends will deceive those who are perishing. But they are perishing because they have refused to believe. They are responsible for their lack of belief. The relevant part of this passage is what follows. God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe Satans lie. That delusion comes to those who had first refused to believe.

I believe that something like that applies to Pharaoh as well. Pharaoh was not a helpless pawn who found himself with a hardened heart through no fault of his own. Instead, I believe God used him and put him into power precisely because God knew that he would resist, allowing God to demonstrate his power over the gods of Egypt.

Pharaoh refused to let Israel leave Egypt. He hardened his heart toward Gods command. He bore responsibility for his actions. But God took that hardened heart of Pharaoh and further hardened it, ensuring that his power would be fully demonstrated to Egypt, Israel, and the nations Israel would later dispossess.

Pharaoh Acknowledged His Culpability

I find another aspect of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart interesting. During the plagues, Pharaoh acknowledged his sin, accepting responsibility for what was happening. In Exodus 9:27, after the plague of hail, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron. This time I have sinned, he said to them. The LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. And he repeated this in Exodus 10:16 after the plague of locusts.

Pharaoh knew that he was acting contrary to Gods command in refusing to let Israel go. And by confessing his sin, he recognized that he should have, and could have, done otherwise. Pharaoh knew that he was fighting against God, and that he was wrong in doing so. But because of the hardness of his heart, he refused to back down.

So, Who Hardened Pharaoh's Heart?

So, in the end, who hardened Pharaoh's heart? I believe that the Scripture teaches us that both Pharaoh himself and God were responsible for that hardening. Pharaoh was one who God put into a position of power specifically so that God could demonstrate his power in him. But God did not pick a helpless pawn. He chose one who, on his own, would resist God. And then God further hardened his heart.

There is much I do not understand about Gods sovereignty. But it is clear from the story of the Exodus that God has a purpose and plan, and that he uses people to carry out his plan. He used Moses to confront Pharaoh and to lead Israel out of Egypt. And he used Pharaoh to demonstrate his power. God chose both men to fulfill the role they were assigned. But I believe he chose them because of who they already were. His choice of these two men was not arbitrary.

Photo credit: Unsplash/AussieActive
Nick Pelke rides Moondancer during the Super Series I, round 3 of Rodeo Houston at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Park on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo will host Community Day on March 6. The special day will allow guests free admission into the event until noon.

Those attending Community Day can also expect discounted food and beverages. The Junction will sell $3 mini corn dogs at McKinney Corn Dog, $3 mini popcorn at Kid Shack and a $3 small sour apple lemonade at Squeezers until 4 p.m.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR: Houston Rodeo offers special days including Value Wednesday, Community Day

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Additionally, attendees get the chance to take advantage of buy one, get one rides and games in the Junction Carnival area until 4 p.m.
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In 2020, David Meyer, alongside his co-founder, Guglielmo Montone, laid the foundation for Lynceus.ai with a vision to revolutionize high-value manufacturing through the creation of an advanced, AI-based operating system. This ambition wasn't solely focused on technological innovation; it aimed to redefine the manufacturing landscape by leveraging artificial intelligence to address some of the industry's most complex challenges.

David Meyer's role includes piecing together a team of exceptional talent and securing the essential resources needed to bring the Lynceus vision to fruition. In this conversation with David, we've touched upon his career path, challenges in managing and developing Lynceus, and his sources of inspiration.

Could you briefly share your journey into the manufacturing automation sector and the origins of your interest?

My journey into manufacturing began in the realm of consulting, where I supported private equity funds in evaluating manufacturing assets as potential investments. Despite gaining valuable insights, I found the work overly theoretical and soon pivoted towards a more hands-on role in Operations. My operational career kicked off at Uber, where I oversaw the onboarding of drivers across France, Switzerland, and Austria.

Subsequently, I ventured into the e-scooter industry, launching operations in France from scratch. After the company was successfully acquired by a competitor, the timing felt perfect to explore entrepreneurship.

Joining Entrepreneur First led me to my co-founder, Guglielmo, who introduced me to the world of semiconductor manufacturing. Together, we founded Lynceus, developing AI-driven software designed to boost the productivity of high-value manufacturing operations through real-time process optimization.

How have your roles at Uber and your e-scooter startup Circ prepared you for leading Lynceus?

My tenure at Uber coincided with its transition from a startup to a large corporation, yet the ethos of rapid innovation and agility reminiscent of its startup days persisted. This environment necessitated building systems from the ground up, swiftly iterating processes, and assembling teams capable of keeping pace with the company's dynamic growth. Such an experience honed my skills in rapid development and adaptation, essential for nurturing a startup like Lynceus.

At Circ, I was part of the early foundational team, stepping in before the Series A funding round and among the first ten employees. As Circ's inaugural employee in France, I spearheaded the company's launch in the country, scaling the operations from just myself to a robust team of more than 200 people spread across six cities and managing nine warehouses. This journey, starting from zero and scaling up in a highly scrappy and entrepreneurial environment, equipped me with invaluable insights into managing growth, team building, and operational scalability-skills that are directly transferable to my work at Lynceus, guiding its growth and navigating the complexities of integrating AI into manufacturing.

You have raised $10M to date in such a conservative industry, where the market is divided among long-standing companies. What helped you accomplish this?

These days, VCs are more cautious compared to the 2021 investment spree, which makes it harder to raise money. But once you have a clear application of AI within a strategic vertical with a clearly defined ROI and you understand why your customers buy it, it's going to play out well for you.

The second step is about being clear that this is not a type of company that would fit any investor. We asked investors to explain to us why they're excited about what we're doing and what they can actually bring to the table.

We want to avoid bringing in someone who doesn't understand what we do, the nature of the sales cycle, and the customers we work with.

How do you hire those people and make them work together?

This is also something challenging. The main learning for myself is not to get overly fixated on CVs. We tried hiring senior profiles in semiconductor companies, and it did not always work out: they were not startup guys. It didn't work out because they were not startup guys and were used to working in a different environment.

When you have someone with a great pedigree and CV who is happy to join your company, you see that as a sign of success. But in some cases, it blinded some of the more basic aspects of this person. Do you understand each other well? Do you think in the same way? And so I think we could have saved a lot of time and money by learning this earlier.

How do you estimate the competition in your niche? What is unique about your company?

We've been doing this for a longer time than most teams in the industry. Being independent and not having any clear association with a player on the market is important because we need to get privileged access to data. For now, we have never had any trouble accessing this data, and we want to keep it that way.

We are also seeing emerging competition from internal data science teams, which can be competitors or partners, depending on how we engage with them. Then there are other competitors building the machines, which end up being deployed-either machines that help produce semiconductors or machines that are used for measuring the chips themselves. Those are large, billion-dollar companies.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced building Lynceus, and how have you overcome them?

I had to ramp up very fast in order to be credible. We would add 100 people a day on LinkedIn, try to speak to as many people as possible, and try to understand what they do, what their problems are, what kind of solution they would like, and what they have already tried.

Another one is that you also need to filter a little bit from all of the feedback that you get between what's extremely relevant, relevant for later, and just negative. Many people told us it was impossible to do this as well. So it's an interesting mix of being stubborn and open, which I think needs to happen.

We are working within a very specific industry, so we need a very specific mix of skills, from talented software engineers working on cutting-edge ways of deploying and maintaining software in factories where there's no internet and where the data is extremely valuable and sensitive to very good AI data scientists who also have an understanding of physics, to salespeople who come from the industry and have an existing base of contacts but at the same time are ready to join a French startup to make it work.

What do you enjoy the most when working in this complex industry?

The first thing is the fact of having a real-life impact. We are not building a tool to optimize recommendations on the feed simply. It's something that can solve a problem for people working on some of the most complex things that humankind ever needed, a thousand times more complex than a rocket, for instance. It feels good to be part of this because I'm not an engineer at heart, but it's an interesting industry to contribute to.

The second thing is that since there are major challenges to producing those chips, and the demand keeps increasing, coming up with a novel approach can quickly give you access to very senior people in this industry. So here you have an interesting mix of stakeholders from the person on the factory floor who needs to use your tool, and you need to make sure that you're designing something that's compelling to CEOs or VPs, who have a different perspective on what the tool should do and the impact that it should have. So you need to switch brains multiple times per day, which is interesting to me as well.

It's hard to predict the future, but I think we can have an impact not only on the chip industry. What we do is relevant for other massive industries as well. The sense of history is that the chip industry is the most sophisticated manufacturing vertical today, but a lot of other manufacturing verticals are following the same path.

At 32, you are the youngest CEO in the semiconductor industry. Does it help you to see things from a different perspective and, as a result, to disrupt the industry?

The good thing about being less experienced is that you have fewer preconceived ideas on how things should be. At Lynceus, we look at things pragmatically: what is the challenge, and how can we solve it? On the other hand, semiconductor manufacturing has been extremely successful at optimizing through iterations in clearly defined structures. In a way, we are also disrupting the established ways of working in the industry, bringing together previously siloed teams (such as IT and manufacturing) to deliver value.

Being younger also helped me build stronger relationships with industry veterans and decision-makers. I am fully aware of what I don't know and ask for advice every day. In turn, this helped us build connections faster and gain access to senior leaders at our customers.
In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of gender diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). However, despite progress, significant gender parities persist, particularly in leadership positions within sectors like healthcare and biotechnology. We shall delve deeper into this unfortunate scenario and explore whether there's light at the end of the tunnel.

Women in the Indian healthcare industry are mainly concentrated in low-paying frontline positions. In India, 29 per cent of medical doctors, 80 per cent of nursing staff (including midwives), and nearly 100 per cent of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are women. Despite this, women hold only 18 per cent of healthcare leadership positions and continue to earn 34 per cent less than their male counterparts.

These are the outcomes of the study titled An Unbalanced Scale - Exploring the Female Leadership Gap in India's Healthcare Sector from Dasra, a non-profit organisation. The study revealed that the Indian healthcare sector, one of the country's largest employers, has experienced substantial growth. It takes a closer look at women's representation in healthcare and the leadership opportunities available to them.





Inspiring leaders

"What is concerning is the gap between the proportion of women in healthcare and those who occupy leadership positions. At entry levels, women's representation in sales, marketing, and operations ranges from 40-50 per cent. However, this significantly drops to 15-20 per cent in senior roles," says Shailja Mehta, Director at Dasra.



What is behind this gender gap in leadership positions? Societal norms, cultural expectations and implicit biases against women are some of the main factors that have contributed to the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions. It is a complex issue. The lack of female role models and mentors perpetuates this gender gap," says Shailja.



Some believe that one of the primary reasons for the skewed gender ratio in STEM is the stereotyping that begins early in life. Societal expectations often push girls towards more traditionally feminine roles, diverting them away from technical and scientific fields. As a result, fewer women choose STEM education and careers. While others argue that the current gap is a reflection of what was happening 20 years ago, when fewer women entered science careers.

Todays leaders represent those who entered the field 15-20 years back. Now that the number of women entering these fields has significantly increased in recent years, we will see a lot of women leaders in the coming years. In fact, a major proportion of startups are led by women. They have the capability to do it, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, former director, National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) Pune, says, "The situation is definitely improving. For more women to take leadership roles, changes are required at the family, community and industry level."

Dr Pragya Yadav, senior scientist at the National Institute of Virology, Pune, who played an instrumental role in the development of Covaxin, agrees. "The situation has certainly improved, but school-going girls should have access to reputable colleges and safe residential facilities for pursuing science as a subject for the real change to occur. Besides, they need support in equal measure, from their families and the industry when raising their children. If they lose that time, catching up becomes difficult, she says.

"Furthermore, this support should not be seen as an extra favour to women, but rather as their right. Children are the future and the environment they experience while growing up is crucial to their growth and development. It is the duty of both families and society, not just mothers alone, to provide a safe and suitable environment for them," she added.



Manya Jha, a young entrepreneur and founder of Morphedo Technologies, a deep tech startup in aerospace and defence, medical device engineering, IoT and embedded systems, faced the challenge of balancing child care and her career after the birth of her daughter. To tackle this challenge, she established a small child care centre at her office.

"Starting just 20 days after my daughter was born, I brought her to my workplace every day. I made space in my cabin where she could stay with me. Until she was 7 months old, my husband and I took care of her in the shared cabin (during COVID-19 period). At the time of her birth, my startup was also at a crucial stage, she says. Both my daughter and my company required my personal attention. There were instances when I had to attend important meetings with senior scientists while holding my one-month-old daughter. I believe it's all about the confidence with which you pursue your career."



Today, Manya's company has around 40 employees and the child care centre is now available to all new mothers, offering support in looking after their children while at work.



So, despite the challenges, there has been a noticeable shift in the narrative over the past decade, with the number of women leaders emerging in STEM careers increasing slowly but steadily. And these women are not only excelling in their respective fields but also helping dismantling barriers that hinder the progress of other aspiring women.



Several prominent women leaders are setting an example for others. Dr N Kalaiselvi, Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr Priya Abraham, Director of the National Institute of Virology, biotech stalwart Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, and entrepreneurs like Dr Kavita Iyer Rodrigues and Vasanthi Ramachandran represent some of the most sought after leaders in the industry.



"Women are leading more than 30 per cent of the startups incubated at our centre. In many others, they are co-founders or hold significant positions," says Dr Manisha Premnath, COO of Venture Center, an incubation centre in Pune that helps startups grow.

Breaking the glass ceiling

While there is a rise of women leaders in the health and biotech sector, it is important to acknowledge the challenges they continue to face. Stereotypes, biases, and a lack of institutional support still exist. The glass ceiling phenomenon persists, making it difficult for women to reach the highest levels of leadership. A male-centric workplace culture, coupled with a lack of flexibility and understanding regarding work-life balance, discourage women from pursuing or sustaining leadership roles.

"The biggest challenge that women face is breaking these stereotypes and breaking free from the vicious cycle of work and life. They need to step out of their comfort zones, or rather, their safe zones, and then there will be no stopping them. Fortunately, nowadays there are several schemes and funds available to support women," says Dr Deeksha Bhartiya, Founder of Genomiki.



Coming from a very traditional, yet ambitious family, Dr Deeksha got married at a young age and encountered challenges in maintaining a balance between her personal and professional life. However, she didn't allow these challenges to deter her from pursuing her doctoral studies and career. "There were many senior male scientists who advised me to take up a permanent job instead of embarking on my entrepreneurial journey. I was told that women should prioritise stability over adventure. However, I am fortunate to have a very supportive family who always push me to exceed my limits and support me in all my decisions."

Exiting the vicious circle

The foundation for achieving gender parity in STEM careers is laid during the crucial years of education. Schools and educational institutions play an important role in challenging these stereotypes and encouraging girls to explore their interests in science and technology. STEM-focused educational programmes, workshops, and extracurricular activities can help break down gender-based barriers from a young age. Scholarships and mentorship programmes can encourage girls to pursue science education.

To encourage more women to pursue careers in STEM and foster an inclusive and diverse workforce, it is important to adopt unbiased recruitment practices, create a supportive environment for their progress, and implement flexible work arrangements.

There is a growing emphasis on incorporating diverse perspectives in STEM curricula. Highlighting the contributions of women scientists and engineers in textbooks and classroom discussions can inspire both girls and boys, challenging preconceived notions about gender roles in these fields. There should be more networking events, conferences and platforms that specifically focus on women in STEM to provide valuable opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing. These spaces not only celebrate the achievements of women in the field but also facilitate the exchange of ideas and strategies to overcome common challenges.

Emphasising the pivotal role women play in shaping a sustainable future through scientific leadership, Melody Lopez, Director and Chief of Staff Crayon Software Experts India says Fostering women's leadership in science is not just about gender equality but also a catalyst for achieving sustainable development goals. The theme reflects a call to action, urging communities, governments, and organisations to provide equal opportunities for women and girls in science, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes. She further says As we champion women and girls in science leadership, let us embrace this new era, where their voices, ideas, and leadership propel us toward a brighter, more sustainable future for all.

The journey towards gender parity in STEM careers in India could be challenging, but the momentum for change is growing.

Gunjan Sharma

gunjan.sharma@mmactiv.com
Subsequent years witnessed a downward trend, notably in 2023, marking the least funded year in the past five years

In the fast-evolving landscape of the global oncology sector, Tracxn's analysis reveals a narrative of groundbreaking innovation and funding trends. With over 5500 companies worldwide and approximately 4000 funded to date, the sector is at the forefront of redefining cancer treatment methodologies through advancements in AI, Robotics, and Genomic Sequencing.

While remarkable progress has been made, there remains untapped potential, emphasising the persistent need for simplified treatments and curative breakthroughs.

In 2021, the Oncology space reached a zenith in venture capital (VC) funding, soaring to nearly $23.5 billion globally. However, subsequent years witnessed a downward trend, notably in 2023, marking the least funded year in the past five years. The overall funding for 2023 amounted to $9.2 billion, indicating a 24% drop from the $12.1 billion raised in 2022. The year 2024 has witnessed a funding of $424 million to date.

Early-stage funding in 2023 saw a decline of 30%, falling to $5.6 billion compared to the $8 billion raised in 2022. The highest early-stage funding was observed in 2021, with $13.6 billion.

As of 2024, early-stage funding has reached $291 million to date. Late-stage funding remained consistent, with $3.7 billion raised in both 2023 and 2022. The year 2020 recorded the highest late-stage funding at $10.6 billion, while 2024 has received $160 million to date.

The seed stage received a total funding of $384 million in 2023, reflecting a 20% decrease from the $479 million raised in 2022. 2021 was the most lucrative year for seed-stage funding, securing a total of $545 million. Q1 2021 emerged as the highest-funded quarter with an overall funding of $7 billion, while Q1 2023 marked the least funded quarter in the last four years.

Innovative Trends in the Indian Oncology Market

In the dynamic landscape of the Oncology sector in India, the latest analysis unveils a compelling narrative of innovation, funding trends, and global impact. Perfint Healthcare has emerged as a frontrunner, securing $40.1 million in total funding, leading a trail that includes Immuneel and Zumutor with $27.4 million and $26.2 million, respectively.

A groundbreaking revelation is the dominance of the Oncology Drugs, securing $27.1 million, with noteworthy contributions from key players like ImmunoACT and Immuneel. While Bengaluru takes the lead with the highest number of founded companies (20), the overall funding activity is experiencing a yearly decline, signalling a potential shift in focus.

The Oncology sector includes over 5500 startups worldwide, and in India, 94 companies have been established so far, with 55 of them successfully securing funding. The investment landscape mirrors a fluctuating journey, peaking in 2019 and showcasing Bengaluru's prominence with $85.7 million in total funding to date. Recent notable funding rounds for Cellogen Therapeutics and ImmunoACT underlines the ongoing investor interest and confidence in the sector.

India has experienced just one acquisition involving Cipla so far. To date, India has seen only two initial public offerings (IPOs), in contrast to the 613 IPOs that have occurred worldwide.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently catalysing a paradigm shift in the healthcare industry, fundamentally reshaping how medical services are delivered across the globe. The convergence of vast datasets and cutting-edge technologies has unlocked new possibilities in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, leading to more accurate outcomes and significantly enhancing patient experiences. Let's take a comprehensive look at the transformative journey of AI in medicine, delving into its current applications, global trends, and the future outlook.

The global healthcare landscape is witnessing a seismic transformation driven by AI technologies. From therapeutics to diagnostics, hospital operations to clinical decision-making, AI is making significant strides across diverse applications. According to Statista, the value of AI in the global healthcare market was $11 billion in 2021, projected to reach an estimated $188 billion by 2030. This staggering growth, at a compounded annual rate of 37 per cent, underscores the immense potential AI holds in reshaping the future of healthcare.

Transforming Medical Research and Imaging Analysis

The impact of AI is not limited to specific segments; it spans the entire healthcare ecosystem. One critical domain experiencing a revolution is medical research, as AI expedites drug discovery processes. Through machine learning algorithms, researchers can predict the success rate of chemical compounds, significantly reducing the time and resources required for experimentation. This not only accelerates the pace of innovation but also holds the promise of bringing new, effective treatments to patients more rapidly.

In the realm of medical imaging analysis, AI is proving to be a game-changer. It enables the rapid and accurate detection of anomalies in MRI scans, X-rays, and CT scans. Radiologists benefit from quicker identification of potential life-threatening issues, minimising human errors and enhancing diagnostic accuracy. This not only saves crucial time but also improves patient outcomes, particularly in cases where early detection is paramount.

Data-Driven Healthcare

AI is revolutionising the traditional landscape of diagnosis and treatment by providing clinicians with unprecedented data-driven insights. Machine learning algorithms analyse extensive patient data to identify patterns and correlations, facilitating more accurate and timely diagnosis. Personalised treatment plans based on individual patient characteristics are now a reality, enhancing the effectiveness of medical interventions. The ability to tailor treatments to specific patient profiles leads to improved outcomes and a more efficient allocation of healthcare resources.

Real-time assessment of treatment effectiveness by AI tools further contributes to improved clinical outcomes and reduced healthcare costs. Monitoring and adjusting treatment plans based on real-world data ensure that patients receive the most effective interventions tailored to their individual responses. This not only enhances patient care but also contributes to the sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide.

Predictive analysis, powered by AI, enables healthcare providers to forecast potential outcomes based on historical data and real-time health information. Identifying patients at risk of specific conditions allows for early intervention, preventing complications and improving overall healthcare efficiency. Large-scale population data analysis can also detect trends and outbreaks of infectious diseases before they become widespread, a critical capability showcased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ability to anticipate and mitigate health crises is a testament to the power of AI in safeguarding public health.

Patient-Centric Approach

The integration of AI into healthcare is not solely about clinical applications; it extends to improving the overall patient experience. Streamlining appointment scheduling, providing remote monitoring solutions, and offering personalised treatment plans based on individual medical records contribute to a more patient-centric approach. AI-driven chatbots responding to routine medical inquiries reduce stress and save time for both patients and healthcare providers, fostering a more efficient and accessible healthcare system.

Despite the promises of AI in healthcare, challenges persist. Blind spots in data access and collection, privacy concerns, data misuse, and regulatory ambiguities are roadblocks to widespread adoption. In India, a rapidly growing player in AI-based healthcare, progress is evident, but there is still a long way to go. The ambitious goals of universal healthcare delivery and affordability through AI remain distant, requiring continued innovation and collaboration.

India, a major player in the global healthcare sector, is rapidly embracing AI. The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence by NITI Aayog highlights the potential of AI to address challenges such as a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals and non-uniform accessibility to healthcare across the country. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, AI expenditure in India is projected to reach $11.78 billion by 2025, contributing significantly to the country's economy.

Despite challenges, AI's potential to revolutionise healthcare is undeniable. As technology continues to advance, AI's applications in telemedicine, genomics, robotics, and 3D printing will expand. Workforce training and collaboration between medical professionals and AI developers will be crucial for maximising the benefits of AI. The integration of AI with other emerging technologies holds the key to shaping the future of medical care.

As we delve deeper into the integration of AI in healthcare, it's imperative to address the ethical considerations surrounding this revolutionary technology. The responsible use of AI in medical settings demands careful navigation of issues such as patient privacy, data security, and bias in algorithms.

Privacy concerns arise from the vast amounts of sensitive patient data being processed by AI systems. Ensuring robust data protection measures, stringent encryption, and transparent data usage policies become paramount to build and maintain public trust in AI-driven healthcare solutions.

The potential for bias in AI algorithms poses another ethical challenge. If the datasets used to train AI models are not representative or if biased historical data is fed into the algorithms, it can perpetuate existing inequalities in healthcare. Striking a balance in dataset curation and continuous monitoring of algorithmic outputs is crucial to mitigate bias and ensure equitable healthcare outcomes.

Moreover, the explainability of AI decisions becomes crucial, especially in critical medical scenarios. Ensuring that AI models provide interpretable insights aids healthcare professionals in understanding and trusting AI-generated recommendations, fostering collaboration between humans and machines.

In conclusion, AI is not just a buzzword but a transformative force reshaping the healthcare industry. From diagnosis to treatment, AI is proving its mettle by delivering accurate, personalised, and efficient healthcare solutions. While challenges persist, the trajectory of AI in healthcare is pointing towards a future where technology and human expertise converge to provide optimal patient care. As we stand at the intersection of technology and healthcare, the role of AI in shaping the future of medicine is more promising than ever.

As AI continues to evolve, it is crucial for stakeholdersbe they healthcare providers, policymakers, or technology developersto collaborate in establishing ethical frameworks that ensure the responsible and equitable use of AI in healthcare. The ongoing dialogue around ethical considerations is vital to ensure that AI remains a force for good in healthcare, driving positive change for patients and society at large.

Ganesh Subramaniam, VP Engineering, R&D, Murata Vios


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Details by Super User on 01 March 2024 in English Print

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Human rights experts warn Eritrea maintains an iron grip on its people through repression and widespread, systematic impunity for grave human rights violations.

At the U.N. Human Rights Council Wednesday, the experts presented what they call credible reports of grave human rights violations by the Eritrean ruling elite.

The state of human rights in Eritrea continues to be dire with no signs of improvement, said Ilze Brand-Kehris, assistant secretary general of the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

She said her office continues to receive credible reports of torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and restrictions of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.

Impunity persists for these egregious human rights violations, she said.

She accused the government of silencing dissenting voices through systematic repression and the detentions or enforced disappearance of thousands of religious leaders, activists, journalists, and those evading mandatory and indefinite military service.

The U.N. special rapporteur on Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker, told delegates attending the council session that there was no evidence the government has taken any steps to prevent, investigate or redress the grave human rights violations documented by a variety of monitoring groups.

The complete lack of action by Eritrean authorities over the last two decades to address their countrys troubling human rights situation is a matter of governmental policy.

He said, The prevailing impunity has enabled the recurrence of human rights violations and silenced the victims. The identified practices and patterns of gross violations continue unabated.

In response to the criticisms of his country, the charge daffaires of the permanent Mission of Eritrea in Geneva, Habtom Zerai Ghirmai, accused those testifying at the council of presenting baseless, unfounded allegations.

He said Eritrea has been a victim of politicized and selective mandate for the last 12 years. Rather than being a violator of human rights, he said, Our commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights lies at the heart of our nationhood, a nationhood that was realized after a long drawn armed struggle for the human rights of the Eritrean people.

U.N. rapporteur Babiker said Eritreans have been stripped of their civic rights, noting that no elections have been held in over 30 years. Eritreans do not have any avenues to participate in decision-making in their own countryNo political groups are allowed to organize outside the ruling party, and independent media and civil society are not allowed to operate.

Additionally, he said no action has been taken to reform Eritreas compulsory national service. Because of the countrys indefinite military service, he said Eritreans continue to be subjected to gross and horrific abuse, including forced labor and sexual violence.

I routinely receive information regarding individuals who have been conscripted for the past 20 years, who have been deprived of their civic, social, and economic rights including the right to work, the right to life, family life, freedom of movement and the right to education. Further, severe, and collective punishments are inflicted on draft evaders, their families, and their communities, he said.

As of June 2023, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, says Eritreas indefinite national service had driven an estimated 345,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers to flee the country. This out of a global number of more than 580,000 Eritreans who have sought safety abroad.

Eritrea suffers from an acute lack of rule of law with no independent judiciary or other accountability mechanisms, observed Assistant Secretary-General Brands-Kehris, noting that Eritrea has not enacted any legal reforms that could foster the promotion and protection of human rights.

Impunity abounds for violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including those committed in the context of the Tigray conflict by Eritrean Defense Forces or EDF, she said.

Despite an agreement signed by Eritrea to withdraw its forces from Ethiopia, Brands-Kehris said, Our office has credible information that the EDF remains in Tigray and continues to commit cross-border violations, namely abductions, rape, looting of property, arbitrary arrest and other violations of physical integrity, she said.

Civil Society Representative Hanna Petros Solomon has a harsh perspective of life under Eritreas repressive regime. I am a child of heroes who served their country honorably and yet now languish in solitary confinement.

She said her father, Petros Solomon, played a prominent role during the struggle for independence and post-independent Eritrea, as did her mother, Aster Yohannes.

The last I have seen or heard of my father was the morning of September 18, 2001, 22 years ago. The last I have seen or heard of my mother was December 11, 2003, 20 years ago.

They have not committed any crime to warrant such punishment. They have not been convicted or sentenced in a court of law, she said.

The U.N. considers it torture, inhuman and degrading to hold a prisoner in indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement for over 15 days, she said. My parents indefinite solitary confinement has now stretched to over two decades.
Interview: Ericsson "optimistic" about telecoms' future in China

Xinhua) 10:51, March 01, 2024

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The telecommunications industry has a bright future in China as operators continue to provide top 5G coverage while leveraging the huge potential of the domestic market, Ericsson's chief technology officer for the Asia Pacific has said.

"I'm very optimistic for China," Magnus Ewerbring told Xinhua at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.

He noted China's advanced moves in applying the 5G technology in different industries, including manufacturing. "I think other operators in the world can take good inspiration from what's being done in China."

The Swedish telecom giant, present in China since the 1890s, has headquarters in Beijing and operations in Nanjing, Shanghai, Dalian, Xi'an, Guangzhou and Chengdu. It has 5G contracts with China's three telecom giants: China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.

"We will do our best to try to serve the needs of the Chinese market, going on with the evolution of 5G and one day going into 6G," Ewerbring said.

Speaking of 6G, he remained uncertain about the precise timing and ways of the anticipated technological leap to the successor to 5G cellular technology.

"Today we really don't know ... It's too early to say," he said, adding that it takes time to assess technologies and have the right products. "I'd say from 2025 to 2029 that process will continue," he added.

5G connectivity topped this year's agenda at the MWC, along with the focus on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the mobile industry. The gathering in Barcelona hosted around 2,400 exhibitors from all over the world between Feb. 26 and 29.

"The AI contribution has to be trustworthy and it has to be responsible, and then we can see how we can get many benefits," Ewerbring said, adding that "AI-based optimization can improve the performance and give consumers better performance."

"We have on display here many examples of experience we have gained from working with operators in China, and elsewhere in the world, and I hope that with that knowledge we can bring good stimuli to the national operators in China," he concluded.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
(Photo : Unsplash/Jonathan Simcoe)

A former career U.S. diplomat informed a federal judge on Thursday that he intends to plead guilty to charges of serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba over several decades. This unexpected decision marks a swift conclusion to a case described by prosecutors as one of the most audacious betrayals in U.S. foreign service history.

A Cuban Spy Confession

Manuel Rocha's dramatic downfall may lead to a significant prison sentence, as the 73-year-old has indicated his intention to confess to federal charges of conspiring to serve as a foreign government's agent.

Prosecutors and Rocha's lawyer mentioned a plea deal with an agreed sentence but did not share specifics in Thursday's hearing. Rocha will return to court on April 12 to finalize his guilty plea and receive sentencing.

Shackled at the hands and ankles, Manuel Rocha agreed when asked by U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom if he wanted to switch his plea to guilty. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss 13 counts, including wire fraud and making false statements.

The brief session did not provide any fresh insights into the lingering query since Rocha's arrest in December: What specific actions did he undertake to assist Cuba during his two-decade tenure at the State Department? This period involved serving as ambassador to Bolivia and holding prominent positions in Argentina, Mexico, the White House, and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

READ ALSO: Louisiana State Penitentiary Prisoners: The Hidden Workforce Behind Popular U.S. Food Brands

Who Is Ambassador Rocha?

"Ambassador Rocha," as he liked to be addressed, was a familiar figure among Miami's affluent circles, carrying himself with an aristocratic, almost royal demeanor that suited his Ivy League education. Following his government service, he worked as a special adviser to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command. He later emerged as a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and a staunch opponent of Cuba, a role that friends and prosecutors claim he adopted to conceal his true loyalties.

A Win-Win Case Resolution

Peter Lapp, who led FBI counterintelligence efforts against Cuba from 1998 to 2005, noted that the fast resolution of the case is advantageous for both the aging Rocha and the government, which provides an opportunity for the government to gain insights into Cuba's infiltration of U.S. foreign policy circles.

Usually, in counterintelligence cases, defendants face charges of espionage. However, Rocha was accused of lesser offenses related to acting as a foreign agent, which carries a shorter maximum prison sentence of between five and ten years, making it simpler for both prosecutors and Rocha to agree.

According to Lapp, who previously investigated Ana Montes, the highest-ranking U.S. official convicted of spying for Cuba, it is a win-win for both sides, where Rocha benefits by receiving a significant payoff and the opportunity to reunite with his family. At the same time, the U.S. gains the ability to conduct a comprehensive damage assessment that would be challenging without Rocha's cooperation, emphasizing crucial details that only the defendant can provide.

The Agreement's Backlash from the Exile Community

The sudden agreement faced backlash from the Cuban exile community, with some legal experts expressing concerns that it was too lenient.

Carlos Trujillo, a Miami lawyer and

former U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States, criticized the potential outcome, stating that any sentence allowing Rocha to regain freedom would not constitute justice, emphasizing Rocha's role as a spy for a foreign enemy that endangered American lives.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Rocha's Arrest in His Residence

Rocha was arrested at his Miami residence by the FBI, accused of secretly working for Cuba since 1981, which is the same year he joined the U.S. foreign service, including meeting with Cuban intelligence agents and misleading U.S. officials about his connections.

Rocha made a series of recorded confessions to an undercover FBI agent, believing the agent was a Cuban intelligence operative named "Miguel," who contacted him via WhatsApp, claiming to relay a message from friends in Havana.

In court records, prosecutors stated that Rocha praised the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as "Comandante," labeled the U.S. as the "enemy," and boasted about his over 40 years of service as a Cuban informant within U.S. foreign policy circles. He was quoted as saying, "What we have done... it's enormous... more than a Grand Slam."

Numerous Red Flags Pointing to Rocha

Federal authorities have provided little details regarding Rocha's specific actions supporting Cuba. FBI and State Department investigators are undertaking a confidential intelligence damage assessment that may span several years. However, a recent investigation by the Associated Press revealed numerous overlooked warning signs throughout the years.

Among these were instances such as a 2006 tip to a longtime CIA operative, indicating that Rocha was functioning as a double agent. However, this lead was not followed up on. Additionally, separate intelligence from as far back as 1987 indicated that the CIA knew about a "super mole" within the U.S. government, with suspicions pointing to Rocha.

Lawrence Gumbiner, a retired career diplomat, emphasized that Rocha's ability to evade detection for such an extended period highlights the advanced capabilities of Cuba's intelligence services. Gumbiner, who acted as the U.S. ambassador to Cuba in 2017 and 2018, noted that it is a moment for contemplation for those who knew and collaborated with Rocha, adding that while the complete extent of the harm he inflicted is not yet known, it is difficult to believe that he did not convey serious information that compromised U.S. intelligence operations and efforts against the Castro regime.

RELATED ARTICLE: New York Plans Hiring Thousands of Asylum-Seekers, Weighs Creating "Transitional" Titles to Address Migrant Crisis

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Former president Mary McAleese has called for a yes vote in the referendums on family and care.

Ms McAleese said the amendments would take Ireland another step towards the egalitarian future that our citizens desire.

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Two referendums will be held on March 8th proposing to change the Constitution.

The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships.

The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers.

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Campaigners are calling for yes votes in upcoming referendums. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA

Ms McAleese said that people had a responsibility to vote in the referendums.

March 8th is our opportunity to insert new realities, new energy, new insights into parts of our constitution that have just aged badly.

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She told a media event on Friday: I intend to vote yes to both proposed changes to the Constitution because I am persuaded strongly that they will reflect the overwhelming impulse for equality and inclusivity that is the hallmark of modern Ireland.

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They remove from the constitution language and attitudes that have long been controversial on account of perceived sexism.

They will also stop the marginalisation of many good, decent people whose strong contribution to family and community life has been completely under-valued, rendered second class.

Ms McAleese was speaking at an event titled We Are Family jointly hosted by Treoir and One Family as part of a wider platform of civil society organisations calling for yes votes.

The former president said it was unacceptable that families outside marriage and civil partnerships were not being recognised by the Constitution.

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On the second referendum which deals with what is commonly referred to as the women in the home article, Ms McAleese said there are conflicting views on the current provision.

She said some people see it as patronising and paternalistic while others see it as valuable recognition of womens work in the home.

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However, Ms McAleese said it was anachronistic.

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She said: It is no longer suited to an Ireland anxious to promote gender equality.

Ms McAleese said the reality is that care can be stretched across a vast spectrum of everyday reality life.

In recent years that invisible world of what constitutes care within so many families has been revealed.

She said a yes vote for the proposed amendment would put a renewed spotlight on family care.

She said those who drafted the Constitution always expected it to be changed.

Mary McAleese addressed an event calling for yes votes in the referendums. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA

There is simply no value in holding on to those outdated concepts for the sake of nostalgia.

Ms McAleese added: To leave those articles as they are would contradict the dynamic of the momentum of our people.

Other speakers included John OMeara, who recently won a case at the Supreme Court which found he was entitled to the widowers pension even though he was not married or in a civil partnership with his long-term partner.

Mr OMeara and his three children challenged a High Court decision to uphold the refusal by the Department of Social Protection to grant him the pension.

The seven-judge Supreme Court unanimously said that the section of legislation which had excluded the OMearas was invalid, having regard to a different Article of the Constitution of Ireland, which states that all citizens should be equal before the law.

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Speaking at the event on Friday as the carer of his children, he said that the case did not change his constitutional position: Im still not recognised as in a family even though I won that case.

The first of the proposed amendments would extend constitutional protection to families founded on other durable relationships.

Mr OMeara said he was supporting a yes vote in both referendums.

Sinaad Gibney, a single parent and former chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, said her relationship with her daughter was a unique bond.

Ms Gibney said: The reality is families come in all shapes and sizes.

She added: It is painful for me that my beautiful little family, of me and my daughter, is not recognised in the Constitution as a real family.

The event was chaired by columnist and former Barnados chief executive Fergus Finlay who said he disagreed with those calling for a no vote in the second referendum.

However, he said there was an unfought battle over disability rights in Ireland.

Deirdre McCarthy, a social worker from Co Cork, also told the audience she was supporting a yes vote in both referendums.

Ms McCarthy, who became a lone parent at 17, said she felt abandoned by the Constitution as her living situation was not recognised as a family.

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She said that in 2023 some 41 per cent of children were born outside marriage and civil partnerships.

Christopher Tuite, a support worker, said he became a father at a very young age.

He said he is an equal partner with his childs mother but he is recognised constitutionally as a single male because they are not married.

He said he would be voting yes in both referendums, adding: Fathers cannot continue to be left on the sidelines.

Maxine Walshe, a psychotherapist and carer, said she works with lone parents who struggle to make ends meet and feel isolated.

She added: The fight wont be over on March 8th, but a yes, yes vote puts us in a much stronger position to push for that change.

Explained March 8th referendums: Everything you need to know... Read More

Fergal Landy, chief executive of the National Forum for Family Resource Centres, said the group was strongly encouraging people to vote in favour of the proposed amendments.

He said: It aligns with our views of equality, human rights and inclusion. We dont think any family should feel excluded in society.

Mr Landy said he believed he was in a durable relationship with his long-term partner with whom he has three children.
New British period drama to hit Korea in April

By Lee Gyu-lee

The new British series, Mary & George, surely offers a unique take on the historical drama, blending a compelling queer narrative with the story of a strong, power-hungry female character, played by Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore.

Based on Benjamin Woolleys novel The King's Assassin, the upcoming series follows the true story of Mary Villiers (Moore), the countess of Buckingham, and her son George Villiers (Nicholas Galitzine) in 17th century England.

The low-born, yet ambition-filled countess sees an opportunity to bring her family to power using her handsome son as a pawn in her ambitious scheme to influence King James I (Tony Curran), with nothing stopping her ruthless social climbing.

The seven-part series will debut on March 5 in the U.K. and will release all episodes in Korea on April 26 exclusively through Wavve.

During a Zoom interview with The Korea Times, Friday, Moore shared how she was drawn to the dangerously ambitious character, forging her way into the royal court to become the most influential mother-son duo in the country.

I loved how active she was. I loved the fact that she was frank, never seemed to censor herself, and then how voracious she was too. She seemed to be voracious for life and for her experiences and also, strangely, was never satisfied with anything, which is not necessarily a great quality but it's an interesting quality, the American actor said during an interview.

So there was something about her that was excruciating because she was so needy, so acquisitive and so ambitious in a way that feels harmful. But it was interesting for me and it was compelling.

She added she was interested in the way the series unravels the fictional story of the real-life titular figure, who is relatively unknown in history.

I was struck immediately by the language, the writing and the freshness of the storytelling ... I thought that this was a different way of telling a true but unfamiliar story, she said.

It was interesting to tell this story from a female and a queer perspective. It was something that I really hadn't seen before.

Marys ambition is well depicted in a line to her reluctant son: If I were a man and I looked like you, Id rule the f***ing planet. Despite being the historical time setting, Moore noted that her character, defying the conservative era that left her with little autonomy, will still be relevant to women today.

I don't think that we live in an equitable world. I don't think that women have the same opportunities that men do. So, basically, it's a very clever way of her saying Do you have any idea what kind of world awaits you and what your opportunities are? she said.

I don't think we would still be talking about feminism if we thought that women and men have an equal opportunity in the world. So I think it's very, very relevant and incredibly valid.

The series delves into the darker corners of royal life, portraying a lustful king and Georges manipulative charm with steamy scenes.

Galitzine, who came to international fame with the 2023 film Red, White & Royal Blue, found his character's journey from vulnerability to power compelling, offering a stark contrast to his previous role.

It was just a character I'd never really played before. Being sort of thrust into this really rich world of the royal court by his mother and having to be tenacious and learn from her tenacity and crude power for his family (felt compelling). I think it was a really unique story, Galitzine said during the interview.

The way George was written on pages being initially so vulnerable, timid and emotional and how he developed throughout the show and bolstered himself with wealth and power, it was just such an exciting prospect.

Curran also shared that playing the role of capricious, pleasure-seeking ruler was a challenging but enjoyable ride.

I'd really not heard much about his life. But the fact that I was going to get the opportunity to get into this man's shoes was a great challenge. It was kind of scary but I loved every minute of doing it, Curran said.

Many of (the series) characters have journeyed through this story. And certainly James, there's joie de vivre and then obviously he has vulnerability and his darkness. I think there's something about James missing within him; there's something intangible that he's trying to grasp whether that's through these relationships with these men  I found him to be extremely human and relatable.

Galitzine gives an impeccable performance pulsating with energy despite sharing the screen with veteran actors Moore and Curran. The young actor expressed that performing alongside these A-listers was a valuable experience.

I feel extremely lucky. I had two incredible (co-stars). They both brought such distinct energy to both of their characters  I couldn't have asked for two better scene partners, he said.

(With Moore,) I was so struck by how instinctual and technical Julie is in the way she works. And it was certainly a really amazing learning experience for me.

Curran lastly emphasized that despite its historical setting, the series' themes, touching on broader themes of gender, sexuality and power, offer a universal appeal that will resonate with contemporary audiences.

The story obviously is set in a Jacobean era, but the subject matter and the contemporary nature of our script is globally relatable: of the struggle of a woman trying to make her way through a time where she was so powerless and the sexual nature of a queer king, Curran said.

Those sort of aspects that I think are human struggles and aspects in culture, society, politics and in gender. So I hope people can relate to it.
A nurse has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a co-worker in his car after "persistently" offering the woman a lift and boasting about threesomes.

Leonard Iliuta (36) told the victim he was "a sex addict", and quizzed her about her love life before touching her on her thigh and toward her vagina several times, Dublin District Court was told.

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He pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the healthcare worker during the incident. However, he was convicted following a non-jury hearing before Judge John Hughes, who found that his denials were "not credible".

Iliuta, of Seaview Mews, Seatown West, Dublin, was remanded on bail pending preparation of a victim impact statement to be presented at the sentence hearing later this month.

The woman told the court she had been working the same shifts as Iliuta, and that she normally left before him to avoid his "quite persistent" offers of a lift home in his car.

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On the day of the incident, she "reluctantly" accepted, she said.

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Initially, they chatted about him having a left-hand-drive car, she told the court, adding that during the journey the "conversation shifted to a kind of sexual nature" and he brought up the subject of addiction.

The woman said "he stated that he was a sex addict and there was nothing he had not done", including cheating on his girlfriend, and threesomes, and said he had previously been with a man.

She told the court Iliuta asked whether she had ever had sex with her flatmate, or another named man. She said she was uncomfortable, and Iliuta "put his hand on my left knee, lingered for a few seconds and then put it back on the gear stick".

Insinuation

The woman told the court that every time he touched her leg, his hand lingered, and it started to go up, closer to her vagina.

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She recalled that the car reached traffic lights, and she asked to get out, so she could walk. However, he pulled her legs back to him when she tried to move away.

The court heard he put his hand on her left knee and once more moved it close to her vagina.

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When they reached her home, he started talking about going for a drink or if there was anyone in her home. She said she told him someone was always home, and that he "insinuated his house was free, and we could go to his house", to which she said she "made no comment".

The complainant said as she got out of his car, he asked if she was leaving, but she ignored him, and he motioned her to stay.

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The woman remembered being "fairly shaken up" when she entered her home and immediately told her flatmate what happened. She then notified gardai and her employer of the incident.

State solicitor Niamh McKernan asked how the incident had made her feel, to which the woman replied that she had been reluctant to take the lift home.

She described Iliuta as being over-friendly at work, but she felt pressured to accept and that she "could not get over how uncomfortable I felt".

The court heard she no longer works with Iliuta, who has no prior criminal convictions.

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Working relationship

Under cross-examination, the woman was questioned about her evidence that Iliuta had offered to drive her home 18 times over three weeks.

Defence counsel Garrett Casey said work records showed they had the same shifts on five dates, which she accepted.

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She rejected suggestions that Iliuta's relationship with her was entirely professional, but accepted she had sent a congratulations message on the birth of his child.

The woman's flatmate also gave evidence that she was upset and crying when she arrived and told her what had happened.

Iliuta denied the allegations and denied talking about sex. He claimed they spoke about him having a foreign car, that she told him she was stressed, and that she and others at work were taking drugs.

Asked if he notified his employer about learning of drug abuse among other workers, he said he did not, claiming he did not want to judge them stating it was "none of my business".

Questioned by the State solicitor, he admitted he sent the woman a message via Facebook saying he missed her, but claimed that was taken out of context and was a work-related remark.

Ms McKernan put it to him that he had spoken about being addicted to sex and that he kept touching the complainant's leg and moving his hand toward her vagina, which he denied and maintained never happened.

He claimed to have been shocked when he learnt of the allegations, claiming it was character defamation.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
A wide range of stories are in the Irish papers on Friday, including over 100 people in Gaza shot dead and Michael D Higgins taken to hospital.

The Irish Times leads with further developments at Tusla as they cut ties with two emergency child care providers.

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The Irish Examiner leads with 112 people shot dead in Gaza by Israel on Thursday, as the death toll is now over 30,000 since October 7th.

The Echo leads with issues in childc are services in Cork as almost 500 children saw their preschool or after-school service close.

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The Irish Independent leads with Fianna Fail's new immigration policy reportedly being developed ahead of the elections.

The Irish Daily Mail leads with comments from Paschal Donohoe over the Fiscal Advisory Council's criticism of the budget.

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Both the Irish Daily Mirror and the Irish Daily Star lead with President Michael D Higgins after he was taken to hospital on Thursday.

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British papers

The findings of an inquiry into Sarah Everards killer Wayne Couzens leads the papers at the end of the working week.

The Times reports inquiry chairwoman Lady Elish Angiolini warned without a radical overhaul of policing practices and culture, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.

The Times: Nothing to stop another police killer like Couzens #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/qXvfHitf4k Advertisement  George Mann (@sgfmann) February 29, 2024

The Daily Mirror asks how many more are still hiding in plain sight?.

Friday's front page: How many more are still hiding in plain sight? https://t.co/5Yf39cen2U #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/IImFwJKTnG  The Mirror (@DailyMirror) February 29, 2024

Elsewhere, the Daily Express says official figures found 1.4 million people were granted UK visas last year with the Daily Mail lamenting Britains broken borders.

The Metro and Daily Star both lead with the death of Hairy Biker Dave Myers.

Daily Star: 'My best mate is on a journey that, for now, I can't follow' #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/f5aUuySOwc Advertisement  George Mann (@sgfmann) February 29, 2024

The Daily Telegraph reports Russia is using private militias to control and weaponise immigration into Europe.

The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:



'Russia flooding West with migrants'#TomorrowsPapersToday



Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4OoUh6 pic.twitter.com/0QRNdg9P0m  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 29, 2024

The Financial Times leads with Vladimir Putin claiming Western support for Ukraine risks triggering a global war.

Financial Times: Putin menaces west with warnings

of nuclear risk in war over Ukraine #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/GrN00FBUqB  George Mann (@sgfmann) February 29, 2024

A planned 2p tax cut in next weeks spring Budget is in doubt amid a gloomier forecast for the economy, according to the i.

The i: 2p tax cut in doubt after gloomier forecast on

UK economy #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/0dYzG8oecn  George Mann (@sgfmann) February 29, 2024

The Guardian reports more than 100 Palestinians have been killed after Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for the food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

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The Guardian: More than 100 Palestinians die in

chaos surrounding Gaza aid convoy #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/joNqbsrBzu  George Mann (@sgfmann) February 29, 2024

And The Sun says Red Bull boss Christian Horner sent explicit texts behind wife Geri Halliwells back.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin has welcomed the European Commissions decision to release funding to the UNs Palestinian aid agency.

The commission said on Friday that it would proceed with paying 50 million of its 82 million envelope towards the agency next week, and increase emergency support to Palestinians by 68 million this year by funding other organisations.

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It also allocated 125 million of humanitarian aid for Palestinians this year and contracted the first 16 million of this package on Friday.

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More than a dozen countries suspended funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) after allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the October 7th Hamas attacks.

The commission had originally been due to give 82 million to UNRWA on Thursday but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit.

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The aid organisation has told the commission that it agreed to the launch of an audit to be conducted by EU-appointed external experts.

The Government, which provided 20 million in core funding to UNRWA last month, had repeatedly called for other states to continue financially supporting the agency.

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On Friday, Mr Martin welcomed the commissions continuation of funding which he described as urgently needed by the Palestinian people.

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In a statement, Mr Martin said: After four-and-a-half months of relentless violence and displacement, civilians in Gaza are living in conditions that no human being should have to endure.

Against this backdrop, the role and mandate of UNRWA is more important than ever. It is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.

It is clear that UNRWA is the one organisation that has the bandwidth and capacity to provide services and distribute aid comprehensively across Gaza and the wider region.

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The Minister for Foreign Affairs said he welcomed engagement between the UN and the commission on investigating the allegations against UNRWA staff.

He said it was essential that all UN member states co-operated in full with the investigation and the review.

Mr Martin added: This is a critical moment  for desperate civilians in Gaza, and for the stability of the wider region.

The international community needs to step up now to support UNRWA, so it can fulfil its vital and life-saving mandate.
Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event yet another crime against humanity.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid in Gaza City, and that its troops fired only when they felt endangered by the crowd.

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The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of those wounded in the bloodshed surrounding the aid convoy said on Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire, suggesting there had been heavy shooting by Israeli troops.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured on Thursday, according to health officials, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

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An image from a video released by the Israeli army on Thursday showing Palestinians surrounding aid trucks in northern Gaza in what officials described the day before as the first major delivery in a month (IDF via AP)

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Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd whom they believed moved towards them in a threatening way.

Dr Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, told The Associated Press that 176 wounded were brought to the facility, of whom 142 had suffered gunshot wounds. The other 34 showed injuries from a stampede.

He could not address the cause of death of those killed, because the bodies were taken to government-run hospitals to be counted. Officials at the other hospitals could not immediately be reached concerning the dead and other wounded.

It brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israels war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

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Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

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In a statement issued late on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.



Palestinians walk through the destruction from the Israeli offensive in Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa)

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Earlier, US President Joe Biden said the US was still trying to determine what happened. Asked if the loss of life would complicate efforts broker a ceasefire, he said: I know it will.

Later on Friday, the European Union said it will pay 50 million euros (42.7 million) to the main UN provider of aid in Gaza next week after the agency agreed to allow EU-appointed experts to audit the way it screens staff to identify extremists.

The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees) agency is reeling from allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks. The agency sacked the employees, but more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about 450 million dollars (356 million), almost half the budget for 2024.

The EUs executive branch, the European Commission, had been due to disburse 82 million euros (70.4 million) to UNRWA on February 29 but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit. The commission is the third biggest donor to UNRWA after the United States and Germany.

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An Israeli armoured personnel carrier (APC) moves near the Gaza Strip border in southern Israel (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

It said that the agency has now indicated that it stands ready to ensure that a review of its staff is carried out to confirm they did not participate in the attacks and that further controls are put in place to mitigate such risks in the future.

The commission said that two further tranches of funding worth 16 million euros (13.7 million) each will be given to UNRWA as it complies with the agreement.

UNRWA is on the brink of financial collapse. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the EUs announcement and said that the commitment to provide money next week comes at a critical time.
Alexander Stubb has been sworn as Finlands new president and said that the Nordic country is facing a new era after becoming a Nato member  something he will demonstrate by making his first foreign trip to inspect the military alliances drill in neighbouring Norways Arctic region.

The 12-day Nato exercise is called Nordic Response and begins on Sunday. Mr Stubb has said that he will go for one day, on March 7.

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The new President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb attends his first press conference at the Presidential Palace (Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva via AP)

If someone had told me two years ago that the president of Finland would make his first working visit to Nato exercises a week after his inauguration, I wouldnt have believed it, Mr Stubb told reporters.

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The former prime minister, 55, replaced president Sauli Niinisto, who held the job for two six-year terms.

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Mr Stubb, a conservative, was elected head of state in a narrow February 11 runoff victory against independent candidate and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto.

Mr Stubb has held several government posts, including foreign minister, and led the Finnish government in 2014-2015.



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He and Mr Niinisto arrived together to the 200-seat Eduskunta legislature. Mr Stubb took his oath in Finnish and Swedish, Finlands two official languages, becoming the countrys 13th president since it gained its independence from the Russian empire in 1917.

Finland joined Nato in April following Russias 2022 attack on Ukraine. It has the military alliances longest land border with Russia  1,340 kilometres (830 miles)  and is one of the most active European providers of military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

Mr Stubb said in a speech that as a result of allying ourselves militarily and joining Nato we have taken the final step into the Western community of values to which Finland has belonged in spirit throughout its independence.

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The new president of Finland Alexander Stubb greets the public from the balcony of the Presidential Palace in Helsinki (Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva via AP)

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The president of Finland, a nation of 5.6 million people, holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government. The president also commands the military.

In remarks at the Presidential Palace to the diplomatic corps, Mr Stubb noted that we live in an era of unrest and disorder.

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The things that were supposed to bring us together  interdependence, trade, technology, energy, information, and currency  are now too often tearing us apart, Mr Stubb noted.

As a result, in my mind, we are now looking at a landscape which is shaped by pretty much three dynamics, which are co-operation, competition and conflicts.

Mr Stubb said that as Finlands new head of state, I will do my best to make sure that conflicts are translated into competition, and that this competition provides genuine opportunities for co-operation.

Mr Stubb is expected to remain above the fray of day-to-day politics and stay out of domestic political disputes while acting as a moral leader of the nation. The president appoints the prime minister and Cabinet members.



New president Alexander Stubb with former president Sauli Niinisto (Heikki Saukkomaa/Lehtikuva via AP)

Mr Niinisto said in a speech that there is concern about the future of Nato, and referred to a comment by former US president Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Partys nomination this year, that he once warned a Nato ally that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries in the alliance that dont spend enough on defence.

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The comment they must pay their bills was probably drafted for domestic use, Mr Niinisto said. It is high time to awaken to securing the state of peace, in other words, to strengthen ourselves.

Speaking to Mr Stubb, Mr Niinisto said: I wish you strength and wisdom in these unpredictable times.

Until recently a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, Mr Stubb holds a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics.

Even though the world seems to be in chaos right now, we should not despair, Mr Stubb said. Fear is the worst possible guiding principle in foreign policy.

Working together globally is necessary, otherwise we cannot mitigate climate change, solve conflicts, boost the economy, enhance wellbeing or manage immigration, Mr Stubb said.
Australia Posts chief executive has signalled more post offices in Sydney and Melbourne will close in the coming years as he focuses on speedier parcel delivery and attempts to stem losses from its letters business amid a decline in snail mail and foot traffic.

Cyber Monday, Black Friday and Christmas sales led to a record number of nearly 100 million parcels delivered across Australia in the six months to December, driving a 42.4 per cent lift in Australia Posts interim net profit to $33.6 million. Revenue from the parcels and services business lifted 1.3 per cent to $3.9 billion, but its ailing letters business recorded losses of $182.1 million.

Australia Post CEO Paul Graham said to expect more full-year losses in future years. Credit: Eamon Gallagher

Chief executive Paul Graham said the retail store footprint of 4271 would be slightly smaller by the end of the financial year, pointing to a high concentration of post offices in certain metropolitan areas such as Melbournes Brunswick and Sydneys Darlinghurst, where there are more than 70 post offices within a 7.5-kilometre radius.

Theyre the two [cities] that have significant overlap, built up over many, many decades, Graham said.
Xi Jinpings consolidation of power has cleared the path for him to break Chinas cycle of debt-driven growth and put the economy on a more sustainable footing. But theres a big problem: hes failing to convince the nation thats a good idea.

As the worlds second-biggest economy undergoes a prolonged slowdown, Xis move to shun the old playbook of unleashing broad stimulus is spurring discontent. The China Dissent Monitor, a project of US-based Freedom House that collects information on protests, says economic demonstrations have remained elevated since August, with many focused on labour disputes and a real estate crisis thats cutting into household wealth.

Just a few years ago, Xi Jinpings economy was on the brink of world domination. Credit: Getty

Thousands of angry retail investors last month flooded the US Embassys Weibo page with criticism of the governments handling of the economy in the midst of a $US7 trillion ($10.8 trillion) stock rout. Elsewhere on the platform some even insinuated that only a change in the top leadership would spur markets  comments that managed to skirt censors before they were eventually taken down.

Compounding the problems is a broad drop in wages among civil servants who have seen bonuses slashed in recent years as indebted local governments struggle to earn enough revenue. That risks disenfranchising the vast bureaucracy charged with implementing Xis vision on the ground.
An event hosted by writer and activist Clementine Ford at Melbournes Malthouse Theatre has been relocated due to fears over patron safety.

Fords event, Love Sermon, was described on the Malthouse website as a life-affirming exploration of love and the powerful ways it makes its home in our hearts. It was scheduled to take place at the theatres outdoor stage at 6.30pm on Saturday, the same night as the opening of a production of Yentl.

Writer, feminist and activist Clementine Ford. Credit: Justin McManus

Yentl is a Kadimah Yiddish Theatre production based on the short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer, made famous by the 1983 film starring Barbra Streisand. It was performed as part of the Yiddish Festival in 2022 and received rave reviews, which prompted the Malthouse to bring it to a wider audience.

Ford has recently been the subject of media coverage due to her pro-Palestine views and involvement in the dissemination of a leaked WhatsApp chat group made up of Jewish Australians. Its expected the audience for Fords show is more likely to be pro-Palestine, whereas a large portion of Yentls audience is expected to be Jewish and more likely to be pro-Israel.
By Yi Whan-woo

Financial authorities appear to be preparing for sweeping reforms for outside directors of financial groups just as they are scheduled to hold their annual shareholders meetings this month, industry sources said Friday.

The topics to be discussed at the meeting will include whether to extend the term tenures of outside directors.

The law stipulates that an outside directors term can last for only two years, but can be extended repeatedly for one or two more years, while not exceeding six years overall.

A total of 68 percent of outside directors at eight financial groups  KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, NongHyup, BNK, DGB and JB  will see their terms expire in March.

Under the circumstances, the shareholders meetings this year are considered timely for the financial regulators to revamp rules on outside directors as the government looks to finally tackle the "Korea discount, sources noted.

The Korea discount refers to a phenomenon in Seoul's stock market where its equities are undervalued or have higher-risk premiums compared to global peers.

Opaque corporate governance is one of the key factors that helped create the Korea discount.

Correspondingly, outside directors of the listed firms have generally been accused of being mere rubber stampers, unilaterally endorsing the board of directors, instead of assessing management decisions fairly and objectively.

The current policies on outside directors so far have not been very successful in improving the transparency of firms, and not extending the terms of current outside directors may be the right step to begin carrying out reforms, said Ha Joon-kyung, a Hanyang University economics professor.

The corporate management reports from the five biggest financial groups  KB, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup  showed that outside directors at both Shinhan and Woori voted against management decisions only once in 2022 while those of the three other firms voted fully in support regarding the decisions made by their respective management.

Some industry watchers think that a considerable number of outside directors see their jobs as simply a way to obtain an income to help them in retirement.

They thus find it tough to raise objections against management out of fear of not having their tenures renewed after their first terms end.

Of the eight aforementioned financial groups including BNK, DGB and JB, 37 percent of their outside directors are active scholars.

Of all the outside directors, 22 percent are retired financial executives and another 12 percent are retired financial bureaucrats.

The annual salaries paid at the five largest financial groups averaged 68.96 million won ($51,000) in 2022. KB paid the highest amount at 88.14 million won, followed by Shinhan at 78.54 million won, Hana at 69.15 million won, Woori at 63.7 million won and NongHyup at 45.3 million won.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) asked the eight groups to submit plans to improve transparency in their governance structures, such as CEO selection processes, by mid-March.
The City of Sydney is opposing plans to build dozens of luxury apartments at Barangaroo, arguing the homes proposed for the state government-owned waterfront will provide scant public benefit.

The council, Sydney MP Alex Greenwich, and the NSW governments heritage advisers are among critics who have objected to revised plans for the $2 billion-plus final piece of the Barangaroo foreshore.

The most recent building envelopes for Central Barangaroo, which will rise above the future Metro station.

Submissions, published last week, on the bid to develop about 143 apartments, a hotel, shops, offices and eateries in seven buildings up to 10 storeys above the future Metro station were largely hostile.

The new concept plans follow years of rehashed proposals, legal battles and disagreements between the state government and developers over Central Barangaroo. The mixed-use precinct is designed to act as a bridge between the commercial district and the headland park west of Sydneys city core.
A woman from Sydneys eastern suburbs will spend up to three years behind bars for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

The 46-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found guilty by a jury in October of two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child under 16 on a night in 2021. She was taken into custody after the verdicts.

The 46-year-old woman was sentenced on Friday for sexually assaulting the boy in 2021. Credit: James Brickwood

The boy told the womans trial that she had said words to the effect of dont tell your father about this, performed oral sex and then forced intercourse.

The intercourse stopped when the victim said stop, Judge Sarah Hopkins said as she sentenced the woman in Downing Centre District Court on Friday afternoon.
It was idyllic, she says. It was a very innocent childhood of riding bikes around the neighbourhood and going to the beach. She remembers being taught in her Tamil school textbooks how to hate the Sinhalese, but her own family mixed freely with Sinhalese friends, and Colombo was a melting pot of races and cultures. Tamil civilians fleeing homes in 1985. Credit: AP The fighting between Tamils and Sinhalese was mostly confined to the countrys north. Then in 83 it just all changed very, very quickly one morning, she says.

A Sinhalese mob charged through the mostly Tamil neighbourhood where the 11-year-old Shivalingam lived with her engineer father, her science teacher mother and her older brother, Sanjeevan. There was a massive amount of destruction  the mob came and started burning our house down. We ended up in an isolated room that was above a garage, and the house was in flames. The family escaped across the roof and jumped into an adjacent backyard. Along with about 30 other terrified Tamils, they were sheltered by an altruistic Sinhalese neighbour before being shifted to a refugee centre, where Shivalingam still remembers the atmosphere of resentment among the young refugees. Dr Shivalingam could see how young boys could become radicalised by the violence that erupted in Sri Lanka. Credit: AP Like, We did nothing wrong, and suddenly, were in a refugee camp. How dare they do this to us? she recalls. The anger was rising, especially with the boys. You sort of got a glimpse of, Oh yeah, this is how terrorism comes about. Shivalingams parents applied for asylum in Australia, and in 1984, they arrived in Sydney.

Loading She felt the warmth and welcome of Australia, Shivalingam says, but it was a dizzyingly fast transition from being a middle-class Colombo schoolgirl surrounded by family to a displaced migrant child in a makeshift refugee centre in Maroubra. You really felt the grief of leaving, she says. Yes, the relief of leaving, but also the grief of leaving what was home, what you had always anticipated was home. The family moved to a small place in Chatswood, and Shivalingam attended Mercy College, which she describes as very welcoming and multicultural. She settled in, but for the first couple of years, Shivalingam was emotionally in a bad place. I was angry. That anger was the predominant emotion in me, in my brain. Then, when she was about 14 or 15, Shivalingam asserted control over her brain in a way that seems prescient of her later career choice. I woke up and said, This anger is not helping me. I am going to have to put it away, she recalls. And I did. I remember consciously putting it away. I realised there was a massive opportunity to be whatever I wanted to be in Australia, with no barriers.

That really helped switch my mindset to engaging fully with everything life had to offer. And I never looked back. Soon after, when she was about 16, Shivalingam began to consider a career in medicine, sparked by an unlikely (for an average teenager) fascination with the AIDS virus. You could see this horrible virus spreading and killing  then I got really interested in the virus itself and how it was able to hide itself in the immune system, she says. That started my interest in the human body and how it works. Shivalingam (left) fell in love with neurosurgery in her first year of medicine at the University of Sydney. Her interest came to rest on the human brain  its functional capacity, our intellect, how we develop it, what were born with versus what we develop over time.

Dr Shivalingam says brain surgery is like dancing. I used to think about it a lot, and my brother is a computer nerd, and he used to think about artificial intelligence, so we used to talk about this a lot, she recounts. During her first year of studying medicine at Sydney University, Shivalingam was introduced to neurosurgery. I fell in love. Thats actually the only way I can put it, she says. It was intoxicating. There was nothing else I wanted to do. For me, it was always neurosurgery, or I was going to quit. Shivalingams conviction did falter, however, when she was a junior doctor and was exposed to some older colleagues who conformed to the worst stereotypes about arrogant surgeons. She recalls a particular senior registrar who was an all-round nasty person. I was horrified by this person and how he conducted himself, she says. He felt it was his right to yell at all the people around him.

Shivalingam wasnt intimidated. She worried she would end up like him. I thought. Okay, if I go down this path of surgery, am I going to become like these people? So, she says: I had to run away. I literally said, Okay Im giving up. Aged 26, Shivalingam did a strange thing for a burnt-out, respite-seeking doctor to do. She had a baby, a son named Ashan (she married her first husband in 1994 when she was a 22-year-old student. They separated in 2009). Maternity leave, while not exactly relaxing, was a chance to focus entirely on something other than medicine. It refreshed her. Shivalingam (right) wanted to be a neurosurgeon  and a nice person.

But when she and her then-husband moved to Canberra for his job, Shivalingam found herself socially isolated and missing work. She approached Canberra Hospital. They said, Sure, we can give you a resident job, she recalls. There is only one catch  youve got to do neurosurgery. Within a couple of weeks of returning to work, Shivalingams love affair with the human brain was reignited. The biggest difference for me was working with neurosurgeons in Canberra who were very nice people, she says. I just needed some nice people to show me that you can be a neurosurgeon and a nice person. There followed stints at Royal North Shore, Canberra Hospital for a second time, and Royal Prince of Wales. In 2001, she had her second baby, a girl named Alisha, and in 2017, she was made head of neurosurgery at Lifehouse. I have eaten my salad, but Shivalingam hasnt had the opportunity to finish hers yet because Ive kept her talking. I ask her to name the traits of a great surgeon. The Moroccan chicken salad at Hoochie Mama Cafe in Newtown. Credit: Janie Barrett

You need dexterity and body movement skills, but also to be calm under pressure and not to let stress overwhelm you, she answers. Alongside that, compassion is really important. Its not about you, not about your comfort. Its about [your patients]. Its about getting them through this very, very bad time. Shivalingam now has a highly specialised practice focused mainly on brain tumours, both benign and cancerous. She still finds the human brain very, very mysterious. Her job is fascinating but also tragic. Theres a lot of death, a lot of suffering, she says. But I have a sense of purpose to be there for this person and to try to alleviate their suffering. Thats my role. Shivalingam often reflects on her own survival and her own luck, especially since a personal medical crisis she endured in 2019 when she had what turned out to be the first of three small strokes.

Loading The first occurred just after she finished a surgery and was chatting to a colleague in her office. Of course, Shivalingam knew exactly what was happening, and she was in pretty much the best place possible to have a stroke. Investigations showed she had a hole in the heart, but before she had that corrected (in what she calls a beautiful endovascular surgery), a routine body scan revealed a mass on her kidney. It was cancer. The operation to remove it had to wait until she had recovered from the heart surgery. The experience triggered major anxiety, which blindsided her, as she has never been an anxious person, she says.

She learned mindfulness, and the voice in her head that she used to soothe herself was a familiar one. I kept saying to myself all the things that I say to my patients. It made sense to me. So I felt like, Oh wow, Ive been saying the right things! she laughs. Shivalingam has been cancer-free for nearly four years. Like her patients, she has regular scans. There have been changes, though. Shivalingam has structured her work week so she has a day at home on light duties. She likes to walk her two dogs, cycle, and do some weight training. She makes a conscious effort to enjoy life with her second husband, Jonathan, who is her daughters former guitar teacher. I stole him from her! she recounts and tells me that although Alicia, then 10 years old, was not happy to start with, it turned out fine. The couple has been married for seven years, and Alisha is now forging a career as a professional musician in Melbourne. I always think that if I had had her upbringing and her privilege, I would probably have pursued dance. Shes very creative, very artistic, Shivalingam says. There may be occasional wistfulness about her unrealised creative life, but Shivalingam has no genuine regrets.
So its goodbye to Scott Morrison and goodbye to Jen-and-the-girls. On Tuesday, the former prime ministers valedictory address weighed in at 5482 words, three times the normal allowed limit for parliamentary speeches and, in our times, matched for length only by the likes of Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.

Morrison gave a generous half-hour to acknowledging people who had helped in his political life, from his constituents to his pastor, before tearfully thanking his family. OK, thats the emotional stuff done, he concluded. Youre not used to seeing that side of me.

Scott Morrison with mother Marion, wife Jenny and daughters Lily and Abbey after his valedictory speech at Parliament House on Tuesday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Oh, but we were, even up to the last gasp of his government in the ABCs Nemesis. When Morrison had to summon a tear, he invoked Jen-and-the-girls. Of course it was genuine. Whatever else he was or wasnt, Morrison was our most openly uxorious prime minister.

It was also a technique taught to young actors at NIDA: when you need to show a certain emotion, search your own heart. We remember that when Morrison had been in Hawaii during the 2019 bushfires, it had been to give a break to Jen-and-the-girls. A human shield is always most effective when its sincerely held.
I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to do it in a way that you up there are proud of me and happy for me, she wrote on Instagram. Navalnys team eventually got permission from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers. Police (at right) observe as people walk towards the Borisovskoye Cemetery for Alexei Navalnys funeral ceremony in Moscow. Credit: AP As his coffin was removed from the hearse and taken inside the church, the crowd waiting outside broke into respectful applause and then chanted: Navalny! Navalny! Some also shouted, You werent afraid, neither are we! and later No to war! Russia without Putin! and Russia will be free! Western diplomats, including US ambassador Lynne Tracy, were among those who attended, along with presidential hopefuls Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova. Both wanted to run against Putin in the upcoming presidential elections and opposed his war in Ukraine; neither was allowed on the ballot.

Images from inside the church showed an open casket with Navalnys body covered with red and white flowers, and his parents, Lyudmila and Anatoly, sitting beside it. Loading Navalnys closest associates live outside Russia and made comments in a livestream of the funeral on his YouTube channel, their voices occasionally cracking with emotion. Those people who follow what is happening, it is of course obvious to them that this man is a hero of our country, whom we will not forget, said Nadezhda Ivanova of Kaliningrad, who was outside the church with other supporters. What was done to him is incredibly difficult to accept and get through it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings are violations.

After the short church service, thousands marched to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force. With the casket open, Navalnys mother and father stroked and kissed his head. A large crowd gathered at the cemeterys gates, chanting: Let us in to say goodbye! Riot police guards next to a van with the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Credit: AP The coffin was then lowered into the ground. In keeping with his irreverent sense of humor, music from Terminator 2 was played, a movie his allies said he considered the best in the world. Mourners streamed by his open grave, tossing handfuls of soil onto the coffin as a large crowd waited at the cemeterys entrance. As dusk fell, workers shovelled dirt into the grave while Lyudmila Navalnaya watched. A mound of flowers, funeral wreaths, candles and a portrait of Navalny sat nearby.

She had spent eight days trying to get authorities to release her sons body following his February 16 death at Penal Colony No.3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1900 kilometres northeast of Moscow. Even on Friday, the morgue where the body was being held delayed its release, according to Ivan Zhdanov, Navalnys close ally and director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation. People in Moscow gather near the church where Navalnys funeral was held. Credit: AP Authorities originally said they couldnt turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Navalnaya made a video appeal to Putin to release it so she could bury her son with dignity. Russian authorities still havent announced the cause of death for Navalny, who was 47. His team cited paperwork Lyudmila Navalnaya saw that listed natural causes.

At least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Navalnys supporters, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media. They also struggled to find a hearse. Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Yarmysh said Thursday. Lyudmila Navalnaya and Anatoly Navalny, the parents of Alexei Navalny, arrive at the church. Credit: AP Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organisations by the Russian government that same year.

Yulia Navalnaya accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral. Loading We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Moscows authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions, according to former presidential hopeful Duntsova. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of February 27, 2015. Yarmysh also urged Navalnys supporters around the world to lay flowers in his honour Friday.
Its maybe for this reason that during lunch, she seems tense. Polite but not warm. Theres a rigidity to the way the sits upright throughout the meal, even after a glass of wine is poured, and our glasses clink. Melissa Park and Latika Bourke discuss food, war and politics. Credit: Jenny Magee She lists Palestine as the primary issue (the other two being animal welfare and refugees) that she cared about during the excruciatingly difficult time she sat in Parliament when prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd were at war, forcing MPs to choose between them. Parke served as the member for Fremantle from 2007 until she retired in 2016. It also ended whatever hope she might have had of making a political comeback in 2019, running in the seat of Curtin, when comments she made about an Israeli soldier forcing a pregnant Palestinian woman to drink bleach were reported. The then Labor leader, Bill Shorten, a staunch ally of Israel, swiftly cut her loose and the star candidates light was snuffed out.

Parke frequently hopes well turn the conversation to her work on nuclear disarmament, but then goes back to the Israel-Gaza war even when I turn to our time in Canberra  me as a press gallery journalist and her as a sitting MP  AUKUS and geopolitics. In her pre-politics career as an international lawyer with the United Nations, she worked in Kosovo and Lebanon. But in the early 2000s she lived in Gaza before Hamas was elected to run the Palestinian Authority in 2006. I dont think theres a single other Australian politician who can say that, and so I think I have some legitimate perspective to offer, she said, describing it as her duty to speak up on the issue. Now, she says, I just feel so sad, scared for the people. Even as todays Labor Party has increasingly become home to more MPs and members with pro-Palestinian sympathies, her views would make life difficult for the prime minister and foreign minister.

Israel is carrying out collective punishment against the Palestinian people in Gaza, she tells me, and Western media do not tell the whole story when it comes to the conflict as Hamas attack, which, while not justified, was not unprovoked as it occurred within the context of a decades-long occupation. Melissa Parkes mission is to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Credit: Jenny Magee She rails against extremism on both sides, naming the Likud political party headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but agrees Hamas has made it harder for the Palestinians Western supporters to advocate their cause. I dont think its helpful at all. But when directly asked if she classifies Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Australia, Britain and the US, as extremist, she says: There are different wings of Hamas. Theres a political wing, theres a military wing, theres a social wing. She says extremists on both sides need to be ignored if a solution is to be found.

Parkes 2 years in Gaza helped shape her post-politics career more than two decades later. She remembers vividly attending a Hiroshima commemoration in 2002 at the Gaza Harbour where hundreds of Palestinian school-children made paper boats and lit them with candles, floating them on the water. She laments that Gazan children of today are the ones being killed and mutilated by bombs. But Parkes job now is to convince the world to sign up to abolish nuclear weapons. Theres a brief smile and interruption to the heavy conversation when one of the very photogenic dishes arrives, and she reflexively grabs her phone to start snapping. I promise to send her the high-resolution photographs of the food that our photographer, Jenny Magee, is keenly capturing. Ending the threat of nuclear war seems an impossible task given China and North Koreas build-up of their arsenals, Russias threats to use the weapons against Ukraine, and Britain and US justifying their own weaponry as a vital deterrent against authoritarians using theirs. Vegan fare: A vegetarian-turned-vegan, Melissa Parke researched the menu in advance. Credit: Jenny Magee

Parkes Swiss-based organisation lobbies governments to sign onto the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Labor government, led by her former factional left ally Anthony Albanese, has still not signed up, despite the prime minister introducing a pledge to do so at Labor conference in 2018. The motion was seconded by Richard Marles, now deputy prime minister and defence minister. She said Albanese could sign the document tomorrow: I look forward to him announcing that Australias going to join this treaty. Theres a great deal of anxiety [in the region about AUKUS]  and the potential for it to lead to Australia acquiring or hosting nuclear weapons. So by signing the treaty, Australia would essentially be asserting its own sovereignty.

Parke is confident Albanese will stick to his word but agrees he doesnt govern like a leftie. I wish Labor governments in general would have more courage to act on the principles. Parke says none of the governments that hold nuclear weapons engage with ICAN, but civil society within Western countries like the US, France and Britain do. In Russia and China, they do neither. I wouldnt expect North Korea to have a civil society. She believes Australia is not immune from the effects of a nuclear war, even a limited one, including its climate effects. We are not just talking about the incineration of hundreds of thousands, potentially millions of people, she says, warning of the potential for a nuclear winter that would block sunlight and cause mass crop failure. Desert to sweeten the day. Credit: Jenny Magee

Even a limited nuclear war, between say Pakistan and India, could kill 120 million people outright and put at least 2 billion people at risk of starvation because of a nuclear winter. AUKUS has increased the threat to Australia, she says. And of course with all of our military entanglement that were having with the United States now, were making ourselves a target. The bill. Credit: Jenny Magee Parke says she would not have supported AUKUS as a caucus member saying it would not stack up on a cost-benefit analysis and that no one has set out how to deal with the nuclear waste. Probably the biggest issue for me is the issue of sovereignty and enmeshing ourselves, entangling ourselves so closely with the US military in every way, makes us a bigger target and reduces our own voice.

I think there needs to be a much greater public examination of the merits of it. Loading She doubts the AUKUS submarines are needed to deter China, saying the money would be better spent on housing and mitigating climate change. The general sense of angst about the world would be better served by diplomacy rather than the military beating of the drums for war that were seeing in Australia. Parke speaks quietly, but theres a sharpness, terseness even, when I ask if her views arent a little outdated, given the huge shift across the world recognising Chinas increasing aggression. Whats your point, sorry?

I point to the Chinese blasting water cannons at Filipino vessels in Philippines waters as an example. Loading Is there any suggestion that China is any threat to Australia? Parke responds. Wheres the evidence? She says the enormous, punitive tariffs Beijing imposed on Australian wine and barley producers and a ban on coal were in response to particular things that Australia has done as well on the international stage  calling for an inquiry into the origins of COVID. Im not here to defend China, she says. We shouldnt be making something seem worse than it is  its being hyped, totally.

Most of what I have seen about China has been, yes they are very territorial when it comes to what they see as their own country and their own countrys boundaries, extremely so, but theres no obvious intent to go further. Loading Beijing has been engaged in skirmishes with the Philippines in waters that an international court has ruled do not belong to China. When this is pointed out, Parke says: Those are all matters to do with what it sees as its own territorial integrity, and adds that countries should not be picking and choosing which international laws they want to abide by, returning to where the conversation began. There is a large-scale violation of international law happening in the Middle East now, she says.
Wellington: Tour booking agents and managers of the New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people in 2019 have been ordered to pay nearly $NZ13 million ($12 million) in fines and reparations.

The holding company of the islands owners, a boat tour operator and three companies that operated helicopter tours, had been found guilty of safety breaches at a three-month trial last year.

Tourists on a boat look at the eruption of the volcano on White Island, New Zealand, on December 9, 2019. Credit: AP

White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. There were 47 tourists and tour guides on the island when superheated steam erupted on December 9, 2019, killing some people instantly and leaving survivors with agonising burns. Fourteen Australians were among those killed.

There is no way to measure the emotional harm survivors and affected families have endured and will continue to endure, Judge Evangelos Thomas said during the sentencing in a Wellington court on Friday. Reparation in a case like this can be no more than token recognition of that harm.
Government support for homebuyers

Under Help to Buy, the government will offer an equity contribution of up to 40% for new homes and 30% for existing homes to eligible buyers. The scheme represents a crucial element of the governments comprehensive plan to enhance homeownership accessibility for Australians.
Involving the public in this process is vital, and by actively engaging First Nations communities, we can better capture themes that tell our nations story, McPhee said in a news release. As times change, so do our banknotes. The most recent update to the $5 banknote was in 2016, and there have been four different $5 banknote designs since the 1960s.
By Yi Whan-woo

The parliamentary approval of a revision bill to hike the Export-Import Bank of Koreas (Eximbank) capital limit is drawing optimism that the state-run lender can better serve Koreas goal of becoming one of the worlds top five arms exporters by 2027.

The endorsement of the bill, Thursday, increases the Eximbanks capital limit from 15 trillion won ($11.2 billion) to 25 trillion won.

This increase was seen as necessary for the second round of arms contracts with Poland, which wants extra financial support from the Korean side following the previous round of deals worth 17 trillion won in 2022.

The maximum amount of Eximbanks financial support to a borrower cant exceed 40 percent of its equity capital.

Under the circumstances, the 10 trillion won hike in its equity capital gives room for Eximbank to offer additional support for arms deals with Poland, after offering 6 trillion won in the form of loans and guarantees under the 2022 contracts.

Back then, the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. also provided 6 trillion won in support separately to the Warsaw government to make the arms exports possible.

Without the law revision, the second round of arms contracts was not making progress, given that the sales amount rose to 30 trillion won.

Thursdays approval of the revision bill is also meaningful because Korea is becoming aggressive to strike bigger deals, said Kim Bong-man, head of the International Affairs Division at the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI).

He noted the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has a vision to carve out a 5 percent share in the global arms export market by 2027, up from the current 2.8 percent.

The government accordingly aims to become the worlds fourth-largest weapons exporter after the United States, Russia and France.

To do so, 30 trillion won or bigger arms deals with other countries should be reached more frequently, and in return, more frequent supports from Eximbank and other relevant financial parties will be needed,  Kim said.
Deadly Inferno at Dhaka Mall Claims 43 Lives, Injures Dozens (Photo: X (Twitter) Video Capture)

A devastating fire swept through a six-story shopping mall in Dhaka, Bangladesh's bustling capital, claiming the lives of at least 43 individuals and inflicting injuries on numerous others. The tragedy unfolded late Thursday evening, leading to a frantic overnight rescue operation spearheaded by the nation's firefighters.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen confirmed the grim toll early Friday, reporting that at least 22 individuals were receiving medical treatment following the catastrophe. The fire reportedly ignited in a popular restaurant located on the first floor of the Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall, situated in a densely populated commercial district at the heart of Dhaka.

The inferno's origins remain a mystery, with authorities yet to ascertain the cause. Sen disclosed that the Dhaka Medical College Hospital accounted for 33 of the deceased, including women and children, while an additional 10 lives were lost at the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

#Bangladesh : 43 people including 26 women, three children killed and 22 critically injured in fire broke out at seven-storey Shopping Mall on #BaileyRoad in Dhaka last night. pic.twitter.com/ND4waUfI1R  All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) March 1, 2024

Brig. Gen. Md. Main Uddin, Director General of Fire Service and Civil Defense, reported that over a dozen firefighting units were mobilized to extinguish the flames that had engulfed the mall. Rescuers managed to save at least 75 people from the blaze, 42 of whom were found unconscious. The fire's outbreak around 10 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT) on Thursday led to a large-scale evacuation, with 75 individuals rescued and dozens hospitalized, according to local media reports. Fire officials declared the fire under control within two hours, yet the investigation into its cause is ongoing. Brigadier General Main Uddin speculated to the AFP news agency that the fire might have originated from a gas leak or stove. He highlighted the perilous nature of the building, noting, "It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases."

At least 44 people, including 26 women and three children, were killed and 22 critically injured in a fire that broke out at the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall on Bailey Road in #Dhaka last night.#Bangladesh #Fire #accident pic.twitter.com/vz6ze87Jzr  ARMAN HOSSAIN (@smarman071) March 1, 2024

Survivors recounted harrowing tales of escape amidst the chaos. Sohel, a restaurant manager, described to AFP how smoke rapidly filled the staircase, prompting patrons to flee upwards and use a water pipe to descend the building's exterior. Some resorted to jumping from upper floors to escape the encroaching flames.

Mohammad Altaf, another survivor, shared with Reuters his narrow escape through a broken window, lamenting the loss of two colleagues who perished after aiding in the evacuation.

The incident underscores the persistent threat of fires in Bangladesh's commercial and residential structures, often attributed to lax safety standards and insufficient regulatory enforcement. This tragic event adds to a series of fire-related disasters in the country, highlighting the urgent need for improved safety measures and awareness.
Historic Wildfire Engulfs Texas Panhandle, Prompting Statewide Emergency Response (Photo: X (Twitter) video capture)

Texas firefighters, after a brief respite provided by an unexpected snowfall, are bracing for a resurgence of perilous conditions as they combat the state's largest wildfire on record. The Smokehouse Creek wildfire, which has ravaged over a million acres in the Texas Panhandle in just four days, has already claimed one life and destroyed numerous homes. Despite the temporary relief brought by 1-3 inches of snow, courtesy of a weak low-pressure system, the forecast predicts a return to arid, windy conditions that threaten to exacerbate the firefighting efforts.

As temperatures climb back into the 70s and humidity levels plummet below 20%, the Fire Weather Watches have been reinstated across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, extending into Kansas and eastern Colorado. The weekend forecast is particularly grim, with wind gusts anticipated to reach up to 50 mph, creating a tinderbox situation that could fuel the fires further. The National Weather Service and the FOX Forecast Center have highlighted the critical nature of the impending conditions, underscoring the challenges that lie ahead for the firefighting teams.

The battle against the flames is not isolated to the Smokehouse Creek Fire. The Texas Panhandle is engulfed in a series of major wildfires, with five significant blazes consuming over 1.25 million acres. Among these, the Smokehouse Creek Fire stands out for its sheer magnitude and rapid expansion, now holding the dubious title of the largest wildfire in Texas history. Despite the efforts of ground crews, the fire's containment remains minimal, hampered by rugged terrain and the vast expanse of the blaze.

The human cost of these wildfires is palpable in the town of Fritch, where the Windy Deuce Fire has obliterated approximately half the town. Residents like Lee Quesada return to neighborhoods irrevocably altered by the devastation, with homes reduced to ashes and communities in mourning. The Grape Vine Creek Fire, though 60% contained, adds to the toll, scorching 30,000 acres and displacing families.

The fires have not only wrought havoc on the ground but have also impacted the region's air quality, sending plumes of smoke across the Plains and affecting areas as far north as Minnesota and Wisconsin. The environmental impact was starkly illustrated when flames engulfed a weather station in Canadian, Texas, recording a staggering temperature of 126 degrees before its destruction.

Amidst this chaos, critical infrastructure has also been threatened, notably the Pantex Plant, a nuclear weapons facility near Amarillo. The proximity of the flames prompted a halt in operations and a concerted effort to protect the site, highlighting the broader implications of the wildfires on national security and safety.

As Texas grapples with this historic wildfire, the resilience of its firefighters and the community's solidarity are put to the test. The impending weekend weather poses a significant hurdle, but the collective resolve to overcome this disaster remains undeterred. With additional firefighting resources en route and a vigilant eye on the changing conditions, Texas stands united in its battle against the flames.
Torrent Power has emerged as the successful bidder to supply 388 million units (MU) of electricity from its gas-based plant under a government scheme from March 16, 2024, to June 30, 2024, the company said on Friday.

It has been awarded a contract by NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited (NVVN) under the government's Crunch Period scheme to overcome high power demand during summer, the company said in a statement.

According to the statement, Torrent has a 2,730 MW gas-based power generation capacity.

Torrent Power has emerged as a successful bidder under the competitive bidding, and received a Letter of Award from the NVVN on March 1, 2024, for the supply of power from its gas-based power plant during the forthcoming summer's crunch/high power demand periods from March 16, 2024, to June 30, 2024, period.

The government, through NVVN, came up with the crunch / high-demand period scheme last year to harness Gas-Based Power Generation (GBPG) to overcome the country's rising power demand, which particularly peaks during certain periods in summer months and also, certain periods after monsoon.

Gas-based power, with its high efficiency, flexibility, and much lower emissions, is considered well suited to meet the requirements during such high power demand periods.

Power will be supplied by Torrent Power from its DGEN, Dahej, power plant.

As per terms of the agreement between NVVN and TPL, 770 MW capacity has been contracted with a minimum of 388 MUs of guaranteed power to be supplied from March 16, 2024, to June 30, 2024.

The actual offtake of power, in addition to the minimum guaranteed, will depend on the power demand encountered during the approaching summer.

Torrent Power, the Rs 25,694 crore integrated power utility of the Rs 37,600 crore Torrent Group, is one of the largest companies in the country's power sector with presence across the entire power value chain generation, transmission and distribution.

The company has an aggregate installed generation capacity of 4,287 MW, comprising 2,730 MW of gas-based capacity, 1,195 MW of renewable capacity and 362 MW of coal-based capacity.

Further, renewable projects of 1,402 MW are under development.

The total generation capacity, including projects in advanced stages of development, is 5,689 MW.
The fire broke out around 9:50 pm on Thursday at a restaurant on the building's first floor | Representative image

A massive fire that ripped through a seven-storey commercial building in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka overnight has killed at least 44 people and injured 22 others, the health minister said on Friday.

The fire on Thursday night that engulfed the Green Cozy Cottage building in the capital's Baily Road area housed several restaurants and shops.

The fire broke out around 9:50 pm on Thursday at a popular restaurant named Kacchi Bhai on the building's first floor and quickly spread to the upper floors that had more restaurants and a garment shop, according to fire service officials.

Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen said around 2 am that 33 bodies were brought to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and 10 others to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery. Another victim died at the Police Hospital.

The condition of those injured is "critical", he told reporters at a briefing.

Fire officials said 75 people, including 42 in unconscious state, were taken out of the seven-storey building. Thirteen fire service units were mobilised, the officials said.

The minister, a burn wound specialist, said 22 people are being treated at both health facilities and their condition is "critical".

"The respiratory system of those who have survived so far has been seriously damaged," Sen told reporters at the DMCH.

Doctors said some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and feared that the death toll could rise.

Witnesses and officials said to escape the fire, people rushed to the upper floors. Many were rescued by firefighters using ladders, they added.

IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun in a press briefing said that 44 people died and 75 had been rescued. Some of the rescued individuals received first aid treatment before returning home safely.

He also said the dead victims included the daughter of a police officer.

Fire Service DG Moin said the 42 unconscious included 21 women and four children.

It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases, he said.

He believes the fire originated from a gas leak or stove. The building has only one exit - the staircases, according to him.

Most of the people died as they jumped off the building or from burns or suffocation, said firefighters who brought the fire under control around 12.30 am.

Smoke was still brewing from the building at that time.

The first death was reported around 1 am when the firefighters took the bodies one by one to a freezing truck waiting outside the building, local media reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar beginning today, according to an official statement. He will launch several developmental projects in the three states.

The Prime Minister will arrive in Sindri, Dhanbad, Jharkhand, at 11 am to launch multiple developmental projects totalling Rs 35,700 crore and participate in a public event.

PM Modi will arrive in Arambagh, in Bengal's Hooghly district, at 3 pm to lay the foundation stone for many development projects costing more than Rs 7,200 crore. The following day, he will arrive in Krishnagar, Bengal's Nadia district, to launch projects worth Rs 15,000 crore.

On March 2, PM Modi will land in Bihar's Aurangabad and lay the foundation stone of several developmental projects worth Rs 21,400 crore at 2.30 pm. Then, at 5:15 pm, the Prime Minister will reach Bihar's Begusarai and participate in a public programme, as well as launch several oil and gas sector projects worth nearly Rs 1.48 trillion across the country. Many other projects worth more than Rs 13,400 crore will also be launched in Bihar.

According to an official statement by the PMO, the Prime Minister will launch a number of development projects in Jharkhand in the rail, power, coal, and fertiliser sectors. In Bengal's Arambagh, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone and dedicate various developmental projects to the nation, including rail, ports, oil pipelines, LPG supplies, and wastewater treatment.

In Krishnanagar, he will lay the foundation stone for multiple projects in the power, rail, and road sectors, including a thermal power station in Purulia district's Raghunathpur.

The PMO statement further stated that in Bihar's Aurangabad, PM Modi will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of multiple developmental projects, including six national highways worth Rs 18,100 crore and 12 projects under the Namami Gange worth about Rs 2,190 crore. The projects would also include a six-lane bridge across the River Ganga that will be developed as a part of Patna Ring Road. It will be one of the longest river bridges in India.

In Begusarai, the Prime Minister will launch and dedicate to the nation several oil and gas projects worth approximately Rs 1.48 trillion spanning across various states, including Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Haryana. He will also introduce 'Bharat Pashudhan', a digital database for livestock animals in the country, and '1962 Farmers App', which saves all data and information included in the 'Bharat Pashudhan' database and can be used by farmers.

PM Modi's visit to Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar is politically crucial, particularly given the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This will be his first trip to Jharkhand since former Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested for money laundering. It will also be the Prime Minister's first visit to Bihar after Janata Dal (United) supremo and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar abandoned the Opposition-led INDIA alliance to rejoin the NDA. PM Modi's visit to Bengal is also politically significant as it comes amid the Sandeshkhali issue.
Indias financial hub Mumbai will build a new Rs 4,120 crore (about $500 million) treatment plant as the city grapples with solutions for its recurring water shortages.







The water treatment plant will be one of the largest in the world in terms of capacity, the company said. The facility will be set up at the municipal bodys Bhandup complex, which supplies drinking water to city through some existing treatment plants. Welspun said it has partnered with Veolia, the Paris-based environmental-services behemoth, as its technology provider for the upcoming plant. Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the body managing the citys civic affairs, awarded a contract to build and operate the water treatment plant with capacity to process 2,000 million liters daily to Welspun Enterprises. The project will be ready within four years and the company will also operate and maintain it for 15 years thereafter, Welspun said in a statement.

Most of Indias big cities face water shortage and resort to supply cuts, especially during the summer months. This year, Mumbai announced a 15% cut in water supplies until March 5, after one of its pumping station was damaged in a fire. Last year, the city saw acute water shortage after a drop in reservoir levels, according to reports.
In partnership with Renesas Electronics Corporation and Stars Microelectronics

The JV will be 92.3% owned by CG, with Renesas and Stars Microelectronics each holding equity capital of approximately 6.8% and 0.9%, respectively. The JV plans to invest Rs 7,600 crore over a five-year period, which will be financed through a mix of subsidies, equity, and potential bank borrowings as required.

The JV will set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, with a capacity that will ramp up to 15 million units per day. The JV will manufacture a wide range of products - ranging from legacy packages such as QFN and QFP to advanced packages such as FC BGA, and FC CSP. The JV will cater to industries such as automotive, consumer, industrial, 5G, to name a few.

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CG Power & Industrial Solutions (CG) and the Murugappa Group; Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions; and Stars Microelectronics (Thailand) Public Co. (Stars Microelectronics), a Thailand-based Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) provider; had recently signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to establish a Joint Venture (JV) to build and operate an OSAT facility in India. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the project of the JV under India's Semiconductor scheme on 29 February 2024.
Samsung Galaxy Ring would likely work with all Android smartphones, but not with Apple iPhones. According to a report by 9To5Google, the upcoming health-and-fitness tracking device from Samsung will have the ability to pair up with non-Galaxy Android smartphones, much like the Galaxy Watch.

According to the report, during the Galaxy Ring showcasing at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Samsung said that apart from Samsung Galaxy phones, they are working on ensuring that non-Galaxy Android phone users will be able to use the Galaxy Ring. Head of Digital Health Team at Samsung, Hon Pak said, we ultimately hope that our devices are of such calibre that people will be willing to switch.

While detailing the compatibility of the Galaxy Ring, the company stated that the Ring will have the ability to work alongside the Samsung Galaxy Watch. According to the report, Samsung said that both devices will work intelligently to collect and track different metrics depending on what they are best at. In some cases, both devices might work together for better results.

Samsung has not officially confirmed any specification details about the Galaxy Ring, which it said would launch within this year. However, the company has been taking questions related to the Galaxy Ring from the technology fraternity at the MWC. The company, in a press note, confirmed that the Galaxy Ring will be offered in black, gold and silver colours and in nine different sizes.

In a statement to CNET during the event, Samsung confirmed that the Galaxy Ring will have carrying battery capacity depending on the size. The smallest sized ring will reportedly feature a 14.5-mAh battery while the largest ring will have a battery capacity of 21.5 mAh. The report also stated that the Galaxy Ring weighs from 2.3g to 2.9g depending on its size.
By Sudhi Ranjan Sen



Attacks on commercial shipping in the Arabian and Red Sea by pirates and Iran-backed Houthi rebels are likely to continue, according to senior Indian officials. Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel

Those attacks are stretching the Indian Navys capabilities as it maintains the tempo of its increased deployments in the region. Last week, an Indian warship rushed to the aid of merchant vessel Islander in the Gulf of Aden after it was hit by a drone, injuring a member of its crew. An explosive disposal team boarded the vessel before it was cleared for onward transit, an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

The attacks in the Arabian and Red Sea were the focus of discussions between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the recent Munich Security Conference. Blinken described the two countries approach to tackling the maritime problems as mutually reinforcing, according to a statement.

India has deployed a dozen warships alongside long-range surveillance maritime aircrafts and drones  its largest peacetime mission in seven decades  to monitor nearly 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of the Arabian Sea, primarily to tackle increased piracy in the region that has largely coincided with the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

There have been as many as eight hijacking attempts including a successful one since last November, according to the officials, who did not want to be named because they are directly involved in operations.

Even as the piracy attempts have dropped off since the US and UK began striking Houthi targets in Yemen  the US has now struck 230 targets in Yemen  the Indian Navy will need to continue its enhanced operations, according to the officials, given that fighting piracy requires time, huge resources and patience.

As an example, an Indian naval ship trailed a hijacked Iranian-flagged fishing vessel for over a day before the pirates eventually surrendered. The pirates set the 11 crew members free after it became clear that they would no longer be able to hijack the vessel and demand ransom, the people said, describing one operation.

The sustained operations are also stretching the Indian Navy, according to the officials and analysts. The navy has had to move ships from the Bay of Bengal  a key area of operations given the increased presence of Chinese vessels in the area  to patrol the Arabian Sea.

The Indian Navy has done a very impressive job of maintaining a high tempo of operations in the region  and its role has been noticed and generally welcomed by the international community, said Anit Mukerjee, a senior lecturer of South Asian security issues at Kings College, London. He warned though that it is an open question whether the Navy can maintain the deployments and tempo of operations given its limited resources.

The Indian Navy and Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

The Indian Navy is trying to add new anti-piracy capabilities. Earlier this week, marine commandos with motorized crafts parachuted into the Arabian Sea from a US-made C-130 transport plane. The commandos could add capability if the nearest warship is at quite a distance from a hijacked vessel, people familiar with the matter said.

Much of the piracy could be opportunistic, with Somali pirates trying to take advantage of the turbulence in the region. The crisis in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza and the Houthi attacks, have certainly emboldened the Somalia-based pirates, said Mukerjee.

Somali piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Sea peaked between 2010-2013. The World Bank estimates that ransom payments yielded as much as $413 million in the seven years through 2012. The global economy lost an annual $18 billion, according to the United Nations.

India meets 88 per cent of its oil demand via seaborne imports which is highly susceptible to any disruptions in sea lanes, according to the consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Korea's exports moved up for the fifth consecutive month in February as the outbound shipments of chips maintained an upward trajectory, data showed Friday.

Outbound shipments advanced 4.8 percent on-year to $52.4 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports shed 13.1 percent on-year to $48.1 billion last month, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.29 billion. Korea has maintained a trade surplus since June 2023.

By sector, exports of chips jumped 66.7 percent on-year in February to $9.94 billion, growing for the fourth consecutive month and marking the sharpest increase since the 69.6 percent rise tallied in October 2017.

The ministry attributed the growth to the increasing investment in the artificial intelligence sector by major companies, coupled with the rising shipments to key production hubs, such as China and Vietnam.

Exports of ships moved up 27.2 percent over the period to $1.98 billion, advancing for seven consecutive months on the back of container and liquefied natural gas carriers.

Shipments of display products also gained 20.2 percent to $1.34 billion, following the release of new organic light-emitting diode TVs and tablets.

Outbound shipments of automobiles, on the other hand, shed 7.8 percent over the period to $5.15 billion, due to the reduced production following the Lunar New Year holiday.

Exports of petrochemical products shed 3.1 percent to $3.93 billion due to the weaker demand from China, along with the falling global prices, the ministry added.

By destination, exports to China, the top trading partner for Asia's No. 4 economy, edged down 2.4 percent on-year in February to $9.65 billion. Korea nevertheless reported its first trade surplus with China since September 2022.

Outbound shipments to the United States added 9 percent to $9.8 billion, on the back of machines and chips, extending on-year gains to seven consecutive months.

"In February, it was notable that exports increased by a single digit despite challenges such as the Lunar New Year holiday, and when considering the number of working days, outbound shipments rose by two digits amid the upward momentum," Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said in a statement.

The country's daily average exports came to $2.56 billion in February, up 12.5 percent from a year earlier.

Exports, a key economic growth engine for Korea, rebounded in October after 13 months of an on-year decline. Outbound shipments decreased 7.4 percent on-year in 2023 amid the sluggish performance of chips coupled with global economic uncertainties.

The government earlier set this year's export target at $700 billion. (Yonhap)
US President Joe Biden has ordered US Secretary of Commerce to conduct an investigation into possible security risks of Chinese-manufactured cars, The Washington Post reported.

In a statement released by White House, Biden stated, "I am announcing unprecedented actions to ensure that cars on US roads from countries of concern like China do not undermine our national security. I have directed my Secretary of Commerce to conduct an investigation into connected vehicles with technology from countries of concern and to take action to respond to the risks."

Biden noted that China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by use of unfair means. He said that China's policies could flood US' market with its vehicles, posing risks to US' national security.

He stated that majority of cars these days are connected to mobile phones, navigation, critical infrastructure and to the companies which have manufactured them. He stressed that connected vehicles from China could gather sensitive date about Americans and their infrastructure and send the information to China.

In a statement, Biden stated, "China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch." "Most cars these days are "connected" - they are like smart phones on wheels. These cars are connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure, and to the companies that made them. Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People's Republic of China. These vehicles could be remotely accessed or disabled," he added.

While announcing the investigation, Biden expressed his desire to ensure that the future of auto industry will remain in the US. He said, "With this and other actions, we are going to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers.

In the statement, Biden said, "China imposes restrictions on American autos and other foreign autos operating in China. Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?"

The investigation, led by the US Commerce Department, will not place any immediate restrictions on the import or sale of Chinese-manufactured automobiles, The Washington Post reported citing administration officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Wednesday (local time). According to the officials, the agency does not have the authority to ban or restrict sales if it finds any serious risks.

The officals said many of the vehicles in question are electric. However, its not their electric motors that pose a concern, but their use of high-tech software, cameras and sensors that could be used to gather data or sabotage vehicles.

The decision announced by Biden echoes the US administration's campaign against the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which the United States accused of posing security risks to communications infrastructure, according to The Washington Post report.

The US has banned the import or sale of Huawei's telecom-network gear. The US administration has also urged allied nations not to use it. Chinese-based telecom company Huawei has accused the US of using national security as an excuse to clobber a globally competitive rival.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that investigation will help the agency to find whether the executive order issued under the Trump administration that gave the US President new powers to protect domestic information and communications technology from national security threats, The Washington Post reported.

In a call with journalists, Raimondo said, "Imagine if there were thousands of Chinese vehicles on American roads that could be immediately disabled by somebody in Beijing. It's scary to contemplate." She added, "We are doing [the investigation] now before Chinese-manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our national security.
On February 19th, representatives of the governments of Japan and Ukraine, as well as business organizations, gathered in Tokyo for the Japan-Ukraine Conference for Promotion of Economic Growth and Reconstruction.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229458562/en/

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio emphasized how Japan can contribute to Ukraines post-war reconstruction. (Photo by: Cabinet Public Affairs Office)

The Japanese government delegation, led by Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, pledged long-term support for Ukraine's recovery through public-private partnership. The Ukrainian delegation, led by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal, thanked Japan for its assistance and invited Japanese businesses to invest in Ukraine's reconstruction. Each delegation consisted of more than 100 government and corporate officials. In total, around 300 people and 130 companies took part in the conference. The two governments agreed to cooperate on seven key areas: land mine action and debris clearance, humanitarian aid and livelihood reconstruction, agricultural development, biotechnology, digital and information technology, transportation and energy infrastructure, and anti-corruption and governance-strengthening measures.

In his keynote speech, Prime Minister Kishida described supporting Ukraine's recovery from the ongoing war as "investing in the future," and called on the international community to contribute. Japans public and private sectors will all work together through an all-Japan approach, utilizing the knowledge derived from Japans postwar and disaster reconstruction efforts, he said in his speech. The promotion of economic reconstruction, however, is not only investment for the future of Ukraine but also investing in Japan and the whole globe. He outlined new initiatives for Japan's public and private sectors to support Ukraine. Kishida also announced that Japan would ease entry visa requirements for Ukrainian citizens involving in Japan-Ukraine cooperation projects.

Prime Minister Shmyhal thanked Japan for its ongoing assistance and Prime Minister Kishida for his visit to Ukraine in 2023. He added Todays conference will be the next step towards continuing the development of both countries relationships. Shmyhal mentioned the financial success of Japanese companies in Ukraine so far and invited businesses to further invest in the coming Ukrainian economic miracle. He underlined key sectors such as energy, agriculture, and infrastructure as offering prime investment opportunities with robust growth potential.

Both leaders emphasized their commitment to cooperation, as well as the importance of the private sector in Ukraine's reconstruction.

The conference resulted in the announcement of 56 documents, including inter-governmental agreements. The two governments signed a convention eliminating double taxation, which will support Japanese companies to invest in Ukraine. They also signed an agreement on bilateral crediting, exchanged notes concerning a grant aid for emergency recovery, and pledged to collaborate in the fields of education and technology.

Other documents included deals between government agencies and individual businesses and business organizations. Japanese companies signed deals with Ukrainian companies and government agencies to develop energy facilities, rebuild infrastructure, remove land mines, and more.

Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Japan has consistently provided humanitarian aid and other assistance to Ukraine. With the public-private partnership announced at this conference, Japan plans to use its technological expertise and experience in post-disaster recovery and reconstruction to strengthen its support for Ukraine.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229458562/en/
Secure India, a leader in Cyber Intelligence, eDiscovery, and Digital Forensics solutions and services, today announced a landmark partnership with Reveal, the global provider of the premier AI-powered eDiscovery, review, and investigations platform. This collaboration signifies Secure Indias dedication to pioneering advanced data solutions, employing AI-centric methods for eDiscovery, Legal Review, and Investigation.

Secure India offers state-of-the-art eDiscovery, Cyber Intelligence, and Digital Forensics Solutions. Our services assist Government agencies, Law Enforcement, Defense, and Enterprise organizations, including Law Firms and Chartered Accountancy Firms, in effectively managing the identification, investigation, resolution, and prevention of cyber threats, risks, incidents, vulnerabilities, and crimes both in India and worldwide. Secure India boasts a diversified team of Data Experts, Digital Forensic Analysts, Cyber Crime Investigators, and Certified Information Security Professionals dedicated to serving customers across various sectors.

The future is AI and Reveal is the right technology to take the lead in the eDiscovery field. The companys visualization and clustering can solve complex issues quickly and easily. Plus, with the most advanced tool for data review, Reveals platform is a favorite among attorneys, investigators, and other data reviewers.

The partnership with Reveal enables Secure India to harness Reveals AI-powered platform, optimizing the eDiscovery process  offering clients, including law firms, corporations, and government bodies, a comprehensive suite of solutions tailored to their most intricate data, risk, and compliance challenges.

As Reveal continues to expand our operations in India and across the APAC region, we are excited to partner with Secure India, a company that aligns with our vision for redefining success in eDiscovery, review, and investigations through advanced legal technology," said Wendell Jisa, Founder & CEO of Reveal. "Our expanding team looks forward to collaborating closely with Secure Indias specialists to enhance efficiency, accelerate the discovery of critical insights, and improve overall results.

Both firms anticipate this partnership will deliver substantial benefits to the broader eDiscovery community in India. Legal and corporate clients can expect a fluid, integrated solution catering to their extensive range of eDiscovery requirements, encompassing information governance, litigation, and corporate governance, all while conserving time and resources.

For more information about Secure India, visit www.secureindia.in. Visit www.revealdata.com for more information about Reveals AI-powered platform for eDiscovery, investigations, review and more.

About Secure India

Secure India is a Cyber Intelligence, Digital Forensics, and eDiscovery Solutions & Services Company. It helps customers in Law Firms, Government, Law Enforcement, Defense, Enterprises and Educational Institutions to identify, prevent, detect, resolve, and protect from threats, crimes, frauds, and acts of terrorism arising due to vast proliferation and usage of Digital, Communication applications and artifacts in our personal and professional lives.

About Reveal

Reveal is a leading AI-powered platform for eDiscovery, document review, legal hold and investigations. The company has a deep history in driving the adoption of legal automation, which is underpinned by its leading processing technology, visual analytics, and artificial intelligence capabilities. Reveal's software combines technology and human guidance to transform structured and unstructured data into actionable insight. We help organizations, including law firms, corporations, government agencies, and intelligence services, uncover more useful information faster by providing a world-class user experience and AI technology that is embedded within every phase of the eDiscovery process.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229792481/en/
Acclaimed novelist Han Kang's latest novel "I Do Not Bid Farewell" has won a French literary award.

The novel took home the Emile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature, according to the award's organizer Friday (French time), for her "restrained expression and the universality of its themes."

The author did not attend the award ceremony due to her schedule.

"The novel is about people who are determined not to bid farewell. They light candles under the sea in the depths of the night," she said in her acceptance message delivered through her publisher.

"I hope they never stop believing in the flickering light like them."

Inaugurated in 2017, the annual award is given to works of literature written in Asian languages by the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts.

"I Do Not Bid Farewell," published in September 2021, depicts the tragedy of a 1948 civilian massacre on Korea's southern island of Jeju from the perspective of three women.

The French edition of the novel was published by Grasset in August last year under the title "Impossibles adieux."

In November, the book won the prestigious Prix Medicis for foreign literature. Established in 1970, the Prix Medicis is among France's four major literary awards to celebrate exceptional literary works. (Yonhap)
Growing military cooperation among North Korea, Russia, China and Iran raises the possibility of "simultaneous conflicts with multiple nuclear-armed adversaries," a top U.S. general warned Thursday.

Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, made the remarks during a session of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stressing that his command will "always" be "ready to fight tonight."

"We are confronting not one, but two nuclear peers  the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China. This reality, combined by missile developments in North Korea, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the growing relationships amongst those nations, adds new layers of complexity to our strategic calculus," he said.

"It also raises the possibility of simultaneous conflicts with multiple nuclear-armed adversaries," he added.

His remarks came amid growing concerns about burgeoning military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The United States has revealed that the North provided Russia with ballistic missiles, munitions and other pieces of military equipment for use in Ukraine, while in return, it is seeking assistance from Moscow, including fighter aircraft, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles and ballistic missile production equipment.

Cotton highlighted that he has been keeping close tabs on the growing ties between the North and Russia.

"That transactional relationship between Russia and the DPRK has manifested itself in different ways over the past eight months," he said, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"We are looking at that differently on what that relationship actually is, what does the DPRK gain with that new relationship that they have with Russia," he said.

In a written statement submitted to the committee, Cotton raised the possibility of the North conducting a nuclear test to show its military muscle. Seoul officials have said that Pyongyang remains technically ready for another test while its timing may hinge on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's strategic calculus.

"DPRK leadership recently declared that the country's status as a nuclear weapons state 'has now become irreversible,' and it is possible the DPRK will resume nuclear testing in order to demonstrate its capabilities," the commander wrote.

Cotton pointed out that the North views its nuclear arsenal as "a means to ensure regime survival and influence Republic of Korea and U.S. forces in the area."

"The DPRK is developing and fielding mobile short-, intermediate-, and intercontinental-range nuclear capabilities that place the United States homeland and regional Allies and partners at risk," he said.

Despite concerns over growing military ties among the North, Russia, China and Iran, Cotton voiced confidence over his command's readiness.

"The men and women that represent U.S. Strategic Command are ready to defend ... if strategic deterrence failure happens tonight, we are ready today."

At the same committee session, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, said that North Korea does not have a "space-enabled military today," but it has demonstrated an electromagnetic warfare capability that could have impact against U.S. space systems.

"We are also very carefully watching their space systems," Whiting said, referring to the North's launch last year of what it claimed was a military reconnaissance satellite.

"Of course, they should not be launching it into space because of the U.N. resolutions that say they can't use ballistic missile technology for that. And so again, we are having to keep an eye on what they might be thinking of in the future," he added.

In a written statement, Whiting said that despite the North's frequent missile and satellite program failures, Pyongyang has demonstrated the ability to "sustain a high number of missile launches," and has fielded capable cyber and electronic warfare weapons that present "disruptive potential to the space domain." (Yonhap)
Moscow, Russia - Moscow Fashion Week (MFW) reaches new heights as it brings together an exciting mix of fresh and established talent, announcing a diverse roster of over 120 designers originating from Russia and 10 other countries.

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Designers from Brazil, Indonesia, China, Egypt, India, Turkey, and South Africa are amongst the vibrant global lineup set to present their latest collections, showcasing the cosmopolitan nature of the rapidly expanding fashion scenario.

Running from March 1st to March 8th, 2024, MFW promises to be an artistic hotbed, reflecting the rich and varied global design aesthetic. The event has become a potent launchpad and international platform especially for creatives from emerging markets. Each designer will bring a unique cultural heritage to the runway. Emre Erdemoglu will showcase elegant Mens fashion from Turkey. ZHIHUA from China will present down jacket fashion, influenced by eastern culture. NBC brand and Geisha Designs would unveil their latest collections created in the best Indian traditions. AO brand from Brazil will add Latin American flair, while African fashion will take the spotlight with Mastewal Alemu from Ethiopia, Boys of Soweto, and DOPE store from South Africa.

Moscow Fashion Week kicks off with a grand gala featuring up-and-coming Russian designers, who hail from across the expanse of the country, from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. The gala will be highlighted by a performance from Timati, renowned Russian hip-hop artist, and international collaborator with stars like Snoop Dogg, Craig David, and P. Diddy.

Settled in Europe's largest city, Moscow Fashion Week stands as a global fashion nexus, uniting celebrated fashion names across diverse countries. The event will unfold amidst the historic architectural gems of Moscow - the Central Exhibition Hall Manege, located next to the Kremlin, and the spectacular International Russia Expo at VDNH, underscoring Moscow's architectural majesty.

An assembly of luminaries will attend in support of this global fashion symposium, echoing the grand union of cinema and style. The star-list of Moscow Fashion Week includes: Chinese actress Lily Ji, known for her roles in the international blockbusters Pacific Rim:Uprisingand Abduction; Turkish actress Gizem Karaca, famous for her films and TV series Safir and Elli KelimelikMektuplar; and guest of honor Italian actress Ornella Muti, who has played roles in the cult films Flash Gordon, Oscar and many others.

Over 100 Russian designers will get the chance to present their collections with a Fashion show, including some fashion icons, such as SERGEY SYSOEV, whose collection is set to captivate the international audience with its unique blend of storytelling and sartorial innovation, Yana Besfamilnaya, who pushes the boundaries of traditional female silhouettes with her transforming garments, and GAPANOVICH reinterpreting traditional Russian costumes with a focus on family and cultural memory.

With a wide media outreach in 50 countries, including locales in Europe and North America, MFW has consistently churned attention. Broadcasted across a host of Russian and international websites, the event draws more than 70,000 spectators and 5 million online viewers seasonally.

MFW extends beyond traditional runway shows to include a professional showroom visited by 300 boutiques from across Russia, an array of lectures and masterclasses, exhibits, and local brand retail expo, along with the World Fashion Shorts festival.

Elevating its international standing each year, MFW provides a cohesive platform exhibiting Russia's regional diversity and a unique opportunity for brands to express their culture and vision on a globally recognized stage. The exciting MFW program for March 2024 teases an intriguing array of offerings from designers worldwide. Moscow Fashion Week is Russias leading fashion event. It offers an effective launching pad for emerging designers and an international platform where they can showcase their latest designs to a global audience.



Get more information on or Wacth the event on Cameroun24 TV Get more information on Moscow Fashion Week or Wacth the event on

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North Korea was again assessed as one of the most repressive countries in the world in an annual report by the U.S.-based freedom watchdog, receiving only three out of 100 points on the freedom index.

In the report, titled "Freedom in the World 2024," published by Freedom House, North Korea was given zero points out of 40 in terms of political rights and three points out of 60 in terms of civil liberties.

The only countries behind the North in the index were Syria with one point, South Sudan with one point and Turkmenistan with two points. The east African country of Eritrea received the same three points as North Korea.

In contrast, South Korea scored 83 points in the index and was categorized as a "free" country.

The organization said political oppression, human rights violations and monitoring of civilians were still rampant in the North.

North Korea has consistently been ranked in the group of the worst nations for freedom since the organization published the first annual report in 1973.

The report gives each nation a score from 1 to 100 based on indexes derived from the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and then classifies them into the three categories of "free," "partly free" and "not free." (Yonhap)
The broadening appeal of anime is undeniable, most recently confirmed by the incredible North American opening weekend of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba  To the Hashira Training, a spliced-together bunch of tv episodes that made $11.5 million in theaters over three days.

It stands to reason, then, that major global companies would look to exploit that popularity in an attempt to win customer dollars. The latest organization to jump on the anime bandwagon is McDonalds, which is fully embracing its place in anime folklore as the fictional chain WcDonalds, which first appeared in the 1981 manga and anime franchise Cats Eye.

As part of a more extensive anime-themed marketing campaign, the global fast food chain is teaming up with legendary Tokyo anime house Pierrot on four WcDonalds-themed anime shorts. Pierrot has an impressive anime pedigree, having produced mega-franchises such as Naruto, Bleach, and Yu Yu Hakusho.

The first 30-second short, The Race to WcDonalds, premiered on Monday, and new entries will be released weekly. According to McDonalds, each short will honor four of animes biggest subgenres  Action, Romance, Mecha and Fantasy.

The four episode synopses read:

The Race to WcDonalds (drops Feb. 26): A rivalry strong enough to withstand the test of time as our two heroes embark on an epic race to WcDonalds.

Love from Across the Booth (drops March 4): Our two protagonists discover the WcDonalds Sauce and WcNuggets arent the only perfect pairing.

WcNuggets Space Frontier 3000 (drops March 11): A team of WcDonalds pilots must protect the last WcNugget against an ominous force.

The Wisdom of the Sauce (drops March 18): Three women are transported to a distant land to unravel the mystery surrounding the elusive sauce before its gone forever.

Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonalds USA, said in a release:

Anime is a huge part of todays culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years. The WcDonalds universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.

Some of McDonalds other anime-inspired initiatives include:

A Sauce that Packs a Punch

Customers will be offered a new Savory Chili WcDonalds sauce, which the company says mirrors the bold, dynamic spirit of your favorite anime heroes.

Manga Packaging and More from Acky Bright

McDonalds has teamed with manga artist Acky Bright, who has done work for DC Comics, Warner Bros., Netflix, Hasbro, and more, to create new custom WcDonalds packaging for its products.

The new packaging will also come with QR codes that customers can scan to receive access to weekly digital manga drops set in a WcDonalds universe.

An Immersive Dining Experience at WcDonalds

On March 9-10, McDonalds will transform one of its Los Angeles restaurants into an immersive, anime-inspired experience by using 360 projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonalds anime episodic shorts.

Reservations may be required to catch a table for the event and can be solicited on the Opentable app or website.

A Celebration of Anime Fan Art
Fresh off a best animated feature win at Frances Cesar Awards, Chicken For Linda! finally has a U.S. theatrical release date of April 5, 2024.

The endearing family feature is directed by Chiara Malta and Sebastien Laudenbach, a husband-and-wife team who have worked together on numerous live-action and animated films in the past. Malta is best known for her 2019 live-action feature Simple Women (co-wrote with Laudenbach). Laudenbach is a celebrated animation filmmaker who won an Annecy Jury Prize with his feature debut, The Girl Without Hands, in 2016.

Chicken for Linda! is produced by Dolce Vita Films and Miyu Productions with financing from France 3 Cinema, Region Nouvelle Aquitaine, and Region Hauts-de-France. The films official synopsis reads:

Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into the streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda.

Before winning the French Academy Cesar award last weekend, the film enjoyed a tremendous festival run, premiering out of competition in the Acid section of last years Cannes Festival before heading to Annecy, where it won the Cristal for a feature film. The film also took top feature honors at the Manchester Animation Festival, and L.A.s Animation is Film and screened in competition at Ottawa and Torino.

Reviews have praised the films vibrant and energetic visuals and the charming mother-daughter relationship at the heart of the story.

GKIDS will release Chicken for Linda! in New York City starting April 5 at the Angelika Film Center, in Los Angeles starting April 12 at the Laemmle Royal, and select additional theaters nationwide starting April 15 in its original French language.

Those interested in seeing the film in theaters can check here to find the nearest screening.
The government intensified pressure on striking trainee doctors by conducting a police raid on offices of a major doctors' association and repeating the back-to-work order Friday as many of them remained off the job after the government-set deadline for their return passed.

The raids on offices of the Korean Medical Association (KMA) could send a message to thousands of striking interns and resident doctors that the government is serious about taking punitive measures against them, such as the suspension of their medical licenses.

The raids marked the first investigative action by police with regard to the walkout.

Nearly 10,000 trainee doctors nationwide walked off the job in the form of mass resignations last week in protest of the government's decision to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools starting next year to address a shortage of doctors. The current quota is 3,058.

The government had given the striking interns and resident doctors until the end of Thursday to return to work or face punitive action, such as the suspension of their medical licenses.

An additional 271 protesting doctors returned to work Thursday, bringing the total to 565, the health ministry told reporters Friday.

But there seems to be no sign of them ending the walkout altogether as more than 8,000 others remained off work, according to officials.

The KMA voiced strong opposition against the government's moves and vowed to continue collective action, warning that it "could cause inconvenience to the people."

"We strongly condemn the government's moves of oppressing freedom and human rights of doctors," the association said in a statement. "We will resist for achieving freedom and making our voice heard."

The KMA's emergency measures committee also hinted at the possibility of another collective action, in addition to the KMA's planned massive rally in Seoul's Yeouido district Sunday afternoon.

"Paid doctors can also join (the walkout) when clinics are closed," Joo Su-ho, a KMA official, told reporters, adding that a decision to close local clinics for a day or two can be decided by the committee.

The ministry on Friday put up the state back-to-work order on its website for 13 trainee doctors affiliated with 12 general hospitals.

The move is seen as a final step for potential punitive measures, as the government had delivered such an order via emails and text messages and in person, though many have refused to receive it by changing their phone numbers and addresses.

"The government is supposed to deliver the order via email or in person, but posting a notice is also allowed in case those methods are not possible," a ministry official said. "We will continue due administrative measures in accordance with law and principles."

Police also raided offices of the KMA, the country's largest doctors' group, in Seoul and elsewhere after complaints were filed against former and incumbent leaders of the association on charges of instigating the walkout by trainee doctors.

Some have raised the possibility of more doctors returning to work over the weekend, as chiefs of major general hospitals made an appeal for their return to patients.

"We stick to the principle regarding the deadline, but we will think of what to do with doctors who return to work during the holiday and this weekend," a ministry official said.

Friday is a holiday marking the anniversary of the March 1 independence movement against Japanese colonial rule in 1919.

Operations at major hospitals nationwide have been disrupted, as trainee doctors are a crucial part of large hospitals, particularly in emergency and acute health care duties.

Patients have been turned away from emergency rooms and their surgeries and procedures have been postponed.

The health ministry filed complaints with police against several doctors for the alleged violation of medical law and other charges.

The government is pushing to increase the admission quota to address a shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas and essential medical fields, such as high-risk surgeries, pediatrics, obstetrics and emergency medicine.

Given the rapid population aging and other issues, the country is also expected to run short of 15,000 doctors by 2035.

But doctors argue that the quota hikes would compromise the quality of medical education and services and a surplus of physicians, and the government must devise ways of better protecting them from malpractice suits and extending compensation to induce more physicians to practice in such "unpopular" areas. (Yonhap)
CEMEX pioneers micronisation for decarbonised cement

01 March 2024

CEMEX is decreasing CO 2 emissions in cement production by reducing the size of clinker particles. This process, called micronisation, when combined with the use of proprietary admixtures, allows cement to significantly reduce its clinker factor per tonne of cement, thereby minimising its carbon footprint. Additionally, clinker micronisation has the added feature of maintaining the specified development strength required by the highest global cement standards.

CEMEX's clinker micronisation process, pioneered by its Research and Development Center in Switzerland, offers a creative alternative to traditional clinker grinding, enhancing efficiency and significantly boosting strength of the final product. Industrial scale production trials have validated initial R&D findings.

The adoption of clinker micronisation has the potential to reduce the clinker factor in cement products up to 50 per cent, which would significantly accelerate progress towards the companys decarbonisation goals.

"We are finding new ways to boost our decarbonisation roadmap in the production of cement and concrete" said Fernando A Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX. We remain committed to achieving our ambitious 2030 decarbonisation goals on the path to becoming a Net Zero company by 2050.

Micronised clinker offers additional decarbonisation benefits in concrete. Concretes produced with CEMEX's micronised clinker require less cement to reach the desired strength performance, further reducing the CO 2 footprint.

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DG Khan Cement's profit increased by 13% in 1HFY23-24

01 March 2024

DG Khan Cement Co Ltd (DGKC) announced its financial results for the half year ended 2023-24 on 26 February 2024. Its net profit after taxation increased by 13.2 per cent YoY to PKR1.05bn (US$379.2m). The rise in profit can be attributed to higher sales or 17 per cent during these six months ending on 31 December 2023.

Its net sales increased to PKR34.78bn from PKR29.76bn during this period. It incurred a distribution cost of PKR1.20bn (a 136 per cent rise) against PKR508m and administrative expenses of PKR580m compared to PKR425m in 2QFY22-23. The financial cost jumped by 28 per cent to PKR4.11bn.

According to IMS Research, disrupted shipping through the Red Sea resulted in exports to North America. However, lower coal prices will help lift margins in the future.

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Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) on Thursday led his colleagues in introducing thelegislation to both prevent illegal immigrants who have committed DUI from entering the U.S. and to automatically deport illegal immigrants who commit DUI within the United States. Representative Barry Moore (R-AL-02) introduced companion legislation (H.R.6976) in the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed the House with the support of all Republicans and 59 Democrats.Senator Hagerty said, "President Joe Biden has drastically decreased deportations, even saying that he would fire ICE agents who deported criminal illegal aliens who have not committed felonies because, in his view, ICE agents should 'only arrest for the purpose of dealing with a felony thats been committed, and I do not count drunk driving as a felony.' The legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Deb Fisher (R-NE), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Lee (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Thom Tillis (R-NC).Our nation is seeing a surge in violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants, and they are not being held accountable, said Senator Hagerty.It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants that break our laws and endanger our communities are allowed to remain in the U.S.President Biden and Democrats willingness to pursue far-left immigration policies at the expense of Americans safety must end, and Im pleased to introduce this commonsense legislation that would strengthen our ability to hold illegal immigrants accountable and protect our citizens.President Bidens open border policies have incentivized lawlessness and turned every state into a border state, said Senator BlackburnThis week alone, we have seen an uptick in avoidable violent crimes committed by illegal immigrants with prior records. This legislation by Senator Hagerty takes an important step toward restoring law and order by requiring the immediate deportation of illegal immigrants who endanger communities by driving under the influence.Full text of the(S.3833) can be found here
The sale of the Eureka Foundry property in downtown Chattanooga has closed with a $7,460,000 price tag.

Chris Curtis, of the local firm Riverside Development, announced earlier that he was making the purchase.

Workers at the 121-year-old plant were told in July of last year that it was closing.

Mr. Curtis said at the time, We are excited for the opportunity to transform such a central part of Chattanoogas Southside and honored to pay homage to the foundrys history as part of this project,

The combination of these two adjoining sites creates a wide array of development possibilities.
Hong Kong: Jan retail sales up 0.9%

The value of total retail sales in January, provisionally estimated at $36.5 billion, rose 0.9% compared with the same month in 2023, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the provisional estimate represents a 1.2% year-on-year decrease.

Of the total retail sales value in January, online sales accounted for 6.5%. Provisionally estimated at $2.4 billion, the value of this segment went down by 20.9% compared with a year earlier.

Noting that retail sales tend to show greater volatility in the first two months of a year due to the timing of the Lunar New Year, the department said the year-on-year comparison of the figures might have been affected to a certain extent.

The value of sales of jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased 25.2% compared with January 2023.

Increases were also recorded in the sales of other consumer goods not elsewhere classified (up 7.4% in value); wearing apparel (up 5.2%); medicines and cosmetics (up 25.2%); motor vehicles and parts (up 23.7%); furniture and fixtures (up 20.5%); books, newspapers, stationery and gifts (up 27.8%); and optical shops (up 0.7%).

By contrast, the value of sales of commodities in supermarkets decreased 9.3% over a year earlier.

Sales also declined in food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (down 8%); electrical goods and other consumer durable goods not elsewhere classified (down 26.2%); commodities in department stores (down 9.2%); fuels (down 14.5%); footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (down 8.2%); and Chinese drugs and herbs (down 20.1%).

The Government noted that the value of total retail sales continued to increase in January over a year earlier, but at a moderated pace due in part to the different timing of the Lunar New Year.

The Government explained that it would be more meaningful to examine the figures for January and February combined, when available, to assess the latest retail sales performance alongside other relevant factors.

Looking ahead, the Government pointed out that the continued increase in visitor arrivals alongside further recovery of handling capacity and organisation of mega events would bode well for retail businesses.

Rising household income and the Government's initiatives in boosting consumption sentiment should also provide support, the Government added.

This story has been published on: 2024-03-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China assists U.S. in search for remains of WWII military personnel

Xinhua) 10:55, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- China has assisted the United States in searching for remains of U.S. military personnel from World War II within Chinese territory, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.

Responding to a media query, spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said that in coordination with China's foreign ministry and military departments, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency under the U.S. Department of Defense has dispatched a team to conduct site surveys in China's Guangxi and Hunan.

These site surveys mark the first joint efforts between the two countries in searching for missing U.S. service members since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhang said.

Over the past years, the Chinese side has been coordinating with the U.S. military to find remains of missing U.S. military personnel in China, he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Police raided some offices of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the country's largest doctors' group, on Friday as part of an investigation into five current and former KMA leaders accused of instigating a walkout by trainee doctors.

It marked the first investigative action that police have taken since thousands of interns and resident doctors walked off the job on Feb. 20. The raids also came a day after the government-set deadline for the trainee doctors to return to work.

Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency searched several offices, including that of the KMA's emergency committee and the Seoul Medical Association, to secure evidence from the mobile phones and computers of the officials.

On Tuesday, the health ministry filed a police complaint against the KMA's emergency committee chief Kim Taek-woo; two others members of the KMA leadership; a former KMA chief; and Lim Hyeon-taek, the chief of the Korean Pediatric Society.

The ministry accused them of instigating the trainee doctors' mass resignations by expressing support and providing legal assistance in the government's first legal action taken in connection with the walkout.

The investigation came as thousands of intern and resident doctors have stayed away from their jobs at general hospitals nationwide since Tuesday last week in their collective action protesting the government's plan to hike the medical school admission quota by 2,000 seats next year.

The government had given the striking interns and resident doctors until the end of Thursday to return to work or face punitive action, such as the suspension of their medical licenses.

Earlier, the police also warned that those accused in connection with the walkout would face arrest if they defy police questioning without a valid reason. (Yonhap)
With 50 #1 singles at Christian radio over a 37-year music career, Steven Curtis Chapman brings his Still Tour to Chattanoogas Walker Theatre this Saturday, March 2.

Chapman is the most awarded artist in Christian Music History, with 59 Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Awards, five Grammy Awards, American Music Award, as well as the BMI Icon Award  the first Christian music songwriter to ever receive the award.

With seventeen million albums sold, Chapman is touring his critically acclaimed 2022 album Still this winter and spring.

Chattanooga is a staple city for Chapman, who has played at every music venue in the city in his long career, including a near-sellout show at McKenzie Arena (then known as UTC Arena) on Nov. 14, 1996, with opening act Audio Adrenaline.

Chapman has committed to a 30-song-set for each night of the tour, a feat he says is ambitious, but says he believes is important to do when youve had a legacy fanbase.

My first album was released in 1987, so that represents 25 records or so to try to mine all the songs from, and songs that have connected with peoples lives, so I feel a weight to play every song I can play that my friends in Chattanooga want to hear me play, said Chapman.

Chapman has a unique opening act scheduled to perform with him Saturday, when Cousin Curtis and Possum Trotters will take the stage first in direct support of the tour  and Bluegrass music lovers will certainly enjoy the fronter music act.

Coming to Chattanooga, and East Tennessee is always a homecoming, because Ive lived in Tennessee for 40 years. There is so many families and friends and history for me in my career, and quite frankly, the best music is made in Tennessee, so Im proud to be playing again in my home state and for everyone who as followed me over the years in Chattanooga, Chapman quipped.

To purchase tickets to the Still Tour this Saturday, click HERE
Fellow Hamilton County Residents,

Missy Crutchfield has consistently demonstrated on the campaign trail this election season that she is a passionate, bold, and brave leader who will roll her sleeves up and work hard for the students, schools, teachers, and parents of Hamilton County School Board District 4.

What sets Missy apart is that she is someone who is fearless when it comes to fighting for what she believes in, standing up against injustices, and lifting up the oppressed. And she is not afraid to question and challenge the status quo so that progress can be made for all, not just some.

Missy and her family have a long history in politics, government, and education in Hamilton County and Chattanooga. Missy often shares the story of her father, former State Senator Ward Crutchfield, who brought the first African American man on the floor of the Tennessee State Legislature in the 1950s.

Ward Crutchfield was jeered at and threatened by his colleagues and even received death threats for making such a bold move, but he told them, "Get used to it. He'll be back again."

Well, that young man, named C.B. Robinson, did in fact come back again and years later he went on to serve in the Tennessee State Legislature where Ward's daughter, Missy, served as one of his interns.

The story came full-circle and the legacy of bold leadership continues today as Missy runs for Hamilton County School Board Member for the people of District 4.

There are few people who will work harder for a cause than Missy Crutchfield.

For years now I have had a bird's eye view of Missy's leadership as I have had the privilege of working with her as communications director when she was administrator of the city of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture and as we co-founded Be Magazine, a labor of love project that serves to inform, inspire, and empower changemakers, people who are making a difference in the world, and as we worked closely with Mahatma Gandhi's grandson, the late Arun Gandhi, for many years in uplifting the message of nonviolence and supporting school and youth programs here in the United States and India and South Africa, and around the world.

Missy's passion and vision and determination are what drive her to wake up every morning thinking about the people of District 4 and spend long days, evening hours, and weekends working the District, meeting the people, and learning what she can do to help students, schools, teachers, and parents have a strong public education system.

We stand at a crossroads this election yearhere in Hamilton County and the State of Tennessee and our country.

We need leaders who demonstrate the bold, brave, progressive leadership Missy has for years now, from serving as a vice president at Chattanooga State, assistant to the Chancellor at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and administrator of the city of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture, to working as an internationally-recognized activist for human rights, civil rights, animal rights, and climate justice, and now as candidate for Hamilton County School Board District 4.



Join me in supporting bold, brave, progressive leadership who works hard for a strong public education system for Chattanooga and Hamilton County, TennesseeElect Missy Crutchfield on Tuesday.

Melissa Turner
I see that the politicians in Washington are playing around with another possible government shut-down this Friday. So, why does the U.S. Congress go through this repeated debacle of playing with the operation of the government and thus play with the quality of life for many American citizens/taxpayers?

The silly explanation that "the Democrats" or "the Republicans" are at fault is of no use in this ridiculous situation. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution says that the Congress shall "pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States" among other responsibilities.

So, why don't the American citizens simply require that Congress do that instead of re-electing the same people to play the same games every few years? If the elected representatives don't do the job they are supposed to do, why don't we replace them?

Tim McDonald
Dezmond Marquell Alexander was sentenced to 22 years in prison Thursday for the second-degree murder of Darrell Hill. Alexander and four other suspects had planned and carried out an armed robbery of the victim in September 2019. Alexander was then 17 years old and Darrell Hill was 20.

The victim's mother, grandfather and grandmother made statements to the courtroom, as did. Alexander.

It hurts that all I have is pictures, his mother said. Whatever he gets, he deserves it.

Criminal Court Judge Amanda Dunn said she was impressed with Alexander's "heartfelt apology" read to the court and to the family, which she said showed "genuine and sincere remorse."

Alexander read, I take full responsibility... I did not expect things to go down like that... I wish I could bring him back. I really do.

State prosecutor Miller Leonard had argued for the states maximum sentence of 25 years while the defendants attorney, Charles Dupree, argued for 15 to 17 years.

In his statement to the court, the victims grandfather told Judge Dunn that Alexander could walk free today as he himself would, as far as Im concerned, he said, such was his disappointment in the prosecution of the other suspects in the armed robbery that led to murder. He named Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw and District Attorney Coty Wamp.

Its a shame, I dont mind saying it. Im not going to sugar-coat it, he said.

One of the five suspects in the 2019 altercation was never identified or brought to court. Two teen females who helped plan and execute the armed robbery were charged as juveniles and turned loose, the grandfather said.

James Holmes-Hamilton, 28, had worked out a plea deal with a lesser charge to serve four years.

Its been hard. Its been pain, the grandfather said.

The victims grandmother addressed the courtroom squeezing a stress ball. She said her grandson had cooked for her, checked on her daily and would plan last-minute family reunions.

I never be able to see this beautiful smile again, she said. She turned to Alexander and pointed to her shirt that read De Baby For Life. Forever Love.

Yes, maam, Alexander said to her.

Oh, he loved to get the family together, she said. Lord, have mercy, if I could just see him one more time.

Instead of getting to know him, they judged him... and they took his life. Only God have that right, not him, she said, gesturing to Alexander.

Judge Dunn said she considered Alexander to be a leader in the crime and characterized his use of the 9mm firearm as "exceptional" because he chose it to be scary and later emptied every bullet at the time of the murder.

They both emptied both of their pistols at each other, attorney Dupree said. It could just as well have been Mr. Alexander (who died).

Alexander did not claim self-defense during the trial, prosecutor Leonard said. He said Mr. Alexander had told police the night he was arrested, I did what I had to do.

Judge Dunn said she also considered Alexanders mental health history. He had been part of the foster care system since age 11 and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder at 14. His courtroom statement said that he was high on meth at the time of the shooting.

After delivering her sentence, Judge Dunn said the family could now work on finding some peace and some healing.
Do not let perfect be the enemy of good.Thank you to our city's leaders for developing feasible options for making Frazier Avenue and the associated North Shore area safer for all users and visitors.Of the multiple options under consideration, none is perfect.Please decide and proceed as quickly as possible, in the interest of making the current dangerous environment safer.This is an opportunity for everyone to lead, to follow or to get out of the way.Michael Mallen, 25-year nearby resident
Steve Wilson, a 63-year resident of Walker County, is seeking re election as sheriff, a seat he has held since Jan. 1, 1997; it will be his eighth term. Mr. Wilson graduated from Lafayette High School in 1975. He began his law enforcement career as a fingerprint examiner in 1976 for the FBI in Washington, D.C., for more than three years. In 1979, he was employed with the Georgia Department of Corrections. He graduated from the police academy at Floyd Junior College in 1981. He served more than five years as a patrolman for the Lafayette Police Department until 1986. In 1986, he was employed with the Walker County Sheriff's Office as a Deputy Sheriff. He was promoted to detective the following year. Wilson also served as an agent and Commander of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force for seven years, prior to being elected sheriff.

He is an active member in several organizations: committee member for BEAT (Business and Education Alliance Together) and president of the Al Millard Stocking Full of Love. He also serves as Chairman of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force and serves as a trustee on the Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Homes Foundation. He is a member of the Blood Assurance North Georgia Advisory Board. He serves as a deacon and is a member at Oakwood Baptist Church, Chickamauga, GA. Mr. Wilson was president of COAG (Constitutional Officer's Association of Georgia during 2006/07, President of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association Youth Homes 2012/13 and president of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association 2015/16. During his seven terms, his office has:  Started an inmate chaplain program

 Digitally updated the investigative filing system  Began the School Resource Officer  Began C.H.A.M.P.S (Choosing Healthy Activities & Methods Promoting Safety)  Updated the patrol fleet and outfitted patrol vehicles with computers which allow officers to perform many tasks themselves including check warrants, run tags and generate reports from their vehicle  Established a north end of the county satellite precinct office in Rossville  Contracted with a psychologist to provide on-site mental health assessments and treatment for inmates  Implemented courthouse security detail in 2006  Implemented Body Worn Cameras (BWC) for sworn personnel The Sheriff's Office utilizes social media to engage the public's help in developing information for cases. Many criminal cases have been solved using the Sheriff's Office social media accounts.

The Sheriff Ralph Jones Law Enforcement Training Center was launched in 2012 and has been used to train hundreds of law enforcement officers over the past 12 years. Mr. Wilson was elected to his first two terms as sheriff with 73 percent of the vote and he ran unopposed in 2004. He garnered 82 percent of the vote in 2012 and was elected unopposed in 2016 and 2020. He has completed thousands of hours of law enforcement in service training. Mr. Wilson attended North Virginia Community College and graduated in 2008 from the Naval Post Graduate School of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. In 2016, Mr. Wilson partnered with Rossville area residents to form the Wilson Road Neighborhood Group, an advocacy group formed looking to reduce crime, improve codes enforcement and enhance business development along the Wilson Road corridor.

In 2018, Mr. Wilson started a Church - House of Worship safety program where safety/security is taught to church leaders throughout Walker County. In 2022, Mr. Wilson was selected as the only Georgia Sheriff by the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) to travel to Israel for a two-week executive leadership development course with a peer-to-peer learning environment. In 2023, the Walker County Sheriff's Office was awarded $558,697 of grant funding through Governor Kemp's Office for the purpose of public safety and community violence reduction. The Sheriff's Office has embraced technology with the walkerso.com website which allows citizens to track sex offenders and submit anonymous tips, according to Mr. Wilson.

During the next four years, our #1 priority will be our continued drug enforcement efforts with the Lookout Mountain Judicial Drug Task Force, Wilson said. If we can suppress the drug use and sales in Walker County, all other crimes will reduce themselves, according to Wilson. Mr. Wilson supports Governor Kemp's efforts to eradicate Georgia and Walker County of gangs. With that, the Sheriff's Office and Drug Task Force will be prioritizing efforts to arrest and prosecute gang members to the fullest extent of the law. Furthermore, Sheriff Wilson is working with Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) to establish a law enforcement training center at the Rock Spring, GA campus. Mr. Wilson has been married to Sandy Wilson for 42 years; he has three adult children and seven grandchildren. His hobbies include genealogy research and attending the Atlanta Braves and Georgia Bulldogs games.

Mr. Wilson received the 2002 Governor's Public Safety Award, was recognized as the Walker County Citizen of the Year in 2004, and received the 2009 Distinguished Service Award from the Fort Oglethorpe Kiwanis Club.

Mr. Wilson was selected as the Chattanooga Times Free Press Best North Georgian for 2011, 2016, 2019 and 2020.
Rep. Mike Cameron (R-Rossville) on Thursday voted in favor of House Bill 1105, which seeks to combat illegal immigration in Georgia. HB 1105, or the Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act of 2024, seeks to strengthen public safety and security in Georgia.

I was proud to cast a yes vote to support this important legislation to address illegal immigration, especially while our state is still reeling from the recent killing of Laken Riley in Athens, said Rep. Cameron. We have to draw the line on failed immigration policies of the Biden Administration and enforce the law to protect our citizens, and thats what the House of Representatives did by passing this bill. As state legislators, it is incumbent on us to protect the citizens we serve and enforce the rule of law in communities across the state so that senseless tragedies, like the murder of Laken Riley, wont happen again under our watch. I would like to thank my colleagues, Representative Jesse Petrea and Representative Houston Gaines, for their hard work and dedication to this critical legislation.

House Bill 1105 would require that Georgia law enforcement officials to work in conjunction with federal immigration authorities and to send, receive and maintain information relating to the immigration status of any individual as reasonably needed for public safety purposes. Any local sheriff's office or local law enforcement agency that is found in violation would be subject to the withholding of state funding or state administered federal funding. The legislation would also provide standard procedures for booking of illegal aliens and foreign nationals and would require jailers to prepare quarterly reports outlining several categories of information for each jail jurisdiction. Further, the bill would make a first violation of noncompliance a misdemeanor. Any second or subsequent violation would be a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.

For more information on House Bill 1105, please click here.
Here's what a royal author claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are going to do in order to overshadow the Princess of Wales when she returns to work.

Royal watchers werent expecting the announcement out of Kensington Palace in mid-January that the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) had undergone planned abdominal surgery and would need a lengthy recovery time.

All of Kates appointments and engagements have been canceled through March as she will not return to her royal duties until sometime after that. Although an exact timetable hasnt been given, many expect that Prince Williams wife will be back to work in April or May which is the same time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have something planned. Heres what a royal biographer has said the Sussexes are going to do to try and outshine Kates return.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry seen at the Invictus Games One Year To Go Event in Whistler, Canada | Karwai Tang/WireImage

Author says Sussexes have plan to take spotlight off Kate when she returns to work

Royal author Angela Levin, who spent time with the Duke of Sussex when she wrote the book Harry: A Biography of a Prince in 2018, spoke about when and what the pair has planned right around the same time Kate returns to work.

The prince and former Suits star havent been back in the U.K. together since 2022 but are reportedly gearing up to return to London for a visit in May to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. Its believed the couple will also have their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in tow.

According to Levin: They [the Sussexes] have been told that they must stop moaning all the time because it actually takes peoples interest away from them. So therefore they will come and be loving and interested for five minutes, but really itll be for another documentary.

She told GB News that the timing of their visit will coincide with when Kate begins attending royal engagements again.

Princess Catherine, we hope, will be coming out of her time of getting better and she will be working a bit again, Levin said suggesting that Meghan and Harrys visit could overshadow that.

Kate Middleton visits the Dog & Duck pub in London | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Prince Harry and Meghans plan to return may be in jeopardy now

Theres a chance that the duke and duchesss visit may not even happen now after Harry lost his legal challenge against the Home Office over his right to be granted automatic police protection.

After the decision came down on Feb. 28, Harry released a statement that read: The U.K. 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 United States. That cannot happen if its not possible to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil. I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harms way too.

Harry and his attorneys have vowed to appeal the decision.
Prince Harry had been fighting a legal battle against the United Kingdom relating to his security, but the courts just ruled against him -- and he'll reportedly appeal the verdict.

Prince Harry has made a number of trips to the United Kingdom since he stepped down as a working royal in 2020 alongside his wife, Meghan Markle. Harry and Meghan have been living in California for the last four years, but many of Harrys return trips home have actually been due to court appearances.

The prince recently lost a legal battle against the UKs Home Office for stripping the prince of his taxpayer-funded security  but now, he reportedly plans to appeal the ruling.

Prince Harry and King Charles | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Prince Harry just lost a court case relating to his UK security

When Harry left the royal family back in early 2020, he stepped down from his working royal role. That meant, at least to the British government, that Harry was no longer entitled to taxpayer-funded security. As a result, Harry took the UKs Home Office to court to fight for his right to security, but on February 28, a verdict was reached that ruled against the prince.

Harrys lawyers initially argued that the lack of security compared to other royal family members meant he was singled out, per CNN. However, the argument wasnt enough for the court to rule in his favor. A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex has said that Harry plans to appeal the ruling.

The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVECs own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVECs own written policy, the spokesperson said. RAVEC stands for the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, and its the committee that oversees royal security.

Prince Harry | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The courts decision could impact Prince Harry bringing his family to the UK

Harry has made it clear that his familys safety comes first. Harry previously said in court that he wanted his family to feel safe while traveling to the UK, and now that the court has not ruled in his favor, the public can probably expect that Harry wont be jumping at the chance to bring his wife and kids back across the pond.

Harry and Meghan have settled down in California, where theyre raising Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The two have carved out a new life for themselves through various deals and philanthropic work. Meghan has not returned to the UK since Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral back in 2022, though Harry has made a number of trips over there.

Harrys father, King Charles, was recently diagnosed with cancer, which could impact how often Harry is in the UK. However, with the courts ruling in favor of Britain, it wouldnt be surprising if Harry continued taking solo trips rather than risk his familys safety.
On Feb. 21, Cherokee Nation leaders signed an agreement with the Cherokee Cultural Community organization in Washington County to bring a Career Services and Human Services satellite office to the community.
The government of President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to draw up a new vision for unification with North Korea to include the principle of liberal democracy, a presidential official said Friday.

It will mark the first revision to the National Community Unification Formula, South Korea's unification policy unveiled in August 1994 under the administration of late President Kim Young-sam.

"The National Community Unification Formula, which has served as the official unification plan of our government so far, leaves out the philosophy of liberal democracy that we currently aim for," the senior official at the presidential office told reporters.

He stressed the importance of updating the unification formula to better embody the government's plan for a "liberal democracy-based unification" in which all North Koreans can also enjoy freedom and prosperity.

"The fact that the South and the North have produced different results in the past 70 years since division clearly shows the path that is right and desired by everyone," he added.

The official said the new unification policy will include such a vision and philosophy.

In August 2022, Yoon unveiled an "audacious" initiative to help the impoverished North improve its economy in return for denuclearization steps. (Yonhap)
On that fateful day of September 6, 1901, an act of violence was inflicted on Americas leader, shattering the nations sense of security.

President William McKinley was at an event in Buffalo, New York, when a gunman shot him at close range, leaving him critically injured. About a week later, the 25th president of the United States was dead.

It has been 122 years since the assassination, and now, the original autopsy report for McKinleys death, along with other rare related documents, are up for sale by the Raab Collection for $80,000.

The Raab Collection is a family-run company located in the suburbs of Philadelphia that deals in important historical manuscripts and helps put them on the market. Over the past 35 years, the company has handled the sales of documents from famous figures, such as Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, and Amelia Earhart.

The documents that the company is currently offering up once belonged to Herman Matzinger, one of the two Buffalo physicians who performed McKinleys autopsy after his untimely demise on September 14, 1901.

Among the documents are unpublished medical notes, correspondence with others involved in the investigation, and tickets to the presidents funeral service. The existence of these papers was not known until a direct descendant of Matzinger, who will remain anonymous, discovered them.

It had never been outside the family, said Nathan Rabb, president of Raab Collection. This person found it in a proverbial shoebox, passed down to her by her parents.

McKinley had been in Buffalo for the Pan-American Exposition, standing on stage in front of hundreds of people when Leon Czolgosz, a former mill worker, shot him twice. The first bullet bounced off a button on his coat, but the other pierced his abdomen. Doctors operated on him immediately, but they were unable to find the bullet.

At first, McKinley seemed to be recovering. However, he succumbed to the injury in the end. Later that day, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office. On October 29, Czolgosz was found guilty and was executed promptly.

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One of my four-year-old twins has a thing where he pretends he cant do something hes done many times before. I cant find my sweater, he says of the sweater on the floor in front of himthe sweater he does not want to wear. I have no sweater. I dont know how to put it on. My arms dont work. Ugh! Ugh! I cant pick it up with my arms!

The other twin is in a whiny era. He responds to minor setbacksdifficulty snapping his jeans, getting the wrong jam on his toast, inability to find his water bottle after approximately 1.25 seconds of lookingwith loud, tearful cry-whines. His life is over, you understand. The bottle is gone forever.

There is nothing wrong with either twin, and I wouldnt share these stories if I thought there were (or if there werent two of them, giving both plausible deniability). This phase theyre in is deeply annoying, but its not diagnosable. Its nothing that wont go away with a little discipline and time. They will mature. They will learn to like sweaters and find bottles. They will grow up.

But too many American children arent growing up, as journalist Abigail Shrier says in the subtitle of her new book. Bad Therapy argues that several factors have combined to ruin American childhood: overhasty diagnosis and medicalization of normal growing pains, the decline and abdication of parental authority, expert and institutional overreach, andof coursesmartphones.

As has become widely recognized in the last half decade or so, children, teenagers, and young adults are growing more anxious, unhappy, lonely, and afraid to pursue what were once commonplace marks of rising independence, like getting a job, learning to drive, or finding a romantic mate. That is, they are afraid to grow up.

Shriers version of the story is a mixed bag. She is undoubtedly onto a real problemand you dont need to share her politics or skepticism of the mental health care industry to admit it, as a recent Atlantic interview with a longtime psychiatrist indicates.

She offers some sound advice for families that need a bit of gumption. Her reporting on the state of in-school therapy will be valuable to parents who dont yet realize how drastically the situation has changed since their own time in class.

But in several cases, I found Shrier using data in ways that were confused if not outright misleading, and in multiple spots her claims were contradictory or her arguments otherwise wanting.

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Why the kids arent growing up

The problem Shrier tackles is, in one sense, a kind of buyers remorse. For several decades, American parents have been buying in to the notion that what our children need is more adult protection, organized activities, and therapy. This would cultivate the happiest, most well-adjusted kids, we thought. Instead, with unprecedented help from mental health experts, we have raised the loneliest, most anxious, depressed, pessimistic, helpless, and fearful generation on record. Why?

Shriers answer is that therapy for childrenenabled by new parenting assumptions and changes to broader cultural norms and practicesis the problem posing as the solution.

In other fields of medicine, she writes, advancements and expansion of access to care have reduced rates of disease and improved patient outcomes. But as treatments for anxiety and depression have become more sophisticated and more readily available, adolescent anxiety and depression have ballooned.

Shriers recommendations get a lot right. We shouldnt be overhasty to diagnose children with mental illness, and the decision to introduce our children to therapyeven (or especially) if its just the therapist at schoolmust not be undertaken casually. Any intervention potent enough to cure is also powerful enough to hurt, Shrier advises. Therapy is no benign folk remedy. It can provide relief. It can also deliver unintended harm.

I share much of her skepticism of psychiatric medications for kids, which seem to be inadequately researched (compared to use in adults) and too widely dispensed to dull elementary-aged boys high energy and high school girls high emotions. If you can relieve your childs anxiety, depression, or hyperactivity without starting her on meds, its worth turning your life upside down to do so, Shrier says, and I find it hard to argue with that.

That said, Shriers opposition to therapy for children is more sweeping than even the books title suggests, and it likely goes beyond where most people, myself included, are willing to follow. She endorses cognitive behavioral therapy for adults and, in an introductory note, says shes not opposed to psychiatric care for young people suffering from profound mental illness. But the rest of the book is so vehemently anti-therapy that I finished it unsure when, if ever, Shrier would deem therapy for a child worth the risk.

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Public schools, increasingly rife with staff therapists and mental health assessments, are a major culprit in Shriers account. She contends that assessments are made too carelessly and that treatment is dispensed too freely, sometimes without parental knowledge and often in defiance of best therapeutic practice.

For instance, routine in-school assessments used in many statesShrier shares excerpts of these surveysdiscuss suicide at length and in detail, despite known contagion effects. And in-school therapists will almost unavoidably blur relational lines with their patients in a manner that would be deemed unethical in other contexts.

Shrier is at her best when she argues that parents must be more authoritative (not authoritarian) and more hands off. Chill out and read fewer parenting books. Let your kids go free-range. Dispense real punishments when they do real wrong, and dont be a pushover on the rules that really matter. You will like your kids more if they are well-behaved, and so will everyone else. Be strict about smartphones and wary of rushing too quickly to get a diagnosis of mental ill health.

As my husband more succinctly puts it: Few rules, consistently enforced.

The devil in the details

Unfortunately, when read closely, Bad Therapy gets a bit sketchy. One issue is Shriers use of data, which is sometimes presented without important context.

For example, Shrier writes that one in six US children aged two to eight years old has a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder. Her footnote points to a page on childrens mental health from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For this specific claim, that page in turn cites another report, also posted on the CDC site, on Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders and Poverty Among Children Aged 28 Years.

Unlike Shriers line, this report makes four things clear: One, this is an undifferentiated number that also includes many diagnoses quite distinct from Shriers subject, like intellectual disabilities or language delays. Two, these are parent-reported diagnoses from a Census question that asked if a a doctor or other health care provider [has] ever told you that this child has [one of these conditions]. But a parent might misremember or may have mistaken a nurses passing speculation for a formal diagnosis.

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Three, income data indicates in line with previous research, [that] compared with children in higher-income households, those in lower-income households receive these kinds of diagnoses more often. And four, these lower-income, more-diagnosed children are less likely than higher-income kids to have seen a health care provider in the previous year.

Shrier is writing about middle- and upper-class kids whose parents shop for diagnoses, seeing doctor after doctor until they find someone willing to hand out a script. But her source is focused on low-income children who go to the doctor less often and whose diagnoses are, in some unknown proportion of cases, outside the category of things like anxiety and depression that we generally associate with the language of mental illness. So how many US kids, aged two to eight years old, have a diagnosis in the sense Bad Therapy cares about? No idea.

One more example. In the course of arguing that smartphones alone cannot explain the decline in kids mental health, Shrier cites page 8 of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness by Robert Whitaker. Between 1990 and 2007 (before any teens had smartphones), the number of mentally ill children rose thirty-five-fold, Shrier writes.

But this is not precisely what Whitaker says. He reports that from 1987 to 2007, the number of children who received an SSI [Supplemental Security Income] payment because they were disabled by a serious mental illness increased thirty-five fold. This statistic does not actually tell us that the number of mentally ill children increased, let alone their percentage of the population, which is the most important measure. Instead, it tells us that the federal government started paying SSI to 35 times as many children it deemed seriously mentally ill.

Is there a plausible explanation for that increase that doesnt totally rely on a sudden spike in childhood mental illness? Did something else change between 1987 and 2007?

In fact, yes: A major 1990 Supreme Court ruling, Sullivan v. Zebley, relaxed the rules under which children could qualify for SSI. Following the Supreme Courts ruling, reports the National Center for Youth Law, the Social Security Administration  expanded the list of mental impairments that would qualify a child for SSI. Congress passed other eligibility expansions into law between 1987 and 2007 too. No doubt, childhood mental illness did increase in those two decades, but Shriers thirty-five fold jump compares apples to oranges.

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Bad Therapy also makes some contradictory arguments. For instance, just 20 pages after the one-in-six line, Shrier criticizes childrens mental health appswhich do sound awfulfor citing what appears to be the exact same figure.

The decks of promotional materials mental health start-ups show potential investors are unflinching: The poor mental health of the rising generation spells unimaginable business opportunity, she writes. They claim that one out of six children in the United States has an impairing mental health disorder. It doesnt have the same age range, but otherwise, this is basically Shriers own claim.

Or later in the book, she claims that restorative justice models of school discipline led to no fewer suspensions for male students and that schools stopped suspending or expelling violent students. The only way both can be true is if all the violent kids were girls.

And Shrier approvingly quotes Jordan Peterson (yes, that Jordan Peterson), arguing that theres no difference between thinking about yourself and being depressed and anxious. They are the same thing. This cant really mesh with her argument, 50 pages on, that anxiety and depression as a short-term response to real stress, grief, or failure may be a good thinga healthy, protective way for the brain to process lossdistinct from long-term, diagnosable anxiety and depression in adults.

A big grain of salt

These and other questionable detailsnot to mention my inability to evaluate the many medical and psychological experts Shrier cites while constantly decrying medical and psychological expertsleave me wary of Bad Therapy. My sense is that it contains both needful correctives and ideologically motivated hyperboles, and that many readers will struggle to parse the difference. Read it, if you do, with a big grain of salt.

Ill end with one critique of Shriers ideas on parenting that is particularly relevant to Christian readers. I dont know how to raise your kid, she writes toward the end of the book. I dont know your values. And I distrust, instinctively, most who would claim to know these things. I certainly dont believe that any mental health expert does, she continues, ticking off ways the industry has failed, before reiterating, I dont know how to raise your kid. But you do.

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Do you, though? I dont always feel as if I do. On a very practical level, I take advice from my husband, elder family members, friends whose children are older than mine, and (inevitably) the internet. Bigger picture, my goal is not simply to follow my instincts and communicate my values, as Shrier prescribes, but to induct our children into communities of faith, family, and friendship.

This reliance on others wisdom and communal help strikes me as especially important in an era when phone-addled children struggle to grow up. As Ive written before at CT, I dont think the smartphone battle is one parents can win alone. This is a collective action problem, and we need communal reinforcements, ideally via our local congregations.

Shriers individualist modelyou alone know whats right for your kids, and, if need be, you must fight the whole world to do itdoesnt seem to allow for my real need for help from fellow followers of Jesus who sometimes do know better than me. I dont want to abdicate parental responsibility to misguided experts who know their field but not my child. But neither do I want Shriers valorization of go-it-alone parenting that seems to leave no room for the church.

Bonnie Kristian is the editorial director of ideas and books at Christianity Today.
Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is a carved stone in the shape of a goblet. Carved into the cup of the goblet is a circle within a cross within a circle. Its called the Omphalos, and it represents the center or navel of the world. According to tradition going back to at least the fourth century, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher stands in the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. For Christians, there is a centrality to this place. Strangely though, while Israel is at war, the streets surrounding it are quite empty.

In November 2023, shortly after war broke out between Hamas and Israel, I traveled to Israel with Mike Cosper to assist with audio and photography for The Bulletin podcast. Our hotel in Jerusalem was within walking distance of the Old City, and between scheduled interviews and day trips, we visited the walled city and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Without people filling the narrow, winding streets of old Jerusalem, the monotony of stone is overwhelming. Stones are underfoot and in all directions. Occasional signs point toward the Holy Sepulcher, and suddenly the maze of streets leads to a courtyard, also made of stone. From across the courtyard, the conglomeration of buildings that make up the church dont form an impressive facade, but up close the graffiti of centuries is carved into its pillars: hundreds of crosses scratched here and there, large and small. It makes you wonder who carved these crossesand when?

Image: Photograph by Michael Winters

Image: Photograph by Michael Winters

Upon entering through an ancient wooden door with very few people around, the thick quiet and the dim light are calming. Its strange how the inside of a place can be so different from the outside. You can no longer hear fighter jets or car horns. With no tour guides and not a single sign to describe anything, visitors are forced to take it in without being sure of what they are seeing.

Wandering around, I find many doors closed, but one open doorway leads me down to a room unlike the others. Glowing from a bare light bulb that is both too bright and not bright enough, a strange mix of reverence and neglect swirls in the air. Soot darkens a crucifixion painting hanging on the wall, rendering it barely visible. A blackened, cracked painting sits on a broken-down altarlike structure. Painted directly on the walls are remnants of ancient decorative murals, along with thousands of recent notes and names drawn in paint marker. Tucked away in a corner, two first-century tombs are cut into the bedrock. Some traditions believe one of these tombs belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. Of all the areas I see during my visit, this easy-to-miss room has the most obvious connection to death, giving it a certain resonance as I think of the war going on a couple hours south of here.

Image: Photograph by Michael Winters

Back in a main room, the tomb of Jesus rests inside the Aedicule, a one-person chapel under a large, gorgeous dome. Theres usually a long line, but today, theres no one else around.

Its embarrassing to admit, but now back home in Kentucky reflecting on all this, I recall wondering which part of the church was dedicated to Christs resurrection. At the time, I was only thinking of the tomb in relation to Christs death. Of course, the tomb is also the site of his resurrection! The whole reason the Church of the Holy Sepulcher exists is because this tomb was found empty.

Image: Photograph by Michael Winters

Image: Photograph by Michael Winters

Its easy to focus on problems, on death. Im still thinking about the rocks stacked up and torn down over centuries. Im thinking of the destruction I saw from Hamass attack. Im thinking of the rubble in Gaza. But while we mourn that the streets of Jerusalem are empty, we can celebrate that the tomb is empty too. The tomb of death is also the site of the Resurrection. May we keep the Resurrection front of mind and heart. God, have mercyand make wars cease to the ends of the earth (Ps. 46:9).

Michael Winters is a photographer and the curator for Sojourn Midtowns art gallery in Louisville, Kentucky.

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I just feel politically homeless these days.

Within the past six hours, just as I was writing this, I heard something along those lines from two very different people: an elected official whos a conservative Republican and a progressive activist who happens to be Jewish. Whether due to the polarizing figure of Donald Trump in the first case or the rise of antisemitism since the October 7 attacks on Israel in the second, both these individuals have felt themselves to be in a kind of exile from their respective political factions.

Lots of people feel this way right now, including many followers of Jesus. We find that those who used to be our allies are no longer and those who used to be our opponents are closer to us in approaching the crisis at hand. Thats especially true when many are afraid to even talk about this estrangement for fear of losing their place in their tribe.

Many of us who have felt politically homeless thought our displacement would be temporary. Some Republicans expected things would return to normal after Donald Trump left the White House. Some Democrats thought once the Defund the Police moment was over, life would resettle into a more familiar pattern too. But both parties have yet to regain their equilibrium, nor are they likely to anytime soon.

For Christians, though, political homelessness is always a unique opportunity to reassess our priorities. As much as we might think were in uncharted territory right now, were not. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is confronted with external pressure to join a warring faction. In fact, most controversial questions posed to him were about just that.

Would he side with the Pharisees in quiet revolt against a throne of David now occupied by Roman interlopers, or would he be sympathetic to the Zealots in their not-so-quiet rebellion against the empire? Would he be in league with the tax collectors collaborating with the Romans, or would he ally himself with the Sadducees in accommodating to Roman rule?

Yet Jesus refused to merge his identity with any of these factions. Instead, he walked away from those who wanted to claim him as a king (John 6:15) or as a food supplier (6:26). And against everyones expectations, he announced himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6).

From Abrahams land of Ur to Johns isle of Patmos, the Bible depicts Gods calling as a pilgrimagea journey setting out from the familiar and launching into the unknown. The Book of Hebrews commends our fathers and mothers of old because they saw themselves as foreigners and strangers on earth (Heb. 11:13). This verbalized recognition was a signpost to the next verses: People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better countrya heavenly one (vv. 1416).

In normal times, our political affiliations would, or at least should, be a tiny part of our lives. Yet in a time of totalizing tribalismwhen politics is often a mechanism for identifying ourselves and differentiating our friends from our enemiessuch is not the case. In times like this, anyone who doesnt conform to that sense of ultimacy will feel lonely, if not find themselves utterly alone.

Often, though, God uses external circumstances, like the shaking of a civic order that once seemed stable, to free us from idols we would not have relinquished on our own. In a time of political idolatry, perhaps our sense of rootlessness might just be Gods way of reminding us that we are wayfarersembedded in time and space but made for a reality far beyond them.

Perhaps we who feel politically homeless are called to remind ourselves, along with the larger world, that weve too long settled for the wrong definition of home. The partisan identity politics of the moment are ultimately revealed to be a house built on sand. Were looking instead for a different kind of homethe one with many rooms that our Father has built upon solid rock.

That truth might feel strange in these strange times. Yet we must remember that pilgrimage is better than belongingas long as we are wandering in the right direction.

Russell Moore is the editor in chief at Christianity Today and leads its Public Theology Project.

[ This article is also available in Portugues, Francais, , and . ]

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I had been standing in line for more than an hour, waiting to meet a woman whose daughter, my sons girlfriend, had just died in a car crash.

As I waited, I took a deep breath to keep my emotions in check. Fate had overwhelmed us. My career in finance had just tanked because I was fired as a whistleblower. We were drastically cutting spending and in danger of losing our home. And I was attending my second wake in three weeks.

Nineteen days before Kira died, my other sons girlfriend, Ashley, had committed suicide. Her funeral was small and somber. But something remarkable happened. Debbie, a friend of Ashleys family, had approached my wife and me with kindness. Numerous times, she came over to ask if we or our sons needed any support. In a sea of darkness, Debbie was the only light we saw that day. I was surprised, comforted, and drawn in by her warmth and compassion.

Yet I soon forgot about her, consumed by the many tragedies that had taken over our lives.

Now as we waited in line to pay our respects to Kiras mom, I saw Debbie again. She asked about both of our sons, concerned that our family had experienced two losses in such a short time. More kindness, more light, more carefully measured sweetness just when we needed it.

As she walked away, I turned to hide the tears in my eyes. Silently I wondered, Who is like that?

My thoughts returned to my two sons, who looked like they had just returned from war. I knew they needed help piecing their shattered lives back together.

The line was getting shorter as I considered what to say to Kiras mom. Having never met her, I knew only two things about her: She had been very close to her daughter, and she was a Christian. I didnt like church people. In my opinion, Christians were simple-minded and hypocritically judgmental. But I set those feelings aside to mentally rehearse the condolences I would share.

As I readied myself to speak, she reached out and took my hand in a friendly manner. Then she surprised me by speaking of my familys grief rather than her own. I am so sorry Zach lost Ashley, she said. We are friends with the family, so we know what a tragedy it was. When all this is over, would it be okay if I spend a little time with Zach?

I was stunned. Speechless. My wife picked it up from there, said all the right things, and moved us along.

As I walked away, I asked the universe, What is going on here? She just lost her daughter, her best friend, and she wants to care for my son? Who does that?

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A few minutes later, Debbie came by again and said, Hey, you know, our pastor is here. Would you like to meet him?

My mind split in two. On one side, I thought, No! I dont meet pastors. I dont like pastors. I dont like church people. On the other side, Hmm  something is weird here, and I am curious. If this guy is even half as nice as these two women, maybe I should meet him.

I found my lips forming the words seemingly by themselves: Sure, that would be fine.

It turns out Pastor Peter was half as nice, and even more than half. He was strong and comforting. And he invited our sons to a new grief group he was starting. I didnt know how to help my sons, but he did.

On the way home, my wife turned to me and said, Im going to start going to church. It was not a request or an invitation to join her. She knew I hated church. Still, I volunteered to come along.

At the funeral the next day, my wife heard words of life drawn from Scripture, and her memories of going to church as a youth came flooding back to her. She was saved right then and there.

But my unchurched youth and my rebellious spirit locked me in a battle that would rage for months. Sure, I felt something stirring at that funeral and on the ensuing Sunday mornings. But Im not much of a feeler. Im a thinker, and foremost in my mind was every argument against Jesus Christ and the Bible.

A few weeks after the funeral, my father-in-law sent me a study Bible in the mail. Again I struggled: Should I read the book I swore I would never readthe book that, in my view, was written by ancient kings to control the masses? I picked it up and said, God, if you are in this book, I am going to be super upset, because I will have been wrong for 50 years. But I guess  I want to know. I made the decision to read it, cover to cover.

Three months later, I was in the book of Leviticus when I started hearing from God. It was nothing audiblejust a sense. A sense of someone loving, kind, encouraging, strong, personal, and available.

Meanwhile, I started reviewing my character with God. Every night when I was reading my Bible, I would have a conversation about how I measured up or fell short. This might sound strange, but it seemed natural to me. I had been reading about the Israelites, who were treated so well and promised so much by God with only one conditionto remain faithful. So after hearing about the Israelites being fickle in Genesis and Exodus, I was primed to evaluate myself.

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Soon, God began working in me, changing bad habits and moral failures. Step by step, we worked on improving my character. This went on for two years, as God helped cleanse me of every willful sin in my life, including alcoholism.

During this process, I fell in love. I couldnt wait to open my Bible each night. Soon, I started talking with God during the day too. He was always with me, encouraging me in my failures and celebrating with me in my victories.

Why, I wondered, had nobody told me I could live like this? I had the God who created everything talking to me personally every time I wanted. And he wanted me to be with him!

It took me 14 monthsto thoroughly digest the Old Testament. When I got to Malachi, I started getting nervous. I was about to leave my Godthe God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacobto meet Jesus.

By this time, I was meeting every week with my pastor, peppering him with my old arguments. He had also set up a weekly mens breakfast with strong Christians who could answer my questions and encourage my faith journey.

Yet I was still nervous to meet Jesus. I had learned a good deal about him from people I respected. Weirdly, though, for a left-brained, science-oriented, just-the-facts kind of guy, head knowledge wasnt enough. I had built a relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; he was my love, my sanctuary, my refuge, my ever-present help in times of trouble.

Imagine my delight, then, when I started reading Matthew and the relationship didnt change at all! When I got to John and read about the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, I discovered Id been talking to Jesus all along.

Today, I remain a voracious Bible reader. Jesus, the Word, is everything to me. He saved me. It wasnt words I said or heard from someone else. It was the Word.

But make no mistake, the church first sparked my curiosity. If Gods people hadnt made me wonder about their peculiar love, I never would have cracked open Gods Word, and I never would have fallen in love myself.

Randy Loubier is pastor of Chestnut Hill Chapel in New Boston, New Hampshire. He is the author of several nonfiction books and novels, including Slow Brewing Tea.

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By Lee Hae-rin

Several difficult heritage sites in Seoul, which bear cultural heritage designations but have a history associated with collaborators during Japan's 1910-45 colonial occupation of Korea, are reigniting questions over how to manage and remember them, in the wake of March 1 Independence Movement Day.

These establishments are government-designated cultural heritage sites that are conserved, protected and exhibited with tax money, yet fail to display any information on their significance in relation to their pro-Japan history, according to critics.

"Difficult heritage" refers to cultural heritage with a meaningful yet contested and unsettling history, such as slavery, imperialism and colonialism.

One example is the Yun Familys House at Namsangol Hanok Village in downtown Seoul.

The building holds a wide range of traditional cultural events and experiences for visitors and receives many local and international tourists.

It is a replica of a traditional hanok property in Jongno District that belonged to Yun Deok-yeong, an uncle of Empress Sunjeonghyo, the wife of Emperor Sunjong who was the last king of the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. Yun, who served as a nominated member of the Japanese Imperial House of Nobility, built the hanok for his concubine.

The building, however, holds no sign of his pro-Japan, anti-nationalist past.

Another controversial example of difficult heritage is the Home of Seo Jeong-ju in the artist village of Seoul's southern Gwanak District.

The two-story house was opened to the public in 2011 to commemorate of work of the late Korean poet Seo, who built the house in 1970 and lived there for 30 years.

Although Seo is considered one of the best poets in 20th-century Korean literature and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature multiple times, he was labeled as a pro-Japan collaborator in 2009 by a presidential committee aimed at identifying pro-Japanese activists.

Signboards at the building introduce his literary achievements and explain some of his possessions on display but show no information on his pro-Japan activities.

Many point out that these heritage sites have a historical legacy worthy of conservation because they are still meaningful in the present as proof of the past, shedding light on possibly shameful atrocities and conflicts.

This is a different approach from previous cases in Korea where buildings built during the Japanese colonial era were torn down.

In 1995, the Korean government began demolishing the former Japanese Government-General building built in front of Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul.

Also in 2015, the Seoul city government tore down an annex of the former National Tax Service building near Deoksu Palace, as it had been built by the Japanese in 1937 in an alleged attempt to conceal the palace, to mark the 70th anniversary of liberation.

UNESCOs World Heritage Committee highlighted in January last year in its guiding principles on the protection of sites of memory associated with recent conflicts that designating difficult heritage requires multiple perspectives in consideration of history.

The memories of all participants, no matter how big or small a group, should be considered equally relevant, as well as those both victors and victims, and the offenders and the offended, the committee said.




Days after a bus accident claimed 11 of its missionaries in Tanzania, leaders of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) are devastated but rallying prayer and support to aid medical evacuations, repatriations, and funeral arrangements expected to total hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Christian missionaries, seven of whom were from other countries, including one from the United States, died in the Ngaramtoni area near the city of Arusha in the eastern African countrys north.

Authorities say a construction truck hit one of two mini-buses carrying the missionaries. The participants in an Executive Masters in Leadership course were returning from a field trip in Maasai land when the truck lost its brakes, smashing into the bus.

We have not seen a tragedy of this magnitude in all of YWAMs history and we are all devastated, stated YWAM cofounder Darlene Cunningham in a letter dated February 26. She explained:

The individuals involved in running the Executive Masters were key YWAM leaders in the regionsome leading flourishing YWAM bases; others giving leadership in the field of education and other spheres; others ministering in restricted-access locations where no one else would dare to goand seeing the hand of God upon their ministries in amazing ways. The students attracted to the Executive Masters were the same caliber of peoplelife-long committed YWAM missionary pioneers. So their deaths create a massive vacuum in this part of the world for YWAM as a missionary movement.

On Wednesday (Feb. 28), members of YWAM in the region held prayers and send-off services for their departed colleagues.

The mood is very sad, Bernard Ojiwa, an official of YWAM in Tanzania, told Religion News Service in a phone call from Arusha. We started the journey for burials of the local members.

We are also planning how the bodies of the foreign members could be sent home. For now, the bodies remain in the morgue, he added.

Police sources in Arusha said the seven foreign nationals were from Kenya, Togo, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Nigeria, and the US.

YWAM has withheld the full names of its lost missionaries because many worked in non-Christian nations with security risks. All of those that died were leaders of projects, training centers and ministries, the ministry noted in an update on its website. It is a major hit for our mission, especially the continent of Africa and the Middle East and Europe.

The accident, which involved four motor vehicles in all, killed 25 people, 11 of them members of YWAM, and injured 21, eight of them with the mission group. John Mukolwe, a Kenyan and the base leader of the Arusha station, was among the dead.

Mukolwe was a friend for more than 30 years. His death makes me very sad, said Karin Kea, the administrator for YWAMs base in the Athi River area in Kenya.

Abel Sibo, a Burundian member of the mission, posted a video on Facebook of YWAM missionaries singing the hymn This Is the Day the Lord Has Made, saying the group was singing before the accident occurred.

According to officials, members of the mission from around the globe have gone to the region to offer moral, pastoral, and counseling support.

Our brothers and sisters in Tanzania are carrying so much at this time, wrote Cunningham in her letter to the YWAM family. Those who survived the accident and were first on the scene to render aid are suffering a trauma that will be deep and long lasting. The practical tasks that need to be done by survivors at the base after a tragedy like this are enormous, all the while trying to walk through their own grief.

YWAM was founded by Loren and Darlene Cunningham in 1960 with an emphasis on sending young volunteers of different denominations to serve on short-term evangelization missions. The group now has some 2,000 offices worldwide and involves missionaries from 200 countries.

YWAM established its presence in Arusha in 2000 and has since established three fully staffed offices in the region. The centers education programs include classes in discipleship ministry, tailoring, computer skills, and English language, among others.

In these days, tears are being poured out across the world by individuals, families and YWAMers worldwide. I am personally reeling from the weight of this news, as I knew and loved many of these individuals personally, wrote Cunningham. She encouraged the use of three Bible verses:

Hang on to the fact that, no matter what, we know that God is just and kind in all his ways (Ps. 145:17).

Remind yourself of Job 42:2. Job had lost everything and his response to God was I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Lets hang on to that word!

Remind yourself of Isaiah 41:10: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Tanzanian president Samia Suluhu Hassan sent a message of condolence and urged increased vehicle inspection and traffic law enforcement to prevent further loss of lives.

These accidents take the lives of our loved ones, national workforce and family members. I continue to call upon everyone to follow traffic laws in the use of vehicles, Suluhu wrote on X (formerly Twitter). I send my condolences to family and friends who lost their loved ones. May the Almighty God rest them in peace! Ameen!

I like to think of Loren being there at the gates of heaven to greet and welcome these eleven beloved YWAMers! wrote Darlene Cunnigham. Our hearts rejoice knowing that they are rejoicing to be with Jesus, while at the same time, we weep for the loss of their presence among us.

Additional reporting by CT staff.

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Home News Heidi Przybyla apologizes for her comments about Christian nationalism

After igniting a firestorm of controversy, Politico reporter Heidi Przybyla has apologized for admonishing Christians who believe in God-given rights, having claimed that such a worldview is tantamount to Christian nationalism.

In a piece in Politico on Thursday, Przybyla addressed comments she made during an appearance on MSNBCs All in With Chris Hayes last week. She asserted on the cable news program that Christian nationalists believe that our rights, as Americans, as all human beings, dont come from any earthly authority.

Przybyla added that based on this line of thinking, rights dont come from Congress, they dont come from the Supreme Court, they come from God. She further asserted that the problem with that is that they are determining  man, men, and it is men  are determining what God is telling them.

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She also identified the concept of natural law as a pillar of Catholicism and suggested that while its been used for good and social justice campaigns, such as the push for racial equality and civil rights, there is an extremist element of conservative Christians who say that this applies specifically to issues including abortion [and] gay marriage. She lamented that its going much further than that, as you see, for instance, with a ruling in Alabama this week that judges connected to that Dominionist faction did.

The Alabama Supreme Court decision mentioned by Przybyla ruled that embryos created through in-vitro fertilization are human beings protected by state law.

Responding to the backlash over her comments on Christian nationalism, Przybyla insisted, Due to some clumsy words, I was interpreted by some people as making arguments that are quite different from what I believe. ... Reporters have a responsibility to use words and convey meaning with precision, and am sorry I fell short of this in my appearance.

Among the passages that caused confusion was my attempt to draw a distinction between Christians and the small set of these people who advocate Christian nationalism, she added. After reiterating the comments she made on air, she concluded that they did not amount to a good definition of Christian nationalism.

Przybyla specifically addressed the main criticisms of her remarks by stressing that many people have views about our rights as Americans that would coincide with those of many of our nations Founders. She noted the proclamation in the Declaration of Independence that all people are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Przybylas comments about Christian nationalism on MSNBC invited a host of criticism, including from Bishop Robert Barron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. In a video posted to X last week, he condemned her remarks as one of the most disturbing and frankly dangerous things Ive ever seen in a political conversation.

It is exceptionally dangerous when we forget the principle that our rights come from God and not from a government, he said. Because the basic problem is, if they come from the government or Congress or the Supreme Court, they can be taken away by those same people. This is opening the door to totalitarianism.

Przybylas comments about Christian nationalism come as the term has attained increased prevalence in American politics. Just a week before Przybylas remarks on MSNBC generated outrage, prominent American movie director Rob Reiners documentary titled God and Country that defines Christian nationalism as the idea that America was founded as a so-called Christian nation, and that our laws should be based on the Bible hit theaters.

God and Country claims that the ideology of Christian nationalism distorts not only the constitutional republic, but Christianity itself.

In a 2022 interview with The Christian Post, Christian Post Executive Editor Dr. Richard Land suggested that the increased use of the term amounts to a tactic by the Left and their toadies in the media to suppress patriotic beliefs and to suppress the idea that America is a unique country.

Land told CP that pejoratively, they want to tie Christian nationalism to racism and to prejudice, and I reject those labels. He maintained that based on the thinking of the Left and the media, if you believe in any sense that America has a unique role to play in the world, and that God in His providence has had something to do with the United States, then youre a Christian nationalist.
Home News NBC News faces criticism for editing out Newsom's late-term abortion comments

A leading pro-life activist organization and media watchdog have criticized NBC News, claiming the network deliberately edited out comments made by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on late-term abortion during an appearance on "Meet the Press" Sunday.

Newsom appeared on the talk show, discussing abortion policy and other issues related to the upcoming 2024 presidential election with host Kristen Welker.

Welker pressed the Democrat on what limits he supported on abortion. The governor responded by declaring, "I think we've established that firmly in the context of what states are doing like California, where we established a constitutional right to access abortion."

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"At the end of the day, I think that's a determination for women [and] for their doctors," he added.

After Welker jumped in to ask Newsom if he thought abortion should be available "at any week" during pregnancy, the governor replied, "As it relates to the debate around late-term abortion, that's a complete canard."

While the exchange was featured in the whole, unedited version of the interview posted on YouTube as well as the NBC News website, the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters reported that it did not make the cut for the version of the interview that aired on national television.

NewsBusters reporter Tim Graham maintained that a "smaller clip" featuring Newsom accusing Republicans of perpetuating a "war on women" that targets "contraceptives as it relates to mifepristone" was edited out as well. Mifepristone is one of a two-drug regimen included in the abortion pill, making it a lot different than a contraceptive.

A look at the transcript from Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press," as posted on the NBC News website, shows that the entire exchange is missing. An additional excerpt of Welker's conversation about abortion with Newsom, which features the NBC News host telling Newsom that "Republicans, though, say that Democrats want to allow abortions up until the time of birth," was also omitted.

Newsom claimed that "it's insulting to women" because of "fetal abnormalities" and "the life, not just of the mother but the baby, the likelihood that the baby won't even survive after the birth."

The portion of the interview featuring Newsom's comments about Republicans engaging in a "war on women" was partially included in the transcript, although the reference to mifepristone was edited out. Comments not related to abortion also did not make it into the transcript.

The part of the interview where Newsom identified Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley as "one of [Democrats'] better surrogates" who is "defining the opposition to Trump incredibly effectively" was also not included. Specifically, Newsom praised Haley for highlighting concerns about Trump's "temperament" and "capacity" while suggesting that it was inevitable that Trump would become the Republican nominee.

The entire episode of Sunday's edition of "Meet the Press," posted to YouTube, features about 10 minutes of Welker's interview with Newsom, which lasted about 17 minutes. Welker did not indicate that a more extensive interview was available for "Meet the Press" viewers online.

Some, among them Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Vice President of Communications Emily Erin Davis, believe the edits to the interview were deliberate.

In a statement published Tuesday, Davis cited the Newsom interview as the latest example of how Democrats' "media allies shamefully do the job of activists and cover for them" to hide the fact that "today's Democratic Party wants painful late-term abortion on demand, paid for by taxpayers, right up to the very end of the third trimester."

"They refuse to support any limits to protect babies or mothers at any point, they vilify pregnancy resource centers that serve the majority of women who want help to keep their babies, and they even brand parents as child abusers for protecting their daughters from the predatory abortion industry," stated Davis.

"Time after time, they refuse to answer the most straightforward questions about their no-limits agenda."

In his post, Graham wrote that NewsBusters "pounced and/or seized on Welker when she tried to tell Donald Trump no one favors abortion at any time, Democrats don't favor abortion at any time."

"Wrong! It's right there in the 2020 Democrat Party platform," he wrote. "The media-Democrat complex pretends the Republican pro-life stand is extreme, while the equally extreme abortion-on-demand stance isn't extreme at all. It's somehow the sensible center."
Home News Washington bill mandating clergy report child abuse dies amid debate over seal of confession

Washington state lawmakers have again failed to pass a law that mandates clergy reporting of abuse amid concerns that it did not offer legal protection for Catholic confessionals.

Senate Bill 6298, which passed the Democrat-controlled Washington State Senate in a vote of 44-5 earlier this month, was defeated last week in the Washington House Committee on Human Services, Youth & Early Learning, reported Oregon Public Radio.

While the bill received bipartisan support in the Washington Senate, all five lawmakers voting against it were Republicans.

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A major point of contention was the legislation lacking an exemption for the Catholic Church's sacramental practice of the confessional, in which actions confessed are meant to be confidential.

The Senate version of the bill, which passed in early February, exempted clergy from mandatory reporting if they heard of abuse exclusively in the confessional but required it should they hear about it in another setting, reported The Washington State Standard.

State Sen. Noel Frame, a Democrat of Seattle, said on the Senate floor at the time that the inclusion of the confessional provision was a "delicate" and "very narrowly defined compromise."

"I cannot accept that any one of our clergy would stand on the sideline and know a child could be hurt and do nothing about it," said Frame, as quoted by The Standard.

Organizations like Ending Clergy Abuse and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests objected to the compromise being included in the proposed legislation.

"The vague and verbose language in this new bill effectively obscures any mandate that clergy must report child abuse," stated Tim Law, a board member of ECA, back in late January.

"It gives the impression that the state is taking action to make churches a safer place for children, while upholding the exemption that has given clergy in Washington state a free pass to legally avoid reporting sexual crimes against children."

The Washington State Catholic Conference, which was critical of SB 6298 due to questions regarding the confessional exemption, released a bulletin earlier this week regarding the vote result.

"Looking to the next legislative session in January 2025, it is anticipated that a new version of SB 6298 will be introduced, most likely without a clergy-penitent privilege," the WSCC predicted.

"Please join the WSCC in advocating for the Seal of the Confessional and the clergy-penitent privilege, and meet with your legislators in the interim between legislative sessions, April through December."

The WSCC went on to argue that admonitions of child abuse in the confessional are "rare" and that the Catholic Church already "supports mandatory reporting outside of the confessional."

"Many legislators are unaware of the grave impacts of holding priests criminally liable for maintaining their vow to protect the Seal of Confession," the Conference added.

Last year, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a law allowing religious bodies to refuse to answer questions in child abuse cases if the crime was learned within a confessional setting.
Home Opinion America and the West: What is the cultural glue?

Major sections of libraries have been filled with volumes seeking to identify, examine and evaluate the various sources that ultimately coalesce into the broad category of Western civilization.

Previous generations studied summaries of that research in textbooks at both the secondary and collegiate levels. Educators considered it essential that students understand the basic tenets upon which Western society was based and how they came to be. In other words, what made Western civilization different from other civilizations and why its basic tenets and values were beneficial to humankind.

Of course, at this point in our history in America and the rest of the West, such assumptions and ideas have been under withering attack for at least two generations. Many of us remember countless scenes like the Rev. Jesse Jackson leading a demonstration of hundreds of students at Stanford University in 1987 chanting, Hey, hey, ho, ho, Western civ has got to go! Almost four decades later, these radicals have achieved their goals. The study of Western civilization in any meaningful way has been forcefully expunged from the nations secondary and collegiate educational systems. It is as if Western civ is gone with the wind.

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Western civilization was deemed white mans history, racist, bigoted and needed to be expunged and replaced with myriad ethnic studies of oppressed peoples. Consequently, for example, you have attempts to honor Native American heritage in California by honoring and studying the Aztecs, a civilization mired in, among other things, human sacrifice. How such practices help the nation achieve its motto, E pluribus unum  out of many, one seems inexplicable.

Every year, the United States welcomes nearly 1 million new citizens through naturalization ceremonies. If you have not attended one, try to do so. It is a very moving experience to watch these new Americans (of multiple ethnicities) and their gratitude to and love for our blessed nation. To become a naturalized citizen, they must pass the American citizenship exam by answering six out of the 10 questions accurately. The questions are as follows:

1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?

2. Who was the first President of the United States?

3. Who was the U.S. President during World War I?

4. When was the U.S. Constitution written?

5. How many years is the term of a U.S. Senator elected to serve?

6. How many amendments are there to the U.S. Constitution?

7. Which of these states does not border Canada? (Alaska, Maine, North Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and Oregon are the options to choose from.)

8. Which territory did the United States buy from France in 1803? (Louisiana, Texas, California, Florida, Maine, and Alaska are the options provided.)

9. Which branch of the government makes federal laws? (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial are the options.)

10. Which is not one of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution? (Speech, Religion, Assembly, Press, Petition of the government, and Bear Arms are the options.)

The test seems simple and straightforward. Yet, while nine out of 10 legal immigrants pass the test, only 30% of Americans and just 3% of U.S. public high school students can answer at least six of these 10 questions correctly. ("97% of students cant pass this test," Prageruinfo@update.com Feb. 20, 2024).

Clearly, alarming numbers of Americans have little knowledge of our heritage or how or why we have the society we currently have.

Let us commence with an extremely abbreviated summary of Western civ. The world reached new levels of civilization and technical advancement during the Greek and Roman Empires. After the collapse of Rome, Europe struggled through centuries of decline, reversed by the Renaissance, a tremendous cultural and philosophical awakening during the 12th to 14th centuries in Italy and Southern Europe.

Then, as the saying goes, as the Renaissance crossed the Alps into Northern Europe, it got religion, i.e. the Reformation. Thus began a struggle over origins that continues to the present day. Both sides of the Renaissance desperately wanted to get back to the truths of their inspired origins, Greece and Rome, or the Bible, Humanism vs. Christianity.

Some would argue, myself among them, that the Reformation produced the English (17th century) and the subsequent American (18th century) Revolution, and the secular humanism of Greece and Rome produced the French Revolution. This struggle for this civilizational soul of Western civilization continues to the present day because both sides can legitimately appeal to aspects of their origins the Western civilization produced.

In the United States, and to a lesser extent, in the historically English-speaking countries, the Judeo-Christian-based value system predominated. When you read the writings of the Founding Fathers, these highly educated and well-read men read Greco-Roman classics, but they read Christian theology and philosophy as well. I was struck by this when I had the privilege of visiting Montpelier, the ancestral home of James Madison, our fourth president and one of the chief architects of the U.S. Constitution.

In virtually every room of the beautiful mansion were paintings depicting biblical scenes as well as Greco-Roman scenes. Madison was deeply well-versed in both. However, when you read the Constitution and Madisons other writings, it is the Judeo-Christian Renaissance that held the intellectual upper hand.

Even the Founding Fathers who were less traditional in their faith, Jefferson and Adams, found in Judeo-Christian origins the belief in the divine origin of human rights for all men.

American civilization, as the most unadulterated Judeo-Christian form of Western civilization, while far from perfect, has produced a society with more rights for a higher percentage of the population than any society in human history. In what other countries do people routinely risk life and limb to enter, crossing oceans, jungles and deserts to grasp the American dream of freedom and dignity?

Interestingly, it is people who are not native-born Americans who are more sensitive to the critical role Judeo-Christian values have played in American civilization. Recently Nzube Olisaebuka Udezue, a British rapper known as Zuby, posted that he thinks the West is absolutely screwed if it loses Christianity.

Zuby went on to explain, Its like removing the foundations of a building but pridefully expecting it to remain standing forever  all while enemies both inside and outside are trying to knock the building over.

He described Christianity as the Wests immune system and argued that Christianitys dominance in the West has furnished a form of herd immunity that benefitted everyone. He wrote, You cant just have a culture and a moral vacuum  it goes against the laws of human nature. This British citizen of Nigerian origin is absolutely right.

America at present reminds me of a murder mystery novel I read many years ago. The murder victim, a boating enthusiast, mysteriously drowned while out on a lake near his home. His boat sank and he drowned. Then it was discovered that his boat did not sink. It disintegrated  it just came apart in the middle of the lake. How could this have happened? Finally, the investigating detective discovered that the victims nemesis had secretly dismantled the victims boat and glued it back together with water-soluble glue.

So when the victim took his boat out on the lake, the glue slowly dissolved and the boat collapsed into the lake. I fear America is like a boat held together with soluble glue, and unless she returns to the shores of her cultural and spiritual foundations, she will break apart and sink beneath the waves.
Home News Archbishop of Canterbury apologizes for not meeting with Palestinian pastor

The Archbishop of Canterbury has publicly apologized after refusing to meet a pastor from Bethlehem during his visit to the United Kingdom.

Archbishop Justin Welby declined to meet Rev. Munther Isaac after the pastor shared a platform with Jeremy Corbyn at a pro-Palestinian rally last month.

Isaac, the pastor of the Christmas Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, has been an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack.

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In the run-up to Christmas, his Nativity with baby Jesus in rubble went viral.

He was one of the speakers at a recent rally in London led by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. It was attended by thousands of people who demanded a ceasefire in Gaza.

He also led a prayer vigil outside the House of Commons where he repeated his call for a ceasefire.

Archbishop Welby said in a statement that it was "wrong" not to meet with him. They are now scheduled to meet next week.

"Recently I declined to meet with Rev Dr Munther Isaac during his UK visit," he said. "I apologise for and deeply regret this decision, and the hurt, anger, and confusion it caused.

"I was wrong not to meet with my brother in Christ from the Holy Land, especially at this time of profound suffering for our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. I look forward to speaking and praying with him next week."

Isaac has welcomed the apology.

"Thank you Archbishop Justin Welby," he tweeted. "I welcome this statement, and I look forward to our meeting next week as brothers in Christ."
Home News Dusty Deevers to nominate Tennessee Pastor Jared Moore for SBC President

Pastor and outspoken Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers says he plans to nominate Tennessee Pastor Jared Moore for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.

Deevers conveyed his intentions in comments given to Baptist Press, the convention's official news service. He said Moore, the pastor of Cumberland Homesteads Baptist Church in Crossville, "loves Christ and, therefore, loves Christ's Word unashamedly."

"Jared faithfully represents salt-of-the-earth Southern Baptists," Deevers said in remarks published Wednesday. "He is a faithful husband, father and pastor who serves the Lord dutifully at his local church without the need for fanfare or attention."

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Deevers believes "the world and our own nation need a thriving and faithful SBC to proclaim the Gospel without embarrassment."

"Sadly, though, our prophetic voice has been stifled in recent years because of infighting, self-dealing and worldly compromise. God's Kingdom will go on with or without the SBC, but we know the Devil would love nothing more than to destroy our long and faithful cooperative mission," he added.

"On the flip side, our adversary fears a convention that is united around God's truth. You have a man in Jared Moore who loves Christ, His Church and the SBC and wants to see the SBC using all of its tremendous resources to accomplish the Great Commission faithfully."

Moore has been involved in SBC ministry since 2000, having previously served as second vice president of the SBC in 2014. He has served as senior pastor of Cumberland Homesteads Baptist Church since 2016.

He received his bachelor's in biblical studies from Trinity College of the Bible in Indiana, his master of divinity in Christian ministry from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky and a Ph.D. in systematic theology from SBTS.

He authored The Lust of the Flesh: Thinking Biblically About "Sexual Orientation," Attraction, and Temptation and the The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ.

Moore has also authored a handful of columns published by The Christian Post from 2017 to 2018. He argued in a 2017 piece that it was heretical for Christians to identify as pro-choice, given that Jesus was identified as Lord even when Mary was early in her pregnancy.

"If the pro-choice movement is correct about when personhood begins, what does this say about God the Son Incarnate at conception? Was he something less than human from conception to late in the 2nd trimester or birth? If so, what was he, and how does this fit with orthodoxy?" wrote Moore at the time.

"[I]n order to affirm the pro-choice argument that a baby is less than human until late in the 2nd trimester, pro-choice advocates must also argue that God the Son Incarnate was less than human until late in the 2nd trimester. To argue that God the Son Incarnate is less than human at any point in His life is heresy."

Moore is one of multiple SBC pastors announced as likely nominees for convention president at the June SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Home News Two-thirds of Americans believe US is on wrong track when it comes to free speech: poll

A majority of Americans believe the United States is headed "in the wrong direction" on the issue of free speech even as a sizable portion would be in favor of censoring viewpoints they find offensive, a new study suggests.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, formerly known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, published a study Tuesday examining Americans' views on the issue of free speech.

The survey, a partnership between FIRE and the Polarization Research Lab at Dartmouth College, Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania, is based on responses collected from 1,000 Americans between Jan. 12 and 19. It has a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.

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Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed believe that the U.S. is heading "in the wrong direction" regarding "whether people are able to freely express their views." Meanwhile, 31% believe the free speech climate is heading "in the right direction." At the same time, 47% described the "right to freedom of speech in America" today as "somewhat secure."

An additional 29% viewed freedom of speech in the U.S. as "not at all secure," while 18% characterized it as "very secure," and 7% maintained that free speech was "completely secure."

Polarization Research Lab Director Sean Westwood noted that views on free speech differed slightly based on partisan affiliation.

"Nearly half of Democrats think free speech rights are headed in the right direction, compared to only 26 percent of Republicans," he stated. "And more than a third of Republicans think the right to free speech is not secure, compared to only 17 percent of Democrats."

The research also suggests that nearly a third (31%) of Americans believe that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing the right to free speech "goes too far." This view is held by about a third of both Democrats and Republicans.

When asked "how worried" they were about losing their jobs because someone complained about something they have said, a plurality (36%) insisted that they were "not at all worried" about losing their jobs, while 24% were "not too worried" and 16% were "slightly worried."

Fourteen percent of those surveyed reported being "somewhat worried" about losing their jobs because of something they say, while the remaining 10% were "very worried."

The survey also asked respondents to reflect on how frequently they engaged in self-censorship over the past month.

A plurality of those surveyed (31%) told pollsters that they had censored their views "occasionally, a handful of times." Twenty-four percent claimed to have self-censored "rarely once or twice," followed by 19% who had "never" censored their views, 17% who censored themselves "fairly often, a couple times a week" and 8% who insisted that they do so "very often, nearly every day."

The survey included a series of statements deemed offensive and asked respondents to identify which one offended them the most. It then instructed respondents to share their views on whether the local community should allow a person espousing such a belief to give a public speech or teach at a local college.

Pluralities of respondents agreed that a person who had views they considered the most offensive should definitely not have the ability to "give a public speech" in the local community (29%) or "teach at the local college" (38%). An additional 23% said their local community "probably should not allow this person to give a public speech," while 31% said the same about teaching at the local college.

Just 19% of those surveyed stated that a person with offensive views "probably should" be able to teach at the local college, while 26% felt the person "probably should" be able to give a speech. Only 12% of respondents thought the local college should "definitely allow" a person with the disfavored view to teach there, while 22% thought the person should "definitely" be allowed to give a speech.

"Those results were disappointing, but not exactly surprising," FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens said in a statement. "Here at FIRE, we've long observed that many people who say they're concerned about free speech waver when it comes to beliefs they personally find offensive. But the best way to protect your speech in the future is to defend the right to controversial and offensive speech today."

However, a majority (59%) of respondents thought the public library should either "probably" or "definitely" keep a book written by a person with an offensive viewpoint on the shelves. In comparison, 71% agreed that the person should "probably" or "definitely" not lose their job for holding the position.

The poll conducted by FIRE and the Polarization Research Lab is the first installment of the National Speech Index, a component of a new quarterly series titled "America's Political Pulse" that seeks to "allow researchers to track shifting free speech sentiment in America over time."
Home News St. Louis church condemned after 3 members arrested for allegedly kidnapping woman

A Pentecostal church in St. Louis, Missouri, where an unidentified woman told local police she was held captive and beaten by three men during a 30-day fast, has been condemned by city officials.

The Mount of Olives Ministry church, where the woman told police she was held captive, is located in the Patch neighborhood, according to the River Front Times. On Monday, a city inspector declared the church building unsafe and it has now been condemned, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Police said that though English was not the womans first language, she was able to tell them she had been locked in a room on the property, given only water and no food, beaten, and forced to use a bucket as a makeshift toilet, which police found as described. In a probable cause affidavit, police said the woman was found in the community where the church is located, bound by ropes and bleeding from the head, which she sustained during her confinement.

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When police followed the woman to the church, she identified Pasi Heri, 32, of Dutchtown, Grace Kipendo, 28, of Arnold, and Mmunga Fungamali, 25, from Canada, as her abductors, The Riverfront Times said. All three men have since been charged with one count each of felony kidnapping and assault.

While he doesnt doubt that the woman was victimized, Kipendo's attorney, Chris Combs, told 5 on Your Side on Tuesday that his client is innocent and the womans family supports the men who are members of the church.

"She's the victim of something. Of course, I believe my client had nothing to do with it," Combs said.

He explained that both Kipendo and Fungamali are brothers and the woman, who allegedly struggles mental health issues, had been living at the church along with other men and women in separate rooms. The church was condemned for being used illegally as housing.

"It's my understanding that yes, she was suffering from several mental health issues, and as far as what happened, no one knows," Combs said.

He explained that the womans parents support the three men and told a judge that they moved their daughter to the church a year ago to get help.

Combs said when the police showed up at the church on Friday, they interrupted a 30-day fasting service.

"They were looking for her, and the next thing you know, the police are there with her and she (identified) Mr. Kipendo, my client, his brother and another gentleman," Combs said. "... Everyone emphatically denies any involvement in this."

He said his client is a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army who is expecting his first child with his wife.

"I believe in the coming weeks a lot of light will be shed on this, Combs said. An entirely different story will come out.
Home News West Virginia House passes bill to allow religious exemptions for student vaccine mandate

West Virginia is one step closer to passing a law that would allow parents to exempt their children from getting certain vaccines on the basis of religious objection and still attend public schools.

On Monday, the Republican-controlled West Virginia House of Delegates voted 57-41 to support House Bill 5105, which would amend state law regulating mandatory vaccination for students. Thirty-one Republicans sided with Democrats to oppose the measure, while all of the votes in support of its passage came from Republicans.

The proposed legislation exempts students attending virtual schools from vaccine requirements and allows parents to opt their child out of vaccination for religious reasons.

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Notwithstanding any other provisions in this code, no provision of this section shall apply to any child whose parents or guardians present a letter stating that a child cannot be vaccinated for religious reasons and an exemption from the requirements of this section shall be granted, states the bill.

The bill will next go to the Republican-controlled West Virginia Senate, which has until March 9 to vote on the legislation, though the chances of it passing remain uncertain, reports The Associated Press.

Critics of the bill, including Dr. Steven Eshenaur of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, have argued that HB 5105 will lead to worse health outcomes for West Virginians.

Legislators want to turn the clock back nearly 100 years and remove some of the safeguards in our vaccination policies, said Eshenaur.

It escapes sound reasoning why anyone would want to weaken childhood immunization laws. Our children are more important than any agenda that would bring these horrific diseases back to the Mountain State.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, West Virginia is one of five states that does not include a religious or conscience-based exemption to school vaccination requirements. The others are California, Connecticut, Maine and New York.

Del. Chris Pritt, a sponsor of the legislation, defended the bill on social media. Pritt tweeted on Wednesday that the bill seeks to protect parental rights and personal freedom.

WV is at the bottom with medical freedom, he said. Mountaineers will never be free until families are able to make decisions on whether to vaccinate.

In April 2023, U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden ordered Mississippi to allow parents who opposed vaccines for religious reasons to be exempted from the requirement that they vaccinate their children in order to send them to school.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case brought by parents who challenged New York's repeal of religious exemptions to school vaccine mandates, letting a lower court decision stand that concluded that the parents' arguments lacked merit.
Scenarios becoming more complicated for general elections

By Nam Hyun-woo

The liberals in Korean politics are splitting into various splinter groups as they fail to patch up conflicts surrounding main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myungs powerful grip on recommending candidates for the April 10 general elections.

Dozens of DPK members are also leaving the party to join those splinter groups despite their uncertain future, expressing their grievances with Lees coercive leadership. With scenarios becoming ever more complicated for the liberal bloc, some analysts even anticipate that it may be difficult for the DPK to secure more than 100 out of 300 National Assembly seats.

During an interview with broadcaster MBC on Friday, DPK floor leader Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo denounced the partys decision to exclude Rep. Hong Young-pyo from the candidate nomination in his constituency, Incheons Bupyeong-B.

I absolutely dont understand what kind of political decision it was, the floor leader said. Rep. Hong told me that he will not leave the DPK as long as he can compete in a primary, and I delivered his intention to the candidate recommendation committee, but he ended up being sidelined from the primary.

Hong Young-pyo is a four-term lawmaker categorized into a faction of loyalists to former President Moon Jae-in. He has been critical of the DPKs candidate nomination process, claiming that it is aimed at sidelining those who are not loyal to the party chairman. He has been assisting a protest staged by former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who was also sidelined from candidacy.

After the exclusion, Rep. Hong dropped hints at that he would leave the party, saying I will purse my purpose with those who have thoughts on new politics.

Hongs remarks are interpreted as showing his intention to form a group of pro-Moon DPK defectors, tentatively called the Democratic Coalition. It will be a gathering of serving lawmakers who left the DPK in protest of the partys candidate nominations, and its members will run as independent candidates in the elections.

Members rumored to be interested in the Democratic Coalition include Rep. Sul Hoon, who left the party protesting his placement in the bottom 10 percent of lawmakers in an evaluation of legislative performance.

Sul, a five-term lawmaker, told Dong-A Ilbo newspaper that he and Hong will form the Democratic Coalition with the goal of teaming up with approximately 10 serving lawmakers.

Along with Sul and Hong, a series of liberal politicians who been in the DPK for more than a decade decided to leave their nest after losing their candidacies.

Rep. Kim Young-joo, the National Assembly deputy speaker who announced her departure in early February, is a four-term lawmaker. Rep. Lee Won-wook, who left the DPK and joined the Reform Party, is a three-term lawmaker, and Saemirae Party head Lee Nak-yon has served five terms as a DPK lawmaker, as well as having been party chairman previously.

Complicated scenarios

The emergence of the Democratic Coalition is making the liberal blocs election scenarios even more complicated.

As of Friday, there are four splinter political parties or groups which have embraced politicians leaving the DPK after clashing over Chairman Lees dominance.

The Saemirae Party, led by Lee Nak-yon, now has two serving lawmakers. The Reform Party, which was set up as a big tent group of outcasts from both liberal and conservative parties, has four incumbent lawmakers.

The National Innovation Party, led by Cho Kuk, former justice minister during the Moon administration, has yet to complete its legal process for establishment. When the Democratic Coalition officially kicks off, though it may not be a political party, the DPK will likely see more of its lawmakers defecting.

In terms of political presence, the Saemirae Party appears to have an advantage in snatching up DPK defectors, given the name value of its head Lee Nak-yon, who competed with DPK Chairman Lee as a presidential hopeful in 2022. Also, the Reform Party is a mix of conservatives and liberals, and the other two are in their infancy in terms of establishment.

However, recent surveys have shown different results.

In a poll by Hankook Research requested by KBS, the Saemirae Party secured only 1 percent of the support rate, while the Reform Party and the National Innovation Party enjoyed 4 percent support rates. This was the highest among parties other than the DPK and the ruling People Power Party.

In a separate poll by Opinion Research Justice, requested by The Public and Finance Today, 16.2 percent of respondents said they will choose the National Innovation Party when voting for proportional representation. The Hankook Research poll surveyed 3,003 voters from Feb. 25 to 27, while the Opinion Research Justice poll surveyed 1,005 voters. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commissions website.

The numbers have become an alarming signal for the Saemirae Party, because Lee Nak-yon has already ruled out the chance of joining forces with the National Innovation Party. Given that the National Innovation Party's Cho is also an iconic figure of the Moon administration, there are remaining chances for the Democratic Coalition to unite with the National Innovation Party, dealing a critical blow to the Saemirae Party.

Because of this, Lee Nak-yon said in a radio interview with BBS on Feb. 29, I have always been thinking that I can open up space for colleagues and accommodate them whenever needed, referring to the Democratic Coalition.

If the Democratic Coalition is established and there is a necessity to change our name, I told them that we can accept that, Lee said. I am willing to do whatever it takes if it means joining forces and pooling our strength together.

While uncertainties cloud the future of DPK splinter groups, what seems clear is that troubles lie ahead for the DPKs election campaigns.

It may be difficult for the DPK to secure more than 100 seats in constituencies, Eom Gyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, a private political think tank, said during a recent radio interview with broadcaster YTN. Though DPK Chairman Lee says there will be a rebound in March, I have never seen such a dramatic reverse.

Eom continued that liberal voters who are disappointed with the DPKs internal chaos will likely cast proportional representation votes for the National Innovation Party, and it may secure seven to eight proportional seats, resulting in the DPKs proportional seats remaining below five.

The National Innovation Party will gain the most from the DPKs conflicts over candidate nomination, Eom said. With the DPK showing signs of collapsing, can Chairman Lee can maintain his leadership? I see higher chances of Cho becoming the next DPK head.
A Father Fights Back: How The Family Courts Facilitated The Sterilization Of His Gender-Confused Minor Son

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 42:22 42:22

Click HERE to learn more about the Master of Bioethics degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

When family courts and the legal system are captured by gender ideology, moms and dads who have reservations about medicalizing their gender-confused children with experimental drugs and surgeries have almost no recourse, particularly when there is a contentious divorce and a custody dispute between the parents. This is especially the case in the trans sanctuary state of California.

Ted Hudacko knows this struggle all too well. He hasnt seen one of his sons in years after California Superior Court judge Joni Hiramoto removed this San Francisco Bay Area dads custody after he expressed hesitancy that his son was transgender. In violation of the court order, clinicians and activists at the University of California - San Francisco Child and Adolescent Gender Center facilitated the surgical implantation of a hormone-blocking device in his sons arm. They also started him on a course of cross-sex hormones. As a result of these medical interventions, Hudackos son is now almost certainly sterile.

Hudackos case is a remarkable encapsulation of several dimensions of the gender ideology issues we have explored in the third season of Generation Indoctrination. In this bonus episode, we speak with him about his ongoing efforts to fight back against the system along with his attorney, Tracy Henderson. Hudacko is currently taking action in family court with contempt complaints against those who harmed his son and also a federal lawsuit.

We will also briefly hear from Dr. Sallie Baxendale, a neuropsychologist from England who has been raising the alarm about the impact of puberty-blocking drugs on brain development. Her presentation at the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicines conference in October 2023 can be viewed in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ZnRKqqByg&t=3s.

Click HERE to learn more about the Master of Bioethics degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

When family courts and the legal system are captured by gender ideology, moms and dads who have reservations about medicalizing their gender-confused children with experimental drugs and surgeries have almost no recourse, particularly when there is a contentious divorce and a custody dispute between the parents. This is especially the case in the trans sanctuary state of California.

Ted Hudacko knows this struggle all too well. He hasnt seen one of his sons in years after California Superior Court judge Joni Hiramoto removed this San Francisco Bay Area dads custody after he expressed hesitancy that his son was transgender. In violation of the court order, clinicians and activists at the University of California - San Francisco Child and Adolescent Gender Center facilitated the surgical implantation of a hormone-blocking device in his sons arm. They also started him on a course of cross-sex hormones. As a result of these medical interventions, Hudackos son is now almost certainly sterile.

Hudackos case is a remarkable encapsulation of several dimensions of the gender ideology issues we have explored in the third season of Generation Indoctrination. In this bonus episode, we speak with him about his ongoing efforts to fight back against the system along with his attorney, Tracy Henderson. Hudacko is currently taking action in family court with contempt complaints against those who harmed his son and also a federal lawsuit.

We will also briefly hear from Dr. Sallie Baxendale, a neuropsychologist from England who has been raising the alarm about the impact of puberty-blocking drugs on brain development. Her presentation at the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicines conference in October 2023 can be viewed in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5ZnRKqqByg&t=3s.
Mitch McConnell Steps Down, Americans See Immigration As "Critical Threat," Maine Christian School Must Follow LGBT Policy

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 06:40 06:40

Top headlines for Friday, March 1, 2024

In today's episode, we bid farewell to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as he announces his retirement, wrapping up his impactful tenure as the Senate's top Republican. Then, we'll analyze a fresh Gallup survey suggesting record levels of concern over illegal immigration among Americans, a sentiment now seen as the country's top issue. We'll also explore a recent court ruling in Maine, forcing a Christian school to comply with the state's LGBT anti-discrimination policy, even as their legal battle persists. Lastly, we'll examine the controversy surrounding a prominent megachurch, as an atheist group seeks IRS intervention over its tax-exempt status, accusing its pastor of political endorsements from the pulpit.

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Top headlines for Friday, March 1, 2024

In today's episode, we bid farewell to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell as he announces his retirement, wrapping up his impactful tenure as the Senate's top Republican. Then, we'll analyze a fresh Gallup survey suggesting record levels of concern over illegal immigration among Americans, a sentiment now seen as the country's top issue. We'll also explore a recent court ruling in Maine, forcing a Christian school to comply with the state's LGBT anti-discrimination policy, even as their legal battle persists. Lastly, we'll examine the controversy surrounding a prominent megachurch, as an atheist group seeks IRS intervention over its tax-exempt status, accusing its pastor of political endorsements from the pulpit.
Home Opinion Do manners matter anymore?

We have become a nation of rude people. Does that matter? I actually think it does because there is a link between manners and morals.

As a grandfather of three little children, its so important to teach them to engage in good manners, and to be grateful. I even write thank you notes to local places we visit, such as our unique South Florida butterfly attraction or a local farm tour, and have them each write something on the thank you card.

Manners do matter, and Ill explain why in a moment.

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In our documentary for Providence Forum, The Beginning of Wisdom  which is all about the extraordinary role the Bible played in early American education  the narrator says, In the early 1960s (and earlier, going back to colonial times), schools opened in prayer.

Then Judge Darrell White, the founder and director of Retired Judges of America, notes, In 1962, there was a case called, Engel v. Vitale, that came out of New York Board of Regents prayer that was a very tepid prayer, asking Gods blessing on ourselves, our parents, our teachers, and our country, amen, and that was struck down by the United States Supreme Court, they nullified that prayer. And in the following year devotional reading of the Bible in a case called, Abington v. Shempp, that was nullified as well.

Next on the documentary comes Dennis Prager of PragerU: The Supreme Court changed America more with the 1962 decision that prayer in school was unconstitutional. That was the decision that began the end of America as we knew it. Its as universal a prayer and non-denominational as you could have. And as I often point out, within one generation, kids went from blessing their teachers to cursing their teachers.

Do manners matter? One of the great aspects of George Washington was his adherence to biblical-type principles in a book he studied thoroughly, The Rules of Civility.

Meanwhile, it would be fair to say that politics has virtually always had an uncivil tone. Frankly, todays politics (generally) can be viewed as relatively tame.

In 1856, anti-slavery Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was nearly beaten to death by a pro-slavery Congressman from South Carolina. This took place in the U.S. Capitol.

I believe there is a link between manners and morals. William Wilberforce, the great 18th-19th century Christian statesman, who spent his lifetime championing the cause of abolishing the slave trade and slavery in the British Empire as a longtime Member of Parliament, was also engaged in a lesser-known crusade.

He and other reformers in pre-Victorian England pushed for what they called the reformation of manners. The modern translation of that would be the reformation of morals.

In short, manners and morals are related. But they are not the same. A person can have great manners and be morally corrupt. The Eddie Haskell character in Leave it to Beaver provides a classic humorous example of that.

However, if you remove manners from society, we are left with a crasser and cruder world. Outward good manners are generally a reflection of inside decency and kindness, and reflect the Christian concept of putting others ahead of self.

We know were supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves. At just about every wedding, they read the love chapter from Pauls letter to the Corinthians. Included in that chapter is: Love is  not rude.

Employing basic good manners also applies the golden rule of Christ. Its treating others as we would want to be treated.

Schools today often have serious problems with discipline. At a more basic level, good manners are gone. In some cases, the schools are even unsafe.

My daughter taught English as a second language in rural Thailand for a semester several years ago. She marveled at how polite and well-behaved the students were. As she would walk into each class, a student volunteer would shout out, Stand up, class! They all stood up for the teacher. Then they would cheerfully say in unison, Good morning, teacher! They would not sit down until she let them. Needless to say, there was no need for metal detectors in those schools.

In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell writes of the Broken Windows theory, postulated by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling: If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes (p. 141).

Rudeness and boorish behavior send a signal that anything goes. Bad manners can signal a breakdown in civilized behavior. All the while, the test of good manners is to put up with bad ones.

Yes, sir, manners matter.
Archbishop of Canterbury apologises for refusing to meet Palestinian Christian leader

The Archbishop of Canterbury has publicly apologised after refusing to meet a pastor from Bethlehem during his visit to the UK.

Archbishop Justin Welby declined to meet Rev Dr Munther Isaac after the pastor shared a platform with Jeremy Corbyn at a pro-Palestinian rally last month.

Dr Isaac, pastor of the Christmas Evangelical Lutheran church in Bethlehem, has been an outspoken critic of Israel's actions in Gaza following Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack.

In the run-up to Christmas, his Nativity with baby Jesus in rubble went viral.

He was one of the speakers at a recent rally in London led by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. It was attended by thousands of people who demanded a ceasefire in Gaza.

He also led a prayer vigil outside the House of Commons where he repeated his call for a ceasefire.

Archbishop Welby said in a statement that it was "wrong" not to meet with him. They are now scheduled to meet next week.

"Recently I declined to meet with Rev Dr Munther Isaac during his UK visit," he said.

"I apologise for and deeply regret this decision, and the hurt, anger, and confusion it caused.

"I was wrong not to meet with my brother in Christ from the Holy Land, especially at this time of profound suffering for our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters. I look forward to speaking and praying with him next week."

Dr Isaac has welcomed the apology.

"Thank you Archbishop Justin Welby," he tweeted. "I welcome this statement, and I look forward to our meeting next week as brothers in Christ."
Conversion therapy Bill 'very likely' to breach human rights law, says top lawyer

Proposals in a Private Member's Bill to ban so-called 'conversion therapy' would "very likely" be a breach of human rights law, a top lawyer has said.

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle's Conversion Practices (Prohibition) Bill is being debated on friday. It proposes a ban on offering or advertising conversion practices, while also promising protections for parents and the practice of religion.

Senior human rights lawyer Jason Coppel KC is not persuaded and has warned that the terms of the Bill are so "broad in scope" that they would criminalise expressions of personal conviction "even if they are made without expressions of hatred or intolerance".

He also said it would lead to a "serious intrusion" into the ordinary practices of churches.

"Whilst some attempt has been made to craft exemptions or exceptions so as to ensure that the practice of religion is not prohibited, the central prohibition in the Bill ... remains a wide one, applying to churches and other religious organisations, and to those expressing certain views, including gender critical views, outside those settings," he said.

Mr Coppel said that the Bill would interfere with religious freedoms protected by human rights law.

"I consider that the Bill ... if passed, would constitute a serious intrusion into the legitimate activities and practices of Christian churches and religious communities, which would be contrary to their rights protected by the ECHR, and so to the Human Rights Act 1998," he said.

"They would also interfere with the legitimate expression of gender critical views, again in a manner which would be likely to breach ECHR rights."

That was his conclusion in a legal opinion provided to The Christian Institute, which is campaigning against the introduction of a conversion therapy ban.

Simon Calvert, Deputy Director at The Christian Institute, said that the wording of the Bill was "sloppy" and definitions were "far too broad".

"If passed this would result in criminalising Christians and gender-critical parents for conversations which most people would consider perfectly reasonable," he said.

"This is not about protecting people from abuse. That is already illegal. There is no 'harm' test in the Bill. It is about punishing people for talking.

"Each iteration of a conversion therapy ban we have seen, whether at Westminster or Holyrood, has raised the same issues.

"It is impossible to legislate in this controversial area without trampling on basic human rights."
During Gaza war, evangelicals have become Israel's best friend

For the last five months, Moshe Lavi has worn a medallion around his neck in honor of his brother-in-law Omri Miran, who was taken hostage by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Inscribed on the steel medallion, modeled after the dog tags worn by Israeli soldiers, is a simple drawing of a house with part of one wall missing. Inside the walls of the house is a heart.

"This represents the love that is in our family, but it's incomplete," said Lavi, a former Israel Defense Forces captain who was in Nashville last week to attend the annual National Religious Broadcasters meeting.

"It will be complete only when we return Omri home," he said.

Lavi, who now works as a financial analyst, and other members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum were among a large contingent of Israelis  including government officials  at the NRB gathering to meet with evangelical leaders, radio and television hosts, and other Christian supporters of Israel.

They were there because evangelicals remain key allies for Israel in a time when the nation is losing support around the world.

"Evangelicals as a bloc are about the only friends that Israel has," said Joel Rosenberg, a longtime political strategist, novelist and editor-in-chief of All Israel News, an evangelical pro-Israel news and commentary site.

Rosenberg, who became an Israeli citizen about a decade ago and identifies as a Jewish believer in Jesus, told Religion News Service that he saw more Israelis at the NRB this year than in the past.

That's in large part due to the close ties between Israel and evangelicals, who are more loyal than other groups, said Rosenberg, host of "The Rosenberg Report" for the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

"Where else are you going to find people who will listen, and then have a platform and a motive to act," he said.

Evangelical Christians have long been the backbone of U.S. support for Israel and are arguably among Israel's most ardent advocates. They travel to Israel in great numbers. They donate vast sums of money and advocate for Israel in Republican Party circles.

After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in southern Israel killed an estimated 1,200, evangelicals jumped to defend Israel and raise money to rebuild its border communities. The Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm issued an "Evangelical Statement in Support of Israel."

Evangelist Franklin Graham donated 21 new ambulances to Israel's EMS fleet, known as Magen David Adom, becoming the national nonprofit's largest donor, said Catherine Reed, CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom.

"The evangelical community loves Israel," said Reed, who brought her team, including an Israeli ambulance and a series of short videos about the nonprofit, to the exhibition floor of the National Religious Broadcasters meeting as a way to thank evangelicals for their support.

Reminders of the Oct. 7 attacks were everywhere at the conference. Not far from the exhibitors hall, conference attendees could watch "Bear Witness," a three-minute video of the Hamas attacks using virtual headsets. The exhibit where the video was being shown was flanked by Israeli flags and Nashville Metro police officers providing added security.

A few floors up, a 45-minute version of the video  taken from footage filmed by Hamas  was being shown to groups of pastors, broadcasters and other attendees. After watching the footage, the groups heard from families of hostages and IDF officers. The videos have also been shown around the country to build support for Israel after the attacks.

There is good reason for Israel to woo evangelicals. They are mightier in numbers than Jews, said Dov Waxman, professor of Israel studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"Many people, when they think about Zionists in America, think about Jewish Americans," said Waxman. "But in actual fact, there are many, many more Christian Zionists than there are Jewish Zionists in the United States."

Exactly how many is hard to estimate. Mordechai Inbari, a professor of religion at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke, found of the estimated 80 million U.S. evangelicals, between 50% to 70% support Israel.

By contrast, there are close to 8 million Jews in the U.S. Those Jews tend to be far more liberal and vote Democratic. Far-left U.S. Jews have been among the most passionate critics of the war in Gaza, calling for a cease-fire in petitions and protests.

Christian support for Israel has often been rooted in beliefs about the end times. For some evangelicals, the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and its ability to capture the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, reinforced the belief that Israel is the culmination of prophecies recorded in the Bible and may presage the second coming of Jesus.

However, that belief seems to hold less sway in the current conflict than larger claims about God's promises to Israel.

"The most common argument right now would be that God made a covenant with Abraham and his offspring and this is why they need to support Israel," said Inbari, the co-author with Kirill Bumin of "Christian Zionism in the Twenty-First Century."

During NRB, several speakers cited a passage from the Book of Genesis where God tells Abraham, one of the patriarchs of Israel, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse." A similar claim is found in the Book of Numbers.

But younger evangelicals are more skeptical about ties to Israel and have become more supportive of Palestinians. In three waves of a survey that examined evangelical views of Israel, Inbari and Bumin found that among evangelicals aged 19-29, support for Israel dropped by more than half, from a high of 69% in 2018 to 29% in July 2021.

With declining evangelical support among young evangelicals and growing global condemnation of Israel's ongoing military operation in Gaza, where the death toll is reported to be approaching 30,000, Israeli leaders are working to strengthen evangelicals' advocacy for their country.

"Firming up support for Israel among the evangelical community is really essential, and (Israeli leaders) see that as playing a key role in maintaining U.S. government support for Israel," Waxman said.

Laurie Cardoza-Moore, a longtime activist for Israel based near Nashville and founder of the pro-Israel group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, spent last week interviewing survivors of the Hamas attacks and other Israelis for her "Focus on Israel" podcast and connecting with supporters at a booth in NRB's massive exhibit hall.

The images from the Oct. 7 attack were shocking, said Cardoza-Moore. But the stories of survivors bring the attack closer to home.

"When you meet the people and you hear the stories  that's what changes people's hearts," she said.

Cardoza-Moore, a longtime presence at NRB, began her pro-Israel work in the early 2000s, spearheading a Tennessee resolution in support of Israel in 2002.

Evangelicals, she said, have a responsibility to defend both Israel and their Jewish neighbors.

"Antisemitism never goes away," she said. "We need to protect our Jewish brethren  and we as Christians have a biblical duty to do that, according to the Scriptures."

Luke Moon, deputy director of the Philos Project, which promotes "positive Christian engagement in the Near East," said evangelicals need to be more intentional and clearer in their support of Israel. Moon, who had a booth at the NRB, said he recently attended a major youth conference where he set up a sign that said, "We are the Zionist generation."

The same sign, he said, was set up at the NRB booth.

For years, the nonprofit has taken Christian leaders on education trips to Israel  something that is on hold due to the war. The work now has shifted to building solidarity with Israel.

Moon said the Oct. 7 attacks revealed that Philos has a great deal of work to do.

"I thought the world of allies to the Jewish people was bigger," he said.

Tal Heinrich, a long-term Israeli journalist turned spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said evangelical leaders are allies who share the same values as Israel's leaders. They both have "moral clarity" about why Israel is fighting Hamas, said Heinrich. And evangelicals are willing to back up their belief in the importance of Israel with action  which is exactly what Israel needs at this moment.

"We will not stop fighting for a lack of support. But it's a nice thing to have  knowing that you are not alone," she said, adding that evangelical broadcasters have a role to play at this moment.

"We need you to speak the truth," she said. "Don't let anyone forget what happened. Don't let anyone forget why Israel is fighting."

For hostages' family members, like Lavi, the goal is more personal. They want to make sure the more than 130 remaining hostages are not forgotten as the war drags on and political pressure for a cease-fire grows. Lavi said he hoped the evangelical leaders and broadcasters he met with would share the stories about those still missing as widely as possible.

"We try to ensure that this remains at the top of the agenda for decision-makers," he said.

He compared the medallion he wears as a reminder of his brother-in-law to the fictional ring of power featured in the Lord of the Rings books. That ring became a heavy burden for whoever carried it.

Likewise, bearing witness to the hostages is a burden for families  one Lavi hopes will be lifted when hostages like his brother-in-law come home.

"I wear it every day," he said, referring to the medallion. "I can't wait to take it off."

 Religion News Service
Ex-Boyzone star Shane Lynch accuses Taylor Swift of 'demonic rituals' in concerts

Former Boyzone member Shane Lynch has accused pop stars like Taylor Swift of incorporating what he sees as satanic elements into their shows.

Speaking to the Sunday World newspaper, Lynch expressed concern about some of the visual elements in today's pop concerts, like "hoods up and masks on", and "fire ceremonies".

He said it was unfortunate that many people will dismiss it as "just art" but he believes there is something more sinister at play.

Speaking about a lot of current popular music, the committed Christian said there is "a lot of hidden satanic and a lot of evil within them, including down to the beats".

He is so concerned by some music that he says he has stopped listening to it.

"I think when you're looking at a lot of the artists out there, a lot of their stage shows are satanic rituals live in front of 20,000 people without them realizing and recognizing," Lynch told the newspaper.

"You'll see a lot of hoods up and masks on and fire ceremonies. Even down to Taylor Swift  one of the biggest artists in the world  you watch one of her shows and she has two or three different demonic rituals to do with the pentagrams on the ground, to do with all sorts of stuff on her stage."

He explained why he thinks this is a problem for people's spiritual wellbeing.

"Music attaches to your emotions. It has a connection to your spirit and how you feel," he said. "That's why I've stopped listening to those types of music myself because it doesn't suit my spirit."

The father-of-two added, "It 100 per cent has an effect on society. I think our society has never been worse in many areas, and it starts from our children.

"It's coming in right at our children from the very beginning to get them to sway away from anything godly, anything controlled or disciplined. It's getting wilder and wilder out there for a reason."

He added, "Music is dangerous."

Boyzone was formed in Dublin in 1993 and became one of the biggest boy bands in the Nineties, achieving six UK number ones and nine in Ireland. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide to date.
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Pride Summit

The Pride Summit is held by Lesbians Who Tech, an organization that cites itself as the largest LGBTQ professional event in the world, according to the website  and allies are welcome. The event was designed to bring more exposure to the LGBTQ community in tech, including LGBTQ women, trans and gender nonconforming individuals, LBGTQ people of color, and demographics that are underrepresented in the tech sector and LGBTQ spaces. Past speakers include Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Susan Wojcicki, and Glennon Doyle, among others. This years event will be a week-long virtual summit that is free to attend, with the aim of making it accessible to everyone.

Date: June 10-14, 2024

Location: Virtual

Ticket price: Free

Simmons Leadership Conference

This year will be the 45th annual Simmons Leadership Conference, a professional development and networking conference for women. Its hosted by Simmons College and features high-profile speakers, with Serena Williams among those scheduled to speak at the latest upcoming event. Past speakers include Michelle Obama, Madeline Albright, Anita Hill, Oprah Winfrey, and Barbara Walters. The conference focuses on uplifting women in leadership positions and empowering more women to seek out leadership positions, especially in industries where they are underrepresented, such as technology.

Date: April 3, 2024

Location: Boston or virtual

Ticket price: $299-$399 for online virtual attendance; $1,299 for in-person attendees

Tech Up for Women

Tech Up for Women is a one-day conference that focuses on the advancement of women in technology. Topics include cybersecurity, blockchain, AI, VR, digital transformation, big data, security, entrepreneurship, startups, and healthcare technology. The event encourages women to network and is aimed at helping women to improve their digital literacy and successfully compete and disrupt gender imbalance in work environments, according to the event website. This years event takes place during International Womens Week and promises to highlight and encourage the advancement of women in technology.

Date: March 6, 2024

Location: San Diego

Ticket price: From $74 to $2,750

WeCode 2024

WeCode 2024 is an annual tech conference hosted by Harvard University, which seeks to promote community and scholarship for undergraduate women in technology worldwide, according to the website. Its an event that aims to bridge gender gaps in STEM, develop concrete initiatives to support women in tech, and equip women engineers with competitive skills and a network of professionals to turn to. The conference takes place in Cambridge, Mass., on the Harvard campus, with several keynote speakers, networking opportunities, and workshops for attendees.

Date: February 17-18, 2024

Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Ticket price: $35-$85

Women Impact Tech

The Women Impact Tech conferences are a series of events that align top women in tech with companies who are committed to inclusion and innovation. The event gives women in tech, namely women engineers, the chance to network with more than 350 tech companies and have one-on-one meetings with companies at seven national events. There is also a virtual conference for those who cant attend in person. The 2024 events are slated to take place in Austin, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Denver, and New York City between the months of February and November of this year, with an option to attend virtually.

Date: Varies by location

Location: Several cities across the US

Ticket price: $99

Women in Cloud Annual Summit

The Women in Cloud Annual Summit is typically held in Redmond, Wash., at the Microsoft Conference Center, but this years event is going on tour, with events held virtually and in different cities. The event is focused on womens contributions to cloud computing, empowering women in tech and encouraging inclusion in the industry. You dont have to be a woman to attend; all genders and allies of women in tech entrepreneurs and community are welcome to participate in the Summit, according to the event website.

Date: February to March, 2024

Location: Austin, Texas; Atlanta; and virtual

Ticket price: $74-$250

Women in Cybersecurity

The Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) conference was established in 2012 by Dr. Ambareen Siraj of Tennessee Tech University through a National Science Foundation grant. WiCyS is a nonprofit organization that offers memberships, scholarships, and networking opportunities to women working in security. The conference takes place over two days and gives WiCyS members and nonmembers a chance to network with other women in the industry and get updates on the latest cybersecurity trends.

Date: April 11-13, 2024

Location: Nashville, Tenn.

Ticket price: $600 for members of WiCyS, $850 for nonmembers; discounts for students, faculty, government workers, and nonprofit employees

Women in Tech Festival

The Women in Tech Festival is an event to celebrate women in STEM, business and leadership positions, and anyone who supports the advancement of women and diversity. Its a two-day event with speakers, startup pitches, group discussions, educational workshops, and career mentorship sessions. This years event is taking place in London, with the promise to bring together women across the IT channel who want to connect, empower, and cultivate women leaders.

Date: November 5, 2024

Location: London

Ticket price: $377

Women in Tech Global Conference 2024

The Women in Tech Global Conference 2024 Is an event for software engineers, product managers, designers, data scientists, and business managers in the tech industry to come together to connect, collaborate, and grow. Each day of the conference has a different focus. Day one is about leadership and digital transformation, the second day focuses on emerging and future technology, and the last day of the conference centers on career growth and professional development. The conference aims to bring women together globally, create a sense of community, and empower women in the technology industry.

Date: April 23-25, 2024

Location: TBD and virtual

Ticket price: $99-$150

Women in Tech Summit

The Women in Tech Summit is a series of coding conferences that take place across the nation with conferences held in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Southeast, and West. These conferences help connect women regionally  everyone from executives to students  who are working on both the business and technical sides of the industry students. The event includes speakers, career advice, workshops for professional development, networking opportunities, and a focus on improving DEI in the industry.

Date: May 2-3, 2024

Location: Philadelphia and virtual

Ticket price: $70-$350

Women of Silicon Valley

The Women of Silicon Valley conference is a two-day event that brings together more than 2,700 tech industry professionals from major corporations and startups across the country. The event is packed with activities, and you can choose from a silver, gold, platinum, or diamond pass  each level gives additional perks, such as access to the speaker lounge, free lunch, reserved front row seats, express check-in, access to the speakers corner where you can meet main stage presenters, VIP drinks reception, and access to advanced training opportunities.

Date: May 15-16, 2024

Location: National Harbor, Md.

Ticket price: TBA

Wonder Women Tech

Wonder Women Tech is a national convention that takes place in Long Beach, Calif., in partnership with the City of Long Beach and the Mayor. The conference addresses topics such as womens rights, politics, equal pay, diversity, and fostering inclusive and tolerant work environments. The conference celebrates and empowers women by highlighting their accomplishments and achievements in the industry. This years events have yet to be announced, but you can opt to purchase a WWT passport, which will give you access to all the events globally for 2024.

Date: TBA

Location: TBA

Ticket price: $449 for the WWT passport
By Kim Hyun-bin

Rival parties are ramping up promises for older voters ahead of the upcoming April 10 general elections.

With projections that the country will soon become a super-aged society, with more than 20 percent of the population aged 65 or older, the influence of older voters has become an increasingly crucial consideration in the political arena.

Both ruling and opposition parties have unveiled pledges targeting older voters, including caregiving expense subsidies, free meals at community centers and more housing benefits.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) pledged to make retirement homes and communities more accessible. The party aims to simplify approval and construction processes for these facilities by enacting a special law. Currently, Korea lags far behind Japan in terms of retirement housing, with only 8,840 people residing in 39 such facilities in Korea compared to 630,000 people at 16,724 facilities in Japan.

The PPP also plans to increase the number of welfare housing units to 20,000 by 2027 from the current government plan of 5,000. It also proposed more employment projects for older adults, to offer jobs to 10 percent of the older population by 2027.

"We aim to create an environment where not only affluent older adults but also those from the working and middle classes can move into [retirement communities]," said Rep. Yu Eui-dong, the PPP's chief policymaker. "We will enable older adults to contribute to the local community through job activities."

In response, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) made a series of related pledges, including free lunches at community centers five days a week.

The party said the country should take responsibility for feeding older people and address regional disparities in meal support for them.

Currently, meal support is available in only 42 percent of older adult community centers nationwide, with a wide disparity among regions, such as 97.9 percent in Daejeon and only 1 percent in Daegu.

The PPP made a similar pledge later but proposed seven days a week instead of five.

The DPK was the first to promise caregiver expense support. In November, a month before the government announced its caregiver expense support policy, the party pledged to subsidize such expenses, making it a key pledge for the upcoming elections.

"It seems that the increasing demand for caregiving has become an enormous burden on families, not only economically but also psychologically, creating truly difficult situations," Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the DPK, said in December during his visit to a community center for older adults.
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Florida governor Ron DeSantis has been harsh in his assessment of the right-wing medias kid-gloves treatment of former president Donald Trump.

He had the conservative media that basically rallied to him and made it where a lot of voters thought his nomination was inevitable, DeSantis griped during a private call with supporters last week.

His self-serving comments are half right. Conservative media outlets have been increasingly soft on Trump. And its about to get worse.

For a while, major parts of conservative media seemed ready to move on from Trump, especially in places owned by Rupert Murdoch. DeFUTURE was the front-page message from the New York Post the day after the 2022 elections, which went disastrously for Trump-backed Republicans; the next day, the paper mocked Trump as Trumpty Dumpty. When the 2024 campaign began, many on Fox News fawned over DeSantis, while showing more willingness to criticize Trump than they had in years.

But over the past year, as it became clearer and clearer that Trump was likely to be the Republican nominee, outlets began to fall in line.

The Post has still had some recent covers highlighting Trumps legal troublesbut theyre not nearly as vicious or pointed as they once were. Fox hosts have largely softened their tone. On the news side, the Murdoch publications continue to assiduously cover the Trump criticisms voiced by former South Carolina governor Nikki Haleybut that will stop as soon as she drops out of the race.

Next week is Super Tuesday, with GOP voters in fifteen states heading to the polls. Haley, who has carried the torch for traditional conservatism, is expected to get wallopedand hasnt committed to staying in the race past then. Once shes gone, Trump will go from the likely nominee to the presumptive one, and conservative media outlets will rally around him even more.

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After Super Tuesday, theres going to be tremendous pressure: if you are not on board, then somehow youve aligned yourself with Joe Biden and the Democratsand of course, that is a fate worse than death for anybody who wants to be viable in conservative media, said Charlie Sykes, a former conservative radio host who split with the movement over Trump. In order to stay economically viable in the right-wing media ecosystem, at some point youre going to have to make your peace with Trump.

Weve seen this movie before. The Weekly Standard, once the most powerful magazine on the right, lost its pull and was shuttered by its conservative owner after becoming the loudest #NeverTrump conservative outlet in 2016. The mighty Drudge Report saw a 45 percent decline in year-over-year traffic in September 2020, after turning on Trump. At the National Review, which had been fiercely critical of Trump during the 2016 primary, writers either came around on him once he won, adopted a Never-#NeverTrump positionor left the publication.

It was Fox Newss earlier attempt to move on from Trump that really drove this truth home. Some at Fox had briefly flirted with trying to find some distance from Trump immediately after the 2020 election. But after its news desk called Arizona for Biden, ratings quickly collapsed, hard-line conservative viewers fled to Newsmax and One America Newsand executives and hosts started to panic, leading some to embrace Trumps false election claims.

DeSantis noted this broader patternin comments that the New York Post didnt include in its coverage.

I think they have made the decision that their business model just doesnt work if they offer any criticism of Trump, DeSantis said about right-wing media, as NBC News later reported. I dont see the accountability being in place right now for the balance of this campaign. I think he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the conservative media wouldnt even report on it that it had happened.

And this isnt just about the Murdoch empiresmaller conservative outlets are quietly making similar adjustments.

Conservative radio host Steve Deace was one of DeSantiss loudest backers, and told me he agreed with the governors assessment of his peers.

In conservative media, I think a lot of folks are like, Well, we have to draw an audience. And if thats who the audience is, and thats whos engaged and most likely to respond to our content, it only makes sense that youre going to cater your content to them, he said. Those are just market realities.

Deace is still critical of Trumpbut he admitted that his calculus has changed now that Trump is the de facto nominee.

For instance, Deace recently grew frustrated that Trump was barely talking about key issuesand went to make sure he was right by checking Trumps social media. His discovery: of Trumps last eighty posts on his Truth Social account, just nine were about policy.

If DeSantis were still in the race, Deace said, he would have fired off a comment like This is exactly why we need someone who actually puts the focus on what we think and we need and care about, not himself.

Instead, Deace just posted that fact on X/Twitter with a sardonic plea: Could sure [use] his voice on everything going on right now. He is the unquestioned emperor of one of the only two political parties we have, after all.

The circumstances have changed, he told me.

Most Americans already mostly consume media that aligns with their existing viewsbut there used to be a bit more independence at these outlets, even if they pushed in the same direction. The danger now is that conservatives are creating a monotonous echo chamber built entirely around supporting one person. Trumps right-wing dominance has produced a vicious feedback loop, in which conservatives increasingly believe anything he says, and only find sources that parrot his claims, even when theyre false and dangerousallowing him to go even further than before in what he says and does, with no risk of blowback from within his party.

That, too, is only about to get worse.

As soon as Nikki Haleys gone, there will be no conservative alternative to Donald Trump. Right now, [conservative outlets] will give her a certain amount of respect, but that door is closing, said Sykes. Thats what happened in 2016. And its going to play out exactly the same way.

Cameron Joseph is a freelance political reporter with recent work in The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and Politico Magazine. A recipient of the 2023 National Press Foundation Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting of Congress and the 2020 National Press Club award for excellence in political journalism, he previously worked for VICE News, Talking Points Memo, the New York Daily News, The Hill and National Journal.
President labels Japan as partner in overcoming painful past together

By Jun Ji-hye

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday that achieving a free, prosperous and unified Korea was the final goal sought by the independence movement in 1919 against Japan's colonial rule.

In line with this philosophy, the presidential office said that the Yoon administration will work to formulate a new vision for unification. It said this will include the value of liberalism, noting that the current unification plan laid out in 1994, which has served as the basis for South Korea's unification policy over the past 30 years, has omitted such a concept.

Yoon made the remarks in his speech marking the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japan's 1910-45 colonial occupation.

About 1,200 people, including 500 bereaved family members of independence fighters, attended the event.

"Now, we must move toward a free, unified Korean Peninsula where the people are its rightful owners," Yoon said.

He said North Korea remains a repressive totalitarian regime and relies solely on nuclear weapons and missiles, driving its 26 million citizens into the worst forms of degradation and poverty.

"Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights," Yoon said. "Our unification efforts must become a source of hope and a beacon of light for the people of North Korea."

Vowing to continue to help people in the reclusive regime and provide North Korean defectors with support, Yoon said that the government, earlier this year, decided to designate July 14 as North Korean Defectors' Day.

Yoon added that all types of independence efforts  from armed struggle and diplomatic efforts to educational and cultural movements  must be fairly recognized, and their history should be passed down correctly from generation to generation.

"Following the defeat of imperialism, we were able to gain independence thanks to all these pioneering endeavors  No one is allowed to monopolize history," Yoon said.

Though Yoon did not directly mention the name, some construe the remarks as him underscoring the need to reevaluate former President Syngman Rhee, controversial for his 12-year dictatorial rule as South Korea's first president and his hardline anti-communist views, despite his contributions to the country's independence movement.

The Yoon administration has been making efforts to bring up the former president's achievements by, for example, supporting the construction of Rhee's memorial.

Regarding relations with Japan, Yoon said that the two nations have become partners in pursuing global peace and prosperity and are working together to overcome the "painful past" and move toward a new future.

"The security cooperation between the two countries against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats has been strengthened further," Yoon said. "Korea and Japan are building a closer partnership in industry, finance and cutting-edge technologies, and 9.28 million people traveled back and forth between our two countries last year."

Yoon also mentioned rescue operations conducted during armed conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, during which both countries helped evacuate each other's citizens.

"I hope that the 60th anniversary of Korea and Japan normalizing diplomatic relations next year will serve as an opportunity to take our bilateral relationship to a higher level, one that is more productive and constructive."

A high-level official at the presidential office said the reciprocal visits by leaders of the two nations last year  after a 12-year hiatus  mean the two can meet at any time, though there is no immediate plan for a Seoul-Tokyo summit.
The husband of a New York doctor who died shortly after dining at a Disney Springs restaurant last year accused Walt Disney Parks and Resorts of negligence in a 19-page lawsuit filed in Florida.

Jeffrey Piccolo is seeking in excess of $50,000 in the wrongful death of Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at New York University Langone hospital in Manhattan, in the lawsuit filed Feb. 22 in Orange County, Florida.

The lawsuit states that Tangsuan had dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub on Oct. 5, 2023, with her husband and his mother. Tangsuan had a severe allergy to nuts and dairy products and informed the waiter that she required allergen free food.

The couple questioned the waiter about various items on the menu, according to the lawsuit. The waiter then asked the chef whether certain foods could be made allergen free, before returning to the table and confirming they could.

The couple asked the waiter several more times to be absolutely sure the food would be allergen free before Tangsuan ordered a fritter, scallops and onion rings, the lawsuit said.

When the food arrived, some items did not contain allergen free flags, prompting the doctor and her husband to ask the waiter if the items were nut and dairy free. The waiter guaranteed that the food was allergen-free, the lawsuit said.

Around 8 p.m., after finishing dinner, the doctor and her mother-in-law went shopping separately at Disney Springs, while Piccolo returned to their room with the leftover food, the lawsuit said.

About 45 minutes later, Tangsuan was having difficulty breathing when she entered Planet Hollywood and collapsed to the floor. The lawsuit said she had self-administered an epi-pen while suffering from the allergic reaction.

Her mother-in-law began calling to meet back up with her, but the calls went unanswered, according to the lawsuit. The mother-in-law returned to the hotel, and she called Tangsuans phone again. This time someone answered and said Tangsuan had been taken to a hospital.

The doctor died at the hospital, the lawsuit said.

A medical examiners investigation determined she died as a result of anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit alleges that Raglan Road failed to educate, train and/or instruct its employees to make sure food was allergen-free.

Walt Disney World and Great Irish Pubs Florida did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the lawsuit.
A high court in Denmark ruled that Europes biggest pork producer misled consumers by advertising its meat as climate-controlled in what is the Nordic countrys first greenwashing verdict.

A group of nonprofit organizations had alleged Danish Crown A/S misrepresented its climate footprint in a marketing campaign from 2020, which they said gave the false impression that eating pork is good for the climate.

Globally, companies are facing mounting pressure to prove their climate statements are accurate, or they risk being challenged by activists, investors and authorities. Earlier this week the New York Attorney General said its suing JBS SA, claiming the worlds biggest meat-packer misled the public about its environmental impact.

The court in western Denmark on Friday ruled that Danish Crown breached the law by labeling its pork as climate-controlled. But the judges sided with the company in another complaint, accepting its statement that Danish pork is more climate-friendly than you think.

The court ordered Danish Crown to pay 300,000 kroner ($44,000) and to acknowledge it breached marketing laws. The company had no intention to mislead its customers, Jens Hansen, a spokesman, said in a response to Fridays ruling in a broadcast interview with TV2.

Danish Crown dropped in 2021 the campaign following criticism, but continued to defend it, arguing it was meant to highlight the industrys focus on reducing carbon emissions in pork production. The cooperative, which is controlled by more than 6,000 Danish farmers, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2030.

Its the first greenwashing case to be tried in court in Denmark. Last year a city judge referred the suit to the high court because its of a principal nature.

The ruling will help to set precedent for greenwashing cases elsewhere in the world, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl of the Danish Vegetarian Association said by phone. His group had filed the lawsuit in partnership with the Climate Movement, which was backed by the Danish Consumer Council. He said he expects the ruling to encourage more green organizations in other countries, who may so far have been hesitant to pursue such cases, to follow with similar suits.

(Updates to add comments from Danish Crown in fifth paragraph, comments from the Danish Vegetarian Association in eighth)

Top photo: Sliced bacon. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.
Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, alleging they violated the artificial intelligence startups founding mission by putting profit ahead of benefiting humanity.

The 52-year-old billionaire, who was a co-founder of OpenAI but is no longer involved, said in a lawsuit filed late Thursday in San Francisco that the companys close relationship with Microsoft Corp. has undermined its original mission of creating open-source technology that wouldnt be subject to corporate priorities.

Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla Inc., has been among the most outspoken about the dangers of AI and artificial general intelligence, or AGI. The release of OpenAIs ChatGPT more than a year ago popularized advances in AI technology and raised concerns about the risks surrounding the race to develop AGI, where computers are as smart as an average human. Musk also owns the social network X and is raising money for an AI venture called xAI that features its own competing chatbot Grok.

To this day, OpenAI Inc.s website continues to profess that its charter is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity,' the lawsuit said. In reality, however, OpenAI Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft.

Spokespeople for OpenAI, Musk and Microsoft didnt respond to requests for comment.

The case marks an escalation in the one of the highest-profile clashes in the emerging field of AI, pitting two of its most prominent players against each other. It will have implications not just for OpenAI, which is seeking to raise funds at a valuation of $100 billion or more, but also for Microsoft, which has invested about $13 billion in OpenAI. The Redmond, Washington-based firms shares have soared 68% in the last year, making it the most valuable company in the world, as it seeks to become a leader in AI adoption.

Musk is suing for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and claims of unfair business practices, among other grievances. He is bringing the suit in the capacity of a donor to the nonprofit parent organization as recently as 2019 and is seeking to force OpenAI to stop benefitting Microsoft and Altman personally.

In the lawsuit, he asks for an order to compel OpenAI to make all of its research and technology open to the public and for Altman to be required to give up any money he has earned as a result of the practices alleged to be unlawful. Musk is also seeking unspecified damages, which the lawsuit says he would contribute to charity if any compensation is won.

Musk invested tens of millions of dollars in OpenAI, as well as his time and other resources, on the condition that OpenAI would remain a nonprofit irrevocably dedicated to creating safe, open-source AGI for public benefit, only to then have OpenAI abandon its mission, according to the suit.

Musks claim that OpenAIs close relationship with Microsoft goes against the companys original commitment to public, open-source AI, will be an extraordinarily hard claim legally to make, according to securities attorney and Northwestern University adjunct law professor Andrew Stoltmann. These are often called illusory promises and they generally arent enforceable under the law, Stoltmann said, noting that Musk has a history of using lawsuits as a way to send a message.

Since introducing ChatGPT and GPT-4, the large language model that powers the chatbot, OpenAI has set off a wave of AI adoption in businesses around the world. Microsoft has been one of the most aggressive in incorporating the technology into its wide array of cloud and enterprise services. Musk contends that OpenAIs GPT-4 can be viewed as an AGI system. Altman expects AGI to be reached in the next four to five years, according to a December Time Magazine profile of him.

The worlds richest person, Musk helped establish OpenAI in 2015 but stepped away from the company some two years later over philosophical differences about the development of the technology.

The lawsuit argues that Musk first grew alarmed about powerful AI falling into corporate control when Google moved to buy DeepMind, the British research lab. Musk recruited Luke Nosek, who earlier had co-founded PayPal with Musk, in a bid to buy DeepMind in late 2013. They ultimately failed and Google acquired DeepMind a year later.

In the filing, Musk took aim at the restructuring of OpenAIs leadership last year, a tumultuous period during which Altman was ousted as CEO and then quickly reinstated with support from Microsoft. Musk argued in the suit that Altman, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Microsoft worked together to oust the majority of the startups board, who had been responsible for enforcing its original mission of developing technology for the benefit of humanity.

Altman hand-picked a new board that lacks similar technical expertise or any substantial background in AI governance, which the previous board had by design, the lawsuit said. The new board consisted of members with more experience in profit-centric enterprises or politics than in AI ethics and governance. They were also reportedly big fans of Altman.'

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether the company misled its investors during that process last year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported on the probe. Other regulatory agencies, including the European Union and multiple US authorities, are also probing the relationship between OpenAI and Microsoft. The concerns broadly speak to whether OpenAI has been transparent enough about its for-profit dealings and whether its for-profit partnerships are too powerful.

The suit also asks for more scrutiny on Altmans actions personally, and the boards ability to control Mr. Altmans use of OpenAI to advance his own economic interests, which so far appear to have gone unchecked. The suit cites Altmans signing of a letter of intent in 2019, to buy $51 million worth of chips from a start-up in which Mr. Altman was heavily invested.

Mr. Musk is a party to OpenAIs founding agreement and that gives him the right to sue if he believes Mr. Altman and others are straying from the promises they made in that agreement, said Larry Hamermesh, a retired University of Pennsylvania law professor who is an expert in Delaware corporate law.

Musk has been building a trail of legal challenges. Last November he sued the nonprofit group Media Matters for America, accusing it of maliciously driving away advertisers from X, and in July sued another nonprofit, The Center for Countering Digital Hate. A judge on Thursday looked set to dismiss that case.

In December, X lost its effort to block a California law that seeks to control toxic posts on social media by requiring companies to disclose their content-moderation polices.

Musk has also threatened to sue over artificial intelligence before. Last April he posted on Twitter, now X, that he might take legal action against Microsoft for what he said was its use of the social media platforms data to train its AI technology. They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time, he wrote. And he threatened to go after Meta Platforms Inc.s Threads, after it launched a social media service that rivals X.

SpaceX, another company Musk heads, sued the US military over government contracts awarded to Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. Musk later dropped the suit. SpaceX is now suing to get the National Labor Relations Board declared unconstitutional after the US labor agency accused the company of retaliating against eight employees who circulated an open letter critical of Musk.

(Updates with comment from lawyer. A previous version of this story corrected the location of Microsofts headquarters and clarified Musk is no longer involved in OpenAI)

Top photo: Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Photographer: Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.
Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event yet another crime against humanity.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded. That brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israels war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering. In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Currently:

 A Palestinian American woman who faces trial in Israeli military court is released on bail.

 Colombia pauses buying Israeli weapons and president calls war in Gaza genocide.

 Journalism leaders ask for more protection for those covering the war.
By Ko Dong-hwan

RWE, a multinational utility company based in Germany, showcased the economic potential of offshore wind power in Japan as it has started working on a project in the country's western waters in partnership with local companies, the German firm said Friday.

Jens Orfelt, RWE Renewables president of Asia-Pacific of Offshore Development and Tom Walsh, head of offshore development in Japan, promoted their company's ongoing engagement in building a 684 megawatt-capacity offshore wind farm off the coast of the cities of Murakami and Tainai in Niigata Prefecture. They said the project, in collaboration with Japan's major trading firm Mitsui & Co. and utility firm Osaka Gas, will be a new landmark for the rigorous global initiative to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

"The key is to create a competitive and conducive market environment for the offshore wind industry," Orfelt said during a panel discussion during the Smart Energy Week  Wind Expo 2024 in Tokyo held from Wednesday to Friday.

"With [Japan's] clear commitment through long-term offshore wind targets, structured annual auctions and 30,000 kilometer-long shoreline, there are several reasons to be optimistic about the future for offshore wind in Japan. This is also why we have identified Japan, alongside Korea, as the most attractive and prospective markets for offshore wind across the Asia Pacific."

In December 2023, the Japanese government selected RWE to be part of a global consortium alongside Mitsui and Osaka Gas to develop, construct and operate a fixed-bottom offshore wind farm off the country's west coast. It came after the German firm opened its Tokyo office in 2019.

The company, according to an official, now aims to leverage its global capabilities and expertise to develop, build and operate large-scale offshore wind farms in Japan with its partner companies.

Orfelt said during the expo that RWE has recently been investing heavily in building up local capabilities in Japan and Korea. He added that the company's latest win, regarding the Japanese auction for the Murakami-Tainai project, was an exemplary case of "how international competencies and knowledge, together with local expertise, can create synergies and greater impact for a better tomorrow."

"Collaborative spirit and competitive dynamics will take us a step closer to helping Japan to become a global player in renewable energy by expanding offshore wind capacity, which is an integral part of the country's sustainable energy goal to achieve net zero by 2050," Orfelt said. "And we are honored to have been selected, together with our Japanese partners, as the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's partner of choice to deliver the Murakami-Tainai project."

Walsh said that his company's Japanese office had started with just a handful of colleagues and has now become a vibrant office comprising over 50 professionals who represent a "truly diverse and inclusive" workforce that covers all functions necessary to deliver full-service offerings.

A day before the expo, the 11th Asia Offshore Wind Day was held in Tokyo on the sidelines of Smart Energy Week. Walsh, on that day, delivered a keynote speech on the promising outlook of the Japanese offshore wind market.

"On a positive note, Japan is preparing a new framework for floating offshore wind power, which will bring long-term economic and environmental benefits down the line," Walsh said. "Against the backdrop of RWE's extensive offshore wind experience, we are already developing a multi-gigawatt global pipeline of activity to deploy in the 2030s and beyond."

Over 70,000 participants from 1,600 companies from across the world were present at Japan's biggest wind energy show and joined some 200 discussion sessions during the event.
By Baek Byung-yeul

KT&G shareholders are expected to have a voting showdown over the appointment of the CEO nominee later this month as the largest shareholder opposes the nominee, saying the nominee was responsible for the firm's stagnant performance in recent years, industry officials and the company said Friday.

KT&G, once a government-owned company, has no specific owner and many small shareholders, which is similar to the stock ownership structure of steel company POSCO and telecommunications company KT.

On Feb. 22, the company named Bang Kyung-man, its senior executive vice president, as the final candidate for the CEO position. Bang, who joined KT&G in 1998, is known for leading the global expansion of the Esse Change cigarette, a popular company product, in over 100 countries by building a customized brand portfolio for each overseas market.

However, the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK), the largest shareholder of KT&G, has reportedly decided to vote against Bang's appointment at the shareholders' meeting scheduled for March 28. Furthermore, Flashlight Capital Partners (FCP), an activist hedge fund, raised issues regarding the nomination process, making it uncertain whether Bang will be named the CEO at the meeting.

IBK, which holds a 6.93 percent share in KT&G, recently said there was a problem in the nominee selection process. An IBK executive added that the company's operating profit has fallen by more than 20 percent since the CEO nominee was appointed senior executive vice president.

FCP CEO Lee Sang-hyun also revealed the content of a letter he sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol, appealing for the government's attention to improve KT&G's governance.

"We will do our best to make KT&G an exemplary case for large companies, so please continue to have a clear message for the people and interest in governance," Lee said in the letter.

The National Pension Service (NPS), the third largest shareholder with a 6.31 percent stake, is also expected to decide the appointment of the CEO nominee at the shareholders' meeting on March 28.

In response to the opposition concerning the appointment of the CEO nominee, KT&G said that the process of selecting a new CEO was conducted fairly, including receiving candidates from outside the company for the first time in 20 years, and that the CEO nominee met the qualifications that the company had set out for the new CEO.

"The entire CEO appointment process has been conducted and guided by a panel consisting solely of independent outside directors. Also, open recruitment has been implemented as one of the channels to form the CEO candidate pool, allowing fair assessment opportunities for both internal and external candidates," a company spokesperson said. "An advisory panel composed of external experts has also been instituted, and the panel's impartial and objective opinions have been taken into account, ensuring fairness and objectivity of the entire process."
Israeli forces in war-torn Gaza opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic melee on Thursday that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people.

The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."

The Gaza health ministry condemned what it called a "massacre" in Gaza City in which 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.

The incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war that the ministry earlier Thursday said had topped 30,000, and dampens hopes a truce deal between Israel and Hamas militants could be just days away.

There were conflicting reports on what exactly unfolded in the hours before dawn.

A witness in Gaza City, declining to be named for safety reasons, said the violence unfolded when thousands of people rushed towards aid trucks at the city's western Nabulsi roundabout, with soldiers firing at the crowd "as people came too close" to tanks.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the military had fired "a few warning shots" to try to disperse a crowd that had "ambushed" the aid trucks.

When the crowd got too big, he said the convoy tried to retreat and "the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

Aerial images released by the Israeli army showed what it said were scores of Gazans surrounding aid trucks in Gaza City.

Ali Awad Ashqir, who said he had gone to get some food for his starving family, told AFP he had been waiting for two hours when trucks began to arrive.

"The moment they arrived, the occupation army fired artillery shells and guns," he said.

Army spokesman Hagari later denied Israeli forces carried out any shelling or strikes at the time.

'Another day from hell'

U.S. President Joe Biden said Washington was checking "two competing versions" of the incident, while a State Department spokesman said the United States had been in touch with Israel and was "pressing for answers" on what happened.

The shooting incident would complicate efforts to broker a truce, Biden said, later admitting that any deal was unlikely to happen by Monday  the timeline that he had predicted earlier this week.

The U.S. president spoke with Qatari and Egyptian leaders in separate phone calls, the White House said, saying he discussed both the ceasefire and the "tragic and alarming" aid incident.

The U.N. Security Council will hold a closed-door emergency meeting on the incident on Thursday afternoon.

Saudi Arabia strongly condemned what it called the "targeting" of unarmed civilians, while Kuwait and the UAE also issued condemnations.

Qatar warned that Israel's "disregard for Palestinian blood... (will) pave the way for an expanding cycle of violence."

France condemned "unjustified Israeli fire" on civilians, and Spain's foreign minister described the events as "unacceptable."

European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell also denounced the "carnage."

Looting of aid trucks has previously occurred in northern Gaza, where desperate residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to stave off starvation, as aid groups warn of looming famine after nearly five months of war.

The chief of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said that no U.N. agency had been involved in Thursday's aid delivery, and called it "another day from hell."

Truce hopes

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 30,035 people, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.

Israel's military says 242 soldiers have died in Gaza since ground operations began in late October.

Washington, a key ally of Israel, has been pushing for a reduction in civilian casualties and a ceasefire.

It has been working with mediators from Egypt and Qatar to seek a six-week pause in the war.

Negotiators had hoped a truce could begin by the time the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, around March 10 or 11 depending on the lunar calendar.

The proposals reportedly involve the release of some Israeli hostages held by militants in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Short of the complete Israeli withdrawal Hamas has called for, a source from the group said the deal might see troops leave "cities and populated areas," allowing the return of some displaced Palestinians and humanitarian relief.

Fears of famine

The World Food Program has said Israel has blocked access for aid deliveries  which Israeli officials have denied  and warned that if nothing changes, "a famine is imminent in northern Gaza."

As fighting continued in Gaza, Muhammad Yassin, 35, struggled to find flour in Zeitun.

"We have not eaten a loaf of bread for two months," he said. "Our children are starving."

In the south, nearly 1.5 million people trying to flee the fighting are now packed into Rafah city, also short of food, as Israel threatens to send in troops against Hamas fighters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure to bring the remaining hostages home.

A group of 150 Israelis have started a four-day march from Reim, near the Gaza border, to Jerusalem, calling for the government to reach a deal.

Violence has also surged in the occupied West Bank, where two Israelis were killed on Thursday. (AFP)
 
The Boeing logo is displayed on a screen, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., August 7, 2019.

Boeing said on Thursday it had reached a $51 million settlement with the U.S. State Department for numerous export violations including Chinese employees in China improperly downloading documents related to U.S. Defense Department programs.

The State Department said from 2013 through 2017 three Chinese employees at Boeing facilities in China downloaded technical data involving programs including the F-18, F-15 and F-22 fighter jets, the E-3 airborne warning and control system, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the AGM84E cruise missile.

Boeing said there were additional unauthorized downloads of technical data at Boeing and partner facilities in 18 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2018.

The administrative settlement covers unauthorized exports of technical data and resolves 199 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the State Department said.

The State Department said the settlement "highlights the importance of exporting defense articles only pursuant to appropriate authorization" and followed "an extensive compliance review" by the government.

Boeing said it was "committed to our trade controls obligations, and we look forward to working with the State Department under the agreement." The company added it was committed to continuous improvement of its trade controls compliance program.

Boeing also engaged in some unauthorized exports of defense material and technical data related to defense programs to a number of countries including Israel, Turkey and Lebanon, the State Department said.

Boeing voluntarily disclosed the violations, which mostly occurred before 2020, and the government documents did not allege disclosure of classified material. The department said Boeing cooperated and "has incorporated numerous improvements to its compliance program since the conduct at issue."

The settlement includes a three-year consent agreement and $51 million civil penalty, of which $24 million will be suspended by the State Department so Boeing can use the funds for remedial compliance measures to strengthen its compliance program.

For at least two years, Boeing will engage an external special compliance officer to oversee the agreement, which will also require two external audits, the State Department added.
A person walks past the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., January 17, 2024.

Congress sent a short-term funding bill to President Joe Biden's desk Thursday, averting a partial government shutdown this weekend and buying lawmakers more time to fund federal agencies through September.

The Senate passed the stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, on a 77-13 vote; 60 votes were needed for passage under an agreement between the parties. Earlier in the day, the legislation cleared the House on a 320-99 vote.

Alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira appears ready to plead guilty

"It's good we're not shutting down. And now let us finish the job of funding the government so we don't have to do this again," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said before the vote. "As I've said repeatedly to the speaker, the only way to get things done in divided government is bipartisanship. I'm glad the speaker heard our plea and worked with us to avoid a shutdown next week."

The CR is part of a broader bipartisan spending deal congressional leaders announced Wednesday that includes six of the 12 spending bills that fund federal agencies. The White House has endorsed the deal, and Biden is expected to sign the CR into law before money runs out for part of the government late Friday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had faced criticism from rank-and-file conservatives that they had been kept in the dark about his negotiations with the Democrats. But addressing reporters Thursday, Johnson argued that the bipartisan agreement allows Congress to fund the government by passing individual bills rather than one massive, catchall spending package, known as an omnibus.

"The appropriations process is ugly; democracy is ugly. This is the way it works every year; always has. Except that we instituted some innovations; we broke the omnibus fever," Johnson said at his weekly news conference.

"We're trying to turn the aircraft carrier back to real budgeting and spending reform," he said. "This was an important thing  to break it up into smaller pieces."

The new CR would extend the funding deadline for half of the dozen must-pass spending bills by one week, to March 8. Those six bills  to fund departments such as Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Interior, Justice, Transportation and Veterans Affairs  will be voted on next week, leaders said.

The funding deadline for the remaining six bills would be pushed back by two weeks, to March 22. Leaders say that should give Congress enough time to pass all of the spending bills for the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30.

The agreement "would help prevent a needless shutdown while providing more time to work on bipartisan appropriations bills and for the House to pass the bipartisan national security supplemental as quickly as possible," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The Senate vote moved more quickly than usual Thursday after Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a frequent critic of spending bills, secured a vote from leadership on his amendment to curtail the Federal Reserve's power and agreed to speed consideration of the CR. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., dropped a hold on the CR after he got his own agreement to hold a vote on his bill to compensate victims of nuclear radiation.

Johnson said passing all of the fiscal 2024 bills would allow Congress to quickly begin negotiating the next round of appropriations bills for the new fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1.

But conservatives still lambasted the bipartisan deal for kicking the can down the road deeper into March and not making significant cuts in spending.

"It's just more of the failures of the past continued on. The American people gave us control 14 months ago, and you still have the spending levels from the horrible omnibus that was passed at the end of '22," Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., the chairman of the far-right Freedom Caucus, told NBC News.

"Those spending levels are in place; those policies are in place," he said. "We've made no measurable difference as a Republican majority."

Neither the short-term bill nor the government funding deals include any military assistance or aid to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, the latter of which Johnson continues to resist. He has indicated that foreign aid will be tackled separately, without committing to allowing a vote on the Ukraine funding.
Equinix : "I can't recommend it, it's just up so much...But I do like it very much."

Arm : "There is going to be what's known as a lock-up expiration where Softbank is going to be able to sell a lot of stock...If you want to buy some right now and then wait for that lock-up to end."
Palestinians hold out their empty containers to be filled with food, distributed by charity organizations, behind bars since they are unable to obtain basic food supplies due to the embargo imposed by Israeli forces in Rafah, Gaza on February 25, 2024.

President Joe Biden announced Friday that the U.S. will drop food aid into the Gaza Strip, noting that the humanitarian aid flowing into the region for Palestinians is insufficient.

"Aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough lives are on the line," Biden said as he announced the decision about the airdrops during an Oval Office meeting he was holding with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several," he continued. "We're going to pull out every stop we can."

The president reiterated that the U.S. is trying to push for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, where he said "innocent people" have died.

Later on Friday, the president responded to a reporter's question about when the first air drops will happen, saying, "I'm not positive. I think very soon." Shortly after, Biden addressed a possible cease-fire agreement, saying he's "still hoping for it."
People who test positive for Covid no longer need to isolate for five days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.

The CDC's new guidance now matches public health advice for flu and other respiratory illnesses: Stay home when you're sick, but return to school or work once you're feeling better and you've been without a fever for 24 hours.

The shift reflects sustained decreases in the most severe outcomes of Covid since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as a recognition that many people aren't testing themselves for Covid anyway.

"Folks often don't know what virus they have when they first get sick, so this will help them know what to do, regardless," CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said during a media briefing Friday.

Over the past couple of years, weekly hospital admissions for Covid have fallen by more than 75%, and deaths have decreased by more than 90%, Cohen said.

"To put that differently, in 2021, Covid was the third leading cause of death in the United States. Last year, it was the 10th," Dr. Brendan Jackson, head of respiratory virus response within the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during the briefing.

Many doctors have been urging the CDC to lift isolation guidance for months, saying it did little to stop the spread of Covid.

The experiences of California and Oregon, which previously lifted their Covid isolation guidelines, proved that to be true.

"Recent data indicate that California and Oregon, where isolation guidance looks more like CDC's updated recommendations, are not experiencing higher Covid-19 emergency department visits or hospitalizations," Jackson said.

Changing the Covid isolation to mirror what's recommended for flu and other respiratory illnesses makes sense to Dr. David Margolius, the public health director for the city of Cleveland.

"We've gotten to the point where we are suffering from flu at a higher rate than Covid," he said. "What this guidance will do is help to reinforce that regardless of what contagious respiratory viral infection you have  stay home when you're sick, come back when you're better."

Dr. Kristin Englund, an infectious diseases expert at the Cleveland Clinic, said the new guidance would be beneficial in curbing the spread of all respiratory viruses.

"I think this is going to help us in the coming years to make sure that our numbers of influenza and RSV cases can also be cut down, not just Covid," she said.

Still, the decision was likely to draw criticism from some clinicians who point to the fact that the U.S. logged 17,310 new Covid hospitalizations in the past week alone.
The flags of China, U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party are displayed in a flag stall at the Yiwu Wholesale Market in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, China, May 10, 2019. Aly Song | Reuters

BEIJING  China's Ministry of Commerce met with foreign businesses in Beijing this week in an effort to address operating challenges, but did not reveal much change on major issues. The roundtable on Wednesday came as U.S.-China exchanges have ticked up  and both sides attempt to stabilize the tense relationship between the world's two largest economic powers. While the Commerce Ministry meeting did not reveal much new progress on the 24 measures to support foreign business that were announced last summer, attendees said they were able to share specific challenges about doing business in China. "The impression that most of us were left with was there's a genuine desire by MofCom to deliver on these measures," Jens Eskelund, president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, said in an interview, noting the ministry asked businesses to share "concrete examples." "I think authorities were actually encouraging openness, and I think a number of participants were fairly direct in the comments they provided," he said. However, the meeting did not provide clarity on when proposed changes to data export rules would take effect, Eskelund said. Forced technology transfers and a new law about state secrets did not come up in the meeting either, he said, noting that perceived discrimination in public procurement remains an issue.

watch now

In the fall, the Cyberspace Administration of China released draft rules that signaled a softer stance by saying no government oversight is needed for data exports if regulators haven't stipulated that it qualifies as "important." No final version has yet been revealed. China this week also announced an updated law on state secrets would take effect May 1, emphasizing the country's growing emphasis on ensuring national security. "What came up was concerns about changes to national security regulation that impacts the ability of companies to conduct due diligence in China," Eskelund said, noting the Commerce Ministry's response was to share specific instances as they occurred, including any unfair treatment versus domestic companies. China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed in a regular press conference Thursday that, as disclosed about a month ago, at least 60% of the 24 measures have been implemented or seen progress, and that it would keep working on it. The ministry said representatives from more than 60 foreign businesses and 9 associations attended Wednesday's roundtable. "One issue that we raised at the meeting with MofCom was an overemphasis on finding investment from new companies," said Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, who attended Wednesday's roundtable. "This drive most often comes from local officials, since they are typically measured on their ability to attract FDI," he said.

Foreign direct investment into China has fallen to its lowest level in three years, according to official data, amid geopolitical tensions and slowing growth in the country. Hart said that it's hard for companies not yet in China to complete due diligence and approve new investments. "We would encourage the government to instead focus on solving the issues of companies who are already here, many of whom have had a presence in China for decades," he said, noting those businesses are in a better position to make additional investments, potentially boosting the attractiveness to new companies.

More U.S.-China meetings and visits

U.S.-China tensions have eased since U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in San Francisco in November. Biden, who faces re-election this fall, has emphasized the need to compete with China while finding areas of cooperation. The U.S. Transportation Department this week said that Chinese passenger airlines can add 15 more round-trip flights to the U.S. each week, starting March 31, Reuters said, noting that is only about one-third of pre-pandemic levels.

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Jose Uribe leaves the Federal Court, after a hearing on bribery charges, in New York City, U.S. September 27, 2023.

A co-defendant in the criminal corruption case against Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded guilty in New York federal court on Friday and agreed to cooperate with the prosecution of the New Jersey Democrat.

Menendez's co-defendant Joe Uribe pleaded guilty to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud, and obstruction of justice.

The other defendants in the case  Menendez, the senator's wife Nadine, and two other New Jersey businessmen  are scheduled to stand trial beginning May 6 in Manhattan federal court.

Uribe, who works in trucking and insurance, was indicted in September with the other defendants.

The Clifton, New Jersey, resident and other two businessmen men were accused of having a "corrupt relationship" with Menendez and Nadine Menendez.

The senator allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, home mortgage payments, and other things are part of that relationship.

Sen. Menendez is accused of, among other things, providing sensitive U.S government information that secretly aided the government of Egypt and pressuring a U.S. Agriculture Department official to protect a business monopoly in Egypt for one of the defendants, Wael Hana. The senator was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time.
Lone pumpjack located in the middle of large solar array outside of Bakersfield, Kern County, California, USA.

U.S. crude oil futures touched $80 a barrel for the first time in nearly four months, as signs point to a tightening market ahead of an OPEC+ decision on production cuts.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for April gained 2.19%, or $1.71, to settle at $79.97 a barrel on Friday, marking the highest close for U.S. crude since Nov. 6. May Brent futures added 2.09%, or $1.71, to $83.94 a barrel.

U.S. crude and the global benchmark booked a second consecutive monthly gain in February as near-month contracts traded at a premium to later months, typically a sign of a tightening oil market.

OPEC+ is considering rolling over its production cuts through the second quarter and possibly the end of the year, three sources in the organization told Reuters this week. The cartel and its allies are expected to make a decision on the reductions in the first week of March, sources told Reuters.

OPEC's next formal Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee meeting is scheduled for April 3.
Roberto Cingolani, chief executive officer of Leonardo SpA, during an interview in London, UK, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024.

The chief executive of Italian defense group Leonardo said Friday that he's more concerned about the "stupidity" of users of artificial intelligence rather than the threats posed by the technology itself.

His comments come amid repeated warnings about the dangers of AI, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently calling on international political and business leaders to prioritize a global strategy to deal with the technology.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Guterres said the rapid development of AI could result in "serious unintended consequences."

"To be honest, what concerns me more is the lack of control from humans, who are still making wars after 2,000 years," Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Friday.

"With this in mind, artificial intelligence is a tool. It is an algorithm made by humans, that is run by computers made by humans, that controls machines made by humans. I am more afraid, more worried [about] national stupidity than artificial intelligence to be honest," he added.

"I have a scientific background, so I definitely consider technology as neutral. The problem is the user, not the technology itself."
Elon Musk has sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman, among others, saying they had abandoned the company's original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity not profit.

The lawsuit filed late on Thursday said Altman and OpenAI's co-founder Greg Brockman originally approached Musk to make an open source, non-profit company.

The Microsoft-backed company's focus on making money breached that contract, lawyers for Musk said in the lawsuit filed in San Francisco. They added that the company had kept the design of GPT-4, its most advanced AI model, "a complete secret."

OpenAI, Microsoft and Musk did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but stepped down from its board in 2018. He also runs electric vehicle maker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX and bought Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022.

Last year serial entrepreneur Altman was fired by OpenAI's former board which said it was trying to defend the company's mission to develop AI that benefits humanity. A few days later, Altman returned to the company with a new initial board.

OpenAI is planning to appoint several new board members in March, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

ChatGPT, the chatbot from OpenAI, became the fastest-growing software application in the world within six months of its launch in November 2022.

It also sparked the launch of rival chatbots from Microsoft, Alphabet and a bevy of startups that tapped the hype to secure billions in funding.

Since its debut, ChatGPT has been adopted by companies for a wide range of tasks from summarizing documents to writing computer code, setting off a race amongst Big Tech companies to launch their own offerings based on generative AI. (Reuters)
Iranian women cast their ballots at a polling station during elections to select members of parliament and a key clerical body, in Tehran on March 1, 2024.

Iran holds its parliamentary elections on Friday, in the first vote for Iranians since a nationwide protest movement for women's rights rocked the country in 2022.

Some 15,000 candidates are competing for places in Iran's 290-seat Parliament, called the Islamic Consultative Assembly. The vote will also determine future members of the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which is a panel of clerics serving eight-year terms who choose the next Supreme Leader of Iran once the current leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, steps down or dies. Khamenei is 84.

But a low turnout is expected as many Iranians boycott the vote, disenchanted and angry with a system they believe is rigged or has been ineffective in improving their lives amid an economic crisis and broad lack of social and political freedoms.

"No one cares anymore. Nobody is going to participate and all the nominees are 'approved' by the government meaning people hate them," Mehdi, a business owner based in Tehran, told CNBC. "The numbers will be so low that the government will probably fake them." Mehdi requested only his first name be used for fear of reprisal by the Iranian government.

Imprisoned Iranian activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi called for a boycott and for international condemnation of the elections in a statement, saying that the boycott "is not only a political necessity but also a moral duty."

"Transition from the despotic religious regime is a national demand and the only way for the survival of Iran, Iranians, and our humanity," Mohammadi added.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, told CNBC that people are boycotting in "part because of protest and part because of disinterest."

"There is a very clear awareness that voting for either of these institutions is not going to immediately impact policy or politics," she said. "And providing the political system with overt legitimacy, after the very system has disregarded and abused people and civil rights, is just too much."

Country analysts expect a nationwide turnout of between 30% and 50%, while state polling center ISPA estimated the turnout in Tehran at just 23.5% and 38.5% nationally. The figures would represent a continuation of recent years; the year 2020 saw the lowest-ever official turnout rate for a parliamentary election in Iran, at just over 40%, and 2021 featured its lowest-ever presidential election turnout.
Jim Cramer's daily rapid fire looks at stocks in the news outside the CNBC Investing Club portfolio. Dell : The tech giant best known for its personal computers had a blowout quarter thanks to massive demand for its artificial intelligence servers. The stock was soaring more than 25%, or around $25 per share. "This has another 30 points to come" over time, Jim Cramer said Friday New York Community Bancorp : The stock was falling more than 20% after the bank revealed "material weakness" in its loan oversight and expects to miss a deadline for filing its annual report. "The material weakness was in the Federal Reserve to allow" failed Signature Bank to go to NYCB, Jim said. Keurig Dr Pepper : The company said JAB Holding will sell up to 100 million shares. KDP plans to repurchase 35 million of them. Jim said the JAB sale might be in recognition that "soft drinks don't taste good with GLP-1s" weight loss drugs like Zepbound from Club name Eli Lilly . Zscaler : Shares of the cybersecurity stock were falling roughly 8%. Despite a beat and raise, Zscaler had a "billing issue not unlike the previous quarter at Palo Alto," Jim said. But like Club name Palo Alto Networks, Jim said he's willing to overlook the billing issues. Microsoft : Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging they are violating the company's mission by putting profits before humanity. Cramer said private companies don't concern him but when they align with a public company like Club name Microsoft he pays attention. "I think this lawsuit has merit and will be heard from," he added. "They can prevail." Microsoft is a financial backer and partner of OpenAI.
NASA is shutting down a $2 billion project to test satellite refueling in space, it announced Friday, after the agency's auditor criticized the program's lead contractor, Maxar, citing "poor performance."

The space agency said in a statement that the OSAM-1  On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1  project was being discontinued after nearly a decade of work.

NASA cited in its announcement "continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner."

The agency said in a statement to CNBC that about 450 personnel are supporting OSAM-1, but that NASA "is committed to supporting project workforce per plan through fiscal year 2024."

"While we are disappointed by the decision to discontinue the program, we are committed to supporting NASA in pursuing potential new partnerships or alternative hardware uses as they complete the shutdown," Maxar Space Systems spokesperson Eric Glass said in a statement to CNBC.

Maxar was taken private by private equity firm Advent International in May 2023 before being split into two businesses: Maxar Intelligence, focused on satellite imagery and analytics, and Maxar Space Systems, focused on spacecraft manufacturing.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland was leading the work on OSAM-1, with Maxar Space Systems as the project's prime contractor under multiple deals. OSAM-1 has been in development since 2015, with the goal of docking with the U.S.-owned Landsat 7 imagery satellite in orbit, to repair and refuel the aging spacecraft to extend its life.

But OSAM-1 has fallen years behind schedule, while the program's cost to NASA soared. In a scathing October report, NASA's Inspector General "found that project cost increases and schedule delays were primarily due to the poor performance of Maxar," while noting that the agency's Goddard center has also struggled with key parts of development.

"NASA and Maxar officials acknowledged that Maxar underestimated the scope and complexity of the work, lacked full understanding of NASA technical requirements, and were deficient in necessary expertise," NASA's Inspector General said in its report, following a yearlong audit.

The agency's auditor noted that OSAM-1 was likely to both "exceed its current $2.05 billion price tag and the December 2026 launch date," which was already six years behind schedule. The report, citing Maxar representatives, noted the company was "no longer profiting from their work on OSAM-1" and, in NASA's view, it no longer appeared "to be a high priority for Maxar in terms of the quality of its staffing."

NASA's cancellation of OSAM-1 comes months after Maxar delivered major segments of the spacecraft to Goddard in Maryland  but other key parts were yet to be finished.

Satellite servicing is a nascent sub-sector of the space industry that's only recently begun to be proven out, with Northrop Grumman's extension missions representing an early effort.
Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny into the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church for his funeral service.

The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny took place in Moscow on Friday, with hundreds of mourners gathering despite heightened political tensions and fears of arrests.

Barriers were erected around the church where the memorial service with an open casket began around 2 p.m. local time. The coffin was then taken to the nearly Borisovskoye cemetery across the Moskva River, where the burial service began shortly before 4 p.m.

Crowds chanted: "You were not afraid, and we are not afraid," outside the church, according to BBC reporting. People were also seen crying, throwing roses, and thanking Navalny's mother Lyudmila, who attended the service. No clashes or arrests have been reported in Moscow.
Airplane fuselages bound for Boeing's 737 Max production facility sit in storage at their top supplier, Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. December 17, 2019.

Boeing is in talks to buy back Spirit AeroSystems , which makes fuselages for Boeing's 737 Max jets, the companies said Friday, as the manufacturers scramble to stamp out production flaws on the top-selling plane.

Shares of Spirit rose 15% on Friday, while Boeing's stock fell close to 2%. Spirit AeroSystems had a market capitalization of $3.8 billion as of Friday's close.

Boeing in 2005 spun off operations in Kansas and Oklahoma that became the present-day Spirit AeroSystems. About 70% of Spirit's revenue last year came from Boeing, and roughly a quarter came from making parts for Boeing's main rival, Airbus, according to a securities filing. Airbus declined to comment on the deal talks.

"We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems' manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders," Boeing said in a statement on Friday. "Although there can be no assurance that we will be able to reach an agreement, we are committed to finding ways to continue to improve the safety and quality of the airplanes on which millions of people depend each and every day."

Spirit also confirmed the talks.

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, when asked about outsourcing production of parts of its airplanes, told CNBC in January: "Did it go too far? Yeah ... probably did, but now it's here and now I gotta deal with it."

Spirit has struggled financially, and was last profitable in 2019, before the pandemic. In October, Spirit appointed Pat Shanahan, who spent about three decades at Boeing, as its new, interim CEO.

The deal talks come less than two months after a section of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily grounded all of the planes in January, leading to investigations into the accident and Boeing's production lines.

It was the latest and most serious in a host of flaws on the Boeing 737 Max, the company's bestselling jet.

The bolts on the door plug of the Max involved in the January accident appeared not to have been attached when it left Boeing's Renton, Washington, factory, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Boeing has disclosed several production problems and quality flaws on the fuselages that Spirit makes, including incorrectly drilled holes and wrong spacing on some fuselage components, problems that have slowed deliveries of new jets to airlines.

The FAA, which oversees Boeing and certifies its planes, has vowed deeper scrutiny of the company's production lines since the Jan. 5 accident. Earlier this week, after a meeting with Calhoun, the FAA's administrator, Mike Whitaker, said the agency was giving the company 90 days to come up with a plan to improve its quality control and safety systems.

Boeing and Spirit's deal talks were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

Don't miss these stories from CNBC PRO:
ROCHDALE, England - Feb 29: Workers Party of Britain candidate George Galloway speaks after being declared the winner in the Rochdale by-election on February 29, 2024. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Staunchly pro-Palestinian left-wing firebrand George Galloway on Thursday won a chaotic by-election in Rochdale, northwestern England that was defined by the Israel-Gaza conflict. The controversial former Labour MP, who was standing for the Workers Party of Britain, won 12,335 votes with a majority of 5,697, giving his party its first-ever Member of Parliament in Britain's House of Commons. It will be Galloway's fifth constituency in 37 years, having now unseated his former party in three separate elections. Galloway ran a campaign heavily focused on the plight of Palestinians, appealing to the Muslim voters that make up around 30% of the local electorate, many of whom voiced anger about the war in Gaza and the failure of the country's two main parties to push for an immediate ceasefire.

ROCHDALE, England - Feb. 29, 2023: A man walks past a George Galloway election sign as residents begin to vote in the Rochdale by-election on February 29, 2024 in Rochdale, England. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Second place in the by-election went to an independent candidate, local businessman Paul Tully, who only began his political career four weeks ago but managed to secure 6,638 votes. The election in one of England's most deprived towns was blown wide open when the main opposition Labour Party, previously a shoo-in for the seat, withdrew its support for its candidate Azhar Ali after recordings surfaced of alleged antisemitic comments. As the party's support was withdrawn so close to the election, it was too late to remove his name from the ballot or for the party  which is the overwhelming favorite to win the country's general election later this year  to field another candidate. Without Labour Party backing, Ali picked up just 2,402 votes, behind Conservative Paul Ellison with 3,371, marking another poor showing for the ruling party that has suffered a string of by-election defeats over the past year.

ROCHDALE, England - Feb. 19, 2024: People walk past pro-Palestinian graffiti in Rochdale on February 19, 2024 in Rochdale, England. Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
A vehicle carrying former U.S. President Donald Trump is driven to the Alto Lee Adams Sr. U.S. Courthouse on March 01, 2024 in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Friday urged a Florida federal court judge to schedule his criminal trial on charges related to retaining classified documents for after November's presidential election, saying it would be "unfair" to have earlier.

Trump's lawyers, at a hearing, called the new proposal by prosecutors for a July 8 start date for that trial "completely unworkable" and "an impossibility" for Trump, who is the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, according to NBC News.

Defense lawyers noted that Trump, who was attending the hearing in Fort Pierce court, already is scheduled to stand trial in New York state court starting March 25 on charges of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

Lawyers for Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith, who is prosecuting Trump, argued to Judge Aileen Cannon that the former president has known about the hush money trial date for months, but only now is calling for a lengthy delay of the Florida case.
Political advisors propose measures to enhance workers' rights protection, invisible overtime highlighted

10:56, March 01, 2024 By Zhang Yuying ( Global Times

Employees exchange ideas at the Tianjin R&D Center of Beijing Jingwei Hirain Technologies Co., Inc. in Tianjin, north China, February 26, 2024. Photo: Xinhua

Ahead of the two sessions, political advisors nationwide have put forward various measures to strengthen the protection of workers' rights and interests, among which proposals aimed at addressing "invisible overtime" for employees have attracted great attention.

The protection of the rights and interests of workers has long been a heated discussed topic in China. As the two sessions approach, a survey conducted by the China Youth Daily showed that the proposals for safeguarding labor rights and interests are the most anticipated by respondents, with a selection rate of 49.7% among 2,002 people, according to the media on Thursday.

The Global Times noticed that various measures on protecting the rights and interests of workers have been proposed by political advisors ahead of this year's two sessions, among whom some were particularly concerned about the issue of employees being arranged to work overtime illegally via social media platforms.

Lyu Guoquan, a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of the general office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, suggested introducing the right to disconnect at the legislative level of labor law to increase the illegal cost of "invisible overtime" in enterprises.

Lyu elaborated on the concept of the right to disconnect, emphasizing that it grants employees the freedom to decline working via digital platforms beyond their designated work hours. He added that information technology has blurred the boundaries between work and life, as some employers require workers to join group chats, and work can still be arranged through online means after work hours, which means that employees' rights to rest and privacy are not guaranteed.

The political advisor suggested clearly defining online overtime and compensation for work hours. Moreover, employers should be guided to include clauses in labor contracts defining and compensating for the right to disconnect, and stipulate standards for compensating for online overtime on a case-by-case basis.

In addition, law enforcement agencies should strengthen supervision and punishment for "invisible overtime" by employers, Lyu suggested, noting that the mechanism for protecting the rights of workers should be improved so that they have channels to seek redress when facing unreasonable and unpaid overtime.

According to the Beijing Daily on January 23, in a case detailed in the yearly working report by the Beijing High People's Court, an employee successfully won a lawsuit against her employer and received compensation for working via social media applications during off-duty hours. The case attracted great public attention and was hailed as a typical example of the strength of the country's judicial system.

Apart from the proposals on overtime issues, the Global Times also noticed that political advisors are paying attention to how to protect the rights and interests of workers in new forms of employment.

Li Xiaoxuan, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC and chairman of China New Higher Education Group Limited, noted that the rapid development of economic forms, such as the platform economy and sharing economy, has given rise to a large number of new employment forms, which involve multiple subjects such as platforms, users, workers and labor dispatch agencies. However, the legal definition of the relationship between workers in new employment forms and employers is relatively vague.

Due to this vagueness, Li suggested a revision on relevant labor law and establishment of a social security system that is adapted to new forms of employment, as well as enhancing research to clarify the rights and responsibilities of different subjects, the Global Times learnt on Thursday.

Li also proposed increasing policy supply for new forms of employment, including appropriately relaxing policy conditions such as household registration and employment assistance, and providing more policy support in areas such as social security and entrepreneurship subsidies.

Analysts noted that the proposals will help relevant departments conduct thorough research, leading to the development and implementation of effective policies that will bring about tangible improvements in addressing the current issues of worker rights violations.

The measures mentioned above also reflect the diverse needs of society for labor law protection, and may contribute to the improvement of existing labor regulations, which will have significant effects for the long-term improvement of labor rights protection, the analysts said.

(Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun)
More than a quarter of a million people watched the farewell to Navalny on his YouTube channel, which is blocked inside Russia. Messages, mostly expressing sadness but some also defiance, streamed down beside the video.

Allies of Navalny outside Russia have called on people who want to honour his memory but could not attend his funeral service to instead go to memorials to Soviet-era repression in their own towns on Friday evening at 7 p.m. local time.

The Kremlin said any unsanctioned gatherings in support of Navalny would violate the law.

"Just a reminder that we have a law that must be followed. Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable  again, in line with the current law," Peskov said.

Navalny's wife Yulia and two children, who are living outside Russia, did not attend the funeral.

Yulia Navalnaya, who has pledged to continue her husband's work, thanked him for "26 years of absolute happiness".

She posted on X: "I dont know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I'll manage it or not, but I will try."

Navalny was a Christian who condemned Putin's decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine as a crazy enterprise built on lies. The church that hosted his funeral has donated to the Russian army and enthusiastically advertised its backing for the war.

In the run-up to the ceremony, his allies accused the authorities of blocking their plans to hold a bigger civil memorial service. The Kremlin has said it has nothing to do with Navalny's funeral arrangements.

Navalny's allies have accused Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap.

They have not published proof to back up that accusation, but have promised to set out how he was murdered and by whom.

The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it is unaware of any agreement to free Navalny. His death certificate  according to allies  said he died of natural causes.

Navalny, a former lawyer, mounted the most determined political challenge against Putin since the Russian leader came to power at the end of 1999, organising street protests and publishing high-profile investigations into the alleged corruption of some in the ruling elite.

Navalny decided to return to Russia from Germany in 2021 after being treated for what Western doctors said was poisoning with a nerve agent only to be immediately taken into custody.

Putin has yet to comment on Navalny's death and has for years avoided mentioning him by name. (Reuters)
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Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday.
By Rick Palsgrove

Groveport Editor

Central Ohios population continues to grow and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission is making plans to deal with the accompanying future increase in traffic.

MORPCs 2024-2050 draft Master Transportation Plan forecasts how approximately $35 billion will be spent over the next 20 to 30 years to address transportation needs.

MORPC Active Transportation and Safety Program Manager Lauren Cardoni said the Master Transportation Plan is updated every four years and submitted to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the United States Department of Transportation to evaluate transportation infrastructure to see where investment is needed.

It is a long range plan, but there are shorter time frames within it to meet more immediate needs, said Cardoni.

According to the plan, MORPC projects that the population in central Ohios 15 counties will increase from approximately 2.4 million people to 3.1 million by 2050. Accompanying this would be a 29 percent increase in the number of households and a 28 percent increase in the labor force within the central Ohio area. This means more traffic and the need for the transportation infrastructure to accommodate it all.

The following are some of the proposed projects to be tackled in the coming years within the Canal Winchester, Groveport, and Obetz areas:

Widening State Route 317 south of Groveport Road.

Widening Groveport Road west of State Route 317.

Widening Alum Creek Drive from I-270 to State Route 317.

Widening Pontius Road south of Rohr Road.

Widening U.S. Route 33 from I-270 to Diley Road as well as constructing interchanges at Bixby Road and Pickerington Road.

Widening Winchester Pike.

Extending Richardson Road north to meet Ebright Road.

Building a new road to connect the U.S. 33/Bixby Road interchange with Ebright Road.

Constructing bike and pedestrian trails, particularly along greenway areas of local creeks, such as Walnut Creek and Big Walnut Creek.

Cardoni said MORPCs goals are to: create sustainable neighborhoods; attract economic opportunity; protect natural resources; increase regional collaboration; provide transportation options; and reduce per capita energy consumption.

Public comments on the proposed projects must be submitted by 5 p.m. on March 29. A complete draft of the 2024-2050 MTP is available for review and comment at the MTP webpage at www.morpc.org/mtp2050. MORPC will host an open house regarding the plan at its office at 111 Liberty Street, Suite 100, Columbus, from 3:30-6:30 p.m. on March 19.

A formal presentation to review the plan will take place at 5:30 p.m. The final plan is expected to be adopted in May 2024.

Groveport City Council reacts

Cardoni presented the information to Groveport City Council at its Feb. 26 meeting where Councilman Shawn Cleary said he thinks the proposed Master Transportation Plan is coming too late, citing the growth of apartments in southeast Franklin County as already increasing traffic volume.

The plans a day late and a dollar short, said Cleary. The area is already growing so fast. This plan seems too late.

Councilman Jack Rupp added that U.S. 33 is already choked with traffic.

Many of our traffic problems in the town of Groveport are the result of U.S. 33 and I-270 not being able to handle the traffic volume, said Rupp. Weve become an avoidance route for traffic in southeast Franklin County.

Cardoni said that the widening of U.S. 33 is a top priority for funding.

Council members also were not pleased with the plans proposal of extending Richardson Road north to Ebright Road because it would run the road through Groveport Park.
The business environment is better than ever, but that isn't stopping many tech companies from laying off employees. At the same time, numerous other organizations  often poorly run ones  insist remote workers return to the office (RTO) in the name of better productivity. The reality is that incompetent leaders are scapegoating employees working from home for bad company performance.

And then, there are the companies doing both.

Dell is the latest example of a business that appears to be trying to force workers back into the office with the ulterior motive of getting them to quit. It did this by telling remote employees they had a choice: work from a corporate office part-time or continue working remotely.

So, what's the problem? If Dell's employees "choose" to work remotely, there'd be no travel funding for onsite meetings, no promotions, no lateral moves, and their remote status would be "considered" in the event of future workforce reductions.

Thats some choice, all right!

Why do this? Easy. If the bean counters can get people to quit, there are no severance packages. The company saves money, the stockholders are happy, and the workers? They're not Dell's problem anymore.

Dell isnt the only one guilty of this approach. Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been accused of using RTO mandates to chase away employees. Justin Garrison, a former AWS senior developer advocate, calls it "silent sacking."

The plan, as disgruntled former AWS workers describe it, is to make their lives miserable by strictly enforcing RTO initiatives. The result? They quit. Or, as Joe Devon, chair of the work accessibility awareness non-profit The GAAD Foundation, put it: "Isn't forced RTO just a way to do a layoff without paying for it in both PR and HR costs?"

Yes, it is.

That doesn't mean it's a wise decision, though. As Shelline Bennett, a labor and employment lawyer at Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, warned in InvestorPlace that using TRO mandates as a way to initiate layoffs indirectly might violate the US Worker Adjustment and Retraining (WARN) Act and similar state laws

Some companies simply fire remote workers before those still in the office. For instance, the online furniture company Wayfair fired 13% of its staff, most of whom were working from home. Looking ahead, the CEO said most workers should be at their desks in an office on most days.

Good luck with that plan.

After all, as Prithwiraj Choudhury, a Harvard Business School professor, told The Washington Post, Youre risking your top performers and diversity by enforcing rigid RTO mandates. It just doesnt make economic sense.

Maybe it doesn't make sense in the long run, but since when do companies care about that? It's all about making the next quarter look good. If you can beat the analyst estimate by cutting labor costs, who cares about the day after tomorrow?

Another variation of this approach is the long layoff. Here, companies such as Disney and Wells Fargo don't immediately show laid-off workers the door. Instead, they keep employees on board for weeks or even months.

Here, the immediate goal is to avoid all the bad press and social media that come from publicly firing hundreds or thousands of employees in a day. And, if a hard-as-nails RTO policy helps get them to quit, that's a win for the company. Again, they don't have to pay severance.

Mind you, many companies are just firing employees the same way they always have. That list includes Cisco, SAP, Google, Microsoft, and others.

The really annoying thing about this is that RTO mandates don't even make business sense. A recent study of Standard and Poors 500 firms found "managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance." Whether the true motive is to micromanage workers or force them out, RTO mandates are an excuse for incompetent senior management to pretend they're making a positive difference.

If a company really wants long-term positive change, I suggest firing stuck-in-the-mud management, up to and including the top brass, who want everyone back in a cubicle or the unemployment line. Your business will be the better for recognizing that the future of work lies in the home and with flexible work.
The European Commission (EC) on Friday said it needs more information from Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta to assess its compliance with applicable privacy and security laws in the European Union (EU).

The EC, in a statement, said Meta also needs to speed up its responses to requests in December for information, which centered on election information, terrorism and the protection of minors. The company has until March 15 to provide that information, with the new info about Metas pay-to-opt-out-of-tracking program due March 22.

The EC noted that, like all companies doing business in the EU and subject to the Digital Services Act, Meta could be subject to hefty fines for providing incomplete information or missing deadlines. European data protection authorities have levied heavy GDPR fines against a range of businesses, not just social media giants.

The present [request for information] builds on Meta's previous replies and asks additional information concerning the methodology underlying Meta's risk assessment and mitigation measures reports, the protection of minors, elections and manipulated media, the EC said. The RFI also requests Meta to provide information related to the practice of so-called shadow banning and the launch of Threads.

The Digital Services Act was approved in April 2022. It governs how internet companies must manage user data, how they are allowed to use that data to target advertising, and steps they must take to police illicit or deceptive content.

It will ensure that the online environment remains a safe space, safeguarding freedom of expression and opportunities for digital businesses, EC president Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement at the time.

The latest request for information aimed at Meta comes a day after eight consumer protection watchdog groups in the EU filed complaints against the company for its opaque data collection and processing policies. The complaints, filed with national data protection authorities, accuse Meta of violating the GDPR, abusing its dominant market position to misuse customer information, and making merely superficial changes to its privacy policy instead of actually complying with the law.

European authorities have long had Meta in their sights, having fined the company more than $2 billion since the GDPR took effect in 2018.
Given unprecedented repression of participants, the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at Abu Dhabi should not continue until historical and international standards and human rights for participation in global governance are restored.

A day after filing a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General about several incidents of detainment, confiscation of materials, and heavy-handed restrictions on lobbying by civil society organizations (CSOs) at the Ministerial Conference, participants have faced an escalation in repression  despite fully complying with the WTO's guidelines for the conference.Two participants, who have been advised not to release their names publicly while still in country, were detained, allegedly for filming within the convention centre. This continues a disturbing trend for this Ministerial Conference. The WTO has failed to ensure the safety and rights of participants that it has registered for this meeting. This incident happened during a public civil society event where affected community groups  fishers from developing countries  were discussing the negotiations that would directly impact them.If the WTO is currently unable or unwilling to ensure the safety and rights of the participants, then the meeting should not continue until that is the case. As they stand, negotiations are proceeding on agenda items without possibilities of any democratic engagement from affected communities and civil society.The WTO Director General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has billed this Ministerial as the most open, transparent and inclusive process to date. Yet her institution is failing to ensure participants that the guiding information communicated by the WTO, and the prevailing practice with regards to what civil society can do, actually holds for MC13. This is putting the safety of civil society participants at risk, and denying their rights, with little being done to substantively address this extremely urgent and serious issue."Participants, especially from developing countries, are fearful of even walking alone in the conference centre now, lest they be unjustly detained and possibly deported, and then unable to secure visas ever again. This climate of fear should not be the result of advocacy in an institution of global economic governance," said Rahmat Maulana Sidik, Executive Director of Indonesia for Global Justice."This is my 11th MC and I've never seen anything like this level of repression. The WTO Secretariat has insisted that it is working towards clarifying things with the host country. But we see no evidence that the DG  who is widely known as a person who, shall we say, can get her way when she wants  is insisting on our rights being restored. said Deborah James, facilitator of the global Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network of CSOs."It was a long way to Abu Dhabi from my country. I came here to get work done, and I do not feel safe to do the normal activities that I always do in Ministerial Conferences. The uncertainty of not knowing if I will be detained just for giving away my research is paralyzing me from doing what I am supposed to do, said Sofia Scasserra, researcher from Argentina with the Transnational Institute.CSOs have been told by several delegations, including from Norway, New Zealand, and the United States, that they have raised this issue with the secretariat, but there is no evidence that the WTO has taken action.The inclusion of civil society has been mentioned frequently at this Ministerial as being central to the WTO, yet civil society members are being prevented from undertaking their work, advocating for communities affected by the outcomes of the Ministerial, on account of the participants being subject to repressive measures. There should be nothing agreed about us at this Ministerial without us.A comparison between activities at MC13 and previous Ministerials is below. CSOs previously documented repression,  NGOs call for free speech to be restored at WTO Ministerial in UAE .More than 50 civil society representatives are in person at MC13 working with the global Our World Is Not for Sale ( OWINFS ) network including farmers, fisherfolk, development advocates, environmentalists, and public interest organizations, coming from 21 countries: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Germany, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Uganda, the United States, and Zimbabwe; two Nigerians were denied visas.A directory of civil society experts present in Abu Dhabi for the WTOs MC13 can be seen here . A summary of Whats at Stake at the WTOs 13th Ministerial, including links to letters and analysis from many of the organizations, can be seen here
Amsterdam is well-known for music, even  back in the day  a Little Symphony Orchestra.
Only two weeks ago, Keir Starmer was gloating over his partys pair of by-elections victories in Wellingborough and Kingswood. Now, however, the Labour leader has been left with a bloody nose in Rochdale, after losing this north-west seat to the tub-thumping leftwinger George Galloway.

Labour had held Rochdale since 2010 (barring a couple of years when Blairite reprobate and renegade Simon Danczuk  now standing for reactionary outfit Reform UK  sat as an independent).

But the party was left trailing in fourth place yesterday, as Galloway romped home with almost 40 percent of the vote, overturning Labours previous 10,000 strong majority.

Humiliating defeat

The result in itself is humiliating enough for Starmer / Image: The Communist

The result in itself is humiliating enough for Starmer. But compounding this embarrassment was a comically incompetent campaign, only trumped in terms of farce by the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience, with Labour forced to withdraw support for their official candidate at the last minute, leaving them with no horse in the race.

The outcome in Rochdale strikingly reveals the massive disaffection and discontent towards all the traditional political parties.

There was a massive 19 point swing against the Tories, who were reduced to a miserable 7 percent. This shows that the Tory government is hated. But it also shows that Labour is not loved.

In fact, the combined vote of the Tories and Labour in Rochdale was less than half of that secured by Galloway. Only one-in-five voters backed one of the two major parties. The low turnout, at 37 percent, was a further indication of this same mood.

Sir Keir Starmer bears a huge responsibility for this ignominious defeat, in what had been a relatively safe Labour seat. His belligerent support for Israel and US imperialism have clearly alienated and scandalised vast numbers, not just in Rochdale.

Starmer has feebly attempted to cover up for his own disgraceful role in this travesty, using the miserable excuse that his party was not able to put up a proper candidate of its own.

But it is perhaps a piece of good luck for Labour that they did not put up a candidate representing Keir Starmers policies, or they would have lost even more votes.

The hollowness of his argument is clearly shown by the fact that second place was won by an independent, David Tully, a local shop owner. In fact, taken together, Galloway and Tully took over 60 percent  a stunning and unequivocal rejection of both Labour and the Tories.

There is no doubt who the main loser was, however: the ruling class coiffured champion, Sir Keir Starmer.

Keir Starmer: this is for Gaza, Galloway declared, beginning his victory speech in the early hours of this morning. You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role you have played, the new MP for Rochdale continued, covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine.

But this defeat is only the beginning of the troubles for Starmer  a harbinger of further explosive shocks for the Labour leader, and for the future government he hopes to head.

Striking contrast

Palestine was front-and-centre of the veteran anti-war agitators campaign / Image: The Communist

As Galloway himself stated, the question of Gaza clearly played a key role in his victory.

Palestine was front-and-centre of the veteran anti-war agitators campaign. The distinctive red-black-white-and-green flag formed the backdrop for his banners, strung up around the town. And in all his street speeches and leaflets, Galloway correctly attacked Starmers Labour for its complicity in Netanyahus murderous crimes.

But this by-election was about more than just this one burning issue. It was a rejection of the entire political establishment and their arrogant antics; a kick in the face to all the Westminster warmongers.

At a time when haughty, out-of-touch MPs have been locking themselves in an ivory tower, complaining about the threat of mob rule, or decrying an Islamist takeover, Galloway has been making every effort to connect with ordinary people and their daily concerns.

As evidenced by the recent hysterical cries of the political elites, those currently occupying Parliament consider themselves to be beyond the reach of ordinary people. For them, constituents are at best an occasional chore to attend to; at worst, a noisy threat that might turn up on their doorstep, unsolicited, to protest over this-or-that inconvenient issue.

Instead of maintaining a lofty distance from local residents, Galloway took to the streets on the campaign trail, giving soapbox speeches in the town centre, and listening to the voices of those he was seeking to represent.

His campaign HQ was located at the heart of the community, not run by spin-doctors in London. Furthermore, in the wake of yesterdays victory, he has promised to move to Rochdale, in order to be close to his new constituents.

While the Tories are planning what additional savage cuts to implement in their latest Budget, with Starmer piping in to say me too! to austerity, Galloway is pledging to Make Rochdale Great Again, with promises to reopen local healthcare facilities and restore the high street.

The contrast is striking, and will not have been lost on the residents of Rochdale  or on workers across the country.

Thorn in their side

Galloway has been a perennial thorn in the side for the Labour right wing / Image: fair use

Galloway has been a perennial thorn in the side for the Labour right wing. He vocally attacked the old Blairite leaders for their imperialist adventures in Iraq, taking seats off the party in the process: first in Bethnal Green & Bow in 2005, and later in Bradford West in 2012.

Now, as MP for Rochdale, in the context of a burning anger against the British establishment for its role in the nightmare playing out in Gaza, he could become a rallying point in Parliament for the Palestine movement, denouncing both Sunak and Starmer, and exposing the blood they have on their hands.

Just at a time when MPs are attempting to hide from the publics view, Galloway will be using every available opportunity to shine a spotlight on them and their crimes.

And his victory could embolden other pro-Palestine independents to run  and even win  in other constituencies, adding to the anti-war opposition in the House of Commons.

This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates, in scores of parliamentary constituencies, Galloway asserted earlier today, alluding to the prospect of other potential attempts to emulate his success in Rochdale.

But the anti-imperialist MP underlined that others could repeat his example in many areas of the country, not simply in places with large Muslim and Asian populations.

Yes its true that every Muslim is bitterly angry, Galloway explained, but you would be very foolish [to think] that millions of other citizens arent too.

Anti-establishment

This was not just a protest vote over Gaza, but an indication of the burning anger that exists everywhere / Image: The Communist

And that is precisely the point. This was not just a protest vote over Gaza, but an indication of the burning anger that exists everywhere towards the entire status quo, and the rotten ruling class that upholds it.

The liberal press has attempted to trivialise Galloways victory in Rochdale, suggesting that he only won because of the high number of Muslim voters, or because Labour wasnt able to get its act together and stand a proper, respectable candidate.

They paint him as a clown; as a loony lefty, who has simply duped the people of Rochdale with his boisterous charisma. But what these elitist hacks fail to see or understand is that it is precisely because he stands out against the backdrop of carbon copy capitalist politicians that Galloway strikes a chord with ordinary people.

Notably, Reform UK failed to make much of a dent in Rochdale, defying the expectations of chattering journalists. The revamped Brexit Party only came sixth, with 6.3 percent of the vote.

Standing the deviant Danczuk as their candidate probably didnt do Reform any favours. But their failure to make a mark in Rochdale also highlights how a fiery left-wing alternative, where available, can mop-up much of the anti-establishment vote that may otherwise end up in their camp.

The public can see how Parliament is stuffed full of crooks and charlatans. Every day brings to light new scandals, revolving around degenerate MPs and their abuses, lies, and corruption. By comparison, figures like Galloway  speaking in plain language, not hypocritical cant  appear more approachable and down to earth.

But the liberal establishment and their mouthpieces will never be able to comprehend or accept this.

Malaise and anger

The trade union leaders, meanwhile, have been noticeable by their absence / Image: The Communist

Galloways by-election win is the latest symptom of the deep malaise in society; of the anger that exists everywhere across Britain.

This has expressed itself in many ways over the past decade: from support for Scottish independence; to the rise of the Corbyn movement; to the Brexit vote; to the mass Black Lives Matter and climate protests; to the strike wave of 2022-23; to the tremendous uprising in solidarity with Palestine.

Added to these social and political earthquakes, in just the last couple of weeks, there has been the movement of the farmers in Wales, echoing their European counterparts  showing the depth and breadth of this discontent and rage.

But none of this finds an expression in the traditional organisations of the working class.

In fact, Galloways victory begs the question: why have the other lefts completely failed to galvanise public anger against the political establishment? Why havent Jeremy Corbyn and co. been agitating more stridently over Palestine?

The trade union leaders, meanwhile, have been noticeable by their absence. In many cases, they have actively kept their members at bay from the Palestine solidarity movement. And on the industrial front, as at Port Talbot, they have consistently dragged their feet when it comes to fighting back against the Tories and the bosses.

In effect, they are waiting for a Labour government to come and save them. But Starmer is certainly no knight in shining armour for the working class. And to sow such illusions is criminal.

The Labour lefts are little better. Most of them have largely become invisible since Starmer took over. More careerist types have become indistinguishable from the right.

All the while, the crisis of capitalism  and particularly of British capitalism  goes from bad to worse. And things wont get any better under the next government, no matter who resides in Downing Street.

Storm the palaces!

Workers and youth have only just started / Image: The Communist

The Tories have a clever new strategy though: to sweep their problems under the carpet by banning unruly demonstrations; to turn Fortress Britain into Fortress Westminster, and erect ever bigger walls around Parliament to keep the masses at bay.

Netanyahu is reducing Gaza to rubble. The Tory government is slashing public services to pieces. Conservative MPs are whipping up racism against Muslims and migrants. Yet, according to Rishi Sunak, it is not these scoundrels, but those fighting against his reactionary programme who are the real extremists.

In turn, the Prime Minister has pledged, from now on, to be tough on protests  but not on the causes of protests.

Home secretary James Cleverly, similarly, has told persistent Palestine protestors that theyve made their point now, and should pack up and go home.

But, in reality, workers and youth have only just started. Much more explosive events are yet to come.

So MPs locked away in their castle had better start digging a bigger moat. And for those looking to break down the gates, storm the palaces, and kick out these lords and ladies, we say: join the communists, get organised, and help us in the fight for socialist revolution.
Over the years Ive written often about my sympathy for my sons generation of millennials, who in many respects have had a much tougher time of it than my own, pampered generation of baby boomers.

Those of my age (Im 70) who were lucky enough to go to universities had free tuition, at the taxpayers expense, with generous maintenance grants thrown in by our local authorities.

My sons age group, by contrast, emerged from their degree courses saddled with huge student debts, which could take them decades to clear, if they manage to pay them off at all.

In my younger days, whats more, we didnt have to be super-rich to get on to the housing ladder. If I remember rightly, the first flat I bought, after our marriage in 1980, cost no more than three times my modest salary as a junior reporter on a provincial newspaper.

A report by estate agent Knight Frank suggested millennials  roughly, those born between 1980 and 1994  are on course to become the richest generation in history (stock image)

At the time, I found it quite hard enough to keep up with the mortgage repayments. But these days, according to the latest figures I can find from Office for National Statistics, the average home in England costs more than eight times the annual income of a typical full-time worker.

No wonder our four sons  three of whom rent, while the youngest still lives with us at 30  can only dream of having a place to call their own.

READ MORE: Millennials poised to become the 'richest generation in history' - by inheriting $90 TRILLION from baby boomer parents over next two decades

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The statistics say it all: only 21.8 per cent of those aged 25-34 are homeowners, while among my own generation of over-65s, that figure rises to a whopping 66.2 per cent  with 61.3 per cent of us owning our homes outright, having paid off our mortgages.

Many boomers could also afford to retire young. I have friends in the public sector who called it a day in their 50s, drawing generous index-linked pensions.

Only mugs like me, always hopeless with money, have to plough on into our eighth decade, whether we like it or not. Meanwhile, our children seem doomed to wait for their pensions until they drop.

True, millennials enjoy many luxuries that were not available to us when we were their age. For example, the boom in cheap flights over the past few decades has meant that all four of our boys are much better travelled than we were.

Its a great sadness to me that only now, when at last I can afford to travel almost anywhere in the world that takes my fancy, Ive lost the will to venture far from home.

I used to long to explore America, south and north, where Ive spent a grand total of three days in the course of my entire lifetime. These days, I no longer care. Meanwhile, our sons have been hopping to and fro across the Atlantic since they were in their teens.

TOM UTLEY: The boom in cheap flights over the past few decades has meant that all four of our boys are much better travelled than we were

Thanks to advances in technology, meanwhile, millennials have access to huge libraries of books, films and music  either free of charge, or at knock-down prices. They can take all the photographs and make all the phone calls they like, without having to worry about the cost.

On balance, however, Ive long shared the general belief that todays twenty- and thirtysomethings were dealt a particularly poor hand in life, with precious little to look forward to in the way of material comforts.

That was until I read this weeks remarkable report by the estate agent, Knight Frank, which suggested that millennials  roughly, those born between 1980 and 1994  are on course to become the richest generation in history.

Just one catch. Theyll have to wait for a few decades longer, until they themselves are in their 50s, 60s or even 70s, before they can reap the golden harvest in store for them, under a massive transfer of wealth and assets from my generation to theirs.

In short, theyll have to wait until mum and dad are dead.

The thinking behind the report  blindingly obvious, when you stop to consider it  is that after the boom in home ownership during the latter half of the 20th century, parents and grandparents like me are sitting on assets worth a total of something like 2.5trillion (thats 2,500billion, or 25 with 11 zeros after it).

When we die, that money has got to go somewhere.

Of course, an ever-voracious government is likely to help itself to a large chunk of it, whether through inheritance tax, social care charges or others means.

That will be particularly true if Labour, ever hostile to private wealth (except for its own favourites), gets a long stint in power.

But barring a devastating war or revolution  far from impossibilities  there should still be plenty left over for millennials, after my lot have popped our clogs. Many of them may at last be able to realise their own dreams of home ownership, just as theyre about to retire.

Barring a devastating war or revolution  far from impossibilities  there should still be plenty left over for millennials, after my lot have popped our clogs

Now, I know that some young readers will be yelling in fury at me, saying its all right for some, but what about those whose parents are among the 35 per cent of over-65s who dont own their homes?

To them, all I can say is that this report is about their generation as a whole. Of course, there will be many exceptions, who miss out on the coming bonanza.

If its any comfort, my parents werent homeowners, either, since they rented from the mid-1960s until their deaths. Thats one reason why my sole inheritance when my father died, at the age of 67, was a single egg-stained tie, bearing the arms of the Cambridge college we both attended.

I should also acknowledge that millennials with large numbers of siblings are unlikely to get rich through inheritance, even if their parents do happen to be homeowners. So thats bad luck for our four boys.

I must remind them, too, that although I dont expect to last for much longer (I do far too much smoking and drinking for that), their maternal grandmother lived to the grand old age of 99, until Covid finished her off.

If Mrs U takes after her mother  and she shows every sign of it  shell need every penny I can leave her, and the boys will be in for a long wait before they get their hands on a quarter each of the leftovers, if there are any.

Meanwhile, theyll have to make do with what little I can bung them from time to time, while I still have cash coming in from my work.

There is at least one way, however, in which the Chancellor could give immediate help to young families who hope to buy their own homes  and I dont mean simply building more new ones (although of course, this must be done).

No, Im thinking of the legions of my contemporaries, rattling around in family-sized houses now that their children have flown the nest.

Many are discouraged from downsizing by the punitive rates of stamp duty, which can add thousands to the already pricey business of moving house.

Shouldnt Jeremy Hunt do something about this in his Budget next week? It neednt necessarily mean scrapping the tax entirely, which he may think too expensive for the debt-laden Treasury.

But as suggested this week by the One Nation Caucus, representing 107 Conservative MPs, couldnt he abolish it for those who move from family-sized houses to homes with only one or two bedrooms?

Wouldnt this go some way towards freeing up houses for the growing families who need them most? It would put money into the pockets of older parents and grandparents, who may be asset rich but cash poor, enabling them to help their young while they are still alive.

As for Mrs U and me, we cant even think of downsizing yet, since weve hardly enough beds as it is for sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren during their frequent visits from the West Country. So bad luck, again, my boys, if youre hoping for a share of the profits from a sale.

But never mind. If you just wait patiently until I die, you can help yourselves to any of my egg-stained ties.
The clue was in the nickname. Wayne Couzens was reportedly known as The Rapist by fellow officers in his previous force before he joined the Met.

His criminal history dated back 25 years until finally he raped and murdered Sarah Everard, including kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, indecent exposure and possession of extreme pornography.

Yet three different forces didnt bother properly to check out his background. Surely some of this should have been picked up during routine vetting.

Incredibly, nobody at Scotland Yard made so much as a cursory phone call to look into his character when he transferred to the Met in 2018. Yet even after his arrest for Sarah Everards murder, the Met insisted they would have done nothing differently and would still have hired him.

Even after Wayne Couzens was arrested for Sarah Everard's murder the Met insisted they would have done nothing differently and would still have hired him

Couzens went on to serve with the firearms and diplomatic protection units  two departments which, one might imagine, required extra-special scrutiny of applicants.

In 2019 he was investigated for allegedly raping a woman under a bridge in London, but no action was taken because of evidential difficulties. No wonder Couzens believed he was untouchable by the time he killed Sarah.

I dont intend to rake over the grisly details of that ghastly crime. Suffice it to say that Couzens stopped her when she was walking home during the pandemic. He produced his warrant card, accused her of breaching Covid lockdown restrictions and told her to get into his car.

We cant know what was going through her mind, but we can assume that she was brought up to respect, not fear, the police, so complied without resistance.

Given Couzenss quarter-century of predatory sexual criminality, Sarahs murder was a tragedy which was not only waiting to happen, it could and should have been prevented.

He should never have been allowed to become a policeman in the first place, let alone given a firearm. The plain truth is that he ought to have been in prison years ago, not in uniform.

The Met compounded their incompetence by steaming in to a gathering of 1,500 frightened young women holding a vigil for Sarah on Clapham Common.

Who can forget those shameful images of coppers pinning Patsy Stevenson face first to the ground and dragging others away in shackles? With inter-galactic insensitivity, the cops tried to justify their stormtrooper tactics by accusing the women of breaking Covid restrictions  the very reason Couzens had given Sarah Everard before arresting and murdering her.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Sarahs murder was a tragedy which was not only waiting to happen, it could and should have been prevented

Kate Middleton paid tribute at a memorial for Sarah on Clapham Common in south London

Among those attending in a private capacity was Kate Middleton, now the Princess of Wales and in line to be our next Queen. Kates presence was a potent symbol of the disquiet young women feel on the streets of London these days.

I know from my own daughter, who lives and works in London and often has to walk home from the station in the dark, just how the killing of Sarah Everard unleashed anger and unease.

The deeply depressing reality is that young women  like the rest of us, if truth be told  can no longer trust the police to keep us safe.

At the risk of sounding flippant, a young woman stands more chance of encountering a rapist with a warrant card than a reassuring bobby on the beat.

While they concentrate on exciting new hate crimes the police have abandoned routine patrols. I can drive a dozen miles from my home in North London into the West End without seeing a single copper pounding the pavement.

I know from my own daughter, who lives and works in London and often has to walk home from the station in the dark, just how the killing of Sarah Everard unleashed anger and unease

Ultra-politicised Scotland Yard is in thrall to the cult of wokery and diversity, not protecting either the public or private property.

Compare and contrast the kid-gloves treatment of the pro-Hamas mob, and the way coppers took the knee and ran away from menacing Black Lives Matters demonstrators, with the brutality they displayed towards women taking part in a peaceful vigil for Sarah Everard.

If Couzens is anything to go by, theyre not too fussy about who they hire these days, either.

Nor can the Yard pretend Couzens is one bad apple. There are far too many sexual predators in uniform today.

Only last week a former Met officer was convicted of 13 rapes, kidnapping and breach of non-molestation order, imposed while he was still serving.

Between 2014 and 2017, Cliff Mitchell had raped a child three times before she turned 13 and a further three times after. But the investigation against him was dropped and, unbelievably, he was subsequently allowed to join the Met. Mitchell then raped a second victim at knifepoint, telling her: Youve met the Devil.

Last year, another Met police officer who believed he was untouchable was jailed for life after pleading guilty to 80 offences, including 39 rapes.

David Carrick, who joined the force in 2001, attacked 12 women between 2003 and 2020. He, like Couzens, joined the diplomatic and parliamentary protection units. Despite a string of complaints from women, no action was taken against him.

One of his victims had a gun held to her head and was told that no one would believe her because I am the law. The Met said, with hindsight, Carrick should never have been recruited and procedures were being reviewed. Sorry, but the lessons will be learned excuse doesnt wash any more.

Lessons are never learned.

Robert Mark, Met Commissioner during the 1970s, once said that a good police force is one that arrests more criminals than it employs.

He was talking about bent coppers taking backhanders for turning a blind eye to blaggings and tipping off drug dealers about impending dawn raids.

Mark would have been horrified by the explosion of sexual violence among officers these days.

Its not just confined to the Met, or to the lower ranks, either. The Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, Will Kerr, is currently under criminal investigation over serious sexual assault allegations, which he strenuously denies.

There are more than 1,100 officers across England and Wales being investigated to sexual or domestic abuse. Only 378 of them have been suspended. It goes without saying that all are innocent until proven guilty, but it gives you some idea of the scale of the problem.

At the start of this year, the Met was investigating 1,000 such cases involving a staggering 800 serving officers. Thats a hell of a lot more than one bad apple.

Any organisation, like a fish, rots from the head

And the leadership at Scotland Yard has been rotting for years, especially under the two previous commissioners, Bernard (now Lord) Hyphen-Howe and Dame Cressida Dick.

Dick of Dock Green not only instigated the disastrous Nonces In High Places Operation Midland debacle, she also presided over the Couzens scandal.

If Paula Vennels can be stripped of her CBE because of her involvement in the sub-postmasters nightmare, shouldnt Dame Cressida suffer the same fate for her disastrous leadership of the Met?

Compare and contrast, too, the demented zeal with which the Yard pursued bogus allegations of historic sexual abuse against Tory politicians including former Home Secretary Leon Brittan, war hero Lord Bramall, and entertainers such as Jimmy Tarbuck and Jim Davidson, with their utter failure to carry out even the most basic investigations into the backgrounds of criminals such as Couzens, Mitchell and Carrick.

As Lady Brittan, Leon Brittans widow, told the Mails Stephen Wright, the Met Police have lost their moral compass.

Someone has to answer for the institutionalised failures which led to a serving policeman, who should never have been hired, murdering an innocent young women.

How many more have slipped through the net? In their rush to recruit a more diverse force, the Met are even recruiting from overseas now.

Can we be certain that the vetting procedures are any more rigorous than the virtually non-existent checks which let Sarah Everards murderer become a firearms officer?

Forget lessons being learned and look beyond The Rapist and other sexual predators.

Now ask yourself: How long before we also learn that the Met is riddled with terrorists in its ranks?

Mind how you go.
A mother has horrified the internet after describing what her vagina looked like after she gave birth to her daughter.

Val Emanuel, 33, from Los Angeles, is an actress and the founder of Rif Care, a brand of organic menstrual products. She has more than 90,000 followers on TikTok, where she documents her life as a mom and entrepreneur.

The content creator, who uses the handle @malibumama__, went viral after she recalled looking at her postpartum vagina for the first time.

'No one tells you what it's going to look like after you give birth, but I'm just telling you right now,' she began her eye-opening video.

Actress Val Emanuel, 33, from Los Angeles, went viral on TikTok after she recalled looking at her postpartum vagina for the first time

The Rif Care founder admitted that she was not prepared for what her vagina would look like after she gave birth to her daughter

Emanuel said she looked at herself 'down there' for the first time when she was eight years old.

'Then I think I looked every once in a while because I was like, "Mmm, this cute little quarter-slot machine looking situation,' she explained.

The mom admitted that she was not prepared for what her vagina would look like after she gave birth to her daughter.

'I didn't rip. I didn't tear. I was very proud of that, so I thought it was going to be normal,' she said. 'Newsflash, it looks like ground turkey. It looks like ground turkey, but just for like two weeks. Then it looks like sliced turkey.'

Emanuel added that at some point between giving birth and 12 weeks of recovery, 'it goes back to looking like whatever it looked like before.'

'My slot machine is back. I'm happy to say that. It's a little different though,' she concluded.

'What did yours look like?' she asked viewers in the caption. 'I didn't rip but it was still damaged. Back [to] normal feeling and looking now!'

Emanuel's video has been viewed 2.4 million times and has received more than 1,700 comments since it was posted on February 26.

Emanuel explained that it looked like 'ground turkey' for about two weeks and then it looked like 'sliced turkey' until she fully recovered

Emanuel's video has been viewed 2.4 million times and has received more than 1,700 comments. Many people were admittedly horrified by the description

Many non-mothers were stunned by the description and couldn't hide their shock.

'Ground turkey?????? SLICEDDDDD turkey???????' one person responded.

'Wha-what do you mean by ground????' another asked.

'WHERE'S MY PEARLS?! I NEED TO CLUTCH THEM!' someone else joked.

Other viewers who have given birth shared how their vaginas looked like everything from 'Twinkies' to 'beat up orange slices' before they recovered.

'Pro tip: DONT LOOK for a while, like eight weeks,' one mom advised.

'Don't be scared girls, as she said it most often goes back to normal! It did for me! It's even tighter,' someone else added.

'Honestly, I did rip badly and my doctor stitched me right back up and she looks even more snatched [than] before,' another commented.
Jenna Bush Hager sparked a fashion debate on TikTok after asking fans to weigh in on the proper term for her cozy monogrammed mules.

The Today host was leaving work after a day of filming the morning show with her co-star Hoda Kotb when she stopped and pointed to her footwear.

'Do you call these house shoes or slippers?' Bush Hager, 42, asked.

'I call them house shoes  and I'm wearing them on the streets of New York,' the Texas native added, the irony not lost on her.

Jenna Bush Hager, 42, went viral on TikTok after asking fans what they would call her cream velvet mules

'Do you call these house shoes or slippers?' the Today host asked. 'I call them house shoes - and I'm wearing them on the streets of New York'

The elegant cream velvet slip-on mules were lined with fur and monogrammed with her initials 'JBH' in silver.

The former first daughter didn't say what brand they were, but they looked strikingly similar to Birdies' 'Phoebe' mule, which is described as being a slipper.

The $85 shoes feature faux fur lining and a rubber sole for indoor and outdoor wear.

Bush Hager paired the slip-ons with kick-flare jeans featuring a raw hem and a black sweatshirt with gold buttons at the shoulder.

She had a cognac leather bag slung over her shoulder, and she carried her green puffy coat and cellphone.

The eight-second clip ended with the mother of three hopping into the backseat of the black SUV that was waiting at the curb for her.

'What do you call them  house shoes or slippers?' she asked again in the caption.

The video has been viewed more than 270,000 times and has received nearly 150 comments since it was posted on February 20.

If Bush Hager was hoping for a definitive answer, she didn't get one. Commenters were divided over whether they were slippers or house shoes.

Merriam-Webster defines a slipper as being a 'light low-cut shoe that is easily slipped on the foot,' which her shoes are.

The viral clip ended with the mother of three hopping into the backseat of the black SUV that was waiting at the curb for her

Many TikTok users who called the mules 'house shoes' noted that they grew up in the South, where the term is more widely used. Others were firmly on 'Team Slipper'

Bush Hager didn't say what brand they were, but they looked strikingly similar to Birdies' 'Phoebe' slipper (pictured)

The English dictionary doesn't have an entry for 'house shoe,' but the definition for a house slipper is a 'slipper for indoor wear.'

A house shoe is essentially another term for a slipper, making both labels correct.

Many TikTok users who called the mules 'house shoes' noted that they grew up in the South, where the term is more widely used.

'Texas girlHouse shoes,' one person responded.

'House shoes! It's a Texas thing,' someone else explained.

'House shoes sounds way more dignified,' another added.

One house shoe fan also offered Bush Hager a cleaning tip, writing, 'If Im feeling lazy, I take a Clorox wipe to the bottom so I can keep wearing them in the house.'

'Genius,' the Today star replied.

Others were firmly on 'Team Slipper,' which further suggested that the terminology is merely a regional preference.

'Slippers all the way!' one commenter insisted.

'Slippers,' another replied. 'See Im from Maryland. Do [you] say housecoat or robe??'

'Slippers in Iowa!' someone else added.

Some also offered a third option, saying they call them 'bedroom shoes.'
First, they came for our skirts. Now, theyre coming for our bras.

If you thought the current trend for wearing nothing but your knickers  inspired by Miu Mius 2023 collection  was challenging, you might want to avert your eyes from this weeks Paris catwalks.

Showing her debut collection for Chloe yesterday, designer Chemena Kamali unveiled more than a new direction for the house  she also unveiled many of the models breasts, in diaphanous dresses in black lace, white guipure and dove-grey chiffon. There was a 1970s feel, a decade where bras were viewed as very much superfluous.

Yet Chloes autumn/winter 2024 show was relatively chaste compared with the Saint Laurent catwalk on Tuesday. Yes, the Saint Laurent designs were beautiful. But they were also very sheer.

A model walks the runway in a sheer ruffled dress with a cut-out at the midriff during designer Chemena Kamali's debut collection for Chloe

Much of the Chloe collection revealed the models' breasts such as on this lacey white design

No surprises there: the trend has been gathering momentum, notably over awards season, with many A-listers favouring gossamer gowns.

But this wasnt just any sheer. This was extreme sheer: a selection of transparent bustiers, blouses and halternecks, all worn without a bra. Sheer terror, if you will  for most women, at least. As an exercise in craftsmanship, the Saint Laurent collection was successful. As an exercise in body diversity, it was less so.

Despite the fashion industrys promise to be more inclusive, there has been little evidence of real change at this Paris Fashion Week.

Paris has always been the city most wedded to the ideal of the ultra-skinny model. According to the curve model Felicity Hayward, whose Including the Curve initiative tracks size inclusivity across the four major fashion capitals of New York, London, Milan and Paris, Paris ranks last, with only 28 plus-size models appearing on the catwalk last season, out of an estimated 4,000 looks shown.

Judging by the collections unveiled so far, this season the number looks set to be even lower.

At the Chloe and Saint Laurent shows, as well as the show for Swedish brand Acne Studios, not only did the models have to be as slender as a reed: they also had to pass the pencil test  that schoolgirl measure of breast size most of us havent thought about since we were 13.

Some may argue that you could wear the sheer look at any age, with one proviso: that your breasts arent any larger than an A cup. Or maybe, at a push, a pert little B. Which is a low blow for body diversity. A cynic might even argue that this was the point. The average cup size in the UK is a 36D.

Impertinent as it feels to discuss a womans breast size, when the breast in question is out on display, its only human to conjecture.

Designer Anthony Vaccarello's Saint Laurent collection followed a similar theme, as many models wore darker sheer outfits

One model in the Chloe show wore a gold spell-out belt over her sheer white dress with thigh-high black leather boots

And the bra fitters at Marks & Spencer could surely have assessed in a heartbeat the cup size of front-row guest, 39-year-old actress and director Olivia Wilde, who looked eye-catching in a transparent black bodysuit worn with a black pencil skirt. Georgia May Jagger, 32, also embraced the naked trend in a sheer black halterneck with vertical stripes.

Any VIP guest over 40, however, was less bold. Actress Monica Bellucci, 59, wore a jumpsuit, while supermodels Kate Moss, 50, and Linda Evangelista, 58, kept their coats firmly on.

But there was no such modesty on the catwalk. Coats, when they appeared, were largely slung insouciantly over one arm, the better to showcase the sheer clothes.

According to Anthony Vaccarello, the Belgian-Italian designer who has helmed Saint Laurent since 2016, the body-conscious clothes were supposed to resemble sheer undergarments, simultaneously revealing and shrouding the woman wearing them, like hyper-graphic X-rays.

Vaccarello had made life even harder for himself (and his ateliers) by choosing to work with the same sheer fabric used for tights.

As anyone whos ever laddered a pair within seconds of wearing them will attest, this is not a durable material. Speaking backstage after the show, the designer admitted it would be difficult to put such delicate clothes into mass production.

Of the 48 looks shown, so many were transparent that by the end of the show, the nudity had almost lost its shock value. But perhaps that was the point. On the red carpet, the body positivity movement has seen a host of twenty-something celebrities including Florence Pugh, Dua Lipa, Zendaya and Kendall Jenner embrace the no-bra trend, whether by wearing transparent tops or backless gowns.

For some, going braless is as much of a political statement as a fashion statement. Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time, said Pugh, in response to the backlash she received for baring her breasts in a Valentino gown last summer. Weve become so terrified of the human body that we cant even look at my two cute little nipples behind fabric in a way that isnt sexual.

But going braless isnt always a bold statement of freedom. For some, going braless is simply another way to get noticed. And in the social media age, getting noticed is the point.

As attention-seeking ploys go, its not new. In 1966, Yves Saint Laurent famously shocked society by putting a sheer blouse on the catwalk, saying nothing is more beautiful than a naked body.

Some of us might beg to differ. For anyone whose cup size runneth over, whose confidence is low or who doesnt have a chauffeur to drop them home safely at the end of a night out (sheer hits differently on the No.73 bus), theres only one option: to ruin the look by wearing a bra.

Or, of course, to bypass it entirely. After all, before you can say pass the nipple tape, opaque clothing will no doubt be in vogue again.
A young woman has been left furious after a potential landlord asked her to pay cash to inspect her property.

The woman had been looking far and wide for a home and finally found one she liked on Facebook.

The lease was being handled privately by the landlord so the woman messaged her using the details on the ad.

But she was shocked when she was asked to pay $200 to 'reserve' a spot to inspect the property.

A woman has narrowly avoided being scammed after asking to see an apartment she saw advertised on Facebook

The landlord explained if the young woman was serious about wanting to rent her apartment she would pay the money up front.

'If you take the money now and I don't like the apartment then what happens?' she asked.

The landlord said the fee is refundable and everything she needs to know is included in the application form she had sent over.

'I got many people interested in the apartment ready to make their reservations I am trying to know if you are ready so I won't lease to another person,' she wrote.

The woman said she doesn't mind if someone sees the place before her, likes it and rents it out.

'I won't pay any money to reserve it,' she said.

The woman was then blocked by the potential landlord after thanking her for her time.

She posted her exchange on Facebook and was inundated with comments about the scam.

'This is a scam that's been happening for a while now,' one woman said.

Another said 'I am glad you didn't pay, there is no apartment.'

Rental properties are becoming harder to get - with dozens of people showing up to open houses with the hopes of securing properties

'100 per cent a scam, stop engaging with them immediately and do not provide any personal details or money to this person,' a third said.

Others said they have been asked to pay a $50 key fee previously.

Scam Watch - which is run by the Australian government - first warned of similar scams in 2020.

'The scammer will post advertisements on real estate or classified websites or target people who have posted on social media that they are looking for a room,' the release warned.

'After the victim responds, the scammer will request an upfront deposit to secure the property or phish for personal information through a 'tenant application form', promising to provide the keys after the payment or information is provided.'

'The scammer may come up with excuses for further payments and the victim often only realises they have been scammed when the keys don't arrive and the scammer cuts off contact.'

The loss of personal information through rental scams is becoming common as scammers are often given copies of key identity documents.

'Once a scammer has your personal information you are at risk of being targeted by further scams or identity theft.'

Huge crowds have been recorded at recent house and unit inspections across major cities - making the market easy for scammers to negotiate.
Leeanne Griffin is a senior food reporter for CT Insider, handling coverage of restaurant openings and closings, trends, events and general news about Connecticut food and beverage businesses. She covers statewide food happenings, with a focus on Hartford County, and curates CT Insiders weekly Taste of Connecticut food newsletter. Leeanne joined Hearst Connecticut in 2021, but has been working in Connecticut news since 2006. Before joining Hearst, she was the food and dining reporter for the Hartford Courant for a decade. She has earned several awards over the years from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists and the New England Newspaper & Press Association, including a recent first-place SPJ honor for a story about lobster rolls. She has also served as a past Northeast regional panelist on the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards Committee. Leeanne lives in Hartford County with her husband and their three-pound Holland lop rabbit. A native of Worcester, Massachusetts, she holds a master's degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University, where she first learned about the magic of New Haven apizza. Reach Leeanne at Leeanne.Griffin@hearstmediact.com.

Joe Tucci is a digital producer from Hearst Connecticut Media whose focus is writing feature and trending stories as well as managing homepages. He holds a bachelor's in digital journalism and a master's in media and communications from Pace University.

Kayla Mutchler covers Westport for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. She graduated from the University of New Haven in 2022, where she served as The Charger Bulletin's Editor-in-Chief for two years. When she's not reporting, she's catching up on the latest in fashion and pop culture.
EXCLUSIVE

Hugh Sheridan has fought back tears while speaking about allegedly murdered couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

Detectives allege Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, were shot dead by NSW Police Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon at Mr Baird's Paddington apartment in Sydney's east around 9.50am on Monday.

Lamarre-Condon has been charged with two counts of murder.

Sheridan, who earlier revealed he had been friends with Mr Davies, was overcome with emotion while speaking about the pair's deaths during a Virgin Australia Pride Flight on Friday, ahead of the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday.

Hugh Sheridan was seen overcome with emotion while Virgin Australia paid tribute to former flight attendant Luke Davies and his partner Jesse Baird

Sheridan had been friends with Mr Davies and struggled to speak about his death

Lamarre-Condon is charged with murdering Mr Baird (left) and Mr Davies (right) in inner-city Paddington on February 19. He then allegedly dumped their bodies in a bush property

The Packed to the Rafters star was seen wiping his eyes while Mr Davies, a former Virgin flight attendant, and Mr Baird were honoured at the event.

READ MORE: Moment murder-accused cop buys surfboard bags Advertisement

Virgin Australia announced they have donated to the Domestic Violence Awareness Foundation in the wake of the alleged murders.

'For me it's like the most confronting time. I feel like anything I do or say is under scrutiny,' Sheridan told Daily Mail Australia.

'It's probably been the weirdest and most awful days ever because you are just trying to piece everything together and trying to make everything okay.'

Sheridan, who appeared close to tears, struggled to get the words out but said everyday was a 'nightmare' and revealed he had been a victim of domestic violence.

'No one knows about my own domestic violence situation that I was in. It's the s***test thing ever,' he said.

Before the bodies of Mr Davies and Mr Baird were found, Sheridan re-shared a social media post from NSW Police Force asking for help to find Luke and added the caption: 'Please help find my friend, I'm so worried.'

Sheridan had earlier pleaded for help in finding Mr Davies. His body has since been located

Sheridan shared a heartfelt post when Mr Davies had been reported missing

'Beautiful Luke. We're all thinking of you, your family and angels.

'I pray wherever you are right now you are not in fear. A sweeter heart than yours would be very hard to find.'

Human remains belonging to Mr Davies and Mr Baird were discovered stuffed inside surf bags and buried in a lonely bush grave on Tuesday afternoon.

Their alleged killer allegedly hired a white rental van to transport their bodies to a remote farm property in Bungonia, around 180km south-west of Sydney.

It is alleged he then returned to the site to move the bodies to another location in Bungonia about 20 minutes' drive away.

Lamarre-Condon is currently behind bars at the Silverwater Correctional Complex, in Sydney's west.

He is due to return to court in April.
The early months of French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte's 'forbidden' relationship have rarely been out of the spotlight since his election in 2017.

And this week, Brigitte's daughter 40-year-old Tiphaine Auziere, who is just six years younger than her step-father, shone a light on how she and her two older siblings really felt when a teenage Emmanuel, 17 at the time, declared he wanted to marry their drama teacher mother, then 42.

Speaking to Paris Match ahead of the release of her first novel, Auziere has revealed how she and sister Laurence, 47, and brother Sebastian, 49, - who were 17 and 19 at the time while she was just ten, faced judgement and 'backbiting' as news of the scandalous romance broke in their local community in the French city of Amiens.

She told the French magazine: 'The attacks, the backbiting, the judgments. It was not yet the era of social networks, but we were in a small provincial town. Everything is known.'

President Macron, 46, and his wife Brigitte, 70 (pictured in Paris on February 21st): Brigitte's daughter Tiphaine, a lawyer and novelist, told Paris Match magazine about how the scandal of the French president's 'forbidden' relationship with her mother taught her about 'human nature'

Tiphaine Auziere, Brigitte's youngest daughter, said she has a close relationship with her step-father but that it had been initially hard to deal with local gossip about their the student teacher romance - which happened when she was just ten. Footage captures the moment a 15-year-old Emmanuel Macron (left) kissed his 40-year-old teacher Brigitte Trogneux (right) in 1993 - two years before he declared he wanted to marry her

The lawyer turned writer is the youngest of Brigitte's children with her first husband Andre-Louis Auziere.

In a previous interview with The Times in 2017, Tiphaine said she first knew of Macron when her older sister Laurence came home from lessons one day and told Brigitte: 'Mummy, there is a crazy boy in our class who knows everything about everything.'

Laurence, now a cardiologist, Sebastian, an engineer, and Tiphaine remain close to both their mother and step-father but Tiphaine hasn't shied away from speaking to the media, most recently lifting the lid on what it was like to watch her mother's initially shocking relationship unfold.

Tiphaine and her mother in 2017; The youngest daughter of the French president's wife said she first knew of Macron when her older sister Laurence told Brigitte: 'Mummy, there is a crazy boy in our class who knows everything about everything.'

Laurence Auziere, left, now 47, was a classmate of the future French President - who became her step-father - after falling for her mother, then Brigitte Trogneux (centre). Pictured with Tiphaine, right, supporting Emmanuel at a campaign rally in 2017

Brigitte's son Sebastien Auziere, who was 19 - two years older than Emmanuel Macron - at the time his mother's romance with her student began (Pictured with his wife and children at Elysee Palace in May 2017)

Andre-Louis Auziere had married the then Brigitte Trogneux in 1974. After years of happiness together, family life was blown apart by Brigitte's affair.

The young Macron first met her when he was in her French and Latin classes at La Providence, a private school in Amiens.

Macron, a brilliant student, fell fast and hard for the passionate literature teacher. The two grew close, especially after Macron, then 16, joined the school's drama club - managed by Brigitte.

French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron have been married since 2007: Tiphaine Auziere has said in the past that his mother and step-father are 'a vision of love'

The school was run by Jesuits  the strict Roman Catholic order  but this did not stop young Emmanuel getting together with his teacher, who ran a theatre club.

Before she met Emmanuel, Brigitte is said to have worked hard to be the perfect housewife for her banker husband, described as a 'nice man with a strong moral compass' by some family friends and as a 'kill-joy' by others.

Tiphaine said the rumours of a 'forbidden relationship' were horrific for all the children.

Paris Match describes how 'young Emmanuel often rang the bell at the Auziere home and the rumours grew. Rumours which naturally had an impact on the three children of the household.'

Brigitte Macron and her daughter Tiphaine Auziere pictured in June 2017 in northern France; France's First Lady's daughter said she 'gained an open mind' when her mother and Emmanuel's relationship came to light

Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte during King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's visit to Paris, on 2 June 1015

The happy couple walk down the steps at The Sacre-Coeur in Paris on 4 Sep 2016

In the most recent interview, Tiphaine, who lives close to Calais with her husband and two children, also says she watched the couple remain strong that they would stay together, in spite of the scandal surrounding their romance.

She said: 'Despite all this, they stood tall. I gained an open mind, the desire to move forward without listening to peripheral noise, and gained greater tolerance. I learned a lot about human nature'.

Ms Auziere, who died in 2018, was particularly upset that her humiliated father, Andre-Louis Auziere, was forced to leave the family home in 1994, even though he did not divorce Brigitte until 2006, allowing Mr Macron to marry her a year later.

'A family separation can be a sorrow and an opportunity,' said Ms Auziere. 'Recomposition can prove to be an enrichment. I have a beloved father and stepfather.'

The writer, whose new legal novel is called Assizes  in reference to a criminal court  said she was also wounded at claims on social media that Brigitte was born male.

'I have concerns about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man,' she said.

Tiphaine Auziere admits she remains wounded by the Macrons' 'forbidden relationship'

The couple arrive to attend a state dinner with French President Francois Hollande, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands at the Elysee Presidential Palace on 10 March 2016

'The confidence with which it is said, and the credibility given to it is proclaimed. How can we resist disinformation on social networks?'

Brigitte Macron won a libel case against a freelance journalist who had circulated the rumours about her sex last year.

Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron have too been honest about their own relationship, describing how they fell in love after their paths crossed in the classroom.

The now French President was just 15-years-old when he met Madame Auziere, a teacher who was 24 years his senior, at Lycee La Providence in Amiens.

The teacher and her pupil had collaborated on the play The Art Of Comedy, by the Italian writer Eduardo De Filippo, every Friday night for months at the school, adapting it for all the students who wanted to take part.

As the audience clapped before the curtain came down, the teenager took a bow and kissed his teacher on each cheek as she smiled with obvious delight.

And a glimpse emerged of what was the start of a love affair between Macron and Brigitte.

Emmanuel and his wife kiss to celebrate after the first round of the French presidential elections in Paris on 23 Apr 2017

The duo greet residents while walking along a beach in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France, on 23 April 2022

Macron, the son of two respected local doctors, was adored by staff for his hard work and intelligence.

The duo would work on the playscript late into the night. Neither had far to go home - the teacher to a house she shared nearby with her banker husband and children, while the pupil walked the short distance to his parents' home in an affluent part of Amiens.

It was only when the play was finally staged, in front of proud parents and family, that a glimpse emerged of what was the start of a love affair between Macron and Brigitte.

'Every Friday I went to write a play with her for several hours,' the president of France later revealed. 'We spoke about everything. And I discovered we had always known one another.'

Brigitte Macron and her husband French President Emmanuel Macron during the inauguration of the International French Language Centre at the Chateau de Villers Cotterets in Villers-Cotterets, France, on 30 October 2023

REVEALED: What Emmanuel Macron said to Kylian Mbappe when the PSG star was invited for dinner by the French President Advertisement

As for Brigitte, whose eldest daughter Laurence was in the same class as Macron, she was captivated by his 'exceptional intelligence'. She felt he was so gifted that it was as though 'I was working with Mozart'.

The first sign other pupils had that the relationship was more than academic came during the play's closing party at a local restaurant, with one contemporary watching as the pair shared what he described, cryptically, as a 'tender moment'.

Their romance blossomed and caused a scandal in the province. Macron's parents then sent him to Paris to attend another school, but his desire to be with his teacher and pursuit of her remained.

In an interview with Paris Match magazine, the 70-year-old said that she told herself once Macron was in Paris, he would 'fall in love with someone his [own] age', but that didn't happen.

The First Lady continued to explain that she delayed marrying her husband for 10 years for the sake of her three children.

Brigitte finally wed Macron - a civil servant in his late twenties at the time - in Le Touquet on 20 October 2007.
A personal trainer says she nearly died after a bout of Covid-19 left her with blood clot blockage in her legs, tummy and lungs.

Becky Fanthorpe, 39, from Cambridge, first realised something was wrong when she started feeling pain in one of her hips.

She said doctors initially dismissed it as sciatica, Covid and an autoimmune condition and told her to take paracetamol.

But following advice from 111, Becky made her way to A&E where she collapsed, likely due to the blood clots preventing her blood from flowing to her organs, and tests revealed she actually had blood blots all over her body.

Studies have shown there is an increased risk of clots after contracting Covid, according to the British Medical Journal.

Becky Fanthorpe, 39, was rushed to hospital after advice from 111 where she collapsed likely due to the blood clots

Mother-of-three Becky had to learn to walk again and gave up her job of 16 years as a personal trainer.

A year on, she said falling in love with cooking got her through her darkest days, and she now shares her favourite recipes online to more than 11,000 followers.

Becky, a content creator, said her children and partner helped her get through the difficult times.

'They were there every day. You kind of realise how loved you are when something like this happens,' she explained.

Becky said she first noticed pain in one of her hips in October last year.

She went to the doctor when the pain first appeared, and again when it spread to her groin, but on both occasions her worries were dismissed.

The mum claims her concerns were not taken seriously despite her family history of serious blood clots.

She had Covid in October last year, only a few days after being diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition.

A bout of Covid-19 left Becky with blood clot blockages in her leg

Becky Fanthorpe was admitted to hospital last October

Mum-of-three Becky had to learn to walk again and gave up her job of 16 years as a personal trainer

Becky had Covid in October last year, only a few days after being diagnosed with Graves' disease, an autoimmune condition

The blood clots travelled as far as her stomach and lungs and put Becky in a life-threatening condition

'The doctor should have picked up on the fact that I should have really got checked out because of all this background, but he didn't,' Becky said.

He sent me home and just said take paracetamol.'

It wasn't until she called 111 a few days later, she was advised to go to the hospital in Harlow, Essex, where she suddenly collapsed.

She explained: 'As I walked through the front door, my leg gave way.

'It was like a lightning bolt through the whole of my body.'

When Becky later woke up in a hospital bed 10 minutes later with a leg infection caused by the clots, she said the doctors did not know if she was going to make it.

'It turned out I had blood clots from the bottom of my leg all the way up through to the top of my groin, all through my arteries,' she said.

The blood clots travelled as far as her stomach and lungs and put her in a life-threatening condition.

She went to the doctor when the pain first appeared, and again when it spread to her groin, but on both occasions her worries were dismissed, she said

Becky's right leg doubled in size due to blood clots and an infection

Becky 'nearly died' after a bout of Covid-19 left her with blood clot blockage in her legs, tummy and lungs

Becky Fanthorpe with her family

Becky, previously a personal trainers, as been in recovery since October 2023

Two weeks later she was released from the hospital, but she was still very unwell and could not walk for eight weeks.

Becky has been in recovery since, but the seriousness of her condition meant that she had to give up her passion for personal training, which she had done as a job for 16 years prior.

'Some days I get really, really down, because exercise was my thing for my mental health,' she said.

'Now as soon as I get out and exercise my legs start swelling again.'

WHAT IS LONG COVID? According to the NHS, most people fully recover from a Covid-19 infection after 12 weeks but some can develop long-term symptoms including: extreme tiredness (fatigue) shortness of breath chest pain or tightness problems with memory and concentration ("brain fog") difficulty sleeping (insomnia) heart palpitations dizziness pins and needles joint pain depression and anxiety tinnitus, earaches feeling sick, diarrhoea, stomach aches, loss of appetite a high temperature, cough, headaches, sore throat, changes to sense of smell or taste rashes Advertisement

She reignited her passion for healthy living by writing about food and sharing healthy recipes on Instagram and Facebook.

She said: 'I nearly died, and I documented my journey on my social media channel on Instagram which has boomed and I now share my love of cooking through it.

'It's like my little escape. For me that's where my heart is now.'

Becky said a check-up has revealed she still has blood clots in her arteries and they might never go away.

But she remains optimistic and feels lucky to be where she is.

'You don't know what's around the corner at all,' she said.

'Always trust your own instinct. Keep thinking that there is always a tomorrow.'
Fiona Scott from Swindon and her son were in tears when he was rejected

A mother, who was unhappy her son hadn't received a place in his first choice secondary school has said she regrets appealing against the decision.

Fiona Scott from Swindon was positive her son David would get into Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, as his sisters already attended the school.

Both daughters, Sammie, then 18, and Georgia, then 16, were studying at the college, so Fiona assumed her son's admission would be a given.

However when National Offer Day rolled around in 2018, the communications consultant and her youngest son were left reeling when he didn't get a place at his first-choice school.

'His sisters both attended the school. We had never considered he wouldn't get in too. It felt personal and I was devastated,' Fiona told iNews.

Fiona Scott was devastated when her son David (pictured at age 11) did not get into Royal Wootton Bassett Academy - even though both his older sisters attended the school

'I cried. He cried. It was illogical but I felt Id let him down.'

Although initially eager to fight the decision, Fiona now wishes she hadn't appealed against the decision at all.

She added: 'I wish I hadn't got so upset and appealed. It was a complete waste of time.'

At the time, the mother admitted she was unhappy that David, then 11, was awarded Lydiard Park Academy, as it wasn't as competitive in the league tables.

After the arduous 'minefield' appeal process, Fiona confessed that she regretted appealing against the initial decision, calling David's second choice school 'brilliant' (Pictured far left: Fiona Scott with her family including David in blue shirt)

However, the institution was nearer their home.

In 2023, 83 per cent of hopeful students got their first choice school, according to the University of Bristol.

And even though the majority were left happy, there were still a good amount of applicants who were left disappointed - just like David.

When it comes to assigning places, secondary school are required by law to prioritise children with special educational needs and disabilities, as well as those who have been or are currently in the care system.

READ MORE: A record one in five pupils will miss out on their first-choice secondary school today amid a squeeze on places Advertisement

But despite the rejection, Fiona, who is married to telecoms engineer Steve, 58, decided she was going to challenge the schools decision, meaning she would have to sit before an independent appeals panel.

The panel, which includes three people, takes several factors into account such as the distance from the home and if the student would be better suited to a smaller school.

Government data shows that the majority of cases are rejected, as only 21 per cent of appeals in 2022-23 were successful.

Sometimes parents will hire consultants to help with the process, shelling out thousands to get their child into the desired school.

But for Fiona, who didn't hire a consultant, the appeal process was a 'stressful', 'time-ticking' minefield.

With only 20 days to appeal the school's decision, Fiona admitted she panicked.

As she recalled sitting at the appeal alongside 14 other unhappy parents, the communications consultant said it had been made clear the majority would not be successful.

Fiona's appeal on behalf of her son was rejected, with the panel stating they resided outside of the school's catchment area.

They also noted that her daughter was attending the sixth form which was a separate body to the academy.

Fiona is adamant that these rules were not clearly laid out, according to iNews.

After the defeat, Fiona consulted a solicitor, who said she had a chance to win her case legally but it could take years and set her back an eye-watering 5,000.

Following the arduous appeal journey, Fiona shared that in hindsight she was regretful about fighting against the initial decision.

Describing David's second choice - Lydiard Park Academy - as 'brilliant', she revealed the school had really cared for her child.

When David was rejected, the Academy's former headmaster George Croxford apologised to those who hadn't received a place.

At the time he said he was required to follow admission rules.

Royal Wootton Bassett Academy declined to comment.
Bush Hager, 42, wiped tears from her eyes as she listened to her mother's words

Former First Lady Laura Bush congratulated her daughter in a video message

Jenna Bush Hager couldn't hold back her tears on the Today show after receiving a surprise message from her mother, former First Lady Laura Bush, in celebration of the fifth anniversary of her Read with Jenna book club.

The host was joined by her co-stars Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, Al Roker, and Hoda Kotb in the Today Plaza on Friday as her book club authors packed up each of her 63 selections to be sent to a library in all 50 states.

The assembly line was in the shape of a '5' in honor of five years of the Read with Jenna book club, and the anniversary coincided with National Read Across America Day on Saturday.

'Jenna, we're so proud of what you accomplished. You know who else is proud of you?' Take a look,' Kotb, 59, told Bush Hager, 42, as her mother appeared on the screen to congratulate her.

Jenna Bush Hager, 42, got a surprise message from her mom, former First Lady Laura Bush, on the Today show Friday in celebration of the fifth anniversary of her Read with Jenna book club

The host immediately began to tear up as she listened to her mother praise her for her accomplishments

'Hi Jenna, as we celebrate Read Across America Day, I congratulate you on five years of the Read with Jenna book club,' said Laura Bush, who worked as a public school teacher and librarian before becoming first lady.

Bush Hager immediately began to tear up as she listened to her mother praise her for her accomplishments.

'I'm thrilled you're packing up each of your Read with Jenna selections and sending the books to a library in all 50 states,' she continued. 'By sharing your favorite books, you're inspiring more Americans to fall in love with reading.

'So here's to another five years of happy reading for you and all of the Today show viewers. Love you.'

Bush Hager was crying and wiping tears from her eyes by the end of her mother's message, but Daly was more blown away by Laura Bush's appearance than her words.

'She looks beautiful,' he said.

'She looks amazing,' Bush Hager agreed, joking, 'That's what reading does for your skin, Carson.'

The former first daughter also received plenty of praise from her colleagues, including Kotb, her Today with Hoda & Jenna co-host.

Were celebrating five years of Read with Jenna! We're so proud of you, @jennabushhager  pic.twitter.com/18Yhx4Xv01  TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 1, 2024

'By sharing your favorite books, you're inspiring more Americans to fall in love with reading,' Laura Bush told her daughter

Bush Hager was crying and wiping tears from her eyes by the end of her mother's emotional message. The former first lady used to work as a public school teacher and librarian

Bush Hager was joined by her co-stars Craig Melvin, Carson Daly, Al Roker, and Hoda Kotb (left to right) in the Today Plaza during the special moment

'Can we just give an "atta girl" to Jenna Bush Hager for a minute?' Kotb said. 'Because this is something she started five years ago.

'You brought it up. You wandered through. You said, "I think people should read more." And it has turned into a juggernaut. When I see a "Read with Jenna" sticker [on a book], I want it.

'The countless number of New York Times best sellers, the movies, the television shows. Like all the cool things that Jenna has been able to do has been amazing.'

'You helped get America reading again,' Melvin, 44, chimed in.

Bush Hager noted that he had read some of her book club selections, saying, 'I helped get Craig Melvin reading again, which is all that matters.'

Melted told viewers that out of her 63 book club picks, 41 became New York Times best-sellers and 32 were optioned for TV and film.

Bush Hager's book club authors packed up each of her 63 selections to be sent to a library in all 50 states as part of the celebration

The assembly line was in the shape of a '5' in honor of five years of the Read with Jenna book club, and the anniversary coincided with National Read Across America Day on Saturday

McNally Jackson, an independent bookstore in New York City, showcased all 63 Read with Jenna titles in its window

'It's so fun to have all of these authors here and to get to see all of these books,' Bush Hager said. 'I am really proud of the community of readers that get to read with all of them. It's pretty incredible.'

In celebration of the anniversary, she also shared five favorite books, none of which were Read with Jenna book club picks.

'I didn't include any of the incredible books on that table over there because that would be like choosing a child, and we all know I would choose Hal Hager,' the mother of three joked.

Bush Hager named 'A Little Life' by Hanya Yanagihara, 'The Bluest Eye' by Toni Morrison, 'Bel Canto' by Ann Patchett, 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith, and 'The Secret History' by Donna Tartt as her favorite books.

'I love reading for so many reasons, it really is sort of my escape from everyday life,' she told Today.com.

'Its how I calm down. Its how I detach. Its how I fall in love with other places that I will never go to. Its how I empathize with characters who are nothing like me.

'Theres nothing like falling in love with a book.'
A single Aussie woman has vented her frustrations about dating in Sydney saying the men have a 'lack of maturity, lack of commitment and lack of forward-thinking'.

Elle said the Sydney dating scene has 'malfunctioned' in that there is an abundance of great women looking to commit but the men aren't looking for a long-term relationship.

The singleton said she's noticed Sydney men are more superficial, don't put any effort into dating and move from one woman to another when things aren't 'easy'.

'My single male friends are able to find a beautiful, smart, kind, driven, ready-to-commit woman literally on a weekly basis to go on a date with. I have guy friends who are able to find a unicorn of a woman every single week,' Elle said.

'Me as a female, I can't even find one guy that has tickled my fancy enough to actually meet, I'm serious, this is how dire it is, it's the top of the funnel, that is the issue.'

Scroll down for video

Elle said the Sydney dating scene has 'malfunctioned' in that there is an abundance of great women looking to commit but the men aren't looking for a long-term relationship

Elle noted the rising beauty standards as a contributing factor to the 'genuinely concerning' Sydney dating scene.

'If we look at reality TV ten years ago and people who were the pinnacle of beauty back then or even just romcoms, versus today it's very clear the standard of beauty has shifted,' she said.

'Typically that is more so for women because there are more women getting cosmetic surgeries etc to fit that mould.'

Elle said men have their pick of the bunch when it comes to finding a 'beautiful woman.

'We're living in this world where I'm walking down the street and I'm just thinking, 'F*** it would be a great time to be a lesbian' because the women are so beautiful,' she joked.

'They're all kind, they're all smart, they're educated, they're disgruntled by the dating scene, they seem ready to commit, the ones that I know. What an era it is for men to find a wife, there are millions of incredible women.'

Elle said she thinks men have an 'illusion of choice' making them unwilling to commit to a relationship.

'There are generally so many amazing options so if it's not easy they just let it go,' she said.

The singleton said she's noticed Sydney men are more superficial, don't put any effort into dating and move from one woman to another when things aren't 'easy' (stock image)

She added people have pointed out it can be hard for women to find men in Sydney due to its 'transient' nature and tends to attract 'superficial' people.

Elle said she was last single pre-2020 and her last partner was not Aussie so is reintroducing herself to how blokes Down Under date.

'Australian men are just a foreign breed to me...I don't mean to generalise, I don't mean to be rude but it's giving man child, every single one that I've conversed with; lack of maturity, lack of commitment, lack of forward-thinking,' she said.

She said she's noticed Sydney men's Instagram following looks like they 'went to an all-girls school' as they are following '600 girls on Instagram that he doesn't know in person'.

'It's bizarre, it's actually a bit sick. My future husband is definitely just holing a fish somewhere with 200 followers and just living his life and being a man of values - is it asking for too much?' she asked.

Elle said many of her overseas friends have struggled with the Sydney dating scene as well.

'They all tell me Sydney is the worst place I've ever been for dating, the men here are all very childish, they're not very forward, they don't treat you that well, they don't approach you, they don't take initiative, they don't plan a lot,' she said.

'They sort of float around and want you to, I don't know, watch them surf or something - it's really weird.'

Elle's 'nice' male friends have apparently told her she's 'crazy' for looking for a long-term partner.

'They tell me about the dates they're going on with girls and they give me the men's point of view. In so many cases these guys in their mid to late 20s they're not even dating with the intention of finding a wife and settling down,' she said.

'It's so strange to me because that is my only intention when I'm dating, that's been my only intention since I was 16, call me crazy.'

Elle shared her thoughts in a series of TikTok videos and many Australian women were quick to agree with her hot takes.

'Sydney has one of the highest beauty standards for women and you'll notice the balance of attractive men to women is really off,' one viewer said.

'I've had this exact conversation four times with my single friends in the last week alone. It's time we hold a press conference,' a second replied.

'Yes yes yes, as a single girl in Sydney, yes to everything you said,' another commented.

'I've been single almost five years because it really is slim pickings,' someone added.
It is the northern most island in Queensland's famous Whitsunday islands

US traveller said Australia's Hayman Island is her favourite destination

An American traveller who has visited 21 countries and 40 US states has dubbed a lesser-known Australian gem as her favourite place in the world.

Sarah Knuth, from Nashville, was wowed when she and her family visited Hayman Island in Queensland's stunning Whitsunday Islands.

Hayman Island is the northernmost island in the Whitsundays famed for its pristine beaches, turquoise waters, incredible coral reefs and luxury resort.

'We've been to 40 states and 21 countries and we just found our favourite place' the mum-of-three said in a video.

Sarah, along with her husband and three children, has been all around the world hitting top destinations like Paris, London and New York - but she said the humble Aussie island tops her list.

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A US traveller who has visited 21 countries and 40 states said Australia's dreamy Hayman Island is her favourite place in the world

Sarah Knuth, from Nashville, was wowed when she and her family visited Hayman Island in the stunning Whitsunday Islands off the Queensland coast 200km south of Townsville

The mum fell in love with Hayman Island's jaw-dropping sunsets, breathtaking beaches and local wildlife.

Sarah arrived at the island resort after dark and loved the 'welcome crew' of dozens of nocturnal rock wallabies, calling the spot 'the most wild place' they have ever been.

The family of five also went on a helicopter tour of the Great Barrier Reef to view its spectacular natural beauty from above and enjoyed going snorkelling to witness the island's marine life and coral reefs.

Sarah, along with her husband and three children, has been all around the world hitting top destinations like Paris and New York - but she said the humble Aussie island tops her list

The travel and lifestyle blogger shared her dreamy island experience online leaving viewers in disbelief.

'Literally what DREAMS are made of! It's beautiful!' one woman said and another wrote: 'I've never had any interest in going to Australia until now'.

'This just moved to the top of my bucket list from following your journey!' a third replied.

The mum fell in love with Hayman Island's jaw-dropping sunsets, breathtaking beaches and local wildlife

To get there, tourists can take a boat or helicopter transfer from the popular Hamilton Island

'Oh wow absolutely unreal!!' someone added.

Hayman Island is a private island home to the lavish InterContinental Resort off the Queensland coast 200km south of Townsville.

The five-star resort features a sparkling pool where travellers can relax and take in the island's magnificent sunsets and sparkling ocean views.

There are 182 rooms, suites and villas as well as gourmet dining options at the resort's seven opulent bars and restaurants.

Outside the accommodation, visitors can explore the tropical sanctuary's grassy coastal cliffs, untouched beaches with strikingly blue waters and world famous Great Barrier Reef.

The island has seen a string of notable guests including Jane Fonda, Bill Gates, Nicole Kidman and Rod Stewart.

To get there, tourists can take a boat or helicopter transfer from the popular Hamilton Island.
Cancer-inhibiting drug approved in America but not here

The mother of a young boy with a rare cancer has revealed her family are set to spend more than $130,000 so her son can receive life-saving treatment in America because a drug used to help fight the disease is not available in Australia.

Sydney boy Harry Sammut, 10, started complaining of stomach pains and after a routine check up and blood tests by his local GP, he was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma two years ago and spent 18 months at the Children's Hospital Westmead receiving chemotherapy.

Neuroblastoma is a form of cancer that grows in nerve cells and a tumour often develops in the adrenal glands just above the kidneys.

The condition, which affects around 40 children in Australia annually, is usually detected in kids under five years of age. Harry, however, was diagnosed with the disease just shy of his ninth birthday.

Harry's mother Julia told Daily Mail Australia that she was forced to travel to the US with her son just before Christmas last year to take part in a clinical trial for a drug that showed promising signs to cure the cancer.

Harry Sammut (pictured) has been forced to get life-saving treatment in the US using a drug effective against re-emergence of a rare cancer that is yet to be approved in Australia

'We're literally going overseas to pick the medication up because it's not available in Australia,' she said.

Harry beat the cancer in November however doctors told the family there is a 50 per cent chance it will return.

The young boy went through several rounds of treatment including two bone marrow transplants and immunotherapy in his successful fight against the disease.

Determined to help Harry be completely free of the cancer, Julia began doing her own research in the hope of getting her son further treatment.

She came across a drug called DFMO (difluoromethylornithine) which researchers have found is an effective form of treatment for children with relapsed neuroblastoma when combined with chemotherapy.

Harry was accepted into the trial however, Julia said the family has been plunged into debt to cover the costs of his treatment.

'This trial was estimated at $130,000 for us over the two-year period,' she said.

'We could go into debt even further if Harry relapses and I can't get back to work.

'We're not spending our money, galivanting around...we're just purely getting by and doing what we need to save Harry.'

The Food and Drug Administration in the US approved DFMO in December last year after clinical trials found the risk of relapse among patients with high risk neuroblastoma was reduced by 50 per cent.

Harry flew to the US along with his mum two months ago and is set to make five separate trips over a two-year period to receive treatment and to be given doses of the medication.

'It's frustrating that we have to take our child overseas and there's so many health risks you're taking with a child that is immunocompromised,' Julia said.

'If the FDA has approved this medication, surely there's trials [that] could start in Australia for them to consider it for all children even though it's a rare cancer.'

The 10-year-old's mother Julia (pictured right) said the cost of Harry's treatment is set to cost $130,000

Harry (pictured with his mum, Julia) will visit the US five more times to receive ongoing treatment and be provided with doses of medication in a bid to be cancer free

Clinical trials for DFMO are yet to be approved in Australia even though trials for adult patients got underway in July 2023.

At a Senate inquiry hearing in Sydney last month, Neuroblastoma Australia CEO Lucy Jones slammed the lengthy approval process for drugs in Australia.

She told the inquiry investigating the diagnosis and treatment of rare cancers that delays in getting approval for life-saving medication needs to be reduced.

'It appalls me to say this, but it's true, children routinely die in this country because of paperwork,' Ms Jones said.

'For drugs provided in hospital settings, MSAC (Medical Services Advisory Committee) approval is required, which might take 18 months.

'However, it doesn't stop there, as the pharmaceutical company then needs to go through a lengthy negotiation process to agree on a method of reimbursement at the state level.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted the MSAC for comment.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which regulates prescription medication, vaccines, and medical devices in Australia, can take up to 11 months to review the safety of drugs based on the trials conducted by pharmaceutical companies before a prescription medication is approved.
Cash-strapped NHS hospitals have lost over 180million to 'health tourists' since a Government pledge to crackdown on the scandal.

Freedom of Information data obtained by MailOnline show NHS services are losing the equivalent of 100,000 per day due to unpaid care bills.

Critics say the lost cash could have paid for the equivalent of 6,000 nurses, 5,500 junior doctors, or 30,000 hip replacements.

While visitors to the UK can access urgent and emergency NHS treatment, they are expected to pay for it.

Last year the NHS wrote off 36million in debts from health tourists  double the 16million recorded in 2017, the year that the Department of Health issued tough new guidance instructing staff to bill patients before starting most treatments.

Cash-strapped NHS hospitals have lost over 180million to 'health tourists' in five years, here are the NHS trusts with total debts from unpaid bills exceeding 5million

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London's NHS trusts had the biggest write offs, the FOI revealed, with Barts Health NHS alone accounting for 31million of the sum lost in the last five years.

Fellow London trusts Kings College Hospital Trust and Guys and St Thomas Trust had bills of 15.2million and 13.3million, respectively.

Some individual patients have previously left unpaid NHS bills valued at 500,000.

This includes a Nigerian woman who gave birth to quadruplets after going into labour shortly after landing at Heathrow.

Priscilla, 43 at the time, had intended to fly to Chicago to have her babies, but was turned away by US officials who claimed she would be unable to afford the healthcare costs.

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Two died shortly after because they were so premature. The other two, Elijah and Esther, spent weeks on the hospital's neonatal intensive care ward, racking up an extensive bill.

Experts also fear the published total is just the tip of the iceberg as it only represents cases where invoices were generated and then not paid.

They suspect that, in many cases, NHS officials have never issued bills to health tourists because they consider little success of them being paid.

NHS hospitals are meant to charge patients who aren't residents in the UK a 150 per cent rate of what it would typically cost the health service to perform any procedure normally.

For example, a hip replacement has been estimated to cost the NHS 6,000, but under the aforementioned rules would cost an overseas visitor, in theory, 9,000.

Patients needing emergency care are still charged but are invoiced after any medical care.

These rules apply to both foreign travellers visiting the UK as well as British citizens who aren't residents, for example ex-pats returning home to visit family.

Government modelling ahead of the crackdown, published by then-Health Secretary and now-Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, estimated more consistent charging of overseas patients using NHS services would net the country an extra 500million.

But a National Audit Office report said the money raised would fall far short of that target.

While Tories announced a crackdown of health tourists in 2017, they reiterated their commitment to stop the practice in 2019.

Ex-PM Boris Johnson's 2019 election manifesto read: 'We will clamp down on health tourism, ensuring that those from overseas who use NHS services pay their fair share.

'And we will increase the NHS surcharge paid by those from overseas.'

Alp Mehmet, chairman of the campaign group Migrationwatch UK, said MailOnline's 'sobering' figures showed a lack of progress in tackling the problem.

'Indeed, the total cost could be even higher; if the NHS would only make more effort to recover costs from those not entitled to free treatment,' he said.

'Ultimately, these huge costs are borne by the hard-pressed taxpayer. This is grossly unfair.'

A Nigerian mother who gave birth to quadruplets in the NHS in 2016. Priscilla, who was 43 at the time, went into labour shortly after landing at Heathrow airport, her case cost the NHS 500,000

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Howard Cox, Reform UKs London Mayoral Candidate, called for greater action from Government on issuing costing the capital's hospitals millions.

'Our impotent and financially incompetent management in the NHS and the Government seem dense as to how to stop the increasingly unpaid amounts growing, and as always, all at the taxpayers expense,' he said.

'With hospitals allegedly in financial strife and under so much strain, its time Victoria Atkins, Secretary of State for Health negotiated with the Governments where most of these freeloaders originate from, to seek fair and proper compensation for the care they have received.

'Otherwise lets adopt the US system, and see their valid health insurance first, before receiving any medical care at all.

'Now that approach may just stop the flow of scroungers visiting our much long-suffering hospitals.'

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Every taxpayer supports the health service and it is only right that overseas visitors contribute towards their treatment costs.

'Between 2015/16 and 2021/22, over 4 billion was reported in income from overseas visitors.

'To improve recovery of charges, non-urgent NHS care must be paid for in advance and any debts that arise from providing urgent care ahead of payment must be pursued.

'To incentivise payment, anyone applying for a new visa who has an outstanding debt to the NHS may have that application refused and therefore not be allowed to return to the UK until the debt has been paid in full.'

While health tourists have to pay for most NHS treatments some are free to all.

These include attending A&E for an assessment, though this doesn't include any subsequent treatment, family planning services not including abortions or IVF and treatment for diseases that could infect the wider public

Any treatment for injury and conditions caused by torture, mutilation, or domestic or sexual violence which has happened in England is also not charged, though those who come to the UK specifically for treatment in these areas will still have to pay.
A man was left in excruciating pain after a toothbrush he bizarrely shoved into his penis snapped during sex.

Doctors revealed the 43-year-old waited 12 hours before seeking medical attention for his eye-watering injury.

Grilled about why he had a toothbrush in his penis, the unnamed Indonesian man confessed to performing DIY surgery for his 'sexual satisfaction'.

Medics were told he first made a 'small incision' to insert toothbrushes in 2017.

But it is unclear whether the toothbrush in question had been in place since that time, or whether he had taken others out.

The unnamed 43-year-old waited 12 hours before seeking medical attention. He confessed to medics he used the object for 'sexual satisfaction' purposes and had never had any issues removing toothbrushes in the past. Sharing eye-watering details of the incident in a medical journal, doctors told how the man required a two hour operation to repair his fractured penis

Sharing grisly details of the incident, doctors from the Soetomo General Academic Hospital in East Java told how the man required a two-hour op to repair his fractured penis.

They wrote in the International Journal of Surgery Case Reports: 'The patient sustained a penile injury during sexual intercourse in the woman-on-top position the night before.'

He had an 'eggplant deformity'  a tell-tale sign of penile fracture.

Although the penis is not a bone, it can fracture when the appendage is subject to sharp, blunt force. In many cases a grim cracking or popping sound is heard.

Afterwards, it usually resembles an 'aubergine', turning purple and swollen.

Medics said the man was discharged three days after surgery, reporting no issues.

He returned for a follow-up appointment one month later, where he was able to pass urine and claimed not to have any complications.

The 'deformity' had also vanished.

A penis fracture happens instantaneously and requires urgent medical treatment. In many cases, a grim snapping sound can be heard.

For a man to get an erection, two spongy tubes called the corpora cavernosa fill up with blood and harden. These are surrounding by a fibrous lining, known as tunica albuginea.

A fracture occurs when these areas rupture.

Penis fractures often affect men between the ages of 30 and 50. But their true frequency is still unknown.

Such injuries typically happen during vigorous sex, with positions like 'doggy' and 'cowgirl' known to present the biggest risk.
President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2024, to travel to Camp David, Md., for the weekend. Andrew Harnik/AP Palestinians line up for free food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians displaced by the war took refuge in Rafahor, which is likely Israel's next focus in its war against Hamas. Fatima Shbair/AP President Joe Biden meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 1, 2024, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP White House national security communications adviser John Kirby speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2024. Andrew Harnik/AP Palestinians walk through the destruction from the Israeli offensive in Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Mahmoud Essa/AP Israelis demonstrate to demand the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, during a protest outside of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, March 1, 2024. Oded Balilty/AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. will begin airdropping emergency humanitarian assistance into Gaza, President Joe Biden said Friday, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops.

The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

Biden said the airdrops would begin soon and that the United States was looking into additional ways to facilitate getting badly needed aid into the war-battered territory to ease the suffering of Palestinians.

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In the coming days were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies and will "seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor, Biden said.

The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. The Israeli government has said it is investigating the matter.

The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of those wounded said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire.

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Biden made his announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough," Biden said. "Now, its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon had been weighing the merits of U.S. military airdrops of assistance for several months, but had held off due to concerns that the method is inefficient, has no way of ensuring the aid gets to civilians in need and cannot make up for overland aid deliveries.

Administration officials said their preference was to further increase overland aid deliveries through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border points and to try to get Israel to open the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza.

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The incident on Thursday appeared to tip the balance and push Biden to approve airdrops. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that airdrops are difficult operations, but the acute need for aid in Gaza informed the president's decision.

He stressed that ground routes will be continued to be used to get aid into Gaza, and that the airdrops are a supplemental effort.

Its not the kind of thing you want to do in a heartbeat. you want to think it through carefully," Kirby said. He added, Theres few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops

Pressure has been mounting for Biden to move more aggressively to ease Palestinian suffering, including from lawmakers of Bidens Democratic Party. Even before Thursdays deaths, Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senates Armed Services Committee, wrote Biden this week to urge that the administration deploy a military hospital ship and support units to help treat Gazas wounded and open a sea route to Gaza for delivery of humanitarian aid.

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Yesterdays event, I think, underscores the need to find more creative ways of getting assistance in faster and at greater scale, Kirby said.

Egypt, France, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have already used airdrops to get aid into Gaza since the conflict started in October.

Biden in his visit with Meloni at the White House also sought to assure European leaders that the U.S. remains behind Ukraine even as he's been unable to win passage of a supplemental foreign aid package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine in addition to $35 billion for Israel and Taiwan. The legislation has passed the Senate, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to put it up for a vote in the House.

Ahead of Meloni's visit, White House officials said they don't have good answers for allies about finding an end to the impasse with House Republicans and reopening the American spigot of aid to Kyiv that's badly needed as Ukraine tries to fend off Russia's invasion.

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Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly urged Johnson during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying that Congress must take care of Americas needs first.

The leaders also discussed efforts by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to broker an extended cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Italy's priorities for a G7 presidency, migrant flows into Italy from North Africa, and their countries' China policies.

Biden said earlier this week that a cease-fire deal could be reached by Monday, before tempering his optimism after Thursday's incident. But on Friday, Biden said he still held hope that a deal can be struck, possibly before Muslims around the globe begin observing the holy month of Ramadan that is expected to begin on March 10.

I'm still hoping so, Biden told reporters on Friday evening before departing the White House for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. "Were still working real hard at it. Were not there yet.

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Meloni said solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was Italy's top priority.

We need to coordinate our actions to avoid an escalation, and this regard we fully support the U.S. mediation efforts, she said.

___

Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan, Seung Min Kim, Ellen Knickmeyer and Will Weissert contributed reporting.
Health officials are probing a possible link between two new RSV vaccines and cases of a rare nervous system disorder in older adults.

The inquiry is based on fewer than two dozen cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome among more than 9.5million over-60s who got the vaccine.

But the numbers, although very low, are higher than expected and officials are gathering more information to determine whether the vaccines are causing the problem.

The data was presented at a meeting of an expert panel that provides vaccine policy advice to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The RSV vaccine may be linked to a small increase in the risk of a rare neurological disorder, health officials say (stock image)

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is a rare condition in which the immune system starts to damage a person's nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.

Normally, two cases per million people are recorded of the condition.

But among those who got the Pfizer RSV vaccine, data showed four cases per million were recorded.

Among those who GSK's vaccine the rate was even lower than two cases per million.

Officials said the data still highlights that the condition is extremely rare, but that the shift in figures was high enough to prompt an investigation.

Among those who had received GSK's vaccine, which had also developed a shot against RSV, the rate was even lower than two cases per million.

An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop GBS in the US each year, and it's more commonly seen in older people, according to the CDC.

Most people fully recover from the syndrome, but a number are left with permanent nerve damage.

The syndrome can occur in people after they are infected with a virus.

But it has also been recorded after vaccination in cases where people's immune systems have a strong or abnormal reaction.

RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, is a common cause of cold-like symptoms but it can be dangerous for infants and the elderly.

Last year, the CDC signed off on a recommendation made by the advisory panel, aimed at Americans age 60 and older. It was for a single dose of RSV vaccine.

Officials were aware that instances of Guillain-Barre had been identified in clinical trials done before the shots were approved for sale, and that different systems were watching for signs of problems.

At a meeting of the expert panel on Thursday, CDC officials presented an analysis of the reports taken in by those systems.

About two-thirds of the cases occurred in people who got a version of the vaccine made by Pfizer, called Abrysvo. But officials are also doing follow-up tracking in people who got Arexvy, made by GSK.

Data from the Food and Drug Administration also showed an above-expected number of Guillain-Barre cases being reported in RSV vaccine recipients, with more among Pfizer shot recipients.

'Taken together, these data suggest a potential increased risk' in RSV vaccine recipients 60 and older that must be explored, said Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a CDC vaccine safety monitoring official.

Officials from GSK and Pfizer made brief statements during the meeting, noting that sorting out a safety signal is complicated.

'Pfizer is committed to the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the safety of Abrysvo' and is conducting four safety studies to look into the possibility of vaccine-related GBS, said Reema Mehta, a Pfizer vice president.

CDC officials also presented estimates that the vaccines have prevented thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths from RSV, and that current data indicates the benefits of vaccination outweigh the possible risks.

It comes after warnings that Covid vaccines could also trigger Guillain-Barre syndrome in vanishingly rare cases.

The warning came from the European Medicines Regulator, which required the warning to be added to the label of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Experts stressed that the risk of severe illness or long-term complications from Covid infections was much higher, however, and that vaccines still remained the best option.
Latest NHS data shows more than 230,000 people in England take ADHD meds

The ailing NHS risks being 'overwhelmed' by a huge surge in ADHD and autism self-diagnoses, experts have warned.

Professor Anthony David, director of UCL Institute of Mental Health, said clinicians had seen a spike in Brits wanting a diagnosis 'rubber-stamped'.

Trendy apps promising to help manage the condition and social media influencers promoting everyday problems as potential symptoms have also sowed the seed about certain neuropsychiatric conditions, he claimed.

But the rise in self-diagnoses might also be harming those in need of the most help, he argued.

Since 1998 there has been a nine-fold increase in autism diagnoses in the UK, with the largest rise among adults, figures suggest.

Fascinating graphs show how ADHD prescriptions have risen over time, with the patient demographic shifting from children to adults with women in particular now driving the increase

TikTok creator Katie Sue lists some signs of ADHD as including 'mystery bruises', 'coming across as a flirt', 'having low esteem' or 'forgetting about food until it goes bad'

Latest NHS data also shows a massive surge year-on-year in ADHD drug prescriptions.

Professor David said: 'It is a big and growing issue. There are people who have made their own mind up about a diagnosis, often as adults.'

He added: 'And that has led to huge waiting lists. So the system can't cope with all of a sudden people wanting to have an assessment.'

'Neurodivergence', which means having an atypical mind, is a category used principally to describe conditions like autism, ADHD, dyslexia and Tourette's syndrome.

Writing in the journal Psychological Medicine with Dr Quinton Deeley, a social behaviour and neurodevelopment expert from King's College London, they also argued accounts of later-life diagnoses are 'frequently' featured in the press.

The 13 signs of autism in adults, according to the NHS Main signs of autism Finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling

Getting very anxious about social situations

Finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own

Seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to

Finding it hard to say how you feel

Taking things very literally  for example, you may not understand sarcasm or phrases like 'break a leg'

Having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes Other signs of autism Not understanding social 'rules', such as not talking over people

Avoiding eye contact

Getting too close to other people, or getting very upset if someone touches or gets too close to you

Noticing small details, patterns, smells or sounds that others do not

Having a very keen interest in certain subjects or activities

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They said: 'Take a middle-aged man who talks of his strong narrow interests as a child, and feeling he was different from children his age growing up.

'When older he manages to channel these interests into an occupation and gains admirers for his ability to articulate them with passion but runs into conflict for being uncompromising and "obsessive".

'He then embraces a diagnosis of autism  into which his life-story fits neatly.

'It "explains" his interests, attitudes, and difficulties. He needn't feel at odds with the world in the same way.'

They added: 'It is easy to appreciate the feeling of being (finally) understood and of not being alone.

'However, it is not obvious how lasting such feelings are and there is little research on this matter.'

It is estimated that around 700,000 Brits and 5.4 million adults in the US have an autism diagnosis.

According to a 2021 Newcastle University study, around one in 57 (1.76 per cent) children in the UK is on the spectrum.

While NICE guidance asserts that no-one should wait longer than three months between being referred and first being seen, latest NHS figures show over 80,000 people have been waiting longer than this.

Television presenters Melanie Sykes, Chris Packham and Christine McGuinness are among celebrities who have shared their diagnoses.

Meanwhile, ADHD affects around 5 per cent of children in the US with rates in the UK about 3.6 per cent in boys and 0.9 per cent of girls.

But as many as one in 20 adults in Britain could have the condition, according to the ADHD Foundation charity.

NHS data for the 2022/23 financial year shows more than 230,000 people in England were now taking ADHD meds to combat their inattentiveness and hyperactivity.

Prescription rates jumped by a fifth in a year, in the biggest annual rise since modern records began in 2015.

In the journal paper, however, Professor David and Dr Deeley also argued that a diagnosis validation could come at the cost of those who need help more.

They wrote: 'People who are less articulate or non-verbal are, in the arena of self-diagnosis, marginalized and denied a voice  an example of testimonial injustice.'

Earlier this week scientists also argued society is to blame for creating a 'mental health crisis', with doctors handing out diagnoses like 'candy'.

It came in the wake of a report revealing 20-somethings are now more likely to be off work sick than adults in their 40s amid soaring rates of depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder.

Sheridan Smith, 42, has recently revealed she has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (pictured in 2023). The 42-year-old, who shot to fame on The Royle Family as Antony 's girlfriend Emma, told Vogue that it has helped her 'make sense of a lot of things' in her life and better understand her 'brain's background noise'. Other celebs to have been diagnosed with ADHD include Olivia Atwood, Sue Perkins, Johnny Vegas and Ben Fogle

Television presenters Melanie Sykes (pictured), Chris Packham and Christine McGuinness are among celebrities who have shared their autism diagnoses

Professor Frank Furedi, a sociologist at the University of Kent, said: 'We have the constant proliferation of psychological diagnosis given to children so things like ADHD are constantly handed out like candy.

'If you look at all the reports published over the past 20 years, it's really intensified in the last ten years, they're constantly talking about mental health conditions.'

Earlier this year, a damning BBC investigation found patients could get an ADHD diagnosis and powerful drugs through unreliable video call assessments with private clinics.

But experts have also argued that ADHD was only officially listed in the UK as a disorder that affects adults in 2008.

Before then, it was only recognised as a childhood problem that kids grew out of.

As a result, rather than being over diagnosed, some experts argue that many adults now being told they have ADHD have gone years having their symptoms dismissed.
Obesity has for the first time been declared a bigger health threat than hunger - with one billion people now too fat worldwide.

Roughly 159 million children and adolescents and 879 million adults have a weight that is so high relative to their height that it classifies them as obese, the equivalent of around one in eight people.

Meanwhile, rates of underweight dropped among children and adolescents and more than halved among adults worldwide.

While America is often thought of as the most obese country in the world, its 139million obese population pales in comparison to China's 200million, or India's 350million.

And even when it is broken down in terms of proportion of the population, the US ranks 10th highest for men and 36th highest for women out of 190 countries, according to the new study published in The Lancet.

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Places with the highest prevalence of obesity are Tonga , American Samoa, Polynesia and Micronesia, Cook Islands and Niue. The availability of unhealthy food versus healthy food is thought to be behind the soaring obesity rates in many island nations

Obesity rates among youngsters quadrupled globally between 1990 and 2022 - the latest year available - while rates among adults more than doubled, researchers found.

This means obesity is now the most common form of malnutrition in many countries, according to the study published in the Lancet medical journal.

The obesity rate among American adults increased from 21.2 percent in 1990 to 43.8 percent in 2022 for women and 16.9 percent to 41.6 percent for men.

Over the same period, the rate almost doubled from 11.6 percent to 19.4 percent among US girls and from 11.5 percent to 21.7 percent for boys.

In the US, men had had the world's third-greatest increase in obesity rates during those two decades, just behind Romania and Qatar, the study showed.

The research team said there is an urgent need for serious changes in how we deal with obesity.

Obesity can raise the risk of a multitude of serious health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

The obesity rate among American adults increased from 21.2 percent in 1990 to 43.8 percent in 2022 for women and 16.9 percent to 41.6 percent for men

Between 1990 and 2022, the rate almost doubled from 11.6 percent to 19.4 percent among US girls and from 11.5 percent to 21.7 percent for boys

Senior author Professor Majid Ezzati, of Imperial College London, said: 'It is very concerning that the epidemic of obesity that was evident among adults in much of the world in 1990 is now mirrored in school-aged children and adolescents.

'At the same time, hundreds of millions are still affected by undernutrition, particularly in some of the poorest parts of the world.

'To successfully tackle both forms of malnutrition it is vital we significantly improve the availability and affordability of healthy, nutritious foods.'

Globally, the obesity rate more than doubled in women, nearly tripled in men, and more than quadrupled in girls and boys, from 1990 to 2022.

HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR BODY MASS INDEX - AND WHAT IT MEANS Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on your weight in relation to your height. Standard Formula: BMI = (weight in pounds / (height in inches x height in inches)) x 703 Metric Formula: BMI = (weight in kilograms / (height in meters x height in meters)) Measurements: Under 18.5: Underweight

Underweight 18.5 - 24.9: Healthy

Healthy 25 - 29.9: Overweight

Overweight 30 - 39.9: Obese

Obese 40+ : Morbidly obese Advertisement

Places with the highest prevalence of obesity are Tonga, American Samoa, Polynesia and Micronesia, Cook Islands and Niue.

The availability of unhealthy food versus healthy food is thought to be behind the soaring obesity rates in many island nations.

There have been big marketing campaigns encouraging unhealthy foods, and healthier options can be expensive and difficult to find.

Another key cause is a cheap, fatty kind of meat called mutton flaps, which is imported from New Zealand.

During the middle of the 20th century, offcuts of meat starting arriving in the Pacific Islands, such as turkey tails from America and mutton flaps from New Zealand, which were both cheap and popular.

Many Tongans are under the impression that something imported is superior and they are not educated about how to eat healthily, 82-year-old Papiloa Foliaki, a former nurse, activist and politician, who now works in the hotel business, told the BBC.

Data also showed around that globally, as of 2022, around 532 million people are underweight, including 183 million women, 164 million men, 77 million girls and 108 million boys.

Countries with the highest prevalence of underweight in 2022 were Eritrea and Timor-Leste for women and Eritrea and Ethiopia for men, where more than 20 percent of the adult population were affected by underweight.

In 2022, obesity rates were higher than rates of underweight for girls and boys in around two thirds of the world's countries.

The study was conducted by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration  a network of health scientists around the world  in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

The researchers used body mass index (BMI), which is calculated using their weight and height, to understand how obesity and underweight have changed worldwide over three decades.

The team gathered data from more than 3,000 population studies with 222 million people.

The researchers said that although BMI is an imperfect measure for determining the extent of body fat, it is widely recorded in population-based surveys.
Long Covid may cause sufferers' IQ to drop by six points, a major study suggests.

Researchers in the UK found the loss for patients who said they had been suffering from Covid symptoms for more than 12 weeks compared to those who said they had never had the virus.

They also calculated a loss of three IQ points among those who said they had Covid symptoms for up to 12 weeks, and of nine IQ points for those who were admitted to the ICU during their infection compared to those who said they were not infected.

Experts suggested long-term virus symptoms could indicate someone has high levels of inflammation, which can damage the brain by causing stress to brain cells.

The researchers said: 'Our results confirmed associations of cognitive deficits with mood swings and fatigue but also with a variety of other symptoms.

'Therefore, it is likely that multiple underlying factors contribute to cognitive deficits after Covid.'

Long Covid is a poorly-defined illness which is notoriously difficult to diagnose, with some doctors even saying it does not exist (stock image)

Long Covid is a poorly-defined illness which is notoriously difficult to diagnose, with some doctors even saying it does not exist.

Patients who have the syndrome complain of a wide variety of symptoms including persistent fatigue, brain fog and inability to carry on with life as normal.

The study  published in the New England Journal of Medicine  calculated a 'global cognition score' for participants, which was then used to generate an IQ score.

The average person in the US has an IQ of about 98, estimates suggest  with males having a slightly higher score than females.

This suggests that people who say they have Long Covid may have an IQ score of about 93 points  while those who previously had Covid could have an IQ around 95 points.

An IQ score is a numerical measure of a person's intelligence based on a battery of reasoning, problem-solving, memory and linguistic tests.

But it has limitations, including that it struggles to capture other areas of intelligence such as creativity and emotional intelligence and that people who perform it regularly become more familiar with the test, resulting in a higher score.

For the study, scientists sent out a request to complete eight cognitive tests to a random group of more than 800,000 people registered with the UK's National Health Service (NHS).

More than 110,000 replied, including more than 3,000 people who said their Covid symptoms had persisted for longer than 12 weeks  which the researchers defined as 'Long Covid'.

The majority of participants were women in their 50s and 60s and from a white ethnic background.

Most were also infected while Omicron was the dominant variant and nearly 1,500 had been hospitalized with the virus. A total of 300 participants said they had been admitted to the ICU.

They completed eight tests to measure mental abilities including memory, spatial working memory and verbal reasoning among others.

Other results included that participants who reported having Covid early were more likely to have cognitive decline compared to those in other groups.

Limitations of the study included that it had no data on people's cognitive ability before they caught Covid, meaning comparisons were not possible.
Short-term thinking is among the great bugbears of the British economy.

The stock market, with requirements for quarterly reporting, is part of the problem, with analysts and asset managers too focused on immediate outcomes rather than long-term prospects.

The patience often required is missing. It took Jeff Bezos's Amazon nine years as a listed firm before it produced its first profit.

Such virtue in the UK is missing, with boards and investors rushing to sell out, or move to New York, at the first smell of cordite.

None of this is terribly surprising and comes from the top.

Hitting the buffers: HS2 has been scythed so all that remains is a stump connecting London to Manchester

Next Wednesday, March 6, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his spring budget, accompanied by 100 pages or more of policy pronouncements and a chunky 160 pages or more of forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

All of this, plus countless guidance and fact sheets, will be unveiled just four months after much the same exercise in November.

There is no other Western democracy which feels the need to adjust so many moving parts of the nation's economic and fiscal affairs (outside of crisis conditions) so regularly. Short-termism is hard wired into our democracy.

The consequences are hugely damaging to public investment and productivity. The Treasury is so concerned with keeping the nation's books orderly that it becomes almost impossible to deliver for the next generation.

To deliver requires sheer determination and a willingness to tolerate delays, cost over-runs and crises.

The Elizabeth Line, the South East's newest rail project, is an example of how doggedness can overcome all.

Boris Johnson committed to rolling out full fibre broadband to the door for all, albeit years behind Spain and South Korea. The uplift in terms of output and productivity  from large infrastructure projects  is immeasurable.

Of the three biggest plans on the radar post-Brexit, the super nuclear plant at Hinkley in Somerset, HS2 and a third runway at Heathrow, the only one with any chance of reaching the finish line is the power project.

That, for the record, is because French government-controlled electricity supplier EDF and Chinese investors are committed to see it through.

The summary way in which HS2, Britain's most imaginative rail project since Victorian times, has been scythed so all that remains is a stump connecting London to Manchester, is a triumph for unimaginative, short-term thinking.

HS2 wrongly was sold by the politicians for speeding up journey times. But the long-term benefits are economic

Rishi Sunak caved in to Treasury pressure over costs. Instead of bringing in new management  the engineers who delivered the Elizabeth Line come to mind  he simply threw in the towel.

Yes, with its dozens of bridges and cuttings, the project had been gold plated. HS2 wrongly was sold by the politicians for speeding up journey times. But the long-term benefits are economic.

A study shows that regeneration near to HS2 stations and depot sites in the West Midlands is driving 10billion of investment over the next decade.

This includes 41,000 new homes, 30,835 jobs and 704,000 square metres of floor space close to HS2 hubs.

Think of the potential long-term growth and productivity boost if the Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow arms of the project, as well as the Heathrow spur and Northern Powerhouse fast link, were still extant.

Then there is Heathrow. Covid-19 was an excuse to put plans for a third runway on the back burner.

But, as airline financial results showed this week, Britain's premier airport will soon be up against capacity constraints. It was my understanding that Heathrow was playing coy about the third runway for fear it could become an election issue.

However, the Sunday Times reports that newish chief executive Thomas Woldbye is dissolving the third runway team and favours making more use of existing runways. Whether that is possible without subjecting passengers to ever more inconvenience is a moot point.

Heathrow is critical to Britain's role as a centre for business and professional services. If commerce diverts to Paris, Amsterdam or Frankfurt  all of which have more runway capacity  it will be another unnecessary blow to Britain: short-term expediency by Heathrow's overseas owners against the broader national interest.

Jeremy Hunt prioritised long-term private investment through the permanent 'full expensing' regime in his November autumn statement.

But when it comes to public investment, growth-driving projects have a terrible habit of ending up on the cutting room floor.
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman for allegedly abandoning the company's original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity not profit.

The lawsuit alleges that Altman and Greg Brockman, co-founder of the artificial intelligence (AI) research organisation, originally approached Musk to make an open source, non-profit company.

The focus of the company, which is behind ChatGPT and is backed by Microsoft, on making money breached that contract, Musk's lawyers said in the lawsuit filed in San Francisco.

Claim: Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but stepped down from its board in 2018

They added that the company kept the design of GPT-4, its most advanced AI model, 'a complete secret'.

Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but stepped down from its board in 2018. He also runs electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and rocket maker Space X and bought Twitter for 35billion in October 2022.

Last year, entrepreneur Altman was fired by OpenAI's former board. It said it was trying to defend the company's mission to develop AI that benefits humanity. A few days later, Altman returned to the company with a new initial board.

OpenAI is planning to appoint several board members in March.

ChatGPT, the chatbot from OpenAI, became the fastest-growing software application in the world within six months of its launch in November 2022.

It also sparked the launch of rival chatbots from Microsoft, Alphabet and a bevy of start-ups which tapped the hype to secure billions in funding.
Relationship: Victoria Price and Mohsin Issa said they are building a life together

Mohsin Issa has insisted there is no rift between him and his younger brother Zuber.

The billionaire brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital took control of Asda in a debt-fuelled 6.8billion swoop in 2021.

But their relationship was understood to be under strain.

Moving to quash the speculation yesterday, he told the BBC: 'There is absolutely no rift between myself and Zuber  we get on exceptionally well.

'We talk to each other probably two or three times a day.'

While Mohsin, 52, runs the supermarket, Zuber, 51, oversees forecourt giant EG Group, which is also part of the family empire.

The comments come just weeks after speculation that the brothers had fallen out over Mohsin's relationship with Victoria Price, an accountant he met in 2018 when she presented him with an entrepreneur of the year award.

Mohsin has confirmed that he is in a relationship with Price, 41, after walking out on his wife of nearly 30 years Shamim.

The entrepreneur also said he was carrying out a 'reset' at the grocer before appointing a chief executive to run the business.
A sadistic trio who befriended a 'kind and caring' mother before she was tortured, starved and battered to death in 'the most savage and inhumane way imaginable' have today been sentenced to life in prison.

Shakira Spencer was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London, after a neighbour raised the alarm when they saw maggots crawling from under her front door on September 25, 2022.

In the months leading to her murder, the three killers - Ashana Studholme, boyfriend Shaun Pendlebury and friend Lisa Richardson - fed her only sachets of ketchup and turned her from a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'skeletal' size six. A disturbing image shows Ms Spencer looking gaunt and almost unrecognisable compared to photos of her in happier times.

Ms Spencer was forced to sleep under newspapers in the hallway at Studholme's home and perceived by the defendants as 'less than human'. A court today Pendlebury lived in the victim's flat whilst she slept in a bike shed.

The killers treated her as a slave, tortured her with a makeshift blowtorch and boiling water poured on her from a kettle, whipped her with belts and hit her with fists and a glass bottle. They also poured boiling water on her feet.

The abuse reached a 'frenzied climax' on around September 11 and 12 last year when the victim was beaten 'to the brink of death' at Studholme's home in what the judge described as 'an orgy of violence'.

When the killers tired of their sadism, they bundled Ms Spencer into the boot of a car and drove her back to her flat, where she was locked in a cupboard while they waited for her to die.

They then moved her to a bunk bed where the body was left rotting for two weeks.

Studholme, Pendlebury and Richardson were today jailed at the Old Bailey for life with a minimum term of 34 years for her murder.

The court heard a devastating statement from Shakira's mother who said the defendants tortured and murdered her daughter 'like a pack of animals'.

Shakira Spencer was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London , after a neighbour raised the alarm

Ms Spencer had gone from being a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'gaunt and skeletal' size six shortly before her death, jurors heard

Ashana Studholme, who had befriended the victim, was found guilty of murder

Shaun Pendlebury, left, and Lisa Richardson, right, in mugshots after being found guilty of murder

Judge Angela Rafferty KC said: 'Images of Shakira before she fell under your influence show her full of life, healthy and smiling - she is unrecognisable at the end, emaciated and broken.

'All who watched it will be slow to forget the CCTV footage of her trying to walk on scalded feet in the middle of the night.

'You, Pendlebury, lived in her flat whilst she slept in a bike shed; you, Studholme, started as a friend but ended as the worst kind of enemy a person could have; you, Richardson, showed Shakira nothing but exceptional contempt and aggression.

'Leading up to her murder she was routinely and continually humiliated, degraded and dehumanised. She was loveable, soft and trusting, easy to take advantage of, and she needed a lot of help and support.

'Her friend said that a calculated person would easily be able to exploit Shakira - she was no match for the three of you.'

In a impact statement read to the court, Ms Spencer's son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he has suffered with daily nightmares and anxiety over what happened to his mother and cannot get the horrible image of her 'looking skinny and unwell out of my head'.

'Why were they (the defendants) so heartless? What could cause them to torture another human? I hope that every day they feel bad for the choices they have made.

Shakira Spencer, pictured in 2017, was once a healthy young woman - pictured right just days before her death

'I cannot believe people she thought were her friends would ever do this to her.

'These people are cruel and evil, they do not deserve to live a normal happy life again.

'To me, my mum was the best - she was not perfect but she made me feel happy, safe and loved, I miss her every day and wish for a chance to see and speak with her again.

'I never got to say goodbye to her, or to tell her that I loved her - these people let her die alone with her feeling she was unloved, as they had taken everybody away from her.'

In a witness statement read to the Old Bailey, Shakira's mother Merjia Spencer said her daughter was loved by the whole family and was a caring and sweet natured person.

'Shakira loved kids - she worked in a nursery when she first left school and I always joked that would put her off having her own but it didn't, she was really happy when she became a mum.

'She was quiet and shy but would come out of her shell a bit when she was surrounded by loved ones - she deeply cared about people and loved having friends to spend time with.

'Shakira was a beautiful, happy mother who was kind and had a trusting nature'

'She always wanted to be liked, which made her keen to please people, and thoughtful - however, this trait also made her vulnerable.

'The defendants have, over many months, taken away everything that Shakira loved.

'She was isolated from her family and friends, her health deteriorated and she was almost unrecognisable. The defendants were not content with the complete destruction of Shakira's life: when she was at her lowest the defendants have tortured and murdered her like a pack of animals'.

Ice was said to be packed around Ms Spencer in a primitive bid to slow decomposition.

Newspapers were carefully laid on the floor next to the bed as if Ms Spencer had been reading and died in her sleep, jurors heard.

An alternative plan to dispose of the body in a caravan was abandoned because the defendants could not risk moving her due to the state of decomposition, it was suggested.

As part of the cover-up, the defendants cleaned the victim's blood, bodily fluids and DNA from their homes and removed all traces of their presence from Ms Spencer's flat.

Studholme, Pendlebury, and Richardson were arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder before a three month trial into her death.

All three denied but were convicted of murder and preventing a lawful burial by an Old Bailey jury on Monday, December 11.

Ashana Studholme is seen being arrested at her home for the murder of Ms Spencer

Footage shows Lisa Richardson being arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder

Shaun Pendlebury is seen being arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, from Scotland Yard, said Ms Spencer was murdered in 'the most savage and inhumane way imaginable'.

He said: 'Shakira was a beautiful, happy mother who was kind and had a trusting nature.

'Shakira could be vulnerable and these defendants took advantage of that by controlling and isolating her from everyone she knew in order to control and enslave her in the most dehumanising and degrading way.'

Mr Howie added: 'Whatever their cruel and sadistic motives were, there is no acceptable explanation for what Shakira was put through.

'This was a complex and challenging investigation. A meticulous timeline was created to pull together the different strands of evidence, paralleled against each other, in order to prove the defendants' campaign of controlling behaviour and violence.

'This included the retrieval and viewing of thousands of hours of CCTV, extensive forensic examinations, pathology, witness accounts, searching of houses and vehicles and reviewing the defendants' phones.

'That examination revealed what Shakira had been subjected to, with footage, messages and voice notes recorded by the defendants themselves that would prove key.'

Leader of the trio Studholme made friends with the mother-of-two before taking over her life and finances.

Studholme beat Ms Spencer around the head with a bottle in the bedroom leaving blood splattered on the walls.

She texted Richardson and said 'I've buss her head in. I need you here, I will go to jail.'

Ms Spencer used to be a healthy size 16 and was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London, after a neighbour raised the alarm

Pendlebury then chased her with a 'blowtorch' made of a lighter and aerosol before the killers beat her in the kitchen and poured boiling water on her feet.

On the evening of 12 September the victim was bundled into the boot of a red Honda Civic motor vehicle borrowed by Pendlebury from his aunt.

The couple bought kebabs and and were captured laughing and joking as they returned to Studholme's home.

They then began an intensive clean-up operation at Studholme's house, buying materials with money from Ms Spencer's bank accounts.

By the time Ms Spencer was killed, Studholme was 'in receipt of all of her benefits and had control of all of her finances'.

Studholme was caught with Ms Spencer's personal documentation including bank accounts, disability allowance applications and Nationwide Trust fund documents.

Ms Spencer had gone from being a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'gaunt and skeletal' size six shortly before her death, jurors hear

Lisa Richardson denied but was convicted of of the murder of Ms Spencer

Prosecutor Allison Hunter, KC, said earlier: 'Over the months leading up to her murder the defendants, primarily Studholme and Richardson subdued and dominated Shakira so totally that she was under all of their complete control.

'She was isolated from everyone she had previously known, her freewill seemingly sapped and stolen from her.

'They stole her self-respect, her finances, took over her flat, treated her like a slave, ordering her wake up in the early hours of the morning to clean their houses, sending her to the shops to do their errands, feeding her only on sachets of ketchup and then in circumstances of unbelievable depravity, boasted about and on occasion photographed and filmed what they did and were intending to do to her.

'This was the slow erosion of a human being over many months culminating in what the Crown says was a sustained, frenzied and almost feral attack over several days - scalding her, blowtorching her, hitting her head, whipping her with belts and hitting with fists and a glass bottle.

'When that didn't kill her outright she was bundled into a boot, taken to her own flat and locked in a cupboard and denied even food or water until she died.

'She was then left to rot in a bed as they attempted to mop up anything showing their involvement.

'Shakira Spencer was clearly perceived by these defendants as a species less than human.'

Jurors had deliberated for nearly 18 hours to reach verdicts and were excused by the judge from jury service for life due to the 'harrowing nature' of the case.

Police officers were called to the home of Ms Spencer in Hanwell, west London after a neighbour spotted maggots crawling from under her front door on 25 September 2022

The prosecutor previously told the court: 'They stole her home...took over her finances, controlled her whereabouts, destroyed her clothes, cut off most of her hair and they beat her.

'They scorched her, burnt her, beat her with a massager, left her to urinate herself and then they bundled her into the boot of a car, shoved her battered and bruised into a cupboard and left her to die.

'They are guilty of murder, and it really is murder of the most foul.

'They are guilty of denying a decent burial and I hope you do not lose one second of sleep if you do find them so.'

Pendlebury, of Ealing, Richardson, of Ealing, and Studholme, of Harrow, all denied but were convicted of murder and preventing a lawful burial.

Following the sentencing Senior Crown Prosecutor Devi Kharran said: 'Evidence presented during the trial proved that Pendlebury, Studholme and Richardson exercised twisted and sadistic control of Shakira Spencer over an extended period.

'They spun a web of lies in every effort to hide their actions.

'The CPS built a strong case against them using video footage filmed by the defendants themselves, mobile phone evidence, forensic analysis, and a confession from Shaun Pendlebury himself to prove beyond doubt that they were responsible for her death.

'The level of suffering that Shakira endured is simply unimaginable.

'Our thoughts remain with all of Shakira's family and friends. I hope this conviction brings them some sense of justice.'
A report on a counterintelligence probe linked to Donald Trump suggests that Smirnov may also have been a source for the investigation

A federal informant charged with lying to the FBI may have contributed to the controversial Crossfire Hurricane probe of Donald Trump's links with Russia.

Alexander Smirnov, 43, is accused of fabricating a story he told the FBI about a $10 million bribe paid to Joe Biden and his son Hunter by a Ukrainian oligarch. He has pleaded not guilty.

As details emerge about the 10-year FBI informant, keen-eyed intelligence analysts have noted an intriguing similarity between Smirnov and an unnamed FBI source cited in a government report on Crossfire Hurricane, the Bureau's past probe into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign's links with Russian intelligence operatives.

The similarities raise the prospect that Smirnov may have been a source for both the investigation of potential corruption by the Biden family, and also a counterintelligence probe linked to Trump  making it all the more embarrassing for the FBI if he turns out to have been a fantasist, or worse, a Russian double agent, as is suggested by prosecutors.

Alexander Smirnoff has never been publicly photographed without his face covered. A court artist's sketch shows his close-cut salt and pepper hair, thick beard and glasses

A report on a counterintelligence probe linked to Donald Trump suggests that Smirnov may also have been a source for the investigation

Smirnov pleaded not guilty to fabricating a $10M bribery scheme involving Joe and Hunter Biden in a LA federal court Monday

Former Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz told DailyMail.com that Congress and the Justice Department Inspector General should probe Smirnov's potential links to Crossfire Hurricane  and find out why his bribery claims were left uninvestigated for three years.

'The timing of all this is highly suspicious. For years the Department of Justice doesn't do anything, then all of a sudden they arrest him. It begs the question, what other cases did he weigh in on?' said the ex-GOP House member, now a fellow at transparency think tank the Government Accountability Institute.

Smirnov made his claims about meeting Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky in 2016

'I think Congress should be diving into it, as well as the Inspector General.'

Smirnov, a longtime, paid informant, passed on intelligence to his handler in March 2017 about allegedly corrupt Ukraine gas company Burisma, and mentioned Hunter Biden's job on the firm's board.

In 2020, then-Pennsylvania US Attorney Scott Brady was investigating claims of a foreign influence scheme involving the Bidens. He spotted the handler's 2017 report mentioning Hunter, and asked for Smirnov to be re-interviewed.

It was then that Smirnov made his claims about meeting Burisma owner Mykola Zlochevsky in 2016, saying that Zlochevsky bragged about bribing the Bidens to shut down a criminal probe into his company.

A report by the Department of Justice Inspector General about Crossfire Hurricane also describes a March 2017 interview with a longtime FBI informant, discussing issues related to Ukraine and foreign influence campaigns.

The informant is unnamed in the report, and DailyMail.com has been unable to confirm whether it is Smirnov.

But the report, published in December 2019, said that the anonymous informant 'regularly provides 'a ton of information on all sorts of things' to the FBI'  as did Smirnov.

This included information given in March 2017, the same month as Smirnov's meeting with his Seattle-based FBI handler, according to Bureau documents released by Congress.

That informant's information was 'provided to the Crossfire Hurricane team for review', the DoJ IG report said.

Smirnov left a as Vegas courtroom last week flanked by his cousin Linor Shefer, 38, and his girlfriend's son Nikolay Lavrenyuk, 39. All three tried to hide their faces from cameras

Crossfire Hurricane investigators had been monitoring Trump campaign officials' alleged links with Russian intelligence operatives and corrupt dealings in Ukraine, a topic on which Smirnov is likely to have been able to provide intelligence.

Prosecutors say Smirnov had 'high-level contacts with Russian intelligence operatives'  including the chief of a Kremlin assassination squad. His attorneys say these contacts had all been cultivated at the US government's request.

Seamus Bruner, vice president of research at the Government Accountability Institute, told DailyMail.com: 'The Smirnov fiasco adds to mounting proof that the FBI has been played by Moscow-linked individuals multiple times in recent years.

'The FBI's Crossfire Hurricane investigation tried and failed to prove Trump colluded with Russia. Instead it proved that the FBI was easily duped by Moscow-linked operatives, apparently on multiple occasions.'

The Inspector General's 2019 report was reviewing whether Crossfire Hurricane agents' warrants to wiretap political staffers such as Carter Page were improperly obtained.

Though heavily redacted, the report appears to say the FBI handler got documents from the unnamed informant and passed them to a 'Crossfire Hurricane Intelligence Analyst'.

However, the analyst told their team that there was not 'anything significant' in the information provided.

This unnamed informant was described as 'a Trump supporter' with 'some political meanderings'.

Smirnov has also been accused by prosecutors of having a bias against Biden and towards Trump, which they claim skewed his reports.

The IG's report added that FBI top brass were unaware of the informant before the 2016 presidential election.

The IG's report said that FBI top brass were unaware of the informant before the 2016 presidential election, including then-senior FBI agent Peter Strzok, then-FBI Counterintelligence Division assistant director Edward Priestap and then-FBI director James Comey

Smirnov is facing up to 25 years behind bars for posing as an informant and feeding officials an allegedly false story about the president and his son in 2020

'No one involved with the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, including [then-senior FBI agent Peter] Strzok, [then-FBI Counterintelligence Division assistant director Edward] Priestap and [then-FBI director James] Comey, knew about this CHS [confidential human source] during the campaign,' the DoJ IG wrote.

'Priestap told the OIG he 'did not know it was happening,' and that, as the AD of the Counterintelligence Division, he 'absolutely' should have been told that there was an active FBI CHS with access to [redacted].'

Former top prosecutor Brady told Congress in October that Smirnov  whose identity was still secret back then  had been 'used in multiple investigative matters, including during the Obama administration', a timeline that would overlap with the Crossfire probe.

'The FBI has said that they had a pre-existing relationship with this source, as well as they had been used in multiple investigative matters, including during the Obama administration. Are you aware of those public statements from the FBI?' congressional investigators asked Brady in his October 23 interview with the House Judiciary Committee.

'I'm not aware of those, but that's consistent with my understanding,' he replied.

'The FBI has also said that they've reviewed information that [Smirnov] has provided and found them to be, quote, highly credible. Have you seen those public statements?' the investigator asked.

'I have not, but that's consistent with my understanding,' Brady replied.

Former top prosecutor Scott Brady told Congress in October that Smirnov  whose identity was still secret back then  had been 'used in multiple investigative matters, including during the Obama administration', a timeline that would overlap with the Crossfire probe

Kashyap Patel, a former National Security Council official and top aide to the House Intelligence Committee in 2017 and 2018, told DailyMail.com that it would not surprise him if taxpayer money had been wasted on an untruthful informant  citing Christopher Steele, a key informant for Crossfire whose information was later debunked.

'The FBI has been using its source network for corruption cover-up for years, using taxpayer dollars,' he said.

'Christopher Steel and Smirnov were both called the best-trusted assets in FBI history by [Bureau directors] Comey and Wray, respectively. And now they both appear to be criminals.

'I think there needs to be an entire overhaul of how they use sources, and these are just more examples of it.'
A Taekwondo instructor charged with a shocking triple murder in Sydney's west had presented an alleged seven-year-old victim with a black belt hours earlier.

The boy and 41-year-old Min 'Sue' Cho were allegedly strangled at Lion's Taekwondo and Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta by Kwang Kyung Yoo, 49, on February 21 between 6pm and 11pm.

Police claim Yoo then drove Ms Cho's own car, a white BMW X5 SUV, to her Baulkham Hills townhouse, where he allegedly stabbed her husband, 39-year-old Hyun Soo 'Steven' Cho.

Police allege Yoo then showered in an ensuite bathroom at the Chos' Watkins Rd property, changed into clothes owned by Mr Cho and left, reports The Daily Telegraph.

It is alleged Yoo then drove to his own house in North Kellyville but arrived suffering what police claim are self-inflicted stab wounds to his chest that he said were from a supermarket car park altercation.

At the insistence of his wife, he went to Westmead Hospital where he underwent surgery and was later arrested and kept under police guard.

Min 'Sue' Cho, 41, Hyun Soo 'Steven' Cho, 39, and a seven-year-old boy died in February

Kwang Kyung Yoo, also known as Master Lion Yoo (pictured), is charged with three counts of murder and remains in police custody

A relative of Ms Cho's who was at the family's property on Thursday told the newspaper her devastated relatives had travelled from South Korea and were making funeral preparations for the three alleged victims.

'It is still so much shock for them,' a neighbour translated.

It is understood the funerals will be held next week.

The three bodies were found when Mr Cho's mother contacted police after she had been unable to reach them.

Police then attended the Baulkham Hills property where they found Mr Cho and subsequently tracked Ms Cho's phone to the taekwondo studio where they found her and the boy.

The crime scene at Lion's Taekwondo Academy in Daking Street, Parramatta

Homicide detectives have launched an investigation after a woman and a child were found dead in Sydney 's west and a man's body was discovered 5km away in Baulkham Hills

The police investigation remains ongoing and detectives have not confirmed an alleged motive but are understood to be looking closely at the relationships between Yoo and his alleged victims.

He remains in police custody and is yet to make any pleas.

Police prosecutors will have to supply Yoo and his lawyers with a brief of evidence by April 16 and the matter will be in court two days later.
Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, with attorney Abbe Lowell, left, leaves after a closed-door deposition in the Republican-led investigation into the Biden family, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. J. Scott Applewhite/AP House Oversight and Accountability Committee member Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., left, and House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., right, leave the O'Neill House Office Building following a closed-door deposition with Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. The Republican-led inquiry is looking at whether Joe Biden acted improperly while in office to benefit his family's financial deals. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Hunter Biden departs after a closed door private deposition with House committees leading the President Biden impeachment inquiry, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP From left, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., meet with reporters during a break from as lawmaker question Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, during a Republican-led investigation into the Biden family, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. J. Scott Applewhite/AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  The transcript of the congressional deposition of Hunter Biden was released late Thursday, providing a full view of the contentious testimony that took place behind closed doors Wednesday as Republicans aggressively questioned the central figure in their impeachment inquiry.

The nearly 230 pages of questioning laid bare the deep-seated hostility between President Joe Biden's son and the GOP lawmakers who have been investigating his family for the past several years. Arguments were frequent and tempers short, providing a preview of what is sure to come when Republicans hold a public hearing with Hunter Biden in the next several weeks.

He was defiant through the deposition as Republicans flooded him with questions about his former business affairs and his life, his answers veering from heated to emotional as he talked of his long battle with addiction and turmoil in his personal life.

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Throughout the nearly seven-hour deposition, Hunter Biden remained adamant on one point, vehemently and repeatedly denying under oath that his father ever financially benefited or participated in any of his business work.

Takeaways from the transcript:

You always pick up the phone

The 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family has centered on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Biden, particularly in the years when he was vice president.

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Republican investigators zeroed in on a series of dinners and meetings that took place after Joe Biden left the vice presidency in which the younger Biden put his father on speakerphone while in the company of business partners.

And why would you place your dad on speakerphone? an unidentified Republican staffer asked.

Im surprised my dad hasnt called me right now, and if he did, I would put him on speakerphone to say hi to you and to Congressman Raskin and everybody else in the room, Hunter Biden replied. It is nothing nefarious literally.

He said that after the tragedies his family has suffered  including the death of his mother and two siblings  calls in his family are always answered, no matter what.

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You always pick up the phone. Its something that we always do. And you can ask anybody that I know, Hunter Biden added.

Hunter Biden's darkest days

Large portions of the testimony Wednesday diverged into Hunter Biden's well-documented battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

In one particularly harsh exchange, Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, questioned whether the presidents sons business dealings, particularly with the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, were legitimate. Gaetz asked, Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board?

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Hunter responded: Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate to ask me?

Absolutely, Gaetz said.

Bidens attorney, Abbe Lowell, intervened, telling his client he didn't need to respond.

I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use, Hunter Biden said. Im sorry; Im an addict. I was an addict.

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He told the panel he has been in recovery for more than four years and works really, really hard at it under what he called an enormous amount of pressure.

Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict, he said. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

Gaetz tried to interrupt, but Hunter Biden kept talking: Why? Why?"

What was the Biden brand?

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Another point of interest for House Republicans' investigation is what they describe as Hunter Biden and associates selling the Biden brand to clients overseas.

One of their purported key witnesses, Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, testified to the House Oversight Committee last year that the president's family sold the illusion of access to the corridors of power in Washington. Republicans questioned whether Burisma, the Ukrainian energy firm, wanted Hunter Biden on its board in 2014 "because your dad was the Vice President?

No, I dont think that its fair, Hunter Biden responded.

When asked about what value he brought to Burisma, Hunter Biden talked about the breadth of his resume and defended his family.

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Primarily, the name Biden is my dads legacy. And he passed it down to me and, when my brother was alive, my brother, my sister, now to my children. Its our responsibility to not screw that up."

He added, "If other people saw the brand as something that they could market, its not -- it was not with my -- without going through me first. And if they did so, they didnt go through me first."

Rather than probe the Bidens, Democrats turn to the Trumps

Democrats at one point tried to turn the deposition back toward Donald Trump, contrasting the Bidens' business dealings with the former Republican presidents family and its business operations.

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Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democrat from California, led one particularly pointed exchange intended to draw out the differences between President Biden and Trump, the Republican front-runner to challenge him for the White House.

Did your father ever employ in the Oval Office any direct family member to also work in the Oval Office? Swalwell asked.

My father has never employed any direct family members, to my knowledge, Hunter Biden testified.

Swalwell went on to ask questions referring to the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., Trumps legal case in New York City, his daughter-in-laws recent bid to lead the Republican National Committee and his son-in-law Jared Kushners business dealings with Saudi Arabia.

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As President and the leader of the party, has your father ever tried to install as the chairperson of the party a daughter-in-law or anyone else in the family? Swalwell probed.

No. And I dont think that anyone in my family would be crazy enough to want to be the chairperson of the DNC  the Democratic National Committee.

Had his father ever been fined $355 million? No, he has not, thank God, Hunter Biden testified.

Emails, text messages and the laptop

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The impeachment inquiry has focused on several pieces of evidence as Republicans try to build their case, including emails, text messages and a now-in-dispute laptop.

One email from a Hunter Biden business associate proposes a 10% equity stake in their firm to be held for the big guy, who Republicans say is Joe Biden. It's a message that has become central to the GOP claims of influence peddling, but one that another business associate Rob Walker has testified was all bull--.

Hunter Biden testified that he does not recall ever responding to the email. Im not even sure whether I ever fully read this.

Further emails exhibited to the committee showed that any equity split would be made equally among the five partners, including Hunter Biden and his longtime business partner Jim Biden, who is the presidents brother and his uncle. The business deal with a Chinese energy company never happened, and no one was paid.

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Theres no secret big guy anywhere in this email? asked a Democratic questioner.

No, theres not, Hunter Biden replied.

Joe Biden is not anywhere in this agreement? he asked.

No, he is not.

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As for Hunter Bidens laptop that was allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop and the source for many allegations against the Biden family, he testified that he does not recall bringing it in.

If his computer needed repairs, Hunter Biden testified, I would have gone to the Apple store.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that an email from a Hunter Biden business associate proposed a 10% equity stake in their firm, not a $10 million equity stake
President Joe Biden may take weapons from America's dwindling arms stockpile to send them to Ukraine, even though Congress is stalling additional funding to replace them, according to reports.

The Pentagon has not made a final decision, but officials are considering the move as way to keep backing Ukraine despite the potential political pitfalls for the Biden administration.

Depleting American stockpiles in order to support Ukraine would anger many Republicans who believe Biden has to prioritize the defense of the United States first.

The flow of military aid to Kyiv and the use of as many as 3,000 155mm Howitzer shells a day has steadily emptied U.S. reserves, which at its height in 2005 was worth $1.5 billion.

The military uses around 150,000 rounds a year for training and is working to increase production from 20,000 shells a month to 75,000 a year.

The Army test fires a Patriot missile in a recent test. In April 2022, U.S. stocks of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles had been depleted by a third, leaving the Pentagon scrambling to replenish them

Biden continues to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States will ultimately provide him the aid and munitions that he needs to defend his country from Russia

The Pentagon asked for $1.5 billion last year to increase manufacturing and asked for $30million in the budget to 'sure up' its arsenal.

Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who serves at chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the New York Times that the idea was 'on the table.

The Defense Department has around $4 billion authorized to send Ukraine from its own stockpiles, according to CNN, but that the Pentagon remains reluctant to use them without reassurance that they will get replaced.

In April 2022, U.S. stocks of Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles had been depleted by a third, leaving the Pentagon scrambling to replenish them.

The Pentagon already warned in September that the replenishment of U.S. stockpiles was slowing due to reluctance from House Republicans to pass more aid for Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl raised concerns of the armed service's ability to replenish stockpiles while assisting Ukraine.

The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package earlier this month which includes $60 billion for Ukraine.

But Republican Speaker Mike Johnson remains reluctant to bring it to the floor, citing the need for President Biden to confront the crisis on the southern border first.

The Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package earlier this month which includes $60 billion for Ukraine

Biden continues to reassure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the United States will ultimately provide him the aid and munitions that he needs to defend his country from Russia.

'I'm going to fight until we get them the ammunition they need and the capacity they need to defend themselves,' Biden said during a White House speech last week.
The investigation of Emma Caldwells murder is one of the biggest scandals ever to hit Scottish policing  but some of the key figures have gone on to enjoy lucrative careers.

Neil Richardson, former deputy chief constable of Police Scotland, controlled a shadowy internal affairs unit which recklessly breached protocols, a privacy watchdog ruled in 2016.

It spied on journalists sources after a newspaper exposed the failures of the inquiry into Ms Caldwells murder despite a warning that it could breach strict surveillance rules.

Betrayed: Emma Caldwell was shamefully let down by police

High earners: Neil Richardson, John Cuddihy, Ruaraidh Nicolson and Willie Johnston

Mr Richardson began his policing career at Lothian and Borders Police in 1985 and later joined now-defunct Strathclyde Police as deputy chief constable. He received a 492,500 pay and pension package in 2014, making him the third highest earner in UK policing at the time.

Mr Richardson is now the boss of Turning Point Scotland  a charity which helps people with drug and mental health problems  earning between 110,001-120,000.

He became a non-executive director of the Scottish Government in 2019. A spokesman for the charity said: These events took place prior to Neil Richardsons appointment with Turning Point Scotland; therefore [we] will not provide a comment.

Officers in the unit controlled by Mr Richardson tried to identify journalists who they believed were speaking to serving and retired officers involved in the investigation of Ms Caldwells murder.

Mike Barton, who was then chief constable of Durham Constabulary, carried out an independent investigation of the fallout from the controversy and found that those involved in the snooping operation had acted dishonestly by wilfully and deliberately manipulating intelligence.

An investigation  this time by the Police Service of Northern Ireland  into allegations of misconduct against the Police Scotland officers involved cleared all of them.

Mr Field was in charge of a covert surveillance operation during the Emma Caldwell probe

Former Police Scotland deputy chief constable Ruaraidh Nicolson was head of CID at Strathclyde Police when Ms Caldwell was killed.

The post of deputy chief constable, which Mr Nicolson held for six months before retiring in 2016, currently carries a salary of 203,717. He was contacted for comment.

Now-retired detective superintendent Willie Johnston was in charge of the murder probe and now specialises in a range of work including investigations and reviews of scenarios (including cases where the police have refused an investigation).

A former officer, Stuart Hall, told a BBC documentary he was brushed off by Mr Johnston when he asked for Iain Packer to be made a suspect.

The retired detective constable said: There was identification there. Several girls had picked him out of the photographs. He is admitting more and more.

So I phoned Willie Johnston, who was the senior investigation officer, and said, I want to detain Iain Packer for the murder of Emma Caldwell. To which he replied, Do not detain him. He is not our man. Release him.

Mr Johnston, who retired from the police in 2006, was contacted for comment. He declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

The rank of superintendent currently has a salary of up to 93,326.

Colin Field, who headed the operation to place Turkish suspects under surveillance, retired in 2014. He had a 32-year career in policing in the UK and attained the rank of detective chief superintendent, which currently has a salary of up to 106,509.

During the murder probe, Mr Field and his deputy John Cuddihy, later a detective superintendent, were in charge of a covert surveillance operation which wrongly identified innocent men as Ms Caldwells killers, based on flawed translations of poor-quality secret audio recordings at a Glasgow cafe. Mr Field was contacted for comment.

Mr Field, who retired in 2014, told the BBC documentary Catching a Killer: The Murder of Emma Caldwell, that the senior investigating officer  Mr Johnston  leading the investigation requested a separate parallel investigation be launched to focus on those suspects of Turkish origin.

He added that the terms of reference did not extend to anyone other than those named suspects and their associates.

Mr Cuddihy, former head of organised crime and counter-terrorism at Police Scotland, is now director of Tramssmart Limited, which provides consultancy services within the criminal justice and associated sectors.

He was contacted for comment.
Hundreds of homes may have to be demolished and their tenants evacuated following the discovery of a potentially dangerous form of concrete.

Panels made from reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) were found in around 500 homes in the Balnagask area of Aberdeen, including 364 council properties.

An independent, structural engineers report has now recommended that council tenants be relocated to alternative accommodation within the city as soon as possible.

Unsafe: Homes in Balnagask area of Aberdeen

The report was considered by Aberdeen City Councils urgent business committee yesterday. Members accepted a recommendation from council officers that tenants be permanently rehomed.

Council tenants, as well as home owners and private tenants, have been contacted to update them on the situation.

Miranda Radley, convener of the communities, housing and public protection committee, said: This is an incredibly difficult situation for everyone living in a Raac-affected property, but the council will be doing everything we can to support our tenants during this hugely challenging time.

Shock: Camille Livingstone, right, does not want to be rehomed, despite the presence of Raac

These are peoples homes and we need to ensure we support our tenants, but also engage with owners and privately rented tenants to keep them informed.

The local authority said that 299 of the 364 council properties are currently occupied by its tenants, while the remainder of the 500 or so affected properties are privately owned.

Officials are exploring options for the long-term viability of the site, which include remedial works or demolition and a detailed appraisal. These will be presented to the council within six months.

The local authority has written to council tenants inviting them to meet a housing and support officer in their home.

It has also contacted owners and private tenants to let them know the current position and to offer them a meeting with a housing and support officer to discuss their housing options.

The committee has agreed to set aside an initial 3million to cover the rehoming programme.

Concerns about Raac emerged last year, prompting governments and councils across the UK to survey buildings for its presence.

But some Balnagask tenants said they were left shocked by the news and vowed they would not be forced from their homes.

Mother-of-three Camille Livingstone, 33, told the BBC: Im not moving.

To expect people to get up and move without giving us any information about it is ridiculous.

Im not keen on the idea, not at all. This is my home, my kids home and it was my mums house before it was my house. She was here just over 15 years and Ive been here almost nine.

Council tenant Irene Jacobson, 51, who has two young sons, said: I dont really want to move as weve been here that long and Im used to the area. Its a bit of a shock to take it all in.

A spokesman for councils umbrella body Cosla said: We treat the safety of everyone within any council-provided building, house or facility extremely seriously.

Scottish local authorities have regular inspections of their buildings estate, put in place mitigations as appropriate and if required close some buildings or move some residents where this is required  as we have seen Aberdeen do today.

Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra said yesterday: This deeply worrying news will bring significant disruption to the lives of many in Aberdeen.

I urge Aberdeen City Council to ensure residents are rehomed as quickly as possible.

The Scottish Government must also act to determine how widespread Raac is in homes across Scotland.
Wyden asked Biden to have the Federal Communication Commission establish minimum cybersecurity standards for U.S. carriers

Instead, the flaw allows hackers to get user information from the cellular carrier

Authoritarian foreign governments have been able to track Americans and journalists using flaws in cellphone networks for over a decade, a top Democrat revealed.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a long-known flaw in Signaling System 7 (SS7), a protocol used by cellular providers to transmit texts and phone calls between carriers.

However, the protocol has been known to have flaws for over 10 years. It can be manipulated to reveal customers' locations and even eavesdrop on calls.

'Surveillance companies and their authoritarian foreign government customers have exploited lax security in U.S. and foreign phone networks for at least a decade to track phones anywhere in the world,' Wyden wrote to Biden in the letter obtained by DailyMail.com.

Hostile nations have 'abused these tools to track Americans in the United States and journalists and dissidents abroad,' he continued.

That threatens 'national security, freedom of the press, and international human rights.'

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a long-known flaw in Signaling System 7 (SS7)

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., sent a letter to President Biden warning him of a flaw in U.S. wireless carrier's protocol that enables foreign governments to track customers' locations in real-time

SS7 surveillance does not require spyware be downloaded on targets' smartphones

The flaw in SS7 does not require spyware to be downloaded on smartphones, but instead it tricks carriers into providing user information directly to the hacker themselves.

The method of the SS7 surveillance cannot be detected or deterred by popular smartphone makers Apple and Google either, the Democrat warned.

'Whether or not a given person can be surveilled using such services depends entirely on the security of their wireless carrier,' Wyden wrote.

To protect U.S. government employees from foreign surveillance, Wyden called on Biden to set minimum cybersecurity standards for major wireless services purchased by the federal government.

'The FCC should exercise its authority to establish minimum cybersecurity requirements for U.S. wireless carriers and aggregators that deliver SS7 and Diameter messages to and from carriers.'

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC), National Security Agency (NSA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have all acknowledged the surveillance issues regarding SS7.

Additionally, for-hire SS7 surveillance services have appeared across the globe.

Mitto AG, a Swiss company, was accused of offering SS7 tracking services in a 2021, according to Bloomberg.

Wyden wrote in his letter he wants to cut U.S. ties to foreign SS7 surveillance shops.

To protect U.S. government employees from foreign surveillance, Wyden called on Biden to set minimum cybersecurity standards for major wireless services purchased by the federal government

'Ensure that U.S. government agencies are not giving taxpayer money to surveillance mercenary companies that have enabled human rights abuses,' Wyden requested in his letter.

The majority of President Biden's cabinet, including Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, were sent the letter as well.
Children as young as eight are being drawn into laundering cash for criminals with the promise of trainers and a Big Mac.

In a growing trend costing taxpayers 10billion a year, fraudsters are turning youngsters into 'money mules' by channeling money through their child bank accounts.

Launching a crackdown, security minister Tom Tugendhat said children were being exploited by gangs involved in drug dealing, human trafficking and even terrorism.

In one case, a boy of 14 and his family were threatened at gunpoint. Children of all social classes are being approached on social media and online gaming or through their friends at school, according to Mark Russell of the Children's Society.

Last year, Money Mail revealed that the anti-fraud agency Cifas and banking trade body UK Finance had advised schools to hold urgent assemblies to warn of the dangers.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat (pictured) said children were being exploited by gangs involved in drug dealing, human trafficking and even terrorism

Drug dealers have been recruiting children to help them launder money (Stock Image)

Children are often groomed by criminal gangs, who offer them the prospect of making easy money or being rewarded with treats such as a new phone or a pair of trainers.

They are typically convinced to provide their bank details, before being asked to transfer the funds received to another account and keep some of the cash for themselves  making them a money mule.

Mr Russell said that because of the cost of living crisis children were more readily accepting bribes  in some cases no more than a Big Mac meal at McDonald's. 'Children absorb their parents' worries and if they are stressed about money then children will be too. If somebody offers them the chance to make some easy money, they are going to take it,' he added.

A survey by the Children's Society found that household finances were the top worry among young people last year. Once children carry out a task on behalf of criminals, the gangs will then coerce them into committing further offending, including through blackmail, debt bondage and sextortion, the Government has warned.

This can have devastating consequences for their future, ruining their chances of going to university, opening a bank account or getting a job. Mr Tugendhat said: 'I am determined to prevent heinous criminals who exploit our children and profit from it, and it is paramount we stop this vicious cycle. It is absolutely key that parents and teachers look out for the signs of this financial dependency and exploitation.'

A new unit within the City of London Police will be created to improve responses to these cases and feed intelligence into regional organised crime units.

The Government is also funding a role at the Children's Society to expand the education delivered to bank employees, teachers and the police.

Mr Tugendhat, who has backed the Mail's Stop the Social Media Scammers campaign to force tech companies to better protect users, says children must be recognised as victims of financial crime and not perpetrators. He added: 'Children's futures are being stolen.'
A devastating fire in Bangladesh has swept through a six-story building and killed at least 45 people with dozens more sustaining injuries.

The building was home to restaurants where many families with children were dining, the health minister said on Friday.

Fire authorities said a gas leak or a stove could have caused Thursday's blaze in the capital, which spread quickly after breaking out in a biryani restaurant, and was only reined in following two hours of effort by 13 units of firefighters.

Hospitals are treating 22 people with burn wounds, Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters.

'All 22 people ... are in critical condition,' Sen said after a visit to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

A devastating fire in Bangladesh has swept through a six-story building and killed at least 45 people with dozens more sustaining injuries

The building was home to restaurants where many families with children were dining

Fire authorities said a gas leak or a stove could have caused Thursday's blaze in the capital, which spread quickly after breaking out in a biryani restaurant, and was only reined in following two hours of effort by 13 units of firefighters

A man is in shock after being rescued from the fire that has left at least 43 people died

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed shock and sorrow over the incident, ordering officials to provide swift treatment for the injured.

One survivor, Mohammad Altaf, recounted his narrow escape from the blaze that killed two colleagues.

'I went to the kitchen, broke a window and jumped to save myself,' he told reporters, adding that a cashier and server who urged people to leave during the first moments had died later.

Firefighters used cranes to rescue people from the charred building, said fire officials, who were still working to clear debris and stamp out any remaining embers.

Relatives gathered at the hospital early on Friday to receive the bodies of the dead, with some mourning outside the emergency department.

Doctors said most of the dead were killed by suffocation with others dying as they jumped off the building, which also houses some clothing and mobile telephone shops.

The fire could have originated from a gas leak or stove, said Brigadier General Main Uddin, a top fire service official.

'It was a dangerous building with gas cylinders on every floor, even on the staircases,' he told reporters.

The government has set up a five-member panel to investigate the incident.

Firefighters use a fire ladder to extract victims during the rescue operations following a fire at a commercial building that killed at least 45 people

Firefighters used cranes to rescue people from the charred building, said fire officials, who were still working to clear debris and stamp out any remaining embers

Relatives gathered at the hospital early on Friday to receive the bodies of the dead, with some mourning outside the emergency department

Hospitals are treating 22 people with burn wounds, Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters

Intense scrutiny of Bangladesh and the major global clothing retailers that manufacture there has helped prevent disasters in the garment sector since a fire in 2012 and a building collapse in 2013 together killed more than 1,200 workers.

But in other industries, mainly catering to Bangladesh's booming domestic economy and lacking equal emphasis on safety, hundreds of people have died in fires.

Fires are common in densely populated Dhaka, where many new buildings have sprung up, many without adequate safety measures. Fires and explosions have resulted from faulty gas cylinders, air conditioners and poor electrical wiring.

In July 2021, many children were among 54 people killed at a food processing factory outside Dhaka, while at least 70 were killed in a February 2019 fire that engulfed a centuries-old precinct. (Reporting by Ruma Paul; Additional reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed and Christopher Cushing)
A teenager out celebrating Australia Day got behind the wheel of his ute while drunk to drive a few hundred metres home but instead drove into an unmarked police car.

Lachlan Keane, 19, received a stern warning when he fronted Darwin Local Court this week that he was extremely fortunate he did not hurt anyone while driving.

Keane, originally from Echuca in Victoria but currently based in Darwin for his job as a gunner with the Australian Army, was enjoying some drinks at a friend's house in Palmerston on January 26 when he decided to drive his Toyota HiLux.

On the 500m route to his home he crashed his vehicle directly into the back of the unmarked patrol car in Bellamack in Palmerston's south.

He was then subjected to a roadside alcohol breath test where he blew a BAC reading of 0.206 or four times the legal limit, reports The NT News.

Lachlan Keane, a gunner with the army, escaped with a 12-month driving ban after he slammed his Toyota HiLux into an unmarked police car while celebrating Australia Day

The court heard the teenager had never been in trouble with police before and has undergone a safe driving course since the crash.

Judge Alan Woolcock said he hoped it would be the last time he would see Keane in court.

'Some young men learn this lesson when they kill someone or hurt someone,' he said.

Keane's defence lawyer said his client wanted to continue his career in the military and asked that he not receive a conviction that could affect his prospects.

Judge Woolcock agreed noting his previously 'exemplary' character and no conviction was recorded.

Keane was given a 12-month good behaviour bond and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Vang, 39, was on supervised release after spending three years in prison for drug trafficking, and was jailed in 2002 for felony child abuse

Elijah, 3, was reported missing on February 20 from Jesse Vang's 'bootcamp' where mother Katrina Baur left him eight days earlier

Lia Vang pleaded for the return of the missing three-year-old as his mother and her boyfriend sit in jail on child neglect charges

The grandmother of missing toddler Elijah Vue has begged his mother and her boyfriend for his return, after he disappeared from their torture 'boot camp'.

Hundreds of people have been searching the area around Two Rivers in Wisconsin since the three-year-old vanished from the home of his mother's boyfriend Jesse Vang on February 20.

The little boy was forced to take cold showers, forbidden his toys and made to stand for hours on end in a dirty diaper because mother Katrina Baur wanted him 'to be a man'.

The couple have been charged with felony child neglect as the hunt for Elijah continues and his paternal grandmother Lia tearfully pleaded with her neighbors not to give up.

'I want everybody to continue to help us look for my grandson,' she told a press conference, 'I want my grandson to be home with my family, so I want everybody to continue, don't stop.'

Elijah's grandmother Lia, herself a mother of nine, wept as she pleaded for the return of the boy

Elijah, 3, was reported missing on February 20 from Jesse Vang's 'bootcamp' where mother Katrina Baur left him eight days earlier

Baur's boyfriend Jesse Vang, 39, (pictured) claimed he was asleep when Elijah vanished, and is facing charges of party-to-a-crime child neglect

Elijah's aunt Linda Vue described him as a 'joyful, curious boy, full of life and love' and addressed him directly in case he was watching somewhere.

'If you can hear us, know that you are deeply missed and loved and we will not rest until you are safely back in our arms,' she said.

'We cannot express the depth of our sorrow, nor the desperation that consumes us as each moment passes without news of Elijah's safety,' she added.

'Every day without him feels like a piece of our hearts is missing. We long to hear his laughter, to witness his curiosity and to feel the warmth of his embrace.

'The emptiness left in his absence is a void that cannot be filled by anything else.'

Baur, 31, and Vang, 39, remain in custody as details of their lengthy criminal records were revealed.

Vang was on supervised release after spending three years in prison for drug trafficking and was jailed in 2002 for felony child abuse after he battered a 12-year-old with a chair while serving time on another charge at Outagamie County Jail.

Vang's history also stretched back to her teenage years and includes convictions for disorderly conduct misdemeanors in 2011 and 2015.

Elijah was reported missing from the 3900 block of Mishicot Road in Two Rivers, Wisconsin

Elijah's aunt Linda Vue spoke of the 'desperation that consumes us as each moment passes without news of Elijah's safety', 'We long to hear his laughter' she said

Manitowoc County Sheriff Dan Hartwig was in tears as he joined Elijah's grandmother and aunt at the press conference on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people have been helping police scour the area for the missing child

Manitowoc County District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre said that Baur had sent Elijah to stay with Vang on February 12 for discipline, and was 'aware of the tactics used and the lack of care provided'.

Baur told detectives that Vang 'was the enforcer of rules in the relationship', and that was the reason she sent her son to stay with him, reports WBAY.

Vang's alleged harsh discipline involved forcing Elijah to stand for up to three hours at a time, while he was forced to repeat the phrase 'I'm sorry, Mommy.'

Detectives said that he didn't identify specific incidents that led him to punish the boy, but said that if the boy failed his punishments, he would ask him: 'Do you want the cold water?'

Vang also reportedly claimed that he didn't know why the boy was afraid of the phrase.

'He's fine. It's not like his knees are shaking and about to fall over you know,' he allegedly told detectives.

In an interview before his arrest, Vang also allegedly said he was trying to make Elijah understand that 'going home is like a privilege for him.'

After saying the boy was afraid of him, he reportedly changed that to say Elijah 'respects me.'

A few days before Elijah's disappearance, Vang texted Baur to say he was 'angry' because the child had 'overfilled' his diaper, so Vang gave him a cold shower, the complaint alleges.

Vang called police on Feb 20 and reported Elijah missing, telling police he had taken a nap that morning and brought Elijah in the bedroom with him, but when he awoke some three hours later, he was gone, the complaint states.

Fears for the little boy grew when one of the green and red dinosaur shoes he was wearing at the time of his disappearance was found in a street nearby.

Police are searching rivers, woods and landfill sites in the hunt for the sandy-haired child who is three-foot-tall and weighs 45 pounds.

Baur is facing one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect and two misdemeanor counts of resisting or obstructing an officer, and is being held on a $15,000 cash bond.

Vang was formally charged with one felony count of party-to-a-crime child neglect. He was being held on a $20,000 cash bond.

Both Baur and Vang both appeared in court Monday afternoon for their initial court appearances, during which their preliminary hearings were set for March 7, according to court records.

Officials also claimed that Baur lied to investigators about her whereabouts at the time Elijah disappeared on 'at least two occasions.'

The criminal complaint against Baur states that she denied being in Two Rivers between February 12 and February 20, and denied being in the Manitowoc County area on February 16 or 17.

However, she later admitted to being in Two Rivers on February 14 and again overnight on February 16 after a check of her phone data.

A multi-agency manhunt has since been launched for the missing child, which has so far failed find the child - nine days after he was last seen

Manitowoc Police Officer Nick Place and a K-9 dog search for the missing 3-year-old in Two Rivers, Wisconsin

The FBI is offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to finding Elijah, and Local Crime Stoppers is offering another $1,000.

Manitowoc County Sheriff Dan Hartwig was in tears as he joined Elijah's grandmother and aunt at the press conference on Tuesday.

'Everyone has seen that kid's photo,' he said.

'It's pulling at everyone's heartstrings. Somebody knows something.'
Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has repeatedly been singled out by the Coalition as the weakest link in the Albanese ministry over his handling of the disastrous High Court decision to free 149 asylum seeker detainees into the community.

But Mr Giles - with a Taylor Swift friendship bracelet dangling around his arm - couldn't help but crack a smile on Thursday afternoon, when he had the last laugh over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.

It was looking like the grimmest Question Time so far for Giles, a Labor Left former lawyer who previously represented refugees, after Victoria Police announced they had charged a released repeat rapist with sexual assault and stalking offences.

The arrest, of a kind the Albanese government has been dreading, sparked uproar in Parliament and culminated with Mr Dutton calling for Mr Giles to lose his job and describing him as a 'disaster'.

'Prime Minister, the immigration minister is a disaster,' Mr Dutton thundered.

'When will you show leadership, stop being so weak and sack this minister?'

Immigration Minister Andrew Giles has been singled out by the Coalition as the weakest link in the Albanese ministry, but as the sitting week drew to a close on Thursday afternoon, he had the last laugh

Mr Giles was wearing a very fitting Taylor Swift friendship bracelet with an uplifting message from one of her songs: 'Shake it Off'

The PM was unwavering in his support, just as Mr Giles was unwavering in his decision not to engage in discussions about the allegations against the individual

In the months since the November 8 High Court decision, Mr Giles has been repeatedly described as 'incompetent' and 'ineffective' by the Opposition.

Since the decision, the Opposition targets Mr Giles in most sessions of Question Time - viewing the softly-spoken MP as an easy target.

The PM refused to give in to the demand to sack Mr Giles on Tuesday and the Minister, wearing a bracelet that said 'Shake It off', used the premise that court proceedings were still unfolding to dodge the question.

'I want to be very clear - and I think all members will appreciate this - I am not in a position to, and I will not, comment on any individual case, because I will not risk prejudicing any court proceedings,' he said.

Pressed on the matter further, he said: 'With respect to this case, and as I've already answered, I am not in a position to comment on the individual case.' Off'.

Across the chamber, the Coalition jeered. They argued the Australian public expected, and deserved, an explanation as to why the man wasn't already redetained under legislation which gives the minister the power to protect the community from people at high risk of reoffending.

Indeed, the then-alleged offender, from Papua New Guinea, had a track record of horrific assaults - first jailed in 2008 for entering the homes of women in Queensland three times in 2008, and indecently touching one.

He also raped a woman in Melbourne in 2012, earning him a second four year stint in jail, before being transferred to immigration detention.

Giles kept his composure during the withering attacks, offering short answers reminding those opposite his answers were a reflection of the law.

Mr Giles worked as a lawyer and acted as a solicitor representing 433 asylum seekers trying to get to Australian territory aboard the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa in 2001, prior to entering parliament

Mr Giles worked as a lawyer and acted as a solicitor representing 433 asylum seekers trying to get to Australian territory aboard the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa in 2001, prior to entering parliament.

Part of the reason he's been identified as such an easy target for the Coalition is that he has been outspoken - for years - about his position on asylum seekers and refugees.

Mr Giles, who was elected as the Labor MP representing the north Melbourne electorate of Scullin in 2013, said this experience convinced him to run for office.

'Before September 2001, I had not given much thought to Australia's policies in relation to asylum seekers or the politics of this question,' he told parliament in 2014.

'I suspect I am not alone. Since then, it has been very different. The arrival of the people on the MV Tampa in Australian waters clearly represented a watershed moment in Australian politics and society.

'In 2001, I was a small part of the legal team that acted on behalf of the asylum seekers on the Tampa. This involvement, more than anything else, led me towards seeking election to this place.

'We shouldn't forget the story of the Tampa, in all its dimensions. It changed me as a young lawyer acting on behalf of refugees.'

Several hours after the PM abruptly ended Question Time, Mr Giles' approach was vindicated

Following Thursday's mishap, one Labor insider told Daily Mail Australia 'he's just a genuine guy'.

'To have what happened yesterday thrown in his face, it's a farce really. He did the right thing.'

Several hours after the PM abruptly ended Question Time, Mr Giles' approach to the session vindicated.

Victoria Police released a statement revealing they had got it wrong, and that all charges against the 44-year-old suspect were being dropped.

'Police arrested a man last night as part of their investigation into two incidents in Richmond on 27 February.

'Police have since notified the Richmond man's legal representation and the process has commenced to formally withdraw the charges.

'Detectives today returned to an address in Richmond and identified a man on CCTV who they now believe is the person who was involved in the incidents. That man has not been arrested at this time.'

The investigation is ongoing.

Mr Albanese on Friday morning criticised the Coalition's approach to the arrest, stating 'police and authorities should be allowed to do their job free of this pre-emptive political game playing'.

'I'm waiting for Peter Dutton to take responsibility for the debacle yesterday where he made completely false accusations against ministers.'

Immigration has been a key battleground in byelection in the critical Victorian seat of Dunkley - with right-wing campaign group Advance running ads about the number of rapists released after the High Court decision.

Mr Dutton said the issue around the charges was 'certainly regrettable, and the Victoria Police have addressed that.

'But look, in the end, as we know in Victoria here, including here in Dunkley, crime is a huge issue.

'And I think one of the frustrations I suspect that Victoria Police have got is that their efforts are distracted away from the local response that the community here demands to apply resources to what's a monumental stuff-up by the Government of releasing 149 hardened criminals, including sex offenders.'
A single mother who was defrauded of her entire life savings by serial conman Hamish McLaren has warned that it could happen to anyone.

Tracy Hall, from Sydney, was in a relationship with a man who she thought was called Max Tavita in 2016.

'Max', who was really serial fraudster and love rat Hamish McLaren, convinced her to set up a self-managed super fund which she thought was in her name during their 16-month relationship.

But, in reality, McLaren had her unwittingly transfer $317,000 in savings and superannuation into his own pocket.

Ms Hall said she was a skeptical person who believed she could spot a con.

Tracy Hall, from Sydney, was in a relationship with a man who she thought was called Max Tavita in 2016. His real identity was Hamish McLaren and he was a serial fraudster and love rat (the pair are pictured together)

Who is Hamish McLaren? * Hamish McLaren was a serial conman who fleeced $70million worldwide from dozens of victims by pretending to be an investment fund manager. * McLaren fleeced 16 victims, including Australian fashion designer Lisa Ho and his then-girlfriend Tracey Hall, during a relentless series of frauds from 2011 to 2017. * McLaren - who also called himself Hamish Watson and Max Tavita over the years - used fake but impressive stories to endear himself to victims. * These included talking up his financial expertise and lying about being in New York at a bar near the World Trade Centre when the planes hit on September 11, 2001. * He used the money he stole from his victims to live a lavish lifestyle, making regular trips to top holiday destinations and driving fast cars including an Aston Martin. Advertisement

'I watched those stories on the news and look at it and I think "I would never fall for that," yet here I am, I lost my life savings to a man who pretended to love me and at the same time he was destroying me,' Ms Hall told Sunrise.

McLaren fleeced $70million worldwide from dozens of victims, including Australian fashion designer Lisa Ho, by pretending to be an investment fund manager.

He was handed a 16-year jail sentence in 2019 for his crimes, later reduced to 12 years.

Ms Hall, who is writing a book about her experience called The Last Victim, said she wanted to share her experience to 'educate people about the pitfalls of falling for a con and really just helping people empower them around their financial security and financial vulnerability'.

'I don't think you should go into every situation just looking for red flags because that's a pretty crappy place to live but I think we all need to be more vigilant,' Ms Hall said.

'There's not a day that goes by...where you're not exposed to some type of scam and it is probably not the extent of what I experienced but every day a text message, an email.'

Ms Hall featured in The Australian's award-winning podcast Who The Hell Is Hamish?, which investigated how McLaren had been conning people since the 1990s.

She previously told Sydney-based financial advisor Canna Campbell how the scam worked, claiming it was a 'slow process of planting seeds'.

'He gained my trust through the image he portrayed,' Ms Hall said.

'The Max Tavita I knew was a chief investment officer for a family office hedge fund so there was this story that he built over time.'

A single mother who was defrauded of her 'life's savings' by serial conman Hamish McLaren has revealed how it happened (pictured: Tracy Hall)

McLaren (pictured) was handed a 16-year jail sentence in 2019 for his crimes, later reduced to 12 years

She said the pair had 'countless conversations about financial strategies and superannuation and hedge funds'.

Ms Hall said he was 'very vocal' about 'the banks and their superannuation', but because they were in a committed relationship, she thought this was all part of his expertise and he was 'looking out for me'.

'It was quite a long time before we discussed anything to do with my superannuation or my savings or anything, but it happened slowly and at the end of the day, I trusted him,' Tracy said.

By the time he went to prison, Tracy had given McLaren '$317,000 of her life's savings'.

'I'd been working for 21 years. It was a combination of my superannuation - which made up the majority - and some savings I had accumulated. It was my life savings,' Ms Hall said.

When she realised what she had lost, Tracy said she reached her 'lowest point'.

Her book, The last Victim, will be published in May.

King Con: The Life and Crimes of Hamish McLaren is airing at 8pm on Sunday on Channel Seven and also on 7plus.
The rape and murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty police officer was a crime so wicked it shocked the nation to the core.

The disgraceful failure to prevent twisted Wayne Couzens from killing the 33-year-old in March 2021 dragged the police's reputation firmly into the gutter.

Yet three years after the monster was sentenced to die in prison, an independent inquiry has revealed the scandal is even more damning than previously thought.

Lady Elish Angiolini's report found Couzens should never have been allowed a job as a police officer in the first place.

Disturbingly, three forces  the Met Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Kent Police  missed countless warning signs about his unsuitability for uniform.

The murder of Sarah Everard dragged the reputation of policing firmly into the gutter

Wayne Couzens' depraved sexual proclivities were an open secret among colleagues

The litany of failures make deeply troubling reading. Lamentable vetting meant he slipped through the net repeatedly.

Couzens was reported eight times for indecent exposure but was able to continue in the police because 'lethargic and inadequate' investigations were closed.

His depraved sexual proclivities were an open secret among colleagues.

Red flags were being waved in all directions yet no one acted to rein him in.

The grotesque consequence of this systemic failure was laid bare by Lady Elish. Had police done their jobs properly, she said, Sarah might still be alive.

Coming hard on the heels of rampant racism and sexism at Charing Cross police station and officers sharing vile pictures of two sisters murdered in a London park, public trust in the police in general and the Met in particular is at rock bottom.

There is a long road ahead to restoring faith. Vetting must be improved, indecent exposure allegations treated seriously, incompetence drummed out and officers given the confidence to report bigotry.

Police chiefs must address these issues urgently. As Lady Elish warns: 'Without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.'

Of course, we must never forget that every day thousands of officers perform a difficult and complex task, often risking their own safety to protect and serve the public.

But we deserve and expect a police service that catches criminals  not a grievously failing system that harbours them.

Burying worse news

James Cleverly's refusal to publish an avalanche of reports exposing immigration scandals in Britain led to the deeply unfair sacking of the borders watchdog.

So how curious that the Home Secretary decided to release the 13 long-overdue investigations yesterday  when all eyes were trained elsewhere.

Home Secretary James Cleverly decided to release the findings of an overdue investigation into immigration scandals yesterday - on the same day the Angiolini report into police failures over Couzens was released

He pumped them out on the same day as the Angiolini report into police failures over Couzens, Home Office figures showing a record number of foreign workers (mostly low-paid) and their families being given visas, and confirmation an all-time-high of 62,000 people had received asylum. The National Audit Office also warned the Rwanda scheme was floundering.

These all showed catastrophic failures at Mr Cleverly's department  and made a mockery of his pledge to cut immigration.

So was he cynically attempting to try to bury bad news under even worse news?

Arresting the truth

As the face of law and order, the police ought to feel an obligation to tell the truth.

So it's troubling that the crimes of Scarlet Blake, the transgender cat mutilator and murderer, will be recorded as having been committed by a woman.

Thames Valley Police say this is because the killer identifies as a female. But as men are more likely to kill, this will inevitably skew statistics which are used to identify risk and put in place precautions.

By pandering to a woke agenda, the force is compromising the safety of all women.
A pair of St. Louis homeowners are suing the city after a homeless couple set up camp outside their homes and the mayor told cops not to intervene.

Two Missouri residents are fed up after dealing with a homeless encampment on their front lawn for three years.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Richard Baumhoff and Steven McClanahan, who alleged that St. Louis have refused to intervene in the crisis despite the many requests.

Baumhoff and McClanahan have claimed that the homeless couple are 'scary, smelly and noisy,' according to their attorney W. Bevis Schock.

'For three years there have been two people living in a makeshift tent in front of their house,' Schock told Fox News Digital.

A pair of St. Louis homeowners are suing the city after a homeless couple set up camp outside their homes and the mayor told cops not to intervene

Two Missouri residents are fed up after dealing with a homeless encampment on their front lawn for three years

'They have a lovely front porch. They would like to go out with a nice cup of coffee in the morning and let the sun pour in on them and that cannot happen because these scary, smelly, noisy people are there, and they don't have the proper use of their house because of that.'

The homeowners say they are terrified of 'Roe and Doe,' as the homeless couple are referred to in legal documents.

'On some occasions, Doe and Roe have become aggressive with Plaintiffs and screamed at Plaintiffs and at other people. Plaintiffs are scared of Doe and Roe due to their unpredictability.

'Plaintiffs no longer use their front porch and front yard because of the noxious odors emanating from the tent (including the smell of excrement),' the petition said.

The residents were told by cops that the crisis was outside of their hands and, according to the petition being filed, Democratic Mayor Tishaura O. Jones ordered the police not to intervene.

The street squatters allegedly use the storm sewer as their toilet - which means the encampment 'smells like poop,' according to Schock.

Schock described the makeshift restroom as a 'public health hazard.'

'Plaintiff neighbors have seen [the homeless people] straddling over the sewer, using it as a toilet. [The] use of the storm sewer causes a public health hazard,' documents said.

'It's disgusting,' he said. 'These people aren't taking a shower every day. They have got garbage in their house. They see rats running around. They throw their litter outside their makeshift tent, including things like chicken bones and that draws vermin.'

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Richard Baumhoff and Steven McClanahan, who alleged that St. Louis have refused to intervene in the crisis despite the many requests

Baumhoff and McClanahan have claimed that the homeless couple are 'scary, smelly and noisy,' according to their attorney W. Bevis Schock

'On some occasions, Doe and Roe have become aggressive with Plaintiffs and screamed at Plaintiffs and at other people. Plaintiffs are scared of Doe and Roe due to their unpredictability,' the petition claims

While Schock describes his clients as 'compassionate' people, he said that they can't cope with their living conditions any longer.

'They do yell a lot and that's kind of scary and not that my clients aren't brave people who can handle somebody yelling at them once in a while, but it's uncomfortable for them because of that,' the attorney said.

The homeowners are scared for their own safety and the safety of their guests. They claim they can no longer mow the lawn, park in front of their home or even use the front entrance to their houses.

'Doe and Roe occasionally emerge to wash themselves. Doe wraps a towel around his waist but then exposes himself when switching from towel to clothes,' the petition said.

Schock has claimed that the city can 'get rid of' the homeless people when they want to, but are choosing not to in this situation.

He referenced Kamala Harris's trip to St. Louis in 2023, alleging that the Vice President's visit inspired the city to 'remove' all the homeless people.

'When Kamala Harris visited St. Louis and there were a bunch of homeless people living in tents on City Hall grounds, she removed them all,' Schock said.

'I don't know where they went. She got rid of them for the big visit of the vice president of the United States. So, they can move them out when they want to. They just have to want to and that's a big factor in the case.'

'They do yell a lot and that's kind of scary and not that my clients aren't brave people who can handle somebody yelling at them once in a while, but it's uncomfortable for them because of that,' the attorney said

The residents were told by cops that the crisis was outside of their hands and, according to the petition being filed, Democratic Mayor Tishaura O. Jones ordered the police not to intervene

Schock went on to say the 'woke' city's administration are comprised of 'left-wingers' who don't care about the interests of the taxpayers and are 'on the side of the homeless.'

'They think that the homeless are doing what they're doing because rich, White men cause their problems and that's how they view it,' Schock said.

'They have no interest in the interests of the taxpayers,' he continued.

The petition was filed on February 16.

Missouri reported a total homeless population of 6,708 in 2023 - a 12 percent increase from the previous year.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott lambasted Joe Biden for 'endangering America by 'not doing his job' on the border.

Abbott was appearing with Donald Trump as he guided the Republican presidential frontrunner along the edge of the Rio Grande and showed him what Texas is doing to stop illegal immigrants crossing.

The Republican governor showed Trump how shipping containers topped with concertina wire are being used as barriers.

And he took him to a spot where the body of a drowned illegal migrant was brought ashore earlier this week.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump listens as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speak at Shelby Park at the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texa

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump points to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he speaks at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas

A caravan wades past a string of buoys, being constructed to deter migrants crossings through the Rio Grande river, as they look for an opening in the concertina wire to enter into Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. July 27, 2023

Abbott also laid out plans to build an 80-acre base for the Texas National Guard.

He also vowed to continue his policy of sending illegal migrants to Democrat 'sanctuary' cities on buses.

It came as Biden visited the border city of Brownsville, Texas, about 324 miles from where Abbot appeared with Trump, but still in his state.

Abbott said: 'The United States of America is being invaded. Joe Biden is not doing his job.

'I don't think he (Biden) is on the border itself right now. He's in some sanitized location in the Brownsville area, not seeing the razor wire that Texas has put up around Brownsville.'

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas

President Joe Biden delivers remarks about immigration and border security on February 29, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. The President visited the border near Brownsville on the same day as a dueling trip made by former President Donald Trump to neighboring Eagle Pass, Texas

Members of U.S. National Guards stand guard on the shipping containers used as the border fence in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., February 27, 202

The governor added: 'And he announced that he was going to Brownsville after it was already known that President Trump was coming to the state of Texas.

'It just goes to show that Biden does not care about either Texas or the border and what's going on. As a result you see a disaster.'

Abbott said America is dealing with 'more deadly consequences than we have in our entire lifetime because of Joe Biden's policies on the border' and 'it did not have to be this way.

'All Joe Biden had to do to secure the border was to keep in place what President Trump put in place in the first place,' he said.

Former US President Donald Trump's visit to Eagle Pass town near the Texas-Mexico border: his supporters gathered in the region on Thursday, Feb. 29

Local residents gather near the scene of Donald Trump's visit to the border with Greg Abbott in Eagle Pass, Texas

He said there were three laws already on the books that Biden should enforce.

The first requires the Biden administration to deny illegal entry into the United States 'like what Texas is doing right here.'

He added; 'President Biden is aiding and abetting illegal entry.'

The second law requires the administration to detain anybody who does get here illegally, he said.

'But it is not detaining them. He's releasing them across the entire country,' Abbott said.

Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump visits the boat ramp at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. At right is Texas Gov. Greg Abbot

S President Joe Biden (C) speaks as US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas (C-L), Democratic Representative from Texas Vicente Gonzalez Jr (C-R) and others listen at the US Border Patrol Station in Brownsville, Texas

He said a third law requires the Biden administration to build border barriers.

But he said Biden is 'using every tool that he can to tear down the borders' Texas is putting up.

Abbott said: 'Not a week goes by without an American either losing their life, being raped or assaulted by somebody that Biden has allowed in our country illegally.'

Texas is 'ground zero' for illegal crossings and Biden had 'lied to America' about the border, he said.

Abbott and Trump spoke at Shelby Park, a 47-acre grassy area near the river.

There were thousands of daily illegal immigrant crossings there before Abbott had the military take it over in January.

Since then the number of migrants crossing has fallen to six or seven a day, he said.
The Rwanda asylum deal is set to cost the taxpayer 500million by 2026, the first detailed spending breakdown revealed yesterday.

Home Secretary James Cleverly will hand over an extra 120million to the east African nation once the first 300 migrants are relocated under the scheme, it emerged.

And removing migrants to Rwanda aboard chartered jets will cost 11,000 a head, a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office showed.

The Home Office has already paid Rwanda 220million  and is set to cough up another 50million every April between this year and 2026.

It will bring the agreed payments to 370million, with the extra 120million on top. In addition, the Home Office is set to shell out more than 51million over five years if 300 migrants are removed.

British Home Secretary James Cleverly (right) at a meeting with the Rwandan Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta (left) in December last year. The Home Secretary will hand over an extra 120million to the east African nation once the first 300 migrants are relocated under the scheme

Migrants picked up from the Channel by the RNLI. Under the new arrangement, if an asylum seeker decides to leave Rwanda after being sent there, Britain will pay the Rwandan government 10,000 a head to 'facilitate their voluntary departure' (stock image)

Labour's shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper (pictured). Ms Cooper said each migrant sent to Rwanda would cost the taxpayer 2million

Under the new arrangement, if an asylum seeker decides to leave Rwanda after being sent there, Britain will pay the Rwandan government 10,000 a head to 'facilitate their voluntary departure'.

Yesterday the Mail reported how the taxpayer will shell out 5.4billion on migrant hotels and other asylum support this year  a staggering total of 15million a day.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said each migrant sent to Rwanda would cost the taxpayer 2million.

'This shocking analysis shows the costs of the failed Rwanda farce are even higher than previously thought,' she added.
A massive sinkhole has opened up below a two-storey office building in Southern Sydney that sits above the M6 tunnel construction - with the building at risk of collapse.

Emergency services responded to a call at 5am after a sinkhole appeared under the commercial building in the industrial complex on West Botany Street in Rockdale.

It is believed the sinkhole opened up overnight or early this morning near an industrial complex in Sydney 's south

Emergency services responded to a call at 5am after a sinkhole appeared under the commercial building in the industrial complex on West Botany Street in Rockdale

The office building has been deemed 'unstable' by Fire and Rescue NSW and appears to be sagging in the middle.

Below the building there was excavation work taking place inside the M6 tunnel at the time of collapse, which has now been stopped.

'From what we can gather, there was a small trickle of material coming out of the surface of the tunnel that they're currently mining,' The Australian Workers Union Steve Ackerman told media.

'It got progressively worse, and the decision was made correctly: cease that work and move workers away.'

Authorities said no one was injured, and all workers were accounted for, both above ground and inside the tunnel construction.

The cause of the sinkhole is unclear, and workers will return to the site once it is declared safe.

The office building has been deemed 'unstable' by Fire and Rescue NSW and appears to be sagging in the middle

Authorities said no one was injured, and all workers were accounted for, both above ground and inside the tunnel construction

Workers have been building two long tunnels, each about four kilometres long, between Arncliffe and President Avenue in Kogarah for the M6 motorway.

Transport for NSW will investigate whether there's any link between the ground sinking and the construction of the M6 motorway.
Pupils have been banned from going on protests during school hours under new Government guidance.

It comes after numerous reports of children skipping classes to attend pro-Palestine rallies and climate change demonstrations, sometimes with the support of teachers.

Yesterday, the Department for Education published a new document making clear headteachers must not authorise such absences.

The new rule, which comes into effect in August, are part of a drive to boost attendance following the pandemic.

It states: 'Leave of absence should not be granted for a pupil to take part in protest activity during school hours.'

Pupils have been banned from going on protests during school hours under new Government guidance

In November, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was 'deeply concerned' over the sight of pupils taking part in pro-Palestinian protests during the school day.

School Strike for Palestine marches have taken place across the UK following the October 7 massacre, with events in cities including London, Bristol and Glasgow.

Before the pandemic, pupils across the UK took part in a series of school strikes, led by climate activist Greta Thunberg, on global warming.

In March 2019, Edinburgh City Council said children absent from school to take part in climate strikes would not be penalised for doing so as long as they had permission of parents or carers.

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'We're not sure this is terribly helpful.

The ban comes after numerous reports of children skipping classes to attend pro-Palestine rallies and climate change demonstrations, sometimes with the support of teachers

In November, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was 'deeply concerned' over the sight of pupils taking part in pro-Palestinian protests during the school day

The new rule, which comes into effect in August, are part of a drive to boost attendance following the pandemic

School Strike for Palestine marches have taken place across the UK following the October 7 massacre, with events in cities including London, Bristol and Glasgow

'Our view is certainly that pupils should not miss school to take part in protests.

'It is not only a matter of their lost learning but the fact that the school has to manage and follow up their absence.

'But it is also the nature of these things that the pupils involved in protests feel very strongly indeed about the cause over which they are protesting, and that this can be a very difficult and sensitive situation to manage.

'As such, we feel that these are matters that are best left to the discretion of schools.'
The occupant of a cliffside home in California is facing the reality that his backyard might fall off a cliff any day now.

Alan Ashavi, 66, says he grows more nervous by the day about his property, which earlier this month, became a victim to the atmospheric rivers raining down on California.

Last year, some of Ashavi's San Clemente neighbors saw their backyards collapse into the ocean as the land beneath them eroded.

Ashavi avoided that same fate last rainy season, but this year, he was not so lucky.

San Clemente, California, homeowner Alan Ashavi laments the storms that may ultimately send his cliffside property tumbling into the sea

Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide underneath his million-dollar property that has set his pool teetering on the brink of collapse.

An aerial view of a remaining pool at the edge of a hillside landslide brought on by heavy rains, which caused four ocean view apartment buildings to be evacuated and shuttered due to unstable conditions, on March 16, 2023 in San Clemente, California

Aerial views showing aftermath of cliff collapse after extreme weather in Southern California threatening multimillion dollar homes

Earlier this month, an atmospheric river caused a landslide underneath his million-dollar property that has set his pool teetering on the brink of collapse.

'You deal with it on a daily basis and you come in here and check every day or every hour sometimes,' Ashavi told Reuters, calling the ordeal 'nerve-wracking.'

'I know this is an El Nino year as far as the rain, so Ive had it in the back of my mind about being involved with the construction,' he added.

For the last two months, storms have battered California with heavy rainfall and incredibly strong winds.

The weather system they were a part of was dubbed the Pineapple Express. It ultimately prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency in eight counties, impacting more than 20million residents.

Flash flood warnings were issued at various times for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties - where mudslides have increasingly become a hazard over the last decade.

Luxury homes have been left on the verge of collapse as cliffside homeowners watch their neighbors lose patios that fall into the sea.

A University of California at Irvine professor says the erosion may soon move inland in a meaningful way.

'We have these atmospheric rivers coming off the oceans, drops the rain here on these hills and then the hills start eroding as well,' said climate change professor Kathleen Treseder.

'And so not only do we have this erosion right here from the waves, but we also have erosion up inland caused by the rainfall.

'We have many, many multi-million dollar homes all along this coast that will be falling into the ocean,' she said.

A University of California at Irvine professor says the erosion may soon move inland in a meaningful way

San Clemente, California - Aerial views showing aftermath of cliff collapse after extreme weather in southern California threatening multimillion dollar homes earlier this month

'We have many, many multi-million dollar homes all along this coast that will be falling into the ocean,' said a UCI professor

Landslides along oceanfront bluffs in San Clemente have recently prompted closures of the city's beach trails.

Stairs leading down to the coastal path at Dije Court, El Portal and Lasuens Beach were added to the list of closed access points this month, due to continuing instability of the area.

Engineers continue to assess and reassess the structural integrity of the coastal properties after every storm.

In Dana Point, a wealthy enclave of Orange County, about a 10-minute drive north of San Clemente, three stunning mansions teeter precariously on the edge of a cliff following a landslide earlier this month.

Each of the mansions - one more stunning and expensive than the last - are now at risk of tumbling into the Pacific.

Residents of the affected properties, which are priced at $12.8million, $13million, and $15.9million respectively, have been advised to remain vigilant, and prepare for the looming possibility of relocation.

Three multimillion-dollar homes in Southern California teeter precariously on the edge of a cliffside following a landslide in February

The collapse occurred on Scenic Drive in Dana Point, mud and debris slid hundreds of feet down the cliffside

The landslide saw a a huge portion of cliff to fall the foot of the priciest home in the area, a $15.9million, four-bedroom mansion registered to a local radiologist, 82-year-old Lewis Bruggeman

The missing cliff face slipped off right next to a $12.8million home (pictured)

The Dana Point and San Clemente collapses - which are still being surveyed by city officials - are merely the latest in a series of incidents that have plagued SoCal residents in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, part of a cul-de-sac on Avenida Columbo dropped five feet following a mudslide that sent mud and debris tumbling 150 feet down a slope.

The San Clemente area has, in recent years, been affected by unstable soil.

Residents in both areas have been advised to keep a careful lookout, as they continue to grapple with the consequences of these natural disasters.
The family who have been barred from their own dream house in NYC by a stubborn squatter have hired a celebrity security guard to watch over the $2 million mansion.

Susana and Joseph Landa, both 68, bought the stunning Little Neck property, which lies around 18 miles from Manhattan, in October.

The couple planned to retire in the large three-bed, four-bath home alongside their son Alex, who has down syndrome.

Unfortunately, alleged 'squatter' Brett Flores claims that he 'deserves' to live in the property because he worked as the caretaker for the previous elderly owner, who is now dead.

DailyMail.com visited the Long Island mansion and found that a security guard had been hired by the Landas to watch over their property as Flores continues to live there.

This $2 million 'dream home' bought by an elderly New York City couple has been left derelict and abandoned after it was taken over by a shameless squatter

Susana and Joseph Landa, both 68, have hired a celebrity security guard to watch over the $2 million mansion after 'squatter' Brett Flores took over their house

When DailyMail.com visited the property on Thursday night, almost every light was on in the home - the lights in the living room, basement, garage, upstairs area

Jennifer Gates married Nayel Nassa in October 2021, tying the knot in a ceremony in Westchester, New York, that reportedly cost $2 million

The burly security guard declined to give his name but told DailyMail.com I work for the owner of the house. These people are good people, it is a shame what is going on.

Theres probably two people [in the house]. It shouldnt be happening. Whoever made those [squatters rights] rules up is smoking some kind of crack.

The security guard had previously worked for Bill Gates's family had was used at his daughter Jennifer's wedding.

When DailyMail.com visited the property on Thursday night, almost every light was on in the home - the lights in the living room, basement, garage, upstairs area.

A camera - not one of the cameras from the new owners - appeared to be placed in an upstairs bedroom.

By 7:30 pm, there was still no sign of the squatter, or his SUV BMW with out-of-town license plates.

A man who knew the owner, he called Bernie, did not want to disclose his name, told DailyMail.com that he didn't know the story until he read about it.

He said: 'Jesus Christ - I know that house.'

'It's a beautiful house in a beautiful area.'

'It's unfortunate. People don't want to rent their properties because they are scared of squatters. Speak to any landlord and you will hear the same thing.

'This is no secret. This is the system - and it's been going on since Covid - it really created an opening where they don't have to pay rent.

'It's a shitty situation and a major fear of any landlord.'

He added: 'I'm glad I'm not a landlord.'

Susana (right) and Joseph Landa (left), both 68, purchased the mansion in Little Neck, Long Island in October, where they planned to enjoy retirement before their hopes were dashed

The squatter has been identified as Brett Flores, who is claiming that he has every right to stay

Earlier on Thursday, Flores, instead remaining inside where we observed furniture covered in dust sheets, with garbage strewn across the floor.

Ten surveillance cameras monitor the property, but it's unclear who placed them there.

Outside, the yard is unkept, with a broken doorbell and a sign warning of an 'alarm system' greeting guests at the front door.

A note purportedly left by Flores on the door of the home told the new owners they 'don't have my consent to enter,' and said their attempts to contact him would be 'interpreted as harassment.'

Despite a winter gale blowing through New York on Thursday, many windows and doors of the empty property were left wide open, as the home appeared to not have been lived in for some time.

Scattered, unfinished white paint has also been left on the home's red front door, alongside a key lock holder that had been ripped from its hinges.

There was no answer when DailyMail.com knocked the door. Flores' lawyer told DailyMail.com that he had no comment to make ahead of a court hearing scheduled for April 18. It is unclear what that hearing will cover.

No locals had anything to say about Flores, with one neighbor whose property backs onto the disputed home's yard saying he'd never even seen him.

Property records indicate the previous owner was Bernard Fernandez, a watch-maker who 'kept himself to himself' and was known by neighbors as 'Bernie.'

When the Landas picked the home to retire in back in October, its location next to family members and in a neighborhood where they lived for decades made it the ideal spot to settle down for good.

The Landas are taking Flores to landlord-tenant court to try and get him evicted, but the court hearing is not until April.

Scattered, unfinished white paint has also been left on the home's red front door, alongside a key lock holder that had been ripped from its hinges

Joseph Landa said his struggles to evict the squatter have become 'a nightmare, a total nightmare'

'Long story short, he is still there,' Susana said.

Flores had been hired as a caretaker by the home's previous owner, which he argues gives him every right to remain on the property.

Court documents show that Flores, 32, was indeed hired by the former homeowner, and he was paid $3,000 a week to care for the elderly man.

The former homeowner passed away in January 2023, but Flores claimed he has a 'license' to stay in the home granted by the old owner.

When DailyMail.com quizzed neighbors about the former homeowner, they didn't know much about the man, and said he 'kept himself to himself.'

After he described in court documents why he 'deserved' to live for free in the multi-million dollar property, Susana reacted: 'We couldn't believe it, we could not believe it.'

Flores' attorney told DailyMail.com, 'no comment.'

The homeowners tried to enter the property alongside an insurance inspector and Flores called the cops on them.

The family have already had five hearings in civil court and are complaining that the process keeps getting delayed.

Flores has showed up for court without an attorney and filed for bankruptcy on January 9, 2024, which prevented any legal proceedings from going forward.

While Flores is living rent-free in the family's dream home, they are paying all of the bills to keep the house up and running.

Flores has racked up thousands of dollars in utilities, which Joseph and Susana have had to pay.

The sprawling home is in Little Neck, around 18 miles from Manhattan

The couple have three sons, one of whom has Down Syndrome. They wanted to live with him in the home to remain close to his brothers

While Flores is living rent free in the family's dream home, they are paying all of the bills to keep the house up and running

Susana said Flores has been 'leaving windows open 24 hours' while they are paying the heating bills.

'It's very crazy, our system is broken,' Susana said. 'I never would imagine we have no rights, no rights at all, nothing, zero.'

'It makes me feel completely forgotten in this legal system, unfair and not able to do anything,' Joseph said.
The plan has been likened to 'scrapping Spitfires before the Battle of Britain'

Air Force chiefs are refusing to back down on a decision to retire 30 'quick reaction alert' jets used to protect British skies from potential attacks by Vladimir Putin.

In a move likened to 'scrapping Spitfires before the Battle of Britain', bosses at the cash-strapped RAF are to retire the Tranche 1 Typhoons to save money.

The jets, which still have thousands of miles left on their clocks and could continue to fly for several years, will be grounded after completing just 40 per cent of their predicted flying hours.

MPs demanded a rethink by RAF chiefs in response to rising concerns surrounding conflict with Russia, but to no avail. Quick reaction alert (QRA) operations are coordinated from RAF High Wycombe. The Typhoon crews are based at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth.

Last night, official RAF sources justified the plan on financial grounds, including the cost of maintenance and technological upgrades.

RAF Tranche 1 Typhoon jets in flight. In a move likened to 'scrapping Spitfires before the Battle of Britain', bosses at the cash-strapped RAF are to retire the Tranche 1 Typhoons to save money. The jets will be grounded completing just 40 per cent of their predicted flying hours (stock image)

RAF Tranche 1 Typhoon jets carrying out a reconnaissance. The controversial decision follows the Chancellor's refusal to include a significant cash boost for defence in the Budget. The planes' retirement will reduce Britain's complement of QRA jets from 137 to 107 (stock image)

Russian President Vladimir Putin. MPs demanded a rethink by RAF chiefs over the scrappage in response to rising concerns surrounding conflict with Russia, but to no avail

The controversial decision follows the Chancellor's refusal to include a significant cash boost for defence in the Budget. The planes' retirement will reduce Britain's complement of QRA jets from 137 to 107. The remaining jets are recently built Tranche 2 and Tranche 3 Typhoons.

Former defence minister Mark Francois told the Mail: 'Can you imagine if we had sold off squadrons of Spitfires prior to the Battle of Britain? There would have been uproar.

'The Tranche 1 Typhoons should be mothballed to enable them to be brought back at a time of conflict.

'For the purpose of defending Britain's skies from Russian jets, they will do splendidly.'

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the T1s would be withdrawn from service next year  five years ahead of the scheduled retirement in 2030. Aviation expert Professor Justin Bronk told MPs there was 'definitely an argument' for mothballing the T1s.

Manufacturer BAE Systems confirmed the T1s could be upgraded to match the capabilities of their more advanced successors.

While T1s can be used in only 'air to air' combat scenarios, such as against Russian aircraft threatening UK airspace, T2s and T3s can do 'air to air' and 'air to ground' operations.

Last night, RAF sources said retaining the T1s would cost 'in excess of' 300 million for upgrades and storage. A spokesman said: 'Retaining Tranche 1 Typhoons would not offer operational benefit or value for money and would lead to significant reductions in available spares and investment for Tranches 2 and 3.'
Russia is trying to destabilise Europe and influence its elections by driving migrants into the continent using private armies, it has been claimed.

Vladimir Putin already wields influence over a number of the main routes used to reach the continent, and it is now feared that Russia will 'intensify' its efforts to move migrants towards Europe with the arrival of spring.

Using paramilitary forces and private mercenaries, including the notorious Wagner group, it is believed Russia will stoke violence in already volatile nations such as Burkina Faso, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic and Libya - forcing people to flee their homes and thus driving refugees towards Europe.

The Kremlin has already been accused of trying to create a refugee crisis by sending asylum seekers to its border with Finland, forcing the new NATO member to close its doors to migrants in a bid to stem the tide.

And since 2021, Belarus - Russia's closest ally - has been accused of funnelling immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa - who have travelled up through Russia - to its borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

A group of asylum seekers arrive at the border in Salla, northern Finland, in November 2023, amid a migrant crisis driven by Russia

Migrants from Syria and Bangladesh are rescued in a boat off the coast of Libya in January this year

The Telegraph now reports that is has seen intelligence documents detailing Russian plans for agents to set up a '15,000-man strong border police force' made up of former militias in Libya to funnel migrants towards Europe.

READ MORE HERE: Migrants will account for 92% of the UK's population boom in the coming years as numbers are set to grow by FIVE Birminghams Advertisement

The plans fell through as payments made via the 'Russian-Libyan cultural institute' in Moscow never happened, although it is believed to be a taste of what could happen.

This has come with warnings that Putin is attempting influence the politics of countries in the West, using some African countries as staging grounds for migrants.

EU's border police force has said Russia is using migration 'as a lever in a larger game of influence and pressure' on its adversaries in the Wast.

This would be of great benefit to Putin and Russia as it continues to wage war in Ukraine, which is currently being supported by its allies in Europe and the US.

However, with EU elections in June, the European parliament is predicted to tilt towards the right, with migration already proving to be a key issue for voters.

This in turn is expected to see an increase in MEPs who are less sympathetic towards Ukraine's plight - and more sympathetic to Putin - to take up seats in the European Parliament, thus reducing the support for Kyiv in its defence against Russia.

It is predicted that if Russia were to get its way, many migrants would try to cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat into southern Europe, before being helped by people smugglers into other countries.

Russia already has thousands of mercenaries fighting in the ongoing Libyan civil war and there are claims that they are heavily involved with smuggling gangs.

A security source told the publication: 'If you can control the migrant routes into Europe then you can effectively control elections, because you can restrict or flood a certain area with migrants in order to influence public opinion at a crucial time.'

There are concerns that migrants who have crossed into Europe over the winter at the behest of Putin could try and traverse the English Channel in the summer when the conditions are more favourable.

Frontex, the EU's border police agency, said that there were 380,000 irregular border crossings in 2023, the highest amount since 2016. Of these, more than 62,000 attempted to enter Britain, it added.

Vladimir Putin has been accused of stoking the migrant crisis to influence politics in Europe. Pictured: Putin giving his annual state of the nation address in Moscow on Thursday

Migrants gather in a tent to get hot drinks near the border with Finland at the Salla checkpoint in November last year

It has previously warned that 'the likelihood of the instrumentalisation of migrants by Russia and Belarus has increased'.

Last year Finland was forced to close its doors to asylum seekers at four crossings after arguing that Putin was deliberately sending them across the border in retaliation for it joining NATO.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said it was 'clear that these people are helped and they are also being escorted or transported to the border by border guards', although Russia dismissed the claims.

Many of the migrants who arrived at the Finnish border did so without proper papers or identification, and many had originated from Africa and the Middle East.

One senior academic claimed Russia's involvement in Africa could cause further waves of migration.

Dr Sergey Sukhankin, a senior fellow at The Jamestown Foundation and an adviser at Gulf State Analytics in Washington, told the Telegraph: 'The various waves of illegal migrants from Africa might increase, because Russia is planning to create a new military facility in the Central African Republic.'

Central African Republic is a key part of some of the most-used migrant routes, with asylum seekers from places such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo moving through on their way north to Sudan and Libya.

2021: Polish police fire a water cannon at migrants camped at the Belarusian-Polish border at Bruzgi. Belarus - Russia's closes ally - pushed migrants from the Middle East and North Africa towards its borders with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania in 2021

Polish soldiers are seen building a fence on the border between Poland and Belarus near the village of Nomiki, Poland August 26, 2021

This image made from video provided by Polish Defense Ministry shows an aerial view of migrants and security personnel gathered at the border Kuznica, Poland, November 8, 2021

A spokesperson for Frontex told the Telegraph: 'These developments illustrate broader strategies that seem to be employed by state actors like Russia and Belarus, aimed at stress-testing the resilience of borders shared with EU and Schengen countries.

'This is not just a matter of border security but also of geopolitical tension, where migration is used as a lever in a larger game of influence and pressure. It is disturbing to see the desperation of people seeking to come to the EU used ruthlessly as pawns in a geopolitical game.

'While these incidents in Finland are currently at a relatively contained scale, they signal a potential risk that could intensify, particularly with the arrival of spring  a period traditionally associated with increased migratory movements.

'The situation could further escalate if there is active facilitation of crossings by the authorities in question.'
Two-thirds of international visitors would spend more in Britain if the Chancellor scrapped the tourist tax, according to a global survey.

Heaping fresh pressure on Jeremy Hunt ahead of next week's Budget, 63 per cent said they would be more likely to make large purchases in the UK if they could shop tax-free.

The study of 8,000 people from the United States, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait was commissioned by the Association of International Retail.

It also found the unavailability of the scheme influenced 68 per cent in deciding whether to make large purchases.

Four in five international tourists use VAT refund schemes when they travel overseas, AIR said.

Nearly two thirds of international visitors would spend more in Britain if Jeremy Hunt introduced tax-free shopping

The findings came as 500 leading businesses signed a letter to the Chancellor demanding he scraps the tourist tax.

The British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and Heathrow Airport were among the latest signatories to the letter spearheaded by hotelier Sir Rocco Forte.

Paul Barnes, chief executive at the Association of International Retail, said: 'This study with over 8,000 people in key tourist markets for Britain backs up the wealth of real-world data we're seeing about the impact of the tourist tax.

'The Treasury's original forecast that ending tax-free shopping would have little or no impact on international visitor behaviour, is not supported by the evidence.

'Tax-free shopping is a huge draw, particularly for visitors coming from China and the Gulf States, and not reinstating this policy is having a detrimental effect on retailers in the UK and on the wider economy.

'It's great that the Chancellor is reviewing the data and the Office for Budget Responsibility is assessing the full impact of tax-free shopping.

'We are confident that the evidence shows that tax-free shopping is good for British businesses, good for the economy and good for the Treasury.'

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, added: 'Our members are frequently telling us about the loss of income that they have had since the damaging decision to end tax-free shopping and this survey confirms the impact to our global reputation.'

Five hundred businesses signed a letter to the Chancellor demanding he introduce a VAT refund scheme (File Image)

Rishi Sunak scrapped tax-free shopping for overseas tourists in 2021 when he was Chancellor - with the Treasury claiming it was a 'costly relief which does not benefit the whole of GB equally'.

But the move sparked a furious backlash, and the Mail's Scrap The Tourist Tax campaign was launched in support of calls for it to be reintroduced.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ordered the OBR, the Government's economic watchdog, to investigate whether the tax costs Britain more than it raises.

The OBR will report back before next week's Budget.

The survey was carried out by Stack Data Strategy using nationally representative polling in six countries, with a sample size of 1,500 respondents in China, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UAE and the United States and a sample size of 500 in Kuwait between October 17 and 25.
The new service will be boosted with AI to prioritise pressing cases

But they will only be given this if they have a small chance of seeing a doctor

A health service initiative promises 'same-day access' to GPs  even though patients have only a one in 15 chance of actually seeing a doctor.

Health officials said the plans, which affect around 2.8million residents in north London, will boost access to medical professionals and improve care.

Patients who select 'same-day' when phoning their GP practice will be directed to a new 'hub', with artificial intelligence helping to prioritise the most pressing cases.

However, documents produced by North West London Integrated Care Board suggest that each hub could be staffed by just one GP, with most of the work done by less qualified members of the team. The briefing pack, seen by Pulse magazine, suggests that of the 146 appointments every day, just ten would be staffed by GPs.

The remainder will be carried out by pharmacists, advanced nurse practitioners  and controversial physician associates who have just two years of medical training.

Health officials said the plans, which affect around 2.8million residents in north London, will boost access to medical professionals and improve care (Stock Image)

Officials said patients seeking same-day care may need to travel further to be seen or accept a remote appointment over the phone or video (Stock Image)

Officials said patients seeking same-day care may need to travel further to be seen or accept a remote appointment over the phone or video.

A letter from medical committees across London, which represent the capital's GPs, raises concerns about patient safety associated with the hub scheme.

It warns that the model will undermine 'continuity of care' and suggests that arrangements for one GP to supervise a host of other staff are 'unsafe'.

Meanwhile, campaign group Save Our NHS Hammersmith And Fulham said the plans 'would exclude GPs from almost all provision of 'same day' GP care for over 2million people'. And Dennis Reed, from Silver Voices, a campaign group for the over-60s, said he was concerned that such a step would end up 'abandoning the GP system altogether'.

Dr Genevieve Small, Harrow GP and medical director for Primary Care NHS North West London, said: 'Patients consistently tell us that getting a GP appointment can be difficult. We have developed a plan that will increase same-day access to GPs, community pharmacists and other primary care professionals for those patients who need it.

'This approach will be introduced gradually across north-west London from April 2024. It will ensure that GPs have more time to pro-actively care for their patients who most need their expertise, including those with long-term conditions.'

Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said family doctors were open to ways of improving access, which could involve new hubs.

But she added: 'We do have concerns about how this model could impact continuity of care, which research consistently shows is beneficial for both patients and the NHS.'
Record numbers of pupils are set to miss out on their first-choice secondary school today amid a national squeeze on places.

Around one in five children are expected to face disappointed and attend less desirable schools or those far from their home.

Applications have surged in recent years, caused by a baby boom a decade ago which was partially fuelled by a rise in net migration.

The number of pupils applying to secondary school is expected to peak this year at 625,000.

It could lead to national success rates falling to close to 80 per cent - down from 82.6 per cent last year and 83.3 per cent the previous year.

Around one in five children are expected to face disappointed and attend less desirable schools or those far from their home (Stock Image)

In many London boroughs, the situation will likely be much worse, with almost half of pupils set to lose out in boroughs such as Lambeth.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union of headteachers, said: 'There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as there is a pupil population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools.

'Many schools are particularly over-subscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.'

Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It is likely that a record number of parents will be disappointed at not getting their first choice of secondary school this week.

'A bulge in births in the early part of the century has been moving through the school system and it peaks in secondary schools this year.'

Pupils aged ten and 11 around the country will be sent their school place decisions today on what is known as National Offer Day.

The number of pupils applying to secondary school is expected to peak this year at 625,000 (Stock Image)

Last year, there were 620,000 applications - the biggest number since such data was first collected in 2014.

More places have been on offer, but not enough to keep pace with the extra demand - especially at more popular schools.

Local authorities ask parents to list several choices in order of preference, but this year around 8,000 are predicted to miss out on every single school they put on their list.

The chance of success across the country varies very widely.

Last year, the lowest was in London, with only 61.6 per cent of Lambeth residents getting their first choice.

By contrast, nearly all applicants got their first choice in Rutland, at 98 per cent.

Professor Smithers said the nature of the capital meant parents were applying for more far-fetched choices.

He added: 'In London parents are unusually able to express six preferences, freeing them to risk more failure.

Local authorities ask parents to list several choices in order of preference, but this year around 8,000 are predicted to miss out on every single school they put on their list (Stock Image)

'Public transport is also relatively good, increasing the accessibility of schools that are already greatly over-subscribed.'

Schools are required to keep a waiting list open for at least the first term of each school year, and parents can add their child even if they have accepted a please elsewhere.

They can appeal against the decision even if they accept a place offered at another school.

The most successful appeals are those that can prove the school or local authority has not properly followed their own admissions code.

Often, parents try to argue that the school suits their childcare arrangements best, or it allows their child to stay in a friendship group, but these appeals are unlikely to be successful.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
Violence exploded outside the student union at the University of Manchester as pro-choice protesters clashed with pro-life campaigners.

The two groups of students were captured holding placards as a full blown fight broke out.

Several male students were seen getting into a physical altercation, while other protesters are seen cheering them on.

In another video, police were seen watching on as pro-life activists filed out the building to cries of 'shame on you'.

Officers were then shown trying to break up the campaigners and push back the crowds from each other.

Violent scenes erupted outside the student union at the University of Manchester as pro-life protesters clashed with pro-choice campaigners

Both groups of students were videoed holding placards as a full blown fight broke out

Two protesters were filmed having a physical altercation while other protesters cheered them on

Some protesters were seen wearing face coverings and hoods while pushing against a wall of officers.

One officer was then captured being heckled by an angry protester shouting 'Abortion is not an opinion.'

It comes amid concerns raised by female students about the Manchester Pro Life Society, which was founded on January 11 and has a male president and male treasurer.

A petition to close the society, which the student union insists was established within the rules, has collected over 16,000 signatures.

One female student told the Independent that the establishment of the society was like 'the beginning of a Margaret Atwood novel' and accused the student union of 'enabling misogynistic hate speech'.

Aside from opposing abortions, the Pro Life Society says it is also campaigning other threats to life including assisted suicide, capital punishment and deaths caused by poverty and poor living standards.

Michael Robinson, executive director for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), hit out at the demonstration.

He told MailOnlIne: 'The increase in attacks on pro-life students, stalls and other anti-abortion initiatives on campuses in recent years, is shocking.

The fight unfolded amid a backlash towards the university's Pro-Life Society which was founded in January

'Those who engage in such disgusting acts of intimidation and abuse must be held accountable by universities. Students of all opinions must be protected. SPUC expects the University of Manchester to hold those to account for such unacceptable behaviour'

'Meanwhile, SPUC commends peaceful pro-life students everywhere who, every day, in increasingly difficult circumstances, seek to communicate and uphold the pro-life message.'

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: 'While we respect the right of students to peaceful protest, there were instances of serious disruption and intimidation at this event.

'This affected staff and students going about their normal business, and police and campus security involvement was required.

'As well as the right to peaceful protest, we also have a legal obligation to support free speech within the law. The Students' Union, which approves student groups, has published an extensive statement with regard to the status of the Society.'
Police in Arizona have warned that 'timing is crucial' as they try to find a young woman brutally bundled back into a car she was trying to escape from.

A horrified onlooker called police after seeing the woman trying to run from the Nissan SUV as it pulled into a gas station before being chased and caught by its heavily built male driver who dragged her back to the car.

Other customers seemed oblivious as the man shoved her in and slammed the door before driving off at high speed from the Circle K in Buckeye.

Unfortunately we know nothing about these two subjects,' Sergeant Tamela Skaggs of the Buckeye Police Department admitted.

'That video is extremely concerning to us, and that video is what we have.'

The woman gets out of the passenger side and starts walking briskly towards the convenience store

She breaks into a run as the heavily-built driver pursues her across the station forecourt

Within two seconds he has her in a headlock, gripping her by the neck as she struggles to escape

It was just after 10pm on Friday that the grey Nissan Rogue pulled up to a pump at the gas station near Interstate 10 and Watson Road.

Both doors swung open at the same time and the woman in the passenger seat began walking at pace towards the convenience store, clutching her hands together.

The man immediately chases her, and she has only got a few steps before he grabs her around the neck, bends her over backwards, and hauls her back to the car with her feet dragging on the ground.

It takes him ten seconds to force her into the vehicle before he violently slams to the door and marches around to the driver's side, getting in and immediately accelerating back onto the street.

Hundreds of people have commented since police posted the grainy footage to their Facebook page with many demanding to know why other customers did not intervene.

'I get it it's scary these days to get involved but something like that how could you not,' wrote Valerie Evora.

'How did no one around not see this or try to get out and try to stop him,' added Laura LM, 'I am sure that is what she was thinking.'

Others were frustrated by the poor quality of the images.

'I wonder if they stopped at another gas station since they weren't able to fill up at that one and hopefully they have better camera footage at a nearby gas station,' wrote Katelyn Yohe.

'The pumps have cameras too,' pointed out Evora.

'Did you guys see she didn't bolt out of the SUV she walked like 2-3 steps then attempted to run?' observed Adilene Diaz, 'Maybe a domestic violence victim.'

'I was thinking she was trying to sneak away and he caught on so she started to run,' added Lisa Chapman.

'Either way, someone knows who he is.'

Sergeant Tamela Skaggs of the Buckeye Police Department said the car was a grey Nissan Rogue, produced between 2021 and last year, but only the public can solve the case

The man bends his victim over backwards as she continues her futile attempt to escape

One arm is all he needs to haul the young woman back towards the car from which she had just escaped

Her feet scuff along the tarmac as she struggles to remain upright under the assault

Seconds later she is slammed back into the car and the man marches round to the drivers seat before driving off at speed

Police say the Nissan, thought to be a 2021 to 2023 model, fled from the gas station north on Watson heading toward I-10.

'That video is extremely concerning to us and we understand that it will be concerning to the viewers who are watching it,' Sgt Skaggs told Fox10.

'So that's why we're asking for information from the pubic to identify these two subjects and see if this woman is ok.

'The timing in this investigation is crucial. There's too many unknowns.'
Luke Davies is pictured before his farewell in Brisbane in November

EXCLUSIVE

Luke Davies threw a farewell party before he moved to Sydney to follow his dream of becoming an international flight attendant, three months before he was allegedly murdered alongside his new boyfriend.

Mr Davies, 29, was living in Brisbane and working as a cabin crew member on domestic Qantas flights until November, when he was offered his dream job working on international flights.

He threw a party with mimosas and margaritas to say goodbye to all his friends before he flew south and excitedly moved into a home in Waterloo, in Sydney's inner suburbs, to start the next chapter of his life.

One of his best friends Dean Bailey told Daily Mail Australia it was a bittersweet farewell because they didn't want him to move, but they felt better knowing they would see him again in August for his 30th birthday celebration in Bali.

'It was for selfish reasons that we didn't want to him to go,' he said.

'But then we watched Instagram stories of him going to Chile or Tokyo - he loved travel and he was living that dream.

'He was starting a new chapter, landed his dream job and moved, which was huge for him.'

Mr Davies didn't tell his mates about his new boyfriend Jesse Baird, 26, because he was shy about revealing fresh relationships, but they assumed he was seeing someone when he uploaded a photo of them together on February 5.

Just two weeks to the day after that post, Mr Davies and Mr Baird were dead.

Luke Davies posted this picture with new boyfriend, Jesse Baird, to Instagram on February 5 - exactly two weeks before they died

Luke Davies is pictured, right, with friends at his farewell function in November, before he moved to Sydney

Luke Davies is pictured, front left, with his friends at his farewell party in Brisbane

Mr Baird's one-time lover Beau Lamarre-Condon, who was a NSW Police constable at the time, allegedly used his police-issued Glock pistol to shoot them both three times in a Paddington terrace at 9.50am on Monday, February 19.

Police allege Lamarre-Condon did not expect Mr Davies to be at the house when he allegedly arrived to kill Mr Baird, but quickly adapted his plans.

Mr Baird had previously decided to end his brief friends-with-benefits relationship with Lamarre-Condon via text message in November, asking the ex-cop to refrain from ever contacting him again.

The deaths have been widely reported in the media, partly because Mr Baird was a presenter for Channel Ten and his former colleagues made heartfelt tributes to him on national television.

But while Mr Davies' friends believe both men deserve the tributes they're getting, Mr Bailey said they also feel his death has been overshadowed by Mr Baird's.

'I think the general consensus is he's not getting as much media attention as Jesse - we all get that feeling a bit,' he said.

Mr Bailey has now organised a vigil for Mr Davies at a park in Brisbane on Saturday, partly in response to the perceived imbalance.

Luke Davies is pictured with a friend at a farewell party in Brisbane in November

Dean Bailey is pictured, left, with Luke Davies. Mr Bailey has organised a vigil on Saturday

He has been overwhelmed with the large number of people who responded to the invitation, including people he went to high school with.

When Mr Davies' death was revealed last week, Mr Bailey said a friend asked him if he had 'seen what happened with Luke?'

'I thought it would be some light-hearted thing,' said Mr Bailey.

'And I thought, "What's Luke done now?" and then he tried to explain it to me and it wasn't making sense and I started calling friends to find out.

'He was a lovely guy, friendly, loving, caring, he had a cheeky side to him - that's what made us instantly connect - he loved to laugh, and it was always like he was floating in an air of happiness.'

Another friend, Tomas Mian, told Daily Mail Australia remembered Mr Davies as a 'super adventurous' person who was genuine and kind.

'It's hard to find people like him, and I knew he had a good amount of friends, but I didn't how many he had,' Mr Mian said.

He said his heart sank when a friend sent him a link about Mr Davies' death, on February 21.

'I read it and I thought, "no way, that's not possible", and I remember getting goosebumps because it didn't feel real,' he said.

Lamarre-Condon has been charged with two counts of murder and will face court at a later date.

In light of the charges, NSW Police chiefs have now started the process to dismiss Lamarre-Condon from the police force.
A finance influencer whose social media is filled with a stream of supercars and foreign holidays will have his Australian assets seized and held in trust after an application by the corporate regulator.

Tyson Scholz was hit with sequestration orders by the Federal Court on Thursday following a lengthy legal battle with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) who accused him of giving unlicensed financial advice.

The Gold Coast native, who went by the name 'ASX Wolf' on social media but has recently rebranded to 'Infinity Trading', had an outstanding amount of more than $450,000 in legal costs that he had previously been ordered to pay ASIC.

The watchdog had been pursuing Scholz since December 2021 claiming that his promotion of stock trades and investments on social media amounted to an unlicensed financial services business, which Scholz denied.

The sequestration orders will in effect force bankruptcy on Scholz, which will restrict him from managing any corporation until discharged.

Tyson Scholz is set to have his Australian assets seized and held in trust after the corporate regulator pursued him for providing unlicensed financial services, which he denied

In 2023 the 'ASX Wolf', as he is also known, sold his luxury Gold Coast mansion for $4.61million

Scholz has posted photos of his Lamborghini Aventador with the licence plate 'ASX Bull' and a Ferrari GTB with an 'ASX Wolf' plate. It is unclear if he owned or rented the cars (pictured)

Following proceedings by ASIC, the court found in December 2022 that through his online venture he had provided an unlicensed financial service between March 2020 and November 2021.

Justice Kylie Downs issued him with a permanent cease-and-desist in April 2023 from 'carrying on a financial services business in Australia in contravention of s911A of the Corporations Act'.

Specifically, Scholz was banned from 'hosting online groups for which a membership fee is charged, and in which messages are exchanged by members about share trades (either in a group chat or through direct messages from Mr Scholz), without an Australian Financial Services Licence'.

Scholz was barred from conducting a financial services business and ordered to pay ASIC's legal costs (pictured with his wife)

In June he was ordered to pay the hefty amount of $456,296.76 in ASIC's legal costs.

But by July 2023 with no payments made, he was given a bankruptcy notice followed three months later by ASIC filing a creditor's petition in the Federal Court, leading to Thursday's ruling.

Scholz's legal woes haven't appeared to slow his jet-setting lifestyle, with the 'Wolf' posting a series of stories to his Instagram over the last few days where he appears to be living it up in ultra-luxury hotels and the fine dining restaurants in Dubai.

His legal woes don't seem to be slowing Scholz down and he has recently posted images from fine dining restaurants in Dubai

In another clip Scholz takes his followers on a tour of an ultra-luxury Dubai hotel suite

Before Dubai he was in the French Alps dog sledding and kicking back at famous restaurants

Before that, January saw him dog sledding in the French Alps and kicking back at the famous Bagatelle Courchevel mountaintop restaurant where he declared 'France is for living'.

Late last year he was in holidaying in Greece before he was back in the United Arab Emirates posing inside a $600,000 Rolls Royce, which it is understood he does not own, and motorbiking across the desert near Dubai.

Scholz calls himself a 'global equity trader with 10 years' experience' on his Instagram, which still links to his trading 'academy' that offers a course described as a 'full introduction to trading' and a 'doorway to understanding financial markets'.

He frequently shares posts beside or driving luxury supercars boasting that he'd added them to his 'collection'

Just three weeks ago he posted that he was 'working on a big mining deal' and tagged South Africa and Cape Town.
Nearly 100 firefighters have rushed to a devastating fire at a block of terraced houses in London tonight.

More than a dozen fire engines were called to Emperor's Gate in South Kensington after midnight after the blaze broke out on Friday, March 1.

Video taken from the scene shows flames tearing through the roof and the top floor of the structure as firefighters try to douse the inferno.

Footage shared on social media shows multiple emergency services at the scene, with a cordon in place to stop members of the public getting through.

London Fire Brigade said 15 people had evacuated the five-storey building before it arrived. It is not known at this time whether anyone has been injured.

Firefighters were called to the building in Emperor's Gate at around 12.30am after the blaze broke out

In a statement, LFB said: 'Fifteen fire engines and around 100 firefighters have been called to a fire at a terraced house converted into flats on Emperor's Gate in South Kensington.

'Half of the ground floor of the five storey building is alight. Around 15 people left the building before the Brigade arrived.

Video on social media shows flames leaping into the sky through the roof of the building

'The Brigade was called at 0031 and is still at the scene. Fire crews from Kensington, Fulham, Battersea, Hammersmith, Chelsea, North Kensington and surrounding fire stations are in attendance.

'The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.'

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea tweeted: 'We are aware of the situation and liaising with emergency services to offer support.
George Galloway has clinched a stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election after one of the most divisive and chaotic contests in recent history.

Local voters have chosen the firebrand politician as their new MP to replace Sir Tony Lloyd, following the death of the veteran Labour politician last month.

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons.

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am.

Although the stunning victory came after Labour was forced to disown its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks condemned as anti-Semitic, the result will raise concerns that the party's support more widely could be affected by Sir Keir's stance on Israel.

Mr Galloway sent an immediate warning to Labour that he would use his new platform in Parliament to berate Sir Keir Starmer over his position on the Middle East crisis.

The maverick will return to Westminster as a representative of a third different political party - the Workers Party of Britain - having previously been both a Labour and Respect MP.

George Galloway has clinched a stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election after one of the most divisive and controversial contests in recent history

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons

Mr Galloway kisses his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, during the by-election result declaration in Rochdale

Rochdale by-election result in full George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain) 12,335 votes (39.65%) David Tully (Independent) 6,638 votes (21.34%) Paul Ellison (Conservative) 3,731 votes (11.99%) Azhar Ali (Labour) 2,402 votes (7.72%) Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrat) 2,164 votes (6.96%) Simon Danczuk (Reform) 1,968 votes (6.33%) William Howarth (Independent) 523 votes (1.68%) Mark Coleman 455 votes (1.46%) Guy Otten (Green) 436 (1.40%, -0.68%) Michael Howarth (Independent) 246 (0.79%) Ravin Rodent Subortna (Loony Party) 209 votes (0.67%) Advertisement

The father-of-six won 12,335 votes in the by-election, which was just under 40 per cent of the vote share.

This put him ahead of second-placed independent candidate David Tully who won 6,638 votes (21 per cent).

Azhar Ali, the former Labour candidate who was ditched by the party following an 'anti-Semitism' storm, was fourth with just 2,402 votes (7.72 per cent).

Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.

Mr Galloway used his victory speech to go on the attack against Sir Keir Starmer over the Labour leader's Gaza stance after being declared the by-election winner.

He warned Sir Keir: 'You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

Mr Galloway was interrupted by a woman shouting that he was a 'climate change denier' before she was drowned out by shouts of 'Gall-o-way! Gall-o-way!'.

'I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, the plates have shifted tonight,' Mr Galloway then continued.

'Keir Starmer's problems just got 100 times more serious than they were before today.

'This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies.'

Mr Galloway claimed Labour was now 'on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them'.

'I've heard some of the narrative being spun around this election result this evening,' he added. 'Yes its true, that every Muslim is bitterly angry at Keir Starmer and his listing Labour Party.

'But you would be very foolish, if you did not realise that millions of other citizens of our country are too.

'Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight!'

The ex-Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant was pictured voting in Rochdale on Thursday

Votes for Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, are seen on a table at a polling station

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win in Rochdale after Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded

Votes are taken out of a ballot box for counting during the Rochdale by-election, which has been one of the most divisive and controversial by-election contests in recent history

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, is pictured at the Rochdale count with his wife Claudine and party leader Richard Tice (left)

Mr Danczuk was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017

Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded when they had to ditch support for local councillor Azhar Ali as their official candidate following an anti-Semitism storm

The contest to replace Sir Tony as Rochdale's MP was marred by raging tensions over Gaza , with claims of death threats, candidates wearing stab vests, and vandalism.

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win the by-election after Labour's bid to retain the Greater seat imploded.

Sir Keir Starmer's party had to ditch support for Mr Ali, a local councillor, as their official candidate following the emergence of his remarks about Israel.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) expressed its concerns about Mr Galloway's own views following his victory in Rochdale.

A spokesperson said: 'George Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

'Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this parliament.'

Ahead of the Rochdale result being declared in the early hours of Friday, supporters of Mr Galloway had predicted a comfortable win for their candidate.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP and now deputy leader of Mr Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, told Sky News: 'We believe that we've won comfortably today and it really will, I think, send shockwaves through the Palace of Westminster.

'But it will also, I think, give hope to tens of thousands, if not millions of people in the country who are looking for a genuine alternative, because our democracy has been stolen from us.

'The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are effectively often the same thing.'

He added that a victory for Mr Galloway represented 'a total rejection of mainstream party politics'.

James Giles, campaign manager for Mr Galloway, said: 'It is going better than our wildest hopes. George will win here by a fair margin.'

A victory rally has been planned by Galloway supporters at their campaign HQ - a Suzuki car dealership in the town.

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017.

He quit Labour almost seven years ago amid a 'sexting' scandal, when he was alleged to have sent explicit messages to a teenager.

Reform leader Richard Tice earlier conceded that Mr Danczuk's bid in Rochdale had failed, telling Sky News: 'There's no question Mr Galloway has won this election by what looks like a considerable margin. Everyone else, frankly, is also rans.'

Mr Tice bemoaned how 'menacing behaviour' had 'been a feature of this entire campaign' including 'outside polling stations' on Thursday.

He also questioned the validity of postal votes returned during the contest.

Former Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has previously criticised postal voting on a number of occasions following defeats for his various parties.

Mr Danczuk secured a little more than 6 per cent of the vote, coming sixth behind Mr Ali, the former Labour candidate.

William Howarth, an independent candidate said he agreed with Mr Tice that there had been an 'element of intimidation' running through the election campaign.

He revealed he was abused by a man carrying a Palestine flag on Thursday in Rochdale town centre.

After spotting his rosette the man called him 'a dirty Zionist bastard', Mr Howarth said. He added the man was arrested by police.

Mr Danczuk previously reported being the subject of a death threat during the campaign with police said to have made an arrest.

Mr Galloway denied his supporters had engaged in any intimidation, and claimed on Sky News that Mr Tice had invited him to be a Reform UK candidate in a recent by-election.

He added that he hoped he would be introduced to the Commons by Conservative former minister Sir David Davis and the former Labour leader, and now independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn.

There had been thoughts that Mr Ali might go on to win the Rochdale contest, after Labour discarded him too late to remove him from ballot paper.

He told ITV News on Thursday: 'I'm still on the ballot paper, I've been campaigning for the last few weeks and I'm hoping for a positive result.'

Asked whether he would take up his seat in the House of Commons if he won the by-election, Mr Ali replied: 'Absolutely.'

There had also been controversy around Green candidate Guy Otten, who had his party's support withdrawn over comments he made on Twitter.

But, like Mr Ali, his name still appeared on ballot papers when locals went to polling stations on Thursday.

Labour's campaign fell apart after a recording surfaced of Mr Ali suggesting Israel 'deliberately allowed' Hamas terror attacks on October 7 as a pretext to invade Gaza.

Shadow cabinet members Lisa Nandy and Anneliese Dodds both campaigned for him before Labour eventually withdrew support amid growing criticism.

The action against Mr Ali also followed the emergence of a fuller recording in which he was heard commenting on 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters'.

Mr Ali subsequently apologised 'to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments'.

After he was ditched by Labour, local voters were urged to 'teach Keir Starmer a lesson' by continuing to support Mr Ali.

Pro-Palestinian backers of Mr Ali were reported to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes.

Alongside an image of Mr Ali, one read: 'Sacked by Starmer for speaking on Palestine. It's time to teach Starmer a lesson in Rochdale. Vote Azhar Ali.'

Another depicted Sir Keir as a clown and dubbed the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a stong voice for Palestine'.

Mr Galloway's campaign was also heavy on the Palestinian cause and Gaza, an issue close to the heart of many of Rochdale's Muslim population.

His team believed 15,000 votes would be enough to win most by-elections and Rochdale has a 30,000-strong Asian community.

There had been incidents of his campaign posters being torn down.

The contest in Rochdale was prompted by the death of former Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd at the age of 73 last month

A police officer is pictured next to an entrance to a polling station during voting in the Rochdale by-election on Thrsday

Mr Danczuk had branded Mr Galloway's campaign as divisive and claimed his rival would be the 'MP for Gaza', not Rochdale.

The Tories were never expecting any success in Rochdale, with the Greater Manchester constituency having not had a Conservative MP since the 1950s.

Tory ex-Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick on Thursday hit out at how the Rochdale contest had become known as the 'Gaza by-election'.

He criticised some candidates for being 'more interested in a conflict they have no influence over than improving the lives of local people', adding: 'Shameful.'

Rochdale, which is one of the most deprived in England and voted 60 per cent in favour of Brexit, has also been the subject of Asian grooming gang scandals.

A major report in January concluded that young girls were left 'at the mercy' of paedophiles due to failings by senior police and council bosses.

Mr Howarth, involved in the group Parents Against Grooming UK, stood at the by-election as an independent.

He said he had taken to wearing a stab-vest while campaigning, such were tensions in the town during the contest.
King Charles III will be absent from the new $5 banknote - and will be replaced by a design with an Aboriginal theme.

The Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday announced the public would have until April 30 to provide their input on the next note.

The late Queen Elizabeth II has featured on the pink denomination since polymer notes were introduced in 1992.

But Treasurer Jim Chalmers a year ago declared the new monarch and Australia's head of state would be unlikely to feature on one side of the note, following the King mother's death in 2022.

King Charles will be absent from the new $5 banknote with the Reserve Bank of Australia formally announcing Aboriginal groups would be asked for suggestions

The new $5 banknote will continue to feature Parliament House in Canberra but the public is being asked for ideas on the flip side.

The Reserve Bank's assistant governor of business services Michelle McPhee on Friday announced the public would be asked for designs but only if they commemorated Australia's Indigenous heritage.

'We invite all Australians to reimagine the $5 banknote in the search for themes that reflect our nation's unique and rich First Nations cultures and history,' she said.

'This could be a story passed down for generations, a location, an idea, an instrument or an object that binds a community.'

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups have also been consulted in every state and territory.

'Involving the public in this process is vital, and by actively engaging First Nations communities, we can better capture themes that tell our nations story,' Ms McPhee said.

The first $5 note was issued in 1967, a year after Australian converted to decimal currency, with this paper denomination featuring humanitarian Caroline Chisholm and botanist Sir Joseph Banks.

During the past 57 years, the $5 banknote has had four designs, with the most recent update occurring in 2016.

King Charles will feature on future Australian coins as the Queen did.

The new $5 banknote will continue to feature Parliament House in Canberra but the public is being asked for ideas on the flip side

The late Queen Elizabeth II has featured on the pink denomination since polymer notes were introduced in 1992, with the banknote last updated in 2016

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock last month told a parliamentary hearing Aboriginal groups had already been consulted about the new $5 note.

'Finally, I would just like to update the committee on work underway to redesign the $5 note,' she said.

'Last year we announced that we'd be taking the opportunity to feature a new design on the $5 note that honours and celebrates the culture and history of First Nations people.

'In recent weeks, we've also begun visiting First Nations community organisations in key regional and remote locations across Australia and the Torres Strait.'
Commentary: Humanitarian crisis in Gaza exposes Western double standard on human rights

Xinhua) 11:01, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Following the devastating loss of over 30,000 lives in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's continuous strikes since last October, the world is witnessing not only a harrowing scale of human suffering, but also the ugly truth of Western double standard regarding human rights.

As government officials and representatives worldwide convene in Geneva for the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, the protracted tragedy unfolding in Gaza underscores the imperative to safeguard the human rights of all ethnic groups and all people in a fair, equal and effective way.

Death is but one facet of the despair confronting civilians in Gaza. Since 2007, when Israel enforced a sweeping blockade, the region has been besieged by humanitarian crises, including shortages of food, medicine, and clean water for daily sustenance. The ongoing conflict only compounds the already acute scarcity of essential resources for survival.

Just several days ago, United Nations (UN) humanitarian officials warned the Security Council that the entire Gazan population faces acute hunger; over half a million people are "one step away from famine."

Amidst the enormous humanitarian crisis in Gaza, one cannot help but wonder where the Western human rights champions are. Their absence in addressing the dire circumstances facing Gazans underscores the selective nature and double standard of their global human rights advocacy.

In particular, the United States has opted to turn a blind eye to the plight of the Gazan people. Blocking repeated efforts by the Security Council to pass resolutions urging a ceasefire, Washington has consistently provided military support to Israel.

Take the latest U.S. veto on Feb. 20 as an example. Apart from the United States, which vetoed, and Britain, which abstained, the other 13 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the draft resolution submitted by Algeria on behalf of the Arab states.

The vote's outcome demonstrated that the Security Council does not lack unanimity; rather, the United States' decision to undercut the global community's unified consensus prevents the majority from prevailing.

Through its unwavering support for Israel, including vetoing four Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire, some U.S. politicians have effectively emboldened a culture of impunity that undermines the very principles of justice and equity they claim to uphold.

This truth will not go unnoticed by the international community.

As the globe grapples with the aftermath of yet another humanitarian catastrophe, it is imperative that the world confronts the truths that lie at the heart of the collective failure to uphold the sanctity of human life: Western double standard on human rights stands as a formidable obstacle to the global promotion of human welfare.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Ishikawa, Mar 01 (News On Japan) - Two months have passed since the Noto Peninsula earthquake on March 1. In the once-isolated village of Machino-cho in Wajima City, there is a single doctor. This is the story of his relentless efforts for the community.

Masanari Oishi: "Did you have breakfast?"

With a shaved head, a beard, and sandals on his bare feet, this man may not look typical, but he is a doctor.

Masanari Oishi: "Are you okay with the pain?"

Masanari Oishi, 43, is the only doctor continuing medical practice in Machino-cho, Wajima City, which became isolated after the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

Masanari Oishi: "I feel that using my manpower here is more effective than working in the city."

Born in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, Oishi worked as a surgeon in hospitals in the Kansai region before taking over his father's practice in Machino-cho, Ishikawa Prefecture, nine years ago.

His home was completely destroyed, and his clinic was severely damaged by the earthquake. He is currently living in an evacuation shelter, cleaning up his home, and providing medical care at the shelter.

Masanari Oishi: "Let's eat together. It looks delicious."

Pharmacists and other staff have been dispatched, but Oishi remains the sole doctor in the district.

A man who cut his hand with glass while clearing debris came for treatment.

Masanari Oishi: "You've done a perfect job of treating it. There's no room for me to intervene."

Patient: "Talking to the doctor makes everything seem less serious."

Masanari Oishi: "That's not true."

Patient: "That's why I heal faster."

Oishi prioritizes cheerful and careful communication to alleviate patients' anxieties.

In late January, he organized a mochi-pounding event at the shelter to comfort the evacuees, serving ozoni soup.

Masanari Oishi: "Feeling anxious significantly diminishes a person's strength. If people can relax, have confidence, and feel empowered, that's when their true strength emerges."

Beyond his role as a doctor, Oishi supports Machino-cho, drawing energy from the local residents while continuing to dedicate himself to the community.

Masanari Oishi: "When I see evacuees becoming cheerful as we talk, it energizes me too. It's a great relationship. As long as I feel this way, I'll keep going."

Source: YOMIURI
A man suspected of being the infamous 'Moore Park rapist' - who terrorised Sydney by sexually assaulting at least 10 women at knife-point between 1991 and 1993 - has been arrested.

The city's exclusive Eastern Suburbs were plagued in the early 90s by a man dubbed the 'Night Stalker' who would approach women around railway stations asking if they were interested in modelling or cleaning work before taking them to a secluded area and raping them at knife point.

At least six of his victims were Asian women.

Despite a massive public appeal for information and the establishment of a specialist police task force, the culprit was never caught.

But in a major breakthrough on Friday, NSW Police announced a 60-year-old man suspected of being the 'Night Stalker' had been arrested at Sydney International Airport.

In a statement, NSW Police said the man has been charged with 33 offences against eight of the 10 victims.

Those charges include 16 counts of aggravated sexual assault.

A man suspected of being the infamous 'Moore Park rapist' - who terrorised Sydney by sexually assaulting at least 10 women between 1991 and 1993 - has been arrested at the city's airport (pictured: a police sketch of the rapist)

The city's exclusive Eastern Suburbs were plagued in the early 90s by a man dubbed the 'Night Stalker' who would approach women around railway stations asking if they were interested in modelling or cleaning work before taking them to a secluded area and raping them at knife point (pictured: the view from Moore Park over Sydney's CBD)

The man, who would have been in his early thirties at the time of the offenes, will face Downing Centre Local Court today.

'Between 1991 and 1993, at least 10 women were allegedly sexually assaulted in the Moore Park and Inner West areas of Sydney, causing media to dub the offender as the "Moore Park Rapist" or "Night Stalker",' a spokesperson for NSW police said.

However, no one was ever convicted and for years the alleged crimes remained a mystery.

But the Sex Crime Squad used modern DNA and fingerprint technologies to re-examine the case.

This led to the arrest of the 60-year-old man at Sydney International Airport on Friday.

'The man was taken to Mascot Police Station, where he was charged with 33 offences against eight of the 10 victims, including 16 counts of aggravated sexual assault, eight counts of indecent assault, three counts of assault causing actual bodily harm, two counts of detain for advantage, two counts of robbery with offensive weapon, and two counts of attempted sexual assault,' the spokesperson added.

A newspaper article in May 1993 reported that the offender allegedly sexually assaulted at least nine women at knifepoint that year.

In each of the nine attacks, the man approached women around railway stations  at night and in the early hours of the morning  and offered them cleaning or modelling work,' the article in the Sydney Morning Herald wrote.

He then lured them to a nearby secluded area  six of the attacks occurred at Moore Park  and sexually assaulted them at knifepoint. Six of the women were Asian.

At the time, police released a sketch of the rapist and described his appearance as being 173 to 180 centimetres tall, clean-shaven with a tan complexion short dark brown hair and a medium to athletic build.
Tour booking agents and managers of a New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people in 2019 have been ordered to pay nearly $NZ13 million ($A12.1 million) in fines and reparations.

The holding company of the island's owners, a boat tour operator and three companies that operated helicopter tours were found guilty of safety breaches at a three-month trial last year.

The 2019 eruption on White Island off the NZ coast killed 22 people while others were badly burnt

READ MORE: Survivors of New Zealand's deadly White Island volcano eruption to testify after 17 Australians lost their lives Advertisement

White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Maori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. There were 47 tourists and tour guides on the island when superheated steam erupted on December 9, 2019, killing some people instantly and leaving survivors with agonising burns.

'There is no way to measure the emotional harm survivors and affected families have endured and will continue to endure,' Judge Evangelos Thomas said during the sentencing in a Wellington court. 'Reparation in a case like this can be no more than token recognition of that harm.'

'No review of prevailing reparation levels conducted by any other court contemplates emotional harm of the scale and nature that is present in this case. Greater awards are appropriate.'

Previously, a three-month, judge-only trial against 13 groups had seen six plead guilty and six other having charges against them dismissed. The charges were brought by regulators and carried fines as a maximum penalty.

The final remaining defendant in the trial was Whakaari Management Ltd. which was found guilty on one charge in October last year.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, Thomas was particularly scathing towards the shareholders of WML, the holding company for the island's owners: Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, who he said had 'appeared to have profited handsomely' from tours to the island, despite the company claiming no assets or a bank account to hold funds.

'This case, like many others, sadly reveals how simply corporate structures can be used to thwart meaningful responses to safety breaches,' Judge Thomas said. 'There may be no commercial basis for doing so, but many would argue there is an inescapable moral one.'

'We wait to see what the Buttles will do. The world is watching.'

The specific reparation sums awarded to victims and the families of those who died was suppressed for publication by the court.

The last remaining defendant, New Zealand scientific agency GNS Science, the government agency that monitors volcanic activity, was fined for failing to have processes to share risk assessments with its contracted helicopter pilots.

No GNS staff were on the island at the time of the eruption and the agency was not ordered to make any reparations.
A 20-year brotherly spat in a California courtroom has ended with one of five siblings having to pay $7 billion to the other four for misappropriating the family's money and real estate assets.

The Jogani brothers - who range in age from their 50s to their 70s - have been tangled in a lawsuit dating back to 2003, when Shashikant Jogani sued brother Haresh for not living up to an oral agreement made between the two of them and three other brothers, Rajesh, Chetan and Shailesh.

They inherited their fortune from their father, an Indian diamond merchant.

Haresh had agreed verbally to share his portfolio - that now totals more than 170 apartment buildings with 17,000 units largely in the San Fernando Valley - but never signed a contract.

They failed to reach a solution, and have been arguing over the money for the last 20 years.

Finally, a jury this week ruled that Haresh must share the money, with Rajesh and Chetan being awarded $750 million in damages plus real estate interests valued at more than $1 billion, and Shashikant - who launched the suit - was awarded $4.75 billion.

Shailesh, the fifth brother, was awarded $570 million.

The Jogani brothers have been tangled in a lawsuit dating back to 2003, when Shashikant Jogani sued brother Haresh (pictured) for not living up to an oral agreement made between the two of them and three other brothers

Shashikant Jogani, seen here, sued his brother Haresh for not sticking with their oral agreement

A 20-year brotherly brawl in a California courtroom has ended with one of five siblings having to pay $7 billion to the other four for misappropriating the family's money and real estate assets

Further legal action was added on in the ensuing 20 years, leading to a jury trial that lasted more than five months and ended earlier this week in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The money owed could grow even larger in the next week, as the court will hold hearings on whether the siblings are owned punitive damages, said Peter Ross, a lawyer who represents Rajesh and Chetan Jogani.

The Joganis - sons of an Indian diamond merchant - have grown into one of the biggest landlords in the valley over the past 30 years, according to The Real Deal.

The properties are all controlled by various companies which were embroiled in the suit, including Haresh's JK Residential Services.

Shashikant - known as Shashi - began the family's empire when he came to America from India in 1969, owning thousands of units within 20 years, his portfolio rising past $375 million and net equity at around $100 million.

However, his stake was damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 16 people in one of his buildings due to a floor collapse and forced hundreds of other units to evacuate.

The disaster combined with a recession led his business to near ruin, with several defaults and foreclosures.

His brother Haresh was plying his trade in their father's diamond business in India and Israel when he offered to come to California and help, according to LA Business Journal.

Haresh bought about 2,600 of Shashi's units and hired his brother as a consultant, using his knowledge of the business to find other potential units.

The arrangements worked well, as Haresh eventually grew his portfolio to complexes totaling 16,400 units.

The suit stems from Haresh buying about 2,600 of Shashi's units - which now include Sunset Pointe Apartments in Van Nuys - and hired his brother as a consultant, using his knowledge of the business to find other potential units

The arrangements worked well, as Haresh eventually grew his portfolio to complexes totaling 16,400 units

Shashikant's real estate holdings were damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 16 people in one of his buildings due to a floor collapse and forced hundreds of other units to evacuate

In April 1995, the two men and their three brothers formed what was known as the 'California Partnership,' an oral agreement stating Haresh bought properties from Shashi and would give him half the profits after they had gotten back their return of principal investment plus 12 percent.

This agreement alleged that Haresh's business was making around $2 million per month in net income.

Shashi, however, was fired in 2001 when he tried to transfer a property deed to himself, claiming he was a 50 percent partner in Haresh's business and was due to get his end of the deal in November 2001, which Haresh said is a lie.

The original lawsuit was filed on behalf of Shashi against Haresh, his companies and all of his other brothers, as well as his nephew, Pinkal Jogani and his real estate management company.

Shashi alleged that all of them were 'liable for the conduct and damages at issue in this action' because their oral pact had been broken.

In 2004, Shailesh, Rajesh, Chetan and Pinkal - all of whom denied the partnership was real - were dismissed from the case and a court dismissed the case because Shashi had at one point swore under oath that the family had no interest in Haresh's companies.

In 2006, an appeals court reversed the dismissal and revived one of Shashi's nine claims against Haresh under a judicial doctrine called 'quantum meruit,' which means 'give him something fair.'

The brothers went back to court on that claim in 2009, and he was awarded $65 million for his work building both Haresh and Pinkal's businesses.

The case has been dragging on for 20 years, with multiple claims filed by four of Haresh's brothers

In 2004, Shailesh, Rajesh, Chetan and Pinkal - all of whom denied the partnership was real - were dismissed from the case and a court dismissed the case because Shashi had at one point swore under oath that the family had no interest in Haresh's companies

In 2006, an appeals court reversed the dismissal and revived one of Shashi's nine claims against Haresh under a judicial doctrine called 'quantum meruit' which means 'give him something fair'

An already convoluted legal web took another turn after juror misconduct was revealed and the ruling judge granted a new trial, which not only affirmed on behalf of Shashi in 2012 but reversed the dismissal of Shashi's remaining claims.

Two years later, Shailesh and then Rajesh and Chetan together filed their own lawsuits against Haresh, recanting their previous claim that there had been no oral pact.

Not only had their been a pact, they claimed, but they had made an 'unwritten global partnership' with Haresh for over 50 years in the family's diamond business, which had given Haresh the funds to buy into the real estate market.

Rajesh and Chetan eventually re-filed their claims alongside Shashi's lawsuit, with Shailesh losing his case in 2019 for fabrication.

In May 2023, Shashi dismissed his own quantum merit claim with prejudice and bet it all on the alleged oral agreement, which he was victorious in this week.

The trial was not without its own set of incidents, including Haresh moving to disqualify Judge Susan Bryant-Deason on grounds of 'racial animus,' Bloomberg reported.

The jury awarded Shashikant Jogani and brothers Rajesh, Chetan and Shailesh $2.5 billion in monetary damages and more than $4.5 billion in property interests, according to lawyers for the plaintiff.

They also divided up the 17,000 units, valued at over $6 billion, or $352,900 per unit, according to KCAL.

Shashikant came out the largest winner from the suit, gaining 50 per cent of the family's real estate assets and $1.8 billion in damages.

The brothers went back to court on that claim in 2009 and he was awarded $65 million for his work building both Haresh and Pinkal's businesses until juror misconduct led to a re-trial

Eventually, the brothers came together to sue Haresh in a trial that begin late last year

The jury awarded Shashikant Jogani and brothers Rajesh, Chetan and Shailesh $2.5 billion in monetary damages and more than $4.5 billion in property interests, according to lawyers for the plaintiff

Rajesh was given $459.8 million in damages and a 10 percent stake, while Chetan won $299 million in damages and a 6.5 percent stake.

Even Shailesh came out a winner, gaining a 9.5 percent stake in the business valued at $570 million.

'We are grateful to the jurors for their decision,' Ross said on behalf of his two clients.

'Thanks to them, a long-standing wrong has been corrected, and this brother-against-brother war can come to an end.'

'The law is you can have oral contracts that are just as valuable as written contracts,' said Shashi's attorney Steve Friedman

'There's an enormous portfolio that Shashi built,' his son Michael, who also represented Shashi, added. 'And it sustains itself.'

An attorney for Haresh has said he won't comment until the punitive damages and the motion against the judge are determined.
Facebook's parent company Meta and the Australian government are at loggerheads again after the tech giant announced it would not renew commercial deals with Australian news publishers.

The US company also revealed it planned to remove a dedicated news section from the social media site in Australia and the US next year when the current deals expire.

The announcement on Friday comes three years after Facebook banned all news links from being shared to its platform in Australia, in an action that also removed the pages of charities, health pages, and emergency services.

Federal government ministers blasted Meta's announcement as a 'dereliction of its commitment' and said they would seek advice about future action.

The US company also revealed it planned to remove a dedicated news section

Meta announced its decision to walk away from agreements made with Australian news organisations in a statement on its website, following similar moves with European media organisations in September.

'We will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in (Australia, France, Germany, the US and UK) and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in future,' the statement read.

The company said it would close the Facebook News feature on its Australian and US platforms in April and would seek to focus its investments on content such as short-form video as 'people don't come to Facebook for news and political content'.

But Meta's changes stop short of reinstating its short-lived news ban in Australia.

'People will still be able to view links to news articles on Facebook,' it said.

'News publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and pages, where they can post links to their stories and direct people to their websites in the same way any other individual or organisation can.'

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland slammed the move saying it would affect the news media industry.

'It's an abrogation of responsibility to Australia's news media sector,' she said.

'Australian news media publishers deserve to be fairly compensated for the investments they make in that.'

Mark Zuckerberg (pictured in 2019) has been the co-founder and CEO of Meta since 2004

Minister Rowland and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones also issued a joint statement about the Meta's withdrawal, criticising its change of direction.

'Meta's decision to no longer pay for news content in a number of jurisdictions represents a dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media,' the statement said.

'Australian news publishers deserve fair compensation for the content they provide.'

The ministers said they would seek advice from the Treasury and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over possible action against Meta's move, saying deals with tech giants using their content represented 'a significant source of revenue for Australian news media businesses'.

'We will now work through all available options under the News Media Bargaining Code,' it said.

'The government will continue to engage with news publishers and platforms through this process.'
Bruce Lehrmanns lawyers argue Brittany Higgins may have taken her own dress off in senator Linda Reynolds office, perhaps to avoid vomiting on it, as he maintains he did not rape his former parliamentary colleague, court documents have revealed.

Justice Michael Lee is expected to in the coming months hand down his decision in the blockbuster defamation trial between Mr Lehrmann and Network 10, heard in the Federal Court in December.

Mr Lehrmann sued the network and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over their reporting of Ms Higgins' allegations on The Project in February 2021.

Central to the trial is what occurred behind closed doors in Senator Reynolds' office in the early hours of Saturday March 23, 2019 after Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins returned to parliament following a night of drinking at two Canberra bars.

In documents released by the court on Friday, Mr Lehrmann's lawyers maintained that no sexual intercourse took place between the former political staffer and Ms Higgins.

Bruce Lehrmann is pictured outside the Federal Court in December last year

Brittany Higgins wore a white pencil dress (pictured) on the night she alleges she was raped. Bruce Lehrmann is pictured standing next to her in a light blue shirt

'Mr Lehmann submits that there is an insufficient evidentiary basis for a positive finding to be made that any sexual intercourse, consensual or otherwise, took place,' Mr Lehrmann's lawyers wrote in closing submissions.

Mr Lehrmann maintains that he did not rape Ms Higgins and went to Parliament House in the early morning to collect his keys and sat at his desk making notes on question time briefs before leaving.

According to his evidence, he turned left when he entered Senator Reynolds' office and Ms Higgins turned right, and he did not see her again that night.

Ms Higgins has alleged that she passed out and woke to find Mr Lehrmann raping her on a couch in Senator Reynolds' private office.

During her evidence, Ms Higgins told the court that she on several previous occasions made incorrect claims about the state of her dress when she woke up on the morning of the alleged sexual assault.

The court has been told that she had previously written in a draft book, and told police and journalists, that when she woke up inside parliament on the morning of March 23, 2019 the dress was hanging around her waist like a belt.

However, the court has been told that version of events was contradicted by the evidence of a security guard who said Ms Higgins was discovered naked.

Brittany Higgins is pictured, centre, outside the Federal Court in December last year

Mr Lehrmann's lawyers further argued there were 'simply too many other plausible possibilities' as to 'why Ms Higgins was found naked in that office' to allow Justice Lee to establish exactly what took place.

Mr Lehrmann's lawyers argued that Ms Higgins may have taken off her dress because she may have felt sick and didn't want to risk vomiting on it.

'Another explanation is Ms Higgins may have vomited on her dress at some point and took it off before lying down on the minister's couch and then passed out or fell asleep,' Mr Lehrmann's lawyers argued in the closing submissions.

'In the morning she may or may not have attempted to wash off her dress in Minister Reynolds' bathroom.'

They argue the 'critical point' is there are a number of 'plausible explanations' as to why Ms Higgins took her dress off.

However, Network 10's lawyers argue that Ms Higgins had ruled out any theory that she took off the dress herself.

'Ms Higgins did not accept that it was possible that she had removed her dress herself,' they wrote in their closing submissions, which were also released on Friday.

Lisa Wilkinson is pictured, left, outside the Federal Court in December last year

'The effect of her evidence was that she had no recollection of doing so and that it was just not something that would ever happen.'

They also sought to address inconsistencies between Ms Higgins' evidence at her criminal trial and being found naked by the security guard.

During her evidence to the Federal Court, Ms Higgins conceded she was mistaken about where her dress was placed when she woke up.

'In all the circumstances, the court should reject the three attacks on Ms Higgins' credibility,' Ten's lawyers argued.

'Notwithstanding the inconsistencies in her evidence that she frankly acknowledged, she was overall a candid and honest witness.'

They further argued that Ms Higgins' evidence relating to the alleged sexual assault was 'raw and compelling, and it was consistent with the objective evidence, where available'.
A police officer who admitted to sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl when he was a teenager has not been sacked by Victoria Police.

Conor McCurley, 26, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, where he accepted responsibility for the offending against the child before he donned the badge.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal McCurley remains employed by Victoria Police albeit suspended without pay.

Police officer Conor McCurley was required to deliver a public apology to a woman he sexually offended against when she was a child

A Victoria Police spokesperson would not answer any further questions about McCurley's future with the force.

'At this stage the 26-year-old is currently suspended without pay ... there is nothing more to add,' came the statement.

McCurley was charged with 17 offences including numerous counts of committing indecent acts with or in the presence of a child under 16 and one count of 'sexual penetration'.

The cop avoided conviction after agreeing to admit to his vile offending as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that allowed him to be sentenced under the court's diversion program.

Under Victorian law, diversion plans are often handed down to first-time offenders and are designed not to impact on a person's life going forward.

Under the diversion plan, McCurley was not required to formally plead to the charges and instead simply made admissions to the charged offences.

While he was not convicted of a crime, Victoria Police has some history of dismissing officers that have been exonerated of serious charges.

Former detective Murray Gentner was sacked despite being cleared over a scandal involving the release of Dani Laidley's photo in custody.

Controversial former drug squad officer Paul Dale was also shown the door despite never being convicted of a crime.

McCurley's return to the beat remains highly unlikely given the facts of his case.

Mr McCurley avoided conviction and was placed on diversion. Picture: NCA Newswire / Nicki Connolly

His sordid tale made national headlines in September when it was revealed he was set to be married to his partner Kim Trajcevski.

McCurley was charged on August 16 following an internal police investigation by Victoria Police's Sexual Offences and Family Violence Unit.

The news came just weeks before he was due to wed his fiancee of two years at the picturesque Acacia Ridge Winery in Yarra Valley, which costs $13,800 to hire for the venue alone.

The couple's wedding-countdown website showed a timeline of their love story, detailing how they met in May 2020, bought a block of land together to build their first home in January 2021 and were engaged by May that year.

Ms Trajcevski - now McCurley - stood by her man throughout the court proceedings.

Last week, in an emotional impact statement to the court, his victim, now aged in her early 20s, said her entire life changed as a result of McCurley's actions.

'I was left to hold the disgusting secret,' she said.

'I started to feel like I was the problem... I felt like I was losing control of my life.'

Kim McCurley (left) stood by her husband throughout his court appearances

The court was told the woman confronted McCurley years after the abuse ended, with the First Constable complaining he had been 'painted in a horrible light'.

'It was a young ignorant boy's mistake,' he responded to her via text message.

But the woman told the court what he described as a 'mistake made me feel like it had cost most of my life'.

'I have been called vengeful and spiteful for seeking justice,' she said, her voice breaking.

'You're taking a young man's dream away, they say - yet I feel like my childhood was taken away.'

The court was told McCurley was suspended from Victoria Police without pay after internal investigators charged him just weeks before his wedding.

The sexual offending occurred when McCurley was a teenager and before he joined Victoria Police.

The case was initially set down for a committal hearing to determine if McCurley should face trial after lawyer Caroline Salter last year said he denied the allegations.

But on Tuesday prosecutor Matthew Fisher declared the case 'had resolved'.

He told the court both the prosecution and defence agreed the case was suitable for diversion.

'At first blush a member of the public may say it's outrageous for it to be dealt with in this way,' he said.

'But we say there are powerful factors at play in reaching this position.'

Mr Fisher said both the woman and a senior crown prosecutor had agreed diversion was the right course of action.

Conor McCurley, 26, was charged weeks out from his Yarra Valley wedding.

After hearing from both parties, Magistrate Malcolm Thomas agreed, saying despite the serious offences he was of the view it was 'appropriate to grant diversion'.

'In my view this allows (the complainant's) voice to be heard, gives her agency and forces McCurley to acknowledge his actions publicly,' he said.

Mr Thomas said a 'powerful factor' in his decision was the woman's support for diversion and for her to avoid the 'deeply traumatic' experience of giving evidence at trial.

'It is an unfortunate feature of the system that requires complainants to describe in great detail... often the most painful memories in their life,' he said.

As part of the diversion, McCauley was required to give a public apology, pay $7,500 in compensation, donate $2,500 to a charity of her choosing and be of good behaviour for a year.

Standing in the witness box on Tuesday afternoon, McCurley kept his head low as he said he was 'deeply sorry'.

'I know what I have done has caused irreversible damage,' he said.

'I want you to know I fully acknowledge my behaviour and how it made you feel.'

Requiring McCurley to stand before the court, Mr Thomas described his behaviour toward the woman as 'absolutely disgusting'.

'You should feel a great sense of shame for the things you did and you should carry that shame.'
A social media influencer has been jailed for three years after she sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy twice in one night and told him not to tell his father.

The 46-year-old woman, from Sydney's east and who cannot be identified, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child under 16 years old following a trial in October last year.

A jury ruled she had climbed into bed with a 14-year-old boy on an evening in mid-2021 and kissed him.

The woman told her victim not to tell of her acts, before engaging in oral and penetrative sex with him.

'Don't tell your father about this,' she told the boy.

A social media influencer has been jailed for three years after she sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy twice in one night and told him not to tell his father (stock image)

On Friday, the influencer wore prison greens when she appeared in the NSW District Court via audiovisual link to learn her fate for sexually abusing the teen more than two years ago.

She held back tears as she waved at her family and friends, who crowded the courtroom with resigned expressions.

Judge Sarah Hopkins sentenced her to three years behind bars, with a non parole period of 18 months. It's understood she will serve her time in protective custody.

She will be eligible for release on February 26, 2025.

The court heard the 46-year-old admitted to kissing her 14-year-old victim, but continues to deny any sexual activity occurred.

The jury did not accept her version of events. They found the influencer guilty of engaging in oral sex with the teen before having penile-vaginal sex with him in three different positions.

Only hours before she sexually assaulted the teen, the influencer was filmed performing a 'sexually suggestive' dance for him.

Hours before she sexually assaulted the teen, the influencer was filmed performing a 'sexually suggestive' dance for him (stock image)

In the video shown to the court, she can be seen rubbing her backside, lifting her shirt to reveal her stomach, and 'twerking' in front of the victim.

Judge Hopkins said the 46-year-old appeared to be 'very intoxicated' in the video.

One year after the rape, the influencer laughingly admitted her attraction to the teen in a tapped phone call.

'I started loving you so much (that) I got it confused, like, I started getting attracted to you,' she told him.

'You're a man now. You're not a boy, you're obviously a man.'

When the victim told his mother about the sexual assault one year after it happened, she said he 'completely burst into tears'.

'I've never seen him cry like that before,' she said.

'It was really bad.'
The conwoman who swindled $108 million from the U.S. Army to sponsor her extravagantly luxurious lifestyle, including 31 homes and 70 vehicles, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud.

Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, allegedly stole millions of dollars from military funds and blew it on jewelry, clothing, luxury vehicles and real estate in one of the biggest fraud cases the military has ever seen.

The hustler worked for the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as a CYS Financial Program Manager and allegedly created a shell company, Child Health and Youth Lifelong Development, in 2016.

She used the firm to fraudulently swindle money that was supposed to be going toward the children of army personnel and instead used the cash to sponsor her lavish lifestyle.

Under the charges, Mello faces a maximum of 125 years on prison. No details of a possible plea deal have yet emerged.

However, her scheme came crashing down in January when criminal investigators from the IRS worked with army investigators as they put the pieces of the puzzle together - before Mello was criminally indicted in December 2023.

Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, allegedly stole millions of dollars from military funds and blew it on jewelry, clothing, luxury vehicles and real estate in one of the biggest fraud cases the military has ever seen

Mello worked for the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, as a CYS Financial Program Manager - where she was able to allegedly move money into her shell company

Now, Mello is planning to plead guilty to fraud and tax charges with plea documents signed by the hustler being filed late on Wednesday.

The signed documents said that the alleged conwoman stole $108 million in less than seven years using her fake vender.

A criminal information document filed alongside the plea deal charges Mello with five counts of mail fraud and five counts of filing a false tax return.

The maximum sentence for each count of mail fraud is 20 years in prison and each count of tax fraud could earn her up to five years behind bars.

Mello's plea hearing in San Antonio federal court has not yet been scheduled.

The swindler managed to accumulate 80 vehicles and 31 properties across five states - as federal prosecutors allege she lived a life of luxury and opulence that was clearly not supported by her $130,000 a year government salary.

She reported that her company CHYLD earned a profit of $483 on revenue of $2,152 for training consultations in 2017. But since then, she has not filed any tax returns.

She often filed fraudulent paperwork - and deposited grants into her fake business 40 times, securing over $100,000,000 for herself, documents allege.

Transaction details show she allegedly wire transferred $264,874 from the account to buy herself a 2023 Land Rover Range Rover last year.

She also sent herself $3,308,157 to purchase real estate property in Canyon Lake, Texas, documents state.

Mello's $3.1million property in Preston, Maryland. She regularly filed fraudulent paperwork and deposited grants a total of 40 times into her fake business during a six-year period, securing over $100,000,000 for herself, court documents allege

This is Mello's $2.3million estate in Castle Rock, Colorado

This home was listed as one of the properties to seize. It cost Mello $1.1 million and is in San Antonio, Texas

Mello also owns this $870,000 home in Lakewood, Colorado. Mello had amassed a portfolio of homes in Texas, Maryland, Colorado, Washington and New Mexico - all of which, the prosecutors claim, she bought with the frauded cash

One of the sprawling mansions that drew attention to Mello was this eight-bedroom, sixteen-bathroom home in Preston, Maryland - as the IRS began to question how she afforded such lavish purchases on a $130,000 salary

The court has listed a total of 78 luxury cars and motorbikes that Mello owns - and has demanded the assets in a bill of forfeiture. They include numerous Maseratis, Ferraris, Aston Martins, Mercedes, Teslas, Harley-Davidsons and Land Rovers.

As well as vehicular assets, they have named 31 of her real properties. These span across multiple states - with mansions worth over $3 million, ranches, sprawling acres of farmland, and luxury high-rise apartments and condos.

Mello had amassed a portfolio of homes in Texas, Maryland, Colorado, Washington, and New Mexico - which, the prosecutors claim, she bought with the fraudulent cash.

Documents also claim that Mello has six bank accounts, and she held a minimum of $32,000 in each.

It was the IRS who flagged that her lifestyle - buying million-dollar homes multiple times a year - was not supported by her salary.

Mello was arrested in December, but despite the significant criminal fraud she is accused of, was allowed to leave without bail, before officials sparked outrage last month after it emerged that Mello is set to be allowed to retire with full benefits.

The military admitted there was nothing they could do to strip it from her because she was protected under a federal law that was held up in government bureaucracy.

An Army spokesman said: 'The command has no authority to impact Ms. Mello's retirement.'

While there are exceptions for treason and bigger offenses, 'there is no similar statutory authority for denying retired pay based on a conviction of other offenses,' she added.

2023 Land Rover Range Rover (file image). Transaction details show she allegedly wire transferred $264,874 from the account to buy herself the Land Rover Range Rover last year

Mello also purchased a 2003 Aston Martin Vanquish (file photo) and a 1955 Ferrari Fratelli (file photo)

Mello also owned a 1935 Plymouth Sedan (file photo) and a 2018 Maserati Granturism (file photo)

In February, the fraudster said she would forfeit all of her extravagant purchases, including her fleet of supercars and mansions, if she is found guilty of fraud.

Mello's scathing federal indictment claims that she used the digital signature 'S.K' - which was not her own - on multiple signoffs while working as a CYS Financial Program Manager at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

'S.K' refers to the chief of the CYS program, Suzanne King, who was Mello's boss, reports the San Antonio Express-News.

After the alleged scheme came to light, questions were raised over how the military failed to spot such a large sum of money being moved under their noses.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons said the army hadn't conducted proper audits of her program, while others close to the investigation say that the Army just worked on the assumption of goodwill of its employees.

A source familiar with the investigation told the Express-News about the Army leaders: 'They stove-piped the process to only one person.

'They gave her complete carte blanche, and she found all the loopholes.'

The army had also replaced some of its administrative restrictions as part of an 'organizational shake-up', giving Mello autonomy in her position.

Mello's scathing federal indictment alleged that she used the digital signature 'S.K' which refers to the chief of the CYS program, Suzanne King (pictured) who was Mello's boss

An insider told the local paper: 'It speaks to the nonchalant-ness of the command and its lack of internal controls.'

Former federal prosecutor Robert Almonte Jr. said that Mello was not even 'discreet on her part' and her alleged plot was 'nothing super complex,' but incompetent government programs are not 'equipped to monitor these things.'

Almonte continued: 'In some fraud instances, they at least take steps to make sure to hide their fraud. There was no apparent attempt to hide what she was doing with the money after the fact.'
The Missouri Republican party has moved to block a man affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan from running as a GOP candidate for governor.

Darrell Leon McClanahan III, of Milo, Missouri, filed this week to run in the Republican primary for governor - one of eight Republicans who have filed to run.

McClanahan previously ran last cycle for an open Senate seat in Missouri. He garnered 0.2 percent of the vote in a contest ultimately won by now-Senator Eric Schmitt.

On Thursday, the Missouri GOP disavowed McClanahan's entrance into the race, saying: 'The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for Governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our partys values and platform.'

In the left picture, McClanahan (center) is shown with Knights of the KKK Party leaders Thomas and Jason Robb. On the right, he is pictured beside a hooded Klansman at a cross burning in 2019

McClanahan has insisted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is 'not a Nazi' despite the photo

'We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate,' they continued.

The statement also included a condemnation of hate groups and the proclamation that 'our party upholds respect for all individuals, and were dedicated to addressing any challenges to these principles decisively.'

In 2022, the Anti-Defamation League published an article that included a picture of McClanahan with two men described as Knights Party leaders - the 'Knights of the Ku Klux Klan' is a modern offshoot of the KKK.

Another picture seemingly shows McClanahan at a 2019 cross burning.

In the picture, McClanahan stands beside a person wearing a white KKK robe and pointed hat. Both men have their right arm raise in what appears to be a Nazi salute.

On Thursday, McClanahan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is 'not a Nazi.'

'I don't believe in heil Hitler,' he said, claiming the photo is merely 'a bad picture of me.'

With regard to the photo of himself with the Knights leaders, McClanahan said: 'That's me. Yeah, that's me.'

McClanahan sued the ADL last year for defamation in a case that was transferred to the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri before being dismissed in December.

Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs. https://t.co/AZTGrAl7X0 pic.twitter.com/z7ilIo5k4d  Shamed Dogan (@ShamedDoganMO) February 29, 2024

Though the Missouri GOP claim they accepted his filing fee unknowingly, McClanahan says they knew exactly who he was when he registered to run

Please stop with the misinformation.

They knew exactly who I am.

In response, the Missouri GOP knew exactly who I am. Chairman Myers told me when I signed up for Senate, paying my $500 fee, saying he had vetted me and knew I was a Christian identist; and that I should just not pic.twitter.com/NUyiP7Sjwh  Darrell L McClanahan III (@Darrell4Mogov) February 29, 2024

In his original petition to the court, McClanahan described himself as a 'Pro-White man, horseman, politician, political prisoner-activist who is dedicated to traditional Christian values.'

The suit goes on to claim that McClanahan does not belong to the KKK. Though, it subsequently says he was 'provided an Honorary one-year membership.'

McClanahan attempted to clarify to the Post-Dispatch that the membership was referring to the League of the South - a self-proclaimed 'southern nationalist' group that advocates for the 'cultural as well as political secession' of the former Confederate states.

The petition also seems to address the cross-burning picture, which is referred to as a 'private religious Christian Identity Cross lighting ceremony' in 2019.

Former state Representative Shamed Dogan, who was the sole black Republican lawmaker in the state legislature while he was in office, highlighted the McClanahan issue to the state party on X.

'Hey @MissouriGOP just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs,' he wrote, adding that the body should reject the wannabe politician's filing fee.

'Please tell me you're gonna ... reject this racist loser's filing fee?' he said.
The 'house of horrors' where Luke Davies and Jesse Baird allegedly met their tragic end has been transformed into a makeshift memorial with hundreds of floral tributes draped across its cast-iron gates.

Unsurprisingly, the former Channel Ten reporter's housemates have decided to move out of the $2.5million Paddington townhouse in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs in the wake of the alleged murders.

But, once the flowers wilt and the intense public scrutiny fades, what will be the fate of the three-bedroom property itself?

Experts are in agreement that it will be exceedingly difficult to rent out or sell in the near future as prospective renters and buyers are put off by the stigma surrounding the alleged crimes which took place within its walls.

It has now become what's known as a 'stigmatised property' - one which buyers or tenants may shun for reasons unrelated to any possible physical defects.

And the impact is already being felt in surrounding areas.

The Paddington terrace where Jesse Baird, 26, (left) and Luke Davies, 29, (right) were allegedly murdered has been adorned with hundreds of floral tributes

Mr Baird's roommates have decided to move out of the Paddington rental in Sydney's east

Dan Sofo, of Unicorn Buyers Agents which is based in Paddington just a 15-minute walk away from Mr Baird's former home, said potential buyers were already being put off the area.

'I had actually did have buyers in a property close by and it certainly did taint that particular buyer's perception of the property they were considering and it was a factor in them deciding it wasn't for them,' Mr Sofo told Daily Mail Australia.

He added: 'There is definitely a taint to the surrounding areas around the stigma associated with the [alleged] crime. I couldn't quantify it as a percentage but there is an affect.'

Mr Sofo said that, from experience, he thought the owners would wait 'quite some time' before even thinking of unloading the property.

'My personal perspective would be that the stigma diminishes as time goes by and in the future it will ceases to matter and in the distant future it will be a talking point,' Mr Sofo said.

If the owners did want to sell within the next five years then they would not be allowed to keep the alleged double murder a secret if selling through an agent..

Christopher Pearce, lecturer in private law, equity and property at UNSW, told this publication that amendments made to the Property and Stock Agents Act in 2020 mean that the owner would be required by law to declare 'material factors', such as an allege crime.

Garth Brown, of Brown and Brown Conveyancers, said the lawyers and conveyancers acting for the buyer had a duty to ask the landlord if something untoward had happened.

Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured) has been charged with two counts of murder

Mourners are seen spending time by the front door of Mr Baird's home - where he and partner Luke Davies were allegedly murdered on February 19

'That's one of the questions you ask: is there something there that's gone on that should be disclosed? That it's stigmatised?

'Because you are running the risk of potentially the contract being set aside [annulled], if people have got the time and money to pursue it.

'And Paddington is an expensive area so people have got money and the time and connections to pursue it too.'

Mr Brown pointed to the infamous Gonzales case in 2001 where Sef Gonzales murdered his parents and his sister at their family home in North Ryde in northern Sydney.

In 2004 the home went on the market and a devout Buddhist family, unaware of the property's grisly history, put down a non-refundable $80,000 deposit.

After they discovered the truth of what occurred they backed out on religious grounds and fought to have their deposit returned.

The case's notoriety eventually led to the NSW Government making it illegal not to disclose information related to a property's history.

A mourner is seen leaving a bouquet of flowers outside the $2.5million Paddington terrace

However, Tim McKibbin, the CEO of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, pointed out that it was only the real estate agent who had to disclose if a property was stigmatised and the owner could eventually sell it without revealing what happened.

'I would have thought that the entire country is probably on notice of that property right now,' he said.

'But if in time people will move on and they'll forget what's [allegedly] happened on that property and if the vendor chooses to sell the property themselves, then the population would not be actually on notice.

'The events that have taken place on that property would not be drawn to the attention of prospective purchases.

'The question for the vendor then asks is: "will I do better by selling the property myself and not disclosing it or will I do better by having the agent sell the property and, and disclosing it?"

Mr McKibbin said he had long been 'troubled' by that apparent loophole and had campaigned for the legislation for disclosing stigmatised properties to cover a vendor choosing to sell privately.

Mr Baird's roommates have decided to move out of the Paddington terrace that he and Mr Davies (pictured) were allegedly shot dead in on February 19

'We have said repeatedly, there needs to be some consistency here,' he added.

'If it is government's intention that a purchaser should be provided notice of the property that they would be buying the incidents that have happened on that property - the stigmatism, then it seems very odd to us that you would only place that burden on the agent, not on the vendor.'

However, Mr McKibbin acknowledged that the area was notoriously difficult to navigate.

'We have some guiding principles if you will about what a material factor - a stigmatism - is, we have some guiding principles. But it does get very difficult.

'Suicide, for example, is one that we're still grappling with.

'There are those that think if the vendor committed suicide or a tenant committed suicide on the property, there is that something needs to be disclosed?

'There are people hold very strong views one way or the other on that. '

He added: 'Other people don't want to buy a home where there has been domestic violence and leading to divorce and these sorts of things, these are very personal decisions.

'We live in a society of diverse cultures, religions, superstitions, so it isn't easy.'
TOKYO, Mar 01 (News On Japan) - February 29th is known as "Amicable Divorce Day" in Japan, a leap year day, when some couples choose to have a "divorce ceremony" to mark their separation.

Today is Amicable Divorce Day: What is a "Divorce Ceremony"?

Firstly, Amicable Divorce Day is based on the play on words "blessings for both" in Japanese 2, corresponding to February 29th. A divorce ceremony is where a couple announces their divorce in front of family and friends, signifying a fresh start. Since 2009, over 750 couples have had such ceremonies, with many being in their 50s.

Reasons for holding a divorce ceremony include wanting to draw a line under the marriage and informing those who attended the wedding about the divorce. Other benefits include publicly announcing the reason for the divorce, which can prevent confusion, and maintaining good relations with the ex-partner's friends, as it's an amicable separation.

How is a Divorce Ceremony Conducted?

The ceremony has unique terms:

"Former groom" instead of "groom"

"Former bride" instead of "bride"

"Separator" instead of "matchmaker"

In a simulated ceremony, the former bride and groom enter, and the host explains the reason for their divorce. They each give a speech, followed by the "separator," who usually has divorce experience. A key part of the ceremony is crushing the wedding rings together as a "final joint task." The event concludes with a meal, similar to a wedding reception.

Unexpected Incidents and Cases Where Couples Didn't Proceed with the Divorce

The cost of a divorce ceremony ranges from 50,000 to 200,000 yen, with attendees typically giving 5,000 to 10,000 yen as a gift. However, there have been rare incidents, such as a former groom introducing a new partner during the ceremony.

Chisa Saikawa, a 46-year-old planning her divorce ceremony, decided to divorce after feeling out of place in her role as a stay-at-home mom. She wants to live independently and not show her children a life where she's not true to herself. Her youngest son supports her decision, saying it's a good time for a fresh start before he enters middle school.

Interestingly, out of 750 couples, 15 decided not to file for divorce after the ceremony. In one case, a couple couldn't crush their wedding rings, no matter how hard they tried.

Source: TBS
A gunman who opened fire inside a California dental office on Thursday afternoon, killing one and injuring two before a manhunt was launched, has been found by police.

The suspect, who has been identified as 29-year-old Mohammed Abdulkareem, was said to be armed with a handgun and considered dangerous.

Police reported that he had been captured just after 10pm on Thursday. He was taken into custody and the firearm has been located.

At 4.15pm on Thursday, police responded to an emergency call at Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics on North Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon, a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego.

First responders provided 'lifesaving support' for three victims. All those involved were inside the office and there were other people inside when the shooting took place, Police Captain Rob Ransweiler said.

The San Diego Fire Scanner said in an update on X today: 'The suspect vehicle has been located by a good samaritan at Sixth Ave & Quince St just west of Balboa Park. SDPD officers also located a glock handgun case on the floorboard of the passenger seat.'

At 4.15pm on Thursday, police responded to an emergency call at the dental office on North Magnolia Avenue in El Cajon, a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego. The suspect, who has been identified as 29-year-old Mohammed Abdulkareem, was said to be armed with a handgun and considered dangerous

A SWAT team outside of the El Cajon dental office where a shooting unfolded on Thursday afternoon

The dead victim was male, according to the police, who did not publicly identify him.

Authorities said the coroner's office will be the ones to identify him.

Ransweiler briefed the press on Thursday evening. He said officers found the victim who died inside the office as the shooting was still taking place and took him outside where they could safely perform lifesaving measures.

The two injured victims were taken to area hospitals. The woman, in her 20s, and the man, in his 40s, were stable on Thursday evening. No other injuries in the office were reported.

The suspect's vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona license plate AM14894, was identified shortly after the shooting. Police said they then confirmed that the suspect had rented the truck

Related to the shooting, the suspect has been identified as 29 year old Mohammed Abdulkareem. He is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him call 911. pic.twitter.com/T9lwhlFLPp  El Cajon Police (@elcajonpolice) March 1, 2024

Police at the scene. Abdulkareem was taken into custody close to where the vehicle was found. Police did not say whether or not they believe the shooting was targeted and whether they believe the suspect knew any of the victims

The father of the woman who was wounded told Telemundo San Diego that is she is 27 and was shot in the legs.

Abdulkareem was taken into custody close to where the vehicle was found. Police did not say whether they believe the shooting was targeted and whether they believe the suspect knew any of the victims.

His vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona license plate AM14894, was identified shortly after the shooting. Police said they then confirmed that the suspect had rented the truck.

The FBI's San Diego team, as well as the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are aiding the investigation.
Former President Donald Trump claimed that Roe v. Wade gave mothers the right 'to kill the baby after birth' when clarifying his views on abortion during an interview Thursday.

Trump was speaking to Sean Hannity during his visit to the US-Mexico border in Texas.

The former president's views on the issue have made headlines of late, as Trump called reports he was considering a federal 16-week abortion ban 'fake news.'

Earlier this week, he spoke out against the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling against IVF treatments, which he reiterated Thursday, calling it a 'harsh decision.'

When asked by Hannity where he was on the issue, he compared himself to Ronald Reagan, saying he believed in exceptions despite being pro-life and claimed pro-abortion Democrats are radicals on the issue.

Former President Donald Trump claimed that Roe v. Wade gave mothers the right 'to kill the baby after birth' when clarifying his views on abortion during an interview Thursday

'I think it's a very important thing the exceptions,' he said.

'I also think that they are the radicals, because they will kill the baby in eight months, nine months. Under Roe v. Wade, they had the right to kill the baby after birth. I mean, literally, after birth in some cases.'

He claimed that former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had been in favor of such a policy.

Northam had said in years past that if a fetus was nonviable and a woman were to give birth, the physicians and the mother would have 'a discussion' about its viability.

'We want that, we want people to help, we are on the side of women,' before adding, 'Same thing on the abortion issue. The abortion issue, now, I'm for the exceptions like Ronald Reagan was for the exceptions.'

Trump said that those views, which he communicated to Alabama GOP Senator Katie Britt, were why he put out his statement on IVF.

'I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF,' he wrote on Truth Social last Friday.

Trump has repeatedly spoken somewhat critically about the GOP's handling of abortion post-Roe in the lead-up to the 2022 midterms but now blames the Democrats for how they pushed it to voters.

When asked by Hannity where he was on the issue, he compared himself to Ronald Reagan, saying he believed in exceptions despite being pro-life and claimed pro-abortion Democrats are radicals on the issue

Trump was speaking to Sean Hannity during his visit to the US-Mexico border in Texas

Trump claimed that former Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, a Democrat, had been in favor a policy of post-birth abortions

'The issue of abortion, I think it played a very big part,' he said. They demagogued that issue in 2022, in the midterm, and I think it hurt Republicans.'

The New York Times reported that Trump told his advisors that a federal 16-week abortion ban would be suitable, as long as it included exceptions for rape, incest, or preserving the life of a mother.

'As President Trump has stated, he would sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal that everyone will be happy with,' National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to reporters.

Republicans have suffered repeated political losses on the abortion issue since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Since then, Trump remains reluctant to publicly state his opinion on a federal abortion ban, choosing instead to float the idea of a deal between pro-life and pro-choice activists.

'I would sit down with both sides and I'd negotiate something and we'll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,' he said in an interview with NBC in September, when asked about the issue.

In the same interview, Trump criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for signing a six-week ban on abortion, as DeSantis was still running against the former president for the Republican nomination at the time.

'I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,' Trump said.

Trump frequently trumpets the fact that thanks to his appointees to the Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade was overturned, a long-time goal for pro-life activists, turning the issue of abortion back to the states.

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally

President Donald Trump remains hesitant to publicly endorse a federal abortion ban

Republican governors like DeSantis have used the opportunity to sign more restrictive abortion laws, while Democrats continue notching pro-choice victories across the country.

During the Republican primaries, anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America urged Republican candidates to support a federal 15-week abortion ban, but Trump was hesitant to detail his position on abortion.

The group responded to the New York Times report by endorsing the idea of a 16-week ban.

'We strongly agree with President Donald Trump on protecting babies from abortion violence at 16 weeks when they feel pain,' they wrote in a statement. 'A majority of Americans support this compassionate position.'

Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices to the bench during his first term as president, swinging the balance of justices against Roe v. Wade.

Pictured: President Donald Trump and Justice Amy Coney Barrett

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh (R)

Trump was also the first American president to personally and publicly address the national March for Life, taking the stage at the annual rally in 2020 against the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in Washington, DC.

In January, he said he was 'proud' that he helped overturn the decision.

'[T]hey were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I'm proud to have done it,' he said in an interview on Fox News in January. 'Nobody else was going to get that done but me, and we did it, and we did something that was a miracle.'

The Biden campaign issued a statement from the president condemning Trump's position.

'The choice is very simple. Kamala and I will restore Roe v. Wade and make it once again the law of the land. Donald Trump will ban abortion nationwide,' Biden said. 'That is what is at stake this November.'
Keir Starmer was warned he is facing his 'worst nightmare' and his Gaza problems have 'got 100 times more serious' today after George Galloway stormed home in the Rochdale by-election.

The pro-Palestinian firebrand emerged victorious in the normally-safe Labour seat after one of the most divisive and chaotic contests in recent history.

And he immediately vowed to use the platform to torment Sir Keir over his stance towards Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am.

Although the result came after Labour was forced to disown its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks condemned as anti-Semitic, it will raise fresh concerns about a backlash against the party in muslim communities.

Ellie Reeves, Labour's deputy national campaign co-ordinator, apologised for the way the by-election had happened saying Mr Galloway 'stokes division and fear'.

She insisted Sir Keir would not be shifting position on Gaza, pointing out he had already moved to back an 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire' last week.

Mr Galloway will return to Westminster after a nine-year absence as a representative of a third different political party - the Workers Party of Britain - having previously been both a Labour and Respect MP.

Rochdale was previously held by Sir Tony Lloyd, who died in January.

George Galloway has clinched a stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election after one of the most divisive and controversial contests in recent history

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am

Keir Starmer pictured this morning as he faces more problems on his Gaza stance

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons

Mr Galloway kisses his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, during the by-election result declaration in Rochdale

Mr Galloway coasted home after Labour disowned its candidate in a normally-safe seat

Rochdale by-election result in full George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain) 12,335 votes (39.65%) David Tully (Independent) 6,638 votes (21.34%) Paul Ellison (Conservative) 3,731 votes (11.99%) Azhar Ali (Independent, initially Labour) 2,402 votes (7.72%) Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrat) 2,164 votes (6.96%) Simon Danczuk (Reform) 1,968 votes (6.33%) William Howarth (Independent) 523 votes (1.68%) Mark Coleman 455 votes (1.46%) Guy Otten (Green) 436 (1.40%, -0.68%) Michael Howarth (Independent) 246 (0.79%) Ravin Rodent Subortna (Loony Party) 209 votes (0.67%) Advertisement

The father-of-six won 12,335 votes in the by-election, which was just under 40 per cent of the vote share.

This put him ahead of second-placed independent candidate David Tully who won 6,638 votes (21 per cent).

Mr Ali was fourth with just 2,402 votes (7.72 per cent).

His name appeared on the ballot papers as a Labour candidate because the decision to drop him came after the cut-off point.

There is not thought to be a modern precedent for two effectively independent candidates coming first and second in a Parliamentary contest.

At 39.7 per cent, turnout was slightly higher than in the recent Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.

And the scale of the victory raised questions about whether Labour would have been able to defeat Mr Galloway even if their campaign had not derailed.

Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.

Mr Galloway used his victory speech to go on the attack against Sir Keir Starmer over the Labour leader's Gaza stance after being declared the by-election winner.

He warned Sir Keir: 'You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

Mr Galloway was interrupted by a woman shouting that he was a 'climate change denier' before she was drowned out by shouts of 'Gall-o-way! Gall-o-way!'.

'I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, the plates have shifted tonight,' Mr Galloway then continued.

'Keir Starmer's problems just got 100 times more serious than they were before today.

'This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies.'

Mr Galloway claimed Labour was now 'on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them'.

'I've heard some of the narrative being spun around this election result this evening,' he added. 'Yes it's true, that every Muslim is bitterly angry at Keir Starmer and his listing Labour Party.

'But you would be very foolish, if you did not realise that millions of other citizens of our country are too.

'Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight!'

Afterwards Mr Galloway said: 'I think Keir Starmer has woken up this morning to his worst nightmare.'

The ex-Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant was pictured voting in Rochdale on Thursday

Votes for Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, are seen on a table at a polling station

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win in Rochdale after Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded

Votes are taken out of a ballot box for counting during the Rochdale by-election, which has been one of the most divisive and controversial by-election contests in recent history

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, is pictured at the Rochdale count with his wife Claudine and party leader Richard Tice (left)

Mr Danczuk was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017

In a round of interviews this morning, Ms Reeves told Sky News: 'Labour regrets that we couldn't stand a candidate in this by-election and we apologise to the people of Rochdale for that.

'George Galloway is someone who stokes up division and fear. This isn't how we would have wanted this by-election to play out.

'The Labour candidate was removed as the candidate because of comments that he made. Keir Starmer took swift and decisive action to do that, because being a Labour candidate requires the highest of standards.'

Asked who Labour would have liked to see win the greater Manchester seat, she said: 'That was for the people of Rochdale to decide.'

Ms Reeves said: 'We've set out our position on Gaza and that was adopted by the Commons just the other week.

Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded when they had to ditch support for local councillor Azhar Ali as their official candidate following an anti-Semitism storm

'We've said there should be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that the loss of life has been intolerable, there must be no ground offensive in Rafah, aid has to be ramped up into the region, and, importantly, that we need to find a two-state solution.'

The contest to replace Sir Tony as Rochdale's MP was marred by raging tensions over Gaza , with claims of death threats, candidates wearing stab vests, and vandalism.

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win the by-election after Labour's bid to retain the Greater seat imploded.

Sir Keir's party had to ditch support for Mr Ali, a local councillor, as their official candidate following the emergence of his remarks about Israel.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) expressed its concerns about Mr Galloway's own views following his victory in Rochdale.

A spokesman said: 'George Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

'Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this parliament.'

Ahead of the Rochdale result being declared in the early hours of Friday, supporters of Mr Galloway had predicted a comfortable win for their candidate.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP and now deputy leader of Mr Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, told Sky News: 'We believe that we've won comfortably today and it really will, I think, send shockwaves through the Palace of Westminster.

'But it will also, I think, give hope to tens of thousands, if not millions of people in the country who are looking for a genuine alternative, because our democracy has been stolen from us.

'The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are effectively often the same thing.'

He added that a victory for Mr Galloway represented 'a total rejection of mainstream party politics'.

James Giles, campaign manager for Mr Galloway, said: 'It is going better than our wildest hopes. George will win here by a fair margin.'

A victory rally has been planned by Galloway supporters at their campaign HQ - a Suzuki car dealership in the town.

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017.

He quit Labour almost seven years ago amid a 'sexting' scandal, when he was alleged to have sent explicit messages to a teenager.

Reform leader Richard Tice earlier conceded that Mr Danczuk's bid in Rochdale had failed, telling Sky News: 'There's no question Mr Galloway has won this election by what looks like a considerable margin. Everyone else, frankly, is also rans.'

Mr Tice bemoaned how 'menacing behaviour' had 'been a feature of this entire campaign' including 'outside polling stations' on Thursday.

He also questioned the validity of postal votes returned during the contest.

Former Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has previously criticised postal voting on a number of occasions following defeats for his various parties.

Mr Danczuk secured a little more than 6 per cent of the vote, coming sixth behind Mr Ali, the former Labour candidate.

William Howarth, an independent candidate said he agreed with Mr Tice that there had been an 'element of intimidation' running through the election campaign.

He revealed he was abused by a man carrying a Palestine flag on Thursday in Rochdale town centre.

After spotting his rosette the man called him 'a dirty Zionist bastard', Mr Howarth said. He added the man was arrested by police.

Mr Danczuk previously reported being the subject of a death threat during the campaign with police said to have made an arrest.

Mr Galloway denied his supporters had engaged in any intimidation, and claimed on Sky News that Mr Tice had invited him to be a Reform UK candidate in a recent by-election.

He added that he hoped he would be introduced to the Commons by Conservative former minister Sir David Davis and the former Labour leader, and now independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn.

There had been thoughts that Mr Ali might go on to win the Rochdale contest, after Labour discarded him too late to remove him from ballot paper.

He told ITV News on Thursday: 'I'm still on the ballot paper, I've been campaigning for the last few weeks and I'm hoping for a positive result.'

Asked whether he would take up his seat in the House of Commons if he won the by-election, Mr Ali replied: 'Absolutely.'

There had also been controversy around Green candidate Guy Otten, who had his party's support withdrawn over comments he made on Twitter.

But, like Mr Ali, his name still appeared on ballot papers when locals went to polling stations on Thursday.

Labour's campaign fell apart after a recording surfaced of Mr Ali suggesting Israel 'deliberately allowed' Hamas terror attacks on October 7 as a pretext to invade Gaza.

Shadow cabinet members Lisa Nandy and Anneliese Dodds both campaigned for him before Labour eventually withdrew support amid growing criticism.

The action against Mr Ali also followed the emergence of a fuller recording in which he was heard commenting on 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters'.

Mr Ali subsequently apologised 'to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments'.

After he was ditched by Labour, local voters were urged to 'teach Keir Starmer a lesson' by continuing to support Mr Ali.

Pro-Palestinian backers of Mr Ali were reported to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes.

Alongside an image of Mr Ali, one read: 'Sacked by Starmer for speaking on Palestine. It's time to teach Starmer a lesson in Rochdale. Vote Azhar Ali.'

Another depicted Sir Keir as a clown and dubbed the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a stong voice for Palestine'.

Mr Galloway's campaign was also heavy on the Palestinian cause and Gaza, an issue close to the heart of many of Rochdale's Muslim population.

His team believed 15,000 votes would be enough to win most by-elections and Rochdale has a 30,000-strong Asian community.

There had been incidents of his campaign posters being torn down.

The contest in Rochdale was prompted by the death of former Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd at the age of 73 last month

A police officer is pictured next to an entrance to a polling station during voting in the Rochdale by-election on Thrsday

Mr Danczuk had branded Mr Galloway's campaign as divisive and claimed his rival would be the 'MP for Gaza', not Rochdale.

The Tories were never expecting any success in Rochdale, with the Greater Manchester constituency having not had a Conservative MP since the 1950s.

Tory ex-Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick on Thursday hit out at how the Rochdale contest had become known as the 'Gaza by-election'.

He criticised some candidates for being 'more interested in a conflict they have no influence over than improving the lives of local people', adding: 'Shameful.'

Rochdale, which is one of the most deprived in England and voted 60 per cent in favour of Brexit, has also been the subject of Asian grooming gang scandals.

A major report in January concluded that young girls were left 'at the mercy' of paedophiles due to failings by senior police and council bosses.

Mr Howarth, involved in the group Parents Against Grooming UK, stood at the by-election as an independent.

He said he had taken to wearing a stab-vest while campaigning, such were tensions in the town during the contest.
Transgender women criminals must be regarded as men if they have not legally changed their gender, Number 10 has said.

This comes after it emerged that the crimes of Scarlet Blake  sentenced to life on Monday for the murder of Jorge Carreno in Oxford after previously killing a cat  will be officially recorded as having been committed by a woman.

The case has sparked a major row, with author JK Rowling, former ministers and lawyers among those to criticise reports that referred to the killer as a woman without explaining she is transgender.

The Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'The PM has been really clear on this issue. And the definition of a woman is the biological sex and that biological sex matters. So it is important that we take that approach to these issues.'

Scarlet Blake, 26, (pictured, left) who was born biologically male but identifies as a woman, was jailed for a minimum of 24 years for the murder of Spanish engineer Jorge Carreno (pictured, right)

Currently forces can record birth sex in crime counting but this is voluntary and it is the preferred gender of the detainee that is always recorded

It continued: 'Police forces should follow the College of Policing guidance that a person's gender is that which was registered at birth unless they have been issued with a gender recognition certificate under the Gender Recognition Act.

'Case sets dangerous precedent.'

Currently forces can record birth sex in crime counting but this is voluntary and it is the preferred gender of the detainee that is always recorded.

Thames Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber to call for a change in the law that would make it mandatory for officers to record the birth sex of detainees in the custody record.

Blake has been sent to a Category A male prison but was referred to as a woman during her trial, in accordance with judiciary guidelines.

Mr Barber said it was right that Blake was sent to a male prison but it was vital to update the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) to ensure criminals are recorded under the sex they were assigned at birth as well their preferred gender.

Author JK Rowling also weighed in: 'Crime statistics are rendered useless if violent and sexual attacks committed by men are recorded as female crimes.'

The PCC has previously criticised his force for referring to transgender Osareen Omoruyi, charged with two counts of sexual assault on a child, as a woman in a press release.

Blake has been sent to a Category A male prison but was referred to as a woman during her trial

Police Sex Equality and Equity Network (SEEN), a gender-critical group of female police officers said: 'We are sad to read that the murder of Jorge Martin Carreno [by Blake] has been overshadowed by the inaccurate recording of the offender's sex.

'We offer our condolences to the family and friends of Mr Carreno and we are deeply sorry if they have been caused further pain and distress by the error.

'It is a matter of fact that humans cannot change sex and that Scarlet Blake is male.

'We strongly encourage UK police forces to uphold the principles of integrity and transparency and return to accurate crime recording. We must strive to restore the trust of the public and victims of crime and to preserve accurate records for future generations.'

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: 'Scarlet Blake's gender did not form any part of the prosecution case, which was also highlighted by the judge presiding over the case.

'Thames Valley Police adheres to the law and codes of practice, outlined by the Equality Act 2010, and the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 Code C when establishing and recording the gender of a person in our custody.'
Meghan Markle has enjoyed a ski break with her friends Kelly McKee Zajfen and Heather Dorak, with the latter saying on Instagram that she enjoyed a 'perfect trip'.

The Duchess of Sussex was pictured smiling with pilates business owner Dorak and former model Zajfen on the slopes of Powder Mountain near Salt Lake City in Utah.

The trio were seen in the photograph wearing big coats, gloves, sunglasses and beanie hats - while Dorak also posted pictures of her family members on the trip.

It comes two weeks after Meghan was pictured on the slopes of Whistler in Canada with Prince Harry for an event marking one year to go until the next Invictus Games.

Dorak, who is the founder of Pilates Platinum, wrote today: 'Wow, what a perfect trip!! My heart is so full. The kids crushed the slopes by day and the adults howled with laughter deep into the night. Truly lucky in love with our wonderful friends!'

Zajfen also shared the photo in an Instagram post of her own, writing: 'Beyond grateful for the best of friends! What a trip! Thank you doesn't even begin to express what my heart is feeling after this trip.

Meghan Markle (left) at Powder Mountain in Utah with friends Heather Dorak (centre) and Kelly McKee Zajfen (right), in a photo posted on Instagram by both Dorak and Zajfen today

Former model Kelly McKee Zajfen posted a picture of the trio in Utah on Instagram today

The photo of the trio in Utah was also posted by pilates business owner Heather Dorak

'The love of family time and adventure and belly laughs made this trip one for the books! Here's to many more adventures with friends that feel like family and appreciating each day.'

READ MORE Prince Harry LOSES High Court challenge against the Home Office over decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded personal security when he visits the UK Advertisement

Meghan is known to be close friends with Zajfen, co-founder of the Alliance of Moms group which supports pregnant and parenting teenagers in the foster care system in Los Angeles.

The Duchess has also supported Zajfen through grief since her son George died aged just nine in July 2022 after being found unresponsive in their family home.

Zajfen has previously described Meghan as an 'incredible friend and mother', adding that she is always the first to say yes and support those you love.

As for Dorak, she attended Meghan and Harry's wedding in Windsor in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen.

Originally from Texas, she is now based in California where she owns six studios under the Pilates Platinum brand.

Dorak was spotted hiking with Meghan near the royal couple's mansion after they celebrated Archie's fourth birthday.

The pair also appeared together on Meghan's social media before she took down her accounts after her wedding.

Another photo of Dorak (centre) and Zajfen (right) during their trip to Powder Mountain, Utah

Since the trip to Whistler last month, Meghan has appeared in North West London via videolink to open a new wing of the Mayhew vet clinic on February 21.

This was publicised via the new Sussex.com website she launched with Harry, which instantly became controversial due to the prominence of its royal branding.

A video has also emerged this week of Meghan cooking traditional Afghan food with a group of 15 women who resettled in the US from Afghanistan  although this was from an earlier visit to the Southern California Welcome Project on February 10.

On Wednesday, Harry lost his High Court challenge against the Home Office over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the UK.

The Duke later said he would seek to appeal the ruling, after he took legal action against the Government department over a decision made in February 2020 that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in Britain.

Harry and Meghan at an Invictus Games event in Whistler, Canada, on February 14, 2024

While in Whistler last month, Harry told GMA that he had 'considered' becoming a US citizen

The Duke returned briefly to the UK on February 6 without his family after making a transatlantic dash to be with his father following news of the King's cancer diagnosis.

Harry later gave an interview to ABCs Good Morning America while in Whistler, insisting 'I love my family' and that he 'jumped on a plane' to visit the King 'as soon as I could' after speaking on the phone about his cancer diagnosis.

The Duke also revealed he was 'grateful' to have seen Charles in person and hopes the diagnosis can have a 'reunifying effect' on the Royal Family .

Harry and Meghan live in the US with their two children Archie and Lilibet after the couple announced they were stepping back as senior royals in January 2020.
Alleged killer cop Beau Lamarre-Condon's mother once took her neighbour to court during a row over a eucalyptus tree.

Coleen Lamarre took her neighbour Courtney Bracks to the NSW Land and Environment Court in 2021.

The dispute arose when Ms Bracks' eucalyptus tree caused $1,210 in damages to Ms Lamarre's car and home in the Sydney suburb of Balmain.

The same home was frequented by detectives during their search for the bodies of Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, who Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have murdered on February 19.

The Environment Court ruled in favour of Ms Lamarre, who also once worked for NSW Police, and found that the damage caused by the tree was avoidable.

Coleen Lamarre (centre), the mother of Beau Lamarre-Condon (left), once took her neighbour to court over a tree that had damaged her property

The NSW Land and Environment Court sided with Ms Lamarre in 2021 and ordered her neighbour to pay $1,210 for repairs to the property (pictured)

Ms Bracks, who owns Ciao Thyme and Cafe Viva in Balmain's Darling Street, told the court that neither Ms Lamarre or her partner had ever contacted her about the damage.

'Since Brett Smith and Coleen Lamarre became the owners [of the Balmain home]  there was very little effort to contact me in relation to their claim,' she said.

Ms Lamarre, however, told the court that she had spoken to Ms Bracks 'at least three times' since 2018 about the tree but that Ms Bracks had been 'dismissive on each occasion'.

The Mountain Grey Gum tree was inspected by an arborist in June 2021 who found scarring consistent with the damages on a branch of the 15m tall tree.

Otherwise it was deemed to be in 'good health, vigour and structure' a mere 350mm from the southern boundary wall of Ms Lamarre's property.

Ms Lamarre claimed that a large branch of the tree had been damaging the top of her home and her wall, which was not disputed by either party.

Acting Commissioner David Galwey ruled that it was 'reasonable' for Ms Brack to provide compensation and remove the offending tree.

'The damage was readily foreseeable and preventable. It is reasonable that Ms Bracks pays the quoted amount, or the actual cost of repairs should it turn out to be a lesser amount,' he said.

Another one of Ms Bracks' neighbours, David John Body, also complained about damage caused by the tree in 2013 but had his motion dismissed.

Beau Lamarre-Condon is the sole suspect in the alleged murders of Mr Baird and Mr Davies.

Detectives were seen searching the property at 11:30pm on February 2024 in relation to Lamarre-Condon's alleged murder of Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29

Mr Baird (right) and Mr Davies (left) were allegedy murdered on February 19

Police allege Lamarre-Condon shot dead the couple with his service pistol at Mr Baird's home then dumped their bodies two days later in the Southern Tablelands.

It will also be alleged that Lamarre-Condon disposed of the bodies in Bungonia by putting them into separate surf bags and hiding them under debris.

Mr Baird and Lamarre-Condon had previously had what police described as an 'off and on' romance but Mr Baird had not wanted to pursue a relationship.

Lamarre-Condon, a one-time celebrity chaser who posted pictures of himself with international stars on social media, turned himself in to police at Bondi last Friday.

He faced Waverley Local Court that afternoon when he was represented by a Legal Aid Commission solicitor and did not apply for bail.
A brief funeral for Alexei Navalny was held in Moscow today - two weeks after Vladimir Putin's most feared critic died in an Arctic prison on February 16 - as thousands of his supporters gathered outside.

Pictures showed the opposition leader's open casket inside a church on the outskirts of the Russian capital, after the coffin was carried past the large crowd of mourners - some holding red flowers - who bravely congregated despite fears of mass arrests.

Under a heavy police presence, a long queue could be seen forming near the church in the southeast of the capital, with reports saying thousands were in attendance.

One person said: 'I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been.'

As the coffin was carried out of a black hearse and into the church, loud chants of 'Navalny, Navalny!' rang out around the square outside.

The dissident's parents followed the coffin inside, and were pictured sitting by his open casket. His body could be seen dressed in a suit, covered in flowers.

It left the Russian Orthodox church again at around 12pm GMT - less than an hour after it entered - on its way to be buried at a nearby cemetery.

As the coffin was driven away, video showed people chanted again: 'Russia without Putin', 'Putin is a killer' and 'We won't forget'.

Navalny was finally laid to rest shortly after 1pm GMT.

Pictures showed the opposition leader's open casket inside a church on the outskirts of the Russian capital, after it was carried past a large crowd of mourners - some holding red flowers - who bravely gathered despite fears of mass arrests

Relatives and friends pay their last respects at the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, March 1

The funeral for Alexei Navalny got underway today - two weeks after the opposition leader died in an Arctic prison on February 16. Pictured: Navalny's coffin arrives at the church on the outskirts of Moscow as thousands of mourners watched on from the streets outside

Mourners, some carrying red flowers (pictured), bravely gathered outside the church on the city's outskirts - despite fears police are preparing for mass arrests. One among thousands said: 'I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been'

Moscow police launched a massive security clampdown this morning outside the church and the nearby cemetery where he will be buried, with most mourners prevented from getting to the church by police and iron fences

A hearse, which reportedly transports a coffin with the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is seen in this photo parked outside the Soothe My Sorrows church before the funeral service and farewell ceremony in Moscow, March 1

The crowd outside the church on Friday was seen in live broadcasts of the event. Reports said thousands of people gathered on the streets outside. Many chanted Navalny's name

Navalny's parents - Anatoly Navalny, right, and Lyudmila Navalnaya - were seen entering the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow

Moscow police are seen standing guard outside the church in Moscow today

Moscow police began a massive security clampdown ahead of the funeral of Alexei Navalny

Foreign diplomats, including French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy and US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, wait near the Soothe My Sorrows church before a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny

Mourners gather in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church during a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow's district of Maryino

Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya (first row, third right) and Anatoly Navalny (rights row, right), parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends a funeral ceremony for their son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1

A view of a grave where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny due to be buried at the Borisovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow, March 1

Moscow police launched a massive security clampdown this morning.

While attendee details were not known, the French, German and US ambassadors were in the crowd, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

Navalny's team accuse Putin of murdering his top critic, and of obstructing their efforts to give the dissident a dignified send off - saying several funeral parlours and hearse companies had refused to take their booking following threats

What's more, it has also been warned that male mourners could be rounded up at the funeral and sent to fight on the front lines of Ukraine, where Putin is waging a brutal war that last week entered its third year.

The Kremlin, which has denied involvement in Navalny's death, warned against 'unauthorised' protests around the funeral, and the authorities this morning appeared to be treating the funeral and burial as a major military operation.

But despite fears of mass arrests, pictures from outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church showed thousands of Navalny's supporters gathering.

They were held back by long stretches of iron fences erected around the church, while metal detectors were also set up at key entry points. These appeared to be in place to limit access to the Navalny supporters seeking to say their final farewell.

Other pictures from the cemetery where Navalny is set to be buried appeared to show gravediggers at work, as crowds continued to gather.

One woman who flew 900 miles from Perm to Moscow said: 'I had high hopes for this man, he was very strong, very brave.

'I would like to see people today who also support him. The pain in my heart is such that I cannot describe it - so hard,' she added.

Another woman said: 'For us it was hope for a brighter future, not for North Korea. This is the only thing we can do now is to pay tribute to the memory, keep it.

'A person lives as long as we remember him. We need to remember why he got there. For us, for everyone. And of course continue, don't give up, as he asked.'

'People like him shouldn't be dying: honest and principled, willing to sacrifice themselves,' said one mourner, Anna Stepanova, outside the church.

'What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?' Stepanova asked. 'They are so afraid themselves. The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either.'

Russian authorities did not comment ahead of time on how they will handle the event, which could turn into an embarrassing show of support for Navalny.

As Navalny's body set out on his last journey to his funeral, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'The Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalny's relatives on the day of his funeral.'

Navalny associate Leonid Volkov said Putin would one day answer in court for the death of the politician.

'Peskov said that Putin has nothing to say to Alexei Navalny's family,' he said. 'I want to dare to say that Alexei's family doesn't need a single word from Vladimir Putin.

'All the words we would need from Putin are those he'll say before the judge.'

A grave - reportedly where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny will be buried - is seen during preparations for his funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow today

Pictured: A grave at the Borisovo cemetery ahead of the burial of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Despite the first of mass arrests, early pictures from outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church - where a religious service will be held at 2pm (1100 GMT) - showed crowds of mourners gathering, some carrying red flowers

A Police officer guards as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024

Early pictures from the outskirts of the Russian capital showed long stretches of iron fences being erected around the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church (pictured), where a religious service will be held at 2pm (1100 GMT)

The authorities this morning appeared to be treating the funeral and burial as a major military operation against the pro-democracy Navalny supporters

A mound of earth is seen at the cemetery where Navalny is set to be buried today

Grave diggers were seen working at the cemetery this morning

The funeral of the opposition leader will take place two weeks after he died in an Arctic prison on February 16, amid pressures denounced by his team who accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured today) of murdering his top critic behind bars

Russian authorities have said Navalny (pictured in 2019) died of 'natural causes' but his team and some Western leaders have accused Putin of being directly responsible

Iron fences are seen being set up around the church on the outskirts of Moscow this morning

A Police officer guards on a roof of an apartment building near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024

A police truck is seen near the church on the outskirts of Moscow this morning

A woman carries flowers outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, ahead of the upcoming funeral of late Russian opposition leader Navalny, this morning. Police can be seen in the background by the entrance to the church grounds

Mourners gather in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church ahead of a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, on March 1, 2024

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy arrives at the church before a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Navalny in Moscow, Russia, March 1

A man carrying a wreath passes through a metal detector security gate at the Borisovo cemetery ahead of the burial of Navalny

Several police trucks were filmed driving at speed down a main highway, suggesting authorities in the city are expecting to make arrests, and buses with armed police were in the vicinity of the church and the separate cemetery.

News site Ostorozhno Novosti reported that the Russian army was present, and surveillance cameras were in use, and there were reports of smartphone signals being disrupted close to the funeral location.

Checkpoints and cordons were already set up around the church.

Long before the funeral began some 40 police vehicles - including buses - were at Maryino metro station close to the site. Police said they were checking passports of those in the area to 'prevent terrorist operations'.

Despite the fears of arrests, Navalny's team urged his backers to seek to attend today's events.

But it was not immediately clear who among Navalny's family or allies would attend the funeral, with many of his associates in exile abroad due to fear of prosecution in Russia. Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as 'extremist organizations' by the Russian government in 2021.

The politician's team said the funeral would be streamed live on Navalny's YouTube channel, and Navalny associate Ivan Zhdanov denied that only family mourners would be permitted to attend.

'There was some rumour in the media that only relatives would be allowed to attend the funeral service,' he said. 'We do not have any such information.

'All we know is that the temple will be open to everyone.'

Two opposition politicians with anti-war views who were barred from standing in this month's Russian president election both intended to attend the funeral.

Boris Nadezhdin and Ekaterina Duntsova said they would be there.

'Now it's quite difficult to explain the reasons why I think it's important to participate in farewell to Navalny and not end up under investigation,' said Duntsova.

'Many of my fellow deputies and activists knew Alexei.

'He is an important person in the history of Russian politics.'

Pro-democracy outlets warned that mass detentions are expected simply for seeking to pay respects to a widely-respected political figure who died aged 47 in suspicious circumstances.

Ivan Pavlov, a human rights activist, warned: 'If such [warnings over arrests] have to be made, then definitely something wrong is happening in the country.

'This event, to put it mildly, will be unwanted by the officials.'

There are also fears that pro-Navalny male supporters could be detained and rapidly sent to fight in Putin's war against Ukraine.

Politician Ruslan Shaveddinov, a former Navalny press secretary, said: 'The Moscow authorities and the Kremlin are trying to intimidate everyone who wants to come.

'I don't want to shout, urging everyone to come, because we are talking about a funeral. And we treat this as organising the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny.'

He revealed some activists had been warned not to attend on the eve of the funeral.

'We treat this as a tool of intimidation,' he said. 'Of course, they want to create horror so that everyone will be scared.

'But this is the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny, this is not a rally, not a political procession. This is an opportunity for a huge number of people for whom Alexei meant something, for whom he was important, to come and say goodbye to him.'

In line with Orthodox practices, the body of Navalny - who had embraced Christianity - will be displayed in an open casket at the church

Two hours after the church service, the burial is set to take place at the Borisovo cemetery (pictured as security forces prepare the site), a short walk from the banks of the river Moskva

Navalny was seen for the last time on February 15 (pictured), the day before he died

But Navalny's supporters have cause for concern: 400 mourners have been detained at memorials for Navalny since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info said.

The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Wednesday that she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests.

'I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,' Navalnaya told the European Parliament. She has directly blamed Putin for his death.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has criticised statements by Navalny's wife and Western leaders blaming the Russian leader for the death as 'vulgar'.

Putin, who famously never said Navalny's name in public, has not commented on the death, which sparked outrage among Western leaders and the Russian opposition.

Russian authorities said Navalny died of 'natural causes' but his team and some Western leaders have accused Putin of being directly responsible.

Navalny had shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.

He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.

'Alexei was tortured for three years,' Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

'He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.'

'And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,' she said.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

His team believed the delay to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent him from having a dignified public burial due to fears it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Authorities originally said they couldn't turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Navalnaya, 69, made a video appeal to President Vladimir Putin to release the body so she could bury her son with dignity.

The team alleged local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a 'secret' funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a funeral place that would agree to hold the ceremony. And on Thursday they said hearse drivers were refusing to take the body from the morgue.

'What a disgrace. Now the hearse drivers refuse to take Alexei from the morgue,' said Ivan Zhdanov, an exiled ally who managed Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said funeral directors had received threatening calls from 'unknown people' warning them not to transport Navalny's body anywhere.

The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Wednesday that she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests

Navalny's supporters have cause for concern: 400 mourners have been detained at memorials for Navalny since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info said

And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body - common in Russia - has not been allowed.

Navalnaya said the family 'did not want a special treatment - just to give people the chance to say goodbye'.

She has vowed to continue his life's work.

'The most important thing we can do for Alexei and for ourselves is to continue to fight more desperately, more fiercely than before,' she said.
Parents began celebrating today as their children received secondary school places - while others faced an anxious wait amid a national squeeze on places.

A record one in five pupils are set to miss out on their first-choice on National Offer Day and instead have to attend less desirable schools or those far from their home.

Applications in Britain have surged in recent years, caused by a baby boom a decade ago which was partially fuelled by a rise in net migration. The number of pupils applying to secondary school is expected to peak this year at 625,000.

It could lead to national success rates falling to close to 80 per cent - down from 82.6 per cent last year and 83.3 per cent the previous year.

In many London boroughs, the situation will likely be much worse, with almost half of pupils set to lose out in boroughs such as Lambeth. But some parents took to social media today, expressing their delight at their children having got their first choice.

One tweeted: 'James got accepted for his secondary school place and I'm so happy how is he going to start secondary school in September.'

Applications have surged in recent years, caused by a baby boom a decade ago (stock image)

Another added: 'My daughter has been offered a place at our first choice of secondary school. Absolutely over the moon!'

READ MORE Children as young as eight are being drawn into money laundering schemes by gangs with the promise of a Big Mac and trainers Advertisement

And a third said: 'Proud of my kid. Got her place in a really good school up here. Chose it even though she knew all her mates were going other schools and weren't fazed a bit. Think the fact 'it looks a bit like Hogwarts' swayed it more than its academic achievements though.'

But a fourth was still waiting for the news, saying: 'Liverpool council making us wait until midday for the school places. Sefton emails already gone out. I can see a place has been allocated. Just lift the veil.'

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union of headteachers, said: 'There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as there is a pupil population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools.

'Many schools are particularly over-subscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.'

Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: 'It is likely that a record number of parents will be disappointed at not getting their first choice of secondary school this week.

'A bulge in births in the early part of the century has been moving through the school system and it peaks in secondary schools this year.'

READ MORE Pupils are banned from joining protests during school hours after reports of children skipping class to attend pro-Palestine and climate change demonstrations Advertisement

Pupils aged ten and 11 around the country will be sent their school place decisions today on what is known as National Offer Day.

Last year, there were 620,000 applications - the biggest number since such data was first collected in 2014.

More places have been on offer, but not enough to keep pace with the extra demand - especially at more popular schools.

Local authorities ask parents to list several choices in order of preference, but this year around 8,000 are predicted to miss out on every single school they put on their list.

The chance of success across the country varies very widely.

Last year, the lowest was in London, with only 61.6 per cent of Lambeth residents getting their first choice.

By contrast, nearly all applicants got their first choice in Rutland, at 98 per cent.

Professor Smithers said the nature of the capital meant parents were applying for more far-fetched choices.

He added: 'In London parents are unusually able to express six preferences, freeing them to risk more failure.

'Public transport is also relatively good, increasing the accessibility of schools that are already greatly over-subscribed.'

Schools are required to keep a waiting list open for at least the first term of each school year, and parents can add their child even if they have accepted a please elsewhere.

They can appeal against the decision even if they accept a place offered at another school.

The most successful appeals are those that can prove the school or local authority has not properly followed their own admissions code.

Often, parents try to argue that the school suits their childcare arrangements best, or it allows their child to stay in a friendship group, but these appeals are unlikely to be successful.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
Christian Brueckner filmed himself dancing around a young girl who he had been tied up before forcing her to perform a sex act that made her vomit, his former friend has told a rape trial in Germany.

Brueckner, the chief suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, is currently on trial for three rapes and two sexual assaults said to have been carried out on Portugal's Algarve coast over a period from 2000 to 2017.

Bar owner Manfred Seyferth, 68, is giving evidence for the prosecution, and told the court that a video camera he and another man stole from Brueckner contained footage of him abusing an elderly woman and a girl.

Seyferth described how the girl was forced to perform a sex act by Brueckner and said that he remembered him telling her: 'You just puked on my carpet.' Seyferth, a former partner in crime of Brueckner's, added: 'That statement will stay with me forever.'

He also told the court that he found Brueckner 'arrogant' and then went on to describe how he had broken into the 47-year-old's villa and found the video camera and a pistol.

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has arrived in court for his ongoing sex trial

Bar owner Manfred Seyferth, 68, is giving evidence for the prosecution

The attacks took place just minutes from where then three-year-old Madeleine vanished in May 2007

Seyferth said he had told Busching to get rid of the tapes on the camera as he didn't want anything to do with them. He then said they had lost contact.

But his version fell apart after he later admitted to the judge that he had spoken to Busching on the phone on Thursday morning.

The judge ordered Seyferth's mobile to be confiscated and it later emerged that he had spoken with him twice just before giving evidence and again two further times.

Seyferth said of the day they found the videos: 'It was a bit chaotic in there and Helge found the camera and we took it. Then we drove away from the house.

'Helge watched the video and said there was a woman and girl on the tape and they were being abused.'

When asked to describe what else was on the video he said: 'There was an old woman on a table.

'She was in her 60s and she was being hit on her breast by something, it looked like a ruler. 'There was also a young girl as well,' he added.

Seyferth said the man in the video was masked but he told the court he recognised the voice as Brueckner's.

In 2019 Seyferth and his friend Helge Busching, 50, helped jail Brueckner for seven years for a separate rape when they described footage which showed him assaulting an elderly woman at her Algarve home in 2005.

As Seyferth gave his evidence at today's trial, which is being held in Braunschweig, Brueckner showed no emotion and stared straight ahead at the judge and prosecutor, occasionally whispering to his lawyer.

The attacks Brueckner is accused of carrying out took place just minutes from where Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz, where she was staying with parents Kate and Gerry and her siblings in May 2007.

Madeleine has not been seen since and in June 2020 German police sensationally named Brueckner as the man responsible for her 'abduction and murder' but he has yet to be charged with anything relating to her disappearance.

Brueckner arrived at court today in a van with a police escort and was swept inside for the start of the hearing and escorted into the courtroom flanked by guards and wearing handcuffs.

Seyferth lived in a caravan next to Christian's house a few minutes drive from Praia da Luz.

Petty crook Seyferth and Busching also said during the 2019 case that they had seen footage of a young teenage girl being attacked and recognised the perpetrator as Brueckner.

Brueckner arrived in a van with a police escort and was swept inside for the start of the hearing

Talking of that time, he admitted: 'I stole some diesel and some solar panels.

'I'm a thief but I don't do anything else  not like Christian who is sick.'

Seyferth also revealed he and Busching had found a gun in Brueckner's apartment but had panicked and thrown it into a nearby reservoir.

He added: 'After Maddie disappeared, I didn't see him (Brueckner) for a few months until a hippy festival in Orgiva (Spain) a year later.

Seyferth said he knew that Brueckner was robbing holidaymakers in the Portuguese resort that year.

In 2019 Seyferth and his pal Helge Busching, 50, helped jail Brueckner for seven years. Seyfruth is pictures with police today

At the 2019 trial in Braunschweig  the same venue as his current hearing  the court heard from Seyferth and Busching and their testimony was pivotal in nailing him.

They described how they had found a horrific video in Brueckner's Portuguese home that showed him torturing and then raping the elderly American woman.

Other footage was said to show a young teenage girl tied to a wooden post as she begged for help while he sexually abused her.

Madeleine McCann (pictured) went missing on May 3, 2007 at the age of just three. She has never been found. Christian Brueckner has been named by German prosecutors as their chief suspect in her disappearance

Seyferth said: 'He is evil because of the things I saw on the video with the old woman and the girl.

'It wasn't a young girl like Madeleine, she was older, maybe 15 years old and that was the usual age of his girlfriends.'

Talking about how he testified against Brueckner at the rape trial, Seyferth said: 'When I saw him in court, he made me shiver. He has a cold hard face and evil eyes.'

Last week the current trial heard how Irish tour rep Hazel Behan, who has waived her anonymity, feared she would be 'beheaded' by Brueckner after he attacked and raped her.

He is also accused of raping two other women including an unidentified 7080-year-old and a 14-year-old.

Further charges also include indecent assault against a 10-year-old German girl and a 11-year-old Portuguese girl.

All the charges are said to have taken place between 2000 and 2017 and on Portugal's Algarve coast.

Christian Brueckner was named chief suspect in Madeleine's disappearance in 2020

The case is not directly related to Madeleine and Brueckner denies any involvement in her disappearance and his lawyer Friedrich Fulscher has also said he is not connected to the current trial.

In his opening remarks Mr Fulscher said Seyferth and Busching were 'unreliable' due to known drug and alcohol issues.

Mr Fulscher also claimed police had bugged conversations Brueckner had held with his legal team in order to see if he would incriminate himself on Madeleine and the other cases.

He added as a result of the link with Madeleine his client had been under 'worldwide media fire' but as yet 'no charges had been brought' and no 'files provided'.

Mr Fulscher said:' The greatest challenge for the court in these proceedings will be to free itself from these ulterior motives when investigating the procedural truth and assessing the evidence with regard to the accusations levelled.'

The trial continues.
A violent transgender prisoner who was considered to be one of Scotland's most dangerous inmates has died in prison.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has confirmed Tiffany Scott, who was previously known as Andrew Burns, died in HMP Grampian yesterday at the age of 32. There are said to be no suspicious circumstances around the prisoner's death.

Last year there was outrage when it emerged that Scott, who stalked a 13-year-old girl and later attacked female prison officers, was set to be moved to a womens prison.

A statement posted on the SPS website yesterday said: 'Tiffany Scott, 32, has died in prison. With each death in custody, Police Scotland are advised and the matter reported to the procurator fiscal. Fatal accident inquiries are held in due course.'

Scott, then known as Burns, was convicted of attacking a nurse in Cheshire in 2010.

Tiffany Scott pictured wearing a ripped shirt at a court hearing in Falkirk in 2017

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed Scott, who was previously known as Andrew Burns, died in HMP Grampian yesterday at the age of 32

A string of disturbing offences behind bars led to an Order for Lifelong Restriction being imposed in 2013 when Scott was sentenced for stalking the 13-year-old girl by sending her letters from jail.

In 2017, Falkirk Sheriff Court was locked down amid safety fears as Scott was sentenced over a series of violent incidents in Glenochil Prison in Clackmannanshire.

They included striking a prison nurse with a hurled chair, punching a prison officer in the face, and spitting at another officer and trying to bite him.

Serving an indefinite sentence, Scott had applied to be moved from a male jail to a women's only wing but it was blocked following a furious backlash to the Isla Bryson case.

The double-rapist was at first sent to a female prison after committing the offences while as a man, but Bryson was later moved to a male wing after former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she did not think a rapist should be in a women's jail.

Earlier this year, women's rights campaigners claimed new Scottish trans prison rules were grounded in 'institutional sexism' and worse than before.

Isla Bryson (pictured) is a transgender rapist who was initially sent to an all-female prison in Scotland following conviction

Campaigners, who were calling on Scottish MSPs to block new guidelines that were set up after a trans rapist was sent to a women's prison, said that the rules make it even easier for dangerous men to exploit the system,

It came after the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said they were planning to allow criminals even with a history of violence against women and girls to serve their sentences in female jails, as long as it judges them as having a 'low risk' of harming others.

And those who identify as female - but are dangerous - may still be allowed to have day trips to women's jails to 'support their gender identity'.

It comes in stark contrast to England, where regulations came into force in February 2023 banning transgender offenders who have not undergone full reassignment surgery from being sent to women's prisons.
Connecicut's state capitol Hearst Connecticut Media

A proposal to study Connecticut's response to sexual abuse of children, a growing problem in the state and nation, is before the state legislature.

A task force would be created to examine state agency policies and practices and "identify opportunities to detect, mitigate, prevent, and effectively respond to such abuse," according to a bill the Committee on Children is considering. The task force would submit recommendations to legislators by the beginning of next year.

Connecticut Children's Alliance, a coalition of organizations that serve young abuse victims, reported in written testimony that child advocacy centers in the state serve about 2,000 children each year, 1,700 of whom have been impacted by sexual abuse. The state Department of Education reports that 14 percent of Connecticut residents say they have personally experienced childhood sexual assault. Nearly 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 14 boys has been a victim of sexual abuse in the state and one in every seven of those victims was under the age of 6. About 44 percent of rape victims are under 18, according to the state.

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Sexual abuse is prevalent, under-reported, and inconsistently responded to in the state, state Child Advocate Sarah Eagan told the children's committee Thursday. The public hearing on the task force bill was last week, and Eagan was testifying on other matters, but she called for "a better detection and response system" in the state.

The Children's Alliance, according to submitted testimony, sees "the need to reflect on the current response and review what can be done to continue to improve." Alliance members also said that everyone involved with child advocacy needs to look at their responses through the lens of prevention "if we truly want to end abuse."

Linda Dalessio, identified as a physician in her written testimony, referred to reports that came to light last year of sexual abuse and other problems at a residential facility for girls in Harwinton. The group home is one of seven similar Short Term Assessment & Respite (STAR) residences, described by a state Department of Children and Families spokesperson as emergency shelters. Allegations at the Harwinton site include sexual and physical assault of an underage resident by staff on several occasions, and both sexual and physical assault perpetrated by residents against other residents.

Dalessio testified that task force membership, which under the bill includes several state commissioners or their designees, is "like the fox guarding the hen house."

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"As we saw in what happened at the DCF-contracted STAR facility, it took state police and an article for all the problems to come to light," Dalessio testified.

"By appointing all of these commissioners on this committee," she wrote, "it will just foster more distrust, more cover-up and the inability to actually address what is going on in the state of Connecticut."

Besides commissioners, however, the bill calls for other task force members to include a child welfare attorney, a psychologist who is an expert in treating sexually abused children, a social worker, and a pediatrician. The children's committee also is considering a bill requiring the DCF commissioner to submit a report on STAR homes.

Asked about DCF's response to reports of child sexual abuse, agency spokesperson Ken Mysogland said Thursday that the department "supports efforts to bring together youth, families, legislators, sister state agencies, community partners, and others to improve the system's response to child sex abuse.

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"Our work in this area is extensive and we act quickly in collaboration with law enforcement and other multidisciplinary partners to investigate allegations and ensure child safety while providing support to them and their family," Mysogland said.

DCF is an active member of the Trafficking in Persons Council and works with partners across the state to prevent and respond to sex trafficking of minors, he said. The agency also has online training, "Identification and Prevention of Adult Sexual Misconduct Against Children Training for School Employees," which is mandated for school employees. Mysogland said he could not comment on specifics in the task force bill because DCF expects it to be amended. He said he could not comment on expected changes.

Besides in-person abuse, online sexual exploitation of children has skyrocketed over the past decade. Since 1998, law enforcement task forces focused on internet crimes against children have reviewed 7 million reports of online child exploitation resulting in the arrest of more than 134,000 people across the nation, according to the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that online enticement of children increased 82 percent from 2021 to 2022. A contributing factor was a spike in reports of financial sextortion, in which children are targeted to share explicit photos and then blackmailed by offenders that they will share the images with the childs friends, family, or others, the center reported.

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"Several of these cases have had tragic outcomes with panicked children taking their own lives," according to the organization.

Child porn used to be restricted mainly to magazines, but the internet brought a dramatic change. In 1990, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children estimated about 7,000 child porn images were in circulation. At any one time in recent years, an estimated 1 million such images are on the internet, with 200 new pictures posted daily, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

A study published in October 2022 found 16 percent of children and teens in the U.S. have experienced some kind of online sexual abuse before age 18. The study by the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open also found that 62 percent of the perpetrators of online sexual abuse were acquaintances from their offline life, with a majority of those being current or former intimate partners, according to a report by the University of New Hampshire. Almost a third of the perpetrators were under age 18.

Abuses included grooming by an adult, revenge pornography, sextortion, and online commercial sex, the study found. Rates of online childhood sexual abuse were particularly high for girls (23 percent) and transgender or gender-fluid children (20 percent). One in 13 boys also reported exposure.
The heartbroken father of a son who killed himself with poison he bought online has relived the trauma by ordering the same poison to prove it is still readily available.

David Parfett's son Tom, 22, took his own life in October 2021 after he discovered the substance on an online forum that promotes suicide - where he also found a seller.

Kenneth Law, the Canadian man who allegedly sent Tom the poison, has since been arrested and is facing 14 counts of first degree murder in Ontario. Law has been linked to 100 death in several different countries.

However, the poison is still readily available online - with one website linked to 100 UK deaths still active - as David proved by getting it delivered to his house.

And Leonid Zakutenko, who allegedly sent David the package, told an undercover BBC reporter posing as customer that he sends 'five packages a week' to the UK, then denied he sells the substance.

David got emotional as he holds the same substance his son used to take his own life

Tom Parfett took his own life in 2021 after buying poison online

Leonid Zakutenko alleged sold the poison to David from Kyiv, where he lives

David Parfett has been campaigning for new laws to prevent deaths like his son's

When the package arrive at to David's house, he became emotional as his mind imagined how his son must of felt holding the same substance he would take his own life with.

'It's really hard to see something my son used to take his own life,' he said as he opened the tightly wrapped parcel.

'I visualised my son when he opened the package aiming to take his own life. It is very difficult not to play that back in your own head.

'What was he feeling when he ordered the same poison from a different person. He was making that decision to use it to end his own life.

David decided to campaign for changes so no other father has to go through what he did after his son died.

He said: 'I feel obligated to highlight this issue because I have seen what its impact is. What I really struggle with is that other people will be going through the same.

'I just want to do everything that I can to prevent that.

'From the day my son died, the focus has been on trying to prevent other people going through similar... I am sure people understand when you lose a son, it is incredibly hard. It is very difficult to describe.

As he opened the parcel, David imagined what his son must of felt when he did the same in 2021

Kenneth Law, the Canadian man who allegedly sent Tom the poison, has since been arrested and is facing 14 counts of first degree murder in Ontario

A few weeks after ordering the poison, the police conducted a welfare check on David

The poison is still readily available online - with one website linked to 100 UK deaths still active - as David proved by getting it delivered to his house

'All I am trying to do here is demonstrate that unfortunately - even though my son died almost two and a half years ago - people are doing the same thing now.

'I was surprised - the ability to find a website that openly promotes this substance still. It is just as easy today as it was when my son Tom took his own life'.

The BBC tracked down the man who allegedly sold David the poison and confronted him.

Leonid Zakutenko, who lives in Kyiv, denied he sells the poison. He told the BBC after they tracked him down: 'I don't sell that'.

And as the camera crew chased him, he said 'I don't want to be famous' and 'that is a lie' before putting his hand over the camera lens and walking away.

It took almost a month for the parcel containing the poison to arrive and before it did police officers called to David's house and carried out a welfare check. A process that wasn't in place while Tom was alive.

David explained: 'A few weeks after I ordered the poison, two police officers knocked on my front door. Apparently they tried me a couple of days before but I was out.

Leonid Zakutenko told the BBC after they tracked him down, 'I don't sell that'

The Ukrainian man told an undercover BBC reporter that he sends 'five packages a week' to the UK before he later denied selling the substance

'They wanted to talk to me about my order of the poison. They said the reason they knew about it was because border force had identified this poison coming into the country and contacted my local police force to ask to do a welfare check.

David had a 'mixed' reaction to the welfare check. He said: 'I was really pleased that there is now welfare (checks) but it is completely ineffective.

'The poison was still delivered to my address. Unfortunately, welfare checks have taken place in the past and they have missed that somebody is vulnerable and somebody is going to take their own life.'

David added that there is advice online about 'how to avoid having the poison confiscated. or being sectioned'.

He said: 'The words to say to police to convince them there is nothing to see here.'

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support
As pro-Palestinian firebrand George Galloway stormed home in Rochdale by-election, fury over the Israel-Gaza war is causing chaos across the political landscape.

The conflict became the stand-out issue in yesterday's Rochdale by-election which saw Mr Galloway triumph with almost 40 per cent of the vote.

His victory was today prompted warnings from campaigners against antisemitism while Labour accused the newly-elected MP of stoking up 'division and fear'.

Yet there are also clear splits in Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer's party over Israel's response to Hamas's October 7 atrocities, with critics saying he should do more to oppose the approach taken by Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

The Rochdale vote - triggered by the death in January of Labour MP Tony Lloyd - became dubbed a referendum on Gaza by commentators and Mr Galloway.

George Galloway gave a victory speech after winning the Rochdale by-election overnight

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in London's Parliament Square on Wednesday last week

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was seen this morning after their ex-candidate came fourth

Mr Galloway triumphed with independent party candidate David Tully as runner-up

Azhar Ali was chosen as the Labour candidate but later dropped over comments about Israel

Rochdale by-election result in full George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain) 12,335 votes (39.65%) David Tully (Independent) 6,638 votes (21.34%) Paul Ellison (Conservative) 3,731 votes (11.99%) Azhar Ali (Labour) 2,402 votes (7.72%) Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrat) 2,164 votes (6.96%) Simon Danczuk (Reform) 1,968 votes (6.33%) William Howarth (Independent) 523 votes (1.68%) Mark Coleman 455 votes (1.46%) Guy Otten (Green) 436 (1.40%, -0.68%) Michael Howarth (Independent) 246 (0.79%) Ravin Rodent Subortna (Loony Party) 209 votes (0.67%) Advertisement

He has used the Palestinian flag as part of his campaign, with his slogan being: 'For Rochdale, For Gaza.'

Referring to the town's large Muslim population, he told the Mail: 'Gaza is the main issue facing at least 40,000 people.'

Workers Party of Britain leader Mr Galloway, 69, first became an MP - while with Labour - in 1987 and will return to the Commons for the first time since 2015 after winning in Rochdale by almost 6,000 votes.

He said in his victory speech overnight: 'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza.

'You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

Last Friday night saw Conservative and Labour fundraiser events targeted by pro-Palestine campaigners who stormed venues in Stoke and Oxford to confront Tory councillors and Labour MP Anneliese Dodds.

In London, thousands have taken to the streets in recent weeks, with Tower Bridge shut down by protesters setting off flares and chanting 'Free Palestine' and campaign slogans projected onto Big Ben.

The protests came as Parliament was brought to a standstill on Wednesday last week after the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle allowed a vote on a Labour motion for an 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire' in Gaza.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Westminster scenes sent 'a very dangerous signal' that 'intimidation works', being 'toxic for our society and our politics'.

Mr Sunak added that legitimate protests had been 'hijacked by extremists' and that elected representatives had been 'verbally threatened and physically, violently targeted'.

Mr Galloway kisses his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi during the by-election declaration in Rochdale

The ex-Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant was pictured voting on Thursday

Labour today said Mr Galloway 'only won because Labour did not stand' in Rochdale after the party dropped its candidate Azhar Ali for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas' October attack.

Mr Ali remained listed as the Labour candidate as the party's decision came too late for ballot papers to be changed.

He subsequently apologised 'to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments'.

After he was ditched by Labour, local voters were urged to 'teach Keir Starmer a lesson' by continuing to support Mr Ali.

Pro-Palestinian backers of Mr Ali were reported to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes.

Alongside an image of Mr Ali, one read: 'Sacked by Starmer for speaking on Palestine. It's time to teach Starmer a lesson in Rochdale. Vote Azhar Ali.'

Another depicted Sir Keir as a clown and dubbed the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a strong voice for Palestine'.

After the by-election result, a Labour spokesperson today said: 'We deeply regret that the Labour Party was unable to field a candidate in this by-election, and apologise to the people of Rochdale. George Galloway only won because Labour did not stand.'

Ellie Reeves, Labour's deputy national campaign co-ordinator, told Sky News: 'George Galloway is someone who stokes up division and fear. This isn't how we would have wanted this by-election to play out.'

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am

Votes for Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, are seen on a table at a polling station

The Lewisham West and Penge MP also suggested suggested Labour would not change its position on the Middle East war, calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

A spokesperson for the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "George Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community."

They added: "Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this Parliament.'

Left-wing pressure group Momentum said Sir Keir's 'failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need left the door open for George Galloway'.

'To avoid any more damaging repeats, Starmer should end the factional abuse of Labour's selection processes and stand up for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.'

Sir Keir suffered a huge revolt in the Commons last November as 56 of his MPs defied him and backed calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

He also lost 10 Labour frontbenchers - including former leadership contender Jess Phillips - after they broke ranks with their party leader.

Mr Galloway's new majority of 5,697 votes amounted to 18.3 per cent of the total, on a turnout of 39.7%, a little higher than the two recent by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood.

The surprise runner-up was David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate, who secured more than 6,600 votes.

Protesters beamed the phrases 'ceasefire now', 'stop bombing Gaza', 'end the war now' and 'stop war' on to Big Ben on Wednesday last week

Pro-Palestine protesters shut down Tower Bridge on Friday last week as they demanded a ceasefire in Gaza

Labour's bid to retain Rochdale imploded when they had to ditch support for local councillor Azhar Ali as their official candidate following an antisemitism storm

Shocking video emerged last weekend of a pro-Palestine protester entering a local Conservative Association fundraiser event and confronting councillors.

Members of the Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign gathered outside the Mirchi Restaurant in Shelton where a dinner was reportedly being held to support the re-election of Ben Adam, the Conservative Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Staffordshire.

Protesters outside chanted 'Free Palestine' and held up signs calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying they were exercising their right to a peaceful demonstration.

A man who entered the restaurant was filmed branding guests 'Zionists' and 'child murderers' as he shouted and pointed at a councillor, telling him to 'take it like a man'.

Councillor Dave Evans wrote on X of his experience: 'This 'peaceful' protest involved grown men screaming Tory scum at my 11-year-old daughter.

Protesters filmed themselves outside a local Conservative event in Stoke, captioning the post 'Pro-Zionist fundraiser held to account'

Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted on Facebook to say that more than 100 people turned up to the protest and that it was 'fantastic to see such a strong community turnout'

'These people aren't really bothered about a cause, they make little videos like that try and make a profile for themselves and intimidate others. A disgrace to our city.'

Councillor Joe Porter also said: 'In a free and prosperous democracy, political parties should be able to hold events without fear or terror.

'I believe in the right to protest, but these anti-Israel protests  including the one outside our Staffordshire Conservatives fundraising event in Stoke-on-Trent tonight  are a step too far with threats against elected representatives.

'It was shocking to see how many young children were there as they should be in bed, not out chanting 'ceasefire now' at night.

'We all want peace in Israel-Gaza and for all sides to work together to achieve an end to the ongoing conflict. There's no need for so much division. The aggressive protests achieve nothing.'

MP Jonathan Gullis shared the footage on X, and asked: 'Why did Staffordshire Police let key activists from the hate mob walk past them and into the restaurant, so they could intimidate and harass people at a private local Stoke-on-Trent Conservative fundraiser?'

He added: 'Somebody could have been seriously hurt.'

Stoke Palestine Solidarity Campaign posted on Facebook to reject claims that the 'surprise protest' was 'harming the democratic process by bringing this fundraiser to a halt.'

Two protesters stormed a Labour fundraiser dinner where they told Anneliese Dodds to 'stop Tory oil licenses' and urged an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

'The audacity of hosting a Tory fundraising dinner when 1.5million Palestinian people are facing siege, starvation and an imminent Israeli ground assault is frankly disgusting,' it said in a statement.

It added that more than 100 people turned up to the protest and that it was 'fantastic to see such a strong community turnout.'

'The people of Stoke-on-Trent made sure the local Tory Party, key supporters of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, couldn't finish their food or their event,' they said.

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour Partys chair heckled by her constituents outside the Party fundraiser she hosted last night



Anneliese Dodds, you cant hide

you support genocide! pic.twitter.com/JzOrBzW3Sj  Halima Khan (@HalimaNyomi) February 24, 2024

MP Anneliese Dodds faced chants of 'you can't hide, you support genocide' as she walked across the street

On the same night, Labour held a fundraiser dinner in Oxford which was attended by the party's chair Anneliese Dodds.

Interrupting the meeting, one protester shouted: 'Anneliese Dodds, I'm here with Just Stop Oil to demand that you revoke the Tory oil licences. We sent you a letter and received no response to our demand that you stand against the Tory licences.

'The Tories have absolutely smeared my future with oil licences.'

Another then stood up with a Palestinian flag and began shouting: 'Anneliese Dodds, I am here with Action Against War Crimes and we are saying when is the immediate ceasefire in Gaza?

'Labour is supposed to be the party of the people and yet it refuses to stand up for human lives.'

Ms Dodds agreed to take a letter from the pair of protesters and to talk with them at a later date, but she continued to be heckled as she walked alone in the street outside.

George Galloway (pictured) in his signature black fedora and Ray-Ban spectacles, with 'For Rochdale, For Gaza' as his slogan

The districts targeted by Galloway and his small team of volunteers have been written on pieces of paper and stuck to tables at his campaign base - including Bamford and Norden, Balderstone and Kirkholt, Milkstone and Deeplish

However, many in the deprived town expressed their resentment at the vote becoming centered around the single issue, suggesting it was distracting from other problems facing families.

'There's no point in you tackling world peace when the area you live in is a s***hole,' a voter told The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile Sara Rowbotham, the former health worker who blew the whistle on Rochdale's infamous child sexual exploitation rings, told the FT that the rhetoric around the war in Gaza is distracting from the needs of the town.

She said that the campaign has been dominated by 'macho' and divisive language, overlooking the 'serious poverty' which is affecting parts of the community.

'None of it bears any relation to what the town actually needs,' added Rowbotham, who will stand down as a Labour councillor at UK local elections in May.

Meanwhile in the capital, successive protests over recent days have brought parts of the city to a standstill.

Last Friday protesters occupied Tower Bridge, grinding traffic to a halt and causing police to close it for almost an hour.

That came two days after pro-Palestine slogan 'From the river to the sea' was projected on to Big Ben.

A powerful pocket-sized laser was used to project the message, which has been a fixture at protest marches since the October 7 terror attack, on to the clock tower from several hundred yards away on the other side of Parliament Square.

The stunt took place just minutes after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle cited concerns for MPs' safety as the reason he broke with convention over a Gaza ceasefire vote  sparking chaos inside the chamber.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle's position has been under threat since his decision to allow a vote on a Labour motion during last Wednesday's debate on Gaza

He was later the subject of more than 90 votes of no confidence from MPs after he selected a Labour amendment that the protesters were urging politicians to back.

Halima Begum, chief executive of the ActionAid UK charity, said of the scenes in Parliament: 'We are extremely disappointed to see the utter paralysis in Parliament this evening. Democracy is a precious commodity and should be treated as such.

'A great disservice has been done to the British people, who expected their political parties and elected representatives to conduct a meaningful debate concerning an issue on which depends the lives of over a hundred Israeli hostages, and hundreds of thousands of Gazans suffering one of the most acute humanitarian crises we have seen in recent times.'

Sir Lindsay cited warnings that the safety of some MPs was under threat if they couldn't vote for the Labour motion, with pro-Palestinian groups targeting politicians' offices.

Amid concerns for politicians' safety, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has defended its right to lobby MPs 'in large numbers'.

The group said the issue of MPs' security was 'serious' but should not be used to 'shield MPs from democratic accountability'.

There were reports that the group wanted so many protesters to turn up at Parliament on Wednesday that they would 'have to lock the doors' to the building.

It comes as it was revealed that police forces have spent at least 30million patrolling pro-Palestine rallies that have broken out across the UK since Hamas launched its attack on Israel last year.

So far, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, some 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza and a further 1.7million displaced. Pictured: Palestinians search for bodies and survivors (Feburary 20)

The National Police Chiefs' Council called on the Treasury to ask for more funding and warned that 'costs will continue to mount' as protesters routinely flood Britain's streets, the Sunday Express reported.

Officers responded to more than 900 demonstrations between October 7 and December 10 last year, the NPCC revealed. The majority of protests were held in London, but at least 315 occurred in other cities.

It is understood that the Met Police has spent about 18.9million on the protests, whereas Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have spent approximately 7.6million combined.

The protests, many of which are urging for an immediate ceasefire, come as the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry announced that the death toll has risen to just shy of 30,000 people.

A further 1.7million Palestinians are estimated to have been displaced during the war, which Israel launched following the Hamas terror atrocities of October 7.
A soldier is accused of murdering four people including a child at a home in Germany last night.

The victims are said to be his ex-girlfriend, her child, her new boyfriend and her boyfriend's mother.

The incident happened at 3:30 in the morning.

Several police forces were called to the property in Scheeel in the district of Rotenburg after reports of a shooting and a helicopter was put to use searching for the shooter from above.

The armored officers cordoned off the building and stormed it with machine guns.

The armored officers cordoned off the building and stormed it with machine guns

Several police forces were called to the property in Scheeel in the district of Rotenburg

German newspaper Bild reports that police say inside the house there were 'several victims'.

The soldier's age and motive are not yet known, however the police have said they do not rule out that it is 'a motive in the family environment'.

Police spokesman Heiner van der Werp told Bild that the incident was a 'family story'.

He also said: 'Everything that was available was in use.' These include forces from the Lower Saxony State Police and Federal Police.

The police presence continued throughout the night and into the morning with officers at Rotenburg train station and houses being surrounded.

Then, at dawn, police say the suspect handed himself in.

The soldier's car was found parked outside the barracks and has been cordoned off by police

A Molotov cocktail was found in the side compartment of the car after police searched it

Magazines for guns were discovered in the boot of the car. It is still unknown if they are military

The location of the car prompted the police to begin a search of the von During barracks

The are was cordoned off whilst the search commenced with a helicopter also being used

The perpetrator is said to have been a Bundeswehr (German army) soldier and has since been arrested.

Ammunition and explosives were found in the soldiers car, leading the police to begin a search of the von During barracks in Rotenburg.

The car was parked outside the barracks.

Police found a Molotov cocktail in the side compartment of the driver's door as well as several magazines for firearms and other ammunition - all of which was seized.

It is still unknown if the suspect's weapon came from the possession of the Bundeswehr.

Shots were also fired in the Lower Saxony community of Bothel today, allegedly by an Bundeswehr soldier - police are yet to confirm it as the same soldier and are trying to establish a connection.

Forensics officers work behind a police cordon at the Von D'ring barracks in Rotenburg

The two crime scenes are about eight miles apart with heavy police presences in both

The two places are about eight miles apart.

There was a heavy police presence at both scenes, the family home in Scheeel and the other scene in Bothel.1314

'A motive in the family environment cannot be ruled out,' said the police press release.

One of the major military units at the von During barracks who the shooter may have served for is the Jagertruppe.

The Jagertruppe is a group within the army specifically trained in urban combat - such as towns - places where tanks can't access.

They are trained with light weapons to fight enemy infantry.
George Galloway's deputy was branded 'appalling' today after he refused to condemn Hamas's October 7 massacre of Israelis.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP, insisted 'oppressed people have an absolute right to armed resistance' as he was challenged on the terror attacks that sparked the latest Gaza violence.

In an extraordinary interview in the coveted 8.10am slot on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, Mr Williamson also declined to disown an endorsement of his Workers Party of Britain by ex-BNP leader Nick Griffin.

The exchanges came as Mr Williamson took to the airwaves to hail his boss Mr Galloway's stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election.

The pro-Palestinian firebrand triumphed in the normally-safe Labour seat after one of the most divisive and chaotic contests in recent history.

And he immediately vowed to use the platform to torment Sir Keir over his stance towards Israel.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP, insisted 'oppressed people have an absolute right to armed resistance' as he was challenged on the terror attacks that sparked the latest Gaza violence (file picture)

The exchanges came as Mr Williamson took to the airwaves to hail his boss George Galloway's stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election (pictured)

The desolate scene of the Supernova music festival, where hundreds of people were gunned down by Hamas terrorists on October 7

Although the result came after Labour was forced to disown its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks condemned as anti-Semitic, it will raise fresh concerns about a backlash against the party in muslim communities.

Mr Williamson was braced on whether he would condemn the October 7 attacks - in which more than 1,000 people were killed, including many attending a music festival - by presenter Mishal Husain this morning.

'Well look, I mean the two main parties have not condemned or indeed called for a ceasefire, they have not condemned the Israeli regime's activities,' he replied.

When Husain pressed that he was not answering the question, Mr Williamson said:

'You can't expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction.'

Asked whether that meant the attacks were 'understandable in some way', he went on:

'What about the Palestinian people that had been massacred over nearly 76 years now actually? Where is the media outrage at that. What do you expect?

'In international law oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance '

After Husain interjected that they did not have a right to 'kill innocent people', Mr Williamson said:

'Listen, most of the people who were killed  the innocent people who were killed on October 7  were killed actually by Israeli forces.'

Husain responded to the conspiracy theory by stressing that 'we don't know that', before moving on to ask whether Mr Williamson 'welcomed' the fact that Mr Griffin had endorsed Mr Galloway in Rochdale.

The former BNP leader posted on social media yesterday that people should 'get out and vote for George Galloway'.

Mr Williamson said: 'If people want to endorse something you can't spurn endorsements, or indeed control people who want to endorse...

'You're trying to damn George Galloway and the Workers Party by association. It's up to people if they want to endorse a political party I'm not going to play your games.

The result in Rochdale presents a huge problem for Labour leader Keir Starmer (pictured)

'George Galloway, myself, the Workers Party have a long track record  the people that are involved with the Workers Party - of standing up to racism and bigotry in all its forms.

'Now if someone wants to endorse the Workers Party that's absolutely a matter for them. But to try and sort of imply some sort of a guilt by association because you don't like a particular character's politics, I'm sorry that's absolutely absurd and it's not a game I'm prepared to play.'

Labour frontbencher Ellie Reeves was interviewed immediate after Mr Williamson on the programme, and voiced her disgust.

'Can I start by saying I'm utterly appalled by Chris Williamson's failure to condemn Hamas's attacks on October 7, and likewise his failure to distance his party from the endorsement of Nick Griffin,' she said.

Ms Reeves apologised for Labour not being able to field a candidate in the by-election,
An American Airlines passenger has died after falling ill on a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, with the jet making an emergency landing on the idyllic Turks and Caicos Islands.

The flight from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic had to divert on Wednesday after an unforeseen medical emergency.

The 41-year-old female passenger suddenly fell ill and despite the quick response and efforts by the flight crew to revive her using cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an immediate emergency landing was required so that further medical treatment could be provided, Caribbean National Weekly reports.

The plane diverted to the Providenciales International Airport at around 6.18pm, according to reports.

The passenger was taken to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, but despite all attempts being made to save her, she was pronounced dead.

The flight had to divert yesterday evening after an unforeseen medical emergency en route from Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, to Charlotte, North Carolina (Stock Image)

A beach in Turks and Cacos. The plane diverted to the Providenciales International Airport at around 6.18 pm, according to reports

A spokesperson for American Airlines told MailOnline: 'On Feb. 28, American Airlines flight 2790 with service from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) to Charlotte (CLT) diverted to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) for the medical needs of a passenger.

'First responders met the aircraft and one passenger was taken to the local hospital. The flight continued to CLT the following day.'

In December, a small plane made an emergency landing on a North Carolina highway and erupted into flames.

The single-engine Diamond DA-40 aircraft rammed into Interstate 26 in Ashville around 8.15pm.

The two passengers on board were taken to a local hospital, the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office said.

An airport spokesman said the plane reported problems and asked for assistance just before it came down.
Hundreds of people have gathered to remember Jesse Baird and Luke Davies at a silent vigil in Sydney on the eve of Mardi Gras celebrations.

Mr Baird and Mr Davies were allegedly murdered by cop turned celebrity chaser Beau Lamarre-Condon inside their Paddington home in the city's affluent eastern suburbs on February 19.

The bodies of Mr Davies, 29, and Mr Baird, 26, were found inside surfboard bags at the fence line of a rural property in Bungonia near Goulburn, about 200km southwest of the city, on Tuesday.

Friends and family and gathered (pictured) to hold a silent vigil in Sydney for Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

The vigil was organised with the permission of the couple's families and was held at Green Park in the nearby suburb of Darlinghurst.

The vigil is scheduled on the eve of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, where organisers are expected to recognise the couple.

Hundreds of people turned up to mourn the couple as many of those who gathered at the park struggled to contain their emotions.

Attendees of the vigil were seen comforting one another and dozens of people laid bouquets of flowers at the site of the vigil.

Friends and colleagues of Mr Baird said he was 'the life of every party'.

'His life-loving attitude was infectious and he was pure joy to be around,' they said.

'That's what we want to carry with us, how lucky we were to know and adore him.'

Many of those who gathered at Green Park in Darlinghurst (pictured) struggled to contain their emotions

Friends comforted one another during the vigil (pictured)

The families of Mr Baird and Mr Davies gave their permission for mourners (pictured) to gather at the vigil on Friday

Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore (pictured left) also attended

The vigil (pictured) was held on on the eve of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

Many of Mr Baird's friends and colleagues who attended the vigil (pictured) remembered him fondly

Independent Member for Sydney Alex Greenwich and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore also attended the vigil.

Mr Greenwich said his office, along the parade's Oxford St route, had been overwhelmed with community distress.

'These tragic deaths remind us to redouble efforts to improve the safety and wellbeing of LGBTIQA-plus people in NSW,' he said

Organisers of the Mardi Gras parade are expected to pay tribute to Mr Baird and Mr Davies.

Mardi Gras board co-chair Brandon Bear said the LGBTQI celebration will be a more sombre event than usual for some people.

'Everyone brings what they are going to bring to Mardi Gras...if you do come along to parade on Saturday, there will be a space for you, we will hold that space for you and you can be part of our community in that space,' he said on Friday.

Mr Baird and Mr Davies were allegedly murdered by former NSW Police Officer Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured a painting of Mr Baird and Mr Davies)

People laid bouquets of flowers at the site of the vigil

Mourners gathered at the vigil (pictured) not far from the inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington where Mr Baird and Mr Davies were allegedly murdered inside a property

Qantas will honour Mr Davies on its Mardi Gras parade float, while the AFL is expected to announce a tribute for Mr Baird, who umpired 62 games including two finals, in coming weeks.

NSW police officers will march in the parade out of uniform after reaching a compromise with organisers, having previously been uninvited after Lamarre-Condon was charged.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she would not attend the planned vigil as she did not want to interfere with the grief of mourners.

She will attend the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday.

There are more tributes planned for Mr Baird and Mr Davies at the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday (pictured attendees gathered at the vigil)
Jesse Baird and Lamarre-Condon seen at family event

Jesse Baird attended a birthday party with accused killer cop Beau Lamarre-Condon less than a year before his alleged murder - as police documents claim housemates of the ex-Channel 10 star prodded his body while it lay under tarpaulin.

The bodies of Mr Baird, 26, and his flight attendant boyfriend Luke Davies, 29, were left in the rear courtyard of his rented Paddington townhouse for several hours after the pair were allegedly shot dead by Lamarre-Condon, 28, on February 19.

A female housemate approached and prodded one of two surfboard bags covered by a blue tarpaulin at about 5.40pm, according to police documents.

She told police the contents felt 'lumpy, not like it had a surfboard inside' and that she had also noticed red-stained pavers underneath the bags.

The woman assumed the tiles had been stained by beetroot juice spilt by Mr Baird, who was known by his fellow tenants for being 'messy', the documents say.

The housemates exchanged messages and took photos of the tarpaulin-covered bags as well as a blood-stained outdoor lounge, police will allege.

It comes as a new photo emerges of Mr Baird and Lamarre-Condon attending the 60th birthday party of his mother, Coleen Lamarre.

The photo, which pictures both men smiling in smart party shirts, was taken less than a year before Lamarre-Condon would be charged with Mr Baird's murder.

Jesse Baird and alleged killer cop Beau Lamarre-Condon were pictured at Coleen Lamarre's 60th birthday party less than a year before his alleged murder on February 19

Another photo shows Coleen Lamarre standing in between her son and daughter Jamila

Mr Baird and Lamarre-Condon had previously had what police described as an 'off and on' romance but Mr Baird had not wanted to pursue a relationship.

The pair were pictured smiling side-by-side at the Balmain Sailing club in Sydney's inner west at the party in March, 2023.

Another photo shows Coleen Lamarre standing inbetween her son and her daughter Jamila Lamarre-Condon, who holds a young child.

Police will allege Lamarre-Condon arrived at Mr Baird's Paddington terrace armed with his NSW Police service gun on the morning of February 19.

He allegedly shot Mr Baird and Mr Davies at around 9.50am.

A female housemate approached and prodded one of two surfboard bags covered by a blue tarpaulin at about 5.40pm, according to police documents

Police will allege Lamarre-Condon arrived at Mr Baird's Paddington terrace armed with his NSW Police service gun on the morning of February 19

Forensics are seen outside Mr Baird's rented $1.5million Paddington townhouse

Dozens of tributes have been left at Mr Baird's rented Paddington terrace home (pictured)

Lamarre-Condon then allegedly picked up the bodies from the Paddington home in a white rental van 12 hours later and took them to a remote farm property in Bungonia, around 180km south-west of Sydney.

It is alleged the senior constable then returned to the site to move the bodies to another location in Bungonia about 20 minutes' drive away.

Human remains belonging to Mr Davies and Mr Baird were discovered stuffed inside surf bags and buried in a shallow bush grave on Tuesday afternoon.

Lamarre-Condon is currently in Silverwater Correctional Complex, in Sydney's west.

His matter is before the courts.
This is the moment a French vessel allegedly picked up a migrant dinghy just two miles from the country's coast - before escorting them across the Channel to British waters.

Footage emerged online of the French boat named Minck, searching for migrants on Tuesday evening.

It then appears to come across a dinghy off the coast of Boulogne-sur-Mer at around 12.40am on Wednesday.

However, instead of dropping the asylum seekers off to be processed in France, the vessel then allegedly travels towards British waters so that they can be dealt with in Dover, Kent, at 3.30am.

The user, who goes by The Little Veteran on X, captioned the post: 'This video will open your eyes to everything that's going on in the Channel.'

A mainly male group of around 50 asylum seekers arrived at the Port of Dover on Wednesday, despite poor conditions including strong winds in the Dover Straits.

It is not clear whether they arrived in the dinghy that appeared to be escorted in the footage.

Footage emerged online of the French boat named Minck, searching the waters for migrants on Tuesday evening

A mainly male group of around 50 asylum seekers arrived at the Port of Dover on Wednesday (pictured), despite poor conditions including strong winds in the Dover Straits

They were brought into the harbour in Dover by a Border Force catamaran around Midday

An image from the video on X, with the purple line representing British waters

They were brought into the harbour in Dover by a Border Force catamaran around midday.

February 25 saw 290 migrants make the perilous journey in five vessels - an average of 58 people crammed into each inflatable dinghy.

This is the highest number of people making the crossing in a single day for more than a month, after 358 people were recorded on January 17.

Kevin Saunders, former chief immigration officer at UK Border Force discussed the footage on GB News and called it a 'taxi service'.

He said: 'From the French point of view, they don't regard the law of the sea as the same way we do.

'The French view is that they will only get involved and rescue these people if they ask for help. They say they are not allowed to go and get them, pick them up and taken them back to France.

'We don't necessarily agree with that, but that is the French interpretation. So they are basically shadowing the vessel to make sure it's alright.'

A total of 2,006 asylum seekers have been recorded crossing the Channel in 43 boats to date in 2024, according to official government figures.

The figures came as the Prime Minister denied he is ignoring concerns being raised by locals about the use of RAF Scampton near Lincoln as accommodation for asylum seekers.

'I'm not ignoring them,' the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Lincolnshire as he was challenged repeatedly on Monday.

'We do need to make sure that we house people in appropriate accommodation and the best way to resolve this issue long term is to stop people coming in the first place.

'So anyone who cares about this should be backing us to get the Rwanda Bill through Parliament so we can get a deterrent up and running.

'I'm confident that we really will be able to stop the boats and that will mean that we won't have this pressure in all our local areas to find places to house illegal migrants.'

A Home Office and spokesman said: 'Our priority is to stop the boats, which is why we have agreed on a package of measures with the French, including doubling the number of French personnel and enhanced technology to patrol beaches, which saw 26,000 crossing attempts prevented last year

'Small boat crossings are extremely dangerous and cost lives, which is why we work closely with the French to rescue small boats to ensure more lives are not lost.'

The French authorities have been contacted for comment.
A group of middle and high school students in New York made a grisly discovery on their way to school on Thursday morning, a human left arm.

The group were walking through Southards Park Pond in Babylon Village, Long Island, just 15 miles from Gilgo Beach the burial ground of accused serial killer Rex Heuermann, who was active between 1996 and 2011.

The fingertips were removed and a tattoo was visible, reports ABC New York. The arm belonged to a biological male. Authorities have not commented on a cause of death as its believed the tattoo will form part of the investigation.

On Friday, a second set of human limbs, this time including a head, were found in the park. They were confirmed to be belonging to a female.

Suffolk County Police Det. Lt. Kevin Beyrer told the media that one of the teens, a high school student, alerted her father just before 9am, who went to the park, confirmed it was an arm and then called the police.

A subsequent search of the area saw a police dog recover a human leg around a mile way in the same park at 1:30pm, close to an elementary school. A right arm was then found after night fall around 20 feet into a wooded area.

The park where the body parts were found is popular with children, joggers and people walking their dogs

After the initial gruesome discovery, another body part, a leg this time, was located by a cadaver dog

Officials at nearby schools held students inside as the investigation unfolded

The death has been declared a homicide with detectives being spotted on the scene throughout the day

The third body part, a right arm, wasn't found until night fall in the park

'Theres a mound of leaves. We dont know whats going to be under the mound. Once we clear the mound we may find the remainder of the body or we may not,' Beyrer said.

Officials at nearby schools held students inside as the investigation unfolded. According to NBC New York, the area is frequented by joggers, children and dog walkers.

Homicide detectives were reportedly on the scene. The affiliate reports that the body parts were left at the scene recently.

'It is a little disturbing because the school is right here so I was kind of worried,' local parent Salma Lakhaney told ABC New York.

Another local told the station that she no longer walks her dog in the park in question.

'There's definitely a bad vibe right here. Like the last two weeks for sure. I stopped walking here by myself because there's just weirdos,' she said.

'That it is terrible and very scary to hear something like that happen so close to home,' Babylon local Josephine Roche told Newsday.

'I think we are safe. There is a good police presence and I think that it wasn't necessarily related to this area. I told my kids, "Lock the doors, always, in any area.'

The area is also close to where accused killer Rex Heuermann, shown here in February, prowled for victims over a 15 years period

The area is also close to where accused killer Rex Heuermann prowled for victims over a 15 years period.

Earlier this month, 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 with the deaths of three other women.

In addition, gang violence had been a problem in some Long Island communities for more than a decade, but local police and the FBI began pouring resources into a crackdown sparked by the killings of high school students Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, in 2016.

The most active violent gang has been the feared MS-13.

The murders in Brentwood, about 30 miles east of New York City, shook parents and local officials and cast a spotlight on the deepening problem of gang violence in the suburbs.

Police also began discovering the bodies of other young people  mostly Hispanic  who had vanished months earlier, but whose disappearances had initially gone unmarked by civic leaders and the news media.

Some parents of the missing complained that police hadnt done enough to search for their missing children earlier.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact the Suffolk County Police Department at 631-852-6392 or call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-220-Tips.
The shocking moment two snowmobilers were submerged after a 50mph avalanche thundered down the mountain in Wyoming has been captured in heart-stopping first person video, with one of them rescued minutes before he would have suffocated.

Mason Zak and Jake Dahl were both buried under the snow during a day trip with friends in Star Valley last Friday.

Mason spots that Jake has fallen from his vehicle and repeatedly shouts 'Avi!' to his friend before the snow appears, surging down the powdery mountainside, in footage taken from his camera.

He can be heard saying 'no' a couple of times under his breath as the snow gets closer and tries to escape on the vehicle, seconds before he is plunged into darkness.

'I saw Jake had fallen off and I was going to go up there to see if he needed help and as I looked up I could see the hills break above him and started screaming "avalanche" as many times as I could,' Mason said. 'It all happened so fast.'

Mason Zak and Jake Dahl were both buried under five feet of snow during a day trip with friends in Star Valley, Wyoming. Pictured: The avalanche surging towards Mason

Mason can be heard saying 'no' a couple of times under his breath as the snow gets closer and tries to escape on the vehicle, seconds before he is plunged into darkness

The friends had decided to ride their snowmobiles down one more section at around 4pm when the shock avalanche struck.

'I thought I was in the safe area at the bottom. I watched Jake get buried and kept eyes on him so I knew where he was buried if I had to go save him,' Mason said.

'As I was looking at him, I didn't even realise that it was coming so fast and it just hit me on the back, threw me forward off my snowmobile and actually dragged me around a patch of trees.'

Seconds later Mason was buried beneath a heap of snow, leaving only the sound of his heavy breathing as the video blacked out.

Mason, a 23-year-old business-owner from Minnesota, was buried for seven minutes before he was rescued by a group of passersby who used avalanche locating equipment to find him.

He has told how he 'lost hope immediately' as he was unable to move under the snow and thought that no-one else was going to find them.

Mason claims that a rescue party thankfully reached him just in the nick of time.

He believes that if they had arrived five minutes later, he would have succumbed to carbon dioxide poisoning.

Meanwhile Jake, a 25-year-old business-owner from Wyoming, was luckily only buried for around 30 seconds and despite fearing he was 'done', was able to claw his way out.

Mason said: 'It was a regular day - we were having one of the best days so far in the snow. At the end of the day, we decided to do one more hill. I had an idea to try and do something a bit steeper.

'We went over to this other hill and didn't think much about it. I think Jake went up first, I went up second and our other friend was third.

'I ended up face down, palms behind my back. I could move a couple of fingers, that was about it. I was about two to three feet under. I was completely buried, nothing of me was showing. It could've hit me at about 50 miles per hour.'

At the start of the video, Mason spots that Jake has fallen from his vehicle

He then repeatedly shouts 'Avi!' to his friend before the snow appears

Mason by his snowmobile after the incident. He was buried for seven minutes before he was rescued by a group of passersby who used avalanche locating equipment to find him

Mason recalled that memories were flashing before his eyes as he accepted the reality of dying under the snow.

He said: 'We think I was under for about five to seven minutes. I thought Jake and our other friend were both buried so lost hope immediately.

'I was thinking "no one knows where we are" and "no one is going to find us". I tried moving around a bit but that didn't work. At that point, the silence took over. It was so dark and silent.

'I don't think I passed out but I went into some sort of dream. Core memories were going through my head. I pictured my mom, dad, and brother.'

He added: 'I probably realistically had about five minutes left. I think I had a case of carbon dioxide poisoning when I came out. I had a pretty bad headache. I was just astonished I was getting saved.

'I got out and hugged the boys and thanked them for saving me. I don't know if they would've found me without the beacons. I feel so lucky to be alive. I have a whole new respect for the mountain now.'

Fellow adrenaline junkie Jake also said the experience has instilled him with a newfound gratitude after he nearly lost his life.

Looking back on the events of that day, the father-of-two said: 'It just kind of swallowed me. It took me down about 75 yards and I started freaking out. Luckily enough, it stopped and my left arm was above the snow just enough to dig my face out.

'My face was probably about a foot deep. I could barely breathe. I was just screaming when I dug my face out. I was under for about 30 seconds. I thought I was done.

'I was thinking about my girlfriend and my kids. I was scared there was a second wave coming. This was kind of an eye-opener about what can happen out there. It scared us all and gave everyone a wake-up call. We're lucky to be alive.'

The pair have been riding together in Star Valley for the last five years.
Elizabeth Breslav, 96, at her home in Stratford, Conn. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Breslav wrote a memoir of her teenage upbringing in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands; the book was published by Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media

For nearly 40 years Elisabeth Breslav tried to tell the world what she, her family and many others experienced under the long and brutal Nazi occupation of her country.

Several times, while collecting repeated rejection slips from book publishers, she thought about giving up. But her determination (learned during those years under Hitler) and a stroke of gobsmacking serendipity finally resulted in her story being told, at age 96.

Last November she was able at last to hold the book in her hands  Five Years Under Nazi Occupation: A World War II Memoir of Resilience and Survival in the Netherlands. Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands, first issued the book in America; the Dutch version will be released this year in her native country.

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Elizabeth Breslav, 96, at her home in Stratford, Conn. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Breslav wrote a memoir of her teenage upbringing in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands; the book was published by Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands. Nedvision Publishing Association, Netherlands / Contributed

Why was she so determined to get her book into print? It wasnt a case of a writers ego, and it certainly wasnt for the money (she will donate all proceeds from the books sales to the International Red Cross).

I felt I owed it to so many people  particularly my friend Lilie, Breslav says as she sits in her home in Stratford.

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Lilie was Lilly Erna Wolfferts. Unlike Breslav, Wolfferts was Jewish. She, her sister, her brother-in-law and her parents were arrested by the Gestapo while trying to flee in 1943. They died in the gas ovens of a concentration camp in Poland. Lilie was 16.

Another reason why Breslav wrote the book was to inform the people of her adopted country about what the civilians of Europe  especially the children  endured during those terrible years.

When I came to this country in 1957, I discovered that what most Americans remember of World War II is the big battles  Pearl Harbor, D-Day, maybe the Battle of the Bulge. And of course they know about the Holocaust. But theres not much understanding of what it was like to grow up during that war.

I was 12 when Hitler marched into my country, she says. And I was 17 when it was finally over. I went from being a child to almost an adult.

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I was living in the middle of total chaos, she adds. Because her memory is still strong and she is a talented writer who uses compelling details, Breslavs account is gripping and powerful.

She writes that she had long treasured her doll Annie, who had an exquisite porcelain face and bright blue eyes with long lashes. Her body was made of soft chamois leather. (The book features a photo of Breslav, age 4, holding Annie while standing alongside her brother Arie, age 6.) But her family had to sell Annie in order to buy the food they desperately needed. She writes: I felt like a mother who had abandoned her child.

Elizabeth Breslav, 96, at her home in Stratford, Conn. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Breslav wrote a memoir of her teenage upbringing in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands; the book was published by Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media

A similar fate befell the two adorable rabbits her father had brought home for her. Little did I know at the time how real hunger changes people, Breslav writes. Before the war ended, we killed our rabbits one by one and ate them. And I did not even shed a tear.

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Her brother was in the greatest danger, especially when he turned 16 and was under Nazi orders to report for duty in German labor camps. Whenever the Nazis came near the familys home, he hid in a crawl space within a damp cellar under the kitchen. He rarely left the house.

Breslav recorded some of the fear and deprivation in a diary she kept during parts of the occupation.

In her book, Breslav describes The Hunger Winter of 1944-45 when the Nazis cut off supplies; coal and electricity were scarce, plunging homes into cold and darkness.

Breslav and her brother became experts at stealing (food) coupons, potatoes, firewood and any other basic necessities we could lay our hands on. She recalls venturing out on a dangerous mission with a friend to collect branches in order to heat their homes. German soldiers fired upon them, forcing the two youths to lie in the snow until the soldiers moved on.

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On another outing, Breslav and her friends were collecting stalks of wheat when a German guard with a Greek hellhound (German shepherd) discovered her and chased her until she escaped over a fence. Oh God, dont let him shoot, she silently prayed. Fortunately, he didnt. But for years afterward she had nightmares about angry guards with guns, snarling dogs and snorting, foot-stamping horses.

Those nightmares persisted for many years. She also suffered traumatic flashbacks when she heard fireworks or airplanes. She begins her book recounting the night of July 4, 1958 when she and her husband attended a fireworks display on the beach at Marthas Vineyard. Suddenly she flashed to German anti-aircraft weapons, tracer bullets and flaming pieces of aircraft. She ran to a beach house and crawled under the porch, numb and shivering.

Breslav tells me when a plane flies low overhead, I feel fear inside. I live very close to Sikorsky; their helicopters are uncomfortably close for me. Up here (she points to her head) I know everything is OK. But its a feeling in my solar plexus.

Breslav turns to the third reason she felt compelled to write this book: There are new conflicts all over the world. Im thinking about the children in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Africa, Afghanistan. Kids are being subjected to the inadequate actions of their adults who cant solve their problems through diplomacy. It makes me want to scream out: Stop it! For heavens sake!

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Book readings Breslav will give readings from her book and offer them for sale: March 3 at 2 p.m. at the Stratford Library April 6 at 2 p.m. at the Milford Library April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Hagaman Memorial Library in East Haven for a Connecticut Authors Showcase with other writers.

Breslavs empathy for war-torn children moved her to start writing about her experiences, starting in 1985 when she joined a writers group. She submitted an essay that appeared in That Mad Game  Growing Up in a War Zone, a book about kids growing up in war zones around the world. When it was published in 2012, Breslav hoped she could interest a publisher in an entire book about what she had witnessed. But after years of rejections, I had sort of given up.

Then COVID happened. Living alone (she is a widow) is solitary enough as it is. I felt I was going to be living in solitary confinement. I needed something to keep me going. So I re-started my effort.

Elizabeth Breslav, 96, at her home in Stratford, Conn. on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. Breslav wrote a memoir of her teenage upbringing in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands; the book was published by Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media

But still the rejections piled up. And then here came that lucky break. It just so happened I have a Dutch neighbor who lives a few footsteps from me. This neighbor does business in Holland and found a company there that was interested in my book. And in 2023 they published it!

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When I ask to see her diary, Breslav gets up and plucks a faded leather keepsake from the bookshelf in her office. She begins to read it out loud, translating it for me. The final entry is dated July 30, 1945, after she had stopped writing for a while: I feel years and years older since I wrote last. So much has happenedThe war ended .... There were many parties and people were going crazy. << I took out May 5 because I am seeing May 8 as the day Germany surrendered and Sept. 2 as the official last day of the war

How does it feel to finally have her book out there? Im hopeful that the message will spread, that other voices will be joined to support the idea that children deserve better. Somehow we have to learn to solve our problems as adults, not with physical violence. There is so much more we could do with all that money we spend on weapons, instead of killing kids. Its shameful.

Breslav adds this: Anybody who wants to start a war should live for a week in one of those terrible places where war is taking place. That might change their mind.

Correction: The photo captions on this story have been updated to reflect that Breslav's book was published by Nedvision Publishing, based in the Netherlands.

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Gloating Rochdale MP George Galloway wants disgraced ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn by his side when he makes a triumphant return to Parliament on Monday.

The Workers Party leader made the claim as he hammered Sir Keir Starmer's party in a by-election in which he weaponised Muslim anger at the war in Gaza.

Such a move would seek to hammer a wedge into Labour, with Mr Corbyn, like Mr Galloway, being a former party MP before being kicked out, and who has extreme pro-Palestinian views.

He is also a close ally of Chris Williamson, Mr Galloway's deputy and also a former Labour MP kicked out in a row over anti-Semitism.

But he also suggested he wanted former Brexit minister Sir David Davis with him when he is sworn into the Commons next week, a move that would raise as many eyebrows as Mr Corbyn.

Sir David, the MP for Haltemprice and Howden in Yorkshire, appeared on Mr Galloway's programme on Russian TV channel RT in 2013 to discuss Tony Blair and the Chilcott Inquiry into the Iraq War.

The Workers Party leader made the claim as he hammered Sir Keir Starmer's party in a by-election in which he weaponsised Muslim anger at the war in Gaza.

Such a move would seek to hammer a wedge into Labour, with Mr Corbyn, like Mr Galloway, being a former party MP before being kicked out, and who has extreme pro-Palestinian views.

But he also suggested he wanted former Brexit minister Sir David Davis to introduce him back into the Commons next week, a move that would raise as many eyebrows as Mr Corbyn.

Jeremy Corbyn (far right) and George Galloway (far left) at a Gaza protest in 2009, alongside singer Annie Lennox comedian Alexei Sayle and human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger

Sir Keir was warned he is facing his 'worst nightmare' and his Gaza problems have 'got 100 times more serious' today after George Galloway stormed home in the Rochdale by-election.

The pro-Palestinian firebrand emerged victorious in the normally-safe Labour seat after one of the most divisive and chaotic contests in recent history.

And he immediately vowed to use the platform to torment Sir Keir over his stance towards Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am.

Although the result came after Labour was forced to disown its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks condemned as anti-Semitic, it will raise fresh concerns about a backlash against the party in muslim communities.

Sir David, the MP for Haltemprice and Howden in Yorkshire, appeared on Mr Galloway's programme on Russian TV channel RT in 2013 to discuss Tony Blair and the Chilcott Inquiry into the Iraq War.

Ellie Reeves, Labour's deputy national campaign co-ordinator, apologised for the way the by-election had happened saying Mr Galloway 'stokes division and fear'.

She insisted Sir Keir would not be shifting position on Gaza, pointing out he had already moved to back an 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire' last week.

Mr Galloway will return to Westminster after a nine-year absence as a representative of a third different political party - the Workers Party of Britain - having previously been both a Labour and Respect MP.

Rochdale was previously held by Sir Tony Lloyd, who died in January.
Furious holidaymakers who left their cars at Gatwick Airport have returned to find their spare tyres STOLEN - leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket.

Police say eight reports have been made of wheels being taken from vehicles left at Britain's second busiest airport in recent weeks.

Disgruntled victims claim they have have to pay hefty amounts to replace stolen items.

One said the spare wheel was taken from the back of their 60,000 4x4 - costing them 2,000 to replace.

Comments online appear to show the thefts have been going on for weeks.

Have you been affected? Email aidan.radnedge.mol@mailonline.co.uk

Sarah Breakspear, 42, is among the victims of the spare tyre thefts at Gatwick Airport

Sarah, from Weymouth in Dorset, shared online a picture of damage caused costing her 400

Sussex Police have urged people affected by the Gatwick car park thefts to get in touch

Sarah Breakspear, 42, said the spare wheel from her vehicle was stolen five weeks ago - leaving her and her husband with a 400 bill.

Sarah, from Weymouth in Dorset, said: 'When we returned to our truck, as we were walking towards it we noticed the chain for the spare tyre was hanging down.

'We trusted the Gatwick valet service with the vehicle, got back late at night and just wanted to get home.

'Now we're out of pocket - it put us off from parking there in the future.'

She says Gatwick did refund the pair for the missing wheel after she complained online.

Sussex Police said: 'Sussex Police are aware of eight reports of spare wheels being taken from vehicles in car parks near London Gatwick.

'Officers are investigating and anyone with information is asked to report it to Sussex Police online, quoting serial 1294 of 09/02.'

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: 'We take the security of vehicles parked in our car parks very seriously.

'There are a number of measures in place including barrier controls, number plate recognition cameras and regular security patrols. We are supporting the police investigation into the incidents.'

Gatwick offers five car parks including this one for short-stay travellers to leave their vehicles

London Gatwick said: 'We take the security of vehicles parked in our car parks very seriously'

Passengers are seen here walking into the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport near Crawley

Gatwick is Britain's second busiest airport, behind only Heathrow in west London

Airport chiefs have warned holidaymakers to be wary of rogue meet-and-greet parking firms

NCP, which runs car parks at Gatwick, declined to comment.

Gatwick Airport warned travellers before last year's Christmas holidays to be aware of rogue meet-and-greet firms after complaints surged by 250 per cent.

Passengers have described the chaos that met them after returning from their holidays - including missing vehicles, emptied fuel tanks and rubbish strewn inside.

Oliver Bedford, the airport's director of parking, said: 'Although they often have Gatwick in their name, we have no relationship with these operators.

'Legally they can operate on the airport as long as they don't break our bylaws.'

He urged: 'Do your research. Have they got legitimate reviews on independent review sites? Have they got contact details that go beyond a mobile number? Are they listing their company information?'

He also advised customers to look for accreditation from bodies such as the British Parking Association or trading standards.

The airport has also issued a five-point checklist for travellers.
A fashion consultant, whose millionaire ex-husband was accused of 'deplorable' behaviour in their 6.9million divorce battle, was found hanged at her home three days before Christmas, an inquest heard today.

Property mogul Nicholas Ratcliffe, now 64, used CCTV cameras to spy on his ex-wife Tracey in a dispute branded 'among the most acrimonious' a court had ever seen.

In a 'creepy' bid to force her out of their 1.3million Cheshire marital home, he had also locked internal doors to restrict her movements, and left Post-it notes on kitchen items saying 'clean me', it heard.

But in 2021 Appeal Court judges backed Mr Ratcliffe's bid to overturn his ex-wife's 3.45million pay-out after accepting his wealth had been 'overstated'.

Tragically, the mother-of-two was found dead over Christmas, with the local coroner launching an investigation.

Tracey Ratcliffe (pictured), 53, was tragically found dead over Christmas

Tracey's death came after her ex-husband tried to force her out of their 1.3million Cheshire marital home

Property mogul Nicholas Ratcliffe (pictured), now 64, used CCTV cameras to spy on Tracey in a dispute branded 'among the most acrimonious' a court had ever seen

Today a brief hearing at Manchester South coroner's court in Stockport heard Ms Ratcliffe was found hanged at her home on December 22 last year aged 53.

There were no suspicious circumstances, assistant coroner Andrew Bridgman told the inquest opening, which was not attended by any family or friends.

The location of her death was given as a semi-detached house in Sale, Greater Manchester, which property records show she bought without a mortgage last May for 455,000.

Adjourning the hearing to a full inquest scheduled for June, Mr Bridgman said Ms Ratcliffe's GP records and any interactions with mental health services would need to be disclosed.

Friends spoke of their devastation following her premature death.

Describing her as 'an absolute diamond of a friend', they recalled her as 'a wonderful person' who was 'always dressed to the nines'.

She was living with her parents and studying for a business degree at Liverpool University when she met her future husband in 1992, marrying him two years later.

Ten years her senior, he was a chartered surveyor who went on to earn most of his money as a consultant finding potential sites for Sainsbury's supermarkets.

Ms Ratcliffe did not pursue a career after having the first of their two sons, a court hearing over her divorce pay-out was told.

Instead she worked as part of Mr Ratcliffe's property business which also now employs both their sons.

Tracey's 1.3million Cheshire home where Ratcliffe left Post-it notes on kitchen items saying 'clean me' in a bid to force her out

Mr Ratcliffe (pictured) was finally ordered to leave the family home by a judge in 2018 and moved into rented accommodation

'Despite being aware of her 'fragile mental health', the husband showed a 'deplorable level of control'

The couple separated in 2016 but continued to live under the same roof at their luxury home in affluent Bowdon, near Altrincham.

However according to Ms Ratcliffe's barrister, Anne Hussey QC, he embarked on a 'creepy' bid to force her out.

'Despite being aware of her 'fragile mental health', the husband showed a 'deplorable level of control' and embarked on a campaign 'designed to drive the wife from the family home',' she said.

'The husband's behaviour  found to include installing and using CCTV to monitor the wife in the former matrimonial home and locking internal doors  was described in the first judgment as 'creepy'.'

In 2018, Mr Ratcliffe was finally ordered to leave the family home by a judge and moved into rented accommodation.

Two years later Judge Bernard Wallwork ordered an equal split of a family fortune he assessed as worth about 6.9million.

The sum factored in profits from a multi-million pound luxury development on prime rural land he partly owned near Knutsford.

Ruling on the case, the judge said: 'This case ranks among the most acrimonious financial remedy cases I have ever dealt with.

'The bitterness and rancour has been considerable and has permeated the proceedings.'

He condemned Mr Ratcliffe's attitude towards his wife, particularly given he knew she had been suffering with mental health problems.

'I think his behaviour has been designed to drive the wife from the family home - and I am stressing the words "her home",' he said.

'It appears to me that knowing of the wife's fragile mental health, these actions were oppressive.'

Friends described Tracy (pictured) as 'an absolute diamond of a friend', recalling her as 'a wonderful person' who was 'always dressed to the nines'

Tracey was living with her parents and studying for a business degree at Liverpool University when she met her future husband in 1992, marrying him two years later

As well as being awarded the 1.3million home and valuable shares, he ordered that Ms Ratcliffe be paid 1.2million in cash instalments.

She would be left with as much liquid cash as possible due to the 'deviousness' of Mr Ratcliffe during the divorce proceedings, said the judge.

But Mr Ratcliffe appealed, in a move the ex-wife's lawyers described as another example of his 'controlling' behaviour.

The following year Appeal Court judges overturned the award after accepting his wealth had been 'overstated' through 'double-counting' and the original decision was 'flawed'.

They ordered that the case be heard and decided again.

It is not known whether a final settlement had been agreed prior to Ms Ratcliffe's death.

She was a well-known figure selling vintage clothes at Altrincham Market, and traders paid a moving tribute ahead of her funeral in January.

'Your passing has left us with heavy hearts,' they wrote.

Praising her 'bubbly personality, infectious laughter, and impeccable sense of style', they added: 'She brought happiness and humour into our lives, and she had an incredible collection of vintage clothing that gave our neighbourhood a one-of-a-kind look because of her contribution.

'Tracey was more than just a friend.

'Her upbeat energy and infectious laughter became indispensable components of the lively environment that characterises our community after she passed away.

'As a result of her contributions, both in the realm of business and friendship, she left an indelible mark on everyone who came into contact with her.

'As we come together to remember her, our thoughts are with her family, friends, and anyone else whose life she touched with her kind and generous spirit.

'Tracey will be sorely missed, and the void that will be left behind by her absence will be keenly felt by each and every one of us here at Alty Market.'

For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit thecalmzone.net
This is the dramatic moment NATO Top Guns intercept Russian warplanes over the Baltic Sea before heading off another Putin aircraft north of Poland.

It came as the Russian president made a direct threat to nuke the West as he accused NATO and the US of 'preparing to strike' Russia in his annual address to the nation.

NATO said that two French Mirage 2000-5s intercepted a Russian SU-30-M aircraft over the Baltic Sea yesterday.

It also noted that directly after, the French fighters were re-tasked to a new mission, where they intercepted a Russian AN-72 flying in international airspace north of Poland.

On February 12, Russia claimed that NATO had scrambled warplanes to confront a pair of nuclear-capable missile carriers that were seen patrolling the Norwegian Sea.

NATO said that two French Mirage 2000-5s intercepted a Russian SU-30-M aircraft over the Baltic Sea yesterday

The jets trailing the Russian aircraft. In his annual address to the nation yesterday, Putin made a direct threat to nuke the West as he accused NATO and the US of 'preparing to strike' Russia

The Kremlin once again taunted the bloc by launching two TU-95MS planes to patrol the Norwegian Sea, which were escorted by a group of Su35S aircraft.

The five-hour flight also saw 'fighters from foreign countries' accompany the unit, though Moscow did not specify which Western air forces were deployed.

An MoD source told MailOnline that the RAF had not launched any planes in response to the fly-over.

The Norwegian Sea is bordered to the south by the Shetland Islands, to the east by Norway, and to the west by Iceland.

'The flight was carried out in strict accordance with international rules for the use of airspace,' said Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash, commander of Russian long-range aviation.

'Long-range aviation pilots regularly fly over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Black and Baltic Seas.'

Days after French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the West has not 'ruled out' putting boots on the ground in Ukraine to fight the Russian invasion, Putin said in his annual address yesterday: 'They, NATO and America, are active in other parts of the world, of course, and they continue to lie there, to deceive.

'They are preparing to strike our territory and, using the best possible forces, the most effective forces to do so.

NATO said that directly after the first incident, French fighters were re-tasked to a new mission, where they intercepted a Russian AN-72 flying in international airspace north of Poland. Pictured: A French jet below a Russian AN-72 in an image released by NATO

'But we remember the fate of those who try to invade our territory and of course their fate will be much more tragic than anything we could face.'

Putin repeatedly lauded Russia's vastly modernised nuclear arsenal in his speech and added as a warning to the West: 'They have to understand that we also have weapons, weapons that can defeat them on their own territory.

'Of course all this is very dangerous, because it could actually trigger the use of nuclear weapons. Do they not understand that?'

The Russian despot also chillingly assured that 'strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use', but warned that the use of nuclear weapons would equal the 'destruction of civilisation'.

He told NATO countries that their threats have created a 'real' risk of nuclear war if they sent troops to Ukraine, adding that Russia must strengthen its western military district after Finland and Sweden's admission to the Atlantic alliance, as Finland has a long land border with northwest Russia.

Putin said: 'They should eventually realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory.

'Everything that the West comes up with creates the real threat of a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, and thus the destruction of civilisation.'
Police have arrested three 15-year-old boys after a woman was allegedly raped at a coastal beauty spot in broad daylight.

Northumbria Police officers were told the victim was attacked close to Tynemouth Priory and Castle in North Tyneside at about 4pm last Sunday.

A police spokesman said: 'Shortly after 3.50pm on Sunday we received a report of rape in the Tynemouth Priory and Castle area of Tynemouth.

Police were told the victim was attacked close to Tynemouth Priory and Castle (file picture)

'An investigation was immediately launched by police, and the female victim continues to be supported by specialist officers.

'Officers have arrested three males, all aged 15, on suspicion of rape. They have since been released on police bail pending further enquiries.

'Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact police.'

Tynemouth Castle and Priory is a popular 2,000-year-old English Heritage attraction in the village of the same name overlooking the River Tyne and the North Sea.

The area was originally an Iron Age settlement before an Anglo-Saxon monastery was built - and later a gun battery to defend the Tyne in the First and Second World Wars.
Vladimir Putin could use chemical weapons on German cities and launch an invasion resulting in a full-scale 'land, sea and air' war between NATO and Russia, Germany has warned as it steps up contingency plans for a global conflict.

German MPs have been given a 14-page briefing which lays out how Moscow could wage war on Berlin and its allies in four stages, culminating in a ground invasion of the NATO member state in the worst-case scenario.

The report does not name the anticipated aggressor but bases its assessment on the lessons learned from Russia's war in Ukraine, where classical warfare techniques have combined with less conventional methods such as cyberattacks and sabotage.

'An aggressor attack  hybrid and/or using the full arsenal of modern armed forces in all dimensions (land, air/space, sea, cyber and information) on NATO territory  is therefore a likely scenario,' the report says.

It comes after Germany's defense minister warned that Russia could attack NATO within five to eight years and as alliance forces take part in joint military drills in eastern Europe - the biggest since the Cold War.

German soldiers training at the Panzergrenadierbataillon 122 in the Grenzland barracks on Wednesday

Germany's defense minister Boris Pistorius (pictured) warned that Russia could attack a NATO member within five to eight years

Classical warfare techniques are likely to combine with unconventional methods such as cyberattacks and sabotage (stock image)

The report suggests Russia could launch a military assault on NATO members in the east, as well as striking specific targets deeper inside the Western military alliance

The four stages laid out in the Civil Defence Risk Analysis report span several years, with the Bundestag forecasting how information wars could spiral into all-out armed conflict in the heart of Europe.

Phase one, it suggests, would last for several years and see espionage and sabotage, attacks on defence facilities, and disinformation campaigns mounted on social media in an attempt to undermine German democracy and destabilise society.

In the second phase, Moscow would deploy its forces on NATO's eastern borders, with NATO forces being deployed as a deterrence in response to the ramped up threat.

After a number of months, the third phase would see Russia launch a conventional military assault on NATO members in the east, as well as striking specific targets deeper inside the Western military alliance such as Germany.

These attacks would involve conventional and unconventional methods and could could see satellites disrupted in space, Pravda reports.

In the fourth and final phase, attacking troops would break through NATO's defensive lines and invade Germany. Armed confrontation in space is also possible.

A full-scale war would grip Europe and would only be ended by a ceasefire agreement 'no earlier than a few months later,' the reports envisages.

It also suggests there could be a repeat of the Salisbury poisonings and the attempted murder of opposition leader Alexei Navalny four years before he died in a Russian prison.

The report warns that German troops could come up against Russian forces. Pictured: Soldiers training on February 28

The report suggests there could be a repeat of the 2018 Salisbury poisonings (file image)

The third phase could see Russia launch a conventional military assault on NATO members, even including Germany (file image shows the Reichstag in Berlin)

'Past experience in recent years shows that a potential aggressor may be prepared to use unconventional weapons,' it says.

The four stages Espionage, cyberattacks, targeting of infrastructure and defence facilities. Moscow would deploy its forces on NATO's eastern borders, with allied forces deployed in response. Russia would launch a conventional military assault on NATO members in the east and on specific targets further west. Attacking troops would break through NATO's defensive lines and invade Germany. Advertisement

'This was the case in Salisbury in 2018 and in Russia in 2020, where chemical attacks were carried out against individuals.'

Yesterday, Putin made a threat to nuke the West as he accused NATO and the US of 'preparing to strike' Russia in his annual address to the nation.

The Russian president, 71, said: 'They, NATO and America, are active in other parts of the world, of course, and they continue to lie there, to deceive.

'They are preparing to strike our territory and, using the best possible forces, the most effective forces to do so.

'But we remember the fate of those who try to invade our territory and of course their fate will be much more tragic than anything we could face.'

Putin repeatedly lauded Russia's nuclear arsenal in his speech and added as a warning to the West: 'They have to understand that we also have weapons, weapons that can defeat them on their own territory.

'Of course all this is very dangerous, because it could actually trigger the use of nuclear weapons . Do they not understand that?'

The Russian despot also assured that 'strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use', but warned the use of nuclear weapons would equal the 'destruction of civilisation'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on as he delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly, in Moscow, Russia, February 29

The Russian despot also chillingly assured that 'strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use' (pictured here: Russian missile being launched)

Last month, Germany's defence minister Boris Pistorius said in a stark warning: 'We have to take into account that Vladimir Putin will one day even attack a Nato country.

'Our experts expect a period of five to eight years in which this could be possible,' he told newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, before adding: 'At the moment I don't think a Russian attack is likely.'

However, secret German defence ministry documents leaked in January revealed that the country is preparing for Vladimir Putin's forces to attack NATO in 2025.

EXCLUSIVE READ MORE: Germany's fears Putin could start WW3 are justified and Vladimir WILL do the unthinkable if he feels NATO are unprepared Advertisement

The documents form a step-by-step doomsday guide on how Russia could escalate the conflict in Ukraine to an all-out war in just 18 months.

Germany's defence leaders are taking the threat from Moscow seriously, with the Bundeswehr preparing for a hybrid Russian attack on NATO's eastern flank by the summer of 2025.

The secret 'Alliance Defence 2025' paper details how Russia will mobilise another 200,000 soldiers before launching a spring offensive against Ukrainian forces in Spring this year.

By June, amid dwindling Western support and weaponry, Russia would achieve success on the battlefield and make significant advances through Ukraine, according to the leaked documents.

Speaking to MailOnline, Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges warned that fears of an all-out war are justified.

He said that he believes if nations don't take the threat of Russia 'seriously' and act in 'alliance', then World War Three could develop in just 18 months.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany spent decades pulling away from its defence obligations, weighed down by its heavily militaristic past and the consequences of this during the 20th century.

But the invasion changed Germany's post-WW2 policy of pacifism, and it has since become the second biggest contributor of weapons to Ukraine.
Police are hunting a Bibby Stockholm asylum seeker who skipped court after punching and biting two security guards when they detained him for shoplifting.

Ahmed Haffa, 24, stole a silver jacket worth 59.99 from a TK Maxx store in Weymouth, Dorset, and was pursued by security guards after triggering the security alarm as he left.

The asylum seeker landed several punches on Cullen Henry-Barnes as he attempted to escape and then bit the guard's finger, drawing blood, before he was eventually tackled to the ground by another member of security and arrested by police.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest after he failed to make the 37 mile journey to Poole Magistrates' Court yesterday for his trial after previously denying charges of assault and shoplifting.

He was found guilty in his absence and is the first resident of the Bibby Stockholm to be convicted of a crime since the controversial asylum barge arrived last July.

Bibby Stockholm asylum seeker Ahmed Haffa (pictured), 24, bit and punched security staff after stealing a jacket worth 59.99

The TK Maxx store in Weymouth, Dorset, where Haffa stole the jacket from before he was tackled by security guards and arrested by police

Haffa was found guilty of assault and shoplifting and is the first resident of the Bibby Stockholm (pictured) to be convicted of a crime since the barge arrived last July

Security guard Cullen Henry-Barnes chased down Haffa who told him to 'stay the f**k away from me' and threw punches at him.

He then let out a 'primal scream' and bit Mr Henry-Barnes on his finger, drawing blood, before fleeing the scene.

Mr Henry-Barnes and a fellow security guard, Callum Hayes, then pursued the immigrant through the town centre and tackled him to the ground.

Haffa, 24, punched Mr Hayes in the ribs as they pinned him down while waiting for police to arrive.

Haffa, who resides on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland Port and is believed to be Arabic, was arrested following the incident at 5.45pm on December 13 last year.

A second unidentified man who was with Haffa also stole a jacket from TK Maxx but got away.

He said in his police interview that he had stolen the jacket as he was 'cold and poor' and could not afford to buy one due to his 9 weekly allowance.

After failing to show up for his trial, District Judge Orla Austin issued a warrant for Haffa's arrest so he can be sentenced before the court.

Haffa (pictured) told security guards to 'stay the f**k away from me' as he tried to flee

Haffa lives on the Bibby Stockholm barge (pictured) in Portland and is believed to be Arabic

It will be the second arrest warrant issued for Haffa after he did not turn up to his first hearing at Weymouth Magistrates' Court on January 17.

He was detained hours later, held in custody and appeared at Poole Magistrates' Court on January 18.

During a brief plea hearing he pretended he could not speak English, even though his defence lawyer told the court he had had a conversation with him in English just before proceedings opened which he 'perfectly understood'.

Charles Nightingale, prosecuting, told the court yesterday: 'There are three matters before the court. Two are relating to assault, one of Cullen Henry-Barnes and the other on Callum Hayes.

'The third matter is actually the first in time, as the defendant stole an item from TK Maxx, namely a jacket to the value of 59.99.'

Mr Henry-Barnes, a ranger who is contracted by Weymouth Town Council to patrol the streets, told the court that he approached Haffa and another man he was with after the shop's security alarm went off.

He asked them to hand back the jackets but they both made a run for it, so he chased Haffa while Mr Hayes chased the other suspect, who got away.

Haffa tripped up while going around the corner, allowing Mr Henry-Barnes to catch him up.

Mr Henry-Barnes said he told Haffa that, if he handed back the jacket, he would let him go and not call the police.

But Haffa swore at him, telling him to 'f**k off' and 'stay the f**k away from me', before throwing several punches.

Haffa then let out a 'primal scream' in his face prompting Mr Henry-Barnes to pin him against a car, which is when he was bitten.

Mr Henry-Barnes said: 'He let out a primal scream as he came towards me so I got him by the collar on to a car but he then took a bite out of my finger, drawing blood.

'I then let go and he ran again so I chased after him and called for assistance.

'I spotted him outside Marks & Spencer and Callum and I managed to grab him.

'He was still trying to throw punches at us as we held him down while the police arrived.'

Haffa missed his trial at Poole Magistrates' Court (pictured) yesterday

Mr Henry-Barnes told the court he required Hepatitis jabs in hospital and he is now more 'wary' of patrolling the streets in case he is attacked again.

Addressing the court, Judge Austin said: 'There is no good reason for Mr Haffa's non-attendance.

'I heard from two witnesses, Mr Henry-Barnes and Mr Hayes, about the incident on December 13 and I am satisfied the defendant did steal the jacket in question as he admitted in police interview.

'He ran through various streets and when Mr Henry-Barnes caught up with him he threw punches and bit him on the finger requiring him to have medical attention and tests for Hepatitis.

'I am satisfied that he threw punches at Mr Hayes and that both assaults happened as they described.

'I'm going to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr Haffa which it's a matter for police to execute, and he will be brought before the court to be sentenced.'

In a statement, Dorset Police said: 'On Thursday February 29 2024 a warrant was issued by Poole Magistrates' Court in relation to a defendant, aged 24 and of Portland, who had failed to attend court in relation to allegations of theft and assault, and was subsequently convicted in his absence.

'The charges related to incidents in Weymouth town centre on Wednesday December 13 2023. Officers are currently carrying out enquiries to locate the defendant.'
The remains of 16-year-old girl who has been missing since 2004 have been found in Florida.

During the search for Autumn McClure, investigators learned that she had been in a relationship with a couple she knew from her job and was living with them in their trailer in Ormond Beach, 60 miles north east of Orlando.

Years after the disappearance, the woman involved in the relationship, Jessica Freeman, contacted police to say that she witnessed her boyfriend, Brian Donley, strangle the teen. Donley died in 2022.

The last person to see McClure alive was her boyfriend who initially told police that he dropped her off at a mall. He later corrected his story to say that he actually dropped her off on a bridge where she was picked up by Freeman.

On Wednesday, Volusia County Sheriff's officers conducted a massive excavation in Ormond Beach. Sheriff Michael Chitwood said that 99.9 percent of McClure's remains had been recovered.

Officials with the Volusia County Sheriff's office began excavating the area in Ormond Beach, Florida, on Wednesday

Autumn McClure, 16, was last seen in May 2004 after he boyfriend said that he dropped her off at a mall close to Ormond Beach

It was later revealed that McClure had been in a sexual relationship and living with his man, Brian Donley, and his girlfriend, Jessica Freeman

'There really never is a "cold case." The men and women that are assigned to our Major Case Unit and al of our investigative units, that's what they understand.'

During the course of the excavation, officers had to move out a mobile home from the search area.

Chitwood said that his office never gave up the search for McClure and regularly re-interviewed witnesses and collected DNA from relatives.

McClure was first reported missing by her grandmother on May 10, 2004. In the subsequent months, her grandmother said that she received postcards from the teen marked as coming from Melbourne, Florida.

It's not known if those letters were legitimate.

Information then led officers to the home of Donley and Freeman. The pair said that McClure stayed with them for a few days but left and they had not seen her since. The trio worked together at a Winn-Dixie supermarket.

In 2016, investigators made contact with McClure's boyfriend at the time once more. During that interview, he admitted to leaving her at the bridge where she was picked up by Freeman.

Two years later, Freeman was tracked down in Florida who reiterated that she didn't know anything about McClure's disappearance. 'He basically tells the detective, "I've got to get this off my chest."'

Freeman told authorities in 2022 that Donley strangled McClure and buried her under this home

She said that Donley would visit the graveside and was happy when a home was built over it

Freeman explained that McClure, a Mainland High School student, told them that she did not want to live with her grandmother and that the trio engaged in a sexual relationship

In 2021, a relative of Freeman's, Chris Miller, told police that the couple knew more than they were admitting.

A year later, Donley died during a medical procedure, close to the 18th anniversary of the disappearance. He was 49 years old.

'Karma is a b****. The sad part is he'll never face [consequences] in this world for the evil that he perpetrated.'

'Im hoping to God that when he took his last breath on May 26 of 2022, that maybe he had a vision of where the hell he was headed.'

Following his death, Freeman got back in touch with authorities where in exchange for immunity, she said that Donley strangled McClure and that he threatened her if she said anything.

Freeman explained that McClure, a Mainland High School student, told them that she did not want to live with her grandmother and that the trio engaged in a sexual relationship.

'She came home one afternoon and saw Brian choking Autumn in the bathroom. By the time she intervened, she saw that Autumn was lifeless, and she left the [trailer],' she said.

Authorities are satisfied that Freeman had nothing to do with McClure's death. She believed that the motive for the killing was the potential that the teen would speak about their sexual relationship.

An age progression photo that was put out by the sheriff's office showing how McClure may look today

It wasn't until 2023 when detectives confirmed that McClure was buried somewhere in Ormond Beach. The sheriff said that over the years, Freeman a 'myriad' of stories about what he did with the body.

At one point when Freeman asked Donley about McClure, she was told 'shut up or the same thing will happen to [her].'

Prior to his death, Freeman said that Donley would regularly visit the burial site and was happy to see that a new home was being placed over it.

The sheriff said that radar technology was used to find the remains.

'To be able to go to the family and say look at least she can be buried with dignity now. Not folded up and shoved in some crawl space,' he added.

Officials have made contact with McClure's twin brother, one of her few remaining relatives. He said that he was relieved.
Luke Davies' heartbroken mum has broken her silence by sharing a touching tribute to her slain son.

Sandy Davies publicly acknowledged her son's alleged murder for the first time by changing her Facebook profile picture to a sweet photo of the pair.

The mother and son are seen grinning with their arms around each other in the photo from happier times, which has since been flooded with comments from loved ones.

Ms Davies also changed her cover photo to an announcement that Qantas would be dedicating its Mardi Gras float to her flight attendant son on Saturday night.

'He will be there in spirit,' one person commented on the photo.

Ms Davies' tribute came as the four words heard on a triple-zero call made from her son's phone on the morning he was allegedly murdered at boyfriend Jesse Baird's Paddington home were detailed in a police document.

Sandy Davies, the mother of allegedly murdered Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, broke her silence by changing her Facebook profile picture to this photo of the pair

Hundreds of people gathered to remember Mr Baird and Mr Davies at a silent vigil in Sydney (pictured) on the eve of Mardi Gras celebrations on Friday

Mr Davies, 29, and Mr Baird, 29, had spent the night before their alleged murders partying in Surry Hills before returning to Mr Baird's $2.5million rental.

Police will allege NSW Police Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon arrived at the townhouse armed with his police-issued Glock on the morning of February 19.

He allegedly shot Mr Baird and Mr Davies at around 9.50am.

A triple zero operator who answered a call from Mr Davies' phone heard a man shout 'Get out, f*** off' before it suddenly disconnected, police documents allege.

The operator tried to contact Mr Davies twice but both calls went unanswered.

Earlier on Friday, one of Mr Davies close friends revealed he had received a message from the flight attendant just 20 minutes before his death.

'We'd always send funny Instagram memes back and forth to each other and so I received one at 9:18 the morning of the incident, and it was a funny Instagram meme, followed by a crying laughter emoji, which is pretty much what Luke was like,' close pal Dean Bailey told Sunrise.

'You could picture him actually physically laughing as he sent that message.

'To know that within 30 minutes after that, things took a turn for the worse and the unimaginable happened, it's heartbreaking to think what went on from that message that he sent to me and then whatever happened in the 30 minutes that followed.'

NSW Police Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured) has been charged with two counts of murder and remains behind bars in Silverwater Correctional Centre

Human remains belonging to Mr Davies, left, and Mr Baird, right, were discovered stuffed inside surf bags and buried in a lonely bush grave on Tuesday afternoon

Mr Davies had worked for Qantas since September 2022 and moved from Brisbane to Sydney last November to work on the airline's international network.

Human remains belonging to Mr Davies and Mr Baird were discovered stuffed inside surf bags and buried in a lonely bush grave on Tuesday afternoon.

Their alleged killer allegedly hired a white rental van to transport their bodies to a remote farm property in Bungonia, around 180km south-west of Sydney.

It is alleged he then returned to the site to move the bodies to another location in Bungonia about 20 minutes' drive away.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered to remember Mr Baird and Mr Davies at a silent vigil in Sydney on the eve of Mardi Gras celebrations on Friday.

The couple are expected to be feature on multiple floats on Saturday night, when revellers take Oxford Street - not far from where they were allegedly murdered.

Lamarre-Condon, who has been charged with two counts of murder, is currently in Silverwater Correctional Complex, in Sydney's west.
The clock had struck 5.35pm when seven young men barged their way into Riccado, a family-run mens fashion boutique in the wealthy West London neighbourhood of Chiswick.

Each wore a black, hooded top and had covered his face with a scarf or surgical mask. Having gained entrance to the premises, they swaggered to the back of the store and began aggressively pulling high-end puffer jackets off a clothing rack.

An eighth gang member, acting as the lookout, propped the glass front door open while keeping an eye on the increasingly terrified shop assistant.

It took exactly 40 seconds for his accomplices to finish ransacking the shop. Then they rushed outside and sprinted into the darkness of Chiswick High Road, carrying stolen clothing worth an astonishing 25,000-30,000.

The raid, which took place shortly before closing time on Tuesday, February 6, is part of a dramatic crime wave that began sweeping through this ultra-fashionable corner of our capital city roughly six months ago.

Barely a day goes by without a fresh report of some feral gang striding into a local store and casually making off with thousands of pounds worth of stock. CCTV of their heists, including dozens of films obtained by the Daily Mail, show how they combine calculated menace with staggering impunity.

CCTV footage shows the masked men striding into Riccado in West London's Chiswick

They then begin aggressively pulling high-end puffer jackets off a clothing rack

Just 48 hours before the raid on Riccado, three men strode into a branch of Boots 400 yards away and casually smashed a glass display cabinet holding perfume. They threw thousands of pounds-worth of scent into large holdalls before walking out.

They did not bother to even cover their faces completely, says a witness, who uploaded footage to Facebook. The security guard was cut and bleeding.

In January, the local branch of Vision Express lost 8,000 worth of designer spectacles in a single raid. The previous month, a photography store called Chiswick Camera Centre announced that it was henceforth keeping stock in metal cages, after equipment worth 70,000 was taken in two robberies six months apart.

Almost every local clothing shop, including chains such as Whistles and Jigsaw, now operates a locked door policy, in which shoppers must ring a bell to gain entry.

Many also now employ full-time security guards and have installed panic buttons under the till to allow terrified staff to summon help. Many stores roll down their shutters and close for business the moment darkness falls, having decided that its too dangerous to offer evening shopping.

Perhaps inevitably, a small but growing number of retailers, in what was once one of Britains most vibrant shopping streets, are deciding to board up their front windows and shut down for good. Only last week, menswear shop American Pie closed its doors for the final time.

All of which raises two interrelated questions.

Firstly, how did ultra-modish Chiswick, where terraced houses start at 2million and an outpost of 2,750-a-year members club Soho House caters for celebrity residents from Colin Firth and David Tennant to Richard Osman and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, find itself on the front line of Britains spiralling shoplifting epidemic?

Riccado is a family-run men's fashion boutique in the wealthy neighbourhood of Chiswick

Chiswick, where terraced houses start at 2million, finds itself on the front line of Britains spiralling shoplifting epidemic

Secondly, where exactly, during this astonishing breakdown in law and order, have the police been?

One way to answer both conundrums is to visit the Riccado fashion boutique, where this months heist took place.

Here, the manager - whose late father-in-law opened the premises more than 30 years ago - agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals from gangs. We shall call her Siobhan.

In the chaotic moments after the raid on her store, Siobhan was telephoned by the traumatised shop assistant, one of seven people her business directly employs. She advised him to shut up shop and go home for the night to recover. The following morning, she reported the incident to the police.

I told them we had CCTV, she says. You could clearly see the faces of some of the kids, so perhaps they could have found them. There would have been fingerprints all over the place as well, since none of them were wearing gloves. It was a big robbery, and wed lost tens of thousands of pounds-worth of kit. So I expected someone to come round.

But instead of a helpful knock on the door from detectives, Siobhan received a return visit from the gang.

Five of them came back in the middle of the following day. We had locked the door, and were only letting in customers who looked genuine, so they couldnt get in. They stood outside, lurking around the trees.

This might have offered police a second chance to apprehend suspects. But again, officers failed to visit. The gang meanwhile began turning up on a regular basis, usually just as it was getting dark. Fearing that they might follow a genuine customer into the store, and once more steal huge quantities of stock, Siobhan began closing the premises each day at 4.30pm.

Eventually Siobhan heard back from the police on February 14, eight days after the original raid. Their response was extraordinary. They called and said: Do you want to do this over the phone, take a witness report? she recalls. I replied: No, you need to come in. The person calling went, Yeah, I suppose it was a value item, and I was like are you kidding? This was a gang robbery! They took 30,000 worth of kit.

When the officers finally turned up, she was told that it was too late to take forensic evidence (You dont say!) but Siobhan passed over a USB stick containing CCTV footage, taken from a number of cameras.

Given the Mets evident lack of interest in doing the most basic detective work, the gang continued to loiter outside the boutique

Siobhan said: 'They stood outside, lurking around the trees

The police then promised to return the following morning to take a statement from the assistant who had witnessed the crime. But they never showed up. And although they had the mans number, they failed to telephone him.

A day later, an email pinged into the stores inbox. It came from the Metropolitan Police, and the contents were scandalous.

An investigator  has looked carefully at your case and we are sorry to say that with the evidence and leads available it is unlikely that we will be able to identify those responsible, the message read. We have therefore closed this case.

Perhaps inevitably, given the Mets evident lack of interest in doing the most basic detective work, the gang continued to loiter outside the boutique.

Things culminated last Thursday, when eight of them attempted to gain entrance, in scenes also recorded on CCTV, by trying to kick down the shops front door, damaging its frame and shattering glass.

We put the shutters down to stop them getting in, and I rang 999 and said a gang, who might be armed, was right now trying to break into my shop.

Again, the report was met with an extraordinary response. The operator told me that someone would be in touch in the next 48 hours. Did any police officer bother to come out? No.

Riccado now shuts its doors the moment dusk falls, and has stopped selling the Moose Knuckle brand, whose 1,500 jackets were targeted in the original raid.

My door is being kicked down by a gang, and the police arent willing to send someone out, says Siobhan. Its terrible. Apart from being incredibly dangerous, it's damaging to our business. We are a small company.

'We dont have any other shops. So when the stock gets stolen, we just arent covered for it and 30,000 is a lot. Of course, they also smashed our door in, which Ive had to pay for as well.

Siobhan isnt alone. During our interview, she showed me a WhatsApp group called Shopwatch Chiswick, in which about 40 local retailers share photos and CCTV footage of shoplifting incidents to warn other stores. It showed that organised gangs are now targeting local stores on a daily basis.

The gang tried to kick down the shops front door, damaging its frame and shattering glass

Last Sunday, the group responsible for kicking down Siobhans door raided the local Halfords. They were on e-scooters, and nearly knocked over an old lady as they drove off, said one retailer.

Other posts warned that the local outpost of Hotel Chocolat had been targeted (Each box of chocolates is worth 20 to 40, and they can scoop up a load in one go, so these people come in, they have someone waiting outside, they give them a whole load and that person cycles off,) along with Mountain Warehouse (people are just walking out with four jackets at a time).

Then there were hair-raising discussions involving a 5,000 raid on Boots on January 24, in which photos of the perpetrators ended up on a local website called The Chiswick Calendar.

Footage of the incident shows one culprit, a white male dressed in a navy cap, black puffer jacket, black Adidas joggers and grey Nike trainers, crouching and scooping products into a Sainsburys bag while the shops alarm blares in the background, the site reported.

Both men made no attempt to hide their face and one could be heard singing as he stole items. They ran out of the shop at about 3.22pm. Police were called but hadnt arrived by 6pm.

Other recent heists reported in local newspapers include an August account of an incident at Jigsaw in which a rail of jackets and silk shirts worth 2,000 was taken. The store manager, Natalie, pressed a panic button but police took 45 minutes to turn up.

They said they had to come from Feltham because theres no police facility here any more. By the time they arrived I had resolved everything and the police were just basically...laughing.

Then there was an incident in September in which a gang of four Romanian women walked into the upmarket yoga and leisure-wear store Sweaty Betty, and swiped a suitcase from the window display. A 17-second CCTV clip shows how her accomplices then formed a sort of human chain, clearing stock from the shelves and passing it out the door. Police were called, but didnt bother to visit. So that afternoon, the gang returned and stole more gear.

A trader called Kambiz Hendessi, who owns fashion boutique Lizard Dresses, has complained about losing 500 dresses. I have CCTV, I had security but, even if you employ security they are powerless, and the police in England dont come. While Andy Sands, the owner of the aforementioned Chiswick Camera Centre, has dubbed the Met useless for failing to apprehend the gang who made off with 70,000-worth of his stock.

The crooks had used a stolen van, and there was DNA evidence, Mr Sands said, but by the time there was enough to press charges the suspect had fled the country. He added: I had to do most of the work tracking them down myself, the police are useless ... these thieves are just getting away with it.

At least some of the recent rise in shoplifting can be blamed on a change in the law overseen by David Cameron, who at the behest of his Lib Dem coalition partners in 2014 redefined stealing goods worth less than 200 as a summary offence punishable by a fine of about 70. Those who decided to plead guilty could do so by post, avoiding the embarrassment of having to appear in court.

Also to blame are the policies of major retailers who, in a bid to avoid lawsuits from injured staff, now forbid employees from intervening to prevent theft. These have been detailed in a series of viral social media films, giving thieves the impression that they can effectively operate with carte blanche.

Across the UK, shoplifting duly rose by 25 per cent last year to 365,000 cases, according to the ONS. Only 12 per cent led to court action, down from 19 per cent in 2020.

The British Retail Consortium says crime now costs its members almost 1billion pounds per year, adding: Retail crime has been getting increasingly worse, with thieves becoming bolder and more aggressive.

Many of Chiswicks storekeepers also complain that Labour-run Hounslow council is more concerned with virtue-signalling than stopping crime.

For example, a policy of dimming and trimming streetlights to help reduce carbon emissions mean there are more dark corners and alleyways for criminals to lurk in. Endless new bus and cycle lanes mean that it takes significantly longer for police to drive to Chiswick High Road from Acton, almost two miles away, where the nearest police station is based following Sadiq Khans decision to close the local station, directly opposite Riccado, before Covid.

Then there has been Hounslows apparent unwillingness to introduce its own version of an anti-shoplifting scheme that was recently introduced in neighbouring Hammersmith (and may have displaced gangs from there to Chiswick). It has seen 72 civil enforcement officers employed to patrol the nextdoor boroughs streets, with a particular emphasis on protecting retail areas.

There are, apparently, insufficient funds to do something similar in Chiswick, though the council did find an astonishing 50,000 last year to convert a zebra crossing on the High Road into a rainbow crossing to celebrate gay and transgender rights.

As for the Metropolitan Police, they now finally appear to be taking the 30,000 raid on Siobhans store seriously. On Wednesday afternoon, three detectives showed up at Riccado. (Doubtless their sudden interest had nothing to do the Mail having submitted several questions about the affair to Scotland Yard that very morning.)

They have since issued a grovelling apology for their handling of the case, saying: We are acutely aware of the distress shoplifting offences cause, and recognise that we have not provided a satisfactory initial response on this occasion.

The problem, as Chiswick finds itself at the centre of Britains shoplifting epidemic, is that precious few retailers can expect a better response from the local police.
Rep. Maryam Khan speaks during a news conference at the Legislative Office Building Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Steven Goode / Hearst Connecticut Media

HARTFORD  Rep. Maryam Khan, D-Windsor, was joined by other lawmakers Thursday morning at the Legislative Office Building to promote proposed concepts and legislation aimed at providing protections to victims of sexual assault.

Khan, who is Muslim, was attacked in June outside the XL Center in Hartford following an Eid prayer service. The experience, she said, got her thinking about improving laws already on the books and creating new ones related to her own experience that day and beyond.

"It's an important topic that I now have a personal lens into," she said, adding that she believes "parts of our system are so, so broken."

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Khan has been critical of several aspects of the police and first responders' response to the assault that day and has said that those issues would be a focus for her in this legislative session.

A recent Hartford Civilian Police Review Board inspector general audit of the Hartford Police Department's actions on the day of the attack determined that three officers violated department policy that day.

The Hartford Police Department has not released its own internal review of the incident to the public. Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody said Thursday that the department plans to release the report and that it just went through a "command review."

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The items that Khan is seeking to become bills include:

An act concerning self defense of others. Khan said it would provide protections to good Samaritans who come to the aid of someone being attacked. The man who came to Khan's aid was charged with third-degree assault, but is expected to receive accelerated rehabilitation as the result of a plea.

An act concerning hate crimes. Khan said the threshold for a hate crimes charge is too high and needs to be expanded. Andrey Desmond, who attacked Khan according to a police report, has not been charged with a hate crime. Hartford police have said that there is no evidence that his assault of Khan was related to her religion.

An act concerning police body cameras. Khan said that the ability of officers to mute their body cameras made it difficult for her and possibly investigators to piece together some of the events that occurred the day of the attack.

Khan said she is also proposing required "trauma-informed training" for POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) to ensure that officers responding to attacks are in a good state of mental health.

Khan said the concepts have been brought before the full Judiciary Committee for consideration and will be drafted into committee bills with formal statutory language soon.

The "trauma-informed training" would go before the Public Safety and Security Committee for consideration.

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Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said Thursday that she was impressed by how Khan has taken trauma and "turned it into something positive."

"She has done this with grace and courage," Bysiewicz said.
More than a hundred protestors have descended on Sydney's CBD to demand an end to police violence on the eve of Mardi Gras celebrations.

Police were called to Flinders Street near Oxford Street after Pride in Protest demonstrators staged an anti-police protest at around 8.30pm on Friday.

Traffic was forced to a standstill as dozens of people gathered to wave flags and chant 'police go home' while officers stood just metres away.

At one point officers were forced to physically push the group backwards after several protestors tried to shove past police towards the street.

'This is a march demanding an end to police violence, ranging from the murders of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird to Blak (sic) deaths in custody like (in 2009 of Indigenous trans woman) Veronica Baxter,' Pride in Protest said in a statement.

More than a hundred protestors gathered in the Sydney CBD (pictured) on Friday night

Traffic was forced to a standstill as people gathered to wave flags and chant (pictured)

Footage posted to X by Brian Thomson showed protestors gathered at the busy intersection in the CBD.

One of the protestors sat on the driver's ute before she was told to get off by an officer as police began to slowly disperse the group.

At one point a bearded driver who claimed to be Palestinian was heard shouting at the protestors before police were able to calm him down.

Live Traffic NSW issued an alert urging motorists to be aware of changed traffic conditions due to an ongoing police operation the area.

A spokesperson from NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia that officers cleared the road after they instructed the protestors to move on.

'Officers from Surry Hills Police Area Command with the assistance of police from other commands directed the crowd onto the footpath,' they said.

'A short time later the crowd dispersed from the location where about 50 people then encroached onto Goulburn Street, outside Surry Hills Police Station, where officers again directed them off the roadway after several minutes'.

No one was injured or arrested, with no damage to property reported.

The protest is understood to have concluded at 9.06pm.

Chats of 'police go home' were heard before officers moved the large group (pictured) away from the area a short time later

The latest protest comes as thousands of people prepare to march on Oxford Street on Saturday night as part of Sydney's annual Mardi Gras parade.

NSW Police had previously been uninvited to attend by the organisers of the event on Monday following the arrest of senior constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon.

Police allege Lamarre-Condon, 28, murdered ex-Channel 10 presenter Jesse Baird and flight attendant Luke Davies at Mr Baird's Paddington home on February 19.

However, organisers have since backtracked on the original decision and will allow NSW Police officers to march in the parade in plain clothes.

Organisers said the decision was made for officers who 'volunteer their time and service to the community to participate in the event'.

The decision to allow plain-clothes police to march was made to allow for officers to appear in a 'respectful way as we navigate this tragedy together'.
A woman who was accused of repeatedly beating and starving her son when he was 12, locking him in a dog cage and pouring cold water over him in freezing temperatures has been jailed for 20 years in Austria.

The 33-year-old was found guilty of all charges, which included attempted murder, at a court in Krems in northeastern Austria yesterday.

The mother was arrested in late 2022 after a social worker - reportedly called by her friend who was also sentenced - found the boy severely malnourished, comatose and suffering from hypothermia.

She was accused of repeatedly beating and starving her son between July and November 2022.

The woman is said to have doused her son with cold water while opening the apartment's windows for several hours in sub-zero temperatures, causing his body temperature to drop to a life-threatening 26.8C.

A dog cage displayed at a courtroom at the start of a three-day jury trial. The mother was found guilty of all charges, which included attempted murder, at a court in Krems in northeastern Austria on Thursday

A police vehicle is stationed outside the Regional Court for Criminal Matters prior to the start of the trial. The mother was arrested in late 2022 after a social worker - reportedly called by the friend - found the boy severely malnourished, comatose and suffering from hypothermia

A psychiatrist told the court that the mother - who is suffering from a severe and persistent mental illness - had developed a 'paranoid symbiotic relationship' with her 'manipulative' friend.

Her 40-year-old friend and alleged accomplice was handed a 14-year jail sentence for encouraging her via chat messages and phone calls.

During the trial, which started on Monday, both women traded blame, with the mother apologising for her actions and claiming she merely wanted to 'discipline' her son, according to Austrian news agency APA.

The presiding judge said the boy has been psychologically 'completely destroyed'.

The mother's accomplice said in court she had been unaware of the scale of the inflicted abuse, despite their exchanges proving the opposite.

The state government has also set up a commission to investigate whether authorities could have done more to rescue the boy earlier.

Der Standard daily newspaper reported that the boy previously ran away from his mother, but was taken back to her.

The verdicts from today can be appealed. The court has ordered both women to undergo therapy.
A former US ambassador to Bolivia has sensationally admitted to spying on America for Cuba for 40 years in one of the longest espionage plots the FBI has ever seen.

Victor Manuel Rocha was arrested in December in Miami and accused of collecting intelligence for the rogue communist state since 1981 after an undercover sting where he detailed his clandestine work for Havana and praised Fidel Castro.

The 73-year-old bragged to an FBI agent posing as a Cuban intelligence officer that the U.S. was 'the enemy' and that his decades-long assignment was a 'grand slam' that 'strengthened the revolution'.

In messages to the agent he called himself a representative of 'your friends in Havana' and detailed how he travelled to the island multiple times to meet his handlers in the Cuban intelligence service, the Direccion de Inteligencia.

The father-of-two diplomat appointed by Bill Clinton was living in the open in Florida with his graphic designer wife Karla Wittkop Rocha when he was charged.

Friends say the Rocha gave himself the perfect cover by going 'full-on Donald Trump' and pretending to be a conservative while secretly working for Havana.

He suddenly pleaded guilty on Thursday and could face 10 years in prison for 'one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent'.

Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in December for what US officials called 'one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent'

The father-of-two diplomat appointed by Bill Clinton was living in the open in Florida with his graphic designer wife Karla Wittkop Rocha when he was charged

Rocha was born in Colombia and became a naturalized US citizen in 1978. His family moved to New York City in his youth where he was raised in Morningside Heights. Rocha attained degrees from Yale, Harvard and Georgetown.

He began aiding Havana as a covert agent of Cuba's General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981, and his secret activities continued until his arrest.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, announcing Rocha's arrest, said he had 'repeatedly referred to the United States as 'the enemy'' and 'repeatedly bragged about the significance of his efforts.'

'Rocha always kept his status as a Cuban agent secret in order to protect himself and others and to allow himself the opportunity to engage in additional clandestine activity,' a criminal complaint reads.

Rocha joined the State Department in 1981 and rose through the ranks as a career diplomat, also serving in posts in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, the Dominican Republic and Washington.

Rocha served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 in the administration of president Bill Clinton and was the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Clinton and George W. Bush.

He also served as an advisor to the US military command responsible for Cuba.

Rocha left national service in 2006 and later served as an advisor to the US Southern Command, which oversees Cuba, until 2012.

Rocha was arrested in December in Miami and accused of collecting intelligence for the rogue communist state since 1981 after an undercover sting where he detailed his clandestine work and praised Fidel Castro

The 73-year-old bragged to an undercover FBI agent that the U.S. was 'the enemy' and that his decades-long assignment was a 'grand slam' that 'strengthened the revolution'

Rocha's wife exits the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building where her husband is supposed to appear in Miami

The criminal complaint against Rocha details how, over multiple meetings with an undercover FBI agent beginning in November 2022, he 'behaved as a Cuban agent,' praising the communist-ruled island's late leader Fidel Castro by calling him 'Commandante' and 'using the term 'we' to describe himself and Cuba.'

The agent contacted Rocha via WhatsApp claiming to be a representative of 'your friends in Havana.'

The pair met multiple times, including once at a food court, where he was asked if he was still 'with' Cuba.

His response was 'angry,' and he replied: 'It's like questioning my manhood.'

He admitted traveling to Havana in 2016 or 2017 to meet with his handlers and asked the undercover agent to send 'my warmest regards to the Direccion,' referring to the DGI, the secret intelligence agency of Cuba.

Rocha told an undercover agent that the rules for Cuban spies included referring to Havana as 'the island' and to adopt the personality as political conservative in the US.

At the time of his initial arrest, it was reported that Republican Maria Elvira Salazar returned Rocha's $750 donation to her campaign.

In December, a former colleague of Rocha's, John Feeley, told The Washington Post that the spy was 'charming' and 'ambitious.' Feeley described him as an expert in Latin American affairs.

Around the time of his arrest, Feeley said that Rocha had 'gone full-on Donald Trump.' 'It was the perfect cover,' Feeley said.

During one interaction with an undercover FBI agent, Rocha called his activities as 'grand slam' and that he had 'strengthened the revolution.'

Other Americans arrested for leaking secrets to Havana have included Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers, who were indicted in 2009 on charges of spying for Cuba for nearly 30 years.

As ambassador to Bolivia, Rocha (right) intervened directly into the 2002 presidential race

Rocha additionally faces a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida by the widow of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

She alleges Rocha was responsible for the death of her late husband, the 2002 winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights, in a car crash in Cuba in 2012.

A court document claims that 'the Cuban terrorist dictatorship assassinated Mr. Paya with impunity' as a direct result of Roche's 'actions as a covert agent for the Cuban terrorist dictatorship and its intelligence-gathering mission against the United States.'

Another Cuban dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the same car crash, while two others in the vehicle survived: Spanish politician Angel Carromero and Swedish conservative politician Jens Aron Modig.

Cuban authorities blamed the crash on Carromero, who was driving, but he claims the car was struck by a Cuban secret service vehicle.

In a report published last June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded that Cuban state agents participated in the dissidents' deaths.

'I seek what I have sought all along: for the truth, for justice, and for the regime and its accomplices' to 'stop acting with impunity,' Paya's widow Ofelia Acevedo said in a statement.
President Joe Biden's nationwide polling is creating more alarm bells in the Electoral College, as he now trails Donald Trump in seven swing states likely to decide the outcome of the election.

Trump got into office in 2016 by beating Hillary Clinton in crucial battlegrounds even while losing the popular vote, and now his 81-year-old opponent finds himself down in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Georgia even while running as the incumbent.

The gap is growing in Arizona, according to a new Bloomberg / Morning Consult poll, with Trump leading Biden 49 to 43 amid the border crisis. His lead his 48 to 42 in Nevada. Biden carried both states in 2020, winning Arizona by just 10,000 votes.

Biden also scored a narrow 2020 win in Georgia, in a state that now has two Democratic senators. But he trails Trump there by six points, 49 to 43.

Former President Donald Trump, 77, holds leads in seven swing states that will determine the winner of the White House in November

Biden's win by 7 million votes nationwide was powered by gains in Midwest, with critical wins in Michigan and Wisconsin.

The race in Michigan has tightened in the Bloomberg poll, with Trump leading by just two points, 46 to 44. But Biden got warning signs there this week when 'Uncommitted' got 13 per cent on the ballot, and he lost the city of Dearborn amid fury over his policy on Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

The poll even gives Trump a hefty lead in Pennsylvania, a state Biden has tended to assiduously, with a 49 to 43 per cent lead.

The Real Clear Politics average has Trump's lead at a narrower 4 per cent there.

In North Carolina, where Republican Nikki Haley is campaigning today as she seeks to counter Trump despite his big leads in Super Tuesday states, Trump leads Biden 50 to 41.

His strong poll showings in battlegrounds is helping Trump to undercut Haley's message: that she can beat Biden and Trump could continue a string of Republican defeats.

It came in a poll showing eight in ten swing-state voters believe Biden is too old to run again, a serious warning sign for the 81-year-old president who will need to convince voters in those key states to vote for him in order to win the 2024 election.

The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll conducted in mid-February across seven critical swing-states found voters across every demographic including some of the more reliable Democratic party constituencies believe the president is too old.

It comes as the Biden administration has been pushing back on concerns over the president's age and mental acuity after the Special Counsel Robert Hur report earlier this month described the president as an 'elderly man with poor memory.'

On Wednesday, Biden had a physical and his doctor declare him 'fit for duty' describing the president as a 'healthy active, robust 81-year-old.'

The White House had confirmed the president did not take a cognitive test as part of his exam, but Physician to the President, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, did say that Biden did sit for 'an extremely detailed neurological exam.'

But even among those who did say they plan to vote for Biden, seven in 10 say he is 'too old.'

Less than half of respondents said that Biden's likely GOP rival former President Donald Trump at 77-years-old is too old.

The polling found Trump leads Biden across all seven battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

President Biden, 81, departing Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following a physical on Wednesday where his doctor declared him 'fit for duty'

While the economy remains the top issue, concern over immigration has ticked up across every swing state.

The polling found the majority of swing-state voters blame Biden and congressional Democrats for the surge in migrants.

At the same time, blame for congressional Republicans and the Trump administration, though much lower, have also ticked up 5 percent from January after Republicans tanked the bipartisan border deal with Trump's encouragement.

Biden and Trump are both headed to the southern border on Thursday where they will hold dueling events. The president is headed to Brownsville, Texas. Trump is headed to Eagle Pass which has been ground zero of a border fight between Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration.

While Republicans have blasted the administration over immigration, the White House has pushed back blaming hardline Republicans for crushing a bipartisan Senate deal to address the border earlier this year.

Migrants crossing the border at Eagle Pass, Mexico. Both Biden and Trump are heading to the southern border on Thursday for dueling events as polling shows immigration ticks up as a major issue among swing-state voters

While Biden is facing growing blame over the border crisis and the vast majority are concerned about his age, Trump is not without his own vulnerabilities.

Nearly six in ten swing-state voters believe Trump is 'dangerous.' Even among those who plan to vote for the former president, 28 percent agreed Trump is dangerous.

As many of half of swing-state voters also say they would be unwilling to vote for Trump if he is convicted of a crime.

The former president is facing 91 criminal charges in four separate cases involving allegations over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, mishandling classified documents and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
This is the moment armed police arrested a double killer after he tortured his ex-girlfriend and her new partner to death then raped a woman - days after he was released on bail for threatening to 'slit her throat' if she got a new boyfriend.

Domestic abuser Marcus Osborne stabbed his former lover 99 times, murdered her new partner after cutting off his genitals and raped another woman at knifepoint.

Osborne, 35, was today given a whole life order at Leeds Crown Court for the murder of his ex-partner Katie Higton and her new boyfriend Steven Harnett.

The 'monstrous' offender, who had a shocking history of domestic violence murdered the pair shortly after being arrested for threatening to kill them and released on bail just two days earlier, a court heard yesterday.

Footage of his later capture after the two killings has now been released by West Yorkshire Police following his sentencing this morning.

Double killer Marcus Osborne was arrested by armed police on May 15 last year

Marcus Osborne, 35, has been jailed for life for the double murders in Huddersfield

Katie Higton, 27, was killed after returning home from a date with her new boyfriend

Steven Harnett, 25, was also killed by Marcus Osborne on May 15 last year

Personal trainer Osborne lay in wait for Miss Higton, 27, and launched a 'ferocious and merciless' attack - brutally stabbing her to death when she walked in the door after a night out with Mr Harnett.

He then messaged Mr Harnett, 25, on mental health nurse Miss Higton's phone and 'lured' him to her house in Huddersfield to his death, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Osborne also attacked Mr Harnett when he walked through the door and stabbed him to death.

He gruesomely cut off the victim's penis while he was still alive, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford revealed.

Mr Sandiford said: 'The defendant committed a premeditated and brutal double murder motivated by sexual jealousy, a desire to exercise control over Katie Higton, an unwillingness to accept her decision to leave him and her freedom to form a relationship with another man.'

Miss Higton was stabbed 99 times in the frenzied assault while Mr Harnett received 24 knife wounds.

Moments after the double slaughter, Osborne said: 'Romeo and Julie can die together now, can't they?'

The court heard four children were in the house at the time and a woman who was with them was also raped by Osborne following the murders.

The judge Mrs Justice Lambert today imposed 10-year concurrent sentences for the rape and false imprisonment of the other woman in the house.

She told Osborne: 'There are no mitigating factors in your case other than your guilty plea. There is no psychiatric or other evidence placed before me to explain or help me understand your actions.

'This is a case of such exceptional seriousness that even a very long minimum term would not be a just punishment. What you did that night was horrific.'

A family member shouted 'I hope you rot in hell' from the public gallery as Osborne was taken away.

The judge said the killings were 'sexual in nature' and driven by Osborne's 'pathological jealousy'.

She told Osborne: 'They were driven by your sexual jealousy arising from Katie's decision to start a new relationship with Steven.

'I do not accept (the murders) are explained by your entrenched insecurity about being abandoned as a result of a neglected childhood.

'Everything you did was motivated by sex and your need to sexually humiliate and degrade.'

Osborne, pictured, had a shocking history of domestic violence before the two killings

West Yorkshire Police has released footage of his capture just hours after the two murders

Osborne was seen being held down and handcuffed

Police officers have described his crimes as 'monstrous' after his sentencing today

Four children were in the Huddersfield home at the time when Osborne killed his two victims

Steven Harnett, pictured, was murdered shortly after starting a relationship with Kate Higton

HEARTBREAK OF VICTIMS' FAMILIES The families of Marcus Osborne's victims released emotional statements about the pain they are enduring. A personal statement by Katie Higton's mother Nicola McAlister, read in court, said Osborne was 'a monster of the worst kind'. Ms McAlister wrote: 'I no longer live, I simply exist in a tortuous world without my baby. 'I am tormented every second of every day that I draw breath.' Steven Harnett's mother said in a statement: 'On 15th May at 12:30pm my entire world came crashing down. 'My son had been brutally murdered. I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces. 'The task of making calls to family and friends listening to their haunting screams of grief was torture.' She said that in the weeks following his death grief consumed her and anxiety took hold. She added: 'The heinous way he was killed was just too much. The pain is indescribable. 'Every day is one long mental battle. Everywhere I look reminds me of him. I'm mentally and emotionally drained. 'No one can talk about this act. it's so painful, so raw.' In a statement today, Miss Higton's family described the impact of her loss, saying: 'Katie was a shining, beautiful and deeply caring soul whose presence lit up any room from the moment she entered it. 'She was a much-loved mother, daughter, niece, granddaughter and sister and her loss has left a huge, gaping hole in the lives of her family and friends. 'We all continue to suffer from having her so brutally taken from us, and none more so than her four beautiful children. Their anguish has been almost impossible to bear. 'They have lost a mum who was absolutely dedicated to them. 'As a family we will all miss her laughter, her fun and jokes and we will never again have the joy of loving messages from her at special times or of spending precious moments with her. 'There is much we could say about the monster who took Katie from us. A man, if he can be called that, whose name does not deserve to even be mentioned within the same breath as hers. 'His sentencing today will not change the life sentence of loss he has inflicted upon us all. We want to thank all those who have supported us through such a horrific time. 'No family should have to endure what we have suffered, but the kind words have helped as we strive to remember the woman who was our world, and who touched the worlds of so many around her. 'We also wish to thank the investigation team at West Yorkshire Police who have supported our family through this unimaginable time and now ask that our privacy is respected.' Her father Robert Higton described his daughter as a 'kind and compassionate soul' in a victim impact statement read to the court, saying: 'She was the apple of my eye.' Advertisement

Osborne had been obsessively jealous following the split with his partner of five years.

He had been stalking Miss Higton and hacked her social media after she left him two weeks earlier following another brutal physical assault.

Threats from Osborne put Miss Higton in fear of her life and she went to the police to make a complaint against him.

Mr Sandiford said she gave a statement to police in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on May 11 last year and said Osborne told her if she 'ever got a new boyfriend he would kill them both'.

Osborne was arrested the following day but was released later that same day on condition he didn't return to the family home or have contact with Miss Higton.

The court heard Osborne was seen 'pacing up and down' in the street outside the family home in Huddersfield on May 14.

Miss Higton went out that night for a cinema date with Mr Harnett, with whom she had just begun a relationship.

She had shared a poignant photograph on Snapchat just hours before she was killed by Osborne.

The court heard Osborne knew of their pairing and was seething with jealousy.

He broke into the house shortly after midnight, armed himself with a kitchen knife and brutally beat unconscious a woman in the house who he 'held captive' there.

When Miss Higton arrived home by taxi after 1am, Osborne was seen to stab her repeatedly in the hall.

Her final words were: 'Marcus, I can't breathe.'

Mr Sandiford said the scene was likened to a 'horror story' with 'blood pouring' everywhere.

The court heard how after killing Miss Higton, Osborne posed as her on her phone and messaged Mr Harnett on Snapchat to invite him over at 2.15am.

The prosecutor said of Mr Harnett: 'He took the lure and agreed to come.'

He was told to come in through the side door  preventing him from seeing his girlfriend's body  before being stabbed to death as soon as he went inside.

Osborne heartlessly told the woman in the house, 'That was quick and easy', before adding: 'Romeo and Juliet can die together now, can't they?'

The next morning Osborne contacted neighbours and showed them the bodies, though the woman in the house was able to leave with the children and alerted police.

Osborne had left by the time officers arrived but handed himself in later that day.

The court heard he had been 'coercive, controlling and abusive' in his relationship with Miss Higton.

Over the previous two years he had been controlling her access to social media, who she texted and the friends and colleagues she saw.

He was repeatedly violent towards her - and the 'last straw' came less than three weeks before the murders when Osborne punched, kicked and beat Miss Higton in their house following a petty argument.

She took several days to recover from her injuries and then left him, the court heard.

The trial was also told there was evidence Osborne had sex with Miss Higton either when she was dying or with her body after death.

The dead woman's father Robert Higton described his daughter as a 'kind and compassionate soul' in a victim impact statement read to the court, saying: 'She was the apple of my eye.'

A victim personal statement by Ms Higton's mother Nicola McAlister, read in court, said Osborne was 'a monster of the worst kind'.

Ms McAlister wrote: 'I no longer live, I simply exist in a tortuous world without my baby.

'I am tormented every second of every day that I draw breath.'

Mr Harnett's mother said in a statement: 'On 15th May at 12:30pm my entire world came crashing down.

'My son had been brutally murdered. I felt my heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

'The task of making calls to family and friends listening to their haunting screams of grief was torture.'

She said that in the weeks following his death grief consumed her and anxiety took hold.

She added: 'The heinous way he was killed was just too much. The pain is indescribable.

'Every day is one long mental battle. Everywhere I look reminds me of him. I'm mentally and emotionally drained.

'No one can talk about this act. it's so painful, so raw.'

Osborne has previously pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, and the false imprisonment and rape of the other woman in the house.

He has 12 previous convictions for 27 offences.

They include a seven-year jail term in 2008 for robbery, supplying Class A drugs and having an imitation firearm.

In 2011 he was jailed for 16 weeks for assaulting a girlfriend by grabbing her throat and punching her.

In 2013 he was given a 54-month jail term for grievous bodily harm with intent in an assault on a woman he had been in relationship with for two weeks. The court heard he punched her and kicked her in the head.

Soeaking after today's sentencing, Supt Alan Weekes who led the investigation into Osborne's offending, said: 'It is hard to understand the behaviour of anyone who acted as Osborne did in bringing horror to a family home. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by his dreadful crimes.

'The absolutely brutal offences committed by Marcus Osborne during the morning of May 15 are some of the worst myself and other experienced homicide detectives have investigated in our careers.

'Osborne's attacks on his victims were savage but also chillingly calculated in their execution. His behaviour can only be described as truly monstrous.

'The lengthy sentence handed down to Osborne today is justice served and will protect the public from this dangerous individual.'

Asked by reporters why Osborne had been released on bail following Ms Higton's complaint given his history of domestic violence, Mr Weekes said the case was being reviewed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

He said Osborne's release on bail on May 12 was to allow an investigation and a file of evidence to be built for consideration by the CPS for a charging decision, and that 'sadly the measures that were put in place, including bail conditions, were not successful'.

The officer said West Yorkshire Police took domestic abuse 'extremely seriously'.

In a statement, Katie's family described the impact of her loss, saying: 'Katie was a shining, beautiful and deeply caring soul whose presence lit up any room from the moment she entered it.

'She was a much-loved mother, daughter, niece, granddaughter and sister and her loss has left a huge, gaping hole in the lives of her family and friends.

'We all continue to suffer from having her so brutally taken from us, and none more so than her four beautiful children. Their anguish has been almost impossible to bear.

'They have lost a mum who was absolutely dedicated to them.

'As a family we will all miss her laughter, her fun and jokes and we will never again have the joy of loving messages from her at special times or of spending precious moments with her.

'There is much we could say about the monster who took Katie from us. A man, if he can be called that, whose name does not deserve to even be mentioned within the same breath as hers.

'His sentencing today will not change the life sentence of loss he has inflicted upon us all. We want to thank all those who have supported us through such a horrific time.

'No family should have to endure what we have suffered, but the kind words have helped as we strive to remember the woman who was our world, and who touched the worlds of so many around her.

'We also wish to thank the investigation team at West Yorkshire Police who have supported our family through this unimaginable time and now ask that our privacy is respected.'
Donald Trump has revealed Texas Governor Greg Abbott is 'absolutely' on his shortlist of potential running mates after their trip to the border on Thursday.

The Republican presidential frontrunner's list of possible vice president's is growing - with Senator Tim Scott, Ben Carson, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Rep. Elise Stefanik in the frame.

Others believed to be in the frame after Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Rep. Byron Donalds and Trump's former press secretary-turned Governor of Arkansas Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

But the former president, 77, added another name to the list overnight as he heads full steam to a general election rematch with President Joe Biden in November.

'Absolutely, he is,' Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity of Abbott in an interview with him near Eagle Pass.

Trump then praised Scott, considered one of the favorites to be picked, and wouldn't reveal if there were any other candidates he was considered.

Donald Trump has revealed Texas Governor Greg Abbott is 'absolutely' on his shortlist of potential running mates after their trip to the border on Thursday

'Tim, for himself, he was fine. He did OK. I mean, he was OK as a candidate, but he didnt want to talk about himself. Hes a very good man, Trump said. For me, hes unbelievable. Hes a surrogate

Earlier on Thursday, Abbott showed his VP credentials by blasting Joe Biden for 'endangering America by 'not doing his job' on the border.

Abbott guided Trump along the edge of the Rio Grande and showed him what Texas is doing to stop illegal immigrants crossing.

The Republican governor showed Trump how shipping containers topped with concertina wire are being used as barriers.

And he took him to a spot where the body of a drowned illegal migrant was brought ashore earlier this week.

Abbott also laid out plans to build an 80-acre base for the Texas National Guard.

He also vowed to continue his policy of sending illegal migrants to Democrat 'sanctuary' cities on buses.

It came as Biden visited the border city of Brownsville, Texas, about 324 miles from where Abbot appeared with Trump, but still in his state.

Abbott said: 'The United States of America is being invaded. Joe Biden is not doing his job.

'I don't think he (Biden) is on the border itself right now. He's in some sanitized location in the Brownsville area, not seeing the razor wire that Texas has put up around Brownsville.'

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump points to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as he speaks at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas

A caravan wades past a string of buoys, being constructed to deter migrants crossings through the Rio Grande river, as they look for an opening in the concertina wire to enter into Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. July 27, 2023

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas

President Joe Biden delivers remarks about immigration and border security on February 29, 2024 in Brownsville, Texas. The President visited the border near Brownsville on the same day as a dueling trip made by former President Donald Trump to neighboring Eagle Pass, Texas

Members of U.S. National Guards stand guard on the shipping containers used as the border fence in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., February 27, 202

The governor added: 'And he announced that he was going to Brownsville after it was already known that President Trump was coming to the state of Texas.

'It just goes to show that Biden does not care about either Texas or the border and what's going on. As a result you see a disaster.'

Abbott said America is dealing with 'more deadly consequences than we have in our entire lifetime because of Joe Biden's policies on the border' and 'it did not have to be this way.

'All Joe Biden had to do to secure the border was to keep in place what President Trump put in place in the first place,' he said.

Former US President Donald Trump's visit to Eagle Pass town near the Texas-Mexico border: his supporters gathered in the region on Thursday, Feb. 29

Local residents gather near the scene of Donald Trump's visit to the border with Greg Abbott in Eagle Pass, Texas

He said there were three laws already on the books that Biden should enforce.

The first requires the Biden administration to deny illegal entry into the United States 'like what Texas is doing right here.'

He added; 'President Biden is aiding and abetting illegal entry.'

The second law requires the administration to detain anybody who does get here illegally, he said.

'But it is not detaining them. He's releasing them across the entire country,' Abbott said.

Migrants wait to be processed by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol after they crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico, Oct. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump visits the boat ramp at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. At right is Texas Gov. Greg Abbot

S President Joe Biden (C) speaks as US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas (C-L), Democratic Representative from Texas Vicente Gonzalez Jr (C-R) and others listen at the US Border Patrol Station in Brownsville, Texas

He said a third law requires the Biden administration to build border barriers.

But he said Biden is 'using every tool that he can to tear down the borders' Texas is putting up.

Abbott said: 'Not a week goes by without an American either losing their life, being raped or assaulted by somebody that Biden has allowed in our country illegally.'

Texas is 'ground zero' for illegal crossings and Biden had 'lied to America' about the border, he said.

Abbott and Trump spoke at Shelby Park, a 47-acre grassy area near the river.

There were thousands of daily illegal immigrant crossings there before Abbott had the military take it over in January.

Since then the number of migrants crossing has fallen to 'six or seven' a day, he said.
A gunman who opened fire at a southern California dental office, killing one and injuring to others, knew some of the victims, according to police.

Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was arrested on Thursday after a desperate hours-long search following the shooting at the Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics in El Cajon, a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego. He is believed to be a disgruntled client.

The office's receptionist Yareli Carrillo, 28, was shot in the legs but is in stable condition and expected to survive.

A man in his 40s who has not been named was also injured but expected to survive.

Officials have not identified the man killed in the shooting at the office, which is run by the father-and-son team of doctors Jack and Benjamin Harouni.

The San Diego Coroner's office told DailyMail.com the identity of the slain victim has been put under seal.

The office's receptionist Yareli Carrillo, 28, was shot in the legs but is in stable condition

Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was arrested after a desperate search following the shooting at the Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics in El Cajon

Images of a SWAT team outside of the El Cajon dental office where a shooting unfolded Thursday afternoon

It's not clear if the Harounis were in the office at the time of the shooting.

Captain Rob Ransweiler said Abdulkareem was familiar to the people inside the office, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribute.

'There were a lot of family members on scene,' he said.

'Most of the people who were involved, they have information as to who was involved.'

Police believe that Abdulkareem, a resident of El Cajon, rented a white U-Haul pickup with an Arizona license plate just an hour before the shooting.

Abdulkareem reportedly used a handgun, but it's not clear how many shots he fired.

The U-Haul was found abandoned shortly before police located the suspect nearby.

Officials are still looking into a motive.

Dr Benjamin Harouni is pictured above. It's unclear if the father and son were in the office when the shooting took place

The suspect's vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona license plate AM14894, was identified shortly after the shooting. Police said they then confirmed that the suspect had rented the truck

Police reported that Abdulkareem had been captured just after 10pm on Thursday. He was taken into custody and the firearm has been located.

Ransweiler briefed the press on Thursday evening and said officers found the victim who died inside the office as the shooting was still going on and took him outside where they could safely perform lifesaving measures.

The FBI's San Diego team, as well as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are aiding the investigation.
The funeral for Alexei Navalny today proved to be Vladimir Putin's worst nightmare as thousands of Russian mourners gathered in Moscow to say their final farewell.

Despite a heavy police presence and a warning against dissent from the Kremlin, the huge crowds chanted Navalny's name as his coffin was carried into the Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of Moscow at around 11am GMT.

Many carried flowers and shouted support for the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner who galvanised mass protests against Putin - and who died on February 16 behind bars in the Arctic 'Polar Wolf' penal colony, 1,200 miles from Moscow.

Some shouted: 'You weren't afraid, neither are we!'

His body was displayed in an open casket for less than an hour before it was taken away again by workers to be buried at a cemetery around a mile away.

Shocking footage from inside the church showed the black-clad workers holding mourners back from the coffin as people begged to be allowed to say goodbye. Just minutes earlier, his elderly parents had been seen kneeling by its side.

Video from outside the church appeared to show that - as it became clear Navalny's coffin was being whisked away - chanting began again, this time in greater defiance of Putin: 'Russia without Putin', 'Putin is a killer' and 'We won't forget' rang out.

The funeral for Alexei Navalny today proved to be Vladimir Putin 's worst nightmare as thousands of Russian mourners gathered in Moscow to say their final farewell

People walk towards the Borisovskoye cemetery during the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024

Tearful mourners came to say a final goodbye to the Russian opposition leader, who died on February 16 in a penal colony. His allies say he was murdered by the Kremlin

Aerial footage shows a huge crowd leaving the church in Moscow and walking to the cemetery, where Navalny was laid to rest shortly after 1pm GMT today

Video from outside the church appeared to show that - as it became clear Navalny's coffin was being whisked away - chanting began again, this time in greater defiance of Putin: ' Russia without Putin', 'Putin is a killer' and 'We won't forget' rang out

Navalny's parents (seated left) and other mourners say their final goodbyes to Alexei Navalny in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow today

Despite a heavy police presence and a warning against dissent from the Kremlin, the huge crowds chanted Navalny's name as his coffin was carried into the Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of Moscow at around 11am GMT - in defiance of Vladimir Putin (pictured today)

As the coffin was taken away towards the cemetery, aerial shots over the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in the southeast of the capital, showed just how large the crowd had grown.

The vast mass of mourners, many carrying red flowers, began to walk towards a bridge to the south that crosses the Moskva river near the Borisov cemetery.

It appeared in the footage that police were funnelling protests onto the pavement, not allowing them to walk down the middle of the road, slowing the crowd down as it tried to follow the hearse to Navalny's final resting place.

There, several large wreaths were arranged around the grave. 'We won't forget you!' and 'Forgive us!' some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived for burial.

The scenes outside Navalny's funeral would have been Putin's worst nightmare, with Russians openly showing support for his staunchest domestic critic.

Russia is currently building up to a presidential election later this month which Putin is all but guaranteed to win.

Nevertheless, the Kremlin has been at pains to crack down on any dissent - particularly as Moscow continues to wage war in Ukraine.

Some 400 mourners have been detained at Navalny memorials since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info has said - raising fears of mass arrests today.

Pictured from outside the church suggested at least one person was arrested. It was not immediately clear what repercussions those who attended the funeral - or those who chanted against Putin - could face.

Putin ordered his secret services to prevent the funeral turning into a full-scale revolt over his leadership, according to reports.

Law enforcement officers detain a person near the Borisovskoye cemetery during the funeral

Law enforcement officers stand guard at a bus stop near the Borisovskoye cemetery today

Law enforcement officers control mourners gathered outside the Borisovo cemetery today

A law enforcement officer stands guard as people walk towards the cemetery today

Law enforcement officers control mourners outside of the cemetery in the district of Maryino

A line of law enforcement officers are seen trying to control the mourners at the cemetery

It is claimed that Putin was fearful of a rerun of Novel-prize winning physicist Andrei Sakharov's farewell in 1989, which helped bring down the Soviet Union.

The state and loyalist media were ordered not to cover the funeral - and most Russians have not heard the claims by Navalny's family and Western leaders that Putin ordered his death.

Tens of thousands stayed after the burial to pay homage to the 'murdered' Russian opposition leader, and chant slogans backing Ukraine, opposing the war, and hostile to Putin.

The Russian special services were ordered by the worried Kremlin to carry out an 'operation' to 'protect the constitutional order from threats', reported the independent Moscow Times.

An official told the media outlet: 'The task was set to prevent a picture similar to the farewell to Sakharov.'

Hundreds of thousands had attended the funeral of Sakharov, winner of the 1975 Nobel Prize, in Moscow.

'Putin demanded that the FSB prevent a rebellion over Navalny's death,' said the outlet, citing insider sources.

The Kremlin 'held a series of meetings with senior generals of the Federal Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a colony above the Arctic Circle'

Two senior sources said Navalny's send-off 'caused unrest among the country's top leadership, despite the ostentatious self-confidence demonstrated by President Vladimir Putin'.

An official said: 'Navalny's funeral is a stress test for the Russian authorities.

A police officer guards as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, today

A police officer looks on as pallbearers carry the coffin of Navalny today

A police officer guards as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, today

A Russian police officer stands next to a makeshift memorial for Navalny today

A riot police officer guards as workers carry the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow,today

'This topic was one of the most important at meetings involving Kremlin officials, FSB generals and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.'

Russian police detained at least 45 people across the country today - the day of the funeral - according to rights monitoring group OVO-Info. It is not known how many of these are linked to Navalny's death.

The organisation reported: 'OVD-Info is aware of more than 45 detentions. Most people - 18 of them - were detained in Novosibirsk,', adding six had been detained in Moscow, where large crowds came out to pay their respects.

Navalny's mother Lyudmila remained at the grave for three hours after her son was lowered into the ground.

People were permitted to lay flowers at the grave, yet the atmosphere was tense, with the authorities blocking mobile phone signals.

Mourners used flashlights to signal their support for Navalny, and some chanted 'Ukrainians are good people' - normally unthinkable defiance against brutal dictator Putin.

They called out: 'Bring the soldiers home.'

Earlier Navalny was buried to the music of Frank Sinatra's My Way, and Terminator 2.

In the build up to Friday's service, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible,' according to TASS news agency.

'What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?' one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP news agency outside the church as people waited for Navalny's coffin to arrive.

'They are so afraid themselves. The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either. 'People like him shouldn't be dying: honest and principled, willing to sacrifice themselves,' she added.

A hearse, which reportedly transports a coffin with the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is parked outside the Soothe My Sorrows church before a funeral service and farewell ceremony in Moscow, Russia, March 1

Video from outside the church appeared to show that - as it became clear Navalny's coffin was being whisked away - chanting began again, this time in greater defiance of Putin: ' Russia without Putin', 'Putin is a killer' and 'We won't forget' rang out

People gather near the Soothe My Sorrows church, where a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny are held, in Moscow, March 1

A young man holds red flowers outside the church in Moscow on Friday

People film as the hearse carrying Navalny's coffin leaves the church today

The huge crowd is seen outside the church in Moscow on Friday

Another said: 'I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been.'

One woman, who flew 900 miles from Perm to Moscow said: 'I had high hopes for this man, he was very strong, very brave.

'I would like to see people today who also support him. The pain in my heart is such that I cannot describe it - so hard,' she added.

Another woman added: 'For us it was hope for a brighter future, not for North Korea. This is the only thing we can do now is to pay tribute to the memory, keep it.

'A person lives as long as we remember him. We need to remember why he got there. For us, for everyone. And of course continue, don't give up, as he asked.'

The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, earlier said she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests.

'I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,' Navalnaya told the European Parliament this week.

Navalnaya has blamed Putin for her husband's death.

Putin's spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as 'vulgar'.

On the day of the funeral, Peskov said he had 'nothing to say' to the family of the deceased. Putin himself has not publicly commented on Navalny's death.

Pallbearers carry the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny into the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church for his funeral service, in Moscow, March 1

Workers carry the coffin and a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny out of the church in Moscow, March 1

Mourners follow the hearse carrying the coffin of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as it leaves the church in Moscow

Riot police follow the hearse carrying Navalny's body as it leave for the cemetery

A woman holds a portrait of Alexei Navalny, left, and his wife Yulia, signed 'Eternal love has no death' outside the church in Moscow, March 1

Lyudmila Navalnaya (3rd R) and Anatoly Navalny (2nd R), parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends a funeral ceremony for their son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's district of Maryino on March 1, 2024

Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.

Some mourners mentioned the huge influence Navalny had on their own political activism.

'Because of him I began to get involved in politics... He was the first public person that I listened to,' said 26-year-old Denis, a volunteer at a charity.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack likely carried out by the Kremlin.

'Alexei was tortured for three years,' Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

'He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.'

'And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,' she said.

His body was held in a morgue for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny's team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Navalny's team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a 'secret' funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place that would agree to hold a funeral ceremony, as well as hearse drivers.

LONDON: A supporter reacts looking at photographs, floral tributes, and placards placed opposite the Russian Embassy in on March 1, 2024

LONDON: Flowers are laid for Navalny outside the Russian embassy in London today

BERLIN: A woman lights a candle at a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin on March 1, 2024

AMSTERDAM: Flowers, candles, banners and photo portraits of Navalny are seen in the Dutch capital on Friday

And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body - common in Russia - has not been allowed.

Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life's work and urged to 'fight more desperately, more fiercely than before.'

In the crowd near the church, some seemed to agree.

'A person has died, but his ideas will live on thanks to those who have gathered here,' said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist who came to pay her respects.
Baby was taken to hospital in a serious condition

A woman is fighting for life in hospital and a baby girl is in a serious condition after a driver-less car rolled down a slope and ploughed into them.

The 18-month-old baby and the woman, 67, were hit by the Kia Carnival Station Wagon at a cul-de-sac at Wood Ridge, near Edgewater Drive in Perth's north, at 3.25pm on Friday.

There was no one inside the vehicle when it collided with a parked car before the station wagon hit the woman and the baby.

A station wagon (pictured) that rolled down a slope in Perth's north struck a woman and a 13-month-old baby girl on Friday afternoon

The elderly woman was trapped underneath the car following the collision and had to be rescued by firefighters before she was rushed to hospital (pictured)

Emergency crews rushed the baby to Perth Children's Hospital where the little girl remains in a serious condition after she suffered injuries to her head.

The 67-year-old woman had to be freed from under the vehicle by firefighters.

WA Department of Fire and Emergency crews used hydraulics to lift the car up so that the woman could be removed from underneath the vehicle.

She was treated by paramedics at the scene for over an hour before she was transported to Royal Perth Hospital suffering critical injuries.

A spokesperson from the Royal Perth Hospital told Daily Mail Australia said the woman is now in a stable condition.

Daily Mail contacted the Perth Children's Hospital for comment.

The woman was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital (pictured) after she suffered critical injuries
A Massachusetts woman who recently celebrated her 113th birthday has shared her secret behind living a long life.

Herlda Senhouse was surrounded by more than 40 friends and family members at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham on February 28 as she turned another year older.

'Im so happy. Its awesome,' Senhouse said during her event.

The centenarian was presented with the Boston Post Cane by Wellesley Select Board Chair Tom Ulfelder.

The item has been presented to the oldest living Wellesley resident since 2016.

Herlda Senhouse, 113, celebrated her birthday at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham on February 28

The centenarian was surrounded by more than 40 friends and family during her birthday celebration

She is believed to be the oldest living person in Massachusetts.

Senhouse was born in Piedmont, Virginia, and relocated to Woburn, Massachusetts at a young age after the deaths of her parents.

She lived with her aunt and uncle and became the first person in her family to graduate from high school in 1931.

She was also a member of the Clique Club which was founded in 1949 and supported the non-profit organization, the Freedom House.

It comprised of dancers and musicians that were dedicated to supporting the education of African American students.

According to the Gerontology Research Group (GRG), Senhouse displayed 'a remarkable memory' on her 110th birthday.

Senhouse was born in Piedmont, Virginia and relocated to Woburn, Massachusetts at a young age after the deaths of her parents

Senhouse was able to recall memories from her childhood and describe the events of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic.

Still feeling as strong as ever before, Senhouse says she owes her long life to one personal choice.

Her secret to longevity: 'A more stress free life' - without kids.

'I didn't have children,' she said during her party.

Senhouse's philosophy to have a this stress free life is that individuals should be 'resolving issues to the best one one's ability.'

According to the centenarian, if a matter cannot be resolved, it's best to just let them go.
President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2024, to travel to Camp David, Md., for the weekend. Andrew Harnik/AP Palestinians line up for free food in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians displaced by the war took refuge in Rafahor, which is likely Israel's next focus in its war against Hamas. Fatima Shbair/AP President Joe Biden meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, March 1, 2024, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP White House national security communications adviser John Kirby speaks at a press briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2024. Andrew Harnik/AP Palestinians walk through the destruction from the Israeli offensive in Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Mahmoud Essa/AP Israelis demonstrate to demand the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, during a protest outside of the U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, March 1, 2024. Oded Balilty/AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. will begin airdropping emergency humanitarian assistance into Gaza, President Joe Biden said Friday, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops.

The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

Biden said the airdrops would begin soon and that the United States was looking into additional ways to facilitate getting badly needed aid into the war-battered territory to ease the suffering of Palestinians.

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In the coming days were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies and will "seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor, Biden said.

The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. The Israeli government has said it is investigating the matter.

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The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of those wounded said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire.

Biden made his announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough," Biden said. "Now, its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon had been weighing the merits of U.S. military airdrops of assistance for several months, but had held off due to concerns that the method is inefficient, has no way of ensuring the aid gets to civilians in need and cannot make up for overland aid deliveries.

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Administration officials said their preference was to further increase overland aid deliveries through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border points and to try to get Israel to open the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza.

The incident on Thursday appeared to tip the balance and push Biden to approve airdrops. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that airdrops are difficult operations, but the acute need for aid in Gaza informed the president's decision.

He stressed that ground routes will be continued to be used to get aid into Gaza, and that the airdrops are a supplemental effort.

Its not the kind of thing you want to do in a heartbeat. you want to think it through carefully," Kirby said. He added, Theres few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops

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Pressure has been mounting for Biden to move more aggressively to ease Palestinian suffering, including from lawmakers of Bidens Democratic Party. Even before Thursdays deaths, Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senates Armed Services Committee, wrote Biden this week to urge that the administration deploy a military hospital ship and support units to help treat Gazas wounded and open a sea route to Gaza for delivery of humanitarian aid.

Yesterdays event, I think, underscores the need to find more creative ways of getting assistance in faster and at greater scale, Kirby said.

Egypt, France, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have already used airdrops to get aid into Gaza since the conflict started in October.

Biden in his visit with Meloni at the White House also sought to assure European leaders that the U.S. remains behind Ukraine even as he's been unable to win passage of a supplemental foreign aid package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine in addition to $35 billion for Israel and Taiwan. The legislation has passed the Senate, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to put it up for a vote in the House.

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Ahead of Meloni's visit, White House officials said they don't have good answers for allies about finding an end to the impasse with House Republicans and reopening the American spigot of aid to Kyiv that's badly needed as Ukraine tries to fend off Russia's invasion.

Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly urged Johnson during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying that Congress must take care of Americas needs first.

The leaders also discussed efforts by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to broker an extended cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Italy's priorities for a G7 presidency, migrant flows into Italy from North Africa, and their countries' China policies.

Biden said earlier this week that a cease-fire deal could be reached by Monday, before tempering his optimism after Thursday's incident. But on Friday, Biden said he still held hope that a deal can be struck, possibly before Muslims around the globe begin observing the holy month of Ramadan that is expected to begin on March 10.

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I'm still hoping so, Biden told reporters on Friday evening before departing the White House for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. "Were still working real hard at it. Were not there yet.

Meloni said solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was Italy's top priority.

We need to coordinate our actions to avoid an escalation, and this regard we fully support the U.S. mediation efforts, she said.

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The father, stepmother and uncle accused of murdering ten-year-old Sara Sharif in their Surrey home appeared in court today.

Urfan Sharif, 42, along with his partner, Beinash Batool, 29, and brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are accused of killing the youngster, whose body was discovered at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year.

The trio, who flew to Pakistan the day before Sara's body was found with 'multiple and extensive injuries', were arrested on September 13 at Gatwick airport as they disembarked a flight from Dubai.

They deny murdering Sara, on or about 8 August 2023, and causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.

All three appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link on Friday as Judge Mark Lucraft set a date for their trial on October 1.

The body of 10-year-old Sara Shariff (pictured) was discovered at her home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10 last year

Her father Urfan Sharif, 42, (pictured) appeared in court today charged with her murder

Mr Sharif's partner Beinash Batool (right), 29, and brother, Faisal Malik (left), 28, are also accused of killing the youngster

Batool appeared at the Old Bailey via video-link from HMP Bronzefield while Sharif and Malik appeared sat together at HMP Belmarsh wearing grey prison jumpers.

Their six week trial has been fixed for 1 October and Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, today extended the time they can be kept in custody until 4 October.

The second charge of allowing the death of a child alleges they each caused or were aware of a 'significant risk of serious physical harm being caused' to Sara, and that they 'failed to take full steps as could have reasonably been expected to protect her from that risk.'

A previous court hearing was told police found Sara's body under a blanket on a bunk bed at her home after receiving a call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, at 2.47am on August 10.

It is alleged the defendants had booked a flight to the country two days earlier.

Prosecutors told the Old Bailey that Sara was found to have 'a constellation of healed and healing injuries', while a post-mortem revealed she had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries' over a 'sustained and extended' period of time.

The day before her body was discovered, the three defendants had left the UK for Pakistan with five children. They returned to the UK on September 13 and were arrested on landing at Gatwick Airport.

A post-mortem revealed Sara (pictured) had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries' over a 'sustained and extended' period of time

Sharif and Malik are pictured in a courtroom sketch sat together at HMP Belmarsh wearing grey prison jumpers

Batool is pictured in a courtroom sketch wearing a black top at HMP Bronzefield

Prosecutor Giles Bedloe earlier said: 'These defendants have been charged with the murder of 10-year-old Sara Sharif as well as the offence of allowing her death.

'In the upstairs bedroom on a set of bunk beds attending officers pulled back the blanket and found the body of a young girl.

'She was fully clothed on the centre of the bed lying face up.

'Sara sustained a number of injuries - a healed fracture to one of her clavicles, multiple rib fractures, multiple bruising to the torso and limbs and the presence of haemorrhage on her brain.

'There were multiple healing fractures on different parts of body suggesting multiple events of violence over a period of time which must have culminated in her death.'

Sara's mother, Olga Sharif, had visited the 550,000 red-brick home in the village of Horsell five days after her daughter's death to lay flowers in her memory.

The young girl was previously a pupil at St Mary's Church of England primary school in Byfleet.
An Arizona mother has been charged with attempted murder after she allegedly drove towards kids in a park and ran over a girl who she accused of bullying her daughter at school.

Brandie Gotch, 30, allegedly drove her white Chevy Silverado, with her four kids inside, speeding towards 15 children standing in the playground area of WestGreen Park in Peoria after an altercation on Tuesday.

She ran over a girl's ankle before going back into the parking lot and fleeing the scene on 87th Avenue, according to court documents.

Prior to the disturbing attack, she also pulled a 14-year-old boy's hair while yelling, 'I am going to kill you and run you over,' and wielding a sharp stick that she got from her truck, as reported by AZ family.

The mother of four was taken into custody at her home later that day and booked into jail on one count of attempted first-degree murder.

Brandie Gotch, 30, has been charged with attempted murder after she recklessly drove towards kids in a park and ran over a girl whom she accused of bullying her daughter at school

She allegedly drove her white Chevy Silverado, with her four kids inside, speeding towards 15 children standing in the playground area of WestGreen Park (pictured) in Peoria, Arizona, after an altercation on Tuesday

Other charges stemmed from the disturbing incident include six counts of endangerment, four counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Her bond was set at $250,000.

During an interview with detectives, Gotch said her children were bullied at school by the group of juveniles, but nothing was done after she reported it to the school and law enforcement officers.

The bullying continued at the neighborhood park, Gotch claimed, as she witnessed the group throwing wood chips at three of her kids, and one of them punched her 10-year-old daughter.

She said the group called her a 'fat b***h' when she confronted them. A video captures her grabbing a 14-year-old boy by the hair and chasing after him with a sharp stick.

She admitted to retrieving a stick from the vehicle but asserted that she never threatened them.

Gotch reportedly told police that a second boy followed her to her truck and started 'dancing' behind him.

She yelled at the boy to move, and the confrontation escalated as she went back to her truck.

'Brandie was then seen going back to her vehicle, which was now occupied by her four children, and aggressively backed her vehicle towards the exit,' the probable cause statement reads.

'But instead of exiting she drove forward, at a high rate of speed, towards the playground area where at least 15 juveniles were standing.'

She allegedly ran over a girl's ankle, causing injuries including lacerations and swelling, before speeding away from the scene.

Prior to the disturbing attack, she also pulled a 14-year-old boy's hair while yelling, 'I am going to kill you and run you over,' and wielding a sharp stick that she got from her truck

According to court documents, Gotch initially didn't believe she had run over the girl, but later told police, 'I hope I didn't.'

Gotch's children reported told investigators that 'they were unrestrained and were bouncing all over the vehicle,' although the mother thought they had seatbelts on.

Part of the incident was caught on a cellphone camera and police were able to track her down to her home and arrested her.

'This is still an active investigation with numerous interviews and witnesses statements still being processed,' Officer Zach Lekan of the Peoria Police Department told KTAR News 92.3 FM Thursday.

None of the underage involved in the incident have been identified.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the police department and sheriff's office for further information and comments.
Hundreds of pro-Palestine protestors flooded the streets of Lower Manhattan, clashing with police as some mounted on top of Wall Street's famous Charging Bull statue, defacing it with 'death to Israel.'

On Thursday evening, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Union Square before heading to the financial district to condemn US military aid to Israel. The 'Emergency Action For Gaza' rally targeted Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York as she delivered remarks at a Wall Street restaurant.

Video footage captured the chaotic scene, as demonstrators were seen mounting on top of the Charging Bull statue and defacing it with the message 'Death to Israel,' using a black marker to etch the graffiti behind the bull's ear.

Photos shared on social media revealed the graffiti 'Free Palestine' scrawled across its face.

Amidst the chaos, protestors were sene brazenly challenging police officers, with a woman in a hijab repeatedly urging police officers to 'hit me.'

As the protest moved towards City Hall, eight demonstrators were issued summonses for disorderly conduct. At least one is facing charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

Video footage captured the chaotic scene, as demonstrators were seen mounting on top of the Charging Bull statue and defacing it with the message 'Death to Israel,' using a black marker to etch the graffiti behind the bull's ear

Photos shared on social media revealed the graffiti 'Free Palestine' scrawled across its face

As the protest moved towards City Hall, eight demonstrators were issued summonses for disorderly conduct. One is facing charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration

Amidst the chaos, protestors were sene brazenly challenging police officers, with a woman in a hijab repeatedly urging police officers to 'hit me'

They marched towards Cipriani Wall Street, where Governor Hochul was expected. At least one demonstrator was arrested near Cipriani.

Some protesters, ignoring police orders to clear the streets and walk on the sidewalks, fell to the ground and were restrained by officers before being taken away in police vans.

Nerdeen Kiswani, an organizer with Within Our Lifetime, addressed the crowd outside Cipriani.

Kiswani criticized Governor Hochul for her previous remarks expressing support for actions against Gaza, as reported by the New York Times.

'Children are beginning to die  they have been dying from the bombs and bullets dropped on them by Israel  but now they are dying of starvation,' Kiswani said.

At least one is facing charges of resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration

On Thursday evening, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Union Square before heading to the financial district to condemn US military aid to Israel

Protesters also honored the recent self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell, who burned himself alive to protest Israel, with some holding signs 'RIP Aaron Bushnell'

Demonstrators flooded a subway platform to ride to Wall Street area where New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke in a restaurant

Police officers detain some protestors during the protest of Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who condemned Israel

The 'Emergency Action For Gaza ' rally targeted Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York as she delivered remarks at a Wall Street restaurant

Some protesters, ignoring police orders to clear the streets and walk on the sidewalks, fell to the ground and were restrained by officers before being taken away in police vans

Earlier at Union Square, demonstrators condemned Israeli aggression and highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Protesters chanted slogans condemning Hochul and President Biden. 'Kathy Hochul, you can't hide, you support genocide,' they shouted

Palestinian demonstrators condemned Israeli attacks in Gaza and directed anger at US President Joe Biden, chanting, 'Genocide Joe has got to go'

Rally organizers symbolized the food scarcity in Gaza by throwing flour on the ground

Protesters chanted slogans condemning Hochul and President Biden. 'Kathy Hochul, you can't hide, you support genocide,' they shouted.

Earlier at Union Square, demonstrators condemned Israeli aggression and highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Demonstrators wearing kiffeyas directed anger at President Biden, chanting, 'Genocide Joe has got to go.'

Rally organizers symbolized the food scarcity in Gaza by throwing flour on the ground.

Protesters also honored the recent self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell, who burned himself alive to protest Israel, with some holding signs 'RIP Aaron Bushnell.'

'Some may see his act of self-immolation as an extreme political act,' Kiswani said. 'But he said himself it's not extreme at all compared to what the people of Gaza have had to endure.'

They marched towards Cipriani Wall Street, where Governor Hochul was expected. At least one demonstrator was arrested near Cipriani

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators condemned Israeli attacks in Gaza and directed anger at US President Joe Biden, chanting, 'Genocide Joe has got to go'

Members of the New York City Police Department arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators during a march near City Hall

The protest came after Hamas blamed Israel when more than 100 Palestinian were reportedly killed and at least 700 wounded awaiting aid trucks in Gaza.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid in Gaza City and that its troops fired only when they felt endangered by the crowd.

Hamas authorities in Gaza say 112 Palestinians were killed Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery.

An Israeli source acknowledged the military opened fire on the crowd, adding that the soldiers believed the civilians 'posed a threat'. The. IDF admitted to causing no more than 10 casualties.

Now, in the wake of the violence, the EU and several countries including Germany and France have come together to put pressure on Israel to look in to the bloody incident.

The EU's two top chiefs said Friday they were 'shocked' and 'deeply disturbed' by the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery, and demanded an investigation.

Shortly after Michel and von der Leyen expressed their indignation, the European Commission announced it was strengthening aid funding for Palestinians.

The protest came after Hamas blamed Israel when more than 100 Palestinian were reportedly killed and at least 700 wounded awaiting aid trucks in Gaza

Aerial photos released by the IDF purport to show the scene as Palestinians attempted to obtain food from aid trucks in Gaza

Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the EU 'will proceed to paying 50 million euros to UNRWA and increase emergency support to the Palestinians by 68 million euros in 2024'.

UNRWA is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Its funding from international partners came under threat after Israel accused some of its staff of participating in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israeli communities near Gaza.

The EU had said it was reviewing but not suspending its funding to UNRWA in light of the Israeli allegations.
Residents of a Maine town have hit out at the $13million construction of a complex of 60 apartments for asylum seekers, where they can live rent free for two years then pay a fraction of the rental price.

Locals in Brunswick have expressed fury over the project, which is being funded by a mix of private and public money and which has been heavily criticized by Donald Trump Jr.

The apartment complex in Brunswick is one of the many projects being launched by the town in what critics have labeled a 'Taj Mahal', red-carpet welcome for asylum seekers.

There are currently 180 apartments in the Brunswick Landing complex available for anyone to rent. A one bedroom unit costs $1,800 a month, while a two-bedroom costs $2,300 a month.

The new buildings for asylum seekers will allow residents to live rent-free for up to two years while they obtain work permits.

Then, if they obtain a job that pays half of the average local salary of $60,000, they will only have to pay a third of the rental price. It boils down to a monthly cost of around $500 for a one bedroom, and $690 for a two bedroom.

Brunswick residents including Georger Bernier (picture) hit out at the construction of a complex of 60 apartments for asylum seekers while the town struggles with a housing crisis

The 60 apartment complex is being funded by a mix of private and public money through MaineHousing, the state's housing authority

The state's housing authority, MaineHousing, has ploughed $6 million into the construction of the complex, with the other half of the funding supplied a private Portland-based development company. Above, an example of the apartments available at Brunswick Landing

MaineHousing has set aside $2 million to cover rent at the properties for two years, although tenants will be expected to cover 30% of their rent once they begin earning half the median salary in the area

The state has also set around $2 million aside to cover rent at the properties for two years, although tenants will be expected to cover 30 percent of their rent once they begin earning half the median salary in the area.

While some in the area have embraced the project - raising thousands via a GoFundMe to pay for newcomers' furniture - others say it's unfair.

The plans have outraged some residents, who voiced their opposition at a heated council meeting on February 20.

'You have all these houses being built. That's discrimination, in my eyes,' local George Bernier said. 'Am I too white? Is that what it is? Do I work too much? What's the discrimination factor?'

'How can we give housing to anyone other than our Brunswick residents first?'

'You need to take a look at the needs of our current residents,' Lisa Trombley added. 'If we don't have a plan to take care of the residents we shouldn't be inviting them to come. No matter where they are coming from, we can't afford to do it.'

The units are designed to house asylum seekers while they await work permits, a process that can take at least six months.

Once they are earning 50 percent of the median rate they must start contributing 30 percent towards rent.

The average salary is $59,744 per year or $28.72 an hour in Brunswick per data from SalaryExpert. This means tenants must be earning $29,872 before they start paying rent.

The median rent is $1,600 a month for a typical one bedroom property, according to Zillow, meaning tenants would need to contribute $480 if the properties are rented out at market rate.

After the two years are up, it is proposed that the apartments are converted in to a mix of market-rate and affordable housing, unless the state deems that the project should continue.

Much of the criticism of the scheme stems from claims it is going ahead while the town is slashing its budget in other departments and while Brunswick is in the grip of a housing crunch.

The lack of affordable housing in the area is largely being fueled by the soaring cost of building since the pandemic.

The average home in Brunswick costs $452,329 according to Zillow, which also states that house prices have skyrocketed by almost 10 percent in the last year.

Brunswick local Lisa Trombley said the town needs to take care of its residents before helping asylum seekers

The town council issued a memo which states that none of its tax dollars are being used to subsidize the units and that $70,000 of private donations had helped furnish the apartments.

'The Town of Brunswick was not advised of the housing arrangement until the families moved to Brunswick,' the memo states.

'Although the Town of Brunswick did not initiate this project and is not paying to subsidize these units, it did coordinate a community-based fundraising effort to purchase furnishings for the apartments.'

In an interview with Bangor Daily News, Town Council Chair Abby King said that the scheme at a former naval air base was not originally designated for asylum seekers when it was approved by the Planning Board.

The median rent is $1,600 a month for a one bedroom property, according to the outlet. The average salary is $59,744 per year or $28.72 an hour per data from SalaryExpert.

The designation only came after the original developer sold the project to MaineHousing and property company Developers Collaborative, according to King.

The project recently came under fire from Donald Trump Jr while he was campaigning for his father in New Hampshire.

Trump Jr. erroneously claimed the asylum seekers being housed are in the US illegally and that they would not have to contribute anything towards costs.

Volunteers raised $70,000 to provide furniture for the apartments

A one bedroom home in Brunswick costs citizens around $1,600 a month rent on average in normal circumstances

'Up in this part of the world, and up in Maine, they are giving illegal immigrants free housing  multi-million dollar free housing, while they're kicking out veterans in the street,' he said in a news clip shared by the conservative Maine Wire. 'I mean, what's going on?'

Maine has a population of around 1.3 million people and has recently struggled to deal with a rise in migrants. In Portland, city officials said they received more than 1,600 asylum seekers last year.

But for the 23 families who have already moved into the complex, the facilities are a lifeline.

Among those benefitting is a woman from Nigeria named Esther, who described the accommodation as 'life changing'.

She moved into the complex after being moved between hotels and shelters.

'In [a] hotel, there are rules and regulations,' Esther told News Center Maine. 'In a shelter too, we have so many people. We share the kitchen together. We share the restroom together.'

Scott Thistle, a spokesperson for MaineHousing, told FOX23 that fewer than percent of the $1.24 billion the agency has allocated in the last two years was for asylum seeker-specific housing.
The EU along with several countries are calling for an investigation into the IDF's reported shooting of a desperate crowd of Palestinians as they waited for aid - something the UN has condemned.

The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid in Gaza City and that its troops fired only when they felt endangered by the crowd.

Now, in the wake of the violence, the EU and several countries including Germany and France have come together to put pressure on Israel to look in to the bloody incident.

The EU's two top chiefs said Friday they were 'shocked' and 'deeply disturbed' by the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery, and demanded an investigation.

Aerial photos released by the IDF purport to show the scene as Palestinians attempted to obtain food from aid trucks in Gaza

An image released by the IDF purporting to show the scene. 'At some point the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers, ploughed into the crowds of people, ultimately killing, my understanding is, tens of people,' Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman told reporters

Over 100 Palestinians were killed on Thursday as the IDF opened fire on them waiting for food

'Shocked and repulsed by yesterday's killing of innocent civilians in Gaza while desperately waiting for humanitarian aid,' European Council President Charles Michel posted on X.

'An independent investigation should be launched immediately and those responsible held accountable,' he said.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was 'deeply disturbed by images from Gaza' and added that 'every effort must be made to investigate what happened'.

Hamas authorities in Gaza say 112 Palestinians were killed Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery.

An Israeli source acknowledged the military opened fire on the crowd, adding that the soldiers believed the civilians 'posed a threat'.

Shortly after Michel and von der Leyen expressed their indignation, the European Commission announced it was strengthening aid funding for Palestinians.

Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the EU 'will proceed to paying 50 million euros to UNRWA and increase emergency support to the Palestinians by 68 million euros in 2024'.

UNRWA is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Its funding from international partners came under threat after Israel accused some of its staff of participating in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israeli communities near Gaza.

The EU had said it was reviewing but not suspending its funding to UNRWA in light of the Israeli allegations.

Mamer told reporters UNRWA had agreed to a 'series of conditions' including an EU-led audit, and that the next tranche of funds would be released 'early next week,' with a further 32 million euros to follow later.

The extra 68 million euros in humanitarian aid would go through various organisations like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, Mamer said.

Injured Palestinians received medical treatment in Al-Shifa Hospital after Israeli forces opened fire on people waiting for humanitarian aid trucks after reportedly feeling threatened at Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City, on Thursday

According to Israel, the incident which saw over 100 Palestinians dead wasn't barbarism by the IDF like the world is making out, but a mad rush by the Palestinians to get the aid

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday asked Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza.

'The Israeli army must fully investigate how the mass panic and shooting could have happened,' Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, also calling for a 'humanitarian ceasefire'.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday he was angered by the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza and demanded 'truth and justice' regarding the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident.

'Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law,' Macron said in a post on X.

He said it was imperative for an immediate ceasefire in the war to be put in place.

Palestinians mourn near a body at Kamal Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, after Israeli soldiers allegedly opened fire at Gaza residents waiting for aid trucks

Palestinians carry the bodies of those killed in the attack from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue for burial in Deir al-Balah, Gaza

Speaking on France Inter radio on Friday, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Paris would back the United Nations' call for an independent investigation.

'The humanitarian situation has been catastrophic for several weeks now and what happened is indefensible and unjustifiable. Israel needs to be able to hear it and it needs to stop,' Sejourne told France Inter.

'We have gone a step further, people are fighting for food and there are riots. I heard the request from the Secretary General of the United Nations to open an independent investigation and I think that France will support this,' Sejourne said.

The US, has been more coy with their response to the recent killings.

President Joe Biden said the incident would complicate delicate ceasefire negotiations in the almost five-month-old war, with the White House calling the deaths 'tremendously alarming'.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters the United States was 'urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place'.

Washington will be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and 'pressing for answers', he said.

An image released by the IDF purporting to show the scene as clusters of people surrounding several of the aid trucks

Al Jazeera published videos that claim to show the aftermath of the alleged shooting. People appear to run away and take cover in one, while injured civilians are taken away in another

A vast number of other countries around the globe have condemned Israel and the IDF for the bloody incident.

The Palestinian death toll is now more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israel's war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

According to Israel, the incident which saw over 100 Palestinians dead wasn't barbarism by the IDF like the world is making out.

IDF Military officials said the pre-dawn convoy of 30 aid trucks driving to northern Gaza were met by huge crowds of people trying to grab the aid they were carrying.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed in the stampede and some were run over by the trucks as the drivers tried to get away, said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson.

Israeli troops guarding the area fired warning shots toward the crowd because they felt endangered, he added.

'We didn't open fire on those seeking aid. Contrary to the accusations, we didn't open fire on a humanitarian aid convoy, not from the air and not from land. We secured it so it could reach northern Gaza,' he said.

However, aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver humanitarian assistance in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, with crowds of desperate people overwhelming aid convoys.

Relatives of Palestinians killed during the attack mourn as their bodies are taken from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital morgue for burial in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on Thursday

'Shocked and repulsed by yesterday's killing of innocent civilians in Gaza while desperately waiting for humanitarian aid,' European Council President Charles Michel posted on X.

Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food.

He said Israeli troops opened fire on the crowd as people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks, causing them to scatter, with some hiding under cars.

After the shooting stopped, people went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off, he said.

Alaa Abu Daiya, a witness to the violence, said Israeli troops opened fire and a tank fired a shell.

Medics arriving at the scene on Thursday found 'dozens or hundreds' lying on the ground, according to Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital.

He said there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and wounded and some were being taken to hospital in donkey carts.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was 'deeply disturbed by images from Gaza' and added that 'every effort must be made to investigate what happened'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday asked Israel to conduct a thorough investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday he was angered by the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza and demanded 'truth and justice' regarding the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident

Benjamin Netanyahu is being called upon to do an investigation into the IDF's mass-killing

Dr Mohammed Salha, acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital, said the facility received 161 wounded patients, most of whom appeared to have been shot.

He said the hospital can perform only the most essential surgery because it is running out of fuel to power emergency generators.

The UN says a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation, and around 80% have fled their homes.
Keir Starmer issued a grovelling apology to voters today after George Galloway stormed home in the Rochdale by-election.

The Labour leader voiced 'regret' after the pro-Palestinian firebrand emerged victorious in the normally-safe seat after one of the most divisive and chaotic contests in recent history.

Mr Galloway immediately vowed to use the platform to torment Sir Keir over his stance towards Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.

He insisted he would be the Opposition chief's 'worst nightmare' - fuelling fears that the Gaza crisis could erode Labour's support in Muslim communities.

But surfacing to face questions this afternoon, Sir Keir argued that Mr Galloway only won because Labour had to disown its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks condemned as anti-Semitic.

'Galloway only won because Labour didn't stand a candidate,' Sir Keir told broadcasters.

'I regret that we had to withdraw our candidate and apologise to voters in Rochdale.

'But I took that decision, it was the right decision. And when I say I've changed the Labour Party I mean it.

'Obviously we will put a first class candidate, a unifier, before the voters in Rochdale at the general election.'

Rishi Sunak said the Tory candidate - who came third - was the only contender to run a 'positive' campaign.

Mr Galloway will return to Westminster after a nine-year absence as a representative of a third different political party - the Workers Party of Britain - having previously been both a Labour and Respect MP.

Rochdale was previously held by Sir Tony Lloyd, who died in January.

George Galloway has clinched a stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election after one of the most divisive and controversial contests in recent history

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am

Keir Starmer pictured this morning as he faces more problems on his Gaza stance

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons

Mr Galloway kisses his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, during the by-election result declaration in Rochdale

Mr Galloway coasted home after Labour disowned its candidate in a normally-safe seat

Rochdale by-election result in full George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain) 12,335 votes (39.65%) David Tully (Independent) 6,638 votes (21.34%) Paul Ellison (Conservative) 3,731 votes (11.99%) Azhar Ali (Independent, initially Labour) 2,402 votes (7.72%) Iain Donaldson (Liberal Democrat) 2,164 votes (6.96%) Simon Danczuk (Reform) 1,968 votes (6.33%) William Howarth (Independent) 523 votes (1.68%) Mark Coleman 455 votes (1.46%) Guy Otten (Green) 436 (1.40%, -0.68%) Michael Howarth (Independent) 246 (0.79%) Ravin Rodent Subortna (Loony Party) 209 votes (0.67%) Advertisement

The father-of-six won 12,335 votes in the by-election, which was just under 40 per cent of the vote share.

This put him ahead of second-placed independent candidate David Tully who won 6,638 votes (21 per cent).

Mr Ali was fourth with just 2,402 votes (7.72 per cent).

His name appeared on the ballot papers as a Labour candidate because the decision to drop him came after the cut-off point.

There is not thought to be a modern precedent for two effectively independent candidates coming first and second in a Parliamentary contest.

At 39.7 per cent, turnout was slightly higher than in the recent Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.

And the scale of the victory raised questions about whether Labour would have been able to defeat Mr Galloway even if their campaign had not derailed.

Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.

Mr Galloway used his victory speech to go on the attack against Sir Keir Starmer over the Labour leader's Gaza stance after being declared the by-election winner.

He warned Sir Keir: 'You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

Mr Galloway was interrupted by a woman shouting that he was a 'climate change denier' before she was drowned out by shouts of 'Gall-o-way! Gall-o-way!'.

'I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, the plates have shifted tonight,' Mr Galloway then continued.

'Keir Starmer's problems just got 100 times more serious than they were before today.

'This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies.'

Mr Galloway claimed Labour was now 'on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them'.

'I've heard some of the narrative being spun around this election result this evening,' he added. 'Yes it's true, that every Muslim is bitterly angry at Keir Starmer and his listing Labour Party.

'But you would be very foolish, if you did not realise that millions of other citizens of our country are too.

'Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight!'

Afterwards Mr Galloway said: 'I think Keir Starmer has woken up this morning to his worst nightmare.'

Mr Galloway posed for photos outside his campaign HQ in Rochdale today after his triumph

Mr Galloway was all smiles as he was photographed with wife Putri

The ex-Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant was pictured voting in Rochdale on Thursday

Votes for Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, are seen on a table at a polling station

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win in Rochdale after Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded

Votes are taken out of a ballot box for counting during the Rochdale by-election, which has been one of the most divisive and controversial by-election contests in recent history

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, is pictured at the Rochdale count with his wife Claudine and party leader Richard Tice (left)

Mr Danczuk was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017

During a visit to the Baker Hughes facility in Montrose, Angus, Mr Sunak was asked if George Galloway's election win would inflame tensions.

He said: 'It was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns that we've seen in recent times.

'I'm pleased the Conservative Party was the only party to run a really positive campaign focused on local issues with a great local candidate, Paul Ellison.'

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham told a press conference this afternoon: 'Labour has let the people of Rochdale down because it didn't give them a good enough choice at the election held yesterday.

'It's right that the leader of the party has apologised to the people of Rochdale but we will now work with him and his team to make sure there is some reflection on what has happened, some honesty, so that we can all come together and work together to regain the trust of the people of Rochdale, and that is exactly what we will do working with the leader of Rochdale Borough Council.

'We pride ourselves on being a city region of diversity, of solidarity. We have a large Muslim community but the biggest Jewish community outside of London, and the leaders of both of those communities work together, and we pride ourselves on the cohesion between the different communities in Greater Manchester.

In a round of interviews this morning, Labour's deputy campaign director Ellie Reeves told Sky News: 'Labour regrets that we couldn't stand a candidate in this by-election and we apologise to the people of Rochdale for that.

'George Galloway is someone who stokes up division and fear. This isn't how we would have wanted this by-election to play out.

'The Labour candidate was removed as the candidate because of comments that he made. Keir Starmer took swift and decisive action to do that, because being a Labour candidate requires the highest of standards.'

Asked who Labour would have liked to see win the greater Manchester seat, she said: 'That was for the people of Rochdale to decide.'

Ms Reeves said: 'We've set out our position on Gaza and that was adopted by the Commons just the other week.

Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded when they had to ditch support for local councillor Azhar Ali as their official candidate following an anti-Semitism storm

'We've said there should be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that the loss of life has been intolerable, there must be no ground offensive in Rafah, aid has to be ramped up into the region, and, importantly, that we need to find a two-state solution.'

The contest to replace Sir Tony as Rochdale's MP was marred by raging tensions over Gaza , with claims of death threats, candidates wearing stab vests, and vandalism.

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win the by-election after Labour's bid to retain the Greater seat imploded.

Sir Keir's party had to ditch support for Mr Ali, a local councillor, as their official candidate following the emergence of his remarks about Israel.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) expressed its concerns about Mr Galloway's own views following his victory in Rochdale.

A spokesman said: 'George Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

'Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this parliament.'

Ahead of the Rochdale result being declared in the early hours of Friday, supporters of Mr Galloway had predicted a comfortable win for their candidate.

Chris Williamson, a former Labour MP and now deputy leader of Mr Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, told Sky News: 'We believe that we've won comfortably today and it really will, I think, send shockwaves through the Palace of Westminster.

'But it will also, I think, give hope to tens of thousands, if not millions of people in the country who are looking for a genuine alternative, because our democracy has been stolen from us.

'The Labour Party and the Conservative Party are effectively often the same thing.'

He added that a victory for Mr Galloway represented 'a total rejection of mainstream party politics'.

James Giles, campaign manager for Mr Galloway, said: 'It is going better than our wildest hopes. George will win here by a fair margin.'

A victory rally has been planned by Galloway supporters at their campaign HQ - a Suzuki car dealership in the town.

Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, was another ex-Labour MP looking for a way back into Parliament having previously been Rochdale's MP between 2010 and 2017.

He quit Labour almost seven years ago amid a 'sexting' scandal, when he was alleged to have sent explicit messages to a teenager.

Reform leader Richard Tice earlier conceded that Mr Danczuk's bid in Rochdale had failed, telling Sky News: 'There's no question Mr Galloway has won this election by what looks like a considerable margin. Everyone else, frankly, is also rans.'

Mr Tice bemoaned how 'menacing behaviour' had 'been a feature of this entire campaign' including 'outside polling stations' on Thursday.

He also questioned the validity of postal votes returned during the contest.

Former Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has previously criticised postal voting on a number of occasions following defeats for his various parties.

Mr Danczuk secured a little more than 6 per cent of the vote, coming sixth behind Mr Ali, the former Labour candidate.

William Howarth, an independent candidate said he agreed with Mr Tice that there had been an 'element of intimidation' running through the election campaign.

He revealed he was abused by a man carrying a Palestine flag on Thursday in Rochdale town centre.

After spotting his rosette the man called him 'a dirty Zionist bastard', Mr Howarth said. He added the man was arrested by police.

Mr Danczuk previously reported being the subject of a death threat during the campaign with police said to have made an arrest.

Mr Galloway denied his supporters had engaged in any intimidation, and claimed on Sky News that Mr Tice had invited him to be a Reform UK candidate in a recent by-election.

He added that he hoped he would be introduced to the Commons by Conservative former minister Sir David Davis and the former Labour leader, and now independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn.

There had been thoughts that Mr Ali might go on to win the Rochdale contest, after Labour discarded him too late to remove him from ballot paper.

He told ITV News on Thursday: 'I'm still on the ballot paper, I've been campaigning for the last few weeks and I'm hoping for a positive result.'

Asked whether he would take up his seat in the House of Commons if he won the by-election, Mr Ali replied: 'Absolutely.'

There had also been controversy around Green candidate Guy Otten, who had his party's support withdrawn over comments he made on Twitter.

But, like Mr Ali, his name still appeared on ballot papers when locals went to polling stations on Thursday.

Labour's campaign fell apart after a recording surfaced of Mr Ali suggesting Israel 'deliberately allowed' Hamas terror attacks on October 7 as a pretext to invade Gaza.

Shadow cabinet members Lisa Nandy and Anneliese Dodds both campaigned for him before Labour eventually withdrew support amid growing criticism.

The action against Mr Ali also followed the emergence of a fuller recording in which he was heard commenting on 'people in the media from certain Jewish quarters'.

Mr Ali subsequently apologised 'to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments'.

After he was ditched by Labour, local voters were urged to 'teach Keir Starmer a lesson' by continuing to support Mr Ali.

Pro-Palestinian backers of Mr Ali were reported to be sharing anti-Starmer posters on WhatsApp in a bid to drum up votes.

Alongside an image of Mr Ali, one read: 'Sacked by Starmer for speaking on Palestine. It's time to teach Starmer a lesson in Rochdale. Vote Azhar Ali.'

Another depicted Sir Keir as a clown and dubbed the Labour leader as 'anti Palestine Starmer', in comparison to Mr Ali as 'a stong voice for Palestine'.

Mr Galloway's campaign was also heavy on the Palestinian cause and Gaza, an issue close to the heart of many of Rochdale's Muslim population.

His team believed 15,000 votes would be enough to win most by-elections and Rochdale has a 30,000-strong Asian community.

There had been incidents of his campaign posters being torn down.

The contest in Rochdale was prompted by the death of former Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd at the age of 73 last month

Mr Danczuk had branded Mr Galloway's campaign divisive and claimed his rival would be the 'MP for Gaza', not Rochdale.

The Tories were never expecting any success in Rochdale, with the Greater Manchester constituency having not had a Conservative MP since the 1950s.

Tory ex-Cabinet minister Robert Jenrick on Thursday hit out at how the Rochdale contest had become known as the 'Gaza by-election'.

He criticised some candidates for being 'more interested in a conflict they have no influence over than improving the lives of local people', adding: 'Shameful.'

Rochdale, which is one of the most deprived in England and voted 60 per cent in favour of Brexit, has also been the subject of Asian grooming gang scandals.

A major report in January concluded that young girls were left 'at the mercy' of paedophiles due to failings by senior police and council bosses.

Mr Howarth, involved in the group Parents Against Grooming UK, stood at the by-election as an independent.

He said he had taken to wearing a stab-vest while campaigning, such were tensions in the town during the contest.
Rochdale residents at the centre of the most chaotic by-election in recent history are divided over their new MP George Galloway - with some saying it was a 'total disgrace' while others said 'he's right over Gaza'.

The controversial politician won the Rochdale by-election by a landslide after Labour - his former party - pulled support for its candidate because he made remarks that were condemned as anti-Semitic.

Despite calling on members not to vote for Azhar Ali, the Labour logo still appeared beside his name on the ballot paper because it was too close to the election to change their official candidate.

Many voters welcomed Galloway as their new MP because of his firebrand pro-Palestine politics while others shunned him for having 'no affinity or connection' to the Rochdale constituency - which has traditionally been a safe Labour seat.

Meanwhile, local Jewish leaders warned the leader of the Worker Party's victory could inflate an already volatile atmosphere in the wake of the war in Gaza.

Firefighter Tauseef Tahir, 23, said he voted for Galloway because 'everyone in his area did' and for his stance on Palestine

Mother-of-five Susan Burke, 67, said she was 'shocked' by the result after she voted for an independent

Retired joiner David Smith, 75, slammed George Galloway's victory as a 'total disgrace' because he has 'nothing to do with Rochdale'

Rochdale campaigned on a pro-Palestine platform and said 'this is for Gaza' after he won

Student Tamiya Tahir, 20, said she voted for Galloway because of his hardline stance on Palestine

Airport manager David Tighe, 58, said the result was 'shocking'

Pensioner Alfred Acheson, 66, said it was 'a real blow for the town' as he has 'no connection' to Rochdale

Picture shows the Gracie Fields statue in Rochdale Town Centre

However, Muslim voters welcomed Galloway's - who was previously an MP for Labour and Respect - victory in the town in the foothills of the Pennines.

Firefighter Tauseef Tahir, 23, said: 'I voted for Galloway as everyone from my area voted for him. Most people at work also voted for him.

'I think he's right over Gaza and hopefully he'll also get in at the next election.'

His student sister Tamiya Tahir, 20, said: 'I voted for him. I voted for him as I agree with him over Gaza.'

Retired joiner David Smith, 75, said: 'It's a total disgrace. Galloway has nothing to do with Rochdale.

'He shouldn't have been allowed to stand as he doesn't live here. I voted for one of the independent candidates as they have Rochdale in their heart.

'But Galloway has just got in because of Gaza. I'm stunned by all this.

'We need to have a proper debate at the next election and people need to get out and vote.

Pensioner Alfred Acheson, 66, said: 'I'm shocked he got in. It's a real blow for the town.

'Galloway has got no affinity or connection to Rochdale. Hopefully he'll get thrown out at the general election.'

Mother-of-five Susan Burke, 67, said: 'I'm really shocked by the result. I voted for one of the local independent candidates because they're from Rochdale and know the town.

'Galloway has nothing to do with Rochdale. But hopefully he can do something for Rochdale. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.'

Galloway has had a varied career in broadcasting, politics and even reality TV. Celebrity Big Brother fans will remember the moment he pretended he was a cat as he got down on all fours and faked lapping up milk out of Rula Lenska's hands.

George Galloway clinched a shocking victory in the Rochdale by-election after one of the most divisive and controversial contests in recent history

'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,' the 69-year-old declared, as soon as he was announced as the winning candidate in Rochdale just before 3am

Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, is now set to end his nine-year absence from the House of Commons

Mr Galloway kisses his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, during the by-election result declaration in Rochdale

Mr Galloway coasted home after Labour disowned its candidate in a normally-safe seat

Keir Starmer pictured this morning as he faces more problems on his Gaza stance

Speaking near the town hall and Gracie Fields statue, Dave Tighe slammed the result.

The airport manager, 58, said: 'It's shocking. The whole thing stinks. I just think the whole thing is corrupt - I didn't even bother voting.'

Student Ramisa Gihan, 17, said: 'Galloway got in because of the Muslim vote and Gaza.

'But he's come from Scotland and has nothing to do with this area. I'm not sure it's great for the town.'

Jewish leaders voiced their concerns over Galloway's victory due to his 'history of divisive rhetoric'.

A spokesperson for the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester said: 'The election of George Galloway will naturally be a cause of significant concern for the Jewish community.

'By his own admission, Mr Galloway intends to speak about the conflict in Gaza before focusing on the people who have sent him to the Commons.

'Galloway has a history of divisive rhetoric and associations with people who hold controversial views.

'At a time of heightened tension, toxic public discourse and instability, further populist speech will create anxiety for Jewish people who are already contending with record levels of hate crime.

The group added : 'Community cohesion is coming under unprecedented pressure.

Votes for Mr Galloway, who put a hardline pro-Palestinian stance at the heart of his campaign, are seen on a table at a polling station

Mr Galloway was all smiles as he was photographed with wife Putri today after his triumphant victory

Mr Galloway, a controversial figure, became the favourite to win in Rochdale after Labour's bid to retain the seat imploded

Votes are taken out of a ballot box for counting during the Rochdale by-election, which has been one of the most divisive and controversial by-election contests in recent history

'It is now more important than ever that people concentrate on building bridges by ensuring a conflict taking place thousands of miles away is not used as an excuse to target Jewish people across the region.

READ MORE: How much of a problem could George Galloway be for Keir Starmer? Advertisement

'We have no doubt given his extensive record of contentious behaviour, that George Galloway will hinder rather than help with this critically important work.'

Many loyal Labour voters said the didn't go t the balots because of the controversy that surrounded Azhar Ali.

Labour voter Mary Wilkins, 59, said: 'I didn't know who to vote for so I didn't bother. I was robbed of the right to vote Labour - which was disgraceful.

'However Keir did the right thing in getting rid of him after what he said about Israel.'

The mother-of-two added: 'Hopefully it will just for a few months anyway when the general election comes round.'

Pensioner Alfred Acheson, 66, said: 'I didn't vote. I didn't see the point.'
Two brothers accused of blasphemy and defacing a Koran in Pakistan, sparking a 5,000-strong mob to attack their Christian enclave, have been freed after six months in jail.

More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalised by crowds in the eastern city of Jaranwala last August after accusations spread that a Koran had been desecrated.

While police rounded up more than 125 suspected rioters, they also detained two Christian brothers on suspicion of having defaced a Koran - a violation of Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws which can carry the death penalty.

At its peak the crowd numbered around 5,000 and was spurred by mosque loudspeakers announcing a Koran had been torn, scrawled with offensive words and stuck to the walls of a local mosque.

The brothers' lawyer Tahir Bashir said they had been freed after an anti-terror court declined to bring their case to trial yesterday.

A Christian man looks at a home vandalised by an angry Muslim mob in Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district, Pakistan, on August 17, 2023

A Christian woman weeps after looking at her home that has been vandalised by an angry Muslim mob in Jaranwala in the Faisalabad district, Pakistan, on August 17, 2023

'Without a trial, no suspect can be detained indefinitely in jail,' Bashir said, declining to publicly name his clients out of fear for their safety.

'They are free, they are with their family. They were very happy to be released,' he added.

Blasphemy is an incendiary charge in deeply conservative, Muslim-majority Pakistan, where even unproven allegations of insulting Islam and its Prophet Mohammed have provoked deadly vigilantism.

Hundreds of Christians fled Jaranwala's Christian quarter last summer when rioters surged in, setting churches ablaze and raiding homes.

Christians, who make up around two per cent of Pakistan's population, occupy one of the lowest rungs in society and are frequently targeted with spurious blasphemy allegations.

Politicians have also been assassinated, lawyers murdered and students lynched over such accusations.

Residents look at the rubble of homes and a church vandalised by an angry Muslim mob at a Christian area in Jaranwala, in the Faisalabad district, Pakistan, on August 17, 2023

Jaranwala Christians made homeless in the riots at prayer. More than 80 Christian homes and 19 churches were vandalised by crowds in the eastern city of Jaranwala last August

Last week, police were forced to intervene in the eastern city of Lahore when a woman wearing a shirt adorned with Arabic calligraphy was surrounded by a mob accusing her of blasphemy.

The crowd of men said the clothing depicted the Koran but it was in fact emblazoned with the Arabic word for 'beautiful'.

The woman issued an apology for causing offence, but none of the men were arrested.

Pakistan's top Supreme Court judge has also been targeted by veiled death threats recently after ordering the release of a man accused of disseminating a blasphemous text.
Jewish groups have reacted with horror after George Galloway won the Rochdale by-election, warning he will bring 'the politics of division and hate' to the Commons.

The pro-Palestinian firebrand was attacked over his 'atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community' after running on a platform dominated by the war in Gaza.

Mr Galloway, who has represented several areas of England with large Muslim populations, said his shock win last night was 'for Gaza' as the Israeli onslaught seeking to destroy Hamas continues.

But the Board of Deputies of British Jews said his win was 'a dark day' for British Jews.

A spokesman said: 'George Galloway is a demagogue and conspiracy theorist who has brought the politics of division and hate to every place he has ever stood for Parliament.

'We believe he should be shunned as a pariah by all Parliamentarians.'

The pro-Palestinian firebrand was attacked over his 'atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community' after running on a platform dominated by the war in Gaza .

Mr Galloway, who has represented several areas of England with large Muslim populations, said his shock win last night was 'for Gaza' as the Israeli onslaught seeking to destroy Hamas continues.

His campaign was designed just to repeatedly punch the Labour bruise over Gaza, a campaign made easier when Sir Keir Starmer finally removed party support from candidate Azhar Ali for voicing a conspiracy theory connected to the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

Mr Galloway talked before and after the election about a desire to put Rochdale 'on the map', re-open the local hospital's A&E, which closed in 2011, and rejuvenate the high street with shops including a new Primark.

In reality his campaign was designed just to repeatedly punch the Labour bruise over Gaza, a campaign made easier when Sir Keir Starmer finally removed party support from candidate Azhar Ali for voicing a conspiracy theory connected to the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

In the run-up to the vote, Mr Galloway proudly posed for pictures outside his campaign headquarters in a car showroom bedecked with a sign in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

The black, white, red and green was also all over his campaign literature, which branded him 'Pro Palestine, now and forever' before mentioning any local issues.

A spokeswoman for the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'George Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.'

They added: 'Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this Parliament.'
A cannabis addict who murdered three generations of his girlfriend's family after years of smoking pot turned him into a homicidal maniac, has been jailed for 46 years.

Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, her grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill's husband, chef Denton Burke, 58, were all stabbed to death by Joshua Jacques, 29.

The 'bloodbath' took place at Mr Burke's and Ms Hill's home on Delaford Road, Bermondsey, southeast London, in the early hours of 25 April last year.

Jacques had been smoking pot from the age of 12 and hours before the killings Ms Drummond had phoned her best friend several times to raise concerns about his mental state.

In a voice note she said: 'Josh is basically getting to the point where he could basically have an episode, like I don't know what's triggered him.'

After killing the family Jacques made a FaceTime call to his mother in the locked bathroom and said: 'I'm ending it, I'm gonna make a sacrifice.'

Joshua Jacques, 29, committed the quadruple homicide in Southeast London

Samantha Drummonds, 27, had been dating Jacques and had phoned her best friend several times hours before the killings to raise concerns about his mental state

He was told armed police were at the house and he should come out with his hands on top of his head.

Jacques, emerged naked and prostrated himself in a praying position, shouting: 'Allah, take me!,' 'Kill me now,' 'Get rid of me,' and 'God please forgive me.'

He had denied four counts of murder but an Old Bailey jury convicted him on each charge after a trial last December.

Jacques had admitted four counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mr Justice Bryan handed the killer four life sentences with a minimum of 46 years - reduced to 45 years and 301 days, including time he has served on remand.

The judge told him: 'I must sentence you for a horrific catalogue of murders inflicted by you on three generations of the same family.'

He said the crime scene was 'been rightly described as being like something out of a horror movie.

'Your victims must have experienced very significant pain and shock as they witnessed the events and received horrific injuries at your hand as they realised what you were doing and what their fate was.'

Jacques had been hospitalised in a psychiatric ward in 2018 and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill's husband, chef Denton Burke, 58 were murdered in the 'bloodbath' that took place at their home on Delaford Road, Bermondsey, southeast London , in the early hours of 25 April last year

Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, Ms Drummonds' mother was found with wounds on her upper chest, neck, and upper back

Dr Nigel Blackwood, a forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution, said the symptoms of manic behaviour displayed were caused by the large amount of cannabis he had consumed.

He told the court: 'The defence psychiatrists maintain there was a serious mental illness which recurs in the context of cannabis use.'

He said it was his view that the symptoms 'could be entirely produced by the cannabis use he was using at that time' without an underlying condition.

Jacques was a cannabis user from the age of 12 and became a drug dealer.

Dr Blackwood said he believed drug use was also the cause of Jacques' behaviour in 2018 and that he did not have bipolar disorder.

'The symptoms were consistent with a manic episode but to me, it was driven by his drug use at that time,' he said.

He said what Jacques experienced was a 'drug induced mania with psychotic features'.

Jacques had also been taking MDMA, a form of ecstasy, in the days leading up to the killings.

Giving evidence for the defence, pychiatrist Dr Raman Deo said Jacques was 'manic and paranoid on a number of issues'.

He said: 'My opinion is that on balance the abnormality of mental function arising from bipolar disorder would have been a significant factor in the killings.'

Tom Little, KC, prosecuting, had described what police officers found when they entered the property shortly after 2am.

'The first police officer to enter the house tried to open the porch door.

'He could not open it fully initially because it was blocked. The reason why it was blocked was on the other side of the door was Denton Burke's body.

'He was lying face down on a foldable clothes rail, between the porch door and the stairs.

'His legs were directly behind the door, and his torso was in the hallway.

'He was not breathing, and was unresponsive. He was removed from the property by police. A large cut to his throat was noted.

'The same police officer then saw three women in the kitchen. He believed them to be dead.

'He then went to the kitchen. The females were heaped together, and he and other officers then had to separate them.

'Samantha Drummonds was wearing a top under a denim jacket, and was naked from the waist down.

'The officer saw a stab wound to the right side of her abdomen, with her intestines protruding, and noted that she had no pulse.

'The kitchen area was cramped and so her body was moved outside. Further wounds to her neck and back were noted, and there had been severe blood loss.

'A paramedic and a police officer brought Dolet Hill, from the kitchen out into the hallway. She was wearing a pink nightdress and underwear.

'The paramedic cut away her upper clothing to reveal multiple wounds.

'A paramedic and police officers moved Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo away from the wall of the kitchen. Wounds were seen on her upper chest, neck, and upper back.'

Ms Hill was found to have sustained multiple stab wounds to her shoulder and chest, with the fatal injury being a 21cm-deep stab wound to the left side of her chest that had gone through her heart.

Mr Burke had suffered multiple injuries to his face, mouth and body, including a large cut to his neck, as well as a significant head injury and fractures to his face and jaw.

Ms Ofori-Akuffo died after suffering from a 12.5cm stab wound to the left side of her chest which had gone through her heart, as well as cut injuries to her chest, neck, back and left thigh.

Ms Drummonds died after sustaining multiple stab wounds to her back, side and neck, which caused internal injuries to her lungs, liver and right kidney.

Mr Little had told jurors there was 'no dispute or issue other than that it was the defendant that killed all four of the victims and that he did so by attacking them.

'In doing so he stabbed, cut and slashed all of them with a knife or knives.

'The prosecution case is that this is a clear case of murder, indeed more accurately a clear case of quadruple murder.

'We say that the defendant killed his victims with murderous intent and there's no dispute about that, and that when he did so his ability to form a rational judgment and to exercise self-control were not substantially impaired by any psychiatric condition.

'And indeed that his conduct on that night was brought about by self-induced intoxication, here taking drugs and drinking alcohol.

'This, we say, led to a transient psychotic disorder which does not meet the requirements for the defendant to make out a partial defence of diminished responsibility.'

Mrs Ofori-Akuffo, also known as 'Racquel', was a qualified nurse while her mother Ms Hill had worked as a housekeeping assistant at Guy's and St Thomas's hospital in Westminster for 21 years before retiring in 2018.

Tracey Henry, daughter of Ms Hill and sister of Mrs Ofori-Akuffo said in her impact statement read to the court: 'All I can say is that my mum was such an important part of the family. Everyone loved her.'

'Since her death there has been a big hole in our family.'

She said Ms Hill had been diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2021.

She found out that she had been successfully treated the day before her murder.

'My mum had beaten cancer. I was so proud of mum, only for her to be taken so unexpectedly the next day.'

Referring to her niece Ms Drummonds she said: 'She was only 27 at the time of her murder. She had her whole life ahead of her.

'Samantha would never have thought that her boyfriend would do anything to anyone she knows, especially not her family.

'I would never have thought this young man would kill my whole family.

'Sometimes I wonder if it was real. How someone could kill four people in one night. It is like something out of a horror movie.'

Ms Henry said that the house was a crime scene for a long time and when they were allowed back there was still blood under the the washing machine in the kitchen.

'I understand that it was not left there intentionally by the cleaning company but it was shocking and disturbing to have to clean away.'

Juleth Hutchinson, friend of Ms Hill and sister of Mr Burke said in her statement: 'I remember feeling so happy that my best friend had beaten cancer, only to be taken the next day.'

'The day I found out that they had been murdered was the worst day of my life. I couldn't understand how something so horrific could happen.'

Mrs Ofori-Akuffo's husband Danny said: 'The negative impact it has had on my life, and on my family's lives is indescribable.

'I feel so lonely. I miss and think about Tanysha, and all of them, every minute of every day.'

Paul Raudnitz, KC, defending, claimed there was no 'premeditation' before Jacques carried out the murders.

'The critical distinction between this case and those where the court would see fit to say that a whole life sentence is merited is an absence of premeditation.'

Mr Raudnitz read a note to the court in which Jacques apologised for what he had done.

'I would like to say to the family of the deceased that I am truly and sincerely sorry for all the heartache I have caused them.

'I am disgusted with myself. I cannot believe that I am the cause of this monstrosity.'

Jacques, of Minard Road, Lewisham, admitted four counts of manslaughter but denied four counts of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The Connecticut State Police Troop F headquarters in Westbrook Arnold Gold/Hearst Connecticut Media

As Connecticut State Police wrap up an internal review of whether troopers falsified traffic ticket data, the department is now launching a similar probe of constables  officers who patrol small towns under state police supervision.

Some say the step is long overdue.

Thats good to hear they are starting to look at it, said David McGuire, executive director the Connecticut chapter of the ACLU. But a lot of this is too little, too late. Clearly, there needs to be a lot more investigation to figure out how this issue happened.

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In June, an audit by a state-funded board that examines racial profiling data found between 130 and 311 troopers had a statistically significant number of unsubstantiated records in at least one year from 2014 through 2021. The troopers collectively submitted inaccurate or false data for between 25,966 and 58,553 tickets over those years.

It also found between 63 and 76 constables had a statistically significant number of false and inaccurate records in at least one year during that stretch.

The audit said there were 20 constables with more than 100 potentially falsified records, including one constable who potentially falsified at least 100 records.

Collectively, constables entered false or inaccurate data for at least 7,427 traffic stops over those years, according to the audit.

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The audit said the misreporting skewed racial profiling data making it appear officers ticketed more white drivers and fewer minority motorists than they really did. Officials have stressed no drivers were actually issued fake tickets by troopers or constables.

In the eight months since the audits release, state police have focused their internal review on the 130 troopers flagged for having the most glaring inconsistencies.

An investigation commissioned by Gov. Ned Lamont found serious failures by senior leadership at state police allowed the data entry problems to develop and persist, but it concluded most troopers likely did not intentionally falsify records. Critics have questioned the thoroughness and independence of the investigation. Still, at least a dozen troopers have been referred for further internal probes, including one who retired as a trooper after 2021 to work as a constable.

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Now, state police are beginning to examine constables flagged by the audit, according to the audits lead author, Ken Barone, director of Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project.

They are homing in on what they can learn about the 63 constables we identified, Barone told fellow board members at a recent meeting.

Barone, who has been working closely with state police as the department looks deeper into discrepancies uncovered by the audit, said state police several weeks ago began asking for a breakdown of constables identified in the audit.

They [state police] said the audit team has started on constables, Barone said.

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Rick Green, a spokesman for the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, which oversees state police, declined comment, citing the departments ongoing internal investigations as well as a separate probe by federal authorities into the scandal.

A federal grand jury is considering possible criminal charges, according to subpoena records obtained by CT Insider.

Constables patrol some smaller towns around the state through the states resident trooper program. The program allows towns without their own police force to request the state police to assign a resident trooper to work in their community. The town then hires constables who have full police power and work under the resident troopers supervision. Often, constables are retired state troopers.

As of last year, 54 towns utilized a total of 96 resident troopers, and 34 of those towns hired a total of 278 constables in addition to the troopers, according to the profiling projects audit.

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For constables, some disciplinary matters may be handled by the towns where they work, officials said.

But, the state polices Internal Affairs Unit, which investigates allegations of officer misconduct, can also conduct investigations of constables, if local authorities request such a review, according to the units annual reports.

Constables under review

The profiling projects audit of troopers and constables was prompted by a CT Insider story in August 2022 which revealed four troopers intentionally entered fake data for hundreds of tickets over a nine-month span in 2018 to make it appear they were more productive than they actually were to curry favor and perks from supervisors.

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Earlier this month, CT Insider reported that an investigation by the U.S. Department of Transportation found little evidence two constables in Deep River actually worked federally-funded drunken driving enforcement shifts between 2016 and 2018. The review found also found questionable or inconsistent activity reports were submitted by two constables and their supervising resident trooper.

The Town of Deep River was suspended from receiving additional federal funding for the DUI grant program. But Connecticuts U.S. Attorney ultimately declined to bring civil or criminal charges and the case closed in the fall of 2022.

In a voluntary interview, the trooper blamed the issues on entry problems with the dispatch system, which authorities said they confirmed using state police records. The constables declined interview requests from federal authorities, but one constable "stated the whole issue comes down to paperwork which got bollixed up by the administrative assistant.

Barone said the decision by state police to examine constables was not prompted by the news CT Insider broke this month about Deep River; the agency had been planning for months to first review troopers and then constables.

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Barone said the new state police examination of constables is expected to follow the same reconciliation process the agency used to examine troopers.

The process involved reviewing each troopers infraction data to see if other matching records could be found that provided a reasonable explanation for the discrepancies and pushed the number of tickets with questionable data below a threshold defined in the profiling projects audit.

For troopers, that threshold was: More than eight potentially falsified ticket records in a single year and more than 20 percent of those records they logged potentially falsified in that same year.

Constables were held to a higher threshold: More than 11 potentially falsified ticket records in a single year and more than 36.7 percent of those records they logged potentially falsified in that same year.

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Barone said he believes state police first focused on troopers  he referred to the effort as triage  because those officers worked for the state, represented a much larger group and had the most glaring problems.

The discrepancies were largest for troopers, Barone said. State police has the most authority over those in terms of discipline and firing.

Barone said the review of constables will pose unique challenges. For example, if a constable previously worked as a trooper, their employee ID number may have changed when they switched roles, which is something state police will need to look out for and rectify.

They may end up saying we cant reconcile these records, Barone added. Probably most will fall into the category of we cant find anything, and they are retired [from the state police], and we cant do anything moving forward.
An outspoken anti-crime advocate in San Francisco appears to have faked his own death, after fabricating many details of his life including his military service record.

Richard Parina, 78, claimed to be a retired Army brigadier general with three Purple Hearts, and supposedly died last month as a result of lingering injuries suffered during the Persian Gulf War.

That service record appears to be entirely bogus, and there are no public records confirming Parina's death, according to a lengthy investigation published by the San Francisco Standard on Thursday.

The outlet alleged that nearly every verifiable claim Parina made about his life was fabricated, including his supposed 21 military medals and the $1.3 million he'd purportedly raised for a political action committee to support local candidates.

'I can't figure out why someone would do this,' said San Francisco board of supervisors member Matt Dorsey, whose campaign Parina supported as a volunteer, upon learning the results of the Standard's investigation.

San Francisco anti-crime activist Richard Parina (right) has been accused of faking his own death and lying about his military career as an Army brigadier general

Congressional records reviewed by DailyMail.com do not list the nomination of a Richard Parina for brigadier general, a procedure that is required for all flag officers

Parina's supposed death was announced on X by a person claiming to be his 70-year-old nephew named 'Richard Francis'.

Late Thursday, Francis also slammed the Standard's investigation as a 'mostly false hatchet job' and insisted that Parina's supposed widow would provide his death certificate as soon as she returned from vacation on Monday.

'Rick's widow would have provided that but she is on vacation, and that document is locked up in her safety deposit box,' wrote Francis.

The Standard said that Parina's daughter confirmed in a text message that he did not have a 70-year-old nephew named Richard, and was unable to locate any public records or published obituary confirming Parina's death.

The outlet also said it received emails from someone who gave the name 'Joslin Clooney Parina' and claimed to be Parina's widow. No records exist of such a person living in San Francisco.

Before his purported death, Parina was often seen joining volunteer groups to clean up litter from the streets of San Francisco.

He was also an outspoken backer for the successful 2022 campaign to recall progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who was accused of going soft on crime.

San Francisco board of supervisors member Matt Dorsey (center), whose campaign Parina (third from left) supported as a volunteer, was shocked to learn of the allegations

Parina was often seen joining volunteer groups to clean up litter from the streets of San Francisco, and backed the recall of progressive DA Chesa Boudin

Parina was last seen publicly on January 17, when he attended a District 9 supervisorial debate at the Mission District bar El Rio.

At the meeting, Parina said he no longer had time for social media and handed out cards with his direct contact information, and that night his accounts on X and NextDoor disappeared, according to the Standard.

The following day 'Richard Francis' posted on X: 'My uncle, Brigadier General (ret) Richard Parina died on Janauary 17, 2024, the 33rd Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, where he commanded the 175th Forward Supply Battalion, attached to the 1st Armored Division. He was awarded his third Purple Heart and second Bronze Star.'

Congressional records reviewed by DailyMail.com do not list the nomination of a Richard Parina for brigadier general, a procedure that is required for all flag officers.

The US Army's Human Resources Command told the Standard it had no record of a Richard Parina ever serving at all, despite his claim to be a combat veteran of both the Vietnam War and Persian Gulf War.

Parina's ex-wife, whom he had claimed died from colon cancer in 2006, told the outlet that she was in fact alive, and said Parina served in the ROTC during college.

However, after he tore a knee ligament on a ski trip, he did not join the military and never went to Vietnam, she said.

'For somebody to claim that they earned a Silver Star or a Purple Heart, it's kind of like a punch in the gut, because I know what it takes,' Anthony Anderson, a retired staff sergeant who created the website Guardian of Valor, told The Standard.

'I know what these men and women have gone through to earn these [medals], either while they're alive or posthumously.'

Anderson noted that the Hall of Valor project, lists nearly everyone who has received the Silver Star and other significant military awards, does not name Parina.

Parina was last seen publicly on January 17, when he attended a District 9 supervisorial debate at the Mission District bar El Rio

The person claiming to be Parina's nephew slammed the Standard's investigation

Parina also claimed that he had raised $1.3 million from wealthy donors for a political group called Catholic Alumni PAC, and planned to back local political candidates with the funds.

None of the required paperwork to create Catholic Alumni PAC appears to have been filed, and the promises of lavish campaign donations now seem full of hot air.

Stephen Martin-Pinto, who is running for the board of supervisors on a public safety platform, told the Standard that Parina had pledged some $15,000 worth of donations to his campaign for supervisor.

'He told me he was going to get me 30 $500 checks,' Martin-Pinto said. 'That was in November or December. Then he died, or is purported to have died.'

Parina's purported widow told The Standard in an email that he 'may have stolen some valor,' but he was 'making amends for his past sins by doing volunteer work in the community.'

'Was he perfect? Absolutely not!' the person wrote. 'He was a borderline narcissist that needed to boost his reputation for reasons that are deeply psychological.  But I never knew a kinder and more generous man.'
Public schools are buckling under the strain of unchecked migration, with last year's 146,000 child arrivals alone jacking up education costs by more than $2 billion nationwide, researchers warn.

Lindsey Burke and others at the conservative Heritage Foundation say the arrival of children  some unaccompanied, others with families  are straining school systems in the states where they end up.

Research on this topic is mixed. Some scholars have found that immigration actually raises educational success for native-born kids, and some teachers say foreign arrivals sprinkle diversity into classes.

But think tank experts Burke and Lora Ries say the migrant surge is harmful right now, pointing to a New York school closing so that migrants could sleep there, and packed Texas classrooms spilling into hallways.

US Customs and Border Protection says it encountered 145,474 children in the 2023 financial year

A New York City decision to shutter a Brooklyn school to accommodate migrants sparked an angry backlash in January

'Unchecked illegal immigration is having an impact on families across the country, and is being felt acutely by children in public schools,' Burke and Ries told DailyMail.com in an email.

Poll Does the Biden administration have a grip on immigration? Yes No Not sure Does the Biden administration have a grip on immigration? Yes 132 votes

No 4756 votes

Not sure 43 votes Now share your opinion





'Children had already been shut out of their schools during the pandemic  now, children in places like New York find themselves once again turned away at the school door, forced into emergency online learning.'

US Customs and Border Protection says it encountered 145,474 children in the 2023 financial year  including both those who crossed the southern border alone, and those with adult relatives or friends.

At an average national education $16,345 cost per student, that adds up to more than $2 billion per year, the researchers warned.

In four key states  California, New York, Arizona, and Texas  the cost of educating only the unaccompanied children who were sent to sponsors in those states tallied up to nearly $750 million, they said.

For California, the 11,121 unaccompanied child arrivals in 2023 added some $189 million to schooling costs.

In New York, the 8,477 minors amounted to $240 million; the 16,394 to Texas cost $228 million; and Arizona's 861 cost taxpayers an extra $10 million.

New York Mayor Eric Adams visited with asylum seekers taking shelter at James Madison High School, in Brooklyn

Mom Kimberly Carchipulla (center), a recent arrival from Ecuador, takes her five-year-old son Damien Salinas for his first day of school in New York City, in September 2023

But costs alone did not reveal the full toll on America's public schools, the researchers said.

Some schools have kicked out students to turn classrooms and gyms into shelters for migrant influxes to such cities as New York.

Think tank expert Lindsey Burke says kids are being shut out of school again

An angry backlash erupted at a Brooklyn high school last month after city officials housed 500 migrant families in an auditorium there overnight because of heavy rains and fierce winds at a shelter site.

Classes were held online for one day.

Earlier in the crisis, teachers at two Austin Independent School District schools in Texas taught classes in hallways and conference rooms to make space for some 400 new migrant students, mostly from Central America.

Similar problems have affected schools far apart as Illinois, Colorado, and Massachusetts.

Denver Public Schools has enrolled 1,900 newcomer students since October, leaving Colorado's largest school district short of more than $20 million, officials announced this week.

Burke also warned about teachers scrambling to teach classes of students who cannot speak English  a point that former president Donald Trump has made on the campaign trail.

New York's City Hall referred to the illegal migrants at James Madison as 'guests' and called it a temporary stay

People protest against the use of public-school gymnasiums being used to house asylum seekers, in Brooklyn

'We have classrooms in schools which are loaded up with people that don't speak a word of English,' Trump said in a podcast late last year.

'The schools, they have no idea what to do about it. It's a very sick situation.'

Trump, the Republican front-runner, calls for the mass deportation of irregular migrants, including children, in his campaign to unseat President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in November.

Heritage Foundation expert Lora Ries wants the southern border secured

They both took their message to the US-Mexico border on Thursday to address what is for many the key 2024 election issue  one that hurts Biden, even as he blames Trump for scuppering a border security deal in Congress.

The number of migrants has surged under Biden, with a record 10,000 arrests for illegal crossings at the border each day for several days in December.

For researchers Burke and Ries, the US school crisis is down to 'an administration unwilling to enforce the basic rule of law and secure America's borders.'

Still, there may be more space in classrooms to accommodate newcomers than is clear at first.

Public schools lost students in pandemic-era lockdowns, and many have not returned to class as parents opt for private education or homeschooling.

A study from 2022 found that America's public schools had lost some 1.2 million students in the previous two years.

The share of voters who rank immigration as America's top concern has shot up in recent weeks, Gallup polling shows

Also, immigrants might not be as bad for schools as the study suggests.

A 2012 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that a slight rise in immigration to as area increased the chances of native kids finishing school by 0.3 percent.

Monmouth pollster Patrick Murray warns of Biden's migrant 'weakness'

'Contrary to the popular notion that immigrants may have a negative impact on the public education experience of native-born children, the net effect of immigrant children in schools is positive,' said the report.

Fears about unchecked immigration have surged to become the top issue for voters, and most Americans for the first time want walls built across the southern border, new surveys reveal.

Polls released this week show that voters are getting more worried about migrant flows across the US-Mexico frontier, hurting Biden's chances in November's election.

Pollster Patrick Murray said illegal immigration 'has taken center stage as a defining issue this presidential election year.'

Americans now say immigration is the top issue facing the nation  with 28 percent of voters calling it the main concern, ahead of the state of the government and the economy.

That's an eight percentage point jump from January.

It's also the first time voters were worried more about immigration than anything else since the 2019  the last time there was a surge in migrants.

A Monmouth University Poll separately found that 53 percent of voters support building a wall across the southern frontier to deter migrants.

Pollsters found that Americans are taking people flows more seriously and increasingly want to see more wall built along the border

Migrants who have been sent up to New York City from the southern border continue to arrive

Migrants walk near the river after crossing the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass, Texas

Another 46 percent said they opposed building the wall.

That's the first time a majority of voters supported the proposal since the group started asking that question in 2015.

It's an even higher level of support than in September 2017, when Trump was president and building barriers among other anti-immigrant policies.

Back then, about a third of voters supported wall-building, while 60 percent were opposed.

Pollsters also found that more than eight in ten Americans saw illegal immigration as a very serious or somewhat serious problem.

That also reflected a sharp rise over the past decade.

Murray, the pollster, said Democratic voters were increasingly joining Republicans in expressing alarm about the border.

He called it 'Biden's weakest policy area, including among his fellow Democrats.'
A man woke up to find he had been given a vasectomy by mistake after going into hospital for a gall bladder operation in Argentina.

Medics are thought to have made the gaffe after delaying Jorge Base's surgery by 24 hours from last Tuesday until last Wednesday, which is the day of the week gall bladder ops are never performed at the medical centre.

The 41-year-old told Argentinian TV channel El Doce: 'I have three grown-up boys but I was dreaming of having a girl.

'Doctors have already explained to me the possibilities of reversing the error are minimal.

'I feel so angry and helpless. I can't understand how they made such a mistake when it had gallbladder written all over my medical records.

Jorge Base in hospital. Medics are thought to have made the gaffe after delaying Jorge's surgery by 24 hours from last Tuesday until last Wednesday, which is the day of the week gall bladder ops are never performed at the medical centre

'I'd like to find a solution but the solution the health professionals are giving me is artificial insemination if I want to father another child.'

The medical error occurred at state-run Florencio Diaz Hospital in the city of Cordoba. a seven-hour drive north-west of the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

Jorge's lawyer Diego Larrey said: 'My client wanted to die when he came round and realised he'd been given a vasectomy.

'The hospital ended up performing the gall bladder operation the same day which was the only one he should have undergone.

'That operation should have taken place last Tuesday and was reprogrammed to the following day at 9am.'

He added: 'My client wasn't asked anything when he arrived at hospital which surprised him. They put his gown on him and took him to the operating theatre.

'A nurse was the one who told him a mistake had been made when he came round after the op.

'The confusion apparently occurred because on Wednesday they don't do gall bladder operations at the hospital and he ended up in the list of people in for vasectomies by mistake.'

Confirming Jorge was planning to start a family with his new partner, Mr Larrey said: 'No-one from the hospital or the local health authority has contacted me.'

The 41-year-old said: 'I have three grown-up boys but I was dreaming of having a girl. Doctors have already explained to me the possibilities of reversing the error are minimal' (File Photo)

In May last year a doctor was ordered to pay child support to a couple in Medellin, Colombia, until their baby turns 18 after botching a vasectomy on the father.

The couple - who were not named - were stunned to discover that the man had got the woman pregnant after he underwent a vasectomy at a health clinic.

The father had decided to have the procedure in 2012 to avoid having more children with his wife because they did not have enough income.

He even underwent an examination at the clinic to ensure that the vasectomy had been effective, with the clinic confirming that it had.

But after discovering that his wife was pregnant, the couple, who already had two children, took the doctor and the health clinic to court in 2017.

After a lengthy legal battle during which the parents argued that they had unwillingly become parents again on October 1, 2013 due to an incorrect medical procedure, the judge ruled that the doctor and the health authority in charge of the clinic must pay court fees and child support totalling COP 295 million (59,517) until the baby turns 18.
Border agents were 'happy' to see Joe Biden come to the Rio Grande to observe their work and the president noted he wanted to return, officials who took him on his tour told DailyMail.com.

'We talked about our challenges that we face on the border and things that we need to be able to do a better job of border security. It was good to have him here, to have him ahead and listen to that to the issues that we that we're facing,' U.S. Custom and Border Patrol agent Jason Owens told DailyMail.com.

Owens was one of the three agents that gave Biden the tour along the Rio Grande river, along the border with Brownsville, Texas, and Mexico.

During his visit, Biden also revealed he'd like to return to the border. Thursday's trip was only the second of his presidency.

Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who represents Brownsville, Texas, said the president wants to come back although no time frame for another visit was discussed.

'We look forward to inviting him back many more times,' Gonzales told DailyMail.com.

U.S. Custom and Border Patrol Agent Jason Owens (above second from left) was one of three agents who gave President Joe Biden a tour of the Rio Grande

After his tour of the border area, where he met with agents on patrol and walked along the Rio Grande, Biden received a briefing from CBP agents at their Brownsville station.

'They seemed very professional and they seemed happy to have him come down and listen to what they had to say,' Owens said of the agents reaction to the president.

But one group not invited to President Biden's meeting was the National Border Patrol Council, a union made up of border agents. The union has been highly critical of Biden's handling of the border and its president, Brandon Judd, was 324 miles away on Thursday, joining Donald Trump on his border visit at Eagle Pass, Texas.

One member of the union told local news outlets he had mixed emotions about President Biden's visit.

'It's kind of mixed emotions. It's good that the President is finally coming down. Too bad it was at this time last year instead of three years ago when everything kind of went crazy, but I guess better late than never,' the agent said.

Biden spent about four hours on the ground in Texas, splitting TV time with Trump, his likely rival in the 2024 presidential election, who was also touring the border.

In his remarks, Biden reached out to his rival, asking work with him on border security instead of 'playing politics.

'I understand my predecessor is in Eagle Pass. Here's what I'd say to Mr. Trump,' Biden said. 'Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill.'

Biden was referring to a bipartisan border security bill already approved by the Senate but being held up by House Republicans, who say it's not strong enough. Trump has opposed the legislation.

'We can do it together. You know and I know that it's the toughest, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen,' Biden added. 'Instead of playing politics, just get together and get it done. Let's remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people, not the Democratic party, the Republican party. We work for the American people.'

President Joe Biden with Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, Gonzalez said Biden indicated he wants to come back to the border for another visit

President Joe Biden touring the border with (left to right): Peter Flores, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jason Owens, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol and Gloria Chavez, Sector Chief, U.S. Border Patrol

Former President Donald Trump gave a wave to migrants through a barbed wire fence

During the president's visit, border agents briefed Biden on their needs - from more personnel to more technology to help them combat illegal crossings.

Biden's trip was panned by critics as a campaign 'photo op' began with his motorcade driving along the 20-foot fence separating the United States and Mexico.

The 81-year-old then met with members of the Border Patrol, hours after the head of their union warned Biden to 'keep our name out of your mouth'.

The 2024 rivals headed to Texas with recent polls showing immigration becoming the number one concern for most Americans.

Trump stook a strong stand against illegal migration during his trip.

'You're in a war,' the 77-year-old Republican frontrunner told frontline agents in Eagle Pass. 'This is a military operation.'

'We have languages coming into our country that nobody speaks those languages.'

Trump also revealed he had spoken to the parents of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old student jogger murdered in Georgia. An illegal immigrant has been charged with killing her. Trump said her mother and father will 'never be the same' and that Biden will 'never say her name.'

The former president was briefed by Gov. Abbott and members of the Texas National Guard. Guardsmen were waiting for him when he arrived near a boat ramp that law enforcement uses to access the river.

At the boat ramp the body of a drowned migrant was brought ashore on Wednesday.

Trump spent ten minutes at the ramp and was seen shaking his head as he was briefed.

Abbott said Biden had 'lied to America' about the border, and accused the president of aiding and abetting illegal entry and wanting to 'tear down' defenses put up by Texas.

The United States is being invaded. Joe Biden is not doing his job,' Abbott said.

Meanwhile, while Biden, 81, was given a tour of the Rio Grande, security was tight. A boat was in the water, trucks and ATVs surrounded the area, and a drone flew overhead.

Nearby, cars flying Trump flags were parked where Biden could see them. At the airport, the president was greeted with protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Biden stood by the river, speaking to the agents, as Trump arrived at Eagle Pass for his own tour at the busy migrant passage area.

President Biden gets a tour of the border from CBP agents at the Rio Grande River in Brownsville, Texas

As the president, 81, was given a tour of the migrant crossing area, security was tight. A boat was in the water, trucks and ATVs surrounded the area, and a drone flew overhead

The two men's location were a contrast in images. Trump is in Eagle Pass, which remains a migration hot spot while crossings in Brownsville have dropped dramatically.

Biden walked along the Rio Grande, a boat in the background and police cars around him. Trump walked along the border fence, waving to migrants who could seem him through the concertina wire.

The main thrust of Biden's message was about House Republicans's failure to pass a bipartisan border package already approved by the Senate. Conservatives argue the legislation is not strong enough to combat illegal immigration.

The bill included over $20 billion for border security that would add new Customs and Border Patrol agents, add more asylum officers to increase that process time, and add more immigration judges.

Democrats accuse the GOP of election year politics. Trump, who is Biden's likely rival in the 2024 presidential election, has come out against the legislation.

In Brownsville, border crossings have dropped dramatically in the past months, after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had miles of the wire fencing installed as part of Operation Lone Star, which he signed into law in December.

Internal CBP data for all border patrol stations in February - obtained by Fox News - shows that the Brownsville area had about 462 apprehensions, which averages out to about 17 per day.

That makes Brownsville, Texas, the 29th busiest border patrol station for the month. The number one station was Three Points in Tucson, Arizona, sector, which has recorded more than 13,900 apprehensions in February.

Republicans blasted Biden's trip as a 'photo-op.'

Speaker Mike Johnson accused Biden of going merely for the optics.

'Brownsville is the 29th ranked hotspot. Why would he go to the 29th? Because he doesn't really want to see the reality,' he said Thursday.

At a House Republican leadership news conference, many of the leaders repeatedly accused Biden of a 'photo op.'

'President Biden goes down to the border today for a photo op,' Majority Leader Steve Scalise said. 'He has the authority today to fix this problem that he created.'

The White House has said it's House Republicans who are turning the border into a 'political stunt.'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back against GOP criticism of Biden's trip, noting it was House Republicans who refused to bring up a vote on a bipartisan border security bill after Trump came out against it.

'Oh, it's very different. What House Republicans have done is nothing, absolutely nothing. If anything, they consistently get in the way,' she said during her press briefing.

'They are turning this into a political stunt by listening to Donald Trump and saying that they need to kill it. This is what they've been doing and making it political where the President got his team now directed his team to work with senators, both Republicans and Democrats to get a bill done.'
Two women who falsely claimed French first lady Brigitte Macron was born a man were punished with 'symbolic fines' reduced on appeal, it emerged today.

In turn, both claimed they were subjected to 'intimidation by the authorities' as 'ultra protected' members of the Paris establishment tried to cover up a 'state secret'.

Details of the bizarre case focused on President Emmanuel Macron's 70-year-old wife were revived on Friday after her own daughter talked publicly about the accusations for the first time.

Tiphaine Auziere, 40, told the latest issue of Paris Match: 'I have concerns about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man.'

Ms Auziere also discussed how wounded she remained after discovering as a 10-year-old child that her teacher mother was seeing the teenage Emmanuel Macron.

Two women who falsely claimed French first lady Brigitte Macron was born a man were punished with 'symbolic fines' reduced on appeal, it emerged today

The future politician was just 15 when he began a relationship with the then married mother-of-three Brigitte Auziere, who was 40 at the time, and teaching drama at La Providence high school in Amiens, northern France.

As the French debated the unconventional personal life of their head of state, MailOnline obtained details of a judgement handed down at the Caen Appeal Court last June.

It refers to two defendants  Amandine Roy, a 52-year-old clairvoyant, and Natacha Rey, 48, who styled herself as a freelance journalist.

Both had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was born as a baby boy called Jean-Michel Trogneux in 1953.

This is infact the name of Brigitte's brother, and Ms Macron was called Brigitte Trogneux before her first marriage.

The defendants also claimed that Brigitte's first husband, Andre-Louis Auziere, had never actually existed before his reported death in 2020, aged 68.

A judge sitting at Lisieux, in Normandy, originally fined the two women the equivalent of 1,700 each, after finding them both guilty of libel.

But, following appeals, Roy was fined the equivalent of just 850, and Rey had 1,300 of her 1,700 fine suspended, meaning she had to pay just 400.

Witnesses called to court included Catherine and Jean-Louis Auziere, a childless couple living in Deauville, Normandy.

Jean-Louis Auziere was once Brigitte Macron's uncle, when Brigitte was married to Andre-Louis Auziere.

Natacha Ray claimed that Jean-Louis Auziere had falsified administrative documents to hide a 'state secret'  namely that his wife had given birth to all of Brigitte's three children, including Tiphaine Auziere.

Details of the bizarre case focused on President Emmanuel Macron 's 70-year-old wife were revived on Friday after Brigitte's own daughter talked publicly about the accusations for the first time

But Jean-Louis Auziere told the court: 'I worked with Brigitte until the end of the 1980s, I can confirm to you that she is not a man.'

The original complaint against Ray and Roy was for invasion of private life, violation of image rights and infringement of personality rights,' but the final case was for defamation.

Frederic Pichon, Rey's defence barrister, said her investigation about Ms Macron had been 'carried out in good faith' and in line with Article 10 of the European Court of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

He expressed outrage that his client was 'placed in police custody twice during the case', saying: 'I am shocked by the disproportionate means deployed by the authorities to silence her.'

Mr Pichon added: 'This looks like intimidation coming from ultra-protected people. If the theses she develops are so far-fetched, why go after her like this?

'My client is not very wealthy, at least much less than those who are angry with her.'

All parties to the case accepted the 'symbolic fines' handed down on appeal as a final settlement to what had become a huge embarrassment to Mr and Mrs Macron.

The transphobic rumours about Mrs Macron were picked up by the far-Right in 2022, while the President was campaigning for re-election.

Groups including the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) and those protesting against Covid vaccines all used the claims to attack Mr Macron.

The video produced by Rey and Roy has since been removed from YouTube.

The Elysee Palace has yet to react on the comments by Tiphaine Auziere, who is promoting her new novel  a legal drama entitled 'Assizes', in reference to a criminal court.

This was despite lurid headlines across France, such as one in Gala, which reads: 'Transphobic rumour about Brigitte Macron: why her daughter Tiphaine is worried'.

Emmanuel Macron's step-daughter Tiphaine Auziere, 40, told the latest issue of Paris Match: 'I have concerns about the level of society when I hear what is circulating on social networks about my mother being a man'

'I learned a lot about human nature,' Ms Auziere said in the interview published on Thursday, in which she also discussed learning of her mother's relationship with Macron, resulting in the divorce of her parents.

'I know that, in these moments, we must focus on the essential and move forward without taking into account criticism,' she said of the transphobic rumours.

'The attacks, the backbiting, the judgements. It was not yet the era of social networks, but we were in a small provincial town. Everything is known.

'Despite all this, they stood tall. I gained an open mind, the desire to move forward without listening to peripheral noise, and gained greater tolerance.'

Ms Auziere said was particularly upset that her humiliated father, Andre-Louis Auziere, was forced to leave the family home in 1994, even though he did not divorce Brigitte until 2006, allowing Mr Macron to marry her a year later.

'A family separation can be a sorrow and an opportunity,' said Ms Auziere. 'Recomposition can prove to be an enrichment.

'I have a beloved father and stepfather,' she added.
A Venezuelan TikToker generated outrage after bragging that he received a $1,000 prepaid card issued by New York City government and that he had been in the country for a year without having to make any rental payments.

TikTok user @yimderoficial further infuriated followers in the video posted Monday after he flashed the debit card that is part of a pilot program introduced by the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to help migrants cover their basic need expenses.

'I am happy and pleased for all the support they have given us as Venezuelans,' he says.

'We are extremely grateful and I want to show you that apart from the fact that rent is not paid that we do not have to have worries or responsibilities when it comes to paying the rent, paying the weekly or monthly rent, because the government has given us help of the red card of $1,000 per month to all the Venezuelan migrants that find ourselves in the shelters.'

The young man, who appears to make his living as a delivery worker, indicates that he and other migrants in his position are content due to the financial assistance that city of New York has extended.

'It already got to me, thank God. We are happy, happy because once again they are giving us the support we need,' he said.

Venezuelan migrant, who goes by @yimderoficial on TikTok, is being criticized for a video he uploaded Monday when he claimed that he received a $1,000 prepaid debit card that is part of a pilot program initiated by the administration of New York City Mayor Erik Adams to help migrants with their basic need expenses and said he has not paid rent for a year

A Venezuelan young man who illegally migrated to the United States and is now living in New York thanked the New York City government for giving him a $1,000 prepaid card and said that the money he earns working is spent to 'dress well, to eat well and to go out to see this wonderful country'

He then took a swipe at migrants who have gone on to settle down in the United States while they wait for their legal status to be resolved  a dragged out process that can take months at time.

'It's not my fault. It is not our fault that you have the mind to come to this country and immediately start with your responsibilities of paying rent, working and trying to make a lot of money,' he said.

'On the other hand, we simply and simply enjoy ourselves,' he added. 'We enjoy all the support and all the time since simply what we generate, if it is the case of generating in our work, is to dress well, to eat well and to go out to see this wonderful country.

'So, it's not my fault, your problems are not our fault. That everyday life and that life of unhappiness and that life of stress that you came to live in the United States, live it yourself. Since we Venezuela have never lived that way, have a good day.'

DailyMail.com reached out to @yimderoficial for comment.

The administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams is using $53 million in taxpayer money to fund a pilot program that provides prepaid cards to migrants so that they can cover the cost of their basic needs, such as groceries

The Venezuelan migrant, who is known on TikTok as @yimderoficial, said in the video that it is not his fault that migrants who come to the United States arrive with 'the mind to come to this country and immediately start with your responsibilities of paying rent, working and trying to make a lot of money

The Venezuelan man claims he has been living rent free for a year since migrating to the United States

The viral video, which has been shared by countless of social media accounts, drew frustration from his followers online.

One concerned user called on New York Governor Kathy Hochul to shut down the pilot program after the city funded it with $53 million.

'@Kathy Hochul .. you need to hear what this migrant is saying. This needs to Stop. A concern NYS tax payer,' @cafeymimosa wrote.

Another TikTok member, @Omarealvarado, indicated that the Venezuelan migrant should be required to pay the money back since he is employed.

'Yes, New York has given you so much time to work and pay that back to the tax payers us the people,' he wrote.

@Eliastraderbarber chimed in: 'It's not free, that's what we all give you. When we pay taxes. Take advantage while we support you.'

@Yimderoficial's claims come as Mayor Adams been criticized for spending New York City taxpayer money on migrants by handing out no-bid contracts.

Mayor Adams has been accused of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on migrants by doling out no-bid contracts.

City Comptroller Brad Lander made the claim in an audit of migrant-related contracts released on Tuesday, identifying 340 asylum-seeker contracts representing an estimated contract value of $5.7 billion.

According to the audit, most of those contracts were procured on an emergency basis, allowing the city to waive the usual competitive bidding requirements.

In one case, a vendor charged the city $185.63 per hour for shelter supervisors, totaling nearly $1,500 per eight-hour shift.

The audit noted that the city's migrant crisis has been ongoing since the spring of 2022, with Adams' state of emergency declaration coming in October of that year, and questions why contracts are still being procured on an emergency basis.

Last week, Adams announced his administration will cut an additional 10 percent in migrant spending and pause drastic budget cuts to other departments after he was slammed for giving migrants taxpayer funded debit cards.

The Big Apple has been inundated with an influx of migrants that have cost taxpayers $12.65 billion in 2023.

More than 170,000 migrants have arrived in the city since the spring of 2022, and the crisis is only deepening as they continue to be bussed from Texas where record numbers are entering.
The Georgia district attorney who stood down from the Laken Riley murder case amid criticism of her office once dismissed charges against a child rapist who was later convicted of the attack.

Democrat Athens-Clarke County DA Deborah Gonzalez announced she will appoint a special prosecutor to handle the murder case after several lawmakers and attorneys expressed concern about her ability to prosecute the suspect given her office's spotted history.

That history includes multiple violations of victim's rights under Georgia's Marsys Law, such as in the case of child rapist Michael Lareco Daniel, 43, who on Thursday was convicted on all counts for raping a 14-year-old relative three years ago.

The jury took just 45 minutes to make their decision after the four-day trial, and a judge sentenced the rapist to life life plus 50 years.

Last year, however, Gonzalez' office unjustly dropped rape, incest and child molestation charges against Daniel without notifying the victim and her family. Her office cited insufficient evidence to prosecute Daniel.

Democrat Athens-Clarke County DA Deborah Gonzalez announced she will appoint a special prosecutor to handle the murder case of Laken Riley following criticism of her office

Last year Gonzalez' office unjustly dropped rape, incest and child molestation charges against Michael Lareco Daniel, 43, who on Thursday was convicted on all counts

Georgia governor Brian Kemp, as well as lawmakers and lawyers, had raised concerns that Gonzalez would be unable to handle Laken Riley's high-profile case

During the Marsy's law hearing, the victim's mother said she informed the DA's office that Daniel continued e-mailing her even after a court order to not contact the victim and her family. However, the DA never informed police about the order violation and dropped the charges after a jury was already seated and the victim had expressed her desire to testify.

Gonzalez issued an apology after Western Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Eric Norris determined her office violated Marsy's Law.

Following the ruling detective Dara Deckert obtained additional warrants charging Daniel with with violating a family violence order and aggravated stalking, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

Daniel was also charged and this week convicted of cruelty to children and battery against the same young female against the same teen after he dragged and hit her on the head.

'Yesterday's conviction of Michael Daniel finally brought justice to my client's family that they were unable to achieve with Deborah Gonzalez,' attorney Kevin Epps told DailyMail.com on Friday.

'On behalf of my client, we would like to say how thankful we are to law enforcement and Randy McGinley, the appointed District Attorney, for their efforts in achieving this conviction.'

Attorney Kevin Epps, who represented the mother in the victim's rights case, told DailyMail.com that Daniel's conviction proves Gonzalez is not prepared to lead the district's criminal prosecutions

A letter sent by Superior Court judges in October 2022 expressed concern about the 'efficacy, preparation, and procedural readiness' of the assistant Das in court

Epps added that Daniel's conviction, as well as Gonzalez decision to step down from the Riley case, are further evidence that Gonzalez is not prepared to lead the district's criminal prosecutions.

He told DailyMail.com: 'To this date, Gonzalez personally has not tried a case in which she has been able to obtain a conviction on any misdemeanor or any felony.

'[She's] had three years to serve in the role of the district attorney. You're telling me that in your fourth year, and you've now told everybody you're not capable of doing this, and you need help from outside sources.

'It's an extreme step to ask for help from an outside source to prosecute this case in our backyard. Our people of the circuit did not elect the DA to go call a friend, or call a prosecutor.'

Georgia governor Brian Kemp, as well as lawmakers and lawyers, had raised concerns that Gonzalez would be unable to handle Laken Riley's high-profile case before the prosecutor stepped down.

A total of three victims have successfully filed cases against Gonzalez claiming her office did not inform them before their victimizers were offered plea deals, or when cases were dismissed, as the law requires.

Meanwhile , a letter sent by Superior Court judges in October 2022 expressed concern about the 'efficacy, preparation, and procedural readiness' of the assistant Das in court, citing a growing backlog of cases.

Jose Ibarra is accused of using an unknown object as a weapon to kill the 22-year-old Augusta University student

Riley's body was found the same day on campus in a forested area near Lake Herrick that includes trails popular with runners and walkers

Gonzalez, on her part, has claimed the criticism against her office is motivated by politics and aims to prevent her from implementing progressive reforms she ran on such as eliminating cash bail.

But Epps told DailyMail.com it is those progressive policies that led to Riley's murder by an undocumented immigrant in the first place.

'I have no doubt that the policies of the District Attorney's office have led to an individual to come into our community that escalated his previous criminal background to the extent that he killed an innocent young lady that was doing nothing more than jog in our community,' the Athens attorney said.

'When people say that blood is on her hands, blood is on her policies because she has failed to effectively protect the very people which she swore that she would do.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Gonzalez' office for comment on this story.

Sheila Ross will now oversee the case against Venezuela native Ibarra, 26, who is accused of using a mystery object to beat Riley to death on the UGA campus.

Ibarra was arrested at his apartment complex near the running trail close to where Riley's body was found last week.
A new survey has shown that nearly three in 10 children in Birmingham and Reading have missed out on their first-choice secondary school.

Today is National Offer Day where families across England and Wales receive prospective places for secondary school to begin this September.

An initial survey of the results, which was sent to councils across England, but excludes London, showed that local authorities have broadly received less applications overall, compared with 2023.

From 46 councils which provided comparable data, it shows that 26 have seen a rise in the proportion of pupils getting their first preference, 14 have seen a fall and six have seen no change.

A new survey has shown that nearly three in 10 children in Birmingham and Reading have missed out on their first-choice secondary school (stock image)

Among the areas where high proportions of pupils have obtained their first preference are East Riding, where 97% got their top choice, and Wiltshire, where 95% also were offered their first pick.

In comparison, in Birmingham, only 71% of children got their first preference, while in Reading 72% got their top choice.

All figures have been rounded to the nearest percentage.

The early data also showed 36 councils received less applications overall for secondary school places this year, compared with 2023, although 21 of these saw differences of less than 100.

School leaders' union NAHT continued to warn of oversubscription of schools.

General secretary Paul Whiteman said: 'This can be an anxious time for families. Choosing the right school and securing a place there is a huge moment in a child's life and not everyone will get their first choice.

'There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as there is a pupil population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools. Many schools are particularly oversubscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.

'The Government urgently needs to do more to address the recruitment and retention crisis schools are facing so that there are enough suitably qualified, specialist teachers to cope with the growing numbers of pupils moving through the system, as well as ensuring a co-ordinated approach to place planning.

'Until the Government creates a national strategy to guarantee there are enough school places for every child in England, the annual anxious wait for families uncertain whether they will get their preferred place will continue.'

Teach First CEO Russell Hobby also spoke of the need for investment in schools.

He said: 'Today is a hugely important day for children across the country when they find out which secondary school they'll be going to.

'With well-supported teachers, leaders and sufficient levels of funding, we can ensure that every community has a great secondary school for young people to attend.

'The sad truth is that today too many young people in low-income communities don't have the choice of a brilliant school nearby, which is why we must focus investment into schools and the services around them in these areas.'

Official data shows that last year, 82.6% of pupils were offered their first choice of secondary school - which was down slightly on 83.3% in 2022.

The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
This is the moment a shocked passer-by dialled 999 to reveal a woman had fallen from Arthur's Seat in Scotland, as revealed in the latest episode of a Channel 4 true crime murder show.

Fawziyah Javed was thrown 50ft off the cliff in September 2021 by Kashif Anwar after she had suffered a horrific campaign of abuse.

Ms Javed, who helped jail her partner from beyond the grave by collecting evidence of the abuse she was subjected to by Anwar, was told by him just months before: 'The sooner you're dead or the sooner you're out of my life, it'll be better.'

Anwar, from Leeds, was jailed for at least 20 years after being found guilty of the 31-year-old's murder during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Now new recordings reveal the moment a passer-by called the emergency services after Ms Javed was pushed off the cliff.

Kashif Anwar was jailed for a minimum of 20 years for murdering his wife Fawziyah Javed

Fawziyah Javed was thrown 50ft off Arthur's Seat by Kashif Anwar after a campaign of abuse

Kashif Anwar's mistreatment of his wife is now given fresh scrutiny by a Channel 4 doc

The footage features in a new Channel 4 documentary called The Push: Murder on The Cliff, which tells the story of the case.

The witness revisited the trauma of the ordeal when he later told a court: 'I heard a scream.'

The recording of his 999 call was revealed, in which he told emergency services operators: 'We're up on Arthur's seat near the top of it.

'We heard someone screaming and there's a guy here, he says his wife has fallen off of the edge, I think? The more vertical side.'

The new programme shows 29-year-old Anwar in court with his head bowed as the jury's verdict is returned and he is sentenced by judge Lord Beckett last April.

The footage also reveals the final words of Ms Javed to the passer-by before she died after falling off the Edinburgh landmark.

Daniyah Rafique, 24, managed to reach the dying employment lawyer on the side of the hill, where she was told: 'Don't let my husband near me, he pushed me.'

Javed died a short time later.

Alex Prentice, lead prosecutor in the case, said evidence collated by the victim in the months leading up to the murder was crucial to securing a conviction.

Javed had secretly recorded phone calls of Anwar threatening her and went to the police twice so that there was a record of his abusive behaviour, although she didn't want them to intervene at that point.

The second police report was made just days before Anwar killed the employment lawyer from Leeds on a weekend away to Edinburgh.

Anwar took her to the hillside beauty spot in the evening of September 2 and Javed died at 10.18pm that night.

A recording Javed made on her phone in April 2021 of two calls with her husband was played in court.

In one, Anwar rages at Javed: 'Who the f*** do you think you are?. You're a disease in everyone's life.'

Fawziyah Javed was thrown off Arthur's Seat (pictured) in September 2021

Fawziyah Javed, who helped jail her abusive husband thanks to recordings from beyond the grave, is pictured here on her graduation day

The new series was commissioned by Channel 4's head of documentaries Alisa Pomeroy and directed by Anna Hall (Pictured: The High Court in Edinburgh)

On the next call, the same evening, Javed pleads: 'Do I not have a say in how I want my life with you?'

'You're being a bitch,' her husband tells her. 'Why the f*** are you not listening to me? You're not a man, so start behaving like a woman.

'Why the f*** did you decide to ruin my f***ing life? I tell you one thing - you end this and I'll ruin yours. You know what, Fawziyah? I mean it.'

Speaking in the new Channel 4 documentary, which was granted access to the trial earlier this year, Mr Prentice added: 'Fawziyah collected a great deal of evidence which formed the pillar of the prosecution case.

'The evidence of what Fawziyah said was crucial. It was effectively Fawziyah speaking to the jury.

'I have prosecuted many murder cases over the course of my career but for a variety of reasons this case is extraordinary.'

Asked whether Anwar would have been found guilty without Fawziyah's evidence, he said: 'It would have been very difficult.'

A friend and legal colleague of Fawziyah called Ingrid added: 'She built this massive mountain of evidence culminating with giving a statement to the police on the verge of her dying.

'The fact she was a lawyer with all the legal training, I do think she must have thought about leaving this evidence behind. I remember feeling like she died like a lawyer.'

After the jury retired to consider its verdict, the programme shows Fawziyah's mother Yasmin Javed telling how she fears Anwar will be acquitted and kill again.

She said: 'He has got to be punished. He can't do this to another family, I can't have another family going through this.'

And in a subsequent interview with The Sunday Times of Scotland, she said: 'Fawziyah was articulate, clever, strong-minded - and very intelligent and financially independent. She had the full support of her parents.

'She had somewhere to go. A lot of women in these situations don't have anything like that.

'Fawziyah did and she was making plans to leave him, so if it can happen to her, it can happen to absolutely anybody. Nobody is immune from this.'

Fawziyah's mother Yasmin Javed (pictured) feared Anwar would be acquitted and kill again

Yasmin Javed (pictured) said Anwar 'had to be punished' for his actions

The mugshot of Kashif Anwar, 29, from Leeds

Another 999 call is also played in the documentary in which Anwar tells an operator his wife had slipped on Arthur's Seat and that he tried to save her.

He said: 'Fawziyah's just on the edge of the cliff, man. We both just slipped, I tried grabbing her arm and she fell.

'We both technically slipped and then I tried grabbing her arm and she went sideways.'

Det Insp Bob Williamson from Police Scotland, who was in charge of inquiries into Javed's fall, said deaths like hers were very difficult to investigate.

He said: 'When there is only one person who truly knows what happened and they choose to lie, the investigation then relies on largely circumstantial evidence.

'When there is only one person who truly knows what happened and they choose to lie, the investigation then relies on largely circumstantial evidence.'

Sentencing Anwar earlier this year, Lord Beckett said he had committed a 'wicked crime' and had showed no remorse.

He told him: 'She was willing to trust that you would keep her safe when she agreed to accompany you on your project to climb Arthur's Seat despite a fear of heights and being pregnant. She was entitled to expect your protection and support.

'As a result of your actions, Fawziyah Javed died far from home on a Scottish hillside and her loving family are left devastated and will never be the same again.

'Had she lived she would have given birth to your child some months later, but that life was also extinguished by you.'

The new series was commissioned by Channel 4's head of documentaries Alisa Pomeroy and directed by Anna Hall.

Ms Pomeroy said: 'To tell Fawziyah's story in this way, with her family bravely sharing what is an unimaginably painful time for them, is both a great privilege and a great responsibility. No woman should have to suffer an abusive relationship.

'Shining a light on this heart-breaking case is important for many reasons, and I hope that other women suffering in a similar way might find strength in seeing this film to make a lifesaving change in their own life.

'The access gained by Anna and the team at Candour to make this series is unique and I have no doubt they will honour Fawziyah's memory, showing how her killer was brought to justice.'

Alex Prentice (pictured) said Fawziyah's evidence was crucial to securing a conviction

Fawziyah Javed's father, shown in court, as his daughter's killer Fawziyah Javed was jailed

Ms Hall said: 'It's been such a privilege to see the process of justice played out minute by minute at Edinburgh High Court and it's been an utter privilege to work with Fawziyah's large and loving family who are destroyed by what has happened to her.

'I find myself making another film about a woman who was on the verge of leaving an abusive relationship  the most dangerous time for any woman  and I want to weep. How many more women will be killed at the hands of their abusive partners?

'But I know we will all learn so many vitally important things which helped to convict her abuser.'

The Push: Murder on the Cliff will air on Channel 4 this Sunday and Monday at 9pm.
Asda has announced it will invest 150million into giving more than 120,000 staff an 8.4% pay rise.

The UK's third largest supermarket chain said it will increase basic pay for retail workers to 12.04 an hour later this year, with those at stores inside the M25 receiving 13.21.

It is the latest supermarket group to hike pay rates ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage from 10.42 to 11.44 on April 1.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Asda is lagging behind its rivals in sales growth amid fierce competition among British supermarkets as its billionaire owners try to cut costs.

Asda currently pays an hourly rate of 11.11 to staff, with that increased to 12.28 within the M25.

Asda has announced plans to give more than 120,000 supermarket staff an 8.4% pay rise

It is the latest supermarket group to hike pay rates ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage

The supermarket said it will give staff an interim increase to the new national minimum wage in April before it launches the larger pay deal in July.

Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, is recommending members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on March 15.

Mohsin Issa, Asda co-owner, said: 'This record investment will see Asda become the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day.

'We want to be a company that people are proud to work for, which is why we are proposing increasing pay for retail and Express colleagues by more than 8% this year.'

The announcement comes as the supermarket group opens its 1,000th UK store in Stevenage, amid the rapid expansion of its convenience business following its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in 2021.

On Friday, Mr Issa also told the BBC that he plans to hand over the running of the supermarket group to a chief executive after completing a 'reset'.

The retailer, which was bought by the Issa brothers and private equity firm TDR Capital from US group Walmart in 2021, saw sales rise just 1.9 per cent in a year.

The growth was well behind that of its main rivals  with Sainsbury's at 7.6 per cent, Tesco at 6.2 per cent and Morrisons at 3.1 per cent, according to Kantar analysts.
Nuvance Health, the parent company of Danbury Hospital, is joining with Northwell Health, a 21-hospital system based in New York, subject to regulatory approval. Danbury Hospital is photographed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Danbury, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media Norwalk Hospital photographed on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Norwalk, Conn. It is part of the proposed Nuvance Health merger with Northwell. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Nuvance Health operates hospitals in western Connecticut hospitals, including New Milford Hospital. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

DANBURY  Experts shared mixed feelings about the plan by a New York-based medical group to acquire Nuvance Health, the parent company that runs Danbury and Norwalk hospitals, saying the move would likely improve the struggling local networks bottom line, but could drive up costs for patients and do little to impact overall health care quality.

The general consensus is that consolidations and acquisitions have the impact of driving up prices without improving quality, said Sean King, the states acting Healthcare Advocate.

Consolidated medical providers have more leverage to demand higher prices (from insurers) when they are the only providers in a geographic area, King said.

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Nuvance Healths leaders announced this week that the network had agreed to join Northwell Health, a health-care group based in New York. The deal would create a system with 28 hospitals and 99,000 employees thats valued at $20 billion. Nuvance currently operates seven hospitals in western Connecticut, including Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital, and in New York's Hudson Valley.

Its not surprising to see a merger," said Angela Mattie, a professor in Quinnipiac Universitys schools of business and medicine, as well as a former health-care executive.

"Its interesting that the geographic lines are continuing to be blurred. When I started years ago, Connecticut hospitals were Connecticut hospitals. New York hospitals were New York hospitals, she said.

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However, Mattie, unlike King, was more optimistic that the announced merger would result in better patient care.

Danbury Hospital can benefit from the intellectual, clinical and financial capital of the larger health-care system, Mattie said, referencing improved electronic medical records and executive level operations. Mergers and acquisitions are nothing new anymore. The small community hospital has gone the way of the dinosaur. The cost of delivering care has increased. Its almost impossible to not be part of a large health-care system.

This is a nationwide trend that has now begun a number of years ago," she said. "I do think we need to be cautious, cautiously optimistic. We need to do an evaluation of outcomes. We need to continue to raise a dialogue: Is our delivery system providing the best outcome for patients and at the lowest cost?

The jury is still out on whether patient outcomes have improved as a result of previous medical group consolidations, Mattie said. Society as a whole needs to push for greater accountability of those systems, she said.

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But when compared to other countries, the U.S. health-care system operates at the highest cost and has very poor outcomes for patients, Mattie said. We need to continue as a society to push the needle for best clinical outcomes and lowest costs, she said.

That means businesses using their purchasing power to demand accountability from the health-care system to lower its cost and increase quality.

King acknowledged his office has no approval authority in the Nuvance-Northwell merger. The states Office of Health Strategy is one of the entities whose approval is needed before the merger is complete. However, the Healthcare Advocate is still interested in the matter because of its role representing the voice of the consumer.

His office will keep an eye on the acquisition process as it develops," King said. "Like other folks we just learned about the acquisition. The parties havent even submitted documents and forms to the Office of Healthcare Strategy in order to get approval for it. We will keep an eye on the proceedings as they progress.

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Groups that represent medical providers say they are concerned about developing and providing accessible systems of care, and recruiting and retaining medical staff.

The Connecticut Hospital Association issued a statement in response to Hearst Connecticut Medias request for comment regarding the Nuvance-Northwell merger.

For the health of patients and their communities, hospitals are focused on developing and improving systems of care that are accessible and effective, the statement said. This includes working to ensure access to primary and preventive care along with a broad continuum of services and advanced infrastructure to better manage population health, improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care.

At a time when all hospitals are facing significant challenges, decision-making remains focused on how to best enable care providers to continue supporting their patients, workers, and communities, the statement said.

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Mark Thompson, an executive director for the Fairfield County Medical Association, said the local association is most concerned with recruiting and retaining medical staff, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and others, describing such staffing as a significant challenge the region faces.

We dont have enough physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists  hopefully this deal, this merger, will bring new clinical services and medical resources that will enhance patient care, Thompson said, expressing hope that such merger will bring with it medical resources that an area didnt have before.

Thompson described Nuvance, and in particular Norwalk Hospital and Danbury Hospital, as a health-care provider that is very good at providing in-person medical services. However, the reimbursements received for those services were too low, he said.

The chain was operating at a loss and they couldnt see their way out of it. You can only operate for so many years while in the red, Thompson said.

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Thompson said he is hopeful the merger will strengthen the systems ability to ability to recruit and keep medical doctors.

Its no secret its difficult to get newly minted physicians to move to Connecticut. Its a great place to live, but its a high rent area, Thompson said, saying new physicians are more likely to start in the profession in areas with lower costs of living.
Donald Trump was back in a Florida courthouse Friday while his lawyers pushed to delay his classified documents case with the political and legal calendar already in turmoil and a federal judge revealed some sympathy for Trump's busy personal docket.

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, will decide on the timing of the upcoming trial, after other legal developments this week raised the prospect that Trump's Stormy Daniels case might be the only one adjudicated before the November elections.

Special Counsel Jack Smith wants a trial to begin July 8. Trump's lawyers are pushing for August 9, even as they argue he can't get a 'fair trial' during this election year.

And in one early sign of which way things could go, Cannon during the hearing called 'some aspects of the government's proposed schedule unrealistic,' CNN reported.

'The one thing I think the parties agree on is that the case can be tried this summer,' said prosecutor Jay Bratt, who is pressing to keep things moving ahead.

The calendar is getting squeezed on both ends. Bratt told Judge Cannon that a Justice Department policy against taking major investigative steps in the 60 days before an election wouldn't apply to scheduling a trial date. 'We are in full compliance of that policy,' he said.

Trump lawyer Todd Blanche called it 'completely unfair' to have to prepare for trial while Trump is facing a trial in New York over 'hush' payments to former porn star Stormy Daniels. And he denied using the interweaving court schedules as part of a stall tactic. Cannon allowed that the argument was not 'unreasonable.'

'This is not a game  to play courts off each other like some have said,' said Blanche.

'As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution, which affords President Trump a Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceedings",' Trump's lawyers wrote in their latest filing.

They also cited 'a First Amendment right that he shares with the American people to engage in campaign speech.'

Trump arrived at a courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida for a key scheduling matter

Former President Donald Trump, who was in Texas Thursday, traveled to a Florida courthouse where critical scheduling decisions for his classified documents case are underway

Nevertheless, in response to Cannon's request that they propose a date, Trump's lawyers offered August 12.

It comes in a case where Trump was charged with having illegally held onto classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

The case is just one of the high stakes legal developments facing Trump Friday. At a Georgia hearing set to take place later Friday, a judge is preparing for arguments in a hearing where a bevy of defense lawyers will argue that Fulton County DA and former lover Nathanial Wade should be disqualified from the case.

That came after both Willis and Wade testified that their romantic relationship began after Wade was brought on as a special prosecutor for the case, which involves Trump and 18 codefendants. But their testimony is undermined by text messages from Wade's former law partner and divorce lawyer.

The Florida trial is currently scheduled for May 20.

When Trump lawyer Emil Bove hit at prosecutors over efforts to keep information under seal and vented that Trump 'should be preparing for Super Tuesday and campaigning,' the judge swatted down the political language, saying she wanted to 'talk about the merits.'

For Trump, despite his lawyers arguing for delay, a summer trial could provide the advantage of boxing out Trump's separate January 6 trial on hold in Washington, D.C. That would feature bombshell testimony related to Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results even while seeking reelection.

Smith, who is prosecuting the case, has proposed a July 8 start date that would begin the trial just a week before the Republican nominating convention, where Trump is expected to be named his party's standard-bearer.

Trump was indicted last year on 37 counts and is accused of illegally keeping national security information at his Florida club. The National Archives recovered 15 boxes of materials, and the FBI says it obtained numerous documents marked classified during a search of Trump's property which followed months of back-and-forth between Trump's lawyers and the government.

Trump was in the room throughout while dueling lawyers argued over a calendar that could help determine his political fate.

Trump has sought to delay all four criminal trials he faces until after the Nov. 5 presidential election. If he were to win, he would be in a position to shut down this case and another that was brought under federal law.

People gather as the motorcade of former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to the U.S. District Court Magistrate in Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S., March 1, 2024. Prosecutors want the trial to begin in July

A summer trial could put Trump's classified documents case right before the Republican National Convention in July, or into the fall

Trump supporters gathered outside the courthouse in Fort Pierce, Florida

That strategy has yielded results.

A trial had been due to start on Monday on federal charges that Trump illegally sought to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, but that has been delayed indefinitely while the U.S. Supreme Court considers his argument that he should not be prosecuted for actions he took as president.

Trump this month made a similar presidential immunity argument in the classified documents case.

Another trial stemming from his attempts to overturn the election is also in limbo as a Georgia judge considers whether to remove the prosecutor, who has admitted to having a romantic affair with a lawyer she hired for the case against Trump and others.

At this point, only one of Trump's pending criminal cases are certain to go to trial before November. On March 25, jury selection will begin in a New York state court where Trump faces charges of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star.

In the Florida case, Trump faces charges that he unlawfully kept classified information after leaving the White House in January 2021 and misled officials who tried to recover them.

Meanwhile, Trump has won a string of Republican state presidential nominating contests and could clinch the party's nomination this month.

The criminal cases pose political as well as legal risks for Trump, 77. According to Reuters/Ipsos polling, one in four Republicans and half of independent voters say they would not vote for Trump if he was convicted of a crime.

Trump is not the only former elected official to face accusations of improperly handling sensitive U.S. documents.

A federal prosecutor uncovered evidence that Biden knowingly took classified documents when he left the vice presidency in 2017, but opted not to bring criminal charges earlier this month, noting that he had cooperated with the investigation and a conviction would be difficult to obtain.
The White House is trying to protect President Joe Biden from pro-Palestinian protesters who continue to disrupt his campaign rallies to express their outrage for his support for Israel's war in Gaza.

The president's campaign and security teams are making Biden's event smaller, keeping exact details from the media until the last minute, and avoiding college campuses, according to NBC News.

Biden has been repeatedly interrupted by protesters on the campaign trail, who refer to him as 'Genocide Joe' for standing with Israel and Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu as they pursue their war in Gaza after the October 7th terrorist attacks organized by Hamas.

President Joe Biden speaks during an event on the campus of George Mason University in Manassas, Va

At least 14 different protesters interrupted a January event in Manassas, Virginia with Biden and First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

Protesters shouted 'Genocide Joe' and 'Ceasefire now or no vote' and blaming him for supporting war crimes in Gaza as the president tried to talk about the need for abortion rights.

'This is going to go on for a while. Theyve got this planned,' a frustrated Biden said after he was repeatedly interrupted.

In Michigan in February, pro-Palestinian protesters shouted 'f*** Joe Biden' and chanted 'Biden Biden cant you see, you are on a killing spree' when he was trying to meet with United Auto Workers.

While aides are trying to protect the president, smaller events further limit the president from engaging fully on the campaign trail.

Organizers for a massive fundraiser in New York City with President Biden and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton are keenly aware of the challenge of shutting out protestors, discussing whether each guest should be vetted by a private security company, according to NBC.

The difficulties with protesters were further illustrated in New York City when protesters stormed the lobby of the NBC studio where he taped an appearance with late-night comedian Seth Meyers.

Harris has also been subject to multiple interruptions from protesters at her campaign events, prompting similar measures.

Biden's approach to the ongoing war in Gaza has triggered many professionals in the Democratic party who believe Biden is siding too much with Israel, after he traveled to Israel and personally hugged Netanyahu after the attacks.

Former National Security Council spokesman for President Barack Obama Tommy Vietor criticized Biden for embracing a 'hug Bibi' approach with Netanyhu after the October 7th attacks.

'I've thought the approach was a mistake from the beginning... because I think incredibly poorly of Netanyahu. He's a corrupt, racist bad leader,' he said during a podcast interview.
Alec Baldwin was filmed using a gun as a pointing stick and opening fire after a director yelled cut on the set of Rust - the movie whose cinematographer he accidentally shot and killed.

Shocking footage broadcast in court Thursday showed the actor discharging a large prop weapon during the 2021 shoot, which was halted by the killing of Halyna Hutchins that year.

He was seen chatting to a crew member and gesticulating with the prop gun in one hand. In another scene shown to the court, Baldwin was seen firing the gun a few seconds after a director had loudly yelled 'cut.'

Someone could be heard exclaiming 'motherf****r' as he did so, although it's unclear why.

Jurors were shown a video shot during production of Rust in which Alec Baldwin pointed the gun at the crew and cast members including a 12-year-old boy between scenes

Meanwhile, the set was so unsafe that actors pointed guns at a 12-year-old boy who was part of the cast, a court heard today.

Jurors were shown a video shot during production of the movie in which an adult male actor pointed the gun at Patrick Scott McDermott between scenes.

That was a breach of safety rules made all the more disturbing because six live rounds were found on the set, the court heard.

The court also heard emotional testimony from a senior crew member who said that Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer, said I cant feel my legs after Baldwin accidentally shot her.

Jurors were told that Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his gun like a pointing stick at people and firing rounds after the director said cut

Baldwin, 65, who was the lead actor and a producer in the movie, will face a separate trial in July for involuntary manslaughter, which he denies

Hutchins, 42, a mother-of-one, was shot dead by Baldwin on the set of Rust in October 2021. Baldwin is due to go on trial in July

Baldwin is due to go on trial in July for involuntary manslaughter for the incident on the set of Rust in October 2021 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

He denies allegations of wrongdoing and has even denied shooting Hutchins, although the gun was in his hand when the fatal shooting took place.

The claims about safety emerged during the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, the armorer on the film.

She has denied the same charge as Baldwin, involuntary manslaughter. and like him faces 18 months in jail if found guilty.

Bryan Carpenter, a former police SWAT officer who now works as an armorer and firearms instructor for films and TV, told the court about a litany of safety failings during the filming of Rust, an indie Western.

The jury were shown footage shot behind the scenes which showed actors waving guns in the air and even at other cast members.

Carpenter said that they should have been pointed down at all times when they were not being used for a scene.

In one disturbing moment, an actor armed with a rifle pointed it straight at McDermott, who was 12 years old at the time and played the role of Lucas Hollister.

In another shot, the same actor pointed the gun at a mans back.

Police later identified six live rounds on the set of Rust, including two in the gun belts of some actors.

Carpenter said: You have to assume there may have been live rounds in any of these firearms.

Imagine the concern you have knowing at any point in time these guns could have a live round in it. That makes it more concerning when that shotgun is pointed at that mans back.

Baldwin is also seen firing multiple shots after the director yelled 'cut'

The video of Baldwin on the floor shows him demanding a second shot immediately after one that just finished. He is heard saying: Right away! Right away! Lets reload. Here we go, come on! We should have two guns, both reloading

Dave Halls, the first assistant director on Rust, broke down in tears while telling the jury how he was the last person apart from Gutierrez-Reed to check the gun before giving it to Baldwin

Another video showed Gutierrez-Reed holding a shotgun with its muzzle face up, pointing straight at her own face.

Asked how you could maintain proper gun safety on set when the armorer was handling guns in this way, Carpenter said: Its a very good question. It would be hard to implement.

The videos of Baldwin showed him emerging from a cabin and firing his pistol and then lying down on the floor, getting up and opening fire again.

Carpenter said they were unsafe because a camera by the cabin was well within the no-go zone and should have been 21ft away.

He criticized Baldwin and said he should not have pointed his gun right at the camera and should have cheated to the side by at least 4ft.

The video of Baldwin on the floor shows him demanding a second shot immediately after one that just finished.

He is heard saying: Right away! Right away! Lets reload. Here we go, come on! We should have two guns, both reloading.

Asked if that kind of conduct was typical, Carpenter said no.

He said: Hes (Baldwin) basically instructing the armorer how to do their job (saying) hurry up give it to me fast.

This is that moment you need to stop and say no Im not going to hurry up, Im going to slow down. This is creating an unsafe and nerve-wracking situation.

Always on any kind of live training exercise you dont want to put people in a nervous position Telling someone to rush with firearms is not normal, nor is it accepted.

Bryan Carpenter, a former police SWAT officer who now works as an armorer and firearms instructor for films and TV, told the court about a litany of safety failings during the filming of Rust

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said: 'When Mr. Baldwin behaved this way what is the responsibility on the part of Miss Gutierrez?'

The claims about safety emerged during the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 26, the armorer on the film

The footage shows Baldwin lying on the floor explaining to the crew how the next shot should go.

Prosecutor Kari Morrissey said: Hes doing what we saw previously in one of the videos, hes using the weapon as a pointing stick?

Morrissey said: When Mr. Baldwin behaved this way what is the responsibility on the part of Miss Gutierrez?

He replied: To intercede and correct any unsafe behavior. I would start off pulling him aside and saying lets be careful with that muzzle.

The clip showed that moments later, after the director yelled cut, Baldwin let loose another blank round.

Carpenter said that when somebody yells cut, nothing else should be fired.

He said: He went off script and fired for whatever reason he felt he needed to (open fire).

I would have said something to him afterwards. I would have asked him why he did it, was there something wrong with the firearm, why did the extra round go off at the end?

Baldwin could have used a Nerf gun in the scene where he accidentally shot Hutchins dead, Carpenter said.

Asked if there was no need to use a weapon in the scene, which was a rehearsal known as blocking, Carpenter said: Absolutely.

He said: There is absolutely no need for it unless the actor specifically requested it

You can in a blocking scene use a Nerf gun or your finger. Its to make sure everything is in the right spot its in.

Carpenter said that Baldwin insisting on using a weapon was a bit outside the norm.

Baldwin was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter but the allegations were dropped in April last year. He was dramatically charged again last month and pleaded not guilty

Gutierrez-Reed is also facing a charge of tampering with evidence after prosecutors claimed she gave another person a bag of cocaine after a police interview to prevent law enforcement from obtaining it

Dave Halls, the first assistant director on Rust, broke down in tears while telling the jury how he was the last person apart from Gutierrez-Reed to check the gun before giving it to Baldwin.

Halls said that Gutierrez-Reed opened up the gun and showed him it was empty.

She went towards Baldwin and then returned to his side and said she had put dummy rounds into the pistol.

Halls, who has worked on films like The Matrix Reloaded and Fargo, said: She opened up the latch to the revolver. I recall seeing three to four what I believed to be dummy rounds.

They had a very distinctive bright brass end to it, the bottom of the shell casing and all the primers were depressed, meaning this is a bullet that has been fired.

But Halls admitted that did not ask Gutierrez-Reed to empty out all of the bullets and check them individually as he should have done.

Morrissey, the prosecutor, said: Did you let that safety check pass?

Halls admitted: I did.

Before the trial Halls had pleaded no contest to a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and received six-month probation.

Asked why he did so, Halls said: I was negligent in checking the gun properly.

Halls became emotional as he described what happened next.

He said: Mr. Baldwin was pulling it (the gun) out, getting used to that action

He was in communication with Miss Hutchins about where to point the gun.

The gun went off.

It was so many thoughts (in my head). The idea it was a live round of ammunition that went off, it wasnt computing.

Halls admitted that did not ask Gutierrez-Reed to empty out all of the bullets and check them individually as he should have done

The jury was shown shocking images of cinematographer's Halyna Hutchins' the blood-stained shirt last week

Hutchins was 3ft away from Halls to his let and he said to her: Are you all right.

In tears, Halls said that Hutchins replied: I cant feel my legs.

Halls said that he went out of the church and demanded to see the bullets inside the gun.

Gutierrez-Reed opened it up and showed him five dummies and one shell casing that was completely different looking with a grey metallic base, Halls said.

It was a metallic grey color versus the bright brass coloring of the other rounds, he said.

Asked why he wanted to testify in court, Halls said: Its important to me that the truth be known that Halynas husband and son, her family, know the truth of what happened.

'Its important the cast and the crew, producers of Rust know what happened. And its important the motion picture industry knows what happens so that this never happens again.
2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley is in Washington, D.C., today to try and woo the few Republican voters in that nation's Democratic capital, which may be her best shot at beating Donald Trump in a primary contest.

Trump and Haley are vying for the district's coveted 19 Republican delegates, and it is a must-watch primary race that is likely to come down to the wire.

Republicans in the nation's capital are able to cast their ballot during the closed party-run primary at just one location - the Madison Hotel - from Friday through Sunday.

And D.C. may be Haley's best - and only - shot at beating Trump in any primary race.

In 2016, Trump finished at just 14 percent in a distant third place in D.C.'s GOP primary behind Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. And although he won in 2020 in an uncontested race, only about 2,800 Republicans voted.

The former South Carolina governor made a stop at the Madison Hotel Friday after polls opened to rally the district's roughly 23,000 registered Republicans to back her over Trump.

She cracked a joke at the top, teasing 'who says there are no Republicans in D.C.!' to laughs among the crowd of GOP voters living in a heavily Democratic district.

The former South Carolina governor made a stop at the Madison Hotel Friday afternoon after polls opened in a plea for the district's few Republicans to back her over Trump

2024 presidential hopeful Nikki Haley is in Washington, D.C., today to try and woo the district's few Republican voters in that nation's capital

The Trump campaign is signaling that the D.C. contest isn't as important as 15 states and one territory are set to vote on Super Tuesday

We need a president who unites America.



You can make your voice heard in this election! Its important you get out and VOTE.



The D.C. Presidential Primary will be held IN-PERSON ONLY on March 1, 2, and 3.



Find all the information you need to vote at https://t.co/Pr1NEUQIvo.  Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 28, 2024

The 2024 hopeful ran through her stump speech taking shots at the inefficiency of Congress, which landed well in the DC-based group, and at Biden and Trump's failures on the economy and immigration.

Haley urged voters to 'get loud' and gather friends and family to 'send a message' in the primary that 'we need to go in a new direction.'

'I can't believe this is the only place you can vote,' she quipped to laughter among the roughly 150 gathered in a tight space within the hotel.

'So y'all cannot leave until you vote,' she teased.

'This is the time we need to go in a new direction with a new generation a leader that can put in eight years, day and night. No negativity, no drama, no vendettas just hard core results for the American people. It's time.'

GOP voters in the crowd Friday said they are fed up with Trump and want Haley to restore a sense of dignity to the office of the president.

They loudly 'booed' whenever she mentioned Trump and were riled up over the former president's swipes at veterans and at his political rivals.

This is good news for Haley.

If she can successfully motivate more Republicans to come out and vote for her than Trump over the weekend, she has a shot at victory in the D.C. primary.

D.C. voter Dan Schubert told DailyMail.com that he's voting for Nikki because America needs a 'fresh face' in the White House after years of 'chaos' from Trump and Biden.

'We've got an alternative now to have a bright future with a smart, savvy experienced candidate that's going to take our country in a bright new direction,' he added.

Dan said the 'energy in the room' during her remarks proves that there is momentum for her and she has a 'tremendous chance to win this weekend.'

'I think if she wins in in the District of Columbia, I think Super Tuesday is gonna look a little different,' he added.

National security was an especially important issue to voters assembled, who cited it as their top concern.

Another D.C. voter, Laura, told DailyMail.com that Haley is efficient on the issue.

'A large part of the job of president is foreign relations,' she said. 'And I think [Haley] would do a better job than any of the other candidates who are still in the race.'

She also said it's time for a 'pro-life female president' in the White House.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is signaling that the D.C. contest isn't as important as 15 states and one territory are set to vote on Super Tuesday - upcoming on March 5.

There are 874 delegates up for grabs - 36 percent - of all delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

'Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over,' a Trump campaign spokesperson said.

'Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election.'

His campaign sent texts out to voters in the area urging them to head to the Madison Hotel and vote.

Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are the three left in the 2024 contest

The Haley campaign has been urging voters in the district to get to the hotel

Haley's campaign is not losing momentum - she also revealed earlier Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February alone despite losing every primary contest thus far

'Make sure you vote. President Trump needs You!' reads a text obtained by DailyMail.com.

'Don't delay. GET OUT AND VOTE FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP.'

The former South Carolina governor pledged to remain in the race until at least Super Tuesday.

Trump is up 81 percent to Haley's 18 percent in the most recent 2024 Republican primary poll conducted by Morning Consult.

But her campaign is not losing momentum - she also revealed earlier Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February alone despite losing every primary contest thus far.

The Haley campaign has been urging voters in the district to get to the hotel, saying in a text 'we can't afford four more years of Biden's failures or Trump's lack of focus.'

'You deserve better than a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump,' Haley states in the campaign text.

Other GOP candidates on the D.C. ballot include: David Stuckenberg, a businessman, Ryan Binkley, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Both early voting and absentee voting were not permitted in D.C.'s GOP primary.

According to the Associated Press, only two voters requested a military or overseas mail-in ballot in 2016.

If a candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote, they will take all 19 delegates, otherwise they will be divided up proportionally.

Polls in D.C. will close Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
An 11-year-old boy has died in a horror crash after his bike collided with a bin lorry during the morning school run.

The collision happened at around 8.20am today on Whitehouse Road in Edinburgh near to the junction with Braehead Road.

The boy, who was riding his bicycle at the time of the crash, was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin are aware.

His next of kin are aware, meanwhile the driver of the bin lorry was uninjured.

Inspector Andrew Thomson, of Police Scotland's Road Policing Unit, said: 'Our thoughts are very much with the boy's family and friends at this time.

Police attend to Whitehouse Road in Edinburgh after the fatal accident

A boy, 11, has died in a horror crash after his bike collided with a bin lorry

'Our enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances and I would urge anyone who may have information which has not yet been passed to Police to get in touch.

'I would also be keen to speak to anyone who may have dashcam or private CCTV footage from the area.

'Specially trained officers are supporting the family at this time.

'Anyone with information can call 101, quoting incident 0578 of 1 March, 2024.'
A mother was left in a five-day coma with bleeds on her brain after a chimney fell off a roof and hit her in the face as she walked along busy road.

Annabel Arger suffered horrendous injuries when bricks from the unsteady structure flew from a roof after she enjoyed an Italian meal with her family in April last year.

The 44-year-old was rushed to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary and was placed in an induced coma for five days during which she even flatlined before being nursed back to health.

The former Evri driver, of Sunderland, suffered four bleeds on her brain, a broken temple and bruising down her left shoulder and arm after the bizarre incident on Ocean Road, South Shields.

Annabel has also been left with two fragments of bricks still lodged in her skull, but says she is 'lucky to be alive' after marking a remarkable recovery.

Annabel Arger pictured in a neck brace after she was severely injured when a chimney fell on her as she was walking along a street

The 44-year-old was rushed to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary and was placed in an induced coma for five days

The chimney (on right) pictured with its top missing after falling onto Annabel

Annabel said: 'You wouldn't know what happened looking at me, I don't have any marks.

'I have some brick left in my head but you can't tell. I don't know how I have no scars.

'I was in a coma for five days and even flatlined while I was out. I was released from hospital after a month.

'I had staples in my head and bruises down my left side. I'm lucky to be alive.'

Shocking pictures show Annabel wearing a head brace with bruising on her right eye after she was released from hospital.

Annabel had eaten in a local Italian restaurant before suffering the horrifying ordeal.

Annabel said: 'I don't remember anything, I don't even remember paying the bill.

'When I woke up, my mother was next to me in hospital and told me I had been asleep for five days after being hit by a chimney.

Annabel had eaten in a local Italian restaurant before suffering the horrifying ordeal

A lawyer is currently working on Annabel's behalf to establish who is responsible for the upkeep of the faulty chimney (left)

'I was terrified and confused. I didn't understand what happened. I haven't been shopping or been out for a meal since it happened.

'Physically I have recovered, but there are other scars. I have pushed my friends and family away and mainly spend all of my time inside.

'It has destroyed my mental health. It was such a scary experience. The whole thing is bizarre but this could happen to anyone.

'I've made a recovery but I still get pain in my neck and I can't walk as well as I used to.'

A lawyer is currently working on Annabel's behalf to establish who is responsible for the upkeep of the chimney.

Emergency services attended the scene and closed the road for four hours.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: 'At 4.20pm on Saturday we were alerted by the ambulance service to a report of concern for the welfare of a woman on Ocean Road in South Shields.

'Emergency services attended and found a woman who had suffered a serious head injury after a chimney had fallen from a property.'
A speeding car drove into a pedestrian crossing in the city of Szczecin in northwestern Poland, injuring at least 19 people including three children.

According to preliminary findings, the car drove into the crowd on Friday in downtown Szczecin before crashing into three other vehicles.

The collision occurred at a busy intersection at the start of the rush hour, at around 4pm local time.

It took place at Rodla Square, beside a tram stop, local media reports.

'The person who caused the accident has been detained,' governor Adam Rudawski told reporters, without providing additional details.

Police spokesman Pawel Pankau said the driver was a 33-year-old Szczecin resident, adding: 'This was not a terrorist act.'

The scene of the incident. According to preliminary findings, the speeding car drove into the crowd of pedestrians in downtown Szczecin, northwestern Poland, before crashing into three other vehicles

A video was posted on X purporting to show the injured after the incident in Szczecin, a city near the German border. People can be seen lying on the pavement, some in twisted positions and being cared for by their loved ones

The driver fled at Rodla Square in the city centre, before crashing the car several streets away and fleeing again, firefighter Tomasz Kubiak told Polish national broadcaster TVP.

Pankau said there was no immediate indication that the suspect had been drinking alcohol or consuming drugs.

Early investigations into the incident 'showed that this was a person who has been undergoing psychiatric treatment for the past four years,' police deputy superintendent Marek Jaszczan told reporters.

One of the witnesses told TVP that the car involved was a burgundy Ford.

A video was posted on X purporting to show the injured following the incident, with people lying on the pavement, some in twisted positions and being cared for by their loved ones.

Other footage shows emergency crews providing support to people lying on the road and on the tramlines.

Images circulating on social media appear to show at least three heavily damaged cars crumpled together. Another shows a driver in a burgundy car that has crashed into the front of a vehicle.

Several ambulances were also pictured at the pedestrian crossing, with some people being loaded onto stretchers and onlookers still present at the scene.

Rudawski said that all of the injured have now been taken to hospitals.
Salesforce tycoon Marc Benioff told a journalist investigating his purchases of swaths of land in Hawaii that he had been keeping an eye on her and her family.

NPR reporter Dara Kerr had been looking into land purchases made by the 59 year-old billionaire, who has cultivated a friendly, cuddly image, in the small mountain town of Waimea.

In a piece titled 'A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why', Kerr explored local thoughts on the sales and spoke to Benioff.

During a second interview about the land he bought, Kerr wrote that Benioff, who is worth around $10.3 bn, that he had been keeping an eye on her and her family.

In her article, Kerr wrote that the comments left her disconcerted, saying: '[Benioff] called me and demanded to know the title of this piece.

'During that call, he also mentioned he knew the exact area where I was staying.

'Unnerved, I asked how he knew, and he said, 'It's my job. You have a job and I have a job.' During the interview, he brings up more personal details about me and my family.'

Kerr claims that Benioff, seen here in 2019, had brought up personal details about her and her family after she started investigating land purchases he made

In a piece titled 'A tech billionaire is quietly buying up land in Hawaii. No one knows why', Kerr, seen here, explored the sales and spoke to Benioff

Kerr added: 'I leave the meeting disconcerted and still unclear about what exactly is happening with his land in Waimea.'

According to her report, Benioff had also made contact with a colleague of hers at NPR and asked them for intel on the story.

Kerr said that Benioff had reached out to the colleague with an 'out-of-the-blue text' after word got out that she had been poking around town.

The reporter's grandmother grew up in Hawaii and she had lived there as a child, having first heard of the rumors surrounding Benioff when she visited last year.

Deciding to dig further, Kerr found that he had bought at least 38 parcels of land through at least six anonymous companies since 2000.

Kerr traced the origins of those companies to a single P.O. box and Palo Alto based agent, with Kerr saying Benioff did not dispute any of her findings.

Their first interview together took place on video call in December of last year, after which Kerr said Benioff started 'constantly' texting her about his philanthropy.

Kerr says that in these texts he looks to shift her focus to his charitable work, and adds her to several group threads with people who know about such work.

Kerr questioned him about the anonymous companies which she said causes things to 'take a turn'.

Kerr had been looking into land purchases made by the billionaire in the small mountain town of Waimea, seen here

Benioff seen here during a panel session on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2020

Kerr writes: 'He starts speaking more quickly and fidgets with a piece of paper in his hand.

'He's reluctant to go through the holdings, and his adviser on the Zoom call jumps in to say we can discuss later.'

Leaving the interview, Kerr says she feels 'disconcerted' with it 'still unclear about what exactly is happening with his land in Waimea'.

Kerr also explained an interaction she and her photographer had while taking pictures of the town and his projects.

Appearing at a facility he described as a community center, Kerr says the two were confronted by one of his employees.

Benioff then text the reporter saying the employee had thought they had been 'snooping' and said he would escalate it to NPR CEO John Lansing.

Speaking with longtime residents, Kerr said they had concerns about the land buys over fears they would cause higher housing costs and price people out.

Tim Richards, a state senator and sixth-generation resident whose family has lived in the Waimea area for the last 100 years, said: 'We saw an influx of people coming from the mainland who wanted to get someplace that was, I guess, more isolated.

'We saw a huge uptick of house sales and huge uptick of median price. And that poses a problem. What young couple can afford that? Seriously. The answer is nobody.'

Speaking with longtime residents of Waimea, seen here, Kerr said they had concerns about the land buys over fears they would cause higher housing costs and price people out

Kerr says she feels 'disconcerted' with it 'still unclear about what exactly is happening with his land in Waimea'

One resident, Mike Donoho, said: 'When there's not clarity or disclosure about what the intentions are of someone purchasing a property or multiple properties, then there's that level of uncertainty. And with those gaps of information, people are filling in the blanks.'

Benioffs first purchase in Hawaii was a $24.5 million piece of land near a Marriott beach resort, according to NPR.

The article also said he then spent 15 years buying up coastal properties on resorts with a combined value of $100 million.

The investigation found that in some cases, he would pay more than the current market value for the properties, according to public records seen by NPR.

Benioff has long spoke of his love for Hawaii, with the concept of ohana forming part of the Salesforce corporate identity.

The word, which means family in Hawaiian, is used in business meetings, on company blogs, and on social media. Workers also have been known to wear Aloha shirts on Friday.

Benioff's persona isn't that of the typical billionaire, surrounding himself with friends including author Deepak Chopra, and Bono. One of his books is titled Compassionate Capitalism.

Benioff owns Time Magazine and has been at the helm of cloud-based software company Salesforce for 25 years.

In a 2006 report by Valleywag, they reported he had bragged about having a private investigator look into former Wall Street Journal reporter Pui-Wing Tam.

DailyMail.com has approached Benioff for comment.
Despite crackdowns on parking and bar closures, spring breakers are set to flock to Miami in droves, with many undeterred over the newly imposed restrictions.

After news broke of the spring break restrictions in South Beach, young people took to TikTok to share how they will work around them - claiming Miami is still the hot place to be.

Florida officials announced the plans to impose some of the toughest restrictions at Miami Beach earlier this month - including parking fees reaching $100 and early bar closures at 6pm - to prevent a repeat of the chaos during Spring Break 2023.

Now, the spring break enthusiasts are going viral for expressing defiance against the new rules, with one TikTok user saying, Curfews aren't a problem, we get lit as soon as we wake up!

Similar messages echoed across social media platforms, with users claiming Miami's Spring Break is not canceled.

'Everybody always jackin that Miami spring break canceled, one TikTok user said, emphasizing that South Beach isn't the sole party spot in the city.

'Y'all must've forgot about Biscayne. Biscayne Bay can get lit too - so South Beach isn't the only thing in Miami.'

'Like south beach is not the only thing in Miami. All they doing is putting $100 parking fee and closing the garages. Like if you taken an Uber, that ain't even a problem.'

'Then they talking about closing the bars at 6pm,' he continued. 'I don't know where y'all from but me and my homies get lit as soon as we wake up. Feel me?'

'So it's like we already gone get lit and if you go to the beach in time y'all can go find whatever vibes you are looking for and if you have a sanctioned airbnb or hotel that's where the party gone be at.'

'I'm paying some decent bread for my telly so I know there going to be some lit people at my telly at the pool and all that other stuff.'

Another user, seemingly unbothered, said: 'They tryna cancel Miami spring break with curfews and restrictions like we ain't the same state that was swanging while covid was going on.'

'Never cared about them cancelling Miami spring break my ticket already booked bookie,' another user posted in a similar atttitude.

In a more defiant tone, one video was captioned: 'Spring break Miami got cancelled so we bout to tear them streets up.'

Adding humor to the situation, one user joked, 'Cancels spring break. Me,' while humorously sharing a video of a man hiding while riding on the side of a jet ski and striking a pose.

Florida officials announced the plans to impose some of the toughest restrictions at Miami Beach earlier this month, to prevent a repeat of the chaos during Spring Break 2023, which resulted in two fatal shootings and hundreds of arrests.

The Miami Beach City Commission said that new rules will empower the city to mandate curfews and beach closures if needed.

Commissioner David Suarez said: 'We are shutting it down. We really mean it this time. We are not taking half-measures. We really are doing everything we can to end Spring Break.'

Commissioner Alex Fernandez delivered a similar strong message, saying: 'We're shutting the door on spring break once and for all. Lawlessness will not be tolerated in Miami Beach.

The decision follows the tumultuous Spring Break in 2023, marked by two fatal shootings, nearly 500 arrests, the seize of more than 100 firearms, and numerous police clashes and brawls.

Visitors and residents can expect a significant police presence and robust enforcement of open container and noise laws during the peak spring break season in mid-March.

Officials in Miami Beach, Florida, are set to impose some of the toughest rules to prevent a repeat of the chaos during the spring break of 2023, which resulted in two fatal shootings and hundreds of arrests. Pictured: Commissioner David Suarez

The decision follows the tumultuous spring break in 2023, marked by two fatal shootings, nearly 500 arrests, the seize of more than 100 firearms, and numerous police clashes and brawls. Pictured: a handcuffed man sits on the ground in Miami Beach on March 19, 2023

Additionally, curfews could be implemented over two weekends of March 7-10 and March 14-17 is necessary.

Other measures include bag checks, restricted beach access, DUI checkpoints, license plate readers, liquor stores shutting at 8pm and heightened police enforcement for drug possession and violent behavior.

Towing fee will double to $516, four parking garages in South Beach will be shut down, and sidewalk cafes on famed Ocean Drive would be closed if necessary.

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said this week: 'We need to correct these issues, we need to do it now and we're going to be very proactive. And if somebody thinks we're doing too much, well, that means we're probably doing it right."

Law enforcement authorities also vowed to crackdown the wild party season, as Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones assured public during a spring break press conference on February 15.

Meiner said: 'The measures I proposed approved by our Commission will ensure that our residents, businesses, and visitors are safe and thrive during Spring Break.

The Miami Beach City Commission announced earlier this month that new rules will empower the city to mandate curfews and beach closures if needed. Pictured: a crowd of spring breakers on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach on March 19, 2023

Law enforcement authorities also vowed to crackdown the wild party season, as Miami Beach Police Chief Wayne Jones assured public during a spring break press conference on February 15. Pictured: crowds in Miami Beach after the two fatal shootings in March 2023

'Everyone is invited to enjoy the beauty and hospitality of our City. But we are a law and order City and we will enforce our laws all year round, including during March's Spring Break.'

Last year, Miami Beach declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew on March 19 after two shootings over the weekend left two people dead.

The city banned revelers from being outdoors between March 19 and 20 due to the shootings and 'excessively large and unruly crowds.'

South Georgia State College student Jordan Idahosa, 21, was shot and killed on the Friday night in the South Beach neighborhood of the city.

The police said in their report that a suspect was in custody, and four firearms had been seized.

A second person was shot just over 24 hours later, dying at 3am on Sunday in a second shooting, four blocks away from where Idahosa was killed.

Dontavious Polk, 24, from Fort Lauderdale, was arrested for the fatal shooting later on Sunday, and charged with first-degree murder and held overnight, according to an arrest report.

But these incidents did not deter partygoers as they were seen jumping on a car, brawling in streets and even trashing a slushy shop on the main drag despite the city instituting a curfew on Sunday night.

One reveler, Ronny, 22, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania told the Miami Herald that she was just a few feet away from the gunfire that erupted on Seventh Street and Ocean Drive.

'No one is trying to be dodging bullets on vacation,' she said as she returned to the scene of the crime to continue raging.

'Im always having fun regardless, but yall have to chill with that shooting stuff,' she said, adding that some of her peers are 'down here trying to recreate 'Scarface.'

More than 100 spring breakers were gathered on the beach nearby where the shooting occurred one day later. Drinking, dancing and hanging out as Afro Beats and Billboard hits.

In 2022, the city imposed a midnight curfew following two shootings also on Ocean Drive.

The year before, there were about 1,000 arrests and dozens of guns confiscated during a rowdy spring break that led Miami Beach officials to take steps aimed at calming the situation.

Talking about this year's laws, Jones said: 'If you are looking to cause problems, do not come to Miami Beach.

'We are fully prepared to ensure our city is safe for everyone. Our message is simple: we want people to enjoy their time here, but will not tolerate the behavior we have witnessed in the past few years.'
Gillis' boyfriend says he will 'never be able to forgive' Monahan for killing her

He has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after the defense asked for leniency

A man who shot dead a young woman who turned up in his rural driveway in upstate New York by accident has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

Kevin Monahan, 66, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death last April of Kaylin Gillis, 20.

She was riding in a convoy of two cars and a motorcycle that was trying to leave after pulling into Monahan's long, winding driveway while looking for a party at another person's house in the town of Hebron.

Prosecutors asked the judge on Friday for the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, with additional time for tampering with the murder weapon.

Monahan testified in his own defense that he tripped when he fired the fatal shot, after previously firing a warning shot. Prosecutors countered that he 'acted out of anger'

Monahan is standing trial over the April 2023 fatal shooting of Kaylin Gillis, 20, who was shot in the neck after a car she was riding in accidentally drove down the gunman's driveway

Gillis (right) had been riding in the car with her boyfriend and two friends when they got lost down Monahan's winding dirt road. He says he will 'never be able to forgive' Monahan for killing her

The defense asked for leniency. Monahan declined an opportunity to speak.

'I think it's important for people to know that it's not ok to shoot people and have them killed for turning down your driveway,' Judge Adam Michelini said.

Apart from the wider deterrent effect, Michelini said it's important that Monahan remain behind bars rather than be free to harm more people.

On the night of Gillis' death, the group of friends had realized their error and had turned around when Monahan fired a second shot, striking Gillis in the neck as she sat in the front passenger seat of an SUV driven by her boyfriend.

Monahan maintained the fatal shot was an accident and that the shotgun was defective. He also said he believed the house about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Albany was 'under siege' by intruders, and said he came out to fire a warning shot to try to scare the group away while his wife hid inside.

Prosecutors argued that Monahan was motivated by an irrational rage toward trespassers.

The father of Gilis previously told of his grief at losing his daughter so suddenly, and said he hopes Monahan 'dies in jail'

A NYS Court Police officer to holds Kevin Monahan's shotgun during summations in Monahan's murder trial

According to Zillow, Kevin Monahan's home was built in 2004 and is estimated to cost $310,000, it is only accessible through an unpaved road

Kaylin Gillis' father Andrew addressed the media after Monahan's first court appearance in April, where he said he hoped the shooter 'dies in jail'

A jury deliberated for less then two hours before returning guilty verdicts in January against Monahan for murder, reckless endangerment and tampering with physical evidence.

Gillis' father, Andrew Gillis, has described his daughter as someone who loved animals and had dreams of becoming a marine biologist or a veterinarian.

'Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that that shes no longer here. We will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter,' Gillis said in court Friday before Monahan's sentence was announced.

Her boyfriend, Blake Walsh, was behind the wheel of the SUV that night. 'I will never be able to forgive you,' he told Monahan, who looked on with a stony face.
Fotis Dulos' net worth dwindled by the time he was charged with his estranged wife's murder in January 2020 and died by suicide three weeks later, records show. Mark Mirko / Associated Press

FARMINGTON  The estate of Fotis Dulos was closed in October with his five children only receiving a few personal items from the contents of a safe deposit box, probate documents show.

The once successful high-end builder with his company The Fore Group died with more debt than assets, leaving the remaining $323,019.48 to pay the bevy of attorneys who worked for nearly four years to settle his estate.

Fotis Dulos was accused of attacking his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos., in her New Canaan home after she returned from dropping off their five children at school on May 24, 2019. He died by suicide in January 2020, three weeks after he was charged with his wife's murder.

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On March 1, 2024, his former girlfriend Michelle Troconis was found guilty of conspiring to kill Jennifer Dulos, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence related to the crime following an eight-week trial.

When Jennifer Dulos vanished, she had been embroiled in a two-year divorce and custody battle with her husband. Her mother, Gloria Farber, was also suing him for $2.5 million over what she said were unpaid business loans.

Court documents and published reports showed Fotis Dulos' net worth had dwindled in 2019 as the costs increased to defend against the criminal and civil court cases he was facing.

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"All of The Fore Group properties were heavily leveraged with secured debt, and the debt was secured by Mr. Dulos personally," according to an affidavit provided to the probate court in August. "At the time of his death, virtually all the properties were in foreclosure, and by late spring 2020, all of the properties were in foreclosure."

Although several had the potential for making a profit, none did because of the market conditions, which resulted in no money coming into the estate, his attorney said in the affidavit.

At one point, Fotis Dulos was a successful and award-winning high-end developer with his company The Fore Group. But after his father-in-law Hilliard Farber died in 2017, the Farber family stopped bankrolling his building ventures and his wife filed for divorce. He began struggling financially, apparently trying to leverage one property to pay for others, according to court documents and published accounts.

Farber won her lawsuit six months after Fotis Dulos died in January 2020.

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In preparation for the lawsuit, his attorney William Murray claimed in August 2019 that "incendiary" court filings on behalf of Farber had derailed his client's business, leaving him $7 million in debt with assets of $323,000.

At one point, attorney Richard Weinstein, representing Farber, contended that Fotis Dulos had no idea who was paying for his criminal defense. Weinstein claimed money was being channeled to a New York attorney from Greece where Fotis Dulos' family and friends lived.

Even the 10,000-square-foot home he built for his family in Farmington was in foreclosure since he failed to pay the bank or Farber who had picked up the mortgage. The home sold in 2021 for about $600,000 less than the $2.5 million appraisal. Several other properties that Fotis Dulos was developing at the time of his death went into foreclosure, with their sales barely covering the cost of the loans he had taken out, court documents showed.

Although Farber foreclosed on the home, she didn't make a profit, probate documents showed. By the time Fotis Dulos died, there was $195,000 in an individual retirement account and an $8,000 bank account, his attorney said. He was able to secure an additional $137,000 for the estate by hiring a mediator to deal with criminal defense attorney Norm Pattis, who had taken a $250,000 retainer from Fotis Dulos days before he died.

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Pattis agreed to not speak about the murder case for 40 years in addition to paying the $137,000 back to the estate.

Anna Curry, who Fotis Dulos called his "best friend" in documents filed in court, provided the money to bond him out after he was charged with murder.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court, Curry, a North Carolina resident who was living with Fotis Dulos when he was arrested, alleged that she is owed the $147,000 deposit she gave 24/7 Bail Bonds, an agent of Palmetto Surety Co., since the firm moved to withdraw the $6 million bond on Jan. 28, 2020.

The lawsuit is still pending with Curry seeking a return of the deposit she put up before Fotis Dulos tried to take his own life and died two days later in January 2020. The bail bond company contends the bond can't be returned because he died, forfeiting the money.

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Gavin Newsom has hit back at claims surrounding Panera Bread and whether the bakery-cafe restaurant chain will be exempt from California's new minimum wage law.

Under the new law, which is effective on April 1, the state's fast-food companies will have to increase their workers' minimum wages to $20 an hour.

According to official text, the new law doesn't recognize businesses that operate 'a bakery that produces for sale on the establishment's premises bread' as fast food.

Based on this clause, reports swirled that the exemption allowed billionaire Panera Bread franchisee owner, Greg Flynn, to get out of paying his employees the hiked wage.

But now, the Democratic leader's administration has denied all such claims and said that all Panera Bread restaurants will have to abide to the law.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has hit back on reports about fast-food chain Panera Bread being exempt from the state's new minimum wage law

Bloomberg News reported that the bakery exemption allowed billionaire Panera Bread franchisee owner, Greg Flynn escape from paying his employees the new set wage.

The Democratic leader's administration has denied all such claims and said that all Panera Bread restaurants will have to abide to the law.

Spokesperson Alex Stack from Newsom's government confirmed the denial and said: 'The governor never met with Flynn about this bill and this story is absurd. Our legal team has reviewed it and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law.'

Flynn said in a recent statement that while he opposed the initial legislation and suggested fast casual restaurants like bakeries to be excluded 'if the intent of the bill was to address alleged labor code violations in fast food restaurants', he never asked for 'an exemption or special considerations'.

The billionaire also said he met with Newsom's staff about the bill alongside other restaurant owners but did not speak to the governor about it.

Flynn's company owns 24 Panera Bread restaurants in California and has reportedly donated over $220,000 to Newsom's political campaigns since 2017.

But the denials from both Newsom and Flynn have not been enough as Republican leaders in the state are now criticizing Newsom for his connection to Flynn.

Republican state Senate leader Brian Jones criticized Flynn's monetary contributions and said: 'Put simply, campaign contributions should not buy carveouts in legislation. It's unacceptable.'

Assemblyman Joe Patterson commented: 'Friends of the party in power get exemptions, and thats not right.

'If this is a bad law for one company, then its probably a bad law for other companies.'

Assembly member James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the assembly, requested the Attorney General, Rob Bonta, or another entity responsible for investigating conflicts of interest to look into the matter.

While Newsom's administration has clarified that Panera Bread will also have to follow the new law, it has not clarified why this clause was added in the first place

Flynn's company owns 24 Panera Bread restaurants in California and has reportedly donated over $220,000 to Newsom's political campaigns since 2017

But the denials from both Newsom and Flynn have not been enough as Republican leaders in the state are now criticizing Newsom for his connection to Flynn

California's fast food workers earn an average of $16.60 per hour, or just over $34,000 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That's below the California Poverty Measure for a family of four, a statistic calculated by the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Equality that accounts for housing costs and publicly-funded benefits.

In California, most fast food workers are over 18 and the main providers for their family, according to Enrique Lopezlira, director of the University of California-Berkeley Labor Centers Low Wage Work Program.

The law also creates a fast food council that has the power to increase that wage each year through 2029 by 3.5 percent or the change in averages for the US Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, whichever is lower.

The Flynn Group and Flynn Properties operate 2,600 restaurants and fitness centers across 44 states, according to the company's website.
Ever since she moved to London more than 20 years ago, Venice Allan has made a point of carving out time to visit a place she finds brings her particular pleasure.

It means a lengthy trek across the city on the Tube from her home in south London. But such is the magical pull of Kenwood Ladies Pond, a natural swimming lake on Hampstead Heath, that she goes as often as she can.

Its the most beautiful, special place, says the 48-year-old jewellery designer. It really feels like an oasis.

Many hundreds of other women have long felt the same, among them local celebrities including Helena Bonham-Carter and Emma Thompson, who live in and around this fashionable  and achingly liberal  part of London.

And certainly, for decades the Ladies Pond has been a unique space. Designated women only in 1926, for nearly a century it has been billed as a place of refuge and security for women of all ages, something underlined on the sign at the entrance which makes clear that men  who have access to their own male-only pond, as well as a mixed pond nearby  are not allowed beyond this point.

You might think that message could not be clearer  except, of course, that the definition of woman has latterly become a vexatious, highly contentious issue.

So perhaps it was only a matter of time before it reached the once tranquil setting of the Ladies' Pond, which now finds itself mired in an ongoing and increasingly ugly row.

On one side are 11 of the 12-strong committee members of the Kenwood Ladies' Pond Association (KLPA)  backed, it must be said, by a sizeable contingent of other regular swimmers  who have declared that anyone who identifies as a woman has a right to swim there and that to suggest otherwise is a breach of the 2010 Equality Act.

The sign at the entrance of the Hampstead pond makes clear that men  who have access to their own male-only pond nearby  are not allowed 'beyond this point'

The once tranquil setting of the Ladies' Pond now finds itself mired in an increasingly ugly row over female-only spaces

On the other is an equally large band who believe that the committee has become overtly politicised and captured by gender ideology, and is trying to strong-arm those who do not subscribe to their views.

The latter insist that the committee is ignoring the wishes of members who want the pond to become a female-only space again.

They also accuse the committee of stoking division between women who swim all-year round and those who are unable, or unwilling, to swim every week. They point to a failed attempt by the committee to establish a form of pond apartheid which would have limited the rights of fair-weather swimmers to have any say in Association matters.

The row is set to come to a head this Sunday at the ponds annual general meeting, at which one committee member, Janice Williams, has submitted a resolution asking that the organisation recognise that the definition of woman can - in this context - only apply to those born biologically female.

There has been some wrangling over whether the resolution can be aired at all: co-chairs Pauline Latchem and Beth Feresten have made clear the proposal may be unlawful, sending a note to AGM members reading Pending further legal advice, the amendment may be removed from consideration at the AGM  something Janice labels nonsensical.

How can a vote be unlawful? she asks. It is a cornerstone of the democratic process.

It is certainly all a very long way from the genteel ponds inception. Along with the other bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath, the Ladies Pond was originally created in the 17th and 18th centuries as one of the reservoirs to meet Londons growing demand for water.

Some were repurposed for swimming, used mainly by male swimmers, until in 1926, the Kenwood Pond was designated as women-only.

Over the years thousands have visited, enjoying the magic of swimming in fresh water in the heart of a busy urban capital.

You walk down the pedestrian lane to get to the entrance, and it is like being in the heart of the countryside,' says Sally Kennedy, a 46-year-old teacher and devoted swimmer who loves the pond so much that she moved to north London from her native east London ten years ago so she could be nearer to it.

Three years ago, the writer Esther Freud wrote of the way it unified women across the social and age spectrum. At the height of summer, as many as 2,000 women of every shape and size, all classes, all ages, from across London, across the country, even from abroad, arrive to swim and sunbathe on the meadow, she wrote in an article for Vogue magazine.

In more recent times, however, controversy has started to lap round the edges of this once untroubled space. In 1989, the running of Hampstead Heath and its ponds came under the control of the City of London Corporation which, in 2005, to the dismay of many, instigated a self-policed charging system suggesting a contribution of between 1 and 2 be made by swimmers each time they visited.

Many believed this went against the fundamental ethos of the pond, and protests followed, but the City of London went on to make the charges compulsory in March 2020. Entry is now strictly controlled by barriers and a gate, a turn of events that is the subject of an ongoing legal challenge.

But this controversy pales when set against the backdrop of todays increasingly toxic row about access, which dates back to 2019 when the City of London adopted a new policy to allow trans women (biological males who identify as women) to use the pond, citing the Equality Act.

The policy was overseen by Edward Lord, a City of London councillor and diversity champion (pronouns they/them) who launched an online survey consultation on whether trans people should be able to access services relating to their gender identity.

On paper the answer was an overwhelming yes, as 12,390 had voted in favour of transgender users, and 8,610 against  until it emerged that nearly 19,000 other responses had been disregarded as users were deemed to have not answered the survey in full.

Either way, Lord was very clear on the issue: It shouldnt be a debate, they declared. Trans women are women; trans men are men. The self-ID policy was duly ushered in, which allowed any male to access the Ladies Pond merely on their claim to be a woman.

A series of protests followed, including a demonstration during which around 20 women identified as men next to the mens pool of Hampstead Heath.

One woman sported a pantomime beard; another wore a lime green mankini (a Borat-style male version of a bikini) before demanding access to the nearby mens pond to highlight the absurdity of gender self-identification. They were promptly ejected by staff.

The Ladies Pond was originally created in the 17th and 18th centuries as one of the reservoirs to meet Londons growing demand for water

Some were repurposed for swimming, used mainly by male swimmers, until in 1926, the Kenwood Pond was designated as women-only

Undeterred, Venice Allan went on to found Let Women Swim  a campaign to reclaim the Kenwood Ladies Pond as a female-only space by 2025, in time for the centenary of its foundation.

In August 2022 she staged another protest, in which 130 women lined the pedestrian lane to the pool. The only buoy allowed read one placard, sported by a woman with a lifebuoy round her neck.

I dont want to live in a female-only society, Im not a separatist, Venice told the Mail this week. But its a special, iconic place that has now become unnecessarily politicised. Its also deeply ironic that the City of London talks about inclusion, when its policy clearly discriminates about women.

Trans women can swim in the mixed pond, but the female-only pond is the only place where women of certain religious faiths like Orthodox Jewish women and Muslim women can swim, as they cannot be in a space with someone who is biologically male. I know for a fact that some women from those backgrounds now no longer come.

Venice herself is clear that she has swum in the presence of biological males. Ive been there when someone with hormone-induced moobs is at the edge of the pond letting it all hang out and it is hard to feel that it isnt a statement, she says.

Another regular swimmer, who asked not to be named, said that she had watched in amazement as a man in tiny trunks showing his genitalia entered the pond unchallenged. He then went on to sunbathe nearby.

Such infractions  as they are seen by many pond users  have fundamentally changed the feel of the place, according to Sally Kennedy.

For many women the pond serves two quite separate functions, she says. Yes its a place to swim, but its also this very special outside female-only space in which to just relax, hang out, and thats really rare. In the wider world we have our guard up but not there. That has now changed, certainly for me.

Venice acknowledges that others beg to differ. Leaving aside the politics on the committee, there is a conflict amid pond users which is pretty much divided by age, she says. There are many women who have been swimming there for decades who are bitterly opposed to the changes. Many  but not all  younger women are not as bothered.

The Kenwood Ladies Pond has been open to transgender women since 2010

In 2018 activists (including this woman), staged a demonstration at the Men's Pond on Hampstead Heath, dressing as men to make their point

Such disagreements are, of course, only natural among any large organisation: the KLPA has around 1,000 members who pay annual membership subs of around 5 a year to help maintain the pond.

Latterly, however, those differences of opinion have morphed into something uglier, with accusations of bullying on WhatsApp groups, and supporters of single-sex spaces saying they have been ejected from the groups Facebook page.

That, certainly, is the belief of corporate management trainer Janice, who was elected to the committee last year and is responsible for putting forward the resolution to return the pond to use by those who are biologically female only.

The 68-year-old put herself forward for election last year and found herself immediately outnumbered on the committee by her fellow members when it came to her views on access to the pond.

The other committee members had just been on a Gendered Intelligence training course  funded by the City of London  and were all very clear that trans women are women, she says. They are of course entitled to that view, but I felt I had to speak out.

I wrote a measured email saying I have to disassociate myself from this policy, and these were my reasons. I made it clear that I understand they had a different view, but I felt people were vulnerable and I would feel terrible if something happened.

She received no response but claims that ever since she has been effectively marginalised.

I have evidence that they are meeting without me and not issuing minutes, and there has been some very unpleasant bullying on WhatsApp, she says. I have been accused of joining the KLPA merely to create dissent and make people feel uncomfortable, while one member invited everyone to rate my behaviour on a scale of one to nine, with nine being excellent and one being terrible.

Another swimmer said that she had watched in amazement as a man in tiny trunks showing his genitalia entered the north London pond (pictured) unchallenged

Another KLPA member, who asked not to be named, said the committee had been entirely deaf to concerns from women about self-ID.

I have emailed saying that the Equality and Human Rights Act makes it explicitly clear that single-sex exemptions can remain when it comes to spaces where women might feel vulnerable, such as swimming pools and changing rooms, both of which actively apply to the pond, she says.

I received no response. This is why there has been a groundswell of protest, as members feel they are not being listened to. Moreover, the committee talks about receiving legal advice - well what exactly was it? As this was presumably paid for by the members, why has it not been shared with us?

In November, there was further unhappiness when, at an extraordinary general meeting, the committee proposed tidying up the Constitution with changes that would have given regular swimmers  who they described as those who swim year round at least once a week a greater say over pond business.

Conveniently, this applies to most of the women on the committee, who all live nearby and can get to the pond easily, says Janice. This is effectively pond apartheid, giving greater say to some than others. Not terribly equal is it?

Another member puts it in stronger terms. The behaviour of the committee would make Putin proud, she says.

While not everyone would go that far, Heather Binning, founder of campaign group the Womens Rights Network says some of her members have also expressed concerns about the actions of the KLPA committee.

Members from a number of London WRN groups who are also members of the KLPA have expressed their concerns about the committees behaviour and the bullying of women who would like to see the Ladies' Pond return to being a pond for women only, she told the Mail.

When the City of London Corporation opened up the Ladies' Pond to men in 2019 this was sold as inclusion. But it has actually excluded many women who no longer use the pond because they do not want to swim and share changing facilities with males. This may be for reasons of faith, culture, experience of male violence or simply because they value a female-only sanctuary.

Yesterday, KLPA co-chairs Pauline Latchem and Beth Feresten told the Mail: We dont control who swims at the Ladies' Pond, that is the responsibility of the City of London which owns and manages Hampstead Heath. As a user group, we are not dismissing anyones views as is evident from the fact that a resolution to exclusive transfer women from membership is being put forward to members fat the SGM.

'The officers of the KLPA do however have strong reason to believe that if adopted the proposal would be unlawful and it is our duty to make that clear to all members before they vote on the matter.

For Venice Allan this is mere politicking. We shouldnt have to justify having a space for ourselves, she says. Our slogan is safety, dignity and joy, and the joy part of that statement is just as important as everything else.
A recently elected coroner in Louisiana is under pressure to step down over resurfaced allegations from 2001, when he was charged with child sexual abuse but never faced trial.

Dr. Christopher Tape is due to take office this month as St. Tammany Parish coroner after running unopposed for the role, which investigates violent crimes including sexual assaults.

But local councilmembers are demanding his resignation over the alarming decades-old allegations that he whipped his then-girlfriend's seven-year-old daughter as 'punishment' and inappropriately touched the girl.

In 2001, Tape was charged with six counts of third-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor in New Mexico, according to court records obtained by WVUE-TV.

Those charges were ultimately dismissed by a judge after prosecutors delayed the trial for 17 months, violating Tape's constitutional right to a speedy trial.

Christopher Tape is seen in 2001, when he was charged with six counts of third-degree criminal sexual contact of a minor in New Mexico

Slidell City Councilman Trey Brownfield (above) has called for Tape to resign, expressing shock at the allegations that surfaced after last summer's election

Now community members and local elected officials are expressing alarm over the allegations and asking Tape to resign.

The Slidell City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution urging Tape to step down.

'I was completely shocked that this came out,' Councilman Trey Brownfield, who proposed the resolution, told WWL-TV.

'It's worrisome that it wasn't caught before he got his job at the coroner's office, but here we are, and we have to deal with where we are today,' he added.

'The job of the coroner in St. Tammany Parish is to protect those who were sexually assaulted. We need those people to feel comfortable,' Brownfield stated.

'We need those people to be open and honest and not feel in any way that they are not being heard.'

A message seeking comment from Tape through the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office was not immediately returned on Friday.

Court records from the New Mexico case indicate that Tape's then-girlfriend told police he had touched her seven-year-old daughter inappropriately.

The girl told investigators that Tape would remove her underwear, spank her with a belt, and touch her inappropriately.

Tape (above) is due to take office this month as St. Tammany Parish coroner after running unopposed for the role, which investigates violent crimes including sexual assaults

Police say Tape in a written statement confirmed he had used a belt on his girlfriend's daughter 'in order to discipline her' on at least two occasions.

However, he denied touching her in an inappropriate or sexual manner.

Tape said his girlfriend told him he could discipline her daughter and he 'felt he was within the standard set by her mother.'

The judge ultimately dismissed all charges, saying prosecutors had delayed the case too long, which was unfair to Tape and violated his right to a speedy trial.

'As a defendant, you have a right to confront your accusers and get it over with. They can't just drag it out,' WVUE-TV legal analyst Joe Raspanti told the outlet.

'This case never got to be tried on the merits,' noted Raspanti.

'Did he do something wrong or not?' he added. 'They never did get around to putting on witnesses and evidence about what he did or didn't do.'
In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.

What started as protests on our streets, has descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence.

Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity.

Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

Now our democracy itself is a target.

Council meetings and local events have been stormed.

MPs do not feel safe in their homes.

Long standing Parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

And it is beyond alarming that last night the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate who dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7th, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.

I need to speak to you all this evening because this situation has gone on long enough and demands a response not just from government, but from all of us.

Britain is a patriotic, liberal, democratic society with a proud past and a bright future.

We are a reasonable country and a decent people.

Our story is one of progress, of great achievements and enduring values.

Immigrants who have come here have integrated and contributed.

They have helped write the latest chapter in our island story.

They have done this without being required to give up their identity.

You can be a practising Hindu and a proud Briton as I am.

Or a devout Muslim and a patriotic citizen as so many are.

Or a committed Jewish person and the heart of your local community and all underpinned by the tolerance of our established, Christian church.

We are a country where we love our neighbours.

And we are building Britain together.

But I fear that our great achievement in building the worlds most successful multi-ethnic, multi faith democracy is being deliberately undermined.

There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.

Since October 7th there have been those trying to take advantage of the very human angst that we all feel about the terrible suffering that war brings to the innocent, to women and children to advance a divisive, hateful ideological agenda.

On too many occasions recently, our streets have been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to our values and have no respect for our democratic traditions.

Membership of our society is contingent on some simple things that you abide by the rule of law, and that change can only come through the peaceful, democratic process.

Threats of violence and intimidation are alien to our way of doing things: they must be resisted at all times.

Nearly everyone in Britain supports these basic values but there are small and vocal hostile groups who do not.

Islamist extremists and the far right feed off and embolden each other.

They are equally desperate to pretend that their violence is somehow justified when actually these groups are two sides of the same extremist coin.

Neither group accept that change in our country can only come through the peaceful democratic process.

Both loathe the pluralist, modern country we are.

Both want to set Briton against Briton to weaponise the evils of anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred for their own ends.

The faith of Islam, peacefully practised by millions of our fellow citizens is emphatically not the same thing as the extremist political ideology of Islamism which aims to separate Muslims from the rest of society.

Islamist extremists and far rights groups are spreading a poison, that poison is extremism.

It aims to drain us of our confidence in ourselves as a people, and in our shared future.

They want us to doubt ourselves, to doubt each other, to doubt our countrys history and achievements.

They want us to accept a moral equivalence between Britain and some of the most despicable regimes in the world.

They want us to believe that our country, and the West more generally, is solely responsible for the worlds ills and that we, along with our allies, are the problem.

In short, they want to destroy our confidence and hope.

We must not allow that to happen.

When these groups claim that Britain is and has been on the wrong side of history, we should reject it, and reject it again.

No country is perfect, but I am enormously proud of the good that our country has done.

Our place in history is defined by the sacrifices our people have made, in the service of our own freedom and that of others.

And when these groups tell children that they cannot - and will not succeed - because of who they are.

When they tell children that the system is rigged against them or that Britain is a racist country

This is not only a lie, but a cynical attempt to crush young dreams, and turn impressionistic minds against their own society.

I stand here as our countrys first non-white Prime Minister, leading the most diverse government in our countrys history to tell people of all races, all faiths and all backgrounds it is not the colour of your skin, the God you believe in or where you were born, that will determine your success but just your own hard work and endeavour.

We must be prepared to stand up for our shared values in all circumstances, no matter how difficult.

And I respect that the police have a tough job in policing the protests we have seen and that they are operationally independent.

But we must draw a line.

Yes, you can march and protest with passion. You can demand the protection of civilian life, but no, you cannot call for violent Jihad.

There is no context in which it can be acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes onto Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel/Gaza.

And there can be no cause you can use to justify the support of a proscribed terrorist group, like Hamas.

Yes, you can freely criticise the actions of this government, or indeed any government: that is a fundamental democratic right.

But no, you cannot use that as an excuse to call for the eradication of a State  or any kind of hatred or antisemitism.

This week I have met with senior police officers and made clear it is the publics expectation

that they will not merely manage these protests, but police them.

And I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action.

But if we are asking more of the police, we in government must also back up that call with action.

To that end, this month the government will implement a new robust framework for how it deals with this issue.

To ensure that we are dealing with the root causes of this problem and that no extremist organisations or individuals are being lent legitimacy by their actions and interactions with central government.

You cannot be part of our civic life if your agenda is to tear it down.

We will redouble our support for the Prevent programme to stop young minds being poisoned by extremism.

We will demand that universities stop extremist activity on campus.

We will also act to prevent people entering this country whose aim is to undermine its values.

The Home Secretary has instructed that if those here on visas choose to spew hate on protests or seek to intimidate people we will remove their right to be here.

And our Britain must not be a country in which we descend into polarised camps with some communities living parallel lives.

It is not enough to live side-by-side, we must live together united by shared values and a shared commitment to this country.

And I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest:

Dont let the extremists hijack your marches.

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree we will never be disunited from our common values of decency and respect.

I love this country.

My family and I owe it so much.

The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.

We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart. There must be leadership, not pandering or appeasement.

When they tell their lies, we will tell the truth.

When they try and sap our confidence, we will redouble our efforts.

And when they try and make us doubt each other we will dig deeper for that extra ounce of compassion and empathy that they want us to believe doesnt exist, but that I know does.

If we can do that, we can build on our great achievement in creating todays Britain, a country of kind, decent, tolerant people.

We can make this a country in which we all feel a renewed sense of pride.

This is our home.

So let us go forward together, confident in our values and confident in our future.
Emails from Hunter Biden's laptop conflict with his testimony to Congress on Wednesday, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

He claimed his close relationship with two controversial lobbyists was just 'social' and 'tangential', passed off a dinner with Joe Biden and his business partners as being purely for a UN charity when his emails suggested otherwise, and suggested 'Big Guy' was not a phrase he used for his father  when the nickname appears several times in messages on his laptop.

Flanked by his attorney Abbe Lowell, Hunter, 54, attended a six-hour closed-door grilling in Washington DC on Wednesday. A 229-page transcript of the conversation was released Thursday.

When congressional investigators asked Hunter about Blue Star Strategies, the Democrat lobby shop that Ukrainian gas firm Burisma hired on his recommendation, Hunter claimed he knew its founders 'just socially and tangentially a few times', according to the transcript.

But that concealed a long and deep relationship with Blue Star chiefs Karen Tramontano and Sally Painter, evidenced by emails on his abandoned laptop.

Hunter, 54, spent six hours on Capitol Hill Wednesday answering questions about his father Joe Biden's involvement in his foreign businesses as part of the Republican-led impeachment inquiry

Emails from his abandoned laptop show he had a long and deep relationship with Blue Star chiefs Karen Tramontano (left) and Sally Painter (right

In an October 2014 email, Tramontano's co-founder Sally Painter called Hunter 'a super friend', and offered her condolences that the media had discovered he had been kicked out of the Navy following a positive cocaine test

'Advocating for him is the easiest part of my life,' Tramontano wrote in a 2015 email to Eric Schwerin about Hunter

Hunter emailed Tramontano in July 2014: 'I just heard you passed congrats and welcome officially to the team'

Hunter had good reason to play down his links with the lobbyists. They were investigated by the Justice Department for illegally failing to declare their work for Burisma, including meetings with State Department officials to convince them the gas company was not corrupt.

To avoid charges, they agreed in 2022 to file documents with the DoJ detailing their meetings with then-US ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt and two other senior officials, six years after the fact, thus closing the investigation.

Their failure to register as foreign lobbyists, and Hunter's close involvement with Blue Star and Burisma, could go to the heart of a potential prosecution under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which Special Counsel David Weiss' deputies have said is a possibility in their probe of the First Son.

In sworn testimony to Congress, Tramontano said Hunter did not direct any of her firm's work for Burisma and played down her relationship with him

But despite his claims of mere 'tangential' and 'social' relationship with Tramontano and Painter, laptop emails show the president's son was already a personal client of Tramontano's earlier in 2015.

One email appears to show Hunter, through Rosemont Seneca, had hired Tramontano to help build his relationship with Latvian bank owner Valeri Belokon.

Schwerin wrote to the Blue Star CEO in February 2015: 'Karen- Just to follow up on our conversation yesterday, I gave Hunter a download of your conversation with Valeri and he concurred with the answers I gave you re: the Middle East and Legal Work Hunter said to thank you again for advocating on his behalf.'

'Advocating for him is the easiest part of my life,' Tramontano replied.

The direct relationship went even further back, with one October 2014 email from Painter to Hunter saying: 'I know that Karen thanked you but we really appreciated your taking the time. And Valeri really liked you  of course. Thanks for your friendship and support.'

Emails from March 2014 show that Tramontano even discussed registering her investment banking license with Hunter's firm.

'I'm going to see if I can 'park my license' as you explained with a firm,' Tramontano wrote to Schwerin. 'I would like to talk further with you  and Hunter  if there were an opportunity to do that with your firm.'

Four months later it appears they followed through with the plans.

Emails from March 2014 show that Tramontano discussed registering her investment banking license with Hunter's firm

An October 2014 email from Sally Painter to Hunter said: 'I know that Karen thanked you but we really appreciated your taking the time. And Valeri really liked you  of course. Thanks for your friendship and support'

Hunter emailed Tramontano in July that year: 'I just heard you passed congrats and welcome officially to the team.'

'Thank you very much. Look forward to working together,' she replied.

Other emails cast even further doubt on Hunter's claims of a distant relationship with the Blue Star lobbyists.

In an October 2014 email, Tramontano's co-founder Painter called Hunter 'my friend', and offered her condolences that the media had discovered he had been kicked out of the Navy following a positive cocaine test.

'Dear Hunter, I am just back from a week in Estonia and heard about the dust-up. The press sucks. So sorry for you and your family but don't let them get you down. You are a great professional doing excellent work. And a super friend! ...Warmest, Sally,' she wrote.

Another set of emails show Hunter had a close friendship since at least 2010 with her Senior Managing Director, one of Tramontano's eight Blue Star employees, Gabriel Zinny.

On December 31 2010 Zinny wrote to Hunter and his partner in their Rosemont Seneca consultancy Eric Schwerin, referring to Hunter as 'boss'.

'Boss, Eric, happy new year!! For many more businesses in 2011,' the Blue Star senior staffer wrote.

In a January 2011 email another Rosemont staffer wrote to Zinny referring to 'two deals you discussed with Hunter and Eric.'

A June 2014 email exchange shows Hunter even arranged for Zinny's business associate to meet with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden.

Manuel Estrella, president of Dominican Republic civil works firm Estrella, wrote to Hunter thanking him for arranging a meeting with Joe.

'Hunter, I just met your father! So exiting! [sic]' wrote Estrella. 'Thanks! Hope to see you soon!'

Hunter replied: 'I'm glad it all finally came together. Thank Gabriel he made it happen.'

Flanked by his attorney Abbe Lowell, Hunter, 54, attended a six-hour closed-door grilling in Washington DC on Wednesday

'Boss, Eric, happy new year!! For many more businesses in 2011,' the Blue Star senior staffer wrote

In a January 2011 email another Rosemont staffer wrote to Zinny referring to 'two deals you discussed with Hunter and Eric'

'Hunter, I just met your father! So exiting! [sic]' wrote Manuel Estrella, president of Dominican Republic civil works firm Estrella. 'Thanks! Hope to see you soon!'

The First Son was also questioned on Wednesday about an April 2015 dinner at DC restaurant Cafe Milano with his then-VP father and foreign business partners.

Hunter claimed that the dinner was purely to support the UN World Food Program, of which he was a board member.

Hunter told Congress 'entire purpose' of the dinner was about the UN charitable organization, and that 'it didn't have anything to do with business'.

But emails show he had ulterior motives.

In a clandestine message to a guest weeks before the gathering, he wrote 'the reason for the dinner is ostensibly to discuss food security,' suggesting the real topic was something else, and adding: 'Dad will be there but keep that btw us for now'.

The friend, Michael Karloutsos, replied 'Everything is between us' and asked 'What is the UN Food Program called?'

Hunter followed up making it clear he didn't want to put in writing the name of one of the dinner guests, then-Kazakh prime minister Karim Massimov, adding to the clandestine nature of the supposedly above-board meeting.

'There are 10-12 for dinner. Most notable the Prime minister of a country I'll tell you over phone,' he wrote.

Hunter was asked about an infamous 2017 email exchange between his business partners discussing equity in their multi-million-dollar deal with Chinese oil giant CEFC, in which his partner James Gilliar suggested Hunter would hold 10% for 'the Big Guy'.

Democrat lawmaker Jamie Raskin asked Hunter: 'On the question of nicknames, I have not seen your father referred to as the big guy anywhere else in this record. Was that his nickname in your family, the big guy?' Hunter replied 'no'.

'Did you ever call him the big guy?' Raskin asked. 'No, I never called him that,' the First Son said.

But emails on his laptop show that others close to Hunter referred to Joe as the 'Big Guy' in conversations with the President's son dating back as far as 2013.

Trade union lobbyist Chuck Harple referred to President Biden as the 'big guy' when he emailed Hunter trying to arrange a meeting between his union boss and the then-vice president in 2014.

And Geoff Rogers, an executive at a wealth management firm used the moniker for Joe when he wrote to Hunter about the vice president's appearance at a 2013 private club dinner in Delaware.

The First Son was also questioned on Wednesday about an April 2015 dinner at DC restaurant Cafe Milano with his then-VP father and foreign business partners, including then-Kazakh prime minister Karim Massimov

In a clandestine message to a guest weeks before the dinner, he wrote 'the reason for the dinner is ostensibly to discuss food security,' suggesting the real topic was something else, and adding: 'Dad will be there but keep that btw us for now'. The friend, Michael Karloutsos, replied 'Everything is between us' and asked 'What is the UN Food Program called?'

Tony Bobulinski has publicly stated that JAmes Gilliar was referring to Joe Biden as the 'big guy' in an infamous email and that Joe not only knew about but was involved in Hunter's deal with Chinese oil giant CEFC

Another recipient of Gilliar's infamous May 2017 email, Tony Bobulinski, has publicly stated that Gilliar was referring to Joe Biden, and that Joe not only knew about but was involved in Hunter's deal with Chinese oil giant CEFC.

The transcript of Hunter's Wednesday grilling was released by Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer. He is leading the investigation into whether Joe Biden used his position and 'brand' to enrich his family in a complex $20 million 'influence peddling' scheme.

He told reporters after Hunter's six-hour deposition 'proved several bits of our evidence' and added 'we will have a public hearing next.'

'I think a public hearing will hopefully clear up some discrepancies between some of the statements being made by some of the associates and that we heard today.'

Hunter's attorney Lowell told reporters after the meeting that the deposition showed Republicans have 'no evidence.'

'The Republican majority ends the day with where they started. They have produced no evidence that would do anything to support the notion that there was any financial transactions that involved Hunter with his father period,' he said.

'It seems to me that the Republican members wanted to spend more time talking about my client's addiction than ... anything to do with what they call their impeachment inquiry.'
This is the horrifying moment a Mexican woman signaled for help with her hand during a social media livestream before her boyfriend savagely attacked her in front of her two daughters.

Maria Robles was promoting her online clothing business on Facebook when her partner, Jhonatan, started to throw objects at her in the bedroom of their home in Telixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, on Monday.

Robles seemed bothered by the fact that the brute was interrupting her recording and flashed a hand gesture signaling for assistance from her followers.

She held her left hand up with her thumb resting over the palm and then folded her four fingers down while one of her followers joked that she should not get upset.

'Please, if someone knows this sign,' Robles said as she looked to the side.

Maria Robles flashed a hand signal asking for emergency assistance moments before her boyfriend beat her at their home in Oaxaca, Mexico on Monday. The mother-of-two was promoting her online clothing business when her partner, Jhonatan, started to throw objects at her and then pummeled her

Maria Robles was beaten by her boyfriend, who was identified by police as Jhonatan, while she was doing a livestream on Facebook for her online clothing business

Maria Robles went live on Facebook moments after police rescued her and thanked her followers for alerting police

The person who asked her not to get irritated took the matter seriously and replied, Okk, acknowledging that Robless life was in danger.

Robles then informed her followers that she was going to 'continue making this live' stream and grew tense by the moment.

'If anyone knows of this sign you know what to do. Whoever is able send me a private message. I am far,' she subsequently said.

Jhonatan could be heard making a comment to Robles before he suddenly attacked.

The camera on Maria's cell phone captured the moment she was beaten by her boyfriend before the Facebook live recording came to a stop. Her followers were able to alert the police, who rushed to the house and placed the attacker under arrest

The defenseless mother begged for assistance and said, If someone one is watching this live please help, before the recording came to a stop.

Some of her followers quickly asked if she was ok while others sought out her location.

Authorities were alerted of the incident and were dispatched to her home, where they rescued Robles and arrested Jhonatan.

Robles went live from the back of a police patrol vehicle and thanked her followers to saving her life.

'I thank you girls,' she said. Because if I didn't leave there it was not because of anything else, but because I had nowhere else to go  fear made me not ask for help.'

Oaxaca State Attorney General Bernardo Rodriguez said he will be seeking maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for Jhonatan, indicating 'a very important message of non-violence' needs to be made.

'It is a completely unfortunate topic. We recognize the value of it in making this type of support request and the live response from the community,' Oaxaca State Attorney General Bernardo Rodriguez said.

'For this crime, in Oaxaca the sentence is five to 10 years.'
Pope Francis on Friday warned of the dangers of so-called gender theory, saying he had commissioned studies into what he condemned as an 'ugly ideology' that threatens humanity.

Addressing participants of a two-day conference in the Vatican on the evolving role of men and women according to Christian teachings, Francis said what he called 'gender ideology' was a threat because it sought to erase the difference between the sexes.

He said: 'It's very important that there is this meeting, this meeting between men and women, because today the worst danger is gender ideology.

'I asked for studies into this ugly ideology of our time, which erases differences and makes everything the same. Erasing differences is erasing humanity.

'Cancelling out the differences means cancelling out humanity.'

Pope Francis is worried that gender theory will get rid of the differences between genders

Gender theory, often called gender ideology, suggests that gender is more complex and fluid than the binary categories of male and female, and depends on more than visible sex characteristics.

The conference which was on the subject of marriage and faith, saw the leader of the Catholic Church warn of a 'dystopian' future.

The 87-year-old pontiff said he was still suffering from a recent cold and had asked an aide to read his speech, but first wanted to 'underline' his feelings on gender ideology.

He said he remembered reading a 'prophetic' book called 'Lord of the World' - a dystopian novel published in 1907 by a Catholic priest about a world where religion has no place - which warned of the risk of cancelling out differences between people.

'Read it if you have time, because it speaks of these problems of today,' the pope told his visitors.

The Argentine pontiff has repeatedly railed against gender theory, also called gender ideology, which broadly speaking is the idea that you do not have to adhere to the gender you were born with, and that gender is a product of societal norms, rather than purely biology.

The Pope condemned gender theory as an 'ugly ideology' that could 'cancel humanity'

He warned of a 'dystopian' future, referencing a book he read about a world with no religion

In 2019, the Vatican published an educational document intended to help Catholic school teachers counter ideas which 'deny the natural difference between a man and a woman'.

This comes only a few months after the Vatican announced that Transsexual persons, even if they have undergone hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery, may be allowed to be baptised.

It said: 'If there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or confusion among the faithful'.

The Vatican also said that the children of homosexual couples should be baptised even if they are born from a surrogate mother, provided there is a well-founded hope that they will be educated in the Catholic faith.
The Duchess of York has been told there appears to be no spread of her skin cancer following another bout of surgery.

Sarah, 65, received a devastating blow in January when doctors discovered a malignant melanoma during a second bout of reconstructive surgery following her breast cancer diagnosis last year.

The news came as a 'huge shock' to Prince Andrew's ex-wife, affectionately dubbed Fergie, although friends said she was determined to 'bounce back'.

Now the Mail can reveal that the duchess has undergone further surgery to examine the area around the mole that was found to be malignant, as well as her lymph nodes.

A friend said she had just learned that these were all 'free of cancer' and doctors believe there has been no spread of the disease.

While she must continue to be vigilant and undergo regular 12-week check-ups, the news was the 'best possible outcome she could have hoped for' and her prognosis is good.

The Duchess of York (pictured at the memorial service for King Constantine of Greece on Tuesday) has been told there appears to be no spread of her skin cancer following another bout of surgery

Fergie stepped out with her ex-husband Prince Andrew, Sir Timothy Laurence, Mike Tindall and Princess Anne

Now she hopes to encourage more people to undertake regular mammograms and get their moles checked out.

'She's undergone further surgery following the melanoma diagnosis to examine the area around the mole that was found to be malignant and her lymph nodes,' the duchess' friend explained.

'The good news is that these have all been found to be free of cancer so it looks like there has been no spread of the disease and the prognosis is good, though she'll have to have regular check-ups going forward.

'It's a huge relief for Sarah and the entire family after the most stressful time and an anxious wait for results.'

Sources close to the Duchess said doctors are reluctant to use the term 'cancer free' as vigilance is still very much needed, but added that there was very much cause for optimism.

The friend added: 'She is very lucky that the melanoma was caught early thanks to the vigilance of her dermatologist, who asked for a number of moles to be checked while she was undergoing reconstructive surgery after her mastectomy

'Sarah will now have to have checks every 12 weeks. She's determined that some good comes out of her situation and was heartened to see there was an upsurge in people checking for details of melanoma on the NHS website after she made her diagnosis public.

'You can expect to see her banging the drum for the public health message and urging people not to miss mammograms or delay getting moles checked.

Sources close to the Duchess said doctors are reluctant to use the term 'cancer free' as vigilance is still very much needed, but added that there was very much cause for optimism. Fergie is pictured on Christmas Day at Sandringham

'Her intention will be to get the message out about the importance of being vigilant about checking the size, shape, colour and texture of moles. If melanoma is caught early, it can be treated very effectively.'

Skin cancer is already something that has cast a shadow over Sarah's life.

Her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, was undergoing chemotherapy for it shortly before he died in 2003.

And her best friend and former flatmate, Carolyn Cotterall, passed away in 1999 at the age of just 43 after an 18-month battle against the disease.

The duchess was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer last year and underwent a mastectomy and breast reconstruction, bravely talking about her experiences to encourage other women to get regular checks.

She almost missed her routine mammogram but was encouraged by her sister, Jane, who lives in Australia, to go.

While she didn't have a lump - or, indeed, any obvious sign of cancer - the scan picked up an area of concern which led to her diagnosis.

It was while she was undergoing a second bout of reconstructive surgery at the end of last year that her dermatologist asked for some of her moles to be removed and taken away for testing as he wasn't happy with the way they looked.

Sarah is now planning to celebrate by travelling to Australia in the next few days to see her sister and take part in Global Citizen Now in Melbourne, a summit designed to end extreme poverty around the world and focus on the climate change crisis.

The friend added: 'She is overjoyed.'
A pregnant Amish woman murdered in her rural Pennsylvania home appeared to have suffered cutting wounds to her neck and head, police have revealed.

Two search warrants were issued at the request of state police regarding Mondays slaying of Rebekah Byler, 23, whose body was found in the living room of her home a few miles from Spartansburg.

Byler was six months pregnant when she was murdered. The warrant applications regarding the home and outbuildings said her husband, Andy Byler, found her body a short distance inside' the home shortly after noon.

Trooper Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press on Thursday the investigation and autopsy have given police an idea of what the murder weapon may have been, but they do not have it in their possession. The warrants sought knives, blades, cutting instruments and other items.

Police have not said how she was killed. They also said they have not developed any suspects and want the public to contact them with any tips.

Mother-of-two Rebekah Byler, 23, was found dead inside a house on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Pennsylvania

Authorities have said they still have no suspects for the murder of a 23-year-old pregnant Amish woman found dead in her Pennsylvania home on Monday

The Amish woman's body was found with gunshot wounds. Her two toddlers were at home at the time of her death

Schick did not offer additional details besides that Byler was the victim of homicide, after locals reported seeing a red Jeep at the property around the time of the killing.

'Keep being vigilant. This is a criminal homicide investigation. Practice safe procedures keep your doors locked, report any suspicious behavior of persons or vehicles whether it was past or current,' Schick said.

Police are asking the public for help identifying a suspect and offering a $2,000 reward for information.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Corry barracks at 814-663-2043.

Residents and family members said that they recall seeing a red Jeep outside of the home at 10am where Byler lived with her husband Andy, who was not home when she was killed.

The slaying shocked the rural community in northwestern Pennsylvania, where people say the Amish, who restrict the use of technology and are known for their traditional clothing, get on well with non-Amish in the area.

Locals in the community have banded together to raise money for Byler's family.

'I'm just absolutely heartbroken that this has happened,' Charleen Hajec, the owner of Spartansburg Pharmacy, told ABC 6. 'I'm very concerned about the Amish community and worried for them.'

A homicide investigation is exceedingly uncommon in the rural area, which is located 40 miles outside the city of Erie.

State police are 'aggressively investigating all available leads.'

Kelsey Bova, owner of Bova's Hardware and administrator of a local Spartansburg Facebook group, set up a GoFundMe for donations.

'We would like to show our support for the entire Amish community and help raise funds so that Andy and his children can find a safe new home,' she wrote.

Bova announced that she was organizing a drive for food, toys, cleaning products and gift cards, inviting locals to drop the donations off at the hardware store or a local pub.

Byler's cousin Rosanna posted to Facebook asking friends to pray for her.

'I'm in shock! I can't believe it! Where they live in PA is a rural area!' wrote the Rogers, Ohio woman. 'I grew up about 20 miles from there and would go down to that area all the time.'
Supermarkets have launched a multi-million pound lawsuit over allegations of price-fixing on salmon which saw shoppers overcharged for years.

The legal action involves six major salmon farming businesses and relates to fish farms operating off the coast of Scotland and Norway.

They supply the biggest UK supermarkets with the nation's favourite fish with sales running at 1.25 billion a year.

The European Commission has put the firms on notice that they are believed to have broken competition law by colluding and sharing price information.

The effect was to push up the prices charged to millions of customers across the UK, the EU and around the world between 2011 and 2019.

If the Commission brings a successful court case, which is due to take place later this year, the total fine could run to more than 1 billion.

Pictured is Grieg seafood's HQ in Bergen, Norway, one of the businesses involved in the claims

Lery and is the exclusive supplier to Marks & Spencer, and is included in the legal action

It would also open the door to legal action from British supermarkets, catering companies and restaurant chains who were effectively overcharged.

The names of the supermarkets taking the legal claim against the salmon firms have not been revealed however Tesco and Sainsbury's say they are not involved.

Andrew Opie, the Director of Food and Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: 'Retailers are committed to delivering the best price for their customers, and the industry is following the outcome of this court case closely.'

Don Staniford, the director of Scamon Scotland, which campaigns against salmon cage farming, said the legal case turns a spotlight on what is a 'fishy cartel'.

He said: 'Salmon no longer leaps up waterfalls onto your plates.

'All Scottish salmon is farmed in factory cages owned by multinationals who are like the McDonald's of the sea.

'The EC's price-fixing investigation has lifted the lid on a fishy cartel which has conspired to dupe both supermarkets and consumers.

'The Salmafia must be held to account and exposed as a sham, scam and consumer con.'

Some of the evidence for the case was gathered by EU anti-cartel investigators in raids on salmon farming businesses in February 2019.

These included offices owned by Mowi, formerly Marine Harvest, in Rosyth, Fife; a salmon farm operated by Grieg in Shetland; and a Scottish Sea Farms site, which is jointly owned by SalMar and Lery and is the exclusive supplier to Marks & Spencer.

Some of the evidence for the case was gathered by EU anti-cartel investigators in raids on salmon farming businesses in February 2019. File picture

In January this year, the European Commission issued a preliminary ruling that the six Norwegian-owned producers  Mowi, Grieg, SalMar, Leroy, Cermaq and Bremnes - had breached antitrust rules by colluding on the sale of Atlantic salmon.

In May last year, several of the companies - Mowi, Grieg, Lery, SalMar, and Cermaq - agreed to pay 67.2m ($85m) to end a three-year class action by customers in the USA over the same price fixing claims.

And in December, companies at the centre of the allegations agreed to pay 2.9m ($5m) to their customers, including retailers, in Canada.

There is no mechanism to ensure shoppers who were overcharged receive any recompense. However, in Canada, the settlement included an agreement to pay 145,000 ($250,000) to food banks by way of reparations.

All of these payments were made without any admission of illegal behaviour and the firms continue to deny any wrongdoing. The companies claim they settled the cases on the other side of the Atlantic to avoid lengthy and costly legal action.

Leroy Seafood Group revealed the legal claim by UK supermarkets in its its fourth-quarter report published on Wednesday. The firm said that it 'strongly rejects' the claims and considered them to be 'baseless'.

Grieg Seafood also admitted that a group of unnamed UK supermarkets had filed for damages 'arising from alleged unlawful cartel arrangements in relation to the supply of farmed Atlantic salmon'. The company also denied any anti-competitive conduct.

The other companies have also rejected the European Commission allegations. Mowi said it 'strongly believes there has been no infringement of the competition rules'.

SalMar said it had co-operated with the Commission throughout and strongly disagrees with its preliminary assessment of illegality. Similar statements and denials have been issued by Cermaq and Bremnes.
Court marshals lead Michelle Troconis out of the courtroom verdict of guilty on all counts was read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis' mother Marisela Arreaza, center, speaks to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. At left is Michelle's sister Claudia Troconis-Marmol and at right is her father Dr. Carlos Troconis Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Members of Michelle Troconis' family start to leave after speaking to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Members of Michelle Troconis' family speak to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media The Troconis family gather to speak to the media March 1, 2024 after guilty verdicts in the trial of Michelle Troconis. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a jury reads a guilty on all counts verdict on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a jury reads a guilty on all counts verdict on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis, center, appears in court with her defense attorneys Jon Schoenhorn, left, and Audrey Felsen during the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis, center, appears in court with her defense attorneys Jon Schoenhorn, left, and Audrey Felsen during the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis arrives for the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis arrives for the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media

STAMFORD  Almost five years since Jennifer Dulos was last seen, Michelle Troconis has been convicted in her death and disappearance.

A six-person jury deliberated for more than three days  after hearing eight weeks worth of evidence and testimony  and delivered the verdict Friday. They found Troconis, 49, guilty of all six counts: Conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.

Troconis faces up to 50 years in prison if a judge decides to sentence her to consecutive terms. The conspiracy to commit murder charge carries a sentence up to 20 years in prison.

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Troconis was taken into custody on $6 million bond and her sentencing is scheduled for May 31. A clerk had initially suggested May 24, the five-year anniversary of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance, but the defense and state asked it be set down for the following week.

Standing between her lawyers, Jon Schoenhorn and Audrey Felsen, Troconis, dressed in a white turtleneck sweater with her arms folded in front of her, put her hands to her face and leaned forward as the jury foreman responded guilty when asked for verdicts on each of the charges.

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Troconis sat with her head in her hands at the defense table as the jury was polled by a court clerk, and appeared to be crying as Felsen rubbed and patted her back. Troconis looked back at members of her family seated behind her in the gallery, some of whom put their heads down and were crying to themselves.

Friends of Jennifer Dulos, as well as investigators who worked on the case, sat in the courtroom Friday as the jury read the verdict. Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning, who prosecuted the case with Assistant States Attorney Sean McGuinness, wore purple  a color representing domestic violence awareness that Jennifer Dulos' friends have been sporting throughout the trial.

The trial had been more than four years in the making. What started as a missing person case ballooned into a massive investigation that brought in several law enforcement agencies and captured media attention from around the world. The disappearance also inspired numerous documentaries, a Lifetime movie and a law that broadened the definition of domestic violence in Connecticut.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished in May 2019 amid a contentious two-year divorce and custody dispute with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who quickly became a prime suspect in her disappearance. Troconis was living with Fotis Dulos, her then-boyfriend, in Farmington at the time. Fotis Dulos died by suicide in January 2020 while facing murder and other charges in the case. Jennifer Dulos was last seen on May 24, 2019, and though her body has never been found, a judge declared her legally dead last year. In their guilty verdicts, the jury convicted Troconis of trying to create an alibi for Fotis Dulos the morning his estranged wife disappeared and helping to clean a pickup truck police believe was used in the crime.

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Following the verdicts, Manning asked Judge Kevin Randolph to at least double Troconis' bond, if not revoke it entirely. The prosecutor noted Troconis no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence and has ties outside the country.

Schoenhorn said Troconis has appeared as required in court for nearly five years, and that he has his clients Venezuelan passport. As he spoke, Troconis sat with her head on the defense table.

Randolph set a new bond for Troconis at $6 million. Judicial marshals then handcuffed Troconis as the judge announced conditions should she post bond, including GPS monitoring and house arrest. Schoenhorn said Troconis was unable to post the bond on Friday, but indicated her family may be able to do so in the coming days.

Following the verdicts, Carrie Luft, a close friend of Jennifer Dulos' and a spokesperson for the family, released a prepared statement saying the verdicts were no victory.

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There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother, the statement read. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case  most important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found. We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifers loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.

Luft thanked the jury, judge, prosecutors and police.

We express our unending gratitude and respect to the investigators, analysts, and other law enforcement personnel who have shown an unflagging commitment to Jennifers case over a span of nearly five years, Luft said. We owe a special debt of thanks to those individuals, law enforcement and civilians, who testified at this trial and in its hearings; your courage and integrity inspire us.

The statement noted that, as the five-year anniversary of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance approaches, many questions remain.

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It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads, the statement read. In the meantime, Jennifers grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory.



Schoenhorn and members of Troconis' family vowed to appeal.

Troconis' father told the media the family is devastated.

It has been a tremendous injustice, Carlos Troconis said outside the courthouse. Shes innocent, and we will keep proving that forever.

The influence of the media had tremendous effects on this case, he added.

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Troconis' sisters tearfully proclaimed their sisters innocence, and said her conviction will not provide answers to what happened to Jennifer Dulos.

My sister is innocent of all the charges that she was convicted of, and we are certain that she is innocent, her sister, Claudia Marmol, said. I know that only time will prove it to you guys.

I know that everyone wanted answers, I know that maybe the state is happy that they finally convicted her, or someone is paying for the price, but she is not the right one. We still dont know what happened to Jennifer, Marmol continued. We will appeal and we will not stop fighting for her.

Daniela Troconis, another sister, said the trial wasnt fair.

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You all know that, she said while pointing to reporters. The media from day one, day one, attacked us, harassed us.

My sister doesnt know what happened to Jennifer. We want to know. We pray every night for the five children, she continued. What happened to my sister today is wrong. It wasnt a fair trial, it wasnt.

Schoenhorn said outside court that prosecutors had presented a narrative based on inadmissible hearsay and speculation that was enough to convince this jury.

Im at a loss, particularly with regard to the first count, he said. I dont believe there was any evidence that could go to the jury on the conspiracy to commit murder whatsoever.

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Going to trial is always a risk, he said. Im more disappointed than I am surprised. I just personally dont feel this was justice.

As for the appeal, Schoenhorn said there were abundant issues.

For me, its going to be what not to argue rather than what we should argue, he said.

Paul J. Ferencek, the states attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, expressed his condolences to Jennifer Dulos' family, particularly her five children.

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While its our hope that todays verdict brings Jennifers family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests, Ferencek said. I assure you the State of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking.

Jennifer Dulos was among 14 people killed in 2019 by an intimate partner in the state, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Today, a jury held one of the individuals involved in her death accountable for the tremendous loss that will forever be felt by Jennifers children, family and friends, the organization said in a statement. We appreciate the diligence of the prosecutors, investigators and jurors in ensuring some measure of justice for Jennifer and her family.

After the trial began on Jan. 11, the six jurors were presented with eight weeks of evidence and testimony.

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The state brought in several law enforcement officers who investigated the case, as well as forensic scientists who analyzed evidence for blood, DNA and hair.

Prosecutors also brought in Lauren Almeida, the longtime nanny for the five Dulos children, and Pawel Gumienny, a former employee for the Fore Group who police believe Fotis Dulos was trying to frame in the death of his estranged wife.

While Troconis did not testify, jurors watched videos of her three interviews with police two from June 2019 and a third from August 2019. These interviews showed inconsistencies in Troconis' statements, such as whether she saw Fotis Dulos at their home in Farmington the morning his estranged wife disappeared.

Prosecutors indicated during the trial that Troconis lied to investigators, though the defense brought in psychologist Elizabeth Loftus, who proposed an alternative theory.

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Aside from Loftus, Troconis' defense had another expert take the stand: Viorica Marian, a professor from Northwestern University who testified about how language affects the brain. Attorney Michael Rose, who represented Fotis Dulos in his custody battle with Jennifer Dulos in 2019, also testified as part of the defenses case, along with three people who attended a dinner party at Fotis Dulos' and Troconis' home the night before the disappearance.

The state rested its case last Wednesday with Gloria Farber, Jennifer Dulos' 88-year-old mother, as its last witness. Jennifer Dulos' five children watched from the audience while their grandmother briefly testified.

Kent Mawhinney, a co-defendant in the case, did not take the witness stand in the trial. He is awaiting his own trial on a conspiracy to commit murder charge.

Troconis has another case to worry about as well.

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On Tuesday, a contempt hearing for Troconis will be held in front of a separate judge. It was not immediately known on Friday whether the hearing would still go forward considering Troconis had been convicted on the more serious charges. Prior to closing the states case, Manning informed the court that Troconis had allegedly displayed text from a sealed report regarding the Duloses custody battle in a very high, big font. Luft recognized what was on the screen and informed the prosecution.

Judge Alex V. Hernandez will preside over the hearing. Judge Randolph and Troconis' attorneys, Felsen and Schoenhorn, have recused themselves from the hearing. The attorneys said it would be inappropriate for them to represent Troconis, who has hired attorney Robert Frost for the proceeding.
A car in Oregon careened off the side of a cliff and plummeted 200 feet down an embankment.

The Oregon State Police shared the harrowing footage from the crash and wrote in a Facebook post that the accident on Highway 224 happened 'after the driver took their eyes off the roadway.'

In the unnerving dashcam video, the car approaches a bend in the road but shows no sign of slowing down.

Instead, the car hurtles toward the highway's edge and shoots through a gap between the tall Fir trees that flank the road.

A car launched off the side of a cliff and fell 200 feet down an embankment

The incident unfolded in a matter of seconds with emergency service crews rushing to the scene

A rescue was launched to pull the driver from the wreckage who was miraculously unharmed

Video shows the moment the car launched off from the ground - almost like it had gone off a ramp - and fell down the embankment, out of view.

The incident unfolded in a matter of seconds.

Despite their perilous fall, the driver was still able to climb out of their vehicle, and miraculously only sustained minor injuries.

First responders had to conduct a rope rescue to haul the survivor up the 200-foot embankment.

Afterwards, the driver was rushed to a nearby trauma center for treatment.

On social media, viewers expressed concern for the driver in the video.

'Are they okay???' one worried user asked.

'Holy cow! I hope everyone is okay!' another commented.

And another person wrote 'Hope they're ok'

'Please tell me they survived,' someone else wished.

Other viewers remarked on the curving road's lack of a guardrail.

'Guardrail would be in order' a user noted.

'I feel like that road might need a guardrail' one viewer observed.

'GUARDRAILS' another simply said in all caps.

'Why is there no guardrail?' another asked.

And some viewers who knew that the driver survived voiced relief and amazement.

'The driver survived with some injuries, very lucky!' auser wrote.
After Green announced his retirement, former President Donald Trump and other Republicans urged him to stay in his roll

Green is the influential Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee that recently led the impeachment of DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., is planning not to retire at the end of his term as he previously stated, sources familiar confirmed to DailyMail.com

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green will not retire at the end of his term, as he had planned to do after former President Donald Trump and others pressured him to stay.

The Tennessee Republican, who led the charge to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, announced he would retire at the end of his term two weeks ago.

His shock announcement came one day after the House voted successfully to impeach Mayorkas.

But DailyMail.com reported earlier this week that he was reexamining his decision to retire after speaking with Trump and other GOP leaders.

A source close to Green confirmed to DailyMail.com Thursday that he will now remain in Congress and run for re-election this year.

Chairman Green helmed the House GOP charge to impeach DHS Sec. Mayorkas in February

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green announced he will not retire Thursday

Former President Trump had made it clear he wanted Green to stay in Congress, and applauded the chairman's work.

'Mark Green has had lots of options because of his political talents, and the great job he has done as a Congressman, but given the fantastic work he's doing as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee,' Trump posted on his Truth Social app Thursday night.

'I hope he runs for Re-Election to the U.S. House of Representatives,' Trump's post continued. 'If he does, he has my Complete and Total Endorsement!'

Green mulled over his retirement decision for just over a week before reversing course Thursday.

'While my strong desire was to leave Congress at the end of this year, since my announcement, I have received countless calls from constituents, colleagues, and President Trump urging me to reconsider,' Green told Axios in a statement.

'I realized once again: I had a duty to my country to fulfill. I will be running for re-election so I can be here on Day 1 next year to help President Trump end this border crisis once and for all.'

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also urged Green not to retire.

'I am hoping Mark Green will reconsider,' she said earlier this week, adding 'Mark is a solid conservative, and we need him to continue his work on the border.'

Green's initial retirement announcement came immediately after the House successfully voted to impeach Sec. Mayorkas.

'In the last few months, in reading the writings of our Framers, I was reminded of their intent for representatives to be citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home,' Green wrote in a statement February 14.

'With the House having passed H.R. 2 and Secretary Mayorkas impeached, it is time for me to return home.'

Former President Donald Trump, who visited the southern border this week, urged Green to continue in his roll as House Homeland Security Chairman

His planned resignation came as a shock to many in the conference, especially as many other powerful GOP chairs have decided not to run for reelection.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., and House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, have all announced they will not seek another term.
Fani Willis made a shock appearance in a Fulton County court on Friday to watch defense lawyers push to get her disqualified from the Donald Trump election case over her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

After opposing sides squared off for 90 minutes each, Judge Scott McAfee that there were still 'several' legal issues for him to sort through, and that he would hope to have a decision on whether Fulton County prosecutors are removed form the case within two weeks. 'I'll be taking the time,' he said.

The embattled Fulton County District Attorney stunned the hearing by sitting behind the prosecution's table, just a few seats away from her former lover.

She rocked her chair back and forth as she listened to McAfee hinting he was ready to decide whether to kick her off the trial.

Attorneys for Trump's co-defendants insist she should be barred from prosecuting the ex-president because she hired Wade after they started an 'improper' romantic relationship.

If she is booted from the case, it could delay Trump's Georgia election fraud case for months and could even lead to the charges being dropped.

Defense lawyers said bombshell texts proved she lied about when she started dating Wade and accused of playing the 'race card' when she said the allegations against her with politically motivated.

Lawyers kicked off closing arguments on Friday after a series of blockbuster court sessions where Willis testified there was nothing improper about her relationship with Wade and defended paying for their lavish trips abroad in cash.

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Fani Willis made a shock appearance in a Fulton County court on Friday to watch defense lawyers push to get her disqualified her from the Donald Trump election case over her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade

The embattled Fulton County District Attorney stunned the hearing by sitting behind the prosecution's table, just a few seats away from her former lover

Adam Abbate, the Fulton County attorney arguing she should be allowed to prosecute Trump, was grilled by McAfee as he rejected claims Willis began dating Wade before he hired her.

'The motions to disqualify should be denied', he said. Abbate also called Wade's former divorce lawyer Terrence Bradley a 'disgruntled former partner'.

He said the text messages between him and defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant about the 'affair' between Wade and Willis show he is 'vengeful'.

Abbate also questioned the validity of the cell phone records that showed Wade visited Willis' Georgia neighborhood at least 35 times before she hired him as special prosecutor.

And he rejected a defense lawyer's contention that the lovers were living a 'lifestyle of the rich and famous' with luxury trips that were an alleged scheme to enrich Willis.

'She stayed at the Double Tree in Napa. I dont know that to be a lavish hotel,' said Abbate, after name-checking some luxury brands.

At one point Willis stood up and handed him a note during a brutal line of questioning from the judge.

The first speech at the hearing was from John Merchant, the husband and law partner of Ashleigh Merchant, who first brought forth bombshell claims about the prosecutors' affair.

'If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on  the entire public confidence in the system will be shot. The integrity of the system will be undermined,' said Merchant.

He said a team of defense lawyers would be able to demonstrate 'an appearance of conflict' in the case, and he said that alone is sufficient under state law.

Adam Abbate, representing Willis, argued that the judge must rely on finding an 'actual conflict'  a higher standard.

Wade was also in the court as he watched lawyers from the Fulton County district attorney argue she shouldn't be kicked off the case over their relationship

Attorneys for Trump's co-defendants said bombshell texts proved she lied about when she started dating Wade and accused of playing the 'race card' when she said the allegations against her with politically motivated

Attorney John Merchant speaks to his wife and co-counsel Ashleigh Merchant during the hearing on the Georgia election interference case

If Willis is booted from the case, it could delay Trump's Georgia election fraud case for months and could even lead to the charges being dropped

Merchant also raised the prospect of a mistrial, which could force a second time-consuming trial in a sprawling case that involves Trump and 18 co-defendants.

If the decision is reversed, 'We would be granted a new trial,' he said. 'It means were going to have to do this all over again.'

He described a few of the details revealed in stunning evidence hearings about Willis having 'a prosecutorial relationship with her boyfriend.' He referenced a famous statement by Supreme Court Potter Stewart in obscenity case.

'I think you know it when you see it,' he said, of a conflict of interest in the case. Merchant said Wade and Willis were unable to account for $9,247 in costs, after Willis testified that she frequently used cash and kept large amounts in her home.

Fani Willis future as in prosecuting Donald Trump in the Georgia election case hangs in the balance as lawyers prepare to make their closing arguments in her disqualification hearing

Willis listened as Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee asked prosecutors about the appropriate standard for disqualification

Willis had appeared as a witness where she acknowledged the relationship with Wade but said she paid her own way, and always carried cash

Attorney John Merchant raised the possibility that without a finding of a conflict, the entire case would have to be tried again

Attorney Craig Gillen, who represents codefendant David Shafer, blasted Willis for playing the 'race card'

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee indicated he may have enough evidence to rule on the motion

Steven Sadow, who represents Trump, said both Wade and Willis were untruthful when they testified that their relationship began only after Wade joined her team of prosecutors.

He said the testimony 'brought forth a true concern about their truthfulness in being what is required of a lawyer in this state, which is candor before the tribunal.'

Craig Gillen, a lawyer for another codefendant, accused Willis of doing something 'reprehensible' in her speech at an Atlanta church at a Sunday service celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. after the affair allegations first surfaced in a legal filing.

'She chose to pull out the race card and the God card. Thats what she did,' Gillen said.

The lawyers appeared in court on Friday after text messages between Wade's divorce attorney, Terrence Bradley, and an attorney for a co-defendant of Donald Trump showed damning information about Wade's affair with Willis.

Bradley, Wade's former divorce attorney and law partner, took the stand Tuesday, where he was shown a series of text messages in which he spoke about the timeline of Willis and Wade's relationship - one of the central issues of the trial.

Text messages between Nathan Wade's divorce attorney, Terrence Bradley, and an attorney for a co-defendant of Donald Trump showed damning information about Wade's affair with Fani Willis

Michael Roman and other co-defendants in Trump's case are seeking for District Attorney Fanni Willis, 53, to be disqualified over what they term was an 'improper' relationship.

Lawyer Richard Rice cited evidence of communications between the pair. 'I dont even think love struck teenagers communicate that much,' he said, comparing their trips to the Caribbean and Napa Valley as out of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.'

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee indicated he may have enough evidence to rule on the motion to disqualify.

'I think weve reached the point where Id like to hear more of how the legal arguments apply to what has already been presented, and it may already be possible for me to make a decision without those needing to be material to that decision,' he said early in the hearing.

Standing for Willis, Abbate pointed to pass cases where prosecutors got bumped, including one where prosecutors had an personal financial linkage to the outcome of a case due to a contingency fee.

'We have absolutely no evidence that Ms. Willis gained any financial gain or benefit' from the case,' he said.

He also cited examples where a prosecutor had a personal interest in the case, such as by prosecuting or representing a defendant in the past.

Only through an actual conflict of interest and 'forensic misconduct' are there grounds to disqualify a DA, he said.

He called disqualification a 'last ditch effort 'and said that 'every effort is supposed to be made in lieu of' disqualification unless an actual conflict is found.

'Speculation, conjecture, things of that nature  assumptions  are not enough,' said Abbate.

When he wrapped up, Trump lawyer Steven Sadow got the last word after he and his team reserved about five minutes of time for a final pitch.

'Who has the best motive of anyone to lie? They do,' he said of Willis and Wade.
Friends and family gathered together later this afternoon to remember nursing student Laken Riley, who was murdered last week while out jogging.

The visitation for the late 22-year-old took place from noon to 2pm at Woodstock City Church outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

Her alleged killer is illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, with the case shocking the nation as the migrant crisis at the southern border worsens.

Riley's funeral service took place at the same church as her visitation, while a vigil was held on the grounds of the University of Georgia campus, where she studied.

Afterwards, male relatives dressed in pale blue shirts and khaki chinos were spotted carrying her coffin out of the church.

Hundreds of mourners lined up on Friday outside the church in the pouring rain to pay their final respects to Riley.

A long line formed outside the visitation, where a slideshow of photos played on TV screens inside the large church's auditorium.

Some people dabbed away tears as they passed by the casket, which was at the front of the auditorium and flanked by photos of Riley and flower bouquets.

Laken Riley's coffin is carried out from a church in Atlanta Friday following her funeral

Riley, whose coffin was carried by family members dressed in blue shirts and khaki chinos, was murdered while jogging - with her suspected killer an illegal immigrant called Jose Ibarra

Friends and family members started gathering at the church outside of Atlanta, Georgia, on Friday

Mourners arrived at the Church on Friday during a torrential downpour to pay tribute to Riley

Memorial red, black and white bows were placed in front of the church prior to the service

An online obituary for Riley said she 'loved nursing and caring for others' and added that her smile was 'extremely infectious' and she spread joy everywhere she went.

In a statement, Riley's mother Allyson Phillips and John Phillips said their daughter 'will be missed every day'.

The couple said: 'Laken was an amazing daughter, sister, friend and overall person in general.

'Her love for the Lord was exemplified in every aspect of her life. She will be missed every day, but we promise to honor her life moving forward in a very big way.'

Woodstock City Church Pastor Samer Massad said Riley was a person 'whose light consistently shined so bright.

He told Fox News: 'Laken was special. She was a gift to anyone who knew her. Smart, kind, compassionate, and thoughtful don't even begin to scratch the surface.

'She was a loving daughter, sister, and friend. She had a gift for making anyone she was around feel comfortable and seen.

We will miss her dearly. Laken's family is family to us, and as their church family, we here at Woodstock City Church are committed to walking alongside them and carrying this burden with them.'

Riley had gone for a jog last Thursday and was later discovered dead in a wooded area near the University Campus in Athens, Georgia.

The visitation for the late 22-year-old will take place from noon until 2pm followed by her funeral service at Woodstock City Church outside of Atlanta, Georgia

The visitation for the late 22-year-old will take place from noon until 2pm at Woodstock City Church outside of Atlanta, Georgia

Woodstock City Church Pastor Samer Massad said Riley was a person 'whose light consistently shined so bright

Local police and the sheriff's department were also in attendance at the service on Friday

Riley was reported missing after he concerned roommate told police she had not returned from a jog.

She was killed by 'blunt force trauma,' police confirmed and suffered a 'disfigured skull' after being beaten with a mystery object.

Last Friday, Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested for the murder of Riley and appeared in court where he was formally charged with murder.

Ibarra appeared in court on Saturday where he was formally charged with felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, kidnapping and other counts. He was represented by public defenders and remained in custody.

The 26-year-old was also charged with aggravated battery, aggravated assault, kidnapping and other counts.

Ibarra had crossed into El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 but had been released from a detention center due to a lack of space.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on Sunday he had previously been arrested in NYC for endangering the welfare of a child.

Prior to his arrest by the NYPD, Ibarra had posted pictures to social media of him touring the sights of the Big Apple.

Officers Ibarra dragged her body to secluded area to conceal the death, according to an arrest affidavit seen by CBS.

Riley was found dead Thursday afternoon after her roommate reported her missing, saying she had not returned from her jog

Police say he dragged her body to a secluded area in the UGA camppus to conceal the death

Officials have confirmed that Ibarra is not a US citizen and did not know or have any kind of relationship with Riley

Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested for the murder of Riley and appeared in court last Saturday where he was formally charged with murder

Ibarra was arrested for Riley's murder on Friday, just a day after her remains were found on the Athens campus

Ibarra is accused of 'seriously disfiguring Riley's body by disfiguring her skull,' and is also charged with preventing Riley from making a 911 call when he allegedly grabbed her between 9am and 1pm Thursday

Riley's body was found the same day on campus in a forested area near Lake Herrick that includes trails popular with runners and walkers.

Following the news last week that Ibarra was an illegal immigrant, former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe Biden for the murder.

Trump pointed to Biden's lax policies at the southern border regarding influxes in illegal migration.

The latest bolsters claims from Republicans that with such a large flow of migration over the border, it's impossible to know for sure who is being let in the country.

Speaking at the Southern Border in Texas on Thursday, Trump continued to condemn President Biden and blamed him directly for the death.

Joe Biden will never say Laken Riley's name, but we will say it, and we will remember it,' Trump said. 'We're not going to forget her.'

The former president spoke how the 'beautiful young woman' was 'kidnapped and savagely murdered' by an illegal immigrant while she was out jogging.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made to a foundation they plan to establish in her memory, that will focus on homicide awareness and safety.

The fundraiser has already raised over $177,000, well over its original target of $35,000.
A New Jersey businessman has pleaded guilty to trying to bribe Democratic Senator Bob Menendez in a corruption case.

Jose Uribe admitted to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and other charges.

The New Jersey Democrat has been under investigation for allegedly accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car over the last five years to carry out favors for three businessmen - including Uribe - who are also charged in the case.

Uribe, a former New Jersey insurance broker, has been accused of providing Menendez a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for the senator's help in a New Jersey insurance fraud case.

He is the first in the case to plead guilty, and he is now expected to begin cooperating with prosecutors.

The senator, his wife and the two other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Jose Uribe admitted to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and other charges

The senator, his wife and the three other co-defendants have pleaded not guilty

Menendez and his wife Nadine attend a reception honoring the Greek Prime Minister

The Department of Justice first announced its investigation into Menendez in September 2023, alleging he received over $400,000 in cash and gold as bribes.

The corruption scandal led Menendez to step down from his influential post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The other businessmen indicted in the case alongside Uribe are Wael Hanna and Fred Diabes.

Prosecutors said in a February filing that Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American halal tycoon, allegedly worked with Menendez and bribed the senator to receive favors for his company.

However, the arrangement almost fell apart after Hana shortchanged the Menendez couple by providing them a diamond ring he said was worth $35,000, though a jeweler later told Nadine the band was worth $12,000, according to the filing.

Hana worked with the jeweler to get a receipt that falsely claimed the ring was worth more, according to prosecutors.

Diabes, meanwhile, is responsible for bribing Menendez with the gold bars, according to the FBI.

The 70-year-old embattled Democrat and wife Nadine are charged with accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car over the last five years to carry out favors for three businessmen who are also charged

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez claims gold bars and cash at the center of his bribery indictment were found during an illegal search of his home - and he wants a New York judge to toss out the evidence

Stashes of cash were found in jackets bearing the senator's name during a search of his home

Hana leaves a New York federal courthouse after pleading not guilty in the bribery case

Prosecutors in the Souther District of New York claim Menendez had ties to Egyptian officials

Diabes allegedly gave the senator gold in exchange for Menendez to pressure the state's U.S. attorney's office to not aggressively prosecute him in a bank fraud case.

In 2013, Diabes' penthouse was broken into and he had gold bars, cash and other items stolen.

The perpetrators were caught and confessed, and Daibes signed official police documentation certifying that the gold bars were his, identifiable thanks to serial numbers and markings.

Daibes had the stolen gold bars returned to him.

The Menendez couple, however, claimed that the gold bars at the center of their scandal were actually family heirlooms, according to the February court filing.

A Menendez staffer and a jeweler were told by the senator and his wife that the gold came from Nadine's deceased mother.

But prosecutors say that Nadine told her jeweler a 'false cover story' about where the gold came from.

Menedez has claimed the gold bars and cash at the center of his bribery indictment were found during an illegal search of his home - and he wants a New York judge to toss out the evidence.

He claimed his home was searched because prosecutors wanted revenge after he beat a conviction in 2017.

His arguments, delivered by his lawyers, were contained in papers filed in Manhattan federal court, where Menendez faces a May trial.

In January, Nadine asked for separate trials so their marriage secrets weren't spilled in court.
Marks & Spencer has won the right to demloish one of its flagship London stores and replace it with office and retail space following a legal battle.

The retail giant wants to flatten and rebuild its Orchard House store near Marble Arch for a nine-storey building with a retail space, cafe, gym and office on site.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove intervened to block the plans, arguing that the building should be refurbished rather than demolished.

He also said the demolition would negatively impact nearby heritage assets including the Grade-II-listed Selfridges store directly opposite.

But High Court Judge Mrs Justic Lieven ruled on Friday in favour of Marks & Spencer, issuing a damning judgement that the Government misunderstood planning policies and that Mr Gove had tried to 'rewrite' planning policy.

 Slide me  The retail giant wants to flatten and rebuild its Orchard House store (pictured) near Marble Arch for a nine-storey building with a retail space, cafe, gym and office on site

Pedestrians walk past the Marks & Spencer store near Marble Arch on Oxford Street, in London

The flagship London store is also directly opposite Selfridges

M&S took action against the Government in the High Court over its 'unusual' decision to refuse permission.

Barristers for M&S told a hearing in London earlier in February that Mr Gove had 'misunderstood and misapplied' national planning policy when making his decision, which should be quashed.

The Government, which resisted the application with Westminster City Council and campaign group Save Britain's Heritage, said that Mr Gove was entitled to make the decision he did and had given clear reasoning.

Mrs Justice Lieven said: 'In my view, it is plain that the Secretary of State misinterpreted the national planning policy framework, and therefore erred in law.

'The Secretary of State relied on a meaning of the national planning policy framework which is simply not open to him.

'There is some encouragement for the reuse of buildings, but nothing that comes close to a presumption.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove (pictured) intervened to block the plans, arguing that the building should be refurbished rather than demolished

M&S took action against the Government in the High Court over its 'unusual' decision to refuse permission. Above: How the proposal could look

'The Secretary of State has not applied the policy, he has rewritten it.

'This then leads to him applying a test, or policy hurdle, through the rest of (his decision) which is based on his misinterpretation of the policy.'

Oxford Street has seen a major decline in recent years with empty stores and a boom in souvenir and American candy shops.

M&S applied to Westminster City Council in 2021 for permission to demolish Orchard House, its store in Oxford Street, and replace it with a nine-storey building including a gym, cafe, office and retail space.

The council and the Greater London Authority supported the plans, but Mr Gove said in June 2022 that he would decide on the application.

Despite a Government planning inspector also approving the plans in February 2023, Mr Gove refused planning permission last July.

He said there was no 'compelling justification' for demolition over refurbishment and that flattening the building would cause harm to nearby heritage assets, including the Grade II-listed Selfridges store directly opposite.

The Marks and Spencer building on Oxford Street is seen in December 1964

The shop floor of Marks & Spencer's Oxford Street branch, 10th September 1955

But he also acknowledged that it was unclear whether there was a 'viable and deliverable alternative'.

Russell Harris KC, representing M&S, told the court that national planning policy gave no more than a 'general positive encouragement' of refurbishing buildings, rather than a 'strong presumption' in favour of it as claimed by Mr Gove.

He added that Mr Gove had failed to consider that the Government planning inspector had found that 'meaningful refurbishment' was 'unlikely', and that blocking the plans would likely lead to the store closing and 'terminal' harm to the area.

Mrs Justice Lieven said that Mr Gove had not properly stated why he disagreed with his planning inspector, and 'fails to grapple with the implications' of refusing planning permission.

In her 31-page judgment, the judge also found that Mr Gove gave 'inadequate' reasoning for deciding that closing the M&S store would only cause 'limited' harm to London's West End.

She said: 'The inspector was finding significant harm from the loss of investment, and effectively the loss of a strong retail attraction at the western end of Oxford Street, beyond Selfridges.

'The Secretary of State disagrees and simply says he thinks the harm 'would be limited'. But he fails to explain why he reaches this conclusion.'

Following the decision, Sacha Berendji, M&S operations director, said: 'Today's judgment couldn't be clearer, the court has agreed with our arguments on five out of the six counts we brought forward and ruled that the Secretary of State's decision to block the redevelopment of our Marble Arch store was unlawful.

'The result has been a long, unnecessary and costly delay to the only retail-led regeneration on Oxford Street which would deliver one of London's greenest buildings, create thousands of new jobs and rejuvenate the capital's premier shopping district.

'The Secretary of State now has the power to unlock the wide-ranging benefits of this significant investment and send a clear message to UK and global business that the Government supports sustainable growth and the regeneration of our towns and cities.'
A lawyer for the man accused of squatting in a $2 million New York mansion has claimed he is the true victim, and they are ready to 'flip the story on its head.'

Dennis O' Sullivan claimed his client Brett Flores, a 32-year-old nurse embroiled in a months-long eviction struggle, has been 'misrepresented' in reports that he has refused to leave the home purchased by a New York couple and their disabled son.

Flores says he acted as live-in carer for Bernard Fernandez, an elderly gay bachelor who died last year aged 80, and insists he's entitled to the house.

'There's a hidden story,' the attorney told DailyMail.com on Friday. 'There's definitely more to it... the buyers are not the victims they claim to be.'

The buyers, Joseph and Susana Landa, both 68, say they bought the home in October, before making the 'nightmare' realization that Flores was squatting in the home and claimed he had the legal right to live there.

Brett Flores, 32, has been seen in eerie surveillance footage looming around the multi-million dollar Long Island mansion that he refuses to vacate

Flores' attorney says there is 'more to the story' of the squatter refusing to leave the home where he previously worked as a 'round the clock' caregiver

Flores says he acted as live-in carer for Bernard Fernandez (pictured), an elderly gay bachelor who died last year aged 80, and insists he's entitled to the house

He has been lurking at this $2 million 'dream home' bought by a New York City couple, which has been left derelict and abandoned after it was taken over by the shameless squatter

Susana (right) and Joseph Landa (left), both 68, purchased the mansion in Little Neck, Long Island in October, where they planned to enjoy retirement before their hopes were dashed

A couple living in the neighborhood told DailyMail.com on Friday that Fernandez was a wealthy gay bachelor who had an on-off boyfriend called James.

The Landas say they bought the home in Long Island as their family knew the neighborhood well, and had relatives that lived in the area that could help their disabled son Alex if something happened to them.

But they have been unable to move into the mansion for over four months, with Flores filing for bankruptcy to delay trial while he claims the former owner, Bernie Fernandez, bequeathed it to him when he died.

However, O' Sullivan told DailyMail.com claims their pleas for help are intended to 'misrepresent' the case, and they 'know the reality.'

'(Flores) is victimized by the current owner, and the information and the Internet is fundamentally false and misleading. The real word is incomplete.

Flores worked for Fernandez as a housekeeper before the elderly man's death last year, and was paid $3,000 a week for his services.

His attorney confirmed that he was a live-in caretaker for Fernandez who worked 'around the clock', but didn't work for an agency and found the role himself.

Amid the ongoing delays, the Landa home has fallen into disrepair, as exclusive DailyMail.com images this week showed it has fallen into disrepair.

Months after the property was snapped up for millions, it has fallen into disrepair

Scattered garbage and random splatters of white paint have been left around the multi-million dollar home

Despite a winter gale blowing through New York this week, many windows and doors of the empty property were left wide open, while the owners are forced to foot the bill for utilities

Flores has filed for bankruptcy and claims the former homeowner bequeathed the mansion to him - which the family's attorney claims is false as it was actually left to a nephew

The sprawling home is in Little Neck, around 18 miles from Manhattan

Scattered white paint has been left on several doors, windows and even security cameras, with dozens of surveillance cameras seen across the estate including on trees.

The Landas say they have been forced to foot the bill for thousands of dollars in utilities and bills while Flores lives rent-free, and windows were left wide open despite a cold breeze gripping New York this week.

A note purportedly left by Flores on the door of the home told the new owners they 'don't have my consent to enter,' and said their attempts to contact him would be 'interpreted as harassment.'

When asked about their inability to live in the home they spent millions on, O'Connell insisted that the Landas are 'not allowed.'

'I would anticipate if they did (enter), they would be arrested. He has full legal possession, and the Landas are evicting him, and they have a false narrative about the history,' he said.

While the home has fallen into disrepair as the Landas still can't move in, the Landas also claim Flores was advertising rooms in their home-to-be on rental sites.

In the online listings, which appear to have been deleted, Flores advertised 'The Prince Room' for $50 a night to males, female, couples, families or students looking for a place to stay.

His rental services had even garnered three reviews, suggesting that Flores could have hosted paying renters at the Landa's home.

The couple have three sons, one of whom has Down Syndrome. They wanted to live with him in the home to remain close to his brothers

The Landa family have already had five hearings in civil court and are complaining that the process keeps getting delayed

The family hoped the home would be the ideal spot to settle down with their disabled son Alex, and some of their other family also live in the neighborhood

When quizzed about the potential renting, Flores' attorney said he wasn't aware of it, but claimed the squatter had a right to do so if he chose.

'I'm not a landlord tenant attorney, but there's roommate laws. I don't know if they apply exactly under this fact pattern, but this New York state has a roommate law. If I live somewhere legally, I'm allowed to bring in a partner or a roommate,' he said.

While the Landas say the situation has become a 'nightmare', he stressed that there is 'more to the story' than has been seen already.

'This is the whole Internet stuff, and the spin and the misconceptions that are being spread is a whole new dimension. This wasn't around five to six days ago,' he said.

There's definitely more to it. And when we're ready to reveal that, I think it flips the story on the head. The buyers are not the victims they claim to be.'

Before O' Sullivan's claims, the Landa's family attorney, Anthony Mordente, countered Flores' claims on the house, and claimed the home was actually left to Fernandez' nephew.

He insisted the frustrated family may finally get their day in court and will finally move in once Flores has been booted out.

'Were in the process of having the automatic bankruptcy stay lifted so that we can go back to court and proceed with a trial,' Mordente told Fox News.

'I think well be successful. I dont have any reason why the bankruptcy judge would have any reason to keep the stay in effect.'

Mordente first represented Fernandez' nephew and said he had similar struggles with Flores, launching legal action against the squatter as he has never shown evidence to support his right to remain in the mansion.

He said the nephew fought Flores' squatting for months, before deciding to rid himself of the hassle around the property and sold it in October to the Landas.

'[The house] is not part of his bankruptcy estate because he doesnt have a ten-year lease that would give him time to stay here,' he said.

'So, without a lease and without an agreement to stay, the bankruptcy judge is going to say: What is this all about?'

Joseph Landa said his struggles to evict the squatter have become 'a nightmare, a total nightmare'

While no one in the area had anything to say about Flores, an elderly couple on Friday told DailyMail.com the former owner 'Bernie' Fernandez was the 'sweetest man and most beautiful person.'

They said he was known to have lived with a boyfriend in the mansion, named only as James, but they were 'on and off for years.'

'Bernie had a lot of money,' they said, noting that he made his millions in Florida, and was known to sell high-end watches such as Rolexes.

'He was the nicest most beautiful person you would ever meet,' they said. 'Bernie had a good heart as sweet as could be.'

They said they had only met Flores once when he was working on the estate, and felt he is 'probably taking advantage of the situation.'

(Bernie) would feel terrible if he knew about this,' they said. 'Just terrible.'

Carmen, who has lived in the area for 21 years, and lives a few blocks away, was astounded that this is the house that has been making headlines right in her neighborhood.

Wow! This is the famous house. I cant believe it, she told DailyMail.com as she stood in front of the house looking at it during her Friday morning walk.. I recognize the house.

I walk very frequently. I know he sold, but must of the time when I walk past the house it is always very quiet.
The Senegalese business owner who was caught running two makeshift migrant shelters this week was previously arrested in January for operating a third pop-up hostel in an abandoned library.

Authorities busted Ebou Sarr, 47, over a shelter in Queens on Monday where he had been charging 87 migrants a monthly fee of $300 for shelter and food, earning himself $26,100 a month, or $313,000 a year.

A second operation he ran in the Bronx was discovered on Wednesday and it emerged he was arrested on January 14 for running a hostel in an abandoned library.

Police officers found him inside the boarded up Old Fordham Library and he told them they were walking into 'our migrant shelter', according to court documents seen by The New York Post.

Sarr has come out to defend his makeshift shelters and said he was providing the migrants with breakfast, lunch and dinner but this was denied by some staying there.

Senegalese business owner Ebou Sarr, 47, who was caught running two makeshift migrant shelters this week, was previously arrested in January for operating a third pop-up hostel in an abandoned library

Authorities busted Sarr over a shelter in Queens on Monday where he had been charging 87 migrants a monthly fee of $300 for shelter and food, earning himself $26,100 a month, or $313,000 a year

A second operation he ran in the Bronx was discovered on Wednesday and it emerged he was arrested on January 14 for running a hostel in an abandoned library

Sarr told police he ran the makeshift shelter to 'help these people because they have nowhere to go.'

'Shelters wont accept us. I have proof of residency from the mayor  I have a business up the street, but this is where I live,' he said according to the criminal complaint from the January incident.

Authorities charged him with two counts of trespassing which he has to answer in court on April 16.

He said he did not break into the abandoned library when authorities found him there but he said he did not have permission.

'Im gonna take this to the news,' the criminal complaint stated.

'It was a place that I think is empty, and its safe for us to put our people. We were trying to get the city to give us that library. Its been there for so many years,' Sarr told the New York Post.

'Places like that, they can put the people in. Fix the place and put the people in there.'

But this did not serve as a deterrent as Sarr was caught running to more makeshift shelters.

Officials told PIX11 that at least 45 confined beds were found inside a basement and first floor of a closed furniture store on East Kingsbridge Road.

The migrants were removed from their housing and taken to city-run shelters but some of the occupants said that they would rather live on the street.

Sarr, a migrant himself who came to the US years ago, said that he felt compelled to set up the shelters.

He claimed the $300 rent was a donation and he did not take more money than anyone could afford.

Officials made the first shocking discovery on Monday during a building inspection at the business in Queens after a 311 call prompted an investigation.

The call had been made to complain about a large number of e-bikes in the rear yard of the property.

The FDNY said that around 40 cramped beds were found on the ground floor of the property and in the cellar at that location.

The abandoned Bronx library which was used as a makeshift shelter by Sarr

About 40 beds were found on the ground floor and in the cellar in the Queens shelter, according to the FDNY

The FDNY said that around 40 cramped beds were found on the ground floor of the property and in the cellar at that location

The 311 call had been made to complain about a large number of e-bikes in the rear yard of the property

Migrants were transferred to another shelter in the Bronx and a vacate order has been issued for the building over safety concerns following the discovery

Those migrants were transferred to another shelter in the Bronx and a vacate order has been issued for the building over safety concerns following the discovery.

Fire officials added that they eventually found that people were taking turns to sleep due to the limited number of beds.

Most of the migrants are from Senegal- a country in West Africa.

There were four brand-new mattresses still in the shelter rooms which were filled with garbage and smelt like urine.

Metal bars were installed on the basement and first-floor windows and padlocks were placed on the doors near Marion Avenue.

On Tuesday, Sarr told PIX11 that he had been providing them with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

There were two bathrooms available, as with Sarr explained that he had been giving out memberships to Planet Fitness so those living in the basement could shower.

But Fallou Seye, 29, who was staying at one of Sarr's shelters said 'it was hard' to scrape the money together.

'We had no bathroom; we had to go to Planet Fitness to take a shower,' he said.

'He gave us food, only one meal per day, at 4 oclock in the afternoon.'

Migrant Bamba Ndiaye, 42, said Sarr was good to him and he enjoyed staying at the shelter as he went to pick up his possessions at the Queens furniture store.

'It was nice inside. He [was] good to me,' he said. 'Im going to go to my job and hope for the best.'

Bamba Ndeyhe, 30, said he hated staying at the shelter and he only got one meal and says he was sent to shower in the Planet Fitness across the road.

On Wednesday, Sarr said: 'This was their choice, they choose to be here than being over there in the shelter.'

'If you ask each and everyone of them they will tell you this, they did not want to go.'

Sarr continued: 'They [the city] promise that they have places for them. They lie, there was no beds. They end up in the streets again roaming around.'

Fire officials said they eventually found that people were taking turns to sleep due to the limited number of beds

Recently arrived migrants wait at a bus stop outside Floyd Bennet Field shelter on February 21, 2024 in the Brooklyn borough of New York

Migrants pick up clothes as mutual aid groups distribute food and clothes under cold weather near the Migrant Assistance Center at St. Brigid Elementary School last month in New York

'We came up with this idea that we can do this on our own, so we came up with a strategy to put this money together to help ourselves.'

'They have lied to them in the past, they are lying again. We have to change the way we are doing things. We are all human, we are all equal.'

'Safety was our number one priority, I hope they change their laws. People can not be sleeping around on the streets like animals, like dogs.

'Even animals don't sleep on the streets, how about human beings. They don't care because it is not their people.'

Sarr insists he will fight the charges and sue the New York City Police Department. 'Weve lost a lot of money in that place because they took us out and didnt give us a chance to get our properties,' he said.

'The guys lost their stuff. It was safe and thats why we chose that place. Its a big building.'

A neighbor of one of the properties next to the shelter said: 'He was taking advantage of those people.

'At least, if you want to take them and charge the money, let them live like human beings. I think he played with their mind.'

While Tricia, who works at a nearby salon, added: 'He [Sarr] is no good. I think he is a scammer.'

But Sarr claimed: 'People can say whatever they want to say. They have their opinion. But the people that was with me wouldnt say that.'

On Tuesday, deputy mayor for housing Maria Torres-Springer said: 'What we discovered last night in some ways is also symptomatic of a larger crisis that this city is facing that weve talked about repeatedly in terms of the housing shortage in this city.

'It is not a new thing that too many people make desperate choices about where to live and what to pay for and at the root of that is the fact that we havent built enough housing.'

Mayor Eric Adams has been accused of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on migrants by doling out no-bid contracts.

City Comptroller Brad Lander made the claim in an audit of migrant-related contracts released on Tuesday, identifying 340 asylum-seeker contracts representing an estimated contract value of $5.7 billion.
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This video is no longer available

George Galloway has said he 'respects the right' of Hezbollah terrorists to operate in Lebanon as the new Rochdale MP launched an extraordinary response to Rishi Sunak's claim that his by-election win was 'alarming'.

Rishi Sunak tonight lashed out at the win by George Galloway in the Gaza-fuelled Rochdale by-election, which followed months of mass protests against Israeli violence following the Hamas terror attack.

In an emotional speech which referenced his own British and Hindu background, Mr Sunak laid into the former Labour MP and pro-Palestinian rabble-rouser - who 'glorifies Hezbollah' and has been backed by Nick Griffin, the far-right former leader of the BNP.

Responding to his words, Mr Galloway told Sky News that he 'respects the right' of those in an occupied territory to 'resist their occupier'.

In an impassioned interview, when asked for his response to the Prime Minister's claims, he told the news outlet: 'I don't what that means, 'backed Hezbollah'.

George Galloway responded to Rishi Sunak's claims that he 'glorifies Hezbollah'

Speaking on Sky News, he launched a verbal attack on the Prime Minister

George Galloway has said he 'respects the right' of Hezbollah terrorists to operate in Lebanon

Mr Galloway then makes several scathing remarks about the Prime Minister

'I oppose Israel's occupation of Lebanon and I respect the right of those in occupied territory to resist their occupier, and I have done so since before Hezbollah was formed and Israel occupied much of Lebanon. I'm not sure what business that is of his (the Prime Minister).'

When it was put to him that Hezbollah are a terrorist organisation, he said: 'They are part of the government of Lebanon, a country with which we have sovereign diplomatic relations.'

He added: 'I understand how disappointed (Rishi Sunak) is about the by-election. The Conservative party was crushed not just by me but by an independent candidate no one had heard of outside of Rochdale.'

Mr Galloway then makes several scathing remarks about the Prime Minister, calling him a 'rather diminished, degraded politician'.

When he was asked about the claims of intimidation which have been made previously - notably those made in regard to Labour and the Speaker - he said: 'The Prime Minister is a rather diminished, degraded politician.

'I don't care about his attitude. What I care about is that the returning officer declared it a free and clear attitude and me as the winner.'

Continuing his verbal tirade, he said: 'You talk as if this is God. We're talking about little Rishi Sunak in the fag end of his prime ministership.

'Don't talk to me as if he has come down from the mount with tablets of stone. As if he is meant to awe me. He may awe you but he doesn't awe me.

'He don't impress me much.'

The Prime Minister lashed out at the 'alarming' win by George Galloway in the Gaza-fuelled Rochdale by-election, which followed months of mass protests against Israeli violence following the Hamas terror attack

Mr Galloway, one of Britain's most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict

Asked if he respects Mr Sunak, he says: 'Do I respect the prime minister? I despise the Prime Minister. Guess what, millions and millions of people in this country despise the Prime Minister, I don't respect the Prime Minister at all.'

It follows Mr Galloway's deputy, Chris Williamson, refusing to condemn the October 7 attacks.

Speaking to Channel 5, Mr Galloway tonight said he doesn't understand Mr Sunak's claims that he 'glorifies Hezbollah' but hopes they can discuss it at the next PMQs if the Prime Minister 'has the guts'.

He continued: 'I'm not responsible for whoever declares they endorse me. I've never met Mr Griffin and have no intention to.'

Mr Galloway went on to say that he 'abhors extremism' just as much as the Prime Minister does and agreed that change can only occur though the democratic process.

Mr Sunak tonight demanded Britain unite against extremism as he made an extraordinary plea for calm on the steps of No10 and told police to take a harder line with protests.

And he cited rising anti-Semitism that has left Jewish children 'fearful to wear their school uniform' and Islamophobia that has seen 'Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with'.

The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the 'poison' on the streets, adding: 'We must draw a line.'

'This situation has gone on long enough and demands a response not just from the government, but from all of us,' he said.

'I fear that our great achievement in building the world's most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy is being deliberately undermined. There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.'

In response to the PM's criticism, Mr Galloway used a TV interview to mock ''little Rishi Sunak' and refused to condemn the Hezbollah terrorist group.

Mr Galloway coasted home after Labour disowned its candidate in a normally-safe seat

Last week there was fury when a pro-Palestinian protest saw the phrase 'from the river to the sea' projected onto the Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. The phrase is regarded as an anti-Semitic trope that tacitly demands the destruction of Israel

His comments come a week after the suspension of ex-Tory chairman Lee Anderson for comments about the Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan, and days after he himself said there was 'mob rule' in the UK.

He added: 'The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.

'We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart. There must be leadership, not pandering or appeasement

'This week I have met with senior police officers and made clear it is the public's expectation that they will not merely manage these protests, but police them.

'And I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action.'

Mr Galloway, one of Britain's most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.

The former Labour and Respect MP, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, took aim at Labour Sir Keir Starmer leader in his victory speech focused on Palestine.

The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the 'poison' on the streets, adding: 'We must draw a line'

Mr Galloway said: 'Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.'

When he was asked by Sky News if he had a message for Sir Keir, he said: 'You have lost the trust, you have lost the confidence of millions of your traditional loyal voters.'

In a turn of events, Sir Keir appeared to back the Prime Minister's message calling for unity in the country, following Mr Sunak's attack on intimidation.

In a statement, he said: 'The Prime Minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.

'It is an important task of leadership to defend our values and the common bonds that hold us together.

'Citizens have a right to go about their business without intimidation and elected representatives should be able to do their jobs and cast their votes without fear or favour.

'This is something agreed across the parties and which we should all defend.'

Meanwhile, Mr Galloway only said that he won a 'free and clear election' when asked about the claims of intimidation by Sky News.

Mr Ali was fourth with just 2,402 votes (7.72 per cent).

His name appeared on the ballot papers as a Labour candidate because the decision to drop him came after the cut-off point.

There is not thought to be a modern precedent for two effectively independent candidates coming first and second in a Parliamentary contest.

At 39.7 per cent, turnout was slightly higher than in the recent Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.

And the scale of the victory raised questions about whether Labour would have been able to defeat Mr Galloway even if their campaign had not derailed.

Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.

Labour has apologised to the voters of Rochdale for not fielding a candidate, following what Rishi Sunak described as 'one of the most divisive campaigns' in recent times.

The party warned Mr Galloway will stoke 'fear and division' and said he 'only won because Labour did not stand' after it dropped its candidate Azhar Ali for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas' October 7 attack.

It came against a background of protests against Israeli military action in Gaza, which has left more than 30,000 people dead, the majority of them civilians.

Last week there was fury when a pro-Palestinian protest saw the phrase 'from the river to the sea' projected onto the Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben. The phrase is regarded as an anti-Semitic trope that tacitly demands the destruction of Israel.

At the same time there have been targeted protests outside the offices and homes of MPs.

Last week Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons speaker found himself in hot water after altering Commons rules regarding a vote on a Gaza ceasefire - saying he acted out of fears for the safety of MPs.

But Mr Sunak has also faced problems on his own benches, with former Tory chairman Lee Anderson suspended last weekend for saying that Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan had handed over control of the capital to 'Islamists'.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: 'The British people will take no lessons from a Prime Minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.

'This is the same Prime Minister who made Suella Braverman his Home Secretary and Lee Anderson his party's Deputy Chairman.'
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley is calling for former President Donald Trump's trials to be fully addressed before the November election, warning voters need to know 'what they're walking into.'

The former UN ambassador and lone opponent still in the primary race against Trump made her comments in an interview after the Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it will decide if Trump is immune from prosecution in his federal election interference case.

The high court said it would hear oral arguments in the case the week of April 22, which means Trump's election interference case in Washington, DC is on pause at least until the summer if it does goes to trial.

'I think voters are going to want to know what they're walking into, and if they're walking into a president who's still going to have to be in court, or if they're walking into a presidency where he he can get rid of a court case, Haley said in an interview with NBC News' Kirsten Welker. 'Voters are going to want to know that.'

Haley said the Supreme Court needs to spell out when it will give a decision, what it will mean for people who have already voted, and they need full answers 'before the general election.'

She said unfortunately court cases can take a long time. She said there is a likelihood voters will not get to know what will happen before the election.

Nikki Haley campaigning in Washington, DC on March 1. She said the Supreme Court needs to spell out when it will have a decision after it agreed to hear the Trump immunity case. Haley said she does not believe a president should be immune and must 'live under the law'

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide Donald Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution on charges brought by a special counsel involving his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss

Haley also slammed the former president saying she does not think a president should be immune from anything.

'I think that the president has to live under laws too,' Haley said. She blasted Trump saying he's asking for things no other president has ever asked for, but she argued it was not just about Trump but every president.

'We need to make sure that no president ever thinks they're above the law,' Haley said.

In deciding to hear the case in what would be a historic ruling, the country's highest court said it would consider whether and if so to what extent does a 'former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve officials acts during his tenure in office.'

Special Counsel Jack Smith had urged the court to dismiss Trump's push for review or have it granted on an emergency basis.

The Supreme Court typically issues its rulings in June, but it isn't bound by that schedule.

'You don't get complete immunity,' Haley added. 'You can't just assume that anything and everything is, you're going to get full immunity. Presidents have to live according to certain standards as well. We can't go and just give them free rein to do whatever they want to do.'

The justices, with a 6-3 conservative majority, will review a lower court's rejection of Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution with arguments set for mid-April. It means the case is on pause until at least the summer

The Supreme Court agreeing to weigh in comes as scheduling has proven to be a logistical challenge with the former president's mounting legal troubles. He is currently facing four criminal trials all while campaigning for president.

The case involving hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels is scheduled to begin in late March.

'I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November,' Haley said. She said should Trump become president, she does not think any of it is going to 'get heard.'

The former president facing criminal charges has not dampened support in the Republican presidential primary. He has swept every single GOP primary to date and is heading into Super Tuesday when 16 states will vote with the momentum behind him.

Haley, meanwhile, has yet to win a primary state but she hasn't slowed down, quickly crisscrossing the country ahead of Super Tuesday.

'The hard part is Trump has been able to campaign in these places for eight years,' Haley said in the interview. 'We're getting just a couple of days here and there, but the messaging is good. Everybody wants to get back to a normal country.'

She said the goal is to have a 'good competitive showing' and dismissed criticism that the longer she stays in the race, the more it helps Biden. She called that 'ridiculous.'
China moves to provide convenient payment services for foreigners

Xinhua) 11:02, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, demanded concerted efforts on Thursday to allow foreigners to make easier payments in the country.

At a conference on optimizing payment services, PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng urged comprehensive and coordinated actions in a bid to achieve concrete results in the near future.

Alipay, one of China's major payment apps by Ant Group, has allowed foreigners in China to pay with their overseas bank cards via the app's international version or use their familiar home e-wallets by scanning Alipay QR codes.

Next, Ant Group will work to resolve difficulties regarding foreign visitors using Alipay to take subways and buses in major Chinese cities.

Meanwhile, Chinese banks are taking measures to expand the acceptance of overseas bank cards and facilitate their use of cash in the country.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Qinxuan Pan, right, in a past court appearance. Tom Breen / New Haven Independent / Pool Qinxuan Pan in a past court appearance. Tom Breen / New Haven Independent /

NEW HAVEN  The man charged in the killing of a Yale graduate student on Lawrence Street in 2021 has pleaded guilty to the crime, officials said Thursday.

Qinxuan Pan, 32, pleaded guilty Thursday to murder, the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said in a news release. Pursuant to a plea agreement, it said, Pan faces an effective sentence of 35 years in prison when he is sentenced at Superior Court in New Haven April 25.

Kevin Jiang was killed on Feb. 6, 2021. New Haven police officers responded to the intersection of Lawrence and Nicoll streets that day following several 911 calls reporting that a person had been shot.

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When they arrived, officials said, police located Jiang suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and he was later pronounced dead. They said an extensive three-month search in multiple states resulted in Pan being arrested in Alabama and extradited back to Connecticut.

Pan was accused of shooting Jiang, 26, in the face multiple times on Lawrence Street in New Haven's East Rock neighborhood on Feb. 6, 2021. Jiang, who was working toward his master's degree in environmental science at Yale University had just left his fiancee's apartment before the shooting, police said.

According to his arrest warrant, Pan stole a GMC Terrain, changed his cellphone number and drove to Connecticut that same day. After the shooting, North Haven police stopped Pan as he was stuck on railroad tracks, but officers let him go since they received a different description of the shooting suspect.

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Officers later searched the vehicle for evidence and found a reddish-brown stain on the gear shifter, the warrant said.

This stain was found to be "100 billion times more likely" to have originated from Jiang and an unknown party than two unknown parties, according to the arrest warrant.

After a monthslong manhunt, Pan was apprehended in Alabama in May 2021.

The news comes almost a year after Superior Court Judge Gerald L. Harmon released attorney Kevin Smith, of Pattis & Smith Law Firm, from representing Pan.

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The reason for the change in legal representation was not discussed during a hearing on the matter, but Harmon confirmed that Pan qualified for a public defender. Public defender Sanford Bruce was appointed to represent the Massachusetts man.

Pan initially pleaded not guilty to his murder and second-degree larceny charges in connection with Jiang's death. Before the plea, the case had numerous delays, including a competency hearing that found Pan could stand trial.
The family of slain Connecticut mom Jennifer Dulos has issued a somber statement after her estranged husband's girlfriend Michelle Troconis was convicted of conspiracy to commit her murder.

'Todays verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother,' said Farber family spokeswoman Carrie Luft.

'This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this casemost important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found.

'We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifers loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.'

Troconis, 49, was convicted on all six counts including conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence linked to the disappearance of the mother-of-five in May 2019.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was convicted on all six counts including conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with evidence linked to the disappearance of the mother of five

Michell Troconis, 49, broke down and sat with her head in her hands as the guilty verdict was read on Friday morning

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

Troconis was found guilty of helping lover Fotis Dulos kill his wife in 2019. Fotis killed himself before he could face trial

The Farber family added: 'Many questions remain as we approach the five-year marker. It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads. In the meantime, Jennifers grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory.'

The American-Venezuelan broke down and sat with her head in her hands as the guilty verdict was read on Friday morning.

The vanished mom was in the midst of a bitter divorce from Troconis' lover Fotis Dulos, who was charged with her murder but committed suicide before his trial.

Before Troconis was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs, the judge reportedly set her bond at $6 million dollars in cash only. She is set to be sentenced on May 31 and faces up to 50 years behind bars.

Troconis' trial began in early January, as prosecutors argued she helped dispose of Jennifer's body in trash bags after Fotis slayed her in their Connecticut home.

Jennifer vanished on May 24, 2019, after dropping her children off at school, and her body has never been found.

The mom, whose children were aged between eight and 13 at the time, was reported missing when she failed to show up for several appointments in New York City.

Because Fotis Dulos killed himself before he could stand trial, the details of how Jennifer disappeared were left to Troconis' conspiracy trial.

Prosecutors said Fotis attacked his wife in the garage of her home, and put her body in her Chevrolet Suburban before driving it three miles away, where it was later found abandoned.

Later on the day of her disappearance, Troconis was seen with Fotis on surveillance footage at around 7:30pm stopping at several locations around Hartford, Connecticut, with the businessman seen dropping off several trash bags along the way.

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.

At trial, jurors were shown grisly images of blood-spattered evidence, including stains around Jennifer's Connecticut home.

Surveillance video showing Dulos and Troconis 'disposing of bloodied items' was among the damning evidence that led to Friday's guilty verdict

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

Police also found a bloody footprint in the garage where they believe Jennifer's body was moved

Investigators 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

Also among the grisly evidence was a blood stain in Jennifer Dulos' Range Rover which was parked in her garage

Jennifer and Fotis Dulos are pictured before her murder and his suicide

Former state police detective Matthew Reilly testified that he spotted blood stains on several surfaces in Jennifer's kitchen, including on a paper towel roll, sink faucet, and counter-top - and in her garage.

Jurors were also shown photographs of bloodstains on Jennifer's abandoned Chevy Suburban.

Blood was also found on the exterior of a Range Rover in their garage, and officials found evidence of an attempted cleanup.

Due to the significant amount of blood apparently cleaned from the scene, it was clear that Jennifer was deceased - with Judge William P. Osterndorf declaring her 'officially dead' as the trial was ongoing.

Troconis, who was a former ESPN host in South America, had been living with Fotis and her daughter in their Farmington, Connecticut home that the businessman had once shared with his wife and children.

After Jennifer was reported missing, Troconis was brought in for questioning, where she claimed she thought the bags seen in the surveillance footage contained goods from one of the homes Fotis was selling at the time.

Jennifer Dulos is pictured in a photo released by police when she went missing

Fotis, a luxury real estate developer, is alleged to have attacked and killed his wife in her garage, but committed suicide before he could face the music

Venezuelan socialite Troconis (left with Dulos and right with her daughter) maintained her denials at having any involvement in Jennifer's death up until her guilty verdict on Friday

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.
A rake-like Rishi Sunak cut a gangly dash across the stage, enveloping his warm-up man, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack, in a bear hug. (This is the modern Conservative Party after all.)

The Prime Minister was in Aberdeen to gin up the troops at the Scottish Conservative conference and whatever his woes on the national scene, Sunak was all sunshine and vim at the podium, helped in great part by his ongoing refusal to age.

Stick an owl in one hand and a wand in the other and you could mistake him for the head boy at Hogwarts.

Playing to the home crowd, he hailed Aberdeen as the energy capital of the UK, before adding: As Michael Gove assures me, its the nightlife capital, too.

They liked that. Scottish Tories could do with a laugh, but mostly they were after some Nat-bashing.

Rishi Sunak gave a rousing speech at the Scottish Conservative conference

The Prime Minister was only too happy to oblige.

Labour and the SNP were on an ideological quest against the oil and gas industry, but the Tories were going to stick up for the thousands of jobs it brought to the North-East.

A vote for anyone else is a vote to shut down this industry, he told delegates.

Labour would take us back to square one, he ventured, but the SNP would take Scotland back 300 years.

The line met with eager applause in the hall.

Sunak pointed out that the SNP had been in government in Scotland since before the smartphone was invented.

They certainly found their way around the delete button quickly enough.

Humza Yousafs party was much like the now-infamous Willy Wonka experience in Glasgow, the Prime Minister said, promising much but delivering little.

Their obsession with independence was holding Scotland back.

In a pointed reference to Nicola Sturgeons former chief of staff Liz Lloyd, Sunak commented that he wasnt interested in having a political rammy during Covid; he was too busy trying to save jobs and businesses.

His sharpest remarks were still to come and concentrated on the SNPs politics of division.

I will have no truck, he said to enthusiastic clapping, with the Nationalist desire to set Scot against Scot and Scots against the English.

H IS speech hammered home the new Tory message that the way to improve political outcomes at Holyrood was to elect more Conservative MPs to Westminster.

Or as he put it, eyebrow knowingly raised: Lets send the Nationalists back home to think again.

Cue applause, delegates up on their hind legs, the music strikes up. Done and dusted.

Not quite. The speech was over but now we were to be treated to a bonus feature: a question and answer session, with Douglas Ross putting party members questions to the Prime Minister.

The pair retired to some hideous boxy armchairs that were one flat-pack shelving unit away from an IKEA display.

There followed an interview in which Ross relayed carefully selected questions to the Prime Minister then applauded his every answer.

Rishi used the opportunity to get more digs in at the SNP, reminding everyone that while the Treasury had given English businesses a 75 per cent rates cut, and handed SNP ministers the cash to do the same north of the Border, the Scottish Government pocketed the dosh and Scottish businesses got nowt.

Proceedings ended on a sobering note when Ross asked about the safety of parliamentarians and the security measures put in place to protect them.

The Prime Minister said it was incredibly concerning to see MPs targeted and the House of Commons upend its procedures to appease extremists.

He said some protesters had crossed the line. Crossing the line? Theyre stampeding over it.
A federal court on Friday ordered a new sentence for a retired Air Force officer who took part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, in a ruling that could see dozens of other convicts have their punishments reduced.

Retired lieutenant colonel Larry Brock, 57, gained notoriety on Jan 6., 2021, when he was pictured wearing combat gear, holding a discarded pair of zip-tie handcuffs on the Senate floor.

He was sentenced last year to two years in prison for obstructing Congress.

An appeal court in Washington upheld the conviction but said that a judge was wrong to extend his sentence with an 'enhancement' on the grounds that his conduct resulted in 'substantial interference with the administration of justice.'

Enhancements can be used by courts to impose more severe punishments.

This image from Senate Television video, shows Larry Brock, right, on the floor of the Senate at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The image formed part of the case against him

Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for Washington's U.S. attorney's office said the same enhancement had been used in more than 100 other Jan. 6 conviction.

As a result, the ruling could pave the way for dozens of appeals for shorter sentences.

However, it was unclear whether Brock received an increased sentence because of the enhancement. Washington judges often say they would have given the same sentence with or without it.

His lawyers, like Donald Trump who faces charges for the day's events' argued that Brock was not involved in any violence as the mob attacked the Capitol.

But the panel of appeal judges said that did not matter,

'Brock participated in a riot that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election by force, and that he was himself prepared to take violent action to achieve that goal,' they wrote, referencing his own social media posts.

'Where a defendant announces his intent to use violence to obstruct a congressional proceeding, comes equipped for violence, and then actually obstructs that proceeding, the evidence supports a finding that he acted with an impermissible purpose or knowledge of the wrongfulness of his actions.'

But they agreed that crimes committed on Jan 6. were not directed at derailing the legal process.

'Brock's interference with one stage of the electoral college vote-counting process -while no doubt endangering our democratic processes and temporarily derailing Congress's constitutional work - did not interfere with the 'administration of justice,"' they concluded.

Brock was part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol. But an appeal court on Friday said he should be resentenced after a judge wrongly used an 'enhancement' that he engaged in 'substantial interference with the administration of justice'

Brock is incarcerated in Missouri and is expected to be released in December

The result is that Brock, who is incarcerated in Missouri and is expected to be released in December, will now be resentenced.

Brock's lawyer estimated that the enhancement increased his sentence by nine months.

However, his sentence was on the low end of the range recommended under federal guidelines of 24 to 30 months. And at times judges in Washington have said the enhancement made no difference to their sentencing.

Brock was wearing a helmet and tactical vest when he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol and went onto the Senate floor only minutes after Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber.

Brock picked up a discarded pair of zip-tie handcuffs and was photographed in a widely shared photo holding the cuffs on the Senate floor.

His lawyer said in court papers that Brock did not pick up the cuffs to do any harm.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. will start air dropping humanitarian aid into the Ukraine before he corrected himself and said it would go into the Gaza strip.

The announcement comes a day after hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in a rush to get food from an assistance convoy.

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip - one quarter of its population - are one step away from famine, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Biden, meeting in the Oval Office with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, said the food drops would arrive in the coming days. He noted he played Ray Charles' 'Georgia on My Mind' as the Italian prime minister came into the Oval Office.

Members of the Jordanian Armed Forces air drop aid parcels along the Gaza coast, in cooperation with Egypt, Qatar, France and the UAE - the U.S. will join the air drops in coming days, President Biden announced

'We're going to discuss the Middle East and yesterday's tragic and alarming event in north Gaza, trying to get humanitarian assistance in there,' he said.

'The loss of life is heartbreaking. People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in.'

'We need to do more and the United States will do more.'

Then he started talking of the Ukraine: 'In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance.'

Biden then caught himself and said it was aid to Gaza: 'In addition to expanding deliveries by land, as I said, we're going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses, because the truth is aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now  it's nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line.'

He also said they hope to know 'shortly' if a ceasefire can be worked out between Israel and Hamas.

'We are trying to work out a deal between Israel and Hamas  the hostages being returned and the immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks, and to allow the surge of aid to the entire Gaza Strip, not just the south,' the president said.

President Joe Biden meets Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office; Biden said he welcomed her with Ray Charles' 'Georgia on my Mind'

Humanitarian aid is airdropped by Jordan forces into the war-torn Gaza region

The aid announcement comes as the administration faces growing pressure at home and abroad to do more to rein in Israel and to help the suffering Palestinian population.

In Gaza, more than 100 people were killed on Thursday after Israeli forces fired on a mass rush to a food convoy.

That brings the death toll to more than 30,000 since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war on October 7th, after Hamas forces attacked Israel.

Arab countries quickly condemned Thursday's violence. Biden said it could make it harder to negotiate a cease fire. Israel said its forces fired after the crowd approached the food convoy in a threatening way.

Aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military.

People have eating animal feed and even cactuses, according to reports, and medics say children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration.

Jordan, meanwhile, already has begun air drops of aid into the war-torn region, working with Egypt, Qatar, France and the UAE.

U.S. officials warn that aid airdrops will have a limited impact since a U.S. military plane could only drop the equivalent of the amount of aid one or two aid trucks can carry.

Up to 250 trucks of aid can enter the region a day if the circumstances allow.

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike during a military operation in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip

Biden had earlier expressed hope that a deal would be done by Monday. He said Thursday that looked unlikely.

'Hope springs eternal,' he said 'I was on the telephone with people from the region. Probably not by Monday, but I'm hopeful.'
The nest perched high up the sloping cliffs of a disused quarry in southern Scotland seemed an unlikely spot to start investigating international organised crime.

It belonged to a female peregrine falcon  one of Britains most protected birds  whose efforts to breed there were mysteriously ending in failure.

When falcon expert George Smith and PC Gavin Ross inspected the nest, they found two of the four reddish-brown eggs they knew the bird had been sitting on had vanished.

As the men readied to leave, they spotted a footprint, still fresh in the stony soil, which didnt belong to either of them.

Peregrine falcons being trained

Scots-bred peregrine falcons are in demand and prized for their speed and beauty

Wealthy owners travel in luxury with prized falcons

Someone else had followed a different route up to the nest.

We later found out that had happened roughly 20 minutes prior to us being there, so we had just missed catching them in the act, said PC Ross, of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU).

A bid to catch the perpetrators red-handed was thwarted when the thieves returned and stole the other two eggs before surveillance cameras could be set up.

Far from an isolated incident, however, this was among a spate of falcon egg thefts across the UK which sparked concerns that this cruelly exploitative crime is becoming more prevalent.

The case was among the first pursued under Operation Tantallon, a major wildlife criminal investigation which is uncovering evidence of a multi-million-pound international trade in illegally traded wild-caught birds.

Those responsible for carrying out this despicable act of wildlife piracy were stealing to order for clients, many of whom are based a world away in the fabulously wealthy oil-rich deserts of Arabia where falcon racing is fast replacing horse and camel racing as the sport of sheikhs.

Peregrine falcons can reach diving speeds of 200mph, making them the fastest animal on the planet.

The only thing faster, seemingly, is the rise in popularity of racing them.

It is scarcely more than 20 years since Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, son and heir of the billionaire ruler of Dubai, dreamed up falcon racing as a way to keep Emiratis connected to their heritage. But there have been unintended consequences.

While traditional hunting with falcons is a Bedouin skill dating back 2,000 years, the sheikhs populist move has transformed falconry into a lucrative global enterprise and that has exposed Scottish wild peregrines  whose bloodlines are held in particular esteem  to ruthless exploitation by a thriving black market.

In elite Arab circles, the finest specimens are not only in demand for their speed but as the ultimate status symbol.

It has led to a parallel expansion in entirely legal captive breeding programmes  some Scottish projects are now owned by Arab interests, including members of the Qatari royal family  not only to supply the thousands of birds required to race but also the most beautiful specimens.

The fear is that a relaxation in the controls governing the movement of captive-bred birds has allowed the unscrupulous to launder wild birds through the captive-bred market. And where there is a loophole, thieves are always ready to pounce.

In May 2021, one month after the visit to the quarry, police and the Scottish SPCA raided the home of a part-time gamekeeper, Timothy Hall, 48, and his 23-year-old son, Lewis, in Berwickshire.

Officers found seven falcon chicks in the house, each just a couple of days old, and seized fraudulent breeding certificates and drones used to monitor nests.

Mobile phone data put the accused at the scene of the crime and DNA testing showed four of the chicks found at the Halls home came from the nest in the quarry.

None were related to the nine adult captive birds also in the house.

All seven chicks were returned to the wild.

Faced with overwhelming evidence, the Halls pleaded guilty to charges under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species which governs the buying and selling of highly protected birds.

As well as firearms and animal cruelty charges, Timothy Hall also admitted to possession of seven wild birds in May 2021, contrary to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

From paperwork found in the house, it was clear other wild-caught birds had been smuggled and sold over several years.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court heard that, between 2019 and 2020, the Halls were involved in the sale of 15 chicks for which they received 41,164. They were large sums of money, said PC Ross. We viewed it as serious and organised crime.

Inevitably, the money trail led abroad  among items recovered from the Halls home was a receipt from a Dubai-based bank account.

Caught in act stealing eggs, abseiling Christopher Wheeldon

A clutch of peregrine falcon eggs with a huge value

Snatched wild chicks taken from their nests

DNA helped to prove that seven or eight birds wild-caught by the Halls are now being raced in Dubai.

Although the charges carried a maximum prison term of five years and an unlimited fine, Timothy and Lewis Hall were last month ordered to carry out just 220 and 150 hours of unpaid work respectively.

Both were prohibited from possessing any bird of prey for five years.

Lewis Hall is now subject to action under proceeds of crime legislation, but it seems a feeble return for three years of investigative effort. I was extremely disappointed, said Mr Smith, 64, who has devoted half his life to the Lothian and Borders raptor study group.

The sentences are not much deterrent to other potential thieves; it looks like you can remove as many peregrines as you want, make lots of money, and get away with some community service.

Put like that, it is easy to see why organised crime may be interested in peregrine eggs. In Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, the finest chicks are worth more than their weight in gold. In October 2022, a record price of almost 780,000 was set for a falcon.

The first races only date back to 2002, but one recent competition in Dubai, which involved 3,000 birds, boasted an eye-watering prize fund of almost 5million.

Events such as 400-metre sky-sprints are judged to precision by hi-tech timing devices used in the Olympics.

As the sport quickly caught on, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi with a fortune estimated at 11billion, created The President Cup, held each January.

Joshua Hammer, author of From The Falcon Thief, has studied the phenomenon.

The competition between the Al Maktoum and the Al Nahyan families had fuelled a quest for the fastest, hardiest and most beautiful falcons in the world.

Its big business, he said.

Anyone who doubts that should take a look at online images of the luxury airliners where owners travel first class with their hooded birds perched beside them.

And a birds thoroughbred looks can be just as valuable as its speed. In the UAE, peregrine falcon beauty pageants are now staged with six-figure prizes for the winners.

In the vast air-conditioned shopping malls of Dubai and Doha, Qatars capital city, designer falconry stores sell not only tethered birds, but the latest in fashionable accessories and potions to enhance their plumage and boost their power, while at Dohas Souq Waqif Falcon Hospital, a three-storey facility that would rival many medical clinics designed for humans, a staff of 30 treats around 30,000 falcons a year.

Birds can be brought in for a simple checkup or to be microchipped, but there are surgical theatres ready to deal with racing trauma injuries, including broken bones, using identical equipment to hospitals for humans and the same drugs you would find in a pharmacy.

More cosmetic work takes place in the imping room, a beauty salon for falcons where beaks are polished, talons trimmed and damaged feathers replaced from the extensive feather bank, where tens of thousands of plumes are sorted by colour, pattern and size.

With such high stakes, a birds pedigree becomes all-important. Rightly or wrongly, captive-bred birds, which can legally be traded, are deemed slower by aficionados due to being hand-fed from birth as opposed to having to hunt.

Wild birds are more desirable: considered stronger, fiercer and faster  and Scottish specimens, which tend to be genetically larger than Mediterranean examples, are especially prized in the Middle East.

One falconer based in the UAE, who asked to remain anonymous, said: In the racing scene today there is a bloodline that has been doing very well, and it comes from the Gyr-peregrine, a hybrid species, partly a Scottish peregrine and hence the attraction.

Falconers are just looking for wild genetics to bring in new bloodlines which are of Scottish peregrine blood and then crossbreed them for racing.

In the wild, 75 per cent of newborn falcons die in their first year of life, so the odds of survival are low. I know it doesnt make it right, but one or two eggs here and there is really not doing anything to the wild population.

Its not that those babies will be smuggled and then sold for exorbitant money, its really just to get the genetics that they want to then put into the Gyr-falcons which stay low and race fast.

Its a startling insight into the Middle Eastern mindset. By many accounts, the Emirates has cracked down on bird smuggling but it is difficult to stop a skilled smuggler from sneaking eggs across a border.

For a still-sparse peregrine population that came close to extinction in the early 1960s, when pesticides such as DDT killed their prey, the risks to their survival remain real.

Despite a recent revival thanks largely to the work of conservationists and watchful voluntary groups, peregrines are still classed as rare with around 1,600 wild breeding pairs throughout the UK  around a third of them in Scotland.

There are also numerous legal captive breeding projects here.

The Al Thani royal family of Qatar has owned one for more than a decade near Bonchester Bridge in Roxburghshire for its exclusive private use and employs top local breeders to achieve results.

Of course, the businesses these reputable breeders operate are totally above board, but according to the police and animal welfare charities, the legitimate trade in captive-bred eggs is open to abuse by big-time operators to launder stolen ones, in the same way other gangs wash their ill-gotten profits.

They are supplied by people like the Halls willing to risk a hazardous climb, and relatively light punishment if caught, in return for a few thousand pounds.

The problem is not confined to Scotland. In January, former tree surgeon Christopher Wheeldon, 34, was jailed for 18 months by Derbyshire magistrates after he was filmed abseiling down to a quarry ledge and snatching a clutch of three falcon eggs.

Laundering starts from the moment the wild bird is taken  a false declaration is filled out stating the falcon has been legally bred from captive adults, then shipped abroad as quickly as possible. Between 2007 and 2022 there was a 4,500 per cent increase in export permits for UK peregrines, according to Police Scotland, and it is not known how many were illegally caught.

In the UK, animal welfare groups say there has been a weakening of legislation which means this illegal trade is easier to get away with.

It is certainly astonishingly easy to get hold of a peregrine falcon these days. Simply typing a few words into any computer search engine throws up numerous examples of UK breeders advertising their wares on social media.

On Facebook, one typical customer recently posted: Looking for merlin or peregrine chick/young. The now or even in next few months.

Am in Scotland but will travel the country for 1 or 2. Thanks. He was swiftly put in touch with a breeder in England.

In the past, people would have had to register a peregrine in the same way they would register a vehicle, keeping a car-style logbook identifying their birds with numbered rings, and giving their lineage so they could be matched against their parents to prove they had been legally bred in captivity.

But that changed in 2008, when the then-Labour government weakened the Wildlife and Countryside Acts registration controls.

Now, if you want to sell a peregrine falcon you need to fill out a certificate, but you dont need to send it out anywhere, said Guy Shorrock, a recently retired senior RSPB investigator who spent more than three decades probing this trade.

It effectively removed the audit trail, which meant the police could no longer trace where any captive bird had gone.

It was the catalyst for a perfect storm because falcon racing in the Middle East meant the price of peregrines went up. We are hearing prices of 5,000 or more per bird now  mainly for the females, which are the bigger bird. No doubt a load of criminals saw it as a huge opportunity.

Mr Shorrock said Operation Tantallon has shown that many more people are involved: The problem is we simply dont know the scale of the problem  we dont know if its 20-30 birds a year being lost or 100-plus. I suspect its more likely to be 100-plus, but we dont actually know.

Spared jail, Lewis Hall and father Timothy

The RSPB has called for tougher legislation to allow the police to do their jobs as well as the introduction of spot-checks on breeders where there isnt enough evidence for a search warrant.

Mark Thomas, the RSPBs head of investigations, also called for better sentencing guidance for sheriffs after the Halls walked free.

We just felt like they left court laughing at everybody, he said. These protected birds of prey will continue to be at risk if there are not significant changes to the current legislation.

Unlike falcons, legislators move slowly which leaves a dark shadow hovering over Scotlands surviving wild peregrines.

And while they swoop effortlessly to dispatch their prey with powerful blows from their sword-sharp talons, they are no match for a predatory human.
A gunman who opened fire at a southern California dental office, killing one and injuring to others, was a former disgruntled patient, police have revealed.

Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was arrested on Thursday after a desperate hours-long search following the shooting at the Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics in El Cajon, a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego.

Police said on Friday the suspect legally purchased the gun he used in the attack just two weeks ago. An exact motive for the shooting remains unclear.

Officials have not identified the man killed in the shooting at the office, which is run by the father-and-son team of doctors Jack and Benjamin Harouni, who are beloved members of the Jewish Persian community in the area.

It's not clear if the Harounis were in the office at the time of the shooting. The San Diego Coroner's office told DailyMail.com the identity of the slain victim has been put under seal.

Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was arrested after a desperate search following the shooting at the Smile Plus Dentistry & Orthodontics in El Cajon

The office's receptionist Yareli Carrillo, 28, was shot in the legs but is in stable condition

Images of a SWAT team outside of the El Cajon dental office where a shooting unfolded Thursday afternoon

The office's receptionist Yareli Carrillo, 28, was shot in the legs but is in stable condition and expected to survive. A man in his 40s who has not been named was also injured but expected to survive.

Captain Rob Ransweiler said Abdulkareem was familiar to the people inside the office, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribute.

'There were a lot of family members on scene,' he said. 'Most of the people who were involved, they have information as to who was involved.'

Police believe that Abdulkareem, a resident of El Cajon, rented a white U-Haul pickup with an Arizona license plate just an hour before the shooting. He reportedly used the vehicle to flee the scene after he opened fire.

Abdulkareem reportedly used a handgun, but it's not clear how many shots he fired.

'A vigilant citizen alerted the San Diego Police Department that they believed the U-Haul truck involved in the shooting was parked near 6thAvenue and Quince Street in San Diego,' police said in a statement about Abdulkareem's arrest.

Dr Benjamin Harouni is pictured above. It's unclear if the father and son were in the office when the shooting took place

The suspect's vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona license plate AM14894, was identified shortly after the shooting. Police said they then confirmed that the suspect had rented the truck

'San Diego Police officers responded and discovered the truck was unoccupied. A short time later, officers located Abdulkareem in the area and took him into custody without incident.'

Abdulkareem was found to be armed with a loaded handgun and several loaded handgun magazines.

He is charged with multiple felony charges, including one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The FBI's San Diego team, as well as the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, are aiding the investigation.
It comes after a former FBI special agent told DailyMail.com this week that the delays may be a 'tactic' to help Kohberger at trial

The families of the slain University of Idaho students slammed officials after yet another delay to the trial of suspected quadruple murderer Bryan Kohberger.

In a furious statement released after a judge declined to set a trial date this week, the families of victims Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle pleaded with the courts to 'please, please, start making some decisions, get to work, and quit playing the delay game.'

'Why are victims' families so misunderstood?' the families questioned, saying they only want 'justice', but the continual delays make it impossible.

Their pleas for help come as former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told DailyMail.com that the postponements appear to be purposeful 'delay tactics' from Kohberger's trial team to try and swing the suspected killer an advantage.

Bryan Kohberger, 29, is not expected to face trial until at least the spring of 2025 after another delay to his court date this week - sparking outrage from the victims' families

He is accused of shocking the nation in November 2022 when University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin , Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death in their off-campus home

The families of Xana Kernodle (left) and Kaylee Goncalves (right) released a furious statement this week, pleaded with the courts to 'please, please, start making some decisions, get to work, and quit playing the delay game'

Kohberger, 29, is accused of shocking the nation in November 2022 when University of Idaho students Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves were stabbed to death in their off-campus home.

Now nearing on two years since the grisly murders, the trial is still in its preliminary stages, with this week's delay coming as Kohberger's defense attorney Anne Taylor argued that the trial needed to be delayed due to the huge amount of information surrounding it.

This has included refusing to officially establish Kohberger's supposed alibi on the night of the murders, and all he has claimed is that he was out driving alone.

Following the latest delay, which means Kohberger won't face trial until at least the spring of 2025, Goncalves and Kernodle's families said in their statement that they 'just want justice for our loved ones.'

'Everyone around can claim they understand our feelings and sympathize with us but they never really understand what we want which is fairly simple,' the statement read.

'We want communication, we want efficiency in prosecution, we want a court that will make timely decisions and we want a fair trial.'

It is not the first time the families shared their frustration at the unending delays, with the mother of Kaylee Goncalves saying back in November: 'It's gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?'

It is not the first time the families shared their frustration at the unending delays, with the mother of Kaylee Goncalves (left) saying back in November: 'It's gut-wrenching how slow everything has to go. Why does this have to be so drawn out?'

Boyfriend and girlfriend Ethan Chapin (left) and Xana Kernodle (right) were slain in bed together in the gruesome murders in November 2022

The family Kaylee Goncalves leave Latah County Court in November 2023, and they say they intend to attend every one of Kohberger's hearings

Kohberger was a criminology lecturer at a nearby university, and prosecutors say his cell phone puts him at the scene of the crime while his alibi was just that he was 'driving alone'

They slammed that the 'theme of the case' has seemingly become that 'we only want to do this one', leading to frustrating delays at every hearing.

'That is the controlling narrative on how decisions are made by all parties. The idea that if we overthink, take more time, delay, second guess and consider every possible thing, that somehow that will keep the parties from making mistakes is fools gold.

'The problem is that you can't control what you can't control.

'Whatever decisions are made during this trial will be reviewed and looked at by other parties (either on appeal or criticism by the public).

'So why don't we just get on with the case instead of worrying about making mistakes.

'This illusion by everyone involved that they can control what happens is frustrating. A jury will hear the evidence and return a verdict. But we need to get there sooner rather than later.'

The grieving families concluded with a quote by S.H. Payer, which read: 'Make a decision as wisely as possible and then forget about it, the moment of absolute certainty never arrives.'

'We want to start healing, we do, we want to find justice and try to move on from this horrible tragedy so please, please, start making some decisions, get to work, and quit playing the delay game,' the statement ended.

Their sentiments were echoed by Coffindaffer, who led calls for officials to bring the ongoing disputes to a conclusion for the sake of the families.

'The victim families are really the sufferers with these delays,' she told DailyMail.com after the latest hearing.

'Unfortunately, it looks like we're still years away from trial.'

Former FBI special agent Jennifer Coffindaffer (pictured) told DailyMail.com that the postponements are purposeful 'delay tactics', but the frustration is far worse for the victim's families as the unending hearings are like continually 'picking a scab off the wound'

Kernodle's family said the courts don't understand their simple expectations: 'We want communication, we want efficiency in prosecution, we want a court that will make timely decisions and we want a fair trial.'

The families have made several statements in the past about their frustration with officials dragging their feet over the case

Coffindaffer, who has served as an expert witness on numerous trials, said while the delayed trial is frustrating, it is far worse for the victim's families as the unending hearings are like continually 'picking a scab off the wound.'

'They have to see him, they have to listen to the details, it's more and more painful for (the victims families),' she added.

The former FBI special agent claimed Kohberger's defense team are purposefully using 'delay tactics' to try and swing any advantage in their favor, including the possibility key witnesses could pass away if it stretches on years.

'There's all these things that can happen when you delay, delay, delay, in my opinion the defense knows this and they will continue to delay,' she continued.

Amid the frustration over the year-long process without even a trial date, some were angered to see the Moscow, Idaho home where the murders took place torn down in December.

Although both prosecution and defense agreed for it to be torn down, the families argued against it, Coffindaffer argued that it should have remained standing until a conviction was found.

'I will always stand by the fact that that house could have held important information in the cracks and crevices,' she added.

The families of the victims pleaded for the home to remain standing, with Goncalves' family saying the move would 'destroy one of the most critical pieces of evidence in the case.'

The off-campus home where the four grisly murders took place was torn down in December amid the delays, despite calls from the victims' families to keep it standing

Questions have been raised over the lax courtroom security around Kohberger, which has been compared to Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen (right), who has been shackled at every turn

Ms Coffindaffer also argued that the lack of any concrete alibi is another 'delay tactic' by Kohberger's team.

'I know Judge Judge will likely be lenient to a degree too, because this is a death penalty case,' she added.

'He doesn't want to be overturned in his rulings, and there are over 50 terabytes of information in the case, so the defense has all of that working on their side.'

While not causing any delays, Kohberger's hearings have also come under scrutiny for the seemingly lax security around the murder suspect, as he continues to enter court in a full suit without handcuffs.

'It just really lacks proper security,' Ms Coffindaffer argued.

'He's in a suit and tie, his hair is trimmed, his eyebrows are trimmed, there's no security around him.'

She claimed the lack of precautions is peculiar, especially when compared to others accused of similar crimes - such as the Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen being escorted by SWAT teams in full shackles to his hearings.
Texas police have said the car crash that killed Mitch McConnell's sister-in-law Angela Chao is under 'criminal investigation' - but refuse to release the 911 call and video evidence.

Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died earlier this month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in the state.

Police have now said that the death of the 50-year-old is under 'criminal investigation', according to CNBC.

In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Blanco County Sheriff's Office said: 'This incident was not a typical accident.

'Although the preliminary investigation indicated this was an unfortunate accident, the Sheriffs Office is still investigating this accident as a criminal matter until they have sufficient evidence to rule out criminal activity.'

No further details on what kind of criminality may have befallen Chao were shared.

Angela Chao, who is the head of the dry bulk shipping firm, passed away earlier this month

Angela Chao (far right) is pictured in 2015 with her sister, former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (left), her brother-in-law Mitch McConnell (second from left), now President Joe Biden (center), and her father, James Chao (second from right)

Chao was found dead shortly after midnight on February 11 when her car was pulled out of a pond on a ranch in Johnson City, around 40 miles from Austin.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that teams fought to pull Chao out of a vehicle on the ranch for over an hour.

In a report obtained by the outlet, fire officials said: 'The deputies were in the water standing on what they believed was the vehicle, trying to gain access to the possible victim inside the vehicle.'

Deputies remained in the water while crews set up lighting to aid the rescue, a tow truck was also brought in to pull the vehicle out.

Officials had to use tools to break the vehicle's windows and pull Chao from the vehicle where they delivered 'advanced life support' for 43 minutes.

The ranch where Chao died is owned by a corporate group that is connected to her husband, venture capitalist Jim Breyer, according to the outlet.

Due to her death remaining the subject of a criminal probe, the sheriff's office said that 911 logs, audio and video evidence could not be released to media outlets.

The office wrote: 'Releasing the reports, videos and other information prior to the completion of the investigation would interfere with the investigation and possible prosecution of this matter.'

The letter also went on to ask the Attorney General for his opinion on whether records should be kept from the public.

Chao was found dead shortly after midnight on February 11, after her call was pulled out of a pond on a ranch in Johnson City, around 40 miles from Austin, seen here

Angela Chao is pictured with her husband Jim Breyer in 2023. Her first husband died during their first year of marriage

The sheriff's office had originally said in their statement that: 'EMS attempted emergency measures on Ms. Chao but she succumbed from being under the water.

'Our preliminary has determined this to be an unfortunate accident. The investigation is ongoing at this time.'

Chao's father, James S.C. Chao, remembered his youngest daughter as 'thoughtful, kind and devoted' as well as being a much-loved 'charismatic and visionary leader.'

He said in a statement: 'It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I announce the passing of my beloved youngest daughter, Angela Chao.

'Angela is a brilliant woman, a charismatic and visionary leader and much-loved by all her sisters, our entire family and friends.

''As a daughter, sister, mother, aunt, wife and friend, she was unfailingly filial, thoughtful, kind and devoted.'

The family added: 'As a trail blazer for women in the executive suite, she inspired others to pursue their dreams. She also loved music and tried the French horn as her instrument when young, insisting on carrying it herself to every lesson.

'These early experiences created a lifelong, passionate commitment to the fine arts.

'Angelas name in Chinese sounds like the characters for peace and prosperity. She certainly gave more than her share of both to this world.

Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the Labor and Transportation departments. McConnell and Chao are seen here in 1993

During his tearful speech on Wednesday, McConnell brought up the passing of Angela saying it was tragic

'Her absence leaves a void not only in our hearts, but in the Asian-American community.'

Chao was the sister of McConnell's wife, Elaine Chao, who has served as secretary of both the Labor and Transportation departments.

McConnell announced earlier this week that he would be stepping down as the Republican leader in the Senate later this year.

Speaking on the Senate floor, he said: 'This has been a particularly difficult time for my family. We tragically lost Elaine's younger sister Angela, just a few weeks ago.

'When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there's a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process.'

Angela Chao was married to Jim Breyer, who has an estimated net worth of $2.9billion.

Breyer is part owner of the Boston Celtics, and previously served on the boards of Facebook, Walmart, Marvel, News Crop. and Dell.

The Chao family: Standing far left is Angela - who died in the car crash. In the back row is her sisters Christine, May, and Grace. Sitting next to her father James S.C. Chao is Elaine Chao. James S. C. Chao is seated next to portrait of his late wife

Angela Chao is pictured with her first husband Bruce Wasserstein, who died in 2009 just months after they wed

She was previously married to billionaire banker Bruce Wasserstein - who died in 2009, just months after they wed.

The Chao family is the only one in the history of the school to have had four daughters attend the Harvard Business School.

Angela completed her bachelor's in economics, graduating with summa cum laude, in just three years.

She then went on to attend Harvard Business School before joining over her father's company, The Foremost Group, in 1996. Chao became the CEO of the company in 2018.

She was remembered for her 'pioneering leadership' and for being a 'formidable executive' in the shipping industry.

In June 2016, Chao was also appointed as independent director of the board of the Bank of China.

Angela Chao was a founding advisory council co-chair of The Asian American Foundation - who gave a statement on the news of her tragic death.

The nonprofit said: 'The Asian American Foundation is heartbroken to learn of the devastating death of Angela Chao, a beloved businesswoman, philanthropist and respected leader.

'Angela has left an indelible mark on The Asian American Foundation and the AAPI community.
A Denver court worker spent $25,000 of public money in a year to hire contractors to do her job so she could go off for sexual encounters or conduct personal business, an investigation found.

Alice Ehr stepped down from her position as court interpreter administer at Denver County Court after 14 years in the role following the findings, the Denver Post reports.

The probe found 'multiple examples of time and monetary fraud', which included using the public funds to hire cover for her court post, sometimes on days when she worked another job or left work for the trysts.

Ehr denied the allegations and said the emails presented to the disciplinary investigation had ben 'taken out of context'.

'I was told, 'OK, the investigation is over if you leave',' she told The Denver Post. 'I was like, 'OK, perfect. Good.' She added that she left her role due to the stressful impact of the investigation.

Alice Ehr was accused of spending $25,000 of public money in a year to hire contractors to do her job so she could go off for sexual encounters or conduct personal business

She stepped down from her position as court interpreter administer at Denver County Court after 14 years in the role following the findings,

Ehr spent $25,000 in 2022 paying contract interpreters to do dispatching, a central tenet of her job, according to a disciplinary letter.

Ehr said that the arrangement was a 'creative solution' to judges' requests for in-person interpreters when nobody was willing to attend court.

She claimed she had sign off for the spend from her supervisor Deputy Court Administrator Bill Heaney, but that he 'conveniently didn't remember'. The letter notes Heaney 'adamantly denies' knowledge of the situation.

However the probe found that she abused vacation time and remote work and allowed a subordinate to do the same.

Investigators found she took week-long trips to Hawaii in 2021 and to Breckenridge in 2022.

She claimed to be working remotely, but 'there is little-to-no indication (she) produced any work on behalf of DCC', according to the letter.

Ehr is believed to be single and is the adoptive mother of two daughters, according to her website.

An investigation was sparked after the Denver Board of Ethics received an anonymous tip that Ehr was working second jobs while on the clock,

The probe found evidence for eight separate misconduct issues, according to a disciplinary letter seen by the Denver Post.

It uncovered evidence which showed Ehr was working secondary interpreting jobs, including language proficiency interviews for the city's Civil Service Commission and translating parent-teacher conferences for which she was paid more than $7,000 between 2021 and April 2023.

Ehr denies the allegations against her but has apologized and taken responsibility for her actions

Other colleagues claimed Ehr had sexually inappropriate conversations with them at work

She also worked on authoring a book and attended workshops in working hours.

Court officials accepted her resignation as they were preparing the fire her, county court spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler told the outlet.

Tyler said her conduct was not referred to police as the department did not believe it warranted such an escalation.

'These are Career Service Rule violations of dishonesty amounting to 'theft of time,' which is distinct from criminal theft of property or funds covered by the state and local criminal statutes,' she said in a statement.

'While Ms. Ehr's actions were clearly an abuse of trust and created unnecessary expense to the city as a result of her scheduling abuses, her actions were not a clear violation of Colorado's criminal theft statutes.

Several of Ehr's colleagues said that her conduct went beyond what was uncovered in the investigation and alleged that she frequently showed them pornographic material.

They did not speak for fear of retribution as Ehr was a well-liked figure in the interpreting community.

Ehr's Linkedin states she has 18 years of interpreting experience and is a trainer on 'presentation skills, interpreter ethics, interpreter skills and protocol'.

She admitted to discussing her sex life with colleagues to the Denver Post but claimed she did not realize the conversations were making coworkers uncomfortable.

She claimed to have more than 1,000 documents demonstrating her innocence which she 'burned on a bonfire' meaning they no longer exist.

In a closing statement she said that she takes responsibility for her actions.

'I apologize for those, and ask that you also believe that I have never acted with malice or intentionality to harm the reputation or dignity of the city, nor to steal from it.'

Denver County Court said it thoroughly investigates allegations of misconduct and does not tolerate retaliation for reporting such misconduct.

'Moreover, if an employee is uncomfortable for any reason raising concerns to our own HR Department, they have an open door to the City and County of Denver's main HR Department as a separate confidential resource,' the statement said.
This is the moment a Jewish man wearing a skullcap was told 'your religion is killing Muslims' by a vape-puffing passenger on the London Underground.

The incident of alleged anti-Semitic abuse happened on a Northern Line journey between Chalk Farm and Belsize Park in the north of the city on Thursday.

In footage shared by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, who decided the blur the face of the passenger, he is seen appearing to goad the Jewish man by blowing smoke from his red vape towards him.

The Jewish man, who is recording the interaction, questions why the passenger is staring at him after he moves down the empty carriage to sit directly across from him.

'Have you got a problem?' he asks him.

In footage shared by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, the video begins with the passenger appearing to goad the Jewish man by blowing smoke from his red vape towards him

The pair begin to have an argument with the vaping man confirming he is a Muslim in the exchange

After being called out for wearing the hat, which is a brimless cap known as a kippah or yamaka worn by most Orthodox Jewish men at all times, the Jewish man bravely said: 'So what youre doing is called anti-Semitism. Youre anti-Semitic'

After a few tense seconds with no reply, he asks: 'Why have you got a problem? Why are you looking at me?'

The passenger replies: 'Your religion kills Muslims, thats why.'

The shocked Jewish man responds: 'What?'

'You kill Muslims' replies the man, who then confirms that he is a Muslim.

The pair begin to have an argument after the Jewish man accuses him of being inconsiderate due to his vaping on the underground, with the Muslim man responding 'I don't give a sh**'.

Then the Jewish man said: 'I havent done anything to you, youve got an issue with me, Ive got no problem with you.'

As the Jewish man loudly denounces the Muslim's behaviour - labelling it anti-Semitic several times - the vape smoker said: 'You're recording me innit?'

The passenger replied: 'Youve done a lot... Youre wearing the hat.'

After being called out for wearing the hat, which is a brimless cap known as a kippah or yamaka worn by most Orthodox Jewish men at all times, the Jewish man bravely said: 'So what youre doing is called anti-Semitism. Youre anti-Semitic.'

'But you kill Muslims' responds the man, who has been pixelated for legal reasons.

The Jewish man replies: 'I've done nothing. I've sat here on the tube. What you're doing is anti-Semitic. You've got no idea what's going on in my head.'

'But your religion supports killing Muslims' responds the vape-smoker.

As the Jewish man loudly denounces the Muslim's behaviour - labelling it anti-Semitic several times - the vape smoker said: 'You're recording me innit?'

'Yeah of course, because what you're doing is anti-Semitic. I'll deal with it. You're an idiot' replies the Jewish man who then stands up and leaves the train.

A poster of Kfir Bibas, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, is daubed with swastikas

A pro-Palestine protester holds up a sign comparing Jewish people to the Nazis

People attend a Campaign Against Antisemitism rally outside New Scotland Yard in central London, seeking police action amid a rise in anti-Semitic incidents

Following the incident, British Transport Police confirmed they were investigating the incident, posting on social media: 'Good evening. I personally spoke to the victim of this yesterday and completed a crime report for the incident.

'If anyone has any information or witnessed this please contact us on 0800405040 or text 61016 quoting reference 677 28/02/2024.'

A spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism told MailOnline: 'It is shocking to see how this man was treated by this young lout for daring to be Jewish in public, but perhaps it is not that surprising.

'Inaction against the marches through London has led to a feeling amongst many extremists and antisemites that they can get away with brazen acts of racism against Jews, and too often they are right.

'Antisemitism has reached record-levels, but prosecutions are few and far between, and even when they do happen, the sentences handed down are often no deterrent at all. 69 per cent of British Jews now say that they are less likely to show visible signs of their Judaism in public, and this is why.

'British Transport Police, who are investigating the matter, have a better track record than the Metropolitan Police as of late and so we are hopeful that the perpetrator will face justice.'

In a post on social media, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: 'We have been made aware that last night on the London Underground, an identifiably Jewish man noticed a fellow passenger staring aggressively at him.

A total of 679 anti-Semitic offences were recorded by the Met Police from October 7 to November 7 2023, compared with 50 in the equivalent period the previous year and 81 in 2021

A synagogue is daubed with the letters 'IDF' and what appears to be the 'lightning bolt' insignia of the SS, the Nazi paramilitary death squads

The Community Security Trust, a charity, recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism, up from 1,662 in 2022 (File Photo)

'The passenger then began blowing the vapour from his e-cigarette in his direction. After a few minutes, the man started recording the passenger, unsure of what may happen.

'The passenger stood up and sat opposite the man. In the ensuing conversation, the passenger said: "Your religion kills Muslims".'

'He also proceeded to refer to the mans skullcap in saying: "Youre wearing the hat."

'We believe it is possible that the passenger in question may be a minor, so we have blurred his face.

'He is described as a Middle Eastern male with a black ponytail between the ages of sixteen to twenty years old.'

The incident comes after a report published two weeks ago showed the number of anti-Semitic incidents jumped 147 per cent last year to record levels, with a massive surge in the wake of the Hamas atrocities on October 7.

The Community Security Trust, a charity, recorded 4,103 instances of anti-Semitism, up from 1,662 in 2022. It included 266 violent assaults on Jews, up 96 per cent year-on-year and the highest figure since the CST started gathering data 40 years ago.

For the first time, it recorded at least one anti-Semitic incident for every police force in the UK, with the majority  more than 2,400  in London, including some at vigils for Hamas's Israeli hostages.

Home Secretary James Cleverly condemned the figures at the time as 'utterly deplorable'. Ten of the violent incidents involved fake firearms and three involved knives. Victims were struck with metal bars or other objects in 13 cases, 53 were punched or kicked and 36 were spat upon.

Police forces across the country also noticed increasing rates of anti-Semitism since the October 7 attacks.

The Metropolitan Police recorded a total of 679 anti-Semitic offences from October 7 to November 7 2023, compared with 50 in the equivalent period in 2022 and 81 in 2021.
New Haven Superior Court on June 14, 2023. The state's attorney's office said Jorden Rudel, a 27-year-old New Haven man, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man in Woodbridge in 2021. Chatwan Mongkol/Hearst Connecticut Media

NEW HAVEN  A city man has been sentenced to more than three decades in prison for the 2021 killing of a man on a Woodbridge playground, officials say.

In a release, the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice said Jorden Rudel, 27, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for his role in the 2021 murder of Rondell Atkinson in Woodbridge.

State officials say Rudel pleaded guilty in New Haven Superior Court to a charge of felony murder. They said the plea followed an investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies which culminated in a trial of Rudels co-defendant, Rickey Traynham, in May.

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Officials said evidence presented at Traynhams trial established that Rudel confessed to multiple family members that he was involved in the robbery and fatal shooting of Atkinson, a 33-year-old West Haven man, at the Pease Road Playground in Woodbridge on June 7, 2021.
Disturbing video captured a hazing incident at the University of Miami involving members of a fraternity downing milk before spitting it onto the naked back of a student sitting in a trash can.

University of Miami police are now investigating the incident following reports depicting potential hazing within the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon on campus.

In the footage, obtained by NBC South Florida, one student is seen seated in a trash can while the three others surrounding him start chugging what appears to be jugs of milk, before spitting out the mystery substance on the man's back.

The person taking the video is heard saying, 'That's nasty.'

In a statement released on Thursday, the university acknowledged the existence of the videos and can 'confirm the authenticity of one video.'

Disturbing video captured a hazing incident at the University of Miami involving members of a fraternity downing milk before spitting it onto the naked back of a student sitting in a trash can

In the footage, obtained by NBC South Florida , one student is seen seated in a trash can while the three others surrounding him start chugging what appears to be jugs of milk, before spitting out the mystery substance on the man's back

University of Miami police are now investigating the incident following reports depicting potential hazing within the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon on campus

'The University of Miami has received multiple reports related to alleged conduct violations by one of our fraternity chapters,' the statement read. 'We are aware of videos being circulated but can only confirm the authenticity of one video. A full investigation is underway.'

'Personally it's just not for me,' UM Junior Nick Giannakopoulos said to NBC Miami. 'I think that's a very extreme path to take to join a student organization.'

'Pretty much to each their own in terms of if they feel they want to do that to make the most of their college experience; I know that's a big part of the culture here,' he added.

The act of hazing is illegal both on campus and in the state of Florida.

The act of hazing is illegal both on campus and in the state of Florida

In a statement released on Thursday, the university acknowledged the existence of the videos and can 'confirm the authenticity of one video'

'Personally it's just not for me,' UM Junior Nick Giannakopoulos said to NBC Miami. 'I think that's a very extreme path to take to join a student organization.'

In November 2017, a F lorida State University junior was killed by acute alcohol poisoning after alleged hazing while participating in Big Brother Night, a fraternity event hosted by Pi Kappa Pha

In November 2017, a Florida State University junior was killed by acute alcohol poisoning after alleged hazing while participating in Big Brother Night, a fraternity event hosted by Pi Kappa Pha.

Andrew Coffey, 20, was a civil engineering major from Pompano Beach.

The Tallahassee Democrat reports that officers were collecting alcoholic beverage bottles that were scattered on the home's porch as evidence.

Coffey was found unresponsive at about 10:25am the morning after the party, authorities say. Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

The fraternity has been suspended by its national organization pending the conclusion of the investigation.

A year earlier in 2016, Florida State University has suspended the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, after a member complained that pledges were forced to act like slaves in a Plantation-themed drinking game.

The unnamed TKE member waited until he graduated to report the 2013 incident on the school's anti-hazing website.

According to the report, TKE members forced pledges to participate in a drinking game called 'Old South,' in which the new members were made to act as slaves and serve drinks to the more senior fraternity brothers.

TKE brothers also reportedly drove pledges to far-away locations like Ocala (185 miles away) or Thomasville, Georgia (34 miles away), and abandoned them there to find their way back to Tallahassee without their cell phones or wallets.
Following a secretive visit to communist Cuba, two top progressive 'Squad' members are catching flak for being anti-American.

Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., the top two leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, made an unpublicized trip to the Caribbean island in February while the House was in recess.

The congresswomen, who are longstanding critics of the U.S. embargo on the island nation, said they were there to 'meet with people from across Cuban civil society.'

The trip sparked outrage among those on the right, especially among Republican lawmakers who have personally felt the impact of Cuba's communist regime.

'These are anti-American members of Congress,' GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said. 'They are communist sympathizers, and they go to Cuba, which is not only a state sponsor of terrorism, but they side with our adversaries.'

Malliotakis' mother was exiled from Cuba by the Castro dictatorship.

Reps. Ilhan Omar (R) and Pramila Jayapal (L) took a secretive February trip to Cuba with staff

Jayapal is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which is comprised of more than 100 lawmakers

Another victim of the Castro communist regime, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., called the progressives defenders of the Cuban dictatorship.

'They're apologists, for a dictatorial regime that has been in power for over 60 years. No free elections, no free press, no freedom of religion,' he said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, whose parents are Cuban immigrants, also slammed the progressives in a post on X.

'Pro-Hamas members of marxist congressional squad just returned from a secret visit with anti-American dictatorship in Cuba.'

The progressive lawmakers led a delegation of about a dozen people including a staffer from the office of California Rep Barbara Lee's office, the Miami Herald reported.

A spokeswoman for the 100-strong Congressional Progressive Caucus gave a brief explanation for the visit by its chair and deputy chair.

'Representatives Jayapal and Omar traveled to Cuba last week, where they met with people from across Cuban civil society and government officials to discuss human rights and the US-Cuba bilateral relationship,' she said.

There are strict restrictions on travel to the island which was placed back on the list of state sponsors of terror by President Trump in January 2021.

.@Ilhan & Communist Sympathizers visited Cuba to advocate for its removal from the state sponsors of terrorism list as Cuba harbors American cop-killers & terrorists, allows our adversaries to operate spy bases 90 miles from our shores & tortures, jails and kills its own people. pic.twitter.com/x8pcVCc9rt  Nicole Malliotakis (@NMalliotakis) March 1, 2024

Communist #Cuba must remain on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism.



Recently, Members of Congress travelled to my native Cuba to meet with the murderous regime that has killed thousands & forced millions more into exile.



There is no negotiating with these pathetic thugs.  Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) February 29, 2024

But both lawmakers have been vociferous in calling for its removal from the list and an end to U.S. sanctions on the island which Japayal claims have 'devastated' its economy.

'Being on this list has made it nearly impossible for Cuba to do international business, driving an economic downturn that has led residents to flee the country,' she wrote in January.

'It's time to re-engage with Cuba.'

The Democrats hope to stabilize relations with Cuba was also met with fierce opposition.

'Communist Cuba must remain on the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism,' Giminez posted on X. 'Recently, Members of Congress travelled to my native Cuba to meet with the murderous regime that has killed thousands & forced millions more into exile.'

'There is no negotiating with these pathetic thugs,' his post continued.

Rubio, for his part, sent a letter to Secretary of State Atony Blinken in November detailing Cuba's recent actions, and requested additional restrictions be placed on the country.

'As you know, the people of Cuba live under one of the most oppressive governments in the world,' he wrote at the time.

'There is no reason for Americans to be complicit in the ongoing human rights violations against the Cuban people.'

A 2022 State Department report found that Cuba remained a systematic abuser of human rights, carrying out arbitrary killings, torture and 'degrading' treatment of political prisoners.

The Congressional Progressive Caucus and the offices of Reps. Omar and Jayapal did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
Disturbing bodycam footage captured the moment soldiers were attempting the save the lives of four servicemen who were killed in a drug cartel campground in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed their deaths Friday during his daily press briefing in Mexico City.

The leftist leader said the army soldiers were conducting a surveillance mission in the town of Aguililla on Thursday and searching a field when an improvised explosive device that was hidden within the brush went off.

One of the soldiers died immediately and the other three died later from their wounds.

Nine soldiers were injured in the ambush.

Four Mexican army soldiers were killed and nine others suffered wounds after an improvised explosive device went off in a camp in Aguililla, Mexico on Thursday

Soldiers attempt to save one of their troop members during an attack in the western Mexico state of Michoacan on Thursday

They learned out about a camp and they went to the camp, as far as they could go, they did it in vehicles, then they walked, but on the way back they did not take the same path but another,' Lopez Obrador said.

'We deeply regret this crime,' he added. 'It weighs on me.'

Security cabinet sources told Mexican newspaper El Universal that the soldiers were attacked with gunfire and drone that were equipped with explosives while touring an area located between the Aguililla's villages of El Montoso and El Terrenatillo.

The soldiers were working in a territory dominated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

On Friday, four army servicemen and a helicopter came under fire in El Terrenatillo, according to Radio Formula.

The Mexican army was inspecting the campgrounds of a cartel and reportedly were attacked with gunfire and drones carrying explosive

The aircraft made an emergency landing. It's unknown if any of the soldiers were injured.

The deaths come as armed violence has soared in Mexico under Lopez Obrador.

Under his 'hugs, not bullets' crime policy, at least 180,000 murders have been registered since he entered office in December 2018.

Brutal slayings of police and military have become a common occurrence.

Last week, two local candidates for the upcoming June 2 elections were gunned down in another city in Michoacan within just hours of each other.

The election is on track to be one of the most violent in Mexican history.
James Cleverly was last night accused of 'hiding behind the murder of Sarah Everard' by burying details of a series of Home Office fiascos.

The Home Secretary published 13 damning reports into border and immigration failures on the same day as the findings of an inquiry into Ms Everard's murder by police officer Wayne Couzens.

Describing it as an 'act of utter disrespect', a former home secretary said a senior Home Office figure must 'carry the can'.

The Mail told yesterday how the reports exposed equipment failures and revealed that border controls had been left 'unmanned' and asylum schemes for people fleeing the Taliban had been open to 'individuals who had never been to Afghanistan'.

Two of the documents  issued by the former chief inspector of borders and immigration David Neal  concluded that 'protection of the border is neither effective nor efficient'.

Home Secretary, James Cleverly was last night accused of 'hiding behind the murder of Sarah Everard ' by burying details of a series of Home Office fiascos

Former Policeman Wayne Couzens sexually assaulted and murdered Sarah Everard after kidnapping her in March 2021

Their release was also timed to coincide with new Home Office data showing a 46 per cent surge in work visas last year and the highest number of successful asylum claims since records began in 1984.

In a derided statement, issued on Thursday, the Home Office claimed the simultaneous publication of Mr Neal's reports was a 'demonstration of transparency'.

One former home secretary said last night: 'Someone senior should carry the can for putting those 13 immigration reports out on the same day as the Sarah Everard inquiry.

'It showed a complete lack of compassion on a highly emotional day. It was an act of utter disrespect to Sarah's family.'

They added: 'This was clearly planned by James Cleverly. It was extraordinary for all those reports to be published in a huge batch on a day like that  and I know for sure that he would have signed it off.'

One ally of Suella Braverman, another former home secretary, said: 'This looks pretty cynical  using the case of a murdered woman in a cack-handed attempt at media management.'

Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett said: 'The best policy when dealing with serious bad news is to get it out there, and convince the public that you've got a grip.

'That is what James Cleverly should concentrate his attention on achieving.'

But Lord Blunkett pinned part of the blame on Mr Cleverly's predecessor Mrs Braverman for 'a failure of policy and implementation, and of refusing to publish the damning papers' in her time at the Home Office.

A senior Tory backbencher said: 'The tragedy that befell Sarah Everard will live with me for ever. But by doing what he did, Cleverly chose to hide behind her murder.

'For a man who likes to mention his service as an Army reservist at every given opportunity, this was an act of surprising cowardice.'

Mr Neal was sacked on the orders of Mr Cleverly after he exposed yet another borders farce in the Mail last week.

He said Border Force failed to inspect hundreds of 'high-risk' private jets which landed at London City Airport last year.

Mr Neal had repeatedly expressed his exasperation at the Home Office's refusal to publish his reports in a timely manner.

One of the reports finally issued on Thursday had been gathering dust for 11 months. Alp Mehmet of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for tougher border controls, said the Home Office had attempted to 'hide' its mistakes.

33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped in South London, England, as she was walking home to the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common

A source close to Mr Cleverly said: 'The reports we inherited were published, as David Neal was promised by the Home Secretary in January they would be, at the earliest opportunity.

'We did so hours after the Angiolini [Sarah Everard] report had come out in full, not before, precisely not to distract attention from that important report and quite rightly it was covered by most media extensively as a result.

'This included a statement from the Home Secretary in the House of Commons where he expressed his condolences to the family of Sarah Everard and paid tribute to their dignity and his thanks for the important findings in the report. He also wrote about it in this newspaper.

'It is absurd to claim any lack of transparency or accountability in publishing the reports, given all 13 contain scrutiny, criticism and recommendations for the Home Office and will remain on the Government's website for anyone to view from now on.

'David Neal's final two reports will also be published within the eight-week time period, even following his sacking for leaking sensitive and inaccurate data to the Daily Mail, which he and the paper were told prior to publication was sensitive and inaccurate.'

The source said Mr Neal's reports were not published earlier 'so as not to distract' from his evidence to the Commons home affairs committee on Tuesday.
The hostel where Emma Caldwell spent her final weeks is a block of flats now. I drive past it most mornings on the way to work. It is round the corner from Butterbiggins Road in Glasgow, where Emma was last seen on CCTV that warm night in April 2005, just before she disappeared.

I thought of Emma when they tore the old hostel down, replacing it with one of those squat, modern apartment blocks that could have been thrown up anywhere.

It was where her dad, William, would visit her every Wednesday, picking up her washing and dropping off clean laundry.

And where her mum, Margaret, would come and get her every Saturday to take her home for a cooked meal, before bringing her back in the evening.

Its a detail that resonates because I know  as Im sure many daughters of loving parents do  that had I embarked down the same downward spiral that Emma did, these small, tender acts of love are what my mum and dad would have done, too.

A stolen future, Emma Caldwell at 18

I have always felt a connection to Emma. She was just five months younger than me, and we share the same name. I spent my teenage years in the same small village in Argyll where Emma grew up, although our paths never crossed.

Her middle name is Jane, and mine is, too. We both had the same wild blonde hair, the type that goes curly in the rain and is always in need of a brush.

But unlike mine, Emmas life was forever changed by early tragedy. She was a happy, outgoing child who loved horses and had lots of friends, who seemed destined to spend her life working with the animals she adored.

But when Emma was 18, her big sister Karen came home one day to tell the family that shed been diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Within two years, aged just 31, she was dead.

Emma was devastated at the death of her beloved big sister.

And when a boyfriend introduced her to heroin to cope with the pain, she started down a dark path into drug addiction and sex work.

While some of the women she knew at that womens hostel in Glasgow found a way out of prostitution and went on to live happy lives, Emma never got that chance. Instead, her life was brutally ended in a dark wood in a lonely corner of Lanarkshire, by Iain Packer.

Truthfully, you dont need a personal connection to feel compassion for Emma Caldwell, her family, or any of the sex workers who were ignored by police during the botched, 19-year investigation into her murder.

The circumstances, the sheer incompetence and mishandling of it, should be enough to make you furious.

This week, serial rapist Packer was finally jailed for a minimum of 36 years after being found guilty of strangling Emma and leaving her naked body in woodland 40 miles from her home on April 5, 2005.

Packer was found guilty of another 32 charges, including 11 rapes and numerous counts of sexual violence against a total of 22 women.

The judge said that Emma was killed in the most terrifying of circumstances and that Packer had carried out an extreme campaign of sexual violence to satisfy his desires.

For her mother, that it has taken so long for a conviction is devastating.

In a statement through her lawyer Aamer Anwar outside court, she said that a toxic culture of misogyny, corruption and arrogance meant that police officers effectively allowed a serial rapist to prey on vulnerable women, adding that she believes those officers have blood on their hands.

I NDEED, it is shocking that despite Packer first being interviewed by police just a month after Emmas death, it has taken so long to get here.

To learn that in March 2007 Packer took police to the site of her murder and admitted he had been there with her.

That, despite reports from multiple sex workers that Packer was dangerous, he was continually ignored because the police had plunged resources into charging four innocent Turkish men with Emmas murder  a case which later collapsed.

And that even after it did, they continued to overlook his significance.

As one detective said on BBC Scotlands excellent Disclosure programme on the case: They couldnt lose face, so they bluffed it out.

When, in April 2015, a Sunday newspaper published a dossier naming Packer publicly for the first time as the forgotten suspect, the police turned their attentions not to looking at him but to breaking their own rules by failing to seek judicial approval before using special powers to flush out the journalists mole.

So many years. So much money and heartache which could have been saved. While all the time Packer walked free  so cocky that he even gave an interview to the BBC to claim his innocence  and Emmas family were left to suffer.

Emmas father, who tragically died in 2011 without knowing what happened to his daughter, once said that it was typical of Emma to find a way to survive that only harmed herself. What is so heartbreaking is that she ended up being harmed so grievously by others.

By Packer and then, in death, by those who were supposed to bring her murderer to justice.

Emmas mother has spoken many times about the irrevocable change in her life her daughters death caused. Although Emmas killer has been brought to justice, she must live with her loss every single day.

But I do hope Emma herself can rest easy now, and that her mum can remember her bubbly, beautiful daughter as she was.

When they found Emmas body, and they came in and told me they had found her body, I just took this huge breath in and now I feel as if I can let it out, Margaret said this week.

I can breathe again and go on.

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Mature Monica, a woman living her life to the full

Monica Lewinsky fronts glamorous campaign for sustainable fashion house Reformation

Welcome to the (second) age of Monica Lewinsky, pictured. No longer the naive young woman who was publicly bullied and branded a homewrecker, this time around she is a graceful 50-year-old campaigning for womens rights and empowering young people to vote. She looks extremely well on it. Her younger self, I think, would be amazed and proud.

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MANY years ago I interviewed Dave Myers, pictured, who died of cancer this week at 66, alongside his fellow Hairy Biker Si King.

I was travelling from Glasgow to Edinburgh for an 11am interview and was barely at Haymarket before I received a frantic call from their PR.

Where are you? she demanded. The interview was meant to start at 10.30.

I hared off the train, ran all the way along Princes Street and up to George Street, arriving at the venue a sweaty, exhausted mess and expecting to be met by two very angry hairy bikers. Not a bit of it.

Hairy Biker Dave Myers who died of cancer this week

Sit yourself down, pet, and get yourself a cup of tea, Myers said to me, beaming.

He was kind, generous, hilarious, and utterly charming throughout the interview.

In other words, exactly what you saw on TV (and trust me, not every celebrity is).

Few will feel his loss greater than his family, and his best friend, King, who was at his bedside when he died. But I hope they know just how much love there is for him, and the wonderful shows he and King created.

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Visitors are flocking to Edinburgh Castle

Some good news, for once. Scotlands tourism sector is booming, with visitor numbers at attractions across the country returning to pre-pandemic numbers.

Edinburgh Castle, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Royal Yacht Britannia are all amongst tourism sites seeing an uptick, while St Giles Cathedral, where the Queen lay in state in September 2022 and King Charles received the Honours of Scotland last summer, also saw a boost.

Heartening to know that amongst all the doom and gloom people are still flocking here, and taking in some of our most magnificent sites.
The Liberal candidate for the seat of Dunkley has been heckled during a press conference as voters head to the polls in the crucial by-election.

The by-election is expected to show how Australians are feeling just a year before the next federal election.

Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy, flanked by Liberal senator Jane Hume, was heckled as he gave a press conference at a polling booth at Langwarrin on Saturday.

'We don't shout people down,' Mr Conroy said to one heckler.

'What we do have is a strong positive campaign.'

Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy, flanked by Liberal senator Jane Hume, was heckled as he gave a press conference at a polling booth at Langwarrin on Saturday

Mr Conroy said Dunkley voters were concerned about the rising cost of living.

'We need to have more jobs, more business, more choice, more homes for people,' he said.

'Then you look at crime, crime is on the rise and that's because of the housing crisis and the cost of living crisis.'

Labor holds the seat in Melbourne's outer-southeast suburbs on a margin of 6.3 per cent, but both major parties are playing down expectations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken of how there's normally a swing of 'around seven per cent' against governments at by-elections, while Liberal Leader Peter Dutton has said it would be difficult for the opposition to pick up the seat.

The by-election won't change government - Labor has 77 seats in the 151 seat parliament while the coalition has 55 - but the results will be keenly watched when counting starts at the close of polls at 6pm.

Already, about 22,150 people have voted early while 21,900 have applied for a postal vote, the Australian Electoral commission said.

For those who haven't voted, they have from 8am to 6pm to cast their ballot at one of 32 voting booths in the electorate.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said most governments expect a swing against them at by-elections. He and his fiancee Jodie Haydon are seen greeting Labor candidate Jodie Belyea at Derinya Primary School in Frankston South on polling day

'It's a big margin. But look, if there was a swing against the government of around three (per cent), then I think that's a terrible outcome for Anthony Albanese,' Mr Dutton told reporters

Although the 113,000 voters in Dunkley are the ones casting a vote on Saturday, the seat is representative of more than a dozen other seats across the country that will decide the 2025 general election.

As such, it will be a test of the government's policies to address the cost of living crisis and its credibility after Mr Albanese broke an election promise to keep the Morrison-government era stage 3 tax cuts as they were legislated.

The government has taken every opportunity to promote how its revamped stage 3 tax cuts - which passed the parliament on Tuesday and come into effect on July 1 - would help more people than the Coalition's legislated plan which he had promised numerous times not to change.

The opposition has focused on the government's credibility and how it's not doing enough to address the issues hurting Middle Australia.

The Candidates

The by-election has been triggered by the death of popular MP Peta Murphy from breast cancer last year.

Eight candidates are on the ballot, but it will be a contest between the ALP and the Liberals.

Labor's candidate is local community worker Jodie Belyea, who was recruited by Ms Murphy herself.

The Liberals have long-term Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy standing.

The by-election has been triggered by the death of popular Labor MP Peta Murphy from breast cancer last year

Labor's candidate is local community worker Jodie Belyea, who was recruited by Ms Murphy herself. The Liberals have long-term Frankston mayor Nathan Conroy standing

Mr Albanese said the fight to retain Labor's 6.3 per cent margin over the electorate would be 'tough' but remained firm that Ms Belyea would emerge popular with suburban voters.

'One of the differences between Jodie Belyea and the other candidates in this by-election is that she'll be a voice in government. Someone who can get things done as a voice in my government,' he told reporters.

'Not just be another bloke, sitting behind all the other blokes ... opposing everything, being negative about everything and running fear campaigns.'

Mr Dutton tempered expectations for a Liberal victory after early polls showed his party had a narrow lead in the days leading up to the vote.

'It's a big margin. But look, if there was a swing against the government of around three (per cent), then I think that's a terrible outcome for Anthony Albanese,' Mr Dutton told reporters.

'The boundaries have changed since a few years ago when we held the seat. So it's obviously gone into some more Labor territory.

'But the fact is that Nathan has done a great job in his local community and I think people will be voting for him in big numbers.'
Plans allowing Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales to hand out honours have been considered by Buckingham Palace in a bid to spread the load of royal duties in a slimmed-down monarchy.

Royal aides discussed the possibility of them standing in for the late Queen Elizabeth when she was still on the throne as the palace faced a huge backlog of investitures following the Covid pandemic.

Now there is speculation the 'preliminary' proposals  which in the end did not need to be invoked  could be revived given the King's cancer diagnosis and the dwindling number of senior working royals.

Currently only 'blood' royals hand out gongs. This is limited to the King, the Prince of Wales and Princess Anne.

There was talk of Kate (pictured) and Camilla standing in for the late Queen Elizabeth II. Catherin Princess of Wales wearing the Mantle of the Royal Victorian Order

'Queen Camilla has proved herself to be a really hard-working and dutiful spouse to the King,' A source told the Mail. Pictured, Queen Camilla attends a dinner at Mansion House in honour of her and King Charles III's Coronation

While the present set-up is simply down to convention, some are asking whether it is time allow 'fresh blood' to lend a hand as part of a wider re-invention of royal duties.

'Queen Camilla has proved herself to be a really hard-working and dutiful spouse to the King, and who wouldn't want to be handed a gong by the Princess of Wales? There is a feeling that they have both earned it and it might prove a very popular change,' a source revealed to the Mail.

While Charles has long been in favour of a 'leaner', more cost-effective monarchy, events of the last few years have overtaken him.

The loss of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh, Harry's decision to quit royal duties and the stripping of the shamed Duke of York's HRH status and royal role has left just seven main working royals  the King and Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal and the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Prince Edward and Sophie.

The King's diagnosis, which has forced him to step back from forward-facing public duties and Kate's lengthy recovery after abdominal surgery last month has sparked concern over the viability of the current set-up.

There were further jitters this week when Prince William announced he was pulling out of a thanksgiving service for his late godfather, King Constantine, on Tuesday with less than an hour to go citing only a 'personal matter'.

Currently only 'blood' royals hand out gongs. This is limited to the King (pictured), the Prince of Wales and Princess Anne. The King leaving Clarence House

Sources close to the royals insisted it should be seen as 'more of a bad week at the office than the decline of the House of Windsor'.

'Granted some of the optics, especially on Tuesday, haven't been great. There's probably a salutary lesson in allowing others fill the silence for you,' said one.

'In the current climate Buckingham Palace has shown it is best to let people know what's going on.'

The source added: 'The important thing is how the institution organises itself moving forwards, and to do that with clarity.'

Which is why the idea of redistributing some of the royal workload appeals to many insiders.

Around 30 investitures are held yearly which see more than 2,600 honourees for personal achievement or bravery receive their insignia from a member of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, as well as in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

One source said: 'There were preliminary discussions in the Jubilee year about increasing the number of senior royals who undertook investitures... that's when they first looked at adding Camilla and Catherine.'

As to whether other royals should now be involved, they added: 'For parity, all members of the Royal Family should do them.'

Others, however, are more sceptical, with one source saying: 'In my opinion they should be performed by members of the Royal Family in direct line of succession.'

'Increasing the number of senior royals'
These are the haunting last images of an enslaved mother who was tortured, abused and starved to death, as the sadistic trio were sentenced to life in prison.

Shakira Spencer, 35, was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London, after a neighbour raised the alarm when they saw maggots crawling from under her front door on September 25, 2022.

CCTV recovered by the police showed the last time the mother was seen in public, slowly crossing a road around the time of the assault which killed her.

In the months leading to her murder, the three killers - Ashana Studholme, boyfriend Shaun Pendlebury and friend Lisa Richardson - fed her only sachets of ketchup and turned her from a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'skeletal' size six.

A disturbing image shows Ms Spencer looking gaunt and almost unrecognisable compared to photos of her in happier times.

The group who befriended a 'kind and caring' mother before she was battered to death in 'the most savage and inhumane way imaginable' were sentenced to life in prison on Friday.

This is the haunting last image of an enslaved mother who was tortured, abused and starved to death, as the sadistic trio were sentenced to life in prison

Shakira Spencer was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London , after a neighbour raised the alarm

Ms Spencer had gone from being a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'gaunt and skeletal' size six shortly before her death, jurors heard

Ms Spencer was forced to sleep under newspapers in the hallway at Studholme's home and perceived by the defendants as 'less than human'.

The killers treated her as a slave, tortured her with a makeshift blowtorch and boiling water poured on her from a kettle, whipped her with belts and hit her with fists and a glass bottle. They also poured boiling water on her feet.

The abuse reached a 'frenzied climax' on around September 11 and 12 last year when the victim was beaten 'to the brink of death' at Studholme's home in what the judge described as 'an orgy of violence'.

CCTV dated September 10 showed Ms Spencer painstakingly crossing a road.

When the killers tired of their sadism, they bundled Ms Spencer into the boot of a car and drove her back to her flat, where she was locked in a cupboard while they waited for her to die.

They then moved her to a bunk bed where the body was left rotting for two weeks.

Other footage showed Studholme buying cleaning products to try and clean up the crime scene - using her own credit card.

Messages were also found on the defendants' phones, including videos of the enslaved mother being beaten up as others laughed.

Studholme, Pendlebury and Richardson were jailed at the Old Bailey for life with a minimum term of 34 years for her murder.

The court heard a devastating statement from Shakira's mother who said the defendants tortured and murdered her daughter 'like a pack of animals'.

CCTV captured the moment Ms Spencer was being driven to her home where she died - as she lay in the boot of a car driven by Pendlebury and Studholme

Other footage showed Studholme buying cleaning products to try and clean up the crime scene - using her own credit card

Ashana Studholme, who had befriended the victim, was found guilty of murder

Shaun Pendlebury, left, and Lisa Richardson, right, in mugshots after being found guilty of murder

Judge Angela Rafferty KC said: 'Images of Shakira before she fell under your influence show her full of life, healthy and smiling - she is unrecognisable at the end, emaciated and broken.

'All who watched it will be slow to forget the CCTV footage of her trying to walk on scalded feet in the middle of the night.

'You, Pendlebury, lived in her flat whilst she slept in a bike shed; you, Studholme, started as a friend but ended as the worst kind of enemy a person could have; you, Richardson, showed Shakira nothing but exceptional contempt and aggression.

'Leading up to her murder she was routinely and continually humiliated, degraded and dehumanised. She was loveable, soft and trusting, easy to take advantage of, and she needed a lot of help and support.

'Her friend said that a calculated person would easily be able to exploit Shakira - she was no match for the three of you.'

In a impact statement read to the court, Ms Spencer's son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he has suffered with daily nightmares and anxiety over what happened to his mother and cannot get the horrible image of her 'looking skinny and unwell out of my head'.

'Why were they (the defendants) so heartless? What could cause them to torture another human? I hope that every day they feel bad for the choices they have made.

Shakira Spencer, pictured in 2017, was once a healthy young woman - pictured right just days before her death

'I cannot believe people she thought were her friends would ever do this to her.

'These people are cruel and evil, they do not deserve to live a normal happy life again.

'To me, my mum was the best - she was not perfect but she made me feel happy, safe and loved, I miss her every day and wish for a chance to see and speak with her again.

'I never got to say goodbye to her, or to tell her that I loved her - these people let her die alone with her feeling she was unloved, as they had taken everybody away from her.'

In a witness statement read to the Old Bailey, Shakira's mother Merjia Spencer said her daughter was loved by the whole family and was a caring and sweet natured person.

'Shakira loved kids - she worked in a nursery when she first left school and I always joked that would put her off having her own but it didn't, she was really happy when she became a mum.

'She was quiet and shy but would come out of her shell a bit when she was surrounded by loved ones - she deeply cared about people and loved having friends to spend time with.

'Shakira was a beautiful, happy mother who was kind and had a trusting nature'

'She always wanted to be liked, which made her keen to please people, and thoughtful - however, this trait also made her vulnerable.

'The defendants have, over many months, taken away everything that Shakira loved.

'She was isolated from her family and friends, her health deteriorated and she was almost unrecognisable. The defendants were not content with the complete destruction of Shakira's life: when she was at her lowest the defendants have tortured and murdered her like a pack of animals'.

Ice was said to be packed around Ms Spencer in a primitive bid to slow decomposition.

Newspapers were carefully laid on the floor next to the bed as if Ms Spencer had been reading and died in her sleep, jurors heard.

An alternative plan to dispose of the body in a caravan was abandoned because the defendants could not risk moving her due to the state of decomposition, it was suggested.

As part of the cover-up, the defendants cleaned the victim's blood, bodily fluids and DNA from their homes and removed all traces of their presence from Ms Spencer's flat.

Studholme, Pendlebury, and Richardson were arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder before a three month trial into her death.

All three denied but were convicted of murder and preventing a lawful burial by an Old Bailey jury on Monday, December 11.

Ashana Studholme is seen being arrested at her home for the murder of Ms Spencer

Footage shows Lisa Richardson being arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder

Shaun Pendlebury is seen being arrested on suspicion of Ms Spencer's murder

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Brian Howie, from Scotland Yard, said Ms Spencer was murdered in 'the most savage and inhumane way imaginable'.

He said: 'Shakira was a beautiful, happy mother who was kind and had a trusting nature.

'Shakira could be vulnerable and these defendants took advantage of that by controlling and isolating her from everyone she knew in order to control and enslave her in the most dehumanising and degrading way.'

Mr Howie added: 'Whatever their cruel and sadistic motives were, there is no acceptable explanation for what Shakira was put through.

'This was a complex and challenging investigation. A meticulous timeline was created to pull together the different strands of evidence, paralleled against each other, in order to prove the defendants' campaign of controlling behaviour and violence.

'This included the retrieval and viewing of thousands of hours of CCTV, extensive forensic examinations, pathology, witness accounts, searching of houses and vehicles and reviewing the defendants' phones.

'That examination revealed what Shakira had been subjected to, with footage, messages and voice notes recorded by the defendants themselves that would prove key.'

Leader of the trio Studholme made friends with the mother-of-two before taking over her life and finances.

Studholme beat Ms Spencer around the head with a bottle in the bedroom leaving blood splattered on the walls.

She texted Richardson and said 'I've buss her head in. I need you here, I will go to jail.'

Ms Spencer used to be a healthy size 16 and was found dead in her flat in Hanwell, west London, after a neighbour raised the alarm

Pendlebury then chased her with a 'blowtorch' made of a lighter and aerosol before the killers beat her in the kitchen and poured boiling water on her feet.

On the evening of 12 September the victim was bundled into the boot of a red Honda Civic motor vehicle borrowed by Pendlebury from his aunt.

The couple bought kebabs and and were captured laughing and joking as they returned to Studholme's home.

They then began an intensive clean-up operation at Studholme's house, buying materials with money from Ms Spencer's bank accounts.

By the time Ms Spencer was killed, Studholme was 'in receipt of all of her benefits and had control of all of her finances'.

Studholme was caught with Ms Spencer's personal documentation including bank accounts, disability allowance applications and Nationwide Trust fund documents.

Ms Spencer had gone from being a 'beautiful, happy, healthy' size 16 to a 'gaunt and skeletal' size six shortly before her death, jurors hear

Lisa Richardson denied but was convicted of of the murder of Ms Spencer

Prosecutor Allison Hunter, KC, said earlier: 'Over the months leading up to her murder the defendants, primarily Studholme and Richardson subdued and dominated Shakira so totally that she was under all of their complete control.

'She was isolated from everyone she had previously known, her freewill seemingly sapped and stolen from her.

'They stole her self-respect, her finances, took over her flat, treated her like a slave, ordering her wake up in the early hours of the morning to clean their houses, sending her to the shops to do their errands, feeding her only on sachets of ketchup and then in circumstances of unbelievable depravity, boasted about and on occasion photographed and filmed what they did and were intending to do to her.

'This was the slow erosion of a human being over many months culminating in what the Crown says was a sustained, frenzied and almost feral attack over several days - scalding her, blowtorching her, hitting her head, whipping her with belts and hitting with fists and a glass bottle.

'When that didn't kill her outright she was bundled into a boot, taken to her own flat and locked in a cupboard and denied even food or water until she died.

'She was then left to rot in a bed as they attempted to mop up anything showing their involvement.

'Shakira Spencer was clearly perceived by these defendants as a species less than human.'

Jurors had deliberated for nearly 18 hours to reach verdicts and were excused by the judge from jury service for life due to the 'harrowing nature' of the case.

Police officers were called to the home of Ms Spencer in Hanwell, west London after a neighbour spotted maggots crawling from under her front door on 25 September 2022

The prosecutor previously told the court: 'They stole her home...took over her finances, controlled her whereabouts, destroyed her clothes, cut off most of her hair and they beat her.

'They scorched her, burnt her, beat her with a massager, left her to urinate herself and then they bundled her into the boot of a car, shoved her battered and bruised into a cupboard and left her to die.

'They are guilty of murder, and it really is murder of the most foul.

'They are guilty of denying a decent burial and I hope you do not lose one second of sleep if you do find them so.'

Pendlebury, of Ealing, Richardson, of Ealing, and Studholme, of Harrow, all denied but were convicted of murder and preventing a lawful burial.

Following the sentencing Senior Crown Prosecutor Devi Kharran said: 'Evidence presented during the trial proved that Pendlebury, Studholme and Richardson exercised twisted and sadistic control of Shakira Spencer over an extended period.

'They spun a web of lies in every effort to hide their actions.

'The CPS built a strong case against them using video footage filmed by the defendants themselves, mobile phone evidence, forensic analysis, and a confession from Shaun Pendlebury himself to prove beyond doubt that they were responsible for her death.

'The level of suffering that Shakira endured is simply unimaginable.

'Our thoughts remain with all of Shakira's family and friends. I hope this conviction brings them some sense of justice.'
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first in the upper chamber to endorse Nikki Haley's bid for the presidency on Friday, just days before her state's primary on March 5.

Murkowski is only the second member of Congress, following Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., to endorse Haley's longshot campaign.

Murkowski, who has been a senator since 2002, was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Trump after he was impeached for inciting an insurrection on January 6, 2021.

Trump then endorsed Murkwoski's primary challenger Kelly Tshibaka in her 2022 reelection race.

Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski became the first in the upper chamber to endorse Nikki Haley 's bid for the presidency on Friday, just days before her state's primary on March 5

'I'm proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,' Murkowski said in a statement. 'America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next Presidentand in this race, there is no one better than her. Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.'

Thirty-two GOP senators, almost two thirds of the Republican conference, have endorsed Trump. This includes four of the five members of Senate GOP leadership - all except Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who recently announced he would step down from his leadership role in November.

Even McConnell has flirted with the idea of endorsing Trump, despite their many public spats.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump's UN ambassador, is the only big name left in the primary against former President Donald Trump, she still lags far behind him in the polls and hasn't won a state primary or caucus against him yet.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump's UN ambassador, is the only big name left in the primary against former President Donald Trump , she still lags far behind him in the polls and hasn't won a state primary or caucus against him yet

Haley pledged to remain in the race until at least Super Tuesday, March 5, when 16 states and one territory have primaries.

Trump is up 81 percent to Haley's 18 percent in the most recent 2024 Republican primary poll conducted by Morning Consult.

But her campaign is not losing momentum - she also revealed earlier Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February alone despite losing every primary contest thus far.

The Haley campaign has been urging voters in the district to get to the hotel, saying in a text 'we can't afford four more years of Biden's failures or Trump's lack of focus.'

'You deserve better than a choice between Joe Biden and Donald Trump,' Haley states in the campaign text.
British politics can often be peculiar and tumultuous. Yesterday that was doubly so.

Dawn broke with a by-election triumph for one of the country's most poisonous and divisive political figures. And as the sun set, the Prime Minister made a plea for unity.

Make no mistake. This was a dreadfully dark day for democracy.

Nine years after he last left parliament, George Galloway  an odious Left-wing demagogue who worshipped at the feet of Saddam Hussein  is an MP again.

The firebrand swept to victory in Rochdale after a deliberately and dangerously sectarian campaign, marred by reported death threats and violence, which exploited fury among Muslim voters over Gaza.

He was, of course, helped by Labour leaving a vacuum in one of its safest seats after disowning its candidate Azhar Ali for peddling anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

George Galloway poses for a photograph outside his campaign headquarters in Rochdale, northern England on March 1, 2024, on the day he was elected as MP following a by-election

Mr Galloway's toxic brand of politics risks worsening the racism, disruption and criminality seen on Britain's streets since Hamas's October 7 massacre in Israel.

So speaking in Downing Street, Rishi Sunak was right to say: Enough is enough.

Announcing a crackdown on extremism, the PM gave a supremely powerful, personal and statesman-like address  one the nation was crying out to hear.

With the police supine, militant activists have become ever bolder. There have been threats to MPs' safety, intimidation and a rising tide of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hatred. 'Democracy itself is a target,' warned Mr Sunak.

Senior officers, he said rightly, must police marches, not just manage them. His pledges to boost support for anti-extremism programmes and cancel visas for those spewing hatred are also welcome. He must now turn words into action.

Britain is proud of its values, tolerance and freedoms. By vowing to protect them from zealots, Mr Sunak has shown the leadership the country wants and deserves.

Hapless Home Office

Nearly two decades have passed since Labour's John Reid memorably described the Home Office as 'not fit for purpose'.

In the years since, it is depressingly difficult to see what has changed.

By almost every yardstick, the shambolic, bungling ministry  run by Home Secretary James Cleverly  is failing dismally.

Take immigration. In every election since 2010, the Tories have promised voters they would restore sanity and restraint to Britain's borders. Yet the latest official statistics show that promise has not just been broken. It's been positively shattered.

Last year, a record 1.4million migrant visas were handed out. It is simply too many, adding to the already crippling strain on our public services.

The Home Office has seemingly given up the ghost on other fronts. The asylum system is in chaos, small boats keep coming, police stand idly by as pro-Palestine protesters spurt racist bile and feral thugs shoplift with virtual impunity.

Home Secretary James Cleverly decided to release the findings of an overdue investigation into immigration scandals - on the same day the Angiolini report into police failures over Wayne Couzens was released

One might think Mr Cleverly would want to spend every waking second tackling these problems. But on Thursday, he was conspiring to try to 'bury bad news'.

How shabbily cynical of him to release 13 excoriating reviews into Britain's broken border system on the day a report into police blunders that left officer Wayne Couzens free to murder was published.

True, the Home Secretary has been in post only since November. But he has so far been less than impressive.

He stands accused of gaffes, including using foul language to describe the Rwanda scheme and the town of Stockton-on-Tees, and sacking the border watchdog for flagging up national security concerns.

Some say Mr Cleverly seems to have little appetite for robust action. He must raise his game. Anything less would be a grotesque betrayal of the public who rely on his department for safety and security.
A file photo of a Connecticut State Police cruiser. State police troopers conducted an initiative on Route 15 last month to reduce speeding and aggressive driving. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Troopers made more than 170 traffic stops on Route 15 during a weeklong initiative last month, as state police increase traffic enforcement to combat aggressive driving and fatal crashes.

Connecticut State Police said the initiative took place Feb. 18-24 from Meriden to Greenwich on Route 15, also known as the Wilbur Cross Parkway and the Merritt Parkway.

Members of the agency's Traffic Services Unit stopped 157 passenger vehicles and issued 150 infractions, state police said.

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Troopers also conducted 51 commercial vehicle inspections and stopped 20 additional commercial vehicles, issuing nearly $8,000 in fines, the agency said.

State officials Thursday announced a campaign of increased enforcement on highways and rural roads under state police jurisdiction.

Officials said data shows that the highways in and out of the major cities of Hartford, Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport pose the most risk. In the coming weeks, troopers will be working on I-95 between Bridgeport and New Haven, and I-91 between New Haven and Hartford, they said.

According to officials, the state so far this year has had 50 fatalities on its highways, and saw more than 300 in each of the past three years.

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At least 67 people have been detained by Russian police as thousands across the country mourned the death of Alexei Navalny.

Arrests took place 'in 16 towns' across Russia, including six in Moscow where the funeral of Vladimir Putin's most feared critic was held.

The ceremony took place under a huge police presence as thousands defied the president's warnings and descended on the capital.

Some 18 people were detained in Siberian city Novosibirsk alone, according to OVD-Info.

It is believed that arrests were also made in the cities of Ekaterinburg and Novosibirsk in central Russia.

At least 67 people have been detained by Russian police as thousands across the country mourned the death of Alexei Navalny

Arrests took place 'in 16 towns' across Russia, including six in Moscow where the funeral of Vladimir Putin's most feared critic was held

Mourners, some carrying red flowers (pictured), bravely gathered outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothes My Sorrows on the city's outskirts - despite fears police are preparing for mass arrests

Mourners following the hearse in Moscow threw red carnations as it passed and could be heard shouting 'Putin is a murderer' and 'Russia will be free'

The Kremlin had warned that action would be taken against any 'unauthorised protests' on the day of Navalny's funeral, with 400 having been arrested for laying flowers at memorial sites following the outspoken politician's death two weeks ago

The brief funeral for Alexei Navalny was held two weeks after the president's biggest critic died in an Arctic prison on February 16

Pictures showed the opposition leader's open casket inside the Russian Orthodox church on the outskirts of the Russian capital

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya (pictured), spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow

Navalny's body left the church again at around 12pm GMT - less than an hour after it entered - on its way to be buried at a nearby cemetery

The dissident's parents (circled in red) followed the coffin inside, and were pictured sitting by his open casket

One person said: 'I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been'

Navalny was one of president Vladmir Putin's most outspoken critics and died two weeks ago

Mourners following the hearse in Moscow threw red carnations as it passed and could be heard shouting 'Putin is a murderer' and 'Russia will be free'.

There were also unconfirmed reports that Navalny's supporters were arrested as they left their homes to attend the funeral.

It is thought that one of those detained during the ceremony was an opposition politician.

The Kremlin had warned that action would be taken against any 'unauthorised protests' on the day of Navalny's funeral, with 400 having been arrested for laying flowers at memorial sites following the outspoken politician's death two weeks ago.

Riot police, who wore balaclavas, lined the streets around the Russian Orthodox church and police snipers could be spotted on roofs near the scene.

The brief funeral for Alexei Navalny was held two weeks after the president's biggest critic died in an Arctic prison on February 16.

Pictures showed the opposition leader's open casket inside a church on the outskirts of the Russian capital, after the coffin was carried past the large crowd of mourners with some holding red flowers.

Under the heavy police presence, a long queue could be seen forming near the church in the southeast of the capital, with reports saying thousands were in attendance.

One person said: 'I feel this is a funeral for the Russia that might have been.'

As the coffin was carried out of a black hearse and into the church, loud chants of 'Navalny, Navalny!' rang out around the square outside.

The dissident's parents followed the coffin inside, and were pictured sitting by his open casket. His body could be seen dressed in a suit, covered in flowers.

It left the Russian Orthodox church again at around 12pm GMT - less than an hour after it entered - on its way to be buried at a nearby cemetery.

As the coffin was driven away, video showed people chanted again: 'Russia without Putin', 'Putin is a killer' and 'We won't forget'.

Navalny was finally laid to rest shortly after 1pm GMT.

Pictures showed the opposition leader's open casket inside a church on the outskirts of the Russian capital, after it was carried past a large crowd of mourners - some holding red flowers - who bravely gathered despite fears of mass arrests

Relatives and friends pay their last respects at the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, March 1

The funeral for Alexei Navalny got underway today - two weeks after the opposition leader died in an Arctic prison on February 16. Pictured: Navalny's coffin arrives at the church on the outskirts of Moscow as thousands of mourners watched on from the streets outside

Moscow police launched a massive security clampdown on Friday morning outside the church and the nearby cemetery where he will be buried, with most mourners prevented from getting to the church by police and iron fences

A hearse, which reportedly transports a coffin with the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, is seen in this photo parked outside the Soothe My Sorrows church before the funeral service and farewell ceremony in Moscow, March 1

The crowd outside the church on Friday was seen in live broadcasts of the event. Reports said thousands of people gathered on the streets outside. Many chanted Navalny's name

Navalny's parents - Anatoly Navalny, right, and Lyudmila Navalnaya - were seen entering the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow

Moscow police are seen standing guard outside the church in Moscow today

Moscow police began a massive security clampdown ahead of the funeral of Alexei Navalny

Foreign diplomats, including French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy and US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, wait near the Soothe My Sorrows church before a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny

Mourners gather in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church during a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow's district of Maryino

Navalny's mother Lyudmila Navalnaya (first row, third right) and Anatoly Navalny (rights row, right), parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attends a funeral ceremony for their son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow on March 1

A view of a grave where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny due to be buried at the Borisovskoye Cemetery, in Moscow, March 1

Moscow police launched a massive security clampdown on Friday morning.

While attendee details were not known, the French, German and US ambassadors were in the crowd, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

Navalny's team accuse Putin of murdering his top critic, and of obstructing their efforts to give the dissident a dignified send off - saying several funeral parlours and hearse companies had refused to take their booking following threats

What's more, it has also been warned that male mourners could be rounded up at the funeral and sent to fight on the front lines of Ukraine, where Putin is waging a brutal war that last week entered its third year.

Authorities on Friday morning appeared to be treating the funeral and burial as a major military operation.

Mourners were held back by long stretches of iron fences erected around the church, while metal detectors were also set up at key entry points. These appeared to be in place to limit access to the Navalny supporters seeking to say their final farewell.

Other pictures from the cemetery where Navalny was later buried appeared to show gravediggers at work, as crowds continued to gather.

One woman who flew 900 miles from Perm to Moscow said: 'I had high hopes for this man, he was very strong, very brave.

'I would like to see people today who also support him. The pain in my heart is such that I cannot describe it - so hard,' she added.

Another woman said: 'For us it was hope for a brighter future, not for North Korea. This is the only thing we can do now is to pay tribute to the memory, keep it.

'A person lives as long as we remember him. We need to remember why he got there. For us, for everyone. And of course continue, don't give up, as he asked.'

'People like him shouldn't be dying: honest and principled, willing to sacrifice themselves,' said one mourner, Anna Stepanova, outside the church.

'What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?' Stepanova asked. 'They are so afraid themselves. The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either.'

As Navalny's body set out on his last journey to his funeral, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'The Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalny's relatives on the day of his funeral.'

Navalny associate Leonid Volkov said Putin would one day answer in court for the death of the politician.

'Peskov said that Putin has nothing to say to Alexei Navalny's family,' he said. 'I want to dare to say that Alexei's family doesn't need a single word from Vladimir Putin.

'All the words we would need from Putin are those he'll say before the judge.'

A grave - reportedly where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny will be buried - is seen during preparations for his funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow on Friday

Pictured: A grave at the Borisovo cemetery ahead of the burial of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Despite the first of mass arrests, early pictures from outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church - where a religious service was held at 2pm (1100 GMT) - showed crowds of mourners gathering, some carrying red flowers

A Police officer guards as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024

Early pictures from the outskirts of the Russian capital showed long stretches of iron fences being erected around the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church (pictured), where a religious service was held at 2pm (1100 GMT)

The authorities on Friday morning appeared to be treating the funeral and burial as a major military operation against the pro-democracy Navalny supporters

A mound of earth is seen at the cemetery where Navalny was later buried

Grave diggers were seen working at the cemetery on Friday morning

The funeral of the opposition leader will take place two weeks after he died in an Arctic prison on February 16, amid pressures denounced by his team who accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin (pictured on Friday) of murdering his top critic behind bars

Russian authorities have said Navalny (pictured in 2019) died of 'natural causes' but his team and some Western leaders have accused Putin of being directly responsible

Iron fences are seen being set up around the church on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday morning

A Police officer guards on a roof of an apartment building near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024

A police truck is seen near the church on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday morning

A woman carries flowers outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, ahead of the upcoming funeral of late Russian opposition leader Navalny, on Friday morning. Police can be seen in the background by the entrance to the church grounds

Mourners gather in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church ahead of a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow, on March 1, 2024

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy arrives at the church before a funeral service and a farewell ceremony for Navalny in Moscow, Russia, March 1

A man carrying a wreath passes through a metal detector security gate at the Borisovo cemetery ahead of the burial of Navalny

Several police trucks were filmed driving at speed down a main highway, suggesting authorities in the city were preparing to make arrests, and buses with armed police were in the vicinity of the church and the separate cemetery.

News site Ostorozhno Novosti reported that the Russian army was present, and surveillance cameras were in use, and there were reports of smartphone signals being disrupted close to the funeral location.

Checkpoints and cordons were already set up around the church.

Long before the funeral began some 40 police vehicles - including buses - were at Maryino metro station close to the site. Police said they were checking passports of those in the area to 'prevent terrorist operations'.

Despite the fears of arrests, Navalny's team urged his backers to seek to attend Friday's events.

But it was not immediately clear who among Navalny's family or allies would attend the funeral, with many of his associates in exile abroad due to fear of prosecution in Russia. Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as 'extremist organizations' by the Russian government in 2021.

The politician's team said the funeral would be streamed live on Navalny's YouTube channel, and Navalny associate Ivan Zhdanov denied that only family mourners would be permitted to attend.

'There was some rumour in the media that only relatives would be allowed to attend the funeral service,' he said. 'We do not have any such information.

'All we know is that the temple will be open to everyone.'

Two opposition politicians with anti-war views who were barred from standing in this month's Russian president election both intended to attend the funeral.

Boris Nadezhdin and Ekaterina Duntsova said they would be there.

'Now it's quite difficult to explain the reasons why I think it's important to participate in farewell to Navalny and not end up under investigation,' said Duntsova.

'Many of my fellow deputies and activists knew Alexei.

'He is an important person in the history of Russian politics.'

Pro-democracy outlets warned that mass detentions are expected simply for seeking to pay respects to a widely-respected political figure who died aged 47 in suspicious circumstances.

Ivan Pavlov, a human rights activist, warned: 'If such [warnings over arrests] have to be made, then definitely something wrong is happening in the country.

'This event, to put it mildly, will be unwanted by the officials.'

There are also fears that pro-Navalny male supporters could be detained and rapidly sent to fight in Putin's war against Ukraine.

Politician Ruslan Shaveddinov, a former Navalny press secretary, said: 'The Moscow authorities and the Kremlin are trying to intimidate everyone who wants to come.

'I don't want to shout, urging everyone to come, because we are talking about a funeral. And we treat this as organising the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny.'

He revealed some activists had been warned not to attend on the eve of the funeral.

'We treat this as a tool of intimidation,' he said. 'Of course, they want to create horror so that everyone will be scared.

'But this is the farewell and funeral of Alexei Navalny, this is not a rally, not a political procession. This is an opportunity for a huge number of people for whom Alexei meant something, for whom he was important, to come and say goodbye to him.'

In line with Orthodox practices, the body of Navalny - who had embraced Christianity - was displayed in an open casket at the church

Two hours after the church service, the burial took place at the Borisovo cemetery (pictured as security forces prepare the site), a short walk from the banks of the river Moskva

Navalny was seen for the last time on February 15 (pictured), the day before he died

The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Wednesday that she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests.

'I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,' Navalnaya told the European Parliament. She has directly blamed Putin for his death.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has criticised statements by Navalny's wife and Western leaders blaming the Russian leader for the death as 'vulgar'.

Putin, who famously never said Navalny's name in public, has not commented on the death, which sparked outrage among Western leaders and the Russian opposition.

Russian authorities said Navalny died of 'natural causes' but his team and some Western leaders have accused Putin of being directly responsible.

Navalny had shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.

He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.

'Alexei was tortured for three years,' Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

'He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters.'

'And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body,' she said.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,200 miles northeast of Moscow.

His team believed the delay to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent him from having a dignified public burial due to fears it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Authorities originally said they couldn't turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Navalnaya, 69, made a video appeal to President Vladimir Putin to release the body so she could bury her son with dignity.

The team alleged local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a 'secret' funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a funeral place that would agree to hold the ceremony. And on Thursday they said hearse drivers were refusing to take the body from the morgue.

'What a disgrace. Now the hearse drivers refuse to take Alexei from the morgue,' said Ivan Zhdanov, an exiled ally who managed Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said funeral directors had received threatening calls from 'unknown people' warning them not to transport Navalny's body anywhere.

The dissident's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Wednesday that she feared the funeral could be disrupted by further arrests

Navalny's supporters have cause for concern: 400 mourners have been detained at memorials for Navalny since his death, rights organisation OVD-Info said

And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body - common in Russia - has not been allowed.

Navalnaya said the family 'did not want a special treatment - just to give people the chance to say goodbye'.

She has vowed to continue his life's work.

'The most important thing we can do for Alexei and for ourselves is to continue to fight more desperately, more fiercely than before,' she said.
Sydney residents have been left fuming following a sudden announcement that a major metro line will close most weekends for the next two months, the first beginning on the night of the city's annual Mardi Gras parade.

The Metro North West Line, which travels between Tallawong and Chatswood, will be closed six out of eight weekends in March and April, beginning on Saturday.

Trackwork will also be taking place on the T4, T7 and South Coast lines this weekend, with many frustrated locals forced to use bus replacements from Saturday to Sunday.

A number of impacted customers took to social media to complain about the inconvenience on one of the busiest nights of the year when thousands descend on the CBD to watch the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

Mardi Gras night. Unbelievable. Great forward planning. Do you have enough bus drivers this time?  Glenn Haven (@Glenn_Haven) March 1, 2024

'Mardi Gras night. Unbelievable. Great forward planning. Do you have enough bus drivers this time?,' one person wrote in reply to a Sydney Metro post on X.

't4 closed again f*** me we have had constant close-downs and again,' another frustrated customer said.

'Seems like the T4 is being closed every weekend, how about you just close it for a week and spend some quality time fixing it instead of this rubbish,' a third wrote.

Passengers are being warned to allow extra travel time to get to their destination this weekend.

A number of impacted customers took to social media to complain about the inconvenience on one of the busiest nights of the year when thousands descend on the CBD to watch the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

Sydney Metro thanked the community for their patience ahead of what is expected to be a frustrating couple of months.

'Sydney Metro will be conducting testing over the next two months to make sure its trains and control systems are able to transition seamlessly between the existing Metro North West Line and the new city section of Metro before it opens this year,' a statement released on Friday said.

Once the extended line opens, commuters will be able to catch a metro service every four minutes between Sydney's northwest and CBD. Sydney Metro claims it will move more people across the Harbour in the busiest hour of the peak than the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel combined.

'Mardi Gras night. Unbelievable. Great forward planning. Do you have enough bus drivers this time?,' one person wrote in reply to a Sydney Metro post on X

Buses will replace metro services on the following weekends from 2am Saturday to 2am Monday:

Saturday 2 March - Sunday 3 March

Saturday 9 March - Sunday 10 March

Saturday 16 March - Sunday 17 March

Saturday 23 March - Sunday 24 March

Saturday 6 April - Sunday 7 April

Saturday 13 April - Sunday 14 April.

Buses will also replace nightly metro services on the following weeknights from 8.40pm to 2am:

Tuesday 5 March and Wednesday 6 March

Tuesday 12 March and Wednesday 13 March

Tuesday 2 April, Wednesday 3 April and Thursday 4 April

Tuesday 16 April, Wednesday 17 April and Thursday 18 April.

Travellers can plan ahead for their trip by visiting transportnsw.info or using trip planning apps.
The French pride themselves on being fashionably unshockable but judging by the expressions on some faces on Tuesday when Bianca Censori pitched up at Paris Fashion Week, it was clear that they'd finally met their match.

Mrs Kanye West emerged, silently and dead-eyed, from a giant SUV into the Ritz Hotel wearing a fur bolero jacket, black stilettos and a pair of ultra-sheer tights  but no underwear.

In a reversal of her usual policy of wearing next to nothing on her top half, the young Australian revealed her lower body in such unsparing detail that published pictures had to be blurred out on decency grounds.

In fact, although she looked as though she was completely naked, she wasn't quite. Under her tights she was wearing a 'modesty' patch, an adhesive strapless thong covering only the genitals  the type used by actors filming sex scenes.

Censori, an architecture graduate who drifted into the baleful orbit of the controversial superstar rapper and has reputedly never been the same again, may have worn the patch to avoid breaking the law.

In a reversal of her usual policy of wearing next to nothing on her top half, the young Australian revealed her lower body in such unsparing detail that published pictures had to be blurred out on decency grounds

Kanye West and Bianca Censori are seen on February 23rd ,2024 in Milan

Alexandra Censori with Bianca, Alyssia and Angelina Censori at a family wedding in early 2020

READ MORE: Kanye West's wife Bianca Censori COVERS UP while playing stepmother to his daughter North - amid rumors Kim Kardashian 'demanded' she dress demurely around the kids Kanye West 's wife Bianca Censori was on stepmom duty on Sunday as she stepped out with his daughter North West, 10; seen together in Paris, France on Sunday Advertisement

She could have been liable to a possible prison sentence or 15,000 fine under a French ban on 'deliberate sexual display' in public.

Days later, the two incurable romantics were out again to dine at a smart restaurant in the City of Love.

Predictably, they were as determined as ever to keep causing a stir, Censori, 29, again dispensing with underwear. This time she wore a sheer black tank top and a similarly sheer pair of stockings, and held her phone over her groin.

She appeared to be wearing the same modesty patch  although it's an ill-named accessory in their case.

For there's nothing remotely modest about the behaviour of 46-year-old Kanye West and his strangely inanimate wife whose every public outing becomes a grotesque freak show.

And it's a freak show, observers haven't failed to notice, in which she is the sole exhibit.

While West dresses head-to-toe in black  sometimes adding a full-face mask  he leaves his wife to trail in his wake wearing outfits that have become progressively more revealing. And for those who wonder what on earth she is doing, progressively more worrying.

The notoriously domineering and unstable West  described by a former business associate as 'a master of spectacle' and so narcissistic he appears to have a god complex  has been described as controlling by his former wife, the reality TV star Kim Kardashian (whom Censori closely resembles).

She has spoken emotionally about how he threw out most of her clothes and insisted she wore outfits he chose.

It's been reported that West issued Censori with a set of rules to live by  including what to wear and specific foods she can eat

West's treatment of his new wife appears even more extreme. It's been reported that he issued Censori with a set of rules to live by  including what to wear and specific foods she can eat.

No wonder her family and friends  who apparently have never approved of West  are said to be concerned about what they see as her unhealthily submissive relationship with an overbearing celebrity worth $400 million, who plucked her from obscurity among the staff of his fashion company Yeezy.

If their peculiar double act is meant to be performance art, the couple have been told, the show is definitely over.

Her Italian-born father Leo Censori is reported to be among those who are upset.

Biancas father Italian-born father Leo Censori is reported to be among those who are upset

'He wants to have a proper sit down with Kanye and ask him what the hell he is thinking when he parades Bianca around like a trashy naked trophy pony,' an insider told MailOnline this week.

'He wants to ask Kanye what he would do if his daughters, North or Chicago, were seen in public halfnaked in outfits encouraged by their husbands.'

Censori's background is hardly conventional. Her father is a convicted criminal who has served time in prison for heroin offences as well as possessing a firearm.

His brother Eris Censori was a notorious gangland killer, dubbed 'Melbourne's Al Capone', who was given a life sentence for murder.

After graduating from university in her native Melbourne and briefly running a jewellery-design business, Censori got a job as an 'architectural designer' at Yeezy in the U.S. in November 2020.

Barely two years later, in December 2022, she supposedly married West in a 'private ceremony to celebrate their love' in Beverly Hills  just a month after he finalised his high-profile divorce from Kim Kardashian after seven years of marriage and four children.

Younger pictures of Bianca Censori before meeting the American rapper

The union's legality has been questioned since West and Censori never filed a marriage certificate. But it's now claimed they obtained a 'confidential' licence to keep it under wraps.

Although their marital home was listed as his ranch in Wyoming, they moved into a $20,000-a-month apartment in West Hollywood.

It was in Venice last summer that the pair provoked a police investigation for breaching 'standards of public decorum' after they appeared to indulge in a very public sexual act on board a water taxi crossing the lagoon.

West was pictured with his trousers down while Censori was crouching between his legs.

The American Rapper Kanye West (Ye) and his wife Bianca Censori show off a defiant display as they went to dinner at Ferdi restaurant in Paris, France

A few weeks later, some of her friends reportedly managed to contact her  apparently not an easy feat these days  to express their deep misgivings over her relationship with West.

She was not only unreceptive but accused them of being 'jealous of her stardom', it is claimed. 'Bianca knows how to grab headlines now it gives her what she has always wanted  fame,' said a source.

And yet the same source also said that Censori had been 'brainwashed' by the star. Another insider has said Censori, normally an outspoken and lively personality, is 'stuck'.

Of course, she could be both complicit in the charade and under West's control.

A former colleague who knows Censori from her time at Yeezy told the Mail this week that Bianca genuinely believes she is West's 'muse' and is happy to put up with his controlling ways and difficult temperament as she regards him as a genius.

Kanye West and Bianca Censori are seen on May 13, 2023 in Los Angeles

After she returned to Australia on a solo trip late last year, some of her old girlfriends  who have described Censori as a 'social butterfly'  said they thought they might have convinced her to distance herself from West. Their optimism was clearly misplaced.

READ MORE: Bianca Censori could face PRISON or a hefty fine after explicit outing in Paris where she forwent underwear in sheer tights for dinner with Kanye West

While Kanye's 'wife and muse' may be no stranger to exposing her body in public, her latest act could cause trouble with French officials if she is found in breach of their decency laws Advertisement

Even so, incurring the displeasure of Censori's friends and robust family is unlikely to matter one jot to a celebrity who surrounds himself with bodyguards and whose various homes are on the other side of the world to Melbourne.

Describing his bipolar disorder (a condition that some insist explains his bafflingly obnoxious conduct) as his 'superpower', West has compared himself to Picasso, Shakespeare and even Jesus.

Suspicions that he regards Bianca Censori as his artistic creation were strengthened on January 2 when he posted a picture of his nearly-naked wife to his 20 million Instagram followers and  as matter of factly as if he were announcing forthcoming tour dates  proclaimed there would be 'no pants this year'.

If that was an instruction rather than a prediction, she has more than complied. Underwear, not to mention trousers, are definitely 'out' for 2024 as Bianca has experimented with a transparent raincoat and other outfits which have revealed her nakedness underneath. And her husband wants the world to know it.

Having stripped down his name to 'Ye', he revels in his wife stripping down literally and then posting provocative photos of her on social media to his slathering male fans.

In January, for instance, he provided one of the back view of Censori preparing food in a kitchen, wearing virtually nothing but knee-high black boots and a shiny black latex mask.

As for her social media activity, it's been reported that West 'banned' Censori from having her own accounts to protect her from negative comments (although sources close to her see it as a way of further 'isolating' her from reality).

Last month, the ludicrous pair stepped out at a Milan fashion show, Censori wearing an outlandish black leather outfit that looked like a bin liner  possibly designed by West  and revealed yet again she had nothing underneath.

(On this occasion she managed a smile, reassuring some online observers that perhaps she may not be entirely in thrall to him).

As social media critics accuse him of exploiting Censori and raise fears for her wellbeing, West is completely unrepentant.

In an expletive-filled online diatribe he said he posted so many shocking pictures of her 'cause she makes me happy', adding: 'If you don't like my page and don't like what I'm posting, go f*** yourself. Seriously, leave me  leave the king  the f*** alone.'

Certainly, the way the 'king' behaves with Censori tallies with how he behaves in general nowadays: ridiculously self-important and tiresomely fixated on courting controversy.

Although some who know West say he can be extraordinarily generous to total strangers, it is his darker side that has increasingly come to the fore.

EXCLUSIVE READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Bianca Censori's plans to have BABIES with Kanye West has left her family devastated: Yeezy architect's parents 'do not think she should get pregnant' because they fear rapper CANNOT provide a 'stable' home for their grandchildren Bianca Censori, 29 (seen with husband Kanye West, 46, in Paris this week) has discussed baby plans with her family, sources told DailyMail.com Advertisement

West, whose monstrous ego convinced him to announce a disastrous run for the U.S. Presidency in 2020, has praised Hitler, described slavery as a 'choice' and vowed (long before the present conflict in Gaza) to go to war with the Jewish people.

Both sportswear giant Adidas and fashion house Balenciaga severed ties with him in 2022 over his anti-Semitic remarks, cutting his billionaire status to that of a mere multi-millionaire.

Last October, it emerged that Adidas had for years tolerated his obnoxious and thuggish behaviour because Yeezys, the shoes he designed for the company, were bringing in $1billion a year.

Insiders said West demanded Adidas executives watch pornography to 'spark creativity', advised a Jewish manager at the company to kiss a picture of Hitler every day, hurled shoes around meetings and frequently played the race card by claiming he was the German company's 'slave'.

He even hired porn actresses to appear in Yeezy promotional photos.

His attitude to women has always been questionable. In 2016, years after storming on stage at an awards ceremony to say Taylor Swift didn't deserve to win, he released a song with the lyrics: 'I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / Why? I made that b**** famous.'

Just over a month ago, the notoriously moody West let fly when a female reporter in LA asked him about his treatment of Censori. 'Some people say you're controlling her,' she ventured.

The rapper grabbed her phone and berated her for three minutes for daring to question a 'grown-ass superhero' and 'legend' like him.

'You think 'cause you a white woman that you can walk up on me like that and ask me some dumb ass s*** like that? Ask me about my wife?'

He added: 'Do you have free will or you work for the devil?'

Kanye West Instagram posts his wife Bianca nude and wearing lingerie

All this garbled talk of super-heroes, legends and devils will encourage those who argue that West isn't just addicted to attention but is mentally ill.

Some believe West's deteriorating mental state is rooted in the sudden death of his beloved mother, Donda Williams, aged 58, back in 2007.

An English literature academic, she raised him largely on her own in Chicago and later became a rock of advice and support as he rose to fame.

Although she'd hoped he would follow her into academia, she is credited with imbuing him with a steely self-confidence and sense of black pride.

She died from a heart attack during cosmetic surgery and West has blamed himself, saying she would never have had the surgery if she hadn't come out to live with him under the spotlight in LA.

However, one has to wonder how much longer his defenders can make excuses for him.

Last December, West released a song titled Censori Overload. It's a sentiment that one doesn't need to be a Kanye fan to share.
Fishermen have found a suspected spy balloon off the coast of Alaska that will be handed over to the FBI.

The commercial fishermen are bringing the unmanned object to shore so it can be investigated at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia.

They are expected to hand over the balloon to federal officials over the weekend.

The discovery comes just over a year after a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after traversing across the U.S.

That surveillance balloon also entered the U.S. through Alaskan airspace.

The origin of the latest balloon is unclear. But CNN reported that federal law enforcement saw enough evidence that it could be foreign-owned.

After last year's spy balloon debacle, it was determined that Beijing operated a wide-ranging surveillance network.

The discovery comes just over a year after a high-altitude Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after traversing across the U.S.

Last year's incident brought forth information on a series of sightings

That balloon entered U.S. airspace over Alaska in January and eventually flew over a U.S. military base in Montana before it was shot down by an F-22 Raptor off the coast of South Carolina.

In June, the Pentagon said it had 'intelligence collection capabilities,' but U.S. officials could not confirm if China collected information in real-time.

The discovery then provoked Beijing, which vowed countermeasures, adding yet another strain to a relationship already battered by trade practices, tariffs, Taiwan, human rights, and China's ties with Russia before President Vladimir Putin launched his Ukraine invasion.

Republicans criticized President Joe Biden for not having it downed sooner. The incident prompted a period when the military shot down other unidentified objects.

The earlier incident forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned trip to China while criticizing it as an 'irresponsible act.'

In June, the president said he didn't think 'the leadership knew where it was and knew what was in it and knew what was going on,' calling it 'more embarrassing than it was intentional.'

China claimed the balloon was being used for weather-related issues, even though intelligence agencies concluded that it was used for spying.

Just last week, the Defense Department revealed that it intercepted a high-altitude balloon over Utah.

The Pentagon determined the high-altitude balloon found last Friday and intercepted by the U.S. military was 'likely' a 'hobby balloon.'

Navy sailors recovered parts of the spy balloon after a US jet shot it down off the coast of South Carolina last year

Fisherman have found a suspected spy balloon off the coast of Alaska that has now been sent to the FBI. Above is an image of the Chinese spy balloon shot down last year

In a statement on Saturday, NORAD, along with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the mystery balloon was monitored from ground radars 'until it left U.S. airspace overnight.'

'The balloon was intercepted by NORAD fighters over Utah, who determined it was not maneuverable and did not present a threat to national security,' NORAD said.

'The FAA also determined the balloon posed no hazard to flight safety. NORAD remains in close coordination with the FAA to ensure flight safety.'
Hotel bosses are cashing in on Taylor Swifts latest tour by hiking prices by 200 per cent when she comes to town.

Surge pricing for reservations normally applies for concerts and sporting events.

But Swiftonomics is resulting in rates trebling in some areas.

Last night, the Premier Inn at Wembley Stadium was quoting 313 on August 15, when Ms Swift appears, compared to 74 exactly one week before.

Booking.com shows a 678 rate on the same night at the Wembley Park Hotel, compared to less than half of that for two nights the previous week.

Taylor Swift (pictured) performing during her Eras Tour in Inglewood California last August. Swiftonomics is resulting in rates trebling in some areas when Ms Swift is on tour in the UK.

Ms Swift performing onstage in Kansas City, Missouri. The Premier Inn at Wembley Stadium was quoting 313 on August 15, when Ms Swift appears, compared to 74 exactly one week before

A Premier Inn in Aldgate, London, (stock image). Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, said: We operate dynamic pricing which operates accordingly to how popular any given hotel is on any given day

A night at Edinburgh Central Travelodge on June 2 was being sold for 170 yesterday. However, with Ms Swift appearing later that week, all their sites in the Scottish capital are full.

Instead, the chain is offering a night on the other side of the Firth of Forth in Dunfermline starting at 263.99 on the first night of her two appearances, where stays can otherwise be had for as little as 33.99.

Fans have been worried about hotel prices since tour tickets were first released last year.

In August, Adele Hickingbothom, 36, bought 100 tickets for her and her mother to attend the Eras tour in Cardiff.

But after checking hotel prices, and noting they were 200 per night just before she bought tickets, she was horrified to realise they had shot up to 600 half an hour later after she made the purchase.

Thanks to the tour, some Travelodge hotels near venues sold out a year in advance.

In an update last summer, the business said its hotels in central Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff had already entirely sold out, while many of its hotels near Wembley were full as well.

It's not only the UK which has been impacted, with stories about higher hotel prices following Ms Swift wherever she performs.

In Australia, Taylor Swift fans will have to spend significantly more on accommodations and flights to see Ms Swift. A hotel in Sydney has elevated its price by nearly $500 for the weekend when Ms Swift is in town.

The pop sensation is playing a total of eight nights at Wembley Stadium, as well as dates in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool this summer.

Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn, said: We operate dynamic pricing which operates accordingly to how popular any given hotel is on any given day.

Travelodge added: We regularly review our room rates to make sure they are as competitive as possible.
Calling a transgender murderer and cat torturer a woman added an 'extra layer of horror' to the case, Suella Braverman said last night.

The former Home Secretary said referring to Scarlet Blake as female was 'grossly insulting to women', a 'distortion' of crime figures and a 'dereliction of duty' by some journalists.

She told the Daily Mail that the judiciary and the police must change their rules urgently in the wake of the scandal.

Mrs Braverman, who led the charge against what she saw as 'woke' policing while in government, added: 'The truth can be uncomfortable. But if our journalists fail to report the truth on basic matters like biology and on issues affecting public safety and criminal justice then we are on a slippery slope to a dystopian world of doublespeak, misinformation and dangerous deception.'

Broadcasters and newspapers referred to Blake as a woman after the 26-year-old was jailed for at least 24 years on Monday for killing Jorge Martin Carreno, 30, in Oxford in July 2021. Blake had also tortured a cat and filmed it being put in a blender.

The former Home Secretary Suella Braverman (pictured) said referring to transgender murderer Scarlet Blake as female was 'grossly insulting to women', a 'distortion' of crime figures and a 'dereliction of duty' by some journalists

It emerged that Blake's (pictured) crimes would be recorded as having been committed by a woman  even though the killer was sent to a male prison  after Thames Valley Police said it recorded suspects' self-described gender on custody records

Author and women's rights campaigner JK Rowling attacked Sky News for calling Blake a woman, posting: 'This is not a woman. These are not our crimes.'

EXCLUSIVE READ MORE: Transgender murderer Scarlet Blake - who the prison service says is male - is recorded as being a woman by the police force that cracked the case simply because the killer identified as female when arrested Advertisement

It then emerged that Blake's crimes would be recorded as having been committed by a woman  even though the killer was sent to a male prison  after Thames Valley Police said it recorded suspects' self-described gender on custody records.

That decision led to a rebuke from No10 and Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber.

Mrs Braverman said the treatment of transgender people by the criminal justice system was the 'root of the problem'.

She added that a guidebook for judges allows defendants to self-identify as the opposite sex in court, while police regulations do not require officers to record suspects' biological sex.

She added: 'While transgender people deserve respect and support, it cannot be right that their rights prevail over the truth.

'The public interest in honesty is clear  distorted crime statistics mean ministers will be forced to respond to "evidence" of increased violence by women.

'Male criminals will argue that, as self-identifying women, they are entitled to go to a women's prison.

Broadcasters and newspapers referred to Blake as a woman after the 26-year-old was jailed for at least 24 years on Monday for killing Jorge Martin Carreno (pictured), 30, in Oxford in July 2021

Labour health spokesman Wes Streeting (pictured) told The Telegraph he had 'no problem' with referring to trans women as women, but the NHS should not 'erase' female terms by 'inviting "people" to get a cervical smear test rather than women'

'If we are to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system, surely a good place to start would be with getting the basic facts right.'

It also emerged on Thursday that the BBC had upbraided Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb for calling trans women 'males', claiming he broke impartiality rules on the Today programme.

And yesterday, Labour health spokesman Wes Streeting told The Telegraph he had 'no problem' with referring to trans women as women, but the NHS should not 'erase' female terms by 'inviting "people" to get a cervical smear test rather than women'.
A towel tycoon is suing his son in a tug-of-war over a 2 million mansion they both say belongs to them.

Michael Parker has already 'spent ruinously' on a 2 million divorce fight with his former wife Barbara.

Now he is battling his son Thomas Parker-Bowyer, 30, in the High Court over a seven-bedroom spread in the Buckinghamshire village of Bourne End.

Mr Parker, 60, lived at the ranch-style home, valued at up to 2.65 million, until 2019 when it was signed over to his son.

But Mr Parker, who sold luxury towels to top hotels such as The Dorchester in London, claims he signed the house over only on the basis that he had a right to control it during his lifetime.

Towel tycoon Michael Parker (pictured) is battling his son Thomas Parker-Bowyer, 30, in the High Court over a seven-bedroom mansion

The 2.65million ranch-style home is situated in the Buckinghamshire village of Bourne End. The mansion is in two acres of land and has eight bathrooms, a cinema and a swimming pool with adjustable floor height, plus a gym and a bar

Mr Parker-Bowyer, who wants to sell the house, says his father 'gifted' it to him in return for paying off the mortgage.

Mr Parker was a property developer before uniting with then-wife Barbara in supplying towels sourced from Turkey.

The disputed mansion is in two acres of land and has eight bathrooms, a cinema and a swimming pool with adjustable floor height, plus a gym and a bar. The court in London heard the clash centres on a deal between father and son in 2019 after Mr Parker moved to his other house Babs Park, named after ex-wife Barbara Cooke.

Mr Parker admits he transferred the house to his son. 'But the idea was that Mr Parker would have continuing use and occupation of the property,' said his barrister Gavin McLeod, with Mr Parker also aiming to ultimately reduce his estate's inheritance tax liabilities.

But Mr Parker-Bowyer, who once worked with his dad, insists he simply agreed to buy his father out of the property as he was so heavily mortgaged he risked foreclosure.

Mr Parker-Bowyer's barrister Piers Digby said he used 200,000 savings and a 1.2 million mortgage to pay off his father's mortgage, with his father gifting him the remaining equity.

Mr Parker is suing his son on the basis that a 'constructive trust' was created by the 2019 transfer, giving him the right to a life interest in the disputed property.

Son Thomas Parker-Bowyer (pictured) arriving at the High Court with his wife Kimberley. Mr Parker signed the house over to his son in 2019. However, they are now locked in a court battle because Mr Parker-Bowyer wants to sell the house

Yesterday Deputy Master John Linwood refused to dismiss Mr Parker's claim, saying the evidence should be heard at a full trial.

Mr Parker previously made headlines over his divorce battle with Barbara Cooke and an insurance claim. In a hearing over the latter, a judge found that on the balance of probabilities he had arranged for an arson attack on Ms Cooke's former home in Farnham Royal, near Windsor, in a failed scam.

Dismissing the insurance claim over the blaze back in 2012, Mr Justice Teare said: 'There is no credible explanation for the fire on the evidence other than it was set by persons on the direction of Mr Parker.'

When the divorce case came before the High Court in 2018, Mr Justice Cohen said that Mr Parker had 'wantonly blown' 918,000 in legal costs on the fire damage claim, adding: 'Thus, in total, the husband and wife have spent over 3 million in costs on litigation they have initiated.' In the divorce, Mr Parker agreed 'through gritted teeth' to surrender 50 per cent of company shares to her. She was ordered to pay him 800,000.
A disc-shaped object longer than the height of the Empire State Building emerged from the horizon of Ukraine's embattled Donetsk province last Friday, hovering eerily still a mile off the ground, a soldier has told DailyMail.com

That soldier, a drone operator, had cautiously guided his infrared quadcopter 500-feet for a reconnaissance mission, struggling against high winds, when he suddenly spotted the flat, 1,300-foot-long UFO, which stood motionless despite those winds.

In an interview from the warzone, the soldier, who is with the Ukrainian army's 406th Battalion, said he and his fellow servicemen had 'never seen things like this before.'

'Initially, I thought that it was something new invented by the Russians,' he added, 'but then I understood... 'No! It might be [a] UFO.''

The 'craft' was 36 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than any other object this 406th drone pilot says he has ever tracked in the warzone  ruling out atmospheric phenomena, balloons and known enemy aircraft, he claimed.

'Why isn't it moving?' troops with the Ukrainian's 406th Battalion can be heard debating as they witness a large UFO hovering, deadly calm, over their warzone

The 'craft' was 36 to 54 degrees hotter in Fahrenheit than any other object the Ukrainian military drone operator (above) has tracked in the warzone  ruling out atmospheric phenomena, balloons and known enemy aircraft, as he told DailyMail.com via an interpreter

'We were surprised, very surprised,' the soldier, whose first name is Vadym, recalled via an interpreter.

But Vadym told DailyMail.com that this 'surprise' was not quite fear, because he and his fellow soldiers have had to learn to suppress those emotions amid their effort to defend Ukraine from a now two-year-long invasion by Russia.

'We got scared on the 24th of February 2022,' Vadym said. 'After that, we aren't scared of anything.'

The 406th's drone pilot said he'd gotten his craft about 'a few kilometers' into its recon mission before spotting the UFO.

'I looked right and saw this,' Vadym said.

'After 30 seconds, we decided to film it. All the emotions we had at that moment, they're in the video... You you can hear it.'

As Vadym and his fellow 406th unit members scrambled to make sense of the apparent object, their confusion is palpable in the 17-second video, shared exclusively with DailyMail.com this week.

In between the swearing ('Holy s***') and the excitement ('What the f*** is this?'), one member of the battalion asks: 'Why isn't it moving?'

Another wonders: 'Why can't he fire missiles at us? What do you mean?'

Aside from the object's unusual heat signature, it appeared to more readily withstand the strong wind, but Vadym told DailyMail.com that no other extreme weather could help explain the unusual sighting.

'There was a very strong wind,' Vadym said. 'The wind was flowing into the same direction as we were flying basically.'

'But it [the UFO] just stayed at the same place  and the sky was clear,' he said. 'So no clouds, nothing.'

'We were surprised, very surprised,' the soldier, whose first name is Vadym, recalled - adding that this 'surprise' was not quite fear: he and his fellow soldiers (above) have had to learn to suppress those emotions while defending Ukraine from a now two-year-long Russian invasion

Ukrainian's 406th Battalion (right) was gifted their commercial, DJI brand Mavic 3T thermal-imaging drone (left) via the fundraising efforts of the DeepInspire Foundation, war correspondent Joe Lindsley, who runs Lviv Lab media center, and other humanitarian activists

'I use this [infrared, heat vision] filter very often,' the unit drone operator said, 'and just got experience so I can differentiate how bright an object should be according to what temperature.'

Based on that experience, Vadym stated that the UFO 'was very hot. I'm guessing 20 to 30 degrees [Celsius] hotter than other objects.'

Vadym estimated that the roughly 1,300 ft (400 meters) long UFO was also about 328 feet (100 meters) tall.

The apparent object, craft or phenomena, was caught on the camera of a commercial DJI brand Mavic 3T thermal-imaging drone on February 23, 2024.

The UFO, spotted around 9:02pm local time, appeared to be approximately 37 to 40 miles away from the soldiers, he said, in the direction of Donetsk Oblast, the southeastern Ukrainian province that has been most dominated by Russia's forces.

Vadym requested that his last name and other key details of the encounter not be disclosed for reasons of operational security amid the Ukrainian Armed Forces' (UAF) effort to repel the Russian invasion.

A spokesperson for Mavic's manufacturer DJI told DailyMail.com that, while it could not help in explaining what is present in the UFO footage, an equipment error could have played a role - but Vadym doubted this

But he noted that, while 'it's hard to count' just how many times he has personally flown his unit's Mavic 3T, it was probably 'more than 10,000 times.'

'We've seen different things [in the skies],' he said, adding, 'We've never seen things like this before.'

One potential explanation for the UFO was the well-known optical illusion phenomena called 'Fata Morgana,' a mirror-like atmospheric mirage produced by a 'temperature inversion' of hot air in the upper atmosphere.

But Vadym is adamant that what he saw was real.

'It wasn't a mirage,' Vadym told DailyMail.com, 'because in thermal vision you can't see a mirage. You can see it only with your naked eye.'

He continued to explain that the object did not ripple, shimmer or otherwise alter its shape, which would have been a tell-tale sign of a Fata Morgana mirage.

'Often, a Fata Morgana changes rapidly,' as the flight safety guide SKYbrary notes. 'The mirage comprises several inverted (upside down) and erect (right side up) images that are stacked on top of one another.

But according to Vadym, 'The object was in a stable form. It wasn't moving.'

That said, the UFO, whatever it was, wasted no time leaving its perch above Donetsk.

'At another position, we had another drone and put it up in about three minutes,' Vadym said, '[but] they didn't see it [the UFO] at that moment.'

'When we returned to the same position later, there was nothing there.'

The 406th unit member also relayed his recollection that the UFO did not ripple, shimmer or otherwise alter its shape, which would have been a tell-tale sign of a Fata Morgana mirage

In one photographic case of Fata Morgana (above), the Anthem of the Seas cruise ship, an 168,000-tonne Royal Caribbean liner, looked like it was hovering above the water

This past Tuesday, a spokesperson for Mavic's manufacturer DJI told DailyMail.com that, while it could not help in explaining what is present in the 406th's UFO footage, an equipment error could have played a role.

READ MORE: Florida Congresswoman 'absolutely believes' UFOs are 'not of human origin' [VIDEO] UFOs are 'not of human origin,' US Representative Anna Paulina Luna from Florida told Grant Mitterlehner this week on his podcast. She described government obstruction as she investigated UFOs. Advertisement

But Vadym noted that he was confident the Mavic 3T's systems were functioning normally at the time of the encounter.

The red 'warning' or 'error' bar visible in the upper left-hand portion of the drone's display, he said, related to the consumer-grade drone's GPS navigation.

'It is a warning that we were flying without satellites on 100 percent manual controls,' Vadym told DailyMail.com.

'Because Russia does everything they can to deny Ukrainians the ability to fly over and understand [...] their plans.'

Vadym noted that similar combat-specific issues prevented the battalion from storing a recording of their UFO thermal-imaging footage directly on the Mavic drone itself.

'We remove the memory cards from the drones when we are doing flights over enemy territories,' Vadym said.

'There is a risk that if we lose a drone because of enemy electronic countermeasures, they could pick up the drone, they could pick up the card, and read what's there.'

When pressed again on how he and his fellow 406th Battalion members felt about the UFO, Vadym said, 'The best I could say would be that for this video to have never happened, for us [the Ukrainian military] to never have to do the work we do.'

In a better world, Vadym said, the Russian invasion of February 2022 'never happened' and 'we just use civilian drones to film weddings.'
Gulf Coast states Florida and Mississippi had the most lightning 'ground strikes'

The odds of being struck by lighting are one in 15,300, but certain parts of the US are hotspots for bolts.

New data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM) has revealed Americans experience 36.8 million ground strikes annually, with Florida being hit the most.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area alone had over 120,000 lightning strikes in 2023.

The state's location combined with the shape of its peninsula that is surrounded by water are why thunderstorms develop almost every afternoon.

Meteorologists found that Louisiana had the highest volume of deadly 'cloud-to-ground' lightning strikes and 'Tornado Alley' also receives its fair share of bolts.

New data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UWM) has revealed Americans experience 36.8 million ground strikes annually, with Florida being hit the most. The Miami-Fort Lauderdale area alone had over 120,000 lightning strikes in 2023

According to meteorologist Chris Vagasky, who works at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, lightning strikes kill or maim about 250,000 people worldwide, each year. Above, lightning strikes over Chicago during two days of unseasonably warm weather, February 27, 2024

'In the United States, an average of 28 people were killed by lightning every year between 2006 and 2023,' meteorologist Chris Vagasky shared in The Conversation.

According to Vagasky, lightning strikes kill or maim about 250,000 people worldwide, each year.

The new map revealed that lightning strikes are most dense around the Gulf Coast and Southern Plains, while the western US sees fewer strikes.

The reason states like California rarely see bolts is due to the atmosphere of the Pacific, which produces cloud-to-cloud lighting - instead of cloud-to-ground strikes.

And Arizona usually only sees bolts during monsoons season, which happens during the summer.

Frequency of lightning ground strikes per year, averaged over six years, shows the most activity along the Gulf Coast

The map also showed that New England is in the safe zone, which is likely due to salt particles within clouds, which makes droplets fall as rain instead of rising upward to form ice.

If fewer ice particles form, there is less chance for cloud electrification.

Vagasky and his colleagues scrutinized over six years of data from the National Lightning Detection Network's (NLDN) broad network of antennas  which records bursts of radio waves produced by lightning.

The researchers' analysis of lightning data from between 2017 and 2022, published this week in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, uncovered that many bolts or 'flashes' hit the ground in multiple spots at once, like the prongs of a giant electric fork.

'We found that the US averages 23.4 million flashes,' Vagasky noted.

But each of those flashes of lighting splintered out, crackling into 55.5 million strokes or bolts of lighting and 36.8 million 'ground strike points' of lightning each year.

The new map revealed that lightning strikes are most dense around the Gulf Coast and Southern Plains, while the western US sees fewer strikes

The average number of cloud-to-ground lightning strike points per flash across the United States between 2017 and 2022

Prior to this study, estimates for US lightning strikes were rough and inconsistent, with meteorologists since the 1990s have often repeated conventional wisdom of about 25 million strikes across America per year.

Later the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claimed the rate was closer to to 40 million lightning strikes a year, an inconsistency that has hampered lightning safety and protection efforts.

While Vagasky and his colleagues also discovered that lightning flashes in some parts of the country are more likely to hit the ground at multiple points than others, most of the US has a ratio between 1.4 and 1.8 lightning ground strikes per flash, they found.

There were two notable exceptions.

The first was a triangle in the 'High Plains' central states, where the team recorded the only average rate below one ground strike-per-flash, an oddity they linked to a 2014 study showing more 'anomalously electrified storms' in the plains.

These storms had more lightning bolts that travelled within and between clouds.

The second outlier was in the western US, which they said might be due to a lack of data from a lack of lightning, or 'statistical noise.'

The damage threatens not only people's lives and the natural environment, Vagasky said, but the nation's economy as well

Insurance agency's shell out about one billion dollars annually over lightning damage claims (Above, lightning hits an American Eagle plane full of passengers in Arkansas)

'Both of these exceptions to the typical ratio,' Vagasky and his co-authors wrote in the Bulletin, 'should be considered when designs of lightning protection are made in these regions.'

But government weather safety aside, the researchers voiced the hope that their study simply leads to more basic science on the geological and geophysical conditions that produce lightning.

READ MORE: Lightning strike rips through a tornado in rare scene captured by a storm chaser in Kansas Tornado hunter Greg Johnson, 49, captured the stunning photographs during a thunderous supercell storm which gathered above Colby, Kansas (pictured) in 2019. 'Every storm provides scary moments,' Johnson said. 'In the case of the shot with the lightning passing through the tornado, in the moments leading up to this shot, the tornado was actually chasing me!' Advertisement

There may be, 'applications' or safety construction techniques that 'benefit from knowing that a single flash may transfer charge to ground in multiple, widely-spaced locations,' they wrote.

What's more, according to the Idaho-based National Interagency Fire Center, about four million acres of land across the US is consumed in raging wildfires sparked by bolts of lightning every year.

The damage threatens not only people's lives, homes and the natural environment, but the nation's economy as well, Vagasky said.

Insurance agencies shell out about one billion dollars annually over lightning damage claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

'Each giant spark of electricity travels through the atmosphere at 200,000 miles per hour,' according to the meteorologist.

Each bolt of lightning 'is hotter than the surface of the sun and delivers thousands of times more electricity than the power outlet that charges your smartphone,' he said.

Lightning is more common near the warm waters of the Gulf, according to Vagasky, because the region is rich in the essential atmospheric ingredients for thunderstorms: warm and moist air close to the ground, paired with cooler, drier air above, ready to mix.

'Anywhere those ingredients are present,' he said, 'lightning can occur.' All that is needed is a weather event to lift the warmer and more moist air upward.

Across the country, the comparatively cooler waters of the Pacific Ocean tend to dampen the chances for thunderstorms, but those less frequent storms have still proven incredibly dangerous for sparking wildfires.
The ageing orbiting laboratory is set to be decommissioned in six years' time

Not for the first time, the International Space Station has sprung a leak.

A module on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory, called Zvezda, is leaking air through a 3ft-hole, NASA has confirmed.

Thankfully, because the module has been sealed off from the rest of the space station, there's no danger to the seven astronauts on board.

The ageing space station, which floats in low Earth orbit at an altitude of 254 miles, is set to be decommissioned by 2030.

It follows several leaks of gas and coolant fluid from ISS in the past few years, including one from a mysterious hole allegedly made deliberately.

A module on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory, called Zvezda, is leaking air through a three-foot-hole, NASA has confirmed. The Russian Progress 21 cargo ship is seen docked to Zvezda in the centre of this photo

READ MORE: NASA reveals ambitious plans to tow the ISS to Earth

NASA has revealed its $1 billion plan to crash the International Space Station (ISS) back to Earth Advertisement

The leak was revealed by ISS program manager Joel Montalbano during a live press briefing this week in Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

'I'd say that area is about three feet or so in length,' Montalbano said.

'We've been watching this for a while; this area has had some leaks  in fact we've repaired a couple of cracks in that module part.'

'We're working with our Russian colleagues on the next step.'

He added that it is not impacting operations or the crew's safety but is 'something for everybody to be aware of'.

Akin to different rooms in a building, the space station's various modules are run by five space agencies  NASA (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada).

Because the ISS is separated into airtight modules, the one owned by Russia that has the leak, called Zvezda, can be sealed off.

'When we close that hatch, the rest of the space station, the rest of the Russian modules, the rest of the US modules, European, Japanese  everything is solid,' Montalbano said.

In its own statement, Russia's space agency Roscosmos confirmed the leak and said none of the crew are in any danger.

'Indeed, specialists have detected an air leak onboard the ISS,' Russia's space agency Roscosmos said in a statement.

'There is no threat to crewmembers or the station itself.'

The ISS has been under constant occupation by astronauts since November 2000 but due to structural fatigue needs to be decommissioned by 2030

The ISS is divided into two main sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the US Orbital Segment (USOS). Inset photo shows three former inhabitants on the space station

READ MORE: SpaceX returns another load of astronauts from the ISS The SpaceX Dragon Crew capsule in the Atlantic Ocean after splashdown Advertisement

The Zvezda module is a key part of the Russian half of the station as it provides the segment with oxygen and drinkable water.

It also houses CO2 scrubbers which remove the gas exhaled from inhabitants, and has the sleeping quarters, bathroom and dining room for the Russian cosmonauts.

This is not the first time a leak has sprung from the Zvezda module, which was sent to space to dock with other ISS components back in July 2000.

NASA officials first detected air coming from the space station in September 2019 before making it public the following year.

It was only later that the leak was identified as coming from the Zvezda module, and attempts were made to patch it up  although it's unclear if they were successful.

It's possible this fresh leak is from the same hole; MailOnline has contacted NASA for more information.

It follows a leak of vital coolant fluid from the ISS last year, described as serious but not threatening to lives of the on-board astronauts.

Back in 2018, another hole that caused a pressure leak on the ISS was fixed by space station crew.

August 2018 saw astronauts rush to fix a hole (pictured) which had appeared in the outer wall of the Soyuz capsule on the orbiting laboratory. Its origins are still a mystery

Former Roscosmos director general Dmitry Rogozin said the hole was not from an manufacturing defect and implied it was likely made by hand.

In response, NASA said in a statement that this conclusion 'does not necessarily mean the hole was created intentionally or with mal-intent'.

The exact cause of the breach was thought to be a botched repair job by an engineer who drilled through the side of the spacecraft.

However, some made allegations of subterfuge and deliberate sabotage.

Dr James Blake, a space debris researcher at the University of Warwick, said leaks like this could be addressed when designing components for future space stations.

'As the ISS approaches the tail end of its third decade in space, attention will soon shift to its likely successors,' he told MailOnline.

'Leaks can cause disruption  in the past year or so, weve seen space walks cancelled and unplanned extensions to crew expeditions.'

NASA is set to launch four more astronauts to the ISS on Saturday (March 2) aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Meanwhile, another four ISS crew members who have been there since August 2023 are set to return to Earth later this month.
Pastor Jim Loomer, right, speaks during news conference in front of Milford Christian Church, in Milford, Conn. March 10, 2023. Loomer is seen here with attorney Brian Festa of We The Patriots USA. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Pastor Jim Loomer speaks during news conference in front of Milford Christian Church, in Milford, Conn. March 10, 2023. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media

MILFORD  The Milford Christian Academy is opposing a federal judge's dismissing its lawsuit against the states vaccine mandate in federal court in New Haven by arguing that the dismissal overlooks religious rights trampled by legislators when they passed the mandate.

The church argues against U.S. District Court Judge Victor A. Bolden's 35-page ruling by saying that lawmakers ignored erratic vaccination rates at some state schools for mumps, measles and rubella when they passed Public Act No. 21-6 repealing non-medical exemptions, supposedly as part of efforts to stem the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Students are required to receive certain immunizations, and the law, which went into effect in April 2021, eliminated religious exemptions for them while grandfathering those who had already received them.

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Legislators "targeted a class of people  the religiously faithful  whose beliefs it generally concluded were unworthy of tolerance in our society because they were at odds with 'settled science,' " attorney Cameron Atkinson of Bridgeport wrote in his 122-page appeal of Bolden's decision. "Members of the General Assembly openly discussed a 'day of reckoning' for people of faith" in their statements supporting the law.

The school's lawsuit does not result from the pandemic but rather a state legislative initiative that used MMR vaccination rates to deny the religious exemption that came years before, said attorney Brian Festa, vice-president and co-founder of We The Patriots USA Inc., which secured the funding and counsel for the school's lawsuit.

Prior to the pandemic, Connecticut had the fifth-highest vaccination rate for MMR in the country for the 2019-20 school year, at 96.2 percent. But this overall statistic masked that "non-compliance was running rampant in Connecticut schools  some of which were reporting non-compliance rates of over 40 percent unrelated to any exemptions  medical or religious," Atkinson wrote.

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"That non-compliance continues to this day with some schools reporting more than 25 percent of their students are not vaccinated," he added.

This underlines the unfairness and targeted nature of the state's enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccination law against the Milford private school, Atkinson said.

Bolden now must decide whether Atkinson's latest argument supports the continuation of the lawsuit, Atkinson said.

The state hasn't responded yet to Atkinson's amended complaint, which was filed Jan. 19. The deadline typically lapses within 21 days of the filing of the amended complaint. The state could seek permission to file a late response, Atkinson said.

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"The key difference between this complaint and the first is that this complaint argues that the state treats some religions better than others," Atkinson said.

In his earlier ruling, Bolden dismissed school claims that the state's commissioners of education, public health and early childhood development violated the First and 14th amendments by enforcing a 2021 state law mandating vaccines for students.

Bolden cited case law showing that the U.S. Supreme Court and lesser federal courts "have repeatedly rejected free exercise challenges to vaccination requirements on the basis of religious freedom" in his 35-page decision dated Dec. 1.

The state also has a justified interest in broadening eligibility for medical exemptions. It has a right to curtail misuse of the religious exemption, ensure consistency in the administration of medical exemptions and in facilitating conversations about vaccination between individuals and healthcare providers, Bolden wrote.

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Connecticut Assistant Attorney General Darren Cunningham filed a 38-page memorandum supporting a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in May.

If Bolden denies the school's motion to file the amended complaint, the school plans to appeal, Atkinson said, which could move it to the federal 2nd Circuit appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court.
A traveller has heaped praise on two baggage handlers who comforted her pet dog while they loaded the pooch onto a plane.

The woman, who was getting ready to board a Virgin Australia flight, noticed the two men take extra care while they loaded her dog, Daphne, onto the aircraft.

She uploaded a video to TikTok on Thursday which showed the workers carefully towing a trailer that had a blue and orange container on top with Daphne inside towards the plane.

One worker, who was wearing a yellow hi-vis vest, began to gently load the rectangular box onto the conveyer belt used to load cargo onto the plane.

The other worker was seen adjusting the speed of the conveyor belt on the side before the pair carefully lifted the container onto the machine.

The baggage handlers guided the container up the conveyor belt until it was safely placed on the plane.

The female passenger did not let the kind act go unnoticed and included a caption in the video thanking the two staffers for treating her pooch with care.

'Daphne's first flight and my heart melted when I saw how careful they were with her,' she wrote.

'Thank you Virgin Australia ground staff.'

Earlier in the video, one of the baggage handlers was seen kneeling down and talking to the pet in an effort to comfort her.

He checked the name tag that had been placed on the front of the container before he sat on the trailer as he waited to load the container on the aircraft.

A traveller has praised baggage handlers who took take of her pet dog that was carefully loaded onto a plane with one worker (pictured) seen kneeling down and talking to the pooch before the dog was placed on the aircraft

The female passenger thanked Virgin Australia (pictured stock image) for taking care of her dog that flew with her on board the plane

A spokesperson from Virgin told Daily Mail Australia the airline ensures all passengers are looked after during their journey.

'The health, safety and wellbeing of all Virgin Australia guests, including pets travelling with us, is our top priority,' the spokesperson said.

Dozens of users commented on the video and commended the 'heartwarming' act.

'This is so beautiful all the love and respect for people like this!' one user wrote.

'They way he escorted him up the conveyor,' another said.

'Haha that's my dad! Doesn't treat my dog like that just kidding he has a heart of gold!!'
A woman who revealed she was almost sent to 'cruise jail' for fighting with a fellow passenger has sparked a fierce fascination into what really happens to those who misbehave while out at sea.

Theresa Rowley, from Dallas, Texas, recently went viral after she admitted that she nearly came to blows with another woman on a seven-day Carnival Cruise she had taken with her mom.

But when she said that the events could have landed her 'locked up in the belly of the ship,' it left people wondering if cruise ships really do have a place to detain unruly travelers, what it's like, and what you would have to do to be sent there.

In a video uploaded to her TikTok account, which got more than 22 million views, Theresa began, 'I almost spent three days of my cruise locked in the belly of ship in what I now know is referred to as "cruise jail."'

A woman who revealed she was almost sent to 'cruise jail' for fighting with a fellow passenger has sparked a fierce fascination into what really happens to those who misbehave while at sea

Theresa Rowley, from Dallas, Texas, recently went viral after she admitted that she nearly came to blows with another woman on a seven-day Carnival Cruise she had taken with her mom

But when she said that the events could have landed her 'locked up in the belly of the ship,' it left people wondering what cruise ship jails were really like. Carnival's 'brig' is seen

She told her followers that she and her 67-year-old mom were enjoying a live performance at a bar on the third night of their cruise, when a woman who was sitting next to her 'wouldn't shut the f**k up.'

'She talked to the entire time, bro. She's yelling across the bar,' she recalled. 'It was a distraction and so rude.

'[At one point], some girl requested a specific ballad and the performer started playing it, and [the lady next to me] goes, "Boo. Boring." She even pretended to fall asleep. She was a terror, truly.'

A furious Theresa said she made a 'passive aggressive' comment to the woman about her non-stop chatting.

As soon as the performer took a break, she said the lady started talking badly about her to her friend - and it sparked a fierce feud between them.

'My mom said to me, "Just ignore her Theresa she's being rude,"' she continued. 'But one thing about my mom is, she's not great at volume control.

'She's an angel but she doesn't know much about noise levels. So this girl heard my mother call her rude, and she whips around and she goes, "Oh, I think you're the rude one, b***h."

'She said this to my 67-year-old mother. Every good thought, every good intention I've ever had left my body and flew away into the ocean.

Back in September 2022, a lawyer who specializes in 'suing cruise ships' per his TikTok bio, named Spencer Aronfeld, lifted a lid on the topic in a viral video

'My spine straightened, I hopped down off my stool, I looked down at her and I said, "What did you say?"

'She goes, "You heard me." I said, "Yeah, I wanna hear you say it again." She was like, "Well you guys are being really disrespectful."

'I said, "That's so crazy, because I think everyone in this bar knows that you were the one being disrespectful, so say it again."'

'I said, "Let's go outside." Never in my life have I been in a physical fight, okay? But I felt like at this moment, every SoulCycle class, every Barry's Boot Camp, every SolidCore, yoga class that I had taken had prepared me to throw a b***h into the Gulf of Mexico.'

Thankfully, Theresa said she didn't end up getting into a physical brawl with the woman because the lady stopped talking and left soon after.

But her story left many wondering if 'cruise jail' was a real thing - and what you would have to do to end up there.

Back in September 2022, a lawyer who specializes in 'suing cruise ships' per his TikTok bio, named Spencer Aronfeld, lifted a lid on the topic in a viral video.

He added that brigs are 'not typical' jail cells with 'bars or sliding doors,' but instead, they're 'cabins on lower decks with no windows that lock from the outside.' Carnival's 'brig' is seen

Spencer explained that if you get in trouble for something less severe, you might be 'confined to your' own cabin with a 'guard posted outside' instead (stock image)

'Do cruise ships have jails? Absolutely, they're called brigs and it's where passengers and crew end up if they violate the code of conduct or commit violence against another passenger or crew member,' he shared.

He added that brigs are 'not typical' jail cells with 'bars or sliding doors,' but instead, they're 'cabins on lower decks with no windows that lock from the outside.'

'They have minimal things inside - a mattress, some toiletries, and that's it,' he continued.

'Passengers will stay there until they can be disembarked and handed over to authorities in port.'

Spencer explained that if you get in trouble for something less severe, you might be 'confined to your' own cabin with a 'guard posted outside' instead.

A UK-based cruise content creator, named Emma Le Teace, previously spoke to 'a former cruise ship security officer,' whose identity was not revealed, about the subject for her blog.

She explained that the jail cells are only used for 'serious incidents' and for people 'suspected of breaking the law or those who are acting dangerously or recklessly.'

If a guest is 'drunk and disorderly,' on the other hand, she said they will be placed on 'cabin arrest.'
The year was 2014. The Hairy Bikers were talking about life and death. And friendship, of course. They were giving their first interview after Si King  the younger of the famous culinary duo  had nearly died following a brain aneurysm.

One of the first calls Sis then wife had made when he collapsed was to Dave Myers, his TV partner and best mate.

Dave had rushed to his side  and stayed there. Daves was the first hand I held after my wifes when I came round from the op, Si told me. I think I held your hand before the op too, nodded Dave.

Both of them were close to tears.

Yet even during that interview  so poignant to listen to now  it wasnt long before they were larking around and ribbing each other about the implausibility of two big hairy northern blokes holding hands.

Si King, left, announced the news of Dave Myers death from cancer aged 66. I am not sure I can put into words how I feel at the moment, he said.

Actually, there was a lot of hand-holding going on at one point, said Dave, reaching for Si, in exaggerated fashion.

Gerroff! Si laughed.

How touching it is that the roles were reversed this week when Dave died at home aged 66 at the end of a two-year fight with cancer. His trusty sidekick Si was, of course, by his side, as he had been throughout.

It was 57-year-old Si who announced the devastating news to fans.

I am not sure I can put into words how I feel at the moment, he said. My best friend is on a journey that for now, I cant follow. I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over a half a lifetime.

What a journey it had been, though. The Hairy Bikers rode into our lives  and onto our TV screens  in 2004 and we didnt quite know what had hit us. What we did know, though, was that they came as a pair.

TV partnerships are easily faked (just ask Eamonn Holmes and one-time TV wife Anthea Turner, who loathed each other) but it was clear from the off that these two were the real deal.

Theyd been mates for 20 years before they became one of our most successful TV duos, fronting countless shows and selling 30 cookery books.

The blurb for one sums up their no-nonsense appeal: Life is complicated enough, so why not let the Hairy Bikers make it just that bit easier?

And they did. They gave us not just tips for heart-warming stews and puddings, but served up a glorious  and rare  example of what male friendship can look like.

Dave announced in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He always kept the details of what type it was private, not wanting to invite speculation as to how long he had to live

Interviewing them  and, yes, they were always together, apart from a stint in 2013 when Dave did Strictly with professional dance partner Karen Hauer  was a sheer joy because they were straightforward ordinary blokes (although, interestingly, not at all blokey) who couldnt quite believe that they were being paid to hang out together, travel the globe and have a laugh.

They had met in 1995, while working on a film set. Si was a director at the time, Dave, who had a masters degree in art, was working as a make-up artist.

They immediately hit it off, chatting mostly about food and motorbikes (Dave once revealed that Si sold him the worst motorbike you have ever seen), making one of those connections that change lives. Neither came from showbiz backgrounds. Dave  he of the more twirly moustache  was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in 1957.

His mother Margaret had been told she couldnt have children, and she and Daves father Jim  42 and 55 years old respectively  were surprised and delighted when their only child was born.

Dave developed a passion for cookery through necessity, having been put in charge of feeding the family after his mother, a fabulous cook, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Dave was just eight years old.

After his mothers condition worsened, he found himself in the role of carer with almost no help from the authorities, recalling to The Mail On Sunday in 2009: I couldnt go to bed until Mum went to bed.

Dad would take Mums legs and Id take her arms and wed carry her up the stairs each night.

It was around this time that Dave developed alopecia, which doctors ascribed to shock at his mother falling sick.

The boy who would later become famed for being half of a hirsute double act was largely bald until his early 40s, when he had an operation to remove a cyst from his brain. His hair grew back, minus the follicles he had lost to male pattern baldness.

When Dave was 17, his father, once the foreman of a paper mill but now in his early 70s, suffered a debilating stroke. By his early 20s, both Daves parents had passed away.

Dave met his wife Liliana Orzac on a work trip to Romania with Si in 2005. She was the manager of a hotel and showed the pair to their rooms

By then, he was studying fine art at Goldsmiths College in London, later going on to a decades-long career as a successful make-up artist at the BBC, specialising in prosthetics  once reportedly painting the white stripe across Adam Ants face and preparing Helen Mirren, no less, for the cameras.

It was while both were working on the same production that Dave met Si King. From the off, the pair got on famously. But there was further tragedy in 1998 when Dave lost his fiancee to cancer.

On a later work trip to Romania with Si in 2005, Dave met his wife Liliana Orzac. She was the manager of a hotel and showed Dave and Si to their rooms. I thought: Cor, shes gorgeous, Dave once said. Si thought she was scary.

Si got over this, soon agreeing that Liliana was the best thing that had happened to Dave. He was best man at their wedding in 2011.

Into Daves life came Lilianas children, too. He once said it was a major regret that he had never had kids, but he rejoiced in his stepchildren Iza and Sergiu.

As Si pointed out in his announcement of Daves death yesterday, his pal loved them like his own.

Because their friendship pre-dated their showbiz success, there was never a defining line between their professional and private lives.

Friendships between men can often seem superficial, based around shared hobbies, but this one had emotional depth. Dave was there for Si when he split from his wife Jane  the mother of his three sons  in 2016. Ditto when his engagement to food stylist Michele Cranston was called off in 2021.

Theyd been mates for 20 years before they became one of our most successful TV duos, fronting countless shows and selling 30 cookery books

The Hairy Bikers did seem to do everything together, even famously losing almost 7st together when Dave was told by a doctor that he was at risk of diabetes.

In typical pragmatic fashion, they cut out the beer and reduced the fat in their puddings  bringing their fans along for that ride too.

Overnight they became poster boys for middle-aged men taking control of their waistlines.

Oh theyd wryly point out that they werent exactly Joe Wicks (nor would I want to be, Si once told me), but their influence was arguably greater because they reached the sort of target audience who would never willingly go to see a doctor or knock up a kale smoothie.

What made this particular partnership stand out, however, was the authenticity that radiated from it. You could never have scripted that.

During our 2014 interview there was a moment when Si was getting all technical about the operation to save his life, which involved the passing of tiny metal coils into his network of blood vessels.

Entry was made through the groin, not the head. There was a lot of fiddling around down there, near my hairy Mary, said Si, in very Si fashion. It wasnt hairy when theyd finished with you, whooped Dave. Oh aye, says Si. They shaved me downstairs! When I looked I nearly fell off the bed.

Sis illness tested their friendship for sure and perhaps took it to another level. They told me then that during Sis recovery, Dave had assumed the role of chief cheerleader and personal food shopper.

When Si was well enough to eat  and turn his nose up at hospital food  it was Dave who trooped off to Marks & Spencer for supplies. Their first trip out of the hospital was to a farm shop. We sat in the car afterwards, with our pork pies on the dashboard, Si said. It was heaven.

For a while, their brand was in jeopardy. Sis recovery was protracted and Dave had to step up, alone. Dave took up the reins, Si explained. He did meetings without me and that was hard. You feel like you are letting a mate down. Dave wouldnt have this. Thats why its great being a double act, he said. When one is down, the other takes over. Weve always been like that. If one of us is having a crap day, the other one has to step up.

So it came to pass years later too, in the most difficult chapter of this astonishing friendship. Dave announced in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

He always kept the details of what type it was private, not wanting to invite speculation as to how long he had to live, but the hellish journey since has been quite public. There are times when you curl up and cry, he said.

He lost his hair again  and his famous moustache  following chemo. It really is radical, he said. Its not a gradual sort of moulting. Your hair, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard. Everything just goes.

Si admitted that seeing his friend without his hair gave him a particular jolt. It was when things got real. Yet, these two kept riding on, together.

In an interview in 2022, Dave said Si had been indispensable, driving him to and from the hospital and furiously making meals to fill the freezer.

Together they filmed one final series, The Hairy Bikers Go West, currently on BBC2 with the next episode due to air on Tuesday.

It was special to film, Si admitted. We are very privileged to do what we do and I think this one was particularly special in general because of Daves health and his sheer and utter determination and love for what he does, he said.

Especially to continue to do it while he was having treatment took remarkable courage and energy  and adds to why Dave and I will not forget it.

Over Christmas, Dave left fans sobbing in a TV special as he asked a crowd of guests: Shall we do this again next year? I hope so!

Sadly, it was not to be and the ride had to end.

Yesterday, Sis parting words to his best friend said it all.

I wish you Gods speed, brother; you are and will remain a beacon on this world. See you on the other side. Love ya.
Bianca Censori's parents are not supportive of her plans to have a baby with her 'controlling' rapper husband Kanye West who, they believe, would not be able to provide a 'stable' home to raise their grandkids in.

In December 2023 - one year after Bianca, 29, and Kanye, 46, wed in a private ceremony in California - Ye hinted at his desire to have a baby in the lyrics of his newly released track Timbo Freestyle, which he previewed at a party in Las Vegas.

'You already know Im impulsive/and another baby is my end goal,' the father of North, 10, Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and Psalm, four, with ex-wife Kim Kardashians, 43, sang.

Bianca, who has taken an active role as stepmother to Kanye's four children, seems to have the same end goal as her husband, as a source close to the beauty told DailyMail.com that she has 'of course discussed baby plans with her family.'

Bianca Censori, 29 (seen with husband Kanye West, 46, in Paris this week) has discussed baby plans with her family, sources told DailyMail.com

The Yeezy architect has taken on an active role in Ye's children's lives, which has 'only made her desire to have kids stronger,' a source said (seen with his daughter Chicago, six, recently)

Bianca's father Leo (left) and mom Alexandra (right) want their kids to grow up in a 'stable' home and feel that Kanye is not able to provide that, a source has said

'He is her husband so of course she has talked about this and being a stepmom to Kanye's kids has really only made her desire to have kids stronger,' the Censori family insider shared.

Although there was a time when Bianca's family was supportive of her desire to have a baby with Kanye, that support has faltered in recent months after a string of very controversial and bizarre public appearances by the pair - as well as the Yeezy architect's increasingly-provocative ensembles.

'There was a time when her parents were supportive of her having children with Kanye, but no one believes at this time that her becoming pregnant and having a baby right now is a good idea,' the insider said.

'They want Bianca to have children and they want grandchildren, but they want them to grow up in a stable and loving household. Life with Kanye is not stable at all,' the insider said.

Adding to this instability is Bianca's cringe-worthy outfits - which include sheer tops and stockings with no bra or underwear while in Europe this week - as well as a clear plastic raincoat with nothing underneath worn by Bianca last month.

Seeing his daughter dressed like a 'naked trophy pony' has proven to be too much for Bianca's dad Leo, who is the brother of incarcerate gangland killer Eris Censori - who was once dubbed 'Melbourne's Al Capone.'

Sources told DailyMail.com that Leo 'wants a proper sit down meeting' with his unhinged son-in-law.

'Leo honestly wants to just sit Kanye down to let him know that he is hurting her family by turning his beloved daughter into a trashy-looking marketable commodity.

'He wants to ask Kanye what he would do if his daughters North, or Chicago, were seen in public half-naked in outfits encouraged by their husbands.

Seeing his daughter dressed like a 'naked trophy pony' has proven to be too much for Bianca's dad Leo, the insider said (Bianca seen wearing a skimpy ensemble in Milan last month)

Bianca went nearly-naked as she partied after the Super Bowl. The Australian designer flashed her bust and posterior in an ill-fitting tan bodysuit

Kanye used an image of Bianca's naked butt on the cover of his latest album Vultures, causing her family to believe Kanye is treating her like a 'trashy-looking marketable commodity'

'He knows that there is no way in hell that Kanye would allow this for his daughters so it makes no sense why he would encourage this for his own wife.'

Earlier this month, sources told DailyMail.com that Leo and Bianca's mom Alexandra were 'mortified' by their daughter's 'disgusting' outfits worn in public.

Kanye has defended Bianca's outfits and has even gone so far as to include an image on his album cover for Vultures which shows her bare butt. Kanye also appears on this album cover, fully clothed.

The source continued: 'Her parents are so distressed over this because they do not recognize her. She would not be doing this unless she was being controlled.

'He continues to lock her in by giving her more stake and ownership over various projects that he has going on, including the clothing.'

In December, Leo and Alexandra were said to have been fearful that their daughter was simply a rebound in the wake of Kanye's divorce from Kim - who divorce was finalized less than one month before he married Bianca, in December 2022.

'If this isn't bad enough, the man who is supposed to protect Mr. and Mrs. Censori's daughter is the same man that is shutting her out from her own family,' the source exclusively stated this week.

They finished: 'No man should ever encourage the woman that he loves to walk out in public and present herself like this. That isn't love. That is control.'

The problem is that Ye is allegedly banned from entering his wife's homeland in Australia due to hateful anti-Semitic comments he continues to make.

Concern over Bianca's desire to have kids with Kanye come as the rapper beredes his ex-wife Kim on Instagram, demanding that she take their kids out of the current school that they are in, insisting that it is full of 'Zionists.'

In his post, Kanye names his children's school, which poses a huge security risk to his four kids.

'Kim take my kids out of [name of school[ now its a fake school for celebrities that are used by the system,' Kanye posted in capital letters on Instagram on Wednesday.

Kanye blasted ex-wife Kim Kardashian, 43, on Instagram over their kids schooling - a move that her family found 'disturbing,' the insider told DailyMail.com

'Leo wants to ask Kanye what he would do if his daughters North and Chicago (seen here with Kim and Kanye) were seen half-naked in public,' the source said

As reported, Kim has demanded that Bianca 'cover up' when she is around their kids (seen here with North, 10, Saint, eight, Chicago, six, and Psalm, four)

Kanye, who founded his own unaccredited Christian school Donda Academy in 2022, cryptically explained that the 'system' is to blame.

'At this point everybody knows what the system is code word for [wide eyes emoji],' Kanye wrote, adding, 'I was removed from my dad by the system and the system removed me from my children.'

The source told DailyMail.com that this is another huge red flag for her already worried family.

'If these types of outbursts are indicative of how Kanye communicates concerns about his children, it is very disturbing,' the insider said.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Kanye and Bianca for comment.

Kim has not responded to her ex-husband's remarks, who she shares joint legal and physical custody of their four children with.

The SKIMS billionaire has, however, demanded that Bianca 'cover up' when she is around their children.

'Kim instructed Kanye to never let Bianca dress like that around their kids,' a source told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'Kanye did the same thing he is doing with Bianca to Kim throughout heir marriage,' sources previously said. 'The difference is that when Kanye dressed Kim, he was respected as a person  as an artist.'

Bianca has adhered to Kim's requests it seems, as the Yeezy architect's most inappropriate outfit to date - which exposed her nipples and genitals while in Italy this week - came just one day after she was on stepmom duty with Kanye's eldest daughter North.

While Kanye's 'muse' may be no stranger to exposing her body in public, her latest outfits could cause trouble with French officials if she is found in breach of their decency laws.

In fact, the beauty could face prison or a fine of 15,000 after testing the laws of exhibitionism in Paris.

Article 222-32 of the new penal code (applicable since 1 March 1994) stipulates: 'Deliberate sexual display in the sight of others in a place accessible to the public gaze is punishable by one year in prison and a fine of one hundred thousand francs. [15,000]'

Nudity itself does not equal indecency, however, with the legislator stipulating: 'The charge has been worded in such a way as to rule out any possibility of proceedings against persons practicing naturism in places specially designated for this purpose.'

Last year, Bianca ran the risk of a 10,000 fine and imprisonment during the couple's trip to Italy, where she had been walking around 'virtually naked' in the European nation.

According to the Italian Constitutional Court, a fine from 5,000 to 10,000 euros can be issued, or whoever exposes in a place or nearby to a place attended by minors, may be sentenced from four months to four years imprisonment.

For one outing Bianca went braless in a skintight see through all-in-one and at some points was forced to cover her nipples with a black cross-body bag.

Italian locals branded the Kim Kardashian lookalike's outfits 'disrespectful' on social media, with some saying the 'immodest' couple are no longer welcome in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

Bianca and Kanye were also investigated by police after they were caught on camera in a compromising position during their Italian holiday.
Kyle Sandilands has blasted rival radio host David 'Hughesy' Hughes for his anti-vaping stance as the government launches a campaign to stop young people from using the devices.

The KIIS FM radio host, 52, called out Hughesy, 53, for offering to promote the anti-vaping campaign on his 2Day FM Hughesy, Ed and Erin breakfast show.

He explained how Hughesy has offered to promote the campaign by running free commercials on their radio station.

'They've lost the plot over there at 2dayFM. We do some ridiculous things but we wouldn't do this. It's pathetic,' Kyle said.

'It's not heroin Hughesy, it's bubble gum vape.'

Kyle Sandilands has blasted rival co-host David 'Hughesy' Hughes for his anti-vaping stance as the government launches a campaign to stop young people from using the illegal devices

Kyle then called the 2Day FM radio station live on air and urged them not to promote the anti-vaping campaign.

'Don't do the anti-vaping campaign. You're a flop, don't do that stuff... It's not heroin dog, it's vaping man,' he said.

Hughesy shocked his listeners on Thursday by offering to star in a NSW anti-vaping campaign for free so he could warn the public about its dangers.

The veteran presenter was chatting to NSW Health Minister Ryan Park on his radio show when he made the surprising offer.

'I have officially and forever given up vaping. It wasn't easy to do but I've done it. I'm going to put this on the public record, I will do it if you will have me,' he began.

Hughes revealed he had previously been offered a large sum to front an anti-vaping campaign and turned it down because he was still using e-cigarettes at the time.

'I decided to take a higher moral ground. I said no to the money because I couldn't really morally do those campaigns while I was still vaping,' he explained.

Mr Park later said in a statement he was seriously considering Hughesy's offer and would work hard to 'get the ball rolling'.

'If it can convince even just a few people to get help or discourage them from taking up vaping, I think that's a huge win,' he said.

The KIIS FM radio host, 52, called out Hughesy, 53, for offering to promote the anti-vaping campaign on his 2day FM radio station

Selling nicotine vapes has been illegal since 2021 under laws introduced by the previous Morrison government, but many retailers have continued to sell them illegally.

In an attempt to fix the flaws in the previous legislation and crackdown on the supply of vapes at convenience stores, Albanese government health minister Mark Butler introduced a nationwide ban on the importation of disposable vapes on January 1.

They will collaborate with teen influencers in an anti-vaping campaign in a bid to stop young people from using the devices.

Mr Butler said 360,000 vapes worth almost $11million had been seized since the nationwide ban on single-use disposable vapes was introduced on January 1.

Kyle then called the 2day FM radio station live on air and urged them not to promote the anti-vaping campaign

The government's current crackdown is fuelled by the rise in underage Aussies accessing vapes and young non-smokers adopting nicotine vaping.

'Vaping was sold to governments and to communities all around the world as a therapeutic product to help long term smokers quit,' Mr Butler said in a National Press Club address in May 2023.

'It was not sold as a recreational product, and in particular, not one for our kids. That is what it has become.'

Mr Butler criticised the former Coalition government, saying they were not strict enough on regulating vape imports, and simultaneously created excessive hurdles for smokers seeking legal prescriptions.
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Julianne Moore, 63, looked decades younger than her agw in a glamorous cover shoot for AnOther magazine's Spring/Summer 2024 issue.

Just days after wowing at the red carpet premiere of Mary & George in London in a navy blue velvet Schiaparelli couture gown, the May December actress does it again in the new high-fashion spread.

She channeled different decades of Hollywood and fashion in the shoot, which was unveiled on Thursday.

In the first image, Julianne holds her head and stares seductively into the camera while wearing a leather Alaia dress.

In the second, she wears a feminine take on men's suiting in a black and white striped top and pants with a black leather tie from Bottega Veneta, which she wears in several snaps.

Julianne Moore , 63, looked decades younger than her agw in a glamorous cover shoot for AnOther magazine's Spring/Summer 2024 issue

Just days after wowing at the red carpet premiere of Mary & George in London in a navy blue velvet Schiaparelli couture gown, the May December actress does it again in the new high-fashion spread

In the next photo, the Still Alice star has her trademark red hair pinned with a series of bobby pins and still wears the Alaia leather dress.

In the fourth photo, she exudes 1940s glam and drama in an LBD from Courreges, tights from venerated brand Wolford and white satin Mary Janes from Manolo Blahnik.

The next photo has the Academy Award winner dressed in an oversized velvet blazer and pants with a cami under the jacket, all from Bottega Veneta.

Another pic shot by photographer Craig McDean and styled by Katie Shillingford shows Julianne sitting on a couch looking down dejectedly into her hand while wearing a velvet blazer with a large, pointed white collar and men's tie as a belt by Maison Margiela.

In a photo of Julianne in a long red dress with a slit up one leg by Valentino Couture, she stands against a blood red background evoking images from the 1996 Stephen King horror film Carrie starring Sissy Spacek in the title role.

In a more whimsical photo, the star wears a blazer by Bottega Veneta and a large Schiaparelli ring with an eye on it, which she playfully positioned over her own eye.

In another photo Julianne wears a wool gabardine jacket and dress from Alaia that could have stepped right out of a detective agency in a film noir movie.

And finally, one photo is a near profile of the beauty with shadows falling across her face.

Her hair is done in a Veronica Lake style and as she glances over her shoulder and it isn't clear whether she was the hunted or the hunter.

She channeled different decades of Hollywood and fashion in the shoot, which was unveiled on Thursday

In one photo, she exudes 1940s glam and drama in an LBD from Courreges, tights from venerated brand Wolford and white satin Mary Janes from Manolo Blahnik

Another photo has the Academy Award winner dressed in an oversized velvet blazer and pants with a cami under the jacket, all from Bottega Veneta

Another pic shot by photographer Craig McDean and styled by Katie Shillingford shows Julianne sitting on a couch looking down dejectedly into her hand while wearing a velvet blazer with a large, pointed white collar and men's tie as a belt by Maison Margiela

In a photo of Julianne in a long red dress with a slit up one leg by Valentino Couture, she stands against a blood red background evoking images from the 1996 Stephen King horror film Carrie starring Sissy Spacek in the title role

In a more whimsical photo, the star wears a blazer by Bottega Veneta and a large Schiaparelli ring with an eye on it, which she playfully positioned over her own eye

In another photo Julianne wears a wool gabardine jacket and dress from Alaia that could have stepped right out of a detective agency in a film noir movie

And finally, one photo is a near profile of the beauty with shadows falling across her face. Her hair is done in a Veronica Lake style and as she glances over her shoulder and it isn't clear whether she was the hunted or the hunter

Julianne poses in the jacket with the collar and belt from Maison Margiela

In another moody shoot, shadow lines fall across the actress' face

In another image, the Big Lebowski star stares intently at a vintage lamp

She landed the cover of the magazine's Spring/Summer 2024 issue

Julianne looks like she's up to something in a Bottega Veneta top and pants

Moore's new series Mary & George is inspired by the true story of Mary Villiers, who moulds her charismatic son, George, to seduce the King and achieve immense power.

From humble beginnings, the pair rise to achieve riches, titles and huge influence on the English court through scheming and dangerous gameplay.

The stakes are high, with England's place on the world stage under threat from a Spanish invasion and rioters taking to the streets to denounce the new king.

Prepared to stop at nothing and armed with ruthless political steel, Mary marries her way up the ranks, bribed politicians, colludes with criminals and claws her way into the hearts of the establishment.
A Taylor Swift fan has revealed on TikTok how he managed to sneak into her Eras Tour concert, but has now been fined and banned from Sydney Olympic Park.

Posting on TikTok under the user garnetmae, the man captioned the video: 'How to sneak into a Taylor Swift concert.'

The 51-year-old man filmed himself printing out a fake Access All Areas pass.

He then sat in the stand and walked down to the stadium floor, easily gaining access.

'First you need to make an Access All Areas pass, and then you need balls of steel and you just walk straight in like you own the place,' he said in the video.

A Taylor Swift fan has revealed on TikTok how he managed to sneak into her Eras Tour concert, but has now been fined and banned from Sydney Olympic Park

After a series of clips from the concert, the video then cuts to him being removed by police with the subtitle: 'Oops '

'I got fined and banned for six months,' he added.

'That was the most interesting part of the night, to be honest.

'They wouldn't let me film it though  took it kind of seriously.'

The 51-year-old man filmed himself printing out a fake Access All Areas pass

He then sat in the stand and walked down to the stadium floor, easily gaining access

It means he cannot go to the Easter Show but he insists he will anyway.

'You watch me,' he said.

'At this point, all I can do is Shake It Off.'

The clip ends with him singing Taylor's hit song We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.

Several people commented, asking how he got caught by the police, but there did not seem to be an explanation from him.

The man was fined $150 and banned from Sydney Olympic Park for six months, police confirmed. Pictured: Taylor Swift performing in Sydney

NSW Police confirmed the man was fined $150 and banned for six months on Monday night.

'Officers performing user pays duties at the Taylor Swift concert at Homebush located a 51-year-old man inside the stadium without a valid ticket,' police said in a statement to NCA NewsWire.

'The man was issued an infringement notice for trespassing and was also issued a banning notice from Sydney Olympic Park precinct for six months.'
Maya Jama proudly flaunted her toned abs in a black cropped jumper as she attended the Rabanne Womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday.

The Love Island host, 29, looked the epitome of chic as she donned a black jumper with silver metal spheres dangling around the hem.

She kept her look casual with a pair of satin creased-look trousers, which she paired with a black leather belt.

Adding inches to her statuesque figure, Maya donned a pair of modest strappy heels.

Maya added a hint of sparkle to her look as she finished off her stunning ensemble with a large silver day bag.

Maya Jama proudly flaunted her toned abs in a black cropped jumper as she attended the Rabanne Womenswear show at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday.

The Love Island host looked the epitome of chic as she donned a black jumper featuring silver metal spheres dangling around the hem

Just 24 hours earlier, Maya finished cooking up a storm in Italy for Milan Fashion Week.

She oozed glamour in a sexy beige dress as she shared snaps from the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk during Milan Fashion Week, on Wednesday.

The Love Island presenter, 29, rounded up MFW, which took place last week, by sharing a slew of sexy photos on Instagram.

She stunned in a busty Marilyn Monroe-inspired garment which showcased her ample cleavage in the statement bustier.

Maya stood out from the crowd in one snap as she looked visibly radiant as she took her seat front row at the star-studded show.

Before the catwalk took place, Maya posed up a storm for a mini photoshoot as she shared a behind-the-scenes moment.

Maya met up with Italian actor Michele Morrone, who looked incredibly dapper in a black three-piece suit.

The TV presenter elevated her height in strappy heels, while accessorising with dainty gold jewellery and a leopard print clutch bag.

Maya Jama, 29, oozed glamour in a sexy beige dress as she shared snaps from the Dolce & Gabbana catwalk during Milan Fashion Week, on Wednesday

The Love Island presenter rounded up MFW, which took place last week, by sharing a slew of sexy photos on Instagram

Maya ensured she was red carpet ready for her appearance by enjoying a facial with Shane Cooper prior to jetting off.

Her appearance comes after she was seen puffing on a suspicious-looking roll-up outside Cape Town International Airport with her boyfriend, Stormzy last week.

She wrapped the All Stars version of the ITV reality show and headed back home to London, before jetting off to enjoy Milan Fashion Week.

But before departing South Africa, Maya and the rapper, 30, lit up a roll-up, passing it between them, before catching their flight.

An onlooker told The Sun: 'Maya and Stormzy had a smoke before checking into their flight for London.

'It didnt seem like Maya was used to smoking because she started coughing as Stormzy puffed away next to her.'

They added: 'They seemed really in love and were laughing and holding hands as they walked through the airport.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Maya Jama and Stormzy for comment. Maya's rep declined to comment.
Drew Barrymore announced via social media on Thursday that she is the new brand ambassador for Dr. Kellyann's perimenopause and menopause formula.

The 49-year-old actress and media personality  who recently discussed her rocky past  shared a video with her 17.6 million Instagram followers in a joint post with Dr. Kellyann.

Dr. Kellyann &ME Peri + Menopause is an unprecedented daily supplement that helps ease perimenopause and menopause and resets general body wellness for women.

The caption of Drew's post began: 'Have you ever kept something bottled up inside you for so long, afraid to say it out loud because of what others may think?

'Well, I dont know about you but Im ready to come out and say it, Im NOT afraid of Perimenopause anymore!'

Drew Barrymore announced via social media on Thursday that she is the new brand ambassador for Dr. Kellyann's perimenopause and menopause formula

The 49-year-old actress and media personality shared a video with her 17.6 million Instagram followers in a joint post with Dr. Kellyann

Barrymore struggled with perimenopause symptoms for more than a year and said the product changed her life, according to Yahoo.

'Yup, the dreaded M word that we should not feel ashamed of because EVERY women is going to go through menopause!' Drew's caption continued.

'The hormonal weight gain, hot flashes, sleepless nights, fatigue, the mood swings. Youre not alone and you dont have to feel powerless once your body begins to transition,' she added reassuringly.

In a playful recording, the mother-of-two stood on a rooftop wearing a mustard yellow coat as she teased, 'I just had to come out here and get something off my chest.'

'I'm not afraid of perimenopause anymore,' she then shouted animatedly.

Her message online went on to say, 'Dr. Kellyann &ME Peri + Menopause is a natural solution for hormonal support to ease perimenopause and menopause.

'And its made me feel so good that I quite literally needed to shout about it from the rooftops.'

She finished the message by writing, 'Since I started taking Dr. Kellyann &ME Peri + Menopause I am having insanely incredible results. My bodys like functioning again where it had just come to a complete standstill. Its wild. Ive gotten my power back and I just feel great.

In a playful recording, the mother-of-two stood on a rooftop wearing a mustard yellow coat as she teased, 'I just had to come out here and get something off my chest...'

The caption of Drew's post began: 'Have you ever kept something bottled up inside you for so long, afraid to say it out loud because of what others may think? Well, I dont know about you but Im ready to come out and say it, Im NOT afraid of Perimenopause anymore!'

Dr. Kellyann &ME Peri + Menopause is described as hormone-free and easy-to-swallow.

The capsule carries a fusion of natural ingredients that are clinically proven to facilitate in the support of hormone balance, hormonal weight management, and deeper sleep.

It also claims to improve metabolism, as well as ease hot flashes and night sweats.

Dr. Kellyann, a Naturopathic Doctor & Certified Nutritionist, took to her personal Instagram page on Thursday to write about the partnership:

'When @drewbarrymore sent me a video and said Im changing with this product Dr. Kellyann, I knew it would change the lives of millions of women.'
Kourtney Kardashian and her husband Travis Barker are currently in Australia as he tours the country with his punk pop band blink-182.

And on Thursday, the couple took time out of their busy schedule to visit Alchemy Cryotherapy Centre in South Yarra.

After visiting the recovery centre the pair were seen accidentally leaving without paying, before the embarrassed drummer returned to fix the bill.

Kourtney, 44, dressed casually for the outing in blue jeans, a black jumper and a pair of sandals.

The Kardashians star paired the look with sunglasses and tied her brunette locks back into a bun.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker took time out of their busy schedule to visit Alchemy Cryotherapy Centre in South Yarra on Thursday

After visiting the recovery centre the pair were seen accidentally leaving without paying

Travis, 48, hid his tattoo sleeves under a printed black jumper and black track pants.

He accessorised the look with a pair of black and white sneakers and dark sunglasses.

Kourtney and Travis have visited a number of venues and vegetarian restaurants during their time in Australia.

The blink-182 drummer is a vegan and has even opened up his own vegan restaurant 'Crossroads Kitchen' in LA.

Am embarrassed Travis was seen talking on the phone as he returned to fix the bill

Kourtney, 44, dressed casually for the outing in blue jeans, a black jumper and a pair of sandals

The Kardashian star paired the look with sunglasses and tied her brunette locks back into a bun

On Thursday, the couple visited the National Gallery of Victoria where they posted several stories of exhibitions to their Instagram pages.

The pair were also spotted heading out for lunch on Tuesday at popular vegetarian restaurant The Vegie Bar in Fitzroy.

Last Thursday, the showbiz power couple were spotted enjoying a Thai vegetarian meal at the renowned Peace Harmony restaurant in Sydney's CBD.

Blink-182 have one show left of their tour of Australia before they head to New Zealand.

Travis, 48, hid his tattoo sleeves under a printed black jumper and black track pants
The crowd files into the meeting room at the Nathanael Greene Community Center in Guilford before the informational meeting on the methadone clinic begins. Sarah Kyrcz Lawn signs given out by methadone clinic opponent Dave Holman, before Tuesday's informational meeting on the clinic. Sarah Kyrcz Residents asked questions during a two hour informational meeting with APT Foundation CEO Lynn Madden, right. Sarah Kyrcz Judith Andrews ask Lynn Madden, CEO and president of APT Foundation, a question at the Guilford methadone clinic informational meeting Sarah Kyrcz

GUILFORD  Residents pushed back against a planned methadone clinic at 439 Boston Post Road, saying they are concerned about safety and worry that it will be too close to a daycare center and homes.

A representative from the APT Foundation, which operates the addiction clinic, refuted the claims and pointed to methadone facilities in North Haven and West Haven that she said have not caused neighbors problems. She said all town regulations were followed with Guilford.

These issues came to a head at a recent informational meeting put on by the APT Foundation where some 300 residents crowded in a meeting room at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center.

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Im very supportive of what youre doing, but Im also very concerned for my two babies who are at the daycare down the street, said Courtney DeBeaucourt, who has two children attending Cradles To Crayons Child Center, some 470 feet away from the clinic.

Opponents of the location also say its proximity to a residential neighborhood is not appropriate.

Lynn Madden, CEO and president of APT Foundation, said there was daycare in the same building as the APT Rehabilitation Center at 1 Long Wharf in New Haven and they didn't have any incidents.

Madden tried to reassure residents that the facility will not disrupt the area.

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I think this will be very, very quiet, she said. I dont think you will notice that the things are going on.

She said she expects between 70 to 80 people will visit the facility daily.

Most of our patients have jobs, they have children, they have families, they have other obligations, she said. Theyre just interested in getting their healthcare needs met and then moving on with the rest of their day.

Madden used the North Haven location as an example of a clinic that is working.

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We were having these conversations almost exactly 10 years ago in North Haven, she said. The things that people were worried about have not come to pass. In West Haven thats also true."

During the meeting, clapping, shouting and disruptions prompted First Selectman Matt Hoey to ask the gathering to be civil during the two-hour session.

Next door to the meeting room, clinic opponent Dave Holman was gathering signatures for a petition to halt the addiction facility from opening there and handing out lawn signs that said, Selling marijuana is prohibited but heroin is better?

Not all who attended were against the methadone clinic.

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Sue Kruczek, whose 20-year-old son, Nick, died of a heroin overdose in 2013, said she is happy to see this facility coming to town to help those in need.

The location, right on a major bus route, will be easily accessible for those who require their services, Kruczek said.

"I wish it were here 11 years ago when my son Nick was living here and would have to take city transportation to go into New Haven to get his methadone, said Kruczek, who is known as a spokesperson for parents whose children died from opioid overdose .

What it was, was dumping him right in the hands of the drug dealers that he had been buying from for all these years, she said.

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Residents also asked questions about loitering, potential criminal activity, parking, safeguards for keeping the exterior of the clinic, and the impact on fire and police services.

Guilford resident Catherine Kiernan Marganski asked for assurance from APT Foundation that there wouldn't be "drug dealers outside, needles found in neighboring yards and parking lots, people defecating on your property people sleeping out on your property."

Madden said some of this does happen at the Congress Avenue location in New Haven, but is working with the city to resolve the issues.

"We live in a universe where there is a lot of drug use going on," Madden said. "There are needles in parking lots everywhere in these communities."

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Madden added she has no reports of these problems at the organization's other facilities in North Haven and West Haven.

Many speakers questioned the transparency of how the project got approval from the town.

One speaker claimed APT knew this was going to be a controversial project and asked why APT waited to host the forum after "its a done deal and nothing could be done?"

Madden said they did not expect it to be a controversial process and told the crowd the foundation followed all town protocols for purchasing the property and getting necessary permits for renovations.

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There has been absolutely nothing secret about this process, whatsoever, Madden said.

Guilford Police Chief Christopher Massey said the department will research the issues to determine any effects the clinic would have on crime in town and plan for it.

I know that theres a lot of anger out there, theres fear, he said. I want to just have a data driven approach to what we do, because if we make decisions based off of emotions, those arent always the best decisions.

Before the meeting, Holman had collected some 500 signatures for a petition that calls for a referendum on two questions regarding methadone clinics.

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One question asks for a town ordinance to require any addiction facility to be located no closer than 500 feet from any residence or 1,000 feet from the closest school or daycare facility. The other question demands town officials to immediately meet with APT officials to find another location.

Holman said if these do not make it to referendum, it will give him a basis to file a lawsuit against the town.

Kruczek said she was dismayed about negative comments at the meeting.

It tells you how very much the stigma is still very much alive and prevents all these people from getting help, she said.
Red Wiggle Caterina Mete has enjoyed her first public outing since announcing she is pregnant with twin girls after undergoing IVF.

The dancer, 43, joined her fellow Wiggles at Crocs Playcentre Epping in Victoria for a live segment on the Fifi, Fev & Nick show on Friday morning.

She showed off her growing baby bump in her iconic red costume as she sported her trademark turtleneck top and black skirt while taking to the stage.

Caterina was in great spirits, beaming from ear-to-ear and waving at the live audience while putting on an entertaining Wiggles live show.

She also chatted to radio show host Fifi Box, who sweetly presented her with two babygrows as they celebrated her pregnancy news.

Red Wiggle Caterina Mete has enjoyed her first public outing since announcing she is pregnant with twin girls after undergoing IVF

The dancer, 43, joined her fellow Wiggles at Crocs Playcentre Epping in Victoria for a live segment on the Fifi, Fev & Nick show on Friday morning

She showed off her growing baby bump in her Red Wiggle costume as she sported her trademark turtleneck top and black skirt while taking to the stage

Caterina was seen holding up the babygrows with the Fifi, Fev & Nick show branding across the front as she revealed the sweet gift to the crowds.

She was joined on stage by Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins, Purple Wiggle John Pearce and original Blue Wiggle Anthony Field for their latest live performance.

Caterina has been part of The Wiggles for two decades, originally joining the crew as a dancer before moving into roles such as head of wardrobe, dance captain and choreographer.

After becoming a regular dancer for the group, performing in recordings and recording with them, she then became Red Wiggle in 2022.

The group's latest live show comes just days after Caterina confirmed she is pregnant with identical twin girls.

Caterina, who is single, made the exciting announcement via Instagram on Tuesday, telling fans that she 'can't wait to become a mum' after undergoing IVF at a fertility clinic with the help of an anonymous donor.

Caterina was in great spirits, beaming from ear-to-ear and waving at the live audience while putting on an entertaining Wiggles live show

Caterina excitedly waved at the crowds as she took to the stage to perform just days after announcing her pregnancy news

She also chatted to radio show host Fifi Box (pictured), who sweetly presented her with two babygrows as they celebrated her pregnancy news

She was cheered on by Purple Wiggle John Pearce as she greeted the crowds during the live show

'Hey, everyone. I've got some exciting news to share with you all. I'm pregnant with twin girls!' she said, holding up two child-sized Red Wiggle costumes.

'I'm due later in the year, but I wanted to share this news with you now now, as I'll be seeing many of you at the upcoming Wiggles shows... and as you can see, my girls are already starting to make an appearance,' she joked as she cradled her blossoming bump.

Her Wiggles co-stars were quick to flood her post with heartfelt messages of congratulations.

'Caterina!!! Absolutely delighted by your amazing news! Your Wiggles family is with you on this magical journey,' Anthony gushed.

'Big congratulations Caterina! I have no doubt you'll be an incredible mum. Can't wait to share in all the love and joy your little ones will bring to our Wiggles family!' Tsehay added.

The expectant mother appeared completely overjoyed to be back on stage after revealing her big news

Caterina was seen chatting to her co-star Tsehay outside the venue after their performance

The pair were greeted by an eager fan as they headed back to their car after their entertaining live show

Caterina was joined by Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins, Purple Wiggle John Pearce and Blue Wiggle Anthony Field for their latest live performance

The Wiggles all gathered outside the venue after their performance as they got ready to head off

The group's latest live show comes just days after Caterina confirmed she is pregnant with identical twin girls

Caterina, who is single, made the exciting announcement via Instagram on Tuesday, telling fans that she 'can't wait to become a mum' after undergoing IVF at a fertility clinic

Caterina also shared her ultrasound showing her twin girls in the heartwarming video as she shared her exciting news

Reflecting on her exciting news in a press release, Caterina added: 'Becoming a mother has always been a dream of mine. I feel overwhelmingly blessed to share that I am expecting two beautiful little miracles.

'This journey has been challenging, but filled with so much love and support. I am immensely grateful for the incredible team at my fertility clinic and the technology that has made this possible.'

Caterina went on to say that she can't wait to meet her bundles of joy and begin this new chapter of her life.

She concluded by thanking her Wiggles colleagues for their 'unwavering support' during her pregnancy journey.
Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans is finally sharing the details of an attempted break-in at her North Carolina home that took place over the weekend while she was home alone with her three children.

The TV personality, 32, recalled the harrowing ordeal on TikTok on Thursday, telling fans that it happened at around 1am on Saturday, February 24.

Her Ring doorbell had notified her of movement at her backdoor, where she discovered a man trying to bust open her sliding glass door.

'I look out the backdoor and it wasn't my husband [David Eason]. I didn't know who it was. It was a random stranger,' she told viewers.

Jenelle said that the intruder stopped what he was doing when he noticed that her 14-year-old son Jace was with her.

She was just recently reunited with Jace after CPS dropped charges against Jenelle and David after David allegedly attacked the teen in September 2023.

Instead of immediately fleeing the scene, the 'stranger' apologized to the mother and son and claimed that he was breaking into their house by mistake  something Jenelle does not believe.

Footage of the unidentified man was shared with police, who are actively investigating the incident.

Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans is finally sharing the details of an attempted break-in at her North Carolina home that took place over the weekend while she was home alone with her three children; Jenelle seen with husband David Eason and her children Jace, 14, Kaiser, nine, and Ensley, seven

The TV personality, 32, recalled the harrowing ordeal on TikTok on Thursday, telling fans that it happened at around 1am on Saturday, February 24

Jenelle began her story by telling viewers that she initially ignored her Ring doorbell's notifications that started 'at around 1am.'

It was not until her three dogs 'began going crazy' that she knew something was up.

Jenelle then headed to her home's laundry room where her dogs were held and that's when she saw the man 'yanking' her sliding glass door.

She then ran into Jace's room and woke him up, letting him know that there was an intruder.

Jenelle called 911 and remained on the line as the man continued to try and get the backdoor open.

She told viewers that 'it was the most terrifying conversation I've ever had with 911 in my life.'

The intruder was eventually able to break the lock on the door.

But he still could not get into the house because Jenelle had placed a security bar in the track of the sliding door before going to bed.

'That's the only thing that kept him out,' she said.

Jenelle revealed that she did have a gun on hand but that she decided not to use it because she didn't want to make the situation 'more traumatic' for Jace.

'My 14-year-old son saw the whole thing with me and this man that we had no idea who he was,' she said, adding that she'd 'never been more terrified' in her life.

She said that the intruder, who was caught on camera, abruptly stopped 'yanking' at the door and began profusely apologizing to her.

'"I'm so sorry! So sorry! I didn't mean to be here,"' Jenelle recalled of the man's words. 'He then left through [the woods near her property].'

She let fans known that she lives 'out in the country' on 10-acres of land, which means she had no neighbors in close proximity who could have helped her.

Law enforcement eventually arrived at her home and began their investigation.

Jenelle said that the cops had to 'get my sliding glass door back on my rollers' and that it was 'jammed with the [security bar] still' in place.

She confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing and that the Ring doorbell was able to capture the man's face.

Her Ring doorbell had notified her of movement at her backdoor, where she discovered a man trying to bust open her sliding glass door

'I look out the backdoor and it wasn't my husband [David Eason]. I didn't know who it was. It was a random stranger,' she told viewers; Jenelle seen with her husband in 2016

Jenelle said that the intruder stopped what he was doing when he noticed that her 14-year-old son Jace was with her

'Right now we are just trying to find answers,' she said.

The terrifying ordeal has left Jenelle with PTSD.

'I just can't believe this happened. I don't know this man's intentions. He didn't steal anything out of my building or my shed but he wanted to come in at me. He backed away when he saw my 14-year-old son,' she told the camera.

Jenelle plans to share the Ring footage online in a follow-up TikTok.

Along with Jace, the TV star is mom to son Kaiser, nine, and daughter Ensley, seven.

Jenelle was pregnant with Jace when she starred on MTV's reality show 16 And Pregnant back in 2010. She shares the teen with ex-boyfriend Andrew Lewis.

She shares Kaiser with her ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith, whom she split from in 2015.

She then welcomed Ensley with her current husband, whom she married in 2017, David Eason.

The attempted break-in at Jenelle's home comes just one week after The U.S. Sun alleged in a bombshell report that David plans to file for divorce shortly after both he and his 16-year-old daughter, Maryssa, were allegedly kicked out of the Teen Mom 2 star's home.

A source told the outlet in an article published on Thursday that, 'David has been staying on Jenelle's boat over the past week, but then on Monday, things began to get heated.'

'Two days ago, Jenelle started texting Maryssa that since her father was no longer at the house, she could no longer live there, either.'

The insider further claimed that Evans had sent a message to the 16-year-old which read: 'I've raised you since you were little, but I have custody of Jace now, and he is my priority.'

'Tuesday night at 9pm, Jenelle knocked on Maryssa's bedroom door, and said to her in person, "I really need you to find somewhere else to go, you need to leave your room key and go in the morning,'" the source continued.

The following day, after the MTV star had continued to text her about leaving, Maryssa packed up her belongings and is currently staying with a friend.

Instead of immediately fleeing the scene, the man apologized to the mother and son and claimed that he was breaking into their house by mistake  something Jenelle does not believe

Jenelle revealed that she did have a gun on hand but that she decided not to use it because she didn't want to make the situation 'more traumatic' for Jace

She said that footage of the unidentified man was shared with police, who are actively investigating the incident

In the wake of the alleged incidents, the source claimed to The U.S. Sun that David now plans to file for divorce.

'David is supposed to be filing for divorce sometime today - his plan is to get ahead of Jenelle filing.'

A YouTuber by the name of Elle Bee also reported on Eason and his daughter allegedly being kicked out of Jenell's home in a video uploaded on Thursday.

In the clip, she pulled up both of their Facebook pages which revealed that they each changed their relationship status to 'Separated.'

The divorce claims come shortly after Jenelle reunited with son Jace after Child Protective Services dropped their charges against her and David.

The reality star took to her TikTok last Monday to share a sweet video of a family dinner with her 14-year-old boy, who was removed from her home after Eason allegedly attacked the teen in September 2023.

In the clip, the MTV veteran is seated at a table with her children, Jace, Kaiser and Ensley as they enjoyed various types of ramen noodle soups.

Jace is seen slurping up his meal before adorably demonstrating how to use chopsticks to his younger sister Ensley.

The fun dinner date comes fours days after Janelle revealed on TikTok that CPS had 'officially dropped all allegations' against her and Eason.

'I have some good news and I'm kind of shaking right now from anxiety,' she began in the clip. 'All allegations against me and my husband have been officially dropped.'

'I wasn't going to share this information, I was actually gonna keep it private and just kind of give a vague statement,' the MTV alum added. 'But right now, I need to control the narrative.'

Janelle said she'll hold off on sharing case details for now, highlighting her priority on Jace's mental well-being.

Jenelle Evans' husband David Eason plans to file for divorce shortly after both he and his 16-year-old daughter, Maryssa, were allegedly kicked out of the Teen Mom 2 star's, 32, home, per The U.S. Sun

A source told the outlet in an article published on Thursday that, 'David has been staying on Jenelle's boat over the past week, but then on Monday, things began to get heated'

'I'd appreciate if everyone respects my son's privacy so he can get his mental health in check,' she said before adding that 'someone is already leaking information.'

She said it was likely Jace's father, Andrew Lewis, or her mother, Barbara Evans, because they are the 'only two people who knew the information.'

Regarding the mother-of-three's emotional state, Evans acknowledged feeling 'super happy' that the situation is 'finally over.'

Jenelle wrapped up her message by expressing gratitude to those who had supported her during the ordeal. 'I appreciate it. And now I feel like I can move on with my life.'

The reveal comes almost a month after it was reported that Eason had been charged by one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one count of felony assault by strangulation in the child abuse case.

In November, Jace was removed from his mother's residence after telling doctors that Eason had abused him.

He was then placed under the care of his maternal grandmother, Barbara. It is unclear if Jace will be allowed to live with Janelle again.

According to TMZ, Jace alleged that Eason had assaulted him following his most recent attempt to run away from home.

The insiders went on to claim that Evans' son exhibited visible marks on his neck and arms, and the alleged assault was said to have taken place at an acquaintance's residence.

'Two days ago, Jenelle started texting Maryssa that since her father was no longer at the house, she could no longer live there, either,' the source added; Jenelle and David seen in 2019 in NYC

In the wake of the alleged incidents, the source claimed to The U.S. Sun that David now plans to file for divorce. 'David is supposed to be filing for divorce sometime today - his plan is to get ahead of Jenelle filing'

Both the local police department and CPS were said to have obtained Ring camera footage of the incident. Following the alleged assault, Evans and Eason both became the subject of a investigation for suspected child neglect.

It was reported that the latter of the two had officially been charged with a misdemeanor related to his involvement in the incident in October.

Officials have since determined that a separate charge for alleged strangulation is applicable to the media figure's spouse.

In November, Jenelle implied that her mother Barbara was the culprit behind the child abuse probe and charge against Eason, as well as the nasty fallout of the ongoing situation.

Jace reportedly had no contact with the Teen Mom 2 star or her husband David since he was moved out of their home and was sent to live with Jenelle's mother Barbara again.

He was then placed under the care of his maternal grandmother, Barbara. It is unclear if Jace will be allowed to live with Janelle again.

According to TMZ, Jace alleged that Eason had assaulted him following his most recent attempt to run away from home.

The insiders went on to claim that Evans' son exhibited visible marks on his neck and arms, and the alleged assault was said to have taken place at an acquaintance's residence.

Both the local police department and CPS were said to have obtained Ring camera footage of the incident. Following the alleged assault, Evans and Eason both became the subject of a investigation for suspected child neglect.

Evans tied the knot with David back in 2017, and the two share seven-year-old daughter Ensley. The TV personality also shares Kaiser, nine, with ex Nathan Griffin and welcomed Jace with ex Andrew Lewis - which was shown on 16 And Pregnant

According to TMZ , Jace alleged that Eason had assaulted him following his most recent attempt to run away from home; Jace and David seen above

It was reported that the latter of the two had officially been charged with a misdemeanor related to his involvement in the incident in October.

Officials have since determined that a separate charge for alleged strangulation is applicable to the media figure's spouse.

In November, Jenelle implied that her mother Barbara was the culprit behind the child abuse probe and charge against Eason, as well as the nasty fallout of the ongoing situation.

Jace reportedly had no contact with the Teen Mom 2 star or her husband David since he was moved out of their home and was sent to live with Jenelle's mother Barbara again.
Fred Again treated a few hundred fans to a surprise gig in Sydney on Thursday night.

The UK-based DJ, 30, performed at Club 77 in Darlinghurst in front of eager music lovers in what was a secret show.

A handful of fans were selected and notified of the show via a WhatsApp message directly from the musician.

'Hi! Doin a random party tonight and we've randomly selected a few numbers to send ticket link to, so if you're getting this message that's u! If u wanna come!' the message read.

Only 200 diehard fans scored tickets to the secret gig, while several missed out yet again on seeing the popular record producer live.

Fred Again treated a few hundred fans to a surprise gig in Sydney on Thursday night. The UK-based DJ, 30, performed at Club 77 in Darlinghurst in front of eager music lovers in what was a secret show

A handful of fans were selected and notified of the show via a WhatsApp message directly from the musician

Fred was forced to apologise to fans on Friday after tickets for his Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast shows went on sale on Thursday and sold out within an hour.

'I just wanna say I really didn't anticipate that this would be a sitch where we'd be leaving so many people disappointed with tickets,' he said via Instagram.

'Like in my mind we were coming all this way and doing this ambitious shows to play to like people yknow!'

Only 200 diehard fans scored tickets to the secret gig, while several missed out yet again on seeing the popular record producer live

'I didn't think we'd be leaving like 90 per cent of people disappointed, so obviously THANK YOU, but like it genuinely makes me sad seeing all your messages today,' he added.

Fred Again kicks off his tour in Melbourne, playing three back-to-back shows from March 4 to March 6 at Rod Laver Arena, before heading to a pop up location on the Gold Coast on March 9.

He will then return to Sydney for three shows at Qudos Bank Arena from March 12 to March 14.

The DJ also shocked fans earlier this week with a last-minute surprise performance at the Sydney Opera House.
Andy Cohen appeared completely unfazed as he prepared to tape an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, alongside Candiace Dillard Bassett and Wendy Osefo.

While preparing to sit down with the two Real Housewives of Potomac stars, the 55-year-old Bravo veteran filmed a video of himself telling the ladies 'it's showtime.'

After letting the duo know it was time to appear on the daytime talk show, Bassett, 37, and Osefo, 39, were seen strutting out of their dressing room in full glam.

For the interview, he sported a navy suit, an orange striped tie and dark-wash jeans.

Andy Cohen appeared completely unfazed as he prepared to tape an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, alongside Candiace Dillard Bassett and Wendy Osefo

During the episode, Clarkson asked Bassett and Osefo if they had any 'requests' for future seasons or spinoffs to their franchise.

Cohen listened enthusiastically, before cutting off the duo to say: 'We have the reunion next week.'

The women mused about needing a 'prayer circle' before reuniting with the rest of their cast.

Osefo went on to thank Bravo and Cohen for making her the first Nigerian housewife on their show's history.

'But, to that end, I think it's only right that I take the ladies on a cast trip to Nigeria,' she suggested.

He responded: 'That would be amazing... that would be my request... to see my homeland. To see my father's home, to see everything.'

Clarkson said she thought it was a 'great idea' too.

Bassett then said she wanted to go to France or the Olympics.

'Being a Housewife is an Olympic sport!' she mused.

Cohen smiled and agreed as he said all the Housewives were 'champions.'

While preparing to sit down with the two Real Housewives of Potomac stars, the 55-year-old Bravo veteran filmed a video of himself telling the ladies 'it's showtime'

After letting the duo know it was time to appear on the daytime talk show, Bassett, 37, and Osefo, 39, were seen strutting out of their dressing room in full glam

During the episode, Clarkson asked Bassett and Osefo if they had any 'requests' for future seasons or spinoffs to their franchise

Osefo went on to thank Bravo and Cohen for making her the first Nigerian housewife on their show's history

After the episode, Clarkson shared a photo with her guests.

'LEAPing into today's Kelly with @bravoandy and #RHOP @therealcandiace and @wendyosefo!' she captioned the slideshow.

The appearance comes after former Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney accused Cohen of engaging 'in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs' in a new lawsuit.

McSweeney said in court docs reviewed by Page Six that Cohen 'tends to provide the Housewives with whom he uses cocaine with more favorable treatment' and strategic editing to make them look better.

Cohen 'intentionally uses cocaine with his employees to further promote a workplace culture that thrives off drug and alcohol use, which leads to a failure to accommodate employees who are disabled and trying to stay substance free,' McSweeney said in court docs.

A rep for Cohen told Dailymail.com that 'the claims against Andy are completely false.'

After the episode, Clarkson shared a photo with her guests

The appearance comes after Cohen former Real Housewives of New York City star Leah McSweeney accused him of engaging 'in cocaine use with Housewives that he employs' in a new lawsuit. Pictured in NYC in June of 2021

McSweeney, 41, appeared on two seasons of The Real Housewives of New York City in 2020-2021, and on a season of Real Housewives: Ultimate Girls Trip, which aired last year.

McSweeney said in the legal docs that Bravo 'thrives off drug and alcohol use,' without naming any further parties past Cohen.

McSweeney said in court docs reviewed by Page Six that she informed Bravo producers prior to her casting on the series, that she had been focused on staying sober, and had a 30-day streak of sobriety going into the show.

McSweeney told the court that producers failed to make a 'reasonable accommodation' for her addiction-related disability - but instead provided her 'with unlimited, free-of charge alcoholic beverages,' and 'encouraged her to consume those alcoholic beverages.'

A rep for Cohen told Dailymail.com that 'the claims against Andy are completely false'

McSweeney's legal team said that 'this environment caused Ms. McSweeney to relapse into alcohol addiction shortly after joining RHONY season 12.'

McSweeney said in court docs that Bravo producers sought to sabotage her sobriety by both exacerbating it and stopping her from getting treatment for her problem.

McSweeney told the court that Bravo executives violated her employment rights under the Disabilities Act by preventing her to get help for her alcohol issues, knowing she was dealing with them.

McSweeney, who has a fashion label called Married To The Mob, said in the legal docs that sexual harassment was also rife in the company, claiming that a senior producer 'routinely sends unsolicited pictures of [their] genitalia to lower-level  production employees,' and that executives have ignored the issues.

McSweeney said in legal docs that Bravo and Shed Media, a production company it works with on its shows, continued to promote the unnamed senior producer in question 'to positions of increased power.'

In 'failing to take appropriate remedial action' amid the claims, McSweeney said in court docs, Bravo and Shed officials 'tacitly' signaled to both the senior producer and 'all other employees that they can engage in unlawful employment practices with impunity.'

McSweeney in her suit, which is for unspecified damages, named Cohen, Bravo, Shed Media and Shed's parent company Warner Media.
Drake has paid tribute to a mother and daughter who were tragically struck and killed by a car after attending his concert in St. Louis, Missouri earlier this month.

The rapper, 37, honored the lives of Laticha Bracero, 42, and her daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21, during his show in Buffalo, New York on Wednesday night.

He delivered an impassioned speech, encouraging fans to be 'grateful for your life' and to 'show love' to the people around them  whether they're a familiar face or a stranger.

Soon after, Drake gifted $25,000 to a cancer survivor who was waving a sign in the stands.

'You never know what somebody else's reality will be when they walk out of this building,' Drake told the audience, as per footage obtained by TMZ.

Drake has paid tribute to a mother and daughter who were tragically struck and killed by a car after attending his concert in St. Louis, Missouri earlier this month

The rapper, 37, honored the lives of Laticha Bracero, 42, and her daughter Alyssa Cordova, 21, during his show in Buffalo, New York on Wednesday night

He continued: 'So for this moment let's get all of us together, all 18,000 people. Turn to somebody that you do not know and look them in the eyes, and I want you to prove that you're grateful for your life.'

'I want you to take five seconds out of your day to make somebody else's day. Just show them some love because you never know what comes next.

'Just show some f**king love tonight Buffalo, New York.'

As people began to follow his directions and give each other hugs and handshakes, Drake got inspired even more, yelling out from the stage, 'That's what I want to see.'

He then stalked the stage from side-to side trying to encourage fans to all follow suit and show each other a loving gesture.

'I appreciate that gesture that you've done for me. I think one of the most important things in life is the idea that you have two choices: you can either wake up every day and you can be a piece of s**t, or you can wake up every day and be a decent person. So I appreciate y'all,' he told the fans.

Bracero, 42, and Cordova, 21, were both killed on the early morning of February 14 when the driver of a speeding car struck them just after they left the concert.

He delivered an impassioned speech, encouraging fans to be 'grateful for your life' and to 'show love' to the people around them  whether they're a familiar face or a stranger

Bracero, 42, and Cordova, 21, were both killed on the early morning of February 14 when the driver of a speeding car struck them just after they left the concert.

Police say 22-year-old Monte Henderson  who has been released on bond  sped through an intersection at over 70mph when he allegedly caused the tragedy

Shocking footage showed the mother and daughter walking past the intersection while oncoming traffic had a red light

In a flash, Henderson's Jeep Grand Cherokee is seen flying into crossing traffic, initially colliding with the front bumper of another car before careening into the mom and daughter

Police say 22-year-old Monte Henderson sped through an intersection at over 70mph when he allegedly caused the tragedy.

Two other teen girls and a 61-year-old woman were also hospitalized from the crash.

Henderson survived and was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of armed criminal action.

However, Judge Annette Llewellyn overlooked a probable cause statement arguing he is a danger to the community, allowing him to be freed on a $20,000 bail, according to STL Today, this week.

Henderson's bail sparked outrage online after the shocking footage of the crash went viral.

Reported court records showed he was freed two days later after posting 10 percent of his $200,000 bond.

'Rest in peace to that young mother and her child,' Drake shared, before taking notice of a female fan holding up a sign revealing that they are a cancer survivor.

'I got this sign in front of me. I've got this sign in front of me and it means a lot,' the five-time Grammy winner said.

'This sign right here. I'm sure you can read it on the screen, but if you can't it says: "I beat stage 4 cancer just in time to see Drake #godsplan."'

Soon after, Drake gifted $25,000 to a cancer survivor who was waving a sign in the stands

Drake has repeatedly awarded $25,000 to lucky fans as an homage to his 2018 music video God's Plan, in which he does just that

A visibly emotional Drake told the audience that 'everything happens for a reason' and then announced that he would be gifting the woman $25,000.

So tonight I'd like to give you $25,000,' he said to her, which earned a roaring applause from the audience.

He honored his word and, according to WVIB in Buffalo, the woman did in fact receive the money.

Drake has repeatedly awarded $25,000 to lucky fans as an homage to his 2018 music video God's Plan, in which he does just that.

In what is considered his biggest donation yet, Drake gave a cancer survivor, who only recently completed chemotherapy treatments, $100,000 during his concert in Nashville earlier this month.
Americans have rated popular Australian radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson's looks.

Former NRL star Cooper Johns, 24, is currently in Las Vegas and was tasked with asking locals to score the KIIS FM duo's appearances out of 10.

He held a photo of Jackie O to pedestrians and one rated the blonde beauty a six out of 10.

However another person insisted 'that girl is a glamour' while a third rated her a 9.6.

When shown Kyle's image, one woman rated him a 'solid 10' while another agreed saying he is a 'hard 10'.

Americans have rated popular Aussie radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson's looks

Another rated the radio titan an eight while one said: 'With his age, you can still see the beauty in his face.'

It comes after Johns was left speechless on Thursday after a cheeky experiment he was conducting for The Kyle and Jackie O Show went horribly wrong.

The former Manly Sea Eagles player is currently in Las Vegas before the 2024 season kicks off with back-to-back games on Sunday.

Cooper was tasked with breathalysing the NRL players to see if they had been 'behaving' - and was left shocked after a surprising star tested way over the limit.

'First person tested is Corey Waddell, he's on the short list of party boys. He came up zero for alcohol,' Cooper said.

Former NRL star Cooper Johns, 24, is currently in Las Vegas and was tasked with asking locals to rate the KIIS FM duo's appearances out of 10. He held a photo of Jackie O to pedestrians and one rated the blonde beauty a six out of 10

After all the players came up negative, Cooper decided he would then test the commentators, beginning with his dad Matthew 'Matty' Johns, 52, who is a legendary former NRL player.

'It doesn't give me any pride in doing this, I was forced to go to his hotel to track him down,' he said.

Upon arriving at his father's hotel room he gave him the breathalyser test - and was left gobsmacked by the results.

'Point one-three. That's nearly three times the limit,' a shocked Cooper told his dad.
Gwyneth Paltrow was the image of the willowy Hollywood blonde when she hit the stage at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday.

The 51-year-old movie star was headlining the MAKERS Conference, an annual three-day summit with a focus on high-achieving women.

At this year's edition, Gwyneth was on hand to speak about her wellness brand Goop, a lightning rod for publicity and controversy since its inception.

Letting her signature flaxen hair fall in silky curtains that framed her unmistakable features, Gwyneth rocked a sleek black look.

She modeled an elegant spotted blouse tucked into a solid pair of slacks, opting for naturalistic makeup and foregoing jewelry.

Gwyneth Paltrow was the image of the willowy Hollywood blonde when she hit the stage at the Beverly Hilton on Thursday

The 51-year-old movie star was headlining the MAKERS Conference, an annual three-day summit with a focus on high-achieving women

At this year's edition, Gwyneth was on hand to speak about her wellness brand Goop, a lightning rod for publicity and controversy since its inception

Gwyneth was interviewed onstage by her friend Ella Bell, co-author of the book Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity.

The pair also found a moment to pose together offstage during the red carpet portion of the event, where Gwyneth hobnobbed with the organization's brass.

She and Ella had their picture with MAKERS Women's chief partnerships officer as well as its president Alicin Reidy Williamson.

As Gwyneth swanned around the conference, she mingled with her fellow wellness influencer Latham Thomas, who is known online as GlowMaven.

Backstage at the fete, Gwyneth could be spotted enjoying a green room conversation with pioneering fashion model Bethann Hardison.

Before heading off to the conference, Gwyneth treated her fans to a Q&A on her Insta Stories, where one of them raised the subject of her family.

Gwyneth was asked for her favorite picture of herself with her 17-year-old son Moses, and she responded with a selfie that was 'Not fave but recent.'

She shares Moses and a 19-year-old daughter called Apple with her ex-husband, the smoldering Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.

Gwyneth was interviewed onstage by her friend Ella Bell, co-author of the book Our Separate Ways: Black and White Women and the Struggle for Professional Identity

The pair also found a moment to pose together offstage during the red carpet portion of the event, where Gwyneth hobnobbed with the organization's brass

Backstage at the fete, Gwyneth could be spotted enjoying a green room conversation with pioneering fashion model Bethann Hardison

As Gwyneth swanned around the conference, she mingled with her fellow wellness influencer Latham Thomas, who is known online as GlowMaven

She and Ella had their picture with MAKERS Women's chief partnerships officer as well as its president Alicin Reidy Williamson

On Insta Stories, Gwyneth was asked for her favorite picture of herself with her 17-year-old son Moses, and she responded with a selfie that was 'Not fave but recent'

When Chris and Gwyneth publicly separated in 2014, Gwyneth inspired widespread mockery by referring to the split as a 'conscious uncoupling.'

They have remained amicable and Gwyneth is famously even friendly with Chris' much younger girlfriend Dakota Johnson of Fifty Shades Of Grey fame.

Gwyneth meanwhile is married to TV writer Brad Falchuk, who is known for his collaborations with Ryan Murphy, including Glee and American Horror Story.

In a recent interview, she defended the 'nepo baby' phenomenon - in response to a backlash against celebrities' children who went into showbiz.

She herself hails from a Hollywood family, as the daughter of St. Elsewhere producer Bruce Paltrow and Meet The Parents actress Blythe Danner.

Having followed her mother's footsteps into acting, Gwyneth now sees 'nothing wrong with doing or wanting to do what your parents do.'

The Academy Award-winning actress argued to Bustle: 'Nobody rips on a kid whos like: "I want to be a doctor like my dad and granddad."'

However she insisted that her own daughter is 'a very private person' who has no interest in even modeling for Goop.
Jared Leto was completely unrecognizable while in costume as Ares in a new first-look image from the upcoming science-fiction film Tron: Ares, which was released on Thursday.

The 52-year-old performer, who shared the photo on his Instagram account, donned a sleek and futuristic costume while posing for the snap.

The Academy Award-winning actor - who recently scaled the Empire State Building - also penned a short message in his post's caption, which he concluded by writing: 'See you on the grid.'

Tron: Ares' director, Joachim Ronning, also shared a statement on Thursday where he expressed via Deadline that he was 'excited to be part of the Tron franchise and bring this new film to fans around the world.'

'Tron: Ares builds upon the legacy of cutting-edge design, technology and storytelling. Now more than ever, it feels like the right time to return to the Grid,' he added.

Jared Leto was completely unrecognizable while in costume as Ares in a new first-look image from the upcoming science-fiction film Tron: Ares, which was released on Thursday

Tron: Ares serves as the third major entry in Disney's Tron franchise, which kicked off with the release of the original film in 1982.

The Steven Lisberger-directed movie, which starred Jeff Bridges, was one of the first full-length films to make extensive usage of CGI.

The star of The Big Lebowski reprised his role as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy, which was released in 2010.

The cast of the Joseph Kosinski-helmed movie was also led by Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, and it featured a soundtrack from electronic music duo Daft Punk.

Development on Tron: Ares began in 2010, and both Kosinski and Hedlund were initially attached to the project.

Although the movie was greenlit in March of 2015, it was subsequently revealed that it had been shelved just a few months later due to the failure of Disney's sci-fi film Tomorrowland.

However, Leto signed on to appear in the project two years later, and his character was taken from an early version of the project's script, per The Hollywood Reporter.

In addition to starring in the movie, the House Of Gucci star serves as one of its producers.

The Academy Award-winning actor - who recently scaled the Empire State Building - also penned a short message in his post's caption, which he concluded by writing 'See you on the grid'; seen in January

The performer also shared a short clip to promote the upcoming science-fiction movie

Tron: Ares serves as the third major entry in Disney's Tron franchise, which kicked off with the release of the original film in 1982

The star of The Big Lebowski reprised his role as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy, which was released in 2010

The cast of the Joseph Kosinski-helmed movie was also led by Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde, and it featured a soundtrack from electronic music duo Daft Punk

Although Tron: Ares was initially set to be directed by Garth Davis, Ronning signed on as his replacement in January of last year.

The feature's cast will be rounded out by performers such as Evan Peters, Jodie Turner-Smith and Gillian Anderson, among others.

While shooting was supposed to commence in Vancouver last year, it ultimately started last month.

Tron: Ares will premiere next year, although a specific date for its debut has not been scheduled as of yet.
Stephen Gaghan has revealed heartbreaking new details about Heath Ledger's tragic death for the first time.

The Hollywood director, 58, has spoken about a devastating phone call he received from Heath's father Kim after the Australian actor's death on January 22, 2008.

Heath tragically died of an accidental drug overdose in his New York apartment aged 28, and sixteen years on, Stephen has now shared how he learnt of the news.

He was speaking on Malcolm Gladwell's podcast Revisionist History: Development Hell - which explores projects that didn't make it to screen - about a movie Blink he had planned to make with Heath.

On the podcast, he explained how Heath was found with a copy of the Blink script beside him, while one of Malcolm Gladwell's books also lay on his nightstand.

Stephen Gaghan has revealed heartbreaking new details about Heath Ledger's tragic death for the first time (Heath is pictured in December 2005)

The screenwriter told how Heath's father Kim, who he had never met, saw his phone number on the script and called him after arriving on the scene in a moment of shock and grief.

Speaking for the first time about the call, he recalled: 'The dad and the guy who was closest to him in his professional life, they were there with the body and our script was in bed with him, and [Gladwell's] book was on the bedside table.

'I think my number was on the script, like written. These guys, as you can imagine, they are in shock and they dialed that number and I don't know why.'

He devastatingly said he 'collapsed' upon learning the heartbreaking news during the phone call, which came while he was in an airport with his wife Minnie Mortimer.

'I'm in an airport with my wife just going from one place to another, and I literally just collapse, never happened to me before or since,' he said.

The Hollywood director (pictured in 2020), 58, has spoken about a devastating phone call he received from Heath's father Kim after the Australian actor's death on January 22, 2008

'My feet went out from under me. I just literally sat down because I was like, 'What?'

'The emotion, what they were going through, I should not have been a party to in any way really, and yet as a human or as somebody who just cares, I just was there and I was listening and my wife was looking at me.

'I remember her face and I was just like, I was speechless. I just listened and listened and listened. It was just really, really sad. And it's still sad. For me, I just had to put a pin in it.'

Stephen also reflected on his 'really special' bond with Heath and how he had planned to make 'a bunch of movies' with the Joker star before his tragic death.

'I met Heath Ledger and I'd gotten to be very, very close with him instantly. I had a real connection with him that was unusual and really special to me,' he shared.

Heath tragically died of an accidental drug overdose in his New York apartment aged 28, and was found with the script for Stephen's movie Blink beside him

'I had this feeling that I love this guy and was going to make a bunch of movies with him - and then I got [the] phone call.'

Stephen shared that he decided to 'put a pin' in his plans for the movie Blink after years of development following the news of Heath's death.

He explained how he had previously considered Leonardo DiCaprio for the lead role, but after meeting Heath, couldn't see anyone else but him portraying the character.

Stephen is best known for his work on 2020 film Dolittle, 2016's Gold and 2005's Syriana, as well as for writing the screenplay of Steven Soderbergh's film Traffic.
Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix says she hasn't been hesitant to monetize the publicity she's received in the past year since the Scandoval fiasco began, as she's striving for financial independence in the fickle world of show business.

Madix, 38, comes as she's been in the headlines for a year after her longtime boyfriend Tom Sandoval, 40 cheated on her with her costar on the Bravo reality series, Raquel Leviss, 29 - who has filed a lawsuit against both of the other parties in the fiasco.

The Melbourne, Florida native spoke with the Los Angeles Times Thursday about her burgeoning career, and the many opportunities she's received stemming from the public's intense interest in the aforementioned scandal and people involved in it.

Madix has been able to capitalize on the publicity resulting from the scandal: She appeared in a Broadway production of the musical Chicago, and was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars last fall.

Among the companies such she's inked promotional sponsorships with include BIC, SoFi, Uber One and Bellesa Boutique.

Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix, 38, says she hasn't been hesitant to monetize the publicity she's received in the past year since the Scandoval, as she's striving for financial independence in the fickle world of show business. Pictured in November 2023 in Las Vegas

'My team would be like, "This is a really great offer from Bic, look at it,"' she said. 'And I'd say it is a fantastic offer, but even if it wasn't, I'm not in a position to say no right now, because I have to make myself financially stable from now until kingdom come.'

She said that she's focused on gaining on financial independence with her career on the upswing.

'There's no one here about to bail me out,' Madix said. 'I don't have rich parents. I don't have an inheritance from anybody who's passed.'

She said that people who were critical of her aggressive endorsement slate are 'confused about what it is' she does 'for a living.'

Said Madix: 'Those are acting jobs. I'm doing the same job I have done for many years; I'm just working more. And that's why I signed up for Vanderpump Rules in the first place - to work more.'

Madix - a regular on Vanderpump Rules since 2013, appearing on 173 episodes of the Bravo hit - added of her critics: 'Those people dont want women to work.'

Her past acting credits include roles on shows such as Waking Up with Strangers, Anger Management, Paradise City and The Other Two, as well as the 2023 Lifetime film Buying Back My Daughter and 2018 Vivica A. Fox film Dead End.

Madix's chat with the newspaper came amid news Leviss is now suing her and Tom Sandoval for 'revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy' following last year's Scandoval drama.

The Florida native spoke with the Los Angeles Times Thursday about her burgeoning career, and the many opportunities she's received stemming from the public's intense interest in the aforementioned scandal and people involved in it. Pictured in LA last month

Madix has been able to capitalize on the publicity resulting from the scandal: She was a contestant on Dancing With the Stars last fall. Pictured with Alfonso Ribeiro and Pasha Pashkov in December on the ABC show

'Scandoval captured the publics attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules,' the complaint, obtained by DailyMail.com, reads. 'It also caused mayhem in Levisss life, culminating in months-long in-patient treatment at a mental health facility and her departure from the show. Fomented by Bravo and Evolution in conjunction with the cast, Leviss was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America.'

Last year, it was revealed that Leviss had an intimate FaceTime conversation with Sandoval that was recorded without her knowledge.

During an interview with Bethenny Frankel in August, Leviss accused Sandoval of recording the video chat.

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Sandoval, Madix, and Leviss for comment.

Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen, and producers who work on Vanderpump Rules are not named in the lawsuit, however they are frequently mentioned.

The lawsuit, which spans 19-pages, was filed by Leviss Thursday at Los Angeles Superior Court.

'Plaintiff Rachel Leviss is a former cast member on Vanderpump Rules, a reality television show produced by Evolution Media (Evolution) and broadcast by Bravo Media (Bravo), an asset of NBCUniversal (NBC) (together with Bravo, Bravo). This case arises from a scandal of epic proportions starting in March 2023,' it reads.

Rachel Leviss is now suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for 'revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy' following last year's Scandoval drama

Leviss filed the lawsuit Thursday at Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Deadline

'Stemming from an affair between Leviss and another cast member, Tom Sandoval, Scandovalas it came to be knownwent instantly viral and was the subject of extraordinary press coverage, even in the mainstream media. Scandoval injected new life into a previously faltering series, causing its viewership to explode to unseen levels and making its cast members mega-celebrities. Due to a narrative deliberately fomented by Bravo, Evolution, and the cast, Leviss became an object of public scorn and ridicule.

'To be clear, Leviss has repeatedly acknowledged that her actions were morally objectionable and deeply hurtful to Madix. She has offered numerous apologies. There is more to the story, however. Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated, and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal. Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.

'To make matters worse, Leviss was misled by Bravo and Evolution into believing that she was contractually barred from speaking out about her mistreatment. As a result, she suffered in silence as Bravo and Evolution watched viewership explode, and the rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity. Meanwhile, Leviss, who was humiliated and villainized for public consumption, remains a shell of her former self, with her career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.'

Leviss engaged in a months-long affair with Sandoval that sparked the end of his nine-year relationship with Madix last year. The fallout was captured on camera and both Leviss and Sandoval were heavily shamed by viewers and castmates alike.

The affair came to light after Madix discovered an intimate Facetime video on Sandoval's phone featuring himself and Leviss.

Leviss has insisted the video was recorded without her knowledge, and last summer she accused Sandoval of recording the Facetime.

The lawsuit describes how Madix came across the 'sexually explicit videos of Leviss' - Sandoval was performing with his band at Tom Tom when his phone fell out of his pocket and was given to Madix, who then went through his phone.

'It was reportedly retrieved by an attendee and handed over to Madix, who searched it and found sexually explicit videos of Leviss,' the lawsuit states of Madix coming across the phone.

Leviss engaged in a months-long affair with Sandoval that sparked the end of his nine-year relationship with Madix last year

The suit continues: 'Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that the explicit videos were recorded by Sandoval without her knowledge or consent in or around February 2023.

'The two videos Leviss has seen depict her in a state of undress and masturbating. However, given Sandoval's apparent practice of secretly recording their video calls, Leviss has every reason to assume there are additional illicit videos and/or photographs of her that she has not yet seen.'

Leviss claims in the lawsuit that Madix 'obtained at least two illicit videos of Leviss and distributed them and/or showed them to others without Leviss' knowledge or consent. At a minimum, Madix circulated the illicit videos to herself and Leviss. She also immediately informed production about what she had found.

'In addition, many other individuals have demonstrated intimate familiarity with their contents, leading Leviss to believe the circle of recipients is wider,' the suit adds.

The suit adds that Madix sent the two sexually explicit videos to Leviss when she confronted her over the affair via text message. Leviss received the two videos along with the text, 'you are DEAD TO ME[.]'

The suit makes other allegations, including a claim that their affair was 'well-known to many cast members and suspected by others.'

'Leviss and Sandoval were not particularly discrete. Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that Madix knew about it as early as the Fall of 2022. Indeed, in December of 2022, Madix scolded Leviss and Sandoval for being handsy in public, admonishing them to save the story for Season 11.'

The lawsuit also goes into depth about the alleged physical altercation between Leviss and Scheana Shay, who the suit says 'violently assaulted' Leviss after learning about the affair. Leviss ultimately filed a restraining order against Shay over the incident but it was dismissed.

Sandoval was pictured at the iHeartRadio music festival last September in Las Vegas

Leviss, pictured in 2022, is seeking compensatory, special, general and consequential damages in her lawsuit

The alleged assault occurred on the night of March 1, when Leviss received the text message with videos from Madix. Leviss was in New York to film Watch What Happens Live with her castmate Shay.

The suit alleges she received the text from Madix after filming while she was at a bar with Shay.

'Leviss experienced a swirl of emotions in response, including shock and fear,' the suit said of Leviss' emotions when she received the text. 'Shock because she did not know Sandoval had recorded pornographic videos of her. Fear because these videos were now in the hands of someone who hated her guts and was out for blood. She was terrified Madix would leak them on the internet.

She alleges in reaction to the news, Shay 'violently assaulted' her, 'shoving her aggressively into a brick wall, punching her face, and throwing her phone into the street. The blow to Leviss' face caused a rupture above her left eyebrow and severe swelling and bruising above her left eye. Leviss was told by a treating physician that her busted brow would permanently scar.'

It also recalled news breaking of the affair on March 3, 2023, stating the first story to break the news was 'quickly followed by a torrent of follow-up stories. By March 4, tabloids had already begun reporting on the pornographic videos of Leviss, citing unnamed sources. Although filming for Season 10 had already wrapped, Bravo and Evolution had a camera crew ready to shoot the next day.'

The suit also alleges that cameras had filmed a scene where Leviss confronted Sandoval for 'secretly recording pornographic videos of her and storing them unprotected on his phone.' He 'ultimately offered a reluctant admission and a sheepish apology.'

'Sandoval was clearly rattled,' the suit continues. 'After filming ended, an erratic and unsettled Sandoval refused to leave Leviss' apartment in spite of her requests. Leviss was forced to have her sister and brother-in-law pick her up and drive her to their home. That day, Leviss retained an attorney to mitigate the risk of the illicit videos leaking.'

The fallout was captured on camera and both Leviss and Sandoval were heavily shamed by viewers and castmates alike

The suit says Sandoval was reportedly concerned over his portrayal in the scene, fearful 'being accused of recording nonconsensual pornography would "paint him in a negative light."

The suit alleges that Sandoval 'reportedly threatened to cease all further filming for the show unless he was granted editing rights over the scene. Shockingly, Bravo and Evolution obliged his demand. The scene was selectively edited to omit any mention of Sandoval's illicit recording or Leviss' lack of consent. This was part of a pattern and practice of Bravo and Evolution throwing Leviss under the bus in favor of Sandoval.'

The suit also blasts Bravo for its handling of the scandal, stating the network 'deliberately sacrificed Leviss for the sake of its commercial interests from its refusal to allow her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and defend herself, which she repeatedly begged for permission to do.'

Levis is seeking a trial by jury and has requested that the court order the destruction of all copies of the illegally obtained recordings of her and for the defendants to stop distributing them. She is also seeking compensatory, special, general and consequential damages.

Leviss' lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos spoke out about the lawsuit in a statement to Page Six.

Freedman told the outlet: 'For decades, a great deal of my life has been devoted to mental health treatment and recovery and helping others on that path. Im outraged that NBC and Bravo have used illegal NDAs as cudgels to profit off their employees.

'The idea that human beings are expected to sacrifice their mental and emotional health in service of Bravos ratings is obscene. Many of their employees are suffering in silence due to brazen and calculated actions by NBC and Bravo.

'Hundreds of reality TV participants have reached out to Mark Geragos and myself, and we are committed to ensuring that they have zealous advocates to confront the damage these employers have wreaked on their lives.'

The suit makes other allegations, including a claim that their affair was 'well-known to many cast members and suspected by others'

'While coming forward can be terrifying and even embarrassing, I implore people not to suffer in silence. Reach out to my firm or Marks firm, and we will help you get the help you need,' he says.

Geragos said: 'This lawsuit is squarely about illegal behavior and those who traffic in it and enable it. Rachel has apologized for her part in an affair. Thats not a crime. Tom and Ariana are alleged here to have engaged in criminal acts.

'They then doubled down and used those actions to shame, bully, belittle, and intentionally try to destroy Rachels mental health.

'The law makes it clear that recording someone without their consent and distributing that illegal recording is punishable by law; however, doing so while knowingly enticing them to engage in sexual acts deserves the harshest of penalties allowable under the law.'
Andrew DaRosa is a SPJ award-winning journalist who has worked at Hearst Connecticut Media Group since 2018. He currently works as a Senior Audience Producer and a Trending Reporter for CT Insider and also runs the SEEN section.

He can often be found covering Connecticuts expanding music scene, supposedly haunted sites around the state or keeping track of big winners in the Connecticut Lottery. He has been at the forefront of multiple music-related stories around Connecticut, including the Sound On Sound music festival. With a passion for music, over the past decade, Andrew has interviewed members of Judas Priest, Goose, The National, Trey Anatasio Band, The Head and the Heart and Maren Morris.

Originally from Massachusetts, Andrew graduated from Fairfield University in 2018 with a degree in digital journalism. Since working for Hearst Connecticut, Andrew has become a four-time winner of Connecticut Society of Professional Journalism awards for his coverage of Connecticut band Goose, hiking the state and his human interest stories.

When he isnt writing about Ed and Lorraine Warren or jam bands, Andrew can be found going to concerts with his wife or hanging out with his cat, Spud.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmdarosa
Jussie Smollett has completed a five month stint in rehab for substance abuse.

The former Empire star, 41, finished the outpatient program earlier this month, according to a source who spoke with TMZ.

While in rehab the actor is said to have focused on his health and being consistent with his workouts.

Jussie checked himself into an outpatient treatment facility back in October after what his reps called an 'extremely difficult past few years.'

Smollett is currently trying to get his December 2021 conviction for faking an anti-gay, racist attack on himself, and then lying to Chicago police about it, overturned again.

Jussie Smollett, 41, has completed a five month stint in rehab for substance abuse. The former Empire star finished the outpatient program earlier this month, as per TMZ; seen in 2022

Smollett is currently trying to get his December 2021 conviction for faking an anti-gay, racist attack on himself, and then lying to Chicago police about it, overturned again; seen in 2019 booking photo

A source also told the publication that Jussie's new management team is working hard as they gear him up for the release of his new film and other projects.

A spokesperson for the actor said in a statement back when Smollett checked into rehab: 'Jussie has had an extremely difficult past few years. He has quietly been working very hard for some time now and we are proud of him for taking these necessary steps.'

It's not known what exactly Smollett was in rehab for, but testimony during the trial hinted at heavy drug use.

Last month it was reported that Smollett is trying to get his conviction for faking an attack overturned again - this time claiming he should never have been prosecuted in the first place.

He is arguing he shouldn't have been charged with felony disorderly conduct in December 2021 because prosecutors made a deal to dismiss the first indictment.

Smollett's attorneys filed legal documents with Illinois Supreme Court detailing the deal, which involved him doing community service and forfeiting his bond in return for charges being dropped.

The actor is taking his appeal to the state's highest court after it was previously denied by the Appellate Court of Cook County.

Smollett was jailed in 2021 for staging an anti-gay, racist hate crime on himself and filing a false police report in January 2019.

'What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage,' Smollett's attorneys wrote in their filing with the state's highest court.

During the police probe into the incident, Chicago cops concluded that Smollett had hired brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo to carry out the crime.

While in rehab the actor is said to have focused on his health and being consistent with his workouts; seen in 2022

Jussie checked himself into an outpatient treatment facility back in October after what his reps called an 'extremely difficult past few years'; seen in 2018

Smollett is trying to get his conviction for faking an attack overturned again - this time claiming he should never have been prosecuted in the first place; seen in court in 2019

He is arguing he shouldn't have been charged with felony disorderly conduct in December 2021 because prosecutors made a deal to dismiss the first indictment; Seen in Cook County jail booking photograph in 2022

Smollett was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct, sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months felony probation and $120,106 in restitution to the City of Chicago and a $25,000 fine.

However, he only served six days in jail before he was released on March 16, 2022 when his lawyer's filed an appeal.

Now the Appellate Court of Cook County has denied the appeal Smollett may be required to complete the rest of his sentence.

During the original sentencing hearing Smollett shouted at the judge that he was innocent, warning that he was not suicidal and if he died in custody it was somebody else, and not him, who would have taken his life.

Smollett initially told Chicago police he had been accosted on a darkened street by two masked strangers.

According to his account of the attack, the assailants threw a noose around his neck and poured chemicals on him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs and expressing support for then-President Donald Trump.

The two assaulters were Nigerian brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who are black.

The brothers, who testified in court, told the jury Smollett hired them to fake the attack because he wanted to boost his celebrity profile.

Smollett later claimed that in the days before the stunt, when prosecutors said he and the brothers were rehearsing the attack, they were actually getting together to smoke marijuana.

He shocked the court by claiming he 'made out with' and 'masturbated' with Abimbola Osundairo during a visit to a bathhouse.

Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police about being the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack

Brothers Abel and Ola Osunadairo (pictured) were hired by the actor to attack him

The actor told the jury he thought the brothers staged the attack on him to try to scare him into thinking he needed bodyguards, and to give them the job.

The brothers were held in a Cook County detention cell for 47 hours before they cracked and owned up to taking part in Smollett's strange plot for the first time - which they said the actor designed with the ultimate goal of being viewed as a hero for not only the LGBTQ community, but to black people as well.

In the aftermath, the brothers said they were dumbfounded by Smollett's public remarks about the experience.

The two brothers ultimately testified against their one-time friend in court and were able to walk away from the incident with just two years' probation and a small fine, after cooperating with police and unmasking the ruse.

In March 2022, three months after a jury found him guilty of felony disorderly conduct, a judge sentenced the actor to 150 days in jail.

Smollett was six days into his sentence when an appeals court ordered his release from custody pending an appeal of his conviction and sentence.

The Osundairo brothers have since filed a defamation lawsuit, alleging that Smollett's comments were part of an effort to portray them as racist, homophobic and violent men who truly attacked him.
Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray revealed this week that she and her husband Landon Beard adopted their first child, a baby boy, late last year.

The actress, 42, told PEOPLE on Thursday that their son Isaac Ray Beard was born on November 7th and that the adoption was a 'whirlwind' for the couple.

She said that her co-star Peter Hermann 'graciously' helped walk them through the process as he and his wife Mariska Hargitay have two adopted children of their own.

After finding an attorney and preparing paperwork for a year, Ray and Beard were matched with Isaac's birth mother just four weeks before she was due to give birth.

'He kind of came into our life, it was quite a whirlwind,' she gushed.

Ray explained that her and Beard  who wed in 2015  initially 'weren't totally sure if we were going to have kids' or if it made sense for them.

But that all changed when an 'overwhelming sensation of family' came over her on the set of the CBS drama.

Blue Bloods star Vanessa Ray revealed this week that she and her husband Landon Beard adopted their first child, a baby boy, late last year; the couple seen in 2018

The actress, 42, told PEOPLE on Thursday that their son Isaac Ray Beard was born on November 7th and that the adoption process was a 'whirlwind' for the couple; Ray seen in 2022

'I was at work one day, honestly I was about to do a family dinner and I just had this overwhelming sensation of family and what I love about our life and all of these things,' she recalled.

She then phoned Beard in tears and told him: 'I think we're supposed to be parents and I think we're supposed to adopt.'

Ray confided in her co-star Bridget Moynahan about their decision to adopt and that the actress told her to reach out to Hermann, who had a guest role on Blue Bloods.

Ray had yet to work with Hermann but that didn't stop the actor from giving the couple some guidance.

Hermann and Hargitay adopted two out of their three children.

The couple adopted daughter Amaya, now 12, in April 2011 and their son Andrew, now 12, in October 2011. They also share biological son August, 17.

Ray recalled how Hermann 'really held our hand and walked us through everything that we would need to know about adoption.'

She recalled him telling the couple that adoption is like 'a lot of first dates almost' and that there can be 'a ton of heartbreak that comes along with it.'

But for Ray and Beard, the process was a 'whirlwind' and wrapped up in just over a year.

After finding an attorney and preparing paperwork for a year, Ray and Beard were matched with Isaac's birth mother just four weeks before she was due to give birth

She said that her co-star Peter Hermann 'graciously' helped walk them through the process as he and his wife Mariska Hargitay have two adopted children of their own. The couple adopted daughter Amaya, now 12, in April 2011 and their son Andrew, now 12, in October 2011. They also share biological son August, 17

Ray explained that her and Beard  who wed in 2015  initially 'weren't totally sure if we were going to have kids' or if it made sense for them. But that all changed when an 'overwhelming sensation of family' came over her on the set of the CBS drama

She explained that it took 'about a year' to get their affairs in order and then they were able to submit themselves to an adoption agency.

Just days later, Ray said they were flying to meet a potential birth mother.

'It went super fast. She was like, 'He's due in four weeks, so we have to do this quickly.' We were like, 'Whoa, okay,'' the actress recalled.

Ray revealed to PEOPLE that Isaac came a week early on November 7th.

She joked that her and husband 'attribute Isaac [to] ending' the SAG-AFTRA strike because he arrived one day before it wrapped after 118 days.

'It all happened in three weeks, really from zero to three weeks. Then we were bringing him out and it was incredible,' she gushed.

Ray and Beard had the support of their friends, who helped them put together a 'makeshift nursery' in just one day after they learned that Isaac would be their's.

Ray said that taking care of three-month-old Isaac has been a breeze because he 'loves to sleep and he loves to eat'; Ray seen in 2021

'We're just so focused on him right now,' Ray told PEOPLE. 'And just showering him with love and trying to absorb every single moment we can of his just littleness, his little life'; the couple pictured in December 2023

'I'm not kidding you, in 24 hours we had a makeshift nursery put together. A crib, pacifiers, bottles, Baby Brezza, all the things. We had everything that we needed from our friends,' she said.

'We didn't have to buy anything. We really didn't right away, at least for the first three months.'

They chose the name 'Isaac'  which means 'One who laughs or rejoices'  after Beard reminded her that she expressed her liking for the name over a decade ago while on a hike together.

'I guess that name has been with us for a long time. We never knew we'd ever have to use it and here we are. He is a lot of laughing and a lot of rejoicing,' she gushed.

Ray said that taking care of three-month-old Isaac has been a breeze because he 'loves to sleep and he loves to eat.'

'We're just so focused on him right now,' Ray told PEOPLE. 'And just showering him with love and trying to absorb every single moment we can of his just littleness, his little life.'

Ray joined the cast of Blue Bloods in 2013 during its fourth season on CBS. The show is currently in its 14th season.
Nick Jonas had a rough welcome to Australia on Thursday.

The 31-year-old got smashed by waves as he enjoyed a boat ride on the Sydney Harbour alongside his famous brothers and their friends.

Taking to Instagram, Nick posted a clip of himself getting soaked as the vessel sped through the harbour.

The Camp Rock star's clothes appeared drenched as he sat at the back of the boat with a beer in hand.

Nick uploaded a story admiring the views saying, 'Sydney, long overdue, so excited for the show tomorrow, our first time ever playing here.'

Nick Jonas had a rough welcome to Australia on Thursday. The 31-year-old got smashed by waves as he enjoyed a boat ride on the Sydney Harbour alongside his famous brothers and their friends

Joe, Nick and Kevin were pictured greeting fans as they arrived at Sydney Airport on Wednesday morning ahead of their first concert at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday.

The American trio flew in from New Zealand where they played to a full house at Spark Arena in Auckland on Tuesday night.

The former Disney stars were greeted by a flock of fans, and all three brothers were happy to stop and pose for photographs and sign autographs on arrival.

The trio were slated to tour the country in 2020, but Covid ruined their plans.

Taking to Instagram, Nick posted a clip of himself getting soaked as the vessel sped through the harbour

Nick uploaded a story admiring the views saying, 'Sydney, long overdue, so excited for the show tomorrow, our first time ever playing here'

'To our Australian fans, thank you for being so patient, for the Jonas Brothers to come back around and to play a show there,' they said on Instagram at the time.

'We have two promises; we're back, and we're going to definitely tour Australia! And a promise is a promise right?!'

Joe, Nick and Kevin will kick off their tour on Friday, playing two shows at Qudos Bank Arena before playing a show in Brisbane on Tuesday.

They will then take the tour to Melbourne, where they will play back-to-back shows at Rod Laver Arena.
It was family and friends week for all the participants on Married at First Sight this week to help the couples get a sense of what dating would be like in the real world.

However one duo was noticeably absent.

Lauren Dunn and Jono McCullough were shown for a total of seven seconds on Tuesday night's episode as they enjoyed a glass of wine in their apartment.

A production insider told Yahoo Lifestyle the couple did participate in family and friends week, but TV producers felt their scene was too 'boring'.

'Nothing interesting happened during the lunch so the producers decided to scrap the scene altogether,' the source revealed.

Married At First Sight couple Lauren Dunn and Jono McCullough were edited out of family week this week

'The only person that showed up to their lunch was someone on Jonos side,' they added.

However, fans are loving Lauren's very relatable outburst during Wednesday night's explosive dinner party.

During the episode, groom Timothy Smith launched a blistering attack against man-bun wearing grooms.

A production insider told Yahoo Lifestyle the couple did participate in family and friends week, but TV producers felt their scene was too 'boring'

Amid the tense row, the 51-year-old slammed his fist down onto the dinner table, knocking Lauren's glass of red wine over.

The Perth-based bride managed to narrowly save the glass from tipping completely, however some spilled out onto her hands and the table.

A furious Lauren stood up and cried, 'No one spills my f**king wine, that's for sure!' before wiping down the table.

The moment sparked a massive social media response, with viewers labelling Lauren 'iconic'.

'Lauren is the best part of the show. Her one liners are classic,' one fan commented on a MAFS Instagram post.

'She is literally my spirit animal,' another added.

'Nothing interesting happened during the lunch so the producers decided to scrap the scene altogether,' the source revealed

'Lauren has her priorities right,' someone else said, while one user replied, 'She needs her own show.'

One other fan wrote: 'Lauren is this seasons IT girl for sure! She knows how to read the room & the con artists!'

'Relatable,' another simply commented.
Natalie Barr was having a ball at a Channel Seven party on Friday.

The Sunrise star was flanked by her co-stars as they left the Sydney Harbour boat cruise dressed to the nines.

The 55-year-old shared a hearty laugh with Kylie Gillies as they strolled from the party after enjoying some festivities on the water.

Natalie looked striking in a slinky red frock with a one shoulder design and gathered waist.

It included both a mini skirt and longer portions along with a thigh-high split that showed off her trim pins.

Natalie Barr (centre) was having a ball at a Channel Seven party on Friday

The Sunrise star was flanked by her co-stars as they left the Sydney Harbour boat cruise dressed to the nines

The 55-year-old shared a hearty laugh with Kylie Gillies and Matt Shirvington (pictured) as they strolled from the party after enjoying some festivities on the water

The television host added nude sandals and a straw purse that matched her hat, along with a pair of sunglasses.

Kylie meanwhile looked chic in a white knitted vest with black accents paired with shorts.

The 56-year-old added a pair of crisp sneakers and sunglasses and appeared in high spirits.

Also enjoying the party was Matt Shirvington who absolutely beamed as he left the boat along his co-stars.

Natalie looked striking in a slinky red frock with a one shoulder design and gathered waist

It included both a mini skirt and longer portions along with a thigh-high split that showed off her trim pins

The television host added nude sandals and a straw purse that matched her hat, along with a pair of sunglasses

Kylie meanwhile looked chic in a white knitted vest with black accents paired with shorts

The 56-year-old added a pair of crisp sneakers and sunglasses and appeared in high spirits

Also enjoying the party was Matt Shirvington who absolutely beamed as he left the boat along his co-stars

The athlete and TV star opted for a navy blue polo shirt and loose beige slacks with sneakers

Natalie and Kylie stopped to chat on the wharf

The athlete and TV star opted for a navy blue polo shirt and loose beige slacks with sneakers.

The 45-year-old appeared in an excellent mood as he larked about with his coworkers on the dock.

Larry Emdur was also all smiles, with the TV host opting for a green dress shirt and dark blue jeans along with white sneakers.

The 59-year-old laughed as he walked along the wharf sharing a laugh with his co-stars.

Matt was clearly having fun with his co-stars and crew

The 45-year-old appeared in an excellent mood as he larked about with his coworkers on the dock

The group appeared to be in fantastic spirits

Larry Emdur (pictured) was also all smiles as he left the party

The TV host opted for a green dress shirt and dark blue jeans along with white sneakers

Natalie couldn't stop giggling as she strolled from the shindig

Matt was also enjoying a laugh

The group mingled on the shore

Natalie added a watch to her classy ensemble

A group of Channel Seven staff surrounded the star

Natalie wore her brunette locks down in waves

It comes after Sunrise ushered in a new era last July as Channel Seven officially relocated its studios from Sydney's Martin Place to nearby South Eveleigh

It comes after Sunrise ushered in a new era last July as Channel Seven officially relocated its studios from Sydney's Martin Place to nearby South Eveleigh.

The Channel Seven breakfast show underwent a complete makeover, including a new design of the iconic logo.

The set offers a brighter and fresher look for viewers to kickstart their mornings.

A mediaspy user wrote at the time: 'I mean, this really does look fantastic. Such a refresh. White, orange, clean, contemporary, modern. Really says Australia's News Breakfast home to me. Nine will need to up their game to compete'.

The Channel Seven breakfast show underwent a complete makeover, including a new design of the iconic logo

The set offers a brighter and fresher look for viewers to kickstart their mornings
Real-life couple Rudy Mancuso and Camila Mendes starred in the trailer for the former's directorial debut, Musica, which was released on Thursday.

In the clip, the 32-year-old actor portrayed a young man dealing with both the constant music playing in his head and his feelings for two potential romantic interests.

In addition to starring and directing the project, the YouTube personality - who recently accompanied his girlfriend during a getaway in Miami - also co-wrote its screenplay alongside Dan Lagana.

The trailer begins with Rudy first encountering Isabella, played by Mendes, in a seafood market, and the pair share an extended glance before he is hit in the head with a fish.

Rudy later meets Haley, portrayed by Francesca Reale, at a diner, and although she attempts to encourage him to focus on his career prospects, he is constantly distracted by the rhythms present in his surroundings.

Real-life couple Rudy Mancuso and Camila Mendes starred in the trailer for the former's directorial debut, Musica, which was released on Thursday

In the clip, the 32-year-old actor portrayed a young man dealing with both the constant music playing in his head and his feelings for two potential romantic interests

In addition to starring and directing the project, the YouTube personality - who recently accompanied his girlfriend during a getaway in Miami - also co-wrote its screenplay alongside Dan Lagana

After being wheeled through a hospital, Rudy checks to see if his mom, played by his real-life mother Maria Mancuso, is eavesdropping on him, which she confirms.

He eventually meets up with Isabella at a park, and she gives him an interested look. after he explains: 'For as long as I can remember, everyday regular sounds, I turn into rhythm.'

Rudy goes on to voice his concerns about his two romantic interests to food truck owner Anwar, played by J.B. Smoove, who encourages his young friend to 'tell me less' after laying out his situation.

Following a heated argument where Isabella tells Rudy that she does not 'think you actually know what you want,' he begins venting to a puppet and expresses that he feels as if 'everyone's pulling me in different directions.'

A rapid-fire montage then ensues, during which Haley leaves Rudy at the diner while he implores her to stay.

The trailer for the upcoming movie ends with Rudy and Isabella locking lips at the fish market after she finishes work for the day.

Development on Musica was initially revealed to the public in 2022, when Mendes signed on as the feature's female lead.

The Riverdale star, who has been dating the internet personality ever since November of that year, also serves as one of the project's executive producers.

Rudy later meets Haley, portrayed by Francesca Reale, at a diner, and although she attempts to encourage him to focus on his career prospects, he is constantly distracted by the rhythms present in his surroundings

After being wheeled through a hospital, Rudy checks to see if his mom, played by his real-life mother Maria Mancuso, is eavesdropping on him, which she confirms

Rudy goes on to voice his concerns about his two romantic interests to food truck owner Anwar, played by J.B. Smoove, who encourages his young friend to 'tell me less' after laying out his situation

Following a heated argument where Isabella tells Rudy that she does not 'think you actually know what you want,' he begins venting to a puppet and expresses that he feels as if 'everyone's pulling me in different directions'

A rapid-fire montage then ensues, during which Haley leaves Rudy at the diner while he implores her to stay

The trailer for the upcoming movie ends with Rudy and Isabella locking lips at the fish market after she finishes work for the day

Musica will officially premiere at the South by Southwest festival on March 13, and it will be released on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service on April 4

Mancuso gave a statement to Deadline to express that he was 'beyond excited to have the wildly gifted mind of Camila join this special journey.'

Producer Mary Viola went on to describe her as 'one of the most talented actresses of her generation.'

The YouTube personality also spoke briefly about his directorial debut, which he characterized as 'an authentic Brazilian-American story through the eyes of a synesthete.'

Musica will officially premiere at the South by Southwest festival on March 13, and it will be released on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service on April 4.
It appears Whitney Port is enjoying a visit to Palm Beach, Florida, that's both business and pleasure.

And on Thursday, the reality star and entrepreneur had most of her day scheduled and organized, which she shared in an Instagram post.

'A trip for the soul visiting family,' she began in the caption, along with a palm tree emoji.

She then proceeded to break down her Thursday with seven numbered elements that started with a video of herself doing a cartwheel on the sand, just feet from the incoming ocean waves.

'1. beach day in my @bondibornaustralia,' she wrote at the top of her to-do list, in a reference to her black bikini with white trim by Bondi Born, an Australian designer swimwear & apparel company founded by Dale McCarthy and based in Sydney, Australia.

Whitney Port, 38, gave her 1.4 million Instagram fans and followers a glimpse at her trip to Palm Beach, Florida that appears to be a mix of business and pleasure

For the short clip, Port gets a running start that leads into the cartwheel, which she pulls off with perfection, and ends with a equally good dismount with her hands raised high into the air.

It looks as though she was inspired to do the cartwheel after spending some time swimming in the gorgeous blue water, considering she was still dripping wet.

The Hills alum enjoyed her lovely sunny day on the beach at the Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach, a five-star luxury beachfront resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

'2. Just so pretty @fspalmbeach,' she wrote in the description of her second element on her to-do list in the caption.

This simple stationary video was shot behind some gorgeous plants and greenery while looking forward to the beach and all the crashing waves.

Port's day then took her out to a restaurant for lunch, which she marked with a photo of her husband, Tim Rosenman, sitting on a bench with a woman sitting next to him that appears to be her mother Vicki.

'3. Twins @crosie1 at The River Grill,' she shared for the third element, before revealing what she had to eat. 'Got the ribs and french fries.'

Next up, for the fourth element, she posted a photo of her beach products that included baby oil, minerla milk sunscreen, lip lotion and sunglasses, among others.

In a sign she's organized and a multi-tasker, The Hills alum listed her to-do list for Thursday

Port pulled off a perfect cartwheel during her time lounging on the beach

Like a gymnast, Port dropped into a great dismount to end her cartwheel

This simple stationary video shot behind some gorgeous plants and greenery out to the ocean was the second element used in her post

Port's day then took her out to a restaurant for lunch, which she marked with a 'twins' photo of her husband, Tim Rosenman, sitting on a bench with a woman sitting next to him that appears to be her mother Vicki

The fourth element showcased all her beach essential that included baby oil, mineral milk sunscreen, lip lotion and sunglasses

The Los Angeles native wore w white slip oer her bikini when she woke up to watch the sunset

Port dropped a few different poses in her white slip before tunring off the device to head back to her hotel room to get ready for dinner

'4. Pool and beach day (and hangover) essentials,' The City star wrote for her beach time.

After soaking up all the fun in the sun on the sand, Port posed for another video of herself on the beach, only this time she would be dressed in a white slip over her bikini.

'5. Woke up to see the sunset/beach coziness @mymum_madeit,' she described the fifth element of her day.

The fashion designer proceeded to look towards the camera with a big smile, and then pose from a couple of side angles.

Ultimately, she grabbed at her long blonde locks as if to put her hair in a ponytail, but instead she leaned a towards the camera for close up.

Next, she wrote '6. Time for myself', in the caption of a photo showing her sunbathing on a lounge chain on the beach with a cold drink in her left hand.

'7. Geriatric millennial taking selfies in any bathroom,' she ended her to-do list, where she fixed her hair while staring into a mirror in the ladies room, of what was likely another restaurant during dinner time.

Next, she wrote '6. Time for myself', in the caption of a photo showing her sunbathing on a lounge chain on the beach with a cold drink in her left hand

Port would also drop a few poses while in the ladies room decked out in her white and dark blue dinner ensemble

It appears she had the camera set up in front of a mirror for the clip

Port first gained recognition on the original Hills series from 2006 to 2008.

She went on to star in her own reality show, The City, for two seasons until it was cancelled in 2010.

Since then she launched her fashion line Whitney Eve and has served as a judge on the eighth cycle of Britain's & Ireland's Next Top Model.

Port would also take part in the The Hills: New Beginnings, a reboot of the original that also included original cast members Stephanie Pratt, Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Audrina Patridge, Frankie Delgado, Jason Wahler and Justin 'Bobby' Brescia.

Port and Rosenman, who started dating in 2012, celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary this past November.
The revival preview of Doubt: A Parable was held in New York at Todd Haimes Theatre, on Thursday night.



Eddie Redmayne stepped out to support Liev Schreiber at the opening night of the production on Broadway.

The British actor, 42, looked stylish in black velvet trousers, with a denim short worn over a navy jumper and a checked orange scarf to add a pop of colour.

He reunited with his former Cabaret co-star Gayle Rankin, 34, at the star-studded evening in NYC.

Meanwhile, leading man Liev, 56 - who stars as Father Flynn in the new theatre production of Doubt - was dapper in a dark blue velvet suit.

Eddie Redmayne, 42, reunited with his former Cabaret co-star Gayle Rankin, 34, at the opening night of Doubt: A Parable at Todd Haimes Theatre in New York, on Thursday night

The British actor stepped out to support Liev Schreiber, 56, at the opening night of the new production on Broadway

Eddie appeared to be in great spirits as he arrived at the theatre

Set in an all-boys Catholic school in the Bronx, the drama in Doubt begins when the strict Sister Aloysius begins to suspect an inappropriate relationship between Father Flynn and a student.

The original 2005/2006 stage play, written by John Patrick Shanley, was Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-winning.

A film adaptation was also released in 2008 starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis, with all receiving Oscar nominations for their performances.

Liev was joined at the preview event for his new play by his wife Taylor Neisen, 31, a former beauty pageant winner.

The couple have been in a relationship since 2017. They married in July 2023 and their daughter was born in August 2023.

Liev also shares two children (Alexander, 16, and Samuel - who prefers the name Kai, 15) with his ex-partner Naomi Watts who he split from in 2016 after 11 years.

Despite their breakup, the former couple have remained on friendly terms and are committed to co-parenting their two children.

In June 2023, Naomi tied the knot with her partner Billy Crudup, 55, at a New York City courthouse.

Leading man Liev - who stars as Father Flynn in the new theatre production of Doubt - was dapper in a dark blue velvet suit (Pictured with co-star Amy Ryan)

Eddie looked stylish in black velvet trousers, with a denim short worn over a navy jumper and a checked orange scarf to add a pop of colour

Liev posed proudly with his wife Taylor Neisen and his daughter Kai Schreiber, 15, whom she shared with ex Naomi Watts

Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin were also at the star-studded opening night

Jesse Tyler Ferguson attended the play

Nathan wore an all-black outfit for the evening on Broadway

Isabel Keating (left) wore a powder blue gown while Zoe Kazan (right) donned a check blue mini dress for her turn on the red carpet

On stage, Liev transformed into Father Flynn

Amy Ryan (left) and Zoe Kazan (right) smiled as they were applauded at the end of the play
The Project's Tom Tilley returned to the show on Friday night just a week after welcoming his second child.

The television host stunned his co-stars when he revealed his wife Amanda Griffith had given birth days ago.

'We had a big week on the Tilley front. We had a baby last week' he told the panel.

'Our second baby boy, his name is Henry. And 2.5-year-old Maxwell at home.'

'This is huge! And the question needs to be asked... why aren't you there?' he was asked by his co-star Georgie Tunny.

The Project's Tom Tilley (left) returned to the show on Friday night just a week after welcoming his second child

'Because this is easier!' Tom Joked immediately.

The TV star also shared the happy news on his Instagram page this week, posting images of Amanda and their two kids.

'Our second born son Henry Ellis Tilley arrived last week - happy, healthy and huge!' he wrote in the caption.

'Amanda gave her body and soul in labour and Maxwell opened his arms in brotherly love and me? Happy, and napping whenever possible (see pic 3)'.

The TV star also shared the happy news on his Instagram page this week, posting images of Amanda and their two kids

'Our second born son Henry Ellis Tilley arrived last week - happy, healthy and huge!' he wrote in the caption

'Amanda gave her body and soul in labour and Maxwell opened his arms in brotherly love and me? Happy, and napping whenever possible (see pic 3)'

Tom was a big part of Australia's youth broadcaster Triple J before joining The Project in 2019.

He sold his two-bedroom Redfern investment property for nearly $1million back in 2021.

The 43-year-old journalist, who also owns a home in Bondi Beach, sold the modest red-brick unit for $930,000.

Tom had purchased the apartment for $542,000 in 2011, reports realestate.com.au.
She's been storming the runways during Fashion Week.

And Amelia Hamlin allowed herself some downtime on Thursday as she attended Carlos Nazario's Black And White 36th birthday party at L'Avenue in Paris, France.

The 22-year-old model, who is the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, looked incredible as she partied alongside the likes of Paris Jackson and Emily Ratajkowski.

Hamlin left little to the imagination with her racy ensemble as she went braless beneath a sheer gown.

The risque garment featured a sheer bodice that flared out into a ruched mermaid hem skirt that flared out over patent black heels.

Amelia Hamlin allowed herself some downtime on Thursday as she attended Carlos Nazario's Black And White 36th birthday party at L'Avenue in Paris, France

The 22-year-old model, who is the daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin, looked incredible as she partied alongside the likes of Paris Jackson (right) and Emily Ratajkowski

Meanwhile, Jackson, 25, was also dressed to impress as she slipped into a nude dress with a black lace overlay.

She teamed the garment with a longline black leather coat and heeled ankle boots that gave her frame a boost.

Ratajkowski, 32, went for disco vibes with her look, slipping into a backless black midi dress and teasing her glossy locks into bouncy curls.

She looked in good spirits as she cosied up to birthday boy Nazario, the Global Fashion Director of i-D Magazine.

Hamlin grew up on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, the reality show in which her mother, Lisa Rinna, has been a leading character since 2015. Her stepfather is actor Harry Hamlin.

Beginning as a model in New York's Fashion Week a year ago, Hamlin has now worked some of the biggest fashion shows in Milan and Paris, modeling iconic clothing brands like MaxMara, Sportsmax, Bluemarine, Tod's, Diesel and Chanel.

In an interview with Vogue France in January 2024, Hamlin said she'd wanted to be a runway model her entire life.

She explained that one of her biggest early inspirations was watching a fashion show with Kate Moss wearing a mini-skirt with no top while eating an ice cream cone, and observing that Moss exuded so much self-confidence even with very little clothing.

Hamlin left little to the imagination with her racy ensemble as she went braless beneath a sheer gown while cosying up to a male friend

Hamlin wowed as she posed alongside Ludivine Pont and Carlos Nazario at the bash

Paris Jackson, 25, was also dressed to impress as she slipped into a nude dress with a black lace overlay

She teamed the garment with a longline black leather coat and heeled ankle boots that gave her frame a boost (pictured with Carlos Nazario and Tierra Whack Carlos Nazario)

Ratajkowski, 32, went for disco vibes with her look, slipping into a backless black midi dress and teasing her glossy locks into bouncy curls

Ratajkowski danced the night away with fellow model Paloma Elsesser

She looked in good spirits as she cosied up to birthday boy Nazario, the Global Fashion Director of i-D Magazine

The group posed up a storm for the cameras inside the glitzy party

Hamlin spent years developing her own sense of style and fashion creativity, rummaging through magazine stores, and putting the images that inspired her up on a board.

She looked in good spirits at the party and wouldn't have broken a sweat after revealing she used Botox injections to combat sweating.

Last year, the model shared a post to Instagram mid-injection and suggested that deodorant is a 'toxin.'

Botox is a neurotoxin that's frequently used to block nerve signals and prevent muscles from contracting.

There's been heated debates between cosmetic chemists and holistic health practitioners about whether or not deodorant is harmful.

According to WebMD, there is no concrete evidence that antiperspirants are dangerous while other sources claim the aluminum and parabens found in deodorant may lead to health issues.

'When in LA... we get Botox in the pits,' wrote the influencer, who boasts 1.5million followers.

'Healthier alternative to deodorant... can't clog our gland with toxins...'

She posed with her arms above her head while wearing a black crop top and jeans as the injector worked her magic.

Joan Smalls and Toni Garrn posed up a storm with the birthday boy inside the party

Smalls put her long legs on display in a studded leather skirt and plunging satin blouse

Garrn layered a white coat over her little black dress and thigh high leather boots

Injecting Botox in the armpits is used to treat excessive sweating and is advertised as a 'life-changing' procedure.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the method may help those who found 'over-the-counter or prescription antiperspirants' ineffective.

'It decreases underarm moisture by 82% to 87%. Dryness typically lasts between three to 12 months,' the clinic reports.

They also claim it can alleviate body odor as the moisture content substantially decreases.

The recommended units of Botox needed for each armpit is 50 totaling 100 units.

The cost of one unit of Botox averages between $10 and $18, according to Metropolitan Skin Clinic.

On the low end, 100 units of Botox would require a patient to fork over $1000.

Many med spas require patients to purchase 20 units or more to book an appointment with a certified injector, plastic surgeon or dermatologist.

Various outlets report that armpit Botox can last between four to 14 months depending on your lifestyle.

In 2021, Hamlin revealed that she associates from Dr. Jason Diamond, a plastic surgeon beloved by the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

In a photo shared to her Instagram she posed with the celeb-loved doctor, who was wearing scrubs and a face mask.

'The man, the myth, the legend himself... @DrJasonDiamond my fave doctors apt,' she captioned.

Hamlin did not disclose what services she received from the Diamond, but she did have a noticeably plump pout and an almost doll-like complexion.
Sara Horwitz appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show recently to talk about amphibians and reptitles. Contributed photo / Weiss Eubanks - NBCUniversal

WEST HARTFORD  Sara Horwitz's love for amphibians and reptiles goes back to her childhood, when she'd take any chance she could to scavenge for snakes and other animals at Westmoor Park or Canton's Roaring Brook Nature Center.

"As long as I can remember, I would go to places like the reptile house at the Bronx Zoo or Westmoor Park ... anywhere we could see wildlife," said Horwitz, a West Hartford native who now lives in Middletown. "I have always been fascinated by reptiles and trying to find any of our local snakes. I had a passion early on of trying to see them in their natural habitat to learn more about their behavior and their biology."

Starting as a volunteer at the Roaring Brook Nature Center in the seventh grade, Horwitz  who now researches these animals professionally as a herpetologist  then began a mission of trying to change people's fears and perceptions about snakes.

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"I would feed the snakes," Horwitz recalled. "At a very young age, they gave me a chance. Thats kind of where it all came from, to have that experience, to take a snake out and touch it. It broke down barriers of being scared."

That has carried into her adult life, too. Horwitz worked at the Children's Museum in West Hartford for seven years as an animal expert and handler. Her days were filled with showing off the collection of animals in the museum's sanctuary to young children. Her goal? To see if she could change their perspectives on some of the more unusual animals in the short time she had with them.

"Starting at a young age  the youngest possible  I always felt that was important," Horwitz said. "But it's never too late. One of the most rewarding parts... there would be a huge percentage of students that was scared. They knew I had some type of snake. But by the end of the class, they would inch towards me and the kids would be pleading with their parents to get close so they could have a chance to pet them."

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In Februrary, Horwitz got the chance to take that message on a national platform through an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. Horwitz was asked to be on he show to talk amphibians and reptiles after having been selected as NBC Connecticut's PAWSitively Good Award Winner in January 2023.

"It's a really big show and I thought itd be an honor to go and talk about something I'm so passionate about," Horwitz said. "I was very excited to get the message through about wildlife conservation and the impact that wildlife education can do for kids."

While in New York for filming, Horwitz was given the star treatment: hair and makeup were part of the experience just like it was for the celebrities, including Today show host Savannah Guthrie, who were appearing on the show that day too.

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But the highlight might have been Horwitz meeting Abigail Spencer, an actress she's a fan of, and getting her to pet the snake she brought on the show.

"She said she never touched a snake," Horwitz said. "To do that with an actor I like was a surreal experience and for all I know could change the way her kids think about snakes."

She also changed the minds of a few crew members, including one who was shaking when they entered the room and saw the snake, but left the room having pet it.

"That's the best, to see that change in someone," Horwitz said.

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Sara Horwitz holds a large racer snake. Horwitz, a West Hartford native, recently appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about the animal. Contributed photo / Mark Lotterhand

Horwitz said it was quite an experience to walk into a talk show recording in front of hundreds of excited viewers once it was her time to shine and sit down with Clarkson herself.

"It was a different world. It was really neat and a once in a lifetime experience," Horwitz said. "She was extremely nice. The first thing she asked me when I walked onto the stage and there were 200 people screaming and applauding was if it was too loud and if the snake was OK. She pet the snake before we started. I wasnt nervous. Shes a great person to have a conversation with."

The video featuring Horwitz, who works at Pratt & Whitney and does animal research during her free time, dubbed her as the "snake lady." When Horwitz is asked if that's a fine label for her, she's quick to reply.

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Millie Bobby Brown has been called out by fans for speaking in an American accent as she appeared on Jimmy Fallon on Thursday.

The actress, 20, who spent her early childhood years in Bournemouth before moving to Florida aged eight, spoke about her engagement to Jake Bongiovi, 21, on the show.

However, viewers were distracted as Millie spoke with a distinctive American twang with many asking on Instagram: 'Where is your British accent?'

A clip of Millie telling her story was shared on the social media but in the comment section all fans could talk about was how much her accent has changed.

They wrote: 'Her accent is basically gone' and '8AM?? She doesn't sound British at all anymore!!'

Millie Bobby Brown has been called out by fans for speaking in an American accent as she appeared on Jimmy Fallon on Thursday

The actress, 20, who spent her early childhood years in Bournemouth before moving to Florida aged eight, spoke about her engagement to Jake Bongiovi on the show with her dog Winnie

'Can't decide if she's British or American' and 'Where is your British accent?'

'She sounds so American now' and 'Why is she doing an American accent'.

'Her accent is gone' and 'For everyone saying that she doesn't have her British accent anymore bear in mind that she is currently filming ST5 so she has been using her American accent more recently.'

Millie is in the midst of filming Stranger Things In Atlanta for series five of the science fiction horror series.

In October, the actress, who was 12 when she first appeared on screen as telekinetic Eleven, said in a recent interview that she is ready to say 'goodbye' and 'get out' after the fifth and final season.

The British star, who is worth an estimated $14 million, reportedly earned $20,000 per episode of the first season, before receiving a hefty increase to $250,000 per episode by season three, according to Deadline.

Playing Eleven has also spurned a handful of major film roles, including the Enola Holmes franchise in which she is said to have received a $10 million pay check for the second installment - setting a reported record for the largest upfront salary paid to an actor under the age of 20.

Millie was on the show to promote her new Netflix film Damsel, which debuts on the streaming service March 8.

Millie was on the show to promote her new Netflix film Damsel, which debuts on the streaming service March 8

Viewers were distracted as Millie spoke with a distinctive American twang with many asking on Instagram: 'Where is your British accent?'

The actress, 20, who spent her early childhood years in Bournemouth before moving to Florida aged eight, spoke about her engagement to Jake Bongiovi on the show

Millie showed off her engagement ring which is adiamond with a cushion-shaped halo on a pave band

After Jimmy congratulated her, the actress revealed the unusual way her 21-year-old fiance Jake (the son of legendary rocker Jon Bon Jovi) popped the question and how it didn't go quite to plan.

'Jake and I bonded over diving. We love diving, we got our diving licenses together,' she said.

'One day we were on vacation and he was like, "Mil, you've got to be up at 8:00 AM we're going on a dive. And I was like, "8:00 AM? Dive like, what are we...'.

She added Jake told her they were, "going to the same spot we usually go to," but she suggested, "It's boring let's go somewhere new".

'He's like, "No, we have to go to this spot." So we go under, and we're like many meters down, and he gives me like a shell. And I turn it over, and it's a ring,' she said.

She said they both looked at each other as she mumbled something, mimicking how he sounded in his diving gear but when she showed him her ring, it fell off her finger and plummeted deeper into the water.

'Jake threw himself into -- like, so deep. Like the diver was like, "You can't do that. Your ears. Literally, you're brain will explode." He throws himself, he does a a cinematic like grab, opens, and he saved the ring,' she said.

Millie, who looked incredible in a red sequin minidress, is in the midst of filming Stranger Things In Atlanta for series five of the science fiction horror series

'I truly feel like it's a a reflection of who he is, and I feel like we're always going to have each other's back. And if anyone drops the ball, we got it. So there we go.'

Millie added: 'We got to the top, and he was like, "Do you want to marry me?" And I was like, "Oh, yeah. I mean, yeah that would be -- you should probably ask me."

The actress told Jimmy how her mother had advised Jake not to propose how he had planned because she thought Millie would drop it.

Millie said: 'My mum was like, "Absolutely not, Jake. You're not taking my ring down there. I know you'll drop it," and sure enough he did.

'She was right so when we got up on the boat, he was like, "This is your mum's ring, and I got it from your parents." And it was very magical.

'And his parents were there and we just looked so disheveled coming out from a a dive. We were like, "We're engaged, but also we have to tell you this crazy story that just happened".'
Filming love scenes can be a fraught business, but Kate Winslet, who stars in the forthcoming blockbuster satirical drama The Regime, says her love scenes were such a blast that two crew were sent out of the room  for laughing.

Winslet, who won an Emmy for TV hit Mare Of Easttown, plays the crackers dictator of an imagined central European state, who has an affair with her soldier bodyguard Zubak (Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts) in the six-part show.

She said: 'When we were shooting episode five, Elena and Zubak are having sex. And she's screaming at him: "No biting, no biting!"

'Two people had to be sent out for laughing. One of them was Alwin Kuchler, our cinematographer, and one of the hair and make-up people.

'That was actually kind of a problem because Matthias had all these tattoos, and as he got sweatier and sweatier they just kept sort of rubbing off on me. And I said: 'This is really like I've got the newspaper printed on me.'

Filming love scenes can be a fraught business, but Kate Winslet, who stars in the forthcoming blockbuster satirical drama The Regime (pictured), says her love scenes were such a blast that two crew were sent out of the room  for laughing

Kate Winslet attends the New York premiere of The Regime held at the Museum of Natural History in February

Winslet plays the crackers dictator of an imagined central European state, who has an affair with her soldier bodyguard Zubak, played by Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts (pictured centre left), in the six-part show

The Regime, which also stars Andrea Riseborough and Hugh Grant, has been written by Succession's Will Tracy and is directed by Stephen Frears.

Tracy said that the concept had evolved after he read a biography of Ethiopia's last emperor Haile Selassie.

He said: 'It's almost like an Upstairs Downstairs, or a Downton Abbey, but instead of an English manor house, it's an autocrat's palace.'

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In the show, dictator Elena keeps the embalmed body of her father in the palace basement, and goes down frequently to chat with him.

She also sings  hilariously off-key  in a bid to win the affection of her disgruntled people.

Winslet is very game with her woeful renditions of Santa Baby and If You Leave Me Now  and her co-star Riseborough cracks: 'Please God, let there be an album.'

The show, was filmed mostly on location in the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria; with some scenes shot in baroque rooms at Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham.

It goes out in the U.S. on March 3 and will be on Sky Max here in April.
He's an AFL legend who disappeared from screens two years ago amid much controversy.

And now it appears that one-time Channel Seven commentator Wayne Carey could be making a TV comeback - as a reality star.

Carey, 53, has been rumoured to be joining the cast of the next season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Speculation began after Channel 10 teased fans that among the cast of this year's series is a 'AFL Hall of Famer and premiership player'.

Now the Herald Sun reports that the description fits Carey since he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 and was captain of North Melbourne when they won two premiership flags.

The Herald Sun reports that after two years off the air waves scandal ridden former Channel Seven star and footy legend Wayne Carey (pictured) could be headed into the jungle for the next season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here

Meanwhile, the report also speculates that fitness influencer Tiffany Hall may also be joining the IAC..GMOH cast.

Other cast rumours include funnyman Ross Noble, Olympian Ian Thorpe and 2021 Married at First Sight star Byrce Ruthven.

In January Channel 10 announced that the new season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Me Out Here! Australia will premiere on March 24.

The upcoming series will see Robert Irwin co-host the show alongside returning host Julia Morris.

Speculation began after Channel 10 teased fans that among the cast of this year's series is a 'AFL Hall of Famer and premiership player'. Pictured: I'm a Celebrity...2024 hosts Robert Irwin and Julia Morris

Robert beat out big names Sam Pang, Jimmy Rees, Curtis Stone, Beau Ryan and Tristan MacManus for the TV hosting role.

The network had a hard task replacing popular host Dr Chris Brown, with casting impressed with Robert's natural charm in the audition.

If Carey does make the cast it will be a major comeback the footy hero.

In September 2022 Carey was escorted out of the Perth casino.

The report also speculates that fitness influencer Tiffany Hall (pictured) may also be joining the I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. Ross Noble, Olympian Ian Thorpe and 2021 Married at First Sight star Byrce Ruthven are also rumoured to be in the cast

The scandal resulted in Carey quickly vanishing from Melbourne airwaves and from his highly lucrative gig with Channel 7.

Carey's contract at Channel 7 expired at the end of 2021, with industry site TV Blackbox reporting it would not be renewed.

Channel 7 had already dropped him from the main Friday broadcast in favour of AFLW star Daisy Pearce.

The scandal came after a series of brushes with the law dating back to 1996.
She's best known for her award winning role in the Netflix blockbuster series The Crown.

And now it appears that beloved UK-born actress Olivia Colman has slipped quietly Down Under to Australia.

The 50-year-old Oscar winner was spotted in Adelaide on Friday ahead of production of her latest film.

The Favourite star was seen getting in some fitness time at a yoga studio in the South Australia capital reported the Advertiser on Saturday.

However, the report is unclear whether Olivia's visit was a vacation or whether it was linked to her new picture.

UK-born actress Olivia Coleman, 50, has slipped quietly Down Under. The Oscar winner was spotted in a yoga gym in Adelaide on Friday reports The Advertiser. Pictured: The beloved star in London last month

Olivia, meanwhile, is set to star next in Wicker with Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel.

The 33-year-old actor is known to have settled in Adelaide with his 29-year-old Australian girlfriend, the Lost Flowers of Alice Hart star Tilda Cobham-Hervey in 2022.

Wicker will be co-directed by Adelaide filmmaker Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer and will be shot in Europe later this year.

However, the report is unclear whether Olivia's visit was a vacation or whether it was linked to her new picture Wicker in which she co-stars with Slumdog Millionaire actor Dev Patel, who is known to live in Adelaide. Pictured: Olivia Coleman in the Netflix series The Crown

Olivia has been cast in the story, described as a 'twisted romance', as a 'fisherwoman' who 'commissions' a 'husband' made of wicker.

Her odd beau will be played by Patel.

Olivia rose to fame in the UK series Broadchurch.

She later achieved international acclaim for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series The Crown.

In 2019 she won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in The Favourite.
Victoria Beckham looked ready for business as she rushed to put the last minute touches on her Paris Fashion Week show.

The mother-of-four stepped out of her hotel in France on Friday morning ahead of her 8pm presentation and didn't let her crutches slow her down as she made her way to her studio.

Victoria, who has been using Cool Crutches and Sticks walking aides after breaking her foot in a Valentine's Day gym injury, was supported by her husband David, 48, and their children, who followed on close behind.

The 49-year-old designer looked effortlessly stylish in all black, teaming a fitted leather jacket with wide legged trousers that skimmed over her stiletto heels.

She completed the look with a pair of her trademark oversized shades.

Victoria Beckham looked ready for business on Friday as she rushed to put the last minute touches on her Paris Fashion Week show ahead of the 8pm presentation

Following on behind was David, who held hands with their youngest child Harper, 12, while they left their hotel

Sons Cruz, 19, and Brooklyn, 24, were seen following on behind but not Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz who is rumoured to be walking in Victoria's show

Following on behind was David, who held hands with their youngest child Harper, 12, while they left their hotel.

David wrapped up for his stroll in a boxy grey jumper that he teamed with a purple scarf and brown trousers.

Harper cut a trendy figure in a white slogan top paired with wide legged jeans, a grey hoodie and small hooped earrings.

Sons Cruz, 19, and Brooklyn, 24, were also seen outside the hotel but not Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz who is rumoured to be walking in Victoria's show, nor their sibling Romeo, 21.

Nicola has been inspired by her mother-in-law's style on the trip and recently paid homage with her outfit choice.

The star stepped out in the stylish Dolce & Gabanna leather jacket, which was the exact same one worn by the fashion designer, 49, in 2001.

The motocross jacket worn by Victoria originally cost 965, however they are now being snapped up second hand for 7,800 on one pre-loved site.

Nicola's nod to the Beckham matriarch comes following several hints that she will appear in her fashion show at the end of the week.

On Wednesday morning, Nicola tagged Victoria in a snap of herself wearing sheer red lingerie as she posed for a mirror selfie.

The mother-of-four stepped out of her hotel in the morning ahead of her evening show and didn't let her crutches slow her down as she made her way to her studio

Victoria, who has been using walking aides after breaking her foot in a Valentine's Day gym injury, was supported by her husband David and their children, who followed on close behind

Victoria completed her look with a pair of her trademark oversized sunglasses

Following on behind was David, who held hands with their youngest child Harper, 12, while they left their hotel

David wrapped up for his stroll in a boxy grey jumper that he teamed with a purple scarf and brown trousers

Harper cut a trendy figure in a white slogan top paired with wide legged jeans, a grey hoodie and small hooped earrings

Brooklyn donned a casual grey jumper for the outing but was not joined by his wife Nicola Peltz amid speculation that she is going to be walking in Victoria's show

Brooklyn donned a black backwards baseball cap and wayfarer shades

There was no slowing Victoria down as she hopped out of her car and made her way to her studio to check on the models and put together the finishing touches to her show

She looked in good spirits as strode past using her Cool Crutches and Sticks walking aides

Victoria's family weren't far behind her as they gathered to support the Beckham matriarch

Cruz cut a colourful figure in a vibrant green and red hoodie layered beneath a navy bomber jacket and teamed with eye-catching trainers

A day earlier, Victoria hinted that her Nicola will walk in her show after attending a fitting together.

The fashion designer cosied up to Nicola as they posed for a sweet mirror selfie.

Stirring up speculation that Nicola will be modelling her line, Victoria wrote: 'Pre-show prep and fittings in Paris!! Kisses @NicolaAnnePeltzBeckham xx.'

Despite her injury, Victoria is still pressing on with her Fashion Week show preparations, which is due to take place on Friday at 8pm.

Nicola was recently revealed as the new face of Balenciaga, joining the likes of Kim Kardashian as an ambassador for the brand.

And it seems like she will soon become one of Victoria's 'muses' too, if she walks in the show taking place later this week.

Victoria and Nicola were rumoured to be at odds ever since Nicola decided not to wear a wedding dress signed by the former Spice Girls at her nuptials.

However, after apparently putting the feud to bed, the duo appear closer than ever now after a series of recent meet ups and family holidays.

It comes soon after it was reported Victoria has vowed to still work with the Mia Regan, who split from Posh's middle son Romeo at the beginning of the month after a five year on-off romance.

Nicola has been dropping several hints that she will appear in her fashion show at the end of the week, taking snaps with Victoria and donning her clothing line
The actress was forced to issue an apology over her Islamophobic comments

She also came under fire for liking politically-charged posts online

Cruel Intentions star Selma Blair has parted ways with her agents at CAA and publicity team, following the fallout caused by an Islamophobic comment she made on social media earlier this month.

The 51-year-old star came under fire after eagle-eyed fans spotted her comment beneath an Instagram video on February 2.

Now sources have confirmed to DailyMail.com that the Legally Blonde star will no longer be represented by Creative Artists Agency, and has also stopped her partnership with the Narrative publicity team.

Changes have also been made to her management and legal representation as Blair is no longer a client of manager Troy Nankin at Wishlab or attorney Cheryl Snow at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman.

The Hellboy star is now represented by manager Ben Gaynor - who is also a manager at Wishlab - and attorney Joshua Reitzas at Berlandi Nussbaum & Reitzas.

Selma Blair has parted ways with her agents at CAA and publicity team following the fallout caused by an Islamophobic comment she made on Instagram

The February 2 comment called for the deportation of Democratic representatives Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, deeming them 'terrorist-supporting goons' and asserting 'Islam has destroyed Muslim countries'

The furor began when Blair commented on a video posted by Abraham Hamra, a Syrian, Jewish refugee who called out Squad members Rashida Tlaib and Cori Bush for being the sole members of Congress to vote against a measure barring anyone who participated in the October 7 terror attacks from immigration to the US.

In a now-deleted comment, she wrote: 'Thank you very much. Deport all these terrorist supporting goons. Islam has destroyed Muslim countries and then they come here and destroy minds.

'They know they are liars. Twisted justifications. May they meet their fate.'

In the video, Hamra calls Tlaib - the only Palestinian-American member of Congress - a 'liar,' 'moron,' and 'hateful antisemite.'

'The truth,' Hamra says, 'is the Jews have been victimized by the Arabs, and not the other way around.'

Tlaib defended her 'no' vote by saying it is 'redundant with already existing federal law.'

'Its just another GOP messaging bill being used to incite anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim hatred that makes communities like ours unsafe,' she said.

Days later, Blair issued an apology after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil rights organization, condemned her statement.

The Legally Blonde actress, 51, claimed she 'mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists'

In a lengthy apology post, Blair attempted to reaffirm her support of 'all marginalized communities'

Blair claimed that she 'inadvertently conflated Muslims with fundamentalists' as she wrote: 'This is a time of great pain and anguish for many around the world, but it is also a time to learn and better understand how words matter.

'In my comment, I mistakenly and inadvertently conflated Muslims with Radical Islamists and fundamentalists, a terrible err in my words, and resulted in hurting countless people I never meant to, and I deeply regret this.'

She highlighted the fact that she swiftly deleted the comment as she continued: 'I erred in my writing and I fully recognize how I contributed to the Muslim community being understandably very upset. I respect and love all peace-loving communities, all over the world.

'It was my Muslim friends who helped educate and show me the way. I am committed to paying forward their love and understanding. We cannot allow ignorance and rage to becomes (sic) our downfall.'

Blair ended the apology by reaffirming her support for marginalized communities and promising to do better.

Meanwhile, Blair was also blasted by a disability advocate who claimed the actress hung up the phone when she tried to confront her about her hateful post.

Maria Town, who is President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, took to Instagram to share her scathing comments.

She said that she had clashed with The Sweetest Thing star, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018, in a conversation that 'did not go well' despite having worked together previously.

Many social media users remarked that the statement seemed disingenuous and the star also criticized for posts shed liked on X, formerly Twitter

Some critics pointed out that the apology failed to address her comments about Tlaib (left) and Bush (right)

She wrote: 'I have read Selma Blair's Islamophobic, racist, and hateful comments. Her comments are harmful and wrong.

'Since she is someone I have worked with, I wanted to speak to her and call her in before sharing my thoughts publicly.

'I reached out multiple times to her manager and to her to talk. I was finally able to speak with her today.'

Town, who is from Louisiana, continued: 'The conversation did not go well.

'She first acted as though she did not know what I meant and asked what I was talking about when I shared I was alarmed by her recent posts.

'I referenced her posts, and directly repeated her words. I said, you can publicly disagree with people, including members of Congress, without being racist or wishing them harm.

'The conversation ended with her telling me, "Maria, I wish you would think for yourself for once," and she hung up on me.

'As she has shared in the apology she posted recently, she told me that she meant to say "Islamiscists" and not "Islam."

'I responded that this change did not make her comments any less Islamophobic or racist. The conversation devolved from there.'

The post continued: 'If she hadn't hung up, I would have told her that you can support Jewish people without being Islamophobic.

'In fact, you can support Jewish people and Muslim people at the same time.

'Islamophobia, xenophobia, and racism have no place anywhere, especially not within movements for rights and justice or in efforts for inclusion.

Blair was also blasted by a disability advocate claimed the actress hung up the phone when she tried to confront her about her 'hateful' Islamophobic post

Maria Town, who is President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, took to Instagram to share her scathing comments following the pair's interaction

Maria, who previously worked as Senior Associate Director in the Obama White House Office of Public Engagement, shared a series of slides to divulge details of the apparent exchange

'Racist, nationalist systems create a false choice: the idea that another group's presence is a threat to your own security and safety.

'Using fear to justify further harm to people is no justification at all. Using fear for your own safety to justify islamophobia and racism does not make anyone safer or more secure. It only creates more fear.'

Town had even more to say as she concluded: 'When people with high visibility and an ability to influence culture repeat Islamophobic and racist ideas, these systems become further cemented in our policy, in our society, in our minds.

'When people like me, and by that I mean specifically white people who are raised or accultured within a Christina community, do not denounce Islamophobia and associated racism and hate, because we "don't know enough" or "that's not our issue," we allow this hate to perpetuate and grow.

'When people like me - those who have proximity to people like Selma Blair - do not call out hatred when we see it, whether in one on one conversations, public forums etc, we perpetuate harm.

'Despite Selma's assessment of me, I do think for myself, and I know that his kind of hate is never acceptable.'

In the wake of the uproar caused by her comment, Blair was also criticized for posts shed liked on X, formerly Twitter.

These included vague statements denouncing 'Antifa' and 'the woke agenda, as well as a viral conspiracy theory linking an early version of the new Minnesota state flag to Somalia.

'Armed citizens don't need legislation to defend themselves or their state/country. It's our God-given right to do so, read one liked comment.

Other social media users pointed out that shed liked other anti-Muslim comments including one calling Islam the religion of evil, created in hell' and another deeming it a hatefull (sic) and violent sect.

Blairs account on the platform has since been deleted.

Rates of Islamophobia and antisemitism have skyrocketed in the United States since October 7, when Hamas militants flooded from the blockaded Gaza Strip into nearby Israeli towns, killing civilians and taking hostages.

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. increased by 388 percent in the four weeks after October 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Likewise, CAIR reported that the number of Islamophobic incidents in the U.S. increased by 216 percent during the same period.
Pregnant Sofia Richie lifted up her plain white T-shirt to show off her bare baby bump on social media on Thursday.

The 25-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie is pregnant with her first baby with new husband Elliot Grainge.

The sister of Nicole Richie was also showing off a belted trench coat and oversized slacks as she spends time in New York.

Her hair was worn down as she flashed gold jewelry while in a walk-in closet in all white with a gray chair.

This comes after she talked her pricey beauty routines like $2,700 spent on making sure she does not get stretch marks.

Pregnant Sofia Richie lifted up her plain white T-shirt to show off her bare baby bump on social media on Thursday

In this new clip posted this week, Richie peeled back the layers of her growing list of pregnancy essentials so far, explaining that she's been figuring it all out along the way, with some help from her fellow TikTok influencer moms.

'I figured maybe it's interesting for some of you out there to hear my essentials,' she began the video, which has already reached over three million views.

The first item Richie spoke about was a $29 cream for stretch marks from the brand Bumpology.

'I am so afraid of getting stretch marks, I know it comes with the territory but I'm doing everything I can to prevent,' Richie admitted.

'So my doctor, when I first found out I was pregnant, she was like, I have this shea butter that people love, and I am obsessed, I've gone through, like, six tubs,' the influencer continued.

She raved that it smelled 'delicious,' and that she uses the cream all over body, starting from her chest to her bottom.

'So far, knock on wood, not one stretch mark,' she revealed.

After she's finished applying the cream, Richie said that she then lathers herself up in the belly oil by the brand Hatch, which retails for $64.

'I don't feel disgusting when I put my clothes on over it, so this is really nice, this is my second bottle,' the David Yurman model said.

The 25-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie is pregnant with her first baby with new husband Elliott Grainge

The sister of Nicole Richie was also showing off a belted trench coat and oversized slacks as she spends time in New York

Her hair was worn down as she flashed gold jewelry while in a walk-in closet in all white with a gray chair

It comes after Sofia looked nothing short of sensational alongside Jasmine Tookes and Shay Mitchell at the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week on Friday.

The Hollywood beauties turned heads in stylish outfits for the runway extravaganza held at NYC's famed Grand Central Oyster Bar.

The new brand ambassador for the label cradled her baby bump in a chic tan trench coat as she arrived at the soiree alongside her handsome husband Grainge.

Jasmine echoed Sofia's laid-back style by donning a tan trench coat similar to Sofia, while Shay impressed in a black rendition of the coat, adding a leggy display to her ensemble.

The terrific-looking trio led a cavalcade of stars at the soiree, including Sistine Stallone, Jennifer Flavin, Chris Appleton, Justine Skye, Glorilla, Olivia Ponton, Becky G and Anna Wintour.

It was quite an unforgettable evening as the daughter of music legend Lionel Richie - who is expecting her first child with Elliot - looked incredible during the big night out.

The stunner swept her signature blonde locks up in a bun allowing her natural beauty to take center stage. Richie's outing comes following news that her legendary father Lionel, 74, is already weighing in on potential baby names and has even banned one.

This comes after she talked her pricey beauty routines like $2,700 spent on making sure she does not get stretch marks

She accessorized with a pink and white Chanel purse

'You can't call her Lionella,' the four-time Grammy winner joked during an interview with E! News at The Greatest Night in Pop premiere in Los Angeles. 'You know what? I'm gonna leave that to the parents.'

He proceeded to explain that he just plans on being 'that loving Pop-Pop that comes in the door and spoils the child.'

Lionella, an Italian name that derives from his first name, means 'little lioness.'

Lionel is already a grandparent to his eldest daughter Nicole Richie's two kids Harlow, 16, and Sparrow, 14.

Last week, Sofia revealed that she is six months pregnant with a baby girl.

'Ive learned more in the past six months than I have in my entire life,' she told Vogue, before noting her little one is a 'Gemini.'

Richie said she found out about her pregnancy 'very, very early', saying: 'I was about four weeks pregnant. I was on a trip to Milan for fashion week, and I was going to the Prada show. I was doing a really quick 24-hour turnaround, and I felt terrible but didn't think much of it. I thought it was jet lag.'

It comes after Sofia looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the Tommy Hilfiger show during New York Fashion Week on Friday

The new brand ambassador for the label donned a chic tan trench coat as she arrived at the soiree alongside her handsome husband Elliot

Ahead of going to an Ed Sheeran concert in Los Angeles, she decided to take a pregnancy test due to the couple 'casually trying' for a baby since their wedding.

'When we turned over all three tests at the same time they were all positive. He was so excited, and we both cried. It was crazy and overwhelming and so hard not to scream it from the rooftops. But knowing I was so early, I was so protectiveeven with my friends.'

Sofia and the British record executive waited until the star was eight weeks pregnant before telling their parents - presenting the pregnancy tests in a Hermes box.

Sofia said: 'Watching their reaction go from like, "I'm about to get an expensive present" to like "Im about to get a grandchild" was really sweet.'

Revealing why she kept her pregnancy under wraps until the third trimester, the star said: 'I wasn't not posting because I felt like I wanted to have this grand announcement.

Richie's outing comes following news that her legendary father Lionel , 74, is already weighing in on potential baby names and has even banned one

'There was an anxiety for me about hitting certain milestones [when it came to the pregnancy], and once I passed that 21-week mark, I felt like I was in the safe zone.'

Sofia and Elliot sparked romance speculation in January 2021, just a few months after Sofia and Scott Disick, 40, broke up after dating on and off for almost four years.

Grainge proposed to Sofia in April 2022 and she shared the news on Instagram, captioning the photo: 'Forever isnt long enough @elliot.'

A year later, the couple tied the knot at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France.

The wedding was attended by several celebrity guests including her father, her sister Nicole Richie,42, and her husband Joel Madden, Cameron Diaz, 51, and her husband Benji Madden, as well as Paris Hilton, 42, and her husband Carter Reum.
Millie Bobby Brown has given Stranger Things fans a hint of what's to come in the upcoming fifth season of the hit Netflix show - while promising viewers an 'unbelievable' storyline.

The 20-year-old actress, who has played the role of Eleven since she was 12, is currently filming the fifth instalment alongside Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Noah Schnapp, and admitted it's 'nice to be back with everyone.'

Millie is currently on the promotional trial for her new movie Damsel and left fans baffled with her accent during an interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday evening, as viewers claimed she was switching between a British and American accent.

During her appearance on Today on Friday morning, Millie spoke with a mixed accent yet again as she chatted to Hoda Kotb about the fifth season of Stranger Things where she revealed: 'We're filming right now. It is our last season so we're really excited to be back together again for one last hoorah.

Millie Bobby Brown has given Stranger Things fans a hint of what's to come in the upcoming fifth season of the hit Netflix show and promised an 'unbelievable' storyline

The 20-year-old actress appeared on the Today show on Friday morning to promote her new movie called Damsel

Millie has played the role of Eleven in hit Netflix show Stranger Things since she was 12

Millie Bobby Brown is here to talk about her new movie, Damsel, working on the upcoming final season of @Stranger_Things and more! pic.twitter.com/JZWojV2AFQ  TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 1, 2024

'But it does feel sad,' she continued. 'Every day we go on to set, we're like, it is the last second day, the last third day. But we're definitely embracing it all. It is nice to be back with everyone and, of course, yeah, the story is unbelievable.'

Her comments about the upcoming final season come a few months after she was slammed by Stranger Things fans after she told Glamour magazine that she was ready to say goodbye to the series as it is preventing her from taking on other projects.

During the interview, which was published in October 2023, she said: 'When you're ready, you're like, "All right, let's do this. Let's tackle this last senior year. Let's get out of here".'

She went on to explain that shooting for the show is lengthy: 'Stranger Things takes up a lot of time to film and it's preventing me from creating stories that I'm passionate about. So I'm ready to say, "Thank you, and goodbye".'

Millie also said that she's ready to leave the show that shot her to stardom because it's given her 'the tools and the resources to be a better actor,' and bluntly added that she won't be sad when it's over because no one is dying: 'When it ends, I'm going to be able to still see these people.'

As well as a backlash from fans, an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com that Stranger Things crew had been left 'disappointed' with her lack of 'respect'.

Millie will be reunited with co-star Finn Wolfhard, who plays her love interest Mike Wheeler, in the upcoming season

Millie upset fans in late 2023 when she said that Stranger Things was 'preventing' her from taking on other work

Millie during a scene from Stranger Things season one with Winona Ryder and David Harbour

Millie's blunt remarks reportedly irked those who work behind-the-scenes on the hit show, and reportedly felt that she should 'respect' the series that has 'made her career'.

'Don't be surprised if we hear from Millie in the near future bringing back her comments a little bit, because although they were her true thoughts, she now sees how it looks,' a source told DailyMail.com.

'Lots of people who work on the show, within the crew, are disappointed in her words coming out the way they did and feel she should respect the hard work so many have done for a show that made her career and pays her bills.'

The insider continued: 'They all love her, and these comments won't put a bad taste in their mouths for too long, because by the time they start filming and finish the show, this will be long in the rearview.

'But the comments have definitely hit a nerve for those who need a job like Stranger Things to make ends meet. It's just seen as a bad look from many who work on the show.'

Millie was called out by fans for speaking in an American accent as she appeared on Jimmy Fallon on Thursday

Stranger Things season five is expected to be released in 2025.

However, before then, Milly is busy promoting another project - her movie Damsel.

On Thursday night, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to chat about the movie, however viewers were unable to focus so much on what she was saying about the flick but rather the way in which she was saying it.

Within minutes of her appearance, social media had been flooded with messages from viewers questioning why Milly no longer speaks with a British accent.

'Where is your British accent?' asked one, as another wrote: 'Her accent is basically gone' and '8AM?? She doesn't sound British at all anymore!!'

Can't decide if she's British or American,' one other chimed in.

Although Milly spent much of her childhood in Europe, having been born in Spain to British parents, who moved her back to the UK when she was four. She then relocated to Florida when she was just eight years old - and began pursuing roles in front of the camera.
A Playboy model has revealed Leonardo DiCaprio's three word response after she turned down his invitation for her to go home with him.

Hieke Konings, 22, has claimed she shared a kiss with the Hollywood star, 49, in an invite-only nightclub in Los Angeles.

In a new interview with the Dutch edition of Playboy, Hieke said she was then invited to go home with the Killers Of The Flower Moon star, but turned him down.

'He reacted very shocked. Of course he wasnt used to it. When I said I didnt know him well enough,' she said.

Hieke said he gave her the three word response: 'I respect that.'

But she added: 'Whereupon he turned to another girl and took her home.'

A Playboy model has revealed Leonardo DiCaprio 's three word response after she turned down his invitation for her to go home with him

Hieke Konings, 22, has claimed she shared a kiss with the Hollywood star, 49, in an invite-only nightclub in Los Angeles

Of their rendezvous, Hieke said: 'It was in a secret club in LA, one where you only get in by invitation. I saw him sitting there in his black hoodie and black cap and we made eye contact.'

She explained how Leo's manager brought her over to the star's table, saying: 'Leo wants to talk to you.'

Hieke said while she had not slept with Leo, she had several pals who had spent the night with him and claimed he has some questionable preferences in the bedroom.

She said: 'One friend said he kept his earphones in during sex because he didnt want to hear her. And another said he even put a pillow on her head.'

The blonde beauty then said: 'No, Leo is too weird and too old.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives for Leonardo DiCaprio for comment.

A source told MailOnline: 'Leo has insisted he has never met this lady.'

Leo has found himself the butt of many a dating joke, as well as facing furious backlash over his apparent refusal to woo a woman who was over the age of 25.

The actor is thought to be dating Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, 25, after first being linked in August 2023, grabbing ice cream in Santa Barbara.

Hieke said she was invited to go home with the Killers Of The Flower Moon star, but turned him down

The actor is thought to be dating Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, 25, after first being linked in August 2023 (pictured during Paris Fashion Week this week)

The couple was also spotted together in early September partying, dancing and kissing each other in Ibiza.

Sources at the time claimed he was 'crazy' about Vittoria  who also cares deeply about environmental causes. They have yet to confirm their relationship.

Insiders claim Leo is now dating her exclusively, as she has 'all of the qualities he looks for in a partner.'
Carol Vorderman showed off her figure as she posed for a series of selfies shared to social media on Friday.

The TV personality, 63, slipped into a pair of skintight leather leggings as she got to work filming.

She completed her stylish outfit with a fitted high neck top and nipped it in at the waist with a chunky patent belt.

Carol styled her hair into soft waves and topped off her look with a pair of ankle boots.

Snapping a few photos, she captioned the Instagram update: 'Bit of filming at home....'

Carol Vorderman, 63, showed off her figure as she posed for a series of selfies shared to social media on Friday

The TV personality slipped into a pair of skintight leather leggings as she got to work filming

The update comes after Carol opened up about how she deals with online trolling and one of the tips she uses to avoid receiving abuse from 'misogynistic' bullies.

The TV personality explained how she has muted five words on X - formerly known as Twitter - which she said filters some of the attacks.

Revealing what the words she has chosen to block are, Carol said she has muted 'Botox, plastic, s**g, w***e and s**t', in a bid to get rid of some abuse.

When asked what she does about trolls, Carol told Grazia: 'I cop quite a lot of it but I pay no attention. I've had stalkers and helicopters flying my house. I was litigious to keep my two kids out of the public eye.

'Misogyny is just a subsection of other bullying. On social media I mute certain words: Botox, plastic, s**g, w***e and s**t.

'That gets rid of a lot of the ad hominem attacks. The vast majority out there are lovely. But there is a subset of nasty men and nasty women.'

Carol recently joined LBC radio to present a new Sunday programme which started last month.

The TV presenter was axed from her BBC Radio Wales show in November 2023 after she breached the broadcaster's social media guidelines.

Carol Vorderman has opened up about how she deals with online trolling and one of the tips she uses to avoid receiving abuse from 'misogynistic' bullies

The former Countdown Star has claimed she will continue 'to hold the corrupt to account', after previously wowing to keep 'calling out the disgusting Tories' - after she was axed.

Carol has admitted that 'she will carry on using her voice to cause a commotion' in her upcoming weekend programme which airs January 14th from 4pm until 7pm.

She said: 'I'm delighted to be joining LBC and the phenomenal stable of powerful voices on the station. More than ever, live radio is an incredibly important platform for news, so I'm looking forward to returning to a medium that I love.

'And what a year 2024 is going to be for news and politics! On Sunday afternoon, I'll be using my voice  as you might expect  to cause a commotion.

'I won't be shy to say things that others won't and I'll hold the corrupt to account without fear or favour.

'And obviously I can't wait to hear from the listeners  all of it, without apology or embarrassment; their worries, their joys, their ideas.

'To quote Bob Dylan, 'the times they are a-changin' and I can't wait to get started  bring it on!'

Carol has previously appeared as a guest presenter on LBC alongside Nick Ferrari, James O'Brien, Shelagh Fogarty, Andrew Marr, Tom Swarbrick, Iain Dale and Matt Frei.

She completed her stylish outfit with a fitted high neck top and nipped it in at the waist with a chunky patent belt

Snapping a few photos, she captioned the Instagram update: 'Bit of filming at home....'

LBC's Managing Editor, Tom Cheal said: 'Now more than ever, listeners want candid, intelligent debate where people are free to air their views openly.

'LBC's callers provide a unique insight into what people right across the country are thinking and feeling, and I'm delighted Carol will be debating the big issues with them each week.

'Carol's straight-talking and incisive opinion make her the perfect fit alongside what is already the UK's best team of speech broadcasters, and I know she will help ensure LBC continues to lead the way as the home of the UK's best opinion-led broadcasting.'
Brazzaville, Congo (PANA)  Cervical cancer poses a significant burden in sub-Saharan Africa, with 120,000 cases annually out of the global total of 690,000, further exacerbated by the HIV epidemic, the Africa Regional Office of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday
Emily Ratajkowski posed up a storm as she showcased her incredible dress sense during Paris Fashion Week on Friday.

The model, 32, wasn't afraid to change up her looks as she opted for both a daring topless ensemble and more conservative cream dress as she proved she can turn heads in both.

Arriving at the Loewe show, the runway star made sure all eyes were on her as she went topless beneath an oversized blazer while sashaying into the venue alongside the likes of Emilia Clarke, Eva Green and Brie Larson.

Emilia exuded glamour on the outing as she paired her navy blazer with a black slip skirt that flashed a hint of her tanned and toned pins and barely there black heels.

She added to the look with a black Loewe handbag and accessorised with quirky sunglasses with gold rims on a leopard print base.

Emily Ratajkoswk showcased 12 hours of high fashion as she switched from a daring topless open blazer (L) to a stunning conservative cream dress (R) for Paris Fashion Week on Friday

Arriving at the Loewe show, the runway star made sure all eyes were on her as she went topless beneath an oversized blazer

Later in the day, the star opted for a more conservative look as she covered up while leaving the Ritz hotel.

Showcasing her slim physique Emily looked stunning in a cream midi dress, adorned with silver buttons.

The star paired the look with some striking snake print boots and dark sunglasses as she strode along with an umbrella held over her.

Styling her dark brunette locks straight, the star changed her look up once again after debuting a dramatic new curly hairdo earlier this week.

On Thursday Emily wore a stunning high-neck black mini dress, tailored at the waist while she paired the gown with a chic pair of sunglasses, a black bag, and black ballet flats.

Her long legs were accentuated by the short dress and Emily draped a light jacket, also black, over her arm.

It was recently announced that Emily will return to her passion for acting and is in 'final talks' to join the cast of Too Much, according to Variety.

She will play the ex-girlfriend of Will Sharpe's Felix, who has entered a new relationship with American ex-pat Jessica, played by Megan Stalter.

Later in the day, the star opted for a more conservative look as she covered up while leaving the Ritz hotel

Showcasing her slim physique Emily looked stunning in a cream midi dress, adorned with silver buttons

The runway star exuded glamour on the outing as she paired her navy blazer with a black slip skirt that flashed a hint of her tanned and toned pins and barely there black heels

The star paired the look with some striking snake print boots and dark sunglasses as she strode along with an umbrella held over her

Emily looked as though she had had a fresh top up of her makeup as she slid her sunglasses on

Styling her dark brunette locks straight, the star changed her look up once again after debuting a dramatic new curly hairdo earlier this week

The ten-part show is the latest brainchild of Girls star Lena Dunham and follows Jessica (Megan), who is reeling from a broken relationship that she thought would last forever.

Emily's last acting project was the 2024 Travis Scott music video I Know? and 2023 American sketch comedy limited series History Of The World, Part II.

The star shot to fame in 2013 when she appeared in the controversial Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams music video Blurred Lines.

From 2018 to 2022, she was married actor and producer Sebastian Bear-McClard and the two share son Sly, two.
Hailey Bieber's sister Alaia Baldwin Aronow has been arrested following an alleged altercation with employees at a Georgia bar.

TMZ reports Alaia, 31, was arrested Saturday night after she allegedly became unruly at Club Elan, a bar in Savannah, Georgia.

Alaia is accused of assaulting three staffers at the bar and even throwing a used tampon at a bartender in the employee bathroom.

TMZ later reported that the bartender, Haliegh Cauley, plans to press charges against Baldwin over the incident, and she described her alleged interactions with Baldwin in an interview.

The owner of Club Elan called 911, claiming Alaia had gotten into a physical altercation with his employees and had refused to leave his business.

Hailey Bieber's sister Alaia Baldwin Aronow has been arrested following an alleged altercation at a Georgia bar (pictured her mug shot for the Saturday incident in Georgia)

Employees claim Alaia entered the employees-only restroom, but was instructed not to use that particular bathroom. She was redirected to the public restroom instead.

However, she allegedly became belligerent and combative, and allegedly assaulted three employees.

She is accused of yanking the hair out of one security guard's head as he attempted to contain her. Another security guard also accused Alaia of kicking him in the groin when he tried restraining her.

The third employee, a female bartender, encountered Alaia when she attempted to enter the employee restroom.

She was allegedly informed Alaia would need a moment to vomit and change her tampon.

In an interview with TMZ, Cauley said she told Baldwin and her friends that they couldn't be in the employees' bathroom, before she noticed that there was 'throw-up filled to the top of the sink,' which seemed to make her feel nauseated just from recounting it.

The bartender claimed to have waited for some time before she returned to the bathroom to check on her.

When the employee entered the bathroom, however, she alleged that Alaia hit her with a tampon.

'I said, "Listen, you guys have got to go,"' Cauley recounted. She added that Baldwin had a 'scary' look in her eyes.

She claimed that Alaia replied, 'Do you not believe me? Do you want to see?'

Cauley claimed that the thrown tampon, which she noted was 'used,' made contact with her face after Baldwin allegedly threw it.

Alaia (L) pictured with her sister Hailer Bieber in 2019

She also clarified that Baldwin did not throw the tampon. Instead, Cauley said that when Baldwin pulled it out she swung her arm up and the tampon touched her face, while apparently never leaving her grip.

Cauley added that she called security at that point, and she claimed that Baldwin began 'swinging' at the guards.

The bartender added that she thought Baldwin was intoxicated.

Security said they eventually were able to contain Alaia and remove her from the establishment.

In addition to pressing charges, Cauley said she planned to file a lawsuit against Baldwin 'because that's somebody's bodily fluid that touched me.'

'That's just not appropriate and that's very uncalled for, especially when somebody's trying to help you.'

Alaia, however, claimed to the responding officer she was acting in self-defense. TMZ reports she claimed the entire situation was being blown out of proportion.

She was ultimately arrested for numerous charges, and was booked for simple assault, simple battery, battery, and trespassing.

A police report obtained by E! reveals: 'Ms. Aronow stated she was forcefully removed from the club.

'She initially denied forcing her way into the bathroom, only stating she needed to use the restroom to throw up and change her tampon.'

The report also stated she 'initially denied throwing her used tampon' at the bartender but 'later stated she did throw it.'

She was ultimately arrested for numerous charges, and was booked for simple assault, simple battery, battery, and trespassing; pictured 2018

The report also states she 'attempted to justify' her alleged physical disputes with the bouncers 'by stating she was defending herself.'

It also describes her alleged disputes with the employee, stating that Alaia could be seen in security footage 'forcing her way into the locked employee bathroom.'

The report described how in the bathroom Alaia told the bartender 'she needed to change her tampon and asked for a few minutes, which she was granted.'

The report added that several minutes later, when the bartender attempted to enter the restroom again, Alaia 'removed her tampon and threw it' at the employee. 'This is when security stepped in and removed the female from the club.'

'Aronow can be seen fighting and resisting the entire way outside,' the report states, adding the video 'clearly shows' Alaia 'grabbing and pulling' the hair of one security guard and 'hitting' another 'in the genitals.'

In a statement to TMZ, Alaia's attorney Drew Findling didn't appear to dispute any of his client's alleged actions.

'On February 24, 2024, Ms. Aronow traveled to Savannah, GA to celebrate the upcoming marriage of a close friend. Sadly, what should have been a celebratory girls night out, unfortunately took an unexpected turn,' he said.

'Ms. Aronow is embarrassed and saddened by the events of that night and is proactively taking the necessary steps to ensure that it never happens again,' Findling added.

A model, Alaia is a member of the famous Baldwin family. Her father is actor Stephen Baldwin and her younger sister Hailey is also a model.

She shares three-year-old daughter Iris with her husband of six years, Andrew Aronow.

The arrest comes after her father Stephen caused concern from fans after he asked for prayers for Hailey and her husband Justin Bieber.

On Monday, Stephen raised eyebrows when he reposted a video of Justin singing, which was shared by All Things Possible Ministries founder Victor Marx and captioned: 'Christians please when you think of Justin & Hailey, take a moment to offer a little prayer for them to have wisdom, protection, and draw close to the Lord.'

The arrest comes after her father Stephen caused concern from fans after he asked for prayers for Hailey and her husband Justin Bieber

The evangelist wrote in the caption that his wife Eileen Marx and Hailey's mother Kennya Deodato Baldwin 'pray often together' for the married couple of five years.

'There are special challenges that folks in high visibility positions face and also the enemy doesn't want them to draw closer to Jesus,' Victor wrote.

'So often regardless of the material things or the accolades they often face spiritual warfare that intense and seeks to ship-wreck their faith, marriage, and life in general. So thank you.'

The post has since been deleted by Marx.
TV royalty Ed McVey mingled with fashion royalty at Paris Fashion Week on Friday as he attended the star-studded Loewe show.

The 24-year-old actor - who plays Prince William in The Crown season six - looked dapper as he sported a white knitted jumper with a quirky square neckline.

He teamed the garment with a pair of flared black trousers and patent black brogues.

Ed was in good company at the show as he joined the likes of Emily Ratajkowski and Emilia Clarke for the presentation.

The budding actor has achieved a stratospheric rise to fame in recent years after starring in The Crown alongside Meg Bellamy, 21, who plays Kate Middleton.

TV royalty Ed McVey mingled with fashion royalty at Paris Fashion Week on Friday as he attended the star-studded Loewe show

The 24-year-old actor - who plays Prince William in The Crown season six - looked dapper as he sported a white knitted jumper with a quirky square neckline

The actor (L) struck a remarkable resemble to the Prince (R)

Ed recently insisted he did not want Kate and William's royal love story on the hit Netflix series to appear as 'smooth sailing'.

The second half of the series, that was released in December 2023, focuses on William and Kate's romance, which blossomed at St Andrews University in Scotland.

Meg mimicked the royal's iconic strut down the catwalk for charity on the show.

Kate - who was an art history student at the time - walked onstage in a sheer dress and captured the Prince's attention.

William watched his future wife from a 200 front-row seat and said: 'Wow! Kate's hot!'

Ed told The Telegraph of playing the royal and sharing his and Kate's love story: 'We didn't want to make it a smooth journey, meeting and falling in love and then getting together.

'We wanted it to be stagnated and weird, as relationships are, because there's never smooth sailing, nothing is ever one thing.'

The actor added that he wanted to put 'many bollards and emotional brick walls' in the way of them getting together in the early stages.'

Ed was in good company at the show as he joined the likes of Emily Ratajkowski (left) and Emilia Clarke for the presentation

The budding actor has achieved a stratospheric rise to fame in recent years after starring in The Crown alongside Meg Bellamy, 21, who plays Kate Middleton

'We want the audience to be like, 'oh just say the right thing or just stop being so awkward with each other and just get together' and then luckily you see that in the end,' he added.

While Ed is in Paris for the fashion shows, the real Prince William spent Friday in Wrexham to mark St David's Day.

The Prince of Wales, 41, chatted with pupils at All Saints' Primary School to see their traditional ways of marking the holiday which celebrates the patron saint of Wales.

On his arrival at the school the children gave him a bouquet of flowers for his wife Kate as she continues to recover from surgery at home.

The Princess Of Wales, 42, will not carry out any official royal engagements until after Easter following abdominal surgery in January - and Kensington Palace insists she is still 'doing well'.
The actor Terrence Howard was hit with a nearly $1 million judgment in a federal tax case over years worth of unpaid taxes.

He was sued by the government for failing to pay $578,000 between 2010 and 2019, and a judge in Philadelphia overseeing the case ultimately issued a default judgment in the government's favor after Howard failed to respond to the lawsuit.

The 54-year-old Empire star is now on the hook for $903,115, a figure that adds fees and penalties to the back taxes he already owes, as first reported by Law360.

Although he reportedly didn't defend himself in court, the government presented transcripts of voicemails he allegedly left the lead attorney representing the government in which he said it was 'immoral' to levy taxes against descendants of slaves.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Howard's representatives for contact.

The actor Terrence Howard was hit with a nearly $1 million judgment in a federal tax case over years worth of unpaid taxes, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer; seen December 8 in LA

He was sued by the government for failing to pay $578,000 between 2010 and 2019, and a judge in Philadelphia overseeing the case ultimately issued a default judgment in the government's favor after Howard failed to respond; still from Empire

The Hustle & Flow star reportedly didn't respond to the government's attempts to collect the back taxes he owed for more than a year, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The government launched its lawsuit against Howard over the unpaid taxes in 2022, but even then he reportedly did not respond to the suit and did not defend himself in court.

However, he was apparently aware of the tax case based on a furious voice mail he left for the government's lead tax attorney in November of last year.

He reportedly threatened to embarrass the attorney by posting about the lawsuit online, and he claimed he owed nothing to the government, according to a transcript of the alleged call that was filed in court.

'Four hundred years of forced labor and never receiving any compensation for it,' the transcript reads. 'Now you have the gall to try and prosecute and charge taxes to the descendants of a broken people that you are responsible for causing the breakage.'

The voicemail reportedly ended in the middle of his rant, but Howard called back to continue his speech.

'In truth, the entire United States should, by default, become the property of the descendants of slaves,' he claimed. 'But since you do not have the ability [or] the courage to do it, lets try this in court.  Were gonna bring you down.'

However, Howard never responded in court as threatened, and the judge entered a default judgment in the amount the government had requested after a hearing in the case.

Despite not responding in court, he left an angry voicemail to the lead government attorney complaining that she had the 'gall to try and prosecute' the 'descendants of slaves' over taxes

He said 'the entire United States should, by default, become the property of the descendants of slaves'; seen in 2019 in Burbank

After entering the judgment, the judge reportedly asked the attorney Howard left the message with, Maria Elizabeth Ruwe, if the threats in the call could result in future criminal charges.

She told the judge that she had passed along the alleged threats to the justice department, which had opened an investigation.

'I don't know the results of it,' she said.

Howard has had previous tax issues. In 2005 and 2006, state tax liens totaling $639,000 were levied against his home in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

The liens were later settled out of court.

Then, in 2010, the IRS hit the Iron Man actor with a $1.1 million lien on the same property for failure to pay income taxes in 2007 and 2008.

California also went after the actor. In 2019, the state's Franchise Tax Board hit Howard with a lien over $144,000 in taxes it said he owes from as far back as 2010.

His tax situation escalated that year, when federal prosecutors based in Philadelphia began a criminal investigation looking into whether Howard and his wife Mira Pak may have committed tax evasion.

The recent judgment against Howard was from a civil case, which requires only a monetary judgment, but he and his wife could potentially face more serious consequences if a tax evasion case is brought to trial.

It's unclear if the case is still being investigated or if it has been closed, and a spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office declined to comment about the case to the Inquirer.

Process servers reportedly had a difficult time finding Howard to serve him for the lawsuit, as the home listed a Plymouth Meeting appeared to be unoccupied.

Howard was hit with multiple tax liens over the years. In 2019, federal prosecutors opened a criminal tax evasion investigation against him and his wife, but it's unknown if the investigation is ongoing or if it was closed without charges; seen in 2019 in LA

Attempts to locate him at a hotel where he was allegedly staying in Mississippi for a film shoot, as well as a residence in Chicago and two in Pennsylvania connected to his ex-wife and daughter, also failed.

A process server based in Los Angeles said in an affidavit filed in court that he heard Howard swearing in the background when he attempted to serve him at a house in La Habra, California, that is owned by his wife.

'The woman said that Terrence Howard was home and went to get him,' the process server said, though they claimed that she returned to reveal that the actor refused to come to the door.

However, he was finally served the lawsuit when he made a scheduled appearance at the Twin Cities Film Fest in Minnesota.
Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson is seen storming away from her boyfriend Dralin Carswell in the latest episode of her family's reality show after he finally admits he doesn't want to move with her to Colorado for college  despite weeks of back and forth.

In an exclusive preview clip ahead of tonight's episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, the couple reach breaking point during a heated conversation in which Dralin, 22, is complacent about contacting the courts about potentially relocating amid his ongoing legal issues.

The clanger comes after Alana shocked her family by stating she didn't want to go to school without her other half.

Tensions reach fever pitch when Dralin returns from secretly visiting the bondsman with Alana's sister, Pumpkin.

Alana 'Honey Boo Boo' Thompson locks horns with her boyfriend Dralin Carswell over his lack of urgency with their plans to move to Colorado

In exclusive first look clip for the latest episode of Mama June: Family Crisis, Alana is frustrated her boyfriend hasn't called the courts to alert them about the move

'I was going to surprise you with the information, but she [bondsman] told me [she] can't do nothing and I have to go the court.'

A confused Alana, 18, asks: 'So, you have to make a whole court day and everything just to talk to these people to ask if you can go to Colorado?'

'No, I can just call up there and tell them,' Dralin explains.

'Well, you need to get the call in, it looks like,' a frustrated Alana says. 'If you're not going, I'm not going either. I'm not going by myself!'

But it's at this point, that Dralin appears to suggest he's not keen on the plan.

'I'm not trying to go,' he mumbles.

Unsurprisingly, his response drives Alana up the wall and she snaps: 'I don't have nobody out there. I don't even got no damn friends!'

Storming off, she then quips: 'You're irritating me. I'm done with this conversation.'

Dralin's concerns about his ongoing legal issues are a cause for friction for the pair

Alana storms off during their fraught discussion, declaring: 'You're irritating me. I'm done with this conversation'

In her confessional, Alana reveals her reluctance to move without Dralin

Alana has been vocal about not wanting to move to Colorado for school without her boyfriend.

Speaking in her confessional, she reveals: 'It's important that Dralin gets to go with me to Colorado because for one, it's a big scary move, and for two, I think Dralin would push me a lot more than I would push myself.

'I feel like I wouldn't be the one to really want to make friends, but Dralin would always push me to make friends, make sure my school work's done, everything.

'I feel like he would definitely push me to my limits.'

Back in July 2023, Alana was accepted to Regis University in Denver to pursue a degree in nursing.

However, due to Dralin's legal issues, the star has been contemplating whether she will go to Colorado without him.

Alana previously shocked her family after she revealed that she won't go to college unless her boyfriend can go with her

Alana graduated high school in May and she was the second person in her family to get accepted into college and is hoping to pursue nursing

Dralin's legal situation has been a storyline on the show since he allegedly drove under the influence back in February 2023 and spent two days in Monroe County jail before being released on a $25,000 bond.

In October, a court clerk confirmed to The Sun that Dralin had pleaded not guilty to four charges after being arraigned.

In previous scenes, he revealed to Alana's sister Pumpkin that he had not been to see the bondsman because he was afraid he will be told he cannot go to Colorado.

More recently, viewers learned that Alana only has one week left to decide whether she will confirm her attendance, otherwise she will lose her $21,000 scholarship.

Will she be able to make a decision before the deadline arrives?

In the episode, June 'makes an important decision without Justin which creates tension in their marriage', the official synopsis teases.

'Legal issues could impact whether Alana will go to college or not. Doe Doe is challenged to confront June about her social media posts.'

Mama June: Family Crisis airs Friday at 9PM ET/8PM CT on AMC Networks' WE tv.
Gwyneth Paltrow took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to share a heartwarming selfie with her teenage son Moses, 17, as they smiled into the camera.

The 51-year-old actress snapped the photo while leaning on her boy as he got close and shared a light smile.

She opted for a black patterned jacket and went barefaced in the selfie as her blonde locks framed her face.

Moses had on a black knit sweater that he paired with a silver necklace and tiny hoop earrings.

'Not fave but recent,' Paltrow wrote as a fan requested the photo in a Q&A.

Gwyneth Paltrow took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to share a heartwarming selfie with her son Moses, 17, as they smiled into the camera

Paltrow shares Moses and daughter, Apple, 19, with ex-husband Chris Martin from Coldplay.

The pair said 'I do' in 2003 before ending their marriage in 2016.

The Los Angeles native told British Vogue, 'We just didn't quite fit together. But man, did we love our children.

'Between the day that I knew and the day we finally relented to the truth, we tried everything. We did not want to fail. We didn't want to let anyone down. We desperately didn't want to hurt our children. We didn't want to lose our family.'

In 2018, Gwyneth married screenwriter Brad Falchuk after hitting it off on the set of Glee.

When asked if she felt free of the male gaze post divorce, the actress said in an interview: 'I love my husband so much, so thats really shifted things for me.

'I probably dont walk into a room the way I used to walk into a room because of that. I feel really lucky. Hes a great guy, and hes my best friend.'

The mother-of-two shared a photo of her and her husband on Friday while wishing him a happy birthday.

The Iron Man star was last spotted on Thursday as she spoke at the MAKERS conference in Beverly Hills as she wore a polka-dot patterned blouse and black trousers

In the photo, the couple was in a light embrace as they enjoyed their evening.

Paltrow went makeup free as she wore a blue striped top paired with a silver necklace with the Star of David.

'Happy birthday,' the star captioned the photo, 'You are my everything.'

She was last spotted on Thursday as she spoke at the MAKERS conference in Beverly Hills.

The Iron-Man star wore a polka-dot patterned blouse and black trousers to the event.

In 2018, Gwyneth married screenwriter Brad Falchuk after hitting it off on the set of Glee

Gwyneth launched her own wellness and lifestyle brand Goop in 2008.

The company started as a weekly health newsletter which she wrote while she lived in London with her family.

She took the title of CEO in 2016 and promotes the brand frequently on social media.
Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, wished Brad Falchuk a 'Happy Birthday' on Instagram. The Iron man star shared, 'You are my everything.'

Her husband of over five years turned 53-years-old on Friday.

The Academy Award winning actress wrote that her husband is 'so cool' for not even using the social media platform, but asked her followers to 'wish him a happy birthday, anyway.'

Gwyneth and Brad first met on the set of the popular TV series Glee back in 2010.

The show was co-created by Falchuk, and Paltrow was playing the recurring role of substitute teacher Holly Holliday.

At the time, she was still married to Coldplay's Chris Martin, while Falchuk was married to producer Suzanne Bukinik.

Gwyneth Paltrow , 51, wished Brad Falchuk a 'Happy Birthday' on Instagram. The Iron man star shared, 'You are my everything.' Her husband of over five years turned 53-years-old on Friday

The GOOP entrepreneur shows off one of her fabulous boyfriend breakfasts, suitable for birthday breakfasts for husbands, too

Falchuk told Harper's Bazaar in 2020 that they first became friends on set when they realized how much they really have in common.

'She's stunning and she's charming and she's completely disarming,' he said. 'We had similar enough backgroundsa little bit Jewish, a little bit East Coast, her dad was a TV producerand so we just sort of developed this really lovely friendship.'

The two started dating in 2014, shortly after each of their marriages had ended.

They didn't go public until 2015 when they attended Robert Downey, Jr.'s 50th birthday party together in Santa Monica, CA.

The two were engaged by 2017.

In April 2018, for her bachelorette party, Paltrow headed to Cabo, Mexico, then returned to Los Angeles for her engagement party, which had quite a guest list including Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Benji Madden, Julia Roberts, Demi Moore, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, Liv Tyler, and Kate Hudson.

In September 2018, Paltrow and Falchuk got married in the Hamptons with about 70 guests in attendance, including Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr., Stella McCartney, Cameron Diaz, and Benji Madden.

The two started dating in 2014, shortly after each of their marriages had ended. They didn't go public until 2015 when they attended Robert Downey, Jr.'s 50th birthday party together in Santa Monica, California

The actress posted comments about their wedding on her GOOP website, writing that they had 'perfect weather, a superlative dinner, a dance party for the ages, and a dress that defies adjectives. Hours later, when the last guest went home and the last champagne flute was cleared away, the day ended as it beganwith beauty, love, and two very happy people.'

In an interview with Marie Claire UK that year, the newlywed talked about getting married for a second time, saying, 'For a while, I thought, I don't know if I'd ever do it again. I have my kidswhat's the point? And then I met this incredible man, who made me think, no, this person is worth making this commitment to. I'm very much the marrying kind."

The couple is still going strong. They completed their 'eco-mansion' in Montecito, CA in June 2023.

The Academy award winning actress with her son Moses, now 17

TV producer Falchuk premiered his new series The Brothers Sun two months ago in Los Angeles.

Paltrow plans to sell GOOP, the wellness company she founded in 2008, and retire from that business.

Brad has two children from his first marriage - daughter Isabella, 19, and son Brody, 17. Gwyneth's two children from a previous marriage are are Apple, 19, and Moses, 17.
She was in a massive 1980s film franchise that was both funny and full of adventure.

Her role won her a Golden Globe nomination and she looked on the fast track to massive fame.

This actress - who was blonde in the 80s - eventually married the hunky star of the movies - they made three in total under the same name.

Hint: he is not American.

This beauty had several roles after her big success like 1990's Almost An Angel with Willie Nelson and Charlton Heston.

But she left Hollywood after she felt she was handed bad roles.

The pair divorced in 2014 and these days she has a habit of sharing photos of herself on social media where she looks very different.

She is now 66-years-old but looks half her age in her photos.

Who is she?

She was in a massive 1980s film franchise that was both funny and full of adventure. This actress - who was blonde in the 80s - eventually married the hunky star of the movies - they made three in total under the same name. Hint: he is not American. Who is she?

She is Crocodile Dundee star Linda Kozlowski.

The star looks more youthful and stunning these days compared to her movie debut 37 years ago.

The 66-year-old former actress shared photos of herself on vacation last year, and her age-defying beauty radiated through her stunning posts.

Kozlowski made her big screen debut in the hit Australian action comedy film in 1986.

The movie followed Kozlowski as a New York reporter who is sent Down Under to interview crocodile hunter Michael J. Dundee  who was played by Paul Hogan, 83.

The first installment earned the bombshell  who looked unrecognizable in 2017  a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Sue Charlton.

Since leaving Hollywood, she often documents her incredible trips on social media with her new travel companion and longtime lover  Moulay Hafid Baba.

The star and her beau spent the summer taking in scenic sights and basking in the golden sun in France, Spain and Sardinia.

She is Crocodile Dundee star Linda Kozlowski. The movie followed Kozlowski as a New York reporter who is sent Down Under to interview crocodile hunter Michael J. Dundee  who was played by Paul Hogan, 83

They later tied the knot in 1990 and welcomed son Chance, now 24; seen in 1990

As seen in her recent posts in 2023, she also dyed her hair brunette and looked stunning with sun-kissed skin as well as a bright white smile.

Her neighbor told Daily Mail Australia in 2017 that she has been on a 'health kick' in recent years, and her hard work  which included daily cryogenic treatments  has paid off.

'Going on a health kick and the treatments she has been having have taken years off,' the insider said.

'She's nearly 60 but could pass for a woman in her 40s. No problem,' the source continued. 'She's lost at least 20lbs.'

While filming Crocodile Dundee, she and her co-star Hogan fell in love and started a romance together.

They later tied the knot in 1990 and welcomed son Chance, now 25, in 1998.

The 66-year-old former actress shared photos of herself on vacation last year; she looks half her age

Her age-defying beauty radiated through her stunning posts

Kozlowski split with Hogan in 2013, and she later left Hollywood altogether. Since then, the beauty  still as stunning as ever  often documents her incredible trips on social media with her new travel companion and longtime lover

While filming Crocodile Dundee, she and her co-star Hogan fell in love and started a romance together; seen at the G'Day USA Black Tie Gala in January 2013

They welcomed son Chance, now 25, in 1998; seen at the G'Day USA Black Tie Gala in January 2013

Kozlowski split with Hogan in 2013, and she later left Hollywood altogether.

Her last screen appearance was in 2001 when she reprised her character of Sue Charlton for the final Crocodile Dundee film.

She told the Los Angeles Times in 1988, that she ended up being typecast by Hollywood casting directors after Crocodile Dundee, which she said was both a blessing and a curse.

'After Crocodile Dundee, I turned down lots of stuff, most of it where I'd play the girlfriend of some funny man,' she said.

In an interview with Scripps Howard News Service in 2001, she opened up about her choice to leave Hollywood behind and quit acting.

'These straight-to-video schlocky films I was getting were giving me an ulcer, basically because I was the only one on the set that cared about anything,' she said at the time.

'I'd say, "Well, this scene doesn't make sense." [They would say,] "Aw, so what, just say the lines." [And] I thought, "This isn't fun anymore. This is not why I studied, it's not what I love." Between that and my biological clock, I decided to give it all away.'
Nicola Peltz looked sensational as she left La Reserve Hotel hand-in-hand with husband Brooklyn ahead of his mother Victoria's Paris Fashion Week show on Friday.

The actress, 29, was rumoured to have been walking in the show after she was spotted at a fitting with fashion designer Victoria, 49, in the French capital this week.

However, Nicola was seen with Brooklyn, 24, shortly before the show started on Friday evening, suggesting she would be sitting on the front row.

American star Nicola, who married Brooklyn in 2022, put on a leggy display as she wore a bright red mini dress.

The garment finished high above her knee and was cinched in at the waist to accentuate her hourglass figure.

Nicola Peltz looked sensational as she left La Reserve Hotel hand-in-hand with husband Brookly ahead of his mother Victoria's Paris Fashion Week show on Friday

The actress, 29, was rumoured to have been walking in the show after she was spotted at a fitting with fashion designer Victoria, 49, in the French capital this week

She wore a pair of white fishnet stockings and some towering plush pink platform heels.

Nicola was seen carrying a black clutch purse as she walked closely alongside Brooklyn.

Aspiring chef Brooklyn wore a black jacket over a beige top, which he teamed with a pair of baggy trousers to match his jacket.

He wore a pair of chunky black shoes and carried a white bag with him.

Victoria hinted that her daughter-in-law Nicola would walk her in Paris Fashion Week show after attending a fitting together.

The former Spice Girl, who is currently on crutches after breaking her foot, cosied up to Nicola as they posed for a mirror selfie.

Stirring up speculation that Nicola would be modelling her line, Victoria wrote: 'Pre-show prep and fittings in Paris!! Kisses @NicolaAnnePeltzBeckham xx.'

Nicola looked incredible in a sheer tulle dress which showcased her toned legs, which were further elongated by a pair of towering white heels.

However, Nicola was seen with Brooklyn, 24, shortly before the show started on Friday evening, suggesting she would be sitting on the front row

American star Nicola, who married Brooklyn in 2022, put on a leggy display as she wore a bright red mini dress

The garment finished high above her knee and was cinched in at the waist to accentuate her hourglass figure

She wore her brunette locks in a loose and wavy style, while flashing her huge diamond engagement ring on her hand.

Meanwhile, Victoria sported a form-fitting all black ensemble and teamed her medical boot with one white stiletto.

The mother of four is currently on crutches after falling over during a gym session and suffering a 'clean break' to her foot.

Despite her injury, Victoria has pressed on with her Fashion Week show preparations.

Nicola was recently revealed as the new face of Balenciaga, joining the likes of Kim Kardashian as an ambassador for the brand.

And it seems like she will soon become one of Victoria's 'muses' too, if she walks in the show taking place later this week.

Victoria and Nicola were rumoured to be at odds ever since Nicola decided not to wear a wedding dress signed by the former Spice Girls at her nuptials.

However, after apparently putting the feud to bed, the duo appear closer than ever now after a series of recent meet ups and family holidays.

Victoria hinted that her daughter-in-law Nicola would walk her in Paris Fashion Week show after attending a fitting together (pictured)

Stirring up speculation that Nicola will be modelling her line, Victoria wrote: 'Pre-show prep and fittings in Paris!! Kisses @NicolaAnnePeltzBeckham xx'

Victoria is currently on crutches after falling over during a gym session and suffering a 'clean break' to her foot

It comes soon after it was reported Victoria has vowed to still work with her son Romeo's ex-girlfriend Mia Regan, who he split from at the beginning of the month after a five year on-off romance.

Victoria is still 'extremely close' with Mia who has for some time been her muse for her fashion business.

The model has worn her items and promoted them across social media - and sources close to the family say that she will continue to do so.

One told the Mail: 'Victoria absolutely adores Mia and she is really sad that she and Romeo have split.

'She gets it, they are a young couple and of course the chances are they wouldn't stay together forever but she has her own relationship with Mia and the two women will still work together in the future.

'They both love fashion and have had some ideas about what they can do together and that still stands. They have a really close bond and they love working together, they are on the same page when it comes to fashion and what they like.

'There is absolutely no awkwardness, it is all amicable. Even Romeo won't mind which is all very grown up, a lot of young men wouldn't be happy about such a situation.'

In October 2022, Victoria and Mia, 21, who models for the likes of H&M and Gucci, launched a denim collection together as part of the former Spice Girl's VB fashion range.

However, it launched after Romeo, 21, and Mia split up.

Friends of Victoria say she always shared a close relationship with Mia and the two stuck together throughout her fall out with Nicola Peltz - wife of her eldest son, Brooklyn.

One said: 'Victoria always appreciated Mia through that time, she had always dreamed she would have great relationships with her sons' partners. While things were tricky with Nicola back then, she and Mia were so close.'
Marcia Cross was a vision in red as she walked the runway during the Vetements Fall/Winter show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Friday.

The Desperate Housewives star, known for her role as Bree Van De Kamp, proved she has still got it at 61 as she flaunts her age-defying looks for the glitzy event.

Dressed head to toe in sparkling red, Marcia donned the stunning bedazzled floor-length dress which featured long sleeves, which finished into gloves.

The fiery redhead's garment pooled into a meter-long train which gathered around her feet.

Adding inches to her statuesque figure, she paired her bold ensemble with a pair of suede platform boots.

Marcia Cross was a vision in red as she walked the runway during the Vetements Fall/Winter show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Friday

The Desperate Housewives star, known as Bree Van De Kamp, proved she has still got it at 61 as she flaunts her age-defying looks for the glitzy event

She showcased her youthful natural beauty as she opted for a minimal makeup look for the event.

After her gracious performance for the fashion label, Marcia was spotted catching up backstage with the brand's curative director Guram Gvasalia and Russian model Natalia Vodianova.

Marcia's beautiful outing comes after the actress spent five years putting an end to the stigma of anal cancer after she was diagnosed with the disease in 2018.

She vowed to stop the 'shame' and 'embarrassment' that comes with the rare disease.

Talking to People magazine, she said: 'I want to help put a dent in the stigma around anal cancer.

'I've read a lot of cancer-survivor stories, and many people, women especially, were too embarrassed to say what kind of cancer they had.'

Vowing to stop any stigma surrounding the illness, she added: 'There is a lot of shame about it. I want that to stop.'

In September 2018, Marcia revealed in a candid post that she had been battling cancer.

Dressed head to toe in blood red, Marcia donned a stunning bedazzled floor-length dress which featured long sleeves which finished into gloves

She showcased her youthful natural beauty as she opted for a minimal makeup look for the event

The fiery redhead's garment pooled into a meter-long train which gathered around her feet

After her gracious performance for the fashion label, Marcia was spotted catching up backstage with the brand's curative director Guram Gvasalia and Russian model Natalia Vodianova

Marcia bravely spoke about her anal cancer battle in a bid to end the stigma surrounding the illness (pictured at a Stand Up To Cancer event in 2016)

The actress vowed to stop the 'shame' and 'embarrassment' that comes with the rare disease

Sharing a beautiful selfie with fans, the actress shared a picture of herself with her hair starting to grow back after treatment.

She penned: 'So grateful and happy to be alive but sad that my hair fell out and is about 1 inch long now and looks cra cra. Anyone else have #hairloss due to #cancer? Talk to me. I feel you. Xxoo m.'

Marcia's followers were left concerned over the post, which led to her posting a statement on her Instagram the next day.

She said: 'Dearest Kindest Followers, I am so sorry my post wasn't clear. I am POST cancer. All good now.

Talking to People magazine , she said: 'I want to help put a dent in the stigma around anal cancer. There is a lot of shame about it. I want that to stop.'

Marcia rose to fame as Bree Van de Kamp on Desperate Housewives (pictured on the hit ABC series in 2005)

'Hard journey, but I am HEALTHY, happy, and more present and grateful than ever. Thank you from the bottom of my ever expanding heart for all of your LOVE.'

She added: 'After posting a picture of myself here and uttering the words #cancer and #hairless, I felt liberated, deliriously free and completely me.

'How or why this simple act gave me such a power lift I did not question, but I thanked God or whatever gave me the internal push to move forward and expose myself.

'I certainly wasn't expecting the response of love and kindness that flowed to me. My capacity to receive requires a massive expansion!

'I am ecstatically alive and what interests me post cancer is #AUTHENTICITY. #VULNERABILITY. #TRANSPARENCY. And of course #LOVE.

'On that note, if you were wondering, I had #analcancer. I know, right?! Thank you again for your love and for sharing your personal stories with #cancer and #hairloss and getting your footing in the world. Always, Marcia.'

Marcia's followers were left concerned over the post, which led to her posting a statement on her Instagram the next day

'I am ecstatically alive and what interests me post cancer is #AUTHENTICITY. #VULNERABILITY. #TRANSPARENCY. And of course #LOVE,' she penned

Marcia has continued to remain positive, revealing to her fans that she is 'getting on with the glory of living'.

Sharing a picture of herself with a knitted pink beanie, she penned: 'Thanks for all of your love. I am rockin a #beanie and a #hairtopper and getting on with the glory of living! #resurrection #cancer #gratitude ONWARD.'

Anal cancer is a rare disease which affects the end of the bowel, with the NHS stating 1,300 people are diagnosed with it in the UK each year.

The website claims that the main treatments for anal cancer are chemoradiation, which is chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and surgery to remove the tumour.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Global aircraft maker, Boeing Africa, has moved to enhance engineering training within Africa, with more than 300 students earmarked to receive funding to enhance their skills in science education, a senior executive told PANA here Friday
Lisa Vanderpump was seen for the first time since news that Rachel Leviss is now suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for 'revenge porn, eavesdropping and invasion of privacy' following last year's Scandoval drama.

The 63-year-old mogul enjoyed a ritzy dinner with husband Ken Todd, 78, in Beverly Hills on Thursday night.

Lisa looked unbothered by the drama centered around castmembers from her hit reality series Vanderpump Rules.

When she hopped in the luxury vehicle she even proved that she was in good spirits as she shared a laugh with her British husband.

Meanwhile shockwaves were sent through the Bravo reality series fandom earlier on Thursday as former castmember Leviss, 28, (formally Raquel) took legal action against Sandoval, 40, and Madix, 38.

Lisa Vanderpump was seen for the first time since news that Rachel Leviss is now suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix

Meanwhile shockwaves were sent through the Bravo reality series fandom earlier on Thursday as former castmember Leviss, 28, took legal action against Sandoval, 40, and Madix, 38; they are seen together in November 2022

'Scandoval captured the publics attention in a massive way, went completely viral, and injected new life into Vanderpump Rules,' the complaint, obtained by DailyMail.com, reads. 'It also caused mayhem in Levisss life, culminating in months-long in-patient treatment at a mental health facility and her departure from the show. Fomented by Bravo and Evolution in conjunction with the cast, Leviss was subjected to a public skewering with little precedent and became, without exaggeration, one of the most hated women in America.'

Last year, it was revealed that Leviss had an intimate FaceTime conversation with Sandoval that was recorded without her knowledge.

During an interview with Bethenny Frankel in August, Leviss accused Sandoval of recording the video chat.

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Sandoval, Madix, and Leviss for comment.

Bravo, NBCUniversal, Andy Cohen, and producers who work on Vanderpump Rules are not named in the lawsuit, however they are frequently mentioned.

The lawsuit, which spans 19-pages, was filed by Leviss Thursday at Los Angeles Superior Court.

'Plaintiff Rachel Leviss is a former cast member on Vanderpump Rules, a reality television show produced by Evolution Media (Evolution) and broadcast by Bravo Media (Bravo), an asset of NBCUniversal (NBC) (together with Bravo, Bravo). This case arises from a scandal of epic proportions starting in March 2023,' it reads.

'Stemming from an affair between Leviss and another cast member, Tom Sandoval, Scandovalas it came to be knownwent instantly viral and was the subject of extraordinary press coverage, even in the mainstream media. Scandoval injected new life into a previously faltering series, causing its viewership to explode to unseen levels and making its cast members mega-celebrities. Due to a narrative deliberately fomented by Bravo, Evolution, and the cast, Leviss became an object of public scorn and ridicule.

The 63-year-old mogul enjoyed a ritzy dinner with husband Ken Todd , 78, in Beverly Hills on Thursday night

When she hopped in the luxury vehicle she even proved that she was in good spirits as she shared a laugh with her British husband

'To be clear, Leviss has repeatedly acknowledged that her actions were morally objectionable and deeply hurtful to Madix. She has offered numerous apologies. There is more to the story, however. Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated, and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal. Leviss ultimately checked herself into a mental health facility and remained there for three months while Bravo, Evolution, and the cast milked the interest her excoriation had peaked.

'To make matters worse, Leviss was misled by Bravo and Evolution into believing that she was contractually barred from speaking out about her mistreatment. As a result, she suffered in silence as Bravo and Evolution watched viewership explode, and the rest of the cast enjoyed unseen levels of public recognition and professional opportunity. Meanwhile, Leviss, who was humiliated and villainized for public consumption, remains a shell of her former self, with her career prospects stunted and her reputation in tatters.'

Leviss engaged in a months-long affair with Sandoval that sparked the end of his nine-year relationship with Madix last year. The fallout was captured on camera and both Leviss and Sandoval were heavily shamed by viewers and castmates alike.

The affair came to light after Madix discovered an intimate Facetime video on Sandoval's phone featuring himself and Leviss.

Leviss has insisted the video was recorded without her knowledge, and last summer she accused Sandoval of recording the Facetime.

The lawsuit describes how Madix came across the 'sexually explicit videos of Leviss' - Sandoval was performing with his band at Tom Tom when his phone fell out of his pocket and was given to Madix, who then went through his phone.

'It was reportedly retrieved by an attendee and handed over to Madix, who searched it and found sexually explicit videos of Leviss,' the lawsuit states of Madix coming across the phone.

The suit continues: 'Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that the explicit videos were recorded by Sandoval without her knowledge or consent in or around February 2023.

Leviss filed the lawsuit Thursday at Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Deadline

'The two videos Leviss has seen depict her in a state of undress and masturbating. However, given Sandoval's apparent practice of secretly recording their video calls, Leviss has every reason to assume there are additional illicit videos and/or photographs of her that she has not yet seen.'

Leviss claims in the lawsuit that Madix 'obtained at least two illicit videos of Leviss and distributed them and/or showed them to others without Leviss' knowledge or consent. At a minimum, Madix circulated the illicit videos to herself and Leviss. She also immediately informed production about what she had found.

'In addition, many other individuals have demonstrated intimate familiarity with their contents, leading Leviss to believe the circle of recipients is wider,' the suit adds.

The suit adds that Madix sent the two sexually explicit videos to Leviss when she confronted her over the affair via text message. Leviss received the two videos along with the text, 'you are DEAD TO ME[.]'

The suit makes other allegations, including a claim that their affair was 'well-known to many cast members and suspected by others.'

'Leviss and Sandoval were not particularly discrete. Leviss is informed and believes, and on such information and belief alleges, that Madix knew about it as early as the Fall of 2022. Indeed, in December of 2022, Madix scolded Leviss and Sandoval for being handsy in public, admonishing them to save the story for Season 11.'

The lawsuit also goes into depth about the alleged physical altercation between Leviss and Scheana Shay, who the suit says 'violently assaulted' Leviss after learning about the affair. Leviss ultimately filed a restraining order against Shay over the incident but it was dismissed.

The alleged assault occurred on the night of March 1, when Leviss received the text message with videos from Madix. Leviss was in New York to film Watch What Happens Live with her castmate Shay.

Leviss engaged in a months-long affair with Sandoval that sparked the end of his nine-year relationship with Madix last year

The suit alleges she received the text from Madix after filming while she was at a bar with Shay.

'Leviss experienced a swirl of emotions in response, including shock and fear,' the suit said of Leviss' emotions when she received the text. 'Shock because she did not know Sandoval had recorded pornographic videos of her. Fear because these videos were now in the hands of someone who hated her guts and was out for blood. She was terrified Madix would leak them on the internet.

She alleges in reaction to the news, Shay 'violently assaulted' her, 'shoving her aggressively into a brick wall, punching her face, and throwing her phone into the street. The blow to Leviss' face caused a rupture above her left eyebrow and severe swelling and bruising above her left eye. Leviss was told by a treating physician that her busted brow would permanently scar.'

It also recalled news breaking of the affair on March 3, 2023, stating the first story to break the news was 'quickly followed by a torrent of follow-up stories. By March 4, tabloids had already begun reporting on the pornographic videos of Leviss, citing unnamed sources. Although filming for Season 10 had already wrapped, Bravo and Evolution had a camera crew ready to shoot the next day.'

The suit also alleges that cameras had filmed a scene where Leviss confronted Sandoval for 'secretly recording pornographic videos of her and storing them unprotected on his phone.' He 'ultimately offered a reluctant admission and a sheepish apology.'

'Sandoval was clearly rattled,' the suit continues. 'After filming ended, an erratic and unsettled Sandoval refused to leave Leviss' apartment in spite of her requests. Leviss was forced to have her sister and brother-in-law pick her up and drive her to their home. That day, Leviss retained an attorney to mitigate the risk of the illicit videos leaking.'

The fallout was captured on camera and both Leviss and Sandoval were heavily shamed by viewers and castmates alike

The suit says Sandoval was reportedly concerned over his portrayal in the scene, fearful 'being accused of recording nonconsensual pornography would "paint him in a negative light."

The suit alleges that Sandoval 'reportedly threatened to cease all further filming for the show unless he was granted editing rights over the scene. Shockingly, Bravo and Evolution obliged his demand. The scene was selectively edited to omit any mention of Sandoval's illicit recording or Leviss' lack of consent. This was part of a pattern and practice of Bravo and Evolution throwing Leviss under the bus in favor of Sandoval.'

The suit also blasts Bravo for its handling of the scandal, stating the network 'deliberately sacrificed Leviss for the sake of its commercial interests from its refusal to allow her the opportunity to tell her side of the story and defend herself, which she repeatedly begged for permission to do.'

Levis is seeking a trial by jury and has requested that the court order the destruction of all copies of the illegally obtained recordings of her and for the defendants to stop distributing them. She is also seeking compensatory, special, general and consequential damages.

Leviss' lawyers Bryan Freedman and Mark Geragos spoke out about the lawsuit in a statement to Page Six.

Freedman told the outlet: 'For decades, a great deal of my life has been devoted to mental health treatment and recovery and helping others on that path. Im outraged that NBC and Bravo have used illegal NDAs as cudgels to profit off their employees.

'The idea that human beings are expected to sacrifice their mental and emotional health in service of Bravos ratings is obscene. Many of their employees are suffering in silence due to brazen and calculated actions by NBC and Bravo.

'Hundreds of reality TV participants have reached out to Mark Geragos and myself, and we are committed to ensuring that they have zealous advocates to confront the damage these employers have wreaked on their lives.'

The suit makes other allegations, including a claim that their affair was 'well-known to many cast members and suspected by others'

'While coming forward can be terrifying and even embarrassing, I implore people not to suffer in silence. Reach out to my firm or Marks firm, and we will help you get the help you need,' he says.

Geragos said: 'This lawsuit is squarely about illegal behavior and those who traffic in it and enable it. Rachel has apologized for her part in an affair. Thats not a crime. Tom and Ariana are alleged here to have engaged in criminal acts.

'They then doubled down and used those actions to shame, bully, belittle, and intentionally try to destroy Rachels mental health.

'The law makes it clear that recording someone without their consent and distributing that illegal recording is punishable by law; however, doing so while knowingly enticing them to engage in sexual acts deserves the harshest of penalties allowable under the law.'
Keanu Reeves was seen on the set of Good Fortune in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The actor had on a white shirt and a black tie with a long black diving parka jacket, dark slacks and brown shoes.

The John Wick star was munching on a Clif bar during his time between scenes.

There have been jokes made in the past about Keanu enjoying Clif bars.

Two years ago, the actor was photographed walking down another street carrying an entire bag of Clif bars. Reactions on Reddit, where the photo was posted, were hilarious.

'Tick tock, Mr. Wick,' one said.

'I once saw him kill 3 men in a petrol station using a CLIF Bar.... a f***ing CLIF BAR. ' Imagine what he could do with a full bag?' another quipped.

Keanu Reeves proves he's still addicted to CLIF Bars. He was seen walking down the street as he left the set of Good Fortune in Los Angeles munching on one of the popular energy bars on February 29.

'Tick tock, Mr. Wick,' one fan commented two years ago when the actor was spotted carrying an entire bag of CLIF bars down the street.

Good Fortune is an upcoming American comedy film written and directed by Aziz Ansari in his directorial debut.

Ansari also acts alongside Keanu. Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer.

The movie plot is being kept under wraps, according to Variety, but Production List describes it as a high concept comedy about the gig economy in Los Angeles.

The shooting of the film had been delayed due to last year's writers' strike, but finally started in January 2024 in the Koreatown neighborhood of LA.

On January 25, Reeves was spotted on set with crutches and an ice pack on his left knee.

At the time, it was unclear if the medical aids were part of his role or actual treatment for an on-set injury.

The images of Reeves posted online caused worried reactions from fans, with #GetWellSoonKeanu trending on X (formerly known as Twitter). Days later, Reeves was seen standing on set without assistance.

The star is best known for his John Wick movies; seen in Chapter 4

Reeves poses for a portrait at the 51th Annual Saturn Awards held at The Marriott Burbank Convention Center in Burbank on February 4

Reeves, who has been acting in films for almost 40 years, has a legion of fans from his highly successful 'John Wick' action/thriller film franchise, playing the role of a hitman that comes out of retirement.

The series began with John Wick in 2014, followed by three sequels in 2017, 2019 and 2023. John Wick 5 is in development, with a probable release in 2026.

Keanu's first successful franchise in film was the role of Neo in all four Matrix movies: 1999, 2003, 2002 and 2021.

As a bit of trivia, there's one line that Reeves said once in Matrix and once in John Wick: when asked what he needed, he said, 'Guns, lots of guns.'
Kourtney Kardashian and her husband Travis Barker have continued exploring culinary delights while he tours Australia with his band blink-182.

On Thursday, the couple were spotted dining at popular vegan restaurant Lona Misa in South Yarra, located in the Ovolo Hotels building.

Travis shared a photo to Instagram as he in enjoyed a meal at the restaurant, tagging the establishment.

The pair ordered the famous 'watermelon salad' with quinoa and queso fresco.

Kourtney and Travis have visited a number of vegan restaurants during their time in Australia.

Kourtney Kardashian and her husband Travis Barker have continued to explore culinary delights as he tours Australia with his band blink-182

The blink-182 drummer is a vegan and has even opened up his own vegan restaurant 'Crossroads Kitchen' in LA.

The pair were also spotted heading out for lunch on Tuesday at popular vegetarian restaurant The Vegie Bar in Fitzroy.

Last Thursday, the showbiz power couple were spotted enjoying a Thai vegetarian meal at the renowned Peace Harmony restaurant in Sydney's CBD.

On Thursday, the couple were spotted dining at popular vegan restaurant Lona Misa in South Yarra, located in the Ovolo Hotels building

The restaurant owner said the star couple were polite and well-mannered while dining: 'They were very down-to-earth, didn't ask for any special treatment and kept to themselves.'

'They were also quite chatty with the staff, asked what was good on the menu, were smiling a lot and very polite. They were just dining together like any other couple.'

Blink-182 have wrapped up their Australian tour and are now headed to New Zealand.
Zawe Ashton cut a glamorous figure in a stunning red dress as she attended The Prince's Trust Invest In Futures Gala Dinner on Thursday with her fiance Tom Hiddleston.

The actress and playwright, 39, looked beautiful in the one-shoulder gown which featured a reversible red-pink cape - as she arrived hand-in-hand with the Loki star.

Tom wore a classic black tuxedo with black suede loafers and couldn't take his eyes off Zawe - his partner of almost five years.

Earlier in the month, the sweet couple put on a loved up display as they stepped out for the BFI Chairman's dinner in London.

Zawe and Tom laughed as they locked arms at the event by The Prince's Trust, a British charity aiming to help every disadvantaged child.

Zawe Ashton, 39, cut a mesmerising figure in a stunning red dress as she attended The Prince's Trust Invest In Futures Gala Dinner on Thursday with her fiance Tom Hiddleston, 43

The actress and playwright, 39, looked beautiful in the one-shoulder gown which featured a reversible red-pink cape - as she arrived with the Loki star

Tom wore a classic black tuxedo with black suede loafers and couldn't take his eyes off Zawe - his partner of almost five years

Zawe and Tom announced their engagement in March 2022 after welcoming a child five months prior.

The couple made sweet and rare joint appearances at the BAFTA tea party and at the Critics Choice Awards in January.

Zawe's grandfather was the sixth president and third prime minister of Uganda in the 1980s. He spent the majority of his last years in prison before dying at 66 in 1991.

The actress began dating Tom after they acted in the Broadway revival of Betrayal in 2018, and again in 2019.

Prior to this, Tom dated English actress Susannah Fielding and enjoyed a brief and highly-publicised fling with Taylor Swift in 2016.

In 2023, Zawe gave a rare insight into the private couple's relationship when she spoke about the 'empowering' acting advice Tom had given her.

Zawe has appeared in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, The Marvels, Casualty and its spin-off Holby City, Misfits, and Doctor Who.

Neither she nor Tom have any confirmed acting appearances for the upcoming year.

Earlier in the month, the sweet couple put on a loved up display as they stepped out for the BFI Chairman's dinner in London

Zawe and Tom laughed as they locked arms at the event by The Prince's Trust, a British charity aiming to help every disadvantaged child

Zawe leant her head against Tom's adoringly as they posed with Joseph Fiennes, 53, and his wife Maria Dolores, 42, a Swiss actress
Alert says a fault with the trunk latch could lead to people getting stuck inside

Hyundai is recalling nearly 200,000 of its Elantra models due to a fault with the trunk latch which could result in somebody becoming trapped.

An alert posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that dealers will now replace the trunk of affected vehicles free of charge.

The recall applies to 186, 588 of the automaker's Elantra 2015-2016 vehicles.

The notice reads: 'The trunk latch may become damaged, preventing the opening of the trunk from the inside.'

It adds: 'A person inside the trunk compartment may become trapped, increasing their risk of injury.'

Hyundai is recalling nearly 200,000 of its Elantra models (pictured) due to a fault with the trunk latch which could result in somebody becoming trapped

The recall applies to 186, 588 of the automaker's Elantra 2015-2016 vehicles. Pictured: Hyundai president and CEO Jaehoon Chang

Owners will be notified if their car is part of the recall via letters which will be emailed out April 15. There was no mention of any reported injuries from the fault.

It comes after Chrysler was forced to recall 338,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees due to a faulty steering component.

Parts holding the wheel to the car's frame can come loose, causing the wheel to misalign and the vehicle to crash.

The issue is that a bolt which fixes the car's upper control arm to the steering knuckle was not fitted properly, meaning the wheel can 'fall outboard'.

It comes after Chrysler was forced to recall 338,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees due to a faulty steering component. An unsold 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee stands for inspection outside a Costco warehouse in Colorado

Models affected are the 2022-2023 Jeep Grand Cherokees and 2021-2023 longer wheelbase Jeep Grand Cherokee Ls, according to documents published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week.

Chrysler has said it is not aware of any crashes or injuries due to the problem but is aware of about 20 incidents related to that bolt.

Toyota similarly recalled around 381,000 Tacoma pickup trucks because similarly bolts can come loose and parts can fall off its rear axle.

And last week it said it would recall 280,000 Toyota Tundra pickups and Lexus LX 600 SUVs.
If approved, it would be the first In-N-Out in the Evergreen State

In-N-Out has applied to open a new store in the city of Ridgefield, Washington

Its famous 'animal style' burgers and fries are more commonly associated with the golden beaches of California.

But fast-food giant In-N-Out is pushing forward with its expansion into the rest of America with a proposed new restaurant in Washington.

If approved, the location will be the first In-N-Out in the Evergreen State - the ninth region the burger chain has ventured into.

A spokesman for the restaurant told DailyMail.com that the new store, in the city of Ridgefield, was 'very early in the development process.'

It is waiting for a permit from the City and would still take between eight and nine months to build once construction begins.

Fast-food giant In-N-Out is pushing forward with its expansion into the rest of America with a proposed new restaurant in Washington

The California-based company is located in nine states so far

The company's owner, Lynsi Snyder, said in 2018 in an interview with Forbes she believed putting restaurants in every state would take away 'some of its luster'

It comes amidst a rapid change in direction for In-N-Out which has been increasingly straying beyond its California roots.

Founded in 1948, In-N-Out is known for its nostalgic decor, fresh burgers and loyal cult following. It has a host of celebrity fans, with Meghan Markle even being pictured picking up an order from the restaurant in September.

For decades, it only had restaurants in California due to its commitment to only using fresh burger patties. It means all locations must be within 300 miles of an In-N-Out distribution center.

Its first store outside of the Golden State was in Las Vegas, Nevada which opened in 1992.

In 2000, the chain then opened a restaurant in Arizona before expanding into Utah in 2008.

Today, there are 275 locations in California, 43 in Texas and 34 in Arizona. Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and Texas are all home to at least one.

Last month, it hit headlines after announcing plans to open multiple locations in Tennessee by 2026. Another is being planned in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In-N-Out has a host of celebrity fans, with Meghan Markle even being pictured picking up an order from the restaurant in September

Lynsi Snyder is the owner and president of In-N-Out and is the sole granddaughter of the company's founders

Videos show groups of people bundled up in heavy coats and jackets in front of a new store in Idaho

The move would be the most-eastward expansion yet for the company.

Owner Lynsi Snyder said in a 2018 interview she believed putting restaurants in every state would take away 'some of its luster.'

'I dont see us stretched across the whole U.S. I dont see us in every state. Take Texasdraw a line up and just stick to the left. Thats in my lifetime,' Snyder told Forbes.

When In-N-Out first moves to a new state it typically attracts great fanfare.

For example, when its Idaho restaurant opened back in December, there were eight-hour lines for fans waiting to eat its burgers.

Some customers claimed they had even slept in their cars in 30-degree weather to be first in the queue.

Last month a poll of California's best fast-food outlets saw In-N-Out fall behind ice cream store Baskin Robbins.

Built on strong Christian beliefs, the company is known to print Bible verse on some of its packaging.

It was originally founded by Harry and Esther Snyder and is now operated by their granddaughter Lynsi Snyder.

Bible citations include Mark 3:16 on the bottom of soda cups, while milkshakes are printed with Proverbs 3:5.

If you order a burger or cheeseburger, youll get one verse, Revelation 3:20, but if you get a Double-Double, a double burger, youll get another, Nahum 1:7.

Snyder, who became the president of In-N-Out in 2010 and inherited full control of the company in 2017, is one of the youngest billionaires with a $4.2 billion net worth

Buns are baked with slow-rising dough, Meat is delivered daily without being frozen. Heat lamps, microwaves and freezers are strictly banned

The practice had been started by Lynsi's uncle Rich Snyder prior to his death in 1993.

According to Forbes, Lynsi has a net worth of $4.2 billion, and first became a billionaire in 2017.

Mike Abbate, vice president of store development at In-N-Out, told DailyMail.com:

'We recently filed a development application with the city of Ridgefield for a site.

'However, it is still very early in the development process, so we are hopeful for a positive outcome, as we work with the City in pursuit of our permits and approvals.

'It would be premature to comment on a timeline for an opening date or when we will even achieve our development application approval.'
India is strategically positioning itself on the global stage, leveraging soft power elements to deepen diplomatic ties and foster regional stability

In today's geopolitical landscape, the traditional metrics of national power are transforming. Policymakers and diplomats are increasingly recognizing the importance of soft power elements in shaping international relations, shifting their focus from sheer military might to cultural influence and moral authority. India, in particular, has adeptly utilized its cultural assets to assert itself on the global stage.

Religion plays a crucial role in shaping politics. As Niall Ferguson has said, Faith, then, is perhaps as important a component of power as material resources... Faith cannot move mountains. But it can move people. A recent exemplification of India's strategic cultural diplomacy was witnessed in the inauguration of the first Hindu temple in the UAE, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It marked a significant milestone in bilateral relations between the two countries. With the inauguration ceremony of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan (BAPS) Mandir, India is set to deepen bilateral ties with the UAE while also having proactive engagement within the region. This event demonstrates a diplomatic approach that, while rooted in faith, culture, and religion, aims to foster cooperation across a spectrum of critical areas, including security, energy, maritime affairs, and infrastructure.

The discussions held during the visit focused on enhancing cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, and security.

This isnt the only instance that indicates the changing diplomacy of India with the Gulf. In a triumph for Indias diplomatic endeavours, Qatar released eight Indian nationals who had been detained since 2022. The release came after extensive diplomatic efforts by the Indian government, highlighting the effectiveness of India's diplomatic channels in securing the freedom of its citizens abroad. Through meticulous negotiation and strategic dialogue, our government has once again proven its dedication to protecting the interests of every Indian, no matter where they may be in the world. India's historical and close relations with Qatar were also reiterated by Prime Minister Modi ahead of his visit to Doha. The strong bonds of diplomatic engagement have aided in fostering mutually beneficial partnerships and enhancing regional stability.

These diplomacy initiatives by Narendra Modi are not only events to establish closer ties with the Gulf leaders but also strategic plans to accelerate the economic growth of India. India, with long-term economic cooperation with the Middle Least, can leverage the Gulf's capital potential while aiding them with defence cooperation.

India's cultural diplomacy extends beyond the realm of Hinduism, as evidenced by the Buddhist Circuit, aimed at revitalizing Buddhist heritage sites and boosting tourism in the region.

This pilgrimage circuit, introduced under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, covers the four major sacred places according to Buddhist traditions, namely Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, and Lumbini. It is one of Indias first transnational tourist circuits. Beginning from the place of birth of Buddha, Lumbini in Nepal, it serves as an initiative of Buddhist Diplomacy (strengthening a nations soft power with the exchanges of Buddhist ideas, sacred objects and trading relations). Invoking the cultural linkages with the region and the religion of Buddhism, India seeks to overcome the territorial tensions between the two nations by fostering a positive people-to-people tie across the border.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strategically leveraged Buddhist heritage as cultural assets to strengthen ties with Asian countries. During the Global Buddhist Summit in April 2023, Modi said that the challenges faced by the modern world can be solved by employing the teachings of Buddha. Through his Act East Policy, India has upgraded its strategic relationship with the major countries in the Asia-Pacific while using Buddhism as the cultural link between India and the Southeast Asian countries.

Exploring its historical ties to Buddhism, India is not only preserving its cultural legacy but also strengthening its soft power and attracting visitors from around the world. Through these initiatives, India can bolster its image as a flagbearer of ancient civilizations and traditions. Moreover, ventures like these also contribute towards economic development through tourism. India is trying to create a greater affinity towards Asian countries while projecting itself as a model of religious tolerance, pluralism and a responsible global nation.

Speaking of being a responsible global stakeholder, take for instance our commitment to humanitarian assistance. The recent incident in which the Indian Navy in swift response to the Houthi strike on the merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, sent the missile destroyer INS Vishakhapatnam shows Indias role as a responsible maritime player. Indian diplomacy extends beyond the realm of culture, encompassing strategic engagements and humanitarian efforts. By providing timely humanitarian assistance, India reaffirms its commitment to upholding peace and stability during crises in the international arena.

In the realm of diplomacy, every gesture and every interaction holds the power to shape bilateral relations and forge alliances. India's assertive stance in leveraging cultural and public diplomacy reflects its growing influence and engagement on the global stage. Through proactive engagement and strategic partnerships, India continues to strengthen its position as a key player in international affairs, contributing to regional stability and global cooperation.

(The writer is an associate professor, views are personal)
The root cause of this paradox can be attributed to the lamentable state of public education in the country

Regarding global achievements, Indians have left an indelible mark across diverse fields, from technology and entrepreneurship to academia and healthcare. Yet, an intriguing paradox persists  why do Indians often find unparalleled success on foreign lands but encounter unique challenges within their homeland? This thought-provoking question demands immediate attention and the exploration of the multifaceted challenges.

Why do Indian minds shine bright internationally, but systemic deficiencies mar the domestic educational landscape?

Well, there lies a critical anomaly  the failure to replicate this success on home soil is primarily due to the state of public education. The EW story Why Indians Succeed Everywhere Except in India adeptly dissects the paradox of Indian success on the global stage against a backdrop of domestic struggles, attributing this paradox to the unfortunate state of public education, which is accurate.

Education and Governance:

Thought leaders underscore the symbiotic relationship between the quality of education and the overarching progress of the nation. Recognizing education as a catalyst for effective governance and economic prosperity, it is crucial to position education at the forefront of national development strategies.

The Crisis in Primary and Secondary Education

One cannot help but ponder the intricacies of the connection between education and our nation's destiny. If education is the bedrock upon which a society is built, then what does the current state of our primary and secondary say about the trajectory of the world's largest democracy? The ASER surveys unveil a stark truth  a significant portion of our youth lacks even the basic skills expected at their grade level.

It's not just about rote learning or lack of infrastructure; it's a systemic failure that threatens the very foundation of our future. Yet, as we traverse the proposed solutions and underlying assumptions, a more discerning response is required to navigate the intricacies with utmost scrutiny.

Higher Education: A Crisis of Quality

You throw that graduation cap in the air, but does it open doors to a world of opportunities? India is tackling the woes of higher education  the mismatch between degrees and employability. What's the deal with most engineering, arts, science, and commerce graduates being deemed unemployable?

It's time to question the very essence of what higher education institutions are delivering and whether they're preparing graduates for the dynamic job market. The portrayal of India's higher education system is a sad reflection of the systemic challenges faced by graduates and the subsequent migration of talent abroad.

The Brain Drain Dilemma:

While we proudly export our talent to foreign shores, the numbers reveal a disconcerting truth  a drain on our intellectual capital that could have been harnessed for national growth. Is it a necessary sacrifice or a symptom of deeper issues within our educational framework?

A thought-provoking analysis probes the migration patterns of Indian graduates and school leavers to foreign shores, challenging the conventional narrative of brain drain. Balancing the discourse on brain drain by acknowledging the positive impact of the diaspora would bring a more nuanced perspective to the debate.

A Vision for Change: A Unified Call to Action

The portrayal of the emigration of skilled individuals as a loss for India is correct. While the emigration of skilled individuals is sometimes portrayed as a positive development, the reality is that India loses out on valuable talent. India needs a detailed program to reverse this trend, attract exceptional scientists and researchers back home, and invest more in R&D.

(The writer is an educator; views are personal)
A resident of the border area was rewarded by the officers of the Jammu and Kashmir police along with the Border Security Force with a hefty cash incentive of Rs 3 lakhs for raising a timely alarm leading to the recovery of a Pakistani drone in the Ramgarh sector of Samba district on Thursday.

The reward was given as a part of J&K Polices policy recently announced by DGP J&K.

On January 18, 2024, a resident of the village Nandpur alerted the jawans of the BSF that an object (drone) was lying in his field located close to the Chamliyal border outpost of the BSF in the area.

Acting swiftly on the information, the security forces recovered a Pak surveillance drone fitted with a camera from the field of the informer.

Speaking on the occasion, SSP Samba Vinay Kumar sought cooperation and support from the general public living near the International border in curbing the menace of narco-terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. SSP Samba further apprised the general public about different types of rewards recently announced by DGP J&K for people who will provide information & intelligence on trans-border tunnels, drones, narcotics, terror activities, and terrorists.

Inspector General BSF Jammu Frontier DK Boora also interacted with the local public and urged them to remain alert and extra vigilant and ensured full cooperation of BSF to the people especially those who cultivate land near the International Border.

Under the new policy, J&K Police has recently announced different types of cash reward which includes a Cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for those who provide information about trans-border tunnels used by Anti-National elements to transit terrorists, explosives and contraband consignments. A cash reward of Rs 3 lakh to those: a) who sights a drone flown from across the border to drop narcotics or explosive material and which leads to the recovery of the said dropped material, b) who gives actionable intelligence about a person connected with receiving drone deliveries and/or transporting arms/ammunition/narcotics from border/LoC to hinterland or Punjab and the said intelligence gets corroborated during further action. Cash reward of Rs 2 lakh each has been announced for people providing information about inter-state narcotics modules, people talking to Pakistan-based terrorists and separatists in jails and persons talking to or communicating with terrorist handlers across the border or with their agents within J&K and branding citizens as informers. Police also announced Rs 1 lakh cash reward for persons providing information about those inciting and encouraging people to join terrorist ranks and to pick up guns. Rs 2 lakh to Rs 12.50 lakh reward has been announced for those giving specific information about the presence of terrorists, resulting in successful operation leading to arrest or combat, and cash rewards will be provided as per the category of A, B and C.
New York, US (PANA) - As the devastating war in Gaza continues, UN investigators examining Israeli accusations against a dozen employees of the beleaguered UN relief agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, have arrived in Jordan and are planning to visit Israel, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday
India on Friday sealed five major defence acquisition contracts worth `39,125 crore, including the procurement of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, radars, weapon systems, and aero-engines for MiG-29 jets, as part of efforts to boost the combat capabilities of the armed forces.

The mega procurement projects were finalised amid Indias lingering border row with China in eastern Ladakh, and they will be implemented under the broad framework of the Governments policy to enhance domestic defence manufacturing.

The contracts for the procurement of the platforms and weapon systems were signed in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, under whose guidance these deals were finalised, according to an official statement.

These deals will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange, and reduce dependency on foreign-origin equipment manufacturers in the future, the statement said.

Two separate deals were finalised for the procurement of BrahMos missiles. The first one is for the procurement of BrahMos missiles from the BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd (BAPL) at a cost of `19,518.65 crore.

These missiles would be utilised to meet combat outfit and training requirements of the Indian Navy, the Defence Ministry said. The second contract is for the procurement of the ship-borne BrahMos system from the BAPL at a cost of `988 crore.

These missiles will serve as the Indian Navys primary weapon for maritime strike operations, fitted onboard various frontline warships. Capable of hitting land or sea targets from extended ranges with pinpoint accuracy at supersonic speeds, the system enhances the Navys combat capabilities.

The deal for procurement of RD-33 Aero Engines for MiG-29 aircraft was signed with State-run aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), costing `5,249.72 crore. The aero engines, to be produced by the Koraput Division of HAL, will sustain the operational capability of the MiG-29 fleet for its residual service life, fulfilling the Indian Air Forces needs.

Manufactured under transfer of technology license from the Russian original equipment maker, the programme will focus on indigenisation of several high-value critical components, enhancing the indigenous content of future repair and overhaul tasks of RD-33 aero-engines.

Additionally, a deal with Larsen and Toubro Ltd for procurement of a batch of close-in weapon systems (CIWS) was signed at a cost of Rs 7,668.82 crore. This CIWS will provide terminal air defense to select locations of the country, boosting and encouraging active participation of Indian aerospace, defense, and associated industries, including MSMEs.

Furthermore, a contract for procurement of high-power radar systems was signed with Larsen and Toubro Limited at a cost of Rs 5,700 crore. These radar systems will replace existing long-range radars of the IAF with modern active aperture phased array based HPR, featuring advanced surveillance capabilities.

It will significantly enhance the terrestrial air defence capabilities of IAF with integration of sophisticated sensors capable of detection of small radar cross section targets, the Ministry said.

It will boost to indigenous radar manufacturing technology as it would be first of its kind radar built by the private sector in India, the Ministry said.

The signing of the two contracts for procurement of BrahMos missiles followed approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for the acquisition, clearing the way for over 200 supersonic cruise missiles and associated equipment.

The procurement will include a mix of BrahMos missiles with ranges of approximately 290 km and the latest extended-range variant with a range of about 450 km.

BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, manufactures these supersonic cruise missiles, deployable from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

Flying at a speed of 2.8 Mach, or nearly three times the speed of sound, the BrahMos missile boasts impressive capabilities.
The BJPs Central Election Committee (CEC) convened a meeting late Thursday night at its Delhi headquarters, with deliberations led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, regarding their first list of candidates running late into the night, suggesting the inclusion of several high-profile leaders in the first list.

The CEC members, including Modi, the partys national president JP Nadda, and Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, deliberated on potential candidates for States like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, and Uttarakhand, among others, to finalise the nominees.

The CEC meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than five hours.

Before that, Shah and Nadda had met Modi at his residence to hold consultations, sources said. According to sources, the party may announce a list of 100-120 candidates in its first list. The party is likely to announce its candidates on weak seats in Uttar Pradesh before the Election Commission releases dates for the Lok Sabha elections.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will not contest from all 80 seats and will reserve some for its potential allies like Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). In the last poll body meet, 56 UP seats were finalised.

The BJP, according to sources, employed a multi-layered and exhaustive process, encompassing public feedback, internal evaluations, and high-level strategic discussions, to select the candidates poised to represent the party in the upcoming electoral battle.

Sources said the BJP has harnessed technology to solicit feedback from the grassroots level.

Using the Namo App, the public was given a platform to voice their opinions on the performance of incumbent MPs, and in a departure from conventional methods, the BJP sought the opinions of the people on the ground by enquiring about the three most popular leaders in each area.

This bottom-up approach, according to the party, aimed to ensure that the candidates resonated with the sentiments and aspirations of the local population. Over the past two years, the BJP has continually sought feedback from its MPs, evaluating their performance and addressing concerns.

To further enhance the decision-making process, the BJP reached out to survey agencies to compile comprehensive reports on each parliamentary constituency.

They said the first list may have the names of Modi, Shah and Singh from their current seats Varanasi, Gandhinagar and Lucknow respectively besides several Union Ministers, including some who will be contesting Lok Sabha polls after having served in Rajya Sabha.

Scindias expected seat in Madhya Pradesh is seen as a sure thing since it is his family citadel.

Union Ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Bhupender Yadav, Mansukh Mandaviya, Dharmendra Pradhan and Parshottam Rupala are likely to be fielded in the polls. There is a buzz that Chandrasekhar will be pitted against Shashi Tharoor, the three-term incumbent Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

The sources said three of the four BJP MPs-- Union minister G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Dharmapuri Arvind-- will be contesting from their current constituencies Secunderabad, Karimnanagr and Nizamabad respectively.

A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent Assembly polls, the sources said.

The BJPs poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees.
Apparently setting the election agenda for the BJP in Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday focused on women voters, one of the main electoral bases of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He expressed regret over the insensitive attitude of the Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) towards the better half of the population, citing their handling of the sexually abused women in Sandeshkhali.

Addressing a massive rally in Arambagh, Hooghly district, the Prime Minister, who launched projects worth ` 7,000 crore for developing railways, ports, petroleum, and other sectors, criticised the Trinamool Congress Government for protecting an accused of land grab and dishonouring women in Sandeshkhali.

He refrained from naming specific politicians but highlighted how leaders from the Congress, the TMC, and the Left parties remained silent on the oppression of women and the poor in Sandeshkhali during meetings held in Patna, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.

When asked for his reactions the national president of the Congress party said on Sandeshkhali that such incidents are usual in these areas ... Is this not an insult on the women of Bengal, the great men of the State who created the template of the Independence movement, Modi asked, saying the women of Sandeshkhali and Bengal were hurt and angry and would avenge their insult in the elections.

Saying that the TMC and its leadership were the protectors of the corrupt, the Prime Minister said the people of Bengal had made up their mind to throw them out of power.

The Prime Ministers meeting at Arambagh assumes importance against the backdrop of the partys defeat here in the 2019 general elections by a small margin of about 1,300 votes.

Incidentally Arambagh is also adjacent to Hooghly parliamentary seat presently held by BJPS Locket Chatterjee.

Attacking the TMC, and Congress for failing India and Bengal in development schemes, the Prime Minister said how the Centre had started a number of schemes which had taken off in other States but were being hindered in Bengal.

Till the TMC Government is there in Bengal no development can take place... They will only promote the criminals and the corrupt, he said, adding how scams worth crores had taken place in teachers recruitment, ration and many other departments in Bengal.

Their leaders have gone to jail for perpetrating corruption in teachers recruitment, cattle smuggling ... Till they are in power no development can take place in Bengal, said the Prime Minister, adding only the BJP can develop Bengal and look after the peoples interest as they did in Sandeshkhali.

The TMC is only engaged in corrupt and criminal activities and appeasement politics... Now even the Muslims have decided to leave them, the Prime Minister, who will address yet another meeting at Krishnagar in Nadia district on Saturday, said.
Special Judge, POCSO Act Rashmi Mishra sentenced 10 years' of rigrous imprisonment to accused who kidnapped and raped a minor girl.

The Special Judge, POCSO Act, convicted Mahesh Ahirwar, the accused of rape, under sections 376, 366 of the Indian Penal Code and 5/6 of the POCSO Act.

Finding the accused guilty, a decision has been passed punishing the accused with 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 under Section 376 Indian Penal Code and 5/6 POCSO Act and 5 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1000 under Section 366 Indian Penal Code.

In the case, the government has been represented by Special Public Prosecutor Divya Shukla and Jyoti Kujur.

In the incident on May 20, 2016, the father of the accused appeared at the police station Khajuri Road, Bhopal and lodged complaint about his missing minor daughter.

On the basis of the information regarding the incident, a missing person report was registered by the police.

On June 4, 2016, police has booked the accused. After the verification victim revealed that Mahesh Ahirwar and she both are good friends and in May 2016 Mahesh took her with him to his home in Berasia district, Bhopal and he promised marriage but did not marry and accused Mahesh kept me with him for 15 days and sexually assaulted her many times without her consent.

The police registered case under section 363, 366, 376 (2) of Indian Penal Code 3/4 POCSO Act.

After completing the investigation, the charge sheet was presented before the court.

Agreeing with the evidence, arguments and documents and scientific evidence of the prosecution, the Court sentenced the accused Mahesh Ahirwar to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and 5/6 POCSO Act and a fine of Rs 5000 and to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 366 of the Indian Penal Code. And the decision has been passed punishing him with a fine of Rs 1000.
Furteen people were killed and 20 others injured when a pick-up vehicle overturned and fell into a deep valley in Madhya Pradesh's Dindori district in the wee hours of Thursday, a police official said.

The accident took place near Badjhar Ghat at around 1.30am when the vehicle's driver lost control over the wheels while negotiating a blind turn. The vehicle then fell into a 40-50 feet deep valley. Fourteen people died on the spot while 20 others were injured, the official said. The deceased included seven men, six women and a minor boy, as per the police.

The victims were returning to Amhai Devri from Masurghugri village in the district's Shahpura block after taking part in a programme, Sub Divisional Officer of Police Mukesh Avindra said.

After being alerted, Dindori Collector Vikas Mishra and Superintendent of Police Akhil Patel rushed to help the victims. The injured persons were admitted to the Shahpura Community Health Centre for treatment.

Six of them were reported to be in serious condition, an official said, adding that two of them were referred to Jabalpur for treatment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident. "The road accident in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh is very sad. My condolences are with the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery to all the injured persons. Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is engaged in providing all possible assistance to the victims," the Prime Minister's Office said in a post on X.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced an assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased. Yadav directed state cabinet minister Sampatiya Uikey to rush to Dindori for the relief work.
The third convocation of AIIMS Bhopal will be celebrated on Saturday at 4 pm in Atal Bihari Vajpayee Auditorium. Professor (Dr) Ajai Singh, Executive Director of AIIMS Bhopal, believes that the convocation ceremony has special significance in the life of any student. When he successfully completes his prescribed course and obtains a degree.

Therefore, special preparations have been made to make this convocation grand. Padmabha Bhushan awardee Dr Ashok Laxman Rao Kukde of Vivekananda Hospital and Research Centre, Latur, Maharashtra will be the chief guest at the convocation, while Professor Satya Narayan Sankhwar, Director of the Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University will be present as the special guest. On this occasion, Vice Chancellor of Era University, Lucknow, Professor Abbas Ali Mahdi will be honored with an honorary doctorate. In this third convocation, degrees will be awarded to 273 students including MBBS, MD, MS, DM, B.Sc (Nursing) and MSc (Nursing).
AIIMS Bhopal, under the leadership of Prof. (Dr.) Ajai Singh, Executive Director, is proud to announce a significant initiative aimed at combating cervical cancer, a leading cause of mortality among women in India. Cervical cancer affects approximately 13 lakh women in India annually, claiming the lives of around 80,000 individuals, with Madhya Pradesh bearing a particularly high burden of cases. Recognizing the urgent need for preventive measures, AIIMS Bhopal is spearheading efforts to mitigate the impact of this disease within the community.

In milestone collaboration, Vishwanath Care Foundation has generously provided AIIMS Bhopal with 262 doses of cervical cancer prevention vaccines. These vaccines, valued at approximately ?4000 each, will be administered free of cost to 131 girls aged 9 to 14 years, on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Administered in two doses over a span of 6 months, this vaccination regimen significantly reduces the risk of cervical cancer development in young girls. By making this preventive measure accessible to vulnerable populations, AIIMS Bhopal and Vishwanath Care Foundation are taking proactive steps to safeguard the health and well-being of future generations.

Prof (Dr) Ajai Singh, Executive Director of AIIMS Bhopal, remarked, "Our commitment to advancing public health in Madhya Pradesh remains unwavering. Through initiatives like these, we aim to empower communities with the tools and resources necessary to combat preventable diseases." The partnership between AIIMS Bhopal and Vishwanath Care Foundation underscores a shared dedication to improving healthcare access and outcomes for all residents of the region.
The fissures within the State unit of the Congress on the summer capital of the State Gairsain were on display during the budget session of the Vidhan Sabha held in Dehradun from February 26 to 29. While the organisation of the Congress party raised the issue of neglect of Gairsain in a forceful manner and attacked the State government for holding the budget session in Dehradun instead of the summer capital, the Congress legislators were conspicuous by their indifference towards the emotive issue of Gairsain inside the Assembly. The Congress legislature party (CLP) raised the issues of corruption, law and order and unemployment in the house but was not as vocal as expected on Gairsain. To make things difficult for the party, the Kiccha MLA Tilakraj Behed stated in the house that the long-pending issue of permanent capital of the State should be resolved and Dehradun should be made the permanent capital of Uttarakhand. Though a red faced Congress quickly distanced itself from Behed's comment, it exposed the fissure lines in the party over the sensitive issue of Gairsain.

The State unit of the party led by the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara organised a symbolic session of the State Assembly in Gairsain in an attempt to corner the Pushkar Singh Dhami government on neglect of Gairsain. It also invited members of the INDIA bloc and members of civil society in the symbolic session in Gairsain on February 27. The symbolic session was successful with issues including land laws, Agnipath scheme, unemployment, Ankita Bhandari murder case and corruption in government offices being discussed in it. Former chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat also held a silent protest in Gandhi Park against the decision to hold the budget session in Dehradun on February 26. Rawat attacked the government for running away from Gairsain and reminded that the Vidhan Sabha had passed a resolution during his tenure as CM that the Assembly's budget session would be organised in Gairsain.

With the State unit of the Congress and former CM Rawat strongly raising the Gairsain issue outside the Assembly it was expected that the Congress legislature party would corner the government on the issue inside the Assembly during the budget session. However the Congress legislators appeared unconcerned about Gairsain. It is believed that the divisions within the CLP over Gairsain came as a hurdle in the way of Congress raising the issue in the Assembly. Notably, some Congress MLAs had signed the letter in which a request was made that the budget session should not be held in Gairsain in view of the cold weather.

When contacted, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Assembly Yashpal Arya said that he raised the issue of Gairsain during his speech on the address of the governor. On Behed's statement that Dehradun should be made the permanent capital of Uttarakhand, Arya said that it could be Beheds personal view and added that the stand of the Congress party is clear according to which Gairsain should be made the permanent capital of the State.
District Evaluation Committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Indore Collector Ashish Singh to decide the guidelines for government guideline rate of sale of land and immovable property in Indore district. Senior District Registrar Amresh Naidu, District Registrar Deepak Sharma and DIG Registration Balkrishna Maurya participated in this evaluation committee meeting.

Senior District Registrar Indore, Amresh Naidu, while talking to The Pioneer, said that the guidelines will be increased on 40% of the total immovable properties area in Indore district from April 1,2024 and there will be no increase in the guideline rate on 60% of the remaining immovable properties which are located in both urban and rural areas.

Senior District Registrar Amresh Naidu also informed that the average rate of increase in the guideline rate from April 1,2024 in Indore district will be 15%.
Bokaro MLA Biranchi Narayan conveyed heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the party workers and leaders in Bokaro for their pivotal role in ensuring the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Vijay Sankalp Rally in Dhanbad. Narayan highlighted the massive turnout of thousands of party activists who traveled from Bokaro to Dhanbad, showcasing the unwavering support from the constituency.

The event saw enthusiastic participation not only from Bokaro but also from Mandal presidents and members, indicating a widespread mobilization effort across the region. MLA Narayan specifically thanked district officials, Mandal presidents, office bearers, and supporters for their dedicated efforts in orchestrating the successful event.

"The overwhelming support and dedication of our party workers and leaders have played a significant role in the triumphant execution of the rally," remarked MLA Narayan.

The rally underscored the unity and determination among BJP workers, reflecting their commitment to furthering the party's agenda and objectives. With meticulous planning and coordination, the event resonated with the aspirations of the people, amplifying the message of Prime Minister Modi's vision for the nation.
China firmly upholds multilateral trading system, will work with all parties to build open world economy

11:09, March 01, 2024 By He Yin ( People's Daily

The 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which was seen as an important opportunity to revitalize the multilateral trading system and jointly respond to global challenges, was held from Feb. 26 to 29 in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

As the first ministerial meeting since the launch of WTO reform, the MC13 of the WTO focused on topics such as WTO reform, the restoration of WTO dispute settlement mechanism, and promoting investment facilitation.

China firmly upholds the multilateral trading system, attaches great importance to the work of the WTO, and will work with all parties to build an open world economy.

At present, the world economy is faced with sluggish recovery, insufficient growth momentum of trade, as well as impacts of acts of protectionism and overstretching the concept of national security, while global challenges including food and energy security, climate change, and imbalance in development are mounting.

The WTO stands as a vital pillar of multilateralism and an important platform for global governance. It has become a common consensus and a general trend to implement necessary reforms of the WTO in line with the times so as to update multilateral trading rules and enable the WTO to play a greater role in global economic governance.

To promote WTO reform, it is imperative to unswervingly defend the authority and efficacy of the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and actively promote the restoration of the normal operation of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.

In recent years, the multilateral trading system has suffered severe impacts of rising unilateralism and protectionism.

The reform of the WTO should uphold the leading role of the multilateral trading system in the course of global trade liberalization and facilitation, and give priority to addressing critical issues that threaten the survival of the WTO.

Since its accession to the WTO, China has always firmly supported the multilateral trading system, genuinely practiced multilateralism, earnestly fulfilled its WTO commitments, and engaged fully and deeply in the reform of the WTO.

Over the past year, China became the first major developing country to complete the ratification of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, played a key role in successfully concluding negotiations on the text of the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD), and promoted the conclusion of negotiations on a number of global digital trade rules, making marked contributions to the WTO and global economic and trade development.

At the MC13 of the WTO, the Chinese delegation voiced support for resuming normal operation of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and incorporating the IFD Agreement into the WTO legal framework, taking practical actions to help the conference achieve more pragmatic results.

China has always played an active and constructive role in the work of the WTO, pointed out WTO director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who noted that China thinks about and deals with issues from the perspective of all members while defending its own legitimate rights and interests.

To promote WTO reform, it is imperative to stick to the overall trend of economic globalization, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, resist politicizing, weaponizing and overstretching the concept of national security on economic and trade issues, and build an open world economy.

Unilateralism and protectionism run counter to global sustainable development and are the root cause of the current crisis facing the WTO. The reform of the WTO should confine unilateralist and protectionist practices within an institutional cage.

China has participated fully in the Doha Round negotiations, actively promoted plurilateral trade liberalization, vigorously mobilized support for discussing new issues in the WTO, and pragmatically implemented the Trade Facilitation Agreement, unswervingly pushing ahead the course of economic globalization and contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions to upholding the multilateral trading system.

China plays a pivotal role in the multilateral trading system and has made positive contributions to upholding it, said Morocco's Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour.

To promote WTO reform, it is imperative to uphold the WTO's core values and fundamental principles such as openness, inclusiveness and non-discrimination, and ensure the development interests and policy space of developing countries.

In recent years, certain countries have violated WTO rules in pursuit of their own agendas. By carrying out unilateral trade bullying and formulating discriminatory industrial policies, they have disrupted the global industrial and supply chains, seriously affected the international trade order, and undermined the common interests of WTO members.

Guided by the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, China has taken concrete actions to support developing countries in integrating into the multilateral trading system.

The 12th China Round Table on WTO Accessions held recently in Abu Dhabi, with the case of Arab countries as an example, brought under the spotlight how to optimize technical assistance and capacity building so as to help more countries in the region join the WTO and benefit from it as soon as possible.

China will continue to carry out South-South cooperation within the framework of the multilateral trading system, further promote relevant endeavors in a substantive way, and contribute to making the multilateral trading system more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial.

As the largest developing member of the WTO and an active participant, staunch supporter and important contributor to the multilateral trading system, China will continue to support the WTO reform in moving in the right direction, support the inclusive development of the multilateral trading system as well as the legitimate rights and interests of developing members, and support the WTO in playing a greater role in improving global economic governance and promoting world economic prosperity and stability.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that in the changing cycle of time, the worlds first Vedic clock established in Ujjain will make Madhya Pradesh and the country renowned in the world. Now Indias time will be known to the entire world. The state government is also trying to create literature centered on Samrrat Vikramaditya. We have always been proud of Samrat Vikramaditya. This was stated by Chief Minister Dr. Yadav in his address after inaugurating the Vikramotsav-2024, Regional Industries Conclave Ujjain-2024 and Ujjaini Trade Fair-2024 organized by Culture Department, Swaraj Sansthan and District Administration at Kalidas Academy, Ujjain on Friday.

Chief Minister Yadav, along with the guests on stage, inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp and garlanding the pictures of Maa Saraswati and Samrat Vikramaditya. MSME Minister Chetan Kashyap, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Dharmendra Lodhi, MP Anil Firozia and MLA Anil Jain Kaluhera, Satish Malviya, Chintaman Malviya and Mayor Mukesh Tatwal were present on stage.

Chief Minister Yadav said that the civilization established by Samrat Vikramaditya has gained recognition in the world. Samrat Vikramaditya is known as the first person to have established a civil system. He said that Vikramotsav is a festival run by the government which takes society along. Ujjain is a city of time calculation. Besides, Ujjaini is also the city of Mahakal. We are the carriers of Sanatan culture and we are proud of it. Great poet Kalidas has described the glory of Ujjain through his treatise and epics.

On this occasion, Chief Minister Yadav also released Arsh Bharat, Veer Bharat, Sankalp Nyas and books focused on freedom fighters of Mandla, Dindori, Jabalpur, Satna districts, books published under the title Ramraja and a CD focused on Ramraja of Orchha.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia participated virtually in the programme. He said that Ujjain is an ancient city. It is an ancient heritage not only of Madhya Pradesh but of the entire world. It is a matter of pride that Chief Minister Dr. Yadav is not only working for the development of Ujjain but the entire state. Efforts are being made by them to make Ujjain not only a religious and spiritual center but also a trade, business and major industrial center.

Referring to the contribution of Scindia family in the development of Ujjain, Union Minister Scindia said that Mahakal Temple was constructed by Maharaja Ranoji Scindia and Madhav Maharaj II had established the Free Trade Fair in Madhavganj. He said that there is immense potential in Ujjain. The opening of Ujjain Trade Fair is an important step for the state. Along with agriculture, there are immense possibilities in the field of pharma industry and textile in Madhya Pradesh. Scindia said that after Indore, Ujjain will also be recognized as Mini Bombay in the coming times.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has expressed deep condolence over the untimely demise of 14 persons in a vehicle accident in Dindori. He has prayed to God to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the family to bear the grief.

Yadav said that financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each will be provided to the families of those killed in the accident and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured. Instructions have been given to the district administration to ensure proper treatment to the injured. Yadav has said that Public Health Engineering Minister Sampatiya Uike has been sent to Dindori to ensure proper treatment of the injured.
An MoA was signed between Central Mine Planning & Design Institute (CMPDI) and Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and technology (CIPET):Center for Skilling and Technical support (CSTS), Ranchi on 01.03.2024 for Providing Skill Development Training in the field of Machine Operator to 80 underprivileged/unemployed/underemployed youth from Jharkhand state through CIPET: CSTS under CSR of CMPDIL(HQ), Ranchi. CMPDIL has approved Rs.68 Lakhs for the skill development program. The MoA was exchanged between R.K. Mahapatra, GM (HRD/CSR), CMPDIL and Pravin B. Bachhav, Joint Director & Head, CIPET:CSTS, Ranchi.

Forty beneficiaries would be trained in Machine Operator -Plastics Processing (MO-PP) and forty in Machine Operator -Injection Moulding Technology at CIPET, Hehal, Ranchi. The courses will be of six-month duration including boarding and lodging, aligned to NSQF (National Skills Qualification Framework) & approved by National Skills Qualification Committee (NSQC) - National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India.

Skill development programs enable the youth to upgrade the skills and gain industrial exposure and expertise resulting in securing jobs in the Plastic engineering sector.

On this occasion, CSR team of CMPDI(HQ), Ranchi and Masoom Haider, Shahnawaz Ahmad, Admin. Asst. were present from CIPET:CSTS, Ranchi.
Punjab Assembly Budget session commenced on a turbulent note on Friday, marred by vehement protests and slogan-shouting by Congress MLAs against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government, the BJP-led Central and Haryana Governments. The unruly scenes unfolded as the Governor Banwarilal Purohit attempted to deliver his customary address to the House  a tradition marking the onset of the budget session. However, for the first time in the recallable history of Vidhan Sabha, the Governor has to cut short his address to the House.

As the Governor ascended the podium to commence his address, Punjab Congress president and Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring spearheaded the Oppositions outcry, emphasizing the plight of farmers and demanding homage to Shubhkaran Singh, a young farmer who tragically lost his life amid clashes between protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel on February 21. First, homage should be paid to ShubhkaranIt will be good if the Governor pays homage to the deceased young farmer, he said.

Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa echoed Warrings sentiments, lambasting the Haryana Government's actions and urging the Punjab Governor to prioritize discussions on the farmers grievances. Haryana has sealed its borders with PunjabYou have not been able to protect your farmers, Bajwa said to the Governor.

Responding, the Governor said: I will request the Leader of Opposition that you have ample time to discuss these things. As per the agenda and custom, I am supposed to deliver my speech. After my speech, you can raise any issue.

There might be so many serious questions. I agree. But this is the time to deliver my speechWhy you are obstructing? This is not fairI request you.This House is for debate, you will get ample time, said Purohit, in a pleading voice asking the Congress members to listen to his address.

The Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan also requested the Congress MLAs to let the Governor complete his customary address. However, despite their repeated appeals for cooperation and adherence to protocol, the Congress MLAs persisted in their disruptive behaviour, raising slogans against the AAP-led Punjab Government, BJP led Haryana Government, and the Centre on the farmers issue.

Undeterred by pleas for decorum, the Congress members pressed for immediate action against Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij and vehemently sought the registration of FIRs for alleged atrocities against the protesting farmers. Why zero FIR when Haryana Police is the clear culprit here, asked Warring.

Despite the Speakers interventions and appeals for order, the slogan-shouting and placard-waving continued unabated, disrupting the proceedings and impeding the Governor's address. As the Congress members entered the well of the House, Sandhwan rose from his seat on three occasions and approached the Governor to share a few words in a hushed conversation.

Even though the Governor tried to continue with his address a couple of times amidst sloganeering, he was barely heard. In this situation, it is very difficult for me to deliver the speech, said the Governor, who had hardly read a few lines from his address.

In a bid to restore order, Governor Purohit reiterated the importance of parliamentary decorum and urged the opposition members to allow the session to proceed as scheduled. However, faced with the unrelenting clamour and chaos, the Governor reluctantly announced his decision to abbreviate his speech, reading only the first and last paragraphs before abruptly concluding the same.

As per the Rules, I am reading out the first line ... .and the last para ... .the rest of the speech be taken as read, concluded visibly perturbed Purohit.

The truncated proceedings, lasting a mere 12 minutes, marked an unprecedented disruption in the annals of Punjabs legislative history.

Mann Has No Moral Right to Continue as CM: Bajwa

Taking a strong stance on the inaugural day of the budget session, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the controversial handling of the Zero FIR filed in the aftermath of the tragic death of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh. It is high time to resignHe has no moral right to continue as CMThis farmers' agitation is the moral defeat of Bhagwant Mann and he must resign, said Bajwa, while speaking to the media outside the House.

Bajwa, the Leader of the Opposition, asserted that Mann's tenure as Punjab CM had been marred by failures in protecting the states farmers and territory. Accusing Mann of capitulating to pressure from the BJP-led Union Government, he criticized the timing and manner of the FIR lodged in Shubhkaran Singh's case, alleging procedural irregularities and an attempt to dilute the seriousness of the matter.

Congress Disruption During Governor's Address an Insult to Assembly

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday denounced the Congress disruptive behaviour during the Governors address at the beginning of the budget session, labeling it as an insult to the sanctity of the House and a desperate attempt to evade acknowledgment of the AAP-led Government's accomplishments.

In a scathing rebuke, Cheema lambasted the Congress MLAs for attempting to obstruct the Governor's speech, which included highlighting the State Government's achievements in the past year. He accused the opposition of fearing the dissemination of this information to the public through live broadcast, opting instead to create chaos and disrupt parliamentary proceedings.

Despite being aware that obituary references, including those honouring the young farmer, Shubhkaran, who lost his life during the ongoing agitation on the Haryana borders, were scheduled after the Governor's address, the Congress attempted to disrupt the proceedings of the House during the speech, said Cheema, addressing the media.

Cheema noted that the House intended to pay tribute to farmer Subhkaran Singh, who tragically passed away at the Khanauri border. However, the Congress MLAs sought to create chaos as the House proceedings were being broadcast live.

Following the registration of a zero FIR, the police were diligently investigating the matterwho all are responsible...who are the real accusedwho fired and from where  ensuring that the perpetrators would be apprehended and held accountable, he added.

Cheema, emphasized that the longstanding tradition dictates the commencement of the budget session with the Governor's address, followed by paying tributes to notable figures, including farmer Shubhakaran Singh, who lost his life during the farmers struggle at Khanauri border between Haryana and Punjab.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, in his unread address to the state Vidhan Sabha, claimed that significant strides were made by the Punjab Polices Anti-Gangster Task Force, established in 2022, in combating organized crime.

Interestingly, Purohit could read just a few lines during his customary address to the House on the first day of the session; and have to cut short amidst Congress protest. After reading just the first and the last paras, he asked the House to consider it as read.

In a comprehensive overview of the AAP-led Punjab Government's achievements in the Governors Address  tabled in the House  focusing on various sectors ranging from law and order to agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and social welfare, the Governor highlighted that the AGTF had arrested 951 gangsters and neutralized 14 of them involved in heinous crimes.

Additionally, 312 criminal modules were busted, leading to the recovery of 963 weapons and 208 vehicles used in criminal activities. The Governor also emphasized the Punjab Police's successful crackdown on drug smuggling, with 25,385 drug smugglers arrested and substantial amounts of narcotics seized, including 1,860 kg of heroin within the state and 147 kg intercepted at seaports in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Shifting the focus to agriculture, Purohit underscored the State Governments initiatives to promote sustainable farming practices. He noted that 19,097 farmers had adopted direct seeding of rice on 1,70,000 acres during the financial year 2023-2024. Furthermore, efforts to support sugarcane farmers were acknowledged, with sugar mills disbursing Rs 2,558.03 crore to farmers for the 2022-23 crushing season.

The Governor also highlighted the state's commitment to water conservation, citing a 38 per cent increase in the utilization of canal water during peak demand periods and the rehabilitation of dysfunctional canals, which contributed to groundwater recharge and irrigation efficiency.

In the realm of education, Governor lauded the Government's efforts to enhance access and quality. Over 9,500 teachers were recruited since April 2022, while pre-primary enrollment witnessed a 17 per cent increase. The implementation of a centralized admission portal for higher education benefited approximately 1.5 lakh students during the 2023-2024 academic session. Moreover, the regularization of over 12,000 qualified employees and the establishment of Schools of Eminence underscored the government's commitment to educational reform.

The Governor also highlighted significant strides in healthcare delivery, including the establishment of 664 operational Aam Aadmi Clinics, which catered to over 1.07 crore visitors. Free distribution of medicines worth Rs 450 crore and diagnostic tests valued at Rs 70 crore further enhanced access to healthcare services.

Additionally, the state government's initiatives to provide free medicines, diagnostic facilities, and infrastructure upgrades in district hospitals underscored its commitment to universal healthcare.

Governor Purohit underscored the state's focus on infrastructure development, emphasizing the construction of civil air terminals and thermal power plants to bolster connectivity and energy security. The acquisition of the GVK Goindwal Sahib thermal plant at a low cost and the development of the Shahpurkandi Dam project were highlighted as key milestones in infrastructure development.

Furthermore, the Governor outlined several social welfare initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life for citizens. These included the implementation of schemes like 'Bhagwant Mann Sarkar Tuhade Dwar' and 'Door-Step Delivery of Services,' which provided citizens with convenient access to government services. The expansion of free electricity schemes, financial assistance for veterans, and recognition of athletes' achievements demonstrated the government's commitment to social welfare and inclusive development.

In conclusion, Governor Purohit emphasized the state government's commitment to inclusive growth, sustainable development, and good governance. He urged all stakeholders to work collaboratively towards building a prosperous and equitable future for the people of Punjab, rooted in the principles of transparency, accountability, and social justice.

The House will resume proceedings on Monday morning, when the members of the House will debate on the Governors address.

House Paid Tributes to Martyr Shubhkaran

Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday paid heartfelt tributes to the young farmer Shubhkaran Singh, who tragically lost his life during the clashes between the Haryana police and protesting farmers at the Punjab-Haryana border at Khanauri on February 21.

The farmer unions, seeking the legal guarantee on minimum support price (MSP), had been pressing for the status of martyr for the deceased farmer. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had promptly declared a compensation of Rs one crore along with a government job for the deceased farmer's younger sister.

The demand for the martyr status for the nine farmers who have succumbed during the recent Dilli Chalo protest echoed within the assembly. Partap Singh Bajwa, the Leader of the Opposition, appealed to the Speaker for official recognition of their sacrifice.

Apart from him, the House also mourned the passing of former Deputy Speaker Baldev Raj Chawla, as well as former MLAs Ranjit Singh Talwandi, Parkash Singh Garhdiwala, and Sohan Singh Bodal. Additionally, the assembly also commemorated the bravery of Agniveer Ajay Kumar, sepoy Harsimran Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Jagpal Singh Home Guard, among others.

Homage was also paid to Harbans Kaur, wife of eminent journalist and freedom fighter Jangir Singh, martyr Amrik Singh, martyr Naib Subedar Angrez Singh, and martyr Kuldeep Singh.

As a mark of respect, a two-minute silence was observed in memory of the departed, underscoring the somber mood that enveloped the House.
Governor Mangubhai Patel has said that service to suffering humanity is true service to God. He said that the work being done by Red Cross in the state is a medium of service to humanity. District units should try to do better service in this campaign. The Red Cross should take special steps to provide medical services to the poor and the suffering. Patel was addressing the annual general meeting of State Red Cross at Sandipani Auditorium of Raj Bhavan today. Principal Secretary to the Governor, Sanjay Kumar Shukla and Chairman of Red Cross Society, Dr. Gagan Kolhe were also present.

Patel said that Red Cross plays a significant role in providing health services to the poor, deprived and needy of the society. The rich class should also extend its support in the supply of modern treatment resources in Red Cross government hospitals. A campaign should be launched to register new colleges with Youth Red Cross. Values should be instilled in the youth and they should be provided opportunities to contribute towards social concerns. He said that the making of Nikshay Mitras in the T.B. awareness campaign is commendable. He expressed the need to run a public cooperation campaign to help sickle cell anemia patients. Patel said that sensitization among doctors and medical staff is very important to eradicate sickle cell anemia. To eradicate sickle cell anemia by the year 2047, the identification, treatment and counseling in tribal dominated districts should be speeded up.

At the outset, Patel was given a warm welcome and a memento. The Governor also honoured the Red Cross units of various districts for their excellent performance. State Red Cross Society President Dr. Gagan Kolhe delivered the welcome address.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh on Friday maintained that he has been informed that Shubhkaran Singh, the 22-year-old farmer from Bathinda, tragically succumbed to a fatal firearm injury during the fervent Dilli Chalo protest at the Khanauri border on February 21.

Dr Balbir said that Shubhkaran was rushed to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, after sustaining a critical head injury during the protest. Despite efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The post-mortem conducted on Wednesday night confirmed the cause of death as a firearm shot to the head, said Dr Balbir, adding that he was yet to see the report as he was preoccupied with the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session. I have not seen the post-mortem report yet, but I have been informed that Shubhkaran died due to a firearm injury in his brain, he said.

The autopsy report indicated that Shubhkaran passed away on the spot, with metal pellets discovered lodged in his brain. While no bullet was recovered, the presence of metal pellets suggested the use of rubber bullets, as speculated by fellow protesters, during the confrontation with Haryana Police.

Punjab Government is yet to release the full post-mortem report, a move that could potentially implicate the Haryana Police in the tragic incident. Despite earlier denials by the Haryana DGP regarding the use of pellet guns, Dr Balbir had previously accused the police of employing "illegal pellet guns" against protestors, resulting in severe injuries.

Pellets, whether metal or rubber, are typically loaded into short or long-range air guns and can prove fatal if they penetrate vital organs.

With several theories going around as of now, the official post-mortem report can only put an end to all speculation and give the final answer to all the questions arising out of the young farmers tragic death.
Shahjahanabad police have arrested the accused who killed a 22-year-old youth due to old rivalry in Idgah Hills area on Thursday.

Police said that at around 2.15 in the afternoon information was received that a youth was fatally attacked with a sharp weapon by an unknown person in Neelkanth Colony, Idgah Hills.

As soon as the information was received, the police team reached the spot. Where Sonu Suryavanshi was found injured and was taken to Hamidia Hospital where he died during treatment.

On the basis of the evidence and preliminary investigation case under section 302 of the IPC was registered.

A team was formed under and the accused identified as Sonu Athiya was nabbed near Kamal Flour Mill, Regiment Road Shahjahanabad, Bhopal

The accuses was arrested within few hours of the crime and sharp edged weapon used in the crime was seized by the police. The accused was produced in the court on Friday and has been sent under judicial custody.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, described the presentation of the Economic Survey in the House by Finance Minister Atishi as mere jugglery of numbers.

Taking a dig at the AAP government, Bidhuri said it is surprising that on the one hand, the Kejriwal government is saying that we are not allowed to work, and on the other hand, claims of historic work are being made.

Bidhuri said that per capita income in Delhi has always been higher, while the government is portraying it as its charm.

As far as the benefits to the government are concerned, the Kejriwal government in Delhi is not doing any work for the welfare of the people. Instead of progressing in the matter of Delhis infrastructure, it is regressing. Not only are new roads far from being built, but the maintenance of old roads is also not happening, which the Supreme Court had reprimanded the government. Regarding the issues of health and water boards, Atishi has accepted the failure of her government but has blamed the LG. If the government does not make development plans for the people and does not spend, then its revenue will automatically be saved. Bidhuri said that this time the government did not even present the outcome budget, which shows how many schemes of the previous budget have been implemented, the BJP leader said.

He said that even in the economic survey, Atishi has targeted the Lieutenant Governor, which is extremely unfortunate.

On one hand, the Kejriwal government claims that it has done work that no other government has done, but on the other hand, it is also crying that it is not allowed to work. Actually, when the account of their failures is demanded, they blame the Lieutenant Governor. The truth is that this is only a propaganda government and it continues to make false claims only through the manipulation of false claims and numbers, he added.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva stated that the economic survey presented today in the assembly by Delhis Finance Minister Atishi is a routine economic report and has nothing unique in it.
After the cross-voting by seven MLAs of the Samajwadi Party during the recent Rajya Sabha elections, the announcement by Asaduddin Owaisi of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) to contest 21 Lok Sabha seats in western Uttar Pradesh with significant Muslim population has added to the woes of SP, a key constituent of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

As UP gears up for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, all eyes are on the 26 per cent Muslim voters in western UP, with more than 30 per cent in 21 seats, a crucial influence. The Owaisi factor has the potential of altering the dynamics of the Samajwadi Party-Congress tie-up in UP.

AIMIM spokesperson Mohammad Farhan has demanded five seats from the opposition INDIA bloc, and has threatened to contest on 25 seats if denied. The party contends that not getting the requested seats would have significant consequences.

There are speculations that Owaisi might choose to contest from Muslim-dominated seats in western UP  Moradabad or Sambhal.

The AIMIM spokesperson said, Just as Vasudev Shri Krishna had asked for five villages for the Pandavas, similarly Owaisi saheb is asking for only five seats for Dalits, Backwards and Muslims of Uttar Pradesh. If Samajwadi Party gives five seats, it would be great. If not, the INDIA bloc will face consequences.

Despite being in the opposition, Owaisi is seen as a potential disruptor, with opposition parties often accusing him of being Bharatiya Janata Partys B team. He obviously eyes political success in UP, given the Muslim populations prominence, especially in western UP, where it constitutes 26 per cent.

It is to be noted that in 21 Lok Sabha constituencies of UP have over 30 per cent Muslim population, with the 2019 elections seeing 73 per cent of Muslim votes going to the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance and the rest to other parties, including Congress.

Previously, Owaisi had strategically contested the 2017 and 2022 UP assembly elections, gauging the significance of Muslim votes in the region.

With the BSP deciding to go solo for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and Samajwadi Party-Congress together, Owaisi aims to exert pressure on Akhilesh Yadav for maximum number of Lok Sabha seats. Any independent entry by Owaisi or his party into UPs political arena is likely to impact the SP-Congress alliance more than others.

The Samajwadi Party has distanced itself from Owaisi, shifting responsibility to the Congress.

SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said, Akhileshji has already said that Owaisis party should discuss an alliance with Congress. Owaisis party belongs to Hyderabad. Parties outside Uttar Pradesh should not be part of the INDIA bloc. This decision rests with the Congress.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that following the Regional Industry Conclave in Ujjain, similar events will be organised in Jabalpur, Rewa, and Gwalior which will also witness the dedication and inauguration of new industrial units. Dr. Yadav praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, crediting it with India's impressive GDP growth, which has garnered international attention. He expressed optimism about the industry's potential and the significant contributions of India's 140 crore citizens to the nation's development. Yadav extended a warm welcome to investors attending the conclave.

Yadav commended Prime Minister Modi's leadership, highlighting his encouragement to embrace new techniques. India, once ranked 11th in terms of economy, has now ascended to the 5th position, a testament to its ongoing upward trajectory. The nation's development journey, characterized by the ethos of 'talk less, do more,' remains steadfast.

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav noted the significant presence of industrial representatives at the Regional Industry Conclave in Ujjain. The event is poised to create a historic business and industry worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Land has been allocated for approximately 250 industrial projects, promising direct employment to over 20,000 individuals through the establishment of new units.

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav attributed India's enhanced global standing to the efforts of Prime Minister Modi. He recalled the benevolent deeds of Samrat Vikramaditya, who, upon initiating the Samvat system, not only absolved the debts of all inhabitants under his rule but also supported them in achieving self-sufficiency. Dr. Yadav emphasized that governance cannot rely solely on power; it must be rooted in public welfare, driven by resolute determination and active public engagement.

At the outset, many investors expressed their views regarding investment possibilities in Madhya Pradesh. The investors also gave information about the work to be done.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Chaitanya Kumar Kashyap said that about 35 clusters are established in the state. Madhya Pradesh has a tradition of special industrial production in a particular region. Madhya Pradesh has policies that encourage investment. The model of 40 percent capital subsidy will become popular through the MSME department. Industrialists are being given full support for investment in Madhya Pradesh. The industrial sector will prosper due to the goals of balanced development of Prime Minister Modi and the efforts of Chief Minister Dr. Yadav.

Chief Secretary Veera Rana said that Madhya Pradesh has abundant resources besides an extensive forest area for industrial development. The state is leading in many agricultural products. The Conclave can help in realizing its investment potential.

Chandramouli Shukla, MD, Madhya Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation, welcomed the investors attending the conclave by presenting them with shawl and angavastram on the occasion of the inauguration of the two-day Regional Industry Conclave under Invest Madhya Pradesh.

Addressing the conclave, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Principal Secretary Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Raghavendra Kumar Singh said that Madhya Pradesh has abundant investment potential. A short film based on the industrial scenario of Madhya Pradesh was also screened. Culture, Tourism, Religious Trust and Endowment Minister Dharmendra Lodhi and public representatives were also present in the conclave. Many public representatives connected virtually from different places of the state.

Chief Minister Dr. Mohan Yadav gave away allotment letters for 508 hectares of land to 283 units in the programme. These units will provide employment to more than 20 thousand people with a total investment of more than Rs 12 thousand 170 crore. Chief Minister Dr. Yadav symbolically presented land allotment letters to the officials of some industrial units. The Chief Minister also provided letters of approval to industrialists under PM Kusum Yojana. This scheme is an important scheme of the renewable energy sector.

Chief Minister Dr. Yadav innaugrated and dedicated 61 units costing a total of Rs 10 thousand 64 crore with a single click. These units have been established in various districts of the state. Besides, new units are also being started. Chief Minister Dr. Yadav also dedicated new units in Vikram Udyogpuri district Ujjain.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated Hindustan Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited Factory (HARL) located at Sindri in Dhanbad district in the presence of Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan and Chief Minister Champai Soren and other distinguished guests. On this occasion, the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of many development schemes related to railway, electricity and coal sectors worth about Rs 36 thousand crores was also completed.

The Chief Minister greeted the Prime Minister in the coal city Dhanbad and said that Jharkhand has to move forward. We have to improve this state. This state has to be rebuilt according to the changing times. I have full hope from the Prime Minister that he will fully support the state in taking Jharkhand forward.

Soren, while addressing the inauguration ceremony of HURL Factory, said that today is a historic day for Jharkhand. The resumption of the Sindri fertilizer factory will bring a big change in this area. A new door of development will open. When farmers do agriculture with modern technology and methods, the yield will increase. When food grain production increases, farmers will directly benefit from it. Their income will increase and they will become empowered.

The CM said that the geographical environment of Jharkhand is different in many ways compared to other regions of the country. On one hand, many minerals like iron, coal, bauxite and uranium are found in abundance here, while a large population of villagers is also dependent on farms and barns. In such a situation, a balance between the two is necessary for the proper development of the state. The CM said that we can strengthen this state by putting the tribals, indigenous people and farmers and labourers on their feet. The state government has been continuously working in this direction with full commitment.

The CM said that the government is continuously working to make the farmers self-reliant and empowered. Our effort is to ensure that every field has water throughout the year, so that farmers can do farming in a better way. For this, special work is being done on irrigation projects. Farmers are being motivated and trained to do agricultural work with modern technology. Many schemes are running for the welfare of farmers. In such a situation, when the yield in the fields will increase, we will become more self-sufficient in food grains.

He said that while farmers will benefit from the revival of Sindri fertilizer factory, new employment opportunities will also be created. The youth here will get direct and indirect employment on a large scale. This will bring prosperity to the area and strengthen the economy of the state.

On this occasion, Union Minister Arjun Munda, Dhanbad MP Pashupatinath Singh and Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly Amar Kumar Bauri and many senior officials were present.
In the backdrop of a political storm in the state in which six Congress MLAs defied party whip and were terminated from the membership of the assembly, Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday said that some Congress MLAs sold their souls and went against the party ethics to cross-vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. Those who betrayed the party and above all played with the sentiments of the people of the state won't be spared even by the Almighty,'' he said while addressing a public meeting in Dharampur in Kasauli assembly segment.



He stated that six rebel MLAs, escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Haryana Police, reached Shimla by helicopter but abstained themselves from the house when the budget was supposed to be passed on 28h February with a motive to overthrow the government.



"It seemed that the BJP could not digest the numerous welfare schemes, launched by the State Government to benefit the people of the State," he alleged. In the first budget, the state government took strenuous measures to curb corruption and similarly many provisions were made in its second budget for the welfare of the people, he added.



I am here for the people of the State, for the development of my State, I am here for you all and not afraid of the conspiracies being hatched against me," he said, adding that I will not allow the wealth of the state to be looted at any cost. My people are my strength and I am bound and committed to serve them until my last breath, he remarked.



In his emotional address, the Chief Minister said that the BJP was trying to destabilize the elected government, which was quite unfortunate. He said that leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur was hungry for power whereas for me my people are my priority. The present state government will definitely complete its five years tenure.



Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. (Col) Dhani Ram Shandil said that democracy should prevail at any cost despite efforts by few to destabilize the government undemocratically. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Chaudhary Ram Kumar said the government will complete its full term despite the BJPs tactics to destabilize it. There has been no allegation of corruption against the state government in the last 14 months, he said.



Meanwhile, Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh met the states six disqualified Congress MLAs in Haryanas Panchkula on his way to Delhi on Friday when he was also scheduled to hold talks with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.



Talking to the media persons here, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Vikramaditya Singh informed him on Thursday that some of the Congress rebels had approached him and wished to come back. I told Vikramaditya Singh to talk to these rebel MLAs and the Congress central leadership, the chief minister said, adding that the family members of these rebel MLAs were talking to them and they want to be in the Congress.



Vikramaditya Singh will meet with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi today and we will see what development takes place but there is no threat to the government, he said.



After the cross-voting, Vikramaditya Singh, state Congress chief Pratibha Singhs son, had announced his resignation from the Cabinet but softened his stand after a meeting with the observers.



Sukhu said the rebels are staying at a hotel in Panchkula. We will see what to do when they enter Himachal, he added. On whether the Congress would take the rebels back, Sukhu said, I have already cleared my stand on the issue The chief minister said at a press conference a day before that the party was ready to take the rebels back.



According to his official programme, Singh, who is the Congress-run states public works minister, is on a two-day trip to Delhi where he will meet Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday.



Following the disqualification of the six rebel legislators, the effective strength of the House has reduced from 68 to 62 while the number of Congress MLAs has shrunk from 40 to 34. The BJP has 25 MLAs and the remaining three are Independents. The Independent MLAs were among the nine MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BJP Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan.



Crisis could have been avoided had grievances of MLAs addressed on time: PCC President

A day after Congress central observers asserted that there was no threat to the government in Himachal Pradesh, state party chief Pratibha Singh on Friday said the political crisis could have been averted had the grievances of MLAs addressed time.



Pratibha Singh said there was acrimony towards Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as 14 months after the Congress came to power in the state, leaders who worked hard to ensure the partys victory were not accommodated by him. Fourteen months is a long period and I have been consistently urging the chief minister to accommodate leaders who worked hard for the victory of the party but nothing was done, she said.



Pratibha Singh said Rajinder Rana  one of the six rebel MLAs  was a tall leader who had defeated former chief minister P K Dhumal and was expecting a Cabinet berth but was ignored. However, all the issues have now been sorted and the observers have given their report to the High Command. The matter will be discussed when the High Command calls us, she said.
After Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called on Governor Anandiben Patel here on Friday morning, there was intense speculation about a possible expansion of the cabinet to accommodate new allies in Uttar Pradesh council of ministers.

The momentum for cabinet expansion gathered steam following the finalisation of seat allocations among allies during the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Board meeting, held in New Delhi on Thursday night.

Sources say that the BJP has agreed to allocate six Lok Sabha seats to its allies, distributing them among key partners, including Om Prakash Rajbhars Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (one seat), Apna Dal (Sonelal) (two seats), NISHAD Party (one seat), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (two seats) in Uttar Pradesh.

After a crucial meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Board in Delhi, the anticipation surrounding the expansion of the cabinet in Uttar Pradesh has reached new heights. The recent meeting between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel on Friday has added fuel to the speculation, suggesting that the expansion might unfold within the next one or two days.

The list of potential ministerial candidates includes Om Prakash Rajbhar and Dara Singh Chauhan, the two legislators who had parted ways with the Samajwadi Party alliance and joined the National Democratic Alliance.

Inclusion of Chauhan in the cabinet is imminent because after he lost the bye-election he was made MLC in the recent Legislative council election.

Discussions are also going on regarding the possible inclusion of a leader from the RLD into the Yogi council of ministers.

Frustration among the allies has been growing as Om Prakash Rajbhar, the national president of the SBSP, has expressed his discontent by declaring that he will not celebrate Holi if his demand for a ministerial berth is not met.

The statement shows Rajbhars annoyance because his aspiration for a ministerial position in the Uttar Pradesh government remains unfulfilled. Venting his frustration publicly, Rajbhar has not shied away from airing his grievances on multiple occasions, with his latest ultimatum of boycotting Holi serving as a potent expression of discontent.
The truth of the double engine government in Uttar Pradesh is that it is a "guarantee of jungle raj", Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday while announcing a statewide protest by party workers against the law and order situation.

"The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh is the biggest example of how the BJP and Modi media together are indulging in the 'business of lies'," he alleged in a post in Hindi on X.

Highlighting several recent cases of crimes against women, he said the bodies of minor sisters are found hanging from trees at some places.

"Somewhere the audacity of gang rape by BJP members in IIT-BHU campus, and somewhere a woman judge was forced to commit suicide for not getting justice.

"This is the condition of that state whose law and order system is being praised tirelessly," Gandhi said.

He also mentioned the recent murder of a Dalit student returning after giving her Class 10 exams in Rampur.

"It is time to come out of the false image created by Modi media and see the truth that the double engine government is the 'guarantee of jungle raj'," the former party president said.

"Uttar Pradesh Congress workers will raise their voice for justice by protesting in every district and every tehsil today against the BJP system and this alliance of criminals," he said.
The Enforcement Directorate has frozen security holdings of more than Rs 580 crore of a Dubai-based "hawala operator" and seized cash and valuables worth Rs 3.64 crore after fresh raids in the Mahadev app-linked money laundering case, official sources said on Friday.

The latest raids were launched on February 28 at various premises in Kolkata, Gurugram, Delhi, Indore, Mumbai and Raipur.

The ED probe in the Mahadev online gaming and betting app has indicated purported involvement of various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh.

The sources said the agency identified a "hawala operator", Hari Shankar Tibrewal in this case. He hails from Kolkata but currently resides in Dubai. He partnered with the promoters of the Mahadev app and also owned and operated an alleged illegal betting app -- skyexchange.

Security holdings worth Rs 580.78 crore "beneficially owned" by Tibrewal have been frozen by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

Cash worth Rs 1.86 crore and valuables worth Rs 1.78 crore were recovered by the agency during these searches, according to the sources.

So far, the ED has arrested nine people in this case.

The agency had earlier said that the alleged illegal funds generated by the Mahadev app were used to pay bribes to politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh, from where the main promoters and operatives of the app hail.

So far, the ED has filed two charge sheets in this case, including against the two main promoters of the alleged illegal betting and gaming app Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. It had conducted multiple raids in the case earlier.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case are about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the ED.
Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB  Free Report) by 15.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,869 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,008 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLCs holdings in Schlumberger were worth $906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SLB. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the third quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Schlumberger during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Schlumberger by 51.5% during the third quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.43% of the companys stock.

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Schlumberger Trading Up 0.4 %

Schlumberger stock opened at $48.36 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $49.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.08. Schlumberger Limited has a 52 week low of $42.73 and a 52 week high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.61.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

Schlumberger ( NYSE:SLB Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.96 billion. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.71 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumbergers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,806,917.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Mogharbel Khaled Al sold 38,570 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.42, for a total value of $1,944,699.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 386,841 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $19,504,523.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,806,917.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,441 shares of company stock valued at $8,972,947 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $66.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $70.67.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Schlumberger

Schlumberger Profile

(Free Report)

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.

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Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK  Get Free Report) EVP Andrew R. Harrison sold 6,500 shares of Alaska Air Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.36, for a total value of $249,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,048 shares in the company, valued at $999,201.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Alaska Air Group Price Performance

ALK stock opened at $37.39 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.23 and a 200-day moving average of $37.28. Alaska Air Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $30.75 and a 12-month high of $57.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.62.

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Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The transportation company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.12. Alaska Air Group had a net margin of 2.25% and a return on equity of 14.72%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alaska Air Group, Inc. will post 4.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna cut Alaska Air Group from a positive rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $39.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday. Melius cut Alaska Air Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Alaska Air Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Alaska Air Group from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $56.13.

View Our Latest Research Report on ALK

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Alaska Air Group by 145.4% during the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 27,003 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 16,000 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 6,906 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Alaska Air Group by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 94,070 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $3,675,000 after acquiring an additional 19,550 shares during the period. Impala Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,172,000. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alaska Air Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,674,000. 80.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alaska Air Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Alaska Air Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates airlines. It operates through three segments: Mainline, Regional, and Horizon. The company offers scheduled air transportation services on Boeing jet aircraft for passengers and cargo in the United States, and in parts of Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, and the Bahamas; and for passengers across a shorter distance network within the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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Ancora Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 51,495 shares of the companys stock after selling 5,529 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $2,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MO. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 7.3% in the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,007 shares of the companys stock worth $1,304,000 after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Altria Group by 20.9% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 773,980 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,050,000 after purchasing an additional 133,685 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Altria Group by 18.7% during the second quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 1,276,258 shares of the companys stock valued at $57,814,000 after purchasing an additional 200,981 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 1,459,613 shares of the companys stock worth $61,377,000 after acquiring an additional 32,844 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in Altria Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 70,564,529 shares of the companys stock worth $3,262,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,150 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.94% of the companys stock.

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Altria Group Stock Performance

MO opened at $40.87 on Friday. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.06 and a fifty-two week high of $48.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $40.69 and a 200 day moving average of $41.65.

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.01. Altria Group had a net margin of 33.21% and a negative return on equity of 244.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the companys board believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st were issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 20th. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.59%. Altria Groups payout ratio is 85.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MO shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Altria Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a sell rating and issued a $36.10 price target on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $47.22.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Altria Group

Altria Group Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

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AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report)  Stock analysts at DA Davidson raised their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of AutoZone in a research note issued on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now expects that the company will earn $172.30 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $159.54. DA Davidson has a Neutral rating and a $3,025.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for AutoZones current full-year earnings is $149.92 per share.

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Several other equities analysts have also commented on AZO. Stephens upped their target price on AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,070.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. TheStreet downgraded shares of AutoZone from a c rating to a d+ rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,100.00 to $3,425.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,779.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,020.76.

AutoZone Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AutoZone stock opened at $3,007.40 on Friday. AutoZone has a fifty-two week low of $2,277.88 and a fifty-two week high of $3,025.96. The businesss fifty day moving average is $2,703.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2,616.50. The firm has a market cap of $52.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.70.

AutoZone (NYSE:AZO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.62% and a negative return on equity of 57.23%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $24.64 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AutoZone

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AZO. RB Capital Management LLC bought a new position in AutoZone during the 1st quarter worth approximately $274,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in AutoZone during the first quarter worth $57,000. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in AutoZone by 8.1% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 426 shares of the companys stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its stake in AutoZone by 31.7% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 237 shares of the companys stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in AutoZone by 24.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,966 shares of the companys stock valued at $26,331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.34% of the companys stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total transaction of $1,052,325.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,470 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,820,219.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other AutoZone news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 414 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,541.85, for a total transaction of $1,052,325.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,820,219.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Grant E. Mcgee sold 693 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,654.14, for a total value of $1,839,319.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 251 shares in the company, valued at $666,189.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,807 shares of company stock worth $38,827,861. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

AutoZone Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.

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Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company opened Feb. 11 in Winsted. The owner, Bryan Richards, makes all kinds of soups for his customers. Jack Sheedy Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company opened Feb. 11 in Winsted. Among the more than two dozen specialty soups are beef vegetable, broccoli and cheese, apple chicken curry, creamy cheddar potato, and at least five varieties of chowder. Jack Sheedy Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company opened Feb. 11 in Winsted, offering more than two dozen specialty soups. Jack Sheedy Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company opened Feb. 11 in Winsted. Jack Sheedy Polly Brancato of Winsted, a friend of Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company owner Bryan Richards, enjoyed a chicken and eggplant combo at the opening of the eatery on Feb. 11. Jack Sheedy

WINSTED  Back in 1998, Bryan Richards stood outside the Torrington Company, selling homemade cream of broccoli soup to anyone he met.

It took persistence. If someone said, I dont like broccoli, Richards recalls, he'd persuade them to try it anyway. He was 21 years old. He sold a lot of soup.

That made me feel good, to see people enjoying my food, he said, sitting at a table at Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company, a deli he opened Feb. 11 at 175 Main St.

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In those early days of hustling soup, the Torrington native said, he cut his teeth at the former Salernos Deli, creating soups and specials. I learned my craft there and did whatever I wanted to do," he said.

Richards later worked at Alfredos Deli, The Hilltop and Jimmys Store in Torrington; the White Horse Country Pub and Restaurant in New Preston; Plan B in Simsbury; Infinity Hall in Norfolk; and the Farmington Polo Club. He studied at Connecticut Culinary Institute when it was in Farmington.

Northwest Soup & Sandwich Company is the first business he has owned.

A few days after he opened, a woman came in and ordered a quart of soup. What kind of soup would you like today? he asked.

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Whatever everybodys talking about all over Facebook, she said. That happened to be spicy sausage and potato chowder, he said. Everyone went nuts for it.

On Feb. 13, a group of people hiking in the snowstorm came in to warm up with soup. One of the women in the group said, You need to bottle these soups.

He hears praise like that a lot, he said. When he worked at Salernos, a woman from New York advised him to open a soup shop.

Thats why Im here, he said. That was pretty awesome. Just validity, you know?

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When he worked at the White Horse, the executive chef there, the late Michael Chase, asked him to help with a five-course tasting menu from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, by Emily Ansara Baines, conducted at The Silo Cooking School at Hunt Hill Farm in New Milford.

We were making toad in the hole and bangers and mash ... oysters Rockefeller and prime rib with Yorkshire pudding, and it was a success, he said.

That got us an opportunity where (celebrity chef) Sara Moulton, who was doing one of her cookbook tours, needed some local chefs to help her, like sous chef for her, he said. Moulton, a protege of Julia Child, frequently held events at The Silo.

We set up everything, cooked everything for her and chopped everything. She had a whole list of everything that she wanted us to do, and we got to do it, he said.

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Richards relies on friends and family to help run Northwest Soup & Sandwich. I couldnt have done any of this without my girlfriend, Keri Langevin, he said. She helped me out, and shes a sweetheart. Shes a nurse, and everybody loves her. Weve been together for a little over five years now.

Jason Green, a friend Richards used to work with at the Farmington Polo Club, is the soup and sandwich company's sous chef.

Green said, I started working with food when I was like 13 years old, at Muzzy Field in Bristol. I was on a concession stand, making hot dogs, pretzels, things like that.

As the name suggests, soups and sandwiches highlight the menu. Among Richards more than two dozen specialty soups are beef vegetable, broccoli and cheese, apple chicken curry, creamy cheddar potato, and at least five varieties of chowder. All are available in 8-, 16- and 32-ounce sizes.

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Eighteen kinds of sandwiches, on a variety of breads or a 12-inch grinder roll, include Bryans Bomber, with ham, turkey, lettuce, tomato, spicy mayo; The Drunken Parm, with a chicken cutlet, vodka sauce and melty mozz; and The Good Philly, with shaved ribeye sauteed with pepper, onion and mushrooms, and cheese or cheese sauce.

Salads, sides and soft beverages are available, and many menu items are available with a gluten-free option.

Polly Brancato, a Winsted resident and friend of Richards, enjoyed eggplant parmesan and chicken parmesan at the shop's soft opening.

Hell make whatever you want the way you want it, she said. Everything is fresh from scratch. He was here for the last two days prepping everything, just getting everything all together. Hes very organized. He knows what hes doing. Ive eaten at their house before many times. Hes a great chef.

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Mark Spera, Langevins brother-in-law, drove in from Hartford for the opening. While waiting to order, he said, Im thinking either the Italian combo or the mortadella.

Whats more loving than feeding someone and seeing their reaction? Richards said. It makes people happy. It brings people together.
AQR Arbitrage LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE:BMEZ  Free Report) by 1,250.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,580 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 148,690 shares during the period. AQR Arbitrage LLCs holdings in BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust were worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 43,557 shares of the companys stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 13,683 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,827,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust by 4.0% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 30,936 shares of the companys stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $519,000. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,097,000.

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BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Stock Performance

BMEZ stock opened at 16.31 on Friday. BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust has a 52-week low of 12.93 and a 52-week high of 16.95. The companys 50 day simple moving average is 15.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is 14.70.

BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust Cuts Dividend

Insider Activity

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.62%.

In other news, major shareholder Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 220,605 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of 14.15 per share, for a total transaction of 3,121,560.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 15,049,349 shares of the companys stock, valued at 212,948,288.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have bought 3,236,141 shares of company stock worth $48,908,997 over the last 90 days.

About BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust

(Free Report)

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust IIs (BMEZ) (the Trust) investment objective is to provide total return and income through a combination of current income, current gains and long-term capital appreciation. The Trust seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal market conditions, at least 80% of its total assets in equity securities of companies principally engaged in the health sciences group of industries and equity derivatives with exposure to the health sciences group of industries.

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AQR Arbitrage LLC increased its position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE:MIY  Free Report) by 90.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,914 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 97,635 shares during the quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned about 0.70% of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund worth $2,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $112,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund by 33.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 13,280 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new stake in BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 19.63% of the companys stock.

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BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MIY opened at $11.37 on Friday. BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.45 and a 52-week high of $11.70. The businesss 50 day moving average is $11.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.77.

BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Announces Dividend

BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund Profile

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.0465 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 4.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 14th.

(Free Report)

BlackRock MuniYield Michigan Quality Fund, Inc is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It primarily invests in investment grade, long-term municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes and Michigan income taxes.

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Boyd Gaming Co. (NYSE:BYD  Get Free Report) VP William R. Boyd sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.04, for a total value of $3,202,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,617,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,614,798.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE BYD opened at $66.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.61. Boyd Gaming Co. has a one year low of $52.42 and a one year high of $73.00. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $63.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.23. Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $954.41 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.72 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Co. will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Boyd Gaming Announces Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 21st. Boyd Gamings dividend payout ratio is 10.49%.

A number of research analysts have commented on BYD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Boyd Gaming from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised Boyd Gaming from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $70.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boyd Gaming has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $75.78.

View Our Latest Analysis on Boyd Gaming

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BYD. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Boyd Gaming by 885.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,657,441 shares of the companys stock worth $100,822,000 after buying an additional 1,489,240 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 4,747,662 shares of the companys stock valued at $297,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,216,121 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 63.4% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 2,629,438 shares of the companys stock valued at $172,965,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020,515 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 98.1% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,711,767 shares of the companys stock valued at $93,343,000 after purchasing an additional 847,797 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Boyd Gaming by 65.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,131,052 shares of the companys stock valued at $147,816,000 after purchasing an additional 841,570 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.98% of the companys stock.

About Boyd Gaming

(Get Free Report)

Boyd Gaming Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a multi-jurisdictional gaming company in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The company operates through Las Vegas Locals, Downtown Las Vegas, Midwest & South, and Online segments.

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Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU  Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of Buy by the five research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $9.07.

Several analysts recently commented on CGAU shares. Raymond James dropped their target price on Centerra Gold from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 29th. Desjardins restated a buy rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Wednesday, November 29th. National Bank Financial restated an outperform spec overweight rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Centerra Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. They issued an outperform rating for the company.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Centerra Gold Price Performance

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 521.3% during the 2nd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,614,670 shares of the companys stock worth $21,666,000 after buying an additional 3,032,870 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 9,879,956 shares of the companys stock valued at $58,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156,920 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,918,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,363,000. Finally, Pale Fire Capital SE lifted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 1,136.9% in the 4th quarter. Pale Fire Capital SE now owns 1,807,787 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,774,000 after purchasing an additional 1,661,638 shares during the last quarter. 51.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE CGAU opened at $5.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.47. Centerra Gold has a 1-year low of $4.47 and a 1-year high of $7.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.57 and a beta of 0.98.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.0518 per share. This is a boost from Centerra Golds previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Centerra Golds dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -54.05%.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects include the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Oksut Gold Mine located in Turkey.

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Corton Capital Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Xerox Holdings Co. (NYSE:XRX  Free Report) by 36.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,631 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 9,904 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc.s holdings in Xerox were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Xerox by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 45,006 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in Xerox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,688,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Xerox by 402.9% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 70,433 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 56,427 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Xerox by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 659,221 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $10,343,000 after purchasing an additional 200,124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Xerox by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 256,300 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $3,816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. 83.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Xerox Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of XRX opened at $18.65 on Friday. Xerox Holdings Co. has a one year low of $12.06 and a one year high of $19.78. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -93.25 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.97.

Xerox Dividend Announcement

Xerox ( NYSE:XRX Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The information technology services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Xerox had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 0.01%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Xerox Holdings Co. will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. Xeroxs payout ratio is presently -500.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on XRX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Xerox from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Xerox from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

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Xerox Profile

(Free Report)

Xerox Holdings Corporation, a workplace technology company, designs, develops, and sells document management systems and solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and internationally. It offers workplace solutions, including desktop monochrome, and color and multifunction printers; digital printing presses and light production devices, and solutions; and digital services that leverage workflow automation, personalization and communication software, content management solutions, and digitization services.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL  Free Report) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,813 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 2,692 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DAL. Clarius Group LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 2.7% during the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 9,725 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 10.1% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,817 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 9,383 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 0.3% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 89,393 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in Delta Air Lines by 3.5% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 8,675 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. 71.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet upgraded Delta Air Lines from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com lowered Delta Air Lines from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $55.54.

Delta Air Lines Stock Up 0.6 %

DAL opened at $42.27 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $30.60 and a fifty-two week high of $49.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.14 and a 200-day moving average of $38.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a PE ratio of 5.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.42.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The transportation company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.11. Delta Air Lines had a return on equity of 46.35% and a net margin of 7.94%. The company had revenue of $14.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.48 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 23rd. Delta Air Liness payout ratio is 5.59%.

Insider Activity at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, CEO Edward H. Bastian sold 71,840 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total value of $2,816,128.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 428,768 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $16,807,705.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

(Free Report)

Delta Air Lines, Inc provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Airline and Refinery. Its domestic network centered on core hubs in Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Salt Lake City, as well as coastal hub positions in Boston, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, and Seattle; and international network centered on hubs and market presence in Amsterdam, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Sao Paulo, Seoul-Incheon, and Tokyo.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Dover Co. (NYSE:DOV  Free Report) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,558 shares of the industrial products companys stock after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Dover were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mcmillion Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Dover in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Dover in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Dover by 193.7% during the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 373 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Dover during the 1st quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Dover by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 518 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.97% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Dover from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Dover from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Dover from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Dover from $150.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Dover from $167.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $168.18.

Dover Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE DOV opened at $165.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $23.14 billion, a PE ratio of 21.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.26. Dover Co. has a fifty-two week low of $127.25 and a fifty-two week high of $166.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Dover (NYSE:DOV  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.16 billion. Dover had a return on equity of 25.95% and a net margin of 12.52%. Dovers quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Dover Co. will post 9.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dover Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 28th. Dovers dividend payout ratio is presently 27.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Dover news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 18,410 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.01, for a total value of $3,001,014.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,897,406.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 18,410 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.01, for a total transaction of $3,001,014.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,897,406.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brad M. Cerepak sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.00, for a total value of $1,988,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,938 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,103,196. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Dover Profile

(Free Report)

Dover Corporation provides equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services worldwide. The company's Engineered Products segment provides various equipment, component, software, solution, and services that are used in vehicle aftermarket, waste handling, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, industrial winch and hoist, and fluid dispensing end-market.

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Eldorado Gold (TSE:ELD  Free Report) (NYSE:EGO) had its price objective trimmed by Cormark from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormark also issued estimates for Eldorado Golds FY2024 earnings at $1.15 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $1.19 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $2.34 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $2.66 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ELD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Eldorado Gold from C$17.00 to C$18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$15.50 to C$17.25 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Eldorado Gold from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. National Bankshares upped their price target on Eldorado Gold from C$19.00 to C$21.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Stifel Canada lowered Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of C$18.06.

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Eldorado Gold Stock Performance

About Eldorado Gold

Shares of ELD opened at C$14.11 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$16.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$14.90. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.60. The company has a market capitalization of C$2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 56.20 and a beta of 1.17. Eldorado Gold has a 52-week low of C$11.38 and a 52-week high of C$18.30.

(Get Free Report)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

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Entergy (NYSE:ETR  Free Report) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $110.00 to $113.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the utilities providers stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ETR. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Entergy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from $103.00 to $118.00 in a research report on Monday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Entergy from $117.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Entergy from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and set a $117.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $110.73.

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Entergy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of ETR opened at $101.57 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.57. Entergy has a 52 week low of $87.10 and a 52 week high of $111.90.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.52. Entergy had a net margin of 19.41% and a return on equity of 10.54%. The business had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Entergy will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. Entergys payout ratio is presently 40.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marcus V. Brown sold 38,417 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.53, for a total value of $3,900,478.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $952,351.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Entergy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ETR. Krane Funds Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Entergy in the 4th quarter valued at $476,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Entergy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,657 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Able Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Entergy during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,575 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.52% of the companys stock.

Entergy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Utility and Entergy Wholesale Commodities. The Utility segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 89.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,525 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 12,656 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in American Express were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 636.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 442,307 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $65,988,000 after purchasing an additional 382,272 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Express by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its stake in American Express by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 7,350 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,097,000 after purchasing an additional 5,250 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in American Express in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,244,000. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank increased its stake in American Express by 89.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 17,336 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $2,586,000 after purchasing an additional 8,184 shares in the last quarter. 83.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AXP. Oppenheimer raised their price target on American Express from $208.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Monness Crespi & Hardt began coverage on American Express in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. They set a neutral rating for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on American Express from $188.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on American Express in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a buy rating and a $235.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on American Express from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $189.00.

American Express Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AXP opened at $219.75 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $197.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.63. American Express has a 12 month low of $140.91 and a 12 month high of $219.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.23.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The payment services company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.64 by ($0.02). American Express had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 30.99%. The company had revenue of $15.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.07 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that American Express will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 5th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.41%.

Insider Transactions at American Express

In other news, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of American Express stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total transaction of $1,431,455.85. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 69,356 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.02, for a total transaction of $14,774,215.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 122,158 shares in the company, valued at $26,022,097.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Howard Grosfield sold 7,029 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.65, for a total value of $1,431,455.85. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,388 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,522,816.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 172,047 shares of company stock valued at $36,528,388. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Express Profile

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. decreased its stake in ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE  Free Report) by 70.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,179 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 46,744 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in ONEOK were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of ONEOK during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Command Bank grew its holdings in ONEOK by 401.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Command Bank now owns 491 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in ONEOK by 97.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 437 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in ONEOK in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.87% of the companys stock.

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ONEOK Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE OKE opened at $75.14 on Friday. ONEOK, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.91 and a 1 year high of $75.68. The stock has a market cap of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.60 and a 200 day moving average of $67.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

ONEOK ( NYSE:OKE Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.57 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 22.57% and a net margin of 15.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ONEOK, Inc. will post 4.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ONEOK declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 17th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the utilities provider to repurchase up to 4.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the companys leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

ONEOK Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 30th were paid a $0.99 dividend. This represents a $3.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 29th. This is an increase from ONEOKs previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. ONEOKs dividend payout ratio is currently 71.35%.

Insider Transactions at ONEOK

In other news, Director Eduardo A. Rodriguez sold 800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.29, for a total value of $56,232.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,154 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,074.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on OKE shares. Mizuho reissued a neutral rating and issued a $75.00 price target (up previously from $72.00) on shares of ONEOK in a report on Friday, February 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of ONEOK from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of ONEOK from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Bank of America raised shares of ONEOK from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of ONEOK from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ONEOK has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $76.73.

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ONEOK Profile

(Free Report)

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude.

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Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Snap-on Incorporated (NYSE:SNA  Free Report) by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,787 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 2,749 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in Snap-on were worth $5,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Snap-on during the 4th quarter worth about $112,490,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Snap-on by 7,194.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 241,149 shares of the companys stock worth $49,551,000 after purchasing an additional 237,843 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Snap-on by 25.1% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 738,473 shares of the companys stock worth $188,355,000 after purchasing an additional 147,997 shares during the period. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in Snap-on in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,262,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Snap-on by 229.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 154,401 shares of the companys stock worth $39,381,000 after buying an additional 107,582 shares during the period. 83.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Snap-on

In other Snap-on news, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 36,780 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.47, for a total transaction of $10,646,706.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 48,684 shares in the company, valued at $14,092,557.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Aldo John Pagliari sold 7,522 shares of Snap-on stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.94, for a total value of $2,045,532.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 95,661 shares of the companys stock, valued at $26,014,052.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Thomas J. Ward sold 36,780 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.47, for a total value of $10,646,706.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 48,684 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,092,557.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,151 shares of company stock valued at $23,601,819. 4.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Snap-on in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $336.00 price target on shares of Snap-on in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Snap-on has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $306.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Snap-on

Snap-on Stock Up 0.2 %

SNA stock opened at $275.66 on Friday. Snap-on Incorporated has a one year low of $226.68 and a one year high of $297.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.88. The firms fifty day moving average is $281.79 and its 200 day moving average is $271.50. The firm has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00.

Snap-on (NYSE:SNA  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $4.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.20 billion. Snap-on had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 21.38%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.42 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Snap-on Incorporated will post 19.16 EPS for the current year.

Snap-on Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Snap-ons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.68%.

Snap-on Company Profile

(Free Report)

Snap-on Incorporated manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users worldwide. It operates through Commercial & Industrial Group, Snap-on Tools Group, Repair Systems & Information Group, and Financial Services segments.

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Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its position in Laboratory Co. of America Holdings (NYSE:LH  Free Report) by 426.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,732 shares of the medical research companys stock after buying an additional 25,702 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in Laboratory Co. of America were worth $6,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Laboratory Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 89.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Laboratory Co. of America Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LH stock opened at $215.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firms 50-day moving average is $223.32 and its 200-day moving average is $213.61. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.22, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.04. Laboratory Co. of America Holdings has a 52-week low of $174.20 and a 52-week high of $234.09.

Laboratory Co. of America Dividend Announcement

Laboratory Co. of America ( NYSE:LH Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The medical research company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.02 billion. Laboratory Co. of America had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 13.99%. Laboratory Co. of Americas quarterly revenue was down 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Laboratory Co. of America Holdings will post 14.77 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 26th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Laboratory Co. of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,729,398.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Laboratory Co. of America news, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 259 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.06, for a total transaction of $57,513.54. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,637 shares in the company, valued at $1,695,872.22. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Der Vaart Sandra D. Van sold 237 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.45, for a total transaction of $53,668.65. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,637 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,729,398.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,500 shares of company stock worth $7,670,756 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.65% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Friday, February 9th. They issued an in-line rating and a $240.00 target price for the company. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an equal weight rating and a $222.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Laboratory Co. of America from $259.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of Laboratory Co. of America in a research note on Monday. They set an outperform rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Laboratory Co. of America currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $243.07.

View Our Latest Report on LH

Laboratory Co. of America Company Profile

(Free Report)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings operates as a life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. It operates in two segments, Labcorp Diagnostics and Labcorp Drug Development.

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O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) by 65.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,376 shares of the restaurant operators stock after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLCs holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.7% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,052,227 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $4,389,714,000 after purchasing an additional 54,820 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,085,226 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $2,321,298,000 after purchasing an additional 42,257 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.3% during the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,038,882 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $2,222,169,000 after purchasing an additional 52,163 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 565,479 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $963,779,000 after purchasing an additional 9,520 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 1.5% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 509,953 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $934,147,000 after purchasing an additional 7,677 shares in the last quarter. 91.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CMG shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,185.00 to $2,425.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,700.00 to $2,920.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,450.00 to $2,550.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,650.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,284.00 to $2,500.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $2,469.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,278.45, for a total transaction of $2,506,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at $51,144,367.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,100 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,278.45, for a total value of $2,506,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,447 shares in the company, valued at $51,144,367.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Albert S. Baldocchi sold 750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,608.51, for a total transaction of $1,956,382.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,271 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $97,221,776.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,744 shares of company stock valued at $11,607,678 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $2,691.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2,423.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $2,148.42. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,470.05 and a 1 year high of $2,725.83. The stock has a market cap of $73.80 billion, a PE ratio of 60.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.29 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.21 EPS for the current year.

About Chipotle Mexican Grill

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. The company offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB  Free Report) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,784 shares of the banks stock after selling 1,363 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLCs holdings in HDFC Bank were worth $2,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Baillie Gifford & Co. raised its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 183.8% in the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 9,560,478 shares of the banks stock worth $564,164,000 after buying an additional 6,191,548 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in HDFC Bank by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,583,287 shares of the banks stock valued at $598,241,000 after purchasing an additional 453,726 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 2.2% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 6,933,843 shares of the banks stock valued at $409,166,000 after purchasing an additional 146,980 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 0.7% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 5,611,271 shares of the banks stock worth $330,376,000 after purchasing an additional 37,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of HDFC Bank by 8.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,103,748 shares of the banks stock worth $313,012,000 after purchasing an additional 402,245 shares during the period. 17.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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HDFC Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HDB opened at $53.50 on Friday. HDFC Bank Limited has a twelve month low of $52.16 and a twelve month high of $71.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market cap of $99.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.89. The companys 50 day moving average is $58.75 and its 200 day moving average is $60.09.

HDFC Bank Company Profile

HDFC Bank ( NYSE:HDB Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The bank reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.11. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that HDFC Bank Limited will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

(Free Report)

HDFC Bank Limited provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in India, Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. It accepts savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, and demat accounts; fixed and recurring deposits; and safe deposit lockers, as well as offshore accounts and deposits, and overdrafts against fixed deposits.

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O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR  Free Report) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,802 shares of the transportation companys stock after selling 329 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLCs holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. were worth $2,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 50,100 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $12,310,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 224.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 42,562 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $10,515,000 after purchasing an additional 29,462 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC increased its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 420.5% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 33,387 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $9,271,000 after purchasing an additional 26,972 shares in the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. during the 3rd quarter worth about $764,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP grew its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 6,260 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.05% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a sell rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $274.00 to $326.00 in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup cut Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a neutral rating to a sell rating and lowered their price target for the company from $228.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 28th. Bank of America upgraded Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $274.00.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Stock Performance

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. stock opened at $294.22 on Friday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $291.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $259.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 2.97 and a current ratio of 4.26. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. has a one year low of $165.00 and a one year high of $317.94.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Profile

(Free Report)

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. holds concessions to operate, maintain, and develop airports in the southeast region of Mexico. The company operates airports that are located in the cities of Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Tapachula, and Minatitlan.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,690 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $1,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Investment Managers International lifted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Investment Managers International now owns 56,651 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $5,717,000 after buying an additional 1,822 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 30,905 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $2,686,000 after buying an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,611,000. Metropolis Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Metropolis Capital Ltd now owns 1,136,061 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $98,724,000 after purchasing an additional 196,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Capital Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. LGT Capital Partners LTD. now owns 1,554,790 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $135,111,000 after purchasing an additional 65,220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.51% of the companys stock.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TSM opened at $128.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $114.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 2.13. The stock has a market cap of $667.08 billion, a PE ratio of 24.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.13. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 1 year low of $81.21 and a 1 year high of $135.17.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Cuts Dividend

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( NYSE:TSM Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $19.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.99 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 25.24% and a net margin of 38.80%. Equities analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $0.4408 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on TSM shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $130.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $115.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.25.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides complementary metal oxide silicon wafer fabrication processes to manufacture logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, and embedded memory semiconductors.

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Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications Inc. (NYSE:RCI  Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,196,203 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock after purchasing an additional 124,776 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.23% of Rogers Communications worth $46,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RCI. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in Rogers Communications by 0.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,092,255 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $195,492,000 after buying an additional 46,553 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Rogers Communications by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 4,815,882 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $184,906,000 after acquiring an additional 37,451 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in Rogers Communications by 101.8% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 131,276 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $5,040,000 after acquiring an additional 66,231 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rogers Communications by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,413 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 623 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Rogers Communications by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 131,377 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $5,044,000 after purchasing an additional 10,574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 44.25% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on RCI. Desjardins upgraded shares of Rogers Communications from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, November 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Rogers Communications from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Rogers Communications from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $52.00.

Rogers Communications Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:RCI opened at $44.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.82. Rogers Communications Inc. has a 52-week low of $36.55 and a 52-week high of $50.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.81.

Rogers Communications (NYSE:RCI  Get Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.99 billion. Rogers Communications had a return on equity of 22.17% and a net margin of 4.38%. As a group, analysts forecast that Rogers Communications Inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Rogers Communications Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.3742 per share. This is a positive change from Rogers Communicationss previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. Rogers Communicationss payout ratio is presently 122.50%.

Rogers Communications Company Profile

(Free Report)

Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in North America. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB  Free Report) by 55.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 406,233 shares of the banks stock after acquiring an additional 144,236 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned 0.43% of Prosperity Bancshares worth $22,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amica Retiree Medical Trust bought a new position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 83.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the banks stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 25.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 891 shares of the banks stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 73.2% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 710 shares of the banks stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Prosperity Bancshares during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 81.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Prosperity Bancshares

In other Prosperity Bancshares news, Director L. Jack Lord sold 2,100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.94, for a total transaction of $132,174.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,025 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,952,713.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.20% of the companys stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Price Performance

PB stock opened at $62.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.95. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.60 and a 1 year high of $73.09. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $64.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.75.

Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The bank reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $413.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.34 million. Prosperity Bancshares had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 26.24%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. will post 5.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Prosperity Bancsharess dividend payout ratio is presently 49.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Prosperity Bancshares to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Prosperity Bancshares from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Raymond James increased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Prosperity Bancshares from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $70.19.

Check Out Our Latest Report on PB

Prosperity Bancshares Profile

(Free Report)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Invitae (NYSE:NVTA  Free Report) in a research report report published on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the medical research companys stock.

Invitae Price Performance

Invitae stock opened at $0.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $0.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 0.00 and a beta of 1.59. Invitae has a 52-week low of $0.02 and a 52-week high of $0.02.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NVTA. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Invitae by 1,574.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,017,082 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,600 shares during the period. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Invitae by 7,211.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,184,966 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168,758 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Invitae by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,660,153 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $9,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,646 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Invitae in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,369,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Invitae by 314.0% in the 1st quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,327,210 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006,619 shares during the period. 61.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Invitae

Invitae Corporation, a medical genetics company, that provides genetic information to improve healthcare of people in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers genetic tests in various clinical areas, including hereditary cancer, precision oncology, women's health, rare diseases, and pharmacogenomics; digital health solutions; and health data services.

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Nuvance Health, the parent company of Danbury Hospital, is joining with Northwell Health, a 21-hospital system based in New York, subject to regulatory approval. Danbury Hospital is photographed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Danbury, Conn. H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media Norwalk Hospital photographed on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2021, in Norwalk, Conn. It is part of the proposed Nuvance Health merger with Northwell. Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Nuvance Health operates hospitals in western Connecticut hospitals, including New Milford Hospital. Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

DANBURY  Experts shared mixed feelings about the plan by a New York-based medical group to acquire Nuvance Health, the parent company that runs Danbury and Norwalk hospitals, saying the move would likely improve the struggling local networks bottom line, but could drive up costs for patients and do little to impact overall health care quality.

The general consensus is that consolidations and acquisitions have the impact of driving up prices without improving quality, said Sean King, the states acting Healthcare Advocate.

Consolidated medical providers have more leverage to demand higher prices (from insurers) when they are the only providers in a geographic area, King said.

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Nuvance Healths leaders announced this week that the network had agreed to join Northwell Health, a health-care group based in New York. The deal would create a system with 28 hospitals and 99,000 employees thats valued at $20 billion. Nuvance currently operates seven hospitals in western Connecticut, including Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital, and in New York's Hudson Valley.

Its not surprising to see a merger," said Angela Mattie, a professor in Quinnipiac Universitys schools of business and medicine, as well as a former health-care executive.

"Its interesting that the geographic lines are continuing to be blurred. When I started years ago, Connecticut hospitals were Connecticut hospitals. New York hospitals were New York hospitals, she said.

However, Mattie, unlike King, was more optimistic that the announced merger would result in better patient care.

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Danbury Hospital can benefit from the intellectual, clinical and financial capital of the larger health-care system, Mattie said, referencing improved electronic medical records and executive level operations. Mergers and acquisitions are nothing new anymore. The small community hospital has gone the way of the dinosaur. The cost of delivering care has increased. Its almost impossible to not be part of a large health-care system.

This is a nationwide trend that has now begun a number of years ago," she said. "I do think we need to be cautious, cautiously optimistic. We need to do an evaluation of outcomes. We need to continue to raise a dialogue: Is our delivery system providing the best outcome for patients and at the lowest cost?

The jury is still out on whether patient outcomes have improved as a result of previous medical group consolidations, Mattie said. Society as a whole needs to push for greater accountability of those systems, she said.

But when compared to other countries, the U.S. health-care system operates at the highest cost and has very poor outcomes for patients, Mattie said. We need to continue as a society to push the needle for best clinical outcomes and lowest costs, she said.

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That means businesses using their purchasing power to demand accountability from the health-care system to lower its cost and increase quality.

King acknowledged his office has no approval authority in the Nuvance-Northwell merger. The states Office of Health Strategy is one of the entities whose approval is needed before the merger is complete. However, the Healthcare Advocate is still interested in the matter because of its role representing the voice of the consumer.

His office will keep an eye on the acquisition process as it develops," King said. "Like other folks we just learned about the acquisition. The parties havent even submitted documents and forms to the Office of Healthcare Strategy in order to get approval for it. We will keep an eye on the proceedings as they progress.

Groups that represent medical providers say they are concerned about developing and providing accessible systems of care, and recruiting and retaining medical staff.

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The Connecticut Hospital Association issued a statement in response to Hearst Connecticut Medias request for comment regarding the Nuvance-Northwell merger.

For the health of patients and their communities, hospitals are focused on developing and improving systems of care that are accessible and effective, the statement said. This includes working to ensure access to primary and preventive care along with a broad continuum of services and advanced infrastructure to better manage population health, improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care.

At a time when all hospitals are facing significant challenges, decision-making remains focused on how to best enable care providers to continue supporting their patients, workers, and communities, the statement said.

Mark Thompson, an executive director for the Fairfield County Medical Association, said the local association is most concerned with recruiting and retaining medical staff, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and others, describing such staffing as a significant challenge the region faces.

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We dont have enough physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, phlebotomists  hopefully this deal, this merger, will bring new clinical services and medical resources that will enhance patient care, Thompson said, expressing hope that such merger will bring with it medical resources that an area didnt have before.

Thompson described Nuvance, and in particular Norwalk Hospital and Danbury Hospital, as a health-care provider that is very good at providing in-person medical services. However, the reimbursements received for those services were too low, he said.

The chain was operating at a loss and they couldnt see their way out of it. You can only operate for so many years while in the red, Thompson said.

Thompson said he is hopeful the merger will strengthen the systems ability to ability to recruit and keep medical doctors.

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Its no secret its difficult to get newly minted physicians to move to Connecticut. Its a great place to live, but its a high rent area, Thompson said, saying new physicians are more likely to start in the profession in areas with lower costs of living.
Toronto Dominion Bank cut its holdings in Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D  Free Report) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 406,321 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 15,386 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Banks holdings in Dominion Energy were worth $18,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Dominion Energy by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 86,661 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $3,871,000 after acquiring an additional 11,194 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Dominion Energy by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 52,717 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,355,000 after purchasing an additional 26,757 shares during the last quarter. Reuter James Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Reuter James Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,894 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Dominion Energy by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 367,420 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $16,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Dominion Energy by 15.1% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 2,862 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.66% of the companys stock.

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Dominion Energy Stock Performance

NYSE D opened at $47.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Dominion Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.18 and a 1-year high of $58.69. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.60.

Dominion Energy Dividend Announcement

Dominion Energy ( NYSE:D Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The utilities provider reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.21 billion. Dominion Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 12.40%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Dominion Energy, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.6675 per share. This represents a $2.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Dominion Energys payout ratio is 114.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on D. Barclays raised shares of Dominion Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Monday, November 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Dominion Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Dominion Energy from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dominion Energy presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.64.

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Dominion Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

Dominion Energy, Inc produces and distributes energy in the United States. It operates through four segments: Dominion Energy Virginia, Gas Distribution, Dominion Energy South Carolina, and Contracted Assets. The Dominion Energy Virginia segment generates, transmits, and distributes regulated electricity to approximately 2.7 million residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers in Virginia and North Carolina.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (NYSE:DD  Free Report) by 92.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,417 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 13,653 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in DuPont de Nemours were worth $2,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of DuPont de Nemours in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 76.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered DuPont de Nemours from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded DuPont de Nemours from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. TheStreet lowered DuPont de Nemours from a b- rating to a c rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered DuPont de Nemours from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on DuPont de Nemours from $74.00 to $70.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $75.67.

DuPont de Nemours Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DD opened at $69.16 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $70.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.73. DuPont de Nemours, Inc. has a one year low of $61.14 and a one year high of $78.74. The company has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.37.

DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. DuPont de Nemours had a return on equity of 6.12% and a net margin of 3.51%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that DuPont de Nemours, Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DuPont de Nemours Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. This is a positive change from DuPont de Nemourss previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. DuPont de Nemourss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 163.44%.

DuPont de Nemours Profile

(Free Report)

DuPont de Nemours, Inc provides technology-based materials and solutions in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through Electronics & Industrial, Water & Protection, and Corporate & Other segments. The Electronics & Industrial segment supplies materials and solutions for the fabrication of semiconductors and integrated circuits.

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Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,215 shares of the aircraft producers stock after buying an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of Boeing by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC IL now owns 75,101 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $14,395,000 after purchasing an additional 13,079 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Boeing by 86.8% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,776 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $4,749,000 after purchasing an additional 11,510 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Boeing by 65.0% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,999 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Boeing by 1,335.3% during the third quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 36,443 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $6,985,000 after buying an additional 33,904 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in Boeing by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,037,044 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $198,781,000 after buying an additional 19,847 shares in the last quarter. 61.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Boeing Price Performance

BA opened at $203.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of -55.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.30 and a beta of 1.56. The Boeing Company has a fifty-two week low of $176.25 and a fifty-two week high of $267.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $219.35 and a 200-day moving average of $214.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Boeing ( NYSE:BA Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The aircraft producer reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.72) by $0.25. The business had revenue of $22.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.75) EPS. Boeings revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Boeing Company will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Edward Jones cut Boeing from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Boeing from $210.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Boeing in a report on Friday, December 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $265.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered Boeing from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the company from $255.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Boeing from $306.00 to $279.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Boeing has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $252.63.

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Boeing Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC  Free Report) by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,569 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 10,641 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 138,667 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $11,170,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $395,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 65,011 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $5,237,000 after buying an additional 14,699 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 9.6% during the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Finally, Brasada Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 17,723 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. 75.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Bank of America restated an underperform rating and set a $78.00 price target (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $86.17.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of WEC opened at $78.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $24.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $99.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. WEC Energy Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other.

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Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis' mother Marisela Arreaza, center, speaks to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. At left is Michelle's sister Claudia Troconis-Marmol and at right is her father Dr. Carlos Troconis Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Members of Michelle Troconis' family speak to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Members of Michelle Troconis' family start to leave after speaking to the media after the guilty verdict in her trial at the court house in Stamford, Conn., on Friday March 1, 2024. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media Court marshals lead Michelle Troconis out of the courtroom verdict of guilty on all counts was read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a verdict of guilty on all counts is read on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis listens as a jury reads a guilty on all counts verdict on the final day jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis sits with her head bowed at state Superior Court in Stamford March 1, 2024 after a jury found her guilty of six counts in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, including conspiracy to commit murder. Pool video feed Michelle Troconis, center, appears in court with her defense attorneys Jon Schoenhorn, left, and Audrey Felsen during the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis arrives for the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media Michelle Troconis, center, appears in court with her defense attorneys Jon Schoenhorn, left, and Audrey Felsen during the third day of jury deliberation for her criminal trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. March 1, 2024. Ned Gerard/Hearst Connecticut Media The Troconis family gather to speak to the media March 1, 2024 after guilty verdicts in the trial of Michelle Troconis. Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media

STAMFORD  Michelle Troconis has been found guilty of all charges, including conspiring to kill Jennifer Dulos, hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence related to the crime, a jury determined Friday.

After more than three days of deliberations and eight weeks worth of evidence, the jury found Troconis, 49, guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to tamper with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.

With the verdict, Troconis has been found guilty of trying to create an alibi for her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, the morning Jennifer Dulos went missing and helping him clean a pickup truck that police believe was used in the crime.

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Troconis faces up to 50 years in prison if a judge decides to sentence her to consecutive terms.

Jeffrey Kestenband, an attorney representing co-defendant Kent Mawhinney, said he hopes the verdict provides a "measure of relief" for Jennifer Dulos' family.

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"The senseless murder of Jennifer Farber was a horrific crime," Kestenband said in a statement. "We hope the verdict in the Troconis case provides a measure of relief for Ms. Farbers family and friends. That verdict has nothing to do with Kent Mawhinney, however. His name was barely mentioned over six weeks of trial, and for good reason  he was not involved in the death of Jennifer Dulos."

Mawhinney is awaiting trial of his own on a conspiracy to commit murder charge in the case.

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The episode, titled "A Life Interrupted," is scheduled to air at 9 p.m., and will feature an interview by correspondent Dennis Murphy with six of Jennifer Dulos' friends. The interview took place this week while the jury was deliberating, according to a news release from NBC.

Earlier this week, Murphy sat down with Troconis attorney Jon Schoenhorn, and pressed the lawyer over the prosecutions claim his client had given Fotis Dulos an alibi. According to NBC, Schoenhorn responded: Even if she was covering for her boyfriend, thats a far cry from saying she knows that while hes not there, his purpose is to murder his wife.

Lindy Urso, the attorney for Pawel Gumienny, one of the main witnesses for the prosecution against Troconis, said he was "very surprised" by the verdict.

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Gumienny testified for two days about the lead-up to Jennifer Dulos' disappearance and the days and weeks afterward. But his lawyer said he didn't think that amounted to proof of a murder conspiracy against Troconis beyond a reasonable doubt.

"I don't believe the state had the evidence," Urso said. "I don't think they had the evidence of foreknowledge beyond a reasonable doubt."

In a prepared statement Friday afternoon, Meghan Scanlon, the CEO of the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said Jennifer Dulos was among 14 people killed by an intimate partner in the state in 2019.

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"Today, a jury held one of the individuals involved in her death accountable for the tremendous loss that will forever be felt by Jennifers children, family, and friends," Scanlon said. "We appreciate the diligence of the prosecutors, investigators, and jurors in ensuring some measure of justice for Jennifer and her family."



Scanlon said that domestic violence "is a preventable public health crisis that impacts us all.

"Abusive tactics can be coercive and subtle but may escalate over time, becoming more physically violent," she said. "Fifteen women were killed by a current or former intimate partner in Connecticut just last year. We urge anyone who is questioning their own relationship or that of a family member or friend to speak with an advocate."

In a prepared statement, Stamford/Norwalk State's Attorney Paul J. Ferencek expressed condolences to Jennifer Dulos' family, "particularly her five children, who had their mother violently taken from them on May 24, 2019."

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"I commend the hard work of everyone involved in this case and express my gratitude to the jury for their thoughtfulness and attention during this trial," Ferencek said. "While its our hope that todays verdict brings Jennifers family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests.

"I assure you the state of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking," the statement concluded.

Schoenhorn said outside court that prosecutors had "presented a narrative based on inadmissible hearsay and speculation" that was "enough to convince this jury."

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"I'm at a loss, particularly with regard to the first count," he said. "I don't believe there was any evidence that could do to the jury on the conspiracy to commit murder whatsoever."

"Going to trial is always a risk," he said. "I'm more disappointed than I am surprised. I just personally don't feel this was justice."

The attorney said "there are so many appeal issues. For me, it's going to be what not to argue rather than what we should argue."

Troconis will not be bonding out today, he said.

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Outside the courthouse, Troconis' father told the media the family is "devastated."

"There has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter," Carlos Troconis said. "She is innocent and we will keep proving that, forever."

He said "the influence of the media had tremendous effects on this case."

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"My sister is innocent of all the charges she was convicted of," her sister Claudia said. "I know that only time will prove it to you guys."

"We will appeal and we will not stop fighting for her," she said.

Carrie Luft, a close friend of Jennifer Dulos and a spokesperson for her family and friends, released a prepared statement following the verdicts:

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"Todays verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this casemost important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found. We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifers loved ones cannot bury her next to her father.

We want to thank the jury for their commitment and careful deliberation during this lengthy, complex trial and Judge Kevin Randolph for his guidance and authority in the courtroom.



We remain deeply indebted to the states attorneys office  in particular, prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness, assistant states attorney Elizabeth Moran, and case inspector David Edwards  for their tireless work, expertise, endurance, and dedication in the courtroom and out. We express our unending gratitude and respect to the investigators, analysts, and other law enforcement personnel who have shown an unflagging commitment to Jennifers case over a span of nearly five years. We owe a special debt of thanks to those individuals, law enforcement and civilian, who testified at this trial and in its hearings; your courage and integrity inspire us.



Many questions remain as we approach the five-year marker. It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads. In the meantime, Jennifers grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory.



We ask that you respect Jennifers memory and the privacy of her family and loved ones at this time."

As the verdicts were being read, Troconis looked back at members of her family seated behind her in the gallery, some of whom put their heads down and were crying to themselves.

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There were no obvious displays of emotion from the public gallery, which included John Kimball, the former lead investigator in the case, as well as other police officers involved in the investigation.

The jury took a total of about 12 hours deliberating the charges before returning with their verdicts. After the judge adjourned court, a large media gathered in front of the courthouse awaiting comments from those involved in the trial.

Following the guilty verdicts, Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Manning asked Judge Kevin Randolph to at least double Troconis' bond, if not revoke it entirely. The prosecutor noted Troconis no longer enjoys the presumption of innocence and has ties outside the country.

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According to the Judicial Branch, the bond was set at $1.5 million, but her defense attorney, Jon Schoenhorn said it was $2.1 million, noting Troconis had originally been charged in multiple different cases.

He said Troconis has appeared as required in court for nearly five years, and that he is in possession of his client's Venezuelan passport. As he spoke, Troconis sat with her head on the defense table, with Schoenhorn's co-counsel Audrey Felsen rubbing her back.

Randolph set a new bond for Troconis at $6 million. Judicial marshals then handcuffed Troconis as the judge announced conditions should Troconis be able to post bond: GPS monitoring and house arrest.

Troconis' sentencing is scheduled for May 31  a clerk had initially suggested May 24, the five-year anniversary of Jennifer's disappearance, but lawyers for the state and defense asked it be set down for the following week.

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Jurors began their deliberations Tuesday afternoon after they heard closing arguments from the prosecution and defense. Deliberations continued on Wednesday morning and jurors returned to the courtroom because they wanted to hear the testimony again of Troconis' friend who was the last witness to take the stand.

Troconis, 49, is accused of trying to create an alibi for her former boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, the morning his estranged wife went missing and helping him clean a pickup truck that police believe was used in the crime.
Not only will it cost 12,000 per migrants plane ticket to Rwanda, overall, the total costs would be 541m, which works out as 1.8m per asylum seeker for repatriation to Africa. The cost of the Rwanda scheme is now set to top half a billion pounds, and is rising daily. The idiotic PM is set in his losing profligate plan and will no doubt be punished further in the polling booths across the nation when the General Election comes around for his complete blindness to his own lunacy.

The Home Office has granted 1.4 million fast-track visas to migrants within the past year and is fast tracking immigration. Abuse of the UKS working visa scheme is rife. The Home Office issued 275 visas to a care home that did not even fucking exist, and another 1,234 were given to a company that stated it only had four workers when it was given its licence to operate. These are a small sample of some of the hundreds of thousands of working visa abuses the Home Office has turned a blind eye towards.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that net migration to the UK was 745,000 in 2022. The latest official estimates show that net migration in the year to June 2023 was 672,000.

Rwanda Plan

Rishi Sunak is also responsible for the massive levels of debt accrued by GB PLC during the covid pandemic with his huge spending sprees that amounted to nothing apart from increasing the UKs debt mountain.

Instead of sending migrants to fucking Rwanda, all the government has to do is put illegal migrants in ships and send them back to France. That would solve the problem without vast costs to the taxpayer.

Economic migrants seeking a life of luxury on UK benefits posing as asylum seekers are at the moment being serviced in 4-star hotels across the country at a cost of 8 million per day, which equates to 2.9 billion per annum.

The fact is that as long as the UK is ruled by foreign courts like the ECHR and UN, the supposed sovereign nation will NEVER have control of its own borders and yet Rishi Sunak has completely ruled out leaving the ball and chains of the these foreign courts dictating what the UK can and cannot do.

Rishi Sunaks Rwanda plan is a sure election loser, as much as his profligate socialist spending.

The entirety of this mass unfettered migration naturally results in public services that cannot cope; there are no new houses being built, no new hospitals, no new schools and the entire travel infrastructure is crumbling under the massive strain.
The scene at the intersection of Iranistan and Railroad Avenues following a fatal accident involving a Toyota Yaris, pictured here, which was hit by another vehicle, not pictured, that was being pursued by Connecticut State Police in Bridgeport in Aug. 2017. Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media

At least 16 Connecticut residents died as a result of police chases from 2017 through 2022, an investigation by Hearst Newspapers shows, while dozens more were injured during that time.

Some victims were suspects fleeing police, while others were bystanders caught in the wrong place when a vehicle being chased veered off the road or swerved into oncoming traffic.

In some of these cases, officers pursued people they suspected of violent offenses. But in others, they chased suspects who did not appear to pose an active threat to officers or to the public. Some deadly chases began with simple traffic stops before drivers sped away, prompting a pursuit.

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While blame for these deadly crashes has often fallen on fleeing suspects, some advocates say officers contribute to the accidents by escalating pursuits in situations when doing so is not necessary  sometimes in violation of state or department standards.

"There seems to be a premium put on property over people," said David McGuire, executive director of the ACLU of Connecticut. "These chases are way too prevalent, and many times they're because of something like a stolen car."

The issue isnt unique to Connecticut. The San Francisco Chronicle  which is part of Hearst Newspapers, along with CT Insider  spent a year compiling a national database of fatal police chases using data from news reports, private research groups and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The Chronicles investigation found at least 3,336 deaths stemming from police chases across the country between between 2017 and 2022. The data showed that police often escalated minor interactions into dangerous and ultimately deadly chases.

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In many places, the Chronicle found, vague or permissive policies allow officers wide latitude to pursue suspects when they choose. Even when officers have violated their departments policies, Hearst Newspapers found that they typically face only light discipline, if any.

In Connecticut, traffic deaths stemming from police chases have resulted from crashes or collisions involving suspects, not officers, and surviving suspects have often been charged with manslaughter and other offenses stemming from the incidents. During the period in question, no officer appears to have been charged with a crime related to a deadly pursuit, and its unclear if any have been meaningfully disciplined.

Many of these deadly crashes came before December 2019, when the states Police Officer Standards and Training Council adopted a new, stricter standard about when officers can pursue suspects. But at least three happened after the change, Hearst Newspapers found.

State data indicates that while the policy change has reduced the number of high-speed police pursuits, officers continue to pursue suspects for a broad range of offenses. To some advocates, this suggests departments have not meaningfully enforced the new standard.

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Michael Lawlor sits on the POST Council. He said police chiefs he trusts have told him the statewide pursuit policy is "flagrantly violated."

Lawlor pointed to a chase in Colchester on Feb. 16. According to an incident report, state police pursued a suspect for 21 miles, reaching speeds over 135 mph, because his car looked like one that had fled the scene of a crash.

Officials ultimately determined the car wasnt involved in the crash, but the man behind the wheel was not allowed to drive as a condition of his parole. The suspect is awaiting arraignment on a handful of charges.

A spokesperson for the Connecticut State Police said the incident is still under review.

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Lawlor said the incident is just one example of officers ignoring the states pursuit policy, potentially putting other motorists in danger and risking expensive lawsuits in the process.

"The downside of ignoring the policy is that youll get the legislature to impose limitations that you will not like," said Lawlor, a former Democratic state representative who co-chaired the legislatures Judiciary Committee. "Thats what will happen."

A file photo of a police cruiser's emergency lights. Ron Chapple / Getty Image

A new policy

In 2019, following several high-profile incidents in which officers shot at fleeing suspects, Connecticut state lawmakers passed a bill, signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont, requiring police departments to record all instances of pursuits and providing for the development of a statewide minimum standard regarding when chases are appropriate.

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Under the resulting standard, police may pursue drivers only if they believe they have committed or are actively committing a violent crime, or if there are "exigent circumstances" that require someone be apprehended immediately. Once a chase has begun, they must "continuously reassess" whether to continue the pursuit.

Keith Mello, chief of the Milford Police Department and chair of the states POST Council, said the new policy attempts to balance the danger of high-speed chases against the need to apprehend suspects.

"Were not continuing pursuit for motor vehicle offenses and property and nonviolent crimes" unless there are exigent circumstances, Mello said. "That alone isnt a justification."

At the time the new standard was introduced, one researcher from Sacred Heart University found, most pursuits were in response not to violent crime but to property crime and motor vehicle infractions. Has that changed since the policy took effect?

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Based on the available data, its hard to say.

After recording 739 pursuits in 2019, POST reported only 281 in 2021 and 445 in 2022 (with no data available for 2020), suggesting a significant drop. Those figures, however, are notably incomplete, missing data from the Connecticut State Police, among other departments.

Even still, POST recorded 30 crashes stemming from pursuits in 2021, five of which caused injury, and 44 in 2022, 15 of which caused injury.

Over the two-year period, officers reported initiating 135 pursuits in response to violent crimes but also 408 in response to motor vehicle violations, 114 in response to property crimes and 19 in response to "suspicious behavior."

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McGuire, from the ACLU of Connecticut, argues lawmakers and state officials can do more, both to limit the circumstances when pursuits are legal and to enforce the policy currently in place.

As he sees it, an officers failure to follow the states pursuits policy warrants serious consequences, including suspension or firing.

"We continue to really not have a lot of confidence that some of the either state laws or department policies are really being complied with," McGuire said. "A lot of these provisions dont have enforceability, they dont have teeth in them."

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Mello said POST doesnt monitor whether officers follow the policy, noting that responsibility for enforcement falls to local departments.

Paul Melanson, chief of the Avon Police Department and president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, offered several explanations for why pursuits for non-violent offenses have continued even under the new policy.

In some instances, he said, officers may pursue someone who has committed a property crime or traffic violation if that person is also a suspect in a violent crime. In other cases, departments may be liberal in how they define pursuits  reporting instances when, for example, someone doesnt immediately notice an officer is seeking to pull them over and continues driving.

Melanson said Connecticut police departments have generally taken the new policy seriously and adapted their practices accordingly. He called the idea that departments fail to enforce their new policies "completely false."

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"I'm not gonna say that it's not that it's not going to happen," Melanson said, referring to pursuits that violate department policy. "But I would say if it did happen, it would be corrected, remediated, and the individual officer, should it happen again, would be disciplined."

Steve Errante, an attorney who has represented victims of police chases, including in front of the Connecticut Supreme Court, said the new standard seems to have reduced injuries and deaths stemming from pursuits  but not entirely eliminated them.

"This type of incident is way less common than it was," he said. "But clearly it still happens."

We have to have a level of caution

On the morning of August 10, 2017, Marline Adesokan was driving her SUV through a construction zone in her home town of Bloomfield, with her son and daughter strapped in the back seat.

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She was attempting to take a left turn when, according to a lawsuit she would later file, a speeding Bloomfield police officer attempted to pass her on her left, causing a collision. According to the suit, Adesokan suffered several ligament sprains and other injuries, some of which caused permanent damage.

In the summer of 2019, Adesokan sued the town of Bloomfield, the local police department and the officer who collided with her, seeking $15,000 in relief. After a judge ruled against her, declaring the officer immune from liability, Adesokan appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, which reversed the initial decision, sending the case back to a lower court for trial.

Adesokans attorney, John Sodipo, said this isnt his first case involving officers driving recklessly and causing harm to bystanders.

"The police have a job to do, to protect and serve. I understand that," Sodipo said in an interview last week. "But in doing so, I think the onus is also upon them that when theyre in pursuit or theyre trying to get somewhere, that due care is taken."

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A Bloomfield police spokesperson declined to comment on Adesokans suit. Each of the defendants in the lawsuit denied responsibility for Adesokans injuries, and in court filings, the town argued Adesokans claims lacked evidence, relying on "illogical reasoning and baseless conclusions."

In recent years, the state Supreme Court has weighed in on several cases involving police pursuits, ruling a Seymour officer immune after a 15-year-old died in a collision stemming from a pursuit but, in a separate case, holding a Hartford officer liable after he crashed an unmarked car into a suspects motorcycle, causing serious injuries.

In 2022, the state legislature passed a bill that would have limited immunity for officers in police pursuits  but which was vetoed by Lamont, who viewed it as overly broad.

Other serious crashes did not result in lawsuits. In August 2017, a 61-year-old Bridgeport woman died when her car was struck by another vehicle attempting to flee police.

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Months later, a 54-year-old man from Seymour died when another suspect chased by officers crossed a double-yellow line and collided with him head on. Less than two weeks after that, a 3-year-old boy died after a teenager fleeing a traffic stop drove onto the sidewalk where he and his family stood.

In each of these cases, the suspect fleeing police was charged with and convicted of crimes, leading to prison sentences exceeding a decade.

The law enforcement agencies involved in these pursuits either declined to comment for this story or did not return requests for comment.

As Sodipo sees it, tragedies like these didnt have to happen  no one had to get hurt, no one had to die and no one had to wind up in prison.

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Fmr LLC lowered its holdings in Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI  Free Report) (TSE:AGI) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,589,130 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 145,658 shares during the period. Fmr LLCs holdings in Alamos Gold were worth $51,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AGI. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Alamos Gold by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 29,621 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Alamos Gold by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 535,028 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $4,505,000 after buying an additional 192,939 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Alamos Gold by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 300,000 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 58,298 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alamos Gold in the 1st quarter worth about $101,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alamos Gold by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 61,429 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.99% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AGI. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Alamos Gold from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. National Bank Financial restated an outperform overweight rating on shares of Alamos Gold in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alamos Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Alamos Gold in a research report on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $14.38.

Alamos Gold Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AGI opened at $11.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.15. The companys 50-day moving average price is $12.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.57. Alamos Gold Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.81 and a fifty-two week high of $14.95.

Alamos Gold (NYSE:AGI  Get Free Report) (TSE:AGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.12. The firm had revenue of $254.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $257.47 million. Alamos Gold had a net margin of 20.52% and a return on equity of 7.30%. Alamos Golds quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alamos Gold Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current year.

Alamos Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Alamos Golds payout ratio is 18.87%.

About Alamos Gold

(Free Report)

Alamos Gold Inc engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and extraction of precious metals in Canada and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold and silver deposits. It holds 100% interest in the Young-Davidson mine and Island Gold mine located in the Ontario, Canada; Mulatos mine located in the Sonora, Mexico; and Lynn Lake project situated in the Manitoba, Canada.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI  Free Report) (TSE:AGI).

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CM) has been assigned an average recommendation of Hold from the thirteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$63.03.

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CM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$63.00 to C$66.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$62.00 to C$64.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Scotiabank upgraded Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$62.00 to C$67.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from C$66.00 to C$63.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, National Bankshares upgraded Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$62.00 to C$71.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th.

View Our Latest Report on CM

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Price Performance

Shares of CM stock opened at C$64.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of C$59.80 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$62.25 and a 200-day moving average of C$56.70. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has a one year low of C$47.44 and a one year high of C$64.72.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (TSE:CM  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 30th. The company reported C$1.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$1.58 by C($0.01). The company had revenue of C$5.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$5.86 billion. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce had a net margin of 23.44% and a return on equity of 9.72%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce will post 6.6970021 earnings per share for the current year.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 28th were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 27th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. This is a boost from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerces dividend payout ratio is currently 69.77%.

Insider Transactions at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

In other news, Senior Officer Christina Charlotte Kramer sold 15,446 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$57.19, for a total transaction of C$883,356.74. Company insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S.

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California Business Bank (OTCMKTS:CABB  Get Free Report) and Customers Bancorp (NYSE:CUBI  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

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Earnings & Valuation

This table compares California Business Bank and Customers Bancorps revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio California Business Bank N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Customers Bancorp $1.44 billion 1.18 $250.14 million $7.31 7.43

Customers Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than California Business Bank.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score California Business Bank 0 0 0 0 N/A Customers Bancorp 0 1 5 1 3.00

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for California Business Bank and Customers Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Customers Bancorp has a consensus price target of $57.00, suggesting a potential upside of 4.92%. Given Customers Bancorps higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Customers Bancorp is more favorable than California Business Bank.

Profitability

This table compares California Business Bank and Customers Bancorps net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets California Business Bank N/A N/A N/A Customers Bancorp 17.23% 18.75% 1.19%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

82.1% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.4% of Customers Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

California Business Bank has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Customers Bancorp has a beta of 1.69, indicating that its share price is 69% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Customers Bancorp beats California Business Bank on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Business Bank

(Get Free Report)

California Business Bank provides various financial products and services for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The company offers various personal and business deposit products; and business and commercial loans comprising SBA, commercial and industrial, and commercial real estate loans. It also provides online and mobile banking, mobile deposit, bill pay, and other services. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

About Customers Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

Customers Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Customers Bank that provides financial products and services to individual consumers, and small and middle market businesses. The company provides deposit banking products, which includes commercial and consumer checking, non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing demand, MMDA, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its lending business offers commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and multifamily and residential mortgage loans; SBA lending and financing; specialty lending includes fund finance, real estate specialty finance, technology and venture, healthcare and financial institutions group finance; commercial loans to mortgage companies, and commercial equipment financing; and fund finance, which includes secured and variable rate financing, private equity funds, and cash management services. In addition, the company provides digital banking including Banking-as-a-Service to fintech companies, payments and treasury services to businesses, and consumer loans through fintech companies and the TassatPay, an blockchain-based instant B2B payments platform which offers instant payments including over-the-counter desks, exchanges, liquidity providers, market makers, funds, and other B2B verticals. Further, it offers mobile phone and internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box, remote deposit capture, courier, merchant processing, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay, and cash management services, such as account reconciliation, collections, and sweep accounts. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in West Reading, Pennsylvania.

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Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Terex Co. (NYSE:TEX  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,244 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

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Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Terex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $294,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Terex by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,736 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Terex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $233,000. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Terex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $336,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Terex in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,672,000. 93.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Terex Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TEX opened at $57.28 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $58.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Terex Co. has a 12 month low of $41.89 and a 12 month high of $65.64.

Terex Dividend Announcement

Terex ( NYSE:TEX Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.41. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. Terex had a return on equity of 32.89% and a net margin of 10.06%. The companys quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Terex Co. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Terexs payout ratio is currently 8.96%.

Insider Activity at Terex

In related news, CEO John L. Garrison, Jr. sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total transaction of $2,655,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 492,121 shares of the companys stock, valued at $29,035,139. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO John L. Garrison, Jr. sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total transaction of $2,655,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 492,121 shares of the companys stock, valued at $29,035,139. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David A. Sachs acquired 25,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.16 per share, for a total transaction of $1,279,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 62,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,197,500. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TEX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Terex from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Terex from $52.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group cut Terex from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $62.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Terex from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an underperform rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Terex in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $63.54.

View Our Latest Stock Report on TEX

About Terex

(Free Report)

Terex Corporation manufactures and sells aerial work platforms and materials processing machinery worldwide. It operates in two segments, Aerial Work Platforms (AWP) and Materials Processing (MP). The AWP segment designs, manufactures, services, and markets aerial work platform equipment, utility equipment, and telehandlers under the Terex and Genie brands.

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Hexagon Composites ASA (OTCMKTS:HXGCF  Get Free Report) and Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON  Get Free Report) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

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Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.8% of Hexagon Composites ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.2% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Sonoco Products shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Hexagon Composites ASA and Sonoco Products net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Hexagon Composites ASA N/A N/A N/A Sonoco Products 7.00% 22.42% 7.28%

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Hexagon Composites ASA N/A N/A N/A $0.98 1.96 Sonoco Products $6.78 billion 0.82 $474.96 million $4.80 11.81

This table compares Hexagon Composites ASA and Sonoco Products revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Sonoco Products has higher revenue and earnings than Hexagon Composites ASA. Hexagon Composites ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sonoco Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Hexagon Composites ASA and Sonoco Products, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Hexagon Composites ASA 0 1 0 0 2.00 Sonoco Products 0 2 2 0 2.50

Sonoco Products has a consensus target price of $61.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.50%. Given Sonoco Products stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sonoco Products is more favorable than Hexagon Composites ASA.

Dividends

Hexagon Composites ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.9%. Sonoco Products pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Hexagon Composites ASA pays out 25.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sonoco Products pays out 42.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Sonoco Products has raised its dividend for 42 consecutive years. Hexagon Composites ASA is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Sonoco Products beats Hexagon Composites ASA on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hexagon Composites ASA

(Get Free Report)

Hexagon Composites ASA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and sale of composite pressure cylinders and fuel systems in Norway, Europe, North America, South-East Asia, the Middle East, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Hexagon Agility, Hexagon Ragasco, Hexagon Digital Wave, and Hexagon Purus. The Hexagon Agility segment provides clean fuel solutions for commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, and gaseous energy transportation. The Hexagon Ragasco segment manufacturers composite liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for leisure, household, and industrial applications. The Hexagon Digital Wave segment offers cylinder testing and monitoring technology solutions that reduce down-time and inspection costs while improving inspection accuracy. Hexagon Purus segment provides high pressure cylinders, vehicle systems, and battery backs for fuel cell and battery electric vehicles that enable the safe and effective use of hydrogen and electricity as transportation fuel in various applications, including buses, distribution, refueling, rail, maritime, aerospace, and ground storage, as well as light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles. Hexagon Composites ASA was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alesund, Norway.

About Sonoco Products

(Get Free Report)

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates through two segments: Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products. The Industrial Paper Packaging segment provides paperboard tubes, cones, and cores; paper-based protective packaging products; and uncoated recycled paperboard products. Sonoco Products Company also offers various packaging materials, including plastic, paper, foam, and other specialty materials. The company sells its products in various markets, which include paper, textile, film, food, packaging, construction, and wire and cable. Sonoco Products Company was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina.

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Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. (NYSE:AMR  Free Report) by 180.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,816 shares of the energy companys stock after acquiring an additional 74,583 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.s holdings in Alpha Metallurgical Resources were worth $30,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AMR. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 730 shares of the energy companys stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,460 shares of the energy companys stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 19.0% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 500 shares of the energy companys stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 1,724 shares of the energy companys stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eqis Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alpha Metallurgical Resources by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,766 shares of the energy companys stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.31% of the companys stock.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources Trading Up 4.1 %

AMR stock opened at $377.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $375.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $288.76. Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.72 and a 1-year high of $452.00. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.40.

Alpha Metallurgical Resources Company Profile

Alpha Metallurgical Resources ( NYSE:AMR Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The energy company reported $12.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.78 by $4.10. The company had revenue of $959.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $796.65 million. Alpha Metallurgical Resources had a return on equity of 46.22% and a net margin of 20.80%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $13.37 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc. will post 43.05 earnings per share for the current year.

(Free Report)

Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc, a mining company, produces, processes, and sells met and thermal coal in Virginia and West Virginia. As of December 31, 2022, it operated twenty four active mines and eight coal preparation and load-out facilities. The company was formerly known as Contura Energy, Inc and changed its name to Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Inc in February 2021.

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Shares of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) have been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$90.62.

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A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$92.00 to C$87.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$94.00 to C$95.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$86.00 to C$92.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$95.00 to C$94.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Toronto-Dominion Bank from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from C$95.00 to C$86.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Toronto-Dominion Bank

Toronto-Dominion Bank Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank stock opened at C$81.49 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is C$82.06 and its 200 day moving average price is C$81.90. The stock has a market capitalization of C$145.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.84. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a twelve month low of C$75.89 and a twelve month high of C$90.75.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 30th. The company reported C$1.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$1.92 by C($0.09). The company had revenue of C$13.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$12.53 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 21.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 7.9133005 EPS for the current year.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 9th. This is a positive change from Toronto-Dominion Banks previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.01%. Toronto-Dominion Banks dividend payout ratio is 72.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Anita Odell sold 5,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$84.45, for a total transaction of C$486,432.00. In other news, Senior Officer Anita Odell sold 5,760 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$84.45, for a total transaction of C$486,432.00. Also, Senior Officer Riaz Ahmed sold 42,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$82.26, for a total value of C$3,496,050.00. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,422 shares of company stock valued at $4,719,931. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Toronto-Dominion Bank

(Get Free Report

The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking.

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Derry and Strabane District Council has voted to donate a portrait of King Charles III to St Columb's Cathedral.

The portrait was offered to council for free as part of a UK-wide scheme 'to celebrate the new reign'.

The government-funded scheme will cost 8m and offer portraits to every public body including councils, courts, schools, police forces, and fire and rescue services.

The photo itself was taken last year by Hugo Burnand, who also took the king and queens coronation portraits and their 2005 wedding photos.

UUP Alderman Derek Hussey requested that discussion of the portrait was deferred to Full Council.

Alderman Darren Guy proposed the move in the matters arising from the Monthly Governance and Strategic Planning Committee held on Tuesday, February 6.

Sadly, I realise that the portrait of King Charles would not gain support to be displayed within the Guildhall, the UUP Alderman said. So to allow those who live in the city and district to get a chance to view this new portrait I would propose that this Council accepts the portrait of King Charles III and immediately gifts it to St Columb's Cathedral to be displayed within the Cathedral.

Sinn Fein councillor Christopher Jackson said his party would abstain from voting on the proposal.

As a republican, we have no truck at all with the British Royal Family but we acknowledge that there are people within the city and district who do have some affiliation and we don't wish to stand in their way so on this proposal in front of us we'll be abstaining, Cllr Jackson said.

Cllr Brian Tierney said it was important to be sure if council was permitted to re-gift the photo.

I suppose the first thing that we have to ask is if this is within the terms and conditions of it being gifted to us, that we can give it to a third party organisation. I'm sure that has been checked but I just want to be clear on it, the SDLP councillor said.

Our position is, we have no issue with it being given to a third party organisation. I think it's slightly unfair to say that it wouldn't get support to be displayed within this building.

It doesn't fall within our policies to be displayed within this or any other council building but where it can be displayed and if people want to go and see it then that should be open to them and there are many other people across the district who would want to go and see it and I don't think we as a council should be standing in the way of that.

Alderman Niree McMorris said there are already similar items in the Guildhall.

I agree with Brian (Tierney) that people weren't given the opportunity to say whether they accept it or not into the Guildhall and I would have loved to have seen it there, the DUP councillor said. We have other memorabilia like Queen Victoria down the stairs and we have other portraits so I don't think it was a big ask to accept a portrait. However, in light of the proposal here, if St Columb's Cathedral were willing to accept it, we would go along with the motion.

The motion passed with 18 for, 21 abstentions and 0 against.
Local organisations can make submissions to Derry City and Strabane District Councils Community Centre Venue Fund from today, with up to 12,000 available for eligible venues.

Applications must be submitted before 12 noon on Friday, March 15 to be considered, and the fund is open to constituted not for profit venues.

The programme aims to support the provision of good quality, accessible facilities, and services and to encourage good practice and partnership working between Council and the Community & Voluntary Sector.

There are two tiers available within the fund, with 4,001 - 12,000 available for centres based in one of the three rural DEAs - Sperrin, Faughan or Derg in Tier One, and in Tier Two, 4,001 - 12,000 for Centres based in the five Urban DEAs - Strabane, Waterside, Moor, Foyleside and Ballyarnett

Councils Head of Community Development and Leisure, Barry OHagan, encouraged local organisations to apply for the fund. The Community Venue Fund provides additional support to help organisations deliver essential activities, programmes and services within our local communities, he explained.

It recognises the vital roles these centres play as busy community hubs, which assist in the delivery of wider government policy priorities. The fund can help address gaps in services and support staff in providing a diverse programme of activity throughout the year.

Applicants should note that this is a competitive scheme and applications will be assessed on the quality of information provided within the application form. Applications must score 60% or over to reach the threshold to be considered for funding.

The fund is open to local centres that prioritise equality and good relations, and which provide an extensive Community Development Programme open to people of all backgrounds and abilities. Organisations should also be clearly linked to addressing the community development issues identified within the Local Growth Plans.

Please note that no applications will be considered after the deadline on Friday, March 15 at 12 noon so applicants are encouraged to make submissions as early as possible.

Applications can be made online or by post, so please take into account possible delays in delivery times.
Members of Derry City and Strabane District Councils Business Support team will reach out to budding and fledgling entrepreneurs in the rural areas of the city and district later this month with a series of engagement events to highlight a new support programme.

The Go Succeed Roadshows will be held in the last two weeks of March and the events are an opportunity for business owners to learn more about the support and guidance available to them to get their idea off the ground.

Go Succeed is a 17 million programme funded by the UK Government and powered by their Levelling Up Fund and is being rolled out across all 11 Councils in Northern Ireland.

Business Officer at Derry and Strabane Council, Maria McKeever, explained more about what it offers.

Whether youre a budding entrepreneur just starting, or are looking to grow your business, our team of industry experts will provide tailored support and guidance to help you achieve your business goals, she said.

The Go Succeed programme offers mentoring, masterclasses, peer networks, access to grant funding and guidance on composing your business plan so that you have the best chance of navigating the challenges of start-up and building a sustainable and successful business.

We are delighted to be reaching out to the rural areas of the city and district so the community can learn more about the services on offer and speak directly to members of our Business Support team about how we can help.

The full list of roadshows are 13th March 2024: 10-12 am Park-Learmount Development Association Ltd, 2-4 pm Castlederg-Churchtown Community Association, 25th March 2024, 6:30-8:30 pm Plumbridge- Glenelly Development Trust, 26th March 2024, 2-4 pm Eglinton Community Hall, 27th March 2024 10-12 am Newtownstewart 2000 Centre.

For more information call the Business Support team on 02871253253 ext 6667.

Visit www.go-succeed.com for further information on how Go Succeed can support you.
An Irish Dragons Den contestant who took his healthy dog treats business before the UK tycoons on Thursday night has rejected their investment bid.

Richard Marles, 38, a Westmeath entrepreneur whose company Park Life turns over more than one million euro in annual revenue, used the Dragons trademark rejection line Im out against them.

He appeared on the BBC One show alongside Labrador Penny, asking for 150,000 for a 5% stake in Park Life, whose flagship product is a frisbee-shaped dog treat which can be thrown more than 40 feet.

The company says Fris-bix encourage dogs who struggle with recall to return to their owners side for more.

Following an intense session in the Den, Mr Marles received offers from both Peter Jones and Touker Suleyman  but ultimately decided to turn them down.

The offers were the full amount of 150,000 for 30% of the business from Mr Jones, and an investment of 75,000 for 20% from Mr Suleyman.

Mr Marles said: I considered the offer but given how much I have put into the company, I had to walk away.

I got a good laugh out of them when I told them Im out as usually its the Dragons who say that.

The Athlone-based entrepreneur added: But the real star of the show was Penny, my Labrador, who inspired our entire range of Park Life healthy treats.

She fell asleep during my pitch, and the Dragons told me she was the most relaxed contestant they have ever had.

Shes usually a very chilled dog, so I used that as an opportunity to talk about our fastest selling product, the calming treat Chill-Bix, and she did a great job marketing the line.

Park Life said it had recently signed a deal with Disney for a European licence to make dog and cat treats with the Disney branding.

Mr Marles, who is married with three children, said the idea for the company formed in 2018 when his family started baking treats for Penny at home.
Staff working with children and vulnerable adults in asylum accommodation in Northern Ireland have not undergone checks or training, a report has found.

An inspection of contingency asylum accommodation for families with children found that they were placed into unregulated emergency accommodation.

The report states that basic clearances and training for some contractor staff had not been undertaken.

This inspection also heard evidence from health visitors that young people were losing weight because they were refusing to eat culturally unfamiliar food.

The report came following a request from senior officials in the Home Office after concerns relating to safeguarding issues in hotels in Northern Ireland occupied by family groups of asylum seekers were raised.

Among the key concerns flagged in the report was the length of time that asylum-seeking families were having to spend in hotels in Northern Ireland.

As of May 28 last year, the average length of stay was 201 days, but many families who met with inspectors had been there for more than 12 months.

The contingency accommodation is designed to be an interim measure for initial accommodation until longer-term accommodation becomes available.

The report also warned that statutory services responsible for health, social care, and education reported serious concerns about their ability to meet the complex social, physical, and mental health needs of families.

They warned that their needs became more difficult to resolve over time, which was exacerbated by a lack of funding for the additional demands on services, budget cuts, and staff burnout.

The report also stated that some families said they experienced negative attitudes and a lack of respect from some staff working in hotels.

Health professionals also reported incidences of young children losing weight as they would not eat the unfamiliar food, which was not culturally appropriate.

Non-governmental organisations also expressed concerns about bedrooms being accessed by staff without notice, and families separated across floors.

David Neal, the former Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI), said the concerns needed to be addressed urgently.

In his report, sent to the Home Secretary in August last year, Mr Neal said: Worryingly, the inspection found that basic clearances and training for some contractor staff had not been undertaken, resulting in a number of staff working with children and vulnerable adults for many months in hotels who had not undergone checks or training.

Systems for recording and monitoring safeguarding incidents also remain in development.

These are basic building blocks of a safe and effective service which really should be picked up by internal assurance mechanisms rather than the statutory inspector.

These need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

He added: The challenges faced by families and those involved in supporting them in Northern Ireland are no more problematic than those in any other parts of the UKs contingency asylum accommodation estate.

The Home Office needs to improve its assurance activity to ensure that contractors are delivering what they are required to in terms of safeguarding families with children.

The report made five recommendations, including the clarification of responsibilities of all agencies involved in safeguarding; ensuring the views of children and young people inform service delivery; a review of the AIRE (Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility) contract; improved data quality and recording; and strengthened assurance arrangements.

In a response, the Home Office said it accepted two of its recommendations and partially three of its recommendations.

Work is already under way to take forward the recommendations in this report to ensure that we continue to meet not only our statutory obligations in Northern Ireland but also to support the delivery of the Home Offices broader aims in the UK, in responding to the findings, the Home Office said in a statement.
Northern Irelands Department of Justice is facing 444 million of pressures ahead of its most challenging year, a Stormont committee has heard.

Of the pressures, 116 million is expected to be required for legal costs and compensation following the Police Service of Northern Irelands major data breach last year.

The Justice Committee, which scrutinises the work of the department, also heard the department recently received 6 million to deal with costs of the data breach so far.

The department funds the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as well as the Prison Service, Legal Aid Agency and the Courts and Tribunals Service.

Officials from the department briefed the committee on Thursday over budgetary issues.

Senior official Deborah Brown said the department has had one of the worst budget settlements over recent years and described efficiencies as having been maxed out.

She warned that 2024/25 will be a most challenging year and without more funding the department could face a very big overspend.

The Department of Justice budget has had one of the worst settlements over the last 10 years than any other department, she told MLAs.

Justice has only increased by 3%, health has increased by 70%, education has increased by 45%.

The Department of Justice has continued to take on new initiatives and continued to deliver. Its efficiencies are all maxed out. We actually dont have anywhere else to go on this and we are in a very critical situation.

24/25 is the most challenging year that we have ever had.

MLAs heard that the Department of Finance recently awarded an additional allocation of 6 million to cover the costs of the PSNIs data breach.

But the cost of the data breach is expected to rise to a significant amount in the coming years.

Last August the details of almost 9,500 PSNI officers and staff were mistakenly published in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.

The list included the surname and first initial of every employee, their rank or grade, where they are based and the unit in which they work.

Police later said the information is in the hands of dissident republicans.

UUP leader Doug Beattie asked officials what had been spent on so far on the data breach, and was told it included overtime costs and personal physical security measures being implemented.

Official Richard Logan said they expect the cost in future years to be a significant amount with compensation and legal costs.

He estimated it would cost 116 million in the next financial year.

Independent MLA Alex Easton described the projected 444 million of pressures on the departments budget as massive, and questioned whether it will impact on police officer recruitment.

Ms Brown said a 141 million bid from the PSNI includes a plan to increase police officer numbers by 145.

She explained that would involve the PSNI recruiting 500 officers, and losing around 350, adding that there is a limit to how many officers they can recruit in one year.

That would start to bring them back up from the number that they expect to reach at the end of March of 3,358 which is an all time low and nowhere near what was recommended in New Decade New Approach of the 7,500, and indeed is nowhere near the sorts of numbers talked about by the Chief Constable yesterday, she said.

But it will take them time to get back to that position so the bid thats reflected for 2024/25 is the maximum that they could potentially bring in, in the one year.

Mr Easton said he wanted to express his deep concern about police numbers.

In terms of the Prison Service, MLAs were told that an additional 38 prison officers are needed, with overtime currently making up the gap.

Meanwhile, Legal Aid was described as something which which has been never properly funded.

Ms Brown said last year from a baseline of 75 million, they secured another 20 million, but said demand is still exceeding the budget.

The forecast demand this year is 116 million, we already started the year with a deficit, she told MLAs.

Moving into the 24/25 year as part of the 444 million, we have bid for 27 million. It needs 23 million just to keep pace with the demand of 116 million a year.
Falling sleet and snow in parts of Ireland have led to some travel disruption.

The Irish weather agency Met Eireann issued weather warnings for more than a dozen counties on Friday morning.

It said temporary accumulations of snow and falls of sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions amid icy stretches on untreated roads.

A status yellow warning for snow and ice was in place until 10am on Friday morning for Cavan, Monaghan, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo.

A snow warning for Donegal expired earlier.

A separate yellow rain warning with the risk of localised flooding is in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow to expire at 3am on Saturday.

The forecaster said there will be persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.

Iarnrod Eireann said some DART services for commuters around Dublin had been delayed by 20 minutes as the weather conditions impacted signalling.

Some Bus Eireann Services to and from Dublin and Donegal and Cavan were also cancelled because of bad weather, as well as services between Cavan and Dundalk.

Dublin Bus said its 44B route from Glencullen was curtailed due to the weather.

In Northern Ireland, police said they received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in and around Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

They urged motorists to consider whether their journey is necessary, and to travel with extra caution.

The UK Met Office had initiated a snow warning for Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry overnight, expiring at 10am on Friday.
This Easter, Irelands longest running electronic music festival, Celtronic, returns to Derry for its 24th year.

Some of the best international electronic music artists will converge on Derry over the Easter weekend from March 28  March 31 to play at venues across the city alongside the best local and national DJs, producers and live acts.

Among the headliners announced this week for Celtronic 2024 are Annie Mac, acclaimed DJ, soundtrack composer and producer, David Holmes, house maestro Move D and the worlds best live electronic music artist KiNK.

On Friday, March 28, David Holmes will bring his Gods Waiting Room clubnight to Sandinos. When it comes to Irish artists and pioneers within the music industry, names dont come much bigger than David Holmes.

David Holmes' CV is formidable, with five brilliant solo albums and over 30 soundtracks to his name. His latest album Blind on a Galloping Horse is his most powerful, political and personal opus yet.

His screen work ranges from Steven Soderberghs classic Oceans Eleven trilogy and Steve McQueens critically acclaimed Hunger to stylish TV dramas including Kin and The Fall.

Holmes group Unloved have released two LPs, which form the majority of the soundtracks for Killing Eve.

He has produced albums for Noel Gallagher, Primal Scream and Manic Street Preachers and had been working with Sinead OConnor before her untimely death last year.

Over the years, St Columbs Hall has been the scene of some of the most memorable Celtronic events.

The festival returns to St Columbs Hall on Easter Saturday, March 30, for the first time in five years with an unmissable party headlined by Annie Mac who will be making her first appearance in the city in over 10 years.

Annie Mac can be seen on the biggest stages of music festivals around the world, and in the DJ booths of the world's best clubs.

Over her 20 year career in the arts, she has created a far reaching cultural presence, rooted in quality, integrity and authenticity. Annie has a strong legacy of 17 years presenting flagship music shows on BBC Radio 1.

Her Before Midnight inclusive clubbing concept that she launched in Spring 2022 has proved hugely popular and sells out in seconds.

She has also released two critically acclaimed novels, Mother Mother and The Mess Were In.

The party features a stacked lineup that includes live performances from New Jackson and local hero Cartin as well as DJ sets from two of the citys finest Jordan Villa and Sean Den.

Celtronic 2024 will come to a spectacular close at The Nerve Centre on Easter Sunday March 31. The best live electronic music artist in the world, KiNK, will make the journey from Sofia in Bulgaria to Derry for the Celtronic closing party.

KiNKs music is unifying in the best possible way. Channeling the spirit and feeling of a time where it didnt really matter who the faces behind the music were, KiNK plays with the elements of genres and sub-genres as if the future of it all is still wide-open.

KiNK will be joined at the party by Move D who has become a big Derry favourite over the years. Move D is one of modern electronic musics most beloved souls with a long and varied musical history with roots in the 60s and 70s jazz, psychedelic, rock, soul and early electronica.

Move D has become an unassuming heavyweight in house music as a producer for countless forward-thinking labels, a collaborator and a truly original selector.

His releases touch on house conventions but are delivered in his inimitable style, leaving everyone - from long- time fans to the uninitiated with their jaws on the floor and their hands in the air.

The closing party lineup also features a live set from The Cyclist while two of Derrys best clubnights, Bekuz and Queen & Disco will take care of room two.

Tickets for all Celtronic 2024 events including Access All Events passes are on sale now at https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/celtronic-2024-3139869.

Many more acts and events are still to be announced for the festival. Keep an eye on Celtronics various social media channels for the latest info:

https://www.celtronicfestival.com

https://www.facebook.com/celtronicfestival

http://www.instagram.com/celtronic
HIGHLIGHTS Google's acquisition of the maths solver app Photomath was announced in May 2022. After undergoing regulatory review, the deal was closed last year. Now, Google has officially integrated the application into its Play Store publisher account. Since 2023, the Photomath team has been part of Google.

Googles acquisition of the maths solver app Photomath was announced in May 2022. After undergoing regulatory review, the deal was finalised last year. Now, Google has officially integrated the application into its Play Store publisher account.

Based in Croatia, the free maths solver app Photomath was launched in 2014, and underwent regulatory review by the European Commission as part of its acquisition by Google.

Also read: Google now lets you access Gemini directly within Gmail, Docs & more: Heres how

Approval for the acquisition was granted in March last. Since 2023, the Photomath team has been part of Google, reports 9To5Google.

Also read: Google launches Gemini Business & Enterprise for Workspace users: Check details

Photomath allows users to take pictures of maths equations, including word problems, and receive step-by-step explanations of how to solve them. The Photomath app breaks your problem into bite-sized steps to help you understand the what and why along with the how.

The app covers a wide range of mathematical topics including elementary maths, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, and calculus.

The app offers an optional Photomath Plus subscription with Textbook Solutions, animated tutorials, and in-depth explanations for 449 per month or $2,699 annually.

While Google Lens currently provides a Homework filter for solving problems, and Google Search offers support for trigonometry, calculus and geometry through a dedicated experience, the functionality of Photomath is likely to be integrated into these Google services over time.

However, maintaining a standalone app like Photomath with its well-established name also offers advantages. This ensures that users who are familiar with and prefer the Photomath interface can continue to access its features conveniently, even as its functionality becomes integrated into Googles broader ecosystem.

Google had previously bought an app called Socratic that also does something similar. However, its important to note that it was last updated in 2020.
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Photo via Port of Seattle [enlarge] A Port of Seattle employee assesses door insulation at a single-family property near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.





The Port of Seattle Commission has directed its staff to conduct an assessment regarding the effectiveness of previously installed, federally funded noise insulation packages in communities around Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.





. . .
Washington State Ferries

Nevey

Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar on Thursday announced that Steve Nevey will serve as assistant secretary for Washington State Ferries, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation. A career mariner, Nevey progressed directly from high school to a maritime academy in the United Kingdom. For the past two years he has served as director of marine operations for WSF and has been instrumental in the development of programs that address ongoing staff shortages in the industry, according to a WSF news release. Nevey will succeed Patty Rubstello, who is stepping down as head of WSF to spend more time with family after more than 33 years with WSDOT. Rubstello will remain assistant secretary to ensure a smooth transition until Nevey begins his new role on March 16.




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SEATTLE  A Bank of America branch at 8550 15th Ave. N.W. sold for a little over $6 million, according to King County records.

The seller was a local family that had owned the corner property for decades.





. . .
Dundalk and Newry Chamber will hold their cross border conference on Wednesday 8th March at the Carrickdale hotel.

The free conference will be addressed by Minister Neale Richmond TD; Minister Conor Murphy MLA ; the Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council Paula Butterly and Chair of Newry Mourne and Down, Valerie Harte

This is the 8th conference post Brexit now focusing on the future by addressing the potential of the All-Island economy.

Sponsors and advisors include InterTrade plus the local authorities, in the South through LEO and Enterprise Ireland, DkIT; LEO; Skillnet, SEAI and the LMETB in the South. Northern sponsors and advisors include Invest NI ; Newry Mourne and Down Council, the SRC Southern Regional Council and Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency in the North.

The conference focus will be on how to build a sustainable All Island economy. The conference will also focus on a number of key areas including skills and people.

Una McGoey, President Dundalk Chamber believes that it is still valid to say that a businesses best asset is its people and therefore the emphasis on upskilling and supports from Government agencies is critical for the future.

Declan Mealy of SEAI will set out how they can assist businesses of all sizes. The impact that an All-island economy offers will be considered in light of the Winsor Agreement and the reestablishment of Stormont.

Dundalk Chambers submission to the 2040 National Development Plan sought for the local region to be prioritised, from Drogheda to Newry.

This proposal was a forerunner to the Shared Island and the Dublin Belfast Economic corridor and Paddy Malone, Chamber PRO says that both chambers are determined that this region will remain a strong attraction to both domestic and FDI businesses, acting as a counterweight to the pull of Belfast and Dublin.

Both chambers believe that with a population greater than Dublin; three international airports; a deep sea port in Greenore and Warrenpoint; fastest broadband speeds on the island and seven Universities within an hour; the regions potential is exciting.

This regions tourism potential was also recently recognised by the Governments commitment to the Narrow Water Bridge linking Louth and Down by land.

The chamber says it further believes the tourism potential of Carlingford Lough has yet to be fully achieved, particularly by day tourists from the greater region.
Pictured above are: Ina McCrumlish, Project Co-ordinator, SICAP, Louth Local Development Company; Finbar Gethins, Senior Executive Office, Community Section, Louth County Council; Paula Keenan, Healthy County Coordinator, Louth County Council; Alison Quail, Chair of the Local Community Development Committee

An innovative project led by Louth County Councils Healthy Louth initiative, and the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) was shortlisted for Best Mental Health initiative at the recent LAMA Awards.

Mental Health Matters was nominated at the event which took place in the Royal Convention Centre in Dublin on Saturday, February 17th, where representatives from Louth County Council and Louth Local Development Company, Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) attended the ceremony.

The 'Mental Health Matters' project, a collaboration between Healthy Louth and the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP), was recognised for its unique approach to promoting mental well-being within the community. Through a series of workshops, events, and outreach programmes, the initiative aims to raise awareness about mental health issues, reduce stigma, and provide valuable resources and support to those in need.

"We are incredibly honored to have our 'Mental Health Matters' project recognised by the LAMA Awards," said Paula Keenan, Healthy Ireland Coordinator at Louth County Council.

"This nomination is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our lead delivery partner Louth Local Development Company, as well as the invaluable support we've received from all our community partners."

The Lama Awards provide a great opportunity to highlight the work done within local communities, and to reward the unsung heroes and recognise the remarkable contribution theyve made to our lives as well as acknowledge achievements by County Councils, partnerships and projects across Ireland. This year there was a record number of 273 nominations across the 31 councils which was whittled down to 133 shortlisted projects in 26 categories.

"We are immensely proud of the impact that the 'Mental Health Matters' project has had on our community," said Ina McCrumlish, Project Coordinator at Louth Local Development Company.

"By working together with Healthy Louth and other local organisations, we've been able to make a real difference in the lives of those struggling with mental health issues."

Healthy Louth and the Louth Local Development Company say they wish to extend their gratitude to all those who have supported the 'Mental Health Matters' project and helped to make it a success. They add that they remain committed to continuing their efforts to promote positive mental health and well-being right across the community.

For more information about Healthy Louth Programme please visit https://www.louthcoco.ie/en/services/communities/programmes/healthy-louth/
Louth-based Fine Gael Senator John McGahon has introduced a Bill in Seanad Eireann that he says will ensure better compensation for consumers when trains are delayed or cancelled by Irish Rail.

Senator McGahon introduced his Private Members Bill, Improved Rail Passenger Rights with Compensation for Delays and Cancellations Bill 2024, that he believes will help ensure rail passengers can ensure more reliability from Irish Rail on their commuter services.

In a statement to the Dundalk Democrat, Senator McGahon commented, In the commuter counties, including County Louth, there are many commuters travelling daily to Dublin, or multiple times a week.

I hear regularly from these commuters that it is not unusual for several trains to be delays on any given week. Quite frankly, that is not good enough. Frequent delays and cancellations of rail transport services are unacceptable.

The Fine Gael Senator's Bill introduced in the Seanad, will see the initial steps taken for the introduction of a tiered form of compensation arrangements for rail passengers.

For train delays of between 20 and 39 minutes, a 25% refund will be offered; for delays of between 40 and 59 minutes, a 50% refund; and for delays over 60 minutes, a full 100% refund be given to rail passengers.

He continued, the way that the current public transport operates needs to be improved. To ensure trains run on time, according to their stated schedule, passengers need to have confidence that the rail operators still to that schedule, or else be faced with having to financial compensate passengers for their late trains.

This tiered scheme of compensation will financially incentivise Irish Rail to operate their services as they promise. Several other EU Member States have similar tiered compensation schemes in place, such as in Denmark and Sweden.

If other EU Member States can have rail passengers compensated for delayed or cancelled rain services, then so can commuters in County Louth for trains to Dublin, added Senator McGahon.

I look forward to debating the merits of the Bill with the Minister for Transport in the Seanad in the near future, so that rail passengers can ensure more reliability from Irish Rail on their services for commuters, he concluded.
Creative Spark said it is excited to host a photo documentary project, "Faces of Fusion," by Rochelle Lazaro at the Downtown Hub on Clanbrassil Street Dundalk.

The exhibition will run for two weeks, commencing on March 8th with an official opening event at 6pm.

"Faces of Fusion" is a powerful campaign developed as part of the AGENCY: Vote with Her project, aimed at enhancing the understanding of over 60 women with migrant backgrounds across Europe about EU processes.

These women have actively engaged with projects to promote migrant women's political participation, particularly in the context of the 2024 European Parliament elections.

AGENCY: Vote with Her is a campaign aimed at promoting migrant women's political participation in Europe, particularly in the context of the European Parliament elections.

Supported by funding from the European Union, AGENCY: Vote with Her is a joint initiative led by the European Network of Migrant Women and FemLens.

Through "Faces of Fusion," Rochelle sheds light on the vibrant lives of migrant women in Ireland and their significant role in political participation.

The exhibition showcases a collection of photographs, offering viewers a glimpse into the diverse experiences and perspectives of migrant women in Ireland.

"I am delighted to present 'Faces of Fusion' at the Creative Spark Downtown Hub," says Rochelle Lazaro.

"This photo documentary project is about amplifying voices, raising awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of the contributions of migrant women to our society."

Rochelle Lazaro is a migrant woman living in Dundalk since 2008, originally from the Philippines.

She is currently working as a Marketing Manager for an educational publisher and serves as a Board Director for AkiDwA, a charity organisation advocating for and providing support for migrant women living in Ireland.

She volunteers for St. Patricks Parish Soup Kitchen/Food Parcels and Dundalk Dog Rescue.

People are invited to attend the opening reception of "Faces of Fusion" at the Creative Spark Downtown Hub on March 8th at 6pm.

Admission is free, and all are welcome to enjoy some nibbles and drinks.

For more information, please contact Ciara Breen at downtown@creativespark.ie or 042 935 4684.
Egyptian, U.S. presidents discuss necessity to achieve Gaza ceasefire

Xinhua) 11:09, March 01, 2024

CAIRO, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden discussed the need to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip, achieve a ceasefire, exchange captives and facilitate access to humanitarian aid during a phone conversation on Thursday, said the Egyptian presidency.

During the call, Sisi underscored the need to reach an immediate and sustainable ceasefire that allows the delivery of humanitarian aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian coastal enclave.

He warned of the repercussions of "continuing military escalation and targeting civilians" in Gaza.

For his part, Biden said that "achieving calm is a priority to restore stability in the region."

The U.S. president noted that he values the intensified Egyptian efforts toward achieving calm in Gaza and its role in delivering relief aid to the people of Gaza via Rafah crossing.

The two presidents stressed the necessity to avoid the expansion of conflict in the region.

So far, 30,035 Palestinians have been killed and 70,475 others injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October 2023, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, on the red carpet before the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards at Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, in 2022. The couple recently revealed it is expecting a fourth child. Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

In a new interview, the cookbook author and television personality shared that despite initially thinking they were done having kids, the celebrity couple had a lingering feeling that somebody was missing.

I would load up the car and think, Oh, I forgot something,  Ayesha, 34, said in a cover story for Sweet July Magazine published Friday. But nobody was forgotten. It started to turn my brain a little bit. Maybe somebody was missing. So we set out on this journey, knowing that this would complete our family.

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Since their marriage in 2011, Ayesha and Steph, 35, have welcomed three children: daughters Riley, 11, and Ryan, 8, and son Canon, 5.

Im also realizing how quickly time has gone by with our first three children, who are now self-sufficient and dont need as much from us, Ayesha said. Canon came up to me the other day and asked, Hey, Mommy, hows your baby? Does your baby have a working brain? Getting to experience this through his eyes and through Ryan and Rileys eyes has been so cool.

Stephen Curry celebrates a light moment with his wife, Ayesha Curry, during Christmas With the Currys at Manzanita Community School in Oakland in December 2023. The couple is expecting a fourth child. Don Feria/Special to the Chronicle

Ayesha, displaying her baby bump on the magazine cover, discussed her pregnancy cravings, including Japanese peaches, breakfast sandwiches and watermelon, which is so strange and also unfortunate because theyre not really in season.

The couple, who lives in Atherton, is approaching this pregnancy with greater mindfulness, realizing how swiftly the first three went by. Ayesha mentioned that doctors classified this pregnancy as high-risk due to her age and referred to it as a geriatric pregnancy.

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I think theres something that needs to be more nuanced when it comes to women, their age, and conversations around having children, she said. Many women in their 30s and 40s are going through this for the first time, and being told youre old feels alarming and wild. I think the narrative needs to be shifted a little bit.

In this screenshot from the livestream of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Stephen Curry; his wife, Ayesha Curry, and children Ryan and Riley address the virtual convention. DNCC via Getty Images

Ayesha said she is leaning on her spirituality, her support network and gratitude to get her through.

What Ive learned about motherhood is that you truly need to trust yourself, she said. You can read a million books and take 1,000 classes, but the most important thing is your maternal instinct. Youre always going to know whats best for you and your child.

The due date for the newest addition to the Curry family was not disclosed in the interview.
A CORK creative duo have just published their second graphic novel.

Called Cerberus New Trick, it combines the award-winning talents of writer Brendan OConnell and artist Fiona Boniwell.

They were the creative team behind Deaths New Lease On Life, which was published in 2014 and went on to win the inaugyral Carousel Aware Prize in the Young Adult category.

Laced with dark humour, paired with beautiful black-and-white drawings, Cerberus New Trick makes for an engaging and engrossing read for young adults, older children and grown-ups alike.

In Greek mythology, Cerberus, often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from .

Writer Brendan OConnell, of the north side of Cork city, and artist Fiona Boniwell, of Kinsale, who teamed up to produce the graphic novel, Cerberus New Trick.

In this novel, the titular dog falls prey to the relentless onward march of progress.

Having spent their entire life, since time immemorial, guarding the gates of Deaths Netherworld, the last thing the mythological three-headed hellhound expected was to be replaced by a new hi-tech security system. But replaced they are.

Surrendered to an animal shelter, a despondent Cerberus struggles to adapt. They are an old dog and they dont easily learn new tricks.

Then, Amy, a young girl with Down Syndrome volunteering at the shelter, takes a shine to them.

But can she get through to Cerberus before progress once again overtakes them and a merciless threat to humanity, in the form of a constantly growing sea-monster called the Wealthivore, is unleashed?

Artist Fiona explains: The story touches on the deeply personal themes of loneliness, and that feeling like youre being left behind, but also on grander existential ones, like the rise of AI technology and the threat of growing economic inequality.

It deftly weaves these into a story about a young girl who is underestimated at every turn, even by those who know and love her best.

At its heart, you see, its a warm story about a little girl with Down syndrome who just wants a dog, and a very big dog (with three heads) who needs a new home.

From the north side of Cork city, Brendan OConnell has written across a wide variety of mediums. His work has been published in Wheres Me Culture magazine, Zoinks, Village Magazine and The Shiznit. He also wrote weekly editorial comic strips for IrishElection.com.

Brendan has written three Screen Ireland funded short films and was a finalist in the Filmmarket Hub TV Pilot contest. He is currently in the early stages of developing a TV series with Wide Eye Films.

After sending Deaths New Lease On Life out into the world a decade ago, Brendan was faced with a question for this second novel. How do you follow up a story where youve made Death personified your protagonist?

Wanting the stories to be linked, but not a sequel, I was looking at characters in the Grim Reapers orbit and was struck immediately by the possibilities around Cerberus, said Brendan.

A three-headed dog trained to drive away the living.

So I came up with a simple story you might place a dog in, abandoned by their owner, and applied it to Cerberus.

"A three-headed hellhound abandoned by their owner and stuck into an animal shelter.

Then, thinking over the how and the why of that idea, I stumbled into the worlds of automation, AI and income inequality. Subjects which have only become more timely as the project has developed.

Fiona is an artist and workshop facilitator based in Kinsale,. She studied art in London and was involved in music after art school before circling back to visual art.

Drawing is the primary focus of her art practice. As well as large-scale drawings, her work includes illustrations, comics, and zines; the idea dictating the format used.

Teaching drawing and comic process is also an important part of Fionas practice.

"Working on a graphic novel such as this is a labour-intensive process and could seem daunting, particularly given that the story requires drawing robots, Greek Gods, an evolving monster and battles at sea, in addition to a believable real world scenario, said Fiona.

The key to successfully completing such a project is to develop a solid process that begins and ends with thoroughly reading the script and doing a lot of research and sketching upfront.

I spent a lot of time thinking about Amy and how to represent her well so that a child with Down syndrome would identify with her.

I also wrestled with Cerberus, but in the end decided on a fairly recognisable render based on ancient representations of them.

I chose to work in black and white to give the book a timeless quality. I am heavily influenced by the film noir movies I watched growing up.

Moreover, I feel that the absence of colour helps focus the mind on the story. And I just love rich velvety black!

Cerberus New Trick was printed and published in Cork through Lettertec, based in Carrigtohill. It was important to Brendan and Fiona that they work with a print firm who they could deal with in person, who were supportive and understood what kind of book they wanted to produce.

Cerberus New Trick is available in Waterstones Cork, Vibes and Scribes, Bookstore Kinsale, and Big Bang Comics in Dublin. Other outlets will follow.
Cork-based charity Donkey Sanctuary Ireland received a special award at the prestigious CIPD Ireland HR Awards ceremony in Dublins Mansion House in recent days.

CIPD Ireland is the professional body for HR and people professionals around the country.

More than 70 organisations made the list of finalists for this years awards programme which was divided into 14 categories covering a range of topics central to the sector.

This year the judges awarded their Special Commendation prize to Donkey Sanctuary Ireland, to recognise the way it has supported its employees in difficult times.

The high level of demand for the sanctuary has been challenging for employees when they cannot deal with all requests. In response, wellbeing was brought to the fore.

Director of CIPD Ireland, Mary Connaughton, said the judges recognised the efforts of the team, which had applied for the awards under the category of Embedding a Culture of Workplace Wellbeing.

The team at the Donkey Sanctuary showed real compassion as they worked to train mental health first aiders to support employees.

The judges wanted to highlight how they recognised the care and support needs of the mental health first aiders and organised counselling to help them deal with their own stresses.

This care is a central aspect of supporting mental health and they wanted to recognise the Donkey Sanctuary for this approach, she said.

Ms Connaughton lauded the standard of applications submitted ahead of this years awards.

Our awards are recognised across the people profession as being a true reflection of excellence across multiple sectors.

Each year we see the standard of applications rising further which sends out a clear message about the energy in our profession around the country, she said.

Id like to thank our judges and all of our applicants for making the awards programme a success once again this year.
A PROTEST to mark Eating Disorder (ED) Awareness Week is being held in Cork city this Saturday, calling for the reform of ED services across the country.

Hosted by the Mind EveryBody group, the protest is set to take place at City Hall Plaza from 11am and is one of three protests being held this weekend across Cork, Dublin and Limerick.

The goal of the protests is to bring awareness to the lack of ED services available, with Cork-based protest organiser and Mind EveryBody spokesperson, Luna Fleming telling The Echo that members of the organisation attended the Dail earlier this week to raise the matter further.

Pictured is Luna Fleming with an eating disorder reform campaign poster.

Detailing their experience with an ED, and the services in Ireland, Luna said that as an adolescent they were placed on a waiting list for treatment, but later aged out of the care requirements due to such long waiting times, pushing them into the adult system.

There is no specialised care for adults in this country. Its not taken seriously until someone is dying, they said.

Further detailing their experience, Luna said that they felt unheard by their doctors, and that the care they received lacked empathy.

Luna said that raising awareness around the lack of ED care could pave the way for early intervention at primary school age, to prevent further cases in Ireland.

Were talking about different things that we could do after the protest. Were thinking about trying to organise something with Bodywhys, like going to schools, specifically in the later stages of primary school, because we see that this is when it seems to start, end of primary school or start of secondary school.

Theyre just ideas, nothing is concrete, but its something were thinking of, they added.

Commenting on the standard of ED care in Ireland, a spokesperson for the HSE said: Most people can and do recover from eating disorders if they receive effective, evidence-based treatment from ED trained staff. While a small number of people benefit from more intensive treatment through day programmes or inpatient care, the most effective treatment setting is in the community. Our core focus is on developing regional community-based specialist eating disorder services provided by skilled multidisciplinary teams through the National Clinical Programme for Eating Disorders.

"Since 2016, more than 8m has been made available for eating disorder posts through the programme for Government funding.

Attendees at the protest are asked to register ahead of the demonstration to record interest for further action. Register for free via the Eventbrite website by searching ED Awareness Week Protest Cork.

The Mind EveryBody group, which was set up by Dublin woman, Amy Hanley, following her daughters anorexia diagnosis in 2022, works with survivors and parents of survivors to bring reform to the national standard of ED services in Ireland.
THE HSE has launched a new plan aimed at addressing challenges confronting the Travelling community in the Cork and Kerry region.

The suicide rate in the Travelling community is six times higher than that of the rest of the population, while the infant mortality rate among Travellers, 14.1 per 1,000 live births, is more than three times the 3.9 per 1,000 live births among the general population.

The HSEs new plan, which outlines key health priorities for Travellers across the Cork and Kerry region, was prepared by the HSEs Cork/Kerry Traveller health unit, working in conjunction with six Traveller groups.

The plan, entitled Cork Kerry Traveller Health Implementation Plan 2023-2028 was launched by HSE CEO Bernard Gloster in Cork's Triskel Arts Centre on Thursday.

Mr Gloster said the plan set out a clear vision to ensure that Cork and Kerry Travellers health was prioritised.

Working in partnership with Travellers and Traveller organisations, we are best positioned to provide safe, culturally appropriate, and sustainable healthcare for Travellers and their families, he said.

Mr Gloster was joined at the launch by representatives from Traveller organisations which had contributed to the report.

Issues identified by Traveller groups informed the key recommendations of the report, including the need for increased funding for the sector.

Among the health priorities identified during the consultation were mental health and suicide, the impact of trauma on Traveller community health, the impact of lifelong discrimination and racism experienced by Travellers, and the impact of poor accommodation and barriers to education as key social determinants.

Other priorities identified included addiction and access to culturally appropriate services across the region, the impact of poor accommodation and barriers to education, and chronic ill health among Travellers.

'IMPORTANT DAY'

Breda ODonoghue, co-chair of the Cork/Kerry Traveller health unit, said the publication of the report marked a very important day for Travellers across the region.

Working together we can make a difference, and this report is just the first step in many years of hard work and partnership working, which is critical to the successful implementation of this document, Ms ODonoghue said.

David Lane, co-chair of the Cork/Kerry Traveller health unit, and the HSEs general manager for social inclusion and primary care, said the HSE looked forward to working with local Traveller groups to reduce the inequalities faced by Travellers.
Almost 500 children in Cork saw their preschool or after-school service close in 2023  and a Cork preschool teacher has warned that more closures will come if the funding model is not changed.

Figures provided to show that the numbers of children linked to Early Learning and Care (ELC) and School Aged Childcare (SAC) services which closed last year.

In Cork City, 157 places in childrens early years service closed, and 46 places in childrens after school service closed. In Cork county the numbers were even higher, at 208 for ELC services and 87 for SAC services, the highest number of any region in Ireland.

This means a total of 498 children across Cork city and county had to find a new service in 2023, with 365 of these children under school age.

Nationally, 1,797 children were registered at preschools or creches that closed, and 350 had been attending after-school services that closed.

Rowena Fisher, who owns Phylls Preschool in Bealnamorrive, said that issues in the sector are really impacting the small, rural services like mine the most. If I close my doors, where are these children going to go?

Theres no availability, Im booked out for years and years to come with a lengthy waiting list, but my service is still not viable.

This core funding [the Together for Better funding model], if it was all the minister is saying it is, then why are these services closing at an alarming rate?

In reality, the funding is a drop in the ocean, said Ms Fisher. We have no money in our bank accounts  I had to take a second job just to pay wages and keep my business open for these children.

Were on the same rate as we were in 2010  do you know anything that costs the same now as it did in 2010?

Ms Fisher says she started a breakfast club and after-school service for children attending the local school just to keep her preschool afloat.

I have an amazing teacher working with me, and she deserves a lot more than I can pay her  theres just a lack of recognition and respect for our sector, she said, adding that it is having a knock-on effect on her own children.

Figures previously provided to The Echo by Tusla showed that 17 ELC services and 13 after-school services in Cork shut down last year.

A Department of Children spokesperson said: Closures of services do not necessarily imply a reduction in capacity in the sector, as open services may be expanding capacity at the same time.

It provided data on the number of children registered in ELC and SAC services on January 8, 2023 and 2024, showing an overall increase in registrations. In Cork city and county, ELC registrations increased by 1.7% and 2.3%, respectively, while Cork City and Cork County SAC registrations increased by 97.7% and 91.7%, respectively.

In Co Cork, the number of children attending an ELC went from 9,920 in 2023 to 10,145 in 2024. In Cork City, the figure went from 5,611 to 5,706, showing a small increase in the number of places.

For SAC services, this figure almost doubled from 1,069 to 2,113 in the city, and 2,162 to 4,144 in the county.
THE second annual Dogs Day Out will take place in East Cork this spring, with workshops, stalls, and a dog show.

The event, run by Ballymaloe Grainstore in association with Top Barkz Canine School in Cork, will celebrate dogs of all shapes and sizes.

This years festival, on Sunday, April 7, will again see the grounds of Ballymaloe Farm filled with puppy play date areas, agility, games, talks, dog specialists, stalls, and a dog show.

A dog enjoying the activities at Dogs Day Out, Ballymaloe. The event returns to the East Cork venue on April 7. Photo: Joleen Cronin.

Alex Wilson, from Xtra Dog Training, will be offering hands-on workshops to give pet owners an insight in to the T-touch approach to dog training.

Local food and drinks producers will host stalls, offering an array of food and drink, for both dogs and their owners.

There are so many different activities happening on the day; you can enjoy chilling out on the grounds of Ballymaloe Farm with your pooch, bring your puppy to an area where they can play safely, or watch trainers and learn from professionals in the undercover Big Shed main arena, operations manager of Ballymaloe Grainstore, Bree Allen, said.

Meanwhile, the founder of Top Barkz Cork, Esther Ring, said returning festival-goers will have more to look forward to this year.

We couldnt ask for a more beautiful venue than Ballymaloe to host this event; theres so much space for all the activities we offer, and its fantastic for dogs and their owners to be out in nature enjoying all the fun that goes with the day.

Were expanding on our offering this year, in terms of activities, she said. The event is free for dogs and for children under 12.

Its 15 for adults, with the ticket price including all talks, competitions and events.

Parking on-site is free. See www.ballymaloegrainstore.com.
AN POST has apologised to residents in Glengarriff over delays in receiving mail, but said that claims that some people in the area had not received post for more than 10 days were absolutely untrue.

Fine Gael West Cork Municipal District councillor Caroline Cronin told The Echo that, due to a shortage of postal workers, a number of residents had not received post since Friday, February 16.

Since last Thursday [February 22], some workers have started to address the backlog, beginning with parcel post, said Ms Cronin.

However, she said workers may not have been able to start working on the backlog of letters until late this week, leading to potential delays in deliveries of up to two weeks.

Waiting

Ms Cronin said that people were waiting for tax discs, bank cards, and important correspondence including medical appointments.

She attributed the delays to the relocation of the sorting office in Glengarriff to a new facility in Bantry.

In September of last year, it was announced that postal workers for Glengarriff, Drinagh, Dunmanway, and Kealkill would be moved to the new delivery service unit in Bantry.

However, An Post said the delays were due to a higher-than-normal level of staff absence affecting one postal route.

An Post apologises to customers on the Glengarriff postal route area for some disruption to deliveries in recent days due to a higher-than-normal level of staff absence affecting one postal route. Every effort has been made to cover as much of the affected route as possible by relief staff, and these efforts are continuing, he said, adding that full delivery service had resumed now.

Allegations that the route has had no deliveries for a week are absolutely untrue, he said.

Mr Laverty continued: All other postal routes in West Cork are operating as normal, with delivery staff operating out of a modern, custom-designed delivery depot in Bantry which replaced a number of antiquated, no-longer-fit-for-purpose local depots last autumn.

All delivery operations have additional staff in place to cover sick or other absence. Unfortunately, on the very rare occasion when a number of staff are unavailable for work due to illness, services may be disrupted.

Local management and staff are doing everything possible to resolve the problem as quickly as possible and restore the high quality of service usually provided to Glengarriff customers, he concluded.
CORK County Council has confirmed that its planning department is currently reviewing the planning status of a former North Cork B&B that is due to become an accommodation centre for families seeking international protection.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth had initially intended that Abbeyville House in Fermoy would be used to provide emergency shelter for 56 single men, but in February it announced that the centre would now accommodate families and children.

A group calling itself Save Abbeyville House, which objects to the buildings planned use as emergency shelter for asylum seekers, has raised issues relating to the planning process surrounding the buildings change in use from a private residential property to an emergency accommodation centre.

In a press release, the group claimed that when Abbeyville House was sold in October 2023 for 925,000, its new owner, Drakeford Limited, paid residential stamp duty of 1% on the purchase.

Abbeyville House is not subject to Cork County Council rates, and no part of the property was sold attracting a 7.5% commercial stamp duty rate  Therefore  Abbeyville House is a private residential house rather than a commercial property, the group said. The conversion of this family home to a 56-bed hostel is unambiguously a non-exempted material change in the original use of the building and therefore requires planning permission.

Reviewing

Responding, Cork County Council told The Echo: Cork County Council can confirm that the planning department is currently reviewing this matter.

Regarding rates, the property had not been previously rateable as it was deemed a domestic property; it will be rateable when used as an accommodation centre.

The council added that when the property is confirmed as an accommodation centre by the Department of Integration, Cork County Council will issue a rates bill once the property has been valued by Tailte Eireann [the State agency responsible for property registration].

Questioned

The group has also questioned the buildings fire and disability access certification status. The council said that as the building was in use as a guesthouse prior to the introduction of the Building Regulations in 1992, a Fire Safety Certificate and Disability Access Certificate under the Building Control Act would not appear to apply.

However, in a document to elected representatives dated February 14, the Department of Integration said: A valid fire cert is in place and has been provided to the department. All supporting fire and insurance documentation has been received.

The department did not immediately respond to queries about the disability access certification status. The owners were contacted for comment.
A book of evidence was served today on a 41-year-old Cork man accused of possession of child pornography at his home in 2018.

Detective Garda Eimear Brennan charged the accused man, Cormac Walsh, formerly of St. Finbars Road, Cork, earlier this year.

The charge states that on September 28 2018 at the defendants home address he did knowingly have in his possession child pornography, namely child abuse material consisting of 14,402 images and 731 videos, stored in storage drives/facilities within several electronic devices seized at his home.

Sergeant John Kelleher confirmed that a book of evidence had been served in the case and he applied to have it sent forward to the next sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court commencing on April 8.

Defence solicitor Aoife Buttimer said the accused was no longer living at the address referred to in the charge sheet.

Judge Mary Dorgan extended legal aid for a barrister to also represent the accused at the circuit court.

Bail conditions require the defendant to sign on once a week at Anglesea Street garda station and bail was set at 5,000 without any cash lodgement being required.
A YOUNG man who admitted causing several drunken disturbances in Cork city including one where he entered a restaurant with dried blood on his face and bumped into tables, was warned that he was facing jail if he did not deal with his drink problem.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis outlined details at Cork District Court of the public order offences committed by 24-year-old Jamie Butler.

Gardai went to the assistance of the young man asleep on the street outside The Roundy bar on Castle Street, Cork, on September 8, 2023, but he reacted by pushing one guard and telling him to f*** off.

On September 20, 2023, he came to the attention of gardai again at Grand Parade. Sergeant Gearoid Davis said the young man was highly intoxicated shortly after 6pm and unable to stand unaided. When gardai approached him he became aggressive and kicked out at them as he resisted arrest.

After 11pm on October 20 2023. an ambulance crew trying to provide assistance to the accused in Cork city centre had to call for the assistance of gardai due to his level of intoxication. He said to one guard who arrived on the scene: Ill f***ing knock you out. There was another incident where he was drunk and a danger to himself or others on October 28.

Most recently at 8pm on February 16 this year at French Church Street he entered Nandos restaurant with dry blood on his face and hands. He was highly intoxicated, staggering around the premises, bumping into tables. Gardai were called and he was arrested at the scene.

Reference was made by the sergeant to the defendant spitting at guards. While Jamie Butler pleaded guilty to the public order charges against him he spoke up in court to say: I never spat at guards.

Shane Collins-Daly, defence solicitor, said:

He clearly has a significant alcohol difficulty. He also has mental health difficulties.

Judge Mary Dorgan warned the 24-year-old who lives with a relative at Harbour View Road, Cork, that he was at serious risk of going to prison.

Mr Collins-Daly said: When he starts drinking he finds it difficult to stop, that is his problem. When approached by gardai and told he is being arrested  for his own safety as much as anything  he reacts badly. He sincerely apologises.

Judge Dorgan directed the preparation of a probation report in advance of sentencing. The judge told Jamie Butler: What you really need to do is sort out your drinking. If you do, you have a chance of avoiding prison. But it is up to you to work on it. When you dont feel like getting out of bed for an appointment (with the probation service or alcohol rehabilitation) it is really important that you do.

I will get out of bed, the young man said. Sentencing was adjourned until May 29 at Cork District Court.
Four candidates vying to be the citys next police chief answered questions from members of the Oakland Police Commission on Thursday. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Four candidates vying for the job of police chief in Oakland discussed their experience and vision for the force during a public forum Thursday.

The candidates, who attended virtually and took questions from members of the Police Commission at City Hall, stressed the importance of community engagement, accountability and oversight in policing. They acknowledged they would need to take steps to lead the Police Department out of federal oversight and address concerns about rampant crime.

Abdul Pridgen

Pridgen, San Leandros former police chief, said he would become acquainted with the departments culture, review its protocols and engage with community members.

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He spoke of the importance of discipline but also said it is crucial to highlight officers great work to set examples for other officers. Police leaders often turn to training as a default response to issues within their departments, but rarely is it a training issue, he said.

Pridgen said he believes in alternatives to policing to help improve public safety. We cannot arrest our way out of crime, he said.

As a chief, he said, he has created committees of community members to collect input on policies and functions, and has helped craft regulations for a community-led oversight board. He also highlighted programs he has worked on to engage with community members, including an initiative that gave drivers gift cards instead of tickets for broken tail lights during Christmas time.

Pridgen left the San Leandro Police Department last week after an investigation into allegations he violated department policies. He was a finalist for the Oakland job late last year before Mayor Sheng Thao rejected the slate. Pridgen did not address the investigation during the forum.

Floyd Mitchell

Mitchell, a former police chief in Lubbock, Texas, said he would meet with community groups, evaluate crime-reduction efforts and sit down with staff to map out a plan with short-term and long-term strategies to reduce crime and increase community engagement. He said he has worked with organizations such as the NAACP to address community concerns.

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I believe the crime issue in Oakland should be our primary focus, he said. He said it is important to use data to curb crime and also crucial to communicate to the public the reasoning behind crime-fighting strategies.

He said strong policies and protocols are important for accountability, as well as strong supervision. He suggested its crucial for supervisors to show up to calls and review how officers handle calls and for community members to feel comfortable making complaints.

He added that it is important for officers to know they are required to intervene when they witness possible policy violations. He said it is also crucial for department leaders to make sure you set clear lines in the sand of what will be tolerated and wont be tolerated.

Mitchell, Lubbocks first Black police chief, resigned in September amid criticism of the departments dispatch center, where unanswered calls had increased while staffing decreased, according to news reports. A former police chief in Temple, Texas, Mitchell began his career in law enforcement in Kansas City, Mo.

Lisa Davis

Davis, a lieutenant colonel with the Cincinnati Police Department, said she would embark on a listening tour, with city leaders, the federal monitor, residents and business owners at the table. She said she would review the departments organizational structure, including assignments within the agency, to develop a staffing and deployment plan. She said she understands downtown business owners want more officers in that area, and suggested she would take that into account.

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She said she supports efforts such as the citys Ceasefire strategy, an intelligence-led and data-driven effort intended to reduce crime. Any strategy needs to be evidence-based, Davis said.

She added that she would look for crime hotspots and partner with other city agencies to change the environment in those areas in order to curb crime.

Davis also spoke of the importance of training and mentoring before discipline. She said she would meet with sergeants, who are first-line supervisors, to make clear her expectations. She also said she would work closely with the federal monitor and wouldnt come from an adversarial standpoint. The federal oversight began two decades ago in the wake of a class-action lawsuit alleging a band of officers abused people in West Oakland.

Davis was passed over for the chiefs job in her department in 2022.

Louis Molina

Molina, New York Citys assistant deputy mayor for public safety, said he would meet with stakeholders within the department and at City Hall, state and federal agencies, the federal monitor and community members, including teachers and business owners. Public safety is a shared responsibility that involves the community, he said.

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He spoke of the importance of police alternatives, particularly to deal with public health issues, as well as recruitment from underrepresented neighborhoods. He added that he would support the work of city efforts such as the Ceasefire program and the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland, a community-led program for 911 calls that are not emergencies or violent in nature.

Molina also said discipline is important to create accountability.

Theres going to be times when were going to make mistakes, but he said he would aim to be transparent about issues while respecting due process.

Molina began his law enforcement career in the New York City Police Department, where he rose to the rank of detective, and later served as chief for Las Vegas Department of Public Safety. A former commissioner of New York Citys Department of Corrections, he faced criticism in that position because of jail conditions that continued under his tenure.

Members of the public were not able to ask questions during the forum.

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The city was left without a permanent chief last February, when Thao fired then-Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong. The mayor cited an independent investigation that found Armstrong mishandled two misconduct cases. An independent arbitrator later cleared him of wrongdoing.

Armstrong reapplied for the job, and the Police Commission selected him as a finalist late last year, but Thao rejected the slate, forcing commissioners to come up with a new set of candidates.

Armstrong filed a lawsuit this month alleging he was wrongfully terminated.

Thao didnt participate in the forum. Earlier this week she criticized the public nature of the forum, arguing it chased away strong candidates. In 2020, the commission co-hosted a similar forum with former Mayor Libby Schaaf, who hired Armstrong.
THE success of this school is down to the staff members, the pupils, and the parents all pulling together.

So said the principal of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn, Deaglan O Deargain, speaking as the school celebrated 30 years in operation.

A special celebratory event was held in the Montenotte-based school on Thursday.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr O Deargain said the school was particularly keen to mark the milestone, as an event to celebrate the school moving into its new building in 2020 was scuppered by the pandemic.

Teachers Niamh Ni Shuilleabhain and Lisa Ni Theimhneain, on duty at the 30th anniversary celebrations of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn in Montenotte.Picture: David Keane.

Reflecting on the schools fascinating history and how far it has come over the decades was a centrepoint of Thursdays celebrations.

Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn was founded in 1993, as Irelands first-ever multidenominational gaelscoil.

Because no patron body could oversee the school, An Foras Patrunachta was set up to facilitate gaelscoileanna that were not under Catholic patronage.

Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn opened its doors on September 1, 1993, but it actually only received recognition from the Department of Education two or three weeks later  which meant that the teacher who was working at that particular time worked without pay for those two or three weeks, Mr O Deargain explained.

Maire Ni Loingsigh, Anna Ni Chread and her daughter Tessa and Niamh Dan Ni Shuilleabhain, attending the 30th anniversary celebrations of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn in Montenotte.Picture: David Keane.

Those involved in setting up the school were invited to recount their experiences of those early days.

We invited guests down from An Foras Patrunachta, he added.

We had guests from 1993, we had them down speaking about how the school was set up, how it was put together, where the ideas came from, and what they had to do to get it over the line.

The first intake of pupils was also invited back to the school for the anniversary event.

They were down in the Middle Glanmire Rd, said Mr O Deargain.

Twins Jane and Clar Ni Dhubhlaoch are all smiles the 30th anniversary celebrations of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn in Montenotte.Picture: David Keane.

Theres a nursing home and they had taken a room in there just to start it [the school] off.

One of the children who started off in 1993, she spoke about how they used to go into school and the older people in the nursing home would say hello to them in the morning.

And then they [the pupils] would go into their classroom and do their work.

At lunchtime, theyd come out and theyd be playing and the older people would be in the general vicinity as well.

Obviously its not the norm and its not something youd associate with a primary school.

Raymond O Riain and Bertie Dorgan, attending the 30th anniversary celebrations of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn in Montenotte.Picture: David Keane.

For them, she said, it was something they grew very accustomed to, and it was quite an enjoyable experience for them as children growing up.

In 1998, Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn moved into prefabs in the Tank Field  where it was located until 2020, when a new school building was developed on an adjacent site.

In the early noughties, there would have been a lot of staff members here who would have been considered quite young and weve all sort of grown up together through the whole thing, said Mr O Deargain.

Priomhoide Deaglan O Deargain, speaking at the 30th anniversary celebrations of Gaelscoil an Ghoirt Alainn in Montenotte.Picture: David Keane.

An awful lot of staff members would really look back on moving into the new school building as a momentous occasion for them in their own lives, because they had spent so long working in pre-fabricated buildings.

He credited staff, parents, and students alike who threw their shoulders to the wheel to host such a successful anniversary event this week, at which he said there was a fantastic atmosphere.
THE impact of the housing crisis on those working in the healthcare sector, property vacancy, and dereliction were among the issues discussed at a public meeting in Cork on Thursday night.

Around 40 people attended the meeting in Togher Community Centre, which was organised by Labour Party local election candidate for the Cork City South West ward, Laura Harmon.

Speakers included campaigners Frank OConnor and Jude Sherry; a nurse representing the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Janet Baby Joseph; and former Labour Party leader, Alan Kelly.

Speaking to The Echo after the meeting, Ms Harmon said the housing crisis was having a direct impact on healthcare workers and other key workers.

When I canvass in Bishopstown, Glasheen, and Togher, I regularly meet people who work in healthcare who tell me of the struggles staff face with the inability to find affordable accommodation, said Ms Harmon.

With record levels of homelessness in Cork and 700 derelict and vacant properties within a 2km radius of the city centre, urgent action must be taken to address this crisis, she added.

Ms Harmon added that Ireland  and Cork  needs to scale up ambition when it comes to building homes, repurposing derelict properties, and supporting renters.

Jude Sherry and Frank OConnor, who run the Derelict Cork project, told the meeting that Ireland is in a uniquely disturbing situation, having extremely high levels of vacant and derelict buildings in urban environments while enduring the countrys worst-ever housing crisis.

We need to get serious about tackling the epidemic of dereliction now, starting with identifying and registering all affected properties and charging the appropriate taxes and levies, said Ms Sherry.

Ms Sherry and her partner, Mr OConnor, run Anois, a design consultancy firm concerned with social justice and sustainability.

The most sustainable building is the building that already exists, and these unused buildings offer the best opportunity to create more homes cheaply and quickly, more so than new builds, said Mr OConnor.
High Court reporters

A court has dismissed an appeal over a dispute related to an alleged 6.6 million shortfall out of 53.7 million paid by the HSE for the Mater private hospital group to make its facilities publicly available during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High Court that Oval Topco Ltd and its operating firms had to repay 673,000 to the HSE for interest on loans held by the private hospital company.

The court also ruled they were not entitled to 830,600 for depreciation and also dismissed the remainder of Oval Topco's monetary claim.

Oval Topco, whose parent is Luxemburg firm Oval Healthcare Infrastructure Sarl, acquired the hospitals in the Mater group for 603 million in 2018. Oval Healthcare is majority owned by InfraVia IV Invest Sarl and by Oval Co-Investment Fund SCSp.

Oval Topco, along with its subsidiary companies Mater Private Hospital, Mater Private Cork Ltd and Spireview Equipment Unlimited Co, which operates the Limerick Radiotherapy Centre, sued the HSE in 2020.

The HSE had entered into an agreement with Oval Topco that the group would make their hospitals' "full capacity and services" available to HSE for the treatment of public patients, both those suffering from Covid-19 and otherwise.

Pandemic

While 53.7 million was paid, Oval Topco claimed a failure to pay 6.6 million was a breach of a legally binding agreement in which its facilities were made available in the early months of the pandemic. This had meant none of its normal private work was available, it was claimed.

The HSE denied the claims and counterclaimed for the return of just over 1 million it had paid towards interest costs which Oval Topco claimed for on its financing arrangements to buy the hospital group.

The HSE claimed the finance costs were "a mechanism for value extraction for Mater Private's shareholders or represent a distribution to shareholders". Oval Topco denied that claim.

The arrangement with the HSE was for the first three months of the pandemic, extendable at the option of the HSE, with the plaintiffs providing monthly detailed cost statements.

The HSE failed to make payment in 2020 relating to 4.6 million for June along with a balancing payment of just over 2 million for May, it was claimed. High Court proceedings followed.

In September 2022, the High Court dismissed most of Oval Topco's claims. It did find in favour of the company in relation to one claim that the HSE breached another clause in the agreement by refusing to agree to refer the dispute for expert determination.

Oval Topco and its co-plaintiffs appealed on some 50 grounds. They included that the High Court judge erred in failing to address the expert evidence, in his interpretation of the word "service" in the agreement, in failing to allow interest on a loan in the context of the acquisition of a business, and in his interpretation of "operational costs".

Upheld

On behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Donal Binchy upheld the High Court judge's decision.

Oval Topco had argued the High Court judge erred in relation to his decision about the "use of infrastructure" or an allowance for normal wear and tear.

The Court of Appeal said the exercise undertaken by the High Court judge in his analysis of this issue was undertaken in a manner entirely consistent with the well established principles of contractual interpretation and with the guidance of a 2017 Supreme Court decision.

Oval Topco had also disputed the High Court decision in relation to interest payments.

The Court of Appeal said the Oval Topco plaintiffs failed to establish that the interest costs incurred by them under their acquisition loans were related to the ongoing provision and operation of the service.

It followed that the High Court judge was correct in his conclusion that those interest costs were not operational costs within the meaning of the agreement with the HSE, it said. They were therefore not entitled to reimbursement for them.
WHAT I remember most clearly is the mask clamped over my mouth. I had worn it only for short interludes before and felt like I was suffocating.

I tried to steady my breathing, to quell the panic emanating from the pit of my stomach and threatening to rise up through my body, but every exhale accentuated the feel of the mask.

I zeroed in on tiny marks on the light yellow walls and averted my gaze from the visibly pregnant woman who had been wheeled in, in agony with what appeared to be a broken foot. I froze at the swish of a door opening and closing again. The book stayed in my bag. I dont know why I thought Id be able to read it.

The corridor fell deathly silent. A few of us were seated apart, yellow hazard signs sellotaped to the chairs between us.

The triage nurse at Cork University Maternity Hospital was kind and reassuring. She took my vitals and told me bleeding was quite common. Often, it was nothing to worry about. She would send me up for a scan anyway.

I wanted to believe her. But deep down I knew.

I texted my husband. He was in a park nearby with our three-year-old, this being the time of Covid, waiting for my call. I lost track of how long Id been there. My thoughts kept turning to Jossy.

******

My experience already was a world away from what Jossys must have been. She was our sons ayah (nanny) when we lived in Kenya. He loved her and she loved him.

I was running a school and hoping to find an ayah for five-month-old Flynn. Jossy happened to be available.

She was warm and open and quick to laugh. Our older daughters, from my husband Peters previous marriage, enjoyed having her around.

I was far away from my mum and closest friends and it was comforting to have Jossy there. She helped keep man-sized baboons from raiding the kitchen and told me babies never pooped in their sleep and always slept when it rained. I didnt know if this was true of all babies, but it was true of Flynn.

Joanne Dwyers adored former nanny when the family were living in Kenya, Jossy, with Joannes son Flynn. Jossy died of an ectopic pregnancy and her last words to her sister were Bye Flynn

It was hard to hand my little baby over to someone else but he was safe with Jossy. She stayed with us even when we moved house multiple times, and despite knowing that we would eventually leave Kenya for Ireland.

Jossy had three children of her own to support and we would have understood if she had wanted to secure employment elsewhere. But she didnt.

On Flynns second birthday, Jossy made his favourite chapatis. Soon after, she didnt arrive for work. It wasnt like her.

Peter found out she had been diagnosed with malaria. She sent the odd text to him over the next few days, including a photo of herself hooked up to an IV bag, her hair shorn like a young boys, without the braided wig she usually wore. She passed on a message for the girls and Flynn and went home to rest. Her sister was taking care of her.

However, on a Thursday morning, Jossys condition suddenly worsened and a neighbour took her to a rural hospital. She was now in the right place, she said, and starting to feel better.

But I couldnt shake off a persistent feeling of dread or the sight of her umbrella. I had given Jossy a black and white striped umbrella and, come rain or shine, she hardly went anywhere without it. But the day before she fell ill, she had left it behind and it was still hanging on the hook on the back of the kitchen door.

Joanne Dwyers adored former nanny when the family were living in Kenya, Jossy, with Joannes son Flynn. Jossy died of an ectopic pregnancy and her last words to her sister were Bye Flynn.

It reminded me of the last time I saw my grandfather. He always wore a trilby hat and one early summer evening when I was 12, while Mum was bathing my little brother upstairs, he called out his goodbyes from the foot of the stairs and slipped out the front door. When I poked my head around the corner of the dining room, into the hallway, I saw his hat was still perched on the table. He had never done that before and the thought lingered in my mind all evening. He passed away later that night.

We buried him in Thurles with my grandmother and his hat.

******

I was at work when the call came that Jossy had passed away. I remember standing up, shocked and appalled, as if the act of standing up could help it sink in any better.

The girls told me later on that they knew Josy had gone as soon as they saw me. I dont know how to tell Flynn. He was only two. I had explained to him a few times that Jossy was sick and would be back with him soon.

That night, after the usual bedtime routine, we read The Gruffalo together and I told him Jossy got very sick and the doctors couldnt give her any medicine and she had gone away to Heaven, near the Moon, where Grandpa lives.

For nights after, when the Moon rose, he went outside, waved, and called goodnight to Jossy.

I found out from Jossys sister that our beloved nanny had died from an ectopic pregnancy? Kenya has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, largely due to poor healthcare.

Her last words, her sister said, were Bye Flynn. I dont know what to do with this and I feel myself coming undone. My throat is too tight to speak. It doesnt feel right to burden Jossys sister with my grief.

******

Here in a hospital bed in Cork, my throat is tight again. Whatever the doctors say to me, no matter how imperfect Irelands strained healthcare system is, I know that no-one is going to tell me that I have malaria.

I wish the outcome with Jossy could have been different for her. I wish so many things.

Someone calls my name and takes me into the ultrasound room. The jelly is cold, the room sterile and well-equipped. My heart is pounding in my chest and I am afraid to look at the monitor.

Theres one and theres two, the nurse says, her eyes studying the screen.

I turn my head. Theres two of them? I say.

Yes, she nods. Identical twins.

But they are measuring too small. I will have to come back in a week for another check, but I may lose them before then.

I tumble outside, desperate to remove my mask. Peter says we will get through this, whether its two babies or not.

I sit on a bench and call my best friend. I cry as soon as she answers. I cant speak to my mum yet so I text her instead.

Theres two of them, Mum. But theyre not growing. I have to go back in a week but theres a chance Ill miscarry x.

I have to compose myself before I see Flynn. He will want to tell me about his adventures in the park. Then we will go home and tell the girls.

We are all in limbo for three days, waiting, hoping and wondering, and then it happens in the bathroom. I am pregnant and then I am not.

My days start with a hard cry in the shower as the water cascades over my body, and the hum of the electric shower head makes it hard for the children to hear me. I feel empty and bereft but normality has to resume.

Erin is finishing primary school and I have agreed to host a celebratory barbecue. Sometimes, I am there, in the conversation, laughing, and then I catch myself, remembering what has happened and I drift out of it. It is like being in a parallel universe.

The moment I shared my experience with others, I quickly learnt that either they had lost a pregnancy, too, or their sister or friend had.

Someone always knew someone else who had. I had joined the ranks of something I did not want to join and, in truth, did not know existed to the extent that it does.

But there was some solace in that. The Miscarriage Association of Ireland reports that a fifth of pregnancies in Ireland ends in miscarriage.

The experience may be very personal and individual, depending on so many other things and also on what happens afterwards, but it is more common than you think it is when it is happening to you.

******

Flynn with his younger brother, Tadhg, who was born a year after Joannes miscarriage of twins.

We moved to Ireland with Jossys umbrella. It is certainly the right place to have an umbrella, but none of us could ever use it. It is stored in a suitcase full of Flynns baby things.

I am one of the lucky ones. I have my children, and they have me, and my story did not end with my miscarriage. Tadhg came along the following year.
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.

A "smart" washing machine and dryer. Many appliances on the market today already meet the DOE's new energy efficiency standards. Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced finalized energy efficiency standards for washing machines and dryers.

According to the DOE, the new standards could save U.S. households a total of $2.2 billion annually on utility costs, with savings of up to $39 billion on energy and water bills over 30 years. Additionally, the measures are expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 71 million metric tons.

With these rules in place, Americans can be confident that they are saving money, water, and energy with every cycle. The broad support for these rules shows that efficiency standards are a winner all around, Joe Vukovich, staff attorney at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement. These standards will make sure our washers and dryers are not needlessly wasting energy, while also cutting carbon pollution by a combined 71 million metric tons over 30 years.

The new standards for residential washing machines will save about 0.7 quadrillion British thermal units (BTUs) over 30 years, or 3% of energy use compared to many washing machines currently on the market. Residential dryers will save about 11% of energy use (about 2.7 quadrillion BTUs over 30 years) compared to those currently on the market, according to the DOE.

NRDC reported that for a household that upgrades to both a washing machine and dryer complying with the new standards, there will be about $67 in utility savings per year. Dryer models could have up to 40% energy savings compared to models that dont meet the new standards. Because drying machines use up a lot of energy, about 3.2% of total household energy consumption per year, the monetary savings could really add up.

Those who want to upgrade to models that meet the new standards could save money on the upfront costs by taking advantage of the Department of Energys tax rebates.

For decades, DOEs appliance standards actions for clothes washers and dryers have provided loads of savings for American families while also decreasing harmful carbon emissions, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement. With strong support from industry leaders and consumer advocates, DOE will continue to roll out innovative appliance solutions throughout 2024 to lower costs for the American people  continuing the cycle of household savings that are the backbone of President Bidens Investing in America agenda.

The new standards for both washers and dryers are to be met by March 1, 2028. NRDC reported that many appliances currently on the market are already meeting the new standards.
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.

Following decades of hunting and habitat destruction by humans, great apes are teetering on the edge of extinction.

Five out of seven species of great apes  the closest living relatives to humans  have been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered, according to a new study by an international team of researchers.

The great apes  bonobos, chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans  are critically threatened by human activities. We have destroyed their habitats, hunted them and transmitted fatal diseases to them, the authors of the study wrote. They are endangered, and time is running out.

According to Andrew Marshall and John Mitani, field researchers from University of Michigan, traditional conservation methods have been useful, but they are no longer sufficient. The research team suggested new conservation paths to help guarantee the existence of these majestic primates.

The study, Future coexistence with great apes will require major changes to policy and practice, was published in the journal Nature Human Behavior.

Despite considerable effort and investment in conservation, ape populations are continuing to decline, many of them very dramatically. Five of the seven recognized taxa are now critically endangered. Rather than focusing on the current plight of apes, which is well known, we wanted to be forward looking and propose things we could do that might improve the situation, Marshall said in a press release from University of Michigan.

Pointing to the mass extinction of species caused by humans, Mitani said there was a moral imperative to save the apes, as they are essentially our kin.

If we cant save these animals, then theres really very little hope for the rest of biodiversity. I just cant imagine a world without these animals, Mitani said in the press release.

Marshall said that even the best efforts at keeping all existing conservation areas protected wont be adequate.

For orangutans, which is the group that I know best, even if we were to protect every single orangutan in every protected area in perpetuity, that is not enough to ensure their long-term persistence, which means that the future of conservation must also address issues outside protected areas, Marshall said. Thats one of the things that we want to draw peoples attention to: There are lots and lots of apes that live outside national parks and they are more threatened than those that live inside national parks and other protected areas. But they also deserve our care and protection.

Mitani added that more work is needed in areas where humans live alongside apes.

The reason for this is the world has gotten a lot smaller. In my lifetime, the human population has tripled. Humans are everywhere, doing things and edging apes out as a consequence, Mitani said.

Mitani also pointed out that when there is conflict between humans and great apes, the apes are the ones who suffer most.

Its easy for conservationists to demonize local people as the major threats to apes. Thats problematic for all kinds of reasons, Marshall said. [M]any of the threats, even those that are immediately posed by local communities, are often due to broader market pressures, and many of us participate in those markets and indirectly lead to many of these pressures. Many of the folks that are killing orangutans, destroying their habitat, are doing so to earn money necessary to pay school fees for their kids, buy medicines for their sick relatives, and things like that.

Marshall explained that it was unrealistic and unfair to ask people in these circumstances to make major sacrifices without any direct benefits to them.

Mitani said establishing reliable sources of capital was essential to help save and protect great apes, rather than making their destruction profitable.

To address this issue, we recruited another colleague, Genevieve Campbell, a primatologist with the conservation nonprofit Re:wild, who has worked with banks and industries to try to find ways to mitigate or minimize the destructive activities they have on ape habitat, Mitani said. What Genevieve would like to do, and what both Andy and I support, is to develop a long-term, permanent funding stream. One way to do this is to establish a great ape trust fund that would provide support for great ape conservation in perpetuity.
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.

A view of the Smokehouse Creek fire from a fire truck in the Texas Panhandle region on Feb. 29, 2024. Greenville Firefighter Association / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images

The landscape scorched, houses gone. Texas Smokehouse Creek fire has spread to more than one million acres, the largest in the states history. It is bigger than the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire and the second-largest in United States history.

An abrupt shift in the direction of the wind on Wednesday caused the fire to erupt from 500,000 to 850,000 acres, reported CNN. As of Thursday morning, officials said the blaze  originally fueled by hot, dry air and strong winds  was only three percent contained.

Wind was coming straight out of the north and made just this massive wall of fire moving across the landscape, said Adam Turner, spokesperson for the Texas A&M Forest Service, on Wednesday, as CNN reported.

An 83-year-old woman, Joyce Blankenship, was killed in Hutchinson County, Texas.

The house was gone, Nathan Blankenship, her grandson, said, as reported by CNN.

By Wednesday afternoon, at least 31,590 acres had also been burned in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Forestry Service said.

Thursday brought cooler air with some precipitation, but warm, dry conditions are predicted to return on Friday and continue through the weekend.

Theyve got a short window to try to get a handle on it before the winds ramp up again, said Edward Andrade, the National Weather Services lead forecaster in Amarillo, as The New York Times reported.

Residents were ordered to evacuate in some parts of the Panhandle, including Gilissa and Richard Murray, who have lived in the small town of Canadian  northeast of Amarillo  for 50 years, reported Reuters.

The house is gone and all the cars are melted, said Murray, 72, after returning to their home on Wednesday morning, as Reuters reported. Theres nothing left.

Ranchers struggled to try and extinguish the flames themselves as the fire took the lives of thousands of cattle and consumed grasslands used for grazing, according to CNN and The New York Times.

Almost the entire 30,000-acre stretch of land owned by rancher Jeff Chisum was destroyed.

Its hard to watch, Chisum said, as reported by The New York Times. Were in love with the animals and the country, and whenever something like this comes through and destroys it all, its hard to swallow.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a disaster on Tuesday, and firefighters from other parts of the state were deployed to help fight the blazes.

The fire originally started in the Canadian River Valley, a rugged region of cliffs and sharp hills that are difficult to navigate.

The Smokehouse Creek fire is just one of five wildfires burning across the Texas Panhandle. The others include the Windy Deuce Fire, which has razed 142,000 acres and was 30 percent contained on Thursday morning, according to CNN.

The Grape Vine Creek Fire was 60 percent contained after burning 30,000 acres; the Magenta Fire, which has destroyed 2,500 acres, was 65 percent contained; and the 687 Reamer Fire was 10 percent contained after having torched more than 2,000 acres.

A Panhandle Disaster Relief Fund was started with $1 million donated by Amarillo National Bank for wildfire victims, the financial institution said.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency were assisting in Texas, with federal authorities keeping in close contact with officials on the front lines of these fires, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, said at a Wednesday news briefing, as Reuters reported.
(Photo:  Peter Kenny)Flags of the world at the UN in Geneva in January 2017.

GENEVA  U.N. human rights experts have called on Iran to ensure a fair and transparent final hearing for three Iranian Christians due to appear before the Revolutionary Court in Tehran this weekend.

"We are deeply concerned by the long jail sentences imposed at a previous hearing on Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Asgari for allegedly "conducting evangelism" and "illegal house church activities."

They say such charges according to the authorities, amount to acting against national security, but what they are doing is completely contrary to Iran's international obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"We are additionally concerned about the lack of healthcare made available to them while in detention and, in particular, about the current health condition of Mr. Asgari who remains in prison," they noted in a Feb. 2 statement.

"We strongly call on the Government to ensure that the final review hearing on Sunday is fair and transparent, in accordance with Iran's obligations under international human rights law," the experts said.

The Revolutionary Court judge has the power to end the case, confirm the sentences or refer the case to the Supreme Court, with the men either freed on bail or jailed in the meantime.

The three Christians were given provisional jail sentences of 10 years at a previous hearing in July. Naderi received an additional five years for blasphemy.

The experts say they are also concerned that the prosecution of the three Christians is not an isolated case.

"We are aware of several other reported cases in which members of the Christian minority have received heavy sentences after being charged with 'threatening national security', either for converting people or for attending house churches," they said.

"This shows a disturbing pattern of individuals being targeted because of their religion or beliefs, in this case a religious minority in the country.

"Members of the Christian minority in Iran, particularly those who have converted to the faith, are facing severe discrimination and religious persecution."

The UN experts stressed that it was "of paramount importance" for the Iranian government to abide by its obligations under international human rights law.

"The authorities must ensure fair trials for all, including the religious minorities in the country," they said.

"We also urge the Government to immediately and unconditionally release all those who have been arrested and detained for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief."

The UN experts notified the Iran government about their concerns.
(Photo:  Diana Rasch, 2020)The Ecumenical Jury 2020 with Baran Rasoulof the daughter of director Mohammad Rasoulof who accepted the Prize for Sheytan vojud nadaradad (There is no Evil) on behalf of her father and the crew at the Berlinale.

The Ecumenical Jury at the 70th Berlinale film festival awarded the prize for the best film in the International Competition to an Iranian film which "reflects upon the importance of moral conscience."

Iranian authorities refused its director Mohammad Rasoulof permission to travel to Berlin.

The Ecumenical Jury appointed by the Protestant INTERFILM organization and Catholic SIGNIS, awarded its prize in the International Competition of Berlinale 2020 to the film Sheytan vojud nadaradad (There is no Evil).

"The movie reflects upon the importance of moral conscience in four episodes, telling the stories of four men who are confronted with carrying out death penalties and the people surrounding them," the release on the film read.

The jury report said that the film, "shows an impressive fundamental critique of the death penalty in general and especially of the oppressive system in Iran by means of outstanding storytelling and cinematography and the intense acting.

"In this the film is a strong statement of human dignity which constitutes us as a person in Iran and everywhere."

In a press conference in Berlin before the world premiere on Feb. 28, producer Kaveh Farnam said that the film shows that, "Even in a dictatorship we can make decisions."

FOCUS ON THE DEATH PENALTY

The film focusses on the death penalty used against regime opponents.

It is a lengthy film (150 minutes) consisting of four unrelated episodes and a fade to a black screen separates the stories.

The only unifying element is the death penalty.

In his first film at the Berlinale, Rasoulof who has had films at the Cannes film festival, deals with what the brutal human rights violation of the death penalty does.

It relates to the people who either have to carry out the death penalty as simple henchmen of the regime or oppose the system or have lost loved ones.

In the end the message is that everyone is brutalized.

The film follows the Iranian film tradition of memorable and monumental cinematography.

At the press conference a journalist spoke of an Iranian "film gen" and asked herself how under such dire circumstance Iranian filmmakers can still produce such great, monumental film art.

Mohammad Rasoulof was not allowed to travel to Berlin and his daughter Baran Rasoulof accepted the Ecumenical Jury price on his behalf.

She said she wished her father could have been there himself to accept the award.

In the film she plays Darya, a German-Iranian visiting Iran and getting entwined in a father-daughter relationship conflict.

She said that the role was "a mirror of my relationship with my father. On the basis of his political stance, I had to go through a similar process with my father."

Kaveh Farnam and Farzad Pak were the producers of the film that that was shot in Iran.

They released a statement before the premiere on Friday Feb. 28, saying they were "truly delighted and grateful that There is No Evil has been selected" to compete in the main competition of the Berlin film festival.

"However, we must express our deepest regrets and loudest frustrations at the limitations faced by the creator of this outstanding work of artistry. We feel obligated to apologize to the attendees for Mohammad Rasoulof's absence," they said.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Prices office has been unable or unwilling to provide data on its prosecution of criminal cases. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle 2023

After Pamela Price became Alameda Countys district attorney in January 2023, the Chronicle data team hoped to track how her office was prosecuting criminal cases, similar to what was done for Chesa Boudin and Brooke Jenkins in San Francisco.

District attorneys are often judged primarily for their decisions in certain high-profile cases, but we wanted to analyze how Prices policies were impacting broader outcomes for victims and defendants. For instance, we wanted to know whether shes charging a larger or smaller share of violent crimes such as assaults and robberies that police bring to her office for review, or diverting more people to rehabilitative and treatment programs.

Exclusive: Alameda DA Pamela Price accused of retaliating against employees who supported rival

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We have not been able to do this. Thats because the office has not yet made the required data available to us, nearly a year after we first asked them for it.

Since last April, when we sent our original public records request to Prices team, the office has continuously delayed fulfilling it. When we asked representatives to work with us to hasten the process, they refused  a violation of the California Public Records Act, according to David Loy, legal director at the First Amendment Coalition.

This is not behavior that seems consistent with an agency that wants to be transparent, Loy told the Chronicle.

The delay comes as Prices detractors campaign to recall her for what they see as her failure to hold people sufficiently accountable for committing crimes. Prices supporters argue she has done a good job in the face of an increase in crime, particularly in Oakland, that predates her administration. The data that the Chronicle requested from the DAs office could be invaluable as residents decide to support or reject the recall.

The Price teams response is not an outlier for an agency in the region. In August 2020, journalists and transparency advocates sued the Oakland Police Department, saying the agency routinely and systematically violated public records laws by blowing deadlines  taking up to a year to fulfill requests or not responding at all. A judge approved a settlement between the reporters and the department, which agreed to clear its 5,700-request-deep backlog.

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The Alameda County DAs office has fulfilled far more complex requests in the past. Under Prices predecessor, Nancy OMalley, the agency took 10 months  about the length of time weve been waiting for our current request  to produce more than seven years of prosecutorial data, in response to a request the office described as the most complicated, time consuming, and resource intensive request our office has ever received.

According to Prices office, the root of the delay is a poorly designed case management system that was not made to comply with the public records act. After Price became district attorney, the office said, it was flooded with requests for public records and data, but found that the system included sealed court records when workers tried to extract public information.

Our effort to get data from Price began last April, when we submitted a public records request asking for a spreadsheet containing data on crimes presented to the office by police, and charges filed, from 2021 through March 2023. To speed up the process, we asked for homicide, robbery, narcotics and felony assault cases only. A DAs office representative then helped us edit our request by phone, ensuring we included accurate penal codes.

After we had submitted our amended request, Prices office wrote us back, saying the request would take two hours of programming time at $83 an hour. We agreed to pay, and on April 19, the office told us it would have an update for us by mid-May.

Over the next six months, officials extended the deadline to fulfill the request four times; in May, June, August and October. That month, we asked Prices team members whether we could work with them to accelerate our request, including by telling us about the systems they use to store their case data.

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The office replied that our request was in the programming queue, but turned down our request for a follow-up conversation. At this time we decline the invitation, the office wrote.

The trouble is, the office was not declining an invitation  it was denying a request made under the duty to assist clause, a key provision of the California Public Records Act, the law that makes government records available to members of the public.

Loy, the First Amendment Coalition legal director, said that Prices team violated a clause that requires agencies to help members of the public figure out what records contain the information they seek and how information is stored. The act also requires agencies to promptly make records available for public inspection.

They have a duty to assist with (the request), which they failed to do, and when asked, they refused. Thats a violation of the act, he said.

We wrote back to Prices team in October, reminding it of the duty to assist clause. The office argued it had sufficiently helped us make a focused and effective request back in April.

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We have met and exceeded the parameters of the law with regard to our duty to assist the public, officials wrote, adding that they had sent us regular updates on the progress of her request, despite not hearing from (reporters) for six months. (They hadnt asked us to respond to anything over that time frame.)

Since then, weve received two additional extension notices. According to the latest one, we should expect another update by March 14.

Office representatives said they do not know if any of the required programming has been done yet. They declined to say who will be doing the programming. They declined to describe how the information requested is stored, only saying that their system is complex.

Loy told the Chronicle he finds it unlikely the offices data management system is so complex that it should take trained analysts a year to process a request for a spreadsheet like the one we submitted.

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In a June 2023 application for a $2 million grant to combat organized retail theft, the district attorneys office assured the Board of State and Community Corrections that its software could effectively and easily track, analyze and extract prosecution data.

While we havent had luck getting data from the district attorneys office, in November we examined what we could about Prices impact, finding among other things that the countys average daily jail population has fallen significantly since she was elected.
Some members of the PICMG met in December for a roundtable at the Markt&Technik publishing house.

For almost 30 years, PICMG has been shaping the embedded computing industry with standards. However, the organization is by no means resting on its laurels. Quite the opposite: with ModBlox7, some member companies have developed the first global standard for industrial computers.

Under the umbrella of the PCI Computer Manufacturers Group (PICMG), several manufacturers have been working on a new standard for modular industrial PCs: ModBlox7. It is intended to combine the advantages of scalable systems such as CompactPCI with cost-saving box PCs. As a flexible box PC system, ModBlox7 is based on units that are defined in terms of height and depth and can be extended in width as required. At the Markt&Technik roundtable, experts explained why a modular standard is needed in view of the large installed base and the long history of use of box PCs.

Matthias Beer, Managing Director at Ci4Rail, played a key role in the implementation of the new standard alongside Bernd Kleeberg, Managing Director at EKF Elektronik. When asked about the background to the idea of ModBlox7, Beer cites the increasing demand for small, space-saving, and lightweight industrial box PCs. The challenge for developers is interoperability between different PCs and a lack of flexibility.

Developers have to work with devices they get in shops, regardless of how they are configured. We want to combine the advantages of modular systems with those of a box PC, explains Beer. Standardizing box PC technology is a completely new idea; often, only the technology used in the box PC is standardized, for example, COM Express modules. For this reason, it was easy to start something new, says Beer.

The PICMG roundtable featured lively discussions on the various PICMG standards.

Thomas Kaminski, Director Product Sales and Marketing Management at Advantech, draws a comparison with the so-called Intel NUC standard. It is the only example where a company has attempted to develop a standard for industrial computers that addresses several vertical markets. Other companies are more focused on a specific market with a standard product family, continues Kaminski.

Interoperability as a Major Advantage

The wide range of industrial computers available on the market raises the question of what the advantages of ModBLox7 are compared to off-the-shelf box PCs. Matthias Beer says: What all standards achieve is to provide interoperability for the user, as well as for suppliers who manufacture products according to the new standard. This means that developers can put together a system from several suppliers. Conversely, manufacturers of ModBlox7 components can exchange and interact with each othernot everyone has to design every component themselves, explains Beer.

Advantech is one of the largest manufacturers of industrial computer technologies such as box PCs or computer modules. The company manufactures proprietary or custom industrial PCs, but so far not in the new ModBlox7 form factor. Thomas Kaminski explains the reasons for this: Firstly, we serve completely different markets with different requirements, and we also want to be flexible when it comes to system configuration. We also have to meet the demands of the market, for example in terms of certifications or thermal management. This often leads to a certain size, a certain housing, and a certain shape of PC. I very much doubt that all of this can be accommodated in a single standard for the various markets. However, we are keeping a very close eye on standardization, says Kaminski.

Mathias Beer, Ci4Rail: We want to combine the advantages of modular systems with those of a box PC.

For Mathias Beer, it was never the intention to force every application into a specific performance class or internal standard, as this was simply not possible. It was never the intention to revolutionize the market for box PCs, explains Beer. Rather, we want to appeal to users of control or diagnostic systems, especially for the rail sector, which is where Ci4Rail comes from, reports Beer.

Increase Availability with ModBlox7

Another point that is currently the subject of heated debate in the field of industrial computers is processor technology. This is because they are becoming ever more powerful and energy-efficient, which is leading to new innovations on the market. With ModBlox7, we are addressing low-end to high-end Arm as well as x86 processors up to 20-25 W. However, the standard does not provide for clusters in which two or three CPUs can be stacked. ModBlox7 is more about redundancy, for example in terms of availability, says Beer.

Bernd Kleeberg, EKF Elektronik: We would like to present the finished ModBlox7 specification to the community at embedded world 2024.

Timo Korhonen, Chief Engineer Control Systems Division at European Spallation Source ERIC, shares his experience from scientific applications: There is always a gap between systems with high and low performance requirements, says Korhonen. You end up with lots of different box PCs or programmable logic controllers (PLCs) in the lab that don't fit together, he explains. Matthias Beer likes the description: ModBlox7 fits perfectly if someone wants to do general-purpose computing and have a normal operating system.

Final Steps of the Specification Process

Bernd Kleeberg explains which points of the specification are currently being worked on and which points still need to be discussed. With regard to ModBlox7, we have reached the end of the specification process. The technical work is complete. We just need to take the final administrative steps and expect to be ready in the first quarter of 2024. We would like to present the finished specification to the community at embedded world 2024.

When asked about the service life of ModBlox7, Mathias Beer says it depends very much on the market. We are active in the rail business, where a service life of at least 15 years is required. We have to be able to supply and change our product for ten years or more, adds Beer, unlike in the automation sector, for example, where innovation cycles are shorter. The standard helps here because it offers the possibility of iterating individual parts.

Jess Isquith, PICMG: CompactPCI Serial is the interoperable modular standard that unites and fulfills all the objectives of the PICMG.

There is also the question of how to achieve higher performance from ModBlox7 PCs and whether documents need to be expanded or provided for this. Mathias Beer says: What the standard covers are additional cooling options. We are currently talking about including graphics processing units (GPUs) up to a certain level  not the 90 or 200 W versions, but up to about 30 watts, which are suitable for smaller computer vision applications or similar. We want to cover edge AI applications with this, explains Beer.

AI Applications and ModBlox7: Do they go together?

Edge AI is a good keyword, as more and more AI applications are entering the market for embedded computing technology. And the question arises as to whether the opportunities on the AI market are not being taken away by standardization, as the necessary flexibility could be lost in the process. Brandon Lewis, Marketing Officer at PICMG, says: When we talk about AI, everyone immediately thinks of GPUs, and the first thing that comes to mind is Nvidia. Of course there are other, lower-power GPUs, but the question is whether a GPU can fit into a small form factor standard like this, says Lewis. Mathias Beer notes that applications are increasingly networked and that the connection between the cloud and edge devices is much more stable. This makes it very easy for developers to distribute AI applications between the two, explains Beer.

Thomas Kaminski, Advantech: We specialize in AI at the edge, using the latest generation of Intel and AMD technology.

Thomas Kaminski sees the opportunities in AI as one of Advantech's biggest goals for the next few years. First and foremost, this is about capturing information and processing it at the edge. The next generations of Intel processors are very well suited for this. They have a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), scaling of the core components for more computing power, and AI efficiency. This opens many doors for edge computing. And Intel is also starting to launch its GPU cards. We have specialized in AI at the edge with the latest generation of Intel and AMD technology, explains Kaminski.

MicroTCA receives update

In addition to ModBlox7, there are other PICMG standards that are along the same lines, including CompactPCI Serial and MicroTCA. MicroTCA emerged in 2006 from its predecessor AdvancedTCA and was mainly developed for the telecommunications industry for systems with high power density. In 2024, the question is to what extent the standard will play a role at all.

Timo Korhonen, European Spallation Source ERIC: The long service life of the MicroTCA standard is very, very important.

Timo Korhonen can speak from the perspective of scientific applications. Here, MicroTCA is used in areas that primarily process high-frequency (HF) signals, measure electromagnetic fields, or similar. He also sees a growing area of application in image processing. Jess Isquith, President of PICMG, says: The scientific community has adopted the specification worldwide and new applications are constantly being added. A new version of the specification was even published in 2023. There is a high level of acceptance of the standard, particularly in Asia and Europe, says Isquith. Bernd Kleeberg disagrees: We don't use the standard. One of the main reasons for this is that the administrative effort and associated costs are too high. That's why we prefer other standards in industrial applications.

As MicroTCA was originally developed for telecommunications applications, the question currently arises as to whether it is necessary to revise the standard with regard to 5G and 6G. Jess Isquith says: There is a problem with the connectors, because each connector can only transmit a certain amount of data. So we have to change the specification in terms of the connectors. This is a new specification because the backwards compatibility is no longer given. So we are creating a new set of specifications, summarizes Isquith.

There has also been a MicroTCA Technology Lab for several years, which is funded by the German government. The employees are very committed and develop frameworks, standard products, and reference designs, Isquith adds.

Timo Korhonen adds: I have been working on this project committee for ten years. We rely on a lot of input from outside, from industry, and from our partner laboratories across Europe. The dilemma here is that, on the one hand, you want to be at the cutting edge of technology, but on the other hand you have to be able to maintain the system because you can't replace everything when something new comes along. So the longevity of the standard is very, very important, says Korhonen.

Brandon Lewis, PICMG: When we talk about AI, everyone immediately thinks of GPUs, and the first thing that comes to mind is Nvidia.

CompactPCI Serial as a perennial favorite

Another PICMG standard also aimed at modular systems is CompactPCI Serial, which was ratified in 2011. In contrast to classic CompactPCI, CompactPCI Serial no longer uses the parallel Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, but instead relies on modern high-speed serial interfaces.

The specification is soon to be extended to 4th generation PCI Express, explains Bernd Kleeberg, one of the initiators of the standard. Kleeberg adds: The new specification is almost ready and we will publish it in the near future. Among other things, it includes an extension of the backplane connections to 25 or 40 Gigabit Ethernet and the USB ports to up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet. The connection for the CPU card will be changed, but the form factor will remain Horizontal Pitch (HP), so developers can use peripheral cards as before, explains Kleeberg. In addition, work is already underway on the next version of the specification, which will support up to PCIe Gen 5. However, the form factor will have to be adapted somewhat due to the connector size, says Kleeberg.

Ci4Rail is one of the first member companies to develop and manufacture devices according to ModBlox7.

CompactPCI Serial is the interoperable modular standard that combines and fulfills all the objectives of PICMG, explains Jess Isquith proudly. However, the standard is not as widespread as expected. With the new version of the specification, PICMG has the opportunity to conquer the market anew. The standard is alive and only needs to be technically revised.

There is also a new organization, the Open Group, which is working on new applications for CompactPCI Serial. 120 companies and organizations have come together to develop a forum for open process automation and to consider how we can introduce standards in this industry. New members such as Exxon Mobil, Schneider Electric, and a handful of others who have never been involved with PICMG are leading by example. We are seeing more and more potential applications for CompactPCI Serial. Other members are also getting involved and contributing their expertise to the new group. This is a very interesting new experience for all PIGMG member companies, Jess Isquith concludes the discussions.

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Superintendent Matt Wayne declares a payroll state of emergency amid problems with EMPowerSF during a news conference on Nov. 7, 2022, at San Francisco Unified School District headquarters. Bronte Wittpenn / The Chronicle

After two years and $34 million trying to make a disastrous payroll system work, San Francisco school officials are giving up and are ready to pay another $5.6 million to start over with another company.

The EMPower payroll system has caused chaos since it was launched in January 2022, resulting in error-filled paychecks  if teachers and other staff were paid at all. The problems filtered into health and retirement benefits, leaving some employees temporarily without medical coverage and others without payments into pensions.

In one case, a principal wrote a personal check for $4,500 to help a teacher cover rent until she was paid.

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The problems were so pervasive that the district declared a state of emergency in November 2022, creating a 60-person command center to resolve errors. The decision came less than a week after more than 100 teachers staged a sick-out, part of a citywide day of action by educators and staff regarding the payroll problems.

The fiasco damaged the districts reputation after several years of pandemic-related controversy and infuriated its staff amid an already dire teacher shortage.

Maybe declaring a state of emergency on this will speed up the process toward resolution, said Chris Clauss, a special education teacher at George Washington High School, at the time. I, however, am not holding my breath for a fast resolution.

She wasnt wrong.

The school board is expected to approve a new contract on March 12 with Frontline Education, which offers a system in wide use among California school districts and stands in direct contrast to the build-from-scratch EMPower program that never was able to adapt to the complicated needs of public education employees.

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This decision was made after thoughtful and careful consideration of what kind of (employee management) system we need as the third largest employer in San Francisco, Superintendent Matt Wayne said in a statement released late Thursday. We are taking lessons learned from our switch to EMPowerSF in 2022 as we plan for this transition. I am confident that this change is in the best interest of our employees.

It will take nearly 18 months to fully adopt the new system, with the hope it will be fully operational and bug-free by the summer of 2025.

The news was celebrated by teachers union officials, who have lambasted the district over the problems since EMPower was launched, resulting in teacher protests, angry testimonials and labor complaints.

As of the end of February, there were more than 1,700 open cases related to questions or problems with paychecks, although thats down from several thousand in previous months.

Getting rid of EMPowerSF is an important step towards building back trust and repairing the tremendous harm done to educators, said Frank Lara, executive vice president of United Educators of San Francisco, in the district statement. We hope the painstaking lessons learned while stabilizing EMPowerSF will be applied when moving to the new system.

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The local Service Employees International Union also expressed relief.

We stood persistently in opposition to EMpowerSF since its implementation at SFUSD, but we appreciate Dr. Wayne on validating our stance on removing a system that falls short of meeting the requirements to work successfully for a public school district, said SEIU 1021 Vice President Antonae Robertson.

The original contractor for the EMPower system was SAP, with Infosys responsible for implementation. The initial contract was for $9.5 million, which was later increased to $11.1 million and then again to $13.7 million, with the current price tag reaching more than three times the original expected cost.

Its too soon to know if the district will pursue compensation from the original contractors.

Wayne said the district would be using lessons learned in the adoption and rollout of EMPower to ensure a smooth transition to the new system, consulting with other districts who use Frontline, among other actions.

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Axios, a site known for political analysis and extensive use of bullet points, has joined the ranks of pundits fawning over Mark Zuckerbergs PR strategy. The Meta CEO, they claim, is (as originally headlined) "having a PR moment" which is "casting a halo effect on the company itself." That's obviously untrue, but let's say it in a format more likely to reach Axios's audience.

The big picture: Zuckerbergs recent PR blitz is neither out of character nor a sign of a freshly rehabbed image. In fact, Meta and Zuckerberg are staring down one of the biggest crises theyve ever faced.

Why it matters: Praising the PR strategy of a gigantic company which is credibly accused of enabling a variety of mass-scale harms is, at best, irresponsible, even if that PR strategy was working  which it isn't.

Describing competitor products as inferior is exactly what executives are supposed to do. Zero points awarded.

The CEO of Meta responding to some of his social media comments isnt a sign of radical authenticity, it's a ploy for engagement.

Saying you've "never seen Zuckerberg," who to the best of our knowledge is a living, breathing human man "act so ... real" is an astonishingly low bar to clear!

To recap here, Meta is embroiled in a massive lawsuit from nearly every state over the myriad ways it has allegedly harmed its youngest users. And Zuckerbergs actions, or lack thereof, are at the heart of many of these claims. Court documents have revealed that the CEO personally intervened to block a proposed ban on plastic surgery filters on Instagram despite advice from experts that these effects could exacerbate body dysmorphia and eating disorders. Under his leadership, Meta turned a blind eye to children using its platform, against its own policies, and did little to stop adults from sexually harassing children. Under his leadership, Instagrams recommendation algorithm promoted child sexual exploitation content and connected a "vast pedophile network." At the same time, Zuckerberg repeatedly denied or ignored requests from his top lieutenants to invest more in safety. Just last week, his lawyers were in federal court arguing that he should not be held personally responsible in dozens of lawsuits over the harms his platforms have allegedly caused.

The most viral moments from Zuck's Congressional testimony, which Axios bizarrely suggests was good for his image, was a moment when he stammered an apology to the families of children who have been victims of online exploitation on the platforms he controls. One parent in the room described it as forced. The second-most viral moment was Senator Ted Cruz pointing to a posterboard of an in-app Instagram warning screen which indicated search results might "contain images of child sexual abuse" and which also provided the option to "see results anyway."

REUTERS / Reuters

Needless to say, Zuckerberg and his handlers are savvy enough to know that none of that is good for the public image of the fourth-richest person in the world. That Zuckerberg has been particularly eager to share his quirky hobbies and newfound love of Japanese McDonalds is not at all surprising. Distraction is a time-worn PR move, but no amount of light-hearted Instagram posts can blunt a headline like, "Meta Staff Found Instagram Tool Enabled Child Exploitation. The Company Pressed Ahead Anyway."

This also isnt a new strategy for Zuckerberg. While its true he was once a painfully awkward and very sweaty public speaker, he has long since shed that image. And hes gone through several different versions of himself. He spent much of 2017 on a listening tour of the US visiting farms and factories and random families dinner tables (many of whom happened to reside in swing states, fueling speculation that he was eyeing a move into politics.) And well, a political tour is sort of what he was doing: Zuckerberg reportedly has had a pollster whose full-time job is to track public perception of his often alien behavior. One such pollster reportedly quit after just six months, coming to believe the company was bad for society. Mark's favorability in a variety of public polls has ranged from very bad to extremely, laughably, irreparably bad.

This is far from the first time Mark has tried to distract the public with a personal hobby, only for his inability to relate to the average human experience to lead to a swift and spectacular faceplant. Take, for example, his infamous backyard grilling Facebook Live from 2017, wherein he managed to utter the word "meats" 13 times over the course of 30-odd achingly long minutes. It was awkward, but not quite as strange as the time Mark allegedly challenged himself to only eat meat from animals he himself killed, resulting in a moment where he allegedly turned an alive goat into a dead one with "a laser gun and then the knife," according to former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. (And like a true rich weirdo, he opted to learn how to end an animal's life, but, according to the same recollection by Dorsey, outsourced the butchering to someone else.) Perhaps more successfully, in 2019 he appeared to discover his love of foiling  which is like wakeboarding, but dorkier and much more expensive.

In short, Zuckerberg isnt reinventing himself as much as simply remixing the same PR formula hes been using for years, particularly when his company is in some sort of distress, which seems to be always. His people are trying very hard to make him seem like a normal guy through a mix of carefully curated social media posts, photo opps and talks with media personalities. It's a strategy that will continue to work on a handful of gullible people. At least as long as some of those media personalities  like Axios CEO Mike Allen  are willing to call men like Mark Zuckerberg "real, daring and unguarded."
Jordan Parker is a breaking news reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. He graduated from Sacramento State University in May 2022 with a degree in journalism. During his time there, he spent three years as a reporter and editor for the university's award-winning student newspaper, The State Hornet. He spent his senior year of college serving as The Hornet's first Black editor in chief, leading the organization to two Pacemaker awards and several other national honors from the Associated Collegiate Press. When he's not chasing down a story, he likes watching movies, traveling and trying new restaurants.

He can be reached at Jordan.Parker@sfchronicle.com.
Vice President Kamala Harris was supposed to make a guest appearance on "Sherri" on Wednesday, but she didn't make it.

The VP canceled her guesting on Sherri Shepherd's daytime show because she was not cleared to fly from Manhattan to New York due to the weather. Shepherd announced the changes on the show and admitted that she was "so disappointed." However, the Bravo executives were also allegedly "pissed" because they made huge changes to the "Real Housewives of Potomac" reunion, scheduled to film in the same studio.

Harris' expected appearance reportedly prompted the team to schedule its shoot earlier. Their call time was allegedly moved to 4:30 a.m. so they could accommodate her security team since the Secret Service planned to close down West 26th Street in NYC for the VP's arrival. After making the adjustments and Harris being a no-show, the Bravo executives were reportedly annoyed.

"Bravo executives were pissed because their original arrangements could've remained the same," an unnamed source told Page Six. "The ladies [of 'RHOP'] were not happy with their earlier, new call times -- and neither were their glam teams -- but they still got paid because a job is a job!"





Another insider reiterated the adjustments to OK! Magazine, saying that Harris' guesting on "Sherri" allegedly shook up the schedules of the "Real Housewives" stars. The production had to make major changes to accommodate the politician's security, much to the celebrities' inconvenience.

"Their schedule now has to be rearranged and pushed up to 4:30 in the morning. All of their food deliveries have to come before the street is totally blocked off by the Secret Service," the tipster claimed.





"The whole block will be shut down, so there will be a lot of organized chaos because of Harris' arrival, which could mean their breakfast and lunch could be cold."

The change in filming schedule allegedly affected the whole production, including the decorations and the arrival of the cast. The insider added that the earlier call time would not be easy for the "Real Housewives" stars, who were allegedly not morning persons.

"A lot of time and scheduling goes into those reunion shows. So, the set decorations, time cards, flights, guest arrivals... have all been turned upside down. Those ladies are not known for their punctuality. So if they want to avoid any issues, they better be in that studio before [the] Secret Service pulls up," the tipster said.

"The Real Housewives of Potomac" airs every Sunday on Bravo at 8 p.m. EST.
An inquest into the shocking death of Lady Gabriella Kingston's husband will start this Friday at the coroner's court.

Thomas Henry Robin Kingston, a member of the royal family by marriage, died at Cotswolds on Sunday. He was 45. His surviving family confirmed his passing on Tuesday and described it as a "great shock to the whole family."

The Gloucestershire Police said in a statement to Us Weekly that they were "called by the ambulance service at 6:25 p.m. on Sunday with a report of the death of a 45-year-old man at an address in the Cotswolds."

At the time, "the death [was] not treated as suspicious."

However, a court official told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday that "HM senior coroner for Gloucestershire, Ms Katy Skerrett, will conduct the opening of the inquest into the death of Mr. Thomas Henry Robin Kingston at 2 p.m., Friday, March 1, 2024, at the Gloucestershire Coroner's Court."

Thomas Kingston was an "exceptional financier" who married Lady Gabriella Windsor, the daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth's first cousin Prince Michael of Kent, in May 2019 at Frogmore House -- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's former residence.

Talking about her husband in a joint statement with the Kingston family, Lady Gabriella described him as "an exceptional man."

"It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother. Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing," the statement read

Per The Standard, Buckingham Palace has also issued a statement saying, "The King and The Queen have been informed of Thomas's death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family. In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family."

Before his shocking death, a friend reportedly saw Thomas and his wife at a National Gallery event in London on Feb. 21, according to the Daily Mail.

"They seemed happy and positive as ever. Ella was particularly chatty," the friend noted.
English TV presenter Dave Myers, best known as one-half of the "Hairy Bikers," has died, leaving his co-stars and industry friends grieving. He was 66.

His co-star and close friend Si King announced the news of his passing via a statement on the official X account of "Hairy Bikers."

"Hi everyone. I'm afraid I bear some sad news. Most of you will know Dave has been fighting cancer for the past couple of years. Last night, on 28th of February 2024, with Lili, Dave's wife, his family, close friend David and myself by his side, he passed away peacefully at home," he wrote.

Myers is survived by his beloved wife, Lili, and her children, Iza and Sergiu, whom "Dave loved like his own."

Hi everyone, Im afraid I bear some sad news. Most of you will know Dave has been fighting cancer for the past couple of years. Last night, on 28th February 2024, with Lili, Daves wife, his family, close friend David and myself by his side, he passed away peacefully at home. All pic.twitter.com/VwoZkm8TJI  Hairy Bikers (@HairyBikers) February 29, 2024

In the tribute he wrote for his best friend, King said, "Personally, I am not sure I can put into words on how I feel at the moment. My best friend is on a journey that for now, I can't follow."

He added, "I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime..."

Other industry people also paid tribute to Myers online by sharing heartwarming posts and kind words about him.

I worked with the Hairy Bikers on a BBC Christmas special, they were so welcoming and a joy to film with. At only 66 Dave Myers has left us. he was gentle and kind: I followed his Strictly appearances as a friend. Sending love to Si who must be devastated and those close to him. pic.twitter.com/4ArNYLoTo0  Russell Grant (@THERussellGrant) February 29, 2024

"I worked with the 'Hairy Bikers' on a BBC Christmas special, they were so welcoming and a joy to film with. At only 66, Dave Myers has left us. He was gentle and kind: I followed his 'Strictly' appearances as a friend. Sending love to Si, who must be devastated, and those close to him," UK astrologer Russell Grant tweeted.

Norwich graffiti artist Ruddy Muddy also paid the TV presenter a tribute with an artwork, which he shared on X.

RIP Dave Myers. Such sad news.



Did this as soon as I heard. Was quite a quick one as raining and cold but I had to do it.



To one of the wonderful @HairyBikers from one of the Hairy Artists.#ripdavemyers #thehairybikers pic.twitter.com/cNjsvRpkYa February 29, 2024

"RIP Dave Myers. Such sad news... To one of the wonderful @HairyBikers from one of the Hairy Artists," he wrote.

According to him, he did the artwork as soon as he heard the news, saying, "Was quite a quick one as [it's] raining and cold but I had to do it."

We are devastated to hear of Dave Myers passing and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. We are immensely proud to have published the Hairy Bikers for over 14 years and will truly miss Daves infectious energy and passion for food and travel. There was never pic.twitter.com/MgJCJ1dppT February 29, 2024

Orion Books, the publisher of "The Hairy Bikers: Blood, Sweat and Tyres," also remembered Myers in a statement.

"... We are immensely proud to have published the 'Hairy Bikers' for over 14 years and will truly miss Dave's infectious energy and passion for food and travel," the publishing company wrote.

"There was never a dull moment working with Dave, and all who were lucky enough to do so will attest to what a brilliantly inspiring and kind and hardworking man he was."

A beautiful post by Si King on @HairyBikers after the passing of his best friend Dave Myers.



"My best friend is on a journey that for now, I cant follow. I will miss him every day."



I only met Dave once & he was so full of love for the world. Rest In Peace Kind Man  https://t.co/hpMfy2jUmO  Carol Vorderman (@carolvorders) February 29, 2024

Welsh broadcaster Carol Vorderman honored the "Hairy Bikers" star by requoting Si's announcement.

"I only met Dave once, [and] he was so full of love for the world. Rest in peace, kind man," she captioned her tweet.

BBC presenters Kym Marsh and Gethin Jones paid tribute to Myers when they announced his death on "This Morning Live" Thursday.

Trying to fight back tears, Jones said, "We have met Dave so many times, and he was just such a lovely smiley person."

Marsh added, "He was such a gorgeous human being."

Were back! 



The Hairy Bikers are back and this time theyre going West  meeting local food producers and trying the very best food these counties have to offer. All while taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane to places close to their hearts.



Tune in to @bbctwo 6th of pic.twitter.com/7WPAVx2xWX  Hairy Bikers (@HairyBikers) January 26, 2024

Earlier in February, Myers and King were back on TV with their new series "The Hairy Bikers Go West."

In a clip from the series, Dave reflected on his cancer diagnosis and said, "One thing I'd say is you have to live for today. Don't live for tomorrow because you don't know what's around the corner," per Mirror.
A 39-year-old woman has been sentenced to two life sentences behind bars after her role in the deaths of two family members.

Samantha Ford Rabon was involved in a murder-for-hire plot in 2018 to reportedly inherit a $1 million dollar inheritance from her father.

The plot targeted her father, 59-year-old Robert Ford, and her half-brother, 25-year-old Robbie Ford. A jury found Rabon guilty on two counts each of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and solicitation to commit murder. She will not be eligible for parole.

RELATED: Death Penalty Sought For Woman Accused Of Killing 4-Year-Old, Leaving Body In Backpack

According to the solicitor's office, on Aug. 18, 2018, Horry County Police responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle. Their investigation led them to a partially burned Ford Escape in a field off Cookes Circle.

Following the initial discovery of the vehicle, Horry County Police uncovered a crime scene at the home of the registered owner. Officers found the lifeless bodies of Robert and Robbie in the yard. Both victims died of gunshot wounds. Robert Ford had been "shot twice in the head at close range," while Robbie Ford sustained a gunshot to his side and in the back of his head.

Investigators determined that the heinous act had taken place on Aug. 17, 2018, a day before the discovery of the abandoned vehicle.

The investigation spanned over two years before a breakthrough was achieved through the implementation of genetic genealogy. Horry County Police utilized DNA extracted from cigarette butts and a skull cap found in and around the Ford Escape. This genetic evidence led investigators to identify Randy Grainger and Teresa Martin, the latter being revealed as Rabon's cousin.

Rabon sought Grainger's assistance in a plot to kill her father and half-brother. The motive behind this plan was Rabon's desire to inherit all of her father's wealth.

Testimony during Rabon's trial, as reported by WMBF-TV, implicated both Randy Grainger and Teresa Martin, who claimed that Rabon offered Grainger $20,000 to execute the plan.

RELATED: Judge Accused Of Shooting Sleeping Boyfriend In The Head And Told Him He Did It

Teresa Martin was charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy initially, and she subsequently pleaded guilty in April 2023 to accessory after the fact to murder.

Randy Grainger was convicted of two counts of murder, two counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of arson, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime on April 6, 2023.

"In my 30 years of prosecution, these are the most heinous murders I have ever seen," said senior assistant solicitor Mary-Ellen Walter. "The idea that someone would have their family killed out of pure greed is untenable."
Enstarz's Asheea Smith caught up with 'Unprisoned' child star Jordyn McIntosh, known for her eccentric role as Little Paige in the Hulu comedy TV series.

Little Paige is the personification of adult Paige's inner child, as the adult version of her grapples with juggling her life as a single mother, her career as a therapist, and the untimely release of her father from prison.

McIntosh, 10, works alongside Hollywood stars Kerry Washington, whom she politely calls Ms. Kerry, and Delroy Lindo.

After all her hard work in the NAACP Image Awards nominated series, McIntosh, who loves to sing, dance, and create movies, told Enstarz what a day in her life looks like as a child actress in an exclusive interview.

RELATED: CALLING ALL NERDS! Carly Polistina Hosts New Enstarz Podcast 'Geeking Out'

ENSTARZ: "What does a day on set look like for Jordyn? What do you find yourself doing from day to day on set?"

JORDYN: "So, usually I wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning, very early, tired, looking like I just rolled out of bed. Usually I'd sit in the trailer for a little bit, then head to hair and makeup, and then head back to the trailer for probably like, an hour and a half. Then, my on set teacher would pull me for school for 3.5 hours. Then that's when we'd head to set, do rehearsal... go back to school for like 30 minutes, and then come back to set and start filming."

She continued: "After that, we'll probably do like, 2 hours of school. And then I'm done for the day."

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE Interview with R&B Singer Jenevieve About Baby Powder, God, and Debut Album 'Division'

ENSTARZ: "Oh, so you're still getting your schooling in  which is obviously super important. What time do you get to bed at night after all that?"

JORDYN: "I would say around like, 9' oclock?"

ENSTARZ: "Oh, that's not bad! Actioned packed day, big results!"

'Unprisoned' has received gleaming reviews from both critics and audiences, receiving a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Washington, 47, and Lindo, 71, have both won NAACP Image Awards including Outstanding Actress and Actor for their lead roles in the series. Following a successful debut, 'Unprisoned' has received the green light from Hulu for a second season.

According to her bio, McIntosh was "instantly drawn to acting at the age of 4 when she started her training at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia." After falling in love with the arts, she continued her training at The Actor's Scene in Buford.

The Omaha, Nebraska, native relocated with her family to Atlanta, Georgia. When she's not creating, McIntosh enjoys playing with her sibling and playing video games.

The '55th NAACP Image Awards' will broadcast live on Saturday, March 16 at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT on BET.
P V Narasimha Rao is known for his contribution towards uplifting India from a serious balance of payments crisis and liberalising the economy in 1991. On 9 February 2024, in honouring Rao with the Bharat Ratna, the Prime Minister emphasised Raos instrumental role in making India economically advanced, laying a solid foundation for the countrys prosperity and growth. But what is often less recognised is the significance of Rao in providing a pragmatic shift to Indian foreign policy.

Rao became the Prime Minister at a crucial juncture when world politics was undergoing a pivotal change with the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the end of the Cold War. The then structure of the international system reflected the changing power dynamics with the United States (US) asserting its dominance in the international community. In the changed circumstances, Rao took a vital decision to deviate from the conventional approach to foreign policy by establishing diplomatic relations with countries having strategic significance for India.
As we celebrate womens history month during March, we acknowledge Rebekah Grace Rose Barsotti, a woman who embodied courage for inspiring women everywhere to take a stand against domestic violence. We also acknowledge Selena Not Afraid, whose body was found three weeks after she went missing in 2020 and her case remains unsolved. Selena became a beacon of Awareness for MMIW. We believe every woman matters.

Rebekahs Story

Thirty-three-year-old Rebekah, a vibrant young woman, dared to start a new life after a partner/family member assault charge against her spouse in March 2021, sealing her decision to leave the abuse behind. Within months of leaving, Rebekah disappeared in July 2021 after receiving death threats against herself and her dog, Cerberus. After an apparent drowning involving suspicious circumstances, Cerberus was found 6 days later. Rebekahs body was found 10 months later in a different location, mostly intact. The autopsy found Rebekahs manner of death undetermined, but the greatness of her life carries on.

Montana law (Mont. Code Ann. 72-3-501(2)) disallowed Rebekahs abuser from managing her estate, yet that is what occurred. It should never happen again.

Selena Not Afraids Story

Represents many young Indigenous women under the age of 18 who have gone missing. According to Montana Dept of Justice between 2017-2021 over 80% of the missing Indigenous Person cases were under the age of 18. These young womens cases are not thoroughly investigated due to breakdown in communications and efforts between tribal and county law enforcement.

Our Story

For all who believe in the dignity of human life, Rebekah and Selenas story is our story. One in three women experience domestic violence in their lifetime. Of the domestic violence cases that result in fatalities, 75% of victims are killed when they attempt to leave the relationship or after the relationship has ended. If a victim passes away (whether at the hands of her abuser or not), an abuser should never have the final say over a victim, in life or in death.

From the courageous women of Big Horn County, Montana, and the countless Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, MMIP/MMIW to the voiceless survivors across Montana, we celebrate the lives of women, because all women are worthy of honor, respect, and remembrance. As we celebrate women, we also acknowledge our responsibility to ensure every human life is treated with dignity, honor and respect, from our first breath to our last.

Call to Action

If you or a loved one are a victim of domestic violence, please visit: www.thehotline.org or contact your local YWCA/Domestic Violence Shelter. Make the call. Text Start to 88788. Reach Out. Find a local organization to become involved in helping victims of MMIW/MMIP and victims of Domestic Violence. Thank you for standing up for all women and supporting all survivors. Remember - Never go alone.

 Angela Mastrovito - Rebekahs Legacy (www.rebekahslegacy.com)

 Cheryl Horn, MMIW - Cheryl Horn | Facebook - cherylhorn11@gmail.com

 Allie Harrison - Victims Advocate (www.youtakecourage.org)
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of mourners who chanted his name and blamed authorities for his death in prison.

Outside the cemetery where he was buried, some supporters shouted in grief while others yelled out slogans against the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine.

Despite a heavy police presence and official warnings, thousands of mourners paid their respects to the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner whose death in an Arctic prison was announced on February 16.

Navalny's death has been widely condemned by Western leaders and his allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of responsibility and of trying to prevent a dignified public burial.

The Kremlin, which has dismissed the accusations as "hysterical", warned against "unauthorised" protests around the funeral.

Navalny's body first lay in an open casket in a packed church in Maryino, southern Moscow, for a ceremony attended by his parents.

The coffin was closed immediately after the service, meaning many mourners who had wanted to file past were not able to pay their last respects at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church.

It was transported to the Borisovo cemetery, near the banks of the Moskva River, where several large wreaths were arranged around the grave.

"We won't forget you!", "Forgive us!" some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived.

- 'What are they afraid of?' -

"No to war!" some also chanted while others yelled "Down with the power of murderers!" and "We will not forgive!".

Rights monitoring group OVD-Info said police had arrested at least 128 people attending tributes to Navalny in 19 cities across Russia on Friday.

"Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to TASS news agency.

"What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?" one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP outside the church.

"The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the thousands who turned out as "courageous" and French President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute to the "courage" of those who went to pay their last respects.

The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

Music from "Terminator 2" -- Navalny's favourite film -- was played as the coffin was lowered, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

- 'Nothing to say' -

Navalny's daughter Dasha Navalnaya paid tribute to her "hero" father in a post on Instagram, writing that "You always have been and always will be my role model".

The dissident's widow Yulia Navalnaya, who did not attend the ceremony after saying earlier this week in France that she feared disruption and arrests of participants, also took to social media.

"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I'll make it or not, but I'll try," she said.

"I love you forever. Rest in peace," she wrote.

Navalnaya has also blamed Putin for her husband's death.

Putin's spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as "vulgar".

As the funeral went ahead, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" to the family of the deceased.

Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.

Some mourners mentioned the huge influence Navalny had on their own activism.

"Because of him I began to get involved in politics... He was the first public person that I listened to," said 26-year-old Denis, a volunteer at a charity.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.

"Alexei was tortured for three years," Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

"He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters."

"And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body," she said.

- 'Ideas will live on' -

His body was held for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny's team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Navalny's team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a "secret" funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place to hold a funeral ceremony and even hearse drivers.

A civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body -- common in Russia -- was not allowed.

Navalnaya has vowed to continue her husband's work and urged to "fight more desperately, more fiercely than before".

In the crowd near the church, some seemed to agree.

"A person has died, but his ideas will live on thanks to those who have gathered here," said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist.

There were ceremonies as well in several cities across Europe, many of them attended Russians who had left their homeland.

In Berlin several hundred people gathered in front of the Russian embassy, leaving flowers, lighting candles and placing photos of Navalny.

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Siblings Virginia Hedrick, left, and Frankie Myers stand outside the Capitol in Sacramento during the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Peoples Summit and Day of Action last month. Myers is a governing member of the states Truth and Healing Council, working to document the states legacy of violence against Native people, and Hedrick runs an urban Indian health organization that makes sure hearing participants have access to traditional healers and behavioral health practitioners. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

On a Thursday in March 2022, several dozen Indigenous people met on the banks of the American River in Sacramento. After two years of operating exclusively over Zoom due to pandemic-era restrictions, the California Truth and Healing Council was holding its first in-person meeting.

Attendees included tribal representatives like Frankie Myers, vice chair of the Yurok Tribe and one of the councils 12 governing members, and his sister Virginia Hedrick, a Yurok Tribe member and executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health. They were there to participate in a talking and listening circle, during which individuals shared personal and family histories  stories that were invariably characterized by dispossession and oppression.

I look forward to creating an uncomfortable space, Myers said, introducing himself to the group. These are uncomfortable discussions that were having, and I think thats a good thing, because thats how we grow.

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Nearly two years later, Hedrick remembers the experience as both productive and painful.

Virginia Hedrick talks with a friend during the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Peoples Summit and Day of Action on Feb. 13 in Sacramento. The executive director of the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health has taken close interest in the states Truth and Healing Council and works to make sure that trauma-informed resources are available to those who provide testimony. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

It was very beautiful to see people come together, but it was a lot to sit in this outdoor space  to hear the trauma of others, to share trauma and to share frustration with the state government, she said.

She isnt alone. California Native Americans  whose ancestral claims to state lands date to long before statehood  share mixed feelings about the council. Most, especially those who have attended hearings, support the native-led truth-finding process. They see establishing a clear historical record of the states legacy of violence against native people as a necessary step toward reconciliation.

But the project requires heavy lifting in terms of time, finances and mental fortitude  an undertaking that has been placed almost exclusively on the shoulders of Californias native communities. And its intended outcomes remain cloudy; tangible policy changes will probably take years.

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The community is getting the chance to come forward and listen, said Abby Abinanti, chief justice of the Yurok Tribe. How (that information is) going to be presented and how widely its going to be distributed remains to be seen.

The process has taken Myers and Hedrick down separate but parallel paths. While one works inside the council, the other engages with it as a community member and Indigenous health advocate. Both see the efforts as an opportunity for agency and progress.

Its the first time were really getting to tell our story, Hedrick said.

Filling an information gap

Formed by the same 2019 executive order in which Gov. Gavin Newsom formally apologized to Indigenous Californians, the 12-seat council has been charged with documenting the states legacy of violence against Californias native peoples. Much of that work takes place at listening sessions and hearings; 64 have been held online and in-person since June 2019. A report of its findings is due in 2025.

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Christina Snider-Ashtari, a member of the Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians and tribal affairs secretary to the governor, oversees the council. She said its focus on hearings speaks to the states intentions.

Its the state saying, We understand weve done wrong, but we also understand that in order to make things right, we need to listen to the community to see what would be most impactful, she said.

Snider-Ashtari emphasizes that it was only a few generations ago, after statehood was established in 1850, that Indigenous Californians were pushed off their ancestral lands, enslaved, massacred and forcibly assimilated by white settlers.

That history is close enough that we can touch it, Hedrick agreed. Hedricks and Myers great-grandmother was alive when settlers first arrived at the Klamath River, and their grandmother attended one of Californias many exploitative Indian boarding schools.

Despite that temporal closeness, many Californians  including those with native ancestry  are unfamiliar with those histories, Myers said.

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This history of California natives is not one thats well known, he said, despite the fact that California has the largest Indigenous population of any state. More than 760,000 Californians self-identified as Native American in the 2020 census, although the undercounting of marginalized groups means the total number of Indigenous people in the state is likely higher.

Frankie Myers, center, speaks to state Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, R-Yucaipa (San Bernardino County), during the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Peoples Summit and Day of Action in Sacramento last month. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Learning Indigenous histories, Myers continued, will help residents and lawmakers better understand todays most pressing tribal issues.

Abinanti added that to effectively address issues such as homelessness, substance use and violence in native communities, lawmakers must understand the historical injustices in which they are rooted. The information gap is huge, she said.

At present, the councils efforts have garnered little notice outside of native communities. That isnt new, say Hedrick and others. Initiatives to reconcile crimes against Indigenous people do not receive the same amount of attention as other issues, even in more progressive circles, she said.

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As chair of the California Reparations Task Force, a state advisory committee formed in 2020 to develop reparations proposals for African Americans, attorney and reparatory justice scholar Kamilah Moore tried to bridge those divides. She used task force meetings and social media to alert the public to the councils activities.

Moore said she wanted to spread awareness to all the folks who were coming to my inbox saying, Well, what about Native Americans? 

But according to Katherine Katcher, justice policy lead with the Yurok Tribe, operating under the radar has historically been an advantage for native activists. Broadcasting their collective pain requires a different mindset.

Abby (Abinanti) often says  the superpower for survival was to be invisible, Katcher said. Its a totally different impulse to be like, We need to be doing more advocacy and be more visible. 

A heavy lift

But documenting the past is hard work, said Myers, especially when the experiences being discussed are traumatic, and the communities involved spread across a vast and diverse state.

As one of the councils 12 governing members, Myers has spent countless hours traveling the state to listening sessions. A meeting on the Yurok reservation, where he grew up, had a particularly profound effect on him. There, tribal members spoke of harrowing experiences ranging from cultural loss to land theft to forced sterilization.

People that Ive known my whole life  shared their story in a way that I had never heard before, Myers said. That floored me.

Experiences shared at hearings range from decades old to recent. In October 2022, an elderly member of the Southern Sierra Miwuk Nation recounted her childhood displacement to Yosemite National Parks New Indian Village, which officials placed out of sight of tourists.

During a March 2023 session hosted by the Pala Indian Reservation, a woman told of police being called on her family while they performed ceremonial rites on ancestral land near Monterey after a neighbor made a noise complaint. That was a lot of trauma for me, said the woman.

Frankie Myers, seated, listens to speakers during the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Peoples Summit and Day of Action outside the state Capitol in Sacramento last month. He is a governing member of the states Truth and Healing Council, which has been meeting since June 2019 to document the states legacy of violence against Californias native peoples. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Providing and listening to such testimony, community leaders say, can be retraumatizing, especially for those who have experienced poverty, abuse, incarceration or family separation.

It can also feel like an echo chamber.

We are speaking to the wrong people, said Kouslaa Kessler-Mata, a member of the council and associate professor of political science at the University of San Francisco. Why are we asking folks to come together to share trauma they have experienced, usually with other Indian people, but not directly to the state administrators, legislators and others in positions of power?

Another issue is access. The council strives to meet in different parts of the state. Last year, it facilitated in-person listening sessions in eight counties, from San Diego in the south to Modoc in the north. But attendees must pay their own way to attend the hearings, which may occur hundreds of miles from where they live. The costs of gas, lodging and time away from work can be prohibitive, meaning some testimonies are never collected.

California is a really big state. People are really busy. There is no incentive for them to go to these meetings, said Kessler-Mata, who is Northern Chumash. Theres a lot of unpaid labor.

Efforts have been made to mitigate these various challenges. For example, in June 2022 the state contracted Hedricks health consortium to make traditional healers and behavioral health practitioners available for hearing participants.

Having a therapist-type person on hand was very culturally responsive, said Rose Hammock, a member of the Pomo and Wailacki tribes who has attended several hearings.

A nonprofit philanthropy that funds racial equity projects, the Decolonizing Wealth Project, launched the California Truth and Healing Fund to facilitate community participation in the process, including by offsetting travel expenses associated with attending hearings.

Its really important that community leaders are in that room and informing that work, said project founder and CEO Edgar Villanueva.

Conflicting timelines

In-person convenings have enabled community leaders to identify key unifying issues, such as gaining the right to buy back territory, typically with grant funding, or to perform controlled forest burns  a long-suppressed land stewardship technique that is not only culturally significant but environmentally beneficial, said Beth Rose Middleton Manning, professor of Native American studies at UC Davis.

As a result, the events have strengthened cross-tribal connections by bringing leaders from different nations into the same room, Hammock said. Were not always given the space to do that.

But the hearings have also prompted frustrations among those who fear the years of focus on documentation takes away from opportunities to make tangible policy inroads.

Dessa Drake is executive director of the Indian Cultural Organization, a nonprofit run by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe of the states Mount Shasta region. She explains how as a federally unrecognized tribe of just 150 people, the Winnemem Wintu have become accustomed to forging their own paths when it comes to securing funding and rights. Without federal recognition, they and more than 50 other tribes in California are blocked from programs like the Indian Health Service or state tuition waivers.

A lot of us non-recognized are left as an afterthought, Drake said. Weve had to figure out a way to do it ourselves. We arent holding our breath on relying on the government.

Last year, Drakes organization partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to reintroduce winter-run chinook salmon into the Sacramento River above the Shasta Dam. A separate grant allowed the tribe to purchase over 1,000 acres of ancestral land where they hope to build an eco village to house tribal members.

Similarly, the Yurok Tribes Kee-Cha-E-Nar Corp. for native women and girls secured $1 million in state money to investigate cases of missing and murdered Indigenous persons.

Theres such a balance between learning and listening and action, Katcher said. We appreciate and respect the work that the state is doing on truth and healing, and  we are not waiting to see what they decide.

Maintaining momentum

The states current openness to racial justice policies  such as financial reparations for historically dispossessed groups, namely Black Californians  helps to fuel Katchers sense of urgency.

In 2023, the state Reparations Task Force, formally recommended issuing cash payments to the descendants of enslaved people. And on a local level, the San Francisco African American Reparations Advisory Committee in 2023 advocated $5 million payments for individuals displaced by urban renewal in the 1960s and 70s. To date, no money has been distributed as a result of either set of recommendations, however.

Politically, were in a moment where we need to be doing the advocacy now, said Katcher, noting that circumstances could change before the councils 2025 deadline. Who knows what the administration will be at that time?

One way to address that issue, Myers believes, is to increase native representation in government. We have such amazing, powerful leaders, he said. How is it that weve only had one single (Native) representative? he asked, referring to Assembly Member James Ramos, D-Highland (San Bernardino County), of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe.

In November, Myers announced his candidacy for state Assembly. If he wins Tuesdays primary election, he could become only the second California Native American lawmaker.

This is our home, this is where were from, and were fighting for a second seat, said Hedrick, who has dedicated much of her limited free time to volunteering for her brothers campaign. Why can we not have guaranteed seats?

For Myers, all of these elements  representation in government, independent tribal activism, the work of the Truth and Healing Council  are part of a larger awakening in which tribes across the state are owning their space.
Farmers are being urged to be on the guard against fertiliser theft and to follow safe storage ahead of the busy spring season.

With poor weather hampering efforts to deliver nutrients to crops, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) is urging farmers to remain vigilant.

The risk of fertiliser theft is currently high, the body warns, and farmers should also follow safe handling and secure storage advice.

Nitrogen-based fertilisers are at risk of being used in criminal activities such as terrorism, posing a threat to the public if products were to fall into the wrong hands.

And anyone handling these products has a responsibility to store them securely and be vigilant against safety risks, AIC says.

The agricultural supply trade association runs the Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme (FIAS), which provides an assurance system.

This was created to ensure that the security, safety and traceability of fertilisers meet safety requirements of the government and the farming industry.

Roberta Reeve, AIC services technical manager, said it was vital for farmers to keep fertilisers safe and secure at all times.

"By following the simple guidance on the storing and handling of fertiliser, farmers will help to deter thieves and keep the public and the environment safe from harm."

What is the advice?

The following advice from AIC is supported by Defra and the NFU:

 Wherever possible, use a Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme (FIAS) approved supplier.

 Wherever possible, keep fertiliser in a secure place away from public view, such as a locked building or sheeted area.

 Carry out regular stock checks and report any loss to the Police immediately by calling 101.

 Avoid leaving fertiliser in a field overnight, and never leave fertiliser in a field for a longer period of time.

 It is illegal to resell ammonium nitrate fertiliser without the correct documentation - farmers are encouraged to report any suspicious sales activity to the police

 Never advertise fertiliser for resale on auction sites, local and trade magazines, or social media.

 Where crop plans change and existing stocks of nitrogen-based fertilisers held on farm are no longer needed, product can be safely resold by contacting the original supplier
Dozens of Peak District farmers have been awarded a 100,000 lottery grant to help spearhead nature recovery and peatland restoration.

Peakland Environmental Farmers (PEF), an environmental co-operative of 77 farmers, has been awarded the grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The central aims of the co-operative are nature recovery, peatland restoration, clean water and net zero by 2040.

In the long term it is looking to replace the loss of farm subsidies by securing a blend of public and private finance to restore habitats in the Peak District.

The Heritage Fund grant will be used to enable PEF, which has so far been established on a largely voluntary basis, to attain legal standing.

The funding will also be used to carry out ecological surveys of its members land holdings and develop landscape-scale conservation plans.

This will provide a platform from which the co-op aims to secure public funding through Environmental Land Management Schemes and private finance via natural capital markets.

Tom Noel, local farmer and chair of PEF said: Through collaborative working and with the right level of investment, farmers can achieve nature recovery alongside food production over a large scale.

"Farmers manage 72% of the UK countryside and so are vital to achieving the transformative change needed to meet the challenges of national biodiversity decline, climate change and restoring iconic landscapes.

Chloe Palmer who facilitates two smaller Farmer Clusters within the larger PEF, Hope Valley and Bradfield Farmers, recently managed the distribution of 31,000 hedge plants.

This was part of a project to plant 24k kilometres of hedgerows in four years, which she said will capture carbon and prevent pollution.

Ms Palmer added: These new hedges will benefit a wide range of wildlife including threatened farmland birds such as song thrushes, linnets and tree sparrows.

"Further ahead we are looking forward engaging the wider Peak District community in initiatives to restore stone walls and moorland."

PEF consists of 77 farmers in the Dark Peak and Southwest Peak area of the Peak District, covering 40,000 hectares.
Pembrokeshire Creamery, which is set to begin production this spring, has used St Davids Day to launch its first ever milk price.

Using the industry-recognised Liquid Standard Litre, the company has announced an April milk price of 38.5 pence per litre.

Pembrokeshire Creamery is the only liquid milk bottling facility in Wales certified to supply Welsh supermarkets.

Last year, the firm acquired a development plot at Pembrokeshire Food Park to set up the facility, bringing with it 17m investment and the creation of 80 new jobs over the next three years.

Eliminating the need for transporting milk to England for processing, it says this will significantly reduce food miles and streamline the supply chain.

The firm says this efficiency enables it to offer farmers who have already committed, and those following the project as it develops, a competitive milk price from April 2024.

Mark McQuade, managing director said: "We hope it will be sufficiently competitive to attract farmers from across the region to consider us as a potential customer.

We will be the only BRC Certified facility to offer Welsh milk that is also bottled in Wales enabling us to offer an authentically Welsh milk supply for Welsh supermarket stores.

This unique selling point gives Pembrokeshire Creamery, and the farmers who work with us, a point of difference in meeting the needs of both retailers and consumers who value locally-sourced produce."
Special protected status has been granted to iconic British food products, such as Welsh Beef and Staffordshire Cheese, for the Japanese market.

The move means British businesses can export to Japan with the confidence that their products are protected against imitation.

Almost 40 British food and drink products, including Cornish Pasties and Anglesey Sea Salt, are now protected with a Geographical Indication (GI).

A second group of protections is set to be announced once further work has concluded, the government confirmed.

Japans population of 125 million has a strong appetite for international food and drink. The market is seen as important for UK food exports.

Farming Minister Mark Spencer said: "Our GI protections are a guarantee of quality and excellence  so that the best of British food and drink can be appreciated not only here in the UK, but around the globe.

"These additional protections will give assurance to British farmers and producers who export their unique products to Japan  and to Japanese consumers who will know they are buying the real thing."

For UK food and farming businesses, GIs are seen as vital for building trust and enhancing brand recognition, ultimately driving export growth.

They also reinforce the UKs position as a producer of distinctive and sought-after goods.

Managing director of meat firm Stoddarts, Grant Moir, welcomed the news: "Since Stoddarts started to supply beef to Japan back in 2019 the brand attributes of Scotch Beef has always been a major draw for the Japanese market.

"With the recent announcement that the GI is to be formally recognised this will only enhance and strengthen the Scotch and Stoddarts brand in Japan."

The UK will also be protecting the Geographical Indications of several Japanese food and drink products, including Hokkaido wine and Hiba beef.

The UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force in January 2021.
Assembly Member Carlos Villapudua, left, and former Rep. Jerry McNerney are running for Californias 5th Senate District seat. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press, left, and Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press

Residents of the 5th state Senate district  which includes swaths of Alameda County and Central Valley cities such as Stockton  are doubtless confused about the race to succeed Democrat Susan Talamantes Eggman, whos termed out of the California Legislature after serving for 12 years.

The two Democratic contenders for Eggmans seat, Assembly Member Carlos Villapudua, 55, and former U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney, 72, both entered the race at the last minute. Villapudua had originally filed to run for reelection to the Assembly, while his wife, Edith, planned to run for the state Senate. Carlos Villapudua told the editorial board in an interview that he and Edith decided to switch places after polling showed that he had an advantage in the Senate race due to being perceived as an incumbent.

The change, made shortly before the candidate filing deadline, left other contenders with little time to react. Despite the short notice, Eggman  whom Carlos Villapudua unsuccessfully challenged in a 2018 Assembly race  managed to recruit McNerney to run for her seat. Eggman told us she did so because she trusts McNerney and because I care about my district.

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So far, however, this race has largely been about political gamesmanship, with little in the way of substance.

In their endorsement interviews with the editorial board, Villapudua and McNerney came across as ill-prepared and demonstrated insufficient understanding of complex issues before the Legislature. (The sole Republican in the race, trucker and businessman Jim Shoemaker, didnt follow up on interview requests.)

Villapudua, for instance, spent a not insignificant amount of time extolling his wifes fitness for office and explaining the chess game that went on among him, his wife and his cousin Miguel Villapudua, a San Joaquin County supervisor, over who was going to run for the state Senate seat.

When we asked Carlos Villapudua about his record in the Assembly, where hes served since 2020, he said he was proud to be one of the Legislatures most moderate and business-friendly Democrats, noting that last year he successfully authored a law to put criminal penalties for selling fentanyl on par with other dangerous illicit drugs and that hes currently carrying a bill to toughen aspects of Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for certain drug and theft crimes. But when we asked how such a bill might affect Californias ability to comply with a 2011 federal court order capping prison capacity, Villapudua didnt have a nuanced answer. He was unclear and prone to rambling on other key issues.

McNerney, a mathematician who served for 16 years in the House before stepping down in 2023, told us he wanted to run for the state Legislature because hed be able to get more done in Sacramento than in a divided Congress. Yet he was unable to articulate a specific agenda beyond saying vaguely that he wanted to work on artificial intelligence, promote nuclear energy and make Californias cap-and-trade system a little more aggressive. He also demonstrated a lack of fluency with key local issues such as the states housing and insurance crises.

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Over one billion people around the world are obese.

Over a billion people across the globe are obese

Global estimates published in The Lancet include 880 million adults and 159 million children, according to data from 2022.

The highest rates of obesity are in the Pacific islands of Tonga and American Samoa for women and American Samoa and Nauru for men, with between 70 and 80 per cent of adults living with the medical concern.

The team of experts say the results show an urgent need for wholesale changes in the way obesity is tackled.

Professor Majid Ezzati, a senior researcher at Imperial College London, told the BBC: "In many of these island nations it comes down to the availability of healthy food versus unhealthy food.

"In some cases there have been aggressive marketing campaigns promoting unhealthy foods, while the cost and availability of healthier food can be more problematic."

Professor Ezzati explained that he has been taken aback by the speed at which the crisis has escalated as many more countries face an obesity epidemic.
Adam Sandler is convinced it would be good for the world if he was crowned Sexiest Man Alive.

Adam Sandler is convinced it would be good for the world if he was crowned Sexiest Man Alive

The Billy Madison actor, 57, who picked up the Peoples Icon Award at the Peoples Choice Awards on 18 February, has now told People magazine he thinks it should honour him as the planets SMA.

He said about his wish to top the publications long-running league table of most desirable men: Its something that I think is good for the world.

Adam joked while picking up his Icon trophy he mistakenly thought he was getting People magazines famed SMA title.

He quipped he blamed the mix-up on a miscommunication between him and his agent while making his speech at the Choice awards  then read from a thank-you he said he had pre-prepared in readiness to accept the SMA title.

Dad-of-two Adam said on stage at the Peoples Choice Awards in the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California: My name is Adam Sandler and I am the Sexiest Man Alive  can I get a hell yeah?

To the People magazines academy members of hotness and sexual attractiveness, I would like to say thank you for recognising me as the man who made our entire country the horniest this year and was by far the most-talked-about person in the bedroom by couples or throuples during fantasy role plays and sloppy time.

Can I get another hell yeah?

Adam then joked that hed been eagerly anticipating becoming SMA for years, adding: I am trying to be gracious, People Magazine, but I have to admit three words keep popping into my head right now: It's about freaking time!

For decades, Adam Sandler has been waiting patiently on the sexy bench.

Adam flashes his body in the new Netflix movie Spaceman, which sees him plays Jakub Prochazka, an astronaut on a long solo mission in outer space after his wife, and admitted he thinks he should have been referred to in the script as chubby astronaut.
Finn Wolfhard was caught up in a real life armed robbery while he was shooting a short film about a convenience store heist.

Finn Wolfhard was caught up in a real life armed robbery while he was filmed a short about a convenience store heist

The 'Stranger Things' star stepped behind the camera to take charge of 'Night Shifts' which tells the story of a convenience store clerk who is robbed at gunpoint and it was filmed in a real store in Vancouver, Canada - and Finn has revealed the cast and crew were confronted by a real life thief while they were working.

During an appearance on the 'Hot Ones' YouTube show, he explained: "The short is about a robbery that happens between a clerk and a robber, and they end up being old friends from high school. And in real life, while we were shooting the robbery scene a guy came in with like a fake, he like welded a fake gun together through like, bike springs? It was the weirdest thing ever.

"He came in just kind of brandishing this fake gun and Artoun [Nazareth], the guy who is playing the burglar turned around with his fake gun, and they were just pointing fake guns at each other like a standoff.

I was sitting there directing and I was like, Whats going on? and I kind of peaked out and saw this standoff going on, and I was like Whatwhat is happening?! And the guy left.

"Because I was so into [the shoot], I was like: Cool, lets move on, and everyone was like" No! What ... just happened! I was like: No, its fine, lets keep going'. Yeah, it was nuts."

Elsewhere in the show, Finn opened up about starring in 'Stranger Things' from the age of 12, admitting he didn't know what he was doing when he first started out and it actually helped him as an actor.

He said: "I dont watch the early 'Stranger Things' stuff really often but Ive seen little clips and stuff, and Im like, man, I didnt know what I was doing back then and like, in a lot of ways I think that really helped me and now like, as you get older you get so much more like, kind of like self-obsessed.

"You get a little more in your head  and I feel like I learned so much more obviously since then but I wish I had a little bit of that naivete."
Jussie Smollett has completed a five-month substance abuse programme.

Jussie Smollett has completed his rehab stint

The former 'Empire' actor - who is awaiting to find out if the supreme court will hear another appeal after his conviction for about being a victim of a racist and homophobic attack back in 2019 was upheld in December - had been participating in an outpatient scheme at an undisclosed facility following an "extremely difficult" few years, and sources told TMZ his rehab stint came to an end last month.

The insider told the outlet Jussie put in the work, focusing on his health and being consistent with his workouts during his time in the programme, with his substance abuse being mentioned frequently during his original criminal trial in Chicago.

The 41-year-old actor has a new management team in place, who are working hard to prepare him for the release of a new movie and various other projects.

Jussie's legal team filed a petition last month asking Illinois Supreme Court to hear his case after an application for a rehearing was denied.

His lawyers wrote: What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage."

They continued their argument from previous appeals, insisting his 2021 trial violated the Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy because a 2019 plea deal to drop 16 counts of disorderly conduct had seen him perform community service and forfeit his $10,000 bond, only for a grand jury to restore the charges in 2020.

In December, Jussie - who was sentenced to 150 days in prison in March 2022 but was released pending appeal - was told his first appeal had failed.

He had sought to dismiss the charges after arguing there had been an invalid appointment of the special prosecutor," but the opinion stated he had filed an appeal on a case under a different proceeding but also after the deadline had passed.

The ruling stated: Given the absence of a non-prosecution agreement with the CCSAO (the Cook County States Attorneys Office), reprosecuting Smollett was not fundamentally unfair.

Because the charges against Smollett were nol-prossed before jeopardy had attached in the first criminal proceeding, the subsequent prosecution did not violate his right against double jeopardy.

However, one of the judges, Freddrenna Lyle, had found it was "fundamentally unfair" for Dan Webb to be appointed special prosecutor after the actor had completed the community service that was part of a deal his team had previously made to get charges dropped.
Billy Porter has been left "heartbroken" following the death of his mother aged 79.

Billy Porter 'heartbroken' by mother's death - Instagram-BillyPorter

The 54-year-old actor has paid tribute to his late mum, Cloerinda, and admitted she will "forever" be in his heart.

He wrote on Instagram: "With heavy hearts we announce the passing of our loving mother, Cloerinda Jean Johnson Porter-Ford. We were right beside her when she took her last breath, wrapped in our arms. Mommy lived life to the fullest despite physical limitations pressed upon her. She was the personification of true Christianity and her unconditional love is a template that the world could benefit from employing. Her example is what we continue to strive for. We are heartbroken she is no longer here with us, but find solace that her suffering has ended. Her fight was long and hard - she did it with grace and integrity. Mommy will remain forever in our hearts as she continues to guide us from above, as she has done on this Earth.

From Labor to Reward... (sic)"

In 2017, Billy told how his mother was "born with a degenerative disability that has only progressed and worsened".

In an interview for Build Series, he said at the time: "That woman has got out of bed every single day of her life and has fought for her life when everybody on the planet said that he shouldn't even bother.

"I don't know how to be anything else when you have an example like that. You can't be anything else."

'Pose' star Billy revealed in 2021 that he had been diagnosed HIV-positive in 2007, and he only told his mother 14 years later, too.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter about telling his mum, he recalled her saying: "Youve been carrying this around for 14 years? Dont ever do this again. Im your mother, I love you no matter what. And I know I didnt understand how to do that early on, but its been decades now."
Kensington Palace has reassured well-wishers the Princess of Wales is "doing well" as she continues her recovery from abdominal surgery.

Kensington Palace has reassured the Princess of Wales' well-wishers that she is 'doing well'

The 42-year-old royal went under the knife on January 16th, but online speculation of her whereabouts has recently increased, leading the Royals to speak out again.

A royal spokesperson told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess recovery and wed only be providing significant updates.

"That guidance stands."

They also reiterated that Catherine is "doing well".

The princess is expected to return to royal engagements after Easter.

It was recently claimed Catherine has been spending time with her family - husband Prince William, and children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five - since she came home from hospital, and another insider recently suggested she's making good progress, too.

The source told the Daily Mail newspaper's Richard Eden: "Catherine is recovering well. She was looking forward to a change of scene and will be able to take it easy in Norfolk while the children let off steam with William."

The princess' operation was described as "successful", and the Palace previously confirmed she's unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.

The Palace said in a statement on January 17: "The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.

"Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."

Earlier this week, William pulled out of a memorial service for undisclosed "personal reasons".

The 41-year-old royal was scheduled to attend a memorial service for King Constantine of Greece - who died in January 2023, aged 82 - at Windsor Castle on Tuesday (27.02.24), but he withdrew from the event.
Rachel Leviss is suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for revenge porn.

Rachel Leviss is suing Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix

The former 'Vanderpump Rules' star has taken legal action against her former lover and his ex-girlfriend and has also accused the pair - who split when Tom and Rachel's affair was discovered - of invasion of privacy, eavesdropping and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Documents obtained by CNN shows Rachel described herself as victim of the predatory and dishonest behaviour of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent.

The reality star believes her ex-lover is in possession of multiple illicitly recorded videos in which she features in a state of undress and engaged in sex acts, and that Ariana has obtained at least two of the recordings, which she distributed or "showed them to others without Leviss knowledge or consent.

Tom and Rachel's affair was discovered after Ariana found an intimate video on her then-boyfriend's phone, with the so-called 'Scandoval' covered on season 10 of the Bravo show and remaining a storyline on season 11, despite the 29-year-old beauty having left the programme.

The complaint said: This case arises from a scandal of epic proportions starting in March 2023."

It alleged the well-documented saga has caused Rachel to suffer severe emotional distress, physical manifestations of emotional distress, anxiety, shock, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, disgrace, humiliation, powerlessness, sleeplessness, and loss of enjoyment of life."

Her attorney, Bryan Freedman, said in a statement: The idea that human beings are expected to sacrifice their mental and emotional health in service of Bravos ratings is obscene.

"While coming forward can be terrifying and even embarrassing, I implore people not to suffer in silence.

Another of her lawyers, Mark Geragos, said in his own statement: "This lawsuit is squarely about illegal behaviour and those who traffic in it and enable it. Rachel has apologized for her part in an affair.

The law makes it clear that recording someone without their consent and distributing that illegal recording is punishable by law."

She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from the pair, and requested they destroy and delete the alleged videos. Bravo, parent company NBC Universal, and production company Evolution Media are not part of the lawsuit.

The first court hearing on the matter will take place in Los Angeles on 7 July.
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Garment manufacturers have appealed to the Bangladeshi high commission in India to proactively work towards eliminating the non-tariff barriers hindering bilateral trade growth.

Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), articulated this plea during a meeting with Md Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladeshs high commissioner to India, convened in New Delhi recently.

The discussion centred on the prevalent challenges in both export and import domains, with a notable emphasis on non-tariff barriers, particularly within the textile product trade.

Garment makers urge Bangladesh high commission in India to tackle non-tariff barriers for trade growth. President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Faruque Hassan, emphasised on collaboration. Bangladesh focussing on enhancing RMG sector competitiveness through tech investment and sustainability, says Faruque Hassan.

The BGMEA, in a statement, outlined the deliberations and shared insights into potential remedies for these issues.

Earlier, at the Building Resilient Value Chains - India as Global Sourcing Destination forum organised by the Indian Ministry of Textiles and the Consortium of the Export Promotion Councils in New Delhi, Faruque elucidated the harmonious potential between the strengths of both the nations.

Acknowledging Indias textile prowess and Bangladeshs demonstrated excellence in apparel manufacturing, Faruque highlighted the abundant opportunities for mutual growth.

He said, As we pursue an ambitious growth agenda, fostering knowledge exchange, technological collaboration, and closer ties between our nations would yield mutual benefits.

The panel discussion, moderated by Girish Menon, managing director of Stride Partners, featured industry stalwarts including Mohammad Hatem from Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Vipin Tiwari from Target Sourcing Services, Nitin Prasad from PVH Corp India, Yatin Kirori from Bestseller, and Asker Laubjerg from KAS Group Asia.

Faruque stressed the imperative of a regional value chain, advocating for an interconnected framework comprising raw material supply, production networks, and marketing networks.

A collaborative supply chain is essential to leverage our respective strengths and foster collective growth, he underlined.

The RMG industry of Bangladesh is heavily investing in machinery, technology, and skill development to enhance the competitiveness of our readymade garment sector in the global market, highlighted the BGMEA president even as he underscored that these investments aim not only to drive cost efficiency and operational excellence but also to champion sustainable practices, thereby positively impacting the environment.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)
President Joe Biden is 81. Age is a campaign issue in the presidential election. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Republican presidential candidate President Donald Trump is 77. Age is a campaign issue in the presidential election. John Locher/Associated Press

The author regurgitates the tired message that President Joe Biden is too old for the job without offering evidence that his performance has been impaired by age. While I wish Biden was younger for his own sake, I dont share the authors concern that he isnt up to the job.

Many public officials have thrived despite age or disability. Would the author consider John Fetterman, who had a stroke, unfit for the Senate? Wasnt a disabled Franklin D. Roosevelt one of the greatest presidents?

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What is more offensive is that the author implies that Biden and Donald Trump are equally impaired and unfit. Other than being of similar age, there is nothing remotely similar about these two men.

Where the author sees infirmity, I see in Biden a remarkably fit and trim 81-year-old with decades of experience and wisdom, someone very comfortable in his own skin who has had a great run in office under near-impossible circumstances.

John Brooks, Fairfax

Trump gets gift

Regarding High court to weigh in on Trumps immunity (Nation & World, Feb. 29): The Supreme Court handed Donald Trump another undeserved victory by agreeing to take up his meritless appeal of rulings holding that a former president has no immunity for criminal conduct while in office.

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Justices are telegraphing the result by framing the question as whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.

No federal judge has found merit to this patently absurd claim. The Supreme Court now guarantees that Trump likely wont be tried before the election if at all, and if it rules against Trump, it licenses him to argue about election interference.

This is not justice. The rule of law has been politicized and compromised. The Supreme Court is now guilty of election interference.

David Wiseblood, San Francisco

Oust S.F. judges

Open Forum columns in the Chronicle have questioned the voters right to elect local judges, a democratic right enshrined in Californias constitution for 175 years.

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While the San Francisco District Attorneys Office has filed 433 motions to detain the most serious drug dealing suspects, the Superior Court has granted only 40. Over 535 suspects have been arrested by police, charged with felony drug dealing, released by a judge  and then skipped court.

Apologists for Judges Michael Begert and Patrick Thompson want readers to ignore their pattern of pretrial releases of drug dealers and violent crime defendants who treat arrests as a joke. The suspects use their release to continue selling fentanyl and commit more crimes.

In a survey of trial attorneys, Begert and Thompson ranked lowest among judges in this cycle rated for fairness and knowledge of the law. Weve put in the work to evaluate judges performance.

Now voters can decide March 5 on whether to retain Thompson and Begert.

Frank Noto, president, Stop Crime Action, San Francisco

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Dont politicize courts

I was the first Asian American female judge in Northern California and have over 40 years of judicial experience. I know what qualifications make good judges. Judge Michael Begert and Judge Patrick Thompson are good judges.

They are smart, fair, thoughtful and hard-working. They are not responsible for the problems facing San Francisco and it is not fair to use them as scapegoats. Judges cannot be subject to political pressures and decide cases on what is popular at the time.

In 1954, nine judges decided to end school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education. At the time, the decision was controversial and not politically correct, but it was legally correct. It changed America. Judges need to follow the law and decide cases not based on the politics of the time.

Judges Begert and Thompson are the kind of judges you would want to hear your cases. Please vote to retain them and give justice to these judges.

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Turkiyes exports were worth $19.991 billion in January this yeara 3.5 per cent increase year on year (YoY), and imports in the month were worth $26.218 billiona 22 per cent decrease YoY, according to the provisional data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat) and the ministry of trade.

Foreign trade deficit in the month was worth $6.227 billiona 56.4 per cent YoY decrease.

Exports, excluding energy products and non-monetary gold, were worth $18.592 billion during the montha 3 per cent YoY increase; such imports were worth $18.66 billiona 6.2 per cent YoY drop.

Turkiye's exports rose by 3.5 per cent YoY to $19.991 billion in January and imports fell by 22 per cent YoY to $26.218 billion, provisional official data show. Foreign trade deficit in the month was worth $6.227 billiona 56.4 per cent YoY decrease. The main country for exports in the month was Germany, while the top country for imports was Russia.

The countrys foreign trade volume was worth $37.251 billion in the montha 1.8 per cent decrease, Turkstat said in a release.

The main partner country for exports in the month was Germany, with exports worth $1.762 billion. It was followed by the United States ($1.224 billion), Iraq ($1.97 billion), the United Kingdom ($1.22 billion) and Italy ($999 million). The share of exports to the first five countries in Turkiyes total exports was 30.5 per cent in the month.

The top country for Turkiye's imports in the month was Russia, with imports worth $4.324 billion. It was followed by China ($2.893 billion), Germany ($1.918 billion), the United States ($1.402 billion) and Italy ($1.187 billion). The share of imports from the first five countries in total monthly imports was 44.7 per cent.

In January, seasonally- and calendar-adjusted exports and imports decreased by 5.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively month on month, while calendar-adjusted exports increased by 0.4 per cent YoY and such imports decreased by 23.6 per cent YoY.

The ratio of products in manufacturing industries in total imports was 75.3 per cent in the month.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Atif Aslam recently enchanted audiences across four different cities in Australia, setting the stage ablaze starting with Auckland on February 2, followed by Melbourne on February 4, Sydney on February 9, and concluding the tour in Brisbane on February 11. The concert venues were transformed into musical paradises as Atif Aslam captivated the crowd with his iconic songs from Bollywood hits such as O Meri Laila, Woh Lamhey, Dil Diyan Gallan, Tu Jaane Naa, O Saathi, Doorie, and many more.The tour made waves on social media as fans enthusiastically shared their experiences and concert clips, quickly going viral. Notably heartwarming was the story of Atif Aslam arranging for a visually impaired fan to attend his live concert, creating a memorable experience. For many attendees, the concert became a cherished memory, evoking emotions like dancing, tears, and a profound sense of gratitude and happiness.Expressing his appreciation for the Australian audience, Atif Aslam stated, I am humbled to be part of this tour and would love to come back here again for this warm crowd. I wanted to make the evenings special for the music lovers but instead, the incredibly enthusiastic audience of Australia left me utterly touched and blessed. The love from my audience, especially when they always sing along with me, makes me feel like we are always in tune."After the concerts, the audience was left awestruck and yearning for more. Atif Aslam, renowned for his versatile and emotive voice, has garnered a vast fan following and numerous awards for his significant contributions to the music industry.
Shraddha Kapoor boyfriend name: All eyes are on Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding celebrations in Jamnagar. The festivities will kick-start from Friday (March 1) with a blockbuster performance by none other than Rihanna. While we cannot wait to watch RiRi's rocking performance, one Bollywood star has already hogged all the limelight on social media.

We are talking about the one and only Shraddha Kapoor. The tinsel town diva has grabbed eyeballs, becoming the talk of the town, even without a film promotion or movie announcement.

DID SHRADDHA KAPOOR MAKE HER RELATIONSHIP OFFICIAL?

The Aashiqui 2 actress, who was earlier rumoured to be dating Rohan Shrestha, made waves as she reached the Mumbai airport to attend Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant's pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar. She looked pretty as she entered the airport with her rumoured boyfriend Rahul Mody.

While the duo didn't pose together, gossip mills were quick enough to point out that Shraddha Kapoor and Rahul Mody have made things official by making a couple appearance. Their video and pictures from the airport went viral on the internet in no time.

WHO IS RAHUL MODY? MEET SHRADDHA KAPOOR BOYFRIEND

Who is Shraddha Kapoor's boyfriend? This is the question on everyone's mind ever since the two lovebirds made an appearance together at the airport. They were snapped by the paparazzi as they left for Jamnagar to attend Ambanis' celebrations for Anant's wedding.

Rahul Mody and Shraddha Kapoor have worked together in Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar. Rahul is the writer of the film co-starring Ranbir Kapoor. Last year, gossip mills suggested that the duo is 'getting serious in their relationship'.

Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant Pre-Wedding Bash: How Much Ambanis Paid Rihanna For Her Performance?

"They got close to each other while working on Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, and have been going strong. But they don't want to go public with the relationship. They were shocked when they were photographed together out on a dinner date, which is why they are being more cautious about their outings together," a source told Hindustan Times in October 2023.

Wondering who is Rahul Mody? Well, he is a writer and assistant director. According to IMDb, he has worked in films like Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar.
As Yami Gautam mesmerises audiences with her captivating charm in 'Article 370,' the stage is set for an adrenaline-fueled journey through the world of military drama. Following the 2016 Kashmir unrest, local agent Zooni Haksar is chosen for a secret mission by Rajeshwari to end terrorism and dismantle the conflict economy by abrogating Article 370 - all without bloodshed. Featuring stellar performances by Yami Gautam, Mohan Agashe, and Sukhita Aiyar, this series offers a glimpse into the world of Intelligence Field Officers and their classified missions in combating terrorism.

If 'Article 370' has left you yearning for more military action dramas, you're in for a treat. Dive into a world of intense military drama with our curated list of OTT shows. From riveting action sequences to complex characters navigating treacherous terrain, these series promise to keep you on the edge of your seat. So, buckle up and prepare for an exhilarating ride through the world of military espionage and bravery.

Avrodh: The Siege Within 2

"Avrodh: The Siege Within 2" on SonyLIV offers a gripping narrative of Indian Army operations against terrorism and counterfeit currency. Starring Abir Chatterjee, Vijay Krishna, Vikram Gokhale, Neeraj Kabi, Anant Mahadevan and Rajesh Khattar in pivotal roles, the series unveils the complexities of military strategy amidst Pakistani conspiracies. With intense action and a landmark storyline leading to demonetisation, it's a must-watch for its riveting portrayal of courage and patriotism.

Sarhad

"Sarhad" on Watcho Exclusives is a must-watch for its gripping portrayal of Junaid's transformation from a militant to facing interrogation by Mahesh Singh. Set in Kashmir, the series delves into treachery, strained relationships, espionage, and offers a fresh take on militancy. Junaid's surrender to the Indian armed forces adds mystery to the plot, with Mahesh Singh, an Indian intelligence officer, leading the interrogation to uncover the truth. The series boasts a talented cast including Imran Farooq Ganaie, Dharmendra Singh, Adil Pala, and more, making it a compelling watch for those seeking suspense and drama.



Uri: The Surgical Strike

"Uri: The Surgical Strike" on Zee5 is a gripping military action film depicting the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack. Starring Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, and Mohit Raina, the movie follows Major Vihaan Shergill (Vicky Kaushal) leading the Para (Special Forces). Divided into five chapters, it chronicles the Indian military's surgical strike against militants in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, showcasing the bravery and determination of the Indian army special forces. Witness their covert operation to avenge the killing of fellow soldiers at their base by a terrorist group.

Pippa

"Pippa" on Prime Video is a gripping biographical war film following Captain Balram Singh Mehta of India's 45 Cavalry regiment and his siblings during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Starring Ishaan Khatter, Mrunal Thakur, and Priyanshu Painyuli, the movie is named after the Russian tank PT-76 and traces Mehta's journey in the Bangladesh Liberation War. Based on Brigadier Balram Singh Mehta's war memoir, it unfolds real-life events during the Battle of Garibpur in 1971, highlighting Captain Balram's leadership, his unit's victory, and his family's sacrifices during the turbulent war period.



Special Ops

"Special Ops" on Disney+Hotstar is a must-watch for espionage thriller enthusiasts. Created by Neeraj Pandey, the series stars Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, a RAW agent on a mission to thwart terror attacks in India. Based on real events spanning nineteen years, it offers a high-stakes journey of intrigue and counter-terrorism efforts. With its gripping narrative and dynamic characters, "Special Ops" keeps viewers on the edge of their seats, showcasing the dedication of agents like Himmat Singh.

Bard Of Blood

"Bard of Blood" on Netflix is a must-watch espionage series, adapted from Bilal Siddiqi's novel and starring Emraan Hashmi. Follow Kabir Anand, a former Indian Intelligence agent turned teacher, as he embarks on a perilous mission to rescue captive officers. With its suspenseful plot and relentless pursuit of truth, the series takes you on a thrilling journey through dangerous terrains and shadowy corridors. Featuring intricate characters and exhilarating action, "Bard of Blood" promises an edge-of-your-seat experience from start to finish.



State of Siege: 26/11

"State of Siege: 26/11" on ZEE5 is a gripping military action thriller depicting the 26/11 terrorist attacks. Featuring Arjan Bajwa, Arjun Bijlani, Jyoti Gauba, Vivek Dahiya, Tara Alisha Berry, Mukul Dev, and Naren Kumar, the series portrays the NSG's Operation Black Tornado. Through the lens of NSG Commandos, it offers a riveting depiction of heroism amid chaos. With its intense narrative and portrayal of real-life events, "State of Siege: 26/11" immerses viewers in one of India's darkest moments, showcasing resilience and bravery in the fight against terror.
he Indrani Mukerjea Story - Buried Truth: The documentary series, "The Indrani Mukerjea Story: The Buried Truth," explores the enigma surrounding Sheena Bora's disappearance and made its debut on the streaming service Netflix on February 29th.

Previously, the Bombay High Court rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation's request to halt the release of the Netflix docu-series "The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth." The CBI had petitioned the court to delay its release until the trial concluded, but the court dismissed the plea.

Unveiling The Sheena Bora Murder Case

Now that the documentary series is available for digital streaming, let's take a closer look at the chilling Sheena Bora Murder Case.

In Mumbai Twenty-five-year-old Sheena Bora, an ambitious executive working for Mumbai Metro One, vanished without a trace on April 24, 2012. She was never seen again.

Following an extensive investigation, the Mumbai police apprehended Indrani Mukerjea, a former media executive and Sheena's mother, along with her second husband, Peter Mukerjea, and their driver, Shyamvar Rai, in August 2015. They faced charges of abduction, murder, and the disposal of Sheena Bora's body.

The arrest followed months of monitoring Indrani, which began after a tip-off and Rai's prior apprehension for illegal possession of weapons.

The details of Sheena Bora's murder emerged during interrogation. Allegedly, she was strangled to death in a car by Indrani, her driver Shyamvar Rai, and her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna in April 2012.

During questioning, Khanna and Rai confessed to the crime, implicating Indrani. However, she vehemently denied the accusations, insisting that Sheena was alive and residing in the United States.

Rai's interrogation provided further details, revealing a meticulously planned murder. According to his account, the trio disposed of Sheena's body in the village of Gagode, Maharashtra, after burning it.

The motive behind the murder, as revealed during the trial, stemmed from financial disputes and Indrani's disapproval of Sheena's relationship with her stepbrother Rahul. The involvement of Peter Mukerjea suggested a complex familial dynamic fraught with jealousy and conflicts.

Indrani Mukerjea, while in custody for her daughter's murder, published a memoir titled "Unbroken: The Untold Story," portraying Sheena Bora as a sister rather than a daughter.
K Shivaram

Actor

Biography: Shivaramu Kempaiah , widely known as K. Shivramu, was a multifaceted figure in Indian society, excelling as an actor, politician, and former bureaucrat. Kannada actor Pradeep married Shivram's daughter. Early Life Born on April 6, 1953, in Uragalli, Ramanagara District, K. Shivramu was the son of the late S. Kempaiah, a renowned drama master, and Chikkaboramma. He completed his primary education in his village before moving to Bangalore for high school at Malleshwaram Government School. After graduating high school in 1972, he pursued Typing and Shorthand courses in both English and Kannada. Subsequently, he secured a government job, joining the Crime Investigation Department (India) as a Police Reporter in May 1973. While working, he pursued higher education and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from V. V. Puram Evening College of Arts & Commerce. He later obtained a Master of Arts in History through correspondence from the Mysore Open University in 1982. In 1985, he successfully passed the K.A.S. exam and became Deputy Superintendent of Police. The following year, he topped the Scheduled Caste community in the Karnataka Administrative Service exam, earning the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police (India). During his training at the Karnataka Police Academy, he achieved another milestone by clearing the civil services exam (UPSC) and was selected for the I.A.S., fulfilling his childhood dream. Notably, he became the first person in India to clear the IAS Exam in the Kannada Language. Film Career K. Shivram also ventured into the Kannada film industry, marking his debut in Sandalwood with the musical blockbuster movie "Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake" in 1993. He showcased his acting prowess in numerous films, including "Vasantha Kavya," "Sangliyana Part3," "Prathibhatane," "Khalanayaka," "Yarige Beda Duddu," "Game For Love," "Naaga," and "O Prema Devathe." His last appearance on the silver screen was in his son-in-law Pradeep's "Tiger," released in 2017. Political Career After retiring as Bangalore Regional Commissioner, K. Shivramu entered politics, joining the Indian National Congress in 2013. He later became a member of the Janata Dal (Secular) and contested the Bijapur Lok Sabha constituency in 2014, albeit unsuccessfully. In the same year, he returned to the Indian National Congress to support the appointment of a Dalit leader as Deputy Chief Minister, sparking controversy. However, disillusioned with the party's failure to prioritize Dalit representation, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on October 14, 2014. Death K. Shivramu passed away on February 29th, 2024, after battling critical health conditions.

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This leap year, mark the occasion with an extraordinary musical delight as "Beraham Ghadiyan" starring Pentali Sen and Pratik Sehajpal. Extend your celebrations and immerse yourself in a tale of love and passion. The debut video featuring this romantic duo will captivate you, undoubtedly falling in love with their chemistry.

Expressing her happiness in words, actress Pentali Sen shares, "I believe in the power of storytelling through my performances; each role is an opportunity to connect with the audience and evoke emotions that resonate beyond the screen,I will always try to do the best work and I thanks to all the people who supported me and are there for me"

Talking about the song, Pratik Sehajpal says, "Beraham Ghadiyan is a fantastic song was beautifully shot by Shabina Mam, giving it cinematic quality. The casting happened very naturally as Sonu Mishra who was casting for the song literally saw me walking by the street and offered this song . After that a meeting happened with the producers and they quickly locked me for this project. Shabina Maam the choreographer of Gadar, shot it like a film. With significant suspense, it's a story akin to a film. I had a great time. Looking forward to it.

Directed and choreographed by the acclaimed Shabina Khan, "Beraham Ghadiyan" unfolds as a poignant love saga, beautifully portrayed by the talented duo, Pentali Sen and Pratik Sehajpal. The song has been vocalized by Mohd. Danish and Swati Sharma, along with music by Kumar Deepak and heartfelt lyrics by Shree Sindhu. this musical masterpiece captures the essence of romance in its purest form. This musical love story is produced by Moon Movies and Music.

Beraham Ghadiyan is available now on Moon Originals YouTube channel and all major streaming platforms.
Devoleena Bhattacharjee Friend Killed: TV actress and former Bigg Boss contestant Devoleena Bhattacharjee took to her social media on Friday (March 1) to inform her followers about the tragic death of her friend, Amarnath Ghosh, who was shot dead in the US on Tuesday evening. Sharing a heartfelt note on her official X account, she urged India's External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene.

DEVOLEENA BHATTACHARJEE FRIEND SHOT DEAD IN THE US

Devoleena Bhattacharjee expressed that the motive behind her friend's murder remains unknown. "My friend #Amarnathghosh was shot & killed in St louis academy neigbourhood, US on tuesday evening. Only child in the family, mother died 3 years back. Father passed away during his childhood. ," she wrote.

Dance Plus Pro Winner Name Leaked: Shakti Mohan Reveals Show's Winner 2 Days Before Finale & He Is...

The actress continued, "Well the reason , accused details everything are not revealed yet or perhaps no one left in his family to fight for it except his few friends. He was from kolkata. Excellent dancer , was pursuing PHD , was taking an evening walk and suddenly he was shot multiple times by an unknown. Some friends in US are trying to claim the body but still no update about it. @IndianEmbassyUS kindly see to it if you could. Atleast we should know the reason of his murder. @DrSJaishankar @narendramodi."

Take a look at her post here:

Surbhi Chandna Mehendi Ceremony: Actress Sings THIS Classic Song For Beau; Couple Twins In Green - VIDEO

My friend #Amarnathghosh was shot & killed in St louis academy neigbourhood, US on tuesday evening.



Only child in the family, mother died 3 years back. Father passed away during his childhood.



Well the reason , accused details everything are not revealed yet or perhaps no one  Devoleena Bhattacharjee (@Devoleena_23) March 1, 2024

Devoleena, who has an active presence on social media, is known for often sharing her strong views and opinions on various subjects.

DEVOLEENA BHATTACHARJEE SHOWBIZ JOURNEY

On the professional front, Devoleena rose to fame with her portrayal of the gentle Gopi Bahu in the popular daily soap Saath Nibhaana Saathiya. She also played a special appearance in the show's second season. Apart from Saath Nibhaana Saathiya, Devoleena has appeared in other shows like Laal Ishq and has participated in two seasons of Salman Khan's controversial reality show Bigg Boss.
Company named #1 in America and #10 globally by Equileap's Gender Equality Global Report Ranking

IFF (NYSE: IFF)-a world leader in food and beverage, home and personal care, and health-has been named the top American Company for gender equality and tenth globally by Equileap, a leading organization providing data and insights on gender equality in the corporate sector.

In its seventh annual Gender Equality Global Report Ranking, Equileap provides a status update on gender equality in the corporate world, evaluating 19 different criteria that range from the gender pay gap and female representation at all corporate levels to parental leave and anti-sexual harassment policies. The research examined 3,795 companies, representing 103 million employees globally, that are listed on a major index or in one of 27 developed markets.

"We're very proud of this recognition by Equileap-the largest provider of gender data to the investor community-which highlights the progress we've made and the deliberate actions we've taken to achieve gender equality for IFFers," said Deb Borg, IFF chief human resources, diversity inclusion, and communications officer. "This progress belongs to all of us who have imagined a more inclusive future and acted on that inspiration. We believe that embracing the uniqueness of our diverse workforce unleashes innovative possibilities at the intersection of science and creativity."

"By intentionally considering inclusion in how we make decisions, build programs, implement our talent processes and create policies, we ask ourselves how we are eliminating barriers to access so that fair outcomes can flourish at IFF," said Erik Fyrwald, IFF CEO. "We know that a more diverse and inclusive IFF benefits our people, customers, industry, and communities."

IFF's recognition as the leader in Gender Equality highlights the following progress in 2023:

Continued progress against its ESG aspiration of achieving Gender Parity at all levels, reaching 40% of the Executive Leadership Team and 38% of senior leadership in 2023

Continued to analyze pay equity; data shows the Company has no statistically significant gender pay gaps.

Committed to the Living Wage Pledge and embarked on the journey to ensure all our employees around the world receive a living wage as defined within their country.

Continued to pursue equitable representation in Leadership Development programs.

Piloted Ignite your Impact, a program designed to help women navigate some of the unique challenges they face in leadership.

a program designed to help women navigate some of the unique challenges they face in leadership. Launched Mentor@IFF, IFF's enterprise-wide mentoring program.

Launched products through IFF Health that are helping women navigate the symptoms of menopause.

Increased spending with women suppliers by 13% in our Supplier Diversity efforts.

Supported women in the communities in which we work: In the LMR Serbian platform, IFF supported women's entrepreneurship, providing access to alternative income streams by empowering women to manage their own beehives and make honey to sell to local markets. In the guar program in India, objectives included improving knowledge and support devices for women's empowerment. The project started in 2021, and since then, IFF has provided training to 230+ farmers and community members on the topic of women's empowerment, highlighting the importance of women's role in the field. IFF also provided 200 women farmers with farming tools to aid their work.



"While we are proud of this recognition and our progress, we recognize there's much more to do," said Borg. "In 2024, we will continue our partnership with EDGE-which has been instrumental in our efforts over the years-to advance equity at IFF. We will undergo EDGE Certification in all countries with 200 or more employees."

To learn more about IFF's leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, visit here.

Welcome to IFF

At IFF (NYSE: IFF), an industry leader in food, beverage, health, biosciences and scent, science and creativity meet to create essential solutions for a better world from global icons to unexpected innovations and experiences. With the beauty of art and the precision of science, we are an international collective of thinkers who partners with customers to bring scents, tastes, experiences, ingredients and solutions for products the world craves. Together, we will do more good for people and planet.Learn more at iff.com, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

2024 by International Flavors Fragrances Inc. IFF is a Registered Trademark. All Rights Reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229914819/en/

Contacts:

Media Relations:

Paulina Heinkel

332.877.5339

Media.request@iff.com

Investor Relations:

Michael Bender

212.708.7263

Investor.Relations@iff.com
Consolidated Unaudited Interim Report of AS PRFoods for the 2nd quarter and 6 months of 2023/2024 financial year



MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY

First half-year of PRFoods has ended. The major changes are related to the sale of its subsidiary Redstorm OU. Additionally, one fish farming license was sold for 2,5 million euros to the same buyer in November. The sale of Redstorm and the fish farming license resulted in a one-time loss for the Group totalling 0,3 million euros, while the transaction's impact, excluding goodwill, resulted in a one-time profit of 1,9 million euros. Due to the sale of Redstorm, the turnover decreased by over 25% in the second quarter and in the first half-year, totalling 5,4 million euros and 8,9 million euros respectively. The gross profit for the second quarter remained the same as the previous year at 1,6 million euros, despite lower turnover. EBITDA from operations in the second quarter decreased by 37.5% to 0,5 million euros. The decline in EBITDA compared to the previous year is due to higher sales and marketing expenses at the John Ross Jr unit and seasonally higher inventory purchases of fish for subsequent quarters.

The gross profit for the first half-year was 1,7 million euros, 19% less than the same period last year, directly attributable to the decrease in turnover due to the sale of the subsidiary Redstorm OU. EBITDA from operations for the first half-year was -0,2 million euros, influenced by the significant loss in Estonia in the first quarter. The loss in Estonia was affected by a non-compete clause in Finland, which has since expired, and its positive impact will be seen in the turnover and results for the third quarter ending on March 31st.

The net loss for the second quarter was 0,7 million euros, compared to a net loss of 0,1 million euros in the same period last year. This was influenced by one-time financial costs totaling 0,5 million euros, of which 0,3 million euros are related to the one-time non cash loss from the sale of Redstorm. At the beginning of 2024, the company completed a partial redemption of bonds amounting to 1.4 million euros.

The net loss for the first half-year was -1,4 million euros. The net profit for the first half-year of the previous year was 0,7 million euros, influenced by a one-time profit of 1,4 million euros from the sale of a subsidiary in Sweden.

The company's liquidity position has improved due to the sale of the subsidiary Redstorm OU, resulting in a reduction in both the volume of bonds and the repayment of the MES loan. The company's liquidity ratio was 1,5 at the end of the year.

John Ross Jr. continues to operate profitably (the company has never incurred an annual loss during its operations), but the results of Saare Kala Tootmine OU were below expectations, directly influenced by the non-compete clause and the discontinuation of our products' intermediation by our former Finnish partner. By now, we have resumed direct sales with our old customers, for whom the non-compete clause regarding direct sales expired at the end of 2023.

However, it should be noted that due to the economic downturn in Estonia and general consumer behavior, demand for fish products in Estonia has significantly decreased overall. Despite the decreased market conditions, Saare Kala Tootmine has managed to increase its market share at the expense of competitors. We predict that the consumption downturn will continue in Estonia and Finland in 2024.

Regarding John Ross Jr, we anticipate EBITDA growth compared to last year since their sales area is much broader and less dependent on a single market. However, we do not expect significant revenue growth for John Ross Jr. this year. Saare Kala Tootmine aims to end the second half-year with marginal profit, due to the return to the Finnish market since the beginning of the year.

The restructuring of management of PRFoods has also ended and as of March 31, PRFoods will continue with existing board members of Kristjan Kotkas and Timo Parn. Timo has demonstrated in short time that despite the challenges in Estonia, he has accomplished in short period necessary changes in sales and production. Since the sale of fish farming business, the need of administration on group level has diminished and this allows also cost savings on group level. Indrek Kasela will transfer from board position to supervisory board after such decision is taken by PRFoods shareholders meeting.

KEY RATIOS

INCOME STATEMENT

mln EUR

unless indicated otherwise 2Q 2023/2024 2022/2023 2Q 2022/2023 2021/2022 Sales 5,4 19,6 7,3 42,1 Gross profit 1,6 3,6 1,6 3,1 EBITDA from operations 0,5 0,3 0,8 -1,7 EBITDA 0,5 0,3 0,8 -2,1 EBIT -0,03 -1,0 0,2 -4,2 EBT -0,6 0,4 -0,0 -8,2 Net profit (loss) -0,7 0,3 -0,1 -8,2 Gross margin 29,7% 18,3% 22,1% 7,4% Operational EBITDA margin 10,1% 1,5% 11,3% -4,6% EBITDA margin 10,1% 1,5% 11,3% -5,1% EBIT margin -0,6% -5,1% 2,9% -9,9% EBT margin -10,4% 2,0% -0,5% -19,5% Net margin -12,2% 1,5% -1,8% -19,4% Operating expense ratio -30,1% 24,0% -18,9% 17,1%

BALANCE SHEET

mln EUR

unless indicated otherwise 31.12.2023 30.06.2023 31.12.2022 30.06.2022 Net debt 15,9 16,7 17,7 24,7 Equity 6,4 8,3 7,5 8,1 Working capital 2,9 0,0 0,0 -3,2 Assets 28,6 30,2 32,2 38,9 Liquidity ratio 1,5x 1,0x 1,0x 0,7x Equity ratio 22,4% 27,4% 23,3% 20,7% Gearing ratio 71,3% 66,9% 70,2% 75,4% Debt to total assets 0,8x 0,7x 0,8x 0,8x Net debt to operating EBITDA 21,4x 55,8x 21,4x -14,5x ROE -9,1% 4,1% -1,7% -68,5% ROA -2,3% 1,0% -0,4% -17,3%

Consolidated statement of Financial Position

EUR '000 31.12.2023 31.12.2022 30.06.2023 VARAD Cash and cash equivalents 580 386 394 Receivables and prepayments 5 790 5 016 2 118 Inventories 2 420 2 089 1 861 Biological assets 0 0 772 Total current assets 8 790 7 491 5 145 Long-term financial assets 372 304 381 Tangible assets 4 429 6 944 6 563 Intangible assets 14 983 17 443 18 157 Total non-current assets 19 784 24 691 25 101 TOTAL ASSETS 28 574 32 182 30 246 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES Interest-bearing liabilities 1 805 2 777 2 111 Payables and prepayments 4 047 4 672 3 035 Total current liabilities 5 852 7 449 5 146 Interest-bearing liabilities 14 666 15 270 15 024 Deferred tax liabilities 1 434 1 644 1 466 Government grants 233 327 318 Total non-current liabilities 16 334 17 241 16 807 TOTAL LIABILITIES 22 186 24 690 21 953 Share capital 7 737 7 737 7 737 Share premium 14 007 14 007 14 007 Treasury shares -390 -390 -390 Statutory capital reserve 51 51 51 Currency translation differences 369 394 608 Retained profit (-loss) -15 386 -14 605 -13 981 Equity attributable to parent 6 388 7 194 8 032 Non-controlling interest 0 297 259 TOTAL EQUITY 6 388 7 491 8 292 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 28 574 32 182 30 246

Consolidated Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income

EUR '000 2Q 2023/2024 2Q 2022/2023 6m 2023/2024 6m 2022/2023 Revenue 5 445 7 300 8 856 11 910 Cost of goods sold -3 827 -5 688 -7 117 -9 785 Gross profit 1 618 1 612 1 739 2 125 Operating expenses -1 642 -1 379 -2 509 -2 493 Selling and distribution expenses -910 -671 -1 348 -1 314 Administrative expenses -732 -708 -1 161 -1 179 Other income / expense -11 -21 -20 -68 Fair value adjustment on biological assets 0 0 358 -170 Operating profit (-loss) -35 212 -432 -606 Financial income / expenses -535 -245 -842 1 447 Profit (-loss) before tax -569 -33 -1 274 841 Income tax -97 -102 -110 -108 Net profit (-loss) for the period -666 -135 - 1 385 733 Net profit (-loss) attributable to: Owners of the Parent Company -708 -210 -1 382 668 Non-controlling interests 42 75 -4 66 Total net profit (-loss) for the period -666 -135 -1 386 733 Other comprehensive income (-loss) that may subsequently be classified to profit or loss: Foreign currency translation differences -43 0 -239 -445 Total comprehensive income (-expense) -709 -135 -1 625 288 Total comprehensive income (-expense) attributable to: Owners of the Parent Company -751 -210 -1 621 223 Non-controlling interests 42 75 -4 66 Total comprehensive income (-expense) for the period -709 -135 -1 625 288 Profit (-loss) per share (EUR) -0,02 -0,01 -0,04 0,02 Diluted profit (-loss) per share (EUR) -0,02 -0,00 -0,03 0,01

Indrek Kasela

AS PRFoods

Member of the Management Board

Phone:+372 452 1470

investor@prfoods.ee

www.prfoods.ee
Supervisor Aaron Peskin has privately informed associates that he intends to run for mayor in November, according to two people. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle 2020

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin has privately informed associates that he intends to run for mayor in November in a bid to unseat London Breed, according to two people who said the progressive lawmaker informed them directly of his plans.



Peskin said in an interview Thursday that while he has certainly warmed up to the idea of running for mayor, he has recently been solely focused on passing an affordable housing bond in Tuesdays election.



I have not declared that I am running for mayor, and I dont have any immediate plans to do so, he said.

Peskin has until June 11 to officially declare his candidacy.

The two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Peskin told them in recent weeks that he would join a crowded field of mayoral candidates that includes Breed and three other high-profile challengers. Four other sources said they learned of Peskins plan either from someone close to him or from other people with whom he had discussed his planned candidacy.

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The Chronicle granted these people anonymity under the newspapers confidential sources policy.

Peskin, 59, has been a fixture of the citys progressive political wing for more than two decades, having first been elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2000. He would immediately become the candidate best positioned to capture support from progressive voters. A recent Chronicle poll found that around 44% of likely voters who identify as progressive do not have a first choice for mayor.



Breed hails from San Franciscos moderate political camp and is trying to fend off two other moderate challengers, nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie and former Supervisor and Mayor Mark Farrell, who are arguing that she has mismanaged the city. Supervisor Ahsha Safai performed better with progressive voters than Breed, Farrell or Lurie in the Chronicle poll, though he garnered support from only 8% of likely voters overall.

Its not clear how Peskins entry into the race would affect Breeds reelection chances under San Franciscos ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to list candidates in order of preference. Peskin was not included in the Chronicle poll, which found that Breed would trail Farrell in first-choice votes, though his lead was within the polls margin of error.

Peskins 2024 plans have for months been the subject of widespread speculation in San Francisco political circles. City term limits forbid him from running for reelection this year to continue representing District 3, which includes North Beach and Chinatown. While Peskin partnered with Breed on some policies, he has also been a persistent critic of her approach to some issues, including the citys drug crisis.

Peskin is widely known for his support of rent control and neighborhood preservation policies and would probably face strong criticism from Breed and her allies in the YIMBY movement, which supports a rapid expansion of housing development for people at all income levels. Supervisors this week passed legislation sponsored by Peskin that imposed new development restrictions in his district, prompting state Sen. Scott Wiener  a YIMBY champion  to call Peskin the leading anti-housing voice at City Hall in a social media post.

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San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin, shown at a Lunar New Year event in February, has been a fixture of San Franciscos progressive political wing for more than two decades. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

Peskin told the Chronicle last summer that he was not running for mayor but appeared to become more open to the idea recently. Several weeks ago, he told the Chronicle that a mayoral campaign was not totally out of the question, even as he said that he wasnt inclined to enter the race.



He was spotted at the Chinese New Year Parade last weekend handing out postcards with 2024 and Happy Year of the Dragon! on one side and his face on the other. Though the postcards were attributed to Aaron Peskin and the D3 Office, some who received them took the postcards as a sign that he was planning to run for mayor.

Jim Stearns, a progressive political consultant who has worked on all of Peskins supervisor campaigns, said he was unaware of any plans by Peskin to run for mayor. Still, Stearns said he thought a progressive who fit Peskins description could be highly competitive against Breed and the other candidates.

Theres a pretty strong chance that a person who can combine the working labor vote with a take-care-of-our-neighborhood-character vote with a progressive vote could be in the lead, Stearns said. Im not saying hes running. Im just saying I would love to have a progressive in the race, so if he is running, Im on board.

Perhaps previewing an argument he could make as a mayoral candidate, he had harsh words for the mayor on drug policy in a Thursday appearance on KQEDs Forum to speak against Proposition F, a measure Breed placed on the March 5 ballot to mandate drug screening for some welfare recipients.

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Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) -Cardinal du Four (CdF), 21 Rebellion, the award-winning, additive-free Armagnac and the modern connoisseur's answer to Cognac is proud to announce that Francois Thibault, the renowned distiller/master blender of Cognac and creator of Grey Goose Vodka recipe, is joining the Cardinal du Four Armagnac company as co-founder and master blender. The announcement was made today by CdF founder and president Christophe Namer.





(l-r)Christophe Namer and Francois Thibault



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Namer and Thibault, long-time friends, often reunite and, as always, bond over their shared French epicurean passions, delving into discussions on gastronomy, wines, and spirits.

Driven by the same passion and product excellence, they took on the challenge of creating together an exceptional new Armagnac blend. An opportunity for Thibault to use all his savoir-faire to tailor-make this spirit from the French region of Armagnac where the terroirs and traditions have for centuries expressed a style that is as unique as it is rare.





(l-r) Francois Thibault and Christophe Namer



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With his exceptional reputation in the spirits industry, Francois Thibault brings his unparalleled expertise and passion to the world of Armagnac. As he embarks on this new chapter in his illustrious career, he continues to raise the bar for the spirits industry. Through his unfaltering dedication and profound understanding of his craft, he sets a new standard of excellence, ensuring that future generations will continue to appreciate the remarkable spirits he creates.

"The success of Cardinal du Four, 21 Rebellion is a testament to Francois' meticulous craftsmanship, and we're delighted that he has officially joined the CdF family," comments -Namer. "As master blender, he will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our brand, while infusing his signature touch and innovative vision. His unwavering commitment to quality and dedication to groundbreaking innovation will surely elevate our company to new heights."

"In a relatively short time, Christophe has made his mark in the industry, introducing Cardinal du Four Armagnac to the North American luxury spirits market," adds Thibault. "I'm pleased to join him in the evolution of the brand, and look forward to sharing my expertise with both connoisseurs and those who newly discovered the distinct charm and appeal of Armagnac."

CdF stands out in the market, offering a truly extraordinary experience for discerning spirits connoisseurs. With Thibault's expertise, each bottle of CdF Armagnac, considered the oldest brandy in France, will showcase the culmination of centuries-old tradition and modern artistry.





Francois Thibault



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ABOUT CARDINAL DU FOUR ARMAGNAC:

The Cardinal du Four 21 Rebellion Armagnac (CdF) experience begins with its namesake. Named after and inspired by the late Cardinal Vital du Four, a French Theologian and Philosopher, who was a luminary known for his intellect and remarkable discoveries, including documenting the first evidence of distillation in France dating back to 1310 praising the virtues of Armagnac. His texts have been preciously guarded and remain today at the Vatican Library archive in Rome since the 16th century.

CdF is an enlivened spirit housed in a glass decanter with a red galvanized and lacquered metallic closure shaped like that of a Cardinal's "mitre" or hat. The beautiful and timeless decanter shape resembles the Cardinal standing, as if to say, this illuminates the spirit of Cardinal du Four himself.





Cardinal du Four Armagnac



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The meaning of 21 in the Bible is "rebellion" and "sin" Cardinal du Four is a "rebellion of Armagnac against Cognac" and based on three pillars of inspiration: The Harmony of the Armagnac brandy blend, the Illumination projected onto the Armagnac region of France, and the Wonder associated with this new and timeless decanter.

CdF is a harmonious blend of vintage Armagnacs from 21 to 43 years of age (30 years average age) and contains no additives such as sugar and caramel. Its natural brilliant amber color has floral aromas of jasmine and iris followed by pastry and spice notes like nutmeg and cardamom intertwined with dried fig, caramelized apples, and toasted wood vanilla flavors. Long lingering and opulent dried finish with notes of cacao beans and salted caramel. CdF combines complexity and power with elegance and finesse.

While relatively new in the market, CdF has already garnered significant industry recognition and accolades including:

 GOLD MEDAL 2019 & 2022 (2 out of 2) - Concours General Agricole Paris

 GOLD MEDAL 2022, San Francisco World Spirits Competition

 DOUBLE GOLD 2020, 97 POINTS from Anthony Dias Blue, James Beard Award Winner saying "perhaps the most refined Armagnac I've ever tasted."

 DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL 2020, San Francisco World Spirits Design Competition

 DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL 2023, New York World Spirits Competition

Stay updated with the latest news from CdF by following the brand on social media or visiting the website. website: cardinaldufour.com; Instagram: @cardinaldufour

For further information, email: info@cardinaldufour.com





Cardinal du Four Armagnac



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ABOUT FRANCOIS THIBAULT:

With an illustrious career spanning over four decades, Francois Thibault has not only established himself as a pioneer in the spirit industry but has also numerous accolades, including the distinguished title of Cognac Maitre de Chai (Cellar Master), which acknowledges his unrivaled mastery in the art of spirits crafting.

Thibault recently received The Gold Medal of Honor for Labor, this honorary distinction rewards the length of service in the private sector, and the quality of their initiatives taken in the exercise of their profession. Furthermore, he received the medal of "Knight of Agricultural Merit" for his commitment and services rendered in the world of agriculture.

Born and raised in France, his deep appreciation for spirits was fostered through his family roots in the Cognac region. His passion for the art of creating exceptional spirits led him to pursue a formal education in viticulture and oenology, with a particular focus on distillation techniques and flavor profiles.

Thibault's adventure in the world of spirits began in 1982 when he joined a prestigious Cognac House. As tradition dictates, the Cellar Master at the time passed on all the savoir-faire (know-how) of this profession and very quickly diversified to produce other spirits such as Whiskey, Tequila and Armagnac.

During all these years he was also asked to create and develop the Cognac of France's Grand Chef Paul Bocuse (dubbed "The Pope of Gastronomy"), as well as ventured into the production of wines from the Armagnac region. His profound knowledge and dedication to his craft drove him to explore the art of blending Armagnacs in 1990, marking the beginning of his influential career in fine spirit.

Recognizing the immense potential of ultra-premium vodka, Thibault embarked on a groundbreaking endeavor. After years of careful research and experimentation, he developed in 1998 a revolutionary distillation process that combined traditional French techniques with modern innovations. This groundbreaking approach paved the way for the creation of a truly exceptional vodka - Grey Goose. He then developed a gastronomic vodka for one of the greatest and most awarded Michelin-starred Chefs in the world, Alain Ducasse.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Thibault is known for his deep-rooted connection to nature and his passion for sustainable practices. He actively advocates for the preservation of natural resources and is deeply involved in initiatives supporting ecological balance within the spirits industry.

The dedication to his craft is matched by his love for travel, adventure, and exploration. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures and landscapes, he continually seeks new ways to innovate and push the boundaries of his craft. With a rich history of working in the Armagnac region, Thibault has returned to his roots to craft a unique recipe for Cardinal du Four Armagnac.

Beyond his professional achievements, Thibault is proud and happy to revisit the Armagnac region, a place that holds special significance for him. His dedication to preserving the region's traditional techniques while instilling innovation and creativity showcases his deep respect for its heritage. His motto is "the quality of a spirit begins with the terroir and the DNA of the wine."

Contact Details:

Nicole Muj

nicolekultura@gmail.com

310-804-0964

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199873

SOURCE: Pinion Partners
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 29, 2024 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed its condensed consolidated audited financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023. Copies of these financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's issuer profile at www.sedarplus.ca. All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

Operating Highlights and Recent Corporate Developments

On October 5, 2023, the Company issued a total of 452,000 common shares with a deemed value of $22,600 in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp., for certain advertising services provided to the Company.

On October 23, 2023, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement of 9,240,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of $462,000. Each unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.075 per share at any time on or before October 20, 2026.

In December 2021, the Company began the building of a mobile demonstration unit which can be placed on a customer's site to allow for a longer term (6-8 month) performance of the FO technology at industrial throughput that is not achievable in a laboratory setting. This revenue-generating unit was completed in November, 2023 and is now available to be used by or sell to our customers.

On January 11, 2024, the Company announced that it has been contracted by CleanTech Lithium PLC to provide advisory services for the support and development of their Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") processes in Chile.

On January 16, 2024, the Company issued a total of 452,000 common shares with a deemed value of $22,600 in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp. for certain advertising services provided to the Company.

Management Commentary

"Over the last quarter we have been pleased with the response from investors to the non-brokered private placement and we continue to pursue further financing initiatives to ensure support of all commercial activities. As important, we continue to provide guidance in the water treatment needs for our clients especially in the lithium resource sector which is vital to sustainable energy management."

Summary of Financial Results

Income Statement

Balance Sheet

Statement of Cash Flows

About Forward Water Technologies Corp.

Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. In addition, the Company has initiated early stage R&D for the treatment of food and beverage process streams.

For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com.

Contact Information

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer

howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com

(519) 333-5888

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws including statements regarding financing initiatives, 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.sedarplus.ca. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) - West Oak Gold Corp. (CSE: WO) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed, on a non-brokered basis, its previously announced private placement financing for gross proceeds of $354,000 through the sale of 5,899,999 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.06 per Unit (the "Private Placement").

Each Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one transferable common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.08 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Company issued 140,000 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") and paid cash commission totalling $8,400 to certain arm's length finders. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof, to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of $0.06 for a period of three 36 months from the date of issuance.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement in order fund general working capital and its exploration efforts. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

An officer and a director of the Company (the "Interested Parties") each purchased 100,000 Units as part of the Private Placement. The placement to the Interested Parties constitutes "related party transactions" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the directors of the Company have determined that the Interested Parties' participation in the Private Placement is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on the exemptions set forth in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the closing of the Private Placement, as the details and amounts of the Interested Parties' participation was not finalized until closer to the closing and the Company wished to close the Private Placement as soon as practicable for sound business reasons.

About West Oak

West Oak is focused on gold exploration in Canada. It is currently actively exploring the Hedge Hog gold project located 15km north of the town of Wells in the Caribou Mining Division of central British Columbia. Investors are encouraged to review West Oak's prospectus and the technical report for the Hedge Hog Property available at www.sedarplus.ca. Management and the board of directors of West Oak currently consists of Morgan Good (Chief Executive Officer and director), Leighton Bocking (director), Adrian Smith (director) and Bennett Liu (Chief Financial Officer).

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company

"Morgan Good"

Morgan Good

Chief Executive Officer and Director

West Oak Gold Corp.

Website: www.westoakgold.com

T: 604-715-4751

E: morganrgood@gmail.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the use of the proceeds raised under the Private Placement.

In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: risks related to the timing of decisions with respect to the Company's strategy, that the Company will not use the net proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated and market uncertainty.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

NOT FOR US DISTRIBUTION OR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199976

SOURCE: West Oak Gold Corp.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) - Turnium Technology Group Inc. (TSXV: TTGI) (FSE: E48) ("Turnium" or "the Company"), an industry leader in cloud native SD-WAN, focused on improving application performance for enterprises with safe and secure multi-site connectivity without the burden of expensive dedicated bandwidth and hardware, announces its financial results for Fiscal Q1 2024. All financial information is provided in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

These results are being published following the recent announcement of the Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Claratti Limited that will bring hundreds of Australian based clients into the Turnium portfolio, driving growth in cross-sell opportunities.

Ralph Garcea, Chairman of Turnium commented, "In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Turnium team continued its focus on expanding our channel partners, increasing monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and delivering superior product and service solutions to our global clientele. The Company is very well positioned to achieve cashflow positive results this year, as we continue to execute on our dual pronged growth strategy: First priority is continuing our organic growth initiatives, further expanding our Global Partnership Program which has onboarded 16 new agreements over the last 12 months. The second part of the growth strategy involves mergers and acquisitions, where we have two planned for this year. Our intention to acquire Claratti, discussed below, is one of these strategic acquisitions. We continue to evaluate other acquisitions as we look to scale our revenue over the next few years."

The Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2023, are available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Fiscal First Quarter 2024 Highlights:

Revenue in the first quarter increased to $1.28 million, compared to $1.26 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter increased to $1.28 million, compared to $1.26 million in the previous quarter; Gross Margin in the first quarter increased to $0.89 million, compared to $0.87 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter increased to $0.89 million, compared to $0.87 million in the previous quarter; Total Expenses in the first quarter decreased to $1.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter decreased to $1.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the previous quarter; Net Loss in the first quarter decreased to ($0.62) million, compared to ($1.7) million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter decreased to ($0.62) million, compared to ($1.7) million in the previous quarter; Number of Common Shares Outstanding (basic) at the end of the first quarter 2024 was 104,605,243.

Fiscal Quarter Financial Highlights:

The Company's key financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2023, are as follows:

Canadian Dollars Q1 F2024 -

For the three months ended December 31, 2023 Q4 F2023 -

For the three months ended September 30, 2023 Q3 F2023 -

For the three months ended June 30, 2023 Q2 F2023 -

For the three months ended March 31, 2023 Total revenue 1,284,210 1,257,622 1,476,342 1,185,056 Gross margin 890,182 873,459 916,845 886,540 Total Expenses 1,495,940 2,217,763 1,512,661 2,089,325









Net comprehensive income (loss) (624,842) (1,662,592) (745,223) (1,201,843)

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding 104,605,243 90,370,451 68,935,614 68,865,009 Basic and diluted loss per common share (0.01) (0.02) (0.01) (0.02)

Special Notes:

It is anticipated that revenues and expenses may vary, perhaps materially, from quarter to quarter due to several factors, including changes in product mix, costs related to planned increase in market share, global expansion costs and ongoing corporate development initiatives. Although revenues may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, and such fluctuations may be material, management expects that revenues will increase year over year.

There are no known trends or seasonal impacts on the Company's business although seasonal trends may develop as the Company grows.

Subsequent Highlights to the Fiscal First Quarter:

February 28, 2024 - the Compnay announced it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Claratti Limited (Claratti), a provider of managed IT Solutions for enterprises covering areas such as internet and telecommunications services, remote work and connectivity, cybersecurity and high-quality hardware and software. Claratti is headquartered in Perth, Australia and serves hundreds of clients across Australia. Additionally, the Company also announced that Mr. Derek Spratt will be retiring as CEO, effective February 29, 2024, but will continue as a Director. The Company has implemented an Office of the CEO consisting of Founder/Director Johan Arnet and Director Jim Lovie. All decisions going forward, until a permanent replacement for the role of CEO has been appointed, will be a collaborative effort between the Chairman, Mr. Arnet and Mr. Lovie, with input from the rest of the Board. (Link)

February 20, 2024 - the Company and Wafaicloud announce partnership to drive cloud adoption across the Middle East. Wafai International Company Inc. of Saudi Arabia (WafaiCloud) has signed a multiyear term and volume commitment to partner with Turnium Technology Group Inc. Currently with 200 sites already in service, Wafai forecasts aggressive growth in its Turnium SD-WAN pipeline which can grow revenue more than 10 times within three years.

Additional Fiscal First Quarter 2024 Highlights:

November 29, 2023 - the Company has changed its auditor from Manning Elliott LLP to Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP, effective November 28, 2023. The former auditor submitted a resignation letter as the auditor of the company, effective November 27, 2023, and the board of directors of the company appointed the successor auditor as the company's auditor, effective November 28, 2023, until the next annual general meeting of the company.

November 29, 2023 - the Company announced the appointment of Konstantin Lichtenwald as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lichtenwald has over 16 years of finance and accounting experience, including corporate compliance, accounting and financial management, initial public offerings, and reverse takeovers, providing corporate finance, valuation, taxation, financial reporting, consulting and other accounting services to both small businesses and public companies.

October 24, 2023 - the Company's board of directors has authorized the grant of an aggregate of 3.1 million incentive stock options to directors, officers and employees of the company, at an exercise price of $0.10 per common share. The options are exercisable for a five-year period from the date of grant. Certain grants will be subject to vesting terms in accordance with the terms of the option plan.

October 12, 2023 - The Company's development of Turnium SD-WAN version 7.0 is progressing toward completion. This new software release will revolutionize Turnium SD-WAN and increase the use-cases and capabilities that Turnium Channel Partners can use to solve common customer issues in today's cloud-based networked business environment. Version 7.x will enable Turnium to integrate the numerous global partners that have been announced to date, and others that are currently in our pipeline - as Turnium scales from 10,000+ lines currently to 100,000+ lines over the next few years.

September 28, 2023 - The Company has signed a five-year OEM (original equipment manufacturer) licensing agreement with a large technology group and service provider in Southeast Asia. The new five-year OEM licensing agreement with the Southeast Asian service provider, signed on July 18, 2023, will activate across Indonesia initially.

September 25, 2023 - At the Company's shareholder meeting held on September 15, 2023, all resolutions were passed. A total of 54,836,337 common shares were represented at the Meeting, representing approximately 54.9% of the common shares issued and outstanding as of the record date.

September 12, 2023 - SDWAN & SASE Solutions Ltd. has joined the Turnium Technology Group global partner program to enable it to license, package and bundle Turnium's SD-WAN software into SDWAN & SASE Solutions' portfolio.

About Turnium Technology Group Inc.

Turnium Technology Group Inc. delivers its SD-WAN solution as a white label, disaggregated software platform that OEM channel partners host, manage, brand, and price. Turnium is also available to Resellers as a Turnium-branded managed service. Turnium SD-WAN is sold through a channel partner program designed for Communications Service Providers, Internet and Managed Service Providers, System Integrators, and Value-Added Resellers.

For more information, contact sales@ttgi.io, visit www.ttgi.io or follow us on Twitter @turnium.

About SD-WAN

SD-WAN is revolutionizing the networking and telecommunications industry by abstracting secure, high-speed networking and network control from underlying physical circuits. SD-WAN frees enterprises, small and medium businesses, cloud and managed services providers from the business and cost constraints imposed by traditional telecommunications companies.

# # #

Turnium Contact:

Investor Relations: Bill Mitoulas, Email: investor.relations@ttgi.io, Telephone: +1 416-479-9547

Media inquiries: please email media@ttgi.io.

Sales inquiries: please email sales@ttgi.io

www.ttgi.io, www.turnium.com

CAUTIONARY NOTES

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain acts, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Some of these risks are described under the "Caution on Forward-Looking Information" section and "Risk Factors" section of the MD&A. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199984

SOURCE: Turnium Technology Group Inc.
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.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Falconer, New York-based MF Meats is recalling around 93,277 pounds of raw meat products citing potential contamination with a non-food grade substance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service or FSIS announced. The affected products may have been contaminated with non-food grade mineral seal oil, which is not approved for use in meat processing. The recall involves various weights of meat cuts and ground meat. The products display Julian dates of 330-365 (November 26 - December 31) and 1-47 (January 1 - February 16). The impacted raw meat items, with establishment number 'EST. 569' inside the USDA mark of inspection, were produced from November 26, 2023 through February 16, 2024. These items were shipped to restaurants in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The recall was initiated after the company received four complaints from restaurants reporting a chemical taste in the meat products. Following an investigation, it was found that its mineral oil supplier sent them a drum containing non-food grade mineral seal oil labeled as food grade mineral oil. The non-food grade mineral seal oil was applied to food contact surfaces and not directly to the meat products, the agency noted. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products to date. FSIS, over concern that some product may be in restaurants' refrigerators or freezers, urged them to throw away the recalled meat items or return to the place of purchase. In similar developments, FSIS recently warned against Trader Joe's frozen RTE chicken pilaf product citing the potential contamination with foreign material, specifically rocks. In November last year, Doctors Scientific Organica called back a limited quantity of Burn Boot Camp Afterburn Grass-Fed Whey Protein Bars Triple Chocolate Almond flavor products as they may contain foreign material, including disposable hairnet, shrink wrap and parchment paper. For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com 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:

Clariane (CLARIA.PA ISIN FR0010386334) informs its shareholders that a Combined General Meeting (the "General Meeting") of the Company will take place on Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 2 p.m. in the meeting room Apostrophe, located at 83 avenue Marceau, 75016 Paris.

The prior notice of the General Meeting containing the agenda, the draft resolutions presented by the Board of Directors and the description of the participation and voting arrangements for the General Meeting, was published in the Bulletin des Annonces Legales Obligatoires no. 22 of 19 February 2024.

The information regarding the General Meeting mentioned in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Commercial Code can be found on the Company's website at the following address: www.clariane.com, in the "Investors" section, under "Shareholders", "General Assembly" and then "2024

The documents and the information mentioned in Articles R. 225-81 and R. 225-83 of the French Commercial Code can be sent to the shareholders upon request to Uptevia, Service Assemblees Generales Centralisees 90-110 Esplanade du General de Gaulle 92931 Paris La Defense Cedex (centralising institution appointed by Clariane).

Shareholders will also be able to consult the documents at the Company's registered office located at 21-25, rue Balzac, 75008 during the 15 days preceding the holding of the General Meeting.

Upcoming events:

25 April 2024: Q1 2024 revenue

13 June 2024: 2024 Annual General Meeting

30 July 2024: Revenue and results for the first half-year 2024

About Clariane

Clariane is the leading European community for care in times of vulnerability. It has operations in seven countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Relying on their diverse expertise, each year the Group's 67,000 professionals provide services to over 800,000 patients and residents in three main areas of activity: long-term care nursing home (Korian, Seniors Residencias, Berkley, etc.), healthcare facilities and services (Inicea, Ita, Grupo 5, Lebenswert, etc.), and alternative living solutions (Petits-fils, Les essentiels, Ages et Vie, etc.).I

In June 2023, Clariane became a purpose-driven company and added to its bylaws a new corporate purpose, common to all its activities: "To take care of each person's humanity in times of vulnerability".

Clariane has been listed on Euronext Paris Section A since November 2006 and is included in the following indices: SBF 120, CAC Health Care, CAC Mid 60, CAC Mid Small and MSCI Global Small Cap

Euronext ticker: CLARI ISIN: FR0010386334

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229438738/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Stephane Bisseuil

Head of Investor Relations

+33 (0)6 58 60 68 69

stephane.bisseuil@clariane.com

Press Contacts

Matthieu Desplats

Press relations Director

+33 (0)6 58 09 01 61

Matthieu.desplats@clariane.com

Julie Mary

Press relations Manager

+33 (0)6 59 72 50 69

julie.mary@clariane.com

Florian Bachelet

Press relations Manager

+33 (0)6 79 86 78 23

florian.bachelet@clariane.com
PARIS, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The McWhorter Foundation confirms The McWhorter family's engagement with Hermes is emblematic of dedication to the preservation and celebration of artisanal heritage, excellence, and the quest for the pinnacle of luxury. Hermes's illustrious history and commitment to the quality of craftsmanship resonate profoundly with the McWhorter Family Trust, rendering it an exemplary ambassador within the assembly of the McWhorter family's luxury assets investment portfolio.



The incorporation of Hermes into the McWhorter Family Trust's list of esteemed investments marks a deliberate expansion of the McWhorter Family's luxury asset portfolio. This action is reflective of a meticulously curated investment philosophy developed by Ambassador Noble McWhorter and his distinguishably evolving family legacy. The Trust's strategy, predicated on a 50 to 100-year outlook, emphasizes extraordinary investments that promise to yield not only financial return but also cultural and historical significance. Hermes, with its storied legacy and unparalleled mastery in luxury leather goods, stands as a testament to this vision, heralding a new chapter of investment that bridges past, present, and future.

C.K. McWhorter, currently intricately structuring a Single Family Office (SFO), has tactically announced a significant, yet SEC-exempt, small acquisition in Hermes International. This investment underscores a pivotal expansion of the family's asset base, aligning seamlessly with the McWhorter Trust's vision for long-term, extraordinary investment horizons.

Through adept navigation of financial frameworks, the Ambassador Noble has leveraged a sophisticated investment strategy that remains exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, underscoring the discreet yet impactful nature of this financial engagement. This approach not only exemplifies the strategic discretion befitting an investor of McWhorter's stature but also magnifies the influence wielded by private transactions in the echelons of high finance.

McWhorter Family & Trust Acknowledgements:

Hermes demonstrates a high level of commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, aligning its operations with sustainable development principles that span across various dimensions??????.

Environmental Stewardship: Hermes places a significant emphasis on reducing its carbon footprint and advancing towards net-zero emissions by 2050. The company has committed to science-based targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 50.4% for scopes 1 and 2, and by 58.1% for scope 3 emissions by 2030. Furthermore, Hermes aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and complete renewable energy in its operations by 2030??. This reflects a holistic approach to minimizing environmental impact, focusing on sustainable materials, circularity in production, and energy efficiency in its facilities.

Social Responsibility: The company fosters a culture of respect, inclusion, and the well-being of its employees, alongside maintaining high standards for its supply chain. It prioritizes the creation of quality jobs, supports local communities, and ensures the ethical treatment of animals. Hermes also emphasizes the transmission of its exceptional know-how through training and apprenticeships, ensuring the longevity of its artisanal skills??.

Governance and Community Engagement: Hermes' governance structure oversees its strategic and operational management with a focus on sustainable development. This encompasses a vigilant approach to responsible sourcing, ensuring that suppliers adhere to environmental, ethical, and social standards. Hermes' commitment to responsible sourcing is evident in its long-term relationships with suppliers, emphasizing quality, innovation, and ethical practices. The company actively engages with stakeholders, including partnerships with organizations like WWF France, to strengthen the responsible management of its supply chains, particularly concerning precious hides, cashmere, and wood??.

Through these concerted efforts, Hermes aligns itself with a comprehensive ESG strategy, setting a benchmark for luxury brands in sustainable and responsible business practices. This commitment not only ensures the preservation of the natural environment and promotes social well-being but also positions Hermes as a leader in the global luxury market, dedicated to upholding and advancing sustainability within the industry.

McWhorter Family Trust's: Warrant Description- a quartet of emblems, each meticulously chosen to represent the multifaceted ethos of the McWhorter legacy. The first crest is the McWhorter Family Crest, a heraldic symbol signifying the enduring support and unity of the McWhorter Estate, embodying the family's rich heritage and foundational role in shaping their legacy. Adjacent to it, the McWhorter Trust Crest emerges, symbolizing the family's unwavering commitment to capital investment, illustrating a strategic vision that marries financial acumen with long-term growth objectives. Following this, the McWhorter Foundation Logo heralds the family's philanthropic endeavors, signifying a pledge to leverage their investments in exemplary assets towards approved philanthropic causes, thus integrating financial success with social impact. Concluding this emblematic display is the symbol of Carter Kennedy Equity, a boutique private equity firm operating under the auspices of the McWhorter Family SFO. This emblem showcases a dedication to securing majority or significant stake investments, highlighting an aggressive yet discerning approach to capital deployment that seeks to foster growth, innovation, and leadership in the global marketplace. Together, these symbols weave a tapestry of legacy, commitment, philanthropy, and investment acumen that defines the McWhorter family's approach to wealth, responsibility, and societal contribution.

This noble alliance exemplifies the Trust's acumen in curating a collection of peerless luxury assets and illuminates its visionary path toward strategic growth and diversification. The McWhorter Family & Trust, celebrated for its discerning acquisition of assets of distinguished heritage, is poised for an era of augmented prosperity and distinction, with Hermes now serving as a cornerstone of its investment philosophy.

C.K. McWhorter, in a statement, articulated, "Endowing Hermes with the role of Ambassador within our McWhorter Family Trust's luxury assets portfolio is a testament to our dedication to celebrating artisanal heritage, excellence, and the relentless pursuit of unparalleled luxury. Hermes stands as a paragon of craftsmanship and storied history, resonating with our ethos and serving as a beacon for our collection of luxury endorsements."

Disclaimer, Disclosure & Legal Notice:

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. It is not intended to provide specific recommendations, endorsements, or investment strategies. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Regulatory Considerations:

This press release is not intended to constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offers, sales, or purchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations. McWhorter Foundation has not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may operate under exemptions. Any investment decisions should be made in consultation with appropriate legal and financial advisors, considering the individual circumstances and objectives of potential investors.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, regulatory and legal developments, market conditions, and the outcome of negotiations. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7863486b-8254-4426-9739-ad9ffd5e1eb6
LIJIANG, China, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hylla Vintage Hotel has been inducted into The Leading Hotels of the World (LHW), becoming the first property in Southwest China to join this exclusive network of luxury independent hotels.

Nestled in the historic heart of Lijiang, a city renowned for its convergence of world heritage sites, the Hylla Vintage Hotel offers a unique gateway to the past. The hotel is situated at the base of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the southernmost glacier in Eurasia known for its perennial snow. Embracing the textures of natural wood and stone, the property resides in Jietuolin, the original domain of the Muwangfu family, who led the Nakhi people. This location is steeped in history, a narrative beautifully captured in the Ming Dynasty chronicle, "The Travels of Xu Xiake."

The property is a testament to the area's historical allure and scenic splendor, making it an exceptional destination for international travelers in search of distinctive experiences. With a commitment to respecting the natural environment and local traditions, the hotel fosters a strong connection with the spirit of "village community living". Notably, Hylla Vintage Hotel has garnered several prestigious international accolades, including AHEAD, DEZEEN, LILA, and LI Awards, reflecting its appeal among both domestic and international audiences.

Guests can immerse themselves in a bygone era within the hotel's interiors, which features a meticulously curated collection of modernist furniture dating from the 1930s to the 1960s, alongside an eclectic mix of vintage furnishings, literature, artworks, and artisanal objects from around the world. This blend of historical ambiance and modern luxury positions the Hylla Vintage Hotel as a living museum of vintage culture, offering a deeply authentic and enriching travel experience.

For more information and reservations,please visit https://www.hyllahotels.com or call 0888-5155555.

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CHICAGO, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bread Improvers Market valued at USD 1.5 Billion in 2023, highlights a remarkable growth projection, anticipated to escalate to USD 1.9 Billion by 2028, indicating a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% from 2023 to 2028 according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets. According to the USDA Report on Food Processing Ingredients published in March 2021, the sales of bakery products experienced an increase of 7% to reach an impressive U.S. $1.2 billion in 2020. This growth coincided with a significant rise in consumer expenditure on bread and cereals, which reached U.S. $206.9 per capita, marking an 8.3% increase from the previous year (2019). Alongside this upward trajectory in the bakery sector, the demand for bread improvers has also seen a corresponding increase. As bakery manufacturers strive to meet consumer expectations for high-quality, flavorful, and longer-lasting bread products, the use of bread improvers has become increasingly prevalent. By enhancing the texture, volume, and shelf life of bread, bread improvers play a crucial role in ensuring consistent product quality and meeting consumer preferences.

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The enzymes segment is the fastest-growing market in the upcoming forecast period.

Enzymes have become a pervasive ingredient group in various types of bread, playing a crucial role in the modern bread-making process. Despite evolving regulatory standards, enzymes remain indispensable processing aids in the baking industry. Their functional versatility, clean label attributes, capacity to streamline processes, and cost-saving benefits underscore their essential role in bakery products. A significant advantage of enzymes is their natural occurrence in common bakery ingredients such as wheat and soy flour. Additionally, since enzymes are typically deactivated by the high temperatures of the baking process, their use enables bakers to achieve a desirable clean label image for their products.

As mentioned in the Baking Europe Spring 2020 Report, the EU compiles a comprehensive list of permitted enzymes, this regulation will likely have far-reaching implications for bakery manufacturers operating within the region. The report also mentions that the significance of enzymes is poised to grow further in the region as consumers increasingly seek natural products devoid of synthetic additives. As consumer demand for consistently high-quality, flavorful, and visually appealing baked goods with extended shelf lives persists, enzymes will remain integral to the bakery industry. Thus, the potential implementation of specific EU legislation regarding the use of enzymes in food production signals a significant development for the baking industry.

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Europe acquires a dominant position within the bread improvers market throughout the forecast period.

According to the Federation of Bakers (UK), Bread consumption patterns vary significantly across the EU, with the majority of countries averaging a consumption of 50 kg of bread per person per year. The market structure across Europe exhibits diversity. For instance, in the UK, the industrial sector represents 80% of production, while it accounts for 40% in Germany, 35% in France, approximately 81% in the Netherlands, and 19% in Spain. Moreover, bread consumption remains steady in Western Europe, although it differs significantly from country to country. Germans and Austrians lead in bread consumption, averaging around 80 kg per year, while the UK and Ireland have the lowest annual consumption, with less than 50 kg. The widespread consumption of bread across the European region indicates a substantial market for bread and related products, creating a significant demand for technologies and solutions that can enhance the quality, texture, and shelf life of bread.

As mentioned in the Baking Europe 2020 Report, the majority of bread consumed in Europe is currently manufactured by large-scale plant bakeries, which produce bread and other baked goods on an industrial level. These facilities utilize machinery, technology, and scientific advancements to their fullest extent in automated bread-making processes that aim to meet consumer demands for quality, consistency, convenience, and affordability. Thus, bread improvers play a crucial role by providing bakery manufacturers with the tools and formulations needed to optimize their production processes and meet the evolving demands of consumers. By incorporating bread improvers into their operations, large-scale plant bakeries can enhance the quality and consistency of their bread products, thereby maintaining competitiveness in the market and satisfying consumer expectations.

Prominent industry players, including Puratos (Belgium), Corbion (Netherlands), AB Mauri (US), Lesaffre (France), DSM (Netherlands), International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF (US), ADM (US), Kerry Group plc. (Ireland), Bakels Worldwide (Switzerland), Oy Karl Fazer Ab. (Finland), wield substantial influence in the bread improvers market. These entities boast robust manufacturing facilities and well-established distribution networks across pivotal regions such as North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia Pacific, ensuring a widespread presence and accessibility of their products.

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Browse Adjacent Reports @ Food and Beverage Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Bakery Premixes Market by Type (Complete Mix, Dough-Base Mix, Dough Concentrates), Application (Bread Products, Bakery Products), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America and RoW) - Global Forecast to 2028

Baking Ingredients Market by Type (Emulsifiers, Leavening Agents, Enzymes, Baking Powders & Mixes, Oil, Fats & Shortenings, Starch, Colors & Flavors, Preservatives, Fibers), Application (Bread and Sweet Bakery), and Region - Forecast to 2026

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Chinese ambassador in Geneva reiterates call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Xinhua) 13:06, March 01, 2024

GENEVA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, on Thursday reiterated China's call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

As the Gaza Strip is facing an unparalleled humanitarian crisis, an immediate ceasefire is the urgent demand of the global community and a fundamental necessity for achieving peace, Chen said while elaborating on China's position on the situation between Palestine and Israel at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

China is calling on Israel to allow humanitarian organizations to have the resources they need to conduct rescue missions in Gaza and to properly enforce the interim measures and directives from the International Court of Justice, Chen said.

Chen emphasized that China has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and strongly opposed the forced transfer of the Palestinian people and the occupation of Palestinian territory.

The two-state solution is the general consensus of the international community and a realistic way to ultimately realize the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel, Chen said, urging all countries to make unremitting efforts to this end.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Clare Fonstein is a reporter who joined the San Francisco Chronicle as part of the two-year Hearst Journalism Fellowship, spending her first year of the program at the Houston Chronicle. In Houston, Fonstein covered breaking news and trending stories.

She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, then attended Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where she majored in journalism and international relations. She previously worked as an intern at the Morning Call, the daily newspaper of the Lehigh Valley, and her college newspaper at Lehigh University.

She can be reached at Clare.Fonstein@sfchronicle.com.
BARCELONA, Spain, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- During MWC Barcelona 2024, more than 60 high-level customers from global carriers, industry leaders attended Huawei's Digital Intelligence Talent Development. Huawei launched its talent development service solutions during the session.

Mr. Jason Liu, President, Learning & Certification Services of Huawei, said, "In the era of intelligence, digital intelligence transformation can be accelerated only by combining AI technology with industry cognition and valuable data accumulated by enterprises." Technology makes things work. And people make technology work. Mr. Jason Liu shared the following three viewpoints on talent development:

talents with industry cognition are still the most valuable assets. But everyone should upskill with AI technologies. AI service architects and AI algorithm engineers will become key roles in the era of intelligence. AI-powered learning platform will make learning more effective and efficient.

Huawei launched its talent development service solutions, which are aligned with customers' talent development value streams. These typically encompass talent planning, cultivation, assessment, operation. The solutions can help customers build teams of digitally skilled talent and promote the transformation in infrastructure, O&M, and digital services.

Professor Yannick Meiller from the ESCP Business School said in his keynote speech, "During digital intelligence transformation, organizations need to build teams of talent with creative, critical, and ethical thinking, as well as expertise. "

Antonio de Luis Acevedo, managing director of the State Foundation for Training in Employment (Fundae), emphasized that talent development should bridge extensive wisdom, and leave no one behind during digital transformation.

Rumeysa Kaymakci, Director of Turkcell Academy in Turkiye, pointed out that in the future, digital leadership should focus on leaders' transform thinking, team management, and collaboration.

Hamadlan Hamdan, CTO of Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation, believes that Sarawak's digital economy needs digital transformation, to which talent transformation is the key.

Mahdi Jemal, CSO of Ethio Telecom explained Ethio Telecom's talent development strategy, and shared that Huawei's Online-Merge-Offline (OMO) platform, which enables visualized and manageable talent planning and cultivation, has helped Ethio Telecom achieve remarkable results in talent development.

Talent development services aim to enable digital intelligence transformation across industries. Huawei will continue to bridge global wisdom, and collaborate with customers to lead talent development in the intelligent world.

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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - British media company ITV plc (ITV.L) Friday said it has sold its entire 50% interest in digital subscription streaming service BritBox International to BBC Studios, ITV's joint venture partner, for 255 million pounds, to be paid in cash. 'The sale reflects ITV's strategy of focusing on supercharging its UK advertiser-funded streaming service, ITVX and growing its global Studios division,' the company said in a statement. ITV plans to return the entire net proceeds from the sale of about 235 million pounds to shareholders by way of share buyback, which is expected to be launched after reporting full-year results on March 7. As per the new extended licensing agreements, ITV Studios will continue to receive revenue from BritBox, same as current levels, for the use of ITV content. BritBox UK will continue to feature BBC content. 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.
STOCKHOLM, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial Times and Statista have acknowledged EasyPark Group among the fastest growing companies in Europe. EasyPark Group, one of the global leaders in mobile paid parking, recorded a five year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60 percent in transactions placing them on the list for 2024.

Since EasyPark Group was founded in 2001, the company has eased parking for millions of users. Today, the company is guided by its vision of making cities more livable, helping drivers save time and money by finding and managing parking and electric vehicle charging. EasyPark allows business, parking operators, property owners and cities to administrate, plan and take data-driven decisions. In 2022, the company made a strategic move by acquiring ParkMobile, marking the beginning of its expansion into the North American market. The company is present in over 4,000 cities across more than 20 countries. EasyPark Group claims spot 679 on the 2024 issue of the Financial Times and Statista's list of Europe's fastest growing companies.

"EasyPark Group is embarking on an exciting growth journey, and we are thrilled to be recognized for our achievements so far. With over a decade of sustained high double digit growth, we're poised to maintain this momentum as we expand our services and global presence. With our vision of making cities more livable, we help cities improve the quality of life by helping them to invest in better space utilization through our product innovations and data insights. In 2024 we expect to continue the outlined growth and we're focused on expanding our footprint and seizing new opportunities around the world", says Cameron Clayton, CEO at EasyPark Group.

The FT1000 - Europe's Fastest-Growing Companies 2024 is a ranking of 1,000 companies in Europe that achieved a high growth rate in revenues between 2019 and 2022. See the full list here.

CONTACT:

Lina Lindahl

Communications Manager

lina.lindahl@easypark.net

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NAGOYA, Japan, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Central Japan Startup Ecosystem held a symposium and panel discussion under the theme, "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" at NAGOYA INNOVATOR'S GARAGE, a dynamic facility where entrepreneurs and enterprises come together to create new ideas, businesses and industries.

Thanks to Central Japan's longstanding focus on 'Monozukuri', which focuses on the pride, skill, and pursuit of excellence through innovation and improvement, the region is leveraging this to create a manufacturing integrated ecosystem with mobility at its core.

The symposium was a hybrid event focusing on Central Japan's commitment to being the "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation." This was followed by a panel discussion, where suggestions and perspectives on how Central Japan can fulfill the role of "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" were shared with the audience and how it will play a powerful role in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs and startups to further develop and succeed. The event successfully introduced what Central Japan is doing in the rapidly evolving field of mobility and was an excellent platform opportunity to discuss the future of mobility in this region.

Event Highlights

The event opened with a speech by Shuichi Hirano from JETRO Nagoya (Director-General for Chubu, Chief Director, JETRO Nagoya). JETRO Nagoya and JETRO Hamamatsu have been carrying out projects to promote the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem overseas and one of their pillars is regional branding. For instance, an exchange with foreign media was held in December 2023 with five startups based in Central Japan. The event effectively communicated the strength of the Central Japan Ecosystem to overseas media and successfully achieved coverage in key media.

Toshio Sumi (Director, Economic Affairs Bureau Startup Support Office, Innovation Department, Nagoya City Economic Affairs Bureau) provided an overview of Central Japan, its history of innovation and manufacturing, and initiatives from the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem. Its mission is to be the Homeland of Mobility 5.0, making a positive impact on society by bringing the future of mobility to our doorsteps and is actively encouraging like-minded entrepreneurs and startups to the area. He also introduced two unicorn startups working towards Mobility 5.0 - Tier IV which is focused on autonomous driving and SkyDrive Inc. which is developing flying cars and will be featured in the upcoming Osaka World Expo 2025.

This was followed by a presentation by Katsuya Kawaji (Director, Startup Promotion Division, Industry Department, Hamamatsu City) who provided an overview of the startup ecosystem in Hamamatsu City, which has long held a strategic location for transportation, logistics, and culture in Japan. It is leveraging these assets, including its concentration of companies, mainly in the manufacturing industry, and has been developing various actions to "co-create" innovation and ecosystems with various stakeholders, including companies, startups, and entrepreneurs, both within and outside the region.

Mobility Designer Kazuhiko Makimura made a key note speech about the "Revolution Mobility 5.0 and Transportation Re-Design." New mobility services rapidly accelerated during the pandemic, and his speech examined the current situation and future prospects for transportation that builds communities in the age of carbon neutrality. A key takeaway was to not only think of mobility as simply a movement, but as a service. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a concept offering a more integrated approach to urban mobility as a service, creating an environment where this movement can be done easy, through various modes of transportation and requires ease of connectivity. In an era where the value of mobility is changing, the possibilities of MaaS and automated driving will expand the shape of cities and the nature of society.

Panel Discussion Highlights

The event was followed by a panel discussion, "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" moderated by Naohiro Nishiguchi. Panelists shared their suggestions and perspectives on how Central Japan can fulfill the role of "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" that will play a powerful role in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs and startups to further develop and succeed. Some key takeaways include the following:

When discussing what is Homeland of Mobility 5.0, Akira Odoi (General Manager, Innovation Promotion Department, Value Creation Division of the Central Japan Economic Federation) explained what this concept means to Central Japan Ecosystem and said, "Central Japan will be a hub for mobility change." There are numerous companies including Toyota and its group companies - industries in aerospace, machinery, manufacturing products concentrated here, making us the industrial center of Japan. We can create a unique ecosystem by combining our strength in these areas of manufacturing and technology with startups to create open innovation and further this region as the Homeland of Mobility 5.0, while providing a range of mobility services that support society in the next ten years and beyond.

Mr. Nishiguchi commented that entrepreneurship is not just making a startup, it is also about the awareness that a change needs to be made and highlighted a point from Mr. Sumi's earlier presentation that "We don't have Mobility 5.0 yet. We are going to make it. We have problems and we are going to make something that solves them. That is what entrepreneurship is."

Regarding the startup ecosystem framework and its strengths, Hans Greimel, an automobile journalist, provided an international perspective. Japan's startups can be seen in a similar way to Toyota - reliable and safe, but this takes more time understandably, less risk taking and conservative, and this translates into the foreign perception of startup culture in Japan - not at the same pace, but at the same time, Hans said, "I would say there are big benefits - the focus on technology and reliability. Startups in Japan are not here today, gone tomorrow, but are more practical and pragmatic and with a long term view, which means they are more reliable in the long term." The Chubu region startups are focused on mobility. He said, "If we think of Japan as an ecosystem, we should think about Central Japan as the incubator for mobility startups here thanks to the strength of Japanese motor and aerospace companies, along with their suppliers- it is an amazing concentration of this kind of engineering talent and a huge resource that should be utilized."

From a female entrepreneur perspective, Kyoko Yokota has been providing support to female entrepreneurs for more than 20 years, and the number is steadily increasing. She felt that this was an exciting moment for Chubu region and for up and coming female entrepreneurs and researchers working in mobility. "I feel the enthusiasm of Central Japan through this event, and believe it is important for Central Japan to lead the efforts of each region for Japan as a whole," she commented.

The completion of the Maglev train in the next few years will bring a trip between Tokyo and Nagoya to around 40 minutes and that will show the region's strength in mobility. Though this region is rich in internationally recognized companies and have been world leaders for decades, there are some weaknesses that were addressed. Though many global companies are based in Central Japan, they tend to look beyond their borders. Sometimes it would help if these companies looked at their doorstep and in their own backyard. Some of the panelists mentioned that startups in this region need more support and there needs to be greater cross fertilization with these global companies. It was also stressed that startups in the region need to foster a global mindset, ensuring that English materials and a website are available. It is also important to raise the international profile of Central Japan and highlight strengths of this region, so events such as this are vital.

Each panelist offered a unique perspective because each comes from different areas of expertise.

This discussion was an excellent opportunity for all participants to deepen their understanding of the future of mobility and Central Japan's role in it

Keynote speech/Panelist:

Kazuhiko MAKIMURA

Kazuhiko Makimura is a Mobility designer with a PhD in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. He is also a guest Professor at the University of Tsukuba and Kobe University as well as a part-time lecturer at Nanzan University. He is actively engaged in urban/transportation think tanks as a specialist in developing visions of mobility for the future.

Moderator:

Naohiro NISHIGUCHI

Naohiro Nishiguchi is a serial entrepreneur and holds many roles including Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network Japan, President of Startup Genome Japan K.K., Professor at Sophia University. He is also a Certified Innovation Management Professional by the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE).

Panelists:

Hans GREIMEL

Hans Greimel is an award-winning American business journalist and book author who covers Asian automakers as the Asia Editor at Automotive News. He attended Carlos Ghosn's first press conference in Beirut, Lebanon after his escape from Japan in January 2020. Greimel's coverage led to the book Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars that Upended an Auto Empire, published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2021.

Kyoko YOKOTA

Kyoko Yokota is Chief Executive Officer of Colabolabo Co., Ltd, Tokyo. In 2006, Kyoko Yokota started Colabolabo which provides business support for female entrepreneurs. It also manages website, "Women Presidents.net", where a database of female entrepreneurs is made available to whoever is interested in their businesses. Yokota was selected as one of Forbes Japan's "10 Japanese Women Who Will Create the Future! She has served as a member of the JST Startup Ecosystem Formation Support Committee and other committees in the fields of gender equality and local government.

Akira ODOI

Akira Odoi is the General Manager, Innovation Promotion Department, Value Creation Division of the Central Japan Economic Federation. Before taking this position, he worked for the Marubeni Corporation. Since taking the post, he has actively been engaging in activities that contribute to the economic development of the Chubu region, such as stimulating innovation and promoting start-ups.

Background on Central Japan

Located in the Chubu region, also known as Central Japan - right in the middle of Japan's main island, Honshu, this region is proud of playing a vital role in the history of Japan's manufacturing craftsmanship. It was where Toyota first began, and as a tech pioneer, it is now the home to a wide range of sectors such as automobiles, photonics, and aerospace, using advanced, cutting-edge technologies.

Central Japan continues to invite entrepreneurs and capitalists from all corners of the world to facilitate state-of-the-art open innovation by infusing new ideas with local craftsmanship. And as a result, take part in playing a crucial role in paving the path towards the Homeland of Mobility 5.0 -the future of mobility.

Central Japan Startup Ecosystem provides everything a startup needs - from highly trained workers in many specialized fields to opportunities to conduct feasibility studies with leading companies in various industries including the mobility sector. There are also accelerator programs, financial support systems, innovative university seeds, and collaborative partnerships with ecosystems outside of Japan and also attract a wide range of entrepreneurs to this region. ??

About the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem

In July 2020, Aichi prefecture, Nagoya City and Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka-prefecture became one of the four regional Startup Ecosystem Global Base Cities groups designated nationwide by the Japanese Cabinet Office.

There are 371 startups in Central Japan, of which 150 are university-launched. An estimated 18,615 billion yen (as of July 2022) of funds have been raised, in addition to accelerator programs, financial support systems, and innovative university seeds.

Collaborative partnerships with Station F, INSEAD, BLOCK71, Paris &Co, Bpifrance, Venture Cafe, Plug and Play, Israel Innovation Authority, Tsinghua University, China Medical University, National University of Singapore, the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, North Carolina State University, University of Nebraska and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad attract a diverse range of entrepreneurs to the region.

For more information, please visit https://central-startup.jp/en/

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Commerce Resources Corp. (TSX.V:CCE)(FSE:D7H0)(OTCQX:CMRZF) (the "Company" or "Commerce") is pleased to announce the appointment of Patrik Schmidt as its new Vice President of Exploration effective March 1, 2024. Jody Dahrouge will be stepping down as Vice President of Exploration; however, will remain as a Director of the Company. Mr. Dahrouge continues to play a critical and active role with the Company as Director.

Patrik Schmidt, Principal at Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., is a Professional Geologist (M.Sc., P.Geo.) and a member of the Ordre des geologues du Quebec (OGQ), and the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (PGO). With over 10 years' experience, Mr. Schmidt has worked as Project Manager on multiple projects and commodities covering various deposit types, with a particular focus on rare earth elements (REEs), rare metals (Li, Ta, Nb, etc.), and carbonatite complexes. Over his career he has developed a versatile skill set which spans grassroots mineral exploration, mineralogy and geochemistry, to high-level project management of multi-rig drill exploration programs with significant success.

Mr. Schmidt has played a key role in the discovery of the Ashram Rare Earth Element and Fluorspar Deposit, the Mallard Prospect (Nb-Ta-Phosphate), and the Miranna Prospects (Nb-Ta-Phosphate) held by the Company. Additionally, as a consultant geologist, Mr. Schmidt led the team that discovered the CAP Carbonatite in B.C., and more recently has been a key figure in the discovery and exploration of the CV Lithium Trend where numerous lithium pegmatites have been discovered, including the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite in which Patrik has been instrumental to its advancement.

Chris Grove, President and CEO of the Company commented, "We are thrilled to have Patrik join our executive team here at Commerce. Patrik has been involved as a consultant to the Company as early as 2008 and he is a natural fit as we build out our executive team."

Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor Rare Earths and Niobium to the Company comments, "Since 2008 I have worked closely with Patrik on numerous projects covering a plethora of commodities and deposit types. In addition to his strong understanding of various commodities and deposit styles, his skill set is finely tuned to REEs and rare metals. He has been a key asset in drill targeting and surface exploration of the Eldor Property to date and so it is with great pleasure to formalize his involvement."

About the Ashram Deposit

The Ashram Deposit ranks as one of the largest REE (and fluorspar) deposits globally, consisting of a monazite dominated, single mineralized body outcropping at surface, and has a footprint approximately 700 m along strike, over 300 m across, and 600 m deep, remaining open in several directions. The deposit hosts a measured resource of 1.6 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.77% rare earth oxide (REO) and 3.8% F, an indicated resource of 27.7 Mt at 1.90% REO and 2.9% F, and an inferred resource of 219.8 Mt at 1.88% REO and 2.2% F, at a cut-off grade of 1.25% REO (Effective Date July 5th, 2012). Note, mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves.

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources Corp. is a junior mineral resource company focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit located in Quebec, Canada. The Company is positioned to become one of the lowest cost rare earth producers globally, with a specific focus on being a long-term supplier of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or NdPr oxide to the global market. The Ashram Deposit is characterized by simple rare earth (monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime) and gangue (carbonates) mineralogy, a large tonnage resource at favourable grade, and has demonstrated the production of high-grade (>45% REO) mineral concentrates at high recovery (>70%) in line with active global producers. In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, Ashram is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally and has the potential to be a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets.

For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email info@commerceresources.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.

" Chris Grove "

Chris Grove

CEO and President

Tel: 604.484.2700

Email: cgrove@commerceresources.com

Web: http://www.commerceresources.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.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which includes any information about activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include that that mixed REC is readily saleable; that partial separation of REEs will allow for the marketability of individual elements to be produced; that Ashram has the potential to become one of the largest fluorspar deposit and a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets; and that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost rare earth element producers globally. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Risks that could change or prevent these events, activities or developments from coming to fruition include: that we may not be able to fully finance any additional exploration on the Ashram Project; that even if we are able raise capital, costs for exploration activities may increase such that we may not have sufficient funds to pay for such exploration or processing activities; the timing and content of any future work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumptions based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that, with further test work, may not be comparable; testing of our process may not prove successful or samples derived from the Ashram Project may not yield positive results, and even if such tests are successful or initial sample results are positive, the economic and other outcomes may not be as expected; the availability of labour and equipment to undertake future exploration work and testing activities; geopolitical risks which may result in market and economic instability; and despite the current expected viability of the Ashram Project, conditions changing such that even if metals or minerals are discovered on the Ashram Project, the project may not be commercially viable; The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

View the original press release on accesswire.com


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Pearson Plc (PSO, PSON.L), a British education services provider, on Friday, reported a rise in preliminary pre-tax income for the full year, supported by reduced costs and expenses, higher sales from English language learning, and assessment, qualifications segments.



For the 12 months, the company posted a pre-tax income of 493 million pounds, higher than 323 million pounds in the previous year.



Net profit stood at 380 million pounds or 52.7 pence per share as against last year's 244 million pounds or 32.6 pence per share.



Operating profit surged to 498 million pounds from 271 million pounds a year ago. The growth was driven by trading profit improvements and a reduction in the costs of major restructuring, partially offset by net loss related to acquisitions and disposals compared to a net gain in 2022.



Adjusted operating profit was up at 573 million pounds from 456 million pounds a year ago.



Operating expenses were 1.322 billion pounds, down from 1.549 billion pounds in 2022.



Cost of goods sold slipped to 1.839 billion pounds from last year's 2.046 billion pounds.



English Language Learning segment registered sales of 415 million pounds as against last year's 321 million pounds.



Sales of the Assessment and Qualifications segment stood at 1.559 billion pounds, higher than 1.444 billion pounds a year ago.



Sales were 3.674 billion pounds, down from the previous year's 3.841 billion pounds, reflecting business performance, portfolio changes, and currency movements.



The Group said that it intends to extend its previously announced ongoing 300 million pounds of share repurchase program by 200 million pounds.



For the full year, Pearson will pay a final dividend of 15.7 pence per share bringing the total for the year to 22.7 pence per share, higher than last year's 21.5 pence per share. The final dividend will be paid on May 3 to shareholders on record March 22.



Looking ahead to the full year, Pearson expects its underlying sales growth and adjusted operating profit to be in line with current market expectations. This shows an underlying sales growth of 3.7 percent with adjusted operating profit of 621 million pounds.



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
LINKOPING, Sweden, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG) (AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) software solutions company SyntheticMR (Linkoping, Sweden) today announced the launch of Smart Quant Neuro 3D [1] - a major advance in objective decision support for diagnosis and therapy assessment of brain disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and dementia. As healthcare providers strive to deliver high-quality care to patients, at ECR2024 Philips is partnering with its customers to improve productivity and access to more sustainable healthcare.

Innovative Smart Quant Neuro 3D technology provides auto measurement of various brain tissues to enhance decision support of brain disease, assess progression and monitor the effect of therapy

Analysis of myelin volumes provides objective assessment of traumatic brain injuries previously only diagnosed via symptom-based tests

Smart Quant Neuro 3D combines Philips' AI based SmartSpeed image-reconstruction technology, Philips 3D SyntAc clinical application and SyntheticMR's SyMRI NEURO 3D [2] quantitative tissue assessment software. The combined offering gives healthcare providers powerful tools for greater diagnostic confidence ultimately benefiting patients. Philips' exclusive agreement with SyntheticMR makes it the only company currently able to offer SyMRI NEURO 3D capability on MR scanners.

Accurate measurement of the volume and distribution of different tissue types in the brain is important for diagnosing brain disease. However, visual assessments of MR images are often subjective, and lack the necessary accuracy while measuring tissue volume from 2D image slices is virtually impossible. Smart Quant Neuro 3D leverages the power of AI to provide fully verified automatic and precise 3D segmentation and volume measurement of brain tissue such as white matter, gray matter, cerebrospinal fluid, and myelin. When interpreted by a trained physician, these measurements can provide useful information in determining diagnosis for patients.

"Life-changing brain injury and neurodegenerative disease are two of the most difficult diagnoses that clinicians have to make on a daily basis, because of the different symptoms exhibited by individual patients", said Ruud Zwerink, Business Leader of MR at Philips. With Smart Quant Neuro 3D, clinicians have access to an easy-to-use tool to provide valuable quantitative data to track the impact of treatments and make informed decisions about adjustments or alternative interventions as needed. This continuous monitoring enhances patient care by enabling proactive management of neurological conditions and optimizing therapeutic outcomes for patients.

"Smart Quant allows for shorter exams and exploration of quantitative metrics, which show great potential to better stratify patients with similar imaging characteristics on conventional MR sequences. It's a fast quantitative MR technique that's integrated into our clinical workflow, allowing us to generate multiple synthetic weighted images from a single sequence," said Dr. Julien Savatovsky, Neuroradiologist and Head of the Radiology Department at the Hospital Foundation Adolphe De Rothschild (Paris, France).

Enhanced Diagnostic Confidence to Help Improve Treatment Strategies for Patients

Smart Quant Neuro 3D is particularly effective at measuring myelin, the insulating layer around nerves that ensures electrical impulses in the brain reach their destination. Loss of myelin is a major characteristic of TBI, where Smart Quant Neuro 3D's ability to detect abnormalities that today remain invisible on conventional MR scans, helps with early diagnosis and intervention. By quantitatively measuring myelin, clinicians can better understand the extent and impact of TBI and differentiate TBI from other neurological diseases.

The ability to quantify the extent of myelin loss or damage in a patient's brain is also important in progressive brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Quantitative measurement of myelin loss allows clinicians to assess the condition, track its progression over time, and evaluate the effect of the latest disease-modifying drugs. The additional information delivered by Smart Quant Neuro 3D benefits patients since all relevant clinical MR imaging contrasts are available from a single acquisition, avoiding the need for patients to be recalled to collect additional data.

Improved Workflow Efficiency for Clinicians

Leveraging Philips' AI-based MR SmartSpeed reconstruction technology, which increases imaging speed by a factor of nearly 3 times while providing up to 65% greater resolution [3], Smart Quant Neuro 3D assists in the scanning of patients and can help to accelerate radiology department throughput. SyntheticMR's SyMRI NEURO 3D software then performs an automatic (zero-click) analysis of the imaging data to provide accurate segmentation and volume measurement of tissue in less than 10 seconds of post-processing.

Sources

[1] Philips 3D SyntAc used in combination with SmartSpeed provides the input for the Synthetic MR software, SyMRI. Any quantification reference in the present material is provided soley by SyMRI software.

[2] Smart Quant refers to the compatibility between the cleared features SmartSpeed (AI enabled) with the quantitative imaging technique [SyntAc]. Smart Quant Neuro 3D is a combination of Philips SmartSpeed and Philips 3D SyntAc and Synthetic MR's SyMRI. Philips 3D SyntAc is FDA approved and CE pending. Synthetic MR's SyMRI 3D is CE approved and 510(k) pending.

[3] Compared to Philips' SENSE imaging.

For additional information, please contact Kyle Frye, CCO, +1 (859) 512-9496 kyle.frye@syntheticmr.com

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/11663/3938869/2640087.pdf Philips teams with SyntheticMR to deliver breakthrough AI-based quantitative brain imaging in MR

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/philips-teams-with-syntheticmr-to-deliver-breakthrough-ai-based-quantitative-brain-imaging-in-mr-to-advance-neurology-care-for-patients-302076918.html
PARIS, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an era where sustainability forms the cornerstone of ethical business practices, C.K. McWhorter (Carter K. McWhorter ) & Family Trust are announcing the awarding of its prestigious Warrant of Recognition to Cartier, a luminary brand under the Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's distinguished portfolio. This accolade is in honor of Cartier's exemplary strides in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, embodying a paradigm of conscientious luxury jewelry manufacturing that mirrors the Foundation's ethos of promoting sustainable and responsible investments within the luxury sector.



The incorporation of Cartier into the McWhorter Family Trust's list of esteemed investments marks a deliberate expansion of the McWhorter Family's luxury asset portfolio. This action is reflective of a meticulously curated investment philosophy developed by Ambassador Noble McWhorter and his distinguishably evolving family legacy. The Trust's strategy, predicated on a 50 to 100-year outlook, emphasizes extraordinary investments that promise to yield not only financial return but also cultural and historical significance. Cartier, with its storied legacy and unparalleled mastery in luxury Jewelry stands as a testament to this vision, heralding a new chapter of investment that bridges past, present, and future.

C.K. McWhorter, currently intricately structuring a Single Family Office (SFO), has tactically announced a significant, yet SEC-exempt, small acquisition in Cartier a luminary brand under the Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's distinguished portfolio. This investment underscores a pivotal expansion of the family's asset base, aligning seamlessly with the McWhorter Trust's vision for long-term, extraordinary investment horizons.

Through adept navigation of financial frameworks, McWhorter the Ambassador Noble has leveraged a sophisticated investment strategy that remains exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, underscoring the discreet yet impactful nature of this financial engagement. This approach not only exemplifies the strategic discretion befitting an investor of McWhorter's stature but also magnifies the influence wielded by private transactions in the echelons of high finance.

Environmental Stewardship:

Within the Richemont conglomerate, Cartier sets a benchmark in reducing environmental impact, ensuring the creation of its timeless jewelry pieces minimally contributes to global emissions. The notable efforts recognized in Richemont's FY23 ESG performance report, such as achieving gender-equal pay certification and advocating for significant female representation at executive levels, mark a pivotal commitment to social equity and governance excellence.

Social Responsibility:

Rooted in a tradition dating back to 1847, Cartier's ethos extends beyond the mere crafting of exquisite jewelry, embracing ethical, social, and environmental responsibilities. The Maison's engagement with suppliers emphasizes a relentless pursuit of progress, particularly in addressing climate change and biodiversity conservation, showcasing a holistic approach to sustainable luxury.

Governance and Ethical Sourcing:

The reinforced ESG framework and governance strategies Richemont introduced in FY23 establish a new standard of excellence in the luxury goods domain. Through a rigorous process of stakeholder consultation and ESG impact assessment, Cartier and Richemont demonstrate an unwavering dedication to sustainable progress and ethical business practices.

Global Initiatives and Future Commitments:

The McWhorter Family commends Cartier's active participation in the Watch and Jewelry Initiative 2030, an ambitious endeavor aimed at fostering climate resilience, resource preservation, and inclusiveness. This initiative aligns perfectly with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further evidencing Cartier's role as a catalyst for positive change in the luxury industry.

By endorsing Cartier, The McWhorter Family reaffirms its dedication to supporting brands that not only excel in their craftsmanship but also lead the way in environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and governance. Cartier's unwavering commitment to sustainable luxury and ethical practices resonates with our vision for a greener, more responsible luxury market.

This endorsement is a testament to our belief in Cartier's potential to inspire and spearhead a shift towards a more sustainable, accountable, and inclusive future in the luxury sector, epitomizing the values the McWhorter Family holds dear. Cartier, renowned for its luxury jewelry and timepieces, has several iconic collections that have captivated customers worldwide. Among its most celebrated pieces, the LOVE bracelet stands out as a significant symbol of Cartier's craftsmanship and design excellence. Created in New York in 1969, the LOVE bracelet quickly became a jewelry design icon, known for its unique locking mechanism that requires a special screwdriver to open and close, symbolizing secure love. This bracelet, available in various metals including yellow gold and white gold, showcases Cartier's commitment to creating timeless, elegant designs that resonate with a broad audience??.

Another standout collection is the Juste un Clou, which translates to "Just a Nail." This inventive design transforms an everyday object into a stylish and bold statement piece. Available in models adorned with diamonds, the Juste un Clou bracelet exemplifies Cartier's flair for turning the ordinary into something extraordinary, further cementing its status as a premier jeweler??.

The Panthere de Cartier collection is also noteworthy, featuring designs that embody elegance and freedom. The Panthere de Cartier watch, in particular, has become a sought-after piece for its sophisticated design that captures the spirit of the panther, a long-standing emblem of the Maison??.

These collections, among others, highlight Cartier's dedication to excellence, innovation, and a deep understanding of its clientele's desires. Each piece tells a story of love, boldness, and elegance, making Cartier's creations not just jewelry but symbols of enduring allure and sophistication. Through its diverse range of collections, Cartier continues to be a pioneer in the luxury market, offering pieces that are both immediately recognizable and timeless.

McWhorter Family Trust's: Warrant Description- a quartet of emblems, each meticulously chosen to represent the multifaceted ethos of the McWhorter legacy. The first crest is the McWhorter Family Crest, a heraldic symbol signifying the enduring support and unity of the McWhorter Estate, embodying the family's rich heritage and foundational role in shaping their legacy. Adjacent to it, the McWhorter Trust Crest emerges, symbolizing the family's unwavering commitment to capital investment, illustrating a strategic vision that marries financial acumen with long-term growth objectives. Following this, the McWhorter Foundation Logo heralds the family's philanthropic endeavors, signifying a pledge to leverage their investments in exemplary assets towards approved philanthropic causes, thus integrating financial success with social impact. Concluding this emblematic display is the symbol of Carter Kennedy Equity, a boutique private equity firm operating under the auspices of the McWhorter Family SFO. This emblem showcases a dedication to securing majority or significant stake investments, highlighting an aggressive yet discerning approach to capital deployment that seeks to foster growth, innovation, and leadership in the global marketplace. Together, these symbols weave a tapestry of legacy, commitment, philanthropy, and investment acumen that defines the McWhorter family's approach to wealth, responsibility, and societal contribution.

In addition to our recent recognition of Cartier for its exemplary contributions to the luxury jewelry sector, the McWhorter Family also previously announced Hermes' receipt of a prestigious Warrant of McWhorter Family Trust Recognition. This acknowledgment was in honor of Hermes' significant strides in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, showcasing their dedication to sustainable development principles across various dimensions of their operations. Both Cartier and Hermes exemplify the highest standards of excellence and responsibility in the luxury market.

Disclaimer, Disclosure & Legal Notice:

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. It is not intended to provide specific recommendations, endorsements, or investment strategies. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Regulatory Considerations:

This press release is not intended to constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offers, sales, or purchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations. McWhorter Foundation has not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may operate under exemptions. Any investment decisions should be made in consultation with appropriate legal and financial advisors, considering the individual circumstances and objectives of potential investors.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, regulatory and legal developments, market conditions, and the outcome of negotiations. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d406c573-75d8-4a86-bdb8-b4b093489fd2
MILAN, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Wirex, a leading digital payment platform, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Anna Di Censo, a distinguished tier-1 talent from the traditional banking sector, as the new Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO) for Italy.

Anna brings to Wirex a wealth of experience from BBVA, where she was instrumental in strengthening the bank's compliance frameworks and anti-money laundering (AML) strategies. Her proven track record in navigating the complexities of financial regulations and her deep understanding of the global financial landscape make her an invaluable asset to Wirex as the company anchors its leadership further in the thriving crypto market.

"At Wirex, we are dedicated to upholding the highest standards of compliance and risk management, and the addition of Anna to our team signifies our unwavering commitment to these principles," said Pavel Matveev, CEO of Wirex. "Her exceptional expertise and insights from the traditional banking sector will be pivotal in fortifying our - robust compliance and risk function further. This is a clear indicator of our proactive approach to growth and our readiness to embrace the opportunities presented by a bullish market."

The hiring of Anna is a part of Wirex's strategic initiative to bolster its presence on a global scale, with a particular focus on enhancing its operational framework in Italy. This move is aligned with the company's vision to bridge the gap between traditional and digital finance, ensuring a secure, compliant, and innovative platform for users worldwide.

Expressing her enthusiasm for her new role at Wirex, Anna stated, "I am honoured to join Wirex and contribute to the company's strategic vision. The decision to create the MLRO role reflects Wirex's proactive approach to compliance and risk management, which are essential components of sustainable growth in the digital payment industry."

Wirex's commitment to regulatory excellence and innovation in the financial services sector is exemplified through its strategic hiring decisions and its dedication to providing a seamless and secure digital finance platform for its customers. With Anna's appointment, Wirex is poised to strengthen its market position, demonstrating its readiness to lead in the rapidly evolving digital payments landscape.

About Wirex

Wirex is a prominent UK-based digital payments platform with over 6 million customers spread across 130 countries. It offers secure accounts, making it easy for users to store, purchase, and exchange multiple currencies seamlessly. As a principal member of both Visa and Mastercard, Wirex goes beyond traditional services, embracing the evolving trends of Web3 to provide mainstream access to digital finance and wealth management.

Having processed transactions totalling $20 billion, Wirex aims to contribute to the adoption of a cashless society by facilitating straightforward transactions in various currencies worldwide. Wirex is simplifying digital payments, making it more accessible and convenient for people across the globe.

| wirexapp.com |

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351355/BBVA_Wirex.jpg

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EQS Post-admission Duties announcement: Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd. / Third country release according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 of the WpHG [the German Securities Trading Act]

Haier Smart Home Co.,Ltd.: Announcement on the Progress of A-Share Repurchases through Centralized Bidding Transactions



01.03.2024 / 11:02 CET/CEST

Dissemination of a Post-admission Duties announcement according to Article 50 Para. 1, No. 2 WpHG transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Announcement on the Progress of A-Share Repurchases through Centralized Bidding Transactions



Qingdao / Shanghai / Frankfurt / Hong Kong, 1 March 2024 - Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "Haier Smart Home", D-share 690D.DE, A-share 600690.SH, H-share 06690.HK) today published an announcement in accordance with applicable trading rules of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and applicable PRC laws in relation to the Progress of A-Share Repurchases through Centralized Bidding Transactions.

The announcement is fully available at:

https://smart-home.haier.com/en/dggg/P020240301613057028955.pdf?appdesc=Announcement%20on%20the%20Progress%20of%20A-Share%20Repurchases%20through%20Centralized%20Bidding%20Transactions

IR Contact:

Haier Smart Home Hong Kong

T: +852 2169 0000

Email: ir@haier.hk



Press Contact:

CROSS ALLIANCE communication GmbH

Sara Pinto

Sven Pauly

pi@crossalliance.de

T: +49 (0) 89 1250903 35

About Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd.:

Haier is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household appliances with a focus on smart home solutions and customized production. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. develops, produces and distributes a wide range of household appliances. These include refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, air conditioners, water heaters, kitchen appliances as well as small household appliances and an extensive range of intelligent household appliances. The Company distributes its products through leading household brands such as Haier, Casarte, Leader, Candy, GE Appliances, AQUA and Fisher & Paykel. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has launched Smart Home Experiential Cloud, which connects homes, users, enterprises and ecosystem partners, and facilitates the integration of Haier's online, offline and micro-store businesses and supports user interaction to further optimize the user experience.

01.03.2024 CET/CEST The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Archive at www.eqs-news.com


The proposed concept to add an HOV lane to the I-280 freeway running through San Francisco. San Francisco County Transportation Authority

An oft-gridlocked, mile-long segment of northbound Interstate 280 may become the site of San Franciscos first freeway carpool lane.

Severe congestion has long plagued commutes on the northbound I-280 segment from 18th Street to the King Street off-ramp that takes motorists to Oracle Park and the Embarcadero.

That traffic congestion has mostly returned to pre-pandemic standards, and transportation officials are looking into options that could add a lane for Muni and SamTrans express buses and high-occupancy vehicles carrying three or more people.

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One option would be to re-stripe the existing left shoulder to turn northbound I-280 between 18th Street and the King Street off-ramp from four lanes to five, with the leftmost lane reserved for carpools and transit. I-280s King Street off-ramp, through the Fifth Street intersection, would become three lanes with an added lane.

The proposed concept to add an HOV lane to the I-280 freeway running through San Francisco. San Francisco County Transportation Authority

Another alternative that transportation officials at the San Francisco County Transportation Authority are studying includes converting the freeways left lane into a carpool lane. This would reduce general traffic to two lanes before the King Street off-ramp, and a single lane on the off-ramp.

The purpose of the project is to give priority to high-occupancy modes, like transit and three person-plus carpools, said Rachel Hiatt, the transportation authoritys deputy director for planning. Those sorts of more efficient modes do not have priority on our freeway network today the way they do have priority on parts of our surface street network. Thats one of the main reasons that we started looking into this type of treatment.

Transportation officials are gathering public feedback before they settle on a recommendation, which requires the approval of Caltrans and the citys Board of Supervisors. Construction could begin in 2026.

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Some residents have spoken out against widening Interstate 280 because of fears that it would add more traffic to the busy Fourth and King intersection. The intersection is part of San Franciscos high-injury network and was the site of the tragic death of a 4-year-old girl who was struck by a motorist who failed to yield to crossing pedestrians.

Adding highway capacity and adding lanes is not the right move for safety, said Robin Pam, founder of the KidSafe SF street safety advocacy group. Its not the right move for the climate, and it really is not the right move for San Francisco.

Public feedback, so far, has centered on concerns over whether the carpool lane would add more traffic rather than reduce it, as well as calls to prioritize pedestrian safety on surface streets.

We agree with that feedback and share those concerns, Hiatt said, regarding pedestrian safety.

Many other aspects of the project remain unanswered.

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Transportation officials, for instance, are weighing how far to extend the carpool lane after I-280 turns into King Street at the Fifth Street intersection. An extension to Third Street would connect the carpool lane to an existing transit-only lane.

Also unclear are the hours of enforcement, which are likely to encompass peak morning and afternoon commute times, and whether the project would include tolling like the Bay Areas broader network of express lanes.

A 2018 study by the County Transportation Authority recommended HOV3+ lanes in which vehicles with three or more people can use the lane for free with a demand-based, variable toll for other cars. Carpool lanes without a toll or lower minimum occupancy requirement either were expected to make little difference to traffic congestion or worsen it, according to the study.

Transportation officials are also considering adding a continuous southbound carpool lane on I-280 and Highway 101 that would extend to the San Mateo County border. That effort, though, is further down the road than the northbound carpool lane, which city supervisors decided to prioritize in 2020.

Another effort with dimmer prospects is extending the northbound carpool lane to connect it to Highway 101 in San Mateo County, which would require constructing a new flyover ramp at the I-280 interchange.

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Still, the regions transportation officials long-term plans call for building continuous HOV or express lanes, at least in the southbound direction, from San Francisco to San Jose.

A 22-mile extension of express lanes on Highway 101 to Interstate 380 opened for toll service last spring, and a contentious debate is underway in San Mateo County over whether to further extend it to the San Francisco border.

Like San Francisco, San Mateo officials are weighing a thorny question  whether to convert an existing lane or carve a new lane from the existing shoulder.

Highway widening doesnt reduce congestion, it simply encourages more people to drive instead of taking Caltrain or BART, said Mike Swire, a member of the San Mateo transportation authoritys citizens advisory committee.
Powerful Medical, a pioneering medical device manufacturer, proudly announces being selected to receive a 2.5 million grant and a follow-on 5 million investment from the European Innovation Council. Chosen from over one thousand applicants , Powerful Medical stands out as a driver of innovation focused on transforming the field of cardiovascular diagnostics.



AALST, Belgium, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Powerful Medical leads the battle against cardiovascular diseases, the number one cause of death worldwide, with heart attacks accounting for the majority of these fatalities. The company's flagship AI-powered ECG interpretation platform, PMcardio, is setting a new standard in cardiac diagnostics, enabling healthcare professionals to detect acute heart attacks, also known as occlusion myocardial infarction, along with 38 other cardiac abnormalities at the first point of contact. The certified medical device analyzes any image of a 12-lead ECG and compares it against millions of previous patient records, enabling early and precise diagnosis-a critical gap in current healthcare practices.

The secured EIC funding underscores the impact of Powerful Medical's work, highlighting its potential to substantially reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases on a global scale. The grant and subsequent investment will be pivotal to fulfill the company's plans for commercialization fueled by evidence from planned prospective randomized controlled trials ensuring the highest level of clinical validation.

"We are immensely grateful for the EIC's recognition and support, which propels us closer to achieving our mission of saving lives on a global scale," said Martin Herman, CEO of Powerful Medical. "This investment fuels our ambition to broaden our reach within the EU and pioneer entry into the US, a journey supported by early believers like Life Extension Ventures, Venture to Future Fund (backed by European Investment Bank), Zero Gravity Capital, and our partners at Civitta."

Despite general reservations about the use of AI in healthcare, Powerful Medical's data-driven, methodical approach is set to redefine care coordination within the healthcare system. The integration of PMcardio into existing hospital workflows streamlines the triage process with an AI-augmented patient assessment pathway and enables prompt interventions for those with the most acute conditions, leading to improved outcomes and increased efficiency for institutions.

"The impact of our technology is not limited to the immediate treatment of heart attacks; it extends into the future well-being of patients. Our AI models in development focus on ECG-based screening for heart failure as early as asymptomatic patients presenting for a routine check-up to their GP and early recognition of sudden cardiac death predictors (such as Brugada and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy), ensuring patients have the best chance for a healthier, longer life," states Dr. Robert Herman, Chief Medical Officer at Powerful Medical.

Backed by the European Innovation Council, Powerful Medical is escalating its clinical validation efforts and expanding its footprint throughout Europe. Awaiting FDA approval and with ongoing pilots in the US, the company is strategically positioning itself for an expansive global reach. Their commitment to innovation and improving patient care establishes Powerful Medical as a key player in transforming heart care with AI on a worldwide scale.



About Powerful Medical

Powerful Medical is redefining the landscape of medical diagnostics with its AI-driven solutions. The company's certified PMcardio platform revolutionizes the way cardiovascular diseases are detected, offering rapid and accurate diagnostics that pave the way for timely and effective treatment. Backed by a team of experts in AI, medicine, and technology, Powerful Medical is committed to reducing the global impact of heart disease and elevating patient care standards worldwide.

For direct contact and enquiries, please email communications@powerfulmedical.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/22ebcf1d-62b4-4a24-a346-5e94032f2a74
Metallurgical test work confirms DRI grade iron concentrate with combined Silica and Alumina below 2.5%

(All numbers reported in US dollars)

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Cerrado Gold Inc. (TSXV:CERT)(OTCQX:CRDOF) ("Cerrado" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive metallurgical test results confirming the ability to produce High Purity, DRI Grade iron concentrates at its Mont Sorcier magnetite iron ore project located near Chibougamau, Quebec held through its 100% owned subsidiary, Voyager Metals Inc. The metallurgical tests were the initial phase in determining the final flow sheet design for the feasibility study at Mont Sorcier targeted for later this year.

The design and analysis of the metallurgical test work program was conducted by Soutex Inc., a consultancy firm specializing in ore processing and metallurgical processes based in Quebec City, Quebec, with test work completed by SGS Canada, one of the world's leading testing, inspection and certification companies based in Quebec City.

The results of this initial phase of test work demonstrate that the Mont Sorcier project has the potential to produce a high purity iron concentrate grading 67% iron with low Silica and Alumina; making it suitable to be classified as a Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") grade product. Such a product significantly reduces the overall emission of greenhouse gases in steel production compared to other lower grade concentrates. It has the potential to be used in electric arc furnaces to produce steel products, further reducing emissions. Also, as the Mont Sorcier project is a magnetite material, reducing the use of coal in the steel making process and when combined with the availability of Hydroelectric power in Quebec, lowers overall emission levels.

As the global demand for Green Steel increases, it is expected that the demand and price premium paid for higher grade products will continue to increase to a level above the most commonly traded iron products and replace demand for lower grade materials. The ability to produce High Purity iron concentrates places Mont Sorcier as a project capable of delivering Critical and Strategic High Purity Iron as outlined by the Quebec Government, as it aspires to become a leader to support energy transition through the development of critical and strategic minerals and reduce overall global emissions.

The test work program was designed to evaluate alternative processing flowsheets to maximize the value of the project as compared to the previous 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in July 2022 and to assess the capability of producing a high purity iron concentrate, with low deleterious elements, suitable for direct reduction.

Composite samples representative of the Life of Mine material were processed at the laboratory scale through the following stages:

The material was ground to a size of minus 1.7 mm and was subjected to a magnetic separation process: The concentrate of the first magnetic separation stage, the cobber stage, was reground to a P80 of 106m and submitted to a rougher magnetic separation process; The rougher concentrate was then reground to a P80 of 38m, and magnetite was recovered in a final cleaning magnetic separation stage.

The magnetic concentrate was then processed through a hydroseparation step to remove low density fine material, followed by a sulfur flotation step aimed at reducing the sulfur content in the concentrate. These processing steps led to the production of a concentrate grading 65% Iron, 3% silica with a sulfur content below 0.4%, for an iron recovery of 75%, which was in accordance with the previous PEA results.

The concentrate was then processed through an additional reverse iron flotation stage to assess the capability of producing a low silica concentrate. Successful tests led to the production of a 67% iron concentrate, with combined silica and alumina grades below 2.3% (SiO2  1.8% Al2O3  0.5%) and sulfur content below 0.4% for an iron recovery of 61%.

The results generated from this test work program represent a significant step forward compared to previous results and demonstrate not only that a base case of 65% iron concentrate is readily achievable but also that the production of high purity 67% iron concentrates is now possible. Going forward, continued work will focus on flowsheet and grind size optimization, in addition to confirmation of the test work results obtained on the composite on variability samples. Currently, the deposit is defined by five domains, and work will now shift to understanding the best sequence for mining and processing to deliver the optimal production profile and enhance project economics.

Mark Brennan, CEO and Chairman, stated: "We are very pleased that the test results have confirmed the ability to produce DRI grade 67% iron concentrates with low levels of impurities. As the global steel markets continue to aim to reduce overall emissions in the steel production process, concentrates such as those from Mont Sorcier are expected to be in high demand to support this transition and replace lower grade materials."

Review of Technical Information

The technical information contained in this news release with respect to the Mont Sorcier Project has been reviewed and approved on behalf of Voyager by Pierra-Jean Lafleur of Voyager Metals, who is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Cerrado

Cerrado Gold is a Toronto-based gold production, development, and exploration company focused on gold projects in South America. The Company is the 100% owner of both the producing Minera Don Nicolas and Las Calandrias mine in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, and the highly prospective Monte Do Carmo development project, located in Tocantins State, Brazil. In Canada, Cerrado Gold is developing it's 100% owned Mont Sorcier Iron Ore project located outside of Chibougamou, Quebec.

In Argentina, Cerrado is maximizing asset value at its Minera Don Nicolas operation through continued operational optimization and is growing production through its operations at the Las Calandrias Heap Leach project. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package in the heart of the Deseado Masiff.

In Brazil, Cerrado is rapidly advancing the Serra Alta deposit at its Monte Do Carmo Project, through feasibility and into production. Serra Alta is expected to be a high-margin and high-return project with significant exploration potential on an extensive and highly prospective 82,542 hectare land package.

In Canada, Cerrado holds a 100% interest in the Mont Sorcier Iron Ore, which has the potential to produce a premium iron ore concentrate over a long mine life at low operating costs and low capital intensity. Furthermore, its high grade and high purity product facilitates the migration of steel producers from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces contributing to the decarbonisation of the industry and the achievement of SDG goals.

For more information about Cerrado please visit our website at: www.cerradogold.com.

Mark Brennan

CEO and Chairman

Mike McAllister

Vice President, Investor Relations

Tel: +1-647-805-5662 mmcallister@cerradogold.com

Disclaimer

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.

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation, all statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the business and operations of Cerrado. In making the forward- looking statements contained in this press release, Cerrado has made certain assumptions, including, but not limited to predictions about the future demand for higher grade iron concentrates and the Company's ultimate ability to produce this type of produce from the Mont Sorcier Project. Although Cerrado believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Cerrado disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

SOURCE: Cerrado Gold Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. (TSXV: PEMC) ("Pacific Empire", "PEMC" or the "Company"), a British Columbia copper-gold explorer, announces that the company will be presenting at The Metals Investor Forum in Toronto on March 1st and 2nd.

Metals Investor Forum Toronto

The annual conference will take place in-person at the Delta Hotels Toronto Hotel March 1st to March 2nd. Brad Peters, President & CEO, will be presenting on March 2nd at 10:00 am Eastern Standard time. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://metalsinvestorforum.com/

Planned Airborne MobileMT Survey at Trident

PEMC intends to initiate the MobileMT survey as soon as possible following the Prospectors and Developers Association Conference ("PDAC") held in Toronto, Ontario from March 3-6, 2024.

"Attending the PDAC conference gives us an opportunity to visit with the team at Expert Geophysics and to discuss certain aspects of the survey," commented Pacific Empire's President and CEO, Brad Peters. "The ability to look for deep fluid conduits is attractive and may have implications in other areas of the property in addition to our adjacent Pinnacle property. If you are going to inject a volume of rock with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of metal, you are going to need a serious plumbing system."

The Company also announces that pursuant to the Company's stock option plan, 5,000,000 incentive stock options exercisable at $0.05 per share for a period of three years have been granted to directors, officers, management company employees and consultants of the Company.

About Trident

The Trident property is an exploration stage property hosting an alkalic porphyry copper-gold-silver prospect with district-scale potential that is accessible by vehicle. The property is located approximately 50 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper Corp.'s Kwanika Deposit and 50 km to the northwest of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Mine. The property covers 6,618 hectares endowed with well-established logging roads providing important efficient access for exploration programs.

Copper mineralization on the property was first discovered in 1969, while exploration crews were following up on anomalous stream sediment samples. The following year, Falconbridge optioned the property and over the next two years completed IP and magnetic surveys, geological mapping, soil sampling and diamond drilling. This work led to the discovery of the A Zone.

Additional exploration programs were completed by Kookaburra Gold Corp. from 1988 through 1991, Solomon Resources Ltd., from 2006 through 2008. In 2013, PEMC optioned the property and in 2014, in turn, PEMC optioned the property to Oz Minerals which completed that same year an IP survey and completed a two drillhole, diamond drill program at Trident.

In 2022, Pacific Empire acquired a 100% interest in the property in exchange for granting the vendors a 2% net smelter return royalty ("NSR"). One-half (1%) of the 2% NSR may be purchased for $500,000 by Pacific Empire.

Prior to 2014, known mineralization on the property was believed to be associated with fracture and/or shear zones structures striking 120 degrees and dipping 75 degrees towards the northeast. A review of historical drill core by the Pacific Empire exploration team has led to a much different interpretation with respect to the nature of known mineralization on the property. The most important observation was the determination of the presence of hornblende-feldspar monzonite porphyry intrusions detected within drill core obtained from the A Zone. These types of porphyry intrusions are typically characterized by sheeted quartz sulphide veins and disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite residing immediately adjacent to and within the porphyry dikes. Other observations include; The highest grades noted in historical drilling can be seen to be directly associated with intervals where such porphyry intrusions occur.

Figure 1 - Regional Land Position and Significant Companies

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Figure 2 - Location of planned MagnetoTelluric Survey

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Figure 3 - South Hogem Copper-Gold Belt

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"Between our 100% owned Trident and Pinnacle projects runs the Klawli river. The gold flakes and nuggets in the vial displayed on the map were collected from that location on the Klawli river. It is this and other geochemical evidence gathered by the PEMC exploration team which leads us to postulate the potential for a gold-enriched copper system nearby on either Trident, Pinnacle, or possibly both projects. To date, visible gold has been observed in outcrop at Trident, placer gold discovered in the nearby Klawli river gravels, and as well gold detected in drill core from Pinnacle. All three of these known occurrences of gold and their respective locations suggests there may be a shallow buried, large scale, gold-enriched, copper porphyry deposit within our district scale land package," commented Brad Peters, President, CEO and Director of Pacific Empire.

Table 1 - Highlights from Historical Drilling at Trident

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle project is located 60 km to the west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Copper-Gold Mine and 30 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper's Kwanika Copper-Gold Deposit in a proven copper-gold porphyry district. Access to the Pinnacle is by road including a new and expanding network of logging roads and trails throughout the main target areas. This improved access is a major development and is anticipated to contribute to cost effective drill support and bedrock exposure.

"We are truly excited to have had the Pinnacle property returned to PEMC. The Teako exploration team meaningfully advanced the property including fully permitting for IP geophysics and diamond drilling. Additionally, work by Teako advanced our understanding of the Aplite Ridge target area. Over the past 2 years significant logging operations have developed an extensive road network that now covers the entirety of the southern half of the property providing new outcrop exposure and efficient access. The 2023 forest fires dramatically affected the property leading to even further future opportunities.

Qualified Person

Kristian Whitehead, P.Geo., serves as a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this news release, approving the disclosure herein.

About Pacific Empire

Pacific Empire is a copper exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PEMC. The Company has a district scale land position in north-central British Columbia totaling 22,541 hectares.

British Columbia is a "Green" copper jurisdiction with abundant hydroelectric power, access and infrastructure in close proximity to the end market.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Brad Peters"

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.

Tel: +1-604-356-6246

brad@pemcorp.ca

www.pemcorp.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation: closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or around December 31, 2023, the funds will be used for exploration on its flagship Trident copper-gold-silver project and for general working purposes, are forward-looking statements. 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, the following risks: the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mineral exploration; fluctuations in commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers, directors or promoters with certain other projects; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume and the additional risks identified the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200029

SOURCE: Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.
On February 25, 2024, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hosted an influential roundtable forum, "Origins of Insight: The Impact of Family Roots on Women's Brain Development and Cognitive Patterns." Esteemed speakers Datin Seri Haflin Nazri Aziz, Chairperson of Perwakilan Washington DC and Deputy Chairwomen of ASCWDC; Ms. Eva Ye, CPA, Founder of Sunshine Home Group and VIC Real Estate Investment Club; and Ms. Grace SHI, Director of the International Institute of Well-Being (IIWB), engaged in a profound exploration of how family environments shape the cognitive and emotional development of women.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228591228/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

The roundtable was mediated by Ms. Sofronie Dun, a producer with extensive experience in film, journalism, TV, and studio management, and a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management MBA class of 2025. Among the audience were notable figures such as Prof. Agustin Rayo, Dean of MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS); Pauline Marquez, Congressional Liaison Officer at the Embassy of Malaysia to the United States; and Ms. Yu Yu, the Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reflecting the broad interest and interdisciplinary engagement the forum attracted.

Datin Seri Haflin Nazri Aziz discussed the foundational role of family ethos in nurturing women's insight and intelligence, emphasizing the significance of maternal wisdom and the cultural and ethical legacies families carry forward. Ms. Eva Ye highlighted the journey of self-discovery and transformation that women embark on, overcoming familial constraints through innovation and showing the courage to adapt to change. Ms. Grace SHI encouraged stepping beyond traditional boundaries to chart new cognitive territories, underlining the importance of personal evolution and the positive ripple effects it has on society.

This MIT dialogue emphasized the intricate ways family shapes women's intellect and spirit, highlighting the importance of a nurturing environment, generational wisdom, and role models. It revealed a journey of transformation, where overcoming familial limitations is seen as a path to personal and societal progress. The discussions underscored the vital role of understanding family impact on women's development, advocating for awareness and innovation to enable women to surpass traditional boundaries and contribute to a more inclusive society.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228591228/en/

Contacts:

IIWB Team

contact@iiwb.org

https://www.iiwellbeing.com/
VICTORIA, Seychelles, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The globally leading Web3 trading wallet Bitget Wallet has now integrated support for the Blast Mainnet, making it the first all-in-one Web3 wallet for the Blast ecosystem. Users can effortlessly add and switch mainnets within the wallet with just one click, without the need for manual configuration. This integration enables users to manage, transfer, swap, and interact on one of the largest L2 launches in 2024.

Bitget Wallet has aggregated liquidity from mainstream DEXs within the Blast ecosystem, such as BlasterSwap and MonoSwap, into its Swap feature. This allows for mainnet token Swap transactions, providing users with convenient services for trading assets on the Blast blockchain.

During the Blast testnet phase, Bitget Wallet was among the first to offer support, unveiled a dedicated zone in its DApp page for Blast. This section featured over 40 elite projects from Blast's Big Bang incentive program, enabling users to easily explore, interact, and potentially receive future airdrops in the Blast ecosystem. Following the launch of the Blast mainnet, Bitget Wallet plans to continue integrating popular projects from the Blast ecosystem, offering users extensive asset management features and a comprehensive ecosystem experience.

Bitget Wallet's COO, Alvin Kan, highlights Blast as a Layer 2 solution with staking at its core, gaining market attention since launch. He says, "We're committed to cutting-edge tech, lowering Web3 engagement barriers. Collaborating with quality mainnets like Blast, we aim to drive Web3 ecosystem growth."

This week, Bitget Wallet engages with popular Blast ecosystem projects, exploring market traction, "Stake Layer 2" narrative, TVL enhancement strategies by staking and earning points, notable projects, and effective ways for users to participate in the Blast ecosystem upon mainnet launch. This provides users with valuable insights for meaningful ecosystem engagement.

Additionally, Bitget Wallet is organizing major events to support the Blast ecosystem, providing users with opportunities for discovering new assets.

About Bitget Wallet

Bitget Wallet stands as Asia's largest and one of the world's top non-custodial Web3 wallets, boasting over 19 million users globally. Featuring a comprehensive array of features including asset management, intelligent market data, swap functionality, launchpad, inscribing, DApp browsing, and more, Bitget Wallet promises users an unmatched multi-chain Web3 experience. Currently, Bitget Wallet supports over 100 blockchains, hundreds of EVM-compatible chains, and more than 250,000 cryptocurrencies. By aggregating liquidity across hundreds of leading DEXs and cross-chain bridges, Bitget Wallet is able to facilitate seamless and efficient trades on 40+ blockchains.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (WKN: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) ("Thesis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a vertical short-form amalgamation (the "Amalgamation") pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "BCBCA") effective February 29, 2024, with the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary PPM Phoenix Precious Metals Corp ("PPM"). Pursuant to the Amalgamation, the resulting amalgamated company (the "AmalCo") has adopted the name "Thesis Gold Inc.", maintained the same Articles and management as the Company, issued no securities, and the symbol "TAU" remains the same.

Ewan Webster, President and CEO of the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. commented, "We are pleased to announce the amalgamation of Thesis Gold Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, PPM Phoenix Precious Metals Corp. This amalgamation will streamline our mining exploration activities and help to reduce corporate and operational expenses as we move forward."

On September 18, 2019, the Company acquired 100% of the Lawyers' Property through the acquisition of PPM and following the completion of the Company's plan of arrangement on August 23, 2023, the Company continued to indirectly own all of the mineral properties comprising the Lawyers Gold-Silver Project through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PPM. As a result of completing the Amalgamation, the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. now directly owns all of the mineral properties comprising the Lawyers Gold-Silver Project.

Thesis Gold Inc. has filed the Certificate of Amalgamation and Notice of Articles on SEDAR, which are publicly available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Additional information with respect to the Amalgamation and the business of the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. is available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Thesis Gold Inc.

"Ewan Webster"

Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO, and Director

About Thesis Gold Inc.

Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north central British Columbia, Canada. A 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers project alone projected an open-pit mining operation yielding an average of 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span1. By integrating the Ranch Project, the company aims to enhance the economics and bolster the overall project's potential. Central to this ambition was the expansive 2023 drill program, which continues to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The company's roadmap includes releasing a combined Ranch-Lawyers resource estimate by Q2 2024, with an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment slated for Q3 2024. Through these strategic moves, Thesis Gold intends to elevate the Ranch-Lawyers Project to the forefront of global precious metals ventures.

1Preliminary Economic Assessment: Lawyers Gold & Silver Project (2022). JDS Energy & Mining.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Dave Burwell

Vice President Corporate Development

Email: daveb@thesisgold.com

Tel: 403-410-7907

Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, intended use of proceeds from the Offering, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199951

SOURCE: Thesis Gold Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Vext Science, Inc. (CSE: VEXT) (OTCQX: VEXTF) ("Vext" or the "Company"), a U.S.-based cannabis operator with vertical operations in Arizona and Ohio, today announced that it has completed the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of a cannabis dispensary in Columbus, Ohio (the "Columbus Dispensary"), as part of the previously disclosed acquisition of Appalachian Pharm Processing, LLC, together with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. As part of the closing, Vext will pay to CannAscend Ohio Columbus, LLC, additional aggregate consideration of approximately $2,879,322.00 plus approximately $148,000.00 for certain pre-closing tax liability of the Columbus Dispensary, subject to adjustments based on pre-closing operations. The Columbus Dispensary is called Strawberry Fields, and located at 2950 E. Main Street, Columbus, Ohio. On February 2, 2024, Vext received regulatory approval from the Ohio Department of Commerce to transfer ownership of the Columbus Dispensary to Vext.

Eric Offenberger, CEO of Vext commented, "With the adult-use market opening this year, Ohio is positioned for substantial growth and is expected to become a $4 billion market by 20281. Through the acquisition of Strawberry Fields, along with the previously announced Ohio Expansion Transaction, Vext has established a meaningful vertical presence in the state and is primed for growth and profitability over the next several years."

As a result of closing of the Acquisition, Vext's business in Ohio will include an operating Tier I cultivation facility, an operating manufacturing facility, and four strategically located retail dispensaries2.

Unless otherwise noted, all currency reference used in this news release are in U.S. currency.

About Vext Science, Inc.

Vext Science, Inc. is a U.S.-based cannabis operator with vertical operations in Arizona and Ohio. Vext's expertise spans from cultivation through to retail operations in its key markets. Based out of Arizona, Vext owns and operates state-of-the-art cultivation facilities, fully built-out manufacturing facilities as well as dispensaries in both Arizona and Ohio. The Company manufactures Vapen, one of the leading THC concentrates, edibles, and distillate cartridge brands in Arizona. Its selection of award-winning products are created with Vext's in-house, high-quality flower and distributed across Arizona and Ohio, as well as through Vext's partnerships in other states. Vext's leadership team brings a proven track record of building and operating profitable multi-state operations, with the Company having operated profitably since 2016. The Company's primary focus is to continue growing in its core states of Arizona and Ohio, bringing together cutting-edge science, manufacturing, and marketing to provide a reliable and valuable customer experience while generating shareholder value.

Vext Science, Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol VEXT and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol VEXTF. Learn more at www.vextscience.com and connect with Vext on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.

For more details on the Vapen brand:

Vapen website: VapenBrands.com

Instagram: @vapen

Facebook: @vapenbrands

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in Vext's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements related to the Ohio Expansion Transaction, including the anticipated closing date and receipt of regulatory approvals related thereto, and other statements regarding future developments and the business and operations of the Vext, market projections of the cannabis industry in Ohio, and the Company's business plans in Arizona and Ohio, all of which are subject to the risk factors contained in Vext's continuous disclosure filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Although Vext has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; being engaged in activities currently considered illegal under U.S. Federal laws; change in laws; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindered market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Because of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Vext disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Vext does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

Eric Offenberger

Chief Executive Officer

844-211-3725

For further information:

Jonathan Ross, Vext Investor Relations

jon.ross@loderockadvisors.com

416-244-9851

SOURCE: Vext Science, Inc

________________________

1 MJBizDaily

2 Vext has executed an asset purchase agreement (the "Asset Purchase Agreement"), together with other definitive agreements (together with the Asset Purchase Agreement, the "Definitive Agreements"), with the members of Big Perm's Dispensary Ohio, LLC ("Big Perm") to acquire from Big Perm two cannabis dispensaries located in Ohio, as well as all licenses and assets related to the business of such dispensaries for cash consideration of $9.4 million, subject to adjustments in certain circumstances (the "Ohio Expansion Transaction"). Subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions precedent, the Company expects that closing of the Ohio Expansion Transaction will occur in 2024.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199985

SOURCE: VEXT Science, Inc.
ZHUHAI, China, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 29, 2024, DreamSmart Group hosted a special event, announcing its 'All in AI' new strategy to embrace the promising future of AI technologies. Other new products, such as the Open AI Terminal Meizu 21 PRO and a new color variant of coronet blue of MYVU smart AR glasses, were presented together.

Further details of the strategic planning of 'All in AI' was revealed. With AI devices, re-designed Flyme systems and an AI ecosystem as three pillars, DreamSmart Group aspires to achieve its vision of "All in AI" with three years of ecosystem construction and technological development. According to the plan, in 2024, Meizu will push updates for its newly developed mobile operating system tailored for the AI era, establishing the foundation for AI capacity. Additionally, Meizu plans to launch its first AI device during this year's Black Friday in the United States, competing head-on with the world's leading AI device manufacturers.

The Flyme team of Meizu unveiled to the world its strategic vision of 'All in AI', and provided a glimpse at how a smarter FlymeOS can be like in the future, setting a benchmark for the industry in terms of new applications, new architectures, and new concepts in human-computer interactions. In the future, FlymeOS will adopt a more open and inclusive approach in its unceasing effort to pioneer in the development of human-machine interactions, taking the industry into a new era of AI-powered interactions.

MYVU smart AR glasses, released last year, saw upgrades in this event. Several new features powered by AI such as smart music, smart meeting minutes, AI Persona, and AI interpreting and transcribing supporting six languages. Additionally, MYVU became the first in achieving seamless connectivity with Apple Watch.

At the event, DreamSmart Group also announced its collaboration with Malaysia's Digital Way Group to launch the international version of MYVU smart AR glasses, which will premiere in 11 Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Meizu 21 PRO is a futuristic device crafted for the AI era, incorporating the pinnacle of design, interaction, and craftsmanship of classic smartphones. With innovative technologies, unique aesthetics, and powerful hardware, Meizu 21 PRO heralds a new era of AI for Meizu. Available in five colors: Black, Ultra Black, White, Purple, and Green, the 12GB + 256GB variant is priced at RMB 4,999 yuan, the 16GB + 512GB variant at 5,399 yuan, and the 16GB + 1TB vvariant at 5,899 yuan. The Meizu 21 PRO not only marks a triumphant conclusion to Meizu's legacy in the smartphone era but also signifies the beginning of a new journey into the AI era.

DreamSmart Group is a full-stack platform of smart terminals across multiple industries. The Group seamlessly integrates smartphones, smart AR glasses, and smart cars around FlymeOS, thus establishing an ecosystem of smart mobility with software and hardware combined. With the advancement of technologies, the interconnectivity of automobiles and smartphones leads the industry into an era of intelligence and ecosystem 3.0. Due to its profound technological expertise across multiple industries, DreamSmart Group is hailed as a representative enterprise in smart ecosystems, along with companies like Huawei and Xiaomi.

The Meizu brand under DreamSmart Group has enjoyed a history of 21 years and boasts over 30 million Meizu fans. Shen Ziyu, Chairman and CEO of the Group, stated: 'Meizu had once been a pioneer in China, dashing from the era of MP3 players into the smartphone era. Today, as we transition from the smartphone era to the AI era, Meizu stands at a new starting point. Through continuous innovation and efforts, we strive to become a leader in AI technologies and to bring users an immersive experience across multiple devices and all scenarios.'

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2352309/image_5030697_32480069.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dreamsmart-group-unveils-meizu-21-pro-fully-embracing-ai-302077085.html
Strengthening Industrial Cybersecurity: Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporate Align to Deliver Operational Technology Cybersecurity and Zero Trust Remote Access Solutions

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) today announced an agreement to expand their Operational Technology (OT) security businesses through marketing and technical development.

Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Announce Collaboration





Based on this agreement, Mitsubishi Electric will integrate its factory-automation (FA) equipment and OT security solutions with Dispel's secure remote-access technology to provide a Zero Trust Remote Access Service that enables comprehensive monitoring and control of industrial processes. For Mitsubishi Electric, the goal is to accelerate digital manufacturing by enabling secure data utilization throughout the entire product lifecycle - from design and installation to operation and maintenance - thereby strengthening the company's Circular Digital-Engineering business.

"At Mitsubishi Electric, we are creating new value in OT security by combining our OT technology and expertise in manufacturing with information-system security technologies from leading security vendors," said Kunihiko Kaga, Mitsubishi Electric's Representative Executive Officer and Industry and Mobility Business Area Owner. "Through our collaboration with Dispel, we expect to contribute to OT security and society as a whole by providing secure environments for remote maintenance."

"What matters to industrial customers is uptime, availability, and crew safety," said Ian Schmertzler, President of Dispel. "Cyber security should not be something they need to worry about, but the shifting regulatory and threat landscape has made it impossible to ignore. By providing a Zero Trust Access platform aligned with NIST 800-53 to their customer base, Mitsubishi Electric is making it possible for their clients to refocus on what matters."

Dispel - recognized for its work in critical sectors including oil & gas, manufacturing, food & beverage production, utilities, automotive, and defense - develops end-to-end, Moving Target Defense-based OT network solutions focused on enabling rigorous access control and sustained asset visibility. Dispel's approach provides significant security and operational efficiency advantages over legacy VPN and proxy solutions through automation, standards alignment, and integrations with industry peers.

With over 20 million hours of safe operation, Dispel's Zero Trust Remote Access platform goes beyond traditional solutions to provide the comprehensive suite of features needed in high-value operational technology settings, such as password vaulting, privileged access management, session recording, vendor self-management, just-in-time access, and endpoint isolation.

This partnership signifies a determined, shared commitment by Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to extend OT cybersecurity capabilities, offering secure, efficient, and resilient operational solutions to the entire industrial consumer base.

About Dispel

Dispel is a leading provider of zero trust remote access and moving target defense networks. Founded in 2015, with offices in New York, Austin, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo, Dispel serves industrial and defense clients worldwide, protecting over $280 billion of manufacturing and the utilities covering over 47 million people each year. Dispel's secure remote access, data streaming, and asset visibility platform enhances cybersecurity and efficiency capabilities for operational technology in a variety of industrial and military applications. For more information, please visit www.dispel.com.

About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

With more than 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its "Changes for the Better." The company recorded a revenue of 5,003.6 billion yen (U.S.$ 37.3 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com.

*U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of 134=U.S.$1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2023

Contact Information

Ben Burke

press@dispel.com

SOURCE: Dispel

View the original press release on newswire.com.
Leveraging exploration experience on a new project with similarities

to Storm Copper and deposits of the Central African Copper Belt

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) (the "Company" or "Aston Bay") is pleased to announce that on February 29, 2024, it entered into a binding letter agreement (the "Agreement") with Emerald Geological Services ("EGS") pursuant to which it has been granted an option (the "Option") to acquire an undivided 80% beneficial interest in a property owned by EGS in Nunavut, Canada (the "Property").

Highlights

$3 million total expenditure over four years to acquire an 80% interest with no yearly minimums

Over 74-kilometre ("km") long trend of sediment hosted style stratiform copper ("Cu"), silver ("Ag"), zinc ("Zn") and cobalt ("Co") mineralization Chalcocite boulders at surface yield up to 61.2% Cu with 5600 grams per tonne ("g/t") Ag in select grab samples Several polymetallic trends already identified in rock and soil sampling Recent prospecting rock grab samples yielded up to 37.8% Cu, 27.4% Zn, 1100 g/t Ag, 3 g/t gold ("Au") and 1700 ppm Co

Mineralization is similar in style to the mineralization in deposits of the Central African Copper Belt and the Storm Copper Project

Airborne electromagnetic ("EM") geophysics and prospecting planned for 2024 season

Permitting for drilling is well advanced

"We are very excited to option the Epworth Property," stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. "This is an impressive 74-kilometre-long trend of high-grade copper, silver and zinc mineralization with accompanying gold, cobalt and lead. This mineralization is in a style typical of the Central African Copper Belt that boasts several large, high-grade deposits. We have similar mineralization at our Storm Project and look to leverage our knowledge and experience gained there to make new discoveries at Epworth."

Bruce MacLachlan from Emerald Geological Services added, "EGS is extremely pleased to partner with Aston Bay in advancing the Epworth Property, as we feel that this underexplored sedimentary belt has the potential to host large base metal deposits. We are excited to work with a company that shares our vision and which has already had success in similar geological settings in Nunavut."

Figure 1: Payback South Boulder. Massive chalcocite with silver (61% Cu, 5600 g/t Ag).

Location

The Epworth Property is located approximately 80 km southeast of the village of Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada (Figure 2). The property is approximately 70 km from tidewater to the north. Logistical access is provided by float plane and helicopter from Kugluktuk and the city of Yellowknife 500 km to the south. Recent staking has significantly expanded the size of the property from 15 claims over 8320 hectares (20,559 acres) to now consist of 51 claims covering an area of 71,134.86 hectares (175,778 acres) over a trend approximately 74 km by 14 km in lateral extent.

Figure 2: Location of the Epworth Property, Nunavut, Canada.

Geology

The Epworth Project is part of a broad platform-type clastic carbonate sequence belonging to the early Proterozoic Coronation Supergroup that extends from the north shore of Takijuq Lake to the Coronation Gulf for over 130 km. Polymetallic sulphide mineralization occurs as disseminations in the matrix of coarse clastic quartzites or as concordant zones of cherty replacements within permeable dolomite. The mineralization assemblage, stratigraphy, diagenetic evolution and rift-related tectonic setting of the Coronation Supergroup compares favourably to the African Copperbelt that hosts large (>100mt) high-grade (3-4% Cu) sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits.

History

Noted from the air by a bush pilot in the 1940s, The Epworth Project was explored by Noranda Mining and Exploration in the mid-1990's discovering new base metal showings. Prospecting, mapping, geophysics and sparse drilling (only 132m in the original claim block, <2000m total over the newly expanded claims) were conducted over four exploration seasons. The best intercepts yielded 10.4% Cu over 0.9m, 0.3% Cu over 8m, and 18.4% Cu with 302 g/t Ag over 0.3m in very shallow drilling. The Epworth Project has not been drilled since, and no modern geophysical surveys have been conducted.

Recent Work

Prospecting programs in the 2020's have defined several trends in conjunction with historic work. Rock grab samples up to 38% Cu, 1100 g/t Ag, 3 g/t Au, 27% Zn, 17% lead along with 1700 ppm Co and other anomalous mineralization define the 2.8 km long "Metallic Trend." Prospecting and soil sampling have yielded promising new trends and showings such as the new Northeast Showing discovered in 2023 yielding up to 19% Pb and 0.8% Cu in rock grab samples.

Aston Bay will provide more comprehensive information on the Epworth Property on an updated website in the coming weeks.

Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the Agreement, Aston Bay can earn an 80% undivided interest in the Property by spending a minimum of $3 million on qualifying exploration expenditures ("Expenditures") over a four-year period. Aston Bay also agreed to make a cash payment of $50,000 to EGS on the business day following the date of the Agreement. EGS shall be the operator during the term of the Agreement, but the parties shall also establish a technical committee to approve all Expenditures. The technical committee will be composed of two members, one appointed by each of Aston Bay and EGS, with Aston Bay to have a casting vote.

The Agreement provides for an 80 / 20 joint venture (the "JV") to be formed between the parties upon Aston Bay earning its interest in the Property. The Agreement is binding, but it also provides that it will be replaced by a definitive agreement and such agreement will contain the terms of the agreement that will govern the JV. Pursuant to that agreement, EGS will have a carried interest until the JV completes a bankable feasibility study in respect of the Property, with EGS's contributions to the JV to be credited against future revenue from the Property. After completion of a bankable feasibility study, EGS shall be diluted in the event it does not contribute its proportionate share and its interest will be converted into a 2% net smelter return if its interest is diluted to below 10%. Aston Bay shall have a right to repurchase 50% of such royalty for $1.5 million during the two-year period after commencement of commercial production from the Property.

Qualified Person

Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Aston Bay Holdings

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade copper and gold deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona. The Company is currently exploring the high-grade Buckingham Gold Vein in central Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands with high-grade copper potential in the area.

The Company is 100% owner of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West Metals Limited.

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://astonbayholdings.com/.

Statements made in this press release, including those regarding the Agreement, grant of the Option and Expenditures to be made on the Property, management objectives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the future may constitute "forward-looking statement", which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of such verbs as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "plan", and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative forms. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press release, Aston Bay's expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not supported by historical fact are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which apply only at the time of writing of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. We seek safe harbour.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer

thomas.ullrich@astonbayholdings.com

(416) 456-3516

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd

View the original press release on accesswire.com
The Library co-working space was part of at Glassdoors office in San Francisco. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle An employee walks past an art installation in the halls of Glassdoors office in San Francisco. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle A co-working space is seen in Glassdoors office in San Francisco in 2022. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong, left, chats with an employee in the kitchen at Glassdoors office in San Francisco in 2022. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle A speakeasy bar is seen hidden behind a wall at Glassdoors office in San Francisco in 2022. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Employees enjoy lunch in private booths inside the kitchen at Glassdoors office in San Francisco in 2022. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle

Glassdoor is set to close its last offices in San Francisco and Chicago, doubling down on its commitment to remote work, CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong revealed Thursday.

The company, which offers employees a platform to anonymously review their workplaces, intends to completely give up the lease for its 117,000-square-foot headquarters at 300 Mission St. in San Francisco, a location known for its speakeasy and video game room.

Glassdoor initially leased the space in 2019 with the intention of moving in by fall 2020. But it faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By June 2020, the company implemented a Work Where You Want Policy, and subsequently listed nearly 60,000 square feet of the space for sublease.

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Earlier this year, Glassdoor subleased another 29,000 square feet of its office space to Rakuten Groups international division through 2030.

Like other companies, we were really pleasantly surprised to see how productive we still were when working from home, Sutherland-Wong told Fortune. We were very much an in-office company before that; we believed we needed to be in-person to collaborate and work together.

The timeline for putting the remaining office space  covering four floors of a 24-story office tower that was formerly Bechtel Corp.s headquarters  up for sublease was not specified.

Sutherland-Wong expressed the companys intention to maintain its successful remote work policy permanently.

We were so productive (working remotely) and employees really liked it, and it really opened up our talent pool to people we never had access to before, he said. So it was an incredible accelerant for us in hiring talent.

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Glassdoor had introduced a speakeasy in the office in 2022 to encourage hybrid work. The space, accessible by a secret mechanical door, featured mood lighting, navy-blue vinyl booths and a full bar. The companys suite of offices also included a video game room, art installations and various settings for individual or collaborative work.

With approximately 800 employees, about three-quarters of whom dont live near the San Francisco and Chicago offices, Sutherland-Wong said Glassdoor is reevaluating the need for a physical office presence.
Public-private partnership with Ukrainian government, Marsh McLennan, and Lloyd's to support Ukraine export trade by providing lower war risk premiums

Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world's leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, together with the Ukrainian government and Lloyd's, today announced a major expansion of its Unity insurance facility. Unity now provides affordable war risk insurance for ships carrying all non-military cargo such as iron ore, steel, and containerised shipping and underpins Ukraine's wider maritime export ecosystem.

Launched in November 2023 to provide affordable war risk insurance for grain shipments and other critical food supplies globally, Unity offers hull and separate protection indemnity (P&I) war risk insurance at significantly reduced premiums compared to standard market pricing. In addition to grain, Unity now provides cover for Ukraine's other leading export industries including iron ore, steel, electrical equipment, and animal fodder.

Standby letters of credit created by the state-owned Ukrainian banks Ukreximbank and Ukrgasbank, each confirmed by DZ Bank, will continue to provide a first loss compensation fund to shipowners and charterers which is supported by the Government of Ukraine.

Underwritten by insurers based at Lloyd's and other London-based insurers, and led by Ascot, Unity provides up to US$50 million in hull and P&I war risk insurance. Unity is available to clients of all Lloyd's registered brokers, to provide added support to ongoing humanitarian efforts and alleviate continued pressure on supply chains and global food security.

John Doyle, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marsh McLennan, commented: "Marsh McLennan is dedicated in our support of Ukraine helping it attract global investment to rebuild the country, and recover from the devastating impact of war on its people and economy. We're pleased to expand this public-private partnership with the Ukrainian government. It will provide exporters with lower premiums to ship a wider range of goods through its Black Sea trade routes and deliver major economic benefits to Ukraine."

Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy, said: "Expanding insurance to cover ships carrying all non-military cargo is extremely important for Ukraine, especially in terms of exporting metallurgical products, as the full-scale invasion has heavily affected this sector. In 2023, compared to 2021, steel production decreased by 3.4 times, and exports of metallurgical products decreased several times.

"Insuring vessels backs our efforts to increase the volume of all non-raw material product exports, in particular iron ore and steel. Strengthening the processing industry and developing non-raw material exports are priorities for the government to enhance our country's economic resilience."

John Neal, Lloyd's CEO, added: "Since the invasion of Ukraine, Lloyd's has partnered with the United Nations, governments, regulators and insurers to keep economies and supply chains moving in spite of difficult circumstances. New partnerships between the public and private sector, including the expansion of the Marsh Unity facility, are the hallmark of the Lloyd's market, bringing insurance experts and policymakers together to solve complex risks."

Ascot said: "Ascot are delighted to be supporting Marsh and Ukraine with the enhanced scope of the facility."

About Marsh McLennan

Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC) is the world's leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people. The Company's more than 85,000 colleagues advise clients in 130 countries. With annual revenue of over $23 billion, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment through four market-leading businesses. Marsh provides data-driven risk advisory services and insurance solutions to commercial and consumer clients. Guy Carpenter develops advanced risk, reinsurance and capital strategies that help clients grow profitably and pursue emerging opportunities. Mercer delivers advice and technology-driven solutions that help organizations redefine the world of work, reshape retirement and investment outcomes, and unlock health and wellbeing for a changing workforce. Oliver Wyman serves as a critical strategic, economic and brand advisor to private sector and governmental clients. For more information, visit marshmclennan.com, or follow us on LinkedIn and X.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301099610/en/

Contacts:

Eileen Mercer

+44 (0)7990 802 830

eileen.mercer@marsh.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATHA Energy Corp. (CSE: SASK) (FRA: X5U) (OTCQB: SASKF) ("ATHA" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it received final approval to list ATHA's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") with trading to commence at market opening on March 4, 2024, and will continue to use its current trading symbol. The CUSIP and ISIN numbers have not changed.



ATHA's common shares have been listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") since April 11, 2023, under the trading symbol "SASK". ATHA has applied to voluntarily delist its common shares (the "Delisting") from the CSE, prior to completion of the listing on the TSXV. The common shares are expected to be delisted from the CSE at the close of market on or about March 1, 2024.

ATHA is also pleased to announce that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has granted the final order (the "Final Order") in connection with the previously announced plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the "Arrangement"), pursuant to which, among other things, ATHA will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares (the "LUR Shares") of Latitude Uranium Inc. (CSE: LUR) (OTCQB: LURAF) ("Latitude Uranium") in exchange for 0.2769 of a common share of ATHA (each whole share, an "ATHA Share") for each LUR Share held. As previously announced, the Arrangement was approved by Latitude Uranium's shareholders at a special meeting held on February 27, 2024.

Closing of the Arrangement remains subject to satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including stock exchange and regulatory approvals. Subject to the satisfaction of these closing conditions, the parties currently expect to complete the Arrangement on or around March 7, 2024.

Troy Boisjoli, CEO of ATHA commented, "On behalf of ATHA Energy, I extend our sincere appreciation to the Latitude Uranium team and shareholders for recognizing and approving of our shared vision and goals - creating one of the premier uranium exploration companies, globally. Additionally, we are very excited to announce ATHA's listing on the TSXV, anticipated to provide improved access for international investors at the retail and institutional levels. The TSXV listing, concurrent with receipt of the final court approval of the Latitude Uranium transaction, is a momentous achievement and marks a new chapter for ATHA Energy as we continue to advance on our overall objective of discovering and developing the world's next generation of uranium assets."

About ATHA

ATHA is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties. ATHA holds the largest cumulative exploration package in the Athabasca and Thelon Basins, two of the world's most prominent regions for uranium discoveries, with 6.4 million total acres. Additionally, ATHA holds a 10% carried interest in key exploration claims operated by NexGen Energy Ltd. and Iso Energy Ltd within the Athabasca Basin.

For more information visit www.athaenergy.com

For more information, please contact:

Troy Boisjoli

Chief Executive Officer

Email: info@athaenergy.com

www.athaenergy.com

Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Arrangement have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and any securities issuable in the Arrangement are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon available exemptions from such registration requirements pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable exemptions under state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities.

Cautionary Statements:

This news release contains statements which constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and plans of the Company. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: (i) the fact that the Company will complete the listing following receipt of final approval from the TSXV; (ii) the Company's intention to complete the Delisting; (iii) the fact that the common shares are expected to be delisted on the CSE on or about March 1, 2024; (iv) the Company's intention to begin trading its common shares on March 4, 2024; (v) the anticipated closing of the Arrangement; and (vi) the ongoing business plan, exploration and work programs of ATHA.

Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions of management,that, while considered reasonable by management of Latitude Uranium and ATHA at the time, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, that the Company will complete the listing on the TSXV, that the CSE will approve the Delisting, that the common Shares will be delisted on the CSE on or about March 1, 2024, that the common shares will begin trading on the TSXV on March 4, 2024, receipt of required regulatory, stock exchange approvals, the ability of Latitude Uranium and ATHA to satisfy, in a timely manner, the other conditions to the closing of the Arrangement, other expectations and assumptions concerning the Arrangement, and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner.

Additionally, forward-looking information involve a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks include, without limitation: that the Company may not be able to complete the listing on the TSXV after obtaining final approval from the TSXV; the CSE may not provide approval for the Delisting; the Company's common shares may not be delisted on the CSE on or about March 1, 2024; the Company's common shares may not begin trading on the TSXV on March 4, 2024; inability of Latitude Uranium and ATHA to complete the Arrangement, a material adverse change in the timing of any completion and the terms and conditions upon which the Arrangement is completed; inability to satisfy or waive all conditions to closing the Arrangement as set out in the arrangement agreement dated December 7, 2023 between ATHA and Latitude Uranium; the Canadian Securities Exchange and/or the TSX Venture Exchange not providing approval to the Arrangement and all required matters related thereto; changes to ATHA's and/or Latitude's current and future business and exploration plans and the strategic alternatives available thereto; the inability of ATHA to realize the benefits anticipated from the Arrangement and the timing to realize such benefits; unanticipated changes in market price for Latitude Shares and/or ATHA Shares; changes to Latitude Uranium's and/or ATHA's current and future business plans and the strategic alternatives available thereto; treatment of the Arrangement under applicable laws including applicable competition laws and the Investment Canada Act; regulatory determinations and delays; any impacts of COVID-19 on the business of the Company and the ability to advance the Company's projects; stock market conditions generally; demand, supply and pricing for uranium; and general economic and political conditions in Canada and other jurisdictions where the applicable party conducts business. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the filings of ATHA and Latitude with the Canadian securities regulators which are available, respectively, on each of ATHA's and Latitude's profiles on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although ATHA has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements herein speak only as of the date they were originally made. The Company has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Media are invited to capture stories of change and inspiration

NEW YORK, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebration of Women's History Month, Vital Voices Global Partnership, an organization dedicated to empowering women leaders worldwide, announces two initiatives aimed at honoring and inspiring women across the globe.

March 1 - 22 - Vital Voices and UN Partnerships Art Exhibit at United Nations Headquarters

With support from the UN Office of Partnerships, the Portraits of Progress: Women Powering the Global Goals exhibit underscores the need to invest more deeply in women change makers who are key to solving the world's greatest challenges. This interactive storytelling exhibition inside the U.N. Visitor's Gallery is on display through March 22. It features portraits and first-person recordings of women leaders from around the world who are driving creative solutions that collectively advance 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each woman profiled in the exhibit is tackling one of the 17 Global Goals. Alongside each portrait, visitors can scan a QR code to listen to a message from the featured leader, who shares more about how she is addressing her particular Goal.

"Our aim with this project is to spotlight the critical role of women leaders worldwide in achieving global progress through the SDGs," said Vital Voices President & CEO Alyse Nelson. "Because women and girls are disproportionately impacted by pressing issues such as climate change, conflict, and inequality, their perspective and ideas are invaluable. Women leaders consistently bring forward unique and inclusive solutions that benefit entire communities, countries, and our shared planet. As world leaders consider how to close current gaps in targets for the Global Goals, we believe that greater investments in women's proven, innovative solutions will be pivotal to progress."

The women featured in the portraitsare:

Goal 1 - No Poverty: Zeinorin Angkang, founder at Hill Wild

Goal 2 - Zero Hunger: Nora Jeanne Joseph, founder & CEO at RADIKAL

Goal 3 - Good Health & Well-Being: Dr. Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo, public health physician and founder at Market Doctors

Goal 4 - Quality Education: Zoya Lytvyn, founder of Novopecherska School and Osvitoria NGO

Goal 5 - Gender Equality: Hellen Lunkuse, founder & executive director of Rape Hurts Foundation

Goal 6 - Clean Water & Sanitation: Christelle Kwizera, founder and managing director of Water Access Rwanda

Goal 7 - Affordable & Clean Energy: Inna Braverman, co-founder and CEO at Eco Wave Power

Goal 8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth: Aline Sara, co-founder & CEO at NaTakallam

Goal 9 - Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure: Sarah El Battouty, founder of ECOnsult

Goal 10 - Reduce Inequalities: Sara Minkara, Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State

Goal 11 - Sustainable Cities & Communities: Michelle Hong, co-founder & COO at Rooftop Republic Urban Farming

Goal 12 - Responsible Production & Consumption: Leah Lizarondo, founder of Food rescue Hero and co-founder of 412 Food Rescue

Goal 13 - Climate Action: Helena Gualinga, environmental and human rights activist from the Kichwa Sarayaku community

Goal 14 - Life Below Water: Lakshmi Menon, Head of Impact at CleanHub

Goal 15 - Life on Land: Petronella Chigumbura, ranger and assistant instructor sergeant at Akashinga

Goal 16 - Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions: Shirin Musa, founder & director at Femmes for Freedom

Goal 17 - Partnerships for the Goals: Group Portrait

Nearly a dozen of the women featured were present for the unveiling. The artwork was created by three women artists: Gayle Kabaker, Stef Wong, and Erin K. Robinson..)

Saturday, March 2 - Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks in NYC with DVF

Join influential women leaders at the High Line in New York City for the 17th Global Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks. Led by luminaries such as DVF Founder & Co-Chairwoman Diane von Furstenberg, along with Vital Voices Co-Founder, President & CEO Alyse Nelson, this event brings together established and emerging women leaders from various fields for a one-mile walk. Participants will engage in insightful discussions on career growth, work-life balance, career transitions, and conflict resolution - all in the spirit of global community and mentorship.

More than 200 women from New York City will join the walk as mentors and mentees under this year's theme of "Inspire Inclusion," recognizing that impact stems from inclusion. This event serves as a prelude to International Women's Day on March 8, fostering mentorship and camaraderie among women leaders.

Simultaneously, thousands of women across hundreds of cities worldwide will participate in mentoring walks, advocating for equality, and celebrating the power of mentorship. With over 135 walks planned in 43 countries for the 2024 Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks leading up to International Women's Day, this event marks a global movement toward gender parity and empowerment.

To learn more about this eventand Global Mentoring Walks happening all around the world, click here.

For media inquiries or further information about these events, please contact: media@vitalvoices.org

###

About Vital Voices Global Partnership

Vital Voices Global Partnership was cofounded in 1997 by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and the late Secretary Madeleine Albright. Now celebrating 26 years, Vital Voices has directly invested in more than 20,000 women leaders across 185 countries and territories since its inception. Driven by the universal truth that women are the key to progress in their communities and nations cannot move forward without women in leadership positions, Vital Voices has provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, U.S. Youth Poet Laureates, prime ministers, award-winning innovators, pioneering human rights defenders, and breakthrough social entrepreneurs, including Amanda Gorman and Malala Yousafzai. To advance and expand this work, in 2022 Vital Voices opened the doors to the world's first global embassy for women, the Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Women's Leadership. It is a first-of-its-kind space that allows for convening, innovation, planning, and action-all in the pursuit of serving women leaders who are taking on the world's greatest challenges.

Attachments
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Hundreds of state and local emergency response personnel and firefighters continue working around the clock to contain multiple wildfires across the Texas Panhandle. The Smokehouse Creek Fire is estimated to have scorched more than a million acres of land, making it the largest recorded wildfire in Texas history. The firefighters could hardly contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Hutchinson County, which is the worst affected region. State authorities have warned that over the course of the next several days, the potential for wildfire activity will increase for the Plains. Texans are urged to follow directions from officials, limit activities that may cause sparks or flames, and keep emergency supplies easily accessible. Meanwhile, Governor Greg Abbott has granted waivers for the state's Commission on Environmental Quality, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Department of Public Safety as the state government continues surging all available resources to support the people and communities impacted by wildfires that have been raging across the state for days. 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.
FLORHAM PARK, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Hisamitsu America, today, celebrates the 90th anniversary of the Salonpas patch, the world's No. 1 brand of Over-the-Counter (OTC) topical analgesics in the patch category,1 which was introduced in Japan in 1934.

Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., with dual headquarters in Kyushu and Tokyo is the parent company of Hisamitsu America, manufacturer of Salonpas and global pioneer and innovator of transdermal and topical patch technology operating around the world.

"Since its inception, the Salonpas brand has evolved into a legacy of trusted and effective OTC pain relief solutions including patches, creams, gels, sprays and liquids," says John Incledon, President & CEO, Hisamitsu America, the marketers of Salonpas, the #1 Doctor and Pharmacist recommended OTC Topical Pain Patch2 and the first FDA-approved OTC topical pain reliever in 2008 with the Salonpas Pain Relief Patch.

Time-Tested, Research-Driven, Cross-Generational Efficacy

"Salonpas is more than a pain relief patch; it's a symbol of time-tested, trusted medicine that transcends generations," said Bob Arnot, M.D., internal medicine who is a journalist, author and served as a medical and foreign correspondent for NBC and CBS. "Crafted with care and precision, Salonpas has become synonymous with effective and innovative OTC topical pain relief solutions."

Remarkable Growth in the U.S. Market

Since 2010, Salonpas has witnessed extraordinary growth in the U.S. market. Retail sales have surged over tenfold, reaching over $200 million3 in 2023. "This achievement underscores the brand's ongoing commitment in bringing innovation to the topical pain relief category to satisfy a growing number of customers," says Incledon.

Despite Salonpas achieving record revenues in the U.S., less than 1 in 3 U.S. households are buying products in the External Analgesics category, with the Salonpas OTC brand facing even lower consumer adoption.4

"I see Hisamitsu America as the 'little engine that could,' continually striving to win the hearts and minds of every pharmacist, doctor, and consumer," says Incledon. "People who have discovered Salonpas are satisfied and brand loyal, but our goal is to bring many more people under the 'topicals tent' like other parts of the world, especially Japan. People have many effective options for pain relief that do not involve taking a pill."

'Salonpas' is cited as the fastest growing search term - up 98.8% in 20235 with more Facebook fans and followers than any other systemic or topical OTC analgesic brand6. The brand continues to innovate and educate with the extraordinary growth of the Salonpas brand in the United States reinforced by the success of the Salonpas Lidocaine 4% Pain Relieving FLEX Patch distinguished as the #1 new item in the External Analgesics OTC category7.

"As we mark this significant milestone, we extend our gratitude to our loyal customers, partners, and dedicated teams worldwide. The 90th Anniversary of Salonpas is not just a celebration of the past but a reaffirmation of our commitment to advancing pain relief solutions for the future," says Incledon.

Since its formation, the company mission of Hisamitsu is to improve the quality of life for people around the world through R&D, manufacturing, and the sale of topical analgesic products. Hisamitsu's culture focuses on spreading compassionate consideration to others.

About Hisamitsu America:

Hisamitsu America is the North American subsidiary of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., founded in 1847, a global pioneer and innovator of transdermal and topical patch technology with a focus on pain relief. The Salonpas product line, which gained early acceptance in Asia and is now registered in over 100 countries, has pioneered the development of topical patches to relieve pain. Since 2010, Salonpas has become one of the fastest growing OTC brands in the USA. Salonpas became the most popular pain relief brand on Facebook in 2020. For more information, visit: https://us.hisamitsu/.

Sources:

Salonpas Named the World's No. 1 OTC Topical Analgesic Patch Brand - Euromonitor International Limited (global topical analgesics/anaesthetic market, 2022 data.) Salonpas is the #1 Doctor and Pharmacist recommended OTC Topical Pain Patch Brand (IQVIA: ProVoice Survey 2023) Salonpas retail sales exceeded $200 mm with record sales across Food, Drug, Mass, Club, and ecommerce channels (Circana: MULO/Club & Ecommerce data ending 12/31/23). Less than 1 in 3 households buy products in the general category of External Analgesics in U.S. households, with the Salonpas OTC brand attracting 1 in 20 households. (Circana HH Panel, Rolling 52 weeks data ending 12/31/23) 'Salonpas' has been cited as the fastest growing search term - up 98.8% in 2023 (CommerceIQ, 2023) More Facebook fans and followers than any other systemic or topical OTC analgesic brand. (Meta: March 2024) Salonpas Lidocaine 4% Pain Relieving FLEX Patch is distinguished as the #1 new item in the External Analgesics OTC category (Circana MULO, 52 wks. ending 12/31/23)

Media Contact: Nancy Thompson, Vorticom, Inc. 212.532.2208 (o), 917.371.4053 (m); nancyt@vorticom.com

SOURCE: Hisamitsu America

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Toronto, Ontario and Rionegro, Colombia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF) ("PharmaCielo" or the "Company"), the Canadian parent of Colombia's premier cultivator and producer of dried flower and medicinal-grade cannabis extracts, PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S. ("Holdings"), today commented on the recent decision by the Colombian Ministries of Health, Justice, and Agriculture (the "Ministries") to extend the timeframe within which THC products may be sold. The Ministries have passed a resolution allowing producers up to 48 months to sell these products following their production, compared to the original 24 months (the "Resolution"). This Resolution is of immediate benefit to the industry and to PharmaCielo. As the country's largest cannabis producer, PharmaCielo has over 2.0 tonnes of THC extract in inventory to support expected growth in international sales in the following years, which would have been subject to destruction under the legacy framework.

Management Commentary

Marc Lustig, Chairman and CEO of PharmaCielo, commented, "On behalf of PharmaCielo, I would like to thank the Colombian government for its commitment to fair regulation that enables the safe and efficient operation of the domestic cannabis industry, along with its competitiveness on a global scale. This resolution will enable the retention of high-quality THC extracts in inventory both now and longer term, to ensure we can quickly fulfill demand as our international customer base continues to grow."

Shares for Settlement of Certain Amounts Owing

Today, the Company also announced that it intends to issue, subject to the approval of TSXV, up to 2,079,152 common shares of the Company ("Settlement Shares"), in satisfaction of an aggregate of up to $457,415 debt owed to certain former service providers and employees of the Company. The deemed price of the common shares to be issued have been approved by TSXV to be C$0.22, being the higher of the price of common shares at market close, or 10-day Volume Weighted Average Price on the date the board of directors of the Corporation approved issuance of shares, (the "Deemed Price"). The Settlement Shares will be subject to a four-month hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws, starting from the date of issuance of the Settlement Shares.

About PharmaCielo

PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF) is a global company, headquartered in Canada, with a focus on ethical and sustainable processing and supplying of all natural, pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products to large channel distributors. PharmaCielo's principal (and wholly owned) subsidiary is PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., headquartered at its cultivation and processing center located in Rionegro, Colombia.

The board of directors and executive team of PharmaCielo are comprised of a diversely talented group of international business executives and specialists with relevant and varied expertise. PharmaCielo recognized the significant role that Colombia's ideal location plays in building a sustainable business in the medical cannabis industry, and the Company, together with its directors and executives, is executing on a business plan focused on supplying the international marketplace.

For further information:

Commercial Inquiries:

Ana Maria Restrepo

A.restrepo@pharmacielo.com

Ian D. Atacan, Director & Chief Financial Officer

+1 (416) 562-3220

i.atacan@pharmacielo.com

Media and Investor Inquires:

investors@pharmacielo.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "is expected", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may" or "will" be taken, occur or be completed or achieved.

Forward-looking statements can be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including changes to PharmaCielo's development plans, the failure to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals relating to the export of cannabinoid products and the import of these products into other countries, TSX Venture Exchange approval, the inability to export or distribute commercial products through sales channels as anticipated due to economic or operational circumstances, risks associated with operating in Colombia, fluctuation of the market price for the Company's products, risks associated with global economic instability relating to COVID-19 or other developments, risks related to retention of key Company personnel, currency exchange risk, competition in PharmaCielo's market and other risks discussed or referred to under the heading "Risk Factors" in PharmaCielo's Annual Information Form for the financial year 2019, and the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the financial year 2022 which are both available at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, PharmaCielo undertakes no obligation to publicly update any 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 press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199979

SOURCE: PharmaCielo Ltd.
Kingston, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Delta Resources Limited ("Delta" or "the Company") (TSXV: DLTA) (OTC Pink: DTARF) (FSE: 6GO1) is pleased to provide final assay results for the first four (4) drill holes, and one (1) drill hole extension, from its initial 2024 drill campaign at its 100% owned Delta-1 Gold project. The holes reported total 1,371 metres of a 5,000 metre drill campaign previously announced on January 16, 2024 at the Delta-1 Gold project located 50 km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The objective of this drill campaign is twofold:

To fill in gaps from Delta's previous drilling within a mineral envelope already identified within a 2km strike and 250 metre vertical depth to further increase the overall mineral inventory and, Exploration drill holes to the east, west and further depths to demonstrate the potential of significantly expanding the mineral envelope.

Highlights :

Drill Hole D1-24-90 intersected 15.94 g/t gold over 10.0 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-87 intersected 1.66 g/t over 10.5 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-88 intersected 1.05 g/t over 12.2 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-89 intersected 1.03 g/t over 16.1 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-34ext intersected 1.09 g/t over 21.0 metres.

Andre Tessier, President, and CEO commented: "We are extremely pleased with these initial results from our 2024 drill campaign at the Delta 1 Gold deposit in Thunder Bay, Ontario. These results are a great way to start the year at Delta. Once more, the gold zones continue to show continuity and homogeneity. Drill hole D1-24-90 was especially excellent with high grades that are sure to help the economics of the deposit. We look forward to additional results from the current ongoing campaign."

Complete results from the first four (4) drill holes and one (1) drill hole extension are provided in Table 1 below. The 2024 drill campaign is ongoing with final assay results still pending.

TABLE 1: Table of new drilling results at the Delta-1 Project; February 29, 2024.

DRILL HOLE Easting Northing Elevation

Azimuth

Incl.

Length

FROM

TO

Au Grade

CORE LENGTH

NO (UTM Zone 16)

(m)





(m) (m) (m) (g/t)

(m)

D1-24-34* 290368 5385357 449 180 -70 344.3 33.00 196.00 0.76 163.00 incl. 33.00 75.50 1.31 42.50 incl. 33.00 45.00 2.08 12.00 incl. 115.50 142.00 1.11 26.50 incl. 150.00 171.00 1.09 21.00 217.00 224.10 1.17 7.10 D1-24-87 290363 5385284 455 180 45 222 35.30 45.80 1.66 10.50

incl. 41.70 45.80 3.63 4.10 65.50 70.90 1.23 5.40 102.50 121.00 0.37 18.50 192.00 192.80 22.30 0.80 D1-24-88 290539

5385267

443

180

45

294

114.00

126.20

1.05

12.20

incl. 125.30 126.20 7.24 0.90 D1-24-89 290599.02 5384971.8 455 0 45 348 169.50 171.00 4.31 1.50 199.90 216.00 1.03 16.10 incl. 215.00 216.00 9.40 1.00 276.00 282.00 1.05 6.00 294.00 313.00 0.42 19.00 D1-24-90 290658

5385194

445

180

45

300

106.00

109.00

1.38

3.00

113.00 123.00 15.94 10.00 incl. 113.80 114.80 57.80 1.00 incl. 120.20 121.10 99.40 0.90 132.40 143.50 0.64 11.10 212.50 218.30 1.60 5.80 *The intercepts of drill hole D1-23-34 include the intercepts of the initial 144m of the hole drilled in 2023 and previously reported.

Figure 1: Map showing the location of the drill holes reported in this release.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_002full.jpg

Detailed Results :

Drill Hole D1-24-90 (figure 2) was designed to intersect the gold zone 50 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-67 which previously assayed 0.66 g/t Au over 40.20 metres including 0.95 g/t Au over 20.2 metres. The hole intersected several gold zones including a high-grade zone grading 15.94 g/t gold over 10.0 metres including 57.80 g/t Au over 1.0 m. and 99.4 g/t Au over 0.90 metres.

It appears the gold zone is dipping shallowly towards the south, at this section, in contrast to the steep north dip in sections to the west. The current interpretation is that the gold zone may have been rotated along NE-trending structures. If the zone continues eastward with this dip, it is possible the drill holes completed in the "deep blue" low magnetic anomaly in 2023 may have been drilled down-dip, therefore missing the zone.

Drill Hole D1-24-87 (figure 3) was designed to intersect the gold zone 50 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-33 which previously assayed 1.15 g/t Au over 89.70 metres. The hole intersected multiple gold zones starting at 30 metres vertical depth with intercepts of 1.66 g/t Au over 10.5 metres and 1.23 g/t Au over 5.4 metres. Drill Hole D1-24-87 also intersected the Gamma Zone at 70 metres vertical depth with 18.5 metres grading 1.23 g/t gold. Drill hole D1-24-87 also intercepted a narrow but high-grade zone of 22.30 g/t Au over 0.8 metres at a vertical depth of approximately 130 metres.

Drill Hole D1-24-88 (figure 4) was designed to intersect the gold zone 60 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-65 which previously assayed 1.39 g/t Au over 35.50 metres. The drill hole appears to have overshot the Beta Gold Zone but successfully intersected the Gamma Zone starting at 85 metres vertical depth with an intercept of 1.05 g/t Au over 12.20 metres, including 7.24 g/t Au over 0.90 metres.

Drill hole D1-24-34 Extension (figure 3) deepened drill hole D1-23-34, which previously assayed 109.0 metres grading 0.86 g/t Au, was extended by 206.7 metres to test the extent of the Beta gold zone at depth. The extension, drill hole D1-24-34 Extension, successfully extended the Beta Zone with an intercept 51.7 metres grading 0.69 g/t gold including a 21.0 metre section grading 1.09 g/t gold. Drill hole D1-24-34 Extension also successfully intersected the Gamma Zone at a 200 metres vertical depth with an intercept of 7.1 metres grading 1.17 g/t gold. Combined, the intercepts of D1-23-34 and D1-24-34 Extension amount to 0.76 g/t gold over 163.0 metres from 30 metres vertical depth, including sections of 1.31 g/t over 42.5 metres, 1.11 g/t gold over 26.5 metres and 1.09 g/t gold over 21.0 metres.

Drill hole D1-24-89 (figure 5) was designed to test the Gold Zone 130 metres below the intercepts of drill hole D1-23-39 and 180 metres below drill hole D1-23-38. The section is complex, with the mineralized zone being partially diked-out. Nonetheless, the hole successfully extended the zone to a vertical depth of 210 metres below the dike, with intercepts of 0.42 g/t gold over 19.0 metres and 1.05 g/t gold over 6.0 metres.

Geological Discussion

The Delta-1 project is located in the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt and covers a 19 km strike extent of the Shebandowan Structural Zone. Gold mineralization at Eureka, occurs within a broad corridor of highly altered (ankerite-calcite-silicification and albitization) rocks exhibiting highly anomalous gold values of up to 0.2 g/t gold. Higher-grade mineralization within this corridor is associated with a stockwork of quartz-ankerite-pyrite-gold veinlets, with increased density of these veinlets generally proportional to increased gold grade. The gold mineralized zones have so far been intersected for a strike of approximately 2.3 kilometres, with a higher-grade segment extending for nearly 950 metres. So far, the mineralized zone extends from surface to a vertical depth of approximately 250 metres. Mineralization strikes approximately 100 to 120 degrees azimuth, with a dip of 75-80 degrees north (shallower dips of 50N are observed in the western portion of the zone). Higher-grade, wide ore shoots are observed and appear to be plunging approximately 40 degrees towards the west, within this structural corridor. Similar ore shoots are often observed in structurally controlled gold deposits and often occur with a certain periodicity. The currently defined ore shoots are open at depth.

Analytical Protocol and QA/QC

Chemical analyses reported in this press release were performed at AGAT Laboratories. AGAT Laboratories is accredited to ISO 17025 by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). Sample preparation was performed in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a comprehensive Quality Assurance and Quality Control program that includes duplicate samples, blanks, and analytical standards.

The following assaying protocol was adopted at Delta-1 to reduce the assay variability due to nugget effect caused by visible gold:

If visible gold is observed in the sample or within the assumed mineralized zone , the assay is performed by Metallic Screening whereby the entire sample is crushed, a 1 kg portion is pulverized and screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

, the assay is performed by Metallic Screening whereby the entire sample is crushed, a 1 kg portion is pulverized and screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. If no visible gold is observed or outside of the mineralized zones , an initial assay is performed by 50 g Fire Assay with ICP-OES finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. If the assay result exceeds 2.0 g/t gold, remaining rejects are pulverized, a 1 kg portion is screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

NQ-size drill core was sawed in half lengthwise and half of the core was sampled and sealed in clean plastic bags before being shipped for assay. The remaining half of the core was replaced in core boxes and is stored at Delta's core storage facilities. Standards and blanks are inserted in the sequence of samples on site as quality assurance and quality control in addition to the regular insertion of blank, duplicate, and standard samples accredited by SGS Canada Minerals Laboratories during the analytical process.

Qualified Persons

Daniel Boudreau, P.Geo. and Manager of Exploration at Delta Resources Limited, is the Qualified Persons as defined by NI-43-101. He has supervised the drilling program in the field and 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.

Figure 2 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-90.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_003full.jpg

Figure 3 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercepts of drill holes D1-24-34Ext and D1-24-87.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_004full.jpg

Figure 4 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-88.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_005full.jpg

Figure 5: Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-89.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_006full.jpg

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:

Contact Delta Resources Limited

Frank Candido, Chairman

Tel: 514-969-5530

fcandido@deltaresources.ca

or

Andre Tessier, President and CEO

Tel: 613-328-1581

atessier@deltaresources.ca

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200024

SOURCE: Delta Resources Limited
HONG KONG, Mar 1, 2024 - (ACN Newswire) - Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the 40th HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and 10th HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show are being held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and AsiaWorld-Expo respectively. The award ceremony of the 25th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition, a key event of the twin jewellery shows, was held at the HKCEC today, paying tribute to the outstanding creativity of local talents. Jewellery industry players can admire the winning designs at the display in Hall 1E.Jointly organised by the HKTDC, the Hong Kong Jewellers' & Goldsmiths' Association, Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association, Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers' Association and the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China, the 25th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition aims to discover talents for the industry, elevate Hong Kong design excellence and promote exquisite jewellery collections designed and manufactured in Hong Kong to international buyers.In line with the Contemporary Heritage theme, competition participants skillfully combined traditional craftsmanship with modern designs to create fashionable jewellery which embodied the significance of craftsmanship across generations and echo the twin jewellery shows' theme this year, Be Part of the Splendid Legacy.A distinguished panel of six jewellery and design sector professionals evaluated both Open Group and Student Group entries based on creativity and innovation, aesthetics, craftsmanship, wearability and topic relevance. Marketability was a sixth criterion for the Open Group.Open Group winners showcase Contemporary HeritageOne of the three Open Group Best of Show Awards went to Swan Chung for Kid IT Bag (Category: Bracelet/ Necklace). Ms Chung received a coin purse from her grandfather when she was a child, inspiring her to incorporate the double-clasp concept it into her design. She wished all "grown-up kids" could own beloved treasures forever to pass on the love and memories.Another Best of Show Award winner was Joanna Shum who used gold, gemstones, diamonds and enamel to recreate Hong Kong's vibrant neon-lit street views with The Colour of the Neon Sign (Category: Pendant/ Brooch), hoping to preserve this unique visual art permanently.Chan Hoi-yi also won Best of Show with Born of Blue (Category: Pendant/ Brooch), which weaves the symmetrical Chinese knot feature and tassels into a blue, wavy design, perfectly embodying traditional art which goes beyond boundaries and exemplifies the design excellence of the modern generation.Dancing lions and fire dragons inspire student group winnersOpen to students of institutions registered in Hong Kong, the Student Group category aims to inspire young design talents to join the jewellery design profession. The top three awards went to Hong Kong Design Institute students this year. Siu Wing-ki was Student Group Champion with Flame Dance Blessing (Category: Bracelet/ Necklace). She used a pearl to emulate the dragon ball guiding fire-dragon dancers and 18 karat gold threads to intricately recreate burning incense sticks, symbolising luck and blessing, on the fire dragon's body.Cheung Hoi-lam won the Student Group First Runner-up and Second Runner-Up with two entries: Lion's Rhythm with Bamboo (Category: Bracelet/ Necklace) and Lion's Echo of Tradition (Category: Earrings), both with a lion-dance concept. Guangdong Lion Dance is listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Ms Cheung used green gems to bring eyes of the lion to life for the Cai Qing ritual, bringing prosperity. Lion's Rhythm with Bamboo added the bamboo, traditionally symbolising the virtues of a nobleman.The Craftsmanship and Technology Award, selected from Open Group and Student Group entries, went to Tse Ka-wing (Category: Ring) for Dance With the Fire Dragon, which presents the delicate features of a fire dragon (including the dragon bone and incense sticks), using 18k gold, diamonds and semi-precious stones. The item turns Hong Kong's Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance intangible cultural heritage into a fabulous ring, which can be an impressive collectable that brings the owner good health and prosperity.Exhibitors worldwide gather at twin jewellery venuesThe twin jewellery shows run concurrently at two venues. The Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show runs from 27 February to 2 March at AsiaWorld-Expo and the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show from 29 February to 4 March at the HKCEC. The shows are attracting more than 4,000 exhibitors from 44 countries and regions, showcasing exquisite jewellery raw materials and finished fine jewellery. Participants can commute between AsiaWorld-Expo and the city centre, including the HKCEC, on shuttle buses.Seminars and events will keep industry players up-to-date and encourage business exchanges. Topics include Keep Your Surface New - New Technology in Jewellery; The Future of Chinese Jewellery Design and AI Empowerment; The Way Forward for Jewellery; and New Facets of Jewellery Business Going Digital: The Applications of ERP & Digital Technologies in Jewellery Enterprise. For details, please refer to https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkjewellery/tc/intelligence-hubPhoto download: https://bit.ly/3Ih5r9jThe 25th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition winning pieces from Open Group and Student Group: https://bit.ly/48AvDGLFair websitesHong Kong International Jewellery Show: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkjewellery/enHong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkdgp/enEvents and Seminars: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkjewellery/en/intelligence-hubHKTDC Media Room: https://mediaroom.hktdc.com/enMedia enquiriesPlease contact the HKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:Jane CheungTel: (852) 2584 4137Email: jane.mh.cheung@hktdc.orgClayton LauwTel: (852) 2584 4472Email: clayton.y.lauw@hktdc.orgAbout HKTDCThe Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedInSource: HKTDCCopyright 2024 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Oxylabs, a leading web intelligence collection platform, has once again secured its position as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. The Financial Times and Statista's FT1000 list, a prestigious annual ranking of Europe's top-performing companies, has recognized Oxylabs as the continent's fastest-growing public data acquisition company for the third consecutive year.

Oxylabs' consistent inclusion in this esteemed list highlights the increasing demand for reliable methods of extracting public web data. As the industry leader in growth, Oxylabs has prioritized ethical data acquisition throughout its business activities for years, setting the benchmark for responsible scraping practices.

Julius Cerniauskas, CEO of Oxylabs, expressed the company's commitment, stating, "Oxylabs making the list of Europe's fastest-growing companies for the third time in a row indicates that the need for reliable public data extraction is still on an upward trend. It also shows that ethical business practices are perfectly compatible with growth. Leading by example, we expect to actively foster a responsible mindset in the wider web data community."

For the last few years, Oxylabs has been instrumental in advancing compliant and ethical data acquisition standards.

"The Ethical Web Data Coalition Initiative (EWDCI) that we co-founded is helping us promote common standards and self-regulation in our industry. This year, we will continue working in this direction as rapid AI advancements are posing new challenges for web data companies. To add, our continuous efforts to ensure secure data handling have been recently recognized with an ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification," emphasized Julius Cerniauskas.

Oxylabs' cutting-edge solutions and premium proxy infrastructure have attracted major players in the e-commerce, travel and hospitality, IT, and cybersecurity industries. These businesses rely on public web data for market and competitive research, ad verification, digital shelf optimization, SEO optimization, and other critical tasks.

To learn more about EWDCI, please visit its official website. The complete list of Europe's fastest-growing companies compiled by The Financial Times in partnership with Statista is available here.

About Oxylabs

Established in 2015, Oxylabs is a web intelligence acquisition solution and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilize the power of big data. Constant innovation, an extensive patent portfolio, and a focus on ethics have allowed Oxylabs to become a global leader in the web intelligence collection industry and forge close ties with dozens of Fortune Global 500 companies. In 2022, 2023, and 2024 Oxylabs was named Europe's fastest-growing web intelligence acquisition company in the Financial Times' FT 1000 list. For more information, please visit: https://oxylabs.io

Contact Information

Vytautas Kirjazovas

Head of Communications

press@oxylabs.io

+44 7999 885206

SOURCE: Oxylabs

View the original press release on newswire.com.
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Luvu Brands, Inc. (OTCQB:LUVU), a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands, today announced the appointment of Chris Knauf as Chief Financial Officer, effective February 20, 2024. He has succeeded Martin Scott, who stepped down on February 20, 2024, following the filing of the 10-Q Quarterly Report for the period.

Chris Knauf brings over two decades of corporate finance and accounting experience working with public and private companies of all sizes, scopes, and industry sectors. From 2018 to 2024, Mr. Knauf served as Senior Vice President of Accounting for Locumtenens.com, the largest medical staffing company in the United States. Prior to Locumtenens, Chris was CEO/CFO of Built NY, a lifestyle consumer products company. Before joining Built, Mr. Knauf held executive positions with the History Channel's international consumer products division and Martha Stewart Omnimedia e-commerce division.

"We are excited to welcome Chris Knauf to Luvu Brands," said Louis Friedman, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer. "Chris brings significant finance expertise, strategic planning capabilities, and deep experience at a range of consumer product companies. His skills and leadership are an excellent fit as we execute our strategic plans for growth and increased profitability."

"I am excited to join Luvu Brands at this phase of the company," said Chris Knauf. "LUVU has the opportunity to see significant growth in value through disciplined planning and careful execution. I look forward to working with the entire LUVU team to build strategy and structure that will accelerate profitable growth and shareholder value creation."

About Luvu Brands

Luvu Brands, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands through the Company's websites, online mass merchants, and specialty retail stores worldwide. Brands include: Liberator, a brand category of iconic products for enhancing sexual performance; Avana, sleep comfort pillows including inclined bed therapy products, assistive in relieving medical conditions associated with acid reflux, and surgery recovery, and Jaxx, a diverse range of casual fashion daybeds, sofas, and beanbags made from polyurethane foam and repurposed polyurethane foam trim.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the Company occupies a 140,000 square foot vertically-integrated manufacturing facility and employs over 200 people.

The Company's brand sites include: www.liberator.com, www.jaxxbeanbags.com, www.avanacomfort.com plus other global e-commerce sites. For more information about Luvu Brands, please visit www.luvubrands.com.

Company Contact:

Luvu Brands, Inc.

Chris Knauf

Chief Financial Officer

Phone #: 770.246.6424

Email: chris.knauf@LuvuBrands.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements can be identified using words such as "should", "may", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "forecasts", "expects", "plans", and "proposes". These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements, and other disclosures, including the statements made under LUVU's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and our other filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of LUVU and are difficult to predict. LUVU does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. The information which appears on our websites and our social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Instagram and Facebook, is not part of this press release.

SOURCE: Luvu Brands, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Toni Eby, left, and Yves- Langston Barthaud of San Francisco SafeHouse give a tour of new permanent housing building for women. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

On Monday afternoon, Eva Hoerler found herself sitting in the same narrow room in which the San Francisco native lived for four months last year, a time she described as the darkest of her life.

The room is a reception area inside of A Womans Place drop-in center that was temporarily converted into her makeshift bedroom. While not technically a shelter, its the only drop-in center operating 24 hours a day serving women and people who identify as women who are experiencing homelessness, violence and other crises. Its the only place that immediately and unconditionally opened its doors to Hoerler when she first arrived in July after being separated from her son following her arrest.

I didnt know how to get him back, the 46-year-old mother, who is living with bipolar disorder, said. I have no friends or family, I was all alone. There was no room for me anywhere else.

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Today, Hoerlers reality is quite different.

On Monday, she peered over at her 12-year-old son, who was playing at a table in the back of the room. Her caseworker, who helped the small family reunite and secure an apartment in Oakland, was beside her as they talked about Hoerlers journey navigating services and getting custody of her son back. Yet, just outside of that room where Hoerler lived for months sat other clients who were in desperate situations or immediate danger, and were seeking resources or a respite.

An estimated 80% of women become homeless due to physical, sexual and other types of abuse, compared with 38% of men. Most of the citys shelters are coed, and women are vulnerable to violence there as well.

Forty-one percent of San Franciscos homeless population identifies as women, and yet, services targeting this population are extremely limited: Of the handful of women-only shelters in the city, just one provides around-the-clock intake. Its a critical service gap thats exacerbating the citys larger homelessness problem and has not received enough attention or city resources, according to the San Francisco Womens Housing Coalition, which has been working to address the issue for the past three years and is now eyeing potential, but not certain, investment by way of an affordable housing bond on the March 5 ballot that would set aside funding for housing the population they serve.

A poster on the wall at A Womans Place, the citys only 24-hour womens shelter in San Francisco on Monday, Feb. 26. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

The coalition, made up of a number of womens organizations and homeless service providers, has identified a downtown building that they plan to acquire and reposition as the Womens Center, a comprehensive service hub complete with emergency shelter and transitional housing beds. The Chronicle is not disclosing the address of the building as it would house people fleeing unsafe domestic situations.

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Community Forward SF, which runs the drop-in center that assisted Hoerler as well as the only 24-hour womens shelter in downtown, will acquire and operate the Womens Center, which is slated to feature 150 transitional housing beds and 90 recliner chairs  which are considered low-barrier, emergency shelter beds  as well as workforce development services, mental health care, on-site medical nurses and caseworkers.

The only problem: securing the $48 million to fund the acquisition and larger project.

We are almost in contract  weve already begun fundraising efforts and have done due diligence, said Sammie Rayner, chief impact officer of Community Forward SF, who described the buildings willing seller as a downtown business owner.

Sammie Rayner, the chief impact officer at Community Forward SF, stands outside A Womans Place, a shelter for women in San Francisco. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

The future of the shelter could be foretold at the ballot boxes.

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Next week, San Francisco voters will be asked to approve Proposition A, a $300 million general obligation bond intended to help the city build more affordable housing for moderate-income and low-income households and housing for people exiting homelessness.

The bond contains a $30 million allocation to build or rehabilitate housing for people experiencing street violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse and assault, human trafficking and other traumas related to homelessness.

While this carve-out wouldnt fully fund or be allocated to the planned Womens Center, Rayner and other members of the Womens Housing Coalition described the initiative as groundbreaking.

Women are unseen. We know that structurally and historically women have never been drawn out and treated as a special population that needs its own response, said Rebecca Jackson, program director at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justices Cameo House.

A staged bedroom for quarantine clients at A Womans Place, a 24-hour drop-in center for women. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

One problem with the citys response to women experiencing homelessness is that they have been lumped together with families when it comes to housing and services.

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The city assumes that when they are serving families, that means that they are serving women. But that doesnt fit all women, Jackson said. The women we are serving arent necessarily with children. Or they dont have custody of their children but want to work to get custody. What if they are trans women, women identifying? What if they are over the age of 50? What if they are fleeing violence?

In a neighborhood south of downtown, San Francisco SafeHouse, which supports women experiencing housing instability, abuse and sexual exploitation or trafficking, recently acquired a 22-unit building for $4.5 million that will house its clients. The group was on the hunt for housing for more than two years.

These are 22 units that have just been sitting vacant, said SafeHouse CEO Toni Eby.

Yves-Langston Barthaud, SafeHouses chief policy and advocacy officer, said that the organization put down $1.5 million for the property and is still looking for $2.5 million to pay off the loan.

We have two-and-half years to do that, which is not a lot of time, he said. We launched a capital campaign, so were not putting all of our eggs in one basket. But with the state and city being in a deficit, Prop. A will definitely give a boost to meet the needs of our clients.

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Not counting SafeHouses recently purchased building, the city has just 157 supportive housing units set aside specifically for women, out of a total of 12,500, according to Barthaud.

While Mayor London Breed and all 11 members of the Board of Supervisors are aligned in their support of Prop. A  and the measure has the backing of market rate and affordable housing advocates and developers  it is facing an uphill climb.

The measure requires two-thirds voter support to pass, and the limited polling that was done last fall showed that, at 63%, Prop. A did not have as much support as the last two affordable housing bonds that were passed in San Francisco. A $310 million bond that was passed in 2015 had 71% voter support, and a $600 million bond was passed in 2019 with 73.5%.

There are huge opportunities right now for the city and our community partners to be making transformative changes in providing the housing that people need and the services that people need, but you have to fund that work, said Supervisor Dean Preston, adding that, in the past, San Franciscans have come together to pass bonds.

But we see a rise of billionaire funded, very conservative PACs that are pushing a nonstop anti-government message  they are not offering a plan, they are just attacking anything that exists and driving people to vote who are more conservative voters, so that endangers bonds, Preston said. Thats what we saw in 2022, with the critical transportation infrastructure bond that failed, and we want to make sure that doesnt happen with Prop. A.

Rooms in an upcoming permanent housing apartment building for women in San Francisco, which will also offer workforce development services, mental health care, on-site medical nurses and caseworkers. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Prop. A is designed to be very broad so that the city can be flexible in regard to its spending on areas such as preservation, new construction and covering predevelopment costs, according to Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, and potential mayoral candidate, who has been championing the measure.

Much is made of San Franciscos housing crisis. I contend that San Francisco has no shortage of luxury condominiums but is desperately wanting for affordable housing for working people, for women, for seniors, for low income people, Peskin said. If we want to solve our housing crisis, it is not going to be with $1,200 a square foot condo towers, it is going to be with real housing for real people. And this is a big step in that direction.

Community Forward owns the building that houses the 45-bed shelter it currently operates in downtown. Rayner said that if the organization is able to acquire the future Womens Center space, it would use its current space as a drop-in center for women with children.

There is nowhere for women with children to go in the middle of the night for safety in San Francisco. If the shelters are full or you didnt hit the timing to get into a family shelter, we end up seeing you at our drop-in center, she said. Its not set up for women with children, but we arent going to turn away a mom at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Hoerler, one of those former drop-in center clients, said that the first thing that women who have decided to seek services are usually looking for is safety.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Sassy Gold Corp. ("Sassy" or the "Company") (CSE:SASY) (OTCQB:SSYRF) (FSE:4E7) is pleased to announce that it has signed binding letters of intent with various arms-length vendors (the "Vendors") to acquire a total of fifteen (15) advanced uranium properties in Utah and Colorado, USA (the "Transaction"). All of these properties, comprising 8,200 acres or 33 sq. km, are located within the Colorado Plateau geological region and fourteen (14) of them have featured historical production with more than two dozen past producing mine portals and shafts among them (the "Properties").

This strategic move into Utah and Colorado, at a favorable time in the uranium cycle, builds significantly on Sassy's existing uranium footprint in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin where the company owns a 20% interest in the Highrock Uranium Project. In addition, Sassy owns 100% of the Foremore Gold-Silver-Base Metal Project in Northwest B.C.'s Eskay Camp and also owns significant share positions and corresponding assets in MAX Power Mining Corp., Gander Gold Corp., and Galloper Gold Corp., with the latter now approved for listing on the CSE.

Utah/Colorado Property Highlights

The 15 properties each are known to contain sandstone-hosted, roll-front uranium deposits;

Clear path to potential near-term extraction at the Independence Property located in the San Rafael Swell, immediately off Interstate 70 near the community of Green River, Utah;

Uranium mineralization outcrops at surface at Independence, a notable past producer in the region, and dips east toward Western Uranium's San Rafael Project;

Independence is currently permitted for small-scale underground extraction and surface disturbance;

Strong exploration upside at each of the 15 properties through data compilation and relatively shallow drilling to build on historical results;

Infrastructure already in place at most of the mine sites, combined with the relatively shallow depth of the tabular sandstone-hosted deposits, is expected to keep the redevelopment capital cost of these properties low;

Properties are within trucking distance to the only operating conventional uranium mill in the United States (White Mesa);

Partnership with property vendors, who provide local expertise, surface drilling and underground mining;

Abundant opportunities to improve historic economics of region's uranium/vanadium deposits;

All properties are full-year road accessible from local workforce communities and services;

Exploration work will commence with confirmatory drilling, along with the digitization of the existing extensive library of geological data, past production data and mine plans.

Uranium Mining in Utah

Energy Fuels reported December 21, 2023, that it had commenced uranium production at its La Sal Complex in Utah comprising its La Sal and Pandora mines in the vicinity of Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill.

Most of Utah's historical production (122 million lbs U3O8 since 1904) has been from the sandstone-hosted deposits in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, which Sassy will target at several of the Utah and Colorado properties, including Independence. The average grade of uranium mineralization in Utah's sandstone-hosted deposits is 0.30% U3O8, higher than in many other significant uranium producing districts worldwide with the exception of course of Canada's Athabasca Basin (source: Utah Dept. of Natural Resources, 2021, Open-File Report 735).

The North Lisbon and Central Lisbon Valley properties are located in the heart of Utah's Lisbon Valley District which has accounted for 64% of the state's total historical production, according to data from the Utah Dept. of Natural Resources.

Historical mineralization and production may not be indicative of future performance of the properties to be acquired by Sassy.

CEO Comments

Mark Scott, Sassy's President and CEO, commented, "This acquisition of past producing uranium mines with known deposits, on reasonable terms, is undeniably a big step forward for Sassy Gold. These advanced projects, with their accessible, shallow, tabular-style deposits, give the Company multiple development and deal-making options moving forward. We intend to launch a study aimed at identifying the commercially optimal mix and sequence of extraction, mining method, technology and equipment options presented by these projects. While that is ongoing, there is at least one of the mines with an obvious path to possible near-term extraction, which we will begin studying and pursuing concurrent with the work being performed regarding the other sites."

Project Map

Mark Scott added, "The strength of our team and the assets, their proximity to the only available route to market in the United States, uranium's long-term pricing fundamentals and the market's current enthusiasm for uranium make the timing of this deal extremely favorable. For good reason, our entire team is excited about our direction forward with this transaction, which took several months of concerted effort to bring together."

Property Details

The Company and the Vendors progress toward completion of the Definitive Agreements.

A Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to verify the historical drilling data. Additional work, including confirmatory drilling and logging, will be required to confirm and update the historical drilling and logging data, including a review of data integrity, assumptions, parameters, methods, and testing. Historical exploration data do not meet reporting requirements as prescribed under NI-43-101. Sassy is not treating the historical data as current and it should not be relied upon.

Terms of the Transaction

Sassy has signed three LOI's with the Vendors, as it relates to the Properties, on February 16, 2024. Under the terms of the LOI's, Sassy will pay a total value of $8,391,326 USD, of which 25%, or a total of $2,097,832 USD will be paid in cash over four equal payments of $524,458 on closing of the Transaction, and on the 6-month, 12-month and 24-month anniversaries of the closing of the Transaction. Common shares of Sassy ("Shares") will be issued to the beneficial owners of the Vendors on the same schedule as the cash payments, with 75% of the Transaction's value payable in Shares. The value and number of the Shares will be determined by the price of the financing completed immediately prior to the closing of the Transaction and based on the prevailing CAD/USD exchange at that time. The Vendors maintain a 1% gross royalty on most of the properties, with exclusions for two state leases which are already subject to state royalties, and the "BM Claims" within the Independence Property, which are already subject to two 1.5% Net Smelter Royalties payable to a third, unrelated party. Additionally, each LOI includes a provision which will pay a maximum of one "PEA Bonus" per LOI, in the amount of $100,000 cash and 1 million Company shares, upon the Company publishing a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for any property covered by that LOI. As at December 31, 2023, Sassy had over $26 million CAD in assets on its balance sheet and cash/marketable securities of over $3 million CAD.

The LOI's commit the Company and the Vendors to a 30-day due diligence period, which may be extended by the Company for the purpose of completing any required financing and further due diligence, along with any required stock exchange, regulatory and/or shareholder approvals (see below). The parties will complete the drafting of the Definitive Agreements for the Transaction during this due diligence period.

Sassy Private Placement

The Company announces the launching of a non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering") for an aggregate of $2.5 million. The Offering will consist of one share of the Company at a price of CAD $0.0375 (3.75 cents) per share, with no warrants attached. The Offering is subject to CSE approval and all securities will be subject to a four-month hold period. Closing of the Offering will occur respective of the closing of the Transaction and funds from the Offering will be used for working capital for the Company and its projects or bona fide debt settlements, as applicable.

Shareholder Approval

Pursuant to CSE Policy 4.6(3), securityholders' approval is required if the number of shares issued may be more than 50% of the total number of securities or votes of the listed issuer outstanding (calculated on a non-diluted basis) accompanied by a new Control Person (as defined in the CSE Policies) or 100% of the total number of securities or votes outstanding. The Company intends to rely on the exemption in CSE Policy 4.6(1)(b) whereby the CSE's requirement for approval may be satisfied by a written consent signed by shareholders owning more than 50% of the outstanding common shares.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Ian Fraser, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Sassy Gold. Mr. Fraser is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

About Sassy Gold Corp.

Sassy is an exploration stage resource company currently engaged in the identification, acquisition and exploration of high-grade precious metal and base metal projects in North America. Its focus is the Foremore Project located in the Eskay Camp, Liard Mining Division, in the heart of Northwest B.C.'s prolific Golden Triangle. Sassy also holds significant equity positions in Gander Gold Corp., Galloper Gold Corp., and MAX Power Mining Corp., as well as a 20% interest in the Highrock uranium project, giving the Company and its investors direct and indirect exposure to gold, copper, lithium and uranium.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "continues", "projects", "potential", "budget" and similar expressions, or are events or conditions that "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

Certain information and statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including: the signing of the Definitive Agreement; the closing of the Transaction; satisfaction of any conditions precedent, and satisfaction of those conditions with the Definitive Agreement, is not assured; closing of the Offering; any historical production and quality thereof; path and timing to future extraction; any potential exploration upside of the Properties or potential future drilling and target areas; payment methods for the Transaction; history of stone-hosted, roll-front uranium on any of the Properties; future opportunities to improve historic economics of the region's uranium/vanadium deposits; historic mineralization and production within the State of Utah and State of Colorado and any inferred indication of future performance of properties to be acquired; accuracy of historical drilling or exploration data; certainty of any exchange, regulatory or securities approval, if applicable.

The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release regarding, among other things: that all required regulatory approvals can be obtained or maintained on the necessary terms and in a timely manner, as applicable; that counterparties to the Company's agreements and contracts will comply with the terms thereof in a timely manner; that there are no unforeseen events preventing the performance of contracts; and that there are no unforeseen material costs relating to exploration of the Company's properties.

Although the Company believes that the material factors, expectations and assumptions expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available to it on the date such statements are made, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurances that such statements and information will prove to be correct and such statements do not guarantee future performance. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

Actual performance and results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to known and unknown risks, including those set forth in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (a copy of which can be found under Sassy's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca). Accordingly, readers should not place undue importance or reliance on the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that the list of factors is not exhaustive. Statements, including forward-looking statements, contained in this news release are made as of the date they are given and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

All currency within the news release is intended to be in USD, unless otherwise stated.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information

Mark Scott

Chief Executive Officer

info@sassygold.com

Terry Bramhall

Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

terry.bramhall@sassygold.com

1.604.833.6999 (mobile)

1.604.675.9985 (office)

SOURCE: Sassy Gold Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
PITTSBURGH, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Today, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn"), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced its February 2024 Podcast Advertising Rates, including the highest and most accessible CPM categories.

"As the Upfront advertising season approaches, it's crucial for advertisers to strategically invest their ad dollars - and podcast advertising offers a prime opportunity," noted Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer of Libsyn's AdvertiseCast. "Reports indicate that uptake of brand safety and suitability solutions has nearly doubled since last year, showing a rapid adoption of these tools in the podcast channel. As one of the fastest-growing digital media channels, brand marketers have ample reasons to embrace podcast advertising as a cost-effective and trusted medium that delivers unmatched audience engagement. We're educating and helping more advertisers leverage its full potential and securing the number one spot in Podtrac's latest global rankings for streams, downloads, and views validates the power and reach of our premier advertising network."

February 2024 Podcast Advertising Rates

The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, the industry's premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. The Company releases the figures to empower the podcaster and advertiser communities to readily monitor market pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle. The data is derived from actual sales data across AdvertiseCast's network of thousands of shows.

For February 2024, the average CPM rate was $21.99 for a 60-second ad spot. That figure is up from last month (January 2024 avg. CPM rate: $21.61), and is on par with the same month last year (February 2023 avg. CPM rate: $21.99).

The three highest CPM categories in February based on delivered advertising were:

Technology: $27

Education: $25

Arts: $25

Moreover, three categories where advertisers can effectively tap into highly engaged audiences at more accessible CPM rates include Fiction, Games, and Music, which averaged around the high teens to low 20s in February.

Libsyn's AdvertiseCast combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that makes it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while providing maximum return for creators. Historical monthly CPM rates can be found on AdvertiseCast's website at: www.advertisecast.com/podcast-advertising-rates.

About Liberated Syndication

Celebrating our 20th year in podcasting, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn") is the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers to host, distribute, monetize, amplify, and measure their audio and video content. The Company hosts more than 75,000 shows and delivers over 8 billion downloads to listeners globally. Libsyn's AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns across thousands of shows. Visit libsyn.com or investor.libsyn.com for more information on the Company and the platforms that it powers.

#? #? #

Media Contacts: Ray Yeung + Nancy Zakhary | ray@relev8.co + nancy@relev8.co

Investor Contact: investor@libsyn.com

SOURCE: Liberated Syndication, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia and Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX: PTM) (NYSE American: PLG) ("Platinum Group" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive results from its Annual General Meeting held on February 29, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The meeting had a turnout of shareholders representing 59.54% of its issued shares eligible to vote at the meeting. Shareholders strongly supported the appointment of the Board and the resolutions proposed.

The number of directors is fixed at six and on a show of hands the Shareholders elected management's six nominees for directors. Details of the proxy voting are as follows:

DIRECTOR NUMBER

OF SHARES PERCENTAGE

OF VOTES CAST

FOR FOR WITHHELD Diana Walters 51,164,556 99.62% 0.38% Frank Hallam 51,165,333 99.62% 0.38% Timothy Marlow 50,412,760 98.15% 1.85% John Copelyn 49,872,247 97.10% 2.90% Stuart Harshaw 50,851,624 99.01% 0.99% Mpho Makwana 51,163,923 99.61% 0.39%

The re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors was voted in favour by 99.57% of the Shareholders.

For more information on these matters, please refer to Platinum Group's information circular, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or at www.platinumgroupmetals.net.

About Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. is the operator of the Waterberg Project, a bulk underground palladium and platinum deposit located in South Africa. The Waterberg Project was discovered by Platinum Group and is being jointly developed with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Mnombo Wethu Consultants (Pty) Ltd., Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation and Hanwa Co. Ltd.

On behalf of the Board of

Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Frank R. Hallam

President and CEO

For further information contact:

Kris Begic, VP, Corporate Development

Platinum Group Metals Ltd., Vancouver

Tel: (604) 899-5450 / Toll Free: (866) 899-5450

www.platinumgroupmetals.net

Disclosure

The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes any forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The Company directs readers to the risk factors described in the Company's annual information form, Form 40-F annual report and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedarplus.ca, respectively.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199953

SOURCE: Platinum Group Metals Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - T2 Metals Corp. (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E) ("T2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a third set of results from the 2023 Q4 infill and delineation drill program at the Sherridon Project in Manitoba, that include the highest gold grades reported from the project to date. Sherridon is a well-known Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide ("VHMS") camp in the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, with both a significant mining history and substantial copper-rich historical resources (see Table 4) calculated on behalf of Halo Resources Ltd in 2010. The Project has year-round road access, is 70 km from the mining centre of Flin Flon, and lies adjacent to an operating rail line.

These data represent the third set of results and include 3 shallow holes from the southeast end of the Lost Lake prospect (see Figure 2), targeted on the basis of a shallow southeast plunging exploration model. Of particular note is hole SHN23005, drilled near the southeasternmost limits of the known Lost Lake resource, with very high grades of gold and copper over 23.5m. The intersection lies only 20m below surface and includes some of the highest gold grades ever discovered at Sherridon.

The high gold and copper grades over a broad interval highlight the potential of VHMS style of mineralization in complexly folded host rocks. Gold grades have been higher than anticipated in numerous holes in the 2023 Q4 program, indicative of improved analytical methods vs prior explorers. Gold results in hole SHN23005 were re-checked with screen fire assay to overcome potential coarse gold analytical issues. Additional ground in the Sherridon area has been staked by T2 Metals in response to the results from this drilling program (see Company press release dated 22/02/24).

The most significant drill intersections of copper ("Cu"), zinc ("Zn"), gold ("Au"), and silver ("Ag") are provided below and in Table 2.

Drilling Highlights Include:

Lost Lake

SHN23005

23.50 m grading 1.18% Cu, 1.46% Zn, 6.8 g/t Au and 40.4 g/t Ag (7.4% CuEq) from 38.00 m;

including 4.50 m grading 0.38% Cu, 0.02% Zn, 29.2 g/t Au and 138.8 g/t Ag (25.0% CuEq) from 38.00 m;

including 8.67 m grading 2.48% Cu, 3.59% Zn, 2.5 g/t Au and 30.0 g/t Ag (5.8 % CuEq) from 50.05 m;

SHN23006

4.00 m grading 0.07% Cu, 0.42% Zn, 1.6 g/t Au and 17.6 g/t Ag (1.7% CuEq) from 154.00 m

SHN23007

6.70 m grading 0.82% Cu, 2.62% Zn, 0.3 g/t Au and 7.7 g/t Ag (2.0% CuEq) from 84.82 m

including 2.54 m grading 1.48% Cu, 5.19% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 14.4 g/t Ag (3.8% CuEq) from 88.98 m;

Notes:

Copper equivalents calculated using metal prices as at the first Sherrion drill press release (25 Jan 2024) (Cu $/t = 8,174; Pb $/t = 2,032; Zn = 2,487 $/t; Au = 2,020 $/oz; Ag = 22.7 $/oz) and assume 100% recovery of all elements. The formula used to calculate CuEq. = Cu(%) + ((Zn(%) * Zn(USD/t)) + (Pb(%) * Pb(USD/t)) + (Ag(g/t) * (Ag(USD/oz)/31.1) * 100) + (Au(g/t) * (Au(USD/oz)/31.1) * 100)) / Cu(USD/t) The formula used to calculate ZnEq. = Zn(%) + ((Cu(%) * Cu(USD/t)) + (Pb(%) * Pb(USD/t)) + (Ag(g/t) * (Ag(USD/oz)/31.1) * 100) + (Au(g/t) * (Au(USD/oz)/31.1) * 100)) / Zn(USD/t)

"Reported drill intercepts are downhole core lengths with true thickness estimated to be at least 90% of core downhole length."

The 2023 Q4 drill program saw 12 holes drilled with 10 intersecting intervals of semi-massive or massive sulphide from the Lost Lake and Cold Lake prospect areas. The exceptional thickness of mineralization in hole SHN23005 may be associated with a range of factors, including late remobilization of Au, Ag and Pb into the hanging wall of the VHMS system (analogous to the Chisel Lake Basin VHMS deposits found 70 km to the southeast) following intense regional deformation and metamorphism that effectively thickened the host horizon, and present a new targeting opportunity.

Mark Saxon, CEO of T2 Metals Corp., said, "This set of high gold drill results from the southeast end of the Lost Lake prospect represent a key moment for the Sherridon project. Gold-rich and gold-dominant VHMS deposits are well known from the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt and form very attractive targets. The grade and thickness of SHN23005 demonstrates the quality of mineralization that can exist at Sherridon, presenting new targets throughout the project area.

The Sherridon project is a relatively underexplored part of the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, particularly with respect to deep drilling and targets similar to that drilled in SHN23005 lay completely untouched. We are very encouraged by the success of our exploration programs to date, along with the support of the Kiciwapa Cree and the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF)."





Figure 1. Mineralization textures from drillhole SHN23005 (37.29m to 53.71m depth), Sherridon drill program, 2023.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7326/199975_t2metals.jpg

Twelve holes for a total of 1,500 metres were completed by T2 Metals during Q4 2023, testing a total strike length of 1,420 metres within, between and southeast of the Cold Lake and Lost Lake Deposits. These two deposits occur along a VHMS horizon that is both parallel to and normally less than 850 metres perpendicular to the VHMS horizon that hosts Sherritt Gordon's historic Sherridon East and Sherridon West Mines, where 7.74 million tonnes were mined at an average grade of 2.46% Cu, 2.84% Zn, 0.6 g/t Au and 33 g/t Ag (Goetz & Froese, 1981) between 1931 and 1951.

The Lost Lake and Cold Lake zones comprise a continuously mineralized horizon over a known strike length of approximately 1.8 km. The current T2 Metals drilling campaign further delineates shallow-dipping and plunging massive sulphide lenses and extends the historical drilling results by the previous explorers. It is also important to note that the while the Sherridon area is spatially and genetically associated with the prolific Paleoproterozoic Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt ("FFSLGB"), it has been under-explored despite the abundance of highly prospective felsic volcanic rocks, which host almost all of the historic VHMS resources in the FFSLGB, and despite the widespread precious and base metal endowment.

The company is incorporating 2023 results including assays, lithogeochemistry and core logging into its 3-D geological model to complete interpretation/analysis. Many geophysical follow-up opportunities and key VHMS-associated structural controls exist at Sherridon which provide additional high-value targets for planned 2024 drill programs. Cold Lake, Lost Lake and other historic resource areas are being considered for drill testing in 2024. Cross sections will be provided during Q1 2024 when all drill data is received and reported.





Figure 2: Cold and Lost Prospects, Sherridon, with Drill Hole Locations

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7326/199975_ca5944db94d8bbd8_003full.jpg

VHMS Type Deposits

VHMS deposits are attractive high-value exploration targets that sustain much of the world's supply of zinc, copper and silver and, in addition, are a major source of critical "high tech" metals germanium and indium. They typically occur in districts or "camps" comprised of numerous deposits of various sizes. They can be very high grade and are regularly gold enriched, with large very long-life deposits being "company-makers" (eg the founding of Rio Tinto). Longer-life mining operations tend to show total production exceeding the original pre-mining size by more than three times.

VHMS deposits can be discovered with conventional geophysical methods. Most deposits have simple sulphide mineralogy that is amenable to processing and high recovery.

Project Deposit Size* Location Owner Market Cap

(CA$) McIlvenna Bay 39 Mt at 2.04% CuEq Saskatchewan, Canada Foran Mining Corp $1,190 m Green Bay (Ming) 39.2 Mt at 2.07% CuEq Newfoundland, Canada FireFly Metals Ltd $155.8 m Palmer+ 4.7 Mt at 3.92% CuEq Alaska, USA American Pacific Mining Corp $53.1 m B26 7.0 Mt at 2.94% CuEq Quebec, Canada Abitibi Metals Corp $48.4 m Great Burnt 1.5 Mt at 2.73% CuEq Newfoundland, Canada Benton Resources Inc $26.8 m Pine Bay 3.4 Mt at 3.59% CuEq Manitoba, Canada Callinex Mines Inc $25.3 m Pickett Mountain 6.3 Mt at 5.17% CuEq Maine, USA Wolfden Resources Corp $13.1 m BMK 9.7 Mt at 2.2% CuEq Saskatchewan, Canada Murchison Minerals Ltd $9.1 m

Table 1: Notable North American VHMS Deposits with Active Exploration. *Values are derived from deposit owner company material and have not been verified by T2 Metals.

Sampling Procedures and Quality Assurance (QA) / Quality Control (QC)

The Company's QA/QC drill core sample protocol consists of collection of samples over a minimum 0.3 m interval to a maximum 1.4 m interval (depending on the lithology and style of mineralization) over the mineralized portions of the drillhole. The drill core sample is cut in half with a diamond saw, with half of the core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and the remaining half securely retained in the original core box for permanent storage. Drill core samples are shipped by transport truck in sealed woven plastic bags to Bureau Veritas Minerals Analytical Lab preparation facility in Timmins, ON for sample preparation. Sample analysis was carried out at Bureau Veritas Minerals laboratory in Vancouver, BC.

Gold was determined by Bureau Veritas method FA430, a lead fire-assay fusion of a 30 g pulverized sample with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish. Select samples were re-assayed using method FS652 1kg. This method involves the metallic sieving (150 mesh), of 1 kg of pulverized sample where both the plus fraction and the minus fractions are retained. The >150 mesh size was assayed in its entirety, and the <150 mesh fraction was assayed in duplicate. Fire assay weight for all three analyses was 50 g. Analysis was conducted using FA430 and for values over 10 g/t, a gravimetric method (FA550) was used. Various metals including silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc were determined by inductively-coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) or inductively-coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), following multi-acid digestion (Bureau Veritas method MA270). This method is considered an assay method with a precision of 5% for elements including copper, lead, zinc and silver. Select samples were analysed for gallium (Ga) and germanium (Ge) and concentrations were determined using a hydrofluoric and aqua regia digest, followed by an ICP-MS finish.

HOLE_ID FROM TO Interval Cu Zn Pb Au Ag CuEq ZnEq (m) (m) (m) % % % g/t g/t % % SHN23001 75.97 85.98 10.01 0.92 4.70 0.02 0.37 10.82 2.74 9.01 Including 75.97 80.79 4.82 1.45 6.88 0.02 0.65 16.96 4.21 13.84 Including 75.97 77.76 1.79 2.15 12.29 0.01 0.81 24.37 6.75 22.20 SHN23002 104.94 109.45 4.51 0.92 1.90 0.02 0.40 11.81 1.92 6.32 SHN23003 44.95 48.66 3.71 1.77 5.16 0.01 0.68 20.56 4.06 13.36 SHN23004 87.03 95.00 7.97 2.17 4.78 0.05 1.83 34.42 5.40 17.74 Including 87.03 90.83 3.80 4.23 9.77 0.03 2.30 54.00 9.52 31.30 SHN23005 38.00 61.50 23.50 1.18 1.46 0.19 6.79 40.39 7.4 24.4 Including 38.00 42.50 4.5 0.38 0.02 0.88 29.17 138.83 25.0 N.A. Including 50.05 58.72 8.67 2.48 3.59 0.02 2.50 30.03 5.8 19.2 SHN23006 154.00 158.00 4.00 0.07 0.42 0.17 1.58 17.63 1.7 5.4 SHN23007 84.82 91.52 6.7 0.82 2.62 0.02 0.34 7.70 2.0 6.4 Including 88.98 91.52 2.54 1.48 5.19 0.03 0.72 14.39 3.8 12.4 SHN23008 49.38 63.78 14.40 0.88 2.58 0.02 0.51 9.85 2.16 7.11 Including 49.38 52.13 2.75 3.34 6.00 0.01 1.92 33.23 6.99 22.95 SHN23009 34.91 40.65 5.74 1.42 1.18 0.03 0.85 18.85 2.63 8.65 SHN23010 105.00 110.52 5.52 1.77 1.47 0.09 2.30 37.22 4.41 14.50 SHN23011 39.00 53.50 14.50 0.92 2.82 0.04 0.78 13.76 2.52 11.50 Including 44.22 53.50 9.28 0.85 4.01 0.07 1.08 17.57 3.09 10.20 SHN23012 Hole terminated before target.

Table 2: Assay Results 2023 Q4 Drilling, Cold and Lost Prospects, Sherridon

HOLE_ID EAST NORTH RL DEPTH INCLINATION AZIMUTH SHN23001 367008 6111502 328 134.0 -45 220 SHN23002 367060 6111471 312 125.0 -55 220 SHN23003 367093 6111332 328 86.0 -52 220 SHN23004 367114 6111350 328 125.0 -50 220 SHN23005 367298 6111117 320 164.0 -45 220 SHN23006 367378 6111198 321 179.0 -45 220 SHN23007 367287 6111193 320 125.0 -45 220 SHN23008 366969 6111496 320 134.0 -60 220 SHN23009 366374 6112179 325 104.0 -45 220 SHN23010 366421 6112228 325 131.0 -55 220 SHN23011 367255 6111149 333 77.0 -45 220 SHN23012 367317 6111224 330 116.0 -52 220

Table 3: T2 Metals Drill Coordinates, 2023 Q4 (Coordinates given in UTM Zone 14N, NAD83).

SHERRIDON PROJECT - INDICATED RESOURCES (2010) Mining Method Million

Tonnes Cu (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Copper

(M lbs) Zinc

(M lbs) Gold

(oz) Silver

(oz) Open Pit 5.32 0.8 1.23 0.34 7.2 Underground 1.24 1.04 1.18 0.48 8.2 Total Indicated 6.55 0.85 1.22 0.37 7.4 122.1 M lb 176.3 M lb 77,192 oz 1.56 M oz SHERRIDON PROJECT - INFERRED RESOURCES (2010) Open Pit 12.24 0.62 0.77 0.26 5.3 Underground 3.62 0.91 1.08 0.32 7.4 Total Inferred 15.86 0.69 0.84 0.28 5.8 239.9 M lb 294.0 M lb 141,245 oz 2.94 M oz

Indicated and Inferred resources for Bob, Lost, Cold, and Jungle deposits. Mineral Resource estimates are based upon Bloom, L., Healy, T., Giroux, G., Halo Resources Ltd. 2010, Sherridon VMS Property, Technical Report NI43-101 - November 22, 2010, which is available at www.sedar.com.

Mineral Resources were estimated at a net smelter return (NSR) cut-off of US$20 per tonne and US$45 per tonne for open pit and underground respectively. Metal prices used were US$3.00/lb copper, US$1.05/lb zinc, US$1,000/oz gold and US$15.00/oz silver. Metallurgical recovery factors assumed were 92% for copper, 83% for zinc, 65% for gold and 57% for silver.

The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared under the direction of, and dated and signed by, a Qualified Person as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards. The data, information, estimates, conclusions and recommendations were consistent with the information available at the time of preparation. The terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are defined in NI 43-101 and recognized by Canadian securities laws. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be upgraded to mineral reserves. T2 Metals has received the exploration and drilling data, but has not independently confirmed the Mineral Resource estimates. Halo has indicated that no Mineral Resource estimates were completed subsequent to those provided in Table 1.

Table 4: Sherridon Historical Resource Estimate, 2010

The qualified person for the Company's projects, Mr. Mark Saxon, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.

About T2 Metals Corp (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E)

T2 Metals Corp is an emerging copper and precious metal company enhancing shareholder value through exploration and discovery. The Company continues to target under-explored areas, including the Sherridon, Lida, Cora and Copper Eagle projects where post-mineralization cover masks areas of high geological prospectivity in the vicinity of major mines.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Mark Saxon"

Mark Saxon

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

t2metals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

info@t2metals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such risks include uncertainties relating to exploration activities. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199975

SOURCE: T2 Metals Corp.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Human Capability Initiative (HCI) concluded today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bringing in a new era in global collaboration for human capability development. HCI was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program (HCDP) Committee.

This groundbreaking forum gathering over 10,000 registered participants from more than 100 countries has set a precedent for international efforts in harnessing human potential, culminating in over 50 strategic partnerships and launches. These collaborations, spanning diverse sectors from education to artificial intelligence, mark significant strides toward global human capability enhancement.

Notable announcements include the Saudi Ministry of Education's educational visa program set to make Saudi Arabia a global learning hub for over 132,000 international students, researchers, and professors, aligning with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 aspirations to attract and retain worldwide talent.

The Saudi Ministry of Education will also contribute to revolutionizing education in lower-income countries by officially joining the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) with a substantial $38 million contribution to equip young generations with the necessary skills for jobs of the future.

As the Kingdom prioritizes the future readiness of Saudi students across all disciplines, the Saudi Ministry of Education has unveiled plans to elevate its Curriculum Development Center into a national autonomous entity under the direct supervision of the Minister of Education. This revamped Center will focus on strategic curriculum planning and development aligned with international best practices and emerging global trends, preparing future generations for success in an ever-evolving world.

Further adding to the successes HCI has brought, groundbreaking education partnerships were struck between Saudi Arabia and some of the world's biggest sector leaders including Porsche, Hyundai, LinkedIn, and IE University, leveraging the power of international collaboration to accelerate human capability development at home and abroad.

These initiatives, alongside others announced during the event, underscore HCI's role as an enabling platform for impactful collaboration and a necessary catalyst for future-ready human capability development across the globe.

The conference featured a robust agenda, with over 100 insightful sessions led by global and local luminaries in government, industry, and academia including thoughtful future-facing discussions featuring Ministers of Education from around the world. Discussions spanned crucial topics such as the sustainability skill gap, job automation by AI, and the future of education and workforce adaptability, emphasizing the central role of human potential in addressing contemporary global challenges.

The CEO of HCDP, Engineer Anas AlMudaifer, commented: "HCI has inspired collaboration among the brightest minds in the world to future-proof people. Thought provoking ideas shared at HCI have and the thought-provoking ideas shared, and impact-driven partnerships forged today have reaffirmed that commitment. Unlocking the full potential of humanity requires global collaboration, and Saudi Arabia, as a global convenor, is sparking dynamic dialogue through HCI. The huge success of HCI has energized the world of human capability development, serving as an inspirational platform for more knowledge and collaborations to come, and more importantly, demonstrated that together, we can truly unlock the full potential of our societies."

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a profound transformation under Vision 2030 that aims to create opportunities for citizens, open the Kingdom to the world and diversify its economy. At the heart of Vision 2030 lies the people, who embody the ambition of Saudi transformation. This belief in people is the aspiration behind the hosting of Human Capability Initiative, sparking actions among changemakers in governments, private sector and non-profit organizations globally to invest in the most valuable resource of our society - the people.

Contact: Tariq Al Qwaifel, +966 56 466 6669, media@humancapabilityinitiative.org

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Elda River Capital Management, LLC ("Elda River") announced today its launch as an independent real assets-focused investment firm. Elda River launched with approximately $1.5 billion in assets under management in a spin-out from Magnetar and has offices in Houston, Texas; Evanston, Illinois; and London, United Kingdom.

Elda River is led by co-Managing Partners Eric Scheyer and Adam Daley, former partners at Magnetar and co-heads of Magnetar's Energy Infrastructure business. Scheyer and Daley joined Magnetar at its inception in 2005 and have together led an experienced team that has committed nearly $7 billion to more than 70 private investments focused on energy and energy transition infrastructure.

All team members and operating partners of Magnetar's Energy Infrastructure business will be joining Elda River, including Elda River co-founders and partners Craig Rohr and Michael Dean and longtime senior executives Michael Wilds, Steve Settles and Courtney Kozel.

"After nearly two decades at Magnetar, our team is excited to launch Elda River and we are grateful for the strong support of our investors," said Eric Scheyer, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Elda River. "Given our team's experience and the unprecedented amount of capital required across the global energy and energy transition sectors, we believe that now is the ideal time to launch a pure-play investment platform."

"We are committed to building on our long-term track record of partnering with exceptional management teams to successfully navigate market cycles, protect capital and drive attractive outcomes for our investors," said Adam Daley, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Elda River. "We are thankful for Magnetar's support and partnership over many years."

Dave Snyderman, Magnetar's Managing Partner, added, "We worked closely with our Energy Infrastructure team to evaluate and successfully execute this transaction and believe that a fully independent alternative asset manager will enable opportunities to create additional value for all stakeholders."

"The team led by Eric and Adam has built a well-respected franchise by directly sourcing distinct private investment opportunities and delivering strong results for investors," said Alec Litowitz, Founder of Magnetar and Senior Advisor to Elda River. "Moving forward, I believe Elda River, as a standalone firm, is well-positioned to capitalize on a highly compelling opportunity set."

Elda River seeks to deploy a flexible investment approach targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns across multiple industry verticals, including renewables and power, energy and energy infrastructure, energy storage, industrial decarbonization and digital infrastructure.

Kirkland Ellis acted as legal advisor for Elda River.

About Elda River

Elda River is a real assets investment firm focused on energy transition and infrastructure opportunities. Elda River has offices in Houston, Texas; Evanston, Illinois; and London, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit www.eldariver.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301798901/en/

Contacts:

Investor Relations Contact

Courtney Kozel

Courtney.Kozel@eldariver.com

Media Contact

Jessica Resnick-Ault

Jessica.Resnick-Ault@edelmansmithfield.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Wealth Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: WML) (OTCQB: WMLLF) (SSE: WMLCL) (FSE: EJZN) (the "Company" or "Wealth") - provides an operation update.

Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada ("PDAC")

Wealth Minerals will host at booth number 3141 during PDAC, the world's largest mining conference to be held in Toronto, Canada from March 3 - 6. Management will be at the booth and ready to meet during the conference.

Kuska Project

In preparation for advancing the Kuska Project past its current Preliminary Economic Assessment stage (See PEA report, as announced on February 16, 2024), the Company has completed a new geophysical survey with data lines both within the existing resource area as well as lines that intersect the new license areas as announced on February 27, 2024. Preliminary analysis suggest that the new geophysical lines demonstrate the continuation of the main Ollague geophysical anomaly into the recently acquired licenses. The Company will provide more detail upon final analysis of this geophysical survey in due course.

Yapuckuta Project

Wealth announces that the Atacama Project has been renamed to Yapuckuta Project. "Yapuckuta" means "rich in salt", or "abundant in salt" in the Kunza (Atacameno) language. This was done to better separate the name of the project from the geological feature upon which it sits, to avoid confusion and better accentuate the difference between Wealth's assets and those of our peer group to the south of us in the Atacama Salar.

The state environmental authorities have granted permission to a local indigenous organization in the Atacama Salar, to proceed with the drilling of groundwater monitoring wells covering a vast area that includes the Yapuckuta Project. Local indigenous communities participated in the permitting process and have agreed in moving forward with these activities, that will begin in the short term.

While these monitoring holes will be shallow and are not designed to intersect with what the Company believes will be the main brine reservoir in the Yapuckuta Project, they will provide valuable information about the geology, water levels and how deep and/or shallow brines exist in Wealth's Yapuckuta Project area, information that will be critical for future WML Environmental Assessment Study.

About Wealth Minerals Ltd.

Wealth Minerals (TSXV: WML) (OTCQB: WMLLF) (SSE: WMLCL) (FSE: EJZN) is a developer of premier Chilean lithium projects in support of the global energy transition. The Company's flagship Yapuckuta Lithium Project spans 46,200 hectares in the Atacama Salar, a region which contains the world's highest grade and largest producing lithium brine deposits. The Kuska Lithium Project spans 10,500 hectares and maintains an after-tax NPV (10% discount) of US$1.15B per a Preliminary Economic Assessment announced in January 2024.

As the energy transition takes hold, the Company's goal is to advance its project to production and serve as a leading provider of responsibly sourced lithium to North American industry. To learn more, please visit the Company's website www.wealthminerals.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WEALTH MINERALS LTD.

"Hendrik van Alphen"

Hendrik van Alphen

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Marla Ritchie, Michael Pound or Henk van Alphen

Phone: 604-331-0096 or 604-638-3886

Investor Relations Contacts:

John Liviakis

Liviakis Financial Communications

(415) 389-4670

or

Lucas A. Zimmerman

Managing Director

MZ Group - MZ North America

(949) 259-4987

WML@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us

Public Relations Contact:

Nancy Thompson

Vorticom, Inc.

(212) 532-2208

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 press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the Company's expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral projects, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199967

SOURCE: Wealth Minerals Ltd.
VANCOUVER, BC, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Sitka Gold Corp. ("Sitka" or the "Company") (CSE: SIG) (FSE: 1RF) (OTCQB: SITKF) is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval to list its common shares (the "Shares") on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") following satisfaction of regulatory requirements. The Shares will be de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange at the close of markets on March 4, 2024 and begin trading on the TSX-V at the open of markets on March 5, 2024.

"We are looking forward to working with the TSX-V and expect this listing to improve the Company's visibility across both domestic and international capital markets," stated Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka. "With exposure to a broader base of potential investors, we believe this will provide a means of expanding the company's investor base and ultimately assist in unlocking the value of Sitka's gold discoveries in the Yukon and Nevada along with the other mineral assets within its portfolio of projects."

Upon listing, the Company's trading symbol "SIG" will remain unchanged and shareholders will not be required to take any action in connection with the Company's listing on the TSX-V. The Shares will also continue to be listed on the OTCQB Marketplace in the United States under the symbol "SITKF" and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1RF".

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Angus Campbell, P. Geo., to the Board as a Director.

Mr. Campbell is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of global project experience. He has extensive exploration and operational knowledge gained by working on greenfield, brownfield and mine development projects. Most recently he was Vice President of Exploration for Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. which was acquired by B2Gold Corp. in 2023 for $1.2 billion. During his 10 years with Sabina, Angus led exploration initiatives that resulted in a new deposit discovery and over 2.5 million ounces of resource growth. Prior to Sabina, Angus was Exploration Manager for Chile with BHP Billiton based in Santiago. Throughout his career he has held senior technical positions with a focus on Health Safety Environment and Community, business development and discovery. He has worked throughout North and South America and parts of Asia. Angus was a member of Rio Algom's Spence copper deposit discovery team in Chile who were honoured with the PDAC Bill Denis award in 1998. Angus holds a B.Sc. in Geology and is a registered Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia.

Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka, stated, "We are very excited to welcome Angus Campbell to the Board of Directors. His distinguished career brings an incredible amount of experience and knowledge to our team at a key stage in the Company's growth. We look forward to working with Angus as we continue to advance the major gold discovery at our flagship RC Gold Project in Yukon and unlock value across our portfolio of other mineral properties."

In connection with the appointment of Mr. Campbell to the Board, the Company has granted Mr. Campbell 400,000 incentive stock options (the "Options"). The Options are exercisable at $0.14 per Share for a period of three years from the date of grant and are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's new stock option plan. In order to comply with applicable TSX-V policies, the Company adopted a new 10% rolling stock option plan which will be put to shareholders for approval on an annual basis in accordance with TSX-V policies.

Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at the following events*:

Tombstone Gold Rush Breakfast - Fireside Chat - Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024

Invest Yukon Precious Metals Luncheon - Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024

PDAC, Toronto, ON: March 3 - 6, 2024 Exhibitor Booth #2346: March 3-6 One-on-One Meeting Program: March 4-5 Core Shack Booth #3310: March 3-4

Swiss Mining Institute, Zurich, Switzerland: March 20 - 21, 2024

121 Mining Investment, London, England: May 16-17, 2024

*All events are subject to change.

The Company announces that it has entered into an investor relations agreement (the "IR Agreement") with Jennifer Coe, B.Sc., (the "Consultant"), pursuant to which the Consultant has agreed, effective September 1, 2023, to provide marketing and shareholder communications services to the Company for a term of 12 months, and thereafter for subsequent terms of 6 months, subject to termination in accordance with the terms of the IR Agreement.

The Consultant has been engaged to heighten market awareness for the Company and to broaden the Company's reach within the investment community. In conducting her marketing and communications program, the Consultant will employ a number of different communication methods, including digital marketing, broadcasting, newsletter dissemination, phone calls and emails.

The Consultant brings over 15 years of marketing experience to Sitka from a variety of industries including nine years as Director of Member Services at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver where she managed marketing, communications and public relations. In the past four years she has been actively involved in the junior mining sector and now will focus on leading Sitka's major marketing, branding and communication initiatives.

The Company will pay the Consultant a monthly cash fee of $5,000 which the Company intends to pay out of its general working capital account. Pursuant to the IR Agreement and subject to the approval of the Company's Board and the necessary regulatory consents and approvals, the Company may issue to the Consultant, from time to time, Options to purchase Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan.

The Company and the Consultant act at arm's length. The Consultant currently holds (i) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.19, expiring on April 6, 2026; (ii) 50,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.12 expiring on February 25, 2025; and (iii) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.20 expiring on January 4, 2027. The Consultant has no other interest in the Company or its securities, or any right to or intent to acquire such an interest at this time.

The Consultant has agreed to comply with all applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX-V in providing the services to the Company.

Sitka Gold Corp. is a well-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the RC, Bee Bop, Barney Ridge, and OGI properties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold and Silver property in Arizona. Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Clear Creek and Mahtin properties in Yukon, the Alpha Gold property in Nevada, and the Coppermine River project in Nunavut.

The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC Gold Project in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023). A total of approximately 6500 metres of additional diamond drilling within 16 drill holes has been completed at RC Gold since the announcement of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

SITKA GOLD CORP.

" Donald Penner "

President and Director

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the development of the business, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing of the Shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, about: general business and economic conditions; the timing of the receipt of regulatory approvals, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

These forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk the Shares will not be listed on the TSX-V and de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

SOURCE Sitka Gold Corp.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - OpenBB, a startup at the forefront of financial technology and AI, is thrilled to introduce the OpenBB Copilot. This is an AI copilot that can be accessed right from the company's investment terminal - OpenBB Terminal Pro - and, therefore, has access to all the real-time financial data it offers.





Image Credits: OpenBB

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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After attending the AI Engineer Summit in October 2023 in SF, Didier (co-founder and CEO) learned about being able to create an agent that could perform function calling and was less prone to hallucinations. So, during that same week, Didier created a proof-of-concept of an agent that had access to the data that was accessible through the OpenBB Platform.

Two months later, Didier was presenting at Open Core Summit in SF, on how OpenBB was able to create an AI-powered financial analyst using that technology. Leveraging this and the technology behind the OpenBB Terminal Pro, OpenBB was able to create the OpenBB Copilot. This is a chat interface that acts as a financial analyst at users' fingertips, within the OpenBB Terminal Pro, and has access to any financial dataset provided by OpenBB but also any data brought in by its users.

"The Terminal Pro allows users to access both OpenBB's financial datasets along with additional datasets that firms have. With the transformative influence of AI, the next logical move was to introduce an AI-powered financial copilot to interact with said data. This is the future. We are just one of the first companies in the world to act on it. And I couldn't be more excited," says Didier Lopes, CEO of OpenBB.

But what is the OpenBB Copilot?

It's an AI-powered financial analyst that users can have at their fingertips at all times. It has generic financial knowledge - from understanding P/E ratios to pricing options. It includes a LaTeX and markdown rendered to display formulas, making complex financial concepts easy to comprehend. In addition, it has memory, enabling users to continue discussing their investment thesis. Clearing the chat starts a new conversation, ensuring a seamless experience.

How does this differ from other chat interfaces?

This chatting copilot has access to not only the financial data it was trained on but any data that is available in the OpenBB Terminal Pro. The OpenBB Copilot comes with function calling capability which enables it to select what widget from the dashboard to retrieve data from based on the user prompt. Making the responses more accurate and relevant. Plus, since users can bring their own data, they can effectively leverage copilot to analyze their data.

Additionally, users can upload additional internal reports or data files to the conversation, providing the copilot with more context for better answering capabilities. Currently supported formats are PDF and CSV.

Given that the Copilot can use data from any of the widgets available in Terminal Pro or respond based on data present within the attached files, it will add the citation within the output window. This offers transparency and allows users to understand the sources and references used.

What if firms want to keep their data secure with internal API calls through their network only?

The OpenBB Copilot comes with the possibility of enterprise users to "bring their own copilot".

OpenBB Terminal Pro users can effectively bring their own fine-tuned financial copilot, leveraging their enterprise's private data. This unique feature provides financial firms with a customized solution for investment research, combining their proprietary copilot with real-time data from OpenBB Terminal Pro (which can include their own).

OpenBB Copilot marks a significant step forward in creating a fully autonomous financial analyst that can already be used today. It creates a compelling use case for hedge funds and family offices to leverage LLMs into their workflow and gain a hedge. For more information, visit OpenBB's website or contact sales@openbb.finance.

About OpenBB:

OpenBB is at the forefront of bringing open source to the financial services industry. The company is committed to building products that serve the custom needs of financial firms and leverage cutting-edge artificial intelligence for higher productivity.

Media Contact

Company: OpenBB

Person: Didier Lopes

Email: didier.lopes@openbb.finance

Website: https://www.openbb.co/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/198591

SOURCE: OpenBB
Missoula, Montana--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Bloom Montana is excited to celebrate the soft opening of its latest Montana Dispensary located in Missoula. This momentous event, set for March 1st, 2024, signifies a major expansion for the Montana-based cannabis company, enabling it to broaden its services within the Missoula community. The grand opening will take place on March 15th, 2024.

The new Bloom Montana Dispensary, situated at 1001 N Russell St A, Missoula, MT 59802, is perfectly placed to cater to both medicinal users and recreational cannabis enthusiasts. With a wide array of cannabis selections and unique daily promotions, this Montana Dispensary will operate every day from 9 AM to 7:55 PM, making premium cannabis products accessible to everyone, aligning with their varying schedules.

Missoula is celebrated for its stunning natural beauty and cultural richness, nestled among five impressive mountain ranges, including the Bitterroot Mountains and the Sapphire Range. The city is also home to the tranquil Clark Fork River, offering numerous recreational activities such as fishing, kayaking, and tranquil walks along its banks, making it an ideal location for the newest Montana Dispensary.

Adam Kunin from Bloom Montana shares his excitement, "This latest addition to our Montana Dispensary network is strategically located in the delightful city of Missoula, ensuring easy access with plenty of parking right at our doorstep. We're eager to introduce Bloom's welcoming atmosphere to our esteemed customers in Missoula, aiming to be their go-to Montana Dispensary by providing exceptional quality cannabis and becoming a trusted partner for all their cannabis needs."

About Bloom Montana: Dedicated to excellence, Bloom Montana aims to be the leading cannabis provider in Montana. With a focus on local ownership, cultivation, and rigorous testing procedures, Bloom sets high standards for quality and reliability. Their mission is to supply top-notch cannabis products to Montana's residents, emphasizing excellence in every facet of their business.

CONTACT: Adam Kunin

PHONE: 314-368-1105

EMAIL: akunin@bloommt.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199720

SOURCE: Bloom Montana
Lawyers for entrepreneur and OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk have filed suit against the startup, saying it has violated its founding principles and developed powerful technology that Musk fears could harm humanity. Omar Marques/Getty Images

Elon Musk has filed suit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company he helped launch in 2015 has strayed from founding principles set forth in its charter to responsibly and openly develop AI technology.

Musk has long argued that powerful artificial intelligence concentrated in private hands could be a threat to humanity.

What started as a nonprofit venture has turned into a profit-seeking enterprise, alleged the lawsuit filed Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court. The civil suit seeks to constrain OpenAIs activities and force it to reveal key components of its technology to the public.

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OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment.

Before Musk left the company in 2018, OpenAI was organized as a nonprofit. Its aim was to build artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity instead of private gain, the suit said.

Since then, OpenAI has embarked on a series of ventures to commercialize its technology. Those included licensing its software and launching an online store where users can create and train their own AI bots. Its most significant deal was with Microsoft, which has invested more than $10 billion in the startup and begun to integrate its AI tools into other software.

Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, is a term to describe computer software that is as smart or smarter than a person. There is no agreed upon threshold for what constitutes AGI.

OpenAIs website still says that the companys charter is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity, wrote Musks attorneys, from the firm Irell & Manella LLP. In reality, however, OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft.

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Microsoft did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Musk and other tech leaders signed an open letter last year calling for a pause in AI development. But their request went unheeded.

The lawsuit noted that Musk provided the company with most of its funding in its early days, as well as directing its research and recruitment efforts. But since his departure and the joining with Microsoft, the company has violated its founding commitments, including to safely and openly pursue AGI, the suit alleges.

OpenAI has previously said Musks departure was to avoid conflict with his work at Tesla. Musk is widely believed to have been pushed out, according to the New York Times and other outlets. He has since created his own AI startup, xAI.

After his departure, OpenAI incorporated a for-profit arm that includes most of its employees and operation, but it maintained a nonprofit board of directors to oversee the company.

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With the release of its latest tool, known as GPT-4, OpenAIs software has jumped to the level of artificial general intelligence, Musks lawyers said.

But unlike prior models, such as GPT-3, GPT-4s design has been kept a closely guarded secret, the attorneys argued, saying that Microsoft should not have been allowed access to the AGI under its agreement with OpenAI. An AGI would be outside the scope of the licensing agreement between the two companies, attorneys said.

The suit demands that OpenAIs source code for GPT-4 and all of its software be released to the public. It is seeking a court order prohibiting OpenAI and its executives from profiting directly from the technology. Lawyers also asked for a judge to make a determination that GPT-4 constitutes an artificial general intelligence and should not have been licensed to Microsoft.

OpenAI launched the current wave of AI innovation with its ChatGPT interface in late 2022. The AI platform it runs on, GPT, can provide seemingly fluent written answers to almost any query, having been trained on billions of pieces of information.

The company also has image generation tools like DALLE that spit out pictures based on written prompts. OpenAI more recently announced a video generation tool, Sora, which is not available to the public but can apparently create hyper-realistic short videos from text prompts.

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In a blog post from last year, Altman said his companys tools were approaching the AGI threshold. He said that development could supercharge the global economy and provide other benefits, noting, as our systems get closer to AGI, we are becoming increasingly cautious with the creation and deployment of our models.
Email Authentication Provider Lauded for Pioneering Zero Trust Email Security via Proactive Sender Identity Validation

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Valimail , the leading provider of email authentication and anti-impersonation solutions, announced today that TMC , a global, integrated media company, has named Valimail as a 2023 TMCnet Zero Trust Security Excellence winner. The TMCnet award recognizes the leaders and pioneers in the industry with the best and the brightest providers, offering the most innovative, effective solutions.

"It gives me great pleasure to honor the recipients of the TMCnet Zero Trust Security Excellence Award," said Rich Tehrani , CEO, TMC. "The award recognizes solutions providers championing the 'trust nothing, verify everything' mantra of a Zero Trust approach to security at a time when businesses are facing more complex and frequent threats than ever. The TMCnet Team is thoroughly impressed and congratulates the recipients."

"At Valimail, we have championed the zero trust approach to email since our inception," said Alexander Garcia-Tobar, CEO and Co-Founder, Valimail . "We recognized that since we know who is authorized to send as our client, only allow them through. This Zero Trust approach is effective, efficient, and highly accurate. Our approach complements our clients' secure email gateways (SEGs) with a market-leading multilayered security approach."

Valimail offers a unique, market-leading solution that provides email authentication through a Zero Trust approach to sender identity. Built on open standards like DMARC, DKIM, SPF, and BIMI, as well as proprietary, patented technology, Valimail validates every message in real-time, with powerful automation, to ensure every message originates from a known, trusted sender. By having the right DMARC policy in place, users ensure mail will be delivered correctly and that any imposters will be rejected (or quarantined at the very least). Ultimately, this means users no longer have to worry about the infinite number of ways a bad actor can attempt to spoof domains.

Garcia-Tobar added, "We are honored to have been awarded a TMCnet Zero Trust Security Excellence Award and believe this recognition underscores Valimail's unique differentiators, such as our patented technologies, thought leadership, and highest enforcement rates in the market."

Want to learn more? Schedule a demo with Valimail today: https://www.valimail.com/demo/ .

About TMC

Through our news and solutions-focused editorial platforms, live events, webinars, and online advertising, TMC provides global buyers with valuable insights for making informed technology purchase decisions and successfully navigating markets.

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About Valimail

Valimail, the global leader in zero trust email authentication, invented hosted DMARC in 2015 and DMARC-as-a-service in 2021. The company's full line of cloud-native solutions authenticates sender identity to stop phishing, protect brands, and ensure compliance. From neighborhood shops to some of the world's largest brands, many organizations use these solutions to secure their emails. Valimail holds the most robust portfolio of patents that unlock DMARC for businesses at scale and is the only DMARC solution to earn FedRAMP certification. Valimail employees Chair and co-Chair many critical ecosystem bodies, such as the IETF DMARC Working Group, and the AuthIndcators Working Group developing BIMI. The premier DMARC partner for Microsoft 365 environments, Valimail also holds leadership positions on every key industry standards body, driving today's email authentication policies and tomorrow's cybersecurity advancements for everyone. For more information, please visit www.valimail.com .

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Media Contacts:

Escalate PR for Valimail

valimail@escalatepr.com

Michelle Connolly

Senior Marketing Manager, TMC

203-852-6800, ext. 170

mconnolly@tmcnet.com

SOURCE: Valimail

View the original press release on accesswire.com
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Chemours China hosted their seventh annual Chemours Magical Science Camp, a public science program intended to encourage children between the ages of nine and 13 to explore the captivating realm of science. With over 980 participants from over 28 provinces and cities, and an online live stream reached almost 3,500 cumulative viewers across multiple platforms-Chemours Magical Science Camp has become a local favorite of students and science teachers alike.

Integrating knowledge, fun, and professionalism, Magical Science Camp inspires a love of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) among students through interesting experiments that leverage everyday objects for fascinating results. During the camp, Chemours crafted four entertaining science experiments: a pH Rainbow, a lava lamp, a fruit battery, and an iodine-starch test.

Students created fascinating color changes through acid-based reactions, designed a lava lamp with floating bubbles, used metal pieces to replace hydrogen ions in fruit, and used iodophor to detect characters hidden on a blank piece of paper.

In addition to the detailed demonstrations and explanations by Chemours mentors, the event introduced a new concept of a Teenage Partner. Two teenage fans from the previous Magical Science Camp events were invited to join the mentors on stage and help with the experiments. The perspective of the peer teenagers helped other students better grasp the essence of the experience while injecting more fun and delight into the workshop.

"We are dedicated to assisting young people in deepening their understanding of chemistry and igniting their interest in science via engaging experiments, thus, empowering them to become innovative enablers in the future," shared Jessica Bo, General Manager of Chemours China.

The communities where Chemours operates are also where we live, work, and play. We have a vested interest in ensuring and enhancing their vibrancy through the positive impacts we can make, which includes in investing to expand access to STEM education. We look forward to continuing to inspire a love for science through this special program and are proud that Chemours Magical Science Camp program has been recognized in the China Philanthropy Festival as the Public Welfare Program of the Year.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The Chemours Company on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: The Chemours Company

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/chemours-company

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: The Chemours Company

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - C3 Metals Inc. (TSXV: CCCM) (OTCQB: CUAUF) ("C3 Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it and its subsidiaries have entered into a joint venture agreement (the "JV Agreement") with Geophysx Jamaica Limited ("Geophysx") to combine the past producing Pennants Gold Mine with its Main Ridge Project to create the Super Block Project. C3 Metals will act as the operator of the joint venture ("JV").

Super Block Project1 JV Highlights and Benefits for C3 Metals' shareholders:

JV Property: Exposure to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine and other highly prospective copper and gold exploration targets that appear to overlap C3 Metals' and Geophysx's mineral concessions. Past producing Pennants Gold Mine: Operated as an open pit between 2002 and 2004 with estimated production of approximately 16,000 gold ounces (Source: Jamaica Mines and Geology Division). Reported non-compliant NI 43-101 historical mineral resource of 75,500 tonnes at 20.4 g/t gold 1,2 . Historical high-grade drill intersections 3 from the mine property (drill results are historical in nature and have not been independently confirmed): 1.7m at 430.0 g/t gold; 3.8m at 56.4 g/t gold; 4.6m at 25.6 g/t gold; 9.2m at 18.4 g/t gold; and 3.1m at 17.0 g/t gold. The Main Ridge project: Rock and soil sampling defined a coherent gold anomaly extending 4km southeast and northwest of the former Pennants Gold Mine along the Bennett Fault. Rock chip samples assayed up to 35.8 g/t gold at surface . The Rio Minho Fault, a parallel fault to the north of the Bennett Fault, is host to strong copper-silver mineralization defined over a 4km strike length. Channel sample results include: 16.0m at 1.22% copper and 7.8 g/t silver. 2.0m at 6.07% copper and 19.4 g/t silver.

Exposure to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine and other highly prospective copper and gold exploration targets that appear to overlap C3 Metals' and Geophysx's mineral concessions.

Geophysx is a known brand in Jamaica with considerable financial bandwidth. Geophysx is a private mineral exploration company that has explored the whole island of Jamaica and is the dominant mineral exploration license holder in the nation. It is managed by its founder, Robert "Bobby" Stewart. The Stewart family is a hospitality and industrial powerhouse in the island. The JV gives C3 Metals leverage to Geophysx's relationships and acumen in Jamaica. Conversely, the JV gives Geophysx leverage to C3 Metals' technical team.

Dan Symons, President and CEO of C3 Metals, stated, "We are very excited to enter into this JV with Geophysx. The Pennants mine was a small, high-grade producer of some 16,000 ounces of gold. We believe the potential for additional discovery to be very high. Historical data, surface sampling, and geophysical data suggest that mineralization at Pennants potentially extends over 4km. C3 Metals' will maintain its primary focus on copper-gold along a cluster of porphyries within our Bellas Gate project. We see this JV as an excellent opportunity to add unrealized value to our Company. The synergies of putting these properties together are very clear.

"We would also like to take the opportunity to welcome Mr. Stewart as a strategic, 5% shareholder of C3 Metals through our November 2023 private placement. Bobby and I share a vision of the stakeholder value that can be created through the systematic exploration of the Super Block Project."

Bobby Stewart, President of Geophysx, commented: "We're very happy to be partnering with C3 Metals on the Main Ridge Super Block Project. As fellow explorers, we've come to know the company, their team, their skill set, and their values. We have always been an advocate of combining our two halves of the mineral system around Main Ridge, as a necessity to build value and create a potentially very successful project here. Geophysx Jamaica is passionate about realizing a new and exciting industry here in Jamaica which can bring tremendous social and economic benefit through sustainable and environmentally sound mineral exploration and development. We truly believe that this partnership will be good for Jamaica, and are excited to begin the planned work program with our new partners."

Under the terms of the JV Agreement, C3 Metals will contribute approximately 4,400 hectares and Geophysx will contribute 5,470 hectares, with a total of 9,870 hectares forming the Super Block Project JV area (Figure 1). C3 Metals will continue to hold a 100% interest in 17,855 hectares, including the Bellas Gate project where the Company is actively drilling with two rigs. The Bellas Gate project remains C3 Metals' primary focus.





Figure 1: Map showing the Super Block Project JV area and C3 Metals' 100% owned Arthurs Seat and Bellas Gate concessions.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2661/199988_aab4bff3140a3b08_001full.jpg





Figure 2: Map of Super Block Project JV showing gold and copper prospects.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2661/199988_aab4bff3140a3b08_002full.jpg

Next Steps for the Super Block Project JV

C3 Metals, as the operator of the JV, intends to conduct immediate field work to prepare for a drill program that is anticipated to commence during the second half of 2024. Work for the initial program includes:

Merging historical drilling, geochemical and geophysical datasets to create a geologic model for the Super Block Project;

A boots-on-the-ground mapping and sampling campaign across the Super Block Project, focused across the two main splay faults known to host gold and copper-silver mineralization (the Bennett and Rio Minho faults, respectively);

In addition to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine, nine intermediate to low sulphidation epithermal prospects have been identified to date; Five gold prospects Four copper-silver prospects

Prospects will be ranked and prioritized following this work, with drilling anticipated to commence during the second half of 2024.

Key JV Agreement Terms

Under the terms of the JV:

Each party has an initial 50% interest in the Super Block Project.

Each party will elect two members to a Management Committee, which will include the President from each party and one additional member.

C3 Metals will act as the operator of the Super Block Project. In this role, C3 Metals will be responsible for proposing annual work plans and budgets to be approved by the Management Committee. C3 Metals will receive a 5% operator administrative fee until such time a production decision is made on the Super Block Project.

The Management Committee has approved a 2024 work program and budget of approximately US$950,000 or approximately US$475,000 per party.

Both parties must contribute to funding further development at the Super Block Project on a pro rata basis or have their interest diluted as per the standard formula outlined by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.

Should either party of the JV be diluted to a 5% interest, such interest will be converted to a 3% net smelter royalty on the Super Block Project of which 2% can be repurchased for US$2,000,000.

The JV Agreement was executed on February 24, 2024 and is subject to termination in the event certain conditions subsequent are not satisfied on or before July 15, 2024, including the subdivision of existing mineral tenures by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mines (Jamaica) to form the Super Block Project.

For additional information, contact:

Dan Symons

President and CEO

+1 416 716 6466

dsymons@c3metals.com

ABOUT C3 METALS INC.

C3 Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on creating substantive value for its shareholders through the discovery and development of large copper and gold deposits. The Company is actively exploring in Jamaica where it has identified 16 porphyry and 40 epithermal prospects over a 30km strike extent. The Company holds an 100% interest in 17,855 hectares of exploration licenses and a 50% interest in 9,870 hectares in a joint venture with Geophsyx Jamaica Ltd, the largest mineral tenure holder in the country. Mining is currently the second largest industry in Jamaica, and historical mining dates back to the colonial eras of the 1500s (Spanish) and 1800s (British). The Company also holds approximately 24,000 hectares located in the prolific high-grade Andahuaylas-Yauri Porphyry-Skarn belt of Southern Peru. Mineralization at Jasperoide is hosted in a similar geological setting to the nearby major mining operations at Las Bambas (MMG), Constancia (Hudbay) and Antapaccay (Glencore). At Jasperoide, the Company has identified over 15 skarn prospects and an outcropping porphyry system over two parallel 28km belts. The Company has published a maiden resource estimate on the first of these skarn targets, which contained Measured & Indicated Resources of 52Mt at 0.5% copper and 0.2 g/t gold.

Related Link: www.c3metals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

QP Statement

Stephen Hughes, P.Geo. is Vice President Exploration and a Director for C3 Metals and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Hughes has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the written disclosure contained herein.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of the Company's management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate.

While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, and regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks.

The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

1 The mineral resource cited above is presented as a historical estimate and uses historical terminology which does not conform to current National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") standards. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Although the historical estimates are believed to be based on reasonable assumptions, these estimates were calculated prior to the implementation of NI 43-101. As these historical estimates do not meet current standards as defined under sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101, C3 Metals is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

2 Published report, Geochemical exploration for gold in Jamaica: A comparison of stream sediment and soil surveys, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 4, 161-170, 1 May 2004, authored by Robert G. Garrett, Gerald C. Lalor and Mitko Vutchkov.

3 Data from the above drill results are reported historical results and it is unknown what type of quality-control programs were performed at the time. C3 Metals' QP also advises that true width of the above results cannot be determined at this time.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199988

SOURCE: C3 Metals Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) (FSE: L0MA) ("Nextleaf", "OILS", or the "Company"), a leading biotech firm and licensed cannabis processor, is pleased to report financial results for the quarter ended December 31st, 2023. The Company achieved record quarterly revenue growth, driven by market expansion, strong performance across its product portfolio, and successful operational investments and initiatives, bolstering the overall health of the business.

Quarterly Financial Highlights:

Reports third profitable quarter.

This quarter marked the Company's highest gross sales period, generating over $4,100,000.

Achieved a 190% increase in quarterly gross sales year-over-year (Q1 FY24 vs Q1 FY23), driven by strong sales performance across all product categories.

Recorded a notable 25.1% increase in gross sales compared to the previous quarter (Q1 FY24 vs Q4 FY23).

The Company maintained a debt-free position.

Market Expansion and Product Performance:

Expanded market presence and increased distribution channels throughout Alberta.

Strategically invested in inventory across key categories to bolster commercialization efforts and expand territory sales.

The Company's revenue growth is driven by sustained momentum across all product categories within its consumer brand portfolio, including vapes, oils, and softgels.

The Company's house brands, including acclaimed legacy-to-legal brand Glacial Gold and High Plains Cannabis, launched into Alberta only two months prior to the start of Q1 (in August 2023).

The Company substantially increased its distribution Province-wide and achieved successful sell-through of all initial purchase orders, receiving reorders on all items within the quarter.

"I have a personal affinity towards Alberta and its success for us as a Company, having spent over 20 years there. This was my first full quarter as interim CEO, so I spent time visiting retailers in Alberta to support our Company's launch. It was gratifying to see first-hand how the products are gaining immediate traction and how the value proposition is resonating early on with retailers, particularly with our softgel SKUs," shares Emma Andrews, Interim CEO.

Nextleaf anticipates launching 9 new products nationwide in Q2 FY24, further bolstering its year-over-year revenue growth.

Q2 FY24 Product Launches Include:

Glacial Gold CBD 50 Softgels 10-Pack

Glacial Gold Balanced 10:10 Softgels 10-Pack

Glacial Gold CBD 50 Softgels 100-Pack

Glacial Gold Balanced 10:10 Softgels 100-Pack

Glacial Gold MAX THC Blueberry Dream Hybrid Vape 1.2g

Glacial Gold HIGH THC Fuzzy Mango Vape 1g

Glacial Gold MAX THC Grape Escape Double D Infused Prerolls 3x0.7g

Glacial Gold MAX THC Cherry K.O. Double D Infused Prerolls 3x0.7g

High Plains 1000mg THC Indica Oil Drops 35ml

Operational Investments and Initiatives:

Key investments made during this quarter included building up inventory to support sales expansion and commercialization initiatives, as well as equipment purchases to support manufacturing. The Company also engaged new contract manufacturing partners to increase capacity and meet growing demand.

Equity and Stock Options:

Nextleaf has issued an aggregate of 535,714 common shares to Company executives as compensation for services rendered, at a deemed price of $0.14 per share.

The Company has cancelled 1,275,000 options to purchase common shares under its Stock Option Plan.

The Company awarded various employees, executives and directors options to purchase up to 9,925,000 common shares pursuant to the Company's Stock Option Plan, with an exercise price of $0.14 per share.

About Nextleaf Solutions Ltd.

Nextleaf is an innovative cannabis processor with a portfolio of federally regulated emerging consumer brands, market validated cannabis derivative products, and high-purity and high-potency bulk ingredients. Nextleaf's multi-patented, highly automated, closed loop extraction and distillation technology sets the global standard for processing cannabis at-scale.

The Company currently manufactures over 80 different products, across 4 categories for white label clients and house brands. Formulated products and bulk ingredients are sold domestically to B2B partners and exported to applicable international jurisdictions.

With coast-to-coast distribution, Nextleaf brands are sold through both medical and recreational channels and includes award-winning legacy-era brand Glacial Gold, offering unparalleled value across multiple formats including high purity and high potency vapes, oils, softgels and infused prerolls. Additionally, newly launched house brand High Plains offers a broader assortment of cannabinoids and plant compounds, reaching additional market segments.

Nextleaf's commitment to constant innovation, and speed-to-market advantage is guided by their team's unique depth of industry experience, complimented by their Health Canada Research License allowing for unique sensory evaluation of cannabis via human trials, and rapid prototyping. The Company has been issued 19 U.S. patents, and 75+ patents globally, on cannabinoid processing including extraction, distillation, and acetylation.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,

Emma Andrews, Interim CEO

Contact: investors@nextleafsolutions.com

Follow Nextleaf Solutions on LinkedIn

Learn More: www.nextleafsolutions.com

Nextleaf trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Disclaimers and Disclosure Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's anticipated delivery of its products to provincial markets across Canada and those regarding the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200044

SOURCE: Nextleaf Solutions Ltd.


MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Competition Bureau Canada announced Friday that the court has allowed it to expand its ongoing investigations into the online advertising practices of Alphabet Inc.'s Google in Canada. The Bureau has been investigating Google since October 2021 on whether the search giant engaged in certain practices that harm competition in the online display advertising industry in Canada.



Online display advertising consists of ads shown to users when they visit websites or use applications. These consist of variety of ad formats including pictures and videos.



Until now, the Bureau focused its investigations on allegations that Google was leveraging its market power in the supply of video advertising into the market for advertiser buying tools.



Google owns four of the largest online advertising technology services used in Canada - DoubleClick for Publishers, AdX, Display & Video 360 and Google Ads.



The Bureau has now obtained a court order to expand its scope of investigation to examine ways that Google may be leveraging its market power across display advertising technology services in a way that harms competition and using predatory pricing in certain display advertising technology services.



The expanded scope of investigation will enable the Bureau to determine whether Google's advertising practices intend to harm competition and affect the competitive process or success of competitors.



It will also help determine whether the practices resulted in hiked prices, reduced choices and hindered innovation in the online display advertising services market in Canada.



The expanded investigations will help the Bureau determine if Google's practices raise concerns under the restrictive trade practices provisions of the Competition Act, including the abuse of dominance provision.



The order, granted by the Federal Court of Canada, requires Google to produce records and written information that are relevant to the Bureau's investigation.



The Bureau also investigated Google in 2016 for alleged anti-competitive conduct relating to online search, search advertising and displaying advertising.



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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Focus Financial Partners Inc. ("Focus" or the "Company"), a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which GW & Wade, LLC ("GW & Wade"), headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, will formally join fellow Focus partner firm The Colony Group, LLC ("Colony"). This transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

The transaction merges GW & Wade's $10.4 billion regulatory AUM as of 12/31/23, with Colony's $21.1 billion regulatory AUM as of 12/31/23. This also marks Focus' second signed intra-partnership merger as part of its new hub strategy.

GW & Wade, led by Principals Roger Wade and Tim Pinch, joined Focus in 2007 and has been a stalwart of the Focus partnership for years. The firm has extensive expertise in tax planning, financial planning, asset management, retirement and estate planning.

"We strive to have a positive impact on the lives of our clients and to help them achieve their financial goals, and we pride ourselves on developing long-lasting relationships built on trust," said Wade.

"We know Michael Nathanson and the Colony team share these values, which is one of several reasons we are excited to join forces with another industry leader in wealth management," said Pinch.

"It is important that we continually enhance our teams and services for our clients, and our view of the long-term future is bright as we welcome the GW & Wade team to Colony," said Michael Nathanson, CEO of The Colony Group and President of Focus. "Over the years, Focus has become home to many outstanding wealth management firms, and it is exciting to see two of them joining forces. We expect that, through opportunistic mergers such as this one, Focus will continue to facilitate the accelerated evolution of firms that choose such a path."

Following the merger, GW & Wade will operate as GW & Wade at The Colony Group.

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About Focus Financial Partners Inc.

Focus Financial Partners Inc. is a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms. Focus provides access to best practices, resources, and continuity planning for its partner firms who serve individuals, families, employers and institutions with comprehensive wealth management services. Focus partner firms benefit from the synergies, scale, economics and best practices offered by Focus to achieve their business objectives. For more information about Focus, please visit www.focusfinancialpartners.com.

About The Colony Group, LLC

The Colony Group, LLC is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with locations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, D.C and Virginia. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training and does not imply that the SEC has endorsed or approved the qualifications of Colony or its representatives. With origins dating back to 1986, Colony's team provides individuals and families, executives, business owners, entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers, institutions and non-profit organizations with deep expertise that goes beyond investment management and can encompass tax, estate, retirement and philanthropic planning, asset allocation and sustainable investing solutions, family office services, business management services, divorce and dispute resolution services, and life-enrichment services through Curated by ColonyTM. For more information about Colony, please visit www.thecolonygroup.com and follow Colony on LinkedIn.

About GW & Wade, LLC

GW & Wade, LLC is a financial advisory firm headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with additional offices in Palo Alto, California and Reston, Virginia. Since 1986, GW & Wade's team has served successful individuals and their families, providing extensive expertise in tax planning, financial planning, asset management, retirement and estate planning. GW & Wade also provides equity compensation and tax planning services and seminars for the executive management teams of public and private companies. For more information about GW & Wade, please visit https://www.gwwade.com.

Media Contact

Prosek Partners

pro-focusfinancial@prosek.com

SOURCE: Focus Financial Partners

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (OTCQB: FRERF) (FSE: FR20) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that encouraging historic drill data from the late 1950s pertaining to the Company's Urasar property in Armenia has been identified. Additionally, results from the Company's maiden drill program at the Vardenis project in central Armenia have been received.

Urasar project

Urasar was last worked by Soviet government teams in the 1950s and 1960s resulting in the identification of three mineralized zones and four geochemically anomalous zones along a 14 km strike length (see news release dated October 10, 2023).

At the end of 2023, the Company completed a soil geochemical survey comprising 744 C-horizon soil samples which display a continuous gold-copper/base metal anomaly over a 15 km strike length, as shown in the figure presented below. Gold values ranged up to 449 ppb with a mean of 142 ppb (see news release dated February 5, 2024).



Figure 1. Gold in C-horizon soil samples at Urasar

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3169/200031_81f1723bc43eda27_002full.jpg

Recently recovered historic drill data

Fremont's country manager and chief geologist, Hovhannes Karapetyan, recently uncovered in government archives, information regarding a historic Soviet drill hole from 1959, which is located within the western part of the Urasar exploration permit. Yellow River hole #1 (there were no subsequent Soviet drill holes in this zone) bottoms in 25 meters containing 1.27% copper from 209m to 234m vertical depth. Copper values higher up the hole were also anomalous ranging from below detection (300 ppm) to 0.77% Cu. Figure 2 shows the approximate location of this historic drill hole. This information is not compliant with NI-43-101 guidelines, and cannot be used for future resource calculations, but it does demonstrate the focus of previous exploration work and points to one of the main areas of follow-up for upcoming exploration work at Urasar. Once weather permits, the Company plans to rehabilitate the old road into the area, and carry out detailed mapping, additional sampling, and a ground magnetometer survey.



Figure 2. Location of historic drill hole at Vardenis

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3169/200031_81f1723bc43eda27_003full.jpg

Vardenis project

The Razmik Cu-Mo porphyry target at Vardenis was the subject of two diamond drill holes totalling 770m in late October and early November 2023. The Razmik zone is likely the center of the entire 32 km2 Vardenis alteration system and is one of several significant and promising exploration targets within the property. The system is characterized by a large zone of quartz-sericite alteration with two centers of B and D-type porphyry-style veinlets*.

The quartz sericite alteration zone at Razmik measures approximately 2.1 km by 0.5 km with a NW strike and displays two centers of D and B veinlets, Razmik SE and Razmik NW. Razmik SE is approximately 450m by 300m of multiple outcropping zones of B veinlets surrounded by D veinlets. Sampling of these veinlets shows molybdenum values up to 600 ppm and copper values up to 0.14% Cu (historic Dundee Precious Metals Corp. data, hereafter referred to as "Dundee", see news release dated June 6, 2023). Razmik NW comprises a core of B veinlets with dimensions of 430m by 230m, surrounded by a zone of pyrite veinlets of approximately 700m by 400m. Historical sampling shows molybdenum values up to 2,093 ppm (the highest Mo value in the property), and 442 ppm copper (also historic Dundee data). Figure 3 below displays Razmik NW, Razmik SE and the location of the two drill holes.

*Sillitoe, Richard H., Porphyry Copper Systems, Economic Geology, Volume 105, No 1, January 2010





Figure 3. VARD-01 and 02 drill hole locations at Vardenis; geochem data = surface rock chip values

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Drill results

The visibly mineralized intervals from the two holes were submitted for fire assay and multi-element analysis comprising approximately half the drilled core. Both drill holes intersected geochemically anomalous gold and copper values, ranging up to 1.82 g/t Au in VARD-01 and up to 1,365 ppm Cu in VARD-02. The zones hosting significant sulfide mineralization that were processed from VARD-01 comprise 59m to 111m, 154m to 222m and 313m to 357m depth. From hole VARD-02, the zones sent for assay and multi-element analysis include the intervals 29m to 68m, 145m to 161m and 280m to 357m depth.

In total, 141 two-meter sample lengths were sent for geochemical analysis to the ALS laboratory in Romania. In addition, 39 samples were collected at 20m intervals from both holes for spectral short-wave infrared investigation which characterizes alteration assemblages used as vectors in copper porphyry exploration.





Figure 4. Au, Cu, Ag & Mo geochemical plots for VARD-01

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Figure 5: Spectral data for VARD-01

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Figure 6: VARD-02 - Strong anomalism of K, Na and Ca suggests alkali alteration such as destruction of Ca plagioclase to form K-feldspar or albite. This is a good indicator of higher temperature alteration processes at depth. High Mg anomalies at the bottom of hole may suggest chlorite or even biotite alteration. This K, Na and Mg increase is accompanied by a slight Cu anomaly.

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Interpretation of drill results

VARD-01 and VARD-02 intersected anomalous gold and copper geochemistry, ubiquitous sericitic and argillic alteration, and significant porphyry-style quartz veining/brecciation (particularly in VARD-02), but did not penetrate to the potassic-altered, mineralized center of the system. Despite the lack of ore-grade values of copper and gold, these holes are the first step in the exploration of a large, mineralized porphyry system. Additional and deeper drilling will be necessary along with systematic sampling and spectral analysis of the existing and future drill holes. The important insights from this maiden drill program at Vardenis are the following:

Significant copper and precious metal mineralization are typically absent in the transition zone from advanced argillic to mineralized potassic alteration environment. VARD-01 and VARD-02 were both drilled within this transition zone, but the depth and geometry of this transition zone are still to be determined;

As shown in Figure 4, VARD-01 displays multiple geochemical anomalies high in the hole, near the surface limit of B-type veinlets. This coincides with a logged lithological contact and indicates the presence of a favourable hydrothermal feeder;

This feeder/contact may conduit to high sulfidation mineralization associated with advanced argillic alteration and vuggy silica as occurs at high elevations at Vardenis --where Dundee drilled seven shallow holes exploring for gold (see TSX qualifying report, "Technical Geological Report for the Vardenis Property: Armenia, July 25, 2023, on the Company website);

Spectral data from VARD-01 and VARD-02 show dominance of white mica with minor amounts of kaolinite, dickite, and chlorite, which reinforces the Company's belief that the Razmik SE and Razmik NW zones are in the center of the copper porphyry environment;

VARD-02 displays an encouraging trend of increasing copper towards the end of the hole as well as anomalous Na, Mg, Ca, with increasing quartz veining. These are good indications of increasing hydrothermal temperature and approaching mineralization;

Additional detailed logging of both holes is necessary to verify vein classification, mapping of intrusive phases and review of alteration features.

President and CEO Dennis Moore commented, "The amount of porphyry-style veining, brecciation and sulfide mineralization observed in these two initial drill holes at Vardenis demonstrates that we are within the porphyry environment and just need to close in on the core of the mineralizing system. The limited spectral analysis completed to date indicates that we need to drill deeper. Additional detailed logging and analysis will be carried out by a porphyry copper specialist once the weather permits in late April or May."

Moore continues, "To intersect significant intervals of economic mineralization in the first drill holes of an exploration campaign is an uncommon event that involves a bit of serendipity. The usual course of mine-finding is a deductional process involving stages of geophysics, detailed mapping, sampling, and of course additional drilling. We have just started, and we expect to be successful."

Nevada gold assets

The Company has entered into an agreement to sell its wholly owned subsidiary, Intermont Exploration, Corp. ("Intermont"), to an Australian consortium (the "Buyer"). Intermont holds the Cobb Creek asset in Elko County Nevada. The purchase price totals US$300,000 to be paid over two years. Certain debts of Intermont owing to Fremont's former Vice President of Exploration have been transferred to Fremont. The Buyer will assume all ongoing costs of Intermont including option and BLM payments. Other than Hurricane, Cobb Creek is the last remaining Nevada gold asset held by the Company. The Company continues to seek opportunities to monetise the Hurricane asset.

About Fremont Gold

Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of potential world-class copper-gold mineral opportunities within the central Tethyan belt of Armenia, and controls one gold exploration project located on the Cortez Trend in Lander County Nevada.

Qualified person

The content of this news release was reviewed by Dennis Moore, Fremont's President, CEO and interim Chairman, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Dennis Moore

President and CEO, interim Chairman

For further information, contact:

Telephone: +351 9250 62196

www.fremontgold.net

https://twitter.com/GoldFremont

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fremont-gold/

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.

Forward-Looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release 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 including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration programs at Urasar. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations including the risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. 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 only as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200031

SOURCE: Fremont Gold Ltd.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Nielsen



Originally published on Nielsen News Center

In 2023, Nielsen employees had the opportunity to participate in the Women in Nielsen (WIN) Leadership Summit for the third consecutive year. The Leadership Summit brings colleagues across Nielsen together in interactive panels, discussion groups, and webinars to learn from each other and share stories to motivate and inspire the next generation of leaders. The Summit is organized by WIN, a Business Resource Group that strives to shape and sustain an inclusive business culture that values the talents and perspectives of women.

With the theme emPOWERment, Choose Your Yes, attendees left feeling empowered to take their career into their hands and use that power to the fullest. "It's a reminder that our career doesn't happen to us; we are active in our pursuits and can make different choices if we aren't aligned with where things are headed," said Angela Povia, VP of Client Consulting and a Regional Co-Lead for WIN. Nicole Cetta, Process Lead, agreed that this was the perfect time to talk about empowerment, "Nielsen is going through a time of change, and with change often comes some feelings of uncertainty. Honing in on your value and how to convey that value to others is empowering."

Despite changes and uncertainty, women remain ambitious and driven at every stage of their careers. McKinsey & Company's "Women in the Workplace 2023" report found that young women are especially ambitious, with 9 in 10 wanting to be promoted to the next level and 3 in 4 aspiring to become senior leaders. In order to build a safe space where everyone can confidently learn how be empowered in their career, the WIN Summit had 11 panels that showed the different ways we can take control of our future. From The Intentional Professional: The Importance of Developing a Healthy Relationship with your Career Ambitions to Timing is Everything: When To Make Your Next Move, there was something for all attendees to learn at the summit no matter what stage of their career they are in.

In the Stretching for Growth: Assignments that Expand Your Potential session, panelists who took on stretch assignments or facilitated them for others talked about their experiences.

Gomes-Abreu, Client Services Manager, who helped organize the session said, "Oftentimes we get hyper-focused on our day-to-day obligations that we forget to take a step back and look at our career from a macro perspective. A stretch assignment allows employees to feel empowered and encourages them to take ownership in their career journey."

Building on Nielsen's values of inclusion, courage and growth, the WIN Summit connected Nielsen employees from all business units and backgrounds to create a collective learning experience-men included! "I left the summit feeling empowered to advocate for myself. I was surrounded by people all trying to move their careers forward, but also willing to lend a hand and help wherever they could. There was a real feeling of connection with others that has stuck with me."

Even if change and uncertainty surround us, we can choose the path we want to be on. Our professional lives are a product of the decisions we make; knowing ourselves, being prepared, and taking intentional steps will guarantee success. "Focusing on what we can control and what we can do to prepare ourselves, our colleagues, and the industry we serve for [tough] changes is the best use of our time," said Rich Tunkel, SVP of Sales, WIN sponsor and WIN Summit panelist.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Nielsen on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Nielsen

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/nielsen

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Nielsen

View the original press release on accesswire.com
AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada Inc. appoints Ron Stevens Vice President of Operations and Director of the Board.

CHATHAM, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada ("AGinvest"), a key player in the Canadian agricultural investment sector, proudly announces the promotion of Ron Stevens to the crucial role of Vice President of Operations. Mr. Stevens, an integral part of the AGinvest team for the past three years, has consistently showcased exceptional leadership, dedication, and a profound understanding of the intricacies of the agricultural investment industry. His promotion highlights the company's strategic emphasis on optimizing and enhancing farmland through operational expertise. Coincident with this promotion Stevens has been appointed to the Board of Directors. He joins the other Directors -- including the recently appointed Brian D'Costa and Joseph Shaw, and new Chair Derek Broderson -- in shaping the strategy and governance of AGinvest.





Ron Stevens

Ron Stevens Vice President of Operations and Director of the Board.





In his prior capacity as the Director of Operations, Stevens played a pivotal role in navigating the company through diverse challenges, significantly contributing to its overall success. AGinvest stands out for its investment in Canadian farmland and its additional commitment to adding value through operational excellence.

As the newly appointed Vice President of Operations, Stevens will spearhead efforts to oversee and optimize AGinvest's complex operational activities. His mandate includes ensuring operational efficiency, scalability, and alignment with the company's strategic goals. Leveraging his experience and proven track record, Stevens is poised to lead the Operations team and drive AGinvest's continued growth and success.

Kent Willmore, CEO of AGinvest, expressed enthusiasm about the promotion, stating, "We are delighted to announce Ron Stevens as our Vice President of Operations and welcome him to the Board of Directors. His dedication, strategic vision, and operational expertise have consistently contributed to our company's success. As we continue to expand and innovate in the agricultural investment sector, we are confident that Stevens will play a pivotal role in leading our operations to new heights."

In response to the announcement, Stevens shared his excitement about the new role, saying, "I am honoured and thrilled to take on the Vice President of Operations role and join the Board at AGinvest. I look forward to working closely with our talented team to enhance operational efficiency, drive innovation, and deliver strong returns for our investors."

AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada has distinguished itself as a trailblazer in the agricultural investment sector by investing wisely in Canadian farmland and taking the additional steps to add value through operational experience and expertise. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on long-term value creation, the company continues to strengthen its market position, emphasizing the integral role that leading operations play in its future success.

About AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada

AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada ("AGinvest") is a farmland investment manager with a mission to serve both investors seeking a superior alternative investment and farm families seeking a farm-centric capital partnership. https://www.aginvestcanada.com

Contact Information

Kent Willmore

President and CEO

kent.willmore@aginvestcanada.com

5193528413

SOURCE: AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada Inc.

View the original press release on newswire.com.
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Floki has announced a proposal for a substantial token burn. This proposed burn would involve destroying 190,918,585,431.84 Floki tokens, roughly equivalent to 2% of the circulation supply, valued at approximately $11 million.

The initiative aims to achieve two primary objectives:

To boost the long-term security and stability of the Floki project by eliminating the possibility of these tokens being compromised or dumped following integration with another bridge.

To ensure that these tokens are removed from potential future circulation.

It is worth noting that the tokens slated for destruction are those previously allocated for Floki's collaboration with the cross-chain bridge service Multichain.

Initially, the Floki team trusted Multichain, which was widely regarded as the go-to standard for such services. Despite this, further developments led the Floki team to retract the tokens to their own multisig for security precautions. This decision was announced and detailed in a Medium post: Floki Update on Multichain Bridge.

The collapse of Multichain proved that Floki's decision to pull out their tokens early was wise. By keeping these tokens in a secure Floki wallet, the team believes that burning them is the best way to make sure they never get used.

Floki is now leaving the decision to its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) members, who have the options to vote 'YES' to proceed with the burn or 'NO' to retain the tokens within Floki's treasury.

The outcome of the vote will determine the tokens' fate; if approved, the burn will occur within a week after the voting concludes.

Press Contact:

001 786-402-1064

Pr@floki.com

https://floki.com/

SOURCE: FLOKI

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Extreme winter weather impacts are forecast in the Sierra Nevada on Friday. Heavy snowfall rates and damaging wind gusts will lead to whiteout conditions. Baron/Lynx

Blizzard conditions picked up across the Sierra Nevada on Thursday and will only get worse Friday and Saturday as a cold, powerful storm slams California.

Daily snowfall records could be challenged Friday and Saturday, with 3 to 5 feet of snow forecast each day along Interstate 80 at Donner Summit and other parts of the Sierra crest. Lake Tahoe can expect 1 to 2 feet of snowfall both Friday and Saturday. Additional moderate to heavy snow showers are expected Sunday, and could push storm totals over 12 feet along the Sierra crest and 3 to 6 feet in the Tahoe Basin.

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Whiteout conditions are a near guarantee in the Tahoe region due to snowfall rates of 2 to 5 inches per hour between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

Snowfall rates of 2 to 5 inches per hour are expected in the Sierra Nevada and Tahoe Basin on Friday evening. Baron/Lynx

Wind gusts are also expected to exceed 100 mph on ridgelines during this period. Gusts of 50 mph or higher are possible in South Lake Tahoe on Friday night. Officials anticipate prolonged power outages.

The National Weather Service has issued a multitude of winter weather hazards in mountainous regions of California.

Blizzard warnings are in effect until 10 a.m. Sunday for much of the Sierra Nevada, including Truckee, South Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes and elevations as low as Grass Valley.

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It's rare this happens, said Courtney Carpenter, warning coordination meteorologist at the Sacramento weather service office. Once every two to five years (we get a storm) of this magnitude. This just happens to have the perfect combination of enough cold air and just the track of the storm that leads to a lot of snow flowing up into the mountains.

Blizzard warnings are the most extreme winter weather hazard alert that is issued by the National Weather Service. Additionally, the Sierra Avalanche Center has issued an avalanche watch that is in effect until 5 p.m. Sunday for the Tahoe Basin. Large to very large avalanches are expected to occur in a variety of backcountry areas, the avalanche message reads.

Blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect in the mountainous regions of California for the next few days. Baron/Lynx

Winter storm warnings, one step below a blizzard warning, are in effect for elevations as low as 1,000 feet in Northern and Central California. Up to 4 feet of snow is possible on Interstate 5 in Mount Shasta City. Yosemite Valley is bracing for 2 to 3 feet of snow, with 6 to 10 feet forecast at Mammoth Mountain.

Lake and Mendocino counties are also included in a winter storm warning for over a half-foot of snow on high passes, and up to 3 inches of snow at the elevation of Clear Lake.

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Higher peaks of the Bay Area could turn into a winter wonderland Saturday and Sunday. A half-foot to a foot of snow is possible at the Lick Observatory at Mount Hamilton, east of San Jose. Mount Diablo, Mount Saint Helena and Mount Umunhum could pick up several inches of wet snow. A mix of rain and snow is possible down to 1,500 feet in the North Bay on Saturday.

Accumulating snow is expected down to 3,000 feet in much of the Bay Area on Saturday and Sunday, possibly as low as 2,000 feet in the North Bay. Baron/Lynx

San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose are forecast to stay well above freezing, but rain showers could be accompanied by pea-sized hail at times.

Forecasts earlier this week indicated that the storm could wind down by Sunday morning, but latest data indicates heavy snow could continue in the Northern and Central Sierra until the evening. Rain and hail showers remain in the Bay Area forecast Sunday.

A brief break is possible Sunday night into early Monday, but more turbulent weather is around the corner.

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Two Years Later, Innovative Platform Empowering Couples to Craft Affordable Prenuptial Agreements is Back on 'Shark Tank' for Update Episode

BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / HelloPrenup, the innovative platform redefining how couples approach prenuptial agreements, proudly commemorates its two-year anniversary since its appearance on "Shark Tank" with an update episode airing this Friday, March 1, at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT on ABC.









Founded by legal and technological experts Julia Rodgers, Esq., and Sarabeth Jaffe, HelloPrenup has revolutionized the process of crafting prenuptial agreements by flipping a traditionally expensive process into an approachable, affordable option for all - regardless of a couple's net worth or goals.

"HelloPrenup has changed the landscape of prenuptial agreements, offering couples a user-friendly, cost-effective, collaborative solution. In addition to convenience when creating their prenup, we offer access to attorney services and in-app e-signature and notarization through our partnership with Proof (formerly known as Notarize)," said Julia Rodgers, CEO of HelloPrenup.

Since its appearance on "Shark Tank," HelloPrenup has garnered widespread acclaim for its expert prenup guidance, compliance with state laws, and commitment to user satisfaction. The platform empowers couples to easily navigate the prenuptial agreement process and provides peace of mind as they begin their marriage journey together.

One key ingredient to the success of HelloPrenup? Incredible couples who have supported its mission to get every couple on the same page prior to marriage. HelloPrenup took its update episode opportunity to give back to one deserving couple in a seriously big way.

"We are thrilled to celebrate two years since our 'Shark Tank' debut and to showcase our continued growth and success. HelloPrenup remains dedicated to simplifying the prenuptial agreement process and providing couples with the security and clarity they deserve," said Sarabeth Jaffe, CTO of HelloPrenup.

Don't miss the update episode featuring HelloPrenup, airing tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. PT.

Want to be the next HelloPrenup couple getting married? Enter your chance to win here.

About HelloPrenup: HelloPrenup is the premier online prenup platform. Couples can get a state-specific prenup online - without overspending on money or time. HelloPrenup allows every couple, regardless of background, access to important information and protection.

HelloPrenup has been featured on Shark Tank, CNN Business, Forbes, The Boston Globe, GeekWire, and The New Yorker, among others.

Want more information? Contact Hello@HelloPrenup.com or visit HelloPrenup.com to learn more.

Contact Information

Lauren Lavender

Chief Marketing Officer

lauren@helloprenup.com

408 476 0719

SOURCE: HelloPrenup

View the original press release on newswire.com.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / NutriAg, a leading provider of innovative agricultural crop nutrition and technology solutions, announced today, the appointment of Riley Reynolds as Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, for North America. Mr. Reynolds will be responsible for leading the company's sales growth across North America, with a focus on expanding NutriAg's reach and market share in the USA.

Riley Reynolds

Mr. Reynolds brings over 25 years of experience in the agricultural industry, with a proven track record of success in driving sales growth and building strong relationships with customers and partners. Riley is known for his ability to create a culture of excitement and technical expertise, which has been instrumental in his success.

"We are thrilled to welcome Riley to the NutriAg team," said Martin Bloomberg, President of NutriAg. "His extensive experience, proven leadership skills, and deep understanding of the U.S. agricultural market make him the perfect person to lead our North American sales and marketing efforts. We are confident that Riley will play a key role in driving our growth and expansion in this region."

"I am excited to join NutriAg and contribute to the company's mission of providing innovative crop nutrient solutions that help farmers improve their yields and profitability," said Mr. Reynolds. "I am impressed by NutriAg's science-driven approach and its dedication to developing products that are efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly. I look forward to working with the team to expand our reach and make a positive impact on the North American agricultural industry."

About NutriAg

NutriAg is a leading provider of innovative agricultural solutions that help farmers improve their yields and profitability. The company's products are based on cutting-edge science and are designed to meet the specific needs of farmers in all growing regions. NutriAg is committed to sustainability and is dedicated to developing products that are both effective and environmentally friendly.

Contact Information

Terry Kukle

VP Marketing

pr@nutriag.com

SOURCE: NutriAg

View the original press release on newswire.com.
AUSTIN, MN / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, announced Katie Clark has been appointed to the role of senior vice president and chief communications officer.

In this role, Clark will oversee the company's global communications, including external media relations, internal communications, global impact communications and corporate reputation. Clark will report directly to Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods.

"I am delighted Katie is joining us at Hormel Foods. She is an impressive leader with well-rounded communications experience across several industries, and her perspective will be an asset to our company," Snee said. "I look forward to working closely with her to continue our company's journey to make a difference for our customers, team members, consumers, shareholders and the communities where we live and work."

Clark brings more than two decades of communications experience from various industries, including CPG, retail and healthcare. Recently, she was named a 2024 "Top Woman in Communications" by Ragan Communications and PR Daily.

About Katie Clark

Prior to joining Hormel Foods, Clark served as vice president of communications for Mattress Firm, the nation's largest mattress retailer with more than 2,300 stores across the United States. She joined the company in 2020, leading internal communications, public relations, media relations, crisis and issues management, executive communications and social impact.

Before joining Mattress Firm, Clark spent seven years at PepsiCo in various leadership roles spanning both internal and external communications. Her last role at PepsiCo was director of communications for PepsiCo Beverages North America, a $21 billion beverage business. In that role, she led external communications, including corporate reputation, issues management, proactive and reactive earned media and thought leadership. She also served as director of global internal communications, director of public relations for the Tropicana brand and senior manager of internal and executive communications for the Quaker Oats brand. Before joining PepsiCo, Clark spent a decade at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in communications and marketing roles.

Clark earned her master's in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Virginia Tech.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Hormel Foods Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Hormel Foods Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/hormel-foods-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Hormel Foods Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
SALT LAKE CITY, March 01, 2024, an orebody knowledge technology company that formerly operated as Boart Longyear's Geological Data Services division, celebrates the one-year anniversary of its establishment as a wholly owned subsidiary. Unveiling a suite of offerings for 2024, Veracio's new and refreshed orebody knowledge tools - TruScan 2, TruProbe and StrataTM - are set to improve, automate, and digitally transform orebody sciences in exploration, resource definition and production globally.



JT Clark, CEO of Veracio reflects on the journey stating, "In just one year -from introducing Veracio to the world to now- our progress has been remarkable. Our new technologies, our team's dedication, and our strategic acquisitions like Minalyze have all been steps towards realizing our overarching vision of transforming how we capture and utilize orebody knowledge, from exploration to production."

Veracio is set to unveil its advanced portfolio of orebody technologies at the upcoming PDAC convention from March 3-6 in Toronto, Canada:

TruScan 2, featuring HyperXRFTM, a mineralogical solution integrated into Veracio's award-winning core scanning platform boasts of co-registered data streams from both hyperspectral and XRF scanning supported by enhanced QA/QC. The versatile scanning capabilities of both chips and core provide scanning data, including mineralogical data, to teams within 24 hours. Field trials are commencing in early Q2, followed by first deliveries to customers in Q3 of 2024. Pre-orders are available from today.



TruProbe, an integrated app, cloud and stackable hardware solution; combining both rig and downhole sensing technologies. Building upon the foundations set by Veracio's north seeking TruGyro, TruProbe "stacks" a robust gamma sensor to enable operators to log both borehole deviation and gamma simultaneously. On the rig, the app connects to an azimuth rig aligner and wireless depth counter. The software in both the handheld app and the cloud drives efficiency and accuracy through a simple, easy-to-use design, while the hardware is integrated with industry-standard running gear for safer, faster operation. TruProbe is available to order today.



StrataTM is Veracio's cloud technology environment, and 2024 will see more added to the experience. This cloud environment ensures there are sophisticated software offerings available to pair with all Veracio hardware, now further enriched by the recent additions to the MinalyzeTM software offering, including MinaloggerTM. For downhole surveying, the seamless connectivity to the TruProbe app will provide a new way to visualise 3D hole path and empower teams with easy-to-use data access to advance their projects no matter where they are in the world.

Mike Ravella, Chief of Innovation, emphasized, "This portfolio represents just the beginning of our journey. We are constantly evolving, striving to pioneer the next-generation orebody knowledge and bring it to the forefront of the industry."



Veracio's ascent in the global mining industry in 2023 was led by strategic transactions, establishing Veracio as the world leader in core scanning and a fierce competitor in driller-operated tooling. Notable achievements include the successful acquisition of Minalyzeand collaborations with TruScan clients like Foran Miningand Newcrestin Canada, and Sierra Gordain Chile. Furthermore, Veracio forged a distribution partnership with International Directional Services) in the United States alongside industry partnerships with organizations like Tribe Techand Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. These partnerships, driven by shared visions of innovation and efficiency, demonstrate Veracio's vision of progress and exemplify Veracio's dedication to advancing the mining industry into the future with smarter data and a smaller environmental footprint.

Explore Veracio's latest advancements in orebody technology at the upcoming PDAC convention from March 3-6 in Toronto, Canada. Join us for an exclusive unveiling of TruScan 2, Veracio's next Level Ore Body Knowledge scanning product and get a firsthand look at how we're pushing the boundaries of scanning technology.

Date : Sunday, March 3rd, 2024

: Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 Location: Booths 101 and 853 (PDAC)

Don't miss the opportunity to connect with our experts, experience our ground-breaking suite of products, and witness firsthand how Veracio is shaping the next generation of orebody knowledge, today.

Relevant Images can be downloaded from here

And Veracio YouTube for Video

Images About Veracio

Veracio, a wholly owned Boart Longyear subsidiary, offers mining clients a range of solutions that improve, automate, and digitally transform their orebody sciences in exploration, resource definition and production. Championing a modern approach through a diverse product portfolio Veracio fuses science and technology together with digital accessibility by using advanced scanning, sensing with strong data governance and the deployment of AI to accelerate real-time decision-making and significantly improve efficiency, profitability, and sustainability across the value chain.

Press Contacts:
HBM Healthcare Investments AG / Key word(s): Monthly Figures

Key Figures 29.02.2024



01.03.2024 / 17:47 CET/CEST



in CHF Performance in % 29.02.2024 MTD FYTD CYTD NAV 247.01 7.6 -0.1 9.8 Share Price 180.00 -1.2 -12.4 -1.4 Total Net Assets (in million) 1'701 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 .



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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. ("Forward Water" or the "Company") (TSXV:FWTC) today announced that Grant Thornley, Vice-President of Engineering Solutions will be attending PDAC in Toronto from March 3 to March 6, 2024 and meeting with Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and mining clients at this event.

Date: March 3-6, 2024

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Link: https://www.pdac.ca/convention

The PDAC offers unparalleled opportunities to engage with the global mining and exploration community and stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies driving the sector, thanks to its comprehensive programming. Forward Water is excited in the increased growth of our patented industrial forward osmosis (iFO) technology in global markets, signaling increased acceptance of thermal evaporation technology replacement with iFO. The ability to extract and deliver up to 95% clean water for process reuse and the concentrating of critical minerals such as lithium >20X have been the main drivers in our market growth, while the ability of iFO to be operated with alternative energy sources such as geothermal and solar thermal has aided in our growth as well. Mr. Grant Thornley, Vice President of Engineering Solutions commented, "Participating in PDAC is a great opportunity for us in learning and discussing the needs and challenges of the DLE and mining markets and how we can deliver solutions to them".

About Forward Water Technologies Corp.

Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Industrial Forward Osmosis (iFO) technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology enables the extraction of clean water from challenging process and waste streams that conventional technologies can not be operated on. Due to its high-water extraction ability, iFO is used in DLE processes for the hyper-concentrating of lithium prior to conversion. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors.

For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com.

About PDAC

The PDAC is the world's premier mineral exploration and mining convention for people, governments, companies, and organizations within the mineral exploration industry. The convention takes place annually in Toronto and was first founded in 1932, it is currently the largest mining and exploration event in Canada. The show attracts exhibitors from all over the world with an international reputation for its networking, deal-making and discussion of current issues, trends and technologies shaping the industry today. For more information, please visit www.pdac.ca/convention.

Contact Information:

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer

howie.honeyman@forwardwater.com

519-333-5888

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws including statements regarding expansion and uptake of the Company's technology and the ability for the Company to achieve its growth strategy and business plan. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the ability to scale the technology and the adoption of the technology by potential customers.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Selected startups are matched with interdisciplinary teams of UC Berkeley graduate students to advance their innovations, with the support of MetLife employees

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) and the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, are pleased to announce that the application window for the 2024 startup cohort of the Cleantech to Market (C2M) accelerator program is open until March 10. Startups from across the country will be chosen to represent the most promising climate tech innovations and paired with interdisciplinary graduate student teams to receive free commercialization support. At the end of the semester, the student teams present recommendations and compete for MetLife Climate Solutions Awards, which are intended to further support the growth of the winning solutions.

This will be the third year MetLife is involved with the C2M accelerator program. As part of MetLife's support, employee volunteers lend their business development and management expertise to help students advance the business plans and strategies of their assigned startups. The program is directly aligned with MetLife's initiative to contribute $5 million to drive climate-related partnerships and solutions.

"At MetLife, we recognize that working toward a resilient environment requires collective action from multiple stakeholders," said MetLife Vice President, Global Sustainability and Climate Lead, Josh Wiener. "By partnering with the Haas School of Business on the C2M accelerator program, we're helping bring together MetLife employees, startups and students to advance innovative climate solutions."

MetLife has a longstanding history of embracing technology and cultivating a culture of innovation. The C2M accelerator program embodies this spirit and gives MetLife employees insight into technology advancements across industries, including low-carbon energy, green chemistry, and water technologies.

"MetLife's involvement in C2M has expanded our support for current and future climate tech leaders participating in the program," said Brian Steel, director of the C2M program since 2012. "We look forward to welcoming this year's cohort of students and startups and connecting them with the skills and expertise of MetLife employees later this year."

Founded by students in 2008, C2M has paired more than 200 researchers and entrepreneurs with graduate student teams. The majority of technologies C2M teams have supported have become startups, which have collectively raised more than $500 million in disclosed funding and employ approximately 400 people.

To learn more about MetLife's commitment to sustainability, visit MetLife.com/Sustainability. For more information about the C2M accelerator program, and the application for startups, visit haas.berkeley.edu/c2m/.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Contacts:

Olivia Janicelli

(212) 578-3547

olivia.janicelli@metlife.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from MetLife, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: MetLife, Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/metlife-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: MetLife, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Epping manufacturing facility will be home to new 2.2MW system

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Kimberly-Clark and integrated energy solutions company, Energy Partners (EP), have signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to install one of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to the terms of the agreement, EP will install a 2.2MW rooftop system at Kimberly Clark's Epping manufacturing site of well-known brands Huggies and Kotex.

Once the project is completed, the rooftop system at Epping facility will allow an annual energy production of 3,478 MWh per year which will save over 3,130 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year[1], equivalent to powering 1,030 median residential homes in the country every year[2]

Collaboration

Charl du Plessis, General Manager of EP Power, confirms that the design of the system was developed in close collaboration with Kimberly-Clark's local and international engineers and project managers to ensure compliance with regulatory and design specifications.

"The new rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will enhance Kimberly-Clark's capacity to manage electricity consumption, whilst also enabling them to substantially increase their renewables penetration. This is especially exciting to us, and we are proud to be part of the Kimberly-Clark journey to meeting their 2030 sustainability goals," says du Plessis.

Steven Hayes, General Manager of Kimberly-Clark Sub-Saharan Africa says, "We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and this project will contribute toward helping us meet our 2030 goal to reduce total emissions by 50% compared to 2015 globally. The installation of this rooftop solar photovoltaic system and partnership with Energy Partners is a significant step toward achieving our renewable energy targets, and we are proud to be part of the solution in creating a more sustainable future for South Africa."

[1] Emission Factor in 2023 from IEA and in SOFI = 0.9 kg/kwh

[2] www.worlddata.info

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Kimberly-Clark Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/kimberly-clark-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Tradeview Markets announces the launch of the Vulkan Prime Bridge, a revolutionary advancement in Forex trading technology. As a licensed Broker/Dealer overseen by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Tradeview aims to redefine the trading experience with this cutting-edge innovation.

The Vulkan Prime Bridge signifies a substantial leap forward in trading technology. By leveraging state-of-the-art technology, it addresses and eliminates compatibility issues, providing traders with an uninterrupted and efficient trading experience. This innovation is poised to usher in a new era of efficiency and reliability for Forex traders.

Key to the success of Vulkan Prime Bridge is the institutional-grade liquidity it offers. Traders can now access a level of liquidity that was once exclusive to institutional players. This feature liberates traders from the constraints of traditional brokerage platforms, opening up a world of potential and opportunity.

Dedicated support accompanies the Vulkan Prime Bridge, providing traders with the assistance they need to navigate the complexities of the Forex market. The development of Vulkan Prime Bridge has been spearheaded by Carlos Ladino and Marcela Aguillon, bringing together a wealth of expertise and focus to create a groundbreaking solution.

Timothy Furey, the CEO and Founder of Tradeview Ltd., emphasizes the significance of Vulkan Prime Bridge, stating, "It is more than just a technological advancement; it's a promise of trading elevated. Unlock your trading potential, master risk management, and leverage our agile solutions to give your brokerage the edge it needs."

Tradeview Markets was founded with a vision to provide unmatched online trading solutions to a global audience of traders and investors. The authorization to engage in securities investment business underscores Tradeview's commitment to maintaining the highest regulatory standards.

Tradeview Markets has been dedicated to providing unmatched online trading solutions. It goes beyond being just a brokerage, offering clients the latest trading technology, flexibility, and personal support through a cultivated team of industry professionals. The company's emphasis on accountability is reflected in its commitment to regulatory responsibilities, ensuring it goes beyond clients' expectations.

The Vulkan Prime Bridge launch aligns seamlessly with Tradeview's commitment to innovation and excellence. The company's reputation as a leader in the industry is built on its continuous efforts to provide clients with cutting-edge solutions, streamlined administrative procedures, and 24-hour trade support.

About Tradeview Markets:

Established in 2004, Tradeview Ltd., headquartered in Grand Cayman, operates as a fully licensed Broker/Dealer within the framework of the Cayman Islands Securities Investment Business Law. More than just a brokerage, Tradeview offers clients the latest trading technology, flexibility, and personal support through its cultivated team of industry professionals. The company emphasizes accountability, regulatory responsibility, and exceeding client expectations to maintain a strong market reputation. Tradeview Markets ensures 24-hour trade support and streamlined administrative procedures, placing clients' needs at the forefront of its operations.

Media Contact

Organization: Tradeview LTD

Contact Person: Timothy Furey

Website: https://www.tradeviewforex.com/

Email: tfurey@tvmarkets.com

City: New York

State: New York

Country: United States

SOURCE: Tradeview LTD

View the original press release on accesswire.com
BH Macro Limited - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, March 01

BH Macro Limited (the "Company")

(a closed-ended collective investment scheme established as a company with limited liability under the laws of Guernsey with registered number 46235)

Transaction in Own Shares

1 March 2024

BH Macro Limited (the Company) announces today it has purchased the following number of its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange from J.P. Morgan Securities plc:

Ordinary Shares: - Share Class Sterling Date of purchase: 1 March 2024 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 59,219 Lowest price per share 345 Highest price per share 349.5 Trading venue LSE Aggregate volume per date per trading venue: 59,219 Weighted average price per day per trading venue: 347.8285

The Company intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.

Following the above share transactions of the relevant US Dollar and Sterling Shares, the total number of shares in issue in each share class of the Company will be as follows:

Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding Treasury) Ordinary Shares held in Treasury 364,327,600 Sterling Shares 9,277,260 Sterling Shares 29,762,912 Dollar Shares Nil Dollar Shares

From 1 March 2024, the total number of voting rights in the Company (rounded up to the whole number) is 558,563,570

Enquiries:

Company website: www.bhmacro.com

William Simmonds

JPMorgan Cazenove

Tel: 020 7588 2828

The Company Secretary

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

Tel: 01481 745001
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, March 01

For immediate release

1 March 2024

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 146,752 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 862.66 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 23 January 2024.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 34,054,857; 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 190,936,446.

The figure of 190,936,446 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
HIGH WYCOMBE, England, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Cater For You and their Business Development Manager, Tom Payne, visited London last Friday to meet with Chef Tom Phillips and his team. The team is preparing for the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition, the biggest cooking competition in the world, which will be held in Trondheim, Norway. Chef Phillips will be judged on his cooking skills and kitchen etiquette during the competition.

Cater For You has donated its Rectangular and Square Tamper Evident containers and 1000ml Juice Bottles to the competition to support Chef Phillips on this exciting journey. Tom shared his enthusiasm, saying, "I was already familiar with their products from a recent visit to the Ritz Hotel. They are perfect for the competition, so I was hoping for sponsorship for the team with these four products."

Tom met with Chef Phillips at his kitchen in Westminster and caught up with him during a practice run for the competition. He said, "I am feeling really good about the competition, and after many practices with run-through time, we are hoping for a top-five finish. Working alongside Cater For You has made the experience much easier, and we hope to continue our relationship with them."

Although Chef Philips's dishes are currently top secret, you can keep updated on the competition through the Cater For You Blog.

Notes to the Editor:

Cater For You Limited was established in 2003 as an e-commerce plastic glasses and food packaging wholesaler. Their primary business principle is, where possible, to hold stock of all of our product lines and ship all orders placed by 3 p.m. for next working day delivery (Monday to Friday standard delivery option). All this is undertaken from a 17,000sq ft warehouse in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. Cater For You Limited trading as Cater4You.

For further information, images, case studies, and interview opportunities, please get in touch with emma@simplerpr.com / Tel: 01494 793501

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cater-for-you-provides-food-packaging-for-michelin-star-chefs-representing-bocuse-dor-302077476.html
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Lode Gold Minerals Corp. (TSXV: LOD) (OTCQB: SBMIF) ("Lode Gold " or the "Company" and formerly Stratabound Minerals) is pleased to announce that it has accepted subscriptions for the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered financing designated to close on March 5, 2024.

The Company is pleased to have received 100% participation in the private placement from all board members and management, making it a related-party transaction. The Company has relied on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of such insider participation.

The company received subscription agreements for aggregate proceeds of $1,432,652.50 for the issuance of 57,306,100 units of the company at $0.025 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share at an exercise price of $0.05 per common share for a period of two years following the date of closing. The Company may accelerate the expiry date if the shares trade at $0.30 or more for a period of 10 days, including days where no trading occurs. Securities issued on this proposed closing will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and day. The closing of the financing is subject to TSXV final approval.

Ron Tomlinson, CEO of Tomlinson Group states, "We have renewed confidence in our new management team and Lode Gold's vision and thus are stepping up to fund the Company's 2024 plans."

Chad Tappendorf, Managing Director of Coast Capital LLC adds, "With an invigorated new team at the helm, we are affirming our commitment to Lode Gold and maintaining our shareholding with an upsized investment."

Hashim Ahmed, Lode Gold's Chairman, commented: "The quick close of the financing is a testament to renewed momentum and strategy that new management and advisors have brought into Lode Gold. We are on track and actively executing our restructuring, growth strategy and plans."

ABOUT LODE GOLD

Lode Gold is a Canadian exploration and development company with grassroots and advanced exploration properties in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions.

Its Golden Culvert and Win Projects, Yukon, covering 99.5 km2 across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high-grade-gold-mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Gold deposits and occurrences within the Belt include Fort Knox, Pogo, Brewery Creek and Dublin Gulch, and Snowline Gold's Valley target on its Rogue property in the Selwyn Basin.

Its McIntyre Brook Project, New Brunswick, covering 120 km2 and a 17-km strike length in the emerging Triple Fault Gold Belt, is surrounded by Puma Exploration's Williams Brook Project (5.55 g/t Au over 50m) and is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold's Queensway Project.

The Company is also advancing its Fremont Gold development project in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt of California where 50,000,000 oz of gold has been produced. Fremont, located ~500km north of Equinox Gold's Castle Mountain and Mesquite mines, has a PEA with an after-tax NPV of USD $217MM, a 21% IRR, 11-year LOM, averaging 118k ounces per annum at USD $1,750 gold. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated, and 2.02 Moz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MT Inferred. A sensitivity to the March 31, 2023 PEA at USD $2,000/oz gold gives an after-tax NPV of USD $370MM and a 31% IRR over an 11-year LOM. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike length of the Fremont property that features 4 gold-mineralized zones. Significantly, three step-out holes at depth hit structure, typical of orogenic deposits that often occur at depth. Fremont is located on private land in Mariposa, the original gold rush county and is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airports and rail. Please refer to the Fremont Gold project PEA dated March 31, 2023 under NI 43-101 guidelines. The technical report has been reviewed and approved by independent "Qualified Persons" Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, and Andrew Bradfield, P.Eng. both of P&E, and Travis Manning, P.E. of KCA.

The Company also holds a pipeline of early-stage exploration projects including the critical mineral Captain Cobalt-Copper-Gold Deposit in New Brunswick and the Dingman Gold Project, Ontario.

QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, Director, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology - UCT), FAusIMM, and who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.stratabound.com or contact:

Gary Nassif

Senior Vice President, Director

info@stratabound.com

+1 (416) 915-4157

Kevin Shum

Investor Relations

kevin@jeminicapital.com

+1 (647) 725-3888 ext. 702

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

WARNING: The Company relies upon litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements. The information in this release may contain forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, changes in laws or regulations, failure to obtain regulatory, exchange or shareholder approval, the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this forward-looking information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200091

SOURCE: Lode Gold Resources Inc.
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - HDEX, the world's first hydrogen exchange, is thrilled to announce complimentary access to its highly anticipated report, titled "Hydrogen Horizons 2024-2050: Navigating the Global Hydrogen Market." This comprehensive 66-page report offers invaluable insights into the future of the hydrogen market, encompassing market trends, growth opportunities, and strategic recommendations.





HDEX

"The global hydrogen market stands on the cusp of remarkable expansion, propelled by the transition toward a low-carbon economy, technological advancements, and supportive policies," said Aron Dutta, Chairman of HDEX. "This report delves into future trends, consumer behaviors, and sales performance within the hydrogen market, making it an indispensable resource for industry professionals, researchers, and stakeholders."

Knowledge of market dynamics allows business, investors, and policymakers to make informed and strategic decisions. By understanding how markets operate, stakeholders can anticipate trends, identify opportunities, and mitigate risks. Market dynamics is fundamental for navigating the complexities of the business environment. It empowers stakeholders to make informed decisions, respond to changes proactively, and stay resilient in the face of evolving market conditions. For both supply and demand of hydrogen there are many factors to consider:

This new report supplies readers a strategic-level analysis and recommendations for growth in the hydrogen marketplace for the next three decades. These insights into all aspects of investment in the hydrogen space to help readers develop a comprehensive understanding of the market.



For a limited time, get a complimentary copy of the report at: https://www.hdexgroup.com/product-page/hydrogen-horizons-2024-2050-navigating-the-global-hydrogen-market



About HDEX:

HDEX is committed to advancing the possibilities within the evolving hydrogen market, offering a reliable platform for seamless trade, and contributing to the sustainable future of energy. HDEX is a global company based in the United Kingdom. For more information, please join the mailing list at http://hdexgroup.com/.

Contact Details:

HDEX

info@hdexgroup.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200077

SOURCE: 500Newswire, LLC
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) (OTCQB: ISVLF) (FSE: IKL) ("IMPACT" or the "Company") invites investors and stakeholders to visit the Company at Booth #2505 at The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday March 3, 2024 to Wednesday March 6, 2024.

ABOUT IMPACT SILVER

IMPACT Silver Corp. (TSXV: IPT) is a successful producer-explorer with two mining projects in Mexico.

Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver-Gold District: IMPACT owns 100% of the 211 km2 Zacualpan project in central Mexico where three underground silver mines and one open pit mine feed the central 500 tpd Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, the Capire Project includes a 200 tpd processing pilot plant adjacent to an open pit silver mine with an NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource of over 4.5 million oz silver, 48 million lbs zinc and 21 million lbs lead (see IMPACT news release dated January 18, 2016 for details and QP statement). Company engineers are reviewing Capire for a potential restart of operations. Over the past 17 years, IMPACT has placed multiple zones into commercial production and produced over 12 million ounces of silver, generating revenues over $256 million, with no long-term debt.

Plomosas Zinc-Lead-Silver District: Plomosas is a high-grade zinc producer in northern Mexico with exceptional exploration upside potential where only 600m of the 6 km-long structure have seen modern exploration to date. This is in addition to other exploration targets on the 3,019-hectare property including untested copper-gold targets with indications of high-grade material from surface. Regionally, Plomosas lies in the same mineral belt as some of the largest carbonate replacement deposits in the world.

Quality Control/Quality Assurance

Samples take by the Company were analyzed by ALS Group, an internationally recognized analytical services provider, and by the laboratory at the Plomosas mine. Samples analyzed by ALS used fire assay with an AA finish for gold and a multielement ICP package for other metals. Assays for metals >1% used an overlimit ICP method. For samples with >30%Zn a wet chemical method is used. For analyses at the mine, all metals are analyzed by AA. For some samples with >30% Zn, the analysis from the mine lab was used if an overlimit from ALS was not available. Certified Reference Materials and internal control samples are added to the sample stream at regular intervals to track accuracy of assays.

Qualified Person and NI 43-101 Disclosure

Craig Gibson, PhD, CPG, is a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has approved the technical information contained in this news release.

Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com . Follow us on Twitter @IMPACT_Silver and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/impactsilver

On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp.

"Frederick W. Davidson"

President & CEO

For more information, please contact:

Jerry Huang

CFO | Investor Relations

(604) 664-7707 or inquiries@impactsilver.com

(778) 887 6489 Direct

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.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a "goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expected use of proceeds of the Private Placement.

Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks and assumptions, including with respect to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI 43-101 the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its production decisions on NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200108

SOURCE: IMPACT Silver Corp.
Boxwood Successfully Completes its 5th Residential Services Franchisee Transaction

JUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Boxwood Partners is pleased to announce the sale of Panther Overhead Door, LLC ("Panther" or the "Company"), a leading franchisee within Precision Garage Door Service ("PDS"), a Neighborly company, by Impact Home Services ("Impact"), a franchisee of Precision Garage Door Service, Mr. Rooter, and Mr. Electric, which all three brands are part of the Neighborly community. Impact was formed by Shirin Kanji in 2021 and partnered with Eagle Merchant Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, in 2023.

Boxwood Partners, a leading boutique middle-market investment bank, acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Panther on the transaction. The transaction was led by Brian Alas (Managing Director), Madison Day (Vice President), John Atkinson (Associate) and Drew Asadorian (Analyst). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Panther transaction marks Boxwood's fifth franchisee transaction and fourth within the Neighborly system within the last year.

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.

"We're very grateful to the Boxwood team for locating the right solution for Panther," said Doug Bencsko. "The Impact team was a logical fit, both culturally and operationally, to optimize the Houston market."

About Boxwood Partners

Boxwood Partners, LLC is a boutique investment bank based in Jupiter, Florida with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other important transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. For more information about Boxwood Partners, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com.

About Impact Home Services

Impact is an independent operator of three franchises within Neighborly, the world's largest home services company. Formed in 2021 by Shirin Kanji, Impact operates Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Mr. Electric and Precision Door Service franchises in Metro Atlanta and broader Georgia, servicing both residents and commercial customers. Impact is actively seeking add-on investments of independent plumbing, electrical and garage door repair businesses in Georgia and adjoining markets.

About Eagle Merchant Partners

Eagle is focused on partnering with founder-owned businesses based in the Southeast with unique growth opportunities and targets investments in franchise, consumer, and industrial businesses with EBITDA between $2 million and $20 million. For more information, please visit eaglemerchantpartners.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 .

Contact:

mryan@fishmanpr.com

847-945-1300

SOURCE: Boxwood Partners, LLC

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Red Metal Resources Ltd. (CSE: RMES) (OTC Pink: RMESF) ("Red Metal" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company will be exhibiting at the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada ("PDAC") convention, the world's premier mineral exploration and mining event, which will be held in person in Toronto from Sunday, March 3rd to Wednesday, March 6th, 2024.

Red Metal's management team looks forward to discussing the Company's ongoing exploration plans at booth 2536 in the Investor Exchange at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

For more information and/or to register for the convention, please visit: www.pdac.ca/convention.

About Red Metal Resources Ltd.

Red Metal Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on growth through acquiring, exploring and developing copper-cobalt-gold assets in Chile. The Company's projects are located in the prolific Candelaria iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) belt of Chile's coastal Cordillera. Red Metal is quoted on the CSE under the symbol RMES and on OTC Link alternative trading system on the OTC Pink marketplace under the symbol RMESF.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, visit www.redmetalresources.com.

Contact:

Red Metal Resources Ltd.

Caitlin Jeffs, P.Geo, CEO

1-866-907-5403

invest@redmetalresources.com

www.redmetalresources.com

Forward-Looking Statements - All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws including, without limitation statements related to the description of its exploration plans. Red Metal provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to exploration findings, results and recommendations, ability to raise adequate financing, receipt of required approvals and unprecedented market and economic risks associated with current unprecedented market and economic circumstances, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Red Metal's public filings under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Red Metal 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. Red Metal disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.

The CSE has not approved or disapproved the contents of this news release or passed upon the merits of any of the transactions described herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200133

SOURCE: Red Metal Resources Ltd.
NANYANG, China, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Co-hosted by the Nanyang Chinese Medicine Development Bureau, the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM) and the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM), the Zhang Zhongjing Medicine Culture Festival & Forum on High-quality Development of TCM was held in Nanyang, China from February 26th to 28th.

Themed "Promote the International, Industrialized, and Modernized Development of Zhong Jing Culture", the event included 14 academic forums and 16 related activities, including the opening ceremony and a session dedicated to honoring the eminent Chinese pharmacologist and physician, Zhang Zhongjing. The forum brought together over 700 attendees, among them more than 30 foreign diplomats, international students, representatives from relevant international organizations, as well as delegates from Hong Kong and Macao. Notable participants included Chen Zhu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, and President of the Red Cross Society of China; Lu Cairong, Vice President of China International Communications Group (CICG) and Secretary of the Party Committee of CICG; Huang Hongxia, Director of the Health Commission of Henan Province; Hui Mo, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine at the Health Bureau of Macao SAR Government; and Tang Zuxuan, a senior researcher and leading practitioner in Chinese medicine.

In addition to live streaming and interactive online sessions that engaged over 2 million virtual participants, the forum facilitated concurrent trade negotiations and a project-signing event that culminated in the execution of agreements for 58 projects, with a combined investment totaling 36.4 billion yuan. The Zhongjing Comprehensive Health Care Industry Expo, an integral part of the forum, featured nine exhibition areas with 180 booths, hosting over 200 Chinese TCM companies and attracting nearly 100,000 visitors.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2352771/Image1.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-16th-zhang-zhongjing-medicine-culture-festival--forum-on-high-quality-development-of-tcm-takes-place-in-nanyang-china-302077590.html
Tokyo / Japan and Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Germany, Mar 1, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Daimler Truck AG ("Daimler Truck"), Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation ("MFTBC"), Hino Motors Ltd. ("Hino") and Toyota Motor Corporation ("Toyota") today gave an update on the progress on the collaboration based on the MoU.In May 2023, Daimler Truck, Toyota, MFTBC, and Hino concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on accelerating the development of advanced technologies and merging MFTBC and Hino. The planned collaboration is aimed toward achieving carbon neutrality and creating a prosperous mobility society by developing CASE technologies (Connected / Autonomous & Automated / Shared / Electric) and strengthening the commercial vehicle business on a global scale.According to the MoU, MFTBC and Hino plan to merge on an equal footing and collaborate in the areas of commercial vehicle development, procurement, and production. The plan is to build a globally competitive Japanese commercial vehicle manufacturer, with Daimler Truck and Toyota investing equally in the (listed) holding company of the merged MFTBC and Hino.While the Definitive Agreement for merging MFTBC and Hino was targeted to be signed by the end of March 2024 and integration complete by the end of 2024, the process of obtaining necessary regulatory clearances and approvals under competition and other laws and regulations, as well as the pending investigations related to Hino's engine certification issues, are still ongoing. As such, the original schedule has been extended.The timing of the envisaged execution of the Definitive Agreement and the implementation of the business integration will be announced as soon as a reliable timeline for the pending investigations is available. Once all parties involved reach an agreement, they will move forward based on the approval of the relevant boards of directors, shareholders, and authorities.Based on the common desire to "contribute to a prosperous society through mobility", the four companies have been discussing how MFTBC and Hino can work together to improve business efficiency and enhance competitiveness, and how Daimler Truck and Toyota can work together to further enhance their technology development capabilities and promote CASE technology in order to contribute to customers and stakeholders in Japan and Asia, as well as the Japanese automotive industry. Through the discussion based on integrity, mutual respect, and diversity and by understanding each other's strengths and corporate culture, the parties confirm that the merger discussions are progressing on a positive note and that the strategic objectives and logic of the proposed transaction continues to be valid.Source: Toyota Motor CorporationCopyright 2024 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.


CR-V e:FCEV

TOKYO, Mar 1, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today held the world premiere of the production model of the CR-V e:FCEV, an all-new hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) which is scheduled to go on sale in Japan this summer.The CR-V e:FCEV will be exhibited at H2 & FC EXPO - The 21st Int'l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell Expo - which will be held from Wednesday, February 28, through Friday, March 1, 2024 at Tokyo Big Sight, Japan.CR-V e:FCEV Special Website https://automobiles.honda.com/future-cars/cr-v-fcevWith the introduction of the CR-V e:FCEV, Honda will be the first Japanese automaker to launch an FCEV model featuring a plug-in charging function that enables charging of an onboard battery from an external power source. Without compromising the advantages of an FCEV, such as a long driving range and short hydrogen refueling time, the addition of a plug-in feature to charge the battery at home and/or on the go further enhances the convenience of FCEVs.*Honda internal research as of February 2024.The CR-V e:FCEV is expected to offer range of more than 600km (372 miles) on a full tank of hydrogen and additional battery-powered EV range of more than 60km (37 miles) measured by the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). Moreover, based on the 6th generation CR-V, which is already sold in key markets such as North America and China, the CR-V e:FCEV will accommodate the diverse needs of individual customers with excellent utility and packaging unique only to an SUV.The CR-V e:FCEV will be equipped with the fuel cell system co-developed by Honda and General Motors (GM) and produced by their joint venture company, Fuel Cell System Manufacturing, LLC (in Michigan, U.S.A.). The vehicle will be produced at Honda's Performance Manufacturing Center (in Ohio, U.S.A.) and exported to Japan. Following the introduction in Japan, sales in North America is scheduled to begin before the end of 2024.Honda has set a goal to realize carbon neutrality for all of the products and corporate activities Honda is involved in by 2050 and "zero environmental impact" throughout the entire product lifecycle including the product and all corporate activities. Toward this end, Honda is focusing on the following "three-pillars": "carbon neutrality," "clean energy" and "resource circulation." Within these initiatives, Honda positions hydrogen as one of the high-potential energy carriers, along with electricity, and has been continuing research and development of hydrogen technologies including FCEVs for more than 30 years.In 2002, the Honda FCX became the first FCEV in the world to receive certification from both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and went on lease sales in Japan and the U.S. Since then, Honda has continued the development of FCEVs and began lease sales of the FCX Clarity in 2008 and the Clarity Fuel Cell in 2016.CR-V e:FCEV Special Website:www.honda.co.jp/CR-V-efcev/new/ (Japanese)https://automobiles.honda.com/future-cars/cr-v-fcev (English)Key features of the CR-V e:FCEVGrand concept: E-Life GeneratorThe CR-V e:FCEV was developed as a practical FCEV for more customers, combining the rugged driving performance and functionality of an SUV with a short hydrogen refueling time of approximately 3 minutes for stress-free long-distance driving and the plug-in charging feature for the convenience of an EV for everyday driving.Moreover, in addition to high-output power supply through an external power output device, the user can also use electricity from the CR-V e:FCEV more easily through a dedicated power output connector that plugs into the vehicle's normal charging port. Such external power output features will offer customers convenience and peace of mind in a wide range of situations where electricity supply is needed for everyday and recreational activities as well as during power outages.PackagingThe CR-V e:FCEV features a cabin as spacious as the CR-V base model. As for the cargo space, the packaging team adopted an idea to take advantage of the protruding shape of the hydrogen tank to realize a two-level cargo space using a flexible board, featuring a flat and large luggage space and an upper storage level for easy organization of smaller items.DesignWhile inheriting the sporty and highly functional styling of successive generations of CR-V models, the CR-V e:FCEV features exterior design that expresses an intelligent and dynamic appearance unique only to FCEVs, based on the key words of "clean," "tough" and "iconic." As for interior design, without compromising the high quality and toughness of the CR-V interior, the CR-V e:FCEV offers a style unique to a user-friendly and environmentally-responsible FCEV, including the use of an environmentally-responsible bio-based synthetic leather for the seats.Fuel cell systemThe CR-V e:FCEV is equipped with a fuel cell system co-developed with GM. Compared to the fuel cell system in the 2019 Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, the overall cost of the new system was reduced to one-third through a reduction in the amount of platinum used and the number of cells, as well as the positive effects of scaling up production. Moreover, durability of the system was doubled, and low temperature resistance was increased significantly compared to the previous system. In addition, power unit components, centering on the fuel cell system, were integrated to realize a compact and lightweight power unit, which also contributed to a cost reduction and enhancement of passive safety performance by enabling use of the original engine mount of the base CR-V model. Furthermore, compared to the Honda Clarity Fuel Cell, vibration and noise were significantly reduced, greatly improving the quality of the driving experience.Charging and output functionsFor the alternating current (AC) charging/output connector for the CR-V e: FCEV, the SAE J1772, the Level 2 charging standard in Japan and the U.S. is adopted, which enables the users to plug in the CR-V e: FCEV to a household AC electrical outlet for convenient charging of the onboard battery. Moreover, the CR-V e:FCEV features a function for external output of AC electricity to a maximum of 1500W by plugging in the Honda Power Supply Connector, an AC external charging connector, to a normal charging port of the vehicle. This enables the CR-V e:FCEV to serve as a power source during power outages as well as for outdoor recreational activities.Furthermore, the Japanese version of the CR-V e:FCEV is equipped with a direct current (DC) output connector based on the CHAdeMO standard. By connecting the output connector located in the cargo space to a portable external power output device, such as the Power Exporter e:6000 or Power Exporter 9000, the CR-V e:FCEV can realize high-output external power and serve as a power source in case of an emergency and/or for an outdoor event.About the H2 & FC EXPO - The 21st Int'l Hydrogen & Fuel Cell ExpoOrganizer: RX Japan Ltd.Dates: Wednesday, February 28, through Friday, March 1, 2024Venue: Tokyo Big SightOfficial website URL:www.wsew.jp/hub/ja-jp/about/fc.html (Japanese)www.wsew.jp/hub/en-gb/about/fc.html (English)Source: Honda Motor Co, LtdCopyright 2024 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQX: APAAF) (FWB: A0I0) (MUN: A0I0) (BER: A0I0) (the "Company" or "Appia") is pleased to announce that it has received an independent maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its ionic adsorption clay (IAC) project located in the State of Goias, Brazil, known as the PCH Project. The MRE was prepared by Yann Camus, P.Eng., of SGS Canada Inc. - Geological Services ("SGS").

Highlights:

The maiden MRE for the PCH Project is estimated at 52.8 million tonnes (Mt) comprising: 6.6 Mt Indicated resource with a grade of 2,513 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO). 46.2 Mt Inferred resource with a grade of 2,888 ppm TREO.

The deposit contains significant concentrations of Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Dysprosium (Dy), and Terbium (Tb) which are the rare earth elements used in the production of permanent magnets and currently under high demand.

The Company is currently undertaking a significant evaluation of the potential desorbed rare earth oxide (DREO), and results are pending.

Significant anomalies of Scandium and Cobalt have been identified in the Buriti Zone, adding additional potential resource value to the project.

Tom Drivas stated, "Appia's team has done a tremendous amount of work over the past 8 months leading to the commissioning of this maiden MRE on our two (2) initial project areas, Target IV and the Buriti Zone. I couldn't be more pleased to confirm that our conviction was well placed as there is immense potential at our PCH project in Brazil. With an estimated 6.6 million tonnes of high-grade mineralization in the indicated category and 46.2 million tonnes of high-grade mineralization in the inferred category, and with some of the highest TREO grades in the world, we are well on our way to establishing the Company as a leader not only in Brazil, but the around the globe."

Stephen Burega, President, commented, "Today's announcement is very important to the Company and our shareholders, and this is only the beginning for this amazing project. We have delineated a combined resource of 52.8 million tonnes of high-grade mineralization in an area of only 483 hectares across both target zones. Appia is continuing its exploratory auger drilling program to test multiple new target areas across the PCH project which covers over 40,000 hectares. We will continue to evaluate future targets for TREO as well as for Scandium and Cobalt potential."

Mineral Resource Statement

The block model representing the Current Resource of the PCH deposit is based on a total of 138 RC drillholes and 1 Diamond drillhole, which produced 1,869 samples in the 3 layers (Top Soil, Clay and Saprolite) above the rock. The 3 softer material layers were interpreted and modelled from this data. The mineral resource statement prepared by SGS is reported in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

Mineralized

Zone Classification Volume SG Tonnes TREO MREO HREO Sm2O3 Tb4O7 Dy2O3 Pr6O11 Nd2O3 Sc2O3 Co Mm3 Mt ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm ppm Target IV Indicated 3.3 1.97 6.6 2513 562 186 58.3 5.8 31.1 109 358 15.9 22 Inferred 6.9 1.96 13.5 7307 1391 331 114.4 9.6 49.4 311 907 24.6 74 Buriti Inferred 16.7 1.96 32.7 1059 259 101 29.0 3.1 17.8 45 164 68.6 127 TOTAL Indicated 3.3 1.97 6.6 2513 562 186 58.3 5.8 31.1 109 358 15.9 22 Inferred 23.6 1.96 46.2 2888 591 168 54.0 5.0 27.0 123 381 55.7 111

Table 1: PCH Mineral Resource Estimate.

The MRE has an effective date of the 1st of February 2024. The Qualified Person for the MRE is Mr. Yann Camus, P.Eng., an employee of SGS. The MRE provided in this table were estimated using current Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions and Guidelines. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have not demonstrated economic viability. Additional drilling will be required to convert Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resources to Measured Mineral Resources. There is no certainty that any part of a Mineral Resource will ever be converted into Reserves. All analyses used for the MRE were performed by SGS GEOSOL by ICM40B: Multi Acid Digestion / ICP OES - ICP MS and by IMS95R: Lithium Metaborate Fusion / ICP-MS. MRE are stated at a cut-off total NSR value of 10 US$/t. The full price list and recovery used to estimate the NSR is in Table 2. The estimated basket price of TREO is US$26.98. GEOVIA's WhittleTM software was used to provide an optimized pit envelope to demonstrate reasonable prospection for economic extraction. Preliminary pit optimization parameters included overall pit slope of 30 degrees, in-pit mining costs of $2.10, processing and G/A costs of $9/t, and overall mining loss and dilution of 5%. Full details of the preliminary pit-optimization parameters can be found in Table 2. The basket price and oxides price list in Table 2 are based on forward-looking pricing. These future prices are predicted based on market trends, economic forecasts, and other relevant factors. The actual prices may vary depending on changes in these factors. Figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate and numbers may not add due to rounding. Resources are presented undiluted and in situ, constrained within a 3D model, and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Bulk density values were determined based on physical test work and assumed porosities for each type of material. Total Rare Earth Oxides: TREO = Y2O3 + Eu2O3 + Gd2O3 + Tb2O3 + Dy2O3 + Ho2O3 + Er2O3 + Tm2O3 + Yb2O3 + Lu2O3 + La2O3 + Ce2O3 + Pr2O3 + Nd2O3 + Sm2O3 Magnetic Rare Earth Oxides: MREO = Sm2O3 + Tb4O7 + Dy2O3 + Pr6O11 + Nd2O3 Heavy Rare Earth Oxides: HREO = Sm2O3 + Eu2O3 + Gd2O3 + Tb4O7 + Dy2O3 + Ho2O3 + Er2O3 + Tm2O3 + Yb2O3 + Lu2O3 The MRE may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

The MRE is constrained within an optimized pit envelope using assumptions found in Table 2. A map displaying the plan view of the MRE, and Scandium grade block model and cross section is available by clicking on this LINK.

The overall MRE indicates that, at shallower depths, the N and NW portions are more enriched in TREO in Target IV when compared to Buriti Target (Figure 2). Buriti target presents TREO enrichment at deeper depths (Figure 3) and presents anomalous grades of Scandium and Cobalt.

Parameter Value Unit Sm2O3 $2.2 US$ per kg oxide Eu2O3 $35 US$ per kg oxide Gd2O3 $45 US$ per kg oxide Tb4O7 $1,450 US$ per kg oxide Dy2O3 $450 US$ per kg oxide Ho2O3 $130 US$ per kg oxide Er2O3 $37 US$ per kg oxide Tm2O3 $5.0 US$ per kg oxide Yb2O3 $16 US$ per kg oxide Lu2O3 $750 US$ per kg oxide La2O3 $2.0 US$ per kg oxide CeO2 $1.5 US$ per kg oxide Pr6O11 $100 US$ per kg oxide Nd2O3 $95 US$ per kg oxide Scandium $700 US$ per kg oxide Cobalt $35 US$ per kg oxide Y2O3 $5.0 US$ per kg oxide Overall Pit Slope 30 Degrees In-Pit Mining Cost $2.1 US$ per tonne mined Processing Cost and G&A $9.0 US$ per tonne milled Metallurgical Recovery

(overall) 25 Percent (%) Mining loss / Dilution

(open pit) 5/5 Percent (%) / Percent (%) Densities Value Unit Top Sol 2.00 t/m3 Sol 1.80 t/m3 SAP 2.10 t/m3 Rock 2.50 t/m3 Waste in pit 2.00 t/m3 Cut-off Grade Value Unit Total NSR 10$ US$ per tonne

Table 2: Assumed Current Resource Cut-Off and Pit Optimization Parameters in US$.







Figure 1 - Map showing the total area of the PCH Project and locations of the Target IV and Buriti Zone.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/200153_daf4fa3dc4ef2988_003full.jpg









Figure 2 - Map showing the Target IV and Buriti Zone resource extension and South-North cross section location shown in Figure 3.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/200153_fig2.jpg







Figure 3 - South-North cross section showing the TREO grade block model. With a 3x vertical exaggeration factor.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/200153_daf4fa3dc4ef2988_005full.jpg







Figure 4 - 3D view from south showing the TREO grade block model. With a 3x vertical exaggeration factor.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5416/200153_daf4fa3dc4ef2988_006full.jpg

More Details on Data Sources and Current Resource Estimation Methods

Some exploration Auger data is also available but have no impact on the MRE. Therefore, only the RC and Diamond drillholes were used for the MRE estimation. The hard rock, while mineralized, was not included in the MRE because the required process would be different and is not currently part of the development strategy. Also, data from the hard rock is currently limited. Blocks of 10 x 10 x 0.2 m were used to fill the 3 layers volumes. The composites used are the original assays given that 1867 of the 1868 assay in the 3 layers have lengths between 0.5 m and 1.05 m. Capping was studied but was deemed unnecessary because no significant extreme grades are present in the database. It is estimated that capping of highest grades could potentially reduce the MRE by around 1%. Estimation of the block model was prepared by Yann Camus, P.Eng., of SGS Canada Inc. - Geological Services ("SGS") from Blainville, Quebec, using the SGS Genesis mining software. Interpolation was performed using inverse square distance (ID2) as well as different search ellipses which were adapted for the geology of the deposit with variable orientations to conform to the geometry of the 3 layers. Estimation was done in 3 passes. The composites used pertain to each layer as hard boundaries. Mineralized material classification was outlined by hand as Indicated in areas with at least 3 drillholes with a drilling grid of around 100 m. Inferred resources are in areas with a drill grid of up to 200 m. At this point, there are no measured resources in the project. The block model was then fed to GEOVIA's WhittleTM software to provide an optimized pit envelope constraining the Current Resource. The TREO basket price found for the MRE is 26.98 US$/kg TREO as detailed in Table 2. The base case MRE is detailed in Table 1.

QA/QC

Reverse circulation (RC) drill holes are vertical and reported intervals are true thickness. The material produced from drill holes are sampled at one metre intervals, resulting in average sample sizes of 5-25 kg. A small representative specimen was taken from each sample bag and placed into a chip tray for visual inspection and logging by the geologist. Quartering of the material was performed at Appia's logging facility using a riffle splitter and continued splitting until a representative sample weighing approximately 500g each was obtained, bagged in a resistant plastic bag, labeled, photographed, and stored for shipment.

The bagged samples are sent to the SGS laboratory in Vespasiano, Minas Gerais. In addition to the internal QA/QC of the SGS Lab, Appia includes its own control samples in each batch of samples sent to the laboratory.

Quality control samples, such as blanks, duplicates, and standards (CRM) were inserted into each analytical run. For all analysis methods, the minimum number of QA/QC samples is one standard, one duplicate and one blank, introduced in each batch which comprise a full-length hole. The rigorous procedures are implemented during the sample collection, preparation, and analytical stages to insure the robustness and reliability of the analytical results.

All analytical results reported herein have passed internal QA/QC review and compilation. All assay results of RC samples were provided by SGS Geosol, an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Certified Laboratory, which performed their measure of the concentration of rare earth elements (REE) analyses by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) analytical methods.

Qualified Person

The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Don Hains, P.Geo, Consulting Geologist, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

The MRE has been prepared by Yann Camus, P.Eng., of SGS Canada Inc. - Geological Services ("SGS") from Blainville, Quebec and is a Qualified Person (QP) as defined under NI 43-101. He is responsible for the MRE and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to the MRE contained in this news release.

NI 43-101 Technical Report

A technical report in conformance with the requirements of NI-43-101 will be filed on www.sedarplus.com within 45 days of the issuance of this press release..

About Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (Appia)

Appia is a publicly traded Canadian company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and gallium on the Alces Lake property, as well as exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 94,982.39 hectares (234,706.59 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 13,008 hectares (32,143 acres), with rare earth elements and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. Lastly, the Company holds the right to acquire up to a 70% interest in the PCH Project (See June 9th, 2023 Press Release - Click HERE) which is 40,963.18 ha. in size and located within the Goias State of Brazil. (See January 11th, 2024 Press Release - Click HERE)

Appia has 136.3 million common shares outstanding, 144.5 million shares fully diluted.

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, visit www.appiareu.com

As part of our ongoing effort to keep investors, interested parties and stakeholders updated, we have several communication portals. If you have any questions online (X, Facebook, LinkedIn) please feel free to send direct messages.

To book a one-on-one 30-minute Zoom video call, please click here.

Contact:

Tom Drivas, CEO and Director

(c) (416) 876-3957

(e) tdrivas@appiareu.com

Stephen Burega, President

(c) (647) 515-3734

(e) sburega@appiareu.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200153

SOURCE: Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Element 29 Resources Inc. (TSXV: ECU) (OTCQB: EMTRF) (BVL: ECU) ("Element 29" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received environmental permit approval for exploration drilling at its wholly-owned Atravesado porphyry target on the Flor de Cobre copper project, located in southern Peru.

The permit, known as a Declaracion de Impacto Ambiental ("DIA"), allows the Company to drill from a maximum of 40 drilling platforms. Following approval of the environmental permit, Element 29 requested approval from the Peruvian General Mining Bureau ("DGM") for the Authorization to Initiate Exploration Activities ("AIEA"), which is a normal course step that triggers Peruvian authorities to evaluate the effect of exploration activities on the local community. The outcome of this evaluation will establish whether there is a need for a prior consultation process ("Consulta Previa"). In parallel, the Company is negotiating a surface rights agreement with the local community. After completing these steps, the Company expects that Peruvian authorities will be able to issue approval of the AIEA.

Partnering with GlobeTrotters on Exploration

The Company plans to partner with GlobeTrotters Resource Group ("GlobeTrotters"), a private exploraton company focused on project generation in South America. GlobeTrotters has been actively exploring in Peru for more than 10 years and responsible for the initial discovery of the Company's flagship Elida porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag deposit and the Atravesado porphry Cu target at Flor de Cobre. The plans are to utilize GlobeTrotters' technical expertise in Peru to advance the Company's portfolio of highly prospective porphyry Cu projects and share operational resources to potentially significantly cut costs. The plans to partner with GlobeTrotters, the largest shareholder of the Company, complements the appointment of Manuel Montoya as Chief Technical Officer (see February 29, 2024 press release).

Richard Osmond, Chairman and CEO, commented, "The receipt of the Atravesado target DIA on our Flor de Cobre project is an important step towards drilling this highly prospective target. Our Peruvian team has worked diligently on both permitting and on gaining a better understanding of the Atravesado target. We anticipate receipt of the drill permit by Q3 2024."

Mr. Osmond continues, "The planned partnership with GlobeTrotters fits perfectly with our strategic plans to reduce corporate costs and focus our efforts as much as possible on advancing our portfolio of highly prospective Peruvian porphyry copper projects in one of the top mining jurisdictions globally."

Atravesado is a large porphyry Cu target on the 1,800 hectare ("ha") Flor de Cobre property (Figure 1) in the Southern Peru Copper Belt (Figure 2) that hosts some of the world's largest Cu mines and deposits. Outcrop samples anomalous in Cu and molybdenum ("Mo"), resistivity and chargeability anomalies, and corresponding geological indicators define the target with an area of approximately 1.5 km x 2.0 km. Mapping completed by the Element 29 geological team suggests Atravesado is part of a larger porphyry complex that extends to the Candelaria zone to the southeast. The core of the Atravesado target has not been tested by drilling (Figure 1 and Figure 3).

Candelaria Concessions

As part of the Company's option agreement renegotiation discussions with the underlying property vendor of the Candelaria concessions comprising a total of 127.12 ha, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Candelaria Resources S.A.C. has signed a non-binding letter of intent following the expiry of the previous 5-year option agreement entered in 2019. The Company will provide status updates on the new negotiations with the property vendor.

Figure 1: Map of the Flor de Cobre property, located in southern Peru. Atravesado is a large porphyry Cu-Mo exploration target associated with an increased density of quartz veinlets and late mineral porphyry dikes associated with a cluster of outcrop samples with anomalous Cu geochemistry. The target is also coincident with a high resistivity and moderate chargeability geophysical anomaly at a depth of 250 m thought to represent a leached potassic altered porphyry complex at depth. The location of two historical drill holes outside of the porphyry target area were completed by Anglo American in 2007. The blue dashed line is the location of the section shown in Figure 3 below. Concessions outlined in red are wholly owned by Element 29.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/200154_af030d60943ba9fe_001full.jpg

Figure 2: Regional setting of the Flor de Cobre Project in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, between Freeport McMoRan's Cerro Verde mining complex and Nexa Resources' Chapi mine. The project is at a moderate elevation of less than 2,700 m, is road accessible, and is close to excellent infrastructure for mine development and operation.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/200154_figure2.jpg

Figure 3: Cross section through geophysical line L3600N shows the results of the IP-Resistivity 2D inversion. The high resistivity anomaly in the center of the section is interpreted to represent the buried Atravesado porphyry complex. The high chargeability anomalies that straddle the high resistivity anomaly in the center of the section are interpreted to represent a pyritic halo associated with a flanking phyllic alteration zone. The low chargeability anomaly coincident with a moderately to low resistivity anomaly in the upper-central part of the section is interpreted to represent leached capping suggesting potential for enrichment at dept.



To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7414/200154_af030d60943ba9fe_003full.jpg

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Osmond (P.Geo.), Element 29's Chairman and CEO, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Flor de Cobre

Flor de Cobre is a porphyry Cu exploration project that contains the recently outlined Atravesado porphyry Cu target 2.5 km northwest of the historical Candelaria mine. The property is in the Southern Peru Copper Belt and is 5 km northwest of Nexa Resources' Chapi mine and 26 km southeast of the Cerro Verde mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan, Sumitomo Metal Mining, and Compania de Minas Buenaventura. Flor de Cobre hosts a classic Andean porphyry system with primary Cu sulphide mineralization associated with a multi-phase quartz monzonite porphyry complex. Weathering redistributed primary mineralization into a sub-horizontal enrichment blanket containing secondary Cu oxide and sulphide minerals at the base of a hematitic leached cap. Remnants of the upper jarositic component of the leached cap overlying the hematitic cap are preserved on the higher hill tops around the Candelaria prospect. An IP/Resistivity geophysical survey completed in 2019 outlined a core of moderate resistivity that coincides with widespread Cu oxide mineralization, strong Cu geochemistry, and late-stage quartz monzodiorite porphyry dikes. The resistive core is surrounded by a high-chargeability halo corresponding with weathered quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration.

About Element 29 Resources Inc.

Element 29 Resources Inc. is an emerging copper exploration and development company focused on advancing its portfolio of Peruvian projects towards development in one of the world's more established mining jurisdictions. Element 29's growth strategy is led by our strong board and management, who have a proven track record of discovery and delivering value to our shareholders.

The Company's principal objective is to explore and develop its Flor de Cobre Porphyry Cu Project located in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, 26 km southeast from Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde copper mine, and its Elida Porphyry Cu Deposit in west-central Peru. Both projects are well located for potential mine development and will benefit from nearby infrastructure including roads, powerlines, ports, water, and a skilled workforce.

More information is available at www.e29copper.com.

For additional information:

Richard Osmond, Chairman & CEO

1-888-246-7881

info@e29copper.com

The TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "Forward-looking Statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute Forward-looking Statements. Words such as "will", "intends", "proposed" and "expects" or similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-looking Statements. Forward-looking Statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's future plans, goals, expectations or strategies regarding the exploration and development of its resource properties, including advancing its portfolio of Peruvian copper projects; the Company's planned exploration of drilling targets and expected discovery of highly prospective porphyry Cu; approval of the AIEA from Peruvian authorities; the planned partnership with GlobeTrotters and the expected benefits thereof; and the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary entering into a binding option agreement with respect to the Candelaria concessions, if at all.

Forward-looking Statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, and important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations including uncertainties related to the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital for its operations on acceptable terms or at all, fluctuations in copper and other commodity prices, uncertainties inherent in the exploration of mineral properties, legislative, political or economic developments, including changes in Peruvian federal and/or provincial laws that may significantly affect the mining industry, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary's ability to enter into a binding option agreement with respect to the Candelaria concessions on acceptable terms or at all, and other risk factors set forth in the Company's prospectus under the heading "Risk Factors".

Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on Forward-looking Statements as there can be no assurances that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Element 29 to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any Forward-looking Statement. Any Forward-looking Statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200154

SOURCE: Element 29 Resources Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Los Andes Copper Ltd. (TSXV: LA) (OTCQX: LSANF) ("Los Andes" or the "Company") announces that in accordance with the terms of the US$5,000,000, US$4,000,000 and US$5,000,000 eight per cent convertible debentures issued to Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. ("Queen's Road Capital") on June 2, 2021, April 4, 2022 and September 2, 2022 (the "Convertible Debentures") the Company has elected to issue 12,012 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Common Shares") at a deemed price of US$8.74 (C$11.79) to Queen's Road Capital as payment for US$104,985 (C$141,621) in interest owing on the Convertible Debentures.

Under the terms of the Convertible Debentures, interest is payable quarterly, five per cent in cash and three per cent in shares, at the greater of: (i) the 20-day volume weighted average price prior to the interest payment date; or (ii) the Discounted Market Price (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V")).

The issuance of the Common Shares as payment for interest owing on the Convertible Debentures is subject to the terms and conditions of the Convertible Debentures as well as the receipt of all requisite approvals, including, without limitation, the approval of the TSX-V.

About Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd.

Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. is a leading financier to the global resource sector. The company is a resource focused investment company, making investments in privately held and publicly traded resource companies.

It is intended that the company will acquire and hold securities for both long-term capital appreciation and short-term gains, with a focus on convertible debt securities and resource projects in advanced development or production located in safe jurisdictions.

Queen's Road Capital Investment Ltd. is listed on the TSX under the ticker: QRC.

About Los Andes Copper Ltd.

Los Andes Copper Ltd. is an exploration and development company with an 100% interest in the Vizcachitas Project in Chile. The Company is focused on progressing the Project, which is located along Chile's most prolific copper belt, into production. Vizcachitas is one of the largest copper deposits in the Americas not controlled by the majors and the Company believes it will be Chile's next major copper mine.

The Project is a copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located 150 kilometers north of Santiago, in an area of very good infrastructure. An independent technical report for the PFS, prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, is available on the Company's SEDAR profile.

Los Andes Copper Ltd. is listed on the TSX-V under the ticker: LA.

Qualified Persons

Antony Amberg CGeol FGS, the Company's Chief Geologist, is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

For more information please contact:

Santiago Montt, CEO

santiago.montt@losandescopper.com

Tel: +56 2 2954-0450

Elizabeth Johnson, Investor Relations

Elizabeth.johnson@losandescopper.com

E-Mail: info@losandescopper.com or visit our website at: www.losandescopper.com

Follow us on twitter @LosAndesCopper

Follow us on LinkedIn Los Andes Copper Ltd

Certain of the information and statements contained herein that are not historical facts, constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the Securities Act (British Columbia), Securities Act (Ontario) and the Securities Act (Alberta) ("Forward-Looking Information"). Forward-Looking Information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "intend"; statements that an event or result is "due" on or "may", "will", "should", "could", or might" occur or be achieved; and, other similar expressions. More specifically, Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such Forward-Looking Information. Such Forward Looking Information includes, without limitation, the timing of and ability to obtain TSX-V and other regulatory approvals and the prospects, details related to and timing of the Vizcachitas Project. Such Forward-Looking Information is based upon the Company's assumptions regarding global and Chilean economic, political and market conditions and the price of metals and energy and the Company's production. Among the factors that have a direct bearing on the Company's future results of operations and financial conditions are changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, a change in government policies, competition, currency fluctuations and restrictions and technological changes, among other things. Should one or more of any of the aforementioned risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from any conclusions, forecasts or projections described in the Forward-Looking Information. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise Forward-Looking Information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in 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/200176

SOURCE: Los Andes Copper Ltd.
Kapil Sharma will be seen reuniting with Sunil Grover, years after their major fallout. A teaser of the show along with the title has been revealed

Months after announcing a brand-new show with the streaming giant Netflix, the beloved stand-comedian Kapil Sharma is finally here with his long-awaited project. Titled The Great Indian Kapil Show, the show will see Kapil Sharma uniting with none other than Sunil Grover, followed by friends cum colleagues like Krushna Abhishek, Kiku Sharda, Rajiv Thakur, and Archana Puran Singh. On Thursday, makers shared an official promo of the show featuring all the lead members, showing them various ways to announce the name of their upcoming show, which is set to premiere on 30 March 2024 at 8 PM.

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As the video plays, the group can be seen engaging in a hilarious conversation, giving some unique ideas for the title announcement. While Kapil begins by stating that they should announce the show in a big way to make it go viral, Archana Puran Singh suggests revealing it on Times Square, Burj Khalifa, or Big Ben. Next, Krushna Abhishek shares his idea to reveal the title of the Gateway of India.

This is when Rajeev Thakur quips that their budget has fallen short due to Sunil Grovers comeback, thus dropping the cue for Grovers arrival, who makes a hero-style entry. Next, as Kiku Sharda suggests the idea of skywriting, Sunil Grover hilariously took a dig at Kapil and said, plane se durr rehte hai.

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Later, the comedian was also seen taking a jibe at Krushna Abhishek over the joke of being a starkid. Amid all of these, the banner of The Great Indian Kapil Show can be seen being brought into the background.

WATCH:

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Aapke ghar ka raasta, hasee se hokar jaata hai. The Great Indian Kapil Show arrives at 8 PM every Saturday from 30 March, only on Netflix, the caption read.

As soon as the announcement was made, fans got pretty excited, sharing their reactions in the comment section. Many have been eagerly waiting for the comedian to return and, of course, for the much-needed reunion between Kapil and Grover following their ugly fallout a few years ago. The show was originally announced in December 2023, adding much to the fans excitement.

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In the meantime, Kapil Sharma is also gearing up for his next film with Kareena Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, and Tabu starrer Crew.
Nita Ambani expressed heartfelt gratitude to the holy land of India saying that the pillars of the nation are culture and tradition

Gujarats Jamnagar is all decked up to welcome the VVIPs from across the world for the pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. Ahead of the festivities that will take place from March 1 to 3, Nita Ambani, the Reliance Foundation Chairperson and the mother of the groom Anant Amabni, shared the two wishes she had for her sons wedding.

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Reflecting on her love for arts and culture, Nita Ambani, in a video, said, Throughout my life, Ive been inspired by arts and culture. It has deeply moved me and Im very passionate about it.

Speaking further about her two wishes, she added, When it came to my youngest son Anants wedding with Radhika, I had two important wishes. First, I wanted to celebrate our roots, adding that Gujarat is where we come from. Its where Mukesh [Ambani> and his father built the refinery and I started my career by converting this arid and desert-like area into a lush green township and a vibrant community. Nita, then, goes on to explain her another wish as she said, Second, I wanted the celebration to be a tribute to our arts and culture and a reflection of our heritage and culture created by the hands, hearts and hard work of our talented creative minds.

Smt. Nita Ambani talks about her roots in Jamnagar and Indias heritage and culture as inspiration behind Anant and Radhikas pre-wedding celebrations#AnantRadhika#ARPreWeddingCelebrations pic.twitter.com/AmzBsl99oA  Reliance Industries Limited (@RIL_Updates) March 1, 2024

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The video also featured glimpses of Jamnagars artisans and the township. As the clip proceeded towards the end, Nita Ambani can be seen expressing her heartfelt gratitude to the holy land of India saying that the pillars of the nation are sanskriti (culture) and parampara (tradition).

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For those uninitiated, Anant Ambani , 28, the youngest son of chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited Mukesh Ambani, is all set to enter marital bliss with Radhika Merchant, 29, who is the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant and Shaila Merchant. The duo, ahead of their wedding later this year, are hosting a three-day pre-wedding bash in Gujarats Jamnagar city which is being attended by celebrities and renowned personalities from across the world.
Today, Russia will see the burial of Opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Iran will hold parliamentary and legislative elections. In India, Modi will launch BJPs poll campaign in West Bengal and the three-day pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant will begin in Jamnagar

Candles burn as people attend a vigil following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at the Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Reuters

What can we expect in the news today?

India will witness a big celebration: The pre-wedding festivities for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant.

In news from around the world, Iran will hold elections and Russia will see the burial of Opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Lets take a closer look at how these events are expected to unfold.

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The Anant Ambani-Radhika Merchant pre-wedding bash

All eyes are on Gujarats Jamnagar. This is where the whos who of the world have gathered for a three-day celebration  the pre-wedding festivities of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambanis younger son Anant Ambani and his fiance Radhika Merchant  from 1 March to 3 March.

Each day will have a function with a new theme and guests are expected to follow a dress code, according to the Event Guide sent to them.

Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Nita and Mukesh Ambani, is set to tie the knot with Radhika Merchant, daughter of Encore Healthcare CEO Viren Merchant, on 12 July in Mumbai. Reuters

The theme for today, Day 1, is An Evening in Everland, where guests are expected to wear elegant cocktail attire.

The Day 2 celebrations will be held outdoors in Vantara, the Anant Ambani-led animal rescue centre and will include A Walk on the Wildside. This will be followed by Mela Rouge, a potpourri of desi activities, where revellers will don their favourite South Asian attires.

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On the last day, the Ambanis will host two events  Tusker Trails and Hashtakshar. The first is expected to be an encounter with elephants and an opportunity to enjoy Jamnagars natural beauty and the final event all guests are expected to be dressed in Indian attire.

Iran elections

Iran is all set for its parliamentary and legislative election today. However, the real question is not who will be elected but how many people will turn out to vote.

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Many people have been saying they will not cast their ballot. Discontent has gripped the public over the economy and the country has seen widespread protests in the past two years.

Officials have urged people to cast ballots but tellingly, no information has been released this year from the state-owned polling center ISPA.

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An Iranian man walks past campaign posters for the parliamentary election in Tehran, Iran. Reuters

Over 15,000 candidates are vying for a seat in the 290-member parliament, formally known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Terms run for four years and five seats are reserved for Irans religious minorities, according to a report with The Associated Press.

Under the law, the parliament has oversight over the executive branch, votes on treaties and handles other issues. In practice, absolute power in Iran rests with its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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Alexei Navalnys funeral

The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will take place today in Moscow after several locations declined to host the service, his spokesperson said.

The funeral will be held at a church in Moscows southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, according to Kira Yarmysh. The burial is to be at a nearby cemetery.

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Navalny died in mid-February in one of Russias harshest penal facilities. Russian authorities havent announced the cause of his death at age 47, but many Western leaders have already blamed it on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Abu Dhabi temple opens to public

Abu Dhabi opens the doors of its first Hindu stone Mandir to devotees today, authorities said. The BAPS Hindu Temple was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 February.

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A temple spokesperson said, The temple will be open to the public from 1 March from 9 am to 8 pm. The temple will remain closed for visitors every Monday.

The BAPS Hindu Mandir temple stands in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 7 February 2024. Reuters File Photo

There are no entry fees to the temple but devotees have to register official website or through the Festival of Harmony app before their visit.

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Built at a cost of approximately Rs 700 crore, the unique temple spreads over a 27-acre plot in Abu Mureikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway. It is a testament to religious diversity in the United Arab Emirates.

PM Modi to launch BJPs poll campaign in Bengal

The Indian leader is turning to Bengal once again as he addresses several public rallies in the next six days beginning today.

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This also marks the launch of the saffron partys offensive ahead of the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Today, his first stop will be at the Durgapur helipad, from where he will head to neighbouring Jharkhands Sindri.

(File) Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally at the Moulana Azad Stadium during which he inaugurated several projects in Jammu and Kashmir, in Jammu, on 20 February, 2024. AP

He will be in Hooghlys Arambagh to inaugurate a few projects, lay foundation stones and address a rally.

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PM Modi will make a stopover at the Raj Bhawan for the night.

Joe Biden to meet Giorgia Meloni

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni will visit the United States on Friday.

US president Joe Biden and Meloni will discuss shared approaches to address global challenges, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

She said, The leaders will discuss shared approaches to address global challenges, including their commitment to continue supporting Ukraine as it confronts Russias aggressions, preventing regional escalation in the Middle East, delivering humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, developments in North Africa, and close transatlantic coordination regarding the Peoples Republic of China.

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The two leaders are also expected to discuss Italys G7 presidencies and coordinate in advance of the NATO summit.

Russias ban on gasoline exports starting today

Russia is banning gasoline exports for six months starting today, according to spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who oversees the countrys energy sector.

The Vladimir Putin-led country earlier imposed a similar ban between September and November last year to tackle high domestic prices and shortages.

Only four former Soviet states  Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan  were exempt.
India has formally announced the establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), with one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore until 2028. The initiative aims to conserve seven big cats  lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snow leopard, jaguar and puma. Five of the felines are found in the country and their conservation has been a great success

A sub-adult tiger is seen on a tree in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. India is home to 75 per cent of the world's tiger population in the wild. Image courtesy: Fotokatha

India is home to 75 per cent of the worlds wild tiger population. Its the only abode for Asiatic lions. It has successfully reintroduced the cheetah and the leopard and snow leopard population is on the rise. The countrys conservation story is worth boasting about and there are bigger plans in place, as the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) takes shape.

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The Union Cabinet on Thursday formally announced the establishment of this initiative with a one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore from the Centre until 2028. The secretariat of the IBCA will be located in India.

We take a look at what the IBCA is and how India has emerged as the global leader in the conservation of big cats.

The making of the International Big Cat Alliance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the IBCA in April 2023 during an event in Mysuru to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Project Tiger, a wildlife conservation movement to protect the Bengal tiger. The alliance aims to ensure international cooperation for the conservation of seven big cats  lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, snow leopard, jaguar and puma.

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India is home to five of these animals, save for the jaguar and puma. Six of the big cats on the list are vulnerable or endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature list. The puma is categorised as least concern but their population has been decreasing and they face the risk of loss of habitat.

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The IBCA has been conceived as a multi-country, multi-agency coalition of 96 big cat range countries, those which house one or more of these big cats. Apart from these nations, the alliance will also include non-range countries interested in big cat conservation, conservation partners and scientific organisations working in the field of big cat conservation, according to a press statement.

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India is leading from the front in the project and rightly so. Its efforts in protecting the population of vulnerable big cats are a testament to its sincerity and success.

The Union Cabinet led by PM Shri @narendramodi ji today approved the establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance with its HQ in India.



The move reflects PM Modis commitment towards conservation of wildlife, particularly tigers and other endangered big cats. This pic.twitter.com/Mw048Ycpsz  Bhupender Yadav (  ) (@byadavbjp) February 29, 2024

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The Asiatic lion is king

The Asiatic lion is found in only one place in the world in the wild  the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat and its surrounding areas. According to the last count carried out in 2020, their population stands at 674, an increased rate of 28.87 per cent (the highest so far) from the earlier calculation of 523.

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The big cat was on the brink of extinction. With hunting and encroachment, their numbers dropped to a mere 20. Efforts to save the lion started before Independence but it was in 1965 that the Indian Forest Service stepped in to set up a conservation programme. Gir was declared a wildlife sanctuary and since then there has been a steady rise in the population.

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An Asiatic lion rests in Gir forest, about 355 km from the city of Ahmedabad. It is the only abode for Asiatic lions in the world. Reuters

Now Gujarat is ready to take the next steps. After concerns over the lions being concentrated in one area, the state will move some to another place  the Badra Wildlife Sanctuary . It will take about 40 adults and sub-adults.

Also read: How Gujarats Gir National Park is a roaring success in conservation of Asiatic lions

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Saving the tiger

Project Tiger completed 50 years last year and it has given India every reason to celebrate. The country has the highest number of tigers in the wild, accounting for 75 per cent of the world population.

There are 3,682 tigers now, up from 2,967 in 2018, a rise of almost 24 per cent in four years. There are 53 reserves for the striped cat, spanning 75,000 square kilometres, and Uttarakhands Jim Corbett National Park is the leader with 260 of them. Madhya Pradesh has aced the conservation efforts  its tiger population has jumped from 526 to 785, a 49 per cent rise in the same period.

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But all this would have been impossible without the massive contribution of the government and the people. At the time of independence, India had 40,000 tigers. But that number dwindled to below 2,000 by 1970 because of widespread hunting and poaching. The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the tiger as an endangered species.

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That year hunting tigers was banned. Three years on, in 1973, the Indian government launched Project Tiger to save the wild cats facing extinction. The initiative did not focus only on conserving the tiger but also on preserving its natural habitat.

That is when tiger numbers began to rise. But there were setbacks along the way. The local termination of tigers from Rajasthans Sariska prompted the Manmohan Singh government to establish the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which had more power to check poaching. Villages were relocated from protected areas and locals were sensitised.

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A male tiger is seen in Rajasthans Ranthambore. India is home to 3,682 tigers now. Image courtesy: Fotokatha

Protecting the tiger means protecting large landscapes and everything within, from butterflies to frogs, and termites to elephants, as well as the trees and the rivers," Anish Andheria, president of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, a Mumbai-based nonprofit conservation agency is quoted as saying by Nikkei Asia.

Today, the tiger attracts tourists from within the country and across the world, raking in hundreds of billions. While Asian countries like China, Thailand and Malaysia have fallen back, India has taken big strides.

Also read: Maya, Machli, Munna, naam toh suna hoga?: How Indias legendary tigers got their names

The comeback of the cheetah

It was in 1947 that the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs were shot dead in India. The spotted cat was declared extinct in 1952.

But now cheetahs are back , running freely in the grasslands of Madhya Pradeshs Kuno National Park , courtesy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were reintroduced in the country on 17 September  eight cheetahs arrived from Namibia. In February 2023, seven males and five females were imported from South Africa.

Its been 15 months since and there have been some hits and misses. Some cheetahs could not survive  seven adults and three cubs have died. Thirteen out of the original 20 remain. But in January, three more cubs were born and soon 14 adults from enclosures will be released into the wild.

Two cheetahs are seen at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradeshs Sheopur district. File photo/PTI

According to Union forest, environment and climate change minister Bhupender Yadav, Indias cheetah project is showing signs of achieving its objectives. It is a challenging project and the early indications are encouraging, he said Yadav who held a review meeting earlier this week.

Of the six criteria given in the Action Plan for assessing the short-term success, the project has already met four: 50 per cent survival of introduced cheetahs, the establishment of home ranges, the birth of cubs in Kuno, and the contribution of the project to generate revenue for the local communities, the review meeting has revealed.

There is a long way to go but the signs are positive.

Also read: A year after reintroduction of cheetahs in India, a look at how big cats have fared

The leopard thrives

They are the smallest of the large cats in India. In most Indian forests, where the tiger is an apex predator, the leopard also makes its home. Surviving is a challenge but the cats with rosettes continue to thrive. Conservation has a role to play.

On Thursday, PM Modi hailed the significant increase in Indias leopard population, saying it is a testament to the countrys unwavering dedication to biodiversity. According to a report released by the environment minister, Indias estimated leopard population rose from 12,852 in 2018 to 13,874 in 2022. Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number of leopards in the country at 3,907, up from 3,421 in 2018, the report said.

The number of felines grew from 1,690 in 2018 to 1,985 in 2022 in Maharashtra, from 1,783 to 1,879 in Karnataka, and from 868 to 1,070 in Tamil Nadu.

A forest official feeds two rescued leopard cubs at the Madharihut Leopard Rescue Centre, about 160 km north of the northeastern city of Siliguri. Indias leopard population has seen a jump in recent years. File photo/Reuters

In India, the leopard conservation narrative is incomplete without the story of Jawai in Rajasthan. In the village of Bera, humans and leopards cohabit without any conflict. Around 60 leopards prowl the land. Bera boasts of one of the worlds highest leopard densities within its 25 km radius.

Pushpendra Singh Ranawat, a conservationist told BBC last year, There has not been a single incident of poaching in at least five decades And importantly, leopards here do not consider human presence as a potential threat.

That is quite remarkable.

The success story of the snow leopard

Snow leopards are elusive. They live in high-altitude habitats, making them even more difficult to spot. But they are also fewer in number. With a global population of under 10,000, the species is on the IUCN red list.

The felines are found in India. The countrys first-ever survey of the animals puts their number at 718 , accounting for 10 to 15 per cent of the global population. Around 100 of the protected cats are found at the High Altitude National Park in Jammu and Kashmirs Kishtwar  the first was sighted only in April 2022.

The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) Program, conducted from 2019 to 2023, covered roughly 120,000 sq km of the animals habitat across the trans-Himalayan region. A report by the environment ministry says that understanding the precise population of the animal is important because of its role as the apex predator in the Himalayan ecosystem.

Around 718 snow leopards remain in the mountainous states of the country, according to the first-ever Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) over the last four years. Reuters

The snow leopard faces the potential threat of habitat loss because of climate change and overgrazing can lead to the loss of prey. The integrity of these high-altitude habitats is intertwined with the socio-cultural fabric of local communities and the economic sustenance of populations residing downstream, the report says.

Now the big task is ensuring its long-term survival. It needs to be closely monitored. But Indias track record in saving its big cats is proof that the snow leopard is in safe hands.

With inputs from agencies
Iran is going to the polls today (1 March). However, voter turnout is expected to be very low, as activists have called for a boycott. The country is conducting two elections  one for parliament and the other for the Assembly of Experts, a body that selects the Supreme Leader

An Iranian man walks past campaign posters for the parliamentary election in Tehran, Iran. Reuters

The country of Iran, which has witnessed huge protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, is going to the polls today (1 March).

Two separate polls are being held  one for members of a new legislature, and the other for the Assembly of Experts, a key body tasked with selecting the Islamic republics supreme leader.

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Voters and turnout

Iran holds elections for parliament every four years and for the Assembly of Experts every eight years. In a country estimated to have an 85 million people, around 61 million are eligible to vote.

For todays election, around 59,000 polling stations have been set up, mainly across schools and mosques.

Senior state officials have urged people to vote, with speculation rife that there will be a low turnout. In fact, a recent poll conducted by Irans state television revealed that more than half the respondents were indifferent to the polls.

And low turnout is an issue in Iran; the 2020 elections saw only a 42.57 per cent turnout, the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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Iranian women listen to their countrys national anthem as one of them waves the national flag during an election campaign rally ahead of the 1 March, parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections, in Tehran, Iran. File image/AP

Womens role in Iran elections

Women have the right to vote in Iran and make up 30 million of the electorate. As per official government data, nearly 12 per cent of the total number of hopefuls running for the elections this time around are women.

As per IRNA news agency, the current parliament has 16 women members.

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It will be interesting to see how women, if they do vote, will cast their ballot in light of the protests that broke out after Aminis death. In fact, several hundreds of people died in the ensuing protests and several activists have also called for a boycott of these polls. One of them is imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who called them a sham. The Islamic Republic, with its ruthless and brutal suppression, the killing of young people on the streets, the executions and the imprisonment and torture of men and women, deserves national sanctions and global disgrace, Mohammadi said in a statement.

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Parliaments limited role

In Iran, the 290-member parliament is a unicameral chamber known as Islamic Consultative Assembly. Candidates can only stand after being vetted Guardian Council, whose members are either appointed or approved by the supreme leader.

Jurists from the Guardian Council have approved about 15,200 hopefuls, out of nearly 49,000 applicants, to run for seats in the parliament.

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The parliaments powers are limited, with any legislation that it passes requiring approval by jurists from the Guardian Council.

The legislature includes representatives from religious minorities recognised by Irans constitution including one each for Assyrians, Jews and Zoroastrians, as well as two for Armenian Christians.

A symbolic ballot box for the parliamentary election is seen in a street in Tehran, Iran. Reuters

Conservatives in power

Candidates for parliamentary seats largely belong to two main camps: conservatives and reformists.

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Irans present parliament is dominated by conservatives and ultra-conservatives, and observers expect that the new parliament will have a similar makeup.

A number of incumbent parliamentarians have been disqualified from re-election.

Some reformists have criticised the elections, with former president Mohammad Khatami quoted as saying this month by the conservative Javan daily that Iran was very far from free and competitive elections.

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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with a group of people in Tehran, Iran. The Supreme Leader of Iran is selected by the Assembly of Experts  an 88-member body exclusively made up of male Islamic scholars. File image/AP

Selection of Supreme Leader

Along with the parliamentary election is the election to the Assembly of Experts  an 88-member body exclusively made up of male Islamic scholars. This body is responsible for electing, supervising and, if necessary, dismissing the supreme leader, who has the final say in all matters of state.

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The assembly elected current supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 84, in 1989 after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who founded the Islamic republic.

The 97-year-old ultra-conservative Ahmad Jannati is the current head of the assembly.

Candidates for the assembly are also vetted by the Guardian Council, which approved 144 of them.

Former moderate president Hassan Rouhani, who had spent 24 years as a member, said he had been barred from standing.

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With inputs from AFP
More than 100 civilians have died and another 700 have been injured after hungry and desperate Gazans rushed towards a convoy of trucks carrying aid. While Palestinian officials claim the Israeli forces opened fire, the latter allege that the tragedy occurred owing to a stampede

Palestinians receive medical care at Kamal Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli soldiers allegedly opened fire at Gaza residents who rushed towards trucks loaded with humanitarian aid amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Hamas group. AFP

Thousands of Palestinians flocked to a distribution point on Thursday, desperate for food amid Gazas looming famine crisis. However, what followed next is horrific. Over 100 people died, in one of the worst single tragedies to occur during Israels war with Hamas, with eyewitnesses and Gazan officials alleging that Israeli forces opened fire at the civilians.

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The deaths have drawn widespread condemnation from across the globe. The United States said it was urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place, adding that Washington would be monitoring an upcoming investigation closely and pressing for answers. France, too, condemned the incident, with President Emmanuel Macron saying the fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the killings would require an independent investigation, the Reuters news agency reports. Guterres added that he was shocked by the latest loss of life in Israels war on Gaza.

But what exactly happened on Thursday? What is each side  Israel and Hamas saying? What does this mean for the war?

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What happened?

On early Thursday morning, a convoy of 38 trucks ferrying aid from Egypt arrived at Haroun Al Rasheed Street in Gaza City where crowds of hungry Palestinians had gathered for food aid. Gazans, who have been struggling with no food and a famine-like crisis, gathered at the spot in the hopes of getting some amount of food and aid.

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However, heres where things go awry and, according to civilians, Israeli forces began to open fire at them. The sudden firing led to the aid trucks trying to flee, accidentally ramming others and causing further deaths and injuries.

Local journalist in Gaza, Khader Al Zaanoun, who was at the scene, told CNN that while there were large crowds waiting for food to be distributed from aid trucks, the chaos and confusion that led to people being hit by the trucks only started once Israeli soldiers opened fire.

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In this screen grab taken from video and released by the Israeli army, Palestinians surround aid trucks in northern Gaza in what officials described the day before as the first major delivery in a month. AP

Another witness told AFP that the violence unfolded when soldiers opened fire at the crowds. Trucks full of aid came too close to some army tanks that were in the area and the crowd, thousands of people, just stormed the trucks, the witness said. The soldiers fired at the crowd as people came too close to the tanks.

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As per the health ministry in Gaza, the incident led to the deaths of 112 people while another 760 have been wounded. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of Gaza Citys Kamal Adwan Hospital, told AFP that all the casualties had been hit by bullets and shrapnel from occupation forces.

A video by Al Jazeera also reveals the first moments when the chaos breaks out at the aid distribution centre.

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              ##_ pic.twitter.com/7VOHuZ2ygI    (@AJArabic) February 29, 2024

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Ibrahim al-Rifi, 28, who was hoping to find food for some 60 family members at the aid point, told Washington Post that when the trucks arrived shortly after 4.30, the Israeli tanks started firing. He said that caused people to flee in every direction, but he stayed on the ground. However, he later realised that he was lying on top of the dead. I crawled until I found an abandoned house and hid in it, he said.

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Palestinians wounded in an Israeli strike while waiting for humanitarian aid on the beach in Gaza City are treated in Shifa Hospital. AP

What does Israel say?

However, Israel has a differing view on the incident, saying it was a stampede that caused the fatalities.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, as the Gazan civilian truck drivers carrying humanitarian aid entered northern Gaza, residents overran the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. As a result of the pushing, trampling, and being run over by the trucks as the drivers attempted to escape, tragically, dozens of Gazans were killed and injured. The IDF was not involved.

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At some point, the trucks were overwhelmed and the people driving the trucks, which were Gazan civilian drivers, plowed into the crowds of people, ultimately killing, as my understanding is, tens of people. I dont have anything more specific to that. It is unfolding, Israeli government spokesman Avi Hyman said.

People mourn following an early morning incident when residents rushed toward aid trucks in Gaza City.. - The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli forces shot dead dozens of people. AFP

The IDF also released drone footage from the location, which shows the crowd running away from the trucks, with some people crawling behind walls, appearing to take cover. The video then reveals a dozen bodies on the ground.

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An Israeli military official later revealed that there was firing from their end only when the Palestinians approached them in a threatening manner.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said no IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy, adding that the Israeli army was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point.

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We recognize the suffering of the innocent people of Gaza. This is why we are seeking ways to expand our humanitarian efforts.



Watch the full statement by IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari on the incident regarding the humanitarian aid convoy the IDF facilitated. pic.twitter.com/m6Pve3Odqw  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 29, 2024

Nir Dinar, head of the IDFs international press department, said the same, but acknowledged that IDF troops had fired at people who approached the forces in a threatening manner. However, he further added that the deaths occurred as the result of a crush at the other end of the convoy.

How has the world reacted?

The United States, an ally for Israel, has expressed condolences and said it was pressing for answers from Israel. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed over the course of this conflict, not just today, but over the past nearly five months. We have been in touch with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway.

The European Union also decried the tragedy, with EUs foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell saying on X, I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid.

Palestinians wait for humanitarian aid on a beachfront in Gaza City. File image/AP

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have condemned the deaths, calling for immediate action. While Qatar warned that Israels disregard for Palestinian lives will ultimately undermine international efforts aimed at implementing the two-state solution, and thus pave the way for the expansion of the cycle of violence in the region, Saudi Arabia reiterated the need to reach an immediate ceasefire.

In what could be perceived as the strongest stance as of now, Colombias president Gustavo Petro suspended a purchase of weapons from Israel  a key arms supplier of the country. He said, Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by (Israeli prime minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust. The world must block Netanyahu.

Does this affect the war?

The timing of this tragedy is crucial in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, now in its 146th day. Many fear that this could upend the negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a deal to pause fighting and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

In fact, Hamas senior member Izzat Al-Risheq in a message on Telegram said that negotiations are not an open process. We will not allow for the pathway of the negotiations[to become> a cover for the enemys continued crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip, Al-Risheq said.

US president Joe Biden also said that the incident would complicate ceasefire negotiations, but hoped and emphasised on the need for such a deal. Asked if he was worried whether it would complicate the delicate negotiations for a ceasefire, Biden replied: I know it will.

With inputs from agencies
by Stephen Bryen





If NATO is so much against sending troops to Ukraine why doesnt NATO demand that the soldiers already there be sent home?





On Monday, February 26, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would not provide its Taurus long range cruise missiles to Ukraine because doing so would require German troops to be sent there to operate them, just like the British are operating the Storm Shadow air launched cruise missiles.





German Chancellor Olaf Scholz





The British cried foul and accused Scholz of a flagrant abuse of intelligence meaning that Scholz confirmed what everyone already knows, that NATO officers and trained personnel are in Ukraine operating weapons such as the Patriot and NASAM air defense system, the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, the British-French Storm Shadow cruise missile (SCALP-EG in France), and many other complex weapons provided to Ukraine.





The actual number of personnel from NATO countries in Ukraine isnt known, but there is no doubt they are there in large numbers and they come from the United States, the UK, France, Poland, and others. When these volunteers are wounded or killed what happened to them is obscured and their role, often, is listed as medical or social. More recently combat status, at least in the US, is being recognized.





On February 29 Putin gave his annual two-hour long State of the Nation address. He warned in his address that NATOs sending troops to Ukraine could risk nuclear war. In part Putin was responding to French President Macrons statement about NATO sending troops to Ukraine to head off a Russian victory. While Macrons statement gained no traction among EU leaders, the fact that sending troops openly was discussed at an EU forum obviously ratcheted-up NATO-Russia tensions.





For some time NATO has been escalating the Ukraine conflict supposedly to help Ukraine drive the Russians out of Ukrainian territory. However, most of the evidence is that NATO has been seeking bases for NATO forces and weapons aimed at Russia. According to the New York Times, the US already has 12 CIA bases in Ukraine on Russias border.





At the same time, NATO has energetically been promoting regime change in Moscow. Wired Magazine has now revealed that the US developed special technology to track the cell-phones of Putins staff and colleagues in order to pinpoint Putins location. This information would be of minimal value unless its intent was to assassinate Putin. The fact that the US and NATO, with the help of the Ukrainians, was deeply involved in liquidating Russian leaders (as well as military commanders) indicates without any doubt regime change was even more important than battlefield defeat of Russia. Victoria Nuland this week said that Putins Russia is not the Russia we wanted.





There is little doubt that Putin understands that he is the target of NATO-led operators. There have been a number of attempts to kill Putin. One of them was a kamikaze drone attack on his office in the Kremlin. It is probable, given the revelations on pinpointing Putins location, that the attack was meant to kill him (with attribution on Ukraine, not on NATO). In another incident, six years before the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, Putins limo was on Moscows Ring Road where it was hit head on. Putins driver was killed, but Putin himself was not in the car. Not all intelligence is reliable.





While Russias internal politics are oftimes brutal and involve killings, Putin has been careful not to go after NATO leaders or, for that matter, Ukrainian leaders. When he was conducting negotiations trying to sort out the Ukraine mess, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke to Zelensky who feared Putin would have him killed. He then talked to Putin and Putin made a pledge that Zelensky was safe and Russia would not touch him. Bennetts deal on protecting Zelensky appears to have worked until now.





Western intelligence agencies, think tanks and Ukraine itself are reporting that the Ukrainian situation is very bad and Ukraine could, in the next three months, face defeat. This has alarmed the Europeans, and it is the real reason Macron helped organize an EU emergency meeting in Paris. In that meeting, seemingly the Europeans pledged they would supply long range weapons to Kiev, but the Germans did not agree when it came to the Taurus missile. It is reasonable to consider that the Germans feared Russias reaction, or even that the Russian explicitly warned the German government that they were crossing over into a danger zone, without any good exit.





NATO policy should be urgently reevaluated. If NATO is actually against sending troops to Ukraine, it no longer has plausible deniability over the troops already on the ground in Ukraine. The British are right that Scholz let the cat out of the bag with his declaration about UK troops operating Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine. What was hidden in intelligence channels is now out in the open.





Russian anxiety over these deployments and over the weapons sent to Ukraine, some of them aimed only at Russian towns and cities, is growing. Putins reminder that Russia has nuclear weapons, his warning that NATO is preparing to attack Russia, and his declaration that Russia is willing to use nuclear weapons is an indication that the political acceptability of NATO threats to Russia has crossed a critical red line.





Secret Russian planning papers from 2008 to 2014 reveal that Russian planning includes a low threshold for the use of tactical nuclear weapons. The papers, that dealt with an attack by China, suggest Russian willingness to go to nuclear weapons early in such a conflict. How this might apply to Ukraine is purely speculation, but the more NATO jacks up the threat to Russian territory, or even plans provocations and an invasion, is a subject clearly on the minds of Russian leaders.





NATO itself is in no way prepared for war with Russia. It is in far worse shape today than it was before the Ukraine war because NATO has shipped vital weapons off to Ukraine, depriving itself of key defense assets such as ammunition, armor and missiles. Worse still, NATO leaders and former leaders (such as Boris Johnson) continue to bait the Russians, building tension on tension. NATO cant defend itself against a conventional attack, and certainly not against so-called tactical nuclear weapons.





Stephen Bryen is a former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense and is a leading expert in security strategy and technology. Bryen writes for Asia Times, American Thinker, Epoch Times, Newsweek, Washington Times, the Jewish Policy Center and others.
Alexei Navalny was a Christian, who condemned the invasion of Ukraine as a crazy enterprise built on lies. But the church that is designated to host his funeral has donated to the Russian army and enthusiastically advertised its backing for the war

General view of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, where service for Alexei Navalny, the Russian Opposition leader who died in a prison camp, is expected to be held, in Moscow, Russia. Reuters

Alexei Navalnys journey, from life to death and beyond, has been fraught with challenges.

Even after his passing, securing a church for his farewell has proven to be a challenging task. However, supporters revealed that his funeral service will take place at a church in the southern part of Moscow today (1 March). Nevertheless, the chosen church holds conflicting beliefs.

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While Navalny, a devout Christian, strongly opposed the invasion of Ukraine as a misguided endeavour built on deception, the church designated for his funeral openly supports the Russian army and vocally supported the war effort.

Heres what we know about the church that will host Navalnys funeral.

A clash of beliefs

Alexei Navalny was a Christian who condemned the invasion of Ukraine as a crazy enterprise built on lies. But the church that was designated to host his funeral has donated to the Russian army and enthusiastically advertised its backing for the war.

Navalny, Russias best known Opposition politician, died suddenly on 16 February in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving sentences totalling more than 30 years. The Kremlin rejects accusations by his family that it had him killed.

After a week-long struggle by his elderly mother to obtain the release of his body, his supporters said this week that the funeral would take place on Friday at the Quench my Sorrows church near where Navalny once lived in southeast Moscow, followed by a burial at a cemetery close by.

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On Thursday the arrangements were thrown into question when Navalnys allies said attempts to hire a hearse to take his body to the service had been blocked by unknown individuals. A Reuters reporter observed a heavy police presence earlier in the day near the white onion-domed church, topped by golden crosses.

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Navalnys wife said this week she was unsure if the event would pass off peacefully or whether police would arrest supporters of her husband. Lawyers have advised those planning to attend to reduce the risk by not carrying banners, wearing tee shirts with slogans or yielding to any provocations.

If the funeral goes ahead, Navalny cannot expect a eulogy reflecting his years of opposition to President Vladimir Putin and fierce criticism of the invasion of Ukraine.

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Alexei Navalnys wife said this week that she wasnt sure if her husbands funeral would be peaceful or if police would arrest his supporters. File image/Reuters

Multiple posts on the churchs social media platforms within the past two weeks make clear the support of its clergy and congregation for the war.

In one video, a priest and another man are shown standing in front of a Niva SUV vehicle near the church. An unidentified male voice says it was bought with donated funds to help our warriors in Ukraine, and wishes them victory and a safe return.

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Another video, posted by the churchs Sunday school, shows eight young girls  all but one of them wearing green army-style hats  performing on stage last week to mark Defender of the Fatherland day, a national holiday. They march on the spot as a military song plays from a speaker and people clap in unison.

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The Sunday school said children and their parents also made a trip on the eve of the military holiday to the main church of the armed forces, where they admired mosaics and stained glass windows commemorating historic Russian victories.

Earlier posts reviewed by Reuters showed worshippers at the church have raised money to buy drones, thermal underwear and other items for Russian troops. Volunteers have woven camouflage nets and children have written letters of encouragement to soldiers  typical acts of support across Russia at a time when Putin is stressing the need for national unity and the Church has thrown its full backing behind the war.

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Prayers for victory

The main priest at the Quench my Sorrows church is Anatoly Rodionov, 71, whose online biography says that as a young man he served as a lieutenant in the Soviet army. It was not clear if Rodionov himself would lead the service for Navalny, and repeated calls and messages to his mobile phone went unanswered on Thursday.

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Lawyers have advised those planning to attend Alexei Navalnys funeral to reduce their risk by not carrying banners, wearing slogan-laden t-shirts, or giving in to any provocations. File image/Reuters

Critics of the Orthodox Church hierarchy, which has introduced a special prayer for Russian victory in Ukraine and expelled priests who pray instead for peace, said Rodionovs churchs activities suggested he was firmly on-message.

At a Russian Orthodox funeral, mourners stand with candles near the coffin and a priest leads prayers and chanting. He may then sometimes deliver a sermon reflecting on the life of the person who has died, but this is not always the case.

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I hope they will just pronounce the required liturgical texts and not say anything from themselves over Alexeis grave, said Ksenia Luchenko, a religious commentator based in Germany.

Navalny spoke at various times of his religious faith and one of his last legal battles from inside prison was for the right to have a Bible and book of psalms in his cell.

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Most people are atheists, I myself was a militant atheist. But now I am a believer, and this helps me because everything becomes easier, he said during a 2021 trial hearing.

I ponder less, have fewer dilemmas  there is a book (the Bible) that clearly states what needs to be done in each situation. Its not always easy to follow, but generally speaking, I try.

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With inputs from Reuters
The finance minister of Brazil, who is currently the G20 president, has asked the other member nations to get behind a plan to get behind a global minimum tax on billionaires. The tax, a two per cent levy on the wealth of the worlds richest, would raise $250 billion per year from 2,756 billionaires and tackle tax evasion

Warren Buffett famously pointed out that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Are billionaires paying their fair share?

Brazil certainly doesnt think so.

The finance minister of Brazil, which is currently G20 president, has asked the other G20 nations to get behind a plan to get behind a global minimum tax.

Its an undeniable fact that the billionaires of the world are still evading our tax systems through a series of strategies, finance minister Fernando Haddad told his counterparts in Sao Paulo.

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I sincerely ask myself how we as G20 finance ministers can allow a situation like this to continue.

But what is the global minimum tax? How would it work? And how much money would it generate?

Lets take a closer look:

What is it?

First, lets look at the current global scenario when it comes to taxes.

Critics of the current system say nations around the world are currently engaging in a race to the bottom."

This is where some countries roll out the red carpet for corporations and the super-rich.

In such nations, the mega wealthy pay zero or low taxes.

Warren Buffett, for example, famously pointed out that he pays a tax rate lower than his secretary.

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In 2021, G20 finance ministers endorsed a global tax-rule reform based on two pillars to make large multinational firms pay up.

Firms currently set up in tax-free havens like the Bahamas or the Caymans to avoid paying even a minimum of corporate tax.

However, taxing the firms wherever they make their sales rather than where they are incorporated would put an end to digital tax-dodging.

The firms would pay a minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent.

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Countries are at different stages of implementing those reforms.

But now some nations are now pushing for a third pillar  the global minimum tax.

According to The Guardian, the EU Tax Observatory has called for a two per cent charge on the wealth of the richest.

This measure, which would similarly tackle tax evasion by the super-rich, would raise about $250 billion per year from 2,756 billionaires, the research group hosted at the Paris School of Economics said in its 2024 Global Tax Evasion Report.

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According to ICIJ, Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who wrote the foreword to the report, warned inequality would lead to dire consequences.

If citizens dont believe that everyone is paying their fair share of taxes  and especially if they see the rich and rich corporations not paying their fair share  then they will begin to reject taxation, Stiglitz wrote.

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The EU Tax Observatory has called for a two per cent charge on the wealth of the richest.

Haddad, a close ally of Brazils leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, cited the recent report by the Paris-based firm led by economist Gabriel Zuckman as saying that billionaires are paying an effective tax rates of zero to 0.5 percent on their wealth largely by using shell companies.

Zucman is an expert on the link between tax evasion and inequality.

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Billionaires personal tax in the United States is estimated to be close to 0.5% and as low as zero in otherwise high-tax France, the Observatory estimated.

Risks undermining social acceptability of taxation

In our view, this is difficult to justify because it risks to undermine the sustainability of tax systems and the social acceptability of taxation, the observatorys director Zucman told journalists.

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Effective solutions to ensure the super-rich pay their fair share of taxes depend on international cooperation, said Haddad.

The issue could be the key to solving many of the challenges we face, he added.

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Brazil has invited a series of speakers to address the meeting on the issue including Zucman to speak on a slew of issues including inequality another key area that Brazil wants to address in its G20 presidency.

The newspaper quoted Zucman as saying, The idea is what we have been able to achieve with multinational firms  putting a floor to their effective tax rates  we should do the same for super-rich people.

At the moment, nothing is being done in that space, of coordinated minimum taxation of individuals and the very wealthy in particular. But this is the beginning of the conversation.

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Oxfams tax policy chief Susana Ruiz added, Just getting this on to the agenda at the G20 is a historic step.

France lends support

France has thrown its support behind it as well.

Frances finance minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters, Currently the richest people can avoid paying the same level of tax as other people who are less rich. We want to avoid such tax optimisation.

We want Europe to take this idea of minimum taxation of individuals forward as quickly as possible, and France will be at the forefront.

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Maire told journalists Wednesday that Paris is pushing to accelerate international negotiations on a minimum tax on the ultra-wealthy.

We have reached an unsustainable situation in which the richest 1 per cent own 43 per cent of the worlds financial assets and emit the same amount of carbon as the poorest two-thirds of humanity, Zucman was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

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Though a coordinated international push to tax billionaires could take years, the Observatory pointed to the example of governments success in all but ending bank secrecy and reducing opportunities for multinationals to shift profits to low-tax countries.

Nobel Prize laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who wrote the foreword to the report, cited Apple as classic example of money flowing to the rich.

The 2018 launch of automatic sharing of account information has reduced the amount of wealth held in offshore tax havens by a factor of three, the observatory estimated.

A 2021 agreement between 140 countries will limit multinationals scope to reduce tax by booking profits in low-tax countries by setting a global 15 per cent floor on corporate taxation from next year.

Something that many people thought would be impossible, now we know can actually be done, Zucman said. The logical next step is to apply that logic to billionaires, and not only to multinational companies.

In the absence of a broad international push for a minimum tax on billionaires, Zucman said a coalition of willing countries could unilaterally lead the way.

Although the end of banking secrecy and the corporate minimum tax have put an end to decades-long competition between countries on tax rates, numerous opportunities remain to reduce tax bills, the report said.

For example the rich increasingly park wealth in real estate instead of offshore accounts while companies can exploit loopholes in the 15 per cent corporate tax minimum.

Meanwhile, governments are increasingly competing for investment through subsidies even though that is less harmful to their tax bases than competing only on low tax rates, the Observatory said.

US, UK unlikely to support tax

But some nations are still wary of such a deal.

This includes the US where the chances of passing a tax through the Senate, in which the Republicans have sizeable numbers, are close to nil.

US president Joe Bidens 2024 budget included plans for a 25 per cent minimum tax on the wealthiest 0.01 per cent, but that proposal has since fallen by the wayside with lawmakers in Washington preoccupied with government shutdown threats and looming funding deadlines.

According to The Guardian, things arent looking too good for the tax in the UK either where the Labor party has vowed not to impose such a measure if voted to power.

Growing wealth inequality in some countries is fuelling calls for the richest citizens to bear more of the tax burden as public finances struggle to cope with aging populations, huge financing needs for climate transition and legacy COVID debt.

According to ICIJ, the report also called for strengthening the global minimum tax on corporations.

It said the law has been dramatically weakened by a growing list of loopholes.

If the money stayed in corporations and they invested in new enterprises that would be one thing, but the money typically goes to rich people. Not taxing multinational corporations has provided a flow of wealth to a few people, Stiglitz wrote.

Stiglitz claimed the tech firm Apple was a classic example of this.

Money that would have gone to the people has now gone to rich individuals. We now have a responsibility to get it back, he said.

Zuckman, regardless, remains confident.

He said there is a growing recognition for the need for cooperation.

Im relatively certain that at some point, one day well wake up and the morning radio programme the top item will be countries reaching an agreement on a minimum tax on the very rich. Im pretty confident. But its hard to know if this is one year, or five, or 10 or 20, he added.

With inputs from agencies
Indias semiconductor ambitions received a major boost on Friday with the Union Cabinet approving three chip-making plants at a cost of Rs 1.26 lakh crore. The approvals are part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments ambitions to make India a chipmaker for the world and cut reliance on countries like Taiwan. Experts say the move has been a long time coming, but myriad challenges remain

Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Tata plant at Dholera will produce high-performance compute chips with 28 nm technology for electric vehicles (EV), telecom, defence, automotive, consumer electronics, display and power electronics.

Indias plans to become a major semiconductor powerhouse got a huge boost on Friday.

The Union Cabinet approved three semiconductor-making projects at a cost of Rs 1.26 lakh crore.

The aim is to make the country self-reliant in the field of semiconductors and cut down on Indias dependence on chips from abroad.

Construction on the three projects will begin within the next 100 days.

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With the Cabinet approval of 3 semiconductor units under the India Semiconductor Mission, we are further strengthening our transformative journey towards technological self-reliance. This will also ensure India emerges as a global hub in semiconductor manufacturing, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.

Today the Prime Minister has taken an important decision to set up a semiconductor fab in the country. The first commercial semiconductor fab will be set up by Tata and Powerchip-Taiwan whose plant will be in Dholera, Ashwini Vaishnaw was quoted as saying by B_usiness Standard._

But what do we know about the projects? And why is it a big deal for India?

Lets take a closer look:

What do we know?

The three units will be set up under the Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem scheme.

The government under this programme provides up to Rs 76,000 crore in funding.

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Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd will set up a semiconductor fab in partnership with Taiwans Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp at Dholera in Gujarat.

The plant will have a capacity to produce 50,000 wafers per month and will involve an investment of Rs 91,000 crore.

According to Business Standard, a wafer has 5,000 chips.

That comes to three billion chips per year.

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Vaishnaw said the Tata plant at Dholera will produce high-performance computer chips with 28 nm technology for electric vehicles (EV), telecom, defence, automotive, consumer electronics, display and power electronics.

The Meanwhile, Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd (TSAT) will set up a semiconductor unit in Morigaon, Assam, at an investment of Rs 27,000 crore.

The unit in Assam will have the capacity to produce 48 million per day for automotive, electric vehicles, consumer electronics, telecom, and mobile phones.

The CG power semiconductor unit will manufacture 15 million chips for consumer, industrial, automotive and power applications.

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The third unit will be set up by CG Power, a Mumbai-based firm, in partnership with Renesas Electronics Corp and Stars Microelectronics of Thailand.

This plant will be set up in Gujarats Sanand at an investment of Rs 7,600 crore.

Renesas is a leading semiconductor company focussed on specialised chips.

Data from California-based semiconductor lobby organisation SEMI shows that South Korea, Taiwan and China alone make up 70 per cent of the chip manufacturing market, while the US and Japan account for the rest.

It operates 12 semiconductor facilities and is an important player in microcontrollers, analogue, power, and System-on-chip (SoC) products.

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According to Moneycontrol, 50 nm, 55 nm and 90 nm chips will also be produced by the units.

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Vaishnaw said the three units will generate direct employment of 20,000 advanced technology jobs and about 60,000 indirect jobs.

These units will accelerate employment creation in downstream automotive, electronics manufacturing, telecom manufacturing, industrial manufacturing, and other semiconductor-consuming industries.

Tata Electronics partner PSMC, which has six semiconductor foundries in Taiwan, is renowned for its expertise in logic and memory foundry segments.

It will manufacture power management chips for high voltage, high current applications.

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TSAT semiconductor is developing indigenous advanced semiconductor packaging technologies including flip chip and ISIP (integrated system in package) technologies.

The cabinet had in June approved a proposal from US-based Micron to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat.

According to Moneycontrol, the Centre and state government of Gujarat are subsidising 70 per cent of the projects cost.

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Construction of Microns Sanand unit is progressing at a rapid pace and a robust semiconductor ecosystem is emerging near the unit, Vaishnaw added.

Why is this a big deal for India?

The approvals are part of the Modi governments ambitions to make India a chipmaker for the world and cutting reliance on countries like Taiwan.

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A piece in Indian Express quoted data from California-based semiconductor lobby organisation SEMI as showing that South Korea, Taiwan and China alone make up 70 per cent of the chip manufacturing market, while the US and Japan account for the rest.

It called the development a big leap for India on semiconductors. It noted that previous governments were unable to attract tech giants to India.

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It said the timing of the move is also instructive.

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The world faces geopolitical tensions, the relationship between the US and China  two of the most influential countries in the technology value chain  is at an all-time low, and India hopes to assume an ever growing role in the space, with help primarily from government-funded schemes to boost the local industry, the piece noted.

The move comes in the backdrop of geo-political tensions between US and China over Taiwan. AFP

According to Business Standard, Modi in 2022 had announced his governments intention to make India a semiconductor powerhouse.

According to Newslaundry, India imports around 80 per cent of its semiconductors.

The piece also said that having a successful semiconductor industry would create jobs.

It quoted a McKinsey report as saying that the global semiconductor market is estimated to touch $1 trillion by 2030.

Thats an increase from $590 billion in 2021.

Indias semiconductor market is also set to jump from$15 billion in 2020 to $110 billion in 2030, the piece noted.

But a piece in Economic Times noted that foundries are costly and take a long time to get going.

It said that a few firms Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Intel, Samsung, Global Foundries, United Microelectronics Corp and Tower have essentially sown up the chips manufacturing market.

The move has indeed been a long time coming.

Pranay Kotasthane, chairperson of the high tech geopolitics program at the Takshashila Institution told CNBC in October 2022 that India has a crucial role to play.

India has semiconductor human power. Semiconductor design requires large numbers of skilled engineers and this is where Indias strength lies, he added.

Previous attempts in India failed because of apprehensions on these counts, Kotasthane said referring to uncertainty about government policies and the ease of doing business.

Neil Shah, partner at tech consultancy Counterpoint Research, added, The track record has been not great but the new government has been heading in the right direction  [with> policies to drive impetus and attract leading semi and fab companies.

Indias strength is the huge domestic consumption market when it comes to semiconductors, being the second-largest populous economy in the world, Shah added.

Also, India has loads of English speaking engineering talent and [a> cheaper labour force making it cost effective.

However, myriad challenges remain.

The Indian Express piece noted that India cant yet match the incentive schemes rolled out by the US and the EU.

This is why India is looking at mature nodes like 28 nm and edge nodes remain out of reach, the piece added.

TSMC, the most influential and important chip company in the world today, which counts Apple as a customer, is currently making chips with a node size of 3 nanometres. It is unclear how many decades India may take to be able to attract companies such as TSMC that can manufacture chips of such levels of sophistication, the piece said.

It also added that while India is chock-a-block with design engineers, nabbing talent that can work on factory floors of a chipmaking plant remain rare.

Although it can be argued that having a foundry will allow engineering students to train at a domestic fabrication facility rather than having to travel to countries like Taiwan and Korea to gain first-hand experience of the process  which could spur more engineers to join the stream in India, the piece noted.

Experts said the move is a big leap for India. They noted that previous governments were unable to attract semiconductor giants to India.

Chip War author Chris Miller told Moneycontrol, Building a semiconductor ecosystem requires deep relationships between fabs and customers. The facilities announced today seem likely to integrate well with Indias existing manufacturing ecosystem.

The key is to ensure that the facilities being built are economically viable and support further development.

Still, experts have hailed the move.

Sanjay Gupta, chairperson and Ashok Chandak, president, IESA told Business Standard, The approval of three semiconductor units by the Union Cabinet, with an estimated cost of Rs 1.26 trillion, signifies a watershed moment for Indias semiconductor industry. With construction set to commence within the next 100 days, this initiative underscores Indias commitment to fostering a robust semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem. We are especially proud to note that Tata Electronics and Renesas Electronics, both esteemed members of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), are pivotal players in this endeavour. Their involvement not only demonstrates their dedication to Indias technological advancement but also highlights the pivotal role of IESA in driving industry growth and innovation.

Within a very short time, Indias semiconductor mission has achieved four big successes. With these units, the semiconductor ecosystem will get established in India. India already has deep capabilities in chip design. With these units, our country will develop capabilities in chip fabrication. Advanced packaging technologies will be indigenously developed in India with todays announcement, Vaishnaw said.

All three units will start construction within the next 100 days. Northeast will get its first semiconductor unit in Assam. Investment in the Assam unit will be 27,000 crore. Chips produced from here will be used by big automobile companies across the globe. Whenever we used to talk about investment in the North-East, the concept of technological investment was never discussed. This tradition has been changed by PM Modi, Vaishnaw added.

It is a remarkable achievement. It is a giant leap. Now, we are targeting to become a major player in the semiconductor value chain by 2029 PM Modi actually wants us to work on a 20 year vision for semiconductors.

Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also pointed out what a big deal this is.

Today, investment proposals of more than Rs 2.50 trillion have been received by the Government of India from global semiconductor majors. India is fast becoming a semiconductor nation. Just two years ago, it was not even present in the semiconductor ecosystem of the world, Chandrasekhar was quoted as saying by Business Standard.

With inputs from agencies
Of the five contracts, one was with inked with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, two with Larsen & Toubro Limited and two other deals were finalised with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited

The Ministry of Defence inked five military procurement deals worth Rs 39,125 crore in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday.

Of the five contracts, one was with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for procurement of aero-engines for MiG-29 aircraft, according to the ministry.

Two contracts were firmed up with Larsen & Toubro Limited for the procurement of close-in weapon system (CIWS) and high-power radar.

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VIDEO | The Defence Ministry signs agreements with L&T, BEL and HAL for critical defence equipment in the presence of Defence minister Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) in Delhi.



(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/JBRL8nXFMT  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 1, 2024

Arun Ramchandani, Executive Vice President, L&T Defence, said that the company inked two contracts for equipment to be supplied to the Indian Air Force.

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The two contracts include a high-power radar which will be deployed at the different locations by the (Indian) Air Force for identifying aerial targets at very long distances In addition, we have also signed a contract for the close-in weapon system. The close-in weapon systems are used to protect vital assets of the country, said Ramchandani.

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#WATCH | Delhi: The Executive Vice President of L&T Defence, Arun Ramchandani says, "These (contracts) are for equipment to be supplied to the Indian Air Force. The two contracts include a high-power radar which will be deployed at the different locations by the (Indian) Air pic.twitter.com/xYVEEZcHZp  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

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Two other deals were finalised with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited for the procurement of BrahMos missiles.

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These deals will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange and reduce dependency on foreign-origin equipment manufacturers in future, the ministry said.

With inputs from agencies
Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai. Today, the people of West Bengal are asking their CM Didi- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities against women in Sandeshkhali? said PM Modi while addressing a rally in West Bengals Arambagh

A day after TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan, accused of sexual abuse and land usurpation, was arrested after being on the run for 55 days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Mamata government over atrocities on women in Sandeshkhali and appealed to the people to avenge the brutality by voting against the TMC.

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Addressing a rally in West Bengals Arambagh, PM Modi said, Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai. Today, the people of West Bengal are asking their CM Didi- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities against women in Sandeshkhali?

#WATCH | PM Modi attacks TMC on Sandeshkhali issue while addressing a public rally in West Bengal's Arambagh



He says, "...'Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai'. Today, the people of West Bengal are asking their CM 'Didi'- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities pic.twitter.com/5yjJWVgxx6  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

The country is seeing what TMC has done with the sisters of Sandeshkhali. The whole country is enraged, he added.

#WATCH | PM Modi attacks TMC on Sandeshkhali issue while addressing a public rally in West Bengal's Arambagh



"The country is seeing what TMC has done with the sisters of Sandeshkhali. The whole country is enraged. The soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy (social reformer) must have been pic.twitter.com/sTTawokZaV  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

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Invoking Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the Prime Minister said that the soul of the social reformer must have been in pain after seeing what happened in Sandeshkhali.

The soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy (social reformer) must have been pained by what happened in Sandeshkhali. A TMC leader crossed all limitsThe BJP leaders in the state fought for the respect and dignity of the women here. Yesterday, the police had to arrest him (TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan), he added.

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Modi also slammed the opposition bloc INDIA for maintaining a stoic silence on the issue of Sandeshkhali horrors.

Accusing the TMC government of being corrupt in all spheres, PM Modi said, For INDI alliance leaders, supporting the corrupt and appeasement politics is of prime importance rather than stand by those tortured by the TMC in Sandeshkhali.

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The TMC is confident that it has the support of the minorities, but the Muslims too will vote against the goonda raj of the TMC, he added.

The Sandeshkhali region, located on the fringes of the Sunderbans, has been engulfed in turmoil for over a month due to accusations against TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh and his cohorts of sexual abuse and land usurpation.

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Sheikh was arrested by the police yesterday after being on the run for 55 days.

With inputs from agencies
Rice output in the worlds top exporter is being closely monitored after New Delhi prohibited shipments of non-basmati white rice in July, sending global prices skyrocketing

Indias rice output is predicted to dip for the first time in eight years in 2023/24 due to below-average rainfall, but wheat production is expected to increase 1.3% from the previous year, according to a government statement released on Thursday.

Rice output in the worlds top exporter is being closely monitored after New Delhi prohibited shipments of non-basmati white rice in July, sending global prices skyrocketing.

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Rice output is likely to dip to 123.8 million metric tonnes in the crop year ending in June, but wheat production may increase to 112 million tonnes from 110.6 million tonnes the previous year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

Lower rice production raises the prospect that Prime Minister Narendra Modis government will extend curbs on exports of the grain to keep a lid on food prices ahead of a general election.

Prolonged export curbs could further inflate food prices given low inventories in other key exporting countries including Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and Myanmar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated several infrastructure and connectivity projects in the strategic island nation on 29 February. Prime Minister Modi also recalled his promise given to the people of Agalega island, who have been disconnected from the mainland. He even reiterated the catchphrase Modi ki Guarantee in the context of Indias fulfilment of promises even in the context of foreign domains of development as India continues to support the developmental aspirations of friendly people in the Global South while becoming their voice at the global stage.

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Fighting for their cause in an unjust world has been a major marker of Indian foreign policy. India and Mauritius are crucial and critical in the Indian Ocean Region which is facing increasing traditional and non-traditional threats. As the maritime collaboration continues to expand within and beyond the confines of SAGAR(Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine and IORA(Indian Ocean Regional Association) the outreach of Indias non-reciprocal Neighbourhood First and Link Africa Faster encompasses the fulfillment of developmental aspirations of the Mauritians  70 per cent of whom are of Indian origin, courtesy the French and British colonialism.

Mauritius since 2005 has been a gateway to foreign direct investment and often aced the charts for the highest investment being routed through Port Louis into India due to a unique Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty and Convention(DTAC). The FDI accounted for over 26 per cent of the total during 2000-2022 amounting to $161 billion. No doubt since its renegotiation the FDI via this route has come down but Port Louis still retains that ease and charm for investors. Trade is also burgeoning to over half a billion dollars.

In the developmental domain too Mauritius takes the larger pie of the cake with high-impact socio-economic, infrastructural and developmental projects let alone a large number of scholarships and capacity-building assistance provided under various Government of India programmes. These have been tailored under Indias Africa policy so succinctly outlined by Prime Minister Modi during his address to the Ugandan parliament in 2018 underscoring that India believes and works for Africa for Africans approach and their wishes must be respected. Projects included the metro to the community centre and developmental projects to social housing, the largest cultural centre, civil services college and the establishment of the World Hindi Secretariat. As Prime Minister Modi said India during the last decade has extended over $1 billion in Lines of Credit and $400 million as grants and assistance.

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For New Delhi, Mauritius is ready to play a more significant and dynamic role as a gateway to Africa as the continent moves towards greater integration charting its own course of growth and development including the African Continental Free Trade Agreement(AfCFTA). Since Africa figures prominently in Indias foreign and security policy calculus and naturally and mutually sustaining partnerships, Prime Minister Modi invited Mauritius as a special guest at the G20 Summit last September and successfully engineered the African Union (AU) s inclusion as a permanent member in the G20 making it effectively a G21.

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India has also been a first responder and a HADR partner in every contingency Mauritius faced from the extensive medical and vaccine assistance during the pandemic to the Wakashio oil spill accident in 2020. Even this time the Prime Minister of Mauritius has agreed to follow the Indian model in digital public infrastructure like RuPay card and UPI as well as the first country to set up an Aushadhi Centre on a similar pattern as in Indias Jan Aushadhi Scheme (JAS).

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Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Jugnauth virtually inaugurated the St James jetty an airstrip and six other high-impact developmental projects to cater to the needs of the people of Agalega who will now be able to have direct and reliable connectivity with the mainland thereby ensuring aerial, maritime and digital connectivity within Mauritius. This collaborative effort reflects the deep-rooted partnership between the two nations in addressing various challenges in the Indian Ocean region, both leaders underscored.

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Mauritius is also important from the point of view of maritime strategic calculations. New Delhi has been rendering all possible assistance including joint monitoring and preventing and countering threats in the maritime domain including its extensive and Extended Economic Zone (EEZ). India has always respected the territorial integrity of Mauritius and has stood for it. The case of the Chagos Islands (Diego Garcia) and the Mauritian sovereignty against the British claims over them, is a case in point. In this context Prime Minister Jugnauth, speaking in Creole to his people, wanted to dispel the opposition spreading vicious rumours in his country regarding the Indian desire for a military base in Mauritius while highlighting Indian help and assistance in fulfilling their developmental objectives.

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Likewise, Prime Minister Modi reiterated that Various traditional and non-traditional challenges are emerging in the Indian Ocean region. These challenges impact our economic systems. India and Mauritius are natural partners in the maritime domain to deal with these challenges. He added, Mauritius and India are actively working towards ensuring security, prosperity, and stability in the Indian Ocean region. This collaboration acquires greater salience as this maritime domain becomes increasingly contested with the Chinese hegemonistic overtures and enterprise, where India remains a resident power and security of Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) is of paramount importance, which has been evident during the Houthis attacks on shipping and piracy in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

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The author is the former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta and is currently a Distinguished Fellow with Vivekananda International Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Shamika Ravi needs no introduction. A member of the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) to the Prime Minister, she is a brilliant and a prolific scholar, a public policy wonk and a teacher honing the brightest of minds for over two decades. Her research focuses on economics of development including areas of finance, healthcare, urbanization, gender equality, and welfare and poverty. Firstpost caught up with Dr Ravi on the sidelines of the recent Raisina Dialogue and she held forth on a number of key issues including the debate on manufacturing and services, unemployment crisis, PLI schemes and more. The interview is being reproduced verbatim with only light edits made for brevity and grammar.

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My first question to you. Is the debate between manufacturing and services in India a false debate?

It is indeed a false debate, and its quite a naive debate. We in the last 10 years of the Modi administration have basically been correcting this settled wisdom. Which is not only in Delhi, but I think across states as well as far as policies are concerned that India has missed the manufacturing bus We would hear this all the time. That India is going to be a unique model of development where we are going to transition from agriculture, which is unskilled, to services. And that will be our unique model. This is something that some people continue to say even today.

The point is you have to look at it strategically. One, from the point of view that if 500 million is our workforce, to transition such large numbers from unskilled agriculture to relatively skilled services sector, is not easy. There is a reason we have never seen this (phenomenon) in history anywhere.

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More importantly, you have to look at the market for manufacturing. The thought process seems to be that since China, and subsequently smaller economies like Vietnam and Bangladesh have flooded the world market with manufacturing So how are we going to catch up and therefore we have missed the bus. That is the thinking.

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The point is, the whole world economy is increasing Its growing. As the world economy grows, Latin America will grow, Africa will grow, so too the rest of Asia. Which means the demand for simple manufactured items will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

What do I mean by simple demand? Simple manufactured items like electronics, furniture, leatherwear, garments All of this will continue to grow. The Chinese are losing their labour advantage and cost advantages, but I would say even if they werent They cant possibly be the only factory of the world which happens to be now consuming more, and it is likely to continue demanding more.

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So, its a very naive thinking that we have now missed the bus, now what do we do? We will do services No.

Not only is global demand increasing, we have the workforce and we are making an effort to give them that kind of semi-skilled or the kind of skill required to succeed. Therefore, the big push for Make in India, and Make in India for the world, but also for India.

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Because if you look at the kind of things we have been traditionally importing from China theyre not very high-end, hi-tech products. Umbrellas Sofas Kitchen knives Cutlery I mean, come on! These are not terribly, you know, high technology. So, the point being that we will, and we can (manufacture) if you shift the focus towards livelihoods. We have to manufacture now for the world, yes, the way the Chinese have, but also for ourselves, for India and for the rest of the world which has been part of the emerging and the underdeveloped part. But manufacturing demand is only going to grow.

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A lot of PLI schemes are under way. The policy is to give a boost to manufacturing, but would you say that in the other sectors it has been as successful as it has been in the mobile phone manufacturing segment?

The thing about industrial policies is PLI (Production Linked Incentive) is just one of the industrial policies We have others. We have export promotion and there is Make in India Defence which has its own story evolving. There you have to gauge its performance from various different metrics. And again, not only is the size of growth of the firm itself  so that they can compete in the global market  the other thing is also what share How much are we seeing this kind of import substitution because now domestically you are able to provide for these kind of things What impact is it having on jobs?

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These are the kind of evaluations or assessments that we must do to gauge the final impact of the industrial policy, which by the way is a very recent thing. We are reversing the gaze, if you consider that we had already given up on manufacturing And industrial policy globally right now is becoming protectionist, right? The Chinese spend 1.7 per cent of their GDP on industrial policy, which by the way is much more than what they spend on defence.

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The Americans, with the Make in America in the form of Chip Act is pushing for manufacturing. We are seeing country after country is beginning to realise that you cant just look for efficiency, meaning where can I get cheap imports? That may be good for my consumers but the offset is what about livelihoods? People need cheap and good quality product, but people also need jobs!

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Thats why every country today has a version of Atmanirbhar Bharat unfolding within. So, one is a strategic interest. Dont just look at Make in India from a short-term, or one or two metrics. Thats why its a vector of many outcomes were looking at and that is how we have to evaluate these.

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On jobs, would you accept that there is a jobs crisis in India, or do you think there is a crisis of well-paying jobs in India?

I think it is the latter. Ill tell you why. The question also is how well-paying should it be? What is the right wage, etc, etc Thats the big debate. If you look at first of all the unemployment rate, dont just look at national level. India is a Union of 28 vibrant state economies. A lot of what happens in terms of labour market are unfolding at the state level, right? Beyond the all-India unemployment rate, if you begin to look at state-level unemployment rate, then you see that Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh These are states which have very low unemployment rate. Single digits, that too like one-one-and-half or two per cent and then you have Kerala which has 13 per cent.

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The question you have to ask is, what is leading to job creation? Its very evident from the data that wealth creation or economic growth is leading to job creation, right? Therefore, states have to become business-friendly and they have to foster and support wealth creators. They must support private sector firms, etc., to not just establish business but also to grow existing businesses. Jobs are coming from there. That is number one.

Number two look at the demographics, the age profile youll find that people under 30 (18-29 age bracket) have an unemployment rate which is almost four times as high as the unemployment rate of people above the age of 30. So, what is happening at the age of 30 that suddenly they all seem to be getting a job?

Well, the point is that now, as the country becomes affluent or we are less poor, we are willing to wait. We are taking exams Our expectations are far higher now Its not just an Indian problem, its a global issue. And the IMF and the OECD call this youth inactivity. Its a nice euphemism for saying that the youth are inactive. Theyre not really creating any value. Theyre right now sitting idle. Theyre unemployed.

But that is not you know, its not a happy choice because we are saying maybe its okay for the OECD guys to have this kind of an issue but for us, we want people to create value But there is one further insight, because if it were only shortage of jobs then after 30 also you would not get those jobs. So clearly, its not shortage of jobs, but it is a shortage of the right job for me.

People have expectations which are different Wages are one part of it. But there is more than wages. Even amongst the youth your most highly educated meaning people who are graduates or hold degrees above it Sabse zyaada educated people among the youth population in the country their unemployment rate is almost five times as high as the people who have primary and below education. So, your uneducated people are all working and your graduates, by and large, are waiting for the right jobs.

So yes, there is a big gap today in the market Because your industry is repeatedly telling you that finance is not our constraint anymore, skilled manpower is our constraint. How do these two things coexist, that your most-educated youths are sitting at home and your firms are not able to find skill? It is because theres a big gap between degree and skill. Market values skill, not degrees.

Therefore, reskilling and skill mission (Modi governments National Skill Development Mission) and why we need to really provide skills to people which can help them get the right job.

What is the policy prescription here? Skill India?

Oh, Skill India! And the New Education Policy (NEP). Youre basically saying now academia or classrooms must work closely with the firms to give the right skills because that is what is going to make them employable. So, there are nuances to this story. And expectation management is definitely a very big part of it. We also have a very large segment that continues to take exams in the hope of making it to a government job.

I was going to ask you this So, is the crisis being exacerbated by the fact that the security and stability that is provided by the government sector job, and the social and the economic perks that are perceived to be there in government jobs, is that what is adding to the problem? Because if you get a government job you are set for life your value goes up in the marriage market, etc

You see that is part of the culture the society. The point being that this is a shrinking problem because you also have the largest growth in startups. In fact, the joke is that when we were in college, all the cool kids used to carry guitars. Today, all the cool kids have startups Go to business schools. Those are the places where Ive been teaching for 20 years (Youll find) startups, experimentation, incubation of new ideas, applying technology solutions to multiple problems in the society  education, health, mobility These are also being tried out. So, the two things coexist. You have a segment that is only waiting for government jobs, but you also have people who are willing to try new things. And I think a growing economy needs risk-taking appetite.

But the problem with startups is that 95 per cent will fail. So, we also have to embrace failure, because if youre not going to try, you are not going to succeed, right? Youre not going to see the kind of growth Risk-taking appetite in the country and in the community as a whole has to improve. I have a feeling that with economic growth, you will see growth of risk-taking appetite. And the that hunger for government jobs will continue to come down.

Now the problem is We are also faced with the crisis where we have huge vacancies in the government and the government must also expand. Because with more complex economy and the global economy becoming more our relations with countries becoming more complex, every segment of the government must also keep up with what is required of the administration.

So they have to be rescaled capacities have to be created and more people have to be hired. You need more teachers, more policemen, more nurses in the public hospitals, etc. All those things coexist. I thinkone simple narrative trying to explain all labour markets in India is futile.

Because theyre all contemporary problems. But we do need the hunger in certain segments for government jobs to come down, but also notice where do people take these exams the most? They tend to be typically in states which are backward. Those are also states which are not growing economically. This is why they are waiting for the right jobs and so on. You also have to understand that there is a right size of the government. We also have to look at it from that side. Economies which have a very large percentage of population employed in government, first of all theyre not fast-growing. They tend to be places where its very difficult to reform.

But how do you explain China?

Yes, but China is a one-party system and by the way, unlike what we believe, they do have a lot of competition within the party and their incentives are aligned in such a way that leaders have equity in a lot of ways which are quasi private sector. The growth of the economy is directly linked to their growth in stature and power. We are not China, thank god for that.

But I would like to think of a country like Sri Lanka One of the reasons why reforms are difficult in Sri Lanka, is because nearly 10 per cent of the Sri Lankan population is employed with the government. Thats a very large number. Ours is around five per cent five-to-six per cent.

So, we also have to think of those things like government jobs also how much government job? Thats a macro problem. But if you look at it from the (perspective of) labour market and expectation then the risk-taking appetite needs to be there And people become risk taking when their basic needs are met. That is the direction in which the Indian economy is moving in.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
In the enchanting backdrop of Kashmirs breathtaking landscapes, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar embarked on his first-ever visit to the region, revelling in the joys of Gulmarg and Pahalgam. Engaging in spirited gully cricket matches with locals, Sachin, accompanied by his family, embraced the picturesque surroundings. His visit coincided with a historic surge in tourist numbers, with over 1.88 crore tourists flocking to Jammu and Kashmir from 2021 to 2022. Kashmir alone witnessed an unprecedented 26.73 lakh tourist arrivals, more than double the previous highest recorded in 2016.

Amidst the snowfall in Pahalgam and the ski resort of Gulmarg, Sachin Tendulkar, often hailed as the God of Cricket, described the region as nothing short of heaven on Earth. However, just 100 kilometres away from North Kashmir, a strikingly different scenario unfolded in Pakistan, earning the moniker of hell on Earth.

As we delve into the contrasting tales of two neighbouring regions, lets explore 10 noteworthy points shedding light on the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

Firstly, it is imperative to address the troubling reality that while Pakistan possesses stringent blasphemy laws, incidents of violence, attacks on minorities and brutal instances of lynching persist. The recent incident in Lahore, where a woman faced the terrifying prospect of a mob lynching over misconstrued Arabic designs on her dress, is unfortunately not an isolated event in Pakistan. On 7 August, 2023, a teacher in Turbat was shot dead after being accused of blasphemy by his own students. Similarly, in February of the same year in Nankana, a man accused of desecrating the Quran was brutally dragged out of a police station by a mob and beaten to death. This tragic pattern extends further back, as in December 2021, a Sri Lankan man accused of blasphemy met a similarly horrific fate, being lynched. These incidents underscore the alarming infiltration of religious extremism into the countrys political fabric, exposing a persistent failure on the part of the state to curb vigilante groups perpetrating chaos in the name of religion.

Despite comprising only 4 per cent of the population, Christians and religious minorities face half of all blasphemy charges. From 1987 to 2018, 776 Muslims, 505 Ahmadis, 229 Christians, and 30 Hindus were charged. Shockingly, around 1,000 girls are forcibly converted to Islam annually, as per Human Rights Commission data. The Shia community, representing 15-20 per cent of the population, bears the brunt of sectarian violence, with extremist attacks claiming around 4,840 lives between 2001 and 2018, highlighting a dire situation for religious minorities. Despite constitutional provisions, and with an increase of minority voters from 2.77 million in 2013 to 4.43 million in 2023, Hindu leaders decry inadequate representation, Pakistans Constitution reserves 10 seats for minorities in the National Assembly and 24 in the provinces.

In Pakistan, the cycle repeats as former prime minister Imran Khan faces imprisonment, mirroring the fate of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, who now eyes a potential comeback. The backdrop is a history of rigged elections, with the 2018 polls that brought Khan to power considered among the most rigged. Fast forward to 2024, where a surge in internet censorship coincides with revelations from Rawalpindis commissioner, Liaqat Ali Chatha, exposing large-scale election rigging. Chatha, under pressure, admits to altering results, implicating key officials, including the chief election commissioner and chief justice of Pakistan, leading to his arrest. Despite a military-led crackdown, politicians allied with Khans party claim victory in the recent elections, while opponent Nawaz Sharif disputes the results, casting serious doubt on their legitimacy. In the absence of transparency, these elections risk lacking credibility in the eyes of the people, marking yet another chapter in Pakistans electoral challenges.

The state of Pakistans economy is undeniably grim, marked not by a mere crisis but the worst-ever economic meltdown. Atif Mian, the Pakistani American economist, delivers a straightforward assessment: the federal governments financial reserves are depleted, struggling even to cover basic salaries for peons and soldiers without resorting to borrowing. A heartbreaking reality unfolds as 442,353 children succumbed to povertys grip last year, emphasizing the dire challenges faced by the most vulnerable in society. Meanwhile, a missed opportunity with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a failed deal that could have injected $1.1 billion to avert bankruptcy and prevent defaulting on loans, adds to the economic woes. This is not a tale of high-stakes poker; its a serious narrative, inviting reflection on the profound economic struggles Pakistan is currently navigating.

But fear not, our dear Pakistan, the IMF is here to save the day! After completing the first review of the countrys economic reform program, theyve given the green light to shower $700 million like confetti. Why the bailout, you ask? Well, turns out Pakistan was in a bit of a pickle, struggling to scrounge up enough foreign exchange to satisfy the IMFs appetite. The IMF, being the tough cookie it is, refused to dish out the remaining $2.5 billion from a $6.5 billion loan program signed in 2019, which, by the way, had its curtain call on 30 June last year. So, there you have it, the economic drama continues, and Pakistans got a $700 million lifeline. The show must go on!

Pakistans economy is struggling and job opportunities are scarce, thanks to a weak job market with low wages and little security. Reasons for the job crisis range from educational deficits to political and economic challenges. Pakistan grapples with a looming economic crisis, as the IMF predicts a surge in unemployment rates from 6.2 per cent (FY22) to 8.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent (FY23 and FY24). The ILO estimates a potential 1.5 million increase in actively seeking work, reaching 5.6 million in 2023. Simultaneously, the country faces the harsh reality of being one of the last two nations globally, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic. Additionally, a dire scenario unfolds in education, with Pakistan allocating less than 2 per cent of its GDP to the sector, resulting in meagre funding and a literacy rate of just 60 per cent, exposing a precarious future for the nation.

Pakistans population has skyrocketed from 207 million in 2017 to a staggering 241 million today, a 35 million increase in just six years. This demographic surge poses a significant challenge for the economically strapped nation, sparking concerns about its impact on regional security, especially in relation to India. The numbers arent just figures; they represent a delicate dance with potential implications for border tensions and infiltration.

Enter the dark alleys of Pakistans decades-long rogue behaviour, a global menace of state-sponsored terrorism. As the IMF grants bailouts, its time for the international community to see through the smoke and mirrors. Pakistans sinister double games thrive on terror financing structures, intertwined with economic doles from the US, China and international institutions. The deeper politics at play dilute the urgency of curbing Pakistans brazen terrorism, turning it into a geopolitical chess match with far-reaching consequences. Its not just about economics; its about navigating a perilous path where power games and terror financing converge, posing a stark challenge to global stability.

In a bizarre turn of events, Pakistan finds itself facing a threat from Afghanistan that eerily mirrors the challenges India has long endured from Pakistan. The twist? This time, its a predicament of Islamabads own making. Enter the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a menace that has been launching attacks on Pakistani security forces from Afghanistan, intensifying since the Talibans takeover in Kabul. Now, the stage expands with Irans foray into Balochistan, courtesy of Jaish al-Adl. This Sunni militant faction, operating from Pakistan, recently provoked a serious crisis with missile-and-drone attacks. Its a geopolitical puzzle where terror threads weave between nations, presenting a volatile cocktail of regional complexities and confrontations.
(File) Soldiers stand next to military vehicles as people gather to protest against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar. Reuters

Of late, the spotlight has shifted towards the India-Myanmar border, where a complex interplay of factors has sparked debate and controversy. As one Indian neighbour grapples with internal turmoil, another faces the challenges of a civil war. There are multifaceted issues surrounding the proposed fencing of the India-Myanmar border and the divergent opinions within Indias own states.

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Volatile and porous border

Myanmar, embroiled in a civil war, sees its ruling junta engaged in a struggle against ethnic rebel groups, resulting in territorial losses and military casualties. With India sharing a significant border stretch of approximately 1,600 kilometres with Myanmar, concerns over potential spillover effects loom large in New Delhis strategic calculations. Consequently, Indias decision to erect a fence along the border has stirred controversy, particularly among certain Indian states.

Mizoram, Nagaland oppose border fencing

Mizoram and Nagaland, bordering Myanmar, have voiced opposition to the proposed fencing. Mizorams stance, articulated through a resolution passed by its Assembly, stems from historical ties and shared ethnic communities straddling the border. The sentiment of reunification with kin across the border clashes with the imposition of a physical barrier, disrupting the longstanding Free Movement Regime (FMR) facilitating cross-border interactions.

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The British geographically divided the Zo ethnic people who have inhabited Mizoram and the Chin Hills of Myanmar for centuries together. We have been dreaming of reunification and cannot accept the India-Myanmar border imposed upon us, said Mizoram home minister K Sapdanga.

Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh seek Myanmar border fencing

Under the FMR, residents near the India-Myanmar border enjoy the privilege of travelling up to 16 kilometres into each others territories without visas, fostering familial and cultural connections. Mizoram and Nagaland advocate for the preservation of this regime, emphasizing its significance for border communities. Conversely, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh advocate for border fencing, citing concerns over security threats, particularly in the context of the ongoing civil war and the influx of refugees and smugglers.

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Manipur, in particular, grapples with the repercussions of the Myanmar conflict, witnessing ethnic violence and drug smuggling activities. The states chief minister underscores the inadequacy of the FMR in addressing these challenges, advocating for stricter border controls and modifications to the existing regime. The nexus between the civil war in Myanmar and the surge in drug smuggling exacerbates security concerns, prompting calls for decisive action.

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India caught in a bind

As Myanmars civil war shows no signs of abating, India faces the daunting task of navigating security imperatives while preserving socio-cultural ties and managing internal dissent. The porous border poses inherent risks during times of conflict, necessitating a delicate balance between security measures and maintaining bilateral relations. Effective engagement and cooperation emerge as imperative in charting a path forward amidst this complex geopolitical landscape.

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The controversy surrounding the India-Myanmar border fence underscores the intricate interplay between security imperatives, socio-cultural ties and regional dynamics. As India grapples with the challenges posed by Myanmars civil war, striking a balance between border security and community cohesion remains paramount. Collaborative efforts and nuanced policymaking are essential in addressing the multifaceted ramifications of the evolving situation along the India-Myanmar border.

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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.
Pig-butchering scammers have stolen over $75 billion from their victims in less than the four years it has been in existence, a new study has found. However, some experts believe that this figure is much high because people usually dont report when they are scammed

Pig-butchering scammers have stolen over $75 billion from their victims in less than the four years it has been in existence, a new study has found. However, some experts believe that this figure is much high because people usually don't report when they are scammed

A recent study conducted by finance professor John Griffin and graduate student Kevin Mei from the University of Texas at Austin has revealed shocking findings about the extent of pig-butchering scams in the cryptocurrency world.

These scams, which have seen a surge in activity since the onset of the pandemic, have likely siphoned off more than $75 billion from victims globally, in less than four years

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Griffin and Mei meticulously traced the movement of funds from over 4,000 victims to the scammers behind these schemes, predominantly based in Southeast Asia. Over a span of four years, from January 2020 to February 2024, the criminal networks managed to transfer this staggering sum to various cryptocurrency exchanges.

Griffin noted that while some of these funds might originate from other illicit activities, the bulk is likely the proceeds of pig-butchering scams.

The term pig butchering refers to a type of scam where unsuspecting individuals are tricked into fake crypto investments through misleading text messages. They are then redirected to legitimate-looking investment apps and accounts so that they can deposit the money of their own volition. The apps are designed in such a way that the victims always see their investments going up. In reality, though, the victim is simply sending the money to scammers.

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Once victims has invested the money which often amounts to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, the scammers vanish.

Disturbingly, the individuals perpetrating these scams are often victims of human trafficking themselves. Many are coerced into participating in the scams after being promised lucrative jobs in Southeast Asian countries, only to find themselves trapped and subjected to abuse.

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Griffin and Meis study, titled How Do Crypto Flows Finance Slavery? The Economics of Pig Butchering, sheds light on the mechanics of these scams. They found that a significant portion of the funds collected by scammers was converted into Tether, a popular stablecoin. Despite claims of traceability made by Tethers CEO Paolo Ardoino, Griffin emphasized that Tether remains the currency of choice for these criminal networks.

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However, the accuracy of the studys findings has been questioned by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis Inc., which suggests that quantifying funds earned through pig-butchering scams is challenging due to limited reporting.

Additionally, Norwegian crypto investigations firm Chainbrium highlighted the use of a decentralized exchange called Tokenlon by scammers to obscure the origins of the funds.

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Despite efforts by exchanges like Binance to collaborate with law enforcement and freeze accounts associated with fraudulent activities, the scale of pig-butchering scams underscores the challenges faced by authorities in combating crypto-related crimes.

As victims continue to suffer significant financial losses, raising awareness and implementing robust regulatory measures remain imperative in addressing this ongoing threat.
Modern cars come with a lot of connected technology for features like drivers assist, GPS, or even security measures. Given Chinas tendency to harvest data that Chinese companies collect, the US fears that connected technology in cars is a massive security risk

Modern cars come with a lot of connected technology for features like drivers' assist, GPS, or even security measures. Given China's tendency to harvest data that Chinese companies collect, the US fears that connected technology in cars is a massive security risk

The White House has launched an investigation into cars manufactured in China and other unspecified countries of concern.

Concerns arise from the fact that most modern cars are constantly connected to drivers phones, and sometimes other vehicles, the local infrastructure, and manufacturers to enable certain technologies like driver assist systems, GPS, or even security. However, each of these technologies also becomes a point of entry for people, especially threat actors and government-backed hackers to snoop.

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According to a statement from the White House, connected vehicles gather substantial amounts of sensitive data on drivers and passengers, use cameras and sensors to record detailed information on US infrastructure, and have the capability to interact directly with critical infrastructure.

Officials fear the potential of these threat actors to exploit these vulnerabilities. Moreover if foreign governments gain access to this data, it is likely to be used in ways that endanger national security.

The Department of Commerce will lead the investigation, with an aim to understand the scope of the technology in these cars, and to what extent can they capture extensive data or remotely manipulate connected vehicles.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasised the need for public input to determine the appropriate technologies and market participants for regulation. This marks the first investigation conducted by the agencys Bureau of Industry and Security under Trump-era Executive Orders focused on safeguarding domestic information and communications technology and services supply chains from national security risks.

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President Joe Biden expressed determination to prevent China from dominating the auto market with unfair practices, which could pose risks to national security.

He highlighted concerns that connected vehicles from China could gather sensitive data about American citizens and infrastructure, potentially transmitting it back to China and allowing for remote access or disablement.

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China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices. Chinas policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. Im not going to let that happen on my watch, President Joe Biden said.

While China-based carmakers are not yet widespread on US roads, they are increasingly common in other markets like Europe. The investigation primarily focuses on the cameras, sensors, and software integrated into these cars, even though many of the vehicles causing concerns are electric vehicles (EVs).

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This isnt the first time the US has investigated Chinese companies over security concerns. In the past, it banned the import and sale of telecom networking equipment made by Huawei and ZTE and required the removal and replacement of their gear in existing infrastructure, citing security risks.
Without Googles abuse of its dominant position, the media companies claim they would have received significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for ad tech services

Without Googles abuse of its dominant position, the media companies claim they would have received significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for ad tech services

Alphabets Google is facing a 2.1 billion Euro lawsuit from 32 media groups who are alleging losses due to Googles digital advertising practices.

The media groups, hailing from various European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, and others, claim that Googles misconduct has led to a less competitive market, resulting in financial losses for them.

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As per a report by Reuters, the lawyers representing the media outlets, from Geradin Partners and Stek, put out a statement, saying The media companies involved have incurred losses due to a less competitive market, which is a direct result of Googles misconduct. Without Googles abuse of its dominant position, the media companies would have received significantly higher revenues from advertising and paid lower fees for ad tech services. Crucially, these funds could have been reinvested into strengthening the European media landscape.

They argue that without Googles dominant position and alleged abuse, they would have earned higher advertising revenues and paid lower fees for ad tech services, strengthening the European media landscape.

Google is already under antitrust scrutiny for allegedly stifling competition by paying companies like Apple and Mozilla to keep its product as the default search engine.

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However, Googles spokesperson has dismissed the lawsuit as speculative and opportunistic, emphasizing the companys constructive collaboration with publishers across Europe. Google works constructively with publishers across Europe. Our advertising tools adapt and evolve in partnership with those same publishers, the tech giant said in a statement to The Guardian.

This legal action comes amid increased competition for Google, with rivals like Microsoft and OpenAI posing an existential threat. OpenAIs AI chatbot, in particular, could directly challenge Googles core search business. In response, Google has launched its own Search Generative Experiences beta version.

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However, Googles endeavours in AI chatbots have faced challenges. Its Gemini chatbots AI image generation tool received criticism for historical inaccuracies, being too woke and anti-white. Following internet mockery, Google temporarily removed the image generation capability, pledging to enhance it before re-release.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Tata Group will soon start making semiconductors in India, as the Union Cabinet has approved the its proposal to invest Rs 91,000 crores, and set up a foundry. The foundry will be set up in Dholera, Gujarat where, the construction is expected to begin within the next 100 days

The Tata Group will soon start making semiconductors in India, as the Union Cabinet has approved the its proposal to invest Rs 91,000 crores, and set up a foundry. The foundry will be set up in Dholera, Gujarat where, the construction is expected to begin within the next 100 days

The Union Cabinet has given the green light for Tata Groups proposal to establish a semiconductor foundry with an investment of Rs 91,000 crore, marking a significant milestone for Indias ambitions in the chip manufacturing sector, as per a report by The Economic Times.

With this approval, India is poised to establish its first commercial fab, a goal that has long been pursued by New Delhi to bolster its commercial and strategic interests in line with other major global economies.

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According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Tata Electronics initiative to establish the foundry unit will position India as a key player in the global semiconductor market.

Additionally, the Cabinet has approved two proposals for the establishment of assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) units by Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) and CG Power-Renesas in Assam and Gujarat, respectively. These projects, with a total investment of Rs 1,26,000 crore, will receive subsidies under the India Semiconductor Mission.

Tata Electronics has partnered with Taiwans Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC) for the joint venture, which will be located in Dholera, Gujarat. The construction of this ambitious project is expected to commence within the next 100 days.

The semiconductor foundry will manufacture high-performance chips in various categories, contributing to the growth of downstream industries such as laptops, servers, mobile equipment, and domestic electronic equipment.

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Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder of the HCL Group, described the development as pathbreaking, emphasizing its potential to redefine Indias role in the global semiconductor industry.

The Tata-PSMC semiconductor plant aims to manufacture 50,000 wafer starts per month, catering to various sectors including electric vehicles, telecom, defence, and consumer electronics.

Furthermore, the establishment of ATMP units by TSAT and CG Power-Renesas will address the demand for specialized chips in sectors such as automotive, industrial, and power.

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Overall, these initiatives are expected to significantly contribute to Indias Semiconductor Mission and create a thriving semiconductor ecosystem, fostering employment opportunities and bolstering the nations position in the global semiconductor market.

(With inputs from agencies)
The lawsuit, initiated by a former assembly line worker, alleges that African-American factory workers at Tesla faced various forms of racist behaviour, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses hung at their workstations

The lawsuit, initiated by a former assembly line worker, alleges that African-American factory workers at Tesla faced various forms of racist behaviour, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses hung at their workstations

A California state judge has tentatively ruled that nearly 6,000 African-American factory workers can proceed with a group lawsuit against Tesla for alleged failure to address widespread race discrimination and harassment at its Fremont plant, as per a Reuters report.

Judge Noel Wise in Oakland stated in a written order issued on Wednesday that the lawsuit raises common questions concerning whether Tesla was aware of the alleged misconduct and failed to take preventive measures.

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The lawsuit was initiated by Marcus Vaughn, a former assembly line worker, in 2017. Vaughn alleges that African-American factory workers faced various forms of racist behaviour, including slurs, graffiti, and nooses hung at their workstations. Tesla has not yet responded to requests for comment on the ruling.

Lawrence Organ, Vaughns lawyer, expressed satisfaction with the ruling and looks forward to preparing for trial. He highlighted the numerous complaints over time, suggesting Teslas failure to prevent racial harassment of its African-American employees.

Tesla maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards workplace harassment and asserts that it has terminated employees involved in racial harassment. The tentative ruling precedes a hearing scheduled for Friday, where Tesla can challenge Wises decision.

The ruling poses a significant setback for Tesla, potentially exposing the company to a substantial financial judgment. The class action includes individuals who self-identified as African-American and worked at the Fremont factory since November 2016.

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Judge Wise intends to proceed with a trial in October, coinciding with another trial involving similar claims against Tesla by a California state civil rights agency. Additionally, Tesla faces race bias allegations in federal court brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, with Tesla seeking dismissal or a pause pending resolution of other lawsuits.

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Furthermore, Tesla is appealing a $3.2 million jury verdict awarded to an African-American former elevator operator at the Fremont plant in a separate racial harassment lawsuit. The worker, Owen Diaz, initially won a $137 million verdict in 2021, but a judge ordered a retrial, deeming the award excessive.
Its not just Chinese-manufactured vehicles that are under scrutiny for their surveillance capabilities. A few months ago, a Mozilla study titled Privacy Not Included, revealed that almost all major carmakers collect data from their users and sell it to advertisers

It's not just Chinese-manufactured vehicles that are under scrutiny for their surveillance capabilities. A few months ago, a Mozilla study titled 'Privacy Not Included,' revealed that almost all major carmakers collect data from their users and sell it to advertisements

The White House has officially launched an inquiry into cars produced in China and other unspecified countries of concern. In a recent statement, the White House expressed worries about connected vehicles gathering vast amounts of sensitive data on both drivers and passengers. These vehicles are equipped with cameras and sensors capable of recording intricate details about US infrastructure, with the added capability of directly interfacing with critical infrastructure.

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However, its not just Chinese-manufactured vehicles that are under scrutiny for their surveillance capabilities. A report by Firstpost in September highlighted findings from Mozilla study titled Privacy Not Included, revealing that popular carmakers worldwide are engaging in similar surveillance practices, collecting diverse data from their users. Surprisingly, car manufacturers are reported to collect and sell even more data than smartphone makers.

How cars collect data.

Car companies use a variety of methods to gather personal data, leveraging the intricate network of electronics, cameras, and sensors integrated within vehicles. Routine interactions like steering or braking, along with advanced technologies such as assisted driving and voice command systems, serve as data points ripe for collection.

Furthermore, interconnected systems like GPS, infotainment systems that have mics, smartphone integration, and even certain security features act as conduits for gathering user information. This widespread surveillance, coupled with data sourcing from third-party brokers and social media, results in a comprehensive dossier detailing individuals, their activities, and behaviours.

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What data is collected

The scope of data amassed by modern cars is extensive and concerning, encompassing mundane driving behaviours to deeply personal information.

Both drivers and passengers are subject to extensive monitoring, with data points including drivers license numbers, national or state identification numbers, citizenship status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, details about sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnoses, and in some cases, even genetic information. Some manufacturers even delve into collecting biometrics, speech patterns, and health issues affecting users.

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Certain companies go as far as making psychological inferences and constructing detailed profiles, encroaching upon users privacy in unprecedented ways.

The Fate of Collected Data

Despite the sensitivity of the collected data, transparency and accountability regarding its usage are often lacking. Encryption practices remain opaque, leaving personal information vulnerable to exploitation.

Alarmingly, many manufacturers do not even try to hide that they are sharing and selling user data without explicit consent. Additionally, opting out of data collection may lead to severe consequences, including loss of functionality or even vehicle inoperability.

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With most car companies failing to provide users with meaningful control over their data, the specter of unchecked surveillance looms large over the automotive industry.

In response to these revelations, there is a growing call for stronger privacy protections and increased consumer awareness. As the automotive sector becomes increasingly intertwined with digital technologies, safeguarding individual rights and freedoms necessitates a concerted effort to hold manufacturers accountable and demand greater transparency.

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Only through collective action can we ensure that technological advancement does not come at the expense of personal privacy and autonomy.
Sam Altman is under investigation by the US SEC for allegedly misleading investors during the tumultuous period in November that led to Altmans removal and subsequent reinstatement. The SEC is looking into the matter to ascertain whether OpenAI was forthcoming in its communications

Sam Altman is under investigation by the US SEC for allegedly misleading investors during the tumultuous period in November that led to Altman's removal and subsequent reinstatement. The SEC is looking into the matter to ascertain whether OpenAI was forthcoming in its communications

OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, are reportedly under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding statements made to the companys investors. The investigation stems from emails, including those involving Altman, to determine if investors were misled during a tumultuous period in November that led to Altmans removal and subsequent reinstatement, as per a report by the Wall Street Journal.

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During this period, referred to by Microsoft employees as the Turkey-Shoot Clusterfuck, OpenAIs board initially cited Altmans lack of consistent candour in communications as the reason for his removal.

However, Altman was reinstated shortly after due to an employee revolt, with a modified board excluding those who ousted him.

Now, the SEC is looking into the matter to ascertain whether OpenAI was forthcoming in its communications.

This isnt the first time government officials have scrutinized this claim; inquiries began during the upheaval in November, with the US attorneys office in Manhattan and other regulators seeking clarification on the statement.

The SECs investigation, based in New York, has involved requests for senior OpenAI employees to preserve internal documents, a standard practice in such cases. The agencys interest in the matter is described as predictable by sources close to the probe.

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News of the SEC investigation emerges shortly after reports that an internal investigation into Altmans ouster by the WilmerHale law firm is nearing completion. Altman has reportedly indicated that the companys probe will conclude soon, with results possibly presented to the OpenAI board in early March.

Despite leaks and speculation, the public has only received fragmentary information about OpenAIs internal turmoil. However, the governments investigation may compel OpenAI to disclose more details about the events surrounding Altmans removal and reinstatement.

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(With inputs from agencies)
Unknown people are calling mortuaries and threatening them if they accept to take Alexeis body, Alexei Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said

People attend a protest and vigil held in front of the Russian embassy following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Kappara, Malta, February 19. REUTERS

Two weeks after his death in an Arctic prison, Russian opposition leader and staunch Putin critic, Alexei Navalny will be buried on Friday at the Borisovskoye Cemetery.

As Navalnys team is organising his funeral ceremony, it is unable to find a hearse to drive the body to church.

Navalnys spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said, Unknown people are calling mortuaries and threatening them if they accept to take Alexeis body.

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Yarmysh said she had been told that no hearse agrees to take the body there.

Navalnys funeral service will be streamed online on his YouTube channel. Memorial service will be held at Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrows, in Maryino.

Sad Adieu

Navalnys team had initially planned a public farewell and funeral for the late Russian opposition leader for Thursday, but they were told that there were no available cemetery workers who can dig a grave, Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, said.

Many venues claimed they were busy, or refused the booking once Navalnys name was mentioned. One of the venues explicitly said they were forbidden from working with Navalnys team, Yarmysh said.

It is also unclear how many people will attend Navalnys funeral on Friday.

Also Read: Alexei Navalny to be buried in Moscow amid uncertainty, tight security

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Navalnys team has shared a map of the route for the leaders farewell and have encouraged people to attend. Meanwhile, they are also worried that problems might arise with the church where the service is being held.

Navalny died unexpectedly at the age of 47 on February 16. The news of his demise was met with grief and anger across the world as well as inside Russia. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for her husbands death.

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Navalnys team too accused Putin of ordering his assassination because the Russian leader could not bear the prospect of Navalny being released in a prisoner swap.

Also Read: How Russian church hosting Navalnys funeral is deeply rooted in war he opposed

Putin killed my husband, Yulia said during a speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday. On his orders, Alexei was tortured for three years, she added.

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He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls. And then even letters. And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body, Yulia said, as Navalnys team alleges the body was held in order to pressure the family into agreeing to hold a private funeral.

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With inputs from agencies
Navalny, a former lawyer, launched the most determined political opposition to Putin since the Russian leader took office at the end of 1999, orchestrating street rallies and releasing high-profile investigations into the alleged corruption of some members of the governing class

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny will be buried in Moscow later on Friday, under tight security and worries of a police crackdown two weeks after he died unexpectedly at the age of 47 in an Arctic jail cell.

Navalnys supporters, who have planned to webcast the days events online, have accused President Vladimir Putin of ordering his assassination because the Russian leader could not bear the prospect of Navalny being released in a prisoner swap.

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They have not produced evidence to back up that charge, but have vowed to explain how and by whom he was murdered.

The Kremlin has denied official participation in his death and claims it is unaware of any arrangement to release Navalny. His death certificate - according to allies - said he died of natural causes.

Navalny, a former lawyer, launched the most determined political opposition to Putin since the Russian leader took office at the end of 1999, orchestrating street rallies and releasing high-profile investigations into the alleged corruption of some members of the governing class.

However, a succession of criminal prosecutions for fraud and extremism, which Navalny said were politically motivated, resulted in his receiving prison terms of more than 30 years, and the majority of his supporters have either fled the country or are in jail.

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Navalny chose to return to Russia from Germany in 2021 after being treated for what Western physicians diagnosed as nerve agent poisoning, only to be arrested immediately.

Putin, who controls all the levers of state and is expected to be comfortably re-elected for another six-year term in two weeks, has yet to comment on Navalnys death and has for years avoided mentioning him by name.

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Though Navalny is well known in the West, state TV inside Russia did not mention him for years either and when it did it was brief and in a negative light.

A religious service for Navalny is due to be held at 1400 local time in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino where Navalny used to live.

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He is then scheduled to be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, around 2.5 km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva River two hours later.

Navalnys allies, who are outside Russia and have been designated as U.S.-backed extremists by the authorities, have called on people who want to honour his memory but cannot attend his funeral service to instead go to certain landmarks in their own towns on Friday evening at 7 p.m. local time.

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The Kremlin has dismissed statements by his allies as provocative and warned that the police will uphold the law.

Judging from previous gatherings of Navalny supporters, a heavy police presence is likely and the authorities will break up anything they deem to resemble a political demonstration under protest laws.

Navalnys wife Yulia, with whom he had two children, has said she is unsure whether the funeral itself will pass off peacefully or whether police will arrest attendees. She is outside Russia.

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Navalnys mother Lyudmila, 69, is expected to attend his funeral. It is unclear who else will be allowed into the church for the service.

Navalny was a Christian who condemned Putins decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine as a crazy enterprise built on lies. But the church that will host his funeral has donated to the Russian army and enthusiastically advertised its backing for the war.

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In the run-up to his funeral, his allies accused the authorities of blocking their plans to hold a bigger civil memorial service and said unknown individuals had even managed to thwart their attempts to hire a hearse to transport him to his own funeral.

The Kremlin has said it has nothing to do with Navalnys funeral arrangements.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putins fiercest critic inside Russia, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16., sparking accusations from his supporters that he had been murdered. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death.

People watch as workers carry the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. - AP

Amid a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell to Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow on Friday, following his untimely death two weeks earlier in an Arctic penal colony under circumstances that remain unexplained.

The funeral service unfolded amidst a contentious struggle with authorities regarding the release of Navalnys body, the fiercest critic of President Vladimir Putin.

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In this photo released by Navalny Team, relatives and friends pay their last respects at the coffin of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024. - AP

Supporters of Navalny asserted that several churches in Moscow declined to host the funeral for the man known for his crusade against government corruption and his organization of large-scale protests. Meanwhile, numerous Western leaders pointed fingers at the Russian leader for Navalnys death, an accusation vehemently rejected by the Kremlin.

Navalnys team eventually got permission from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was encircled by crowd-control barriers on Friday.

As his coffin was removed from the hearse and taken inside the church, the crowd waiting outside broke into respectful applause and then chanted: Navalny! Navalny! Some also shouted, Free Russia and You werent afraid, neither are we! and later No to war!

A Police officer guards as people gather near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 1, 2024.- AP

Western diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Lynn Tracy, were among those who attended, along with presidential hopefuls Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova. Both wanted to run against Putin in the upcoming presidential elections and opposed his war in Ukraine; neither was allowed on the ballot.

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A photo from inside the church showed an open casket with Navalnys body covered with red and white flowers, and his mother sitting beside it holding a candle.

Navalnys father was also present, but it wasnt clear who else in his family attended. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, just two days ago addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France; his daughter is a student at the Stanford University, and the whereabouts of his son are unknown.

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The politicians closest associates have left Russia under pressure and watched the funeral, which was streamed live on his YouTube channel, from abroad.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings" are violations.

Those people who follow what is happening, it is of course obvious to them that this man is a hero of our country, whom we will not forget," said Nadezhda Ivanova, a Kaliningrad resident who was outside the church with other supporters. What was done to him is incredibly difficult to accept and get through it."

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After the short funeral, a crowd of thousands marched from the church to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force for the burial.

With the casket open, Navalnys parents and others stroked and kissed his body. Meanwhile, a large crowd of supporters gathered at the gates of the cemetery, chanting: Let us in to say say goodbye!

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The coffin was then lowered into the ground, allies said.

Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his Feb. 16 death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

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Even on Friday itself, the morgue where the body was being held delayed its release, according to Ivan Zhdanov, Navalnys close ally and director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Authorities originally said they couldnt turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Navalnaya made a video appeal to Putin to release it so she could bury her son with dignity.

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At least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Navalnys supporters, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media. They also struggled to find a hearse.

Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Yarmysh said Thursday.

Russian authorities still havent announced the cause of death for Navalny, who was 47.

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Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

His Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organizations by the Russian government that same year.

His widow accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

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We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, Yulia Navalnaya wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In a speech to European lawmakers on Wednesday, she also expressed fears that police might interfere with the gathering or would arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband.

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Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions, according to politician Yekaterina Duntsova said. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of Feb. 27, 2015.

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Yarmysh also urged Navalnys supporters around the world to lay flowers in his honour Friday.

Everyone who knew Alexei says what a cheerful, courageous and honest person he was, Yarmysh said Thursday. But the greater truth is that even if you never met Alexei, you knew what he was like, too. You shared his investigations, you went to rallies with him, you read his posts from prison. His example showed many people what to do when even when things were scary and difficult.

With inputs from agencies.
Death toll from Israeli attacks surpasses 30,000 in Gaza, humanitarian crisis worsening

Xinhua) 13:32, March 01, 2024

CAIRO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

"About one in every 20 children, women and men, are now dead or wounded," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Thursday, referring to the bloodshed in Gaza as "carnage."

"The war in Gaza must end. Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties," he said during the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Over the nearly five months since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, 30,035 Palestinians have been killed and 70,475 others injured, including those seeking humanitarian aid, the Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday.

WORSENING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

"There is no food, no drink, no security, no safety, no shelter -- nothing exists here," said Ayman Shahin, a resident from Gaza City who has been displaced to Deir el-Balah, a city in central Gaza.

"Humanitarian aid barely reaches the camp here. It is very limited and not enough for our children and women," he said.

"No one here gets enough (resources) to meet their needs, and famine is approaching," said Naguib Abu Khaled, a Palestinian man who has been forced to relocate from Gaza City to Deir el-Balah.

During a UN Security Council meeting in January, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that about 1.9 million people, or 85 percent of Gaza's population, had been forcibly displaced amid Israel's military operations.

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip, or one-quarter of the population, are one step away from famine, Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council on Tuesday. A Palestinian source, who spoke to Xinhua anonymously, said many local residents were limited to one meal a day and not all the people could get their share of food aid.

With hunger and infectious diseases spreading within the small enclave, Gazan residents may even face a deadly risk in accessing humanitarian aid.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 others wounded in an Israeli attack as they were waiting for aid in western Gaza City on Thursday. Local eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli army targeted a gathering of civilians with artillery and guns.

An Israeli military spokesman claimed that the troops opened fire "in self-defense" after Gazans attacked and looted aid trucks. He said dozens of Gazans were injured in the chaos, some by being crushed or trampled.

POTENTIAL CEASEFIRE

Ceasefire talks have resumed in Doha this week between "specialists from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel" as well as Hamas representatives, Egyptian media reported.

No breakthrough has been announced, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the military offensive.

He said Sunday that an Israeli military operation into Rafah, the southernmost Gazan city, home to about 1.4 million Palestinians, would secure a "total victory" over Hamas within a few weeks.

The prospect of an assault on Rafah has sparked widespread international appeals to Israel to exercise restraint.

Egypt is reportedly threatening to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if the latter sends troops into densely-populated Rafah. According to media reports, the United States, Israel's key ally, has proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution cautioning against a "major ground offensive" into Rafah.

In addition, the Israeli killing of Palestinians seeking food aid may further complicate the ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas said the incident could undermine talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and releasing Israeli hostages. U.S. President Joe Biden has acknowledged that the negotiations would be complicated by the incident.

ISRAEL UNDER MOUNTING PRESSURE

Last week, Netanyahu unveiled his first post-war plan for Gaza, which advocated for Israel's "security control" over Palestinian territories following the conflict and underlined Netanyahu's opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The plan, rejected by Palestine, also contradicts the U.S. policy, as Biden has said that only a two-state solution has a chance of achieving lasting peace.

Israeli politicians are also facing mounting pressure due to the dire situation of the estimated 130 hostages still held in Gaza. At least 35 of them are believed to be dead, according to Israeli figures.

During a truce last November, more than 100 hostages were released as part of an agreement that included a week-long cessation of hostilities and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On Wednesday, families of Israeli hostages embarked on a four-day march from near the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem, demanding the release of their loved ones.

Video footage showed that they were marching with posters and T-shirts bearing images of their relatives, chanting "Now! Now! Now!"

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A gavel in a file photo. A Wilton man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge, after prosecutors said he took part in a multimillion-dollar scheme with other executives at an international air cargo company. Bjoern Wylezich / TNS

An international air cargo company executive from Wilton has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he defrauded his employer millions of dollars as part of a scheme involving others, authorities said.

Abilash Kurien pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said. He also agreed to forfeit about $7.2 million and to pay about $23 million in restitution to the company.

Federal prosecutors charged Kurien as one of 10 defendants they said scammed the air freight company, Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc. Four of those charged, including Kurien, were high-level executives within the company, officials said, while the remaining six defendants were vendors and customers of the air cargo company,

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Kurien, 46, served as Polar's vice president of marketing, revenue management and network planning, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Prosecutors announced his guilty plea alongside that of Lars Winkelbauer, a resident of Thailand. Winkelbauer was Polars chief operating officer and executive vice president, and was the company's most senior executive to face charges.

Winkelbauer also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

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In April 2023, this Office charged 10 defendants for their involvement in a widespread scheme that permeated nearly every facet of Polar Air Cargo Worldwide. To date, nine individuals have pled guilty, including Lars Winkelbauer and Abilash Kurien, two top executives who have confessed today and are poised to face time in prison for their betrayal of the companys trust and that of the wider community," said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney, in a statement.

"Wire fraud and money laundering are not merely financial crimes; they erode faith in institutions, undermine economic stability, and harm innocent individuals and businesses. This Office and our partners recognize that profound impact and we will not falter in our work to uphold the rule of the law," he added.

Prosecutors said from around 2009 until July 2021, the Polar executives conspired with vendors to receive kickbacks totaling millions of dollars. The executives "also reaped substantial financial benefits as a result of their secret ownership interests in certain Polar vendors, in exchange for ensuring that those vendors received favorable business arrangements with Polar," the U.S. attorney's office said in a news release.

The fraud "led to pervasive corruption of Polars business" that affected "nearly every aspect of the companys operations for over a decade," the news release said.

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The executives charged, along with two other co-conspirators who were senior executives at Polar, received illegal payments both directly and through limited liability companies they controlled.

Kurien and Winkelbauer are the eighth and ninth defendants to plead guilty in the case, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Biden was questioned on the events in Gaza, where Palestinians were frantically scurrying for food assistance when Israeli soldiers opened fire on them, resulting in a chaotic brawl that, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, claimed over 100 lives

US President Joe Biden said Thursday that a fatal event at a food assistance station in Gaza will complicate cease-fire talks, but emphasised the importance of a solution between Israel and Hamas.

While Biden acknowledged that a cease-fire was not likely to materialise by Monday as he had previously thought, he emphasised that he remained optimistic about a settlement that would grant a six-week break in hostilities in return for the release of hostages held by the Palestinian terrorist organisation.

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Hope springs eternal, Biden told reporters at the White House when asked about the ceasefire timing. I was on the telephone with people in the region Probably not by Monday, but Im hopeful.

Biden was questioned on the events in Gaza, where Palestinians were frantically scurrying for food assistance when Israeli soldiers opened fire on them, resulting in a chaotic brawl that, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave, claimed over 100 lives.

Were checking that right now. There are two competing versions of what happened, I dont have an answer yet, Biden said as he headed to his helicopter.

Asked if he was worried whether it would complicate the delicate negotiations for a ceasefire, Biden replied: I know it will.

The White House later said it had asked close US ally Israel to probe the tremendously alarming deaths.

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We think that this latest event needs to be thoroughly investigated, deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters traveling with Biden to Texas on Air Force One.

Weve been in touch with the government of Israel this morning to gather information and to request that they investigate.

Desperate

The US State Department called the situation in Gaza desperate.

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We will be monitoring that investigation closely and pressing for answers, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters about the aid trucks incident.

Biden separately spoke to two key regional players on Thursday  Qatars emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi  about efforts to reach a ceasefire.

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They discussed the tragic and alarming aid incident in Gaza, saying it underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible, the White House said in a statement.

Biden and the two Arab leaders also set out new details of what a ceasefire deal could look like.

The leaders underscored that the release of hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks, the White House said.

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They exchanged views on how such a prolonged period of calm could then be built into something more enduring and agreed to stay in touch over the coming days.

The Israeli military said a stampede occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

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An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it posed a threat.

The Gaza health ministry condemned what it called a massacre in Gaza City in which 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.

The incident adds to a Palestinian death toll from the war that the ministry said earlier Thursday had now topped 30,000.

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Hamass October 7 attacks resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show. Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Yaya Dillo Djerou was the leading opponent and cousin of Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who was proclaimed transitional president by the junta in 2021.

Opposition politician Yaya Dillo was killed during tensions in the buildup to presidential elections in Chad.- Photo Credit-AFP

Chads main opposition party levelled an accusation on Friday, saying that soldiers executed its leader at point-blank range during an attack on its headquarters ahead of a long-awaited May election.

Yaya Dillo Djerou, the prominent opposition figure and cousin of Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, who was declared transitional president by the junta in 2021, was allegedly killed on Wednesday following an incident where troops besieged the office of his Socialist Party Without Borders in the capital NDjamena.

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The party claims this incident amounted to an execution. However, the government has denied these allegations.

These incidents of violence come amidst escalating tensions in the lead-up to a presidential election scheduled for May and June. The election represents a critical juncture for Chad, potentially marking a return to constitutional governance after three years under military rule.

Dillo, 49, had told AFP before his death that people wanted to physically eliminate me ahead of the election, which he  and Deby Itno  planned to contest.

Accounts of what happened during the assault, when gunfire was heard, differ widely between government officials and the party.

Its an execution, they fired at him at point blank range to execute him for becoming a problem, his partys general secretary Robert Gamb charged Friday.

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Communications Minister Abderaman Koulamallah immediately refuted the accusation.

We didnt execute anyone, he told AFP by telephone. He opposed his arrest, there were exchanges of bullets.

There was no execution, Koulamallah, who is also the government spokesman, said.

The capital was calm Friday but a large excavator was demolishing the three-storey building housing the Socialist Party Without Borders on Friday afternoon, AFP journalists saw.

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An army security cordon kept people well back and armoured vehicles could be seen around the property.

The government had accused Dillo of leading an attack against the offices of Chads internal security agency the night before his death. He denied any involvement.

- No weapon -

Security forces had this week sought the arrest of a member of Dillos party over an alleged attempt to kill the Supreme Court president last month.

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The government said the attack on the internal security offices, which killed several people, had been an act of reprisal.

Four soldiers and three supporters of Dillo died in Wednesdays fighting, according to the government.

Dillo had retreated to his party headquarters, Koulamallah said on Thursday, adding: He didnt want to surrender and fired on law enforcement.

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But his party and other opposition politicians have accused government forces of deliberately killing Dillo.

You cant attack an opponent alone in an office with a whole arsenal of war and who had no weapon, Gamb told AFP by telephone.

Dillo was a rebel who became a minister and then an opposition chief and regularly complained that the May ballot was arranged to assure a victory for Deby Itno.

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The death of Dillo removes the transitional presidents top rival in the vote.

There isnt an opponent today who can pose a threat in the race for the presidency, noted Enrica Picco of the International Crisis Group.

The two men were from the same Zaghawa ethnic minority, which for more than three decades has dominated Chads politics.

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Deby Itno seized power after the death of his father, veteran leader Idriss Deby Itno, in 2021 while fighting rebels.

He promised a return to civilian rule and elections within 18 months, but extended the transition by two years.

With inputs from AFP.
The extension was approved by a vote of 320-99. The two-thirds majority required for passing was readily met. In a resounding vote, Democrats avoided a partial government shutdown

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, flanked by Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, left, and Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, discusses President Joe Biden for his policies at the Mexican border during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington. AP

In order to prevent a partial government shutdown that was scheduled to begin on Saturday, Congress approved a second short-term budget bill on Thursday that would keep two sets of federal agencies open through March 8 and March 22, respectively. President Joe Biden will now sign the measure into law.

Several MPs anticipate that this short-term extensionthe fourth in recent monthswill be the final one for the current fiscal year. Six of the yearly budget bills that support federal agencies have been finished, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson, and there is almost final agreement on the others.

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Well get the job done, Johnson said as he exited a closed-door meeting with Republican colleagues.

On Thursday, the House took the lead. The extension was approved by a vote of 320-99. The two-thirds majority required for passing was readily met. In a resounding vote, Democrats avoided a partial government shutdown. Republicans, meanwhile, were divided on the issue, with 113 voting in favour and 97 voting against.

After then, the Senate took up the measure and voted 7713 in favour of it in the evening.

When we pass this bill, we will have, thank God, avoided a shutdown with all its harmful effects on the American people, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said moments before the vote.

Next week, the House and Senate are expected to take up a package of six spending bills and get them to the president before March 8. Then, lawmakers would work to fund the rest of the government by the new March 22 deadline.

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At the end of the process, Congress is expected to have approved more than $1.6 trillion in spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. That amount is roughly in line with the previous fiscal year and is what former Speaker Kevin McCarthy negotiated with the White House last year before eight disgruntled Republican lawmakers joined with Democrats a few months later and voted to oust him from the position.

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Some of the Houses most conservative members wanted deeper cuts for non-defense programs than that agreement allowed through its spending caps. They also sought an array of policy changes that Democrats opposed. They were hoping the prospect of a shutdown could leverage more concessions.

Last I checked, the Republicans actually have a majority in the House of Representatives, but you wouldnt know it if you looked at our checkbook because we are all too willing to continue the policy choices of Joe Biden and the spending levels of Nancy Pelosi, said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

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But Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., countered before the vote that shutdowns are damaging and encouraged lawmakers to vote for the short-term extension.

I want the American people to know, Mr. Speaker, that this negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt, Fleischmann said.

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The split within the GOP conference on spending and their tiny House majority bogged down the efforts to get the bills passed on a timely basis. With the Senate also struggling to complete work on all 12 appropriations bills, lawmakers have resorted to a series of short-term measures to keep the government funded.

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Republican leadership said that the broader funding legislation being teed up for votes in March would lead to spending cuts for many nondefense agencies. By dividing the spending bill up into chunks, they are hoping to avoid an omnibus bill  a massive, all-encompassing bill that lawmakers generally had little time to digest or understand before voting on it. Republicans vowed there would be no omnibus this time.

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When you take away Defense and Veterans Affairs, the rest of the agencies are going to be seeing spending cuts in many cases, said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. There are also some policy changes that we pushed through the House that will be in the final product. Of course, some of those are still being negotiated.

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The temporary extension funds the departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Interior and others through March 8. It funds the Pentagon, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and the State Department through March 22.

While congressional leaders have said theyve reached final agreement on what will be in the first package of spending bills voted on next week, theres still room for an impasse on the second package to be voted on later in the month.

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We are working in a divided government. That means to get anything done, we have to work together, in good faith to reach reasonable outcomes, said Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The renewed focus on this years spending bills doesnt include the separate, $95.3 billion aid package that the Senate approved for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan earlier this month, with much of that money being spent in the U.S. to replenish Americas military arsenal. The bill also contained about $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, Ukraine and other war zones.

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Biden summoned congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday, during which he and others urged Johnson to also move forward with the aid package. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the U.S. cant afford to wait months to provide more military assistance to Ukraine, which is running short of the arms and ammunition necessary to repel Russias military invasion.

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Weve got a lot of priorities before us, but we have to get the government funded and secure our border and then well address everything else, Johnson told reporters upon exiting his meeting with GOP colleagues.

Democrats urged quicker action on Ukraine as the temporary spending bill was debated.

Without swift action, the legacy of this Congress will be the destruction of Ukraine, the appeasement of a dictator, and the abandonment of starving children and ailing families, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
Israels war against Hamas has created a humanitarian catastrophe throughout the Gaza Strip and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

Palestinians walk through the destruction from the Israeli offensive in Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. - AP

A day after the Israeli troops opened fire and allegedly killed 104 Palestinian lives and wounded several others, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said it was deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza on Thursday when at least 112 people were killed while waiting for aid delivery.

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Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement came a day after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Thursday that more than 25,000 women and children have been killed by Israel since October 7.

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Austin said It is over 25,000.Austin added that about 21,000 precision-guided munitions had been provided to Israel since the start of its war in Gaza.

Israeli officials acknowledged that troops opened fire, saying they did so after the crowd approached in a threatening way. The officials insisted on anonymity to give details about what happened, after the military said in a statement that dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks.

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Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

Israels war against Hamas has created a humanitarian catastrophe throughout the Gaza Strip and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.

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The U.N. says a quarter of Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes. The war began after Hamas-led terrorists stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan had accused Israel of targeting civilians in the incident. In separate statements, they called for increased safe passages for humanitarian aid and for the international community to take decisive action to pressure Israel to abide by international law and to reach an agreement for an immediate cease-fire.

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With inputs from agencies.
Galloway, 69, was originally elected to the House of Commons in 1987 and will be returning for the first time since 2015 after winning the seat of Rochdale in northern England by over 6,000 votes

George Galloway, leader of the Workers Party of Britain, speaks after winning the Rochdale Parliamentary by-election, at his campaign headquarters, in Rochdale, near Manchester, Britain. Reuters

Controversial leftist firebrand George Galloway was elected to the UK parliament on Friday, capitalising on fury over the Israel-Hamas conflict in a tumultuous by-election clouded by anti-Semitism claims.

Galloway, 69, was originally elected to the House of Commons in 1987 and will be returning for the first time since 2015 after winning the seat of Rochdale in northern England by over 6,000 votes.

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The main opposition Labour party withdrew its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he promoted a conspiracy theory claiming that Israel had aided Hamas to carry out its fatal attack on October 7.

Galloway, long accused by critics of stoking community tensions, put the Gaza conflict front and centre of his campaign in Rochdale, which has a 30 percent Muslim population.

Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza, Galloway, leader of the fringe Workers Party of Great Britain, said in his victory speech, referring to the Labour partys leader.

You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip, he added.

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The Scottish-born Galloway, nicknamed Gorgeous George, has had a long and chequered political career, in which he has represented several parties, including Labour.

He sparked controversy in the 1990s when he visited then-Iraq leader Saddam Hussein, telling him: Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.

Galloway gained international notoriety in 2005 when he was called to testify over Iraq in the US Senate. He had earlier been expelled from Labour over his stance on the war.

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His majority of 5,697 votes in Rochdale amounted to 18.3 percent of the total, on a turnout of 39.7 percent.

The surprise runner-up was David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate. It is very rare for none of the main parties to finish in first and second place.

The by-election was triggered by the death of veteran Labour MP Tony Lloyd.

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Inflammatory

A Labour spokesperson said: We deeply regret that the Labour party was unable to field a candidate in this by-election and apologise to the people of Rochdale. George Galloway only won because Labour did not stand.

Rochdale deserved the chance to vote for an MP that would bring communities together and deliver for working people. George Galloway is only interested in stoking fear and division.

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As an MP he will be a damaging force in our communities and public life, the spokesperson added.

Galloway last represented a seat in Bradford in the north of England from 2012 to 2015. Between 2005 and 2010 he was a Respect Party MP for a constituency in east London.

A spokesperson for the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

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Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this parliament.

Labour are well ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks ruling Conservatives in opinion polls ahead of a general election due later this year.
In recent years, armed gangs have seized control of large regions of the nation, unleashing horrific violence that has destroyed the public health system and the economy of Haiti

A man carries belongings while fleeing his home as police confront armed gangs after prominent gang leader Jimmy Cherizier called for Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry's government to be toppled, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Reuters

Gunfights erupt around Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti four police officers dead on Thursday, while a well-known gang leader said that armed gangs were coordinating an attempt to remove Prime Minister Ariel Henry in a concerted attack.

As police fought attackers who had burned two police stations on fire, a police school, and the Toussaint-Louverture International Airport, gunfire could be heard across the city.

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Today, we announce that all armed groups are going to act to get Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down, gang leader Jimmy Cherisier, known by the nickname Barbecue, said in a video posted on social media before the attacks began.

We will use all strategies to achieve this goal, he said. We claim responsibility for everything thats happening in the streets right now.

Five cops were injured in addition to the four officers who were slain, a police union spokesman said AFP.

In recent years, armed gangs have seized control of large regions of the nation, unleashing horrific violence that has destroyed the public health system and the economy of Haiti.

The Caribbean country is also experiencing intense political and civic instability at the same time; in recent weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets to demand that Henry resign after he failed to do so on time.

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By February 7 of this year, Haiti was meant to conduct elections and Henry hand over authority to newly elected people in accordance with a political agreement reached after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021, but that hasnt occurred.

The attacks came as Henry is currently in Kenya, which is moving to head up a multinational mission greenlit by the UN Security Council to help the Haitian police wrest back control of the country.

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Political solution necessary

Schools, universities and businesses in Haiti meanwhile halted their activities.

At one point, students at the State University of Haiti were briefly taken hostage before being released, a dean told AFP. At least one student was shot and wounded in the fighting, he added.

Multiple airlines canceled domestic and international flights after aircraft and an airport terminal came under fire.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that in addition to restoration of safety, a solution was needed for Haitis years of political turmoil.

You can put as many police forces as possible in Haiti [but> if there is no political solution, the problem will not be solved, he said in the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit.

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Prime Minister Henry on Wednesday had agreed to share power with the opposition until fresh elections are held, though a date hasnt been set.

Five countries have said they are willing to join the Kenya-led multinational policing mission, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.
Initial election results are expected as soon as Saturday. Some 15,000 candidates are vying for a seat in the 290-member parliament, formally known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Terms run for four years, and five seats are reserved for Irans religious minorities

Voters fill out their ballots in the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran. AP

Iran began voting Friday in its first parliamentary elections since the massive 2022 demonstrations over its obligatory hijab regulations following the death of Mahsa Amini, with worries over how many people will turn out.

Irans Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 84, cast one of the first votes in an election that will also elect new members to the countrys Assembly of Experts. The panel of clerics, who serve an eight-year term, is tasked with selecting a new supreme leader if Khamenei steps down or dies, making their job more important given Khameneis age.

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Khamenei voted in front of a mob of media in Tehran, his left hand slightly trembling as he received his ballot from his right, which has been paralysed since a bombing in 1981. One woman nearby was shown sobbing on state television while filming Khamenei with her mobile phone.

He urged people to vote as quickly as possible in the election, claiming that both Irans allies and adversaries were watching the turnout.

Pay attention to this, make friends happy and disappoint the evil-wishers, he said in brief remarks by the ballot boxes.

Initial election results are expected as soon as Saturday. Some 15,000 candidates are vying for a seat in the 290-member parliament, formally known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly. Terms run for four years, and five seats are reserved for Irans religious minorities.

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Under the law, the parliament has oversight over the executive branch, votes on treaties and handles other issues. In practice, absolute power in Iran rests with its supreme leader.

Hard-liners have controlled the parliament for the past two decades  with chants of Death to America often heard from the floor.

Under Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard general who supported a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999, the legislature pushed forward a bill in 2020 that greatly curtailed Tehrans cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

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That followed then-President Donald Trumps unilateral withdrawal of America from Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018  an act that sparked years of tensions in the Middle East and saw Iran enrich enough uranium at record-breaking purity to have enough fuel for several nuclear weapons if it chose.

More recently, the parliament has focused on issues surrounding Irans mandatory head covering, or hijab, for women after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Amini in police custody, which sparked nationwide protests.

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The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Irans clerical rulers. A subsequent security crackdown killed over 500 people, with more than 22,000 detained.

Calls for an election boycott have spread in recent weeks, including from imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a womens right activist, who called them a sham.

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The boycott calls have put the government under renewed pressure  since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Irans theocracy has based its legitimacy in part on turnout in elections.

The state-owned polling center ISPA hadnt put out election data prior to the vote until Thursday, something highly unusual as their figures typically get released much earlier. Its polling, based on a survey of 5,121 voting-age people, predicted a turnout of 23.5% in the capital, Tehran, and 38.5% nationally. It said the margin of error in the poll was 2%.
A month after Israel accused 12 United Nations staff members of involvement in the Hamas attack on 7 October, UN investigators are still awaiting evidence from Israel to substantiate the claims even though they anticipate receiving some material shortly, according to a report

Fighters from the armed wing of Hamas in the central Gaza Strip. Reuters File

A month after Israel accused 12 United Nations staff members of involvement in the Hamas attack on 7 October, UN investigators are still awaiting evidence from Israel to substantiate the claims even though they anticipate receiving some material shortly, according to The Guardian report.

The allegations against the 12 employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) prompted 16 major donors to suspend contributions totaling $450 million. This occurred at a critical juncture when over two million Gazans are on the brink of famine.

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UNRWA has warned it is nearing a breaking point and can sustain operations for just one more month with current funds, added the report.

On January 29, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) initiated an investigation following Israels allegations, first presented to UNRWA in January. An update on the investigation was provided to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday.

According to The Guardian report, citing diplomats who reviewed the preliminary OIOS report, no new evidence from Israel has surfaced since the initial claims were made in January, which lacked substantiation.

Summarising the findings, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed the investigation is still awaiting corroborating material from Israel.

OIOS investigators have reviewed the initial information received by UNRWA from Israeli authorities. The investigation remains ongoing. OIOS will seek to corroborate additional information and to compare the information obtained with materials held by Israeli authorities, which OIOS expects to receive shortly," The Guardian quoted Dujarric as saying.

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OIOS staff are planning to visit Israel soon to obtain information from Israeli authorities that may be relevant to the investigation, Dujarric said, adding that the investigators had described member state cooperation as adequate.

He said that the investigators had consulted other member states and visited the UNRWA headquarters in Jordan to review information on UNRWA staff and operations, including electronic communications and data on the use of UN vehicles.

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According to The Wall Street Journal report last week, US national intelligence council assessed with low confidence that a handful of UNRWA staffers had participated in the 7 October attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Queries regarding the investigation were redirected by the Israeli mission at the UN to the foreign ministry in Tel Aviv. Israels Foreign Minister Israel Katz affirmed the governments intention to provide evidence substantiating UNRWAs involvement in terrorism and its adverse effects on the regions future.

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Following initial allegations against 12 UNRWA workers, nine of whom are reportedly alive, Israel asserted that a total of 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, had affiliations with Hamas or Islamic Jihad. The Israeli military disclosed the discovery of a tunnel beneath UNRWAs Gaza headquarters, along with firearms and ammunition found within the premises.

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Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, remarked that the agency was unaware of what lay beneath its Gaza headquarters, which had been vacated since an Israeli evacuation order in October. Lazzarini emphasised that during periods of relative calm, UNRWA routinely inspected its facilities and promptly objected to any breaches of neutrality.

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Israel has persistently advocated for the dismantling of UNRWA, established in 1949. With 30,000 personnel, including 13,000 in Gaza, UNRWA surpasses other UN agencies in terms of staff numbers, as the latter collectively employ around 200 individuals in Gaza.

With inputs from agencies
In 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court struck down a statute exempting ultra-Orthodox men from the draft, stating that the cost of military service should be borne by all members of Israeli society

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men protest against attempts to change government policy that grants ultra-Orthodox Jews exemptions from military conscription in Jerusalem. Reuters File

In response to political challenges that threaten the stability of his limited coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that his administration will find a mechanism to abolish exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews from Israeli military duty.

We will determine goals for conscripting ultra-Orthodox people to the IDF and national civil service, Netanyahu said at a press conference, referring to the Israel Defence Forces. We will also determine the ways to implement those goals.

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In 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court struck down a statute exempting ultra-Orthodox men from the draft, stating that the cost of military service should be borne by all members of Israeli society.

Parliament was unable to come up with a new plan, and the government-issued reprieve from ultra-Orthodox forced conscription is set to expire in March.

Although ultra-Orthodox parties have historically made conscription exemption a requirement for staying in the coalition, they have also assisted Netanyahu in maintaining a slim legislative majority with far-right nationalist parties.

It seems that Netanyahu was reacting to a statement made by his defence minister that he would veto a bill that would have allowed exemptions to continue, barring an agreement by the cabinet that would enable ultra-Orthodox enrollment.

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We recognise and support those who dedicate their life to studying Jewish holy scripture but, with that, without physical existence there is no spiritual existence, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday.

The exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jews have been a longstanding source of friction with more secular citizens now stoked by the countrys costly mobilisation for the Gaza war.

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The ultra-Orthodox claim the right to study in seminaries instead of serving in uniform for the standard three years. Some say their pious lifestyles would clash with military mores, while others voice ideological opposition to the liberal state.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews make up 13% of Israels population, a figure expected to reach 19% by 2035 due to their high birth rates. Economists argue that the draft exemption keeps some of them unnecessarily in seminaries and out of the workforce.
The 2024 presidential electionwhich is mostly anticipated to be a rematch between Biden and Trumpis likely to centre on immigration, and both candidates are attempting to take advantage of the issues at the border for their own political gain

Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in Eagle Pass, Texas. AP File

President Joe Biden and Republican opponent Donald Trump sparred from a distance on Thursday, examining the US-Mexico border and arguing about who is to blame for the countrys flawed immigration system and how to solve it, on the banks of the same Rio Grande, but 300 miles away.

The 2024 presidential electionwhich is mostly anticipated to be a rematch between Biden and Trumpis likely to centre on immigration, and both candidates are attempting to take advantage of the issues at the border for their own political gain.

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Their travel routes were very alike: they reached Texas within thirty minutes of each other. After receiving a briefing on operations and challenges, each person selected the best spot to deliver their speech, strolled down the scrub brush beside the Rio Grande, and addressed the crowd directly. For a brief while, their comments even coincided in time.

But the similarities stopped there.

In an effort to draw attention to the need of a bipartisan border security plan that Republicans killed on Trumps instructions, Biden directly invited the front-runner of the Republican Party to join him in backing a congressional drive for increased spending and stricter regulations.

Heres what I would say to Mr. Trump, Biden said. Instead of playing politics with the issue, join me, or Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bill. You know and I know its the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this countrys ever seen.

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Biden went to the Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville, which for nine years was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings. The numbers have dropped in recent months, which officials credited in part to Mexico for stepping up its own border security. The visit was a nod to how the Biden administration views migration: as a regional and global issue, not just a US problem.

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The president walked along the Rio Grande and received a lengthy briefing from Homeland Security officials, who spoke bluntly about what they needed to do their jobs effectively  in short, more money to hire more officers along the border and for use across the asylum process to help clear out massive backlogs.

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I want the American people to know what were trying to get done, Biden said. We cant afford not to do this.

Trump simply blamed Biden.

He traveled to Eagle Pass, roughly 325 miles northwest of Brownsville, in the corridor thats currently seeing the largest number of migrant crossings. He met with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas National Guard soldiers who have commandeered a local park and put up razor wire fencing at the rivers edge to keep migrants from crossing illegally. The park has become a Republican symbol of defiance against the federal government.

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This is like a war, Trump said.

Gazing out over the river through the razor wire, Trump raised his fist and waved and shouted to people on the Mexico side, who waved back. Then, he declared that migrants arriving to the border were criminals and some were terrorists, a dialed-up version of the accusations he often used during the 2016 campaign. This time, hes started to harness rhetoric once used by Adolf Hitler to argue migrants are poisoning the blood of America.

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Theyre being let into our country and its horrible, Trump said. Its horrible.

Trump also brought up the killing of a 22-year-old nursing student in Georgia recently. The suspect is a Venezuelan migrant.

Crooked Joe has the blood of countless innocent victims, Trump said. Its so many stories to tell, so many horrible stories.

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Despite Trumps claims, many studies have found immigrants are less drawn to violent crime than native-born citizens. One published by the National Academy of Sciences, based on Texas Department of Public Safety data from 2012 to 2018, reported native-born US residents were more than twice as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as people in the country illegally.

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As the politicians traded barbs over who was to blame, migrants were still making the dangerous journey into the US Trump stood on a concrete boat launch where a day earlier, a man had been pulled from the river, drowned, trying to cross. In Brownsville where Biden spoke, a group of migrants had crossed illegally overnight.

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Across the border from Brownsville, in Matamoros, makeshift shelters dotted the ground for migrants who hope to come to the US

I come completely alone on this journey, I have been on this journey for about six months and the only important thing I have in my life are my mom, my little sister and nobody else, Joseph Elian Gutierrez Castillo, a Nicaraguan migrant, said in Spanish. With Gods favor everything will go well.

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The number of people who are illegally crossing the US border has been rising for years, for reasons that include climate change, war and unrest in other nations, the economy, and cartels that see migration as a cash cow.

Migrants ask for asylum whether they come illegally or through ports of entry; in some cases they are turned away because of current policies, but many families are allowed into the US, where they often wait years for a court date to determine whether they can stay.

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The administrations approach has been to pair crackdowns at the border with increasing legal pathways for migrants designed to steer people into arriving by plane with sponsors, not illegally on foot to the border. The numbers of migrants flowing across the U.S-Mexico border have far outpaced the capacity of an immigration system that has not been substantially updated in decades.

Arrests for illegal crossings fell by half in January, but there were record highs in December.

Since the president was last at the border a year ago, the debate over immigration in Washington has shifted further to the right, with Democrats increasingly eager to embrace border restrictions now that migrants are sleeping in police stations and airplane hangars in major US cities without the ability to legally work.

During bipartisan talks on the deal that would have toughened access for migrants and funded enforcement and immigration court, Biden himself said hed be willing to shut down the border right now, should the deal pass.

The talks looked promising for a while. But Trump, who didnt want to give Biden a political win on one of his signature campaign issues, convinced Republicans to kill the deal. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared the deal dead on arrival.

Republicans claim Biden has the power he needs to fix the issue, but absent legislative action, any major policy changes are likely to be challenged or held up in court. Under Trump, too, new hardline policies were often held up or stopped by the courts.

Among voters, worries about immigration are rising on both sides of the political divide, which could be especially problematic for Biden.

According to an AP-NORC poll in January, the share of voters concerned about immigration rose to 35% from 27% last year. Fifty-five percent of Republicans say the government needs to focus on immigration in 2024, while 22% of Democrats listed immigration as a priority. Thats up from 45% and 14%, respectively, from December 2022.

Trump has laid out updated immigration proposals that would mark a dramatic escalation of the approach he used in office and that drew alarms from civil rights activists and numerous court challenges.

Some of those include reviving and expanding a travel ban, imposing ideological screening for migrants, terminating all work permits and cutting off funding for shelter and transportation for people who are in the country illegally.
The Roton Middle School choir performs "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to kick off the annual Black History and Heritage Festival at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media An exhibit on seminal African-American musician Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter at the annual Black History and Heritage Festival at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media Banners blanket the walls of Brien McMahon High School during the annual Black History and Heritage Festival at the school in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media Norwalk Superintendent of Schools Alexandra Estrella speaks during the annual Black History and Heritage Festival at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media Wolfpit Elementary dancers perform during the annual Black History and Heritage Festival at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Conn. on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Brian A. Pounds/Hearst Connecticut Media

NORWALK  Over 1,200 people celebrated at the school districts second annual Black Heritage and History Festival Thursday.

The second annual event, held at Brien McMahon High School, honored the impact and achievements of African Americans in the arts, a Norwalk Public Schools statement said.

We reflect on the historic triumphs and the bravery of the most courageous Black educators, orators, artists, scientists, civil rights and cultural leaders, and beyond, Superintendent Alexandra Estrella said. We reexamine what it means to have lived the Black experience not just here in America but around the world and why it is unique, special and powerful. And we refocus on how to make the future that much brighter.

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The festival was packed with student performances, presentations, dancing, activities, and food from local vendors Chef Jeff Esaw, of Jeffs BBQ and Catering, and Durty Jerk by John JJ McKinney.

Students performances included step dancing, poetry-reading and instrumental music.

Speakers at the event included Norwalk Board of Education Vice-Chair Sheri McCready-Pritchett, Norwalk Connecticut Branch NAACP President Brenda Penn-Williams, and the Rev. Roosevelt Ewell of Canaan Institutional Baptist Church.

Mayor Harry Rilling also spoke at the festival about the importance of Black History Month and recognizing African Americans contributions to the United States.
Earlier, on February 13, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif nominated his younger brother and party president, Shehbaz Sharif, for the position of prime minister, while PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz was nominated for Punjabs chief ministerial post

The schedule for Pakistans prime ministerial election, scheduled for March 3, has been made public by the National Assembly (NA) Secretariat, according to ARY News.

On Sunday, MNAs who have just been sworn in will cast their votes for prime minister.

As to the timetable released by the NA Secretariat, candidates seeking the premiership have until March 2 at 2:00 PM to turn in their candidature documents. When the nomination papers have been thoroughly examined, the final list of candidates will be released.

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Nomination forms are available at the department of legislation, and it is advised that candidates send them to the NA Secretariat.

Notably, Omar Ayub has been nominated by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), whereas Shehbaz Sharif has received nominations from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and other allies.

Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf gave the oaths to the newly elected Members of the 16th National Assembly, ushering in the days events. The 10 a.m. planned meeting began after 11 a.m. in a tumultuous environment, with MPs supported by the PTI and affiliated with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) encircling the speakers podium.

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On February 20, when independent members backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) started joining the religious party, SIC Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza declared the partys intention to pick its prime minister.

Earlier, on February 13, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif nominated his younger brother and party president, Shehbaz Sharif, for the position of prime minister, while PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz was nominated for Punjabs chief ministerial post.

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The forthcoming prime ministerial election marks a crucial juncture in Pakistans political landscape, as parties manoeuvre to secure leadership roles in the countrys governance structure.
The Security Council met Thursday afternoon behind closed doors to discuss the mornings events in northern Gaza  a meeting that came at Algerias request

Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad H. Mansour speaks during a plenary meeting in the General Assembly Hall at UN headquarters in New York City, U.S. Reuters

On Thursday, the Palestinian envoy to the UN begged the Security Council to denounce the deaths of several dozen people in Gaza as a result of Israeli soldiers opening fire on Palestinians who were rushing to receive food assistance.

The Security Council should say enough is enough, Riyad Mansour told reporters.

Mansours remarks followed an erratic skirmish in which Israeli soldiers opened fire on Palestinians attempting to obtain food assistance, resulting in 112 fatalities and 760 injuries, according to the health ministry in the zone controlled by Hamas.

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This outrageous massacre is a testimony to the fact that as long as the Security Council is paralyzed and vetoes casted, then it is costing the Palestinian people their lives, he said.

As one of the five permanent members of the 15-member council, the United States  Israels main backer  possesses a veto that it has used three times to prevent the organisation from calling for an immediate ceasefire in Palestinian territory.

Mansour stated that he had already met with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US Ambassador to the UN.

I implored her that the Security Council has to produce a product of condemning this killing and to go after those responsible for this massacre, he said.

If the Security Council has a spine and determination to put an end to these massacres from happening all over again, what we need is a ceasefire, Mansour said.

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The Security Council met Thursday afternoon behind closed doors to discuss the mornings events in northern Gaza  a meeting that came at Algerias request.

We are all deeply alarmed and saddened by the death of over a hundred Palestinians and many more wounded earlier today in northern Gaza, US deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said before entering the meeting, calling it a tragic day.

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Thursdays incident added to a Palestinian death toll which the Gaza health ministry said had topped 30,000, mainly women and children.

The war began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.
The case has sent shock waves through the ranks of paramedics across the US, thrusting their profession into the acrimonious fight over social justice sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police

Demonstrators carry placards as they walk down Sable Boulevard during a rally and march over the death of Elijah McClain in Aurora, Colo. AP File

Medical responders throughout the United States are reconsidering how they handle persons in police custody after a jury convicted two Colorado paramedics last December for their involvement in Elijah McClains 2019 death from an overdose of a strong sedative.

The case has sent shock waves through the ranks of paramedics across the US, thrusting their profession into the acrimonious fight over social justice sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. One of the paramedics faces sentencing Friday at a hearing in which McClains mother will be able to speak about her sons death.

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Walking home from a convenience shop, McClain, a 23-year-old Black massage therapist, was violently arrested by police in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. The paramedics gave McClain a ketamine injection after the cops reported that he was resisting. While travelling to the hospital, he suffered a heart collapse and passed away three days later.

The victims family experienced a tiny measure of justice with the paramedics and one police officers convictions. However, the case has also brought attention to shortcomings in medical protocols that experts believe need to be fixed in order to save more fatalities.

We failed to realize just how dangerous the restraint and chemical sedation of these individuals can be, said Eric Jaeger, a paramedic and EMS educator in New Hampshire. For better or worse the criminal convictions are focusing attention on the problem.

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The response includes revisions to patient protocols aimed at elevating how seriously ketamine injections are treated  or avoiding them altogether when alternative drugs are more appropriate.

Some departments now require comprehensive patient assessments before and after ketamine injections. Theyve also cautioned against using ketamine on people being restrained by police in a prone position  which increases the chances for fatal complications by making it harder for patients to breathe  and stocked medicine kits with alternative sedatives. And theyve reminded their paramedics not to defer to police when making medical decisions.

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In the McClain case, a lot of these basics were not done, said Peter Antevy, medical director for several Florida fire departments.

Everyone kind of assumed people just do them. But more and more youre seeing with the advent of body cameras that people arent doing these things, he said. We need to put the basics in black and white.

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The changes have come relatively swiftly within a profession in which it can take up to a decade for the latest medical research to filter down to paramedics on the front lines, Jaeger said. Nevertheless, since McClains death, Jaeger has documented five similar cases involving patients dying after receiving ketamine, most recently a 29-year-old man in Baltimore last summer.

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In Aurora, the paramedics indictment is blamed by union officials for prompting some medical responders to scale back their duties.

The day after the verdicts, Auroras fire chief temporarily suspended a requirement that firefighters also serve as paramedics, fearing the convictions would lead to a mass exodus of personnel.

So far about 10% of the departments certified paramedics have taken a pay cut and are no longer working as paramedics, reverting to the role of emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, who cannot provide advanced life-saving measures.

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Fire Chief Alec Oughton said enough paramedics remain for every ladder truck and engine to have an assigned paramedic.

But the president of the International Association of Fire Fighters union said the convictions put lives at risk in the city because EMTs arent qualified to provide life-saving drugs, such as for patients suffering heart attacks.

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The legacy of Attorney General Phil Weiser is there is going to be less paramedics to respond to people who need help, said union president Edward Kelly, referring to the state attorney general tasked by Colorados Democratic governor with reinvestigating McClains death in 2020 following protests over the killing of George Floyd.

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No one was initially charged in McClains death, mostly because the first autopsy report could not conclude why he died. The autopsy was updated in 2021  after Weiser convened a grand jury to examine the case  and it found McClain died because he was given ketamine after being restrained by police.

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Kelly said ketamine did not kill McClain, noting the autopsy reports finding that the amount of the drug found in his system was at the low end of what is normally considered safe.

A 2021 study co-authored by Antevy examined 11,000 instances of patients receiving ketamine over a yearlong period. The drug was a possible contributor to just two deaths outside a hospital setting, the researchers concluded.

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Ketamine when used safely and correctly is a life-saving medication, Antevy said.

Paramedic Peter Cichuniec  the senior medical responder on the scene during the altercation with McClain  faces a mandatory yearslong prison sentence during Fridays hearing before a state judge.

A jury in December found him guilty of criminally negligent homicide and felony second-degree assault  the most serious verdict handed down against any of the first responders indicted in the case. The assault conviction carries a sentence of between five and 16 years in prison.

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Police had stopped McClain following a suspicious person complaint. After an officer said McClain reached for an officers gun  a claim disputed by prosecutors  another officer put him in a neck hold that rendered him temporarily unconscious. Officers also pinned down McClain before paramedic Jeremy Cooper injected him with ketamine. Cichuniec said it was his decision to use the drug.

Prosecutors said the paramedics did not conduct basic medical checks, such as taking McClains pulse and monitoring his breathing before administering the ketamine. The dose was too much for someone of his size  140 pounds (64 kilograms), experts testified.

Defense attorneys for the paramedics said they followed their training in giving ketamine after diagnosing McClain with " excited delirium," a disputed condition some say is unscientific and has been used to justify excessive force.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday said that improved relations with Japan were helping to combat threats from Pyongyangs weapons developments and urged the international community to support efforts towards achieving reunification with North Korea

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol gives three cheers during a ceremony of the 105th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day in Seoul, South Korea, on 1 March, 2024. Reuters File

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday said that improved relations with Japan were helping to combat threats from Pyongyangs weapons developments and urged the international community to support efforts towards achieving reunification with North Korea.

Under President Yoons conservative leadership, Seoul has pursued closer ties with Tokyo, despite historical tensions, amid Chinas expanding influence and North Koreas advancing missile and nuclear capabilities.

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Speaking during a ceremony commemorating an independence holiday, President Yoon emphasised the upcoming 60th anniversary of normalised diplomatic ties with Japan, expressing hope for elevating bilateral relations to a higher level in the coming year.

Now, South Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past and moving toward a new world, Reuters quoted him as saying in a speech to commemorate the formation of an independence movement against Japans 1910-1945 occupation of Korea.

The security cooperation between the two countries against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats has been strengthened further, he added.

During his speech, Yoon said that Seoul would need international help for any prospect of unification with North Korea.

Unification is a challenging task that we cannot accomplish alone. The international community must pool its strength in a responsible manner, he said.

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Yoons comments come after the Norths leader Kim Jong Un in January called South Korea a primary foe and said unification was no longer possible.

Tensions have also increased on the Korean peninsula following intensifying military drills by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, sometimes involving Japan, in response to weapons testing by the North, which said it was readying for a nuclear war with its enemies.

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South Koreas government would continue to provide support for North Korean defectors, Yoon said, accusing Pyongyang of tyranny and human rights abuses.

With inputs from agencies
Indian renewables company U-Solar from Bengaluru had been awarded the building contract. The three facilities will have a combined 2,230 kilowatts of renewable energy capacity and be located on islets near the northern city of Jaffna

Signing of Hybrid Renewable Energy Project in Nainativu, Analaitivu and Delft islands, off Jaffna. Source: X/@IndiainSL

Its a major win for India over China, as Sri Lanka has scrapped an energy tender won by a Chinese firm and awarded the construction of three solar and wind hybrid power generation facilities to an Indian company.

Initially, the project was financed through Asian Development Bank (ADB). Then, it was temporarily shelved for two years ago after India raised concerns over Chinas involvement.

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However, on Friday, Sri Lankas energy ministry announced that the project had been revived and was now fully funded by an $11 million Indian government grant.

U-Solar, a Bengaluru-based Indian renewables company has been awarded the contract for the construction. The three facilities will have a combined capacity of 2,230 kilowatts of renewable energy and will be located on islets near the northern city of Jaffna, which is close to Indias southern coast.

The Indian embassy in a statement said Indias assistance underscored the significance New Delhi attached to bilateral energy partnership.

India: a committed partner! HC @santjha & Hon.State Minister Indika Anuruddha witnessed contract signing of the Hybrid Renewable Energy Project in Nainativu, Analaitivu & Delft islands, off Jaffna. This grant project by  addresses energy needs of the people of the 3 islands. pic.twitter.com/HLU66KnYN1  India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) March 1, 2024

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Both India and China have been competing for major infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka, which is emerging from its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

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India has long been concerned about Chinas growing influence in Sri Lanka, which sits near key global shipping lanes and which India considers to be within its sphere of influence.

China is also Sri Lankas single largest bilateral creditor, accounting for around 10 per cent of the island nations $46 billion foreign debt at the time of a government default at the peak of the crisis in 2022.

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With inputs from AFP
The Thai Ambassador has been replaced. She has ridiculed Indias PSH (Public Stockholding) programme a top government official said, adding that the language and behavior of the Thai ambassador were not in good taste

Thailand has decided to replace its Ambassador to the WTO, Pimchanok Vonkorpon Pitfield, in response to a stern protest issued by India regarding her controversial comments on New Delhis rice procurement program.

According to a PTI report, citing a top government official, Pitfield has been instructed to return to Thailand after the ongoing 13th ministerial conference (MC), currently in its fifth day of discussions, concludes. It has been revealed that she will be succeeded by the Thai foreign secretary.

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During a consultation meeting on Tuesday, Pitfield made remarks that accused Indias rice procurement program, operating at Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the public distribution system, of being geared more towards capturing the export market rather than serving the people, prompting strong disappointment from India, as per the official.

Consequently, India formally lodged its protest with the Thai government and expressed dissatisfaction to various entities, including WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the agricultural committee chair of Kenya, and the UAE.

The Thai Ambassador has been replaced. She has ridiculed Indias PSH (Public Stockholding) programme PTI quoted the official as saying, adding that the language and behavior of the Thai ambassador were not in good taste.

After lodging their protest on the issue, the Indian negotiators had also refused to participate in some deliberations in groups where the Thai representative was present.

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The government official said that her facts were wrong as only about 40 per cent of the paddy produce is procured by the government to meet food security commitments.

A part of the remaining quantity, which is not procured by the government-owned agencies, is exported from India at market prices.

India is a major player in rice exports along with Thailand. Certain developed and developing nations on different forums have alleged that Indias public stockholding of commodities such as rice distorts global market prices.

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India was the largest rice exporting country in the world from 2018 to 2022 followed by Thailand and Vietnam.

In 2023, India banned the export of broken and non-basmati white rice in view of uncertainty around rice production here and other rice-producing countries due to geopolitical scenario, El Nino sentiments, and extreme climatic conditions to check domestic prices and ensure adequate availability in the market here.

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Rice export from India was 22.24 million tonne in 2022, which accounts for 40.63 per cent of the worlds rice exports.

Export of broken rice has been prohibited from September 2022 and non-basmati white rice from July 2023. The export of basmati and parboiled non-basmati rice is continuing.

Thailand is also a member of a 19-nation group of agriculture exporters called the Cairns group. Other members of the group include Argentina, Brazil, Australia and Indonesia. The group is pushing for the free flow of agri commodities without any restrictions.

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With inputs from agencies
Long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese military, under the direction of General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, resulted in street fights in the countrys capital, Khartoum, in April, sending Sudan into anarchy

Residents displaced from a surge of violent attacks squat on blankets and in hastily made tents in the village of Masteri in west Darfur, Sudan. AP File

In gaining control of much of western Darfur, paramilitary troops and their affiliated militias engaged in extensive ethnic massacres and rapes that may have qualified as war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a new assessment by United Nations experts.

The Associated Press was able to get a report to the UN Security Council on Thursday, and it presents a horrible image of the violence committed by the Rapid Support Forces in Darfur, which are controlled by Arabs, against Africans. It also describes how the RSF established intricate financial networks involving several businesses in order to take control of four of Darfurs five states.

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Long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese military, under the direction of General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, resulted in street fights in the countrys capital, Khartoum, in April, sending Sudan into anarchy.

Fighting expanded to other regions of the nation, but in the Darfur region of Sudan, it took a new form: the RSF brutally attacked African people, particularly members of the ethnic Masalit community.

Twenty years ago, Darfur started to be associated with war crimes and genocide, especially when those crimes were committed against people that identify as Central or East African by the infamous Janjaweed Arab militias. It seems that legacy has returned, with the International Criminal Courts prosecutor Karim Khan saying in late January there are grounds to believe both sides are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

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The panel of experts said Darfur is experiencing its worst violence since 2005.

The ongoing conflict has caused a large-scale humanitarian crisis and displaced approximately 6.8 million people  5.4 million within Sudan and 1.4 million who have fled to other countries, including approximately 555,000 to neighboring Chad, the experts said.

The RSF and rival Sudanese government forces have both used heavy artillery and shelling in highly populated areas, causing widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation, education and health care facilities.

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In their 47-page report, the experts said the RSF and its militias targeted sites in Darfur where displaced people had found shelter, civilian neighborhoods and medical facilities.

According to intelligence sources, the panel said, in just one city  Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state near the Chad border  between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed.

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The experts said sexual violence by the RSF and its allied militia was widespread.

The panel said that, according to reliable sources from Geneina, women and girls as young as 14 years old were raped by RSF elements in a UN World Food Program storage facility that the paramilitary force controlled, in their homes, or when returning home to collect belongings after being displaced by the violence. Additionally, 16 girls were reportedly kidnapped by RSF soldiers and raped in an RSF house.

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Racial slurs toward the Masalit and non-Arab community formed part of the attacks, the panel said. Neighborhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed, especially those where Masalit and other African communities lived, and their people were harassed, assaulted, sexually abused, and at times executed.

The experts said prominent Masalit community members were singled out by the RSF, which had a list, and the groups leaders were harassed and some executed. At least two lawyers, three prominent doctors and seven staff members, and human rights activists monitoring and reporting on the events were also killed, they said.

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The RSF and its allied militias looted and destroyed all hospitals and medical storage facilities, which resulted in the collapse of health services and the deaths of 37 women with childbirth complications and 200 patients needing kidney dialysis, the panel said.

After the killing of the wali, or governor, of West Darfur in June, the report said, Masalit and African communities decided to seek protection at Ardamata, just outside Geneina. A convoy of thousands moved out at midnight but as they reached a bridge, RSF and allied militias indiscriminately opened fire, and survivors reported that an estimated 1,000 people were killed, they said.

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The panel stressed that disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians  including torture, rapes and killings as well as destruction of critical civilian infrastructure  constitute war crimes under the 1949 Geneva conventions.

The RSF was formed out of Janjaweed fighters by Sudans former President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades, was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019, and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

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According to the panel, the RSFs takeover of Darfur relied on three lines of support: the Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan.

While both the Sudanese military and RSF engaged in widespread recruitment drives across Darfur from late 2022, the RSF was more successful, the experts said. And it invested large proceeds from its pre-war gold business in several industries, creating a network of as many as 50 companies.

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The RSFs complex financial networks enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups, the experts said.

United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited Chad in September, called the reports findings horrific and expressed deep disappointment that the UN Security Council and the international community have paid such little attention to the allegations.

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The people of Sudan feel that they have been forgotten, she said.

In light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan and the broader region, Thomas-Greenfield demanded that the Sudanese military lift its prohibition on cross-border assistance from Chad and facilitate cross-line assistance from the east. She also demanded in a statement Wednesday that the RSF halt the looting of humanitarian warehouses and that both parties stop harassing humanitarian aid workers.

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The council must act urgently to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators to account, and bring the conflict in Sudan to an end, the U.S. ambassador said. Time is running out.
The biennial meeting aims to update international trade regulations on a number of issues, such as reducing fisheries subsidies and prolonging the ban on digital trade tariffs, which is opposed by South Africa and India but has strong backing from industry and government

A logo is seen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. Reuters File

After three more delays in reaching an agreement, World Trade Organisation negotiators unveiled fresh draft treaties on Friday. The meetings, which lasted through the night in Abu Dhabi, revealed that a number of important problems remained unresolved.

The biennial meeting aims to update international trade regulations on a number of issues, such as reducing fisheries subsidies and prolonging the ban on digital trade tariffs, which is opposed by South Africa and India but has strong backing from industry and government.

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Up to now, no new agreements have been reached, and in an organisation where unanimity among all 164 members is required, even the official recognition of concluded discussions on increasing investment has been obstructed. All the concerns, nevertheless, are perceived as interconnected, and a breakthrough might persuade nations to renounce their resistance to subsequent agreements, as was the case at the 2022 Geneva meeting.

Not great, said one WTO ambassador, summarising the current state of negotiations. A document circulated by the WTO said that time is running out and announced the closing ceremony at 5pm local time (1300 GMT). It is everyones hope that this postponement allows reaching agreement, it said.

Spokesperson Ismaila Dieng said discussions were intensive and difficult.

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A good agreement is considered as vital by the United Arab Emirates, which hosted the COP28 climate meeting last year and hopes to come out on top.

Its foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of Abu Dhabis ruling family, pledged a $10 million gift to assist WTO activities before to the summit.

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Delegates were observed scuttling into conference rooms with coffee cups when media access was prohibited, while others had heads down pouring over documents or typing frantically on cell phones. One person pretended to pull the pin out of a hand grenade.

A draft agriculture agreement showed that a key reform sought by India on permitted government support levels for farmers was still not agreed, with two alternative solutions sitting side by side.

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A fisheries text showed that forced labour issues - an important topic for the United States - and the duration of phase-in periods for developing countries seen as key for many African countries were not yet decided.

It remained unclear if concerns voiced by Pacific islands seeking a more ambitious deal had been addressed.

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One trade delegate involved in the fisheries talks said the remaining issues could be surmounted while another described them as huge.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the presidential election would be held at the National Assembly and all the provincial assemblies from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, according to a report

Pakistans election commission on Friday declared that the polling for the presidential election will be held on 9 March, with former president Asif Ali Zardari poised to secure the top constitutional position once more, nearly 11 years since his last tenure.

According to a Geo News report, citing a notice, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said the presidential election would be held at the National Assembly and all the provincial assemblies from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

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According to the schedule issued by the top electoral body, candidates for the office can submit nomination papers by Saturday before noon with the presiding officers in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta.

The scrutiny of the papers by the returning officers will be done on 4 March, the ECP said, adding that the candidature can be withdrawn the next day.

The commission will publish the list of validly nominated candidates on the same day, and 6 March has been fixed as the date for retirement, the report said.

Earlier, National Assembly Secretariat had on Thursday announced the election of the head of the government on 3 March, with Shehbaz Sharif set to become Pakistans new Prime Minister.

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According to the schedule, candidates can submit their nomination papers by Saturday, 2 pm. The scrutiny of the papers will be completed the same day.

It said that the procedure for the election of the premier was given to the newly-elected lawmakers.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has nominated Shehbaz Sharif, 72, for the post of prime minister while Omer Ayub Khan is the pick of jailed former prime minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

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Former president Asif Ali Zardari has been nominated for the top office by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif-led six-party ruling alliance.

The coalition includes the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi MovementPakistan (MQM-P), among other parties.

The PPPs 68-year-old Asif Ali Zardari was announced as the consensus candidate for the countrys top constitutional office after the PML-N and the PPP decided to form the coalition when neither of the two parties managed to secure a clear majority in the February 8 polls.

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Zardari has previously served as the president from September 2008 to 2013.

Former prime minister Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party-backed independents won majority seats at the 266-member National Assembly in the February 8 general election.

Khans party has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the mandate thieves will result in the worst political instability.

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Independent candidates - a majority backed by the PTI party - won 93 National Assembly seats.

The PML-N won 75 seats, while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The MQM-P has 17 seats. The coalition is expected to win major support from the provinces of Punjab and Sindh where PML-N and the PPP have formed their governments.

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With inputs from agencies
Layla Schlack is an award-winning writer and editor. As a food reporter with Hearst Connecticut Media Group, she covers restaurant openings and closings, Connecticuts history and agriculture. Wine is a big area of interest in her reporting, as are trends in restaurants and whos driving them.

Previously, she's worked as an editor with Whetstone Media, Wine Enthusiast, Fine Cooking and more. Her byline has appeared in The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Food & Wine, Food 52 and Epicurious, among others, and she holds an MFA in Creative & Professional Writing from Western Connecticut State University. She lives in Norwalk with her husband, dog, cat and amaro collection.
HMD Global has launched a new 4GB of RAM (2GB of additional virtual RAM) with 128GB storage version in India.

The company launched the phone in 6GB of RAM (5GB of additional virtual RAM) with 128GB storage version in September last year. It also launched a 8GB of RAM (8GB of additional virtual RAM) with 256GB storage version in the country in October.

Pricing and availability

The new Nokia G42 5G (6GB (2GB virtual RAM) + 128GB) variant comes in So Purple and So Grey colours and will be available exclusively on Amazon.in and HMD.com, with its first sale in India on Womens Day, March 8th, 2024.

Nokia G42 5G specifications

6.56 HD+ 20:9 (720 x 1612), 90Hz refresh rate, Brightness 450 nits (typ.), 560 nits with brightness boost, Gorilla Glass 3

Octa Core Snapdragon 480+ 8nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 619 GPU

4GB RAM (2GB virtual RAM) / 6GB RAM (5GB virtual RAM) with 128GB storage, 8GB RAM (8GB virtual RAM) with 256GB storage, microSD card support up to 1TB

Android 13

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

50 MP AF Main camera with f/1.8 aperture, 2 MP Depth and 2 MP Macro cameras with f/2.4 aperture, LED flash, Night mode 2.0, AI Portrait and OZO 3D audio capture

8MP FF front camera

3.5mm audio jack

Side-mounted fingerprint sensor

Dimensions: 165.0 x 75. 8 x 8.55mm; Weight 193.8g

Dust and splash resistant (IP52 Rated)

5G SA / NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS/ GLONASS/ Beidou, USB Type-C 2.0

5000mAh battery with 20W fast charging support (QC3.0 & PD3.0)

Commenting on the launch, Ravi Kunwar, Vice President  India & APAC at HMD Global, said::

We are delighted to launch our new Nokia G42 5G smartphone variant in India on International Womens Day 2024. This feature-rich and sustainably designed device represents the companys commitment to providing innovation and progressive tech that empowers our customers. We would also want you to look forward to a great line-up of additional devices coming soon.
Saturday Night

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to occasional showers later during the night. Low 42F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Austin Police Association, Sept. 10, 2020, in Austin, Texas. On Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, LGBTQ+ advocacy group PFLAG National filed a lawsuit against the Texas Attorney General's office after being asked to hand over information about its support of transgender children receiving gender-confirming medical care.
At a candidate forum Wednesday at Fruita Monument High School, the four candidates vying for three seats on Fruita City Council discussed growth and affordable housing, as well as a number of other topics.

Fruitas mail ballot municipal election will be held April 2. The three candidates who are elected will serve four-year terms.

Aaron Hancey, an incumbent City Council Member who was appointed to fill a vacancy in October 2022, has lived in Fruita for about 10 years and has a background in finance.

Rich Parrish, an 11-year Fruita resident and long-time board member with Mesa County Crime Stoppers, said he wants for Fruita to continue to be a great place to live.

Frank Graziano, who has lived in Fruita for seven years, touted his involvement with Fruitas car community, said his platform is keep Fruita special.

Andrea Stolarczyk, who has lived in Fruita for three years, has served on Fruitas arts and culture board and the chamber of commerce board of directors.

Candidates were asked how they would manage Fruitas growth.

Hancey said Fruitas growth rate right now is about right.

We need to grow, because if were not going forward were going backward, Hancey said.

Hancey said its important to encourage the right kind of development and to encourage employers to move to Fruita while keeping Fruitas character intact.

Stolarczyk said Fruita needs to be growth-minded so as not to end up like less-fortunate communities, and needs to keep the diversity of age and experience that exists in Fruita.

Stolarczyk also stressed the need to follow Fruitas comprehensive plan because of the robust public input that went into that plan.

Graziano said some of the developments going in to Fruita right now will allow people with regular jobs to live and work there.

Parrish said people want Fruita to grow but not lose the flavor of the community.

I believe wholeheartedly that the former council members, the current Council Members understand that concept, Parrish said.

Candidates were also asked how they would address affordable housing.

Stolarczyk said there are things in the comprehensive plan that can open up avenues for developing affordable housing so people in all stations of life can enjoy Fruita.

I think theres a real and present danger of Fruita becoming so likable and so lovable that we become what Colorado has seen a lot of, a destination town that pushes out people who are living and working in the community, Stolarczyk said.

Graziano said developers in Phoenix, where he came from, often use the term affordable housing to push government-subsidized developments. He said he prefers the term workforce housing.

Parrish said he has sat in on council meetings recently and the city is working on options for people with different income levels to not spend more than 30% of their income on housing.

There will be options here in Fruita, and it would be my goal to continue to ensure that is the case, Parrish said.

Hancey, who previously served on Fruitas planning commission, said the city is trying to encourage diverse developments that allow for people at different income levels to afford housing.

Matthew Breman, a sitting City Council member who is running unopposed for mayor, also participated in the forum.
China's secrets law could mean new risks linked to 'work secrets'

Analysts say the concept of 'work secrets' extends the domain of state security, could damage confidence.

By Jing Wei for RFA Mandarin 2024.02.29 -- China's latest piece of security legislation will have a further chilling effect on foreign investment and the economy by creating a new category of confidential information called 'work secrets,' analysts said in recent commentaries and interviews with RFA Mandarin.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday signed an executive order that will see the Law on Safeguarding State Secrets take effect from May 1, after the law was revised and adopted by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Feb. 27.

The move follows a number of police raids last year on foreign consultancy firms including Mintz Group and Bain & Co, prompting concerns from foreign investors that Beijing's widening national security focus could hurt investor confidence.

All government departments and state-owned enterprises will be required under the law to "determine the confidentiality level" of state secrets they work with, and implement new rules about managing a "declassification" period for employees who leave their posts, including bans on overseas travel and new employment, state media reported.

"During the declassification period, personnel who have access to secrets are not allowed to work or leave the country ... nor are they allowed to disclose state secrets in any way," state broadcaster CCTV reported.

What are 'work secrets'?

However, the measures don't just apply to state secrets -- they will also apply to "work secrets," according to Article 64 of the new legislation.

"Work secrets" refers to "information produced or collected by departments in the performance of their duties, the leaking of which would cause an adverse impact," according to Chinese law expert Jeremy Daum.

In a commentary on his China Law Translate blog, Daum said an earlier draft had defined a "work secret" more narrowly "but the final version seems even broader."

"Work secrets and internal documents aren't a new issue, but it is unfortunate to see them further enshrined in law," he wrote, adding that the clause could lead to "overzealous identification" of work secrets, leading to increased risk for workers and decreased transparency for the general public.

China has also recently broadened the scope of its Counterespionage Law, and detained an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma last March on suspicion of "spying," prompting a protest from Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Market research

Xia Ming, professor of politics at New York's City University, said the new law could have an impact on foreign companies wanting to carry out market research in China.

"The first thing any company that wants to invest in China does is to carry out market research on China," Xia said. "But all kinds of data are regarded as confidential by China, because they touch on the political security [of the regime]."

"They think people could interpret specific and minor fluctuations in the data to create information that is unfavorable to their political system and regime [stability]," he said. "So everything is confidential."

U.S.-based economist Li Hengqing said there has already been an impact from last year's legislation and consultancy firm raids.

"Everyone is definitely feeling the chill now," Li said. "The more [Beijing] does this, the more foreign businesses and entrepreneurs will be discouraged from investing in China."

He said the move runs counter to recent claims from the ruling Chinese Communist Party Central Committee that it is expanding its economy to more global participation.

"Preferential policies for foreign investors would take them in the complete opposite direction," Li said.

Stability of the regime

But for Beijing, all sensitive information must now "adhere to the overall concept of national security," and follow the ruling party's approach to managing secrets, state media reported.

According to the party's Central Security Office director Li Zhaozong, the revised law provides a "strong legal guarantee for better protecting national sovereignty, security and development interests."

Writing in party newspaper the People's Daily on Feb. 28, Li said the same principles of secrets management would apply to any domain into which the party's national security approach is extended, although he didn't mention "work secrets" by name.

According to Li Hengqing, that can mean any area that affects the security of Xi Jinping's grip on power or that of the ruling party.

"It's all about the stability of the regime," Li said. "Xi Jinping once said, 'What is the point of economic development if we neglect the stability of the regime?'"

"He doesn't really care about the people's livelihood or the country's economic development," he said.

Xia Ming said the law will also have a huge impact on internet service providers, who will be required to cooperate with the authorities in investigating any cases involving the leaking of unauthorized information online.

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

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February 29, 2024

Transcript

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds a Press Briefing

MAJOR GENERAL PAT RYDER: All right. Good afternoon, everyone. Just a few things here at the top and then get right to your questions.

So upfront, on behalf of Secretary Austin, the department wants to extend our congratulations to the more than 20 DOD senior leaders who were confirmed by the Senate this week to include Cara L. Abercrombie, whose nomination to be assistant secretary of defense for acquisitions was approved, and U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo to be the next commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

These confirmations are welcome news and we're excited for what these leaders will bring to the important mission of the Department of Defense.

In other news yesterday, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, Ms. Rebecca Zimmerman hosted Colombia's minister of defense, Mr. Ivan Velasquez, and Minister of Justice and Law Mr. Nestor Osuna. The senior officials exchanged views on countering illicit drug trafficking and human security, semi-irregular migration and frameworks to enhance bilateral security cooperation. The meeting reaffirmed the United States's and Department of Defense's strong partnership with Colombia as the two nations work together to ensure a stable and secure hemisphere based on a foundation of respect for democracy and human rights.

Today, acting Under Secretary -- and also today -- or, rather, excuse me, today, acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Ms. Sasha Baker will host Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his senior delegation. The meeting will emphasize the United States's longstanding commitments to continued partnership with the people of Iraq, including the Kurdistan Regional Government, for secure and stable Iraqi-Kurdistan region within sovereign Iraq.

And tomorrow, Secretary Austin is scheduled to welcome Slovakia's minister of defense and deputy prime minister, Robert Kalinak to the Pentagon to discuss a range of regional and bilateral issues.

Full readouts from these senior leader engagements will be available on the defense.gov website.

Shifting gears to Africa, the 13th African Air Chief Symposium is taking place this week in Tunis, Tunisia, hosted by the Association of African Air Forces alongside the Tunisian Air Force and sponsored by U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, and serves as a pivotal platform for addressing critical challenges, strengthening partner networks, and fostering cooperation among African air chiefs. With a thematic focus on pan-African education and training opportunities, this symposium is strategically designed to nurture more effectively -- excuse me, more effective military relationships among participating nations with approximately 40 African countries engaged in advancing regional air power solutions.

Separately, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks will depart on domestic travel this Sunday, March 3rd, to visit Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin, California. At Camp Pendleton, the deputy secretary will meet with servicemembers to better understand the challenges and opportunities they experience as part of their military service. At both locations, she'll interact with warfighters to see combined joint all-domain command-and-control in action via the Project Convergence Capstone 4. Viewing this experimentation will enable Deputy Secretary Hicks to gain better insight into the challenges that impact JADC-2 implementation across our Joint Force and the outcomes of experimentation exercises.

And finally, Secretary Austin will go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center tomorrow afternoon for a scheduled routine follow-up appointment with his doctors. He continues to recover well from his recent cancer treatment, and you can expect that he'll be conducting these types of follow-on checkups from time to time. We'll be sure to keep you updated regarding any significant developments, as appropriate.

And with that, be glad to take our questions. We'll go to Associated Press first, Tara Copp.

Q: Hi, General Ryder. Thanks for doing this.

Today, Secretary Austin, in response to a question, said that as many as 25,000 women and children have been killed in Gaza. Could you elaborate further on this, where he got that number?

Q: (inaudible) during the hearing, he was asked how many women and children have been with (inaudible) women and children have been killed by the Israelis since October 7th, and he replied, "It's over 25,000." There's been a clarification to say those are -- the numbers he cited were from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Why was he citing numbers -- firstly, he didn't actually say they were from the -- the Gaza Health Ministry. But why was he citing numbers from Gaza's Health Ministry?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, we need to clarify, as you highlight. His answer was citing an estimate from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry that more than 25,000 total Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and -- and as -- as you know and as you've heard us say, we can't independently verify that these numbers are accurate. We can't independently verify Gaza casualty figures.

And so we've talked about this before, that we're dependent on open-source information like many of you. We're, you know, certain that thousands of people have been killed. But as for the specific numbers, again, we cannot verify those specific statistics.

Q: So he's the secretary of defense. Is he -- is there some accuracy in those numbers, that he -- the fact that he's saying how (inaudible) and not going with, for example, Israel's estimate?

GEN. RYDER: Again, I'm providing you with the context of the information that he provided and what he was citing. Thanks.

Let me try Tara again.

Q: Hi. Thanks. Can you hear me now?

GEN. RYDER: I can hear you.

Q: OK, good. I was going to ask the same question Idrees did, but as a second question, today, Senators King and Reed have asked President Biden to send one of the Navy hospital ships to Gaza to help support civilians there. Is this something that the Pentagon -- is this a request the Pentagon has received, and something you're looking at?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Tara. I don't -- I don't have anything to announce today in terms of any deployments of hospital ships into the region.

Will?

Q: So to follow up on Gaza aid, is the Pentagon considering any -- any potential airdrops or any other steps to -- to get -- put more aid into Gaza at this point?

GEN. RYDER: So I -- I don't -- similarly don't have any announcements to make regarding any DOD airdrops or -- or plans to conduct airdrops. As you've heard us say before, the U.S. does continue to work with our partners and expand and sustain levels of assistance, much-needed humanitarian assistance in Gaza. This week, for example, you heard USAID announce that they will be providing an additional $53 million in humanitarian assistance for urgently-needed food, shelter and water for Palestinian civilians. But as for DOD activities right now, I don't have anything to pass along.

Let me go to Lara and then Oren.

Q: Thanks, Pat. Secretary Austin testified this morning that his military aide transferred his authorities to his deputy during that hospital stay. So I just want to clarify the timeline. In between when he was transferred to the critical care unit on January 2nd and when he transferred power, the -- that was the afternoon of January 2nd, as it says in the 30 day review -- how much time passed? What was going on? And who was in charge?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Lara. So I'm -- I'm not going to provide a minute by minute tick tock. As we've talked about, when the Secretary was admitted to the critical care unit, it became clear that he would not have access to his secure communications.

So following the procedures that his aides have followed in the past when he's not been able to access secure communications, the decision was made to initiate the transfer of authority to the Deputy Secretary, and that process played itself out. There was no gaps in command and control, as the Secretary has highlighted and as we've highlighted in the 30 day review.

Q: So if there were no gaps, why can't you break it down minute by minute?

GEN. RYDER: Because I don't have it here in front of me.

Q: So, like, if it was ...

GEN. RYDER: And -- and what we've provided you in the -- in the 30 day review is -- is what I have to provide. OK.

Q: ... the sentence ...

GEN. RYDER: Let me ...

Q: ... goes from on January 2nd, he was admitted to the critical care unit, and then on the afternoon of January 2nd -- so even if there's, like, a couple hour gap, that is a big deal. So I'm asking ...

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, there -- there -- again, there were no gaps in the command and control of the DOD -- of DOD command and control. The Secretary or the Deputy Secretary were in charge at all times.

Let me go to (inaudible).

Q: Pat -- so he testified this afternoon that he was not aware when the staff was told that he was in the hospital. So he has communications at home, he's put in the ambulance, he gets to the hospital. When -- isn't that at least a gap in communications? Because he ...

(CROSS-TALK)

GEN. RYDER: No, he travels -- he travels with a communicator at all times, right? He has access to those communications. But I -- I mean, just to put this into context, you carry your phone with you every single place you go, every moment of the day -- I mean probably -- you're a reporter, you probably do -- but ...

Q: ... but he testified that he did not have a cell phone.

GEN. RYDER: He has access to a personal communicator who travels with him at all times. So again, if he needs to talk secure comms, if he needs to conduct command and control activities or reach someone, again, there's literally someone, like, steps away that can hand him what he needs to conduct operations.

So -- Oren?

Q: I want to go back to Gaza for a second. A large number of Palestinians were killed near an aid truck. Is the Pentagon asking for any investigation or clarification of the incident from the Israeli military? And do you still believe that Israel is taking steps to avoid civilian casualties? Because some of the incidents we're seeing don't seem to support that.

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Oren. We've seen the reports obviously. They're certainly alarming. And what I would say is the situation highlights the tragic nature of this conflict. We're of course very saddened to hear about this loss of innocent lives.

And we do acknowledge, as I've, you know, just said a moment ago, that too many civilians have been killed in Israel's military operations, that we continue to reiterate that civilian lives must be protected. As you're likely aware, the White House has been in touch with the government of Israel to ask that they investigate immediately to learn about more -- about what happened.

But this situation also does underscore the critical importance of ensuring that much needed humanitarian assistance can be delivered to the people of Gaza in a safe, secure, and sustained manner. And that's something that the U.S. government is going to continue to work on closely with partners in the region.

But it also underscores that, in this situation, the requirement for Israel to take into account civilian harm mitigation in planning and executing its operations, whether they're ongoing operations or whether they've completed operations against Hamas.

And as we've talked about before, this is something that Secretary Austin communicates to his Israeli counterpart on a regular basis.

Q: And at this stage, there is no -- it's a White House request to the government, there's no mil-to-mil request for an investigation into the incident?

GEN. RYDER: I -- I'm -- I'm not tracking any specific request from DOD, but again, like I said, the White House has reached out.

Carla?

Q: Can I stay in the Middle East really quick? First, have there been any attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East this week?

GEN. RYDER: Not that I'm aware of. If you're talking about Iraq, Syria, no.

Q: And then following on the Houthi situation, Xinhua reported that the Chinese was sending ships from the 46th fleet to come and help escort ships in the Red Sea. Have -- has the U.S. military seen these ships arrive and do any escorting? And has the Chinese reached out to help with the situation concerning the Houthis, to help with some of the -- the counter-attacks?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, I -- I don't have a status on location for Chinese vessels. I'd refer you to them.

In terms of a Chinese role in countering these attacks or supporting freedom of navigation operations, you know, we've talked before about the fact that we would welcome a productive role for China to play, but to my knowledge, at this stage, they have not offered, nor are they conducting any type of operations to help safeguard mariners or international shipping.

Joseph?

Q: Thanks. Just to follow up on the attacks in Iraq and Syria, it's been just shy, I think, of a month since the last reported attacks. That could change at any time, you know, God forbid, but do you assess that deterrence has been restored or -- have been restored for this -- for the past couple weeks?

GEN. RYDER: Well, you know, look, it -- I don't want to put myself on a situation where I'm predicting the future. I think we are obviously glad that we have not seen additional attacks, primarily because, A, it's dangerous, but B, because our forces are there to focus on the defeat ISIS mission. And they'll continue to stay focused on that.

But if we are threatened or attack, as we've demonstrated -- attacked, as we've demonstrated, we will take appropriate measures to safeguard our forces.

Q: ... the second one. You've mentioned and the Secretary mentioned this morning that the Israelis need to do more to mitigate the civilian casualties in Gaza. At -- that comes up almost in all the readouts of the Secretary's calls with his Israeli counterpart. Have you guys outlined or put forth what the potential consequences or what could happen if they don't?

I mean, you guys have been calling for this for probably the -- since the second or third week, since the military campaign started, yet we haven't seen much change, at least in terms of the number of casualties.

GEN. RYDER: Well look, I mean, again, at the end of the day, Israel is a sovereign nation that's going to conduct operations. So I'd refer you to them to talk about specifically what they're doing. But again, we've highlighted that it -- it is their inherent right to defend themselves -- we understand that -- but it's also important that they take civilian safety and -- and mitigation into account as they're conducting their operations. I mean, Secretary Austin talked about this at Reagan, in terms of don't allow a tactical victory to be taken away by a strategic defeat.

And so again, we're going to continue to consult closely with them, we're going to continue to expect that they abide by the law of armed conflict.

Q: Pardon me, I'm sorry. Just to follow up on. I mean, we've heard that this now multiple times. But it seems to be falling on the fears. And have you guys relayed to them any potential moves that you could make if they don't hear these calls?

GEN. RYDER: I don't have anything to pass along to you, Joseph, other than, again, you know, we expect Israel to operate as a professional military. And I would say also, you know, Hamas could play a role in this too by putting down its arms, turning the hostages back over and saying, hey, we're done fighting and we're done embedding ourselves among the civilian population, and putting everybody in this difficult situation.

So you know, I think that that could play a role to. Nancy?

Q: Yeah. Just one follow up on something you said and a point of clarification from the testimony this morning. Is it the US assessment then that the Israeli military conducted itself professionally today?

GEN. RYDER: Again, as I highlighted. the White House has reached out to ask what actions are taking and ask them to Investigate. And I know they've publicly said that they're reviewing.

Q: No, I appreciate that. But if I heard your answer, Joseph, correctly, you said one of the things is that the US is -- of the assessment, the Israeli military is behaved. Professionally, I just wanted to expect --

GEN. RYDER: So we expect the Israeli military to behave?

Q: (CROSSTALK)

GEN. RYDER: Again, I'm not going to pre-conclude the situation that we're talking about. Again, it's a tragic incident. We obviously are very saddened to see what happened. But again, I think Israel needs to investigate that.

Q: And could you clarify and answer that the secretary gave to Representative Wittman and what she said that the -- there's not a standard procedure to notify NMCC when the secretary moves? And I don't understand under what circumstances that notification happens. Can you help me get a better read on that?

GEN. RYDER: You mean in terms of -- and when his situation?

Q: No, broadly. If I heard the question correctly, Representative Wittman was asking when you move, is NMCC notified a standard procedure? And the secretary's answer was no. And I just didn't understand that under -- what if I understand it correctly that there to let everybody know where the secretary is over time. So if it's not being used consistently, how does it work?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah. Well, you know, without -- so part of this is situational-dependent, right? If the secretary is within the national capital region, what level of information needs to be passed along to the NMCC, you know, versus if he's going outside, if he's traveling. So I think the key point here is that through this exercise, through this experience, the department has had the opportunity to go back and look from, you know, one to end. OK. What are our current procedures? What are some things that we can improve upon and take steps to ensure that this kind of situation doesn't happen again? And so that's really what we're focused on.

And as I talked about on Monday, we've already taken some initial steps. And we have some others that we're going to take to make sure that that information is being shared.

Q: I'm sorry, I don't mean to belabor the point, but he was referring to it today, not in the past. The question was, when you move today, when you move, is that notification happening? So I'm just trying to understand the procedure today. What is the standard of the threshold that has to be met for that notification to happen?



GEN. RYDER: Well, again, if he's in the National Capital Region, and depending on the situation, it could vary, you know, again, without getting into specifics, you know, and I don't want to make up hypothetical situations or get into potentially sensitive situations. But if it's warranted that they know exact -- his exact location, then I'm sure that information will be passed. But largely speaking, you know, they're going to be tracking if he's in the national capital region.

Let me go to Tom here and then I'll go to the phone.

Q: Thank you. Just going back to this morning, the 21,000 precision-guided munition since the start of the war to Israel, does the US track where those are being deployed? Do we know they're all in Gaza? Have some gone up to the north? Do you have any sort of visibility on that?

GEN. RYDER: No, I don't have any information like that to pass along, Tom.

Q: And then just going back to the -- appreciate what you said about the, you know, the 25,000 figure and how that was -- the Secretary citing the mass controlled health ministry, how does it work in the Pentagon? Do you -- you look at all open sources, so you would look at Israel's estimates on the one hand, and the health ministry from Gaza on the other hand, and you would sort of just cite those figures, or would you make a determination about which one has the most?

GEN. RYDER: Well, again -- yeah. Again, what I said earlier is I cannot verify the veracity of those figures. And we're not able to corroborate them. And so we don't have a lot of confidence in, you know, the information or in other words, we're not able to corroborate or verify the statistics, whether they're being provided from one entity to another without independently being able to verify them, not too dissimilar from the way I'm sure that your outlet tries to gather and verify that information. Without the ability to be on the ground and independently assess, it's challenging. And so we do have to rely in large part on open source information that's out there.

But as I said before, we're fairly confident that thousands of civilians have been killed. And one innocent civilian being killed is too many. So again, it just underscores the tragic situation that's there. And again, we're going to continue to work with partners in the region to try to ensure that humanitarian assistance can be delivered while at the same time, communicating with our Israeli partners, the importance of taking civilian safety into account.

Q: Why would the Secretary cite information he can't verify?

GEN. RYDER: Again, I'm just highlighting the context of the information and where it came from and what he was citing. Yeah. Let me go to the phone here or else I'm going to get in trouble from Jeff Schogol. Jeff Schogol Task & Purpose?

Q: Thank you. Earlier in the week, you provided an update of how many targets had been struck in Yemen. Can you say what steps the military is doing to replenish? The munitions that it's using in the Red Sea, and to make sure the forces in INDOPACOM have enough cruise missiles and other missiles in case of a war with China. Thank you.

GEN. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Jeff. For operations security reasons, I'm, I'm not going to go into specifics other than to say, we have a very proven, detailed, and elaborate process to ensure that our forces receive the ammunition and the supplies that they need to conduct the operations that they've been tasked to do around the world. And that includes in the Red Sea region and the broader Middle East, as well as the Indo-Pacific.

Let me go to Mike Glenn, Washington Times.

Q: Thank you, Pat. A review of Aaron Bushnell's social media account indicates that he has some pretty strong anti- Zionist views, anarchist views, he said Israel didn't have a right to exist. He appeared to condone Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel. My question is the same question I asked last time. Under the Pentagon's definition of extremists, would he fall under that?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah. Thanks, Mike. You know, so as you've heard the Air Force say, the matter is under investigation as is appropriate, following the death of a service member. So I'm not going to put a label on Airman Bushnell. I do think it's fair to say that an act of suicide by self-immolation is an extreme act.

But as for the specific circumstances surrounding his death, we know it's been made public, but we owe it to the airman's family and to the service to allow for a full investigation to obtain the facts. So leave it there.

Let me go to Eunice.

Q: Thank you very much, General. You said that earlier today, it was a tragic incident. Obviously, like you would think otherwise, you know, civilians being fired by that while trying to get some peace food.

But there is someone, an Israeli national security minister says that they acted excellently, the IDF and it's madness to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. And you've been saying that the president made it very clear that in this current bombing of Gaza, and you've been speaking to your counterparts, but if this is the government that you've been speaking to, is there any result that's been produced?

GEN. RYDER: Hey, I can't speak for that individual. I can only respond on behalf of the department, so I don't have anything to provide.

Q: You know, you've been having these conversations for months now, but the result doesn't seem to be much different on the ground. So is there a sense of urgency within the Department of Defense that perhaps we should change the way that we're talking to our Israeli counterparts?

GEN. RYDER: Look, I think we've been very transparent in terms of how we're communicating with our Israeli counterparts as well as our efforts to try to support the people of Gaza in terms of humanitarian assistance and ensuring that their safety is taken into account.

But we also, again, recognize that Hamas plays a factor in all of this, and Hamas has not given up and laid down their arms and are still threatening to attack Israel and conduct operations. And again, you know, I'm not going to lay out Israel's campaign plan, I'm not going to lay out specific operations that they're doing on a daily basis, but we have seen them change some of their approaches and how they're conducting operations.

But again, as I highlighted, too many civilians have been killed. And so we'll continue to consult with them, communicate with them, and expect them to abide by the international humanitarian law and law of armed conflict.

Yes, sir?

Q: Thank you very much, General. As you said today, Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan, was here at the Pentagon. What can you tell us about your commitment to fighting ISIS, and what is your view of the role of the Peshmerga in that?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah. Look, as I highlighted at the top, we very much appreciate that the role that Peshmerga have played for a very long time when it comes to security and the Kurdistan region of Iraq and also in fighting ISIS.

And we remain committed to working with the International Coalition for the enduring defeat of ISIS. Again, it's why we have forces in the region right now working with international partners, to include the Peshmerga. Thank you.

Wafa?

Q: Thank you, General. Follow-up on Joseph's question. Apparently, communications with the Israeli and consulting with them is not helping much spare civilians in Gaza. Are there any concrete steps or measures the administration can take to press Israel on the matter of civilians in Gaza? And is there any discussion within the department to maybe pull the U.S. military assistance to Israel, like a way to press Israel on this matter?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Wafa. So, again, we continue to believe in Israel's inherent right to defend itself and we'll continue to support them in terms of their right to defend themselves. And we have, from the very beginning, been communicating actively on the importance of taking civilian safety into account, and we will continue to do that.

I mean, Secretary Austin just had a conversation with his Israeli counterpart this week, as you saw, and this is a topic of discussion. He talked with him last week as well. And so, they understand that this is important. I'm not going to speak for the Israelis, but we will continue to urge and expect that this is something that's taken into account, so.

Q: Do you have any update on the U.S. military assistance to Israel? Is it like a daily shipment going to Israel? Secretary Austin today mentioned that there was about more than 21,000 munitions delivered to Israel.

GEN. RYDER: I don't have a timeline to pass along to you Wafa. Thank you.

Let me jump back to the phone here. Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg.

Q: Hi, Pat. A Ukraine question. Without Republican support for more aid in the supplemental, what is the Pentagon's best assessment of the tactical military implications over the next two or three months to the Ukraine military in terms of air defense and artillery shortages? How greatly will those grow?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, well, I mean, they're obviously engaged in an active fight right now. We continue to see Russia, you know, making some small but incremental gains, as you know. And so it's vital that we be able to receive the supplemental funding.

And as well as a full year appropriation to be able to ensure that Ukraine has the assistance to include air defense and ammunition capabilities to be able to not only defend themselves but also take back sovereign territory.

And so, you know, the Ukrainians have proven themselves to be very innovative, courageous fighters. So we have no doubt that they're going to fight, you know, they're going to continue to fight very bravely. But it's absolutely essential that we get them the resources they need now and not too late.

Thank you.

GEN. RYDER: Chris?

Q: Thanks, Pat. Two questions on the Red Sea region. First, what is the coordination between the E.U. maritime mission and Operation Prosperity Guardian? Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing? So, at the very least, you aren't confused about which vessels are where and what they're trying to do?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, I mean, as I understand it, they do coordinate and communicate on a daily basis. You know, we have obviously around the world have experience working closely with partners inside and outside of coalitions, working coalition side by side.

And, of course, many of the countries that are resident within Operation Prosperity Guardian and then the corresponding Operation Aspides. We've all worked together for many years in many different places around the world. And many of those countries are within NATO. So, when it comes to interoperability, you know, that's something that is a strength.

Q: My second question, the State Department's Special Envoy for Yemen said this week, state was working to expand the strike coalition against the Houthis and the Gulf states needed to do more, but couldn't speak for the DOD. So on behalf of the Pentagon, is the DOD working to expand the strike coalition against the Houthis?

GEN. RYDER: Look, I don't have any specific announcements to make. I mean, we're always consulting with allies and partners in the region to address the international problem that's been created due to the Houthis illegal and reckless strikes against international shipping and mariners.

Q: Overall, are you trying to grow the coalition, either Operation Prosperity Guardian or the Strait Coalition?

GEN. RYDER: Look, we're -- we're trying to address this as an international problem because, you know, it's affecting the international community. And so this is the way that the United States operates. We -- we work with coalitions and we work with allies in -- in order to achieve common goals.

And I think internationally, everyone will agree that the Red Sea is a vital waterway. 15 percent of global commerce transits through there. And so this is something that we'll continue to keep after.

Let me go -- yes, ma'am? Sorry.

Q: (inaudible) spoke about the Deputy Secretary's trip out west, in part which is to siege -- CJADC-2 and Project Convergence. Can you talk about what the Secretary -- Secretary Austin and Deputy Secretary Hicks hope to see from that effort, and the timeline of what's being achieved?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, there'll be obviously a lot more to come out of that -- that event. And so I'd encourage you to reach out to the Army, as I'm -- as I'm sure you are. But what you've seen over the last several years is things like Project Convergence or the Air -- Advanced Battle Management System or the Navy's overwatch program -- Project Overmatch, rather, working together to look at how we can better integrate using various technologies when it comes to combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

And so they're going to have the opportunity to experiment with technologies, operate at a theater level versus a tactical level, but do it in a way that enables us to better synchronize and synthesize our operations when it comes to operating as a Joint Force.

And so really, for the Deputy Secretary, it's a -- it's a great opportunity to -- to see the continued progress that's being made and -- and also, again, see -- as I mentioned, see the specific outcomes as they can be applied to the broader Joint Force. Thank you.

Sir?

Q: Yeah, turning to budget, a few weeks ago, Secretary Kendall said that if there's no '24 appropriation, basically the '25 request is irrelevant because it's building on '24. And there was debate then about whether to delay releasing the '25 request to give more time to see if there's going to be a '24 appropriation. What's the current thinking on that and process timeline for releasing '25?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, as -- as I understand it, the intent is still to release a Fiscal Year '25 budget. I'd have to refer you to OMB to talk about specific timelines at this point, since it is the President's budget, but that is my understanding right now.

Q: And any free workingbeing considered inside the building to adjust for the fact that almost half the year is gone and a CR is going to be happening for at least a few more weeks?

GEN. RYDER: Well, I mean, as I'm sure you can imagine, you know, one of the primary things the Pentagon does is work on budgets, right, and resourcing. And so, you know, clearly that -- that work is always being done, whether it's, you know, this year's budget or future years' defense spending.

But to your point -- and -- and it's something you've heard others talk about -- the fact that we continue to operate under CRs is not helpful. We need a full year appropriation in order to do the work that we've been asked to do. And so certainly, the longer we kick the can down the road, the more challenging it becomes for the department to conduct the operations in support of our national security mission.

All right, time for a few more. Nancy?

Q: ... come back to your answer about what happened today in Gaza. I'm just trying to better understand the DOD position. The White House has said that it was tremendous -- found the incident, what happened, tremendously alarming. The State Department said that it's urgently seeking more information. And I just want to understand is there any sense of shock or urgency out of the Department of Defense, or is it more reassured from the conversations it's having with its Israeli counterparts?

GEN. RYDER: Well look, I mean, again, we're -- we're watching the same images that you are on TV, and it is alarming and it is, you know, very unfortunate. And a -- and as I mentioned, we're very saddened at the loss of innocent lives here. I mean, these are human beings that are trying to feed themselves. And so I -- I think we're all kind of looking at that and saying, you know, what happened here?

And so -- but again, the White House has reached out and asked Israel to investigate this. I'll just leave it at that.

Q: I -- I appreciate that, but when you say we're all looking to find out what happened here, what I'm trying to understand is what is DOD doing to find out what happened here?

GEN. RYDER: Look, DOD is not currently operating in Gaza. We're not at war in Israel against Hamas. So our focus is what we've talked about before, and that is working to protect our citizens and our forces in the region, it's working with Israel to ensure they have what they need to defend themselves, it's working with them to enable the release of hostages, and it's trying to prevent this conflict from spreading into a wider conflict.

Where -- at -- where required, we support the U.S. interagency. You know, in the past, we've helped to deliver humanitarian assistance. So that continues to be our focus and -- there -- as part of the broader U.S. government.

OK. Sir?

Q: Thank you, General. My question will be about your fellow Airman who set himself on fire last Sunday in front of the Israeli embassy, saying that he doesn't want to be complicit in a -- a genocide, in his words. So there are allegations that he decided to make this extreme act of protest after his clearance led him to see some information about the U.S. involvement in this.

So what can you tell us about this? And you said there is an investigation. What kind of investigation is that? Can you give us some more information about it?

GEN. RYDER: Yeah, thanks, John. So any time there's the death of an airman, particularly a -- in a suicide situation, there is going to be an investigation into the circumstances. And because it's under investigation, I don't want to speculate about this particular airman and -- and what he may or may not have been experiencing or what -- what his mental state was. That would just be pure speculation on my part.

So again, we owe it to his family and we owe it to the Air Force to have the time to be able to do that investigation and get ground truth. Thank you.

Yes, sir?

Q: Thanks, General. I just wanted to follow up on the Houthis. The U.S. is spending a lot of money to take down cheap drones. Do you think that that's a sustainable strategy over a long period of time? And do you have a strategy to maybe divvy that up in some way?

GEN. RYDER: Hey, look, you know, we're oing to continue to work with the international community to safeguard international shipping and the lives of mariners that are transiting the Red Sea.

I think the fact that we've been able to save as many lives as we have -- and it's kind of a null hypothesis you're asking me to prove here, what would have been the cost of sunken ships, lives lost, environmental disaster, had -- had we not and were we not working with the international community to address this problem?

As I highlighted on Monday, it -- it's almost like the Houthis are trying to wreck their own neighborhood, you know? And, you know, ultimately, in the long-term, not to their benefit to continue this.

Let me go over to Courtney.

Q: Thank you. I wonder -- two different topics. On Israel, today, does the Pentagon think it's appropriate for Israel to -- to investigate itself in this attack today, considering that most of the -- the allegations from witnesses on the ground are that it was the IDF who were responsible for many of these deaths and injuries?

GEN. RYDER: Hey, look, Israel's a sovereign country. In the same way if there were allegations in our own military of inappropriate actions or something that -- that was problematic, you know, we conduct investigations in our military and there's methods and procedures to do that.

Again, I'm not going to speak for Israel, in terms of who within the Israeli government would investigate or how they approach it. But, again, one would expect that it would be very similar.

Q: What -- on the secretary's testimony today, there was one thing that I was about, I -- I'm confused now about who it was that made the determination on January 2nd for him to transfer authorities to Secretary -- Deputy Secretary Hicks. Because he said -- at one point he said that his staff were advised by doctors they would not be able to gain access to him. And -- and maybe I misunderstood, but it made it sound as if the staff were the ones, whomever that was, who made the decision for him to have to transfer authority, and it was a communication thing as opposed to a medical necessity, which I thought was -- was what we were earlier told, that the -- the seriousness of the diagnosis and his medical condition was one of the reasons.

GEN. RYDER: Now is -- it -- it's highlighted in the unclassified summary. And as we talked about on Monday, it was the secretary's inability to access secure communications that prompted the staff to take the measures that they had done previously when he was not able secure communications. And, again, taking the initiative, saying, well, OK, if -- if the secretary is not able to access those communications, procedure has been -- oh, by the way, procedures that are, you know, written and prescribed by the civilian leadership of the Department of Defense, then we will transfer authorities to the deputy secretary.

And so that -- that was the determination. Now, again, recognizing, looking back through all of this through the review process, broadly, that improvements could be made. And so, again, we -- we're undertaking those process and procedure improvements.

Q: But, again, so it was this -- the staff, and it would be great to know who the staff were who -- because, again, and correct me if I'm wrong, if I'm -- if I'm mixing up the time line, because I felt like some things were a little jumbled today. I was under the impression that the SMA, the chief of staff, the public affairs had, and one other person, whoever it was, who were all notified on January 2nd were told earlier in the day, and that the transfer of the authorities were transferred later in the day.

So who were the staff members whom -- who have the authority to make the decision to say Secretary Austin's -- because I thought it was Austin -- it was Secretary Austin's decision to transfer authorities, for whatever the reason is.

(CROSSTALK)

GEN. RYDER: Well, again, I'm just hesitating here because we talked about this ad nauseam on Monday, so. But, again...

Q: (inaudible) today, if I'm wrong, I'm happy to talk about this off-line. But I -- because Secretary -- I thought that it was Secretary Austin's ultimate decision to transfer the authorities for whatever the reason be, communication or whatever, but it's the...

(CROSSTALK)

GEN. RYDER: I'll say again, what the -- what the...

(CROSSTALK)

GEN. RYDER: Right, what the review found, and -- and what we talked about previously, was that when the secretary's doctor said that it would -- they recommended he go into the critical care unit, it was clear that he was not going to be able to have access to secure communications. And so as he is going into -- you know, being prepared to go into that critical care unit, his staff military aides make the determination based -- you know, again, recognizing that this is sort of an unprecedented situation, based on the fact that if the secretary is not going have access to communications, checklist says it's time to start talking about a transfer of authority to the deputy secretary because we need to have positive control in terms of secure communications.

So the military aides took initiative to execute that to ensure that there was no gap in command-and-control. And thus the fact that the review found there was no gap in command-and-control.

Q: (inaudible) General (inaudible) made that statement.

GEN. RYDER: I -- I don't have it, the review right in front of me so I don't want to...

(CROSSTALK)

Q: ... (inaudible) in the summary of the review that we got? Because I don't believe it does. Because I just also want to point out when -- when you guys talk about, I appreciate that the -- that the summary -- that the review was classified by the drafters, whatever drafter means, that the secretary said today. But the -- we've only received a summary of the review, so.

GEN. RYDER: Yes.

Q: So we -- there's a lot of details here that are still unclear to -- to us. And it -- and it gets mighty -- frankly, when we have this very vague summary that's put out and then we have testimony from the secretary today that -- and without a -- a clear timeline.

GEN. RYDER: Yes. Thanks, Courtney. Well, again, I appreciate that. We're going to continue to try to provide as much information as we can. As we highlighted earlier this week, you know, there are elements of that report that are classified. And that we have endeavored to try to give you as much unclassified information as was available to provide.

So thank you very much, everybody, appreciate it.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3691676/

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February 29, 2024

By C. Todd Lopez , DOD News

Austin Tells Congress There Was No Lapse in Authority, Command, Control During Hospital Stay

When the secretary of defense was admitted last month to the hospital for complications related to surgery in December, his authorities and responsibilities were temporarily transferred to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

While the Defense Department didn't notify the White House and Congress about the transfer of authority, the U.S. military was never without leadership, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III today told members of Congress.

"There was never any lapse in authorities or in command and control," Austin said during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. "At all times, either I or the deputy secretary was in a position to conduct the duties of my office."

Nevertheless, the secretary conceded, there was a breakdown in communications and in making appropriate notifications regarding the hospital visit in January, as well as his surgery in December.

"Back in December, I should have promptly informed the president, my team and Congress, and the American people about my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment," Austin said. "We did not handle this right, and I did not handle it right. As you know, I have apologized, including directly to the president. And I take full responsibility."

In early December, Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Later in the month, he underwent surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to treat that condition. In early January, he returned to Walter Reed for complications related to his surgery.

During both the initial surgery and the second hospitalization at Walter Reed, the secretary's authorities and responsibility for the U.S. military were temporarily transferred to Hicks. But during neither of those hospitalizations was the White House or Congress notified of that transfer of authority.

Now, Austin said, changes have been implemented at the top levels of DOD to ensure that, in the future, the president and Congress will know when and why authorities are transferred to someone other than the secretary.

"The system must be postured better to make the appropriate notifications when authorities are transferred. And my staff must be ready to carry all of this out," Austin said. "That's why we immediately instituted changes to the way that the authorities can be temporarily transferred to my deputy and to the way that notifications get made. That's also why we conducted a 30-day review of the entire process."

When it was learned that the president and Congress had not been informed of Austin's hospital visits, his chief of staff directed DOD's director of administration and management to conduct a 30-day review of the department's notification process for assumption of functions and duties of the secretary of defense.

The classified report from that review was delivered to Congress, and an unclassified summary of that report was publicly released earlier this week.

The review made eight recommendations regarding processes and procedural improvements that could be made within the department. Already, two of those recommendations have been implemented, and the secretary said the other six will be implemented soon.

"We've made clear that we expect full information-sharing when the deputy or another designated official assumes the functions and duties as acting secretary," Austin said.

Also implemented are written guidelines for clear information-sharing between the secretary's staff and the deputy secretary's staff so that the deputy secretary will be prepared and aware of the most important department issues in the event of an unforeseen transfer of authority.

"We'll ensure that department officials in the order of succession are familiar with and supported for the relevant processes," Austin said. "And we're moving quickly to develop a mandatory reporting protocol for personnel who support me or the deputy secretary in situations that might affect our ability to perform our duties and functions."

Austin also told lawmakers that if ever again the deputy secretary must temporarily assume the duties of his office, the White House  including the White House situation room and the White House chief of staff  would be immediately notified. He also said that the reason for the assumption of duties will be included in writing.

"At no time during my treatment or recovery were there any gaps in authorities. And there were no risks to the department's command and control," Austin said. "We're moving swiftly to put some helpful new procedures in place to prevent any lapses in notification. And I am confident that we will not experience the same issues in the future."

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February 29, 2024

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

Hicks to See Joint, Combined Command and Control Capabilities in Action During Project Convergence Experiment

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks is scheduled to travel to California next week where she will receive an in-depth look into the department's advanced joint, all domain command and control, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said today.

Hicks departs on Sunday for a multiday visit to California to meet with service members and observe Project Convergence Capstone 4, an Army-led joint, multinational experiment taking place at Camp Pendleton and at Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin.

The experiment will showcase the Pentagon's approach to delivering decision advantage to warfighters through Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2, Ryder said, and give the deputy secretary a firsthand look at the capability in action.

"Viewing this experimentation will enable Deputy Secretary Hicks to gain better insight into the challenges that impact [CJADC2] implementation across our joint force and the outcomes of experimentation exercises," he said.

CJADC2 is the department's approach to developing both material and non-material solutions to deliver information and decision advantage to commanders.

The department aims to apply the CJADC2 approach across all warfighting domains to give warfighters the edge in deterring and, as necessary, defeating adversaries anywhere throughout the globe.

Ryder said Project Convergence will give warfighters the opportunity to experiment with technology at the operational level and further refine methods for synchronizing as a joint force.

Hicks' visit follows her announcement that the Pentagon has delivered its initial iteration of CJADC2.

The initial version is a minimum viable capability combining software applications, data integration and cross-domain operational concepts designed to give commanders critical decision advantage.

"The minimum viable capability for CJADC2 is real and ready now," Hicks said during the keynote address at Advantage DOD 2024: Defense Data and AI Symposium, a three-day event, earlier this month, hosted by the Pentagon's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office in Washington.

Hicks noted CDAO's critical role in getting the initial iteration across the finish line, after being challenged last summer to deliver a minimum viable capability in a matter of mere months.

The department intends to build on the success, Hicks said, to deliver the capability at scale.

"Our goal is to be ahead of the curve, not chasing the curve," she said. "CDAO will play a critical role in this next phase of our development, but so too will our operators and research, development and acquisition professionals throughout the Defense Department."

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Marcos adopts tough China stance in Canberra, 'to drag ally into provocative strategy'

Global Times

Australia should act prudently so ties with China don't take another nosedive: experts

By Wang Qi Published: Feb 29, 2024 10:21 PM

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. adopted a tough stance over the South China Sea disputes against China and sought greater security cooperation with allies during his visit to Australia on Thursday, a move that Chinese experts regarded as aiming to drag Australia into the Philippines' provocative and confrontational strategy.

Despite a high-profile reception and an agreement to boost collaboration on maritime security signed by the two sides, analysts warned that Australia should adopt a prudent attitude over questions concerning China's territorial sovereignty and integrity if Canberra does not want to become an anti-China tool of Manila and see the hard-won recovery of China-Australia relations fall to a low point once again.

In his address to the Australian parliament on Thursday, the first by a Philippine leader, Marcos said he will "not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory," alluding to the heating South China Sea dispute with China.

According to the Australian government, the two leaders announced new Memoranda of Understanding, including enhanced maritime cooperation to strengthen existing civil and defense maritime commitments.

Experts believe that the Philippines and Australia's pursuit of strengthening military cooperation may have negative consequences for regional security and stability: the regional arms race may intensify and the existing economic integration process in the Asia Pacific will be impacted.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Thursday that the current situation in the South China Sea remains generally stable, and relevant countries "should not harm the interests of other countries or undermine regional peace and stability" when conducting maritime security cooperation.

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Thursday that Marcos' trip is mainly about lobbying for more support for the Philippines to take more aggressive and risky actions on South China Sea disputes.

The Philippines hopes to drag Australia into its confrontational and provocative strategy against China, said Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, echoing Li.

Marcos has turned the Australian parliament into a platform to stir up regional tensions and to incite Australian people and politicians against China, and that looks malicious, said Chen.

Marcos' trip came after Albanese became the first sitting Australian prime minister in two decades to visit the Philippines in September 2023. During the trip, the two leaders signed a strategic partnership agreement that elevates their relationship. The Philippines and Australia also ran their first joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea in November 2023, showing the two sides' relationship getting warmer.

Marcos also stressed on Thursday that Australia and the US are the only countries with whom the Philippines has a "visiting forces agreement," according to media reports. He said the Philippines was on the "frontline" against actions that "undermine regional peace, erode regional stability."

Marcos' Australia trip, on the other hand, is actually cooperating with the US to promote Washington's creation of a "small NATO" in the Asia Pacific, Li said.

According to Chen, Australia is always under pressure from the US. In addition, Australia's opposition leader Peter Dutton has been criticizing the Albanese government for being "soft" on China as Australia prepares to usher in the next federal parliamentary election in 2025. In this case, the Australian government tried to use the Philippines to hype up China-related topics and attempted to show a tougher attitude toward China.

"However, the current strategy adopted by the Albanese government is seemingly more of a response to the US strategy on the surface, such as giving Marcos a high-level reception and signing agreements, but the Albanese government will take a cautious attitude in substance and specific actions," said Chen.

Relations between China and Australia had deteriorated under the government of previous prime minister Scott Morrision. Since Albanese took office, bilateral relations have improved and achieved basic stability, a situation that was hard-won.

Australians are well aware that no good will come of Australia becoming a tool of the Philippines to confront China, Chen said.

According to data from the Australian government, China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 26 percent of Canberra's goods and services trade with the world in FY2022-23. Two-way trade with China increased 12 percent in FY2022-23, totaling $316.9 billion.

Citing sources, the South China Morning Post said on Thursday that Australia has invited Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for a two-day visit in the second half of March.

China is resolute in defending its territorial sovereignty, said Chen, noting that if Australia chooses confrontation against China with the Philippines, Beijing-Canberra ties, which have managed to recover, will hit a low point again, with future disputes being more difficult to properly resolve.

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Press Briefing by IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, February 29th, 2024

IDF Press Release

February 29, 2024

29.02.24

IDF

"Good evening. Today is the 146th day of the war. IDF forces are operating in all arenas, both in defense and offense.

This evening, two Israeli civilians were murdered in a shooting attack in Eli. An armed terrorist who arrived at a gas station in Eli in a vehicle fired toward a vehicle in which there were three Israelis-two of them were murdered.

The terrorist was neutralized by a civilian, a reservist soldier in the Givati Brigade who returned from fighting in Khan Yunis, who operated courageously and with determination and brought the incident to an end. Many forces were dispatched to the scene and are currently searching the area. IDF forces, together with the ISA, have been conducting hundreds of counterterrorism activities in Judea and Samaria over the past few months and have apprehended about 3,400 terrorists during the war, including 1,500 Hamas terrorists.

As part of the preparations of all security forces for the Ramadan period and with consideration of the ongoing war, we are increasing training and improving the readiness of the forces of the Central Command for scenarios of escalation. We are operating around the clock to counter terrorism.

IDF forces are operating and striking throughout Gaza. over the past ten days we have eliminated over 450 terrorists in Gaza, 450 terrorists. Since the beginning of the war, we have eliminated over 13,000 terrorists. We have dismantled the military framework of Hamas' Khan Yunis Brigade in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza. Together with the ISA, we are conducting focused intelligence and operational efforts in Khan Yunis. We will utilize all our operational intelligence in Khan Yunis. We are currently operating in the Al-Amal neighborhood and the Absanim area in Khan Yunis, destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating terrorists.

Over the past two weeks, we have completed a targeted operation in Shati, northern Gaza, and IDF forces are now operating in Zaytun. We are returning to areas where we have previously operated following new intelligence received from our forces on the ground, locating new Hamas underground infrastructure and neutralizing them. We arrived at areas from which rockets are fired toward Israeli territory and destroyed the rocket-fire capabilities [there]. We have destroyed approximately 1,000 rocket launchers and launching pits since the beginning of the war. This was all done in order to create a sense of safety, safety which will enable residents to return to their homes.

In the early hours of the morning, during an operation to deliver humanitarian aid to northern Gaza, 30 trucks that made their way to northern Gaza encountered a mob of Palestinians that began to crowd around them and loot the equipment they carried.

The trucks entered from the Rafah Crossing, were inspected in the Kerem Shalom crossing- where inspections are very thorough-and continued to the northern part of Gaza, adjacent to the coast. About 400 meters from the [humanitarian] corridor, the trucks were stopped by the mob. Tens of Gazan residents were killed as a result of overcrowding, and the Palestinian trucks unfortunately ran over them during an attempt to escape.

An IDF force that was securing the area passed by the crowd and opened fire only when they encountered danger, when the mob moved toward it in a manner that endangered the force. The footage shows how tanks pass adjacent to the mob and do not harm it. I emphasize-contrary to accusations, we did not fire toward individuals seeking aid and we did not fire toward the humanitarian convoy from the ground nor from the air.

We are operating in accordance with the decision of the political echelon and transferring humanitarian aid into Gaza which will allow the continuation of combat. This is the fourth time this week that a truck convoy has passed to northern Gaza in this manner, and it is the first time an incident of this sort took place.

Tonight, Israeli civilians breached the Erez Crossing and entered Gaza in violation of the law, while harming the activity of IDF forces operating in Gaza. Some of them also expressed themselves in an extremely severe manner, swearing at the soldiers.

We condemn any criminal behavior. The fact that soldiers are being violently attacked by those they are defending is extremely serious. Soldiers are busy with this rather than fighting in Gaza. This requires a severe treatment.

On the northern border, the defensive and offensive activity of the forces continues. Our goal is to restore security to the north. In the last month, we eliminated over 60 Hezbollah terrorists, including three senior commanders at the rank of brigade commanders. Since the beginning of the war, we have eliminated over 220 Hezbollah terrorists and tens of other Palestinian terrorists and struck over 4,000 Hezbollah targets: weapons storage facilities, operational headquarters, strategic capabilities and Radwan posts and infrastructure. 4,000 targets. This week we struck compounds deep within Lebanon belonging to Hezbollah's aerial defense array. This is a distant strike in the Beqaa, this is an array that Hezbollah has invested a lot of money in, in an attempt to limit the IDF's freedom of action in Lebanon's skies.

The Israeli Air Force proves time and time again that there is no place we would want or be required to strike where we will not do so. Hezbollah continues to fire to the north, we know that. It is on our minds. They are paying an increasingly heavy price for that. I know that many residents of the north and Israeli residents are worried about combat in the north. Know this-IDF forces are widely deployed along the border and are striking Hezbollah with determination along the border and in Lebanon. Striking using great force. We will continue to update you on any developments. If there are special instructions for the Israeli home front, we will provide an immediate update within a sufficient time to allow the public to prepare. At this stage, I repeat, at this stage, there is no change in the home front and I ask that you refrain from passing on rumors and follow only the official instructions.

We are simultaneously training the forces, increasing readiness, and preparing for scenarios, including war, if required. We have one mission-to distance Hezbollah from the border and create secure conditions, security which will allow residents to return to their homes.

I'd like to address the hostages. If you can hear me, it's been 146 days and every day that passes is unbearable. I want you to know that every soldier in Gaza, every single soldier that is in Gaza, is fighting for you. That is the most important thing to the soldiers. [I want you to know] that your families are fighting for you-we meet with them, and they are telling us this. We will continue to do everything, we are obligated to bring you home."

"This morning, the IDF coordinated a convoy of 30 aid trucks to provide additional humanitarian assistance to the residents of Northern Gaza. This humanitarian aid came from Egypt; Went through a security screening at the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing in Israel, and then entered Gaza for distribution by private contractors. As these vital humanitarian supplies were making their way towards Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans descended upon the trucks. Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies. The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured.

Here are the facts:

At 4:40 AM the first aid truck in the humanitarian convoy started making its way through the humanitarian corridor that we were securing. Yes, the IDF was securing the humanitarian corridor so that the aid convoy could reach

its destination in northern Gaza. Our tanks were there to secure the humanitarian corridor for the aid convoy. Our UAVs were in the airto give our forces a clear picture from above during this humanitarian operation. At 4:45 AM, a mob ambushed the aid trucks bringing the convoy to a halt. As you can see, in this video, the tanks that were there to secure the convoy see the Gazans being trampledand cautiously tries to disperse the mob with a few warning shots in the air. When the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand the tank commander decided to retreat, to avoid harm to the thousands of Gazans that were there. Here you can see how cautious they were

when they were backing up. I think, as a military man, they were backing up securely, risking their own lives, not shooting at the mob. The Israel Defense Forces operate according to the rules of engagement and international law. No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy. I want to repeat that: no IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy. On the contrary  the IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point so that humanitarian aid could reach Gazan civilians in the North that are in need. We have been conducting humanitarian operations of this kind, for the last four nights, without any problem, [this is] the first night that we had this kind of event. This humanitarian aid was coordinated by Israel for the people of Gaza.

We want humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza. We are working around the clock to make this happen. Israel puts no limits on the amount of aid that can go into Gaza. We are working together with humanitarian organizations and the international community to help them solve the issue of aid distribution inside Gaza, it is a problem. This morning, humanitarian aid made its way to northern Gaza. There was no IDF strike on this aid. I repeatthere was no IDF strike on this aid. On the contrary, the IDF was conducting a humanitarian operation  that's why we were there. Because our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza. We are in a war that we did not start; we did not seek. Hamas started this war when it massacred and kidnapped Israeli civilians on October 7 and then went back into Gaza and hid behind Gazan civilians using them as human shields. We recognize the suffering of the innocent people of Gaza. This is why we are seeking ways to expand our humanitarian efforts. This is why we are conducting humanitarian operations like the one we conducted this morning."



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Gaza wound will not be erased from memory of world's free people: Iran FM spokesman

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Feb 29, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that The wound of Gaza will not be erased from the memory of the free people of the world, and the shame of supporting and silence towards mass killing and genocide will not be erased from the foreheads of the false claimants of human rights.

"More than 100 Palestinian citizens who were waiting in line to receive humanitarian aid in al-Rashid Street in Gaza City were martyred and more than 800 people were injured due to the barbaric attack of the Zionist regime," Kanaani wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday.

"The wound of Gaza will not be erased from the memory of the free people of the world and the stigma of supporting and keeping silent about mass killing and genocide will not be erased from the foreheads of the false claimants of human rights in America and Europe," he added.

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Hezbollah targets Zionists' military position: Report

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Feb 29, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The Lebanese Hezbollah has reported that it targeted a Zionist military site in occupied northern Palestine, media outlets have reported.

According to a Thursday statement published in Al-Manar, Hezbollah fighters targeted a base in northern occupied Palestine in a bid to support the Palestinian cause.

Israeli media reported on Thursday that a new wave of missiles was launched from Lebanon towards the Zionist settlement of Shlomi in occupied northern Palestine, resulting in at least five explosions in the settlement.

The media predicted that in a potential future war, Hezbollah would launch thousands of anti-armor missiles and tens of thousands of heavy shells into the northern and central regions of Occupied Palestine.

Hezbollah has been carrying out attacks on Zionist targets over the past few months in response to Tel Aviv's invasion of the Gaza Strip.

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US urges Israel not to restrict worshippers to Al-Aqsa

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Feb 29, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The US State Department on Wednesday called on Israel to refrain from restricting Palestinian worshipers from their access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy month of Ramadan.

Matthew Miller, the spokesman of the US State Department, was responding to a question raised by a reporter about a recent proposal by far-right Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to bar Palestinians from Islam's third holiest site.

Washington would ask Tel Aviv to facilitate the access of worshipers to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, Miller told reporters.

He said that "it is not in Israel's interest to inflame tensions in the West Bank or in a wider region" but declined to comment on whether such actions would have consequences.

Last week, Ben-Gvir proposed barring Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and other occupied territories in 1948 from praying at al-Aqsa.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a "final decision" has not been taken on the proposal and Israeli media have reported that the Israeli cabinet has revoked the authority of Ben-Gvir related to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, called Wednesday for a mass movement on al-Aqsa for the start of Ramadan.

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Israeli war minister horrified by troop casualties in Gaza

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Feb 29, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- Yoav Gallant, the Israeli Minister of Military (War) Affairs has said the regime, since its creation, has not seen a war like the one it launched against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in early October.

According to the Palestinian Sama news agency, Gallant acknowledged high number of casualties among the regime's forces since the onset of the genocidal war on Gaza.

The costs we have paid in terms of the number of dead and wounded are very high, he said.

Gallant stressed that "Israel has not seen such a war in 75 years and called for amendments to the conscription law" in response to a level of warfare meaning a significant shift in military dynamics.

The regime's military has so far confirmed 243 deaths among its soldiers since the launch of a ground invasion of Gaza in late October.

The announced number of casualties of the regime has reached more than 580 since the onset of the war following Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7, 2023.

Palestinian groups and some Israeli media outlets suspect the Israeli military figure, saying the regime is intentionally hiding the real number of casualties among its forces in the Gaza war to avoid the Israeli public anger.

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Israel uses white phosphorous bombs in Lebanon attacks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Feb 29, 2024

Tehran, IRNA -- The Israeli military has reportedly once again used US-supplied white phosphorous munitions in its latest attack on southern Lebanon.

According to Lebanon's Al Mayadeen news channel, area around the town of Mays al-Jabal as well as the towns of Tayba, Houla and Markaba were targeted with phosphorous bombs on Wednesday night.

The attacks followed hours after the Israeli artillery and warplanes shelled or bombed several towns including Tayr Harfa, Al-Jebin, Shihein, Kharba Salem, Siddiqin and Qana in southern Lebanon.

White phosphorus is not banned as a chemical weapon under international conventions but its use again civilian population is widely considered illegal under international law as is capable of burning human skin and disintegrating tissues deep inside the body.

Despite condemnations by international rights groups and organizations, Israel has consistently used phosphorus munitions in its aerial attacks or shelling of Lebanon and Gaza in recent months.

In December, a UN statement said it is "very concerned" over a report suggesting the Israeli use of US-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an attack on southern Lebanon that left 9 civilians injured in what a rights group said should be investigated as a war crime.

There numerous footage and photograph showing Israeli warplanes dropping white phosphorus bombs on Palestinian civilians during the current and previous wars on the Gaza Strip, which was also documented as evidence in a recent genocide complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

New civilian casualties

Meanwhile, 2 more Lebanese civilians have fallen victim to Israeli attacks on residential areas in southern Lebanon that happened in the early morning of Thursday.

According to Al-Manar TV, Israeli warplane fired missiles that struck buildings in the Bein al-Sadiqin and Kafra areas.

The Lebanese Relief and Rescue Organization has confirmed the deaths, saying a husband and wife were martyred in an attack on their home in the town of Kafra.

Tensions remain high in Lebanon amid exchanges of fire and shelling between the Hezbollah resistance movement and the Zionist army, with both sides targeting each other's positions almost on a daily basis.

Over the past four months, with the onset of Israel's bloodshed and genocide in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon's Hezbollah has targeted the regime's military positions in the north of the occupied territories, killing a number of Zionist soldiers and forcing thousands of settlers to leave the areas.

The Israeli regime has recently stepped up its attacks on Lebanon's residential areas that have left a number of civilians dead and prompted Hezbollah to intensify retaliatory attacks on the positions of the Zionist army in the occupied Palestinian territories.

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Lithuanian contingent back from Iraq awarded for maintaining international commitments

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2024-02-29

International cooperation | Security and defense policy

On February 29 the Force protection Unit (FPU) formed by King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion, Infantry Brigade Iron Wolf, was welcomed home after six months in the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) at a ceremony in Panevezys.

"We are fighting for our country not just in our country. Upholding international commitments is an organic part of collective defence. Contributions to NATO missions outside the Alliance allow us to expect the same Allied support in return. Let me also thank you your families for their understanding, patience and caring. When a solider is on duty far from home, family support is very necessary," said General V. Rupsys welcoming the contingent.

In composition of the Danish Mobile Force Protection Company, the Lithuanians were completing a non-combat operation for strengthening the Iraqi military and security institutions, enable them to fight terrorism, prevent the Islamic State from acting in Iraq and stabilize the country. The task of the Lithuanian FPU was to ensure security of NATO personnel against sporadic attacks of IS groups while they were training the Iraqi troops. The contingent was decorated for excellent service, dedication and personal contribution on multinational deployments.

"Lithuania contribution in Iraq is fighting terrorism. We have a commitment to help the Iraqi forces become stronger to prevent the return of the Islamic State. We enroll in multinational missions to advance security and stability in the region," said Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anusauskas.

The contingent of 29, the 7th rotation of the FPU, underwent pre-deployment training starting March 2023 in Lithuania followed by six weeks and certification in the Kingdom of Denmark alongside Danish colleagues.

Lithuania first contributed to NMI in early 2019. The unit served as part of the international battalion in Baghdad alongside Danish, Dutch and Polish troops. Since Denmark has terminated its participation in the mission, Lithuania has no further rotations scheduled either. Photo credits: King Mindaugas Hussar Battalion

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Deputy Secretary General in Spain: NATO is in a new era of strategic and industrial transformation

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

29 Feb. 2024

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana concluded his trip to Madrid on Thursday (29 February 2024) with an address to the students and staff of IE University.

Mr Geoana highlighted the central role that Spain plays in protecting NATO Allies from all threats from all directions. He also underlined Spain's important military and humanitarian support to Ukraine as they face Russia's brutal war of aggression. Mr Geoana emphasised that NATO is embracing the full 'innovation ecosystem' - the triple helix of government, private sector and academia - and that combining efforts is the best way to accelerate progress and develop the most effective technologies for our security and defence. He also emphasised the importance of encouraging the next generation to drive innovation, because the challenges we face demand new thinking and creativity.

During his trip to Madrid, Mr Geoana met with the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares Bueno. He also met with Spanish technology and defence industry representatives.

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Nicaragua's grim reality: Investigation by UN experts reveals crimes against humanity targeting civilians, including children and students, for political ends

Press releases

Multiple Mechanisms

29 February 2024

GENEVA (29 February 2024) -- Serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity, continue to be perpetrated by the Nicaraguan Government for political reasons, the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua said in their latest report today, detailing how the situation has deteriorated over the last year.

"President Ortega, Vice-President Murillo and the high-level State officials identified in the investigation should be held accountable by the international community, as should Nicaragua as a State that goes after its own people, targeting university students, Indigenous people, people of African descent, campesinos, and members of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations," said Jan Simon, the Chair of the Group of Experts.

The report found that the persecution by the Government of Nicaragua of real or perceived opponents has become more refined. Violations, abuses and crimes have been perpetrated not only to dismantle active opposition efforts, but also to eliminate all critical voices and dissuade, in the long term, any new organization and initiative of social mobilization.

As the Government has neared its goal of total destruction of critical voices in Nicaragua, patterns of violations of the right to life, security and integrity of the person have grown less prevalent. Instead, in 2023, there has been an exponential increase of patterns of violations focusing on incapacitating any kind of opposition in the long term.

"Nicaragua is caught in a spiral of violence marked by the persecution of all forms of political opposition, whether real or perceived, both domestically and abroad," said Simon. "In addition, the Government has solidified a spiral of silence incapacitating any potential opposition."

Angela Buitrago, a member of the Group of Human Rights Experts, said "the persecution extends beyond Nicaragua's borders, with Nicaraguans abroad facing deprivation of nationality and legal identity, lack of access to official documentation and consular support, as well as other violations impeding family reunification and affecting extensively conditions for earning a living."

Nicaraguan citizens have been left stateless and devoid of access to legal remedies, and many Nicaraguans are suffering from similar conditions caused by statelessness. Family members of victims of human rights violations are themselves victimized by the Government only for being related to real or perceived Government opponents.

These "violations by extension" are particularly serious when they affect children, who have been subjected to violations due to their relationship with, or the activities, and/or opinions expressed by their parents or family members. Many children have been separated from parents who were deported or banned from entering Nicaragua, and some have been denied valid passports to join their parents.

The report also highlights the consolidation and centralization of all State powers in the hands of President Ortega and Vice-President Murillo, particularly the total control exerted over the judicial branch.

"Centralization of power not only ensures impunity for perpetrators, but also undermines efforts towards accountability, said Ariela Peralta, another independent expert. "The Government has ensured that it remains in an increasingly solid bubble to perpetuate itself in power and annihilate anyone attempting to break that bubble."

The Group of Experts said that the enacted Amnesty Law further entrenches impunity by shielding serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention, and torture, from prosecution. The Group of Experts said that such amnesty provisions are incompatible with Nicaragua's obligations under international human rights law, particularly the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Group called on the Government to immediately release all persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty, cease violations, abuses and crimes, particularly persecution on politically motivated grounds, and undertake exhaustive, independent, and transparent investigations of documented violations, abuses, and crimes to hold perpetrators accountable.

The Group urged the international community to take immediate action by expanding sanctions against individuals and institutions involved in human rights violations. Sanctions are a minimum form of accountability in a country where impunity and criminalizing democracy is the rule.

Other recommendations included ensuring fair access to identification and status determination procedures for Nicaraguans deprived of their nationality, those forced to leave or those who have been denied entry into the territory of Nicaragua. The Group called on the International Community to make use of its findings in security, financial and trade relations and policies, be it within the framework of Financial Action Task Force, the International Monetary Fund, or when conditioning preferential access of Nicaragua to markets on compliance with Non-Trade Policy Objectives, inter alia.

"The effect on the Nicaraguan population is devastating," said Simon. "It will take the people of Nicaragua and the international community a significant amount of time and resources to recover everything lost under the rule of President Ortega and Vice President Murillo."

Background: The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. Established in March 2022, it is tasked to conduct thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018.

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MATSAPHA  Golden Jubilee textile firm has recently implemented a new dress code policy, requiring all employees to wear pants, including females.

While this rule is intended to improve safety, it has caused some controversy among employees who have religious or cultural beliefs that prevent them from wearing pants. Many employees, especially traditionally married women, are concerned that this policy will negatively impact their social status, while others are of the view that it will affect their ability to continue working at the firm.

Pants

One employee shared with this publication that she had never worn pants from a young age until her adult life. She said her husband met and loved her as a woman who did not wear pants, and one of the reasons he chose to marry her was because of that.

It is quite disturbing that we are forced to wear pants against our will and preference. This has been ongoing for quite a while now, and we can only comply because this is the only way we can put food on the table, the employee claimed. She said this has had a negative effect on her relationship with her husband, who often expressed his anguish over her wearing pants. She said he was a traditional family man who did not believe in women who wore pants, as he felt they were controlling.

In the same breath, a married woman said her husband first thought she was lying when she told him that she was forced to wear pants at work. She said he thought she was having an affair and this did not sit well with him. The employee said it was unfortunate that they were forced to wear the pants, when they could also be provided with long overalls to protect them from harm in the workplace.

Unmarried

Another worker said although she was unmarried, she did not believe in wearing pants, as she considered them masculine. She said she grew up in a Zion Church where people who wore pants were deemed as rebellious. In her opinion, she disliked pants because she was a full-figured woman who, when wearing pants, exposed her assets. She said she did not like to see her body in pants as it made her uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Joe Liao, one of the management members, confirmed the companys policy. He revealed that the company provided pants for women while males provided their own. He said the pants and trousers were worn inside the workshop. He said they were comfortable and made employees to be relaxed, as per the international labour standards. Liao mentioned that the pants fully covered employees.

The reason why we do this is for safety reasons. We dont want a situation where a needle falls off on a workers lap and she gets injured, he explained. On another note, Liao added that the company did what he termed a foundational training on its staff, whereby, before they resumed work in the morning, staff was taken through some training. He said they were reminded of their duties and how they were expected to execute them.

Basically, management shares information to the team and our supervisor reminds them what they should do and how, he said. He elaborated that the companys culture required proactive employees. He emphasised that they were compliant to the labour laws. Liao said this was done in the presence of the human resources personnel.



When reacting to the company policy of wearing pants, One Billion Rising condemned it, regarding it as an infringement of womens rights. Colani Hlatjwako, the Director of the womens organisation group, stressed that companies should learn to consider that they were hiring human beings, who had rights that ought to be respected, during the hiring process.

Exploited

They should be mindful that they are not just hiring objects that do not exist, who can be exploited anyhow. That is why internationally, the rights of workers are adhered to. If you create a policy that discriminates workers, it means you do not value the rights of employees, Hlatjwako said.

The director went on to state that every employee should feel respected and comfortable in the environment they were working in. She expressed her discontent about the new company policy, stating their wish for the management of the company was to comply with Eswatini laws and the Constitution. She reiterated that the companys policies should not be discriminatory and should be in line with the kingdoms laws.


Afghanistan: UN expert calls on international community to prioritise human rights of Afghans in any 'normalisation'

Press releases

Special Procedures

29 February 2024

GENEVA (29 February 2024) -- The deteriorating human rights situation in Afghanistan two and a half years on is causing unacceptable suffering, a UN expert said today. He called for urgent action by the Taliban and the international community to halt this downward spiral and give hope to Afghans.

"Women and girls are being erased from public life, peaceful dissent is not tolerated, violence and the threat of violence are used with impunity to control and instil fear in the population," said Richard Bennett, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan. "This is compounded by an economic and humanitarian crisis that results in the denial of economic, social and cultural rights."

"There are public executions and use of corporal punishment by the Taliban, and credible reports of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture of opponents of the regime, who face discrimination and marginalisation, as do marginalised communities such as Hazaras," he said.

In his report to the Human Rights Council, Bennett outlined the Taliban's increasing violations of women's and girls' rights, including harsh enforcement of their dress code.

The expert found that the institutionalised, systematic and widespread nature of gender-based discrimination was unparalleled, rising to the level of gender persecution and justifying being characterised as "gender apartheid". He will report further on this issue at the Human Rights Council session in June 2024.

"I am deeply concerned about the ban on education for women and girls beyond the sixth grade and the ban on work for women employed by NGOs and the United Nations," the Special Rapporteur said. He also highlighted the dangerous human rights situation of children and the LGBTQI+ community in Afghanistan.

Bennett pointed to the arbitrary detention of activists and journalists for exercising their rights.

"The fear of arbitrary arrest and, in some cases, enforced disappearance by the Taliban has further restricted what remains of Afghanistan's rapidly diminishing civic space," he said.

"I share the concern of many Afghans that despite these worrying developments, parts of the international community appear to be moving towards 'normalisation' of relations with the de facto authorities," the expert said.

"It is vital that the international community is steadfast that normalisation will require significant improvements in human rights, including the situation of women and girls," the Special Rapporteur said. "To do otherwise would send a concerning message about their commitment to women everywhere".

He urged the international community to stand together for the human rights of the people of Afghanistan. "For an Afghanistan at peace with itself and its neighbours, I reiterate my calls on the Taliban to improve their human rights record and building on small gains in the private and health sectors," Bennett said. "Human rights are the cornerstone of sustainable, long-lasting peace."



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Houthi: Yemen to introduce 'military surprises' in Red Sea operations

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 5:13 PM

Yemen's armed forces will introduce "military surprises" in their Red Sea operations, Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says.

"Our military operations will continue and advance and we have surprises that our enemies will not expect at all," al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday.

Yemeni forces have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against Israeli and Israel-bound ships since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's war on Gaza.

Al-Houthi said 54 ships have been targeted in Yemeni operations in support of Gaza so far, adding rarely does any ship associated with the Israeli enemy pass through Bab al-Mandab.

"We have launched 384 missiles and drones at the ships that were moving towards the occupying regime in the Red Sea," he said.

The United States and Britain began striking Yemen last month in order to dissuade the country from targeting Israeli ships which carry arms and logistics for the onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Al-Houthi said the Americans and the British have received "painful blows" from the Yemeni armed forces in retaliation.

"The American and British attacks have not affected our military power in any way. On the contrary, the process of increasing and expanding our attacks continues.

"The Americans are now admitting their failure to achieve their aggressive goals against our country and are surprised by our strength," he said.

Al-Houthi said what insures the navigation security in the Red Sea is for any country not to participate in the Israeli aggression against Gaza.

He said the Americans and those who drag the United States towards the militarization of the Red Sea are the ones who undermine international navigation.

Warning to Arab and Islamic states

Al-Houthi also criticized the silence of the regional countries on the "crimes committed by the Zionists against the Palestinians".

He said if Muslims and Arabs helped the people of Gaza, "these people could finish off the enemy in the war fronts".

"Why is the Islamic Ummah's level of support for the Palestinian people not the same as that of the United States and the West for the Zionist enemy?" he asked.

Arab countries, al-Houthi said, cannot shirk their responsibility, "because this has serious consequences for them".

"Genocide and heinous crimes in Palestine reveal the truth of Zionists' hatred of Muslims, especially Arabs. The Arabs are the first to be targeted by the Zionist Jews and they should act quickly... unfortunately, among the Arabs, they are very indifferent to the conspiracies against them."

Iran, first to support Palestine

Al-Houthi also said most Arab-Islamic countries have not done anything about the Israeli threat to the Islamic Ummah, adding "Iran was the first country to support Palestine against the Zionist enemy".

The Islamic Ummah, he said, should wake up from its slumber and fulfill its responsibilities with wisdom and insight.

"The Islamic Ummah should learn from the resistance of Iraq, which defeated America. The Ummah should learn from the efficiency and effectiveness of the Yemen front, which even the enemy has admitted."

Al-Houthi also touched on the developments in southern Lebanon and the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel on the northern borders of the occupied Palestinian territories.

"The south Lebanon front has proven its efficiency with the operations of Hezbollah which has scored many victories. The war and conflict continues, and its real consequences will be the despair of the enemies and their inevitable defeat," he said.

US-Israeli defeat

Al-Houthi said the Americans have lent enormous support to Israel in its war on Gaza, and they are the ones who have prevented a ceasefire despite widespread international demands.

"The behavior of Western countries, especially America, is in complete contradiction with their slogans about human rights."

Al-Houthi said the dimensions of Israeli crimes, in which the US is directly involved, is beyond any imagination and breaks all taboos.

"The West makes contradictory decisions about human rights, and the aggression against Gaza proves the truth of this claim. America's decisions about humanity and human rights are the most contradictory," he said.

The Ansarullah leader said Israel has failed in forcing the Palestinian to migrate from Gaza despite killing, destroying and starving the people.

"The occupying regime has also failed miserably in eliminating Gaza fighters and returning its captives despite the massive support of the Americans.

"Although five months have passed since the invasion and siege of Gaza, the resistance fighters in Gaza are fighting bravely and effectively against the enemy," he said.

Al-Houthi said the "occupiers have committed 2,735 massacres in the genocidal war targeting civilians in Gaza, including the latest massacre on al-Rashid Street".

"As a result of the aggression in Gaza, there are more than 100 thousand martyrs, wounded, missing and prisoners."

'Gaza beyond a disaster'

He touched on the outbreak of infectious diseases in Gaza, saying they have infected about one third of the population of the besieged strip.

Most of the children in Gaza suffer from hunger and disease, with the occupiers continuing to deprive them of food and intensify the siege, he added.

According to al-Houthi, the aid allowed to Gaza does not meet 5% of the population's needs, while trucks are prevented from entering the Gaza Strip.

"The occupying regime continues the hunger war in Palestine, which has led to the death of some children who were forced to eat animal feed instead of flour due to starvation.

"All the people of Gaza are going through a real tragedy, and what is happening in the north of the Gaza Strip is beyond a disaster," he added.

Nevertheless, the people of Gaza and their resistance are steadfast in spite of the support of the West for Israel and the despair of the Arabs, and according to the occupiers, they have dealt significant damage to Israel, al-Houthi said.

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Israel marks over 600 acres of seized Palestinian land for settlement expansion

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 3:47 PM

Israel plans to seize hundreds of acres of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank to expand a settlement. It is viewed as one of the regime's biggest land-grab schemes.

The regime's authorities on Thursday appropriated several tracts of land near the settlement. The territory would now be designated as part of the Maale Adumim settlement, east of al-Quds.

The tracts amount to 2,640 dunams, or 652 acres. The West Bank, including East al-Quds, is among the territories Israel captured in 1967.

Much of the international community deems the settlements illegal. On February 24, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington deemed the West Bank settlements inconsistent with international law.

The Palestinian Authority has called on all countries to put individuals tied to settler organizations or companies investing in settlement construction across the occupied Palestinian territories on their terror lists.

The United Nations has already published a list of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians have called for serious international intervention to force the regime to stop the settlement expansion.

The UN is concerned about the surging violence perpetuated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, terming it "terrorism" against the Palestinians.

Acts of violence by Israeli settlers against the Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank.

The regime has escalated its acts of aggression against the Palestinians across the West Bank since early October 2023, when it began the campaign of death and destruction in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In its latest report, the UN said around 400 Palestinians, including at least 100 children, have been killed in the West Bank since.

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Feb. 28: 'Axis of Resistance' operations against Israeli occupation

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 10:58 AM

By Press TV Website Staff

Amid Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians so far, including at least 14,000 children, resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime and its Western backers.

The operations carried out by the Palestinian and regional resistance groups on Wednesday, February 28, are as follows:

Al-Qassam Brigades' operations on Feb. 28:

Shelled the command headquarters of the Israeli military's Eastern Brigade 769 "Gibor Camp" and "the Airport Barracks in Beit Hillel" in northern occupied Palestine from southern Lebanon with two rocket barrages.

Targeted an Israeli infantry force inside a building in the Abasan Al-Kabira area, east of Khan Younis city, with an anti-personnel rocket, causing casualties.

Engaged in clashes with Israeli forces near the Shafi'i Mosque, west of Khan Younis city, resulting in injuries to many Israeli soldiers.

Targeted an Israeli armored personnel carrier (APC) with "Shouaz" and another explosive device in the Abasan Al-Kabira area, east of Khan Younis city.

Targeted two Merkava-4 tanks with Yassin-5 and Tandem rockets on the Project Road, west of Khan Younis city.

Shelled concentrations of Israeli army vehicles and soldiers behind the Al-Najm Stars Hall in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Gaza City, with heavy-caliber mortar shells.

Al-Quds Brigades' operations on Feb. 28:

Shelled the "Kisufim" site of the Israeli military with a salvo of 107mm rockets.

Targeted a Merkava tank and a D9-bulldozer with a Tandem rocket and RPGs in the axis west of Khan Younis city.

Clashed with an Israeli infantry force using appropriate weapons southeast of the Qaraara area in Khan Younis city, resulting in Israeli casualties.

Shelled a gathering of Israeli forces on Street 10, south of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Gaza City, with mortal shells.

Al-Aqsa Brigades' operations on Feb. 28:

Targeted two Israeli military vehicles with RPGs, west of Khan Younis city.

Targeted an Israeli armored personnel carrier (APC) with a "Storm" explosive device in the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis city.

Shelled a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles in areas southeast of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City with a barrage of 60-caliber mortars.

Shelled gatherings of Israeli soldiers and their vehicles with heavy mortars, south of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City.

Engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli forces using automatic and appropriate weapons, east of Khan Younis city.

Martyr Omar Al-Qasim Forces' operations on Feb. 28:

Targeted an Israeli military vehicle with an RPG in the Al-Balad area, Khan Younis city.

Engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli forces in Khan Younis city with heavy and appropriate weapons.

Mujahideen Brigades' operations on Feb. 28:

Sniped an Israeli soldier in the southern Zaytoun axis, Gaza City.

Shelled a gathering of Israeli forces, east of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Gaza City, with 60mm caliber mortar shells.

Engaged in clashes with Israeli forces in the axes in Khan Younis city with appropriate weapons.

Hezbollah's operations on Feb. 28:

Eastern sector:

At around 17:00 local time, the Ramtha site in Shebaa was targeted with missiles.

At around 17:05 local time, the Al-Summaqa site in Shebaa was targeted with missiles.

Western sector:

At around 17:00 local time, Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Birkat Risha site were targeted with missiles.

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Israeli attack on Gazans waiting for humanitarian aid kills 150, injures hundreds

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 9:46 AM

At least 70 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more injured in an attack by Israeli military forces on the northern Gaza Strip, on people waiting for humanitarian aid.

According to Palestinian media reports, Israeli troops attacked civilians who were waiting for humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza City on Thursday, resulting in the killing of at least 150 people and injuring of more than 1,000 others.

Scores of wounded individuals were transferred to al-Shifa Hospital amid the Israeli regime's continued bombardment and shelling on Gaza City.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the "cold-blooded massacre" of civilians in the Nablsi Square.

In a press statement, the ministry said the attack was part of the Israeli regime's ongoing "genocidal war," and called on the international community to "urgently intervene" to protect civilians.

Earlier in the day, local media reports said 47 Palestinian martyrs were transferred to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza's Deir el-Balah due to the crimes committed by the Israeli military in the besieged territory.

News sources also reported artillery attacks by the Israeli regime on a camp in the city of Khan Yunis, as well as the eastern areas of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The latest development comes as aid agencies have sounded the alarm of a looming famine in Gaza's north due to Israel's blockade on the entry of aid.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qudra, has also called for "immediate action" by international organizations to prevent the deaths of children due to "malnutrition, dehydration and widespread famine."

US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power also said in a video posted on social media platform X that Israel needs to open more crossings so that "vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dramatically surged."

"This is a matter of life and death," she said, while pointing to the deteriorating conditions in Gaza.

Israel waged its brutal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

According to Gaza Health Ministry, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's brutal war on the territory began nearly five months ago.

The Tel Aviv regime has 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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Breakaway Transnistria asks Russia for 'protection' against Moldova

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 7:55 AM

Pro-Russian officials in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transnistria have called for help from Moscow to protect them in the face of increased pressure from Moldova's government.

The appeal to Moscow was made on Wednesday at a special session of Transnistria's Congress of Deputies.

"[We] appeal to the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Russian Federation, requesting measures to protect Transnistria amidst increased pressure from Moldova," read a resolution adopted by Transnistrian lawmakers.

The congress accused the Moldovan government of initiating an "economic war" on the region by blocking crucial imports and imposing customs regulations that force companies in Transnistria to pay import duties into the Moldovan budget. This move has been described as an attempt to isolate the region and turn it into a "ghetto."

The resolution noted that more than "220,000 Russian citizens" live inside the region as Moscow has recently made it easier for Moldovans to get Russian citizenship.

At its last session in 2006, the assembly asked to join Russia, though Moscow did not act on that request.

Russian media outlets cited Vadim Krasnoselsky, the self-proclaimed president of the region, as requesting assistance from Moscow due to what he described as a genocide being carried out against Transnistria.

"Protection of interests of Transnistrian people,our compatriots is one of Russia's priorities, and Russian agencies review all Tiraspol's requests carefully," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response.

In a recent development, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Serebrian posted that Moldova firmly opposes the "propaganda statements" originating from Tiraspol, the nominal capital of Transnistria.

Earlier, a Moldovan government spokesman said there was "no danger of escalation and destabilization of the situation in the Transnistrian region. This is another campaign to create hysteria."

The Transnistria resolution comes just a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to make an annual address to the Russian parliament, coinciding with Ukraine's recent setbacks on the battlefield.

Since Moscow launched its full-scale military operation in Ukraine, Moldova has expressed concern that the Kremlin could use Transnistria to open a new front in the southwest, near the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa.

The thin strip of land, home to about 470,000 people, has been de facto controlled by pro-Russian forces since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 but is internationally recognized as part of Moldova.

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'Starvation as method of warfare': Gaza facing 'mass killing of children in slow motion'

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 7:38 AM

The international charity organization "Save the Children" has voiced concern over the high death toll of children in the Gaza Strip, saying the besieged territory is facing a "mass killing of children in slow motion" as Israel continues to block safe delivery of aid.

Jason Lee, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territories, made the remarks on Wednesday, warning that time is running out for children in Gaza, particularly in northern areas, where they are at the highest risk of starvation due to a tight Israeli siege.

"What we are witnessing in Gaza is a mass killing of children in slow motion because there is no food left and nothing getting to them. They are dying because the world has failed to protect them, and now families are fleeing to Israel's next military target to avoid starvation, caught in a death trap," Lee said.

He went on to say that the international community must take serious action to prevent starvation in the blockaded territory.

"Whenever we learn lessons from the past, we resolve to never again let "atrocity crimes" unfold. The test is now right in front of us. Children are being starved while trucks of food are denied access and continued fighting prevent delivery of the little aid coming into Gaza. We are failing that test," Lee said.

"Unless action is taken by the international community, to uphold their responsibilities under the Geneva Conventions and prevent the most serious crimes of international concern - including the use of starvation as a method of warfare - history will and should judge us all," he added.

Lee further noted that Save the Children is calling for an immediate, definitive ceasefire to save and protect the lives of kids in Gaza, as well as the safe deliver of humanitarian aid supplies to the territory.

He also urged all donor governments and the rest of the international community to resume and scale up funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as quickly as possible.

Seven children die at Kamal Adwan Hospital

The latest development comes as at least seven children have died at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia due to malnutrition and dehydration, according to the director of the hospital.

The Health Ministry said that two children also died at the al-Shifa Hospital for the same reason.

The Israeli military has restricted the delivery of humanitarian supplies to northern Gaza for weeks, and thousands of children are going without sufficient food and medication.

Since early October, the Tel Aviv regime has cut the free flow of water, food, fuel, and power to the Gaza Strip, placing restrictions on the international aid sent to the region.

The prevention of aid convoys came as aid agencies like UNRWA are struggling to help Gazans who are under the incessant Israeli bombardments.

Nearly 30,000 people, including 14,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its latest aggression on Gaza in early October.

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Israeli war minister admits regime's military paying 'high price' in Gaza

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 7:00 AM

The Israeli minister of military affairs has highlighted the heavy toll the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip is inflicting on the regime's army, while making the case for amending the conscription law to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews amid manpower shortages.

Yoav Gallant made the remarks in a televised address on Wednesday, as the occupying regime has achieved no success in its genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza for nearly the past five months.

"We are paying a very high price in our ranks...The costs we incur in terms of the numbers of deaths and injuries are very high," he said.

Israel waged its brutal US-backed war on the besieged Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

However, 146 days into the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its objectives of "destroying Hamas" and finding Israeli captives despite killing nearly 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 70,300 others.

Gallant said Israel's "security challenges demonstrate that everyone must bear the burden [of service]. All parts of society."

"To attain the goals of the war, to handle the threats from Gaza, from Lebanon, from [the West Bank], and to prepare for the emerging threats from the east, we need unity and partnership in decisions about our future," he added.

The Israeli minister also said that the "burden of service" has been a challenge for the past decades, thus requiring "agreements and decisions, which we haven't made in 75 years."

Recently, the Israeli military has proposed changes to the army draft law as it prepares for a protracted war in the Gaza Strip.

The amendments include raising terms for male mandatory army service and female soldiers in combat and other special roles to three years. Currently, men serve for two years and eight months and women for two years.

They further increase the age for retirement from reserve duty to 45 for regular reservists, 50 for officers and 52 for those serving in special roles. Currently, Israeli soldiers can bow out at 40, officers at 45, and those in special roles at 49.

The plan has sparked calls to end military service exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox community.

A resolution passed by the Israeli cabinet in June 2023 instructed the Israeli military not to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews until March 31, 2024, while it finds a way to comply with a court ruling that determined the community's military service exemptions to be discriminatory and illegal.

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Philippines will not yield 'one square inch' of maritime territory, Marcos says

The Philippine president told Australia's Parliament that the two countries must fight together to uphold rules-based order.

By BenarNews Staff 2024.02.29 -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday vowed to resist any effort by a foreign power to infringe upon the Philippines' sovereignty, in a strongly worded address to the Australian Parliament amid growing Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

Marcos, who arrived in Canberra for a two-day state visit on Wednesday, told a special joint sitting of the two chambers it was an imperative that the South China Sea be protected from actions that violated international law.

The waterway is a "critical global artery that is crucial to the preservation of regional and global peace," said Marcos, who has taken a bolder stance than his predecessor in dealing with competing claims in the South China Sea.

China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea, putting it at odds with the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

"I shall never tire of repeating the declaration that I made from the first day that I took office: I will not allow any attempt by any foreign power to take even one square inch of our sovereign territory," Marcos told Australian legislators, without naming China, according to transcripts released by his office in Manila.

"The challenges that we face may be formidable, but equally formidable is our resolve. We will not yield," he said.

Marcos said the Philippines and Australia must "reinforce each other's strengths" and protect the peace the two countries fought for during World War II.

"Just as we fought to build our rules-based international order, so are we now fighting to protect it," Marcos said. "We draw strength from the consistent and unequivocal support of Australia and the international community for the lawful exercise of our rights, which have been settled under international law."

Before departing Manila on Wednesday, Marcos shared a report by the Philippine Coast Guard indicating that they had monitored at least three ships from China's People's Liberation Army Navy just near Bajo de Masinloc, the local name of Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal has been under Chinese control since 2012 after a standoff with Manila. The Philippines, under then-President Benigno Aquino III filed a case against Beijing at an international arbitration court.

The following year, then-President Benigno Aquino III filed a case against Beijing in an international arbitration court. In 2016, the court ruled in favor of Manila and invalidated China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea on historical grounds. Beijing has never acknowledged the ruling and has refused to leave the area.

Aquino's successor, Rodrigo Duterte, refused to make a move to compel Beijing. Instead, he sought to appease Beijing in exchange for promises of Chinese investments in the Philippines. This allowed Beijing to gain a firmer foothold in the region.

Marcos has worked hard to reaffirm security ties with traditional ally the United States, as well as Australia, since taking office in June 2022.

On Wednesday, Marcos and Albanese signed new agreements on civil maritime security, marine environment protection, maritime domain awareness, and efforts to uphold international law.

Marcos is scheduled to attend a special summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Melbourne next week.

Jason Gutierrez and Jeoffrey Maitem reported from Manila, the Philippines.

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 February 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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Was The Exceptional Separatist 'Congress' A Swing And A Miss For Transdniester's Breakaway Elite?

By Andy Heil and RFE/RL's Moldovan Service February 29, 2024

A breakaway "congress" in Moldova's Transdniester eyed as a possible portent of escalation in a decades-old frozen conflict came and went on February 28, with Chisinau seemingly dodging a bullet aimed by pro-Russian separatists at its ramped-up effort to reassert economic influence in the renegade region.

Whether initiated in Tiraspol or behind the scenes in Moscow, the rare gathering of the "Congress of the Transdniestrian People's Deputies" produced an appeal by its breakaway leaders to the Kremlin for protection ahead of a major annual address the next day by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The congress's final statement appeared crafted to contribute to Kremlin talking points about safeguarding the rights of beleaguered Russian nationals and Russian speakers in those places. But it stopped well short of expressly renewing calls for recognition or annexation by Moscow.

"The Congress is asking the Russian Duma and the Federation Council (the upper chamber of Russia's parliament) to implement measures to protect Transdniester in the face of the increasing pressure applied by the Republic of Moldova," it said.

But Putin, despite laying out a lengthy list of perceived grievances and threats against Russia's neighbors and the West, made no mention of the Transdniestrian situation in his February 29 speech.

The last meeting of the Congress of the Transdniestrian People's Deputies came at the height of local tensions in 2006, when the separatists organized an unrecognized referendum on "potential future integration into Russia" and rejected reintegration into the rest of Moldova.

This week's separatists' congress, in the shadow of the war next door in Ukraine, followed two tumultuous years in which Moldova has expressed fears of becoming a second Russian front and accused Moscow of trying to dramatically destabilize the country and its pro-Western government.

Russian troops intervened in a 1992 war that pitted separatists against Moldova's then-pro-Western leadership and derailed Chisinau's EU aspirations for decades, and Moscow has kept a contingent of troops in Transdniester -- a sliver of land between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border -- despite Moldovan demands for a withdrawal.

Moldova was granted EU candidate status in mid-2022, after accelerating the bid following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

More recently, President Maia Sandu and Moldova's pro-European government this year embarked on highly public campaigns to reassert influence in vital parts of the economy in Transdniester, including a new customs code and reintegrating natural gas and power flows to the region into a national framework. Also, after weeks of deliberation, Chisinau in early February announced a tougher stance toward Moscow's routine circumvention of its objections to Russian polling stations being opened in Transdniester, this time for Putin's reelection to a fifth term in a March 15-17 election.

Separatist leader Vadim Krasnoselski had reiterated his determination to seek Transdniester's integration into Russia -- pursuant to an unrecognized 2006 referendum -- as recently as a year ago.

Then in late February, Krasnoselski called for a convocation of the "Congress of the Transdniestrian People's Deputies at all levels" to discuss alleged "pressures exerted by the Republic of Moldova." He cited threats to the "rights" and "social situation [and] economy of the Transdniestrian people," shorthand for the roughly one-fifth of Moldova's population who live on the so-called Left Bank of the Dniester River outside central government control.

Official news from the separatists' de facto capital, Tiraspol, dried up ahead of the congress.

But speculation by a former separatist official who eventually ran afoul of Krasnoselski's regime sparked fears a week ago that the congress was aimed at issuing what he described as "a request...on behalf of citizens living on the Left Bank to Russia to accept Transdniester into the Russian Federation."

Writing on Facebook, Ghenadi Ciorba expressly linked the congress to the Putin speech and suggested that "most likely, based on an analysis of the situation, a command was passed on from Moscow to hold this congress."

The congress would remind the world about the 2006 referendum on joining Russia, he claimed, and he predicted that "on February 29, Putin will announce this in his address, and the Federal Assembly, in an accelerated order, will decide to grant the request."

Referendum 'Warning'

Ciorba's prediction prompted the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which follows the region closely in connection with the Ukraine war, to publish a "warning" that Transdniester "may organize a referendum on annexation to Russia to support [a] Russian hybrid operation against Moldova." While it acknowledged that it appeared "unlikely" that Putin would "in the most dangerous course of action," declare the annexation of Transdniester, the ISW said the Russian leader "will more likely welcome whatever action the Transnistrian Congress of Deputies takes and offer observations on the situation." It called it a "a high-impact event of indetermined probability."

As the Ciorba post and its reverberations abroad spawned considerable local coverage, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service highlighted his past as a senior official in what Chisinau calls the "separatist regime," including his leadership of the Transdniestrians' media and communications service. It quoted a former Moldovan deputy prime minister for reintegration, Alexandru Flenchea, who suggested the event being organized in Tiraspol was "a political and propaganda response to Chisinau's economic actions."

Dionis Cenusa, a political risk analyst and visiting fellow at the Eastern Europe Studies Center of the Royal United Services Institute, similarly said on February 28 that the breakaway Transdniestrians were aiming to use the "'annexation scenario' to provoke concern and therefore interest in the region's claims."

He suggested that Tiraspol was using the "security crisis caused by Russia's war against Ukraine" to elicit "carrots" from Chisinau at a time of heightened "political competition in Moldova."

Rather than any genuine appeal for recognition or annexation by Russia, he said, "The whole event is an exhibition of the separatist region's concerts to the [international] community."

'Small Steps' For Reintegration

In Tirana for a Ukraine-Western Balkans summit, Sandu fielded a question about Transdniester by saying Moldova was "safe today thanks to the bravery of the Ukrainian soldiers" and she reiterated Chisinau's determination to resolve the frozen conflict over Transdniester without violence.

"Moldova is committed to a peaceful solution to the Transdniestrian conflict," Sandu said. "What the Moldovan government is doing today is making small steps for the economic reintegration of the region."

A deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, Christopher Smith, also visited Tiraspol in the days before the congress. Krasnoselski reportedly complained to Smith of the threat of economic pressure on the region from Chisinau.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also commented on the speculation about a possible annexation announcement. "For several days now, people in Chisinau have been speculating and wondering what decisions this forum might make," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, before pivoting to suggest the ginned-up expectations were cause for Western concern. "Well, apparently, the same panic gripped NATO."

So, the congress and the resulting resolution indeed drew international attention to Transdniester and its separatist dilemma.

However, the separatists' appeal to Moscow was accompanied by a plea to the United Nations and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union, the latter two of which have led past efforts to negotiate a permanent peace to end the "frozen conflict" over Transdniester. They urged those international groups to "prevent Moldovan pressures" and renew negotiations.

But the Transdniester question and greater integration of the region into the national power grid and national life remain potential obstacles to Moldova's EU membership, although the bloc made it an official candidate country when a handful of bids accelerated after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022.

And much of what the Moldovan government has set out to do -- bringing economic activity in an otherwise lawless Transdniester to heel, particularly in regulating trade with the European Union, punishing separatism, and shutting down Russia's patronage through heavily subsidized natural gas supplies to separatist groups -- threatens the breakaway elite who have amassed huge fortunes under the status quo.

That points to what might have been the real aim of the Transdniestrian separatists' congress and the premature warnings of an imminent referendum or push for annexation by Russia.

"Due to its authoritarian and semi-criminal character," in the words of Cenusa, the political risk analyst, the Transdniestrian administration "must, in fact, find a new balance of forces to coexist with the new conditions put in place by Chisinau."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-transdniester- separatist-congress-annexation-russia/32842823.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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Shaping beauty in cold: The artisans behind China's impressive ice and snow sculptures

People's Daily Online) 13:38, March 01, 2024

"We worked nine hours a day outdoors in temperatures ranging from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius below zero," recalled Yu Zhanwu, a 48-year-old Chinese artisan, as he discussed his team's construction of a dragon-themed snow sculpture in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province.

The team spent about a month carving a dragon-themed sculpture, the main attraction of Jingyue Snow World, a scenic spot within Jingyuetan National Forest Park.

Photo shows snow sculptures in Jingyue Snow World in Changchun, northeast China's Jilin Province. (Photo/Changchun Daily)

"The snow sculpture is 70 meters long and 13 meters tall. We used 13,000 cubic meters of snow to create it," said Yu, a former wood carver with over a decade of experience in ice and snow sculpture creation.

"Our hands hurt from the cold. We often become drenched in sweat during work, and as soon as we stop, we feel cold all over," shared Yu. Despite the challenges, he expressed satisfaction in crafting ice and snow sculptures, finding joy in the process and experiencing a profound sense of achievement upon completion.

During the recent Spring Festival holiday, the exquisite craftsmanship of artisans like Yu drew many visitors to Jingyuetan National Forest Park, where they marveled at the ice and snow sculptures on display.

The scenic area witnessed a remarkable surge in tourism during the holiday period, skyrocketing by 263 percent to 81,000 visitors, with revenue soaring by 422 percent year on year, according to a credible source.

The thriving business of the scenic area has benefited from an upswing in winter tourism across northern Chinese cities this year.

The stunning ice and snow sculptures in these cities are gaining popularity among tourists thanks to their exceptional artistry. Visitors are captivated by the intricate designs and are eager to learn more about the skilled artisans who make them.

In neighboring Heilongjiang Province, there are approximately 1,000 professional ice and snow sculptors and 3,000 amateur sculptors, according to Zhang Xin, deputy head and secretary-general of the Ice and Snow Sculpture Committee of the Heilongjiang Artists Association.

The province's ice and snow sculpture industry still faces a considerable shortage of professional sculptors, according to Zhang, who is also a teacher at the Fine Art College of Harbin Normal University in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province.

The college launched an ice and snow sculpture major in 2008 and has since cultivated nearly 200 highly competent talents in ice and snow art, noted Zhang.

"It takes at least three years to train a skilled ice sculptor, who needs to acquire knowledge and skills related to aesthetics, design, and carving," said Zhang Weihong, a provincial-level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of ice and snow sculpting techniques.

"Only those with a true passion for the craft can pass it on to the next generation," he noted.

The rising demand for ice and snow sculptors has led to handsome economic benefits for sculptors. According to Zhang Weihong, the average daily wage of sculptors ranges between 800 yuan ($110) and 1,500 yuan, while highly skilled sculptors can earn 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan per day.

"Ice and snow sculptures represent a unique culture and lifestyle," said Cao Baoming, head of the expert group for protecting intangible cultural heritage in Jilin Province.

"Ice and snow sculptures, inspired by people's lives and production, are a reflection of ice and snow culture," he explained.

He emphasized that by integrating human wisdom, historical inheritance, vivid imagination, emotions, beautiful memories, and other elements, such works represent natural, historical, and cultural heritage.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
MBABANE  In a shocking revelation, an assistant master of the High Court removed a widow as the executrix and beneficiary of her husbands estate allegedly outside the confines of the law.

This transpired when the family of the late Alpheus Mthethwa appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry yesterday. The unlawful removal of the widow as the executrix and a beneficiary resulted in 29 cattle, which formed part of the estate, being taken away from her and distributed among her three stepchildren, with approval from the Office of the Master of the High Court in Siteki.

Evidence presented before the commission pointed out that the Assistant Master of the High Court, Sigcibelo Magagula, removed the wife of the late Alpheus, who had been appointed by the family as the executrix of the estate.

Cattle

Narrating the events leading to her removal as executrix and beneficiary of the estate, Nqobile Mthethwa told the commission that she reported the estate, which had seven cattle and E4 000 to the Office of the Master of the High Court after the burial of her husband. At the time, she told the court that she knew her husband to have had three children, namely; Sibongile, Jabu and Sikhumbuzo. However, Sibongile is now deceased.

Nqobile submitted that she opened a file with the office of the Master of the High Court after which a family meeting was convened. She told the commission that she attended the meeting together with the late Sibongile and one of her brothers- in-law, where she was appointed the executrix of the estate.

Nqobile told the commission that she personally purchased three cattle with her own money. However, she told the commission that they were registered in the name of her husband as the head of the family. It was her evidence that the cattle had multiplied to seven when her husband died in 2017. She stated that trouble began after the advertisement of the estate in the local newspapers.

The widowed woman told the commission that she learnt that four children had approached the Office of the Master of the High Court, and registered their desire to have a share of their fathers estate. Surprisingly to her, she claimed that there was an additional child, whom she had never known of before. Among the children were Jabu, Sibongile, Sikhumbuzo and Musa. I was not aware of Musa but I knew the trio as my husbands children, she said.

She told the commission that she received a call from the Master of the High Court Office, where she was attended to by Thembi, who informed her about the deceaseds children and their desire. She told the court that she denied knowledge of the children. After some time, Nqobile told the commission that she was called by Sigcibelo to the Master of the Court Offices.

Tampered

I told Sigcibelo I was shocked after I discovered that the file had been tampered with after the children had shown their interest in the estate. I wondered how the file was tampered with without my knowledge. I reported to the Mthethwa family and they advised me to stop attending any of the meetings at the Master of the High Court Office, she said.

It was Nqobiles evidence that on one fateful day, Sigcibelo allegedly called and asked her if she could offer anything to him, without being specific. She told the commission that she met Sigcibelo on a Tuesday, where he advised her that she had a share of 50 per cent in the estate.

Nqobile submitted that Sigcibelo asked her if there were creditors and needs to be covered with part of the estate.

It was during that meeting that I told Sigcibelo about a debt of my brother, who lent me money amounting to E20 000, to bury my husband. I also told him about the herd boy who had not been paid. I told Sigcibelo about an unfinished house, she said. She stated that Sigcibelo asked her to count the cattle for distribution. At the time, she stated that the cattle had multiplied to 29.

Evidence

It was the widowed womans evidence that Sigcibelo then gave her a paper showing a distribution of the estate, which she claimed happened without her knowledge and consent. I refused to sign the paper, which he then advised me to take home for a proper analysis. I was confused by page three as I went through the papers. She stated that the papers stated that the distribution took place in the presence of the children. I asked how the estate was distributed in my absence as the executrix, she told the court.

Nqobile told the Court that she registered her concern with Make Thomo allegedly in Siteki. However, she submitted that she was not aware of any action taken by Thomo, if any. She stated that she then engaged her lawyer Mbhekwa Mthethwa, whom she requested to look for her file at the Master of the High Court Office. Nqobile told the commission that her lawyer informed her that Sigcibelo allegedly denied her access to the file.
EU Envoy Urges Faster Reform Pace In Western Balkans, Touts 6 Billion Euro Development Plan

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service February 29, 2024

TIRANA -- European Union Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on February 29 told a summit of Western Balkan leaders in Tirana that the bloc's six billion euro ($6.5 billion) development plan for the region could double their countries' economic output over the next decade if timely reforms are implemented.

The plan envisaged by the EU would cover the next three years and is meant to speed up both the region's economic growth and its integration with the EU norms and legislation that would eventually bring membership in the bloc.

The funds' disbursal is conditioned by the speed of the reform process in the six countries that make up the Western Balkans and which are at different stages on their road toward membership.

"We have full confidence in all the Western Balkans countries that they will be able to benefit from this plan, which has the potential to contribute to the doubling of the economies of the region in the next 10 years," Varhelyi said at the start of the summit attended by the leaders of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

The host of the summit, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, welcomed the plan, which was approved by the European Commission in November.

"The new opportunity of this out-of-the box plan represents not only the EU's recognition of our decade-long efforts to build a common future against the savage winds of the past, but also challenges us to demonstrate our readiness for a shared European destiny," Rama said in his opening remarks.

The new plan for economic growth in the countries of the Western Balkans, which was approved by the European Commission on November 8, 2023, is based on four pillars.

The first pillar deals with the strengthening of the region's integration in the EU single market, while the second pillar refers to the deeper integration of the six countries' economies through a common regional market.

The third pillar envisages the acceleration of fundamental reforms, including the strengthening of the rule of law, which would attract foreign direct investment and improve regional stability.

The fourth pillar refers to an increase in financial aid to support reforms that actually envisages the disbursement of the 6 billion euros to the six countries.

Serbia and Montenegro launched membership negotiations a few years ago, followed by Albania and Macedonia in 2022, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo have only begun the first step of the integration process.

Another country from the region, Croatia, was the last to become an EU member in 2013.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-envoy-urges-reforms-western- balkans/32842476.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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Deputy Secretary Campbell's Call with Italian MFA Secretary General Guariglia

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

February 29, 2024

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke yesterday with Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Riccardo Guariglia. The Deputy Secretary thanked Ambassador Guariglia for Italy's leadership of the G7 and vital contributions to Ukraine's security. They discussed the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the protection of civilians, efforts to increase life-saving aid to those in need, and the need to prevent the conflict from spreading. They committed to continue working together to protect ships from Iranian-backed Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and discussed shared security concerns in the Indo-Pacific.

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Secretary Blinken's Call with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

February 29, 2024

The following is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. The leaders discussed ongoing efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and establish a humanitarian pause in the conflict in Gaza. They agreed to continue close coordination to provide increased humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and to press for the protection of civilians consistent with international humanitarian law. The leaders again reaffirmed the strength and importance of the U.S.-Qatar bilateral relationship.

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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

29 February 2024

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

** Gaza

Good afternoon. Let me start off with a statement on the situation in Gaza.

The Secretary-General is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza, in which more than 30,000 people have now reportedly been killed and over 70,000 injured. Tragically, an unknown number of people lie under the rubble.

The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged northern part of Gaza, where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid for more than a week.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all the hostages held in Gaza. He once again calls for urgent steps so that critical humanitarian aid can get into and across Gaza for all those who so desperately need it.

We also have a statement from the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, who has warned that life is draining out of Gaza at a terrifying speed, with the reported death toll across Gaza that we have just mentioned.

Mr. Griffiths also said he is appalled by the reported killing and injury of hundreds of people in Gaza during a transfer of aid supplies west of Gaza City today.

I would also refer you to the very strong statement delivered by the High Commissioner of Human Rights, Volker Turk, on the situation in Gaza.

Yesterday, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) reported that displaced people  including some UNRWA staff  were forced to evacuate from two schools where they were sheltering earlier this week. Some were arrested by Israeli forces, and one woman was reportedly killed.

Our colleagues in the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say there is an urgent need for unimpeded access to northern Gaza to deliver food and establish stabilization centres for severe acute malnutrition, as well as outpatient treatment programmes.

As we have warned repeatedly  and as you heard from our humanitarian colleagues in the Security Council earlier this week  the risk of death by starvation in Gaza is growing, with children and pregnant women most severely impacted.

The continued hostilities and other challenges continue to impede our efforts to reach civilians in Gaza with life-saving health and nutrition care.

Quite a few of you have been asking about the OIOS investigation and I want to share an update with you: Yesterday, the Secretary-General received an update from the Office of Internal Oversight Services, OIOS, on their work regarding the allegations put forward by Israel that 12 UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency) staff members in Gaza were involved in the terror attacks of 7 October [2023].

I can tell you that OIOS began its work on 29 January, the day the Secretary-General tasked the unit with this effort.

So far, OIOS investigators have reviewed the initial information received by UNRWA from Israeli authorities. They have also been in communication with other Member States to obtain any information relevant to the investigation.

OIOS investigators have also been to UNRWA headquarters in Amman, in Jordan, to obtain and review information held by UNRWA that is relevant to the investigation, including on UNRWA staff and on UNRWA operations. They have also reviewed information and communications technology data, including email records and information on UNRWA vehicles; review of information received from various sources, including that released through the media and other public sources.

The investigation remains ongoing. OIOS will [continue to] seek and to corroborate additional information and to compare the information obtained with materials held by Israeli authorities, which OIOS expects to receive shortly. OIOS staff are planning to visit Israel soon to obtain information from Israeli authorities that may be relevant to the investigation.

Cooperation with the OIOS investigation by Member States has thus far been adequate.

We will keep updating you as often as possible without jeopardizing, obviously, the ongoing investigation by our colleagues in OIOS.

** Haiti

I also have an update on Haiti, as a number of you have been asking us.

And I was asked earlier this week about Benin's announcement of their intention to contribute personnel to the Multinational Security Support mission.

I can now confirm that yesterday [28 February], we received Benin's official confirmation of their intent to support the mission with personnel.

We have now received notifications from the following Governments of their commitments to provide security forces to the Support (MSS) mission: these countries are the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.

And just to reconfirm that these notifications are sent to us as requested by Security Council resolution 2699, which invites contributing Member States to inform in writing the leadership of the Multinational Security Support mission, the Security Council, and the Secretary-General of their intent to participate in the mission.

Also, a lot of you have been asking about the Trust Fund that we have been requested to set up and that we have [set up]. To date, contributions totalling $10.8 million have been deposited into the Trust Fund.

We are also encouraged by the pledges of some $78 million in recent days that will go directly to the Multinational Security Support Trust Fund, and we encourage Member States to continue contributing to ensure the successful deployment of the mission.

** Deputy Secretary-General's Travels

Speaking of deployment, our Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, is in Sao Paulo, in Brazil, for the G20 Finance Ministers and meeting of Central Bank Governors.

Attending a session on International Taxation for the 21st century, Ms. Mohammed today said that the UN is committed to shaping a fair, transparent, and efficient international tax system that advances the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters global economic stability.

She urged the G20 countries to actively engage in the ongoing discussions on tax at the UN.

Ms. Mohammed then participated in a high-level dialogue under the theme Africa and the G20. With a combined population of 1.4 billion people and a GDP of 3.3 trillion, the African continent is at the epicentre of transformative change, she said, and the G20 is well placed to advance key priorities for the continent. stressing that the G20 can position the continent as an important multilateral partner with a forward-looking agenda.

In the afternoon, she will attend a session on Global Debt and Financing for Sustainable Development, where she will underscore the need for urgent multilateral pre-emptive action on debt and liquidity, calling for bold answers to this massive development challenge.

She will be on her way back to New York later tonight.

** Sudan

Today, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, otherwise known as UNITAMS, officially completed its mission and withdrawal from the country. A small team will remain in Port Sudan to oversee the Mission's liquidation process, which begins tomorrow [1 March].

In a statement we issued last night, the Secretary-General said he counts on the full cooperation of the Sudanese authorities to ensure this process is completed as smoothly and as swiftly as possible.

We underscore that the United Nations is not leaving Sudan and remains strongly committed to providing lifesaving humanitarian assistance and supporting the Sudanese people in their aspirations for a peaceful, secure future.

The Secretary-General has repeatedly called on the parties to the conflict to lay down their weapons and to commit to broad-based peace talks that will lead to the resumption of a civilian-led democratic transition.

His Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, has commenced his work in support of mediation efforts, in coordination and close partnership with African and other international partners.

The Secretary-General reiterates his deep appreciation to the staff of UNITAMS for their dedication and service to the people of Sudan throughout the Mission's mandate.

** Chad

And turning to Chad, in a statement issued by Abdou Abarry, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Central Africa, he said he is following with great concern the events taking place in N'Djamena, in Chad's capital.

He called on all actors to show calm and restraint, particularly at a time when Chad is entering the final stages of its political transition.

Mr. Abarry reiterated his availability  and that of the UN system  to continue to support the efforts of the Government and people of Chad for the organization of an inclusive and credible election, as well as for maintaining a climate of peace before, during and after the presidential election, which is scheduled for 6 May, this year.

** Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine, Denise Brown, our Humanitarian Coordinator there, condemned yesterday's deadly attacks in the Kharkiv region. Local authorities have reported a dozen casualties. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged.

Our humanitarian colleagues note that strikes in the Donetsk and Kherson regions today and yesterday also caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure, as well as civilian casualties. More than a hundred homes were impacted, as well as schools and other facilities. That's what local authorities are telling us.

Humanitarian workers are on the ground to support communities, including by providing construction materials and psychological support.

** UN Environment Assembly

Just a few more notes. In a video message released for the high-level segment of the Sixth UN Environment Assembly  which is taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, which is the headquarters of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)  the Secretary-General said we must work together to put the world on a sustainable path, and to turbocharge sustainable development.

He called for urgent action to accelerate a just transition from fossil fuels to renewables, to adapt to extreme weather, deliver climate justice and to drive progress to reach the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Also today, our colleagues at UNEP released their Global Waste Management Outlook 2024. The report, titled "Beyond an age of waste: Turning rubbish into a resource", provides the most substantial update on global waste generation and the cost of waste and its management.

This report  and the video message  are online.

** Press Briefing

Tomorrow, Monica Grayley will be back to brief you.

And also tomorrow, at 1 p.m.  it will be 1 March  you will hear from Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki, the Permanent Representative of Japan and the President of the Security Council for the month of March.

** Financial Contributions

Lastly, three contributions; we are going to stick with liquids.

Air Batu Campur  also known as ABC  is a drink combining ice with sago pearls, red beans, noodles and grass jelly. [responses from the crowd] No, it's in Asia. Brunei Darussalam.

Moving to a neighbouring state, where Teh botol  jasmine tea  is served, as the name suggests, in bottles. [response from the crowd] Indonesia. Very good, Mr. Bays.

And moving to Europe for the third, where granizado  made with crushed ice and fresh fruit juice or syrup  is marvellously refreshing on a hot summer's day. [response from the crowd] No. Espana, not Andorra.

We thank our friends in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia and Spain. We are now up to 70 fully paid-up [Member States].

** Questions and Answers

Spokesman : Ibtisam?

Question : Thank you, Steph. On the statement you read by the Secretary-General, two things. First, he condemns the killing of Palestinian civilians. But one major thing is missing is who killed them? I mean, people, they don't get killed. They're killed by somebody. Why didn't you mention that? And the other thing you are talking about, the incident, it is actually a massacre. And, yeah, do you have any comments on that?

Spokesman : What we know is close to 100 or more people have died or were killed. We were not there. There was no UN presence there. There are different accounts. We've also seen the video. I mean, at this point, whatever happened is to be condemned, right? But the incident needs to be investigated. It needs to be further looked at.

Correspondent : Sorry, when you talk about investigation, for Palestinians, to have the Israelis investigate themselves is something that is... [cross talk]

Spokesman : I'm not saying. Well, maybe let's step back. There will be a time for accountability, right, as we face all of the civilian deaths we have seen from 7 October. And there will be a time for accountability. Benno, then Sherwin, then Edie, then James.

Question : Sorry, I was not prepared. In your statement, you said that the SG condemns. You can't condemn a tragedy or a stampede. You condemn violent acts, normally. So, you think these people died because of the violent acts; is that correct?

Spokesman : These people died because there is a conflict that is going on. These people died because humanitarian aid has not been able to be delivered in a safe manner. I keep saying here that the way we operate right now is not safe. And I said it even yesterday. It is not safe for those people who deliver the aid. It is not safe for people who receive the aid. This is a chaotic, opportunistic humanitarian operation that we're trying to run. We don't know exactly... I mean, as far as we're concerned, we don't know exactly what happened, but whether people were shot and died as a result of Israeli gunfire, whether they were crushed by a crowd, whether they were run over by trucks, these are all acts of violence, in a sense, due to this conflict.

Question : And do you have more information about what kind of delivery it was, from whom and how much?

Spokesman : It was not a delivery in which the United Nations was involved. Sherwin?

Question : So, Steph, you've laid out some of the confusion around this incident, right, which the Secretary-General has condemned. Who should then receive this condemnation?

Spokesman : As I said, we don't know exactly what the facts are, except that people  men, women and children  died in horrendous situation, in horrendous conditions. As I told Ibtisam, there will be a time for accountability. We want to see an immediate humanitarian ceasefire so that we can distribute aid in an organized, predictable and safe manner, which is currently not an option for us.

Question : So, who should receive that message?

Spokesman : Well, we've said it to the Israelis. We've said it to all of the parties involved, and we've said it very publicly, I might add. Edith Lederer?

Question : Thank you, Steph. You just said, well, as a follow-up, you just said it wasn't a delivery in which the UN was involved. Do you know who was involved in the delivery?

Spokesman : No. I mean, all we know is from what we've seen in the press report. So, I don't have any information, more than you do.

Question : Okay. My question is on Haiti. You read out a whole list of countries that have pledged to the multinational force. Can you give us the numbers of police or participants?

Spokesman : What I do know is that on the offer from Benin, it's 1,300 uniformed personnel. For the others, I would encourage you to check with those countries that have... sorry, at least 1,500 military personnel from Benin. For the others, I would encourage you; we'll see if I can get details. Otherwise, check with those countries I've listed.

Question : [inaudible]

Spokesman : The withholding of information is not good for my health. So, if I find something, I try to share it with you, Sherwin. James, I'm sure I will share information with you, and then I'm going to take one different person. Then I will go to Gabriel, so as not to get too... [cross talk]

Correspondent : We're doing two different stories today, so...

Spokesman : You can do whatever stories you want to do.

Question : Anyway, I want to talk about the OIOS investigation. So, thank you for giving us an update on where we are. Let me just be entirely clear. Israel shared allegations with UNRWA and with the UN. Then on 26 January, you said that OIOS was setting up an inquiry. You now say today that inquiry started on 29 January. So, we've had a month in which you've had Israel's allegations, but not Israel's evidence. One would assume that the first thing you do in that month is say, Israel, you've made these allegations. Where is the evidence? And yet you say today that you will hope soon to receive all of the data from Israel, and you hope soon that the investigators can go to Israel. One would assume that would be one of the very first things you did in the month, given the urgency of the matter, given that UNRWA's funding has been cut by 16 of its biggest donors.

Spokesman : Well, first of all, I can tell you something that our OIOS colleagues have not been sitting on their hands, right? They've been working actively, whether in the region or here. And I know that they were in touch from the beginning with the Israeli authorities. I'm not going to get into the details, but the point that I made is that they will be going to Israel, and they will be meeting with Israeli counterparts, so to speak.

Correspondent : So, the delay is on the part of Israel. They're not sitting on that. Perhaps, the delay then is clearly...

Spokesman : I understand. I'm just saying that, like I said, the cooperation with Member States has been adequate. This is an ongoing process. I don't want to say anything that would jeopardize our goal. We continue to work.

Correspondent : So, again... [cross talk]

Spokesman : The characterization is yours, James.

Correspondent : But the underlying position is, again, you're too frightened of upsetting Israel because they might stop all cooperation to ever actually tell you that Israel is not really cooperating.

Spokesman : I mean, if you saw my email box, you would know that we  or I  have upset a lot of people in the last 10 years I've been doing this job, which we're coming up on in a week. Dezhi?

Question : Yeah. First, a follow-up on the incident. About more than 100 people got killed in northern Gaza. Just now, you said you reserve your condemnation to anyone because you said a full investigation needs to be conducted first. Who will do this investigation?

Spokesman : I think Ibtisam asked the same question, and I answered it. We're in the midst of a conflict. There will be a time for accountability with credible, transparent investigations, and people will need to be held up to account. There are various mechanisms at the international level and the national level, and I will leave it at that.

Correspondent : But it seems under such circumstances, nobody would believe each other's report.

Spokesman : Well, that's why if you look back since the start of the United Nations, there have been instances of accountability mechanisms in which people have been held to account.

Question : But do you think the accountability will be held? Do you think so?

Spokesman : There needs to be accountability.

Question : You think so? Okay. My question here. Hamas leader actually called on Palestinian to march to Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan as a move to protest. What do you think this would impact the current ongoing negotiations?

Spokesman : I think Ramadan is always a period of high tension around the holy sites. We would not want to see anything or any move that would make things even more tense or lead to potential clashes. Dennis?

Question : Good afternoon, Steph. Do you have any updates on Moldova and Transnistria situation?

Spokesman : Yes, we've seen the statement that you're referring to. And I can tell you that the Secretary-General continues to follow the regional developments and calls on all relevant actors to refrain from escalating rhetoric or action. Mr. Gabriel?

Question : Thank you, Steph. When aid is delivered, who is responsible for making sure it's delivered safely to the people that need it?

Spokesman : Those who are delivering the aid need to make sure that every precaution has been put in place, that the aid is being delivered safely. And that's what we've been... I mean, at the risk of being even more hoarse than I am, this is the call that we've been making here, day in and day out. And this is the point that our colleagues have been making day in and day out on the ground.

Question : So, who on the ground in northern Gaza right now is delivering aid on the ground?

Spokesman : Not the United Nations.

Question : Is any other country that you know of delivering aid on the ground?

Spokesman : We only focus on ourselves, right? So, the UN is not delivering aid. Also, we read the press reports of Member States doing aid deliveries, the IDF (Israel Defence Force) facilitating some deliveries. We were not present at the tragedy that happened this morning.

Question : Sure, but you say we don't know the facts, right? We don't? Collectively, you don't know facts on the ground?

Spokesman : We've seen the facts as it's been reported in the media from different sides.

Question : Okay. And you base your condemnation on the media reports, you said, correct?

Spokesman : I'm happy to go down a path with you, Gabriel, but it's pretty clear from what we've seen in the media that more than 100 people were likely killed in what, to me, appears to be horrendous circumstances.

Question : And that leads me to the question of all the media reports point to Israel opening up fire. So why not just...?

Spokesman : We are gathering the facts and we've expressed ourselves based on the information that we have.

Correspondent : Okay. So, I mean, I just think it's like you say that the Secretary-General is appalled by the incident today, if I do say so, the frustration of this.

Spokesman : No, I think he condemned what happened today. Okay.

Question : Fair enough. Fair enough. So let me just conclude with this. You continue to say that the UN views that there's a risk of death by starvation. The risk of death by starvation is growing. The Ministry of Health in Gaza is reporting that children are dying of dehydration.

Spokesman : I mean, I know what you're saying to me. I think my colleagues from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), from OCHA and WFP (World Food Programme) were pretty stark in their reporting to the [Security] Council.

Correspondent : They were very stark...

Spokesman : Exactly.

Question : But the UN is not saying people are dying of starvation. But yet we're seeing this morning, hundreds of people that are trying to get food because they're saying they're starving. And so, it just seems like there's a disconnect with how far the UN wants to go.

Spokesman : You may think there's a disconnect. There are certain words that we use when it comes to hunger, right? These are sadly technical words when we're talking about a human tragedy, whether in Gaza, whether in Sudan or anywhere else in the world  or Yemen  where people are facing hunger. So, we are bound by certain technical words. Abdelhamid, and then Dulcie.

Question : Thank you, Steph. The exact number of people killed as of now is 112 and 700 wounded. Why the statement did not call that a massacre?

Spokesman : Abdelhamid, you and I have this discussion a few times a week. We use the words that we use, and I hope you hold us to account.

Correspondent : Look, I have another question.

Spokesman : The words that we used have been used. I use the words that I use. Yes, your second question?

Correspondent : But I am not the only one who questions... [cross talk]

Spokesman : I'm not saying you're the only one. I'm just saying this is the way it works. We say things. We expect the press to criticize us, analyse what we say, but we say what we say.

Question : This morning, four babies in Kamal Adwan Hospital died of dehydration and severe malnutrition. Are you aware of this...? [cross talk]

Spokesman : The fact that I'm not aware of this particular incident doesn't mean our colleagues on the ground are not aware, and they probably are, especially our colleagues in the World Health Organization (WHO). And if this is, in fact, confirmed, it's another example of what our WFP, FAO and OCHA colleagues briefed the Council on.

Question : My last question. OIOS investigation, would they reach out to Palestinians to hear from them, those who were on ground?

Spokesman : They will speak to whomever they need to speak to, to conduct a thorough investigation as per their mandate. Dulcie?

Question : Thanks. You said that the UN is gathering facts. Is that OCHA or is that UNRWA or who is...?

Spokesman : It's our humanitarian colleagues.

Question : Okay, so that's OCHA?

Spokesman : It's all of our humanitarian colleagues who are on the ground. I mean, whatever information is being gathered, it's not an investigation. They're trying to find out what happened.

Question : Okay, so whoever you have in Gaza is looking into this?

Spokesman : Well, obviously it's people who are in Gaza who are trying to find out what happened.

Question : Okay. And then over to the OIOS statement that you read, you said that the UN has received adequate cooperation from Member States. Did you say also Israel or... [cross talk]

Spokesman : Israel is a Member State.

Question : Okay, so you said Member States and including Israel? I mean, I'm just trying to figure out who's... [cross talk]

Spokesman : Well, I mean, I include, I say Member States that we're dealing with. Obviously, Israel is one of those Member States.

Question : Okay, so you said adequate cooperation. What are you not getting? What is the cooperation that's missing?

Spokesman : The cooperation is adequate. I mean, I'm not a native English speaker, but adequate is adequate. Obviously, I think, when the report is done, there will be details about what they were able to receive and what they were not able to receive.

Question : And one more question, please, about Benin. The 1,500 military personnel, are these former peacekeepers?

Spokesman : What do you mean?

Question : UN peacekeepers? Are they people who have been trained as peacekeepers?

Spokesman : I don't know. You'd have to talk to the... I mean, the Benin authorities will put forward 1,500 military. You would have to ask them who these individuals are. Dezhi, then Evelyn.

Correspondent : Sorry. I'm just curious.

Spokesman : It's a good place to be if you're curious. [laughter]

Question : Glad I'm here. So, I don't think there are many groups that have the capacity to really operate humanitarian delivery in northern Gaza. Can you name some, except the UN and UN agencies? Who are able to do that?

Spokesman : You could ask the Israeli authorities or who is operating in areas that they control. I read the news, just like you do about other organizations. But I can only speak for my organization. Benno, then Ibtisam, then Sherwin.

Correspondent : Okay, just...

Spokesman : Oh, Evelyn, I'm so sorry, Evelyn. Thank you, Sherwin. I appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Question : Right. Do you know if WFP has resumed their activities in northern Gaza?

Spokesman : No, ma'am.

Question : They have not?

Spokesman : No, ma'am.

Question : They cut it out last week.

Spokesman : Correct.

Question : And on the Congo. I was very confused by what you said yesterday of protective community organizations. Why was that not done while the UN peacekeeping was there?

Spokesman : You know, what I can tell you is that my good friend Jean-Pierre Lacroix, who's the head of the peace operations, will be at that desk a week from Friday to speak to you about peacekeeping, and that kind of granularity he has in his head. I do not. Benno?

Correspondent : Okay. Thank you.

Spokesman : You're welcome.

Question : Thank you. I did ask you that question before about the health ministry in Gaza. But still, because there are always, like from Governments and from media, there are doubts about how much the information of this health ministry is accurate and how much Hamas is influencing them. Do you trust the numbers?

Spokesman : Our position on those numbers has not changed.

Question : Okay. And then about the funeral of Mr. [Alexei] Navalny in Moscow. I think you have an office there. Will there be any UN personnel being at the funeral?

Spokesman : No, but we do hope the funeral goes peacefully. Where was I? Ibtisam. Thank you, Sherwin. Ibtisam, Sherwin.

Question : Thank you. The Security Council is holding a consultation, close consultation. And is there somebody from the Secretariat who is going to brief them or...?

Spokesman : I don't know.

Question : Okay. And does the Secretary-General want to maybe have a statement or a position from the Security Council that shows that they care a little bit more and united about what's happening?

Spokesman : Yes. At the risk of repeating what I've said every time that question has been asked to me, at a different formulaic, and I don't mean to be glib, but it is always helpful when there is a strong united voice from the Security Council. Sherwin?

Question : So, there was almost a united voice from the Security Council as it pertains to this refrain that the Secretary-General has reiterated time and time again, calling for and demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. There are specific countries, Steph, that block that consensus. Is it time that the UN recalibrates its message to be more specific, given that the SG is appalled by the tragic human toll? He condemned today's incident. Is it time to name the countries that are blocking the consensus that would bring about a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza?

Spokesman : Let me put it this way, Sherwin. There are five Member States that have the right to veto. That veto is not used in secret. It's used very publicly. And then each Member State that uses that veto then has to go explain itself, to put it in clear terms to the General Assembly. The Secretary-General has made his opinion clear  very often publicly, privately. Member States will take the votes, make the votes, whatever the expression is that they do.

Correspondent : There was one country that vetoed in this incident. We're not talking about every situation. We're talking about the vote in Gaza.

Spokesman : I'm very much aware of the voting pattern. Mr. Bays?

Question : Yeah. There was an incident near the Erez Crossing, it seems, where Israeli settlers tried to build a settlement. I'm not sure whether they actually meant to or whether it was a demonstration, but what's the... And they're calling on the Government to let them build settlements again in Gaza. What's your reaction to the possibility of settlements in Gaza?

Spokesman : I have not seen anything about that incident, but our position on settlements on occupied land is unchanged. I'm leaving.

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Humanitarians launch $674 million appeal urging 'increased solidarity' with Haiti

28 February 2024 - Humanitarians are hoping that donors will robustly support a $674 million appeal for Haiti, where armed gangs continue to terrorize the population, a senior UN official said on Wednesday during a briefing to journalists in New York.

Ulrika Richardson, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, was speaking from the capital, Port-au-Prince, a day after the Government and partners launched the plan to provide food, shelter, health, education and protection services for 3.6 million people this year.

"This is a call for increased solidarity, and Haiti needs it," she said, noting that the country is "going through one of the most critical moments in its recent history".

Record violence, rising displacement

Ms. Richardson reported that last year saw "a very steep increase" in murders, lynchings, rape and other violence committed by gang members operating mainly in the capital and nearby Artibonite province.

This "very tragic trend" has continued into 2024, with January being the most violent month in two years, she added, echoing recent findings by the UN human rights office, OHCHR.

Sexual violence, including collective rape - mainly affecting women and girls - effectively rose 50 per cent over 2022 levels, and "too often the perpetrators go free," she said in response to a reporter's question.

The number of Haitians forced to flee their homes has also risen, with some 314,000 now displaced. People are sleeping on the streets, camping out in schools or living in host communities, where resources are already overstretched.

Education under attack

Haiti has a population of around 11 million, and humanitarians have assessed that around 5.5 million people require assistance.

Of that number, more than four million are facing acute food insecurity, with increased malnutrition among children and pregnant women.

Additionally, 45 per cent of Haitians do not have access to clean drinking water.

Ms. Richardson drew particular attention to the plight of children, who comprise the majority of people in need, around three million. Rampant violence is threatening their access to education, while students who rely on school feeding programmes are missing out on meals.

"At some point, we had 1,000 schools not open during the month of January, and that means a lot to children and a generation that has already seen impacts on their schooling," she said, citing first the COVID-19 lockdown followed by the collapse of security and services.

Support for UN-backed mission

Whether at home or in the streets, people in gang-affected areas are at risk. Gangs also often control major roads in and out of the capital, thus hindering both Haitians and the humanitarians that serve them.

Ms. Richardson was asked how Haitians feel about the proposed multinational security support mission authorized by the UN Security Council to back up the national police.

"If you would ask people on the street if they need assistance to deal with the gang violence, they will say yes," she answered.

Responding to another question, the veteran humanitarian described the suffering and pain in Haiti as "daunting" and "appalling".

"I can say that what I've witnessed here - and many with me, including Haitians - it goes beyond even what you could have feared in your worst nightmare."

Tackle root causes

Last year, the UN and partners sought $720 million for their operations in Haiti and received around 34 per cent of the funding.

She explained that this year's "financial envelope" is lower, even though needs are greater, as humanitarians have tried to be more targeted in their approach, plus they have learned what works best and also have very good cooperation with local organizations.

"We really count on a very robust mobilization of the international community," she said, expressing hope for the 2024 plan.

However, she stressed that humanitarian assistance is not the solution to the crisis in Haiti and called for parallel investment to address the root causes.

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World News in Brief: Air travel boom erases COVID dip, 'disturbing' new anti-LGBT bill in Ghana, rights abuses in Crimea

28 February 2024 - The UN aviation agency on Wednesday announced that air traffic levels are operating at around two per cent above their high in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic grounded much of the world's population in lockdown.

Civil aviation organization ICAO said that the numbers for the first quarter of 2024 indicate that airlines will sustain the return to profitability recorded in 2023.

"The commitment of Member States to aligning their pandemic responses with the guidance developed by the ICAO Council has been crucial to the recovery of their air services," said Council president Salvatore Sciacchitano.

"The implementation of ICAO's post-pandemic guidance is now equally crucial to ensuring the resilience and sustainability of this recovery."

The agency forecasts increasing traffic growth to around three per cent above 2019 levels, and possibly four per cent if the pace of recovery grows on routes which have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.

"The aspirational goals agreed upon by governments towards the decarbonization of air transport by 2050 are supporting the environmental sustainability of the recovery and future development of the global air transport network," said ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar.

The analysis indicates that air traffic on most routes had already reached or surpassed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023.

Flying high

The major regional routes which passed the 2019 mark by the end of last year were travel within Europe; Europe to/from North America, the Middle East, southwest Asia and Africa; North America to/from Latin America and the Caribbean, southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific; Middle East to/from Southwest Asia and Africa.

Most international Asian routes, with the exception of those serving southwest Asia, continue to have substantially lower levels of traffic in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels.

UN rights chief slams 'profoundly disturbing' Ghana family values bill

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday described a parliamentary bill in Ghana which introduces new criminal sanctions against LGBTQ+ citizens as "profoundly disturbing", urging lawmakers to halt its passage.

Volker Turk said the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024 would broaden criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people "simply for being who they are". The bill also "threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people", he warned.

Live free from discrimination

"I call for the bill not to become law. I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity", said Mr. Turk.

"Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized."

He expressed deep alarm that the bill criminalizes the legitimate work of human rights defenders, teachers, medical professionals, landlords and people seeking healthcare.

"The bill is contrary to Ghana's own Constitution and freely undertaken regional and international human rights obligations and commitments, including to leave no one behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said the High Commissioner.

Mr. Turk stressed that the bill is corrosive and will have a negative impact on society as a whole.

He restated his office's (OHCHR) commitment to work with the Government of Ghana and its national partners to ensure it fulfils its human rights commitments and obligations.

Russia's decade-long occupation of Crimea marked by widespread violations

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine on Wednesday published a new report documenting serious rights violations and infringements of humanitarian law in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

The violations have persisted over a decade of occupation by Russian forces, with Moscow unlawfully imposing citizenship requirements, laws and institutions "across all spheres of life, suppressing opposition and dissent", the mission said in press release.

The report reveals Russian efforts to restrict civic space and limit fundamental freedoms. Crimean Tatar leaders, perceived as opposing occupation or Russian policies, have been particularly impacted.

Those Tatars who fled the peninsula have been barred from returning while many Russians have been resettled in Crimea in a bid to change the demographics of the region.

'Grim harbinger'

"Over the past decade, we have documented efforts by the Russian Federation to impose the Russian language, culture and institutional framework on Crimea, while at the same time taking actions to erase the peninsula's rich cultural, linguistic and religious heritage," said mission head Danielle Bell.

Any opposition has been met with harsh reprisals, says the report, with some subjected to rights violations, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and torture.

The findings are "not only alarming, but they are also a grim harbinger of the devastating and lasting impact Russian occupation may have on other occupied regions of Ukraine", Ms. Bell said.

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CTF-63 Welcomes USNS Trenton (T-EPF 5) Arrival in Naples

US Navy

29 February 2024

From Lt. Andrew Church, USNS Trenton (T-EPF 5)

The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Trenton (T-EPF 5) arrived in Naples, Italy Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, for a scheduled port visit.

Trenton's visit to Naples provides an opportunity for the civilian mariners and embarked military detachment to enjoy Italian hospitality and the exquisite culture and cuisine of Naples. Due to the ship's proximity to U.S. 6th Fleet headquarters, Commander, Task Force 63, Military Sealift Command Europe Africa (CTF-63/MSCEURAF) and staff visited the ship on Feb. 28.

Capt. Kenneth Pickard, commodore of CTF-63/MSCEURAF conducted an office call with the ship's master Matthew Salas and military detachment officer in charge Cmdr. Damon W. Bateson II. During the office call, Capt. Todd Hiller, Navy Reserve MSCEURAF HQ commanding officer and CTF-63 staff members received a tour of the ship focusing on the logistics and unique deployment capabilities provided to the fleet. During his all-hands calls, Capt. Pickard celebrated the achievements of two first class petty officers, Cary Ross and Nahum Ibarra. He also recognized three civilian mariners for extraordinary damage control response during a recent engineering casualty: First Assistant Engineer Howard Jones, Second Assistant Engineer Chase Artzerounian, and Engine Utilityman Nik Perry.

The Sailors and mariners onboard Trenton are eager to explore the city and surrounding region. When asked about the port visit, First Class Petty Officer Anthony Shiver of Augusta, Georgia and alumni of Flagler College replied, "I am excited for Naples because it represents a gateway to the world of cuisine and Neapolitan fare, to the past, both medieval and antiquity. Neapolis looms like the shadow of Vesuvius. Treasures in her own streets, and Herculaneum and Pompeii; doorways into the ancient world where someone can walk the streets and visit lives from another time."

USNS Trenton is a high-speed, shallow draft ship with the capability to deliver operationally ready units to flexibly support a wide range of missions including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, theater security cooperation and maritime domain awareness. It is crewed by civilian mariners, with military personnel embarking as required by the mission.

For over 80 years, NAVEUR-NAVAF has forged strategic relationships with Allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. 6th Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

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USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) begins African deployment

US Navy

29 February 2024

From U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa / U.S. Sixth Fleet Public Affairs

The Blue military crew (MILCREW) of the Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary sea base USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB 4) and the ship's Military Sealift Command Civilian Mariners (CIVMARs) departed Naval Station Rota, Spain to begin a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVAF) and U.S. Sixth Fleet area of operations, today.

Prior to arriving in Rota, the ship completed a Mid-Term Availability (MTA) at the Viktor Lenac shipyard in Rijeka, Croatia. Maintenance work during the MTA included Safety of Life At Sea equipment such as communication, fire safety, and navigation, as well as upgrading decking and coatings to increase safety, especially in adverse operating conditions.

While deployed in the NAVAF area of operations, Hershel "Woody" Williams will participate in multiple bilateral and multilateral operations, activities, and exercises with international partners and Allies.

"Our crew is excited to begin this deployment and to sail alongside our partners and Allies across the African continent," said Capt. Amy Lindahl, commanding officer of Hershel "Woody" Williams Blue MILCREW. "Hershel 'Woody' Williams' deployment to Africa underscores our commitment to the region, and we look forward to working with our counterparts to ensure security, safety, and freedom of navigation."

Hershel "Woody" Williams completed its most recent deployment to the African continent in fall and winter 2023 with the Gold MILCREW at the helm. During that deployment, the ship spent a significant amount of time in the Gulf of Guinea and in Western Africa, demonstrating the U.S. Navy's enduring presence in the region. The ship also conducted port visits to Lome, Togo, in September 2023, and Tema, Ghana in October.

A team of U.S. Marines embarked aboard the ship during their most recent deployment, as well. While underway with the ship, Marine Corps Combat Engineers helped build a youth center in Ain Ghellal, Tunisia, and embarked Marines provided training to Senegalese Maritime Interceptors during Exercise Grand African NEMO 2023 to combat drug smuggling and other illicit activity.

"Hershel 'Woody' Williams continues to serve as a tangible example of the U.S. Navy's commitment to working with our African partners to address regional challenges and maritime threats, and I commend the crews for their dedication to carrying out this important mission," said Rear Adm. Chase Patrick, deputy commander, U.S. Sixth Fleet. "Just as they have done in previous deployments, these crews will bolster our partnerships, enhance regional collaboration, and strengthen maritime security in African waters."

Hershel "Woody" Williams is forward deployed to Souda Bay, Greece and serves as the first U.S. Navy ship assigned to the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) area of responsibility. The ship is capable of conducting expeditionary missions, counter piracy, maritime security, and humanitarian and disaster relief operations. Hershel "Woody" Williams' unique capabilities are part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to support global missions. The ship operates with blue and gold crews, allowing it to remain continually deployed throughout AFRICOM.

For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with allies and partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

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Gaza Health Ministry Says Israeli Fire Killed More Than 100 People at Aid Delivery Point

By VOA News February 29, 2024

Gaza's health ministry said Israeli fire killed at least 104 people and wounded hundreds more as a crowd of Palestinians waited for humanitarian aid in Gaza City.

The incident happened at the al-Nabusi roundabout in the western part of the city.

The Israeli military said in a statement that dozens of people were hurt amid pushing and trampling as a crowd tried to take aid from trucks during a delivery in northern Gaza. The military added that the incident was under review.

Elsewhere in the enclave, the Israel Defense Forces reported carrying out ground operations in northern Gaza, as well as airstrikes in the Khan Younis area in the southern part of the territory.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said earlier Thursday the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's offensive had risen to at least 30,035, with another 70,457 wounded.

In Geneva, U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said all parties in the Israel-Hamas war had committed war crimes.

"It is time  well past time  for peace, investigation and accountability," Turk told the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Turk also warned about a planned Israeli offensive in Rafah, the area of southern Gaza where an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians are currently living, many of them having fled other areas in search of safety.

Turk said an offensive in Rafah "would take the nightmare being inflicted on people in Gaza into a new, dystopian, dimension."

Israeli officials have mentioned evacuating civilians from Rafah, but they have not given any details about where the Palestinians might be able to go. Egypt, which borders Rafah, has said it will not open its borders. Much of Gaza has been leveled during Israel's massive counteroffensive after the October 7 Hamas terror attack killed 1,200 people in Israel.

The United Nations said Wednesday that those trying to distribute or receive humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip are facing life-threatening challenges.

Speaking to reporters in New York, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the dangers presented by the ongoing conflict have prompted the repeated U.N. calls for a humanitarian cease-fire.

"Yes, there are trucks that have crossed from Israel into Gaza. The situation in Gaza is, as we've described it numerous times, almost impossible for us to do humanitarian work," Dujarric said. "There is an active conflict going on. There's a breakdown of law and order. There is insufficient coordination on the security end, on deconfliction with Israel. We've laid out all the challenges. That doesn't stop us from working."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Chadian Opposition Leader Killed in Shootout

By VOA News February 29, 2024

Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo was killed Wednesday in a shootout with security forces in the capital, N'Djamena, state prosecutor Oumar Mahamat Kedelaye confirmed Thursday.

Dillo, who led the Socialist Party Without Borders, was set to be the leading opposition to his cousin and current transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, during elections in May.

A government spokesperson said Thursday that four soldiers died during the attacks as well as three "assailants" who were members of Dillo's party.

Ten days before the shooting, opposition member Ahmed Torabi was accused of attempting to assassinate Supreme Court President Samir Adam Annour. Torabi was arrested, the government said.

Members of the opposition party and Torabi's family searched for him near the internal security agency building, where the shootout occurred.

The government and the opposition party had different accounts of the exchange.

A government statement said the security agency was attacked by members of the Socialist Party Without Borders.

According to the party, whose general secretary recounted the events to the Reuters news agency, the deaths near the security agency were a result of soldiers firing at family and party members who went to the security agency to look for Torabi.

Dillo was accused of leading an attack against the security agency overnight on Tuesday, a claim he denied. He also told Agence France-Presse before his death on Wednesday that the attack against Annour was "staged" and meant to "physically eliminate" him before the election.

Dillo's family said they had received his body and that his funeral was planned for Thursday.

His death came a day after a surprise announcement that Chad's presidential election would be held on May 6 instead of in October as anticipated.

Chad's electoral commission said elections would return the country to constitutional order and would mark the end of Deby's transitional period, which started in 2021.

In December, Chad's Supreme Court voted on a new constitution, which according to critics could cement Deby's power in the government after May's election.

Some information for this report came from Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.

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LOBAMBA  Mbabane East Member of Parliament Welcome Dlamini wants to know if someone is protecting the alleged culprit implicated in the disappearance of E340 million invested in Ecsponent Eswatini.

Dlamini posed the question while making his submissions on the debate of the budget speech in Parliament yesterday, challenging the Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, to channel all his energy into unearthing what transpired at Ecsponent.

The legislator submitted that it was such a shame to see the alleged implicated individuals visiting Eswatini at the height of the investigation into the loss of the investments belonging to emaSwati. He wanted to know the person who was actually protecting the individual and bringing him/her into the country at a time when an investigation into the loss of the Ecsponent investments was ongoing.

Corruption

He quoted the ministers speech, which depicts that one of the giants to be slayed was corruption and in the same speech he also spoke about the issue of Ecsponent and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Minister, how far have you gone in unearthing what transpired at Ecsponent? It smells of corruption, money laundering and all the ills one can think of. People spoke seriously about this issue; they have lost their monies through this and some have died because of it.

The person who brought this individual into the country hates emaSwati the most, he said. Dlamini said if the minister was serious about taking on this dragon in the form of corruption, this was one area that he should dedicate all his energy into and get to the bottom of it. Just recently, the Investors Relations Committee (IRC) at Ecsponent had a press briefing where they requested those implicated in the Ecsponent saga to approach the courts and prove their innocence.
Readout of President Biden's Call with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar

February 29, 2024

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar. The two leaders discussed efforts to secure the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas. They agreed that Hamas should release the hostages it is holding without delay. The leaders underscored that the release of hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks. They exchanged views on how such a prolonged period of calm could then be built into something more enduring. They also discussed planning to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza and how the ceasefire under the hostage deal would further help enable those efforts and ensure that assistance reached civilians in need throughout Gaza. They also discussed the tragic and alarming incident earlier today in northern Gaza. Both leaders grieved the loss of civilian lives and agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The two leaders and their teams agreed to stay in regular contact over the coming days.

###

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Press Gaggle by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas En Route Brownsville, TX

February 29, 2024

En Route Brownsville, Texas

1:36 P.M. EST

MS. DALTON: Good afternoon. We're on our way to Brownsville, Texas, where President Biden will meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officials, frontline personnel, and elected leaders, including Representative Gonzalez, who is headed down to Brownsville with us today.

Secretary Mayorkas is joining us to talk a little bit more about the latest on the ground.

But before I turn it over to him, I want to highlight just a few points. Earlier this month, congressional Republicans rejected the bipartisan border security agreement simply because the former President told them to. You heard President Biden say he would take this deal to the American people and make sure they know who is about political rhetoric and who is about solutions.

Today, there's new polling out showing Americans overwhelmingly support the bipartisan border security agreement, including a majority of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. You will hear from the President as he continues to make the case that this bipartisan border security agreement would make our country safer, our border more secure, while ensuring we are treating people fairly and humanely, consistent with our nation's values.

And then I'll turn it over to you, Secretary.

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: Thank you, Olivia. So, before I talk about today's operational briefing on the border, let me just say a few words about the fires in Texas and Oklahoma. The latest report is that 

Q I'm sorry. We can't hear you.

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: Oh, I'm sorry. The latest report is that over a million acres have burned, one life has been lost. We, in the Department of Homeland Security, especially FEMA, are intensely focused on these fires and providing the resources, equipment, and personnel that the impacted communities need.

We have Fire Management Assistance funds available to Texas and Oklahoma, and we also already have deployed firefighters, first responders, trucks, and other equipment to help fight the blazes.

Let me turn, then, to the  to the visit to Brownsville, Texas. This is a very important operational briefing for the President as the Commander-in-Chief.

The President is going to hear from Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations, both within U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He's going to hear from Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations personnel in Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He is going to hear from asylum processing experts in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

He's going to hear about what they're able to do with the too-few resources that they have. He's going to hear about what they need and what impact, operationally, those additional needed resources would deliver. And he's going to hear about the incredible value and importance that the legislation would deliver if Congress passes it: more people, faster processing times, more technology, more equipment, more facilities.

Q A 

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: If I can, Brownsville, Texas, provides a very good glimpse of how dynamic and challenging the migration phenomenon is. Last year, in April and May of 2023, approximately 30 percent of all encounters across the southern border were realized in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, of which Brownsville is a part.

Now, those numbers have been reduced significantly, primarily because of the enhanced law enforcement efforts south of our border.

The key is to address the regional challenge that is migration. We need regional participation not just on the part of the United States, of course, but on the part of our partners and allies to the south.

In this, Brownsville demonstrates the impact of that partnership when everyone's working together to address a shared challenge.

And now I'll turn it over.

Q Can I follow up on that point? The head of the Border Patrol union said that Brownsville is actually not a place where the President will be able to evaluate what's going on because there are relatively fewer crossings comparative to other sectors.

So, is the President going to be able to get a fulsome evaluation of what is actually needed right now when it comes to the border by going to Brownsville?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: Yes. Yes, he will. I mean, Texas is seeing a reduction in encounters across  across the board over what we experienced in December and immediately before then. The primary reason is the enhanced enforcement efforts on the part of the Mexican government.

The President had a conversation with the President of Mexico in December. Secretary Blinken and I, with our Homeland Security Advisor, visited Mexico. We spoke of the importance of really renewing their enforcement efforts. They did. We've seen a tremendous drop in the number of encounters across the southern border.

The most difficult part south of our border to patrol is Sonora, on the Mexican side, which is why Arizona  the area of Arizona in Tucson continues to see an increase in  in the number of encounters.

But the President will see firsthand what the Border Patrol needs and what the legislation would deliver if Congress would pass it.

Q Is he  Mr. Secretary, is he going to contrast his approach with that of Donald Trump, who's calling for mass deportations?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: This is focused  this visit is focused on the work that we do, not the rhetoric of others. This is focused on operational needs, operational challenges, and the significant impact that legislation would have in enhancing our border security.

Q Are there no executive actions that the President can take to reduce the number  the large number of migrants that are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border that we saw in 2023 and continue this year?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: The fact of the matter is that the only enduring solution is legislation. Congress needs to act. We have a bipartisan piece of legislation that three senators worked on intensely for a number of months. I was very privileged to be at the table to provide technical and operational expertise. The administration was represented at the table. We need Congress to act.

Q In lieu of the bill passing Congress, though, we've reported that the administration is considering using its 121-F [212-F] authority. Can you comment on that? Is that something the administration is considering? And will there be any executive action announced today at the border?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: There will not be any  212-F  there will not be any executive actions announced today. As I continue to say, the legislation is what we need. It is the enduring solution. Actions taken outside of legislation are often met with litigation challenges in court.

Q Do you think that would be the case with 212-F? Is this a power 

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: I don't want to speculate right now.

Q Can you  can you then speak to the relationship with Governor Abbott? Obviously, that's been multidimensional, to say the least.

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: One  one of the  one of the benefits  one of the benefits of being in Brownsville is to see what can be accomplished productively in the service of border security when local officials work with federal officials to address a shared challenge. We have a very good relationship with the leaders in Brownsville. And the Border Patrol will speak to that to our president.

Q And w- 

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: And  and we will have local officials present in Brownsville.

So, when we work together, we have a better result in achieving what the American people expect and need.

When a state leader purposefully and deliberately refuses to cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, communicate, we see actually a detriment to our enforcement efforts.

Q Can I ask what you think about his effort of busing migrants directly to other cities? What  what has that done for the feds, for you guys 

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: It is a 

Q  (inaudible) as well?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: It is a tragic thing when a public official uses human beings and their lives as political pawns.

Q Can I just ask, with Congress back in session, what are you doing to prepare for the possible impeachment trial? And have you spoken to any lawmakers in Congress?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: I have been incredibly busy with the work of the Department of Homeland Security. That's my exclusive focus.

Q Mr. Secretary, why are you  why is the President and you  why are you taking this visit now? What is the significance of this time of year? Is it just something that, you know, was able to be put on the President's schedule right now? Essentially, what I'm asking is: What's so special about this day at this time?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: We have a bipartisan piece of legislation that needs to pass to enhance our border security. The President continues to advocate to Congress that they must pass this bipartisan piece of legislation.

He is going to hear firsthand from the people who work tirelessly and bravely to secure the border the impact that this legislation would have on advancing their mission.

Q And you also talked about  you're talking about the resources that your agencies need. And in addition to the border legislation being dormant last night, so was the extra money that DHS was going to get.

Can DHS get the money that they need through the regular approps process that would end March 22nd at this point? Is that possible with all the help that you need right now?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: We desperately need the funds that the bipartisan legislation provides. We're talking about approximately $20 billion in funds. We're  we are  that provides for more than a thousand more U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel.

It calls for more than 4,000 asylum officers to meet the challenge of increased migration that is not only impacting the southern border of the United States, that is not only impacting the Western Hemisphere, but we are seeing this globally: the greatest number of displaced people around the world since World War Two.

So, those are  it would provide for more than $400 million to  to purchase and implement nonintrusive inspection technology, this state-of-the-art equipment that enables us to better detect and interdict fentanyl, contraband, and individuals who are being smuggled across the border through our ports of entry.

Q (Inaudible) one more here. The makeup of people crossing has changed a lot. Why do you think that is? I mean, it's different source countries, different claimants, different grounds.

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: It is. So 

Q Why is that happening? Why is it changing?

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: The demographics have changed significantly over the years. Traditionally 

Q Even in the last, like, 12 months even. (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: It's mul-  it's a number of years. Traditionally, the vast majority of individuals encountered were from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

We have seen country conditions throughout Latin America  particularly Ecuador and Venezuela, for example  diminish in quality, as well as country conditions around the world, whether it's in countries in Africa or elsewhere  authoritarian regimes elsewhere. And by reason of that, we're seeing a level of migration around the world that is really historic.

And that has resulted in increased encounters at our southern border. And very interestingly, in my conversations  bilateral and multilateral conversations with my counterparts from around the world over the last few weeks, when I discussed this with the Home Secretary in the United Kingdom, the first issue that arose was migration  the migration challenge that the United Kingdom is facing and what they are seeking to do legislatively.

I spoke with the Home Secretary in Australia, and the number one Homeland Security issue that she raised was immigration. So, this is a global phenomenon that, of course, we are  are experiencing ourselves.

MS. DALTON: Thank you so much, Secretary.

Q Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY MAYORKAS: Thank you all.

MS. DALTON: Do you have anything left?

Q There's a lot.

Q Can we get a  I think right before we took off, the President talked to reporters on the South Lawn about reports of the hun-  over a hundred dead in Gaza after  can you tell us a little bit about it? Has the President been briefed on the situation? What's the latest?

MS. DALTON: Yes, he's been briefed on the situation. And I'd just like to make a few points about this. Obviously, the events in Northern Gaza are tremendously alarming and of deep concern to us  deeply tragic, the loss of human life. Too many civilian lives have been lost as a consequence of military operations in Gaza.

We think that this latest event needs to be thoroughly investigated. We've been in touch with the government of Israel this morning about  to gather information and to request that they investigate and provide more information about the circumstances that led to this tragedy.

We also think that this event underscores the need for expanded humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza. You may be aware, our USAID Administrator, Samantha Power, is in the region right now doing just that: working on delivering additional resources, she announced yesterday, for humanitarian aid; also meeting with a variety of stakeholders in the region about trying to open up additional humanitarian corridors in addition to the two that are currently serving as corridors for humanitarian aid into the region.

But beyond that, you know, we have consistently and vocally communicated to our Israeli counterparts the need for there to be viable plans to maintain basic security in areas of Gaza where their military campaigns against  and military operations against Hamas have concluded.

We have consistently also communicated a desire to see that those plans move forward. And we have yet to see those be implemented, and we're deeply concerned about that.

Once again, today we're making  making clear to our Israeli counterparts that we'd like to see those plans implemented very soon and  and provide for the basic security of the Palestinian people because the continued loss of life is deeply alarming and very  very, very tragic.

Q You kind of already said that the estimates for Monday for a ceasefire was optimistic. How does this affect that? And what  I mean, does this give  does this mean more pressure on Netanyahu to  to back a ceasefire?

MS. DALTON: Well, what I would say to that is you heard from the President on the South Lawn just a few moments ago  a couple hours ago, actually, now  that certainly this will make things more complicated. But he is continuing to work aggressively toward a hostage deal that would involve at least a six-week ceasefire and help us expand the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. And, of course, we hope that would be the basis for something longer.

Since we've been in the air, we've released a couple of readouts of calls that the President made to the heads of state of Egypt and Qatar, where the tragedy that we all woke up to this morning was discussed; the need for a hostage deal and expanded humanitarian aid, temporary ceasefire was discussed.

The President is going to stay on every available opportunity to make headway in brokering a hostage deal and reaching a temporary ceasefire that could be the basis for something longer. He's going to keep at it.

Q Does he plan to raise this directly with Prime Minister Netanyahu  what happened on the food line?

MS. DALTON: I don't  I don't have any calls to preview. But like I said, this was discussed in calls with  that were on the books with the heads of state of Qatar and Egypt this morning. They had also discussed the  the plans for  work towards a hostage deal.

Q But how seriously are you looking at the idea of an airdrop of humanitarian supplies into Gaza?

MS. DALTON: I don't have anything on that front to preview. But certainly, we're on the ground working  right now working to expand the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Just yesterday, Administrator Power announced $53 million in additional assistance for humanitarian aid to go into Gaza. She's working on expanding the channels, the corridors through which that aid can flow. We're going to keep at this.

The events of this morning just underscored how deep and dire the humanitarian needs amongst civilian population in Gaza are right now.

Q Olivia, there have been a number of administrative actions taken just over the course of the past few days targeting China. Why  is it just a coincidence that these actions are targeting China over the span of a few days? What's the  what's behind these actions?

MS. DALTON: Well, I think you're referring to the actions that the President announced this morning with respect to connected vehicles? Is this what you're talking about?

So, yes, the  as you heard from the President this morning, the President is committed to ensuring that, you know, American automakers, American autoworkers are best positioned to outcompete the rest of the world in the years ahead. And he's also concerned about  about countries like China. China is, right now 

(Air Force One experiences turbulence.) Sorry, guys, this turbulence might be a little much.

China is right now looking to flood the market here in the United States and around the world with vehicles equipped with advanced technology from countries of concern. And so, that is a security risk. That's a national security issue that we take very seriously. And it's the basis  basis from which the President decided to direct the Commerce Department to review those national security risks and take any regulatory action they deem necessary to protect our people and our national security.

Q What explanation  going back to the  the people killed while waiting for aid. What explanation have the Israelis given the U.S. as to what happened?

MS. DALTON: I  I don't have any details to share on that. As you heard from the President, we're still working to get to ground truth, so I just don't want to get ahead of the preliminary reports.

Q And a quick thing on that trip today. Will he meet with migrants?

MS. DALTON: I don't have anything on  of that nature to preview for you. As you heard from the Secretary, this is really about hearing operational, on-the-ground updates from the law enforcement and border personnel who are on the frontlines of dealing with these challenges and who have been under-resourced and caught flat-footed as we've seen migration surge.

We currently, today, have the same number of Border Patrol agents as we had four years ago, despite the fact that migration has surged 250 percent. That is just simply unacceptable. It's a national security issue. And the President is really here to hear firsthand from the frontline personnel about what they're facing and what they need to do their jobs more effectively and keep us all  keep our  our border secure.

Q And one more, if I may. Can 

AIDE: Can we just have you move forward because there's a bunch of people who wanted to use the restroom right here.

MS. DALTON: Oh, I'm so sorry. Can we just move 

(Cross-talk.)

Q Can you give any preview of Prime Minister Meloni's visit to the White House tomorrow? And also, what  you know  you know, when the President has these meetings and conversations with people like Prime Minister Meloni and Chancellor Scholz, what kind of  what can you say about the U.S. credibility beyond the fact that Republicans are holding up aid on Capitol Hill, when you do see Russian advances into Ukraine and Ukraine is badly outgunned and really need all these equipment? I mean, what  beyond blaming Capitol Hill, like, what is  what can you do to shore up U.S. credibility?

MS. DALTON: Well, look, the President has continued to aggressively make the case for Congress to patch  to pass the national security supplemental. That is  that is literally the only avenue through which we can provide Ukraine with the resources, the ammunition, the weaponry that they need to defend themselves against Russia's aggression.

There's no substitute for it. There's just no substitute for it. There's no mistaking that. It's  it's a clear message the President has continued to send. It's a bipartisan message shared by many members across Capitol Hill.

And so, you know, we're going to continue to press Congress to act. Every day that we do not pass the supplemental is a good day for Russia and a bad day for Ukraine. And we can't let that stand.

Q Can seized assets fill this gap at all?

MS. DALTON: Like I said 

Q Seized Russian assets, obviously.

MS. DALTON:  there's  there's no substitute for  for our ability to provide immediate resources through the national security supplemental to provide Ukraine with the weapons and ammunition that they need, like, right now. So, this is an urgent matter. It becomes more urgent by the day for the people of Ukraine.

And we're already seeing the impact of  of this lapse. And we need to see Congress move immediately to put the national security supplemental on the President's desk, and he'll sign it.

Q Do you have a sense of, like, the lag time between any bill being passed and actual munitions reaching Ukraine? You've got to make this stuff 

MS. DALTON: I don't have a 

Q  before you send it.

MS. DALTON: Yeah. I don't have a  sort of a precise timeline for you. All I can say is that we'll move Heaven and Earth to get that assistance quickly out the door as soon as Congress sends a bill to the President's desk.

Q Olivia, you blamed President Trump for the blockage or the derailing of the border compromise. Do you think that given that there is broad bipartisan support for Ukraine funding, does the President believe that the former President is a big part of why the Speaker has refused to bring the supplemental package to the floor?

MS. DALTON: I  I can't provide a portal into those conversations. But look, there was a clean  there was a  there was clean support for Ukraine and Israel on the table and the House didn't act. So, you'll have to ask them why they didn't move on that.

But our message has been unmistakable and clear. We have sought the resources to  to secure the border. We've sought the resources to equip Ukraine to defend itself, sought the resources for Israel to  to defend itself against an exis-  an existential terrorist threat from Hamas. And we are meeting inexplicably with continued resistance from the House Republicans.

And, you know, throughout this process, we've bent over backwards to try to extend in good faith a hand across the aisle. It's  it's hard to explain.

Senate Republicans are working with us.

So, look, I can't  I can't, again, provide a portal into the thinking of House Republicans right now. But it's obviously having a demonstrable impact on not just our national security but the security of partners and allies around the world.

Q Does the administration support a discharge petition to get this supplemental on the floor of the House for an up-or-down vote?

MS. DALTON: Look, we always leave the mechanics of these congressional processes up to leadership in the House and the Senate, so, I won't weigh in on particular procedures.

What we think is important is that this legislation get to the President's desk immediately, and then he'll sign it.

Q Does the President expect to learn anything new today when he hears from border personnel? Anything that might move the bill along or 

MS. DALTON: I think he'll  I think he's likely to hear in vivid detail what it's meant that Border Patrol has re-  you know, staffing has remained flat; that, you know, asylum judges are  are just, you know, facing incredible backlogs; that ICE detention centers are well over capacity.

I think he'll hear directly on the ground from people who are on the front lines trying to secure our border without the resources they need to do their jobs. And having those stories and hearing those stories and taking them back to Washington will be an important part of his ability to tell the Ameri-  American people who is responsible for holding up this critical assistance.

Q Just on Israel and Gaza. The President told Seth Meyers on Monday that he's concerned that Israel is starting to lose support on the international stage. Does the event overnight sort of increase those fears among the administration? And will he convey that to the Prime Minister?

MS. DALTON: Well, I can't speak for other countries, but I can say that the President and the administration  certainly, we've expressed our concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza, the mounting humanitarian crisis there, the need to surge resources into Gaza to address the extreme civilian harms that are occurring there. He's been unequivocal about that. The administration  everybody in administration has been unequivocal about that and as  you know, we've continued to communicate our concerns directly to Israel as recently as this morning in the wake of this tragic event.

Q But if communicating those concerns hasn't moved the needle, is there any talk of withholding aid or changing the aid to Israel?

MS. DALTON: Look, Israel is also a sovereign nation that makes their sovereign decisions. We are vocal about our concerns. And I think, you know, it's also important to bear in mind that they're a  a close ally. They'll remain a close ally. They are in the throes of an existential  battling an existential crisis  an existential threat to their existence from Hamas. And we're going to continue to support them in that process, even as we continue to make very, very, very clear our concerns about how this milit-  how these military operations are prosecuted and our concerns that civilian life be protected at  at every turn.

Q Olivia, the administration often takes positions on Supreme Court cases. They file amicus briefs. There is a Supreme Court case involving President Biden's predecessor involving presidential immunity that will be heard by the Supreme Court the week of April the 22nd. Will the administration file an amicus brief on either side concerning that case?

MS. DALTON: We're not going to comment on the legal process here.

Q Thank you.

MS. DALTON: All right. See you all on the ground.

Q Thank you, Olivia.

2:03 P.M. EST

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Operation Iron Swords - Day 146 - 29 February 2024

According to Hebrew media, the fears of the Israeli security authorities regarding the upcoming Ramadan season in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem are rising, amid warnings from the occupation that Hamas may exploit the most important time for Muslims as an opportunity to ignite the scene. The biblical holidays for the Jews this year intersect with the second week of Ramadan and Tarawih prayers, which may open the door to a new battle in Al-Aqsa Mosque. Ramadan is celebrated Mar 10, 2024  Apr 9, 2024. Tarawih, also known as Taraweeh, is a voluntary (nafl) night prayer performed by Muslims during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Tarawih prayers are a sunnah of the Prophet, which means that it was his practice to perform them. Purim is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the survival of the Jewish people from annihilation in the 5th century BCE. The story is told in the Book of Esther and is known as the Feast of Lots. Purim dates are March 2324, 2024.

Hamas called on 28 February 2024 for Palestinians to march to Jerusalems Al-Aqsa Mosque at the start of Ramadan, raising the stakes. This is a call on our people in Jerusalem and the West Bank to march to Al-Aqsa since the first day of Ramadan, said Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. It is the duty of the Arab and Islamic nations to take the initiative to break the starvation conspiracy in Gaza, Haniyeh said.

Israeli military and intelligence officials had recommended that restrictions be eased., The Israeli War Council had withdrawn powers regarding decisions in Al-Aqsa Mosque from extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Biden administration officials say they want to reach an agreement before the start of Ramadan. Israeli Defence Minister Gallant, asked about Bidens optimistic, said: Who am I to express an opinion about what the president said? I very much hope that he is right. An Israeli official told the Hebrew Channel 12: Our goal is to reach a prisoner exchange deal before the month of Ramadan.

IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, said "This morning, during an operation to bring humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip, 30 trucks that made their way to the northern Gaza Strip encountered a Palestinian crowd that began to gather around them and loot the equipment on them," said the IDF spokesman in his statement this evening , "You can see in the documentation how the tanks pass near the crowd and do not harm at him. I emphasize - we did not fire at the aid seekers, contrary to the accusations - we did not fire at the humanitarian convoy - neither from the air nor from the ground. We secured it so that it could reach the north of the Gaza Strip."

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, denounced the events that, according to Hamas, led to the killing of more than 100 Palestinians by Israeli army gunfire during an aid delivery operation in northern Gaza. His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, "We do not know exactly what happened. But whether these people were killed by Israeli fire, or were crushed by crowds, or were run over by trucks, these are acts of violence that are somehow linked to this conflict," adding that the incident took place in "horrific circumstances."

An Israeli military official told Reuters that two separate incidents occurred as the convoy of trucks passed from southern to northern Gaza along the main coastal road. He added that in the first incident, hundreds of people surrounded the aid trucks, and in a state of confusion, dozens were injured or killed due to the stampede or the trucks running over them.

He stated that the second incident occurred while the trucks were leaving, when some people, who had rushed to the convoy, approached the Israeli forces and a tank opened fire on them. The military official added in a press briefing, The soldiers fired warning shots in the air and then opened fire on those who posed a threat to them and did not move away... This is what we understand from our point of view. We continue to review the circumstances.

In turn, an Israeli government spokesman described the deaths of Palestinians while distributing aid near Gaza City as a "tragedy" and said that initial indications indicate that the deaths resulted from aid delivery drivers rushing into the growing crowd. Spokesman Avi Heyman added in statements to reporters, "At some point, (people) had crowded around the trucks and the people driving the trucks, who were civilian drivers from Gaza, rushed into the crowds, which ultimately led to the killing of dozens of people, as I understand it." He continued, "It is clear that it is a tragedy, but we are not sure of the details yet."

Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adraee posted on the X platform a video clip from the air that he said documented Palestinians intercepting aid trucks and looting them, causing dozens of deaths as a result of severe crowding and ramming.

Turkiye described the events as a "new crime against humanity." The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement: Israel has added a new crime to its crimes against humanity. She added, "The fact that Israel, which condemned the residents of Gaza to starvation, this time targeted innocent civilians standing in queues to receive humanitarian aid, is evidence that (Israel) deliberately intends to destroy the Palestinian people as a whole.

European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell said in a tweet via X that he was "horrified by the news of another massacre among civilians in Gaza," targeting what he described as "desperate civilians while trying to obtain humanitarian aid." These deaths are completely unacceptable, Borrell said, adding that denying people access to food aid constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Borrell called for the necessity of allowing unimpeded humanitarian access for aid to Gaza.

The HAMAS Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza reported that 104 Palestinians had been killedin the flour massacre and 760 were injured in the early morning hours of 29 February on Al Rashid Road south of Gaza city, warning that the actual death toll is likely to be higher as medical teams are struggling to handle the situation with limited critical care resources. The incident occurred as thousands of Palestinians reportedly gathered around trucks carrying supplies when they were allegedly hit by artillery shells and gunfire, according to initial media reports. A spokesman for the HAMAS Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed to Al Jazeera that the injuries were concentrated in the upper parts of the body, which indicated deliberate targeting of Palestinian civilians.

Bloggers said that the world today woke up to a new horrific and terrifying Israeli massacre against the Palestinian people in Gaza City, and that hundreds of starving citizens gathered near the Nabulsi roundabout awaiting the arrival of aid trucks before the occupation tanks attacked them with artillery shells and live bullets. They described it as a horrific crime that confirms the determination of the occupation to continue the starvation and genocide against the people of Gaza.

Some observers pointed out that the occupation refuses to bring in aid from the Rafah crossing, and their excuse is so that Hamas does not benefit from it. The truth is that their goal with the airdrop is to cause chaos and fighting among citizens in Gaza and kill the largest number of them by bombing their gatherings while they were waiting for the aid to be dropped, as happened this Thursday morning on Al-Rashid Street.

Followers said that after the Al-Rashid Street massacre, the resistance leadership must stop all forms of negotiations with the enemy. As long as death is certain in all circumstances, we must die with courage, not on death rows, as someone described. Bloggers pointed out that the Israeli occupation committed the massacre in front of the eyes of the whole world without fear of accountability, and they wondered how long the global silence, and the Arab ones in particular, will remain regarding Israeli crimes without holding the occupation accountable for the violations and crimes it commits against the people of Palestine and Gaza in particular.

Tweeters also considered that the Rashid Street massacre was considered the occupation's actual response to the International Court of Justice, a month after its decision, and its demand that the Israeli occupation submit a written report on the necessary measures to prevent ethnic cleansing operations in Gaza. The Israeli response came with more mass massacres against civilians in the Strip.

The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) said in a statement issued Thursday evening that the occupation army practices deception and lying about the horrific massacre it committed by passing on a trivial narrative to justify this systematic killing of our people. It added that the evidence provided by the Ministry of Health, not the least of which was direct shooting at citizens and their upper limbs for the purpose of immediate killing, in addition to witness accounts that confirmed that they were exposed to gunfire without any danger to the occupation forces, confirms the terrorist soldiers thirst for killing and committing the most heinous acts. The violations are due to the protection and cover provided by the administration of US President Biden from any international accountability.

Director General of the HAMAS Government Information Office, Ismail Al-Thawabta, said that the occupation knew that the victims were arriving in the area to obtain aid, but killed them in cold blood. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir described the occupation soldiers who committed the massacre as heroes, and said that they "acted excellently against the Gazan mob who tried to harm them."

The Israeli military, cited by the media, acknowledged shooting by its troops, and also said that most casualties occurred as a result of congestion and incidents of people being run over by trucks. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, speaking in English in an evening press conference, says troops fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse a mob of Palestinians rushing an aid convoy in northern Gaza this morning early this morning, as dozens were killed amid a crowd crush.

"This morning the IDF coordinated a convoy of 38 trucks to provide additional humanitarian assistance to the residents of northern Gaza. This humanitarian aid came from Egypt, went through a security screening at the Kerem Shalom humanitarian crossing in Israel, and then entered Gaza, for distribution by private contractors," Hagari says.

"As these vital humanitarian supplies made their way toward Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans [rushed] the trucks, some began violently pushing and trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," he says.

Hagari says "the unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

"Here are the facts: At a.m. the first aid truck in the humanitarian convoy started making its way through the humanitarian corridor that we were securing. Yes, the IDF was security the humanitarian corridor so that the aid convoy could reach its destination in northern Gaza," he says. "Our tanks were there to secure the humanitarian corridor, for the aid convoy. Our UAVs were there in the air to give our forces a clear picture from above," Hagari continues.

"At a.m., a mob ambushed the aid trucks, bringing the convoy to a halt," he says, showing a new video of the incident. "In this video, the tanks that were there to secure the convoy saw the Gazans being trampled and cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots," he says. "When the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand, the tank commander decided to retreat to avoid harm to the thousands of Gazans that were there," Hagari says.

"You can see how cautious they were when they were backing up. They were backing up securely, risking their own lives, not shooting at the mob," he continues. "The Israel Defense Forces operates according to the rules of engagement and international law. No IDF strike was conducted toward the aid convoy," Hagari says, amid claims by Hamas that 107 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded.

"On the contrary, the IDF was there carrying out a humanitarian aid operation, to secure the humanitarian corridor, and allow the aid convoy to reach its distribution point, so that the humanitarian aid could reach Gazan civilians in the norther who are in need," he says. Hagari says the IDF has been conducting operations of this kind "for the last four nights without any problem, this is the first night we have had any kind of event."

"This humanitarian aid was coordinated by Israel, for the people of Gaza. We want the aid to reach the people of Gaza. We are working around the clock to make this happen. Israel puts no limits on the amount of aid that can go into Gaza," he says. "We are working together with humanitarian organizations and the international community to help them solve the issue of aid distribution inside Gaza, it is a problem," Hagari says.

"We recognize the suffering of the innocent people of Gaza. This is why we are seeking ways to expand our humanitarian efforts, this is why we are conducting humanitarian operations," he continues. "Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza," Hagari adds.

The image of American pilot Aaron Bushnell, who burned himself in front of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., continues to preoccupy American and international public opinion, amid the interaction of the social media platforms regarding the raised concerns regarding the participation of American forces in the war on Gaza.

Following the publication of the clip of Bushnell burning himself, dozens of former soldiers gathered in the American city of Portland, burned their military uniforms, and raised a banner reading Free Palestine. Hundreds of people and a number of former soldiers also participated in the place where Bushnell burned himself, in a pause of mourning and solidarity with the American pilot who rejected the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

The New York Post newspaper quoted one of Bushnell's close friends as telling him on the night of his death that he had seen secret information indicating that American soldiers were participating in the war on the Gaza Strip and killing large numbers of Palestinians. According to a friend of the American pilot, whose identity the newspaper did not reveal, Bushnell told him that he was serving in the 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing of the US Air Force, and was accessing US military intelligence data of the top secret category by virtue of having permission to do so.

He revealed that Bushnell spoke to him about American soldiers fighting in the tunnels used by Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, in a position that contradicts what the White House has always asserted that American forces will not participate in the war.

In light of these developments, the Al-Jazeera Shabakat program - in its episode dated (2/29/2024) - monitored the interaction of communication platforms with the consequences of the incident of the American pilot burning himself, and the leaked American participation in the war on Gaza. In this context, activist Iman said, There is no more secret information... Things - unfortunately - have become public... and what Bushnells friend said is not new. America is the first partner and complicit in war crimes in Gaza.

Adel Mukhtar went in the same direction, and said, What Bushnells friend revealed indicates that America, with all its military might, with its allies and Israel , joined forces and came together to attack the resistance in Gaza, and that the resistance alone is fighting them. While Ammar described the American pilot as an unparalleled hero, and that he will become a new Mohamed Bouazizi in America, Rafik called for anticipation of upcoming events and developments, saying: Wait for surprises and scandals. A political, diplomatic and legal hurricane in America, Britain, Europe, Canada and Australia.

In turn, Ben Salem believes that Bushnell detonated a powerful protest bomb that thundered like a flood, and added, "It would be a daydream for the ruling elite in America to remain convinced of its ability to contain the bomb and prevent the expansion of its points of influence, by ignoring its order."

It should be noted that the American newspaper "The New York Times" quoted a close friend of Bushnell as saying that he was constantly complaining about his job in the Air Force, and that he was in conflict with the US army because of the invasion of Iraq and the occupation of Afghanistan. The newspaper added that Bushnell's friends and relatives describe him as being shy and belonging to an isolated Christian community, and he was participating in efforts to solve the homelessness crisis by transferring large sums of money to some homeless people.

War Termination

There is no end to the war in sight, as both sides still see the other as an existential threat, and there is no clear path to any kind of permanent peace between them.

US President Joe Biden said that the aid incident will complicate hostage negotiations." In the latest death toll, Al Jazeeras correspondent reported - that the number of martyrs had risen to 112, indicating the difficulty of providing a complete count due to the intense Israeli bombing of the area located in Gaza City near Al-Rashid Street (Al-Bahr Street). In response to a question about whether Gaza would witness a ceasefire starting next Monday, as he previously stated, the US President said, Maybe it will not be Monday.

Biden told reporters when asked about the incident, We are currently investigating the matter. There are two conflicting stories about what happened, and I do not have an answer until this moment. We extend our condolences for the loss of innocent lives and acknowledge the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where innocent Palestinians are trying to feed their families, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters: We are urgently seeking additional information about exactly what happened, offering his condolences to the families of the victims. He added, "We have been in contact with the Israeli government since early this morning and have learned that an investigation is underway. We will follow this investigation closely and press for answers."

Operational Update

There were 24 regional battalions in Gaza  we have dismantled 18 of them, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told foreign reporters. Now, Rafah is the next Hamas center of gravity.

Intense Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea continues to be reported across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Ground operations and heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups also continue to be reported, particularly in northern Gaza, Deir al Balah, and Khan Younis.

In two separate incidents on 26 February, UNRWA reports that internally displaced persons (IDPs), including UNRWA staff, sheltering at two schools in Khan Younis were forced to evacuate and some were arrested by Israeli forces. One of the schools reportedly had the main gate, guard room, and generator damaged by Israeli tanks and bulldozers. One female IDP was reportedly killed during this incident  the circumstances are unclear at time of this writing. As of 28 February, according to UNRWA, at least 404 IDPs have been killed, and 1,385 others have been injured, in more than 330 incidents affecting UNRWA premises and shelters hosting IDPs since the escalation of hostilities in October.

Israeli official radio reported that 9 soldiers from the Givati Brigade were expelled from the fighting in the Gaza Strip because they refused military orders, and they were placed under investigation. She added that the soldiers refused to obey the orders of their commander after they left their positions and wandered around without helmets and jackets.

The soldiers say they have been risking their lives for a long time. We fought, we lost our friends, and now they are throwing us away. One of them added, "We were close to the leaders in one of the areas, and they abandoned us in all stages of the fighting, above and below the ground, and now they are threatening us that they will take the warrior's certificate from us and everything."

The soldiers' families said, "The soldiers had been in Gaza for a long time and were completely exhausted. Instead of taking them out for renewal and giving them military uniforms when they asked for it, they were being humiliated and threatened with losing their warrior certificate." The radio reported that the soldiers fought for 4 months in Khan Yunis, Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Al-Shati camp, and Jabalia.

The Jordanian army announced the implementation of two new airdrops of relief and food aid to the Gaza Strip , in cooperation with the Sultanate of Oman and Bahrain. The Egyptian army also announced that Egyptian and Emirati aircraft carried out another airdrop. A statement by the Jordanian army on its official website stated that the Jordanian Armed Forces carried out two airdrops of relief and food aid to the Gaza Strip on Thursday, in cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Sultanate of Oman, in order to support and assist the family and brothers, stand with them, and mitigate the effects of the raging Israeli war on the Strip.

The Jordanian army confirmed that it is continuing to send aid via an air bridge to deliver humanitarian and medical aid, whether through aid planes from Marka Airport towards Al-Arish International Airport or through airdrops into the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian army announced in a statement by its spokesman, Colonel Gharib Abdel Hafez, that Egyptian and Emirati planes carried out an airdrop of aid into the Gaza Strip, in the second airdrop of humanitarian aid carried out by Egypt within about two days. The spokesman said that a number of Egyptian and Emirati military transport planes took off from Al-Arish Airport to carry out night air drops of tens of tons of urgent aid and relief materials to alleviate the severe humanitarian crisis from which Palestinian citizens in northern Gaza are suffering.

He added that the airdrop comes "in implementation of the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to continue the air bridge to transport urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip." According to the Egyptian spokesman, the aid included large quantities of food supplies, medicines, and urgent needs that were dropped by air in various areas of the northern Gaza Strip, which lack the basic necessities of life as a result of the continuation of military operations.

The Chief of Staff arrived tonight (Thursday) at the scene of the attack at the Baali gas station and held a situational assessment to strengthen security in the area, together with the commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, the commander of the Benjamin Brigade, representatives of the Central Command, the Shin Bet and the police. The Chief of Staff met Aviad Gazbar, a reserve officer in the Givati Brigade, who eliminated the terrorist, and praised his brave action that prevented a greater disaster and said: "This is a serious attack, in which two Israeli civilians were killed, and we mourn their deaths. With the professional action of a reserve officer who came out of fighting in Gaza, the event ended and an even bigger disaster was avoided."

"The countermeasure effort of the security forces at the Central Command continues all the time," he continued, "and we will draw the lessons from this incident to strengthen the defense."

The combat team of the Sabar Battalion has been operating in recent weeks in a raid in the Zeytun area in the northern Gaza Strip.

In the neighborhood of Zeitoun in the northern Gaza Strip, the fighters of the 401st Israel Defense Forces eliminated terrorists, destroyed tunnel shafts and located many weapons. The soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces closed many circuits in the last day and eliminated terrorists who shot at them. As part of this, the fighters identified two terrorist squads that shot at the troops and in a short time they directed an aircraft that attacked and eliminated the squads.

In addition, three terrorists were identified directing drones and entering a building in the sector, the terrorists were eliminated using an Air Force aircraft directed by the brigade. In another activity in the area, the fighters located and destroyed five launch pits.

The 215th Fire Brigade prepared an aircraft that attacked and eliminated two terrorists in the north of the Gaza Strip, who fired at our forces shortly before the elimination. The forces directed an aircraft that eliminated another terrorist.

In the center of the strip, the Nahal Brigade's combat team eliminated a number of terrorists throughout the last day and located weapons. In one of the activities, the brigade's fire complex identified a terrorist squad approaching our forces and directed an aircraft that attacked and eliminated the squad. In another operation, the forces detected a terrorist approaching them and eliminated him by a drone.

v In the south of the Gaza Strip, the forces of Division 98 continued fighting in the west of Khan Yunis, eliminating terrorists and destroying terrorist infrastructure in the area. The forces of the Givati Brigade Combat Team identified five terrorists and in a precise attack by the Air Force in cooperation with the brigade fire complex, the terrorists were eliminated. In addition, the brigade fire complex of the 7th brigade, with the help of an aircraft, eliminated four terrorists who tried to plant a bomb on the ground.

Two Israeli settlers were killed in a shooting operation near the Eli settlement, south of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, while the Israeli occupation army announced the killing of a Palestinian after he opened fire at a gas station near the settlement. The occupation army said that its forces closed the roads leading to the place and began chasing others suspected of participating in the operation.

There were conflicting reports about the number of perpetrators of this operation, as Israeli Army Radio said that the perpetrator was one person, a resident of Qalandiya, near the city of Jerusalem. While Israeli media sources reported that "a cell of 3 gunmen carried out the shooting attack in the settlement."

For its part, the Israeli newspaper Maariv said that the army activated warnings in the Eli settlement due to fears that another person among the perpetrators of the operation would infiltrate after he withdrew from the place. It is noteworthy that the Eli settlement witnessed a similar operation last year, when two Palestinian youths opened fire on settlers on June 20, 2023, at a gas station near the settlement, killing 4 Israelis and wounding 4 others. The perpetrators of the operation were martyred by Israeli occupation forces' bullets.

On 29 February, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian male during a search-and-arrest operation in Beit Furik village in Nablus that involved clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian stone throwers. On 29 February, a Palestinian man died of injuries sustained on 19 October 2023 during an Israeli military operation in Nur Shams Refugee Camp near Tulkarm city, which resulted in the killing of 13 other Palestinians, including the mans 12-year-old son.

Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that an Israeli special force stormed a residential building in Jenin, coinciding with the arrival of additional reinforcements. The occupation forces stormed the town and conducted patrols in several neighborhoods, which led to the outbreak of confrontations during which Israeli soldiers fired bullets at Palestinians, and a young man was killed by a bullet in the abdomen before the occupation forces withdrew from the town.

This comes as the occupation forces also stormed the town of Al-Laban Al-Gharbi, northwest of Ramallah, and conducted patrols in several neighborhoods. Local Palestinian platforms documented, through video clips published on the Telegram platform a short while ago, the Israeli occupation forces storming the town of Bani Naim, east of Hebron in the West Bank. The video clips included documentation of the presence of occupation vehicles in the town's streets.

The Israeli occupation forces also stormed the town of Halhul, north of it, raided several homes, launched an arrest campaign in the two towns, and confiscated a vehicle belonging to a Palestinian citizen from the town of Bani Naim. The Israeli occupation forces raided the home of the family of the martyr Thaer Hassan in Bethlehem. Pictures monitored by Al Jazeera Live showed the effects of destruction left by the occupation forces after the raid.

The Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Qaffin, north of the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank, and conducted their patrols supported by military vehicles. This led to the outbreak of confrontations with resistance fighters, during which they were able to target occupation soldiers and vehicles with homemade explosive devices. The occupation forces also stormed the town of Al-Samu, south of Hebron, and raided a number of homes, searched them, and checked the identification papers of some vehicles.

In Al-Ain Al-Bayda, near Wadi Al-Jawaya in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron, settlers chased sheep herders and a number of children who were collecting seasonal mountain plants in the area, and detained one of them. Since 7 October 2023, OCHA has recorded 601 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in Palestinian casualties (53 incidents), damage to Palestinian-owned property (481 incidents), or both casualties and damage to property (67 incidents).

IDF spokesman, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, said "This week we attacked compounds of Hezbollah's air defense system deep in Lebanon, this is a distant attack in the Bekaa. This is a system that Hezbollah has invested a lot of money in in an attempt to limit the IDF's freedom of action in the Lebanese skies," the IDF spokesman continued, "the Air Force proves once again Once because there is no place where we want or need to attack and we will not do so." Fighter jets attacked a Hezbollah military structure in the area of Leyda, where a terrorist operative was identified. In addition, IDF forces attacked to remove a threat in the area of Miss Al Jabal.

Fighter jets attacked a number of Hezbollah terrorist targets in the Jebel Balt region of Lebanon, among them launching positions next to a military site where the organization's terrorists were operating. During the morning, a number of launches were detected that crossed the territory of Lebanon to the areas of Adamit and Shlomi. IDF forces attacked the source of the shooting.

Haaretz newspaper said that Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah have been on the verge of a comprehensive war since last October 8, but the horrific truth is that if another front was opened with Lebanon and its regional extension, what would be the scale of the devastating attacks on civilian infrastructure that would occur, especially with the absence of American support for these attacks?

The newspaper explained - in a report by writer and researcher Dalia Scheindlin - that Hezbollah began firing on Israeli positions from southern Lebanon from the first day of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) attack on southern Israel, which led to the evacuation of about 80,000 Israelis and 75,000 Lebanese from the border areas. The forces from both sides moved to their positions.

Although the party prefers to avoid a large-scale war, as appeared in the speeches of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah , some Israeli figures are calling for a more aggressive approach. In fact, the Israeli government is on the verge of launching a major escalatory strike, and Defense Minister Yoav Galant has supported a serious preventive measure, but the United States The United States discouraged him from doing so.

Since then, there has been a continuous war of retaliation fueled by Hezbollah anti-tank fire, limited Israeli raids, suicide drones, Hezbollah missiles, and Israeli air strikes, which led to the destruction of buildings and resulted in the deaths of a number of Hezbollah fighters, some Lebanese civilians, and a number of Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, according to the newspaper.

The Israeli political leadership followed a strict and tough rhetorical line before the public, and called for a strong strike, and member of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz, threatened that if a diplomatic solution was not reached, Israel would resort to the military option. Gallant recently said that Israel could take military action against Hezbollah regardless of reaching a ceasefire with Hamas.

The truth - as the newspaper says - is that the Israelis had this idea long before the current war, when an opinion article in the country's most widely circulated daily newspaper, the right-wing "Israel Today", called for an attack on Lebanon on October 6, 2022, that is, a full year before the Hamas attack.

If Hezbollah were to turn to infrastructure first - as the newspaper says - can you imagine how Tel Aviv would function without electricity, schools, hospitals and supermarkets? The newspaper was surprised at how Israel convinced itself of the necessity of opening another front with Hezbollah, which possesses weapons many times more destructive than what Hamas possesses, and wondered: Has anyone thought about the costs? Indeed, the Israeli government can imagine this, as a document was circulated on social media bearing the logo of the Ministry of Justice, and it includes emergency instructions in the event of an all-out war in the north and attacks on power plants, warning of power outages, and advising the storage of water and cell phone batteries.

But the clear danger of war in the north is the outbreak of a regional war, and Aziz Al-Ghasyan, a Saudi foreign policy researcher, explained that Iran is more committed to Hezbollah than Hamas. Iran must emerge, and it must protect Hezbollah more, Al-Ghasyan said, while US President Joe Biden s administration seeks to avoid a regional war, and its top priority will be to stop it quickly, as Frederick Hof, a resident diplomat at the College of Defense, wrote.

Hof explained that the administration is concerned that "Hezbollah will target civilians, and Israeli officials have already promised to hold Lebanon responsible for the party's actions." This situation would lead to heavy civilian casualties and severe damage to property and infrastructure on both sides of the Blue Line, in addition to exposing American citizens to danger, and thus the administration is already working to stop the escalation.

The newspaper wondered: Who specifically would be on Israel's side in such a fire if it was the one who initiated it? Who will stand by her side in the future? Al-Ghasyan believes that Saudi Arabia may conclude that Israel cannot be trusted to avoid regional escalation, and that it represents a security burden, not just a potential strategic asset.

The newspaper concluded that the devastating attacks on civilian infrastructure, the extension of the regional war, the absence of American support for it, and the tense or declining relations with the countries with which Israel hopes to normalize relations are the costs that Israeli political leaders and analysts alike ignore.

Maps

All maps are lies. Not only is it easy to lie with maps, it is essential, wrote cartographer Mark Monmoneir in his book How to Lie with Maps. He showed that condensing complex, three-dimensional spaces onto a two-dimensional sheet of paper [in old days] is bound to be reductive. But it is impossible to comprehend the war in Gaza without reference to maps, otherwise the entire conflict is reduced to an endless series of meaningless acts of random violence and the suffering of civilians. The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line. Evidently, different mappers have different ideas of how to depict the war in Gaza, notably those that seek to depict Israeli progress in the ground campaign. Part of the problem is latency. The news that forms the basis of the maps takes time to filter out to mappers, and the cartographers take time in crafting their maps, and it takes time to curate them. These processes are uneven among mappers, so their maps may differ in detail. Probably there is some ideological bias, or at least thematic apperception, which is understandable in wartime. It may come as no surprise that al-Jazeera maps depict rather less Israeli territorial progress than other sources. Finally, there remains the epistemological question of just exactly what are the colored in areas depicting. Naively, this might be understood as areas of Israeli control, that are no longer contested by the HAMAS. Or possibly these are areas of Israeli presence, in many of which the possibility of an RPG-wielding HAMAS militant popping out of a tunnel unexpectedly remains a live possibility. With the "zero-range" combat characterized by small unit tactics on both sides, maps may be prey to a fallacy of misplaced concreteness.

Bystanders

The risk of death from starvation in Gaza is reportedly growing, disproportionately affecting children and pregnant women, and is exacerbated by inadequate water, sanitation and health services, the severing of power and fuel supplies, and the decimation of food production and agriculture. MoH in Gaza reported that six infants have died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration, including two at Shifa Hospital on 28 February. A rise in anemia among pregnant women was also reported at Project HOPEs clinic in Deir al Balah, where some 21 per cent of 416 pregnant women who visited the clinic between 5 and 24 February showed signs of malnutrition caused by the lack of protein, iron, and other micronutrients, which can increase the risk of a life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage, premature births, and low birth weight.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the entire food supply chain in Gaza has been severely disrupted with 97 per cent of ground water reportedly unfit for human consumption, about 27 per cent of greenhouses destroyed, more than 40 per cent of croplands and dozens of home barns, broiler farms and sheep farms damaged, more than 600 agricultural wells damaged, and the fishing sector grounded to a halt.

On 28 February, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) highlighted that the significant damage incurred by the agricultural sector in Gaza combined with limited commercial food imports have led to food scarcity and soaring prices at a time when peoples purchasing power has declined. To prevent starvation in Gaza, the two aid organizations emphasized the criticality of safe and unimpeded aid flow via all possible routes, reactivating essential services in Gaza, and upscaling aid responses toward the early restoration of agrifood systems.

Citing the danger of a looming man-made famine, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that the Agency has been unable able to deliver food to northern Gaza since late January due to security incidents affecting the few aid convoys that are permitted to reach northern Gaza from the south via Israeli military checkpoints, and growing incidents of chaos and robbery. On 20 February, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it had paused deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza, following incidents where WFP convoys were unable to deliver aid largely due to a breakdown in civil order.

The convoys had resumed on 18 February after a three-week suspension following a strike on an UNRWA truck and due to the absence of a functioning humanitarian notification system. In his address to the UN Security Council on 27 February, Ramesh Rajasingham, the Director of OCHAs Coordination Division cited the warning by food security experts of complete agricultural collapse in northern Gaza by May if conditions persist, with fields and productive assets damaged, destroyed, or inaccessible. Reiterating the UN call for a ceasefire, Mr. Rajasingham cautioned that if nothing is done, we fear widespread famine in Gaza is almost inevitable.

Two people were killed in an Israeli bombing in southern Lebanon on Wednesday evening, at a time when the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades , the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ), announced the targeting of two military sites in northern Israel with dozens of missiles launched from southern Lebanon.

The Lebanese Civil Defense reported that a man and his wife were killed in an Israeli raid that targeted a house in the town of Kafra, south of Lebanon. The official Lebanese News Agency also reported that enemy warplanes raided the towns of Siddiqin and Kafra in three batches, resulting in the death of two martyrs from the town of Kafra, in addition to 14 injuries to date, including wounds and cases of suffocation.

Prior to that, the Israeli occupation army said that it carried out a raid on Lebanese Hezbollah sites and bombarded the town of Hula in southern Lebanon with artillery. Al Jazeera's correspondent, in turn, said that an Israeli raid targeted the town of Siddiqin and the vicinity of the town of Kafra.

The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades - Lebanon announced earlier Wednesday that it had targeted two Israeli military sites with "two missile salvos consisting of 40 Grad missiles." In a statement published on the Telegram application, Al-Qassam placed the bombing in the context of a response to the Zionist massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip and the assassination of the martyred leaders and their brothers in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

On the other hand, the Israeli army said in a statement that about 10 projectiles were detected that crossed from Lebanon into northern Israel, adding that sirens sounded in the Kiryat Shmona region in the north of the country. He added that the air defenses "successfully confronted a number of projectiles," noting that they struck "the sources of fire in Lebanon." The Israeli police reported damage to property in the Kiryat Shmona area, but no casualties were reported.

On the other hand, Hezbollah announced targeting sites of Israeli forces near the border. He said, "In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance, the Mujahideen of the Islamic Resistance targeted a deployment of Israeli soldiers in the vicinity of the Birkat Risha site with missile weapons, and achieved direct hits." In a statement on Telegram, Hezbollah added, The Ramtha and Al-Samaqa sites in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms were also targeted with missile weapons, and they were hit directly.

In what appeared to be a response to the strikes coming from Lebanon, the Israeli army announced that it had carried out attacks on Hezbollahs military infrastructure in Ebel al-Saqi, Yarin, and Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, and a platform used to launch missiles at Kiryat Shmona. The Israeli army spokesman said that some of the rockets launched from southern Lebanon fell inside Lebanese territory, and the rest fell in open areas inside Israeli territory without causing any casualties. The spokesman added that Israeli warplanes bombed a launcher used to launch missiles towards Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. He also pointed out that Hezbollah's military infrastructure was targeted in the areas of Al-Saqi, Bint Jbeil and Yarin.

It is noteworthy that the Lebanese-Israeli border has witnessed almost daily bombardment between the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Israeli army since the outbreak of the war on Gaza on the seventh of last October , and Palestinian factions in Lebanon also claim responsibility for attacks in the region from time to time. The escalation over more than four months prompted tens of thousands of residents on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes, and caused the death of at least 286 people, including 197 Hezbollah fighters, 44 civilians, and 24 Palestinian fighters. While the Israeli army announced the killing of 10 soldiers and 6 civilians. The military escalation raised local and international fears that the exchange of bombardments would expand into a widespread confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel, which fought a devastating war in the summer of 2006.

Axis of Resistance

Sardar Ismail Sardar Qaani, commander of IRGC Quds Force, said in the commemoration ceremony of Fatemiyoun martyrs and the 9th anniversary of Abu Hamid and Fatih martyrs, which was held with the efforts of Fatemiyoun Army and with the cooperation of Shabab Resistance Front in Mashhad: In the month of Shaban, We are in the month of the Messenger of God and we are on the threshold of the holy month of Ramadan, in the past few days we have celebrated various holidays, especially the anniversary of the birth of the savior of mankind. I congratulate all the dignitaries and the families of the martyrs and hope that we will all be among the true followers of the family of innocence and purity and among the soldiers of the blessed existence of the Prophet.

He added: "This valuable meeting, which was held on the occasion of commemorating the memory of the martyrs of Fatemiyoun, especially the two leading commanders and heroes of this series, Martyr Abu Hamid and Martyr Fateh, is an excuse, and the scope of this meeting is much more than this, and this meeting is a commemoration of all the martyrs."

Commander of Quds Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said: Tonight is the commemoration of the martyrs of Islamic resistance in the whole region and the martyrs of the highest authority of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, who have reached the peak of heroism in Islamic culture these days.

Sardar Qaani clarified: The martyrs of Fatemiyoun are among the pioneers and among the Mujahideen in the cause of Allah, both of which are criteria that are valued in Islamic culture and our religious culture values it a lot.

He added: This 80-year-long Palestinian mujahidin had many ups and downs, but in this recent period, the Palestinian mujahidin showed such strength, power and fortitude that it surprised the whole world. The Palestinians have an 80-year history of struggle; The brothers who are fighting against the enemy of Islam and humanity, namely the bloodthirsty and child-killing Zionists, these young people who are fighting today are the fourth and fifth generation who are being martyred in this field of struggle.

Sardar Qaani stated: During this period, carrying out the Al-Aqsa storm operation showed how the Palestinian Mujahideen have gained strength step by step, and how they have grown in the military and operational dimension, and in the industrial and technical dimension today, and most importantly, how they have grown in the spiritual and religious dimensions. And they have been able to combine these dimensions with each other and come to the field, they have been able to manage this big operation.

He pointed out: America, England and some of the humiliated countries in the region came to help, but the young heroes and full of faith were on the job, and this operation surprised the whole world, and friends and enemies were tested in this great incident, and the whole world was forced. Determine their position in relation to Palestine. The great work that was formed by the youth during the Al-Aqsa storm operation was so great that those who had never thought about Palestine even once were forced to think about what Palestine means and who these Mujahidin are.

Sardar Qaani said: One of the effects of this heroic operation was that many people sought to know Islam. This incident is not without introduction. Anyone who wants to talk about this should look at the 75 years of occupation of Palestine. These atrocities of the Zionist criminals, which were concentrated with the support of America during these 75 usurpations of this land and the pressure they imposed, and the sum of these crimes caused this great storm to form.

He added: "Al-Aqsa storm does not have a history of one or two days. Our brothers in Palestine defended themselves during these years and were always attacked, and these criminals attacked their homes and lives." You see, these children were so empty-handed that they stood against the army armed to the teeth with stones. They grew step by step and advanced with strength and completed their infrastructures, and the meaning of this move is to follow the Quran.

The Commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued: Familiarity with the Qur'an is one of the most important virtues of Palestinian children. be dug They fought with stones; The Al-Aqsa storm war that started, global analysts said that it would not last 30-45 days, today we are on the threshold of 5 months of completely unequal but heroic struggle by the brave Palestinian youth; They said they would run out of weapons, but it didn't happen in an unbelievable atmosphere.

He added: The path taken by the soldiers and Mujahideen of the resistance war; The more pressure and restrictions increase in heroic and resistance war, the level of damage inflicted on the enemy also increases.

Sardar Qaani stated: The youths who were fighting with stones today almost all the weapons they used in these 5 months were made by themselves and today they are making the weapons they need while fighting. That's what resistance means. The path opened by your brothers, fathers and wives is very valuable, today in Palestine is the height of crime; There is no one who does not accept that this war is the most criminal war in history. In the criminal wars, they set limits and did not cut off the water, they cut off the water from the first day; About 2 million people were present in Gaza; A day, 500 trucks of facilities were going, but they were cut off by the Zionists.

The IRGC Quds Force commander said: Israel's crimes have disgraced the false defenders of human rights, who even veto the temporary ceasefire resolution. We dominate the statistics of Zionist casualties. Sometimes the statistics provided by the officials of the usurping Zionist regime about their casualties in the Gaza war are at least five times lower than the actual figures.

He stated that "the path to the overthrow and destruction of this usurping regime has increased and their internal war will increase when the war ends, that is why their prime minister is trying not to end the war." He said: The path taken by the resistance martyrs was a war of resistance, not a normal war, in such a battle, the more the pressure, the more heroic the effect. In Gaza, people don't even have minimum food, but they stand firm and dignified.

He pointed out: Today in the north of Gaza, people do not have the food they can prepare with minimal facilities, but these Palestinian heroes are standing firm like this. You saw the movie where the middle-aged woman says that she is looking for flour day and night to make bread and give it to the soldiers. The path of high-ranking martyrs, especially the Fatemiyoun martyrs, depicts such a dignified and honorable life.

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stated: The Al-Aqsa storm incident is a response to the 75-year-old Zionist crime and the all-out support of the West, led by the criminal America and the evil British. This Al-Aqsa storm, which has affected the world; Continuation is the path of martyrs.

Sardar Qaani said: Yemeni youths worked and fought so heroically that the weapons in their hands reached the distance of Israel. Today, the heroes of Yemen shoot at the Zionists and warn the ships that serve the Zionists, and if they are ignored, they will respond firmly.

He said: "Our great martyrs fought in difficult conditions, but you should know what difficult conditions our brothers in Yemen are also in. The brothers who moved behind your martyrs are busy today and are next to the Palestinian brothers."

The commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued: America and England escorted a ship to the occupied territories by a military ship, but the same ship did not stay away from the sharp eyes of Yemen. Today, the resistance brothers are telling the Palestinians that you are not alone. It is true that war is hard, but there has been no operational unit in the war of our times that brought this amount of tanks, personnel carriers and weapons to this sector. How much is this land? 40 km long and 8 km wide, at some point they brought more than 2000 tanks, personnel carriers and bulldozers, the whole sky was full of warplanes and drones, but this war was managed and see what the fate of the war has become.

Sardar Qaani stated: All the Zionists did not reach even one of their goals. When they entered Gaza, they did not have a goal to give to their commanders, and finally they said that they want to destroy Hamas, then they realized that they were wrong. They created artificial cases for themselves and introduced a hospital as the command center and attacked it with rockets.

Stating that Palestinian heroic youths carry out more than 30 operations in the West Bank on some days, he said: These are the products of the Resistance Front and the World Mobilization of Islam. In order to support the Palestinian youth, we support this strong heroic front to the best of our ability, both in action and speech, and we work together for the complete destruction of the Zionist regime.

The Islamic Resistance Movement ( Hamas ) called on the Arab League and the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting to take decisions obligating Israel to stop the mass killing and ethnic cleansing in Gaza , after the massacre committed by the occupation on Al-Rashid Street in the northern Gaza Strip. The movement held Israel and US President Joe Biden fully responsible for the Al-Rashid Street massacre, and for the escalation of the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people.

The movement appealed to the Arab countries to break what it called the box of silence regarding the genocide against the Palestinian people, and to immediately implement the decision of the Arab-Islamic Summit last November 11, which emphasized breaking the siege and immediately bringing food and medical aid into the Gaza Strip. The movement called on the Arab and Islamic peoples and those it called the free people of the world to hold widespread popular activities and demonstrations to denounce the Israeli massacre against the Palestinians, and to put pressure on governments to take effective and strong positions against Israel.

Allied for Democracy

Le Monde newspaper said that the humiliation and contempt of residents, and the plundering and destruction of their property, are actions that Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip brag about on TikTok and Instagram, in a stream of video clips that can be considered a witness to the extent of the feeling of impunity, and to the exposure of a form of stripping the Palestinian population of their humanity.

The newspaper indicated - in a correspondence from Jerusalem written by Samuel Fourie - that the content of some of these clips shows soldiers having fun in a private house, others riding childrens bicycles, a group raising the Israeli flag on a building in the middle of an ocean of destruction, and moments of pure vandalism and joy in looting and vandalizing an empty mosque. It shows a soldier breaking up leftover merchandise in a store.

In more clips, soldier Isidore Al-Gharabli appears playing the role of a real estate broker in the ruins of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, then praises the beauty of the Gaza coast, before threatening in front of the camera, saying, We will crush you. Some looters also appear, such as the man who attacks the box of a Gazan resident with a mill, and the one who carries a pair of shoes still in the original box, to present to his future fiancee.

In other, darker clips, an artilleryman is shown bombing Gaza disguised as a dinosaur, an infantry soldier sets fire to a shipment of food at a time when Gaza is on the brink of famine, and another waves a banner advertising his hair salon next to the corpses of Palestinians, whom the words compare His songs "With Animals" and "Amalek". This comparison - according to the newspaper - refers to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallants likening of the Palestinians to human animals, and the dehumanization it calls for, and then to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus quote, Remember what Amalek did, as the commandment of Deuteronomy calls for,  Erase them from memory.

The newspaper believed that the widespread culture of display on social media, in addition to the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in addition to the October 7 attack, had liberated many soldiers from all restrictions. We have seen this kind of behavior in the past, says the executive director of the Israeli human rights organization Breaking the Silence. But this level of violence and its legitimization says a lot about the general attitude of soldiers in the Strip. All of these videos are symptoms of a deep sense of malaise.

In a separate report to the newspaper, Merav Zonszin, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, attributed the violations committed by the Israeli army in part to the fact that the army has become more nationalist, religious, and right-wing, and to the large number of soldiers deployed, their young age, and their poor training. The analyst pointed out that documents of these violations were found on social media networks, confirming the extent of their spread. Indeed, the soldiers testimonies indicate that what is happening in secret is more important, to the point that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy was forced to summon his commanders to return to the regime on February 20.

A soldier - who preferred to remain anonymous - admitted to the newspaper that minor looting had taken place, explaining that all the houses we passed were searched from top to bottom, looking for weapons or ammunition. Some of us took worthless souvenirs. The houses were burned by order of "Leadership. One of us tried to object to this kind of behavior. He was told that Hamas terrorists killed people and burned homes on October 7, so we can do that too." The newspaper pointed out that this phenomenon prompted some soldiers to ask the rabbis about looting and whether it is prohibited under Jewish law. Rabbi Yitzhak Shilat, of the Maale Adumim settlement, explained that stealing food and perishable materials is permitted, and nothing else, but rabbis less strict than him confirmed that The Arabs do not abide by international conventions, so we are not required to comply with any of the laws of war.

These pictures spread widely, which forced the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Herzi Halevy, to write: We are not in a wave of killing, revenge, or genocide. Then he ordered: Do not use force when it is not required, and do not take what does not belong to us. And do not make revenge videos. Military Prosecutor Yifat Tomer Yerushalmi condemned the actions that do not comply with the values of the Israeli army, and cross the criminal threshold. The army spokesman said, The Israeli army has moved to identify unusual cases that deviate from what is expected of its soldiers, and important leadership measures will be taken against them. The soldiers involved."

However, the answers of Israeli army officials remain unclear, the analyst says. Some say that the disease has spread and is difficult to control, and others say that the reason is because reserve soldiers go on leave, or perhaps because the army considers this phenomenon part of psychological warfare, or perhaps it is because of the feeling of impunity that currently prevails in Israel.

Axios quoted American officials as saying that there is growing concern within the White House about the threat of famine in the Gaza Strip , which has been subjected to a devastating Israeli war since the seventh of last October. The American website indicated that the administration of US President Joe Biden is considering airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, with the increasing difficulty of delivering it by land. One American official told the site, "The situation has become really bad. We are unable to get enough aid by truck, so we need desperate measures like airdrops."

Center for International Policy (CIP) Executive Vice President Matt Duss, issued the following statement: "President Biden must say enough is enough and finally end US support for and complicity in the ongoing carnage in Gaza. Importantly, he should suspend transfers to Israel of the arms it is using in Gaza, as he is already obligated to do under US law given the obvious reality  including an open admission by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu  that the Israeli government is limiting the amount of humanitarian aid delivered to the territory.

"President Biden should also continue his efforts to reach a ceasefire that includes the release of all hostages and a massive emergency surge in humanitarian aid. We regret that both Israel and Hamas have recently failed to reach a ceasefire, but the US approach should not be contingent on the decisions of others. It should be based on our own values and our own laws. Diplomacy must be prioritized not only as a means of reaching peace, but in order to uphold our own principles. The ongoing provision of arms to Israel despite its open hindrance of humanitarian efforts is a clear departure from those principles.

"A full ceasefire and massive humanitarian relief effort is not just a moral necessity but a security one. The ongoing war in Gaza has triggered fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as between the United States and Houthi forces in the Red Sea and Yemen  both of which threaten to spread and possibly draw Iran and others in the region into a larger, even more devastating conflict.

"Nearly five months of slaughter and starvation of civilians in Gaza, and the continued holding and abuse of Israeli hostages, must not continue. It is time for President Biden and US partners to finally use their leverage to end this catastrophe."

Despite the widening gap between the Islamic Resistance Movement " Hamas " and Israel regarding the details of a temporary ceasefire agreement, US President Joe Biden expressed optimism about the possibility of reaching an agreement soon. Biden was asked during a visit to New York City about the possible date for the start of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip , and he replied, My national security advisor tells me that we are close, and we are not finished yet. I hope that by next Monday there will be a ceasefire.

Biden said last week that the United States is working to negotiate a detainee deal between Israel and Hamas that aims to stop the fighting in Gaza for at least 6 weeks, release dozens of Israeli detainees and prisoners, and allow the entry of huge amounts of humanitarian aid. Biden said the agreement will bring an immediate and sustained period of calm to Gaza for at least 6 weeks, and we can then devote time to building something more sustainable.

In a television appearance on the Talk Show Comedy program broadcast at dawn on Tuesday on NBC, Biden said that Israel will be prepared to stop its attack during the month of Ramadan if an agreement is reached.

Since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, Biden has shown unprecedented support for Israel, but he has changed his tone and increased his criticism of the way Israel manages its military operations, describing it as excessive. Amid Israel's preparations to begin a ground incursion into the city of Rafah , where it is estimated that more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge after fleeing fighting in other places in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the consequences of doing so.

But Netanyahu told the "Face the Nation" program last Sunday that the detainees deal would delay the Rafah operation, and said that Israel would move forward with the operation at a later time. Officials at the White House and State Department confirmed in press conferences yesterday, Tuesday, that negotiations on a temporary ceasefire are continuing, but they refused to provide details about the substance of the talks or possible timetables.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that significant progress had been made toward reaching an agreement last week to allow hostages to leave Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to enter. We are building on that progress this week, Kirby added, and the president and his team remain engaged around the clock with multiple partners in the region, but as the president has said over the last 24 hours or so, there is no agreement yet. There is a lot of work to be done. Kirby noted that the ceasefire would "hopefully" allow for a six-week truce, a much longer period than previous pauses in fighting.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Charles Dunn, a former official at the White House and the US State Department and currently an expert at the Arab Institute in Washington, and a lecturer at George Washington University, considered that what Biden says, assuming it is true, is nothing more than a small solution to a much larger problem. Of course, it is the complete destruction of Gaza.

Dunn said, The United States used its veto against the demand for an indefinite ceasefire in Gaza in the UN Security Council earlier this February, and Washington is not yet ready for the real solution, and the next solution, which is the State of Palestine. "And all that results from that is diplomatic movements, no surprises there."

While Ambassador David Mack, former US Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, who previously worked at his country's consulate in Jerusalem, indicated that Biden is changing his position depending on the developments and direction of events. In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Ambassador Mack said, "President Biden is, by nature, a person who tends to be optimistic. At the very least, he discovered that showing optimism was good for his image in American domestic politics." In contrast, Ambassador Mack criticized Netanyahu's position and said that he considered "the American administration and governments naive and overly optimistic."

He said, "From now until next Monday, we may find that the Israeli government does not accept the terms of the deal that our Arab partners are pressing for in the negotiations. As for Hamas, they will find it more difficult to reject a deal that would give the residents of Gaza some relief during the month of Ramadan."

Daniel Levy, a former Israeli government official and negotiator, said: Bidens comments likely reflect the White Houses attempt to move the talks forward without putting more pressure on Netanyahus government. Levy told the Wall Street Journal, "I don't see what the reason for this optimism is. Netanyahu keeps turning around and saying we will enter Rafah, and the Biden administration is not tightening the screws on that."

Meanwhile, former diplomat Aaron David Miller - who worked for many years on the Middle East peace file - tweeted on the X platform, criticizing Bidens proposal, and considered that what Biden said had negative effects on the negotiation process. Miller said, "The first rule of any negotiation is to never show that you are in a rush. It is expected that Biden's hope to reach an agreement will be understood, but predicting a specific date to come could make one or more parties hold out more, or resist pressure."

A former American diplomat told Al Jazeera Net, who requested to remain anonymous, that what Biden says may have no basis in reality, and his high age and loss of mental fitness may reflect what he says, as it seems that he did not distinguish between wishes and what is happening on the ground in reality. Netanyahu and Hamas rejection of the ideas remained subject to negotiation.

The newspaper "Israel Today" reported that the US aid agency will transfer funds to relief organizations other than the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees ( UNRWA ), while Israel believes that the US agency can replace the UN agency. The Israeli newspaper said that the American agency is considered a strong candidate for Israel to take UNRWA's place in the Gaza Strip after the end of the war.

The director of the US aid agency, Samantha Power, announced before her arrival in Tel Aviv on Thursday that the agency would transfer $53 million to relief organizations that she described as reliable, including the United Nations Food Programme, without providing any financial support to UNRWA. The newspaper pointed out that Power's announcement is consistent with the American approach to replacing UNRWA.

Washington announced that the purpose of Power's visit to Israel is to deal with the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to reinforce the United States' commitment to long-term stability in the region, as she put it. Washington added that Power will discuss with the Israeli government the urgent need for an expanded approach to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, and the importance of protecting civilians and aid workers in accordance with international humanitarian law. It is noteworthy that this is the second visit by the director of the US aid agency after last October 7.

In Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's post-war document on Gaza, he stressed that his government wants Gaza "without UNRWA," which he said 12 of its employees participated in the attack of last October 7, and whose schools taught "the destruction of Israel," according to the document. As a result of the Israeli accusations against UNRWA - which investigations have not yet proven to be true - about 17 countries suspended their funding to the agency, threatening its ability to continue relief work next March.

Butcher's Bill / Oasis of Martyrs

On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other armed groups present in the Gaza Strip carried out an attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 persons, injuring thousands and abducting some 240 people, many of whom continue to be held hostage. It was the second largest loss inflicted on the Israeli forces after the 1973 war. Palestinian armed groups launched thousands of missiles at Israel Following this attack, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in Gaza, by land, air and sea.

The 1,200 Israelis killed on the first day would be the equivalent of 36,000 Americans killed in an attack, as a proportion to Israels population of 9.3 million people (compared to 332 million in the USA). Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated: Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day". PM Netanyahu stated "On October 7th, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis. Maybe more. This is in a country of fewer than 10 million people. This would be equivalent to over 50,000 Americans murdered in a single day. Thats twenty 9/11s. That is why October 7th is another day that will live in infamy."

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant considered 05 February 2024 that half the number of Hamas militants were killed or seriously injured by Israeli army forces.

A Hamas official based in Qatar told Reuters 19 February 2024 that the terrorist group estimates that 6,000 of its fighters have been killed by Israeli forces. That number is about half of the 12,000 terrorists that Israel said it has killed since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre,

As of 15 February 2024, The Director-General of the HAMAS Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip , Ismail Al-Thawabta, stated "the toll of the aggression had risen to about 35,500 martyrs and missing persons, including 28,663 martyrs and 68,395 injuries. There are about 2,493 massacres committed by the occupation army. Among the martyrs were about 12,400 children, 8,450 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense personnel, and 126 journalists. There are approximately 11,000 wounded people who need to travel for treatment.... we received live testimonies stating that the occupation army committed field executions against more than 137 Palestinian civilian detainees in the Gaza and North governorates."

The HAMAS Ministry of Health in the besieged sector announced that the number of victims of the Israeli operation its beginning had risen to 30,035 martyrs, "including 12,300 dead children, 8,400 women, 340 medical personnel, 46 civil defense, and 124 journalists." He pointed out that "7,000 people are missing, 70% of whom are children and women, The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

The number wounded was 70,325. The Palestinian Government Media Office in Gaza had said much earlier that the number of missing people had risen to more than 8,000, including including 4,700 children and women, amid expectations that the toll will be double thi figures.

The IDF intensified its military operations in the West Bank, and increased the pace of incursions and raids into cities, towns, and camps, resulting in the martyrdom of 405 [399?] Palestinians, including 102 children, the injury of about 4,592, including 708 children, and the arrest of 7,120, according to official HAMAS sources. As of 17 January 2023, the Israeli escalation in the West Bank led to the death of 360 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 2,200, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the arrest of about 6,000, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.

In the first two years of the Daesh insurgency in Iraq, the UN stated that some 18,800 civilians were killed by the terrorist organization, while the Israeli military has killed well over 30,000 Palestinians in around 5 months. In fact, the true death toll in the Gaza Strip, accounting for those reported missing and buried under the rubble, is most likely closer to 40,000.

More than 202 Hezbollah fighters were killed in Lebanon during exchanges of bombing operations with Israel.

In first two days, the IDF killed 1,609 terrorists. Israel initially revised down the death toll from the October Hamas attacks in southern Israel from 1,400 to 1,200. IDF had said previously it was holding 1,500 bodies of terrorists, a total that would increas to about 1,700.

The total announced number of Israeli officers and soldiers killed had risen to 575 since the start of the war on October 7, including 240 [243?] killed since the ground invasion as a result of the ongoing clashes with the Palestinian resistance. Among them were at least 56 with the rank of platoon commander, 43 with the rank of company commander, 9 with the rank of battalion commander, and 5 with the rank of brigade commander. These officers constitute 23% of the total deaths of the Israeli army in the war on Gaza.

Israeli media reported that 27% of the Israeli military casualties in the war were officers. In detail, the media highlighted that three brigade commanders, four battalion commanders, and other senior officers have been killed in the war so far.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that 29 of the army's deaths were caused by "friendly fire" and operational incidents since the start of the ground war in Gaza, late last October. The Israeli authority explained that "18 army soldiers were killed by friendly fire, two were killed as a result of gunfire (without explanation), and 9 Israeli soldiers were killed in ammunition, weapons, or run-over accidents." The Jerusalem Post newspaper revealed that 15 soldiers were killed in the Strip without their bodies being found.

According to some reports statistics indicate that 20% of the Israeli losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line.

Haaretz newspaper quoted the Israeli Ministry of Defense as saying that the Medical Rehabilitation Department has treated more than 5,500 wounded since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7. Israeli Army Radio reported that the Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense is preparing to receive 20,000 wounded this year, compared to 5,500 wounded received last year since the start of the war.

It was announced that soldiers wounded in the Gaza Strip battles numbered to 2,962 since the beginning of the war, including 1,429 who had been wounded since the start of the ground attack on October 27, 2023.

The Israeli army reported that 407 who are still receiving treatment for their injuries in the Gaza battles, and the condition of 48 of them is serious. The number of injured among the Israeli army since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on October 27 included 602 minor cases, 430 moderate cases, and 264 critical cases.

The Israeli army published new data about those wounded in the military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army announces that 540 soldiers were injured in the Gaza Strip. According to army data, 540 soldiers, including 27 seriously injured, were injured in operational incidents since the start of the bombing of the Gaza Strip. There were also 21 accidental shooting incidents in the Gaza Strip, 54 bilateral shooting incidents and 31 traffic accidents. In addition, 388 incidents occurred, including ramming anti-tank rifles, anti-aircraft guns, weapons and machine guns.

At least 14,391 Israelis were injured, according to i24 TV.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper had reported that 5,000 soldiers had been wounded since the beginning of the war on October 7, and that the Ministry of Defense had recognized 2,000 soldiers as disabled so far.

An estimate by the Israeli Ministry of Defense expected that the number of soldiers with disabilities in the war taking place in the Gaza Strip since October 7 of last year would reach 12,500 soldiers. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that the Soldiers' Rehabilitation Department of the Ministry of Defense has dealt with 3,400 soldiers who were classified as disabled in the army since last October 7.

The Israeli army revealed that about 9,000 of its soldiers have received psychological assistance since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, and about a quarter of them have not returned to combat. This came according to a new statement revealed by the Army Medical Corps, according to Channel 12 and the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. According to the statement, nearly 9,000 soldiers have applied for psychological assistance since the beginning of the war, and approximately a quarter of them have not returned to combat.

The statement continued, "In total, about 13,000 regular and reserve soldiers required accompaniment or medical treatment at some level during the fighting, and thousands of them were injured in the battles."

By 28 February 2024 about 85% of the fighters who needed mental health treatment returned to combat: the Technology and Logistics Division is establishing a center for mental health services. Al Jazeera military and strategic expert Major General Fayez Al-Duwairi expressed his conviction that the numbers of dead and wounded announced by Israel cannot represent the truth, due to a discrepancy between the Israeli armys data and the Walla website, which is close to the army itself.

In an interview with RT, Military strategist retired Tunisian Brigadier General Tawfiq Didi said that the number of Israeli army deaths in the Gaza battles is much greater than what Israel announces. Didi explained in an interview with the Best Saying program on RT channel, The number of people killed in battles can be easily known, as the equation in wars is that for every 3 wounded there is a dead person, and the numbers now in Israel hover around 12,500 wounded and disabled people, and when we divide by Three, we find that the death toll exceeds 4,000, especially after eliminating more than a thousand tanks and armored vehicles, and I know what happens when Kornet missiles hit a tank. Its ammunition explodes and no one is left alive.

He added, "The Israelis announce their dead only of those of Jewish origin and of the first race, meaning all Arabs, Falash, and those who are among them. They are not counted because they are of the second category. So I am sure that the number exceeds 4 thousand dead, and this is a very easy military calculation."

He pointed out, "The Palestinian resistance documented everything it did, unlike the Israelis. The resistance documented shooting at tanks and armored vehicles and destroying the houses in which the Israeli soldiers were holed up, and we saw them being killed... We saw the Kornet hitting the tanks, we saw Al-Yassin 105, so the difference is clear."

Hostages

Israel announced 12 February 2024 that the total number of prisoners that the army was able to recover in exchange deals and through military operations was 126 people, including 91 Israelis, 11 bodies, and 24 foreign workers.

Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed have been held as hostages in Gaza since 2014 and 2015, respectively. Unlike the roughly 240 people kidnapped in the Hamas October 7 terrorist attacks, the campaign for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed has received little publicity. Mengistu is known to suffer from what HRW deemed "serious" mental health issues. "Avera crossed one of the safest borders in the world, under the eyes of the security services," recalled Gil Elias, a relative. "We're talking about a mentally ill person who got lost." The calls for the release of Mengistu and al-Sayed have been barely audible during the many years they have been held captive in Gaza.

Israel had previously estimated there were 116 living hostages in Palestinian custody. Israel declared 20 out of 136 people in Gaza captivity dead in absentia, after announcing its forces had recovered the bodies of two hostages. By another count, 132 of them are still being held in Gaza, and 25 of them have been confirmed dead. Israel considers those still held by Hamas to be hostages regardless of whether they are dead or alive.

Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy earlier had told reporters that Hamas still held 137 captives. The resistance released 10 Israeli detainees, 4 Thais and 2 Russian women, who were released outside the agreement. Over the course of 6 days, Israel has received 102 detainees, women and children, including 78 Israelis, in exchange for the release of 234 Palestinian prisoners, women and children.

Eylon Levy, the Israeli government spokesperson, told reporters 01 December 2023:

Hamas still held 137 hostages from the October attacks, in addition to four others who went missing before the war

The hostages include two children aged four and 10 months, who, Hamas now claims, are dead

117 male hostages are still kept in Gaza, including the two children, as well as 20 females

126 hostages are Israelis, and 11 others are foreign nationals

Foreign nationals are eight Thais, one Nepalese, one Tanzanian and one French Mexican citizen

Ten of the remaining hostages are 75 and older.

There are seven missing people since the October 7 attack

Hamas had released 110 hostages so far  86 Israelis and 24 foreign nationals.

Some of the rest are soldiers, seized when Hamas raided military bases in Israel. They may end up being held the longest. The Israeli military had not specified how many soldiers were captured, nor their ranks.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced on 07 February 2024 that 31 hostages detained in Gaza had died. He added in a press conference, "We informed 31 families that their detained relatives had died, and thus we announce their deaths."

According to some estimates, Hamas was initially holding nearly 210 of the 240 hostages, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad was holding the remaining 30. About 40 Israelis remained missing. More than 40 hostages taken from Israel into Gaza on October 7th are not currently in the custody of Hamas, the group responsible for the attack, according to a CNN report based on a diplomatic source briefed on the negotiations, CNN's prior reports had indicated that an estimated 40 to 50 hostages were held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad or other unidentified groups or individuals.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said on Hamas telegram account that 23 bodies of the 60 missing Israel hostages were trapped under the rubble. It seems that we will never be able to reach them due to the continued brutal aggression of the occupation against Gaza, he said.

The Al-Qassam Brigades announced on 11 February 2024 that the continuous Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip during the past 96 hours led to the death of 2 prisoners and the serious injury of 8 others.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club revealed that about 11,000 arrests were carried out by the Israeli army during the year 2023 in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, in addition to arrests from the Gaza Strip before the seventh of last October. The number of people arrested by the Israelis in the West Bank since that date has exceeded 7,270. The total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons exceeds 9,000 Palestinians. Palestinian prisoner institutions said 661 were classified as unlawful combatants from Gaza, and this is the number available only as a clear given.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said that there has been a significant increase in the number of Palestinian administrative detainees in Israeli prisons since October 7, with 3,484 detainees recorded, including children and women. The club added in a statement that "this number was not actually recorded even during the years of the 1987 uprising."

Israel said on 19 February 2024 that, since the beginning of the war, approximately 3,200 wanted persons have been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, over 1,350 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas. On 08 January 2024 it was reported that more than 1,350 wanted persons had been arrested throughout the Judea and Samaria Division and the Bekaa and Valleys Division, more than 870 of whom are associated with the terrorist organization Hamas.

The institutions added in the statement that the occupation arrested 210 women during the aforementioned period, and this statistic includes women who were arrested from the territories in 1948, and more than 355 children, pointing out that the outcome of the arrest campaigns includes all those who were arrested from homes, and through military checkpoints, Those who were forced to surrender themselves under pressure, and those who were detained. It explained that "the number of arrests among journalists reached 50, of whom 35 remain in detention, and 20 of them were transferred to administrative detention."

The announced numbers of detainees do not include those who were detained from Gaza since the start of the operation in the Gaza Strip, as there is no accurate census of these numbers. As of 15 February 2024, the Director-General of the HAMAS Government Information Office in the Gaza Strip , Ismail Al-Thawabta, stated "the information available to us is that the occupation arrested approximately 2,600 people, including 99 medical personnel and 10 journalists."

Israel has rejected international legal adaptations since 1967, and has treated the Palestinians as criminals, and tried them before military courts and not as prisoners of war. Because the POW is not tried, but is released when the war stops, or as a result of a political agreement.

But international humanitarian law sets clear conditions relating to the Palestinians, whether as prisoners of war or organized groups with one leadership and carrying a unified slogan, and these conditions apply to Palestinian resistance fighters, specifically armed groups. International law, through the Third Geneva Conventions, which relate to prisoners of war and armed conflicts, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which relates to civilians under occupation; Provide full protection to Palestinian prisoners and groups, including resistance factions.

The obstacles imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities became very different after the seventh of last October. They decided to cancel all trials in order to double the sentences issued against detainees, and now The scope of arguments before lawyers is very limited, due to military orders, and not according to legal data.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 29 February 2024 - Day 735

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The UK Ministry of Defence reported that territory west of Avdiivka remains the focal effort of Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russia took control of Avdiivka on 17 February 2024, and has since advanced approximately 6 km from the centre of the town.

Russia has almost certainly taken control of several villages in the area: Lastochkyne, Stepove and Sieverne. These tactical gains serve primarily to consolidate Russian positions around Avdiivka. Russia is also likely seeking to build momentum on the axis to take advantage of the fact that there are fewer fixed, well defended positions, and urban areas from which Ukrainian forces can defend.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of February 29, there were 73x combat engagements.

Russian forces launched a total of 2x missile and 79x air strikes, carried out 90x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, Russian attacks resulted in killed and wounded civilians. Residential private and apartment buildings, as well as other infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes. No signs of formation of an offensive group. Certain units of the armed forces of Belarus continue their missions in the areas bordering Ukraine.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: Russia maintains its military presence in the areas of russia bordering Ukraine. Russia continues its sabotage and reconnaissance activities, shelling Ukrainian settlements from the territory of Russia and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine. Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Bolohivka, Mytrofanivka (Kharkiv oblast). More than 30x settlements came under Russian artillery and mortar fire, including Hirs'k, Karpovychi (Chernihiv oblast), Nova Huta, Seredyna-Buda, Druzhba, Fotovyzh, Vorozhba (Sumy oblast), Dvorichna, Syn'kivka, Petropavlivka, Ivanivka, Berestove (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 2x attacks near Petropavlivka and Tabaivka (Kharkiv oblast), where the Russian occupiers made attempts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their positions. Russian forces launched an air strike in the vicinity of Nadiya (Luhansk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Dvorichna, Syn'kivka, Petropavlivka, Ivanivka, Berestove (Kharkiv oblast).

Lyman axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 11x assaults near Terny, Yampolivka (Donetsk oblast) and Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), where the Russian adversary, with air support, made attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Nevs'ke, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Terny, Tors'ke, Serebryanka, Verkhn'okam'yans'ke, Spirne, Rozdolivka (Donetsk oblast).

Bakhmut axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 2x attacks in the vicinities of Ivanivske, Klishchiivka (Donetsk oblast), where Russian forces made attempts to improve their tactical situation. Russian forces launched air strikes near Virolyubivka and Mykolaivka (Donetsk oblast). Around 10x settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Vasyukivka, Bohdanivka, Chasiv Yar, Ivanivske, Andriivka, New York (Donetsk oblast).

Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled 22x attacks in the vicinities of Berdychi, Orlivka, Tonen'ke, Pervomais'ke, Nevel's'ke (Donetsk oblast). The adversary launched air strikes near Oleksandropil', Novooleksandrivka, Ocheretyne, Novobakhmutivka, Soloviove, Semenivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at around 20x settlements, including Ocheretyne, Vovche, Berdychi, Stepove, Orlivka (Donetsk oblast).

Novopavlivka axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the invaders in the vicinities of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Novomykhailivka and Pobjeda (Donetsk oblast). In that area, Russian forces, with air support, made 22x attempts to breach Ukrainian defense. Russian forces launched air strikes near Kostyantynivka, Vodyane, Urozhaine, Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast), Novodarivka (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 20x settlements, including Maksymil'yanivka, Heorhiivka, Novomykhailivka, Kostyantynivka, Blahodatne, Staromaiors'ke, Rivnopil' (Donetsk oblast).

Orikhiv axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 1x attack in the vicinity of Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Levadne, Mala Tokmachka, Robotyne, Novodanylivka, Yurkivka (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Around 20x settlements, including Levadne, Poltavka, Hulyaipole, Mala Tokmachka, Novoandriivka, Stepove (Zaporizhzhia oblast), were under Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Odesa operational-strategic group, Kherson axis: the occupiers do not abandon their intention to drive Ukrainian units out of their footholds on the left bank of the Dnipro. During the day, Russian forces made 4x attempt to assault positions of Ukrainian troops. Around 10x settlements, including the city of Kherson, the settlements of Mykhailivka, Beryslav, Ponyativka, Inhulets (Kherson oblast), came under Russian artillery and mortar fire.

During the day of February 29, the Ukrainian Air Force launched air strikes on 10x concentrations of Russian troops.

On top of that, the Ukrainian Air Force units destroyed 3x Su-34 fighter-bombers.

The Ukrainian missile troops hit 2x concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment, 3x BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems, 1x ammunition depot, 1x electronic warfare station of the Russian invaders.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and delivered strikes at enemy manpower and hardware near Sinkovka (Kharkov region) and Terny (Donetsk People's Republic).

Up to 50 Ukrainian troops, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, and three motor vehicles were neutralised.

In the course of the counterbattery warfare, one U.S.-made M198 howitzer, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system, one Msta-B howitzer, one D-30 howitzer, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems were eliminated.



In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces improved the situation along the front line and inflicted fire damage on cluster of manpower and military hardware of the 28th mechanised and 92nd assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Andreyevka, Kleshcheyevka, and Kurdyumovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

Four counter-attacks of the AFU 10th Mountain Assault Brigade were repelled close to Berestovoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 600 Ukrainian troops, two tanks, two armoured personnel carriers, and ten motor vehicles.

In counter-battery warfare, the Russian troops hit one Uragan MLRS vehicle, one Polish-made Krab self-propelled artillery system, one D-20 gun, and three D-30 howitzers.



In Avdeyevka direction, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of AFU 53rd, 61st mechanised, 59th motorised infantry brigades near Berdychi, Severnoye, Orlovka, and Pervomayskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

Up to 495 Ukrainian troops, seven tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, four armoured fighting vehicles, and 11 motor vehicles were neutralised.

In the course of counter-battery warfare, three D-20 howitzers, one Msta-B howitzer, one Gvozdika self-propelled system, and two D-30 howitzers were eliminated.



In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces delivered complex strikes at AFU manpower and hardware near Rovnopol, Staromayorskoye, and Urozhaynoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 105 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, one D-20 howitzer, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

In Kherson direction, Russian units took more advantageous positions and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware clusters of the AFU 128th mountain assault, 118th mechanised, 35 marine brigades near Rabotino, Stepovoye, Malye Shcherbaki (Zaporozhye region), and Tokarevka (Kherson region).

The enemy lost up to 50 Ukrainian troops, five motor vehicles, as well as one Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station.

In Kherson direction, the Russian Group of Forces neutralised one Ukrainian sabotage group of the 73rd Marine Special Operations Centre in an attempt to land close to Tendra Spit using speedboats.

As a result of a short battle, four of the speedboats with the landing groups were destroyed and sunk, the fifth turned round and travelled at high speed in the opposite direction.

The enemy lost up to 25 Ukrainian troops. One serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was taken prisoner.



Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation hit: a command post of Kupyansk Task Force, two command posts (72nd mechanised and 59th motorised infantry brigades), one S-300PS anti-aircraft missile system, three ammunition depots, as well as manpower and military hardware in 126 areas.



Air defence systems have shot down nine HIMARS MLRS shells and two JDAM aerial guided bombs.

In addition, 93 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down close to Lisichansk, Golikovo (Lugansk People's Republic), Kurdyumovka, Pervomayskoye, Krinichnaya (Donetsk People's Republic), Mikhailovka (Zaporozhye region).



In total, 575 airplanes and 267 helicopters, 13,715 unmanned aerial vehicles, 475 air defence missile systems, 15,286 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,227 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 8,223 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 19,211 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.





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CISA, U.S. and International Partners Warn of Ongoing Exploitation of Multiple Ivanti Vulnerabilities

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

Press Release

Released: February 29, 2024

Related topics: Cybersecurity Best Practices



Advisory provides guidance for detecting exploitation activity, recommended actions and mitigations, and novel post-exploitation findings

WASHINGTON - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Center (ASD's ACSC), United Kingdom's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre), a part of the Communications Security Establishment, and New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ) and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-NZ) released a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) today in response to the active exploitation of multiple vulnerabilities within Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Policy Secure gateways.

The authoring organizations and industry partners have observed persistent targeting of these vulnerabilities by a variety of cyber threat actors. These vulnerabilities (CVE-2023-46805, CVE-2024-21887, and CVE-2024-21893) can be used in a chain of exploits to bypass authentication, craft malicious requests, and execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. In turn, exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow lateral movement, data exfiltration, web shell deployment, credential theft including domain administrators, and persistent access on a target network.

This joint advisory provides technical details on observed tactics used by these threat actors and indicators of compromise to help organizations detect malicious activity. All organizations using these devices should assume a sophisticated threat actor could achieve persistence and may lay dormant for a period of time before conducting malicious activity. Organizations are urged to exercise due caution in making appropriate risk decisions when considering a virtual private network (VPN), to include whether to continue operating these Ivanti devices.

"Since initial disclosure of these vulnerabilities, CISA and our partners have urgently worked to provide actionable guidance and assist impacted victims. This includes an emergency directive to remove and rebuild vulnerable Ivanti devices to reduce risk to federal systems upon which Americans depend," said CISA Executive Assistant Director Eric Goldstein. "Today's joint advisory provides further details based upon industry partnerships, incident response findings and evaluations of the relevant products. Every organization using these products are strongly encouraged to adopt the actions outlined in this advisory."

"The FBI and our partners are releasing this Cybersecurity Advisory so that organizations are able to protect themselves from malicious actors exploiting their networks," said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI's Cyber Division. "Private and public sector entities should follow the guidance included in this advisory to ensure these critical vulnerabilities are mitigated."

"The continued targeting of widely used security applications and appliances speaks to the determination of cyber threat actors, with government entities and private organizations alike caught in the crosshairs. Implementing effective controls in areas like asset and vulnerability management, multi-factor authentication, and incident response planning are essential to operational resilience amid today's fast-moving threat landscape," said Randy Rose, VP, Security Operations & Intelligence, Center for Internet Security, Inc.

"We strongly urge all organisations to patch and take other recommended actions to address this vulnerability. We know it is subject to exploitation by malicious actors who use it to bypass authentication mechanisms and access restricted data on affected devices," said the acting Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Phil Winzenberg. "If your organisation is using these products, it's crucial that the guidance in this advisory is implemented immediately, in particular I urge critical infrastructure operators to be alert to new risks."

"We encourage organisations who have not already to take immediate action to mitigate vulnerabilities impacting affected Ivanti devices by following the recommended steps. This is particularly important for those organisations working across critical infrastructure, as we are aware of the active exploitation of some of these vulnerabilities," said UK NCSC Chief Technology Officer Ollie Whitehouse. "The NCSC and our international partners also urge software manufacturers to embed secure by design principles into their practices to promote a positive security culture and help improve our collective resilience."

"Today we join our partners across the Five Eyes to urge organizations in Canada and internationally to follow the advice included in today's joint advisory as quickly as possible. These vulnerabilities can significantly impact organizations' networks, emphasizing the need for organizations to implement resilient defence-in-depth mitigations and for manufacturers to prioritize secure by design engineering practices," said Rajiv Gupta, Associate Head, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security.

"This advisory clearly shows that malicious actors are continuing to seek out, and actively exploit, vulnerabilities in commonly used technology and software", said Rob Pope, Director CERT NZ, a part of New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre. "Businesses need to stay alert to these vulnerabilities and immediately follow all steps to mitigate or prevent attacks from happening. We strongly recommend that anyone working in the IT sector sign up for updates from their country's cyber security agencies to stay ahead of the bad guys."

To assist organizations with understanding the impacts of this threat, the joint advisory provides key findings from a variety of tests conducted by CISA from an attacker's perspective.

With our partners, CISA recommends that software manufacturers incorporate secure-by-design and -default principles and tactics into their software development practices. By aligning to these principles, we will reduce the prevalence and impact of avoidable vulnerabilities and insecure configurations that jeopardize the safety of organizations around the world.

All organizations are urged to review the advisory and implement recommended actions and mitigations.

About CISA

As the nation's cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.

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Press Release: 23rd Global Counterterrorism Forum Coordinating Committee Meeting Hosted by New Member Kenya

Global Counterterrorism Forum

29 February 2024

29 FEBRUARY 2024, NAIROBI | The Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) - a platform for multilateral engagement to prevent and counter terrorism - held its 23rd Coordinating Committee Meeting on 29 February in Nairobi, Kenya. Egypt and the EU, remaining at the helm of the Forum for a further two years until 2026, restated their strong commitment to supporting African-led efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism, partnering and engaging with African states, regional organizations and those closest to the most vulnerable communities. The event was held under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Monica Juma, National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kenya. Senior counterterrorism and criminal justice officials, civil society practitioners and leading think-tanks, along with key partners, international organizations, and the GCTF-Inspired Institutions, joined the 32 GCTF Members to explore opportunities for joint action to counter and prevent terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.

The 23rd Coordinating Committee Meeting, co-chaired by the EU and Egypt, focused on enhancing collaborative action to deter the threat of terrorism. Kenya, new GCTF member and host, underlined the importance of proactive action and its intent to promote collaboration of the Eastern Africa region with the Forum. The EU and Egypt reiterated their strong commitment to supporting African-led efforts to combat terrorism and ideologies that underlie it, spotlighting the importance of the partnerships with African states, regional organizations and diverse stakeholders representing the interests - and addressing the concerns - of vulnerable communities.

Member States renewed the EU and Egypt Co-Chairs' tenure by two more years. Committing to continue delivering on their Strategic Priorities, the Co-Chairs will seek to maintain the Forum's niche role in multilateral counterterrorism, as an agile and dynamic platform that is responsive to the needs of those most impacted by terrorism and its consequences.

"The EU will continue in its role at the helm of the GCTF for two more years in partnership with Egypt. We will build on the strides we have collectively made with the GCTF Members to deliver on our priorities and commitment towards greater inclusivity: in our partnerships as well as in diverse stakeholder participation, including civil society, and in promoting gender-sensitivity and equity throughout our work. We will continue our efforts to support African partners tackle - and to help make their populations resilient to - terrorism, violent extremism and their ideologies," Nadia Costantini, European External Action Service Special Envoy for Counterterrorism, GCTF Co-Chair.

The Members co-chairing the GCTF's five working groups will continue their mandates from 2024 to 2026. The two newly admitted GCTF Members Kenya and Kuwait were praised by the membership for their robust engagement in assuming the leadership of the East Africa Capacity-Building Working Group and carrying through the Forum's support to African-owned solutions to countering terrorism on the African continent.

"At the outset of a new term for our Co-Chairmanship of the forum, we celebrate the revival of the East Africa Working Group after the acclamation of both Kenya and Kuwait, a milestone that motivates us to continue striving towards realizing our Strategic Priorities for the Forum for 2023-2025, in partnership with the EU. Promotion of the role of women and streamlining the actual needs of local populations through the GCTF outputs and toolkits remain pillars of our priorities," Ambassador Walid Elfiky, Director of Counter Terrorism Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, GCTF Co-Chair.

During the meeting, Members focused on the prosecution, rehabilitation and reintegration of former terrorists, guided by first-hand experts who recommended ways to support effective and tailored processes. The three Institutions closely associated with the GCTF - the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), Hedayah, and the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law (IIJ) - have the expertise and networks to support this effort globally.

A series of events preceding the Coordinating Committee Meeting demonstrated the Forum's convening power, its growing inclusivity and network, and its expanding expertise. The GCTF consulted civil society practitioners and engaged senior counterterrorism representatives from East, South, and Central Africa to kick-start collaboration to tackle the escalating regional threat. The West Africa Working Group convened the experts from the region. The EU's Counterterrorism Platform for Human Rights Engagement, CT PHARE, run by the IIJ, gathered representatives from Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and South-East Asia, civil society, practitioners and human rights experts over the course of two days, to engage on the EU-led "Oversight and Accountability Initiative" that will formulate good practices to develop independent, effective mechanisms to oversee the lawful use of powers, prevent the misuse of authority, and build trust in law enforcement for sustainable and successful counterterrorism. And the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group met in plenary, reflecting on the great strides made in developing and operationalizing GCTF Framework Documents that respond to emerging trends in the global threat of terrorism.

GCTF Members Kenya and Germany also launched a new Initiative on the Nexus between Climate Change and Violent Extremism conducive to terrorism, with the support of GCERF, aiming to address and prevent climate change-related drivers to radicalization and violent extremism conducive to terrorism.

"Kenya is pleased to host this timely and important event. The Global Counterterrorism Forum has, for over a decade, led global efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism. This unique forum accords practitioners from across the world, the opportunity to develop and share effective interventions to respond to the complex dynamics and widespread threat of terrorism and violent extremism," Dr. Rosalind Nyawira, Director of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Kenya.

The GCTF Co-Chairs, the EU and Egypt, reaffirmed their commitment to working with the GCTF Members, the three GCTF-Inspired Institutions, and in close partnership with the United Nations Global Coordination Compact and partners around the world to implement comprehensive approaches to address root causes of terrorism and provide operational responses to threats on the ground.

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Artificial Intelligence Is Game Changer for Election Interference, FBI Warns

By Jeff Seldin February 29, 2024

U.S. security officials are bracing for an onslaught of fast-paced influence operations, from a wide range of adversaries, aimed at impacting the country's coming presidential election.

FBI Director Christopher Wray issued the latest warning about attempts to meddle with American voters as they decide whom to support when they go to the polls come November, telling a meeting of security professional Thursday that technologies such as artificial intelligence are already altering the threat landscape.

"This election cycle, the U.S. will face more adversaries moving at a faster pace and enabled by new technology," Wray said.

"Advances in generative AI [artificial intelligence], for instance, are lowering the barrier to entry, making it easier for both more and less sophisticated foreign adversaries to engage in malign influence while making foreign influence efforts by players both old and new, more realistic and more difficult to detect," he said.

The warning echoes concerns raised earlier in the week by a top lawmaker and by the White House, both singling out Russia.

"I worry that we are less prepared for foreign intervention in our elections in 2024 than we were in 2020," said Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, during a cybersecurity conference on Tuesday.

On Sunday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NBC's "Meet the Press" there is "plenty of reason to be concerned."

"There is a history here in presidential elections by the Russian Federation, by its intelligence services," Sullivan said.

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia sought to interfere in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.

But Russia has not been alone.

A declassified intelligence assessment looking at the 2022 midterm elections concluded with high to moderate confidence that Russia was joined by China and Iran in seeking to sway the outcome.

"China tacitly approved efforts to try to influence a handful of midterm races involving members of both U.S. political parties," the report said.

"Tehran relied primarily on its intelligence services and Iran-based online influencers to conduct its covert operations," it said. "Iran's influence activities reflected its intent to exploit perceived social divisions and undermine confidence in U.S. democratic institutions during this election cycle."

The United States has also alleged other adversaries, such as Cuba, Venezuela and Lebanese Hezbollah, have sought to influence elections, as have allies, such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The warnings from Wray and others are encountering pushback from some lawmakers and conservative commentators who view such statements as an attempt to resurrect what they call the "Russia hoax" a saying the narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to help former President Donald Trump win is without merit.

Warner, however, dismissed that view in response to a question from VOA on the sidelines of Tuesday's security conference. "Anyone who doesn't think the Russian intel services have and will continue to interfere in our elections ... I wonder where they're getting their information to start with," he said.

Wray on Thursday suggested the list of countries and other foreign groups seeking to influence U.S. voters is set to expand. "AI is most useful for what I would call kind of mediocre bad guys and making them kind of like intermediate," he said.

"The really sophisticated adversaries are using AI more just to increase the speed and scale of their efforts," he said. "But we are coming towards a day very soon where what I would call the experts, the most sophisticated adversaries, are going to find ways to use AI to be even more elite."

Some private cybersecurity firms also see the danger growing.

This past September, Microsoft warned that Beijing has developed a new artificial intelligence capability that can produce "eye-catching content" more likely to go viral compared to previous Chinese influence operations.

Others agree.

"Whether it's robocalls, whether it's fake videos a all those things really even back to 2022, weren't as prevalent," Trellix CEO Bryan Palma told VOA. "You weren't going to get any high-quality type of deepfake video.

"I think you're going to see more and more of that as we get closer to the election," he said.

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Biden, Trump Make Dueling Visits to US-Mexico Border

By Ken Bredemeier, Aline Barros February 29, 2024

U.S. President Joe Biden and former U.S. President Donald Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday. While Biden urged Congress to reconsider a bipartisan immigration bill that fell apart in the Senate, Trump focused on crimes committed by migrants.

Immigration is expected to be a key issue in the November presidential election as tens of thousands of migrants have crossed into the United States without authorization each week.

Biden went to Brownsville, Texas, a region where illegal crossings into the United States have fallen sharply in recent years and residents have banded together to help migrants assimilate into life in the United States.

The president was briefed on the situation at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He then made brief remarks to members of the media.

"They desperately need more resources," Biden said.

Biden blamed Republican lawmakers who rejected a bipartisan bill that would have toughened immigration policies and provided funding for more border agents. Trump had urged them not to pass any bill that did not meet all of their demands.

"The bipartisan border security deal is a win for the American people. And it's a win for the people of Texas and it's fair for those who legitimately have a right to come here to begin with," Biden said.

Biden wants Congress to approve more funding for border agents and asylum officers and may sign an executive order to impose more controls to close the border if Congress does not act. But an executive order does not have the same force of law as legislation approved by Congress and almost certainly would be challenged in lawsuits by pro-immigration groups.

He also issued a political dare to Trump.

"Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you in telling Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. ... You know and I know it's the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country's ever seen.

"So instead of playing politics with the issue, why don't we just get together and get it done? ... We work for the American people, not the Democratic Party, the Republican Party. We work for the American people," Biden said.

The president did not take questions.

Trump says US 'overrun'

Trump visited Eagle Pass, Texas, about 500 kilometers (311 miles) away, where Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has erected several types of barriers, including razor wire and rusted shipping containers, to curb the influx of migrants crossing the Rio Grande.

"This is a Biden invasion over the past three years," Trump said, criticizing Biden's plans.

Trump promised to bring back the tough immigration policies he put in place during his administration, like "Remain in Mexico," which mandated that migrants stay in Mexico until their immigration cases in the U.S. were decided.

Trump said Biden is responsible for the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia. An immigrant from Venezuela who entered the country illegally is accused of killing her.

"The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime," Trump said.

Joshua Blank, research director at the Texas Politics Project at The University of Texas at Austin, told VOA that tying migration to crime is misleading.

"All studies that have been done rigorously and seriously show that immigrants and even undocumented immigrants commit crimes at much, much lower rates than U.S. citizens. And that the issue of crime among migrant people is relatively minimal," he said.

As president from 2017 to early 2021, Trump sought to build a border wall and claimed Mexico would pay for it.

A portion of a wall was built on his watch, but Congress never gave Trump as much money as he wanted for the project and Mexico paid none of it.

At another point, Trump separated parents from their children as they tried to cross into the United States but abandoned the policy amid widespread outcries.

Lawmakers debate issue for years

For years, immigration policy has been an issue that Washington lawmakers debate but have been unable to resolve.

Republicans generally favor tougher rules to curb migrants from entering the U.S. while Democrats have often adopted a more nuanced approach, such as calling for permanent stay-in-the-U.S. rights for young adults who were brought into the U.S. illegally years ago by their migrant parents.

Most recently, three U.S. senators a a Democrat, a Republican and an independent a negotiated for months to draft new migration controls that would have been the toughest in years and won Biden's support, even as progressive Democrats complained it was something akin to what Trump would have proposed.

Trump opposed it, saying it was not tough enough and pushed Republicans to oppose it, which they did in defeating it in the Senate. Democratic critics said Republicans supporting Trump's bid for another White House term rejected the proposal, so as not to hand Biden an election-year victory on the contentious issue.

Even as that legislative effort was defeated, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who leads the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives, has demanded that U.S.-Mexico border immigration controls be added to a $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine before he will put the package to a vote in the full House chamber.

Trump is close to securing the Republican presidential nomination for the third straight election cycle and has turned his attacks on Biden, with a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showing immigration is the main concern for many voters and that Biden is vulnerable on the issue.

House Republicans, by a single-vote margin, recently impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden's immigration chief, claiming that he has left the border in chaos and ignored existing immigration restraints.

A Senate trial is expected soon, but with Democrats controlling the chamber, Mayorkas' conviction and removal from office are highly unlikely.

Anita Powell contributed to this report.

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Somali Military Court Sentences Six Moroccans to Death for Terrorism

By Mohamed Olad Hassan February 29, 2024

A military court in northern Somalia has sentenced six Moroccan nationals to death on terrorism charges, prosecutors and court officials tell VOA.

A judge at the court in the town of Bossaso handed down sentences Thursday to nine suspects, including seven foreigners.

"Six Moroccans, convicted of being members of Islamic State militants, will face the death penalty, Colonel Ali Ibrahim Osman, the deputy chairman of the court, told VOA Somali. He said an Ethiopian and a Somali each received 10-year jail terms, while the court found another Somali defendant not guilty.

Osman said the foreign militants were accused of training with Islamic State at their base at Cal-Miskaat Mountains in the northeastern region of Somalia.

"They came to Somalia to support ISIS and destroy and shed blood," he said.

Through an interpreter at the court and their lawyer, the accused foreigners said they were haplessly misguided about training with the group and wanted to be deported to their home countries, arguing that they had voluntarily surrendered to the security forces.

Osman said that the court had communicated with the relatives of the defendants, provided them an interpreter and they were represented by a lawyer.

"After all the court proceedings, including hearings and the presentation of evidence against the men, the court made the sentences," Osman said. "But they can take an appeal within 30 days otherwise the sentence will be carried out."

"The Moroccans admitted before the court that they were members of ISIS for two years," Osman said.

It is not clear if witnesses supporting the prosecution's case testified in court.

Osman identified the Moroccans as Mohamed Hassan, Ahmed Najwi, Khalid Latha, Mohamed Binu Mohamed Ahmed, Ridwan Abdulkadir Osmany, and Ahmed Hussein Ibrahim.

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Iran successfully launches domestically-built Pars 1 research satellite into space

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 8:48 AM

Iran has successfully put into orbit the domestically-built Pars 1 research-sensing satellite.

The 134-kilogram satellite was launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's far eastern Amur region on Thursday.

Equipped with three cameras, Pars 1 will scan Iran's topography from an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

The satellite is designed and manufactured by experts and young scientists at the Iran Space Research Institute with the cooperation of knowledge-based companies.

It receives data from ground sources in three spectral ranges of visible, short-wave infrared and thermal infrared.

Speaking on television, Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Issa Zarepour said that the satellite will be added to the country's sensing satellites and that its sent images and data will be used for multiple purposes.

Elaborating on the country's space program, he added that Iran has launched 12 satellites into space over the past 25 months.

"The country's space industry is rapidly advancing forward ... upgrading its place," Zarepour said.

Iran building largest launch base in West Asia

Additionally in his remarks, the minister said that Iran is constructing West Asia's largest launch base in the country's south.

He also noted that the first satellite launch from the base will be carried out in the next Iranian calendar year (beginning on March 20) or at the latest by the end of President Ebrahim Raeisi's term.

He pointed out that Iran decided to build the base as the country's current launch bases do not have the capability of injecting satellites at the right inclination for a sun-synchronous orbit.

Last month, Iran simultaneously put into orbit the Mahda research satellite, as well as the Keyhan-2 and Hatef-1 nanosatellites using the domestically-made Simorgh (Phoenix) carrier.

In the same month, the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched Soraya satellite into orbit using Qaem 100 satellite carrier.

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has taken giant strides in the civilian space program.

Iran is among the world's top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites.

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MBABANE - A liSwati man is said to have, minutes after the arrest of the two accused in the murder of rapper Kiernan Forbes, popularly known as AKA, rushed to their rented flat to remove all the household items.

The accused persons from Durban, Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande (Nxele) and Malusi Dave Ndimande (Mjay), were arrested by members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS), while in a flat they rented at Zone 4 at Mahwalala, Mbabane. According to members of the areas community police, the liSwati national, who came to take the items, used to frequent the house where the suspects were staying and his relationship with the SA men remains unknown.

Minutes after the police had left with the two South African nationals, a liSwati man, who was driving a van, came to take all their items, including draperies from the windows, said one of the community police members. He said the mans strong siSwati command and knowledge about certain things, made him conclude that he was indeed a liSwati.

Visit

He narrated that the liSwati man used to visit the two during their stay at Zone 4, hence they did not question him when they saw him removing the items from the house. We suspect that the liSwati man was their connection as he was the one who would organise young women for them and was always present when they hosted the braais under a tree next to the house, said one of the members of the community police.

Yesterday, this journalist visited the house and discovered that all the items, including curtains, had been removed. Inside the house, there were empty bottles of expensive whisky and chopped vegetables. Outside there were empty beer bottles and boxes of booster tablets. Residents described the place where the suspects were staying as a bistro, as there were always people drinking alcohol and playing loud music every weekend.

Wondered

The members of the community police said they wondered where the suspects got money from to host what they termed as parties as they were unemployed. They said they did not suspect that the duo was into any criminal activities and were wanted for serious crimes in the neighbouring country. They described them as very humble people, who always adhered to their (community police members) instructions whenever they warned them to desist from playing loud music.

Every time we were patrolling the area, especially on weekends, we would find them playing loud music and having braais. The gate leading to the house was always locked, said the community police member. He said they were shocked when they saw a contingent of police officers arresting the Ndimande brothers, as they never suspected that they were into any criminal activities.

He went on to state that, to avoid a similar situation in future, they would now require anyone who was renting out a house in the area to first furnish them with an identity document of the potential tenant and contact numbers of his or her next of kin. Meanwhile, the community police member also claimed that the suspects had many female visitors in their flat at Zone 4 in Mbabane.

They said every time they patrolled the area, either at night or during the day, they noticed different women entering the house occupied by the accused persons. Lapha bekushitjana ematfombatane lamancane yemnaketfu. Lamanye siyawati landzaweni. Emini bowubona kungena lomunye ntsamba kungena lomunye, said Phila Simelane, who is a member of the community police.

The different women who frequented the house would be later seen outside, either drinking alcoholic beverages or washing clothes, said Simelane. One resident, who was interviewed, said he knew the accused persons, but started suspecting them after noting one of them with tattoos. He related that during one of their routine patrols at night, they heard a woman screaming inside the house but they could not get inside to ascertain what was happening as the gate was always locked.

He was seated outside half-naked when I spotted the tattoos and I started to have suspicions that the people who were staying there were into something amiss, said the resident, who preferred anonymity. In their home country, the accused persons are also wanted for murders emanating from public transport wars.
2024 U.S.-Australia Strategic Policy Dialogue

US Department of State

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

February 28, 2024

The governments of the United States and Australia held their annual Strategic Policy Dialogue (SPD) on February 27 in Honolulu. The SPD, established in 2019, is a forum for the United States and Australia to discuss cooperation on deterrence, including on extended deterrence, arms control, and the maintenance of regional stability in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. delegation was co-chaired by Mallory Stewart, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, Department of State, and Dr. Vipin Narang, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense. The Australian side was co-chaired by Sarah deZoeten, First Assistant Secretary Defence and National Security Policy, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Sheridan Kearnan, First Assistant Secretary Strategic Policy, Department of Defence.

The United States and Australia reaffirmed their commitment to advance security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and continue coordination on diplomatic efforts and integration of defense efforts to ensure a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Both sides shared their perspectives on the prospects for arms control and risk reduction in the region. The two sides also reinforced the importance of increased transparency and substantive engagement to reduce the risk of unintended escalation or conflict in the region. Both sides emphasized the valuable role of multilateral diplomacy and regional institutions in the Indo-Pacific, in particular the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Pacific Islands Forum.

The United States and Australia reaffirmed the value of the SPD, the fifth since the dialogue was established, as a policy forum for strengthening U.S.-Australian collaboration on security priorities in the Indo-Pacific, including extended deterrence.

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Hong Kong's Proposed Article 23 Legislation Further Undermines "One Country, Two Systems" Framework

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

February 28, 2024

The United States is closely monitoring Hong Kong's development of national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law and its implications for U.S. citizens, investments, and companies operating in Hong Kong. We are particularly concerned by Hong Kong authorities' proposal to adopt broad and vague definitions of "state secrets" and "external interference" that could be used to eliminate dissent through the fear of arrest and detention.

We are also concerned that Hong Kong authorities will apply Article 23 extraterritorially in their ongoing campaign of transnational repression to intimidate and restrict the free speech of U.S. citizens and residents.

Article 23 risks compounding the 2020 National Security Law that has curtailed the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong. Enacting additional national security legislation with vaguely defined provisions and purported extraterritorial reach would further violate the PRC's international commitments and undermine the "One Country, Two Systems" framework.

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China slams 'unfounded' comments by British Foreign Secretary Cameron on HKSAR Article 23 legislation

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Feb 29, 2024 02:27 PM

China slammed comments made by British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on the Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) as "unfounded" and kindly reminded UK that it has no sovereignty, no governance, and no supervisory power over Hong Kong after its return to the motherland.

A spokesperson for Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong SAR on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction and firm opposition to individual politicians such as Cameron who have made unfounded attacks on the Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law, maliciously tarnishing and attacking Hong Kong's human rights, freedoms, and rule of law.

The HKSAR government has conducted a public consultation on the Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law from January 30 to February 28.

The enactment of the Article 23 legislation is the responsibility of the SAR government to uphold national security, implement the Basic Law of Hong Kong, relevant decisions of the National People's Congress, and the National Security Law for Hong Kong, said the spokesperson. It is also an urgent requirement to ensure the long-term stability of Hong Kong and the steady progress of the "one country, two systems" principle, the spokesperson noted on the Thursday's statement.

Only by expediting the Article 23 legislation as soon as possible and building a strong barrier to safeguard national security can Hong Kong focus on economic development and better leverage its unique status and advantages to deepen cooperation with countries and regions around the world, the spokesperson said.

The SAR government has carefully organized multiple explanatory sessions on the Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law when soliciting public opinions, clearly stating that one of the principles of the Article 23 legislation of the Basic Law is to respect and safeguard human rights, and to protect the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Hong Kong Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson also highlighted that when formulating provisions related to criminal offenses, it will target precisely behaviors that endanger national security, clearly defining the elements and penalties of the relevant offenses, and clearly delineating the boundaries between normal business transactions and external exchanges, so that law-abiding individuals do not have to worry about falling into the net of justice.

The spokesperson stated that after the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, the legal basis for the Chinese government to govern the SAR is the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, not the China-British Joint Declaration. The British side has no sovereignty, no governance, and no supervisory power over Hong Kong after its return.

Politicians and media outlets across a number of countries, including the UK, stubbornly hold biases against China and Hong Kong, believing that the wide coverage and strict regulation of laws related to national security in their own countries are justified. However, they are obsessed with interpreting Article 23 of the Basic Law through a "filter," deliberately juxtaposing national security against rights and freedoms, the spokesperson said, slamming their behaviors as a slander with ulterior motives and hypocritical double standards.

The spokesperson for Chinese Embassy to the UK also made a response on Thursday, saying that the Declaration does not give the British side any qualification or right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs.

"Hong Kong has long returned to China...We urge the British side to recognize the situation, adjust their mindset, and do more things that are beneficial to the development of China-British relations," the embassy spokesperson noted.

Instead, the concept of the UK's National Security Law is vague and grants broad authorization to law enforcement agencies, making it prone to abuse. The UK should reflect on itself instead of meddling in other countries' affairs, the embassy spokesperson stated.

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PLA Navy's routine escort operations not related to regional situation: spokesperson

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan Published: Feb 29, 2024 10:13 PM

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's routine escort operations in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia are a practice of implementing the China-proposed Global Security Initiative, and are not related to the current situation in the region, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.

Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a regular press conference in response to foreign media reports claiming that the PLA Navy had started to provide escort to Chinese freighters in the Red Sea.

According to publicly available information, the operation areas of the PLA Navy's escort task forces included the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea even before the current instability in the region.

An example of this was the mission to evacuate Chinese personnel from Sudan to Saudi Arabia in April 2023 by the PLA Navy's 43rd escort task force, which took place in the Red Sea, observers said.

The Red Sea waters are an important trade route for international goods and energy, and safeguarding peace and stability is in line with the common interests of the international community, Zhang said.

China consistently advocates the safeguarding of international sea lanes and opposes attacks on civilian vessels, Zhang said.

China will continue to implement the Global Security Initiative, safeguard international sea lanes, provide safe and reliable escorts to Chinese and foreign vessels, and make a positive contribution to promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind through concrete actions, the spokesperson said.

In a latest move, the PLA Navy's 46th escort task force departed from Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province on February 21. It will replace the 45th escort task force's escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia, the PLA Navy South Sea Fleet said in a press release at the time.

The new task force includes the Type 052D guided missile destroyer Jiaozuo, the Type 054A missile frigate Xuchang, and the Type 903A comprehensive replenishment vessel Honghu, with over 700 crew members including dozens of special forces personnel and two helicopters onboard, according to the press release.

Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday that the PLA Navy's escort missions are not related to the current situation in the region or so-called major power competition.

Escort operations fit not only China's national interests, but also the common interests of the international community, as China also fulfills its international responsibilities and obligations, the expert said, noting that when foreign vessels request it, the PLA Navy will also provide escort to them.

By the end of 2023, the PLA Navy had escorted more than 7,200 vessels in the region in more than 1,600 missions, with more than 50 percent of escorted ships being foreign vessels, China Central Television reported in December 2023.

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US smearing China on data security 'absurd'; Washington urged to listen to market concerns instead of blind suppression

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Published: Feb 29, 2024 10:17 PM

China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged the US to stop slandering and smearing China on data security, and maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment, after the Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China over the repeatedly cited claim of national security.

Chinese officials and experts noted that the US approach lacks sufficient evidence to support it and runs counter to the principles of international trade and cooperation. The US government should listen to the voices of enterprises and seek ways to cooperate and address problems through dialogue and consultation instead of groundless suppression, they said.

According to Reuters, the order will curb bulk transfers of Americans' geo-location, biometric, health and financial information to specific "countries of concern." The directive appeared to zero in on Chinese gene companies like BGI, barring the transfer of any volume of genomic data to countries of concern, according to the report.

In response, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, noted that the US overstretches the concept of national security, falsely accuses China of purchasing American's personal and sensitive data for malicious activities, and prevents the transfer of data to so-called "countries of concern" including China.

"These are discriminatory practices clearly targeted at certain countries. China firmly rejects these measures," she said.

The Chinese government has always placed great importance on the protection of data privacy and security, and has never, and will never, ask its enterprises or individuals to collect or provide data information and intelligence located in foreign countries for the Chinese government in a manner that violates local laws, Mao said.

China has taken the lead in proposing the Global Initiative on Data Security, and if the US was truly concerned about data security, it could publicly support China's initiative or make a similar commitment, Mao noted.

"We asked the US to stop slandering and smearing China, effectively maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment, and work with all parties to formulate universal data security rules, in order to promote the orderly and free flow of global data," said Mao.

"The US action is another fresh example of its suppression of Chinese enterprises on the ground of biotechnology security. However, the US should realize that zero-sum games are no longer compatible with the current trend of economic globalization," Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday.

In the long run, this kind of suppression will inspire China and other countries to develop biotechnology more independently and reduce foreign dependence, Wang noted, adding that as China and the US are the world's largest economies, cooperation between them is vital to the stability and development of the global economy.

The American Chamber of Commerce in China recently released a report showing that the financial performance of US companies in China, their expectations of China's development prospects and their intentions to invest in China all improved in 2023, and most of the surveyed companies will maintain their presence in China.

He Yadong, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce, said on Thursday that the latest report shows that US-funded enterprises recognize that China's economy is picking up and the business environment continues to improve, and that multinational corporations have confidence in investing and cultivating in China. This is another example showing that China is still a top destination for global investment.

"For four consecutive years, US firms in China have regarded 'tensions in the US-China relationship' as the biggest business challenge, reflecting the business community's keen expectation for the stable development of bilateral ties," He said.

China stands ready to work with the US to give full play to the role of the multi-level communication mechanism of the two countries' commerce ministries, in a bid to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation, effectively control differences and create a favorable environment for the business communities of the two countries, He said.

There are rising signs of improved engagement between the Chinese and US business communities, evidenced by the ongoing visit by the delegation led by the US Chamber of Commerce to China.

During her meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday,President and CEO of the Chamber Suzanne P. Clark said that the US-China relationship is extremely important and "decoupling" is not a viable option. The chamber is willing to act as a bridge to deepen US-China economic and trade relations and mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote the steady development of US-China relations.

"Enterprises are the mainstay of the market economy, and they have a keener sense of market demand, cooperation opportunities and competitive dynamics. The US government should listen to the voices of enterprises, understand their concerns and needs, and formulate more reasonable and pragmatic economic and trade policies," Wang noted.

Differences and competition between China and the US in the fields of economy, trade, science and technology are inevitable, but both sides should seek ways to cooperate and solve problems through dialogue and consultation, the expert said.

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US asked to stop smearing China on data security, to promote orderly flow of global data

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Feb 29, 2024 05:02 PM

China's Foreign Ministry urged the US to stop slandering and smearing China on data security, and maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment, spokesperson Mao Ning told a press conference on Thursday.

Mao's remarks came after the Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China, Reuters reported, claiming that the US is seeking to protect American personal data over so-called national security concerns.

The order will curb bulk transfers of Americans' geo-location, biometric, health and financial information to specific "countries of concern."

This is the first time the US has taken such measures, and the US executive order is also seen as the latest escalation of the "digital cold war" between the two countries.

In response, Mao noted that the US has generalized the concept of national security by falsely claiming that China is purchasing sensitive data of US citizens and engaging in malicious activities. "Banning the flow of data to the so-called countries of concern, including China, is a discriminatory practice clearly targeting a specific country, which China firmly opposes," she said.

The Chinese government has always placed great importance on the protection of data privacy and security, and has never, and will never, ask its enterprises or individuals to collect or provide data information and intelligence located in foreign countries for the Chinese government in a manner that violates local laws, Mao said.

China has taken the lead in proposing a global data security initiative, and if the US is truly concerned about data security, it could publicly support China's initiative or make a similar commitment, she noted.

"We asked the US to stop slandering and smearing China, effectively maintain an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment and work with all parties to formulate universal data security rules, in order to promote the orderly and free flow of global data," said Mao.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on February 29, 2024

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2024-02-29 20:10

Shenzhen TV: It's reported that in a statement released on February 28, the UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's legislative proposals on Article 23 of the Basic Law do not uphold the obligations of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which will have a negative impact on the people of Hong Kong in the exercise of their rights and freedoms and a risk that the work of international organizations in Hong Kong could be labeled as "foreign interference". The UK strongly urged the HKSAR government to re-consider their proposals and will monitor development of this legislation closely. What's the Ministry's comment?a

Mao Ning: The UK's statement is a gross interference in China's internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs, which lays bare again its deeply entrenched colonial mindset and mentality as a "lecturer". China firmly opposes it.a

The UK's "concerns" have no ground. First, the Sino-British Joint Declaration by no means put the UK in a position or gave it any right to interfere in Hong Kong affairs. Second, one of the principles that guide the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law is to respect and protect human rights, and protect in accordance with the law the rights and freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of relevant international covenants as applied to Hong Kong. Third, there is a clear line drawn between acts that constitute an offence that endangers national security, and normal commercial exchanges and activities in the fields of economy, culture and science and technology. The normal activities of foreign institutions and personnel in the HKSAR will continue to be protected in accordance with law. It's worth pointing out that the UK's National Security Act that came into force last year contains many provisions with vague definitions and grants law enforcement agencies sweeping power, which can be easily abused.a

We urge the UK to find the right mindset, face squarely the fact that Hong Kong has already returned to China, stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, reflect on its action, and end double standards.aa

Hubei Media Group: The latest data shows that the China-Europe Railway Express made over 85,000 trips in cumulative terms, effectively boosting the development of countries along the routes. What's your comment?

Mao Ning: The China-Europe Railway Express is a flagship project and distinct brand of Belt and Road cooperation. After a decade of ground-breaking and innovative efforts, the China-Europe Railway Express has kept adding new lines and expanding its capacity, providing the Eurasian continent fresh corridors of land transport and new bridges for economic and trade cooperation. Over the past 10 years, along the routes of the China-Europe Railway Express, customs clearance and inspection has been streamlined, the business environment at ports of entry has been improved, and rules and regulations for cross-border transportation have become more standardized. Thanks to the China-Europe Railway Express, China enjoys closer cooperation and more robust trade ties with Central Asia and Europe. A large number of companies specializing in international trade, smart manufacturing, and supply chain service have established presence along the routes. Industries such as manufacturing, trade and commerce, finance and information have been constantly upgraded. More and more European products have entered the life of the Chinese people, while "Made in China" is becoming more popular in Europe.

President Xi Jinping announced at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that China will speed up high-quality development of the China-Europe Railway Express, which has been actively supported by countries along the routes. In 2024, we believe the China-Europe Railway Express will continue to run at full speed and inject new impetus into the development of the Eurasian continent.

Antara: The Qatari mediators propose Israel to pause its war on Hamas in Gaza during the upcoming Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Will China also join Qatar's proposal and put more effort to stop war during Ramadan?

Mao Ning: As the conflict drags on, the dire humanitarian situation continues to worsen in Gaza. The international community must act now and focus all efforts on bringing about a ceasefire and protecting civilians. China supports all diplomatic efforts conducive to deescalation and easing the humanitarian crisis. We call on all parties concerned to stop fighting immediately, do everything possible to prevent casualties among innocent civilians and prevent an even worse humanitarian catastrophe.a

Bloomberg: We've seen reports that Wang Yi will head to Australia. Can you confirm this or do you have any details?

Mao Ning: With the concerted effort of China and Australia in recent years, the bilateral relationship has returned to the track of sound and steady growth. China values the growth of its relations with Australia and stands ready to work with Australia to deliver on the important common understandings between leaders of the two countries, enhance exchanges across the board and at various levels, cement mutual trust, promote cooperation, handle differences properly and advance the China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership. On your specific question, I have nothing to offer at the moment.

TASS: Starting from March 2, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Russia, the EU headquarters, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and France. What are the important plan and arrangement of Li Hui's trip to Russia?

Mao Ning: The protraction of the Ukraine crisis does not serve the common interest of the international community. The main objective of the upcoming round of shuttle diplomacy is to build consensus for ceasefire and pave the way for peace talks. China stands ready to continue to play its role and contribute China's wisdom to seeking a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.a

Bloomberg: President Xi Jinping told Sierra Leone's President on a visit to Beijing that the two nations should boost their coordination in the UN Security Council and jointly secure the interests of Africa and developing countries. This appears to be China's latest effort to be seen as a leader of Global South nations. Would the Ministry like to provide details on how China plans to protect the interests of Africa and developing nations in this leadership role?

Mao Ning: As a developing country, China, a natural member of the Global South, has invariably stood in solidarity with fellow developing countries through thick and thin and firmly upheld the common interests of developing countries. President Xi Jinping has put forth important strategic guidelines and policies to consolidate and deepen our relations with fellow developing countries. We follow the principle of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith and the principle of pursuing the greater good and shared interests, and firmly uphold sovereignty, independence, the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs, and the legitimate rights and development opportunities of developing countries. We call for an equal and orderly multipolar world to make the international order more just and equitable and to raise the representation and say of developing countries. We call for a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization to share opportunities with other developing countries for common development. China will always stand together with developing countries, work toward building a community with a shared future for mankind, advance together the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, pursue high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, apply the common values of humanity and work for a peaceful, safer and prosperous world with a bright future.a

Dragon TV: According to reports, the Japanese government protested against the ROK court's ruling which orders a Japanese company to compensate victims of forced recruitment of laborers during World War II. The Japanese Foreign Minister expressed strong regret to the ROK Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting. There are media comments saying that despite the improvement of ROK-Japan relations in the past two years, the Japanese side still maintains its erroneous attitude toward historical issues and even becomes more arrogant. What's China's comment?

Mao Ning: Forced recruitment and enslavement of laborers is a grave crime against humanitarian law committed by the Japanese militarism during its aggression and colonial rule against the people of Asian nations, including those of China and the ROK. The facts are backed by ironclad evidence and shall not be denied or altered. China has long asked the Japanese government to properly handle relevant issues left over from history with an honest and responsible attitude. Japan needs to face squarely and reflect on that part of history, and show remorse for its historical crimes and respect for the victims through concrete actions. Japan also needs to shape a correct view of history among the younger generation. Only by doing so can Japan truly earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the wider international community.

PTI: Foreign Minister Mr. Wang Yi yesterday met the UN officials in charge of reforms, especially the UN Security Council reforms. There was a readout issued by the Ministry. I just would like to ask you have there been any concrete proposals put forward by China with regard to the reforms, especially of the UN Security Council. And also, several emerging economies, including India, have criticized China, holding it responsible for blocking the reforms in the UN Security Council. Can you please react to this?

Mao Ning: The reform of the Security Council is an integral part of the reform of the UN as a whole. China supports necessary reform of the Security Council so that it can better fulfill its important responsibilities of maintaining international peace and security and better respond to major global challenges in today's world. We believe that the reform of the Security Council should effectively increase the representation and say of developing countries and give more small and medium-sized countries the opportunity to participate in the decision-making of the organization. Upholding solidarity and cooperation of the international community should be a priority and member states need to seek the broadest possible consensus for a package solution through serious and thorough consultations. The reform should benefit all member states, rather than serving the selfish interests of a few.

Bloomberg: President Joe Biden signed an executive order designed to prevent foreign entities from giving to troves of American personal data. This is amid worries that it could be exploited for commercial and military advantage, particularly by China and Russia. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on this?

Mao Ning: The US overstretches the concept of national security, falsely accuses China of purchasing American's personal and sensitive data for malicious activities, and prevents the transfer of data to so-called "countries of concern" including China. These are discriminatory practices clearly targeted at certain countries. China firmly rejects these measures. The Chinese government takes data privacy and security very seriously. We have never asked and will never ask any company or individual to collect or provide data, information or intelligence located abroad against local laws. We put forward the Global Initiative on Data Security. If the US truly cares about data security, it can publicly endorse this initiative or make similar commitments. We urge the US to stop smearing and discrediting China, effectively safeguard a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment, and work with others to formulate universal data security rules to enable orderly and free data flows around the world.

Bloomberg: Australia and the Philippines have signed an agreement to boost collaboration on maritime security, including promoting respect for international law as they put it. This is the latest sign of their deepening defense ties. Do you have a response to this?

Mao Ning: The South China Sea is generally stable. Relevant countries' maritime security cooperation should not undermine other countries' interests or disrupt regional peace and stability.aa

PTI: One thing that you mentioned was that the system should not serve the selfish interests of a few countries. This is precisely where the criticism is about the Permanent Five. The entire system is geared up to serve the interests of these Permanent Five while the rest of the countries are left to defend for themselves.

Mao Ning: The UN is the broadest-based organization in the world and is therefore able to represent all countries in the world. I don't think that the Security Council only represents the interests of the permanent members but there's a need for necessary reform of the Security Council, so that developing countries and medium and small-sized countries can have more opportunities to take part in the decision-making of the Council. As for how the reform should be carried out specifically, this will require serious and full consultation among UN members and accommodation of the concerns of all countries so that all members will benefit from the reform.

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Public trust dives as Hong Kong accelerates security law legislation

Proposed law will hurt Hong Kong's status as East-West melting pot, warns poll researcher.

By Ray Chung for RFA Cantonese 2024.02.29 -- Public trust of Hong Kong citizens towards the government has dived further on the back of the city's aggressive campaign to legislate its own security laws.

The Hong Kong people's trust of their government fell by more than 10% from the previous month, according to findings by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, PORI, a sign that the negative impact of the Article 23 legislation will hang over the future of the city amid China's intensified encroachment.

The public's trust dropped from January's 46% to 39% this month, while distrust of the government rose from 38% to 42%. The combined net decline of the two gauges is 11 percentage points, the online survey of 722 respondents released on Wednesday showed.

Furthermore, the public's confidence of Hong Kong's future recorded a decrease of 16 percentage points.

Political scholar Chris Li pointed out that such sentiments arose as the public is inundated with news in the past month of Article 23's consultation, an issue which is also most related to their government and their future. A one-month public consultation for Article 23 legislation ended on Wednesday.

Under Article 23 of the Basic Law - Hong Kong's mini constitution - the city has to enact its own laws to prohibit acts of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against Beijing. But such a move has been controversial. A previous attempt in 2003 failed following mass protests and was shelved until Beijing's imposition of the National Security Law, or NSL, in 2020.

Last month, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee vowed to complete legislation of Article 23 this year, reiterating its priority on public discontent as well as economic and social issues.

Li said while the index on the rule of law recorded 5.24 points, a pass level, indicating that citizens felt that the judicial system and judges' handling of cases were fair, their responses towards the legislative process were contrary.

"Looking at their responses, their concerns about legislating Article 23 are not about how the judiciary will implement it, but whether the legal provisions in the government's draft legislation will affect Hong Kong's more important values. Freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and association, the freedom to cooperate with many different foreign institutions and the freedom to cooperate with the international community, these are all relevant."

"Maliciously smearing"

The NSL's implementation has triggered outflows of foreign and domestic capital and talent in the last three years. Hundreds of protestors, activists and former opposition lawmakers have been arrested since it came into force. And moving forward with legislation of Article 23 has inevitably met with international criticism and more backlash, albeit to no avail.

The Hong Kong office of China's foreign ministry on Thursday lashed out at the British foreign secretary David Cameron and United States Department of State spokesman Mattthew Miller for "maliciously smearing and attacking Hong Kong's human rights, freedoms, and rule of law."

The U.S. and the U.K. have raised concerns that Article 23's legislation infringes the rights of the Hong Kong people and their citizens in the city.

In its statement, the Chinese foreign ministry said early completion of the legislation will enhance the stability of Hong Kong society and the certainty of the rule of law. It does not affect Hong Kong's "high degree of autonomy" and "rights and freedoms", but "only targets a very small number of people who endanger national security."

Hong Kong's Security Bureau on Thursday said 98.6% of the 13,147 submissions received during the public consultation showed support for the law's enactment.

Cutting off Hong Kong's edge

Still, PORI Chief Executive Robert Chung warned that when people fear their freedoms are compromised and it becomes an issue standing in the way of international cooperation, it will be tantamount to cutting off international relations, which will be detrimental to Hong Kong.

"If we do this, it will be very difficult to achieve 'governance and prosperity,' even close to impossible. Hong Kong's advantage has always been to converge the East and the West in a civilized manner; Hong Kong must have this space."

He pointed out that the authorities will establish more internal standards and management systems to avoid breaching the red line going forward, and clarity with the new regulations will take time for the judicial system and the courts to adjust.

"Only then can the citizens understand. In other words, the gray time or zone will exist for a certain period of time," he added.

The Legislative Council's "Basic Law Subcommittee" held its first meeting on Tuesday where Secretary for Justice Paul Lam stated that there is a societal consensus to complete the legislation as soon as possible.

Lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen raised the question as to whether Taiwan will be considered an "external force" under the Article 23 legislation.

Translated with additional reporting by RFA Staff. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

Updated to add Chinese foreign ministry comments and public consultation response under "maliciously smearing".

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 February 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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With Back-to-Back Actions, Biden Spotlights China Data Security Threat

By Patsy Widakuswara February 29, 2024

The Biden administration launched a series of actions against China in recent days, sustaining pressure against the United States' key strategic rival even as it focuses on more urgent fronts, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

In the span of one week, the administration announced an executive order to protect Americans' personal data from foreign adversaries, including China; launched an investigation into potential security threats posed by connected vehicles that use Chinese technology; and placed sanctions on Chinese entities for supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The actions taken by President Joe Biden stand in contrast to the months of warming ties following a November summit in California between him and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping a a meeting aimed to improve a bilateral relationship that had reached its lowest point in decades due to rivalry and mistrust.

Since the summit, diplomatic engagement has increased from both sides, including the resumption of military-to-military talks that were frozen after former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit to Taiwan.

Restarting staff-level talks in early January was key to ensuring that the two sides avoided a major cross-strait incident during Taiwan's election later in the month.

In January, Washington and Beijing also launched a working group designed to crack down on the flow of Chinese precursors used in the production of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs sold in the U.S., another sign of cooperation between the superpowers.

Ties improved to the point that Beijing marked the 45th anniversary of U.S.-China diplomatic relations in January with a lavish banquet, where Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised that Chinese giant pandas, much loved by American zoo visitors, will return to U.S. by the end of the year.

So why the flurry of actions against China now?

National security issue

The White House sidestepped questions on the back-to-back timing of the measures.

Biden is "concerned about countries like China," White House deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday.

"China is right now looking to flood the market here in the United States and around the world with vehicles equipped with advanced technology from countries of concern," she said. "That's a national security issue that we take very seriously."

An administration official told reporters during a briefing that the U.S. Commerce Department probe launched Thursday to ensure that Chinese cars driving on American roads do not undermine U.S. national security, is "complementary and distinct" from the executive order to protect Americans' personal data from China and other foreign adversaries. The latter order blocks bulk transfers of data such as geolocation, biometric, health and financial information to "countries of concern."

By putting the two announcements next to each other, the administration is trying to communicate that they're taking data security seriously, said Emily Benson, director of the Project on Trade and Technology at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"The anticipated outcome there was to signal that the connected vehicle rules are actually a national security instrument," Benson told VOA.

The U.S. plans to engage partners and allies following the investigation into the threat posed by Chinese vehicles. There's a "growing sense of the security risks" and "really strong interest in the measures that we might take and the results of the investigation," an administration official told VOA during a briefing Wednesday.

Biden himself warned of the dangers.

"Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People's Republic of China," the president said in a statement.

National security concerns aside, the administration is also anticipating an overcapacity of more affordable Chinese vehicles entering the American marketplace, especially as Chinese auto producers such as BYD set up manufacturing facilities in Mexico that would afford them more favorable tariff rates under USMCA, the free-trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

"That has created a lot of fear in Washington about the longevity of the U.S. automobile sector," Benson said.

She added that the executive actions taken this week are "easier and more appropriate" than the effort to ban TikTok. The social media app is used by more than 100 million Americans despite allegations that its China-based parent company, ByteDance, could collect sensitive user data.

While the federal government and dozens of individual states have barred TikTok from government devices, Congress has yet to enact legislation to ban Americans from using the application on their personal devices.

The app is highly popular, especially among young people, prompting Biden's campaign to join the platform despite the administration's previously firm stance on its potential national security concerns.

Balanced approach

As Biden gears up for his reelection campaign, his administration is keen to project the image that they are taking the threat of China seriously, said Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center.

"Balancing has always been the theme of his policy," Sun told VOA. "When there is positive engagement, there's also the punitive gestures."

Without such gestures, the administration would be vulnerable to criticism that it is ignoring the fact that Beijing remains a source of significant national security challenges for the United States, she said.

"The administration has to demonstrate that it is extremely clear-eyed about the limitation of engagement but also the desirability of the engagement," she said. "Engagement does not mean there's no problem."

Washington also announced sanctions against Chinese firms last week as part of a measure marking the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The trade penalties targeted entities in Russia and in countries viewed by the administration as supporting Moscow's war effort.

The actions against China followed a meeting between Wang and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference earlier in February.

In the meeting, Wang warned Blinken that turning de-risking "into 'de-China,' building 'small courtyards and high walls,' and engaging in 'decoupling from China' will eventually backfire on the United States."

Paris Huang and Adam Chuanqi Xu contributed to this report.

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China's aircraft carrier Liaoning sets out for sea trial after full year of refurbishment

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Mar 01, 2024 02:08 AM

China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, reportedly embarked on a sea trial on Thursday after a full year of refurbishment, with observers saying that the lengthy overhaul likely enabled China's next generation stealth fighter jet to operate on the carrier.

Assisted by several tug boats, the aircraft carrier set out from the Dalian Shipyard in Northeast China's Liaoning Province and started a voyage test on Thursday, Hong Kong-based news website wenweipo.com reported, attaching several photos taken by its on-site reporter.

It marked the first voyage by the carrier since it had returned to the shipyard for maintenance and upgrades on February 28, 2023, a full year ago. The carrier is expected to shift its role from being a training carrier to a combat carrier, the report said.

"When departing from the shipyard, the Liaoning carried full-scale mockups of a J-35 fighter jet and a J-15 fighter jet on its flight deck," wenweipo.com reported. The aircraft mockups could also be seen in the photos.

Citing a navigation notice released by the local maritime safety administration, the report suggested that the voyage test could last until March 9.

A full year of refurbishment means that complicated upgrades were applied to the Liaoning, rather than simple maintenance, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

The appearance of a J-35 fighter jet mockup indicates that this type of aircraft with obvious stealth designs will likely be added to the carrier's aircraft fleet, the expert said.

China's third aircraft carrier, the electromagnetic catapult-equipped Fujian, is expected to carry this next generation stealth fighter jet. And now, China's first two carriers, the Liaoning and the Shandong, which use ski-jump ramps to assist takeoff, may also get them, observers said.

This will significantly enhance the combat capabilities of the PLA Navy's aircraft carriers, experts said.

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The UAE has announced plans for a Trade for Development platform that will help developing nations to gain better access to and engage in the global trading system, a report said.

The announcement made during the 13th World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference reiterates the emirates commitment to developing inclusive trade in its role as host nation of WTO MC13, Emirates News Agency, WAM, said.

The announcement was made during the WTO 13th Ministerial Conference, hosted by the UAE

The Trade for Development platform is a technical assistance programme that will feature a suite of free available online tools to assist trade officials, negotiators, and policymakers from developing and least developed countries (LDCs) enhance their capacity and skills to engage in the complex and highly technical process of trade negotiations.

During the conference, the UAE said it would gift the platform to eight WTO members: Ethiopia, Mozambique, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Comoros, Kyrgyzstan and Barbados.

The Trade for Development platform will feature a virtual library of content from global trade and policy experts, covering a comprehensive range of areas traditionally found in a trade agreement.

It will serve as an always-available resource for developing country officials to draw on as they formulate trade policy and negotiate trade deals.

The audio-visual content will be supplemented with analytical studies, economic modelling, trade agreement implementation plans and a host of other best practice tools developing country officials can reference in order to craft sustainable and mutually beneficial trade agreements.

Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State, said: The United Arab Emirates, under the vision and guidance of its wise leadership, is keen to transfer its successful experiences to various countries of the world.

He emphasised the UAEs role as an active and influential member of the international community, and its continuous efforts to enhance international cooperation for comprehensive development and sustainable growth.

Al Sayegh said: The UAE continues to launch global initiatives aimed at stimulating economic growth in developing and least developed countries.

This commitment is reflected in the recent launch of the Trade for Development platform, which aims to maximise the positive impact of foreign trade on comprehensive development in these countries.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chair, said: Strengthening the capacity of negotiators is key to helping developing countries craft agreements that uphold their best interests and support long-term, sustainable growth and job creation.

As a champion of trades power to accelerate development and raise living standards, the UAE believes that providing the materials to enhance the ability of countries across our region and around the world to participate in global trade benefits us all. - TradeArabia News Service
Russia hails Pyongyang for supporting its war against Ukraine

The move came a few days after Seoul said N Korea has sent over 3 million artillery shells to Russia.

By Taejun Kang for RFA 2024.02.29 -- Russia has expressed its gratitude to North Korea again for supporting its aggression against Ukraine in a show of solidarity as fresh claims of arms trading between the two authoritarian regimes emerged.

"We are pleased that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is standing with us at the forefront of this struggle," the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said in a Facebook post on Feb. 29, to update developments in Ukraine.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is North Korea's official name.

"The United States and its puppets are responsible for the bloodshed and destruction brought about by their policies of repression in Russia," the embassy said, adding that "Russia will win and this will be a shared victory for all who adhere to the new world order."

North Korea has supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling it a "righteous struggle to defend its strategic security and interests."

The message from the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang came a few days after Seoul said North Korea has sent some 6,700 containers carrying more than three million artillery shells to Russia since August last year.

North Korea and Russia have been accused of engaging in arms trading, with the Ukrainians alleging that Russian forces have used North Korean missiles to attack them - a claim that both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied.

South Korea's defense minister Shin Won-sik told journalists on Tuesday that judging by the number of containers; he estimates that millions of rounds have been delivered to Russia, including more than three million 152mm artillery shells and more than half a million 122mm rocket launchers.

Shin noted that among the hundreds of munitions factories in North Korea, he estimates only about 30% are operational. However, those involved in Russian-related activities seem to be functioning at full capacity.

Separately, South Korea's National Intelligence Service said in November last year that 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 Elaine Chan and Mike Firn.

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Deputy Secretary Campbell's Call with German State Secretary Bagger

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

February 29, 2024

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke with German Foreign Office State Secretary Thomas Bagger to reiterate our committed support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal war. They also discussed efforts to prevent the conflict in the Middle East from expanding and the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

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Transcript of Weekly Media Briefing by the Official Spokesperson (February 29, 2024)

India - Ministry of External Affairs

February 29, 2024

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening friends. Welcome to this press engagement. We will open the floor straight away...so we go into questions. One reminder, please do keep your phones on silent or in a manner that it doesn't disturb others in this gathering. Thank you.

Yeshi Seli: This is Yeshi Seli from the New Indian Express. The first batch of civilians from India have gone to Maldives to replace the military personnel. How many have gone? And the helicopter that was presented in Maldives is to be replaced? Can you just give details of that and when is the next, the third core level meeting between India and Maldives?

Aayushi Agarwal: Sir, this is Aayushi Agarwal from ANI. My question is related to the Russia-Ukraine war. The conflict has entered its third year. How does India see the overall situation? Also, there were some reports that there are negotiations going on in Berlin regarding supply of weapons to Ukraine from India. If you can confirm or deny those reports?

Siddhant: Hi Sir, I am Siddhant from WION. Sir what is your official position on the Nitasha Kaul case, if you can talk about that?

Kadambini Sharma: Kadambini Sharma from NDTV. Sir, your statement about the Indians who had gone to Russia and stuck there fighting on the Russia-Ukraine war front, you had said that several have been discharged. So do you have a number of how many Indians are stuck there and how many have been discharged and any help them coming back?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Okay. Let's go, let's take more questions in the next round. So first is about Kadambini, your question regarding people stuck in Russia. We have an understanding something like 20 odd people are stuck. We are trying our level best for their early discharge. We have issued two statements which you saw. We have also told people not to venture in the war zone or get caught into situations which are difficult. So that is where it is. We are trying our best and we are in touch, regular touch with Russian authorities both here in New Delhi and also in Moscow and we are trying to do our best. We are deeply committed for the welfare of all our Indians.

Siddhant, regarding your question on Nitasha Kaul, this particular UK national came to India on 22nd February. As you know, entry of foreign nationals into our country is a sovereign decision. I will leave it at that.

Aayushi, regarding your question about Russia-Ukraine conflict, our position is very well known. We have said this at various levels, at the highest levels that India desires that there be discussion, there be diplomacy, there be constant engagement...so that both sides can come together and find a solution for peace. So our position is maintained. That is our position. We have articulated it at the highest levels.

Yeshi, regarding Maldives, you would have seen some reports. We have had the first batch of technical personnel reaching Maldives, Male to replace the existing personnel. That is where it is. As far as the core group meeting is concerned, we will come to know as and when we conduct those meetings next.

Avinash: Sir, Avinash from The Asahi Shimbun. Sir, the Foreign Minister is visiting Japan and to Korea next week. So Sir, if you could tell us something about the significance of his visit to Japan.

Madhurendra: Sir main Madhurendra News Nation se. Sir UN Manavadhikar parishad ke manch par Pakistan ne ek baar phir se Kashmir ka raag alapa, aur is baar bhi Bharat ki nasihat ke theek viprit Turkey ne uska saath diya, Turkey ne bhi is masle ko uthaya. Jis tarah se ye Pakistan aur Turkey ke beech ka ye cocktail dikhai de raha hain, relation dikhai de raha hain Kashmir ke mudde par, kai manchon par dekha gaya hain, uspar aapka reaction kya hain?

[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, I'm Madhurendra from News Nation. Sir, once again Pakistan has raised the issue of Kashmir on the platform of the UN Human Rights Council, and this time too, Turkey has supported it in direct contradiction to India's advice. Turkey has also raised this issue. What is your reaction to this apparent relation and alignment between Pakistan and Turkey on the Kashmir issue, which has been observed on several platforms?

Rishabh: Sir, I have two questions. Rishabh from Times Now. Sir one in continuation to what someone asked. There was a peace talk in Albania last week. Was India part to it or was India invited for that talk? A. And B, the new government has taken oath in Pakistan today. Has there been any communication from Islamabad or from Delhi to Islamabad?

Ashish: My name is Ashish from Kyodo News. The question is regarding Dr. Jaishankar's visit to Tokyo. Could you share what would be the main topics of meeting between Dr. Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart? And Raisina roundtable will be held in Tokyo for the first time. Could you also share the reason behind holding it in Japan?

Pia: Hi, Pia with the Print. Sir, two questions. One, is there any update on the 8th naval veteran who remains in Qatar? Some sections of the media are saying that there are still charges against him. There is an ongoing case against him. Could you please clarify on that? And secondly, I just wanted to reiterate a question I had asked after the budget on an expenditure amount totalling Rs 9,000 crores for miscellaneous expenditure. Could you clarify what the government spent that on, whether it was G20 or any other event? Thank you.

Huma Siddiqui: Sir, the EAM is also going to South Korea. So if you can just specify what would be the focus of discussions and also there have been several cases of racism in South Korea against the Indian students and people staying there. If that will be on the agenda?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: So, Huma, your question first. External Affairs Minister is to visit Japan and South Korea from 5th to 8th of March. We have issued a press release in that regard. In South Korea he will be attending the 10th Joint Commission meeting where of course we have a very expansive, broad-based, multifaceted relationship with South Korea. All aspects of the relationship would be discussed as to how we can further progress them.

Pia, regarding your question about the Indian national in Qatar...as you know, all eight Indian nationals who were involved in the Al Dahra Global Case, they have been released. Seven of them have returned to India. The eighth Indian national has certain requirements to fulfil. He will return as and when those are completed. So that is where we are on the eighth national.

Your question which you had asked some time ago. See, there is a provision in the budget of 9,000 crores. This was for a particular purpose. You know that MEA has a large development partnership portfolio with countries abroad. As part of this engagement, lines of credit are offered to countries. The provisioning of this miscellaneous general services is to support smooth implementation of the LOCs. The allocation is meant for funds to be provided to Exim Bank to meet regulatory requirements of RBI. So that is what it is. This particular provisioning does not in any way reduce the liability of the borrowing countries. So it is specifically targeted at meeting the requirements of RBI. RBI has set in place certain norms for Exim Banks when we offer lines of credit to countries abroad.

Pia: This is a new allocation, previously we have not seen such huge allocation.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: This particular requirement was not there earlier. So this requirement is to facilitate smooth implementation of the lines of credit that we offer to countries abroad.

Ashish regarding your question...again I would refer you to the press release that we issued. External Affairs Minister would be visiting Japan. Japan as you know...we have very strong ties with Japan. The Foreign Minister level strategic dialogue will be conducted during the visit. We have some details in the visit. If you were to follow, you will be following the visit. You will get to see more details as to what else would form part of the program. But the press release that we had issued itself has a lot of details in it. So I would refer you to that.

Rishabh, your question regarding Pakistan. On this, I don't have an update for you. But hopefully I will be able to provide something more later. On Albania as well, I don't have an update. We will check and get back to you on that particular issue as well.

Madhurendra aapka sawal jo Pakistan ko leke raha, United Nations Human Rights Council mei usmai aapne dekha hoga ki hum logon ne ek apna statement jari kiya hai us mudde ko le, toh usmai hum logon se saaf saaf kaha hain ki har baar ki tarah is baar bhi bewajah is mudde ko la ke council ka samay jaya kiya ja raha hain.

[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Madhurendra, your question about Pakistan, regarding the United Nations Human Rights Council, you may have observed that we have issued our statement on that issue. In our statement, we have clearly stated that like every time, this time also this issue is being unnecessarily raised at the Council, thus wasting its time.

Again, your question regarding Japan. I would again refer you to the detailed press release that we had issued. Please follow the visit. We will give you a readout of what's happening. When it comes to Japan, a very special country, a very special partner for India...we have a broad-based and expansive relationship that goes into several domains. Each of those aspects will be discussed when Foreign Minister, External Affairs Minister, when he's visiting Japan. From 5th to 8th, first he'll be going to South Korea, and thereafter he'll be going to Japan.

Kallol Bhattacherjee: This is Kallol Bhattacherjee from the Hindu. My question is regarding the situation in Gaza. There are reports of large-scale starvation and other humanitarian problems that are existing there. But India was supposed to have sent some food assistance to Gaza. So, did that food assistance reach the citizens in Gaza? Number one. And also, on the other hand, did India export military drones to Israel at the same time?

Ileana: Ileana from TASS News Agency. President of France, Macron, recently announced that they discussed the possibility of sending some Western troops to Ukraine. So, any comment on that? How does it sound for India?

Ashish: Ashish from Kyodo News. Sir, you didn't share about the Raisina Roundtable. Why India chose Japan?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: The question of Raisina Roundtable is also...because you know, Raisina has become today an important global platform. We just had the Raisina Dialogue, where people from all over the world, leaders, political leaders, think-tank, strategic thinkers, they all came to Delhi. We had the Greek Prime Minister who was the chief guest. So, there is global resonance of this platform today. You would have seen that Raisina dialogue at various levels is also being held or various components of it is being held in other parts of the world. Japan, of course, is a very important partner for us and this particular engagement will help our conversation, will help our engagement with Japan as much.

Ileana, regarding your question, that you asked regarding President Macron, I don't have any comments to offer on that. This is something which belongs to...which he has made and it is entirely up to France to decide what they want to do. We have no comments to offer in this regard.

Kallol, regarding humanitarian assistance, this is an important part of our engagement with the Palestinian people. Over the years, we have provided humanitarian assistance through UNRWA and also bilaterally. So, that is where it is. We will continue to provide assistance. We have done this recently as well, where exactly on your specific question, whether it has reached X or Y place, I don't have an answer. I will seek an update and get back to you, if that is okay.

The other question...I don't have an answer regarding the other question that you asked, I will seek more details on that.

Milan: Sir this is Milan from India Today. Bill Gates is in India currently and he has hailed PM's G-20 leadership also, are there any engagements planned via the Ministry of External Affairs, if you could give us some details? Thank you.

Sidhant: Hello, Sir. I am Siddhant from CNN News 18. So, a few days back, there was a statement, some of the reports quoting the Defense Ministry of Maldives confirmed that there is one team, civilian team, that was the word used in the report, has gone from India to take over the charge from the existing teams, those who were there in Maldives. So, could you please give some more details about this team and how many members are going to be the part of the team and can you confirm this, first of all? Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Okay. Milan, to your question, the Ministry of External Affairs is not involved in the visit of Bill Gates. So, I don't have any details for you. Obviously, whenever he comes, he has a very strong engagement in this country, spanning several areas. So, he has a broad program, we have a very intensive program to follow, but we are not involved in that. So, I can't give you an update on that.

Siddhant, regarding your question about Maldives. See, what I said earlier also to responding to Yeshi is that, the first team of technical personnel to operate the advanced light helicopter at Gan has reached Maldives. It will replace the existing personnel that were until now operating this platform. So, that is where we are.

Siddhant: Sir, how many members in the team have reached?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: As I told you, the first team has reached and we will have more details for you later. As of now, the first team has reached there.

Kallol Bhattacherjee: Well, the DSP of Ambala has said that he has recommended or perhaps has started the process of cancelling the passports of the farmer protesters. So, the question is, are there such laws that basically mandate you to cancel passports if people protest on the streets?

Siddhant: Sir, mine is a follow-up question, Sir. So, basically, Sir, when the core group met, there was a statement which came from the Maldivian side saying that the 10th March is the first deadline, then the 10th May is the second deadline. So, is this development is regarding the compliance of that particular statement of the commitment that took place between the two sides during the core group meeting?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Okay. So, Siddhant, your question first. This team has reached there. Obviously, these issues are decided in mutual consultation and that is where I will leave your question.

Kallol, regarding the Ambala incident, you see all passport or visa matters are governed by certain rules, laws and guidelines that we have and if there is any issue which arises on account of that, will be considered as per those laws, rules and regulations. That is where it is.

So, if we don't have any more questions, then we will close this session.

Speaker: What is the total number of Indians who went to Russia to work? There are figures which say there were 100. You said 20 are trying to come back. Is that what you said?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: What I told you was that 20, it is our understanding that there are 20 odd people there about who have gone there to work as support staff or as helpers with the Russian army. These are the people who have contacted us and that is our understanding that this is the number that we have there.

Huma Siddiqui: Sir, I just wanted to understand, so the people who are going to Israel, I mean, they are also going in a war zone which is in Gaza. What if they are also pushed into fighting or getting involved?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: But Huma, nobody has gone to Israel as of now. There are people who may have gone on their own accord. You know, even when we had the evacuation from Israel, 18,000 plus of our caregivers who are there, they stayed back. They are still there. There are a lot of people who go for business, people who go for other activities, they go on their own accord. But, in this particular case, these are 20 odd people who have contacted the embassy and we are trying our best to get them out. We are trying to get them discharged and support them, help them.

Huma Siddiqui: Are they all in Moscow?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: They are at various places but the Embassy is in touch with Russian authorities to get them out. Thank you very much.

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India launches air base in Mauritius amid China's regional sway

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 4:08 PM

India and Mauritius have jointly inaugurated an Indian-financed air base on the island of Agalega in Mauritius.

The base, inaugurated on Thursday, is considered to be of high significance to India to counter China's influence in the region.

The land, with just 300 inhabitants, is situated at a prime location in the southwest Indian Ocean. According to reports, it will be used as a naval base and a launching pad where Indian aircraft will be able to support the country's ships.

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said, "There has never been a project to turn Agalega into a military base."

"India-bashing campaign is fomented by some people in Mauritius and abroad."

However, in 2018, Jugnauth confirmed to the Financial Times that, "India would be allowed to utilize the facilities in Agalega subject to prior notification from the competent authorities of Mauritius."

The 3-kilometer air strip and jetty project was agreed upon during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2015 visit to Mauritius and cost 8.8 billion Mauritian rupees ($192 million).

The facilities at Agalega will enable maritime patrols over the Mozambique Channel and will also allow the Indian Navy to observe shipping routes around southern Africa.

Experts say the Agalega has strategic military value in a region where China has steadily increased its presence over the past 25 years.

A large portion of China's imports pass through the Indian Ocean and the Straits of Malacca, making the area extremely important for China.

Beijing has invested heavily in infrastructure with Chinese-built ports in Angola, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Mauritania and Mozambique.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in September 2023 that Indian authorities are closely monitoring ports that China has built in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and other areas around the Indian Ocean region.

"From an Indian point of view, I would say it's very reasonable for us to try and prepare for greater Chinese presence than we have seen before," Jaishankar said.

An archipelago of four islands, Mauritius also includes Saint-Brandon and Rodrigues, which has had an autonomous status since 2001.

The naval base in Agalega has raised fears of a repeat of the 1965 decision by Britain to separate the Chagos Islands from Mauritius and set up a joint military base with the United States on Diego Garcia, the largest of the isles.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled in 2021 that Britain has no sovereignty over the islands. But the British government said it would only return them when they no longer serve defense purposes.

Britain has renewed a lease agreement with the United States to use Diego Garcia until 2036.

Diego Garcia's air and sea bases played a strategic role during the Cold War and during the war in Afghanistan.

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President: Iran's armed forces reliable sources of security in region

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 2:50 PM

President Ebrahim Raeisi says the armed forces of the Islamic Republic have become reliable and trustworthy forces in providing security for Iran and the countries of the region.

This credibility is due to the power of faith and connection to the divine absolute power among the Iranian forces, President Raeisi said in a meeting with a group of Air Force commanders.

The president touched on the unique features of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, saying their strength, capability and bravery has empowered the country and stabilized national security.

President Raeisi touched on the evolution and transformation that the Islamic Revolution created in the hearts and souls of the officers and commanders of the Iranian armed forces.

This transformation, the president said, became evident during the Holy Defense of the 1980s against Iraq, the defense of the country's borders, and the support of the forces defending holy shrines.

He cited belief in God and people, and their self-belief among the principles and hallmarks of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, especially the Air Force.

He called the self-sufficiency of the Air Force in building up-to-date and advanced defensive and offensive equipment such as radar, drone and missile systems as a manifestation of the force's self-belief.

The president reiterated the government's commitment to providing resources needed to strengthen the country's defense base, saying any effort to this end is an investment for security and creating deterrence against the enemy.

Raeisi also hailed "good" steps taken by the Air Force to develop combat and military equipment and capabilities by using the capacity of technological and knowledge-based companies.

The president advised military commanders to continue improving equipment and upgrading the knowledge and expertise of their forces.

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Iran Cracks Down On Calls For Election Boycott

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda February 29, 2024

Several people have been detained in Iran for allegedly calling for a boycott of parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections scheduled for March 1.

A young woman was arrested on February 28 for "opposing electoral participation" in Tehran's Valiasr Square during an event called "Free Tribune," witnesses told RFE/RL's Radio Farda.

They said the woman estimated to be in her 20s protested in front of a state television camera, symbolically removing her head scarf while declaring, "Vote or no vote, we will not vote."

A street vendor, who claimed to have witnessed the event, said the woman was quickly surrounded and subsequently detained by several security personnel after she waved her scarf over her head in protest.

Other eyewitness accounts detailed the intervention of two female officers, who covered the young woman with a chador cloak, while five male officers forcibly escorted her to a van.

The woman, described as having dyed, long hair and a slim build, was reportedly shouting for the officers to release her. Security forces present at the scene issued warnings to bystanders not to film the arrest and to disperse.

Elections for the parliament, the Majlis, are scheduled for March 1 along with voting to fill the Assembly of Experts, with a majority of would-be candidates already disqualified.

Many Iranians have said they will not vote in what they said will be "meaningless" elections that are likely to consolidate the power of the country's hard-liners.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Iran's elections could not be considered free and fair.

"I suspect that a great number of Iranians have no expectation that those elections will be free and fair," Miller told reporters at the State Department on February 29.

"As you probably already know, thousands of candidates were already disqualified in an opaque process and the world has long known that Iran's political system features undemocratic and nontransparent administrative, judicial, and electoral systems."

In the lead-up to the election, "Free Tribunes" have been organized by student groups in Tehran, where sentiment against the elections has spilled out.

Similar events have taken place -- in public and online -- in several areas of the country.

In the West Azerbaijan Province, police chief Rahim Jahanbakhsh announced the arrest of 50 people responsible for managing social-media pages that authorities say incited public unrest and discouraged election participation.

The arrests, Jahanbakhsh noted, were conducted in coordination with judicial authorities, though the identities of those detained remain undisclosed.

Jahanbakhsh also warned that publishing any content deemed provocative on social media would be considered a criminal offense.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has tried to push the importance of high voter turnout in the elections after more than a year of unrest that had boosted growing skepticism over the efficacy of participating in the electoral process.

Independent polling on electoral participation is restricted in Iran, with government-conducted surveys rarely made public.

However, a leaked poll from a state-affiliated center suggested a mere 30 perecnt of voters may turn out for the upcoming elections, a figure that was swiftly retracted from publication. In the previous parliamentary elections in 2020, voter turnout was reported at a historic low of approximately 42.6 percent.

Prominent figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, have said openly they will boycott the elections, calling them superficial and predetermined. Similarly, Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, has voiced his refusal to vote, criticizing the supreme leader's indifference to the country's crises.

The elections also mark the first balloting since the widespread "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, ignited by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini while in custody of the morality police. The protests led to a heavy-handed response from the government, including widespread arrests and crackdowns on demonstrators. At least 500 protesters were killed.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-elections- boycott-crackdown/32842888.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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Tritium level far below Japan's operational limit in fourth batch of ALPS treated water, IAEA confirms

International Atomic Energy Agency

17/2024

Vienna, Austria

29 Feb 2024

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts have confirmed that the tritium concentration in the fourth batch of diluted ALPS treated water, which Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) started discharging yesterday, is far below the country's operational limit.

Experts stationed at the IAEA's office at the site of the Fukushima nuclear power station (FDNPS) took samples after the treated water was diluted with seawater in the discharge facilities on 28 February. The IAEA's independent on-site analysis confirmed that the tritium concentration is far below the operational limit of 1,500 becquerels per litre.

Japan is discharging the ALPS treated water from the FDNPS in batches. The previous three batches - a total of 23,400 cubic metres of water - were also confirmed by the IAEA to have contained tritium concentrations far below operational limits.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will visit Japan in March during which time he will review the status of the water discharge at the FDNPS, as part of his commitment to be there before, during and after the discharge that began in August last year.

The IAEA's comprehensive report issued on July 4 last year found Japan's plan for handling the treated water to be consistent with international safety standards and that the release as planned would have a negligible radiological impact to people and the environment.

All reports on sampling, independent analysis and data evaluation will be available on the IAEA website.

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Will Thailand's aid corridor with war-torn Myanmar make a difference?

Observers doubt that plans by Srettha Thavisin's government to establish a humanitarian safe zone will do much.

By Nontarat Phaicharoen for BenarNews 2024.02.28 -- Thailand's plan to open a humanitarian aid corridor with war-torn Myanmar next month is facing skepticism from experts and aid workers, who say its limited scope and lack of engagement with ethnic minority forces means it is unlikely to have much impact.

The initiative by the new Thai government will create a safe zone to provide food and medicine to displaced populations through the Mae Sot-Myawaddy border crossing, officials said. Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) unanimously endorsed the plan in January.

Fierce fighting during Myanmar's civil war, set off by a military coup in February 2021, has forced more than 2.7 million people across the country to flee their homes, according to United Nations estimates.

As of Feb. 19, more than 306,000 of them were in Kayin and Kayah states, along the western border of Thailand, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR.

The initiative will see the Thai and Myanmar Red Cross make aid deliveries under monitoring from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management.

Initially, the humanitarian corridor will help about 20,000 internally displaced people, stabilize border trade, and complement ASEAN efforts to end hostilities, according to the Thai government.

More ambitiously, Bangkok hopes it will lay the groundwork for dialogue between Myanmar's military junta, ethnic rebel forces and the shadow National Unity Government.

But whether the aid initiative will have such a far-reaching impact is far from clear, according to analysts.

"If Thailand truly aims to help Myanmar citizens, it is crucial to talk with all parties involved, including ethnic armed forces and the entire civil society, not just leave everything to the Myanmar Red Cross," Lalita Hanwong, a Southeast Asian history lecturer at Kasetsart University, told RFA-affiliated BenarNews.

Thailand must do more than provide short-term assistance along the border if it wants to find a durable solution to Myanmar's conflict, said Lalita, who also serves as an advisor to the Thai government on national security issues.

The opposition NUG, which is made up of ousted members of the elected government and other public figures, also cast doubt on the Thai aid plan.

"We acknowledge Thailand's efforts to assist the people of Myanmar. However, effective collaboration with the ethnic resistance forces, including the National Unity Government, is imperative to aid those fleeing the conflict in Myanmar," the NUG press office told BenarNews in a statement.

"This is due to the fact that the NUG and the ethnic revolutionary forces currently control approximately 60% of Myanmar."

Thailand, which shares a 2,400-kilometer (1,491-mile) border with Myanmar, has hosted more than 90,000 refugees from Myanmar in nine temporary shelters since the mid-1980s.

Tak and Mae Hong Son provinces have seen the highest influx into Thailand of Myanmar nationals fleeing conflict, but Bangkok's response so far has been limited to providing temporary shelter. Previously, humanitarian aid had come from private donations, while the government periodically pushed back refugees to discourage more from seeking asylum in Thailand.

The Thai government maintained close relations with the Myanmar junta under former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha, an ex-general who as the army chief took power in a 2014 military coup but was voted out of office last year.

Over his nine-year reign, Prayuth's administration claimed to be pursuing a peaceful solution to the crisis across the border, but his government was regularly criticized for its accommodative attitude towards the Burmese military.

In June last year, Prayuth's decision to circumvent ASEAN's Five-Point consensus and hold direct talks with the Myanmar military caused a schism among members of the regional bloc.

The consensus, agreed to a few months after the 2021 coup, called for an immediate end to violence; a dialogue among all concerned parties; mediation of the dialogue process by an ASEAN special envoy; provision of humanitarian aid through ASEAN channels; and a visit to Myanmar by the bloc's special envoy to meet all concerned parties.

"In the past, the government under General Prayuth and Thai security forces have had good relations with the Myanmar military, which is believed to have made Thailand cautious about taking significant actions for fear of losing this relationship," Lalita said.

Dulyapak Preecharush, an assistant professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Thammasat University, said Thailand was taking a more proactive and coherent approach to Myanmar under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, whose government came to power last September.

"Under the previous administration, we lacked a strategic vision, putting us at a disadvantage compared to regional players like Indonesia."

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara last month outlined the rationale behind the aid initiative.

"The fear among the regional countries is Myanmar becoming increasingly fragmented and becoming an arena for major-power competition," he said at a diplomacy dialogue on Myanmar.

"As we see it, humanitarian assistance leads to humanitarian pause and humanitarian dialogue."

The humanitarian corridor would also help people in both countries normalize full trading activities, Parnpree, who is also deputy prime minister, said earlier this month while visiting the Thai-Myanmar border.

Pornsuk Kerdsawang, an aid worker from Friends Without Borders Foundation, based in Thailand's Mae Sot district close to the Myanmar border, welcomed the Thai initiative, but she said for it to be meaningful it must include provisions to end hostilities.

"The reason for the displacement in Myanmar is due to attacks by the Myanmar military, especially using heavy artillery and air strikes," she told BenarNews.

Pornsuk questioned whether the Myanmar Red Cross could genuinely access populations in need, given the Myanmar military controlled many of the delivery routes.

"What Thailand can do is to consult with Myanmar's civil society organizations that are helping people," she said. "Plan and design the aid together, which will likely meet actual needs."

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

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Myanmar junta kills 12 after firing into crowded market

Eighteen others are critically injured, rescue workers said.

By RFA Burmese 2024.02.29 -- Junta shelling of a crowded market in western Myanmar killed 12 people and critically injured 18 more on Thursday morning, rescue workers told Radio Free Asia.

A junta battalion on a nearby road fired indiscriminately into a marketplace in Rakhine state's capital of Sittwe during the busiest time of day, locals said.

Sittwe has become a disputed territory since a rebel group, the Arakan Army, captured surrounding junta camps and seized six townships across Rakhine state. In early February, the Arakan Army demanded junta troops in Sittwe surrender before their arrival in the capital.

The junta army's grasp on the area has been tenuous after losing territories, but troops have attempted control by placing restrictions on the capital and making large-scale arrests. On Feb. 19, regime forces detained 500 people who landed in Sittwe off a flight arriving from Yangon.

A rescue volunteer who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons told RFA the dead have been sent to Sittwe Hospital's mortuary, and the injured are being treated there

"Those 18 were critically injured and their injuries are life-threatening," he said. "Some people died on the spot and others after arriving at the hospital. All of them are vendors and shoppers."

The names and ages of the deceased could not be confirmed. However, most of them were women, children and the elderly, the volunteer added.

The shell was fired by a battalion near Shu Khin Thar road, residents said.

RFA contacted Rakhine state's junta spokesperson Hla Thein for further details about the attack, but he did not reply.

The Arakan Army ended a humanitarian-based year-long ceasefire on Nov. 13 with the junta when they began to attack border outposts and convoys across Minbya and Rathedaung townships.

The Arakan Army released a statement on Tuesday saying that 111 civilians have been killed and 357 have been injured by small and heavy artillery fired by the junta from the ceasefire to Feb. 18, 2024.

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 February 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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Arakan Army says it will investigate and try captured junta soldiers

Those found guilty of war crimes in closed hearings could face the death penalty.

By RFA Burmese 2024.02.29 -- Myanmar military personnel captured by the Arakan Army as part of its campaign against the junta will be investigated and tried a and could be sentenced to death for war crimes, sources told RFA this week.

Thousands of POWs are being held by the Arakan Army, or AA, which alongside the National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army - which together call themselves the "Three Brotherhood Alliance" - has made significant gains in recent months against Myanmar's military government.

Prisoners of war are being questioned for any alleged involvement in atrocities. When sufficient evidence is uncovered, prisoners will be charged and tried under the AA's military and civil law, sources close to Arakan Army leadership told RFA.

"We will take decisive action to get justice for the victims of war crimes," said Khaing Thukha, a spokesperson for the rebel group.

Prisoners found guilty of war crimes will be sentenced to death, while those who committed lesser crimes will face imprisonment, according to sources close to the group who declined to be identified because they are not allowed to speak publicly on official matters.

The cases will be carried out in courts that the group has established since 2020, when it first gained control over portions of Rakhine state, according to a former parliamentarian from Rakhine.

"The judiciary sector is also managed by civilian experts," the parliamentarian said. "The AA has invited civil law experts to ensure independent legal proceedings against POWs without their influence."

Closed to public, no lawyers

But sources said the proceedings will be closed to the public and that POWs will not be given legal representation. That lack of basic rights appears to put the Arakan Army in violation of international humanitarian law, which requires even non-state actors to follow certain rules of conduct toward detainees.

Myanmar is one of a few dozen countries to still have the death penalty, although it hadn't been enforced until the junta removed the civilian government in a February 2021 coup. Military leaders have since come under fire from human rights campaigners and the Myanmar public for carrying out executions for the first time in three decades.

There are currently 121 prisoners on death row, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. More than 1,500 people have died in military custody since the coup. In the three years since the junta came to power, at least 8,000 civilians have been killed, with the military responsible for the vast majority.

As fighting has intensified since the start of the "1027 operation" - the Three Brotherhood Alliance's offensive launched on Oct. 27 - hundreds of thousands of residents of Rakhine state alone have had to flee their homes amid junta bombardments.

The latest atrocities represent just a fraction of those committed by the junta in recent years, which U.N. investigators said last year were "increasing [in] frequency and brazenness."

If the AA were to follow the junta's lead in withholding fair trial rights, however, they could lose both a legal and moral high ground, and undermine efforts to convince further junta defections, said Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, who has advised the shadow National Unity Government - made up of former civilian leaders - on their responsibilities under international law.

"There's a legal obligation. But secondarily if you believe you are the legitimate government out there, this further binds you," Abuza said. "Strategically, if you want to encourage defections, that becomes difficult if you're seen as mistreating POWs and committing war crimes."

Thousands of soldiers have been arrested or surrendered since the three ethnic armed organizations began gaining significant territory in late October. At least 600 people have been captured in the AA-held territory of Kyauktaw township alone, including soldiers and their family members, sources close to the rebel group told RFA.

"Surrenderees have been sent to safe places," one of the sources said. "They are well treated and being interrogated. Males and females are held separately. They get meals and medical treatments."

Another local said that villagers each day prepared food for the POWs and their families, who are being held both in AA-controlled villages and in the custody of AA outposts.

Filmed confessions

On Thursday morning, the AA released a video in which two captured military officers confessed to killing seven people who they had detained, including a reporter and a well-known rapper in Rakhine's Mrauk-u town.

RFA cannot confirm the circumstances under which the confessions were obtained nor can we confirm the identity of the named officers, but both said they took the prisoners from their jail cells on Jan. 23 and killed them before having their bodies buried and hidden.

Khaing Thu Kha, the AA spokesperson, said the officers would be tried under local law but declined to answer questions about the terms of the confession or give details on any forthcoming trial.

Phil Robertson, the deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, urged the AA to "release the full evidence that they have gathered against the accused officers in addition to the confessions so that all the people of Rakhine state and Myanmar can know what happened.

"The AA should also state clearly what they planned to do with the accused officers and consult on how to ensure justice is done in the case," he said.

The wife of journalist Phoe Thiha, who also went by Myat Thu Tun, told RFA that she wants the perpetrators punished, pointing to the gravity of the extrajudicial murders that took place as the men were awaiting trial.

"They were taken away in handcuffs, closing their eyes," said Ohnmar Shwesin Myint. "I dare not imagine how they were shot. My heart has broken. I request justice for the victims."

Translated by Aung Naing for RFA Burmese. Edited by Abby Seiff and Malcolm Foster.

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 February 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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Deputy Secretary Campbell's Meeting with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

February 29, 2024

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell met with Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul today in Washington. The Deputy Secretary reiterated the United States' steadfast commitment to the ROK and underscored the significance of the U.S.-ROK Alliance as the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Deputy Secretary Campbell and Foreign Minister Cho discussed the importance of the U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral relationship in addressing the most difficult global challenges. The Deputy Secretary and the Foreign Minister also discussed the vibrant U.S.-ROK economic partnership, which has tremendous benefits for both countries. They discussed recent aggressive actions and rhetoric by the DPRK and called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue. They also noted Russia's concerning military cooperation with the DPRK, including Russia's use of DPRK ballistic missiles against Ukraine, which poses a serious threat to regional stability and global nonproliferation. They also discussed concerns about PRC support to the Russian defense industrial base. Both sides stressed the importance of providing further support to Ukraine.

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Secretary Blinken's Meeting with ROK Foreign Minister Cho

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

February 29, 2024

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Wednesday in Washington. The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed U.S.-ROK cooperation on a broad range of regional and global challenges. They underscored the unwavering strength of the more than 70-year U.S.-ROK Alliance and reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral relationship following the February 22 foreign ministers' meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The Secretary thanked the Foreign Minister for the ROK's efforts in hosting the upcoming third Summit for Democracy.

The Secretary and Foreign Minister discussed their concerns about the DPRK's increasingly aggressive behavior, repeated violations of UNSC resolutions, including its transfer to Russia of ballistic missiles for use against the people of Ukraine, and increased domestic repression. They noted that unlawful DPRK military cooperation with Russia poses a serious threat to regional stability and global nonproliferation. They also discussed concerns about PRC support to the Russian defense industrial base. Both sides underscored continued alignment on countering Russia's aggression and providing further support to Ukraine.

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Russian International Money Launderer Pleads Guilty to Illicitly Procuring Large Quantities of U.S.-Manufactured Dual-Use, Military Grade Microelectronics for Russian Entities

Thursday, February 29, 2024

For Immediate Release

Office of Public Affairs

Defendant Participated in Overseas Illicit Procurement Network That, After Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, Illegally Procured Large Quantities of Dual-Use, Military Grade Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) Micro-Displays for Russian End-Users

Maxim Marchenko, 51, a Russian citizen who has resided in Hong Kong, pleaded guilty today to charges of money laundering and smuggling goods from the United States. Marchenko was arrested in September 2023.

According to court documents, Marchenko operated several Hong Kong-based shell companies, including Alice Components Co. Ltd. (Alice Components), Neway Technologies Limited (Neway) and RG Solutions Limited (RG Solutions). Marchenko and two co-conspirators (CC-1 and CC-2), who are also Russian nationals, operate an illicit procurement network in Russia, Hong Kong, and elsewhere overseas. This procurement network has fraudulently obtained from U.S. distributors large quantities of dual-use, military grade microelectronics, specifically OLED micro-displays, on behalf of Russia-based end users. To carry out this scheme, Marchenko, CC-1, and CC-2 used shell companies based in Hong Kong and other deceptive means to conceal from U.S. Government agencies and U.S. distributors that the OLED micro-displays were destined for Russia. The technology that Marchenko and his co-conspirators fraudulently procured have significant military applications, such as in rifle scopes, night-vision googles, thermal optics and other weapon systems.

"By his own admission, Mr. Marchenko conspired to smuggle military-grade technology to Russia, using a complex network of front companies to hide his illicit activity," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "Today, once again, the Justice Department is holding accountable those who would enable the Kremlin and its unjust war of aggression against Ukraine."

"Today, Maxim Marchenko admitted in court that he illicitly sought to procure U.S.-manufactured, military grade microelectronics to deliver to end users in Russia," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. "Marchenko concealed his scheme to funnel these microelectronics - which had application for use in rifle scopes, night-vision goggles, thermal optics and other weapons systems - by using shell companies and other elaborate money laundering techniques. Today's guilty plea should send a strong message to those who attempt to break the law by supplying Russia with U.S. military technology that this office will vigorously pursue such smuggling schemes and hold those involved to full account."

"The Russian military relies on illicit procurement networks, including the one Marchenko operated here, to perpetrate their brutal war against the Ukrainian people," said Matthew Axelrod, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement. "We will continue to leverage all of our authorities to combat the transshipment of U.S. parts through third countries, like the People's Republic of China, to the Russian military."

To perpetrate the scheme, Marchenko and other members of the conspiracy acquired the dual-use OLED micro-displays from U.S.-based distributors using Marchenko's Hong Kong-based shell companies, including Alice Components, Neway and RG Solutions. Members of the conspiracy, including Marchenko, procured these sensitive microelectronics by falsely representing to the U.S. distributors (who, in turn, are required to report to U.S. agencies) that Alice Components was sending the shipments to end users located in China, Hong Kong and other countries outside of Russia for use in electron microscopes for medical research. In reality, the OLED micro-displays were destined for end users in Russia. Marchenko and other members of the conspiracy concealed the true final destination (Russia) from U.S. distributors for the purpose of causing false statements to the U.S. agencies.

To conceal the fact that these OLED micro-displays were destined for Russia, Marchenko and other members of the conspiracy worked together to transship the illicitly procured OLED micro-displays by using pass-through entities principally operated by Marchenko in third countries, such as Hong Kong. Marchenko then caused the OLED micro-displays to be shipped to the ultimate destination in Russia using, among other entities, a freight forwarder known to provide freight forwarding services to Russia. In addition, Marchenko and other members of the conspiracy used Hong Kong-based shell companies, principally operated by Marchenko, to conceal the fact that payments for the OLED micro-displays were coming from Russia. In total, between in or about May 2022 and in or about August 2023, Marchenko's shell companies funneled a total of more than $1.6 million to the United States in support of the procurement network's efforts to smuggle the OLED micro-displays to Russia.

Marchenko pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of smuggling goods from the United States which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 29 in Manhattan. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer N. Ong and Shiva H. Logarajah for the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Garrett Coyle of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

Today's actions were coordinated through the Justice Department's Task Force KleptoCapture and the Justice and Commerce Departments' Disruptive Technology Strike Force. Task Force KleptoCapture is an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia's unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states.

Topic: Export Control

Components: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - New York, Southern

Press Release Number: 24-233

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Putin 'projects confidence' over war in Ukraine, Russia's economic growth under Western sanctions

Global Times

By Yang Sheng Published: Feb 29, 2024 10:22 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual State of the Nation Address on Thursday. It was a key occasion for him to project confidence about Russia's development under the pressure from the West and Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine before the presidential election in March. Commenting on the speech, analysts said Putin is telling the world that Russia is not concerned at all and is even satisfied with the current situation. Moscow is waiting for the US for talks, the analysts said.

Chinese analysts said the world must admit that Russia's current economic performance is better than expected. The analysts added that the reasons why Russia has been able to withstand Western sanctions in the past two years are complex, as the most important one is that Russia is a country that has self-reliance on energy and foods, and the conflict in Ukraine has brought a huge demand for its military industry and completely activated its supply chains, and in addition, the Global South didn't join the Western-led sanctions and even some Western countries have been reluctant to completely implement the sanctions.

All of these allowed Putin to send a strong signal of confidence to the Russian people and the world. The US and its Western allies are the ones that are concerned about the current situation, and whether Moscow and Washington can realize talks in the future or continue their struggle in all fronts depends on the result of the US presidential election this year, experts said.

Message of confidence

Putin's speech to the Federal Assembly, a gathering of leading Russian officials and public figures, has covered broad issues, including the conflict with Ukraine, the arms race with the West, Russia's advantages in missiles and nuclear weapons, response to possible appearance of European countries' troops in Ukraine, the possibility of talks with Washington, successful diplomatic ties with non-Western world, and Russia's economic development and other internal affairs.

Putin said that politicians in the West sought to weaken Russia from within, just like they did in Ukraine, but they have failed, TASS reported. "They essentially would like to do to Russia exactly what they did to many other regions of the world, including Ukraine: bring discord to our home and weaken us from within. But they miscalculated," the Russian president said. "It is absolutely obvious today."

On the conflict with Ukraine, Putin said Russia "did not start the war" in Ukraine's Donbas region in 2014, but will do everything to end it and "eradicate Nazism." The Russian army is confidently advancing in a number of directions on the Ukrainian front line, he said.

It's too early to say the current situation of the conflict is in favor of Russia or Ukraine, as victories of some battles haven't completely changed the situation strategically, said a Beijing-based Chinese military expert who asked for anonymity. "But it's pretty clear that the US and Western countries are not satisfied with the situation and they are seeking new approaches to change it."

French President Emmanuel Macron has openly discussed the possibility of sending European troops to Ukraine to help Kiev win the war against Russia, but his NATO allies including the US, Germany and the UK, have recently ruled out such possibility, media reported.

During his speech, Putin warned the West of "tragic consequences" for any country that dares to send troops to Ukraine. "They must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they get that?"

Russia is challenging the unipolar system, which is dominated by the US, through its conflict with Ukraine, so Washington will not allow Moscow to succeed, and the US and its allies will still find new measures to fight Russia, and the future of ties between Russia and the West is not optimistic, said Chinese experts.

But the Russian president still expressed that he is open to talks with the US. He said during his address that Moscow is ready for dialogue with the US on "strategic stability" but rejects any attempts to force Russia into talks. He also rejected the possibility of negotiations on strategic stability with the US in isolation from Russian national security issues.

Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday that "the strategic stability" means the negotiation for a new deal about nuclear weapons between Russia and the US, as this is a very urgent task to ensure that the two nuclear-armed powers won't engage in a nuclear war, but Putin would like to only talk to the winner of US presidential election.

Economic powerhouse?

On the economy, Putin said Russia's Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) already makes it the biggest economy in Europe in PPP terms, and could join the top four globally. The Russian president noted that in 2023 the Russian economy outpaced the G7 states in terms of growth.

"The pace and quality of growth allow us to say that in the near future we will take a step forward and become one of the four economic powers of the world," Putin said.

Putin also said the BRICS countries are overtaking the G7 in terms of share in global GDP in PPP terms. The share of BRICS will increase to 36.6 percent by 2028, while that of the G7 will decrease to 27.8 percent, according to estimates provided by the Russian president, RT reported on Thursday.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, who's now visiting Russia for research, told the Global Times on Thursday that since the end of the Cold War, "we found that Russia is probably the only country that can survive and even realize development and growth under the all-out sanctions launched by the West."

It's unrealistic to say Russia receives no impact, as its high-end industries like micro-electronics, semiconductors and other fields about innovations are being impacted heavily, and the people in Russia are also being impacted by rising prices caused by Western sanctions, Wang noted. "But in terms of wartime economy, Russia's performance is clearly better than the expectation."

Cui said the Putin's government has a group of sophisticated officials who cautiously adjust currency and prices of commodities, noting that another key reason is that the demand for military products has activated the country's manufacturing industry.

More importantly, Russia has not been completely isolated despite Western sanctions, experts said. The Global South, including major economies like China, India, Arab countries, Latin American, African and ASEAN countries haven't joined the Western-led sanctions, and this is why Moscow now highly values its ties with the non-Western world.

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Putin warns West of nuclear war risk over troops in Ukraine

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 29 February 2024 3:37 PM

Russia's President Vladimir Putin says certain Western countries are risking triggering a nuclear war by deploying boots in eastern Ukraine, warning Moscow could strike Western targets.

Putin was delivering his annual state of the nation speech on Thursday. He had previously spoken of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, but his nuclear warning on Thursday was one of his most explicit.

He said that perhaps leaders in the West could not understand how risking their provocations were, and warned them once again about the catastrophic danger of meddling in Russia's internal affairs.

Putin linked his nuclear warning to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week.

Macron told reporters at a news conference on Monday that while he and other European leaders were not in agreement about sending Western countries' military forces to fight Russia, he had no objections to dispatching troops to Ukraine. "We will do anything we can to prevent Russia from winning this war."

"Nothing should be ruled out," Macron stated.

However, the French president's suggestion was quickly rejected by the United States, Germany, Britain and Kiev allies who have been supplying weapons and munitions to Ukraine.

"(Western nations) must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory," Putin said.

Leonid Slutsky, the international affairs head of Russia's State Duma's committee, the lower house of the federal assembly of Russia, warned that dispatching troops to Donbas means the start of World War III.

"If NATO soldiers set foot on the land of Donbas, this will mean transition to the direct military phase of NATO's struggle with Russia."

"This spells World War III. I hope that even most frenzied NATO Russophobes are aware of the possible consequences of such decisions," Slutsky said.

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Security Beefed Up At Moscow Cemetery Where Navalny To Be Buried

By RFE/RL's Russian Service February 29, 2024

Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's funeral service and burial is set to take place in Moscow on March 1 amid heightened security and other tactics that appeared aimed at discouraging people from attending.

Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on X, formerly Twitter, that the ceremony was scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. local time on March 1 at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino, where Navalny used to live.

"Despite all the opposition, farewell to Aleksei will definitely take place tomorrow," she said on X on February 29. "Funeral service at 14:00, funeral at 16:00. If you are in Moscow, come."

For those who can't make it, Yarmysh said the funeral would be live-streamed on YouTube.

It was not clear how many people would attend and how the authorities would ensure crowd control.

Hundreds of Russians have been arrested just for laying flowers at memorials to Navalny across the country.

Ivan Pavlov, a prominent Russian civil rights lawyer who has left the country, said Russian authorities will see the funeral as "an undesirable mass event" and will try to keep participation low.

"I'm sure there will be police cordons and video surveillance from all sides," he said. "As a preventive measure, they'll summon known activists to police stations or visit them at their homes to give warnings. We've already seen it."

At large Orthodox ceremonies, mourners are typically given a chance to file past the open casket, and the service is presided over by a priest and accompanied by a choir.

He will be buried after the service at the Borisovskoye cemetery, which is about 2 kilometers away on the other side of the Moskva River.

Security has been beefed up at Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow and a nearby subway station, while security cameras have been installed on each streetlight around the cemetery.

The entrance to the cemetery has also been tightly restricted, the RusNews and Mozhem Obyasnit Telegram channels reported.

Ivan Zhdanov, the former head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, also said there was a rumor in the media that only relatives would be allowed to attend the funeral service.

"We do not have any such information. All we know is that the church will be open to everyone."

Navalny's team also put out an appeal to the Kremlin critic's supporters around the world to gather at 7 p.m. in their time zones.

"We understand that not everyone will have the opportunity to come to Moscow to say goodbye to Aleksei Navalny on March 1," his team said on Telegram. "To honor his memory, go to the memorial in your city at 7 p.m. local time."

The post includes a list of some cities and urges people to create a memorial if there isn't one in their city or town.

Navalny's body was released to his mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, on February 24, more than a week after his death from "natural causes" at a prison in an Arctic region of Russia. He was 47. Officials have not commented further.

Before the body was released, Navalnaya said officials were setting conditions on where, when, and how her son should be buried. She said the authorities wanted the family to agree to buy him quietly and threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if she didn't agree.

Zhdanov also accused the Kremlin of thwarting their attempts to organize a bigger event on February 29.

Zhdanov said February 29 was initially chosen as the date for the funeral, but it became clear that officials were forcing a different date. Zhdanov said this was probably because it would have conflicted with Putin's state-of-the-nation address.

Putin delivered the address as scheduled on February 29 and did not mention Navalny in his speech.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-navalny-cemetery- security/32842585.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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U.S. 'Too Slow' To See Putin Was 'Different Character' When He Returned To Presidency: Former Obama Adviser

By Ksenia Sokolyanskaya February 29, 2024

A former top adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States should have been quicker to recognize a change in Vladimir Putin when he returned to the Kremlin as president in 2012 and more outspoken in confronting his corruption.

In an interview with Current Time, Ben Rhodes, who served as Obama's deputy national security adviser, recalled hours of meetings when Putin did little more than list grievances about topics such as NATO enlargement and actions the Kremlin leader cast as the United States humiliating Russia.

"He would go on and on and on. He'd give these kind of legalistic presentations about how Russia was wronged," said Rhodes, who served eight years in the White House under Obama. "You could sense that this [was] a man motivated by a sense of grievance, and humiliation, and frankly, insecurity in a way," Rhodes said in the interview recorded on February 21.

Rhodes said this signaled that Putin was turning toward "a greater degree of nationalism and autocracy," and that it should have sounded louder alarm bells within the U.S. administration.

"I think we were too slow to see just how different a character he was," said Rhodes, who now writes books, hosts a podcast, and contributes to U.S. broadcaster MSNBC. "We could have been more aware that this was a different character."

Putin wanted to "convey what a strong man he is" and forge an identity of someone who stands up to the United States and other Western countries in a way that he saw as "restoring some lost Russian greatness." He'd been moving in that direction his entire time as a leader of Russia, Rhodes said, but it seemed to accelerate after he returned to the office of president.

The election in 2012 was marked by allegations of fraud and was greeted by protests, including some led by his most vocal opponent, Aleksei Navalny, who died on February 16 in a Russian prison.

Seeing the protests and thinking about his own place in history, Putin came back to the presidency "more aggressive, more belligerent, more surrounded by 'yes' men," Rhodes said.

"All of those things I think have contributed to him being willing to take these kinds of risks that we've seen...above all in Ukraine," said Rhodes, who concurs with other observers of Putin's behavior who believe that a kind of paranoia set in that made it impossible for Putin to "give an inch," fearing that if he did "the whole thing could come crumbling down."

Rhodes said he believes that accounts for the treatment of opposition figures like Navalny, whose death prison authorities said was from natural causes though his Anti-Corruption Foundation said he was murdered. Many Western governments have blamed Putin directly for his death.

Rhodes also acknowledged that people have debated whether the Obama administration should have done more to help Ukraine after Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and been more bold about confronting Putin. But he said "the reality of global politics is I'm not sure that any of that would have made a difference...given his psychology."

The most disturbing thing he noticed about Putin, Rhodes said, was that he never got the sense the Russian leader had the ability to empathize with suffering.

Rhodes recalled how the White House would push to get humanitarian aid into some parts of Syria, where war broke out in 2011, and "and there just wasn't any sense that this is a man [who is] able to feel...a degree of empathy for people that are suffering." To Putin, "it was all clinical."

Instead of talking about the people's needs and their suffering, Putin would steer the conversation to "higher levels of geopolitics and history," Rhodes recalled, saying that was unsettling to him.

Putin's inability to feel any empathy for anyone "is probably the tragedy of the whole thing."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/usa-putin- obama-rhodes/32840961.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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Vucic Says Serbia's Noncompliance With EU Position On Navalny's Death Not A 'Tragedy'

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service February 29, 2024

Belgrade has not signed on to an EU declaration assigning responsibility for the death of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny to President Vladimir Putin, a move Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said wasn't a "tragedy."

Navalny died on February 16 in an Arctic prison in Russia under suspicious circumstances. Russian officials said he died of natural causes, the so-called "sudden death" syndrome, while taking a mandatory walk, without giving other details.

Officials then refused for days to release Navalny's body to his mother, raising further suspicion on the cause of his death.

In a joint declaration on February 16, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Navalny "was slowly murdered by President Putin and his regime, who fear nothing more than dissent from their own people."

Diplomatic sources in Brussels told RFE/RL that under EU procedures, third countries that do not officially confirm their alignment with the bloc's common position on an issue are considered as noncompliant.

The deadline for third countries to have declared alignment with the EU's position on Navalny's death expired on February 28 without Belgrade confirming its acceptance of Brussels' stance, sources told RFE/RL, adding that other Western Balkans countries did officially align with the EU's position.

Two exceptions, besides Serbia, were Turkey and Armenia, the sources said.

Serbia's noncompliance should not be seen as "a great tragedy," Vucic told journalists on February 29 in Tirana on the sidelines of a Western Balkans summit.

"Until now, we have not agreed on such issues, and now I really can't tell you about this case, because I don't know. But, I know that we haven't done that so far, I would be surprised if it were different," Vucic said.

"I think it is very important that Serbia calculates carefully, conducts its own independent policy and evaluates each case separately," Vucic said.

Serbia's Ministry for European Integration and the Foreign Ministry did not respond to RFE/RL questions about the EU declaration regarding Navalny's death.

Serbia, which is a candidate country for membership in the 27-member bloc, has not complied with any of the restrictive measures or declarations against its traditional ally Russia that the EU has introduced since the Kremlin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-eu-position- navalny-noncompliance/32842696.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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U.S.- Russian Citizen's Appeal Against Treason Charge Rejected

By RFE/RL February 29, 2024

A court in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on February 29 rejected an appeal filed by Russian-American Ksenia Karelina (aka Khavana) against her arrest on a treason charge.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said last week that a woman holding both U.S. and Russian citizenship was arrested in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of treason after she was accused of raising funds for Ukraine's military.

According to the FSB, it "suppressed the illegal activities of a 33-year-old resident of Los Angeles, who has dual citizenship of Russia and the United States, and was involved in providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of our country."

The FSB did not name the woman, while Russian media reports identified her as both Ksenia Karelina and Ksenia Khavana, her married name.

The rights group Pervy Otdel says Karelina allegedly transferred $51.80 from her U.S.-based bank account to the Razom for Ukraine foundation, which helps Ukrainian civilians. It says its only military-oriented program is one that purchases medical kits for nurses on the front line in the ongoing war with Russia.

Washington has repeatedly criticized Russia for targeting and arresting U.S. citizens accusing Moscow of detaining them with the aim of exchanging them for Russian nationals being held in U.S. prisons.

In late March last year, the FSB in Yekaterinburg arrested U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges.

Another U.S. citizen, former Marine Paul Whelan, is also held in Russia on espionage charges. Gershkovich, Whelan, and the U.S. government reject the charges as politically motivated.

While Gershkovich is still in pretrial detention, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020.

A third U.S. citizen, RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who also holds Russian citizenship, has been in pretrial detention on a charge of violating the so-called "foreign agent" law. The U.S. government and her employer say the charge is in reprisal for her work.

Indictments for treason reached a record number in Russia last year. According to official data, the courts have received 63 treason cases, 33 of which have already resulted in convictions.

Human rights activists say they expect the number will be even higher this year as Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine reached the two-year mark on February 24.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-american- appeal-treason/32842566.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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Sarmat, Kinzhal, Zircon: Which Top-Notch Missiles Did Putin Mention in Parliamentary Address?

Sputnik News

20240229

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his State of the Nation to the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament) on Thursday, touching upon several pressing domestic and internal issues, including the special military op and new and advanced weapons.

President Putin announced that the new Sarmat super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are now in service with the Russian army during his annual address to parliament.

"[The] First mass-produced Sarmat super-heavy ballistic missiles have been delivered to the troops. We will soon demonstrate them in combat in their deployment areas," he said.

Sarmat is a strategic missile complex with liquid-fueled heavy ICBMs, the weight of one such missile is 200+ tons. This complex is intended to replace Voevoda missiles in Russia's Strategic Rocket Forces.

Likewise, Russia's strategic nuclear forces are on full alert for their guaranteed deployment, Putin stressed.

The Russian leader noted that all the plans for the armament field that he put forward during his 2018 address have now either been implemented or are being finalized.

In this regard, the president mentioned the Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missile that is not merely in service with the Russian troops but is used to strike high-value targets in the special op with great success.

Putin added that Zircon sea-launched hypersonic cruise missiles have already been used in combat and are also in service with the armed forces.

The leader emphasized that the Burevestnik's trials are being completed and that tests have confirmed the missile's capabilities and combat performance.

Burevestnik is a nuclear-powered nuclear-armed cruise missile with unlimited range.

"[We have] the Avangard intercontinental hypersonic systems and the Peresvet laser complex on combat duty. The tests for the Burevestnik cruise missile with unlimited range and the Poseidon unmanned underwater vehicle are being completed. These systems have confirmed their outstanding, it is no exaggeration to say, unique characteristics," he underlined.

At the same time, Putin stressed how important it is to work with other countries to build a new security system.

"It is obvious that it is necessary to work on drafting new outlines for equal and indivisible security of Eurasia in the near future. We are ready for detailed talks on the matter with all interested countries and associations," Putin noted.

A Sputnik

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Who Is Syrian Christian Militia Targeted in Turkish Drone Attacks?

By Sirwan Kajjo February 29, 2024

Local officials in northeastern Syria said a series of Turkish drone strikes on Wednesday killed and wounded several people in a Kurdish-controlled town near the border with Turkey.

Unlike other attacks carried out by Turkey in recent months, those targeted Wednesday were not Syrian Kurdish fighters. According to local sources, three members of a local Christian militia were killed and two others were wounded in several Turkish drone strikes on the town of Derik in northeastern Syria.

Ankara has not commented on the recent attacks, but Turkey has been targeting areas under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been a major U.S. partner in the fight against Islamic State group militants.

Turkey's attacks have increased in recent months. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington. But the United States makes a distinction between the two Kurdish groups.

According to the Council on Foreign Relations, Turkey "aims to maintain a buffer zone that deprives the PKK of bases abroad and to prevent the emergence of a contiguous area of autonomous Kurdish rule across borders that could intensify calls for an independent state."

The Christian group that Turkey targeted Wednesday is called Sutoro, a local security force that is part of the Syriac Military Council, itself part of the SDF. Sutoro was founded in 2012 in the wake of Syria's civil war. It later entered an alliance with Kurdish forces to defend Christians and other communities in northeastern Syria from other armed groups.

Kurdish officials say Christian representation within the SDF is an important indicator of northeastern Syria's diversity and its autonomous administration.

"Our autonomous administration was founded in 2014, and later when the SDF was established in 2015, Christian groups were the first ones to become part of it because they see themselves are real partners in governing and protecting this part of Syria," Farhad Shami, a spokesperson for the SDF, told VOA.

Christians made up about 10% of Syria's prewar population of 23 million. But many of them have left the country since the conflict began in 2011, especially after the rise of Islamist extremist groups.

Experts say Christian forces in northeastern Syria have played a major role in the war against IS, also known as ISIS.

"The Syriac Security Forces (Sutoro) demonstrated heroism in 2015 when they fought ISIS and prevented a massacre of Christians in the Khabur River Valley," said Myles B. Caggins III, nonresident senior fellow at the New Lines Institute and former spokesperson for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

He told VOA that such cross-border attacks by Turkey on military targets and civilian infrastructure cause suffering throughout northeastern Syria and weaken the ability to fight IS remnants.

"U.S. troops have trained and advised Syriac Military Council anti-ISIS forces, and it is a tragedy that America's partners are unjustly killed," Caggins said.

According to the Rojava Information Center, a pro-Kurdish monitoring group in Syria, Turkey has carried out 76 drone strikes in the northeast since the beginning of the year.

Last year, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the objective of such attacks was to destroy the organizational infrastructure and sources of income for "terrorist organizations," referring to Kurdish groups and their partners.

But Amy Austin Holmes, a research professor at George Washington University, said Syrian Christian armed groups and their Kurdish allies don't pose a threat to Turkey.

"Not only are they not a threat to Turkey, but they actually provide security to Turkey because they defeated ISIS and they protect Turkey's southern border from other threats," she told VOA.

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China launches satellite-carrying rocket; no threat to Taiwan: MND

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 10:23 PM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) China on Thursday launched a satellite-carrying rocket that posed no threat to Taiwan, according to the Ministry of National Defense (MND).

In a brief statement, the MND said the rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province and passed over central Taiwan into the West Pacific region.

The rocket posed no threat to Taiwan's national security as it was at an altitude above the atmosphere, the ministry said.

The MND did not provide any further information, saying only that it had been closely monitoring the situation and was keeping the Taiwanese public informed.

(By Matt Yu and Ko Lin)

Enditem/kb

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Taiwan military issues public tenders for new anti-ship missile bases

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 05:44 PM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's military issued two public notices this week to invite tenders for the building of new military bases in southern Taiwan to house anti-ship missile squadrons that will be established after the military takes delivery of Harpoon missiles from the United States.

According to a tender notice issued by the Naval Fleet Command on Tuesday, the command has invited tenders to build new military bases in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City with a total budget of NT$1.8 billion (US$56.9 million).

Earlier Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) published a separate notice for tenders to build a new military base in southern Tainan City with a total budget of NT$1.6 billion.

Neither the Naval Fleet Command nor the MND provided more details in the two tender notices, but a source familiar with the issue told CNA Thursday that once completed the new bases will house the new anti-ship missile squadrons under the Naval Fleet Command.

The target completion date for these new bases is set at 2027 in the tender notices.

According to the unnamed source, Taiwan's military expects to establish six new bases for the Naval anti-ship missile squadrons in the coming years, one each in Taitung, Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung, and two in Pingtung.

These are considered to be ideal locations for anti-ship missile bases to counter People's Liberation Army warships off eastern Taiwan, the source added.

However, the Navy has never made public how many anti-ship missile squadrons it currently has.

The new squadrons are expected to be equipped with U.S.-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems Taiwan bought from the U.S. in 2020, the source added.

In 2020, the U.S. approved the sale of 100 sets of shore-mounted Harpoon missile systems to Taiwan. This package included 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II missiles, 4 RTM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II maneuver missiles, 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense System Launcher Transporter Units, 25 radar trucks, and other related equipment and logistics support.

Taiwan's military is expected to take delivery of the U.S.-made Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems before the end of 2028.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW

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Taiwan aiming to open more representative offices in Africa: MOFA

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 02:33 PM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) The Taiwan government is examining the possibility of setting up new representative offices in Africa soon, following a suggestion by a lawmaker earlier in the week that such a move would have multilateral benefits, a senior foreign affairs official said Thursday.

Over the past eight years, Taiwan has established two new representative offices in Africa - in Somaliland in 2020 and the Ivory Coast in 2022 - bringing the total number on the continent to six, including an embassy in Eswatini, its one remaining African ally.

"We will continue to explore the possibility of establishing a new presence in major countries in different parts of Africa, while maintaining our ongoing efforts to build strong ties with Eswatini" and the other four countries in which Taiwan has offices, Chen Yung-po (), deputy head of the Department of West Asian and African Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), told reporters at a press conference Thursday.

His comment followed Monday's launch of the Taiwan-African Countries Parliamentary Friendship Association in the Legislature, headed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (), who said its purpose was to promote parliamentary and people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and African countries.

To that end, the new legislative friendship group will seek to help Taiwan achieve the goal of setting up an additional four representative offices in Africa over the next four years, with a focus on central and northern African countries, Chiu said.

On Thursday, when asked to expand on the initiative, Chen told reporters it was part of the "Africa Project" that was launched by President Tsai Ing-wen () in 2018 to help build closer exchanges with countries on the continent, but he did not give any further details.

Taiwan's current six representative offices in Africa are in Eswatini, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, South Africa, and Somaliland, which also has an office in Taipei.

Officially named the Republic of China, Taiwan previously had many more representative offices on the continent, as it had about a dozen formal diplomatic allies there, but since 2000, it has lost all its African allies, except Eswatini.

During the presidency of the DPP's Chen Shiu-bian () 2000-2008, Taiwan lost allies Liberia, Senegal, Chad, and Malawi to China.

When Ma Ying-jeou ()of the Kuomintang was president 2008-2026, another African ally - The Gambia - severed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and since outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen () took office in May 2016, Burkina Faso and the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe have switched sides.

It was reported in March 2023 that Taiwan was hoping to open a representative office in Ghana, but there has been no further information, and when asked Thursday about that report, Chen was noncommittal.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/pc

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EP passes foreign, defense policy reports with language backing Taiwan

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 11:47 AM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) The European Parliament on Wednesday approved two annual foreign policy and defense implementation reports with language supportive of Taiwan, including an assertion denying Taiwan's subordination to China.

The reports on the implementation of the 2023 Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) were passed by votes of 338-86 (with 122 abstentions) and 350-91 (with 96 abstentions), respectively.

Most significantly for Taiwan, the report on the implementation of the CFSP contained new language asserting that "neither Taiwan nor China is subordinate to the other."

The phrase, which has not appeared in other recent versions of the report, echoed one of the "four commitments" President Tsai Ing-wen (ee) has touted since 2021.

However, it was unclear how such language could be reconciled with European Union policy more broadly, which states that "[in] following the 'one-China' policy, the EU does not have diplomatic or formal political relations with Taiwan."

Elsewhere in the reports, the European Parliament said it "strongly condemns" China's military provocations against Taiwan and rejects any unilateral changes to the cross-strait status quo.

To deter such "Chinese aggression," the defense report urged EU member states to conduct more "freedom of navigation operations" in the Taiwan Strait and to deepen security dialogues with Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the report on the CFSP urged EU states to back Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations and called on the European Commission to begin preparations to negotiate with Taiwan on a bilateral investment agreement.

In response, Taiwan's representative office in the EU and Belgium issued a statement thanking the parliament for passing the reports, which it said "express staunch support for Taiwan" and "strongly condemn China's attempts to change the status quo and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait."

(By Tien Hsi-ju and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/ASG

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KMT Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia meets with TAO head Song Tao

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 10:33 PM

Shanghai, Feb. 29 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia () pledged to urge Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to better handle an incident in which two Chinese fishermen died in waters near Taiwan, during a meeting with the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) in Shanghai Thursday.

Hsia met with Song Tao () at the Fairmont Peace Hotel, which is where the second round of the landmark Koo-Wang talks was held on Oct. 14, 1998.

At that time, the Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu () met with Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Wang Daohan () to exchange ideas on cross-strait relations and the communication between people on the two sides.

Song said during his speech Thursday that the meeting with Hsia was supposed to demonstrate the two sides working together to develop cross-strait relations, and that Beijing was willing to work with the KMT to promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, per the 1992 consensus and in opposition to Taiwan independence.

Song acknowledged Hsia's effort to promote peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and said he would like to hear Hsia's opinions during their talks.

Song also condemned the DPP for "acting with total disregard for the lives of Chinese fishermen," after two Chinese fishermen died in waters near Taiwan.

They died in the incident on Feb. 14, in which a Chinese speedboat, that had illegally entered waters near the Kinmen Islands, capsized after being pursued by Taiwan Coast Guard personnel.

According to the Coast Guard Administration, the personnel discovered an unnamed Chinese speedboat carrying four people in prohibited waters 1.1 nautical miles east of Beiding Island in Kinmen County at 1:45 p.m.

It immediately requested that the boat submit to an inspection, but it resisted and capsized as it sped away.

During the meeting, Hsia said the KMT would "monitor and urge the DPP government to handle this matter properly and find out the truth as soon as possible."

He added that KMT Chairman Eric Chu () hoped to send condolences to the families of the fishermen through the TAO.

Hsia also said that the KMT will "forever uphold the 1992 consensus and its opposition to Taiwan independence," and that it hopes to positively influence cross-strait relations.

Hsia is currently leading a delegation on a seven-day trip to China, which departed on Monday.

(By Chang Shu-ling and Bernadette Hsiao)

Enditem/kb

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Reunification Alliance Party officials indicted in election graft case

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 01:43 PM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) Two officials of the Reunification Alliance Party were indicted Thursday for violating Taiwan's election laws and Anti-Infiltration Act, according to the Taiwan Pingtung District Prosecutors Office.

The two men, surnamed Huang (e) and Chang (a), are the party's head and director-general in its Pingtung chapter, respectively. They allegedly organized trips to China for Pingtung residents in September and October last year, at the request of China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), prosecutors said in a news release.

According to the prosecutors office, the travelers on those trips were required to pay only their airfare, while their accommodation, local transportation, food and activity fees were covered by China.

During the trip, the visitors from Taiwan met with Chinese officials, who said that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are "one family" and also spoke about "peaceful reunification" and the "1992 consensus" -- a political term which implies that Taiwan and China belong to "one China," prosecutors said.

The officials also hinted that the Pingtung residents should vote for a certain presidential candidate and certain political parties, the prosecutors office said.

Upon their return to Taiwan, Chang and Huang convened a meeting of their party's Pingtung chapter and urged the members, including those who had been on the trip to China, to vote for a certain presidential candidate, certain legislative candidates and certain parties in the Jan. 13 elections, prosecutors said.

Chang and Huang also made similar appeals on online communication platforms, according to prosecutors, who said that the two men are believed to have been taking directives from China.

(By Lee Hui-ting and Wu Kuan-Hsien)

Enditem/pc

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2 military officers get jail time for faking intelligence to claim bonuses

ROC Central News Agency

02/29/2024 07:47 PM

Taipei, Feb. 29 (CNA) Two military officers were sentenced on Thursday to six and seven years in prison after they were found guilty of making up intelligence to claim performance bonuses totaling over NT$10 million (US$316,147).

The guilty verdict was handed to two officers from the Military Intelligence Bureau, a female colonel surnamed Su () and a male lieutenant colonel with the same last name, the Shilin District Court said.

The court sentenced the woman to seven years in prison and deprivation of civil rights for six years, while the man was sentenced to six years in prison and deprivation of civil rights for five years.

Both were indicted on charges of corruption, forgery, and money laundering by the Shilin District Prosecutors Office in November 2023.

The two officers received the performance bonuses after they began providing fabricated intelligence in April 2018 that was supposedly obtained from "Liang Fang" (), a fictitious Chinese intelligence officer, according to an indictment document.

In June last year, raids were carried out at the suspects' locations during which cellphones and bank records were seized.

A total of NT$10.99 million in reward money stolen through the scheme has been returned, according to the court.

The verdict, however, can still be appealed.

(By Liu Shih-yi and Ko Lin)

Enditem/kb

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In Address To Russians, Putin Warns Of 'Tragic' Consequences If West Sends Troops To Ukraine

By RFE/RL's Russian Service February 29, 2024

President Vladimir Putin gave his state of the nation address to Russians on February 29, outlining his view on how the war against Ukraine is progressing and Russia's relations with the West, which he threatened with "tragic" consequences if it sent troops into Ukraine.

Speaking less than three weeks before a presidential election he is expected to easily win as he faces no opposition candidates, Putin didn't stray far from well-worn narratives and propaganda, saying the full-scale invasion of Ukraine was needed to defend Russia's sovereignty and security.

"Despite all the trials and bitterness of losses, people are adamant in this choice," he said of the "special military operation," as the Kremlin calls the invasion it launched in February 2022. In Russia, it is illegal to call the conflict a war.

Putin's address in front of audience of both chambers of parliament, the State Duma and the Federation Council, as well as other invitees, lasted just over two hours and touched on a broad array of issues.

In the first part of the speech, he accused the West of "trying to drag us into an arms race" by "trying to wear us down," before moving on to his global outlook and then domestic issues such as economic development.

"The West is not just trying to hold back our development; instead of Russia, they need a dying space," he said, adding that at the same time the West "miscalculated."

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking after a summit of continental leaders in Paris, said that despite a current lack of consensus, "nothing," including sending Western forces to fight on the Ukrainians' side, should be ruled out to prevent a Russian victory in Ukraine.

Putin said such a move would result in "consequences for the interventionists" that will be "much more tragic."

He also said that such involvement by the West would heighten the possibility of a global nuclear war.

"Russia has weapons which can hit targets on their territory and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilization," Putin said.

"Don't they understand it?.... Those people haven't been through any tough challenges and they have forgotten what war means," he added.

While rejecting Western reports that Moscow was considering the deployment of space-based nuclear weapons, Putin did say that Russia's nuclear forces are at "full readiness" and that his military has deployed new weaponry in the Ukrainian battlefield.

He also said that the new Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile has entered service with Russian nuclear forces, while the country is completing testing of the Burevestnik atomic-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon atomic-powered, nuclear-armed drone.

The United States denounced Putin's comments as "irresponsible" but said it did not have any sign that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.

"It is not the first time we have seen irresponsible rhetoric from Vladimir Putin. It is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Putin's speech comes before the March 15-17 balloting, which the Kremlin hopes to use as a show of national unity in support of Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian elections are tightly controlled by the Kremlin and are neither free nor fair but are viewed by the government as necessary to convey a sense of legitimacy.

The Kremlin's tight grip on politics, media, law enforcement, and other levers means Putin, who has ruled Russia as president or prime minister since 1999, is certain to win, barring a very big, unexpected development.

An hour into his speech, Putin had not mentioned Aleksei Navalny, the popular opposition politician who died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison under suspicious circumstances.

Navalny attempted to run against Putin in 2018 only to be barred by the TsIK over a conviction in a fraud case in what is widely seen as a politically motivated conviction.

Boris Nadezhdin, who spoke out against the war in Ukraine, appeared to be headed toward securing status as a candidate until the Central Election Commission (TsIK) barred him saying too many of the support signatures he submitted were not verified.

The TsIK routinely refuses to register would-be opposition candidates on the pretext that they submitted an insufficient number of valid signatures.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-russia-address- justifying-war-consequences/32842242.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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Russian Strikes Cause Injuries Among Civilians In Eastern Donetsk

By RFE/RL's Russian Service and RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service February 29, 2024

Russian troops shelled the Pokrovsky and Bakhmut districts of the Donetsk region causing multiple injuries among the civilian population, the Prosecutor-General's Office reported on the evening of February 28.

The shelling struck a village in the Pokrovsky district and the cities of Kurakhove and Chasiv Yar, the Prosecutor-General's Office said.

A 62-year-old woman who was walking on a street in the village was hospitalized with a head injury and a fracture, the office said. In Kurakhove, the victim was a 22-year-old saleswoman who was hit by rocket fire in a trade pavilion. She was hospitalized with brain injuries.

The attack on Chasiv Yar involved a drone that hit around 3 p.m., injuring a 40-year-old man. An hour later, Russian forces also struck the city of Siversk, inflicting life-threatening injuries on a 69-year-old woman who was near her home at the time of the attack.

Unconfirmed reports circulated on February 28 saying that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a strike with a high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) at a concentration of Russian military personnel in the village of Yelenovka in the Donetsk region.

Several Telegram channels -- both Ukrainian and Russian -- reported the incident. Various sources mentioned dozens of dead and injured Russian military personnel.

The shelling was also reported by former Verkhovna Rada deputy Oleg Tsarev, who has supported separatists in the Donbas region since 2014.

He declined to provide details "so as not to please the enemy," he said.

If the reports are confirmed, it would be the third time within a week that a Ukrainian military strike reportedly hit a concentration of Russian troops.

Neither the Ukrainian command nor the Russian Defense Ministry commented on any of the strikes.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-strikes-civilian- injuries-eastern-donetsk/32841903.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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A world in which terror wins would please no one, which is exactly why Putin must lose - address by the President of Ukraine.

President of Ukraine

29 February 2024 - 19:09

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

First. A few summaries of the visits. The key thing is new defense agreements, new packages. There will be more artillery and more joint production with our partners. We use every meeting and every day to provide more capabilities to our warriors. I am grateful to all our partners who help us in the way we need. And in a timely manner, without delays.

We had good talks in Albania - as always, principled support. And not only in terms of our bilateral relations, but also in terms of how to make the dialogue with those states that are still reserved in their support more meaningful. Mr. Prime Minister Rama, thank you once again.

This was already the second Ukraine - South East Europe Summit. We had good meetings with representatives of Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia. I shouldn't disclose all the details now, but I can say that we managed to achieve exactly what we expected. In addition, all the participants of the summit, all the countries of Southeastern Europe, will take part in the Global Peace Summit - the first summit on the Peace Formula at the level of leaders. It is planned to be held in Switzerland. And we already see opportunities for broad representation of countries from around the world.

It was about a just peace, about the first summit of leaders on the Peace Formula, about the opportunities in the world today to decrease chaos and destruction that the Crown Prince and I talked about in Saudi Arabia. It was a very profound, positive conversation. I am grateful for the attention to Ukraine and for the advice. We need to ensure the widest possible participation of the global community in addressing global issues. The restoration of the full force of international law and the prevention of aggression is exactly that kind of issue. We also talked about joint economic and technological projects with Saudi Arabia. We appreciate such cooperation. And it is important that our teams implement project agreements as quickly as possible. Both of our countries will benefit from this.

Today, I also held a meeting on the European direction - our relations with the European Union, the tasks for this year, integration in general, and specifically on relations with our neighbors in the European Union. Our priority is clear: all existing agreements must be implemented, and every word that is spoken must be put into practice. This is exactly the approach Ukraine is taking on the European direction. And it is thanks to this that we have already achieved historic results.

This year should be a time of real negotiations on accession. We can start as early as spring and take the first negotiating steps. This year should also be a time of maximum pragmatism in relations with our neighbors. Everyone sees that Russia is not going to stop. They in Moscow want an arms race and new waves of destabilization. All of us in Europe need to realize this clearly. If the freedom of one falls, the freedom of all the others will not withstand either. This is the reality. We have to defend ourselves. And we can defend ourselves. We must achieve our common goals.

I thank everyone who helps!

I thank everyone who is at combat posts, on combat missions, in battle right now. Krasnohorivka, Novomykhailivka, Kupyansk, Bakhmut sector, Avdiivka sector, and the Southern sectors. It is worth remembering that global stability rests solely on the courage and dedication of Ukrainian warriors and our entire nation. It is Ukrainian names that are mentioned in the frontline reports, but everyone understands and sees that Putin's intentions are much broader. A world in which terror wins would please no one, which is exactly why Putin must lose. Our people in Ukraine are capable of ensuring this - with sufficient support. Support with what the world already has in its weapons depots, in the norms of international law, and in the minds of its leaders.

Glory and gratitude to all our heroes! May the memory of each of our warriors - every Ukrainian man and woman who gave their lives for the sake of Ukraine - be bright and eternal.

Glory to Ukraine!

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Andriy Yermak had a conversation with the UK Prime Minister's National Security Adviser

President of Ukraine

29 February 2024 - 19:00

As part of the ongoing dialogue with allies, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a video call with National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Timothy Barrow.

The parties discussed preparations for the first Global Peace Summit at the level of heads of state and government to be held in Switzerland.

The Head of the President's Office informed the interlocutor on the situation at the frontline and urgent needs of the Defense Forces.

Andriy Yermak and Timothy Barrow also discussed steps to implement the bilateral security agreement prepared in the framework of the G7 Joint Declaration and signed by the leaders of Ukraine and the United Kingdom during the visit of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Kyiv in January 2024. The Head of the President's Office noted that Ukraine is interested in engaging the UK in a number of projects.

Andriy Yermak expressed his gratitude to Timothy Barrow, the government and all the people of the United Kingdom for their support and assistance in defending Ukraine's freedom and independence and common democratic values in Europe.

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Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine had a phone call with the Advisor to the President of France

President of Ukraine

29 February 2024 - 18:13

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak had a phone call with Emmanuel Bonne, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of France.

Andriy Yermak informed his interlocutor about the situation at the front, the urgent needs of the Defense Forces, in particular, in artillery rounds and air defense reinforcement.

The parties also discussed the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparations for the inaugural peace summit at the level of state leaders in Switzerland.

Andriy Yermak and Emmanuel Bonne focused on concrete steps to implement the bilateral Agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and France, signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on February 16, 2024.

The interlocutors also discussed the preparation and agenda of Emmanuel Macron's visit to Ukraine.

The Head of the President's Office expressed gratitude to the French side for constant powerful support of the Ukrainian people and initiatives aimed at strengthening the defense capabilities of our country in order to repel Russian aggression and restore peace on the European continent.

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Putin Warns of Nuclear War if West Sends Troops to Ukraine

By VOA News February 29, 2024

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western countries on Thursday that they risk initiating a nuclear war if they send troops into Ukraine, saying Russia has the weapons to strike targets in the West.

During his annual state of the nation address, the Russian leader said Western nations "must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they get that?"

Although Ukraine's Western allies have sent vast munitions to the Kyiv government in its fight against the 2022 Russian invasion, none has said it would send troops to fight alongside Ukrainian forces.

Earlier this week, however, French President Emmanuel Macron said that while there are no plans in place to send Western troops to fight in Ukraine, the possibility remains.

"There's no consensus today to send in an official, endorsed manner, troops on the ground. But in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out," Macron said at a news conference.

Several European leaders pushed back on Macron's troop suggestion as did the United States. Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the West's main military alliance, and thus Kyiv's Western allies are not obligated to defend it.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Europe's path for several generations is now being determined amid Russia's invasion of his country.

"We have seen in the past how someone else tried to determine the fate of other nations. This happened in the Balkans, in eastern Europe, and in all other parts of Europe. Now Putin wants to do exactly the same," Zelenskyy said as he attended a summit of southeastern European leaders in Albania.

Zelenskyy said it is "critical for all free nations" that Putin lose the war, and that the Russian leader's failures "are our security."

In his Moscow speech, Putin said Russia's "strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness." He noted that new-generation hypersonic nuclear weapons he first spoke about in 2018 had either been deployed or were at a stage where development and testing were being completed.

Visibly angry, Putin suggested Western politicians recall the fate of those like Nazi Germany's Adolf Hitler and France's Napoleon Bonaparte who had unsuccessfully invaded Russia in the past.

"But now the consequences will be far more tragic," Putin said. "They think it (war) is a cartoon," he said. He accused Western politicians of forgetting what an actual war meant because they had not faced the same security challenges as Russians had in the last three decades.

The Russian leader said Moscow's forces now have the initiative on the battlefield in Ukraine and advanced against outmanned Ukrainian troops.

He dismissed as "nonsense" Western suggestions that Russia would advance beyond Ukraine and attack other countries.

Putin said Russia was open to discussions on nuclear strategic stability with the U.S. but suggested that Washington had no serious interest in such talks and was more focused on making false claims about Moscow's alleged aims.

"Recently there have been more and more unsubstantiated accusations against Russia, for example that we are allegedly going to deploy nuclear weapons in space. Such innuendo... is a ploy to draw us into negotiations on their terms, which are favorable only to the United States," he said.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy praised Belgium for committing to take part in a Czech-led initiative to supply badly needed ammunition to Ukrainian forces.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Belgium would provide $216 million in funding for the effort.

In the U.S., the Senate has approved $60 billion in new Ukraine aid, but a Republican bloc of lawmakers in the House of Representatives opposes it. House Speaker Mike Johnson has not brought it to a vote in the full chamber, where it likely would be approved.

Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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UK Statement at Conference on Disarmament: High-level Segment

Conference on Disarmament: High-level Segment. Statement by the United Kingdom, as delivered by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon at the United Nations on 28 February 2024.

29 February 2024

Mr President,

It would be fair to say that we live in what can only be termed extremely troubled, uncertain and indeed vulnerable times for many. When we look around the world today, international norms are being eroded, and the global security environment is deteriorating and these challenges, to put it quite bluntly and in a straightforward way, are too great for any single State to manage alone. They can only be addressed through effective cooperation between international partners.

This Conference has made historic contributions to arms control and non-proliferation efforts, but notwithstanding what has been achieved, we must be absolutely clear-eyed about both the challenges this particular Conference faces - and indeed we all face - and in doing so, the only way forward is to work together to resolve them.

The United Kingdom appreciates the efforts of the Indian and Indonesian Presidencies to seek agreement on a Programme of Work, but it is regrettable that once again, consensus seems to be elusive. From our perspective, it is also regrettable that the Russian delegation chose to block 15 EU and NATO States from participating as observers, purely on political grounds. If we are truly going to address these issues, we need a collective effort.

It is clear that Russia has a growing disregard for its nuclear responsibilities. It has undermined the work of this Conference by suspending its obligations under the New START Treaty and de-ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It has trampled international law and the UN Charter through its barbaric and continuing war and illegal invasion against Ukraine. We ourselves are a nuclear power, but an invasion marked by irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is not the way to behave. The horrific targeting of civilians and the cruel weaponisation of energy and food supplies, to put it simply, is wrong.

Elsewhere, Iran's escalating nuclear and ballistic missile programmes are threatening international security and undermining global non-proliferation. Through its development and proliferation of ballistic missiles, Iran, and I can speak quite specifically as the United Kingdom's Minister for the Middle East, is destabilising the Middle East, threatening maritime security and increasing the risk of miscalculation. Iran is also refusing to co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency's investigations, preventing the Agency, that has been created for the purpose of looking at these particular issues, from assuring that Iran's nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful. The United Kingdom remains committed to ensuring Iran never develops a nuclear weapon, and to using all available diplomatic levers and options to that end.

As we look more broadly elsewhere, North Korea's advancement of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, in clear breach of UN Security Council Resolutions, is clearly another big concern. It is important when the UN Security Council has passed resolutions that these are adhered to. We therefore call upon North Korea to halt its illegal launches and refrain from conducting further nuclear tests. The United Kingdom is committed to securing peace on the Korean peninsula, and we are working closely with our partners to urge the North Korean regime to return to talks and take credible steps towards denuclearisation. Until then, we will continue to enforce sanctions against them.

Mr President,

We must ensure that our existing disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation instruments are meeting these challenges. We have to have organisations, systems and structures which are fit for purpose.

This will take a global effort which includes redoubling our commitment to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which remains the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and civil nuclear prosperity. The United Kingdom strongly advocates for all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty at the earliest opportunity. We remain firmly committed to fulfilling our obligations under all three pillars of the Treaty and will focus on taking the practical and necessary steps to prepare for eventual disarmament. This includes funding initiatives on irreversibility, verification and importantly, transparency. The United Kingdom is also working to reinforce the non-proliferation system by supporting the IAEA financially, diplomatically, and politically.

We believe that a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty would be a significant step towards a world without nuclear weapons. We call for such negotiations to commence immediately within this Conference. We reaffirm our existing unilateral negative security assurances regarding the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against Non-Nuclear Weapon States parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. We also underscore our legally binding commitments to over 100 countries in the context of the nuclear weapon-free zones in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Central Asia and the Pacific Ocean.

Let me pay tribute here, Mr President, to your country's leadership on the Protocol to the South-East Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. I know the drive that your Foreign Minister has shown in her advocacy for important causes across that region. Let me reassure you that the UK remains committed to signing and ratifying this at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is another fundamental instrument that contributes to international security and disarmament. Therefore, the United Kingdom encourages all relevant States - including Russia - to declare and maintain moratoria on explosive nuclear testing. We also call on the remaining Annex 2 states to sign and ratify this essential Treaty.

Mr President,

We must also focus our efforts on preventing an arms race in outer space, where misunderstandings could easily trigger conflicts. We must also ensure that emerging technologies are used for good, not for ill. What we need is fresh thinking and new approaches. This is why the United Kingdom brought forward the Responsible Space Behaviours initiative. We call on all States to engage in this initiative, so we can reduce the growing threat. First and foremost, States should comply with the Outer Space Treaty, including the obligation not to place nuclear weapons in orbit around the Earth.

The same goes for Artificial Intelligence - we must ensure this is developed and used safely and responsibly. That is why the United Kingdom convened the first ever meeting of the UN Security Council on the opportunities and risks of AI, and hosted the AI Safety Summit, which agreed the Bletchley Declaration.

Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The United Kingdom is committed to helping to strengthen the Convention, to mitigate the risks posed by new and emerging biological threats and keep us all safe for the next 50 years.

I will end by reflecting on our objectives when it comes to chemical weapons. The United Kingdom welcomes last year's confirmation by the OPCW that all declared chemical weapons stockpiles have finally been destroyed. This is a real milestone, and evidence of what States can achieve when they work together. But despite this step forward, deep concerns remain over the possible use of riot control agents by Russia in Ukraine, and Bashar al-Assad's willingness to use chemical weapons against civilians in Syria. This is not a mere threat; it has happened, and it is something the OPCW themselves have stood up. We therefore welcome the Decision adopted at the 28th CWC Conference of States Parties to reduce the threat of further chemical attacks by the Syrian regime and will work to implement this. We judge them by the simple fact that the first responsibility of any government is the security and welfare of its own citizens. Yet Syria under Assad turned that crucial first priority and responsibility of any government against their own citizens.

Let me also make it absolutely clear that any use of chemical weapons by Russia in Ukraine would, of course, attract severe consequences. We need to ensure that we really put chemical weapons not just back in the box but put them into the realms of history.

Mr President,

This is a time of great challenge and great intensity but also a time of great need for our collective diplomacy. But it is through strong and sustained multilateral cooperation that we may hope to make progress towards sustainable peace.

Let me assure you of the United Kingdom's good offices and those of many others here today who are working to preserve that noble objective at a time when the international order and multilateral system is under threat.

Whose responsibility is it? I put it to all of you. It is our collective responsibility to defend the UN, to defend multilateral institutions, to defend the diplomacy that is required now to resolve the conflicts that we face and ensure that the challenges that I have outlined here can be averted. We owe that to those who have fought for these multilateral systems, who have created those conventions, who have invested in these treaties, and we owe it to the generations that follow us.

We remain firmly committed to this Conference, to this objective, to the multilateral family; like any family we will have differences, but if our collective effort is towards sustainable peace, let us act.

The United Kingdom and many others here today are working to preserve and strengthen the open international order that is so vital for all our futures. As I have said, this needs to be a collective effort.

Thank you.

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NEWARK, Del, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exhibiting a y-o-y growth of 3.1%, the global handheld tagging gun market value is estimated to reach US$ 1,080.8 million in 2024. The global handheld tagging gun sales will likely surge at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period, totaling US$ 1,565.1 million by 2034.



Several factors are anticipated to stimulate the growth of the handheld tagging gun industry during the assessment period. These include:

Booming retail industry across the world

Rise of e-commerce

Growing importance of product identification and traceability

Increasing concerns about shoplifting

Rising focus on improving operational efficiency



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The rise of e-commerce, especially after the pandemic, has increased online retail sales share in the global retail industry. The growth of e-commerce, in turn, has led to increased demand for handheld tagging guns, and the trend will likely continue through 2034.

Retailers use handheld tagging guns to prepare products for online sales, ensuring that items are properly labeled before being shipped to customers. These tools are setting new standards in labeling items and enhancing their safety.

E-commerce handles a large volume of diverse products, necessitating the usage of handheld guns. These guns provide a quick and efficient way to label and tag products before they are shipped to consumers, helping manage the increased workload. They aid in labeling each product properly and allow logistics teams to manage the packaging process accurately.

The handheld guns often contribute to standardizing labeling practices across the supply chain and ensure consistency in labeling regardless of the source. The e-commerce business often introduces new products and changes in their assortments based on market trends and consumer preferences. Handheld tagging guns provide a flexible solution for adapting to changes in product offerings.

Handheld tagging guns play an important role in supply chain integration and enhance efficiency. As a result, their sales are expected to rise steadily throughout the assessment period, contributing to market growth.

Handheld tagging guns are widely used to tag and label products, which will streamline the process of inventory management, tracking, and logistics. The guns help in tagging a variety of products quickly and accurately with the RFID and barcode labels that show the essential information regarding SKU, product details, price, etc.

The handy label guns can speed up the tagging process, eliminate the need to manually put the number on the products, and reduce the time and labor required for inventory management. Thus, their adoption is expected to increase significantly in the retail sector.

Growing emphasis on ergonomic designs to improve user comfort and reduce operator fatigue during extended use is trending in the handheld tagging gun market. Manufacturers are focusing on creating lightweight and user-friendly devices to woo customers.- Says Ismail Sutaria, Principal Consultant, Packaging and Materials at Future Market Insights.

Key Takeaways from the Market Report

The global market for handheld tagging guns is set to total US$ 1,565.1 million in 2034.

in 2034. Based on mechanism, the semi-automatic tagging guns segment is expected to lead the market, with around 70% of the share in 2024.

of the share in 2024. By application, the RFID labels segment is projected to total US$ 540.9 million by 2034.

by 2034. Based on end-use, the retail segment is poised to exhibit a CAGR of 4.2% through 2034.

through 2034. Asia Pacific is anticipated to gain almost 37% of value share by the end of the forecast years.

of value share by the end of the forecast years. Latin America is expected to grow at 4.2% CAGR , reaching a valuation of US$ 48.3 million by 2034.

, reaching a valuation of US$ by 2034. India will likely exhibit a CAGR of 6.8% from 2024 to 2034.



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Outline of Important Trends Shaping the Global Handheld Tagging Gun Market:

Consumer Focus on Essential Information



Nowadays, consumers have become highly conscious about the products they purchase and use and aspire for transparency about the ingredients, sourcing, and manufacturing process. Handheld tagging guns are important in providing product details to meet consumers' needs.

Consumers praise the transparent details and instructions about the usage and security of the products. These guns help to communicate the required information about the user guidelines and protection instructions, ensuring that the customers can make informed decisions.

The crucial details include the safety information and compliance with the industry standards, particularly in industries such as food, pharmaceutical, and childcare products where the consumers depend on accurate labeling for safety considerations. The compulsion to meet these needs and prioritize necessary product information reflects the changing expectations of consumers who desire transparency, safety, and clear manufacturer communication.

Who is Winning?

The tier 1 players in the market hold 25% to 35% of the overall handheld tagging gun industry. Avery Dennison Corporation, SATO Holdings Corporation, Brady Corporation, Healthmark Industries Company, Inc., Meto International GmbH, Garvey Applications, START International, Motex Applications Co. Ltd., Towa Seiko Co. Ltd., DayMark Safety Systems, and Lotus Labels are some of the leading handheld tagging gun manufactures profiled in the report.

Key players are concentrating on developing ergonomic and user-friendly designs to provide a positive user experience with improved efficiency and less operation fatigue. They are also employing strategies like distribution agreements, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions to stay ahead of the competition.

Recent Development:

In May 2023, Sato Holding Corp. acquired Stafford Press, Inc. as a part of its growth strategy.



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Get More Insights

Future Market Insights (FMI), in its new report, offers an unbiased analysis of the global handheld tagging gun industry, analyzing historical demand from 2019 to 2023 and forecast statistics for 2024 to 2034. The study reveals market growth projections based on mechanism (semi-automatic tagging guns and manual tagging guns), application (RFID labels, barcode labels, adhesive labels, pre-printed labels, and other labels), end-use (retail, warehouse & logistics, and manufacturing), and region.

Market Segmentation

By Mechanism:

Semi-automatic Tagging Guns

Manual Tagging Guns

By Application:

RFID Labels

Barcode Labels

Adhesive Labels

Pre-printed Labels

Other Labels



By End-use:

Retail

Warehouse & Logistics

Manufacturing Food & Beverage Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Apparel & Fashion Others





By Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa



About the Packaging Division at Future Market Insights (FMI)

The packaging division at Future Market Insights (FMI) provides an in-depth historical analysis and projections for the next ten years and covers the competitive landscape through a unique dashboard view. Ranging from packaging materials and packaging machinery to packaging designs & formats, Future Market Insights (FMI) has an exhaustive database for these industry verticals, serving clients with unique research offerings and strategic recommendations. With a repository of 3,000+ reports, the team has analyzed the packaging industry comprehensively in 50+ countries. The team evaluates every node of the value chain and provides end-to-end research and consulting services; reach out to explore how we can help.

Author

Ismail Sutaria (Principal Consultant, Packaging and Materials) has over 8 years of experience in market research and consulting in the packaging & materials industry. Ismails strength lies in identifying key challenges faced by the client and offering logical and actionable insights to equip the clients with strategic decision-making power.

Ismail has been an instrumental part of several transformational consulting assignments. His key skills include competitive benchmarking, opportunity assessment, macroeconomic analysis, and business transformation advisory. Ismail is an MBA holder in Marketing and has a Bachelors Degree in Mathematics.

Ismail is a regular at industry conferences and expos and has been widely covered in electronic and print media. Ismail has been quoted in leading publications, including the European Pharmaceutical Review and the European Adhesive Tape Association.

Explore Related Reports of Packaging:

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In 2023, the global heavy duty paper tags market is anticipated to reach a valuation of US$ 2.2 billion. The increasing inclination towards recycled and upcycled products is boosting the prospects of the market. Over the period spanning from 2023 to 2033, the market is forecasted to exhibit a CAGR of 5.0%, reaching approximately US$ 3.5 billion by the end of 2033.

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The sustainable packaging market is on a trajectory of significant growth, with a projected value of US$ 285.3 billion in 2024. Forecasts indicate a strong demand for sustainable packaging solutions, expected to surge at a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.8% over the forecast period. Looking ahead, this market is poised to sustain its impressive growth momentum, surpassing the US$ 490.5 billion mark by 2034.

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Future Market Insights, Inc. (ESOMAR certified, recipient of the Stevie Award, and a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce) offers profound insights into the driving factors that are boosting demand in the market. FMI stands as the leading global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, consulting, and events for the Packaging, Food and Beverage, Consumer Technology, Healthcare, Industrial, and Chemicals markets.

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Nandini Singh Sawlani
PARIS, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The McWhorter Foundation confirms The McWhorter familys engagement with Hermes is emblematic of dedication to the preservation and celebration of artisanal heritage, excellence, and the quest for the pinnacle of luxury. Hermess illustrious history and commitment to the quality of craftsmanship resonate profoundly with the McWhorter Family Trust, rendering it an exemplary ambassador within the assembly of the McWhorter familys luxury assets investment portfolio.



The incorporation of Hermes into the McWhorter Family Trusts list of esteemed investments marks a deliberate expansion of the McWhorter Familys luxury asset portfolio. This action is reflective of a meticulously curated investment philosophy developed by Ambassador Noble McWhorter and his distinguishably evolving family legacy. The Trusts strategy, predicated on a 50 to 100-year outlook, emphasizes extraordinary investments that promise to yield not only financial return but also cultural and historical significance. Hermes, with its storied legacy and unparalleled mastery in luxury leather goods, stands as a testament to this vision, heralding a new chapter of investment that bridges past, present, and future.

C.K. McWhorter, currently intricately structuring a Single Family Office (SFO), has tactically announced a significant, yet SEC-exempt, small acquisition in Hermes International. This investment underscores a pivotal expansion of the familys asset base, aligning seamlessly with the McWhorter Trust's vision for long-term, extraordinary investment horizons.

Through adept navigation of financial frameworks, the Ambassador Noble has leveraged a sophisticated investment strategy that remains exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, underscoring the discreet yet impactful nature of this financial engagement. This approach not only exemplifies the strategic discretion befitting an investor of McWhorters stature but also magnifies the influence wielded by private transactions in the echelons of high finance.

McWhorter Family & Trust Acknowledgements:

Hermes demonstrates a high level of commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies, aligning its operations with sustainable development principles that span across various dimensions.

Environmental Stewardship: Hermes places a significant emphasis on reducing its carbon footprint and advancing towards net-zero emissions by 2050. The company has committed to science-based targets to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 50.4% for scopes 1 and 2, and by 58.1% for scope 3 emissions by 2030. Furthermore, Hermes aims for 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and complete renewable energy in its operations by 2030. This reflects a holistic approach to minimizing environmental impact, focusing on sustainable materials, circularity in production, and energy efficiency in its facilities.

Social Responsibility: The company fosters a culture of respect, inclusion, and the well-being of its employees, alongside maintaining high standards for its supply chain. It prioritizes the creation of quality jobs, supports local communities, and ensures the ethical treatment of animals. Hermes also emphasizes the transmission of its exceptional know-how through training and apprenticeships, ensuring the longevity of its artisanal skills.

Governance and Community Engagement: Hermes' governance structure oversees its strategic and operational management with a focus on sustainable development. This encompasses a vigilant approach to responsible sourcing, ensuring that suppliers adhere to environmental, ethical, and social standards. Hermes' commitment to responsible sourcing is evident in its long-term relationships with suppliers, emphasizing quality, innovation, and ethical practices. The company actively engages with stakeholders, including partnerships with organizations like WWF France, to strengthen the responsible management of its supply chains, particularly concerning precious hides, cashmere, and wood.

Through these concerted efforts, Hermes aligns itself with a comprehensive ESG strategy, setting a benchmark for luxury brands in sustainable and responsible business practices. This commitment not only ensures the preservation of the natural environment and promotes social well-being but also positions Hermes as a leader in the global luxury market, dedicated to upholding and advancing sustainability within the industry.

McWhorter Family Trusts : Warrant Description- a quartet of emblems, each meticulously chosen to represent the multifaceted ethos of the McWhorter legacy. The first crest is the McWhorter Family Crest, a heraldic symbol signifying the enduring support and unity of the McWhorter Estate, embodying the family's rich heritage and foundational role in shaping their legacy. Adjacent to it, the McWhorter Trust Crest emerges, symbolizing the family's unwavering commitment to capital investment, illustrating a strategic vision that marries financial acumen with long-term growth objectives. Following this, the McWhorter Foundation Logo heralds the familys philanthropic endeavors, signifying a pledge to leverage their investments in exemplary assets towards approved philanthropic causes, thus integrating financial success with social impact. Concluding this emblematic display is the symbol of Carter Kennedy Equity, a boutique private equity firm operating under the auspices of the McWhorter Family SFO. This emblem showcases a dedication to securing majority or significant stake investments, highlighting an aggressive yet discerning approach to capital deployment that seeks to foster growth, innovation, and leadership in the global marketplace. Together, these symbols weave a tapestry of legacy, commitment, philanthropy, and investment acumen that defines the McWhorter family's approach to wealth, responsibility, and societal contribution.

This noble alliance exemplifies the Trust's acumen in curating a collection of peerless luxury assets and illuminates its visionary path toward strategic growth and diversification. The McWhorter Family & Trust, celebrated for its discerning acquisition of assets of distinguished heritage, is poised for an era of augmented prosperity and distinction, with Hermes now serving as a cornerstone of its investment philosophy.

C.K. McWhorter, in a statement, articulated, Endowing Hermes with the role of Ambassador within our McWhorter Family Trust's luxury assets portfolio is a testament to our dedication to celebrating artisanal heritage, excellence, and the relentless pursuit of unparalleled luxury. Hermes stands as a paragon of craftsmanship and storied history, resonating with our ethos and serving as a beacon for our collection of luxury endorsements.

Disclaimer, Disclosure & Legal Notice:

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. It is not intended to provide specific recommendations, endorsements, or investment strategies. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Regulatory Considerations:

This press release is not intended to constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offers, sales, or purchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations. McWhorter Foundation has not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may operate under exemptions. Any investment decisions should be made in consultation with appropriate legal and financial advisors, considering the individual circumstances and objectives of potential investors.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, regulatory and legal developments, market conditions, and the outcome of negotiations. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7863486b-8254-4426-9739-ad9ffd5e1eb6
BONDUELLE

Head office: La Woestyne 59173 Renescure - France

Bonduelle a French S.C.A (Limited Partnership by Shares) with a capital of 57 102 699,50 

Registered under number: 447 250 044 (Dunkerque Commercial and Companies Register)





Villeneuve dAscq, on March 1st, 2024

Statement of availability

of the Half-Year Financial Report on December 31, 2023

The company today announces that it released its Half Year Report on December 31, 2023 and filed the report at the AMF.

The Half Year Report is available on the website of the company at the following address: www.bonduelle.com under the topic Investors / Regulated information (https://www.bonduelle.com/en/investors/regulated-information/).

Attachment
PARIS, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an era where sustainability forms the cornerstone of ethical business practices, C.K. McWhorter (Carter K. McWhorter ) & Family Trust are announcing the awarding of its prestigious Warrant of Recognition to Cartier, a luminary brand under the Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's distinguished portfolio. This accolade is in honor of Cartier's exemplary strides in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, embodying a paradigm of conscientious luxury jewelry manufacturing that mirrors the Foundation's ethos of promoting sustainable and responsible investments within the luxury sector.



The incorporation of Cartier into the McWhorter Family Trusts list of esteemed investments marks a deliberate expansion of the McWhorter Familys luxury asset portfolio. This action is reflective of a meticulously curated investment philosophy developed by Ambassador Noble McWhorter and his distinguishably evolving family legacy. The Trusts strategy, predicated on a 50 to 100-year outlook, emphasizes extraordinary investments that promise to yield not only financial return but also cultural and historical significance. Cartier, with its storied legacy and unparalleled mastery in luxury Jewelry stands as a testament to this vision, heralding a new chapter of investment that bridges past, present, and future.

C.K. McWhorter, currently intricately structuring a Single Family Office (SFO), has tactically announced a significant, yet SEC-exempt, small acquisition in Cartier a luminary brand under the Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA's distinguished portfolio. This investment underscores a pivotal expansion of the familys asset base, aligning seamlessly with the McWhorter Trust's vision for long-term, extraordinary investment horizons.

Through adept navigation of financial frameworks, McWhorter the Ambassador Noble has leveraged a sophisticated investment strategy that remains exempt from Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting requirements, underscoring the discreet yet impactful nature of this financial engagement. This approach not only exemplifies the strategic discretion befitting an investor of McWhorters stature but also magnifies the influence wielded by private transactions in the echelons of high finance.

Environmental Stewardship:

Within the Richemont conglomerate, Cartier sets a benchmark in reducing environmental impact, ensuring the creation of its timeless jewelry pieces minimally contributes to global emissions. The notable efforts recognized in Richemonts FY23 ESG performance report, such as achieving gender-equal pay certification and advocating for significant female representation at executive levels, mark a pivotal commitment to social equity and governance excellence.

Social Responsibility:

Rooted in a tradition dating back to 1847, Cartier's ethos extends beyond the mere crafting of exquisite jewelry, embracing ethical, social, and environmental responsibilities. The Maison's engagement with suppliers emphasizes a relentless pursuit of progress, particularly in addressing climate change and biodiversity conservation, showcasing a holistic approach to sustainable luxury.

Governance and Ethical Sourcing:

The reinforced ESG framework and governance strategies Richemont introduced in FY23 establish a new standard of excellence in the luxury goods domain. Through a rigorous process of stakeholder consultation and ESG impact assessment, Cartier and Richemont demonstrate an unwavering dedication to sustainable progress and ethical business practices.

Global Initiatives and Future Commitments:

The McWhorter Family commends Cartiers active participation in the Watch and Jewelry Initiative 2030, an ambitious endeavor aimed at fostering climate resilience, resource preservation, and inclusiveness. This initiative aligns perfectly with the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), further evidencing Cartier's role as a catalyst for positive change in the luxury industry.

By endorsing Cartier, The McWhorter Family reaffirms its dedication to supporting brands that not only excel in their craftsmanship but also lead the way in environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and governance. Cartiers unwavering commitment to sustainable luxury and ethical practices resonates with our vision for a greener, more responsible luxury market.

This endorsement is a testament to our belief in Cartier's potential to inspire and spearhead a shift towards a more sustainable, accountable, and inclusive future in the luxury sector, epitomizing the values the McWhorter Family holds dear. Cartier, renowned for its luxury jewelry and timepieces, has several iconic collections that have captivated customers worldwide. Among its most celebrated pieces, the LOVE bracelet stands out as a significant symbol of Cartier's craftsmanship and design excellence. Created in New York in 1969, the LOVE bracelet quickly became a jewelry design icon, known for its unique locking mechanism that requires a special screwdriver to open and close, symbolizing secure love. This bracelet, available in various metals including yellow gold and white gold, showcases Cartier's commitment to creating timeless, elegant designs that resonate with a broad audience.

Another standout collection is the Juste un Clou, which translates to "Just a Nail." This inventive design transforms an everyday object into a stylish and bold statement piece. Available in models adorned with diamonds, the Juste un Clou bracelet exemplifies Cartier's flair for turning the ordinary into something extraordinary, further cementing its status as a premier jeweler.

The Panthere de Cartier collection is also noteworthy, featuring designs that embody elegance and freedom. The Panthere de Cartier watch, in particular, has become a sought-after piece for its sophisticated design that captures the spirit of the panther, a long-standing emblem of the Maison.

These collections, among others, highlight Cartier's dedication to excellence, innovation, and a deep understanding of its clientele's desires. Each piece tells a story of love, boldness, and elegance, making Cartier's creations not just jewelry but symbols of enduring allure and sophistication. Through its diverse range of collections, Cartier continues to be a pioneer in the luxury market, offering pieces that are both immediately recognizable and timeless.

McWhorter Family Trusts : Warrant Description- a quartet of emblems, each meticulously chosen to represent the multifaceted ethos of the McWhorter legacy. The first crest is the McWhorter Family Crest, a heraldic symbol signifying the enduring support and unity of the McWhorter Estate, embodying the family's rich heritage and foundational role in shaping their legacy. Adjacent to it, the McWhorter Trust Crest emerges, symbolizing the family's unwavering commitment to capital investment, illustrating a strategic vision that marries financial acumen with long-term growth objectives. Following this, the McWhorter Foundation Logo heralds the familys philanthropic endeavors, signifying a pledge to leverage their investments in exemplary assets towards approved philanthropic causes, thus integrating financial success with social impact. Concluding this emblematic display is the symbol of Carter Kennedy Equity, a boutique private equity firm operating under the auspices of the McWhorter Family SFO. This emblem showcases a dedication to securing majority or significant stake investments, highlighting an aggressive yet discerning approach to capital deployment that seeks to foster growth, innovation, and leadership in the global marketplace. Together, these symbols weave a tapestry of legacy, commitment, philanthropy, and investment acumen that defines the McWhorter family's approach to wealth, responsibility, and societal contribution.

In addition to our recent recognition of Cartier for its exemplary contributions to the luxury jewelry sector, the McWhorter Family also previously announced Hermes' receipt of a prestigious Warrant of McWhorter Family Trust Recognition. This acknowledgment was in honor of Hermes' significant strides in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, showcasing their dedication to sustainable development principles across various dimensions of their operations. Both Cartier and Hermes exemplify the highest standards of excellence and responsibility in the luxury market.

Disclaimer, Disclosure & Legal Notice:

This press release is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. It is not intended to provide specific recommendations, endorsements, or investment strategies. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.

Regulatory Considerations:

This press release is not intended to constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any offers, sales, or purchases will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations. McWhorter Foundation has not registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may operate under exemptions. Any investment decisions should be made in consultation with appropriate legal and financial advisors, considering the individual circumstances and objectives of potential investors.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and we caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, regulatory and legal developments, market conditions, and the outcome of negotiations. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d406c573-75d8-4a86-bdb8-b4b093489fd2
Dublin, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Multiplex Assays Market by Type (Protein [Bead, Planar], Nucleic Acid, Cell) Technology (Flow Cytometry, PCR, Immunoassay) Application (R&D, Diagnosis (Oncology, Cardiovascular, Infectious, Autoimmune Diseases) Product, End User - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global multiplex assays market is expected to reach $6.24 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 9.0% from 2023 to 2030.



The growth of this market is attributed to several factors, the advantages of multiplex assays over singleplex assays, the use of multiplexing in companion diagnostics, the increasing prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases, and rising awareness about the importance of early disease diagnosis. However, the high costs of multiplex assay equipment restrain the growth of this market.



The growing need for high-throughput and automated laboratory systems and the increasing focus on personalized medicine is expected to generate growth opportunities for the players operating in this market. However, the shortage of skilled professionals and the risk of cross-reactivity are major challenges to market growth.



Among all the types studied in this report, in 2023 protein multiplex assays segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market. Protein multiplex assays are further segmented into bead-based assays and planar assays.

In 2023, the bead-based assays segment is expected to account for the largest share of the protein multiplex assays market. Multiplex bead-based assays have become essential tools for diagnosing various diseases. These assays are used for testing allergies, cancer markers, cytokines, cardiac markers, autoimmune diseases, and endocrine diseases. Bead-based assays offer a dynamic range of analytes as they are measured using flow cytometry. They are suitable for high-throughput analysis and are much more rapid, making them the preferred alternative to planar assays.



Among all the products studied in this report, in 2023, the consumables segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market.

The large market share of this segment is attributed to the repetitive use of kits, the growing portfolio of disease-specific kits for early diagnosis of diseases, and the increasing product approvals. The continuous advancements in reagents and kits, the development of user-friendly diagnostic kits, and the adoption of multiplex assay kits in clinical and research laboratories positively impact the demand for consumables used in multiplex assays.



Among all the technologies studied in this report, the flow cytometry segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Flow cytometry is considered an important tool in clinical diagnosis and research & development. It provides a multiparametric analysis of many single cells, which can be used in multiple research areas. Additionally, market players are launching advanced flow cytometers to support growing market needs. For instance, in June 2023, Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.) launched a BD FACSDuet to automate sample preparation during clinical flow cytometry diagnostics.



Among all the applications studied in this report, in 2023, the research & development segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market.

The large market share of this segment is attributed to increasing applications of multiplex assays in drug discovery, biomarker profiling, and understanding disease mechanisms. The demand for multiplex assays in research & development is increasing rapidly and is also contributing to the largest share of the segment.



Among all the end users studied in this report, the research & development segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The highest CAGR of this segment is attributed to factors such as the increasing R&D investments by pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, the widespread utilization of multiplex assays in drug discovery & development, and a growing emphasis on personalized medicine research. The rising spending on R&D by pharmaceutical companies is also contributing to the largest share of this segment.



In 2023, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

North America's large share is attributed to the region's high R&D spending by the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies for the development of drugs and biomarker identification, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising healthcare expenditure, presence of leading market players in the region, and favorable government initiatives for research & development. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, U.S. pharmaceutical R&D expenditure increased from 91.1 billion in 2020 to 102.3 billion in 2021.



The report offers a competitive landscape based on an extensive assessment of the product portfolio offerings, geographic presences, and key strategic developments adopted by leading market players in the industry over the years (2020-2023).

Market Insights

Market Dynamics

Advantages of Multiplex Assays over Singleplex Assays Leading to Their Increased Adoption

Growing Use of Multiplexing in Companion Diagnostics Driving the Demand for Multiplex Assays

High Costs of Multiplex Assay Equipment Hampering Adoption Among End Users

Increasing Focus on Personalized Medicine Boosting the Utilization of Multiplex Assays

Shortage of Skilled Professionals and the Risk of Cross-reactivity Limiting the Adoption of Multiplex Assays

Factor Analysis

Technology Trends

Technological Advancements in Multiplex PCR Technology

Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into Multiplex Assay Systems

Development of Smartphone-based Diagnostic Testing Platforms

Regulatory Analysis

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Pricing Analysis

Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Company Profiles (Company Overview, Financial Snapshot, Product Portfolio, and Strategic Developments)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.)

Seegene Inc. (South Korea)

Qiagen N.V. (Netherlands)

PerkinElmer Inc. (U.S.)

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland)

Agilent Technologies Inc. (U.S.)

Abbott Laboratories (U.S.)

Siemens Healthineers AG (Germany)

Illumina Inc. (U.S.)

Becton,Dickinson and Company (U.S.)

Quanterix Corporation (U.S.)

DiaSorin S.p.A. (Italy)

Merck KGaA (Germany)

Competition Analysis

Overview

Key Growth Strategies

Competitive Benchmarking

Competitive Dashboard

Industry Leaders

Differentiators

Vanguards

Emerging Companies

Scope of the Report:



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Type

Protein Multiplex Assays

Bead-based Assays

Planar Assay

Nucleic Acid Multiplex Assays

Cell-based Multiplex Assays

Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Product

Consumables

Instruments

Software & Services

Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Technology

Flow Cytometry

Multiplex Immunoassay

Multiplex Real-Time PCR

Sequencing

Other Technologies

Note: Other technologies consist of microarray and immunohistochemistry



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Application

Research & Development

Clinical Diagnosis

Infectious Diseases

Oncology

Cardiovascular Diseases

Autoimmune Diseases

Other Diseases

Note: Other diseases include neurological diseases, thrombosis, and drug abuse testing.



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by End User

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Diagnostic Laboratories

Hospitals

Other End Users

Note: Other end users consist of academic institutes & research centers, forensic labs, agriculture companies, and food & beverage companies



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Geography

North America

U.S

Canada

Europe

Germany

U.K.

France

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe (Roe)

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

China

Japan

India

Rest of Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC)

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America (RoLATAM)

Middle East & Africa



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wmbz20[bead?w=12

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.
SAN DIEGO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Johnson Fistel, LLP notifies investors of New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB or the Company) (NYSE: NYCB) that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed.



The New York Community Bancorp class action lawsuit alleges that defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Signature Bank acquisition would not be immediately accretive to New York Community Bancorp because it caused New York Community Bancorp to be required to comply with materially enhanced prudential standards, including, among other things, risk-based and leverage capital requirements, and liquidity standards, and required that New York Community Bancorp build capital, reinforce its balance sheet and strengthen its risk management processes; (ii) New York Community Bancorp failed to comply with the materially enhanced prudential standards; (iii) New York Community Bancorp overstated the quality of its commercial office loan assets; (iv) New York Community Bancorp was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio than represented; (v) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to incur higher loan losses because it was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio; (vi) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to be forced to increase its allowance for credit losses due to its status as Category IV bank; (vii) New York Community Bancorp's loan loss provisions were understated so it overstated quarterly earnings and/or understated quarterly losses; and (viii) New York Community Bancorp failed to have adequate internal risk or disclosure controls and procedures. The lawsuit seeks to recover losses on behalf of investors who acquired securities between March 1, 2023 and February 5, 2024. Investors have until April 8, 2024, to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

On February 29, 2024, after the class action case was filed, NYCB disclosed in a regulatory filing its management "identified material weaknesses in the Company's internal controls related to internal loan review." The bank blamed the problems on "ineffective oversight, risk assessment and monitoring activities."

What can Investors Do: Shareholders who incurred losses during the class period have until April 8, 2024, to move the court to become the lead plaintiff in this action. A lead plaintiff will act on behalf of all other class members in directing the class-action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the class-action lawsuit. An investors ability to share any potential future recovery of the class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the New York Community Bancorp class action lawsuit, please provide your information here:

https://www.cognitoforms.com/JohnsonFistel/NewYorkCommunityBancorpInc2

There is no cost or obligation to you.

What can Investors Do: Shareholders who incurred losses during the class period have until April 8, 2024, to move the court to become a lead plaintiff in this action. A lead plaintiff will act on behalf of all other class members in directing the class-action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the class-action lawsuit. An investor's ability to share any potential future recovery of the class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

About Johnson Fistel, LLP:

Johnson Fistel, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York, Georgia, and Colorado. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonfistel.com .

Attorney advertising.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Johnson Fistel, LLP has paid for the dissemination of this promotional communication, and Frank J. Johnson is the attorney responsible for its content.

Contact:

Johnson Fistel, LLP

501 W. Broadway, Suite 800, San Diego, CA 92101

James Baker, Investor Relations or Frank J. Johnson, Esq., (619) 814-4471

jimb@johnsonfistel.com or fjohnson@johnsonfistel.com
NEW YORK, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In celebration of Womens History Month, Vital Voices Global Partnership, an organization dedicated to empowering women leaders worldwide, announces two initiatives aimed at honoring and inspiring women across the globe.

March 1 - 22  Vital Voices and UN Partnerships Art Exhibit at United Nations Headquarters

With support from the UN Office of Partnerships, the Portraits of Progress: Women Powering the Global Goals exhibit underscores the need to invest more deeply in women change makers who are key to solving the worlds greatest challenges. This interactive storytelling exhibition inside the U.N. Visitors Gallery is on display through March 22. It features portraits and first-person recordings of women leaders from around the world who are driving creative solutions that collectively advance 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Each woman profiled in the exhibit is tackling one of the 17 Global Goals. Alongside each portrait, visitors can scan a QR code to listen to a message from the featured leader, who shares more about how she is addressing her particular Goal.

Our aim with this project is to spotlight the critical role of women leaders worldwide in achieving global progress through the SDGs, said Vital Voices President & CEO Alyse Nelson. Because women and girls are disproportionately impacted by pressing issues such as climate change, conflict, and inequality, their perspective and ideas are invaluable. Women leaders consistently bring forward unique and inclusive solutions that benefit entire communities, countries, and our shared planet. As world leaders consider how to close current gaps in targets for the Global Goals, we believe that greater investments in womens proven, innovative solutions will be pivotal to progress.

The women featured in the portraits are:

Goal 1  No Poverty: Zeinorin Angkang, founder at Hill Wild

Goal 2  Zero Hunger: Nora Jeanne Joseph, founder & CEO at RADIKAL

Goal 3  Good Health & Well-Being: Dr. Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo, public health physician and founder at Market Doctors

Goal 4  Quality Education: Zoya Lytvyn, founder of Novopecherska School and Osvitoria NGO

Goal 5  Gender Equality: Hellen Lunkuse, founder & executive director of Rape Hurts Foundation

Goal 6  Clean Water & Sanitation: Christelle Kwizera, founder and managing director of Water Access Rwanda

Goal 7  Affordable & Clean Energy: Inna Braverman, co-founder and CEO at Eco Wave Power

Goal 8  Decent Work & Economic Growth: Aline Sara, co-founder & CEO at NaTakallam

Goal 9  Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure: Sarah El Battouty, founder of ECOnsult

Goal 10  Reduce Inequalities: Sara Minkara, Special Advisor on International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State

Goal 11  Sustainable Cities & Communities: Michelle Hong, co-founder & COO at Rooftop Republic Urban Farming

Goal 12  Responsible Production & Consumption: Leah Lizarondo, founder of Food rescue Hero and co-founder of 412 Food Rescue

Goal 13  Climate Action: Helena Gualinga, environmental and human rights activist from the Kichwa Sarayaku community

Goal 14  Life Below Water: Lakshmi Menon, Head of Impact at CleanHub

Goal 15  Life on Land: Petronella Chigumbura, ranger and assistant instructor sergeant at Akashinga

Goal 16  Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions: Shirin Musa, founder & director at Femmes for Freedom

Goal 17  Partnerships for the Goals: Group Portrait

Nearly a dozen of the women featured were present for the unveiling. The artwork was created by three women artists: Gayle Kabaker, Stef Wong, and Erin K. Robinson. (Click here to view and download photos from the opening featuring global women leaders featured in the portraits.)

Saturday, March 2  Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks in NYC with DVF

Join influential women leaders at the High Line in New York City for the 17th Global Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks. Led by luminaries such as DVF Founder & Co-Chairwoman Diane von Furstenberg, along with Vital Voices Co-Founder, President & CEO Alyse Nelson, this event brings together established and emerging women leaders from various fields for a one-mile walk. Participants will engage in insightful discussions on career growth, work-life balance, career transitions, and conflict resolution  all in the spirit of global community and mentorship.

More than 200 women from New York City will join the walk as mentors and mentees under this years theme of Inspire Inclusion, recognizing that impact stems from inclusion. This event serves as a prelude to International Womens Day on March 8, fostering mentorship and camaraderie among women leaders.

Simultaneously, thousands of women across hundreds of cities worldwide will participate in mentoring walks, advocating for equality, and celebrating the power of mentorship. With over 135 walks planned in 43 countries for the 2024 Vital Voices Global Mentoring Walks leading up to International Womens Day, this event marks a global movement toward gender parity and empowerment.

To learn more about this event and Global Mentoring Walks happening all around the world, click here.

For media inquiries or further information about these events, please contact: media@vitalvoices.org

###

About Vital Voices Global Partnership

Vital Voices Global Partnership was cofounded in 1997 by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and the late Secretary Madeleine Albright. Now celebrating 26 years, Vital Voices has directly invested in more than 20,000 women leaders across 185 countries and territories since its inception. Driven by the universal truth that women are the key to progress in their communities and nations cannot move forward without women in leadership positions, Vital Voices has provided early support for leaders who went on to become Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, U.S. Youth Poet Laureates, prime ministers, award-winning innovators, pioneering human rights defenders, and breakthrough social entrepreneurs, including Amanda Gorman and Malala Yousafzai. To advance and expand this work, in 2022 Vital Voices opened the doors to the worlds first global embassy for women, the Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Womens Leadership. It is a first-of-its-kind space that allows for convening, innovation, planning, and actionall in the pursuit of serving women leaders who are taking on the worlds greatest challenges.

Attachments
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Discovery Lithium Inc. (CSE: DCLI) (OTC: DCLIF) (FRA: Q3Q0) (WKN: A3EFKA) (the Company or Discovery Lithium), a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing domestic energy freedom through regional lithium discovery, is pleased to provide the following summary of its recently concluded 2023 exploration program in the province of Quebec.



Highlights:

The Lac Belanger claim area showed large pegmatite occurrences which are targeted for Phase 2 exploration based on positive lithium, cesium, and tantalum (LCT) geochemistry.

Lac Belanger presented tourmaline bearing pegmatites showing increased lithium and possible fractionation trends towards an as-yet unexplored part of the claim area.

Further north, initial prospecting and sampling on the Serindac Lake claims yielded pegmatites with anomalous values of lithium in a supracrustal volcanic sequence paving the way for continued exploration across the extensive landholding.

All outstanding results from 2023 have been received and are being interpreted by Discovery Lithiums exploration team.

Company Technical Director Dr. Jacob Verbaas, P. Geo states, We expect 2024 to be an exciting year for the Company. We have laid a solid foundation with the highly efficient exploration programs we conducted over our northern Quebec Claim blocks and continue to explore for lithium at our extensive 75,256-hectare Serindac Lake Project in this new exploration hotspot. Perhaps unexpectedly, but no less exciting is that with only several days of initial prospecting, our claims north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec have yielded an emerging target area based on LCT vectors in two separate large pegmatites. The geochemistry is compelling, and we look forward to going back to this region once the weather is amenable.

Lac Belanger: Vectoring to lithium mineralization

At Lac Belanger, 18 rock samples were taken at 8 localities over three days of sampling and prospecting. One large pegmatite yielded tourmaline in 5 out of 6 rock samples and an increasing lithium grade of up to 59 ppm towards the south where it disappears under overburden. The pegmatite is also anomalous in cesium with an average value of 11 ppm. A second pegmatite with tourmaline appears to yield a similar vector of mineralization towards the southwest, with a high of 39 ppm lithium. Taken together, these values and observed mineralization point to an area of increased LCT-bearing pegmatite potential under overburden in the center of the claim (see figures 1 & 2). This area is a prime target for follow up exploration in 2024. Potential methods used for Phase 2 exploration include heavy mineral analysis of till samples to identify the mineral spodumene and continued prospecting and sampling. The average values of 18 rock samples on the Lac Belanger claims for Li, Cs and Ta were 20 ppm, 9.1 ppm and 1.9 ppm, respectively.













Figures 1 & 2:

Aerial view of the two pegmatite trends on Lac Belanger with increasing lithium towards the south and southwest.

Route Du Nord Project, James Bay

The initial reconnaissance work at the Route Du Nord Project in James Bay revealed that a substantial portion of the claim is covered by overburden and bogs. Hence only a small portion of the claim was truly assessed in 2023. A total of 35 samples were taken, all of which yielded negligible lithium values.

Nunavik Projects: Discovery of Lithium pathfinder minerals in pegmatites offers extensive potential across the claim areas.

To-date, 31 new pegmatites have been mapped in addition to two known pegmatites at Serindac Lake. A total of 102 samples were analyzed and yielded a high of 31 ppm lithium with an average of 10 ppm lithium. The two pegmatites that yielded the highest lithium values had widths of over 20m and contained pathfinder minerals such as tourmaline and muscovite. Lake sediment samples in the immediate area are higher in lithium concentration than those of the rock samples, indicating the potential for buried higher-grade lithium concentrations in pegmatites.

At Vaubert Lake, eight new pegmatites were discovered. These as well as historical pegmatites were sampled. A total of 222 assays yielded a high of 77 ppm lithium and an average of 20 ppm lithium. Most of the higher lithium grades were in granodiorite basement rocks.

2024 Lithium Exploration

The Company is currently planning Phase 2 exploration programs on its 6 wholly owned projects in Quebec. The Phase 2 exploration will likely consist of further prospecting, mapping and sampling and may include other exploration tools such as airborne magnetic surveys, till sampling and LiDAR. The Phase 2 exploration programs are expected to outline drill targeting and drilling in the latter half of 2024.

In addition to Discovery Lithiums highly anticipated 2024 work programs, the Company is in a strong position to bolster their lithium portfolio. The Discovery team is actively assessing and evaluating prospective lithium and battery metal properties within North America, strengthening their land package dedicated to exploring and discovering domestically sourced battery metals.

QA/QC

Grab samples of the Serindac Lake, Vaubert Lake, and Route Du Nord Project were analyzed at SGS and samples of the Lac Belanger claim were analyzed by Bureau Veritas. Samples were analyzed using a combination of ICP-ES and ICP-MS. Duplicates and standards were inserted at regular intervals by both laboratories and all QAQC samples were considered to be in acceptable ranges.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo., (OGQ # 1971) who is an independent Qualified Person (QP) as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

For more information please visit: www.discoverylithium.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Michael Gheyle

President & Chief Executive Officer

This news release includes market and industry data obtained from publicly available sources and other sources believed by the Company to be true. Although the Company believes it to be reliable, the Company has not independently verified any of the data from third-party sources referred to in this news release or analyzed or verified the underlying reports relied upon or referred to by such sources, or ascertained the underlying assumptions relied upon by such sources. The Company does not make any representation as to the accuracy of such information.

The Company would like to welcome investors to visit our website and join our mailing list at www.discoverylithium.com/news-alerts/. By subscribing you will stay up to date with the latest news releases and advancements within our company.

About Discovery Lithium (CSE: DCLI) (OTC: DCLIF) (FRA: Q3Q0) (WKN: A3EFKA)

Discovery Lithium Inc. is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing mineral resource projects in North America. The Company holds a 100% interest in 1,675 mineral claims in Serindac Lake and 2,113 mineral claims in Vaubert Lake for a combined total of approximately 164,283 hectares (~405,952 acres) located in the Nunavik region of Northern Quebec, and with a further total of 303 mineral claims comprising approximately 16,392 hectares (~40,505.5 acres) identified as the Route De Nord, Lac Belanger, Lac Ferland and Lac Roberston properties located across the northern and eastern regions of Quebec including the prolific lithium district of the James Bay region. Additionally, the Company is actively advancing its ESN Project for gold exploration in Nevada and evaluating the Koster Dam Project in Central British Columbia through a joint venture with Cariboo Rose Resources. Find out more at: www.discoverylithium.com and follow us on X (formerly twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn.

For further information, please contact:

Discovery Lithium Inc.

1450 - 789 West Pender Street,

Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 1H2

Telephone: +1 (778) 868-2226

Email: info@discoverylithium.com

Web: www.discoverylithium.com

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as anticipate, plan, estimate, expect, may, will, intend, should, potential, indicative and similar expressions. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Vaubert and Serindac Lake claims and the Route du Nord project (the Claims), including the Companys plans and expectations regarding the Claims, the potential presence of LCT pegmatites or spodumene on or around the Claims and other statements regarding the Companys future business plans and objectives. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of risks and uncertainties inherent in the exploration and development of mineral properties, fluctuations in commodity prices, counterparty risk, market conditions, regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, changes to the Companys strategic growth plans, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Companys expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

The Canadian Securities Exchange accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62105415-78ba-459e-9f68-da6b3de15cb1

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/34c0abd4-462b-47f3-b52e-e125984abf5e
Dublin, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "AREXVY Market Size, Forecast, and Market Insight - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



"AREXVY Market Size, Forecast, and Market Insight 2032" report provides comprehensive insights about AREXVY for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the seven major markets. A detailed picture of the AREXVY for RSV in the 7MM, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan for the study period 2019 -2032 is provided in this report along with a detailed description of the AREXVY for RSV.

The report provides insights about mechanism of action, dosage and administration, as well as research and development including regulatory milestones, along with other developmental activities. Further, it also consists of future market assessments inclusive of the AREXVY market forecast analysis for RSV in the 7MM, SWOT, analysts' views, comprehensive overview of market competitors, and brief about other emerging therapies in RSV.



Drug Summary



AREXVY (GSK3844766A) contains a recombinant subunit pre-fusion RSV antigen combined with GSK's proprietary AS01 adjuvant, which is also used in the company's shingles vaccine. The antigen plus adjuvant combination may help overcome the natural age-related decline in immunity that contributes to the challenge of protecting older adults from RSV disease.



Phase I/II interim safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity data of GSK's RSV candidate vaccine in young adults and older adults aged 60-80 showed that within 1-month post immunization, the adjuvant candidate vaccine, as well as other vaccine formulations tested, was well tolerated and induced a robust humoral and cellular immunity compared with baseline. The selected formulation of the candidate vaccine showed in the 60-80-year-old vaccines that 1-month post-vaccination.

AREXVY Analytical Perspective

In-depth AREXVY Market Assessment



This report provides a detailed market assessment of AREXVY for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the seven major markets, i.e., the United States, EU4 (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) and the United Kingdom, and Japan. This segment of the report provides forecasted sales data from 2024 to 2032.



AREXVY Clinical Assessment



The report provides the clinical trials information of AREXVY for RSV covering trial interventions, trial conditions, trial status, start and completion dates.



Report Highlights

In the coming years, the market scenario for Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is set to change due to the extensive research and incremental healthcare spending across the world; which would expand the size of the market to enable the drug manufacturers to penetrate more into the market.

The companies are developing therapies that focus on novel approaches to treat/improve the disease condition, assess challenges, and seek opportunities that could influence AREXVY dominance.

Other emerging products for RSV are expected to give tough market competition to AREXVY and launch of late-stage emerging therapies in the near future will significantly impact the market.

A detailed description of regulatory milestones, and developmental activities, provide the current development scenario of AREXVY in RSV.

Our in-depth analysis of the forecasted sales data of AREXVY from 2024 to 2032 will support the clients in the decision-making process regarding their therapeutic portfolio by identifying the overall scenario of the AREXVY in RSV.

Scope of the Report

A comprehensive product overview including the AREXVY description, mechanism of action, dosage and administration, research and development activities in Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Elaborated details on AREXVY regulatory milestones and other development activities have been provided in this report.

The report also highlights the AREXVY research and development activities in RSV across the United States, Europe and Japan.

The report also covers the patents information with expiry timeline around AREXVY.

The report contains forecasted sales of AREXVY for RSV till 2032.

Comprehensive coverage of the late-stage emerging therapies for RSV.

The report also features the SWOT analysis with analyst views for AREXVY in RSV.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Report Introduction



2. AREXVY Overview in RSV

2.1. Product Detail

2.2. Clinical Development

2.2.1. Clinical studies

2.2.2. Clinical trials information

2.2.3. Safety and efficacy

2.3. Regulatory Milestones

2.4. Other Developmental Activities

2.5. Product Profile



3. Competitive Landscape (Marketed Therapies)



4. Competitive Landscape (Late-stage Emerging Therapies)



5. AREXVY Market Assessment

5.1. Market Outlook of AREXVY in RSV

5.2. 7MM Analysis

5.2.1. Market Size of AREXVY in the 7MM for RSV

5.3. Country-wise Market Analysis

5.3.1. Market Size of AREXVY in the United States for RSV

5.3.2. Market Size of AREXVY in Germany for RSV

5.3.3. Market Size of AREXVY in France for RSV

5.3.4. Market Size of AREXVY in Italy for RSV

5.3.5. Market Size of AREXVY in Spain for RSV

5.3.6. Market Size of AREXVY in the United Kingdom for RSV

5.3.7. Market Size of AREXVY in Japan for RSV



6. SWOT Analysis



7. Analysts' Views



8. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/x9pabp

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.
Dallas, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bonchon, a global leader in Korean fried chicken, is celebrating Womens History Month with a trailblazing U.S. leadership team. Bonchon U.S. executives in many key business units are women who apply their diverse backgrounds for the good of the business, people, and guests.

Bonchon U.S. powerhouse women leaders include:

Suzie Tsai  Chief Executive Officer

Amanda Millikan  Senior Vice President of Development

Susan Elbedeiwy  Senior Vice President of Operations

Carrie Goff  Vice President of Human Resources

Toni Carpenter  Vice President of Marketing

Bonchon connects people with great Korean food around the globe, and our U.S. corporate leadership team uniquely relates to our diverse group of franchisees and guests, says Tsai.

The brand is rapidly accelerating in the U.S. with 40 new stores in the pipeline for 2024 and more than 25 new franchise partners joining the Bonchon family.

Tsai joined Bonchon U.S. in August 2023 as Chief Growth Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer two months later. She is unabashedly blazing trails as a woman of color in a restaurant industry executive leadership position.

When I joined Bonchon, I looked beyond my role and started looking at the business as a whole, Tsai adds. I spoke up about where I saw our biggest opportunities, where we were lacking, and where we needed to fine tune. I really wanted the business to get better and maximize its potential in bringing great food to people.

Bonchon U.S. primarily has individual franchisees who run their restaurants and make exceptional food every day with the pride of a small business. In addition to her business acumen and restaurant industry experience, Tsais personal history of immigrating as a teenager from South Korea and seeing her parents start businesses in the U.S. uniquely links her to Bonchon franchisees.

Every woman on our leadership team brings unique experiences and strengths to the table, says Tsai. Together we are building a Bonchon culture where people can genuinely connect, collaborate, and celebrate one another. Ultimately, these values help us to naturally do whats right for our team members and franchise partners.

# # #

About Bonchon

South Korea-born Bonchon, which translates as my hometown, was established in the United States in 2006. Known for its hand-battered, double-fried, crazy crispy Korean fried chicken, Bonchon sets out to have its fans around the world Crunch Out Loud. The brand continues to grow in popularity and has earned several accolades including #6 on Fast Casual Magazines 2023 Top 100 Movers & Shakers. Bonchon has more than 400 restaurants across eight countries. For more information, visit bonchon.com . To learn more about franchise opportunities, visit franchising.bonchon.com. Follow Bonchon on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, X, and YouTube.

Attachments
Dublin, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Strategic Analysis of Agency Model Implications for Dealership Aftersales, 2023: Focus on the European and North American New Passenger Vehicle Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The automotive industry is currently undergoing a significant transformation, especially in the area of dealership aftersales. A new research publication, now accessible on our website, extensively assesses the impacts of the agency sales model on dealership aftersales within the swiftly evolving European and North American new passenger vehicle markets.

This comprehensive analysis delves into the ever-changing role of dealerships and the aftersales process, highlighting areas ripe with opportunities and providing a concise evaluation of stakeholder involvement within the agency framework. The research brings to light critical differentiation strategies that could redefine the way aftersales services are delivered in an agency model.

Key topics covered in the research include:

The current status and types of agency sales model adoptions by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Identified regional opportunities that dealerships in Europe and North America can capitalize upon.

Deep analysis of the agency model implications on aftersales functions such as warranty services, spare parts replacements, and customer relationship management.

An examination of potential revenue streams and opportunities for dealerships, suppliers, and independent service providers within the new sales model paradigm.

Trends Impacting Dealership Aftersales in the Agency Model



Our study also presents an insightful trend analysis that can guide market participants in understanding how the agency model might impact dealership aftersales. It offers foresight into potential shifts within the market landscape, enabling stakeholders to strategically position themselves for growth.

Moreover, the research takes a deep dive into the growth opportunities awaiting dealership aftersales services. It provides actionable insights meant to enable these entities to not only adapt but to leverage the advent of the agency business model to their advantage.

This analytical research serves as a critical resource for dealerships, OEMs, independent service providers, and suppliers operating within or entering the European and North American automotive markets. By unlocking the report's findings, stakeholders can gain a competitive edge by strategizing around the nuances of the aftersales environment shaped by the agency model.

The automotive industry and its ancillary services are invited to explore these comprehensive insights that are now available and could very well redefine the landscape of dealership aftersales strategies and revenue generation in the agency sales era.

Key Topics Covered

Strategic Imperatives Growth Opportunity Analysis Agency Sales Model Overview Agency Model Implications on Dealers' Warranty and Service Business Agency Model Implications on Dealers' Replacement Spare Parts Business Agency Model Implications on Dealers' Customer Relationship Management Business Dealer - Spend and Cost Analysis Agency Model Impact on Revenue Opportunities for Key Stakeholders in the Aftersales Industry OEM Agency Model Implementation and Dealership/Aftersales Impact - Exhibits Growth Opportunity Universe Next Steps List of Exhibits

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1i0gf1

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.
LANGLEY, British Columbia, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centra Windows and Centra Cares are thrilled to announce the launch of their 6th annual Home Renovation Contest. The initiative provides deserving families with the gift of home comfort and efficiency through the donation and installation of new, energy-saving windows and doors.



The Centra Cares Home Renovation Contest embodies the company's dedication to assisting families facing lifes toughest challenges. Once the winner is chosen, Centra manufactures, donates, and installs high-performance products that enhance their quality of life. Helping families is at the heart of everything we do at Centra, says CEO Garett Wall. The home renovation contest is a shining example of that. Seeing the difference we can make to those in need and our incredible Employee Owners donating their time to make it happen is always a huge inspiration.

Home renovations, particularly window replacements, can significantly benefit a family's well-being and health. However, they can also pose a financial burden. Through the Home Renovation Contest, Centra aims to alleviate these concerns for deserving families.

In 2023, Centra embarked on a significant charity home renovation project in Alberta, marking a milestone in their commitment to community support. The Davis family of Calgary captured hearts, particularly young Jake, who is one of only a small handful of people in North America to battle ERCC-1 deficiency. This rare DNA repair disorder prevents Jakes body from fixing the damage done by UV light. The gift of highly specialized windows that can block 99% of harmful UV radiation directly protected Jakes health and gave the Davis family the peace of mind of knowing that he can enjoy his home safely. The donation also saved the family more than $100,000, allowing them to make investments in other areas of the home that will be beneficial to Jakes health.

Nominations for the Centra Cares Home Renovation Contest can be submitted by individuals or their family members and friends on Centra's website. Stories reflecting resilience, dedication, and community spirit are encouraged. Nominations are now open in BC and Alberta and can be submitted until midnight on March 31st.

About Centra Windows: 100% Employee Owned and driven by a mission to help and support families, Centra has grown rapidly to become the leading authority on windows in BC and Alberta. A true Canadian success story, recent momentum has seen them more than double in size over just three years, raise $2 million for good causes, and be awarded as one of Canadas Best Managed Companies and Canadas Most Admired Corporate Cultures.

Contact

Les Ferris

PR & Communications Coordinator

(604) 882-5010

lferris@centra.ca

A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09f789b6-075e-40eb-9f29-8d3763b30c23
University of St. Thomas - 3800 Montrose Blvd., Houston, TX 77006, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- University of St. Thomas  Houston celebrated its new partnership with the Allbritton Art Institute with an inaugural lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 21, in Cullen Hall. The featured speaker was Dr. Rebecca Rabinow, director of the Menil Collection. Dr. Rabinows presentation to a standing-room-only audience was titled Impressionism and the Art Library: An Appreciation. Her discussion illustrated how more than a century of scholarship has shaped our understanding of and appreciation for impressionism.

The Allbritton Art Institute recently partnered with UST and moved to the campus in Houstons renowned Museum District.

This fantastic partnership allows UST to revive its B.A. in Art History, said Associate Division Dean for Fine & Performing Arts and Allbritton Art Institute Interim Director Dr. Dominic Aquila. It also further vitalizes our other collaborations, especially those with the Glassell School, the Museum of Fine Arts-Houston, and the Menil Collection. In addition, our proximity to the Museum District extends the reach and influence of the Allbritton Art Institute.

Established in 1997 by the late businessman and philanthropist Joe L. Allbritton, and his wife Barbara, the Institute promotes the appreciation and comprehensive study of art history with an emphasis on impressionism and post-impressionism. Integral to its mission, the Institute provides opportunities for students to study original works of art.

The Allbritton Art Institute offers art history classes, opportunities and funding for students to study abroad, scholarships, world-class art lectures, new art history faculty positions and a library of 4,000 art books.

In attendance at the opening event was patron Mrs. Barbara Allbritton.

Mrs. Allbritton stressed that the study of art adds an essential dimension to the liberal arts, enlarging the capacity for the appreciation of beauty and thereby enriching students studies and their lives.

Not everyone can be a renowned artist or scholar, but art education can provide more opportunities for personal and mutual enjoyment, she said. When you go to a museum, you might notice a certain brushstroke, a brilliant color, or a small expression that communicates a momentous event in history. Having an informed lens through which to see and interact with art opens ones mind to see the world in diverse ways.

The lecture was preceded by a VIP reception in Link Lee Mansion catered by Tonys Restaurant. Those in attendance included UST First Lady and President Melynda and Richard Ludwick, The Honorable Carolyn King, Charles Hall and Anne Harrington, Craig and Angela Jarchow, Christie Billings, The Honorable Michael Massengale, Michele Malloy, Ryan and Pamela Castleman, and William Caudill.

Following the lecture, a reception was held in the lobby of Cullen Hall for all lecture attendees, including University of St. Thomas students.

# # #

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Richmond, KY, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In an effort to combat the severe health care provider shortage in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) is seeking approval from the Kentucky General Assembly to pursue the establishment of an osteopathic medical program, bringing an affordable, public option for Kentuckians who aspire to become physicians and serve their communities.

House Bill 407 passed the Kentucky House of Representatives 91-0 on February 15 and now awaits a vote by the Kentucky Senate. The bipartisan legislation is a crucial element in addressing the primary care physician shortage in the state. Today, only 17% of primary care physicians practice in rural areas of the state, according to the Kentucky Physician Report. In addition, almost a third of Kentucky physicians are of retirement age, having practiced between 31-50+ years. Last year, the Commonwealths three medical schools received 13,416 applications and enrolled 510 students.

Lillian Jones, an EKU pre-med student from Barbourville, Kentucky, said a medical school closer to home would not only be convenient but would also help prepare her and other students for the unique challenges facing health care workers in the region. After completing her education, Jones hope is to return to Barbourville to work, because she wants to serve the people of her Eastern Kentucky community.

I love the idea of giving comfort to familiar faces, she said. Medicine is a calling. Having had medical scares of my own, it really made me consider going into medicine because you are able to comfort someone when they are in their most vulnerable state. It would be a challenging but greatly rewarding career.

Jones chose to attend EKU for her undergraduate studies because of the reputation of its science programs and the scholarships that were offered. If the College of Osteopathic Medicine were an option, she said she would consider staying at EKU for the rest of her education. In addition to allowing her to be close to family, Jones sees the potential impact the program could have for making medical education and healthcare for rural communities more accessible.

The idea of EKU having a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program is one that was born out of the need for us to have more primary care physicians in Kentucky, said EKU President David McFaddin. This is important because its personal. Many Kentucky students dream of becoming doctors, but they never have the opportunity to attend medical school. Our communities, our neighbors, our friends and our families deserve to have a qualified physician who is there to care for them when theyre in their time of need. Being part of bringing those physicians who are Kentuckians back to our Kentucky communities to serve our neighbors and friendsthere could be no higher calling.

Students like Jones believe a College of Osteopathic Medicine at EKU would encourage more students to attend medical school, leading to more doctors practicing in Kentucky.

Eastern Kentucky University is a student-centered, comprehensive regional university dedicated to high-quality instruction, service and scholarship serving approximately 15,000 students.

Attachments
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Experts, advocates, and law enforcement professionals gathered for a one-night event at Texas A&M University to raise awareness around the issue of human trafficking.

Led by One More Child, the See it. Say it. Stop it. event at the universitys Rudder Theater brought in students, faculty, staff and community members to hear speakers and panelists discuss the harsh realities of human trafficking and how to recognize the warning signs of sexual exploitation.

According to a study by the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Texas has the 2nd highest number of human trafficking cases in the United States. Out of 1.6 million online commercial sex advertisements posted in Texas, nearly 224,000 of those are believed to have sold children, according to recent data from the Texas Attorney Generals office.

The fact that children are being bought and sold as consumer products is beyond heartbreaking, said Dr. Jerry Haag, president and CEO of One More Child. Every day we work with survivors throughout the country, helping them heal from the trauma of exploitation. As more people understand the deceptive nature of trafficking and how to recognize it, the more children we can protect from being harmed. Thats why we are here tonight.

Much of the conversation centered around internet use and how traffickers use online platforms to access unsuspecting children and teenagers.

The unprecedented access that todays minors have to the internet has made them easier targets for predators and traffickers, said Jodi Domangue, executive director of anti-trafficking at One More Child, who was one of the panelists.

Local award-winning news anchor, Karla Castillo with KBTX News, emceed the program which featured Rebecca Bender, a survivor and leading anti-trafficking advocate, and her daughter Deshae Wise. Wise is a 2023 Texas A&M alumna and a standout on the Universitys track team.

Attendees also heard from speakers representing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Unbound Now, Texas A&M University's Health Promotion department and the Brazos Valley Human Trafficking Task Force. Multiple exhibitors were onsite as well to provide opportunities for students to become involved in local anti-trafficking efforts.

Speakers challenged attendees to take what they learned from the presenters and panel participants and share it in their communities. Another way One More Child is mobilizing people to join the fight against child trafficking is by recently releasing Anti-Trafficking 101, a free six-part video training series to help the public understand the nature of trafficking and how to see it, say it and stop it.

About One More Child:

One More Child operates in 19 countries around the world, meeting the needs of foster children, hungry children, single moms, struggling families and sex-trafficked children and teens. In 2023, One More Child provided direct services to 250,259 children and individuals while impacting an additional 143,334 individuals through advocacy, trainings, awareness and volunteering. One More Child provided more than 19 million meals nationally and globally. For more information visit www.onemorechild.org.

Attachment
Leaders of 6 CIS states congratulate Putin on victory in prez election 18 Mar 2024 | 3:26 PM Minsk, Mar 18 (UNI) The leaders of six member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistanhave congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential election, noting the broad support of Russian citizens, the Kremlin said on Monday. see more..

Kuwaiti Emir 1st among Gulf leaders to congratulate Putin on re-election as Russian prez 18 Mar 2024 | 3:26 PM Kuwait City, Mar 18 (UNI) Kuwaiti Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was the first among the leaders of the Gulf countries to congratulate Russian President Vladimir Putin on his victory in the presidential election, the state-run Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Monday. see more..

Kazakh prez congratulates Putin on re-election as Russian prez 18 Mar 2024 | 3:26 PM Astana, Mar 18 (UNI) Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on the victory in Russia's presidential election, Tokayev's press service said on Monday. see more..

China's Xi congratulates Putin on re-election as Russian prez 18 Mar 2024 | 3:25 PM Beijing, Mar 18 (UNI) Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended congratulations to incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin on his re-election as head of state, the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) broadcaster reported on Monday. see more..
Vancouver, February 29, 2024 - West Oak Gold Corp. (CSE: WO) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed, on a non-brokered basis, its previously announced private placement financing for gross proceeds of $354,000 through the sale of 5,899,999 units of the Company (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.06 per Unit (the "Private Placement").

Each Unit is comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one transferable common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share (each, a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.08 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance.

In connection with the Private Placement, the Company issued 140,000 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") and paid cash commission totalling $8,400 to certain arm's length finders. Each Finder's Warrant entitles the holder thereof, to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of $0.06 for a period of three 36 months from the date of issuance.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement in order fund general working capital and its exploration efforts. All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date under applicable Canadian securities laws, in addition to such other restrictions as may apply under applicable securities laws of jurisdictions outside Canada.

An officer and a director of the Company (the "Interested Parties") each purchased 100,000 Units as part of the Private Placement. The placement to the Interested Parties constitutes "related party transactions" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the directors of the Company have determined that the Interested Parties' participation in the Private Placement is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 in reliance on the exemptions set forth in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report 21 days prior to the closing of the Private Placement, as the details and amounts of the Interested Parties' participation was not finalized until closer to the closing and the Company wished to close the Private Placement as soon as practicable for sound business reasons.

About West Oak

West Oak is focused on gold exploration in Canada. It is currently actively exploring the Hedge Hog gold project located 15km north of the town of Wells in the Caribou Mining Division of central British Columbia. Investors are encouraged to review West Oak's prospectus and the technical report for the Hedge Hog Property available at www.sedarplus.ca. Management and the board of directors of West Oak currently consists of Morgan Good (Chief Executive Officer and director), Leighton Bocking (director), Adrian Smith (director) and Bennett Liu (Chief Financial Officer).

On behalf of the board of directors of the Company

"Morgan Good"

Morgan Good

Chief Executive Officer and Director

West Oak Gold Corp.

Website: www.westoakgold.com

T: 604-715-4751

E: morganrgood@gmail.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the use of the proceeds raised under the Private Placement.

In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will use the proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things: risks related to the timing of decisions with respect to the Company's strategy, that the Company will not use the net proceeds of the Private Placement as currently anticipated and market uncertainty.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

NOT FOR US DISTRIBUTION OR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199976
MONTREAL, Feb. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - (SYDNEY, March 1, 2024) - Champion Iron Ltd. (TSX: CIA) (ASX: CIA) (OTCQX: CIAFF) ("Champion" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its unionized employees, represented by the Syndicat des Metallos (the "Metallos"), who comprise approximately 63% of the workforce at the Company's Bloom Lake mine ("Bloom Lake"), have ratified a new 5-year collective bargaining agreement (the "CBA") with the Company on February 29, 2024 (Montreal time).

Champion's CEO, Mr. David Cataford said "The CBA, which provides additional stability for our workforce, the community and our Company, ensures we maintain a strong and mutually beneficial partnership with our employees. The CBA balances the need to remain competitive by attracting the best talent while also ensuring our Company can navigate uncertain economic environments. This significant milestone enables our Company to continue to positively impact local communities as we deploy our vision to be a leader in the green steel supply chain."

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. Benefiting from one of the highest purity resources globally, the Company is investing to upgrade half of the Bloom Lake mine capacity to a direct reduction quality pellet feed iron ore with up to 69% Fe. 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 Cluster II portfolio of properties, located within 60 km south of Bloom Lake.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain information and statements that may constitute "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "continues", "forecasts", "projects", "predicts", "intends", "anticipates", "aims", "targets" or "believes", or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Inherent in forward-looking statements are risks, uncertainties and other factors beyond the Company's ability to predict or control.

Specific Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release that address future events, developments or performance that Champion expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, Management's expectations regarding the CBA and its expected impact on the Company, its workforce and the community, the Company's objectives and targets with respect to its workforce and the Company's positioning in the green steel supply chain.

Risks

Although Champion believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, most of which are beyond the control of the Company, which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, without limitation: the factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" of the Company's 2023 Annual Report, Annual Information Form and MD&A for the financial year ended March 31, 2023, which are available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, the ASX at www.asx.com.au and the Company's website at www.championiron.com. 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 forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Additional Updates

All of Champion's forward-looking information contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof or such other date or dates specified in the forward-looking statements and is based upon the opinions and estimates of Champion's Management and information available to Management as at the date hereof. Champion disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any of the forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Champion cautions that the foregoing list of risks and uncertainties is not exhaustive. Readers should carefully consider the above factors as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risks they entail.

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.
VANCOUVER, March 01, 2024 - Solaris Resources Inc. (TSX: SLS; OTCQB: SLSSF) ("Solaris" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a trilateral cooperation agreement with the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers ("FICSH") and the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation ("AEI") of Ecuador, with the signing ceremony to take place over PDAC. The agreement aims to promote the economic and social development of Shuar communities represented by FICSH, including the communities of Warints and Yawi which host the Warintza Project on their lands, with programs in health, education, skills training, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable mineral resource development.

FICSH is the highest authority and largest Shuar indigenous organization legally established by statute of the Ministry of Social Welfare of Ecuador in 1964 and includes 50 associations comprising 500 Shuar communities and approximately 143,000 Shuar indigenous people.

AEI is an independent non-profit dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and innovation as the basis for the productive development of Ecuador. The organization represents a network of public, private and academic actors of which Solaris has been a member since 2021.

Key Programs:

Health: training and support for the provision of medical services in remote communities in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health

Education: training and support for the development and delivery of intercultural education in remote communities with the Ministry of Education

Production: training and technical assistance related to productive agricultural and business development, project management and accounting

Artisanal mining: environmental, safety and technical training and support for the formalization of artisanal mining in FICSH territories

Mr. Froilan Juank, President of Yawi Center and member of the Board of Directors of the Strategic Alliance, commented, "The Shuar communities of Warints and Yawi support this agreement which follows from our request for FICSH to represent us and our interests and extend benefits to other member communities. We reject the false statements made by foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Shuar Arutam People's Associations (PSHA) which ignore our voice and speak against our interests. We are the legitimate registered owners of the Ancestral Lands on which the Warintza Project resides and we have the right and have chosen, through our General Assembly, to participate in the project through our Strategic Alliance and Impact and Benefits Agreement."

Mr. David Tankamash, President of FICSH, commented, "Our work aims to improve the quality of life and access to opportunities for our member Shuar Centers. We support the Warints and Yawi communities and reject the efforts of foreign NGOs who act against the will and interest of our members. This agreement, which has been approved by the will of the FICSH General Assembly, is important for inclusive and sustainable mineral resource development. The Solaris model proves the Shuar nation can partner in development opportunities on our lands. We deserve the opportunities indigenous nations have in other parts of the world and foreign NGOs must respect our choices."

On behalf of the Board of Solaris Resources Inc.

"Daniel Earle"

President & CEO, Director

For Further Information

Jacqueline Wagenaar, VP Investor Relations

Direct: 416-366-5678 Ext. 203

Email: jwagenaar@solarisresources.com

About Solaris Resources Inc.

Solaris is a multi-asset exploration company, advancing a portfolio of copper and gold assets in the Americas, which includes: its primary focus, a world class large-scale resource with expansion and discovery potential at the Warintza Project in Ecuador; discovery potential at its Ricardo Project and Tamarugo Project in Chile; discovery potential at its Capricho and Paco Orco projects in Peru; and significant leverage to increasing copper prices through its 60% interest in the La Verde joint-venture project with a subsidiary of Teck Resources in Mexico.

Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements

This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will" and "expected" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include statements that a trilateral cooperation agreement with the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers ("FICSH") and the Alliance for Entrepreneurship and Innovation ("AEI") of Ecuador has been announced with the signing ceremony to take place over PDAC. Although Solaris believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from the forward-looking statements. These statements also involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in the Solaris Management's Discussion and Analysis, for the year ended December 31, 2022 available at www.sedarplus.ca. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Solaris does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements except as may be required by applicable securities laws.




New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) The Anjuman Intazamia Masazid, Varanasi moved the Supreme Court on Friday challenging an Allahabad High Court order which had upheld the Varanasi civil court order that the batch of petitions filed for restoration of temple at the Gyanvapi Mosque does not come under the ambit of 'Places of Worship Act,' 1991.



This suit, filed in 1991 by Hindu worshippers in the Varanasi civil court on behalf of deities, seeks the right to worship in the Gyanvapi mosque and the restoration of the temple at the disputed site.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra after hearing the special leave petition filed by Anjuman Intazamia Masazid Varanasi against the December 19 order of the high court clubbed the mosque committee's latest plea with the other special leave petitions pending on the same issue.

Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the mosque committee, clarified that the petition filed today concerns the High Court's order holding the oldest suit (1991 suit). He said that there are other SLPs filed against the HC order relating to the subsequent suits (filed in 2021 and later seeking the right to worship), which are not listed today.

Senior Advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for the Hindu parties contended that the Supreme Court had earlier refused to interfere with the appointment of commissioner. The earlier petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezemia Masajid Committee Varanasi concerning the suits are pending before the Top Court. The bench decided to tag the present matter with the connected matters.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the State and Senior Advocate Harish Salve appeared for two of the private respondents respectively.

The high court in its order had said, that the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991, which prohibits the conversion of religious structures from their status as of independence, does not apply to the ongoing civil suits regarding the Gyanvapi dispute. The religious character of the complex, as it existed on August 15, 1947, is to be determined by the Varanasi civil court, the high court clarified.

The trial court is currently hearing a suit relating to the ownership, religious character, and worshipping rights at the Gyanvapi Mosque which is abutting the famous Kashi Vishvanath Temple at Varanasi.

The high court's observation came amidst arguments by the mosque committee citing the Din Mohammad case, which they say that the religious character was already settled through this case.

The High Court, however, noted that the Din Mohammad case did not establish the religious character of the disputed site.

It had also allowed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to proceed with the survey of the Gyanvapi complex. The ASI report stated that there was a temple that existed at the site before the construction of the mosque. The trial court had allowed the performance of pujas at the Vyas Tehkhana' (southern cellar of Gyanvapi Mosque) which is said to be private property and was closed for unknown reasons after the row started in the Ram Janam Bhoomi case.

On February 26, the Allahabad High Court dismissed the mosque panel's plea to stay the trial court's order allowing the puja.

UNI SNG CS1501
Vancouver, March 1, 2024 - Element79 Gold Corp. (CSE:ELEM) (OTC:ELMGF) (FSE:7YS) ("Element79 Gold", the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company's principal regulator, the British Columbia Securities Commission ("BCSC") has lifted the Management Cease Trade Order ("MCTO") it had previously granted the Company on January 2, 2024 under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"), as the Company has now successfully completed all requisite filings for its Annual and Interim Financials. Revoking the MCTO means members of management are no longer prevented from trading the Company's common shares.

The Company remains committed to timely financial transparency and wishes to thank its shareholders, auditors and the BCSC, for their continued trust.

The Company's Annual and Interim Financials are now publicly available on SedarPlus.com

For corporate matters, please contact:

James C. Tworek, Chief Executive Officer

Email: jt@element79.gold

For investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Investor Relations Department

Phone: +1 (403)850.8050

Email: investors@element79.gold

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press contains "forward?looking information" and "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward?looking statements"). Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward?looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward?looking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
March 1 - Vancouver, B.C., Canada - Belmont Resources Ltd. ("Belmont" or the "Company") (TSXV:BEA); (FSE:L3L2) is pleased to announce that it will apply to the TSX Venture Exchange to close a financing for aggregate gross proceeds of $368,000. The Company will issue 9,200,000 common shares at $0.04. Warrants are not attached.

The common shares to be issued will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from issuance.

The investor is non-arm's length to the Company as Patrick Brandl, a director of the Company, also sits on the Supervisory Board of the investor. As such, this transaction constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the financing by the insider exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

The use of proceeds will be allocated as: $210,000 exploration and incurred exploration expenditures; $60,000 office and administration (salaries, management, audit & legal); unallocated working capital $98,000. No proceeds will be used for Investor Relations. While the Company intends to spend the net proceeds as stated above, there may be circumstances where, for sound business reasons, funds may be reallocated at the discretion of the Board.

Stock Options

The Company also announces that it has granted 1,100,000 stock options to certain directors, officers and consultants of the Company in accordance with the Company's current stock option plan. Each option is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.05 per share for a period of five years from the date of grant. The options to be granted will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from issuance.

About Belmont Resources

Belmont Resources has assembled a portfolio of highly prospective copper, gold, lithium, uranium and rare earths projects located in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Washington and Nevada States. Its holdings include:

Athelstan-Jackpot (A-J): 2 former gold mines. Initial 2023 drill results from Athelstan gold mine area drilling indicates peripheral alteration zone to a potential deep-seated copper-gold porphyry.



CrackingstoneUranium: High grade uranium property situated in the prolific Beaverlodge Uranium District of the Athabaska basin. The Project covers 4 kilometers of the Black Bay Shear Zone, a northeast trending magnetic low corridor which hosts 4 past producing mines.

Come By Chance (CBC): 2021 geophysics delineated potential large copper-gold porphyry

2022 drilling provided further vectors towards potential core of porphyry;



The Lone StarCopper-Gold: optioned to Australian Marquee Resources ASX:MQR; MQR has spent $2.5M in drilling, completed new resource in Dec. 2022 and a PEA in November 2023 earning them a 50% interest in the property.



The Kibby Basin Lithium project located 60 kilometers north of the lithium rich Clayton Valley Basin: Optioned 80% of the central Kibby Playa claim block to Australian Marquee Resources MQR. MQR has spent $2.5M in drilling in 2022 for potential deep seated lithium brine. 2022 Drilling confirmed high levels of lithium-bearing sediments along with dissolved lithium in the groundwater. Mineralized intervals containing up to 924 ppm lithium with greater than 300 ppm lithium over thicknesses in excess of 450m have been identified in core samples of clay-rich playa sediments.



Click Image To View Full Size

Belmont Projects

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"George Sookochoff"

George Sookochoff, CEO/President

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties, based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of exploration and other risk factors beyond its control. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Companies forward-looking statements and expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, that we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval; that we may not be able to raise funds required, that conditions to closing may not be fulfilled and we may not be able to organize and carry out an exploration program in 2023, and other risks associated with being a mineral exploration and development company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

Copyright (c) 2024 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
China to make around 100 space launches in 2024

13:50, March 01, 2024 By Liu Shiyao ( People's Daily

China is projected to make about 100 space launch missions this year, which will set the country's new record, said a blue book released by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) on Feb. 26.

China plans to carry out a series of major space missions this year. The China Space Station has entered the normal operation stage and within 2024, there will be two cargo spacecraft missions, two manned spaceflight missions and two return missions.

The Shenzhou-17 manned spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, Oct. 26, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Wang Xiaobo)

China is set to launch Queqiao-2, a relay satellite for communications between the far side of the moon and Earth, and the Chang'e-6 lunar probe, a mission to collect samples from the far side of the moon, the first of its kind in human history.

A detection satellite for ocean salinity is also on CASC's task list, which will empower China with high-resolution and high-precision ocean salinity detection capabilities.

Newly developed Long March-6C and Long March-12 carrier rockets will execute their maiden flight missions.

Besides, China's first commercial spacecraft launch site is expected to have its first launch mission in 2024, and the country will accelerate the networking and construction of multiple satellite constellations.

A Long March-7 Y8 carrier rocket carrying cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-7 blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan province, Jan. 17, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Meng Zhongde)

In 2023, China carried out 67 space launch missions, with this number ranking second in the world, and put 221 spacecraft into space, already setting a record for China.

Among them, the Long March series of carrier rockets were launched 47 times with a 100 percent success rate, breaking through 500 launches cumulatively, and other commercial rockets were launched 20 times.

Looking back on the past year, China's space industry has implemented high-density launch missions in an orderly manner with a high success rate, and the number of spacecraft developed and launched has rapidly increased, with a significant improvement in development capabilities.

In terms of technological innovation, China has made continuous breakthroughs in fields like carrier rockets, manned spaceflight, lunar and deep space exploration, communications, navigation, remote sensing satellites, and scientific and technological experiments.

People visit an exhibition of achievements in China's manned spaceflight program at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, Shanghai, Jan. 18, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Yan Daming)

China's capabilities in accessing, exploring, and utilizing space have grown stronger, and the country has achieved many scientific and technological accomplishments.

Based on space infrastructure like satellite communications, satellite remote sensing, and satellite navigation and positioning, China's space industry has developed a relatively complete application system. This has offered solid support for various national strategies and the country's "dual carbon" goals, and widely served different sectors of the national economy.

In terms of international cooperation, China's space industry has carried out various forms of international exchanges such as seminars, discussions, data sharing, technical cooperation, application services, and space culture education, promoting the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and contributing to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Liang Jun)
New Delhi, Mar 1 (UNI) The apex body of the Internet and Mobile companies on Friday asked social media giant Google not to delist Indian companies Apps from the Play Store pending the case for hearing in the Supreme Court.



In statement issued today, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) advised Google not to delist any apps from Google Play. The association was responding to media reports which indicated that Google might go to the extent of removing 10 Indian companies' Apps from the Play Store for non-compliance with Google Play policy.



IAMAI is able to confirm that at least four of its members have received notices from Google. The affected members of IAMAI are of the view that a substantive hearing of the case is pending before the Supreme Court of India, and Google should not take any coercive action during the pendency of the case.



The IAMAI represents 580 members, including Indian and multinational corporations, as well as start-ups, IAMAI has been instrumental in shaping Indias digital economy.



The association advocates free and fair competition, and progressive and enabling laws for businesses as well as for consumers.



UNI SKB CS1902
Most people agree that they would rather not see animals in a shelter euthanized. Green River Animal Control is constantly working to realize this goal, and has successfully maintained a "no kill" status, meaning that at least 90% of the animals that go through the shelter are saved.

This status gives a 10% margin, recognizing that some animals have medical or behavioral circumstances that warrant humane euthanasia. When it comes to that 10%, however, there has been discussion over how to handle them.

Recently, some Green River residents have expressed concern and confusion over the fact that the gas chamber at Animal Control hasn't been removed. Animal Control staff, however, stand by the system that is in place, which includes limited use of the gas chamber.

The concerns

Last Thursday afternoon, cars driving past Animal Control may have noticed a group of people standing on the sidewalk and holding signs with statements such as "Stop killing our pets in the gas chamber now," "No animal deserves to be gassed," and "End gas chamber cruelty immediately!"

The protest was organized by Madhu Anderson, who has previously led protests and spoken out about the topic. Her hope is for the gas chamber to eventually be removed entirely, and she said she plans to continue protesting on a regular basis.

"It's just a very outdated method and it's not very liked by most people," Anderson said. "So I think it should be removed. It's time. It's time to say goodbye to the gas chamber now."

"The gas chamber is extremely cruel, inhumane, outdated," said Tina Chambers, another participant in the protest. "The city said two years ago they were going to get rid of it. They have not."

Jason Monroe was a Green River resident who also participated in the protest, and he explained that he remembered discussion about removing the gas chamber and was surprised to hear that the issue hadn't been resolved.

"Why is it still being used?" Monroe asked. "Especially when there's only two states that still permit it. That's not a short list we want to be on as a community, and I think we can do better."

Anderson explained that only Wyoming and Missouri still use gas chambers as a method of euthanasia, and in Wyoming only Evanston and Green River still have and use them.

"If it was humane, then all these states wouldn't have banned it," Anderson said.

Anderson added that the Humane Society of the United States offers a $3,000 grant for removing gas chambers, which Green River has not accepted.

The gas chamber used at Animal Control is also old, according to Anderson and Monroe, who said the equipment is from 1985. Anderson said that animals suffer in a gas chamber if the gas isn't pumped in at the right concentration and rate, and added that the chamber is stressful for animals to be inside of.

"If it wasn't so scary and bad there wouldn't be controversy around it," Chambers said. Chambers added that she encourages people to do research into the topic for themselves and listen to all sides of the discussion.

The support

The Animal Control Officers at Green River Animal Control are particularly aware of not only the controversies but the varying opinions on gas chamber use.

"With regard to euthanasia, there are strong opinions on both sides," Animal Control Supervisor Tracy Wyant explained.

Wyant has previously expressed her belief that the gas chamber is a humane method of euthanasia when used properly. However, following the discussions that have taken place over the past two years since the question of the gas chamber was raised, Animal Control has worked towards using the gas chamber less.

"We have also transitioned to an injection method of euthanasia that we currently use the majority of the time," Wyant explained.

Part of the process of moving towards using mostly injections included renovations at the shelter, such as turning one of the storage rooms at the shelter into a medical room, according to Wyant.

However, the gas chamber is still available as an option for staff.

"There are a few occasions where the preferred method is the chamber due to the situation with that individual animal," Wyant explained. "Generally, this is because the animal is too dangerous to use the injection method on, and the only safe option for the animal and the staff is to use the chamber."

When using the gas chamber, Wyant said the staff at Animal Control is not doing anything illegal or unethical. She pointed out that Dr. Ben Osbourne with Castle Rock Veterinary Hospital has come to Animal Control to observe the chamber in use and has given Animal Control his support in using it as a humane method.

"We strictly follow AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) guidelines for euthanasia," Wyant said. "We also act morally and ethically, and within department policy, and will continue to do so."

The city's perspective

When the topic of the gas chamber was initially brought before the Green River City Council in January of 2022, City Administrator Reed Clevenger indicated that the use of the gas chamber would be stopped, but City Clerk Chris Meats noted that the goal was to move away from its use and move toward other methods.

In September of 2022, Madhu Anderson spoke to the City Council to ask why the gas chamber hadn't been removed yet. At that time Police Chief Tom Jarvie, who has since retired, answered by pointing out the work that was being done so other methods could be used, and he reiterated that the gas chamber was being used according to guidelines and that staff worked to save animals whenever possible.

"I understand the concern of this group," Jarvie said. "I understand their heart's in the right place. What they don't understand is our staff's heart is in the right place, and they're doing everything they possibly can, and the animals are treated humanely and fairly. And we would love to not have to euthanize any animals. We have irresponsible pet owners in our community that make this necessary. So anything that can be done to take care of that problem as opposed to demeaning our staff publicly, I would appreciate."

During the September 6, 2022 meeting, Council Members Gary Killpack and Sherry Bushman also spoke in support of Animal Control staff and the work they do.

"I am happy with what they're doing, and I personally don't see the need for a change," Killpack said.

This week, following the recent protest, Mayor Pete Rust again reiterated that Animal Control is moving away from using the gas chamber on a regular basis.

Data from 2022, the year when Animal Control began the process of transitioning toward injection, show that 52.9% of animals were euthanized by gas and 41.1% were euthanized by injection through the year. The remaining 6% comes from wild animals euthanized by Game and Fish.

"We got statistics at the end of the year and they clearly have reduced the number of animals that have been euthanized through the gas chamber," Rust said.

Rust also explained that many council members have been to Animal Control to observe the changes happening and the system that is in place. He also noted from his own research into the topic that there are differing opinions on euthanasia methods. One of his main concerns has always been doing what is best for both the physical safety and mental health of the staff. He also pointed out that in general people don't know what all goes on with difficult topics like euthanasia unless they are the ones doing it.

"I think that the council and myself continue to be committed to allowing the folks that know what they're doing, the professionals, to do their job," Rust said.
Green River Police Department reports for Feb. 20

At 7:38 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged improper registration.

At 9:09 a.m., officers responded to a report of an accident.

At 12:46 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued the driver a verbal warning for an alleged out-passenger-side brake light.

At 8:24 p.m., officers responded to a report of trespassing.

Feb. 21

At 10:41 a.m. and shortly after, officers responded to a report of multiple parking problems.

At 1:08 p.m., officers responded to a report of a parking problem.

Feb. 22

At 10:32 p.m., officers responded to a report of a disturbance.

Feb. 23

At 1:25 a.m., officers responded to a report of threats/harassment.

At 8 a.m., officers responded to a report of assault.

At 8:27 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a warning to Clint Scott for alleged speeding in a school zone.

At 8:39 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a warning to Thelma Barajas for alleged speeding in a school zone.

At 8:44 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a citation to Keith Trujillo for alleged speeding in a school zone.

At 2:26 p.m., officers responded to a report of a parking problem.

At 3:34 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a warning to Anthony Lucero for alleged speeding in a school zone.

At 4:06 p.m., officers responded to a report of an animal bite.

At 5:38 p.m., officers responded to a report of a missing person.

At 6 p.m., officers responded to a report of a parking problem.

At 7:13 p.m., officers responded to a report of an accident.

Feb. 24

At 8:06 p.m., officers responded to a report of a disturbance.

At 10:51 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a warning to John Stine for an alleged tail lights required violation.

Feb. 25

At 12:43 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop and issued a warning to Alex Martinez for alleged speeding.

At 2:32 a.m., officers responded to a REDDI report on Nolan Street and determined the driver to be under the influence. Officers placed the driver, Jacob Miller, under arrest for alleged DWUI, issued a citation for alleged DWUI - alcohol - incapable of safely driving, transported him to the Sweetwater County Detention Center and completed a report of the incident.

At 2:36 p.m., officers responded to a report of domestic violence.

At 6:37 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop on Colorado Drive and determined the driver to be under the influence. Officers placed the driver, Dale Pohl, under arrest for alleged DWUI. Officers issued Pohl citations for alleged DWUI - alcohol - incapable of safely driving - second offense and a stop sign violation, as well as warnings for an alleged tail lights violation and expired temporary license permit/improper registration. Officers transported Pohl to the Sweetwater County Detention Center and completed a report of the incident.

Feb. 26

At 7:22 a.m., officers responded to a report of a traffic offense.

At 11:48 a.m., officers responded to a report of larceny.

At 4:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle.

At 8:14 p.m., officers responded to a report of an accident.

At 8:25 p.m., while in the area of N 3 E Street, officers observed a vehicle sitting in the alleyway with the engine running. Officers contacted the driver and detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage. Subsequently, officers arrested the driver, Ronald King, of Benton, Kentucky, and issued citations for alleged open container and DWUI of alcohol - .08 or greater. Officers transported King to the Sweetwater County Detention Center and completed an incident report.
The Bureau of Land Management recently asked for public input on a proposed wild horse gather in Southwest Wyoming's White Mountain Herd Management Area.

"The White Mountain HMA's appropriate management level is 205-300 wild horses," the BLM explained in a press release. "BLM completed a population survey for the HMA in 2022 and found 549 wild horses present on the HMA at that time. Considering an estimated annual growth rate of 20%, the estimated number of wild horses within this HMA in 2024 is 791 animals."

The BLM is proposing to gather and remove 586 excess wild horses from the area.

Plans for the proposed gather are available for review and comment on the BLM's ePlanning website.

To submit input, click the "Participate Now" link in the left-hand margin of the page. Comments may also be submitted by mail to the Rock Springs Field Office.

The BLM noted that comments may be made publicly available at any time, including any personal information included in the comment.

All input must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on March 22.
Even after extra chairs were set up in the meeting room at White Mountain Library, the crowds kept coming in until the room was packed with Sweetwater County residents, many of whom had to stand in the back to hear U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman speak.

Hageman explained that she made a promise to host a town hall in every county in Wyoming every year, so her stop in Rock Springs last Thursday night was a part of keeping that promise.

"As your representative, I am committed to not only representing you back there, but also making sure that I am here to talk to you about your issues, about your concerns, and taking your voice back," Hageman said.

The topic of the most local interest that Hageman brought up was the Bureau of Land Management's handling of the Rock Springs Field Office Resource Management Plan Draft.

"We will continue fighting that with absolutely everything that we have," she said.

Hageman added that the Legislature is working on a bill to set aside $15 million to sue the government over situations like the RMP. She also said she is working on a bill to change the Administrative Procedures Act in order to "get control of the bureaucracy in Washington D.C." and "to try to limit the authority" of organizations like the BLM.

Hageman also gave an overview of some of the committees she is on and work she had done with them, including being the only freshman selected to be on the Select Committee on Weaponization on the Federal Government.

"What we have really focused on with that is the violations of our First Amendment that have taken place over the last several years," Hageman explained.

She said that one of the bills she is currently moving forward with is a bill to hold the federal government accountable for violating these rights because right now there is no mechanism for doing so.

"I think it's going to be one of the most important bills we put on the floor this year," Hageman said.

Another main topic Hageman addressed during the town hall was the "catastrophe" and "invasion" at the border. She said that the presidential election in November is extremely important and that "once we get a different president, we are going to have to do mass deportations."

Hageman also said people feel like the current presidential administration is "out of control." She said she believes no single president will ever be able to destroy the country because the rule of law will prevail, but also said that "the one flaw in our constitution is that our forefathers never believed that anarchy would come from the top, they never believed that our separation of powers would not be able to address these trying times that we're living through."

Hageman answered questions from the audience, and expressed her gratitude for representing Wyoming.

"Everybody wishes that they could represent Wyoming, because our state is so beautiful, because when they think about people from Wyoming they think about independence, they think about freedom, they think about family, they think about faith, they think about all the things that make us what we are," Hageman said. "I think when they look at Wyoming, they think about us being the last great chance, the last bastion of what our country has always stood for."
NZ police enhance crackdown on illegal firearms

Wellington, Mar 1 (UNI) The New Zealand government on Friday announced new measures that will enable police to crack down on gangs through Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPOs).

"Firearms are being illegally used by gangs to intimidate, to commit violent crime in support of their profit-making, and to initiate gang warfare that law-abiding citizens get stuck in the middle of," said Associate Minister of Justice (Firearms) Nicole McKee.

The Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Amendment Bill is to give police greater powers to search gang members for firearms, which is part of the government's goal to restore law and order, McKee said.
Gov. Mark Gordon celebrated the 'unequivocal win' for Wyoming's coal industry, while demand for new federal leases is at an all-time low.

A federal appeals court has overturned an Obama-era moratorium for new coal mine leasing on public lands - an "unequivocal win" for Wyoming's coal industry, according to Gov. Mark Gordon. Yet the decision, which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down on Wednesday, likely will not result in a rush on new federal coal leases in Wyoming.

The three-judge panel even noted an apparent "de facto moratorium" dictated by markets that has all but erased demand for major new federal coal tracts - a trend that particularly applies to Wyoming coal, which has lost nearly half its market among coal-burning electric power producers in the U.S over the past 15 years.

Nonetheless, the court's ruling does away with "duplicative" environmental analysis introduced by the Obama moratorium and is a clear charge to the Department of Interior that it must be responsive to federal coal lease requests, according to Gordon.

"The Department of Interior now has one less excuse to thwart its federal coal leasing responsibilities," he said in a prepared statement Wednesday.

Volley among administrations

In 2016, then-President Barack Obama directed the Interior and Bureau of Land Management to issue a moratorium on federal coal leasing and conduct a review of the program to better account for a fair rate of return to taxpayers, as well as coal's impact on human health and the environment.

But then the Trump administration rescinded the order before the federal agencies completed the work. The conflicting administrative policies set off a series of legal volleys and prompted Wyoming to join the battle in support of the Trump administration's actions on the matter.

The appellate court ruling this week nullifies a 2022 federal district court ruling that temporarily reinstated the original moratorium.

"With this ruling, important projects can once again advance and support the production of affordable, reliable power to the grid, while creating jobs and economic development across the country, helping federal, state and localities with necessary funding by contributing hundreds of millions each year in revenues to state and local governments," National Mining Association President and CEO Rich Nolan said in a prepared statement.

However, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and several conservation groups that brought the lawsuit say the Biden administration can still take meaningful action regarding federal coal reserves.

"Almost 10 years ago under President Obama, we were promised there would be an honest conversation with the American people about the real costs of the federal coal program on our public lands and public health. We're still waiting for that conversation," Wyoming Sierra Club Acting Director Rob Joyce said. "Now we have less than a decade to make significant cuts to climate pollution to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Instead of leasing coal to the highest corporate bidder, BLM needs to focus on helping coal communities transition to clean energy jobs and setting a conservation-minded course that preserves public lands for future generations."

Dwindling demand

Wyoming became the nation's largest coal producer in the 1980s, and at its peak, in 2008, produced 466 million tons. The annual volume of coal that's shipped out of state has fallen by nearly half since then.

Powder River Basin mines, which account for the bulk of Wyoming's coal production, shipped about 230.4 million tons in 2023 - a decline of 7 million tons compared to 2022, according to the Gillette News-Record.

Demand for new federal coal tracts has followed suit.

The most recent large federal coal leases sold in the Powder River Basin went to Peabody Energy and Arch Coal (now Arch Resources) in 2012. Peabody paid $1.24 billion for the rights to mine 1.12 billion tons of coal to extend operations at its North Antelope Rochelle mine, according to the BLM. Arch paid more than $300 million for 222.67 million tons of federal coal for its flagship Black Thunder mine.

All told, some 2.5 billion tons of federal coal reserves were leased in the Powder River Basin during the first seven years of the Obama administration prior to the coal leasing moratorium in 2016.

Since then, coal producers in Wyoming - responding to softening market demand - have pulled back on earlier plans to acquire large tracts of federal coal to last them decades into the future. Aside from leasing small "maintenance" coal tracts at existing mining operations - which was allowed to continue under the Obama moratorium - there are just two pending lease applications for major new federal coal tracts in Wyoming, according to the BLM.

Cloud Peak Energy applied for a 441 million-ton federal coal lease in 2015, but the company filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Its Powder River Basin mines were acquired by Navajo Transitional Energy Company LLC, which still maintains the lease application. NTEC, however, has scaled back production at the mines.

A subsidiary of Arch applied for a 468 million-ton federal coal tract in 2005, a request that was not subject to the moratorium. However, Arch has also scaled back its mining operations in Wyoming and plans to sell or close its mines in the state.

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Evansville man sentenced for willfully injuring government property

Stephen Clifford Swingle, age 45, of Evansville, Wyoming, was sentenced to six years probation for willfully injuring government property. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Feb. 20 and ordered the defendant to pay $5,839.50 in restitution.

Swingle pled guilty to the charges on Nov. 16, 2023. According to court documents, starting in August 2022, campground fee tubes at the Muddy Mountain Environmental Education Area in Natrona County were broken into four times resulting in the theft of camping fees and significant property damage. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placed game cameras in the area and captured multiple images of Swingle and his truck in the area around the time of the break-ins. When interviewed by investigators, Swingle admitted to breaking into and stealing the fee tubes.

This crime was investigated by the BLM and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christyne Martens.

Powell man sentenced for defrauding the U.S. Forest Service

Ronald Ostrom, age 54, of Powell, Wyoming, was sentenced to two years probation, including six months of home confinement, for 6 felony convictions related to stealing a horse owned by the U.S. Forest Service. The sentence also included restitution in the amount of $11,747, a fine of $2,500, and special assessments totaling $600.

Ostrom was convicted by a federal jury in Nov. 2023 on one count of stealing government property, one count of concealing and retaining government property, two counts of making false documents, and two counts of making false statements. Ostrom is a retired U.S. Forest Service employee. According to evidence presented at trial, and the jurys verdict, Ostrom stole a government-owned horse when he retired from the Forest Service and made multiple false statements to cover up this theft.

This crime was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Elmore.
Western Wyoming Community College will be hosting an exhibition of art by Sweetwater County local artist Shane Steiss in Western's Art Gallery. The artwork on display will demonstrate Shane's unique works of mixed media painting, which are rooted in the natural world and carry personal significance as evidence of familial bonds forged in nature.

The exhibition, titled "Memories in Nature," will be on display from March 8 through April 16. A public reception of "Memories in Nature" will be held in the Art Gallery on March 15.

"Memories in Nature" will feature artwork which focuses on themes of nature, memory, familial connection, loss, and emotion. Shane's work often features aspen trees because, to him, aspen groves are special places of solace and meditation.

"When I am in an aspen grove, I feel the strongest connection to my lost family members. It is a place of reflection and meditation. When I include aspen trees in my paintings they are from specific places I have strong emotional attachments to," says Steiss.

Steiss graduated from Green River High School, attended Western, and then attended the University of Wyoming studying art. Shane is an educator at Green River High School where he teaches art.

Western's gallery aims to promote arts-centered learning for college students and community members alike. The Art Gallery at Western hopes that "Memories in Nature" will inspire patrons to lead creative lives.

The exhibition will be open to the public starting Friday, March 8, with a reception to be hosted in the gallery on the evening of Friday, March 15, from 4 - 6 p.m.

Works in the exhibition will be available for purchase, and proceeds will be split between the artist and Western's Art Gallery. Western's Ben Nathan will oversee the installation and display of "Memories in Nature" along with the help of several student gallery interns.

For additional information on the exhibition or other visual arts programming at Western contact: Ben Nathan, Assistant Professor of Art at bnathan@westernwyoming.edu or (307)382-1723.
For the past three decades, the Green River Greenbelt Task Force has been hard at work to develop the greenbelt, protect the river and wildlife, and continually promote further economic development. The task force was able to complete multiple projects last year, and has even more planned for the future.

"We've been working together to enrich the lives of the residents," said John Freeman, the Chairman of the Greenbelt Task Force. "If you look at what we've built in the last 34 years, I think that everybody has the ability to be proud. When we put the initial master plan together, we thought that that would take 30 years, and we did it in less than 10. And now we have a new master plan and we're going forward and projects are falling right in line."

Freeman and the task force have been sharing updates on recent progress and plans for the future, including during a presentation Freeman gave to the Green River City Council during their February 20 meeting, as well as the task force's most recent newsletter and a tour Freeman gave for the Star.

The task force reported having a good year in 2023, with several projects taking place. The opening of the new dog park and the addition of the "Patches" statue was a success after years of work, and the result of partnerships between multiple groups. During the summer, major maintenance was done to asphalt trails along the greenbelt in the form of crack repairs and sealing. Most recently, a new solar light was added along the Greenbelt along the U.P. Loop Trail.

One of the biggest projects completed last year was a bank stabilization project done by Trout Unlimited. The project took place along the Green River in the area of Scotts Bottom and FMC Park. Over time the river had eroded the bank and the trail, so Trout Unlimited worked to put rocks and recycled concrete and logs in place to push the water back to its original location. This project also helped create more fish habitat within city limits.

The Greenbelt Task Force also spent much of last year getting projects ready for construction this year, according to the task force newsletter.

One of the biggest projects the task force hopes to complete this year is the construction of the Skyline Trail. The plan is to build a trail that begins on Upland Way, goes up South Hill, proceeds along the ridge, and then drops down behind the Western Wyoming Community College Green River Campus. The goal is to have a seven-foot wide, multi-use pathway that is handicap accessible.

"The trail is for everybody," Freeman explained.

Although the Greenbelt Task Force was rejected for the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Grant they applied for, Task Force Member Tom Wilson worked hard to find other sources of funding. The task force was awarded $100,000 from the Dustin Shillcox Foundation for greenbelt projects aimed to provide more opportunities for people with physical limitations. Freeman explained that 75% of which will be used to build the trail, and some of it has been used for other parts of the process related to getting approval for the trail. William H. Smith Engineering has volunteered to do the drawings and engineering for the trail at cost, and Searle Brothers Construction has volunteered to build the trail for the cost of fuel and consumables. This is about a two-thirds reduction to their normal charges, the task force newsletter explained, and Freeman noted that the partnership will allow Searle Brothers to use the project as training for their employees. Freeman hopes the Skyline Trail can begin construction next month.

Other projects the task force hopes to work on this year already have funding lined up.

The Kourbelas Foundation has donated $50,000 to be used for upgrades to the dog park, such as shade features and benches to make it more user-friendly for the humans bringing their dogs.

The Sweetwater County Library Foundation allotted $10,000 to develop a story walk, which puts displays with pages of a children's book along a trail so kids and families can read the book as they walk. The book will also be changed out by library staff on a regular basis, the newsletter explained.

The Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Recreation District provided a $10,000 grant for additional lighting along the greenbelt. Freeman explained that some of the task force members disagree on whether to light the entire greenbelt or to leave portions unlit so people can walk in the moonlight, but there will likely be both lit and unlit portions. He said they have worked with Game and Fish to note certain areas that would be good to leave unlit for wildlife, but they have also determined areas that could have more lighting, including around pavilions and entrances to the greenbelt. Originally the task force thought they might only install a couple of lights, but with donations Freeman believes there's a possibility they could install around 30.

Other future projects the task force hopes to work on include a second part of the bank stabilization project by Trout Unlimited, continued maintenance on trails and signage, restoration and rebuilding projects for Riverside Park, and construction to help repair the Killdeer Wetlands.

While many projects have funds coming in already, more funds are always needed to make all the Greenbelt Task Force plans into a reality.

"We need money, bottom line," Freeman told the City Council. "The more we have, the more opportunities we have."

About 80% of what's been produced in the Greenbelt corridor has been funded by donations, grants, and volunteer labor, according to Freeman. The task force also works together with the City of Green River for funding, and Freeman said it is one of the best public/private partnerships in the state.

While there is always more to be done, the Greenbelt Task Force is excited about everything that is underway.

"The future looks bright," Freeman said. "If nothing goes wrong, over $1.5 million of improvements should be done on the Greenbelt project during this construction season."
The Apple Watch Ultra has been rumored to get an upgraded microLED display for a over a year now but alleged production issues have seen the time frame extended to 2027. In a new development, Apple has reportedly canceled a major microLED order with Austrian firm ams-Osram which is speculated to be for the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Osram did not confirm that Apple was the client that backed out of its major microLED deal but it did share that a cornerstone project underpinning its microLED strategy got unexpectedly canceled, triggering the company to re-assess its microLED strategy in a dedicated press release.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo chimed in and confirmed that Apple has canceled its microLED Apple Watch project with Osram. Kuo also shared that Apple has scrapped all of its projects involving microLED displays on the basis that the display tech will not add significant value to its products. Apple also reportedly deemed the microLED production costs too high to be economically viable.

There are some doubters though as Bloombergs Mark Gurman claims that ams-Osram was just one of Apples microLED suppliers and he suggests that the upcoming Apple Watch Ultra is still on track to get the updated display tech. Apple has been rumored to slowly switch to microLED displays across its device portfolio with the Apple Watch being first, followed by the iPad, iPhone and eventually MacBook.

Source 1  Source 2
Two men on felony pre-trial release are facing drug charges after a Wednesday night traffic stop in Sinajana, according to a magistrates complaint filed in Superior Court.

Dindo Fernandez Balintag, 56, and Ambros Hachuku Rokop, 38, were both charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony and a notice of commission of a felony while on felony release.

Local and federal law enforcement officers were conducting a street-level drug interdiction operation in the Ordot-Chalan Pago area Wednesday night when Guam Police Department detectives noticed a car with defective rear license plate lights.

They followed the vehicle down Route 4 in Sinajana when it turned into the Circle K gas station, and they saw the registration tag expired in September 2022.

One of the officers saw a clear plastic bag with a white crystalline substance in the drivers door handle. As Balintag, the driver, stepped out of the car, a cotton swab stick with dark coloring dropped to the ground, the complaint stated.

At first Balintag denied knowledge of the plastic bag, but eventually said the methamphetamine belonged to him and he had been using the drug for 10 years. He said Rokop had just purchased the bag for $30 from the location the law enforcement officers were watching, the complaint stated.

The other detective saw a black bag on the floor of the passenger side where Rokop was sitting. The bag, which had a mesh flap, contained an improvised pipe, a straw and a clear plastic bag with residue.

Rokop denied the bag was his, but when the detectives told him his identification was inside, he admitted ownership, according to the complaint.

Other law enforcement officers confirmed the car driven by Balintag had visited the location that was under surveillance.

Both men were on felony pre-trial release in 2023 cases.

In April 2023, Balintag was charged with burglary and theft, both as second-degree felonies. He was accused of breaking into a home and stealing multiple items worth $1,920, and was later found sleeping in a vehicle at the residence, according to charging documents in that case.

In September 2023, Rokop was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over for a non-functioning license plate light and a registration sticker that expired in 2022.

Officers in that case found a baggie with methamphetamine in the center console, and Rokop had a baggie and two pipes with residue, according to court documents. He was charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony.
Tanzania records 26 cholera deaths in one month: health ministry

Dar es Salaam, Mar 1 (UNI) At least 26 people have been killed by cholera in mainland Tanzania's 10 regions since the outbreak of the disease was reported on Jan. 5 through Feb. 8, the Health Ministry said Friday.

In addition, 816 cholera cases were recorded in the 10 regions during the period under review, according to a statement released by the ministry.

The outbreak of the disease was caused by ongoing heavy rains that led to poor access to potable water and a lack of sanitation facilities and community awareness, the ministry said. The 10 affected regions are Dodoma, Kagera, Katavi, Manyara, Mara, Morogoro, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Tabora.
More schools from across the region will be participating in the 52nd Annual Guam Regional Scripps Spelling Bee to be held on March 3 at Hyatt Regency Guam in Tumon.

A total of 68 schools will be competing this year, more than last year's 62 schools with 63 students.

The participating schools come from the Guam Department of Education, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

Parents, school administrators, and teachers are encouraged to attend the event.

Registration will start at 1 p.m. and the competition will begin at 2 p.m.

The spelling bee champion will compete in Washington, D.C. during the Scripps National Bee Week 2024 in May.

The winner will receive a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, Britannica Online Premium, Epic Family for digital books, videos and audiobooks, and one-on-one online coding classes with Tynker Coding.

The best speller will also bag the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award.

As they gather for the Regional Bee, the students bring their dedication, hard work, and passion for language to compete at the highest level. May their spelling skills shine brightly as they strive for victory in this challenging contest," Education Superintendent Erik Swanson said in a statement.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee, established in 1925, aims to improve students' spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage.

The Scripps Spelling Bee regional partner is the Rotary Club of Guam.

Other sponsors include ASC Trust, BankPacific, Ivy Educational Services, Triple J Enterprises, AB Risk Solutions, Micronesian Divers Association, Hyatt Regency Guam, and Pacific Daily News.
A grand jury has handed down an indictment for Jenna Rose Calinagan Manibusan, named as a co-conspirator in the alleged robbery and murder of Sumittra Lairopi outside of a Tamuning restaurant on Feb. 14.

Lairopi, who was shot in the upper abdomen that night outside of Thai Thai Healthy Cuisine, died two days later.

Manibusan was originally arrested along with alleged shooter Domingo Chargualaf Mendiola on Feb. 19 on charges of complicity to commit murder, robbery and theft of a vehicle. Charging documents stated that Mendiola needed money to pay off a drug debt. Manibusan is Mendiolas girlfriend, documents state.

According to the magistrates complaint, Mendiola was charged with:

Aggravated murder as a first-degree felony with a special allegation of possession or use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony

First-degree robbery as a first-degree felony with a special allegation or use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony

Theft of a motor vehicle as a second-degree felony

Possession of a schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony

Manibusans charges were dismissed at her magistrates hearing because, according to Magistrate Judge Jonathan Quan, the complaint did not connect Manibusan to the victim.

The charges were dismissed without prejudice and Manibusan was free to go. Mendiola remains behind bars with bail set at $500,000.

The grand jury indictment filed Wednesday in the Superior Court of Guam repeats the same charges for both Mendiola and Manibusan as before, but the charges include more details. Of the five charges against Manibusan, four specifically name Lairopi as a victim.

On the conspiracy to commit robbery charge, the indictment says Manibusan followed and tracked the victims movements. The indictment also charges Manibusan with theft by receiving and indicates that she received items she knew were probably stolen.

Lairopi, 53, was a wife and mother to three children.
Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio said the government is in a legal crisis after the Office of the Attorney General sent letters to various government of Guam agencies that it will be temporarily withdrawing from representing them or providing legal services.

Attorney General Doug Moylan has decided to disregard the Organic Act of Guam, which requires him to serve as the chief legal officer of the government of Guam. This means his Organic Act responsibility is to serve as the attorney for the government of Guam and the taxpayers it serves. Every attorney general has upheld this Organic Act mandate without drama except this one, the Office of the Governor said in a statement Friday.

According to the statement from Adelup, Attorney General Douglas Moylan has sent a letter to dozens of GovGuam agencies, who are by law his clients, notifying them that he is temporarily withdrawing from representing them or providing legal services to them.

Attorney General Moylan appears to have taken this action in response to impending court decisions considering whether his office violated his ethical obligations by advising agencies on legal issues, then prosecuting that same agency director and employees who followed the attorney generals offices advice, a clear conflict of interest, the Office of the Governor said.

In a nine-page letter to Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero sent on Thursday, Moylan announced his offices temporary withdrawal from representing the administration and 20 other government departments, commissions, line and autonomous agencies.

Moylan last year announced the indictment of several government of Guam officials including officials from the Department of Public Health and Social Services, and from the Guam Regional Transit Authority and those cases are making their way through the Guam judicial system.

In addition to refusing to provide legal advice to agencies, the Office of the Attorney General is refusing to sign documents as mandated by law, including critical government procurement documents and contracts, placing tens of millions of federal grant dollars at risk, stalling procurements that the Office of the Attorney General has already delayed reviewing for months, and effectively grinding critical GovGuam services to a halt to the detriment of our people, the statement from Adelup said.

This includes the Adult Day Care, the Guma Minaase Foster Care Group Home, GovGuam Health Insurance, the Guam Department of Educations school repairs, various Department of Public Works projects, and virtually any pending GovGuam procurement and contracts. These are just some examples, but the full scope of the impacts are far-reaching and still being compiled, the statement said.

Abide by the rules

Attorney Jay Arriola represents now-retired Department of Public Health and Social Services Director Arthur San Agustin. The former director is accused of improperly signing off on school sanitation permits.

Arriola said that Moylan is a lawyer like any other lawyer that must abide by the rules. One of those rules, he said, is to not abandon clients.

You cannot just tell your client, I quit. If I did that, I would be before the Supreme Court in an unethical disbarment so quick, you couldnt imagine, he said.

Arriola said that an answer on the issue might come soon from the courts, as there are two motions to disqualify Moylan from prosecuting government officials in two current cases.

The evidence has so far shown that the attorney general himself has violated the ethical rules that prohibit him from prosecuting his own clients and more importantly, using the information he obtained from the civil lawyers to prosecute them on the criminal side, Arriola said. You just dont do that.

The Office of the Governor said that Moylan is the only AG in Guams history unable to manage both his Organic Act responsibility to agencies and his public prosecutor role.

By refusing to fulfill his responsibility to government agencies, many of which do not have attorneys on staff, the attorney general is effectively abandoning his Organic Act duties to preserve his ability to prosecute agency officials whom his office previously advised, the Office of the Governor said.

Tenorio on Friday said in order for any contracts to be approved the current statutes require the AGs signature and if he is not able to do that because the AG is determined to avoid a conflict we have a very structural problem happening in the government.

The lieutenant governor said he hopes Speaker Therese Terlaje will be able to give guidance and hopefully a cure when the Legislature meets for special session Wednesday. The speaker in a letter calling for emergency session said the attorney generals withdrawal from legal representation of GovGuam departments and agencies in which the office has active criminal or civil investigations has resulted in a threat to the welfare of the people of Guam.

Tenorio said a contract for adult day care services in Dededo, which is a specialized facility meant for Alzheimers patients, wasnt signed. Mayors Council of Guam President Jesse Alig was able to extend services for 30 days, but the new provider, Health Services of the Pacific, has a pending contract that completed procurement but wasnt signed, he said.

Contracts throughout the government and movement in power production and water systems are all basically right now on hold, Tenorio said.

I think the attorney general wants to make sure that he doesnt compromise the case he has. He has legal reasoning and its within his discretion to make that decision. The other branches though have to figure out a way that we can stabilize government and make sure that operations continue and that services are guaranteed for the people of Guam, that is our responsibility.

He said every agency has different budgets so it will be on a case-by-case basis on how much they would spend on outside legal counsel, but the situation is changing by the hour.

You just have to wait and see over the next few days what the impacts gonna be. Well try to minimize it, Tenorio said.

Pacific Daily News reporter Jojo Santo Tomas contributed to this story.
The temporary, emergency generator deal that the Guam Power Authority wants to use to stave off load shedding this summer cant be approved unless the Legislature changes the law, according to Thursday nights meeting of the Public Utilities Commission.

Though GPAs proposed contract for the 20 megawatts worth of emergency power generation was on the PUC agenda Thursday, utilities commissioners took no action on it.

Thats because GPA isnt able to move forward with the proposed $25 million deal with generator supplier Aggreko under current Guam law, PUC Administrative Law Judge Horecky said.

Bill 206-37, which would waive a number of regulations on government procurement, needs to be passed first, he told PUC commissioners.

The measure is up for review at an emergency session of the Legislature next Wednesday.

Commissioners wont take up the matter unless Bill 206 is passed, and the governor and attorney general respectively sign and review the contract.

Load shedding could return

GPA General Manager John Benavente said that the current deal with Aggreko will be dead in the water if senators dont agree to Bill 206.

Once temperatures and power demand start to rise around May, the frequent rolling blackouts seen late last year are likely to return if GPA doesnt get more power generation going, he said.

Load shedding was at its worst last November, when residents in different areas of the island spent a total of 301 hours in the dark, according to GPA statistics.

Aggreko was the only company that agreed to bring online the emergency power within 100 days, according to GPA. The company will also help GPA make generator repairs that will hopefully add 34 MW of capacity to the grid, as part of the proposed contract.

If GPA cant get extra power online by May, the utility wont have the capacity to keep up with customer demand when its aging generators go offline for fixes. That leads to load shedding.

If we dont do this, well  well find something else. But just be prepared: most likely, were going to be short this summer, Benavente told commissioners Thursday night.

GPA was already working to prepare a number of sites for the installation of temporary power, but Aggreko would only agree to reserve the generators for them for so long, the general manager said.

Getting the temporary power issue out of the way will also free the utility up to focus on other generator restoration projects, meant to add power to the grid, he added.

Running the temporary generators will cost GPA another estimated $9.8 million in the first year, but it will also save about $6 million on fuel costs, as the temporary units are more efficient than what the utility is now operating, Benavente said.

Legal roadblock

GPA is seeking the deal with Aggreko on an emergency basis, but Guam law only provides for emergency procurements to be done for up to 90 days, and any extensions have to get additional approval and go to public hearings.

Benavente this week said legal counsel has found that the limit wont let them move forward with the Aggreko deal, which would let them lease the temporary power capacity for two years. Thats needed to protect the grid from blackouts, until the 198-MW Ukudu power plant comes online sometime around late 2025 or early 2026, according to the general manager.

Bill 206 would extend the timeline for the emergency procurement to two years.

The governors legal counsel also needs to sign off on the contract with Aggreko, PUCs Horecky noted Thursday.

Benavente told the PUC that Adelups attorneys had similar issues with the 90-day limit.

Finally, the attorney general will have to review and approve the contracts legality, before the PUC can give the final OK, Horecky said.

Bill 206 would require that review to be finished in just 48 hours.

Benavente asked PUC commissioners for assistance in convincing senators that Bill 206 was needed, as it was still unclear whether it would have enough support to pass.

Some senators were skeptical about whether GPA needed to sidestep procurement regulations to move the emergency power deal forward, when Bill 206 went up for a public hearing last month.

There have been some major revisions to the measure since then.
Guam Republicans gathered at this year's state convention at the Dusit Thani on Saturday, March 14, 2020.
The chairwoman for the commission on CHamoru language said residents need to create environments for the native language to thrive.

Laura Torres Souder spoke about the need to create more spaces for the CHamoru language during a proclamation signing to proclaim March 2024 as Mes CHamoru at Adelup on Friday.

We can do this together, but its not going to be easy because the environment in which indigenous languages and cultures thrive has been dramatically impacted by colonization, modernization and globalization, she said.

Souder is the chairwoman of Kumision i Fino CHamoru yan i Finanaguen i Historia yan i Linala i Taotao Tano or Commission on CHamoru Language and the Teaching of the History and Culture of the Indigenous People of Guam.

She said something revolutionary needs to be done to turn things around because if not by 2060 the CHamoru language will not be spoken.

Kids who speak CHamoru today may not be able to speak the language in the future if there is no one around who can speak, she said.

Its like trying to grow an orchid in the desert, right? So we need to create the environments in our homes, in our places our work, in schools so that children know that CHamoru is important. Why? Because we speak it, she said.

Children will know CHamoru practices are important because we continue to practice them, she added.

We dont have any more time, put fabot (please), take this seriously, Souder said.

She told those in the room, many of them working in agencies that help perpetuate the CHamoru language and culture, that they need to do their part.

If you go out today but you dont try to speak CHamoru, you dont practice CHamoru values, youre a fraud and you dont belong in this room. So take yourself seriously because we can do it, if we do it, Souder said.

Lt. Gov. Joshua Tenorio signed the proclamation which states the CHamoru people are the indigenous people of Guam and the Mariana Islands and have inhabited these islands for almost 4,000 years. And although the CHamoru people have changed much in recent centuries; they have maintained a sense of distinct identity and continuity with their ancestors and continue to work to preserve and revitalize parts of their culture that colonial powers once sought to erase or suppress.

The strongest link that connects us across 100 generations back to the beginning is the CHamoru language.

This month, we celebrate the many aspects of what makes CHamoru life and culture so special, from art, dance, food, language, and music, the proclamation states.

Last month, Souder during a proclamation signing to make 2024 the year of Indigenous Languages and Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day said the CHamoru language is in a crisis.

She said with language loss comes cultural loss a generation or two later.

CHamorus in 2080 may still be able to make red rice, kelaguen and finadenne, but the wisdom of the ancestors passed down through the language will be gone, she said.

Weve never been at this point in our lives as a people, as an indigenous people where we have to make a constant and deliberate effort to preserve our language, Souder said.

She said the CHamoru language has preserved itself through the passing of the language to the next generation since the CHamoru people came to this land roughly 4,000 years ago.

Our language is that old and that precious. Its up to our generation now to make sure we do everything we possibly can to ensure the next generation learns it from us, she said.
Actor Alec Baldwin waved his gun around and used it "as a pointing stick" on the film set where a cinematographer was shot dead, a court heard Thursday.

Footage seen at the trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez showed Baldwin, who was also a producer on the budget Western "Rust," gesticulating with a pistol loaded with blanks.

It also showed him firing the gun within a few feet of camera operators and urging the young armorer to reload his guns quickly, chiding her for not having more weapons ready.

"One more! One more! One more! Right away! Let's reload!" Baldwin shouts after the director called "cut."

"Here we go! C'mon," he said. "We should have two guns and both we're reloading."

The footage was being shown in the New Mexico courtroom where Gutierrez is on trial for involuntary manslaughter over the death of Halyna Hutchins.

Hutchins died after being hit by a round fired from the Colt .45 that Baldwin was holding as cast and crew rehearsed a scene.

Director Joel Souza was also hit by the bullet, but later recovered.

One of the key questions surrounding the death of Hutchins is how a live bullet found its way onto set and into Baldwin's gun.

Gutierrez denies it was her fault and has blamed the ammunition supplier.

Prosecution witness Bryan Carpenter, a firearms expert who has worked on dozens of films, said behind-the-scenes footage showed a lax attitude to gun safety on set.

He said videos showing a performer wandering around with a shotgun in between takes, which he was lackadaisically pointing at other people, were examples of very poor "muzzle discipline."

He said as the film's armorer, Gutierrez -- who is also known as Hannah Gutierrez-Reed -- should have never allowed this behavior, and should have removed the weapons from performers between takes.

Carpenter said she should not have permitted herself to be hurried by Baldwin.

"Rushing with firearms and telling someone to rush with firearms is not normal nor accepted," he told the court.

"In a situation like that, when you're getting rushed to that extent, that's when safety starts to fall by the wayside."

In one take Baldwin is seen lying on the ground telling crew how he was going to get up and how he would be firing, using his gun to gesture.

Asked if there was anything wrong with this from a firearms safety point of view, Carpenter replied: "He's using the weapon as a pointing stick."

Under cross examination, Carpenter acknowledged that as a young armorer just starting out in movies, putting an A-lister like Baldwin in his place could be tricky for Gutierrez.

But, he said, that was part of the job.

"If that is not something you feel capable of doing, you should never step into the position of doing it," he said.

Gutierrez denies involuntary manslaughter and an additional charge of tampering with evidence in relation to the alleged disposal of cocaine in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Baldwin's own trial on involuntary manslaughter, which he also denies, is expected in July.

hg/amz/acb




Haiti - FLASH : The metropolitan area under attacks





Thursday February 29, 2024, the capital and the metropolitan area were the subject of coordinated gang attacks. All activities were paralyzed, schools, private businesses, businesses and public institutions closed their doors. Shootings were heard throughout the capital and its surroundings, the provisional human toll was very heavy and the damage significant.



In a panic wind, thousands of people tried to return to their homes and others fled their neighborhoods in search of safer areas amid the confusion and chaos.



Barricades were reported in different neighborhoods in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince, Delmas 6 was completely blocked.



The very partial report shows several dozen bullet wounds and an undetermined number of deaths. At least 25 people were admitted to the hospital of the State University of Haiti (General Hospital), hospital centers were overwhelmed by the number of cases in a context where blocked roads made access to hospitals difficult. The Peace University Hospital and the Bernard Mevs Hospital were on maximum alert.



The Guy Malary terminal in Port-au-Prince was machine-gunned, a bullet impact was noted on a seat in the arrival hall of the terminal and bullet impacts were visible on several bay windows of the building some of which were broken against a backdrop of widespread panic.



Several local and international flights have been canceled at the Guy Malary terminal.



The road to the international airport and the outlying neighborhoods were the scene of violent and bloody clashes between the police and armed gangs, the results of which are still unknown...



At Toussaint Louverture International Airport, two planes parked on the airport tarmac were allegedly hit by projectiles according to reported testimonies. Staff members and travelers took cover to avoid falling victim to stray bullets.



International flights, to and from the United States, from Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince and domestic flights, have all been canceled



An airline employee was injured by a projectile as well as a police officer who was hit by 3 bullets. They were rushed to hospital



The Portail Leogane sub-police station was set on fire without causing any casualties, as it was deserted. The Bon-Repos sub-police station was attacked, 4 police officers were killed (Marion Junior, principal inspector from the 14th promotion; Pierre Luciana, 26th promotion; Jean Baptiste Guilliamson, 31st promotion and Pautrace Resula, 32nd promotion) and 4 others injured during the assault on the sub-police station according to Lionel Lazarre, coordinator of the National Union of Haitian Police Officers (SYNAPOHA). The bandits ransacked, looted and set fire to the sub-police station as well as an armored vehicle located there



Armed individuals attacked the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine of the State University of Haiti (UEH) in Damien, which they vandalized and looted, a student was shot in the ear



Members of the "Kraze Barye" gang led by Vitel'Homme Innocent attacked the premises of the Police Academy around 2 a.m. by destroying part of the fence wall giving access to the Academy's shooting range with heavy machinery. The PNH intervened with an armored vehicle to repel the attackers.



SL/ TB /PI/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : The FAMV attacked, vandalized and looted





Thursday February 29, 2024, heavily armed individuals attacked and invaded the premises of the Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (FAMV).



According to the information obtained, these individuals took undere hostage the students for a certain time and then finally let them leave.



In terms of damage, the rectorate is not yet able to assess the extent of the situation; scenes of systematic looting have been observed in the student dormitory and other areas of the faculty. These individuals were able, among other things, to take away solar panels, computers, mattresses and other important equipment. A student was shot in the ear.



In a note of protest "The Rectorate denounces and energetically condemns this attack orchestrated against this entity of the University of States of Haiti (UEH) which constitutes a heritage in the field of agricultural sciences. During the year 2023, the FAMV was prey to two unfortunate events, namely the armed attack it suffered on Saturday March 18, 2023 https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39096-icihaiti-insecurity-attack-on-the-faculty-of-agronomy-and-veterinary-medicine.html and the serious fire on the night of April 13 to 14, 2023 which ravaged a large part of the institution's infrastructure https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39306-haiti-fire-considerable-damage-to-the-faculty-of-agronomy-and-veterinary-medicine-partial-report.html . She hasn't even gotten up yet, and once again, once too many, it is a victim of the infernal machine that constitutes insecurity.



The Rectorate deplores that the country's situation is only degenerating. No sector is spared. The bloodthirsty have free rein to commit their crimes. It looks like we are in the midst of implementing a destructive plan to end our dear nation. The solution is none other than the general mobilization of the healthy layer of our elites and the population to put an end to this descent into hell."



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/article-39306-haiti-feu-degats-considerables-a-la-faculte-d-agronomie-et-de-medecine-veterinaire-bilan-partiel.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-39096-icihaiti-insecurity-attack-on-the-faculty-of-agronomy-and-veterinary-medicine.html



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : Haiti and Kenya signed the bilateral agreement essential for the deployment of the Mission (video)





This Friday, March 1st, 2024, at 5:15 a.m. (Haiti time), James Cadet (Haiti) and Kithure Kindiki (Kenya) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on police and security matters before Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the President Wiliam Ruto.



This document had been awaited since January 26, the date on which the Constitutional Court of Kenya ruled on the legality of sending police officers to Haiti within the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS), demanding, to comply with Kenyan law, a bilateral agreement between the two countries.



This Memorandum of Understanding covers several areas of collaboration, including the fight against organized crime, general criminal investigations, the fight against terrorism and radical extremism, the management of border security, the protection of strategic infrastructure, disaster management, the fight against kidnapping.



Security assistance for Haiti was authorized by Resolution 2699, passed on October 2nd, 2023, by the United Nations Security Council.



It is Kenya which will take leadership of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMAS).







To be continued...



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Haiti - News : Zapping...





The PM agrees to share power before the elections

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to "share power" with the opposition in a deal that paves the way for elections within a year, Antigua and Barbuda said at the summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).



NOTICE : Haitian passports available

The Consulate General of Haiti in Santiago informs all Haitians in the Cibao community that there is a stock of passports available for delivery. The consulate asks you to check if your name appears on this list : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/passports-26-02-2024.pdf if yes, you can come and collect your passport at the office during opening hours working Monday and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can also call us before traveling, or write to us on Whatsapp at this number 829 344 7726 available 24/7.



The announcement of the elections "a declaration of war"

Jean Charle Moise, leader of the radical opposition party "Pitit Dessalin" equates to a "declaration of war on the Haitian people" the announcement by a CARICOM leader concerning the commitment made by Prime Minister Ariel Henry to organize general elections no later than August 31, 2025. Jean Charles Moise calls on the population to mobilize to rid the country of Ariel Henry and the international community.



Did you know ?

Did you know that the "Haiti INVEST" project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID-Haiti) mobilizes financing for investments in sectors with high potential in Haiti ? USAID is committed to supporting businesses in Haiti for economic growth to create jobs and local products for Haitians.



The "Madan Sara" Take the street

The "Madan Sara" chased from the capital's markets by armed gangs are organizing a demonstration this March 1st to demand from the Government the restoration of security in the country. The march will leave Petion-ville and end in front of the Prime Minister's office.



PNH : hard blow for the Saint-Marc gang

On Wednesday, the police fatally injured the alleged member of the Saint-Marc gang "S chneider" as well known and arrested 9 other members.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















North Central Senior Center

March 4-8

Menu

Monday, March 4  Pancakes, links, fruit, dessert

Tuesday, March 5  Hot hamburgers, mashed potatoes with gravy, veggies, dessert

Wednesday. March 6  Spaghetti, garlic bread, veggies, dessert

Thursday, March 7  Macaroni and cheese, ham bake, veggies, dessert

Friday, March 8  Soup, chefs choice, dessert

News from our gift shop: Spring is just around the corner. New items will be added often. Easter items are available new this week. Picture frames, yes we have some. The ice will be melting soon  fishing will be good with handmade fishing flies from the gift shop. Puzzles are 50 cents, cards for all occasions are 25 cents. Donations welcome. Gently used knick knacks and yarn would be appreciated. No clothes please. Shop hours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lets Color: The North Central Senior Center is hosting a Lets Color Contest. If you are interested in competing for a ticket for congregate or home delivered meals? Submit your picture with your name, address and phone number on the back so no one can see who did the work. Return your work to the Hill County Senior Center at 2 Second St. West in Havre. The picture to color is found on the back of the 2024 Reminders. You will find it on the front desk at the senior center.

Taxes: Call the North Central Senior Center at 406-265-5464 to have your name put on the call list to have your taxes done.

Foot Clinic: Call 406-265-4776 to set up an appointment for a foot clinic Tuesday, March 5, or Thursday, March 7. Appointments are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Would you like to be a volunteer at the senior center? Right now we are looking for a volunteer to answer phones at the front desk. We are very thankful for the many volunteers who help us daily and also during our special events. If you have a little extra time, we could sure use your help. We are finding ourselves a little short on volunteers now that we have opened our doors after closing due to the pandemic. If you would like to share your time and talents, please give us a call at 406-265-5464 to let us know. There are many different volunteer opportunities, maybe one just right for you, give us a call.

Commodities: If you are interested in receiving commodities, we still have a few select openings. For commodities there is an income restriction. You can sign up at the senior center, fill out an application and find out if your income falls within the guidelines. Bring income verification and picture ID. If you qualify, you can receive commodities once a month. You do have to come to senior center at 2 Second St. West in Havre to pick them up.

Bingo: Come join us for Bingo every Tuesday at 1 p.m. Everyone 18 and older is welcome, fun for all. All of the money is paid out.

Pinochle: Come join your friends in playing pinochle Thursdays at 1 p.m. This group welcomes new players all levels and abilities at the senior center.

Transportation is now being handled by the North Central Montana Transit. This change seems to be going very well. If you need a ride call 406-265-4762. They would appreciate a 24-hour notice for local rides and a 48-hour notice for Great Falls trips.

Scams: Scam calls are still widespread. Text messages and emails are also becoming popular. Do not respond to any of them. Do not even open them, just delete them. Medicare isnt issuing gold cards. Talk to someone in the community before you consider a reverse mortgage.

Important phone numbers

 Montana Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

 RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673

 Tumbleweed Runaway and Family Crisis Program: 406-259-2558 (local) 1-888-816-4702 (toll free)

 Friendship Line by Institute on Aging  The Friendship Line is both a crisis intervention hotline and a warm-line for non-emergency emotional support calls. It is a 24-hour toll-free line and the only accredited crisis line in the country for people aged 60 years and older, and adults living with disabilities. Toll-Free Line: 800-971-0016

 For seniors getting frustrated with staying home and needing someone to talk to you can call 1-877-688-3377 for Montanas Warm Line.

March activities at North Central Senior Center

Monday, March 5  Foot clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., call 406-265-4776 to set an appointment

Bingo 1-3 p.m., $1 per card, 100% payout

Tuesday, March 6  Take Off Pounds Sensibly  TOPS  9-10 a.m., weigh-in 8:30-9 a.m.

Coffee Club 10-11:30 a.m.

Wednesday March 7  Foot clinic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., call 406-265-4776 to set an appointment

Pinochle, 12:30-3 p.m.

Tuesday, March 12  Musical performance by Brad Taylor, 10 a.m. to noon

Bingo 1-3 p.m., $1 per card, 100% payout

Wednesday, March 13  Take Off Pounds Sensibly  TOPS  9-10 a.m., weigh-in 8:30-9 a.m.

Coffee Club 10-11:30 a.m.

Thursday, March 14  Music by Gene Allen and Friends, 10 a.m. to noon

Pinochle, 12:30-3 p.m.

Friday, March 15  Free blood pressure clinic with Janice Holt, RN

Tuesday, March 19  Harp or piano musical performance by Mary Stevens, 10 a.m. to noon

Bingo 1-3 p.m., $1 per card, 100% payout

Wednesday, March 20  Take Off Pounds Sensibly  TOPS  9-10 a.m., weigh-in 8:30-9 a.m.

Coffee Club 10-11:30 a.m

Thursday, March 21  Pinochle, 12:30-3 p.m.

Tuesday, March 26  Musical performance by Brad Taylor, 10 a.m. to noon

Bingo 1-3 p.m., $1 per card, 100% payout

Wednesday, March 27  Take Off Pounds Sensibly  TOPS  9-10 a.m., weigh-in 8:30-9 a.m.

Coffee Club 10-11:30 a.m

Thursday, March 28  Music by Gene Allen and Friends, 10 a.m. to noon

Pinochle, 12:30-3 p.m.
Bear Paw Development Corp. held its annual meeting Thursday, providing an update on the last year of the organization's local impact, as well as a presentation on the changing generational dynamics of the modern workplace.

Bear Paw Development Executive Director Paul Tuss said this is the 55th year of the organization's operation and they worked on a lot of projects in 2023, bringing in $16.5 million of outside funding into the community.

Tuss, who also is a state legislator and Democratic candidate for re-election to the state House facing former Republican Rep. Ed Hill, said this means that each dollar of funding their organization received brought in 155 dollars to the community.

He said none of this would be possible without the staff and board of the organization whom he thanked for their hard work and guidance.

He also introduced the Montana Department of Commerce's new director Paul Green, whom he worked with in the Montana Legislature and who has been a champion for economic development and workforce housing, as well as other causes vital to the region and its economy.

Green gave a brief address thanking the organization for its work and its strong continued partnership with the Department of Commerce.

He said he's honored to have been given the opportunity to be a leader and advocate for the economic development of rural communities in the state and he intends to establish and strengthen partnerships across the state.

"I'm not here to change things; I'm here to be an asset," he said.

After Green's address, the event's keynote speaker, Rick Edwards, director of community connections at NorthWestern Energy, gave a presentation on the increasingly complex generational dynamic of the modern workplace and what employers and members of the workforce can do to navigate it.

Edwards said, for the first time in history, five generations have substantial representation in the U.S. workforce as older generations are increasingly going back to work.

He said while there are plenty of exceptions, there are broad trends, values and characteristic work habits that can be observed in each of these generations, mainly a result of the environments in which they grew up.

He said the oldest generation, traditionalists, more commonly known as the silent generation, values loyalty and discipline, respects authority and has a strong belief in hierarchy, and a strong sense of morality.

Baby Boomers like him, he said, desire involvement, value fairness, work long hours and overtime, and believe in getting the most out of any job they have and rising the ladder.

Generation X is self-reliant, desires feedback and good work-life balance, and are independent, casual and believe in working smarter, not harder, he said.

He said Millennials are expressive, optimistic, desire personal fulfillment, are impatient and desire consistent positive reinforcement or "participation trophies."

Generation Z, he said, is cautious, pragmatic, extremely debt-avoidant, resistant to making big purchases like cars or homes, and is the most educated generation in U.S. history.

Edwards said these generations have very different styles of feedback and communication and if employers and employees want to work well together it's important that they not attempt to change these preferences, but accommodate them as much as possible.

He said older generations are used to scheduled and formal performance reviews as the primary avenue for feedback about their work, but young people want to know immediately if they are doing something wrong so they can fix it. Younger people hate surprises when it comes time for a formal performance review, he said.

There is also a divide in the preferred medium of communication for this feedback, with younger people using text and instant messaging, while older employees tend to prefer written communication.

On the other hand, he said, younger workers are much more likely to question the policies and decisions of their bosses and be part of a collaborative process, while older generations tend to have a more rigid approach to the hierarchy of business.

Edwards said this rigid approach to decision making doesn't work anymore, and it's important for employers to recognize the importance of being collaborative, especially with younger workers who will be more willing to ignore decisions and policies that don't make sense to them.

Of course, he said, sometimes a decision will be made that conflicts with the desires of those down the line, and in those cases it's important to explain why that decision is being made so employees at least know that their voices are being heard.

He said the greatest generational tension he sees is between baby boomers and millennials, with the former often saying that the latter doesn't respect or listen to them.

Edwards said he doesn't believe that is really true, as young people in the workplace for the most part just want to be taken seriously and heard regardless of where they are in a business' hierarchy.

He also said there is a divide in terms of job hopping, with older generations being far less willing to consider changing jobs than younger people, to whom loyalty to a company matters much less.

He said this difference, as well as others, has a great deal to do with the environment these generations grew up in, and the same is true with technological literacy.

Edwards said while almost everyone uses the internet in some capacity, younger people grew up with it as a constant presence which affects how they view and use computer technology.

He also talked more about the generation's divergent views on how they work on an hour by hour level.

He said younger generations, millennials especially, are going to use the leave time their company provides if they can, while older workers will just keep working from 8 to 5 and beyond, though he noted that younger workers are willing to make up the time they lose from home very often.

Edwards said younger workers are also more used to working from home, which can be an effective way of doing things depending on what kind of business they are in.

He said the differences between these generations can lead to friction, but that also means there is a great variety of unique strengths in workplaces today, and it is possible to leverage all of them.

At the end of the meeting Tuss presented Edwards with artwork by local artist Don Greytak as thanks for his time.
Gary Cleavenger, 68, passed away due to natural causes Friday, March 1, 2024, at Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls.

A visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, with his funeral to follow at 11:00 a.m., at Holland & Bonine Funeral Chapel.

Burial will be in Highland Cemetery immediately following the funeral service.
A crime such as this had never even been thought of when the penalties were decreed. Its hard for us to think of a more serious collection of acts, prosecutor Bo-Niklas Lundqvist was quoted saying in his closing argument at the District Court of Western Uusimaa on Wednesday by YLE.

ALEKSANTERI KIVIMAKI should be sentenced to the maximum penalty of eight years in prison for what prosecutors describe as an exceptional crime, the hacking of Psychotherapy Centre Vastaamo.

Thats why we dont think theres any ground for talking about anything other than the maximum penalty.

The Finnish public broadcasting company highlighted that the prosecutors sought to call attention to the unprecedented nature of the offence with a number of descriptions: a completely ruthless, exceptionally cruel crime that demonstrates complete disregard for the victims, and a crime that, in terms of the number of victims, is the largest in the history of Finland.

No other criminal case has caused as much suffering. The act was carried out in an exceptionally cruel and psychologically brutal way relative to the amount of gains sought, said Lundqvist.

Kivimaki, the prosecutors argued, was scouring the internet for vulnerabilities he could exploit, ultimately finding one in the patient database of Psychotherapy Centre Vastaamo. He accessed the database at the end of 2018 and held on to the sensitive data for two years before starting to extort both the service provider and its clients in the latter half of 2020.

He published some of the data deliberately and, later, the data in their entirety by accident.

The prosecutors calculated that if all the victims had agreed to the demands of the defendant, he would have raked in more than 4.5 million euros. Criminal investigators, though, concluded that only 20 of the victims made the 200-euro payment demanded by the defendant.

Kivimaki stands accused of aggravated computer break-in, nearly 9,600 counts of dissemination of information violating personal privacy, more than 21,300 counts of attempted aggravated extortion and 20 counts of aggravated extortion.

He has denied all the charges.

The defence is set to deliver its final arguments before the District Court of Western Uusimaa on 8 March. The court is likely to set a date for its ruling in the same hearing, according to YLE.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
In 2023 , the Finnish Customs Authority reported a collection of approximately 308 million in taxes, with 162 million remitted to the European Union as part of the EU Customs Union obligations. The remaining 146 million was collected for the Finnish state. This financial performance reflects the critical role of customs operations in national and European fiscal landscapes.

Of this, 162 million was allocated to the EU, with Finland retaining a 25% "commission," amounting to 54 million. The decrease in customs duties by 81 million from the previous year was primarily attributed to a reduction in imports, according to Tom Ferm, the director of customer relations and tax collection at Finnish Customs. This change underscores the impact of global trade dynamics on local economies and the European Union's budget.

Customs duties are levied on goods traded from outside the EU, with the amount based on the value of the goods and their classification. All EU member states are part of the Customs Union, which operates under a unified customs legislation that has largely replaced national laws. The EU Customs Union applies a common customs tariff to third-country goods, demonstrating the extent of integration in the union's administrative areas.

In addition to customs duties, Finnish Customs collected approximately 38 million in VAT on imports, a slight decrease from the previous year. Other revenues, including fairway dues and service charges, also saw reductions compared to 2022. A significant drop in miscellaneous income was noted, largely due to the absence of a previous year's boost from the sale of virtual currencies seized in criminal proceedings, which added 46.5 million in 2022 alone.

Ferm highlighted the exceptional nature of the previous year's additional revenues, pointing out that the sale of virtual currencies contributed to the unusual spike in miscellaneous income. Such fluctuations underscore the variability in customs revenue streams and the impact of enforcement activities on fiscal outcomes.

The Finnish Customs' effective control over goods and financial transactions ensures low levels of outstanding tax debts, with the 2023 tax arrears amounting to only 0.89 million, reflecting a tax arrears rate of 0.29%. This efficiency in tax collection and enforcement highlights the agency's role in safeguarding fiscal resources for both Finland and the European Union, ensuring compliance and financial stability within the trade ecosystem.

HT
The act could decree that also private sector operators must provide services in Finnish. In Estonia and France, for example, the language act imposes obligations also on private service providers. In these countries, a cafe that provides service only in English is illegal, he was quoted saying in the Parliament House on Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat.

PEKKA AITTAKUMPU (Centre) demands that the language act be amended to protect Finnish against the dominance of English.

Aittakumpu also argued that it should be possible to complete degrees at all levels of education in Finnish.

In many fields, its no longer possible to continue with your native language after the bachelor stage and students have to switch to English for masters studies. This isnt right. Funding for universities should be tied more strictly to the ability to study in Finnish.

His motion for debate served as the basis for a topical debate in the session hall about the state of the Finnish language.

Also Petri Honkonen (Centre) demanded that the language act be amended in the vein of France. The Finnish language, he estimated, is in a state that constitutes a national strategy.

The use of other than national languages should be limited in public spaces, and using them without weighty reasons should be prohibited. Going forward, ads or notifications would be primarily in Finnish or Swedish, said Honkonen.

Minister of Justice Leena Meri (PS) reminded lawmakers that the government has initiated a number of projects related to the Finnish language, including an investigation carried out by Tiina Onikki-Rantajaasko, a professor of Finnish at the University of Helsinki.

The investigators report and proposals can be used as basis to make decisions on policies and measures related to the Finnish language, said Meri.

Many legislators expressed their concern about the deteriorating literacy skills of pupils, pointing to the role of both families and schools in addressing the detrimental development.

Nothing that the state does can replace what we can do as parents for our next generation and for our children, argued Tero Sammallahti (NCP).

We should now make sure that all of our pupils have high-quality textbooks, that everyone has their own high-quality textbook. We need digital skills, too, but you cant solve the worlds complex problems by googling, added Markus Lohi (Centre).

Members of the Green League also called particular attention to the role and environment of Finnish culture.

Maria Ohisalo, a former chairperson of the opposition party, identified promoting reading and national literature as a key measure for preserving a language that is alive and well. The Finnish government, she added, is set to raise the value-added tax on books to 14 per cent, one of the highest levels in Europe.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
From the Boston Review:

In 2007 Louise Gluck selected Fady Joudah as the winner of the distinguished Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. In a foreword to his debut poetry collection published the following year, The Earth in the Attic, she called Joudah a lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession . . . have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas. Since then, Joudah has published five more collections of poetry, won numerous awards, and translated several volumes of poetry by Palestinian writers, among them Mahmoud Darwish, perhaps the best-known Palestinian poet in the English-speaking world.

Born in Texas to parents of the Palestinian diaspora, Joudah spent his early life in Libya and Saudi Arabia before returning to the United States to complete medical training. He now lives in Houston, where he works as an internal medicine physician while continuing to publish poetry.

More here.
The Election Commission of India allotted a new election symbol  tutari vajavnara manus (a man blowing a tutari)  to the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The party led by Ajit Pawar retained the analogue alarm clock, the original poll symbol of the party that was started by Sharad Pawar in 1999. Interestingly, the faction didn't include the tutari in their list of preferred choices that they had provided to the Election Commission. Thus, the allotment of the bugle-like musical instrument that dates back to the pre-colonial era, surprised everyone, including the Sharad Pawar faction. The NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar party  as the faction is officially called  welcomed the decision and conducted a grand ceremony to inaugurate the new poll symbol at the Raigad Fort, the erstwhile headquarters of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Tutari is a traditional Indian musical instrument of significant historical importance among Marathi speakers. It also holds considerable significance in Maharashtra's political-cultural setting and shows the uniqueness of the region's musical tradition. From an Indian musical perspective, tutari is categorised as the Sushir Vadya. The Sushir Vadya are wind instruments, like bansuri, shehenai, and shankh, where sound is produced by blowing air into a hollow column. It also closely resembles other musical instruments popular across India, like sringa, ransringa, kurudutu or kombu, which are found in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, respectively. Even outside India, tutari-like instruments, including the narsingha, are used in neighbouring Nepal and Sri Lanka.

A social and cultural role

Due to its distinctive sound, tutari is usually played during ceremonial or festive occasions in Maharashtra. In the precolonial era, it was played to alert people about the arrival of royalty or the commencement of an auspicious occasion. Simultaneously, it was also considered a signal of the beginning of a war. At the same time, it was an essential part of the Warkari tradition, which dates back to the 13th century. Earlier, the tutari was made from the horn of the bullock  today, it is made from metal.

Thats not the only thing that has changed in contemporary times. The tutari is often played in public events more to hearken to a political past that lends itself to a narrative of glory and pride. Bollywood music may have overwhelmed the audience, but the sharp notes of the tutari not only remain a powerful presence in the regional folk culture, village festivals (jatras) and folk performances but also in Marathi cinema. Marathi movies produced since the 1950s and 60s, for instance, liberally used the tutari to tell the story of Chhatrapati Shivaji and the history of Maratha conquests.

A strong political tug to the past

Since the sound of tutari is closely linked with the popular perception of Maratha history, it has often been strategically used by the political class to recreate past glory for electoral benefits. During the political rallies of Bal Thackeray, the founder of the Shiv Sena, the tutari was used before the commencement of his speeches, generating a robust emotional response from those gathered.

The rallies undertaken by the Thackeray clan, including Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray, continue with that tradition. In the last two decades, other political parties, including social and apolitical organisations like Sakal Maratha Samaj, have also capitalised on the tutaris ability to attract peoples attention.

Inspired by a cult poem, and a train

The tutari also has a distinctive trajectory in Marathi literature. One of the prominent literary figures of modern Maharashtra, Krishnaji Keshav Damle, aka Keshavsuta (1866-1905), used the instrument in his poem (also named Tutari) to make a strong case against superstition, injustice, and inequality. The poem attained the distinction of becoming one of the cult poems of the early 20th century. With regard to the immense critical accolades the poem received from its readers, the admirers of Keshavsuta established a discussion forum called 'Tutari Mandal' in 1911.

The forum established by the renowned Marathi writer and poet Ram Ganesh Gadkari catered to budding poets to study and discuss the unique literary style Keshavsuta introduced in the 20th century Marathi literature. Keshavsuta's deployment of the idiom of tutari as a clarion call to awaken and rise against social and political injustices generated a new radicalism among the writers and poets. He wrote, for instance:

Bring me a Trumpet

I shall blow it with my breath and soul

And Pierce the entire sky with its extended scream

Bring me such a Trumpet

As a mark of respect to his contribution, the Indian Railways renamed the Rajya Rani Express from Dadar (Mumbai) to Sawantwadi (Sindhudurg district) as Tutari Express.

Considering this ancient instrument's significance in the cultural and historical narratives of Maharashtra, it can undoubtedly become a powerful election symbol for the Sharad Pawar-led party. However, other factors may well ensure that this will be a tough election for the octogenarian and his colleagues.

Prabodhan Pol is an Assistant Professor at Manipal Centre for Humanities, MAHE, Manipal Karnataka. The views expressed are personal.
It is conventional wisdom that the lack of textual culture among the tribes of the North east puts them at a serious disadvantage not only in terms of their own development, but also in relation to other people groups. The Naga nationalist AZ Phizo, in his so-called plebiscite speech of 1951 rued the Nagas many missed opportunities in the past due to non-availability of written record as evidence and vowed that from now on, we shall put everything into writing. We shall see to it that our talks do not end in mere words. A picture taken in Mizoram on 05 September 1967. (HT Photo.)

260pp, 1550; Cambridge University Press

The Nagas, under Phizos leadership, went on to fight for independence from India. The Mizos followed suit 15 years or so later. There were numerous insurgencies in the North East, but these two remained the only mass-based armed movements for independence. Both failed to succeed, but its no accident that Nagaland and Mizoram came to be endowed with the most extensive autonomy rights amongst states in India, barring pre-2019 Jammu & Kashmir.

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As for written records, there is now a relatively large body of literature on the Naga insurgency  scholarly works, memoirs, testimonials, biographies and fictional writings. Whether Phizos entreaties have anything to do with this is unclear, though. As for the Mizos, not as much. Hence, Roluahpuias new book, Nationalism in the Vernacular: State, Tribes, and the Politics of Peace in Northeast India is a much welcome addition to the sparse literature on the Mizo movement.

The author is a young Mizo academic, who teaches sociology at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee. His book is a testament to Mizo resilience as they endured the rambuai (Mizo for troubled land) insurgency period (1966-1986). Paradoxically, the book argues that it was the Mizos creative use of their oral cultural resources which helped them cope and sustain themselves as a people through that dark time.

The book has seven chapters with the introductory one providing an overview. Chapter two takes a broad look at the tribal question in India, with special reference to the North East while the next one focuses on the formative years of Mizo nationalism, a period before the advent of the Mizo National Front (MNF). Chapter four is about the MNF-led movement for independence. The next chapter engages the states repression in response to the insurgency, the collective punishment meted to the population and the Mizo counter response to it. Chapter six critiques the idea of a peaceful Mizoram in the post-accord period. It rues the absence of the ideas of restitution and reconciliation, and points to the neglect of the common peoples contribution to the movement.

The thrust of the book is on the oral tradition and culture of the Mizos and the positive role this plays for the emergence of the Mizos as a people. As a political campaign and mobilisational tool, the oral culture took a two-pronged trajectory. Firstly, there emerged numerous patriotic and nationalistic songs which resonate with the common people. These songs were communicated and learned orally rather than in written form. As a close-knit Christian community, church congregations are part of the daily routine and community singing engenders fellow-feeling. The author classifies these songs into hnam lha or nationalist songs, party lha (songs composed and sung as tribute to political parties) and rambuai lha (songs that gave expression to anguish and suffering during the troubled insurgency period).

A view of Aizawl (HT Photo)

Reading this book, Im reminded of the ever-popular verse published by Bertolt Brecht in 1939 as Europe braced for war yet again: In the dark times / will there also be singing / Yes, there will also be singing / about the dark times. The Mizos sang through their rambuai years which helped them cope with their suffering. The medium of songs, transmitted by word of mouth rather than text, was also ideal as it helped them dodge censorship and restrictions placed on written texts.

Secondly, Mizo elites succeeded in reframing and reconstructing the idea and appeal of the nation in local terms and idioms. Terms like zalenna and ram leh hnam domesticate universal ideas of freedom and nationalism and make them distinctively Mizo. This is what vernacularisation of nationalism and politics is all about.

This vernacularisation accounts for what may be called the Mizo exception in terms of growing nationalist consciousness among the people. Scholars of nationalism have long thought that for nationalist ideas to gain traction among a population, certain criteria, like print culture, literacy, industrialisation and a level of material prosperity need to be present. These factors were more or less absent in the 1950s when the Mizo people, imbued with nationalist fervour, transcended their narrow clan and village solidarities to embrace an inclusive Mizo, or Zo nationalism. Zo is the self-ascribed root identity of the tribes, who were called Lushai in present day Mizoram, Kuki in Manipur, and Chin in the Chin Hills area of Burma during the colonial period. Nomenclature remains a contentious issue amongst these people even as they all agree that they are of the same ethnic stock. As the author points out, it was in 1954 that, in response to a vibrant popular movement, the Lushai Hills were renamed as Mizo Hills and the traditional institution of chieftainship was abolished in favour of grassroots democracy. The lively contest that played out between the two dominant parties at that time, namely, the Mizo Union (MU) and the United Mizo Freedom Organisation (UMFO) made for a delightful read. The MU stood for the abolition of chieftainship and the integration of all Zo-inhabited lands under Indian democracy while UMFO favoured integration with Burma and a retention of chieftainship. The contest played out lyrically through the medium of songs and counter songs and was the perfect dance of democracy.

Author Roluahpuia (Courtesy the author)

The book critiques existing literature, which focuses narrowly on the MNF-led movement. The chapter that discusses the pre-MNF period in the Mizo nationalist movement forms the most insightful and informative part of the book. Many people believe the aspiration for the territorial integration of all Mizo/Zo-inhabited lands in India, Burma and Bangladesh, a demand that the Mizoram CM Lalduhoma recently broached to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has its origins in the MNF movement. In fact, the book points out, it was in 1947 itself that the Mizo Union submitted a memorandum to the Bordoloi Committee setting out a precondition for the Mizos integration with India: political autonomy and the ethnic and territorial unity of all Mizo-inhabited areas under one administrative unit.

This is a valuable addition to the literature  and the most comprehensive accounting yet  on the Mizo movement. Having said that, there are quite a few repetitions which could have been edited out. But thats a minor grouse about a book thats insightful and enjoyable. If you are one of those wondering how Mizoram came to be so invested in the ongoing civil conflict in Manipur between the majority Meiteis and the Kuki/Zos, this book provides a good background.

Thangkhanlal Ngaihte is assistant professor of Political Science at Churachandpur College, Manipur and PhD candidate at Mizoram University, Aizawl.
India, February 29, 2024:- Capital Cables India Pvt. Ltd, a family-run business established in 1962, is a leading provider of cables, wires, and electrical accessories. For over six decades, they have been serving customers throughout India, building strong relationships and earning trust through quality products and reliable service.

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Capital Cables boasts a rich history, starting with Surjeet Singh Jee laying the foundation in 1962. Over the years, the company has grown into a true "electrical family," with family members and experienced staff contributing their expertise. It translates to sharp buying practices, ensuring competitive prices for customers. Their long-standing partnerships with major electrical brands in India and abroad further strengthen their product portfolio and customer value.

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Capital Cables prioritises customer satisfaction above all else. It maintains a dedicated team of 35 experienced professionals, many of whom have been with the company for over ten years. It ensures a high level of service and expertise in every interaction. Whether an individual wishes to seek assistance with billing, product selection, or technical solutions, the company's prompt and efficient team is always ready to help.

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Fueled by a passion for delivering exceptional service and quality products, Capital Cables looks towards the future with dedication and a constant drive for improvement. The company strives to remain everyones trusted partner for all their electrical needs and continues to exceed expectations.



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Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
As post-pandemic global travel in 2023 almost reached peak 2019 numbers, the number of Indian citizens visiting Uzbekistan reached its highest number ever with over 45,000 visitors from the peninsula.

As the United Nations World Tourism Organization predicts global tourism to reach its pre-pandemic levels in 2024, even more Indian citizens are expected to visit Uzbekistan this year. What is drawing these adventurers to the heart of Central Asia?

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UNESCO Heritage Sites

Uzbekistan is best known for its rich history and architectural masterpieces. Its home to 5 UNESCO heritage sites, 4 of which are cultural sites with the one natural site being the Tian Shan mountains.

Samarkand Crossroad of Cultures is believed to be as old as the 7th Century BC and experienced its most influential period during the Timurud era of the 14th and 15th centuries. Its most famous for its Registan - an open square upon which three beautifully designed madrasas sit facing one another. Its famous for its blue domes, intricate tilework, and golden interiors typical of Uzbek architecture from this period.

Elsewhere in the country, traveling to Khiva means exploring medieval fortress Itchan Kala, packed full of beautiful palaces, madrasas, and minarets. Bukhara is also home to dozens of masterpieces such as the 5th century Ark of Bukhara and the Samanid mausoleum, which has remained intact since the 10th century.

Indian-Uzbekistan Relations

India and Uzbekistan have a long history of cultural and trade ties dating back centuries.

Ancient Silk Road trade routes passed through Uzbekistan, connecting India, China, and Europe and shared historical figures, such as Babur, further solidified the bond between the two nations.

In modern times, diplomatic visits and cultural exchanges have strengthened relations, with Indian movies and media being popular in Uzbekistan. Educational and cultural initiatives, like the Lal Bahadur Shastri Centre for Indian Culture, promote understanding and cooperation.

There is also a small but vibrant Indian community in Uzbekistan actively participating in cultural events, fostering closer ties between the two countries.

Currency

India Forbes recently listed the Uzbek currency (som) as one of the cheapest in the world and it seems that many Indian citizens are taking advantage of this. The currency conversion rate as of February 2024 is roughly 1 INR to 150 UZS. The Economist even named capital city Tashkent as one of the top ten cheapest cities in the world in 2023.

Food and transport are particularly cheap, with taxi apps such as Yandex making inner city transport especially convenient these days. Tashkents metro is particularly impressive, costing 2,000 Som to ride (around 13 INR). Its a popular spot for tourists due to its elaborate decorations, mosaics, and artwork.

The entry fee to most historical sites is very low with most costing at most $2-3 to enter. There has also been an increase in cheap accommodation such as guesthouses and family-run boutique hotels, especially in Bukhara and Khiva. There are also a small number of cheap hotels in Tashkent.

Food

Uzbek and Indian cuisine are closely related and Indians will recognise many Uzbek meals as similar to their own. The national dish of Uzbekistan is plov, mixing rice, meat, vegetables, and spices, which Indians will acknowledge as a cousin of pulao.

Other delicious meals that Indians will recognise include Uzbek bread, non; Uzbek samosas, somsa filled with meat or vegetables and cooked in a tandir; and shashlik kebabs, reminiscent of seekh kebabs.

Tea is also a highly important drink to Uzbeks and no table is complete without it. Tea can be bought in the local bazaars where vendors also sell spices, silk, dried fruits and nuts, cotton, and jewelry such as Uzbek gold as they have done for thousands of years.

Traveling to Uzbekistan

Flying between India and Uzbekistan has never been so convenient post-pandemic. Tickets for the 3 hour daily flight from Delhi to Tashkent can be bought for $153/12,700 INR directly through Uzbekistan airways.

There is also a twice weekly 4 hour flight from Mumbai, starting from $185/15,300 INR one way.

The high speed train Afrasiyab runs daily connecting Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. Tourists can enjoy a smooth ride through the Uzbek countryside on their way to UNESCO heritage sites such as the Registan for $16/1,350 INR per ticket.

Visas

Indian citizens do need a visa to travel to Uzbekistan but fortunately the process is very simple and can all be completed online. A 30 day single-entry tourist visa costs $20 and it takes just a few minutes to fill in the form and upload a photo.

Uzbekistans e-visa portal is easy to use and the turnaround time for most visas is less than 5 working days.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday disclosed a substantial decrease in the circulation of 2000 denomination banknotes since the announcement of their withdrawal. As per the latest data, the total value of 2000 banknotes in circulation has plummeted from 3.56 lakh crore on May 19, 2023, to a mere 8470 crore by February 29, 2024. A cashier displays the new 2000 Indian rupee banknotes inside a bank in Jammu.(REUTERS)

Thus, 97.62% of the 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023, has since been returned, the central bank said in a release.

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Also Read: RBI says 2000 notes worth 9760 crore not deposited, exchanged

The RBI also noted that 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.

"The facility for deposit and/or exchange of the 2000 banknotes was available at all bank branches in the country up to October 07, 2023. The facility for the exchange of the 2000 banknotes has been available at the 19 Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank (RBI Issue Offices) since May 19, 2023." the RBI release added.

Also Read: RBI: 500 banknotes with star symbol genuine. Why is it printed? Explained

The 2000 denomination banknote was introduced in November 2016, primarily to meet the currency requirement of the economy expeditiously after the withdrawal of the legal tender status of all 500 and 1000 banknotes in circulation at that time.

According to the RBI, the printing of 2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19 once the objective of introducing 2000 banknotes was met after banknotes in other denominations became available in adequate quantities.

The status of withdrawal of 2000 banknotes is periodically published by the RBI.
Financial Intelligence Unit on Friday imposed 5.49 crore penalty on Paytm Payments Bank for money laundering, PTI quoted the ministry of finance as saying. The action is a fresh blow to the lender after the Reserve Bank of India on January 31 had barred it from accepting new deposits from February 29, later extending it to March 15.



This comes hours after One97 Communications said that the firm's board has discontinued the inter-company pacts with the lending service to reduce dependencies.



ALSO READ: Paytm crisis: Sitharaman asks regulators to hold monthly meetings with startups



The finance ministry alleged that proceeds of crime were routed through bank accounts maintained with Paytm Payments Bank by entities engaged in illegal activities.



According to the ministry, the financial intelligence unit had initiated a review of the Paytm lender following information from law enforcement agencies with respect to few entities and their network of businesses engaged in a number of illegal acts that include organising and facilitating online gambling.



ALSO READ: Users ditch Paytm? App's daily downloads declined this much since February 1 Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chairman of One97 Communications Ltd., operator of Paytm.(Bloomberg)

"The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND),... has imposed a monetary penalty of 5.49 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd with reference to the violations of its obligations under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act)," the ministry said in a statement. The FIU had passed its order imposing the penalty on February 15.



A Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson said,"The penalty pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)."



On February 27, Vijay Shekhar Sharma had resigned as part-time non-executive chairperson of Paytm Payments Bank ahead of the March 15 deadline. The Paytm lending service had reconstituted its board of directors, appointing ex-Central Bank of India Chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal.



The company has been separately informed that Vijay Shekhar Sharma has also resigned from the Board of Paytm Payments Bank to enable this transition. PPBL has informed us that they will commence the process of appointing a new Chairman, One97 Communications had said in a regulatory filing.
Geneticist Bo Xia asked that question as a child and it was on his mind again a few years ago, while he was recovering from a tailbone injury during his PhD at New York University (NYU) in New York City. Xia and his colleagues now have an answer. The researchers identified a genetic change shared by humans and other apes that might have contributed to their ancestors tail loss, some 25 million years ago. Mice carrying similar alterations to their genomes had short or absent tails, the researchers found  but that insight was hard won. The work was published on 28 February1: nearly 900 days after being submitted to Nature and posted as a preprint, because of extra work needed to develop several strains of gene-edited mice and demonstrate that the genetic changes had the predicted effect.

Respect to the authors, says Malte Spielmann, a human geneticist at Kiel University in Germany, who reviewed the paper for Nature. Im incredibly excited about the fact that theyve really pulled it off.

The mice with no tails

Unlike most monkeys, apes  including humans  and their close extinct relatives dont have tails. Their coccyx, or tailbone, is a vestige of the vertebrae that constitute a tail in other animals. Finding the genetic basis for this trait wasnt what Xia, now at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, planned to devote his PhD to. But his coccyx injury, sustained during a cab ride, reinvigorated his tail curiosity.

More here.
Five people were injured in an explosion at Bengaluru's popular eatery, The Rameshwaram Cafe, in Whitefield on Friday. Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru: The explosion occurred on Friday.(REUTERS)

No casualties have been reported so far, according to news agency PTI. The injured have been shifted to a local hospital and are currently receiving treatment, officials said.

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Visuals of the blast were circulating on social media, showing huge crowds which had gathered in the area near Rameshwaram Cafe. A video shared by ANI showed a fire engine had arrived at the spot.

ALSO READ | Fire breaks out at a cafe in Bengalurus Koramangala; no casualties reported

The explosion reportedly caused some damage to the eatery's premises. Officials including the police and the fire department rushed to the site to extinguish the fire and prevent further damage.

ALSO READ | BBMP orders closure of six restaurants for violation of fire safety norms

The Whitefield Fire Station spoke to reporters on the issue and said, We received a call that a cylinder blast occurred in the Rameshwaram cafe. We reached the spot and we are analysing the situation.

Forensic experts also arrived at the cafe and are reportedly assessing the exact cause for the blast. Further probe is underway and more details are awaited.

ALSO READ | 1 dead in major fire in slum near Mumbai; 24 fire tenders deployed

The incident sparked sharp reactions from the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya hitting out at Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He took to social media and wrote, Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion.

One of their employees is injured. Its seems to be a clear case of bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM @siddaramaiah, he added.

(With inputs from ANI)
The Karnataka police on Thursday detained a man from the state's Haveri district in connection with the controversial Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised on Tuesday night at the Vidhana Soudha. The man, identity unknown, is said to be from the Byadagi town of the district. He is a dry chilli trader and had come to the legislative building to celebrate Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain's victory in the Rajya Sabha election, news agency PTI reported. The Vidhana Soudha saw heated arguments a day after the "Pakistan Zindabad" slogans were raised. (ANI Photo)(Savitha )

READ | Rameshwaram Cafe blast: 5 injured in explosion at Bengaluru eatery

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Cops questioned as many as seven people over the sloganeering after the Vidhana Soudha police filed a suo moto case. They suspected the chilli trader to have raised the anti-national slogans based on a voice sample after a video of the incident was shared widely on social media, the agency said. He is being interrogated in Bengaluru currently.

The incident also sparked a political slugfest between the ruling Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with saffron party leaders also filing a police complaint.

READ | No need to learn patriotism from BJP: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

"This act of anti-national slogans from Naseer Hussain's supporters need to be thoroughly probed by the NIA/IB, national agencies and culprits to be booked under the law and need to be punished. This government has failed utterly to comply with the Law and Order situation and to uphold the Constitutional values," A delegation led by Leader of Opposition (LoP), R Ashoka, said.

READ | Cong believes in Mahatma Gandhi's 'Sita Ram', BJP in Godse's 'Ram': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also spoke on the issue and assured strict action against the perpetrators. "The government has taken the issue seriously. We need not learn patriotism from you. In accordance with law seven people have been subjected to inquiry and their statements have been recorded. Investigation is going on. FIR was registered suo moto. If the government was not serious we would not have booked a suo moto case," He said.

(With PTI inputs)
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya claimed that the founder of Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe, rocked by an explosion on Friday, informed him that the blast occurred after a customer left a bag on its premises. BJP MP National President Tejasvi Surya. (File Photo / ANI)

Surya, who represents Bengaluru South Constituency, shared on social media platform 'X', "Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured."

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

ALSO READ- PM Modi has waged a war against dynastic politics: BJP MP Tejasvi Surya

The national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha added in the post, "It seems to be a clear case of a bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM Siddaramaiah."

Bomb squad to investigate the explosion

At least five people were injured in Rameshwaram Cafe's explosion in the technology hub, occurring during the busy lunch hour when crowds from nearby offices lined up.

Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda arrived at the incident spot for inspection and a team of bomb detection and disposal squad was dispatched to the eatery.

Authorities are currently investigating the reason behind the explosion.

Two explosions something in a bag exploded: Cafe co-founder

Divya Raghavendra Rao, co-founder and managing director of the cafe chain, said she was informed of two explosions within 10 seconds of each other.

"It was nothing in the kitchen that exploded, it happened in the area where customers wash their hands ... something that was kept in a bag exploded," Rao told the local TV9 news channel, reported Reuters.

She added that all the injured individuals were now out of danger.

ALSO READ- No need to learn patriotism from BJP: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah

What were the accounts of the witnesses?

Around 1 pm, we heard a huge blast sound. We rushed to the spot and we saw black smog surrounding the area. We saw 5-6 injured people. We, local residents, rushed everyone to the nearest hospital, a local resident Sabrish Kundali told PTI.

ALSO READ- Strict action if Pakistan Zindabad slogans found true: Siddaramaiah

Another onlooker, who came to have lunch at the cafe, said, At around 1 pm, we heard a huge explosion sound. I heard people saying that it was a cylinder blast. There were around 35-40 people inside. Injured were around 4 employees. Suddenly, the ambulance arrived and took the injured to the nearby hospital, Adison told PTI.
Vedantas copper smelting plant in Tamil Nadus Thoothukudi will stay closed, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, declaring that the plants contributions to the nation are subordinated to the public trust theory and sustainable development standards. Sterlite Copper plant in TN has remained shut since 2018.(Reuters)

The plant by Sterlite Copper, the Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, a global mining and metals conglomerate, has remained shut since 2018 over violations of environmental norms and protests of the local population against its operation.

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Dismissing Vedantas plea, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud held that the 2020 Madras high courts judgment affirming the shut-down notice to the plant by the Tamil Nadu government and the state pollution control board called for no interference since it was based on sound reasoning.

Also Read | Vedanta cant have free run: SC on plea to reopen Sterlite plant

Closure of industry undoubtedly is not a matter of first choice. However, the repeated nature of breaches, coupled with the severity of the violations would in this analysis leave neither the statutory authorities nor the high court to take any other view unless they were to be oblivious of their plain duty, said the bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

It added while the court is conscious of the fact that the unit has been contributing to the productive assets of the nation and providing employment and revenue in the area, equally, the court has to be mindful of other well settled principles, including the principles of sustainable development, polluter pays principles and public trust doctrine.

The health and welfare of the residents of the area is again a matter of utmost concern. In the ultimate analysis, the state government is responsible for preserving and protecting their concerns, underlined the order.

Also Read | SC seeks way forward from TN on restarting Sterlite plant

The adverse order against Vedanta came days after the Supreme Court mulled setting up a committee, comprising experts on pollution control and environment, which it said could submit a report on copper smelter operations, conditions for operations and reparations payable for environmental harm.

The Tamil Nadu government and its pollution control board , however, opposed the courts February 14 suggestion, arguing Vedanta is a repeat offender and a chronic polluter while claiming the company dumped and disposed copper slag and gypsum in a harmful manner. On its part, Vedanta agreed with the courts suggestion on forming a committee of experts, adding that a retired judge of the Supreme Court could chair the panel, and suggesting that the committee submit its report in a month.

In its order on Thursday, the bench seemed to agree with the state that the issues relating to disposal of copper slag, gypsum and other hazardous waste remained a matter of serious concerns despite a slew of directives issued to Vedanta by the Supreme Court in 2013 to ensure proper authorisation and disposal mechanism.

At the same time, the bench refused to delete the strictures passed by the high court against the state pollution control board for its failure to adequately regulate the plants ongoing violations of environmental regulations.

We are of the view that the high court was justified in making those observations in regard to the lack of alacrity on the part of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board in discharging its duties, said the bench.

Tens of thousands of protesters had taken to the streets of Tuticorin in May 2018 against a proposed expansion of Sterlites 400,000-tonne annual capacity smelter. After the protests turned violent and police opened fire, 13 protesters died.

A week later, the state pollution control board and the state government ordered the plant shut for alleged pollution. The plant, at that time, was producing over 400,000 tonnes of metal ores annually and accounted for 40% of Indias copper output.

During the arguments in the top court in February, Vedanta claimed that it has completely abided by the directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2013 and that the company was being targeted by the state government. The company, represented by senior counsel Shyam Divan, further agreed to be put to additional conditions for resuming its operation. Divan also highlighted that the plant, at the time it was closed, was producing over 400,000 tonnes of metal ores annually and accounted for 40% of Indias copper output.

Appearing for the TNPCB and state government, senior lawyers CS Vaidyanathan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan pressed that larger public interest required the plant to remain shut in the wake of repeated breaches by it. They were emphatic that the Sterlite Copper plant did not have to be considered a national asset nor was there any loss to the regional economy owing to the closure of the plant since Thoothukudi (also known as Tuticorin) is emerging as a new hub for the automobile industry. Vaidyanathan further claimed that given the current state of Indias copper industry, Vedantas re-opening would not augment domestic supply, but would be aimed largely at the foreign market.
The Punjab & Haryana high court on Thursday asked the Haryana government not to consider granting parole to Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim without the courts permission. Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim.(File)

The high court bench of acting chief justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Lapita Banerji criticised the state government for granting frequent paroles to the Ram Rahim, who has been convicted for 20 years of jail in two rapes (2017), life term for conspiring murder of a journalist (2019) and another conviction of life term for criminal conspiracy into murder of a Dera follower (2021). It pointed out that, in spite of the pendency of the petition challenging frequent parole before high court since January 29, 2023, the Haryana government chose to grant him parole in July that year for 30 days, in November for 21 days, and in January 2024 for 50 day.

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We would like the state of Haryana to furnish an affidavit as to how many persons having such criminal antecedents and sentenced in three cases have been granted this benefit. Let a necessary affidavit be filed before the next date of hearing, the court directed the Haryana government, while fixing the date of hearing for March 11. The state authorities shall not consider his case for grant of further parole till further orders without the permission of this court, the court said, and sought the custody certificate of Ram Rahim when he surrenders on March 10. The Custody certificate contains details of period of custody of a convict or undertrial in a jail.

Also Read | Why is Ram Rahim, chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, out on parole again?

Ram Rahim, whose jail journey began on August 25, 2017, was granted temporary release from prison for the ninth time on January 19 for 50 days. During his parole, Ram Rahim is staying at an ashram in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh.

He is serving two convictions of 10 years each (to run consecutively) in rape cases of two female disciples at Dera premises in Sirsa in 2002, awarded in 2017. His two life terms awarded in murder cases would start after completion of 20 years of jail in rape cases.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) filed in January 2023 against the frequent paroles granted to Ram Rahim by the Haryana government.

The PIL said his paroles may jeopardise the sovereignty, integrity of India and for maintaining public harmony, peace, and social fabrics in the country. The grant of parole to him could have disastrous consequences, as he himself claims to be a Messenger of God and has added surnames of Baba, Maharaja etc and is in the habit of giving poisonous propaganda against the Holy Guru Granth Sahib Ji, which is revered as Living Guru by the Sikhs at large, added the PIL.

Also Read | No evidence of distortion, says HC quashing FIR against Ram Rahim

The Punjab government, too, had told the court that the frequent paroles to Ram Rahim may lead to law and order problems in the state.

The Haryana government, on its part, has maintained that Ram Rahim is not a hardcore prisoner and his conviction in two different murders cannot be termed serial killing.

Hardcore prisoners, as defined in the Haryana Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1988, are subjected to severe restrictions in terms of grant of temporary release and are allowed only 48 to 96 hours of temporary release under an armed police escort for attending marriage or in the event of death of close family members. As per the Act, hardcore prisoners are those who, among several other crimes, are convicted for serial killing.

Paroles/ furloughs granted to Ram Rahim:

October 24, 2020: parole for one day

May 21, 2021: parole for one day

February 7, 2022: furlough for 21 days

June 17, 2022: parole for 30 days

October 15, 2022: parole for 40 days

January 21, 2023: parole for 40 days

July 20, 2023: parole for 30 days

November 21, 2023: furlough for 21 days

January 19, 2024: parole for 50 days
Protesting farmer Shubh Karan Singh, who was killed in clashes with the Haryana Police at Khanauri last week, died of a firearm injury to the head, according to the 21-year-old mans post-mortem examination report, which also detected foreign bodies in his head. Farmer Shubh Karan Singh, who was killed in clashes with the Haryana Police at Khanauri last week was cremated on Thursday.(File)

A CT scan conducted before the autopsy detected several metal pellets in his head. Wounds caused by metal pellets were found on the upper bodies of several protesting farmers who were injured in police action, said medico-legal reports issued by hospitals in Patiala last week.

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The examination, which was conducted on Wednesday, found an injury mark on the occipital region (the rearmost region of the skull) and also showed that his body bore no other injury marks. HT has seen the report.

Also Read | Shubh Karans death: Farmers to keep 24x7 vigil at mortuary, say autopsy only after FIR

Doctors who conducted the examination said they have submitted the report to the Patiala police and refrained from revealing more information.

The metal pellets found in Singhs skull were also handed over to the police, said people aware of the matter, adding that these may be sent to ballistics experts to ascertain the nature of the firearm that was used.

Singh was cremated on Thursday.

Protesting farmers and Singhs family initially did not allow authorities to conduct a post-mortem examination, demanding that a case of a murder be filed against police personnel for his death and martyr status for the victim.

Thousands of farmers have been camped at the Punjab-Haryana borders for over two weeks now, demanding that the central government enact a law on MSP for all crops.

Also Read | Haryana Police's big move against farmers involved in violence during protest: 'Will cancel'

Punjab Police sub-inspector Yashpal Sharma, investigating officer in the case said he had not received the post-mortem report till the time of going to press.

Suresh Kumar, station house officer of Garhi police station in Haryana, said, We have not received any post-mortem report yet and therefore cannot comment on it.

HT last week reported that pellet wounds were found on some protesters. At the time, a senior Haryana Police officer, who asked not to be named, said: We are aware of the development but have not received a formal report. We are looking into the matter.

The examination, which was conducted on Wednesday, found an injury mark on the occipital region and also showed that his body bore no other injury marks. HT has seen the report.
Amid the political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh, Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jairam Thakur on Friday shrugged his shoulders about the current state of affairs and claimed that whatever was happening was the sole responsibility of the Congress. Himachal Pradesh BJP leaders discussing the partys strategy at a meeting in Shimla on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

Mocking chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for inviting back the six disqualified Congress MLAs, Thakur said, There can be no bigger joke than this. Perhaps the CM is unable to understand clearly that what is being said. There is such a situation now that he is fearful that the government is going to go away; MLAs are leaving his side. The political situation in Himachal Pradesh is such that whatever the Congress high command may say, things have not settled yet and there is no possibility of that happening.

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Also read: Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh lauds BJP, says we are on weak footing

When asked if they would bring a no-confidence motion against the state government, Thakur dismissed the idea, emphasising that the internal strife and political developments were solely the responsibility of the ruling party. Mere hisab se sarkar rahegi toh chalegi nahi (According to me, the government will not survive). Thakur highlighted that the ruling partys actions have created a situation casting doubt on the governments continuation.

Asserting the oppositions stance, Thakur clarified that they are mere observers of the unfolding events and not instigating any action.

We are sitting here, we are not doing anything. Whatever is happening, it is happening amongst them. We are alert regarding the political developments taking place. But the unethical and wrong methods that have been adopted to save the government - suspension of BJP MLAs, disqualification of 6 Congress MLAs - and a few hasty decisions that have been taken have affected the image of the CM across the state. He should understand this, he said.

After the 2022 assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents. With the six rebel MLAs disqualified, the strength of the House has come down from 68 to 62, and the halfway mark is now 32.

With the loss of six MLAs, the Congress now has 34 MLAs and the BJP, with independents, has 28.

The political crisis in the state was triggered by the Congress losing the Rajya Sabha election on Tuesday despite having a clear majority in the assembly.
Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohits address in the assembly on the opening day of the budget session on Friday was disrupted by the opposition Congress legislators, who raised the issues of the protesting farmers, and resorted to sloganeering. Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit and chief minister Bhagwant Mann arriving at the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh on the opening day of the budget session on Friday. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

As soon as the governor began delivering his address, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring raised the farmers issue and said that homage be paid to Shubhkaran Singh, who died after Haryana Police action at Khanauri border on February 21. It will be good if the governor pays homage to the deceased young farmer, Warring said.

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Also read: Bathinda farmer Shubh Karans autopsy conducted after cops register murder case

Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that Haryana has sealed its borders with Punjab. You have not been able to protect your farmers, he said, drawing the Punjab governors attention to the matter.

The Congress members insisted on a discussion on the farmers death before the governors address and rushed to the well of the House, interrupting the speech. They were questioning the zero FIR registered against unnamed police personnel.

At this, the governor said, I will request the leader of the opposition that you have ample of time to discuss these things. As per the agenda and custom, I am supposed to deliver my speech. After my speech, you can raise any issue. He called their interruption unfair.

The Speaker also requested the members to let the governor address the House, but the Congress members continued raising slogans in the well of the House. Purohit expressed inability to continue the address, reading the first and last lines of his speech. It should be taken on record, he said, winding up the address.
United Kingdom-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, has claimed the responsibility for the killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Nafe Singh Rathee, who along with a party worker Jai Kisan was gunned down near Bahadurgarh railway crossing in Jhajjar on Sunday. United Kingdom-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, has claimed the responsibility for the killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Nafe Singh Rathee, who along with a party worker Jai Kisan was gunned down near Bahadurgarh railway crossing in Jhajjar on Sunday. (PTI)

In an Instagram post, Sangwan claimed responsibility for gunning down Rathee. The post said that Rathee was killed due to his close friendship with Sangwans rival, gangster Manjeet Mahal.

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He claimed that Rathee and Mahal were close aides, and he accused the INLD leader of collaborating with Mahals brother Sanjay in activities like property acquisition and supporting Mahal in the murder of his brother-in-law and associates.

Also Read | Haryana to hand over Rathees murder probe to CBI: Vij

Anyone supporting my enemies would face retaliation. Bahadurgarh knows the number of people Rathee captured and killed while in power. No one could raise their voice because of his power, he claimed.

He slammed the police for failing to get justice to his deceased relatives and claimed that his actions were necessitated by the polices lackadaisical approach.

Sangwan is a dreaded gangster hailing from Najafgarh in Delhi, and he fled to the UK using fraudulent documentation in 2020 evading arrest despite facing multiple cases of extortion and gang war. This prompted Interpol to issue a red corner notice against him. He is closely associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The Delhi Police is probing his involvement in the murder of BJPs Najafgarh Zila Kisan Morcha president Surendra Matiala, who was actively engaged in local politics.

Getting life threats from unknown callers: Rathees kin

The family members of Nafe Singh Rathee on Thursday claimed that they are getting life threats from various unknown callers. Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda, who reached Rathees house in Bahadurgarh to pay condolences, said that unknown callers threatened Rathees family members when he was sitting with them.

Also Read | Sparing your life: Haryana INLD chief Nafe Singh Rathee's killers told his nephew

The law and order situation has completely collapsed, and gangsters are openly making threat calls and demanding extortion. Haryana has turned into jangal raj and the government has failed to provide a safe and secure atmosphere to the people, he added.

Jhajjar SP Arpit Jain said that they have identified the callers, who are making threat calls to Rathees family, and they will be arrested soon.

We have given notice to one of the accused (Bijender Rathee) booked for Nafes death to join the investigation, the SP added.

The SP said that they are verifying the post in which gangster Sangwan took the responsibility for Rathees killing.
A Delhi court on Friday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan in a money laundering case registered against him in connection with the alleged irregularities in the recruitment of staff and leasing of properties for the Delhi Waqf Board. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. (Sonu Mehta/HT File Photo)

The Okhla legislator had moved the anticipatory bail plea on February 17 before special judge Rakesh Syal, citing that he is under the scanner of the agency for his alleged role in the case and is worried he may be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Appearing for Khan, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy and advocate Rajat Bharadwaj argued that the ED case is based on two FIRs, one by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the other by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which goes against the cardinal principle of criminal law that two FIRs cannot be registered for the same cause of action.

They further argued that there is no evidence on record to prove that Khan was guilty of generating proceeds of crime which the ED is probing.

The counsels evinced that the courts, while granting bail in the predicate offence case, have observed that there has been no loss to the exchequer for the creation of tenancies of the properties of the Delhi Waqf Board, and there have been no material on record to show that bribes were paid for securing jobs with the Delhi Waqf Board or salaries were drawn without doing any work.

Special public prosecutor Manish Jain and advocates Ishaan Baisla and Snehal Sharda, appearing for the federal probe agency, opposed the anticipatory bail application over Khans conduct, highlighting that he has evaded repeated summons issued to him.

Pointing out apprehension of evidence tampering, influencing witness and absconding, the agency submitted that Khan concealed the fact that he has 22 cases against him.

They also argued that Khan had approached the Delhi high court earlier seeking the termination of an FIR on grounds that two FIRs cannot be filed on the same cause of action. But the petition was dismissed on February 7 and this fact was also not revealed before the court.

ED initiated its probe based on the CBI case registered in 2016, accusing Khan of illegally appointing various people to the Delhi Waqf Board against non-sanctioned and non-existent vacancies, which caused financial loss to the Delhi government and illegal gains to himself.

Subsequently, the ED also pressed money laundering charges against Khan. According to the federal agency, the AAP leader laundered his illegal gains by purchasing immovable properties through his associates.
Joan Acocella at Literary Hub:

What made The Prophet so fantastically successful? At the opening of the book, we are told that Almustafa, a holy man, has been living in exile, in a city called Orphalese, for twelve years. (When The Prophet was published, Gibran had been living in New York, in exile from Lebanon, for twelve years.) A ship is now coming to take him back to the island of his birth. Saddened by his departure, people gather around and ask him for his final words of wisdomon love, on work, on joy and sorrow, and so forth. He obliges, and his lucubrations on these matters occupy most of the book.

Almustafas advice is not bad: love involves suffering; children should be given their independence. Who, these days, would say otherwise? More than the soundness of its advice, however, the mere fact that The Prophet was an advice bookor, more precisely, inspirational literatureprobably ensured a substantial readership at the start. Gibrans closest counterpart today is the Brazilian sage Paulo Coelho, and his books have sold nearly a hundred million copies.

Then there is the pleasing ambiguity of Almustafas counsels. In the manner of horoscopes, the statements are so widely applicable (your creativity, your family problems) that almost anyone could think that they were addressed to him.

More here.
Some students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi were injured in a clash between members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed groups. The altercation, reportedly sparked by disputes over the selection of election committee members at the School of Languages, spiralled out of control and escalated into violence. The clash broke out over selection of election committee members at the School of Languages.

An official of the university said some students have been admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital, reported PTI.

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JNU student union (JNUSU) has been conducting school-level general body meetings for the selection of election committee members.

Also Read: Allow student to stay in guest house: Delhi HC tells JNU

In a video widely circulated on social media platform X, a man can be seen thrashing students with a stick. In another video, a person is seen throwing a bicycle at students.

Other purported videos from the incident showed individuals being mobbed and beaten up by a group even as security personnel of the university tried to rescue them.

Both groups have blamed each other for the clash that ensued over the selection of election committee members. They have also filed police complaints against each other.

We have received complaints from both sides. We are examining the complaints. The Police have come to know about three injured, Delhi Police said.

The All India Students' Association (AISA) alleged that ABVP members, led by Kanhaiya Kumar, resorted to physical violence against students after their attempts to disrupt the selection process were thwarted. The Left-wing student organisation, affiliated with the Communist Party of India Liberation, further alleged that ABVP members targeted and beat common students indiscriminately.

"They singled out the Muslim students and they opposed whenever any Muslim student propose their names for upcoming election committee. They also vitiated the atmosphere of school GBM premises by threatening students, by sexist and casteist slurs," it added.

Also Read: Student groups protest against new rules at JNU campus in Delhi

ABVP JNU President Umesh Chandra Ajmeera alleged that Left-leaning students were attempting to rig the election process during the GBM. He claims that objections were raised by students of the School of Languages, leading to a halt in the entire process for more than 3-4 hours.

"Aishe Ghosh (JNU president) and Danish (AISF member) said contradictory things. Students were raising objections...Demands were being made to disclose the names, withdraw those names, and have selection through a free and fair process. The Left students started heckling amid this and attacked students by using 'dafli' as weapons," he added.

No immediate response was available from the university administration and the number of students injured during the incident could not be confirmed.

The incident has reignited concerns over the escalating tensions between different student factions within JNU, known for its politically charged atmosphere and active student body involvement in socio-political issues.

(With PTI inputs)
Within an hour or so of returning from New Delhi on Friday morning, chief minister Yogi Adityanath met governor Anandiben Patel at Raj Bhavan in Lucknow, sparking speculation about the likely expansion of the Uttar Pradesh council of ministers. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath at a meeting with governor Anandiben Patel in Lucknow on Friday. (ANI PHOTO)

The likely ministry expansion in Uttar Pradesh to accommodate BJP allies ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election has remained pending for the past few months.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Though the meeting was described as a courtesy call by an official spokesman, it assumed political significance as the chief minister went to Raj Bhavan soon after his return from the national capital.

In New Delhi, Yogi Adityanath attended a meeting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over to discuss the political situation and the BJPs candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The New Delhi meeting ,which began on Thursday evening, continued till late night, those aware of the development said.

The 52-member Uttar Pradesh council of ministers has eight vacancies against the maximum permissible strength of 60 members. At present, the ministry has 18 cabinet ministers (including the chief minister), 14 ministers of state (independent charge) and 20 ministers of state.

Besides accommodating Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and BJP MLC Dara Singh Chauhan, the chief minister may also induct one or two nominees of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

Rajbhar had extensively campaigned for Chauhan in the Ghosi assembly by-election held on September 5, 2023. Chauhan, however, lost the by-poll and the BJP later accommodated him as an MLC.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal MLAs voted in favour of the BJP candidates in the February 27 Rajya Sabha election. A formal announcement about making the RLD a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance may be made soon. One or two more nominees from the BJP quota, in addition to Chauhan, may also be accommodated in the ministry.
LUCKNOW Retired Varanasi district judge, Ajay Krishna Vishwesh, who had ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi complex last year and also gave the ruling allowing puja at the Vyas tehkhana (Gyanvapi southern cellar) on his last day in office on January 31, expressed happiness on being appointed as the first ombudsman of Dr Shakuntala Misra National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow (DSMNRU). Excerpts of his interview: Retired Varanasi district judge, Ajay Krishna Vishwesh (right) (Sourced)

Your initial reaction on your appointment as the first ombudsman of DSMNRU?

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It has always been an honour to serve people in judicial capacity. My judicial service began on June 20, 1990, and my first posting was as munsif magistrate in Kotdwar in the present-day Uttarakhand, which was then part of undivided Uttar Pradesh. In 1991, I was transferred to Saharanpur. After this, I became the judicial magistrate of Dehradun. For nearly two and a half years, I was posted as the district judge in the district court of Varanasi and from there I retired.

How do you look at your new role and responsibilities?

I am pleased that the university thought me worthy of this post. Under the UGC (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2023, every university has to appoint an ombudsperson for redressal of students grievances of the university/colleges/institutions affiliated to them. My role and responsibilities will be to address students grievances, if any that have not been addressed.

How do you look at this job at hand?

As you know that DSMNRU is the first university of its kind, which provides accessible and quality higher education to differently-abled students, in a completely barrier-free environment.

The mandate is primarily to serve differently-abled segments of society for which a horizontal reservation of 50% seats in all courses of the university has been provided, in addition to the normal reservation policy. Considering these, it will be a new challenge to create an environment where every student feels that he/she is unique and important.

How do you assess your last few months in the office of district judge of Varanasi?

We are not supposed to speak on judicial matters. Whatever judgements I have given are all in public domain. Anyone can access them and analyse. Speaking to media on judicial matters that I dealt with in the capacity of district judge will not be a great thing.

You recently visited the university and met with the V-C?

On February 28, I visited the university and met vice-chancellor Himanshu Shekhar Jha at his office, a day after I was appointed as universitys first ombudsman. Soon, I will be available to students at the university. If they have any major problem that has not been addressed by the university, they may come to my office and efforts will be made to address their genuine problems.
LUCKNOW A man and two minor children were killed after a speeding truck mowed them down in Barabanki district on Friday, police said. The minors, aged 5 and 8 years, were riding pillion when the accident took place. (For representation)

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed district authorities to provide all possible help and assistance to the aggrieved family.

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Police officials said Neeraj Yadav of Sumerganj village was driving with his daughter Yogita (8) and niece Vartika (5) around 8 am when the truck rammed them from behind near Bani Kondar block under Ram Sanehi Ghat police station limits. The two girls died on the spot and Neeraj was seriously injured, the officials added.

He was rushed to a district hospital. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was brought to the King Georges Medical University in Lucknow where he succumbed to injuries.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and police have taken the truck into custody. Further investigation is underway, he said.
Guwahati: The anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) once again erupted in Assam as the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and 30 other organisations chalked out a series of protests, including a 12-hour hunger strike in all districts on March 9 during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the state. (Representative Photo)

AASU president Utpal Sarma addressed a press conference in Guwahati on Thursday after meeting with representatives of the indigenous organisations. Terming implementation of CAA as a grave injustice to the people, he said that the people of Assam have never accepted the CAA and will oppose any step towards its implementation.

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Along with the legal fight, we will continue democratic and peaceful agitation against the Centres decision, he added.

Earlier this month, Union home minister Amit Shah said that the CAA rules would be notified and implemented before the Lok Sabha elections

On Thursday, the United Opposition Forum (UOF), a group of 16 opposition parties in Assam also submitted a memorandum to President Draupadi Murmu through Governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking repeal of the CAA and its non-implementation in Assam. They threatened to hold a democratic mass movement across the state if the CAA is not repealed.

The parties, which are planning to contest the coming general election as a united front, termed the CAA as unconstitutional accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of passing the legislation in parliament by taking advantage of its majority and completely ignoring the sentiment of the people of Assam.

Assam previously witnessed violent protests in December 2019 against the controversial legislation that seeks to grant citizenship to religious minorities from Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

While protests in other parts of India against CAA were about the exclusion of Muslims from its purview, the UOF is against allowing non-Muslim illegal immigrants to become citizens.

Several groups and indigenous associations feel that if the CAA is implemented, it could lead to an influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and threaten the language, culture and land holdings of local populations.

This Act is not only unconstitutional, but it is also going to nullify the historic Assam Accord of 1985 by putting in danger the history, culture, social fabric, economy and the very identity of the Assamese people, read the memorandum submitted by the opposition front to Murmu which HT has seen.

...Therefore, we, the opposition political parties urge upon you to intervene in this most sensitive matter and direct the Government of India to desist from its decision to implement CAA in Assam and also to repeal this unconstitutional and anti-national Act, it added.

Also Read: CAA rules to be finalised before Lok Sabha elections: Amit Shah

The memorandum stated that if the Centre paid no heed to that demand, they would have no alternative to launching a mass movement through democratic means to repeal the legislation.

The members of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS, a farmers rights body, held anti-CAA protests on Thursday in Tinsukia, Dhubri and Hailakandi districts, in which the police detained at least 10 people.

Reacting to the proposed protests, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there was no relevance of any protest such protests and those who opposed it should approach the Supreme Court seeking its repeal.

There is no relevance of protest against CAA as agitation cannot do anything regarding the fate of an Act passed by parliament. That can only change in the Supreme Court like it abolished the electoral bonds introduced by the BJP, he said in Guwahati.

Sarma said that some want to make a political career out of the agitation. CAA is a reality and it is in the law book of India, it has been a part of the statute book of India for the last two years. Those who hate the CAA wholeheartedly will also have to approach the SC. Those who want to make a political career out of CAA can do agitation. There is a difference between the two, he said.

Meanwhile, responding to calls for proposed protests, Assam Police chief GP Singh posted a status on X reiterating a March 2019 order of the Gauhati high court that asked the government to fix responsibility and accountability against those organisations and groups that call for bandhs (strikes).

Needless to say that with the GSDP of Assam pegged at INR 5,65,401 Crore, loss from a days Bandh would be approximately INR 1643 Crores recoverable from those who call for such a Bandh in accordance with Para 35(9) of the aforementioned order of the Honble Gauhati High Court order, his post read.

(with PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday accused the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress government of looting public money and being anti-development. PM Modi was addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s Vijay Sankalp rally in Jharkhands Dhanbad (ANI file photo)

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Vijay Sankalp rally in Jharkhands Dhanbad, PM Modi said these parties think only about their respective families in contrast to his government that continues to work for the welfare of the country.

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Without naming the former chief minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) earlier this year over allegations of money laundering, PM Modi said JMM and Congress leaders have amassed Benami property from corruption money and underlined that jail was the only place.

Also Read: Narendra Modi condemns Sandeshkhali case, Will you ever forgive TMC?

For fast development in Jharkhand, better law and order and an honest government are important. But the dynastic, corrupt, and appeasing government of JMM-Congress has deteriorated the situation. In Jharkhand, extortion has increased. Because of appeasement, trespassing has increased, said PM Modi.

JMM-Congress leaders are busy filling their safe vaults. They have created mountains of Benami (unnamed) properties. We had seen heaps of coal, but heaps of cash were seen for the first time from Jharkhand. This is your money. Dont you think such people should spend their life in jail. Whatever is looted will have to be returned, this is Modis guarantee. When I act against such people, they run away because they are aware of their deeds, he added.

PM Modi had arrived in Dhanbad after inaugurating a fertiliser manufacturing unit of HURL at Sindri, besides launching and laying foundation of other development projects of railways, power and infrastructure sectors worth 37,500 crore.

Accusing the INDIA bloc of being anti-development and anti-people, the prime minister said they are creating obstacles in implementation of Centres development schemes.

I am working on solving the water issues. But the INDI Alliance is halting it. In Jharkhand, only 50% of the work of the Jal Jeevan Mission has been completed. They are creating obstacles in making houses for the poor. INDI Alliance government is anti-development and anti-people. Their only vision is to snatch the rights of the people. The middlemen are not able to have the commission anymore. Those who have lost their commission are abusing me. But their abuses dont reach me because your blessings are protecting me, said PM Modi.
More than 44 percent of engineering seats, including self-financed institutes, in the state, were left vacant in 2023, the Gujarat government told the legislative assembly on Thursday. This accounts for more than 62,000 seats lying vacant in the state in 2023. More than 32 percent of seats in Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Application (MCA) courses that account for 7,742 seats remained vacant in the previous year.(HT File Photo)

Also, more than 32 percent of seats in Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Application (MCA) courses that account for 7,742 seats remained vacant in the previous year, as per the official data tabled in the state legislative assembly.

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State Higher and Technical Education Minister Rushikesh Patel said various government-run, grant-in-aid and self-financed colleges have 1,40,852 seats of engineering degree and diploma courses in Gujarat. Of these 1,40,852 seats, 71,629 are of degree engineering courses, while 69,223 are of diploma engineering courses, he said.

The minister informed the House that 78,540 seats (55.76 percent) were filled last year, while 62,311 seats (44.23 percent) of these degree and diploma courses remained vacant. A total of 38,811 seats of degree engineering and as many as 23,501 seats of diploma engineering remained vacant in 2023, Patel said.

Citing reasons for the situation of seats remaining vacant, the minister said less registration in comparison to available seats and students opting for admissions in top engineering institutes, such as IIT and NIT, in India and abroad could be some of the reasons for the situation.

Since the criteria for admission in diploma colleges is passing Class 10, seats remain vacant as students opt for studying in Class 11 or go for other courses, such as IIT and nursing, Patel said in his written reply.
Thrilling news for One-Punch Man fans! Season 3 is officially confirmed to be in production with the return of animation studio J.C. Staff. The excitement builds further with the release of the official trailer now streaming on YouTube, hinting at the Saitama's upcoming clash with the hero hunter Garou. The anime promises to bring to life the beloved manga chapters by ONE and Yusuke Murata, keeping fans on the edge of their seats with excitement. Yusuke Murata, the artist behind One-Punch Man, has fans excited with the first look at his new anime production, Zaiyuki.(Madhouse)

One-Punch Man season 3 drops trailer

To celebrate the upcoming release of the 30th manga volume in Japan and the series surpassing 30 million copies in sales, a new teaser trailer has been shared on the EMOTION Label's YouTube channel. The trailer showcases the main characters, confirms the returning animation studio and staff, and introduces a Hero Visual Project.

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Also read: Warning: One Piece fan avoid Chapter 1109 spoilers, wrong leak can change game

No matter how much an organism strives, there are limits to its growth. The trailer begins with a dramatic voiceover setting the tone, followed by a thrilling confrontation between Garou and monstrous foes, signaling the start of the action-packed Monster Raid arc. An overabundance of strength is a burden to its bearer, giving rise to complications. Or those who become monsters shed their original selves , the lines went on to describe the characters growth.

Spanning nearly 2 minutes and 24 seconds, the trailer teases intense battles and character growth drawn from the manga's storyline. With its impressive animation, Season 3 holds the promise of delivering a truly exhilarating viewing experience.

One-Punch Man season 3 release date

As of March 2024, the release date for One Punch Man season 3 hasn't been announced. However, given the gap of four years between season 1 (2015) and season 2 (2019), a similar pattern suggests that season 3 may be released around mid-2024.

One-Punch Man season 3 - who is returning?

Tomohiro Suzuki and Makoto Miyazaki are in charge of the screenplay. J.C. Staff, who animated season 2, are officially returning for season 3 as well. However, a major upset came when One-Punch Man manga artist Yusuke Murata added that he was uninvolved.

Also read: Lee Jae Wook to launch One-Man agency after leaving C-Jes amid Karina's romance: Agency responds

One-Punch Man season 3 plot

The official synopsis of One-Punch Man season 3 reads, Saitama is a hero who only became a hero for fun. After three years of "special training," he's become so strong that he's practically invincible. In fact, he's too strongeven his mightiest opponents are taken out with a single punch. Alongside Genos, his faithful disciple, Saitama performs his official hero duties as a member of the Hero Association. 

The plot synopsis further reads, One day, monsters claiming to be from the Monster Association suddenly appeared, taking a child of a Hero Association executive as a hostage. The S-class heroes gather and plan a raid on the Monster Association hideout to rescue the hostage. Meanwhile, Garou, a 'human monster; who was taken by the Monster Association during a battle with the heroes, awakens in the Monster Association hideout."
On Thursday evening, parents-to-be Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were clicked at Mumbai and Jamnagar airports. The actors had just shared their pregnancy news earlier in the day and were adorably twinning in white as they arrived for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants pre-wedding festivities in Jamnagar. (Also Read: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh twin in white as they're spotted for the first time since pregnancy announcement) Ranveer Singh threw a protective arm around Deepika Padukone as they arrived at Jamnagar.

Mobbed by fans

As Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh arrived at Jamnagar, they were mobbed by fans, who wanted to click pictures and selfies. Ranveer could be seen holding Deepikas hand and helping her make her way to their car. He even put his arms around her to protect her from the crowd. Ranveer looked happy as he couldnt stop grinning and waved to fans. The couple was also flanked by security, who kept the crowd from getting too close.

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Baby-on-board

After Deepika presented an award at the BAFTA Awards recently, there were rumours that she was hiding a baby bump with her shimmery Sabyasachi saree. The pictures she posted on her Instagram also covered her bump and The Week reported recently that the actor was in the second trimester of her pregnancy. The couple confirmed the news on Thursday, by sharing a post that simply read, September, 2024. Congratulatory messages poured in for the couple from fans and celebs alike.

First appearance

Post the announcement, Deepika and Ranveer made their first appearance at the Mumbai airport as they flew out of the city. Deepika looked radiant in a white dress paired with a matching sweater while Ranveer opted for a sweatshirt and pants in white. The couple got married in 2018 and have worked together in films like Goliyon Ka Raasleela Ram-Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat.

Upcoming work

Ranveer is currently shooting for Singham Again with Rohit Shetty. He is also rumoured to star in Shaktimaan movie, directed by Basil Joseph of Minnal Murali fame. Deepika also stars in Singham Again, apart from Nag Ashwins Kalki 2898 AD with Prabhas, Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan.

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Anatomy of a Fall review: Sandra Huller has always been a compelling actor, one simply needs to watch her shed a solitary tear in 2016's Toni Erdmann to witness the amount of deliberate indifference she eschews in with her presence. The same opacity of her face is the blank canvas on which Justine Triet's Palme D'or winning courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall rests. (Also read: The Teachers Lounge movie review: Germany's Oscar nominee is a compelling tour de force) Anatomy of a Fall is nominated for 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

The premise

The actor's impenetrable gaze is key to unlock the mystery of this compelling drama. In half of the film, she is at the trial, charged with the murder of her husband. Did she do it? The questions float in the air, and several secrets come vicariously close to corner her into some kind of submission. But the more Anatomy of a Fall demands those inclinations, the more she stands still like a dilemma. Should we feel sorry for her? What is she hiding? This woman won't give you easy answers.

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In Anatomy of a Fall, we are first introduced to Sandra Huller's Sandra Voyter, who is German by birth but is now living with her with her French husband Samuel (Samuel Theis), in the French Alps. Soon, we will come to know that Sandra is a successful novelist and translator, while Samuel is a former professor struggling to write a book himself. The couple's only son, 10-year-old Daniel (a terrific Milo Machado Graner) is visually impaired, and also lives with them along with their dog Snoop. Daniel and Snoop go out for a walk and return to find Samuel dead outside, with a bloodied wound on his head.

Did she do it?

Did Sandra push Samuel from the top window? Did he hit his head on the way down and tumble on the snow? Or was he seething in desperation, and decided to kill himself? The autopsy reports are inconclusive, and Sandra finds herself witness to cagey interpretations by the police on what exactly happened that day. Key to all is what their blind son Daniel heard or interpreted, but is that enough? Then there's her lawyer (a captivating Swann Arlaud), who might be an old flame of hers. But as the drama begins to unravel in the courtroom, they also have to deal with the prosecutor (a scene-stealing Antoine Reinartz), who will tear apart Sandra's marriage to dissect that she indeed killed him.

Justine Triet, who co-wrote the script with her partner Arthur Harrari, fashion these revelations like a silent storm taking shape over the course of subsequent hearings. The dense and shifting screenplay moves ahead with the vitality of a propulsive novel, spread across its judicious use of the two-and-a-half hours runtime. Each word she chooses- switching from French to English alternatively, is essential and will be dissected to bits.

Final thoughts

Simon Beaufils's camerawork explores the spaces in the house, and then in the courtroom with quiet intensity, while Laurent Senechal's editing is a masterclass in cutting through flashbacks to process key details. It all builds up to one volcanic fight sequence when the two finally face each other with uncomfortable truths. "Your generosity conceals something dirtier and meaner," Sandra yells at Samuel. The effect is hypnotizing.

Anatomy of a Fall is gripping and intense, one that dares you to look away and not pay attention. Triet is not concerned with the answers, or a sense of closure that might let all the missing details fall into place. She refuses to indulge in those calibrations, which finds promise in Sandra Huller's utterly mesmeric performance. To occupy this world is to find ourselves walking through many lies and battles, but not all of them are for everyone. For it matters how we are perceived, more than anything else. Anatomy of a Fall understands that. Give it all the awards.

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Hong Kong: Alice Mak visits Guangzhou

Secretary for Home & Youth Affairs Alice Mak arrived in Guangzhou today to start her visit there.

Miss Mak met Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the People's Government of Guangdong Province (GDHKMAO) Director Chen Li-wen in the morning to discuss the joint promotion of youth development in Guangdong and Hong Kong.

She shared with Ms Chen the vision and direction of the Youth Development Blueprint as well as the progress of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's work in youth development, saying that the Home & Youth Affairs Bureau will work closely with the GDHKMAO to offer comprehensive support to youth development.

In the afternoon, Miss Mak attended a sharing session on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area youth innovation and entrepreneurship. During the event, she said that the Hong Kong SAR Government encourages youngsters of Hong Kong to seize the opportunities brought by the development of the bay area and develop a business there.

About 50 members of the Youth Link, who are participating in exchange activities in Guangzhou, joined the sharing session to interact with the speakers and gather information on living and developing careers in the GBA.

The home affairs chief then visited the Human Resources & Social Security Department of Guangdong Province and met its Director-General Du Minqi. They exchanged views on encouraging Hong Kong youth to start businesses in the bay area and strengthening collaboration between youth innovation and entrepreneurship bases in the province and Hong Kong.

While giving Mr Du an update of the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the Youth Development Fund, she stated that the bureau will work closely with the provinces Human Resources & Social Security Department to promote youth innovation and entrepreneurship.

In the evening, Miss Mak and Youth Link members met representatives of the Hong Kong's chambers of commerce in Guangdong to learn about their living and working conditions on the Mainland.

She encouraged young people to grasp the opportunities to study, conduct exchanges and start a business on the Mainland, so as to enhance their understanding of the development of the country and contribute to the country and Hong Kong.

This story has been published on: 2024-03-01. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Scenic area in C China's Luoyang hosts activities to celebrate Spring Festival

People's Daily Online) 13:52, March 01, 2024

A performance is held at the National Archaeological Site Park of Sui-Tang Luoyang City in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, during the Spring Festival holiday. (Photo courtesy of the National Archaeological Site Park of Sui-Tang Luoyang City)

During the Spring Festival holiday in 2024, the National Archaeological Site Park of Sui-Tang Luoyang City in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, hosted a variety of celebratory activities. The performances showcased cultural inheritance and attracted visitors from across the country with their diverse cultural and tourism experiences.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Mark Asch at The Current:

The New York City of Raoul Walshs childhood was a place where giants walked the earthand came to dinner. In his riotously unreliable 1974 autobiography, Each Man in His Time, the director recalls his father, Thomas Walsh, as an Irish subversive who shot his way out of Dublin, escaping on a ship bound for Spain and ending up in New York as a cutter for Brooks Brothers, where he dressed Edwin Booth for Hamlet and Teddy Roosevelt for San Juan Hill. Through his father, young Raoul allegedly brushed up against the greatsMark Twain, Enrico Caruso, Buffalo Bill, Gentleman Jim, John L. Sullivansome of whom would later populate his films. After his father died in 1937, Walsh writes, his hometown was just another city without Big Tom. But soon enough he would recreate the city of his memories on the New York Street of the Warner Bros. backlot.

That filmhis first for the studiowas The Roaring Twenties, an epoch-spanning tall tale filled with the kind of composite characters and legendary incidents found in Walshs recollections.

more here.
Actor Lee Jae Wook, known widely for his stellar performance in Alchemy of Souls, is reportedly set to establish his own agency. In recent months, numerous K-drama actors and K-pop idols have been venturing into entrepreneurship, and it appears that the Impossible Heir star has now joined the trend. This development comes shortly after his relationship with aespas Karina was revealed, following his confirmation of their romantic involvement. Lee Jae Wook to launch One-Man agency after leaving C-Jes: Report(Pic credit- X)

Also read: aespas Karina is dating Impossible Heir star Lee Jae Wook: Agency confirms

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Lee Jae Wook to launch own agency

On February 29, South Korean media outlet SPOTV reported that the 25-year-old is looking forward to establishing his own One Man Company after his contract with C-Jes expires shortly. C-Jes studio, home to celebrities such as Choi Min Shik, Ra Mi Ran, Ryu Jun Yeo, Moon So Ri, had Lee Jae Wook for three years; however, the contract is set to expire in April. Since joining the studio, the Extraordinary You actor has become a household name. As the rumor gained traction, his current agency responded with a brief statement.

C-Jes responds to Lee Jae Wook leaving the agency

In response to the rumors, C-Jes released a brief statement addressing the issue. The company confirmed that the actors is still under the contract. Additionally, they commented that since there is still some time left, they would refrain from commenting on his future status. Lee Jae Wook has been represented by C-JeS Studios for the past three years, having joined the agency in April 2021.

Also read: 2024 Korean Music Awards winners: BTS Jungkook snubbed, New Jeans and rookies shine

Lee Jae Wook and aespas Karina relationship

The actor known for his role in The Deaths Game recently made headlines by confirming his relationship with Karina, a member of the K-pop group aespa. According to reports, their romance blossomed after they first met at an overseas fashion event, and their connection continued to grow as they spent time together in Seoul. Although both of their agencies initially needed some time to understand the situation, they eventually confirmed that the couple is indeed exploring their relationship and getting to know each other better.
Por movie review: College life is typically filled with friendships, fun, college fests and the yes, the friendly ragging that seniors and juniors engage in. But college also sees the development of enmity between different gangs, and juniors and seniors. Thats also an inherent part of life on campus and this is what director Bejoy Nambiar focuses on in his film Por. (Also Read  Kaala review: Intelligence has left the building in Bejoy Nambiar's new series overstuffed with hollow style) Por movie review: Bejoy Nambiar bites more than what he can chew

What's Por about?

Happy-go-lucky Yuva (Kalidas Jayaram) joins St Martins College only to discover that his senior Prabhu (Arjun Das) from Sunbeam boarding school is his super senior here as well. The unexpected meeting fuels his anger and he promises to take his revenge on Prabhu in time. We also meet their friends in college  Gayatri (TJ Bhanu), who is an activist and runs Kural (Voice); Vennila, who is also part of Kural; and Surya, who is a politicians daughter and has political ambitions. There is actor Sanchana Natarajan too, who is part of the group.

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All of them are friends and yet have complicated relationships amongst themselves. While Vennila and Surya are romantically involved, they are also political rivals as they both stand for elections on campus for the post of general secretary. Prabhu hangs around on campus not completing his arrears and also because of his interest in Gayatri. Meanwhile, Yuva is attracted to Sanchana Natarajans character and they hook up. Yuva and Prabhu remain at loggerheads, but its at the time of the college festival that a massive fight breaks out, causing chaos and mayhem. Why does Yuva hate Prabhu? What happens eventually between all of them thanks to their diverse ambitions?

Bejoy Nambiar, who has assisted director Mani Ratnam, returns to Tamil cinema after some years now. He has directed films like Shaitan, David, Wazir and Solo, and is now back with a college campus story that revolves around two guys. Por doesnt just showcase their rivalry, but includes numerous other themes that run parallel to the story. For instance, Vennila comes from a lower caste and caste discrimination is highlighted. Vennila and Surya are in a same sex relationship so the LGBTQI+ theme is brought in too. There is the issue of child sexual assault in a characters backstory, as well as the dark underbelly of the world of politics that spills onto the campus. Was the director perhaps over ambitious in trying in to tie in so many social issues into a tale of two men? Definitely.

How is Por?

The movie storyline may have some novel factors but its a campus tale that has been told many times, and often far better. There are too many characters that are involved in the story, and this dilutes the essence of the film. While there is a need for a por (war or fight) in all the themes the film shows glimpses of, not one fight shows them being victorious over an issue.

With regard to performances, Arjun Das, Kalidas Jayaram (who is seen in a new beefed-up avatar), and Sanchana Natarajan deliver the goods. The music by Sid Sriram uses new-age sounds and rhythms, keeping in line with the college theme.

Por is a film that goes down fighting to win over the audience with its youth story. Unfortunately, the story doesnt have the spunk of Arjun Das nor the fury of Kalidas Jayaram to keep us engaged and invested.

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Operation Valentine review: Tom Cruise has forever ruined the aerial action genre for everyone. There, I said it! Anything that remotely features a shot of a fighter plane, let alone a whole film based on the Air Force, has the 1986 film Top Gun (and its sequel) to live up to. So when Shakti Pratap Singh attempts an aerial action film with Operation Valentine, starring Varun Tej and Manushi Chhillar, you cant help but wonder if they couldve done more. (Also Read: Varun Tej Operation Valentine interview: On what he learnt from IAF officers and more) Operation Valentine review: Varun Tej plays an IAF officer in this aerial action film

Operation Valentine story

Arjun Dev aka Rudra (Varun) is a skilled test pilot with the Indian Air Force who (you guessed it) finds it hard to follow commands. His wife, radar officer Aahana Gill (Manushi) tries to reel him in but even a tragedy wont change his ways. Hes trying to devise a method, Project Vajra, where pilots can fly under the radar but a terrorist attack in Srinagar threatens to accelerate his plans at the cost of his safety.

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Operation Valentine review

Operation Valentine is refreshing, in that theres no excessive jingoism, too much hero worship or demonising anyone in the name of drama. But that also means that when the film presents you with a mature, balanced narrative, it doesnt exactly give you the kind of over-the-top high moments youve come to expect from Telugu cinema. The film doesnt try too hard to impress the audience or bank on prevailing sentiments, which works in its favour. But it lacks the emotional heft needed to keep you engaged.

Pulwama attack and Balakot airstrikes

While the film makes it clear who the enemies are - the extremists - it never vilifies them for the choices they make, nor does it glorify the Indians too much for retaliating. Sure, the film lets go of that balance when a fictional Prime Minister is given a major chunk of the credit for IAFs hard work, but I digress. The Pulwama attack, accompanied by the song Annee Nuvve Ammaku, does attempt to play on your emotions, but it's mostly matter-of-fact by the time the Balakot airstrikes roll around.

The lead actors

Varun and Manushi were clearly brought on-board not just for their acting skills but because of the way they look, too. The actors make for a fetching pair in their uniforms and while their chemistry doesnt always set the screen on fire, you understand Aahanas frustration with Arjun. They also get the body language right. The actors dont really get the scope to perform for the most part but they manage to get across the emotions well when needed. Paresh Ahuja plays Yash Sharma with a swagger but its off-putting when him or Manushi do not get their lip sync right. This is an issue a lot of the other actors, including Ruhani Sharma, who dont speak Telugu are riddled with too.

The characters of Operation Valentine

The highs and lows

On one hand, its novel for Telugu cinema to attempt combat sequences like the kind Operation Valentine pulls off. On the other, the subpar VFX in key parts holds you back from the immersive experience you were promised. The action sequences could've been much smoother when a major chunk of the film involves these pilots fighting for the country. Mickey J Meyer delivers an effective soundtrack and Hari K Vedantams cinematography also works well for the film. Some of Sai Madhav Burras dialogues couldve done with more punch.

In conclusion

Operation Valentine is respectful to the Indian Air Force and plays it safe for the most part. The non-linear narrative takes its own sweet time to set things up, but when it does, the going is smoother. The VFX needed to be much better for this film to work the way it's intended. Shakti shouldve also taken a little more time to set up his characters, which would help us connect with them better. Either way, Operation Valentine is watchable.

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In March 2024, several web series, including Hope On The Street, Showtime, Queen of Tears, Maharani 3, and Sunflower 2, will release across several OTT platforms. Fans are awaiting shows such as Manhunt, The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy, and Invincible, among others. (Also Read | BTS Jungkook to Benny Blanco, J-Hope shocks with 7 unexpected features on new album HOTS) Fans can watch Hope On The Street, Showtime and Maharani 3 in March.

As the list continues, we bring you an interesting lineup of web series that you can look forward to in March.

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1) Hope On The Street

BTS member J-Hope is all set to come up with a docuseries titled Hope On The Street. It is a 6-episode docuseries that highlights the rapper's story and love for dancing as he begins a new journey in his 12th year since debut, returning to his dancer roots. Accompanied by his former instructor, the popping champion Boogaloo Kin, J-Hope explores the streets of Osaka, Seoul, Paris, New York, and Gwangju, meeting inspiring street dancers along the way, as per a statement. The project will also feature songs from his special album Hope On The Street Vol 1. It will be out on Prime Video on March 28. Episodes will be released weekly every Thursday and Friday.

2) Showtime

Directed by Mihir Desai and Archit Kumar, Showtime is touted to be an "epic saga of legacy and ambition in the world of cinema", which will give the audience a sneak peek into what goes behind the multi-million-dollar industry of Bollywood, nepotism and the power struggles at the top. The show stars Naseeruddin Shah, Emraan Hashmi, Mahima Makwana, Rajeev Khandelwal, and Shriya Saran in the lead roles. Showtime will be out on Disney+ Hotstar on March 8.

3) Maharani 3

Directed by Saurabh Bhave, the third season of Maharani 3 features Huma Qureshi as Maharani aka Rani Bharti. It also stars Amit Sial, Vineet Kumar, Pramod Pathak, Kani Kusruti, Anuja Sathe, Sushil Pandey, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and Sohum Shah in pivotal roles. Maharani 3 will be out on March 7.

4) Maamla Legal Hai

Rahul Pandey has directed the upcoming courtroom drama show. It stars Ravi Kishan, Nidhi Bisht, Naila Grrewal and Anant V Joshi, among others. The show brings out the lives of the lawyers of Patparganj District Court. The series is all set to premiere on Netflix on March 1.

5) Sunflower 2

The second season of the web show stars Sunil Grover and Adah Sharma. It will premier on Zee5 on March 1. The trailer offers a glimpse into the intriguing world of Sunflower, a middle-class housing society in Mumbai teeming with quirky characters. Sunil Grover, reprising his role as the enigmatic Sonu Singh, once again infuses humour and mystery, while Adah Sharma adds her charm as Rosie Mehta.

6) Manhunt

Monica Beletsky, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer, created the new limited series. Manhunt is an upcoming, seven-part true crime limited series starring Tobias Menzies. It also stars Anthony Boyle, Lovie Simone, Will Harrison, Brandon Flynn, Damian OHare, Glenn Morshower, Patton Oswalt, Matt Walsh and Hamish Linklater. Carl Franklin directed the first two episodes of the series, which will debut on Apple TV+ The first two episodes will air on Friday, March 15, and episodes will debut weekly on Fridays through April 19.

7) Queen of Tears

Department store queen Hong Hae In and supermarket prince Baek Hyun Woo get entangled in a miraculously twisted love story. The married couple strives through an unceasing streak of chaos and crisis after crisis but makes it out together despite everything seeking to destroy them. It will release on March 9 on tvN and Netflix. The show stars Kim Soo Hyun, Kim Ji Won, Park Sung Hoon, Kwak Dong Yeon, and Lee Joo Bin.

8) The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy 2

Eugene Levy, this time, is embarking on a grand tour of Europe. The seven-part second season of the travel series follows Eugene as he makes his way from the very north of the continent to the very south. The second season will premiere on Apple TV+, with the first two episodes on Friday, March 8, with additional episodes to debut each week through Friday, April 12.

9) Constellation

It is an eight-part, conspiracy-based psychological thriller drama starring Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks. Constellation stars Rapace as Jo  an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space  only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. Directed by Michelle MacLaren, Oliver Hirschbiegel, and Joseph Cedar, Constellation also stars James D'Arcy, Julian Looman, William Catlett, and Barbara Sukowa. It will make its global debut with the first three episodes on Wednesday, February 21 on Apple TV+, followed by one episode weekly through March 27.

10) Invincible 2

The second half of the second season of the animated superhero series will be out on March 14 on Prime Video, with new episodes airing weekly. It's an eight-episode season and is based on the comic book by Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley. The show stars Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Zazie Beetz, Grey DeLisle, Chris Diamantopoulos, Walton Goggins, Gillian Jacobs, Jason Mantzoukas, Ross Marquand, Khary Payton, Zachary Quinto, Andrew Rannells, Kevin Michael Richardson, Seth Rogen, and JK Simmons.

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OTT new releases  such as My Name Is Loh Kiwan and Sunflower season 2  on Netflix, Apple TV+ and others should be on your viewing list this weekend. After the success of web series and documentaries like Indian Predator, Curry & Cyanide  The Jolly Joseph Case, among others, Netflix is yet again bringing a brand new miniseries based on the Sheena Bora murder case, titled The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth. After a delay, it finally dropped on Netflix, just in time for the weekend. Also read: OTT new releases to binge on OTT releases to watch this weekend: The Indrani Mukerjea Story Buried Truth revolves around Indrani Mukerjea, the main accused in the Sheena Bora murder case.

Here's a list of new films and series available on OTT this week:

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The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth, Netflix

The Indrani Mukerjea Story: Buried Truth will shed light on the Sheena Bora murder case that took place in 2015. The Netflix show will focus on the disappearance of 25-year-old Sheena Bora through various interviews, including with Indrani Mukerjea.

Maamla Legal Hai, Netflix

The courtroom drama features Ravi Kishan in the lead role  a lawyer in the Patparganj District Court. Maamla Legal Hai looks at the courtroom proceedings in a lighter vein. It also stars Yashpal Sharma in a pivotal role.

Sunflower season 2, ZEE5

Sunil Grover-starrer quirky murder mystery is based in a housing society called Sunflower. Season 2 of Sunflower continues the investigation into Mr Kapoor's (Ashwin Kaushal) death, with a majority of the residents and frequent visitors coming under suspicion.

Somebody Feed Phil season 7, Netflix

Philip Rosenthal is perhaps best known as being the creator of the US show Everybody Loves Raymond, but since that show went off the air he has gotten more on-camera exposure. In this series, he takes viewers on an eating tour around the world.

Furies, Netflix

Netflix delves into Paris criminal underworld in a brand new eight-part series. The French action-thriller is helmed by the same director, who brought audiences The Huntsman: Winters War  Cedric Nicolas-Troyan.

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, Apple TV+

Great British Bake Off's Noel Fielding is back on the screen at his comedic best in The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, an all-new comedy-adventure series now streaming.

My Name Is Loh Kiwan, Netflix

The movie follows a North Korean asylum seeker  played by Song Joong-ki  who falls in with a woman embroiled in Belgiums criminal underworld.

Napoleon, Apple TV+

Ridley Scott and Joaquin Phoenix have reunited to make Napoleon, a two-and-a-half-hour historical epic about the legendary French emperor.

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Up above the world so high- 37,000 feet to be precise! The team of the upcoming actioner Yodha came together for one-of-it's-kind trailer launch, for which they decided to fly down a team of select media persons from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The cast of Yodha at the trailer launch in Ahmedabad.

The film's entire cast- Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani, Rashi Khanna, directors Sagar Ambre-Pushkar Ojha, producers Karan Johar, Apoorv Mehta, Shashank Khaitan and distributor Anil Thadani- boarded the special flight, which was everything Yodha- from the customised seats, to the tablets waiting for all media. And as soon as we soared in the air, Johar stepped forward and told us the special code to unlock the tab and then to everyone's surprise, there it was- the exhilerating trailer of Yodha. An out-of-the-box trailer launch was thus a big success. This flight is integral to the film's plot too- because the story revolves around one such flight. Malhotra plays an Indian soldier, while Patani is an air hostess.

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The grand trailer launch event at a theatre in Ahmedabad was jam packed, with fans too eager to meet their favourite stars. Despite battling a bad throat, Johar was pumped up to answer all queries, "Its been 12 years, and it still feels like the first day, when my godfather in the industry and my guru Yash Chopra was there to bless the three of them. They look the same. There was no difference," he quipped, when asked whether he foresees a reunion with his students- Alia Bhatt, Sidharth and Varun Dhawan again.

Patani meanwhile was her most candid self while raking the nepotism debate, "If I am an actress today, it is also because of Karan Johar; because he was the one who actually spotted me when I was modelling. I was just 18. I feel like I wouldnt have been here, if he hadn't spotted me at that time. So when people say whatever (hinting at nepotism)... I am an outsider. So I feel like this is the opportunity that he gave me.

Malhotra, overwhelmed with the cheers by his fans present at the event, remarked, "I have been seeing videos of fans comparing my clips from SOTY and Yodha, and I realised this is exactly what my journey has been. With Yodha, I seem to have completed my journey as an actor and life has come to a full circle for me. I will forever be grateful to Karan for giving me this opportunity and for standing by me through it all." Yodha is set for a release in theatres on March 15.
Last seen in the OTT series Rangbaaz: Darr Ki Rajneeti (2022) and in the film Siya, actor Vineet Kumar Singh has been on a working spree and is balancing different mediums. Vineet Kumar Singh on his recent visit to Lucknow(HT Photo)

The actor recently wrapped the Lucknow schedule of director Kedar Gaekwards film Match Fixing. Balance is the key! I am lucky that makers have faith in me that I can pull off different characters. If I am in a complete action avatar for Mukkabaaz (2018) and Siya, then in the biopic Saand Ki Aankh I have not even pushed anyone! So, I try to break away from the previous image which does help in the long run. The line-up I have is very diverse, he says.

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The Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), actor is happy with the OTT being favourable but eagerly wants his films to be released well in theatres.

Its very important that your project is marketed well so people come to watch it in the theatre. With weekend business being essential there is very little scope for word-of-mouth publicity for small-budget films. As an actor, nothing related to business and publicity is in my control.

Having tasted big-screen success with films like Mukkabaaz and Gold (2018), Singh wants his projects to reach places.

I just want my work to find its audience. Logon tak baat pahuchna bahut zaroori hai else it will be missed. Then, if its a good film it will eventually find its way like it happened with the film 12th Fail. I have understood the power of reach after Rangbaaz on OTT. With Anurag (Kashyap, director) sir my films have got international attention but after this series, I started getting calls and messages from all parts of the world  I was like, yeh kya hua...gazab ka response mila!

Talking about his upcoming projects, Singh adds, I play a parcel delivery boy in the anthology Roti, Kapda aur Internet, in 17th century period film Chhaava  on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj  I play a warrior for which I trained for sword fighting and learnt horse riding as well. Besides, I have completed Reema Kagtis Superman of Malegoan, an OTT series by Kabir Khan. So, its an interesting mix of projects in store.

Singh is keenly looking forward to the sequel of Mukkabaaz that he co-wrote with sister Mukti Singh Srinet. The script is ready, and we want to take it forward. I want Anurag sir to direct the film, lets see how this film finds its way.

He has shot for several projects in Lucknow including Dass Dev, a schedule of Mukkabaaz, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Rangbaaz and yet-to-release film Dil Hai Grey.
SILCHAR: Two teenagers who went missing on February 25 in Assams Cachar district have been found dead in the forest where they went to collect firewood, police said on Friday. Police said the two boys are suspected to have died by suicide (X/dccachar)

The two boys, both 15, were found dead in the forest on February 28.

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Police said the two boys are suspected to have died by suicide. This looks like a case of suicide and we are investigating the matter further, said Cachar superintendent of police (SP) Numal Mahatta.

Officer in-charge of Borkhola police station, Pragyan Gogoi said that the bodies were sent to Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) for autopsy. Once we get the report, the cause of death will be clear, Gogoi said.

The family of the two boys, however, said the two may have been murdered.

They went to that forest area to collect wood for cooking purposes but they didnt return. We lodged a missing complaint but police couldnt find them and now their dead bodies have been recovered, a family member told reporters.

The person said the boys may have been killed because they stumbled across an illegal activity.

(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secundrabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290
New Delhi: After completing the BJP's CEC meeting at 3.30 am today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued with his punishing schedule and headed for Sindhri in Jharkhand to revive a fertilizer plant. This will be the third fertilizer plant to be revived in the country after the Gorakhpur and Ramagundam plants. Prime Minister Narendra Modi being received by BJP National President JP Nadda upon his arrival for the BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting to finalise the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.(PTI)

PM Modi has a packed schedule today. He will attend the event in Sindhri at 11 am. He will then rush to Dhanbad at 12.30 pm for a public meeting. At 3 pm, he will lay the foundation stones and inaugurate several projects in Arambagh. At 3.45, he will address a public meeting in the city.

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The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting was chaired by PM Modi. The agenda of the huddle was to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP president JP Nadda, home minister Amit Shah and representatives and chief ministers of 16 states were also present at the meeting.

Also read: MK Stalin's minister accepts 'small mistake' called out by PM Narendra Modi

PM Modi, who arrived at the meeting late evening, received a warm welcome from Nadda.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant also attended the meeting.

UP deputy chief ministers Brajesh Pathak and KP Maurya also attended the meeting.

Representatives from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Goa, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Assam, Chandigarh and Telangana participated in the huddle.

The party will soon announce the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, comprising 100 names. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's names are expected to feature in the first list.

Also read: PM Modi to visit Odisha on March 5 amid speculations of alliance with BJD

PM Modi will also take part in several events on Saturday. He will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation various projects at Krishnagar at 10.30 am. At 11.13, he will address a public meeting at the same venue.

At 2.30 pm, he will flag off several projects in Aurangabad. At 5.15 pm, he will start several development projects in Bihar's Begusarai.

PM Modi is BJP's most prominent campaigner and the party's face for the Lok Sabha elections.
Kolkata: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday attacked Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee over Sheikh Shahjahan's arrest in the Sandeshkhali case, saying the state CID will treat him to mutton, pulao and biryani. He said Banerjee has sent him to jail to rest. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury(ANI)

Chowdhury, who has been sniping at Mamata Banerjee for several months even after the Trinamool blamed him for the breakdown of alliance talks with the Congress, said Shahjahan is the master of the law enforcement authorities in West Bengal.

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"The Trinamool has enslaved the CID. How can the CID question Shahjahan? Does a master answer the slave? Shahjahan is their master. If they question him they will lose their lives. Do they want to risk their jobs?" he said on Friday.

"They (CID) will treat him with mutton, pulao, biriyani. Has he gone there to answer them? He has gone there to rest. Didi (Mamata Banerjee) has asked him to take rest. When elections come, he can get back to action," Chowdhury said.

Chowdhury, one of the foremost critics of Mamata Banerjee, claimed Shahjahan will manage the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from behind the bars.

"He can operate everything from jail now whether it is Sandeshkhali, Diamond Harbour, places from where Khoka babu (Abhishek Banerjee) will contest the election. The jail will now turn into his operating center. It will be his election command office," Chowdhury said.

He said the Election Commission must deploy central forces to maintain law and order in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha elections,

"The force should come here fast. They will put the hooligans of Trinamool in check. I am not speaking against all the workers of Trinamool but those who have turned the party into an oppressive one. We have demanded for central armed forces to assist people in this fight against them. I have gone to the Election Commission in this regard and I will go again on March 4," the senior Congress leader said.

The Trinamool Congress has said it will contest the Lok Sabha elections alone. The party had blamed the politician's adverse remarks against Mamata Banerjee for the INDIA bloc fiasco.

The Congress has been reportedly trying to stitch an alliance in West Bengal with the Trinamool Congress.

With inputs from ANI
A day after the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh led by Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu appeared to have staved off a crisis, the fragility of his leadership was exposed in a series of dramatic twists as PWD minister Vikramaditya Singh travelled to Panchkula to meet the partys six rebel legislators, and then made his way to New Delhi amid speculation that he may be open to switching sides to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh speaks to the media on the disqualification of the six party MLAs, who cross-voted in Rajya Sabha polls, in Shimla on Thursday. (ANI)

The speculation was fuelled further with Congress state president Pratibha Singh, the wife of the six-time chief minister Virbhadhra Singh and Vikramaditya Singhs mother, saying that there were a lot of things that remain to be done in the Congress and the the BJP was working better than the Congress.

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Chief minister Sukhu, too, appeared to send mixed messages  he first said that Vikramaditya was acting as a Congress emissary to bring the rebels back into the fold, but then but attacked the six MLAs for betraying the party and selling their souls.

Also Read | Some rebel MLAs want to return to Congress, claims Himachal Pradesh CM

The crisis began on Tuesday after the Congress slumped to an embarrassing defeat in the Rajya Sabha polls, with party candidate Abhishek Singhvi receiving 34 votes after six Congress lawmakers and three independents previously backing the government supported BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan, who also received 34 votes. The tie was then resolved by a draw of lots, which favoured Mahajan.

The defeat fuelled speculation that the Sukhu government was reduced to a minority, sparking calls for his resignation. But speaker Kuldeep Pathania disqualified the six rebel MLAs on Thursday for defying the party whip during a discussion on a finance bill, giving the Congress some breathing room by bringing down the total numbers in the house to 62 members.

Vikramaditya, who had resigned from the cabinet accusing Sukhu of disrespecting his fathers legacy on Wednesday, also backtracked on his resignation on Thursday evening after meeting central observers Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Congresss Himachal in-charge Rajeev Shukla. And the Congress created a coordination committee, sending a message that all was well, at least for now.

Also Read | Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh lauds BJP

But it was clear on Friday that it was not so.

Vikramadityas meeting with the rebels led to speculation that he had broken ranks and joined up with them. Vikramaditya met us in Panchkula, and that is all I can say, one rebel lawmaker said about the meeting. Congress leaders close to Vikramaditya said that he was in Delhi by Friday evening, but it was unclear who he planned to meet in the national capital.

Sukhu first attempted to portray his cabinet colleagues trip as a Congress olive branch to the rebel lawmakers, and insisted that he had spoken to him at 7 in the morning, and then again at noon. After the cabinet meeting (on Thursday evening), he went to Chandigarh and met the other legislators at Lalit hotel. He tried to influence their minds and some of them want to come back to the Congress, he said.

The chief minister also said that one of the rebel MLAs had spoken to him over the phone, expressing a desire to return to the party fold. But he can only come back when he is within Himachals boundary. He is at Panchkulas Lalit Hotel. I have just heard that more CRPF personnel have been stationed there, the CM said.

Sukhu also met speaker Kuldeep Pathania, and Congress leaders said this was to explore the possibility of withdrawing the disqualification.

But these notes of reconciliation were a far cry from the aggressive tone Sukhu took at a public rally in Dharampur on Friday afternoon, where he accused the six rebel MLAs of selling their souls. Those who betrayed the party and above all played with the sentiments of the people of the state will not be spared even by the almighty, he said.

Sukhu said that the BJP had orchestrated the rebellion within the Congress, and accused leader of opposition Jai Ram Thakur of being power hungry. The present government will complete its five-year tenuremy people are my strength and I am bound and committed to serve them till my last breath, Sukhu said.

And while Vikramaditya said nothing on Friday, state Congress president Pratibha Singh laid bare the cracks within. As an MP, I visit my constituency and try to interact with local people and solve their problems. It is true that the BJPs working is better than ours, the Lok Sabha MP told ANI.

When asked about Shivakumars comment at a press conference the previous day that current government would last its five year term, the state Congress chief seemed to cast some doubt. Observer ke bolne se kya hota hai (what relevance does an observer saying it have). They are saying that they want the government to run five years. But it is the people who will decide what will happen in the future.

She also said that she intends to meet Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, and that the party high-command had to come to a resolution at the earliest. But while she said she was not in touch with the BJP, she said she could not predict what would happen in the future. Lets see. I have spent my entire life in the Congress party. We started in the Congress party and are affiliated to the Congress ideology. I cant say what will happen tomorrow, she said.

BJP leader of opposition Jairam Thakur said that it was increasingly clear that chief minister Sukhu was losing support within his own party. The political situation in Himachal Pradesh is such that whatever the Congress high command may say, things have not settled yet and there seems to be little possibility of that happening, he said.
NEW DELHI: The annual meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) highest decision-making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), slated to be held in Nagpur on March 15 will set the stage to draft the organisations roadmap for the future and identify focus areas as it prepares for the centenary celebrations next year. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat addresses a programme at RSS headquarters in Nagpur (ANI)

The meet of the RSS, the ideological fount of the ruling BJP, comes ahead of the Lok Sabha polls to be announced shortly and close on the heels of the Sanghs two key demands being met; the consecration of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya; and the passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Uttarakhand, which is expected to be replicated by several other Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.

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A third ideological demand that the Sangh aggressively campaigned for, the abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, was met in 2019, when Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, bifurcating the state into two union territories and reading down Article 370 that gave the state its own constitution and decision-making rights for all matters except defence, communications and foreign affairs.

According to a functionary aware of the details, the ABPS, which will be attended by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, senior Sangh functionaries, heads of all its offshoots, including the BJP, is likely to pass resolutions on the construction of the Ram Temple and the UCC, which is being implemented by a clutch of states.

The focus will primarily be on the Sanghs activities, the expansion of the organisation and its roadmap for the future, said functionaries who spoke on condition of anonymity. No major changes in the organisational structure are expected ahead of the centenary celebrations. The Sangh undertakes elections every three years, and the last one was in March 2021, when Dattatreya Hosabale was appointed the general secretary, replacing Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi.

The Sangh is actively working on increasing its presence and area of influence in India and abroad. While its key demands have been met; it is pursuing the Swadeshi agenda, which is also in line with the governments Make In India programme and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, said a functionary aware of the details.

The Ramjanmabhoomi movement that paved the way for the construction of the temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya was led by RSS affiliate the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

The construction of the temple is the culmination of the struggle that spanned for over 500 years...It represents the collective desire of all Bharatiyas (Indians) to have a grand temple for Lord Ram who is identified as a just ruler, a man of principles and embodiment of virtues, said the functionary, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Ahead of the January 22, consecration, Bhagwat referred to the opening of the temple as the awakening of national pride and said enlightened people of society must see to it that the dispute over the temple issue ends completely.

The RSS chief who was present for the ceremony, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urged communities to work for peace and desist from politicising the temple construction. Ayodhya means a city where there is no war, a place free from conflict. On this occasion, in the entire country, reconstruction of Ayodhya in our mind is the need of the hour and the duty of all of us, he said.

On the implementation of the UCC, which the Sangh has pursued for long, the functionary said, the organisation has made its stance clear that there needs to be awareness about the code. There are misgivings about the UCC, as many have misled the minorities and other communities that the code will override the practices they follow. The code is limited to civil laws and is for the benefit of all, particularly women among minorities who do not have the same rights as their counterparts... the functionary said.

While the Sangh claims the UCC will not be discriminatory, it has been silent on the demand from Scheduled Tribes to be left out its ambit.

There is a need to have further discussion and deliberation on the code with the vanvasis (STs) and the Kalyan Ashram (an offshoot) is working to address concerns and fears, the functionary said. The Sangh has also queered the pitch for revisiting reservation in jobs and educational institutions for STs who have converted to Islam or Christianity.

The other issues that could be part of the three-day deliberations are a national population policy, which has been flagged by Bhagwat on several occasions and the demand for caste-based census.

The issue of rallying support for the BJP is expected to be discussed during the presentation by BJP president JP Nadda, even as the Sangh maintains a distance from electoral politics. The Sangh and its cadres play a key role in motivating voters and creating awareness about the agenda of the BJP. At the ABPS in 2019, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, ensuring 100% voter turnout for a significant difference in vote share between the BJP and other parties was discussed.

The then party president Amit Shah had spoken about how the party will need to increase its vote share to 50% to fight a combined opposition. The BJP s vote share was 31% in 2014, which went up to 37% in 2019.

With the INDIA bloc attempting a combined coalition against the BJP, the party will rely on the foot soldiers of the Sangh to buttress its canvassing, which will be pivoted on the delivery of ideological promises and the development agenda.
Protesting farmer Shubh Karan Singh, who was killed in clashes with the Haryana Police at Khanauri last week, died of a firearm injury to the head, according to the 21-year-old mans post-mortem examination report, which also detected foreign bodies in his head. Farmer Shubh Karan Singh, who was killed in clashes with the Haryana Police at Khanauri last week was cremated on Thursday. (HT photo)

A CT scan conducted before the autopsy detected several metal pellets in his head. Wounds caused by metal pellets were found on the upper bodies of several protesting farmers who were injured in police action, said medico-legal reports issued by hospitals in Patiala last week.

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The examination, which was conducted on Wednesday, found an injury mark on the occipital region (the rearmost region of the skull) and also showed that his body bore no other injury marks. HT has seen the report.

Doctors who conducted the examination said they have submitted the report to the Patiala police and refrained from revealing more information. The metal pellets found in Singhs skull were also handed over to the police, said people aware of the matter, adding that these may be sent to ballistics experts to ascertain the nature of the firearm that was used.

Protesting farmers and Singhs family initially did not allow authorities to conduct a post-mortem examination, demanding that a case of a murder be filed against police personnel for his death and martyr status for the victim.

Thousands of farmers have been camped at the Punjab-Haryana borders for over two weeks now, demanding that the central government enact a law on minimum support prices (MSP) for all crops. Agitators initially tried to march towards Delhi, but were met with banks of barricades and police forces at the Punjab-Haryana border. The protesters and police have clashed several times since the march set off on February 13. It has led to scenes where Haryana Police have been seen firing tear gas shells at the protesters, who have been seen resorting to stone-pelting. A series of talks between farmers and the central government have failed to yield results, with protesters now working to chalk out the next phase of the protest.

Singh was cremated on Thursday, the same day that the Punjab Police filed a zero FIR in the case. A zero FIR is one that is registered irrespective of the area of the offence, and hence is unbound by the jurisdiction of a crime. Punjab Police sub-inspector Yashpal Sharma, investigating officer in the case said he had not received the post-mortem report till the time of going to press. He added that further investigations in the case will hinge on the report.

Pellets, which are less than 3mm in diameter, are fired from shotguns and are usually of two kinds: bare metal pellets and rubber-coated metal pellets. These are usually used by the Army and paramilitary as a crowd-control measure, and as a practice, are aimed mostly on lower limbs. But the MLR reports of several injured farmers state that pellet injuries were found on their face and forehead too.

Suresh Kumar, station house officer of Garhi police station in Haryana, said, We have not received any postmortem report yet and therefore cannot comment on it.

The site where victim was shot at is under the jurisdiction of Garhi Police station.

HT last week reported that pellet wounds were found on some protesters. At the time, a senior Haryana Police officer, who asked not to be named, said: We are aware of the development but have not received a formal report. We are looking into the matter and a probe already underway.
Mar 1, 2024 11:05 PM IST

Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast live: After the bomb blast at the Rameswaram Cafe in Bangalore, Hyderabad Police on Friday announced the implementation of precautionary measures, including vehicle checks, across the city, an official said.

"Precautionary measures, along with vehicle checking, are being carried out across Hyderabad after the Rameshwaram cafe blast incident," Hyderabad Police Commissioner Kothakota Sreenivasa Reddy said.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday that the blast at the popular eatery Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru, might have been caused by an "improvised explosive device" (IED). He said that those responsible will be identified, and strict action will be taken against them. Bengaluru: Firemen and other officials at the Rameshwaram Cafe after explosion, in Bengaluru, Friday, March 1, 2024. (PTI)

Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, CM Siddaramaiah said, "CCTV and other things are being examined. We have come to know that someone placed a bag in the afternoon. It is said to be an improvised explosive blast. Investigations are ongoing, and we need to wait for the results." When asked if it was a terrorist act, the CM clarified that it is not confirmed, and investigations are still in progress.

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ALSO READ- Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe rocked by IED blast: 5 points on eatery named after APJ Abdul Kalam

What is IED?

An improvised explosive device (IED) is a homemade bomb or destructive device, according to a government document. They can vary widely in form, ranging from small pipe bombs to sophisticated devices causing significant damage and loss of life. They can be carried in vehicles, by individuals, delivered in packages, or concealed on roadsides.

Take a look at the history of IEDs

The term "improvised explosive device" originated in the 1970s from the British army, particularly in response to the tactics employed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the document said.

The IRA utilised bombs crafted from agricultural fertiliser and SEMTEX (general-purpose plastic explosive), which was smuggled from Libya. These materials were employed to create highly effective booby trap devices and remote-controlled bombs. The term gained widespread usage, notably during the Iraq War in 2003.

ALSO READ- Rameshwaram cafe owner's 1st reaction, rivalry angle, politics, suspect profile: What we know so far

IEDs have these components

IEDs consist of components like an initiator, switch, main charge, power source, and container.

Often, these devices are packed with enhancements like nails, glass, or metal fragments, increasing shrapnel propelled by the explosion. Hazardous materials may also be included. The initiation of an IED depends on the intended target.

ALSO READ- Strict action if Pakistan Zindabad slogans found true: Siddaramaiah

How are IEDs made?

IEDs are bombs that are cheap to make and easy to hide and set off. People can make them using everyday materials or chemicals that are easy to find.

Sometimes, they might use military stuff, but usually, they use regular ingredients. Things like fertilizer, gunpowder, and hydrogen peroxide can be used to make IEDs. One common example is ANFO, a mix of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil.
Kalaburagi: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker was allegedly hacked to death in Karnatakas Kalaburagi district on Thursday, police said. Girish Babu Chakra was an aide and supporter of Kalaburagi MP Umesh Jadhav (HT Photo/sourced)

Police said the incident took place around 11pm on Thursday in the Saganur village. Chakra, an aide and supporter of Kalaburagi MP Umesh Jadhav, was recently appointed as the district BSNL Advisory Committee member.

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He came under attack during a celebratory gathering organised by his friends in the village, said police. The assailants threw chilli powder into his eyes and killed him with a machete, police said.

Speaking to HT, Aland deputy superintendent of police Mohammed Shariff said a case has been registered at the Ganagapura police station. An investigation into the matter has been launched, he said, adding three teams have been formed to arrest the accused persons.

Prima facie, it seems old rivalry is the motive behind the murder, said Shariff.

This is the second such alleged killing of a BJP member in Kalaburagi in just 24 hours. On Thursday morning, BJP leader Mahanthappa Siddaramappa Alure was allegedly hacked to death by unidentified assailants at Sarasamba village in Aland taluk.

Mahanthappa, a prominent figure in the village, served as the president of the Dhanalakshmi Cooperative Society and was elected as a member of the gram panchayat for three consecutive terms.
The Chinese rocket 'mistakenly' put in an advertisement by the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government came to bite back Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin hard as the BJP Tamil Nadu on March 1 wished Stalin a happy birthday but in Mandarin, claiming that this is his favourite language. The social media handle of Tamil Nadu BJP also provided a ready draft of a Mandarin birthday wish for Stalin and urged everybody to use it if they want to wish Stalin on his birthday. on Friday. BJP wished Stalin happy birthday in Mandarin after DMK put the photo of a Chinese rocket in an advertisement.

The Mandarin wish said: Happy birthday Stalin! Wish you a long and healthy life -- the BJP's handle clarified as the post with its innovative way to take a dig at Stalin went viral.

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The advertisement mistake snowballed into a BJP versus DMK issue after Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the advertisement on February 28 as he laid the foundation stone for a new launch complex of ISRO at Kulasekarapattinam. "They have pasted the sticker of China to take credit for ISRO launchpad in Tamil Nadu. This is an insult to our space scientists, space sector, your tax money and you (the country)," Narendra Modi said. Modi made a social media post as well and said, "DMKs advertisement today is hilarious. They have insulted Indian science and the Indian space sector, for which they must apologise."

The apology did not come as DMK MP Kanimozhi asked whether India had declared China as an enemy country. Kanimozhi pointed out that Modi himself invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to India.

DMK minister Anitha Radhakrishnan accepted that it was a mistake that took place on the part of the designer and went unnoticed by everyone. "A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area. The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us," said the DMK leader.
Kolkata: Trinamool leader Kunal Ghosh on Friday said he wants to resign from all the posts of Mamata Banerjee-led party because he is a misfit in the system. Revealing discontent in the TMC ranks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Ghosh claimed the so-called old guard of the party is in cahoots with the BJP. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh(ANI file photo)

Kunal Ghosh is the spokesperson and state general secretary of the Trinamool Congress. He said he is not joining any other party.

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"I don't want to stay in the post of state general secretary and spokesperson. I am a misfit in the system. I am unable to continue like this. I am a soldier of the party and will continue to work for the party. Please stop this rumour that I am planning to join another party," he posted in X.

He later spoke to a Bengali news channel. He said some leaders treat the party as their personal fiefdoms. He named Sudip Bandopadhyay.

"They are behaving as if TMC is a fiefdom of few leaders. In North Kolkata, we have Sudip Bandopadhyay who is more of a BJP leader than a TMC MP. He is behaving like another Shajahan Sheikh. He is soft towards the BJP because of corruption cases, which are being probed by the BJP," he said.

Also read: TMCs Sudip Bandopadhyay in crosshairs of colleagues over BJP leaders Durga puja

Shajahan Sheikh, a former TMC leader, is one of the key accused in the Sandeshkhali case. He was arrested by the police recently.

Kunal Ghosh claimed in North Kolkata, the contest is between BJP and BJP.

"Across West Bengal, TMC is fighting against the BJP in 41 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. But in North Kolkata, it is BJP versus BJP as Sudip Bandopadhyay is hand-in-glove with the saffron camp," he said.

Sudip Bandopadhyay is a Member of Parliament from Kolkata Uttar.

In November last month, Mamata Banerjee had asked the leaders to respect seniors.

Also read: Arrested Sudip Bandopadhyay is Mamata confidant, Trinamool face in Delhi

It is reported that her nephew Abhishek Banerjee backs young blood in the party.

In January 2022, amid rumours of an alleged power struggle, Mamata Banerjee dissolved all national office-bearer committees, including the post of National General Secretary held by her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

Later, a new committee was formed, and Abhishek was reinstated as the party's national general secretary.

With inputs from PTI
The Cabinet approved three proposals to set up semiconductor units in India on Thursday, including two plants by the Tata Group in Gujarat and Assam, and one by the Murugappa Group-owned CG Power in Gujarat. All three units will begin construction within 100 days, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. New Delhi: Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Anurag Thakur brief the media on cabinet decisions, in New Delhi, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (PTI Photo/Kamal Singh) (PTI02_29_2024_000094B) (PTI)

A total of 1,26,000 crore will be invested in these three units, bringing the total investment to 1,49,000 crore across four semiconductor units that are slated to come up in the country. This [the three units] will lead to direct employment of 26,000 people and indirect employment of one lakh [100,000] people, Vaishnaw said.

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In June, 2023, the government cleared a proposal by American company Micron to set up a plant in Gujarat.

Also Read | Centre clears solar rooftop scheme, phosphatic & potassium fertiliser subsidy

The new plants include a Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL) plant that will be set up in partnership with Taiwans Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC). It is the first semiconductor fab unit in India and will be set up in Dholera, Gujarat.

This is a decisive moment for the country and a big achievement on Indias path to self-reliance, Vaishnaw said.

The unit will involve an investment of 91,000 crore and produce 50,000 wafers per month --- a wafer is a silicon base on which microchips are designed. The output will create high performance compute chips to be used in electric vehicles, high power compute, telecom, defence, automobiles, consumer electronics, power electronics and display.

The other two plants --- Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Private Limited (TSAT) in Morigaon (Assam) and CG Powers in Sanand, Gujarat --- are ATMP (assembly, testing, marking, and packaging) ones.

Also Read | What is PM-Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana? Details here

India has developed ATMP technology indigenously for the first time [in the TSAT plant], Vaishnaw said. It has been developed by TSAT and the intellectual property is also Tatas.

The minister said an estimated 59,000 crore will be spent by the government as fiscal support for all four plants --- the three approved on Thursday and Microns cleared last year.

The TSAT plant will be set up in Assam in partnership with two large, reputed American conglomerates which Vaishnaw refused to name citing a confidentiality request from these two companies. This unit will be set up with an investment of 27,000 crore, and will have an output of 48 million chips per day.

CG Power, in partnership with Japans Renesas Electronics Corporation and Thailands Stars Microelectronics, will set up an ATMP unit for specialised chips in Sanand, Gujarat with an investment of 7,600 crore, and an output of 15 million chips per day. These specialised chips can be used for defence, by DRDO, for space, etc., Vaishnaw said.

Majority [of the wafers produced will be] for domestic market in the fab [TEPL in Gujarat] and significant part will be exported also. In the Assam plant [TSAT], majority will be exported a significant part will be consumed in India as well, Vaishnaw said.

With this approval, three of the four semiconductor units in the country will be housed in Gujarat --- Micron and CG Powers in Sanand, and TEPLs in Dholera.

It is up to the manufacturer to decide which state they want to set up their plant in, Vaishnaw said. He said that eight states had expressed an interest in setting up semiconductor manufacturing units but declined to name them.

India launched a PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme to catalyse a semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystems in December 2021. It was launched with an outlay of 76,000 crore under which the government will give fiscal support of 50% of the project cost for setting up semiconductor fab units, and fiscal support of 50% for ATMP units and others.

Microns ATMP facility was approved in June 2023 ; Micron invested $2.75 billion into its plant in Gujarat whose construction began in September 2023. The first chip from the Micron plant will be rolled out in December 2024, Vaishnaw said.

Vaishnaw said it usually takes semiconductor units four years to start rolling out products from the date of approval but we will compress it significantly because the one year usually taken to get permits will be decreased to 100 days.

The ministry of electronics and IT will also modernize the semiconductor laboratory (SCL) in Mohali at a cost of 10,000 crore but the proposal has not yet been taken to the cabinet, Vaishnaw said. We are developing the proposal. That will take about three months, he said.

Anku Jain, managing director of MediaTek  a Taiwanese company that designs semiconductor chips said the announcement was a crucial step in the growth of the Indian semiconductor ecosystem.

Its a proud moment for us to see Indias vision turning into reality and history being created as we move towards a bright future. As this fulfils another important step in the semiconductor ecosystem value chain, MediaTek is very excited to see this happen. In the future we could source the chips from within India as and when it aligns with our requirements, Jain, who is also a member of the executive council of India Electronics and Semiconductors Association (IESA), said.

Pankaj Mohindroo, the chairperson of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), said: The emergence of Bharat as a global semiconductor manufacturing destination no longer seems to be a distant dream. By 2027 we will have the FAB and OSAT units producing. By the end of the decade we may have more than 10 fabs and 20 OSAT units in production besides many semiconductor product design companies.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), with its headquarters in India, to establish a global network for conserving tigers and other big cats. In this file image, cheetahs seen at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district. (PTI)

The government also approved a one-time budgetary support of 150 crore for the multi-country, multi-agency coalition of 96 big cat range countries for a period of five years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

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With big cats as mascots for sustainable development and livelihood security, India and the big cat range countries can usher in major efforts on environmental resilience and climate change mitigation, while paving a future where natural ecosystems continue to thrive, and gain centrality in economic and development policies, the Union environment ministry said in a statement.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the decision on the establishment of the IBCA. The Cabinet decision marks a major step towards conserving our majestic big cats and their habitats, and also reinforcing Indias leadership in global biodiversity conservation, he said.

At a Cabinet briefing, Union minister Anurag Thakur said scientific institutions and corporations involved in environmental conservation would also be members of the IBCA.

The IBCA seeks to conserve the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and the cheetah. Of these, the tiger, lion, leopard, snow leopard and cheetah are found in India.

Also Read | Namibian cheetah Jwala gives birth to three cubs in Kuno: Union minister

During the commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger in April last year, Modi had announced the establishment of the IBCA. Together we will save these species from extinction, and create a safe and healthy ecosystem, he said.

India has shown incredible leadership in big cat conservation, particularly tigers, by demonstrating tremendous political support for the species. Tiger numbers in the country have doubled recently, well ahead of the global Tx2 target timeframe. India has also successfully translocated a big cat species from one continent to another through the Project Cheetah. All these experiences will come in handy for India to lead the big cat conservation programme. India has four transboundary landscapes: Terai Arc and Kanchenjunga with Nepal, Transboundary Manas Conservation Area (TraMCA) with Bhutan, and Sundarbans with Bangladesh. India can engage with neighbouring countries through the alliance to secure transboundary connectivity. This is much needed as the transboundary landscapes for large mammals, big cats in particular, will only survive if they remain connected and best practices from both sides of the border and international organisations can be ploughed in, said Dr Dipankar Ghose, Senior Director, Biodiversity Conservation, WWF-India
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah appears to have opened a Pandoras box by finally accepting the socio-economic and education survey, generally known as caste survey report, as leaders from his own party belonging to dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities questioned the caste survey submitted to the CM on Thursday. Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde submitted a voluminous report on the caste survey to CM Siddaramaiah on Thursday. (ANI)

Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde submitted a voluminous report on the caste survey in Bengaluru. Accepting the report Siddaramaiah said the report will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting, which usually meets every Thursday.

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The report has not been put in the public domain. But some data leaked in 2018, which is unverified, has brought down the numerical strength of the Lingayats and Vokkaligas with the Dalits on the top followed by the Muslim community.

Also Read | Caste survey will do no good, will aggravate inequality: RSS

Major and medium industries minister MB Patil, a Lingayat, said, it is true that there is a lot of concerns in Veerashaiva Lingayat community about the caste survey report. This is because many people have provided the names of their sub-castes.

We have said that all sub-castes of Veerashaiva- Lingayats must be recorded as Veerashaiva Lingayats, Patil said.

Another Lingayat minister in charge of women and child development, Laxmi Hebbalkar said, Door-to-door survey was not conducted. They didnt go to my relatives houses for data collection. There are confusions in the caste survey. However, politics should not be played over the caste survey, and all communities should get equal opportunities.

Also Read | Have not opposed caste census, says Shivakumar after Kharges charge

Its not just the Lingayats, but the Vokkaligas are also sceptical about the data in the report.

Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who represents the Vokkaliga community, was a signatory to a petition submitted by the Vokkaliga community to Siddaramaiah in November 2023.

Politics is different, but we want our communitys self-respect to be protected. I have to wear the community hat too. The MLAs and community leaders feel that the survey wasnt done properly. It must be done scientifically.

However, in December 2023, he clarified that he was not opposed to the report after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun M Kharge rapped him on the floor of the Rajya Sabha during a debate saying, All upper castes are united to oppose the caste survey.

At a convention of backward classes in Chitradurga on January 24, Shivakumar said the state government is committed to the caste survey report to provide justice to the oppressed classes.

According to a Congress functionary, Siddaramaiah should not have accepted the report.

He accepted the report following pressure from the backward classes, but there will be a backlash from the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who stood by the Congress in the Assembly polls in 2023 if it is made public, the functionary said.

The opposition parties have also urged the state government to conduct a fresh survey as they claim that the report is flawed and unscientific.

Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said, In the current report, some sub-castes have been separated from the main castes and vice versa in the case of other castes. The state government must clarify its stand on the report. There must be a public debate on the report. The BJP was not against the backward classes but justice must be done to all based on the population. The report must not be used for politics in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Panchamasali (sub sect in the Lingayats) seer, Basava Jaya Mrityunjaya, who has been demanding that his community be placed in the 2(A) reservation category from the present 3 (B) as the share for opportunities in education and government jobs is higher said, The caste survey was completed in 2018 after which the pandemic changed the socio-economic status of many. The present caste survey report is a deliberate attempt to reduce the numerical strength of the Lingayats, he said.

Retired Prof Veerabhadraiah, a Panchamsali Lingayat said the report is being opposed on the ground that it is a decade old one. If the numerical strength of the Lingayats goes down then their bargaining power for representation in the cabinet and for tickets in elections also decreases.

The idea to have a study done on the economic and social backwardness of all castes struck me after the Supreme courts ruling on Mandal commission in 1992. I got an opportunity to make an announcement of a caste based survey in my budget presentation for 2004-2005. But in July 2005, I was dismissed as deputy CM in the JD(S)-BJP coalition government and could execute it after becoming the CM in 2013, he had said on the floor of the Legislative Assembly.

The issue got a fillip with the Congress at the national level and its leader Rahul Gandhi making a strong pitch for Jitni Abaadi, Utna Haq (greater the population, greater the rights) and promising to undertake caste survey.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will challenge the acquittal of Abdul Karim Tunda, an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) bomber, in the Supreme Court, officials familiar with the decision said on Friday. Abdul Karim Tunda was arrested in 2013 by the special cell of Delhi Police from the Indo-Nepal borde (PTI Photo)

A Terrorist & Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court in Ajmer acquitted Tunda on Thursday in the December 1993 serial trail blasts case. While two other accused  Irfan Ahmed and Hamir-Ul-Uddin  were sentenced to life imprisonment.

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We are studying the judgement and will approach the Supreme Court to challenge the acquittal, an officer who did not wish to be named said.

A series of explosions rocked six long-distance trains, including the Rajdhani Express in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai, on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993 killing two and injuring 22 others. The cases were given to the CBI, which registered five separate first information reports on the matter.

The agency had filed charge sheets against 21 accused of which 15 were awarded life sentences 20 years ago on February 28, 2004, by the Ajmers TADA court. The Supreme Court had upheld the sentence of 10 of these convicts.

81-year-old Tunda, a close aide of wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was one of the accused of carrying out the blasts to mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition. He was arrested in 2013 near the India-Nepal border.

On February 29, 2024, Ajmers TADA court pronounced the judgment vide which the trial court sentenced accused persons namely Hameer-UL-Uddin and Irfan Ahmed to life imprisonment and acquitted one accused (Tunda), the CBI spokesperson said.

So far, 12 accused persons have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case, including Mohammad Jalees Ansari, Ashfaque Khan, Habib Ahmed Khan, Jamal Alvi, Afaque Khan, Fazlur Rehman Sufi, Shamsuddin alias Painter Baba, Amin, Mohammad Izaz Akbar and Abre Rehmat Ansari.

The investigation disclosed that the various accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy with the object to overawe the government established by law, spreading terror in public at large and creating disharmony among different communities of the country by committing terrorist acts, like bomb explosions in the running prestigious trains in different parts of the country, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the demolition of a structure at Ayodhya, a CBI spokesperson said on Friday.
A day after a TADA court acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial bomb blast case citing a lack of evidence, the CBI said it would challenge the order before the Supreme Court after studying the judgement of the TADA court. CBI said 12 people have been convicted in the case so far including Irfan and Hamir-Ul-Uddin, who were sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Mahaveer Prasad Gupta of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court on Thursday but the judge acquitted Tunda. Syed Abdul Karim Tunda is the key accused in the case. (PTI)(HT_PRINT)

A series of explosions had rocked six long-distance trains including Rajdhani Express in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993. Two people were killed and 22 injured in the blasts.

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In the case, CBI filed charge sheets against 21 accused of which 15 were awarded life sentence 20 years ago on February 28, 2004, by a TADA court in Ajmer. The Supreme Court had upheld the sentence of 10 of these convicts.

The CBI accused Tunda of being the blasts on four trains on the first anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.

After the acquittal, the Rajasthan government urged the Centre to ask the CBI to challenge the acquittal.

Advocate Shafqat Sultani of Tunda said that the CBI failed to present any strong evidence against Tunda. "Abdul Karim Tunda is innocent, the court said in its judgment today. He has been acquitted of all sections. The CBI's prosecutors could not produce any concrete piece of evidence before the court in TADA, IPC, Railway Acts, Arms Act, or Explosive Substances Act," advocate Sultani, representing the defendant, told reporters.
Congress MP Nakul Nath on Thursday categorically rejected the rumours of switching sides ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, saying neither he nor his father, veteran Congress leader Kamal Nath, was going to join the rival BJP. Speculations around Kamal Nath and his son's intentions intensified after several Congress leaders in Madhya Pradesh switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Kamal Nath's visit to Delhi and his initial refusal to deny the reports further fuelled the speculations. Congress MP Nakul Nath at a public meeting at Navegaon in Chhindwara district.

"Lok Sabha polls are going to be held in the next one or one-and-a-half months. Lot of rumours are being spread by BJP people that Kamal Nath and I are going to the BJP. Let me make it clear that neither Kamal Nath nor Nakul Nath are going to join the BJP," Nakul Nath said at a public meeting at Navegaon in Chhindwara district.

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Also Read: Kamal Nath 'ready' if Congress workers want to 'bid him farewell'

Earlier, Kamal Nath also dismissed the speculations saying, "Have you ever heard this from my mouth? Is there any indication? Nothing."

When Kamal Nath was pressed about the reports of him joining the BJP, the Congress leader said, You (media) are saying this, and no one else is saying it. Have you ever heard this from my mouth? Is there any indication? Nothing. You (media) run this news (about switching sides), and then ask me about it. First, you (media) should refute it.

Also Read: Kamal Nath describes Rahul Gandhi as 'our leader', quells BJP switch rumours

Kamal Nath on Wednesday started a public contact programme to drum up support for his son ahead of the general elections. He said he would not "impose" himself upon them and was prepared to step aside if that's what they desired.

You gave me love and trust for so many years. If you want to bid farewell to Kamal Nath, then it is your choice, I am ready to bid farewell. I don't want to impose myself, this is a matter of your decision, Nath said at a program at Chand Block in Chaurai Assembly Constituency,

The BJP secured 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh during the last general elections and Congress was able to retain only the Chhindwara constituency, the bastion of the Kamal Nath family. The BJP this time swept the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections and is now looking to breach the Kamal Nath bastion.
Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has predicted an ominous future for the Congress after the Lok Sabha elections, saying the grand old party will segregate into various regional parties. He, however, said the National Democratic Alliance will win over 400 seats. Rana Goswami was welcomed into the Assam BJP at an event in the presence of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam BJP chief Bhabesh Kalita (X/BJP4Assam)

Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Congress is bound to be history.

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"Congress is bound to be history. Congress will be segregated into various regional parties. The national status of Congress will diminish after this election because the NDA is heading to a 400-plus victory...There is no option," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Sarma claimed Congress workers are completely demoralised. He also claimed the Congress is operating without any national leadership.

The workers will be completely demoralized. Congress will be segregated, there will be no national leadership and Congress will be fragmented into a state regional organization, he said on Thursday.

Himanta Biswa Sarma switched over from Congress to BJP in 2015. He has lately been making savage attacks at the Gandhi family, which helms the Congress.

Himanta Biswa Sarma announces alliance

Himanta Biswa Sarma yesterday announced his party's alliance with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) for the general elections.

He said the BJP will contest in 11 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats, whereas the AGP and UPPL will contest in two and one seat respectively.

Meanwhile, Assam Congress working president Rana Goswami on Thursday joined the BJP. Another working president of Assam Congress, Kamakhya Dey Purkayastha also extended his support to the state government.

Earlier, two Congress MLAs -- Sashi Kanta Das and Siddique Ahmed -- had extended their support to the state government.

Sarma takes potshot at Gandhi family

On Thursday, Sarma took a sharp jibe at the Gandhi family, saying decisions in the Congress are taken in the dining room.

"Decisions are taken in the dining room of the family and workers only follow it. The agenda and ideology of the party are changed to suit the requirement of the family," he said.

With inputs from ANI
NEW DELHI: India on Friday expressed deep shock at the killing of more than 100 people in firing by Israeli troops on a crowd that gathered near aid trucks in Gaza, describing the loss of civilian lives as a cause for extreme concern. An Israeli soldier sits on a military vehicle after returning from the Gaza strip, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in southern Israel (REUTERS)

The external affairs ministry reiterated Indias call for the safe delivery of humanitarian aid as international leaders and aid groups said the latest killings reinforced the need for an immediate halt to Israels bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

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We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in Northern Gaza [on Thursday] during delivery of humanitarian assistance, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern, the statement added.

Gazas health ministry said in a statement that Israeli troops killed more than 100 people and injured 700 more in a massacre as they waited for food from the convoy of aid trucks

Reports said the Palestinians were targeted by Israeli tanks and snipers. The Israeli military claimed soldiers fired warning shots in the air before firing at the crowd only in face of danger.

The external affairs ministry emphasised the need for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance in the statement that made no direct reference to Israel

Israeli troops have been bombarding Gaza since the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledging to continue the offensive till Hamas is rooted out of the enclave, one of the worlds most densely populated regions.

Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel during the terror attacks and kidnapped around 250, some of whom were released during a brief ceasefire last year. However, the latest bloodshed by Israeli troops has taken the death toll in Gaza above 30,000, according to Hamas-run authorities. The increasing civilian casualties have led to calls from India and other countries for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Earlier this week, external affairs minister S Jaishankar called on the world community to ensure the conflict in Gaza doesnt spread within or beyond the region and to seek a two-state solution where Palestinian people can live within secure borders.

India describes West Asia as part of the countrys extended neighbourhood and the region is home to some nine million Indians, with most of them concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

While making a statement virtually at the session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday, Jaishankar said the situation in Gaza is of great concern. He reiterated Indias position that while any form of terrorism is unacceptable, a sustainable solution must also be found to the humanitarian crisis.

The conflict in Gaza is of great concern to us all. The humanitarian crises arising from conflicts require a sustainable solution that gives immediate relief to those most affected. At the same time, we must be clear that terrorism and hostage-taking are unacceptable, he said.

Jaishankar added: It also goes without saying that international humanitarian law must always be respected. It is vital that the conflict does not spread within or beyond the region. And efforts must also focus on seeking a two-state solution where Palestinian people can live within secure borders.

After initially expressing solidarity with Israel in the wake of the October 7 terror attacks, India has moved to nuance its position as civilian casualties have mounted because of the bombardment of Gaza. The Indian side has said it has a zero tolerance policy for terrorism but also called for a return to diplomacy to find a two-state solution.

This was largely due to concerns conveyed to India by its partners in the Arab world, who were uncomfortable with the position taken by New Delhi in the early days of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Delhi high court has set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to disclose information about documents Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which was set up for the construction and management of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, submitted to get tax exemption for its donations. The CPIO approached the high court challenging CICs November 2022 order. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad on Wednesday allowed a Central Public Information Officer (CPIO)s appeal challenging CICs order citing an earlier judgment of the court. The court in the earlier order set aside CICs order directing the Income Tax (IT) Department to disclose information related to the grant of tax exemption status to the PM CARES Fund. It said CIC did not have the jurisdiction to direct furnishing of the information available under the IT Act.

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Justice Prasad granted liberty to Kailash Chandra Moondra, who sought information from CBDT under the Right To Information Act, to approach the appropriate authority under the IT Act.

Moondra sought a copy of the complete application (with all the annexure) filed by the trust for getting an exemption/deduction under section 80G of the Income Tax Act for its donations. He filed his application in February 2021, seeking a copy of the trust deed, documents, reports, and the departments internal notes available on the official file of the application and a copy of the declaration, if any.

CPIO approached the high court challenging CICs November 2022 order. The CIC directed the CPIO to revisit points in Moondras application related to a copy of the complete application (with all the annexure) coupled with the trust deed and provide information within 15 days.

The CPIO, who appeared through special counsel Zoheb Hussain in the high court, argued the information of an assessee could not be granted under the RTI act citing Section 138 (1)(b) of the IT Act. The section lays down a specific procedure for the disclosure of information to a third party.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu, a state where no national party has governed (except as a junior partner of the alliance) since the late 1960s, by targetting the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam over governance and dynastic politics even as he praised two of the tallest leaders of the All India Anna Dravida Kazhagam in what some analysts saw as an attempt to broaden his partys base. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public meeting for the culmination of the BJP's En Mann Ek Makkal padyatra near Palladam in Tirupur on Tuesday. (PTI)

Modi lauded AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran and compared his political legacy to that of the ruling DMK, and said that the late Dravidian leader did not come from dynasty. Speaking in Tiruppurs Palladum he also praised late chief minister and former AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa as the only leader who took MGRs ideals forward.

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Modi however did not mention either the AIADMK or its current president Edapaddi Palaniswami; once an ally of the BJP, the party went its separate way in September 2022 citing issues with the BJPs Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai. The DMK has been an ally of the Congress since 2004.

The Prime Ministers visit also marked the culmination of Annamalais six month padyatra En Mann En Makkal (my soil, my people). With crucial Lok Sabha elections on the horizon and the BJP attempting to break new ground, Modi said that it was clear that the opposition coalition was set to lose, and that they were trying to loot Tamil Nadu. We have to close their looting business. We have created a lock to close that through this yatra...The yatra is taking Tamil Nadu on a different path. The people of Tamil Nadu are ready to put a full stop to corruption, Modi said.

Tiruppur in western Tamil Nadu has remained a fortress for the AIADMK. In the 2016 assembly elections, the AIADMK won 45 of the 57 seats forming the state government and in 2021 assembly elections, it won 33 seats while the DMK swept to power. With several businesses and industries located in the Kongu region in western Tamil Nadu, senior BJP leaders said that it is here that the party is looking to make inroads. This region represents the spirit of enterprise. The MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) here help us in being the fastest growing economy, Modi said.

In 2019, BJP contested on five seats but could not open its account, managing to garner 3.66% vote share, despite the AIADMK being part of the NDA in Tamil Nadu. In 2014, the BJP contested nine Tamil Nadu seats and managed to bag one, with a vote share of 5.47%, even as it was not in alliance with the AIADMK.

Modi said that while the BJP has never ruled Tamil Nadu, the state has always been in the BJPs heart. Modi reminded the audience of thousands at his meeting that he had recited Tamil poetry in international platforms , installed the sengol (sceptre) from the state in the new parliament building; and helped create the Kasdhi-Tamil Sangamam a cultural exchange programme hosted in the state of Uttar Pradesh to showcase the best of Tamil culture. My relationship with Tamil Nadu is not just political or of governance but also a relationship of the heart...Those who looted Tamil Nadu are afraid that the BJP is growing here so they are spreading false narratives among people and lying. Their corruption and mistakes are emerging. People are getting more confident about the BJP, Modi said.

Pitching for a third straight term in government, he said that along with India, the southern state will also move on the path of progress. The INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu will never let the state develop, he said.

The praise of MGR and Jayalalithaa was clearly targeted more at the AIADMK voter than the AIADMK leadership, said political analyst Sumant Raman.

Reacting to the PMs statement that the Centre has given three times as many funds over the past 10 years as the previous government did between 2004 and 2014, DMK spokesperson A Saravanan said, Its a blatant lie .
Google delisted at least 24 apps from ten Indian developers from its Play Store on Friday for not complying with its payment policy. These include all thirteen apps from Matrimony.com --- such as Bharat Matrimony, Kerala Matrimony and Jodii --- three apps from InfoEdge --- Naukri.com, Naukri Recruiter, and 99Acres --- People Interactives Shaadi.com, Alt Balajis streaming service ALTT, and streaming services aha and Stage. Google removes Indian apps for not complying with payments policy

Delisting them means that users of Android --- the mobile operating system that accounts for almost 95% of Indias smartphone market --- will not be able to search for and download these apps from Googles official Play Store. Many of the affected apps do not even have apps for iOS.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

In a blog post on Friday morning, Google had said that it could remove apps that do not comply with its payments policy and throughout the day, apps kept disappearing. In the post, the company said, [F]or an extended period of time, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play.

Also Read | Google crackdown against BharatMatrimony, Jeevansathi: Here's what happened

But the founders who have been affected called it a dark day for Indian internet. Unlike 20 years ago when governments laws determined what is going to be on the internet, now two companies  Apple and Google  determine what people will have access to, said Matrimony.coms founder and CEO Murugavel Janakiraman.

TrulyMadlys Snehil Khanor echoed Janakiraman. Its a dark day for Digital India Dream. These Big Techs have become the digital landlords of the digital ecosystem and want us to pay them lagaan (rent). Hardly any business in India even makes 30% PAT, but they want to earn 30% of our revenue so they can keep getting bigger at expense of our demise.

The impact on businesses is immense. Ravi Mittal, CEO and co-founder of QuackQuack, a dating app, said, 95% of our traffic is from Android. We get 25,000 downloads a day via Play Store. 90% of our revenue is going to take a hit. Many developers have no choice but to succumb to survive. Things might change if the CCI or the government intervene.

Also Read | Google hit with $2.3 billion lawsuit by Axel Springer, other media groups

At the heart of this tussle is the Google Play Billing System (GPBS) and Googles payment policies for Android apps. It applies to the sale of all digital goods and services sold via an in-app billing system and initially required all developers to use only GPBS.

In the notice sent to the developers on Friday, which HT has seen, Google said that the app does not comply with the Payments policy as it uses a non-Google Play billing system to accept payment for access to in-app features or services.

On using GPBS, developers would have to pay Google 15% service fee for the first $1 million revenue earned by the developer and 30% of earning over $1 million. For automatically renewing subscription products, this service fee is 15%.

After a blowback in India, including an adverse order from the Competition Commission of India in October 2022 that said this practice was anti-competitive, Google started allowing developers in India to offer alternative billing systems. Developers who chose to do so had their service to Google reduced by 4%.

To comply with the policy, Google has given developers three options: opt for GPBS, have an alternative billing system, or operate on a consumption-only basis without paying a service fee.

But app developers in India are not satisfied for two main reasons --- first, despite opting for an alternative billing system, they were still obligated to pay Google an 11% or a 26% fee, which they say is unfair; and second, this, they argue, violates the CCIs order.

In the October 2022 order, CCI had ordered Google to allow and not restrict app developers from using any third-party billing/ payment processing services.

Eventually, 14 companies, including those whose apps were delisted on Friday, challenged GPBS in the Madras High Court. Two additional lawsuits by Disney+Hotstar and Test Book followed. The Madras HC granted interim protection to all of them, but 12 of the original 14 companies filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. On February 9, the apex court did not grant these 12 companies protection from getting delisted but Disney+Hotstar and Test Books protection continued. Unacademy is one of the two companies from Madras HC that did not approach the apex court.

Google argues that the service fee that it charges allows it to invest resources in its platforms, tools and safeguards that help developers and users. Only 3% of developers of the 200,000 Indian developers sell digital goods or services and thus need to pay a service fee, Google has said. [A]llowing this small group of developers to get differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who are paying their fair share creates an uneven playing field across the ecosystem and puts all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage, Google said in the post on Friday.

Since the revenue to calculate the applicable service fee is calculated at the developer level, it is not clear how the compliance can be then evaluated at the app level. For instance, all apps of Matrimony.com have been delisted while only apps of InfoEdge were delisted (Naukri.com, 99Acres) while others were not (Jeevansaathi, Shikhsha).

We are monitoring the situation. We believe we are in compliance. After February 9 [Supreme Court notice], we moved to a model that complies. We will reply to the notice from Google. ... There is an ongoing litigation in Madras HC whose next hearing is in the third week of March. We have no protection so we have no choice [but to comply], Rohan Mathur, head of Jeevansaathi, said. The company has decided to do away with in-app billing and is now completely reliant on its webstore.

Google has an inconsistent policy. It has been sending out notices over the last one year to in a test and trial game to see who will comply, Mittal said.

Of the 12 developers that moved the Supreme Court, apps by two have not been delisted at all: Nasadiya Technologies (Pratilipi) and Primetrace Technologies (Kutumb, Crafto).

While the apps have been delisted from the Play Store, developers can make them available as official APK (Android Application Package) so that users can sideload them. But that may not be realistic at scale. We cant offer them via sideloading because most people go to the Play Store download apps, Janakiraman said. And what about alternate app stores like the recently launched Indus app store from PhonePe? Indus app store has a long way to go. It is currently not even 0.1% of the Play Store right now, he said.

The developers are in conversations with Google. They called and we told them to list the apps back. They said that they could do that only if we adhere to their policy, Janakiraman said.

But developers want the government to intervene.

This situation shows Googles blatant dominance, raising concerns about the potential impacts on a significant portion of startups and businesses in the digital app economy, which also employ thousands of people. The government needs to intervene and direct CCI to ensure Google is in compliance with their CCI order and immediately restore all apps including QuackQuack, Mittal said.

Indian companies will comply  for now. But what India needs is an App Store / Play Store that is a part of Digital Public Infrastructure  like UPI and ONDC. The response needs to be strategic @PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoalOffc, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, the founder of Info Edge, tweeted Monday evening after three of his apps were delisted.

If they delist the app, we are forced to accept. We have been given a choice between going out of business and accepting Google. And accepting Google also means going out of business but it is a slow death, Janakiraman said.
NEW DELHI: Google started delisting apps from Indian developers from its Play Store on Friday for not complying with its payments policy, beginning with Shaadi, TrulyMadly, Stage, Jodii, Bharat Matrimonys Muslim Matrimony and Christian Matrimony, and Alt Balajis ALLT. A logo of Google is seen on its office building in Hyderabad. (REUTERS FILE)

People will not be able to search for and install these applications from Play Store on their Android phones -- the operating system accounts for close to 95% of the smartphones in use in India according to some estimates -- and the number is likely to increase.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The move, which involves apps from 10 developers, pertains to these apps not complying with Googles payments policy which involves developers paying Google a service fee of 11% to 30%, depending on the option that developers choose, on all -- a charge that developers say is unfair, especially when they use non-Google billing systems

The company obligates developers who want to list themselves on the Play Store to use its payment system as at least one of the options. The policy was criticised by Indias competition regulator Competition Commission of India but the company effectively was cleared to continue with its practice after two Supreme Court decisions that rejected pleas by some of the start-ups.

After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Courts order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally, Google India said in a blog post on Friday.

Bharat Matrimonys Murugavel Janakiraman, called it a dark day for the Indian Internet. Unlike 20 years ago when governments laws determined what is going to be on the internet, now two companies  Apple and Google  determine what people will have access to, he said.

TrulyMadlys Snehil Khanor said: Its a dark day for Digital India Dream. These Big Techs have become the digital landlords of the digital ecosystem and wants us to pay them lagaan (rent). Hardly any business in India even makes 30% PAT, but they want to earn 30% of our revenue so they can keep getting bigger at expense of our demise. Actually, its Google who is not complying with CCI order. Despite clear order from CCI to not restrict app developers using third party payment services and to not take any adverse measure against apps Google is forcing us to remove other gateways and only use googles billing systems and pay them 15-30% commission.

Both TrulyMadly and BharatMatrimony are among the 16 app developers that challenged Googles GPBS, or Google Play Billing System, in Madras High Court. Two of them  Disney+Hotstar and Test Book  had been granted interim relief but the others, including InfoEdge and others filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court. On February 9, the apex court issued a notice in this case.

The notice [from Google] does not say they were being delisted. It says if you are non-compliant then you will be delisted. We have been compliant since February 9 the date the Supreme Court order came out. There are no pending invoices from Google with us. All have been paid in a timely manner, InfoEdges Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who owns Jeevansathi, said.

Google, in its blog post on Friday, said that ten companies had chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from court. These developers comply with payment policies of other app stores.

[A]llowing this small group of developers to get differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who are paying their fair share creates an uneven playing field across the ecosystem and puts all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage, Google said.

In fact, in India, less than 60 developers on Google Play are subject to fees above 15 per cent, Google said in its blog post. To be sure, of this number, 16 challenged this policy in Madras High Court.

Google has given app developers three options so that their apps are not delisted: consumption-only basis without paying a service fee, integrate GPBS, or offer an alternative billing system. HT has not yet been able to ascertain which four app developers that legally challenged the policy have complied with Googles policy now.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the plea of the Gyanvapi mosque committee challenging an Allahabad High Court order on the maintainability of the lawsuits for the "restoration" of a temple. The court tagged the plea with other pending matters on the dispute. The Supreme Court. (ANI)

"We will tag this with the main case," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.

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The Allahabad high court had dismissed a batch of petitions filed by the Muslim side, which contested the maintainability of the civil suit. The court order held that a civil suit seeking the restoration of a temple, pending before a Varanasi court, is maintainable. The HC had said that the "religious character" of a disputed place can only be decided by the court.

Also Read: Retd judge who allowed puja in Gyanvapi cellar made university ombudsman

The suit seeks the restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque currently stands. According to the Hindu side, the mosque is believed to be constructed on the remains of a temple, making it an integral part of the religious structure.

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, responsible for the management of the Gyanvapi mosque, along with the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and other parties, had argued against the maintainability of the suit. They contended that the suit was barred under the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

Also Read: Gyanvapi mosque: Hindu puja to continue in cellar as Allahabad HC dismisses plea

This Act prohibits the alteration of the religious character of holy sites as it stood on the day of India's independence, with the exception of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site.

The high court had held that the suit filed before the district court is not barred by the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which forbids "conversion" of the "religious character" of a place from what existed on August 15, 1947.
Shimla: A day after trouble-shooter DK Shivakumar declared that Himachal Pradesh's political crisis was over, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh on Friday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s work is "better than ours". Claiming the BJP "will do a lot of things" as per the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, she said the Congress is on weak footing. Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar met Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee President Pratibha Singh, in Shimla on Thursday. (ANI photo)

Pratibha Singh's remarks came hours after her son Vikramaditya Singh met with the rebel MLAs who voted against the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections. Because of cross-voting, the BJP dealt an embarrassing loss to the ruling Congress, which is in majority in the state assembly.

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"A lot of things remain to be done in Congress...It is true that BJP's work is better than ours," she told ANI.

"From day 1, I had been telling the CM that we would be able to face the upcoming elections only if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground. As per the directions of PM Modi, BJP is going to do a lot of things...We are on weak footing there. I urged him again and again that we need to strengthen and the party needs to be organised...I can say that it is a difficult time. Still, we have to contest elections and win," she added.

Also read: Vikramaditya Singh meets rebel MLAs, sparks unease within Himachal Congress

The six MLAs were disqualified from the house for cross-voting. Singh said the party high command will decide their fate. "They will go (to court) and everyone fights for justice...I don't know what the directions were. They too must have been hurt by this decision because they are all Congress people and were fighting for their rights, for their demands...Let's see how the situation develops," she added.

BJP says Sukhu government won't last

Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur said the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government will not last. He blamed the Congress for the political crisis in Himachal Pradesh. "We are sitting here, we are not doing anything. Whatever is happening - it is happening amongst them. We are alert regarding the political developments taking place. But the unethical and wrong methods that have been adopted to save the government - suspension of BJP MLAs, disqualification of 6 Congress MLAs - and a few hasty decisions that have been taken have affected the image of the CM across the state. He should understand this," he said.

Also read: Himachal crisis: Who is Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh? Why did he resign?

Vikramaditya Singh, who resigned as the state minister earlier this week, met the rebels in Haryana's Panchkula.

His meeting came a day after DK Shivakumar -- who was sent by the Congress leadership to save the government -- claimed that all differences within the state unit of the party had been ironed out.

The BJP claimed after the Rajya Sabha results that the Congress government had lost the majority. The party was planning to subject the government to a floor test. However, the very next day, 15 BJP MLAs, including Jairam Thakur, were suspended for unruly behaviour.

The disqualification of the six MLAs brought the majority mark in the assembly further down, which will make it easier for the Sukhu government to tide over a potential trust vote.

The Congress has vowed to fix accountability for the embarrassing loss. Jairam Ramesh said the party will examine how the MLAs were allowed to cross-vote.

With inputs from ANI
As a low-intensity IED blast took place in Bengaluru's popular Rameshwaram cafe during busy lunch hour, investigators are finding clues from CCTV footage. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the suspect has been identified as a man of 28 to 30 years old. He came to the cafe during the breakfast hour, and bought a coupon for Rava idli but left the cafe without having the idli. The bag with an IED was left behind by him. Shivakumar said the bomb had a one-hour timer. The blast took place an hour later. Rameshwaram cafe blast shook Bengaluru with the BJP lobbing charges against the Congress government in Karnataka. (PTI)

Rameshwaram cafe owner's 1st reaction, rivalry angle, politics, suspect profile: What we know so far

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How the Rameshwaram cafe blast took place

The man has been identified from the CCTV footage. He was seen coming to the cafe and purchasing the coupon for rava idli from one counter. Then he placed the bag and left the cafe. "It was a bomb blast with a low intensity or impact. The man had fixed a timer for the blast to happen after one hour," Shivakumar said adding that the people of Bengaluru had nothing to fear.

An officer said the bag was lying behind a woman who was sitting with six other customers.

Bengaluru's Rameshwaram cafe blast puts spotlight on IEDs. What are they?

The blast took place a little before 1pm as the fire department said they received a call about an LPG leakage fire at 1.08pm. When the officers reached the cafe, there was no fire. The fire department officials however checked the cylinders to rule out any gas leakage.

Bengaluru blast: CCTV video shows moments before explosion hit Rameshwaram Cafe

An eyewitness who was waiting outside the cafe for his turn said he heard a loud noise. There were around 35-40 people at that time and all of them started running out leading to panic and chaos. At that time it was said that there was a cylinder blast. Soon an ambulance and a fire engine rushed to the spot and rescue operation started, the eyewitness said.

Till night, the suspect was not traced while Hyderabad police started checking vehicles as the suspect might have fled to Hyderabad.

The BJP said it was a failure of the police intelligence if a blast could take place at the heart of the city. The Karnataka government said there should be no politics over the incident as the incident of the pressure cooker bomb blast in Mangaluru took place in 2022 when the BJP was in power.
A video of tea stall owner named Dolly Chaiwala recently went viral when he served the beverage to billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Interestingly, Nagpur-based Dolly says he wasn't aware of the identity of Gates before the video went viral. A video of tea stall owner named Dolly Chaiwala recently went viral when he served the beverage to billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.(PTI)

In an interaction with news agency ANI, the tea seller revealed that he thought Gates was an ordinary foreigner.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

"I was not aware at all I just thought that he was a guy from a foreign country so I should serve him tea. I had no idea at all. The next day when I returned to Nagpur then I came across 'Maine kisko chai pilaya,'" said Dolly.

ALSO READ| Larry Fink, Bill Gates, Rihanna to Join Ambani Sons Pre-Wedding Bash

Dolly recalled his experience of serving tea to Gates. He revealed that he learned his styles from watching south Indian movies. He also expressed a desire to serve tea to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"He (Bill Gates) said 'Wow, Dolly ki Chai.' We did not speak at all, he was standing just beside me and I was busy with my work. He liked my tea," said Dolly

"I watch South movies and from them, I have learned the styles...Today, I feel that I have become 'Nagpur ka Dolly Chaiwala.' In future, I wish to serve tea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi...," he added.

ALSO READ| What does Bill Gates think of India's efforts in field of AI? He says

Bill Gates shared video of having tea at Dolly Chaiwala stall

Gates took to Instagram on Thursday and shared video of him enjoying tea at Dolly Chaiwala stall. The video starts with Bill Gates excitingly saying "One Chai Please".

"In India, you can find innovation everywhere you turneven in the preparation of a simple cup of tea!," Gates has captioned the video, which has crossed more than 40 lakh likes already.

The video was filmed in Hyderabad where Dolly was invited to prepare tea in his signature style but wasn't told about Gates. Since, the video went viral, Dolly has been gaining immense limelight and popularity.
Attacks on commercial shipping in the Arabian and Red Sea by pirates and Iran-backed Houthi rebels are likely to continue, according to senior Indian officials. Those attacks are stretching the Indian Navys capabilities as it maintains the tempo of its increased deployments in the region. Commandos stand guard with a group of detained pirates after the Indian Navy freed a hijacked fishing vessel. (AP)

Last week, an Indian warship rushed to the aid of merchant vessel Islander in the Gulf of Aden after it was hit by a drone, injuring a member of its crew. An explosive disposal team boarded the vessel before it was cleared for onward transit, an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

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Also Read: Indian Navys anti-piracy steps gain momentum

The attacks in the Arabian and Red Sea were the focus of discussions between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the recent Munich Security Conference. Blinken described the two countries approach to tackling the maritime problems as mutually reinforcing, according to a statement.

India has deployed a dozen warships alongside long-range surveillance maritime aircrafts and drones  its largest peacetime mission in seven decades  to monitor nearly 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles) of the Arabian Sea, primarily to tackle increased piracy in the region that has largely coincided with the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Also Read: Indian Navy foils another piracy attempt off Somalia coast; 11 Iranian, 8 Pak nationals rescued

There have been as many as eight hijacking attempts including a successful one since last November, according to the officials, who did not want to be named because they are directly involved in operations.

Even as the piracy attempts have dropped off since the US and UK began striking Houthi targets in Yemen  the US has now struck 230 targets in Yemen  the Indian Navy will need to continue its enhanced operations, according to the officials, given that fighting piracy requires time, huge resources and patience.

As an example, an Indian naval ship trailed a hijacked Iranian-flagged fishing vessel for over a day before the pirates eventually surrendered. The pirates set the 11 crew members free after it became clear that they would no longer be able to hijack the vessel and demand ransom, the people said, describing one operation.

The sustained operations are also stretching the Indian Navy, according to the officials and analysts. The navy has had to move ships from the Bay of Bengal  a key area of operations given the increased presence of Chinese vessels in the area  to patrol the Arabian Sea.

The Indian Navy has done a very impressive job of maintaining a high tempo of operations in the region  and its role has been noticed and generally welcomed by the international community, said Anit Mukerjee, a senior lecturer of South Asian security issues at Kings College, London. He warned though that it is an open question whether the Navy can maintain the deployments and tempo of operations given its limited resources.

The Indian Navy and Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

The Indian Navy is trying to add new anti-piracy capabilities. Earlier this week, marine commandos with motorized crafts parachuted into the Arabian Sea from a US-made C-130 transport plane. The commandos could add capability if the nearest warship is at quite a distance from a hijacked vessel, people familiar with the matter said.

Much of the piracy could be opportunistic, with Somali pirates trying to take advantage of the turbulence in the region. The crisis in the Middle East, with the war in Gaza and the Houthi attacks, have certainly emboldened the Somalia-based pirates, said Mukerjee.

Somali piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Sea peaked between 2010-2013. The World Bank estimates that ransom payments yielded as much as $413 million in the seven years through 2012. The global economy lost an annual $18 billion, according to the United Nations.

India meets 88% of its oil demand via seaborne imports which is highly susceptible to any disruptions in sea lanes, according to the consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
Karnatakas much awaited socio-economic and education survey report, popularly known as the caste survey report, was submitted to chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday by the chairman of states backward classes commission, K Jayaprakash Hegde, setting the states political pot boiling ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah receives the 'Caste Census' report submitted by K Jayaprakash Hegde, chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, in Bengaluru (ANI)

The survey, which was commissioned by Siddaramaiah in 2015 during his first tenure as chief minister (2013 to 2018), covered over 13 million households comprising over 59 million residents across the state.

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The survey was mired in controversies even before its report was submitted as a portion of its leaked report allegedly disputed the numerical strength of Lingayats and Vokkaligas  the dominant castes in the southern state. The exact figures will be known after the report is made public by the government.

We dont know what is in the report. I have received the report, it will be placed before the cabinet for discussion, Siddaramaiah told reporters.

A schism had surfaced within the Karnatakas ruling Congress regarding the release of the survey findings, with Siddaramaiah and deputy CM DK Shivakumar being at odds over the matter. While the CM had said he would take a call after receiving the report, Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief and a prominent leader from the Vokkaliga community, had advocated for a re-conduct of the survey.

The demand to make public the survey findings increased especially after the release of the Bihar governments caste survey report in October last year.

The Hegde-led commission was supposed to submit the report to the government in November last year. However, after it sought more time, the Congress government extended his tenure for the submission of the report. Hegdes tenure came to an end on Thursday after the submission of the report.

We have submitted the survey. It was conducted by teachers and government officials across Karnataka. We have prepared a detailed report on the survey and given it to the chief minister... We have not given highlights of the survey to the government or anybody. Our duty is done, now its up to the government to take the call, Hegde told reporters.

The survey covered 13,500,772 houses and collected details from 59,814,942 people across the state, he said, without divulging the content of the report. The report runs into 292 pages It is not based on a sample survey, it is based on an actual survey of most of the population of the state, Hegde said.

He further said the socio-educational survey helps in identifying the social, economic, educational situation of the people. It is helpful in re-categorising the population as per their caste and socio educational and economic condition, Hegde said. Ball is in the governments court now. We have done our part.

On the delay in submitting the report, Hegde clarified: There were some technical issues which created the delay. We were scrutinising the final draft of the survey report.

On a question over the impact of the report on policymaking, he added: It is up to the government.

Hegde further said that 54 data points were collected from residents in the survey. The data points include religion, caste, occupation, income, expenditure, education, economical condition, assets, debts, and movable properties. Survey is not only concentrating on castes, there are 54 data points with caste just one of them, Hegde said.

In 2015, the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes under its then chairperson H Kantharaju was tasked with preparing a caste survey report. The survey work was completed in 2018, towards the end of Siddaramaiahs first tenure as CM, but the report was not accepted or made public.

However, a portion of the report was leaked ahead of the 2018 assembly polls. The leaked data indicated a decrease in the population of Lingayats from 17-18% to below 10%, and of Vokkaligas from around 14% to nearly 8%. It also elevated Dalits as the largest group at around 24% and nearly 55% of Karnatakas population belonging to backward classes.

Vokkaliags and Lingayats have opposed the survey, calling it unscientific and demanded a fresh survey to be conducted.

States minister for backward classes development Shivaraj Tangadagi said the government has accepted the report as promised. We have accepted the report and we will study and place it before the cabinet. After studying the report, the CM will take the final call. We will discuss the implementation in the cabinet, Tangadagi said. We cant hurry this. Those who are opposing it are blindly resisting.

Reacting to the development, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Arvind Bellad, a Lingayat, said they do not accept this survey. There are 107 sub-castes in the Lingayat community, such as Sadara, Kumbara, Kammara and Ganiga. They dont mention it as Lingayat because they will lose benefits under 2A reservation (15% backward classes quota in education and jobs). Siddaramaiah is trying to count the population of Lingayat and Vokkaliga minus the sub castes and say Lingayat and Vokkaliga are less in numbers, Bellad alleged. The Congress government is doing this in order to gain political mileage. We wont accept this report.

Congress leader and state MB Patil, however, said: We have requested to count all the Lingayat sub-groups under one heading irrespective of what they have mentioned for reservation purposes. If that has been done successfully then we do not have any issue. If it is not done according to our apprehensions then the community leaders will take the call.

Chandan Gowda, professor of sociology at Azim Premji University, welcomed the survey report. A socio-economic survey has to be conducted every 10 years across the country to understand the current situation of backward classes. It is a welcome act by the state government. We dont know what is there in the survey and hence I cannot comment who will benefit from this. Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders are opposing it across the parties and politically the ruling party may not gain anything from this. Let the report be made public.
A special court in Rajasthans Ajmer district on Thursday acquitted Syed Abdul Karim Tunda, the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, saying the prosecution failed to provide enough evidence to prove the 81-year-olds direct involvement in the matter. Syed Abdul Karim Tunda is the key accused in the case. (PTI)

Special court judge Mahaveer Prasad Gupta of Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court, however, awarded two others  Irfan Ahmed and Hamiduddin alias Hamir Ul Uddin  life imprisonment after finding them guilty under various laws, including the Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act.

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There is insufficient evidence against the accused Syed Abdul Karim Tunda regarding his involvement in a criminal conspiracy, justice Gupta said in his 313-page judgment.

Also Read | Abdul Karim Tunda, alleged LeT bomb maker & Dawood aide, acquitted in 1993 bomb blast case. Who is he?

Two people were killed and at least 22 injured in the blasts that were carried out on five passenger trains on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993, to allegedly mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.

Tunda, believed to be a close aide of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, is accused of orchestrating the blasts on Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, Surat-Baroda Flying Queen Express and Hyderabad-New Delhi AP Express. He was arrested in August 2013.

Five separate cases, registered by Government Railway Police in Kota, Valsad, Kanpur, Allahabad and Malkajgiri, were consolidated after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the probe. Eighteen people were named accused in the case.

Also Read: Abdul Karim Tunda not a LeT terrorist, court ruled in 2016

On September 30, 2021, the TADA court framed charges against Tunda, the main accused, and Ahmed and Hamiduddin over the blasts.

Justice Gupta, in his judgment, said that while the prosecution presented evidence indicating Tundas role in helping other accused  Jalees Ansari and Habib Ahmed (both were found guilty in 2004)  to make the bombs, it failed to establish his direct role in the blasts.

Tundas counsel Shafqat Sultani said CBI failed to provide concrete evidence across various statutes against his client.

On Ahmed and Hamiduddins role, the special court said the two accused, along with others, had gathered at the Lucknow residence of one M Jamal Alvi in September 1993 to plan bomb detonations in long-distance trains. Alvi was also found guilty in 2004.

The two men actively participated in executing the plan with the aim of carrying out terror activities, causing train blasts, intimidating the Indian government, and instigating enmity between Hindu-Muslim communities, the court said as it found them guilty under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Terrorist and Destructive Activities (Prevention) Act, Explosive Substances Act, Railways Act, and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and awarded them life imprisonment.

Hamiduddin has been in jail for the past 14 years, and Irfan for the last 17 years.

After being sentenced to life imprisonment, Hamiduddin told the waiting mediapersons outside the court: I respect the judgment of the court. I will file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Ten Kuki-Zo lawmakers, including seven from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have opposed a Manipur assembly resolution urging the Union government to abrogate a suspension of operations (SOO) pact with militant outfits, calling it one-sided and biased towards their community. On Thursday, the assembly adopted the resolution citing the violation of the agreement by the Kuki militant outfits. The violence in the state since May last year has left 219 people dead and over 50,000 displaced. (PTI/File)

The 10 legislators have been demanding a separate administration for their community since the ethnic violence between Meiteis and tribal Kukis began in May last year. They were absent from the assembly when the resolution was discussed and adopted.

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We the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar MLAs [members of the legislative assembly] would like to condemn and place on record our dissent and disapproval of this one-sided resolution emanating from prejudice, bias, and hatred for our community that reflects a myopic view on the issue, the 10 said in a statement.

Twenty-five Kuki militant groups, including 17 under the umbrella group Kuki National Organisation, signed the agreement in August 2008. The pact has been renewed periodically.

As the pact expired on Thursday, the Meiteis lawmakers passed the resolution blaming the Kuki outfits for the violence in the state since May last year that has left 219 people dead and over 50,000 displaced.

Kuki-Zo legislators questioned whether the resolution was based on any report or observations of a Joint Monitoring Group, which includes Central agencies, which is the only official mechanism to determine violations.

This obviously is not the case as the resolution is based on an overwhelming sense of animosity and hatred for a particular community, the statement said. They credited the pact for ushering peace in Kuki-dominated hill districts.

The 10 lawmakers blamed the Meitei group United National Liberation Front, which signed a peace deal in December with the Union government, for violence. They said the resolution was adopted to further alienate their community as part of the continuing hate campaign. We appeal to the union home ministry to consider all aspects of the issue in a fair and just manner to check further discrimination and alienation of the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar people.
Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee has warned that the price of cooking gas can rise to 2,000 per cylinder if the Bharatiya Janata Party returns to power at the Centre after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the BJP at a function in Jhargram. (ANI file photo)

Mamata Banerjee was addressing a gathering in Bengal's Jhargram district on Thursday.

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Mamata Banerjee, a staunch critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claimed the party will force the masses to return to collecting wood for fire.

"If the BJP wins the elections, they may hike the price of a cooking gas cylinder to 1,500 or 2,000. Then again, we will have to go back to the old practice of collecting wood to light a fire," she said.

Mamata Banerjee also said that if the Central government doesn't complete building houses under the Awas Yojana by April-end, the West Bengal government will start constructing them.

Banerjee said the BJP government didn't pay the MGNREGA dues.

"I asked one youth whether he got the money for the 100 days' work scheme. He said he got around 30,000. This was the amount that the central government had not paid people like him for the last two years. We have paid 59 lakh people their dues," she added.

BJP vs Trinamool over Shajahan Sheikh

The BJP and the Trinamool Congress are currently locked in a pitched political battle over the arrest of TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh, the main accused in the Sandeshkhali sexual assault case.

The Trinamool Congress has suspended the controversial politician for six years.

Reacting to the arrest, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said on Thursday that his arrest is the "beginning of an end".

Also read: Sheikh Shahjahan arrested: Trinamool credits Abhishek Banerjee, BJP dubs it scripted

"This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end, and the gangsters should be put behind bars," he said.

After his arrest, TMC leader Derek O'Brien dared the BJP to suspend its leaders who have criminal cases against them.

"We have decided to suspend Shajahan Sheikh from the party for 6 years. As always, we walk the talk. We have set examples in the past, and we are doing that today. But we dare the BJP to suspend leaders, who have corruption cases against them and have several criminal cases against them," he said.

With inputs from ANI, PTI
GUWAHATI: The Manipur assembly on Friday reaffirmed its resolution adopted in August 2022 seeking implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state to ensure security and integrity of the state. The Manipur assembly first adopted a resolution to enforce NRC and adopt a population commission on August 6, 2022 (ANI)

Today, the Manipur legislative assembly took a significant step by reaffirming our resolution passed on August 5, 2022. We firmly believe that implementing the NRC in Manipur is crucial for safeguarding our states interests and contributing to the greater good of our nation, chief minister N Biren Singh said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

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The decision to urge the Government of India to expedite the implementation of the NRC reflects our commitment to ensuring the security and integrity of Manipur. I urge all citizens to support this endeavour as we strive to build a stronger, more prosperous Manipur for generations to come, he added after the assembly passed the resolution.

The Manipur assembly first adopted a resolution to enforce NRC and adopt a population commission on August 6, 2022, following demand from several students and tribal bodies who wanted NRC to detect Myanmar, Bangladesh and Nepal residents living illegally in the state.

Manipur shares a 400 border with Myanmar and there are concerns that people from the Chin-Kuki community from the neighbouring country, who share a close affinity with Kukis living primarily in some hill districts of Manipur, are illegally in the northeastern state.

Though the Centre introduced in December 2019 the inner line permit (ILP) system, which requires people from outside visiting Manipur to get a permit, there has been a view that it wasnt enough to detect illegal migrants already in the state.

To be sure, Assam is the only state in the country where NRC, which was first prepared in 1951, was updated in 2019 under the Supreme Courts close watch to identify illegal immigrants who entered the state after March 25, 1971.

The final NRC list published in August 2019 left out 1.9 million of the 33 million applicants but has been criticised by the BJP-led state government which believes the list has included illegal immigrants and let out eligible people.
Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh has met six rebel Congress lawmakers in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Haryanas Panchkula ahead of a visit to Delhi even as chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday appeared to have staved off a crisis his government faced. Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh. (ANI)

The meeting created a ripple of unease within Congress as it worked overtime to save its only government in north India. Singh was expected to travel to Delhi to meet Union minister Nitin Gadkari as per his official schedule.

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Vikramaditya met us in Panchkula and that is all that I can say, said a rebel lawmaker over the phone even as the minister was unavailable for comments.

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh crisis: Former minister, ex-chairman of ST panel among rebels

It was not immediately clear what transpired at the meeting, which came even as the Congress announced a coordination committee to iron out differences between the party and the government at a joint press conference Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, Sukhu, and his rival, state unit chief Pratibha Singh, addressed jointly on Thursday.

Also read: Himachal Congress chief Pratibha Singh lauds BJP, says we are on weak footing

Shivakumar, Congresss chief troubleshooter who was rushed to Himachal Pradesh as an observer to defuse the crisis, on Thursday said he spoke with all the lawmakers, Sukhu, and the state unit chief and that all the differences were sorted out. He met 32 lawmakers along with former Haryana chief minister Bhupender Singh Hooda.

The state assembly speaker disqualified the remaining six rebel Congress lawmakers, whose cross-voting cost the party a Rajya Sabha seat and cast a shadow over the Sukhu governments future.

The Congress was unable to cross the simple majority mark of 35 in the 68-member House with the BJP insisting the Sukhu government was reduced to a minority and calling for his resignation.

Vikramaditya Singh did not turn up for Sukhus breakfast meeting on Thursday. He put in his papers a day earlier accusing Sukhu of disrespecting the legacy of his father, the late six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh. Vikramaditya Singh appeared to backtrack on the resignation late on Thursday as he and Pratibha Singh met the central observers.

The disqualification of six rebels has given the Congress a cushion in the state assembly, and breathing space to save the government. The speaker took action against the six under the anti-defection law, saying they defied the Congress whip during the vote on the finance bill.

The rebels have challenged the order in the high court. The effective strength of the assembly is now down to 62 and the majority mark 32, below the Congresss effective strength of 34. Courts can overturn the disqualification.

Former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur reiterated the Congress had lost the majority and asked Sukhu to resign even as the rebel lawmakers and three independents were expected to meet governor Shiv Pratap Shukla

Sukhu has been under fire after the rebellion of six lawmakers appeared to reduce the party to a minority in the 68-member House. He accepted responsibility for the debacle and attacked the BJP for trying to destabilise his government.

The crisis began on Tuesday when the Congresss Abhishek Singhvi lost the Rajya Sabha polls in the state. Singhvi and BJP nominee Harsh Mahajan received 34 votes each. The tie was then resolved by a draw of lots, which favoured Mahajan. Six Congress lawmakers and three independents, who previously backed the government, supported him.
Chennai: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chided the MK Stalin government over the photograph of a Chinese rocket in an advertisement for a new ISRO facility, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Tamil Nadu minister Anitha Radhakrishnan admitted that they made "a small mistake". Prime Minister Narendra Modi.(PTI file photo)

Radhakrishnan said that officials missed a mistake made by those who designed the advertisement.

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A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area, he told ANI on Thursday.

The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us, he added.

PM Modi slammed Tamil Nadu government

On Wednesday, PM Modi, while addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli, said the DMK government pasted China's sticker to take "false credit" for ISRO's facility in Tamil Nadu.

"DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China's sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu," he had said.

Also read: 'PM invited Xi': Kanimozhi's 'China not enemy' comeback over Modi attack

He said with the advertisement, the MK Stalin-led government insulted India's scientists and the space sector.

"They are not ready to accept India's progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India's space in it. They did not want to present India's space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it's high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds," he said.

BJP said ad showed DMK's China tilt

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai claimed the advertisement showed DMK's commitment to China.

Also read: China rocket on DMK's ISRO ad sparks row, PM Modi says shows commitment to

"This advertisement by DMK Minister Anita Radhakrishnan to leading Tamil dailies today is a manifestation of DMK's commitment to China and their total disregard for our country's sovereignty. DMK, a party fighting high on corruption, has been desperate to paste stickers ever since the announcement of ISRO's second launch pad in Kulasekarapatinam was released," he wrote on X on Wednesday.

Also read: 24X7 PM Modi on way to Sindhri to revive fertiliser plant, thereon to Kolkata

DMK's counterattack

Reacting to Modi's attack, DMK MP Kanimozhi said on Wednesday that India had not declared China an enemy country. She pointed out that PM Modi had himself invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to India.

Also read: Row erupts over rocket with Chinese flag in TN mins ad

"I don't think India has declared China an enemy country. I have seen that the Prime Minister has invited the Chinese leader and they have gone to Mahabalipuram. Just because you do not want to accept the truth, you are finding reasons to divert the issue," she said.

With inputs from ANI
New Delhi: In a big push for the ongoing self-reliance drive in the defence manufacturing sector, the defence ministry on Friday signed five contracts worth Rs.39,125 crore for BrahMos missiles, ship-borne Brahmos systems, close-in weapon systems, high-power radars, and aero-engines for MiG-29 fighter planes. The defence ministry on Friday signed five major capital acquisition contracts in New Delhi (Twitter/@DefenceMinIndia)

These deals will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange and reduce dependency on foreign origin equipment manufacturers, the defence ministry said in a statement.

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Two of these deals were signed with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited  one for around 200 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles worth Rs.19,518.65 crore and the other for ship-borne BrahMos systems worth 988.07 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved these deals recently to boost Indias naval power. The BrahMos missile has been developed by India and Russia.

These missiles would be utilised to meet combat and training requirements of the Indian Navy. This project is likely to generate employment of 9 lakh man-days in the joint venture entity and around 135 lakh man-days in ancillary industries...The ship-borne BrahMos system is the Indian Navys primary weapon for maritime strike operations fitted on board various frontline warships. This project is likely to generate employment of around 60,000 man-days over a period of 7-8 years, the statement said.

It is the fastest cruise missile in the world with a speed of Mach 2.8, nearly three times the speed of sound. BrahMos variants can be launched from land, air and sea, and all three variants are in service in the Indian armed forces. BrahMos missiles can strike targets at 290 km and its extended range variant can hit targets at 500 km.

Two contracts were signed with Larsen & Toubro Limited for close-in weapon systems (CIWS) worth 7,668.82 crore for terminal air defence of select locations in the country, and high-power radars (HPR) with advanced surveillance features for 5,700 crore to boost air defence capabilities.

CIWS is planned for deployments at various locations across India to protect vital assets from all types of low-flying, low-signature aerial threats, including unmanned aerial vehicles, L&T said in a statement. It consists of air defence guns, tracking radars and search radars linked to a command and control station.

The CIWS project will boost and encourage active participation of Indian aerospace, defence and associated industries including MSMEs. The direct and indirect employment generated by this project would be about 2,400 persons/year over five years, the defence ministry statement said.

The HPR will replace existing long-range radars of the Indian Air Force with modern active aperture phased array radars with advanced surveillance features. It will significantly enhance the terrestrial air defence capabilities of IAF with the integration of sophisticated sensors capable of detection of small radar cross-section targets. It would be the first-of-its-kind radar built by the private sector in India. The direct and indirect employment generated by this project would be about 1,000 people/year over five years, the statement said.

Winning these high-tech projects after extensive trial evaluation is a testimony to our capabilities in design, development, precision engineering and manufacturing of advanced platforms and systems for the Indian armed forces. Our efforts are focused on enhancing the self-reliance of the armed forces, said Arun Ramchandani, who heads L&Ts defence business.

The contracts were signed in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.

The fifth contract was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for RD-33 aero engines for MiG-29 aircraft at a cost of 5,249.72 crore. These aero engines will be produced by the Koraput division of HAL.

These aero engines are expected to fulfil the need of IAF to sustain the operational capability of the MiG-29 fleet for the residual service life. The engines will be manufactured under the transfer of technology from Russia. The programme will focus on indigenisation of several high-value critical components, which will help increase the indigenous content of future repair and overhaul (ROH) tasks of RD-33 aero-engines, the defence ministry statement said.

India has sharpened its focus on the defence manufacturing sector during the last five to six years and has taken several measures to achieve self-reliance. These include banning the import of a range of weapons, systems and parts, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business.
Twenty-five private sector specialists will soon be joining key posts in the Centre as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse such talents to further improve ease of governance, officials said on Friday. Twenty-five private sector specialists will soon be joining key posts in the Centre as part of the Modi government's ambitious plan to infuse such talents to further improve ease of governance(File photo)

They said the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the appointment of three joint secretaries and 22 directors/deputy secretaries in different central government departments.

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Usually, the posts of joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries are held by the officers of all-India services -- the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS) -- and other Group A services, among others.

ALSO READ| PM Modi lauds Yogis governance, says others can learn from Uttar Pradesh

The latest induction is being done through the lateral entry mode -- referred to as the appointment of private sector specialists in government departments -- aimed at bringing fresh talent and perspective into the government, the officials said.

Under the lateral entry scheme, which was launched in 2018, recruitments are made at the level of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary. The officers at these levels play an important role in policy-making.

The officers who come through the lateral entry process become part and parcel of the government system.

The Personnel Ministry had in June 2018 invited applications against 10 joint secretary-rank posts through the lateral entry mode for the first time. The recruitment for these posts was done by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

ALSO READ| PM Modi coins new acronym for Hemant Soren-led JMM in Jharkhand

The Commission had again in October 2021 recommended 31 candidates for the appointment as joint secretaries (3), directors (19), and deputy secretaries (9) in different central government departments, the officials quoted above said.

A total of 38 private sector specialists -- including 10 joint secretaries and 28 directors/deputy secretaries -- have joined the government so far, they said.

At present, there are 33 such specialists, including eight joint secretaries, 16 directors and nine deputy secretaries, are working in key government departments, they said, adding two joint secretaries completed their full three-year tenure.

Under the lateral entry scheme, recruitments are made against the posts requiring domain specialisations either from the private sector or from the state government/ autonomous bodies/public sector undertakings etc.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in West Bengal on Friday for a two-day visit and address two rallies at Arambagh and Krishnanagar besides inaugurating projects worth 22,000 crore at separate events. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (ANI)

In Krishnanagar, Modi will address a gathering on Saturday in an assembly segment, which the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) turncoat Mukul Roy won in 2021 on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. BJPs Madhusudan Bag is an assembly member from Arambagh. TMCs Aparupa Poddar won the Arambagh Lok Sabha seat for a second time in 2019 when the BJP bagged 18 of Bengals 42 Lok Sabha seats.

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The BJP has set a target of winning 35 seats, including Krishnanagar, in Bengal. TMCs Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha on charges of bribery for raising questions in Parliament, won the Krishnanagar seat in 2019. BJPs Satyabrata Mookerjee bagged the seat in 1999 and became a Union minister.

BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said they anticipate the Prime Minister will focus on a corruption-free society in Bengal when he addresses the people. ...he will speak on development and revival of industries in this state.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee targeted Modi without naming him at an event in Jhargram on Thursday. Some people start coming to Bengal when elections are imminent. They make tall promises that are never kept. If they [BJP] win this election, the price of cooking gas will hit the ceiling.

Modi will arrive in Bengal days after home minister Amit Shah on February 10 said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections.

CAA was passed in 2019 to fast-track citizenship for non-Muslims, who entered India from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh before 2015. TMC has opposed CAA, calling it unconstitutional as it links citizenship to faith in a secular country.

Bengal has a sizeable scheduled caste population that includes Namasudras who migrated from Bangladesh. The BJP has focussed on this community in all recent elections.
Kohima: The Nagaland legislative assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution against the central governments recent decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR) agreement with the neighbouring nation, people aware of the matter said. The 60-member assembly adopted the resolution voice vote. The 60-member assembly adopted the resolution voice vote (Twitter Photo)

With this, Nagaland has become the second state after Mizoram to have adopted such a resolution. On Wednesday, the Mizoram assembly adopted a resolution opposing the scrapping of FMR.

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Earlier this month, Union home minister Amit Shah said that the central government has recommended an immediate suspension of the free movement regime between India and Myanmar that allowed people from both sides to travel 16 km into each others territory without paperwork. Hill tribes with kin across the 1,643km boundary would freely go back and forth under the regime.

India shares a 1,643 km border with Myanmar, running through four of its northeastern states, of which 215 km is within Nagaland. The FMR allows people in the border areas of both countries to travel up to 16 km into each others territory without a visa and stay for a limited period of time.

The state government resolution moved by deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton in the ongoing assembly session on Friday highlighted that the Naga people live on either side of the international border and scrapping of FMR and fencing the border would seriously disrupt the age-old historical, social, tribal, and economic ties of the Naga people.

These measures will cause immense hardship and inconvenience, and also agony to the people living in and around the border areas because the traditional land-holding system straddles the international border in many areas, and people have to cross the international border daily for their normal cultivation activities, the resolution says.

these measures will seriously disrupt the age-old historical, social, tribal, and economic ties of the Naga people living on both sides of the international border, the resolution says.

In view of the special and unique situation mentioned above, this House, hereby, resolves to appeal to the Government of India to reconsider its decision, and to abandon the plan of suspending the FMR and fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border, it further stated.

The House also resolved to appeal to the Centre to work out regulations for the movement of people across the borders in close consultation with the people inhabiting there, and for suitably bringing in the village council authorities concerned in the entire system of regulations.
The Nagaland assembly on Friday adopted a resolution urging the Union government to reconsider its recent decision to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR) with the neighbouring country, becoming the second state after Mizoram to take such step. India shares 1,643-kilometre border with Myanmar, running through four northeastern states (ANI)

India shares 1,643-kilometre border with Myanmar, running through four northeastern states Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Of this, Nagaland shares a 215-km border with Myanmar. The FMR, established in 2018 as part of the Centres Act East policy, allows cross-border movement up to 16 km without a visa.

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The 60-member Nagaland assembly also resolved to appeal to the Centre to work out regulations for movement of people across the boundary in consultation with the people inhabiting the border areas, and for suitably bringing in the village council authorities concerned in the entire system of regulations.

Also Read | Advances by Myanmars anti-junta forces mount pressure on port developed by India

The resolution, moved by deputy chief minister Yanthungo Patton, said Naga people live on either side of the international border and the Centres decision to suspend the FMR and fence the Indo-Myanmar boundary will seriously disrupt the age-old historical, social, tribal, and economic ties of the Naga people living on both sides of the international border.

These measures will cause immense hardship and inconvenience, and also agony to the Naga people living in the Indo-Myanmar border areas due to the fact that the traditional land holding system straddles across the international border in many areas, and people have to cross the international border on a daily basis for their normal cultivation activities, it stated.

The resolution was unanimously adopted by a voice vote.

Also Read | Thailand, India have to work together to address Myanmar crisis: Vice minister

In view of the special and unique situation mentioned above, this House, hereby, resolves to appeal to the Government of India to reconsider its decision, and to abandon the plan of suspending the FMR and fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border, the resolution added.

On February 8, Union home minister Amit Shah announced for immediate suspension of FMR between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of Indias northeastern states bordering Myanmar.

It is Prime Minister Narendra Modis resolve to secure our borders. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar be scrapped to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of Indias North Eastern States bordering Myanmar, Shah had said in a post on X. Since the Ministry of External Affairs is currently in the process of scrapping it, MHA has recommended the immediate suspension of the FMR.

On February 28, the Mizoram assembly adopted a resolution opposing the scrapping of FMR.

Nagaland is currently ruled by Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while Mizorams ruling Zoram Peoples Movement is not part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Narendra Modi Bengal Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a visit to Jharkhand and West Bengal today. In Jharkhand's Sindri the Prime Minister inaugurated several developmental projects worth 17,600 crore. These projects encompass significant developments such as the expansion of the Sone Nagar-Andal third and fourth lines, the Tori-Shivpur first and second lines, and the Biratoli-Shivpur third line, a part of the Tori-Shivpur Project. Additionally, new rail lines like Mohanpur-Hansdiha and the Dhanbad-Chandrapura line were inaugurated....Read More

The Prime Minister also flagged off three trains during the event: the Deoghar-Dibrugarh service, MEMU Train Service between Tatanagar and Badampahar daily, and a long-haul freight train departing from Shivpur station.

Later in the day, the Prime Minister visited West Bengal.

In Bengal's Arambagh, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated multiple developmental projects related to rail, ports, oil pipeline, LPG supply, and wastewater treatment.

Among these projects, the Prime Minister inaugurated Indian Oil's 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline, which has been developed at a cost of approximately 2,790 crore.

Additionally, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of multiple projects aimed at enhancing the infrastructure at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata, with an investment of approximately 1000 crore.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station Phase II (2x660 MW) situated in Raghunathpur, Purulia district. This coal-based thermal power project, overseen by the Damodar Valley Corporation, will employ highly efficient supercritical technology.

The establishment of this new plant marks a significant stride towards fortifying the energy security of the country.
Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday confirmed that the Rameshwaram Cafe blast was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device. The confirmation came hours after the blast at the popular cafe at the heart of Bengaluru sent a shockwave to the IT capital of India. Siddaramaiah confirmed that the device was kept inside the bag of a customer. Bengaluru: Security officials and others at the Rameshwaram Cafe after a fire caused by a suspected cylinder explosion, in Bengaluru, Friday, March 1, 2024. At least five persons sustained injuries in the incident. (PTI Photo) (PTI03_01_2024_000136A)(PTI)

Siddaramaiah spoke to the reporters in Mysuru and said after noon, somebody kept a bag at the cafe which exploded injuring some people. "We are examining the CCTV footage. It was an explosive blast. We don't know who has done it. The police are at the spot. I have asked the home minister to review the situation," Siddaramaiah said.

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Rameshwaram cafe blast: Follow LIVE updates

The chief minister said it was not a high explosive but an improvised blast. In his first reaction after the blast, Siddaramaiah said there should be no politics over it as the last blast in Karnataka happened in Mangaluru during the rule of the BJP government.

Bengaluru cafe blast: what we know so far

1. At least 9 people were injured when the explosion took place in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe.

2. Initially, it was thought to be a cylinder blast since it happened inside a cafe but BJP MP Tejasvi Surya first put out on social media that it was not a cylinder explosion. The founder of the cafe Nagaraj told Tejasvi Surta that the blast was from a bag left by a customer.

3. When the explosion took place, there were many people inside, confirmed the security guard of the famous cafe. There was a loud sound, followed by a fire causing injuries to the customers. According to reports, the explosion took place where the customers wash their hands.

4. Forensic experts immediately reached the site and started collecting evidence.

5. The injured were taken to the hospital. There was no report of any fatality yet. None of the injured were in danger.

6. Shattered glass and furniture were seen strewn on the floor of the cafe after the explosion. Rameshwaram is a popular cafe and the lunch time generally remains crowded.

7. NIA will visit the explosion site as per its Standard Operating Procedure, news agency ANI reported.

8. Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan said they are waiting for the forensics report. The investigation is underway.

9. Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara said all angles will be probed.

10. Divya Raghavendra Rao, co-founder and managing director of the cafe chain, said she was told there were two explosions within 10 seconds of each other.

(With agency inputs)
NEW DELHI: Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anurag Agarwal has been appointed joint secretary (security) of the Lok Sabha secretariat, according to a notification issued on Thursday. New Delhi: Security personnel at Parliament House complex during the Winter session, in New Delhi (PTI FILE PHOTO)

Agarwal, a 1998 batch officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, currently serves as the Shillong-based Inspector General of the Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) North East Sector.

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The Speaker is pleased to appoint Anurag Agarwal, IPS(AM:98), presently working as IG,CRPF, to the post of Joint Secretary (Security) on deputation basis for a period of three (03) years from the date of assumption of charge, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the order issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Thursday said. HT has reviewed the notification.

The key appointment comes months after two persons walked past three layers of security in Parliament complex on December 13, the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament, before jumping into the Lok Sabha and spraying coloured smoke inside the chambers. At the same time, their two associates shouted slogans outside Parliament and sprayed coloured smoke from canisters before being taken into custody. The daring security breach triggered nationwide alarm and brought back memories of the 2001 terror attack on the highest seat of Indian democracy.

Raghubir Lal, the last officer to hold the post of joint secretary (security) at the Lok Sabha secretariat, had shifted out on November 2 to take up his next assignment, and the post was vacant when the security breach took place on Dec 13. Days later, the Lok Sabha Secretariat also wrote to the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to send names of potential candidates to fill the vacancy immediately.

As the joint secretary (security), Agarwal will head the Parliament Security Service -- an internal security service that is responsible for the security of the Parliament. He is assisted by two directors (security) of both Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The directors are usually DIG rank officers who come on deputation from paramilitary forces. All paramilitary forces and Delhi police personnel within the premises of Parliament report to the head of the PSS.

Following the security breach, an additional contingent of over 150 Central Industrial Security force (CISF) personnel was brought to Parliament. The force is working in coordination with PSS, CRPF and Delhi police. The breach led the Lok Sabha Secretariat to suspend eight security personnel for lapses
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has claimed that party leader Vikramaditya Singh informed him of the intention of some of the six rebel Congress MLAs wanting to return to the party fold. Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (PTI)

"Vikramaditya spoke to me yesterday and then today morning. He said that he is meeting the rebel MLAs, who want to return to the (Congress) fold. I told him to speak to the party high command. They are sitting at Hotel Lalit in Panchkula in Haryana boundary, we will see when they are back to Himachal boundary," said Sukhu as quoted by news agency PTI.

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ALSO READ| Political turmoil in Himachal Pradesh: Tough road ahead for Sukhu

Six rebel Congress MLAs have been disqualified

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania has disqualified the six rebel Congress MLAs. The Congress representatives had abstained from voting on the Budget in the assembly, after cross-voting in the recent Rajya Sabha polls.

The rebel MLAs defied the party whip to vote in favour of the government on the cut motion and finance bill, prompting the ruling Congress to seek their disqualification.

Meanwhile, One of the disqualified MLAs has expressed intent to challenge the Speaker's decision in the Supreme Court, news agency PTI reported.

ALSO READ| Vikramaditya Singh meets rebel MLAs, sparks unease within Himachal Congress

Political crisis in Himachal Pradesh

The state is embroiled in a political crisis with some congress leaders, including Congress chief Pratibha Singh and MLA Vikramaditya Singh miffed with the party. On Friday, state Congress chief praised BJP and said "BJP's work is better than ours".

"A lot of things remain to be done in Congress...It is true that BJP's work is better than ours,"Pratibha told news agency ANI.

"From day 1, I had been telling the CM that we would be able to face the upcoming elections only if he strengthens the organisation. This is a very tough situation for us. We can see a lot of difficulties on the ground. As per the directions of PM Modi, BJP is going to do a lot of things...We are on weak footing there. I urged him again and again that we need to strengthen and the party needs to be organised...I can say that it is a difficult time. Still, we have to contest elections and win," she added.

Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Bhupesh Baghel and DK Shivakumar were deputed as observers amid the political crisis in the state.
Nine people were wounded after a low-intensity bomb exploded in a busy restaurant in Bengaluru on Friday afternoon, prompting a multi-agency probe with preliminary investigations zeroing in on a man who left an unidentified bag near the cash counter. Bengaluru: Police personnel at the Rameshwaram Cafe after a blast, in Bengaluru, Friday, March 1, 2024.(PTI)

Police officials familiar with the matter said that they have recovered a battery and a timer from the blast site, indicating that the explosion was premeditated, but added that no arrests have been made so far.

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Visuals from the immediate aftermath of the blast showed panicked people running away from the explosion site, sheltering themselves from shattered glass, strewn furniture, smoke and fire.

Alok Mohan, Karnataka director general of police (DGP) said that the blast left nine people injured.

Also Read | How Rameshwaram cafe blast took place: Man ordered idli, left bag with 1-hr timer IED

Forensic teams have collected evidence from the ground and we have also seized CCTV footage from the explosion site. It appears to be a low-intensity crude bomb blast.

A popular eating joint, the cafe records a heavy rush of customers, particularly during the lunch hours.

In the minutes that followed, teams from the fire brigade and the police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area, even as a team of forensic experts collected evidence from the site of the explosion.

Later in the afternoon, a team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also visited the mangled restaurant.

We have found a battery and a timer at the blast site which shows it could be a timed explosive device. Preliminary findings show that the material used in the bomb was of low quality but more details will emerge once the forensic reports are in, one police inspector, part of the investigation team, told reporters at the site.The police have registered a case under sections of the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act and the Explosives Act.

Also Read | Rameshwaram cafe owner's 1st reaction, rivalry angle, politics, suspect profile: What we know so far

Later in the evening, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar, who visited the site of the blast with home minister G Parameshwara said that investigators had identified a man in his mid-30s who entered the restaurant around noon.

He took a token and ate some semolina idli, he said, adding that the blast took place at 12:.5pm in a bag that the man had left behind, likely triggered by a timer inside.

Parameshwara said that the police were closely looking at CCTV images to track the suspects movements after 12 pm.

The managing director of Rameshwaram Cafe, a restaurant that opened in 2021, who identified herself only as Divya, said that there may have been two quick explosions, less than 10 seconds apart.

The first explosion was near the cash counter and then there was chaos. I dont know where the second explosion took place, she said.

A security guard stationed at the cafe said that the blast took place at a time when the restaurant is often busy, with many people that go to the offices nearby arriving for lunch.

I was standing outside the cafe, and many customers had come to the hotel. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a fire broke out. I saw people that were injured, he said, asking not to be named.

Officials said that the nine injured include some staff of the cafe, but that nobody was in critical condition.

Pradeep Kumar, an official of the Brookfield Hospital where the injured were rushed, said that one woman would require plastic surgery. Some others have some injuries in their eardrums, but their lives are not at risk, he said.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah said that it was not yet known whether the perpetrators had organised terror links but that teams were working furiously to identify the accused.

This is a case of an improvised explosive device. Even if it is a low amount, it can be effective, he said.

The blast however, set off a political furore, with the BJP demanding that investigations be handed over to the NIA, and that law and order in Karnataka was a matter of concern under the Congress government. BJP state president BY Vijayendra said that the incident was a failure of police intelligence and said, Law and order is deteriorating day by day under the Congress government.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said, Whenever the Congress comes to power, terrorists and anti-national elements feel emboldenedthe Congress should first ensure the guarantee of safety and security to the people of Karnataka.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah however hit back and said there should be no politics around the blast, and that those that carried this out would be brought to book.

There were several such incidents in the BJP government too, and this is the first in our government.The accused will be found and severely punished, he said.
It seems that China is in no mood to resolve its dispute with India. On February 19, the India-China Corps Commanders met at Chushul-Moldo border point to discuss disengagement, relocation and de-escalation in eastern Ladakh.



It has been four years since the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) transgressed over Galwan, Gogra Hot Springs, Pangong Tso Lake and had accretion of forces at Depsang Plain as well as Charding Nala Junction in Demchok. Even after four years, the disengagement has not been complete, what to talk of relocation or de-escalation. It is quite evident that the Chinese will use the non-resolution of Line of Actual Control (LAC) to pressurise India not to go to the West





Even now, the Chinese have packed up nearly 50,000 troops along with rocket systems, missiles and fighters on a standby in the hinterland in Tibet. Even on February 19, both the Indian and Chinese sides couldn't get past each other. The Chinese used the transgressions in East Ladakh to pressurise the Narendra Modi government.



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China wary of India's ties with West?

It is a million dollar question of which one can only speculate the answers. It is quite evident that the Chinese will use the non-resolution of Line of Actual Control (LAC) to pressurise India not to go to the West. It is a clear cut pressure point that the Chinese are using the QUAD to translate into an alliance much bigger than a talk shop.



The Chinese also want to use this to ensure that the Indian borders never remain stable and India is always on the tenterhooks due to its huge army, latest advanced weapon systems and numerically high presence in eastern Ladakh.



This is happening despite the government making it very clear that the normalisation of bilateral ties with China only go through the settlement and de-escalation on the LAC, which is 3,488 kilometres long. Currently, the Chinese PLA is packed up in Ladakh, the eastern sector along Arunachal Pradesh and across Sikkim.



Even before Xi Jinping became the Chinese president for the third time in October 2022, the Chinese sent six combined armed brigade, virtually a division strength each, along the Arunachal and Sikkim borders. Those combined armed brigades are still there. As of now, the LAC is packed up with Chinese forces, who are doing all kinds of military upgradation all along the LAC.

How India is responding to China?

The Indian side has also responded in a similar fashion. It has ensured that the Chinese challenge does not go without riposte. The problem is, over the past four years, things are not at all moving. The India-China trade is still heavily in favour of China, the trade deficit being more th an $100 billion.



The Chinese want to settle the border on their own terms. It means you impose the 1959 line, proposed by then Chinese premier Chou en Lai on East Ladakh and you give up on Arunachal Pradesh or what they call as South Tibet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried to reach out to China in 2018 at Wuhan and in 2019 at Chennai, trying to sort out the border. He tried to sort out with Xi Jinping the resolution of the boundary issue. But the Chinese responded by a transgression in May 2020.



As PM Modi told one of his senior officers,"I wanted to give support of 140 crore Indians to President Xi Jinping but he was more interested in 140 square kilometres of land".
PATNA: Bihar governor Rajendra V Arlekars office has told chief secretary Amir Subhani to act against education department officials who sent a sharply-worded letter to vice-chancellors for skipping a meeting on the governors instructions. Bihar governor Rajendra Arlekar greets state chief minister Nitish Kumar on his birthday in Patna on Friday. (ANI)

The wanton interference of some officers using the kind of language used is only to be deprecated and it is expected that an explanation is called and this office is apprised of the result of enquiries made and follow-up action taken, Robert L Chongthu, principal secretary to the governor, said in a letter to the chief secretary on Thursday.

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The stinker from Raj Bhavan came hours after education department officials took offence to the vice-chancellors and other top university officials not attending a meeting called by the department.

It said the governor, in his capacity as the chancellor of the state universities, had declined permission to the university brass to attend the education department meeting.

Raj Bhavans communication cited the intemperate language used in letters sent by higher education department director to vice chancellors. In the one sent to the Patliputra Univerity vice chancellor, it said the department called the V-Cs decision to seek guidance from any other authority (apart from the department) foolishness and unwarranted.

Raj Bhavan said vice-chancellors of Patliputra University, Magadh University and Purnea University sought directions from the Chancellors office regarding attending Unmukhikaran programme and another review meeting called by the higher education director on Thursday requiring all V-Cs, registrars and examination controllers of universities to be in attendance. On directions of the Chancellor, permission was not accorded, he said.

The directions were from the office of the Chancellor who as per the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976 is the authority vested with powers to issue such clarifications and guidelines as and where required. Section 9(7)(ii) of Bihar State Universities Act, 1976 states that the Chancellor shall have the power to issue directions to the universities in the administrative or academic interest of the universities which he considers to be necessary, said the letter.

So, as per the Act, it is the Chancellor, who is empowered to issue any direction with respect to administrative or academic interest. Further, it is an established norm that higher educational institutions are given autonomy in matters of administration and learning and it is the office of the Chancellor as per the applicable Act in Bihar and elsewhere, that overlooks affairs of the University. The role of the State Government as per the Bihar State Universities Act is incorporated in Sections 45 to 54 which are provisions relating to financial matters.
An active western disturbance is expected to impact the Western Himalayan region and northern plains beginning today till Sunday, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. A western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation is lying over northeast Iran & neighbourhood in lower to upper tropospheric levels. (HT file photo)

IMD has therefore advised farmers to harvest matured wheat, jowar and mustard in North Rajasthan on priority, and keep the harvested produce at safer places.

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It has also been recommended that farmers make necessary arrangements for draining out excess water from crop fields to avoid water stagnation in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab.

Authorities need to provide mechanical support to horticultural crops and staking to vegetables in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and North Rajasthan.

Also Read: This February was wettest in Chandigarh in 11 years

As predicted since the last 5-6 days, clouds have started entering the Indian region due to western disturbance. Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand are very likely to experience rain/snowfall from Thursday night till March 3 with heavy to very heavy snow/rain & hailstorm on Friday and Saturday. Punjab,Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, parts of Rajasthan & Madhya Pradesh very likely to experience rainfall from Friday to Sunday with thunderstorm, gusty winds (30-40 kmph) and hailstorm at isolated places over the region on Saturday, IMD said on Thursday evening.

A western disturbance as a cyclonic circulation is lying over northeast Iran & neighbourhood in lower to upper tropospheric levels.

High moisture feeding from Arabian Sea to northwest India is also likely on Friday and Saturday.

It is likely to affect Western Himalayan region from night of February 29 and plains of northwest India from Friday to Sunday with peak intensity today and Saturday.

Under its influence, widespread light/moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms and lightning is likely over Western Himalayan region during night of February 29 to March 3.

Moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms, lightning & gusty winds (40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph) is likely over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi and scattered light/moderate rainfall over Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and north Madhya Pradesh on Friday and Saturday.
New Delhi: The police are probing the role of Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, a wanted gangster based in the United Kingdom, in the murder of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Haryana unit chief Nafe Singh Rathee. The politician and his associate Jai Kishan were shot dead in Jhajjar's Bahadurgarh on Sunday. United Kingdom-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, has claimed the responsibility for the killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Nafe Singh Rathee,(PTI)

Who is Kapil Sangwan?

32-year-old Kapil Sangwan is a native of Delhi's Najafgarh. He is wanted in 18 cases linked to crimes like murder, attempt to murder, extortion and robbery and arms act in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

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Kapil Sangwan had dropped out of a hotel management course in Haryana's Manesar before entering the world of crimes. The police have declared a reward of 2 lakh for his arrest.

Why did he allegedly kill Nafe Singh Rathee?

On Wednesday, Kapil Sangwan claimed responsibility for the murder of Nafe Singh Rathee and Kishan on social media.

Per the social media post, Rathee was a close friend of Sangwan's rival gangster Manjeet Mahal. The Haryana police are verifying the post, which shows Nafe Singh Rathee purportedly shaking hands with Manjeet Mahal.

Sangwan and Mahal are enemies since the latter allegedly murdered the former's brother-in-law.

Also read: UK-based gangster claims responsibility for Haryana INLD chief Nafe Singh Rathee's murder

In 2017, Sangwan allegedly killed Mahal's father Shri Krishna, reported PTI.

In the post, Sangwan claimed Rathee had supported Mahal in the murder of his brother-in-law Sunil.

Anyone supporting my enemies would face retaliation. Bahadurgarh knows the number of people Rathee captured and killed while in power. No one could raise their voice because of his power, he claimed.

PTI, quoting a Delhi police officer, claimed Sangwan's elder brother Jyoti Prakash alias Baba, who is currently in Tihar jail, ordered him to take revenge.

Kapil Sangwan entered the world of crime in 2014, when the police booked him in an extortion case. In the same year, he was booked in a robbery case in Haryana's Jind.

Also read: CBI probe to be ordered into killing of INLD's Haryana chief Nafe Singh Rathee, says state home minister Anil Vij

Sangwan was arrested in 2016 in Rajasthan. In 2019, he was booked under MCOCA by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

In 2020, he fled to the United Kingdom after he came out of jail on parole. According to the police source quoted by PTI, he got a fake passport from UP's Bareilly and fled to Dubai via Thailand. He later settled in the UK.

Nafe Singh's family members get threats

Meanwhile, the two sons of Nafe Singh Rathee have received threat calls from an unknown number. The caller asked them to refrain from speaking to the media about the murder.

They received 18 threat calls from an unknown caller.

"The caller also sent us a picture of a weapon which he claimed that he will use to eliminate the family if we do not stop talking to the media," Kapoor Singh Rathee, the deceased's nephew, said.

With inputs from PTI, ANI
A 42-year-old woman was brutally assaulted and publicly stripped over a land dispute in Belagavi district of Karnataka, said police on Thursday, adding that the womans husband and son were also attacked. According to officials, three women forcibly removed the sari of the woman and thrashed her mercilessly. (Getty Images)

Athani police inspector Ravindra Naikwadi confirmed the development. He said, We received information about the assault on a woman, her husband, and their son in connection with a dispute over agricultural land.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The incident took place in Ainapur village of Kagwad taluk, on Wednesday evening, when members of a family reportedly dragged the woman from her farm hut, stripped her, and subjected her to physical violence, said the police.

According to officials, three women forcibly removed the sari of the woman and thrashed her mercilessly.

According to police, Suresh Dannolli and Subhash Dannolli, along with at least three women of their family, allegedly assaulted the victims husband and son, leaving the latter seriously injured.

The Dannolli brothers attacked us with sticks and fists, while their female relatives also thrashed us, one of the family members who was assaulted said.

The family which belongs to a backward community, had been allotted a 3-acre plot on the outskirts of Ainapur by the Karnataka government in 1991. However, the Dannolli brothers allegedly encroached upon some part of their land five years ago, resorting to threats and physical violence whenever the family demanded its return, said people familiar with the matter. Additionally, the perpetrators are accused of encroaching upon a government road adjacent to the victims property.

Inspector Naikwadi said Appropriate action will be taken against the accused. The inspector confirmed that as of now, no official complaint has been filed. He said, No one from the family has approached the police, however, prompt action would be initiated once a formal complaint is lodged.

This is not the first such incident in the district. Earlier, a woman was dragged out of her house, paraded naked, tied to an electric pole and thrashed allegedly after her son eloped with another woman of the village.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen on Friday consoling a distraught woman who reported the illegal occupation of her property. CM warned of strict action against the culprits. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sharma(Assam CM/X)

Himanta said, "We will not spare the land mafia!" as he assured the local woman of taking strict action. He directed officials to investigate the matter promptly.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

ALSO READ- 'Congress will segregate into...': Himanta Biswa Sarma's ominous prediction for Lok Sabha elections

Watch video here

People will witness flood of development: Himanta

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sharma conducted three public rallies across Barak Valley on Friday, laying the foundation for projects worth over 2,000 crore for the three Barak Valley districts at various events.

"People have witnessed floods triggered by the Brahmaputra and Barak rivers. If a BJP MP is elected from here, they will witness a flood of development," urged Himanta to the people, advocating the election of BJP candidates.

"Today, projects worth over 2,000 crore have been earmarked for Barak Valley. During the Congress regime, they would announce a special package of 1,000 crore, but no one knew where the money went," remarked Sarma after the 'bhumi pujan' of Karimganj Medical College.

Referring to Congress legislators, especially Karimganj North MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, who offered 'support to the BJP government,' the CM said the leaders have united for the benefit of the people.

"A lot of work is happening here now. According to us, much more needs to be done. If we focus on the politics of development and ensure the victory of BJP candidates without engaging in any other political agendas, development will be guaranteed," Sarma said.

ALSO READ- Himanta Biswa Sarma's sharp dining room jibe at Gandhi family: Sitting at same table

Assam CM Himanta waters down the 'threat' by pro-Khalistani leader

Sarma also played down a purported threat by pro-Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, demanding the relocation of radical outfit 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD) members, including its chief Amritpal Singh, from Dibrugarh central jail to Amritsar.

ALSO READ- 'Rahul Gandhi's Yatra gave a big boost to BJP in Assam': CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Speaking to reporters, Sarma said, "Why should you be so afraid of Khalistanis? You seem to have been more frightened whereas the threat was for me."

The purported threat by Pannun, head of an unlawful association called 'Sikhs for Justice,' via recorded messages sent to journalists' mobile phones.

In the message, Sarma was asked to order the transfer of Amritpal Singh and his associates to Amritsar jail, warning of 'consequences' if he didn't follow.

(Inputs from wires)
While India worries about its growing population, the world is looking at the entirely opposite problem: This is the century in which the planet will empty out. Countries around the world are seeing a slow, sustained collapse of fertility. Even in places where population is growingIndia, North Africaa tipping point is approaching.

And its coming earlier than expected. The United Nations 2022 Revision of World Population Prospects estimates that Earths population will peak at about 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100. But new data from individual censuses and localised studies shows that it could peak at 9.5 billion people, as early as the late 2050s, and decline sharply after.

This means that for most of us, change will come in our lifetimes. The children born today will inherit a vastly different world by the time they enter the workforce, says sociologist and demographer Sonalde Desai, director of the National Data Innovation Centre at the National Council of Applied Economic Research.

A future with fewer people is not, by itself, a good or bad thing. More people now live in cities, and small families may be more efficient where living costs are high and where many hands are not needed for farm work. Lower fertility rates within a community also indicate gender equality; better educated women typically have fewer children, later in life. In countries where many people compete for few resources  university seats, jobs, homes in good neighbourhoods  a lower population can come as a relief. Many hope it might even stall the climate emergency (It may not; see the story alongside).

But fewer babies today also mean fewer workers, fewer taxpayers, fewer ideas, fewer drivers of economic growth in the coming years. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, one in six people globally will be over the age of 60.

Some countries are simply importing people. Canada, where the population (now 39 million) has declined since 2009, hopes to take in 1.5 million immigrants between 2023 and 2025. But xenophobia is growing. Its a growing country, but whose country? asks Desai. Migration isnt a catch-all solution either. Population is also dropping in Haiti and Vietnam. Few want to move there.

Intimate decision, global repercussion

Demographers see a clear geographical distinction in why couples might want fewer or no kids. In the West, having children is seen as at odds with the pursuit of individual freedoms. Its why Nordic countries, with generous parental leave, job security, state-subsidised childcare and other family-friendly policies have had a slower decline than their neighbours, says Desai. In East Asian regimes, its because kids now require high investmenttime, money, school costs, attention, childcarewhich leaves out the option for a large family.

This explains Indias steady decline too. What works for a family doesnt always work for the nation, Desai says. In India, all but five states (Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur) already have fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Families are smaller in the southern states, where ageing folks are already starting to outnumber young people.

The transition defies religion. Census data from 2011 shows that in districts where Hindu fertility was high, Muslim fertility was also high; and where Hindu fertility was low, Muslim fertility was low too. There are larger forces at play, says Desai. Italys population has been declining for 14 years, and this is a Catholic country. Bangladesh, Thailand and Iran now have continuous low birth rates too. West or East, it seems like having a child has become a value proposition in a way its never been before.

From cradle to crucible

Historically, dips in human population have come from famine, plague and war. Biologically, most species tend to have more offspring when they have access to greater resources. The current decline bucks both trends.

Dont blame women. Family-size decisions are a couples choice. Society expects so much more of mothers everywhere in the world that we have what American sociologist Annette Lareau calls Concerted Cultivation, says Desai. It means that parents funnel the time, effort and money theyd have spent on more kids into just one or two, raising them, in Lareaus words like hothouse flowers, in sync with the demands of the professional world.

In India, fall in family size hasnt coincided with growing womens participation in the labour force. Its largely because institutional structures are still not family friendly. We talk and talk about how men need to be involved in housework. But workplaces havent accommodated the idea that child-bearers and child-rearers are part of the team, Desai says. It isnt just keeping women away, its harming future generations.

Governments are trying a bit of everything to stabilise populations. Some have invested in expensive labour policies so couples dont have to choose between careers and children. Others offer incentives for women to just stay home, have kids and raise them. Still others have discouraged family planning altogether. See how its all playing out.

.

BALANCING ACT

Take a look at measures adopted to try to stabilise populations in countries around the world.

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

The countdown begins: What the coming dip in global population means for us all

(All population and fertility rate data from 2021, via data.un.org/en/index.html)

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RECEDING HEIRLINES

What coming generations will inherit

2.8 billion: Earths population in 1955. Today, that is the population of India and China alone.

9.7 billion: Earths population by 2050, according to estimates by the United Nations Population Division.

134 million: The number of babies born worldwide in 2023. Thats an average of 367,000 newborns each day. While this may sound like a lot, it is actually the lowest number of newborns since 2001.

61 million: The number of deaths in 2023. This means global population rose by 73 million people last year, a net increase of 0.91%.

20.3 years: The median age of a human in 1970. It means that half the population was older and half was younger at the time.

30 years: The median age of a human on Earth right now. Fewer births and a longer life expectancy means this is the oldest median age in history.

2080s: The UNs projections of when human birth-death numbers will even out, making global population peak. There will be an estimated 10.4 billion people on Earth, with no decline until 2100.

2050s: The projection from some demographers on when population will peak, based on data from nations showing early declines. They estimate that human population will stand at 9.5 billion, and drop sharply thereafter.

.

Why is a populations replacement rate set at 2.1?

The figure represents the number of children a woman is likely to have in her lifetime. Mathematically, a fertility rate of 2 means there are as many kids as parents, that family sizes remain the same and, barring migration, there is no growth or reduction in the population from generation to generation. The 0.1 is added to offset infant mortality

But with sex-selective abortion prevalent in many cultures, not all girl children survive or make it to their fertility age. So when demographers calculate figures for the planet as a whole, they use 2.2, to account for the gender imbalance. The fertility rate for humanity is already at 2.2. For the very first time in human history, we are not reproducing ourselves.
It began with a simple Google search. In 2015, Dr Gaurav Narula, 58, a paediatric haematologist-oncologist at Tata Memorial Hospital, was hoping for a breakthrough in immunology research. Hed quit the Navy in 2012 to pursue oncology and was focused on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a personalised cancer treatment that used each patients blood, specifically its T-cells (types of immune cells), genetically modifies these cells in the lab to give them cancer-fighting powers, and then infuses those CAR-T cells back into the patients body.

Dr Narula found Rahul Purwar, 46, a faculty member at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), online. I stumbled upon Purwars CAR T-cell PowerPoint while preparing for my own research paper on the subject and wrote to him, says Dr Narula. When we met in his laboratory at the IIT-B campus, I told him I needed a car, and he needed a driver.

Purwar, a Lucknow native, held a PhD in molecular medicine from Hannover Medical School, Germany, and a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology from Harvard Medical College. He had joined IIT-B in 2013, giving up his interest in expensive CAR T-cell therapy and concentrating on T-cell biology and skin disorders instead.

The email from Dr Narula re-ignited his passion. Lets make this science-fiction a reality, the oncologist told him. Who could have refused?

CAR T-cell therapy can be used when the disease has stopped responding to chemotherapy, which is the accepted treatment for most cancers today. Not only is each CAR T-cell treatment specific to the patient, the modified cells are designed to locate and destroy cancer cells in the body.

Theres only one problem: The cost of the treatment runs into crores per patient.

Keeping in mind ongoing research, trials and clinical evidence abroad, my idea was to have a CAR T-cell therapy that would cause long-term cancer remission, says Dr Narula. We would then not need a bone marrow transplant, which would especially help young patients.

Purwar expected it would take him two years to design the CAR T-cell therapy. Dr Narula says it was ready within six months. Meanwhile, I had written to Dr Terry Fry (who then headed the CAR T-cell programme at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, USA) and told him I have a partner with whom I can explore the research work in India, says Dr Narula.

Dr Narula has been mulling over the project for years. In 1999, I took annual leave from the Navy and worked at the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai, for a month. Two years later, I came back on study leave and did a fellowship in paediatric haematology-oncology there, he says.

When he resigned in 2012, he joined the same hospital, hoping to figure it all out. This was the year that six-year-old Emily Whitehead of New Jersey became the first paediatric patient to receive CAR T-cell therapy for leukaemia, at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. A close friend sent me a clipping, knowing my interest in immunology and immune-haematology.

Till 2015, TMHs paediatric department aimed to provide basic chemotherapy to children who came here. We aimed to raise funds and treat all patients regardless of monetary status. By the time we could manage to think of CAR T-cell therapy in 2015, the world was moving far ahead. There were three or four centres in the US already looking at trials. Whatever news we heard was very, very good, says Dr Narula.

Dr Narula said Dr Fry and his team played a vital role, as they were the knowledge partners. We visited NCI where they were working on this. Whenever we got stuck, he (Dr Fry) and his team guided us, he says with gratitude.

Four years after Dr Narulas May 2015 email to Purwar, the latter made the first breakthrough in developing the functional prototype . One of the biggest challenges the duo overcame was in creating a gene delivery vehicle. We were initially trying to purchase it from abroad and they were asking for $3 million to produce it. We then decided to produce it at IIT-B, Purwar says.

While the world and India were fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Purwar, Dr Narula, and Dr Hasmukh Jain, the other principal investigator, were battling multiple challenges to ensure they met deadlines for the commercial launch they aimed for by the end of 2023.

We were in the middle of constructing our laboratory at IIT-B when Covid-19 struck. The IIT administrations timely approvals ensured that other certifications came in on time despite the pandemic, Purwar says.

The second major challenge came when the Phase 1 trial coincided with the second wave of Covid-19. Dr Narula, principal investigator of paediatric Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) care at TMH, and Dr Jain, principal investigator of the adult B-cell lymphoma study, started recruiting patients in early 2021. The trials were conducted at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), the research and development wing of TMH.

The commercial use of this therapy to treat certain blood cancers was approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in October. Dr Jain, who oversaw the multicentre Phase 1 and 2 pivotal clinical trial involving 60 r/r B-cell lymphoma and leukemia patients, says the therapy has shown an excellent balance of efficacy and low-toxicity, which is a significant advantage in clinical management post- infusion, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

As the team now busies themselves with presentations on the CAR T-cell therapy and Phase 2 trials among paediatric patients, they are yet to celebrate their achievement. We achieved milestones at a socially awkward time. When we had time, we were engaged with other important things and by then, the moment to celebrate the milestone had passed. We intend to meet soon and celebrate, laughs Dr Narula.

Purwar says his next aim is to make the treatment more accessible and affordable. The current cost is 40 lakh. We want to bring it down by half. This is just the first CAR T-cell product. We will upgrade to more affordable versions.

Purwar says research and development work on CAR T-cell therapy for solid tumours has begun too. We are also looking at diversifying beyond oncology to look at autoimmune disorders, heart diseases and infectious diseases, he adds.
Q. Some estimates say Indias population will peak as early as the 2040s  close enough to worry about. How do you see the numbers unfolding, given that were three years behind on the census?

I would say the India estimate is accurate. Even without the census, we have good data via The National Family Health Survey and other studies. Round 5 of the NFHS (2021) shows that Indias fertility level is below the replacement rate of 2.1 in all but five states [Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Manipur]. And that most women dont want more than two children.

Womens aspirations are growing. We have not yet grasped that Indian women have the courage to defy social norms. They now have so much more exposure to changing cultures and lifestylessometimes from something as basic as a smartphone. The high-fertility states are ones with low indicators for socioeconomic development. Migrant fathers work away from the home, return on breaks and thats when babies are made. There is low use of contraception.

Q. Its easy to see a declining population as a womans fault or a solely the wifes responsibility. What are we missing?

There are two irreversible trajectories with fertility, especially in the developing world. One is that once women decide to have fewer children, its not a switch that can be turned on and off. Pushing for them to have more children as a national duty, as is happening in Russia, is ridiculous.

The other trajectory is that when women bear the burden of being denied education, of marrying early, of staying home to raise children, it affects their participation in the workforce. A large majority of women globally find their careers disrupted after having a child, many of them permanently. The fact that most men still do not get involved in child rearing makes it worse. No one talks about male involvement when they discuss why women want fewer children. Adults are more than economic units. Women are more than baby machines. Employed women should not be deprived of social security, paid maternity benefits, and job security. We talk of the demographic dividend that comes with having a young population. A gender dividend is yet to happen.

Q. What are the immediate challenges for India once we approach or hit peak population?

Kerala, Sikkim, Goa, Chandigarh, have (or will soon have) a large portion of elderly people. We need to plan for greater geriatric care. We also need a migration policy and invest in rural communities, in young peoples higher education and skills. India has the chance to send skilled workers aboard, as caregivers, to countries with ageing populations. Its an opportunity to reimagine Indias future. But we have to move fast. This window will shrink by 2041 and close by 2061.

Q. Of all the data that an eventual census will bring, which numbers are you keenly looking forward to?

India has so much diversity that even on the district level, there are cultural differences that affect family size. Im interested in the data on nuclear families, migration, urbanisation and district-level changes. This will highlight exiting disparities in population growth.
Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's extravagant pre-wedding celebrations are currently the talk of the town, taking place in Jamnagar, Gujarat from March 1 to 3. Thursday witnessed a star-studded lineup with popular celebrities including global pop star Rihanna, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Bollywood icons Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Rani Mukerji, as well as Orry, Janhvi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Gauri Khan, Manushi Chillar, and several others arriving in Jamnagar. While some made fashion statements in chic casuals, others kept it simple in understated formals. While we wait for the lavish festivities to begin, let's take a look at who wore what and get some style inspiration. (Also read: Rihanna rocks a stylish bodysuit and trendy cargo pants as she arrives in Jamnagar for Anant Ambani's pre-wedding bash ) Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and others arrive in Jamnagar: Who wore what(HT Photo/VarinderChawla)

Celebrities Arrive in Jamnagar in Stylish Ensembles

Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

Soon-to-be parents Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh arrived in matching ensembles. Deepika looked classy yet stylish in a white loose-fit maxi dress. She paired it with an oversized knitted sweater that comes with a buttoned bodice and V-neck. She folded the sleeves to the elbow and completed her look with white pointy flats, a wristwatch and a pair of black sunglasses. With minimal make-up and her luscious locks tied up in a bun, she rounded off her look. On the other hand, her handsome husband Ranveer Singh wore a white sweatshirt and a pair of well-fitted jeans. Styled with white trainers, a pendant necklace, a white cap and sunglasses, he looked dapper.

Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji added a touch of glamour as the diva arrived in Jamnagar. Looking chic and exuding boss babe vibes, she turned heads with her incredible fashion sense. The actress wore a blue denim waistcoat, light brown bell-bottom trousers and an oversized plaid blazer that added a touch of extra style. She accessorised her stunning look with a pair of diamond stud earrings, red-rimmed glasses, a black chic wristwatch, brown boots and a stylish handbag. She finished off her look with nude lipstick, blushed cheeks, mascara-covered lashes and loose hair.

Orry

Internet sensation Orry arrived in Jamnagar wearing his statement 'I am a Liver' T-shirt. Whenever he steps out, he makes sure to grab the limelight with his quick style choices and this time was no exception. Orry wore a dark green T-shirt with the 'Orry' graphic printed on it, which he paired with a pair of matching, loose-fitting denim jeans. His accessories included a stylish pair of black and white sneakers, a funky chain necklace and black hoop earrings.

Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan arrived in Jamnagar in casual outfits. Mark kept his look cool and simple in a basic grey t-shirt and black denim trousers. Styled with a pair of stylish trainers and black sunglasses, he looked classy. On the other hand, his wife Priscilla Chan wore a black t-shirt and brown trousers, she added a printed bright pink dupatta around her neck to add an Indian touch to her look. They were welcomed by folk musicians with garlands around their necks.
Ramadan 2024: The auspicious month of Ramadan is expected to start in the second week of the month of March. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, referred to as Ramadan or Ramzan, is observed by the Muslim community across the world. The month is dedicated to observing peace, reflection and community. During the month of Ramadan, people fast from dawn to sunset. The pre-dawn meal is called suhoor, and after sunset, people break the fast with iftar. Traditionally water and dates are consumed to break the fast. Delicious platters of iftar are prepared at home and relished with friends and family. The start of Ramadan will be decided by the sighting of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia.(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

The start of Ramadan will be decided by the sighting of the crescent moon in Saudi Arabia. The end of Ramadan will also be decided by the sighting of moon. It will determine the time period of Ramadan to be observed  twenty-nine or thirty days. This year, Ramadan will tentatively start on March 11 and end by April 9.

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ALSO READ: Ramadan 2024: Expected Ramzan dates for UAE, Dubai, Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Maldives, USA, UK, others

Saudi Arabias Ministry of Islamic Affairs issued notice:

Ahead of Ramadan, Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammad Bin Salman banned iftar to be organised inside mosques. On February 21, Saudi Arabias Ministry of Islamic Affairs issued a notice on their official X profile declaring that iftar should not be organised inside mosques because of cleanliness being a concern.

The notice further mentioned restrictions for imams and muezzins from collecting financial donations for organising iftar. "The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance issues a number of instructions related to mosques during the blessed month of Ramadan 1445 AH," read the post.

The notice mentioned that a separate area should be prepared in the mosques courtyards where for organising iftar. It should be organised keeping cleanliness in mind. It also mentioned that the person breaking the fast should immediately clean the place. The Ministry also issued orders restricting the use of mobile phones inside the mosque or filming of imam and worshippers offering namaz.
New data from The Lancet shows fewer people are starving across the globe. But it also shows an explosive growth of another type of malnourishment: obesity. About one billion people in the world  that's 1 in 8 of the global population  are obese: They have a body mass index (BMI) over 30.(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The global rate of obesity has quadrupled in children and doubled in adults since 1990, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet, a medical journal, March 1, 2024.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

About one billion people in the world  that's 1 in 8 of the global population  are obese: They have a body mass index (BMI) over 30.

The World Health Organization describes the BMI as "a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults."

It is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters (kg/m2).

Francesco Branca, Director of the WHO's Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, said the organization had previously estimated that the global rate of obesity would hit a billion people in 2030. But that marker was hit eight years early  in 2022.

Speaking at a press conference about the new Lancet study, its co-author and professor of public health at Imperial College London, Majid Ezzati, said they were "taken aback" by how fast obesity rates had developed.

But this increase in obesity is not happening where you might expect  in rich countries.

The new data shows that while obesity rates are generally starting to plateau in many rich countries, they are growing rapidly among both adults and children in low-to-middle income countries, such as Egypt, Iraq, Libya, South Africa and Chile, with Syria, Turkey and Mexico not far behind.

"None of the traditional industrialized world or wealthy nations, except for the United States, appear in the top group [of the most obese nations]. It's almost exclusively covered by low-to-middle-income countries," said Ezzati.

Number of people starving is falling

The new data shows some progress in reducing the number of people who are starving across the globe.

Over the past 30 years, the global proportion of underweight adults has halved. It fell by a fifth in girls and a third in boys under the age of 18 years.

However, the study shows that in some countries the situation has not improved.

The proportion of underweight adults in countries like Ethiopia and Uganda, for example, has barely changed.

Other countries, such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, have seen the proportion of underweight adults decline sharply.

But Pakistan appears to have traded one form of malnourishment for another.

While the proportion of underweight adults has dropped from 27% to 7% since 1990, the proportion of obese adults has risen from 3% to 24% in the same period. That's a higher rate of obesity than most countries in the European Union.

Some sub-Saharan African countries have seen the same sort of swap, particularly among women. Where the number of people underweight has gone down, the number of those with obesity has gone up.

Why are obesity rates rising in low-to-middle income countries?

Branca said the increase in obesity has been so sharp in low-to-middle income countries compared to wealthier countries for a few reasons: There's been a transformation in food production, then there's "the biology of the double burden", and finally a lack of public health policies.

We explain the impact of each of these below:

First, the past 30 years have been marked by rapid industrialization in countries like Egypt and Mexico. They have transformed their food systems, especially in urban areas, Branca said.

"The sales of processed food or drinks or the number of supermarkets and outlets  that's where the largest increase is," said Branca. "[It's a] very rapid transformation of that food system and not towards the better."

Second, the biology of the double burden, said Branca, refers to people who had a low birth weight or did not get enough food to eat as children. They are often more prone to becoming overweight or obese as adults. This could potentially help explain the changes seen in sub-Saharan Africa.

And third, there's the lack of government policy and, as a result, a lack action by health departments to improve people's access to healthy food choices.

Unlike wealthier countries, said Branca, many low-to-middle income countries have very few or zero policies in place to curb the "enormous" pressure created by marketing that pushes foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt.

"The important story here is that in the past we [thought] of obesity as a problem of the rich," said Branca  but obesity is a problem for the whole world.
This year began with the news of the death of a 5-year-old boy, who was allegedly forcibly dipped in the chilly river Ganga at Haridwar in the height of winter by his family in the belief that the river would cure him of cancer. The family was so convinced this would work that they even prevented bystanders from trying to help the boy.

Superstitions, human sacrifice, black magic and so-called healing practices are often hidden under the garb of religion and ancient culture. It is precisely because of the ambiguity between faith and blind faith that an attack on superstitions is often seen as an attack on religion. The passage of the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, earlier this week has once again highlighted issues of legal solutions for social evils.

Presently, there exists no central legislation to deal with superstitions, black magic etc. There is only the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisement) Act, 1954. Thus, there are state laws to tackle the menace of superstitions.

The first few laws to tackle superstition were with regard to the practice of witch-hunting and were passed by Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The legislation aimed to put an end to the brutal killing and maiming of women termed as witches.

The killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and M. M. Kalburgi in Pune in 2013 and Dharwad in 2015, respectively, for questioning superstitious and unscientific practices led to the passage of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013 and the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017.

Blind faith and superstitions galvanise the legal machinery in the event of death or bodily injury, or when people are lured to spend money for miracle cures. Here is a look at some cases before the courts.

In Jitu Murmu v. State of Orissa, the Orissa high court was hearing the bail application of a self-styled supernational medicine expert. The brief facts were that the victim was ill for a few days and was brought to the house of the petitioner to be healed. The petitioner, claiming that an evil spirit had taken over the body of the victim and ridding her of the spirit would cure her, then allegedly proceeded to use a trident and maimed the body of the victim leading to her death. The victim had sustained 27 injuries. One of the submissions raised was that witnesses had not supported the case of the prosecution. The court rejected this claim by citing that the petitioners claim to be a witch doctor was capable of instilling fear in the minds of witnesses. The court noted that The communities living there are usually close-knit societies and persons who claim to possess such supernatural powers and dabble in the practice of occult are usually feared in such communities... If the witness himself is incapacitated from acting as eyes and ears of justice, the trial gets putrefied and paralysed, and it no longer can constitute a fair trial.

Recently, the Bombay high court deliberated on the issue of products being touted as miracle cures. The court was called upon to look into the advertisements of a Hanuman Chalisa Yantra which was advertised as a supernatural/miraculous object capable of removing all obstacles from a persons life. The respondent contended that the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act 2013 was not applicable, and it would be the Cable Television Telecast guidelines which would apply. Rejecting the respondents contention, the court ruled that the enactment covered acts aimed at propagating or displaying miracles to earn money and the advertisement and sale of the object as a miracle cure for all ills fell within that definition. The court while bemoaning the presence of superstition observed, Even many educated and highly educated persons get attracted to the things like mantra-tantra, black magic. Due to this superstitious approach of rich and poor, the educated and uneducated persons are being exploited by so-called Babas by selling articles by giving them names like Yantra, Ganda etc.

In 2012, the Delhi High Court found an innovative solution to prevent the menace of illogical cures. The court was moved by Nirmal Baba, a spiritual guru seeking an injunction against certain articles he claimed were defamatory. The court in its judgment looked into the economy of spiritual gurus and noted that, whether in India or abroad, people all over are afflicted with problems, different in magnitude and type but for each of them, their individual problem or misery is the biggest crisis of their lives and anyone who can claim to heal or provide a shortcut to alleviating their pain and suffering occupies the stature of God in their lives. The people who are followers of various saints and godmen believe in their miraculous healing powers through which bodily afflictions or mental agony or pain could be cured, the court added. Interestingly, the court in this case awarded a conditional injunction by restraining the respondents from publishing defamatory material against the plaintiff provided he also restrained himself from giving absurd or illogical solutions to his disciples like asking them to eat rabri or masala dosa to overcome problems in life.

The real challenge for the law comes in terms of defining what would be evil practices. Both the Maharashtra and Karnataka acts fail to provide a clear definition of what may be considered evil practices, the legislations provide for a schedule which enumerates certain practices but the same is not enough. The recently passed Assam legislation defines evil practices as any act of healing practices and magic healing by any person with a sinister motive to exploit common people. The expansive and vague definition raises questions on implementation. If an unscientific practice does not aim to exploit people, is it allowed?

It is a fact that a large part of Indias population does not have access to public health facilities. In such cases, villages and neighbourhoods have several practitioners who may not be medically trained but at the same time are not quacks intent on exploiting people. These practitioners over the years become the first point of contact for people and vague legislation puts them at risk. In a country with several traditional branches of medicine, such an expansive definition will be reliant on the interpretation of courts which may vary from judge to judge.

Legislation to tackle superstitions requires nuance and a deep understanding of long-standing cultural practices. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 2,871 people have died in the last two decades due to witch-hunting and human sacrifices. In 2022, there were 85 murder cases wherein witch-hunting was the motive and six cases concerning human sacrifice. Often, the victims of superstition are women and children. Considering the NCRB takes account of only reported incidents, these figures are only conservative estimates. Thus, there is no doubt that the issue is serious. However, hastily drawn laws are not only ineffective in dealing with the issue but can be used to settle scores.

Blind faith and superstitions often arise out of fear. One effective means to rid people of this fear is to provide social security so that basic needs of food, shelter and healthcare are taken care of; perhaps this is the miracle cure for our nation.

Parijata Bharadwaj, a lawyer and researcher based in New Delhi, co-founded the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group that offered legal services to adivasis in Chhattisgarh. The views expressed are personal.
The governments construction arm NBCC (India) Ltd has sold 2.05 lakh sq ft of commercial space for approximately 827.78 crore in the World Trade Centre project at Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi, on behalf of the government, the company said in a regulatory filing on March 1, 2024. The governments construction arm NBCC (India) Ltd has sold 2.05 lakh sq ft of commercial space for approximately  827.78 crore in the World Trade Centre project at Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi.

With this e-auction, the company has successfully sold around 80% commercial inventory till date.

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The company conducted the 24th auction for the sale of commercial space in the World Trade Centre project on February 29 as a project management consultant (PMC) and marketing consultant on behalf of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, NBCC said.

Also Read: NBCC to develop 13,250 premium flats in 5 Amrapali projects in Greater Noida

"The company has sold a total unsold commercial inventory of 2.05 lakh square feet (approximately) having a sale value of 827.78 crore, out of which 0.53 lakh sq. ft. area having a sale value of 222.35 crore, has been sold to private entities," NBCC said in a regulatory filing.

Further, the company has so far sold a total unsold commercial inventory of 26.45 lakh square feet through an open e-auction having a sale value of 10,675.6 crore, it said.

Also Read: NBCC gets approval from Greater Noida Authority to develop five Amrapali projects worth 10,000 crore

The major corporations who have bought space in this e-auction include NBCC, Oil India Limited and Hamdard Laboratories, NBCC said in a statement.



Out of the total area sold, around 1.50 lakh square feet having sale value of approximately 605 crore has been sold to PSU entities. The total numbers of successful bidders were six, out of which two were PSU bidders and four private entities, the company said.

The sale marks a significant milestone for the company and demonstrates the exceptional demand for premium commercial space in India's capital, it said.

This success reflects the enduring appeal of the NBCC and WTC Nauroji Nagar, the project's strategic location, and its world-class facilities. The project is rapidly progressing towards completion with more than 95 per cent of physical progress achieved. We are aiming at complete sale of this project by March 2024, said K.P. Mahadevaswamy, CMD, NBCC.

Also Read: After Amrapali, NBCC exploring more stressed real estate project options in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai

World Trade Centre is a redevelopment project that has been redeveloped as a commercial centre having approximately 34 lakh square feet of commercial built-up area. It is being constructed in place of 628 numbers of old/dilapidated quarters. Many prominent corporates have invested in WTC including HDFC, GAIL, Petronet LNG among others. Recently, HDFC bought a full tower valuing 1,130 crore.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has appointed NBCC, a Navratna company, as the implementing agency for the redevelopment of Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi. NBCC is authorised to market the commercial space on a freehold basis.

The project encompasses 25 acres of land and features 12 towers, each with 10 floors. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has appointed NBCC, a Navratna company, as the implementing agency for the redevelopment of Nauroji Nagar, New Delhi.

NBCC is authorized to market the commercial space on a freehold basis.

As a part of the redevelopment of seven General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) colonies in New Delhi, NBCC has also been tasked with the execution of government colonies at Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar.
Google is currently mulling taking down apps by 10 companies in India, including some of the top matrimony apps in the country. The tech giant has decided to take this step over a dispute regarding the non-payment of service fees by these companies, reported Reuters. Google is planning to take down multiple Indian matrimony apps (Reuters)

Google's parent company Alphabet Inc is expected to commence a showdown with BharatMatrimony and Jeevansathi, two of the most noted matrimony apps in India, over the service fee dispute going on for the past few months.

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The dispute centres on the startups' efforts to stop Google from imposing a fee of 11% to 26% on in-app payments in India, after antitrust authorities ordered it to dismantle an earlier system of charging 15% to 30%.

But Google effectively received a go-ahead to charge the fee or remove apps after two court decisions in January and February, one by the Supreme Court, not to give any relief to startups.

Now, Google has sent a notice to multiple Indian startups regarding Play Store violations. These companies include Matrimony.com, which runs the app BharatMatrimony, and Info Edge, which runs Jeevansathi. The execs of these companies told Reuters that they are reviewing the notices, and will plan their next steps accordingly.

Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder of Matrimony.com, said that these notices from Google could mean that these matrimony apps could literally be deleted. Ever since the news broke, shares of Matrimony.com fell 2.7 percent and Info Edge dropped 1.5%.

Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said it had cleared all pending Google invoices in a timely manner and was compliant with its policies.

Google calls out Indian startups

In a recent blogpost, Google highlighted that 10 Indian companies had chosen for an extended period of time not to pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play, without naming any specific apps.

"For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play's right to charge," the company said on Friday, adding that the Supreme Court on February 9 also "refused to interfere" with its right to do so.

Google's app removal could anger the Indian startup community which has been protesting many of the U.S. giant's practices for years. The firm, which denies any wrongdoing, dominates the Indian market as 94% share of phones are based on its Android platform.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Elon Musk has always been vocal about his notion that people should have more babies and contribute to increasing the population on Earth. Time and again, he had said, There are not enough people, and as per reports, he also once stated that the decline in population is one of the biggest risks to civilization. Taking to X, he has now shared his opinion about Japans birth rate hitting a record low. The image shows Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk who shared his opinion on Japan's declining birth rate. (REUTERS)

The tech billionaire shared his reaction to an article shared on the microblogging platform. Titled, "Japan's birth rate hits record low: Over two people died for every baby born. The article states For a population of around 125 million, losing close to a million people every year is unsustainable.

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Elon Musk shared the news article on his X handle and wrote, Japan will disappear if something doesnt change.

Take a look at this post by Elon Musk:

Since being posted a day ago, the share has gathered more than 55.1 million views, and the numbers are still increasing. The share has further prompted people to post various reactions.

What did X users say about this tweet?

South Korea might beat them in the race to oblivion, posted an X user. To this, the Tesla CEO shared, True. No, it wont, disagreed another.

A third shared, Elon, as far as I know, the birth rate in Europe is lower, and if Europe doesn't change, it will disappear before Japan. A fourth wrote, I sincerely hope not.
A man working as a night watchman at Osmania University has managed to land two government jobs after appearing for competitive exams. As per reports, 31-year-old Golle Praveen Kumar has received an appointment letter for a postgraduate teacher's position. Not just that, he is also selected for the final list of Junior Lecturers (JL). A man took up a job as a night watchman at Osmania University on purpose as it gave him time to prepare for competitive exams. (Unsplash/@homajob)

With these appointments, Kumar is now eligible to teach higher secondary students, reports the Times of India (TOI). Presently, he earns a salary of 9,000 but with his appointments, he stands to make around 73,000 to 83,000 in a month.

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"I never felt like I was doing a job. I had a room, access to books and material, and time to study. And that's all that mattered," Kumar told the outlet. He added that he requested the night watchman post at the Educational MultiMedia Research Center on the OU campus so that it leaves his mornings free for studies.

Kumar belongs to a humble background, reports India Today. While his father is a mason, his mother works as a beedi worker in Mancherial district in Telangana.

As per the outlet, Kumar chose to work as a night guard despite holding degrees like BEd, MEd, and MCom. He, reportedly, made this career choice to make use of the time he needed to prepare for the government exams and also to access study materials.

Also Read: 85 IIT Bombay students bag 1 crore package through campus placements

In another inspiring incident, 30 specially-abled individuals received job offers from various national and international companies while attending the Arts and Skills Exhibition that took place in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. They are trained for roles in retail and the food and beverage sectors. They got offers with entry-level pay packages.

The event was organised by the state government with an aim to provide a platform for specially-abled artists to showcase their arts, crafts and food items.
STINNETT, Texas (AP)  As the largest wildfire in Texas history engulfed his town, Danny Phillips was left helpless. HT Image

We had to watch from a few miles away as our neighborhood burned, he said, his voice trembling with emotion.

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In his hard-hit town of Stinnett, population roughly 1,600, families like his who evacuated from the Smokehouse Creek fire returned Thursday to devastating scenes: melted street signs and charred frames of cars and trucks. Homes reduced to piles of ash and rubble. An American flag propped up outside a destroyed house.

Phillips one-story home was still standing, but several of his neighbors weren't so fortunate.

Stinnett's destruction was a reminder that, even as snow fell Thursday and helped firefighters, crews are racing to stamp out the blaze ahead of higher temperatures and winds forecast in the coming days.

Already, the Smokehouse Creek fire has killed two people and left behind a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes in the rural Texas Panhandle. The largest of several major fires burning in the area, it has also crossed into Oklahoma.

The blaze was just shy of 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) on Friday. It merged with another fire and is 5% contained, up from 3% on Thursday, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

At the X-Cross-X Ranch near Skellytown, ranch hands scooped up the bloated carcasses of dead cattle using bulldozers and deposited them on a pile beside a dirt road. They were then loaded into the back of an open trailer.

Ranch operator Chance Bowers said he expects to lose about a quarter of the 1,000 cows on three ranches, either to burns or smoke inhalation. He said they were in the middle of the calving season and were not finding many calves, so thats going to be pretty detrimental.

As you can see behind us, were picking up deads today, Bowers said. We dont have a total number, but by the time its all said and done, were going to have lost between 200 to 250 head, and thats just cows.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller estimated the cattle deaths would be in the thousands, with more likely to come.

Therell be cattle that well have to euthanize, Miller said. Theyll have burned hooves, burned udders.

Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses. But he predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry and on consumer prices for beef would be minimal.

Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm weather fed them.

Firefighting crews were focused on the northern side of the fire, according to Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson Juan Rodriguez.

Its all in anticipation of the weather ... were expected to receive this weekend, were trying to take advantage of the good weather right now that included rain and snow on Thursday, Rodriguez said.

Conditions will worsen through the weekend in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico, according to the National Weather Service. Strong winds, relatively low humidity and dry conditions are creating conditions that the weather service warned caused a significant threat for the rapid spread of wildfires.

Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs. Firefighter Lee Jones was helping douse the smoldering wreckage of homes in Stinnett to keep them from reigniting when the weather starts turning Friday and continues into the weekend.

Were just hitting all the hot spots around town, the houses that have already burned, Jones said.

Two women have been confirmed killed by the fires this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities haven't yet thoroughly searched for victims or tallied homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

Cindy Owen was driving in Texas' Hemphill County south of Canadian on Tuesday afternoon when she encountered fire or smoke, said Sgt. Chris Ray of the state's Department of Public Safety. She got out of her truck, and flames overtook her.

A passerby found Owen and called first responders, who took her to a burn unit in Oklahoma. She died Thursday morning, Ray said.

The other victim, an 83-year-old woman, was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said deputies told his uncle Wednesday that they had found Blankenships remains in her burned home.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do everything possible to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.

When disasters strike, theres no red states or blue states where I come from, Biden said. Just communities and families looking for help.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties and was visiting the Panhandle on Friday.

The weekend forecast and sheer size and scope of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

I dont want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore, Kidd said. This is still a very dynamic situation.

Jeremiah Kaslon, a Stinnett resident who saw neighbors homes destroyed by flames that stopped just on the edge of his property, seemed prepared for what the changing forecast might bring.

Around here, the weather, we get all four seasons in a week, Kaslon said. It can be hot, hot and windy, and it will be snowing the next day. Its just that time of year.

Encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles Americas nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work by Wednesday. The small town of Fritch, which lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire, saw 40 to 50 more destroyed this week, Mayor Tom Ray said.

___

Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press journalists Ty O'Neil in Stinnett, Texas, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Jeremiah Kaslon's last name from Kalson in one reference.
STINNETT, Texas (AP)  A dusting of snow covered a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned out homes in the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, giving firefighters brief relief in their desperate efforts to corral a blaze that has grown into the largest in state history. HT Image

The Smokehouse Creek fire grew to nearly 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers). It merged with another fire and is just 3% contained, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

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Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons and oil rigs. In Stinnett, a town of about 1,600, someone propped up an American flag outside of a destroyed home.

Dylan Phillips, 24, said he hardly recognized his Stinnett neighborhood, which was littered with melted street signs and the charred frames of cars and trucks. His family's home survived, but at least a half a dozen others were smoking rubble.

It was brutal," Phillips said. The street lights were out. It was nothing but embers and flames.

The Smokehouse Creek fire's explosive growth slowed Thursday as snow fell and winds and temperatures dipped, but it was still untamed and threatening. It is the largest of several major fires burning in the rural Panhandle section of the state. It has also crossed into Oklahoma.

Firefighter Lee Jones was helping douse the smoldering wreckage of homes in Stinnett to keep them from reigniting when temperatures and winds increase Friday and into the weekend.

The snow helps, said Jones, who was among a dozen firefighters called in from Lubbock to help. Were just hitting all the hot spots around town, the houses that have already burned.

Authorities have not said what ignited the fires, but strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blazes.

The rain and the snow is beneficial right now, were using it to our advantage, Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman Juan Rodriguez said of the Smokehouse Creek fire. When the fire isnt blowing up and moving very fast, firefighters are able to actually catch up and get to those parts of the fire.

Authorities said 1,640 square miles (4,248 square kilometers) of the fire were on the Texas side of the border. Previously, the largest fire in recorded state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles (3,630 square kilometers) and resulted in 13 deaths.

An 83-year-old woman was the only confirmed death so far this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities had yet to conduct a thorough search for victims or tally the numerous homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do everything possible to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.

When disasters strike, theres no red states or blue states where I come from, Biden said. Just communities and families looking for help. So were standing with everyone affected by these wildfires and were going to continue to help you respond and recover.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties and planned to visit the Panhandle on Friday.

Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the weekend forecast and sheer size and scope of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters.

I dont want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore, Kidd said. This is still a very dynamic situation.

Jeremiah Kaslon, 39, a Stinnett resident who saw neighbors homes destroyed by flames that stopped just on the edge of his property, seemed prepared for what the changing forecast might bring.

Around here, the weather, we get all four seasons in a week," Kalson said. "It can be hot, hot and windy, and it will be snowing the next day. Its just that time of year.

The woman who died was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said deputies told his uncle on Wednesday that they had found Blankenships remains in her burned home.

Encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles Americas nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work by Wednesday. The small town of Fritch, which lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire, saw some 40 to 50 homes destroyed this week, Mayor Tom Ray said.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller estimated the number of cattle killed in the fires to be in the thousands, with more likely to come.

Therell be cattle that well have to euthanize, Miller said. Theyll have burned hooves, burned udders.

Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses. But he predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry and on the prices consumers pay for beef would be minimal. Cattle raised in the Panhandle are largely range cattle, not feeder cattle that are sold to feed lots and eventually make their way to the kitchen table for consumption, he said.

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Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press reporters Ty O'Neil in Stinnett, Texas; Jamie Stengle in Dallas; and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday, surrounded by crowds of defiant mourners who chanted his name and blamed authorities for his death in prison. Lyudmila Navalnaya (C) and Anatoly Navalny (2nd L), parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, mourn next to a coffin during a funeral ceremony for his son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's district of Maryino on March 1, 2024.(AFP)

Outside the cemetery where he was buried, some supporters shouted in grief, while others yelled out slogans against the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine.

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Despite a heavy police presence and official warnings, thousands of mourners paid their respects to the 47-year-old anti-corruption campaigner whose death in an Arctic prison was announced on February 16.

Navalny's death has been widely condemned by Western leaders and his allies have accused President Vladimir Putin of responsibility and of trying to prevent a dignified public burial.

The Kremlin, which has dismissed the accusations as "hysterical", warned against "unauthorised" protests around the funeral.

Mourners crowd outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church ahead of a funeral service for late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in Moscow's district of Maryino on March 1, 2024.(Stringer/AFP)

Navalny's body first lay in an open casket in a packed church in Maryino, southern Moscow, for a ceremony attended by his parents.

The coffin was closed immediately after the service, meaning many mourners who had wanted to file past were not able to pay their last respects at the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church.

Also Read | Alexei Navalny's widow fears arrests at funeral of late Russian leader

It was then transported to the Borisovo cemetery, near the banks of the Moskva River, where several large wreaths were arranged around the grave.

"We won't forget you!", "Forgive us!" some mourners shouted as the coffin arrived.

- 'What are they afraid of?' -

"No to war!" some chanted. Others yelled out: "Down with the power of murderers!" and "We will not forgive!". Many opponents blame Putin for the death of his top critic.

Police detained some six people in the capital and dozens elsewhere in Russia, according to the OVD-Info rights group.

"Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to TASS news agency.

"What are they afraid of? Why so many cars?" one mourner, Anna Stepanova, told AFP outside the church.

"The people who came here, they are not scared. Alexei wasn't either."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised the thousands who turned out as "courageous".

The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

Music from "Terminator 2" -- Navalny's favourite film -- was played as the coffin was lowered, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

- 'Nothing to say' -

The dissident's widow Yulia Navalnaya, who did not attend, paid tribute to her husband on social media.

"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I'll make it or not, but I'll try," she said.

"I love you forever. Rest in peace," she wrote.

Navalnaya has also blamed Putin for her husband's death.

Putin's spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as "vulgar".

As the funeral went ahead, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" to the family of the deceased.

Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration.

Some mourners mentioned the huge influence Navalny had on their own activism.

"Because of him I began to get involved in politics... He was the first public person that I listened to," said 26-year-old Denis, a volunteer at a charity.

Navalny was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.

"Alexei was tortured for three years," Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels.

"He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters."

"And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body," she said.

- 'Ideas will live on' -

His body was held for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny's team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death.

His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Navalny's team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a "secret" funeral.

Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place to hold a funeral ceremony and even hearse drivers.

A civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body -- common in Russia -- was not allowed.

Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life's work and urged to "fight more desperately, more fiercely than before."

In the crowd near the church, some seemed to agree.

"A person has died, but his ideas will live on thanks to those who have gathered here," said Alyona, a 22-year-old archaeologist who came to pay her respects.
Martha Beatriz Roque, named one of the US State Department's "Women of Courage" on Friday, has dedicated the honor to fellow Cuban dissidents who, like herself, have been jailed for speaking out against the regime. HT Image

"For me, it is as if all dissidents won," the 78-year-old told AFP at the home of a US diplomat in Havana days before the 12 laureates for 2024 were officially announced.

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But Roque lamented that opposition on the communist island, where there is little tolerance for criticism of the state, has been "very much weakened" since a crackdown on historic mass protests in July 2021.

"The dictatorship's repression of dissidents is great," the former Havana University statistics professor said.

Roque was the only woman among 75 people arrested by the government of then president Fidel Castro in the so-called "Black Spring" crackdown of 2003.

Accused of conspiring against authorities under US support, they were sentenced to prison terms of up to 27 years.

Although given a 20-year term, Roque was freed after a year behind bars for health reasons.

The last of the group were freed in 2011 and most live in exile. But not Roque, who has stayed in Cuba.

In an unprecedented explosion of social discontent, thousands of Cubans spontaneously took to the streets of Havana and dozens of other cities on July 11 and 12, 2021, chanting "Freedom!" and "We are Hungry!"

More than 1,500 were arrested in the aftermath, and hundreds have since been given jail sentences of up to 25 years.

Countless other critics, artists and intellectuals have fled into exile.

Roque says state repression has re-intensified since 2021.

"Before July 11, some (dissident) groups were active, had plans, carried out activities... even in the street," she told AFP. Less so now.

But she said more and more citizens are seeking out dissident representatives, mainly to talk about their daily difficulties at a time when Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades.

Known for her outspokenness, the frail but determined Roque lamented that a new generation of government opponents and critics, small in number, seemed intent on fleeing to the United States.

She has herself visited four times since 2016, but has never sought asylum despite continued harassment at home.

"I have never considered leaving the country because my goal is to make Cuba democratic," she told AFP.

Roque will not be able to receive her prize in person, with Cuban authorities refusing her a passport to travel to the awards ceremony in Washington.

"I will always be here to continue fighting for Cuba to become democratic and for the exiles to return to Cuba and make it a prosperous country," she insisted.

In its announcement of the winners, the US State Department described Roque as "one of the longest standing members of the historic opposition fighting for greater freedoms in Cuba."

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Russia's defence ministry announced a successful test fire of a Yars intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile on Friday, reported news agency TASS. FILE PHOTO: A Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system drives during a military parade on Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia May 9, 2023. (Pelagiya Tikhonova/Moscow News Agency/Handout via REUTERS)

"At the state test cosmodrome Plesetsk, crews from the Yoshkar-Ola missile formation carried out a combat training launch of a mobile-based solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile PGRK Yars, equipped with multiple warheads. The training warheads arrived at the designated area at the Kura training ground on the Kamchatka Peninsula (translated from Russian)," the Russian defence ministry said, the report added.

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The objective of the launch was to confirm the tactical, technical, and flight characteristics of the modern missile system, the statement said, affirming the completion of all assigned tasks.

ALSO READ- Putin critic Alexei Navalny's funeral held in Moscow

Putin's nuke war warning

The test follows Russian president Vladimir Putin's warning against increased Western involvement in the Ukraine war, pointing towards the potential for a global nuclear conflict.

Putin, in a two-hour speech, attacked Western leaders as reckless and irresponsible, cautioning about the real threat of a nuclear conflict that could lead to the destruction of our civilisation.

ALSO READ- Ukraine floats possibility of inviting Russia to future peace summit

We also have the weapons that can strike targets on their territory, and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilisation, Putin said.

READ HERE: Vladimir Putin warns that sending Western troops to Ukraine risks global nuclear war

How lethal is Yars missile?

 The RS-24 (Yars) missile is 23 meters long and is designed to carry multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).

 MIRVs enable the Yars missile to deliver multiple nuclear warheads, each capable of targeting different objectives.

 The Yars is a modified version of the Topol-M missile system.

 Russia started the deployment of Yars Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) systems in 2009, with the Yars launcher accepted for experimental combat duty in the Strategic Missile Force.

OPINION: Ukraines war of sorrow is Wests strategic failure

 In December, Russian rocket forces loaded a new Yars ICBM into a silo at the Kozelsk base in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow.

 Russia possesses the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons, with about 5,889 nuclear warheads, making it the leading nuclear power. The United States follows closely with about 5,244 nuclear warheads.

 Both Russia and the United States control over 90 per cent of the world's nuclear weapons, with approximately 1,670 strategic nuclear warheads deployed by each country.
Equatorial Guinea on Friday issued an international arrest warrant for a former Supreme Court president accused of plotting to destabilise the central African nation, state television announced. HT Image

The warrant calls for Juan Carlos Ondo Angue, who fled to Europe in 2020, to be arrested and returned to Malabo where he is wanted over a "plan to destabilise the country", prosecutor general Anatolio Nzang Nguema told TVGE.

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The prosecutor said Ondo Angue was believed to live "between Spain and France" and faced a long list of charges including corruption, fraud, money-laundering, abuse of power and influence trafficking.

Malabo had alleged in January that he was involved in the plot after the government seized videos showing a discussion between the former judge and a young woman, after sexual intercourse.

The videos were posted on the official government and TVGE websites

In one of them, Ondo Angue admits to leading the destabilisation scheme as he relates the details to his companion, according to the government.

He also says "certain western countries had suggested to prepare a political project to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea and to take power", the government added.

Ondo Angue was said to have also told the woman he was preparing to visit the United States to "forge alliances and that the US State Department had obtained financing for the scheme".

Ondo Angue fled the country four years ago after soldiers tried to arrest him at his home in Malabo during investigations into an attempted coup in December 2017.

Malabo accused the French, Spanish and US ambassadors, who had gone to the supreme court president's home on the evening of the attempted arrest, of helping him escape and interfering in domestic matters.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has ruled oil-rich Equatorial Guinea with an iron fist since taking power in a 1979 coup, making him the world's longest-serving president.

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Canadas 18th Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, considered one of the most popular leaders the country had in recent history, passed away on Thursday at the age of 84. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney gestures while being recognized by the Speaker in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, November 6, 2017. (REUTERS)

Mulroney, who first became PM in a landslide victory in 1984, was also the countrys leader when its suffered its worst-ever terror attack, the bombing of Air India flight 182, the Kanishka, by Khalistani extremists on June 23, 1985, leading to the loss of 329 lives, while two baggage handlers in Tokyos Narita airport died from a blast from another bomb on a different airplane.

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Mulroneys death was announced in a post on X by his daughter Caroline Mulroney, who is also a provincial Cabinet Minister in Ontario. He died peacefully, surrounded by family, she posted.

As we mourn his passing and keep his family and friends in our thoughts, let us also acknowledge  and celebrate  Mr Mulroneys role in building the modern, dynamic, and prosperous country we all know today, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

In another statement, the leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre said, It is with great sadness that Canadians learn of the loss of one of our greatest ever statesmen, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. The love and prayers of all Canadians go to his beloved children, Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas, and the love of his life, his best friend and wife, Mila.

Mulroney, who was a Conservative, led his party to a sweeping win in the 1984 Federal elections, capturing 211 out of 282 seats in the House of Commons. He bested then-PM Pierre Eliot Trudeau, the late father of the current incumbent.

Born on March 20, 1939, in the town of Baie-Comeau in Quebec, Mulroney was PM for nearly nine years, after assuming the office in on September 17, 1984 and demitting it in June 25, 1993.

He was hailed for his work in crafting the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and for being among the first Western leaders to challenge the apartheid regime in South Africa, for which he was thanked by Nelson Mandela.

He was in office for just over nine months when the Kanishka terrorist bombing occurred, with the victims mainly Canadian citizens. According to a memo cited by the outlet Globe and Mail in a November 2006 report, Mulroney called his counterpart Rajiv Gandhi and related his sympathies and condolences.
Seven hostages who have been held in Gaza were killed as a result of the Israeli military's bombardment of the enclave, Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam brigades said on Friday. Palestinians gather in a street as humanitarian aid is airdropped in Gaza City on March 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group.(AFP)

He did not include details, like a timeline, backing up the claim.

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The Al-Qassam brigades claimed that the number of hostages killed due to Israel's military operations in Gaza has now exceeded 70 captives, Abu Ubaida added in a statement on Telegram.

Israeli officials have generally declined to respond to Hamas' public messaging on the hostages, casting it as psychological warfare.

Israel's military campaign follows Hamas militants' killing of 1,200 people in southern Israel and the abduction of at least 250 on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has responded with a military assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas freed more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Israel releasing about 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas at the outset of the war threatened to execute hostages in retaliation for Israeli military strikes, and Israel has accused it of having executed at least two of the dead hostages recovered by the Israeli military.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sandra Maler)
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said Friday that his country wants to remain at peace with neighboring Venezuela amid a century-old dispute over sovereignty of the Essequibo region, which flared up late last year. HT Image

"We want peace. We want prosperity for our neighbors and all in this region," Ali said at a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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"I am prepared to speak with President Maduro on any aspect that may contribute to enhancing the relationship between our two countries."

Venezuela has long claimed Essequibo -- which makes up about two-thirds of Guyana's territory -- and fears of a military conflict rose late last year before both countries pledged to refrain from the use of force to settle the border dispute.

Friday's meeting marked a far more relaxed encounter than the one between the two leaders last December, also in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Ali gave a bottle of rum and a medal of his country to Maduro, who offered a box full of Venezuelan products in return. "Peace and love!" Maduro told him in English.

Among presidents at the summit were Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Gustavo Petro of Colombia, Miguel Diaz-Canel of Cuba, alongside UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The dispute over the Essequibo region is the subject of border litigation before the International Court of Justice in The Hague -- whose jurisdiction in the matter Venezuela rejects.

The region is home to 125,000 of Guyana's 800,000 citizens.

The row was revived in 2015 when US energy giant ExxonMobil discovered huge crude reserves in Essequibo, and reached fever pitch last year after Guyana started auctioning off oil blocks in the region.

Maduro's government then called a controversial nonbinding referendum that overwhelmingly approved the creation of a Venezuelan province in Essequibo, according to official results.

Tensions remained high earlier this year with the arrival of a British warship in Guyanese waters, to which Caracas responded by mobilizing more than 5,600 men in military exercises near the disputed border.

Ali reiterated that the exercises "had nothing to do with the ... controversy," while denouncing "incursions into Guyana's territorial space," without specifying details.

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Nicaragua on Friday accused Germany of facilitating "genocide" in Gaza in a case started in the International Court of Justice, by giving support to Israel and suspending funding of the UN Palestinian refugee agency. HT Image

Through those measures, "Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and, in any case has failed in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide," Nicaragua argued in a filing published by the Hague-based court.

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Nicaragua was asking the court to take a swift interim stance against Germany before the case was given in-depth study by judges.

The lodging of the case follows the ICJ saying on January 26 that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take "immediate" measures for aid provisions.

That interim order was given as the court moves to weigh in full a case lodged in December by South Africa alleging that Israel was engaged in genocide in Gaza.

Israel has dismissed South Africa's case as a "grossly distorted story".

ICJ rulings are legally binding but the court has no enforcement mechanism.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch this week said Israel is disregarding the ICJ's interim order by limiting humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Accusations from Israel that staff from UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israeli communities prompted several countries, including Germany, Britain, Japan and the United States, to suspend their funding.

On Friday, the European Commission emphasised that it was maintaining its funding of UNRWA while reviewing arrangements in light of the Israeli allegation.

The commission said it was releasing 50 million euros ($54 million) to the UN agency next week with a further 32 million euros to follow later.

Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 that Israel says are presumed dead.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Friday gave the death toll in the strip from the unrelenting Israeli retaliation as 30,228, mostly women and children.

On Friday a spokesman for the UN humanitarian office OCHA said that "if something doesn't change, a famine is almost inevitable" in the besieged territory.

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Relatives and supporters of Alexei Navalny are bidding farewell to the opposition leader at a funeral Friday in southeastern Moscow, following a battle with authorities over the release of his body after his still-unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. A view shows a grave, where reportedly Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny will be buried, during preparations for Navalny's funeral at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, Russia(REUTERS)

His supporters say several churches in Moscow refused to hold the service before Navalnys team got permission from one in the capitals Maryino district, where he once lived before his 2020 poisoning, treatment in Germany and subsequent arrest on his return to Russia.

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The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which agreed to hold the service, did not mention it on its social media page. Authorities lined the road from from a nearby subway station to the church with crowd-control barriers, and riot police deployed in big numbers early Friday.

A hearse set out with Navalny's body toward the church, his team said.

ALSO READ| Alexei Navalny's widow fears arrests at funeral of late Russian leader

Burial was to follow in the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where police also showed up in force.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, spent eight days trying to get authorities to release the body following his Feb. 16 death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Authorities originally said they couldn't turn over the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Navalnaya, 69, made a video appeal to President Vladimir Putin to release the body so she could bury her son with dignity.

Once it was released, at least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Navalnys supporters, the spokeswoman for Navalny's team, Kira Yarmysh, said on social media. They also were unable to find a hearse for the funeral.

Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Yarmysh said Thursday.

ALSO READ| Navalnys death, a crisis moment for democracy

Russian authorities still havent announced the cause of death for Navalny, 47, who crusaded against official corruption and organized big protests as Putins fiercest political foe. Many Western leaders blamed the death on the Russian leader, which the Kremlin angrily rejected.

It was not immediately clear who among Navalnys family or allies would attend the funeral, with many of his associates in exile abroad due to fear of prosecution in Russia. Navalnys Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organizations by the Russian government in 2021.

The politicians team said the funeral would be streamed live on Navalnys YouTube channel.

His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, Yulia Navalnaya wrote on X. In a speech to European lawmakern Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, she also expressed fears that police might interfere with the gathering or would "arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband.

Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on Friday, citing COVID-19 restrictions, politician Yekaterina Duntsova said Thursday. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of Feb. 27, 2015.

Yarmysh also urged Navalny's supporters around the world to lay flowers in his honor Friday.

Everyone who knew Alexei says what a cheerful, courageous and honest person he was, Yarmysh said Thursday. But the greater truth is that even if you never met Alexei, you knew what he was like, too. You shared his investigations, you went to rallies with him, you read his posts from prison. His example showed many people what to do when even when things were scary and difficult.

Ivan Zhdanov, director of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that his funeral had initially been planned for Thursday  the day of Putins annual state-of-the-nation address  but no venue agreed to hold it then.

In an interview with the independent Russian news site Meduza, Zhdanov said authorities had pressured Navalnys relatives to have a quiet family funeral.
Florida authorities have discovered the remains of a 16-year-old girl who went missing in 2004. Autumn Lane McClure, an Ormond Beach native and student of Mainland High School, was first reported missing by her boyfriend.(X@VolusiaSheriff)

Autumn Lane McClure, an Ormond Beach native and student of Mainland High School, was first reported missing by her boyfriend. She was last seen with him on May 10, 2004, when he dropped her off at Volusia Mall. The officials said they found 99.9 percent of the remains during the massive excavation of a suspected burial site in the Ormond Beach area on Wednesday afternoon.

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Sheriffs detectives continued to investigate the case in the nearly 20 years that followed, obtaining DNA from family members, re-interviewing friends and possible witnesses, and identifying a person of interest in 2021, the Volusia County Sheriffs Office said. That person died in May 2022, but the investigation continued.

The sheriff's office expects the official identification shortly and wants to determine the teen's cause of death.

Also Read: Israeli diplomats son, accused of hitting cop with motorcycle, assaulted in Florida jail over sausage spat

In a post on X, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said that the finding of McClure's body was not the desired outcome for his detectives. Not the result anyone hoped for in 2004 or ever since, but I am very proud of the work that went into this discovery 20 years later, he wrote. At the very least we can say we never gave up on Autumn McClures case. Prayers and condolences to the family tonight.

According to sheriff's office, the medical examiner's office will soon confirm McClure's identity. It, however, cautioned that determining her cause of death may be challenging.

Know more about the mysterious case of Autumn McClure

After McClure's boyfriend registered her missing complaint with the police, her grandmother told officials that she got a phone call from her granddaughter as well as a letter dated in Melbourne, Florida.

As the investigation started, detectives first approached her coworkers -- Brian Donley and Jessica Freeman. McClure was living with them in Ormond Beach. However, the duo said they offered her to stay with them for a few days because she did not get along with her grandmother. They refused to have any knowledge about her whereabouts.

The detectives then obtained DNA from the family members and reported the case to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Also Read: Uber driver allegedly kidnaps woman, takes her to Florida motel where she 'woke up naked'

Later, her boyfriend admitted to lying about dropping her at the Volusia Mall and said he actually dropped her off at the Seabreeze Bridge, the place from where McClure got into a car with Jessica Freeman.

When police found Freeman two years later, she confessed to seeing Donley murdering McClure. Police were surprised to discover that Donley died almost exactly on the same day that authorities believe McClure was murdered.

Freeman then agreed to confess what exactly occurred on the condition of being granted immunity.

She then said that McClure and Donley were in a relationship and she witnessed Donley choking her in the bathroom. He then threatened Freeman, saying that she would face the same consequences if she goes to the police.

McClure's body was buried beneath the home trailer, and investigators discovered it by digging the area on February 27, 2024.
According to a recently revealed affidavit, the son of Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Tyler Boebert, was also involved in making a sex tape with a co-suspect. Tyler Boebert was in a Colorado jail on Wednesday after being arrested in connection with a recent string of vehicle break-ins and property thefts. (City of Rifle Police Department via AP)(AP)

He is facing 22 criminal charges after being arrested by the Rifle Police Department on February 27. Tyler Boebert, who is an adult, is accused of vehicle trespass, property thefts and criminal possession of ID documents.

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A minor told the police that the tape was circulated among their acquaintances. However, none of the charges against Tyler are related to the alleged sex tape.

The case is under investigation

The police said on Facebook, This is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time. They also said that all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

ALSO READ| Top Lauren Boebert family controversies recollected as son Tyler was arrested on felony charges

The affidavit stated that the police started the investigation on February 20, when a woman reported that her wallet was stolen from her parked car the previous day. The wallet contained a card that was used at four different places on February 19 and 20. A failed attempt to buy $717 worth of items from Shein.com, an online shopping site, was also made with the card.

The police said that they received reports of four vehicle trespasses in total. They used financial records and surveillance footage to identify four suspects, three males and one female. Tyler was recognized as the suspect wearing a hoodie with the logo of Shooters Grill, a restaurant formerly owned by his mother, Lauren Boebert.

Tyler will take responsibility for his actions: Lauren Boebert

The affidavit said that Tyler agreed to talk to an officer outside his home, where he was questioned and arrested. He was released on a personal recognizance bond after a court hearing on February 28, as per the Garfield County jail records. According to Colorado Public Radio, he is scheduled to appear in court again on April 11.

Lauren Boebert issued a statement, as reported by Westword, in which she said that her son will take responsibility for his actions and should be held accountable for poor decisions just like any other citizen.

ALSO READ| GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert lambasts 'Biden crime family' after son's arrest; social media calls out her hypocrisy

She also expressed her love and support for her son, saying, "I love my son Tyler, who has been through some very difficult, public challenges for a young man and the subject of attention that he didnt ask for.

It breaks my heart to see my child struggling and in this situation, especially when he has been provided multiple opportunities to get his life on track. I will never give up on him and I will continue to be there for him.
A lawsuit filed on Wednesday could derail a $4 billion business deal involving former President Donald Trumps social media venture. The lawsuit accuses Trump of reducing the co-founders shares in the company. Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks outside the courtroom on the day of a court hearing on charges of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star before the 2016 election, in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo(REUTERS)

The co-founders of Trumps Truth Social platform, Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, sued Trump in Delaware, alleging that their original 8.6% stake in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) has been slashed to less than 1%, according to The Washington Post and CNBC.

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The legal battle comes as TMTG plans to merge with Digital World Acquisition Corp, a publicly traded blank-check company. The merger, which is subject to the approval of Digital Worlds shareholders next month, could value TMTG at up to $4 billion, The New York Times reported.

ALSO READ| Hunter confirms, dad Joe Biden was indeed the big guy being referred to in the $5m China deal

The attempt here is to deprive them of the deal, said Christopher J. Clark, the lawyer for Litinsky and Moss firm, United Atlantic Ventures (UAV), in the lawsuit.

They actually went out and did the work, they created Truth Social, and now the beneficiary of that, Donald Trump, doesnt want to pay.

Trumps deal with UAV in jeopardy

According to The Washington Post, a court document seeking a speedy trial in the case showed that under the initial agreement, Trump would get 78 million shares worth about $3.5 billion at the current market price. UAV would get more than 7 million shares worth around $339 million.

However, Digital World said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month that a Trump lawyer had nullified the agreement with UAV over two years ago.

ALSO READ| Congresswoman Lauren Boebert's son allegedly made a sex tape with minor suspect, affidavit reveals

The stock sale could be a huge financial boost for Trump, who has faced several legal setbacks since he left the White House, including a $355 million verdict, plus interest, for committing business fraud in New York.

On Wednesday, an appeals court judge rejected Trumps request to halt the enforcement of the verdict. Trump, who is leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination, claimed that he did not have enough money to pay the fine.
The CEO of Vanguard, Tim Buckley, who has overseen the massive asset managers rejection of spot bitcoin ETFs, will step down from his role this year, the company announced in a statement and a search for his successor is underway. Vanguard evaluating candidates to replace CEO Tim Buckley amid Bitcoin ETF controversy.(LinkedIn/Reuters)

Unlike other major US financial institutions that have welcomed the newly approved bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard has distinguished itself by not allowing its brokerage clients to access them.

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Some people on social media are speculating whether Buckleys retirement announcement on Thursday has any connection to his position on bitcoin ETFs  and whether Vanguard might reconsider its stance under a new leader.

However, it is debatable whether Vanguard needs to change anything. James Seyffart, an analyst at Bloomberg, pointed out on Thursday that one of Vanguards ETFs, VOO, which follows the S&P 500 Index, has brought in $15.7 billion in net new inflows this year, twice as much as BlackRocks spot bitcoin ETF, IBIT.

ALSO READ| Vanguard slashes Ola's valuation again: Why, how much and what it means?

Vanguard is doing just fine my friends, Seyffart wrote on X (formerly Twitter). Vanguards resistance to spot Bitcoin ETFs is part of a wider institutional philosophy.

Vanguard sticks to its guns on Crypto, but they may have other plans too

The company has focused on long-term investment strategies rather than the volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. This view is backed up by comments from other Vanguard executives, who have argued that crypto is not a mature asset class and does not generate economic value or cash flow.

Plus, Vanguard has no intention of creating its own Bitcoin ETF or offering any existing crypto-related products on its brokerage, stating that its priority is on conventional investment options.

The company is currently looking for Buckleys replacement, evaluating both internal and external candidates.

ALSO READ| Donald Trump probably diluted Truth Social's shares, co-founders sue the platform

In the meantime, Vanguards Chief Investment Officer, Greg Davis, has been elevated to President. Although Davis has made some more positive remarks on blockchain technology in the past, Vanguards overall attitude to cryptocurrencies is still cautious.

The firm uses blockchain for specific operational improvements, such as obtaining index data, demonstrating a balanced appreciation of the technologys advantages beyond the direct investment in cryptocurrencies.
US President's son, Hunter Biden has finally acknowledged that his father, Joe Biden was being referred to as the big guy in an email exchange with Chinese firm for a $5 million deal. TOPSHOT - (L-R) Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, and attorney Abbe Lowell arrive for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight and Judiciary committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, February 28, 2024. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP)(AFP)

During his impeachment inquiry deposition Hunter confirmed the reports that had emerged from his leaked email exchange with a Chinese state-linked energy firm. The email that was found on Hunter Bidens abandoned laptop insinuated a wider claim that this deal had yielded millions for Biden family members and other associates, which was rejected by Hunter.

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Hunter denies 10% as kickbacks to Joe Biden

The deposition represents the first time the 54-year-old Hunter has admitted that his former business partner James Gilliar was referring to Joe Biden when he raised the prospect on May 13, 2017, of the first son holding a 10% stake in the lucrative joint venture involving CEFC China Energy for the big guy.

I truly dont know what the hell that James was talking about, the first son said when asked about the reference, according to a transcript released Thursday.

Hunter had earlier claimed, laptop had been manipulated

This is the first time Hunter acknowledged the veracity of the details revealed from the laptop, for years he and his allies have been maintaining that information found on the laptop not his and had been manipulated by bad actors. Meanwhile several former intelligence officials insisting the trove bore the hallmarks of Russian election interference.

Hunter also mentioned that Gilliars suggestion of his dad getting a stake was a pie in the sky idea with Biden leaving public life after eight years as Barack Obamas vice president.

I shut it down, and the evidence of me shutting it down is the actual things you have as evidence, the younger Biden said. Remember that. The agreement, the executed agreement, the executed agreement to create a company that was never operated, thats what happened. Thats the evidence you have  Nothing to do with my dad, zero.

Money Laundering Charges against Hunter Biden

In a recent deposition, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer had expressed concerns about this deal involving CEFC China Energy, referring to it as "money laundering." Comer had also claimed that Joe Biden had received a $40,000 cheque from his brother James after a complex financial transaction. Bank records allegedly revealed that CEFC China Energy paid James and Hunter Biden $6.1 million in 2017 and 2018, with funds flowing through various entities owned by Hunter to other family members.

Hunter defended his financial relationship with his father as normal, stating that it involved taking care of things for each other. Hunter Biden described his financial relationship with his father as that of a normal son [who] would take care of something for their dad or their dad would take care of something for their son.
Avraham Gil, the 19-year-old son of an Israeli official who was arrested for running over a police officer on his motorcycle, was attacked in a Florida jail over a talk about sausages on Wednesday. On January 27, he was sentenced to house arrest before being brought to Miami-Dade County Jail for a new mug shot. Avraham Gil, the 19-year-old son of an Israeli official who was arrested for running over a police officer on his motorcycle, was attacked in a Florida jail.(X@Abuyousef)

The teenager was beaten after getting into a heated debate about sausages with another inmate, Blake Elvis Ermus, 32, as reported by WPLG.

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Ermus, a resident of North Miami, was imprisoned on a domestic violence offense. He is now accused with assault on a captive.

As the investigation started, Gil told officials that he was having a conversation with the defendant about the ingredients of the sausages. At some point, the defendant approached the victim and punched him multiple times.

Last month, Gill caught attention when he got arrested for hitting a Sunny Isles Beach police lieutenant and then seemed to be hysterically crying during his mug shot. Later, his attorney failed to secure diplomatic immunity as prosecutors called him a "danger to the public". He had breached traffic rules in Miami Shores in the past as well.

Gil's new mugshot shows the adolescent staring emotionlessly at the camera, a stark contrast to his previous.

An investigation to find out what actually occurred behind prison is underway.

Also Read: Israeli diplomat's son held for 'intentionally' running over Miami-Dade cop, claims consular immunity

Know more about the Avraham Gil case and his father

His father Eli Gil is the consul for administration at the Israeli Consulate in Miami.

The kid was found ineligible for the immunity afforded to diplomats and their family members in the United States.

As per the court records obtained by the POST, Gil was charged with two felonies --aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and violent resistance against an officer to escape arrest.

As per the police report, Gil struck a police lieutenant conducting a traffic stop on Collins Avenue close to 174th Street on January 27 at 3:30 pm. He was operating his motorcycle without a license plate. The officer, who was involved in the incident, suffered an incapacitating injury to his left leg.

Following Gill's arrest, his attorneys contended that the teen's accusations should be withdrawn since Miami-Dade law does not apply to him due to his father's diplomatic status.

The US State Department's "Diplomatic and Consular Immunity" states that "Family members forming part of the household of diplomatic agents enjoy precisely the same privileges and immunities as do the sponsoring diplomatic agents."

The department, however, said: We can confirm that, as the dependent of an Israeli consular officer, the concerned individual is not entitled to civil or criminal immunity, reported NBC Miami.

Gill is scheduled to appear before the court on March 12.
Former US First Lady Melania Trump's infamous olive green jacket emblazoned with a message "I Really Don't Care. Do U?" was directed towards her step daughter Ivanka Trump amid power struggle, claims a new book. Former US First Lady Melania Trump is seen wearing a olive green jacket emblazoned with a message "I Really Don't Care. Do U?"(AP )

Former ex-US President Trump administration officials told author Kate Rogers that Melania and Ivanka were competing for media attention at the time, reported According to the New York Post, citing an excerpt of the book -- American Woman: The Transformation of the Modern First Lady, from Hillary Clinton to Jill Biden.

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The new book focuses on a "internal power struggle" between the two following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 election.

Also Read: Trump reveals why wife Melania not appearing at his campaign rallies: Her life revolves around

Melania Trump vs Ivanka Trump

In the start of Trump's presidency, Melania apparently detested Ivanka's attempts to replace her role and take over the White House's East Wing so that it could be "geared to serving the entire First Family, not just the First Lady," Rogers wrote.

Former Trump administration sources told Rogers that the message on Melania's jacket, which made headlines for days, was part of a press coverage competition and intended for Ivanka who she dubbed as The Princess.

It's still uncertain what she was aiming to convey to Ivanka with the jacket which she donned while visiting migrant children in a detention facility.

She originally refuted that the coat had any hidden message, adding that it has nothing to do with migrant children. However, she later changed her stance and said the message was for the people and for the left-wing media who are criticising me.

Also Read: Watch| Melania Trump's immigration speech mocked: Her husband wants

How did Donald Trump respond to the family dispute?

According to The Daily Mail, Donald Trump tried to ease the tensions between both the women by calling them into the Oval Office. He even "yelled at them" and told them that the cover story will be that the jacket was a message to the media.

The ex-US President urged Ivanka to work alongside Melania. He even told media that that his daughter would be "helping her and working with her" as Melania would be fulfilling her first lady duties.

She was aware that her husband had suggested that his eldest daughter would be helping to share the responsibilities of being First Lady, and this was not a development that pleased her, Rogers wrote.

Stressing that the former first lady wasn't involved in petty disputes with Ivanka, her top aide Stephanie Grisham said: Melania was conducting meetings with her attorneys to examine her assets and attend to matters associated with her pre- and postnuptial agreements with her husband.
The Texas Panhandle is in the grip of a devastating wildfire crisis, as the Smokehouse Creek fire became the biggest and most destructive inferno in the states history. A cow that was killed by the Smokehouse Creek wildfire lays on a cattle guard, outside of Canadian, Texas, U.S., February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo(REUTERS)

The fire, which joined hands with another blaze, has consumed more than a million acres of land since last week, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. It is also the second-largest wildfire in the history of the US, following last year's dreadful Maui wildfire.

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The wildfire has created a bleak scene, with grey skies over blackened earth, dotted with oil rigs, rocky canyons, scrub brush and ranchland.

The fire has left behind a trail of devastation, with burned homes, dead livestock and damaged infrastructure. The West Odessa volunteer fire department said on Facebook, This is now both the largest and most destructive fire in Texas history. It is also the second largest wildfire in US history.

ALSO READ| Massive wildfire continues scorching over 1 million acres in Texas Panhandle, more danger ahead

Fire has spread its tongue over Oklahoma

At the time of writing this article, fire has crossed the border into Oklahoma, where it has destroyed more than a dozen homes, state emergency officials said. Governor Greg Abbott declared a disaster for 60 counties in Texas, where the fire was only 3% contained as of Thursday.

A light snowfall hailing from New Mexico has given some respite to the firefighters, who are trying to contain the raging flames, but the weather conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend, with low humidity and strong winds, the National Weather Service said.

The Texas A&M Forest Service also increased its wildland fire preparedness level to level 3.

Texas A&M Forest Service spokesman Juan Rodriguez said of the Smokehouse Creek fire, The rain and the snow is beneficial right now, were using it to our advantage.

When the fire isnt blowing up and moving very fast, firefighters are able to actually catch up and get to those parts of the fire, he added.

One confirmed death and many more feared

The fire has also caused widespread power outages, as it has knocked down power lines and other essential facilities. The North Plains Electric Cooperative said it had to rebuild about 115 miles of line, and hoped to restore power by Monday.

The extent of the damage is still unknown, as emergency crews have not been able to assess the situation fully. But the fire has taken a heavy toll on the rural communities in the area. One elderly woman, Joyce Blankenship, has been confirmed dead, but local authorities have not yet searched for other victims.

ALSO READ| Wildfires ravage Texas panhandle, emergency declared

The small town of Fritch, which lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire, was hit hard again. Mayor Tom Ray said on Wednesday that he estimated 40-50 homes were burned on the south side of the town, which has a population of 2,200.

Bill Kendall, the emergency management coordinator for Hemphill county, said about 40 homes were also burned near the town of Canadian. He said the burned landscape looked like a moonscape. Its just all gone.

The fire has also killed hundreds of cattle, and more are expected to die or be euthanized. Texas agriculture commissioner Sid Miller said the number of cattle deaths could be in the thousands.

Therell be cattle that well have to euthanize. Theyll have burned hooves, burned udders, he stated.
Former US president Donald Trump was in a federal court in Florida on Friday for a hearing to set a date for his trial on charges of mishandling classified documents. The 77-year-old Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has said it should not be held until after the November election.(REUTERS)

Special counsel Jack Smith, who brought the charges, has asked District Judge Aileen Cannon to move the scheduled start date for Trump's trial from the current May 20 to July 8.

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The 77-year-old Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has said it should not be held until after the November election.

"A fair trial cannot be held until after the 2024 Presidential election is concluded," he said in a court filing.

But if the judge does insist on setting a date, Trump said a trial should begin on August 12.

Also Read: What's Donald Trump's net worth? He lost 46% wealth in 7 years, now after his legal penalties he's worth

Lawyers for the former president have sought repeatedly to delay his various court cases until after the November election, when Trump could potentially have the federal charges against him dropped if he wins.

Trump pleaded not guilty in June to charges of unlawfully retaining national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.

He kept the classified files -- which included records from the Pentagon, CIA and National Security Agency -- unsecured at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and thwarted official efforts to retrieve them, according to the indictment.

Trump also faces federal charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

That trial had been scheduled to begin in Washington next week, but has been put on hold while the Supreme Court hears Trump's claim that as a former president he is immune from prosecution.

Trump has lodged a similar presidential immunity claim with Cannon, the Florida judge, and she could potentially freeze the documents case pending a decision from the nation's highest court on the immunity bid.

Also Read: George Clooney's savage response to Trump for 'Hollywood Elite' comment resurfaces; Internet fans the flames

The Supreme Court has scheduled arguments in the high-stakes immunity case for the week of April 22, and is expected to issue a ruling before the end of June.

The question of whether a former president is immune from prosecution is an untested one in American jurisprudence because until Trump, an ex-president had never been charged with a crime.

A three-judge appeals court panel ruled earlier this month that a former president has no immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in the White House.

Trump also faces 2020 election interference charges in Georgia, and is scheduled to go on trial in New York on March 25 on state charges of falsifying business records by paying pre-election hush money to a porn star.
Former US President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Roe v. Wade had allowed mothers to kill the baby after birth. This comes as the Republican frontrunner on Thursday visited the US-Mexico border in Texas, where he responded to the reports that he was planning a federal 16-week abortion ban. Former US President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Roe v. Wade had allowed mothers to kill the baby after birth. (REUTERS)

In an interview, Fox News host Sean Patrick Hannity asked Trump about his stand on IVF and abortion.

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"So I saw the IVF and a judge in Alabama made a very harsh decision. It was very, very tough, and I came out immediately and I said we want to help women. This is fertilization, this is theyre having a hard time having a baby, to put it very simply, and they are helped by clinics and others. And all of a sudden it was stopped in Alabama, and I put out a very strong statement that were totally in favor of it," he responded.

Donald Trump says he's on the side of women

Trump said Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt contacted him about the problem, saying people were "so upset" about the top court's ruling. He expressed support for defending IVF, claiming that he is "on the side of women."

I said what's the issue, what is it, explain. And we're talking about the IVF, and I said, 'We want that. We want people to help, Trump told Britt.

He then compared himself to former US President Ronald Reagan, claiming he believed in exceptions and accused pro-abortion Democrats of being radicals on the topic.

I think its a very important thing the exceptions. I also think that they are the radicals, because they will kill the baby in eight months, nine months. Under Roe v. Wade, they had the right to kill the baby after birth. I mean, literally, after birth in some cases.

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion, which has been upheld for over 50 years, no longer applies.

Trump, who is seeking re-election, stated that he has not settled on a specific number of weeks beyond which abortion should be prohibited. He, however, added: "The number 15 is mentioned. I haven't agreed to any number. I'm going to see. We want to take an issue that was very polarising and get it settled and solved so everybody can be happy."

Trump has consistently lambasted Republicans over the handling of abortion post-Roe in the run-up to the 2022 midterms. GOPs witnessed several political defeats on the abortion issue after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Since then, Trump has declined to openly express his views on a federal abortion restrictions.

Netizens blast Trump for false claim

Soon after the clip of Trump's interview surfaced on X (formerly Twitter), netizens slammed the Republican frontrunner for lying, asking why don't people call him out.

The media has normalized his lying, why dont they call him out? one X user wrote.

When he spews this garbage, why doesnt any reporter say, Thats not true. You are lying, another added.

Insane! a third user responded, while one more wrote: He just cannot stop LYING, can he!. Abortion refers to ending of pregnancy BEFORE a baby is born. NOT after. Therefore, after-birth abortion is a self-contradictory phrase since birth ends the pregnancy, leaving NO pregnancy to be aborted."

Trump demands prompt solution to protect IVF in Alabama

Responding for the first time on Alabama Supreme Court ruling, Trump on February 24 said he would strongly support the availability of IVF and appealed to Alabama legislators to protect access to IVF treatment, which has become a new hot topic in the White House race.

The verdict, which allows state providers to cease their in vitro fertilization operations, has divided Republicans on the subject.

Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families. We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested three Portuguese illegal immigrants who were charged with the death of a one-year-old child in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested three unlawfully present Portuguese nationals who were recently charged with child endangerment following the death of a child. (ICE) (ERO Boston)

The Portuguese women aged 32, 25 and 22 were first held on 11 February in connection with the child's death.

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The arrested women, who were charged with child endangerment, applied for a bail after their arraignment. Following this, they were released by Rhode Island's 6th Division District Court.

Later, Pawtucket Police arrested the boy's alleged 25-year-old father and charged him with manslaughter, child endangerment and three counts of second degree child abuse. He has been shifted to the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Also Read: Former White House aide Gabe Amo becomes Rhode Island's first black Congressman

How these Portuguese women arrived in the US?

In a statement, ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons said: The alleged crimes of these unlawfully present individuals resulted in the death of an innocent child, stressing the threats posed by foreign nationals residing illegally in the US.

Responding to an emergency call, police reached a home where they found the child in an unconscious condition with "significant bruising" on his face, according to ICE. He was later declared dead at the hospital.

In April 1998, one of the arrested women arrived in the US as a non-immigrant tourist visitor. She remained in the United States illegally for over 25 years after her visa expired. The other two Portuguese nationals entered the US in July 2016 and March 2022 through a visa waiver program. They both stayed in the US longer than permitted, breaching the terms of their visa waivers.

Also Read: Who is Jose Antonio Ibarra? Laken Riley's killer wasnt aggressive, says wife

Indian-origin family's death mystery solved

In December, three members of an Indian-origin family were discovered dead in their Dover house with 11 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in Massachusetts, USA.

The deceased were identified as Rakesh Kamal, 57, his wife, Teena, 54, and their 18-year-old daughter, Ariana,.

Later, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office reported that Rakesh Kamal had fatally shot Teena and their daughter before killing himself.

The investigating officers reached an initial conclusion of murder and suicide based on the results of autopsies performed on family members.
A potential US government shutdown was narrowly avoided after the Senate passed a short-term funding bill on Thursday afternoon, following a House vote earlier that day. Chuck Schumer hails Bipartisan agreement as good news for Americans. Photographer: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg(Bloomberg)

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, spoke on the floor before the vote and said he expected it to be quick.

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This agreement is proof that when  bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government, he stated.

The bill provides temporary funding for several departments, including agriculture, transportation, interior, Pentagon, homeland security, health and state, until different dates in March.

These bills will adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act discretionary spending limits and Januarys top-line spending agreement, congressional leaders announced on Wednesday.

ALSO READ| US spacecraft Odysseus stops working days after tipping over on Moon surface

Biden set to sign short-term bill

The bill also reflects the consensus reached by congressional leaders on six of the 12 annual spending bills, which they intend to enact before March 8, to prevent another partial shutdown.

The short-term extension bill will be sent to Joe Biden, who is likely to sign it before the Saturday deadline. Biden met with congressional leaders earlier this week, along with Kamala Harris, and warned that a government shutdown would significantly harm the economy.

Congress is expected to approve more than $1.6tn in spending for the current fiscal year that started in October  similar to the previous fiscal year.

Matt Gaetz criticizes spending levels

Some of the most conservative members of the House wanted more cuts for non-defense programs than the agreement allowed through its spending caps.

Last I checked, the Republicans actually have a majority in the House of Representatives, but you wouldnt know it if you looked at our checkbook because we are all too willing to continue the policy choices of Joe Biden and the spending levels of Nancy Pelosi, said Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida.

ALSO READ| Texas struggles to contain the second-largest wildfire in US history following Maui

But Chuck Fleischmann, another Republican from Tennessee, urged lawmakers to vote for the short-term extension before the vote and said that shutdowns are harmful. I want the American people to know Mr Speaker that this negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt, Fleischmann said.

This year's spending bills primarily target domestic appropriations and do not encompass the $95.3 billion aid package recently approved by the Senate. This allocation is for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The package also included about $9bn in humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine, and other war-torn areas.
A new travel advisory for spring break travellers was issued on Thursday, warning US citizens to exercise increased caution while travelling to Mexico. The US Mission's statement informed the sightseers to travel smart and be informed. Considering that thousands of American citizens visit Mexico during spring break annually, the statement laid out some pointers for the visitors to consider when deciding their Mexico-bound travel plans. The US Embassy in Mexico issued a travel warning for American citizens inbound for Mexico during spring break.

Thursday's advisory cautioned against drug use, unregulated alcohol, counterfeit medication, violent crimes and much more. Here's what the US Mission hopes for travellers to consider before jumping to their next wanderlust destination:

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Guidelines from the US travel advisory for Mexico

First, highlighting the prevalence of crime in Mexico, the advisory draws attention to the high levels of dangers tourists will be exposed to. Crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, began the first salient guideline of the message. The US Mission alerts travellers to maintain a high level of situational awareness. You can find essential takeaways for each Mexican state in the Mexico Travel Advisory.

Also read: Texas struggles to contain the Smokehouse Creek fire, burns a million acres

The statement hopes citizens exercise increased caution in downtown areas. Cancun, Playa Del Carmen and Tulum are some popular spring break locations that aren't deemed too safe, especially after dark.

Unregulated alcohol may be contaminated, so it has also been advised against, along with ineffective counterfeit medication. Moreover, drug use, including marijuana, is illegal in Mexico. Possession of such substances may result in lengthy jail sentences. American citizens are also advised to avoid synthetic drugs or adulterated prescription pills. After consulting with a medical professional, make sure to purchase such substances from reputable establishments only.

Other than drugs, guns and ammunition of all sizes and sorts are illegal in Mexico. Drunk and disorderly behaviour, like public urination and the sight of open alcohol containers in vehicles, won't be tolerated either.

This warning follows several reports of violent cases in Mexico. Foreign tourists have been subjected to nightmarish deaths earlier this year. In February itself, an American woman and a Belize man were killed after they got entangled with drug dealers at a beach club in Tulum. Even before that, last year, a Canadian visitor was shot in Mexico's beach town, Puerto Escondido. Yet another Argentinian was brought down by a machete in Oaxaca.
On Thursday, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema declared the country's crippling drought a national disaster and emergency, claiming it has devastated food production and electricity generation as the nation struggles to recover from a recent deadly cholera outbreak.

Like some neighbors, the country in southern Africa is experiencing a severe drought, as the El Nino weather pattern intensifies the extreme weather conditions partly caused by climate change.

Zambia Declares National Emergency Over Drought

In a televised national speech from the capital, Lusaka, on Thursday, Hichilema said the southern African country has not seen rain for five weeks when farmers need it the most. Hichilema claimed that this exacerbated the effects of another dry spell and flooding that struck the nation last year.

"The destruction caused by the prolonged drought spell is immense," he added. The dry spell has already affected 84 of the country's 116 districts.

According to Hichilema, the crisis is worsened by climate change and the El Nino weather phenomena, threatening the country's electricity, water, and food supply. Zambia's main source of electricity is hydroelectric power.

As a result, the president declared a prolonged drought a national disaster due to these challenges. The measure allows for additional resources to address the situation, with the drought expected to last well into March.

El Nino's impact on the 2023-2024 rainy season has caused Zambia to lose one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of its 2.2 million planted crops.

Hichilema said that almost half of the country's "planted area" has been destroyed. He vowed to make humanitarian aid available to prevent hunger and urged his cooperating partners to offer assistance beyond the grain.

Furthermore, he also planned to import and ration electricity to maintain the economy and industries running, especially the heavily power-dependent mines. Zambia is the second-biggest copper producer in Africa.

The president has warned that this year's energy sector was expected to have a shortfall of approximately 450 or above 500 megawatts. He said that the 2024 national budget will be re-aligned to allow greater resources to be allocated towards addressing the impact of the drought. Hichilema added the current projections are that over a million farming households will be affected.

Read Also: Sydney Sweeney Shares Rare Update on 'Anyone But You' Sequel With Glen Powell

Zambia Pushes To Resolve Debt

Following a three-year default, Zambia attempts to rework its debt through the G20 Common Framework, a program designed to ensure swift and smooth debt overhauls for low-income nations.

Hichilema urged Zambia's official and private creditors to quickly complete its debt restructuring process, citing the country's severe situation. "If this process does not close, it's not just an indictment on Zambia but the global system," he said.

The naturally occurring El Nino climate pattern appeared in mid-2023 and usually raises global temperatures for a year. It is currently causing record heat and flames across the world.

Related Article: Zimbabwe: Over 100 Elephants Dead in Drought-Is Climate Change to Blame?


Farmers harvest spring tea leaves in China's Guangxi

People's Daily Online) 14:28, March 01, 2024

Farmers have recently been harvesting spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The tea plantation, nestled deep in the mountains, produces quality spring tea which customers favor.

Farmers pick spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Huang Huajiang)

Farmers have begun to pick spring tea leaves on the day of Lichun, or the Beginning of Spring, which is the first of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar, and falls on Feb. 4 this year, according to Chen Xiangqing, an executive of the tea plantation.

The harvest period of spring tea leaves at the tea plantation will last until the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, on April 4. It is estimated that the output of dried spring tea leaves of the tea plantation will reach 500 kilograms, and dried spring tea leaves will be priced at around 760 yuan ($105) per kilogram.

A farmer shows freshly harvested spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Liang Yanyun)

"I'm a native of Bajiao township. I come to pick tea leaves here every day during the peak season of harvesting and can earn over 100 yuan a day," said a woman surnamed Huang, who comes from a village near the tea plantation.

By inviting nearby villagers to pick tea leaves, the tea plantation helps villagers find jobs near their homes, contributing to rural revitalization.

Spring tea leaves are withered at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Liang Yanyun)

Workers have also been busy processing tea leaves at the tea plantation's workshop. The tea processing involves various steps, such as withering, stir fixation, and rolling.

To increase the production of spring tea leaves and raise the farmers' incomes, experts from the Guangxi South Subtropical Agricultural Science Research Institute offer technical guidance to tea farmers and firms.

A worker fries spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Huang Huajiang)

"We often provide technical guidance on tea plantation management and the processing of various types of tea to tea companies, applying our research achievements to tea processing to help them make more profits," said Li Ziping, an expert from the institute.

A worker rolls spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Huang Huajiang)

An expert shows how to process spring tea leaves at an eco-friendly tea plantation in Bajiao township, Longzhou county, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Photo/Huang Huajiang)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents, is expected to plead guilty in his federal case.

The 22-year-old, who has been incarcerated since his arrest last April, will undergo a change of plea hearing on Monday, as indicated by a motion filed by federal prosecutors in Boston. Prosecutors requested the judge to set a change of plea hearing for Monday, with no further details provided at the moment.

Teixeira to Change Plea

Teixeira, initially pleading not guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, has now decided to change his plea, according to sources familiar with the case. He was 21 years old when he was arrested.

The specifics of the plea agreement, including the exact charges to which Teixeira will plead, have not been publicly disclosed.

The accusations against Teixeira stem from his alleged actions of leaking classified documents, which he accessed through his position in the Air National Guard, onto social media platforms such as Discord.

The leaked information reportedly included details about military equipment destined for Ukraine, as well as sensitive intelligence regarding Russia's activities in Ukraine and other geopolitical matters.

Teixeira's involvement in the dissemination of classified information became apparent when federal authorities detected him sharing documents on Discord, particularly within a chat group called "Thug Shaker Central."

In this group, which comprised mostly young men and teenagers with interests in gaming and firearms, Teixeira allegedly boasted about his access to classified materials.

According to federal prosecutors, Teixeira purportedly told them, "All the shit I've told you guys I'm not supposed to."

Read Also: Putin's Nuclear Attack Plans Leaked, Revealed Russia's Threshold for Unleashing Nukes

Air Force Implements Disciplinary Measures

Prosecutors have highlighted Teixeira's continued sharing of classified information despite warnings from superiors and have underscored the seriousness of the breach. His actions have been described as one of the most significant breaches of US national security since the 2010 WikiLeaks disclosures.

In response to Teixeira's arrest, the Air Force initiated disciplinary measures against several individuals, including the removal of the commander of Teixeira's unit. The severity of the leak prompted the Pentagon to review and enhance its security protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

"Every [military member] is entrusted with the solemn duty to safeguard our nation's classified defense information," Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall stated. "When there is a breach of that sacred trust, for any reason, we will act in accordance with our laws and policies to hold responsible individuals accountable."

Teixeira's case has drawn attention not only for the implications on national security but also for the manner in which he allegedly used social media platforms to disseminate sensitive information.

His decision to plead guilty comes after months of legal proceedings and investigations into the extent of his involvement in the leak of classified documents.

The implications of Teixeira's actions extend beyond his individual case, raising questions about the security of sensitive information within military institutions and the potential vulnerabilities posed by personnel with access to classified materials.

His actions prompted the Biden administration to swiftly assess and address the international repercussions, while also reassuring allies about the security of classified US information.

As he prepares to enter his guilty plea, the focus will now shift to the sentencing phase, where the court will determine the appropriate punishment for his crimes.





Related Article: CIA Leaker Joshua Schulte Gets 40 Years Behind Bars for Espionage, Child Pornography Charges
A Bangladesh health minister confirmed that the massive fire that raced through a six-story building overnight in the country's capital, Dhaka, has killed at least 43 people.

The Bailey Road building houses mainly restaurants and several apparel and mobile phone stores.

Bangladesh Building Fire Kills 43 People

Bangladesh's health minister Samanta Lal Sen told AFP after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and a nearby burn hospital, "So far, 43 people have died from the fire."

Sen reported that at least 40 injured people were treated in the city's main burn hospital.

According to the Fire department official Mohammad Shihab, the fire at 9:50 pm on Thursday started in a popular biriyani restaurant on Bailey Road in Dhaka. The fire quickly spread to the top floors, trapping many people.

Shihab said that the fire was contained in two hours by firefighters. A statement from the fire service claimed that they rescued 75 people alive.

Sohel, a restaurant manager, shared that they were at the sixth floor when they first saw the smoke racing through the staircase, and many people rushed upstairs. The manager said they used a water pipe to climb down the building, and some of them were injured as they jumped from upstairs.

Furthermore, others called out for assistance as they were stuck on the rooftop.

Kamruzzaman Majumdar, a professor of environmental science, wrote in a Facebook post, "Alhamdulillah," as they were sending down all the women and children, including his wife and children. He added, "We all men are in rooftop. Fire service stands beside us. Fifty yet to be down."

Majumdar was later rescued safely.

Bangladesh has a high rate of apartment building and industry complex fires due to the neglectful enforcement of safety regulations.

Read Also: Male Humpback Whales Caught Mating for First Time

Bangladesh Factory Fire Kills 3, Injures 30

According to France 24, the police reported that three people were killed and at least 30 were injured in a large fire that broke out in a factory in Bangladesh, with some people jumping from the upper floors to escape the fire.

It was unclear how many people were trapped inside, though distraught families outside and other factory workers worried others might not have escaped.

Police and witnesses said the fire started at Hashem Food and Beverage factory in Rupganj, an industrial town outside Dhaka, at about 5:00 pm Thursday and was still burning on Friday morning.

Jayedul Alam, regional police chief, told AFP that three people have died after they sustained burn injuries.

Police inspector Sheikh Kabirul Islam reported that at least 30 people were hurt, including some who jumped from the upper floor as the fire swiftly spread through the six-story factory.

Furthermore, authorities later withdrew their initial statement that dozens of workers were still missing and said they were unsure how many were unaccounted for.

Firefighters rescued 25 people from the factory roof that manufactured noodles and drinks but could not confirm any further casualties.

Related Article: Australia: 30,000 Residents Ordered to Evacuate Amid 'Catastrophic' Bushfire Threat


Irish President Michael D. Higgins has been hospitalized after feeling unwell, according to his office.

The 82-year-old head of state was initially assessed by medical professionals at his official residence, aras an Uachtarain, in the capital city of Dublin, on Thursday.

Precautionary Hospitalization Follows Active Week for President Higgins

Although no immediate concerns were identified during the initial assessment, a decision was made to transfer President Higgins to the hospital for further evaluation as a precautionary measure.

A spokesperson for aras an Uachtarain informed the Irish Mirror, "The president, who will remain in hospital overnight, is in excellent spirits and has thanked the medical staff for the care he has received."

The decision to admit President Higgins to the hospital comes after he presented the 2024 Volta Lifetime Achievement Award to renowned film director Steve McQueen at the Dublin International Film Festival on Wednesday.

Additionally, earlier in the week, the president hosted several foreign diplomats and attended the RTe folk awards in Vicar Street, Dublin, on Tuesday.

Read Also: Michelle O'Neil Makes History as First Minister of Northen Ireland

President Higgins Urges Reinstatement of UNRWA Funding

President Higgins has been an active advocate for international humanitarian causes during his tenure. Just this Monday, he appealed to countries such as the UK and Germany to reconsider their decision to withdraw funding from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The agency has faced funding freezes from several nations while under review for allegations related to a Hamas attack. In his statement, President Higgins emphasized the significance of international humanitarian action.

"The lead taken by Ireland in giving increased and additional aid to UNRWA is an example of which Irish people can be proud of, not only because of our own history but given the importance international humanitarian action and international humanitarian law has in our world," he said.

President Higgins, who has served since 2011 and was re-elected in 2018, is due to complete his final term next year. Although the role of the Irish president is primarily ceremonial with limited constitutional powers, he has played an active role in representing Ireland on the global stage.

As President Higgins continues his hospital stay, updates regarding his condition are expected to be released.

Related Article: UN Says Defunding UNRWA May Trigger Aid System Collapse in Gaza
During a press conference, Netanyahu faced a question about whether Defense Minister Yoav Gallant consulted with him before stating that he would not advance any legislation on the IDF draft without resolving the issue of Haredi service to the satisfaction of all coalition parties.

Netanyahu is reminded that the last time Gallant spoke out without consulting him - a year ago, when the defense minister warned that national divisions over the judicial overhaul had entered the IDF and constituted a tangible threat to Israeli security - he fired him.

Netanyahu Addresses The Nation

Netanyahu avoids answering directly and emphasizes the negative impact of holding a general election during a war, stating it would result in defeat.

The IDF has a well-defined strategy for combat operations in Rafah, which includes provisions for evacuating civilians. This plan will be shared with the entire cabinet.

When questioned about the alleged comments made by US President Joe Biden, Netanyahu stated that the White House has denied the accusations. "Whether there were such criticisms, or discussions about them," he adds, "doesn't affect me at all."

When inquired about the actions of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir regarding prayer restrictions for Arab Israelis at the Al-Aqsa compound on the Temple Mount during Ramadan, Netanyahu mentioned that there was a preliminary meeting where Ben Gvir expressed his views, and that there will be further discussions at the beginning of next week.

Ultimately, the priority is to guarantee the freedom of worship while taking into consideration security conditions. There are no plans to restrict the freedom of worship for Muslims," he states. According to him, without Israel's control over Temple Mount, there would be no religious freedom for the three faiths.

Per Times of Israel, he mentioned that he has talked about his strategies for enhancing Haredi service with a number of Haredi MKs, and there are more connections in the works.

Almost 400 individuals involved in terrorist activities in the West Bank have been neutralized since the beginning of the conflict, according to his statement.

When questioned about the suggestion that he has become more firm on the terms of a hostage agreement for political motives, Netanyahu refutes the claim. "We are putting in all our efforts to secure the release of our hostages," he states.

However, he mentions that they are facing a significant challenge with what he perceives as unrealistic demands from Hamas. Netanyahu did not address today's incident in northern Gaza, which involved hundreds of civilian casualties surrounding a convoy of aid trucks.

Read Also: Putin's Nuclear Attack Plans Leaked, Revealed Russia's Threshold for Unleashing Nukes

Israel Seeks to Secure Hamas Hostages' Release

Israel is putting in continuous efforts to secure the release of its hostages, according to Netanyahu, who mentioned that it is still uncertain whether a deal with Hamas will be reached.

"To achieve victory over Hamas, it is essential to eliminate all remaining Hamas battalions in the center of Gaza and in Rafah," stated Netanyahu.

The Israeli military's proposal to initiate a ground operation in Rafah, where approximately 1.4 million Palestinian civilians have taken shelter, has faced criticism. Officials from various countries have cautioned that such action could result in a "humanitarian catastrophe."

When inquired about the alleged comment made by United States President Joe Biden, the Israeli PM mentioned that the White House has refuted the report and stated that it does not affect him at all.

Furthermore, Biden expresses concern over shooting at Gazans in search of food assistance, which could complicate ceasefire negotiations; 'assault' receives international backlash

Netanyahu also claimed credit for US support for Israel during the ongoing war, highlighting that despite international pressure to halt the conflict prematurely, a Harvard-Harris poll revealed that 82 per cent of Americans back Israel.

He mentioned that the widespread support provides the necessary strength to persist with the campaign until Hamas is eliminated. The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 30,000, according to the Gaza health ministry.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the ongoing war between Israel and Palestinian militant group has resulted in the deaths of at least 30,035 people, with the majority being women and children. Additionally, 70,457 individuals have been wounded since October 7.

Israeli officials reported that over 1,200 individuals lost their lives in Israel following the October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, with an additional 250 individuals being held as hostages.

Related Article: Netanyahu Vows 'Victory' Once Rafah Invasion Begins, Says US Would 'Do Hell Lot More' If Faced With Terror Attack
A lawyer in Canada faces an investigation for allegedly using ChatGPT to develop legal submissions during a child custody case at the British Columbia Supreme Court.

The documents showed that the Vancouver lawyer Chong Ke represented a father who wanted to travel abroad with his children but was locked in a separation conflict with the children's mother.

Ke Faces Law Society Probe

According to The Guardian, Ke allegedly asked ChatGPT to provide instances of previous case law that might be relevant to her client's situation. She submitted two of the three chatbot results developed by OpenAI to the court.

However, despite multiple inquiries, the lawyers for the children's mother could not find any documentation of the cases. Ke took a step back when confronted with the discrepancies.

Ke wrote in an email to the court that he had no idea the two cases could be erroneous. He explained that after his colleague pointed out that it could not be located, he did his research and could not detect the issues.

He added that he had no intention to mislead the opposing counsel or the court, and he sincerely apologized.

Despite the popularity of chatbots, which are educated on vast amounts of data, the programs are also prone to errors, known as "hallucinations." The mother's lawyers called Ke's actions reprehensible and deserving of rebuke since they required considerable time and expense to determine if the cases she cited were real.

The judge overseeing the case denied their request for special costs, stating that such an "extraordinary step" would necessitate a finding of reprehensible conduct or an abuse of process by the lawyer.

Justice David Masuhara wrote that citing fake cases in court filings and other materials handed up is an abuse of process and is a false statement to the court. He added that unchecked can lead to a miscarriage of justice.

According to his assessment, the opposition's legal team was well-resourced and had already prepared volumes of information for the case. He said there was no chance that the two fake cases would have slipped through.

Read Also: South Korea Sets Deadline for Protesting Doctors to Return to Work as Walkouts Burden Hospital Operations

Masuhara Says Ke Has 'No Intention To Deceive'

According to CBC News, Masuhara claimed that Ke was naive about the risks of using ChatGPT and that her actions generated "significant negative publicity." However, he also discovered that Ke tried to fix her errors.

He said that he did not find that she had the intention to deceive or misdirect and that he accepted the sincerity of Ke's apology to counsel and the court. He noted that her regret was clearly evident during her appearance and oral submissions in court.

Ke's actions are currently being looked into by the British Columbian Law Society, despite Masuhara's denial of providing special costs.

Christine Tam, a spokesperson from the Law Society, said that the Law Society has published guidelines for lawyers on the proper use of AI and expects them to adhere to the standards of conduct expected of a competent lawyer if they use AI to assist a client, even as it acknowledges the potential benefits of using AI in the delivery of legal services.

Related Article: AI Chatbots' Incorrect Responses on Election Info Pose Threat to Voters With False Information, Study Claims


A former US diplomat informed a federal judge on Thursday of his intention to plead guilty to charges of serving as a secret agent for communist Cuba for decades, leading to a surprisingly quick resolution to a case described by prosecutors as a major betrayal in the history of the US foreign service.

Victor Manuel Rocha's dramatic downfall may result in a significant prison sentence following his decision to confess to federal charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government.

Former US Diplomat Admits Spying For Communist Cuba

Prosecutors and Rocha's attorney revealed that the plea deal involves a prearranged sentence, but they did not provide specifics during a hearing on Thursday. He will need to return to court on April 12 to finalize his guilty plea and receive his sentence.

The short hearing did not provide any new insights into the ongoing mystery surrounding Rocha's activities during his time at the State Department for twenty years. That involved serving as ambassador to Bolivia and holding key positions in Argentina, Mexico, the White House, and the US Interests Section in Havana.

Known as Ambassador Rocha, he was a familiar figure among Miami's high society, exuding an aristocratic and regal air that matched his Ivy League education. After leaving his government position, he served as a special adviser to the commander of the US Southern Command. More recently, he has been known as a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and a hardliner on Cuba, a persona that some say he used to conceal his actual loyalties.

Peter Lapp, who managed FBI counterintelligence against Cuba from 1998 to 2005, mentioned that the swift resolution of the case is advantageous for both the elderly Rocha and the government. It provides valuable insights into Cuba's infiltration of US foreign policy circles.

In counterintelligence cases, defendants are usually accused of espionage. However, Rocha faced allegations of engaging as a foreign agent, which come with potential sentences ranging from five to 10 years behind bars. This situation facilitated negotiations between prosecutors and Rocha.

Rocha was taken into custody by the FBI at his residence in Miami over accusations of participating in covert operations for Cuba dating back to 1981. These activities allegedly involved interactions with Cuban intelligence agents and deceiving US authorities about his connections.

Read Also: GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert's Teenage Son Faces Possible Felony Charges Over Series of Vehicle Break-Ins

Victor Manuel Rocha's Case

Rocha made a series of recorded admissions to an undercover FBI agent posing as a Cuban intelligence operative, praising the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as "comandante", branding the US the "enemy" and bragging about his service for more than 40 years as a Cuban mole in the heart of US foreign policy circles, prosecutors said in court records.

There has been limited information released by federal authorities regarding Rocha's actions to assist Cuba. FBI and state department investigators are currently working on a confidential damage assessment, which may span over several years.

However, a recent investigation by the Associated Press uncovered numerous overlooked warning signs throughout the years. In 2006, a tip was received by a longtime CIA operative warning that Rocha was working as a double agent. It was never followed up on. It was discovered that the CIA had known since 1987 about a potential spy within the US government, with suspicions pointing towards Rocha.

Rocha decided to plead guilty on Thursday shortly after the widow of a well-known Cuban dissident who died in a suspicious car accident filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former diplomat. The lawsuit alleges that Rocha shared information that empowered Cuba's communist leaders to eliminate a key rival, as per The Guardian.

Related Article: Alleged Pentagon Leaker Jack Teixeira Set to Plead Guilty in Federal Case
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro announced the suspension of weapon purchases from Israel after Palestinians reported Israeli troops firing at people seeking food in Gaza. This move signifies an escalation of tensions between both countries amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Characterizing the deaths as "genocide," Petro held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the violence surrounding the aid convoy.

Colombia Halts Israel Arms Purchases

Health officials in Gaza reported that a minimum of 112 individuals have lost their lives, pushing the total death count of the conflict to over 30,000. Israel mentioned that a significant number of individuals perished in a disorderly rush for the food.

Petro's statement was made several months following Israel's decision to halt security exports to Colombia due to a diplomatic dispute over online comments made by Colombia's president drawing parallels between Israel's actions in Gaza and those of Nazi Germany.

"Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by Netanyahu. This is called genocide and is reminiscent of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognize it. The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia suspends all purchases of weapons from Israel," Petro said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Colombia has been a significant ally of the United States for many years and maintains a strong partnership with Israel in Latin America. Since Petro was elected as the country's first leftist president in 2022, relations with Israel and the US have cooled. However, Bogota and Washington have managed to maintain relatively good terms despite disagreements over US drug policy and Venezuela.

Colombia uses warplanes and machine guns from Israel to combat drug cartels and rebel groups, with both nations agreeing to a free trade deal in 2020. The country strengthened its military relationship with Israel in the late 1980s through the acquisition of a fleet of Kfir fighter jets equipped to deploy laser-guided bombs.

Its air force used them in multiple strikes on isolated guerrilla camps, weakening the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and eventually leading to the group entering peace negotiations that led to its disarmament in 2016.

Read Also: Israeli Soldiers Fired at Palestinians Seeking Food

Colombian President Disapproves Israel's Military Campaign

Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that led to the current conflict in Gaza and resulted in approximately 1,200 casualties, Colombia's ambassador to Israel was also withdrawn by Petro as he voiced disapproval of the military campaign.

Colombia has brought back over 300 of its citizens on humanitarian flights since the conflict started. One of the air force planes also transported humanitarian aid to Egypt for delivery to the Palestinian population. The country's military and police have been using firearms and missiles sourced from Israel for many years.

The country possesses approximately 20 Kfir combat aircraft, along with the authorization to produce Galil automatic rifles and Spike missiles under Israeli patent. Petro, a vocal opponent of Israel's actions in Gaza, engaged in a heated debate with the Israeli ambassador in Bogota, Gali Dagan.

Shortly after the war began in October, Israel announced it would stop security exports to Colombia following accusations made by Petro against Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The first leftist president of Colombia emphasized the importance of preventing Nazism from resurfacing in global politics, Barrons reported.

Related Article: Former US Diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha Admits to Spying for Cuba for Over 40 Years
Speculations regarding the whereabouts of Princess Kate Middleton have been rampant in recent weeks, fueling a wave of conspiracy theories following her abdominal surgery in January.

Kensington Palace, however, has stepped forward to address the concerns, reaffirming the princess's well-being and dismissing social media speculations.

Palace Stands Firm on Middleton's Recovery Timeline

In a statement exclusively given to Page Six, a representative from Kensington Palace reiterated the palace's stance established in January.

"Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands," the rep said. They also gave a similar response to HuffPost.

The palace emphasized that Middleton, aged 42, is "doing well" amidst her recovery.

The mystery surrounding Middleton's absence has deepened as she has not been spotted in public since Christmas Day, where she attended church alongside members of the royal family.

With minimal information available about her medical procedure, speculation has run rampant, spanning a wide range of theories-from plastic surgery to conjectures of her being in a coma, and even suggestions of her death.

These speculations have taken a lighter turn in certain corners, particularly on X, formerly Twitter, where humorous discussions, jokes, and memes have emerged alongside the speculation.

This coincided with other trending discussions on the platform, including the 'Willy Wonka Experience' in Glasgow, where displeased families contacted the authorities to voice their grievances about the event

"Continuously scrolling through the most bizarre and hilarious tweets about Kate Middleton and the Glasgow Willy Wonka experience realizing we've given this app new life again," an X user posted.

"If your feed isn't about Kate Middleton, the Glasgow Willy Wonka disaster and/or trying to figure out who yelled at Rebecca Ferguson, you're doing it wrong [and] missing out," another one said.

"'Yeh so basically Kate Middleton hasn't been seen in months like she's actually missing. [W]ord on the conspiracy street is that she's doing [one] of many things - gone for a BBL, growing out her bangs, lost at the Wonka experience. [A]lso she's possibly [B]anksy x,'" a social media user posted, accompanied by a GIF featuring the meme of Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift appearing to gossip.

Initially, Kensington Palace confirmed Middleton's surgery on January 16, stating that she would remain hospitalized for up to two weeks and wouldn't resume public duties until around Easter.

Following her hospitalization, Middleton returned home to Windsor to continue her recovery, according to a statement released on January 29. Although the palace has not disclosed Middleton's official diagnosis, it has stated that it is not thought to be cancer-related.

Read Also: Police Called to Glasgow 'Willy Wonka Experience' Amid Refund Demands from Disgruntled Families

Prince William's Public Engagements Sans Middleton

Meanwhile, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has been carrying out his public duties while Middleton recuperates.

The Prince of Wales made a public appearance on Thursday at a London synagogue, where he addressed concerns about the rise of antisemitism, stating, "Both Catherine and I are extremely concerned about the rise of antisemitism."

Last month, he also attended the 2024 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, where he expressed his regret over the absence of his wife.

"I am sorry Catherine's not here, she does love the BAFTAs," he said, as per the reports.

However, he raised eyebrows when he withdrew from a royal engagement on Tuesday citing undisclosed "personal reasons."

He opted out of attending a planned memorial service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor for his godfather, King Constantine of the Hellenes, who passed away in January 2023.

William's nonattendance at the memorial, along with the palace's explanation has only fueled further speculation regarding the Princess of Wales' health.

Nevertheless, the palace restated that the princess's condition remains positive.

Coinciding with Middleton's surgery, King Charles III announced he would undergo a routine procedure on his prostate, later revealed to be due to cancer.

Expressing gratitude for the support received, King Charles stated, "Such kind thoughts are the greatest comfort and encouragement." Despite his health concerns, the king has since resumed his duties.

The news of Middleton's health comes during a turbulent period for the royal family. King Charles's cancer diagnosis has led to a schedule of regular treatments, prompting him to postpone public-facing duties while still carrying out state business and official paperwork.

Additionally, Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, has recently been diagnosed with malignant skin cancer, discovered during treatment for breast cancer.

Amid swirling speculations, Kensington Palace's reaffirmation of Middleton's well-being offers a glimpse of clarity: she is recuperating at home, easing uncertainties surrounding her absence from public view.

Related Article: Prince William Graces BAFTAs Red Carpet Solo Amid Kate Middleton's Recovery
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a direct warning of nuclear retaliation against the West, alleging that NATO and the US are planning to attack Russia, during his yearly speech to the country.

The 71-year-old Russian president stated that NATO and America are active in other parts of the world and continue to deceive and lie.

Putin's Nuclear Warning

Security footage surfaced on the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, complete with a time stamp indicating its occurrence on Thursday, February 29. This development coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to Russia's Federal Assembly, where he issued warnings of retaliatory strikes against Western nations and raised concerns about the looming threat of a nuclear war.

Seeking clarity on this matter, Newsweek has initiated contact with the Russian defense ministry via email, awaiting their response.

Putin's statements followed French President Emmanuel Macron's Monday suggestion that NATO members, including the US, could potentially deploy ground troops to Ukraine. However, the US and other NATO allies promptly ruled out such a course of action in response to Macron's proposal.

The Russian leader, amidst escalating tensions, emphasized the formidable capabilities of Russia's weaponry. Putin underscored the risk of a conflict involving nuclear weapons, posing a serious threat to global civilization. He reminded Western nations of the consequences faced by those who previously dispatched forces to Russian territory.

Throughout Putin's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has prominently utilized the Pantsir-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and missile system, estimated to be valued around $15 million. This mobile, short-range system is designed to counter aircraft, cruise missiles, and precision-guided munitions while supporting other air defense units against larger-scale attacks, according to Newsweek.

Read Also: Biden Hopes To Achieve Gaza Ceasefire, Hostage Deal in Israel-Hamas War by Next Monday

Russian Commander Faces Penalties

Back in 2023, a Russian commander encountered legal penalties for crashing a Pantsir into a railway bridge in St. Petersburg. The commander was fined 50,000 rubles ($541) by the St. Petersburg Garrison Military Court for not securing the equipment properly. The court also ordered around 14 million rubles ($151,500) in damages.

Meanwhile, the US Senate was embroiled in an important discussion regarding an arms agreement with Turkey. Senators Jim Risch and Rand Paul shared contrasting opinions, with Risch presenting the crucial role of NATO and Paul trying to prevent the sale, describing it as possible extortion. Despite Paul's best efforts, the Senate voted 13 to 79 to reject his proposal.

Risch and Democratic committee chairman Sen. Ben Cardin acknowledged various concerns about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government but argued that adding Sweden to NATO was crucial for strategic interests. Despite objections from Turkey, Sweden and Finland sought NATO membership after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Erdogan's objections were multifaceted, including concerns about Turkish critics finding refuge in Sweden and aspirations to acquire advanced fighter jets.

The detailed diplomatic situation continued to evolve with the approval of an enormous arms deal by the US State Department. The deal includes a $23 billion sale of F-16s to Turkey and a $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece. These decisions were made after Turkey filed its "instrument of ratification" for Sweden's NATO accession, once objections from key members of Congress were resolved, The Washington Post reported.

Related Article: Putin's Nuclear Attack Plans Leaked, Revealed Russia's Threshold for Unleashing Nukes
Israel is set to present an inquiry to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday regarding the actions it has implemented to avoid potential genocide in Gaza. This is to determine if Israel followed the interim regulations ordered by the ICJ on January 26.

South Africa, which initiated the case, claims that Israel has not adhered to the measures. "I believe the rulings of the court have been ignored," stated Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor.

South Africa Alarmed by Israel's Gaza Genocide

During a diplomatic discussion with the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor expressed her country's serious worries about Israel's failure to comply with the initial ruling of the highest court in the world on the prohibition of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Pandor asserted that "Israel's" actions affirm the belief that it intends to destroy the Palestinian people. The South African minister emphasized her nation's commitment to presenting objective arguments regarding the alleged occurrence of "genocide" in Gaza, noting that several countries have expressed their intent to join the case against Israel.

Stating that she believes the court's rulings have been disregarded, Pandor revealed that legal papers for an upcoming court session have been prepared, though a specific date for the hearing is yet to be announced.

South Africa had previously brought Israel to The Hague-based ICJ in January, leading to a series of orders, including an immediate cessation of the alleged genocide in Gaza. However, on January 26, the ICJ refrained from an immediate halt to the Gaza war while emphasizing that Israel must take all necessary measures to prevent acts falling within the scope of the Genocide Convention, according to ABNA.

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Gaza Crisis Intensifies with Israeli Ground Invasion

The court specifically mandated Israel to urgently facilitate humanitarian aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, which has endured relentless bombardment and siege since a Hamas attack in Israel on October 7.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a potential ground invasion of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where an estimated 1.4 million Palestinian civilians sought refuge. The conflict, initiated by a Hamas attack on October 7, resulted in approximately 1,160 casualties in Israel, primarily civilians, according to AFP figures.

Palestinian militants took hostages, with 130 still held in Gaza. Israel's retaliatory actions, including bombardment and ground offensives, have claimed over 30,000 lives in less than five months, with a significant number being women and children, as reported by Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Warning of an impending famine in the densely populated and besieged territory, aid agencies express deep concern about the humanitarian crisis. While acknowledging the shocking nature of the Hamas attack on Israel, UN representative Turk condemned both sides for their actions, describing the Israeli response as "carnage," Independent Online reported.

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A mother-of-two from the Amish community, who was six months pregnant, was discovered dead from gunshot wounds in her rural Pennsylvania home. This surprising incident has left investigators puzzled.

Rebekah Byler, 23, was discovered deceased by a family member on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, approximately 40 miles southeast of Erie, following a police call to the location on Monday at approximately 12.30 pm.

Pregnant Amish Mom Found Dead

The small rural community of Spartansburg, with fewer than 300 residents, has been deeply affected by this disturbing incident. Charleen Hajec, a local resident, expressed shock, describing the community as tightknit. Concerns for the Amish community, prevalent in the state of Pennsylvania, were voiced, given their emphasis on family life, self-sufficiency, and separation from the modern world.

Byler, reportedly six months pregnant, was discovered in the living room of her home by her husband, who returned to find her lifeless body. Thankfully, her two young children, present at the time, were unharmed, as confirmed by Crawford County District Attorney Paula DiGiacomo.

Pennsylvania, home to the largest Amish community in the US, numbering around 87,000 people, now faces an unusual homicide investigation in its rural landscape. Authorities are actively pursuing leads and urging the public to remain vigilant, emphasizing safety measures such as locking doors.

A $2,000 reward has been offered by Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers for any information related to the homicide. State police are requesting assistance from the public in identifying a suspect, urging anyone with information to contact the Corry barracks at 814-663-2043, according to The Washington Post.

Read Also: Strike in Gaza Kills, Injures Hundreds Waiting for Relief; Palestinian Death Toll Reaches 30,000

Community Unites in Wake of Tragedy

Reports from residents and family members indicate the presence of a red Jeep outside Byler's home around 10 a.m. on the day of the incident. A sense of shock and concern has prompted locals to come together, offering support and fundraising for Byler's family.

Charleen Hajec, owner of Spartansburg Pharmacy, expressed her heartbreak over the tragedy and worry for the Amish community. The rarity of a homicide investigation in this rural area has prompted an aggressive pursuit of all available leads by state police.

In response to the community's concern, Kelsey Bova, owner of Bova's Hardware, initiated a GoFundMe campaign to support Byler's family. Additionally, a local drive for food, toys, cleaning products, and gift cards has been organized, symbolizing the community's united effort in the face of this devastating incident.

Byler's cousin, Rosanna, expressed her surprise on Facebook, asking for prayers and contemplating the suddenness of the tragedy in this rural Pennsylvania area, Daily Mail reported.

Related Article: Putin Warns West of Global Nuclear War
The funeral procession for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is currently underway in Moscow.

The New York Times reported that hours before the start of the funeral service at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows in southern Moscow, the family of the late Kremlin critic had yet to receive his body from a Moscow morgue.

Navalny's corpse has since been handed over to his family at around 12:30 local time, with the service currently in progress, the New York Times reported.

Planning for the service was taking place under pressure from the Russian authorities, who have arrested hundreds of mourners at memorial sites since Navalny's death. Police presence was also heavy around the church.

Images on social media showed attendees lining up, but also security cameras that the local news media reported had been recently installed, and signs forbidding mourners to take pictures or video in the church.

Read Also: Navalny On The Verge Of Freedom In Prisoner Swap Deal Before Death, Allies Say

Navalnaya Blames Kremlin for Denying Husband's Body

Meanwhile, Navalny's wife and his associates blamed the Kremlin for allegedly coercing local undertakers to deny his family and supporters inside Russia to transport his corpse to the church.

"Two people are to blame for the fact that we do not have a place for a civil memorial service and farewell to Alexei - [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and [Moscow Mayor] Sergei Sobyanin," Yulia Navalnaya wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "People in the Kremlin killed him, then they mocked Alexei's body, then they mocked his mother, and now they mock his memory. We don't want any special treatment - just to give people the opportunity to say goodbye to Alexey normally."

Navalny was reported to have died earlier this month while he was serving multiple sentences in prison.

The Kremlin has rejected the family's accusations of its involvement, and Putin has not commented publicly on Navalny's death. But the Russian leader authorized an order promoting the deputy director of the country's Federal Penitentiary Service, Valery Boyarinev, just three days after Navalny's death.

Navalny's funeral takes place during a period of intense crackdown and less than three weeks before Putin seeks another six-year term in elections scheduled for mid-March, which he is projected to win.

Related Article: Alexei Navalny's Burial to Take Place On Friday In Moscow: Report
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said on Friday (Mar. 1) that Independence Police Officer Cody Allen and Drexel Mack, a civil process server from the Jackson County Circuit Court, were shot dead during an eviction at a home in Independence, about an hour from Kansas City.

In a press conference with local media, Missouri State Highway Patrol chief Justin Ewing confirmed that two other officers were shot at and injured in the incident, totaling the number of casualties to four.

Ewing added that the two injured officers have been taken to hospital and are expected to recover from their injuries.

Read Also: Police Place Maryland State House Under Lockdown After Receiving Threatening Call

How the Shooting Happened

On Thursday afternoon, local time (Nov. 29), the first calls came in from the scene saying that Mack was shot at the residence while serving an eviction order. Several other process servers were also at the scene, though no officers were with them at that time.

After a request for immediate assistance, officers from the Independence Police Department arrived, and they were fired upon, Ewing added.

The male suspect was eventually taken into custody and taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, as the situation unfolded, confirming that officers were shot and injured.

"Teresa and I are praying for the @IndepMoPolice officers involved and all who work to protect us," he said.

Related Article: Rebekah Byler Case: Pregnant Amish Mom Found Dead in Pennsylvania Home With Kids
Elon Musk files a lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founders, including CEO Sam Altman. In his legal complaint, the tech billionaire claims that the AI firm breached a contract after it partnered with Microsoft.

In 2015, Elon Musk was an early backer and a co-founder of OpenAI. He said that he helped establish the artificial intelligence company since OpenAI President Greg Brockman and Sam Altman promised him that it would remain a non-profit organization.

Musk said that the founding agreement between him and other co-founders required OpenAI to make its technology free to the public. However, this didn't happen since it established a holding company that allowed it to acquire money from investors.

Elon Musk Vs. Sam Altman: Tesla Boss Accuses OpenAI of Breaching Contract

Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its co-founders in the California state court on Thursday, Feb. 29.

The billionaire Sam Altman and other officials breached OpenAI's founding charter by agreeing to the $13 billion partnership with Microsoft.

Because of this, Elon Musk is asking for a jury trial. Aside from this, the Tesla boss also wants the company and Sam Altman and Greg Brockman to pay back the profit they received from the AI business.

"In reality, however, OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft," explained the lawsuit.

"Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity," added Elon Musk's legal team.

Read Also: Ukraine Refuses Elon Musk's Claim as Military Spy Chief Explains Why Russia Can Use Thousands of Starlink Terminals

Other Details About Elon Musk's Lawsuit

Elon Musk's lawsuit also mentioned the issue of Sam Altman getting fired by the Board members. The legal complaint said that the public still doesn't know what the OpenAI Board's deliberative review process showed that led to Altman's termination.

Despite the lack of transparency, the lawsuit stated that one thing is clear: OpenAI is now pursuing profit after abandoning its non-profit mission.

The lawsuit didn't include Microsoft among the defendants. However, Musk's legal team still mentioned the software giant over 60 times in the complaint.

Elon's lawsuit repeatedly mentioned Microsoft's influence over OpenAI and its economic position. Recently, the billionaire already warned Microsoft that he was planning to sue it.

As of writing, it is still unclear if Elon Musk will adjust its lawsuit to include Microsoft. Meanwhile, OpenAI hasn't commented regarding the legal complaint.

Related Article: Elon Musk Facing Pressure From US Lawmakers Over SpaceX Internet Service for American Troops in Taiwan
After facing opposition from a local court, Kenya plans to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti to spearhead a United Nations-approved operation to combat gang violence. On Friday, March 1, the two countries inked a security accord that Nairobi thinks would appease the Caribbean nation.

Gang Violence

As the violence escalated in 2022, Haiti sought assistance but was unable to secure a nation ready to spearhead a relief effort. Due to the country's history of human rights violations, other countries have been hesitant to step in and support Henry's unelected regime.

Last July, Kenya made public its intention to initiate the effort for Haiti, a country where gangs rule the capital and where violence claimed the lives of over 5,000 people in 2023. The deployment was supposed to take place by January, but the Kenyan High Court declared it unlawful since there was no "reciprocal arrangement" with the government that was hosting it.

The operation has been put on hold as a result of this, even though other nations have sent troops, and the United States and Canada have promised hundreds of millions of dollars for it.

Also Read: Haiti Protests Erupt as Demonstrators Demand Prime Minister Ariel Henry's Resignation

Kenya-Haiti Deal

According to Kenyan President William Ruto, an agreement was struck with Haiti, who made the announcement on Friday, as reported by Reuters.

"I am pleased to inform that [Haitian] Prime Minister Ariel Henry and I have witnessed the signing of this instrument. We have also discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment," Ruto stated.

Along with Kenya, the Bahamas has pledged 150 people, while Antigua, Barbuda, and Jamaica have expressed their willingness to provide assistance. Just last week, Benin extended an offer of 2,000 soldiers.

A day before the announcement, a gang leader said that a protest against the government resulted in violent fights between gangs, police, and vigilantes in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.

Also Read: Judge Issues Final Report Indicting Haitian Officials, Including President's Widow, in Moise Assassination
The late Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, was bid a final farewell on Friday afternoon at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows in southern Moscow.

The funeral service followed closely on the heel of Russia's prison service announcement of his passing two weeks prior.

Relatives were gathered around the coffin at the Borisovsky cemetery, a few hundred meters from the church. Hundreds of supporters have also gathered to pay their final respects to the man who was once Vladimir Putin's primary political enemy.

Navalny's coffin was lowered to the grave to Frank Sinatra's legendary song "My Way," according to his team.

Several videos showed a large number of people streaming towards the cemetery, but they were only allowed in after the tomb was sealed to leave flowers.

Chants of "No to war!" "Russia without Putin!" and "Russia will be free!" were heard. At the same time, live streaming of the funeral and burial experienced some struggles due to communication jamming at the location, CNN reported.

Supporters Came to Say 'Dasvidaniya'

Navalny's funeral was supposed to be a private one, but people in Moscow still came to express their grief.

For this gesture, Navalny's team expressed gratitude to the hundreds of people who accompanied the Navalny family to lay the chief dissident to rest.

"I am very grateful to those who came to the church today, and those who will come to the cemetery," Kira Yarmysh told the YouTube channel organized by Navalny's supporters for the occasion. "All those who support Alexey and write about it, it is very important now and will be even more important later. So please don't stop."

According to Navalny's team, Russian state news agencies have also made very minimal coverage of the funeral.

There were earlier reports that there were no arrests made during the funeral proceedings, but according to the human rights monitoring group OVD-Info, at least one arrest was made.

An additional 22 people were also detained when they tried to leave their homes to attend the funeral.

All the information about the arrests and detentions could not be independently verified as of writing.

Read Also: Alexei Navalny's Burial to Take Place on Friday in Moscow: Report

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Yulia to Alexei: 'I Love You Forever, Rest in Peace'

Meanwhile, Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, shared one final video addressed to her husband in her first comment on the day of his funeral.

"Lyosha, thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness," her caption read on X, formerly Twitter, referring to Navalny's nickname. "Yes, even for the happiness over the last three years. For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me."

Navalnaya was not able to attend her husband's funeral due to concerns that Russian authorities would crack down on mourners.

The video contained clips of the Navalnys and their memories of each other, including their daughter Dasha and their son Zakhar.

"Love you forever. Rest in peace," Navalnaya's caption concluded.

Related Article: Alexei Navalny's Funeral Underway at Moscow Church
Paramilitary forces and their allies that have been fighting in Sudan are accused of carrying out ethnic killings and rapes to control the western Darfur region of the country, which amounts to war crimes, according to a recent United Nations report.

The report from the UN Security Council frames a grim picture of brutality against Africans has been perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces, which is predominantly Arab. The report also states that the RSF has gained control in four of Darfur's five states and has even created a complex financial network that involves dozens of companies.

Sudan's recent spat of violence began in April 2023 when the paramilitary forces led by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke away from the Sudanese Army, which is led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan.

Starting in the streets of Khartoum, the fighting quickly spread to other parts of the country. However, reports the Associated Press, the fighting is largely ethnic-based as the RSF has launched attacks on African civilians, the Masalit in particular.

Sudan has been suffering violence for decades and Darfur has been in the international spotlight for some of the most explicit examples of genocide and war crimes in the 21st century. The Janjaweed Arab militants have largely targeted civilians in Central and East Africa. That legacy lives on in the RSF.

In January, the International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan said their grounds to believe both sides committed genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

The ICC also believes that Darfur is currently experiencing its worst violence since 2005. The conflict is causing a humanitarian crisis on a morbidly grand scale and has displaced 6.8 million people. 1.4 million have fled the country, with 555,000 of those fleeing to neighboring Chad.

Both the Sudanese government and the RSF are in possession of heavy artillery and have been accused of shelling highly populated areas. This has caused a breakdown of water, sanitation, education, and healthcare infrastructure throughout the country.

The report, which is 47 pages in total, says both combatants targeted sites in Darfur where displaced people found shelter, civilian neighborhoods, and medical facilities.

Intelligence sources have said that the West Darfur capital, Geneina, has been the site of up to 15,000 civilian deaths. It further states the pervasiveness of sexual violence being used as a weapon by the RSF and allied militia groups.

"Racial slurs toward the Masalit and non-Arab community formed part of the attacks," the panel said. "Neighborhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed."
The federal judge overseeing the classified documents prosecution of Donald Trump is expected to set a trial date on Friday. The crucial ruling could affect whether the Former President faces a jury this year on allegations he stored top secret documents and hid them from investigators.

Per The Associated Press, the trial is currently set for May 20 in a federal court in Fort Pierce, FL. However, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has already postponed several dates in the case and claims she will circle back to the trial date on Friday.

In light of the uncertainty surrounding a separate federal case in Washington charging Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election, this trial date has garnered crucial attention.

The Supreme Court said it would hear arguments in late April to determine whether the president is immune from prosecution, creating a cloud of doubt around the case and if it may reach trial before the November election.

If the Florida classified documents case were to be postponed until after the election, and if the Washington subversion case does not happen this year, it would mean voters would cast their ballots without two crucial federal prosecutions-- both alleging felony charges-- being resolved by a jury, reported the AP.

The Pushback

According to NBC News, in filings Thursday night, special counsel Jack Smith's office suggested pushing the trial back to July 8, whereas Trump's attorneys requested an Aug. 12 start date. His attorneys have made it clear that they aim to push back the trial until after November's election.

"As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution, which affords President Trump a Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceedings" and "a First Amendment right that he shares with the American people to engage in campaign speech," his lawyers said.

A joint proposal from both sides was submitted requesting a questionnaire for potential jurors.

Trump is facing 40 criminal charges in the case, including willful retention of national defense information, false statements and representations, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and corruptly concealing documents. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron shocked everyone when he expressed anger over the shooting of more than 100 Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza, even demanding "truth and justice" on the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident.

Israeli forces brutally murdered more than 100 Palestinians on Thursday as they waited for an aid delivery. Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded the aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over rather than targeted by an Israeli drone.

"Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law," Macron said in a post on X.

He emphasized the imperative for an immediate ceasefire.



According to Reuters, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Paris would back the United Nations' call for an independent investigation when speaking to France Inter radio on Friday.

"The humanitarian situation has been catastrophic for several weeks now and what happened is indefensible and unjustifiable. Israel needs to be able to hear it and it needs to stop," Sejourne told France Inter.

"We have gone a step further, people are fighting for food and there are riots. I heard the request from the Secretary General of the United Nations to open an independent investigation and I think that France will support this," Sejourne said.

Israel is facing growing international pressure after the massacre of desperate and starved crowds that were gathered around aid trucks.

Germany, following suit with France, is demanding the Israeli army to "fully explain" what happened. Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, said she was shocked by reports of the incident.

"People wanted relief supplies for themselves and their families and ended up dead. The reports from Gaza shock me. The Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened," she wrote on social media.

The Guardian noted a statement from Israeli spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, "Tens of Gazan residents were killed as a result of overcrowding, and the Palestinian trucks unfortunately ran over them during an attempt to escape. An IDF force that was securing the area passed by the crowd and opened fire only when they encountered danger when the mob moved toward it in a manner that endangered the force."

He added, "Contrary to accusations, we did not fire toward individuals seeking aid and we did not fire toward the humanitarian convoy from the ground nor from the air."

The White House also released a statement to say the massacre of 112 people who were seeking food for their families was "tremendously alarming," despite their blind funding to Israel and recent veto for a call to a permanent ceasefire.

The State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, told reporters the U.S. was "urgently seeking additional information on exactly what took place," and not all the facts are known. Washington would be "pressing for answers," he said.

Spain's foreign minister commented on the "urgency of a ceasefire," calling the deadly attack "unacceptable."

EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell expressed horror at "yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid."

"Disregard For Palestinian Blood"

Saudi Arabia again "strongly condemned" what they call a "targeting" of unarmed civilians, while Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also issued useless condemnations.

And last but certainly not least, Qatar warned that Israel's "disregard for Palestinian blood ... [will] pave the way for an expanding cycle of violence."

The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 30,000, mainly of whom are women and children.
Nearly five years have passed since Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos went missing. Michelle Troconis was found guilty Friday of conspiring to murder the mother of five.

She was again found guilty of one count of hindering prosecution, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

How Did It All Unfold?

Troconis was in a relationship with Jennifer's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, at the time she went missing. Dulos was charged with his wife's murder but died by an apparent suicide in January 2020 before facing justice.

Troconis has maintained her innocence from the beginning and pleaded not guilty to all charges against her.

According to CNN, Jennifer Dulos was last seen in May 2019 after dropping her children off at school. Friends reported her missing when they hadn't heard from her in over 10 hours. CNN noted Jennifer and her husband were in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle.

Despite her body never being found, Jennifer was officially pronounced dead through a declaration of death by a Connecticut judge in October 2023.

According to court documents and the state's chief medical examiner, she allegedly suffered a combination of "traumatic, blunt-force injuries."

ABC News reported that at Troconis' trial, the jury viewed the interrogation video where Troconis admitted to lying about seeing Fotis Dulos at their home on the morning Jennifer vanished.

"I have no idea where Jennifer is, and that's 100%," Troconis said in the interrogation video, according to WTNH. "I just know that I went as the stupid girlfriend to help him out, because he told me, 'Come and clean the house,' and I did."

"[Fotis Dulos] told me Jennifer is a monster," Tronocis said in the interrogation video, according to WTNH. "He hated her."

Police also testified the surveillance footage showed Dulos driving with Troconis in the passenger seat on the same day Jennifer went missing in Hartford, CT. Foulis allegedly made multiple stops to discard evidence in trash cans along the way.

The jury was shown zip ties, gloves, and stained clothing that were pulled from the trash cans, prosecutors said.

Troconis' defense attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, claims his client never denied being in the car with her boyfriend but denies having any involvement or knowledge of the crimes Dulos committed.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Michelle Manning made sure to highlight to the jury the garage where investigators believe Fotis Dulos killed his wife and where the blood-soaked items were thrown in the trash.

"There's blood spatter throughout the garage, throughout the undercarriage of two cars, footprints and swipes of blood," Manning said. "Her blood-soaked shirt and bra were thrown out ... along with zip ties, sponges, and duct tape. Make no mistake: This was a deliberate, intentional murder."

"Jennifer is dead. And Fotis and Michelle Troconis intended that to happen. They agreed to work together to make it happen," Manning said. "This trial is very simple: It's about a conspiracy and a cover-up. It's about Michelle Troconis' actions and about how she and Fotis Dulos conspired together to murder the woman who was standing in their way. It's about the frustration of Fotis Dulos not seeing his kids ... and every time those kids came around, Michelle Troconis had to leave her home ... and we know she was sick of it."

"The frustration turned to anger and hatred," Manning told the jurors. "Listen to her own words in the [police] interviews -- how she describes Jennifer -- someone she has never met. She describes her as manipulating, angry, toxic."

Schoenhorn defended his client in closing arguments, saying "Whatever Fotis Dulos' role was in the disappearance -- and I'll say the likely death of Jennifer Dulos -- Michelle Troconis did not know. She did not know that Fotis Dulos planned to harm her."

After the guilty verdict was read Friday, the judge set Troconis' bond at $6 million cash surety. She was granted additional conditions requested by the state, including house arrest, electronic monitoring, and surrendering her passport.

Troconis' sentencing is set for May 31.
A ruling on Feb. 16 by the Republican-majority Alabama Supreme Court to consider frozen embryos created through IVF to be children under state law has unexpectedly made in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a top concerning issue in campaigns for upcoming elections.

The ruling also highlights the importance of state institutions, such as state supreme courts, that are expected to play a major role in this year's elections.

Decisions by states' highest courts have become significantly critical in the two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a constitutional right to abortion.

Campaigns for state supreme court seats are likely to be the most expensive and bitterly contested races on the ballot, according to The Associated Press.

"This is where the action is," said Jessie Hill, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland.

"Many people may not have realized that state supreme courts can decide on these kinds of issues that have such a direct impact on their everyday lives," Hill said. "But this Alabama ruling is a reminder that these courts hold so much power, especially now, over people's rights."

Why Do State Supreme Courts Matter?

State courts are heavily involved in the process of bringing statewide citizen initiatives to the ballot forefront. They often proceed over the technical requirements of petitions and the signature-gathering process.

This year, they are sure to play a crucial and pivotal role as reproductive rights groups seek to incorporate guidelines to help protect abortion.

State supreme courts are expected to rule on such measures planned in Florida, Missouri, and Nevada.

Activists also look to integrate abortion rights on the ballot in Arizona, where Republican governors have appointed all seven of the Supreme Court justices.

"In many cases, state supreme courts have a lot of power to shut down direct democracy by preventing a question from getting on the ballot," said Brian Fitzpatrick, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School.

According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 30 state supreme courts have decided cases challenging abortion restrictions under their state constitutions. Twelve have recognized protections for abortion rights, and four have denied their state constitutions protect abortion rights.
Located in the island's charming Sunset Town, the Amalfi Coastinspired resort is set to evoke the imagination, embrace the romance of travel and ignite a sense of wonder.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) announces the opening of La Festa Phu Quoc, Curio Collection by Hilton, the first Curio Collection by Hilton property in Vietnam. As part of a global collection of individually remarkable hotels in sought-after destinations around the world, each hotel evokes a bespoke story through distinctive architecture and design, world-class food and beverage offerings and curated experiences, and La Festa Phu Quoc has its own enchanting story to tell.

An enduring narrative weaves through every aspect of the resort's design story. Inspired by a romantic encounter of a young couple who met on the island and travelled the world together pursuing an artist's life, La Festa Phu Quoc is a vibrant curation of the couple's experiences in the coastal town of Amalfi, Italy, and a reflection of Phu Quoc's distinctive culture and people. Every corner of the resort exudes an air of refined adventure, with breathtaking architecture that mirrors the charm of the renowned Italian coastline, and delightful nooks that celebrate a captivating mosaic of colours.

Overlooking a stunning beach with spectacular sunset views, the resort is a stone's throw away from popular attractions including the Hon Thom Cable Car, Kiss of The Sea Show and Kiss Bridge, and is a 25 minute-drive from the airport.

With a total of 197 rooms and suites, La Festa Phu Quoc reimagines the beauty and sun-kissed landscapes of Italian coastal towns with carefully crafted interiors and a bright, warm colour palette to create visually stunning aesthetics. Room amenities include 19-69 Capri bath products, which draws inspiration from Villa Malaparte in Italy and the classic 1963 film Le Mepris.

Guests can indulge in la dolce vita or the sweet life at MARE, which serves elevated Italian cuisine with the rich flavours of the Mediterranean. The palazzo-inspired lobby bar IL SALONE calls for a standstill in time, where Italian espressos and traditional pastries encourage guests to stop for a moment and embrace dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing. The striking lobby bar reflects the lively ambience of an Italian salon, with a reflective ceiling finish mirroring the grandeur of a beautiful piano, and floor tiles that whimsically depict a keyboard. The MERCHANT features an extensive all-day dining experience with seasonal ingredients sourced from both near and far. At LA CAPRI BEACH CLUB, opening in April 2024, stylish designs evoke joyful spirits while music and lively conversation drift through the air as guests relax under glowing sunlight.

La Festa Phu Quoc offers an extensive array of facilities, inviting all to bask in the lively and free-spirited nature of the property. Guests can enjoy sun-soaked days by the outdoor pool or restore their spirits with uplifting aromas both familiar and intriguing at the award-winning eforea spa. Drawing inspiration from the stunning Amalfi beaches and Phu Quoc's scenic hills adorned with the island's famed sim flowers, La Festa Phu Quoc's spa enclave offers therapeutic treatments and massages that intimately connect with nature and provide a holistic experience that soothes the body, mind, and soul. Specially designed for couples to indulge in treatments together, the 'Joy for Two' treatment offers a shared experience that enhances relaxation in a private and serene environment. Meanwhile, little ones will be thoroughly entertained at the Kids' Club, a playground for young ones that draws design inspiration from the iconic lemons of Amalfi.

La Festa Phu Quoc is part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 22 distinct hotel brands. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, including an exclusive member discount and free standard Wi-Fi. Members also enjoy popular digital tools available exclusively through the industry-leading Hilton Honors mobile app.

Hotel website
Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez (Asis) joined the Cornell Nolan School in July 2020, after spending seven years at the University of Notre Dame and almost 20 years at Harvard Business School. In his research and consulting activities, Asis focuses on the design of customer centric organizations for performance. In current projects Asis is exploring how firms may combine AI with employee wisdom to improve decision outcomes, how to design incentive systems to leverage the leadership style of middle managers, or how to promote initiatives that shape a companys culture. At the Nolan School, Asis teaches courses on strategy implementation, performance measurement, and managerial accounting, and he is currently developing a course on casino strategy. A native of Alicante, Spain, Asis earned his undergraduate degrees in Law and Business Administration at ICADE-Madrid, his MBA from Harvard Business School, and his Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University. His professional experience includes working for La Suisse Assurances in Lausanne, Switzerland, and consulting for McKinsey & Co. in Europe and Latin America. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of E.D. Bullard and Asclepii, and consults firms throughout Europe and the Americas. In 2005, Asis received the HBS-MBA Class Award for Teaching Excellence, the Jim Bulloch Award for Innovation in Management Accounting Education in 2010, the top teaching awards at the Mendoza College of Business in 2016, 2017, and 2020, teaching awards at the Nolan School of Hotel Administration in 2023, and the Notable Contribution Award to the Management Accounting Literature in 2019. Asis enjoys the company of his lovely wife, Maria Jose, and often escapes to New York city to visit his daughters, Victoria and Aitana.
Sincere Hospitality, a groundbreaking initiative poised to revolutionize the hospitality industry, proudly announces its official launch. Founded as a strategic partnership between Door Capital and Athos Property Group, Sincere Hospitality embodies principles of trust, collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to a people-centric approach. Led by distinguished industry leaders Danielle Schneider, Brian Monte, and Jerry Carreno, the company sets out to shape the future of hospitality through innovation and genuine connection.

Key Highlights of Sincere Hospitality's Launch:

Founding Partnership: Sincere Hospitality emerges as a visionary collaboration between Door Capital and Athos Property Group, two teams united by a shared vision for the future of hospitality. This strategic partnership sets the stage for transformative initiatives aimed at elevating the guest experience and fostering meaningful connections between travelers and hosts.

People-Centric Approach: Central to Sincere Hospitality's mission is a steadfast commitment to prioritizing people above all else. Embracing fresh perspectives and a collaborative ethos, the company seeks to create an inclusive environment where every individual feels valued and understood. This people-centric approach underpins every aspect of Sincere Hospitality's operations, from guest interactions to partner relationships.

Innovation and Collaboration: Sincere Hospitality is committed to shaping the future of hospitality through innovation and collaboration. By embracing emerging technologies and fostering partnerships with like-minded organizations, the company aims to stay at the forefront of industry trends and deliver unparalleled experiences to guests and hosts alike.

Distinguished Leadership: At the helm of Sincere Hospitality are industry veterans Danielle Schneider, Brian Monte, and Jerry Carreno. With decades of combined experience and a shared passion for hospitality, the founding team brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the company's mission of redefining personalized travel experiences.

At Sincere Hospitality, we believe in the power of genuine connections and authentic experiences. This partnership between Door Capital and Athos Property Group enables us to realize this vision and shape the future of hospitality together. Danielle Schneider, Co-Founder and CEO of Athos Property Group

This partnership is key and aligns us to fulfill our mission of reimagined and enhanced hospitality. We want to change the hotel scene, from our housekeeping ninjas to our culinary wizards and front desk superstars, we want to turn a building into a home, and a stay into a genuine experience. Jerry Carreno, COO of Door Capital and Managing Partner of Sincere Hospitality

Our new venture, Sincere Hospitality, is poised for great accomplishments in the industry. The team we have assembled is truly second to none and will only get better as we grow. Hospitality is a people-business, and our people are exceptional. Our partners, clients and guests all stand to benefit from this unique partnership. Brian Monte, Managing Partner of Sincere Hospitality

Join us in celebrating the launch of Sincere Hospitality and embark on a journey where every moment is infused with sincerity, empathy, and genuine hospitality.

About Sincere Hospitality

Sincere Hospitality is a pioneering initiative dedicated to redefining personalized travel experiences. Founded as a partnership between Door Capital and Athos Property Group, Sincere Hospitality empowers travelers to connect with hosts authentically, fostering genuine interactions and unforgettable adventures. Visit SincereHospitality.com to learn more about our mission and values.

Edgar Gonzalez

Director of HR

956-771-5493

Sincere Hospitality
Airbnb welcomes the European Parliament vote on a new EU short-term rental regulation that will make rules more clear, simple and easy to follow, while giving authorities access to the information they need to enforce fair and proportionate rules.

New EU-wide rules are a watershed moment for Airbnb and our industry. For the last two years Airbnb has called for an EU-wide approach to short-term rental rules that will help make regulations more consistent across the bloc. Platforms and authorities will have clear guidance on how to share data and it should become simpler for Hosts to register with their local authority and adhere to proportionate rules. Airbnbs priority is to expand our work with cities and governments to support the families who host and help tackle local concerns such as housing.

EU rules mark the beginning of a new chapter for short-term rentals in Europe. For the first time the rules of the road are clear, benefiting Hosts, authorities and Europes tourism offer to visitors. We stand ready to work with Member States and their local authorities on the implementation of the rules to ensure they are a success for everyone. Georgina Browes, Head of EU Policy at Airbnb

Authorities and platforms will have 24 months to comply with new EU short-term rental rules, once they enter into force. Airbnb is already collaborating with the EU and Member States on the technical tools for new data-sharing frameworks and to ensure these systems are as harmonized and as efficient as possible for all.

Short-term rental hosts  like the ones hosting on Airbnb  provide Europeans with a flexible way to boost their income, and an authentic way to travel with affordable options. They make up nearly one-quarter of all EU tourist accommodation supply1 and the EU is home to more Hosts on Airbnb than anywhere else in the world.2 Last year, these Hosts welcomed more guests from within Europe than any other region. In fact, there were nearly ten times as many guests arriving from within Europe than the next closest region which was North America.3

The vast majority of Hosts share one listing and the typical EU Host earned nearly 4,000 in 2023.4 For many Hosts, the income they earn on Airbnb provides a vital economic lifeline:5

Nearly half of EU Hosts (41%) said they host on Airbnb to make ends meet. Nearly two-thirds (62%) said they plan to use the income from hosting to cover the rising cost of living.

A third of Hosts (33%) said the current economic climate was motivating them to host more.

Whilst more than half of Hosts (54%) said they used the income to finance home improvements.

More than half of Hosts (57%) said they shared their home whilst they were traveling for work or on vacation, whilst around a quarter (24%) sought to make the most of events taking place in their local area.

Nearly a fifth of Hosts (18%) said they work in either health and social care, education or public service and 56% of Hosts said they are women.

1. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_6493

2. Airbnb internal data

3. Airbnb internal data for 2023

4. All hosts and listings that were active on the site at some point in the 12 month period ended December 31, 2023; typical refers to the median.

5. According to an ongoing Airbnb survey of EU Hosts.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed over 1.5 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.

About Airbnb.org

Airbnb.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating temporary stays for people in times of crisis around the world. Airbnb.org operates independently and leverages Airbnb, Inc.'s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org's charitable purpose. The inspiration for Airbnb.org began in 2012 with a single host named Shell who opened up her home to people impacted by Hurricane Sandy. This sparked a movement and marked the beginning of a program that allows Hosts on Airbnb to provide stays for people in times of need. Since then, the program has evolved to focus on emergency response and to help provide stays to evacuees, relief workers, refugees, asylum seekers, and frontline workers fighting the spread of COVID-19. Since then, Hosts have offered to open up their homes and helped provide accommodations to 100,000 people in times of need. Airbnb.org is a separate and independent entity from Airbnb, Inc. Airbnb, Inc. does not charge service fees for Airbnb.org supported stays on its platform.

Airbnb Press

Airbnb Press Office

Airbnb
Hot on the heels of opening 10 hotels last year, including its first properties in Greece, Japan, and Nepal, Dusits expansion continues apace. Two new luxury brands, new destinations, and a returning landmark ensure the distinctive Dusit experiences just keep coming.

Bangkok - Dusit Hotels and Resorts, the hotel arm of Dusit International, one of Thailands leading hotel and property development companies, is poised to make a triumphant return to ITB Berlin from March 5 to 7, showcasing an impressive array of new destinations, innovative brands, and the much-anticipated reopening of its iconic flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel  coming this September.

Led by Gilles Cretallaz, Chief Operating Officer, Dusit International, the Dusit team will present a comprehensive overview of Dusit Hotels and Resorts worldwide, highlighting Dusits group-wide commitment to personalised and gracious service, unique connections with local communities, holistic well-being experiences extending beyond traditional spa offerings, and dedication to social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In addition to these key pillars, attendees can expect insights into the latest additions to the Dusit family.

Last years notable international openings being showcased include the boutique Dusit Suites Athens, Greece, Dusits first hotel in Europe; Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi, a unique hybrid property; the lifestyle-oriented ASAI Kyoto Shijo and luxurious Dusit Thani Kyoto, both marking Dusits arrival in Japan; and the breathtaking Dusit Thani Himalayan Resort Dhulikhel and contemporary Dusit Princess Kathmandu, Dusits first entries into Nepal.

Dusit will also showcase exciting new additions in Thailand, including ASAI Bangkok Sathorn, the second property in the capital under Dusits affordable lifestyle brand catering to millennial-minded travellers; the upscale dusitD2 Samyan Bangkok, the first dusitD2-branded hotel in the city; and Dusit Princess Phatthalung, a beautiful resort in southern Thailand, bringing Dusit's domestic property count to 18.

The Dusit team will also unveil their expected 2024 openings, comprising approximately 10 new hotels in existing Dusit destinations such as China, the Maldives, Vietnam, and Japan, as well as new markets such as Malaysia and India.

Visitors to ITB Berlin will also have the opportunity to learn more about Dusits two new brands in the luxury segment: Dusit Collection and Devarana  Dusit Retreats.

Building on the strength of Dusit's existing portfolio, which encompasses Dusit Thani (luxury), Dusit Suites (upper upscale), dusitD2 (upscale), Dusit Princess (upper midscale), ASAI Hotels (midscale lifestyle), and Elite Havens (luxury villa rentals), the new brands extend Dusit's reach across the lodging spectrum to deliver fresh and immersive experiences for guests.

Serving as a soft brand that can be applied to distinctive, standalone properties with unique stories to tell, Dusit Collection directly taps into rising global demand for unique and authentic travel experiences and represents a sophisticated and personalised approach to property development, service, and guest engagement.

Devarana  Dusit Retreats, meanwhile, is a reimagining of Dusits former luxury brand, Devarana, which has been enhanced to deliver enriching and transformational stay experiences in the ultra-luxury segment.

Another exciting reimagining being introduced at ITB Berlin is the grand return of Dusits flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel, which will officially make its grand return this September (with bookings available from May).

Situated in the same prime location as the original property, which graced the Bangkok skyline from 1970  2019, this highly anticipated, reimagined version of Dusits luxury flagship hotel promises to deliver a fresh take on its predecessors esteemed heritage and once again stand as a beacon of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality for discerning travellers from all around the world. Alongside 257 spacious deluxe rooms and elegant suites, all facing the green expanse of Lumpini Park, the new property will feature one of the citys largest ballrooms, several exciting food and beverage outlets, and a unique urban sanctuary wellness concept.

Dusits team at ITB Berlin will also highlight special campaigns and promotions that tie in with Dusit Internationals 75th anniversary, coming this May. They will also highlight opportunities in Dusit Hospitality Education, Dusits renowned hospitality education arm that includes Dusit Thani College, Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School, and The Food School, as well as Dusits fast-growing food division, Dusit Foods.

ITB Berlin offers a valuable platform for us to share our vision for the future of our unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality, said Cretallaz. With our expanding portfolio and innovative brand offerings, we continue to redefine luxury experiences worldwide. The return of the iconic Dusit Thani Bangkok, after gracing Bangkok's skyline for nearly five decades, marks a significant event in the hospitality landscape and an exciting new chapter for Dusit overall. We're excited to unveil the exceptional reimagined offerings of this legendary hotel and the many meaningful and memorable experiences available at Dusit Hotels and Resorts worldwide.

Dusits portfolio now includes 299 properties operating across 18 countries, including 56 properties operating under Dusit Hotels and Resorts and 243 luxury villas under Elite Havens, the leading provider of luxury villa rentals in Asia, which Dusit acquired in September 2018.

For further information, please visit Dusit Hotels and Resorts at ITB Berlin, Hall 26b, Stand 221, or www.dusit.com.

About Dusit Hotels and Resorts

Dusit Hotels and Resorts is the hotel arm of Dusit International, one of Thailand's leading hotel and property development companies. With a heartfelt belief and commitment to introducing Thai-inspired gracious hospitality to the world, Dusit Hotels and Resorts offers guests a uniquely special stay in high-style surroundings and a personalised approach to service. The group's portfolio of hotels, resorts and luxury villas includes more than 300 properties operating under a total of eight brands (Devarana  Dusit Retreats, Dusit Thani, Dusit Suites, Dusit Collection, dusitD2, Dusit Princess, ASAI Hotels, and Elite Havens) across 18 countries worldwide.

For more information, please visit dusit.com

About Dusit International

Established in 1948, Dusit International or Dusit Thani Public Company Limited (DUSIT) is a leading hospitality group listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Its operations comprise five distinct yet complementary business units: Dusit Hotels and Resorts, Dusit Hospitality Education, Dusit Foods, Dusit Estate, and Hospitality-Related Services.

Dusit International's diversified investments in real estate development, hospitality-related services, and the food sector are part of its long-term strategy for sustainable growth, which focuses on three key areas: balance, expansion and diversification.

For more information, please visit dusit-international.com

Sureerat Sudpairak

Corporate Manager  Public Relations

+66 (0) 2200 9999 ext. 3321

Dusit
While global hotel revenue per available room (RevPAR) remains elevated, surpassing 2019 levels by 11.7% through the first eleven months of 2023, performance has begun to normalize as some leisure travel contracts. Stabilization has weighed heaviest in resort markets, predominantly in the Americas and EMEA, with Asia Pacific continuing to accelerate as intraregional travel grows following border reopenings. Global urban market performance is strengthening, propelled by a surge in international travel and the return of business and group demand. Markets like London, New York and Tokyo are expected to lead global RevPAR performance in 2024 as travelers continue to return to cities.

RevPAR recovery by region

 Source: JLL

Driven by strong international and intraregional travel, EMEA leads all regions in RevPAR growth relative to 2019. While demand has begun to normalize across some resort-heavy markets, urban performance has skyrocketed, with many cities in Western Europe and the Middle East producing historically high RevPAR. Americas hotel performance also remains above 2019 levels, but RevPAR has begun to stabilize amid declining consumer travel spending. This has primarily impacted resort markets which rely heavily on leisure travel. By contrast, urban travel demand is expanding, pushed by group, corporate and inbound international travel. Intraregional tourism within Asia Pacific surged through 2023, resulting in RevPAR reaching a 94% recovery relative to 2019. The removal of Chinas group travel ban is providing an additional boost, particularly to Australia and Japan.

Future trends: Surging international travel to drive urban hotel performance and fuel liquidity

Outlook for 2024: Following the removal of all post-pandemic restrictions, global international travel surged in 2023, reaching 87% of 2019 levels. The effect on urban hotel demand cannot be understated as historically there has been a 90% correlation between inbound foreign arrivals and urban hotel occupancy, with the greatest impact in gateway markets such as London, New York and Tokyo. As we head into 2024, we expect international travel to accelerate further, with Europe likely the largest beneficiary as it prepares for the Summer Olympics in Paris and Taylor Swift takes her Eras Tour to the UK and Western Europe. This pickup in travel should also fuel global hotel liquidity. Foreign capital, which has been largely absent since the onset of Covid, is anticipated to be increasingly active over the next 12 months. Middle Eastern and Asian investors will likely be the most acquisitive, with urban markets in Europe and select U.S. cities the largest beneficiaries of capital.

Long-term: With 1,350 global hotel brands to choose from, investors must be increasingly discerning in the brand they choose to acquire; they are now buying into an entire ecosystem as traditional hotel brands expand into adjacent verticals with the goal of capturing the entire travel journey and solidifying an indelible sense of loyalty. Branded residences, private membership clubs and even yachts have become more and more integrated into traditional hotel brands portfolios, creating new opportunities for investment. As global hotel development slows amid rising construction costs, brand platform acquisitions are expected to drive shareholder value and become a major focus for investors over the long term. Brands in the luxury and lifestyle space are likely to garner the most investor interest, such as PIFs recent US$1.2 billion investment into Rocco Forte hotels.

About JLL

For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy, manage and invest in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and retail properties. A Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $20.9 billion and operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than 103,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAYSM. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.

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Call for Rising Leaders Council members

HSMAI is committed to supporting the future generation of industry leaders. HSMAI Europe is expanding the Rising Leader Council. This council functions as a platform for professional development and advocacy, uniting ambitious young leaders and professionals from diverse roles and disciplines and helping them to continue their development.

The Council provides a unique opportunity for emerging professionals to advance their skill sets, network with peers, and contribute to HSMAI and the industry via their insights, feedback, and thought leadership. We are looking for candidates who are committed to further developing themselves and who also take pleasure in seeing others grow.

To be eligible, a candidate must:

Be an emerging leader in their field of expertise (is not restricted to people managers)

Be 35 years of age or younger (as of December 31, 2024)

Have a minimum of three years in a hospitality sales, marketing, and/or revenue optimization or management position

Be currently employed full time in a hospitality sales, marketing, and/or revenue optimization position or management position

Maintain a current membership in HSMAI

Commit to serving on the council for a two-year term

Participate in one-hour virtual meetings several times per year (schedule to be determined by members of the council)

Make every effort to attend a minimum of one-day face-to-face retreat each year (held in conjunction with HSMAI Europe ROC Conference in London).

The Rising Leaders Council comprises different types of leaders with different backgrounds who have excelled in their roles. Some prefer to work at corporate level, whilst others may wish to use the combination of their skills and experiences as General Managers or in other leadership roles. Whatever their chosen paths, we must continue to motivate them so they will remain in our industry.

For more information on the Rising Leaders Council, you can reach out to us at [email protected]. If you wish to apply or you want one of your ambitious young leaders to participate in this program, please apply using this form.

Connecting Future Leaders events

Young professionals, 35 years or younger, in the hotel-, event- and travel industry are gathering through a series of local events called Connecting Future Leaders by HSMAI Europe. Connecting Future Leaders is a professional and social meeting point for the exchange of experience and networking in the hotel and travel industry.

Are you interested to find out more about this? Join us as our guest at one the following Connect Future Leaders events where you also will meet representatives from the Rising Leader Council. Read more and sign up for the events here:

Berlin, March 4th  6-9 pm

Oslo, March 14th  6-9pm

London, April 25th  6-9 pm

Dates for other cities will be announced soon. Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen are on the list and more to come.

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PIF subsidiary Boutique Group will highlight portfolio of historical and cultural palaces in Saudi Arabia being developed into ultra-luxury hotels, including German architect Frei Ottos Tuwaiq Palace

The group will share its unique approach to hospitality, centred on authentic and unique experiences for modern luxury travellers from all over the world

ITB Berlin, the worlds leading travel trade show, expects over 90,000 attendees and more than 5,500 exhibitors representing 180 countries and regions

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Boutique Group, the pioneering ultra-luxury hospitality group in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is pleased to announce its participation at ITB Berlin, the worlds leading travel trade show. This prestigious event, scheduled for March 5-7, serves as the perfect platform for Boutique Group to showcase its commitment to preserving Saudi Arabias rich heritage while redefining the luxury hospitality experience.

Boutique Group is attending ITB Berlin as part of the Saudi Tourism Authoritys delegation, which was named 'best exhibitor' in the Best of the Best category among 5,500 exhibitors from 161 countries at the 2023 edition.

This year, the group will be connecting with more than 90,000 visitors representing 180 countries and regions to showcase its portfolio of historic and cultural palaces, being transformed into ultra-luxury hotels. Each palace tells a unique story, from the iconic Red Palace, the first concrete building in the region that once housed King Saud bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, to the Aga Khan Award-winning Tuwaiq Palace designed by esteemed German architect Frei Otto, and Buro Happold and Omrania. Additionally, guests will learn about the renowned Al Hamra Palace in Jeddah, built as a royal palace for King Faisal bin Abdulaziz initially, it later served as a guest palace.

Marco Franck, Chief Hospitality Officer will be representing Boutique Group at the event. Boutique Group is pleased to participate in ITB Berlin, showcasing the unparalleled hospitality experiences we are creating in the kingdom. Our presence at this event alongside the Saudi Tourism Authority underscores our commitment to promoting Saudi Arabias rich cultural heritage.

We invite attendees to join us at ITB Berlin to discover the unique blend of tradition and modernity that defines Boutique Groups luxury hospitality offering. As Saudi Arabia opens its doors to the world, we are proud to be at the forefront, showcasing the best the kingdom has to offer. From a personal standpoint, this represents an opportunity to build upon the remarkable experiences that have connected me to Saudi Arabia's remarkable transformation into a premier luxury tourism destination, said Franck

Owned by Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund, Boutique Group supports the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture objective to develop and promote the industry, estimated to grow to $6 trillion of investment opportunities by 2030.

Visitors to Boutique Groups booth at ITB Berlin can expect to learn about the groups dedication to responsible and sustainable luxury tourism, talent development and the Kingdoms ambitious plans for economic diversification.

With a focus on luxury, authenticity and personalised service, Boutique Group aims to captivate the global travel community and invite discerning travellers to experience the beauty and hospitality of Saudi Arabia.

Boutique Group looks forward to welcoming visitors and industry partners at ITB Berlin, where they can explore the exquisite charm of Saudi Arabias cultural heritage through the lens of luxury hospitality.

For more information about Boutique Group, visit boutiquegroup.com .

About Boutique Group

Boutique Group is a hospitality company wholly owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The group aims to develop, manage and operate historical and cultural palaces in the Kingdom and transform them into ultra- luxury boutique hotels to revive the vibrant national heritage with the authentic culture of the Kingdom, and provide an exceptional and unique hospitality experience. In addition, the group translates the commitment of the PIF to developing promising sectors in the Kingdom and contributing to the diversification of the Saudi economy.

Website: https://boutiquegroup.com

Social media: @BoutiqueGroupSA
The global luxury travel market is huge, not in the number of guests with substantial buying power but the astonishing level of buying power that these luxury travellers have. The good news for hoteliers targeting those top 5% of guests is that they seem to spending more every year. The global Luxury tourism market had an estimated total revenue of USD 1,308.15 billion in 2022, and is projected to be worth USD 3,023.78 billion by 2032.

Aside from these travellers being prepared to spend up to $3000 per night, with the average landing at a comfortable $500 per night according to a Bloomberg MLIV Pulse Survey, they are also taking more than double the number of trips that your regular traveller may take. A study by Resonance found that the top five per cent take 14.3 trips per year (half for business and half for leisure, totalling an average of 29 days per year). U.S. travellers overall take an average of 4.8 trips.

One of the biggest benefits of appealing to the luxury market is that while the rest of the world may be affected financially by global events (e.g. covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine War and the cost of living crisis) these most affluent travellers have the wealth to continue to spend despite global economic turmoil.

How do you attract this small but lucrative target segment to your property?

STEP 1: KNOW WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO

The luxury travel industry is fairly complex, with different demographic groups looking for different experiences from their luxury holiday. While they all have significant buying power, marketing to the different guest segments would look quite different.

By age group, the market is segregated into Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation. Depending on the degree of wealth these types of luxury travellers will spend on travel, products are further segmented into absolute luxury, aspiring luxury and accessible luxury. The absolute luxury segment spends the most and most frequently. However, targeting aspiring and accessible luxury travellers could lead to a significant boost in your bottom line, as they are still frequent travellers who are looking for exceptional experiences in their next destination.

Millennials & Aspiring Luxury

One significant luxury demographic group are the Millennials, these are travellers between the ages of 28-43 who were born into the age of technology and use it to their advantage. They generally seem to be more active than the Baby Boomers and also seek unique experiences and culturally immersive trips over predictable luxury hotel stays.

These travellers tend to seek authenticity and want to become involved in the day-to-day living of the location they are visiting. They are also looking for the most Instagrammable location for their vacation, to be able to share it with friends and family on their social media platforms. While Millennials encompass a large part of the luxury travel market, according to a report by Allied Market Research, Millennials spend $527 a day on a trip which is 62% less than their older counterparts.

In line with the findings from the Allied Market Research report, many of the Millennial travellers are often classified as aspiring luxury and newly rich travellers. These moderately wealthy individuals value travel and are willing to part with significant amounts of their disposable income for travel. On average, they take five business and leisure trips annually, which are generally shorter luxury breaks, in comparison to their older counterparts, due to financial constraints.

Baby Boomers and Absolute Luxury

While there is still significant wealth attributed to the aspiring and accessible luxury travel market there is not much that can compare to the affluence of a small percentage of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). However, if you are catering to these guests you will know that they demand opulence, exclusivity, careful curation and innovation. They expect private yachts to remote locations, gastronomic journeys through foreign countries and a private butler to see to their every need.

Considering that 20% of over 65s in the UK are HNWIs, and that Baby Boomers control about half of the wealth in the United States (while only accounting for 20% of the population), its not surprising that Baby Boomers had the highest share of the Luxury travel market in 2022 at about 41.57%.

These guests are often retired or soon to retire and have the disposable income and time to take extended luxury vacations, and they are generally seasoned travellers and know exactly what they expect from their next holiday. These travellers also have the means to employ someone else to do their research and running around, and they do. When it comes to booking, they often seek the advice of travel agents rather than going it alone online  85% of luxury travellers told Deloitte that the best way to book personalised luxury travel was through a travel advisor.

STEP 2: KEEP UP TO DATE WITH LUXURY TRAVEL TRENDS

No matter which luxury segment you are marketing to, there are some clear trends across the luxury travel market. One of which is the significant change in consumer behaviour from seeking material possessions to spending disposable income on unique experiences.

In 2022, luxury travel took on a new perspective, prioritizing experiences over material possessions. Travellers sought personalized and customized journeys, while also embracing sustainability and responsible travel practices. Global Data

Many of these travel trends are not exclusive to luxury travellers, but when done on a luxury budget many of these trends translate into something a lot more enticing and lucrative for property owners.

Barefoot Luxury

Barefoot luxury can be defined as experiencing comfort, sophistication and luxury in a laid-back environment. Traditional luxury often requires some input from the guest  they have to look, dress and act the part of the luxury tourist. Barefoot luxury gives the guest space to truly relax and quite literally let her hair down, while still being treated like a VIP.

Its all about embracing comfort and encouraging guests to experience your surroundings while at the same time providing an excellent, exclusive and luxurious experience. Over the years, barefoot luxury has come to be associated with nature and local experiences together with comfort, making it a possibility regardless of where you find yourself. Barefoot luxury requires careful planning to ensure the right balance between authenticity and comfort.

Andrea Britt, the co-founder at Secret Getaway summarised it perfectly in an article for IOL Barefoot luxury isnt about being cheap, it is about the immersive experience that guests get to enjoy. These experiences are well out and different to what many have experienced before, she explained.

Safari and adventure travel  the stereotypical barefoot luxury holiday  was the single largest luxury travel segment in 2022, accounting for 34.2% of market share and a revenue of USD 461.65 billion. Other variations on the barefoot luxury theme, such as wellness retreats, are also increasing in popularity.

Multigenerational Travel & Grand Gatherings

Another two travel trends which have leaked into the luxury travel market include the increase in multigenerational family holidays and the newer concept of Grand Gatherings. Grand Gatherings refer to a large group of travellers who travel together for a special event or function. These groups may be somewhat related, for example, several family units travelling together to create a gathering.

Around 40% of the top five per cent of earners planned to take a multigenerational trip in the next year, according to an Altiant survey, and Jack Ezon, founder of Embark Beyond, a luxury travel group focussing on Ultra-HNWIs, told Forbes: Multigenerational travel is still the biggest growth area for us, and has been consistently growing for years. In 2019 multigen experiences grew by 22% and now account for 32% of our transactions and 43% of our overall revenue .

In line with the continuous growth of multi-generational and group gathering demand, villa vacations continue to grow with the greatest growth in what we call the mega-villa segment. Families still account for the lion's share of villa sales with about 60% of villa requests. However, a huge emerging market segment accounts for almost 30% of villa demand, and that is small gatherings of non-family constituents. This is one of the most important market phenomena that has emerged from Covid. Embark Travel Trends 2023 report

Sustainability

Sustainability is a hot topic in all industries, from the revolt against using single-use plastics to increasing scrutiny of the carbon output of delivery and manufacturing processes. Unsurprisingly, consumers are also looking for sustainable ways to travel.

Aside from doing your bit for the earth, you will be a more attractive option for many travellers if you have green credentials to flaunt - over 80% of respondents in a Statista survey said that sustainable travel was important to them.

A business with a focus on sustainability is a business which actively seeks out engagement with people, community and planet. EHL

This may be especially true among those who dont mind spending a little bit more to ease their conscience. Many affluent travellers want to know that their luxurious and extravagant trips are not coming at the expense of the environment and therefore many luxury travellers are searching for eco-conscious travelling. When luxury travel advisory group Virtuoso surveyed their clients, 74% of them said they were willing to pay more to travel sustainably if they know where their moneys going.

Post-pandemic sustainable travel has also come to include not only the preservation of the environment but the preservation of cultural heritage and local communities as well. This feeds back into the loop of luxury travellers looking to immersive themselves in a location, and experience all that it has to offer. The upside is that incorporating local cuisine, culturally immersive excursions and embracing the local environment means that much of the influx of wealth via travellers is dispersed into the local community.

Sustainability should therefore not simply be seen in terms of once-off changes that can be made or a problem that can be fixed. It requires a long-term commitment to being sustainable. And when sustainability is committed to, it becomes not just a feature that you can advertise to your environmentally conscious clientele, but an investment in your, and your communitys, future.

Get started going green with insights from the WTTC [interview]

Wellness tourism

Wellness is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the hospitality industry, accounting for 476.1 billion in 2022, and predicted to be worth 1.02 trillion by 2030.

Travellers across the wealth spectrum appear to agree that travel can be beneficial for mental and physical wellness, and that this is something worth spending time and money on. When they were surveyed in 2022, 44% of Booking.coms users were planning a meditation or mindfulness holiday in the coming year, and 42% wanted a break with a focus on physical or mental health.

In 2021, 88% of survey respondents told American Express they believed travel was good for mental health, and 76% said they wanted to spend more on travel that would improve their wellbeing, and 55% said they would pay more for additional wellness activities. In an Altiant survey, 61% of the top five per cent of earners said that wellness played a major role in their travel plans.

Interestingly enough wellness tourism is experiencing many cross-overs with other key luxury niches such as sustainable travel and barefoot luxury as many travellers are foregoing the commercial spas and cookie-cutter retreat centres and rather looking at doing nature immersive experiences and reconnecting with Mother Earth.

Luxury retreats that offer mountain hikes, forest bathing, and wild swimming even in cold waters adopting the Wim Hof cold therapy method, will be on the list of high-end travellers looking for a dive into the wild in 2024. Me Time Away Magazine

Bleisure/Bluxury

Bleisure travellers are those people who mix or combine travelling for business and pleasure  some do both at the same time and some go to places for business and then stay for a few days afterwards for a luxury vacation. Bluxury is a similar concept but with the addition of these business and leisure guests seeking absolute luxury.

Blesiure travel has been on the increase post-covid. With many employees working remotely or living nomadically, there is no reason to rush home after a work trip, as long as there is sufficient Wifi and other business-related amenities, remote workers are free to stay on and experience the local culture. In addition to this many employers are using travel to bring together teams who work remotely, trying to encourage team morale and communication.

Growth in commercial flight bookings exceeded leisure travel for a portion of 2022 and is now recovering in tandem with leisure travel in 2023, up 42% year-over-year-to-date change from 2022 to 2023. Mastercard Economics Institute

Staycations

A trend that was borne out of necessity during the travel restrictions of 2020, the staycation has evolved into an affordable and convenient way for travellers to get their taste of luxury. Whether they are on a tighter budget than the traditional luxury traveller or if they dont have available time to take a long trip to new destinations you can offer them the same solutions to their problems of needing a rest, feeling pampered and feeling like they are experiencing exclusive luxury and they can do that around the corner from their home.

As we have mentioned before, the luxury traveller is looking for an experience, not just a lavish hotel room. With that in mind hoteliers looking to capitalise on the staycation phenomenon need to think outside the box and create the same exclusive experiences that the luxury traveller is seeking but from a different perspective. Place focus on those elements that symbolise luxury vacation in the mind's eye of your guest. When creating your staycation package, look to include a bottle of champagne, an upgrade to a suite, or maybe a cooking class.

The idea of a staycation is to get away from day-to-day life. You need to sell your guests on the fact that they can achieve this without travelling to a faraway place. To do this, youll need to create that sense of escape within the grounds of your own hotel. Consider creating a weekly or monthly event schedule focused on movies, music, wellness, and meditation.

STEP 3: ADJUST YOUR OFFERINGS

Offer unique experiences

According to MasterCards report on Travel Industry Trends, spending on things increased a measly 12% from 2019 to 2023, while travellers spent 65% more on experiences in the same period.

Luxury travellers are looking to spend their money, and lots of it, on unique, once-in-a-lifetime and culturally immersive experiences. It's no longer about fancy hotel rooms and top-of-the-line amenities, these travellers are looking for something unique.

Luxury travellers are looking for experiences that are authentic, unique, and personal. Theyre not interested in cookie-cutter vacations or one-size-fits-all solutions. They want something that is tailored specifically for them. Katie Dillon, Editor, La Jolla Mom

This trend is not confined to the luxury travel market, in fact, according to a Booking.com study, 73% of respondents are looking forward to experiencing out of comfort zone travel that pushes them to the limit.

We can see this in action as some of the larger brands are already taking huge strides in including experiences and not just hotel rooms into their offerings, for example, Marriott launched their first fleet of The Ritz Carlton yachts during the last quarter of 2022, offering a novel way to experience hidden gems and amazing places.

In practice:

Crafting tailored packages that centre around activities and experiences can be a compelling draw card for these discerning luxury travellers seeking unique adventures.

Even if your property doesn't host these activities directly, establishing partnerships with local providers can yield mutually beneficial arrangements. Furthermore, ensuring that your website features a curated list of nearby activities and experiences, along with showcasing them creatively in guest rooms, can elevate the overall guest experience.

Equipping your staff with thorough knowledge of the local area and its offerings will also contribute to making guests feel well-cared-for and their needs catered to.

Find out more about the Barefoot Luxury travel niche

Offer authenticity and immersive guest experiences

With millennial travellers prioritising discovery and adventure, it's evident that they crave immersive experiences and authentic cultural encounters. Rather than opting for traditional luxury resorts, Millennials are drawn to unconventional experiences such as staying at a Berber camp in Morocco, dog sledging in Norway, or embarking on a helicopter ride over Victoria Falls.

Experiential, or immersive, tourism typically attracts travellers seeking in-depth physical enrichment, emotional fulfilment, spiritual awareness, intellectual nourishment, or a combination of these. Future of Luxury Travel

In practice:

Hoteliers can also strive to create an experience for potential guests online, using creative content and images to tell a story that allows potential guests to immerse themselves in the experience while they are still in the early stages of planning their travel.

Creating immersive experiences doesn't necessarily have to see the guest even leave the hotel. You can think of creative and culturally relevant fine dining experiences and sampling locally made spirits or wines. In addition, you can include novel and locally sourced amenities, such as artisanal soaps and naturally occurring flowers in the rooms.

Offer Instagrammable moments

With the rise in social media popularity and online travel influencers, the industry has seen a rise in guests looking for photographic moments to share online. This coupled with the idea of aspirational living means that many travellers are looking to go to places they've seen the rich and famous travel to, or just to one-up their social media friend circle.

According to a report written by The Olinger Group based on a survey of over 1500+ luxury travellers, 77% of them admitted to selecting vacation destination based primarily on social media.

They are also hugely impacted by online traveller reviews with 85% of the participants agreeing that they have read online reviews from review sites before booking their luxury trip.

In practice:

Making sure your hotel is Instagrammable at all times can be a tall ask, but you can start to look at consolidated review data and learn what your guests love most about your property and work to highlight those areas even more.

With social media an increasingly important channel for communicating guest preferences and recommendations, hoteliers would do well to focus on features that their guests are speaking most about  enhancing these features, without sacrificing other parts of the guest experience which lead to overall guest satisfaction and loyalty. Jonathan Barouch, Local Measure Founder and CEO

You can think about creating set photographic locations for your guests, this way you start to control the narrative as to which areas of your hotel are photographed frequently. For the guest, it also takes out the mental effort to decide where to take their photos, and can instead just concentrate on enjoying themselves.

Curating these photo-worthy scenes also creates a trend, and potential guests who have seen friends and family or even influencers photographed in a particular location will book their trips around capturing those trending shots. Giving guests novel or creative welcome packages, creative cuisine or unique room decor are just a few examples of how you can help inspire guests to snap pictures in your hotel.

You can use your hotel's social media to market your hotel to potential guests, bringing in the idea of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) marketing. Think of Instagram as an image magazine that people browse through frequently  tell them stories to captivate their interest. Share stories about your staff, guests, and locals, and let your guests feel connected to and invested in your property and your location before they have even booked with you.

Here are some practical tips for getting your hotel Instagram-worthy

Offer Hyperpersonalisation

The luxury traveller expects individual attention privacy and exclusivity. Now more than ever luxury travellers want to feel that they are the only ones around. Think private yachts, private islands, custom tours and private excursions. Often this starts with travel advisors who are there to make guests trips completely tailored and one-of-a-kind.

One of the simplest definitions of luxury goes like this: Of course I can do it myself. I dont want to. Travelers want to find somebody that really knows what theyre doing, has great connections, saves time, and has their back. Matthew Upchurch, chairman, Virtuoso

Having this ultra-personalisation even before you have embarked on your trip can set the stage for the holiday. Once the luxury traveller has decided on where to go it is important that the accommodation, excursions and added extras all exude the same level of exclusivity.

Starwood Hotels, for example, assigns personal assistants to guests who stay with them for 100 nights a year or more, and guests at The Portrait Roma hotel in Rome are invited to make use of their lifestyle team, who are on hand to personalise each guests stay and help them to explore Rome. Dont think you need to offer a personal assistant to achieve a personalised experience, however; proving personalisation is becoming easier and easier with the right technology.

In practice:

Personalisation can and should start long before a guest arrives at your hotel, and it can begin before a traveller has even decided to book with you with targeted advertising and dynamic website content, websites that adapt to the client's language and show them content based on their location or even search history.

Once you have received a booking, you should send guests a pre-stay questionnaire to ask them the questions you need to make their stays memorable. Not only can you ask them the basics (do they have any food allergies or physical special needs), but you can also ask whether they would prefer a mountain or a pool view, which floor they would like to stay on, and which brand of tea you should leave in their rooms.

Getting to know key details about your guests before they arrive gives you the opportunity to make them feel even more valued when they check in and discover everything they need is already prepared. Again this can be further enhanced by offering clients the ability to customise their in-room experience through mobile-controlled in-room technology via the use of hotel apps and in-room tablets, think of the guest being able to remotely adjust the temperature of their room before they have even stepped foot inside.

Read about five pre-stay communication techniques to help improve your guest experience

A post-stay questionnaire should be a staple in any establishment, but this questionnaire neednt just be used to improve your offerings and guest experience  information collected in your post-stay questionnaire can be added to a guest's profile so that, as he or she stays with you more frequently, you can get a fuller picture of their likes and dislikes and make their holidays more specialised and memorable, and you can make your marketing correspondence with them more relevant to their interests.

Whether targeting Baby Boomers, Millennials or any other luxury travel demographic, the key lies in offering unique, authentic, and hyper-personalised experiences that resonate with the luxury traveller's desire for exploration, authenticity, and exclusivity. Look at what your property or location has that is unique and tell your story to those potential high-end travellers, let them know what they can do, the images they can capture and how a trip to your hotel can enrich their lives.

GuestRevu helps hoteliers worldwide to listen to, learn and earn from their guests by enabling them to leverage the power of guest intelligence to build lasting loyalty and drive revenue. GuestRevu's mission is to give hoteliers tools they can use every day to develop a guest-centric culture in their hotels, enhance guest experience, optimise operations, and ultimately, to drive revenue using online surveys and reputation management. With their headquarters in the UK, GuestRevu is a TripAdvisor Platinum Review Collection Partner. For more information please visit www.guestrevu.com

Sarah Came

GuestRevu

+27 (0)87 231 0125

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Hudson, NY (12534)

Today

Rain or snow showers this morning will give way to partly cloudy skies this afternoon. High 47F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A few flurries are possible. Low 32F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
QUICK HITS: Range + Nashville + Tanya Tucker  Wavetick licensing launches  Chartmetric adds Smart Filters

Range Media Partners has added a Nashville office, and Range Music is announcing their newest signing, the legendary Tanya Tucker.

She joins their roster of country artists, writers, and producers, including Midland, Hailey Whitters, Luke Grimes, Yola, Ryan Bingham, Geoff Warburton, Russell Dickerson, Brent Cobb, Dylan Gossett, Stephen Wilson Jr., Shaboozey, Drayton Farley, and more. Range also represents Jack Harlow, Saweetie, Cordae, Pentatonix, and more.

Nashville-based industry veterans Shawn McSpadden and Will Lowery, who joined Range in 2023, will be joined in the Music City by co-founding managing partner Jack Minihan, who has relocated to Nashville from Los Angeles. Matt Graham, Range Media Partners co-founder, and Kyle Wilensky, artist manager and head of touring, will also split their time between Nashville and Los Angeles.

 Wavetick, an online music licensing marketplace, has launched its full product after a Beta phase. The company, founded by music tech entrepreneur Sharooz Raoofi offers 87.5% creator-seller sales income while also simplifying licensing.

Having already attracted some 600,000 individual sound sample downloads, the platform has no upfront cost. It enables sellers to receive instant payouts via Paypal while retaining license core rights, keeping a share in future publishing, and setting their own pricing and currency.

 Chartmetric has launched Smart Filters. The new feature transforms artist discovery workflow for Premium users, allowing them to easily scan through 10M artists across 100+ attributes. By leveraging AI and natural language processing, Smart Filtering enables users to specify filtering instructions in any language, simplifying the search process dramatically.

Bruce Houghton

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Social Media as an extension of artistry, not a disconnected facade

A strong social media presence is essential for every musician, writes veteran music marketer Melissa dEngelbronner of FUGA, but its music be an extension of the musicians artistry, not a disconnected facade.

by Melissa dEngelbronner of FUGA via Byta

Melissa is VP of Audience Strategy for Downtown-owned, b2b music distributor FUGA. She leads a team working with labels & artists to nurture and grow their audiences within the traditional media landscape, digital marketplace, and social media platforms. By creating bespoke campaigns based on FUGAs extensive data sources, Melissa is continually discovering new and innovative ways to make artists stand out against the noise.

Who are you? Where do you work?

Im Melissa dEngelbronner  VP, Audience Strategy at FUGA. Im currently based in Amsterdam.

What are you currently listening to?

Maggie Rogers  Dont Forget Me (as soon as she announced her album, it was immediately pre-ordered!)

Give us a small insight into your daily routine?

I have the privilege of spending the majority of my work days trying to bring artists music to their fans in a meaningful way, for both of them. I have a super-talented and creative team who work across digital, social & research and we (try to!) have a lot of fun brainstorming ideas and working together with labels and their artists.

Over to you, Melissa

Social Media for Artists is Imperative, Not Optional

The digital revolution has undeniably transformed how artists connect with their audience, carve out their careers, and ultimately, define their success. Social media is not just a tool for personal connection but a powerful platform for musicians to brand themselves, showcase their art, and build a community of listeners. However, so many artists, whether legacy or upcoming, hate social media with almost as much passion as they have for their art. Unwilling to accept that social media is a part of their career despite the fact its one of the multitude of tools at their disposal to help them communicate with their audience and connect on a deeper level. If youre an artist today and you dont see the point of social media, youre either creating inauthentic content or you need a reality check.

Understanding social medias intricacies, aligning it with personal interests and personality, and embracing its potential rather than viewing it as an evil burden, are essential strategies for musicians aiming to thrive in todays competitive environment. Whether they agree or not.

Branding is not just for corporations. For musicians, its about creating a unique identity that encapsulates their music, values, and story, making them recognizable and relatable to their target audience. Social media provides the canvas for this branding, offering various platforms (Instagram, Discord, TikTok, etc.) to portray their artistic vision through visuals, interactions, and content that resonates with their audience. By understanding how to leverage these platforms effectively, musicians can create an online presence that helps them either stand out against the noise or find their niche community thats willing to stand by them no matter what. Its about consistency in message, aesthetics, and the type of content shared, all of which should align with the artists music and personality.

Social media should be an extension of the musicians artistry, not a disconnected facade. The most successful artists on these platforms are those who manage to seamlessly blend their interests and personality with their music. This authenticity attracts and retains followers, creating a loyal fan base that feels a genuine connection to the artist beyond the music. Whether its sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of their creative process, engaging in causes close to their heart, or simply showcasing their daily life, musicians need to find a balance that suits their comfort level while still engaging their audience. If an artist doesnt want to showcase their personality or anything regarding their personal life, stick to your art. Lift the curtain and give fans a deeper insight into your creative process. Remember not everyone is naturally gifted at being able to create music or write lyrics so showing how you do this is fascinating for those of us who are musically inept.

Many artists view social media as a necessary evil, a time-consuming distraction from their true passion: making music. However, this perspective overlooks the immense potential social media holds for career growth, audience engagement, and artistic expression. Rather than a burden, social media should be seen as a powerful tool for storytelling, networking, and marketing. By shifting their mindset and learning how to effectively use these platforms, musicians can unlock opportunities that were previously unimaginable, from viral fame and global reach to direct fan interaction and feedback.

For musicians who dread the thought of tweeting, posting, or streaming, its crucial to understand that their aversion to social media probably stems from a lack of knowledge on how to use it effectively or from misconceptions about its value. If social media feels like a chore, its time to reassess the approach. There are countless strategies to make social media management more enjoyable and less time-consuming, such as scheduling posts, focusing on platforms that best suit your brand and voice, or even collaborating with creators and other artists to share the workload and increase visibility.

After all that, if youre a musician and you still feel that making music is the only thing you want to do, find someone talented enough to do social media for you. Someone who understands you on a deeper level and is going to make sure the content and messaging still feel authentic to yourself and your audience; otherwise fans will see straight through it and youll have no one to listen to the music youve spent so much time, emotion and effort into creating.

The reality is that social media is integral to a musicians career. Its a platform for discovery, a tool for engagement, and a means of sustaining relevance in a rapidly changing industry. Ignoring its potential can result in missed opportunities and hindered growth. Musicians should recognize the importance of meeting their fans where theyre at, embracing the digital tools at their disposal, and viewing social media not as an adversary but as an ally in their artistic journey.

Understanding social media is no longer optional for musicians; its imperative. The future of music lies in the hands of those who are willing to adapt, innovate, and engage in the digital realm.

Digital Dialogue is an interview/guest-blog series presented by Byta, and written by friends of Byta. Exploring niche, behind-the-scenes topics within the digital realm of the music ecosystem, Digital Dialogue presents readers with insights into challenges, successes and passion topics in the day-to-day life of those working deep in digital.

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Dalton Fire District Seeks Legal Action Over Ladder Truck

DALTON, Mass.The Fire District is seeking legal action against Northern Fire Equipment due to breaching the ladder truck contract.

The Board of Water Commissioners, which oversees the Fire District, voted on Tuesday evening to pursue legal action against the company, through the districts legal counsel in the state of New York, in an attempt to recover the American Rescue Plan Act funds.

"In New York State we can't attach legal fees to a lawsuit. So, whatever the legal costs are the Fire District will incur," Chair James Driscoll said during a previous meeting.

"And [Harris Beach Attorneys at Law in Pittsford, N.Y.] have warned me that even if we get a settlement there's no way, even with a judgment against them, that we can get them to actually pay."

The ladder truck was ordered in late 2022 but its delivery date has been changed at least four times. Northern Fire Equipment has said staffing shortages, change orders and unexpected mechanical malfunctions have contributed to the delay.

In 2022, the Select Board approved the transfer of $119,500 in ARPA funds to the Fire District for the purchase of the "refurbished" ladder truck.

A down payment of $77,000 was paid to Northern Fire Equipment on Oct.18, 2022. The district is holding the remaining $42,500 in a separate account.

Despite earlier reports from the district that the ladder truck had entered the paint booth last August, it was disclosed in a board meeting in October that the truck was far from completion.

During a previous meeting, Driscoll said Harris Beach said the district had a strong case and quoted a $3,000 retainer and between $280 and $400 an hour depending on what happens. There were other price ranges but that was the biggest range they received.

In a follow-up, Driscoll told iBerkshires that the district will likely cover the cost of the legal fees using district money. How the district intends to cover the cost of the legal fees will be discussed at a future meeting.

Due to the cost and uncertainty surrounding legal litigation, the board initially decided to negotiate a new contract with Northern Fire Equipment which would include multiple stipulations, including passing various state tests and monthly reports with photos.

Since that decision has been made, Northern Fire Equipment has already missed at least one of their deadlines for a month's report, Driscoll said.

The vote to negotiate a new contract became void following an open meeting law violation which was filed by Select Board Chair Joseph Diver because the ladder truck was not specified on the agenda.

District Treasurer Melanie Roucoulet said, during the meeting on Tuesday, that she and the new fire chief will attend an open meeting law course on March 4.

The initial decision also resulted in a vote by the Select Board to send a letter to the Water Commissioners indicating that it did not support the decision.

During this meeting, Town Manager Tom Hutcheson informed the Select Board that according to the towns legal counsel, the Select Board does not have any legal options to reclaim the money from the district because the funds were already signed over to it.

Hutcheson also said during the meeting that the district has expressed, during previous conversations, having no issues returning the remainder of the ARPA funds to the towns if the renegotiations did not work out.

Following the Fire District meeting on Tuesday, Driscoll said that it is unclear how the district intends to use the remaining ARPA funds but is considering using it for other equipment needed by the fire department. This will be discussed at a later meeting.
For the second straight meeting, dog owners came to the meeting room to advocate for continued unleashed use of the 114-acre park on Main Street.

Williamstown Select Board Talks Utilization, Potential Transfer of Spruces Park

A map designating a potential off-leash dog area (outlined in yellow) at the Spruces Park in Williamstown that was discussed by the Select Board on Monday.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Spruces Park was a major topic of conversation for the Select Board at its Monday meeting, where board members heard from constituents who want to continue running their dogs off leash in the park and heard a proposal to transfer control of the property away from the board.

For the second straight meeting, dog owners came to the meeting room to advocate for continued unleashed use of the 114-acre park on Main Street (Route 2).

This time, the conversation was framed by a proposal to designate up to 80 acres of the property for access by unleashed dogs with the remaining 34 acres (about 30 percent) requiring dogs to be on a leash.

Select Board members Andrew Hogeland and Randal Fippinger and Town Manager Robert Menicocci developed the parameters of a proposed "dog park" section of the town park after walking the grounds following the board's Feb. 12 meeting.

Although a couple of the regular dog owner users of the park who spoke on Monday had a somewhat positive reaction to the proposal, several said that they need to be consulted more before any final plan is put into place.

"There are regular dog users," Avie Kalker told the three members of the board in attendance on Monday, Fippinger, Hogeland and Chair Jeffrey Johnson. "The last time, what we didn't hear was, 'We'd like to have you come walk with us.' What we're saying this time is, 'Let the regulars take you on a tour.' "

Trish Gorman told the board members that she "never sees" Hogeland at the Spruces Park, and she did not know Fippinger well enough to say whether he is a regular user. But she along with others emphasized that the regular users have special knowledge of the park that could have informed the officials' survey.

"I want to be respectful of the people who are not dog people," said Gorman, who indicated her use of the park predates the town's opposition of the former mobile home park property. "I am a dog person.  I think we were very respectful of the Spruces when people lived there.

"It would be nice to be invited  to be part of the walkaround."

One objection raised to the proposed 80-acre off-leash area presented on Monday was that it did not appear to allow access to the Hoosic River.

"The few times that we have to go on the [Mohican Trail, which runs through the park] are usually to cross the bike trail to get to the water source for dogs," Kalker said.

The Mohican Trail, which opened officially last summer, is posted requiring dogs to be on leash.

Hogeland and Johnson stressed that the off-leash area outlined on a map presented Monday is preliminary and that no decision would be made without more discussion and, at least, all five Select Board members in attendance.

Hogeland characterized the proposal on the table as a starting point for the conversation.

A more formal proposal is on track to go to May's annual town meeting from the Conservation Commission, which Monday gave the Select Board a warrant article to put on the meeting warrant. The Con Comm wants the town to transfer the Spruces Park to the commission's "care, custody and control," similar to other town-owned parcels that the commission manages.

Cory Campbell, the commissioner who took the lead on developing the warrant article, presented it to the Select Board, which, later this spring, will finalize the town meeting warrant.

"The commission would build out a management plan, which would involve talking to a lot of stakeholders  the DPW, Williamstown Rural Lands, which manages trails on town land, the Chenails [who lease part of the property to grow feed corn] and possibly the Agricultural Commission and any stakeholders from the community who want to make themselves known," Campbell said.

"There's no point in putting that plan together until the town has decided to have us do that for them."

One member of the Select Board raised concerns about the proposal, pointing to a controversy that arose a little more than a decade ago regarding another property under the Con Comm's control, the Lowry Property off Stratton Road.

A key issue at the time was whether the Lowry Property was protected by Article 97 of the state's constitution, a provision that requires a unanimous vote of the Con Comm and a two-thirds approval of the legislature in Boston to use the land for development.

Town counsel gave the town an opinion that the land was not covered by Article 97. The Conservation Commission itself determined that it was. Hogeland said the law has evolved since then to where "it more likely would be Article 97 land if it goes to Con Comm and stays there for a long time."

"My concern is that by giving it to the Con Comm, we're going down a one-way street where it can't be anything else," Hogeland said. "We don't have a lot of public land in town, and I'd be hesitant to lock it up.

"For me, risking the formal status of it becoming Article 97 land is too high a price to pay. Not a fan."

Hogeland characterized placing the land in the Con Comm's "care, custody and control" as a "lobster trap."

"It goes in," he said. "It can't come out."

Long-time Conservation Commission member Philip McKnight talked about the body's role in land management.

"We have managed [nine town-owned properties] consistent with but not subject to Article 97  which requires us to manage the properties in the least intrusive manner possible so that they can be maintained in their present state," McKnight said. "For several of our properties, our management plan is to leave them alone. The only thing we have on several of those properties  are trails, which either we or the Department of Public Works maintain.

"We are not in the business of creating things on those properties. We're in the business of leaving them alone and managing them for conservation purposes."

Several of the dog owners who spoke to the Select Board about its off-leash designation proposal returned to the microphone to advocate against town meeting transferring the Spruces Park to the Con Comm.

"To make sure the Con Comm understands, if you take this over, you're responsible for the dog leash problem," Hogeland joked to the commissioners in the room. "So maybe we should give it to you."

In other business on Monday, the Select Board:

 OK'd Meniccoci's appointment of Alison Bost to the Community Preservation Committee to fill a seat that town meeting assigned to "the town manager or their designee" when it adopted the provisions of the Community Preservation Act.

 Reminded residents that the Brien Center Crisis team is available to anyone experiencing a behavioral health crisis by calling 413-499-0412 or 1-800-252-0277, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 Heard a suggestion from Hogeland that the board consider forming a parks commission in town. Currently, the Select Board fills that roll, similar to how it serves as the town's alcohol licensing board.




iciHaiti - Canada : Exceptional exemption scholarships, registrations open





The Embassy of Haiti in Canada informs that the Ministry of International Relations and La Francophonie of Quebec, as part of the Support Plan for Haiti 2023-2026, has granted 4 exceptional exemption scholarships in favor of Haitian students as well only four 4 scholarships of 5,000 Canadian dollars to these beneficiary students.



These exemptions will be granted to students enrolled in a French-speaking Quebec higher education establishment, full-time, in a 2nd cycle program, in the field of management and administration of interest to local authorities and rural areas.



The application file must include:



- A photocopy of the first page of a valid passport;



- A residence permit for students in compliance with Canadian immigration regulations and a certificate of acceptance from Quebec, issued by the Ministry of Emigration, Francisation and Integration of Quebec;



- Proof of admission to a program of study in a higher education establishment in Quebec, recognized by the Ministry of Higher Education of Quebec for the fall 2024 session and registration in this program must be at the rate of thirty (30) credits annually;



- A cover letter explaining the beneficiary's contribution to the development of local communities in Haiti after their studies in Canada.



Deadline : Interested parties must submit their application, no later than April 1st, 2024, to the following email address: culture.educ@ambassde-haiti.ca



IH/ iciHaiti


















Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

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Has there ever been a cast as stacked as Dune: Part Two? The new sci-fi sequel has got to be up there with the starriest line-ups ever. Timothee Chalamet! Zendaya! Rebecca Ferguson! Javier Bardem! Lea Seydoux! Austin Butler! Florence Pugh! Christopher Walken! Stellan Skarsgard! Josh Brolin! Dave Bautista! Charlotte Rampling! Anya Taylor-Joy! Its a cast list so freakishly deep that James Camerons thinking of piloting a submersible into it.

Inevitably, when you have that many big-name actors sharing just one film  even a hefty three-hour odyssey such as Dune: Part Two  theres only so much limelight to go around. Chalamet, playing wronged messiah Paul Atreides, is certainly given plenty to do, as are Zendaya, playing his lover and fellow freedom fighter Chani, and Ferguson, playing his mother, the witchy Lady Jessica. Beyond these three, however, it becomes a matter of doing more with less. In another film, the lack of screen time afforded to the rest of the cast would border on insulting. Here, though, it works perfectly.

A film like Dune: Part Two lives or dies with its sense of scale. It is an epic in the truest sense, a visual and narrative behemoth; in the story, the fates of whole planets and species are at stake. By filling pretty much every role with a top-tier, recognisable actor, it imbues even fleeting characters with immediate gravitas. Nowhere is this more clear than in the character of Emperor Shaddam IV, played by Christopher Walken. The Emperor is hardly in this film  Id wager his line count doesnt enter double digits. But within the world of Dune, the Emperor is, obviously, a character of great importance. What better way to express this, quickly and intuitively, than by casting a screen giant like Walken?

The same goes for most of the blink-and-youll-miss-them cast  Pughs canny Princess Irulan, Lea Seydouxs conniving Margot, even Pauls barely glimpsed unborn sister Alia, played by Anya Taylor-Joy  all are girded and enriched simply by the profile and star power of the actors playing them. The film feels big and significant because the people on screen are big and significant (within the world of movies at least).

By filling pretty much every role with a top-tier, recognisable actor, it imbues even fleeting characters with immediate gravitas

What helps, too, is the fact that several of the supporting cast deliver genuinely superb turns. Bardem, as the wide-eyed fanatic Stilgar, gives his best performance in years. Skarsgard, his face caked in grotesque alien makeup, is a perfect irredeemable villain. Butler, meanwhile, almost steals the entire film in just a handful of scenes. His character, the sadistic and completely hairless Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, is introduced in a colosseum battle sequence, filmed in stark black-and-white. Its the sort of grand, striking set piece that would flatter any actor, but Butler  who narrowly missed out on an Oscar last year for his role in the Presley biopic Elvis  elevates it. He takes huge, captivating swings here, in everything from his voice (a kind of uncanny Skarsgard impression) to his weird, almost inhuman physicality.

There are, of course, less noble reasons why a film would try to pin down an all-star cast list. We have the obvious commercial factor. Indeed, this angle (Look how many famous people we wrangled!) was the sole selling point of the dismal comedy Movie 43, which crudely smashed together 14 storylines to accommodate its cumbersome cast. Marvel blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame featured astonishingly starry casts, but only a handful of the actors actually had anything to do. Oppenheimer is one of the best recent examples of a big, showy cast being deployed savvily: Christopher Nolan was telling a story that involved a multitude of white men in business suits. Populating the film with so many recognisable faces made it easy for many audience members to quickly grasp and remember who was who.

Dune: Part Two trailer

To some extent, the cast for Dune simply testifies to the excitement around the project. In an era when blockbusters have grown pallid and shameful, Dune: Part Two is a rare popcorn flick with real artistic credibility. Agents would be queueing up to have their most illustrious clients associated with it. But, crucially, this is no vanity exercise, no victory lap. Theyre there to do the work  and what work it is. Critics have been more or less unanimous in their adulation: The Independents Clarisse Loughrey gave the film five stars, branding it a work of total sensory and imaginative immersion, while The Guardian described it as a staggering spectacle.

The only unknown at this point is whether director Denis Villeneuve will get to make his proposed trilogy-capper, Dune Messiah. And if he does will there be anyone left in Hollywood to cast?

Dune: Part Two is out in cinemas from 1 March
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Hairy Bikers fans paid tribute to Dave Myers after the first episode of The Hairy Bikers Go West aired since his death last week aged 66.

Myers, from Barrow-in-Furness, found fame alongside his best friend and work partner Si King as the pair became known for travelling the world on their motorbikes and trying out foods from different regions on their TV show, The Hairy Bikers.

King announced on Tuesday (29 February) that Myers had died aged 66 after revealing he had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer two years ago.

Introducing the first episode of The Hairy Bikers Go West since Myerss death, a BBC Two channel controller paid tribute to the TV star in a voiceover, saying he was gone but not forgotten.

In the episode, which was recorded last year, the bikers meet Maggie, a Nigerian chef based in the Welsh village of Penygroes. They also meet Steff, whose love of travel inspired him to open his own speciality coffee shop 10 years ago.

They make visits to farmers Matt and Jenny, who grow food by replicating the ecosystems found in the wild, and a bakery that produces Kurdish pasties.

Myers decided to keep what type of cancer he had a secret (Getty Images)

Fans were left emotional after watching the episode, which included a scene with Myers leaving the episode to go for a cancer treatment appointment while King told cameras he missed his best mate while he was at the hospital.

Hard watch this, especially Si being on his own wishing Dave was there, wrote one fan on X/Twitter, as another added: @HairyBikers very hard to see the TV, something in my eye. Ride In Peace lovely Dave.

Watching @HairyBikers Go West.in tears. Cant believe the genius Dave Myers is no longer with us, commented another viewer.

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One added that it was poignant and heartbreaking to watch to hear Myers talking about his illness posthumously. Bittersweet watching @HairyBikers tonight. So amazing they got to do it but now knowing it was the last trip is heartbreaking #davemyers RIP.

At the end of the episode, an on-screen message read: In loving memory of our friend Dave Myers 1957-2024.

The BBC chef first publicly revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer on the podcast he co-hosts alongside presenting partner King, titled Agony Uncles, in May 2022.

He told listeners he would be taking a step back from filming and attending food festivals throughout the summer, stating: Anyway Kingy, Ive got to come clean now. I havent been too well recently and basically, Ive got to have some chemo, you know all this anyway, so this year is going to be a bit quiet for me.

Si King and Dave Myers in Hairy Bikers: Go West (BBC)

Myers later revealed that he lost his beard  and his iconic handlebar moustache  due to the side effects of chemotherapy.

I just miss having my beard  the feeling of it, because your skins different and all peachy,  Myers said during an episode of his podcast Agony Uncles. No, I want my beard back. Im alright with my hair  I think the bald head and beards the way to go for a biker.

Myers returned to filming in Spring 2023 to make The Hairy Bikers Go West, which began airing last month. The new series follows the pair as they travel down the west coast of the UK on a nostalgic and emotional journey.

After his cancer diagnosis, Myers said he did not want to specify the type of cancer he had because he thought the public might start drawing conclusions about his health.

Myers told The Guardian in 2022 that he decided not to disclose what type of cancer he had because everybody then goes Googling, everybody becomes an amateur doctor... And I dont want to be judged  yet.

After Myerss death, the BBCs Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore said the public loved him in a tribute.

Everyone at the BBC is incredibly sad to hear this news. Dave made cooking a truly joyful adventure and he shared that joy with millions, Moore said.

The public loved him and his unique partnership with Si. Together they made every viewer feel like a friend. More than that he was simply a lovely man. Our thoughts go out to his family and many friends.

Kings statement announcing Myerss death read: Last night, on 28th February 2024, with Lili, Daves wife, his family, close friend David and myself by his side, he passed away peacefully at home.

All who knew Dave are devastated at his passing. His beloved wife brought him such happiness as did her children, Iza and Sergiu who Dave loved like his own.

I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime. I wish you gods speed brother; you are and will remain a beacon in this world. See you on the other side. Love ya.
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Graham Norton has quit Virgin Radio after 13 years, the presenter has announced.

Irish host Norton revealed the news on his show, following which he issued a goodbye to his long-time listeners.

He confirmed fellow Irish presenter Angela Scanlon, who competed on Strictly Come Dancing last year, will step in as interim host for the next few weeks before various announcements on who will take over the slot permanently.

The news comes following numerous radio shake-ups in recent months, involving Claudia Winkleman as well as Jordan North and Roman Kemp.

Norton told his listeners his decision stemmed from wanting to have his weekends back after more than a decade of presenting on the station, which he joined after leaving BBC Radio 2.

Now, the show isnt quite the normal show today because I have a bit of an announcement to make  Im leaving weekends here at Virgin Radio, he said at the start of the broadcast.

Norton reassured listeners he will not be leaving the station altogether, telling them: Ill still be kind of popping up on the station from time to time. But my regular Saturday and Sundays, Im stepping away.

He continued: Ive worked weekends between here and the old place for 13 years and my life has changed a bit, so I just want my weekends back.

So really, the next two shows  today and tomorrow  are me just saying thank you to you all for listening.

Norton joined Radio 2 in 2010 on the 10am to 1pm Saturday show, taking over from Jonathan Ross.

Graham Norton has quit his Virgin Radio show after 13 years (bbc)

He moved to Virgin Radio in 2021, with his BBC slot going to Winkleman. The Strictly Come Dancing and Traitors host is due to leave that show in March after saying she wanted to spend more time with her growing children.

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Norton also hosts an eponymous Friday night chat show on BBC One and is central to the broadcasters Eurovision coverage.

Virgin Radio Content Director Mike Cass said of Nortons decision to leave his show: Graham Norton has delighted Virgin Radios weekend listeners for the last three years.

He steps back from the weekend show with our thanks and with our delight that he remains part of the wider Virgin Radio family. His are big boots to fill, and well be announcing the owner of those feet in the weeks to come.

Additional reporting by Agencies
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Fans were left confused and bewildered by British actor Millie Bobby Browns accent during her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

The Stranger Things star was accompanied by her dog Winnie who took a seat on the sofa next to her.

But viewers were more distracted by what was missing: her formerly prominent British accent.

The 20-year-old moved to Florida when she was just eight, but appeared to keep the accent of her early childhood in Bournemouth in previous interviews.

She has appeared in a number of programmes, most notably Stranger Things and Enola Holmes and launched her own brand of clothing this year called Florence by Mills.

Discussing her underwater proposal by Jake Bongiovi, the son of famed musician Jon Bon Jovi, she appeared to switch between accents, causing some fans to remark she sounded Australian as she flipped between American and British.

The Emmy-nominated actor told the audience of how her and Bongiovi got their diving licences together and hed felt it was the perfect opportunity to propose while they were on holiday.

So we go under, and were many metres down and he gives me like, a shell. And I turn it over and its a ring, she told Fallon.

She described how she put the ring on her finger before it slid off and plummeted deep into the water, prompting her new fiance to swim after it.

But viewers were too distracted by the stars accent.

Viewers said Browns accent was no longer British (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon)

Her accent is basically gone, said one user commenting on Browns Instagram post of the interview. Another demanded: Where is your British accent?

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Some remarked that the British accent hadnt disappeared but was there right along with the American saying, Her accent is such a mix of British and American, she like tunes in and out of both.

However, others rushed to her defence as they insisted that the phenomenon was common for actors who had to play various roles.

Imagine being upset about someone elses accent, said one defender.

Another added, For everyone saying that she doesnt have her British accent anymore, bear in mind that she is currently filming Stranger Things 5 so she has been using her American accent more recently.

The final season of Stranger Things is expected to land on Netflix in 2024.

While the series creators, sibling duo Matt and Ross Duffer, announced in early 2022 that the show would conclude with a fifth season, production was halted for approximately seven months due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023.
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Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna, Ivanka Trump and Disney chief Bob Iger are among the worlds super rich and elite figures expected to attend the extravagant pre-wedding bash of the youngest son of Asias richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Anant Ambani, 28, is marrying his childhood sweetheart Radhika Merchant, 29, in July later this year but the three-day festivities in Gujarats Jamnagar starting on 1 March are being seen as setting the stage for the larger wedding celebrations. Ms Merchant is from a family with business interest in pharmaceuticals.

Mukesh Ambani is Asias richest man and a renowned oil and telecommunications tycoon, competing closely with billionaire Gautam Adani, chair of Adani Group of companies, according to the real-time billionaires list worldwide compiled by Forbes as of 30 January 2024.

(REUTERS)

Expected to be one of the worlds grandest weddings of the year, the Ambani family has marked the three-day affair for guests to enjoy a lavish gala with over 2,500 dishes cooked by a team of 65 chefs.

The Ambani family, with net worth of 85bn, runs Indias leading conglomerates in all sectors  petroleum refining and marketing, organised retail, telecommunication giant Jio and other digital streaming services.

Top Indian celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sachin Tendulkar and Alia Bhatt are expected to attend.

According to an event list, the celebrations will kick off with a glitzy cocktail party called an evening in Everland, followed by a jungle themed celebration on Saturday where guests have been asked to wear comfortable shoes for a safari walk.

(REUTERS)

The grooms love for nature is set to have inspired the wildlife theme of pre-wedding celebration. The invitation says: Anant has lovingly nurtured this complex into a haven of care and compassion for thousands of rescued animals.

The two got engaged in a traditional ceremony last year in January at the grand Ambani residence of Antilia in Mumbai.
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At least five people were injured after a minor explosion shook up a famous cafe in the southern India city of Bengaluru on Monday, police officials said.

The explosion took place at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengalurus Brookfield neighbourhood in Whitefield around 1.30pm local time during lunch hour rush.

Authorities have rushed police vans, firefighters, a forensic team and a bomb squad at the spot to carry out rescue operations and ascertain the cause of explosion, reported The Indian Express.

The injured people include one woman, officials said, adding that three staff workers are also hurt. All injured people have been hospitalised, the report added.

Police officials have cordoned off the area around the popular joint to remove inflammable material from the kitchen.

Initial reports suggested that the explosion was caused by a cooking gas cylinder that burst, however, the Rameshwaram Cafes owner denied the preliminary reports.

We have given access of all our CCTV cameras to the police. The bomb squad is also in the restaurant to identify the cause. We are cooperating with the law enforcement agencies, Divya Raghavendra Rao, the owner of the cafe told The Indian Express.

Visuals from the spot of the blast showed panicked customers gathered at the cafe as officials sealed off the area. The cafe is a common place to grab lunch by office goers in the western part of the city which houses several global information technology companies like IBM and Accenture.

The Karnataka state home minister Dr G Parameshwara spoke to senior police officials in the area and took stock of the situation.

Rameshwaram Cafe, a prominent restaurant serving south Indian cuisine of dosas and idli, opened in Indias Silicon Valley city Bengaluru in 2021 and quickly rose to popularity on social media.

The cafes three branches across the city are known to generate a revenue of Rs 45 million every month (4m).
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Hundreds of women from marginalised communities in a small island on the Sundarban Delta have been protesting years of sexual abuse and land grab allegedly by members of the ruling political party.

Sandeshkhali in India's West Bengal, located nearly 75km from state capital Kolkata, has been on the edge for more than a month following protests led by women, who said their cry was dismissed by the police and political authorities.

The women have accused Shahjahan Sheikh, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman, of oppressing people in the village.

Mr Sheikh was arrested on Thursday in a separate case after absconding for nearly two months when India's enforcement directorate officials were assaulted in January by his supporters while carrying out raids in connection with an alleged ration distribution scam.

Two of Mr Sheikhs aides, Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar, were arrested in February on charges of gang rape and attempt to murder. They have denied the charges.

Protests ensued in the village shortly after the incident and turned violent when women this month burnt down three poultry farms owned by Mr Sheikh's associate, which was allegedly built on land forcibly wrested from locals.

The protesters alleged they were routinely picked up by the men from the ruling party, taken to their office and sexually assaulted. They claimed the local law enforcement officials refused to file complaints against the strongman and his allies.

"I have been dragged to the office more than once at night and assaulted. I was warned that if I complained to the police, they would kill my husband," one of the survivors told The Independent. "This barbarity has been going on for almost a decade now," she added.

Most of the women The Independent spoke to alleged that men in their family have been either warned or assaulted as a repercussion for protesting their advances.

Mr Sheikh and his associates have also allegedly seized over 2,000 acres of land across the village from farmers.

The ongoing protest turned into one of the biggest challenges in over a decade for chief minister Mamata Banerjee  India's only woman chief minister  ahead of the general assembly elections. Ms Banerjee is one of the biggest opposition leaders in India and a staunch critic of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The protesters have accused Ms Banerjee of shielding her partymen, an allegation played up by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Mr Modi's visit to West Bengal on Friday.

"We are scared. Everyone in this village is scared," said a 34-year-old mother of two children. "We had to resort to arson because our backs were against the wall and the police turned a blind eye."

Authorities responded to the mass protests by suspending internet in the village and imposing assembly restrictions in different pockets of the island. The state police arbitrarily detained members of a six-member fact-finding team, opposition lawmakers, politicians and a journalist, either from the island or on their way to Sandeshkhali.

Santu Pan, a reporter with Republic Bangla, was arrested from the island on allegations of trespassing and outraging the modesty of a woman. He was later released after the Calcutta High Court on 22 February issued a stay order on the case.

"I was standing outside the house of one of the strongman's associates and talking to a woman, who was inside the house," he told The Independent, adding that a video of the incident secured his bail.

"On my way back after the day's reporting I was asked by the police to visit the local police station, but I refused," he said. Mr Pan was later arrested and kept in custody for four days.

Mr Sheikh was arrested after the Calcutta High Court clarified that there was no stay on the arrest of the strongman. Charges of attempt to murder among others have been labelled against Mr Sheikh, who allegedly confessed to inciting a mob and orchestrating the attack on enforcement directorate officials in January.

MP Derek O'Brien from the TMC on Thursday said "as always, we walk the talk. We have set examples in the past, and we are doing that again today".

Sukumar Mahata, a TMC Sandeshkhali member, told The Independent that the situation in the village had normalised since Mr Sheikh's arrest.

Mr Mahata said he was not aware of the allegations till the official police complaints against the accused were lodged last month.

"He was arrested right after the court order. These administrative things take time but the situation is getting better," he said, adding that the process of returning the land to farmers has begun.

So far, the administration has returned land to at least 51 farmers.

Mr Sheikh has been sent to 10 days in police custody and suspended from the ruling party for six years.
 Close Snow in area affected by Texas wildfires

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Cool weather on Monday managed to help officials quell some of the fires as containment levels increased early this week, with two fires becoming completely contained.

But fire authorities warn that increased fire weather could hit the Texas Panhandle Thursday and Friday. At a news conference on Tuesday, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd pleaded with nearby residents not to start any new fires.

Over 90% of wildfires are human caused, he claimed. Strong winds and dry conditions this past weekend exacerbated flames, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire in northern Texas which remains only 44 per cent contained, according to the forest service. The fires began late last month.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned more than 1.3 million acres across the Texas Panhandle and destroyed 500 structures. Its now the largest fire in the states history and one of the largest in the US history.

Authorities say it has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of cattle and forcing evacuations. Statewide, the fires have killed at least two civilians and one volunteer fire chief.

A lawsuit filed last week claims that the fires originated from an electric pole that wasnt properly inspected, fell and started the blaze.
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A second death has been confirmed in the raging wildfires in Texas that have become the biggest blaze in the states history.

Cindy Owens, believed to be in her 40s, from Amarillo City in Potter County was confirmed dead by officials on Thursday.

Follow our liveblog for the latest on Texas wildfires.

She was driving in Texass Hemphill County  south of Canadian, Texas  and got out of the truck for an unknown reason and the fire simply overtook her, according to Sergeant Chris Ray of the Texas Department of Public Safety told NBC.

Owens sustained severe burn injuries. A passerby stopped and helped her and called 911. She was taken to a burn unit in Oklahoma City but died on Thursday morning.

We still dont know why she got out of her truck, Sergeant Ray told NBC.

Before Owens, 83-year-old Joyce Blankenship was found dead in her destroyed Hutchinson County home, officials said.

She was a beloved mother, grandmother and former substitute teacher, say her relatives.

Blankenships grandson, Lee Quesada, told the Associated Press that local deputies told his uncle they had found her remains in her burned home on Wednesday.

More than a dozen other homes in her town were destroyed by the fires.

Fire officials from Lubbock, Texas, help put out smouldering debris of a home destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire (AP)

The wildfires spreading across the Texas Panhandle have burned more than 1.2m acres of land, prompting evacuations and destroying dozens of homes

The Smokehouse Creek fire is now the largest in state history, burning 1,075,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

It is now the second-largest fire in US history, local fire officials said, and more than five times the size of New York City.

Dry and windy conditions amid unseasonably warm temperatures fuelled these fires.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the US-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do everything possible to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment.

When disasters strike, theres no red states or blue states where I come from, Mr Biden said. Just communities and families looking for help.

So were standing with everyone affected by these wildfires and were going to continue to help you respond and recover.
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Wildfires sweeping across Texas briefly forced the evacuation of Americas main nuclear weapons facility as strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm temperatures fed the blaze.

Pantex Plant, the main facility that assembles and disassembles Americas nuclear arsenal, shut down its operations on Tuesday night as the Windy Deuce fire roared towards the Potter County location.

An aerial view of the fire threatening the nuclear weapons plant in Texas (Reuters)

We have evacuated our personnel, non-essential personnel from the site, just in an abundance of caution, Laef Pendergraft, a spokesperson for National Nuclear Security Administrations Production Office at Pantex, said during a news conference on Tuesday night.

But we do have a well-equipped fire department that has trained for these scenarios, that is on-site and watching and ready should any kind of real emergency arise on the plant site.

Pantex re-opened and resumed operations as normal on Wednesday morning.

Pantex is about 17 miles (27.36 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo and some 320 miles (515 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.

Since 1975 it has been the USs main assembly and disassembly site for its atomic bombs. It assembled the last new bomb in 1991.

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Pantex nuclear facility near Amarillo, Texas, on Saturday February 24 (AP)

The Windy Deuce fire doubled in size on Wednesday afternoon, burning 90,000 acres at 25 per cent containment. That morning, it was at just 40,000 acres.

Multiple other fires, some much larger, are also threatening the Texas Panhandle with Republican Governor Greg Abbott issuing a disaster declaration for 60 counties across the state.

The largest blaze  the Smokehouse Creek Fire  had burned through 850,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, after it doubled in size on Tuesday. The fire is now bigger than the state of Rhode Island, and almost 20 times the size of Washington DC.

A home destroyed by the Somehouse Creek fire pictured in Canadian, Texas (REUTERS)

At just 3 per cent containment, it could surpass the states largest fire  recorded at just over 900,000 acres  by the end of Wednesday.

Authorities have not said what might have caused the blaze, which tore through sparsely populated counties surrounded by rolling plains.

Texans are urged to limit activities that could create sparks and take precautions to keep their loved ones safe, Mr Abbott said.

The much-smaller Grape Vine Creek fire is 60 per cent contained, while the Magenta fire is 40 per cent contained as of Wednesday. The 687 Reamer fire, just south of the Smokehouse Creek fire, was at 10 per cent containment.

However, weather conditions have improved from earlier this week. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the state will see cooler temperatures and weak winds on Wednesday, which could help limit the spread of the five active fires in the states Panhandle.

A map of Pantex

Early this week, the NWS issued red flag warnings and fire danger alerts for several other states through the midsection of the country, as high winds of over 40 mph (64 kph) combined with warm temperatures, low humidity and dry winter vegetation made conditions ripe for wildfires.

The Smokehouse Creek fire also spread to Oklahoma late Tuesday, causing evacuations and destruction in the towns of Gage and Shattuck, local outlet KOCO reports.

Evacuation orders were issued across multiple Texas counties on Tuesday, with county and city officials live-streaming on Facebook as they tried to answer questions from panicked residents. Officials implored them to turn on their cellphones emergency alerts and be ready to evacuate immediately. They described some roads as having fire on both sides and said resources were being stretched to the limit.

Some residents of the small town of Fritch were told to leave their homes because of another fire that had jumped a highway. Everything south of Highway 146 in Fritch evacuate now! city officials said on Facebook.

On Wednesday morning, the Hutchinson County Office of Emergency Management said many homes had been lost and some were actively on fire, especially in Fritch.

Several wildfires are scorching the Texas panhandle on Tuesday, prompting evacuations (The Weather Channel)

The Smoke House Creek fire in Hutchinson County, Texas pictured on Tuesday afternoon (Texas A&M Forest Service)

I dont think a lot of the folks that live in the Fritch area are probably going to be prepared for what theyre going to see as they pull into town, a spokesperson with the office said. Some homes were completely lost and some honestly are still standing and just fine.

Texas state Senator Kevin Sparks said an evacuation order had been issued for Canadian, a town of about 2,000 about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo. Later Tuesday, the Hemphill County Sheriffs Office urged anyone who remained in Canadian to shelter in place or at the high school gym because roads were closed.

Evacuations were also ordered in nearby Miami, and schools in Canadian and Miami announced closures Wednesday. East of Canadian, fire officials across the border in the area of Durham, Oklahoma, also encouraged people to evacuate because of the fire.
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Google Doodle celebrates Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant, also known as St Davids Day, with Welsh symbols like the red dragon, daffodils and leeks.

The doodle, created by the artist Celine You, sketched out the design on wood before burning the markings to outline and finishing it off with paint.

The doodle is inspired by the legend of Dinas Emrys, where two dragons, one red and one white, were asleep in an underground lake under a kings castle. They were both awoken and started to fight each other, but the red dragon came out victorious and became a symbol of Welsh pride, according to Wales.com.

Another addition to how the dragon iconography came to be is the Arthurian legend of young Merlin, who foresaw a battle between a red and white dragon, believing it to symbolise the fight against the Saxons.

Many also show that theyre proud to be Welsh by wearing a leek or a daffodil, both of which are also national symbols of Wales. Cities and towns across Wales will hold parades or festivals today, with some of the largest in Cardiff and Swansea.

St Davids Day celebrates the Welsh patron saint, St David. While little is known about this elusive saint, according to a Latin manuscript written by the medieval poet and biographer Rhygyfarch, the saint died in the year 589 on 1 March, according to Amgueddfa Cymru (Museum Wales).

It is traditionally thought his father was Sant, the son of Ceredig, King of Ceredigion. After being educated in Cardiganshire, he started on a pilgrimage through south Wales and the west of England, in which he founded monastic settlements and churches, including in Glastonbury and Croyland.

After going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, he settled at Glyn Rhosyn and founded a very strict religious community.

St David and his monks lived a very simple and austere life, ploughing fields by hand, and stayed away from consuming meat or drinking beer. It is also believed that St David only ate leeks and drank water, VisitWales says.

According to Rhygyfarchs manuscript, St David performed many miracles while he was preaching, such as causing the ground to rise underneath him to lift him up, so the large crowd could hear and see him talk.

However, how accurate Rhygyfarch was is up to debate, as his father was the Bishop of St Davids, so his manuscript could have potentially been written as propaganda.

The Welsh government has asked people worldwide to do something small to brighten someone elses day while they celebrate their national day.

As part of the St Davids Day celebrations, the government has also launched a year-long initiative to organise events throughout the year to strengthen ties with India.

Called Wales in India, the government will put on events celebrating links with India in art and culture, education, health, business and human rights.

They hope that the initiative will foster new trade and investment opportunities, cultural and sporting connections and collaboration in academic and healthcare.

St Davids last words that he spoke in a sermon to his followers have also had a lasting effect throughout the centuries. Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do, it is thought he said.

The phrase Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd  Do the little things in life  remains a well-known motto in Wales to this day.
Coffee beans bring prosperity to south China village

Xinhua) 15:21, March 01, 2024

HAIKOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- As Huang Xiuwu grinds coffee beans in his livestreaming studio, demonstrating the art of pour-over coffee, thousands of coffee enthusiasts watch online and make their orders.

In 2008, Huang returned to his hometown of Changxing Village in the Qiongzhong Li and Miao Autonomous County of south China's Hainan Province, where he later co-founded the Feipushan coffee company.

"By selling our homegrown coffee beans and products, our company now boasts an annual revenue of about 1 million yuan (140,774 U.S. dollars)," Huang said.

This success was not down to luck, but the result of Huang's unwavering dedication to reviving a fading tradition.

Hainan, the birthplace of many overseas Chinese, has a rich history of coffee cultivation and consumption. The habit of drinking coffee was brought to Hainan by overseas Chinese decades ago, and residents of Changxing Village were growing coffee as early as in the 1960s, thanks to their home's unique geographical advantages.

At a latitude of 18 degrees north and an altitude of over 200 meters, the village has an ideal environment for the growth of coffee beans. A significant difference in daytime and nighttime temperatures, optimal humidity, sunlight, rainfall, fertile soil and natural spring water all contribute to the high-quality coffee beans produced in Changxing Village.

However, when Huang first returned to the village, he witnessed the decline of local coffee cultivation due to the meager profits that were brought in by selling coffee beans alone -- raw materials in the coffee industry.

"After coming home, I learned coffee cultivation techniques and grew 50 mu (about 3.33 hectares) of coffee plants, and the income was good," Huang said. "Gradually, this attracted some locals to join me."

In 2013, Huang took the initiative to establish a coffee cooperative. He and the village officials distributed free coffee bean seedlings and provided hands-on instruction, encouraging more people to engage in coffee bean cultivation.

The increasing level of coffee production and growing profits sparked the local enthusiasm for coffee bean cultivation once again. "In 2008, the coffee bean cultivation area in our village was about 200 mu, and now it has expanded to about 1,500 mu," Huang said.

After establishing the cooperative, Huang realized that selling coffee products would be more profitable than selling whole coffee cherries, the fruit from which coffee beans are harvested.

"Coffee cherries fetch just 10 yuan per kilogram, but the same weight of processed coffee beans can sell for 180 yuan," he said.

He then introduced coffee processing equipment to the village and worked with locals to establish the Feipushan coffee company.

The Feipushan processing plant has provided jobs for locals, and the brand has increased the added value of local coffee products, bringing more economic benefits for the village. The plant also purchases most of its coffee cherries locally, which ensures stable incomes for locals, Huang said.

The company also produces various flavored coffee beans and products, which are available not only at stores in Hainan, but also in metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai, generating even more profits for locals.

In recent years, Hainan has implemented an action plan to develop a complete, high-efficiency tropical agriculture industrial chain, highlighting coffee as a key industry to promote its cultivation, processing and trade.

Huang is participating in short-video and livestreaming training provided by the local government, and he expects to gain the favor of more consumers by expanding the online market for Feipushan coffee.

"I spend about two or three hours almost every afternoon broadcasting live online, sharing brewing techniques and the features of our coffee beans," he said. "We now have about 4,000 followers, and our monthly online sales can reach about 12,000 yuan."

Huang intends to continue expanding local coffee production, developing his livestreaming work further to bring in more sales, and integrating the local coffee industry with tourism.

"I hope to build a coffee-themed guesthouse to help visitors experience the joys of coffee cultivation, picking and brewing. My goal is to help popularize Hainan's coffee culture and bring increased incomes for locals," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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March is Endometriosis Action Week and the theme this year is: could it be endometriosis?

Its an important question, because despite the condition affecting one in 10 women and people assigned female at birth, according to Endometriosis UK, it takes an average seven-and-a-half years after first seeing a doctor about symptoms for someone to get a proper diagnosis. Lots of factors play into this  including the fact endometriosis is associated with painful, heavy periods, which people are often taught is just normal.

There can be a misconception that periods are meant to be painful, and they are heavy and can have this huge impact on your day-to-day life, says Dr Stephanie Ooi, a GP working with Active Iron. Whereas really, I would say those things are definitely a sign to go and see your GP.

Endometriosis occurs when cells similar to the ones in the uterus lining grow outside the uterus. These lesions bleed (like what happens within the uterus during a period), but because the blood cant escape, it can cause inflammation and scar tissue (adhesions) to form, as well as cysts.

In severe cases, this process can be widespread, affecting other organs and tissues throughout the body. As Dearbhail Ormond, founder & CEO of frendo, an app that supports people affected by endometriosis or awaiting diagnosis (and who also lives with severe endometriosis herself), puts it: Endometriosis is a whole-body, chronic, inflammatory disease.

Infertility is also associated with the condition, and lots of people with endometriosis also have adenomyosis  where the endometrial tissue grows inside the uterus wall.

Unsure whether your period pain could be endometriosis? Heres a closer look

Periods that interfere with your life

So, what counts as a heavy and abnormally painful period?

Dr Ooi says: If youre on maximum-absorbency tampons, pads or a cup and youre changing those every hour or so, and passing clots larger than a 10p piece quite regularly. And pain wise, if youre getting to the point where youre having to take regular painkillers and finding the pain quite debilitating and its having an impact on your day-to-day activity  for example, youre not going for social activities, not going to the gym when you normally would, youre having to centre your life around symptoms.

Ormond points out that in a survey by frendo of 2,000 UK women, 63% of endometriosis sufferers were told they were lying about their symptoms.

She adds: Extremely painful periods are not normal, and not ok. Periods that interrupt work, school or your day-to-day activities are not normal. Women have historically been conditioned to accept a certain level of discomfort and pain when it comes to periods. My own endometriosis stage 4 diagnosis took 18 years to diagnose, with visits to more than 20 doctors, years of pain and feeling dismissed with many misdiagnoses along the way.

Intense fatigue

Ormond says: The fatigue experienced by many endo sufferers is way more intense than regular tiredness. More often than not, its a long-term feeling of exhaustion that affects sufferers both mentally and physically and can have a profound impact on peoples work and personal lives.

Inflammation plays a part here. As Ormond explains: The body recognises the [endo] lesions are not normal and works extremely hard to eliminate them  a process which releases toxins. These internal toxins are the main cause of fatigue for people with endo. In addition, living with chronic pain is another drain on the system, adding to the fatigue for many.

Another factor is low iron. Because youre losing more blood essentially, your iron levels are getting depleted, so a lot of people also experience whats called menstrual fatigue, explains Dr Ooi. Active Iron conducted a survey of 1,500 women, which showed that can have a huge impact.

Some 74% of the women surveyed with endometriosis said theyre affected by fatigue, while 84% reported a noticeable difference in their ability to function normally during their period.

Painful bowel movements and gut issues

If endometriosis affects the bowel and rectum, going to the toilet can become excruciatingly painful. This can often be a sign that endometriosis is growing into the bowel wall or surrounding tissue. As well as painful bowel movements, other signs can be constipation during menstruation, or pain during sex, says Mr Amer Raza, consultant gynaecologist at Cromwell Hospital, which has an International Centre for Endometriosis.

When endometriosis spreads to the intestines, it presents many of the same symptoms as IBS and Crohns disease, Raza adds  including constipation, diarrhoea and nausea.

Severe bloating

Many people with endometriosis experience endo belly  the term used to describe the uncomfortable, often painful, swelling and bloating linked with endometriosis, says Raza. It is rarely discussed but can be a distressing symptom.

Bloating and fluid retention are common, and can be caused by a build-up of endometrial tissue which causes inflammation in the abdomen, trapped blood which can form cysts, or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

Its often associated with other symptoms too, including gas pain, nausea, constipation and diarrhoea, Raza adds, and can cause the lower abdomen to swell for days or even weeks.

Leg pain

Endometriosis can cause leg symptoms such as numbness, throbbing, tingling, heaviness or pain when walking or exercising. It will feel different to muscle cramps or soreness and may become worse during a period, says Raza. There isnt enough research into why endometriosis causes leg pain, but its believed it could be linked to endometrial-like tissue becoming trapped near the nerves, or endometriosis growing near the sciatic nerves.

Bladder symptoms

Raza says its rare for endometriosis to affect the bladder, but it can happen. Symptoms for bladder endometriosis can include bladder irritation, bladder urgency, pain when the bladder is full, blood in the urine during a period, or pain in the kidneys, he adds.

Get things checked out

Endometriosis can vary and not everybody is affected in the same way. Its also important to remember the above symptoms can all be caused by other things too. If you are concerned, see your GP and get things checked.
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A mother born on Leap Day has given birth to a baby on the same day 40 years later.

On Thursday 29 February, Dr Kai Sun - an assistant professor of medicine and a rheumatologist at Duke Health - rang in her milestone birthday welcoming daughter, Chloe, with husband Michael Paik. The baby girl is the third child for the couple, who already share Charis, five, and Caleb, three.

My husband and I were just saying how cool it would be if she were born on the same day as my birthday. And somehow, it happened, the 40-year-old doctor told Good Morning America. She added that baby Chloe arrived at 5.12 am, three days after her 26 February due date, weighing six pounds and 13 ounces.

She was breathing fast initially when she was born so they took her to the nursery for a little bit to see the pediatrician but everything checked out and shes peacefully sleeping, Dr Sun explained, noting that she and her daughter are doing well.

Giving birth to Chloe on Leap Day wasnt the only fortunate thing to happen for the couple; Chloe was also their rainbow baby after suffering a miscarriage one year ago. The pregnancy was difficult for Dr Sun, who became ill and experienced a potentially fatal fall during her third trimester.

There were some little things along the way, Dr Sun explained to the outlet. There was some abnormal findings on the initial ultrasound that we were nervous about. And then I had Covid. And I fell on my belly in [my] third trimester. There are just some small things that happened that made us a little nervous but everything turned out well at the end.

The mom-of-three planned on resting for her birthday, hoping to be discharged on Friday 1 March and eager to introduce her new daughter to her older siblings. I look forward to taking her home with me and have her meet the rest of the family, my parents and her siblings, Sun said. And well have cake, of course.

Celebrations are in order for the days to come but above all else, Dr Sun told the outlet that she hopes that her daughter will grow up knowing just how special and loved she is.

We had a miscarriage almost exactly a year ago and so that makes her more special, she explained. I just hope that she knows that shes special, not just because she has a special birthday.

Chloe wasnt the only Leap Day baby - also known as a Leapling - at Duke University Hospital. Officials told CBS that another baby was born in their hospital Thursday, born at 8.54 am.
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A new trend has appeared on social media and with it fear from politicians and parents alike.

Zyn is latest tobacco product trending online: a tiny pouch filled with nicotine and flavoring.

Zyn comes in flavors like mint, coffee and citrus, and Philip Morris International markets it to adult tobacco users. But videos of young people popping the pouches have racked up millions of views on TikTok and other social media platforms.

Users have quickly developed their own online vocabulary, including zynnies, zynner and zynsky.

That trend has advocates worried that Zyn could become the latest nicotine product to attract underage teens, similar to the way Juul triggered a yearslong spike in vaping. Other experts say that risk is outweighed by the potential to steer adults away from cigarettes and other traditional tobacco products, which account for 480,000 US deaths annually.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, said Dr. Jasjit Ahluwalia, an addiction specialist at Brown University. That is what weve done with tobacco for decades. Weve been all about abstinence, instead of embracing products that can reduce harm.

Ahluwalia sees nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes as a way to help smokers cut back or quit cigarettes.

That approach is standard practice in the UK, but its outside the medical mainstream in the US, where only pharmaceutical-grade medications like nicotine gum and lozenges are formally approved to help smokers quit.

Ahluwalia points out that Zyn works the same way as those products: releasing low levels of nicotine that are absorbed into the gums, reducing cravings. The chief difference, he notes, is that Zyn is sold by Philip Morris, the global cigarette giant and a longtime foe of anti-smoking groups.

The controversy around Zyn recently spilled over into politics, pitting Democrats and Republicans in Washington against each other and spiraling into another skirmish in the nation's culture war.

In late January, Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer, of New York, called on regulators to investigate Zyn, citing its appeal to teens. Several House Republicans then warned constituents that Big Brother intended to ban nicotine.

Zyn is not a sin: Tucker Carlson is a user (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, a Zyn user, jumped into the fray, declaring: Zyn is not a sin, and touting its unproven benefits, like enhancing male vitality and mental acuity.

Theres this online subculture around Zyn thats been spearheaded by younger males, but a lot of thats not coming from the brand itself, said Ollie Ganz, a Rutgers University tobacco and nicotine researcher.

Online videos show young people documenting their first experiences trying Zyn, reviewing different flavor combinations and displaying heaping piles of used canisters.

Its concerning to see the countless Zyn-related memes and hashtags that are being amplified and normalized across social media, said Kathy Crosby, CEO of the Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco advocacy group.

Truth and other groups point to research suggesting nicotine can interfere with brain development in adolescents.

Its the Food and Drug Administrations job to weigh Zyns risks to youngsters against its potential to help adults.

Zyn could become the latest nicotine product to attract underage teens, similar to the way Juul triggered a yearslong spike in vaping (PA Wire)

In a statement, an FDA spokesman said the agency is monitoring underage use, noting that 1.5% of high school and middle schoolers reported using pouches last year. Thats well below the 10% who used e-cigarettes.

FDA officials have allowed Zyn to stay on the market while they review Philip Morris marketing application, which has been pending since 2020. If teen use remains low, the company could win FDA authorization for at least some of its offerings, which come in multiple strengths and a dozen flavors.

In 2019, the FDA awarded its first-ever reduced risk designation to a similar product: snus, a tobacco pouch popular in Sweden that contains lower levels of carcinogens than cigarettes. The FDA said smokers who switch to snus reduce their risk of lung cancer, bronchitis and other diseases.

Zyn excludes the tobacco leaves found in snus, leaving only nicotine, which Philip Morris says increases its appeal.

People can be reluctant to move into an oral tobacco product if they view it as similar to traditional chewing tobacco, company spokesman Corey Henry said. Consumer acceptability is a big part of Zyn.

Philip Morris doesnt use online influencers or endorsements to promote Zyn, Henry said. Its website is restricted to adults 21 and older. And flavors like cinnamon and peppermint are familiar to adults, Henry said.

Zyn launched in the US in 2014, but sales have exploded in the past year, generating $1.8 billion as shipments accelerated year-over-year by over 60%.

Containers of Zyn, a Phillip Morris smokeless nicotine pouch (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

On a November call with retailers, one company executive called the growth gonzo and lights out.

I didnt see this coming. I dont know anyone who did, said Joseph Teller, a director for oral tobacco products.

Zyn promotions emphasize the pouches' discreet, convenient nature as a smoke-free, spit-free alternative for smokers at work or on the move.

But to fulfill the companys stated goal of a smoke-free future, Zyn will need to help users fully switch from cigarettes, rather than alternating between the two.

Theres little data on switching, and preliminary research suggests pouches may not be a great substitute.

Ohio State University researchers recently found it took smokers 30 minutes to an hour to get enough nicotine from Zyn to relieve their cravings. With cigarettes, smokers achieved the same nicotine levels  and relief  in five minutes.

For now, smokers who have had success with Zyn say they hope it stays available.
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Olivia Colman revealed that she had loads of Botox done over the years.

In an interview with BBC Radio 2 host Vernon Kay, the 50-year-old Oscar winner got candid about her anti-ageing skin routine while promoting her new film Wicked Little Letters alongside her co-star Jessie Buckley.

When the pair realised mid-interview that they were both the same age, she told him that she couldnt believe it and said that she looked old enough to be his mother. You look really young, thats really annoying, the Crown actor told the DJ. How much Botox have you had?

After he replied, None, Kay asked Colman the same question, she admitted to having had a full-on Botox routine. Oh, Ive had loads, she revealed, and when asked if it hurt, she responded, Yeah, its needles in your face.

The interview had been posted to TikTok, with many viewers heading to the comment section to heap praise on Colman and express their admiration for her candour.

Olivia Colmans inability to filter her thoughts is what I live for, one person wrote, while another added: I love Olivia Colman. I love her honesty.

Others were shocked that Colman had gotten any Botox in the first place, Queen Olivia has had some!!? What? She looks so good and natural!!

On X, formerly known as Twitter, users had a similar reaction, appreciating the actors honesty when many entertainers in this day and age often lie about how they obtain such youthful skin at an older age.

Refreshing admission from a celeb for once, said one user, whilst another added: She looks fabulous not all stars put their line-free skin down to good genes, thank God.

In a 2021 interview with Harpers Bazaar, Colman was honest about her complicated feelings concerning ageing while promoting her Oscar-nominated film The Father. She reflected on the filming process, noting that it was often a stark reminder of how difficult ageing can be.

My mum always said, old age is not for the weak, she said. Its a famous saying, I dont know where it came from, but if only you could just keep everything, your marbles, your health, right to the very end - brilliant. But the fact that something has to let you down is so cruel... and unkind. Ill do whatever it takes to keep all this stuff at bay for as long as possible. Cold water swims are supposed to be very good for dementia, so Im going to start doing that.

The film is told from the perspective of Sir Anthony Hopkinss character, an elderly man with dementia, while Colman plays his daughter Anne, who takes care of him as he gradually loses his memory. As the mans condition gets worse, the film becomes equal parts disorienting and trippy, aiming to capture what its like to slowly lose your mind.

Colmans upcoming film Wicked Little Letters follows the story of the residents of Littlehampton as they start receiving odd letters filled with obscenities and an Irish immigrant played by Buckley is accused of sending them. The film was released on 23 February in the UK and is expected to hit theatres on 28 March in the US.
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Warning: This livestream contains scenes that some viewers may find distressing.

Watch again as Alexei Navalny is buried at a Russian cemetery on Friday (1 March).

Navalny will be buried in Moscow amid tight security and fears of a police crackdown two weeks after he suddenly died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony.

A religious service for the Russian opposition politician is due to be held at 2pm local time in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino where Navalny used to live.

Hundreds have gathered in large crowds and queues outside the church as they wait for the funeral to begin.

Navalny is scheduled to be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, around 1.5 miles away on the other side of the Moskva River two hours later.

Follow The Independents live news blog for the latest updates.
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Three dozen leaders at news organizations around the world have signed a letter expressing solidarity with journalists in Gaza, calling for their safety and freedom to report in the war zone.

The letter, released Thursday, was spearheaded by the Committee to Protect Journalists, which said at least 89 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, the vast majority of them Palestinians.

Leaders at The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, New Yorker, CNN, NBC News and ABC News have signed on. International signatories include the BBC, Der Spiegel in Germany, Agence France-Presse, Daily Maverick in South Africa, Nawaiwaqt Group in Pakistan and The Asahi Shimbun in Japan.

More organizations are welcome to participate, said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

We felt that it was important that we show that the international journalism community stands in solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues, Ginsberg said.

The letter says that journalists are civilians and that Israeli authorities must protect them as noncombatants in accordance with international law. Anyone violating this should be held accountable, it said.

Attacks on journalists are also attacks on truth, the letter said. We commit to championing the safety of journalists in Gaza, which is fundamental for the protection of press freedom everywhere.

Israel is only mentioned once in the letter. While CPJ has advocated for more access for journalists in Gaza, the letter steered clear of that subject because it was important to focus on solidarity, Ginsberg said.

She would not comment on whether any news organization contacted chose not to participate.
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A former researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has pleaded guilty to the 2021 killing of a Yale graduate student found shot outside his car in Connecticut.

Qinxuan Pan faces 35 years in prison following his guilty plea Thursday in a New Haven court. The 32-year-old will be sentenced April 25.

Prosecutors say that on the morning of Feb. 6, 2021, Pan shot Kevin Jiang multiple times on a street in New Haven, which is home to Yale University. He fled, leaving Jiang lying by his car with gunshot wounds to his head, chest and extremities.

Pan had eluded authorities for three months following the shooting death and was apprehended in Alabama, where officials said he was caught living under a fake name with $19,000 in cash, a passport and several cellphones.

A graduate student at Yales School of the Environment, Jiang grew up in Chicago and was an Army veteran.

Thursday's statement from prosecutors didn't mention a motive for the killing and Pans lawyer didnt respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Court documents show Pan knew Jiangs fiancee, Zion Perry, from when they both attended MIT.

But Perry told authorities they never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they were just friends, but she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time.

Jiang had just left Perry's apartment after a day of fishing when Pan shot him. Jiang and Perry had been engaged just days earlier.
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Outraged Japanese opposition lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion on Friday, accusing the governing party of trying to push through a budget bill without adequate debate because of disruptions caused by a scandal over its fund-raising practices.

Opposition politicians slammed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for failing to provide details about slush funds created by members of the governing Liberal Democratic Party's leading faction, or where the money went. Kishida apologized for the scandal, which has rocked his government, on Thursday in a rare appearance before the parliamentary ethics committee that was broadcast live.

Kishida, who also proposed reforms of the Political Funds Control Law, apparently attended the session in an effort to end debate on the scandal and secure the swift passage of a 112 trillion yen ($744 billion) budget bill that has been repeatedly stalled.

Opposition lawmakers were outraged Friday when budget committee chair Itsunori Onodera, a governing party member, scheduled a vote later in the day on the budget bill. They submitted the no-confidence motion against Onodera, accusing him of attempting to push through the bill without sufficient debate on the budget. The no-confidence motion was rejected because of the governing partys majority in Parliament.

Kishida has fought plummeting support ratings since the corruption scandal emerged. He has removed a number of Cabinet ministers and others from party executive posts, but support ratings for his government have dwindled to around 20%.

The scandal centers on unreported political funds raised through tickets sold for party events. It led to 10 people  lawmakers and their aides  being indicted in January.

More than 80 governing party lawmakers, most of them belonging to a major party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have acknowledged not reporting funds in a possible violation of the Political Funds Control Law. The money received from the long-term practice is alleged to have gone into unmonitored slush funds.

Earlier Friday, two prominent Abe-faction members  former trade and economy minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and former chief Cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno  appeared before the ethics committee and denied personally running the slush funds.

Nishimura and Matsuno said Abe proposed ending the practice in 2022, citing the lack of transparency and risk of causing public distrust. They said the practice somehow resumed after Abe's death but they did not know why.

Matsuno accepted about 10 million yen ($66,500) in unreported funds from the faction over the past five years, which he has since reported. He has acknowledged that his aides accepted the cash and it was kept in a safe in his office. He said the money was only spent for political activities.

Deliberations on the no-confidence motion held up Friday afternoons ethics hearing, where two more Abe-faction lawmakers were to appear.

The governing ethics committee, controlled by the governing party, is tasked with determining whether lawmakers violated political ethics and should be held responsible, but critics say its largely for show and expect little serious investigation.
 Close Clapham shooting: Three injured after gunman opens fire outside pub

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Detectives are still urgently trying to identify the suspects involved in an incident in Clapham which left two people with shotgun pellet injuries after a police chase in south London.

Officers were pursuing two people on a moped which failed to stop in Clapham on Friday evening when the bike collided with a member of the public and crashed shortly afterwards, the Metropolitan Police said.

Officers have established that one of the suspects was in possession of a shotgun which was discharged as it struck the ground having been dropped while the suspects fled on foot, Scotland Yard said in an update on Saturday afternoon.

Two women in the street, aged 27 and 36 years, sustained shotgun pellet injuries. They were not deliberately targeted, police said. All three victims have now been released from hospital.

Police had swarmed the high street and a witness told The Independent a gun was recovered by officers at the scene.

DCI Gemma Alger said: Our investigation to identify the two people responsible is at an early stage, but we will be relentless in following up every line of enquiry to arrest them.
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A quadruple murderer who went on a drug-fuelled stabbing rampage compared to a horror movie by the victims family has been jailed for life.

Joshua Jacques, 29, was driven by drugs and alcohol when he attacked his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds and three of her family members in their own home, leaving a bloodbath in his wake.

The volatile cannabis abuser claimed he killed his victims at their terraced house in Delaford Road, Bermondsey, south London, early on 25 April 2022 as a sacrifice for the greater good.

The Metropolitan Police found the bodies of Ms Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, also known as Rachquel, and grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, heaped together in the kitchen, while the body of Ms Hills partner, Denton Burke, 58, was found at the foot of the stairs.

After being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour, armed officers also discovered Jacques naked and lying in the upstairs bathroom in a praying position, screaming Allah, take me!, Kill me now, Get rid of me, and God please forgive me.

Dolent Hill, 64, and Denton Burke, 58, who were killed on 25 April 2022 in Bermondsey, south east London (PA)

However, later, at Lewisham Hospital, he said: I aint even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice, and also warned: I will do something stupid again.

At the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Bryan sentenced Jacques to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 45 years and 301 days, which takes into account time spent on remand. The judge warned the defendant: The minimum term is just that  after it is served there is no guarantee that youll be released at that time or any particular time thereafter.

Addressing Jacques in the dock, Mr Justice Bryan said he had committed a horrific catalogue of murders... in the most brutal of circumstances on three generations of the same family. He said Jacques offending had been contributed to by cannabis abuse but that he was well aware of the impact of it on his mental health. You and you alone bear responsibility... for what occurred during your drug-induced psychosis, the judge said.

Joshua Jacques, 29, was fuelled by drugs and alcohol when he attacked his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds and three of her family members in their own home in south London in 2022 (Met Police)

In a statement read to the court, Tracey-Ann Henry  who is the daughter of Ms Hill, stepdaughter of Mr Burke, sister of Ofori-Akuffo and aunt of Ms Drummonds  described Jacques attack on her incredible family as brutal, senseless, savage and barbaric.

The devastated Ms Henry said: Sometimes I wonder if its real. How can someone kill four people in one night? Its like something out of a horror movie.

Julieth Hutchinson, the sister of beloved Mr Burke and close friend of Ms Hill, similarly said: Its unbelievable what happened  its like something from a horror movie.

Explaining her reasons for appearing as a witness during the draining trial, Ms Henry added: I wanted the jury to know that not just four people had been murdered, but my whole family had  that whole generation of my family had been taken away.

Jacques had admitted their manslaughters but denied murder on the basis that he was mentally unwell at the time.

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for two hours to find Jacques, from Minard Road, Lewisham, south-east London, guilty of four counts of murder on 21 December.

Paul Raudnitz KC, mitigating for Jacques at the sentencing hearing, said the attack was not pre-meditated.

He also read out an apology from his client to the victims families  the first time that Jacques has expressed remorse for his actions. I would like to say to the family of the deceased, I am truly and sincerely sorry for all of the anguish, pain and heartache I have caused, Jacques wrote, adding: I have discussed it with myself and I cannot believe that I am the cause of this monstrosity.

Jacques appeared emotionless as he was sentenced. A cry of murderer could be heard from the public gallery as he was sent down.

Police found Samantha Drummonds body heaped together in the kitchen with her mother and grandmother (PA Media)

Jurors were told Jacques had 11 previous convictions for 20 offences, including for cannabis, being in possession of a silver knuckle duster, and robbery.

He first had a mental health assessment in April 2016 after seeking hospital treatment for drinking water from a toilet.

He was arrested after he threatened to stab and shoot a security officer, and, while in police custody, threw food around his cell.

He said he had taken 3g of skunk cannabis a day and refused to consider cutting down, saying he would carry on smoking marijuana even if it killed him.

In 2018, he was detained under the Mental Health Act after he was seen praying in the middle of a busy road in Brixton, south London, and was in hospital from April 27 to around 7 August of that year.

Nurse Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo was described as a doting wife and caring mother (PA Media)

Initially on admission, the impression was of drug-induced mania with psychotic features, jurors were told.

In February 2020, he was jailed for 51 months for conspiring to deal heroin and crack cocaine, and possessing cannabis. He was released on 11 November 2021.

In probation reports from April 2022, Jacques was described as chatty and engaged.

Three days before the killing, he called his probation officer to say that he had been offered a job at a radio station.

Two days later, Ms Drummonds confided in a friend that she believed Jacques was having an episode and had been chatting all night and was fixated on topics.

Tracey-Ann Henry, the aunt of Samantha Drummonds, sister of Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, and daughter of Dolet Hill, speaks to the media outside the Old Bailey, central London, where Joshua Jacques, 29, was found guilty of murder (PA Wire)

Mr Little told jurors no medical calls were made before the killings nor was Jacques taken to hospital.

Last April 25, Jacques had visited the house where Mr Burke and Ms Hill lived only for the second time.

Ms Ofori-Akuffo, also known as Racquel, sometimes stayed at the property to care for her mother, who was receiving treatment for cancer, while Ms Drummonds had been living there as her own flat was undergoing renovation, Mr Little told jurors.

After Jacques launched his attack, Ms Drummonds called his mother Norma Derrivere but all she was able to say was Norma hes sta sta ahhh.

There were also FaceTime calls between Jacques and his mother that evening, and during one, after 2am, he said: Im ending it, Im gonna make a sacrifice.

Floral tributes left outside the familys home in Bermondsey (Getty Images)

Neighbour Alice Canal heard a cat screeching, a male voice swearing, movement, banging and what she believed was someone falling down stairs, which prompted her to call 999 at around 1.42am.

It was claimed on his behalf that Jacques had exhibited manic symptoms consistent with bipolar disorder.

He doubled his skunk cannabis intake from his birthday on April 19 2022  just days before the killings.

However, that escalation came weeks after he began having trouble sleeping which was a symptom of mania, the defence argued.

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Linda Bradley said: Jacques brutally murdered four completely innocent people, and destroyed the lives of those left behind.

The families have shown immense strength and dignity throughout the lengthy trial, and I know they are still trying to to come to terms with Jacques cruel actions.

I can say, hand on heart, this is one of the most shocking cases our team has worked on, and we worked tirelessly to prove that Jacques was guilty of murder rather than manslaughter. We are pleased and relieved that the jury accepted this argument.
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Three boys have been arrested by police after a woman was allegedly raped near a coastal beauty spot in North Tyneside.

The alleged attack happened close to English Heritages Tynemouth Priory and Castle in the seaside town of Tynemouth last Sunday at around 4pm.

Detectives questioned three boys, all aged 15, who have since been released on police bail as investigations continue.

A spokesperson for Northumbria Police told The Independent: Shortly after 3.50pm on Sunday we received a report of rape in the Tynemouth Priory and Castle area of Tynemouth.An investigation was immediately launched by police, and the female victim continues to be supported by specialist officers.

Officers have arrested three males, all aged 15, on suspicion of rape. They have since been released on police bail pending further enquiries. Enquiries are ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact police.

The ruins of Tynemouth Castle and Priory overlook the North Sea and the River Tyne, and are close to the town of Tynemouth which is popular with tourists.
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Three members of Sara Sharifs family who are accused of killing the 10-year-old will go on trial for murder in October.

The childs body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in Woking, Surrey, on 10 August last year with what prosecutors described as a constellation of healed and healing injuries and notes under her pillow.

Her father, Urfan Sharif, stepmother, Beinash Batool, and uncle, Faisal Malik, pleaded not guilty to murder and to causing or allowing the death of a child between 16 December 2022 and 9 August 2023.

Sara Sharif's father Urfan Sharif, right, and her uncle Faisal Malik appearing via video-link, from Belmarsh prison, at the Old Bailey in London, as three members of her family pleaded not guilty to her murder (PA)

All three stared and showed no emotion as they appeared at the Old Bailey by video-link on Friday, with Judge Mark Lucraft setting a date for their trial on 1 October.

The judge confirmed the case would take up to six weeks and be heard before High Court judge Mr Justice Cavanagh.

A previous court hearing was told police found Saras body under a blanket on a bunk bed at her home after receiving a call from Pakistan, which lasted eight minutes and 34 seconds, at 2.47am on 10 August.

It is alleged the defendants had booked a flight to the country two days earlier.

Sara Sharif's stepmother Beinash Batool appearing via video-link, from Bronzefield women's prison in Surrey, at the Old Bailey in London (PA)

The day before Saras body was discovered, the trio had left the UK for Pakistan with five children.

They returned to the UK on 13 September and were arrested on landing at Gatwick Airport.

The defendants, formerly of Hammond Road in Woking, appeared from Belmarsh and Bronzefield prisons and were further remanded into custody.
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Three sadistic killers who tortured, starved and battered to death a mother fed only ketchup sachets have each been jailed for life.

Ashana Studholme, 38, her lover Shaun Pendlebury, 26, and their friend Lisa Richardson, 44, inflicted an orgy of violence on vulnerable Shakira Spencer in a sadistic campaign that ended with her dying in a cupboard in her flat in Ealing, in west London.

The 35-year-old fell under the influence of the trio, and would be woken up in the early hours to clean their homes or be sent on errands to the shops over many months in which she was isolated and robbed of her money.

They also scalded Ms Spencers feet and fed her own ketchup from sachets.

Ashana Studholme, Shaun Pendlebury and Lisa Richardson have been sentenced for the murder of Shakira Spencer at The Old Bailey (Metropolitan Police)

The defendants were all convicted of murder and preventing Ms Spencer a lawful burial after trial last year.

On Friday at the Old Bailey, Studholme, of Greenhill Road, Harrow; Pendlebury, of Tewkesbury Road, Ealing, and Richardson, of Broomcroft Avenue, Ealing, were all jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years.

Judge Angela Rafferty KC, said desrcribed the treatment of Ms Spencer as an orgy of violence, adding: This was a sadistic campaign in which you all took pleasure in inflicting pain and suffering on a vulnerable woman.

Ms Spencer was once described as a beautiful, happy, healthy woman, but after months of torture at the hands of the trio she became skeletal, going from a size 16 dress size to a six.

Shakira Spencer, pictured in 2007, before the trio took control of her, leading to her death in 2022 (PA Media)

Ms Spencer dropped from a dress size 16 to a size six as the trio starved her (PA)

The Met Police said she had known the three for some time through a complex web of relationships, but in just under a year she had fallen under their complete control.

They stole her self-respect, her children, and her home, took over her finances and controlled her life.

Her shocking treatment came to a climax when she was beaten in a frenzied, violent assault between 9 and 12 September 2022. The trial heard how Pendlebury and Studholme then took her to her home where she was left to die in cupboard less than a week later.

Her death was only discovered when neighbours saw maggots coming from her flat and her badly decomposed body was found.

As part of their bid to cover their tracks, Studholme was caught on CCTV buying cleaning product to clean up the crime scenes (Met Police)

CCTV recovered by police showed the defendants using their victims credit card to purchase cleaning product in an attempt to clean up the crime scenes and remove evidence linking them to her.

While messages found on the defendants phones included videos of Ms Spencer being beaten up, while others laughed and jeered.

Ms Spencers last journey, in the boot of a car driven by Pendlebury and Studholme to her home where she died (Met Police)

Ms Spencers son described the trio who killed his mother as cruel and evil in an impact statement read out to Fridays hearing.

The individual, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: Ive suffered with daily nightmares and anxiety over what happened to her, I cannot get the horrible image of my mother looking skinny and unwell out of my head.

Among the last known public sightings of Shakira Spencer, seen slowly crossing a road around the time of the assault which killed her (Met Police)

Why were they (the defendants) so heartless? What could cause them to torture another human? I hope that every day they feel bad for the choices they have made.

I cannot believe people she thought were her friends would ever do this to her. These people are cruel and evil, they do not deserve to live a normal happy life again.

The son also paid tribute to his mother, describing her as the best and saying he missed her every day.

He added: I never got to say goodbye to her, or to tell her that I loved her  these people let her die alone with her feeling she was unloved, as they had taken everybody away from her.

Senior crown prosecutor Devi Kharran said Ms Spencers suffering was simply unimaginable.

He said: Evidence presented during the trial proved that Pendlebury, Studholme and Richardson exercised twisted and sadistic control of Shakira Spencer over an extended period.

Our thoughts remain with all of Shakiras family and friends. I hope this conviction brings them some sense of justice.
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Marcus Osborne has joined some of the countrys most dangerous offenders who are expected to die behind bars after he was given a whole-life order for the murders of Katie Higton and Steven Harnett.

Osborne, 35, lay in wait for his ex-partner Ms Higton, 27, at the house they once shared in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, before carrying a ferocious and merciless knife attack on May 15 last year.

He then used her phone to pretend to be her and lure Mr Harnett, 25, to the house.

The brutal double killing left Ms Higton with 99 injuries and Mr Harnett with 24 wounds, including mutilated genitals.

He then raped another woman, who he had held captive in the house overnight, at knifepoint.

Sentencing Osborne to a whole-life order at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, judge Mrs Justice Lambert told him: There are no mitigating factors in your case other than your guilty plea. There is no psychiatric or other evidence placed before me to explain or help me understand your actions.

This is a case of such exceptional seriousness that even a very long minimum term would not be a just punishment. What you did that night was horrific.

Other criminals who have been sentenced to whole-life orders in recent years include child serial killer Lucy Letby, Sarah Everards killer Wayne Couzens, necrophiliac David Fuller, and homegrown terrorist Ali Harbi Ali, who murdered MP Sir David Amess.

They will never be considered for release unless there are exceptional compassionate grounds to warrant it.

Only four women have faced such a punishment: Letby, the girlfriend of Moors murderer Ian Brady, Myra Hindley  who died in 2002, and serial killers Rose West and Joanna Dennehy.

Killer nurse Lucy Letby is serving 14 whole life orders (Cheshire Constabulary/PA) (PA Media)

Letby was jailed in August last year for what a judge described as a cruel, calculated and cynical campaign of baby murder in the hospital where she worked as a nurse.

Gun fanatic Louis De Zoysa was handed a whole-life order last July after shooting Metropolitan Police custody sergeant Matt Ratana while handcuffed in a police cell in 2020.

In December 2022, Damien Bendall began serving a whole-life order for murdering his partner Terri Harris, 35, her daughter Lacey Bennett, 11, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Laceys friend Connie Gent, also 11, who was staying for a sleepover.

A year earlier, Fuller was handed the same sentence for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce in 1987 and the sexual abuse of more than 100 dead women and girls in hospital mortuaries.

Milly Dowlers killer, Levi Bellfield, is serving two whole-life orders  for her murder, the killings of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange, and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.

Harold Shipman was found to have killed 250 of his patients (Greater Manchester Police/PA) (PA Media)

Other notorious criminals serving whole-life orders include Michael Adebolajo, one of Fusilier Lee Rigbys killers; Mark Bridger, who murdered five-year-old April Jones in Wales; neo-Nazi Thomas Mair, who killed MP Jo Cox; serial killer Stephen Port; and Reading terror attacker Khairi Saadallah, who murdered three men in a park.

In the past, home secretaries could issue whole-life tariffs, as they were previously known, and these are now determined by judges.

Before they died, Brady, Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and doctor Harold Shipman  thought to be one of Britains most prolific serial killers  were also among those handed such a punishment.

Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which became law last year, the Government expanded the use of whole-life orders for the premeditated murder of a child.

The reforms also allow judges to hand out the maximum sentence to 18 to 20-year-olds in exceptional cases, such as for acts of terrorism leading to mass loss of life, and the discretion to impose the sentence on offenders aged 18 or over but under 21 in exceptional circumstances.

Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi, who was convicted of conspiring with his suicide-bomber brother Salman Abedi over the 2017 atrocity, avoided a whole-life order because he was 21 at the time.
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Asda has said it will invest 150 million into giving more than 120,000 staff an 8.4% pay rise.

The UKs third largest supermarket chain said it will increase basic pay for retail workers to 12.04 an hour later this year, with those at stores inside the M25 receiving 13.21.

It is the latest supermarket group to hike pay rates, ahead of an increase in the national minimum wage in April.

The national minimum wage will increase from its current rate of 10.42 to 11.44 on April 1.

Asda currently pays an hourly rate of 11.11 to staff, with that increased to 12.28 within the M25.

It said it will give staff an interim increase to the new national minimum wage in April, with those inside the M25 receiving 12.61, before it launches the larger pay deal in July.

Usdaw, the trade union that negotiates with Asda on retail pay in Northern Ireland and in Asda Express, is recommending members accept the rates in a ballot that closes on March 15.

Mohsin Issa, Asda co-owner, said: This record investment will see Asda become the highest paying grocery retailer in the UK, recognising the hard work of our store colleagues in serving customers every day.

We want to be a company that people are proud to work for, which is why we are proposing increasing pay for retail and Express colleagues by more than 8% this year.

The announcement comes as the supermarket group opens its 1,000th UK store in Stevenage, amid the rapid expansion of its convenience business following its takeover by the Issa brothers and TDR Capital in 2021.

On Friday, Mr Issa also told the BBC that he plans to hand over the running of the supermarket group to a chief executive after completing a reset.
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Thomas Kingston died from a traumatic head wound with a gun found near his body, an inquest has heard.

The husband of Prince and Princess Michael of Kents daughter, Lady Gabriella Kingston, died suddenly on Sunday in an outbuilding at his parents home in the Cotswolds.

Lady Gabriella and Thomas Kingston (Alexandra Diez de Rivera/Buckingham Palace/PA) (PA Wire)

The King, who is a second cousin of Lady Gabriella, sent his most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to her family after news broke of the sudden death.

Lady Gabriella is currently 56th in the line of succession to the British throne behind her niece, Isabella Windsor.

Lady Gabriella Kingston and husband Thomas (Alexandra Diez de Rivera/Buckingham Palace/PA)

While opening the inquest at Gloucestershire Coroners Court on Friday afternoon, senior coroner Katy Skerrett said that Mr Kingston, 45, ate lunch with his parents at their home on Sunday.

After lunch, his father went out to walk the dogs but upon his return, Mr Kingston could not be found in the house.

Around 30 minutes later, his mother went to look for him. His father then forced entry into a locked outbuilding when they heard no response.

He found Mr Kingston deceased with a catastrophic head injury. A gun was present at the scene. Emergency services were called. Police are satisfied the death is not suspicious, Ms Skerrett told the inquest.

A post mortem has been undertaken by Dr Jones, a consultant histopathologist, and a provisional cause of death has been given as a traumatic wound to head.

After hearing the initial details, an inquest into Mr Kingstons death was officially opened and adjourned to a date to be fixed later.

A statement released earlier this week on behalf of Lady Gabriella, Mr Martin and Mrs Jill Kingston, Mrs Joanna Connolly and Mrs Emma Murray said: It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother.

Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing.

Lady Gabriella married financier Mr Kingston in 2019. The intimate ceremony in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle was attended by several senior members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry.

Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at their wedding on 18 May 2019 (Getty )

The late Duke of Edinburgh also made a rare public appearance at the ceremony.

The couple got engaged in the summer of 2018 after having dated for several years, with Mr Kingston proposing during a trip to the Isle of Sark.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: The King and the Queen have been informed of Thomass death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family.

In particular, their majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family.

According to reports, the financiers death is not believed to be the reason why the Prince of Wales pulled out of a memorial service on Tuesday for his godfather King Constantine II, which was attended by Lady Gabriellas parents Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.

Mr Kingston had previously dated Pippa Middleton, with the pair remaining close friends. Kingston and Lady Gabriella attended Ms Middletons wedding to James Matthews in May 2017.

Mr Kingston was a director at Devonport Capital, which specialises in supporting companies in emerging economies or post-conflict environments by providing access to expansion finance and liquidity-bridging solutions.

The Bristol University graduate had also previously worked to secure the release of hostages in Iraq after joining the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office.
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Two grieving mothers who believe they lost their sons through dangerous TikTok challenges claim the app has not gone far enough to remove harmful content.

Hollie Dance, 48, and Lisa Kenevan, 51, are campaigning for new disturbing hold breath challenge videos to be taken down after uncovering a plethora of concerning clips on the video-sharing app.

Many of the clips feature imagery from the popular Minecraft game  viewers are prompted with dark messages of encouragement to keep going, such as comment bread if you are still holding your breath.

Isaac Kenevan, 13, was a typical teenage boy who loved gaming and sports. But last March, a coroner ruled he died due to misadventure after Ms Kenavan found him lifeless on the bathroom floor in March 2022.

The mother, from Essex, believes his death was due to an online choking challenge after the police found two videos of him completing the challenge on his phone shortly before he died.

She said: I just think its a complete insult theyre putting our children in danger. Weve lost our children  from someone putting these videos on our phones.

Archie Battersbee, 12, also died after taking part in what his mother suspects to be an online challenge (PA Media)

The parents are worried the new hold breath challenge could lead to fatalities in the same way the blackout challenge did, which similarly dared users to hold their breath until they lost consciousness. It was linked to the deaths of three children.

The Independent contacted TikTok, which has since taken down three of the new dangerous challenge videos reported by Ms Kenevan.

Archie Battersbees case hit the headlines when his mother Ms Dance lost a painful legal battle in 2022 to keep her sons life support switched on after he suffered a catastrophic brain injury.

She had discovered her 12-year-old son unconscious on the stairs and also suspects he may have taken part in an online challenge.

The videos use captivating noises and challenge users to hold their breath as they are guided down a very long way, she said.

Dr Kiran Rajneesh, a professor of neurology at Ohio State University, said holding your breath for too long can decrease oxygen flow to the brain which can cause fainting, seizures and brain damage. It can also cause heart, kidney and liver damage.

Archies case hit the headlines when his mother Hollie Dance lost a painful legal battle in 2022 to keep his life support switched on (Hollie Dance/PA)

A coroner ruled Archie, who was described as an energetic, perfect boy who loved MMA and gymnastics, died accidentally in a prank or experiment which went wrong.

Speaking after the hearing, Steven Horsley from Simpson Millar solicitors, who represented Ms Dance, told The Guardian: Archie was using TikTok on the day of his injury, although we may never know what he was looking at.

However, a coroner ruled that no evidence had been found to support suggestions he had taken part in a blackout challenge.

The implementation of the Online Safety Bill signals new hope for answers, as technology companies will be ordered to offer up users app history if a coroner deems social media could have contributed to a death in any way.

Bereaved families successfully campaigned for full transparency of their deceased childrens online data in the months leading up to their deaths. Before the law change, social media platforms only had a 90-day retention policy.

A coroner ruled Archie died accidentally in a prank or experiment which went wrong (Family photo)

Ms Dance raised concerns with the apps complaints procedure, which relies on bots instead of people.

She told The Independent: My main concern: if you report something, there is a bot at the other end, and a robot is not a safeguarding officer or a human being  you know, thats really dangerous.

Ms Kenevan said she has repeatedly reported such content, but claims the app is failing to remove the content or prevent it from being published in the first place.

Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered Brianna Ghey, has echoed the two mothers calls for more stringent internet regulation to prevent under-16s from using social media.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were both 15 when they killed Brianna, 16, with a hunting knife after luring her to a park in Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February last year.

Jenkinson had watched videos of torture and murder online.

An online safety law is not sufficient to protect children, says the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey (PA Wire)

Ms Ghey is now campaigning for under-16s to be blocked from accessing social media on smartphones, and calling for stronger controls to flag potentially harmful searches to parents, in the wake of the sentencing of her daughters killers.

She said the Online Safety Bill is a step in the right direction but more drastic measures need to be taken to protect young lives.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: I dont think the Online Safety Bill is enough. The internet and social media is so vast, I think it will be so hard to police.

The second point is as well, that comments and free speech  and dont get me wrong I am all for free speech  but some of the comments I have seen on social media posts and some of the articles that Ive done, they are just hateful comments.

The Online Safety Bill is not going to protect children and young people from seeing that kind of horrible content because I dont think that will be deemed as harmful.

Smartphone companies should have a moral responsibility, and you should really want to do more.

But I think that big companies like that are all about how much money they can generate and they dont necessarily think about the impact it is having on the public, so I think that maybe there would have to be a law just to make sure it is properly enforced.

Esther Ghey says more drastic measures need to be taken to protect young lives (Good Morning Britain/ITV)

Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of communications regulator Ofcom, told BBC Breakfast: My heart goes out to Briannas family, and I think what her mum has done over the past few days in getting all these issues really high up the agenda is so important.

She said Ofcom was using the powers given to it by the Online Safety Act, which passed into law late last year, to create a safer internet for teenagers.

David Wright, the director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, said: Harmful social media challenges are deemed successful when they cause panic. Inadvertently naming challenges to warn children and young people about the danger it may pose is counterproductive and may inadvertently direct even more people towards them.

Reporting the challenge is still always the best course of action  we all have a responsibility to limit exposure and not draw any unwanted attention towards this type of harm.

The Professionals Online Safety Helpline has worked with TikTok for a number of years to ensure schools have another avenue to report harmful content if they come across content of this nature. We encourage professionals to use this support if they are concerned about harmful social media challenges by phoning 0344 381 4772.

Scarlett Jenkinson, left, and Eddie Ratcliffe were both 15 when they killed 16-year-old Brianna with a hunting knife (PA Media)

A spokesperson for TikTok said: TikTok does not allow dangerous challenges, and we proactively find 99 per cent of content removed for breaking these rules. We partner with independent safeguarding organisations to continuously strengthen our approach, which includes age-restricting certain content and features, and blocking harmful search terms.

Similar challenge videos appeared on Instagram and YouTube, which The Independent has also contacted for comment.
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A stand-up comedian hired to play Willy Wonka at a widely criticised chocolate factory experience has spoken out after furious parents demanded refunds.

Willys Chocolate Experience organiser Billy Coull apologised for his vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book that didnt come to fruition and offered 850 people their money back before closing the Glasgow experience on Saturday.

Paul Connell said he was given 15 pages of AI-generated gibberish (Supplied)

One parent complained of arriving to find a disorganised mini-maze of randomly placed oversized props, a lacklustre candy station that dispersed one jelly bean per child, and a terrifying chrome-masked character that scared many of the kids to tears.

There was supposed to be a chocolate fountain somewhere but I never saw it (Stuart Sinclair/Facebook)

Did you attend the event? If so email barney.davis.ind@independent.co.uk

The Wonka-esque impersonator Paul Connell, 31, spoke to The Independent about how he got the gig and how the chaos unfolded.

Im constantly applying for more acting jobs and comedy work, then I got a phone call on Thursday saying, Congratulations you are going to play Willy Wonka, we will send you over the script and dress rehearsal is tomorrow, Mr Connell said. The script was 15 pages of AI-generated gibberish of me just monologuing these mad things.

The bit that got me was where I had to say, There is a man we dont know his name. We know him as the Unknown. This Unknown is an evil chocolate maker who lives in the walls.

It was terrifying for the kids. Is he an evil man who makes chocolate or is the chocolate itself evil?

They even misspelt my contract but I do have a legally binding Coontract [sic]. But I stayed up all night learning it, thinking this would make sense in the dress rehearsal when I see all the tech.

Parents were not happy with the Wonka Experience (Stuart Sinclair/Facebook)

But at the Friday evening dress rehearsal hours before opening, he turned up to find the immersive and enchanting Willy Wonka experience was, in fact, an empty warehouse with a few plastic mushrooms.

In some ways, it was a world of imagination, like imagine that there is a whole chocolate factory here, he said. I spoke to the people running it and thought, surely by the morning it wont look like this, and then I turned up in the morning and it absolutely did.

At the end of my monologue, I was supposed to suck up the Unknown Man with a vacuum cleaner. I asked them if they had a vacuum cleaner and they said, yeah, we havent really got there yet, so just improvise.

So I started to cut things out, thinking that would be silly.

All the actors were lovely people. We gathered together in the morning and said, Were probably not going to get paid for this but kids are still going to come up. Lets make this as magic as possible for them.

Children were given a quarter cup of lemonade, the actor said (Supplied)

I was making jokes but we were told to give them one jelly bean and a quarter cup of lemonade, he continued. No chocolate at the chocolate experience. There was supposed to be a chocolate fountain somewhere but I never saw it.

I was told I would get a 15-minute break every 45 minutes after each group went through.

But I ended up playing Willy Wonka for three and a half hours straight. I didnt know where I ended and Wonka began. I was losing my mind by that point.

The organiser came up to me, saying, Youre spending too much time with the kids, we need to get them through as quickly as possible.

By this point, I was visibly angry. I was like, now theres going to be a lot of disappointed kids.

The actor said he finally managed to get a lunch break, deciding to spend it sitting in his car staring at the floor trying to avoid the sight of crying children being turned away by security.

When I came back, thats when everything kicked off, he explained. There was an angry mob at the door not being let in. I had to wedge my way through.

I was Wonka and its my face everywhere. But I am just a last-minute actor, really, I didnt organise anything.

People were shouting, people who put on the event were crying. There were arguments, people running around everywhere  the set had been trashed.

An AI poster was printed out and stuck to a wall (Stuart Sinclair/Facebook)

He called another huddle of the two other Willy Wonkas and the nearest Oompa Loompas, adding: We decided to just walk away.

It was actually getting quite dangerous for us. But it was heartbreaking, to be honest.

There were kids in costume better than ours, crying. I used to be a teacher and that was triggering for me.

One thing I want to make clear is everyone has been so nice to the actors in person and on the day, the people who were there understand we did our best.

We didnt take any abuse but we gave abuse to the people running it. The whole thing was disrespectful to the families and us as promising actors.

There were three Willy Wonkas but I was the most unlucky because I went first and stayed for three and a half hours doing it through either commitment or stupidity.

Planning a stand-up tour soon, the actor, originally from Hull, said he had moved to Glasgow to follow his dream of becoming a stand-up comedian after googling what is the funniest city in the UK.

He finished: Its a night Ill try to forget. Sadly, not only will I remember it, everyone I know will remember it too.

We as actors were brought in last minute and we just did our best for the kids.

Gene Wilders Wonka in the iconic original movie (Warner Bros)

Stuart Sinclair, who travelled two hours to attend the experience with his family, told The Independent: It was nothing short of shocking.

But all the cast that were there did their absolute best. Unfortunately, they were all sub-contractor actors hired by Illuminati and havent been paid either.

They were in as much shock as us. But it was probably worse for them because this is their job and made them look bad when it wasnt their fault.

Organiser Billy Coull, the director of immersive events company House of Illuminati, told STV News: Im really shocked that the event had fallen short of the expectations of people on paper.

My vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book didnt come to fruition. For that, I am absolutely truly and utterly sorry.
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Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, a veteran Cuban dissident who never left the island despite being imprisoned twice and accused of being a United States agent, will be awarded the 2024 International Women of Courage Award, the U.S. Department of State said Friday.

Roque, 78, who spent decades protesting against her country's single-party model, said she will not be able to receive the prize in person because she has been regulated since 2018, meaning that she is prevented from leaving the island and cannot get a passport.

I am very happy about this award. Im grateful to the United States embassy in Cuba that put forward the proposal, Roque told The Associated Press in a recent interview at the residence of a U.S. official on the island. At least it is a way of saying you have spent 35 years working for Cuban democracy.

The IWOC Award, now in its 18th year, recognizes women from around the world who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, according to the U.S. State Department.

Roque, an economist by profession, worked for the Cuban government before a political rupture that drew international attention in 1997 when, together with three other Cubans  Felix Bonne, Rene Gomez Manzano and Vladimiro Roca  she created the Internal Dissidence Working Group and signed a declaration titled The Homeland belongs to everyone, calling for political and economic openness.

The so-called Group of Four ended up in court and Roque was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of attacking State security and sedition. She was released in May 2000 but continued her activism and in 2002 formed The Assembly to Promote Civil Society.

In March 2003, Roque was the only woman arrested  among 75 people  during a roundup of dissidents whom the government accused of accepting financing from the U.S. government and interest groups.

She received a sentence of 20 years in prison in a trial in which the strongest witness against her was her own assistant, Aleida Godinez, who then identified herself as a government security agent. In July 2004 Roque was released  but not exonerated  for medical reasons.

The European Union and organizations such as Amnesty International pressed for the release of the 75 prisoners who were finally released  the last in 2011  under a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic Church and the government of Spain. Many went into exile with their families.

Today, away from public view, Roque says she regrets that the record migration from the island is holding up the creation of a real opposition and says that her legacy as a veteran dissident is precisely her staying in the country.

As part of the old opposition, we are going to leave behind an example because not everyone (the dissidents) left, but almost everyone went to prison, she said.

Roque also expressed regret about some of the radical comments she made during her life as a dissident, like saying she didnt care if the U.S. invaded Cuba to overthrow the government.

I am not the person I was 15 or 20 years ago ... and my experience would make me not say things that I said in the past, Roque told the AP. I firmly think that the solution for the people of Cuba is here, inside the country, just as other countries have come to solve their dictatorial problem.

____

Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
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George Galloways deputy has refused to condemn the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, in a sign of the controversy surrounding his Rochdale by-election win.

As Mr Galloway prepares to return to parliament, the deputy leader of his Workers Party suggested Israel should have expected the attacks.

Former Labour MP Chris Williamson also accused the government and Labour of effectively facilitating the genocide in Gaza.

The former Labour MP for Derby North refused to condemn Hamas terror attacks

His remarks were condemned by Labours Ellie Reeves, who said it was utterly appalling for Mr Williamson not to condemn the 7 October atrocities.

It came as the Board of Deputies of British Jews hailed Mr Galloways election win as a dark day for the UKs Jewish community.

And the Campaign Against Antisemitism said Mr Galloways endurance in our public life serves to exploit extremist sentiment and divide communities.

Following Mr Galloways win, Mr Williamson took to the airwaves to describe his boss as probably the best orator in the world.

He also said Mr Galloway, an alleged antisemite notorious for stoking division and courting controversy, will be able to speak truth to power in Westminster.

And, when asked about October 7, he refused to condemn the Hamas attacks.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: You cant expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction.

In international law, oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance, Mr Williamson said, before going on to claim that the majority of those innocent people killed on October 7 were killed by Israeli forces.

Ms Reeves, Labours deputy national campaign coordinator, said she was utterly appalled by Chris Williamsons failure to condemn Hamas attacks on the seventh of October, and likewise his failure to distance his party from the endorsement of [former president of the far-right British National Party] Nick Griffin.

George Galloway declared his by-election win was for Gaza in a challenge to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer (REUTERS)

Mr Williamson is a former close ally of Jeremy Corbyn and was suspended from the Labour party for claiming it had given too much ground and been too apologetic in tackling antisemitism.

He is now the deputy leader of Mr Galloways Workers Party of Britain.

The ex-Labour MP for Derby North had faced previous criticism for incidents of alleged antisemitism, including offering to host a parliamentary screening of a film by a Labour member suspended for claiming Jews had been the chief financiers of the slave trade.

Mr Galloway won the Rochdale by-election with just under 40 per cent of the vote, a majority of 5,697 over second placed David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate.

In his victory speech, he said: "Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. It echoed the message Mr Galloway sent upon his 2005 win in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, when he said: Mr Blair, this is for Iraq.

He added: You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip."

Labours former candidate Azhar Ali, who was suspended for making antisemitic comments, came fourth.
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George Galloway will make yet another return to parliament.

The political firebrand has won by the Rochdale by-election for the Workers Party of Britain, basing his campaign in opposition to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers position on the war in Gaza.

Mr Galloways return to politics will be his fourth parliamentary seat, after the candidate made headway throughout Rochdale with his pro-Palestine position.

George Galloway won the Rochdale by-election for the Workers Party of Britain with 12,335 votes.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Galloway said: Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You will pay a high price for enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

Who is George Galloway?

Workers Party of Britain candidate George Calloway speaks after being declared the winner in the Rochdale by-election (Getty Images)

Mr Galloway was Labour MP for Glasgow Hillhead from 1987, and after that constituency was abolished before the 1997 election, he became Labour MP for its successor, Glasgow Kelvin.

He was expelled from the Labour party in 2003 for bringing the party into disrepute, after he called the then Labour Government "Tony Blairs lie machine", and said British troops fighting in Iraq should refuse to obey their orders.

He remained in his Glasgow seat until the next election, and then went on to join the Respect Party, representing it in the Bethnal Green & Bow and Bradford West constituencies.

In 2006 he appeared in the fourth series of Celebrity Big Brother, becoming notorious for a bizarre impersonation of actress Rula Lenskas pet cat. He lasted three weeks before he was evicted.

What is the Workers Party of Britain?

The Workers Party of Britain was founded by Mr Galloway in 2019, who is also the party leader and now its only MP.

It was created in response to Jeremy Corbyns defeat in the general election of that year.

The party has a 10 point manifesto to build a new working class politics in Britain, including bring an end to imperialist wars, withdrawing from Nato, rebuilding British industry and decent, cheap, secure housing for all.

Why is he a controversial figure?

Mr Galloway meeting Saddam Hussein in 2002 (INA/AFP via Getty Images)

He has long been an ardent supporter of the Palestinian people and staunch critic of Israel, calling for the dismantling of the "Zionist state".

But he has also been accused of antisemitism, including when he was sacked by TalkRadio in 2019 for congratulating Liverpool FC over beating Tottenham Hotspur FC in the Champions League final by tweeting No Israel flags on the Cup!

He was previously accused of racism in 2013 for walking out of a debate at Oxford University after discovering that his opponent was an Israeli citizen. I dont debate with Israelis, he said

Mr Galloway has also done and said things which would have spelled the end of other politicians careers, including being vilified in the press for meeting Saddam Hussein. The ex-MP was criticised in 2012 for appearing to state that having sex with an unconscious woman would be bad sexual etiquette but not rape.

The former Labour MP also got into hot water when he used a derogatory term for disabled people on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr Galloway called a twitter user a window licker - an offensive slur against people with disabilities.

And, standing in Bradford West in 2015 against Labour MP Naz Shah, who had written about being forced to marry as a teenager, Mr Galloway accused her of lying about the details.

Adding to the controversy surrounding him, Mr Galloway shared a fake AI-generated audio clip of Labour leader Sir Keir suggesting he did not care about Labour losing the Rochdale contest as long as he was scoring points with Israel.

MrGalloway has built a political career on fierce opposition to Western foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East (PA Wire)

Why did he stand in Rochdale?

Announcing his campaign, Mr Galloway said there is no future for Britain as a Tory Labour duopoly where both major parties stand for entirely the same things including on the supremely important issues of war and peace.

He painted the Rochdale by-election as an opportunity for constituents to send a message of support to the people soaking wet, freezing cold hungry, living out in the open in Gaza.

He insisted that the people of Gaza would be voting for me in the Rochdale by-election and urged voters to back him to send a message to Sir Keir and the British political class.

How did George Galloway win?

Mr Galloway won the Rochdale by-election for the Workers Party of Britain, overturning a Labour majority of 9,668.

He took almost 40 per cent of the vote and a majority of almost 5,700.

Rochdale represents Mr Galloways fourth different seat in parliament since 1987, an achievement which  he noted  emulates Winston Churchill.

Second to Mr Galloway was David Tully, who won 6,638 votes as an independent candidate campaigning on local issues.

The turnout was 39.7%.
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Rishi Sunak has said democracy is under attack from far-right and Islamist extremists as he urged the country to unite to beat the poison.

In an extraordinary move, the prime minister used a hastily arranged press conference outside No 10 yesterday to announce a new crackdown on extremism and appeal to the public to face down those he said were trying to tear us apart.

Just hours after George Galloways victory in the Rochdale by-election, he said it was beyond alarming voters had backed a candidate who dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, when Hamas murdered 1,200 people in Israel.

Earlier, the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned Mr Galloways win as a dark day for the UKs Jewish community, while Labour apologised for not campaigning against him in Rochdale.

Mr Sunak announced ministers would redouble support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities stop extremist activity on campus and prevent people entering the UK whose aim is to undermine its values.

In remarks likely to be seen as more controversial, Mr Sunk also urged the public to reject when extremists claim that Britain is and has been on the wrong side of history.

He said: No country is perfect, but I am enormously proud of the good that our country has done.

And when these groups tell children that the system is rigged against them or that Britain is a racist country This is not only a lie, but a cynical attempt to crush young dreams, and turn impressionistic minds against their own society.

Home secretary James Cleverly has also been instructed that those in the UK on visas who choose to spew hate will have their right to be in the country removed.

The Labour leader backed Mr Sunaks intervention, saying: The prime minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.

But Conservative peer Lord Vaizey said many in the Tory party should look to themselves when it comes to the toxification of public life after accusations it has stoked division on issues from Brexit to asylum seekers.

Labour also lashed out at the new MP as someone who is only interested in stoking fear and division.

The party had dropped its own candidate for making antisemitic remarks, leaving the door open for Mr Galloway, an alleged antisemite notorious for stoking division and courting controversy.

Sir Keir Starmer said following the result: Galloway only won because Labour didnt stand a candidate. I regret that we had to withdraw a candidate and apologise to voters in Rochdale. But I took that decision. It was the right decision.

And when I say I changed the Labour Party, I mean it. Obviously we will put a first-class candidate, a unifier, before the voters in Rochdale at the general election.

A Labour spokesperson added: Rochdale deserved the chance to vote for an MP that would bring communities together and deliver for working people.

George Galloway is only interested in stoking fear and division. As an MP he will be a damaging force in our communities and public life.

George Galloway gave a victory speech after his Workers Party won the Rochdale by-election (PA)

As the implications of Mr Galloways return to parliament became clear:

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said it was a dark day for the UKs Jewish community

Mr Sunak said the campaign for the Rochdale by-election was one of the most divisive in recent times

Senior Tory MPs called for politicians from all sides of the spectrum to stop inflaming public tensions

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Labour had let the people of Rochdale down

Mr Galloway said the zionist apartheid state of Israel has no right to exist

His deputy, former Labour MP Chris Williamson, refused to condemn the Hamas 7 October terror attacks

Mr Galloways Workers Party of Great Britain won with just under 40 per cent of the vote, a majority of 5,697 over second-placed David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate.

In his victory speech, Mr Galloway said: Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. It echoed the message Mr Galloway sent upon his 2005 win in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, when he said: Mr Blair, this is for Iraq.

He added: You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

A spokesperson for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: George Galloway is a demagogue and conspiracy theorist who has brought the politics of division and hate to every place he has ever stood for Parliament.

His election is a dark day for the Jewish community in this country and for British politics in general.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: George Galloway is an inflammatory firebrand with an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

His endurance in our public life serves to exploit extremist sentiment and divide communities.

Asked if Mr Galloways election win would inflame tensions, the prime minister said: It was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns that weve seen in recent times."

And in a sign of the controversy to come after Mr Galloways return, his deputy yesterday morning refused to condemn the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel.

Former Labour MP Chris Williamson, who was suspended from the party for claiming it had given too much ground and been too apologetic in tackling antisemitism, is now the deputy leader of Mr Galloways Workers Party of Britain.

The Jeremy Corbyn ally told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: You cant expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction.

He added: In international law, oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance, before going on to claim that the majority of those innocent people killed on 7 October were killed by Israeli forces.

Labours deputy national campaign coordinator Ellie Reeves said she was utterly appalled by Mr Williamsons failure to condemn Hamas attacks on the seventh of October, and likewise his failure to distance his party from the endorsement of [former president of the far-right British National Party] Nick Griffin.

And, in comments likely to further inflame tensions amid Israels war on Gaza, Mr Galloway went on to tell Sky News that the zionist apartheid state of Israel has no right to exist.

Top Tories came together to warn tensions are already running high and stress the importance of taking the heat out of political debate.

Senior Conservative MP David Davis, who will introduce Mr Galloway alongside Jeremy Corbyn in the House of Commons on Monday, said the temperature of politics has got very high.

And Mr Davis said Mr Galloway serves as a sharp reminder that if we want to make progress as a democracy you have to be able to debate in civilised terms and accept that other people have real differences from you.

The former cabinet minister told The Independent: The general temperature of politics has got very high even intra-party as well as between parties.

For democracy to operate properly we have to be able to reach a decision and ideally build a consensus or very solid majority around that, and that has not been happening for years.

And former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland said Mr Galloways election should was all about divisiveness, adding that it should serve as a general call to arms to take the heat out of political debate.

Speaking after visiting a sixth form college, Sir Robert told The Independent that we owe an example to the next generation to do our politics better.

That does not mean no disagreement or argument, of course it means lively debate, but disagreeing agreeably as we have done in Britain for generations.

He added: The more we spread the language of divisiveness and otherness and hate, the more youll see politicians like Jo Cox losing their lives or David Amess losing their lives, and the darker and sadder a place our political life will be

And thats why last night was a profoundly depressing result, frankly.

And Sir Robert described Mr Galloway as a demagogue who comes and goes and leaves damage in his wake.

And he said all sides of the political spectrum have been guilty of furthering public division and that politics should be about solutions, not trying to inflame debate.

And Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Labour had let the people of Rochdale down because it didnt give them a good enough choice.

And, in a warning to Mr Galloway, Mr Burnham warned that he will stand up to anybody who seeks to bring division or hate to our city region.

Left-wing campaign group Momentum blamed the result on Keir Starmers failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need (PA)

Left-wing pressure group Momentum described Labours Rochdale by-election results as self-inflicted. A spokesperson for the group said: This was a needless and self-inflicted loss for Labour.

First, (Labour leader Sir Keir) Starmers utterly factional selection processes resulted in a candidate who was clearly unfit for office. Then the Labour leadership tried to defend him as one of their own.

Finally, Keir Starmers failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need left the door open for George Galloway.

To avoid any more damaging repeats, Starmer should end the factional abuse of Labours selection processes and stand up for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

The Rochdale campaign has been mired in controversy and claims of intimidation and divisive tactics.

Labour withdrew support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after a recording emerged in which he claimed Israel was complicit in the terrorist attacks of 7 October, seeing Mr Galloway become the firm favourite for the seat.

Mr Ali remained listed as the Labour candidate as the partys decision came too late for ballot papers to be changed.

Labour said it will quickly begin the process to select a new Labour candidate for the general election.

Nigel Farages Reform UK also suffered a poor result in the seat, gaining just 6 per cent of the vote, much lower than its national poll rating of around 10 per cent. Leader Richard Tice claimed his candidate, former Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, had received a death threat during the campaign and said his partys campaign team had been subject to daily intimidation and slurs.

Pollster Luke Tryl, of More in Common, said the results were terrible for all the main parties. He pointed to the performance of second-placed Mr Tully as almost more significant than Mr Galloways win.

But the circumstances mean it is far more likely the lesson here is one about candidate selection and due diligence than about public opinion more broadly, he added.

Labours Ellie Reeves said the party will not change its position on Gaza despite Mr Galloway warning after the by-election result it will pay a high price nationally.

She told Sky News: Weve set out our position on Gaza and that was adopted by the Commons just the other week.

Weve said there should be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that the loss of life has been intolerable, there must be no ground offensive in Rafah, aid has to be ramped up into the region, and, importantly, that we need to find a two-state solution.
Immigration remains a major concern for voters, particularly those precious members of the electorate who opted to vote Conservative at the 2019 general election. Yet despite successive pledges, a procession of tough home secretaries, strong rhetoric, a constant flow of new laws, and the personal intervention of the prime minister, the news flow on the issue has rarely been favourable. The latest developments seem to be no different

Hows it going with the Rwanda plan?

The latest figure squeezed out of the government by the National Audit Office, an independent watchdog doing crucial work, suggests that more than 500m will be spent on the scheme even before a single refugee is deported. The bulk of the money is irrecoverable; some 370m has been pledged to Rwanda under the terms of the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund, with no conditions on individuals being sent over.
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Rishi Sunak has called for the country to come together to beat the poison of extremists targeting democracy, in a hastily arranged press conference in Downing Street.

In an extraordinary address to the public, he warned there were forces at home trying to tear us apart adding we must face (them) down.

Just hours after the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election, the prime minister branded his win "beyond alarming".

There had been a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality in recent months, in the wake of the war in Gaza, he said, as he announced a crackdown.

"What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence, he said. "Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with. Now our democracy itself is a target.

He cited council meetings and local events which have been targeted, said MPs do not feel safe in their own homes and long-standing parliamentary conventions had been upended because of safety concerns.

"And it's beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP."

Mr Sunak annouced ministers would redouble support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities stop extremist activity on campus and prevent people entering the UK whose aim is to undermine its values.

Home secretary James Cleverly has also been told that those in the UK on visas who choose to spew hate will have their right to be in the country removed.

In a message directed at those taking part in pro-Palestine protests, he urged people to reject extremism.

He said: I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: dont let the extremists hijack your marches.

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree, we will never be disunited.

More demonstrations are planned for this weekend before another national march takes place in central London on March 9.

Keir Starmer backed Mr Sunaks intervention, saying: The Prime Minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.

But Conservative peer Lord Vaizey said many in the Tory party should look to themselves when it comes to the toxification of public life.

And the Liberal Democrats said the British people would take no lessons from a Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division over issues including plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Mr Sunaks comments came just hours after Mr Galloways victory in the chaotic by-election was branded a dark day for Jewish community.

Earlier this week the prime minister claimed the UK was descending into mob rule as he warned police must take urgent action or risk losing public confidence.

The prime minister demanded a crackdown on protests as he said he would do whatever it requires to protect our democracy.

And he told police chiefs during a meeting in Downing Street that they had to demonstrate they would use the powers you already have.

Tensions have been heightened by protests over the war in Gaza, as MPs face intense pressure to back calls for a ceasefire.

Mr Sunak has previously condemned an aggressive mob of pro-Palestinian protesters at the home of Tory MP Tobias Ellwood.

There were also angry and chaotic scenes at Westminster last week after the Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was accused of ripping up the parliamentary rule book over a ceasefire vote, because of concerns over what he said were frightening threats against MPs.
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Rishi Sunaks beleaguered Rwanda deportation plan will cost taxpayers more than 500m, a shock report reveals today.

In a revelation branded a national scandal by Labour, the public spending watchdog said the scheme would cost 576.8m if just 300 asylum seekers were sent to the east African nation.

It would represent a total of 1.92m per person sent to Rwanda and account for just 1 per cent of the UKs asylum seekers.

Yvette Cooper, Labours shadow home secretary, said: This report reveals the national scandal the Tories have been trying to hide.

Rishi Sunak bet Piers Morgan 1,000 that deportation flights to Rwanda would leave before next election (Piers Morgan Uncensored/TalkTV)

The governments plan, unveiled two years ago by Boris Johnson, was for those arriving in the UK via irregular routes such as channel crossings to be permanently deported to Rwanda.

It was deemed unlawful in November by the Supreme Court and Mr Sunak is staging a desperate last-ditch bid to force the plan through - with a bill deeming Rwanda a safe country making its way through the House of Lords.

But the PM will come under fresh pressure over the scheme after the National Audit Office (NAO) laid bare its cost  enough to cover the 20,000-a-day bill for migrant patrol vessel HMS Mersey for the next 70 years.

Among the reports key findings were:

The Home Office will pay the Rwandan government 370m, with a further 120m once 300 people have been relocated to the country

Britain will also spend as much as 150,874 on processing and operational costs for each asylum seeker sent to Rwanda

The Home Office has already sent Rwanda 220m under a part of the scheme aimed at developing Rwandas economy

And it has spent a further 20m to set up the Rwanda scheme, without a single asylum seeker having been deported

The deportation policy is a key plank of Mr Sunaks pledge to stop the boats, with the PM and home secretary James Cleverly arguing it will act as a deterrent to potential asylum seekers.

But the government has been heavily criticised for failing to produce any evidence of the supposed deterrent effect, and Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft told MPs last year there was none.

The Home Office has so far refused to say how much more money, on top of the 290m already confirmed, the UK has agreed to pay Kigali under the stalled plan.

Rishi Sunak has staked his premiership on the promise to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda (Getty)

But the NAOs first full breakdown of the costs of the scheme will pile pressure on Mr Sunak to scrap the programme.

Labour, which will scrap the policy if it wins the general election expected this autumn, said the PM has staked his position on this scheme and must account for this fiasco.

Ms Cooper said: This report reveals the national scandal the Tories have been trying to hide. Its shocking analysis shows the costs of the failed Rwanda farce are even higher than previously thought.

In order to send less than 1 per cent of UK asylum seekers to Rwanda on a few symbolic flights, the taxpayer will be forced fork out over half a billion pounds - with no ability to recover any of the money already sent. This is the equivalent of nearly 2m per person sent.

Meanwhile, Dame Diana Johnson, chair of parliaments influential home affairs committee, said the cost of the scheme was staggering.

For all its rhetoric about ensuring value for money in the asylum and immigration system it is unclear how schemes such as Rwanda or the Bibby Stockholm barge achieve that, she said.

Dame Diana said the huge initial outlay and ongoing costs raise serious questions about how this can be cost-effective, even compared to high hotel accommodation costs.

Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: "These figures reveal the extortionate bill the taxpayer will have to pay the Rwandan government for an unworkable and inhumane scheme that will not deter people seeking protection on our shores."

Britain is spending 8m a day, or more than 3bn a year, housing asylum seekers in hotels.

And the Home Office said that doing nothing is not without significant costs. Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach 11bn per year by 2026, a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle.

We have a strong relationship with Rwanda and both sides remain absolutely determined to deliver on this partnership. Once the Safety of Rwanda Bill and Treaty are in place, we will focus on getting flights off the ground.

The number of migrants crossing the channel last year fell by around a third, and Mr Sunak has said he is getting on with delivering on the stop the boats pledge. He has spoken about wanting to get flights departing to Rwanda as soon as practically possible.

It was already known that an extra 50m was earmarked for the partnership for next year. But the NAO revealed the same sum will also be sent to Rwanda in 2025 and in 2026, taking the cost to 370m.

On top of that, once the first 300 migrants have been relocated to Rwanda, ministers have agreed to put another 120m into the fund, lifting the total to 490m.

In addition, an extra 20,000 will be paid to Rwanda for every asylum seeker relocated there, according to the NAO report.

The Home Office will also separately hand Kigali nearly 151,000 per person to cover asylum processing and integration costs, such as accommodation, food, healthcare and education, over five years if they stay in the country.

If they decide to leave, Britain would halt payments for that person, but would still give Rwanda a one-off 10,000 to help facilitate their departure.

The government has already sent Kigali an advance payment of 20m to cover these processing and operational costs for the first arrivals.

In total, the cost in a scenario where 300 individuals were sent to Rwanda would equal 576.8m.

It came as new government figures show 120,000 people were still waiting on a decision on their asylum claim at the end of December last year, despite a record number of refugees being granted protection.
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Officials with the Idaho Department of Corrections attempted to put Thomas Creech, a convicted murderer to death by lethal injection for almost an hour.

The execution had been scheduled for 28 February at 10am MST. But nearly 50 minutes into the procedure, the warden called it off because officials were unable to establish an intravenous line despite previously finding eight potential access points.

The medical team behind the execution attempted to make contact in his hands, feet, legs and arms. One team member even left the execution chamber to get more supplies.

Before the attempt, Creech was given a mild sedative per departmental policy. His last meal was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and ice cream. He spent the hours leading up to the attempt with his wife.

Creech, 73, was sentenced to death after he admitted to killing 23-year-old David D Jensen, a fellow inmate, at a maximum security prison in 1981. He was previously found guilty of murdering Edward T Arnold, 34, and John W Bradford, 40, in November 1975 in Valley County.

In January, police in California determined Creech was responsible for the death of Daniel Walker.

It wasnt the first time such a lethal injection execution had been botched, but it was a first for Idaho.

Who is Thomas Creech?

Creech has been on Idahos death row for 50 years, longer than any other prisoner in the state.

The number of people hes suspected of killing has fluctuated. He told a jury in his Valley County murder trial that he was responsible for killing 42 people by the time he was 24. He later said the number was actually 26. His attorneys say that number is heavily exaggerated, according to The Idaho Statesman.

Based on reporting from the Associated Press, Creech reportedly said 11 men gang-raped his wife, Thomasene White, and then threw her off a second-story building. She survived the incident but died by suicide in an Oregon mental health hospital.

The inmate said the incident led him to track down the men he believed were responsible and kill them. In the end, Creech said he killed nine out of the 11 men.

Problems with lethal injection executions

There have been a series of issues regarding lethal injection executions across the country. The drugs needed for the method are difficult to get and in recent years it appears as though the attempts have been difficult to carry out.

Additionally, drug manufacturers have been wary of having their companys name associated with providing the medication.

Prison officials in Alabama have botched three consecutive lethal injection executions in recent years, with the most recent being Kevin Eugene Smiths. Smith became the first person in the world to be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia in January after his failed lethal injection attempt in 2022.

In Smiths attempt and those of his fellow inmates, Joe Nathan James and Alan Eugene Miller, officials were unable to establish intravenous lines that wouldve put the lethal drugs into their systems.

In court filings, Smiths attorney, Robert Grass, said the experience left his client with post-traumatic stress disorder in addition to severe physical pain.

Alabama Department of Corrections remained willfully blind to the risk of that outcome by failing to investigate what happened and why during its immediate two previous botched and/or failed executions to prevent a recurrence before it attempted to execute Mr Smith, the filings stated.

Whats next for Thomas Creech?

Its unclear what officials will do after Creechs botched execution. Speaking at a news conference following the incident, Idaho Department of Corrections Director Josh Tewalt seemed unsure about whether the department will seek another death warrant for the inmate.

After the event, Creech was returned to his cell and witnesses were escorted out of the facility.

Under Idaho law, officials could pursue another execution attempt under either lethal injection or firing squad, but Mr Tewalt said the state does not currently have the capability to carry out a firearm execution.

This is a heavily regulated process that requires it be treated with a deference to being mindful of not violating the Eighth Amendment or creating any cruel and unusual punishment type claim, he said.

Our decision-making is based on our ability to carry out an execution with dignity, professionalism and respect.

Decisions regarding whether the state would consider another death warrant for Creech would be made in the oncoming days, he added, with next steps being taken with consideration of whether the circumstances of another lethal injection attempt would be different.

Mr Tewalt said the state would not be comfortable with any type of surgical intervention to execute the prisoner, though such policies exist in other states.

When asked a question about potentially using nitrogen hypoxia in another execution attempt, the director said that for the state to implement the method, lawmakers would need to pass legislation allowing for its use.

Such measures have been taken in Oklahoma and Mississippi. After Smiths execution, lawmakers in Ohio introduced legislation to add nitrogen gas as an execution method.

Attorneys for Creech immediately filed a new motion with a US District Court stating that the badly botched execution attempt proves Idahos inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution, according to CBS.

The attorneys previously filed three motions with the US Supreme Court to stay the execution but they were denied on Wednesday morning, leading officials to transport Creech on a gurney to the execution chamber.
 Close Michelle Troconis found guilty

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Michelle Troconis has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder.

After 12 hours of deliberation over the past three days, the jury found Ms Troconis guilty on all six counts Friday.

Jurors were tasked with deciding whether the 49-year-old conspired with her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos to kill his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, in Connecticut on 24 May 2019, and cover up the crime.

During closing arguments, prosecutors described Jennifers murder as deliberate and intentional and said that Troconis and Dulos worked to make this happen.

Jennifers body has never been found, but she has been officially declared dead  with police finding that she died a violent death at the hands of Dulos.

In January 2020, Fotis died by suicide after being charged with her murder.

Troconis pleaded not guilty and insisted she did not know Fotis was doing anything nefarious as she watched him toss garbage bags into random bins, or as she helped him write up a timeline of their whereabouts on the day Jennifer disappeared.
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A man who shot and killed a teenage student at a high school graduation ceremony in Virginia after a long-running feud between the pair will serve 25 years in prison for the murder.

Amari Pollard, 20, pled guilty to two charges on Thursday over the shooting during the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, in June 2023.

He pled guilty to charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to Richmond City Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachinn, per WRIC.

Pollard was sentenced to 43 years in jail, with 18 years suspended, for the killing of 18-year-old Shawn Jackson, whose step-father, 36-year-old Lorenzo Smith, was also fatally shot.

While Pollard was initially charged with the death of Smith, prosecutors later dropped the charges after an investigation, citing a lack of evidence to try him, the Associated Press reported.

Pollard testified that he shot Jackson because he was scared for his life, according to the outlet. He claimed he was running away from him when he heard someone say, Shoot him, leading to Pollard firing his gun.

However, prosecutors reportedly challenged this statement and referred to surveillance video, which they say captured Pollard shooting at Jackson from behind, adding that the victim was shot a total of six times.

The judge ultimately ruled that there was not enough evidence for a self-defence claim.

"This was a murder that happened at a public high school graduation, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the afternoon, with hundreds of people around," Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin said to reporters after the guilty plea.

The defendant had so little regard for completely innocent bystanders.

The shooting, which occurred on 6 June 2023, happened after a graduation ceremony outside Richmonds Altria Theatre on the outskirts of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Amari Pollard has pled guilty to two charges (Richmond Police Department )

The Richmond Police Department told The Independent at the time in a statement that detectives had determined the shootings were not a random act but resulted from an ongoing dispute between Pollard and Jackson.

Pollard was detained by Virginia Commonwealth University security after trying to flee from the scene on foot, according to police at the time.

Richmond Police Department interim chief Rick Edwards said in a press conference last year that the suspect and the victim had a long-running dispute.

They knew each other, this was a dispute that were hearing took place over the course of over a year, Mr Edwards said.

Pollard had apparently attended the graduation before getting into an exchange with Jackson.

The police chief said the two had an interaction in which words were exchanged that led to the violent attack.

I wouldnt say [Pollard] was waiting for [Jackson]. I think there was an interaction, and then it appears the suspect went to his car to retrieve the gun and return, Mr Edwards added at the conference.

A report prepared by a law firm for the Richmond Public Schools and released in January this year said that Jackson was kept at home from school during the school year because of issues surrounding his security and safety.

Richmond Public Schools released a statement following the trial conclusion: June 6 was intended to be a joyful day for Richmond graduates. Instead, it ended in a senseless tragedy that took two lives and destroyed countless others. We continue to mourn the loss of Shawn Jackson and his step-father Lorenzo Smith, and pray that Mrs. Jackson-Smith finds some closure and peace with the conclusion of the trial.
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An autistic teenage boy who disappeared from his home in Arizona was found safe and well around 200 miles away after wandering in a supermarket.

New Mexico State Police posted a photo of an unidentified boy who was found at a Walmart in Deming on Tuesday night.

The photo showed the boy on an ambulance stretcher and only described him as being 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 230 pounds. NMSP later described the teen as non-verbal and explained he had no identification on him.

Marcus Tessier was found around 200 miles from his home in Arizona on Tuesday (KQRE)

Within seven minutes, someone replied to that post saying that the Tucson Police Department was looking for someone who looked very similar to the boy.

The boy turned out to be 13-year-old Marcus Tessier, who had managed to travel some 200 miles from home without being able to speak to others.

My mom woke up, and he was no longer in the house. The front door was unlocked, and he was just gone, Marcuss brother, Mikel Desmond, told local news channel KRQE.

Later on Tuesday evening, when Mikel got a call from New Mexico explaining where his brother was, he said he was sceptical.

I talked to the officer, I talked to a nurse there, and honestly, they had trouble getting me to believe it, he added, explaining that the family had received several scam calls claiming to know where Marcus was.

However, the caller switched over to video and Mikel was able to see his brother.

Marcus is now back home safely in Tucson, NMSP said in an update on Facebook. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible by sharing, commenting, and spreading the word.
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The family of a missing three-year-old in Wisconsin is continuing to ask for help in finding him, as police search storm drains and the boys arrested mother tries to get out of jail.

Elijah Vue was reported missing from Two Rivers on 20 January and there has been no sign of him since, despite extensive searches at local landfills, rivers and woodland.

The little boy had been sent to his mums boyfriends house for disciplinary reasons around a week before, where he was allegedly subjected to lengthy timeouts and threatened with cold water if he misbehaved.

Jesse Vang, 39, reported Elijah missing after he went for a nap at 8am and the boy was gone when he woke up a few hours later. Police arrested him on suspicion of child neglect that night.

A day later, his mother Katrina Baur, 31 from Wisconsin Dells, was also arrested on suspicion of party-to-a-crime child neglect. She has also been hit with two charges of obstruction after changing her story to police.

At a press conference, Elijahs grandmother wept as she thanked everyone who had helped with the search so far, while his aunt begged the couple for information on where the boy was

Every day without him feels like a piece of our hearts is missing, Linda Vue said. We long to hear his laughter, to witness his curiosity and to feel the warmth of his embrace.

The emptiness left in his absence is a void that cannot be filled by anything else.

Ms Vue asked that anyone with information on the three-year-olds whereabouts come forward, with the FBI offering a $15,000 reward.

Meanwhile, Ms Baur has requested that her $15,000 bond be changed to a personal recognizance bond.

That means she wants to be released from jail without needing to pay that bill, on a promise that she will return to court when requested.

She is next due in court, alongside Mr Vang, on 7 March.

Elijah Vue was subjected to time outs and threats of cold water by his mothers boyfriend (Two Rivers Police Department)

Police and volunteers have continued to search for Elijah, with Two Rivers Police Department saying on Thursday that officers had turned to the towns storm sewers as part of its latest efforts.

Landfills, quarries and rivers have also been scoured, while another town has joined the search effort.

Volunteers in Fond du Lac, which sits between Wisconsin Dells and Two Rivers, have begun searching after it was reported this was the place Ms Baur handed her son over to Mr Vang.

"If he was here once, he could possibly be here again, resident Jordan Dillon told NBC 26. Im just hoping for a good outcome, that maybe we can be helpful in some way, shape or form.

However, as the weekend arrives, there is still no sign of Elijah, who is of Hmong and white ethnicity, about three feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a birthmark on his left knee.

He was last seen wearing grey pants, a dark-coloured long-sleeve shirt and red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes. He may have been carrying his red-and-white plaid blanket.
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When Anderson Clayton walks into the room casually dressed in a fun graphic tee, nearly everyones head turns and the noisy chatter lulls into excited whispers. Eyes remain locked on her as she begins embracing each of her fellow Democrat leaders.

Clayton is somewhat of a local celebrity in North Carolina, her energy enough to move an immovable object.

The rest of the country doesnt realise that this 26-year-old is currently leading the Democratic Party in North Carolina, a pretty serious job at any age.

But for those at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention, not only is she the state party leader, she is the future.

Anderson Clayton speaks at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

A natural politician, Clayton works the room recalling peoples names and a fun fact about them all while spreading the good word of the Democratic Party. After all, her job as the state party chair is to network, fundraise and get people to vote.

Yet Clayton approaches her role with a refreshing irreverence: She cracks jokes, swears like a sailor and drops vibes, mood and feels into her conversations.

When she speaks about the Democratic agenda, she doesnt stop. In fact, she speaks so much that by the time she takes the stage at the convention, her voice is hoarse and begins disappearing during inflections. That doesnt stop Clayton from ad-libbing an impassioned speech about the importance of maintaining democracy and fighting for the values young people believe in.

That enthusiasm is exactly what makes Clayton the perfect surrogate for the BidenHarris campaign in recruiting young people to get out and vote, especially in a potential swing state like North Carolina.

Is this 26-year-old Biden's secret weapon? | On The Ground

Unlike many of her fellow Gen Z voters, Clayton feels overwhelmingly positive about both Democrats winning this election and the presumed nominee, President Joe Biden.

She points to Bidens record on climate change, his cancelling of student loan debt, his implementation of an anti-gun violence initiative, and his commitment to protecting the right to an abortion as examples of policies that resonate with young voters.

The issues that I hear a lot about in particular on college campuses right now are mental health, gun violence, [housing and grocery] affordability, Clayton told The Independent.

And Clayton talks to a lot of young people, constantly travelling across the state and country. In February alone, Clayton visited South Carolina, Washington DC, Iowa and New York to speak with young voters.

Despite her eagerness, Clayton is fully aware shes in the minority when it comes to this election. On college campuses, the people she chats with are not amped about voting in November.

I went to UNC Charlottes campus the other day, I was in a political science class, and I asked every single one of the students Raise your hand if you are excited to vote for the 80-year-old president, Clayton said. Nobody in that class raised their hand. And I was like, But how many of you are still going to vote? Every single one of them raised their hand, except for one.

Young Democrats sit around tables and listen to speeches at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

A win is a win, as far as Clayton is concerned. And she wants to remind young people that they hold the power to change the things theyre unhappy with.

People look at you and say You cant do anything about it either, its just happening to you. And Im like, No, we can do everything about it. And this presidency, this administration has said so because we can push him, she said.

Clayton believes Biden is more likely to hear complaints and respond to them with legislation, unlike the presumed Republican nominee  a choose-your-fighter situation, if you will.

We cant push a Donald Trump, who doesnt want young people to have the right to vote right now. We cant push a Donald Trump, who doesnt want people to have the right to abortion. We can not push that type of president, Clayton said. We can push a president, though, that believes and cares about young people. We can do that. And thats why I tell them, You need to vote this year because you still want that.

And the way that Clayton starts that conversation ranges from handing out flyers at the farmers market and politely asking people if theyre registered to vote, all the way to dancing in a giant inflatable eagle costume.

Shes really doing it all, Quentin Wathum-Ocama, the president of the Young Democrats of America said.

Ive been around long enough to see and I dont know if theres another comparable state party chair, anywhere in the country, to her. What shes able to do and the energy that shes able to bring, Wathum-Ocama said.

Eve Levenson, the 24-year-old Director of Youth Engagement for the Biden-Harris re-election campaign, said that Clayton is a phenomenal surrogate.

I think that having somebody who is so young and has been able to have that public platform has been really inspiring to so many young people and I think will continue to be, Levenson said. Folks like Anderson are going to play a key role in helping us reach other young people.

Obviously, Clayton is an anomaly  she became the youngest state party chair in the country when she was elected last year at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, most eligible Gen Z voters do not belong to a political party.

But Clayton empathises with their position because it took her a while to find her way to politics. She hails from the rural town of Roxboro, North Carolina and spent most of her life disengaged from either political party, accepting her Republican state and town as the status quo. It wasnt until 2016 that she realised unified voters have the power to change anything after she watched Watauga County, another rural area of North Carolina, turn blue the same year Donald Trump won.

After graduating from college, and feeling inspired, Clayton moved back to her hometown to initiate similar change by helping flip the Roxboro City Council from red to blue.

I could have changed it all along if Id just looked at my backyard and gotten involved, Clayton said.

Anderson Clayton, 26, catches up with her fellow young Democrats at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

These days, shes rallying a room of 300 young Democrats while running on just four hours of sleep, because she spent the night before giving yet another speech at the governors mansion.

In Claytons ideal world, her hard work will pay off and not only will Biden win the 2024 presidential election but North Carolina will flip blue. In 2020, Biden lost the state by roughly 75,000 votes. With more than eight million Gen Z voters newly eligible this year, Clayton hopes her energy can convince some of those in North Carolina to back Biden.

If I didnt believe that we could win, and I didnt believe it down to my absolute core, I couldnt do this job as effectively as I need to, Clayton said. Thats why Im in this job. Because I believe that the Democratic Party right now is fundamentally the party that is speaking for the majority of Americans and the majority of North Carolinians at this moment in time.
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The United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Israels war against Hamas.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Friday that US forces would join the Jordanian Air Forces existing mission that has been conducting airdrops of food, medicine and other supplies in recent days.

Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Mr Biden referenced the tragic deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who were killed after the Israeli army opened fire at a crowd trying to get food from an aid convoy on Wednesday, calling the loss of life heartbreaking.

Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid, he said. We need to do more, and the United States will do more.

Israeli officials acknowledged troops fired towards some in the crowd they believed posed a threat. The Israeli military said publicly the incident was under review and disputed the account given by the Health Ministry, saying dozens were killed and injured from pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks.

Mr Biden continued: In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends from Jordan and others to provide airdrops of supplies, he continued. The president mistakenly said the airdrops would go into Ukraine before correcting himself.

He also said the US is working to open up other avenues for aid, including the possibility of a marine corridor delivering large amounts of humanitarian assistance.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now  its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line, he said.

The president also said the US would work to push Israeli authorities to allow more aid deliveries by land, including more trucks and more routes into Gaza, by pulling out every stop we can to get more assistance.

The decision to send aid into Gaza by air follows a months-long and largely unsuccessful effort by the US to convince its ally Israel to allow much-needed humanitarian supplies in on the ground. Despite those efforts, the United Nations said that 80 per cent of aid deliveries destined for northern Gaza were blocked by the Israeli army in January.

The UN warned this week that some 576,000 people, or one quarter of Gazas population, are one step away from famine. It has also accused Israel of systematically blocking aid deliveries into Gaza and of opening fire on convoys that do make it through.

The US plan to airdrop aid has drawn criticism from humanitarian groups for being insufficient to prevent a looming famine.

Jeremy Konyndyk, who led USAIDs Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance during the Obama administration and oversaw humanitarian air drops to Nepal, the Philippines and Iraq, described the potential US plan to drop aid by air as a major policy failure on the part of the Biden administration.

When the US government has to use tactics that it otherwise used to circumvent the Soviets and Berlin and circumvent Isis in Syria and Iraq, that should prompt some really hard questions about the state of US policy, he told The Independent.

Mr Konyndyk, who is now president of Refugees International, said that airdrops are the most expensive and least effective way to get aid to a population. We almost never did it because it is such an in extremis tool.

The dire conditions on the ground in Gaza were drawn into sharp relief on Wednesday when more than 100 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd that was scrambling to collect aid from food trucks near Gaza City. The Israeli army said its forces had fired at those who posed a threat after some civilians rushed towards the trucks.

The incident was condemned by several US senators on Thursday.

Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who voted against sending military aid to Israel last month, said the deaths are another reason why the United States should not provide another nickel for Israels war against Hamas.

Its not only that Israeli troops shot at these people, these people were trying desperately to get food, Mr Sanders told The Independent. And we are not talking about, but were looking at massive levels of starvation. In Gaza right now children are starving to death. Children are right now suffering from malnutrition.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts condemned the shooting as obscene.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his war cabinet are expanding a humanitarian disaster beyond anything weve seen in decades, she told The Independent. We need to put pressure on Netanyahu and his right-wing government to change his approach and releasing the hostages, a ceasefire, expanding humanitarian relief and a two-state solution.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told The Independent that he hoped that there would be a cessation of hostilities and a release of hostages.

I think the humanitarian situation on the ground in Gaza is so nightmarish right now that Israel needs to suspend military activities temporarily, in order to get food and water and aid out to the people of Gaza in particular, to the northern section of Gaza, which cant receive shipments today, he said.

In his remarks on Friday, Mr Biden said that efforts are still ongoing to bring about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas which would include the return of hostages and a six-week pause in fighting to allow a surge of aid to the entire territory.

Yet the need for such a surge  and the US airdrops  are the result of Israels conduct of its war on Hamas, which continues to claim significant civilian lives despite pleas from Mr Biden and other US officials for the Israeli Defence Forces to take action to protect civilians and minimise harm to non-combatants.

Asked why the US was resorting to putting American airmen at risk because Israel  a putative US ally  continues to choke off aid to Gaza under the guise of maintaining security, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told reporters on Friday that the airdrops are necessary because its a war zone and there is nowhere else for Gaza residents to go.

Its not like in some other conflicts where they can they can easily flee, he said.

But Mr Kirby stressed that there would be no need for airdrops but for Hamas decision to touch off this latest conflict by carrying out attacks against Israel in October.

Many people are in desperate need of food, water, medicine and fuel and the United States was and remains and will continue to be the leading provider of humanitarian assistance to them. And we take that responsibility seriously, he said.

However, the White House national security spokesperson said the US would not consider conditioning future military aid to Israel on whether the Israeli government permits humanitarian aid into Gaza, telling reporters: We are still helping Israel with their needs to defend themselves.
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The classified documents case against former president Donald Trump may not begin until late summer or early fall after a federal judge in Florida called Special Counsel Jack Smiths proposed trial schedule unrealistic.

In a hearing on Friday, District Court Judge Aileen Cannon heard from prosecutors in Mr Smiths office as well as Mr Trumps attorneys about a proposed start date for the trial against the former president accusing him of willfully retaining classified documents after he left the White House. The trial was originally supposed to begin on May 20th.

Federal prosecutors proposed a start date of July 8th, saying the case could be held over the summer and it would not violate the Department of Justices (DOJ) 60-day rule pertaining to the November presidential election.

But Judge Cannon said that parts of the Special Counsels suggested trial schedule were unrealistic.

The case, brought by Mr Smith last summer, contains a slew of pretrial motions that Judge Cannon needs to rule on. Additionally, lawyers for the former president want an evidentiary hearing which the judge seemed open to.

A lot of work needs to be done in the pretrial phase of this case, Judge Cannon said.

Meanwhile, lawyers for Mr Trump asked the judge to move the trial to August 12th at the very earliest but also suggested the trial shouldnt begin until after the election  citing the former presidents campaign schedule and other criminal trial in New York.

A trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen," Todd Blanche, an attorney for Mr Trump, said.

Fridays hearing, which Mr Trump attended, ended mid-afternoon with no official date set. Most likely, Judge Cannons decision will be announced in a court order.

The former president insists he did nothing wrong and was entitled to keep the papers found at his property (Getty Images)

Judge Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Mr Trump, previously remarked she was willing to move the start date to allocate more time for both parties to go over the evidence or accommodate Mr Trumps busy schedule this year.

Mr Trumps lawyers have argued that starting the trial this year would be unfair to the former president, who is also the Republican frontrunner currently campaigning for re-election.

At one point during the hearing, Judge Cannon asked Mr Trumps attorneys to keep their arguments relevant.

Seeking to delay the case as much as possible is a strategy Mr Trumps legal team has implored in this case as well as the several other criminal or civil trials hes faced/facing.

Should Judge Cannon allow the trial to take place in the fall, or even after the election, it could potentially impact the start date of his federal election interference trial.

Trump waves to supporters as he arrives at the Federal Courthouse, on March 1, 2024, in Fort Pierce, Florida (AP)

In the case, Mr Trump and two co-defendants are charged with several crimes related to the willful retention of classified documents.

Mr Smith alleges that Mr Trump knowingly took documents, some containing national defence information, with him to his Mar-a-Lago residence after leaving the White House in 2021. The former president is charged with willful retention of national defence information, concealing a document in a federal investigation and conspiring to obstruct justice, among others.

The co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira are charged with making false statements, conspiring to obstruct justice, destroying, mutilating, or concealing documents and more.

All three have pleaded not guilty.

The case is one of several criminal or civil the former president is facing this year while he is campaigning.
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E Jean Carrolls legal team has filed an opposition to former president Donald Trumps recent attempt to delay paying the $83.3m payment owed from her recently won defamation suit.

The opposition came after lawyers for Mr Trump filed a motion pushing the judge to delay enforcement of the huge payment.

In a 36-page court filing on Thursday, Ms Carrolls attorneys argued that Mr Trump has no grounds for the delay.

The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than trust me, the filing states. He doesnt offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesnt specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting.

Ms Carrolls legal team expressed concern that the former president  who is currently embroiled in a wide range of legal disputes  might not have enough cash to pay up.

He doesnt even acknowledge the risks that now accompany his financial situation, from a half billion-dollar judgment obtained by the New York Attorney General to the 91 felony charges that might end his career as a businessman permanently, the filing states.

He simply asks the Court to trust me and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers, it states.

In January, a jury ruled that Mr Trump had defamed Ms Carroll after she publicly accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

Mr Trump denied the allegations, claiming he had "never met that person in my life, and even told The Hill in 2019 Shes not my type, implying Ms Carroll wasnt attractive enough for the assault to have occurred.

Attorneys for Mr Trump filed a motion for a mistrial after the jury ruled in Ms Carrolls favour, but a federal judge denied the motion, calling it entirely pointless.

In a Good Morning America interview after the decision, Ms Carroll said she planned to spend the $83.3m on something Donald Trump hates.

If itll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, thats my intent, she said.
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Lawyers for Donald Trump and his co-defendants in a sprawling election interference case in Georgia have been accused of relying on salacious rumours, gossip and innuendo to embarass and harass the prosecutor overseeing the case against them.

Closing arguments concluded on Friday in a high-stakes series of hearings to determine whether Fani Willis should be disqualified from criminally prosecuting the former president and his allies for their scheme to overturn Georgias election results in 2020.

That decision hinges on allegations that the Fulton County district attorney financially benefited from a prior relationship with a prosecutor she hired to lead the case against the former president.

Lawyers for the former president and his co-defendants claim that Ms Willis improperly benefited from her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade when she hired him on the case and then had him pay for vacations they took together.

Ms Willis and Mr Wade have acknowledged the relationship, but they have repeatedly testified that they started dating after he was hired, split travel costs, and that the relationship ended last summer before an indictment.

If attorneys can substantiate those allegations, and prove that the now-former couple was involved before Ms Willis hired Mr Wade, her entire office could risk disqualification, throwing the case against Mr Trump into jeopardy.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he will have an answer within the next two weeks.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis attends closing statements on 1 March for a series of hearing to determine whether she is disqualified from prosecuting Donald Trump (EPA)

Lawyers representing the district attorney argued that the case rested on the defences attempts to publicly impugn and smear the prosecutor as political payback, and that the testimony and documents present to the court showed no evidence that the district attorney has financially benefited at all.

What the evidence did show is the true cost of being the district attorney, according to attorney Adam Abbate, who delivered closing arguments for the prosecution in Atlanta on Friday.

On top of a mortgage for a house she was forced to leave due to threats against her, she had to pay for a safe house by renting an apartment, while she endured racist and sexist attacks, isolation from family and friends, and cruel statements and falsehoods that were leaked to the media to undermine her and the case against Mr Trump, according to Mr Abbate.

Why would Ms Willis repeatedly ask this court to set a trial date as soon as possible if her motive in prosecuting this case was to continue to financially gain, as alleged, from the prosecution of this case? he said. It doesnt line up. It doesnt make sense.

In three days of hearings over the last two weeks, Judge McAfee heard intimate details of Ms Williss personal life  including testimony from the district attorney herself, as well as from Mr Wade and her father  while star witnesses for the defence failed to wring out revealing details about them.

It remains unclear whether any of that testimony convinced the judge that the relationship presented a conflict of interest that should result in her offices removal from the case.

If this court allows this kind of behaviour  public confidence will be shot, Mr Romans attorney John Merchant argued on Friday.

We could frankly care less if they had a personal relationship outside of work. Thats not whats at issue here, he said.

The defendants allege that the now-former couple started dating in 2019, while testimony and sworn statements from Ms Willis and Mr Wade state that they started dating two years later, after he was hired, and then ended the relationship before the indictment.

She awarded him a contract, where public money either from Fulton County or the state of Georgia ended up in his pockets, Mr Merchant said. Then he and she used that money to go on personal vacations and trips.

He also argued earlier that the bar for a disqualifying personal interest is a you know it when you see it determination.

I think frankly, as I was trying to figure this out, I think you know when you see it, he said. I think theres good enough facts in front of you that you know when you see it. I think that governing principle helps enlighten some of the facts here.

Steve Sadow, Mr Trumps attorney in the case, argued that the judge could determine that Ms Willis and Mr Wade lied on the stand, and that Terrence Bradley  Mr Wades former law partner  spoke clear-cut lies when he did everything he possibly could do to evade answering questions about their relationship timeline.

Donald Trumps attorney Steve Sadow delivers a closing statement in an Atlanta courtroom hearing on 1 March to determine whether to disqualify Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case (via REUTERS)

Mr Trump is charged alongside more than a dozen co-defendants  including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former attorney Rudy Giuliani  as part of an alleged criminal enterprise to overturn the states 2020 presidential election results, from using a so-called fake elector scheme to falsely assert his victory in the state and pressuring election workers and state officials, to seizing vote information from machines in another county in the state.

Four of his original co-defendants in the Fulton County case  including Trump-allied attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell  reached plea deals with prosecutors.

Harry MacDougal, attorney for former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, argued on Friday that the district attorneys did nothing to correct obviously perjured testimony from Ms Willis and Mr Wade.

The reason they lied and covered it up is to avoid the situation theyre in right now, he said.

He also argued that the actions of the Ms Williss office during these hearings have been disqualifying, continuing a pattern of concealment and coverup.

Now theyve enlisted the entire office in the enterprise, he said.

Prosecutors dont act like this. Lawyers dont act like this, defence attorney Craig Gillen told the judge. These people need to go.

Mr Abbate, the only lawyer for the district attorneys office to present a closing statement, pressed the judge to reject the defence motions to disqualify Ms Willis and toss out the case, arguing that attorneys for Mr Trump and his co-defendants failed to meet the standards for disqualifying and that the prosecution was politically motivated.

He argued that if Ms Willis really wanted to appear politically biased, she would have indicted all 39 people that the grand jury reccomended for prosecution, rather than 19.

The public prosecutor is necessarily a partisan in the case, he argued.

If prosecutors were held to the same impartial standards as judges, then there would never be a criminal prosecution because the state is always going to appear biased, he said.

After three hours of arguments, Judge McAfee gave no indication how we would make a decision on the matter.

There are several legal issues to sort through, several factual determinations that I have to make, he said. And those arent ones that I can make at this moment. And so I will be taking the time to make sure that I give this case the full consideration that its due. I hope to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks.
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Nickname alert! Get out your Donald Trump dictionaries as the former president has coined yet another moniker for another political foe. This time, its Gavin Newsom in the firing line.

Mr Trump paid a visit to the southern border on Thursday, where he gave a campaign speech in Eagle Pass, Texas.

During the speech, he yet again made false claims about migrants crossing the border, falsely claiming that nobody speaks the languages they speak and claimed that theyre coming from jails and mental institutions.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in his speech, tucked away amid the false declarations and language lies, the wordsmith coined a new nickname for the California governor.

Mr Trump said that three years ago, the country had the most secure border because people knew they were not going to get in and that they didnt promise any free education or medical help.

I mean all the promises that were made, no wonder they come, Mr Trump said.

You look at what this governor, New-scum, from California. Isnt that his name, New-scum? What hes done in California is unbelievable, he added.

People are pouring in. They think theyre gonna get medical aid, and our soldiers, our vets arent being taken care of, but people who come into our country illegally are.

The Democratic governor has committed that immigrants in California would be able to access health care coverage, regardless of their status  the first state in the US that has done so, ABC reported.

It is clear, however, that this has not set well with Mr Trump, who has now donned the governor with the new nickname New-scum.

Gavin Newsom was called out in Trumps speech while on the topic of migrants crossing the border (AFP via Getty Images)

The former president is no stranger to giving his opponents and rivals nicknames, this practice is so common for Mr Trump even a whole Wikipedia page has been dedicated to the subject.

While his new nickname has befallen the California governor, Mr Newsom, Mr Trumps name-calling knows no bounds, as he also has targeted rivals way on the other coast.

For instance, there was Trumps former challenger Ron DeSantis, whom he called Desanctimonious, but he has recently retired the name from his verbal dictionary after the governor pulled out of the race.

His current and only remaining Republican candidate opponent, Nikki Haley, was hailed as Birdbrain in some of his many Truth Social tirades or even on the rally stages.

The word crooked has not been limited to one person, but a few of Mr Trumps foes, most recently President Joe Biden, his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton and even his New York fraud trial judge Arthur Engoron.

Mr Biden has also been the receiver of several nicknames created by Mr Trump, such as Sleepy Joe.

While the list could go on  such as those associated with his legal woes, calling Stormy Daniels Horseface and New York Attorney General Letitia James Peekabo,  he has also set aside the time to announce a self-epithet: Very stable genius.
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The full transcript of Hunter Bidens evidence to House Republicans has been released, following his six-hour testimony held behind closed doors.

Mr Biden was giving evidence in the Republican impeachment probe into his father, President Joe Biden. House members have accused him of using his fathers influence as leverage in lucrative overseas business deals.

However, so far they have struggled for evidence and have been accused of running a sham investigation in order to smear President Biden ahead of the November election.

Their case took a major hit after the arrest of Alexander Smirnov, a former FBI informant, following an allegedly false allegation he made about a bribery scheme worth millions involving the Bidens.

Mr Smirnov told the FBI that Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of Kyiv-based Burisma, used his fathers name to solicit millions of dollars in bribes from the company.

In his opening statement, given on Wednesday, Mr Biden addressed the arrest of Mr Smirnov and accused Republicans of building their entire partisan house of cards on lies.

Hunter Biden (C) was giving the evidence in the Republican impeachment probe into his father, President Joe Biden (EPA)

Rather than follow the facts as they've been laid out before you in bank records, financial statements, correspondence, and other witness testimony, you continue your frantic search to prove the lies you and those you rely upon keep peddling. Yes, they are lies, he said.

He continued: To be clear, I have made mistakes in my life, and I have squandered opportunities and privileges that were afforded to me. I know that. I am responsible for that. And I am making amends for that.

But my mistakes and my shortcomings are my own and not my fathers, who has done nothing but devote is entire life to public service and trying to make this country a better place to live.

Read the full transcript below:
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Senator John Fetterman has blamed Hamas for the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who witnesses say were killed when Israeli forces opened fire as they rushed to get supplies from an aid convoy in Gaza.

The Pennsylvania senator claimed that Hamas alone owns this calamity and rejected widespread international condemnation  including from the Biden administration  of the massacre in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.

I reject statements from nations with atrocious human rights records: China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, Mr Fetterman wrote.

Without a doubt, this is a humanitarian tragedy. Hamas alone owns this calamity. We must demand Hamas free the hostages and surrender  ending suffering, death and chaos.

On Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 wounded after IDF forces fired into a crowd who had gathered at a food distribution point.

Israeli officials have said many of the fatalities occurred in a chaotic crush to reach the food trucks, and that their troops fired because they believed the crowd posed a threat. The IDF has said it is reviewing the incident.

Senator John Fetterman has been an outspoken backer of Israels response to the 7 October terror attacks (Getty Images)

Palestinian officials have described the deaths, which took the death toll in Gaza to more than 30,000 in five months since Israel launched its ground invasion, as a massacre.

Doctors in Gaza City who treated the wounded said over 80 per cent had been struck by gunfire, according to Reuters.

Israel has come under increasing international pressure to allow an independent inquiry into the deaths, which occurred amid a humanitarian disaster unfolding in the narrow strip that is home to more than two million people.

The United States, Israels closest ally, has called for a thorough investigation and said the incident shows the need for expanded humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza.

Palestinians receive medical care at Kamal Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, after Israeli forces opened fire on an aid truck convoy (AFP via Getty Images)

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his deep indignation and the strongest condemnation of these shootings.

Germany called on the Israeli army to fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened, according to Reuters.

The governments of India, Brazil, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and several other Middle East countries have voiced their condemnation of the killings.

Mr Fetterman was seen as a champion of progressive causes when he was elected to the Senate in 2022.

He has since rejected the progressive label, and emerged as one of Israels most unwavering supporters after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

Mr Fetterman was sharply critical of South Africa for leading a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

In December, Mr Fetterman blamed TikTok for giving young people a warped view of the Israel-Hamas war.

Mr Fetterman did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about his comments on the aid truck deaths by The Independent.
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An associate of embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez pleaded guilty to new bribery charges, changing his previous plea after facing a superseding indictment.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Jose Uribe, a New Jersey insurance broker, with seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

He pleaded guilty to all counts on 1 March, altering his previous not guilty plea.

Uribe had initially faced one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in September, when he was indicted alongside the New Jersey senator, his wife and two other Menendez associates for allegedly committing a years-long bribery scheme.

His sentencing is scheduled for 14 June.

The superseding indictment alleges Uribe gave Nadine Menendez, the Senators wife, a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for Mr Menendezs official authority and influence to help out Uribes associate in a criminal investigation in his home state.

Regarding the obstruction of justice charge, Uribe allegedly caused his then-counsel to make false and misleading statements the the US Attorney for the Southern Districts office regarding the car payments, saying they were loans in an effort to interfere with a federal investigation.

In support of the tax evasion charge, the indictment states that from 2016 through 2021, Uribe established a network of business entities, called Nominee Companies, in otheres names, received income through Nominee Companies, yet failed to report income received from it to the IRS.

Mr Menendez  and all the other co-defendants  have pleaded not guilty. He has been being charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

He has also rejected repeated calls to resign from Congress. He did, however, step down from serving as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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Nikki Haley, the last Republican rival facing Donald Trump in the 2024 primaries, has called for all of his legal battles to be dealt with before the November election.

The former South Carolina governor is yet to win a state primary or caucus. On Thursday, days after losing big in Michigan, she appeared on NBC News Meet the Press and said: I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November.

We need to know whats going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I dont think any of its going to get heard, she added.

Her comments came a day after the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case over Mr Trumps claim he has immunity against criminal charges related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

The decision to hear the case means a ruling from the nations highest court might be made in the summer, pushing back the timeline for the federal election interference trial so that it could come perilously close to Election Day territory.

I just think a president has to live according to the laws, too. You dont get complete immunity, Ms Haley said.

Presidents, Ms Haley added, should not get free rein to do whatever they want to do.

The former South Carolina governor is yet to win a state primary or caucus (Getty Images)

The Supreme Courts decision on Wednesday came after District Judge Tanya Chutkans rejected Mr Trumps motion to dismiss the case on immunity grounds in December.

In her ruling, she stated that his time in office did not bestow on him the divine right of kings to evade the criminal accountability that governs his fellow citizens.

The judge added that serving as president does not confer a lifelong get-out-of-jail-free pass.

Mr Trump has frequently and baselessly blasted his ongoing legal battles as election interference.

On Thursday, he praised the Supreme Courts decision to take up the case, claiming on Truth Social that legal Scholars are extremely thankful for the Supreme Courts Decision today to take up Presidential Immunity.
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The US Supreme Court might have just insured that Donald Trump will not face a criminal trial for his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election before the next one. And he may end up avoiding a trial altogether, if he wins the presidency in November and tries to tell his administration to shut down the cases against him.

The former president has repeatedly claimed that he is immune from prosecution for actions committed while in office, including, allegedly, leading a multi-state scheme to pressure officials to overturn election results, and failing to stop a mob of his supporters from storming the US Capitol to do it by force.

A federal judge and a federal appeals court have knocked down that defence in damning rulings that outline why, exactly, the president cant evade liability for crimes committed while in office. But on Wednesday, the nations highest court  where three justices were appointed by Mr Trump  agreed to take up the case after he asked them to hit pause on those orders, giving the former president yet another victory in his time-tested legal strategy: delay, delay, delay.

The former presidents pile of civil and criminal cases have created Russian nesting dolls of courtroom battles, with seemingly every case spinning off into appeals courts and separate debates over evidence, gag orders and legal strategies, all of which are buying him time and increasing the likelihood that he wont face a trial until after the election.

Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on his immunity defence on 22 April. If a ruling comes sooner than later, perhaps in May, and the case is allowed to continue, a jury wont be selected until later this summer, with a trial wrapping up in October, at the earliest. If the court rules in June, a trial may not come until 2025.

That timeline gives Mr Trump exactly what he wanted: US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing his election conspiracy case, wont be able to get through pretrial motions, jury selection, a trial and a verdict before Americans cast their ballots for the next president.

The former president has not given any indication that he plans to accept his potential loss, no matter the circumstances. If he loses, Mr Trump could end up evading a trial for charges connected to January 6 while Americans brace for the next one.

If the Supreme Court does not allow this matter to be adjudicated this year, they will be complicit in this grave offense, according to Norm Eisen, former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee majority during Mr Trumps first impeachment.

They will be aiding and abetting in this failure of accountability and this grave danger to American democracy, he told reporters in a virtual briefing on Thursday. Americans like their democracy. They want to keep it.  They want an answer to the question of whether Trump previously criminally opposed the powers he is seeking to regain.

Tom Joscelyn, who drafted the final report from the House Select Committee that investigated the events surrounding the attack on the Capitol, said Americans are entitled hear the facts of the case and evidence at trial.

These people would not have gone down to the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power if it was not for Trump sending them there, he told reporters on Thursday. There are so many of the small fish in the sea who have been already tried and convicted for doing what Trump wanted them to do ... It would be a shame if the ringleader of that wasnt also tried and held accountable.

The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case of whether Donald Trump has immunith from prosecution for all actions taken while he was president (AFP via Getty Images)

In their unanimous rebuke of his arguments earlier this month, a panel of appeals court judges wrote that citizen Trump is not shielded by presidential immunity, and that his alleged efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election were, if proven, an unprecedented assault on the structure of our government.

The 57-page ruling delivered an outright rejection of his premise that a president has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralise the most fundamental check on executive power  the recognition and implementation of election results, as well as his carte blanche efforts to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count.

Trump lawyer admits Jan 6 riot was 'criminal'

Mr Trump went to the Supreme Court to ask for the justices to pause that ruling as he mulled an appeal. Federal prosecutors asked the justices to let the lower-court decisions stand, and for the case to keep moving, raising the prospects that if it doesnt, Mr Trump could end up winning the election only to stop them once in office.

Mr Trump asked the court to pause the lower-court ruling on 12 February. Special counsel Jack Smiths office asked justices to deny that request, or at least take up the case on a rapidly expedited schedule with oral arguments on 4 March.

Instead, the Supreme Court let those requests languish  for more than two weeks.

Justices could have issued an order at any point within that time.

Meanwhile, the defendant in one of the most significant criminal cases in American history has kept raising money for his campaign, painting himself a victim of a Democratic conspiracy, while a parallel election interference case in Georgia has instead shifted its focus to allegations of wrongdoing from the woman leading the prosecution  thanks to salacious court filings from one of his co-defendants and Trump-allied attorneys, and a circuslike series of courtroom hearings intended to undermine the prosecutors.

Justices also will issue a ruling at some point within the coming weeks over whether he should be removed from ballots for his role in the insurrection, after Colorados top court ruled him ineligible under the 14th Amendment. In front of the high court earlier this month, an attorney for Mr Trump argued that the attack was a mere riot, not an insurrection, but one that was was shameful and violent  and even criminal.

Activists hold up a banner following arguments in Donald Trumps appeal of his removal from Colorado ballots on 8 February (REUTERS)

Mr Trump will, however, face a criminal trial in his hometown of New York City on 25 March, stemming from allegations that he covered up hush-money payments to an adult film star to avoid compromising stories of his affairs before the 2016 election.

That case is the one measure of democratic accountability that we know is coming in 2024, Mr Eisen said. It is the gateway drug to the 2020 election interference. Donald Trump saw that he got away with it in 2016: there was no accountability, and that was part of what emboldened him in the shocking criminal conduct.

If Supreme Court justices wait to issue a decision on his immunity claims towards the end of their 2023-2024 term sometime this summer, they likely will have knowingly prevented voters from knowing if Trump is a convicted felon before they vote, according to Fred Wertheimer, president of campaign finance reform group Democracy 21.

If they wait and issue the opinion at the end of the term in June, they will have rewarded Trumps delaying strategy at the enormous expense of the country and the Supreme Court, he said. There has never been anything like what Trump did in our history. Never.
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Several people have been injured after a car crashed into a Walmart in Michigan.

Police and fire crews responded to the scene in Canton, following calls that a vehicle had crashed through the building at around 1.30pm local time.

Initial reports are that several people inside the building received injuries and were transported by rescue units from Canton, Livonia, Plymouth, and Westland, Canton police said on social media.

Aerial shot of emergency crews on the scene at a Walmart in Canton, Michigan (WXYZ Detroit)

The conditions of all involved are unknown or unconfirmed at this time, though according to local reports the driver and approximately five other people were injured in the incident. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

At least one of those involved in the incident was a young child, according to WXYZ Detroit.

Video circulated on social media showed debris strewn around the shop floor, with overturned shelves, seemingly caused by a large black SUV vehicle. Walmart employees and police officers were still on the scene.

The crash did not occur at the stores main entrance.

Canton Police Chief Chad Baugh told local otulets that he believed the driver had driven the vehicle through the parking lot and into the building. It looks like she drove through the service doors; it looks like doors they probably use for deliveries, he said.

The driver and approximately five other people were injured, Baugh said. They were taken from the scene to hospitals by rescue units from Canton, Livonia, Plymouth, and Westland.

It is still unclear what led to the crash, though the police investigation is underway.

At this point its hard to say if its medical or its something else that caused this incident, Mr Baugh said. But typically we do find these circumstances to be medical-related.

The store was closed later on Friday afternoon as police and fire units remained on the scene.
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A teenager in Australia is the first person to be jailed to three years in juvenile detention for carrying out an American-style school shooting.

The 15-year-old fired three shots with two rifles at the Atlantis Beach Baptist College last May. But it was only good luck that had prevented a tragic outcome, said Perth Childrens Court Judge Hylton Quail, while sentencing him.

The teen, who has not been identified in the media, took rifles and ammunition from his fathers gun cabinet before heading to the Atlantis Beach Baptist College where he fired three shots.

While two of bullets hit the building, one of the gunshots landed close to where students were walking. A 12-year-old recounted grass spitting up at him from where the bullet hit, reported ABC News.

The staff and students were left cowering in cupboards and under desk, as the school went into total lockdown.

The teenager then rang the emergency line informing them he had been going kill people and myself but has now changed his mind as he does not want his siblings to be related to a killer.

He was subsequently arrested and remanded to the troubled Banksia Hill Juvenile Centre. He was granted bail after ten days and later returned to live with his family. The teen pleaded guilty last year to several charges, including endangering lives and discharging a firearm to cause fear.

It is the first time anyone has been sentenced for a school shooting in Australia, according to reports.

The teens lawyer Simon Freitag at the time submitted to the court that his client was suffering from depression and had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. However, he added that the mental impact on those at the school would weigh heavily, reported BBC News.

"I do need to say out loud the very obvious point that this has caused significant fear and distress," he said.

Describing the crime as extremely serious and wicked, Judge Quail said: This offending has caused fear and anxiety to many vulnerable and innocent people.

Meanwhile, state education minister Tony Buti issued a statement saying the incident reveals that the society have to be vigilant about the welfare of our students and ensure were always speaking to our teachers and professionals about student wellbeing.
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Tour booking agents and managers of a New Zealand island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people in 2019 were ordered Friday to pay nearly $13 million (6.1m) in fines and reparations.

The holding company of the island's owners, a boat tour operator and three companies that operated helicopter tours had been found guilty of safety breaches at a three-month trial last year.

White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, was a popular tourist destination before the eruption. There were 47 tourists and tour guides on the island when superheated steam erupted on Dec. 9, 2019, killing some people instantly and leaving survivors with agonizing burns.

There is no way to measure the emotional harm survivors and affected families have endured and will continue to endure," Judge Evangelos Thomas said during the sentencing in a Wellington court. "Reparation in a case like this can be no more than token recognition of that harm.

No review of prevailing reparation levels conducted by any other court contemplates emotional harm of the scale and nature that is present in this case. Greater awards are appropriate.

Previously, a three-month, judge-only trial against 13 groups had seen six plead guilty and six other having charges against them dismissed. The charges were brought by regulators and carried fines as a maximum penalty.

The final remaining defendant in the trial was Whakaari Management Ltd. which was found guilty on one charge in October last year.

At Friday's sentencing hearing, Thomas was particularly scathing towards the shareholders of WML, the holding company for the islands owners: Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, who he said had appeared to have profited handsomely from tours to the island, despite the company claiming no assets or a bank account to hold funds.

While conceding he could not make orders against the individual owners, he said the ruling did not relieve WML from its $636,000 fine or its share of the reparations for the victims and their families of $2.97m.

This case, like many others, sadly reveals how simply corporate structures can be used to thwart meaningful responses to safety breaches, Judge Thomas said. "There may be no commercial basis for doing so, but many would argue there is an inescapable moral one.

"We wait to see what the Buttles will do. The world is watching."

The specific reparation sums awarded to victims and the families of those who died was suppressed for publication by the court.

The penalty for the last remaining defendant, New Zealand scientific agency GNS Science, will be announced later Friday.
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Alexei Navalny will be buried in Moscow on Friday amid tight security, fears of police crackdown, and difficulties targeting his funeral ceremony, his team said.

The memorial service comes two weeks after the 47-year-old Russian opposition politician suddenly died in an Arctic penal colony and his immediate family struggled to access his body. His team has accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of being complicit in the death under mysterious circumstances of the fierce Kremlin critic.

His teams spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said attempts to hire a hearse have been thwarted by unknown people.

She claimed drivers had been called by unknown people and threatened not to take Alexeys body anywhere, according to CNN.

Ms Yarmysh said she had been told that no hearse agrees to take the body there.

Navalnys allies have accused Russian authorities of blocking their plans to hold a bigger civil memorial service.

A number of Western leaders have also accused Mr Putin and the Russian authorities of killing Navalny, the Russian presidents most prominent critic. The accusations have been strongly denied by the Kremlin.

The funeral will begin in the Moscow district where Navalny used to live with a religious service at the Church of the Icon of Mother of God in Maryino.

Workers unload metal fencing in front of a church in Moscow where Navalnys funeral ceremony is set to take place (AFP via Getty Images)

A view of the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow, where the burial of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is set to take place (AFP via Getty Images)

He will then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery around 2.5km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva river two hours later.

Navalnys wife Yulia Navalnaya, currently in exile outside Russia, has said she is unsure whether the funeral itself will pass off peacefully or whether the police will arrest those who attend the memorial service.

However, Navalnys mother Lyudmila, 69, is expected to be a part of his funeral in Moscow. It is unclear who else will be allowed into the church for the service.

She was handed over his body on Saturday after repeated pleas to the Russian authorities.

Last Thursday, when Lyudmila was finally shown her sons body, she said Russian officials blackmailed her to force her to agree to burying him in a secret ceremony.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, Ms Yarmysh wrote: Alexeis body was handed over to his mother. Many thanks to all those who demanded this with us.

Lyudmila Ivanovna is still in Salekhard. The funeral is still pending. We do not know if the authorities will interfere to carry it out as the family wants and as Alexey deserves. We will inform you as soon as there is news.

Sharing a route map between two locations, his team has called on people who want to honour his memory but cannot attend his funeral services to instead go to nearby landmarks in their own towns on Friday evening at 7pm local time.

The Russian opposition leaders death came a month before a presidential election in which Mr Putin is expected easily to claim re-election  a vote that Navalny repeatedly railed against, even in prison, as he began a 19-year sentence.
 Close Putin threatens Nato with World War 3

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The West has criticised Vladimir Putins sham elections as the Russian president sent a sinister warning to Nato.

Putin warned against any move that would risk direct conflict with Russia, saying it would be one step away from World War 3.

Asked about the dangers of a wide-scale Nato-Russia conflict, Putin said: Everything is possible in the modern world.

It is the latest example of the Russian president dangling the threat of a larger, or even nuclear, conflict in Europe as he attempts to pressure Ukraines Western allies against an escalation of their involvement in his war.

The comments came as Putin claimed a landslide victory in Russias sham presidential election with 87.8 per cent of the vote.

The US, Germany, the UK and other nations have said the vote was neither free nor fair due to the imprisonment of political opponents and censorship.

Earlier, Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, called Mr Putin a killer and a gangster, as she joined scores of Russians unhappy with his regime lining up to vote on Sunday afternoon at polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world.
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The foreign secretary has assured the family of jailed British-Russian Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza that they will do everything it can to bring him home in a landmark meeting.

Lord David Cameron met with Evgenia Kara-Murza, 43, in Whitehall for crunch talks on Friday afternoon about a possible prisoner swap for her husband.

The meeting, which The Independent revealed on Wednesday was going ahead, is the first time a British foreign secretary has met with Mrs Kara-Murza since her husband was arrested in April 2022 and later sentenced to 25 years in a Siberian penal colony.

(Getty/Reuters)

It is widely believed that he was imprisoned on trumped-up charges of treason for speaking out against Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine. His sentence is the longest in post-Soviet history.

The Cambridge-educated politician and journalist, who spent years working for independent Russian newspapers in London, has since September been kept in a punishment cell similar to the one the authorities held Alexei Navalny in before he died.

And the opposition leader, whose mentor Boris Nemtsov was murdered outside the Kremlin in 2015, is suffering from a nerve condition called polyneuropathy that is worsening by the day. It was caused, says his wife, by two poisoning attempts on his life, carried out by the same FSB team that killed Mr Nemtsov and tried to murder Mr Navalny in 2020 using novichok.

Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza pleads with Russians not to give up after Navalny death (AP, SOTA)

Russian human rights lawyers, as well as British politicians, have told The Independent that Mr Kara-Murza will be the next to die if he is not either swapped or moved to a hospital.

Alexei Navalnys death marks a grim milestone as the government is now clearly willing to kill political prisoners, be it by outright murder or by torturing them to death, Grigory Vaypan, a senior lawyer for Memorial, Russias oldest civil rights group, said. This risk is now manifest in the case of Kara-Murza.

Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws KC, a Labour peer, said she had no doubt that Mr Kara-Murza would be killed by Mr Putin if a prisoner exchange for his release is not negotiated.

Mrs Kara-Murza, speaking to The Independent after her meeting with Lord Cameron, said she believed the crunch talks, which went well over the half-an-hour scheduled time, had been a sign of good will.

I think it went rather well, she said. We talked for almost an hour, way beyond the scheduled time.

I am happy that the meeting finally took place. For two years, I have been requesting this meeting and for two years, I have been unable to get one.

He assured me that the UK will be doing everything it can to bring Vladimir home.

After the meeting, Lord Cameron called for Mr Kara-Murza to be released for urgent medical treatment. He said in a statement: The politically motivated conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza is deplorable.

Imprisoned on false charges by the Russian regime, Mr Kara-Murza is being persecuted for his anti-war stance and defence of human rights.

It was an honour to meet Evgenia Kara-Murza and Elena Gordon, who have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of their husbands and sons case.

The conditions in the Omsk penal colony are threatening Mr Kara-Murzas life and his health is deteriorating. He must be released on humanitarian grounds for urgent medical treatment.

Through diplomatic interventions at the highest levels, financial sanctions targeted at those behind his poisoning and imprisonment, and by raising his case on the international stage, we are sending a clear message that the UK will not stand for this abhorrent treatment of one of our citizens. Russias depraved treatment of political prisoners must end.

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron arrives at the Foreign Office, London (James Manning/PA Wire)

When The Independent sat down with Mrs Kara-Murza on Wednesday after she arrived in London, she said she was hopeful the foreign secretary would help her free her husband.

But the Foreign Office has maintained throughout Mr Kara-Murzas imprisonment that it will not negotiate with Russia for fear of encouraging state hostage taking, and Lord Cameron has not announced a change in this policy.

The official position is still that they will not engage, Mrs Kara-Murza said.

No such promises to potentially alter this policy were made by shadow foreign secretary David Lammy either, who met Mrs Kara-Murza and Vladimirs mother, Elena Gordon, on Thursday morning.

The details of state hostage swaps, however, are often kept under close wraps and Mrs Kara-Murza has previously said that what she believes is the Kremlin killing of Mr Navalny has further hurt her ability to speak openly about any potential plans to free her husband.

Mr Navalnys team have alleged that Mr Putin ordered the killing of Mr Navalny within days of finding out that US and German officials may be open to a swap.

People attend the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny at the Borisovskoye cemetery in Moscow, on Friday (REUTERS)

They claimed talks about exchanging Mr Navalny and two unnamed US nationals for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian FSB security service hit man in jail in Germany, were in their final stages at the time of his death.

Though these claims remain unconfirmed, Mrs Kara-Murza maintains that Mr Navalny was murdered. And that her meeting with Lord Cameron was taking place while the late Russian opposition was being buried was not lost on her.

While we were sitting in his office, talking about Vladimirs life, I couldnt stop thinking that Alexei Navalny was being buried in Moscow., she said. I cannot wrap my head around that timing. It breaks my heart.

In my mind, I was going back to those images of thousands of thousands of people going from the church to the cemetery to say goodbye to Alexei, chanting Navalny, Navalny, all the while heavily surrounded by police.

She added: I was also going back to the fact that Alexeis wife, now a widow, and their children, were not even able to be there.

Thousands of miles from her own jailed husband, and having hardly spoken to him for two years, the message was clear.
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A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane arrived in Malaysias northern resort island of Langkawi on Friday, where the Norwegian king is in hospital and being treated for an infection.

King Harald V, Europes oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday.

There were no details of his illness.

His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has said his fathers condition was improving and that he needed rest before being brought back.

Norwegian TV2 said that a Scandinavian aircraft with the tail number LN-RPJ took off from Oslo Airport on Thursday, The Boeing 737-700 airline, which has previously been used as a flying ambulance, landed in Langkawi on Friday.

The Norwegian Defense Force reportedly declined to confirm if the plane will pick up King Harald. Norwegian TV2 said the same aircraft was used last summer for the medical evacuation of patients from Ukraine.

King Harald V, Europes oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday. There were no details of his illness. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has said his fathers condition was improving and that he needed rest before being brought back.

Norwegian TV2 said that a Scandinavian aircraft with the tail number LN-RPJ took off from Oslo Airport on Thursday, The Boeing 737-700 airline, which has previously been used as a flying ambulance, landed in Langkawi on Friday.

A Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane arrives at Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is being treated for an infection (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The Norwegian Defense Force has declined to confirm if the plane will pick up King Harald. Norwegian TV2 said the same aircraft was used last summer for the medical evacuation of patients from Ukraine.

The royal palace in Oslo said late Thursday that the aim is that the king can return home by plane in a few days but did not say when that would be.

Malaysian national news agency Bernama has reported that Harald was undergoing treatment at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital in Langkawi. It cited unnamed sources as saying he was staying in the hospitals Royal Suite. The hospital declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

Prince Haakon said Wednesday the king was in good spirits.

It is clear that his age means that it is good to treat this properly. They are very good at the hospital, Haakon told Norwegian reporters. We dont know when he will come home. We will have to decide on that later. The palace said that no decision has been made regarding his return home.Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stire said that we get worried when our king gets ill and is admitted to hospital, whether in Norway or abroad.We should do what we can to contribute to getting the king home as quickly as possible and as healthy as possible, he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Two days before his birthday last week, Norwegian news agency NTB said that the king would be undertaking a private trip abroad together with his wife Queen Sonja, without specifying the destination or dates.

King Harald V of Norway walks on crutches on his way to lunch with members the Norwegian government, on February 24, 2024 in Oslo, Norway (NTB/AFP via Getty Images)

Media in Norway have reported that Harald traveled to Malaysia to celebrate his 87th birthday.

In the past, the Norwegian king has traveled privately in connection with his birthdays. When he turned 80, he and his family traveled to South Africa and they were on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to mark his 85th birthday, media in Norway reported.

The monarch, who has been seen using crutches in recent years, has been repeatedly ill in recent months, raising concern about the head of states health. In January, the palace said he was on sick leave until Feb. 2 because of a respiratory infection.

In December, he was admitted to a hospital with an infection and was treated with intravenous antibiotics. He also was hospitalized last August with a fever.
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French President Emmanuel Macron appeared isolated on the European stage this week after saying the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that prompted an outcry from other leaders.

French officials later sought to clarify Macron's remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win in Ukraine.

The Kremlin warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict.

Here's a look into Macrons comments, his strategy and whats at stake.

Macrons remarks, allies reaction

Macron floated the possibility of Western troops helping in Ukraine while speaking at a news conference after 20 European heads of state, and other Western officials, met in Paris.

There was no consensus to send troops in an official, endorsed manner on the ground, Macron said, but in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out.

The exact signal Macron was trying to send remains unclear, but it wasn't said by accident, said Phillips OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

It could be a bit of a warning to Russia or it could be that this might happen, so people need to prepare for it, OBrien said.

Macron was clearer when speaking about European leaders' evolving attitudes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. I remind you that two years ago, many people around this table were saying: were going to offer sleeping bags and helmets. Today theyre saying: we need to work faster and harder to get missiles and tanks."

Soon after, officials from Germany, Poland and other countries that participated in the Paris meeting sought to distance themselves from Macron's comments, saying they would not send troops to Ukraine. The head of NATO, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, told The Associated Press there are no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground.

French clarification

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the discussion about possibly sending Western troops into Ukraine centered on using them for de-mining and military training operations, away from the front lines  "not sending troops to wage war against Russia. He said no consensus emerged from the discussion.

The foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, said this type of military presence wouldn't be crossing the belligerence threshold.

A French diplomat with knowledge of the Paris talks said the goal was also to send a signal to President Putin that this is now an option and that he cannot simply count on the fact that none of Ukraines partner countries will ever be deployed there.

The diplomat insisted on anonymity to discuss such a sensitive issue. Macron didnt rule out any options for one simple reason: as weve seen, there are all sorts of things that were ruled out two years ago but no longer are today, he said.

Paris said talks with allied countries will continue at meetings of European foreign and defense ministers to be set at a later date.

Macrons evolving views on Russia

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Macron initially kept open a line of communication with Putin.

He said in June 2022 that the Russian president made a historic error but that world powers shouldnt humiliate Russia, so that when the fighting stops, we can build a way out together via diplomatic paths. The remark drew strong criticism from Ukraine and many of France's allies.

Macron last spoke with Putin in September 2022; he's taken a tougher stance publicly ever since.

His comments on Monday were clearly intended to sound the alarm bell, said Francois Heisbourg, a defense analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in London.

Yet some knock-on effects of the news conference were probably not expected," Heisbourg said. "It gives the impression that (the French) ventured out as mavericks, with the risk of being misunderstood.

Russia seen as an aggressive foe

In presenting his case, Macron raised concerns over Russia getting tougher in recent months.

He cited the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the repression of Russia's political opposition and the ferocity of combat along the front line in Ukraine.

The French government recently revealed that Russian forces threatened to shoot down a French surveillance aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea. And earlier this month it accused Russia of spreading disinformation across Europe.

The hand-wringing over Russia in Europe comes amid worries that the U.S. will dial back support for Ukraine. European officials are also concerned that former President Donald Trump could be reelected later this year and potentially change the course of U.S. policy on the continent.

Our security as Europeans is at stake, Macron said. Should we delegate our future to American voters? My answer is no, whatever the vote is.

Whatever Macron's message was, some analysts say he may have fumbled the delivery.

Macron wants to send a signal of strength to Russia. But for deterrence to work, it must be credible," said Jana Puglierin, head of Berlin's European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank. "He has unnecessarily introduced a potential for division into NATO."

"This is no way to promote European unity and strength, Puglierin said in a written statement.
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Three children are among 17 people injured after a man drove a car into a crowd of people in northwestern Poland.

Two are in a critical condition after the incident in the centre of the seaport city of Szczecin, while a 33-year-old man who fled the scene has been apprehended, the website Poland-24 reported.

We have an incident here with currently 17 people injured, including three minors and two in critical condition. The person who caused the accident has been detained, provincial governor Adam Rudawski was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Those who were injured have been taken to hospital, said Mr Rudawski, who governs the Western Pomerania province.

The driver fled the scene at Rodla Square in the seaports city centre, before crashing into another vehicle several streets away and fleeing once again, firefighter Tomasz Kubiak told Polish national broadcaster TVP, which carried footage showing emergency vehicles at the scene.

A police spokesperson told reporters: This was not a terrorist act.

The pedestrians were hit by a burgundy Ford car, an eyewitness told TVP, which reported that the suspect is a Polish citizen who is not thought to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but who is believed to have been receiving psychiatric treatment for several years.

The collision occurred at a busy junction at the start of the rush hour, at around 4pm local time, with people waiting at a tram stop among those injured.

Additional reporting by AP
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Vladimir Putin has spoken for more than two hours in a rambling state of the nation speech, during which he issued a series of nuclear threats against the West ahead of presidential elections in two weeks. But there was one name he would not say, Alexei Navalny, his most prominent critic.

Navalny died in an Arctic prison earlier this month. The opposition leaders family and supporters say he was killed by Putin. Western leaders have also lined up to lay the blame at Putins door.

Navalny will be buried in Moscow on Friday. He was serving a decades-long prison sentence on charges that were seen as trumped up to silence him, having been seen as a threat to Putin for his ability to pull together dissent against the Kremlin.

Addressing legislators in Moscow, having turned up 15 minutes late, Putin began his speech by speaking of the pride he has in Russias seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which happened a decade ago, and the subsequent capture of parts of eastern Ukraine. Putins full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launched two years ago, has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties among Russian troops according to US estimates, with much of the frontline in bloody stalemate, despite some recent advances by Moscows troops.

Kyivs troops have been staunchly defending their territory, with Putin reiterating his false claims that Russia is seeking to liberate areas populated by Russian people oppressed by Ukrainian rule  as opposed to illegal annexations of Ukrainian territory decried by the international community.

Despite a crackdown on criticism of the invasion of Ukraine, with long prison sentences handed out to dissenters, the Russian leader sought to claim that the absolute majority of Russians supported the war.

The Russian autocrat, who will certainly assume office for his fifth term after a presidential ballot in mid-March, then alleged that the West was attacking Russia via Ukraine, a narrative that he has maintained throughout his full-scale invasion. Putins speech was broadcast to cinemas across the country and on billboards in Moscow. According to Russian state media, the crowd applauded Putin more than 80 times.

Vladimir Putin delivers his annual address to the Federal Assembly, in Moscow, 29 February 2024 (via Reuters)

Addressing comments made by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week that he could not rule out the idea of sending soldiers into Ukraine, Putin said: There has been talk about the possibility of sending Nato military contingents to Ukraine. But we remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to our countrys territory. But now the consequences for possible interventionists will be far more tragic.

He then launched into a nuclear warning, something he has reached for repeatedly since the Ukraine invasion started.

They must realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation. Dont they get that?

Sergey Radchenko, a Russian-born British historian, suggested Putins quick lurch to nuclear threats suggested Mr Macron had touched a raw nerve.

I thought it was interesting that Putins speech included a direct reference to Macrons recent remark that the use of Natos troops in Ukraine should not be excluded, he said. His apoplectic reaction to this [threatening nuclear war] suggests that Macron touched a raw nerve.

Putin later suggested that the West was being cavalier about the threat Russia poses. The West is trying to drag us into an arms race. They are trying to wear us down, to repeat the trick they succeeded [in pulling off] with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Putin said. Therefore, our task is to develop the defence-industrial complex ... (and) the scientific, technological and industrial potential of the country.

Russian civilians watch Vladimir Putins address from a cinema in Volgograd, 600 miles south of Moscow (Telegram )

For Professor Radchenko, however, this merely belies the fact that Putin himself does not know what a world war would be like.

If he did, the historian said, he would perhaps behave with greater circumspection. He also downplayed the nuclear threats of Putin, saying it was part and parcel of his usual arsenal of threats that he uses to dissuade the West from helping Ukraine.

On the ground in Ukraine, the Russian army is trying to seize the towns and villages of Tonenke, Orlivka, Semenivka, Berdychi and Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraines army chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi has said. Those are places where Ukrainian military officials had said they would form a new line of defence after Ukrainian troops pulled out of the symbolically important town of Avdiivka earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Ukraines air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said his units shot down two Russian Su-34 jets overnight. That makes a total of 11 warplanes, including an early warning and control A-50 plane, that Ukraine claims to have downed since 17 February.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, had told reporters in the run-up to the address that Putins speech should be understood as a political pitch for his re-election.

Though his reappointment is not in doubt  Putin is already the longest-standing Russian leader since Joseph Stalin  he did use the speech to speak about domestic issues outside of the war in Ukraine.

After roughly 15 minutes on Ukraine, Putin spent nearly two hours then addressing issues in Russia. He offered spending promises across as many sectors as possible, seemingly aimed at the Russian public, but more importantly at the heads of businesses and regional officials. Those that he needs to keep on his side politically.

Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert, described this as a painfully extended political broadcast promising money for everything but with no sense of how this could be paid for, when 40 per cent of the state budget is going to the war [in Ukraine].
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Thousands of people gathered in Moscow on Friday to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny during his funeral, defying a heavy police presence and warnings from the Kremlin of arrests.

Navalny, 47, was Vladimir Putins chief opponent and was pronounced dead on 16 February at the Arctic prison where he was serving a decades-long prison sentence on what many believe were trumped-up charges.

Western leaders have lined up to lay responsibility for Navalny's death. His wife, Yulia, has directly called out the Russian leader for killing him.

Outside the Soothe My Sorrows church in southeast Moscow, people began to gather hours before the funeral. Among the large crowd, many clutched bunches of flowers and some joined in a series of chants: Russia will be free, No to war, Russia without Putin, We wont forgive and Putin is a murderer.

There are more than 10,000 people here, and no one is afraid, Kamila, a young woman in the crowd said. We came here in order to honour the memory of a man who also wasnt afraid, who wasnt afraid of anything.

Kirill, another member of the crowd, said: Its very sad for the future of Russia... We wont give up, we will believe in something better.

People walk towards the Borisovskoye cemetery during the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny (Reuters)

Police detain a person near the Borisovskoye cemetery (Reuters)

Showing up was a brave act, given that the Kremlin has outlawed Navalnys movement as extremist and cast his supporters as US-backed troublemakers out to foment revolution. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said before the funeral that he had nothing to say to Navalnys family. Mr Putin has yet to comment on Navalnys death and has for years avoided mentioning him by name.

Hundreds were detained in the days following the announcement of Navalnys death  for seeking to lay flowers or pay their respects at vigils across the country. A rights group, OVD-Info, reported six people had been detained in Moscow on Friday and at least 39 in other parts of Russia.

The thousands gathered for the funeral, and the later burial at a cemetery, marked a rare show of dissent in a country that is going through a time of severe repression. More than 20,000 people have been detained in the past two years, with long prison sentences handed out over criticism of Russias invasion of Ukraine, which started in February 2022.

While Mr Navalnys mother and father, Lyudmila and Anatoly, were present in the church, parts of the opposition leaders family, his wife, Yulia, his son and daughter and his brother all stayed away. They live outside Russia and returning to the country would bring the risk of arrest.

Thousands pay respects to Alexei Navalny in open casket at Moscow funeral

Yulia, who has pledged to continue her husbands work, thanked him for 26 years of absolute happiness in a heartfelt tribute.

She posted on X, formerly Twitter: I dont know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I dont know if Ill manage it or not, but I will try.

Ambassadors from the US and Germany and Britains charge daffaires, Tom Dodd, attended the funeral. Russian officials shunned the event, but anti-politicians Yekaterina Duntsova and Boris Nadezhdin, both of whom were recently barred from running against Mr Putin in the presidential elections later this month, paid their respects.

Navalny decided to return to Russia from Germany in 2021 after being treated for what Western doctors said was poisoning with the nerve agent novichok  an attack he blamed on the Kremlin  only to be immediately taken into custody. He faced a number of cases in the wake of that arrest, eventually ending up at the Polar Wolf penal colony.

Tributes at a makeshift memorial outside the cemetery (AFP)

Navalnys coffin is carried out of the church (Reuters)

Navalnys mother, Lyudmila, 69, had travelled to the Polar Wolf penal colony after his death and battled with authorities for a week to get them to release his body. She accused them of putting pressure on her to bury him without a public funeral. Even on the day of the funeral, Navalny allies had warned of possible delays.

The service in the church was brief. Lyudmila was pictured seated and holding a candle as priests in white robes stood over her sons coffin.

This is a photograph that is very hard to look at, said Ruslan Shaveddinov, co-host of a livestream of the event on YouTube by Navalny aides now based outside Russia. They struggled to contain their emotions as the pictures and footage rolled in, watched by hundreds of thousands. The channel is blocked inside Russia. Allies of Navalny outside Russia called on people who want to honour his memory but could not attend his funeral service to instead go to memorials to Soviet-era repression in their own towns on Friday evening.

After the service, thousands marched to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force. With the casket again open, Navalnys mother and father stroked and kissed his head. A large crowd gathered at the cemeterys gates, chanting: Let us in to say goodbye!.

Supporters outside the church in Moscow (EPA)

Navalnys wife shares touching tribute to husband ahead of funeral (Yulia Navalnaya)

Showing the sense of humour that even prison could not suppress, Frank Sinatras My Way and music from The Terminator 2 was played as the coffin was lowered into the ground. It is a film that Navalnys allies said he considered the best in the world.

Mourners streamed by his open grave, tossing handfuls of soil onto the coffin as a large crowd waited at the cemetery's entrance. As dusk fell, workers shoveled dirt into the grave while Lyudmila Navalnaya watched. A mound of flowers, funeral wreaths, candles and a portrait of Navalny sat nearby.

Those people who follow what is happening, it is of course obvious to them that this man is a hero of our country, whom we will not forget, said Nadezhda Ivanova of Kaliningrad, a mourner who was outside the church said. What was done to him is incredibly difficult to accept and get through it.
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The first US spacecraft to land on the Moon in 50 years has finally given up, and is no longer speaking to its engineers.

The Odysseus lander, made by private company Intuitive Machines, landed on the Moon on 22 February. But that landing went slightly awry, and it broke a leg and fell onto its side.

That left it unable to gather power as expected, and led to difficulties communicating with the Earth. Nonetheless, Odysseus continued to communicate with controllers for longer than expected.

On Thursday, however, the spacecraft went silent. It sent one last photo and switched into its standby mode.

But it might not be the end. The standby mode was triggered in the hope that Odysseus is able to come back online in a few weeks, if it is able to survive the cold of the lunar night.

Intuitive Machines spokesman Josh Marshall said these final steps drained the landers batteries and put Odysseus down for a long nap.

Good night, Odie. We hope to hear from you again, the company said via X, formerly Twitter.

The lander was originally intended to last about a week at the moon.

Houston-based Intuitive Machines became the first private business to land a spacecraft on the moon without crashing when Odysseus touched down Feb. 22. Only five countries had achieved that since the 1960s, including Japan, which made a sideways landing last month.

Odysseus carried six experiments for Nasa, which paid $118 million for the ride. The first company to take part in Nasas program for commercial lunar deliveries never made it to the moon; its lander came crashing back to Earth in January.

Nasa views these private landers as scouts that will pave the way for astronauts due to arrive in another few years.

Until Odysseus, the last U.S. moon landing was by Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Late at night on 7 March 2014, 227 passengers and a dozen crew members prepared to board a Malaysia AirlinesBoeing 777 at Kuala Lumpur airport. They were expecting to travel overnight to Beijing on a routine flight designated MH370.

That flight number has become shorthand for the deepest mystery in aviation history. The relatives of the victims have endured 10 years of not knowing the fate of their loved ones.

The aircraft took off at 12.42am on 8 March. The flight proceeded normally, and at 1.19am the captain acknowledged an instruction from Malaysian air-traffic controllers to transition to Vietnamese airspace, saying: Goodnight, Malaysian three-seven-zero. Those were the last words heard from the aircraft.

One minute later, controllers in Kuala Lumpur observed the aircraft passing a waypoint, Igari, about one-third of the way from the Malaysian coast to Vietnam. Within seconds, MH370 had disappeared from radar screens.

Transmissions of technical data (described as pings) to satellites continued intermittently from the Boeing 777 until 8.19am  seven hours after the last verbal message and about two hours after the time the plane was scheduled to land in Beijing.

Over the following weeks, painstaking analysis of radar tracking showed the jet had changed course to fly west over the South East Asia peninsula before turning south over the Indian Ocean.

When a passenger aircraft disappears over the sea, there is a well-established method for finding the plane: calculating the likely path, looking for debris on the surface of the water and searching the sea bed in a narrowly defined area.

That was how the 2009 wreck of Air France flight AF447 was finally located in the Atlantic after a two-year search. The so-called black boxes revealed the tragic series of pilot errors that led to the loss of 228 lives aboard the Rio-Paris flight over the Atlantic. An inexperienced pilot reacted calamitously to a survivable set of technical failures.

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder of MH370, together with deducing who was on the flight deck, may provide equally valuable evidence about the fate of the aircraft  and, more importantly, provide some closure for the families and loved ones of the victims.

Yet finding the aircraft has defeated the entire transport safety community. Inevitably, the vacuum has been filled with speculation. Many theories are easily dismissed: a North Korean missile did not down MH370, and nor is the aircraft hidden in a hangar in Kazakhstan.

But that leaves an ocean of possibilities.

Were there actually more than 239 people aboard when the Boeing took off from Kuala Lumpur? Communication with air-traffic controllers was lost, possibly deliberately: did someone deliberately divert the aircraft and crash the 777 into the sea? Or did it simply wander off course and run out of fuel?

Locating the lost aircraft could help to solve the mystery. But after 10 years and two exhaustive seabed searches of a patch of the Indian Ocean, all there is to go on is a scattering of debris washed up on beaches.

Nineteen accident investigators concluded in the official report into the tragedy: The team is unable to determine the real cause for the disappearance of MH370.

These are the key questions; many of the answers are still unknown.

What was the sequence of events?

Soon after midnight on 8 March 2014 the Malaysia Airlines jet took off normally from Kuala Lumpur on a routine flight to Beijing. The manifest showed there were 239 people on board  though some speculate there may have been at least one more, hiding in an under-floor bay before perpetrating an act of mass murder).

At 1.19am, the captain acknowledged an instruction from Malaysian air-traffic controllers with the words: Good night Malaysian Three Seven Zero. This was the last recorded radio transmission from MH370.

He did not read back the assigned frequency, which was inconsistent with radio-telephony procedures, notes the official investigation report.

During the handover from Malaysian to Vietnamese air-traffic controllers, the aircraft appeared to vanish.

An independent French aerospace expert, Jean-Luc Marchand, says someone on the flight deck turned off the transponder  a device that transmits an aircrafts identity to air-traffic controllers. He told a BBC documentary, Why Planes Vanish: This is clever because the choice of the area where the aircraft disappeared is really a black hole between Kuala Lumpur and Vietnam.

If you want to disappear, this is where you do it. It demands attention and skill. That is why we dont believe it was an accident.

The first the world knew that anything was wrong was when air-traffic controllers in Vietnam were unable to make contact with the Boeing 777.

After much confusion and some misleading reports that it had diverted over Cambodia or landed in southern China with technical problems, MH370 was declared missing. The plane was presumed to have crashed in the South China Sea.

For a week, rescuers conducted a fruitless search in the waters between Malaysia and Vietnam. Then, at a dramatic press conference in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, announced that the aircraft had remained aloft for hours after it disappeared.

What did we discover about where the aircraft might be?

At the boundary between Malaysian and Vietnamese airspace, MH370 suddenly changed course and flew west across peninsula Malaysia, according to subsequence analysis of radar data.

At a point south of the island of Penang, the aircraft made another turn to the northwest, according to military radar.

Analysis of satellite data of a failed ground-to-air telephone call placed to the aircraft at 1.40am indicates the Boeing had, by then, turned south towards the southern Indian Ocean.

The plane ultimately ran out of fuel and crashed in the Indian Ocean west of Australia, thousands of miles from its intended destination.

The aircraft wreckage was calculated to be somewhere along the so-called Seventh Arc  a swathe of territory off the west coast off Australia.

Analysis by Cornell University of the satellite interactions suggest that flight MH370 was rapidly descending and accelerating downwards when message exchange with the ground station ceased.

From an Australian air force base north of Perth, reconnaissance flights began of the presumed crash area. Plans were made for two unprecedented, and ultimately unsuccessful, sweeps of the seabed.

The biggest underwater search in history, coordinated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, was called off in January 2017 after two years.

An American firm, Ocean Infinity, then spent several months in 2018 searching a different patch of seabed on a no-find, no-fee basis.

A few fragments of the aircraft started washing up on Indian Ocean beaches. But even after analysis of the species of barnacles that had grown up on the aircrafts flaperon, investigators were no closer to locating the wreckage.

Was a pilot responsible?

Investigators have evaluated many explanations to explain the disappearance. All of them have deep flaws. Perhaps the least unlikely is that the aircrafts commander, Captain Zaharie Shah, intentionally hijacked his own aircraft. His intention may have been to take his own life and kill everyone on board  or to land, or ditch the plane, and survive.

A common theory is that Captain Shah locked the first officer out of the flight deck. He switched off the communications systems that were designed to keep MH370 in touch with air-traffic controllers; donned an oxygen mask; and depressurised the aircraft.

At an altitude higher than Everest, the passengers and other crew would soon perish from from oxygen deficiency (hypoxia).

The captain then, the theory goes, flew the aircraft along the frontier between Thailand and Malaysia to avoid raising the interest of the military on either side, before turning south to a location where he believed it would never be found.

But the official report says: There was no known history of apathy, anxiety, or irritability. There were no significant changes in his lifestyle, interpersonal conflict or family stresses.

The first officer was 27-year-old Fariq Abdul Hamid. He was on his first Boeing 777 mission without a training captain overseeing him, and had flown the aircraft only five times before. The investigators said his ability and professional approach to work was reported to be good.

In addition, it seems unlikely that someone with such limited experience of the aircraft would be able to pull off such a plan.

While sadly there have been a number of crashes perpetrated by suicidal pilots  notably the tragic destruction of Germanwings flight 9525 from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, in which the first officer killed himself and 150 others  never has the subsequent crash been so delayed from the moment of seizure.

Besides, the accident investigators concluded: There is no evidence to suggest that the PIC [pilot in command, ie captain] and FO [first officer] experienced recent changes or difficulties in personal relationships or that there were any conflicts or problems between them.

There had been no financial stress or impending insolvency, recent or additional insurance coverage purchased or recent behavioural changes for the crew.

The investigators also analysed both pilots radio conversations and say they detected no evidence of anxiety or stress.

What do the experts think lies behind the disappearance of MH370?

The man who led the Australian Transport Safety Bureaus two-year search of the seabed, Martin Dolan, says the act was carefully planned: This was deliberate, and it was done over an extended period of time.

The aviation security guru, Philip Baum, concurs: Most agencies are confident that the loss of MH370 was the result of a criminal act and that the aircraft was deliberately, and manually, made to divert from its intended flight plan, he told me.

The question then arises as to who carried out the act and where they were at the time?

One theory that Mr Baum regards as plausible is that an aviation industry industry insider with technical knowledge could have secreted themselves in the avionics bay of the aircraft. This area, also known as the electronics and engineering or E/E bay, is accessible beneath a hatch behind the cockpit.

All we are talking about is the need for one individual with technical knowledge to have gained access to the avionics bay prior to the crew and passengers boarding the flight, Mr Baum said. Nobody else needed to be involved.

The security expert theorises that an individual might not only have turned off the transponder but might have also taken control of the aircraft.

They could have depressurised the aircraft, thereby neutralising both the passengers and the unwitting crew members, whilst being on oxygen themselves. It is technically possible to pilot the aircraft from the avionics bay.

He believes such a perpetrator could have been on a suicidal mission or potentially have even exited the aircraft themselves before or as the aircraft ditched into the ocean.

Mr Baum concedes: This may seem rather far-fetched  but the whole scenario is far-fetched.

What is his hunch?

I still believe that pilot-assisted suicide is the most likely cause of the loss as that would explain almost every aspect of the diversion and the even the lack of proof for any of the alternative scenarios emerging.

All the other scenarios would involve at least one other person being in-the-know, except the stowaway who could also have acted completely independently. And for that reason, I still think the stowaway scenario is a strong possibility.

Could a passenger or member of cabin crew be responsible?

Given the large number of passengers onboard, as well as 10 cabin crew, there is a wide range of possible motives. Standard aviation security measures were in place at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. As the tragic events of 9/11 showed, the fact of having passed through a checkpoint does not mean that the passenger poses no threat to the aircraft and the people onboard.

There were a total of 227 passengers (including three children and two infants) on board, with the majority of them from China, followed by Malaysia.

Two Iranian passengers were travelling on passports stolen from an Italian and an Austrian respectively, but they appear to have been illegal migrants who were keen to reach the West rather than harbouring any malicious intent.

All 10 members of cabin crew were married with children, which some have said implies they were unlikely to have hijacked the aircraft.

And will we ever know?

I do have some degree of confidence that the wreckage will be found and that the cause will eventually become known. Just not sure if that will be in my lifetime, says aviation security expert Philip Baum.

For more travel news, views and advice from Simon, download his daily Independent Travel podcast.
Victoria Beckham toasted Paris Fashion Week with shots of 160 tequila.

The fashion designer, 49, arrived in France earlier this week to prepare for her Autumn/Winter 2024 show on Friday 1 March.

She has been sharing updates with her followers as she works the social scene, and was seen sipping from a 160 bottle of 1942 Don Julio tequila.

Cheers Paris, it is so good to be back, Beckham says, holding her glass to the camera before showing off the bottle.

She has been pictured on crutches ahead of Fridays fashion show, after breaking her foot.
Supporters of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny chanted his name as his coffin was carried out of a black hearse on arrival at a Moscow church on Friday (1 March).

People formed long queues at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God for Navalnys funeral and could be heard chanting Navalny repeatedly.

The leading critic of President Vladimir Putin, who died in a Russian prison last month, will today be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery nearby.

Alexei Navalnys mother Lyudmila Navalnaya attended the service and was seen being comforted by supporters.
The wife of Alexei Navalny has shared a touching tribute to her husband on the day of the Putin critics funeral.

Yulia Navalnaya shared a video montage of special moments with her husband on Instagram on Friday (1 March). The clips include footage of him enjoying a family meal, partying at a concert, and playing computer games with his son.

Ms Navalnaya said in her caption: I dont know how to live without you, but Ill try to make you up there happy and proud of me. I don't know if I can do it or not, but I'll try.

Ms Navalnaya did not attend the funeral service in Russia over safety concerns.
A driver has been rescued two days after plunging off a cliffside in California.

The California Highway Patrol Coastal Division confirmed they sent a team to search the coastline from Post Ranch in Big Sur to Monastery Beach in Carmel on Tuesday morning (26 February) after a man left work on Sunday and failed to make it home.

A man and his vehicle were located approximately 400ft down a cliff.

Footage shared by the California Highway Patrol shows the moment he was airlifted to safety.

The rescued man told authorities he swerved to miss some deer in the road while driving home on Sunday.
George Galloway echoed his 2005 general election speech during his Rochdale by-election victory claiming Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza.

The former Labour MP, now the leader of the Workers Party of Britain, made his declaration before criticising Sir Keir and vowing councillors in the Labour-run town hall "have to go".

The scenes on Friday morning (1 March) resembled Mr Galloways 2005 Bethnal Green and Bow general election win over Labour.

Then the leader of the Respect Party, Mr Galloway used his victory speech to hit out at prime minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war, declaring: This is for Iraq.
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The signs were there all along for George Galloway to take Rochdale, but it was a shock win all the same.

Shock because a man who trades in incendiary language  who made an almost Trumpian figure in his winning speech, declaring this is for Gaza  made a mockery of Keir Starmer and the Labour Party.

Indeed, to put the shock into context: it is to imagine as though Mike Tyson, at the height of his controversy, somehow won a by-election. Galloway  the king of the verbal knuckleduster, reveller in rows and division  may have won his seat, but it is a pyrrhic victory for democracy.

It wasnt really a night for the usual spreadsheet analysis of swings, differential turnout and tactical voting, but the climax to a highly chaotic by-election, marked by death threats, vandalism and candidates wearing stab vests.

And despite an apparent late (and inexplicable) surge in betting on Labour to win, ever since they abandoned the seat, it was always going to be George Galloways evening. With 40 per cent of the vote, on a decent turnout, he turned on Starmer directly, saying: Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You will pay a high price for enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

For that very reason, the Rochdale by-election tell us precisely nothing about the next general election.

A result that puts Galloway and his so-called Workers Party first, an independent businessman second, the Tories third and a nominal Labour candidate fourth is certainly a poor predictor of who will next find themselves in Number 10: It certainly wont be the new honourable member for the Gaza Strip.

As ever in his long and chequered parliamentary career, Galloway will be a voluble, performative presence in parliament, always happy to chucked out of the chamber, and something of a pantomime villain; but he wont succeed in his professed aim to end imperialist wars, liberate Palestine and get the UK out of NATO. One suspects that the more the voters learn about Galloway the less theyll like him.

There will now commence some overexcited talk about where the Muslim vote will be going, but the truth is that at a general election it is not going to be a homogenous bloc, and even if it were, its not going to transfer to the Conservatives and help many of them win in any marginal constituencies.

The seats with a substantial Muslim vote are overwhelmingly ones with large Labour majority, and if there is a leakage of support to independents or Workers Party candidates it wont alter the outcome. One day, when the Tories are competitive again, a split Labour vote might let them come through the middle (as almost happened when Galloway intervened in Batley and Spen in 2021).

All that said, no Labour leader, indeed no responsible democrat, can look at what happened in Rochdale without some concern about the degree of division and sectarianism that Galloway and the war in Gaza brought to the towns politics and those of the wider party; and his own partys failings.

The former Labour candiate, Afzhar Ali, lost his career because he casually regurgitated a conspiracy theory about the Israelis organising the murders of their own people on 7 October. Thats not healthy.

Maybe they know their minds in Rochdale, but the fact is that it is the Labour Party, and the other mainstream parties, let the people there down rather than the other way around. Any Labour candidate would have had a hard time defending Keir Starmers position, as he himself did, but a more dexterous person could have done things rather better than Ali managed. To borrow a fashionable phrase, Rochdale deserved better.

Labour can beat Galloway next time round, but they will need a strong and credible local candidate to do it. The last time Galloways raucous roadshow won a by-election he did so in even more spectacular style.

The contest in Bradford West a decade ago was a much bigger surprise than Rochdale, and Galloway managed to grab 55.9 per cent of the vote then in what was also previously a safe Labour seat. Place that against his 39.7 per cent poll in Rochdale, with no real opposition, and maybe the tectonic plates arent now shifting quite as Galloway claims.

On his success in March 2012 he declared in typically bombastic style that this was the the Bradford Spring, supposedly another spontaneous uprising in the Arab Spring waves of protest then rocking regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Syria in the name of democracy. It didnt sustain in West Yorkshire, either.

In Bradford, there had been much local disillusionment with the way Labour had been running politics, which the mountebank Galloway, in typical skilful style, exploited. But at the subsequent general election, in 2015, Galloway was crushed by Labours Naz Shah, and in what was a pretty poor year for Ed Milibands party nationally. She holds Bradford West still. Assuming the Gaza issue will have subsided in salience with a ceasefire soon to be negotiated, Galloway may not be an MP for much longer.

Labour was a big loser on the night, not so much psephologically  it didnt campaign, after all  but because it highlights one of the few areas where the party remains deeply divided. But the other mainstream parties have little to be optimistic about; actually the Liberal Democrats in particular. Rochdale was once represented by another larger than life star, the now disgraced Liberal, Cyril Smith.

He won a by-election there in 1972, and the party won it as recently as 2005, when it was retaken from Labour in the aftermath of the Iraq war  a time when Galloways former party, Respect, was doing well enough to see him win Bethnal Green and Bow. At that point it was the Lib Dems who attracted disaffected anti-war Labour voters, Muslim and otherwise, also winning a by-election in the safe Labour seat of Leicester South, again with a high ethnic minority vote, in 2004.

The current incumbent, Jon Ashworth, might reflect on that. But Ed Daveys party is now far too weak to repeat those sort of successes in Labour areas. The wider lesson, though, is that outrage about a foreign war doesnt necessarily persist when it fades from the headlines and more domestic factors come into play.

The Greens, too, let Rochdale down in disowning their candidate and failing to provide a solid alternative.

The other notable loser, it has to be said, is Reform UK, which was quite unable to capitalise on the strange circumstances of recent weeks. Their man Simon Danczuk, a former Labour MP for the seat, came sixth and only won a 6.9 per cent vote share  actually lower than its predecessor, the Brexit party, achieved at the 2019 general election, and far less than the 18.8 per cent Ukip registered in 2015.

Like the other recent by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood, it confirms that Reforms notable rise in the polls over the past year is real enough, but may now be stalling, at least in the absence of Nigel Farage or a high-profile Tory defector such as Lee Anderson.

So there we have it  Rochdale as a one-off, rather like its new member of parliament. The reaction of the Muslim community  like many others  to the pitiless war in Gaza should not be ignored or disdained, because the voters in any seat have the right to say what matters to them and to vote accordingly  and for the parties have to respond to those priorities. Thats democracy.

Labour does need continually to assess what its attitude to the Palestinian question is, as does the government, because the revulsion at whats been happening there since the Hamas atrocities on 7 October is certainly not confined to those of the Islamic faith.

In Rochdale, many voted with their consciences  and theres no shame in that. Yet, contrary to what Galloway so often claims, Britain isnt in a position to do much about the Middle East, and Gaza wont be the defining issue at the general election. The tectonic plates may have shifted last night, but not by that much.
 Close 100mph Winds And 12ft Of Snow Expected In California Storm

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Snow continued to fall across parts of California and Nevada on Tuesday after a blizzard dumped up to 10ft of snow, shutting down major highways for three days and trapping people in their homes.

Isolated, light snow showers would continue across the Sierra Nevada until Thursday morning, the National Weather Service reported, but drier and warmer conditions were expected by the end of the week.

Communities across the region were digging out after snow reached up to roof lines in some towns, and trapped people inside. More than 7,500 customers remained without power in some California counties, according to utility tracker poweroutage.us.

Localized, heavy rainfall is expected on Tuesday for northern California with downpours moving into southern California on Wednesday. Due a recent glut of atmospheric rivers hitting the state, there will be the threat of isolated flash flooding, NWS reported.
Pilots at operator Emerald Airlines will get 10pc between now and 2026

Pilots at Emerald Airlines, which operates the Aer Lingus Regional service on a franchise basis, have secured a 10pc pay increase after a deal was struck with the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA).

The agreement  if approved by pilots  will see them awarded a 3.5pc pay increase from March 1 2024, with another 3.5pc increase on March 1 next year. On March 1, 2026, a 3pc increase will be paid.

The deal with the Emerald Airlines pilots comes as more than 700 pilots at Aer Lingus rejected a recent proposal last month that would have seen them receive an effective 8.5pc pay rise. Talks between the airline and its unions have been underway for more than a year.

Emerald Airlines, controlled by businessman Conor McCarthy, has also agreed with IALPA that negotiations on enhancing the new agreement will take place if the company can generate accumulated profits by 2026. However, the airline made losses of more than 21m in 2022  its first full year of operation. Such losses are common in airline start-ups.

Emerald operates 17 ATR turboprop aircraft that play a key role in funnelling passengers  primarily from the UK  to the Aer Lingus hub at Dublin Airport for onward travel to North America. It also has significant network out of Belfast City Airport to airports in Britain.

The collective labour agreement (CLA) agreed between Emerald and IALPA includes a seniority agreement at the airline, as well as increases in sick pay and the introduction of a service-related pay scale.

Emerald Airlines pilots are due to vote in a ballot on the measures on March 5, with IALPA and its umbrella union, Forsa, recommending the deal.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

IALPA president Mark Tighe welcomed the agreement.

This CLA is a solid foundation on which pilots in Emerald can continue to improve their terms and conditions, he said.

This agreement is a significant achievement by our members in Emerald, given that a year ago the company refused to even engage with unions.

IALPA has been accused by Aer Lingus of having failed to engage in a recent negotiation process at the Workplace Relations Commission in a responsible manner and that growth at the carrier is now at risk. IALPAs negotiations with Aer Lingus are separate to those at Emerald Airlines. The talks between IALPA and Aer Lingus are now headed to the Labour Court.

The boss of Aer Lingus owner IAG, Luis Gallego, warned this week that unless the Irish carrier can reach a pay agreement with pilots, investment in the carrier will be scaled back.

As we have always said, our capital allocation and growth plans are based on being able to so profitably and sustainably, and until those discussions are concluded we will be limiting investment in Aer Lingus, said Mr Gallego on Thursday as IAG released a strong set of full-year results. Aer Lingus posted an operating profit of 225m last year, up from 168m in 2022.

We want to invest in Aer Lingus but the gap we have between the company and the pilots is very extreme, he added. When they have things that are miles away from what we can offer, unfortunately we cannot have a commitment to invest in the company.
The Government has been fined at least 2.5m by the EUs highest court for delaying the introduction of new rules on streaming services, online safety and hate speech.

A daily fine of 10,000 will be applied on top of that lump sum for each day that Irish law is not brought into line with the EUs rules.

The penalty was imposed after Ireland failed to meet a September 2020 deadline for implementing the EUs updated Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD).

The directive sets a 30pc quota for European content on streaming services, creates new online protections for children and anti-hate speech rules that apply to video-sharing platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. It also strengthens national media regulators.

The law was adopted in 2018 and guidelines on implementation were published two years later. The European Commission sent warning letters to Ireland in November 2020, September 2021 and November 2021, telling the Government it was in breach of EU law.

At the time the case was taken, Irelands online safety and media regulation bill was still making its way through the legislative process. It was finally adopted in December 2022. Coimisiun na Mean, Irelands media regulator, which features the countrys first online safety commissioner, began work last year.

The Department of Culture and Media said in a statement that it accepted the judgment and said the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 marked partial transposition of the EU law.

"Ireland is completely committed to implementing the directive into Irish law, the statement said. Full transposition will be achieved once Coimisiun na Mean adopts online safety and media services codes.

Most EU member states failed to bring the rules into place in time, and the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Spain were also warned they could face fines. But Ireland is in the spotlight because it is the European headquarters of many of the worlds biggest tech firms.

Ireland is the EU member state where the largest number of VSPs [video sharing platforms] are established, the European Court of Justice said on Thursday.

The Court finds that Ireland failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law, by neglecting to adopt the legislative, regulatory, and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive by the deadline set out by the Commission, and by failing to communicate these provisions to the Commission.

The Court also finds that Ireland has persisted in this failure, as it was not remedied by the day of the examination of the facts by the Court.

In court, Ireland did not dispute that the law was late, but asked the European Commission not to impose a fine as the online safety bill faced a number of difficulties and required complex legislative changes.

However, the European Commission said that even though the act is now adopted, it does not contain strong enough protections for minors, nor on content that incites violence and hatred. It also said the 30pc content threshold is not ensured under the law.

The European Commission had wanted to impose a lump sum penalty of just under 5m and a daily fine of 30,000, given Irelands high GDP growth and institutional weight in the European Parliament. It lowered its demands after the Government informed Brussels in March last year that it had passed the online safety act. The European Court of Justice said on Thursday that a high penalty was warranted for the effective prevention of future repetition of infringements.

Note: This article was amended to include a statement from the department and to correct the size of the lump sum and daily penalty payment imposed on Ireland, due to an error in a press release issued by the European Court of Justice on 29 February.
Michael OLeary says Ryanair would have placed four additional aircraft in Dublin in the summer of 2024 but will instead grow routes elsewhere because of the passenger cap.

None of 80 new routes Ryanair plans to operate this summer will include Dublin, he said. Cork will get one new route and the airline is planning to grow at Shannon and Knock.

The airline chief said Ryanair is considering mounting a legal challenge to the planning restriction that places an upper limit of 32 million on the number of passengers who can travel to and from Dublin Airport in a year.

But Michael OLeary said any court action would be slow and sought more immediate action from Government to either temporarily suspend the Dublin cap or pass legislation to overturn it, which would in effect have to remove airport capacity from falling under the planning authority of the local Fingal County Council.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Tourism Minister Catherine Martin should let the airport grow or go from office, he said.

The outspoken CEO has repeatedly called for Mr Ryan to act on the issue and to engage with Ryanair, using increasingly emotive language. Mr OLeary denied his campaign was abusive or amounted to personal insults at a press conference in Dublin where he displayed pictures of the two Green Party ministers in dunces caps.

He would change them to genius caps if the ministers act on the issue, he said.

A Dutch court last year threw out a passenger cap at Schiphol Airport in the Netherland imposed by the Dutch government. The court found the process through which the limit on access to travel was imposed had been incorrect.

In Dublin, Michael OLeary said the combination of a cap on travel and increasing demand as the population rises, will lead to higher fares for passengers in the coming years, if restrictions are not eased.

He said DAA, which operates the airport, was using the squeeze on its service to increase fees.

Meanwhile, Ryanair faces its own constraint on growth as a result of delays in delivery of new aircraft from Boeing. As few as around 40 of 50 new planes due for delivery by June are likely to arrive because of well-documented manufacturing hold-ups at Boeing, he said.

The undersupply of planes is likely to lead to a cut back of some advertised services, potentially meaning fewer daily services on some busy routes during the peak summer period.
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
Male nurse groped colleague, telling her he was a sex addict and had threesomes, court hears

He said hed had threesomes before and hed previously been with a man

Leonard Iliuta

Andrew Phelan Fri 1 Mar 2024 at 15:51







A MALE nurse groped a female health worker as he gave her a lift home, telling her he was a sex addict and had had threesomes.
An electrical engineer killed during a storm in Co Armagh was just about to leave a forest park when a 200-year-old beech tree was blown over and crushed him, a court has heard.

Newry Crown Court also heard that having parked their work van outside the gates of Slieve Gullion Park after it had just been closed, Matt Campbell (24) and his colleague had gone back in to make safe a kiosk they had been working on before they left for the day.

It was then, prosecuting KC Philip Mateer told the court, the tree was uprooted and fell on Mr Campbell, killing him and causing serious injuries to his workmate.

Mr Campbell was working for Lagan Construction Ltd. The park is owned and controlled by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. Both faced health safety charges.

Just before Christmas the council pleaded guilty to failing to make appropriate risk assessments for non-employees and employees, and failing to ensure, so far as would be reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and non-employees on September 19, 2018.

On the day that Lagan Construction were due to go on trial in January the company, with offices on the Sydenham Road in Belfast, entered a guilty plea to failing to make an appropriate risk assessment.

Just the week before the accident, Matt and his fiancee Robyn Newberry had sent out save the date cards in preparation for their wedding in August 2019.

She had actually collected the couples wedding rings on the day of the tragedy.

Many of Mr Campbells friends and relatives listened attentively in the public gallery as Mr Mateer opened the facts of the case for the first time, describing how the tree fell during a severe weather event. Storm Ali was due to increase in severity and strength as it passed across Ireland.

He described how the weather alert had warned of gusts between 65 and 80mph, and people had been warned to beware of potential damage and injury from debris including falling trees, branches and roof tiles.

Despite that warning, and being part of a multi-agency group which received weather alerts from the Met Office, the council had a piecemeal approach to closing public parks, essentially leaving it up to the respective facilities to make an assessment whether to lock up or not.

It was that lack of clarity which formed the basis of the councils guilty pleas, the court heard.

But its defence KC Charles MacCreanor stressed lessons had been learned and there was now a clear written approach and risk assessment.

Mr Mateer continued that Lagan Construction had entered a guilty plea on the basis that while they had a written risk assessment, it was prepared two months beforehand, did not take account of the mature trees surrounding the work area and nor did it take account of the change of circumstances Storm Ali presented.

If a proper assessment had been carried out, taking account of the conditions on the day, then there would not have been any requirement to make an assessment at the kiosk because they would not have been exposed [to risks] in the first place, the senior PPS barrister submitted.

Defence KC Frank ODonoghue, instructed by Lagan Construction, conceded the risk assessment had focused on electrocution and flooding as opposed to trees, but he submitted that there had been a dynamic risk assessment on the day of the incident.

At the very beginning of their pleas in mitigation, both Mr ODonoghue and Mr MacCreanor emphasised their respective clients were acutely aware and extremely conscious the case arose from the tragic death of Mr Campbell, a young man who had enormous potential and a very much loved family member.

At the end of the two-hour hearing Judge Paul Ramsey KC thanked counsel for their submissions, but told them he had to adjourn passing sentence.

He said: Theres a lot of material that I have to look at and consider. So I will give my decision as soon as I can.

This article was updated on March 1 to make clear the company pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to make an appropriate risk assessment.
Gone in 60 seconds: Kevin Bakhurst on how Catherine Martin quizzed chair Siun Ni Raghallaigh

RTE director generals portrayal of Zoom meeting is at odds with media ministers account

Kevin Bakhurst tells RTE workers at protest it has been a horrendous period for staff at broadcaster

Fionnan Sheahan Fri 1 Mar 2024 at 03:30

Catherine Martins detailed questioning of the sacked RTE chair lasted all of one minute on a Zoom meeting, Kevin Bakhurst has said.
He is not out of danger yet  Dublin mother of three urges Iraqi officials to let her husband come home

Yasser Eljuboori had his Irish passport taken from him as he was detained in Baghdad while visiting his family

Interview with Laura Wickham whose husband Yasser is trapped in Baghdad

Conor Feehan Fri 1 Mar 2024 at 03:30







A Dublin mother of three is urging the Department of Foreign Affairs to help get her husband out of Iraq after he was detained by authorities there when he tried to return home.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin tasks Dublin TD with development of FF policy on immigration

Dublin South West TD John Lahart who Fianna Fail has appointed to oversee the development of party policy on immigration

Fianna Fail is to draw up a new party policy on immigration, in the clearest sign yet that the topic is moving centre stage ahead of the upcoming local elections.

The main parties in Leinster House have all struggled with the issue in recent months as protests mounted over the locations of asylum accommodation.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael have both faced situations where local representatives have defied the party leadership and criticised the Governments handling of the situation. Sinn Fein has also at times faced accusations of not being able to put forward a coherent message on immigration.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin has now tasked a Dublin TD to oversee the development of a Fianna Fail policy, which will stand independently of the Government policy.

With the local and European elections fast approaching, John Lahart has been asked to collate and co-ordinate suggestions from party members on how to deal with the record levels of migrants arriving in Ireland.

The move followed two lengthy Fianna Fail parliamentary party meetings where TDs and senators raised concerns about the impact of immigration on their communities.

Mr Lahart has already written to colleagues seeking ideas for how the Government is addressing the accommodation and public service challenges arising from the recent wave of immigration.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

The party chairman has asked me to co-ordinate and collate the suggestions/recommendations many of you brought to the recent meetings of the parliamentary party where migration and immigration were discussed at length, he said.

Some of you made concrete suggestions as part of your contributions  others may have been unable to attend either of the meetings concerned.

I would be grateful if you could forward your suggestions/recommendations to me by close of business next Tuesday evening.

It remains to be seen whether Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and other parties take a similar approach but politicians across the spectrum expect the topic of immigration to feature on doorsteps when the campaign gets into full swing.

Recent Fianna Fail meetings heard a range of concerns about how the Government is currently dealing with the immigration crisis which has resulted in protests in communities over planned asylum centres.

At the meetings concerns were raised about free bus places given to Ukrainian people who sought refuge in Ireland after their country was invade by Russia.

There have also been calls at party meetings to require hotels accommodating refugees to keep their restaurants, bars and function rooms open to the local community.

TD Jim OCallaghan has been calling for the Government to increase the number of so-called safe countries, which means people arriving from those states are not automatically granted asylum and the process for reviewing their application can be fast-tracked.

The Government recently added Algeria and Botswana to the list of safe countries which now totals 10. The other countries on the list are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and South Africa.

At a Fianna Fail party meeting, Mr OCallaghan highlighted how Ireland has designated far fewer countries as safe compared to some European counterparts. The Dublin Bay South TD told colleagues that Austria designates 27 countries as safe, while Cyprus has 29, Netherlands 33, Denmark 20, Czech Republic 24 and Malta 26.

A senior Fianna Fail source said Micheal Martin has faced criticism from his party colleagues for not listening to their concerns around immigration when they raised them directly with the party leader.

The common theme in recent party meetings is people standing up and telling Micheal that if he listened to members a year ago or even a year-and-a-half ago, we might not be where we are at now with immigration, the source said.

The source added the view in the party is the Government should help people who need it but it should be done fairly.

Irish people have to fight for school transport in some areas but it is provided as a matter of course for Ukrainians and that creates a lot of tension, the source said.

Another party source said Fianna Fail needs to differentiate itself from government partners Fine Gael during the local and European election campaign, especially on the areas of immigration, housing and public safety.

People need to see that the immigration system is working based on the rules in place and not being openly abused, the source said.

Fianna Fail cabinet minister Jack Chambers is drafting an election manifesto for the June elections which will outline the partys policy on immigration once it is completed.

The manifesto will also have a significant focus on housing and will commit to new policies which will allow young people to get on the property ladder.

Part of the plan will involve councils giving more support to first-time buyers seeking to buy their first home.

There will also be a big focus on public safety and policing in the manifesto, with further calls for public transport police expected.

Fianna Fail will aim to take advantage of what it sees as Fine Gaels poor handling of the Justice portfolio over recent years.

The party has selected more than 300 candidates to contest the local election.
Former justice minister and attorney general Michael McDowell is advocating for a No vote in the referendums. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with Fine Gael MEP Frances Fitzgerald, left, and Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys at the party's Yes campaign launch. Photo: Collins Photos

Voters will be asked to make their choice in the referendums on March 8. Photo: Stock image

One week from now, on March 8, Irish voters will be asked to vote on two very important constitutional changes  changes so important that most people say they know hardly anything about them.

Heres everything you need to know about it to help make an informed decision.

Where did these two referendums come out of and why?

Eamon de Valeras officials wrote the 1937 Constitution, with considerable input from the Catholic bishops, and it was narrowly endorsed in our first referendum in June of that year. Over its 87 years the document has evolved through Supreme Court test-case rulings and 38 referendums.

But many people have long felt references to the role of women in the home and the family based on marriage are seriously out of line with life as lived in modern Ireland. These proposed changes have been talked about for decades  now its up to the voters to decide on March 8.

What is the issue about the role of women?

Article 41.2 effectively says that women working in the home are central to the good functioning of the State and society. It also pledges to endeavour to support women working at home so that they are not obliged to go out to work and neglect family duties.

If voters say Yes then that article would be struck out and a new Article 42B would be inserted. The new addition would recognise the important role of carers in Irish society.

In the new provision, carers are said to be either family members or linked in other ways. The proposed addition pledges the State to strive to support such care.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with Fine Gael MEP Frances Fitzgerald, left, and Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys at the party's Yes campaign launch. Photo: Collins Photos

What is the dispute about that change?

Equality Minister Roderic OGorman argues that this provision demeans women and is meaningless in modern Irish life where women have long pursued their own careers, combining work outside the home with family duties. Yes supporters say the provision supported a view in society that typecast women and played into things like the marriage ban, which forced women out of public-sector work the minute they married.

That ban only ended when Ireland joined the EEC, the forerunner of the European Union, in 1973.

But advocates of a No say this change would militate against women who work only in the home. They also argue that in practical terms it really would not change anything.

So, nothing is broken or requires fixing here, that No argument goes. Others say stronger language is required on practical support for carers who spare the State millions.

What changes are proposed about family and relationships?

As it stands, Article 41.3.1 accords very special status to the family as the basic unit of the society with strong legal rights. It fixes a family as based on marriage.

The proposed change would outline the family as founded on marriage or other durable relationships.

Former justice minister and attorney general Michael McDowell is advocating for a No vote in the referendums. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

And what are the points of dispute here about relationships?

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that up to one million Irish people live in family situations where there is no marriage involved. Yes advocates point to the 2015 endorsement of the constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage.

The Yes side also cite a recent Supreme Court ruling which granted a widowers pension to a father who was not married to his now deceased partner.

Advocates of No, including former attorney general and justice minister, Michael McDowell, argue that this change is a recipe for legal chaos with implications for things including succession and immigration law.

Some critics dismiss the term durable relationships as something which could be decided by things as facile as getting jointly-addressed postcards or Christmas cards. Again, the argument that nothing was broken or required fixing, is cited.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 4th 2024

So, will these two referendums be carried?

At first glance it seems that they should succeed. An Ipsos/B&A survey for the Irish Times last week showed six out of 10 people favoured the change on women at home, while over half backed change to definition of family.

But the history of referendums shows us that this is not a reliable predictor a month from polling. Referendum turnouts are often abysmal with two out of three voters abstaining.

Voter apathy makes the issues at risk to determined No campaigners sowing doubt  and only 8pc of people last week said they were well-informed on the issues. Watch for terms like: If you dont know  vote No and If in doubt  leave it out.

The Government and other Yes advocates have a big information battle ahead. So does the new Electoral Commission, which is facing its first crunch test especially on misinformation on social media.

Should I vote?

Make a small effort to inform yourself and then make an honest decision.

These two questions  to be put on separate ballot papers on March 8  are important for many peoples daily lives.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during a keynote address at a summit in New York today.

In her speech, at an Irish Unity Summit in Cooper Hall on Friday, Ms McDonald said the population in Gaza were enduring unimaginable suffering and also called for the release of hostages.

Today, the beleaguered, besieged, impoverished refugee population of Gaza endure unimaginable suffering. This vicious, criminal onslaught must stop now, Ms McDonald said.

Those funding these atrocities must stop now. All hostages must be released, she added.

The event, which was organised by a number of Irish-American organisations, including Friends of Sinn Fein, also heard the party leader call for the recommencement of a peace process in the region.

We need an immediate ceasefire and the renewal of a peace process grounded in international law, based on the two-state solution, with the aim of achieving self-determination and statehood for the Palestinians, and a secure Israel, Ms McDonald said.

The speech comes amid growing speculation that a ceasefire could soon be agreed between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, with US President Joe Biden suggesting there were hopes a deal could come as soon as Monday.

The US, which is one of Israels closest allies, was critisied last week for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The Algeria backed resolution saw 13 of the 15 member states vote in favour of the draft proposal while the UK abstained from the vote.

While it is not the first time the US has vetoed similar resolutions, the White House said the proposal would jeopardise the ongoing ceasefire talks.

The US instead proposed a temporary ceasefire, as soon as practicable.

During the speech, Ms McDonald also referenced the Good Friday Agreement and said countries needed to come together to achieve peace in Gaza.

The success of the Good Friday Agreement teaches us that no conflict is intractable.

Peace is a question of will and peace must now be the united will of the international community, Ms McDonald said.

Ms McDonald also spoke to those in attendance about the possibility of a united Ireland.

Combined Nationalism outpolls combined Unionism. This is not to sound a bell of triumphalism. Far from it. Its merely to capture the depth of the change that is underway, she said.

A referendum on unity by the end of the decade was also described by Ms McDonald as achievable and said a Citizens Assembly on the issue should be created.

The latest infrastructure funding commitments from Dublin are welcome, but we need to get serious about preparing and planning for constitutional change, Ms McDonald said.

Its now imperative that the Irish government establishes a Citizens Assembly to plan for Irish Unity, an Assembly where everyone is welcome, everyone is included, and everyone gets to share their ideas, their hopes, and their ambitions, she added.
The Conor Pass lands which hit the market earlier this year.

The State is attempting to negotiate a multi-million-euro deal to purchase Kerry beauty spot, the Conor Pass, and transform the 1,400-acre holding into a national park.

The landbank was placed on the market last year and while there was significant private interest, the Government were strongly urged by Kerry politicians, environmentalists and tourism industry leaders to buy the 561.3 hectare (1,387 acre) holding.

It is expected that the sprawling area will fetch more than 10m.

Comprising a mix of woodland, mountain grazing and three small lakes, the Conor Pass landbank is located amid some of the most photographed scenery in Ireland.

The three lakes are Pedlar's Lake/Lough Doon, Lough Atlea and Lough Beirne. Pedlar's Lake is one of the most popular tourist and hiking sites in Kerry.

Dingle auctioneer Mike Kennedy is handling the sale.

He confirmed to Radio Kerry that there had been a number of expressions of interest in the landbank with the offering having generated huge attention, particularly on the US market

Mr Kennedy acknowledged that negotiations over the Conor Pass holding were under way.

It is unclear whether any of the expressions of interest involved overseas buyers.

However, the Government has come under increasing pressure to take the 560 hectares into State ownership.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government would be interested in the landbank but not at the stipulated price.

"I think its fair to say the State wont be paying 10m for it, but we would be interested in talking to the owner about a reasonable price because Id like to see us extend our national parks," Mr Varadkar said last year.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

Education Minister and Kerry TD Norma Foley admitted she also would like to see the Conor Pass lands bought by the Government. However, she stressed that nothing had been agreed.

Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan said he believed the Conor Pass lands would be ideal for development into a national park that would benefit both the tourism and sporting sectors.

Numerous Kerry Co Council members have also called for the Government to secure the lands for future State use.

Located on the Dingle Peninsula, the Conor Pass is beloved of tourists because of its dramatic scenery and rugged location.

The current owner of the Conor Pass lands is Mike Noonan, who is based in the United States. He has indicated a preference for the State to purchase the land and use it for the nation

The Conor Pass  one of the highest mountain passes in Ireland  runs for 12km from Dingle to Kilmore Cross.
Public Accounts Committee hears of concerns about vulnerable young people

Two private accommodation providers housing vulnerable children were reported to gardai by Tusla, the child and family agency, the Dails Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been told.

And two special accommodation providers (SEAs) were paid millions in recent years before Tusla identified issues and stopped engaging with them, the public spending watchdog heard.

It is not clear if the two agencies Tusla stopped engaging with were those referred to gardai.

A total of 71m was spent last year on SEAs, the PAC was told.

Tusla has been criticised for its reliance on housing vulnerable children in emergency accommodation, which is unregulated.

Children who use mainstream Tusla services, as well as unaccompanied migrant children who come into the care of the State, use these services.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

Most of these children are put in SEAs because there has been a breakdown in the home. Migrant children are also housed in these special arrangements.

Tusla CEO Kate Duggan told the PAC there was a double lock of checks by the agency on SEAs, which are unregulated.

An internal compliance unit was set up within Tusla after it found issues with two private companies, she told Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy.

Within our quality and regulation directorate, we have an internal audit function, Ms Duggan said.

Read more Number of lone migrant children seeking State accommodation increases by 500pc, says Tusla

That proactive auditing that we do picked up an issue, and after that we thought, We actually cannot take assurances from these agencies that they have garda vetting, that they have qualifications. We have to physically set up a unit that checks everything manually.

Ms Duggan said there were eight people working within this unit, and added that two agencies we stopped engaging with as a result of issues that had arisen, and they were paid 4m since 2020.

Later in the PAC meeting, Ms Duggan told TD Brian Stanley two agencies had been reported to gardai.

We have referred two companies to An Garda Siochana and if we think theres another public service utilising those companies, we let them know of our concerns, she said.

Mr Stanley told the meeting it was not acceptable that hundreds of unaccompanied Ukrainian children were coming into the State.

A total of 339 lone children are seeking international protection under state care.

Of 597 lone migrant children who came in 2022 to Ireland, 261 were Ukrainian.

Last year, 177 lone children came in from Ukraine. Most Ukrainian children are aged over 16 and male, the committee heard.

There were days where there were seven, eight or nine would come to our offices in the one day, Ms Duggan said.

Mr Stanley said: These people in Tusla have been handed this issue with no beginning or end.

He asked why this had not been taken up with the Ukrainian embassy.

Its not acceptable that a country that has relied on this small state to take in over 100,000 to somehow have a laissez faire with minors arriving here, he added.

Theres a responsibility here on Ukrainian authorities to ensure that people getting here on planes, if theres minors, that theyre not getting on planes unaccompanied.

Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea were the worst offender countries from which unaccompanied children arrive.

Mr Stanley urged Tusla to engage with the Department of Justice and the Ukrainian embassy.
President Michael D Higgins is to stay in hospital for the weekend, it has been confirmed.

Mr Higgins was taken to hospital in Dublin yesterday afternoon after feeling unwell and he is still receiving treatment this evening.

The Head of State had a consultation with specialists today and was told he could be discharged, but they would like to continue to monitor his blood pressure for a little while. The President acquiesced and will remain under observation for the weekend.

President Higgins, its been confirmed, was feeling faint on Thursday afternoon and an ambulance was dispatched to Aras an Uachtarain. A medical team attended the Aras an Uachtarain, where no immediate concerns were identified. President Higgins did not have any palpitations or any form of heart trouble.

Mr Higgins was taken to hospital where he underwent tests, and the initial results have been positive.

President Higgins thanked the public for the outpouring of well wishes which he has received since his admission to St Jamess Hospital yesterday evening and would like to express his deep appreciation to all those who have sent messages to him, as well as to the medical staff for their continuing care," a statement from Aras an Uachtarain read.

Following tests which were carried out after his admission, the President will remain in hospital over the weekend in order to monitor his blood-pressure. It is anticipated that the President will return to Aras an Uachtarain early next week.

President Higgins is also highly appreciative of the medical care and nursing attention he has received at St Jamess.

He is now likely to leave hospital on Monday.

Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese wished Mr Higgins a speedy recovery.

I am very relieved to hear the President is in good humour and good hands. I wish him a very speedy and full recovery, she said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he has been in touch with Mr Higgins to wish him well.

I just passed on my best wishes. Obviously anything around his medical information is confidential, he told Virgin Medias The Six OClock Show.

But I expect hell be out in the next couple of days and obviously we all wish him a very speedy recovery.
Stellar magazine is pressing pause on its print publication but will continue with its digital edition, it has announced today.

The Irish lifestyle and fashion magazine has announced it is ceasing its publication for now in a statement shared on social media.

"For now, were pressing pause on our print edition but dont worry, were not going anywhere, well be back to celebrate some of our big moments, the statement said.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

It is understood employees were informed there are to be some job losses at the publication.

"Its not the end. Its the start of something new and fabulous.

"Over the past 16 years, Stellar has grown and expanded from a successful print brand that connected with readers once a month to an always-on brand that is in constant conversation with its audience on all platforms.

"Weve seen your appetite for more digital content, the type of content we know you love, from pop culture and in-depth features to fashion & beauty and everything in between.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content

"And so, that is what we will continue to bring you on STELLAR.ie and on our social channels on Instagram, TikTok, FB & X, it said.

Stellar has also announced it will continue with podcasts The Glow Up and The Skim.

"Well also be celebrating big events like the InstaStar Awards, and were planning tons of fun reader events with our favourite brands so you can all join in the fun, it added.
When movies give us a worst-case-scenario glimpse of the future of artificial intelligence, they tend to focus on the big picture stuff: roving gangs of human-exterminating robots. A Big Brother superintelligence that watches you use the bathroom. Haley Joel Osment gets frozen in ice. That sort of thing.

But the real danger  at least in the immediate instance  is that our overreliance on AI is going to fundamentally alter the way we approach basic tasks, particularly those that are creative or research-based. Similar to how studies have suggested that our increased use of search engines like Google has changed the way we recall and store information in our own brains, our use of AI could completely transform the way we learn, and go about our work  and not for the better.
Back when you bought, they were building more than enough homes to meet demand. There werent as many objections, more schemes got permission and planning officials didnt give a fig about migrating patterns. Photo: Getty

You see the notice. Flagging a public meeting down at the school hall. You and many of your neighbours (a fraction of the local population) turn up and express your views.

Yes, the traffic is already crazy on the main road in the morning. We walk our dogs in that field. Hannah does her morning yoga classes there. The local kids play ball. Yes, way too dense. The height of those blocks is way out of sync. Blocking light. Thats right. Remember that more traffic is a big danger to children going to school.
The issue of assisted dying has again made the headlines, this time after a report by the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee was seized upon by Esther Rantzen as an opportunity to demand a debate and free vote on the subject by MPs. Rantzen has stage-four cancer.

Significantly, the MPs on the committee did not advocate a change in the law; they confined their report to analysing those countries where assisted dying is already legal and addressing some of the traditional concerns that have been expressed over the prospect of the UK going down the same path.
It is unlikely Vladimir Putin gives time to introspection, which would sit uneasily with the persona of the invincible iron man. His imperial ambitions have brought the world to the worst crisis in Moscows relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In his address to the Russian people, he claimed the West would be putting civilisation in peril and risking nuclear war were it to send troops to Ukraine.

What he failed to say was the journey from sabre to nuclear silo-rattling was sparked by his invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The Russian president has again played fast and loose with history to fit his own ends. Recalling how Russia heroically repelled Napoleon and Hitler, he warned that the motherland would again be a graveyard for those misguided enough to attack. The crucial difference, of course, is that in the case of Ukraine, Putin is the invading aggressor.

This crisis is entirely provoked by his own actions. The narrative of persecution and victimhood, with himself as a defender of righteousness against the predatory ambitions of a decadent oppressor, is absurd. Psychologists will tell you it is always important to note aggression is not the whole story in any problem, it is the outcome of a problem.

However, as a curtain-raiser to the election on March 15 to 17, in which he is the only real candidate, Putin sought to promote the notion that his country is in imminent danger and none but he can protect it.

Western nations must realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation. Dont they get that? he said.

His remarks were prompted by comments by French president Emmanuel Macron earlier in the week, when he said EU Nato members might have to consider the option of sending troops to Ukraine.

Although the notion was almost immediately shot down in Washington, London and Berlin, it nevertheless gave Moscow the opportunity to boast about its unlimited destructive capacity.

Strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness, Putin said. He also claimed hypersonic nuclear weapons had either been deployed or were at a stage where development and testing were being completed. He has assumed the right to massacre Ukrainians with impunity. Dare the West interfere, consequences will be dire as missiles are primed to target it.

The West, he said, viewed war as a cartoon, but the consequences would be tragic.

Putin (71) is the longest-serving Russian ruler since Joseph Stalin, and like the former dictator he rules by fear, using exile and execution to eliminate opponents. However, as the American abolitionist Frederick Douglass put it: The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

No one can dispute that the endurance of the people of Ukraine  and the heroics of Alexei Navalny, who will be buried today  have exposed Putins limits and his lies.
Patricia Grey Amante (Erasing mothers from the Constitution will lead us into a denial of reality, Letters, February 29) writes: True progress is acknowledging the necessary good of motherhood and pledging our constitutional support to women who choose to become mothers.

Great ideology, but what about practice? The wording of the Constitution is an unknown to the great majority of Irish people, ergo, it is irrelevant other than in courts of law.

My mother gave birth to 16 children between 1936 and 1959  a small family compared with some neighbouring women. Can anyone tell me of what use was the mention of motherhood in the Constitution to her or any other mother in Ireland?

To be serious about motherhood, more than a mere mention in a paragraph is required  it demands action, with a meaning of totality.

By all means, make reference to motherhood in the Constitution, but make it a meaningful, legal reference in regard to the States responsibility to a mother and her children.

Declan Foley, Melbourne, Australia

Striving to provide care within families gets my vote, so Yes-Yes from me

I welcome the State being obliged to strive to support the provision of care within families.

Instead of strive, the word duty could have been used, but given that it is a first step to formally recognising the care given between family members (because of their bonds of relationship), Ill be voting Yes to including article 42B.

On the amendments to Article 41.1, the aim is to extend the meaning of the word family. This traditionally means a married couple and their offspring, but we all know there are thousands of families who cant be boxed into that particular norm. The law already has to deal with all types of families in the courts, whether married or not.

The word family is to extend to any group of people who are in durable relationship with each other  families can exist who are not formally connected (at their head) by a marriage contract.

Is this a good idea? Suppose a young boys parents die in a car crash. Now suppose the two sisters of his mother and the brother of his father become his parents, his guardians, because of the durable bonds and relationships that exist between them. Is this one of the thruples people are so worried about?

Are these four people  the boy, his two aunts and his uncle  not entitled to be called a family with the backing of the Constitution? That family, like any other, is defined as a moral institution possessing inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law.

And for those who are worried that the institution of marriage is not being protected, it will continue to be specially protected under the last sub-section as proposed the State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage, and to protect it from attack.

These referendums are welcome. Ill be voting Yes-Yes.

Alison Hackett, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin

Homeless Ann Delaneys death brings great shame on our wealthy country

I do not know and cannot imagine what it is like to be homeless, and I do not know Ann Delaney. To read of her death as a homeless person brings much sadness to me. She was a mother, a daughter and a friend to many.

How can this happen in a country that is one of the wealthiest in the world? Shame on Ireland.

Paul Doran, Dublin 22

Uisce Eireann should be repairing leaks instead of splashing cash

So, Uisce Eireann wants to pipe water 175km from the Shannon Basin at Parteen to supply water to Dublin.

We read that instead of eliminating the leakages in the present supply system for the greater Dublin area, Uisce Eireann wants to spend 75m to fine-tune designs for the Shannon pipeline and get it through planning application, with a construction cost of 1.5bn with agreement from 500 landowners. Given our experience of state projects, the 1.5bn is likely to grow exponentially.

Uisce Eireann says it will not be able to supply water to the growing 1.7 million population in the greater Dublin area, which is full. A longer-term spatial plan is needed to spread the population over the land mass that is Ireland instead of continuing to increase housing, employment and population in and around the spreading capital.

Uisce Eireann should concentrate on eliminating the leakages, with government policy directed at reducing the population in the greater Dublin area while developing the rest of the country.

Hugh McDermott, Dromahair, Co Leitrim

Promise of a 15c or 25c refund is hardly going to stop louts from littering

Is the type of person who dumps their plastic bottle or aluminium can in a countryside ditch or on a city street the same person who will return those items diligently to the supermarket to procure a 15c or 25c refund?

Brian Ahern, Clonsilla, Dublin

Sinn Feins flip-flopping shows gift for talking out of both sides of mouth

Hugh OConnells article on Sinn Fein flip-flopping highlights the hypocrisy of the main opposition party and how good they are at talking out of both sides of their mouths.

They are taking the populist route in telling people what suits them where they live. It would appear the party is standing up for nature in Dublin and opposed to it in rural Ireland.

Chris MacManus was co-opted in to Matt Cartys European seat following the last general election, and he believes this stance will endear him to the farmers of the north-west. Lynn Boylan may well be telling another story to the Dublin voters.

But such behaviour ought not surprise us. They were in favour of water charges before Paul Murphy came along, and then we had the conversion. This is the party that opposed every referendum on Europe, including the one to join it.

I rest my case. I believe Patrick ODonovan could be in line for a rap on the knuckles with his solo run. He could be taking a leaf from the book of his fellow Limerick man, the late Jim Kemmy, who used to call one of his constituency colleagues Mighty Mouse in Limerick, but Mickey Mouse in Leinster House.

Mr ODonovans stance will endear him to the farmers of west Limerick, but standing behind Chris MacManus and Luke Flanagan may come at a cost.

Thomas Garvey, Claremorris, Co Mayo
The glamorous sport of Formula 1 racing is reaching a whole new global audience with the mass success of hugely popular Netflix fly-on-the-wall series Drive to Survive.

With heroes and villains well established, each season often plays like a soap opera, with scandals and controversies taking centre stage.

As the 2024 season approaches this weekend, the sport was once again brought into disrepute, as Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing chief, and husband of Spice girl Geri Halliwell, was accused of inappropriate behaviour by a female colleague.

Now cleared of any wrongdoing by his employer, many believe the full facts of what happened behind the scenes should be made public for the sport to move forward.

Today on the Indo Daily Fionnan Sheahan is joined by Kieran Jackson, Motorsport Correspondent with the London Independent, to discuss the headline-grabbing world that is Formula 1, and the many colourful figures, who have hit the front pages over the years.
Aisling McGovern, Sylvia Young, Kevin Prior, Serena Prior, Mark Lyons and Cllr Peter McVitty standing beside a placard erected in opposition to proposed changes to Swanlinbar's GP service provisions.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has revealed no final decision has been taken on contentious plans by health bosses to roll out a pilot three day GP service in a west Cavan village that has left its local community up in arms.

Dr Cristian Cimpoeru, a resident locum practitioner had, for the past three years, been running a full-time service in Swanlinbar on a three month rolling contract.

As revealed by the Irish Independent two weeks ago, the Romanian born medic was informed at the end of January that contract would not be renewed.

In its place, HSE chiefs have devised plans to implement a new measure as a result of a national GP agreement between the HSE, Irish Medical Organisation and Department of Health last year.

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Those proposals would see a doctor travel 16km from Ballyconnell to operate a three-day-a-week service with the possibility of a further rollout of services on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if required.

The measures have been met with widespread dismay amongst local residents, sparking both a public meeting and extensive political dialogue at national level.

Members from Swanlinbar's Development Association join Dr Cristian Cimpoeru outside the village's GP's surgery.

The Irish Independent understands senior HSE officials travelled to Swanlinbar in recent days to hold talks with concerned residents over the plans.

The issue was one which was aired once again last night (Thursday) in the Dail by local Fianna Fail TD Brendan Smith.

He called for the post for a full-time GP to be re-advertised after HSE chiefs contended the position had been posted on numerous occasions without success.

Over the years, the permanent GP service in the area served the community very well, he said.

The local community is demanding very strongly that the HSE advertise for the post of a permanent GP (and) that is what the people of the area want to see continued.

In reply, Mr Donnelly appeared to hint at a possible softening in the stance which was being taken by health chiefs when insisting nothing had been formally signed off on.

No final decisions have been made. I have engaged with the HSE on this at length, he said.

Ultimately, I want to ensure the people in the area have the best possible access, not just to traditional GP care but also to the growing number of additional services GPs now provide.
A local Cork TD has raised concern for the employees in the Dail

Staff at The Body Shops Cork branch refused to open the store on Thursday, February 29, as it was revealed they are owed a combined total of more than 10,000 in wages that may not be paid.

All seven Body Shop stores across Ireland closed a day earlier than expected as the company is set to go into liquidation next week.

Last week staff were reportedly informed by email that all Irish stores would be closing at the end of the month.

It is understood that staff were told to continue to trade as normal but were informed on Wednesday morning that they would not be paid for work completed between February 11 and February 28.

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People Before Profit-Solidarity TD for Cork North Central Mick Barry spoke in the Dail on Wednesday raising his concerns for the affected staff members.

They were told that they will not be paid for any or all work that theyve performed between February 11 this year and February 28, and they are owed money for holidays too.

In the Cork shop, which I contacted, five workers are employed and the owners owe those five workers, between them, more than 10,000. One staff member is owed more than 4,000.

Neale Richmond, Minister of State with special responsibility for Business, Employment and Retail said he shared the deputys concern. I fully, absolutely expect all statutory obligations will be met. In terms of the notice that was received literally today by the Department, I can confirm that workers are able to take alternative employment without losing any entitlements as you laid out, within the next 30 days.

The Body Shop employed 40 full-time staff across the seven stores in Ireland, last week it was reported that staff are currently engaging with SIPTU to discuss redundancy options.
Irelands first multi-city protest to demand urgent attention and action to reform eating disorder services across Ireland will take place this Saturday March 2, to coincide with Eating Disorder Awareness Week.

The protests will take place in Cork, Limerick and Dublin and will be led by Dublin-based mother Amy Hanley, whose teenage daughter was diagnosed with anorexia in 2022.

The aim of the demonstrations is to highlight the critical need for reform of eating disorder services and call on the government to urgently address the multiple obstacles to receiving treatment in Ireland.

Fuelled by her harrowing experience navigating the healthcare system for her daughter, Amy Hanley launched the MindEverybody campaign late last year, organising a protest in Dublin in November.

"No family or individual should endure the obstacles we faced in securing treatment for my daughter. It's time to dismantle the multiple barriers that impede access to care for eating disorders in this country," said Amy Hanley.

"An often overlooked reality is that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among all mental health conditions. While recovery is attainable, the flaws in our healthcare system can prove detrimental, often worsening or prolonging an illness.

"Countless young individuals and their families across Ireland are needlessly suffering as they grapple with the lack of resources in the face of deteriorating physical and mental health. This is unacceptable. We need our voices heard once and for all, she said.

A recent report by the Health Research Board found the number of child and adolescent admissions for eating disorders more than doubled in 2022 and the number of adults admitted to hospital for eating disorders was the highest in a decade.

The Cork protest will take place at the City Hall Plaza from 11am-1pm on Saturday, March 2. The Limerick protest will be at the same time and staged outside the main gates of University Hospital Limerick, while the Dublin protest will be at the Department of Health on Baggot Street Lower from 11am to 2pm.
A man in his sixties who was jailed for the murder of 72-year-old Mary OKeeffe in Doneraile, County Cork in 2021 has died in hospital.

Michael Leonard (63) of Kilmallock, County Limerick, died after a battle with cancer at Mercy University Hospital in Cork on Tuesday, February 27.

Mr Leonard was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2022 after pleading guilty to the murder of Mrs O'Keeffe.

Mary O'Keeffe was murdered on February 4, 2021, when Mr. Leonard threw two gallons of petrol into her car before setting it on fire at a wooded area in Doneraile. The court heard that Mr Leonard had arranged to meet Ms OKeeffe.

The post-mortem showed she was still alive when the fire started.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

An inquest in to the death of Ms OKeeffe heard evidence from Det Sgt James OShea who said that the body had to be identified using DNA because visual identification was not possible.

Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, revealed that the victim died from extensive severe third degree burns associated with the inhalation of carbon dioxide due a fire in car.

The alarm was raised when a passer-by spotted the car on fire near the Coillte forest in Doneraile. Ms OKeeffe was pronounced dead at the scene.

At the sentencing of Michael Leonard, Mr. Justice Paul McDermott said the court had heard details of the most horrific attack and a terrible loss had been inflicted on the family.
Beloved Cork pop band The Frank and Walters have been announced as the Grand Marshals for Cork's citys St Patrick's Day Parade.

The indie group will lead the festivities as part of the St Patrick's Festival from March 15 to March 18 as Cork celebrates its music, culture and tradition in style.

The band was founded in Cork in 1989 and named in honour of two eccentric Cork characters.

The band members are lead vocals & bass Paul Linehan; drums Ashley Keating; lead guitar Rory Murphy and Cian Corbett on keyboards.

The Frank and Walters have achieved huge success in Ireland and the UK with their smash hit After All cementing them as Cork icons.

Its looking like a great year for the band who were also recently named Cork Persons of the Year.

The theme of this years parade is Pure Imagination and Lord Mayor of Cork Kieran McCarthy has expressed his excitement for the upcoming celebrations.

Our parade will be a celebration of life in Cork and our city of welcomes, with our traditional sporting and dance groups alongside new communities that have made our city their home.

The Cork St Patricks Day Parade will take place on Sunday, March 17 at 1 pm, with a route starting at South Mall and ending at Merchants Quay.
There was unanimous support amongst councillors to officially name the plaza in Charleville the Eliza Lynch Plaza after the Charleville native who was affectionately known as the Queen of Paraguay.

Fianna Fail councillor Ian Doyle brought forward the motion at Fridays Kanturk-Mallow Municipal District meeting.

Cllr Doyle asked if Cork County Council would consider calling the plaza in Charleville Eliza Lynch Plaza due to the significant historical connection. I am doing this on behalf of Charleville Heritage Society of which I am vice-chair and also on behalf of Charleville town. We have a fantastic plaza in Charleville. We also have significant improvements to this site in terms of allocated RDF funding of which 5.1 million has been allocated to Charleville, he said.

Cllr Doyle then proceeded to give a synopsis of Eliza Lynchs life. Eliza Lynch was born in Clancy Terrace in Charleville in 1833. She went on to become a famous character and a heroine in Paraguay. She established the political system in Paraguay. Last November we celebrated the 190th anniversary of her birth with a big celebration. This was attended by 300 members of the Paraguay community domiciled in Ireland.

This will be of huge benefit to Charleville, both economically and culturally, said Cllr Doyle. Naming the plaza in honour of Eliza Lynch would be a move to strengthen and grow the ties between our two nations. In practical terms there is the distinct possibility of establishing a firm tourism traffic between Charleville and Paraguay.

This has been indicated by representatives of the community in Ireland and by their government personnel who visited us in November. It would be great to see it named. There is huge cultural and economic benefits to the town of Charleville, he added.

The motion attracted unanimous support from all the councillors in the chamber.

Fianna Fail councillor Bernard Moynihan seconded the motion saying it is an excellent motion.

Fine Gael councillor Gerard Murphy also supported the motion. The plaza is a unique spot in the middle of Charleville. It would be very appropriate that it would be tied very closely to an historical link with Charleville.

Fine Gael councillor John Paul OShea said maintaining a link with the old history of Charleville is important. Linking it back to old history of Charleville is very important. Mna na hEireann is also very important. It would be something very worthwhile.

It is a great initiative, said Fianna Fail councillor Gearoid Murphy. It is a good example of a community led and driven initiative.

Claire Barr Municipal District Officer with Cork County Council agreed with the sentiments expressed by the councillors. From an historical perspective Eliza Lynch is synonymous with the town of Charleville. From a Municipal District Officer perspective we would be happy with the association in principle.

"I will organise for the area to be mapped and will refer it officially to the heritage office with the aim that the decision to name the area will then be officially signed off at the next MD meeting, she added.
Concerned families have been protesting at Cherry Orchard Hospital since November. Pic: Gerry Mooney

Family members of residents at Cherry Orchard Hospital have called for an independent probe into the HSEs decision to move them to alternative accommodation.

Last November, the HSE informed 68 residents and families that they had 12 days to leave the Willow and Sycamore units on campus to facilitate urgent repairs needed to floors in the building.

This problem was highlighted by HIQA in 2022, along with a fire risk assessment showing there was a great risk.

Families of those who have been forced to move have been voicing their protests outside the hospital since early November.

These individuals have been pleading with the HSE to keep their loved ones in Cherry Orchard Hospital due to many of these residents having dementia, being in palliative care, and near the end of life.

Since the decision was made last year, 40 residents have been moved off-site, while 22 remain in Cherry Orchard Hospital. Of the elderly residents moved off-site, 16 have since died.

Maria Stynes said she and other families feel really strong about the need for an independent investigation into the decision.

Her grandfather, John Sweeney (96), is one of the residents in Cherry Orchard who has been there for the past year.

At this stage, it just seems unfathomable that they would continue to put lives at risk for what we know is a low-risk health and safety issue, she said.

At all times, we have encouraged the HSE to find a safer option; the fire risk has been present for many years without a fire.

Families have also been made aware that four wings on the Willow unit have been completed, and Ms Stynes says that common sense will have to prevail as there are 22 residents left and she doesnt want their lives put at risk.

A number of elected officials have been trying to gain more clarity on the extent of the structural issues at the impacted units.

Sinn Feins Mark Ward says families need answers and put forward a parliamentary question asking for clarity on the structural problems that were identified by HIQA.

The response said that there are no significant structural problems in the Sycamore and Willow buildings, meaning that the previous response I got had a contradiction, he said.

The responses came from the same department in the HSE, and theres no excuse for miscommunication. I have submitted a number of questions subsequently to gain further clarification.

Advocacy group Care Champions has been supporting families since they got notice that residents would be moved.

Spokesperson Majella Beattie told the Irish Independent: It is our belief, and it has been sadly proven true, that the HSE insisted on moving vulnerable elderly people on a health risk that was rated low.

They took that decision against the advice of their own medical experts, families, and residents who all warned that this move could cause the premature death of frail, distressed, older people.

In a statement, the HSE said: The safety and wellbeing of residents and staff are the primary concern.

Moving them to an alternative location is to address the current safety risks associated with the flooring in these units and to enable permanent remedial works to be completed, including essential fire safety works.

The HSE has taken account of every possible scenario to ensure the best interests of the residents, including their clinical needs, safety, and wellbeing.

A local transition support team, with assistance from older persons services, has been established to develop a transfer plan.

A key focus of this is to minimise risk and to support residents and their families with this temporary relocation.
Dublin City Council received the RIAI, Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Silver Medal for Conservation and Restoration for its 14 Henrietta Street project for the period 2017 to 2019.

The extensive conservation and refurbishment work that has been carried out has returned this magnificent building to the people of Dublin, Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithi de Roiste said.

They and visitors alike have been able to visit and experience this unique social history museum, since it opened to the public in 2018.

Its enduring success is a testament to the quality of the buildings conservation and the unique approach taken by the city council to the interpretation of the history of the house and the families who once lived there.

The 14 Henrietta Street Museum opened to the public in 2018 as a social history museum which showcases the daily life of Dublins north inner city from 1877 to the late 1970s when it was a tenement building.

It also features restored rooms on the basement, ground and first floors that illustrate what life would have been like in the 18th and 20th centuries.

The exterior of the former tenement building on Henrietta Street

Visitors to 14 Henrietta Street can walk the house over three floors experiencing rooms recreated from different time periods, from the houses Georgian origins in the late 1740s, to the 1970s when it ceased being a tenement.

This is the third major architectural prize awarded to the 14 Henrietta Street project. In 2018, it won two RIAI awards, Best Conservation Project, and Best overall project nationally, said Charles Duggan, Heritage Officer with Dublin City Council.

The Silver Medal for Conservation is a wonderful recognition of the councils work to save and restore No. 14, and create the museum there over a ten-year period.

The last Dublin City Council project to be awarded the Silver Medal for Conservation was City Hall, which won for the time period 1999  2001.

14 Henrietta Street was built circa 1748 by Luke Gardiner. Until 1800, the house was occupied by high-ranking members of the ruling elite in Ireland.

In 1877, 14 Henrietta Street was converted to a tenement building and by 1911, over 100 people lived in there. The last residents left the house in the late 1970s.

The conservation of the house and its conversion into a museum was funded by Dublin City Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Centenary Capital Programme.

14 Henrietta St is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm and is only accessible by guided tour.
The HSE are said to owe Dublin Fire Brigade over 17m for ambulance services. Pic: Stock image

The HSE must pay Dublin Fire Brigade the 17m they owe for emergency ambulance services, it has been claimed.

Sinn Fein councillor Daithi Doolan believes this money must be paid immediately and that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly should step in and guarantee that this debt is cleared as a matter of urgency.

Dublin Fire Brigade provides an emergency ambulance service across the city, but the cost of funding this has been a long-standing source of dispute between Dublin City Council and the HSE.

Last year, the cost of DFB providing this service was estimated at 26.21m, but the HSE has only paid 9.18m, leaving a funding gap of 17.03m.

The HSEs budget for this year is a total of 23.5bn, while Dublin Fire Brigade gets 164m in annual funding from Dublin City Council.

17m is nothing to them, its less than a drop in the ocean. Theyre taking the Dublin Fire Brigade and the Dublin people for granted, councillor Doolan said.

You have the central government, their department, the HSE, owing the city of Dublin money for an essential life and death service.

I put in a parliamentary question for the Minister of Health, they dont dispute the fact that they owe the money, but theres no commitment to repay it.

I think its shocking that this is going on behind the scenes. Theyre squeezing money out of the DFB at a time where we need every cent.

That is over 10pc of our entire budget for the city for the Dublin Fire Brigade.

If they were to pay their debt and give that money to us, wed have that extra 10pc to spend on equipment, resources, vehicles, fire engines, and use it to make it a more attractive occupation for people, we are in a recruiting crisis at the minute, he added.

The HSE highlighted that it does not have any governance or oversight role in relation to, or financial responsibility for, services DCC decides to provide on behalf of the four local authorities.

They added that there is no Service Level Agreement (SLA) or Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in place between the HSE and DCC specifying or commissioning ambulance services from DCC.

There is already a high level of cooperation between Dublin Fire Brigade and the HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) on day-to-day operational matters, a HSE spokesperson said.

Efforts continue to build on this cooperation to strengthen arrangements for ambulance services in Dublin.

The National Ambulance Service is the statutory pre-hospital emergency and intermediate care provider for the State and operates a national service on behalf of the HSE throughout the country, including Dublin.

The Fire Services Act 1981 provides that Dublin City Council (DCC) is the Fire Authority for Dublin. On this basis, DCC avails of its statutory powers to operate ambulance services in parts of Co Dublin.

Based on long-standing arrangements, grounded in the recommendations of the Review of Ambulance Services in Ireland 1993, the HSE does make a financial contribution to DCC annually.

The financial contribution is specifically towards the pay costs, superannuation costs, and non-pay costs relevant to 105 WTEs within DFB, i.e. the provision of 11 emergency ambulances on a 24/7 basis in a predefined area.

There is no SLA in place between the HSE and DCC to vary the amount of the contribution made or accede to, agree with, or accept any alternative operational or costing model.

In relation to strengthening the capacity of emergency ambulance services in Dublin, the NAS has opened a new Ambulance Station in Finglas in 2023.

It has also provided additional emergency ambulance services in 2024 operating from Finglas, Swords, Loughlinstown and Maynooth which now indirectly benefits service provision in Dublin.
When aged 18, Corporal Quinn fired mortars that intercepted ammunition supplies to their attackers during Jadotville siege.

The death has taken place of Corporal Tadhg Quinn from Port in Abbeyfeale, one of five men recommended for the two highest military honours: the MMG (Medal for Military Gallantry) and DSM (Distinguished Service Medal) for services at Jadotville in September 1961.

Tadhg was only 18 when he left Abbeyfeale for Africa where he witnessed unimaginable trauma in the cauldron created by the siege at Jadotville. Placed in charge of commanding a mortar crew, Tadgh and his comrades were dug into position where he was tasked with firing mortars at targets a mile away.

His job was to intercept a convoy of enemy trucks supplying their attackers with ammunition and reinforcements. The normal procedure would have been to send a smoke shell first to check the range before sending a live shell. There was no time, and having quickly estimated the range, Corporal Quinn fired resulting in a direct hit. Speaking about her fathers service, Helena Quinn describes her immense pride in his bravery.

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We can only imagine what the effect of that one action [mortar strike] was. It was a decision taken in the heat of the moment with no time for doubt or hesitation. What would have happened if those reinforcements and ammunitions had made it to the attackers? How many young Irish lives might have been lost? It gives you a sense of what my father did, but he was amongst 155 heroes so he was in good company, she said.

She explains that her father never spoke about Jadotville until after the death of his mother in 2002.

It was locked up in the family secrets box and left there until, at the age of 60, he was able to peek inside the box again. He let us have a look inside too and we have all embarked on his journey together, she said.

Our dad was one of the lucky ones; he didnt look for comfort at the bottom of a bottle of whiskey, the demons didnt win and drive him to suicide as happened with too many other men of A Company. He had to fight his battle and win it. It has not been easy for him or any of us, she added.

Corporal Quinn and his comrades were taken prisoner shortly after the siege ended and faced an uncertain future while diplomats stalled in finding a resolution.

He said the first night of his captivity was worse than the days before because he had no weapon, no way of protecting himself, no understanding of what was going to come next, knowing he and his comrades were pawns in a game that was being played out in Dublin, New York, and Leopoldville (now Kinshasa), Helena said.

When terms were finally agreed, her father and the men were released in late October. They were immediately re-armed and sent back into action. The Company returned to Ireland in stages from the end of November until late December 1961.

Dads A Company was in continuous combat in the famous Tunnel in Elizabethville (now Lubumbashi) right up to the date of repatriation home. Dad was in the thick of this all the time before he took the last flight home arriving on Christmas Eve, she said.

Mr Quinn in recent times giving a talk about his Jadotville experience.

Corporal Quinn arrived home to his parents on a winters morning and drank a whiskey with his grandfather. Re-adjusting to life in Abbeyfeale proved difficult. The community had been worried for the young man captured in the Congo. Despite the relief of having him home, the attention was hard for Tadhg to take in.

A local man told me years later about how, as a boy much younger than dad, he remembered that Christmas morning mass. He was awestruck by dad and thought he was a hero. Dad recalls that morning mass very differently, wrought with anxiety and feeling completely dislocated. He had experienced something that he didnt have the tools to come to terms with and the local boys just wanted to know how many people he had killed, Helena said.

She fully insists it was the right decision to finally recognise the men of A Company for their bravery and valour in 2017. Even though it took until 55 years after the event to gain this recognition, it meant a lot to him and his family. At the time, Tadhg said it was absolutely scandalous the way they were treated. Helena talks about how Jadotville will always be dads story but by extension is also theirs.

The medals for which my dad was recommended are an important part of our family story and our family history. Even now, I feel there is still so much to learn from the 18-year-old who left Abbeyfeale, she said.

The importance of raising our heads high and acknowledging the good work of our armed forces, the understanding of mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in our acting military and veterans, the impact of that on veterans families. So many families have had to take the thorny path. We just happen to be one of the lucky families, Helena said.

The funeral service for Corporal Tadhg Quinn will be held at The Church of The Assumption in Abbeyfeale on the 2nd of March.
A Listowel man who appeared to be racing another vehicle at a speed of 141km/h, while under the influence of cocaine, has been warned that if he comes before the court again, he will be getting a far stronger punishment than a driving ban.

Judge David Waters said Oliver Payne of Greenville, Listowel, should not be allowed to hold a licence given the incident. He said Mr Payne deserves a stronger sentence for his behaviour than the charges before the court allowed him to give.

Mr Payne (40) was before Listowel District Court on a single charge of drug driving at Ballyduff, Knocknogoshel, on August 15, 2020.

The court heard from Garda Twomey, who said he was conducting a speed checkpoint in an unmarked car in Knocknogoshel when he detected a yellow Audi with a UK registration, driven by Mr Payne, driving at 141km/h in what is a 100km/h zone.

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He told the court that another vehicle was travelling alongside this vehicle, and he later said it appeared that both cars were racing. He said that the yellow Audi was over the broken-line margin of the road.

He activated the blue lights and siren and pursued the vehicle. He and another member of An Garda Siochana spoke to the drivers of both vehicles.

Garda Twomey said Mr Payne gave his address, full UK licence and insurance, which were in order.

Garda Twomey subsequently carried out a roadside drug test, which tested positive for cocaine. He was arrested and brought to the station, where he later gave a blood sample that returned positive for cocaine.

Mr Payne was represented by solicitor Brendan Ahern, who made several legal arguments, including that gardai had no power to ask Mr Payne for a roadside drug test based on his driving.

He said that gardai had to form an opinion that Mr Payne had consumed an intoxicant. He said no such evidence had been given.

However, the State argued that that is incorrect, and they can seek a road-side drug test if they believe an offence is committed.

Judge Waters said it was his belief that gardai had to form an opinion that an intoxicant was consumed and this, combined with an offence being committed, gave them the powers to demand a road-side drug test.

"It is not either or, said Judge Waters. However, the State said the legislation does state it can be either an opinion or that an offence was committed.

Judge Waters said it appeared he was probably wrong in his first reading of the legislation and that the gardai do have the power to seek a roadside drug test without forming the opinion that an intoxicant was consumed. He said, given that was indeed the case, he would have to convict.

The court heard that Mr Payne has 33 previous convictions including, one for careless driving and one for no insurance.

The court was told that the majority of his previous offences concern minor road-traffic convictions and minor drug offences. His last conviction was in 2012, the court was told, and Mr Ahern said Mr Payne had turned his life around.

Judge Waters queried if Mr Payne was racing, and Garda Twomey said that was the impression he got. Mr Ahern said his client would say he was not racing.

Judge Waters said he was doing a speed of 141km/h in a 100km/h zone while on cocaine. He said the gardai had done Mr Payne a favour as he would have given him a sentence far in excess of what the charge currently before the court allowed.

Judge Waters convicted him and fined him 500 and disqualified him from driving for one year.
For one talented and hard-working Listowel teenager, 2024 will be a year that she never, ever forgets, such is the adventure that awaits her later this year after she was chosen as just one of three secondary school students in all of Ireland to be chosen for a prestigious scholarship abroad.

Sinead Kelly, a third year student in Presentation Secondary School in Listowel, found over the recent mid-term break that she had been chosen for a fully-funded three-month French language scholarship with EIL Intercultural Learning.

Sinead will now have the opportunity to live with a host family from September to December later this year while also attending school in a French-speaking country. She is also invited to attend the Youth Citizenship Camp in Brussels in December 2024.

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Ellen OBrien is Sineads French teacher in the school and she spoke to The Kerryman this week about the teenagers prowess for languages.

"She has this great aptitude for languages. She is just so committed and dedicated. I opened this scholarship to everyone in the class, I told them all about it but Sinead, straight away, she was just immediately interested. She's such a hard-worker as well as outgoing too outside of school so she's really enjoying the best of both worlds, said Ellen.

"She doesn't know where she's going to be placed yet. It's either going to be France or Switzerland and if she gets to go to Switzerland, that would be even more amazing as she would see that there's more to the French language than just France and that it's spoken other places too. She'll be living with a host family which will mean complete immersion in the language so when she comes back, her language skills are just going to be absolutely amazing, Ellen continued.

It was during mid-term that she [Sinead] found out and she messaged me on Teams and I just had to ring her straight away because I was so excited and happy for her, Ellen added.

Principal of Listowel Secondary School, Katherina Broderick, also spoke of her delight at Sineads achievement:

"This experience will afford Sinead a once in a lifetime opportunity to study abroad. We are delighted that she has been one of just three students in Ireland to achieve this success and all in Presentation Secondary School, Listowel wish her the very best for the term. I also wish to thank Ms OBrien her French teacher for supporting her application.
The winners of the 2024 Irish Food Writers Guild Food Awards were announced at a ceremony in Suesey Street Restaurant in Dublin. Photo by Paul Sherwood Photography.

Vermouth has long been associated with Italy and the south of France but in the last few years, Or Valentia Island Vermouth has been making quite the splash as the first ever Irish vermouth created by the innovative wife-and-wife team Anna and Orla Snook O'Carroll.

Anna is originally from Bristol while Orla - who grew up in Co Wicklow - had roots in Kerry due to her father being from The Kingdom.

The couple moved from the UK to Ireland in 2018, having fallen in love with Valentia Island.

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Anna's background in hospitality led her to a pivotal moment at a vermouth tasting, sparking an idea that resonated. Orla had learned about foraging from her beekeeping Dad, picking up knowledge of plants as a child.

On Valentia Island, the couple began to explore the island's rich tapestry of flora and botanicals, experimenting in their kitchen and developing their vermouth.

And now their product has even garnered more attention as the Valentia Island Vermouth has won the top at the 2024 Irish Food Writers Guild Food Awards

With just eight prestigious awards presented, the Irish Drink Award went to Valentia Island Vermouth during a prestigious awards gala in Dublin this week.

The winners of the 2024 Irish Food Writers Guild Food Awards were announced at a ceremony in Suesey Street Restaurant in Dublin. Photo by Paul Sherwood Photography.

Anna and Orla are pioneers in their field, establishing a new drinks category in Ireland. They have actively engaged with the Irish food and drink community, travelling the length and breadth of the country for tastings, talks and events. They hope to grow the business and open a distillery on the island, building a name for Irish vermouth, one sip at a time.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

The base of the drink is Spanish white wine sourced from the Rueda Valley, made with the Verdejo grape. Then use locally foraged Valentia Island plants and herbs among the 20 different botanicals that go into every bottle. Gorse is an indigenous local ingredient that gives coconut and vanilla flavours. The name Or comes from the golden colour that the gorse infuses into the vermouth.

The awards, now in their 31st year, spotlight excellence and distinguishable quality in Irish produce and its committed creators.
Bridging the gap: athletes competing in the Hardman 10K trail run in Killarney National Park as part of the Wander Wild Festival last year. Photo by Valerie O'Sullivan.

MacGillycuddys Reeks Mountain Range: a view of the Eastern Reeks, to the left and Carrauntoohil, to the right from Beenkeragh Irelands second highest Mountain. Beenkeragh is the second-highest mountain peak in Ireland, at 1,010 metres (3,308 ft) high. Photo by Valerie OSullivan.

Wander Wild Warriors Molly and Hannah Ferris enjoying the fun at the Wander Wild Festival Kids Zone during last year's Wander Wild Festival. Photo by Valerie O'Sullivan.

It proves to be one of the more popular events in the Killarney calendar each and every year so its no surprise then that excitement is beginning to build locally ahead of the the 2024 outing of the festival later this month which runs from March 22 to March 24.

This years festival will take place in the stunning surroundings of the UNESCO Killarney National Park and the MacGillycuddys Reeks and organisers are hoping that this year's adventure and wellness festival will be even bigger and better than ever before.

Some of the newly added events include activities that cater to a wide range of interests, whether you are looking for a challenge or just ways to unwind.

Bridging the gap: athletes competing in the Hardman 10K trail run in Killarney National Park as part of the Wander Wild Festival last year. Photo by Valerie O'Sullivan.

Festival goers can now sign up for stand-up paddleboarding (SUP), the nature valley hike with Roz Purcell, the 53 Degrees North Hike with Jen Healy, ridge climbs, outdoor photography workshops, guided night walks, rock climbing, a cold water talk. Additional evening events include fireside chats and an intimate concert with Bressie & special Guests in St Marys Church of Ireland.

This is in addition to the already over 100 programmed events over the festival weekend that will cater for all ages and abilities.

MacGillycuddys Reeks Mountain Range: a view of the Eastern Reeks, to the left and Carrauntoohil, to the right from Beenkeragh Irelands second highest Mountain. Beenkeragh is the second-highest mountain peak in Ireland, at 1,010 metres (3,308 ft) high. Photo by Valerie OSullivan.

Experienced climbers will have the chance to embark on the rarely hiked MacGillicuddy's Reeks Cummeenapeasta Ridge Walk and the Coomloughra Horseshoe (taking in Ireland's three highest peaks, Carrauntoohil being one of them), two challenging and adrenaline-pumping adventures on tricky terrain.

The fireside chats will offer a unique opportunity to chat with like-minded adventurers and local celebrities such as nominee for Outsider Man of the Year Ian O Brien who climbed 28 peaks in 28 days last year to raise awareness of Early Onset Parkinsons Disease, which he has himself.

Killarney man Kevin Leahy who just won the Montane Arctic Spine Race as well as other local adventurers will also be on hand offer advice to anyone planning an expedition.

For women, there is a special Women's Circle focusing on menstrual cycle, while adrenaline seekers can try their hand at rock climbing in the Gap of Dunloe. Nature enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the night walk in the National Park, led by a knowledgeable park ranger. Here, participants will have the unique experience of searching for nocturnal inhabitants while learning about the local flora and fauna.

Organisers say that they are committed to making the festival as sustainable as possible and are encouraging people to leave the car at home as shuttle buses will bring people from the town centre to most activities outside of town. They are also working with the local accommodation providers and operators to ensure that peoples stay has as low a carbon neutral impact as possible.

Most events are ticketed, with some free activities also available. Many events and hotels sold out last year so booking early is advised to avoid disappointment.

Tickets are now live on wanderwildfestival.com.
Evan Cox, Adam Lynch Herlihy and Daithi OSullivan from St. Brendans College, Killarney who were recently awarded funding to promote healthy masculinity through Young Social Innovators Den programme.

A team of young people from St Brendans College, Killarney have been awarded 850 in funding to share their message of healthy masculinity through billboards and social media, all as part of their participation in the Social Innovation Den programme delivered by Young Social Innovators (YSI) in conjunction with IBM.

Teenage change-makers Evan Cox, Adam Lynch Herlihy and Daithi OSullivan recently successfully pitched for support for their project before a YSI Den panel of representatives from IBM, Community Foundation Youth Panel, Education Authority NI, EirGrid and Cork City Council, to enable them to access Social Impact Fund support to advance their initiative.

The YSI teams that take part in the Social Innovation Den programme can request three types of support for their projects  money, means and mentoring. The St Brendans College team requested financial support from the panel which they were granted.

The teams project is titled Men of Honour and it aims to redefine the public perception of masculinity, with a particular focus on reframing masculinity by showing how it can be healthy. The YSI Den funding will help them educate the public through advertising on billboards and sharing their message on social media.

Congratulating the Kerry students, Roger Warnock, CEO, Young Social Innovators, said:

Evan, Adam and Daithi from St Brendans College, Killarney are exemplary young social innovators and we are delighted to help them get their project up and running to bring about positive change in their community. Our Den panellists rewarded these young people for their ability to develop a sustainable, high-impact project, as well as for their passion for social innovation.

We are delighted that in 2024, the Social Impact Fund is supported by IBM. I would like to thank IBM and all our Den partners, including our panellists, he continued.

To date, the YSI Den has provided over 150,000 in grant funding to support youth-led ideas for social change throughout Ireland. For more information about Young Social Innovators, see www.youngsocialinnovators.ie.
A High Court injunction is in place to stop protestors blocking entrances to the Newhall site

When completed Newhall in Naas, Co Kildare will have the capacity to provide 985 beds in 387 cabins

Over 300 Ukrainian families are set to be housed at an accommodation centre in Co Kildare

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has confirmed that they have agreed to the use of Newhall Accommodation Centre in Naas, Co Kildare to house those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The news comes as protests have broken out in recent days outside the site as misinformation circulates about the intended use of the accommodation centre.

Inflammatory claims have been circulated on social media claiming that unvetted males were to be housed at the site. However, the Department said this is not the case and confirmed that the site would be used to house over 300 Ukrainian families.

Other posts on social media pages against the use of the accommodation centre used language such as God bless all in this fight and urged the people of Kildare to come out in droves to protest against the unvetted males, despite the Department confirming that the site would be used to house Ukrainian families.

In a statement to the Irish Independent, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that it has agreed the use of Newhall Accommodation Centre, Naas, Co. Kildare for those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

"It is anticipated that over 300 families will be accommodated at this location. A full briefing has been issued to local elected representatives and statutory agencies.

The accommodation centre, which is being constructed for families fleeing the Russia/Ukraine conflict has been at the centre of a High Court injunction.

The company Total Experience Ltd, trading as Pastures New Accommodation, has been tasked with constructing the facilities at Newhall.

Due to protests outside of the centre, Pastures New Accommodation have secured a temporary High Court injunction restraining protestors for blocking entrances into the Newhall site.

Reports suggest that since the weekend up to 150 protestors at times have been blocking entrances to the centre, which Pastures New Accommodation have said is hampering its efforts to have the centre and its facilities completed by March.

The building is already 90% complete and will have the capacity to provide 985 beds in 387 cabins alongside facilities such as a dining marquee, laundry and recreational facilities.

Local Councillor Robert Power has denied all claims that the accommodation wont be used to house Ukrainians and explained that he has seen documentation and contracts proving that the centre will be used for Ukrainian families.

There are people who are purposefully spreading false rumours about this without any foundation, from the very outset this has been Ukrainians and Ukrainian families, explained Cllr Power.

"I do accept that there might be a mix of male and female people housed there, but I have put up on Facebook that the stats show that about 23 per cent of Ukrainians coming in are men and that will be a mixture of older men or people who have been excused from military service etc. But it is absolutely for Ukrainian families.

People have said give us the proof, but there is a contract between the Department and Pastures New, there is a contact between the landowner and Pastures New and Pastures New have documentation which I have seen and shared on my website alongside the Departments documentation which all shows the accommodation is for Ukrainians and Ukrainian families.

"There has never ever been a mention of non-Ukrainian families being moved in there. But I do resent the premise there that other nationalities are lesser and that the state dont have a role in accepting those as well, but I dont want to detract from the fact that it is absolutely Ukrainians being housed here.

Cllr Power added that the locals were not aware of the march and the protests outside of the site until the protests were actually organised. He explained that there is small cohort of people who are out to cause trouble and those people are not affiliated with the locals in the area.

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"A local committee of residents was set up in the area in January and they have been respectfully asking questions to the Department and the Council and doing their work quietly and diligently. They have not been looking for any press or fanfare and had just been asking questions. However, the group that have set up the protests have no affiliation with that local committee whatsoever. The locals had no idea that the protest was happening until it was organised. They locals are not affiliated with the protests.

"Now some people have quoted me on saying that some locals are not involved, however there are some locals attending the march and the protests, but my point was that it has not been organised by the same group locally who have been asking questions in a respectful manner. I do think there is a small cohort at that march who are out to cause trouble and sow division full stop. There is definitely an element of protest tours involved, concluded Cllr Power.
Protesters from Co Donegal, Mayo, Sligo and Clare make their voices heard in Dublin. Photo: Gareth Chaney

A County Mayo TD has called for government action for pyrite homeowners who have been fighting for a functioning redress scheme for over a decade.

Mayo Sinn Fein TD, Rose Conway-Walsh has said that the current Defective Concrete Block scheme is another government housing failure and needs to be changed to enable families to rebuild their homes and their lives.

The TD was speaking after an Oireachtas Housing Committee this week that heard from affected homeowners from Mayo, Donegal and Clare.

Deputy Conway Walsh said people should be rebuilding their homes and moving on with their lives and not be forced to go to Dublin to push the government to deliver a redress scheme that works at this late stage.

""There have been so many false dawns for individuals and families effected by Pyrite and Mica.

"In Mayo we have been fighting for over a decade for a redress scheme that works for everyone.

"This week we heard how many of the so called enhancements are just delaying mechanisms and that many people are still financially excluded, and others are struggling in a dysfunctional scheme.

People on the older scheme are being disadvantaged despite promises from the government and now we heard how SEAI grants have effectively stalled for people in the defective block scheme, said Deputy Conway-Walsh.

The Deputy hit out at the element of uncertainty that still exists for many homeowners who are still unable to access the scheme.

She continued, The government still have no system in place with the Banks as they will not lend against houses that are affected by defective blocks and people struggle to get top ups on their mortgages.

This means many people have no way of accessing the working capital they need to start the rebuild.

"Effectively locking them out of the scheme.

There is still no certainty around whether engineers will be able to sign off on the works being undertaken which will have huge knock-on effects for insurance, mortgages, and reselling.

Sinn Fein warned the government that their scheme would not deliver the redress needed. Sinn Fein stands ready to work with the government to make the reforms needed to finally end this nightmare that so many people in Mayo are facing, said Deputy Conway-Walsh.
A proposal has been submitted to construct 167 modular homes in County Roscommon to provide accommodation for up to 686 Ukrainian refugees.

The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) has revealed plans to install 167 modular homes across four sites in County Roscommon.

The proposal details the development of two sites in Roscommon Town, and one site in both Boyle and Ballaghaderreen, to provide accommodation for 686 Ukrainian refugees.

The plan was presented to Roscommon County Council earlier this week by the Local Government Management Agency and the organisation is now seeking feedback from the Council on the plans.

However, concerns have been raised about the lack of communication surrounding the major development.

Roscommon TD Claire Kerrane raised the issue in the Dail and said it was unacceptable that elected representatives had to read the plans for modular housing in a local newspaper.

Deputy Kerrane said she has engaged with communities but the lack of communication surrounding these proposals is totally unacceptable.

I have engaged repeatedly with communities in relation to seeking additional services for them where the population has increased and I have raised that in this house many, many times.

I committed to communities that where there are plans in place for their area, I would inform them as is right and proper.

How can we do that when we are not informed ourselves and instead, we have to read it in a newspaper?

It is totally unacceptable.

Now, short of a landowner who is looking to do this coming to us and telling us they intend to this, and short of having a crystal ball, we cannot know that these plans are in place.

I am asking that the LGMA would share these plans with the elected representatives and seek feedback from them along with the local authority, said Deputy Kerrane.

Tanaiste Michael Martin said he would check out the position of the proposal and said there should be consultation and engagement between the local authorities and their representatives.

I am not aware of the exact proposal there.

We have built modular homes across the country in different locations and by in large, it has gone on fine and there has not been an issue.

It has worked out okay in terms of Ukrainian population in particular in certain locations, said Mr Martin.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth confirmed that expressions of interest have been submitted in relation to potential modular developments in County Roscommon.

In November 2023, the Department opened a process seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for the provision of modular accommodation developments on gov.ie for Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The EOI process is underpinned by clear guidelines and developments submitted for consideration can be up to a maximum capacity of 200 BOTPs.

This programme will help establish the feasibility of the approach from a cost perspective and the capacity of the private sector to deliver appropriate solutions.

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An expression of interest has been submitted in relation to a potential development in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, and this is one of a large number of proposals received under this EOI process.

Expressions of interest have been submitted in relation to potential modular developments in Roscommon Town and Boyle.

"It should be emphasised that, as with all expressions of interest submitted, the assessment process is at an very early stage.

The proposal is being assessed and consultation is being carried out with Roscommon County Council in relation to feasibility and compliance with all relevant requirements.

The assessment process will continue for a number of weeks yet, with further stages still to be carried out even if initial feasibility is established.

Should this proposal proceed in the future full information will be provided to public representatives and the wider community.
A Waterford man has pleaded guilty to being found in the possession of cocaine for sale or supply after almost 8.5m worth of the drug was allegedly flown into the midlands 18 months ago.

Fifty-six-year-old Tim Gilchrist Jr of Mavis Bank, Newrath, Waterford, pleaded guilty at a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court (today) to possessing cocaine for sale or supply at Lough Owel, Irishtown, Co. Westmeath on August 4, 2022.

He is one of two men accused of being involved in the discovery of one of the States largest consignments of the controlled drug following a large-scale Garda surveillance operation.

Garda National Drugs & Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) officers, supported by other units, monitored a Cessna single-engine aircraft landing at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, Co. Longford, shortly after 6pm.

Later that evening, they intercepted two vehicles in the Lough Owel area in Co Westmeath, recovering 120 kilogrammes of cocaine from one car.

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His co-accused, Polish pilot Michal Luczak, is charged with the same offence at a different location.

Luczak (43), formerly of Primrose Avenue, Jigginstown Naas, Co. Kildare, and now living in Skerries, Dublin, was also in attendance at todays court sitting where it was revealed the father of two is seeking a trial over the same incident.

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Dressed in a grey tracksuit and blue jacket, Gilchrist Jr stood with his hands clasped to tender a guilty plea when the Section 15A charge was put to him.

Defence counsel for Gilchrist Jr, Michael OHiggins SC, applied for a probation report to be carried out on his client while he remained in custody.

Michal Luczak at a previous hearing

This, he said, would assist the court at a later sentencing hearing in view of Gilchrist Jrs previous good character.

Judge Keenan Johnson declined that request, saying he would only grant such an order if absolutely necessary and owing to the fact probation services personnel were stretched as it is.

During those discussions, Mr OHiggins said the value of drugs in question was seven figures, a submission John Hayden BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, endorsed by confirming the final figure to be in the region of 8.5m.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

Mr Hayden said the guilty plea was acceptable to the State without prejudice and on a full facts basis.

Gilchrist Jr was remanded in custody to a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on July 2 for sentencing.

Luczak, meanwhile, was remanded on continuing bail to April 9 when a date for what is expected to be a two-week trial will be fixed.
After alerting Irish Rail to ghost trains, service gaps and multiple timetables with conflicting information for passengers, Councillor Derek Mitchell said Greystones railway station finally has a timetable that displays the service as scheduled for 2024.

Cllr Mitchell has been consistently pointing out the issues for commuters from Greystones and in December, last year, highlighted a ghost train on the timetable and complained to Irish Rail about the large service gaps at the weekend.

Irish Rail discovered there was an extra Sunday service which did not appear on the timetable, the 18.54 northbound, which was subsequently added "after four emails, but still left a service gap of 90 minutes on Saturday and 80 minutes on Sunday.

Now, some 10 weeks after this year's timetable came into force, the correct information is displayed for travellers at the station, Cllr Mitchell said.

Finally, the correct timetable is shown 10 weeks after it came into force. I had to write three emails to get management to put up the correct ones. At one stage there were four 4 different timetables showing different times. This is a basic error for a railway to make. No wonder people complain of unreliability.

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We also need a longer term plan to improve the rail service south of Bray, said Cllr Derek Mitchell.

Meanwhile, the ongoing issue of disruptions to rail services for users at both Greystones and Bray stations was raised at the February meeting of Greystones Municipal District, when Cllr Mark Barry called for a meeting with representatives of Irish Rail over the "excessive disruption to rail services at weekends, particularly bank holiday weekends.

He queried why, if the operator is engaged in works at such times all the way from Grand Canal Dock in Dublin, to Greystones, it is necessary to consistently close the north Wicklow stations for whole weekends at a time. Remarking that local businesses impacted by the closures need clarity, he suggested either calling Irish Rail into the next meeting of councillors in March, or arranging a separate meeting at an earlier time.

His suggestion met with unanimous approval by the other councillors, who pointed out myriad other issues with the service for rail users, including Cllr Tom Fortune, who said that he has been calling at length for the trains and the buses at Greystones station to be linked, so commuters can rely on a bus being there when they step off the train, instead of having one depart just a couple of minutes before a train arrives.

Cllr Mitchell also backed the proposal, and commented that there are many people from Greystones who work in Dublin at weekends and have been seriously inconvenienced by the disruptions. He said a meeting was now urgent", given it looked as if Irish Rail had no long term plan to address the issue.

Cllr Stephen Stokes, who said he has liaised with Irish Rail on a number of occasions, also wanted to query why so many trains have been running late recently. A meeting with the operator might be an opportunity to get something positive he said.
A former surf instructor who sent harassing messages to a family has been given a suspended sentence.

Kevin Murphy (28) of Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of harassment and one count of making a threat to kill on dates between July 2021 and July 2022.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the harassment and threats to kill were sent using various online platforms. He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Martin Nolan said it seems that at a certain point, this man became psychotic and had episodes of psychosis. He sent a family abusive, violent in nature, distressing and worrying messages.

Judge Nolan said that even when this matter was under investigation, and Murphy had been interviewed by gardai, he continued on his merry way messaging the family.

The judge said Murphy has a good educational background, no record of conviction, and comes from a good family.

Today's News in 90 Seconds - March 1st

Judge Nolan said Murphy caused considerable distress but said, at this point, he does not deserve to go to prison.

He sentenced Murphy to two and a half years in prison but suspended it in full under strict conditions. He also directed Murphy to have no contact whatsoever with any of the injured parties in this case for 15 years.

Garda Rachel Corcoran told Derek Cooney, BL, prosecuting, that one of the injured parties in the case was in the West of Ireland, learning Irish in 2019. While she was there, she took surfing lessons, and Murphy was her surfing instructor. She was aged 16 at the time.

The court heard that her mother travelled to see her daughter and also met Murphy. In 2021, when the girl had turned 18, she was contacted on social media by Murphy, who said he had been her surfing instructor. He also made contact with her mother. Over the course of a year, Murphy sent 200 unwanted messages to the family.

Gda Corcoran said the girls mother received messages telling her to kill herself and to keep your KKK friends away from me.

The court heard that graphic sexual text messages and innuendoes were sent to the mother and daughter by Murphy. He also said he would clip their car.

Murphy told one family member to fuck off back to Israel and Sir Lanka and called her a white syphilis bitch. He told another member of the family that he had just clipped a garda car, you're next.

Murphy also made threats to kill to the boyfriend of one of the family members. The mother of the family contacted gardai, and they went to Murphy's home. He was initially detained in February 2022 but continued to contact the family with messages of a similar nature.

He was arrested for a second time, detained and interviewed and made admissions to gardai. He agreed with gardai that some of the messages were aggressive.

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Garda Corcoran said it became apparent that Murphy had mental health issues.

Gda Corcoran agreed with Eoin Lawlor BL, defending, that his client only contacted the girl after she had turned 18. She agreed that he was cooperative with the gardai, and he did his best to explain why he did what he did.

The garda agreed with counsel that this offending occurred during an episode of psychosis and that His communication was undoubtedly alarming for this family, but he did not act on anything.

Mr Lawlor said, A big part of this was that he heard voices that commanded him to do things, and he also heard voices of this family in his head.

Counsel said his client voluntarily committed himself to the hospital for four weeks in March 2022.

He said his client was a very sporty young man who was injured in South America and began drinking and drug-taking.

He also asked the court to take into account Murphy's longstanding work history.
Broadcaster Kathryn Thomas chats to NDC Farm Ambassador Nicole Keohane, Sophie Bell, Agri Influencer and Farmer, Anna Daly, Member Relations with Tirlan and Frances Nash - Grain Operations & Quality Manager, Dairygold

Sponsored by National Dairy Council

To highlight International Womens Day this year (8th March) the National Dairy Council has produced a special podcast featuring four young women making strides in farming and agriculture.

Despite the vital role women play in every aspect of farm life, from livestock care to strategic decision-making, recent statistics paint a stark picture of inequality and underrepresentation.

According to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), women account for only around 13pc of all farm owners in Ireland. Meaning approximately 75,000 female farm workers are contributing tirelessly to the success of Ireland's agricultural industry. These women are not just labourers but analytical thinkers, strategic planners, financial managers, and essential pillars of rural life.

Yet, despite the modernisation of many aspects of farming, one of the primary reasons behind the gender gap in farm ownership lies in the traditional practice of inter-generational farm transfer through the male line. As a result, women often find themselves excluded from inheriting land despite their significant contributions to farm management and productivity.

TV and radio broadcaster Kathyrn Thomas sat down with four female agri trailblazers to discuss the ongoing challenges for women in the farming industry and how, collectively, the industry can move forward and increase gender diversity across agriculture.

Kathryn is joined by Nicole Keohane, an NDC Farmer Ambassador; Sophie Bell, an Agri Influencer and farmer; Anna Daly, Member Relations for Tirlan; and Frances Nash, Grain Operations & Quality Manager for Dairygold.

The panel discusses women's underrepresentation at decision-making levels in farm organisations and policymaking and delves into some of the latest industry statistics and research.

Research such as the staggering figures that only 1 in 16 farmers in Ireland are currently under the age of 35. And, alarmingly, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) figures that indicate that 31% of female farmers are over the age of 80, reflecting a concerning trend where farms are often inherited by women only after they are widowed rather than actively considering young women as successors.

In this pursuit of equity and inclusion, initiatives like the upcoming podcast serve as valuable platforms for amplifying women's voices in agriculture. The panel of accomplished women demonstrates the diversity and talent available to the farming community, highlighting the multifaceted nature of women's contributions to Irish agriculture.

Nicole Keohane, a dedicated young dairy farmer , embodies the spirit of innovation and sustainability in dairy farming, while Sophie Bell's journey from a non-traditional farming background to becoming an influential advocate for the industry inspires others to pursue their passions. While Anna Daly's mission for diversity and inclusion at Tirlan (Glanbia) and Frances Nash's leadership in grain operations at Dairygold emphasise the importance of representation and leadership in driving positive change within agricultural organisations.

As we look towards the future of Irish farming, striving to create a more inclusive and fair agricultural sector is crucial. By breaking down barriers, promoting diversity, and empowering women to lead, it can lead to a thriving and sustainable farming community for generations to come.

Cathy Curran, of The National Dairy Council says, "We need to move forward and increase gender diversity across agriculture and encourage more young women to consider it as a career. All industries and sectors benefit greatly from having increased female representation from graduate to board level.

These young women are making a real impact in their areas of expertise, be it in academia, on the farm, as Agri-influencers on social media and in the industry within the Co-Op network; we need to encourage women to excel in this industry and continue to secure one of Ireland's oldest and most successful industries."

For more information and to listen to the podcast, click here.
Former RTE 2fm DJ Eoghan McDermott has returned to social media to issue a health update after coughing up blood while out running.

The ex-RTE presenter took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to share that his lungs were having a meltdown due to e-cigarette use.

He shared a photo of his hand covered in blood and said he believed that vaping was the cause of the issue as he encouraged his followers to give up nicotine.

Eoghan McDermott shared a photo of his bloodied hand on social media

Posted this yesterday after a run. Was very healthy until (I) got badly hooked on e-cigs and vapes. Lungs have had a meltdown, Eoghan wrote.

If they are part of your routine, perhaps time to stop. Doing real damage.

Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, he added.

He later asked his followers to send him fitness retreat recommendations to help get his health back up to scratch.

Help? Has anyone ever done a fitness retreat? Like a 2-3 week full detox, fitness, mindfulness thing? Here, abroad, either. Any recommendations warmly received, he wrote.

It comes after Micheal Martin declared that he was anti-vapes as he described the increase in the number of Irish children using vapes as shocking.

You now have the vapes next to the sweets with different flavours, the Tanaiste said.

He said the objective is clearly to get young people hooked and to have an industry for the next 50 years.

Mr Martin suggested there is no proper due diligence on what goes into these products and he said there needs to be far better, from a health perspective, analysis of the products in terms of their harmful impacts.

Reacting to the British Governments recently announced plans to curb e-cigarette usage, he said: I welcome any means to crackdown on the sector.

I just think its shocking the number of young people who are on the vapes now and it seems to me to be the replacement for the cigarettes.

Selling vapes to children in Ireland is an offence which carries a penalty of a fine of up to 4,000 and up to a six-month jail term. However, there are many different ways youngsters can get their hands on the dangerous products.

Late last year, Gardai used forensic experts to establish the contents of seized vaping products after four young students at a Cork school fell ill while smoking on the premises.

The boys, aged 14 and 15, became ill after smoking a vape on the school grounds.

The alarm was raised after teachers were alerted to a medical incident and ambulance crews and gardai attended the scene.

The boys appeared to be very unwell and were treated on site by ambulance personnel.

A single vaping product was used by the four boys at the time of the incident, according to sources.

It is believed a dangerous substance was ingested through the vape and following initial Garda inquiries, a number of searches were conducted at businesses and residences in the Cork region.
Our fashion editor rounds up the latest style news and fashion trends

The Co Tipperary-born designer is well-known for her special occasion pieces, luxe holiday wardrobes, dressing presidents and tailored work wear for busy corporates.

However, it is in the realm of high low dressing that Louise has attracted a whole new audience of customers in recent years as she opened womens eyes to the potential of using their investment pieces in a number of ways every season.

Louise Kennedy 'Lina' polka dot halter neck top in pure silk, 695, and the 'Erin' satin-look cargo trousers, 695. Photo: Barry McCall

I remember the element of surprise when Louise recommended bringing that tailored coat  that perhaps someone had bought for a mother-of-the-bride or mother-of-the-groom outfit  back into service with relaxed white cropped pants and a pair of comfy trainers.

It made total sense, of course, but many of us had been way too blinkered about how to use our good pieces, and it took a practical Irish woman to shout the odds on abandoning the rule book and show how luxe buys can work in different ways.

The designers SS24 collection has something in it that I never thought she would do  and thats cargo trousers.

Now, Louise Kennedy is not going to send you out with cargo trousers sitting on your hip bones with a crop top, aping the boho style queens. Louises take the chic route, tailored in a satin-look fabric with two pockets on the sides.

They come in navy and look terrific with the Lina polka dot halter neck top in pure silk (top right), and I have to say they look good partnered with the Helene fantasy thread luxe tweed jacket (1,295) over a ruffle-front Jo silk blouse (995), which is a very strong look from her colour story in hues of cappuccino, latte and cream.

This combination is a perfect example of Louises approach to colour and how she adapts the hues into different textures, whether in a crepe, pure silk, a novelty tweed or a jacquard print.

Navy 'Remi' tunic with beaded cuffs, 1,495, worn with the 'Mimi' wide-legged, high-waisted trousers, 795, louisekennedy.com. Photo: Barry McCall

This seasons polka dot print was designed around the lady who likes wearing white, and she has lots of choice, including a new short Lizi jacket with double pockets (1,295) and the Mimi wide-legged, high-waisted trouser (795).

This seasons pop art paisley print used in the kaftans came from the Louise Kennedy archive from about 25 years ago and was re-imagined to incorporate the primary colours within the collection.

After four decades in business, there is a lot of loyalty, and custom has passed on a generation, but the designer concedes that you must bring newness to a handwriting that is ultimately a lifestyle brand with its own definite DNA.

We know who our clients are, we know their lifestyle. They are quite different continent to continent, and we design the collection based on how our clients live their lives, says Louise. louisekennedy.com

A collection in full bloom

I was reminded of blossom season in Japan when I saw Melissa Currys pretty new Ginkgo Blossom Pearl earrings (left) with miniaturised textured leaves in shell pink matt acrylic with an eye-catching centre of red Swarovski crystals.

The 225 earrings are launching today on her website, so nice timing for anyone shopping for a gift for Mothers Day on March 10, and you will also find them at Kalu in Naas.

Ginko 'Blossom pearl' earrings, 225, melissacurry.com

There is no doubt that Melissas Ginkgo collection of earrings, neck pieces and head ties have attracted quite a fan club since the Dublin designer introduced the special occasion range a year ago.

The range is inspired by the Ginkgo Biloba, one of the oldest species of trees, whose leaves are beautiful in form and structure, and Melissa says tradition has that if you catch one of the leaves as they float to earth, you will have good luck.

She works on seasonless collections so her heart is very much set on the forever pieces that you will want to want to wear all the time and carry on from year to year.

'Blue Orchid' earrings, 165, melissacurry.com

Melissa started out doing her Ginkgo earrings in black and red. The new Blossom Pearl earrings come with a matching pink headpiece which ties with a ribbon, and this weekend also sees the launch of the Blue Orchid earrings (left), which are a real statement.

Many of you might already know Melissa from her Be Your Own Success (BYOS) range of motivational jewellery, which, she says, was designed to celebrate women to show they are appreciated and valued in their lives and workplaces.

Melissa Curry 'Success' bar bracelet in rose gold vermeil, 99

Seeing the word success on the little bar bracelet really does serve as a reminder during the day of your own strength and determination.

These bracelets have been gifted and worn by women all over the world, including Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Keane, Sinead Burke, Saoirse Ronan and Arianna Huffington, and the first ones were gifted to Michelle Obama and her daughters by former taoiseach Enda Kenny.

The little Bar of Success bracelets in vermeil rose gold and in gold cost 99. They are also available in sterling silver (55), and pendant versions are 145 and 89 respectively. melissacurry.com
Status Yellow ice warning in place for the whole country until 9am on SaturdayStatus Yellow rain warning in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow until 3am on Saturday.A number of schools in the midlands and on the east coast shut their doors today due to snowfall

A Status Yellow ice warning has been issued for the whole country after sleet and snow led to travel disruption in some parts.

Met Eireann said cold temperatures could mean ice developing on untreated surfaces, leading to hazardous travelling conditions.

Temperatures are forecast to drop to -1C in places overnight, leading to fears many roads will freeze with slush and snow underneath, which would lead to extremely hazardous conditions.

A status yellow ice warning will be in effect from 6pm on Friday until 9am on Saturday.

A separate yellow rain warning with the risk of localised flooding is in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and will expire at 3am on Saturday.

Margot the cavapoo enjoys her morning walk in the Blessington Basin, in Dublin this morning as heavy snow falls. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

Met Eireann said temporary accumulations of snow and falling sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions.

A status yellow warning for snow and ice, which has now expired, was in place for Cavan, Monaghan, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal.

The forecaster said there will be persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.

Iarnrod Eireann said some DART trains for commuters around Dublin had been delayed on Friday, with the suspension of services between Lansdowne and Bray.

It said that a tree fell on overhead power lines near Merrion Street and crews are working to repair them.

There are also long delays from Heuston to Westport and Heuston to Galway.

Some Bus Eireann services to and from Dublin and Donegal and Cavan were also cancelled because of bad weather, as well as services between Cavan and Dundalk.

Dublin Bus said its 44B route from Glencullen was curtailed due to the weather.

Brandon Craig, meteorologist at Met Eireann, said that a rain warning was issued on Thursday afternoon but it was predicted that snow would fall on higher ground only.

He said that snow is notoriously difficult to predict.

It wasnt clear until this morning that it was going to be as heavy as it is and as widespread, Mr Craig told RTE Radio One.

The model had the freezing levels too high up over hills and higher areas but it turns out that complex dynamics pushed the snow down further than what it should have and thats what led to the lying snow over most areas.

Dublin snow

There was a signal for snow but it was over higher ground to the north.

Snow is notoriously the most difficult in meteorological parameters to forecast in Ireland. If we had a crystal ball and we knew exactly what was going to happen maybe that would have been an orange warning but given the risk at the time we dont take our warnings lightly at all.

We cant over-warn otherwise people wont believe the orange warnings when they come. The warnings that were put out were based on the most accurate evidence at the time.

Flights into and out of Dublin were also delayed throughout Friday.

In Northern Ireland, police said they received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in and around Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

They urged motorists to consider whether their journey is necessary, and to travel with extra caution.

The UK Met Office had initiated a snow warning for Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry overnight, expiring at 10am on Friday.
The Irish Refugee Council has described the current cold snap in Dublin as an escalating crisis due to the high number of asylum seekers who are sleeping in tents.

There are currently 1,022 asylum seekers without shelter after the government announced there was a lack of accommodation for those seeking refugee status here in early December.

Terrible and distressing conditions at the International Protection Office this morning, the IRC posted on X, alongside pictures of tents under snow.

The red bricked IPO building on Mount Street usually has a number of tents snaking around the periphery from Grattan Street to Grattan Court.

But with further sleet and snow expected, the IRC posted that they were deeply concerned by this situation.

Distressing scenes in Dublin

Tents collapsing under snow and water, they added. Government and Council response is completely inadequate to respond and resolve this escalating crisis.

The refugee situation in the capital has drawn news reporters from abroad.

Asylum seekers living on the Mount Street pavement told the BBC late last month that they fear for their lives.

One man, Abdul (33) and his wife Evelyn (22) told BBC News they have been threatened at knifepoint.

There are around 60 tents on Mount Street with estimates of around 100 people sleeping in them every night.

About two weeks ago, before we came to this area, we were threatened with a knife and then that's why we left that place. So it is dangerous, Evelyn said.

They were kids, maybe, 14, maybe 15. They said we had five minutes to leave because they come back and stab us.

The Department of Integration responded to the report by saying: Despite intensive efforts to source emergency accommodation, the department is currently not in a position to provide accommodation to all international protection applicants due to the severe shortage.

These numbers include men, women and children.

Truck drove over two of the tents on Thursday

There were 13,000 refugee arrivals into Ireland 2023, nearly five times the 2019 figure.

Ireland is currently accommodating more than 101,585 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection (IP) applicants.

This includes more than 74,955 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State.

This is separate to the number of Ukrainians who have fled war and come to Ireland.

Those fleeing Ukraine are housed and processed differently from those seeking asylum from other countries.

The Minister for Integration, Roderic O'Gorman, is finalising plans for more refugee accommodation across the country.

The broad principle is to provide more state owned beds. Mr OGorman said late last year that 15,000 refugee arrivals into Ireland will be the new normal.

In 2021, the European Union emphasised that it had never forced Ireland to take refugees or immigrants, and stressed that the Irish government had voluntarily decided to participate in resettlement schemes."

Tents belonging to the rough sleeping international protection applicants were caught underneath a bin truck on Thursday after it reversed down the street.

Footage of the immediate aftermath of the incident circulated on social media.

At least two tents were caught in the undercarriage of the truck in the frightening incident.
Kate Middleton conspiracies, ill health and Prince Williams personal matters: what a weird few weeks for the royals

King Charles is battling cancer and Kate Middleton is recovering from surgery  and Prince William pulled out of obligations last minute and theres more hassle for his brother Harry

Kate Middleton

Meadhbh McGrath Fri 1 Mar 2024 at 03:00

Where is Kate Middleton? That was the question that sent the internet into a frenzy this week (and is still trending on X) despite assurances from Kensington Palace aides that she is doing well following a successful abdominal surgery earlier this year.
The Taliban will ban women media workers in Afghanistan if they fail to adhere to a modest dress code which includes face veils, according to an independent media body.

Abdul Ghaffar Farooq, the Talibans spokesperson for the Ministry of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, suggested that media representatives adhere to a modest dress code, showing images of women in black attire and veils with their faces mostly covered, leaving only their eyes visible, the Afghanistans Journalists Centre said in a statement.
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Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence inked five significant capital acquisition deals worth Rs 39,125.39 crore on Friday in New Delhi to boost the governments Make-in-India initiative and indigenous capabilities in defence.

These contracts were signed in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane.

Out of the five contracts, one was with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for procurement of Aero-engines for MiG-29 aircraft.

Two contracts were signed with Larsen & Toubro Limited for the procurement of a Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) and the procurement of a High-Power Radar (HPR).

The government also signed two deals with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) for the procurement of BrahMos missiles and the procurement of Shipborne BrahMos system for the Indian Defence Forces.

These deals will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange and reduce dependency on foreign-origin equipment production in future.

The contract for RD-33 Aero Engines for MiG-29 aircraft has been signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of Rs 5,249.72 crore.

These aero-engines will be produced by the Koraput Division of HAL. These Aero Engines are expected to fulfill the need of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to sustain the operational capability of the MiG-29 fleet for the residual service life.

The aero-engines will be manufactured under a Transfer of Technology (TOT) license from the Russian OEM. The programme will focus on indigenisation of several high-value critical components, which would help increase the indigenous content of future Repair and Overhaul (ROH) tasks of RD-33 aero-engines.

The contract for procurement of CIWS has been signed with Larsen & Toubro Limited at a cost of Rs 7,668.82 crore. CIWS will provide terminal Air Defence to select locations of the country.

The project will boost and encourage active participation of Indian aerospace, defence and associated industries including MSMEs.

The direct and indirect employment generated by this project would be approximately an average of 2,400 persons/ year over the period of five years.

The contract for procurement of HPR has also been signed with M/s Larsen & Toubro Limited at a cost of Rs 5,700.13 crore. It will replace existing long-range radars of lAF with modern Active Aperture Phased Array based HPR with advanced surveillance features.

It will significantly enhance the terrestrial Air Defence capabilities of IAF with the integration of sophisticated sensors capable of detection of small Radar Cross Section targets.

It will boost to indigenous radar manufacturing technology as it would be the first of its kind radar built by the private sector in India. The direct and indirect employment generated by this project would be approximately an average of 1,000 people/year over the period of five years.

The contract for procurement of BrahMos missiles has been signed with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) at a cost of Rs 19,518.65 crore.

These missiles would be utilized to meet combat outfit and training requirements of Indian Navy. This project is likely to generate employment of nine lakh man-days in Joint Venture entity and around 135 lakh man-days in ancillary industries (including MSMEs) of the country.

The contract for Procurement of Ship borne BrahMos system has also been signed with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) at a cost of Rs 988.07 crore.

This system is the Indian Navy's primary weapon for maritime strike operations fitted onboard various frontline warships. The system is capable of hitting land or sea targets from extended ranges with pinpoint accuracy at supersonic speeds.

The project is likely to generate employment of around 60,000 man-days over a period of 7-8 years.
Photo courtesy: UNI

Mumbai: The Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND) has imposed a substantial penalty of Rs 5,49,00,000 on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd for purported violations of anti-money laundering regulations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

FIU-IND initiated the action in response to alleged breaches observed in Paytm Payments Bank Ltd under the provisions of the PMLA.

"The penalty pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)," a Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson was quoted as saying by IndiaToday.in.

The decision to impose a penalty of Rs 5,49,00,000 was made through an order dated February 15th, 2024, exercising the authority granted under Section 13 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
NASA scientist visits Kolkata. Photo Courtesy: Avishek Mitra/IBNS

American aerospace engineer and NASA scientist Swati Mohan, who is known for her leadership in the guidance, navigation, and control operations of NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, on Thursday said she is hopeful to see more collaboration between her organisation and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in future.

Speaking to IBNS, the Indian-American scientist said: "I hope that there will be more possibilities and opportunities for NASA and ISRO to collaborate in future."

She praised ISRO for the recent achievements in its space programmes, including the success of Chandrayaan 3.

India's lunar mission, Chandrayaan 3, successfully soft-landed on the South Polar region of the Moon last year.

NISAR

She mentioned the NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite project which is witnessing a collaboration between NASA and ISRO and is slated to be launched this year.

"It is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between the two organisations," she said.

As per the official NISAR website, it is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and ISRO, with the goal to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

During her interaction with students at Kolkata's iconic Birla Industrial & Technological Museum, while attending a session which was held in association with the United States Consulate General Kolkata, Swati Mohan said witnessing the success of NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance was a moment of satisfaction for her.

"I worked for eight years as the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) systems engineer. It was the longest period of my life when I worked with my complete focus on a single mission. Witnessing the moment when the mission was successful made me feel satisfied," she said.

Mohan shared that she is a 'fan' of Star Trek TV series, as over 500 students present in the auditorium listened to her journey from an aspiring doctor to becoming an engineer.

She asked students to never 'give up' in their path of chasing their passion.

Swati Mohan, who wears a bindi, went to the USA from India when she was a year old.

She has worked on multiple missions, such as Cassini (mission to Saturn) and GRAIL (a pair of formation-flown spacecraft to the Moon).

Gaganyaan

The aerospace engineer is visiting India at a time when Indian PM Narendra Modi recently revealed the names of the four pilots who are undergoing training for the nation's first maiden human space flight mission 'Gaganyaan'.

The astronaut-designates are Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

(Reporting by Supriyo Hazra)
Image Credit: wikipedia.org

New Delhi/UNI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on the issue of whether advocates can be held liable under the Consumer Protection Act for Service deficiency.

Various bar Associations across the country argued before the Bench comprising Justice Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal for three consecutive days.

Senior Advocate V Giri, the amicus curiae, addressing the bench on the final day asserted that legal services fall under Section 2(o) of the Consumer Protection Act. While acknowledging that lawyers aren't responsible for case outcomes, the ruling stated that if there was a service deficiency for which a fee was received, lawyers could be subject to the Consumer Protection Act.

Lawyers appearing in courts are immune from the Consumer Protection Act, but lawyers providing other services can be brought under CPA: Amicus V.Giri said.

The case originated from a 2007 judgment by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, The Commission had ruled that the services rendered by lawyers are covered under Section 2 (o) of the Consumer Protection Act. The said provision defines Services.

It was held that a lawyer may not be responsible for the favorable outcome of a case as the result/outcome does not depend on only the lawyer's work. However, if there was a deficiency in rendering services promised, for which he receives consideration in the form of a fee, then the lawyers can proceed under the Consumer Protection Act.

It is against this order that the appeal was filed before the Supreme Court. Earlier, in 2009, the Top Court had stayed the judgment of the Consumer Commission.

During the proceedings, Giri distinguished between lawyers appearing in court and those offering legal services like consultations and document drafting. He argued that the lawyer acts as an agent for the client, emphasizing the binding nature of the advocate's actions on behalf of the principal.

Referring to legal precedents such as Byram Pestonji Gariwala vs Union Bank Of India And Ors. (1991) and Salil Dutta V/s. T.M. and M.C. Private Ltd. (1993), Giri underscored the agency relationship between lawyers and clients. The court's observations in these cases supported the notion that lawyers, as agents, have the authority to compromise and settle claims on behalf of their clients.

Additionally, Giri invoked the case of Himalayan Coop. Group Housing Society vs. Balwan Singh & Ors., emphasising that lawyers, acting as fiduciaries, may have more stringent duties than other agents. This line of reasoning suggested that the traditional law of agency might not strictly apply to the lawyer-client relationship.

The Senior Counsel pointed out that when a lawyer appears before a court on the strength of a vakalatnama, they act on behalf of the client, and the distinction between a service provider and a service consumer is lost in the context of court proceedings.

He argued that the lawyer-client relationship, once established in court, does not fit the definition of a service provider-consumer relationship. Giri addressed the distinction between a lawyer acting as an agent inside and outside the court.

He asserted that outside the court, lawyers are hired and do not act as agents, thereby falling within the definition of service providers.

He provided an example of a lawyer continuing to act on behalf of a client after a suit concludes, stating that in such cases, lawyers do not have immunity outside the court.

Moving to his argument, Giri discussed the practical difficulties in dealing with consumer complaints against lawyers. He raised concerns about parallel proceedings, where a lawyer could face both an appeal on the main case and a complaint before a consumer forum.

Giri argued that the material considered by the consumer forum may not be sufficient, as it relies on the adjudicatory process of the court of general jurisdiction.

The court also heard arguments from other petitioners, including Senior Advocate Manoj Swarup, who represented the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.

Swarup emphasized the need for the bar to remain independent, citing the importance of freedom of expression in advocacy. He referred to legal precedents, including R. Muthukrishnan vs The Registrar General of The High Court, to support the autonomy of the bar.

Senior Advocate Vikas Singh argued against including the legal profession under the Consumer Protection Act, drawing parallels with the medical profession. Singh suggested a reconsideration of the Indian Medical Association v VP Shantha case and echoed concerns about harassment faced by doctors.

Senior Advocate Ramakrishnan Viraraghavan, representing the Bengaluru Bar Association, raised the possibility of including arbitration services under the Consumer Protection Act's definition of service, potentially subjecting arbitrators to negligence claims if their awards are set aside by the court. The court continued to consider these arguments as part of its ongoing proceedings.

Continuing with the legal proceedings, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh argued that the legal profession should not be included under the Consumer Protection Act, drawing a comparison with the medical profession.

He urged a reconsideration of the Indian Medical Association v VP Shantha case, expressing concerns about the increasing harassment faced by doctors.

This sentiment echoed the views of Senior Advocate Guru Krishnakumar, representing the Bar Council of India, who had previously pointed out discrepancies in the mentioned case and urged the bench to consider referring it to a three-judge bench for a comprehensive review.

Senior Advocate Manoj Swarup, representing the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, emphasized the importance of the bar maintaining its independence. Citing the case of R. Muthukrishnan vs The Registrar General of The High Court, Swarup argued that the autonomy of the bar is crucial for preserving democracy and ensuring a robust judicial system.

As part of his submission, Swarup referred to the case of O.P. Sharma & Ors vs High Court Of Punjab & Haryana, emphasizing the significance of freedom of expression in advocacy. He quoted a paragraph from the judgment, asserting that advocacy is a practical manifestation of the principle of freedom of speech and is essential for the progress of the legal fraternity.

Senior Advocate Ramakrishnan Viraraghavan, representing the Bengaluru Bar Association, introduced an interesting dimension to the discussion.

He raised the possibility of including arbitration services under the Consumer Protection Act's definition of service. Viraraghavan argued that every arbitrator whose award is set aside by the court could potentially be sued for negligence, bringing forth a novel aspect of legal accountability within alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The court continued to hear these diverse arguments as part of the ongoing proceedings. The legal fraternity's stance on the inclusion of lawyers under the Consumer Protection Act, the need for an independent bar, and the potential extension of the Act to cover arbitration services added layers of complexity to the case.

The court's final decision on these matters would likely have significant implications for the legal profession and its interaction with consumer protection laws.
Photo Courtesy: Bill Gates X page

Indian PM Narendra Modi discussed issues ranging from Artificial Intelligence to health and climate adaptation during his recent meeting with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Gates said he had an 'inspiring' experience while meeting Modi in New Delhi.

It is always inspiring to meet with @narendramodi and there was a lot to discuss. We talked about AI for public good; DPI; women-led development; innovation in agriculture, health, and climate adaptation; and how we can take lessons from India to the world. @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/Y3REO67gxP  Bill Gates (@BillGates) February 29, 2024

Gates posted on X: "It is always inspiring to meet with @narendramodi and there was a lot to discuss. We talked about AI for public good; DPI; women-led development; innovation in agriculture, health, and climate adaptation; and how we can take lessons from India to the world. @PMOIndia."

Thank you for sharing your book about how India is contributing to the global good, @DrSJaishankar. I enjoyed our discussion about Indias G20 Presidency, DPI, health, education, and womens economic empowerment. India plays a vital role in fostering cross-country collaboration https://t.co/EUcfGd8ZRP  Bill Gates (@BillGates) February 29, 2024

Following the meeting, Modi wrote on X: "A wonderful meeting indeed! Always a delight to discuss sectors which will make our planet better and empower millions of people across the globe. @BillGates."

During his Indian visit, Gates also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.
Photo courtesy: X/@BJP4India

Kolkata/IBNS: In an unsparing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the entire country is "sad" and "angry" over the Sandeshkhali case where arrested and now suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan is charged with land grabbing and sexual abuse of women.

In an address to BJP supporters in West Bengal's Arambagh, Modi said, "The entire country is sad and angry upon TMC, which used to give the Maa Mati Manush slogan, for what it did with Sandeshkhali women. Raja Rammohan Roy's departed soul must be shedding tears now."

Slamming Mamata Banerjee for her role in the entire case, the Prime Minister said the Chief Minister helped the accused to remain absconded instead of helping out the women from Sandeshkhali, an island in North 24 Parganas.

"The TMC leader was absconding for almost 2 months. There must be someone who helped him to remain absconded," Modi said and added, "People are asking Didi that whether some people's vote is more important than the pain of Sandeshkhali mothers?"

Countering the Prime Minister, TMC Rajya Sabha-elect Sagarika Ghose said, "Dear Mr @PMOIndia you talk about #Sandeshkhali . The Bengal state government is arresting and acting against all those responsible for any incident.

"What about you sir? Name one step you have taken to protect the dignity of women Olympic winners who were dragged humiliatingly on the street."

Dear Mr @PMOIndia you talk about #Sandeshkhali . The Bengal state government is arresting and acting against all those responsible for any incident. What about you sir? Name one step you have taken to protect the dignity of women Olympic winners who were dragged humiliatingly on pic.twitter.com/qSeSmlJ2d3  Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) March 1, 2024

Modi slams INDIA bloc over Sandeshkhali

Prime Minister Modi slammed various leaders across the country for remaining mum on the Sandeshkhali case, accusing them of backing "corruption", "dynasty politics" and "appeasement" as their sole agenda.

He said, "INDI alliance leaders are silent on the case. They went to Patna, Bengaluru, Mumbai for meetings but couldn't raise a question against the TMC government."

Modi, who kickstarted his campaign in Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Friday, also slammed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's one-off comment on Sandeshkhali where the latter said, "These things happen in Bengal. There are three parties, Congress, Communists (Left) and TMC. I don't want to comment on these issues at the national level... Of course we do condemn atrocities against women."

Hitting out at Kharge, the Prime Minister, who is the supreme leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, "Congress Presidents reply was an insult to Bengal, its people and culture. This is the truth of Congress and INDIA."

What is the Sandeshkhali case?

On January 5, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials reached Shahjahan's residence to quiz him in connection with the ration distribution scam, in which erstwhile state Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriya Mallick is already in jail.

In quite an unanticipated reaction, the ED officials were attacked allegedly by Shahjahan's followers who were in huge numbers and were forced to flee the spot boarding a vehicle of a news organisation.

Shahjahan- the head of an administrative block in Sandeshkhali- was an aide of Mallick, who is accused of diverting a huge sum of money from the food distribution system.

Sheikh Shahjahan | Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from video

After Shahjahan went absconding from Sandeshkhali- an island where one can reach through ferry services from Dhamakhali in North 24 Parganas- a few women came out in protests against the leader accusing him of land grabbing for over a decade.

The protests escalated in February when a large of number of women with brooms, sticks gathered to demand the arrest of Shahjahan accusing him of sexual abuse.

Several women with most of them covering their faces accused Shahjahan and his aides of calling them to the local party office at odd hours. Some accused the TMC leaders of sexual abuse.

"They used to call good looking women at night. If they don't turn up, their husbands will be beaten up," protesters told the press.

"When we used to file a complaint with police, we were asked to talk to Shahjahan," another protester said.

The protests, which were mostly led by women, turned out to be recurrent incidents in the area featuring in the headlines of the news channels and newspapers nationally.

Police on Thursday nabbed Shahjahan only after the Calcutta High Court cleared no stay was put on his arrest in connection with the January 5 incident, a claim put forward by the TMC top brass, a party which is at loggerheads with the BJP which runs the Centre.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee last Sunday claimed police could not arrest Shahjahan due to a stay order by the Calcutta High Court. The claim was outrightly rejected by the high court.

In another direction, the high court on Wednesday said police or ED or Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) can arrest Shahjahan, who has been remanded to 10-day police custody by the Basirhat court.
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Photo Courtesy: Youtube video grab

The Srinagar Jama Masjid managing committee accused the Jammu and Kashmir administration of prohibiting Mirwaiz Umar Farooq from offering mandatory on Friday prayers and delivering his sermons.

In a statement, Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid said that authorities on Thursday informed them that Mirwaiz would be allowed to come to Jamia for the Friday prayers and sermon, but today morning they reneged on their promise and again put him under house detention.

Mirwaiz is being unjustly prevented from carrying out his religious duties at the Jama Masjid, a place of significant spiritual importance to the Muslims. This restriction not only impedes his fundamental rights but also the rights of the community members who benefit from his teachings, the statement said.

Anjuman said that despite repeated appeals to authorities for his release from all quarters, it is falling on deaf ears.

Mirwaiz has already moved to the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, challenging his detention. The High Court has granted the Union Territorys administration the final opportunity to submit a reply to a habeas corpus petition filed by Mirwaiz.

The Anjuman said that they place their hopes in the judicial system.

We place our hopes in the judicial system to uphold justice, ensuring the restoration of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq's religious and civil rights, as the matter is scheduled for hearing in court on March 6th, the statement said.

Anjuman has urged the court to recognize the gravity of this matter and allow Mirwaiz to visit the mosque on Fridays, ensuring that the government ceases its interference in religious practices.

The freedom to practice religion freely without hindrance is a fundamental right, and we request the courts for its restoration to Mirwaiz, the statement said.

(With UNI inputs)
Photo Courtesy: The Rameshwaram Cafe

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe was an 'IED blast' and added that it was caused due to a bag kept behind by an individual.

"I have an information that post noon, someone kept a bag and left ... the injured are out of danger. CCTV is being examined. They are saying it is an improvised explosive blast. We don't know if it is a terror attack. I have told the Home Minister (Dr G Parameshwara) to go there," the CM told reporters in Mysuru.

"The impact was low intensity, but it was an IED. Such blasts have happened under all governments, but should not have happened. Such things have not happened recently other than Mangaluru. It had not happened under our government. We will find out what happened," he said.

Meanwhile, Karnataka police said as many as nine persons have been injured in the suspicious explosion at the Rameshwaram Cafe.

"Nine people have been injured," DGP and IGP Alok Mohan told reporters here.

He said the condition of none of the persons injured in the blast was serious.

The DGP, however, did not give more details as investigation into the blast is underway.

"We will find out who did this. We don't want to speculate. FSL teams are collecting evidence. After that, we will give more details. The CM and HM have been briefed. We don't want to say more now as an investigation is on," he said.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) team has reached the blast site.

Bomb and forensic teams are at the blast site assisting the investigation.

The injured have been admitted to Brookfield Hospital for medical attention.

BJP National President Tejasvi Surya alleged that the explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe was not due to a cylinder but a clear case of a bomb blast.

Surya said the blast occurred because of a bag that was left and demanded answers from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

"Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion.

"One of their employees is injured. It seems to be a clear case of a bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM @siddaramaiah," he said taking to X.

The explosion took place around 12.55 at the cafe.

(With UNI inputs)
In image Mamata meeting Modi/courtesy: X/PMOIndia

Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting the eastern state for two days, at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata on Friday evening.

Calling the meeting a courtesy call, Banerjee told reporters the meeting: "The meeting happened as per protocol and was meant to discuss matters of governance and cooperation.

"I discussed some issues of the state with the prime minister and chatted with him," she said.

Asked about the issue of the Centre's dues to the state, which the ruling TMC has been flagging frequently, Banerjee said, "I raised that matter also."

Earlier in the day, PM Modi addressed public rallies in the state and inaugurated several government projects. He is staying the night at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata.

Banerjee's convoy entered the governor's house shortly after the prime minister arrived there.

Taking to X, Governor C V Ananda Bose said he received the PM at the Raj Bhavan.

Governor of West Bengal, Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose, met PM @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/vvdABsrlyv  PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 1, 2024

Bose had also attended the prime minister's official programme at Arambagh earlier in the day where PM Modi inaugurated, dedicated, and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore.

In an unsparing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, PM Modi said the entire country is "sad" and "angry" over the Sandeshkhali case where arrested and now suspended Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sheikh Shahjahan is charged with land grabbing and sexual abuse of women.

Slamming Mamata Banerjee for her role in the entire case, the Prime Minister said the Chief Minister helped the accused to remain absconded instead of helping out the women from Sandeshkhali, an island in North 24 Parganas.

"The TMC leader was absconding for almost 2 months. There must be someone who helped him to remain absconded," Modi said and added, "People are asking Didi that whether some people's vote is more important than the pain of Sandeshkhali mothers?"
In images videograbs of Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru

Bengaluru/IBNS: Nine people were injured in a bomb explosion that rocked a popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru's Kundalahalli on Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters.

The blast was caught on CCTV. The police are trying to find out those responsible behind the IED explosion at The Rameshwaram Cafe.

After a team of the anti-terror National Investigation Agency (NIA), bomb squad, and forensics laboratory reached the cafe, the Chief Minister told reporters that an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the attack on the cafe.

CCTV camera records explosion at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe. #RameshwaramCafeBlast pic.twitter.com/iBb5byFjKX  India Blooms (@indiablooms) March 1, 2024

"I have information that post noon, someone kept a bag and left...The injured are out of danger. CCTV is being examined. They are saying it is an improvised explosive blast. We don't know if it is a terror attack. I have told the Home Minister (Dr G Parameshwara) to go there," the CM told reporters in Mysuru.

"The impact was low intensity, but it was an IED. Such blasts have happened under all governments, but should not have happened. Such things have not happened recently other than Mangaluru. It had not happened under our government. We will find out what happened," he said.

The police have filed an FIR under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosive Substances Act.

BJP's Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said he spoke to the cafe owner about what could have caused the explosion that left nine people injured.

"Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured. It seems to be a clear case of a bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah," Surya said.

Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant.



He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured.



Its seems to be a clear case of bomb  Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) March 1, 2024

All the injured people were treated at Brookfield Hospital and are out of danger, Karnataka Police Chief Alok Mohan said.
Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab from X video

Jamnagar/IBNS: Bollywood power couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who are expecting their first child, arrived at Jamnagar, Gujarat on Thursday to attend the pre-wedding festivities of India's billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani and his fiance Radhika Merchant.

Several of the couple's fans and admirers congratulated them when they arrived in Jamnagar.

VIDEO | Actor couple Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) and Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) arrived in Jamnagar earlier today to attend the pre-wedding festivities of Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. pic.twitter.com/UONvkMHv95  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 29, 2024

Confirming the speculation of Deepika being pregnant triggered after her BAFTA appearance, the couple said on social media on Thursday that they are set to welcome their first child in September 2024.

Deepika, now 38, got married to Ranveer in 2018 after several years of dating.

Speaking on children to Vogue Singapore, Deepika earlier said the couple love children.

In the interview published in January 2024, she said, "Absolutely. Ranveer and I love children. We look forward to the day when we will start our own family."

Photo courtesy: Screenshot grab

Meanwhile, the Ambani family has kept the 'Anna Seva' ceremony as a part of pre-wedding festivities, a practice followed by them traditionally.

Through the ceremony, they seek blessings from the local communities serving them traditional Gujarati cuisine.
Schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged since the beginning of the war. Photo Courtesy: UNRWA

The carnage in Gaza has left more than 30,000 dead and must end immediately, UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council on Thursday, after almost five months of constant Israeli bombardment and mass displacement in the enclave, prompted by Hamas-led attacks.

The war in Gaza must end, Turk said, insisting that it was well past time for peace, accountability and investigations into the clear violations of international humanitarian law and possible war crimes by both sides.

Horrors of war

There appear to be no bounds to  no words to capture  the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, said High Commissioner Turk, as he presented a scheduled report from his Office, OHCHR, on the desperate situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the Council.

Underscoring the unprecedented level of killing and maiming of civilians in the enclave, Mr. Turk noted that at least 17,000 children have now been orphaned or separated from their families.

And after reiterating his condemnation for the shockingtotally unjustifiable Hamas-led attacks on 7 and 8 October, along with the appalling and entirely wrong taking of hostages, Turk noted that at least three in four Gazans had been displaced by the war, amid the systematic demolition of entire neighbourhoods that had rendered Gaza largely uninhabitable.

Lasting impact

Addressing the Council, which is the UNs top rights forum under the auspices of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Turk said that thousands of tonnes of munitions had been dropped by Israel on communities across Gaza since 7 October.

These weapons send out (a) massive blast wave of high pressure that may rupture internal organs, as well as fragmentation projectiles, and heat so intense that it causes deep burns  and they have been used in densely populated residential neighbourhoods, he said. In Egypt's Arish hospital, last November, I saw children whose flesh had been seared. I will never forget this.

Civilians in crosshairs

The High Commissioner also noted that likely indiscriminate or disproportionate targeting by Israel had left tens of thousands of Gazans missing, presumed buried under the rubble of their homes, before condemning the firing of indiscriminate projectiles by Palestinian armed groups across southern Israel and as far as Tel Aviv.

Supporting role

Among the forums 47 Member States, there was almost universal support for the UN rights chiefs condemnation of the attacks on Israeli communities by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, his call for the release of Israeli hostages still held in the enclave, the need for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for violations of the laws of war from both sides and the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State.

Israel stance

For Israel, Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Meirav Eilon Shahar decried the attacks by Hamas terrorists and repeated unsubstantiated allegations of complicity between the UN and the armed group.

Sitting with two freed hostages  Aviva Siegel and Raz Ben Ami  who clasped hands to support one another during the debate, the Israeli delegate also insisted on her countrys right to defend itself in line with international humanitarian law.

Israel is fighting in a battlefield that Hamas has created in Gaza, she said. One in which terrorists hide behind and within the civilian population. One that the UN has witnessed being built around and below them for years and chose to ignore.

Israel has been told time and time again that the terrorists who have diverted aid, built terror tunnels, brutally murdered innocent civilians, raped, beheaded, burnt families alive cannot be touched because they hide among the civilian population. Yet, we have no choice. We must go after Hamas, or they will continue to come after us.

Show of hands

Spontaneous applause briefly interrupted proceedings in response to comments from the Palestinian representative, Ibrahim Khraishi, after he issued strong condemnation of the Hamas-led massacres in Israel that sparked the latest spike in the conflict.

We do so firmly, he said, "but nobody is really condemning the fact that women, children and the elderly are being killed.

Some 12,000 children and 8,000 women were among the victims, Mr. Khraishi insisted, as he cited unconfirmed reports on Thursday morning that dozens of Palestinians had been killed in an incident involving Israeli forces in Gaza City while they waited for aid trucks to arrive.

Are these combatants, are they human shields? he asked, before appealing to the international community to prevent a new slaughter in Rafah, in reference to an impending all-out offensive by Israeli forces in the absence of a ceasefire agreement.

UN rights chief Turk earlier cautioned against an Israeli ground assault on Rafah where 1.5 million people are now sheltering despite continuing bombardment.

An Israeli offensive would incur potentially massive loss of life, additional risk of atrocity crimes, new displacement to another unsafe location distribution and sign a death warrant for any hope of effective humanitarian aid, the High Commissioner said. I fail to see how such an operation could be consistent with the binding provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice.
In image Israeli soldiers/ courtesy: UNI

New Delhi/IBNS: India expressed "deep shock' over the deaths of people in Northern Gaza during the delivery of humanitarian assistance on Friday, saying "such loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian situation continue to be a cause of extreme concern".

"We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in Northern Gaza yesterday during the delivery of humanitarian assistance," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

On Friday, Israeli troops allegedly opened fire on Palestinians waiting for aid near Gaza City, killing 112 people and wounding over 700 others.

MEA said, "Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continue to be a cause for extreme concern."

"We reiterate our call for the safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance," it further added.

Israeli sources confirmed to media that troops shot at the crowd, believing they "posed a threat", in Gaza City's north.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza had condemned the attack and called it a "massacre".

A witness told AFP that the violence unfolded when thousands of people, desperate for food, rushed towards aid trucks at the city's western Nabulsi roundabout.

The soldiers reportedly fired at the crowd when the people came too close to the tanks.

Gaza continues to face a desperate humanitarian situation nearly five months following the war started by Hamas's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Photo Courtesy: Screengrab of Viral Video from X

At least 44 people, including 26 women and three children, died after a fire broke out at the seven-storey Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Thursday.

Of the deceased, 33 died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 10 in Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen told reporters as quoted by Dhaka Tribune.

Firefighters rescued 70 people from the rooftop and other floors of the multistoried building.

According to reports, 42 rescued people were in an unconscious state.

Thirteen units of Fire Service worked for nearly two hours to bring the flames under control.

What might have caused the fire?

Brig Gen Main Uddin, director general of Fire Service and Civil Defence told The Daily Star that cooking gas cylinders were found in almost every floor of the building.

He said a stove or a gas tank could have caused the fire.

There were only two lifts and a staircase in the building with no emergency exit and other safety issues, a senior fire service official told the Bangladesh-based newspaper.

The Border Guard Bangladesh also participated in the rescue operation.

People jumped from the building to save themselves

An employee of a restaurant, which is located in the building, said he saw many people jumping from the top floors of the structure in a desperate attempt to save themselves.

"I even saw people jumping from the building, including my colleague Shakil," Md Siam, who worked in one of the restaurants in the building, told The Daily Star.

He said, "We initially learned about the fire when it was on the first floor. We hurried to the rooftop, where around 30 people were waiting for rescue. The fire service officials used a ladder to reach the rooftop and bring us down safely."

Fire incidents are common in densely populated Dhaka city.

Recent fire tragedy

A deadly fire broke out at a food processing factory outside Dhaka in 2021 which left at least 54 people dead.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Newly elected Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has been informed that armed robbers killed 23 citizens in Karachi in the first two months of the year.

Inspector General of Police Riffat Mukhtar revealed the harrowing statistics on street crime in Karachi at a meeting, chaired by the CM, held to review overall law and order situation in the province with a specific reference to street crime in Karachi and activities of dacoit gangs in riverine areas, reported Dawn News.

The top police official informed the CM a total of 3,953 mobile phones were snatched at gunpoint during January and February.

He said that as many as 46 cars and 1,537 motorbikes were taken away by criminals from different parts of the city during the same period.

To a question, the IGP informed the CM that incidents of street crime were high within the remit of 22 of the citys 108 police stations, reported Dawn News.

The CM directed the IGP to identify the hotspots so that special focus could be given to them.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

A flight steward belonging to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has gone missing in Canada, continuing the trend which has been going on for the past couple of months.

The missing person was identified as Jibran Baloch.

She was supposed to come back to flight PK-782 in Toronto on February 29 to perform his duty.

However, he did not turn up to her work on the flight that was returning to Pakistan.

Jibran Baloch's disappearance became evident after staff members searched the room.

A PIA spokesperson told ARY News that the alleged disappearance of Jibran Baloch has been reported to the Toronto Police and the Border Security Force.

Not the first case

Earlier, a female air hostess named Maryam Raza went missing from her Canadian hotel recently.

After searching her hotel room, authorities found her uniform and a note with the message that read: "Thank you PIA."

Raza has been serving the PIA for the past 15 years.

She was assigned to the Islamabad to Toronto route.

Is PIA taking any measures to prevent further 'crew slip'?

According to reports, the Pakistani national carrier decided to deposit the passports of the crew on the Toronto flight to the authorities to avoid crew slip.

However, the measure has yielded no result so far.

About 12 air hostesses assigned to Toronto flights have slipped in the last few months, reported ARY News.
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

The minority Hindu community of Pakistan recently demonstrated outside the Jhuddo press club in Pakistan over police failure to arrest an audacious gang of thieves who, they said, had thrice committed theft in Shiv Mahadev temple over the past one and a half months.

The protesters were seen holding placards and banners while demonstrating in the city.

Raising slogans against the cops, the protesters told media that they had reported to police that an unknown gang of thieves had thrice committed theft after breaking open locks on the temple and taken away gold ornaments, valuables and antique items.

They had made several complaints but police had not taken notice of the crime so far, they told Dawn News.

They demanded Mirpurkhas DIG and SSP to ensure that the stolen items were recovered.

They also urged the police that the criminals behind the crime are arrested and punishedl.
Image Credit: Pixabay

The World Sindhi Congress will demonstrate in London on March 3 over the killing of Sindh-based activist Hidayat Lohar in Pakistan recently.

The body posted on X: "We call upon human rights activists and organizations to unite with us, along with their families and friends, to protest against the brutal murder of Mr. Hidayat Lohar."

"Mr. Lohar was an esteemed educationist and dedicated human rights advocate who tragically lost his life on February 16, 2024, in an attack by an unidentified motorcyclist while en route to his school in the Nasirabad District of Shahdadkot, Sindh, Pakistan," the post said.

"Together, let us demand that the perpetrators be brought to justice in a court of law. We urge all concerned citizens to join us," the post said.

We call upon human rights activists and organizations to unite with us, along with their families and friends, to protest against the brutal murder of Mr. Hidayat Lohar.



Mr. Lohar was an esteemed educationist and dedicated human rights advocate who tragically lost his life on  WorldSindhiCongress (@sindhicongress) February 27, 2024

The protest will take place outside the British Prime Minister's Residence.

What happened to Lohar?

Unidentified gunmen recently shot dead human rights activist Hidayat Lohar in Sindh region of Pakistan.

Lohar's family told The Friday Times that he was the headmaster at a local school, Golu Gawans.
Celebrities and influential figures are making their way to Jamnagar for the pre-wedding celebration of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. The world's highest-paid female musician, Rihanna, is adding star power to the event, captivating India with her presence.



However, this is no ordinary concert; it's an exclusive affair, as Rihanna is set to perform at the private wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant. The three-day festivity is unfolding at the opulent Ambani Estate in Gujarat's Jamnagar, spanning from March 1st to March 3rd.

But, What Is Rihanna's Price Tag?

Rihanna Arrives In India For Anant Ambani And Radhika Merchant's Pre-Wedding Celebrations/Indiatimes

The exact amount Rihanna charges for her exclusive performance remains undisclosed. However, estimates suggest a range between $1.5 million (Rs 12 crore) and $8 million (Rs 66 crore) for this private gig.

For those curious about booking Rihanna for an event, the process involves reaching out to the talent management company to confirm her availability.

Factors Behind The Fee

Picture Of Rihanna/Twitter

Several factors contribute to Rihanna's performance fee, including the duration of the performance, travel and accommodation, production costs, and any exclusivity clauses.

Unforgettable Past Performances

The Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding follows the Ambani family tradition of bringing in international music icons.

Past celebrations have featured exclusive performances by Beyonce, John Legend, Chris Martin, The Chainsmokers, and Maroon 5, creating unforgettable moments with their music.

Beyonce

In 2018, the Ambanis invited Beyonce to Udaipur for Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal's sangeet ceremony, where the global icon mesmerised the audience with her captivating performance.

Reports from Forbes and The Hindustan Times indicate that Beyonce's fee for this unforgettable night was approximately $4 million (Rs 33 crore).

Chris Martin's Alpine Symphony

In the snowy wonderland pre-wedding celebration for Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta in St. Moritz, Coldplay's Chris Martin took the stage, captivating guests with the band's most beloved songs.



The exact fee for this performance remains undisclosed, but Celebrity Talent Information lists Chris Martin's base booking fee for private shows at $9,999 (approximately Rs 8 crore).



Star-Studded Beginnings And Countdown To July Wedding

This pre-wedding bash is a precursor to the official wedding scheduled for July.

In July, Mukesh Ambani's youngest son will tie the knot with Radhika Merchant, the daughter of pharmaceutical industry titan Vivian Merchant.

The Ambani weddings continue to be a grand celebration, not just for the families involved but also for the global music icons who bring their magic to these exclusive events.

As Rihanna takes the stage in Jamnagar, it adds another chapter to the legacy of musical extravaganzas hosted by the Ambani family.

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.
Netflix India has given fans a sneak peek into its upcoming thriller, "IC814: The Kandahar Hijack." The series tells the gripping story of the infamous hijacking of an Indian Airlines Airbus in the last days of 1999. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the show features a stellar cast, including Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Verma, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Arvind Swamy, and Patralekha.

Screenshot From Netflix Announcement Video/Netflix-India

But what exactly happened in the real-life incident that shook the world so deeply? Here is the incident in detail and the intense negotiations that followed.

What Exactly Happened During The Longest Hijack Of Aviation History?

In a chilling recount of a traumatic incident from the past, here is the inside story of the IC-814 hijacking that unfolded in December 1999, revealing the harrowing events that transpired during the Kandahar ordeal.



Picture From Kandahar Aiport/Twitter

On December 24, 1999, Indian Airlines Flight IC-814, en route from Kathmandu to Delhi, became the stage for a shocking hijacking that would grip the world's attention. The flight, carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew members, was commandeered by five terrorists affiliated with the extremist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen.

Shortly after takeoff, the hijackers took control of the plane, brandishing knives and threatening the lives of passengers and crew members.

The aircraft was diverted to various locations, including Amritsar and Lahore, before finally landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan, then under Taliban rule.

The hijackers demanded the release of three jailed terrorists in Indian custody  including Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder of Jaish-e-Mohammed.

The Indian government, faced with a perilous situation and the lives of the hostages hanging in the balance, succumbed to the demands, releasing the militants in exchange for the passengers on board IC-814.

The hostages spent a week in Kandahar, facing an uncertain fate and living in appalling conditions. Reports emerged of the passengers enduring psychological and physical trauma during their time in captivity.

The hijackers' shifting demands and the delicate diplomatic dance added to the complexity of the situation.

The IC-814 hijacking highlighted significant loopholes in aviation security and led to a reevaluation of international anti-hijacking measures. Governments worldwide have intensified efforts to enhance airport security protocols, intelligence sharing, and coordination to prevent such incidents in the future.

With a focus on recreating the tension and drama surrounding the hijacking, "IC814: The Kandahar Hijack" aims to offer viewers an immersive experience of the real-life event. Stay tuned for an enthralling series that not only captures the essence of the past but also showcases the incredible talent of its ensemble cast.

Also Read: Why Has Netflix Postponed Release Of Sheena Bora Case Docuseries?

For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment.


Holi, one of the most cherished Hindu festivals, is celebrated with great fervor and excitement throughout India. In West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura, it is also known as the 'Festival of Colours', 'Dol jatra', or 'Basanta Utsav'.

Traditionally, Holi is celebrated in February or March in the Gregorian calendar, marking the arrival of spring and the end of winter. It coincides with the full moon or Purnima on the evening of the Hindu month of Phalguna. It's a time for people to come together, set aside their differences, and celebrate life's brighter moments.



As the festival of colours, Holi is just around the corner, many are still uncertain about the exact date for the celebration. However, fear not! This article will provide you with the correct date and time of Holi 2024, along with insights into the festival's significance and more.

Is Holi 2024 celebrated on March 24 or 25?

As per the Hindu calendar, Holi is commemorated annually on the full moon day of the month of Falgun. In 2024, this grand festival will be observed on Monday, March 25th. The day before Holi, known as Holika Dahan or Choti Holi, will be celebrated on Sunday, March 24th. According to Drik Panchang, the auspicious timings are as follows:

Holi 2024 Date in India Holika Dahan or Choti Holi Date 2024 Sunday, March 24, 2024 Holi or Dhulandi or Dhuleti Date 2024 Monday, March 25, 2024 Purnima Tithi Begins 09:54 AM on March 24, 2024 Purnima Tithi Ends 12:29 PM on March 25, 2024

Holi 2024 History

Holi celebration

The festival of Holi has its roots in Hindu mythology and is associated with several legends. One of the most popular stories is about Prahlad, the son of the demon king Hiranyakashipu, and his aunt Holika.



According to the legend, Hiranyakashipu was a tyrant who wanted to be worshiped as God. However, his son Prahlad was a devoted follower of Lord Vishnu. Despite his father's warnings, Prahlad continued to worship Vishnu, which angered Hiranyakashipu. To punish his son, Hiranyakashipu sought the help of his sister Holika, who had a boon that made her immune to fire.

Holika tricked Prahlad into sitting with her in a pyre, intending to burn him alive. However, due to his unwavering devotion, Prahlad emerged unscathed from the fire, while Holika was consumed by the flames. This event symbolises the victory of good over evil and is celebrated as Holika Dahan, the eve of Holi.

Another popular legend associated with Holi is the story of Lord Krishna and Radha. In many states like Mathura and Vrindavan, Holi is also observed as a celebration of the divine love shared by Lord Krishna and Radha. According to this legend, Krishna, known for his playful nature, was envious of Radha's fair complexion. In a mischievous mood, Krishna applied colours to Radha's face, making her complexion similar to his. This playful act is believed to be the origin of the tradition of applying colours during Holi.

Holi is a celebration of the triumph of good over evil, the arrival of spring, and the joy of love and friendship. It is a time for people to come together, forget their differences, and celebrate the vibrant colours of life.

Celebration of Holi

Significance of Holi

In many regions, the Holi festival is celebrated over two days. The first day is called Jalanewali Holi, which is when the Holi bonfire is lit. This day is also known as Chhoti Holi and Holika Dahan. In South India, Holika Dahan is referred to as Kama Dahanam. The second day is known as Rangwali Holi, which is when people play with colored powder and water. Rangwali Holi, also known as Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is the main day of Holi. Other less common pronunciations of Dhulandi include Dhuleti and Dhulheti.

Holi, also known as the Festival of colours, holds immense significance in Hindu culture and is celebrated with great enthusiasm across India and in various parts of the world. The festival marks the arrival of spring, the end of winter, and the victory of good over evil. Here are some of the key aspects of Holi's significance:

The victory of Good over Evil: The festival commemorates the triumph of good over evil, as illustrated in the legend of Prahlad and Holika. It symbolises the victory of righteousness over malevolence, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

Celebration of Love and Friendship: Holi is a time for people to come together and celebrate the bonds of love and friendship. It is a day to forgive and forget, to mend broken relationships, and to express affection for one another.

Cultural and Social Harmony: Holi transcends religious and social barriers, bringing people of different backgrounds together in a spirit of unity and harmony. It is a festival that promotes inclusivity and celebrates the diversity of Indian culture.

Cleansing and Renewal: The festival also has a cleansing and renewing aspect. It is a time to rid oneself of past grievances and negative emotions, and to start afresh with a positive outlook.

Celebration of Spring: Holi is celebrated at the onset of spring, a season of new beginnings and renewal. The festival is marked by vibrant colours, flowers, and the joyous spirit of springtime.

Agricultural Significance: Holi is also associated with agriculture and the harvest season. It is a time when farmers celebrate the arrival of spring and the promise of a bountiful harvest.

(Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.)

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The International Day of Happiness is a special day celebrated every year on March 20th. This day is all about feeling happy, being healthy, and taking care of our minds. It's a reminder to everyone that happiness is important and that we should do things that make us happy.

This campaign is a worldwide celebration commemorating the United Nations International Day of Happiness. It is organised by Action for Happiness, a non-profit movement comprising individuals from 160 countries, with support from a network of similar organisations.



The United Nations decided to celebrate this day because they wanted to tell everyone that happiness is not just about having things or money. It's also about being kind to others, being grateful for what we have, and taking care of our mental health.

On this day, people all over the world do things to make themselves and others happy. They might organise events, share happy messages on social media, or do something nice for someone else. Governments also use this day to think about how they can make their countries happier places to live.

International Day of Happiness | Photo: Freepik

So, the International Day of Happiness is a day to celebrate happiness and remind everyone that being happy is important for our health and well-being.



International Day of Happiness 2024 Theme

The theme chosen for the International Day of Happiness 2024 is Happier Together. This theme serves as a poignant reminder that enduring happiness stems from our connections with others and our involvement in something greater than ourselves.

International Day of Happiness History

In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution acknowledging happiness as a "fundamental human goal" and urging for a more inclusive, equitable, and balanced approach to economic growth that prioritises the happiness and well-being of all individuals.

In 2012, the inaugural United Nations Conference on Happiness occurred, and the General Assembly approved a resolution designating March 20th as the International Day of Happiness, to be celebrated annually. The first observance of this day took place in 2013.

Significance of the Day

The International Day of Happiness holds great importance as it directs attention to mental health and well-being, especially in a world burdened by stress, anxiety, and depression. It serves as a reminder for both individuals and governments to make mental health and well-being a priority in their policies and actions.

A Collective Pursuit

Celebrating the International Day of Happiness acknowledges that happiness is not just an individual pursuit but a collective one. It emphasises that everyone has a role in building a happier world.

Best Ways to Celebrate International Day of Happiness

People celebrate the International Day of Happiness in various ways, from organising events and activities that promote happiness to sharing positive messages and quotes on social media platforms. Many organisations and governments also use the day to launch initiatives and policies aimed at promoting happiness and well-being. Celebrating the International Day of Happiness can be a joyful and meaningful experience. Here are some ideas on how you can celebrate this special day:

Spread Positivity: Share positive messages, quotes, and images on social media platforms to inspire and uplift others. Practice Gratitude: Take time to reflect on the things you are grateful for in your life. Write them down in a gratitude journal or share them with friends and family. Connect with Loved Ones: Spend quality time with friends and family. Engage in activities that bring you joy and create lasting memories. Volunteer: Give back to your community by volunteering your time and skills. Helping others can bring a sense of fulfillment and happiness. Practice Mindfulness: Engage in mindfulness activities such as meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises. These practices can help reduce stress and promote overall well-being. Get Active: Physical activity can boost mood and energy levels. Go for a walk, hike, or bike ride, or engage in your favorite form of exercise. Spread Kindness: Perform random acts of kindness, such as complimenting a stranger, helping someone in need, or donating to a charity. Celebrate with Others: Organise or attend events in your community that promote happiness and well-being. This can include workshops, seminars, or group activities.

The International Day of Happiness is about recognising and prioritising happiness and well-being in our lives and communities. Whatever you choose to do, make sure it brings you joy and contributes to your overall happiness.

International Day of Happiness wishes, quotes, messages and WhatsApp status to share

Celebrate International Day of Happiness with these 20 wishes, quotes, messages, and WhatsApp status updates. Spread joy and positivity on this special day dedicated to happiness and well-being.

May your life be filled with endless joy and happiness. Happy International Day of Happiness!

This International Day of Happiness is more than just a fun celebration, it also remind us all that the world is a better place when we connect with and care about the people around us  Dr Mark Williamson

"The most important thing is to enjoy your lifeto be happyit's all that matters." - Audrey Hepburn

Wishing you a day filled with laughter, love, and all the happiness in the world. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Spread love, spread joy. Celebrating happiness today and every day. #InternationalDayofHappiness

Wish for Smiles: May your day be as bright as your smile. Happy International Day of Happiness!

"Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions." - Dalai Lama

Let's make today a day to remember by spreading happiness and kindness wherever we go. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Choose happiness, always. #InternationalDayofHappiness

Wish for Laughter: May your day be filled with laughter that warms your heart and brings joy to your soul. Happy International Day of Happiness!

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." - Marcus Aurelius

Today, let's focus on the good, spread positivity, and make the world a happier place. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Happiness is a choice. Today, I choose happiness. #InternationalDayofHappiness

Wish for Peace: May your heart be at peace, and your soul be filled with happiness. Happy International Day of Happiness!

"Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present." - Jim Rohn

Let's celebrate the little things that bring us joy and make life worth living. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Find joy in the ordinary. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Wish for Love: May your life be surrounded by love, laughter, and endless happiness. Happy International Day of Happiness!

"The only thing that will make you happy is being happy with who you are." - Goldie Hawn

Today, let's choose happiness, spread kindness, and make the world a brighter place. Happy International Day of Happiness!

Happiness is contagious. Let's spread it everywhere we go. #InternationalDayofHappiness

International Day of Happiness 2024 FAQs:

Q. What is the International Day of Happiness?

The International Day of Happiness is an annual celebration observed on March 20th, dedicated to promoting happiness, well-being, and mental health worldwide.

Q. Why is the International Day of Happiness celebrated?



This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the importance of happiness and well-being in our lives, especially in a world marked by stress, anxiety, and depression. It serves as a reminder for individuals and governments to prioritise mental health and well-being.

Q. What is the significance of the 2023 theme, "Be Mindful. Be Grateful. Be Kind."?



The theme emphasises mindfulness, gratitude, and kindness as essential components of happiness and well-being. It encourages individuals to cultivate these qualities in their daily lives.

Q. How can I celebrate the International Day of Happiness?



There are various ways to celebrate, such as organising events and activities that promote happiness and well-being, sharing positive messages and quotes on social media platforms, and supporting initiatives and policies aimed at promoting happiness and well-being.

Q. What is the 2024 theme, "Happier Together," about?



The 2024 theme underscores the importance of connections with others and being part of something greater than ourselves. It highlights the idea that lasting happiness often comes from our relationships and involvement in community and global efforts.

(Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.)



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Is Mahashivratri On March 8 or 9?: Maha Shivratri, also known as Shivaratri, is a significant and most auspicious Hindu festival celebrated with great fervor and devotion across the country. This festival, dedicated to Lord Shiva, the destroyer and one of the principal deities of Hinduism, holds immense religious and spiritual importance.



The term "Maha Shivratri" translates to "The Great Night of Shiva" in Sanskrit. It is a combination of "Maha," meaning great, "Shiva," referring to Lord Shiva, and "ratri," which means night, signifying the night of Lord Shiva.

According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that on this auspicious night, Lord Shiva performed the "Tandava" dance, which symbolises creation, preservation, and destruction. As a result, Maha Shivratri is considered an extremely significant and auspicious event for devotees of Lord Shiva.

The festival is celebrated with great fervor in various parts of India, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. Devotees offer prayers, chant mantras, and participate in cultural programs to honor Lord Shiva.

Maha Shivratri image | Photo: Freepik

As the auspicious day of Mahashivratri approaches, many are still uncertain about the exact date for the festival. However, fear not! This article will provide you with the precise date and time of Mahashivratri 2024, along with insights into the festival's significance and more.



When Is Maha Shivrarti in 2024?

Maha Shivratri falls on the Chaturdashi Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Phalgun. In 2024, the Maha Shivratri will be celebrated on March 8. The Chaturdashi Tithi begins on March 8 at 09:57 PM and ends on March 9 at 06:17 PM.

Maha Shivratri 2024 Date and puja muhurat:

Maha Shivaratri is a significant festival that symbolizes the union of Shiva and Shakti. It falls on the Chaturdashi Tithi during the Krishna Paksha in the month of Magha in the South Indian calendar. However, in the North Indian calendar, it is celebrated as Masik Shivaratri during the month of Phalguna.



Despite the different naming conventions for lunar months in the two calendars, both North Indians and South Indians celebrate Maha Shivaratri on the same day. In 2024 the auspicious day of Maha Shivratri will be celebrated on Friday, March 8.

Mahashivratri 2024 date and auspicious timings for puja Maha Shivratri 2024 Date Friday, March 8 Chaturdashi Tithi Begins 09:57 PM on Friday, March 08 Chaturdashi Tithi Ends 06:17 PM on Saturday, March 09 Nishita Kaal Puja Time 12:07 AM to 12:56 AM, Saturday, March 9 Shivaratri Parana Time 06:37 AM to 03:29 PM on Saturday, March 9 Ratri First Prahar Puja Time 06:25 PM to 09:28 PM Ratri Second Prahar Puja Time 09:28 PM to 12:31 AM on Saturday, March 09 Ratri Third Prahar Puja Time 12:31 AM to 03:34 AM on Saturday, March 09 Ratri Fourth Prahar Puja Time 03:34 AM to 06:37 AM on Saturday, March 09

Story of Maha Shivratri

Maha Shivaratri is a significant Hindu festival celebrated in honor of Lord Shiva. One of the most famous legends associated with it is about Goddess Parvati's devotion to Lord Shiva, which led to their marriage on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Falgun. This story highlights the importance of Maha Shivaratri.



Another legend, from the Garuda Purana, tells of a hunter who accidentally performed a Shiva Puja on the day of Shivaratri. When he died, celestial beings from Lord Shiva's entourage protected him from Lord Yama's messengers.

Significance of Maha Shivratri

The festival of Mahashivratri is celebrated with immense happiness and enthusiasm. It is a day dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort, Goddess Parvati. According to Hindu mythology, Maha Shivratri is the day when Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati got married. Devotees celebrate this day by staying awake all night, performing various rituals, and chanting mantras to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva.

Maha Shivratri Rituals

On the auspicious day of Maha Shivratri, devotees wake up early in the morning, take a holy bath, and cleanse themselves. They clean their houses, especially the puja rooms, and light a diya to worship Lord Shiva with reverence. Devotees visit temples and perform Jalabhishekam, which involves pouring water over the Shiv Lingam, and offer Panchamrit, a mixture of milk, curd, honey, sugar powder, and ghee, to the deity. They then perform Abhishekam, a ritualistic bathing of the deity with water or other sacred substances.

How To Celebrate Maha Shivaratri?

Observing Fasting

Fasting: Devotees observe fasting on Mahashivaratri as a gesture to please Lord Shiva.

Auspicious for Women: This festival is particularly auspicious for women, with married women praying for the well-being of their husbands and unmarried women seeking a life partner with qualities akin to Lord Shiva.

Rituals and Puja Ceremonies

Temple Rituals: Various rituals are performed in temples across the country during Mahashivratri celebrations.

Prayers and Puja: Devotees engage in prayers and puja ceremonies dedicated to Lord Shiva, offering items such as milk, honey, flowers, and the sacred Bilva Patra leaves.

Fasting and Night of Awakening

Fasting: Devotees abstain from food and drink throughout the day.

Night of Awakening: Some choose to stay awake the entire night, participating in prayers and meditations.

Continuous Chanting: Devotees utilize this night by worshipping Adidev Mahadev through continuous chanting and listening to Mantras like Mahamrityunjay Mantra and Shiva Tandav Stotram.

Temple Visits and Festivities

Prominent Temples: Mahashivratri attracts a large gathering of devotees at prominent Shiva temples nationwide.

Festivities: The festivities are characterized by devotional songs, mantra chanting, and the resonating sound of temple bells.

Spiritual Awakening and Cultural Celebrations

Spiritual Awakening: Mahashivratri is also viewed as a time for spiritual awakening, with many individuals seeking inner peace and enlightenment.

Cultural Events: Beyond its religious aspects, Mahashivratri is celebrated with enthusiasm through cultural events and festivities, featuring dance performances, musical presentations, and various cultural programs.

Mahashivratri 2024: Mantra

Om Namah Shivaye..!!

Om Trayambhakam Yajamahe Sugandhim Pushti Vardhanam Urva Rukmiv Bandhanan Mrityor Mukshiya Mamritaat..!!

Maha Shivratri is a day of spiritual awakening and liberation for devotees. It is a time for them to connect with Lord Shiva and seek his blessings for a prosperous and fulfilling life.
Ganesh Chaturthi in 2024: Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi or Ganesh Utsav, is a significant Hindu festival celebrated in honor of Lord Ganesha, the god of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune. This festival, which lasts for ten days, culminates in the grand event of Ganesha Visarjan. Lord Ganesha is known by various names such as - Gajanana, Dhoomraketu, Ekdanta, Vakrtunda, Siddhi Vinayaka etc. The festival in dedicated to Ganpati Bappa (Lord Ganesh) is celebrated with much pomp and devotion in several states, such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.



When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2024?

According to Hindu mythology, Lord Ganesha was born during the Shukla Paksha of the Bhadrapada month in the Hindu calendar, which typically corresponds to August-September in the Gregorian calendar. In 2024, Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on Saturday, September 7th.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024: Date, Time, and Muhurat for Vinayak Chaturdashi Puja

The auspicious time for Vinayak Chaturdashi Puja in 2024 will begin on Friday, September 6th, at 03:01 PM and conclude at 05:37 PM on Saturday, September 7th. The Madhyahna Ganesha Puja Muhurat, which is considered highly favorable, will start at 11:03 AM and last until 01:34 PM, spanning 02 Hours 31 Minutes.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Start And End Date

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Start And End Date Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Start Date Saturday, September 7, 2024 Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 End Date Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Ganesh Chaturthi Tithi Starts September 6, at 3:01 PM Ganesh Chaturthi Tithi Ends September 7, at 5:37 PM Ganesh Puja 2024 Muhurat 11:03 AM to 1:34 PM When is Ganesh Visarjan 2024? Tuesday, September 17, 2024 Significance Rebirth of Lord Ganesha

Ganesh Chaturthi History and Significance

The origins of Ganesh Chaturthi can be traced back to the Maratha Empire in the 17th century when it was celebrated by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to promote nationalism and unity among his subjects. However, the festival gained widespread popularity during the British colonial era when freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak used it as a platform to bring people together and inspire them to fight for independence.

Ganesh Chaturthi, also known as Vinayak Chaturthi or Ganesh Utsav, holds immense significance in Hindu culture and spirituality. It is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the beloved elephant-headed deity, who is revered as the god of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune.

The festival is observed with great enthusiasm and devotion across India, particularly in states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. Ganesh Chaturthi marks the auspicious occasion of Lord Ganesha's birth. According to Hindu mythology, he was created by Goddess Parvati using her own body and breathed life into him.

He was then appointed as the 'Vighnaharta' or the remover of obstacles. Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the god of wisdom, intellect, and learning. Devotees seek his blessings for success in their endeavors, education, and new beginnings. His elephant head symbolizes intelligence and his large ears represent the importance of listening. Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that brings communities together. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm, and people from all walks of life participate in the festivities, irrespective of caste, creed, or religion. It promotes unity and harmony among people.

The festival is not only a religious event but also has cultural and social significance. Families and communities have to come together, share joy, and strengthen bonds. It also provides an opportunity for artisans to showcase their creativity through the making of Ganesha idols. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness about the environmental impact of the festival. Many communities now opt for eco-friendly idols made of clay and natural materials, and immerse them in artificial ponds instead of rivers or oceans to minimize pollution. In essence, Ganesh Chaturthi is a celebration of the divine qualities of Lord Ganesha, a time for spiritual reflection, and an occasion to foster unity, prosperity, and environmental consciousness.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Puja Vidhi & Rituals:

Devotees are advised to follow these rituals for a prosperous Ganesh Chaturthi celebration:

Preparation: Wake up early, take a bath, and wear clean clothes.

Wake up early, take a bath, and wear clean clothes. Idol Placement: Place the idol on a chowki covered with red or yellow cloth.

Place the idol on a chowki covered with red or yellow cloth. Offerings: Sprinkle Ganga Jal, light a diya, apply haldi-kumkum tilak on the forehead, and offer Laddo or Modak, yellow flowers, vermillion, Meetha Paan, Paan supari laung, 5 types of dry fruits, and 5 types of fruits. Cover the idol's head with a beautiful dupatta.

Sprinkle Ganga Jal, light a diya, apply haldi-kumkum tilak on the forehead, and offer Laddo or Modak, yellow flowers, vermillion, Meetha Paan, Paan supari laung, 5 types of dry fruits, and 5 types of fruits. Cover the idol's head with a beautiful dupatta. Decoration: Decorate the area around the idol with various decorative materials.

Decorate the area around the idol with various decorative materials. Pooja: Begin the Pooja with the "Om Gan Ganpataye Namah" Mantra.

Begin the Pooja with the "Om Gan Ganpataye Namah" Mantra. Recitation: Recite Bindayak Katha, Ganesh Stotram, and chant Ganesh Aarti.

Recite Bindayak Katha, Ganesh Stotram, and chant Ganesh Aarti. Bhajan Kirtan: Engage in bhajan kirtan during these sacred days.

Engage in bhajan kirtan during these sacred days. Temple Visit: If unable to bring Lord Ganesha home, offer prayers by visiting temples and presenting laddoos and Durva to Lord Ganpati.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Puja Mantra

1. Om Gan Ganpataye Namah..!!

2. Om Shree Ganeshaye Namah..!!

3. Om Vakratund Mahakaye Suryakoti Samaprabha,

Nirvighnam Kurumaydev Sarv Karyeshu Sarvada..!!

4. Ekdantaye Vidmahe Vakratundaye,

Dheemahi Tanno Danti Prachodayat..!!

5. Gajananam Bhuta Ganadhi Sevitam

Kapittha Jambu Palasara Bhaksitam |

Uma Sutam Shoka Vinasha Karanam

Namami Vignesvara Pada Pankajam ||

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Ganesh Chaturthi

Q: When is Ganesh Chaturthi in 2024?



Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on Saturday, September 7th, 2024.

Q: What is the significance of Ganesh Chaturthi?



Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the god of wisdom, prosperity, and good fortune. It is observed with great enthusiasm across India and holds cultural, social, and spiritual significance.

Q: How is Ganesh Chaturthi celebrated?



Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with the installation of Ganesha idols in homes and public places. Devotees perform prayers, offer sweets, and participate in processions. The festival concludes with the immersion of the idol in water bodies.

Q: What are the rituals associated with Ganesh Chaturthi?



Rituals include the installation of Ganesha idols, offering prayers, reciting mantras, performing aarti, and offering food and sweets to Lord Ganesha. Devotees also engage in cultural programs and processions.

Q: How long does Ganesh Chaturthi last?



Ganesh Chaturthi is a ten-day festival, culminating in the immersion of the idol on Anant Chaturdashi.

Q: What are the eco-friendly ways to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi?



Eco-friendly celebrations include using clay idols, and natural colors, and avoiding harmful materials. Immersing idols in artificial ponds or tanks instead of natural water bodies help minimise pollution.

Q: Can non-Hindus participate in Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations?



Yes, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated with inclusivity and welcomes people from all faiths to participate in the festivities.

Q: What is the significance of the immersion of Ganesha idols?



The immersion, known as Visarjan, symbolisaes the cycle of creation and dissolution. It represents the temporary nature of life and the return of Lord Ganesha to his celestial abode.

Q: How can one perform Ganesh Chaturthi puja at home?



Puja at home involves cleaning the house, setting up a puja area, installing the idol, offering prayers, and performing aarti. Devotees can follow specific rituals and mantras for a successful puja.

Q: What are the traditional foods offered during Ganesh Chaturthi?



Modak, a sweet dumpling, is the most popular offering during Ganesh Chaturthi. Other traditional foods include laddoos, kheer, puran poli, and various sweets.

Q: What are the different names of Lord Ganesha?



Lord Ganesha is known by various names such as Vinayaka, Vighnaharta, Gajanana, Ekdanta, Vakrtunda, and Siddhi Vinayaka, among others.

Q: How does Ganesh Chaturthi promote environmental awareness?



The use of eco-friendly materials, immersion in artificial ponds, and awareness campaigns promote environmental consciousness during Ganesh Chaturthi.

Q: Can Ganesh Chaturthi be celebrated outside India?



Yes, Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in many countries outside India, especially where there are significant Hindu communities.

Q: What is the significance of Ganesh Visarjan?



Ganesh Visarjan marks the end of the festival and symbolises the departure of Lord Ganesha. It is a time for devotees to bid farewell and seek his blessings for the next year.

(Date & Timings Source: Drikpanchang)

(Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.)

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Dr. Rajeev Gautam, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has donated $250,000 (around Rs 10.1 crore) to support various research endeavours and initiatives benefiting students there.

Announced during alumni meet

Dr. Gautam, who graduated in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kanpur in 1974 made the pledge during the Golden Jubilee Reunion of the batch held from February 23-25, with over 80 alumni in attendance along with their families.

IIT KANPUR

"The sum would be utilised towards the institution of an Endowed Faculty Chair, a Faculty Fellowship and a Travel Grant program for students," IIT Kanpur said.

Who is Rajeev Gautam

It brings me immense pride to be able to give back to my alma mater in whichever possible ways to promote research and academic excellence. The Department of Chemical Engineering provided me with resources to set a strong technical foundation for my professional journey and success. I hope that the endowed programmes empower the next generation of changemakers in the field of Chemical Engineering, Dr. Gautam said.

After his graduating in Chemical Engineering in 1974, Dr. Gautam went on to have a four-decade-long stint with Honeywell. He retired as President Emeritus of Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies.

IIT KANPUR

New benchmark: IIT Kanpur

"IIT-Kanpur takes great pride in its alumni, and time and again, our alumni have come together for supporting the growth of their alma mater through various means. This pledge by the Class of 1974 resonates with a collective vision for promoting excellence at the institute by contributing to the development of infrastructure, R&D Facilities, and academic activities. The pledge is to be constituted as 'The Class of 1974 Batch Legacy Fund' and will be utilized to enrich opportunities for students and faculty alike," Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur, said

IIT KANPUR

"This is a new benchmark set by this Class to support its Alma mater. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the batch coordinators," Prof. Kantesh Balani, Dean of Resources & Alumni, IIT Kanpur, said.

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Attention, tech enthusiasts and curious minds alike! Prepare to be amazed because we've got some groundbreaking news: China has unleashed a fleet of robotic dogs that are causing quite a stir in the tech world!

Lexica| Representational Image

These four-legged marvels aren't your average gadgets  they serve multiple roles as electronic pets and athlete assistants, easily carrying gear. But hold onto your seats because it gets even more thrilling: the Chinese military has showcased footage of these armed robo-pups in live military exercises.



It's like a scene ripped straight from a sci-fi blockbuster, and we're here to spill all the futuristic details!

Can robot dogs be effectively utilised in combat roles?

Critics have labelled the video as propaganda, citing concerns about the robots' suitability for handling firearms due to their build. They argue that the recoil of standard firearms and the precision and speed required for firing makes them ill-suited for combat.

Representational Image| Thinkstock

However, some experts acknowledge the potential of this technology to revolutionise warfare. Last year, the US Marine Corps acquired several units of Chinese-made robotic dogs to assess their combat effectiveness. Although the results of the evaluation remain undisclosed, a study by Chinese scientists suggests that these robots may outperform seasoned troops in firearm handling.



Feasibility of employing robot dogs for combat roles

Lead scientist Xu Cheng and his team published their findings in the Chinese Journal of Engineering, asserting the feasibility of using legged platforms for combat. According to Xu, the US military may struggle to optimise the use of these robotic dogs on the battlefield.

Xu, a professor of mechanical engineering at Nanjing University of Science and Technology and vice-president of the Chinese Light Weapons Society, has faced scrutiny due to the university's close ties with the Chinese military.

Representational Image

In their study, Xu's team equipped a robotic dog with a 7.62mm machine gun capable of firing 750 rounds per minute, along with a shock-absorbing mount, automatic reloading system, and optoelectronic sight. The robotic dog fired 10-round bursts at a human-sized target 100 meters (328 feet) away, demonstrating high accuracy in hitting vital areas like the heart.



Thus, the development of armed robotic dogs by China presents both technological advancements and potential implications for future military strategies, warranting continued observation and analysis by global defence entities.

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A cabin crew member of Pakistan's state carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has reportedly gone missing in Canada where she had flawn for work.

The air hostess, identified as Maryam Raza, was a crew member of PIA flight PK-782 from Islamabad to Toronto, Canada on Monday.

PIA

Thank you PIA

But on Tuesday, Raza who has been working with PIA for 15 years failed to report for duty.

When the authorities started searching for and opened her hotel room, they found her uniform with a note reading Thank you, PIA.

It is believed that the woman had fled the hotel with the intention to seek asylum in Canada.

Second PIA crew member to disappear this year

A report by Pakistani Newspaper Dawn noted that this was not an isolated case.

In fact, Raza was the second PIA crew member to go missing in Canada this year.

In January this year, a similar incident was reported when an air hostess failed to report for the return flight after arriving in Canada.

PIA

Former crew member advising others on asylum

In 2023, PIA 'lost' at least seven cabin crew members in Canada while performing flight duties.

A PIA spokesman told Dawan that a former crew member who disappeared in Canada while on duty some years ago has now settled in the country and is advising others on seeking asylum.

Over the years, Canada has become one of the most sought-after countries in the world for those seeking asylum after fleeing their home.

Financial troubles, fake pilots

The PIA, which traces its roots back to Orient Airways that was registered in Kolkata in 1946 became Pakistan's national carrier in 1953.

Today the PIA has a fleet of 31 aircraft and flies to 27 locations around the world.

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In recent years, PIA was forced to cut down on its operations due to financial crisis, that has nearly crippled the airline. A 2020 report found that 1 in 3 PIA pilots have fake licenses and are not qualified to fly.

Following this, PIA was banned from flying to European Airspace, the UK, and the US.

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Google is reportedly considering the removal of apps from ten prominent Indian companies, including well-known matrimony platforms, as a result of an ongoing dispute regarding service fee payments. According to sources, this potential action may heighten tensions with startup firms in the country.



What Is Googles Dispute With Startups?

The disagreement between Google and the Indian startups centers on the startups' reluctance to comply with Google's imposition of a service fee, which falls within the range of 11-26 percent for in-app payments in India. This dispute follows regulatory intervention by antitrust authorities, compelling Google to dismantle its earlier fee structure that imposed charges between 15-30 percent. The ongoing conflict underscores the challenges and tensions arising from the evolving dynamics between tech giants and startups in the Indian digital ecosystem.

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Google Obtained Approval To Impose Fee And Remove Those Who Failed To Comply

Google secured the authorization to either impose the service fee or potentially remove apps based on court rulings in January and February. The Supreme Court's decision not to provide relief to the startups was pivotal in granting Google this authority.

Alphabet Inc.'s subsidiary, Google, has sent notices of Play Store violations to Indian companies Matrimony.com and Info Edge. Matrimony.com, known for the BharatMatrimony app, and Info Edge, the operator of the Jeevansathi app, are presently examining and evaluating the received notices.

The Aftermath Of Google Sending Notices To These Companies

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Following the news, shares of Matrimony.com and Info Edge experienced declines of 2.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively . However, the stocks have rebounded. As of 1.35 pm, Matrimony.com was trading at Rs 545, and Info Edge was at Rs 5,291.15. Executives from both companies have informed Reuters that they are currently reviewing the notice and will deliberate on the subsequent course of action.



"The move means all the top matrimony services will be deleted," Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder of Matrimony.com, told Reuters.

"To our mind, we have been compliant since February 9 on Jeevensaathi. We have paid all invoices on time. We are in touch with Google and replying to the notice to say that we are compliant," said Sanjeev Bhikchandani, founder of InfoEdge.

In a blog post, Google emphasized that 10 Indian companies have opted not to remunerate for the substantial value they derive from Google Play. The post underscored Google's prerogative to levy fees, referencing the Supreme Court's verdict on February 9, which declined to intervene in this matter.

Indian Startups Critical of Google's Practices in App Ecosystem

The possible elimination of apps by Google has generated apprehensions within the Indian startup sector, known for its reservations about the company's policies. Google, holding a 94 percent market share in Android-based phones, argues that the fees it charges contribute to investments in the app store and Android OS. This ensures free distribution and covers expenses related to developer tools and analytic services.

Furthermore, Google stated that merely 3 percent of the 200,000 Indian developers on the Google Play platform are obligated to pay any service fee.

(With inputs from Reuters)
Dolly Chaiwala has become a viral internet sensation ever since Bill Gates posted about him and his famous chai!



The co-founder of Microsoft, Gates made him an overnight star after pouring praises over his tapri-style chai. Since then, the mystery surrounding the tea seller has intrigues the masses as everyone wants to know how and when was his meeting with Gates set up.

Bill Gates/Instagram

Who exactly is Dolly Chaiwala?

Dolly Chaiwala, a resident of Nagpur, Maharashtra, gained online fame for his unique style and approach to tea crafting and sales over the past few decades.

Born as 'Sunil Patil' in 1998 in a modest household, Dolly has risen to prominence on Instagram, amassing over 10,000 followers who are captivated by his tea stories and vibrant personality. His journey from the streets of Nagpur to global recognition is a testament to resilience and unwavering passion. Despite facing limited formal education, Dolly's entrepreneurial spirit flourished in the midst of the captivating aroma of brewing tea.

How Did He Become An Internet Sensation?

Dolly Chaiwala/Instagram

In case you are wondering whether it was a strategic and well thought-out plan, then youd be amazed to know that it was a stroke of luck that brought him under the spotlight.

A video featuring Dolly's charming tea-making skills went viral on various social media platforms, rapidly propelling him to fame. Recognized for his distinctive long hair, stylish accessories, and contagious enthusiasm, Dolly swiftly gained local acclaim, endearingly referred to as "Dolly Bhai" by those who appreciate his services.

It wasn't just Dolly's tea-making skills that stood out. His unique personality, featuring long hair and quirky accessories, led people to compare him to the famous Jack Sparrow, adding an extra layer of fascination to his already captivating story.

Dolly Chaiwalas Net Worth

In terms of wealth, Dolly Chaiwalas net worth surpasses the Rs. 10 lakh mark and its nothing short of impressive. While one cup of his tea is priced at Rs 7, his daily income lies between Rs. 2450 to Rs. 3500, derived from the sale of 350 to 500 cups of chai everyday.

Viral Video With Bill Gates Got Him Nation-wide Recognition

Dollys newfound stardom came from an unexpected collaboration with Bill Gates which was captured in a now-viral video. In the clip, Gates can be seen swooning over his oomph factor for brewing a simple cup of tea.

Gates politely requests One chai, please from Dolly Chaiwala himself. The camera then pans on Dollys intricate and quirky tea-making process.

Dolly Chaiwala Had No Inkling Who Bill Gates Is

In a candid conversation with ANI, the tea seller from Nagpur said, "I did not know who he was. I thought that he was some guy from a foreign country so I should serve him tea. The next day, when I came back to Nagpur, I realised who I served tea to. (Agle din pata chala maine kisko chai pilaya)".

He further added, "We did not speak at all. He was standing just beside me and I was busy with my work. After sipping on my tea, he (Bill Gates) said, 'Wow, Dolly ki Chai." He was also asked about the inspiration behind his unique style, he said, "I haven't adopted this style, just copied it from the South movies I watch."

Dolly Wants To Make PM Narendra Modi Drink His Tea

The tea seller expressed his desire to serve tea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "Today, I feel that I have become 'Nagpur ka Dolly Chaiwala .' In the future, I wish to serve tea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

"I just want to sell tea to everybody with a smile all my life and receive all those smiles back," said the Chaiwala gleefully.

(With ANI inputs)

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Some of the globe's most influential individuals have landed in Jamnagar, Gujarat to partake in the pre-wedding celebration hosted by Asia's wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani for his youngest son Anant Ambani.

Mark Zuckerberg, Rihanna and Bill Gates are among the many guests that have marked their presence.

66-year-old Mukesh Ambani presently holds the 10th position on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest individuals, boasting a net worth of $116 billion(Rs 9.6 lakh crore approx). Reliance Industries, established by his father in 1966, is an extensive conglomerate involved in diverse sectors, including refining, retail, financial services, and telecom.

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Anant Ambani, at 28, is the youngest among Mukesh Ambani's three children, all of whom hold positions on the board of Reliance Industries. Specifically, he is engaged in Reliance's energy ventures and serves on the board of Reliance Foundation.



Some 1,200 guests are said to be attending the pre-wedding party and many have already arrived. The latest one who has made a grand entrance is none other than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Gates recently grabbed headlines for collaborating with Dolly Chaiwala, a tea-seller. He posted a video along with him asking him for his famous chai.

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Just a few hours ago, former US president Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump was also spotted exiting Jamnagar airport.



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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is on an Asia tour, covered Japan and South Korea first so that he could attend Anant Ambanis pre-wedding gala. He arrived in style along with wife Priscilla Chan.

Other than Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump and Bill Gates, BlackRock co-founder Larry Fink, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are other notable business tycoons set to attend the event. Saudi Aramco's chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan, COO Meta Javier Olivan, CEO of Adobe Shantanu Narayen, Former CEO of 21st Century Fox James Murdoch, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, and Berkshire Hathaway's Ajit Jain have also been invited.

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"The guest list appears to have more RSVPs from global corporate titans than the weddings of Mr Ambani's two older children in 2018 and 2019, underscoring Reliance's growing clout and role as a conduit to the Indian economy for global tech, media and energy giants," Bloomberg wrote.



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The Federal Government says it may demand over $10bn from Binance as retribution for running its illegal transactions in Nigeria.

This serves as a move to salvage the value of the naira.

Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed this in a Friday morning interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Onanuga alleged that Binance profited substantially from its illegal transactions in Nigeria while the nation suffered heavy losses.

He also argued that the company is neither registered in Nigeria nor has any presence in the country, adding that some users leveraged the platform to arbitrarily determine dollar-naira rates which saw a sharp decline in the value of the naira.

Onanuga stated, I said compensation is being discussed and a fine is being contemplated. I used the word May.

READ ALSO: FG Arrests Binance Officials Amid Cryptocurrency Clampdown

According to him, the cryptocurrency platform is causing massive losses for fixing exchange rates.

The platform fixes the exchange rate for the country and it is an illegal rate. The CBN is the only authority that can fix the exchange rate for the country.

Binance platform harbours people who fix the exchange rate which quickly affects the Nigerian economy for the time when Nigeria is trying to stabilize the economy.

Binance staff cooperated with the government to provide information, Onanuga added.

The spokesperson affirmed that the cryptocurrency platform is cooperating with the Nigerian government by providing useful information, and has since suspended naira-denominated transactions.

Also, the Office of the National Security Adviser confirmed that platform is under investigation by Nigerian authorities.

The development comes months after Binance pleaded guilty, agreeing to pay $4.3bn to settle criminal money laundering charges levied by the U.S. Department of Justice.
No fewer than one person has reportedly died from complications after eating poisoned cassava flour, also known as Amala, in Ogbomosho, Oyo state.

It was gathered that the incident happened in Temidire Atoyebi, neighbourhood along Ajaawa Road.

INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the family of six ate the food for dinner on Wednesday night.

However, a source told DAILY POST on Thursday that the family ate the food and became uncomfortable a few hours later.

READ MORE: Suspected Bandits Attack Oyo Community, Kill One

He said: One of the children managed to disclose that it was cassava peels that they ground and made into flour, which they prepared as amala, since they could not afford to buy yam or cassava flour.

The complication from the peels, which could have been poisoned or contaminated, resulted in the death of the youngest granddaughter, whose immune system might be very low.

The mother and her other four children are still battling with life in the hospital. We plead with kind-hearted people to please assist the family in whatever way they can so that fatality is no longer recorded among them.

Also confirming the horrible development, the Chief Medical Director of Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Professor Olawale Olakulehin, disclosed that four out of the five remaining family members are still responding to treatment in the hospital.

The one that gave up died before getting to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.

As of this afternoon, four of the five undergoing treatment are in stable condition. However, one of them is in critical condition. I have just been updated.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday, instructed Nigerian cement companies to roll back the recent increase in cement prices.

David Umahi, Minister of Works, disclosed the directive on Thursday after inspecting the BUA cement factory in Sokoto State.

The presidential order mandates all cement manufacturers to uphold the previous price, in a bid to alleviate the economic challenges faced by citizens.

His words: I want to encourage them to abide by the directive of Mr. President so that we can achieve massive housing programme and the renewed hope agenda of concrete roads of by the President.

When the chairman of the company (BUA) visited Mr President last week, he assured that the 5th line will soon commence operation and with my visit here, I can confirm the 5th line, though waiting to be commissioned has already commenced operation.

READ ALSO: Senate Extends Retirement Age Of NASS Staff To 65

He however commended the management of the company for ensuring cleanliness within the entire premises of the company.

Accompanied by the Senate Committee Chairman on Housing, Aminu Tambuwal, the Minister said the federal government was embarking on 372 kilometres of road, dual carriageway from Zaria to Sokoto State.

I am here to see things for myself, as you are aware, the federal government is currently embarking on 372 dual kilometers of road of which the first phase will be done with Asphalt, while the step down will be done with concrete.

If you calculate the 372 kilometers, because it is dual carriage way into two will give us total of 744 kilometers.

The second 372 kilometers will be conducted with pure concrete in line with the renewed hope agenda of Mr President.

Survey done by Information Nigeria revealed that cement is sold between 8,500 to N10,000, depending on location

In Ekiti State, cement is sold at N8,500; Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the price is N9000.

Ogun State sells at N10,000 (Dangote), Sokoto (BUA) is sold for N8,650 and Dangote is N9200.

In Ilorin, the price of BUA cement is N8,700 and Dangote is N9,000.
A former spokesperson of Atiku Abubakars presidential campaign in the 2023 elections, Daniel Bwala, urged President Bola Tinubu to remove Olayemi Cardoso as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, over the foreign exchange crisis in the country.

Bwala also suggested that President Tinubu should consider removing top bank executives, arguing that their primary allegiance to the profit motives of the private sector might not align with the national interest in stabilizing Nigerias economy.

He added that the current governor of CBN has not adequately addressed the core issues affecting Nigerias foreign exchange market.

INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that Bwala made this known through his X account on Friday.

He said: The key to dealing blow to Forex crisis against the naira is a bit similar to the Enron Scandal in the US; which also require tough political decision.

Simply sack all the bank execs; they are the only private sector players posting profits without loss since 2015 to date.

Make them account for the FX they have been receiving from CBN 2015-2024.

Force them to pay up all loans (if any) obtained from FGN in one week or seize their assets to recover same.

Replace them with CBN complaint execs.

Appoint a new CBN governor without a history of bank exec role who would be ruthlessly committed to this reform (if the present CBN governor is not prepared for that) Cardoso appears to be dancing around the elephant in the room. President Bola Tinubu must succeed with his reform agenda.
Toyin Lawani, a Nigerian celebrity designer, has received widespread praise after wearing lettuce as her birthday attire.

The Tiannah Place Empires CEO published lovely images of herself wearing a fairytale lettuce dress on her Instagram page.

In her post, the mother of three referred to herself as the King of Fashion, as she prayed to her Maker for her heart desires.

Sharing the picture, she captioned,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO THE KING OF FASHION.

AS I MARK ANOTHER MILESTONE THIS YEAR,

I PRAY TO GOD TO GRANT ALL MY HEART DESIRES.

Shot by the lenslord @segun_wealth 

REMEMBER SHE KOF FOR A REASON.

READ MORE: I Declined Deals From Top Artists Before Signing To Olamides Label  Fireboy DML

The likes of Sunkanmi Omobolanle, Toyin Adewale, Moyo Lawal, Idia Aisien, Chidi Mokeme, Warri Pikin, and others took to her comment section to celebrate with her and some applauded her over her level of creativity.

See some comments below

SEE POST:
Stack Overflow, the popular question-and-answer portal for developers, has partnered with Googles cloud computing arm to develop an API that will give Googles Gemini AI model access to Stack Overflows knowledge base.

Dubbed the Overflow API, the new offering will inform Geminis coding assistance capabilities for Google Cloud, delivered to developers via the Google Cloud Console. The suggestions made by Gemini will cite Stack Overflow sources, the companies said in a statement.

The Overflow API, which is currently in the development phase, will be previewed at Googles upcoming Cloud Next conference in April, followed by availability within the first half of 2024.

In addition to benefiting Google by helping Gemini learn more about coding from Stack Overflows knowledge base, the partnership will help Stack Overflow maintain its reach to developers at a time when code generation assistants, underpinned by large language models (LLMs), are changing developers behavior around researching code.

Stack Overflow itself has been working on adding generative AI capabilities to its platform via the OverflowAI offering, which is likely to be integrated into platforms such as Teams and Slack.

The partnership will also see Google working with the company to add to the AI capabilities of OverflowAI.

Last October, Stack Overflow laid off nearly a third of its workforce in the wake of rising pressure from generative AI-based coding assistants. Prior to that the company had let go of 58 staffers working as UX designers, human resource professionals, product designers, and senior software developers.

Although Google is the launch partner for the Overflow API, the company is open to working with more companies who want to train their LLMs on its knowledge base and content.

The sharing of data for model training could become a new stream of revenue for the company or provide it leverage to ensure that it is present on platforms wherever developers frequent.

Google and Stack Overflow have not disclosed the financial terms of the partnership.

Google Cloud rivals AWS and Microsoft have their own code generation assistants in the form of Amazon CodeWhisperer and GitHub Copilot.

Other LLMs, though open source, that offer code generation capabilities include the likes of StarCoder2 and Code Llama.
Endo International, a pharmaceutical company whose U.S. headquarters is in Malvern, has agreed to pay the government up to $465 million to settle civil and criminal investigations into the sales and marketing of an opioid drug, federal authorities said Thursday.

As part of the deal  which must be approved by a bankruptcy judge  an Endo affiliate would plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce. The settlement would not prevent prosecutors from charging individuals in connection with the marketing of the opioid Opana ER.

The agreement comes after Endo filed for bankruptcy protection in New York in 2022, facing $9.5 billion in total debt and thousands of opioid lawsuits filed by cities and states. At the request of the Food and Drug Administration, Endo stopped selling Opana ER in 2017. The company is best known for making the painkiller Percocet.

Under the reorganization plan, a group of Endos lenders would purchase the companys assets and operate as a new business.

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Bankruptcy protections are not a free pass to evade responsibility for criminal misconduct, civil fraud, or taxes, Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Thursday. Todays settlement ensures that Endo takes responsibility for its past misconduct, pays its federal debts, helps abate the nations opioid crisis by funding evidence-based treatment programs at the state and local level, and distributes payments to individuals harmed by the opioid epidemic.

The proposed agreement says that from April 2012 through May 2013, some Endo sales representatives marketed a reformulated version of the opioid Opana ER to prescribers by touting the drugs purported abuse deterrence, crush resistance and/or tamper resistance, despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration had prohibited the company from using such language on its label.

Sales managers were aware of this promotion, the agreement says, and representatives even used hammers to hit demonstration rods to show the drugs were crushproof.

Authorities said Endo would pay $365 million over 10 years, or $200 million if paid immediately after the new company exits bankruptcy. The company agreed to pay up to $100 million more depending on business performance.

The agreement settles criminal claims as well as civil claims that the company marketed Opana ER to high volume prescribers of opioids, including many that Endo knew were prescribing the drugs for non-medically accepted indications.

Endo said in a statement that the company has cooperated with the Justice Departments investigations and that the civil settlement does not include any admission of liability or wrongdoing.

Since 2013, Endo has proactively strengthened its U.S. compliance program, including by adopting new policies, enhancing others, and developing additional training and risk management procedures, the company said.

The Justice Department also noted that Endo has agreed to an injunction that restrains opioid marketing and sales and requires Endo to turn over millions of documents related to its role in the opioid crisis for publication in a public online archive.

More than 640,000 people have died from opioid overdoses since 1999, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the amount of money Endo would pay under the settlement.
Vanguard Group Inc. said its chief executive officer, Tim Buckley, will retire by year-end after more than three decades at the investment giant.

The Valley Forge, Pennsylvania firms board has initiated a wide search for its next CEO, according to a statement Thursday. Vanguard said Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis has been named president, a job hell hold in addition to his current responsibilities.

Thirty-three years ago, I was lucky to join a company that believed in giving investors a fair shake as they saved for retirement, for their kids college education, or for their dream home, Buckley, 54, said in the statement. In my seventh year as CEO, we have scaled our mission to more than 50 million investors, and our team is just getting started.

Buckley has held the CEO post since 2018, and Vanguard has grown to manage $8.7 trillion through the end of January.

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The outgoing CEOs biggest legacies include the firms push into becoming an adviser, and its growth in ETFs, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas said in an interview. The analyst said Buckley grew the company by $4 trillion, partly due to momentum built by Vanguard founder, the late Jack Bogle.

He certainly was a good steward of Bogles legacy, said Balchunas, who anticipated the firm will most likely hire from within. They want someone with that Bogle blood.

The firm said its looking at candidates both inside and outside Vanguard.

Evaluating internal and external candidates for such a critical role reflects good governance, particularly for a firm of Vanguards scale and complexity, and the board will be considering both in its current process, a Vanguard spokesperson said.

Index boom

Vanguard has benefited from a decade-long boom in index investing, particularly in the U.S., as clients shifted toward the kind of cheap passive funds that the company has promoted. That move away from active funds with portfolio managers picking stocks and bonds has picked up, especially in ETFs  which Vanguard has expanded into as the second-largest U.S. ETF issuer behind BlackRock Inc.

Buckley is the fourth CEO of a company founded by Bogle, who seized on the concept that a fund indexed to the broad stock market could be successful, cheap and marketed to the masses. Bogle, who died in 2019, was CEO of the firm from 1975 to 1995, and once the index fund took hold, it eventually led to plunging fees for many asset managers.

In more recent years, Vanguard has tried to expand into financial advisory businesses to cultivate new clients. It continues to offer some actively managed funds and has made limited inroads into the fast-growing markets for private assets. Vanguard said this month that since inception in 2020 its private equity program with HarbourVest has raised cumulative commitments from clients of more than $1.8 billion.

On the international front, the firm has aimed to carry its low-cost mission of investing to new countries, offering index funds and ETFs. In some areas it has pulled back, notably from its business in China.
An employee at a medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., sorts buds into prescription bottles in 2019. Read more

New Jersey cannabis patients and caregivers can now avoid paying sign-up or renewal fees for copies of their medical marijuana cards with the start of a new initiative from the states governing cannabis board.

Launched Friday by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission, the change comes amid reduced participation in the program as the state approaches its second anniversary of adult-use cannabis sales.

As an incentive to participate in the medical marijuana program, patients and caregivers can now sign up or renew their registration without having to pay the $10 fee for a physical copy of their medical marijuana card. Once enrolled, participants can download a digital copy that can be printed or shown at a dispensary on their mobile device.

Our goal with this initiative is to improve accessibility and convenience for patients who require medical cannabis for their treatment, commission executive director Jeff Brown said in a statement. By offering digital options, we make it more convenient for patients to receive the care they need.

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Participants who still want a physical copy can pay the $10 fee, the commission announced last month. Medical marijuana registrations are valid for two years.

The move to make registration and renewal free is the latest change to New Jerseys medical marijuana program, the fees for which dropped from $50 to $10 last year.

New Jerseys medical marijuana program has 85,641 registered patients, according to state data released last month. The medical marijuana program generated about $125 million in sales last year, Brown estimated at an Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee hearing last week.

Both those figures, Brown said, are below their peaks. The states medical program topped out at $226 million in sales in 2022  a year when it also maxed out at about 130,000 registered patients, according to Cannabis Regulatory Commission data. That April, the state began recreational marijuana sales.

We have seen a decrease thats consistent with what weve seen happen in other states after theyve legalized, Brown said.

However, he added, the states medical marijuana sales are still well above where we were before a reform and expansion of the program in 2018. Since then, Brown said, New Jersey has done more than $2 billion in combined medical and recreational marijuana sales.

Still, Brown said, patients often cite the cost of doctors visits to obtain a medical marijuana recommendation as a major issue in participating in the program. Physicians often charge cash out of pocket, which creates a roadblock for folks looking to enroll  a factor over which the commission has no control.

As a result, patients consider not only the cost of registration, but the cost of doctors visits and the price of marijuana when deciding whether to enroll, Brown said. Often, medical marijuana can be cheaper than recreational marijuana because it is not taxed at the state level.

The commission touted additional benefits for registered patients, including priority access to dispensary products, and patient-only hours and parking, in a statement this week.

Unlike in other neighboring states, however, New Jersey medical marijuana patients cannot legally grow their own marijuana  another issue outside the regulatory commissions purview. That issue has received renewed attention recently, including the filing of a bill in January seeking to allow it.

Brown encouraged legislators to look at allowing medical patients to home grow their own marijuana last week.

We certainly hear about it all the time and hear from patients all the time that they would like the ability to home grow, Brown said. I would certainly encourage you giving it its due look and due diligence.
Domair Brown, 31, pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle and related crimes during a hearing Friday in the Delaware County courthouse. Read more

Domair Brown went to great lengths to flee from justice last August after running over a Delaware County woman in a rented car while drunk and high, prosecutors said Friday.

He parked the damaged Honda Accord miles away from the Southwest Philadelphia crash scene, abandoning it in a shopping center parking lot in the city. He ditched his cellphone in a trash can at a high school in Sharon Hill. He had his girlfriend lie to police on his behalf. And he spent nearly a month on the lam as a fugitive.

Despite those efforts, Brown, 31, faced justice Friday inside a Media courtroom, when he was sentenced to 3 -to-7 years in state prison in the death of Ashley McLean.

Brown, of Sharon Hill, entered a guilty plea negotiated with prosecutors to homicide by vehicle, accidents involving death, evading arrest and making false reports for striking McLean about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 25 as she was crossing Lindbergh Boulevard.

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McLean, a 27-year-old mother of two and daughter of Folcroft Police Officer Leslie McLean, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Brown said little after the sentence was handed down by Delaware County Court Judge Kevin Kelly, offering his sincerest apologies for what he had done.

Deputy District Attorney Douglas Rhoads said though the prosecution focused on Brown, Fridays proceeding was the Ashley McLean case.

The court should know that Ashley McLean was a loved and loving mother, daughter, sister, friend and fiancee, Rhoads said. Her life was cut short, and all the hopes and desires she had were taken away in an instant.

Brown had been out drinking at the Happy Inn in Darby, celebrating his friends birthday, hours before the fatal crash, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed for his arrest. He and his group of friends later got together to smoke marijuana elsewhere in Darby, before deciding to visit Harrahs casino in Chester, the affidavit said.

At the time, Brown did not have a drivers license. The vehicle he was driving, police said, had been rented by his girlfriend, Monia Tabon.

After the crash, Brown fled the scene, calling Tabon and urging her to report the car stolen, according to a statement she gave police. Friends of Browns later texted each other, noting that the Fraternal Order of Police had posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver that killed McLean, the affidavit said.

Tabon did call police to report the vehicle stolen, saying it had been taken while being parked outside of a home in Sharon Hill. She later recanted that statement after being questioned by detectives, and said Brown was the last person she had seen use the car after he dropped her off at Philadelphia International Airport for her trip to Miami the day before the crash.

Tabon was charged with making false reports. Her criminal case is pending in Delaware County Court.

On Friday, McLeans family and friends packed into Kellys courtroom, united in their grief over losing her.

Her fiance, Brandon Stouch, told the judge that raising their daughter as a single father has been the hardest thing he has ever had to do. (McCleans older daughter, from a previous relationship, now lives with her biological father in West Virginia.)

His voice thick with emotion, he described standing just feet away from McLean as she was struck, and desperately giving her CPR until he was out of breath.

I will never forget that night, he said, because when I close my eyes, its all I see.

McLeans mother, Leslie, said their entire family has been broken by her loss. When they shouldve been planning her wedding, she said, they were making arrangements for her funeral.

Ashley deserved more than 27 years on this Earth, she said. Instead, she got her life ripped away from her as she was crossing the street by someone who had no respect for anyones life but his own.
Global Leadership Academy students sit with their sign during a School District of Philadelphia board meeting on Thursday. Read more

Philadelphias school board has denied for the third time an attempt by Global Academies to open a new charter high school.

The 6-3 Thursday night decision  which could cause ripples in a city with a new mayor who has signaled her desire to be friendlier to charter schools and at a time when board members are applying to keep their jobs  came despite pleas from politicians, parents, and students.

But the majority of the board raised academic and operational concerns about the proposed Global Leadership Academy International Charter High School, which applicants had wanted to open in the former Cristo Rey High School building on North Broad Street in Logan. The school would have served 600 students in grades 9 through 12.

 READ MORE: Philly teachers may have a one-year contract  and a big raise  in a surprise, early settlement

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Board member Joyce Wilkerson said approving the GLA application would set a dangerously low precedent for other applications that well be considering in the future.

Even those board members who voted against the charter said they were moved by the communitys love of the charter.

But, board member Leticia Egea-Hinton said, every decision that Ive ever made is always about children first  but in reviewing the application, there are deficiencies in the application that do not align with the charter law.

Though the application said the high school was not affiliated with Global Leadership Academy and Global Leadership Academy Southwest, schools run by veteran former district administrator Naomi Johnson-Booker, most board members said its clear the schools would be related, including sharing the same lawyer.

At Global Leadership Academy Charter School, 4% of students met state standards in math and 19% in reading in 2022-23; at Global Leadership Academy Southwest, it was 1% and 15%, respectively.

Johnson-Booker expressed frustration that she did what the district had requested of her in the past  took over two schools, the former Raising Horizons Quest Charter and the former Huey Elementary, a district school  and now it was blocking her.

I made them successful schools, Johnson-Booker told the board. I did what you asked. Im only asking now for the children in this city that you approve this high school.

Several lawmakers voiced support for the school. City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a former educator, said he believed the school was beginning to see growth despite the challenges of the pandemic, but that schools are more than academics.

Were basically begging you to give these families, give these educators, and give these children, [the ability] to stay together, grow in African-centered tradition, said Thomas.

Earl Marant, a Global Leadership Southwest parent and crossing guard in the neighborhood, said hes been moved by how successful Global Leadership students are.

GLA deserves a high school so that these kids can continue the culture that they are learning now, Marant said.

Zakiyyah Salahudin urged the board to allow GLA to open a high school. Shes the parent of a current junior at Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School, a Center City school closing at the end of the school year because its founder has decided to retire. Thomas, board president Reginald Streater, charter chief Peng Chao and others had tried to broker a deal to get the MCSCS board to agree to essentially transfer their charter to the GLA board, but MCSCS founder Veronica Joyner blocked the attempts. Joyner said only she was capable of educating the children at the level that MCSCS established.

Still, Salahudin and other members of the MCSCS community badly wanted GLA to open a high school to take all the abandoned high school students that are being thrown out by Mathematics Civics and Sciences.

Board members Julia Danzy, Cecelia Thompson, and Lisa Salley had wanted to sign off on a new charter.

Salley said she was greatly concerned that there is too much variation and too much bias in the charter evaluation process and said the district needs outside help in this area going forward.

Thompson suggested math performance is off everywhere, but said she believed GLA is about holistic education, its about culture.

Ken Kilpatrick, a spokesperson for the GLA board, blasted the school board and charter office for what he said were their roles in denying Philadelphias most vulnerable Black teens and their families the high school that they so desperately need and worked for. He said the boards vote was myopic and selfish.

GLA is reviewing its legal options, Kilpatrick said.

3-5-7-9 protest

Dozens of teachers demonstrated outside the school board meeting, drawing attention to teachers sick time policy, which penalizes them for using their earned days off.

The so-called 3-5-7-9 rule means that the 13,000 teachers, counselors, secretaries and other school workers who are members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers could get suspended if they have enough occurrences  nonconsecutive sick days, even if they have the time in their sick day bank.

Teachers told the board that the policy was hurting teacher retention, morale and health.

 READ MORE: Sick days come with their contract. But Philly teachers get punished for taking them.

One teacher, Pete Pijanowski, said when he explained the districts sick days policy to new teachers they looked at me like I was crazy.

The board needs to be part of the solution, Pijanowski said.

What the COVID lockdown taught us is that if you are sick, you should not go to work sick, he said.

Teachers described the policy as forcing them to skip doctors appointments, go to school on the day of cancer surgery, work despite family emergencies, and more.

We demand a workplace that trusts us and treats us like human beings  we demand an end to the occurrence policy now, teacher Charlie Hudgins said.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said no one should come to work sick, and said that anyone who believes theyve been mistreated because of using their sick days should report it to their supervisor and supervisors boss.

We dont need to be afraid of reprisals in the School District of Philadelphia, Watlington said to teachers in the audience.

Northeast High student video

Tension was high at the meeting around a Northeast High student video that district officials ordered removed from a Black History Month celebration at the school because a teacher said the video was antisemitic.

Two students in an African American history class created a video of a podcast that examined Palestinian art as an act of resistance, comparing it to enslaved African Americans use of spirituals. The students got an A on the assignment, and their teacher, Keziah Ridgeway, allowed it to be used in a student-run Black History Month assembly.

 READ MORE: Philly schools censored a podcast about Palestinian resistance art because of complaints of antisemitism. Now, theres pushback.

Then another teacher, and the School District of Philadelphia Jewish Family Association, raised objections, and the video was removed from future assemblies.

One Northeast student told the board she saw the video, believed it was not antisemitic, and found the districts decision hypocritical.

And Ridgeway, flanked by several people holding pro-Palestinian signs, said she couldnt believe the district censored the video because a white teacher was uncomfortable.

Guess what? I am a Black woman and I was born feeling uncomfortable, Ridgeway said. They are just upset that the word Palestine is being said.

Ridgeway and others asked the superintendent to address the issue.

We will gladly look into that matter, Watlington said, adding that he was not prepared to address it Thursday night.
A ransomware attack has snarled prescription processing for millions of Americans over the past week. Read more

A ransomware gang once thought to have been crippled by law enforcement has snarled prescription processing for millions of Americans over the past week, forcing some to choose between paying prices hundreds or thousands of dollars above their usual insurance-adjusted rates or going without lifesaving medicine.

Insurance giant UnitedHealthcare Group said the hackers struck its Change Health business unit, which routes prescription claims from pharmacies to companies that determine whether patients are covered by insurance and what they should pay. The hackers stole data about patients, encrypted company files and demanded money to unlock them, prompting the company to shut down most of its network as it worked to recover.

Change Health and a rival, CoverMyMeds, are the two biggest players in the so-called switch business, charging pharmacies a small fee for funneling claims to insurers.

When one of them goes down, obviously its a major problem, said Patrick Berryman, a senior vice president at the National Community Pharmacists Association.

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A notorious Russian-speaking ransomware ring known as ALPHV claimed responsibility for the Feb. 21 breach, capping a string of attacks that included several hospitals.

The lasting issues underscore the continued fragility of critical infrastructure nearly three years after a ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline prompted a shutdown of the biggest network of fuel pipelines in the United States. Service stations, particularly in the eastern half of the country, ran short of fuel as consumers rushed to gas up.

Since then, U.S. officials and their international partners have announced a series of operations that have included hacking the gangs, taking over their chats with business associates and, in some cases, making arrests. ALPHV was targeted in a December takedown that proved short-lived.

U.S. pharmacies reported a wide range of impacts, with independent stores experiencing some of the worst problems.

UnitedHealth estimated that more than 90 percent of the nations 70,000-plus pharmacies have had to alter how they process electronic claims as a result of the Change Health outage. But it said only a small number of patients have been unable to get their prescriptions at some price.

At CVS, which operates one of the largest pharmacy networks in the nation, a spokesperson said there are a small number of cases in which our pharmacies are not able to process insurance claims as a result of the outage. It said workarounds were allowing it to fill prescriptions, however.

Many pharmacies have started routing claims through CoverMyMeds, which posted a notice online Feb. 22, No outages here. The company, owned by McKesson, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

For pharmacies that were not able to quickly route claims to a different company, the Change Health outage left pharmacists to try to manually calculate a patients co-pay or offer them the cash price.

Compounding the impact, thousands of organizations cut off Change Health from their systems to ensure the hackers did not infect their networks as well.

UnitedHealths own pharmacy services company, Optum Rx, said it, too, disconnected but that it would not penalize pharmacies that made their best efforts to tell whether a given drug was covered for a patient. Optum said in a letter to those pharmacies that it was committed to reimbursing all claims that are appropriate and filled with the good faith understanding that a medication should be covered.

The attack on Change Health has left many pharmacies in a cash-flow bind, as they face bills from the companies that deliver the medication without knowing when they will be reimbursed by insurers.

Some pharmacies are requiring customers to pay full price for their prescriptions when they cannot tell if they are covered by insurance. In some cases, that means people are paying more than $1,000 out of pocket, according to social media posts.

The outage has also created havoc for patients who use drugmaker coupons to get their prescriptions at a discount. Some reported being told that the coupon system also relies on Change Health.

Amy Ginsburg, a Bethesda resident, said her local CVS wasnt able to process a coupon she uses for her diabetes medication.

Normally, it would be a $25 co-pay, but it will actually be a $250 co-pay, she said. Ginsburg, 62, still has some medication left and plans to wait for the refill until next week, hoping the situation will be resolved by then.

If I didnt have sufficient quantity to tide me over, it could lead to serious consequences, she said. Not everyone has an extra $250 they werent expecting to spend.

The situation has been extremely disruptive, said Erin Fox, associate chief pharmacy officer at University of Utah Health.

At our system, our retail pharmacies were providing three-day gratis emergency supplies for patients who could not afford to pay the cash price, Fox said by email. In some cases, like for inhalers, we had to send product out at risk, not knowing if we will ever get paid, but we need to take care of the patients.

Axis Pharmacy Northwest near Seattle is going out on a limb and dispensing product with absolutely no inkling if well get paid or not, said Richard Molitor, the pharmacist in charge. Probably the biggest impact has been with our hospice clientele, whose claims arent going through at all.

The Change Health outage has been particularly tough on independent pharmacies, because they can only see prescriptions that a patient filled at their pharmacy - and not ones that the patient filled at others. The switch connects independent pharmacies to insurers or pharmacy-benefit managers, who have a more expansive view.

This means small pharmacies wouldnt know if a drug they dispense interacts with another drug a patient received at a different pharmacy or whether a patient is trying to fill a controlled substance from multiple pharmacies.

Theyre flying blind when it relates to prescriptions filled at other pharmacies, said Berryman, the National Community Pharmacists Association official.

ALPHV is one of the largest groups performing ransomware as a service, splitting extortion money with affiliates that do the actual hacking and then install ALPHVs BlackCat ransomware encryption program. ALPHV then handles the threats and negotiations.

The group has collected more than $300 million this way, hitting such high-profile targets as Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In December, the Justice Department said it and partner nations had hacked ALPHV, recovering hundreds of decryption keys so that victims could get their data back without paying, and some analysts predicted the group would not recover from the internal penetration.

But as the past week has shown, ALPHV was hardly disabled. ALPHV reappeared on another site within days and announced it would exact revenge. It invited its affiliates to break into more sensitive American targets.

These law enforcement-led disruptions are most effective when they are paired with an arrest or identifying information about individuals, said Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at security company CrowdStrike.

Groups open to affiliates are especially resilient unless the trust among the criminals is broken, said Chris Krebs, former head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

If you want permanent, long-lasting impacts, it is going to require taking some of these guys off the playing field, Krebs said. But theres more guys waiting in the wings.
A key codefendant in the bribery case against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded guilty Friday and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, marking a significant break in the Justice Departments latest effort to convict the New Jersey Democrat on corruption charges.

Jose Uribe, a former insurance broker from Union City, told a federal judge in Manhattan that he bought Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, a Mercedes-Benz worth more than $60,000 in 2019 in hopes of convincing the senator to interfere in a pending criminal investigation involving two of his associates.

As part of the deal he struck with prosecutors, Uribe agreed to cooperate fully in the ongoing probe, though it was not immediately clear from court filings whether he will be required to testify against Menendez at his May trial.

Uribes attorney, Daniel J. Fetterman, declined to comment after the unannounced hearing Friday in which his client entered his guilty pleas to counts including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and honest services fraud  the most serious of which now threaten to send him to prison for up to 20 years.

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Lawyers for Menendez  who has denied the bribery allegations and resisted calls for his resignation  also declined to comment on the plea.

Uribe was one of three businessmen charged last fall with plying Menendez and Arslanian with gifts of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and the luxury car in exchange for the senators assistance with their legal and business problems.

 READ MORE: Who is Bob Menendezs wife, Nadine? Who else was charged in the indictment?

Prosecutors have accused Menendez, the former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of using his position to take action that benefited not only the businessmen but also the governments of Egypt and Qatar, where in some cases investigators believe officials were aware of the bribery efforts.

For his part, Uribe admitted Friday that he gave Arslanian $15,000 in cash during a meeting in a restaurant parking lot, which she used the next day as a down payment to purchase a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible.

Shed totaled her previous car in December 2018 after striking and killing a pedestrian in Bogota, N.J.  an incident for which she did not face criminal charges and was never tested for drug or alcohol intoxication.

 READ MORE: Bob Menendezs wife, Nadine Arslanian, fatally hit a man in 2018. N.J. officials are now reportedly investigating.

Uribe continued to make financing payments on Arslanians new car for several months.

At the time, Uribe told the court, he had hoped to convince Menendez to weigh in on an ongoing insurance fraud investigation involving his associates. At the time, Uribe had already been convicted of fraud and had his insurance license revoked.

The deal is to kill and stop all investigation, Uribe wrote in a message to another defendant in 2019, according to the indictment.

Menendez, meanwhile, purportedly pressured a senior official in the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office to resolve those cases favorably for Uribes friends both in phone calls and an in-person meeting. Ultimately though, prosecutors say that effort failed.

One of the charged Uribe associates pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation; the other was never charged.

Regardless of that outcome, Uribe appeared satisfied with the results.

I am a very happy person, he texted Arslanian in 2019, according to the indictment. God bless you and him forever.

Several nights later, they celebrated over a dinner with a champagne toast  an event memorialized in a photo included in court filings.

Lawyers for Menendez have disputed that account and contend that even if the Mercedes could be considered a bribe, the senator had no authority over state prosecutions. They contend that any influence he brought to bear on Uribes behalf cant be considered an official action to support a bribery conviction.

They have asked U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein to dismiss the indictment  a motion on which court has yet to rule.

This latest case comes less than six years after Menendez escaped the threat of conviction in a separate federal bribery probe  one alleging that he accepted lavish gifts, flights on private jets, and campaign support from a Florida eye doctor.

A jury weighing those charges deadlocked in 2017, and the judge later acquitted Menendez of some of the charges before prosecutors opted not to retry the case.

 READ MORE: From gold bars to a pricey car: All the bribes Sen. Bob Menendez has been accused of accepting over the years

Back then, he managed to hold onto his Senate seat. But after a second corruption indictment in less than a decade many former allies  including Gov. Phil Murphy and his Senate colleague, Cory Booker  to withdraw their support.

Menendez has vowed hes not going anywhere and yet the race to succeed him has emerged as one of the most closely watched contests of 2024.

Murphys wife, Tammy, is facing off in a heated Democratic primary fight with U.S. Rep. Andy Kim. Meanwhile, several Republicans have announced their intentions to run for the seat in November.
Firefighters have grown increasingly worried in recent years that "forever chemicals" in their protective gear could be linked to cancer cases across their profession. Read more

Firefighters have long been expected to scale ladders, endure intense heat, and rummage through debris.

Theyve had little sense, though, of what effect those activities might have on the dangerous chemicals that lurk within their protective equipment.

 READ MORE: The Burning Question: Are chemicals in firefighters' protective gear making them sick?

A new government study offers some clues. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that the PFAS-treated textiles in firefighters jackets and pants tend to release more PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, when subjected to wear and tear, or exposed to high temperatures.

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In general, we found that distressing [the fabric] does lead to an increase in the measurable amount of PFAS, said Rick Davis, a materials research engineer in the institutes Fire Research Division.

The so-called forever chemicals have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, liver damage, decreased fertility and immunity, and increased risks of asthma and thyroid disease. PFAS exist in a range of everyday items, from nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets to waterproof clothing and artificial turf.

Cancer is a leading cause of death for firefighters. A National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health study of 30,000 firefighters who worked in Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco between 1950 and 2009 found that firefighters had a 14% higher chance of dying of the disease than the general U.S. population. (The CDC maintains a national registry for understanding and reducing cancer among firefighters.)

As part of its study, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) obtained 21 pieces of fabric that are commonly used in firefighters turnout gear. Researchers identified 51 different PFAS in those samples, using a solvent to extract the chemicals from the material.

The samples were stressed using four techniques: abrasion, heat, laundering and weathering. The weathering was simulated by exposing the textiles to ultraviolet (UV) radiation and high humidity.

NISTs study, which began in 2020, shows that abrasions caused measurements of the total concentration of PFAS in the material to increase by 213%, while exposing the fabric to simulated weathering led to a 177% increase.

The NIST study confirms that our bunker gear  the very gear meant to keep us safe  is full of toxic PFAS chemicals, said Ed Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, a union with 334,000 members in the U.S. and Canada. Corporate interests and even some in the fire service have tried to minimize this danger, but independent scientists, government agencies, and international organizations have all come to the same conclusion: Its critical to reduce firefighter exposure to PFAS.

Davis said researchers expected to find PFAS on fabric thats used in the outer shells of protective jackets and pants. But the chemicals were also found in material thats used for a middle layer, called a moisture barrier, and in a thermal layer  the innermost portion, which can press against firefighters skin.

We didnt think thered be a lot of PFAS in the thermal layer, he said. Theres no reason for that to have any water repellency.

(In 2007, the National Fire Protection Association, an international organization that sets standards for firefighting equipment and training, adopted a guideline that required the moisture barrier to be able to withstand ultraviolent light for 40 hours without degrading. PFAS-treated textiles were the only material that could withstand the test.)

Graham Peaslee, a University of Notre Dame physicist, first determined that firefighters equipment contained PFAS in 2018, after he studied 43 pieces of new and used turnout gear.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) last year introduced legislation that called for the federal government to spend more than $100 million to research and develop PFAS-free turnout gear.

This alarming study proves the urgent action we must take to protect hero firefighters across the country, Fitzpatrick, the cochair of the bipartisan PFAS Task Force, wrote in a statement to The Inquirer.

Congress, he said, needs to do everything it can to require firefighting gear to be free from these dangerous forever chemicals.

 READ MORE: Risky Play: Why parents and coaches of cancer-stricken youth athletes are worried about artificial turf

Paying for getting cancer on the job

Some manufacturers have taken note of the growing opposition to PFAS.

Last spring, during a firefighting conference in Indianapolis, Stedfast, a Canadian-based manufacturer of turnout gear, announced that it had developed a PFAS-free moisture barrier.

Davis said NISTs study did not explore how forever chemicals might move between layers of protective gear.

If PFAS can migrate, then its inside, right next to the firefighter, he said. If it migrates  and maybe it does  should it be of concern for dermal exposure? Thats another question, really.

Mike Bresnan, the president of Philadelphias IAFF Local 22, said NISTs study is further proof that firefighters gear should be replaced more frequently, to make sure our members have the best protection possible.

It just seems like every other week, every other month, another person has got this type of cancer, that type of cancer, he said. So we look for all precautions and protections we could possibly get to protect our members and our families.

 READ MORE: Field of Dread: Six former Phillies died from the same brain cancer. We tested the Vets turf and found dangerous chemicals.

Bresnan hopes Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will address his members concerns about PFAS in their turnout gear. He also wants to know how Parkers administration will treat compensation claims from firefighters who believe they developed cancer from carcinogens that theyd been exposed to on the job.

Local 22 had accused Parkers predecessor, Mayor Jim Kenney  the son of a late Philly firefighter  of denying too many claims. Kenneys administration disputed that characterization.

Pennsylvania amended its Workers Compensation Act in 2011 so that firefighter cancer cases are presumed to be job-related, provided that the firefighters worked in the profession for at least four years and were exposed to a carcinogen. If their compensation claims are approved, firefighters survivors receive heftier pensions and lifetime medical benefits.

Cancer is one of the deadliest battles firefighters are facing, said Kelly, the IAFF president, and there is no doubt PFAS contributes to the high rates of occupational cancer we are seeing in the fire service.
Christopher Richardson of Bucks County faces up to 20 years in prison after creating a fake super PAC during the 2020 election. Read more

A Bucks County man faces up to 20 years in prison for creating a political action committee that falsely claimed it raised and spent millions of dollars during the 2020 election to support Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate.

Christopher Richardson, 37, of Langhorne, pleaded guilty Thursday in a Washington, D.C., federal court to two fraud-related charges for creating a fake super PAC. The PAC filed documents with the Federal Election Commission, claiming to have spent millions of dollars on ads that were never bought and paid for with money raised from people who dont exist.

Richardson will be sentenced on June 13.

Jarrett Colby, a Washington-based attorney representing Richardson, declined to comment.

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Politico in 2020 first identified the phantom super PAC, called Americans for Progressive Action USA, by contacting a number of organizations the PAC said it purchased advertising from. All of the groups said theyd never heard of the PAC and had no records of doing business with it.

In February of this year, prosecutors charged the Lower Bucks County man as the person behind the fake PAC and its made-up transactions, according to court documents.

A Department of Justice news release said that Richardson, in March 2020, used fictional names to create the PAC. He then allegedly submitted a falsified report to the FEC, claiming the PAC raised $4.8 million from three fictional people from Texas, including an American Civil Liberties Union attorney investor that Politico found had no association with the group.

Richardson then falsely reported to the FEC that the PAC had spent $1.5 million on ad and media buys, and after Politicos investigation, claimed the PAC refunded the $4.8 million in nonexistent donations.

Richardson also allegedly used one of the PACs fictional donors names to get a credit card and use it for about 200 transactions, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to making a false entry in a record and device fraud.

Staff writer Jeremy Roebuck contributed to this report.
Serial killer Charles Cullen is led from the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown in March 2006 after receiving six life sentences for murders he committed in Pennsylvania. Read more

In late May, the Pennsylvania attorney general announced that her office had arrested and charged a registered nurse for the murder of two patients and the attempted murder of another at a skilled nursing facility in Western Pennsylvania.

In early November, additional charges against Heather Pressdee were filed. She now faces four counts of first-degree murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, and 19 counts of neglect of a care-dependent person at multiple health-care facilities beginning in 2020.

Pressdee has admitted to giving nearly two dozen patients large doses of insulin, which can kill by causing blood sugar levels to fall. According to state prosecutors, she talked openly about how her elderly patients just needed to die.

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 READ MORE: Pa. nurse who told coworkers that elderly patients just needed to die charged with killing four with insulin overdoses

Reading about this case in the news, I got flashbacks to a similar story from 20 years ago.

In early July 2003, as New Jerseys state epidemiologist in the Department of Health and Senior Services, I was contacted by the executive director of the states poison control center about some suspicious deaths at Somerset Medical Center.

Over the next several months, Pennsylvania and New Jersey state regulatory and law enforcement authorities focused their investigation on a registered nurse, Charles Cullen, working at Somerset. He was arrested in December 2003 and admitted to killing dozens of patients at multiple institutions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In all cases, patients died from overdoses of insulin or other drugs such as digoxin, a heart medication that can also be fatal in high doses.

Since his conviction, Cullen has been serving consecutive life sentences in a New Jersey prison.

There is something especially troubling about instances where health-care professionals  the people we trust with our lives, and the lives of people we love when ill and most vulnerable  betray us.

In perhaps the most troubling aspect of these tragedies, both Cullen and Pressdee were allowed to hop from one facility to another, evading definitive investigation of potential malfeasance. Cullen worked at five other hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and was asked to leave three, in some cases over his handling of lethal medications. In Pressdees case, staff at her previous facilities had also raised concerns about her, specifically around her dosing of patients with insulin.

How did this happen? Why were the mistakes that happened with Cullen repeated with Pressdee?

In 2005, the New Jersey Legislature passed the Health Care Professional Responsibility and Reporting Enhancement Act, termed the Cullen Law, which required health-care entities licensed in the state to report employee professional misconduct, incompetence, or impairment to the Division of Consumer Affairs. This division licenses all health-care professionals in New Jersey.

In addition, employers who are hiring health-care workers must ask their previous employers about any history of disciplinary action. Health-care entities must respond within eight days of receiving such requests and are subject to financial penalties for failing to comply with recording and reporting requirements.

But Pressdee wasnt working in New Jersey. She was in Pennsylvania.

After the Cullen murders, Pennsylvania passed a law in 2005 providing immunity to employers who provide information on current or former employees to prospective employers. This law is not specific to health care, though, and does not require disclosure of poor performance or suspicious behavior.

Pennsylvania also has laws and regulations requiring health-care facilities to report safety concerns to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, or suspicions of inappropriate behavior of licensed professionals to the appropriate licensing board.

But I can find no Pennsylvania law requiring health-care facility-to-facility disclosure, similar to the Cullen Law in New Jersey  even though Cullen murdered at least seven patients in Pennsylvania a quarter century ago.

Why the decades-long delay?

Why the decades-long delay?

The case against Pressdee should be a galvanizing moment for Pennsylvania legislators, illustrating the risks of failing to pass laws and adopt regulations that prevent homicides by health professionals targeting helpless patients.

When we or someone we love is hospitalized or becomes a resident of a skilled nursing facility, there are many things to worry about: treatment/testing errors, falls, deadly infections, and other life-threatening concerns.

Thankfully, the health-care enterprise takes these risks seriously and has done much to reduce the chances they will happen, through regulations and adoption of best practices and policies. But as long as Pennsylvania has no law similar to New Jerseys Cullen Law, patients will remain vulnerable to deliberate criminal acts by health professionals.

Our representatives must take legislative action to make the homicide of patients by health-care workers a never event. They should pass a law similar to the Cullen Law.

Eddy Bresnitz is a physician and former deputy commissioner for public health services in the New Jersey Department of Health, where he was also the states chief epidemiologist. During his tenure in the department, he also served for a time as its representative to the state Board of Medical Examiners. dreddybres@gmail.com
Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a radio interview with WURD Radio host and Inquirer contributing columnist Solomon Jones on Feb. 26, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House complex. Read more

WASHINGTON  On Monday morning, as sunrise spread over the White House complex, I and my WURD Radio colleagues prepared for a daylong broadcast featuring cabinet-level members of the Biden administration, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

As I walked through the complex, I did so knowing that Black Philadelphians will play a key role in determining which candidate claims Pennsylvanias electoral votes in November. I believe the Biden administration knows it, too, as evidenced by its decision to invite the states only Black talk radio station to broadcast live from the nations capital.

We set up in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in a room once occupied by the secretary of war, and I asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Americas role in the Israel-Hamas war. She largely blamed Hamas for over 29,000 Palestinian civilian deaths while citing the Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis. She also spoke of the Biden administrations efforts to stop the bloodshed, and just hours after our interview, the president announced that a cease-fire could be in place as soon as Monday.

But the concerns of the Black community go well beyond overseas conflicts.

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I reminded Harris of that when we spoke, because the first time I saw her in 2020, at a campaign stop in Northwest Philadelphia, she was confronted by a Black man who told her that nothing would change for Black Americans in criminal justice if she and Joe Biden were elected. I asked her if the man was right.

I remember that day very well, she told me. Then she ran through a list of changes the Biden administration has made to address federal policing.

They include banning choke holds, restricting no-knock warrants, and requiring a federal database for police misconduct. She cited an increase in the U.S. Justice Departments investigations of police departments that engage in racially biased policing and tens of thousands of pardons for marijuana possession.

However, federal law enforcement did not kill George Floyd, Eric Garner, Atatiana Jefferson, or any of the many Black people whove died at the hands of police in recent years. I asked the vice president what could be done to make change at the state and federal levels.

She said that as a senator, she was one of the authors of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a comprehensive police reform bill that would impact law enforcement at all levels. The legislation is currently stuck in Congress, but she said there are other tools to change the racial disparities in criminal justice.

This is why elections matter, she said. Not only in terms of who is in the White House. Not only in terms of who is in the United States Congress but statewide offices, local offices. It matters who your [district attorney] is. It matters who your attorney general is  It is in the best interest of everyone that the community can trust law enforcement. It is in the best interest of everyone that we recognize the disparities and then work to fix them. And a lot of the work can come, not only from the advocacy on the outside but who will be on the inside with the power to implement [change] from that position.

This is why elections matter. Vice President Kamala Harris

Of course, there are those trying to make change in other areas, including education. While the Biden administration has forgiven over $138 billion in federal loans, a policy that largely affects Black people (who owe more on average than white loan-holders), efforts to educate African Americans are being targeted by conservatives.

We have to be clear-eyed and awake in terms of what is happening, Harris told me. When youve got so-called elected leaders who are passing laws to erase our history, to suggest that enslaved people benefited from slavery, to ban books in this year of our Lord 2024. When youve got so-called leaders who would erase or overlook the true and full history of America, including the fact that the Civil War was about slavery. When you look at what is happening that has been about deemphasizing  and in many ways an attempt to demote  Black history as Americas history, we have to see it for what it is and understand that in many ways there is an agenda that is afoot, and these are not isolated matters. And we have to take it seriously.

There is much we have to take seriously, not the least of which is the power of our votes.
Former mayoral candidate Jeff Brown is endorsing Sajda "Purple" Blackwell in her race for state representative. Read more

Clout loves hearing from old friends. So it warmed our hearts Wednesday when we ran into Sajda Purple Blackwell, community journalist and candidate for state representative, at Mayor Cherelle L. Parkers address to the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.

Not only did we get to say hello to Blackwell, but she also let us know that former mayoral hopeful Jeff Brown is apparently back in the Philly politics groove. Brown on Friday will be publicly endorsing Blackwells campaign against State Rep. Amen Brown (D., Phila.), she said.

I support Sajda Blackwell for State Representative because I trust her common-sense approach and admire the way she lives her life in service to the community, Jeff Brown said through a spokesperson.

 READ MORE: A rematch is brewing in Rep. Amen Browns West Philly district

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We hadnt heard much from Jeff Brown since his fifth-place finish in last years Democratic primary, which Parker won. (Not much, that is, outside of his legal battle with the Board of Ethics that stemmed from the mayors race.)

Blackwell, who is married to the grandson of the late U.S. Rep. Lucien Blackwell, said she got to know Jeff Brown, a longtime ShopRite proprietor known for his efforts to boost underserved communities, through his work distributing food in West Philly.

He has helped to give away food to hundreds of West Philly neighbors, she said. Hes known me and my work in communities for some time. ... He definitely just wants to see better leadership.

But Clout suspects the grocer had more than one motivation in endorsing her bid to unseat Amen Brown, who finished sixth in the mayors race.

Despite sharing a last name, the Browns did not hit it off on the campaign trail last year, to put it mildly. At one forum, Amen said Jeffs stores in Black and brown Philadelphia neighborhoods were lower quality than those in the suburbs. Jeff suggested Amens nominating petitions to run for mayor were fraudulent. So, yeah.

Communications difficulties

Parkers push to bring all city employees back to in-person work has generated some pushback, as she might have expected. But the mayor probably wasnt expecting criticism to come from a city spokesperson.

Joy Huertas, who worked in former Mayor Jim Kenneys press office and is now a spokesperson for the Rebuild program, outlined her concerns about the policy in a public post on LinkedIn this week.

The citys decision will have significant consequences, including hindering innovation, hurting recruitment and retention, and affecting women in leadership roles who may feel forced to choose between family and work, Huertas wrote. Additionally, families will feel the financial burden of rising daycare costs and decreased work-life balance.

Huertas added that those of us without public facing roles have excelled in our jobs for the past 3-4 years and have the data to back up our results.

Huertas declined to comment on her post. Ditto for the mayors office.

 READ MORE: Mayor Parkers social media crackdown ruffles feathers with librarians

At her chamber address Wednesday, Parker responded to city employees objections to the policy.

Im excited about it. I think its going to help to get Philadelphias economy jump-started and more importantly to enhance the quality of service thats provided to the taxpayers, Parker said. I think its going to increase worker productivity immensely.

Its not the first time in Parkers two-month tenure that city employees have questioned an administration policy. A handful of library branches three weeks ago staged a minor social media uprising against a policy that required city agencies to submit all draft social media posts and media requests to Parkers office.

AG candidates unusual helper

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer has a familiar face working on his campaign for attorney general  until she goes to prison, that is.

Marita Crawford, the former political director for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, has been spotted at several political and county committee events with Stollsteimer. She was sentenced last week to 15 days in prison and ordered to repay nearly $12,000 she stole from the union for personal use as part of the larger embezzlement case centered around former labor leader John J. Dougherty, known as Johnny Doc.

Crawford appears to be helping Stollsteimer lobby for endorsements as the crowded field of five Democrats try to get as much support as they can going into the April primary. Stollsteimer has been able to capture many of the key labor union endorsements thus far, including from the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, which Dougherty used to head, and the Allegheny/Fayette Central Labor Council.

Stollsteimers success with trade unions is unsurprising because he was the first DA in Pennsylvania to prosecute contractors for wage theft  something hes promised to do if elected as the states top prosecutor. But having one of Docs top allies working on your campaign likely doesnt hurt, either.

Stollsteimers campaign said the DA believes in second chances and defended Crawford in a statement, calling her a friend and one of the most talented, effective Democratic strategists in all of Pennsylvania.

[Crawford] has taken responsibility for her actions and has been held accountable, Ken Snyder, a spokesperson for Stollsteimers campaign. Maybe other Democratic candidates would turn their backs on a friend who is trying to get her life back on track, but that aint Jack.

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated Sajda Blackwells relation to the late U.S. Rep. Lucien Blackwell.
State Rep. Kevin Boyle (D., Philadelphia) was the only incumbent Philly state representative facing a primary challenger who didn't receive money from a new PAC supporting the city's delegation to Harrisburg. Read more

Philadelphias Democratic House delegation in Harrisburg cut checks to each of its members facing primary challengers this year  except State Rep. Kevin Boyle.

The Philly delegation last year started its first-ever political action committee, Philly Voice PAC, to help support its members. Down-ballot candidates can struggle to raise money compared to statewide and federal races that pull in millions of dollars, said Rep. Morgan Cephas (D., Philadelphia), who chairs the delegation.

Cephas, who also chairs the PAC and is seen as a likely future candidate for Congress, said the group sent $1,000 checks to each of the viable Democratic members facing primary challengers: Reps. Amen Brown, Malcolm Kenyatta, Regina Young, Rick Krajewski, and Roni Green.

The Philly delegations decision not to support Boyle, who had an outburst at a Montgomery County bar last month, shows his closest colleagues doubt his ability to serve an eighth term and delivers another blow to his reelection campaign. House Democrats need to maintain all 102 of their seats to maintain their one-seat majority next year, and Republicans have been targeting Boyles Northeast Philadelphia district as one they could flip.

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There are some challenges in that race, very difficult challenges, Cephas said. We want to make sure we treat the situation with dignity because we recognize there is a challenge. And we are hoping that hes getting the support that he needs, not just for himself, but for his family, friends and young children.

Boyle has struggled with his mental health, and told constituents in a 2022 letter he had been in psychosis and received treatment. However, after the most recent incident, House leaders said he was seeking help, and Sean Dougherty scrambled to enter the Democratic primary for his seat as Boyles candidacy seemed uncertain. But Boyle also filed petitions to run for reelection.

Cephas and other top House Democrats last month circulated petitions for Dougherty, the nephew of former labor leader John Johnny Doc Dougherty and son of state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty, as leaders scrambled to find another candidate before the filing deadline. Democratic leaders had hoped Boyle would withdraw from the race this week, but he did not do so by Wednesdays deadline to remove candidates names from the April 23 primary ballot.

Boyle, the brother of U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.

The Philly delegation has a long history of working together to represent the citys interests in Harrisburg. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker previously chaired it while she was a state representative. Cephas said she wants to elevate the delegations profile in an effort to combat voter apathy.

We have to change that if we really want to maintain the House and keep Pennsylvania blue, Cephas said. We want to make sure this PAC is investing in members so we can invest back into our Democratic majority.

The PAC has raised approximately $18,000 so far from its first two fundraisers, Cephas added.
The proposed Sixers arena at 10th and Market Streets looking north. A new glass bridge would connect the arena to the adjacent Fashion District mall. Read more

After months of inquiry and debate, the Washington Square West Civic Association has decided not to take a position on the Sixers plan to build an arena in Center City.

In a statement released Thursday night, the civic association noted that its winter opinion survey showed 77% of respondents opposed to the arena and said the outcome, while maybe not fully representative, speaks volumes about the sentiment within our neighborhood.

Still, the statement said, after grappling with the potential positive and negative impacts of an arena and holding multiple discussions among board members, weve decided not to take a position on the proposal at this time.

This decision was not made lightly, the board wrote, and reflects our desire to work collaboratively with all stakeholders to secure the best possible outcomes for our beloved neighborhood.

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Efforts to reach civic association president Tami Sortman for comment have been unsuccessful. The Sixers declined to comment.

Some residents are accusing the board of abandoning its responsibility to the neighborhood. Board member Katie Dillon Low issued a public dissent, calling the failure to take a stand a dereliction of the boards duties.

Our neighbors spoke to us loudly and clearly, but the civic association declined to act because a minority of board members continue to speak over the community voice  to ensure that some invisible group of our neighbors that supposedly supports the project is given equal representation.

The Sixers propaganda operation, or its shills in government or quasi-government, should not be allowed to overtake the lives and livelihoods of regular, working-class Philadelphians, Low said. Just because they say it will be good for us does not mean it is good for us.

She said agreement on the civic association statement was not unanimous.

Washington Square West is one of two big residential communities, with Chinatown, that border the Market East arena site and would be affected by the $1.55 billion project. The association leadership has been criticized for hearing months of presentations, beginning in June, but taking no position on the arena.

On Thursday night and Friday, the association was pelted with criticism on its Instagram page, with one person calling for the group to be disbanded, others describing the leadership as cowardly, and one writing, We hear loud and clear that you dont actually represent us.

In June the civic association heard from Sixers project leaders and from representatives of Comcast Spectacor, the teams landlord at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. Chinatown organizations and POWER Interfaith addressed the association in October. In November, a consultant conducting the citys community-impact study shared her initial findings with the neighborhood, and in early December, the association held an in-person, residents-only discussion on the arena.

It also sent a letter outlining 16 neighborhood concerns to Councilmember Mark Squilla, a key player in the debate whose 1st District includes Wash West and the project site. Philadelphia city officials responded to the queries in writing.

The 18,500-seat arena would stand on the footprint of Market to Filbert and 10th to 11th Streets  between Wash West, home to 16,225, and Chinatown, where about 6,919 live.

The Sixers say the venue would help its surroundings, attracting shoppers and diners, encouraging business development, and increasing foot traffic. New lighting and security staff would make the area safer, they say. The team said in January that it had collected 30,000 signatures from residents and commuters in favor of the arena project.

Chinatown neighborhood surveys show that opposition there tops 90%. Five other groups representing residents and voters in Center City and South Philadelphia came out against the development in October, calling on Squilla to block the project.

Squilla has said those closest to the site, including residents of Wash West, should have the greatest say in what happens there.

The Civic [Association] is reneging on its mission and conceding its responsibility under the false pretense of neighborhood desire to compromise, the activist group No Arena Washington Square West said in a statement Friday. The decision-makers in this process need to understand that the Civic cannot be relied upon to advocate for the true desires of those that live in Wash West.  We will do that work in their stead.

The group previously accused the civic association of a negligence of duty in ignoring the results of the community survey. The January release of those results showed 77.4% opposed and 12.9% in favor, the rest neutral or undecided. A total of 412 people responded.

Sixers arena-project spokesperson Mark Nicastre said at the time that the civic association acknowledged the results constituted a small group, were not reflective of the full community, and did not represent the opinion of the board.
Snow geese flock over farm fields near the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, a stop on their migration north. Read more

Patricia Exley of Valley Forge makes the hour-plus drive to Lancaster County each winter to witness a spectacle she believes everyone should experience  tens of thousands of snow geese that stop at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area during their migration north.

The experience was beautiful, Exley said of her trip there on Sunday. To think that so many of one species has agreed on something, anything, to stop here, and that we are lucky enough to be included in this moment. All of it is beautiful, the geese as well as the many people who are gasping in wonder as they take it in.

Exley, a Realtor for Berkshire Hathaway, who posted video of the scene on Facebook, is one of tens of thousands of people who visit Middle Creek each year to see the spectacle or visit the Pennsylvania Game Commissions live webcam.

But the peak number of snow geese arriving at Middle Creeks lake has dropped precipitously in the five-year period from 2018 through 2023, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission records, raising the question: Why?

Peak numbers on the decline

Up to 62,000 snow geese, the peak number so far this year, were counted Tuesday at the lake and ponds of Middle Creek, which is set in a valley of rolling hills and fields spread over 6,000 acres. Staff at Middle Creek count the geese twice a week, so its always possible a lot more, or a lot fewer, birds were present on the other days.

Though still a sizable number, Tuesdays number was far below the record peak of nearly 200,000 that arrived during a count in 2018. Ever since, theres been a steady decline in peak numbers. Of course, the migration season isnt over and larger numbers of snow geese could arrive in coming weeks.

Climate a factor

Lauren Ferreri, biological manager at Middle Creek, said in an interview in February that there is no threat to the overall number of snow geese, which are abundant in the U.S. And, she said, the number of birds that travel to the lake fluctuates yearly for multiple reasons.

Their numbers are subject to pretty rapid change, Ferreri said. So I could report 15,000 one day, and then the next day, we could have 70,000.

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She said the populations are given to peaks and lulls that play out over years. However, climate change, she said, is likely a factor.

The birds migratory treks can take them 3,000 kilometers, or about 1,864 miles, as they seek to breed in the arctic and subarctic regions of North America in spring, then migrate south in the fall to spend the winter in inland and coastal areas, including Pennsylvania.

But warmer winters and less snow north of Pennsylvania mean the birds can travel closer to their ultimate destination rather than lounging in Pennsylvania waiting for a thaw.

If you look at a snow coverage map northward, New York has very low snow coverage compared to normal, and the northern parts of the Finger Lakes are open, Ferreri said. So the birds that usually would stage at Middle Creek and wait for that snow cover to fade dont have to wait anymore. They can keep going.

Data show, for example, that the Finger Lakes region is warming, making it more inviting for birds to arrive earlier in the past.

Since 1893, five of the top 10 warmest winters in Ithaca, which lies at the base of Cayuga Lake, have occurred since 2000, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Regional Climate Centers. The current 2023-24 meteorological winter consisting of December, January and February is on track to end as fourth warmest at Ithaca.

Jessica Spaccio, a climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center based at Cornell University, which is in Ithaca, sent The Inquirer data showing that the number of days with snow cover has declined there since the 1970s. Its the same in other New York communities like Syracuse, Aurora, and Elmira, the data show.

Winter temperatures have been increasing in New York, particularly when looking at the last 50 years, Spaccio said. There is year to year variability, with cold winters still occurring, but the trend is clearly warming. Temperatures can still be cold enough for snow, but we are seeing more warm-ups, causing the snow cover to melt or reduce between snow events. These trends are expected to continue as we continue to live in a warming world.

Spreading out

Snow geese, with their black wing tips and pink beaks and feet, are among the most abundant water fowl species in the world and are widely hunted as game.

The greater snow geese that stop at Middle Creek can weigh up to seven pounds. And, as the name suggests, the greater snow goose is bigger than the lesser snow goose, which are not present at Middle Creek.

The greater snow goose can fly at speeds of 50 mph in flocks of more than 1,000. It mates for life and travels with its family. Armed with serrated beaks, snow geese are voracious feeders, ever in search of food. They start their migration moving north along whats known as the Atlantic Flyway as ground cover and lake ice allows.

Ferreri explained that the birds are driven by their search for food and open water. So they flock to the 400-acre lake at Middle Creek when its not frozen and when there is not a lot of snow covering surrounding farmland or wetlands where they can feed on roots, plants and shoots.

The amount of open water and snow cover can strongly affect Middle Creeks appeal for migrating snow geese in a given year. During extreme winters, they may bypass or stop only briefly at Middle Creek, as they fan out to other areas in search of food.

Likewise, warmer winters can have them heading north earlier. The trend is toward earlier springs in the Arctic, likely bringing more snow geese there sooner.

Agriculture practices also can scatter them away from Middle Creek, Ferreri said. For example, farmers planting winter wheat or other crops elsewhere can be a lure, because the birds can feed on surplus grain at industrial agricultural sites.

So predicting when, or how many, snow geese will arrive each year is difficult. They begin arriving at Middle Creek in early February as a migratory stop that can last through mid-March. Indeed, the peak for 2019 occurred on March 12 when 150,000 birds arrived.

At the end of the day, its difficult to tell what the peaks will be, and when they will be, Ferreri said. Every year is different. "
AXIS Capital has announced that W. Marston Becker will be taking over as non-executive chair of the companys board of directors from Henry B. Smith in May. Smith, who has helmed the board since 2020, will step down from his role but will remain an active board member.
We maintain a commitment to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment which promotes and enables gender-equality across our workforce. Our 2022-2023 gender pay gap is an important measure and tells us we have more to do to address this gap, she said. We recognise that the gender pay gap is driven by a range of factors that cannot be addressed with salary adjustments alone; it requires a multi-faceted approach and a sustained commitment to change.
I am very proud of everything the teams have achieved in 2023, and I am grateful for all their work during another transformational year. We will continue to work hard executing our strategy in 2024, Friese said. Our strong commercial performance, together with the important steps we took to realign our company, have given us a solid foundation on which to sustainably grow our dividend per share. We also look forward to presenting the strategy for our UK business in more depth during a teach-in session on June 25 this year.
The sale of Connected Risk Solutions to Amwins also aligns with BRPs strategic goal to concentrate on its core retail and managing general agent (MGA) insurance businesses while streamlining operations. Baldwin praised the contributions of the Connected Risk Solutions team to the companys clients and its growth, viewing the acquisition as a positive development for BRP, Amwins, and the team members involved.
New Yorks highest court has put contractors and property owners on notice that they are responsible for slippery surfaces caused by substances that might be very different than the substances they typically worry about as creating a slip and fall hazard.

In a recent ruling involving a fall caused by a plastic covering placed over an escalator to protect it from paint drippings, the Court of Appeals pointed out that the foreign substance does not have to be of the same type as ice, snow, water and grease that are specifically cited in the Industrial Code, but may encompass a substance that is foreign to the work being done and that has a similar slippery effect as ice, snow, water or grease.

The relevant section of New Yorks Industrial Code states: Employers shall not suffer or permit any employee to use a floor, passageway, walkway, scaffold, platform or other elevated working surface which is in a slippery condition. Ice, snow, water, grease and any other foreign substance which may cause slippery footing shall be removed, sanded or covered to provide safe footing.

Plaintiffs Srecko Bazdaric and his spouse sued for damages after he suffered disabling injuries at a renovation project worksite when he slipped on a plastic covering on an escalator in an area he was assigned to paint. The injuries left him unable to work. The couple alleged, among other things, violations of Labor Law under various sections of the Industrial Code against the owners of the premises where the injury occurred and the general contractor that hired the subcontractor that employed Bazdaric as a painter on the project.

The owners and general contractor defendants sought to dismiss the Labor Law cause of action, arguing that the plastic covering was integral to the work. They also argued that Bazdaric was at fault, relying on an affidavit from the foreman that Bazdaric placed and used the plastic covering even though canvas drop cloths were available, a characterization of the events Bazdaric denied. Bazdaric said he had in fact complained about the plastic being unsafe but was told to work on it anyway.

A state Supreme Court granted the Bazdarics summary judgment on the Labor Law cause of action but then a divided Appellate Division reversed and granted the defendants summary judgment, dismissing the Labor Law cause of action. The court majority concluded that the plastic covering was not a foreign substance under the code because it was not similar in nature to the foreign substances listed in the regulation, i.e., ice, snow, water, or grease. The majority also concluded that the Bazdarics claim was barred because the plastic covering was integral to the work.

The Court of Appeals heard the Bazdarics appeal and reversed the Appellate Division. The high court found the general contractor violated the Industrial Code and was thus liable under the states Labor Law for Bazdarics injuries.

The Court of Appeals explained that the plastic covering qualified as a foreign substance since it was not integral to either the escalator or to the painting contractors work or work area and because there were safer alternatives such as drop cloths that could have been used to cover the escalator.

Bazdaric asserted that the contractors own superintendent acknowledged that the plastic was the wrong type of covering for the escalator steps and had he seen it before the fall, he would have replaced it with a safer covering. The superintendent also admitted that drop cloths were in use at this site, and that in his experience drop cloths are less slippery than plastic. After the painters fall, the superintendent directed that the plastic covering be removed, and it was removed right away and wasnt used anymore.

The Court of Appeals emphasized that the Industrial Code should be sensibly interpreted and applied to effectuate its purpose of protecting construction laborers against hazards in the workplace.

The court noted that the catchall reference to other foreign substance includes those substances that share a quality common to ice, snow, water and grease in that they are slippery. The plastic covering qualifies as it made the work area slippery.

The court said the plastic covering was foreign because it was not a component of the escalator and was not necessary to the escalators functionality. Quite the opposite, as it would have been impossible to operate the escalator if covered with plastic. Therefore, it was, by definition a substance foreign to the escalator, the court said.

The high court also dismissed the argument that the plastic covering was integral to the work. Here, the court noted, the dangerous condition was not integral to the work but was actually created by the contractor using a covering that was inherently slippery and was not integral, especially given that safer alternatives were available. A contrary holding would absolve employers of liability for using any means of accomplishing a task, even if it is the most dangerous, the opinion states.

The opinion, written by Judge Jenny Rivera, concluded that the Bazdarics are entitled to summary judgment as to liability on their Labor Law cause of action for workplace injuries because they established that the covering was a slipping hazard that the defendants failed to remove in violation of Industrial Code.

Topics New York
A Delaware woman will serve 5 to 10 years in state prison for a workers compensation scam that spanned 2.5 years, two states, and cost a Pennsylvania employer more than $170,000, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry.

Victoria Newell-Brown, who used the alias Victoria Stephens in the scam, pleaded guilty in October to 10 felonies regarding claims she made over injuries she reportedly sustained while working at a Family Dollar store in Philadelphia and a restaurant in Delaware.

On February 26, a Delaware County Judge sentenced Newell-Brown, 56, to the prison term and ordered her to pay $170,655 in restitution.

Newell-Brown claimed that in 2019 she was hurt from a fall while working at the Family Dollar store. She claimed she was totally disabled from the fall, so Family Dollar paid medical expenses, as well as workers compensation and wage-loss benefits for $1,500 every two weeks. Newell-Brown received that payment for more than two years.

In August 2019, Newell-Brown took a job at a Delaware restaurant, using a different Social Security number and the Victoria Stephens alias, so her claims in Pennsylvania would not be discovered. Two months later, she reported she was hurt  claiming the same injuries sustained in Pennsylvania  from a fall at the restaurant. The restaurants insurer paid disability wage-loss benefits, and Newell-Brown received payments from both states until 2021.

In order to maintain her scheme, prosecutors said Newell-Brown repeatedly lied to her employer, health care providers, judges, and others about her health, work history, medical history, and disability claim history.

According to the attorney generals investigation, Newell-Brown received more than $97,000 in workers compensation and wage-loss benefits, with her employer also paying over $5,600 of her medical expenses. Her employer also paid an additional $70,000 in legal costs challenging her claims.

At sentencing, the attorney generals office pointed to Newell-Browns history of criminal convictions, which the office said dates back to the 1980s and involves a dozen prior convictions, most felonies.

Topics Workers' Compensation Pennsylvania Delaware
Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown reported that his Opioids Enforcement Unit has finalized settlements with Teva, Allergan, Walmart, and Walgreens, after multi-year investigations of these opioids-makers or chain pharmacies involvement in the opioid crisis in the state.

The settlements are expected to provide a total of $238 million to the state. The amounts per company are Teva, $70 million; Allergan, $38 million; Walmart, $55 million and Walgreens, $75 million.

The settlements also force these companies to stop engaging in practices that gave rise to the opioid crisis and take steps to prevent further illegal conduct.

All revenue received by the state will be placed in the Maryland Opioid Restitution Fund. Attorney General Brown said the money will help support recovery efforts in Maryland and prevent future loss where we need it most.

According to court documents filed in the Circuit Court for Frederick County, Teva marketed and sold extremely dangerous and addictive rapid-onset fentanyl products, including Actiq, a fentanyl lozenge that resembles a lollipop, and Fentora, a fentanyl tablet. Actiq and Fentora were appropriate and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only for extreme cancer pain. But Teva falsely claimed that the drugs were safe and appropriate for non-cancer conditions and funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to at least 16 Maryland prescribers through a bogus speaker bureau, according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that these kickbacks encouraged these prescribers to prescribe Actiq and Fentora to consumers, most of whom did not have cancer and should not have taken Actiq or Fentora.

A former sales representative who provided sworn testimony stated that Tevas sales employees understood that these prescribers would prescribe fentanyl inappropriately if paid to do so. Another representative testified that Teva paid thousands of dollars in speaker fees, meals, and drinks to three prescribers who generally did not treat cancer patients; they treated chronic non-cancer pain. According to the complaint, at Tevas direction, sales representatives also helped provide deceptive information to prescription plans to secure inappropriate coverage of the problematic prescriptions.

The complaint against Allergan charges that Allergan misled prescribers and patients about the relative safety of its extended-release morphine product, Kadian. Allergan sold Kadian by deceptively representing that Kadian was safer than other opioids. It also misled prescribers about the nature of addiction, claiming that addicted patients who were exhibiting signs of addiction were not really addicted but simply required more medicine to relieve their pain.

The complaints against Walmart and Walgreens allege they put inappropriate pressures on pharmacists and other pharmacy employees to fill prescriptions despite red flags that showed the prescriptions might be unsafe. According to the complaints, this led to Walmarts 62 and Walgreens 186 stores in Maryland filling opioid prescriptions that were inappropriate and unsafe, creating or contributing to the addiction and ultimate death of many Marylanders.

Marylands settlements are part of a broader collaborative effort with other states in which it and many Maryland subdivisions took part.

Topics Maryland
Climate change is particularly perilous for small farmers. Warmer conditions are resulting in more damaging bouts of rain and drought, but traditional crop insurance products are often unavailable or financially out of reach.

In Africa, 99% of smallholder farmers are not insured against natural catastrophes. Floods were responsible for roughly 12% of food insecurity in Africa between 2009 and 2020, according to recent research.

To help this population, Floodbase, a New York-based public benefit corporation that specializes in satellite flood tracking, announced Thursday that it and partner organizations will offer parametric flood insurance to small farmers in Malawi and Mozambique by the start of the rainy season this winter.

Its partners include African Risk Capacity, Global Parametrics and the US Agency for International Development, which has awarded the project a two-year grant of $450,000. That grant money was matched by private capital at a 5-to-1 ratio, Floodbase says.

Read More: A Climate Startup Aims to Narrow the Flood-Protection Gap With Data

We need to catalyze private finance because it is an all-hands-on-deck situation, said Lindsey Doyle, USAID director of the Presidents Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE). The Biden administration launched the PREPARE initiative to spur investment in private-market solutions for developing nations facing the rising ravages of climate change.

Parametric insurance, a niche but fast-growing form of indemnity, works differently from conventional insurance. Its essentially a bet. Both parties agree to a trigger point  say, 3 inches of rain in an hour, at a specific location. If it rains 2.9 inches, there is no payout. But if the line is crossed, a full payout of a predetermined amount occurs rapidly. There is no loss adjustment process. Fast reimbursement can be critical for families trying to recover from a disaster, helping them avoid dislocation and hunger.

Scarce data has hampered efforts to expand insurance in this part of the world, but Floodbase uses satellite data to make accurate flood predictions and create real-time flood maps, which facilitates insurance planning and enables timely payouts. Data is no longer a problem, said Bessie Schwarz, the co-founder and chief executive officer of the company, which last year announced a $12 million Series A fundraise led by Lowercarbon Capital.

The startup has modeled its approach against 2019s Cyclone Idai, which made landfall in southern Africa and caused $700 million or more in economic losses. It estimates that if a parametric insurance product had been in place at the time, more than 10,000 farmers would have been eligible for a cash payout within days of the event.

Floodbase says it has the financial capacity to reach about 20,000 farmers in the two countries, assuming premiums of less than $10, with payouts limited to $100 (about one-fifth the average annual income in Mozambique). Its using the first year of grant money with its partners to design the program to be accessible and affordable without government subsidies, so it will be more sustainable in the long term. The final size of the program will largely depend on the price the partners ultimately decide they can charge.

Getting poor farmers to buy in at even a nominal fee may be challenging, so Floodbase is also doing outreach on the benefits of insurance to farmers and to surrounding communities, which can be adversely affected.

Ideally, the program will be a blueprint to expand parametric insurance across Africa, Schwarz says: We are dedicated to closing the insurance gap in Africa and scaling our approach as broadly as possible.

Photograph: Storm damage from Cyclone Fredy in Chimwankhunda, Malawi, last year. Photo credit: Amos Gumulira/Getty Images

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

Topics InsurTech Flood Tech
Taiwans military said hackers sold data stolen from the islands biggest telecom company on the internet, the latest challenge to the democratically run islands cybersecurity.

The leaked documents that related to the military didnt contain confidential information, the Defense Ministry in Taipei said Thursday in response to a query from Bloomberg News. Broadcaster TVBS reported earlier that hackers took sensitive information from Chunghwa Telecom Co. and Taiwanese national security units.

Neither the report nor the Defense Ministry statement said where the hackers were based or who they are.

The initial analysis of this case is that hackers obtained Chunghwa Telecoms sensitive information and sold it on the dark web, including documents from the army, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coast Guard Administration and other units, the Defense Ministry said. It added that the leak included a contract between the Navy and Chunghwa Telecom.

Taiwan officials have warned in the past that government agencies and companies are the targets of tens of millions of cyberattack attempts each month from China, which claims the island as part of its territory and has vowed to bring it under control someday.

Cybersecurity experts at Alphabet Inc.s Google warned last year that China was responsible for a massive increase in cyberattacks on Taiwan. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen also said at the time that the island is facing mounting military intimidation, gray-zone campaigns, cyberattacks and information manipulation.

In its story late Wednesday, TVBS included a screenshot of an offer by hackers to sell the information. The screenshot indicated the hackers wanted to offload 1.7 terabytes of internal documents from Chunghwa Telecom, and the data contained contracts the company signed with entities including the government. The report didnt say how much money the hackers wanted.

Chunghwa Telecom said in an exchange filing that it has started probing a suspected data leak and reported the case to the government. It added that the incident has had no major impact on its operations, and it will continue strengthening cybersecurity controls.

The firms shares fell 0.4% on Thursday, trimming their gain for the year to 0.4%.

The Digital Ministry in Taipei didnt respond to a request for comment.

Photograph: Two UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and an assault amphibious vehicles on Bali beach during the Han Kuang military exercise in New Taipei City, Taiwan, on Thursday, July 27, 2023. Photo credit: I-Hwa Cheng/Bloomberg

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber
The UK has become a hotbed for mergers and acquisitions this year as dealmakers hunt for bargains in the countrys underperforming stock market.

Direct Line Insurance Group Plc and electronics retailer Currys Plc both rejected bids from overseas buyers this week, while UK warehouse operator Wincanton Plc got an offer from a US logistics provider, kicking off a bidding war with its French suitor.

The spate of offers comes as London equities trade around 40% cheaper than global peers on a key M&A valuation measure, the multiple of enterprise value to earnings. That metric has been on a downward trend since the Brexit vote almost eight years ago. An ailing pound and modest state protections against foreign takeovers also make UK firms more attractive to overseas buyers.

There are still a lot of good quality companies, many with strong non-UK revenue streams, which make them attractive on a valuation discount basis for buyers who can pick them up relatively cheaply, said Mark Taylor, a director at UK broker Panmure Gordon. These can be bite-sized deals for some of the larger internationals.

In a reflection of the sinking valuations, offers are coming in at high premiums  and many have been rejected.

Direct Line Rejects Unattractive 3.1 Billion Bid From Ageas

Direct Line said a cash-and-stock bid from Belgian insurer Ageas which valued the UK firm at approximately 3.1 billion ($3.9 billion), or a more than 40% premium, was unattractive. And Currys said a sweetened offer from Elliott Investment Management still significantly undervalued the company, which has also drawn interest from Chinas JD.com Inc.

The scale of the premiums being offered highlights the low valuation of UK assets, said Charles Hall, head of research at broker Peel Hunt. There has been a marked shift to corporate buyers as well as a number of overseas acquirors.

Wincanton said Friday its board will recommend the offer from GXO Logistics Inc. of the US, which has outbid rival suitor CMA CGM.

Activity is also picking up between companies listed on the London exchange, especially in beaten-down sectors like real estate and building products, where consolidation can help companies cut costs and gain scale.

LondonMetric Property Plc agreed in January to take over rival UK landlord LXI REIT Plc in a deal valuing the company at 1.9 billion. And Barratt Developments Plc struck an agreement in February to buy rival Redrow Plc, a combination that would create the UKs biggest homebuilder.

Overall, buyers both foreign and domestic have announced $22.2 billion of acquisitions of UK targets this year, more than double the amount in the same period of 2023.

To be sure, most of the interest from overseas bidders is still for smaller companies. Deal activity among FTSE 100 firms remains moribund, held back by heightened borrowing costs and concerns about the economic situation in the country. Those factors meant that acquisitions of UK companies by foreign buyers slumped to about $70 billion last year, the lowest since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Photograph: Newly constructed buildings in Hudson Yards in Manhattan, a new neighborhood with many luxury residences and office spaces on April 20, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits
Last year was the safest ever for commercial flying by a number of measures, the airline industrys global lobby said, with no fatal accidents involving passenger jets in 37.7 million flights.

No hull losses to passenger jets were recorded either, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday in its 2023 Annual Safety Report for global aviation. By comparison, there was one fatal jet accident in 2022. Overall, the rate of accidents fell to one per every 1.26 million flights last year, the lowest in more than a decade.

IATAs annual safety report follows a rocky start to 2024, which has seen serious aircraft incidents in Japan and the US. A runway collision on Jan. 2 between an Airbus SE A350 operated by Japan Airlines Co. and a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 at Haneda airport killed five crew on the coast guard plane. A few days later, a panel on one of Alaska Airlines Boeing Co. 737 Max 9 blew off shortly after takeoff, though there were no fatalities in that incident.

Two high profile accidents in the first month of 2024 show that, even if flying is among the safest activities a person can do, there is always room to improve, Willie Walsh, IATAs Director General, said in a statement.

Risks were higher for passengers on turboprop aircraft than on commercial jetliners last year. Even there, there was only one fatal accident  a propeller aircraft went down in Nepal, killing 72 people. The overall number of flight movements, including all passenger aircraft, increased from 32.2 million in 2022.

Photograph: A passenger aircraft flies from Frankfurt Airport in Germany. Photo credit: Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg

Related:

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.
CHICAGO (AP)  The sisters of a man fatally shot in his home this month by suburban Chicago police filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the officers and their department, alleging wrongful death and other counts.

Kyenna McConico and Kennetha Barnes, sisters of Isaac Goodlow III, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago against the Carol Stream Police Department and officers identified as John Does 1-6. The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

Messages seeking comment on the lawsuit were left Wednesday morning with the police department and Chief Donald Cummings.

Officers responding to a domestic violence call fatally shot Goodlow, 30, around 4:15 a.m. Feb. 3 in his home in the Villagebrook Apartments in Carol Stream.

At the time, the police department said on its Facebook page that officers encountered a tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving situation, which resulted in officers discharging their weapons at the alleged domestic violence suspect.

The sisters attorney, Andrew M. Stroth, said Goodlow was alone and in bed when officers, without identifying themselves, bust open his bedroom door and shot him.

Isaac Goodlaw was shot directly in his heart, Stroth said in a telephone interview.

Goodlow and his girlfriend had a dispute earlier in the evening, but she had left the home by the time officers arrived, Stroth said.

Stroth said he and Goodlows sisters have viewed police body camera footage of the episode, which he called an unlawful, unjustified shooting.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Law Enforcement
Bankrupt drugmaker Endo International will pay up to $465 million to settle the federal governments law enforcement, tax, and healthcare cost claims, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday.

The settlement removes Endos largest obstacle to completing its plan to sell assets to its lenders in bankruptcy. Endo will ask a U.S. bankruptcy judge to approve the sale and allow the company to emerge from bankruptcy at a March 19 court hearing, the DOJ added.

Endo filed for bankruptcy in August 2022 to address its $8 billion debt and thousands of lawsuits over its alleged role in the U.S. opioid epidemic. As part of its bankruptcy restructuring, the company has agreed to pay about $600 million in settlements to states and people afflicted by the opioid crisis and to stop promoting opioids to prescribers.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said on Thursday that bankruptcy is not a free pass to evade responsibility for criminal misconduct, civil fraud, or taxes.

The DOJ settlement ensures that Endo takes responsibility for its past misconduct, and it preserves Endos previous agreements to fund state and local opioid addiction treatment programs and make payments to individuals harmed by the opioid epidemic, Williams said.

Endo has agreed to pay the government $364.9 million over 10 years, plus a contingent payment of up to $100 million, depending on how well its business performs after its exit from bankruptcy. The settlement allows Endo to opt for a lower, one-time payment of $200 million immediately upon its exit from bankruptcy.

The settlement, which Endo previewed in a November court filing, resolves over $7 billion in claims that the DOJ had asserted against Endo for purported tax debts, a DOJ criminal investigation into its opioid marketing, and the federal governments possible overpayment for Endo medications.

Endo subsidiary Endo Health Solutions Inc (EHSI) also agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor over its past marketing of the opioid drug Opana ER. EHSI, which stopped selling Opana ER in 2017, will plead guilty to violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) by selling misbranded drugs.

Nearly 645,000 people died from opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2021, and preliminary data shows that overdose deaths remained high in 2022 and 2023, statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed.

States, local governments, hospitals and individuals have filed thousands of lawsuits against companies that allegedly contributed to the opioid crisis, resulting in more than $50 billion in settlements with drugmakers, distributors and pharmacy chains.

Topics USA
Marsh McLennan, headquartered in New York, appointed David Liston as U.S. and Canada chief commercial officer (CCO) effective immediately.

Liston previously served as Marsh U.S. and Canada corporate segment leader, and recently had an expanded role across Marsh and Mercer, driving mid-market offerings for the region. His appointment follows the transition of Susan Potter to the role of president, Mercer U.S. and Canada, earlier this year.

Liston will report to Pat Tomlinson, Marsh McLennan US and Canada CEO and president of Mercer, and Hans van Heukelum, Marsh McLennan global CCO. He will collaborate with Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter, and Oliver Wyman leaders to foster collaboration and innovation at the intersection of the businesses, maximize client impact, and enhance business growth in the US and Canada.

Liston, who has been with Marsh for over 30 years, previously served as the U.S. sales and marketing leader, and prior to that was responsible for the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut region. His extensive experience includes serving as the New York office head and the Seattle office head for Marsh. He spent a decade in Florida, specializing in production and client executive roles. He will continue to be based in New York.

Topics USA New York Commercial Lines Canada
A year after recording the largest underwriting loss in the companys 100-year history, State Farm eclipsed it in 2023.

The underwriting loss figure climbed to $14 billion for 2023, with a nearly $5 billion underwriting loss for property lines outpacing almost $4 billion of improvement in State Farms auto results.

Related: State Farm P/C Businesses Report $13B Underwriting Loss in 2022

In 2023, State Farm property and casualty insurance companies experienced growth in policies while also reporting underwriting losses due to continued elevated claims severity and significant catastrophe activity, for both the auto and homeowners insurance companies, the company said in a media statement.

While we improved overall auto lines profitability in 2023, our results remain below the level we expect and were taking a state-specific approach as we operate, said Senior Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer Mark Schwamberger, who also highlighted the responses of State Farm claims and operations team members, along with the State Farm independent contractor agents, to the widespread catastrophe losses that dented results.

By the numbers, the auto companies recorded earned premium of $56.1 billion, up 23% from 2022. Incurred claims and loss adjustment expenses were $53.4 billion in 2023 and other underwriting expenses totaled $12.4 billion, bringing the underwriting loss figure to $9.7 billion for the yeardown from $13.4 billion in 2022.

Other P/C lineshomeowners, commercial multiple peril and other linesgenerated an underwriting loss $4.7 billion in 2023, compared to an underwriting gain of $849 million in 2022.

Even though State Farm recorded $2.9 billion more earned premiums on its books for the non-auto property lines in 2023, translating to a growth rate of 10.5%, incurred losses grew by $8 billion, or 40% above the total incurred for these lines in 2022.

While the homeowners and CMP lines represent only 35% of the P/C companies combined net written premium, that damage was enough to impact the overall underwriting result for the whole company.

In total, State Farm said that this P/C group of companies reported a combined underwriting loss of $14.1 billion on earned premium of $87.6 billion. The 2023 underwriting loss, combined with investment and other income of $5.6 billion, resulted in a P/C pre-tax operating loss of $8.5 billion, compared to a $8.3 billion loss reported in 2022 and the $313 million operating loss in 2021.

Total revenue, which includes premium revenue, earned investment income and realized capital gains and losses was $104.2 billion for 2023, up 16.7% from $89.3 billion for 2022. On the bottom line, the investment gains helped State Farm to report a lower net loss in 2023 than in 2022$6.3 billion vs. $6.7 billion.

Auto Improvement vs. Competitors

Focusing on just State Farms personal auto results, State Farms nearly 10.7-point improvement in its loss and loss adjustment ratio was larger than competitors Progressive and Allstate. Another large competitor, GEICO, recorded a 12.1-point improvement.

All four carriers reported improved underwriting results, but State Farms personal auto loss and LAE ratio, at 95.2, remains higher than the auto combined ratios of Progressive and GEICO. (The combined ratios include underwriting expenses).

According to figures compiled by Carrier Management from financial reports of all four carriers, State Farm reported the most growth in auto earned premiums in 2023, with its 22.8% growth rate just edging out Progressives 22 percent jump in earned premiums.

Still Strong

The State Farm media statement about the financial results stressed the financial strength of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company in spite of unfavorable operating results. The net worth for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company ended the year at $134.8 billion compared to $131.2 billion at year-end 2022. The change during 2023 includes an increase in the value of the P/C companies unaffiliated stock portfolio, driven by increases in the U.S. equities market, partially offset by the P/C group of companies pre-tax operating loss, the statement said.

According to the statement, the State Farm life insurance companies paid out more than $725 million in dividends to policyholders, and issued a record $118 billion in new policy volume bringing the year-end 2022 individual life insurance in force to $1.1 trillion.

The two life companies, State Farm Life Insurance Company and State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company, reported premium income of $6.5 billion and net income for 2023 was $1.2 billion.

The State Farm insurance operations consist of 14 P/C companies and two life insurers, each of which is managed on an individual affiliate level. In addition auto, homeowners and CMP, the P/C companies are also engaged in health and reinsurance lines of business. The life companies are primarily engaged in individual life insurance and annuity business.

In addition, State Farm group makes third-party products, such as annuities, banking, health, mutual funds and pet medical insurance.

Topics Profit Loss Underwriting
A dispute between an insurer and a yacht owner went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court with a decision recentlythe first of its kind on marine insurance in about 70 yearsto clarify federal maritime law and state insurance law.

Last month the highest court released a unanimous opinion that choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts, governed by federal maritime law, are enforceable over state law. Maritime contracts include marine insurance policies.

The case at hand, Great Lakes Insurance v. Raiders Retreat Realty, goes back to 2019 when a yacht ran aground in Florida, sustaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. Munich Res Great Lakes denied the claim and sued Raiders Retreat in Pennsylvania federal court after an investigation found that fire extinguishers on the boat did not meet required standards. Raiders Retreat then countersued, alleging breach of contract under Pennsylvanias Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. The insurer won in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvaniafinding that federal choice-of-law provisions in the policy could be enforced.

Raiders appealed and, while the U.S. Court of Appeals recognized choice-of-law provisions in maritime contracts, it sent the case back to the district court to consider whether applying New York law would violate Pennsylvanias policy regarding insurance. Insurers typical include choice-of-law provisions in contracts and declare that New York law applies when there is no federal precedent.

The American Institute of Marine Underwriters said the Supreme Courts decision clarified the insurers choice-of-law clause in a policy and said it cannot be disregarded due to another states laws. There are narrow exceptions but none applied to this case, the court said.

The ruling adheres to the principles of uniformity and certainty in maritime law, the AIMU said. Great Lakes was represented by AIMU member The Goldman Maritime Law Group and an amicus brief, cited several times in the opinion delivered by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, was written by member Wiggin and Dana on behalf of AIMU.

As well stated in the courts opinion, this decision will enable marine insurers to better assess risk, said John Miklus, president of AIMU, in a statement. By enforcing an insurance policys choice-of-law provisions in jurisdictions that are well developed, known, and regarded, the court recognizes that insurers can lower the price and expand the availability of marine insurance.

Kavanaugh wrote that the presumption of enforceability of the provisions facilitates maritime commerce by reducing uncertainty and lowering costs for maritime actors.

Maritime commerce traverses interstate and international boundaries, so when a maritime accident or dispute occurs, time-consuming and difficult questions can arise about while law governs, he continued. By identifying the governing law in advance, choice-of-law provisions allow parties to avoid later disputesas well as ensuing litigation and it attendant costs.

Pamela A. Palmer of the Clark Hill law firm said the high court opinion will help to eliminate any confusion in the industry that marine insurance contracts are somehow different than or held to a different standard than general maritime contracts.

What strikes me in the decision is the courts acknowledgment that choice-of-law provisions are important to reduce uncertainty and to lower costs for maritime entities but, more importantly in the context of marine insurers, knowing what law applies enables marine insurers to better assess risk and to price policies, Palmer said. This is a huge consideration for the marine insurance industry and had the court held otherwise the price and availability of insurance would be severely impactedconsiderations that ironically would have harmed policyholders in the long run despite what would have felt like a short-term policyholder win in this case.

Onlookers also waited to see if the Supreme Court would address a 1955 decision in Wilburn Boat Co. v. Firemans Insurance Co., another maritime insurance case in which the court ruled a court could apply state law if there is no established maritime law. However, Kavanaugh concluded Wilburn Boat did not need to be considered because it did not involve choice-of-law provisions.

While it would have been an additional victory for proponents of maritime uniformity for the court to have overruled Wilburn Boat, Justice Kavanaugh did not take that additional step, wrote Charlie McCammon, president of marine risk consulting, in a blog for WTW.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote separately about Wilburn Boat, saying it is at odds with the fundamental precept of admiralty law.

Wilburn Boats rationale is deeply flawed, he added.

Topics Carriers Pennsylvania
The worst-ever Texas wildfire sent shares of Xcel Energy Inc. plunging after a law firm said it might be linked to the disaster, the latest sign that potential ties between power companies and blazes are triggering volatility in once-sleepy utility stocks.

The unnamed firm said Xcel may be responsible for damages and asked the company to preserve as evidence a fallen utility pole located near the fires potential area of origin, Xcel said in a regulatory filing Thursday. The companys shares fell as much as 9.7%, the most since March 2020  a drop that reflects concern about potentially catastrophic wildfire liabilities, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nikki Hsu said in a note to clients.

We will cooperate with officials while conducting our own investigations to determine the causes of the fires, an Xcel spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The company serves about 3.7 million electricity customers across a broad swath of the US, from Minnesota to New Mexico.

Americas power companies are facing increasing pressure to gird their systems against the growing threat of wild weather spurred by climate change. California utility PG&E Corp. was driven into bankruptcy in 2019 after its equipment sparked some of the worst fires in state history. Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. is the target of several lawsuits blaming the Maui fire of 2023 on the companys power lines.

Xcel already faces lawsuits that accuse one of the companys utilities of sparking the most destructive fire in Colorado history, which state officials concluded was caused in part by a power line that snapped during high winds. The company disputes that its equipment caused the Colorado ignition. The December 2021 blaze, known as the Marshall Fire, destroyed or damaged more than 1,000 structures and caused an estimated $2 billion in property losses.

Global warming and worsening wildfires have left utilities increasingly vulnerable to lawsuits and financial liability when their infrastructure sparks destructive blazes, said Gerald Singleton, a managing partner at law firm Singleton Schreiber, which is representing dozens of Marshall fire victims.

It has introduced a level of risk for utilities that wasnt there before, he said.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire is the largest-ever Texas wildfire, having charred more than 1 million acres along the states panhandle. At least one person died due to the blaze  an octogenarian who was trapped in her home, according to multiple media reports. Tens of thousands of cattle already may have perished and entire ranches have been wiped out, said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Anytime you talk about utilities, wildfires and potential litigation, the initial reaction is going to be one of fear, said Paul Patterson, a utility analyst for Glenrock Associates LLC. Investors are potentially skittish about wildfires.

Thursdays stock drop, which erased about $1.9 billion of Xcels market cap, is an overreaction, albeit understandable given the overall anxiety around wildfire-specific risk among investors, Sophie Karp, a utility analyst for KeyBanc Capital Markets, said in a note to clients.

Karp, who has an overweight rating on the stock, added that no determination of the wildfire cause has been made, it is burning in a sparsely populated area and Xcel has about $500 million in insurance.

Still, investors piled in to the Xcel options market for protection, pushing volume to almost 16,000 contracts  more than 30 times average  nearly all of them puts betting that the stock has further to fall. Puts expiring in September were the most actively traded, allowing the holders to sell more than 400,000 shares at $45. The cost of puts increased almost five times as much as calls, signaling the demand for cover against a slide in prices.

Photo: The Smokehouse Creek Fire is the largest-ever Texas wildfire, having charred more than 1 million acres along the states panhandle. Photographer: Handout/Getty Images

Copyright 2024 Bloomberg.

Topics Texas
Georgia legislation that could have a significant impact on insurance litigation and losses for transportation-related businesses are moving forward in the state General Assembly.

The Georgia House of Representatives late last month approved House Bill 994, which would give some protection to boat-rental businesses, known as liveries, as long as they carry adequate liability insurance. The person operating the vessel would be held liable for injuries and property damage in an accident, the bill notes.

In order to avail itself of the protections provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a boat livery shall not rent, lease, or charter or offer to rent, lease, or charter a vessel without first obtaining and maintaining in full force and effect a policy from a licensed insurance carrier in this state or a nonadmitted insurer through a licensed surplus lines broker that provides coverage for such boat livery against any accident, loss, injury, property damage, or other casualty caused by or resulting from the operation of a boat livery vessel, reads the bill, sponsored by Rep. Alan Powell.

The livery must maintain coverage of at least $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence, and display proof of insurance on the premises. The rental place would be held liable only if it fails to ensure that the boat operator is reasonably skilled in operating the craft and is not reckless, and that the boat is in safe condition.

The House approved the measure by a vote of 163 to 1. It is now awaiting action in the state Senate.

Senate Bill 426, which would bar direct-action lawsuits against trucking company insurers after an accident, passed the full Senate in February and is now in the House Judiciary Committee.

Topics Auto Georgia
Sixteen railroad freight cars carrying corn derailed early Wednesday under a key railroad overpass in the northeast Nevada city of Elko, but no injuries were reported and no hazardous materials were involved, authorities said.

The Union Pacific train derailed just before 5 a.m., striking a bridge support pillar and piling grain hoppers against each other and a sound wall, Elko police Lt. Rick Moore said, prompting concerns about the structural integrity of the 12th Street overpass.

The crash near the Humboldt River and an Amtrak passenger train stop spilled corn kernels but missed the Amtrak kiosk by providence, Moore told The Associated Press.

Union Pacific spokesperson Robynn Tysver said the cause of the derailment was being investigated and engineers from the Nevada Department of Transportation would inspect the overpass before it would be allowed to reopen.

Moore said cleanup and inspections were expected to take at least 24 hours, snarling vehicle traffic and blocking eastbound and westbound train traffic.

The tracks serve Amtrak passenger trains between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area. Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams noted the derailment did not involve an Amtrak train. He said officials expect at least two California Zephyr passenger trains to be delayed.

Moore said it was not clear if any people were nearby when the crash occurred, but said a power pole was knocked down.

Meghin Delaney, spokesperson for Nevada Energy, the main electricity provider in the state, said electric service to nearby homes and businesses was not interrupted.

Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Trucking Nevada
It has been a hectic week on the farm this week with lots of new arrivals. The ladies must have decided that it was a good idea for a big group of them to calve together, knowing our staff was going to be halved.

All the calves are doing well, thank God. Attention to detail is imperative now to ensure they all stay healthy when there are so many of them now.

The first group of Charolais bull calves moved onto their new home during the week - a returning customer, which is always great. She will be returning to collect another few when they are old enough.

We had another farmer contact us during the week from up the country looking for Charolais heifers, so it was fantastic to be able to sell them directly from the farm again.

Hopefully, this farmer will return again next year; the important thing for us is always to sell a strong healthy calf. We prefer to hold onto caves until they are at least three to four weeks old.

We originally tried holding calves for six weeks, but the workload became so great on the farm, and with a backlog of animals, that time frame seemed to increase disease build-up, and four weeks is a lot more manageable.

We are subscribed to the National Genotyping Program now anyway, so the time frame of that means a calf is three to four weeks of age before data is returned to us.

All the calves are treated the same way, whether they are bulls, heifers or beef calves, with every calf getting precision microbes every day.

Precision Microbes is a probiotic liquid solution for calves to ensure calves achieve optimal gut function and overall health. It is extremely beneficial for the treatment of scour in calves as well; that was the reason we started using it in the first place, and now every calf gets it. We keep an eagle eye on calves, and any calf seen off form in any way receives a second daily dose of precision microbes until it returns to full health

The workload for Pete and me has significantly increased with our French veterinary student, Valentine, returning to college after being with us for three weeks, and now our daughter Becky is heading back to the UK to prepare for the Borderway UK Dairy Expo in the middle of March.

I will fly over with our youngest, Georgie, and meet Becky and her pal Molly in Carlisle at the show. Valentine and Becky are a huge loss, but it's like everything you must just get a system going and stick to it the best you can, and as cows calve at a rapid pace early in calving season, there comes a stage where calf numbers on farm rapidly decrease as well.

We had a lovely mix of calves born this week with Charolais, Holstein and two more beautiful jersey heifers, one sired by Avonlea Chocochip and the other by Dulet Bowlers; they are just so cute and have amazing personalities and are full of mischief from the get-go.

Georgie is great at helping out after school. She has great patience with the calves, and believe me, you need it sometimes when you come across a really stubborn one. Whenever I am looking for her, I will always find her sitting in the straw pens with some calf or another. She has a few favourites picked out already.

The most important thing on the farm in the spring is the weighing scales. We weigh all the calves at birth and then every week to see what progress they are making.

It's a great way to keep track of the weekly weight gain, and you can input all the weights into an app on your phone. Looking at the mart reviews, you have no business taking Fr bull calves to the mart under 55kg. For example, Fr bulls at a local mart this week who weighed 50kg made 35 and ones who weighed 47kg only made 5.

We did take some into the mart this week along with two Charolais weanlings, Ours weighed over 70kg and they made 95. The second group of calves weighed 58kg and sold for 15 each but with over 1,200 calves at the mart, it would seem now that anything under 65kg is going to be a hard sell.

I doubt we will take any calf under 70kg to the mart going forward. It's like every year, good strong, healthy calves will sell. Don't get me wrong, it's never going to cover the cost of the calf, but at least it's better than 5 or no bid at all. I really do prefer to sell direct from the farm and, thankfully, have built up some amazing customers who return yearly.

There is plenty of work being done alongside the calving, with a couple of this year's show heifers starting their training. Becky had been busy halter training, washing and clipping before she left so it's up to us here to keep some of the training up while she is away.

Georgie is a great help; she will work away with the younger heifers, and I'll hopefully keep the slightly older ones on track. I always love to take a moment during the day and have a chat with last year's girls when I'm feeding them, they still love the attention and the snuggles and scratches and we will be looking forward to taking them back to the show ring once they calve down.

It's hard to believe we are back at the show prep already seems like only yesterday the gang were up at the Winter Fair in Belfast.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue has announced his intention to bring forward changes to the nitrates rules.

According to Mr McConalogue, whilst these proposed changes are "relatively modest", they will "benefit enterprises and farmers while also protecting water quality".

The proposed measures relate to changes to nutrient excretion rates for young bovines; the impact of reducing crude protein in concentrates fed to dairy cows; maximum chemical nitrogen allowances for grassland; and the timeframe for reporting livestock manure movements.

This announcement follows this week's meeting of the Agriculture Water Quality Group.

Teagasc research

Explaining the proposed changes, Mr McConalogue said: "Last October, my department requested that Teagasc undertake research regarding bovine nutrient excretion rates.

"This included consideration of the excretion rate of young bovines and the impact that reducing crude protein in concentrates fed to dairy cows has on the cow's nutrient excretion rate. The findings were thereafter reviewed and validated by University College Dublin.

This work confirmed that excretion rates for young calves is lower than previously estimated, and that dairy farmers can reduce their cows nutrient excretion rate by limiting the level of crude protein in concentrate feed.

On foot of that research, I intend to bring these adjustments into the review of the fifth Nitrates Action Plan, which will be subject to appropriate assessment. Once signed into law, these figures will be used in determining a farms compliance for the 2024 year."

The Teagasc research shows the calf excretes 1kg of nitrogen in the first three months of its life.

It excretes a further 20kg of nitrogen over the remaining nine months.

Subject to conclusion of the process, the current annual excretion rate of 24kg of nitrogen for up to one-year-old animals will be updated to reflect two sub-categories - the calf aged 0-3 months and cattle aged 4-12 months.

The nutrient excretion rate for cattle aged 1-2 will be amended to 55kg in respect of females and 61kg in respect of males, reflecting most recent scientific work.

Other proposed changes

Farmers will have the option to gain recognition for reductions in concentrate crude protein beyond regulatory requirements.

In line with Teagasc research, appropriate reductions in nutrient excretion rate will apply across all three milk yield bands.

Farmers will have the option to consider their own position and the average annual level of concentrate crude protein they wish to feed to their herd when they are confirming their dairy band through ICBF in the coming weeks.

When that portal opens, farmers will be able to see the position for their own herd and opt-in to this measure if they wish.

The department has announced there will be reduced maximum chemical nitrogen allowances for certain categories of grassland stocking.

To allow inspection on the ground to verify slurry movements, the department is also moving to a timeframe of four days for reporting livestock manure movements between farms.

This will be rolled out in the coming weeks allowing farmers sufficient time to declare any movements of manure that have already taken place in 2024.
I only work with wild fish. In one simple statement, Sally Ferns Barnes of Woodcock Smokery in West Cork sums up her raison detre: hers is the last smokehouse in Ireland that deals exclusively with our diminishing stock of wild fish.

One of Irelands most iconic artisan food producers, Ferns Barnes has been much celebrated. She was the first Irish producer to win the Supreme Champion award at the Great Taste Awards in 2006, received a Euro-Toques Craft Award in 2018 for her work in protecting culinary skills and craft and, in 2022, was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Irish Food Writers Guild.

Born and brought up in Scotland and Sussex, she moved to West Cork in 1975, becoming a fisherwoman and rearing two daughters while her former husband, a commercial fisherman, worked at sea.

Starting off by smoking fish in a tea chest in the early 80s  one way of preserving unexpected gluts  Ferns Barnes taught herself the techniques of the trade through trial and error and lots of experimentation.

Those early learnings are appreciated by the customers who get to taste her superb smoked salmon, as well as other wild fish like haddock and tuna.

2008, Sally and Jolene Barnes, Woodcock Smokery, Castletownshend, Co Cork. Picture: Gilles Perrin

She also shares her knowledge with the people who have travelled to The Keep, the on-site workshop where she teaches the traditional skills of filleting, salt-curing, hot and cold smoking that she has acquired over the last 45 years.

For Ferns Barnes, who is a warm and welcoming presence, moving to West Cork felt like coming home.

I just melted into the background and I loved it. It reminded me of what Scotland was like when I was a child, she remembers. I didnt like living in England at all, it was very cliquish. It took three months before anyone spoke to me.

After a childhood that involved lots of moving, she was also determined to put down roots.

Ive been a stranger in communities most of my life and I swore Id keep children in this place. No chopping and changing.

It wasnt easy: Being a fishermans wife is not much fun. I was on my own with all the responsibilities for the children and the homework and the dogs but we were working in the local community and becoming part of it.

"We were all in the same situation, trading fresh fish for turnips and potatoes.

Regulations on the menu

Ferns Barnes has always had to adapt to survive. Working with wild food is incredibly difficult, she says.

You cant project sales figures, or even know if there will be fish this year. Unfortunately, fishing seasons are set by humans, not when the fish is ready.

Along with the vagaries of nature, Ferns Barnes has also had to deal with the Irish Governments ban on drift-net fishing for salmon which decimated the inshore fishing industry and, with it, her main source of wild fish.

The drift-netting at sea was banned just after wed been awarded the Supreme Champion Award at the Great Taste Awards in London in 2006.

"I was so proud to bring the trophies back to Ireland and thought that the future looked great for the business with that publicity. It was not to be.

Another issue for Woodcock Smokery, as with many other small producers, is the burden of dealing with prohibitive regulations.

Ferns Barnes was involved in the artisan food group set up by Myrtle Allen in 2001 in response to fears about EU regulations that were being introduced and has always been vocal about the importance of small producers to a local economy.

This sense of fairness has seen her involved in Slow Food  and its piscine offshoot Slow Fish  for many years.

It has been my saviour... There are lots of people like me trying to be cognizant of the fact that things are limited.

Championing the ethos of food that is good, clean, and fair, Slow Food  which is based in Italy  is also responsible for founding the now 20-year-old University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG).

Ferns Barnes, who has a passion for education and teaching I trained for primary-school teaching before I arrived here, so I am going full circle  has taken in many UNISG students as temporary interns, teaching them about fishy lifeand introducing them to Irish culture, which they love.

On a more short-term basis, Ferns Barnes deep knowledge of fish and the sea is something she shares with visitors and students who come to The Keep for a tasting evening, to do a smoking workshop, or to learn about edibles in the world around them.

Weve always foraged, gathering carrageen moss for coughs, harvested mushrooms in the fields and woods, preserved rowan berries and blackberries. It was part of life and then it became infra dig.

"Now we educate people on how we used to do things and how we ate before the supermarkets.

Global reach

'Last year we smoked around 170 fish, which was grim,' said Ferns Barnes. Picture: Paul Sherwood

Despite her rural coastal West Cork setting, Ferns Barnes profile stretches far outside the island of Ireland. Slow Food has named her as one of their Queens of the Sea.

She works with American eco-travel company Bog & Thunder and, with them, recently completed a New York residency where she participated in an international panel discussion featuring wild salmon warriors from Alaska to Ireland.

Renowned food journalist and BBC broadcaster Dan Saladino featured her work in his 2001 award-winning book Eating to Extinction: The Worlds Rarest Foods & Why We Need to Save Them.

Profiling at-risk food and food culture around the world, Saladino makes the point that wild Atlantic salmon are a natural barometer of the state of the Earth, something that Ferns Barnes is acutely aware of.

Last year we smoked around 170 fish, which was grim. The previous year, also grim, there were 248 fish bought. [Thats a big drop] from the times in the 1980s/1990s, when wed buy around 650 fish each season.

"We dont know whats around the corner. Ours is a very disturbed planet and theres no food security any more, points out Ferns Barnes.

But her work educating young people gives her hope for the future.

We need to pass our skills on to another generation who are interested in looking outside and engaging with the planet. Education can bring us back to where we live and an appreciation of what the planet gives to us. But dont take it for granted, she says.

Nature can work if we can butt out and take our greed out of the equation. Just give Mother Nature a chance, and let her sort it.
A few years ago Clara Dillon invited some children over on a playdate. During the afternoon, one of them wandered into the road.

It was a hair-raising moment, but all ended well. Clara, though, was shaken. The experience got her thinking.

Imagine how awful it would be to have to phone a parent and tell them that something terrible had happened to their child, and to face their dreadful reaction, and you had been looking after that child.

Clara, an anaesthetist, whose hobby is writing, was looking for an idea for a novel back then. Getting home, she decided to write about that particular scenario.

A scene showing an accident of some sort on a playdate could be her first chapter. But how could she develop the idea?

I thought it would be terrible to explain that to any parent, no matter how nice they were, but what if the parent was somebody who could take this down a potentially dark road?

Excited, Clara realised she had the bones of a novel. It fell into my head after that, she says.

The novel starts with the disastrous playdate, and the other mum is clearly not a person you would want to get on the wrong side of, so it becomes a novel of two halves. What leads up to the playdate and what happens afterwards.

She narrates the bulk of the story through Sara, a mum who recently arrived in Ireland from Britain, and is struggling to make school gate friends for the sake of her vulnerable nine-year-old daughter, Lexie.

It doesnt come naturally to her and, by trying to force such friendships, shes becoming increasingly tense.

We see Vanessa through her eyes and, from the start, shes not very likeable. Glamorous and entitled, she leads the band of BMs  Beautiful Mums  and her daughter holds power in the playground.

When Sara offends the other woman, its Lexie who suffers the backlash.

The next challenge was to work out why, if relations were so bad between the two mums, Sara would have invited Vanessas child in the first place. I had to think of an explanation.

She cites various triggers. Sara hasnt good social supports. Things dont build up when youve got friends to chat to and take advice from. Shes isolated. Her husband is away a lot, and the more wrongfooted she becomes, the tenser she gets.

This is a finely plotted book, one to be read in a single sitting. There are some jaw-dropping twists, yet it feels plausible.

Thats because the author has created such rounded authentic characters.

If you find your characters voice, youre away. Ive tried to write other novels, but if you dont find the voice, youre forcing it.

In this novel, the voices fell into my head strongly, Clara says. You go, this character is in a bit of a pickle, what will they do next? And you think, of course! And this other character would definitely respond this way.

As shes a doctor, I wondered if Clara had thought of setting her novel in a hospital. That seems logical, she says, agreeing, but Im not keen to go down that road.

"Because Im a doctor myself, I felt that if I wrote anything negative about a hospital, readers would go, oh. Is this what she thinks about her patients?, Id feel restrained.

Clara trained in Dublin, and then moved to Britain  progressing as an anaesthetist first in Bristol, and then London. After a long-distance relationship, her now husband  also a doctor  moved to London, but he always wanted to return to Ireland.

I loved England. We had a fantastic time in London.

Then one day, he said: Im applying for a consultant post in Dublin. Im going back, so I had a choice to make.

She moved back in 2011, shortly after the birth of her first baby. It was a bit of a wrench for her at the time, but shes happy now.

And so are her two daughters. Theyve had a good experience of school, she says.

They have some friends from when they were babies and have never been outsiders, but Ive certainly heard lots of stories. Its did you hear about or Ive had to move schools because my child is being bullied.

She did a fair amount of research as well. I did a bit of googling online, she says. I typed in school gate politics and hundreds of stories, forums, and chatrooms came up.

I got a lot of ideas from there.

Clara adores writing  indulging herself with it on her days off when others might be hill walking. She hopes to write another novel, and has an idea swirling around in her head, but shed never give up the day job.

Medicine is my priority, she says, though there are, obviously, many cons. The main pro for me is that ultimately, we are helping people.

"You can go home sometimes and think: I did something that was good. And youre not trying to sell something to someone or having to pretend to be someone that youre not. We dont have to lie.

Coming from a medical background, it was, perhaps, inevitable that she would become a doctor.

Although she went through a stage of wishing she was a journalist, the profession has been good to her.

I work mostly in theatre now, but for many years I worked in ICU. It was the most interesting part of anaesthetics, but it was far more consuming  both mentally and physcially than what Im doing now.

Youd get calls in the middle of the night, and youd never fully finish your job. It was very hard, and I pulled back when I had kids. I do regret it, but now I can go home.

She enjoys chatting to the patients, some of whom are very frightened or scared.

You always have to remember that its just one more day for you, but its a huge day for them  one they will never forget.

The lack of pressure at work, means she can read again, as well as write  a pleasure shed given up on in those many busy years.

I like reading books about ordinary lives with a bit of menace lurking underneath, and thats probably what Ill write again. People who are not what they seem, trying to make good decisions, but they end up not being.

Her favourite book of all time  one she wishes she had written  is Tana Frenchs debut, In the Woods.

Its a masterpiece. Ive read it at least three times and bought three of four copies over the years.

I keep recommending it to people and lending it to them, and then not getting it back.

When she has more time  perhaps when she retires  Carla would like to teach literacy to adults interested in learning to read. Reading difficulties is one of the many issues she explores in her debut.

Its an eye opener, she says. Adults who run their finger along a page, mouth the words, or fidget when they read because theyre tense, can be made fun of and called stupid. Yet research shows that some people who are very bright cant make a connection.

Its affects language too. Its like a light thats on but flickering. There are all these ideas in their heads, but they cant articulate what they want to say.

Happy with her debut  Clara says shes invented a new genre. I call it school gate Noir, she says.
Irish language childrens publishing is going through a golden era at the moment," author and Raidio na Gaeltachta presenter Tristan Rosenstock says.

The literary editor of the journal Comhar and son of writer Gabriel Rosenstock, he says the quantity and quality of childrens reading material as Gaeilge has increased dramatically since his own youth.

When I was growing up, I had probably read most of the offering in a few short months.

"However, youve got a lot of publishing houses now that are focusing specifically on young readers  Futa Fata, An Gum, An Snathaid Mhor  publishing books that are extremely polished and well put-together, Rosenstock, whose debut childrens novel Inis Mara is this years World Book Day Irish language title, adds.

Irish language writers, illustrators, and publishers are doing incredible work, and you can see that in the volume of books that are being published  but also in the quality. I think the standard is higher than its ever been in Irish language publishing, he says.

I think theres a critical point: When a few very important Irish language writers for children emerge, the standard gets higher."

People like Aine Ni Ghlinn, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagain, Maire Zepf, and Sadhbh Devlin have really upped the game, and those of us who are new to the scene need to work hard to come near that standard.

The raising of the bar has brought a move away from the perceived dustiness of schoolbook Gaeilge to include more topical subject matter.

Inis Mara examines issues of environmental protection, truth, and electoral interference, and its origins really came from Brexit, he says.

Rosenstock, a presenter and producer of An Cuinne Dana and a bodhran player with the group Teada, adds: Its the idea of what happens when an island withdraws from a group of islands and an ecosystem, and decides to go it alone.

I worked in current affairs in radio as well and so was following Brexit very closely over a number of years.

I just thought, having spent a summer holiday on the Aran Islands with my family, what would happen if one of these islands just decided that they were not part of a group of islands anymore?

The youth-led Fridays for Future movement, inspired by Greta Thunberg, was also rising to prominence in the years preceding the covid pandemic and that energy was really exciting, Rosenstock says.

I tried to marry the two: The idea of going it alone, and climate change.

On Inis Mara, when it becomes clear that an Santoir  the islands newly-elected leader  is motivated by greed rather than the common good, it takes a brave young girl to galvanise her community into action against corruption and environmental destruction.

Rosenstock had no need to conjure this fearless female character from his imagination, however.

Poignantly, his source of inspiration was his younger sister Eabha, who passed away suddenly in March 2022 and to whom he dedicates his novel, which was originally envisioned as a picture book.

I was at a crossroads with the book and not entirely sure where to go with it, he says.

I had to take a break from writing for a while.

When I decided to go that route and to base the main character on my sister, it opened up a huge range of possibilities and really the book wrote itself after that.

I called her Eabha. A lot of the traits and characteristics that my sister had, youll find in the main character, he adds.

My sister Eabha joined Amnesty International as a 12-year-old and was writing letters to people who were wrongly imprisoned all around the world.

In the book, the science teacher is imprisoned and Eabha starts writing letters to her.

His sister was very affected by things that were happening in the world and, rather than sit back, she did something, he says.

She volunteered in a refugee camp in Lebanon and taught Syrian child refugees English.

She was very sympathetic towards the Palestinian cause. The idea of people not having a voice frustrated her  people being completely disenfranchised, Rosenstock says.

Thats why I wanted to place emphasis on the election in this book and on the importance of voting.

Climate justice also very much affected her, because its the poorest people on the planet that are most affected by climate change, Rosenstock adds.

I do workshops and ask children to describe Eabha, the character in the book, and they list off all these adjectives  shes brave, courageous, smart, fearless, compassionate, and its very heartwarming when I hear them say that.

Rosenstock, who says An Santoir is based on a couple of characters in world affairs, finds that the concept of a young female character leading classmates against a corrupt leader appeals to young people attending his author events at schools, libraries, and festivals.

They like that idea of young people having power and having a voice, that the younger generation leads the change.

Author-reader interaction plays a part, along with initiatives such as World Book Day  which falls during Seachtain na Gaeilge  in what former Laureate na nOg Aine Ni Ghlinn termed lifting the invisibility cloak from Irish language childrens literature.

Benefits of State funding

State funding is a boost, as is increased accessibility, with Inis Mara available in both Braille and digital formats.

Quality illustration is key across all age-groups, and Rosenstock says Bantry-based Mark Wickham carefully treads the very fine line between childrens and teen literature, to create a contemporary graphic-novel style suitable for Inis Maras 10-plus readership.

Interaction is also encouraged  particularly in picture books, via QR codes  allowing readers to hear text spoken or sung, as in his father Gabriels Pucai Schmucai, and Teach Teidi by Tristans wife Sadhbh, both of which joined Inis Mara in an unusual family triple on the 2023 shortlist for the Gradam Reics Carlo Childrens Book of the Year awards.

Live events definitely help. All these things are important in driving home to children that this is a living language, a fun language, and there are lots of books available for them in this language, Rosenstock says.

All these things help normalise Irish language books for children.

Its not just a small little niche thing, its becoming increasingly mainstream.

None of this would work if the books werent good, and I think the quality is extremely high and the publishers deserve an awful lot of credit.

Authors Sadhbh Rosenstock, Tristan Rosenstock, and Gabriel Rosenstock were all shortlisted for the Gradam Reics Carlo Irish Language Book of Year for Children at the 2023 Irish Language Publishing Awards. File picture: Maxwells

Libraries have definitely increased their offering of Irish language books and Childrens Books Ireland have done amazing work. The visibility is greater than it was, he says.

Where were getting let down sometimes is in bookshops, he says.

You really need to try to find an Irish language book for children in certain bookshops  not all  but some hide them better than others.

Ive often been into bookshops and asked where the Irish language childrens books are, and it takes me three or four people before I actually find them.

Thats not good enough. Bookshops could certainly do better.

However, he adds: There are definitely more children reading Irish language books than ever before, because the more books that are available, the more theyll read when they realise its not just a school subject or something they have to do  its something thats very enjoyable.

Rosenstock, who is working on a sequel to Inis Mara due for publication this autumn, will continue lifting the invisibility cloak on Irish language books when he is one of the childrens authors joining current Laureate na nOg Patricia Forde on a Whole Wild World bus tour of libraries and schools from Donegal to Cork, on April 22 and 23.

He will also appear at World Book Day events in the Dublin area, and with illustrator Wickham at the West Cork Literary Festival in July.

World Book Day takes place on March 7, and among the titles available free in exchange for 1.50 tokens is Alan Nolans Molly Malone and Bram Stoker: The Curious Case of the Irish Yeti , available exclusively to readers in Ireland.

, available exclusively to readers in Ireland. worldbookday.com
Anne Healy never used to rest  the 59-year-old from Kilkenny suspects she was born to be busy.

Maybe Im wired that way, she says. But I definitely took it too far.

She did this by combining a demanding full-time job in insurance with raising three sports-mad children.

They loved swimming, rowing, running, and horse riding, she says.

Wed get up at 5am so they could be in the pool by 5.30am. Then wed rush to school and work. There would be even more activities afterwards. It was a hamster wheel that didnt stop for 17 years. Looking back, I dont know how I kept it up.

I was absolutely wrecked every single day.

She may be an extreme example, but Healy isnt alone in not getting enough rest. The Price Waterhouse Coopers Hopes and Fears Workforce Survey 2023 found that 23% of Irish workers felt overworked.

Chartered work and organisational psychologist Leisha McGrath believes this could be because many people place too much emphasis on being productive.

Its not our fault, she says. The society we live in is based on the economy, and were encouraged to be productive members of that society.

"We even have productivity tools on our computers, phones, and wrists that push us to be more and more productive all the time.

Leisha McGrath: The society we live in is based on the economy, and were encouraged to be productive members of that society

The pandemic exacerbated this trend with many employees working flextime.

Because we had the technology to work from home, we all became more adept at weaving work into all hours of our day, McGrath says.

Work is essential, McGrath adds.

It allows us to provide for ourselves and our families, gives us a sense of purpose, teaches us things, expands our social circles, and opens up new horizons.

Its vital to our wellbeing in so many ways, she says. However, it has to be balanced with rest.

We need to challenge this perception that we have to always be on, McGrath adds.

Hard work may be important, but so is rest. One without the other can lead to the nervous system becoming overwrought, and a subsequent nosedive in mental and physical health.

She refers to the polyvagal theory of American psychologist and neuroscientist Stephen Porges to explain why.

He pictures the nervous system as a ladder, she says. At the top is the ventral vagal state, where we experience a sense of calm and connection with the world around us.

Our heart rate is reduced. Our breathing is steady. Were digesting our food, and our stress hormones are low.

The middle rung is where the nervous system is mobilised and active.

Were in this state when were doing things, and its associated with an increase in stress and anxiety, but also with productivity and flow, McGrath says. This is a useful state, reinforced by society, except when we become stuck there and find it hard to switch off.

The bottom rung of the ladder is the dorsal vagal state, which we experience when we lack energy. Its not a state that our society tends to value, even though its a place where we should all spend some time, says McGrath.

In an ideal world, we would all move up and down this ladder throughout the day, reaching the top rung as many times as we can.

But modern society doesnt allow for this, McGrath says. It reinforces the benefits of that middle rung, doing things all day long."

Recognise the value of rest

For Leisha McGrath, achieving balance between work and rest is all about understanding triggers and glimmers

Siobhan Murray, a psychotherapist and author of The Burnout Solution, believes we need to recognise the value of rest, define what it means, and incorporate it into our daily lives.

People really struggle with restorative rest, she says. Often, when people say that they were resting, they werent.

They might have been sitting on the sofa watching TV, but were also scrolling on their phone. Thats not resting. Thats multi-tasking and its exhausting in itself.

Another reason people struggle is because they spend all day being frantically busy.

They get up and its chaos from the word go as they get themselves and the kids ready for school, Murray says.

Theres no way that come 8pm that night, after being in a heightened state of adrenaline all day, they will be able to unwind enough to get a good nights sleep. Rest needs to be woven into the whole day.

She gives examples such as taking quiet time to read the newspaper midmorning, going for a walk in the afternoon, and spending time with friends at the weekend.

I mostly work from home and have two dogs who need to go out regularly, Murray says. I go out with them for 10 or 15 minutes in the morning, again at lunchtime, and later in the day.

These are restorative reset moments in my day that clear my head and keep my cortisol levels in check.

For McGrath, achieving balance between work and rest is all about understanding triggers and glimmers.

Triggers are things like work overload and feelings of overwhelm that can bring us down off that top rung of the polyvagal ladder, she says.

Glimmers are things that can help us make our way back up.

Triggers and glimmers vary from person to person. One of my glimmers is swimming in the sea, McGrath says.

But were all wired differently, and we all have to figure out what helps us get back up that ladder. It could be exercise, breathwork, lying in the bath, or a simple conversation with a friend.

Opportunity to slow down

Anne Healy realised something had to change in her life when her employer offered her an attractive redundancy package

Healy began to understand how hard she had been pushing herself in 2018 when her youngest child was sitting the Leaving Certificate and stopped attending early morning swimming sessions.

That gave me a taste of slowing down a little, she says. Then, her employer offered her an attractive redundancy package.

I suddenly realised it was a change for me to do something for myself, she says.

So I took it and started my own business, Biddy's Good Luck Horse Shoes, creating and selling good luck gifts made from Irish horseshoes for all occasions.

Because old habits die hard, Healy continued to keep up a fast pace.

Then covid hit, and I was forced to slow down, she says. With time unexpectedly on her hands, Healy instinctively began incorporating glimmers and moments of restorative rest into her day.

I now go for bike rides or walks in the middle of the day, she says. I meet friends for coffee and chats. I go for lunch with my husband, and I get more sleep.

These are simple things, but I find them calming.

Murray says restorative rest shouldnt be something we relegate to the end of the day, a Sunday, or some far-off day when well have time.

It should be part of our every day. Some things will drain us as we go about our lives, but some will give us energy. We need to make sure that we make time for the latter to help counterbalance the former.

McGrath suggests we do this by scheduling rest in our diaries.

If you struggle with rest, Id definitely take this approach, she says. Having dinner with a friend, a lunchtime walk, or even an evening in the bath filing your nails will help you to resist the pressure to do something that you see as more productive.

Healys life has changed by incorporating more rest into her schedule.

I can make time for myself alongside my work, she says. And as a result, Im appreciating life a whole lot more.

This article was edited to clarify the comments on restorative rest
A company whose CEO is charged in connection with the States biggest crystal meth seizure has written to suppliers this week saying it is unable to pay any outstanding bills.

The news has come as a shock for local suppliers, some of whom are now down thousands of euros in a particularly difficult trading period, sources say.

Nathan McDonnell, aged 43, CEO of Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd, was charged in Tralee District Court last week with possession of drugs for sale or supply.

Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd ceased trading on Sunday and the company has now said that it is unable to pay suppliers.

Suppliers were informed with a heavy heart that Ballyseedy Restaurant Ltd would cease trading from Sunday due to circumstances beyond our control," in a letter sent to them this week and published by Radio Kerry.

The business would be transferred to Smaash Burger Limited, the letter said.

However, amidst this transition, I regret to inform you that we will be unable to carry over any outstanding balances from Ballyseedy Restaurant Limited to Smaash Burger Ltd.

We understand the impact the decision may have, and I sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Any stock items at Ballyseedy that remained unpaid could be retrieved by suppliers from the premises, it said.

We deeply appreciate the partnership we have shared with you over the years and your products and services have been instrumental to our 32 years in operation. Your support has been invaluable and for that we are profoundly grateful, the letter said.

The letter was sent by group chief financial officer Salome McDonnell, Radio Kerry reported.

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, a representative for Smaash Burger, a restaurant which operates in Ardfert, Tralee, said they had no comment.

Mr McDonnells co-accused, James Leen, aged 41, of Pilgrim Hill, Kilmorna, Listowel, is facing two charges; of drug importation of crystal meth last October and the possession for sale or supply of methylamphetamine (crystal meth) between October 27, 2023, and February 12, 2024.
Gardai are seeking the public's help in tracing the whereabouts of a Dublin woman, who was last seen on Thursday.

65-year-old Mary Mason was last seen at approximately 11:10am on Thursday, on the Marine Road in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

She is described as being approximately 5 foot 6 inches in height with a thin build, red hair and green/blue eyes.

She was wearing a green puffer jacket, blue jeans and shoes with white soles and a zip on the heel.

Gardai and Mary's family are concerned for her wellbeing.

Anyone with any information on Mary's whereabouts is asked to contact Dun Laoghaire Garda station on 01 666 5000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
The son of a 65-year-old woman who went missing on Thursday has said her family are up the walls with worry over her disappearance.

Mary Mason left her Killiney home in south Dublin to travel by bus to Dun Laoghaire and has not been seen since.

Gardai are appealing for the publics help in finding the missing grandmother, who was last seen on Marine Road in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, at about 11.10am on Thursday.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, her son Carl Mason said his family were extremely concerned for her wellbeing.

We have no idea what has happened to her, he said. She literally went out and got the bus to Dun Laoghaire yesterday morning and we havent seen her since.

She is well woman, there is nothing wrong with her, there is nothing there that we would be concerned about so its a mystery. We are up the walls with worry.

She said she was going into town to buy a lotto ticket, and we know that she did buy the ticket and thats it, she has vanished.

The gardai are in touch and they are getting CCTV from the area, thats why we know she bought the lotto ticket.

Mary Mason, who is missing from Dublin, with her son Carl and granddaughter Chloe.

Mr Mason said she would not have walked home, because she lives in Killiney village.

"Thats too long of a walk from Dun Laoghaire up the hill to Killiney village. It would be about an hours walk.

We have checked all the hospitals in case she fell, she left with her purse and bank card so the gardai are following up all of that to see if it was used.

We are walking around not knowing what to do. My father is worried sick, we all are.

We are just waiting now and hoping for good news. Mam has four children, and she is a granny too. We just want to get her back we are very concerned.

Ms Mason is described as being around 5ft6in in height, with a thin build, red hair, and green/blue eyes.

She was last seen wearing a green puffer jacket, blue jeans and shoes with white soles and a zip on the heel.

Anyone with any information on Mary's whereabouts is asked to contact Dun Laoghaire Garda station on 01 666 5000, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.
China is engaged in a very promiscuous strategy to obtain intelligence and scientific knowledge from all sorts of organisations, including universities in Britain and Ireland, a former British spy chief has said.

Nigel Inkster, former director of operations and intelligence at MI6, told an event in Dublin that there needs to be much more rigorous policing of this threat.

His comments come just days after Natos top military adviser, during an official visit to Ireland, warned that universities, including those engaged in high tech research, should be keeping their intellectual property in a vault.

Admiral Robert Bauer said this was because such intellectual property is being stolen on a daily basis by China.

Mr Inkster, who now works as a senior adviser on cyber-security and China at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he did not want a McCarthyist approach involving systemic discrimination of Chinese people, but a realistic one.

There are real issues, he told the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. The fact is China is engaged in a very promiscuous effort to collect all manner of available intelligence about China and the rest of the world for all sorts of purposes.

So I think there is a need for much more rigorous policing of this kind of activity. I think there is a need for universities engaged in advanced scientific and technical research to be more aware of the vulnerabilities and risks.

He said China is seeking "dominance in the next generation of technologies.

That is the plan and what they are doing with Western universities, in terms of collaboration, is part of that," he said.

It is quite clear that a lot of Western universities have engaged in collaborative research with Chinese entities linked to the PLA [Peoples Liberation Army] and there has been a degree of naivety here that probably shouldnt be allowed to continue.

But he added: We need to be careful, we dont want to end up in a situation where, like in the US, the FBI were turning over ethnic Chinese scientists and creating fear and alienation in US-China diaspora.

"I have skin in this game: my wife is ethnically Chinese, I have two three-quarters ethnically Chinese grandchildren in the US. I do not want a world where there is systemic discrimination against Chinese simply by virtue of the colour of their skin.
A young man who escaped persecution in Afghanistan and sought asylum in Ireland has described living in a tent on the streets of Dublin as hell.

Ahmad Jan (22), was speaking after images of rows of asylum seekers' tents flattened by Thursday nights heavy snowfall made national headlines.

The scenes outside the offices of the International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) in south Dublin laid bare the harsh reality of sleeping rough in Ireland as the housing crisis worsens.

The latest figures from the Department of Integration, released on Friday, show there are now 1,103 asylum seekers in Ireland without accommodation.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner on Mount Street, asylum seeker Mr Jan said he has been living on the streets for the past 30 days, and that Thursday night was his worst yet.

Every day its raining, and I am on the streets, he said. It is not good.

I escaped from Afghanistan. I get out from hell and fall into another hell.

I ask the government to help us. I have nobody. We are safe but I am in hell everywhere I go. We are human, I feel like they dont care, I ask your countrys leader, you could not sleep on the street for one night. Come here and see this place."

Zen Montaser 26, from Libya said: We are trying to survive this. Its two days like this, and we are freezing. Everybody feels so bad, we are freezing, a lot of tents are broken.

Nobody came to help, nothing. I am here three months, people are angry, stressed, and feeling bad. This is hard to believe they wait this long to help us. We are all angry. It is very depressing."

Another man Sami Kupiszewski 50, from Turkey said: People are desperate and freezing, we feel so rejected. Sometimes it is just so harsh, and people cant describe how bad they feel, nobody wants to live like this. People feel terrified."

Irish Refugee Council CEO Nick Henderson. File picture: Maxwells

The back of Mount St onto the adjoining Grattan Court East was heavily flooded on Friday, while the occupants of the tents were seen washing in the laneway which they also used as a toilet.

Bags of rubbish tied up nearby are not collected.

The CEO of the Irish Refugee Council told the Irish Examiner that the charity has been in touch with the Department of Integration a number of times about the issue at the IPAS offices.

Nick Henderson said: Even before the cold weather we were extremely concerned about the situation generally. The quality of tents is not acceptable.

There are issues around refuse collection and access to toilets too and the tents have blown down with the snow.

He said there is no reason why temporary toilets and better quality tents could not be made available.

Ultimately people shouldnt be there. We believe there is enough capacity in the system to provide better shelter, but in the meantime until people are taken off the streets, we think that much more can be done to support them while they are there."

Mr Henderson said they received a letter on Friday from the government stating that the asylum seekers would be housed over the weekend.

We met with IPAS last Monday to communicate our concerns and weve also written to the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive this morning to suggest what could be done.

We received a response from IPAS today [Friday] to say they would be trying to get officials over to Mount Street to take peoples details and have them moved over the weekend. Thats all we know for now.
The Government is to step up efforts to house asylum seekers by converting empty buildings and using prefabs within the coming months, under proposals in the States revised White Paper.

The Irish Examiner has learned the new plan has been delayed for weeks, as a result of Coalition leaders seeking more concrete measures from Integration Minister Roderic OGorman.

Multiple sources said Tanaiste Micheal Martin sought short- and medium-term solutions, rather than just a long-term approach.

The revised plan is expected to go to Cabinet within the next three weeks.

Government sources have revealed some of the short- to medium-term measures include the State using, leasing, and buying empty properties, along with increasing the use of prefabs and marquee-style units on State land.

Sources said the Government plans to hire an agency that will identify properties, negotiate contracts, and refit empty buildings  including office spaces.

One senior source said the State will be able to move quickly on the proposal, which would see properties being fitted with communal areas and sleeping facilities within five to nine months.

Short- and long-term leases will be offered to office space owners, as well as the State seeking to purchase the properties.

Minister Roderic O'Gorman told the Dail that we are 'very close' to having family and female applicants sleeping rough. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Another short- to medium-term measure will see the State ramp up the use of prefab-style accommodation on State-owned land.

A senior source said previous units were of a very high-spec and future units wont be up to the same standard, will be simplified, and more practical.

The source said: There is no need to over-engineer the solution and what were trying to achieve now is to provide a safe, comfortable home for people.

The Government will also seek to replicate the model adopted in Stradbally, Co Laois, on State-owned land currently being used to house Ukrainians. The accommodation consists of own-door bedrooms, and heated and insulated cabins in a large marquee-style structure.

It is understood the initial plan brought to leaders was criticised for lacking detail.

It consisted of an approach that could take a number of years  due to identifying locations and seeking planning permission.

There was concern within Fine Gael and Fianna Fail that the State had to speed up the process of moving away from using student accommodation, hotels, and nursing homes.

Several sources admitted there had been tension between officials working on the plan.

Government leaders are aware that the location of the new centres will also be politically sensitive around local elections, sources said, but played down any suggestions the plan was being stalled for this reason.

When asked what was causing the hold-up, Mr OGorman told the Irish Examiner this week that it is being discussed with the three party leaders.

It comes as over 1,000 international protection applicants continue to sleep rough, and Mr OGorman told the Dail yesterday that we are close to being in that situation with families and female applicants as well.

Mr OGorman said it is the sad fact that he and the Government are failing in its legal obligation to provide accommodation to all asylum seekers.
I think its going to be a night for a lifeboat call.

Kieran Cotter never realised just how prophetic this casual remark would become among the coastal community of Baltimore, Co Cork. More than 40 years on from the Fastnet tragedy, the words still linger in the air like cigarette smoke. The role the former RNLI man played in that rescue  the largest operation of its kind during peacetime  has cemented his place in maritime history.

The year was 1979. Crews and West Cork locals were gearing up in anticipation for the 28th Royal Ocean Racing Clubs Fastnet Race. The Fastnet Race covered a 605-mile course from Cowes, in the Isle of White off the south coast of England to Fastnet Rock and on to Plymouth via south of the Isles of Scilly. A total of 303 yachts were taking part in 1979.

However, a large depression known as low Y was casting its sinister shadow over the Atlantic. On day three of the race, August 13, the storm intensified with force 6 winds.

Forecasting wasn't as good at the time and a severe storm was developing in the Atlantic that they didnt know about, Kieran recalls. On Monday evening you could see that the storm was coming in here. I was 24 and had been on the crew for four-and-a-half years when I got the call. We didn't have pagers or a call-out system back then so contact was made through a maroon or telephone call. Some people didnt even have landlines at the time so contact was very limited.

HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading

Earlier that evening I had said to the lifeboat secretary Richard Bush, who was the launching authority at the time, that it looked like a night for a lifeboat call.

As the storm and sea conditions worsened, emergency services, naval forces, the RNLI and civilian vessels from around the west side of the English Channel were all mobilised. In Force 9 winds and merciless conditions, the Baltimore RNLI crew  made up of Kieran and fellow crew members, Christy Collins, coxswain; Mick OConnell, mechanic; Paul ORegan, Peter ORegan, Kieran Cotter, Noel Cottrell, Pat Harrington, Con Cahalane and Peter ORegan  took to the seas. They had little knowledge of what lay ahead

First up was a boat with Cork Examiner photographers on board, out to capture the race, and who got into difficulty as sea conditions worsened. That vessel managed to make its own way back safely to Schull, but the drama was only beginning for Kieran and the crew. Back at the mainland, they were quickly summoned to assist a boat named Regardless. As the strong winds whipped up the seas, they had to reconnect the tow-line on five separate occasions, before towing Regardless to safety.

Next up was the British Yacht the Marionette. The vessel was 25 miles south of the Galley and 50 miles from the Baltimore station.

A British Royal Navy helicopter hovers over the storm-stricken Camargue, ready to winch up the last of eight crew members rescued. As the storm and sea conditions worsened, emergency services, naval forces, the RNLI and civilian vessels from around the west side of the English Channel were all mobilised. File photo: PA

We were in Baltimore for about an hour until we were called out again to a boat called the Marionette. It took us quite a while to actually find her. She had the same problem [as the Regardless]. Her rudder had failed so she was not able to steer herself. Crew members stayed on their own boat so we were able to tow them back to Baltimore. The biggest problem is that she didn't have her rudder and she was going all over the place behind us and almost passing us out.

While the lives of the sailors on board the Regardless and the Marionette were saved, others were not so lucky. A total of 19 people lost their lives in the treacherous conditions, including some 15 yachtsmen and four spectators. At least 75 boats in total capsized and five sank in the disaster.

Kieran acknowledges the cruel irony surrounding the deaths.

There would have been a balance of experienced and less experienced members of the crew. My understanding is that most of the people who lost their lives did so while getting onto life rafts. Nearly all the boats survived the very rough conditions. By staying in the boat you are in the safest place you could be until help arrives. Even if the vessel is in severe difficulty you still have more of a chance of surviving than if you abandoned it.

He said it was a few days before the true extent of the tragedy became clear.

We didn't realise how serious things were initially. I can remember meeting a gentleman after coming ashore the next day. He had two sons in the race and was asking if I had heard anything about their boat. At that stage, he didnt know where his sons were but it turned out they were safe. About two or three days went by before people realised the seriousness of it and that people had lost their lives.

A crew member of the 'Sophie B' being helped ashore at Kinsale after the Fastnet tragedy.

Stricter regulations were introduced for race entrants in the years that followed. You have to have so many merits before you can even become a crew member on a boat in the Fastnet race now. A lot of these regulations came about as a result of the loss of life and were put in place to protect people.

Looking back on his long career with the RNLI, Kieran says: People ask me on a regular basis but I cant say I was ever scared. I spent the first 15 years of my life on Cape Clear and my father was back and forth with me to Baltimore all the time. I grew up on boats and joined the Merchant Navy after my Leaving Cert where we travelled to places like the States and Japan. I have been on everything from small fishing boats to big ships up to 38,000 tonnes.

The father-of-two has never shied away from danger.

When you are part of the lifeboat crew you are expected to go out. You are expected to encounter people in danger. People get into difficulty all the time and we try to give them help. Thats what the lifeboats are for.
Some good has come from this care referendum. We are thinking and talking about care.

I will be voting yes to family, and yes to care.

Care is a significant part of every life, to varying and ever-changing degrees. I have been cared for, I am cared for, and I care. My work as a teacher is centred around care. My life as a friend, mother, wife, sister, daughter, all of it involves care, back and forth, omnipresent and sustaining. Care shapes us, and so it must be supported at every level. We all know that it is not. Although we seem divided, on that we must agree.

In 2019 my dad suffered a stroke that left half his body paralysed. The daily support he receives from the State, a single home help visit, is on weekdays only. By some miracle, his physical disability is meant to disappear at the weekend. Hes lucky to have children to provide weekend care, but many individuals are not so lucky. My mother is also physically disabled and uses an electric chair like my dad. She is offered home help at the weekends. This distinction between them has never been explained to our family.

My parents story, in the context of people with disabilities in Ireland, is a good news story. Most of us have no idea just how hard it can be. Most people have no sense of what it is to live in Ireland when you dont fit the assumed mould. I still hear people complaining that there are too many disability parking spaces, to give just one example. The average person has little awareness that a person entitled to such a spot may have spent hours getting up, and washed, and dressed, and ready to leave the house.

This referendum has done some good then by raising awareness.

But awareness is not the same as agreement. Some will vote no to the care amendment as it doesnt go far enough. This is a legitimate criticism.

It is true that in an ideal world, the government would honour the exact recommendations of the Citizens Assembly, but they are under no obligation to do so. And how could we expect our government to suddenly commit to financially supporting care in our constitution? Such a turnaround would make little sense due to what has gone before, of the struggles of so many people in Ireland, for so many days, weeks, months, years, and decades. We cannot expect our government to go from zero to hero in one referendum. And we are far too close to zero when it comes to the rights of people de facto excluded from education, employment, and society.

The inequality of our State goes far beyond physical disability; it stretches beyond what the eye can see, and it is insidious and cruel.

As a secondary school teacher, I also see how children with additional needs are penalised by our system. Their education, guaranteed by international and national law, is being denied.

I spoke with primary school principal Angela Dunne this week. She is also a parent of an autistic child. Before 2017, schools got support for children with additional needs through assessments. This was far from ideal as there were many children lost in the system, waiting for public assessments, and unable to afford private ones.

But the new system is broken.

I calculated how many hours of support I would get in my school under the old system. This is only for the children with official assessments, not including the many students waiting on them. Under the old model, I would have received 88.5 hours of support. Under this model, I receive 52.5 hours of support.

Angela tells me that any appeal is arduous and unlikely to succeed. Like so many school principals she has nowhere to turn, but still she opens her school doors, andyfights to afford children their right to an education, alongside their family and friends.

We have so much work to do. We need to get started, and a yes vote provides this opportunity. A yes vote can lead to good if we, as a population united, buoyed by our interdependence, a strength not a weakness, push for it. Change in care will come, but it will come incrementally through changes in policy, and it will be hard fought for. My experience of the system makes me certain of that.

But what a yes vote on care does not do, and this is a point thats being missed, what a yes vote does not do is make the position of carers, or those requiring care, any worse, and it certainly doesnt prevent positive legislation from being passed in the future.

At worst, the new article meaninglessly moves the furniture around a very poorly designed and poorly resourced room.

Indeed the misinformation surrounding the upcoming referendum reflects a general misunderstanding of what constitutional change is and, more importantly, what it is not. Many are complaining of woolly and ineffective language  the word confusion is echoing nationally.

Economist and academic Ursula Barry captures the nature of constitutional change when she argues that there are no guarantees in the arena of constitutional change  as advocates for childrens rights and Senate reform know only too well. Political will and public pressure are needed to ensure that constitutional change will be translated into radical legislative and policy reform. Otherwise, it just doesnt happen".

Our constitution is a starting point. The new wording in itself is not going to make anything instantly better, but it can provide a meaningful platform upon which positive change can happen.

The new wording removes sexist and demeaning language  that must not be forgotten. Our constitution must represent us, in the broadest sense, because that is its purpose. Genuine and concerned voices on the no side have become louder in recent weeks. I understand the frustration expressed by Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) and others, but it hurts my heart to hear people say that a yes vote on care trades sexism for ableism. That is simply untrue, and it is misleading.

Conversely, a no vote retains sexist and demeaning language and positions women, and not men, in the home. And although the sexism in our constitution has been made so very small over the last few weeks, it is not small. It is a deep and bleeding stain on the map of our little country, one that is remarked upon internationally.

Few online, and indeed few of our national newspapers, mention the people with disabilities, and carers, who are voting yes. Care Alliance Ireland will vote yes. Family Carers Ireland will vote yes. Social Care Ireland will vote yes. Kinship Care Ireland will vote yes. Family Resource Centre National Forum will vote yes. National Womens Council will vote yes. These groups are not against people with disabilities; some have disabilities themselves; all want better; all want recognition for care as the beating heart in the body of our State. A heart that requires adequate and meaningful support. A heart that must not be left to survive on scraps, on charity.

A yes vote on care moves us forward in hope and solidarity within our communities and with a visible acknowledgment of care in our constitution.

A no vote leaves us exactly where we are, where all this pain and hurt is coming from, and where a woman is made to feel defined by her biological sex, in a way that a man is not.

I will be voting yes to family, and yes to care.
Farewell to the phone box, that curious rectangular fixture which adorned city street corners and town squares for over a century.

Eir  the telecommunications company charged with decommissioning the boxes  have announced they will refurbish a 100-year-old 'K1' kiosk, the first type of payphone box introduced in Ireland, to commemorate the occasion.

Once upon a time phone boxes were as ubiquitous as telegraph poles. File picture: Larry Cummins

There was no mention about whether they would attempt to replicate the lurid graffiti, pungent stench of urine, or token empty Devils Bit cider cans in the installation.

Once upon a time they were as ubiquitous as telegraph poles. In recent years, with the monopoly of mobile and smartphones, they had become eyesores to those who actually took any notice, engrossed, as most people are, in the small devices we keep in our pockets.

For the pre-mobile generation however, the payphone played a seminal role in all our lives.

How many teenagers today owe their very existence to that humble payphone? Not as a venue of conception (well, maybe some), but as a conduit for cupid's arrow. A glorious Tardis of love, nine feet tall and just four feet wide. Standing in out of the rain to call your first love with nothing but a pocket pull of 50p coins and a head full of dreams was one of life's formative experiences.

There could be a thesis written on the appearance of the phone box in popular culture. File picture: Larry Cummins

There was a thrill in predicting the sequence of events that were necessary to execute the perfect call: availability of a payphone, first and foremost. Then the relief of picking up the receiver to hear it actually worked. The slotting of the coins. The dialing of the number. The ring tone. Wholl pick up, the Ma or the Da? Hopefully the older sister. How many calls were aborted if it was the brother?

If you grew up in a town or a city, having a payphone outside your house was a luxury country folk could only dream of. We were lucky the village square was only an eight-minute walk from our house.

It served multiple functions, and not all of them involved reversing the charges to school friends in Ballyglass or checking was your maybe-girlfriend going to the Travellers Friend that night. My father was the local headmaster, so it was not that unusual for disgruntled parents to call to our house unannounced. With no place for my father to hide, the parents were always invited into the front room.

As children, we didn't even need to receive verbal instruction as to what to do next. Out the back door wed go, usually as a pair, and  adjusting our pace depending on the severity of the parent  wed make our way to the phone box from where wed call our own home number. Our mother would answer the phone in the kitchen (only after letting it ring long and loud enough to be heard all around the house), before interrupting the serious conversation in the front room between my dad and disgruntled parent.

It may have been a small, restrictive, stinky place, but a lot of magic happened between the phone box's four fibreglass walls. File picture: Larry Cummins

In a scene that would later be replicated by White House Chief-of-Staff Andrew Card when he whispered in George W Bushs ear that the Twin Towers had just been hit, my mother would mumble some serious sounding words to my father, who would abruptly end the meeting because of the nature of the news hed just been told.

Im not sure what excuses he actually used, because at the same time he was extracting himself, Id be in Riordan's shop with my brother spending whatever change we had from the phone on a bottle of Cadet cola. It was an ingenious plan, and one that arguably saw us at our best as a family, working telepathically as a team, for each other.

There could be a thesis written, too, on the appearance of the phone box in popular culture.

Long before Colin Farrells sleazy publicist got pinned down by a sanctimonious sniper for conducting his extra-curricular affairs from on a payphone on the corner of 53rd and Eighth (Joel Schumacher's Phonebooth an underrated picture!), the Phone Box, as we called it this side of the pond, was a seminal prop for some of the best actors and TV shows.

James Caan in The Gambler. Robert De Niro talking into an empty telephone in Heat. Val Kilmer calling Ashley Judd one last time in the same movie. Goodfellas. Intermission. The Wire. The Sopranos. Even the 1987 Irish movie The Clash of the Ash features a lot of potent pay phone action.

The phone box, a place that carried our hopes and dreams. File picture: Larry Cummins

It may have been a small, restrictive, stinky place, but a lot of magic happened between those four fibreglass walls. A lot of deals done. Whacks ordered. Hearts broken. Copy filed. Come-pick-me-ups issued.

Alas, no more. The phone box is yet another relic of a disappearing Ireland put out to grass, rendered useless by emerging technologies. They may have stunk  they always stunk  but if those walls could talk theyd tell us of secret histories that now will never be written or known. So, a fond farewell to the phone box, a place that carried our hopes and dreams. I, for one, will never forget you.
I am one of the liberal, left-leaning, non-religious persons who will be voting no and no on March 8. My reasons for voting no are not based on conservatism or religious convictions, nor a protest vote against the politics of the current Government.

Through listening to both sides of the argument and with critical thinking I came to the following conclusions:

1. The Governments indecent haste in pushing the referendum at breakneck speed, dispensing with parliamentary scrutiny, and not allowing the appropriate time for a wide and in-depth debate in society about changes in the definition of something so fundamental to society as the meaning of family. This treatment of the electorate is disrespectful in my view and not very democratic, because it is likely to lead to a low voter turnout.

2. In the family amendment the people are asked to agree that durable relationships should become equivalent to marriage, without any indication of what possible consequences will follow.

Minister Roderic OGorman says that the courts will decide what it means, and yet he is sure that this term applies only to couples with children or single parents. He cannot be sure of that. He cannot predict what the courts will decide. To vote yes to the proposed wording would be a complete leap of faith. Nobody knows what rights will be bestowed on all kinds of possible relationships.

How can the voter make an informed decision on introducing a term into the Constitution if he or she does not know what it means? The Government must try harder.

3. In the care amendment, I would be in favour of replacing the wording of the woman in the home with more modern language which includes men, fathers, and carers. What I am not in favour of is that the recognition of the unique role of mothers is taken out of the article and replaced with Article 42.B, using wishy-washy language about the State recognises that the provision of care, by members of a family to one another... and shall strive to support. Why not name mothers, fathers, and carers?

Nobody seems to be happy with this wording. It is not giving any additional rights or entitlements to carers, nor the people being cared for. Mr OGormans assurances that this amendment will strengthen the hand of Government to provide more support for carers are disingenuous. The Government could have put in legislation to that effect at any time but has chosen not to do so. There was no political will to do this up to now, and there is no reason to believe that this would change if the referenda are passed.

The wording of the proposed amendments is too vague and weak. People are asked to vote yes based on faith and hope  because they have only promises from the Government but no information on the effect these amendments will have. That is simply not good enough.

Judith Murphy, Co Clare

Siun Ni Raghallaigh is a huge loss to RTE How lucky was this Government to have Siun Ni Raghallaigh as chairperson of the board of RTE? She had the integrity and ability to steer the embattled organisation through rising storms. She had created (with Cathal Goan) TG4; managed and reversed the failing fortunes of Ardmore Studios, was instrumental in giving Troy Studios to Limerick  in other words she is a person of proven judgment and broad-ranging experience. She knows what shes doing. She is liked and trusted by people who work in television and film, here and abroad. Siun Ni Raghallaigh is a person of 'proven judgment and broad-ranging experience', according to Lelia Doolan. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA I would like to think that those we trust in public service work just as hard, know their brief just as well, do their homework just as properly and, after last Thursdays Prime Time, have the courage to admit to shooting themselves in the foot. Sadly, in Ireland, we have a phobia among public and political servants, in moments of crisis, to circle the wagons and, shamefully, to forego truth in favour of defending a morally bankrupt status quo. The Irish Government was always ultimately responsible for the debacle of privately-funded public-service broadcasting. It is their job now to set this right without further silly prevaricating. Lelia Doolan, Kilcolgan, Co Galway

Child seats and car-hire companies

My cousin came for a visit last year from Britain with her grandchildren.

Although she hired a car at the airport, she then had to purchase a child car seat for the protection of her grandchildren.

When she returned to the UK she had to leave the seat behind and it is now in a friends shed.

Surely in this day and age car-hire companies should be required by law to provide these seats. The Road Safety Authority should look into this matter immediately.

John Fair, Castlebar, Co Mayo

The humanitarian situation in Gaza 'diminishes us as humans'. Picture: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Ireland may be complicit in genocide The scandalous humanitarian situation in Gaza diminishes us as humans. Since it is likely that Shannon Airport is being used to support the Israeli war crimes in Gaza, this would make Ireland complicit in these war crimes and possibly complicit in genocide. Elizabeth Cullen, Kilcullen, Co Kilkenny

We do not have a labour shortage

We do not have a skills and labour shortage in this country, as claimed by industry and echoed by the Government. What we have is a recruitment process problem, with candidates pulling out because of extremely protracted recruitment processes.

Many employers expect candidates to wait around as the weeks and sometimes months go by, demanding more and more fences to be jumped in order to get to an interview. They sit on applications and procrastinate, despite their urgent appeal to fill roles. It is very much a case of hurry up and wait.

A simple reference does not seem to be nearly enough any longer for many employers, who also want lengthy application forms to be filled despite having resumes from candidates. There are plenty of people out there with skills, looking for work.

However, people should not sit in the waiting room for jobs any longer, so that cagy and exploitative employers can gauge how desperately they want a job and pay them less.

Lets not listen to the false and phony cries of employers who say there is a skills and labour shortage, because it is of their own making entirely.

Maurice Fitzgerald, Shanbally, Co Cork
Duet sisters

My dream pressie? Someone sorting out my flow! Your mum might love a visit from Duet, a brand new interior design service established by two sisters-in-law, covering all areas of Cork. With a shared passion for all things interiors, this creative team is making waves with their fresh approach to creating beautiful spaces. Duet offers affordable design solutions for projects of all sizes. Find them on Instagram at duet_design_for_living where their room design service starts at 399.

Brighter, better days

Is that love for all the mothers, grandmothers, and mother types in the air? A piece of art is such a special gift, like The Upside from Cork painter Cora Murphy, whos just released a new Limited Edition print. Painted last summer (with Bell X 1 The Upswing on repeat, she tells us), The Upside harks forward to brighter, better days. Cora said the tune was the perfect accompaniment to push the paint in all the right ways. Painted in oils in upwards of 60 layers, the Limited Edition is now available in medium, large, and X-large sizes on www.coramurphy.com

Brain power

Mum might not mind the chance to enhance her cognitive abilities with fabU Focus Brain supplement. This powerful supplement harnesses the potent properties of Lions Mane, an edible mushroom, combined with a blend of amino acids and vitamins. Designed to optimize mental performance, promote healthy psychological function, and alleviate feelings of fatigue, is there anyone who wouldnt put their hand up for that? Developed with the expertise of renowned Irish pharmacist Laura Dowling (also known as the Fabulous Pharmacist), available to buy for 29.99 (60 vegan capsules, two capsules daily)at www.fabuwellness.com and leading pharmacies nationwide.

Hand-painted Easter Eggs

Lads, you cant go wrong with chocolate, so go all out this year, and get Mothers Day and Easter sorted in one. Drawing inspiration from the exquisite craftsmanship evident throughout Ashford Castle, Paula Stakelum, Global Director of Chocolate and Patisserie at Red Carnation Hotels has created her annually-anticipated hand-painted Easter egg. The egg has been created using Ashford Castles signature Valrhona Legend 55% milk chocolate and filled with Legacy 29% chocolate shards...homnomnom. Priced at 75, available exclusively from Mrs Teas Boutique & Bakery on the Ashford Castle estate. Guests staying at Ashford Castle during Easter will receive this magnificent egg as a gift to take home. For more: www.ashfordcastle.comtarget="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> and on Instagram: paula_pastry

Breakfast in bed

Youre only allowed to buy this for mammy if you intend to cook her breakfast in bed with it. George Foremans new Immersa Grill is set to transform cooking experiences with game-changing washable technology that allows you to pop the entire grill into the dishwasher. Im sold! Available in two sizes  small and medium - both Immersa Grills use significantly less energy (77% for Individual Grill and 71% for Family Grill, vs a conventional oven), meaning you can cook up a storm for mum without worrying about spending a fortune on electric bills. 119.99 available from independent electrical retailers nationwide.

Five-star treat

Nothing like a bit of a traditional treat - especially when it is five-star. Get yourselves along to enjoy Afternoon Tea in The Sheen Lounge. Delight in a fantastical feast of sandwiches, delicate pastries, scones with cream and preserve, and exquisite cakes, freshly crafted each day by the talented pastry team. Prices start at 49 or elevate the experience with a glass of Duval Leroy Champagne, Brut Reserve, for 65 per person. Accompanied by live music and a special gift for every mother. www.sheenfallslodge.ie

Tea in style

Theres be lots of cups of tea made on March 10, so why not do it in style with this gorgeous tableware from Sara Miller - Im weak for the teapot,

80 from www.oxendales.ie

Scent for a lifetime

Irish brand Max Benjamin are firm believers that giving the gift of fragrance can hold a special memory of that scent for a lifetime. Give your mum figure a very special personalised gift box where she can choose her own scent for a candle, diffuser, car fragrance dispenser and a scented card, 75, www.maxbenjamin.com
Dairy farming is at the heart of Irish life  both social and economic. Ireland has 17,500 family dairy farms, supporting 55,000 Irish jobs, all producing the highest quality milk. Nearly 90 per cent of our dairy produce is exported to over 130 countries and contributes around 6.3 billion to the Irish economy each year.

Our dairy industry is not, however, without its challenges.

The Irish Climate Action Act 2021 requires agriculture to reduce its emissions by 25 per cent by 2030 and the EU Water Framework Directive requires all EU states to achieve a good status for their waterways by 2027.

Given that agriculture accounts for over 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland, and has also been identified as the major contributor to the moderate status awarded to many of our rivers, lakes and estuaries, the industrys environmental impact is a vital concern for our farmers.

Across the country, dairy farmers are employing innovative technologies and practices that are designed to offset agricultures footprint, both in terms of GHG emissions and water quality impacts. The goals are challenging, but the industry is making strong progress.

Christopher Tuffy milks 155 cows in north Sligo. He keeps his system as simple as possible, aiming for peak production from pasture, delivering milk thats high in the fat and protein that makes it such a valuable commodity.

He has re-seeded parts of his farm to include white clover which locks nitrogen in the soil, reducing the need for fertiliser, and where fertiliser is still necessary he has switched to low-emission protected urea fertiliser.

The production of more environmentally-friendly milk has cost us nothing so far, he says. It has actually made our system and our farm more profitable, and better run.

Christopher believes that Irish dairy needs to maintain its current levels of production or there will be no future for young people in the industry. Its rural Ireland, he says. We are out here in Sligo and we need agriculture. Look at the amount of jobs being supported in rural Ireland by agriculture.

If I didnt come home and milk cows I would have little choice but to emigrate. I always wanted to be a farmer but if it werent for the opportunity to farm with a decent-sized herd, theres nothing else in rural Ireland for me.

Dairy herd in pasture in Co Cork.

Christopher believes that young farmers are particularly attuned to the environmental challenge. Were taking a wide variety of steps to reduce our emissions and were investing in our future; thats the way we see it, he says.

We are determined to show that we are producing milk at a very high level of quality with comparatively low emissions. Why should we be reducing herd numbers when there are other countries producing milk at a higher carbon cost, and they are not restricting their output?

Caroline Hanrahan and her husband Ger operate a farm that has been under their familys stewardship for six generations near Ballyhooly in north Cork. Caroline, who holds a science degree from University College Dublin, is a passionate advocate for dairy farming.

I think its a wonderful way of life, she says. And one we are keen to pass on to the next generation. We have five children ourselves, who range from ten to sixteen years of age. Its good to see the kids helping out on the farm and to see the great work ethic and the care for animals it instils in them.

Caroline says that she and many farmers across the country are on board for the challenges involved in emissions reduction.

We have been sowing clover for the last four years, she says, with about half of our farm in clover currently. Its proving very effective in reducing the amounts of chemicals we are using on the farm.

The Hanrahans also keep their breeding policy under active review, using the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) to ensure, as Caroline puts it, that we are breeding the best. We are using high-scoring bulls and selecting our top cows, resulting in the most efficient choices and highest milk yields possible.

We are interested in and making efforts in all areas of sustainability, she says, including monitoring water quality and promoting biodiversity on our farm. It is hugely important that we farm in the right manner; one that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.

Niall Moore, pictured, farms with his wife in Annestown, Co. Waterford.

Niall Moore farms with his wife in Annestown, Co. Waterford. They milk 130 cows using a robotic milking system. Moore acknowledges that there are issues.

Agriculture as a whole is doing its best and the dairy industry must play a significant role role in areas such as improving water quality. I am personally aware of 420 water-improvement projects where there are advisers in place in different water catchment areas.

Niall is keen to share practical examples and one such is a pilot project run in conjunction with Waterford County Council and scientist Dr Rory Harrington where farmers have reed bed filtration systems built on their farm to deal with yard run off water.

You have a series of ponds that are planted with reeds, Niall says, The topsoil is then put back into the ponds, the reeds are planted in these ponds and your yard run off comes down into each pond. The reeds take out the nitrates, the potassium, and the phosphorus, and the water then filters through that system goes off into another pond and constantly filters down.

It started on my uncles farm, he continues. Willie Moore was the first to build this system and Eamon de Buitlear, famous for all his work in nature, actually drank a glass of water that had gone through his system. Its proven, its constantly tested and its a fantastic way of purifying water that might have been contaminated along the way. It also has the added benefit of creating a fantastic eco-system for biodiversity, plants and wildlife on the farm itself.

Majella McCafferty works as farmer advocacy manager for the National Dairy Council. My career has been about making farms as sustainable and as profitable as possible. The two ambitions sit by side by side, she explains.

All dairy farmers need to be looking at environmental issues, she says, and keeping public perceptions of Irish dairy farming front of minds. She says that her advice to dairy farmers has been consistent, and it centres around one word: efficiency.

I always advise making all aspects of the farm as efficient as possible, she says. You need to look at grassland management, water quality, soil health, everything needs to be in the best possible condition. Farmers also need to be looking at breeding the right type of cow for their farm and the highest performing animals in general.

Majella is keen to showcase the environmental efforts, and the farming excellence that is happening every day on Irish farms. Modern Irish farmers are balancing science, business, and technical considerations, she says, against a backdrop of a true love for the land.

Irish farmers love their animals and love farming, she says, and they demonstrate it every day from the time they get up at 5:30am. Id encourage anyone to visit a dairy farm to have a look at what is actually happening on the ground.

Our challenge is to balance the sustainability priorities alongside the human element and the production element of dairy farming  and wed love the public to better understand the balancing act we are trying to achieve.

For further information about the things farmers are doing to improve their environmental impact, visit ndc.ie
A fire at a six-storey shopping centre in the Bangladeshi capital has killed at least 43 people and injured dozens of others, the health minister said.

Samanta Lal Sen said the fire broke out late on Thursday in the building in Dhakas Bailey Road area.
Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces on Thursday shot dead more than 100 Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery, but Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over.

At least 112 people were killed and more than 280 wounded in the incident near Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said.

The loss of civilian lives was the biggest in weeks. Hamas said the incident could jeopardise talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages it is holding. When asked if he thought it would complicate the talks, US President Joe Biden said: "I know it will."

Medics in Gaza said they could not cope with the flood of serious injuries, which came as the death toll in nearly five months of war passed 30,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel disputed the account provided by officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months since the Palestinian militant group's deadly rampage in southern Israel on October 7.

The Israeli military said the trucks were operated by private contractors as part of an aid operation that it had been overseeing for the past four nights.

One Israeli official said there had been two incidents, hundreds of metres apart. In the first, dozens were killed or injured as they tried to take aid from the trucks and were trampled or run over.

He said there was a second, subsequent incident as the trucks moved off. Some people in the crowd approached troops who felt under threat and opened fire, killing an unknown number in a "limited response", he said. He dismissed the casualty toll given by Gaza authorities but gave no figure himself.

Israeli female soldiers pose for a photo on a position on the Gaza Strip border, in southern Israel, Monday, February 19, 2024. Picture: AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov

In a later briefing, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said dozens had been trampled to death or injured in a fight to take supplies off the trucks.

He said tanks escorting the trucks had subsequently fired warning shots to disperse the crowd and backed away when events began to get out of hand. "No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy," he said.

"The IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point."

The US State Department said it was urgently seeking information on the incident as did the French foreign ministry.

Hamas issued a statement rejecting the Israeli account.

It said the Health Ministry had presented "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing, in addition to the testimonies of all witnesses who confirmed being targeted with direct fire without posing any threat to the occupying army".

The White House said Biden discussed the "tragic and alarming incident" with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to secure the release of Israeli hostages and a six-week ceasefire.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was an "ugly massacre" by Israel, and French foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine said Israel was responsible under international law for protecting aid distribution to civilians.

One video shared on social media, whose location Reuters was able to verify, showed trucks loaded with many dead bodies as well as wounded people.

Another, which Reuters could not verify, showed bloodstained people being carried in a truck, bodies wrapped in shrouds and doctors treating injured patients on the hospital floor.

"We don't want aid like this. We don't want aid and bullets together. There are many martyrs," a man said in one of the videos.

The Pentagon expressed alarm but declined to assign any blame. "These are human beings that are trying to feed themselves" Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told a news briefing. "We're all kind of looking at that and saying: 'What happened here'?".

A Palestinian looks at the destruction after an Israeli strike on residential buildings in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, February 22, 2024

Palestinian death toll tops 30,000

The Palestinian health authorities said 30,035 Palestinians were now confirmed killed and more than 70,000 wounded in Israel's offensive, launched after the October 7 attack in which Israel said Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and abducted 253.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million population have been displaced from their homes at least once.

Aid deliveries to northern Gaza have been sparse and chaotic, passing through more active military zones to an area where the UN says many are starving, with videos showing desperate crowds surging around supply trucks.

UN and other relief agencies have complained that Israel has blocked or restricted their attempts to get aid in. Israel denies putting any restrictions on humanitarian aid.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian aid agency UNRWA, told reporters in Jerusalem that the supply of aid into Gaza as a whole had halved since January.

~ Reuters
Heavy gunfire paralysed Haitis capital on Thursday, and at least four police officers were killed, as a powerful gang leader announced that he would try to capture the countrys police chief and government ministers.

The move came during the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya as Kenya and Haiti signed agreements on Friday to try to salvage a plan for the African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence that has surged to unprecedented levels.

Gunmen shot at Haitis main international airport and other targets in Port-au-Prince, including police stations, in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise.

At least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.

Youths raise their hands to show police they are not carrying weapons during an anti-gang operation at the Portail neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, suspended all flights.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue and leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, was seen in a recorded video announcing that the aim was to tie up the police chief and government ministers and prevent Mr Henry from returning to Haiti.

With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country, he said.

A spokesman for the prime ministers office could not be immediately reached for comment. The head of Haitis National Police, Frantz Elbe, and police spokesman Garry Desrosiers did not return messages asking for comment.

Gunfire still rang out Thursday evening and dozens of Haitians were seen carrying children and fleeing their neighbourhoods.

Armoured vehicles patrolled empty streets in downtown Port-au-Prince while others remained stationed near gang-controlled slums.

Residents in some neighbourhoods, including Canape Vert and Turgeau, set up roadblocks to prevent gangs from entering.

Police take cover during an anti-gang operation in Port-au-Prince (Odelyn Joseph/AP)

Pierre Alex Boucher, a maths teacher who lives in Port-au-Prince, said he heard heavy gunfire before dawn. Several hours later, as the gunfire continued, he stood on his roof and said he saw police in an armoured car trying to fight gang members and then abruptly leave.

The shooting then worsened, and when he saw what he believes were teenagers with machine guns, he fled his home.

The area is completely invaded by gangs, Mr Boucher said. A lot of people couldnt make it out, and some locked themselves inside their homes.

The country has to revolt against the gangs, he said. No one is safe.

It was not clear if the gang leader had the backing of other major gangs that are estimated to control up to 80% of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.

Diego Da Rin, with the International Crisis Group, noted that Barbecue in his speech referred to a coalition called Viv Ansanm, which means living together in Haitian Creole. The coalition was created last year as part of a peace pact between Barbecues federation and another powerful gang called G-Pep and had as a main goal to bring down Mr Henrys administration.

However, the coalition crumbled just days after it was announced, and Mr Da Rin said it remains to be seen whether Barbecue truly has the support of other gang leaders.

I dont know how much credibility to give Barbecue right now, Mr Da Rin said. Rivalries between gangs are so strong and alliances ever shifting that its complicated they could act in a concerted manner for a long time without much trouble.

However, he noted that gunmen launched co-ordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. In addition to the attack on the main international airport, gunmen also set fire to a police station in downtown Port-au-Prince.

The attacks came a day after Mr Henry met Caribbean leaders in Guyana, and pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. It is the third time he has announced such a deadline, with previous promises made in 2022 and 2023.

There are currently no elected officials in Haiti, with Mr Henry sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Mr Henry travelled from Guyana to Kenya in the hope of moving forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. A court in the East African nation ruled last month that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, but Mr Henry and Kenyan officials have been working on the deal that would allow forces to arrive in Haiti soon.

There has always been the danger that as discussions progress and the goal of the mission gets closer that the gangs will try to flex their muscles and discourage the troops, Mr Da Rin said.

The government of Haiti said in a statement that Mr Henry arrived in Kenya on Thursday. They did not say when he would return to Haiti.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak used a Friday evening address to warn that democracy is being targeted by extremists.

Mr Sunak said there are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.

Speaking at a lectern outside the doors of No 10 Downing Street, Mr Sunak warned about the current situation in the UK, in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.

And he said the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election was beyond alarming.

What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence

In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality, he said in a hastily arranged address to the nation.

What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

Jewish children, fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Long-standing parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak opted to give his address about extremism in Downing Street (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

And its beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.

In his victory speech, newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway announced that his win was for Gaza following a campaign dominated by the conflict.

Mr Sunak, in a message aimed at those taking part in pro-Palestine protests, urged people to reject extremist messages.

The Conservative Party leader said: I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: dont let the extremists hijack your marches.

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree, we will never be disunited.

He said a line has to be drawn so that while people should be able to march and protest with passion in support of Gaza, demonstrators cannot call for violent jihad, justify the actions of Palestinian militant group Hamas  a proscribed group in the UK, which bans any show of support  or call for the eradication of a state or any kind of hatred or antisemitism.

George Galloway said his victory in Rochdale was for Gaza (Peter Byrne/PA)

Mr Sunak confirmed he has met senior UK police chiefs to tell them the public expected the pro-Palestine protests to be policed rather than simply managed.

I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action, he said.

He said those instructions to police would be backed up by further action from his government.

What he called a new robust framework would be introduced to ensure we are dealing with the root cause of this problem, he said.

Mr Sunak said ministers would redouble their support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities stop extremist activity on campus and act to prevent people from entering the country whose aim is to undermine its values.
Federal prosecutors pressed a federal judge on Friday to schedule a trial for this summer in the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump, while defence lawyers sought to put it off until after the election.

US District Judge Aileen Cannon did not set a date during the pivotal hours-long hearing in Fort Pierce, Florida, attended by Trump, though she did express scepticism that the case could proceed to trial on the timeline requested by prosecutors.

The trial date decision is crucial, determining whether the former president and leading Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential race faces a jury before the November election on charges that he hoarded top-secret records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and concealed them from government investigators.

The updated indictment against former President Donald Trump, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

Given the gravity of the allegations and the breadth of evidence that prosecutors say they have accumulated, the documents case has long been seen as the most legally perilous of the four criminal prosecutions that Trump is facing this year.

The case had been scheduled for months to reach trial on May 20, but with Ms Cannon signalling months ago that she intended to reconsider that date, the two sides submitted competing proposals this week that could theoretically result in Trump standing trial at some point this summer  or not anytime this year.

Prosecutor Jay Bratt, a member of special counsel Jack Smiths team, which has pressed for a July 8 trial date, said: This case can be tried this summer.

Defence lawyers, by contrast, contend there is no fair way to hold a fair trial this year at a time when Trump is looking to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, but they have nonetheless offered August 12 as a possible date to begin jury selection.

Lawyer Todd Blanche said: We very much believe that a trial that takes place before the election is a mistake and should not happen.

The easy solution is to start this trial after the election.

Supporters of Donald Trump waited to see the former president at the federal courthouse (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Though she did not immediately rule, Ms Cannon hinted that she did not see the case as being on the cusp of trial, telling lawyers that a lot of work remains to be done.

Trump, who has had combative exchanges in the past with judges, sat quietly during Fridays arguments and appeared to listen intently, at times whispering with his legal team.

Mr Smith was also present, as were Trumps two co-defendants, his valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira.

The trial date has taken on added significance in light of the uncertainty surrounding a separate federal case in Washington charging Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The Supreme Court said this week that it would hear arguments in late April on whether Trump as a former president is immune from prosecution, leaving it unclear whether that case  also brought by Mr Smith  might reach trial before the election.

If the Florida classified documents case were to be postponed until after the election, and if the Washington election subversion case does not take place this year, that would mean voters would head to the polls without two blockbuster federal prosecutions  one charging Trump with seeking to undermine American democracy, the other accusing him of mishandling sensitive national secrets  being resolved by a jury.

A late summer trial, if it happens, could come right around the time that the parties select their presidential nominees.

Philip Stasik, centre, holds up a sign reading Trump Liar as he joins demonstrators (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Republicans will hold their nominating convention in July while the Democrats will meet in August.

The general election campaign typically moves into a more frenzied pace after Labour Day, when many voters begin to pay closer attention to the political season.

In some states, voters can begin participating in early voting by September or October, raising the possibility that a trial could play out as ballots are being cast.

The highly anticipated hearing was the first public one in weeks in the Florida case.

It was held as prosecutors have sought to stress to Ms Cannon the severity of the charges against Trump and amid simmering disagreement between Mr Smiths team and the judge on the question of whether names of potential witnesses in the case could be disclosed by the defence on the public docket.

This image, contained in the indictment against former President Donald Trump, shows boxes of records being stored on the stage in the White and Gold Ballroom at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida (Justice Department via AP)

Trump faces 40 felony counts in Florida that accuse him of wilfully retaining after he left the White House dozens of classified documents and rebuffing government demands to give them back.

Prosecutors in recent court filings have stressed the scope of criminal conduct that they say they expect to prove at trial, saying this week in one brief that there has never been a case in American history in which a former official has engaged in conduct remotely similar to Trumps.

They allege, for instance, that Trump intentionally held onto some of the nations most sensitive documents  only returning a fraction of them upon demand by the National Archives  and then urged his lawyer to hide records and to lie to the FBI by saying he no longer was in possession of them.

Hes also charged with enlisting staff to delete surveillance footage that would show boxes of documents being moved around the property.

Trump and his lawyers have denied any wrongdoing.

They asked Ms Cannon last week to dismiss the case, citing among other arguments the same immunity theory now being considered by the Supreme Court.
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A weekly review of the best and most popular stories published in the Imperial Valley Press. Also, featured upcoming events, new movies at local theaters, the week in photos and much more.
A bill which criminalizes LGBTQ+ people in Ghana and their supporters has drawn international condemnation after it was passed by parliament, with the United Nations calling it profoundly disturbing and urging for it not to become law
(Photo : Unsplash/ Alex Kotliarskyi )

Remote work policies highlight the importance of life beyond the office, with some companies going further with a highly sought-after four-day workweek benefit since the pandemic began.

What Is a Four-Day Workweek?

A four-day workweek means working 32 hours without any cut in pay or benefits, wherein employees might choose their extra day off depending on the company and the industry.

The Origins of Working Fewer Days

The concept of working fewer days to increase time off is not new. Ford Motor Co. and the Industrial Revolution initiated the five-day workweek in July 1926 in a few plants, which later became the standard policy across the company by September of the same year.

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) set rules like a minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, a 44-hour workweek, and overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate, and reduced the workweek to 42 hours in 1939 and 40 hours in 1940.

READ ALSO: Workplace Revolution: 75% of U.S. Employees Believe Four-Day Workweek Could Boost Productivity

Companies Adapting to Four-Day Workweek

Amazon

While not every Amazon employee has a four-day workweek, the e-commerce giant has increasingly offered it. From October 2021 to March 2022, nearly one-third of Amazon job listings mentioned this perk, showing a rising trend in the business world.

Basecamp

Basecamp had gone beyond a four-day workweek with summer weeks since 2008 when they switched to a four-day workweek from May 1st to August 31st every single year.

BigLaw

Several BigLaw firms, like Davis Polk & Wardwell, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, switched to a four-day workweek in the summer of 2023. Employees now work only Monday to Thursday, with Fridays off, while still getting regular pay.

Bolt

In 2021, Bolt Financial tried the four-day workweek for three months, which was a hit. So, from January 1st, 2022, they made it permanent for all staff. According to an interview with its founder, Bolt lets employees choose their work hours but sets aside four days a week for collaboration, ensuring meetings do not ruin perfect Fridays.

Buffer

Buffer, known for its innovative approaches, tested the four-day workweek in May 2020, with 91% of employees reporting increased happiness and productivity in a survey. Now, social media management companies have fully adopted this policy.

CARFAX

CARFAX offers its employees the option of a 4-day work week during the summer, providing a full 32-hour work week instead of extending hours from Monday to Thursday.

Ecosia

Ecosia, a unique search engine that uses ad revenue to plant trees and has planted 150 million so far, also offers employees a 4-day work week and remote work options, which grants participating employees 80% of their salary.

Forbes Advisor

Forbes Advisor, part of the American business magazine Forbes, offers financial advice. While not fully adopting the 4-day work week, employees enjoy every 3rd Friday off, granting twelve long weekends yearly.

Kickstarter

Kickstarter, the fundraising company, has been implementing the four-day workweek for months, yielding excellent results. Like many companies, Kickstarter initially tested the policy before fully adopting it. They were surprised by the positive impact on productivity, which was attributed to staff finding more efficient work methods.

KRUSS

The 4-day workweek trend is global. A German company, a top supplier of measuring instruments, has adopted nine hours a day for four days, totaling 36 hours per week.

Lamborghini

Luxury car maker Lamborghini made headlines in December 2023 by introducing a groundbreaking four-day workweek for its European automotive production staff, offering the same pay.

Microsoft

Even major companies like Microsoft cannot ignore the productivity boosts during four-day work weeks. Microsoft Japan tested this in 2019 and saw a remarkable 40% increase in productivity. While U.S. offices have not adopted it yet, it is likely just a matter of time before more businesses recognize the benefits of a four-day workweek.

Panasonic

Like Microsoft, Panasonic also tried the four-day workweek in its Japan offices. While the results were great, the main focus was not on the company's profits but on its employees' long-term health and well-being.

Samsung

The South Korean tech giant is considering implementing a 4-day work week with conditions where employees will only have the opportunity to work a 4-day week once a month and must ensure they fulfill their monthly working hours. This cautious approach suggests that Samsung is gradually exploring the concept, but there is hope it may expand.

ThredUp

ThredUP initially implemented the four-day workweek as a trial to assess its effectiveness. Not only did it enhance productivity, but CEO James Reinhart also mentioned that it aided in attracting top talent, as over half of recruits cited the four-day workweek as a significant factor in their decision to join the company.

Toshiba

While Toshiba allows employees to complete a 40-hour workweek, it maximizes enjoyment during holiday weekends.

RELATED ARTICLE: Lamborghini Shift Gears, Implements Four-Day Workweek for Staff Without Reducing Wages

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Small private practice healthcare providers are feeling the financial strain as vital reimbursement systems stay offline for nine days after Change Healthcare was attacked.

Change Healthcare provides payment and revenue cycle management tools, aiding transactions between healthcare providers and major insurance firms. UnitedHealth Group, its parent company, found a cyberattack on February 21. Upon detection, impacted systems were isolated and disconnected immediately.

Disruption in The U.S. Healthcare System

The outage has prevented doctors from checking patient eligibility and filling prescriptions electronically, adding to the administrative burden on already busy workers. Healthcare providers have also been unable to receive insurance payments, causing revenue cycles to stall.

Smaller and mid-sized practices, dependent on reimbursement cash flow, are grappling with difficult survival choices. If the outage persists, experts warn that some practices may be forced to shut down permanently.

Dr. Purvi Parikh, an allergist, and immunologist in New York City, told CNBC that the breach had been a "mess" and highly stressful in her practice, which is unable to receive reimbursements from insurers for patient visits, making it challenging to cover operational costs such as payroll and medical supplies.

Parikh mentioned that transitioning to a new platform could take weeks, offering no immediate solution.

Change Healthcare has yet to provide updates on system restoration as of Thursday, when Parikh expressed frustration at the lack of answers or solutions, feeling stuck in the situation.

BlackCat Ransomware

Change Healthcare announced on Thursday that the ransomware attack was perpetrated by the group Blackcat, which is also known as Noberus and ALPHV that steals sensitive data from organizations and demands a ransom to prevent its publication, as per a December report from the U.S. Department of Justice.

READ ALSO: MacOS "Turtlerans" Attack, Not a Major Threat And Doesn't Require Much Effort from Mac Users

Change Healthcare's Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Collaboration

The company collaborates with law enforcement and third-party consultants, including Mandiant, a subsidiary of Google, and cybersecurity software provider Palo Alto Networks, to evaluate the breach, stating to CNBC that patient care remains their top focus, and multiple solutions have been implemented to ensure continued access to medications and necessary care.

Doctors' Challenges Amid Cyber Attack

Dr. Kiranjit Khalsa, an allergist and immunologist with an independent practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, mentioned that the breach has caused her staff to put in extra hours to handle the increased workload of manually processing prescriptions.

According to her, the most challenging aspect is the reimbursement, contemplating whether to reduce staff hours or close the clinic temporarily to address the situation.

Even when Change Healthcare's systems are restored, Dr. Dan Inder Sraow, an interventional cardiologist with a private practice in Phoenix, Arizona, noted uncertainties about the next steps. It is unclear if Change Healthcare will handle all claim processing or if he must recruit more staff to assist.

Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the American Medical Association, has been busy fielding calls from worried colleagues. One oncologist he spoke with has only two weeks' cash reserves. If the outage persists, the practice might be unable to afford the chemotherapy needed for patient treatment. With many providers operating on slim margins, there is a risk that some may close down.

Change Healthcare's Merger

In 2022, Change Healthcare joined forces with Optum, a provider serving over 100 million patients in the U.S., owned by UnitedHealth, the largest healthcare company in the country by market value.

The American Medical Association strongly opposed the merger, stating in a letter to the DOJ that it could limit competition, grant UnitedHealth access to extensive data, and potentially disrupt patient care.

The merger pushed through, but the DOJ is now investigating UnitedHealth for antitrust issues, per a Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday.

RELATED ARTICLE: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile are Down, Affecting Thousands of Users in a Widespread Outage Feared as Cyberattack

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Photo : Unsplash/Jon Tyson)

On Wednesday, a lawsuit accused former President Donald Trump of attempting to significantly reduce the value of stock shares in his social media company owned by the firm's co-founders, potentially denying them hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

United Atlantic Ventures (UAV), the partnership involved, claims that Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) engaged in last-minute maneuvers that were wrongful and aimed at diluting UAV's minority stake in the media company, according to a court filing.

The Upcoming Merger with A Shell Company

The Delaware Chancery Court's lawsuit precedes the merger of Trump Media & Technology Group and shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), which, when approved next month, would make Trump's TMTG share surge to 90%, worth over three billion dollars, based on its current share price.

A Lawsuit Blocking the Merger

As per a Reuters report on Thursday, an investment entity overseen by former DWAC Chairman and CEO Patrick Orlando filed a lawsuit in Chancery court aiming to halt the merger unless it allocated a greater number of shares from the merger than DWAC suggests. The news noted that TMTG and DWAC filed a lawsuit against Orlando and his Arc Global Investments II in Florida, accusing him of attempting to gain an unfair advantage through extortion.

Trump Media's History

UAV, a partnership between Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, both contestants on Trump's television program "The Apprentice," proposed the concept of Trump Media to Trump in February 2021, following his ban from Twitter and Facebook after the January 6 Capitol riot.

TMTG later developed and introduced Truth Social, the social media platform primarily utilized by Trump for communication with the public.

The merger plan coincides with Trump, the top contender for the Republican presidential nomination, being required to pay over five hundred million dollars in civil judgments in New York. These stem from trial rulings involving business fraud and defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll.

The Delaware Lawsuit

Christopher Clark, the attorney representing UAV in the partnership's Delaware lawsuit against TMTG, stated that the aim is to deny the co-founders their rightful share of the deal, emphasizing that the co-founders who created Truth Social deserve fair compensation for their efforts. Clark highlighted that it is not a new story, likening the situation to Trump's history of disputing bills from contractors and lawyers.

READ ALSO: Trump to Pay Legal Cost of $400,000 As Lawsuit Against NYT Reporters Gets Dismissed

The motion in the Delaware lawsuit alleges that Former President Donald J. Trump is disputing UAV's claim to 8.6% of TMTG's stock and attempting to significantly reduce UAV's stake ahead of an upcoming merger, less than 1% due to the TMTG board's approval of increasing the total authorized shares from 120 million to 1 billion.

UAV's motion argues that there is no valid reason for the Billion Share Authorization or the issuance of non-voting stock, especially considering that any unused TMTG stock will be nullified in the merger. The motion suggests that the main reason for TMTG's move to authorize a large new stock block and introduce non-voting stock is to allow Trump to dilute UAV's share and claim the majority of the merger benefits for himself.

UAV's lawsuit against TMTG, aimed at stopping the dilution attempt, is currently sealed in the Delaware court, but HUAV has filed a public motion asking for the case to be expedited.

Merger Disclosure

In October 2021, TMTG and DWAC, a special purpose acquisition company, disclosed their intention to merge. The merger faced delays of over two years due to investigations by the SEC and the Department of Justice, among other reasons. However, earlier this month, the SEC approved the registration statement, signaling approval for the SPAC merger. DWAC shareholders are set to vote on the merger's approval on March 22. DWAC seemed aware of the potential lawsuit, as indicated in a February 14 SEC filing.

The DWAC filing mentioned that UAV had informed both TMTG and a holder of TMTG Convertible Notes about its potential action to stop the Business Combination. TMTG told DWAC that it firmly believed UAV and Mr. Cohen had no anti-dilution or consent rights regarding the Business Combination. If such claims were deemed valid, settling them could negatively impact the Combined Entity and its shareholders economically and in terms of voting power regarding finances and dilution.





RELATED ARTICLE: Former IRS Contractor Leaking Trump's Tax Records, Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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. In these affected areas, gusty afternoon winds will coincide with low humidity and dry fuels. Fire 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.
Failing to Ensure Basic Services, Aid

( Human Rights Watch )  (The Hague, February 26, 2024)  The Israeli government has failed to comply with at least one measure in the legally binding order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in South Africas genocide case, Human Rights Watch said today. Citing warnings about catastrophic conditions in Gaza, the court ordered Israel on January 26, 2024, to take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid, and to report back on its compliance to the specific measures within one month.

One month later, however, Israel continues to obstruct the provision of basic services and the entry and distribution within Gaza of fuel and lifesaving aid, acts of collective punishment that amount to war crimes and include the use of starvation of civilians as a weapon of war. Fewer trucks have entered Gaza and fewer aid missions have been permitted to reach northern Gaza in the several weeks since the ruling than in the weeks preceding it, according to United Nations Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The Israeli government is starving Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more peril than before the World Courts binding order, said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. The Israeli government has simply ignored the courts ruling, and in some ways even intensified its repression, including further blocking lifesaving aid.

Al Jazeera English Video: What happened in Gaza while Israel was meant to act to stop genocide | Al Jazeera Newsfeed 

Other countries should use all forms of leverage, including sanctions and embargoes, to press the Israeli government to comply with the courts binding orders in the genocide case, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch found in December 2023 that Israeli authorities are using starvation as a weapon of war. Pursuant a policy set out by Israeli officials and carried out by Israeli forces, the Israeli authorities are deliberately blocking the delivery of water, food, and fuel, willfully impeding humanitarian assistance, apparently razing agricultural areas, and depriving the civilian population of objects indispensable to its survival.

Israeli authorities have kept its supply of electricity for Gaza shut off since the October 7 Hamas-led attacks. After initially cutting the entire supply of water that Israel provides to Gaza via three pipelines, Israel resumed piping on two of its three lines. However, due to the cuts and widespread destruction to water infrastructure amid unrelenting Israeli air and ground operations, only one of those lines remained operational at only 47 percent capacity as of February 20. Officials at the Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility told Human Rights Watch on February 20 that Israeli authorities have obstructed efforts to repair the water infrastructure.

According to data published by OCHA and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the daily average number of trucks entering Gaza with food, aid, and medicine dropped by more than a third in the weeks following the ICJ ruling: 93 trucks between January 27 and February 21, 2024, compared to 147 trucks between January 1 and 26, and only 57 between February 9 and 21. A survey of impediments to the entry of aid faced by 24 humanitarian organizations operating in Gaza between January 26 and February 15 pointed to a lack of transparency around how aid trucks can enter Gaza, delays and denials at Israeli crossings and inspection points, and concerns about safety of trucks.

By comparison, an average of 500 trucks of food and goods entered Gaza each day before the escalation in hostilities in October, during which time 1.2 million people in Gaza were estimated to be facing acute food insecurity , and 80 percent of Gazas population were reliant on humanitarian aid amid Israels more than 16-year-long unlawful closure.

High-ranking Israeli officials have articulated a policy to deprive civilians of food, water, and fuel, as Human Rights Watch has documented. The Israeli government spokesperson said more recently that there are no limits to aid entering Gaza, outside of security. Some Israeli officials blame the UN for distribution delays and accuse Hamas of diverting aid or Gaza police for failing to secure convoys.

The Israeli government cannot shift blame to evade responsibility, Human Rights Watch said. As the occupying power, Israel is obliged to provide for the welfare of the occupied population and ensure that the humanitarian needs of Gazas population are met. The Israeli human rights group Gisha challenged the Israeli governments claims that it is not obstructing entry or distribution of aid and also found that it is not complying with the ICJ order.

Israeli authorities have also obstructed the aid that enters Gaza from reaching areas in the north. The survey of humanitarian organizations found that almost no aid is distributed beyond Rafah, Gazas southernmost governorate. On February 20, the World Food Programme paused deliveries of lifesaving food to the north, citing lack of safety and security. Israeli forces struck a food convoy on February 5, the UN said and CNN documented.

Between February 1 and 15, Israeli authorities only facilitated 2 of 21 planned missions to deliver fuel to the north of the Wadi Gaza area in central Gaza and none of the 16 planned fuel delivery or assessment missions to water and wastewater pumping stations in the north. Fewer than 20 percent of planned missions to deliver fuel and undertake assessments north of Wadi Gaza have been facilitated between January 1 and February 15, as compared with 86 percent of missions planned between October and December, according to OCHA.

Israels ground forces are able to reach all parts of Gaza, so Israeli authorities clearly have the capacity to ensure that aid reaches all of Gaza, Shakir said.

Since the ICJ order, Israeli authorities have also apparently destroyed the offices of at least two humanitarian organizations in Gaza and taken steps to undermine the work of UNRWA, the largest provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, which more than half of other humanitarian organizations rely on to facilitate their operations. The head of UNWRA, Philippe Lazarini, said in a February 22 letter to the UN General Assembly president that the agency has reached a breaking point due to multiple government suspensions of funding and Israels campaign to shut the agency down.

Israels finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said on February 13 that he had blocked a US-funded flour shipment to Gaza, because it was going to UNRWA. Israel has alleged that at least 12 of the agencys 30,000 employees participated in the October 7 attacks, which the UN is investigating.

In late December, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a multi-partner initiative that regularly publishes information on the scale and severity of food insecurity and malnutrition globally, concluded that over 90 percent of Gazas population is at crisis level of acute food insecurity or worse. The IPC said that virtually all Palestinians in Gaza are skipping meals every day while many adults go hungry so children can eat, and that the population faced famine if current conditions persisted. This is the highest share of people facing high levels of acute food insecurity that the IPC initiative has ever classified for any given area or country, the group said.

On February 19, The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) found that 90 percent of children under age 2 and 95 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women face severe food poverty. On February 22, Save the Children said families in Gaza are forced to forage for scraps of food left by rats and eating leaves out of desperation to survive, noting that all 1.1 million children in Gaza [are] facing starvation.

In response to a request by South Africa for additional provisional measures following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus order for Israeli authorities to explore a possible plan to evacuate Rafah ahead of a ground incursion, the ICJ said that the perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures throughout Gaza  but not new measures  and highlighted Israels duty to ensure the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Beyond enabling the provision of basic services and aid, the measures in the ICJs binding order require Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and prevent and punish incitement to commit genocide. The ICJ issued these measures to protect the rights claimed by South Africa that the Court has found to be plausible, including the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide. Although South Africa asked the court in its oral arguments during January hearings on the provisional measures to make any report it ordered public, the court did not indicate that it has done so.

Between January 26 and February 23, more than 3,400 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to figures from Gazas Health Ministry compiled by OCHA.

South Africas case against Israel for genocide is distinct from the proceedings on the legal consequences of Israels 57-year-occupation, which began at the ICJ on February 19.

Israels blatant disregard for the World Courts order poses a direct challenge to the rules-based international order, Shakir said. Failure to ensure Israels compliance puts the lives of millions of Palestinians at risk and threatens to undermine the institutions charged with ensuring respect for international law and the system that ensures civilian protection worldwide.

Human Rights Watch
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports on the Great Flour Massacre committed by the Israeli army on Black Thursday, February 29, 2024 in the south of Occupied Gaza City at Dawar al-Nabulsi, Rasheed Street.

OCHA says that the Gaza Ministry of Health reported that 104 Palestinians have been killed and 760 were injured in the early morning hours of 29 February on Al Rashid Road southwest of Gaza city, warning that the actual death toll is likely to be higher as medical teams are struggling to handle the situation with limited critical care resources. The incident occurred as thousands of Palestinians reportedly gathered around trucks carrying supplies when they were allegedly hit by artillery shells and gunfire, according to initial media reports. The Israeli military, cited by the media, has reportedly acknowledged shooting by its troops, and has also said that most casualties occurred as a result of congestion and incidents of people being run over by trucks.

Al Jazeera Arabic reports that the few aid trucks that come north from Rafa to Gaza City come along the coast up Rasheed Street. Dawar al-Nabulsi (a traffic circle) is at the intersection of Rasheed Street and 10th Street, which runs east and west through Gaza City. It is at the edge of the Zaytun neighborhood, which is heavily garrisoned by Israeli military units, though most Israeli troops had withdrawn from northern Gaza City. It was at the traffic circle where people converged on an aid delivery that the Israeli military began sniping and shelling.

Al Jazeera English Video: Cold-blooded massacre: Israeli forces kill over 104 aid seekers in Gaza

The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that on Thursday evening the death toll rose to 112 and the number of injured was confirmed to be at least 760. It says that the Ministry of Health was reporting late Thursday that large numbers of the wounded had still not been moved to hospital. Some of the dead were taken to the al-Shifa Medical Complex, which has been destroyed as a functioning hospital by the Israeli army, in one of its many war crimes.

The Israeli Air Force on Thursday also dropped bombs on several neighborhoods in the Strip, and Israeli artillery pieces fired at residential complexes in Khan Younis.

Israel has a responsibility as the occupying power in Gaza to ensure the safety and well-being of the civilian population. That it has not arranged secure methods of providing food relief, and that according to its military spokesman, its soldiers, afraid of the resulting scramble by crowds, fired into them, is an indictment, not an excuse. It also does not reflect well on the courage of Israeli soldiers that women and children seeking flour should so terrify them. The civilian noncombatants who risked their lives to get food for loved ones were far braver.

Alas, it is also possible that the being afraid story is a falsehood and propaganda. There is a lot of evidence that Israeli soldiers in Gaza have standing orders to shoot down military-age men whenever they are moving around freely outside. That was likely why they shot three Israeli hostages who escaped last fall they saw military age men moving around. There have also been many reports of Israeli soldiers firing on people approaching aid trucks. This tactic could be intended to ensure that Hamas fighters cannot receive aid. However, there are hundreds of thousands of military age men in Gaza and there were only 30,000 members of the Hamas paramilitary, the Qassam Brigades, so such a policy would penalize hundreds of thousands of innocent noncombatants, who are thereby targeted for death or arbitrary imprisonment.

Eyewitnesses interviewed on Arab satellite channels maintain that the Israeli army sniped at them and bombarded them with no provocation and in cold blood.

Despite a preliminary injunction on January 26 against Israel that it is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza and should immediately cease doing so, the Israeli government has halved the number of aid trucks allowed into the strip in February as compared to January. The January total was already woefully inadequate according to UN and other aid workers on the ground, who are reporting widespread hunger, dependence on non-potable water, and lack of essential medicines and medical supplies. Israeli government figures, in and out of office, have spoken of the desirability of reducing the Palestinian population of Gaza and of the usefulness of disease in doing so.

OCHA head Martin Griffiths posted on X,

Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed. pic.twitter.com/5Wd4w8aurX  Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) February 29, 2024

Al Jazeera Arabic reports that pretty much all major world leaders have condemned Israels handling of the incident, including regional powers such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia and some European officials, including France. The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterres, called for a dispassionate and transparent investigation.

Although this incident was dramatic and drew attention, the slow, invisible starvation by Israel of the Palestinians of Gaza has the potential to kill thousands of people, not just hundreds.
TORONTO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (West Red Lake Gold or WRLG or the Company) (TSXV: WRLG) (OTCQB: WRLGF), is pleased to announce that, due to strong demand, it has agreed with Raymond James Ltd. as lead agent, on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the Agents), to increase the size of its previously announced private placement of units (the Units) to US$23,000,000 (the Offering) from US$20,000,000. The Agents will have the option to sell up to an additional 15% of the Units offered, exercisable, in whole or in part, at any time up to 48 hours prior to the Closing Date (as defined below) to cover over-allotments, if any.

Each Unit will contain gold-linked notes in the aggregate principal amount of US$1,000 (the Notes) and 710 common share purchase warrants (the Warrants). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company (collectively, the Common Shares) at an exercise price of C$0.95 per share for a period of 60 months following the closing of the Offering.

The Notes will represent senior unsecured obligations of the Company. The Notes will bear a 12% per annum coupon, calculated and payable quarterly in arrears, and will mature on December 31, 2029. Commencing January 1, 2026, the Company will cause gold to be placed in escrow on a quarterly basis into a gold trust account. The aggregate principal amount of Notes outstanding will be reduced by the Company on a quarterly basis, commencing on March 31, 2026, and with the final payment on December 31, 2029, in accordance with the payment schedule to be set forth in the indenture that will govern the Notes. The Notes will amortize based on a guaranteed floor price of US$1,800 per ounce of gold (the Floor Price). Any excess proceeds by which the gold price exceeds the Floor Price will be paid to investors as a premium.

The net proceeds of the Offering are expected to be used to continue to advance the development of a restart plan for the Madsen Gold Mine as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Units may be offered: (i) in Canada, to accredited investors in each of the provinces and territories of Canada; (ii) in the United States, to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) and accredited investors, as defined in Rule 144A(a)(1) and Rule 501(a) of Regulation D, respectively, under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act). The. The Units may be distributed in jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States in such jurisdictions as the Company and the Agents may agree, where they may be lawfully sold on a basis exempt from the prospectus, registration and similar requirements of any such jurisdiction.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period from the Closing Date. Subject to meeting minimum listing requirements, the Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to list the Notes and Warrants following the statutory hold period. There can be no assurance that a listing for the Notes or the Warrants will be obtained.

The Offering is expected to close on or about March 19, 2024 (the Closing Date), subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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 the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder.

ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a mineral exploration company that is publicly traded and focused on advancing and developing its flagship Madsen Gold Mine and the associated 47 km2 highly prospective land package in the Red Lake district of Ontario. The highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada has yielded over 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the worlds richest gold deposits. WRLG also holds the wholly owned Rowan Property in Red Lake, with an expansive property position covering 31 km2 including three past producing gold mines  Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit.

ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.

Shane Williams

Shane Williams

President & Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Freddie Leigh

Tel: (604) 609-6132

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

or visit the Companys website at https://www.westredlakegold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Certain information included in this press release constitutes forward-looking information under applicable securities legislation including statements relating to the Company's ability to enter into a definitive agreement with the Agents, the future price of gold, the intended use of proceeds and the expected closing date. Forward-looking information typically contains statements with words such as anticipate, believe, expect, plan, intend, estimate, propose, project, scheduled, will or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company including, the Company and the Agent being able to agree to the terms of a definitive agreement, various factors that could affect the price of gold, Mr. Giustra s ability or desire to purchase Units in the Offering, the Company having the cash required to make a Change of Control offer, the Company satisfying various closing conditions on or before the proposed closing date and various market conditions that could alter the proposed use of proceeds. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks.

For more information on the Company, investors should review the Companys continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedarplus.ca.
March 1st, 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 provide an update on the drilling operations and exploration program at its Winnipeg River-Cat Lake Lithium project in Southeast Manitoba. The project area hosts numerous spodumene-bearing pegmatites and surrounds the world class Tanco mine. The 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 Update

The 2024 Exploration Program has completed 54 of 57 diamond drill holes for approximately 12,500 total meters targeting high priority geophysical and geochemical targets identified from the extensive summer fieldwork campaign. Diamond drilling on the Lithium Two and Lithium East property has been completed with ongoing drilling at the Bird River Lithium property. The unseasonable warm conditions have forced the company to postpone drilling on the Lithman West property as access relies on an ice bridge crossing and current conditions do not allow for safe a crossing. The Lithman West property is a high priority target area where geophysics analysis identified numerous demagnetized trends analogous to those on the Tanco Mine Property which lies 3 kilometers east along strike. The Company plans to further progress the understanding of the property by collecting additional surface data to correlate with high priority targets identified by the Australian consulting company Resource Potentials (see figure 3). A drill program for this project will be slated for the winter of 2025.

To date 1,452 core samples have been submitted to SGS Laboratories for analysis and results are pending. Mineralization has been identified visually in some exploration holes on the Lithium Two property. Drill hole LT24-032 targeting the FD5 pegmatite on the Lithium Two property intersected 21.75 meters core length of spodumene-bearing pegmatite. Drill hole LT24-044 targeting the Magpie showing discovered during the summer program intersected 66.60 meters core length of pegmatite with localized spodumene zones (figure 1). On the Lithman East property drill testing underneath elevated Cesium (Cs) values on the Lithman East property intersected 199.33 meters core length of pegmatite with preliminary observations indicating a fractionated pegmatite (assays pending). Orientation of these pegmatites and true width has yet to be defined.

Harry Barr, Chairman and CEO, commented; We are pleased with how the 2024 Drill Campaign has progressed despite the challenging weather conditions. Our contractors were able to complete 12,500 m of the originally planned 15,000 m in an extremely efficient manner. The exploration drilling has proved that our properties cover a large LCT-style pegmatite field and that the potential for a discovery remains. The safety of our contractors remains our highest priority and while it is unfortunate that we were unable to test the Lithman West property, we are content with the amount of drilling we were able to complete in such a short time frame and given the historically warm winter. We eagerly await the pending assay results from the drill program and look forward to providing further updates.

Figure 1: Drill hole LT24-032 showing FD5 pegmatite hosting pale-green spodumene blades intercept from 60.80  82.55 meters (assays results pending)

Figure 2: Drill hole LE24-011 showing fractionated pegmatite intercepted from 390.16  406.79 m (assay results pending)

Figure 3: Overview of 2024 Lithium Two Drilling (assays pending)

Figure 4: Overview of 2024 Lithman East Drilling (assays pending)

Geophysics Interpretation Update

Resource Potentials based out of Perth, Western Australia were contracted to conduct a detailed analysis, interpretation, and targeting of the companys large geophysical dataset in-conjunction with geological and geochemical data.

Newly acquired and pre-existing geological, geochemical and geophysical exploration datasets were compiled over the regional project area, including wide spaced government datasets and high-resolution company datasets, especially the recently acquired 4,354 line-kms of high-resolution helicopter borne magnetic, radiometric and LiDAR digital elevation model (DEM) survey datasets flown by Axiom in summer of 2023. The different mineral exploration datasets were processed and imaged to generate suites of geophysical and geochemical anomaly images for use in GIS software. Government and company geology maps and observations, rock ages, mineralised lithium pegmatite deposit locations, mapped pegmatites, DEM, and different geochemical and geophysical anomaly images were integrated together and reviewed in GIS to interpret geological domains, shear and fault structures, and other key geological features. Anomaly patterns and trends were also interpreted and traced out in GIS to identify granite contacts, including radiogenically hot granites which could be the parent granites for lithium bearing pegmatites, including the world class Tanco deposit which sits adjacent to the project areas, radiometric trends and anomaly zones which could be caused by internal granites and pegmatites within the east-to-west trending host greenstone belt, major and minor shear zones, late cross faults and E-W oriented faults which are key targets for hosting lithium bearing pegmatites, and demagnetised zones within the greenstone belt rocks which could indicate thick and flat zones of pegmatite intrusions at depth. Areas having overlapping geological, geochemical and geophysical anomalies of interest were outlined in GIS as target areas for detailed follow-up exploration, and were assigned a priority from 1 (high) to 3 (low). This regional and prospect scale interpretation and lithium pegmatite targeting work is ongoing, with several high priority target areas already identified along geological trend to the east and west of Tanco.

Figure 5: Interpretation lines and target areas over a greyscale magnetic image (TMIRTP 1VDAGC)

CEO Interview Video

Agoracom released a corporate overview on the Company which can be accessed by clicking the following link.

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 for 2024 includes 12,500 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.

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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.




March 1, 2024  TheNewswire - Alpha Exploration Ltd. (Alpha or the Company) (TSXV:ALEX) announces further drilling results from a 10,000m drill program underway on its Aburna Gold Prospect (Aburna) on the Companys 100% owned, 771 km Kerkasha Project located in Eritrea. Drilling consists of both reverse-circulation (RC) drilling and diamond core (DC) drilling.

HIGHLIGHTS:

18m @ 15.33 g/t Au from RC-DC hole ABD012 (Hill 52)

49m @ 2.75 g/t Au (including 7m @ 14.90g/t Au) from RC-DC hole ABD013 (Hill 52)

Highest grade mineralization intersected to data across the Aburna project

Drilling extends wide, high-grade zone to over 200 metres at Hill 52

Shallow plunging geometry of gold mineralization now confirmed at Central Area and Hill 52

Assays have been received from a further 16 holes completed over the Hill 52, Central and Northeast Area prospects on Aburna. Hole ABD012 intersected 15.33 g/t Au over 18m and was drilled as a step out along strike from existing high- grade mineralization that included holes ABD001 (20m@ 7.70 g/t Au). ABD013, a step out from ABD012, intersected 49m @ 2.75 g/t Au and included two separate higher-grade zones of 7m @ 14.90 g/t Au and 2m @ 6.19 g/t Au at shallow depths (<70m from surface).

In combination, holes ABD012 and ABD013 have significantly extended a wide, high-grade zone of mineralization that was originally defined in 2022 by the Company and reported in drill holes ABR005 (15m @ 5.85 g/t Au), ABR018 (8m @ 5.47 g/t Au) and ABD001 (20m @ 7.70 g/t Au)  see Figure 2, below.

Additional new results include hole ABR114 (6m @ 4.5 g/t Au and 2m @ 11.91 g/t Au), that has further defined a separate mineralized structure within Hill 52.

Aburna is a major, district scale orogenic gold prospect covering an area of at least 7km long and 2km wide and is one of the three significant discoveries made by Alpha on the Kerkasha licence in the last three years. Exploration to date by Alpha on the project has defined six primary areas of interest, and has established significant high-grade gold mineralized systems at Central Area, Hill 52 and Northeast Area (see Figure 1, below)

Michael Hopley, Alpha President & CEO said, We are very pleased to report these spectacular results from the ongoing drill program at Aburna. In particular, holes ABD012 and ABD013 have exceeded all of our expectations by extending to over 200m a high-grade shoot originally identified in 2022. ABD012 (15.33 g/t Au over 18 metres) and translating to >275 gram metres is the highest grade result we have reported on the Aburna project.

The identification of shallow, plunging high-grade mineralization at Hill 52 following similar confirmation at Central Area last month, is testament to the strength of our technical team and the work completed to date. The team is already preparing additional drill targets to extend this zone further which remains open down dip and down plunge, with drilling expected to restart in the next few weeks.

We look forward to reporting further assay results on the project as data is released as well as the imminent start of the second phase of the 10,000 metre drill program at Aburna.

Drill Program

A further 19 drillholes have been completed at Aburna and these have principally been completed at the Hill 52 prospect (11 holes), 3 drillholes at the Central Area with a further 5 drillholes at Northeast Area. Of the 11 holes completed at Hill 52, five (ABD116,-118,-120,-121 and -122) are partially reported and are awaiting assays from the diamond core tail of drillholes which are expected shortly.

The Company commenced the current drill program in December 2023. To date, 33 drillholes for 6,033 metres have been drilled at Central Area (13 drillholes), Hill 52 (11 drillholes) and Northeast Area (9 drillholes). Further assay results have been received from 16 of these 33 drillholes. A full table of significant intercepts from assay results received to date is available in Table 1, below.

Shallow plunging gold mineralization confirmed at Hill 52 and Central Areas, Aburna

Drilling completed at Aburna last year, (https://alpha-exploration.com/alpha-reports-drill-results-from-aburna-gold-prospect-includes-9m-10-g-t-gold/) established the potential that shallow plunging mineralized shoots exist at several prospects within Aburna including Northeast, Central and Hill 52 areas. These mineralized shoots plunge at an azimuth of 065-070 degrees to the east-northeast.

Drilling in both Central and Hill 52 areas has now confirmed that mineralization at Aburna plunges as expected. At Central Area, consistent, wide, lower-grade gold mineralization extends over 300m in the down plunge orientation. At Hill 52 mineralization is less consistent but equally as wide containing multiple zones of high-grade mineralization extending over 200m in the down plunge orientation see (https://alpha exploration.com/wpcontent/uploads/2024/01/30JAN2024_PR_Alpha_Drilling-Results.pdf).

The highly mineralized shoot at Hill 52 as defined by AND001 and ANR008 (2022) and recent drillholes AND012 and AND013 (additional assays pending), is proving to be larger in size and higher in grade than expected. The shoot daylights at AND001 and 80m to the NE at AND013, mineralization is intersected 10m below the surface suggesting a very shallow plunge at an azimuth of 068. The shoot is wholly contained within a highly foliated portion of a larger shear zone. The higher-grade portions of the shoot are developed within dilate areas created by internal structures within the shear zone. The high-grade zones are generally contained within an envelope of lower-grade material that is often 50m to 60m wide (i.e., ABD012 with 49m @ 2.75 g/t Au). The Hill 52 shoot is fairly well defined for 200m along strike and is open down dip and down plunge. Its size and grade are a key focus for Alpha as we look to extend the primary mineralized shoots at all three sub-areas on the Aburna prospect.

Figure 1: Map of Aburna with main prospects defined and drilling completed to date

Figure 2: Hill 52 - new drilling (yellow boxes, collars) and existing mineralization (white boxes, collars)

Figure 3 (a), (b): Drill core from holes ABD012 & ABD013 showing high grade mineralization

Figure 4: Photos from drilling program

Table 1: Significant drilling intercepts from assays received

Aburna Prospect Drillhole ID from (m) to (m) Significant Interval Northeast ABRD111 127 140 13m @ 0.37 g/t Au DC-tail pending Northeast ABR112 44 47 3m @ 0.72 g/t Au and 107 108 1m @ 1.10 g/t Au and 114 118 4m @ 0.25 g/t Au Northeast ABR113 75 79 4m @ 1.06 g/t Au and 98 101 3m @ 0.24 g/t Au Hill 52 ABR114 60 66 6m @ 4.50 g/t Au including 62 64 2m @ 11.91 g/t Au and 80 90 10m @ 1.04 g/t Au and 101 102 1m @ 1.48 g/t Au and 120 121 1m @ 1.36 g/t Au Hill 52 ABR115 2 7 5m @ 0.20 g/t Au and 57 61 4m @ 0.50 g/t Au and 135 141 6m @ 0.46 g/t Au and 149 156 7m @ 0.50 g/t Au and 161 166 5m @ 0.46 g/t Au Northeast ABRD116 107 114 7m @ 0,21 g/t Au and 130 135 5m @ 0.43 g/t Au and 138 150 12m @ 0.71 g/t Au DC-tail pending Northeast ABR117 86 89 3m @ 0.74 g/t Au Central ABRD118 60 65 5m @ 0.20 g/t Au and 134 135 2m @ 4.44 g/t Au DC-tail pending Hill 52 ABR119 4 11 7m @ 1.63 g/t Au including 4 6 2m @ 4.36 g/t Au and 16 24 8m @ 0.94 g/t Au including 22 23 1m @ 3.85 g/t Au and 27 28 1m @ 1.07 g/t Au and 43 52 9m @ 0.23 g/t Au and 84 89 5m @ 0.23 g/t Au and 100 102 2m @ 1.74 g/t Au and 110 112 2m @ 1.94 g/t Au and 119 122 3m @ 0.72 g/t Au Central ABRD120 90 95 5m @ 1.36 g/t Au and 134 142 8m @ 1.02 g/t Au DC-tail pending Central ABRD121 145 150 5m @ 3.38 g/t Au and 156 157 1m @ 1.44 g/t Au DC-tail pending Hill 52 ABRD122 41 44 3m @ 0.47 g/t Au and 63 70 7m @ 0.22 g/t Au and 79 80 1m @ 1.07 g/t Au and 93 96 3m @ 0.53 g/t Au and 122 127 5m @ 1.72 g/t Au including 125 125 1m @ 6.3 g/t Au DC-tail pending Hill 52 ABRD123 55 59 4m @ 0.21 g/t Au and 77 80 3m @ 0.40 g/t Au and 92 97 5m @ 1.87 g/t Au including 93 95 2m @ 4.30 g/t Au and 107 111 4m @ 0.26 g/t Au and 115 118 3m @ 1.11 g/t Au Hill 52 ABD011 30 38 8m @ 0.54 g/t Au and 59 68 9m @ 0.80 g/t Au and 75 83 8m @ 0.42 g/t Au and 97 100 3m @ 0,23 g/t Au and 109 116 7m @ 0.67 g/t Au and 132 140 8m @ 0.46 g/t Au Hill 52 ABRD012 39 52 13m @ 0.61 g/t Au and 70 76 6m @ 1.67 g/t Au including 71 72 1m @ 8.89 g/t Au and 98 106 8m @ 0.57 g/t Au and 114 132 18m @ 15.33 g/t Au and 149 153 4m @ 0.38 g/t Au and 230 233 3m @ 0.21 g/t Au Hill 52 ABD013 7 15 8m @ 1.03 g/t Au and 18 67 49m @ 2.75 g/t Au including 34 41 7m @14.90 g/t Au including 60 62 2m @ 6.19 g/t Au and 70 73 3m @ 0.52 g/t Au and 115 120 5m @ 0.28 g/t Au

A significant interval is defined by consecutive one-meter intervals starting and ending at 0.20 g/t Au or better. A significant interval must be at least 3m long. Internal dilution is limited to 2 consecutive intervals of <0.20 g/t Au. Multiple internal dilutions are allowed. Single one-meter intervals of 1.00 g/t Au or greater are also considered significant. At this early stage of exploration, the true widths of intersections is not known but is estimated to be at least 80% of the reported intervals.

Sampling, Sub-sampling and Analysis

Alpha engaged an independent Consultancy, RSC Mining & Mineral Exploration (RSC) to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for both RC and DD drill samples in June 2021 and all samples in this release use this RSC SOP. The RSC SOP utilizes blank standards and industry standards that are inserted at the beginning and end of every batch (and every 20 samples within the batch) for all batches submitted to ALS for assay. Additionally, field replicates are taken at a frequency of about 1 in 5 (20%) through mineralized areas.

One-meter samples from both RC and DD drilling were crushed (to >90% passing 2.0 mm) and pulverised (to >85% passing 75 m). Two scoop samples were taken from the pulveriser bowl: approximately 130g for laboratory analysis and approximately 150g for portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) analysis. The coarse and pulp rejects were stored at Alphas warehouse in Asmara. The Company inserted certified reference material from OREAS (www.ore.com.au) into the sample stream, while Nabro sample preparation facility inserted barren granodiorite material into the sample stream as a blank. Samples were shipped to ALS Geochemistry (ALS), Loughrea, Ireland, for analysis. ALS analysed all drill samples for gold by method Au-AA26 (50 g charge fire assay, AAS finish). ALS is independent of the Company and its quality management systems framework is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 or certified to ISO 9001:2015 standards.

Alpha Extends Closing Date of Private Placement Financing

Further to the Companys press releases dated November 15, 2023, December 8, 2023, January 2, 2024 and February 7, 2024, Alpha is pleased to announce that the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) has agreed to extend the closing of the second tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement of units in the capital of the Corporation (Units) of up to $5,000,000.00 at a purchase price of $0.70 per Unit (the Offering Price), (the Offering) until March 31, 2024. The first tranche of the Offering closed after market close on December 7, 2023, for total aggregate gross proceeds of $4,180,001.00 as previously announced by the Corporation. The principal use of the proceeds of the Offering will be for funding ongoing exploration work on the Kerkasha Project in Eritrea, operating and administrative expenses, working capital and general corporate purposes.

Certain Insiders of the Corporation (as such term is defined under the policies of the TSXV) may participate in the Offering. The participation of Insiders in the Offering would constitute a related party transaction within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Corporation intends on relying upon exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 based on a determination that the fair market value of the Offering, insofar as it involves the related parties, will not exceed $2,500,000.

Further details relating to the closing of the second tranche of the Offering will be provided in due course. For more information concerning the Corporation, please refer to the Corporations profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com or at the Corporations website at https://alpha-exploration.com/.

About Alpha

Alpha (TSX-V:ALEX) is an exploration company that is rapidly advancing a number of important gold and base metal discoveries across its 100% owned, large (771 km2) Kerkasha Project in Eritrea.

The Aburna Gold Prospect is an exciting new gold discovery where recent drilling has established a high-grade discovery with grades including 16 m @ 14.07 g/t Au, 9 m @ 10 g/t Au and 23 m @ 6.74 g/t Au. The Anagulu Gold-Copper Prospect includes recent drilling intersections of 108 m @ 1.24 g/t Au and 0.60% Cu and 49 m @ 2.42 g/t Au and 1.10% Cu within a porphyry unit mapped over at a >2 km strike length. The Company has also advanced the Tolegimja volcanogenic massive sulphide copper-zinc-gold Prospect and over 17 other gold prospects since listing in 2021.

The Company is managed by a group of highly experienced and successful professionals with long track records of establishing, building and successfully exiting a number of world class gold and base metals discoveries in Eritrea and across the wider Arabian Nubian Shield.

For further information go to the Alpha webpage at www.alpha-exploration.com or contact:

Michael Hopley

President and Chief Executive Officer

Alpha Exploration Ltd.

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: +44 207129 1148

Qualified Person

All scientific and technical information in this press release, including the results of the Aburna drill program and how these results relate to the ongoing exploration at the Kerkasha Project has been reviewed, verified, and approved by Michael Hopley, President, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Cautionary Notes

This press release is intended for distribution in Canada only and is not intended for distribution to United States newswire services or dissemination in the United States.

ForwardLooking Statements

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 dataset interpretations, sampling, plans for its projects (including the Anagulu prospect), surveys related to Alphas assets, and the Companys drilling program. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements or information can be identified by the use of words such as estimate, project, belief, anticipate, intend, expect, plan, predict, may or should and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, Alpha has made numerous assumptions including among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions and the price of gold and other minerals. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.

Although management of Alpha believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements 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 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 relating to Alphas financing efforts; risks associated with the business of Alpha given its limited operating history; 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 (including with respect to the tonnage, grade and recoverability of reserves and resources); 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; changes in laws (including regulations respecting mining concessions); risks related to the direct and indirect impact of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, its impact on general economic conditions, the ability to obtain financing as required, and causing potential delays to exploration activities; those factors discussed under the heading Risk Factors in the Final Prospectus; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time. Alpha does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) - EV Minerals Corporation (CSE: EVM) (FSE: RLC) (the "Company" or "EV Minerals") is pleased to announce results from the Lunge Project ("Lunge") surface sampling, which the Company completed in connection with the proposed acquisition (the "Acquisition") of the Baldwin and Lunge Projects (the "Sudbury Projects"). The Company entered into a purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with Graycliff Exploration Limited (the "Vendor") dated February 23, 2024, and the Acquisition is scheduled to close on March 1, 2024.

EV Minerals mobilized a technical team to Lunge as part of the Company's due diligence for acquiring the Lunge and Baldwin Properties. The team collected a total of 35 samples with five (5) samples returning assay values of greater than 1% Nickel ("Ni"), and a total of seven (7) samples containing greater than 1% Copper ("Cu").

Notable highlights included high-grade Ni values from grab samples F420012 (1.14% Ni), 260850 (1.28% Ni), and F420013 (1.23% Ni). Additionally, significant Cu samples included 260845 (1.54% Cu), 260846 (1.15% Cu), 260842 (2.54% Cu), 171004 (2.44% Cu), and 171009 (2.04% Cu). Refer to Figure 1 for samples above 1% Cu, 1% Ni, or 1 g/t Au, and Table 1 for results above 0.5% Ni, 0.5% Cu, or 1 g/t Au.

EV Minerals President and CEO Nicholas Konkin said: "The presence of strongly elevated Nickel and Copper values at surface and across multiple sites on the Lunge Project, shows the exploration potential of the property. Additionally, we were intrigued by the discovery of gold mineralization. We will begin to plan our 2024 base line exploration program to compliment ongoing efforts at the EV Nickel property in Quebec."

Figure 1: Lunge Project Surface Sample Results

Table 1: Lunge Project Surface Sample Results Above 0.5% Ni, 0.5% Cu, or 1 g/t Au**

Sample Number UTM NAD83 Zone 17N Ni (%) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Easting (m) Northing (m) 171001 449389 5134869 0.90 0.65 0.01 1.50 171002 449390 5134869 0.71 0.58 0.01 1.40 171003 449079 5134743 0.58 0.23 0.02 0.70 171004 452194 5135306 0.15 2.44 0.00 5.30 171006 452198 5135262 1.00 0.13 0.01 0.80 171007 452198 5135262 0.15 0.77 0.03 0.70 171008 452197 5135273 1.15 0.07 0.01 0.90 171009 452197 5135272 0.61 2.04 0.01 3.10 171010 452202 5135276 0.14 0.67 0.01 1.20 171011 452204 5135273 0.39 1.90 0.01 2.60 171012 452203 5135281 0.37 1.91 0.05 2.00 260841 452171 5135103 0.00 0.74 0.00 1.40 260842 452101 5135176 0.22 2.54 0.02 5.50 260843 449325 5134870 0.65 0.87 0.01 1.50 260844 449327 5134872 0.33 0.80 0.01 1.10 260845 449333 5134872 0.76 1.54 0.22 1.90 260846 449335 5134869 0.65 1.15 0.01 1.90 260847 449353 5134873 0.54 0.28 0.00 0.60 260848 449372 5134864 0.49 0.81 0.01 1.10 260849 449366 5134869 0.51 0.63 0.04 0.90 260850 449366 5134868 1.28 0.12 0.00 0.80 F420005 449297 5134871 0.04 0.09 1.49 0.25 F420012 449364 5134868 1.14 0.20 0.02 0.70 F420013 449370 5134869 1.23 0.06 0.00 0.50

**All sample values are from grab samples which by their nature are not representative of overall grades of mineralized areas. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on the assay values reported in the table above. The 24 samples above are part of a suite of 35 samples collected and assayed.

Grab samples were analyzed at AGAT Laboratories for a suite of 34 metals by 4-Acid digest, with an Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) finish (method code 201-070) and for Au, Pt, and Pd by ICP-OES finish (method code 202-555).

Samples not shown in the table returned assays below 0.5% nickel, 0.5% copper and 1g/t gold.



About Baldwin & Lunge Projects

The Baldwin Project, comprised of the Main Baldwin Block and the Northeast Baldwin Block, spans 1,605 hectares, with the adjacent 587-hectare Lunge Project, located 6 km northeast, showcasing gold and critical minerals potential. Airborne geophysics on both projects revealed multiple new target areas for gold, copper, nickel, and platinum group elements (PGE) mineralization.

Baldwin, underlain by rocks of the Huronian Supergroup, exposes a major splay off the Murray Fault. The Elliot Lake Group dominates, comprising mafic, intermediate, and felsic metavolcanic rocks overlying or intercalated with McKim and Matinenda sedimentary formations. The region displays east-to-northeast trending with folding, notably southeast, featuring folded Nipissing sills along the Murray Fault. Significant faults, including Murray, Worthington, Fairbanks Lake, and Cameron Lake, are present.

The Lunge Property, situated 6 km along the Elliot Lake Group strike, hosts folded mafic Nipissing sills and dykes, indicating potential for copper, nickel, and PGE deposits.

Geologic feedback from the technical team indicates that the predominant host rock of the stronger mineralization was gabbro, exhibiting strong alteration and mineralization, predominantly featuring pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, and pyrite.

Qualified Person

Bruce Durham, an independent Qualified Person ("QP") as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the technical information reported in this news release.

About EV Minerals Corporation

EV Minerals Corporation is a Canadian exploration company focused on mineral exploration and development. The current focus is the EV Nickel Project, host of the nickel-copper-cobalt McNickel deposit. The Project is comprised of 32 mineral claims covering approximately 1,792 hectares located in the Saguenay area, the Province of Quebec. This deposit contains a historical resource of 5.585 million tonnes with grades of 0.21% Ni, 0.11% Cu and 0.03% Co (NI 43-101 non-compliant resource), which is to be re-evaluated with the consideration of using either bioleaching or acid leaching and electrowinning for nickel, cobalt and copper recovery.

Recently acquired properties Baldwin and Lunge Property will allow the Company to expand its exploration efforts into the Province of Ontario. Baldwin and Lunge Properties are comprised of 72 and 27 mineral claims respectively. These properties boast extensive mineral potential including gold, nickel, copper, and PGE in an established mining camp.

For more information, please contact:

Nicholas Konkin

President and CEO, Director

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

416-642-1807 Ext 305

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Turkey on Thursday accused Israel of "another crime against humanity" after the deaths of dozens of people in a scramble for food aid in war-torn Gaza.

"Israel has added another crime to its crimes against humanity," the Turkish foreign ministry said.

"The fact that Israel, which has condemned Gazans to famine, this time targets innocent civilians in a queue for humanitarian aid, is evidence that (Israel) aims consciously and collectively to destroy the Palestinian people", it added.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the incident killed 104 people and wounded more than 750 others in a pre-dawn "massacre" in Gaza City.

The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 30 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat".

The looting of aid trucks had previously occurred in northern Gaza, where residents have taken to eating animal fodder and even leaves to try to stave off starvation.

Aid groups are warning of looming famine after nearly five months of war.

The war began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 30,035 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry.
Accusing Israel of "genocide" in Gaza, Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro on Thursday suspended Israeli weapons purchases after dozens of people died in a scramble for food aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Israel is one of the main providers of weapons to the South American country's security forces, which are engaged in a decades-long conflict with leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels.

Petro made his announcement Thursday after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic melee that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people. Scores were injured.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."

"Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by (Israeli President Benjamin) Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust," Petro wrote on X.

"The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia is suspending all arms purchases from Israel."

Colombia's military and police have for decades used rifles, pistols and missiles from Israel.

Its air force owns about 20 Kfir combat aircraft, and the country has the rights to manufacture Galil automatic rifles and Spike missiles under Israeli patent.

Petro, a critic of Israel's campaign in Gaza, has argued vehemently with the ambassador of that country in Bogota, Gali Dagan.

In October, just days after the start of the war, Israel said it was "halting security exports" to Colombia after Petro accused Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of using language about the people of Gaza similar to what the "Nazis said of the Jews."

Colombia's first leftist president has also asserted that "democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics."

Thursday's incident added to a Palestinian death toll which the Gaza health ministry said had topped 30,000, mainly women and children.

The war began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

das/lv/mel/mlr/acb

X
Accusing Israel of "genocide" in Gaza, Colombia's leftist President Gustavo Petro on Thursday suspended Israeli weapons purchases after dozens of people died in a scramble for food aid in the war-torn Palestinian territory.

Israel is one of the main providers of weapons to the South American country's security forces, which are engaged in a decades-long conflict with leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug cartels.

Petro made his announcement Thursday after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic melee that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people. Scores were injured.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."

"Asking for food, more than 100 Palestinians were killed by (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu. This is called genocide and recalls the Holocaust," Petro wrote on X.

"The world must block Netanyahu. Colombia is suspending all arms purchases from Israel."

Colombia's military and police have for decades used rifles, pistols and missiles from Israel.

Its air force owns about 20 Kfir combat aircraft, and the country has the rights to manufacture Galil automatic rifles and Spike missiles under Israeli patent.

Petro, a critic of Israel's campaign in Gaza, has argued vehemently with the ambassador of that country in Bogota, Gali Dagan.

In October, just days after the start of the war, Israel said it was "halting security exports" to Colombia after Petro accused Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of using language about the people of Gaza similar to what the "Nazis said of the Jews."

Colombia's first leftist president has also asserted that "democratic peoples cannot allow Nazism to reestablish itself in international politics."

Thursday's incident added to a Palestinian death toll which the Gaza health ministry said had topped 30,000, mainly women and children.

The war began on October 7 with an unprecedented Hamas attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Militants also took about 250 hostages, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 Israel says are presumed dead.

das/lv/mel/mlr/acb

X
A French journalist arrested last week in Ethiopia on suspicion of conspiring to create chaos was released on Thursday, his employer, the specialist publication Africa Intelligence, said.

Antoine Galindo was "freed after a week in prison and was able to leave Addis Ababa to return to Paris," Paul Deutschmann, an editor-in-chief at the publication, told AFP.

Galindo, who heads the publication's East Africa section, had travelled to Ethiopia to cover the African Union summit earlier this month and was arrested on February 22.

Authorities accused the 36-year-old reporter of conspiring "to create chaos" in the country.

"I'm well and I'm in good health," he told AFP before leaving Addis Ababa.

"I've been treated well," he added, despite what he described as difficult conditions in detention.

Deutschmann said Galindo's release was a "real relief" to the entire staff of Africa Intelligence, who were eager to be reunited with him.

Galindo was arrested at a hotel in Addis Ababa while meeting an official from the opposition Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) party.

He was brought before a judge on Saturday, who ordered his detention be extended until March 1.

Selamawit Kassa, a spokeswoman for Ethiopia's government, said Wednesday that Galindo had been given permission to cover the African Union summit.

But he had "engaged in activities in total contradiction with the reason for his visit, in particular collecting information related to internal political affairs," she added.

The OLF renounced armed struggle in 2018, prompting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) to split from the party.

Federal forces have been fighting OLA rebels in Ethiopia's most populous region Oromia ever since, while peace talks have failed to yield meaningful progress.

- 'Hostility towards independent journalism' -

Media watchdogs urged the government to release Galindo, with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) saying Monday that his "unjust arrest highlights the atrocious environment for the press in general in Ethiopia".

On Friday, the CPJ said Galindo's release "is great news" and called on Ethiopian authorities to release all other journalists in detention.

According to media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), as of January 1 this year, 15 journalists were in prison in Ethiopia.

"Hostility towards independent journalism seeking to cover all national issues is growing and foreign media and journalists are also in the sights of the authorities," said Sadibou Marong, director of RSF's Sub-Saharan Africa desk.

In 2023, Ethiopia ranked 130th in the world in terms of press freedom, down 16 places compared to 2022, according to the NGO.

Ethiopia has expelled several foreign journalists since the end of 2020.

But until Galindo's detention, authorities had not arrested a foreign journalist in more than three years.

In July 2020, a Kenyan journalist was detained for more than a month in Addis Ababa, despite an Ethiopian court ordering his release on bail.

- State of emergency -

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was hailed as a reformer when he came to power in 2018 after decades of authoritarian rule. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 for his rapprochement with neighbouring Eritrea.

But his reputation has taken a hit in recent years, with UN investigators accusing his government of crimes against humanity during a two-year war in Tigray -- claims rejected by the authorities.

The government imposed a state of emergency in Ethiopia's second most populous region Amhara in August after fighting erupted between federal authorities and a regional "self-defence" militia named Fano.

The decree, which was extended earlier this month, allows the authorities to declare curfews and for suspects to be searched and held without a warrant.

The fighting in Amhara reignited concerns about Ethiopia's stability, a few months after a peace deal ended a brutal two-year conflict in the northernmost region of Tigray between Tigrayan rebel authorities and forces loyal to Abiy.
France wants an independent inquiry into the deaths of scores of Palestinians during an aid delivery in the northern Gaza strip, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Friday.

"We will ask for explanations, and there will have to be an independent probe to determine what happened," Sejourne told the France Inter broadcaster after Israeli troops opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic incident that the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said killed more than 100 people.

France would not apply "double standards" to the Mideast conflict, Sejourne said, adding: "France calls things by their name".

"This applies when we designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza."

If an investigation should conclude that the Israeli shooting was a war crime, "then obviously this becomes a matter for the judiciary", he said.

Sejourne also said the thought of people dying of hunger in Gaza was "unbearable" for France.
Yoo Teo expressed his gratitude to the woman who saved and changed the trajectory of his life.

Curious about who this person is? Then read on!

Yoo Teo Fascinated With 'Past Lives' Concept About Fate

On February 29, Yoo Teo sat for an interview with a media outlet, where he talked about his popular work, "Past Lives," which earned international recognition.

"Past Lives," which was initially released in the U.S., is finally making its way to Korean cinemas this coming March 6.

The movie follows the story of two childhood sweethearts who lose contact as Na Young (Greta Lee) emigrates to Toronto, Canada with her family. 24 years later, she and Hae Sung (Yoo Teo) reunite in New York and look back on their relationship that seems to have ended but never did.

The author of the work explained that the relationship between the protagonists is fate, which is known as "inyeon" in Korean.

Yoo Teo, who headlined the film alongside American actress Greta Lee, shared that this aspect caught his attention while reading the script.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Korean Films Eye Oscar Glory: 'Past Lives' Emerges as Strong Contender After Golden Globes' Recognitions

"I was fascinated by how the scenario was designed to introduce this concept to Western audiences and help them understand it without extra effort. I thought it would be important for me to fully comprehend and embody the meaning of 'inyeon' in order to deliver a performance without any regrets."

Yoo Teo Expresses Affection Towards His Wife Nikki Lee + Calls Her His Savior

In relation to the film's concept, Yoo Teo talked about his real-life "inyeon" and the woman who saved his life, who is none other than his wife Nikki Lee. The actor said that they were a match made in heaven.

The "Love to Hate You" star struggled for years at the start of his acting career.

"I used to think I was fine with pursuing acting jobs without being socially recognized, but I couldn't see my future past age 35."

He continued and expressed his affection for his wife.

"I thought I would be gone when I turned 36. And then Nikki came into my life and became my savior. She is the kind of person who is strongly grounded in this world, and I'm just a clown floating in the air."

Yoo Teo and Nikki got married in 2006. The professional photographer is known to be 11 years older than the Korean star.

What's Next for Yoo Teo

Yoo Teo is receiving warm recognition for his brilliant acting in the romance movie "Past Lives." He also got nominated at the 77th British Academy Film Awards for his performance.

Meanwhile, he is confirmed to lead the American series "The Recruit 2."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Yoo Teo's Hollywood Journey Continues as He Headlines Netflix's 'The Recruit' Season 2

What can you say about the news? Share your thoughts/replies in the comments!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
After careful consideration, Lee Ji Ah decides to tie the knot with Oh Min Seok for the second time around, leaving Kang Ki Young devastated. In case you missed it, here's what went down in "Queen of Divorce" Episode 10!

'Queen of Divorce' Episode 10: Dong Ki Joon Leaves Solutions

Dong Ki Joon (Kang Ki Young) isn't pleased with No Yul Seong's (Oh Min Seok) proposal to Kim Sa Ra (Lee Ji Ah) especially with the pain he had caused her.

However, Kim Sa Ra is determined to enter No Yul Seong's life once again to find clues regarding her mother's death and her new client's case.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'Queen of Divorce' Episode 9: Lee Ji Ah Finds Comfort From Kang Ki Young

She presents a remarriage contract focusing on childcare and alimony. Thankfully, No Yul Seong accepted her conditions. At Solutions, police barge in with a search warrant.

It is revealed that it's all Cha Hui Won's (Na Young Hee) plan to stop her from remarrying her son, and to handle Dong Ki Joon on her own.

Kim Sa Ra Remarries No Yul Seong

After learning about Kim Sa Ra's decision, Dong Ki Joon says that he can't work with her anymore. He also finally leaves Solutions to set up an office on his own.

Kang Bom (Seo Hye Won) and Kwon Dae Gi (Lee Tae Goo) join him to investigate the case. Meanwhile, Kim Sa Ra reunites with her son after waiting for a long time.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Lee Ji Ah's Agency To Take Action Against Malicious Commenters

Later on, Kim Sa Ra learns that No Yul Seong's driver is the same guy who brought her mother to her husband in the past. To their surprise, he's also connected to their client.

Kim Sa Ra and Dong Ki Joon call a truce to finally put an end to their cases. No Yul Seong also chooses to trust her despite his suspicions of her real intention for remarrying.

The Key Witness Dies

At the end of the episode, Kim Sa Ra discovers that No Yul Seong plans to kill his driver before his secrets get spilled to the Solutions gang. Thankfully, they are able to save his life.

In addition, they learn that No Yul Seong is the one present in the car with Kim Sa Ra's mother on the day of the accident. The former's driver refuses to spill the beans and runs away. Sadly, he loses his life in front of the Solutions team.





YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN THIS: Loving Kang Ki Young? Here's Where To See More of 'Queen of Divorce' Star





KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
The tallest of three new highrises proposed for what is currently a downtown Kelowna parking lot between Prospera Place, left, and the Delta Grand Hotel, right, would be 26 storeys. Municipal planners will recommend Monday that city councillors reject the development proposal.
Friday, March 01, 2024 - A young Kenyan man is counting losses after his jilted girlfriend went berserk and destroyed almost all his household items before fleeing.

He left her in the house and went to work, not knowing that she had an evil plan.

Her plan was to revenge in his absence.

She accomplished her mission and left.

When her boyfriend came back home from work in the evening, he found the house in a mess.

She destroyed almost everything in the house.

The video has sparked reactions online, with a section of social media users telling the victim to take legal action against the lady.

Please take legal action against her and let it serve as an example for people with such character, wrote an X user.

Watch the video.

A lady has destroyed everything in house of his boyfriend and left it in tatters



She's currently on the run .



I think men should learn to forgive



Cabinet reshuffle Moses Kuria pic.twitter.com/r4jTCVSDHD  Sholla  (@Haaland_sholla) February 29, 2024

The Kenyan DAILY POST.


Thursday, February 29, 2024  Former Prime Minister Raila Odingas bid for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship position is now in serious jeopardy.

This is after the AU Permanent Representative Committee changed the rules for electing the AUC Chairman in a bid to lock out Raila Odinga from the coveted AU job.

The changes are part of a draft aimed at shaking up the criteria relied on to fill the top positions at the continental body.

If adopted, it would be the end of the road for Raila Odinga.

The AU Permanent Representative Committee proposed several changes that seek to bar member states that have held the chairmanship and the deputy positions from 2002 from contesting in the upcoming election.

If the heads of state from the 44 countries adopt the proposal, the changes will bar Raila from vying for the AU chairmanship, as Kenya and Rwanda have previously held the deputy positions.

According to a decision effected in 2018, the position is rotational, and based on the rules, the next chairman should be from the Eastern Africa region.

However, Tanzania among other Eastern African states will be the only countries viable to submit a candidate for the bid.

The proposed changes threatening the Azimio leaders bid will become law if voted for by the heads of state.

However, the decision-making at the AU which is done through consensus gives hope for Kenyas fronted candidate, as a single vote against the proposed reforms could prevent the changes from being adopted.

President William Ruto has expressed his support for Raila's Bid.

Ruto has already formed a committee financed through the exchequer, to campaign for Odinga.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 1, 2024  President William Ruto has introduced another requirement for Kenyans before they buy his controversial Affordable Houses.

Speaking during an interview, Ruto, through Molo MP and the National Assembly Finance Committee chair, Kimani Kuria, said Kenyans intending to buy houses under the Affordable Housing Programme will be required to present a tax-compliance certificate before being allocated a unit.

He revealed that the requirement was introduced in the revised Affordable Housing Bill which is set for debate in the Senate.

He explained that the new requirement was aimed at ensuring that only Kenyans who contribute to the Housing Fund benefit from the programme.

This follows the decision to include those who are in the informal sector in the 1.5 per cent Housing Levy plan.

Previously, Kenyans were only required to present their Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) and have an ID before buying a unit.

"If you are buying it (the house), you certainly have an income.

"Therefore, it will be very unfair for someone who is earning Ksh30,000 to pay the 1.5 per cent yet someone else with a similar income doesn't pay to the Housing Fund but is qualified for a house.

"We added another qualification that said 'for you to benefit from the Affordable Housing programme, you must be tax compliant'. There is a need to provide a tax-compliance certificate," he stated.

The Affordable Housing Bill is set to be debated in the Senate during the week. MPs passed the bill before moving it to the upper house given that certain clauses touched on the county governments.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 01, 2024  Bianca Censori's father reportedly wants to meet with his daughter's husband Kanye West over fears the rapper is pushing her away from her family and turning her into a trashy commodity, insiders tell Daily Mail.

His request comes as the Yeezy designer, 29, was pictured wearing no underwear underneath a pair of sheer stockings while out to dinner with the controversial musician, 46, in Paris, France, on Tuesday February 27.

Insiders have told DailyMail that Bianca's family is 'hurting' at watching their loved one being paraded around like a 'trophy pony' and have questioned how Kanye would feel in the future if a man was treating his daughters, North and Chicago, in the same way.

'Bianca's father Leo wants to have a proper sit down with Kanye and ask him what the hell he is thinking when he parades Bianca around like a trashy naked trophy pony,' said a source close to the Yeezy architect - whose father is the brother of a notorious gangland killer.

'He wants to ask Kanye what he would do if his daughters North, or Chicago, were seen in public half-naked in outfits encouraged by their husbands.

'He knows that there is no way in hell that Kanye would allow this for his daughters so it makes no sense why he would encourage this for his own wife.'

Kanye, who wed Bianca in a private ceremony in December 2022, has also been accused of 'shutting her out' from her family in Australia.

'If this isn't bad enough, the man who is supposed to protect Mr. and Mrs. Censori's daughter is the same man that is shutting her out from her own family,' the insider continued.

'Leo honestly wants to just sit Kanye down to let him know that he is hurting her family by turning his beloved daughter into a trashy-looking marketable commodity.'

They finished: 'No man should ever encourage the woman that he loves to walk out in public and present herself like this. That isn't love. That is control.'


Friday, March 1, 2024  Haiti is officially now under siege after a gang staged an attack on the country's main airport, police stations, and government agencies, paralysing normal operations.

The attack came hours after Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry flew to Kenya to meet President William Ruto to finalize details for the deployment of Kenyan authorities to aid in combating the gangs.

During the attack, Jimmy Cherizier, leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, directed his men to launch assaults near police stations, which led to the deaths of four police officers.

In a video circulating on social media, Cherizier disclosed that the goal was to seize control of government ministries to liberate the country.

Furthermore, he warned Prime Minister Henry not to return from Kenya.

"With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country," he stated.

Following the violence that gripped the country, the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, along with several businesses, government agencies, and schools, were closed.

The wave of violence persisted in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, as the gang continued to infiltrate the city in coordinated attacks.

Dozens of Haitian residents attempted to flee the region by raising their hands as a sign of peace offering to the gang while rushing through the streets.

The gang's armoured vehicles patrolled the city, showcasing their might, while other members remained stationed near slums.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Friday, March 1, 2024 - Azimio One Kenya Alliance party leader, Raila Odinga, has said he will accept defeat if he loses the African Union Chairperson contest.

Raila, 79, has expressed interest in succeeding the current AU chairperson, Mousa Faki.

Speaking in Kisii County on Thursday, the former premier said he was ready to face anyone who steps up to challenge him.

Raila said they would meet on the proverbial field, and if he is defeated, then he would gladly concede.

"Now, I welcome whoever will want to face me on the field, if they bring me down, that's okay," Raila said.

The veteran politician said he is set to meet with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, disclosing that he had gotten assurance from Mama Samia Suluhu of Tanzania.

Raila explained that he wanted the East African region to vote as a block in his favour, adding that he had set his sights on securing the Southern Africa vote.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 01, 2024  Judges have ruled that a man who hid in the woods for 22 years after being convicted of murdering his wife in Argentina should be freed.

Ramon Angel Abregu, now aged 70, had escaped from a prison van in 2001 after being sentenced to 20 years behind bars for gunning down his estranged pregnant wife.

He remerged from the rainforest where he had taken refuge last year and handed himself in. Now, the courts have decided to let him walk because his 'statute of limitations expires'.

Abregu turned up at the same courtroom where he was convicted in 2001 claiming immunity from being sent back to serve his sentence.

His lawyer, Alejandro De la Riva, confirmed: 'The statute of limitations is 20 years, which is the time in which he managed to remain a fugitive living in hiding.'

He said his client had already served his sentence because 'being a fugitive is like serving time'.

And now, the Justice of Tierra del Fuego confirmed his freedom by declaring the case statute barred on February 27.

The decision was taken by the Rio Grande Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals but has to be rubber-stamped by Argentina's Superior Court of Justice before Abregu can be freed.

Police and prosecutors are now holding him in custody while they work out if he can be legally sent back to prison or freed.

Abregu had been in hiding in rainforests in Salteno Chaco in the wild north of Argentina, home to pumas, deer, and vampire bats.

The murder happened in the city of Rio Grande in Argentina's southernmost tip in January 2000.

On the day of the attack, local news sources detail that Abregu attacked Falcon - who was seven months pregnant - with a 9-millimeter caliber gun at her home.

Wounded, Falcon reportedly managed to escape and took refuge in the guard room of the Cemep Clinic, where Abregu caught up with her killing her with four more shots.

In February of the following year, it is understood Abregu escaped from a Margen Sur prison hiding in a truck headed for Chile.

All these years Abregu remained hidden in the jungle, in the Chaco Salteno, and managed to re-enter the Tierra del Fuego province without being detected by any authorities on Wednesday, according to Argentine newspaper Clarin.

They said he appeared in court to request the prescription of the case, while his lawyer, Alejandro De la Riva, disclosed Abregu passed through two Argentine and two Chilean border crossings 'furtively' and without documents.

'The statute of limitations is 20 years, which is the time in which he managed to remain a fugitive living in hiding. He served his sentence that way,' De la Riva reportedly explained to Fuegian media.

But the process may not be that simple and some legal issues surrounding what happened remain to be resolved, sources from the intervening criminal prosecutor's office told Clarin.

'The precepts of international law treaties adopted by the country govern and could be applied to deny this person's freedom,' they said.


Friday, March 01, 2024  The Goverdhan Villas police of Udaipur in India have arrested a Nigerian drug peddler and his Kenyan girlfriend for allegedly possessing banned drugs, MDMA worth 5 lakhs.

Acting upon a tipoff the Station House Officer (SHO) Goverdhan Villas police station Ajay Singh Rao and his team nabbed the accused, 34-year-old Joseph Tobechukwu, and Lilian Nyaisiri, 32, on Wednesday, February 28, 2024.

Both of them are staying at a rented house located at Suro Ka Fala area near Om Banna temple falling under Goverdhan Villas police station circle.

It was when the Station House Officer Goverdhan Villas police station got a tipoff that a foreign couple is roaming in the area with huge amount of drugs in their possession and is about to come towards the Dakshin Vistaar Yojna Road, Deputy SP, Rajat Bishnoi Choudhary said.

"Upon getting the information SHO immediately launched a road barricading, during the barricading a foreign couple was seen coming towards the police team on a black colored scooty.

"But as soon as the said couple saw the police team they turned back and tried to escape. But the police chased them upto a distance of around 1.5 kilometers and nabbed them.

"When they checked as much as 21 grams of banned drugs MdMa was found from Joseph while around 11 grams of MdMa drugs was recovered from the clothes of female accused Lilian.

The drugs was later seized and both the accused were booked under section 8/22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS)".

Rajat further said that during the preliminary interrogation, the accused revealed that they were staying at their rented house since August 2023 without any police verification.

Both the accused were produced in front of the court and were remanded under police custody.

The police will now question them further about other people involved in the matter racket.


Friday, March 01, 2024  A New York Appeals Court judge has denied former President Trumps request to delay payment of the $464 million owed to the state after Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit, but said he will temporarily allow the 2024 front-runner and his sons to continue running their business during the appeals process.

Trump and his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were barred earlier this month from operating their business in New York for a range of two to three years. Trump was also found liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in the civil fraud case brought against him, his family and the Trump Organization by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump appealed the ruling but on Wednesday, a New York Appeals Court judge ruled that the former president must post a bond for the full amount of the judgment and the independent director of compliance will be appointed.

The judge will temporarily allow Trump and his sons to continue running the business as they appeal the decision.

The filing is a temporary order before the motion goes before the full Appeals Court. James brief to the panel is due March 11, and Trump's replies are due March 18.

The ruling comes after New York Judge Arthur Engoron (pictured below) handed down a ruling earlier in February after a trial beginning in October and coming from James' lawsuit alleging the former president inflated his assets and committed fraud.





Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants were liable for "persistent and repeated fraud," "falsifying business records," "issuing false financial statements," "conspiracy to falsify false financial statements," "insurance fraud" and "conspiracy to commit insurance fraud."

The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years.

Engoron also "permanently" barred defendants Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and former corporate controller Jeffrey McConney from "serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation or similar business entity registered and/or licensed in New York State" and as a director of any New York corporation or other legal entity in New York for three years.

Trump dismissed the trial as a "witch hunt" throughout the process, accusing both Engoron and James of serving as political operatives for Democrats. Trump's legal team also repeatedly blasted the lack of a jury in the trial.

Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued. Trump's legal team insisted that his financial statements had disclaimers, and made it clear to banks that they should conduct their own assessments.

Trump has said his financial statements were "perfect," and stressed that the bank loans were repaid and "as happy as can be."


Friday, March 01, 2024  Prince Harry could face a legal bill of up to 1million after losing his High Court challenge against the Home Office.

The Duke of Sussex had taken the Government department to court over its decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded personal security when he visits Britain.

The 39-year-old argued that doing so could put them in harm's way, with court documents released on Wednesday saying he thought his family was at a greater risk than his late mother, Princess Diana.

But retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane refused an application for a judicial review, potentially landing Harry with a mammoth court bill as a result.

The father-of-two could now have to pay the costs for his own lawyers, as well as the legal costs of the Home Office, a total that could reach seven figures, The Times reports.

The Home Office revealed in October last year that it had already incurred legal costs of 407,000 as a result of the case, and that was before the three-day trial itself took place in December.

Meanwhile, the California-based royal hired law firm Schillings International and four barristers to help him bring the court action, potentially bringing his own personal costs even higher.

Losing parties in High Court cases normally have to pay the legal costs for both sides, with the Duke now hoping for a successful appeal against the ruling.

Harry took legal action over the move by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) after being told he would no longer be given the 'same degree' of publicly-funded protection when in the UK.

His lawyers had claimed he was 'singled out' and treated 'less favourably' in the February 2020 decision by the body, which falls under the Home Office's remit.

The court also heard that his European security director had pointed out ahead of a trip to Britain last March that Al Qaeda had recently called for him to be killed.

The terrorist group is said to have ordered Harry's death after he wrote about killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in his controversial book Spare in January 2023.

The court was also provided a letter sent from Harry's private secretary Fiona Mcilwham to the Cabinet Office in which he claimed 'racism and extremism' were putting his family at risk.

She wrote the Duke 'could not see how he could have his security removed unless the current risk to him and his family had decreased'.

In the letter, Ms Mcilwham said Harry asked 'who would be willing to put him and his family in a position of extreme vulnerability and risk'.

Harry claimed this was 'a position that no one was willing to put my mother in 23 years ago, and yet today, with greater risk, as mentioned above, with the additional layers of racism and extremism, someone is comfortable taking accountability for what could happen.

'I would like that person's name who is willing to take accountability for this choice please ', he added.

But retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane refused an application for a judicial review, potentially landing Harry with a mammoth court bill as a result.

The father-of-two could now have to pay the costs for his own lawyers, as well as the legal costs of the Home Office, a total that could reach seven figures, The Times reports.

The Home Office revealed in October last year that it had already incurred legal costs of 407,000 as a result of the case, and that was before the three-day trial itself took place in December.

Meanwhile, the California-based royal hired law firm Schillings International and four barristers to help him bring the court action, potentially bringing his own personal costs even higher.

Losing parties in High Court cases normally have to pay the legal costs for both sides, with the Duke now hoping for a successful appeal against the ruling.

The Home Office revealed in October last year that it had already incurred legal costs of 407,000 as a result of the case, and that was before the three-day trial itself took place in December.

Meanwhile, the California-based royal hired law firm Schillings International and four barristers to help him bring the court action, potentially bringing his own personal costs even higher.

Losing parties in High Court cases normally have to pay the legal costs for both sides, with the Duke now hoping for a successful appeal against the ruling.

But at a hearing in London in December, the Government insisted 39-year-old Harry's claim should be dismissed, arguing Ravec was entitled to conclude the Duke's protection should be 'bespoke' and considered on a 'case-by-case' basis.

Two months on, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane has now issued his ruling on the case this morning - saying: 'The application for judicial review is refused.'

A spokesman for Harry said he would appeal the decision, adding that he was 'not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of Ravec's own rules'.

They said: 'The Duke of Sussex will appeal today's judgment which refuses his judicial review claim against the decision-making body Ravec, which includes the Home Office, the royal household and the Met Police.

'Although these are not labels used by Ravec, three categories - as revealed during the litigation - comprise the 'Ravec cohort': the role-based category, the occasional category and the other VIP category.

'The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment but for a fair and lawful application of Ravec's own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with Ravec's own written policy.

'In February 2020, Ravec failed to apply its written policy to the Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a particular risk analysis. The duke's case is that the so-called 'bespoke process' that applies to him is no substitute for that risk analysis.

'The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the Court of Appeal, and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.'

The Duke will first need a judge to give him the green light to go to the Court of Appeal.

A judgment summary in Harry's case released this morning said the court determined 'there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision', adding that it was not 'irrational'.

The court also found the 'decision was not marred by procedural unfairness' and there was no unlawfulness by Ravec in its arrangements for his visits to Britain.

In his 52-page partially redacted ruling, Sir Peter said Harry's lawyers had taken 'an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process'.

He added: 'The 'bespoke' process devised for the claimant in the decision of February 28, 2020, was, and is, legally sound.'

The judge also said: 'The decision of February 28, 2020 was obviously forward-looking in nature.

'The suggestion that the claimant should have received both an RMB (risk) analysis and a 'bespoke' approach ignores the witness evidence of the defendant which, for the reasons I have given, falls to be given weight.

'That evidence shows no irrationality or other unlawfulness, as regards the other VIP category.'

Sir Peter also noted it was 'highly relevant' that on January 11, 2020, Sir Edward Young, then Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, gave Harry a 'draft options paper' outlining that the 'level of protection is a decision for the Home Secretary, delegated to the chair' of Ravec.


Friday, March 1, 2024  The race for the African Union Commission (AUC) Chairmanship just got hotter.

This is after former Somalias Foreign Minister Fawzia Adam declared her interest in the African Union Chairmanship to replace Moussa Faki of Chad whose final term ends in 2025.

Fawzia will now compete with Azimio Leader Raila Odinga, who announced his bid on February 15, 2024.

Reports indicated that Fawzia's candidature has been endorsed by Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Prime Minister Hamsa Abdi Barre who both acknowledged her expertise on matters of governance.

Daudi Aweis, Somalia's Minister for Information, also lauded Somalia's decision to field a candidate for the AU chairperson role, believing that she is a strong contender in the race.

"Following key diplomatic achievements such as lifting the arms embargo, debt relief, and joining the EAC, Somalia is now well-placed to play a major role in the world. Delighted to put forward veteran diplomat Fawzia Tusuf as our nominee for the top position at the AU," Aweis stated as quoted by Somalia news publication Garowe Online.

Raila's quest to secure the seat will require votes from the 55 member states.

According to the former Prime Minister, six Heads of State have already endorsed his candidature.

But with the new rules by the African Union Committee on gender balance in the election of AU Chair, Fawzia may have a higher chance than Raila.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.




Friday, March 1, 2024  Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka may be just a heartbeat away from joining President William Rutos Government.

This is after Tongaren MP John Chakati, who belongs to the FORD-Kenya Party that is affiliated with Kenya Kwanza, called on President William Ruto to give Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka a job in the Kenya Kwanza government.

Speaking during a morning interview, Chakati who is the Ford-Kenya Secretary General, opined that Kalonzo may not have the capacity to run the Opposition once former Prime Minister Raila Odinga exits the political scene.

He thus urged the President to carve out a position for Kalonzo, explaining that the Wiper Party leader is better suited to being in government than in the opposition.

The blood of KANU runs in him, the blood of diplomacy, the blood of government. He is a person of diplomacy, decision-making and managing affairs, explained the MP.

The MP claimed that Kalonzo may not be able to lead the Opposition as he had in the past refrained from taking a stand on controversial topics.

The opposition does not run in Kalonzo's blood. Kalonzo does not know how to oppose anything, he is where he is because of circumstances, and he is not enjoying, elaborated Chakati.

This comes even as Kalonzo has declared his interest in leading the Azimio alliance after the speculated exit of Opposition Leader Raila Odinga from active politics as he angles for the African Union Commission chairperson position.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Friday, March 1, 2024 - One of the Kenya Kwanza Alliance strategists has sensationally claimed that they are supporting former Prime Minister Raila Odingas bid to become African Union Chairperson to help him get rid of some politicians who have been relying on his endorsement every election cycle.

Many leaders in Luo Nyanza have been relying on Raila Odinga's endorsement but according to political strategist, Anorld Amariba, that culture will end once Raila exits the political scene and joins the AU as the chairperson.

"The only thing we owe Raila is actually to support him.

"The people who have been hanging on Raila's coat to get political relevance really want to drag down Raila even at 84 in 2027 they still want to put them there so that they line up behind him.

"They cannot grow their own strength," Amariba said.

Amariba spoke on Friday when he appeared in an interview with one of the local TV stations.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 1,2024 - Nakuru County governor, Susan Kihika, will be a one-term governor over what she has been doing to her senator, Tabitha Karanja.

Speaking during a Senate sitting on Wednesday afternoon, Karanja said that unknown individuals have been calling her with private numbers, to blackmail her and insult her.

According to her, Kihika was trying to intimidate her, a move that undermined her oversight role.

I come from a district where intimidation and blackmail are the order of the day. Everyone knows that the gangsters control Nakuru County.

I have even been called on private numbers to be threatened and abused. You have never seen me go in there (Chambers) drunk, but I have been called a drunkard, the founder of Keroche Breweries said.

Karanja also accused Kihika of disobeying court orders in the case of War Memorial Hospital.

You saw Chief Justice Martha Koome saying how the governor had disobeyed court orders, she said.

She claimed that the county executive hired goons to disrupt peaceful demonstrations by members of the Law Society of Kenya, who were protesting against the disobedience of court orders.

The senator urged the council of governors to caution the Nakuru County executive and other governors who disobey court orders.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 01, 2024  A Texas man accused of shooting two people including his cousin dead, has been executed by lethal injection.

Ivan Cantu, 50, received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. at the state penitentiary in Huntsville on Wednesday, February 28, for the November 2000 fatal shooting of his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, and his cousins girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, 22.

In final words from the execution chamber, the 50-year-old inmate said several times that he was innocent.

I want you to know that I never killed James and Amy, he told relatives and a friend of Kitchen who stood feet away from him while watching through a window. And if I did, if I knew who did, you wouldve been the first to know any information.

He said he wanted them to know he didnt think his death will bring you closure. If it does, if this is what it takes or have any reservations off in your mind, then so be it.

Prosecutors had said Cantu killed Mosqueda, who dealt illegal drugs, and Kitchen as he tried to steal cocaine, marijuana, and cash from his cousins north Dallas home. The inmate, who was convicted in 2001, had long claimed a rival drug dealer killed his cousin in a dispute over money.

Before his statement, his spiritual adviser, Helen Prejean, held in her hand his right hand that was strapped to the death chamber gurney, and prayed quietly over him. He thanked friends and supporters and urged that his case continue to be investigated to prove, I dont belong on this gurney.

As a lethal dose of the sedative pentobarbital began flowing, he began snoring. After the eighth snore, which was accompanied by a gasp, he stopped all movement. Twenty-one minutes after the drugs started, he was pronounced dead.

Cantus was the first execution in Texas this year and one of two scheduled Wednesday in the U.S. Hours earlier, Idaho authorities halted the execution of serial killer Thomas Eugene Creech after a medical team repeatedly failed to find a vein to insert an IV line needed to administer a lethal injection. Creech was condemned for killing a fellow prisoner with a battery-filled sock in 1981.

The Texas execution proceeded hours after Cantus attorney, Gena Bunn, said she would not make a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for lack of a viable path for the high courts consideration of the case.

Two lower courts on Tuesday denied Cantus request to intervene. And on Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 against commuting Cantus death sentence to a lesser penalty. Efforts to delay Cantus execution had received the support of faith leaders, celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and actor Martin Sheen, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, and his brother, former U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro.

Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, whose office convicted Cantu, said that evidence presented at trial proved Cantu committed the killings.

I remain fully convinced that Ivan Cantu brutally murdered two innocent victims in 2000, Willis said in a recent statement.

But Bunn had written in Cantus clemency application that new evidence impugns the integrity of the States case for guilt and raises the specter that the State of Texas could execute an innocent man.

In Cantus apartment, police found bloody jeans with the victims DNA and a key to the victims home. Police found Cantus gun at his ex-girlfriends home. Mosquedas blood was found on the guns barrel while Cantus fingerprints were found on the guns magazine.

In a 2005 affidavit, Matthew Goeller, one of Cantus trial attorneys, said Cantu admitted to him he had indeed killed Mosqueda for ripping him off on a drug deal and that Kitchen was killed because she was a witness.

Cantus then-girlfriend, Amy Boettcher, was the prosecutions main witness. Boettcher, who died in 2021, testified that Cantu told her he was going to kill Mosqueda and Kitchen and later took her back to the crime scene after the killings.

But Bunn alleged that Boettchers testimony was riddled with false statements.

The defense attorney also said new witness statements also helped confirm Cantus claim that a man who had supplied drugs to Mosqueda had threatened the cousin days before the killings.
Friday, March 1, 2024 - Teachers have expressed their discontent after the government of President William Ruto deducted housing levy funds from their salaries in February, despite a court ban on the matter.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Teachers (KUPPET) sounded the alarm over the government's decision to proceed with salary deductions.

According to KUPPET's Deputy Secretary-General, Moses Nthurima, the government had previously assured teachers that deductions made in January would be refunded.

He elaborated that the teachers had sent a letter demanding the refunds to which they received a response that no more deductions would be made.

However, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) responded, explaining that the deductions made in January were a result of the already prepared monthly payroll.

KUPPET also stated that the commission had promised to refund the funds in February, a promise they did not fulfill.

The Union also alleges that the TSC instead of reinstating their fees deducted more, even though the Court of Appeal declined to lift orders that had barred the levy declaring it unconstitutional.

Further, the teachers union notes that the TSC is infringing their rights with deductions after the court declared the levy unconstitutional.

Additionally, they demand a refund of all the funds deducted from them since the Housing levy was instituted.

They also accused the commission of endearing itself to the government for a reason that is unknown to them.

The Kenyan DAILY POST


Friday, March 01, 2024  Wendy Williams' publicist has slammed the Lifetime documentary that she signed her famous TV client up for.

Shawn Zanotti has placed blame on the producers of the series, alleging the TV icon believed she was filming a program about her comeback - only for filmmakers to capture 'a circus to her downfall.'

Zanotti, who has been working as a publicist for Williams since 2021, spoke with NBC News about her grievances with the making of Where is Wendy Williams?, a four-part documentary now airing on Lifetime.

In an interview with the outlet, Zanotti claimed: 'I felt that [Williams] was being exploited.'

'She thought we were focusing on the comeback of her career. ... She would be mortified. There's no way you can convince me that she would be OK with looking and seeing herself in that way.'

She also told PEOPLE that she felt 'lied to' about it.

Despite having encouraged her client to sign up for the show, Zanotti now says: "I would never let Wendy put her name and brand on the line like that ever. She's an icon. It's not the story we signed up for and I feel lied to.'

Adding: 'It's so difficult for me to even watch. Wendy would be mortified.'

Her remarks come four days too late - the debut episode of the documentary, Where Is Wendy Williams?, premiered on Lifetime on February 24.

Two days before the project was released, it was announced that Wendy had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and primary progressive aphasia.

Zanotti claims the production company, Creature Films and eOne Television, approached her with the documentary back in 2022. The production company also shot the 2021 documentary about the TV icon, Wendy Williams: What A Mess!

Initially, Zanotti said Williams was eager to do the documentary and 'get my story out there' - however Zanotti was disappointed to see a different story air.

'That is not the project that [Williams] signed up for. Thats not the project [the producers] brought to me. Thats not what I told her this was going to be about,' Zanotti claims, adding, 'There were a lot of good moments. None of those good moments were shown.'

The filmmakers have since claimed they did not know about Wendy's diagnosis at the time of production.

Showrunner Erica Hanson told TODAY: 'Some days, Wendy was on and very Wendy. Other days, she wasnt. We all felt this was a complex and sensitive story to tell, and we all felt a great responsibility to do it with dignity and sensitivity.'

Yet Zanotti does not believe they would have stopped even if they knew about her health.

'I dont think [the diagnosis] would have stopped them at all. The producers were asking questions throughout the entire time  would ask questions where she would somewhat seem confused, and I feel as though it was done to be intentional at that moment in time to make their storyline,' Zanotti said.

'Again, this was presented as a documentary to her, but to me, it looked as though it was a reality show of a circus, a circus to her downfall.'

A now-sealed lawsuit was filed by Sabrina Morrissey, Wendy's guardian, on the day the TV icon's dementia diagnosis was revealed. The suit was filed in an effort to stop the documentary from airing, but a judge dismissed the case on the grounds of the First Amendment.

Zanotti claims she told Morrissey her issues about production at the time of filming and alleges the production company was 'aware' she had raised concerns.

However, she alleges she was ignored by production.

'Instead of them dealing with it with me, they decided to ignore me,' Zanotti claimed of production. 'They ignored me from that moment, and I never heard from them again.'

She also believes she was inaccurately portrayed in the documentary, aside from a scene in which she was reprimanded by Wendy, claiming there had been 'great, beautiful moments' that subsequently occurred.

It comes after Williams' brother, Tommy Williams, claimed his sister is 'stuck' in a treatment facility and wants her released.

The TV personality, 59, is currently receiving treatment for frontotemporal dementia, which her son claims is 'alcohol induced', and aphasia in an undisclosed facility in New York, where she's reportedly been since April 2023.

'I know that she is stuck and we are trying to unstick her. Her family is here and she doesn't need a facility. We are here to take care of her,' he told Us Weekly.

'All I want for her is freedom. We have a father who would love to see her,' he added.

He also expressed his frustration with not being able to see her, telling the publication: 'We're dealing with unknowns. We just want to be able to check in with her. I would fly up there [to New York], but where do I go? No one knows anything.'

Tommy added that communication between the TV host and her family has been difficult.

'We can't communicate unless someone patches us through,' he revealed.

'We wait for calls. I wait for calls from Wendy or my sister or whoever she can get to first and we can all hop on. When she makes that phone call [to us], we're committed to listening and sharing for the moment.'

Tommy added that it 'seems like forever' since he's seen his sister.

'It's because of the people who she is around. You can't leave. You're there as part of a program.'

'It's the one thing that is holding her and keeping her from communicating, traveling, and doing all the things she likes to do.'

The care team for the star announced her diagnosis of Aphasia and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) in a press release on Thursday. They said Williams had undergone 'a battery of medical tests' before arriving at the diagnosis.

The statement noted that Williams had been diagnosed back in 2023. The talk show host has reportedly been living in a treatment facility since April 2023.




Friday, March 1, 2024 - Public Service CS Moses Kuria has sparked online debate after sharing a cryptic message.

Kuria alleged that some internal forces were determined to undermine and sabotage his mandate as the Public Service Cabinet Secretary.

"No amount of internal sabotage will deter me," Moses Kuria wrote attracting over 100 comments in less than 20 minutes after publishing.

The statement left Kenyans guessing what the former Gatundu Member of Parliament was referring to with his statement.

Several social media users alleged that Kuria might have been threatened following his latest resolve to get rid of ghost workers in the public service.

They argued that most ghost workers are connected by other powerful individuals who are opposed to the plan to launch a nationwide biometric registration.

Others argued that Moses Kuria was on the chopping board and risked being fired from the Cabinet.

Others insinuated that Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua could be behind it since they dont see eye-to-eye, with rumours alleging that there is a fresh wrangling between the two leaders.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
Lawyers representing jailed TikToker Ibarahim Musana, also known as Pressure 24/7, have filed an application for a production warrant. The warrant would allow them to bring him back to court and apply for bail.

In a letter dated February 27, 2024, addressed to the Chief Magistrate at Buganda Road Court, the lawyers from Musoke and Marzuq Advocates claim that their client urgently needs bail. They argue that Musana, who was remanded to Luzira Prison on February 23, 2024, and is due to return on March 7, 2024, requires continued medical attention at Butabika National Referral Hospital for mental illness.

We are aware that the accused is asthmatic and that at the time of his arrest, he was an out patient at Butabika Hospital battling against mental illness that he was due for review, the document reads in part.

On February 23, 2024, Pressure was remanded to Luzira Prison on eight counts of promoting hate speech. Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf despite Pressures claims of mental illness and lack of awareness of any wrongdoing when creating and posting videos in which he verbally abuses several individuals, including the Kabaka of Buganda, President Yoweri Museveni, and Speaker of Parliament Anita Among.

The charges against him include hate speech and spreading malicious information, both contravening section 26(a) of the Computer Misuse Act of 2021.

When asked to plead to the charges, the TikToker caused laughter in the courtroom by stating he is psychologically challenged and was admitted to Butabika National Referral Hospital for mental health issues.

He further claimed to be possessed by the spirits of deceased Buganda kings, who allegedly ordered him to repair the Kasubi tombs, a task he lacks the financial means to undertake.

The troubled young man went on to say that, for the past two years, he has unsuccessfully attempted to contact the kingdom to explain his situation and the demands of the spirits, claiming to be a prince himself.

He then pleaded with the magistrate for forgiveness, promising to refrain from creating and posting similar videos in the future and to delete the existing ones from his TikTok page.

According to Prosecutor Joan Keko, between August 2023 and February 2024, in various locations within Kampala District, Pressure, using his TikTok account, shared information likely to degrade or demean and promote hostility against four leaders: Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, President Museveni, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, and State Minister for ICT, Joyce Naboosa Ssebugwawo.

His arrest followed complaints filed by Buganda Kingdom officials after videos surfaced where Pressure referred to the Kabaka as a thief, among other insults.
Green Party MEP for Ireland South, Grace OSullivan, has called for EU action to tackle the abuse of short-term letting in Kilkenny, as she revealed that there are approximately 20 times the number of short-term lettings in Kilkenny than homes for long term rental.

Speaking from Strasbourg as the European Parliament debated new regulations on short term lettings, OSullivan said that there is a clear need for a more balanced approach between short-term tourism letting and longer-term rentals.

"Short-term letting can be good for tourism and the local economy, but this positive quickly becomes a negative when local workers and families are priced out of the area, or availability dries up," she said.

"Were not talking about people earning a few extra euro by letting out a room, or a granny-flat on a short-term basis. Were not talking about purpose-built tourism accommodation. Were talking about full units that would otherwise be family homes being taken off the rental market.

"Its gone too far now. In Kilkenny this week, there were over 200 short-term lets available on Airbnb, versus 11 homes available to rent on Daft.

"This is not sustainable for the local community or the local economy, and we must empower Local Authorities and National Governments to tackle this imbalance.

"Im calling on the European Commission to approve Irelands proposed regulation of short-term letting as soon as possible, and I welcome the European Parliament approval this week of Europe-wide rules on short-term letting transparency to facilitate enforcement of the rules."

European Housing Ministers will meet on March 5 to discuss the common housing issues affecting Europe.

Figures were taken by comparing available lets on Daft.ie versus Airbnb rentals. Airbnb rentals were filtered to include only full home rentals with at least two bedrooms, and excluded purpose-built holiday lets to ensure fair comparison.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 42F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Clear skies. Low 29F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.
General view of an Apache helicopter flying over the Los Angeles South Bay area on February 11 in Los Angeles, California.
Taseko Mines Limited (LON:TKO  Get Free Report)s share price was down 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as GBX 117.50 ($1.49) and last traded at GBX 117.50 ($1.49). Approximately 5,850 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 6,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 120 ($1.52).

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 220 ($2.79) target price on shares of Taseko Mines in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd.

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Taseko Mines Price Performance

Insider Transactions at Taseko Mines

The firms 50 day simple moving average is GBX 110.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 104.08. The stock has a market cap of 339.26 million, a P/E ratio of 5,875.00 and a beta of 2.10.

In other news, insider Robert Dickinson sold 44,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 191 ($2.42), for a total transaction of 84,040 ($106,595.64). Insiders own 3.44% of the companys stock.

Taseko Mines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Taseko Mines Limited, a mining company, acquires, develops, and operates mineral properties. It explores for copper, molybdenum, gold, niobium, and silver deposits. The company holds 75% interest in the Gibraltar mine located in British Columbia. It also holds 100% interest in Yellowhead copper project, the Aley niobium project, and the New Prosperity gold and copper project located in British Columbia; and the Florence copper project located in Arizona.

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Tesco PLC (OTCMKTS:TSCDY  Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 513,700 shares, a growth of 2,661.8% from the January 31st total of 18,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,243,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Tesco in a report on Thursday, November 16th. They set a buy rating for the company.

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Tesco Price Performance

Tesco Company Profile

TSCDY stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $10.83. 4,473,743 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 673,008. Tesco has a 52 week low of $8.93 and a 52 week high of $11.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $11.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.44.

(Get Free Report)

Tesco PLC, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a grocery retailer in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. It offers grocery products through its stores, as well as online. The company is also involved in the food and drink wholesaling activities.

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Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (TSE:WDO  Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$9.51 and last traded at C$9.41, with a volume of 324098 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$9.05.

Wesdome Gold Mines Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.13 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 10.29, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of C$8.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$7.90.

Wesdome Gold Mines Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. explores and develops of gold deposits in Canada. The company produces gold in the form of dore bars, as well as silver as a by-product. It holds interest in the Eagle River Mine and the Mishi Mine in Ontario; and the Kiena Mine in Quebec. The company was formerly known as River Gold Mines Ltd.

Further Reading

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President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday that South Korea and Japan are partners in the pursuit of global peace and prosperity as they work to overcome their "painful past" and move toward a new future.

Yoon made the remark as he marked the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule, a watershed event during Japan's 1910-45 brutal occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

"Now, Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past," he said during a commemoration ceremony at the Memorial Hall of Yu Gwan-sun in Seoul. "Sharing the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, our two countries have become partners in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity."

Yoon cited efforts under his administration to strengthen bilateral cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and build partnerships across industries.

"If Korea and Japan build trust through mutual exchanges and cooperation and work together to resolve difficult challenges that history has left us, we will be able to usher in a new and brighter future for our bilateral relations," he said. "I hope that the 60th anniversary of Korea and Japan normalizing diplomatic relations next year will serve as an opportunity to take our bilateral relationship to a higher level, one that is more productive and constructive."

Yoon also said the independence movement will be made complete only when the Korean Peninsula achieves a unification that brings freedom and abundance to everyone, noting the repressive rule of the North Korean regime.

"Now, we must move toward a free, unified Korean Peninsula where the people are its rightful owners," he said, noting the need to draw on the help of the international community.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity. Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights," he said.

Yoon reiterated his commitment to helping the North Korean people, including defectors to the South, citing the government's designation of July 14 as North Korean Defectors' Day.

He also recalled that North Korea recently labeled the South its "primary foe" and "invariable principal enemy," saying, "This is truly deplorable."

Meanwhile, Yoon called attention to the various types of independence movements that were carried out under colonial rule, including those who engaged in armed struggle and others who pursued diplomacy around the world or initiated educational and cultural movements to empower Koreans with necessary skills

"The blood and sweat of these independence activists enabled our country's independence and became the foundation of the Republic of Korea," he said, referring to South Korea by its formal name. "I believe that the significance of all of these independence movements must be duly recognized and their history should be passed down correctly generation after generation." (Yonhap)
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Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Snow this morning will diminish to a few snow showers this afternoon. High 34F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Auburn, IN (46706)

Today

Snow showers this morning becoming more scattered later. High 36F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 70%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A few flurries are possible. Low 27F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Various Korean artists secured their wins at the 2024 Korean Music Awards.

See the full list of winners below!

2024 Korean Music Awards Announces Winners: NewJeans, KISS OF LIFE, More Bag Trophies Home!

On February 29, the 2024 Korean Music Awards (21st KMAs) was held.

The prestigious award ceremony honored numerous artists for their impact on the music industry. When it comes to scope, the award show covers Korean artists from the mainstream music scene, as well as those who are known in the underground.

See the winners below:

Best K-Pop Song: "Ditto" by NewJeans

Best K-Pop Album: "Get Up" by NewJeans

Rookie Of The Year: KISS OF LIFE

Album Of The Year: "Nowitzki" by Beenzino

Best Pop Song: "Love Lee" by AKMU

Best Jazz Performance Album: "Four Seasons" by Soo Jung Lee

Best Jazz Vocal Album: "Extraordinary" by Yu Jin Kim

Best Rock Album: "64 see me" by OVerdrive Philosophy

Best Modern Rock Album: "Machine Boy" by Silica Gel

Best Electronic Album: "My Star My Planet My Earth" by Yetsuby

Best Pop Album: "Hearts of the City" by Lee Jin Ah

Best Folk Album: "COMEDY" by Yeoyu and Seolbin

Best Metal & Hardcore Album: "Reason For Silence" by Mahatma

Best Rap & Hip Hop Album: "NOWITZKI" by Beenzino

Best R&B & Soul Album: "BOMM" by jerd

Best Modern Rock Song: "Tik Tak Tok (feat. So!YoON!)" by Silica Gel

Best Folk Song: "Like The Stars In The Night Sky" by Yeoyu and Seolbin

Best Rock Song: "Ghost Writers" by Seoul Electric Band

Best Rap & Hip Hop Song: "What The Hell" by E SENS

Best R&B & Soul Song: "(Motif)" by youra

Best Electronic Song: "Hush" by CIFIKA

Special Merit Award: Kang Tae Hwan

Committee Special Award: Hakchon Theatre

Congratulations to all winners at the 21st KMAs!

NewJeans, Younha, More Win at 2023 Korean Music Awards

In other news, the 2023 Korean Music Awards (20th KMAs) was held on March 5, 2023.

See which artists secured trophies from the awards show below.

Rookie of the Year: NewJeans

Song of the Year: "Event Horizon" by Younha

Artist of the Year: 250

Album of the Year: "PPONG" by 250

Best K-Pop Song: "Attention" by NewJeans

Best Pop Song: "Event Horizon" by Younha

Best Rock Song: "from the place been erased" (feat. Sunwoojunga) by Jambinai

Best R&B and Soul Song: "JOTTO" by BIBI

Best Rap and Hip Hop Song: "Good Morning Seoul" by Nucksal, CADEJO

Best Electronic Song: "Bang Bus" by 250

Best Modern Rock Song: "NO PAIN" by Silica Gel

Best Folk Song: "Night and Day" by Line and Circle

Best K-Pop Album: "New Jeans" by NewJeans

Best Rock Album: "Supersonic Airliner" by Concorde

Best Pop Album: "ERROR" by AKMU Lee Chan Hyuk

Best Modern Rock Album: "TEEN TROUBLES" by The Black Skirts

Best R&B & Soul Album: "PRIVATE PINK" by A.TRAIN

Best Rap and Hip Hop Album: "Sincerely Yours" by Nucksal, CADEJO

Best Electronic Album: "PPONG" by 250

Best Global Contemporary Album: "psalms" by Jung Jae Il

Best Folk Album: "Night and Day" by Line and Circle

Best Metal & Hardcore Album: "I See Myself Through You Who See Us Through Me" by Madmans Esprit

Best Jazz Vocal Album: "A Piece and the Whole" by Kim Yujin

Best Jazz Music Album: "Atmosphere" by Song Young Joo

For more intriguing K-pop news and exciting updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz!

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 19th Korean Music Awards Nominees: Who Will Be Music Critics' Pick? BTS, SHINee, aespa, More Included

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Riely Miller
TREASURE member Jaehyuk is being accused of having a girlfriend despite how the group will be airing a dating show. Fans have released the alleged proof.

Keep on reading for all the details.

Does TREASURE Jaehyuk Have a Girlfriend?

On March 1, 2024, a post titled "An idol who got caught dating when his dating show is scheduled to start soon" was posted to a popular South Korean online community forum.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Commotion at Airport During TREASURE Arrival Sparks Major Concerns: 'We're going to die...'

The original poster (OP) shared several photos of who appears to be TREASURE member Jinhyuk on a date with a Japanese woman. Korean netizens have dubbed the woman Mie-san.

The photos show screenshots from the woman's Instagram Story of her on a date. Though the man's face is not seen, several hints led netizens to conclude it was Jaehyuk. During an Instagram Story of the woman in Osaka, she is seen wearing a jacket Jaehyuk wore to the airport on his way to Japan.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: Hyunsuk Asks Haters to Stop Disrespecting TREASURE - Why Did He Receive Backlash for It?

She also shared several photos of their dates in South Korea. In one photo, a man's wrist is seen. His thumb and Cartier watch was immediately linked to Jaehyuk.

Additionally, Jaehyuk was seen wearing the same exact photo in a Weverse photo as in one of Mie-san's Instagram Stories. It is rumored the photo he shared on Weverse was taken by his alleged girlfriend.

READ MORE: Is TREASURE Popular? Netizens Marvel at Lack of Fans During Latest Airport Sighting

International fans have garnered more proof. Some fans have sighted the two on dates both in Japan and South Korea, and the two allegedly have several matching couple items. International fans compiled the proof in a Google Drive, which has since been made private.

K-Netz React to TREASURE Jaehyuk Dating Rumors

While international fans remain supportive of the male idol, Korean netizens do not have the same favorable views.

CHECK THIS OUT: aespa Giselle and TREASURE Jihoon Embroiled in Dating Rumors - Find Out Why

It was noted that the group's dating show, "Shining SOLO," will air on March 3. The program was dubbed a "romantic survival" and will feature female contestants voting for the most charming member of TREASURE.



People believe that because TREASURE is not popular, the dating news will not hit big in South Korea. Despite that, there are still criticisms that he made his relationship status too obvious, and he should have been more mindful of the fans.

FOR YOU: 20 Best Fourth-Gen K-pop Groups According to Fans: TXT, Stray Kids, NewJeans, More!

Others claimed that with how unknown TREASURE is in South Korea, he should focus on practicing rather than dating.

Some comments read,

"Wow, he really made it obvious."

"He really uploaded a photo his girlfriend took to Weverse?"

"He's a nobody, so he can live comfortably."

"Nobody know who he is, so people won't care."

"God, go practice instead."

What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below!

KpopStarz Owns This

Written by Alexa Lopez




Radiant Presence at Luxury Brand Event

Fresh off the runway of Fashion Week, aespa's NingNing once again stole the spotlight, enchanting fans with her breathtaking appearance at a recent event in Beijing, China.

On the evening of February 29th, the atmosphere in Beijing was electrified as aespa's NingNing graced an event hosted by a prestigious luxury brand.

Dressed in a form-fitting, mini pink dress, the idol effortlessly showcased her flawless physique and captivating curves. NingNing's presence was magnetic, captivating the attention of onlookers and cameras alike.

Mesmerizing Visuals and Charisma

NingNing's ethereal beauty was on full display as she exuded charm from every angle, her flawless skin and timeless features glowing under the spotlight.

ningning looks so damn gorgeous in a pink dress  pic.twitter.com/Kq1aTmfFWk  assa (@angrybbao) February 29, 2024

With a radiant smile and a graceful demeanor, she effortlessly commanded attention, embodying the essence of a true "visual goddess."

Every snapshot of NingNing at the event seemed like a scene from a romantic drama, with her captivating beauty transcending even the limitations of phone camera shots.

Her glass-like skin, accentuated by a luminous pink-toned makeup, added to her youthful allure, leaving a lasting impression on all who beheld her.

READ ALSO: aespa NingNing Criticized for Armpit Fats in THIS Photo - MYs Defend idol

Effortless Elegance

NingNing's divine angles and graceful aura transformed the event into a visual spectacle, with each frame capturing her radiant

presence.

Even without the aid of photo editing, her natural beauty shone through, captivating fans and reaffirming her status as a true icon of elegance and charm.

Netizens' Reactions

Here are the sentiments shared by netizens on aespa Ningning's goddess-like beauty.

"NINGNING IN PINK"

"she's so perfect in pink "

"Unreal but real"

"Unreal beauty"

"She's so gorgeous "

"Ningning look so good"

"How can a person be so perfect"

"pretty pretty pretty "

"princess omg so pretty in pink "

"Donatella said she's unreal beauty"

"Ningning is so beautiful"

"Oh ningning the woman that u are"

Following the event, NingNing's mesmerizing appearance became the talk of the town online, with fans in awe of her elegance and poise. From her striking figure to her captivating smile, NingNing left an indelible mark on the hearts of netizens, solidifying her reputation as the ultimate "visual goddess" of aespa.

YOU MIGHT BE ALSO INTERESTED IN: aespa Ningning Private Instagram Account Hacked? Here's What Happened

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Cassidy Jones.
Is BLACKPINK Lisa cutting ties with Celine? Keep on reading to learn why people think so.

BLACKPINK Lisa Rumored to be Parting Ways With Celine

After being named the muse of Celine's creative director, Hedi Slimane, in 2019, Lisa has been serving as the brand's global ambassador since September 2020. Since then, she has been promoting the brand for nearly four years.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: BLACKPINK Jisoo & Lisa Garner Opposite Reactions For Self-Introductions On Their Company Websites - Here's Why

However, rumors are currently circulating claiming that the "LALISA" will be parting ways with the luxury fashion house.

On February 29, 2024, Lisa was seen at Singapore's Changi Airport. She is rumored to be in the country to watch Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" concert.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Artwork of BLACKPINK Lisa at Crazy Horse Paris Draws Criticism- Here's Why

During her airport appearance, it was noted that Lisa was wearing a cap from Louis Vuitton. She was also seen with a large purse from the luxury fashion brand.

Lisa estava usando uma blusa, bone e bolsa da Louis Vuitton hoje #LISA #BLACKPINK pic.twitter.com/XM8DFmzkyN February 29, 2024

From January to February, Lisa has been seen attending various events in France. During her appearance, it was noted she wore little to no pieces from Celine. Instead, she opted to wear clothes from the French fashion brand Dior. Other times, she was seen with pieces from Louis Vuitton.

CHECK THIS OUT: K-Media Outlet Discusses BLACKPINK Lisa Acting Debut - Will She Succeed More than Jennie?

It was also noted that earlier this month, Celine started rolling out new campaigns for their Women's Summer 2024 collection. Despite still being Celine's global brand ambassador, Lisa was not featured in any of the photoshoots. In fact, the last time Lisa was featured on Celine's Instagram was in October 2023.



Meanwhile, Lisa's last post for the brand was in December.

Will BLACKPINK Lisa Sign With Different Luxury Fashion House?

Some believe that Lisa's rumored relationship with LVMH heir Frederic Arnault may be a reason why she is wearing different brands under the LVMH umbrella, including Celine. Others speculate that she may even shift brands but still represent a luxury fashion house under LVMH.

READ MORE: BLACKPINK Lisa To Make Acting Debut With 'The White Lotus' Season 3

However, there are some holes in this logic. On her Instagram, Lisa was seen flaunting an Hermes bag. Hermes is not a brand under the LVMH umbrella.

#LISA Hermes Birkin 30 Bag HSS Rose Lipstick Black Chevre Brushed Gold Hardware ($38,500)



 1,390,000   pic.twitter.com/NbsZPueXad    (@SOLARSHIIII) February 20, 2024

As of writing, there is no confirmation whether Lisa will stop acting as Celine's global brand ambassador. Keep tuned to KpopStarz for future updates!

ALSO READ: BLACKPINK Lisa Draws Criticism Following Opening of Company LLOUD - Here's Why

What do you think of the situation? Tell us in the comments below!

KpopStarz Owns This

Written by Alexa Lopez
In a stunning turn of events, BTS's V, also known as Kim Taehyung, has set the internet ablaze with an unexpected collaboration alongside none other than A-list actor Jackie Chan.

This unforeseen partnership has not only captivated fans worldwide but has also quashed any speculation of editing wizardry.

The SimInvest Connection

The unexpected collaboration comes on the heels of V's appointment as the ambassador for SimInvest, a major financing advisory firm in Indonesia.

Despite his military enlistment at the end of 2023, V has continued to exert influence through various events, showcasing his versatility and charm.

Mulai hari ini SimInvest resmi punya bestie baru lho!



Ke depannya V bakal bergabung buat nemenin perjalanan investasi kamu di SimInvest.#MyInvestmentMyChoice#SimInvestxV pic.twitter.com/K5DKQdLnze  SIMINVEST (@siminvest_id) March 1, 2023

READ ALSO: BTS V Selected as The Male Idol People Want to See The Moment They Wake Up

The Viral Video Unveiling

On March 1 (KST), SimInvest dropped a video featuring V, where the idol, donned in a striking red suit, exhibited both style and eloquence in English.

The unexpected twist occurred when the scene shifted, revealing Jackie Chan casually seated at a table, confirming his involvement in the video alongside V.

Living Their Best Lives

The video's final scenes depicted BTS's V and Jackie Chan enjoying lighthearted moments, providing fans with a delightful glimpse into their camaraderie.

The shared footage instantly went viral upon release, garnering widespread attention and excitement from the global fanbase.

Siminvest is super rich and iconic for having the face of korea and face of China together as global ambassadors!



KIM TAEHYUNG FOR SIMINVEST#TaehyungxSimInvest pic.twitter.com/r5JQw1nkHv   (@KTH_UK) March 1, 2024

taehyung in red gucci suit with the record player siminvest weren't playing pic.twitter.com/Vhu6jO0oIh  nochu () (@vantebear_) March 1, 2024

not to be that person but taehyung is definitely getting an acting gig when he comes back March 1, 2024

Old men when they see taehyung  pic.twitter.com/IAwHysPkdv  THV (@Taehyungimpact) March 1, 2024

Debunking the "Edited" Allegations

In a departure from the norm, V took to Instagram to share behind-the-scenes moments, dispelling any notions of the collaboration being a result of meticulous editing.

he debunked the its just edited allegation https://t.co/fVtw98JxTj March 1, 2024

The heartwarming interactions between V and Jackie Chan, as captured in V's update, further endeared the collaboration to fans, who appreciated the authenticity of the content.

YOU MIGHT BE ALSO INTERESTED IN: New Photos of BTS V, RM in Military Training Camp Revealed

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Cassidy Jones.
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Sudan

We strongly condemn the recent ban by the Sudanese de facto authorities on the delivery of cross-border humanitarian assistance from Chad to Sudan to the civilians suffering at the hands of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This is a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

In the context of widespread hostilities, cross-border assistance is the lifeline to the people of Darfur. Denying access to vital aid for people in need, especially in conflict-affected regions, is exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation in what is now the largest displacement and protection crisis globally. We remind all parties to the conflict that the denial of humanitarian assistance can amount to a war crime under international law.

This ban directly contradicts commitments made by the parties to the conflict in Sudan in the Jeddah Declaration to protect civilians and to facilitate increased humanitarian assistance. These commitments are essential for mitigating the impact of the conflict on civilian populations and ensuring their basic needs are met.

We reaffirm the immediate need to guarantee safe, unimpeded, and uninterrupted humanitarian access within the country as well as across international borders. The ten months long conflict seriously deteriorated the food security outlook, disrupted the harvest season and destroyed livelihoods and health infrastructures. The massive looting of humanitarian supplies by the RSF and affiliated militias, prohibited by IHL, also contributed to this dire situation.

The window to avert the worst is closing rapidly. Sudan is on a verge of a large-scale famine.

Zarazeno pa 01.03.2024 16:03:00 Zdroj Evropska komise en Original ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/documents?reference=STATEMENT/24/1293&language=en lang en guid /STATEMENT/24/1293/
PNN

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 1: Minkasu Inc. aka MinkasuPay, a pioneer in biometric authentication solutions, founded by Silicon Valley veterans Anbu Gounder and Naveen Doraiswamy, announced that it has now been granted the patent in India for its biometric 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) technology, developed and launched five years ago, making RBI's recent guidance for safer alternatives to OTP a reality, much ahead of its time.

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MinkasuPay's biometric 2FA solution provides an immediate big leap in payments security, resulting in reduced fraud and elimination of usernames, passwords, PINs and OTPs. MinkasuPay's patent stands as a testament to its commitment to advancing secure payment solutions in compliance with regulatory standards, solidifying its position as a leader in the evolving landscape of authentication for financial transactions in India.

According to Anbu Gounder, CEO, MinkasuPay, "MinkasuPay welcomes the RBI's forward-thinking proposal to establish a principle-based framework for authenticating digital transactions. We made this vision a reality five years ago with our patented biometric 2-Factor Authentication technology. As a pioneer in biometric payment authentication, we take great pride in our partnerships with brand name banks and merchants, ushering in a new era of secure and seamless digital transactions. Our innovative solutions are redefining the landscape of online payments, providing both businesses and consumers with unparalleled security and convenience."

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MinkasuPay has been successfully working to enhance security across the Indian payments ecosystem over the past five years. In a move to bolster online security, ICICI bank and Axis bank have already partnered with MinkasuPay to enable biometric authentication for their net banking transactions. Three more major banks are gearing up to launch the MinkasuPay biometric 2FA solution for both Net banking and Card transactions soon. Meanwhile, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has chosen MinkasuPay's UPI biometric solution to do a POC.

Marquee merchants such as MakeMyTrip, JioMart, TataCLiQ, Paytm Money, Yatra, FirstCry, AngelOne, ICICI Prudential, Goibibo, 5paisa, Ixigo and EaseMyTrip have adopted the MinkasuPay biometric 2FA solution to offer a frictionless in-app payment experience to their customers.

MinkasuPay uses a combination of device binding and device biometrics to offer a secure and frictionless 2FA solution, without needing access to any sensitive data, including bank account credentials, card details, PINs, or biometrics. The customers can use their Fingerprint or Face ID to make a payment in the merchant apps for a very secure and superior payment experience. Merchants can plug the MinkasuPay SDK in their apps to offer the MinkasuPay's frictionless biometric experience.

Sanjeev Moghe, President & Head - Cards and Payments, Axis Bank said, "As India embraces digital transformation, ensuring secure banking solutions for our customers remains a top priority at Axis Bank. Recognizing the need for alternatives to OTP-based authentication to enhance digital payment security, we were delighted to partner with MinkasuPay. This collaboration enabled us to offer biometric authentication for our net banking transactions, reinforcing Axis Bank's commitment to leading the way in digital payment security while providing a seamless payment experience. We are also exploring other forms of authentication (Non OTP) including biometric based for card transactions to enhance security of transactions."

Ashit Kumar, Payments Product Head, MakeMyTrip, said, "As the leading online travel aggregator in India, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to improve our customers' digital experiences. Removing the friction caused by the OTP-based authentication while making a travel booking payment was one of our focus areas. We were excited to adopt MinkasuPay's biometric authentication solution for digital payments, which offers to our customers, the best payment experience in the country. We have enjoyed tremendous benefits from improved transaction success rates and look forward to having their biometric authentication flow enabled for our Card and UPI transactions as well in our apps."

About Minkasu Inc.: Minkasu Inc. is a mobile payments company headquartered in the Silicon Valley, California, with offices in India. MinkasuPay is the pioneer of biometric authentication solutions for payments in India. It provides a game changing 2-Factor Authentication solution backed by patents and offers the most frictionless payment experience in the merchant apps. MinkasuPay is offered in partnership with the banks, and it is the smoothest payment experience in India today. It helps merchants achieve significant increase in success rates and it helps banks reduce fraud. For more details visit: www.minkasupay.com

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
PRNewswire

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 1: Monika Alcobev, the trailblazer in the Indian alcobev import and distribution sector, proudly took the spotlight at the VH1 Supersonic event held at Mahalaxmi Lawns, Pune, from 16th to 18th February 2024. Monika Alcobev featured Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix as the Celebration Partner, elevating the festival experience for attendees.

Also Read | Google Takes Action To Enforce Play Store Policies in India, To Remove Non-Compliant Apps.

Jose Cuervo, recognized as the World's No.1 Tequila brand, brought its legacy of craftsmanship and heritage to VH1 Supersonic, offering festival-goers an opportunity to savour the finest tequila blends amidst the pulsating beats and electrifying performances. The presence of Jose Cuervo at the event not only elevated the overall festival experience but also provided attendees with a taste of luxury and authenticity.

Cuervo Margarita Land, unveiled for the first time at VH1 Supersonic 2024, stood as a colourful paradise within the festival grounds, appealing to attendees with its spirited ambience and tantalizing cocktails. Spanning a sprawling 40x40 feet space, this immersive experience called out festival-goers to indulge in the vital Mexican cocktail, the margarita. Located at the centre of the space was an eye-catching 20x20 feet island bar, where talented mixologists created a variety of six margaritas, each with a unique tequila and flavour profile that provided a taste of the spirit's wide range of variations. Adorned with three captivating photo ops strategically placed at its corners, Cuervo Margarita Land became a focal point of social engagement, drawing influencers and attendees alike to capture moments of festivity and flavour. With Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix as the Celebration Partner and 1800 Tequila adding its touch of sophistication to the VIP & Artist Village area, Cuervo Margarita Land emerged as an irresistible haven, celebrating the essence of tequila-infused revelry amidst the pulsating beats of VH1 Supersonic.

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VH1 Supersonic 2024 boasted an electrifying lineup, featuring global music sensations such as Major Lazer Soundsystem, ASAP Ferg, Adam Beyer, and King, alongside a host of renowned artists across various genres. The festival provided a platform for both international and Indian talents, including Yotto, Denis Horvat, Hamdi, Patrice Baumel, The Midnight, Arjun Vagale, Browncoat, Kohra, Taba Chake, and The Yellow Diary. Reggae and dub music legends like 10,000 Lions, Bass Maya, Chromaderma, and many others also graced the stage, contributing to the diverse musical showcase.

Kunal Patel, Managing Director of Monika Alcobev, shared his excitement about the partnership, "Monika Alcobev's collaboration with VH1 Supersonic as a celebration partner is a testament to our commitment to providing #OnlyTheBest experiences. Our recent participation in VH1 Supersonic 2024 was a phenomenal success, offering us invaluable insights into consumer preferences with our own 'Cuervo Margarita Land'. This has empowered us to introduce innovative blends that resonate well with the discerning tastes of Indian liquor connoisseurs."

As Monika Alcobev continues to set new standards in the import and distribution of premium foreign liquor brands in India featuring Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix, their partnership with VH1 Supersonic 2024 marks yet another milestone in their journey towards excellence and innovation.

About Monika Alcobev:

Monika Alcobev is the import, marketing & distribution company of premium and luxurious foreign liquor brands in India. Since 2015, the business has evolved into a family-owned company with a multi-disciplinary set-up that had its interests in diverse portfolios, providing a disparate range of choices for the Indian market. Monika Alcobev has recorded a turnover of Rs 650 crore in the last five years. The company's portfolio includes Bushmills Irish Whiskey (World's Oldest Licensed Distillery), Jose Cuervo Tequila (World's No.1 Tequila), Lucifer's Gold (A Blend of Scotch and Bourbon), Hayman's Gin (Family Made Gin since 1853), The Choya (No. 1 Producer of Umeshu Liqueur and India's First Umeshu Liqueur) and many more.

Website: https://www.monikaalcobev.com

About VH1 Supersonic:

VH1 Supersonic, hosted at Mahalakshmi Lawns, Pune, is an annual celebration of music, love, food, and art, attracting music enthusiasts from all over. The festival spans multiple genres including EDM, Rock, Indie, Techno, Dub, Hip-Hop, and Reggae, creating a vibrant cultural tapestry. VH1 Supersonic offers a unique experience with its Super Flea market, Super Street art and fashion explorations, ensuring attendees leave with unforgettable memories and a refreshed playlist.

Website: VH1 Supersonic

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351341/Jose_Cuervo_Margarita.jpgPhoto: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351342/Monika_Alcobev_VH1_Supersonic.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)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
VMPL

Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 1: Sharda Hospital, a pioneer in healthcare innovation, proudly organised India's first-ever "International Robotic Workshop" equipped with multiple robotic systems, in collaboration with the School of Medical Sciences & Research, Sharda Hospital and Sharda Care - The Healthcity (Upcoming Ultramodern 700+ bedded super speciality Hospital, Greater Noida). The program, inaugurated by esteemed international trainer surgeons as faculties, marks a significant milestone in advancing medical education and surgical training in India.

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The event signified a groundbreaking initiative, as it introduced cutting-edge multiple robotic technology into the lab environment for the first time in India. With multiple robotic stations available, the lab offered unparalleled opportunities for medical professionals, students, and researchers to explore the intricacies of robotic surgery under the guidance of globally renowned trainers from the U.S.A. and U.K.

P.K Gupta, Chancellor, Sharda University & Chairman, Sharda Hospital and Sharda Care - The Healthcity felicitated the International and National faculty in a traditional-culture style, with Shawls and expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative, stating, "We are proud to introduce India's first ever Multiple Robotic Lab, a testament to our commitment to advancing medical education and research. This initiative underscores Sharda Hospital's dedication to providing cutting-edge training opportunities and shaping the future of healthcare in India."

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The inaugural ceremony, graced by renowned personalities in the medical and academic fields, highlighted the importance of leveraging technology to enhance healthcare delivery and education. The program featured a series of sessions and workshops designed to provide participants with "hands-on" experience and in-depth insights into robotic surgical techniques.

Dr. Nirupma Gupta, Dean, School Medical Science & Research, Sharda University highlighting the importance of the event said, "This International Robotic Workshop signifies a groundbreaking step, as it introduces cutting-edge robotic technology into the lab environment for the first time in India. With multiple robotic setups available, the lab offers unparalleled opportunities for medical professionals, students, and researchers to explore the intricacies of robotic surgery under the guidance of globally renowned experts."

Dr. Ram Murti Sharma, Medical Superintendent, Sharda Hospital, expressing his delight at the successful organisation of the International Robotic Workshop along with the setup of the lab, said, "This one of its kind multiple robotic systems lab further strengthens Sharda Hospital's position as a leader in healthcare innovation and education. With its state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative approach, Sharda Hospital continues to set new standards of excellence in the field of medical education and patient care."

Attendees had the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, including demonstrations of robotic procedures, interactive training sessions, and panel discussions led by experts in the field. Moreover, the event showcased the collaborative efforts of Sharda Hospital, SMS&R, and Sharda Care-The Healthcity in fostering innovation and excellence in healthcare.

The successful implementation of the program underscores Sharda Hospital's position as a leader in healthcare innovation and education. With its state-of-the-art facilities and collaborative approach, Sharda Hospital continues to set new standards of excellence in the field of medical education and patient care.

Established in 2006, Sharda Hospital is a state-of-the-art super-specialty hospital located in Greater Noida, NCR. Spread across 9 acres, Sharda Hospital has over 1200 beds and is equipped with all modern facilities and sophisticated equipment to provide comprehensive medical care at par with global standards. NABH-accredited Sharda Hospital offers a broad spectrum of medical services from tertiary care, super-specialties, general specialties, advanced diagnostic, and radiology services to critical care. Its highly qualified and experienced renowned medical faculty some with International and National fame, offer expert care to patients from all backgrounds with unique clinical excellence and compassionate patient care. The associated medical college focuses on research activities and gives extensive training to medical students to continuously improve medical and healthcare practices in the country.

Sharda Hospital - https://shardahospital.org/

(ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Imphal, Mar 1 (PTI) The Manipur Police have arrested three members of the banned KCP (N) from Imphal West district and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession, an official statement said on Friday.

Five mobile handsets and Rs 4 lakh in cash were also seized from their possession, it said.

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The arms and ammunition recovered from them are suspected to have been looted from security forces earlier, a police officer said.

The arrested members of the proscribed Kangleipak Communist Party (Nongdrenkhomba) were identified as L Alin, Herish Maibam and Bela Oinam, the statement issued from the police control room said, adding that a case was registered for further investigation.

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Manipur has remained gripped by recurring bouts of violence since ethnic clashes between two communities first erupted in May last year. Altogether 219 people have been killed since then.

The clashes have occurred over a number of grievances that both sides have against the other, however, the flashpoint of the crisis has been a move to give Meiteis Scheduled Tribe status, which has since been rolled back and an attempt to turf out tribals living in protected forest areas.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.

(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, Mar 1 (PTI) Of 225 Rajya Sabha sitting members analyzed, 33 per cent have declared criminal cases against themselves while the total assets of these sitting MPs stood at Rs 19,602 crore, according to poll rights body ADR.

Also, 31 of them or 14 per cent are billionaires.

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The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) also showed that 18 per cent of these parliamentarians have declared serious criminal cases which include instances of murder and attempted murder.

In an analysis conducted by the ADR and National Election Watch (NEW), two Rajya Sabha sitting members have declared cases related to murder under IPC section 302, while four MPs have declared cases related to attempt to murder under IPC Section 307.

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"Out of the 225 Rajya Sabha sitting MPs analysed, 75 (33 per cent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves and 40 (18 per cent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared serious criminal cases," the report said.

The analysis also delved into the distribution of these criminal cases across different political parties.

The BJP leads with 23 per cent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.

The Congress follows closely behind with 50 per cent of its 28 MPs facing similar charges.

The ADR analysis said five (38 per cent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha members from TMC, four (67 per cent out of six members from RJD, four (80 per cent) out of five MPs from CPI(M), three (30 per cent) out of 10 MPs from AAP, four (36 per cent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha members from YSRCP and two (20 per cent) out of 10 MPs from DMK have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Moreover, when considering serious criminal cases, the trend persists, with significant percentages of MPs from various parties facing such charges.

"Ten (11 per cent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 9 (32 per cent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha MPs from Congress, 3 (23 per cent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from TMC, 2(33 per cent) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from RJD, 2(40 per cent) out of 5 Rajya Sabha MPs from CPI(M), 1(10 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from AAP, 3(27 per cent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs from YSRCP and 1(10 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from DMK have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the report said.

The report said 11 (61 per cent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra, 8 (50 per cent) out of 16 MPs from Bihar, 9 (29 per cent) out of 31 MPs from Uttar Pradesh, 6(33 per cent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu, 6(67 per cent) out of 9 MPs from Kerala and 7(44 per cent) out of 16 MPs from West Bengal have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The analysis covers 225 out of 233 Rajya Sabha members, with one seat from Maharashtra vacant and four seats from Jammu and Kashmir undefined. Three MPs were not analyzed due to unavailability of their affidavits.

In addition to the criminal background, the analysis also delved into the asset holdings of Rajya Sabha members. It was found that the average assets per MP stand at a staggering Rs 87.12 crore.

Further dissecting the data, the report revealed significant disparities in asset holdings across different political parties.

Among major parties, 9 (10 per cent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha members from BJP, 4 (14 per cent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha members from Congress, 5 (45 per cent) out of 11 MPs from YSRCP, 2 (20 per cent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha members from AAP, 3 (75 per cent) out of 4 Rajya Sabha members from TRS and 2 (33 per cent) out of 6 MPs from RJD have declared assets valued more than Rs 100 crore.

Among the major parties, the average assets per MP for analyzed MPs are as follows: BJP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 37.34 crore, Congress MPs have average assets of Rs 40.70 crore, TMC MPs have average assets worth Rs 10.25 crore, YSRCP MPs have average assets worth Rs 357.68 crore, TRS Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth a whopping Rs 1,383.74 crore, DMK Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth Rs 6.37 crore, and AAP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 114.81 crore.

Moreover, the total assets of the analyzed Rajya Sabha sitting members amount to a staggering Rs. 19,602 crore, according to the analysis.

When broken down by party, the total assets for analyzed MPs are as follows: BJP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,360 crore, Congress MPs have total assets of Rs 1,139 crore, YSRCP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,934 crore, TRS MPs have total assets of Rs 5,534 crore, and AAP MPs have total assets of Rs 1,148 crore.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati, Mar 1 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday downplayed a purported threat by a pro-Khalistani leader, demanding shifting of radical outfit 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD) members, including its chief Amritpal Singh, from Dibrugarh central jail to Amritsar.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma said, "Why should you be so afraid of Khalistanis? You seem to have been more frightened whereas the threat was for me."

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The purported threat was issued by a person who identified himself as Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, head of an unlawful association called 'Sikhs for Justice', via recorded messages sent to journalists' mobile phones.

In the message, Sarma was asked to order the transfer of Amritpal Singh and his associates to Amritsar jail, warning of 'consequences' if he failed to comply.

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It also said 'Sikhs for Justice' is filing a case in the United Nations against India.

Ten members of the pro-Khalistani outfit, including Amritpal and one of his uncles, have been kept in Dibrugarh central jail since March last year under the National Security Act (NSA), following their arrest from various parts of Punjab as part of a crackdown on the outfit.

Similar threats were made to the chief minister in April last year, leading to the state police launching an investigation into the matter.

DGP GP Singh said a case had been registered under appropriate sections of the IPC and the UAP Act at the Special Task Force (STF) police station.

He also mentioned that the security arrangements for the CM had been heightened in response to the emerging threat.

Last month, electronic devices, including a smartphone, were discovered in the cells of NSA detainees at Dibrugarh Central Jail. Though the DGP did not specify which detainees were involved, it is believed that the items were found in the cells of WPD members.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Patna, Mar 1 (PTI) In an unprecedented move, the Bihar government has ordered freezing of the bank accounts of all the state-run universities, barring one, and withheld salaries of their vice-chancellors for allegedly being absent in a review meeting convened by the education department two days ago.

The department's letter, issued to all VCs barring Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, has sought clarification from the VCs concerned as to why they did not attend the meeting to discuss the status of pending examinations and other issues.

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If the department does not get a satisfactory reply from the VCs within two days, it will lodge FIRs against the authorities. Meanwhile, the payment of salaries of VCs has been withheld and instructions have been issued to banks not to operate any accounts of the concerned universities till further order," said the letter, a copy of which is in the possession of PTI.

The letter, issued by Education Secretary Baidyanath Yadav, was also sent to examination controllers of all universities except those of Magadh University and Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University.

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The department took strong exception to their (VCs) absence from the meeting convened to discuss crucial issues like pendency/delayed of examinations in universities. They (VCs) have failed to discharge their duties as public servants," the letter said.

Despite several attempts, Bihar Education Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary could not be reached for his comment.

The state government, had in August last year, stopped salaries of the VC and pro-VC of the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur for their alleged failure to inspect the educational institutions under their jurisdiction and also for not attending a review meeting convened by the education department.

The department had ordered freezing of the accounts of the top officials and the varsity.

(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], March 1 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Central Election Committee Meeting (CEC) regarding the Lok Sabha elections at the party headquarters in Delhi comprised discussions on the seats of Lok Sabha across about 17 states and set seals on more than 155 seats, the list of which will be released in a day or two.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP's National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges of various states were present in this meeting.

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The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Goa were also present at the meeting.

Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP leader Prahlad Patel, and BJP's State President VD Sharma were also present in the meeting, where discussions were held regarding the names of candidates for all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

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Sources indicated that the announcement of the names of 4-5 candidates from Telangana could be made soon.

Three current MPs G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Arvind Dharmapuri may also get tickets again.

Discussions were held with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the names of candidates in the meeting.

Discussions were also held on the names of candidates with BJP leaders from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

BJP sources said that the names of candidates from Assam were discussed in the meeting, in which all Lok Sabha seats were filled with leaders from Assam.

BJP will contest on eleven seats there, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could contest from Dibrugarh, while State Minister Rameshwar Teli could be sent to the Rajya Sabha.

Discussions were also conducted on candidates for the seats in Jammu, while deliberations for Kashmir will take place in the next meeting.

Additionally, discussions were held on two to three seats in Delhi, but another round of meetings will happen. Candidates have been finalised for one seat in Goa, while one seat is yet to be decided.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a slogan of 'Crossing 400' in this year's Lok Sabha elections. The BJP aims to win more than 370 seats on its own. (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], March 1 (ANI): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will appeal against the acquittal of Abdul Karim Tunda, the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, officials said on Friday.

The Terrorist and Anti-Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court on Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial blasts case.

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The court acquitted Tunda due to a lack of evidence.

Advocate Shafqat Sultani of Tunda said that the CBI failed to present any strong evidence against Abdul Karim Tunda.

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Two other accused, Irfan and Hameeduddin, have been sentenced to life imprisonment, taking the total to 12.

Abdul Karim Tunda is a key accused in the serial bomb blasts that took place in trains at Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on December 5 and 6 in 1993.

Two people were killed and several more were injured in the 1993 blasts that took place in trains in five cities.

The CBI had accused Tunda of being the mastermind behind the blasts on four trains on the first anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition. (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, Mar 1 (PTI) The Congress on Friday slammed the government over the reported surge in rejection rates of Employees Provident Fund final settlement and claimed the defining feature of the "anyay kaal" of last 10 years has been that no community could to get their full due.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed the rejection rates of EPF final settlement have been surging, up from around 13 per cent in 2017-18 to nearly 34 per cent in 2022-23.

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"The defining feature of the 'Anyay-kaal' of the last 10 years has been that no community is able to get its full due: Women are left out of the job market, the youth are unable to seek employment and the farmers are unable to get adequate prices," he alleged.

"Even the 'shramik', the worker who earns his living through wages, is unable to access his/her own earnings. The EPFO, the government-run organization that administers the Provident Fund for India's workers, has seen a sharp rise in rejection rates for final settlement of Provident Fund (PF) claims," he said.

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Around one in three claims for the final settlement of EPF is now rejected, up from 13 per cent in 2017-18, he said.

Ramesh asserted that each rejection is a slap on the face of working families and a cause of immense stress and anguish for them.

He claimed that the "mismanaged" shift to an online system for processing claims is the key reason for this denial. At least one retired worker has been driven to commit suicide by the insensitive and bureaucratic policies of the EPFO, Ramesh claimed.

Ramesh asserted that the Congress' 'Paanch Nyay Agenda' of which 'Shramik Nyay (justice for workers) is a core principle that will ensure no worker or their family will ever be denied the full due of their labour.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 1 (ANI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed confidence in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) crossing 400 seats in the general elections of the Lok Sabha.

While addressing a press conference at Basistha in Guwahati district on Thursday, CM Sarma claimed that the Congress party is 'bound to be history'.

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He further claimed that the grand old party's national status will diminish.

"Congress is bound to be history. Congress will be segregated into various regional parties. The national status of Congress will diminish after this election because the NDA is heading to a 400-plus victory," CM Sarma said.

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"There is no option. The workers will be completely demoralized. Congress will be segregated, there will be no national leadership and Congress will be fragmented into a state regional organization," he added.

On Thursday, Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) had reached the seat-sharing deal for Assam for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

CM Sarma announed that the BJP would contest on 11 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the AGP would contest in Barpeta and Dhubri seats, while the UPPL is set to field its candidate from the Kokrajhar seat.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarma further exuded confidence that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would secure victory on all 11 seats in the polls.

Meanwhile, Rana Goswami who was the working president of Assam Congress on Thursday joined the BJP. Another working president of Assam Congress Kamakhya Dey Purkayastha also extended his support to the state government. Earlier, two Congress MLAs Sashi Kanta Das and Siddique Ahmed had extended their support to the state government.

The BJP claims that many more Congressmen will come to BJP in coming days. (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, Mar 1 (PTI) A 28-year-old man committed suicide by hanging while he was on night duty at a sewage treatment plant in Delhi's Vasant Kunj area, police said on Friday.

According to police, the reason behind Chandan Das' extreme step is suspected to be his strained relations with his wife.

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A PCR call was received at 2.58 am regarding the suicide of a worker at the plant in Imperial Club in Vasant Kunj North, a senior police officer said.

Police said that Das used to work as an operator at the sewage plant and was on night duty.

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"He had a dispute with his wife and before committing suicide he made a video call to his mother. After the call, his wife and mother came to the Imperial Club and informed the guard. The crime team has inspected the spot and further investigation is underway," the officer said.

(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, Mar 1 (PTI) India is grappling with a profound nutritional shift, as highlighted by the latest Lancet study, with nutritionists attributing this "double whammy" of undernutrition and obesity to a dual challenge: inadequate consumption of quality foods and easy access to cheap, unhealthy alternatives.

The Lancet study, published on Thursday, found that in India, nearly 44 million women and 26 million men were obese in 2022, respectively.

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The analysis by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) - a global network of scientists - and the World Health Organization (WHO) also found that about 12.5 million children aged between five and 19 were overweight in 2022.

"These numbers are up from 2.4 million and 1.1 million in 1990 for women and men, respectively, while for children, the baseline number was about 0.4 million," said study co-author Guha Pradeepa, from Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai, told PTI.

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Reacting to the study findings, nutritionist Sudha Vasudevan, who was not involved in the study, noted that while good quality foods are nutrient-dense like fruits and vegetables, unhealthy foods are usually processed, containing high-fat, sugar, salt, and refined carbohydrates.

"We had not yet won the war against undernutrition-related health problems, but now we are additionally burdened by those coming from overnutrition or obesity, and resembling the developed nations in that sense," Vasudevan, Senior Scientist and Head of the Department of Foods & Nutrition Research, MDRF, told PTI.

The findings suggest trends of an "epidemiological and nutrition transition" of India, Vasudevan said.

While the developed countries might be economically equipped to deal with obesity and related healthcare burden, India is not and therefore, we are struggling, she said.

The Lancet study looked at body mass index (BMI) to understand how obesity and underweight have changed worldwide from 1990 to 2022. It analysed the weights and heights of over 220 million people aged five years or older, from across more than 190 countries.

The findings also highlighted a major shift in lifestyle over the past decades, including lack of exercise and healthy food, said Pradeepa.

The study found that the adult obesity rate in India increased from 1.2 per cent in 1990 to 9.8 per cent in 2022 for women, while for men, it rose from 0.5 per cent to 5.4 per cent.

Pradeepa attributed the spike in obesity rate to a combination of biological and social factors.

"Biological factors involve constant, cyclical hormonal activity with pregnancy-specific weight gain, following which taking care of the child takes precedence. "On the other hand, social factors compel them to prioritise their children's and family's health over their own. These factors present as barriers to doing exercise for women and taking care of themselves," she explained.

The findings revealed the need for innovative interventions in terms of introducing more physical activity and movement in a day, especially for women, said Pradeepa.

She referred to Thandav, which is one such intervention, developed by Dr. R. M. Anjana, President of MDRF.

Thandav is a ten-minute routine that combines the physical exercise aspect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with enjoyable dance movements.

The routine thus makes the act of performing physical exercise more entertaining and recreational, and also more socially acceptable as girls and women can perform this easily at their homes, explained Pradeepa.

Anjana along with colleagues at MDRF, have scientifically investigated the impact of Thandav on the physical fitness of Indian girls and women and published papers in journals such as Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 1 (ANI): Newly appointed Chairman of 7th State Finance Commission (SFC) Nand Lal paid a courtsey call on Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in Himachal Pradesh's Shimla today.

Nand Lal said that the state was progressing by leaps and bounds under the stewardship of Sukhu and expressed full faith in the Chief Minister.

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The Chairman added that the State Government had launched various welfare schemes which were benefitting the people of the State.

Meanwhile, taking to 'X', CM Sukhu wrote, "Today, I met the newly appointed Chairman of the 7th State Finance Commission, Nand Lal ji in Shimla. During this, Nand Lal ji said, he has full faith in the state government that the government is working for the welfare of the people of the state, due to which the state is moving on the path of progress."

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"Your unwavering faith gives us more strength. We will unite and realize the dream of self-reliant Himachal," added the Chief Minister.

Nand Lal represents the Rampur constitunecy in the Himachal Pradesh assembly. He was elected as an MLA in 2022, for the fourth consecutive term.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, Mohan Lal Brakta and Ram Kumar and MLAs were also present on the occasion. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shimla, Mar 1 (PTI) A day after Congress' central observers asserted that there was no threat to the government in Himachal Pradesh, state party chief Pratibha Singh on Friday said the political crisis could have been averted had the grievances of MLAs addressed time.

Congress' central observer D K Shivakumar on Thursday said Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has taken responsibility for Abhishek Manu Singhvi's defeat in the Rajya Sabha polls -- which had triggered the crisis for the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh.

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Pratibha Singh said there was acrimony towards Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as 14 months after the Congress came to power in the state, leaders who worked hard to ensure the party's victory were not "accommodated" by him.

"Fourteen months is a long period and I have been consistently urging the chief minister to accommodate leaders who worked hard for the victory of the party but nothing was done," she said.

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Had the issues of the disgruntled MLAs been addressed on time, the crisis could have been avoided, she added.

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania on Thursday disqualified the six Congress MLAs, who had cross-voted in the recent Rajya Sabha polls, for allegedly defying a party whip on voting for the state Budget in the assembly.

Pratibha Singh said Rajinder Rana -- one of the six rebel MLAs -- was a "tall leader" who had defeated former chief minister P K Dhumal and was expecting a Cabinet berth but was ignored.

However, all the issues have now been sorted and the observers have given their report to the High Command. The matter will be discussed when the High Command calls us, she said.

Pratibha Singh also played down rumours suggesting her joining the BJP and said she and her family have always worked to strengthen the Congress.

Reacting to the resignation offered by state Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who is her son, Pratibha Singh claimed several other ministers also felt that they were not being allowed to work freely and it was hampering their ability to deliver.

Referring to the installation of a statue of former chief minister Virbhadra Singh, who was her husband, Pratibha Singh said not only her son but even the people of Himachal Pradesh wanted it and were prepared to contribute financially.

The only thing we were asking for was a suitable place for installing the statue but that did not happen, she said.

An emotional Vikramaditya Singh while offering his resignation on Wednesday had said that the last assembly election was fought in the name of Virbhadra Singh and so far the government had not installed the statue of his father on the Ridge in Shimla.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kota (Raj), Mar 1 (PTI) Bhola Kaushika came to Kota as a 17-year-old with a dream in his eyes to become an engineer. Instead, he became an outlaw.

In 2018, he found himself becoming an accused in a murder case. He was lodged in a juvenile home and came in contact with other hardened minors.

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When he came out of the home, he pursued a life of crime and became a very busy arms supplier, catering to several criminals in Uttar Pradesh.

Bhola Kaushika, who also goes by the name of Bhola Pandit, now 23, was arrested on Tuesday by the Kota City Police from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

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His name came up last month, when a team led by Vigyan Nagar Police Station SHO Satish Chand arrested three youths in UP.

They were held in connection with a firing incident in Kota City and a knife stabbing in Baran district, Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh told PTI Friday.

The three were found to have between them one pistol, 11 live cartridges, one knife, and two motorbikes, all of which were seized, he said. During interrogation, one of them, 19-year-old Sohail Khan, a resident of Anantpura area in Kota, revealed that he had purchased the arms from UP-based Bhola Koushika alias Bhola Pandit.

On Tuesday, a police team was rushed to Mathura and arrested Bhola.

Over three days of remand, Bhola told police that he had supplied around 45 country-made pistols and hundreds of cartridges to several people in Kota.

Raids are continuously being made to nab history sheeters and criminals who got arms from him, the DSP said.

Bhola had come to Kota in 2017 to prepare for IIT-JEE. He slogged for around two years, but had to drop out at the end of 2018, when he was detained with some other boys for murder of an old woman, the landlady of a house in Talwandi area in Kota city.

He was also wanted in a case at Jawahar Nagar Police Station and carried a reward of Rs 10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

He was booked in two FIRs in Mathura's Jamana Par Police Station.

Bhola's elder brother, Girish Pandit, is also reportedly engaged in arms dealing and supplying pistols to criminals in Kota. He is still at large, the officer said.

(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, Mar 1 (PTI) In a historic first, four units of the Indian Air Force will receive prestigious 'President's Standard and Colours' from President Droupadi Murmu at the Hindan air base on March 8.

Murmu will be awarding the President's Standard to 45 Squadron and 221 Squadron and the President's Colours to 11 Base Repair Depot and 509 Signal unit, the defence ministry said.

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It will be the first time in history of the IAF that four units will be awarded President's Standard and Colours together, it said.

The award of the President's Standard and Colours is the highest military honour for any armed forces units. The four units selected for the coveted awards have stellar contributions in the IAF's history.

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The 221 squadron is known as the 'Valiants'. The history of the squadron dates back to 14 Feb 1963 when it was raised at Barrackpore, equipped with Vampire aircraft.

Barely two years after its formation, the Squadron was pressed into action in the Eastern theatre during the 1965 Indo-Pak war, where it made commendable contributions to the overall war waging effort.

In August 1968, the squadron was one of the first to be re-equipped with the Su-7 supersonic attack fighter.

During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, operating in the Eastern theatre, the squadron undertook extensive counter air, close air support and photo reconnaissance missions.

The famed attack over Kurmitola and Tezgaon airbases resulted in destruction of several Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Sabres on ground and proved to be pivotal in rendering the PAF ineffective in the Eastern theatre.

The 45 squadron is also called the 'Flying Daggers'. Raised in 1959 with Vampire aircraft, the squadron took part in 'Operation Vijay' towards liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule in 1960.

On August 1, 1965, Pakistan launched an attack in the Chhamb sector with overwhelming superiority in troops and armour.

The 45 squadron was the first IAF unit to launch offensive missions on the first day of the conflict.

Despite flying the vintage Vampires, the raw courage and professionalism of the pilots was enough to stall the enemy armour that included destruction of ten enemy tanks.

Subsequently, 'Flying Daggers' flew 178 sorties in support of the Indian Army. After the war, the unit was re-equipped with MiG 21 FL fighters.

In the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the unit was responsible for air defence in Punjab and Rajasthan sectors, flying 258 missions, which were instrumental in safeguarding the forward air bases against enemy air attacks.

In 1982 the unit was equipped with the MiG 21 Bis aircraft.

11 Base Repair Depot is a premier and only fighter aircraft base repair depot of the IAF that was established under Maintenance Command in April 1974 at Ojhar, Nashik.

Su-7 was the first aircraft to be overhauled by the Depot and in the subsequent years, variants of MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-29 aircraft have been overhauled.

The 509 signal unit was established on March 1 1965 and is presently functioning as an Air Defence Direction Centre in Meghalaya.

The unit has been functioning with the THD 1955 radar since 1995.

The watershed moments in the unit's history, dates back to the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 wherein 509 SU emerged as the epicenter of all air defence activities over East Pakistan.

A defining moment came with the precision strike on the Governor's House in Dhaka, orchestrated from the operations room of the unit.

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Baramulla (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 1 (ANI): Continuing its action against drug peddlers, Baramulla police attached properties worth approx. Rs. 24.00 lakhs belonging to notorious drug peddlers, a resident of Basgran Uri, District Baramulla, said police.

The drug peddler was identified as Mohd Zahid Shah (Geelani), son of Peer Hussain Shah.

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"The action was taken under Sections 68-E and 68-F (1) of the NDPS Act of 1985 and is linked with case FIR No. 54/2022 u/s 8/21 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 of PS Uri," further said police.

The property was identified as illegally acquired during an investigation and inquiry conducted by the police. The property was prima facie acquired from illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances by the drug peddler, the police further added.

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This operation reaffirms the commitment of the police to combat the drug menace. Local people of the area hailed the initiative of the police.

Earlier, the Baramulla police attached properties worth around Rs 15 lakh belonging to a drug peddler in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Thursday.

The drug peddler whose properties were seized was identified as Afroza Begum resident of the Trumgund Hygam Sopore area in Baramulla district.

"Continuing its action against drug peddlers, Police in Baramulla attached properties (Single storied residential house worth approx. Rs. 15.00 lacs) belonging to notorious drug peddlers namely Afroza Begum @ Affri wife of Fayaz Ahmad Dar resident of Ganie Hamam at present Trumgund Hygam Sopore, District Baramulla," Baramulla police stated. (ANI)

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Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 1 (ANI): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday visited the family of veterinary student JS Sidhharth, who allegedly died by suicide in Wayanad on February 18.

The governor visited Sidhharth's house in Thiruvananthapuram's Nedumangad on Friday and met his parents.

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The family had met the governor two days ago and handed over a complaint regarding the incident.

"I am here to share the grief of the family, especially the mother, who is in a very bad state. The police and the university are saying that the SFI activists are involved in it. Here, young people are being trained for violence, but they are merely pawns," the governor said while speaking to reporters after visiting Sidhharth's family.

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He said that the future of young people is ruined in the process of university politics while urging political parties to 'rethink' their strategies and give up violence.

"We have to think about more than just this one case, we have to think about all youngsters. When youngsters have a police case against them, it takes years. They couldn't apply for any jobs, and they became dependent on political people. Now, the people of the state should think that the cult of violence must end," Arif Mohammed Khan said.

"Youth's future is getting ruined in it. I appeal to every political party to rethink their strategy, rethink how they want to work, and give up violence," he said.

Twenty-year-old JS Sidhharth was found hanging in his hostel room on February 18, according to police.

It is a case of murder and not suicide, Siddharth's relative told reporters on Thursday, alleging that Sidhharth was brutally attacked by a group of students inside the campus.

Earlier on February 29, Kerala police arrested six persons in connection with the death of the veterinary student.

A seventh person has been taken into custody for questioning earlier in the day, police said.

Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan alleged that the police are protecting the accused and urged action against the teachers for allegedly trying to cover-up the matter.

Law Minister P Rajeev assured action against the accused, irrespective of the organisation they belong to. "Action will be taken against any culprits, irrespective of the organisation they belong to," Rajeev said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the state police chief to form a special investigation team to look into the death of the student and assured strong action against the accused. (ANI)

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Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 1 (ANI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declined an invitation to dine with Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar, who had extended an invitation a day before to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during his visit to his hometown on March 2.

Fadnavis, in a letter to Sharad Pawar on Friday, said that he cannot accept the invitation as he will be engaged in important programmes on March 2.

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"I received the letter written by you, as well as an invitation for dinner from you. As you are aware that after the efforts of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Namo Maharojgar Melava is being organized in Baramati. This big programme will be held in Baramati, after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj will be held in Badhu Budruk and Tuljapur and immediately after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of revolutionary Lahuji Vastad Salve is scheduled. The whole day is going to be very busy as two important programmes are being organized one after the other. Therefore, I will not be able to accept your urgent invitation this time. Thank you once again," the Maharashtra Deputy CM said.

Sharad Pawar, the opposition leader, had invited Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the two Deputy CMs, including his nephew Ajit Pawar, to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during their visit on March 2.

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In his letter, Sharad Pawar wrote, "After taking the oath as CM of the state, the CM is coming to Baramati for the first time and I am very glad about his visit to attend the Namo Maharojgar Event in Baramati. Therefore, I would like to extend the invitation for the meal at my residence after the event, along with his other Cabinet colleagues."

Shinde along with his deputies Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, all political rivals of Sharad Pawar, will be attending a job fair, 'Namo Maharojgar Melava', in the premises of Vidya Pratishthan college in Baramati town of Pune district.

The surprise invitation to Shinde and the two deputy CMs by Senior Pawar comes in the backdrop of a split in the NCP, a party founded by him in 1999, and strained ties with his nephew Ajit Pawar, who parted ways with him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year. (ANI)

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Imphal, Mar 1 (PTI) After nearly four months of extensive search, the body of the mother of an Indian soldier, alleged to have been abducted by cadres owing allegiance to Arambhai Tenngol in November last year, has been traced and is at present in the mortuary of an Imphal hospital, officials said here on Friday.

The officials said the remains of Rifleman H Hoakip's mother, identified as Nengkim (60), are in the Imphal hospital and army was making all out efforts to shift it to Leimakhing Military Hospital (LMS) from where it would be shifted to Churachandpur for last rites.

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Hoakip, who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir sector, is at present on leave with his father, who escaped the brutal assault that took place on November 7 at Kangchup Chingkhong village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district. The family was going to Leimakhong.

On that day, Manipur police had tweeted that a vehicle carrying five individuals belonging to the Kuki community (2 women and 3 men) en route from Churachandpur to Leimakhong was confronted by an enraged mob at Kangchup Chingkhong.

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The mob forcibly took away four of them, while one escaped.

His father, identified as Manglun Haokip, was located by the army in a bad condition and he was airlifted to Base Hospital Guwahati after initial treatment at Leimakhing Military Hospital (LMS).

Rifleman H Hoakip has since been coordinating the transfer of his mother's mortal remains from Imphal to LMS, with plans to eventually transport the entire family, including himself, to their native place in Churachandpur via an Army helicopter, the officials said.

The father, during his conversation with the security forces, had identified the kidnappers as members of Arambhai Tenngol, a Meitei activist group, which has of late been involved in various anti-social activities.

The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.

The state has witnessed escalating violence since May 3, 2023 with 219 casualties reported after a "Tribal Solidarity March" in the hill districts protested the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The Meiteis, constituting around 53 per cent of Manipur's population and residing predominantly in the Imphal Valley, contrast the tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, who make up 40 per cent and primarily inhabit the hill districts.

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Bhopal/Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 1 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers including the party's Mahila Morcha workers and Bhopal Mayor Malti Rai burned an effigy of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday while protesting against the Sandeshkhali incident.

They burned the effigy at the board office square in the city and raised slogans against CM Matma Banerjee on the occasion.

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Bhopal Mayor Malti Rai told ANI, "Women are being tortured in Mamata Banerjee's state. She herself is a Chief Minister and being a woman Chief Minister, she should feel ashamed of it. She should immediately arrest those people who torture women. Today we have burnt her effigy because Mamata Banerjee is not ashamed of the atrocities on women taking place in her state."

Meanwhile, BJP workers also staged a protest at Phoolbagh Square in Gwalior district on Friday, over the Sandeshkhali incident.

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BJP District President, Abhay Chaudhary said, "The BJP is protesting against the atrocities that occurred in West Bengal in the entire country today. The West Bengal government is providing open patronage in the incident. The accused has been arrested and the accused should be given capital punishment."

Sandeshkhali in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district had been witnessing widespread protests against Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Shahjahan Sheikh this month as a section of women were seeking justice against alleged atrocities committed by the TMC leader.

A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused Shajahan Sheikh and his close aides of "land-grab and sexual assault" under coercion.

Shahjahan was arrested by West Bengal police on Thursday morning in connection with an alleged assault on ED officers during a raid in January earlier this year.

West Bengal's Basirhat Court remanded Trinamool Congress (TMC) Sheikh Shahjahan to 10-day police custody on Thursday.

Lawyer Raja Bhowmick, who represented Shahjahan in court, said, "14-day police custody (of Sheikh Shahjahan) was demanded, but the court allowed 10-day custody."

"On March 10, he will be produced in court again," he said. Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress on Thursday suspended Sheikh Shahjahan from the party for six years. (ANI)

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Kohima [Nagaland] (India), March 1 (ANI): The fourth session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly, in its concluding session on Friday, passed a resolution on the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar Border.

The House resolved to request that the Government of India work out regulations for the movement of people across borders in close consultation with the people inhabiting the border areas and for suitably bringing in the village council authorities concerned in the entire system of regulations.

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Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y Patton, who also holds charge of Home and Border moved the resolution.

The resolution stated that the recently announced decision to suspend the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Indo-Myanmar border and also to fence the Indo-Myanmar by the Government of India, will cause immense hardship and inconvenience and also agony to the Naga people living in the Indo-Myanmar border areas due to the fact that the traditional land holding system straddles across the international border in many areas. People also have to cross the international border on a daily basis for their normal cultivation activities.

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It stated that these measures will seriously disrupt the age-old historical, social, tribal, and economic ties of the Naga people living on both sides of the international border.

"Now, therefore, in view of the special and unique situation mentioned above, this House, hereby, resolves to request the Government of India to reconsider its decision, and to abandon the plan of suspending the FMR and fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border," it stated.

Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced for "immediate suspension of Free Movement Regime (FMR)" between India and Myanmar to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India's North Eastern states bordering Myanmar.

"It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to secure our borders. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar be scrapped to ensure the internal security of the country and to maintain the demographic structure of India's North Eastern States bordering Myanmar. Since the Ministry of External Affairs is currently in the process of scrapping it, MHA has recommended the immediate suspension of the FMR," Shah said in the post.

The 1,643-km-long India-Myanmar border, spanning Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, currently operates under the FMR, which permits individuals living near the India-Myanmar border to travel 16 km into each other's territories without a visa. Initiated in 2018, the FMR policy was a component of India's Act East policy. (ANI)

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Chandigarh, Mar 1 (PTI) Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit's address in the Assembly on the opening day of the Budget session on Friday was disrupted by the opposition Congress legislators who raised the issues of the protesting farmers and resorted to sloganeering.

Amid the uproar, Purohit read out a few lines from his address and told the House that the rest of it be treated as read.

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As soon as the governor began delivering his address, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring raised the farmers' issue and said that homage be paid to Shubhkaran Singh, who died during clashes between the protesting farmers and Haryana security personnel.

"It will be good if the governor pays homage to the deceased young farmer," Warring said.

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Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that Haryana has sealed its borders with Punjab. "You have not been able to protect your farmers," he said, drawing the Punjab Governor's attention on the matter.

The Congress members insisted that farmers' issues be discussed first.

At this, the governor said, "I will request the leader of the opposition that you have ample of time to discuss these things. As per the agenda and custom, I am supposed to deliver my speech. After my speech, you can raise any issue."

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Patna, Mar 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on his 73rd birthday.

In a post on X, the PM wrote, "Best wishes to Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar Ji, on his birthday. Praying for his long and healthy life in service of the people."

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The JD(U) chief, who joined hands with the BJP and formed the NDA government on January 28, received greetings from across the political spectrum.

Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar met the CM at the latter's official residence and congratulated him on his birthday.

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Senior RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav also extended his greetings to the CM.

"Birthday wishes to respected Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar Ji. I pray to God for your good health, happiness, and long life," Yadav wrote on X.

Several NDA leaders in the state, including Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, congratulated Kumar on his birthday at his chamber on the Bihar assembly premises.

As the proceedings of the state assembly began on Friday, Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav congratulated the CM, after which leaders of other political parties also greeted the JD(U) chief.

JD(U) workers also celebrated Kumar's birthday across the state on Friday with a cake-cutting event held at the party's state headquarters in the state capital.

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New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is underway at the party headquarters in the national capital.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.

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At the meeting, Party President JP Nadda along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and representatives and Chief Ministers of 16 states are present.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Thursday evening for the BJP CEC meeting at the party headquarters and received a warm welcome from BJP chief JP Nadda.

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The meeting also saw the participation of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, among others.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and KP Maurya also arrived at the BJP headquarters for the meeting in Delhi.

The representatives and chief minister of the 16 states present for today's CEC meeting include Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Goa, Daman and Diu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Assam, Chandigarh and Telangana.

The party is expected to announce over 100 names over the next few days. Sources said the first list is likely to have the names of top party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

The party may also initially focus on states where it is contesting on its own. The first list may also have some seats the BJP lost in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has discussed candidates for 14 Lok Sabha seats the party lost in 2019 and the first list could include around 40 names from the electorally crucial state, sources said.

The first list may have all names in western Uttar Pradesh and some seats in the Awadh and Purvanchal regions of the state.

Sources said that in Madhya Pradesh, the names of prominent leaders, including former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and senior party functionaries Kailash Vijayvargiya and Narottam Mishra, are among the recommendations received by the central leadership from the state unit.

Sources said that the first list for Rajasthan may have 15 names, including some prominent leaders. The list from Odisha is also expected to have the names of some senior leaders and party functionaries.

Earlier on Wednesday, BJP leadership held a core group meeting of different states as part of the candidate selection process for the Lok Sabha polls, with party chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah discussing with leaders the panel of names recommended by the respective state units. (ANI)

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Hooghly, March 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal regards him as its 'enemy no. 1' because "Modi does not allow them to pursue their own whims, and that's why TMC considers Modi their primary adversary." The Prime Minister was addressing a public gathering in the Khunkul area of West Bengal's Hooghly district.

"The TMC, in West Bengal, has introduced a new 'model' of corruption and crimes. They are encouraging corruption and crimes. Not only this, but the TMC leaders make a lot of money in exchange of extending protection to criminals. The TMC has done scams in appointment of Primary School teachers, hasn't it?" he said. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee Was Busy Protecting Accused When Sandeshkhali Women Sought Her Help, Says PM Narendra Modi (Watch Videos).

Attacking Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, PM Modi added, "The Chief Minister sits on protests in order to shield people involved in corruption. Modi inki manmani chalne nahi de raha, isiliye Modi ko TMC apna dushman no. 1 mannti hai. (Modi does not let them continue their wilfulness, therefore they consider Modi their enemy no. 1)."

"They did scams in municipality appointments, purchasing government commodities, and providing ration to the poor. Whether it is about snatchoing lands of the poor and middle-class or smuggling of animals, the TMC has not left a single area devoid of corruption and scams," added the PM.

The Prime Minister further said that the ruling TMC adopts every tool to stop central agencies from carrying out an investigation in the state. "See, bundles of money are being recovered from the residences of TMC leaders, look what they have done! The government adopts every tool to stop central agencies from carrying out an investigation here. Let me ask you, should I let this loot continue? Doesn't this money belong to you? I promise the people of West Bengal-- yeh lootne walon ko lautana padega.(People who are looting will have to return it). Modi will not spare them," said the PM. PM Modi in Jharkhand: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Reaches Dhanbad To Launch Projects Worth Rs 35,700 Crore (Watch Video).

"Neither Modi is afraid of their abuses, nor their attacks," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh, Hooghly, West Bengal today. The developmental projects of today are associated with sectors like rail, ports, oil pipeline, LPG supply and wastewater treatment.

The Prime Minister inaugurated Indian Oil's 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline developed at a cost of about Rs 2,790 crore. This pipeline passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The pipeline will supply crude oil to Barauni Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery and Guwahati Refinery in a safe, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly manner.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated Indian Oil's LPG Bottling plant with a capacity of 120 TMTPA at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore, the LPG bottling plant will be the first LPG bottling plant in the region. It will supply LPG to about 14.5 lakh customers in West Bengal.

The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects for strengthening infrastructure at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata worth about Rs 1000 crore. The projects whose foundation stone will be laid include the reconstruction of Berth No. 8 NSD and the mechanization of berth no. 7 & 8 NSD of Kolkata Dock System. The Prime Minister also dedicated to the nation the project for augmentation of the firefighting system at oil jetties of Haldia Dock Complex, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. The newly installed fire-fighting facility is a state-of-the-art, fully automated set-up equipped with cutting-edge gas and flame sensors, ensuring immediate hazard detection.

The Prime Minister dedicated the third Rail Mounted Quay Crane (RMQC) of Haldia Dock Complex with a lifting capacity of 40 Tonnes. These new projects at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata will boost the productivity of the port substantially by helping in faster and safer cargo handling and evacuation. The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation important rail projects worth about Rs 2680 crores. The projects include the third rail line connecting Jhargram - Salgajhari (90 Kms); doubling of Sondalia - Champapukur rail line (24 Kms); and doubling of Dankuni - Bhattanagar - Baltikuri rail line (9 Kms). These projects will expand the rail transport facilities in the region, improve mobility and facilitate seamless service of freight traffic leading to economic and industrial growth in the region.

The Prime Minister inaugurated three projects related to wastewater treatment and sewerage in West Bengal. These projects, developed at a cost of about Rs 600 crore have been funded by the World Bank. The projects include Interception and Diversion (I&D) works and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at Howrah with a capacity of 65 MLD and a sewage network of 3.3 km; I&D works and STPs at Bally with capacity of 62 MLD and a sewage network of 11.3 km, and I&D works and STPs at Kamarhati & Baranagar with a capacity of 60 MLD and a sewage network of 8.15 Km.

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Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Mar 1 (PTI) A US-based couple has adopted an eight-month-old girl who was found abandoned in a dustbin in Jharkhand's Hazaribag town in June 2023, a senior district official said on Friday.

On June 16 last year, some youths found the newborn crying and informed the district administration and Korra police station.

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Deputy Development Commissioner of Hazaribag, Prerena Dikshit, along with officer-in-charge of Korra police station Uttam Kumar Tiwari, recovered the child and transferred her to the newborn ward of Sheikh Bikhari Medical College and Hospital, Hazaribag.

Dikshit, who also served as the administrator of Sheikh Bihari Medical College and Hospital, directed the hospital superintendent and other doctors to provide care for the baby.

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Upon full recovery, she was handed over to the Child Welfare Department of Hazaribag, said Dikshit.

Once the child was fully recovered, the Child Welfare Department informed higher authorities, including the Central Adoption Resource Authority, which issued an adoption notice through its portal.

Subsequently, the authorities of the Child Welfare Committee began searching for the biological parents of the abandoned child, but did not succeed. As per the rules, anyone can adopt the child after 60 days from the issuance of the notice.

An American couple has now agreed to adopt the child, who is currently eight months old.

Following the rehabilitation of the child by the American couple on Thursday, Dikshit expressed satisfaction and thanked the couple for adopting the kid. COR BS

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New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) The capacity of water treatment plants in Delhi increased marginally in 2023 in comparison with the year before that, according to the city's Economic Survey.

Finance Minister Atishi presented the Economic Survey of the city in the Delhi Assembly on Friday.

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The capacity of the water treatment plants was 943 MGD (million gallons per day) in 2022. It increased by 0.31 per cent to 946 MGD in 2023, the report stated.

It said the Delhi government has ensured free water of up to 20 kilolitres to every household having a metered water connection and around 24.72 lakh consumers have benefitted under this scheme since its inception.

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According to the report, about 93.5 per cent households of in Delhi now have access to piped water supply. It said the treatment plants produce about 1,000 MGD of water consistently during the summer season.

Water is supplied to about 21.5 million people of Delhi through existing water supply networks comprising 15,473-km-long pipelines and more than 117 underground reservoirs (UGRs), it stated.

Based on the norm of 60 gallons per capita per day (GPCD), the total requirement of water for Delhi is 1,290 MGD for the estimated population, the report said.

The water requirement for domestic is 172 LPCD (litres per capita per day), industrial, commercial and community requirements based on 45,000 litres per hectare per day is 47 LPCD, fire protection based on 1 per cent of the total demand is 3 LPCD, and floating population and special uses like hotels and embassies 52 LPCD, the report stated.

To meet the increasing demand for water and in view of limited surface water sources, frequent pollution in raw water sources at Wazirabad and increase in dependence on groundwater sources, augmentation of new tubewells is planned by blending groundwater with surface water to achieve the permissible limits for drinking purpose, it said.

The Delhi Jal Board has 5,169 functional tubewells. In addition, there are 11 functional ranney wells along the Yamuna river. The floodplains of Yamuna and the area adjacent to Najafgarh Lake are being explored for extraction of water on a sustainable basis, the report said.

The DJB is carrying out rejuvenation of 64 water bodies, out of which rejuvenation work at 39 water bodies has been completed and tender for 25 more shall be called shortly. Additionally, the work of creation of a water body at Timarpur oxidation pond, Dwarka, Pappankala, Rohini, Nilothi, revival of Roshanara Lake is currently underway, it said.

The aim of the project of rejuvenation of water bodies is to clean the existing water bodies, restore their ecological values and put in management regimes that are sustainable for the long term, the report stated.

The water tariff is based on the principle of 'use more pay more'. The current water tariff policy serves as a deterrent for consumers excessively consuming water or wasting water. The DJB has collected Rs 1,294.86 crore during 2022-2023, the report said.

The DJB has provided rainwater harvesting in its 594 installations. The rainwater harvesting cell of DJB provides technical assistance to individuals/institutions for providing rainwater harvesting. The DJB has provided the information regarding rainwater harvesting on its website for public facilitation, it said.

(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, Mar 1 (PTI) MG Motor India on Friday reported an 8 per cent increase in retail sales at 4,532 units in February as compared to the same month last year.

The automaker had sold 4,193 units in February 2023.

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Electric vehicles continue to contribute a significant share of the carmaker's overall vehicle sales, accounting for around 33 per cent of the total units sold in February 2024, the automaker said in a statement.

The company is gearing up to work on potential logistics issues due to disruption in global shipping as a consequence of various international events, it added.

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Jaipur, Mar 1 (PTI) Three people were killed in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur due to lightning as many areas of Rajasthan received rain and thunderstorm on Friday due to the impact of a new western disturbance, officials said.

The Meteorological Department said several places across the state recorded rain and hailstorm due to the circulation system formed over south-western Rajasthan and the surrounding Pakistan region.

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Due to its effect, light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning, sudden strong winds at the speed of 40-50 kilometres per hour was noted at some places in Jodhpur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Jaipur, Bharatpur and Udaipur divisions.

According to police, a couple died due to lightning while working in the fields in Chauth Ka Barwada police station area of Sawai Madhopur. A youth, too, died due to lightning in the Baunli area of the same district.

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Yogendra Singh, Sub-Inspector at Chauth Ka Barwada Police Station, said Rajendra Meena (30) and his wife Jalebi Meena (28), were working in the fields in Bagina village when they died due to lightning.

The police said Dhannalal Meena died due to lightning in Nantodi village in Baunli area. Four employees fell unconscious after lightning struck the Panchayat Samiti office in Piplu police station area of Tonk district.

According to the weather department, the impact of the new western disturbance will continue on Saturday in the form of rain with thunder, strong winds and hailstorm at some places in Bikaner, Ajmer, Udaipur, Kota, Jaipur and some parts of Bharatpur division.

The effect of the disturbance will end on Sunday and the weather will remain dry in most parts of the state for the next 4-5 days, the MeT added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Streaks of Light Seen in California. (Photo Credits: Video Grab)

By Vishu Adhana

New Delhi [India], March 1 (ANI): As many as 16 countries, including Brazil, Nepal, Bangladesh and, Malaysia, have formally joined the newly formed big cat alliance led by India, Environment Ministry officials said on Friday.

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In addition, nine international organizations, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International, have given consent to join the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA).

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the establishment of the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), with headquarters in India, on Thursday. This alliance aims to initiate 'Big Cat Diplomacy' and also promote a green economy.

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The initiative will focus on the protection and conservation of seven major big cats: tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, pumas, snow Leopards and cheetahs.

India has also announced a one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for a period of five years, from 2023-24 to 2027-28.

Speaking to reporters, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav confirmed that so far, 16 countries have agreed to join the IBCA.

Moreover, more countries are expected to join soon, officials at the Environment Ministry said.

"We have received consent from 16 nations as alliance members and 9 international organisations. We are expecting more countries to join soon," he said.

Seven big cats include Tiger, Lion, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Puma, Jaguar and the Cheetah out of these five big cats viz. Tigers, lions, leopards, Snow leopards and Cheetahs are found in India.

The International Big Cat Alliance has been conceived as a multi-country, multi-agency coalition that aims for mutual cooperation among countries for mutual benefit in furthering the conservation agenda.

The 16 alliance member countries are Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Kenya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, Suriname and Uganda.

Meanwhile, nine international organisations that have given consent are IUCN, Science and Conservation International Snow Leopard Trust, Global Tiger Forum, FAO; HE Zurab Pololikashvii, Secretary General of UNWTO; The Amur Tiger Centre; WWF International; World Customs Organization, Midori Paxtor; Director Nature Hub Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, UNDP.

IBCA would have a multipronged approach to broad-basing and establishing linkages manifold in several areas and help in knowledge sharing, capacity building, networking, advocacy, finance and resource support, research and technical support, education, and awareness, the environment ministry said.

IBCA governance consists of an assembly of members, a standing committee, and a secretariat with its headquarters in India.

According to an environment official, the framework of the agreement (statute) has been drafted largely on the pattern of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and is to be finalized by the International Steering Committee (ISC).

The Alliance ensures sustainable use of natural resources and mitigates challenges emanating from climate change.

By safeguarding big cats and their habitats, the IBCA contributes to natural climate adaptation, water and food security and the well-being of thousands of communities reliant on these ecosystems, the ministry mentions.

IBCA would instill cooperation among countries for mutual benefit and immensely contribute to furthering the long-term conservation agenda," the ministry added. (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 [US], March 1 (ANI): President Joe Biden and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani expressed deep concern over the "tragic and alarming incident" leading to the loss of over 100 lives, according to the health ministry in Gaza, the White House said on Thursday.

In a statement released, the White House highlighted the leaders' shared grief and emphasised the urgent need for a ceasefire deal and increased humanitarian assistance.

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The White House readout of the call between President Biden and Emir Al-Thani stated, "Both leaders grieved the loss of civilian lives and agreed that this incident underscored the urgency of bringing negotiations to a close as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

The devastating chaos unfolded as Israeli troops opened fire on hungry Palestinian civilians gathered around food aid trucks, as reported by CNN.

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In their discussions, President Biden and Emir Al-Thani addressed not only the immediate need for a ceasefire but also efforts to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas.

"They agreed that Hamas should release the hostages it is holding without delay," the White House wrote, adding, "The leaders underscored that the release of hostages would result in an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza over a period of at least six weeks. They exchanged views on how such a prolonged period of calm could then be built into something more enduring."

The two also talked about getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza "and how the ceasefire under the hostage deal would further help enable those efforts and ensure that assistance reached civilians in need throughout Gaza."

Simultaneously, the US State Department expressed condolences for the lives lost and the injuries sustained in the aid site tragedy in northern Gaza. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, in a briefing, lamented the loss of innocent Palestinian lives over the past nearly five months, emphasising the need for answers from Israel as an investigation is underway.

"We have been in touch with the Israeli government since early this morning and understand that an investigation is underway," he said.

Addressing conflicting reports about the incident, Miller affirmed the US awareness that a commercial convoy, not associated with the UN, was delivering aid. Aerial footage depicting the desperation on the ground underscored the gravity of the situation. Miller urged Israel to permit the entry of more assistance into Gaza through multiple access points, underscoring the importance of safe and secure aid distribution.

Highlighting the necessity of "a potential temporary ceasefire," Miller stressed its role in facilitating aid delivery. He noted the ongoing efforts, conducted day and night, through calls between President Biden and leaders in Egypt and Qatar.

The tragic incident, resulting in at least 104 casualties and over 760 injuries, has ignited a diplomatic urgency to address the immediate crisis in Gaza and work towards a sustainable resolution that ensures the well-being of the affected civilians, CNN reported. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Sao Paulo (Brazil), March 1 (ANI) A meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies came to an end without issuing a joint closing statement after their meetings in Sao Paulo.

Amid disagreements over Russia's war in Ukraine and the Hamas-Israel conflict, Brazil, which is the current G20 president, issued a chair's summary after two days of talks, mentioning in a footnote that the finance forum is not the appropriate place to discuss geopolitical issues, Kyodo News reported.

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The city of Sao Paulo hosted the ministerial meeting of the Finance Track, under the coordination of the Brazil Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, on February 28-29.

"More than a few countries strongly condemned Russia's invasion and the terror attack by Hamas (on Israel), and expressed concern about the alarming humanitarian crisis in Gaza," Japan's Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, told a press conference according to Kyodo News.

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The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors shared the view that the global economy is headed for a "soft landing," meaning that a recession will likely be avoided, Kanda was cited as saying.

The three overarching priorities proposed by the Brazilian Presidency to the G20 in 2024 are: -social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty; energy transitions and sustainable development; and the reform of global governance institutions.

Meanwhile, during the finance chiefs' meeting, Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad called for more equitable taxation targeting the super-rich.

In his speech at the opening of the second day of the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting on Thursday, Haddad highlighted the need for joint action to address fiscal disparities, calling on member countries and international organisations to unite efforts for a fairer and more sustainable tax system.

Haddad presented data from the EU Tax Observatory, revealing that the world's billionaires pay an effective tax rate equivalent to between 0 and 0.5 per cent of their wealth.

"I wonder how we, as Finance Ministers, allow a situation like this to persist. If we act together, we have the capacity to make these few individuals contribute to our societies and the sustainable development of the planet. I see no contradiction between the different international taxation agendas we are bringing to the table," the Brazil Finance Minister said.

"However, effective solutions for the super-rich to make their fair tax contribution depend on international cooperation," Haddad said.

In his speech at the G20 meeting, Haddad called on the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to combine legitimacy, technical capacity, and political strength to "continue advancing our international tax cooperation and reducing opportunities for a small number of billionaires to exploit loopholes in our system to avoid their fair contribution."

The G20 discusses this issue within the framework of the International Taxation Working Group, which focuses on increasing the efficiency of tax systems to reduce inequalities. Formally, the International Taxation Agenda does not constitute a working group.

The subsidies and formulations developed among member countries are debated and decided directly by government representatives in high-level discussions, such as during the G20 Finance Ministers' meeting.

The G20 grouping consists of the Group of Seven -- Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union -- along with Brazil, Russia, China, India and Saudi Arabia among others. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Mar 1 (PTI) In a significant move ahead of Sunday's election of Pakistan's next prime minister, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif met Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a politico-religious party on Friday and sought to woo him to back a coalition government.

Nawaz Sharif, who has nominated his younger brother and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, Shehbaz Sharif for the premiership, visited the residence of the cleric here.

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The meeting comes ahead of the key election of the prime minister, which is set to be held on Sunday. Fazl has refused to be a part of the coalition government and expressed reservations about the results of the February 8 general elections.

A day earlier, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif said his party was still in touch with the JUI-F but refused to provide further details.

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Raising serious reservations over the election results, Fazl on Thursday announced that his party would not participate in forthcoming elections for the top political slots  president, prime minister, and the National Assembly (NA) speaker.

The JUI-F, which won five National Assembly (NA), and 18 provincial assembly (PA) seats, collectively, in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), announced to stay away from being an ally of a new coalition led by the Nawaz-led PML-N party in the Centre and provinces but decided to play its parliamentary role as an opposition.

To form a government, a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

Independent candidates - a majority backed by 71-year-old jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party - won 93 National Assembly seats. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.

The leadership of the PML-N and the PPP have said that they have the support of an adequate number of lawmakers to form a coalition government. Going by the election of senior PML-N leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq as the Speaker on Friday, Shehbaz Sharif is set to become the prime minister on Sunday.

Sadiq, who received 199 votes, beat his rival Amir Dogar, who got only 91 votes. Dogar was backed by Khan's PTI.

Friday's meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Fazl underscored a dialogue between the two former coalition partners as they navigate the political landscape, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The report said that Nawaz Sharif and Fazl engaged in a one-on-one meeting lasting for about an hour. The deliberations primarily centred on political matters, concluding with both leaders departing in an amiable mood.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Rana Sanaullah, a senior leader of the PML-N, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

"We have endured challenging times together and have consistently sought guidance from Maulana Fazlur Rehman," he said. "Our association has weathered the storm during the PTI government, with Maulana's support."

Sanaullah clarified that Nawaz Sharif's visit was not aimed at garnering votes from JUI-F but rather to deliberate on the nation's prevailing political climate. He underscored mutual respect between the leaders, highlighting their willingness to consider each other's perspectives.

Sanaullah emphasised the cordiality observed during the meeting, asserting that there was no animosity between the two parties.

"Maulana Fazlur Rehman remains our beacon. Our earnest endeavour is to retain his counsel and ensure its efficacy," he said.

The Fazl-led party had played a vital role in running a political movement against former prime minister Imran Khan-led PTI in 2022. It was also part of the multi-party alliance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for the successful ouster of the ex-premier Imran Khan in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. PTI

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Richmond and Falls Church (Virginia), Mar 1 (PTI) Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has hammered her rival Donald Trump for being all about himself as she told enthusiastic crowds here that one more term for her ex-boss would throw the country into another four years of chaos.

Haley was addressing two well-attended political rallies on Thursday in Richmond and Falls Church in Virginia, which is one of the 16 states for Super Tuesday.

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To earn the party's nomination either of the two candidates  Trump and Haley -- need at least 1,215 delegates. After primaries in five States  Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, and Michigan, Trump has 122 delegates and Haley has 24 delegates in her kitty.

Both her rallies in Richmond and Falls Church were marked with protestors who were opposed to her candidacy, and many said were supporters of 77-year-old Trump, who is leading the national polls against 52-year-old Haley by more than 64 percentage points, according to Real Clear Politics that monitors all such polls.

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Addressing overflowing halls in Virginia, Haley hammered Trump for being all about himself and alleged that he cares little about the country and its people.

She told the cheering crowd that electing Trump as the president would result in four years of chaos in the US.

Everybody in the media is trying to figure out why does she keep fighting?' Haley told the crowd in Richmond, VA, The answer is I'm doing this for my kids, and your kids, she said.

Asserting that the administration of both Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden has worsened the country's economy, she said it's time to have an accountant in the White House, which was greeted with applause from the audience.

The two rallies attracted many Indian Americans in Virginia, which has a significant Indian American population.

They said that it's a difference of day and night between her and Trump.

She's very charismatic, she's clever, she's compassionate. She's a very eloquent speaker, and she said all the right things. She demonstrated leadership today in multiple different ways. And she is without a doubt, the best candidate that's running today, eminent Indian American Suresh Shenoy told PTI.

What I liked about Nikki Haley is she based everything on data and numbers and not subjective like many of the other politicians do? I really admired her for that. And also the vision that she set for America, I think is just fabulous, said Neena Shenoy after the rallies.

Attending the first rally of Haley, Sachin Chandra from Virginia described it as amazing.

I think she has to beat those two dudes. That's really what it comes down to. She will be awesome for the country and for the world, he said. Haley has clarity of thought and policies. There's no ulterior motives. It's just what a president should be standing for, he said.

The main difference between Trump and Haley is their character, said Shankar Krishna.

She's not afraid to speak the truth. You don't need lies. She's saying things that take us to the right place and do the right things, Get us out of this deck. A lot of problems in the country that we need to solve, and we need practical American solutions. And I think Trump just talks about himself, his issues, he said.

Haley, he said, is thinking about the future of America. She is thinking about our kids and grandkids, leaving them a good future for them. I think she was saying things that just resonated with our community and our generation. She speaks a lot for all Americans, Chandra said.

The public events of the Indian American Republican presidential candidate were disrupted by protestors at both Richmond and Falls Church. Ceasefire now! End the genocide! said one of the protestors in Richmond. You are fired, said another protest in Falls Church. Both places saw more than half a dozen protests each. The protestors were soon taken out of the door.

Haley was expecting the protest as she warned her supporters at the start of her speech. To my protester friends, please, please be respectful, she told the protestors.

A man in the crowd shouted, Get out! As one of the protesters started shouting, she said: I told you.

She urged the voters to vote for her.

We need to make our voices heard. In a general election, we're given a choice. In a primary, we make our choice, she said. "This is a decision between do we want more of the same, or we want a new direction. More of the same is not just Joe Biden, more of the same is Donald Trump," she said.

We can't be a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it," Haley said.

Super Tuesday is the US presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of US states hold primary elections and caucuses.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad [Pakistan], March 1 (ANI): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has called on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's (JUI-F) to support their party in the elections for Pakistan's Prime Minister and National Assembly (NA) Speaker posts, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.

According to details, the PTI delegation, comprising its nominees for Pakistan Prime Minister Omar Ayub and National Assembly Speaker Amir Dogar and others visited JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman's house in Islamabad.

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PTI's nominee for the PM's slot, Omar Ayub, said that they called on the JUI-F chief to seek their support in the election process. He said, "We came here with a request to vote for the PTI's nominees in the elections for prime minister and National Assembly speaker slots."

Asked whether PTI founder Imran Khan, who is incarcerated in Adaila Jail, is aware of the development, Omar Ayub responded, "Yes." He said that many political parties have reservations about the results of the polls, according to ARY News report.

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Speaking on the occasion, Asad Qaiser said that the two parties have some stances regarding the election results and demand that they be announced based on Form 45. He said, "We (PTI and JUI-F) will move forward together in the parliament as well." Asad Qaisar said that the nation cannot flourish until the rule of law is established.

Earlier on February 15, a PTI delegation led by Asad Qaiser, including Amir Dogar, Barrister Saif, Fazal Muhammad, and Umair Niazi urged JUI-F chief Moulana Fazalur Rehman at his residence. During the meeting, the PTI leaders conveyed Imran Khan's message to him, ARY News reported.

Sources aware of the development said that the two parties discussed matters related to 'massive riggin' in the elections held on February 8. Rehman and the PTI delegation have expressed their reservations about the poll results.

Pakistan held its 12th national general election on February 8, amid allegations of rigging and the shutdown of cellular and internet services. The PTI dominated the election results, with the highest number of successful candidates in the February 8 general elections. However, the party has alleged rigging in the polls.

Earlier this week, PTI announced its decision to hold a protest on March 2 against the alleged rigging in the elections held on February 8, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.

The party founded by Imran Khan announced that other political parties would also join them. PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub, who is also the party's candidate for the prime minister's position, spoke about the "large scale" rigging in the elections. He made the remarks in a press conference after his meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan.

Ayub said PTI will hold nationwide protests against "rigging" in elections alongside other political parties. He said, "Our seats were stolen with just a stroke of the pen. The people gave the mandate to the former PTI chairman. The nation's mandate and our seats have been attacked."

"He stated that the successful PTI-backed candidate had the Form 45s and added that PTI leaders held a meeting with Imran Khan, who is incarcerated at the prison. The PTI Secretary said Imran Khan is "confident" regarding the party's stance, according to Geo News report.

Omar Ayub said that PTI will hold protests in courts and assemblies. He further said, "Ours is the fight of truth." He announced that PTI has nominated Amir Dogar and Junaid Khan for the positions of National Assembly speaker and deputy speaker. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Abu Dhabi, March 1: The World Trade Organization (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference at Abu Dhabi has been extended until Friday, March 1, to allow further discussions and facilitate outcomes on main issues. The decision was taken after WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala held consultations with MC13 Chair, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and the minister facilitators, WTO announced in a statement.

The 13th Ministerial Conference was initially scheduled to close on February 28 at 8 pm (local time). The extension has been made after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called on members to go the extra mile to find convergence on the various negotiations at the ministerial gathering. Abu Dhabi: Diplomats From Across Globe Hosted by Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir for Special Tour of BAPS Hindu Mandir (See Pics).

In a statement, WTO said, "At the meeting of Heads of Delegation (HoDs) on 28 February, DG Okonjo-Iweala called on members to go the extra mile to find convergence on the various negotiations at the ministerial gathering and to be mindful that time is running out to conclude meaningful agreements." Ministers and delegates from across the world gathered in Abu Dhabi for World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting that began on February 26, to discuss and deliberate upon global trade rules.

WTO, a global watchdog, founded about three decades ago, now has 166 member countries, including India. This year, Timor-Leste and Comoros have been added as members of the WTO. The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) was held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 12-17, 2022. At the ongoing 13th ministerial conference of the WTO, India stressed that all policy options should be available for the WTO members to pursue for promoting digital industrialisation. Abu Dhabi: Thousands of Devotees Take Part in Palkhi Yatra at BAPS Hindu Temple in UAE.

According to Ministry of Commerce and Industry press release, India stressed that currently, a few firms based in developed countries dominate the global landscape of e-commerce.India explained that there was a huge digital chasm between developed and developing countries, which makes it challenging to increase the participation of developing countries in global e-commerce.

India reiterated that with the digital revolution still unfolding and with the increasing diffusion of technologies such as additive manufacturing and 3D printing, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, there was a need for a re-examination of the implications of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, particularly for the developing countries and the LDCs.

India said that developing countries need to focus on improving their domestic physical and digital infrastructure, creating supportive policy and regulatory frameworks, and developing digital capabilities. India's own digital transformation is powered by its unshakeable belief in innovation and its commitment to speedy implementation.

Through the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach, India is promoting innovation, democratising technology and fostering a competitive ecosystem for digital businesses. DPI has spurred a national technology revolution in areas like commerce, credit, healthcare, payments, e-governance, citizen services among others. India's own experience shows that a broad thrust on digital infrastructure, skills, education and enabling policies has spurred rapid, population-scale digitalization.
Itanagar, March 1: The National People's Party (NPP), the lone national party from northeast region, would put up 30 candidates in the upcoming elections to the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, party's state unit President Thangwang Wangham said on Friday.

The elections to the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly are likely to take place along with the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The NPP leader said that his party is an ally of the ruling BJP in several northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, but the party would field 30 candidates in the ensuing Assembly polls on its own. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: INDIA Alliance for 2024 Polls, Not for Assembly Elections in States, Says Congress MP Jairam Ramesh.

"After the Assembly polls, we may ally with the BJP," Wangham told IANS. In the 2019 Arunanchal Assembly polls, the NPP, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, contested 30 seats and won five. One of its candidates, Tirong Aboh, was killed by suspected militants before the results were declared. Karanpur Assembly Election 2024 Result: BJPs New Minister Surendra Pal Singh, Congress Rupinder Singh Kunnar Wins.

Last month, two NPP MLAs, along with two Congress MLAs, joined the ruling BJP. The ruling BJP in the state now has 53 MLAs followed by the Congress and the NPP with two each. There are also three independent members.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2024 11:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
"It is likely that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be coming to Raj Bhavan to meet the Prime Minister this evening. This meeting is as per the protocol. But the time of the meeting is not known yet," a Raj Bhavan official said.
San Francisco, March 1: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Thursday sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging they breached their original contractual agreements around AI. The lawsuit, filed in a court in San Francisco in the US, revolves around OpenAIs latest natural language model titled GPT-4.

The X owner alleged that OpenAI and Microsoft (which has poured billions of dollars into Sam Altman-run company) have improperly licensed GPT-4 despite agreeing that artificial general intelligence (AGI) capabilities would remain non-profit and dedicated to humanity. Mark Zuckerberg and South Korean President Discuss To Expand Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality Sectors.

Musk has long recognised that AGI poses a grave threat to humanity -- perhaps the greatest existential threat we face today, read the lawsuit. Musks lawsuit details complaints such as contract breach, fiduciary duty violation, and unfair business practices.

Musk was an original board member of OpenAI until 2018. According to the lawsuit, OpenAIs initial research was performed in the open, providing free and public access to designs, models, and code. When OpenAI researchers discovered that an algorithm called Transformers, initially invented by Google, could perform many natural language tasks without any explicit training, entire communities sprung up to enhance and extend the models released by OpenAI.

Altman became OpenAI CEO in 2019. On September 22, 2020, OpenAI entered into an agreement with Microsoft, exclusively licensing to Microsoft its Generative PreTrained Transformer (GPT)-3 language model. Most critically, the Microsoft license only applied to OpenAIs pre-AGI technology. Microsoft obtained no rights to AGI. And it was up to OpenAIs non-profit Board, not Microsoft, to determine when OpenAI attained AGI, the lawsuit further read. 'Japan Will Disappear if ..': Elon Musk Raises Concern After Country's Birth Rate Hits Record Low.

Musk said that this case is filed to compel OpenAI to adhere to the Founding Agreement and return to its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity, not to personally benefit the individual defendants and the largest technology company in the world.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2024 04:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
San Fransico, March 1: ChatGPT-developer OpenAI plans to appoint new board members in this month amid the ongoing regulatory troubles. In November, the OpenAI board fired Sam Altman due to differences of opinion on AI security in November 2023. They said Sam Altman needed to be more candid with the board. After that incident, he was restored to the company CEO position due to the employees and other global pressures.

According to the report by The Washington Post, OpenAI will replace and appoint several new members to the board due to the regulatory trouble mounting. The report said that the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether the company's investors were misled. After OpenAI's previous board decided to fire Sam Altman in late 2023, the report said there was a "furious backlash" from employees and investors for days.

According to the report, the OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is under investigation by the US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for misleading the company's investors. The report said that as a part of the SEC investigation, the OpenAI employees are told to save their emails and messages. As per The Washington Post report, it is unclear why the SEC has been probing the companies, but it said it usually does that without launching charges. Elon Musk Sues OpenAI and Its CEO Sam Altman Over Breaching Original Contractual Agreement Around AI.

On the other hand, the report also mentioned that OpenAI has been looked into by the European Union about Microsoft's investment in the company, which could reportedly fall under the bloc's merger laws. The report further said that the US FTC has also been looking into the partnership of OpenAI and Microsoft to determine whether the ChatGPT AI chatbot leaked the users' data. 'Japan Will Disappear if ..': Elon Musk Raises Concern After Country's Birth Rate Hits Record Low.

In addition to these ongoing investigations, OpenAI has reportedly been sued by news organisations and authors for using their articles and books to train the AI without permission or payment. Further, the report said that WilmerHale, a law firm, was also hired to investigate the firing of Sam Altman and leadership issues. Amid these ongoing crisis, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also sued OpenAI for breaching the agreements over AI.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2024 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
On 29 February, the presidential candidate for Mexicos ruling Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional (Morena), announced that former foreign minister(2018-2023) had joined her campaign team.

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On 29 February Bolivias former president(2003-2005), who leads the centre-right opposition Comunidad Ciudadana (CC), accused Presidentof attempting a self-coup amid mounting tensions in congress.

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On 29 February Argentinas former president(2019-2023) was charged with dereliction of duty, abuse of authority, and misappropriation of public funds in relation to insurance contracts awarded during his government.

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SB4, the controversial Texas immigration law has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge before it could take effect on Tuesday.

SB4 would have allowed police to arrest anybody they suspect is an illegal immigrant and for judges to deport them.

US District Judge David Ezra issued a preliminary injunction that stops the controversial Texas law from being enforced when it is scheduled to take effect on Tuesday. This means that SB4, or Senate Bill 4, will not take effect while the court proceedings are playing out.

In his order to suspend the law from being enforced, Judge Ezra wrote that the federal government "will suffer grave irreparable harm" if the law took effect, as other states could be inspired to pass their own immigration laws should it be enforced.

Should other states follow Texas's example, the judge warned that it could create "an inconsistent patchwork of rules about immigration" as the federal government has the sole responsibility to enforce immigration law, as stated in the Constitution, according to the Texas Tribune.

"SB 4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice," the judge wrote in his order to suspend. He added that should the state arrest and deport migrants who may be eligible for political asylum, that would violate the Constitution, as well as being e "in violation of US treaty obligations."

"Finally, the Court does not doubt the risk that cartels and drug trafficking pose to many people in Texas," he added. "But as explained, Texas can and does already criminalize those activities. Nothing in this Order stops those enforcement efforts," before further blasting the Greg Abbott-supported law by adding, "No matter how emphatic Texas's criticism of the Federal Governments handling of immigration on the border may be to some, disagreement with the federal government's immigration policy does not justify a violation of the Supremacy Clause."

READ MORE: Joel Osteen Church Shooting: 7-Year-Old Child Wounded in Shooting Was Shooter's Son

Texas Governor Greg Abbott Says He Will Not Back Down on Controversial Texas Immigration Law, SB4

Meanwhile, despite his latest legal setback, Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he will not back down and take it all the way to the US Supreme Court if he has to, saying, "We will not back down in our fight to protect our state - and our nation."

He then blamed the migration problem on President Joe Biden even though his policies are blocking federal authorities from doing their jobs at the border. He has blockaded areas into the US-Mexico border and prevented Border Patrol from patrolling certain areas.

"Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden's ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border," Abbott said.

Texas Immigration Law SB4 Being Strick Down Is a Win for Joe Biden

Texas is expected to appeal Ezra's ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, according to Bloomberg News. However, the ruling is already a win for President Joe Biden, who strongly opposed the law that could wrongly deport US citizens or those seeking asylum and, therefore, violate the Constitution.

The ruling also emphasizes the fact that individual states cannot create immigration laws independent of those set forth in the US Constitution, according to Bloomberg.

SB4 is also facing various lawsuits from the City of El Paso, several Latino advocacy groups, and several human rights groups.

READ MORE: Mexico Finds Another Dead Body Near Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Floating Barriers

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WATCH: SB4, Texas' new illegal immigration law, blocked by judge - FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, faced a wave of heavy gunfire on Thursday as a powerful Haiti gang leader, Jimmy Cherizier, also known as "Barbecue," declared intentions to capture the country's police chief and government ministers.

The unsettling situation unfolded during Prime Minister Ariel Henry's absence as he sought support from Kenya for the deployment of a foreign armed force to combat gang violence in Haiti, The Guardian reports.

Gunmen targeted Haiti's main international airport and other locations, creating chaos that prompted the closure of businesses, government agencies, and schools.

Panic ensued as parents and children fled through the streets. Sunrise Airways suspended all flights, and the unexpected violence caught many off guard.

In a recorded video, Barbecue expressed the aim to restrain the police chief and government ministers, preventing Prime Minister Henry's return to Haiti.

He declared, "With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country."

The spokesperson for the prime minister's office could not be immediately reached for comment, and attempts to contact the head of Haiti's national police, Frantz Elbe, and police spokesman Garry Desrosiers were unsuccessful.

It remains unclear if Barbecue's faction, known as G9 Family and Allies, has the support of other major Haiti gangs controlling a significant portion of Port-au-Prince.

Barbecue referred to a coalition named Viv Ansanm in his speech, formed as part of a peace pact between his federation and another powerful gang, G-Pep.

The coalition aimed to bring down Henry's administration but disintegrated shortly after its announcement.

READ NEXT: Haiti Prime Minister Meets With Caribbean Leaders

Haiti's Prime Minister Seeks Kenyan Support

Prime Minister Ariel Henry arrived in Kenya on Thursday to salvage a plan involving the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti.

The plan, authorized by the UN, faced challenges when the Kenyan High Court deemed it partially unconstitutional due to a lack of "reciprocal agreements" between the two countries.

While in Kenya, Henry aimed to finalize modalities for agreements between the nations, facilitating the deployment of Kenyan police officers to aid in combating Haiti gang violence, according to AP News.

The outcome of these agreements concerning the court's ruling remains uncertain.

Henry met with Kenyan President William Ruto to discuss the proposed Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.

Opposition leader Ekuru Aukot, who challenged the deployment in court, raised concerns about the legitimacy of Prime Minister Henry signing any agreement on behalf of Haiti.

Despite repeated promises to hold elections, Henry has faced challenges due to ongoing gang violence since assuming office after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

Caribbean leaders announced late Wednesday that Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025, addressing concerns about political instability and growing Haiti gang influence.

Multinational Mission Gains Support

In an official announcement, the West African nation of Benin expressed its intention to contribute personnel to the multinational mission in Haiti, Leader-Telegram noted.

The United Nations received notifications from The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad, confirming their commitments to providing security forces for the armed mission.

The UN trust fund established for the mission has garnered $78 million in pledges.

As Haiti grapples with internal strife, international efforts are underway to support the nation in restoring stability and combating the escalating influence of powerful gangs.

The situation remains fluid, with ongoing developments expected to shape the trajectory of Haiti's future.

READ MORE: Ecuador: Fernando Villavicencio Assassination

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WATCH: 'It's very scary now': Fear grips Haiti's Port-au-Prince amid gang violence - From Al Jazeera English
A report by a group of human rights experts backed by the UN has accused the government of Nicaragua under dictator Daniel Ortega of systematic human rights abuses that are "tantamount to crimes against humanity."

Since the Nicaraguan government cracked down on protests back in 2018, the country has gone after all forms of dissent, with any form of opposition being suppressed, often violently. From media organizations being shut down to the government taking over schools to make sure there is no dissent from the students, reports of oppression are everywhere in Nicaragua.

One of the most oppressed groups is Catholics, which is actually the majority religion in the country. Since the 2018 crackdowns, the state has confiscated properties owned by the Roman Catholic Church, deported missionaries, and arrested and exiled priests and bishops.

The independent group of UN experts began their investigation in March 2022 and almost two years later, they found that the Nicaraguan government was focusing on "incapacitating any kind of opposition in the long term." The Guardian noted that while the experts do not speak for the UN, their mandate comes directly from the UN High Council on Human Rights.

"Serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity, continue to be perpetrated by the Nicaraguan government for political reasons," the group found, with the state persecuting "all forms of opposition, whether real or perceived, both domestically and abroad."

UN Report Finds Nicaragua Targeting Civilians, Including Children

Of the various crimes against humanity that the UN report accused Nicaragua of, one of those that stood out was its constant targeting of civilians. The most common targets of persecution were university students, Indigenous and Black Nicaraguans, and members of the Catholic Church.

READ MORE: Nicaragua Faithful Afraid as Daniel Ortega Regime Continues Crackdown Against Roman Catholic Church

However, the independent experts found that the Nicaraguan government also went after children. According to the Associated Press, under Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, authorities in the country also targeted children just because their parents raised their voices against the regime.

The report also found that power has been firmly consolidated in Ortega and Murillo's favor, with their ally, Gustavo Porras, the head of the country's National Assembly, pushing legislation that further represses the populace.

The Supreme Court, which should be independent from the executive branch, also takes direct orders from Ortega, and it commands judges to fall in line as well. Prosecutors are also under government control and are accused of fabricating evidence against perceived opponents.

Daniel Ortega Regime Continues Crackdown vs. Religious Groups in Nicaragua

Meanwhile, as the report accused Nicaragua of crimes against humanity, the country continued cracking down against religious groups, many of which helped the country out when Hilary and Idalia flooded Nicaragua's coast last August and September.

These included protestant evangelical groups, as well as the usual target of the government's repression, the Roman Catholic Church. The Nicaraguan government has ordered the closure of 10 churches belonging to the evangelical group, Mountain Gateway.

According to Christianity Today, 11 of the ministry's pastors were also arrested. It was noted, however, that while that specific evangelical group and Catholics were targeted, many local Protestant pastors and foreign ministry leaders have largely chosen to keep quiet and were not targeted.

READ NEXT: Daniel Ortega Net Worth

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WATCH: UN Experts Allege Crimes Against Humanity In Nicaragua | Press Conference - UN Human Rights Council
Pentagon leak suspect, Jack Teixeira, has reportedly reached an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty, according to ABC News.

A recent court filing and sources familiar with the case indicate that a Rule 11 hearing is scheduled for Monday, where the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents, is expected to plead guilty, and the judge will assess the voluntariness of the plea.

Jack Teixeira initially pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.

The specific charges to which he will plead guilty have not been publicly disclosed as the plea agreement remains confidential.

The Department of Justice asserts that Teixeira abused his security clearance to share classified documents on social media platforms, including Discord.

The Pentagon leak reportedly disclosed details about the military equipment the United States intended to provide to Ukraine, including transfer and utilization protocols.

According to the indictment, Teixeira began posting classified documents online in January 2022.

In December, an Air Force investigation disciplined 15 airmen, including removal from their command, for failing to act appropriately upon learning of Teixeira's intelligence-seeking activities.

The investigation blamed Teixeira for the unauthorized disclosure of classified information, while highlighting lapses within his unit regarding inspection protocols and inconsistent guidance for reporting security incidents.

READ NEXT: Jack Teixeira Wants To Be Released While Trial Awaits

Teixeira's Background and Security Clearance

Jack Teixeira, the leader of a small online gaming chat group where the Pentagon leak occurred, was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base as a "Cyber Transport Systems Journeyman," Fox News reports.

He joined the Air National Guard in September 2019, holding the highest-level security clearance to review top-secret information.

Teixeira's arrest in April led to him being held without bail, with a federal magistrate citing concerns about national security and the potential for him to be recruited by foreign intelligence agencies due to his knowledge of classified material.

Potential Consequences and Legal Proceedings

If convicted, Teixeira faces the possibility of spending decades in prison, CNN noted.

Plea agreements often involve negotiations between defense attorneys and prosecutors, potentially resulting in a reduced range of prison time.

However, the final sentence is subject to the judge's discretion.

Prosecutors claim that despite repeated warnings from superiors about accessing classified intelligence inappropriately, Teixeira continued posting information about the documents online.

The leaked documents included highly classified information about eavesdropping activities, assessments of the Russia-Ukraine war, and other sensitive matters.

Law enforcement launched a rapid investigation to uncover the leaker's identity after the Pentagon leak was discovered.

Prosecutors allege that Jack Teixeira attempted to cover his tracks by destroying electronic evidence, changing his phone number, and acquiring a new email address.

He was apprehended at his Massachusetts home about a week later.

As the legal proceedings unfold, more details regarding Teixeira's guilty plea and potential sentencing will be revealed, marking a significant development in this case involving the young Air National Guardsman.

READ MORE: Idaho Officials Pauses Execution for Thomas Eugene Creech

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WATCH: Prosecutors signal alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira will plead guilty - From NBC News
Citizens from Mexico wanting to go to Canada are getting some bad news as they will not be required to get a visa to enter the country. This sudden policy came after a surge in asylum claims that were rejected or abandoned, according to the northernmost North American country's immigration minister, Marc Miller.

If a Mexican traveler has held a Canadian visa within the last 10 years, they can also get travel authorization and apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA). This is also applicable if they currently hold a US non-immigrant visa.

"With the high number of Mexican citizens currently holding US visas, the majority will continue to enjoy visa-free travel to Canada," the Canadian government announced on its official website. "Those who do not meet these conditions will need to apply for a Canadian visitor visa."

The Canadian government explained that the reimposition of visa requirements "is an important step to preserve mobility for hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens, while also ensuring the sound management of our immigration and asylum systems."

The application process and requirements needed for Mexicans will not change for Mexican citizens seeking a work or study permit will not change, according to the official website, adding that "Mexican citizens who want to work in Canada will continue to have access to a wide number of existing labor pathways, including the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program."

The announcement was made by Minister Miller who announced the new Canadian immigration policy in English, Spanish, and French.

Canada Sees Immigration Surge and Rise in Asylum Claims, Many Coming from Mexico

Canada lifted its visa requirements back in December 2016 in order to make it easier for people from Mexico to make asylum claims in Canada. However, since then, Canada has seen a significant rise in asylum claims from the region, according to CTV News.

READ MORE: Mexico Elections: 2 Mayoral Candidates of the Same City Shot Dead, Within Hours Apart

Mexicans make up 17% of all asylum claimants in 2023. They also have the highest number of claims that were either rejected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or withdrawn by the applicants themselves.

Last year, Canada saw 25,236 asylum claims. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) accepted 2,894, while 2,424 were rejected. Around 1,240 Mexican claimants withdrew, while another 560 people abandoned their claims.

"We need an effective visa system," said Minister Miller. "A change was needed."

Mexico President AMLO Reacts to Canada Imposing Visa Requirements Again

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed his regret on Canada's decision to reimpose a visa requirement for Mexican citizens on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

"They could have looked for other options," he told reporters during his daily morning news conference. However, he also assured that the reimposition of visa requirements would not lead to Mexico breaking off relations with its fellow North American country. He also added that his administration would look for alternatives.

READ MORE: Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Says Law Does Not Apply To Him

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WATCH: What Canada's new visa requirements mean for Mexican nationals | Power & Politics - CBC News
The Orange County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday a significant development in the case of 13-year-old Madeline "Maddie" Soto, who was reported missing on Monday night in Orlando, Florida.

Stephan Sterns, 37, the boyfriend of Madeline Soto's mother and the last person to have seen her, was arrested on Wednesday evening, according to Fox 35.

Authorities charged him with sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material.

While Sterns was not arrested directly in connection to the missing Florida girl's disappearance, the Orange County Sheriff's Office identified him as the "prime suspect."

Disturbing Discoveries in Investigation

During the investigation into the missing Florida girl's whereabouts, detectives found "disturbing images" and videos of a "criminal and sexual nature" on Sterns' phone.

The forensic examination revealed attempts to delete evidence, and the crimes were determined to have occurred at the family's home in Kissimmee, Yahoo! News reports.

Local police are leading the sexual battery case based on the evidence uncovered.

Video footage released by the sheriff's office shows Sterns being silently placed into a patrol car.

Despite being given an opportunity to cooperate with detectives during an interview, Sterns invoked his right to an attorney.

He was subsequently arrested and transported to jail.

Authorities emphasized their commitment to finding answers about Maddie's disappearance.

The search for Madeline Soto began on Monday night, involving over 100 deputies, detectives, intelligence analysts, and bloodhounds.

A bloodhound performed an extensive search using an item of Maddie's but yielded no results.

Detectives accessed the missing Florida girl's phone, discovering information suggesting she expressed a desire to live in the woods when she turned 13.

Maddie, described as blond with blue eyes, stands 5 feet, 1 inch tall. She was last seen wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts, and white Crocs.

READ NEXT: Wisconsin: Elijah Vue Still Missing

Press Conference and Shocked Community

In a press conference, Sheriff John Mina described the discovered images as "disturbing," indicating that they appear to have been taken in the family's home, New York Post noted.

Sterns, currently held without bond, attempted unsuccessfully to delete some of the photos and videos.

The arrest has shocked those who know Sterns, with a friend expressing disbelief at the allegations.

While not charged in connection to Maddie's disappearance, Sterns is considered a "prime suspect" by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

As law enforcement continues the search for Madeline Soto, her family clings to hope, awaiting answers regarding her disappearance.

Sheriff Mina reaffirmed their dedication to finding the missing Florida girl and bringing clarity to this distressing situation.

"Stephan Sterns had an opportunity tonight to come clean with detectives and help lead them to information about Maddie's disappearance," Sheriff Mina said.

"Her loved ones deserve answers, and OCSO and the Kissimmee Police will not stop until we find Maddie."

"I'm trying to hope for the best, but I'm scared for her," said her mother, Jen Soto.

"I want her to be okay; I want her to be safe. I don't want her to come back harmed. I just want her back - whatever that means, I just want her back."

READ MORE: Wisconsin: Missing Boy's Mother Arrested for Child Neglect

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Arrest made in search for Madeline Soto, Florida girl who went missing - From Fox 35 Orlando




The iconic PPL Tower in downtown Allentown is officially off the market in a tentative $9 million agreement with a multi-faceted real estate developer, PPL Corp. representatives announced Friday.

PPL plans to sell the landmark skyscraper and office complex at 2 North Ninth St. to Luzerne County-based developer D&D Realty Group. The developer plans to transform the properties, spanning about 450,000-square-feet, into mixed-use commercial spaces, apartments and other amenities. The tentative agreement with D&D Realty Group is contingent upon approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi said in a statement the company is excited to see the proposed plans by D&D Realty Group come to life in the citys downtown.

Our company has been proud to call Allentown home for a century, and we plan to remain part of the citys growth story, Sorgi said. The Tower Building remains iconic within our community, and we think these future plans will secure its legacy for decades to come.

PPLs sales agreement comes about 10 months after the company announced plans in June to move its corporate headquarters from the tower to 7th and Hamilton streets.

The decision for the move, representatives then said, was to find a right-size space just a couple of blocks away. The majority of the companys 400 employees began working remotely at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, company spokesman Ryan Hill had said.

PPL now occupies 107,000-square-feet, spanning four floors, at the new site compared with the 24-level former tower. The tower served the company for the past several decades.

The company worked with Colliers, an investment management company specializing in commercial real estate, on the sale to reach D&D Realty. PPL representatives said they received a wide range of interest in the complex after the property was listed.

Nick Dye, co-managing member of D&D Realty Group, said the developers bread and butter is in transforming historic downtown office buildings into mixed-use developments with a focus on high-end residential and complementary commercial uses.

PPLs iconic headquarters provides us with the perfect canvas for our vision of high-end, downtown living in the Lehigh Valley, Dye said in a statement.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk said he is thrilled with the sale, which combines the excitement of revitalizing an iconic property with a positive momentum in attracting a quality developer to the project.

Allentonians are proud of our skyline, and its wonderful to know that the tower will continue to light up Center City Allentown, reinforcing downtown as a place where businesses thrive and we celebrate the joy of life, the mayor added.

The PPL Building is literally as old as sliced bread  it opened on July 16, 1928, 10 days after the first automatically sliced loaf was sold. Its architects had hands in Rockefeller Center and other famous landmarks.

At 322 feet tall, the PPL Building is the tallest building in the Lehigh Valley, a title it has held for most of its history. Bethlehem Steels Martin Tower, which stood from 1973 to 2019, was 10 feet taller.

PPL Corp. is a leading national energy company focused on providing electricity and natural gas to more than 3.5 million U.S. customers.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Allison Klunks son struggled against opioid addiction for 11 years before he died of an overdose at 29. His death made the York County resident want to help other peoples loved ones.

She went to a local organization, expecting a focus on recovery. As it turned out, the tiny nonprofit distributed clean needles to drug users.

I was like no way, I cant do this, she says.

But Klunk remembered her son calling from jail, crying, after testing positive for hepatitis C, a disease commonly spread by shared needles. So she accepted the low-paying job and soon found herself parked near a food bank in York, a magnetic sign attached to her car to help drug users find her.

She gave them needles and syringes and urged them to return used ones. She also offered disease testing, personal hygiene supplies and naloxone, the overdose-reversal drug. People she came to know sometimes had sores or fevers or were otherwise sick from the drugs and the lifestyle. Klunk provided whatever aide she could, including offers to just sit in her car and rest.

And at every chance, she told them: If youre ever tired, if youre ever sick of this, please know that I can get you into rehab and know I would love to.

Klunk worked for a syringe service. Their work is called harm reduction  helping drug users stay as healthy as possible until, hopefully, they choose treatment.

Yet in Pennsylvania, unlike the vast majority of states, syringe services are illegal. That has far-ranging fallout, and may even have contributed to the stunning spate of nine Harrisburg-area overdose deaths in one weekend last September.

True, syringe services operate in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, which have unique health-related powers. And others, much smaller in size and capabilities, fly under the radar elsewhere, including a small contingent that sets up three times a week in Harrisburg.

There are a lot of underground harm reduction programs in Pennsylvania, because harm reductionists are not going to wait for the law to change to save lives, says Carla Sofronski, co-founder of the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network.

But the fact such services are illegal has profound consequences: It cuts them off from most public funding, including tens of millions flowing into Pennsylvania from settlements with drug companies that fueled the opioid crisis. It minimizes their ability to prevent diseases including HIV and hepatitis. And it holds back the organizations that interact most closely with drug users, and which are ideally positioned to provide a broad range of help  from overdose-reversing naloxone to wound care to shepherding them into treatment.

Ken McGarvey, a former state public health official, believes the September overdoses proved it.

Local officials responded with a roundtable to warn of the dangers of unexpectedly potent drugs, and to stress the availability of test strips and naloxone from police and drug treatment providers.

But McGarvey and numerous others interviewed for this article saw it as much too little, too late. They argue that, for one, its unrealistic to expect illegal drug users to go to police or drug treatment providers for naloxone and test strips.

They contend the deaths highlight a serious problem: a severe shortage of ground-level efforts to directly engage with drug users.

There needs to be a street outreach program in these counties that understands where the people that are using drugs are, makes contact with them, gets the naloxone into their hands, McGarvey says. There are tools available, but we are just not using them.

McGarvey, who is retired from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, became involved with syringe services during the early response to AIDS. As a member of the advisory board for the Cumberland-Perry Drug and Alcohol Commission, he remains focused on the harm reduction response to the opioid overdose crisis.

The U.S. has had little success in reversing the tide of fatal overdoses, which were expected to total about 112,000 in the United States last year  more than double the total in 2015  and more than 5,100 in Pennsylvania.

Aside from curbing the flow of fentanyl and providing access to treatment, the response now centers on harm reduction, including saturating communities with life-saving naloxone. The administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Biden support expanding the availability of nalaxone.

Pennsylvania has bought and distributed well over a million free doses, with much of it going to emergency responders, who in turn have reversed tens of thousands of overdoses. Much has also gone to county drug and alcohol departments, which are entrusted with community-level distribution.

McGarvey has long been troubled by what he sees as a failure on the part of most counties to get naloxone directly into the hands of drug users.

The state, he says, is purchasing it, they are making it available. The problem is, the infrastructure to get it out on the street, into the hands of the people who need it, in a lot of these counties does not exist.

In Dauphin County, officials declined to give in-depth answers to written questions about what they have done to get naloxone and newly legalized fentanyl and xylazine test strips directly to drug users.

In a written statement, the county said it gives naloxone to drug treatment providers, and plans to contract with two organizations to do community outreach to those who have substance use disorder but are not accessing treatment.

Dauphin plans to partner with Lebanon, Cumberland and Perry counties on a contract that will include naloxone distribution, according to Jack Carroll, who heads drug and alcohol treatment for Cumberland-Perry. Still, he doubts it will be easy to find a capable outreach organization.

I think street-level outreach is a great idea. But its hard to do. There are not a lot of organizations that are set up to do that, he says.

McGarvey believes syringe services such as the Lancaster Harm Reduction Project, which is also responsible for the effort in Harrisburg and the one Klunk worked for in York, are ideally suited.

Theyre a great agency. Their heart is in it. Its just that theyre small, they dont have the resources, he says.

The organization has six part-time employees and two full-timers counting the director, Melinda Zipp. It has a $350,000 annual budget, nearly all of it donated. With that, it sends teams three times per week to Harrisburg, York and Lancaster, with a fourth day spent restocking supplies.

Zipp says she has received overtures from counties regarding distribution of naloxone and test strips. But she worries, for one, that accepting the money will come with conditions that will interfere with distributing syringes.

Our funding is constantly in jeopardy because of grey areas in the law, she says.

That danger materialized early this year in Westmoreland County, where a syringe service was told it would receive $150,000 in opioid settlement money. It planned to use it to hire more staff to help people and families dealing with addiction and recovery. But after a news article about the effort to legalize syringe services featured the organization, county commissioners pulled the money, citing legal concerns, according to Spotlight PA.

At the same time, Lakita Davis-Jones, Pennsylvanias secretary of drug and alcohol programs, contends opioid settlement money can go to syringe services, as long as they put it toward their other services.

She says the Shapiro administration backs syringe services, which she calls services that we rally behind and that we truly support.

Part of what [the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs] and the Shapiro organization are trying to do is normalize the idea of harm reduction, according to Davis-Jones.

To that end, her department plans to look more closely at how counties spend their streams of state and federal funds aimed at addiction and recovery.

Were going to ask additional questions, really trying to understand a little bit more about their perspectives on harm reduction, she says. We dont want naloxone sitting in somebodys cabinet and then expiring.

Theres other hope on the horizon, although of a kind that can be exceedingly slow to arrive.

A bill advancing in the state House, still far from final approval, would legalize syringe services.

Its cosponsored by state Rep. Jim Struzzi, a Republican from rural western Pennsylvania who once opposed syringe services, but changed his mind after visiting a program.

It was not just someone handing out needles on the street corner. It was an actual organized program where they bring people in and they talked to them about recovery, says Struzzi, who cites studies which found people who cross paths with syringe services are much more likely to enter treatment.

Still, syringe services are subject to new pushback. Some local officials in Philadelphia, for example, argue they intensify problems in already troubled neighborhoods, including used needles littering the ground and getting into the hands of children.

But others counter the majority of neighborhood residents support their presence, knowing they actively collect used needles and respond to emergencies such as overdoses, sparing local residents from having to intervene.

Allison Klunk, 54, is another who, like Struzzi, experienced a transformation after seeing harm reduction up close. At the very beginning, she felt like she was handing out loaded syringes. But her thoughts would return to her son.

I would think maybe he would have appreciated some love and someone saying, Look, I want you to stay as safe as you can, she says.
Over 3,300 Lehigh Valley and northwest Jersey residents remain without power Thursday afternoon after strong, gusty winds and significant downpours overnight knocked down utility lines across the region.

The National Weather Service Wednesday issued a wind advisory, which was in effect until 4 a.m. Thursday, ahead of the storm. Winds began Wednesday in the south during the day, increasing to 25 to 30 mph from the west, and then gusting up to 45 mph overnight, the weather service forecast at the airport stated.

Continued blustery winds  totaling up to 45 mph forecast until late Thursday afternoon  are making it difficult to keep figures down with more folks expected to lose power as the day goes on, Met-Ed spokesman Todd Meyers told lehighvalleylive.com.

A Met-Ed map at 2 p.m. showed 461 without power in Northampton County and 14 others without power in Lehigh County.

The utility, which is a First Energy company, has since brought in crews from the York, Pennsylvania, area, as well as line workers from a Met-Ed sister company, to help keep up with restoration efforts. The public is being urged to stay away from any downed wires.

JCP&L, another First Energy company, at 2 p.m. still had 1,506 customers without power.

As of 1:15 p.m., PPL had 1,206 customers without power in Lehigh County and another 168 affected in Northampton County. That was down from 900 without power in Northampton County and 3,072 without power in Lehigh County at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Restoration times vary by the particular outage, PPL spokeswoman Tracie Witter told lehighvalleylive.com.

Crews might get some relief from at least the windy conditions Thursday evening, but temps still are predicted to be chilly.

At the weather services climate station at Lehigh Valley International Airport outside Allentown, forecasters predict Thursday evening will be mostly clear, with a low temperature around 25 degrees. A west wind is forecast to be 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. AccuWeather is making similar predictions for Thursday night, calling for a low temperature of 24 degrees.

Friday is predicted to be much more milder, with clear skies and a high temperature near 49 degrees, according to both weather agencies.

Current radar:

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
More than 1,800 properties are in the dark Friday morning in Northampton County  the result of Wednesdays gusty storm and a tree fall onto utility lines, companies say.

As of 8 a.m. Friday, Met-Ed, a First Energy company, is reporting 1,846 Northampton County residents and six Lehigh County residents without power. The area effected appears to be mostly in the Slate Belt and Nazareth areas, as well as some folks in Williams Township. Met-Eds six customers effected in Lehigh County are all in Lynn Township.

However, not all these are the result of Wednesdays storm, which initially left a total of more than 7,000 Lehigh Valley residents without power. Met-Ed spokesman Todd Meyers told lehighvalleylive.com as of 8 p.m. Thursday, 93 Northampton County and the six in Lehigh County all remained without power still due to the storm.

An additional 1,753 Northampton County customers are the result of the tree falling around 7:30 a.m. Friday onto power lines along Allegheny Road, off Route 611 in Upper Mount Bethel Township. Crews needed to proactively de-energize some power lines to make things safe for repairs and the public, Meyers said.

PPL, meanwhile, has 10 Northampton County customers and another 34 customers in Lehigh County still without power due to the storm. The Northampton County folks also are in the Slate Belt and Williams Township, as well as in Lower Saucon. Lehigh County effected customers appear scattered throughout, including in Bethlehem and Allentown.

JCP&L, another First Energy company, has 622 Warren County customers without power Friday morning, according to its outage map.

Spokespeople for the utilities told lehighvalleylive.com crews continue to work diligently to restore all customers. Meyers said Met-Ed brought in backup workers from the York, Pennsylvania, area, as well as line workers from a Met-Ed sister company, to help keep up restoration efforts.

The public is being urged to stay away from any downed wires.

Wednesdays storm began Wednesday with winds in the south, increasing to 25 to 30 mph from the west, and then gusting up to 45 mph overnight into Thursday, the National Weather Service at Lehigh Valley International Airport, just outside Allentown, had said.

Continued blustery winds  totaling up to 45 mph forecast  continued until late Thursday afternoon, according to the weather service and AccuWeather. Friday, however, is expected to be much milder, sunny and clear with a high of around 47 degrees, according to the weather service and AccuWeather.

The next chance for rain, according to both weather agencies, is Friday night and Saturday.

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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
A Laois drama group is returning to their local stage after four years, to present A Night of Theatre for the local community to enjoy this March.

Mountmellick Drama Group is holding its first production since Covid hit in 2020, a medley of three entertaining One-Act Plays in the same evening at Mountmellick Community Arts Centre.

The three plays are My Narrator by Norm Foster, The Quiet Land by Malachy McKenna, and Dead Mans Bells by Meabh de Brun.

The first is a fast paced romantic comedy, where a socially inept clothing salesman attempts to hit it off with a talented painter stuck in a rut, aided by their inner voices narrating the tale.

The second is a tale of two elderly farmers, old friends, rivals and neighbours who meet over a gate and confront each other with some heartbreaking truths.

Finally, Dead Mans Bells is a dark comedy, a gothic rural tale of inheritance, rivalry and misdeeds told by three sisters.

The Night of Theatre runs for two nights, Thursday and Friday, March 14 and 15. Curtains up 8 pm nightly, in the beautifully restored vintage surrounds of Mountmellick Community Arts Centre.

Tickets are 15, with concession tickets at 10, on sale at the door.

Patricia Conroy, Mountmellick Drama Group.

Patricia Conroy is a member of Mountmellick Drama Group.

This is our first production since 2020 and a prelude to our hosting the Bostik All-Ireland Confined Finals in April, she said.

We look forward to seeing everyone there, she said.

The club is holding a Table Quiz in aid of the Confined Finals, at The Druid Inn on Friday March 8 at 9pm, table of four 40.

The confined finals offer a week of top Irish amateur drama clubs competing for a national title.

It runs from Thursday April 18, to Friday April 26, at 8pm nightly, ending in style with an Awards Night on Saturday April 27.

Online tickets can be booked from March 1 on www.mountmellickdramafestival.ie
A call claiming explosives had been planted in the Minister for Justice's house was traced back to a number associated with the man accused of making this call, a jury has heard.

Michael Murray (52), formerly of Seafield Road, Killiney, Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of knowingly making a false report giving rise to an apprehension for the safety of someone else while he was imprisoned in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise on March 7, 2021.

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard that an anonymous caller claiming to be from the Irish National Liberation Organization had rung the Samaritans claiming explosives had been planted at the home of the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.

It is the State's case that Mr Murray made this call, which was later traced to the Midlands Prison. Mr Murray denies any wrong doing.

The trial has heard evidence that gardai conducted searches and no explosives were found.

On the third day of the trial on Thursday, the court heard from Noel Reilly, who worked in the IT department of the Irish Prison Service at the time of the call.

Mr Reilly told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that he was asked to prepare a report showing outgoing calls to the Samaritans made from Midlands Prison when the bomb threat was made.

Mr Reilly said an outgoing call from the prison matching the time that the bomb threat was made as well as its duration was made using a unique prisoner number associated with Mr Murray.

He explained that before a call can be made from within an Irish prison, prisoners must enter a number given to them to access the phone system.

He said my observation would be that Mr Murray made the phone call to the Samaritans at the exact time.

He also told Mr Gillane that when a prisoner makes a personal phone call it is recorded.

Calls to the Samaritans and solicitors are not recorded, they are logged in the prison's database. Mr Reilly said prisoners would be aware which kind of calls would be recorded and which wouldn't be.

In cross examination, Mr Reilly agreed with Garett Baker SC, defending, that it is possible that someone else could use another prisoner's phone number.

He agreed with Mr Baker that a prisoner could contact the Samaritans using someone else's identification number and that Mr Reilly was relying on numbers rather than actual identities or CCTV footage.

Mr Baker put to Mr Reilly that the system was prehistoric and is patched up as you go along. Mr Reilly agreed that the system is old, but said it is continually improved and any issues that may arise are looked into and dealt with.

Defence counsel also put to Mr Reilly that at the time of the bomb threat there had been an issue in the system where prisoners were able to make multiple calls to their solicitors each day when it should have been limited to once daily.

Mr Reilly accepted this, adding the issue was fixed a few weeks later on March 22, 2021. There will always be bugs that will be identified and rectified, he said.

The court also heard of a previous issue in the system in 2010, where conversations between prisoners and solicitors had been recorded. This had happened after prisoners had entered the contact details of their solicitors under the spots for personal contacts.

The trial continues before Judge Patricia Ryan and a jury.


Durrow Post Office will temporarily close next Friday as the current premises is being sold.



It comes as An Post has struggled to appoint a Postmaster for the local post office with customers being asked to transfer to Abbeyleix.



Commenting on the situation Sean Fleming TD said: "An Post have advertised the position of Postmaster a number of times and have made direct contact with local businesses. So far, they have been unable to find a person to take up the new contract as Postmaster for Durrow.

"However, they are continuing the efforts to appoint a Postmaster and they are hopeful that the service will be restored soon.

"I will keep in contact with An Post and the Minister on this very important issue for Durrow. It is vital that a Post Office be re-opened for the people and community in Durrow as soon as possible."



Durrow-based Cllr Ollie Clooney said he was confident that the closure was only a short-term measure. He said he was "100%" sure that it would reopen giving an estimated timeframe of a month. The independent county councillor told the Leinster Express / Laois Live that a local shop is in advanced talks to take up the contract.



In 2021 Bank of Ireland announced the closure of the Durrow branch while the local Credit Union curtailed their hours last year.



The temporary closure of the Post Office in Durrow will take place from Friday, March 8.
Charlie Bird, journalist and motor neurone disease (MND) advocate, has announced he will be leading a charity walk for volunteers this April.

Charlie announced the news on X, formerly Twitter, that he will be leading the Hand of Friendship Walk for Samaritan volunteers in Co Wicklow this April 21 at midday.

I am so excited to be asked to lead the Samaritans walk in April in Avondale, Charlie said. Samaritans is a great organisation and its branches and volunteers deserve our support for extending the hand of friendship.

Last April, more than 500 people joined Charlie as he led his first Hand of Friendship Walk for Samaritans in Avondale Forest Park.

Samaritans operates a 24-hour freephone helpline on 116 123, offering a listening ear to anyone who is struggling to cope.

Charlie has said he gave his support to the charity after he found himself in a dark place when he was diagnosed with MND.

Sarah OToole, Executive Director for Samaritans Ireland, paid tribute to Charlie for all the support he has given to the organisation over the last 18 months.

Charlie is an inspiration to so many people and his determination to continue to support us and others is incredible, she said.

As well as this latest announcement, Charlie will also be climbing Croagh Patrick, Co Mayo, on April 2 for Pieta House and the Irish Motor Neurones Association.

I want to extend the hand of friendship to all carers across the country. I now have first hand experience of the valuable work they do.



I am still hanging in. And in April I will be leading a walk in Wicklow for all Samaritan volunteers. Details to follow  Charlie Bird (@charliebird49) February 29, 2024

The 74-year-old is now wheelchair bound, as he shared on February 11, 2024: "My health has changed completely. I now have to be hoisted in and out of bed."

The former chief RTE News correspondent was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2021 and now hosts many charity events and fundraisers in aid of numerous charitable organisations.
Laois will see its newest St Patricks Day parade this year as The Heath is set to host its first ever running of the famous tradition this March 17.

The parade is the brainchild of local woman Samantha Whelan, who has assembled a hard-working group of volunteers to bring the event to life.

I have been saying for years that The Heath should have their own St Patricks Day Parade.

We have so much to be proud of in our area. The Heath is a thriving community, and it is time we show what we have in our area. If we didnt get started this year then another twelve months would pass without it, so this year I decided to do something, Samantha told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The St Patricks Day parade is the latest initiative to come from The Heath GAA clubs Health and Wellbeing committee, which has been very active in recent months. The opening of the clubs floodlit walking track coincided with the launch of Operation Transformation, which saw up to 150 people register to walk the track each evening as part of the Ireland Lights Up campaign.

As well as that, there have been exercise classes arranged for all ages, from chair pilates for older members of the community, to strength and conditioning classes and regular pilates for others. A weekly game of cards has also been set up, while it is hoped to see a Comhaltas group take flight in the next few weeks.

The idea for the parade was one of the first ideas to be floated in this new community initiative, but has had to wait for the famous date to come around before it could be realised. It has taken a lot of work and support to get it to this stage.

We wrote to all our local businesses, organisations, and community groups to participate in this historic event explains Samantha.

To participate, you will need to create or design your own banners, floats and signs, and to really stand out, you could maybe add costumes and props to enhance the overall parade experience. This is for the whole community to come out and join in and if you are not taking part, we are asking people to stand along the road to welcome the parade on its way down to the church.

The plan for the event is to begin at 8.45am at the GAA club grounds, before proceeding to the church for 9.30am mass. Refreshments will be served afterwards in the adjoining parish hall.

We contacted Laois County Council and Cllr Paschal McEvoy kindly gave us funds towards the parade. We are also very grateful to local business Booth Concrete for their donation. This was a great boost for us which we were very appreciative of, she said.

If you are interested in entering a float or finding out more information, you can do so by phoning Samantha on 086-3667583 or email theheathparade@gmail.com.
TWO LITTLE dogs were left abandoned in a Limerick city centre apartment when its occupants moved out.

A staffie dog and a chihuahua who are the best of friends are being cared for at the Limerick Animal Welfare (LAW) sanctuary in Kilfinane.

It comes after representatives of homelessness charity Focus Ireland made the discovery of the dogs when they were turning around the apartment for a new tenant.

The charity notified officers at Henry Street garda station, who in turn contacted LAW.

Marie O'Connor, the manager of the sanctuary said she was "shocked" to hear about the dogs being left there.

It's believed the pooches - aged around two - had been alone in the apartment for around a week.

They are safely in the sanctuary now, where its staff have given them names. Misty is the staffie and Jake is the chihuahua.

"They are such an unlikely pair. The big staffie was clinging to the little chihuahua," Marie said, "We had a phone call from Henry Street garda station. The officer said Focus Ireland had gone into the apartment and it had been left for around a week before the dogs were found."

It was Wednesday this week when they were moved to LAW's sanctuary.

"When the guards brought the two dogs out, they just looked so sad, clinging to each other," she recalls.

"We are seeing a lot of dogs being abandoned. We are seeing a lot of surrenders. It seems to be a bit stricter with landlords and allowing pets. People are moving accommodation. Landlords are getting out of the rental market and tenants in new homes are not being allowed to bring their pets with them. So they are in a desperate situation with nowhere for their pets to go," explained Marie.

The sanctuary manager admitted the facility in south Limerick is at full capacity, and in order to accommodate Misty and Jake, they had to move a pregnant dog out to the kitchen, and put the pair in the vacant kennel.

"We couldn't not take these dogs in, because the guards said there was nowhere for them to go. The pound is full. The alternative does not bear thinking about," she said.

Now, the charity is seeking a good home for the dogs - together.

If you can help out, please telephone 087-6371044. Or email limerickanimalwelfareadoptions@gmail.com.
The Mayflower in Drumshanbo to host The Traditional Irish Music course charity concert 2024 on March 08, presenting Ceol o Chroi Music from the Heart.

The concert will raise money for four charities: The Society of St Vincent de Paul, North West STOP, Sligo Cancer Support Centre and The Capuchin Day Centre.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul provides a wide range of services for vulnerable people through local offices, shops, resource centres, housing, daycare, social housing and holiday schemes, amongst other things.

North West STOP is a voluntary community-based organisation that works to prevent suicide by informing, educating and promoting positive mental health and provides counselling free of charge for all ages.

Sligo Cancer Support Centre is a place of peace and hope where people with cancer and their families can access support, counselling, holistic therapies and healing workshops in a caring and tranquil environment in the North West of Ireland.

The Capuchin Day Centre provide meals Monday to Saturday inclusive (including Bank Holidays). In addition to a designated family area where families can enjoy a nutritious meal in comfort and safety, The Capuchin Day Centre also provides childrens clothing, nappies, baby food and basic school essentials.

The Irish Traditional Music course students are alive with music, song and dance. Under their tutor, Mossie Martin, they are busy practising and arranging music and songs.

The Irish Traditional Music course is a full-time VTOS course that students participate in for two years (September  May), leading to a QQI Level 5 Music Award. The course is open to people of all ages and abilities (including complete beginners) playing all instruments.

Several other courses are available in the Drumshanbo Further Education and Training Centre  Business Administration, Tourism with Business and Health, Nutrition and Food Science. All these courses can be accessed through the VTOS Scheme  for more information, please visit vtosleitrim.ie.

Tickets, which cost 10, are available at the door (U12s free) or through Eventbrite and donations may be made through iDonate.
A panto performer who sexually assaulted a man who fell asleep at a house party after he gave the victim cannabis has had his three-year jail sentence halved by the Court of Appeal

Dan Horan (32), of Slievecorragh, Hollywood, County Wicklow, pleaded guilty in July of last year at Naas Circuit Criminal Court to the sexual assault that occurred in Naas in July 2020.

At the sentencing hearing, the court heard that a number of people went to sleep at the house party and Horan and his victim were among the last still awake before the victim passed out on a bed in the house.

At around 6am, the victims girlfriend went looking for him and when she went into a room, she saw her boyfriend asleep with his jeans and underwear pulled down and Horan, who was fully clothed, rubbing the victims penis.

She screamed and Horan jumped up and ran out of the room, the court was told.

The complainant was awoken by his girlfriend and became extremely upset when he realised what had happened.

In February of last year, Judge Mary OMalley Costello sentenced Horan to four-and-a-half years imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended for two years.

Horan, who had no previous convictions, had worked as marketing manager and starred in several pantos.

Horan had initially denied carrying out the attack, claiming that he believed the complainant had consented, but admitted his guilt on the day his trial was due to get underway.

The victim, who was 26 years-old when Horan sexually assaulted him, told the court that he was left 'living in a nightmare and lost the joy for life' after the attack and criticised Horan for waiting two years to admit his guilt.

Horan appealed the length of his sentence, with his lawyers submitting that the pre-mitigation headline sentence of six-and-a-half years was too high for the gravity of the single assault, which the trial judge had placed in the upper end of the mid-range of offending.

At the Court of Appeal yesterday (Thursday, February 29), Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said the court would quash the original sentence and reposition the offence in the middle of the mid-range of offending instead.

Ms Justice Kennedy said the trial judge fell into error when fixing a headline sentence of six-and-a-half years imprisonment before she reduced that original sentence to three years in jail.

In re-sentencing Horan, Ms Justice Kennedy said the court would nominate a four-and-a-half year headline sentence before discounting 18 months in mitigation.

The judge said the court would suspend a further 18 months of the three-year sentence to encourage Horans continuing rehabilitation.

Ms Justice Kennedy noted Horan was a prisoner with 'enhanced' status.

Ms Justice Kennedy said the complainant had felt 'confusion, hopelessness, fear and embarrassment and continues to do so' because of Horans assault.

Despite the reduction, Ms Justice Kennedy said Horan had 'taken advantage' of the 'vulnerable' complainant after he had supplied his victim with cannabis before assaulting him when he slept.

At the appeal hearing yesterday, Maurice Coffey SC, for Horan, said that while it was argued the trial judge had set the headline sentence too high, he was 'not trying to play down the gravity of the offence or effect on the victim in this case'.

Mr Coffey said there had been no violence, threat of violence or bribery by Horan when he committed the offence.

Mr Coffey said his client had pleaded guilty  'negating the need for the complainant to give evidence' - had no previous convictions at the time of the offence and none when on bail before his trial was due to commence.

Counsel said the sentence imposed reflected that of a 'greater crime' and that while compensation had been paid to the complainant, this was not an attempt to 'buy your way out of jail'.

Mr Coffey said Horan had been in custody for 13 months, which had been 'a very difficult situation for him as a gay man with no previous convictions.'

Counsel said his client had since settled well in prison and was now an 'enhanced-status prisoner' acting as a receptionist for visitors coming to the Midlands Prison.

Mr Coffey said his clients plea 'was late but was still of high value' and that Horan had taken time to come to that decision after attending counselling.

Counsel submitted that his client had apologised to the complainant, his girlfriend and his family for his actions and was remorseful.

Sarah Connolly BL, for the DPP had submitted the sentence imposed on Horan was 'well-within the margin for the sentencing judge for what is a very serious offence.'

Ms Connolly said the complainant 'thought he was among friends' and that a 'grave breach of trust' had been committed by Horan.

Ms Connolly said the trial judge noted when sentencing Horan that the guilty plea was 'very late'.

Ms Connolly said it was 'not a case of misreading the signals, as the complaint was in no condition to give his consent and his partner had difficulty rousing him from sleep'.

"It was sexual assault, full stop," said Ms Connolly.

"He [Horan] only stopped when the complainants partner came in. He was caught red-handed," submitted counsel.

At the sentence hearing, the victim said it was impossible to summarise in words the devastating impact the sexual assault had on him.

Horan took the stand to say he had not set out to do anything 'sinister or evil' on the night but took full responsibility for what he did.

Horan said that in the aftermath of the sex attack he wrongly believed what he did was consensual but after going to counselling he realised that this was not the case.

"I wholeheartedly apologise for the pain I caused to you and your family," Horan told the complainant.
Ireland has welcomed the European Commissions decision to release funding to the UNs Palestinian aid agency.

The commission said on Friday that it would proceed with paying 50 million euro (43 million) of its 82 million (70 million) euro envelope towards the agency next week and increase emergency support to Palestinians by 68 million euro (58 million) this year by funding other organisations.

It had also allocated 125 million euro (107 million) of humanitarian aid for Palestinians this year and contracted the first 16 million euro (14 million) of this package on Friday.

More than a dozen countries suspended funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) after allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

The commission had originally been due to give 82 million euro to UNRWA on Thursday but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit.

The aid organisation has told the commission that it agreed to the launch of an audit to be conducted by EU-appointed external experts.

Ireland, which provided 20 million euro (17 million) in core funding to UNRWA last month, had repeatedly called for other states to continue financially supporting the agency.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar said increasing funding to Gaza was the right thing to do.

He said that he would raise the appalling atrocities in Gaza during the traditional visit to the White House for St Patricks Day.

As we saw with yesterdays tragic events, people in Gaza are in desperate need of urgent humanitarian support. UNWRA is essential in getting it to them.

In the face of such enormous need, increasing aid now, as Ireland and the commission have done, is the right thing to do. Ireland and the European Commission are very much aligned on this.

I am glad that the commission has said that it will also step up its aid to Palestinians this year by 68 million euro  to be channelled through partners like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent  and I very much hope that the further amounts due to UNWRA later this year will also be issued without delay, once the UNs internal investigation into serious allegations about UNWRA staff and the independent review group led by Catherine Colonna have reported.

In particular, I thank the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, and Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, for taking this decision.

Palestinian people are not responsible for the crimes committed by Hamas and should not be subject to any form of collective punishment. Doing so would be a violation of international law and profoundly wrong and unjust.

Mr Varadkar also said of the White House visit on Friday: The reason why I go is so that I can talk to him about how Irish people feel and what they think about different issues. So that might have been Brexit a few years ago, where we really wanted to help the Americans around that, or the peace process going back 10-20 years ago.

I know something that Irish people feel really strongly about is the appalling atrocities that are occurring, quite frankly, in Gaza.

And I want to talk to President Biden about that and ask him to use influence that he has that I dont have particularly to put pressure on Israel to agree to ceasefire, and Hamas as well, he told Virgin Media.

Irelands deputy premier Micheal Martin welcomed the commissions continuation of funding which he described as urgently needed by the Palestinian people.

In a statement, Mr Martin said: After four-and-a-half months of relentless violence and displacement, civilians in Gaza are living in conditions that no human being should have to endure.

Against this backdrop, the role and mandate of UNRWA is more important than ever. It is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.

It is clear that UNRWA is the one organisation that has the bandwidth and capacity to provide services and distribute aid comprehensively across Gaza and the wider region.

Mr Martin, who is also the Irish foreign affairs minister, said he welcomed engagement between the UN and the commission on investigating the allegations against UNRWA staff.

He said it was essential that all UN member states co-operated in full with the investigation and the review.

Mr Martin added: This is a critical moment  for desperate civilians in Gaza, and for the stability of the wider region.

The international community needs to step up now to support UNRWA, so it can fulfil its vital and life-saving mandate.
Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin has called for a debate on reforming Northern Irelands powersharing institutions.

The Foreign Affairs Minister said young adults have had very little opportunity to see politics deliver for them and the public has zero tolerance for another cycle of suspension, disenfranchisement and political torpor.

The DUP exercised its veto under powersharing at Stormont to blockade the institutions for two years in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The party ended its boycott last month, allowing for devolution to return.

Speaking at the Alliance Party conference in Belfast, Mr Martin said he had been doing a lot of thinking about how Northern Irelands political institutions could become more stable.

Though he had refrained from discussing such reforms during the years when powersharing had collapsed, he said it is now time to discuss improvements

With it in place, I feel that the opportunity to begin a meaningful conversation about reform presents itself, the Tanaiste told the conference.

We have had two extended periods of years of one party and then another blocking the formation of the Executive. We just cannot have another such period.

I dont think any party wants that and I am certain that the public would have zero tolerance for another cycle of suspension, disenfranchisement and political torpor.

And therefore I have said it makes sense for us to look now at what we can do to make the institutions more stable and effective while, of course, retaining the agreements foundational commitment to meaningful powersharing and inclusiveness.

He said Northern Ireland is undeniably a better place since the Good Friday Agreement, and any reform discussions will need to involve all the parties, civic voices and both governments.

We cannot have any more one-sided negotiations only involving one party or one perspective. This is a plural place and its plurality must be respected.

Of course change, evolution, in the current arrangements is delicate. Any discussion will raise complex and sensitive issues.

If such discussions are framed as excluding or getting around one party or one tradition, they will rightly fail.

We cannot be reckless with the delicate balances and protections at the heart of the agreement.

He said there are serious questions over the power a single party has to block the functioning of the Assembly, over whether the roles of first minister and deputy first minister should be replaced with joint first ministers, and whether the Petition of Concern can be returned to its original intent of protecting minority rights.

He said any discussion of reform of powersharing would need to be a serious, collective undertaking, but also warned that caution cannot lead to inertia.

Unfortunately, there is a tendency among some to assume that the Executive cant work, wont work.

This attitude is informed, in part, by scepticism but, sadly, it is informed also by experience.

This is a dangerous idea to allow to fester. The default assumption cannot be that the institutions are unlikely to work  the default assumption must be that they will last.

As I have said, I believe it is time for that conversation to start.
ORVANA PROVIDES EXPLORATION UPDATE





EXHIBITING AT BOOTH #2243, PDAC 2024 CONVENTION IN TORONTO, MARCH 3-6

Announces Results of Annual General and Special Shareholders' Meeting

TSX:ORV

TORONTO, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Orvana Minerals Corp. (TSX: ORV) (the "Company" or "Orvana") is pleased to report exploration updates from Taguas, Argentina, and announces that it will be exhibiting at the 2024 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) International Conference being held in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from March 3 to 6, 2024.

PDAC 2024

Orvana cordially invites shareholders, investors, brokers, analysts, and interested parties, to learn more about its operations and growth perspectives via brownfield and greenfield exploration programs, by visiting booth #2243 in the Investors Exchange area of PDAC.

The PDAC International Convention, Trade Show & Investors Exchange is the world's leading convention for people, companies and organizations in, or connected with, mineral exploration. For more information about the conference, visit: http://pdac.ca/convention

TAGUAS PROJECT - EXPLORATION UPDATE

Project Background

Taguas Au-Ag project is located in the northern sector of the El Indio-Valle del Cura mineralized Belt (Argentina-Chile), Iglesia Department, San Juan Province, Argentina, 25km North of the Veladero mine and the Pascua-Lama project. It has been described as a high-sulfidation epithermal gold-silver system hosted in Miocene age volcaniclastic rocks (Kowalik and Simpson, 20213). The Au-Ag mineralization occurs in breccias and silicified structures with a dominant NE-SO orientation. The supergene-oxidized gold-silver mineralization, that extends to approximately 200 m below surface, consists of subvertical, northeast striking high-grade mineralized structures surrounded by an envelope of disseminated mineralization. Below the oxidation depth, mineralization continues as gold-silver and hypogene sulfides (Kowalik and Simpson, 20213).

The El Indio-Valle del Cura Belt has historically been explored for shallow epithermal Au-Ag mineralization, however it has been little exploration in the search for porphyry-type deposits that could be potentially associated with the epithermal systems.

In recent years, deep drilling in the northern sector of the belt (now denominated Link belt) permitted the discovery of the Valeriano mineralized Cu-Au-Mo porphyry (1,413.0 Mt @ 0.5% Cu, 0.2 g/t Au & 0.96 g/t Ag, Inferred, Nur, 2023) that occur below a high sulfidation epithermal lithocap with Au-Ag mineralization (32.1 Mt @ 0.54 g/t Au & 2.43 g/t Ag, Inferred, Nur, 20234). This project, owned by Atex Resources, is located 10km North of Taguas project, within Chilean territory. Valeriano porphyry deposit at depth is represented by a granodiorite and associated porphyries, the development of a strong stockwork of quartz veinlets, potassic alteration and Cu sulfide mineralization (Burgoa et al., 20151).

Orvana is repositioning its strategy at Taguas. The Company had been focused on the oxides portion of the property, but it is reconsidering the strategy, now potentially including sulphides resources, plus deep copper-gold porphyry opportunities.

Hypogene sulfides mineralization

Over 63,000 meters of drilling have been conducted across different targets on the property. At Cerros Taguas, both the supergene-oxidized gold-silver mineralization within the first 200 meters beneath the surface and the gold-silver and hypogene sulfides mineralization have been drilled.

Both the oxidized portion and the hypogene sulfide portion shows a predominant advanced argillic alteration. Next exploration steps will involve a spectral analysis campaign to refine alteration types definition, plus geo-metallurgical tests with oxide and sulfide ores. Once the combined oxides-sulfides opportunity is understood, the next steps for the project will be determined.

Potential copper-gold porphyry opportunities

High molybdenum values have been recorded in different sectors of the Taguas project (Figure 1). In shallow drilling intervals of Cerros Taguas, flaky molybdenite has been recognized associated with alunite-pyrite-enargite assemblages that fill fractures and conform the cement of hydrothermal breccias. In deeper intervals, molybdenite occurs in quartz+molybdenite veinlets with straight walls, which seem to be typical B veins of porphyry deposits (Gustafson and Hunt, 19752).

Picture DDH From To Mo (g/t) A TADD-168 442 444 243 B TADD-168 295 297 236 C TADD-172 413 415 337 D TADD-172 204 205 406 E TADD-172 200 201 210

Table 1. Molybdenum values from selected samples shown in figure 1.

Taguas exploration update was prepared under the supervision of Raul Alvarez (Orvana Director of Exploration & Technical Services), Registered EurGeol number 1,614, and a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

Quality Control

The reported drilling intercepts were carried out during the Goldfields JV campaign. Gold Fields sampled 5,630 drill core intervals from 17 drill holes during the 2011-2012 summer field season.

The core sampling was performed following a protocol designed for the project. Company personal were not allowed to carry any metallic rings when sampling the core. The sampling intervals did not cross defined lithological/alteration limits and the samples varied between 0.5 m to 2.0 m in length. The geologist performed detailed core logging, marked the sample intervals and the core sample cut lines. The cut line had to be perpendicular to lamination on the surface of the core. A sampling form was completed with the sample number and sample length intervals. Half core samples were identified with a unique sequential sample number taken from a sample tag book and tickets remaining in the book were completed with hole number depth from, depth to, sample length. The samples were placed in plastic bags with four identical tags stapled at the top of the bag and sealed. The same number was written on the side of the bag with a permanent marker. QA/QC samples were inserted and batches of 73 samples were prepared for shipment. The geologist was responsible for supervising the sample loading and completed two identical shipment forms. One form was given to the truck driver and the other form was approved by the chief of the project and stored in a safe area. Upon arrival at the laboratory, the one responsible for the sample reception signed the shipment form (in agreement) and it was sent back to the project.

The sampling carried out during the Goldfields JV campaign included rigorous QA/QC industry standard procedures, consisting of the insertion of certified reference materials, blanks and duplicates samples into the sample stream.

The geologist sent the sample numbers and length intervals to the database administrator who filled in the laboratory preparation and assay forms. The core samples were prepared in the ALS Chemex Laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina. Samples were crushed to 70% minus 2 mm, a 250 g sub sample was riffle-split and pulverized to 85% minus 75m. Samples were assayed at ALS Chemex in La Serena, Chile, by fire assay on a 50 g aliquot with atomic absorption finish. Samples were also analyzed for 48 elements at ALS Chemex in Lima, Peru using ICP AES and ICP MS from a four-acid digestion.

Mr. Ron Simpson independently audited the sample database for location accuracy, down hole survey errors, interval errors and missing sample intervals. The QP also reviewed the sample QA/QC results.

References

1. Burgoa, C., Hopper, D., Ambrus, J., 2015. Exploracion profunda de un Porfido Cu-Au bajo el Litocap Valeriano: Geologia y Zonacion del Sistema Hidrotermal, Region de Atacama, Chile, in: 14 Congreso Geologico Chileno, La Serena, Chile, 36-39. 2. Gustafson, L.B., Hunt, J.P., 1975. The porphyry copper deposit at El Salvador, Chile. Econ. Geol. 70, 857?912. 3. Kowalik, J., Simpson, R., 2021. Independent Technical Report NI 43-101 on the Taguas Project, San Juan, Argentina. Technical Report prepared for Orvana Argentina S.A. https://www.orvana.com/English/operations/Taguas/Technical-Reports/default.aspx 4. Nur, J., 2023. Independent Technical Report for the Valeriano Copper-Gold Project, Atacama Region, Chile. Report prepared for ATEX Resources Inc.

ANNUAL GENERAL AND SPECIAL SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING RESULTS

The Company also announces that, at its annual general and special shareholders' meeting (the "Meeting") held on February 29, 2024, the individuals noted below were elected as directors of the Company. The report on proxies provided by the Company's transfer agent indicated the following:

Michael Davies received 75,124,923 votes (representing 99.82% of votes cast); Alfredo Garcia Gonzalez received 74,356,915 votes (representing 98.80% of votes cast); Robert Metcalfe received 74,110,183 votes (representing 98.47% of votes cast); and Michael Mutchler received 75,117,523 votes (representing 99.81% of votes cast).

Following the Meeting, Mr. Robert Metcalfe was re-appointed as chairman of the board of directors; Mr. Juan Gavidia was re-appointed Chief Executive Officer; Ms. Nuria Menendez was re-appointed Chief Financial Officer; and Mr. Binh Vu was re-appointed Corporate Secretary/VP Legal Affairs, for the ensuing year.

The Company also received 79,120,533 votes (representing 99.32% of votes cast) to re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company's independent auditor for the ensuing year and to authorize the directors to fix the auditor's remuneration; and 73,967,133 votes (representing 98.28% of votes cast) approving the 2018 stock option plan.

For full voting details please see Orvana's voting results as filed on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca

ABOUT ORVANA ? Orvana is a multi-mine gold-copper-silver company. Orvana's assets consist of the producing El Valle and Carles gold-copper-silver mines in northern Spain, the Don Mario gold-silver property in Bolivia, currently in care and maintenance, and the Taguas property located in Argentina. Additional information is available at Orvana's website (www.orvana.com).

The Corporate Presentation is available at: https://www.orvana.com/English/investors/presentations/default.aspx

Cautionary Statements ? Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this presentation constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, potentials, future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "are projected to" or "confident of" be taken or achieved) are not statements of historical fact, but are forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements herein relate to, among other things, Orvana's ability to achieve improvement in free cash flow; the ability to maintain expected mining rates and expected throughput rates at El Valle Plant; the potential to extend the mine life of El Valle and Don Mario beyond their current life-of-mine estimates including specifically, but not limited to, Orvana's ability to optimize its assets to deliver shareholder value; estimates of future production (including without limitation, production guidance), operating costs and capital expenditures; mineral resource and reserve estimates; statements and information regarding future feasibility studies and their results; future transactions; future metal prices; the ability to achieve additional growth and geographic diversification; and future financial performance, including the ability to increase cash flow and profits; future financing requirements; Orvana's ability to close additional financing as necessary; mine development plans; and the possibility of the conversion of inferred mineral resources to mineral reserves.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, which includes, without limitation, as particularly set out in the notes accompanying the Company's most recently filed financial statements. The estimates and assumptions of the Company contained or incorporated by reference in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to the various assumptions set forth herein and in Orvana's most recently filed Management's Discussion & Analysis and Annual Information Form in respect of the Company's most recently completed fiscal year (the "Company Disclosures") or as otherwise expressly incorporated herein by reference as well as: there being no significant disruptions affecting operations, whether due to labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, damage to equipment or otherwise; permitting, development, operations, expansion and acquisitions at El Valle, Don Mario and Taguas being consistent with the Company's current expectations; political developments in any jurisdiction in which the Company operates being consistent with its current expectations; certain price assumptions for gold, copper and silver; prices for key supplies being approximately consistent with current levels; production and cost of sales forecasts meeting expectations; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; labour and materials costs increasing on a basis consistent with Orvana's current expectations; and the availability of necessary funds to execute the Company's plan. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this news release also contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including, without limitation, references to the results of the Company's exploration activities, including but not limited to, drilling results and analyses, mineral resource estimation, conceptual mine plan and operations, internal rate of return, sensitivities, taxes, net present value, potential recoveries, design parameters, operating costs, capital costs, production data and economic potential; the timing and costs for production decisions; permitting timelines and requirements; exploration and planned exploration programs; and the Company's general objectives and strategies.

A variety of inherent risks, uncertainties and factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company and its business, and could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results expressed or implied by forward looking statements. Some of these risks, uncertainties and factors include: the potential impact of global health and global economic conditions on the Company's business and operations, including: our ability to continue operations; and our ability to manage challenges presented by such conditions; the general economic, political and social impacts of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, our ability to support the sustainability of our business including through the development of crisis management plans, increasing stock levels for key supplies, monitoring of guidance from the medical community, and engagement with local communities and authorities; fluctuations in the price of gold, silver and copper; the need to recalculate estimates of resources based on actual production experience; the failure to achieve production estimates; variations in the grade of ore mined; variations in the cost of operations; the availability of qualified personnel; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals and licenses; Orovalle's ability to complete the permitting process of the El Valle Tailings Storage Facility increasing the storage capacity; Orovalle's ability to complete the stabilization project of the legacy open pit wall; the Company's ability to use cyanide in its mining operations; risks generally associated with mineral exploration and development, including the Company's ability to continue to operate the El Valle and/or ability to resume long-term operations at the Carles Mine; the Company's ability to successfully implement a sulphidization circuit and ancillary facilities to process the current oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; the Company's ability to successfully carry out development plans at Taguas; sufficient funding to carry out development plans at Taguas and to process the oxides stockpiles at Don Mario; EMIPA's ability to complete the issuance of the Bonds Program at Bolivia and any additional required financing to commence the OSP; the Company's ability to acquire and develop mineral properties and to successfully integrate such acquisitions; the Company's ability to execute on its strategy; the Company's ability to obtain financing when required on terms that are acceptable to the Company; challenges to the Company's interests in its property and mineral rights; current, pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments or changes in political, social or economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates; general economic conditions worldwide; the challenges presented by global health conditions; fluctuating operational costs such as, but not limited to, power supply costs; current and future environmental matters; and the risks identified in the Company's disclosures. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements and reference should also be made to the Company's Disclosures for a description of additional risk factors.

Any forward-looking statements made herein with respect to the anticipated development and exploration of the Company's mineral projects are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this information are intended to provide an overview of management's expectations with respect to certain future operating activities of the Company and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

SOURCE Orvana Minerals Corp.

29 february 2024 at 17:00

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d?TERRA Announces Executive Changes: Kirk Jowers Appointed CEO, Murray Smith as President and Emily Wright as Chair of the Board





PLEASANT GROVE, Utah, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- d?TERRA is an integrative health and wellness company and world leader in the global essential oils market, today announced significant leadership changes as part of its ongoing commitment to tripling its impact by 2030. Founding Executive and former President Emily Wright will elevate to Chair of the Board, creating an exciting opportunity for d?TERRA as the company prepares for its next wave of worldwide growth and business development. The founders of d?TERRA have also appointed Kirk Jowers as CEO and promoted Murray Smith, former EVP of International, as President. These changes are being made after Corey Lindley retired at the end of 2023 after a successful two-year stint as CEO, formerly serving as the company's CFO and President.

Kirk Jowers joined d?TERRA in 2015, where he was instrumental in guiding the company's expansion and success across Europe, Middle East and Africa, serving as the first non-founder on the company's executive committee and leading the company's international, public, corporate, and government relations. He then held the position of President of d?TERRA's North America markets, where he spearheaded numerous initiatives and achieved significant milestones. A Harvard Law school graduate, Jowers spent the last two years co-founding ADDAX Overland serving as CEO, while also consulting for d?TERRA.

Prior to working with d?TERRA, Kirk served as chief advisor to the University of Utah's Office of Global Engagement, director of federal relations, co-director of the Middle East Institute, and director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, where he was described by the Salt Lake Tribune as being the "most quoted man in Utah." He's served on more than 25 boards, organizations, and committees and served as cofounder of Count My Vote, Real Women Run, and the Campaign Legal Center; chairman and general counsel of Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PACs; an executive committee member of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, and a member of multiple gubernatorial, Attorney General, and congressional advisory teams. As a partner in the Washington, DC, law firm of Caplin & Drysdale, Kirk provided legal and political advice to congressional and gubernatorial candidates, Fortune 500 corporations, nonprofit organizations, and five presidential campaigns. He currently serves as the Honorary Consul for Bulgaria.

"I am truly honored to be entrusted with this position to serve d?TERRA's incredible Wellness Advocates. I will put my whole heart into building on the foundation that the founders have laid and continuing d?TERRA's world changing vision, mission and purpose," Jowers said. "d?TERRA is poised for massive growth and I can't wait to get started."

Murray Smith, newly appointed President, is a graduate of BYU's MBA program and boasts over 30 years of industry experience and a proven track record of driving results. His strategic approach to partnering closely with Wellness Advocates has been instrumental in fostering growth and success. Smith's recent tenure in Europe overseeing all aspects of d?TERRA's operations further underscores his leadership capabilities. Throughout his career, he has held many senior-level positions and is renowned for his passion for building strong teams and collaborating with Wellness Advocates to help them achieve their goals.

Emily Wright, Founding Executive and former President, will be promoted to Chair of the Board. In this capacity, Wright will focus her passions within the business, including setting innovative growth strategies, supporting d?TERRA's independent distributors (also known as Wellness Advocates) and promoting the company's philanthropic efforts through the d?TERRA Healing Hands Foundation. Wright will remain actively involved in day-to-day operations and regularly interface with Jowers and Smith and looks forward to having the time necessary to fully contribute to d?TERRA's global community of Wellness Advocates and Co-Impact Sourcing initiatives.

"We are thrilled to welcome Kirk Jowers as our new CEO and Murray Smith as President," said Emily Wright, Founding Executive and Chair of d?TERRA. "Their combined expertise and dedication will further propel d?TERRA's mission of helping the world heal by empowering individuals and communities worldwide through our natural wellness solutions. As we move into our next phase of massive growth, bold, capable leadership is required. We're on our way to fulfill our mission to triple our impact by 2030 and to expand our influence for good around the globe!"

About d?TERRA

d?TERRA International is an integrative health and wellness company and the world leader in the global aromatherapy and essential oils market. d?TERRA sources, tests, manufactures, and distributes CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade essential oils and essential oil products to over 10 million Wellness Advocates and customers. Through industry-leading, responsible sourcing practices, d?TERRA maintains the highest levels of quality, purity, and sustainability, partnering with local growers around the world through C?-Impact Sourcing. Like and follow d?TERRA on Facebook and Instagram and learn more at www.doterra.com.

SOURCE doTERRA

29 february 2024 at 17:00

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New step in the fishers' wharf reconstruction project at the Port of Cap-aux-Meules in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine





ILES-DE-LA-MADELEINE, QC, Feb. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - Safe access to transportation infrastructure in Quebec and the rest of Canada is of vital importance to coastal communities and businesses.

Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, on behalf of Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant, announced the awarding of a contract to design and prepare plans and specifications for the reconstruction of the fishers' wharf at the Port of Cap-aux-Meules in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine.

The contract, with a value of $2,681,831 million (including taxes), was awarded to the Centre d'affaires Henri IV joint venture by Public Services and Procurement Canada following a public competitive process.

The reconstruction of the fishers' wharf will support the Iles-de-la-Madeleine community and ensure the continuity of operations at the fishers' wharf in the Port of Cap-aux-Meules, while helping to ensure a strong supply chain in Canada.

This step marks concrete progress towards the completion of the fishers' wharf reconstruction project. Drawing up plans and specifications is a crucial step before we can issue a call for tenders to select the contractor who will carry out the reconstruction work.

Quotes

"We're moving forward with the reconstruction of the fishers' wharf at the Port of Cap-aux-Meules in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine because we know it's important for the vitality of the community and its economy, whether talking about fishing or tourism. We're investing to strengthen our supply chains. This will help fishers to market their product, and Canadians to have access to the products they need, when they need them, at affordable prices."

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez

Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant

"The Port of Cap-aux-Meules is the heart and lungs of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, and our government fully recognizes its crucial contribution to economic development from one end of the archipelago to the other. In August 2022, I promised the people of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine that I'd be with them every step of the way, and today I'm proud to be taking stock of a crucial stage in the reconstruction of the fishers' wharf. An adventure that will ultimately lead us to a modern port where our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will carry on our finest maritime traditions.

The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard

"The Cap-aux-Meules fishers' wharf is an important gateway for transportation, fishing and tourism in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, and this contract award marks a crucial milestone in the wharf reconstruction project. This initiative will ensure the sustainability of this infrastructure, which is a fundamental economic pillar for the region."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos

Minister of Public services and Procurement

Associated Links

Visit Transport Canada's website.

Subscribe to e-news or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.

SOURCE Transport Canada - Ottawa

29 february 2024 at 17:57

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SharedFi, the WiFi Money Making App From WaveMAX, to Partner With Zendit and PagaPhone to Offer Mobile Top-ups and eSIMs





WaveMAX Corporation ('WaveMAX'), the pioneer of the world's first shared WiFi network, has relaunched its SharedFi mobile app for users to share and monetize any password-protected WiFi (homespot and/or mobile hotspots) in a revenue share business model with Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) and other partners.

WaveMAX will include Zendit functionality for users to be able to apply revenue share to get mobile top-ups and eSIM (embedded Subscriber Identity Module) from Zendit, a cloud-based prepaid-as-a-service business of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) ('IDT') as part of the initiative just unveiled by Zendit at the Mobile World Congress 2024 (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain.

PagaPhone, a fintech and Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in Mexico, will be the first MVNO to partner with WaveMAX to create synergies with PagaPhone subscribers.

WaveMAX's SharedFi patented technology allows for a shared network of WiFi access points and small cells. The end-user has access to this shared network and, if he has opted in, be impacted with location-based advertising. The user may also pay an ad-free subscription service, or have the service be included as part of their data plan. WiFi access points owners and MNO/MVNO Partners receive a share of the ad, subscription or mobile top-up and eSIM revenue.

"With the Zendit platform, WaveMAX will be able to add prepaid offerings curated from a global digital catalog of over 10,000 goods and services including mobile airtime top-ups, mobile data bundles, digital gift cards, and utilities enabling WaveMAX to participate in this high-growth opportunity by efficiently integrating cross-border prepaid offerings into their SharedFi app," said Emilio del Rio, President of IDT Digital Payments.

"Partnering with WaveMAX-SharedFi will help us create the most inclusive financial and telecommunications ecosystem in Mexico, giving our subscribers the power to choose with whom to make transactions and participate in the advantages of a digital financial world," said Ulises Tellez, PagaPhone President & CEO.

"We are very glad to add mobile top-ups and eSIMS functionality using the Zendit Platform in the SharedFi mobile app, consolidating a business model where we partner with MVNOs like PagaPhone," said Eduardo Velasco, WaveMAX CEO.

About WaveMAX Corporation

WaveMAX is a WiFi-5G sharing company leveraging US patented technology to create an ecosystem monetizing mobile interactions between Telcos, Retailers, Providers, Apps, and Users. WaveMAX ecosystem is rapidly growing worldwide, creating new synergies and network effects.

About IDT Corporation

IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) is a global provider of fintech, cloud communications, and traditional communications services. We make it easy for families to contact and support each other across international borders. We also enable businesses to transact and communicate with their customers with enhanced intelligence and insight.

About PagaPhone

PagaCel is the first Mexican FinTelco that provides financial and mobile services as well as remittances under a unique brandname PagaCel. PagaCel is comprised by PagaPhone SmartPay, a fintech company, Orange My Mobile, an MVNO and Cloud Transfer Services, a Money Transmitter Operator. PagaCel offers innovative products with great social impact to promote the financial inclusion of Mexicans in the world and foreigners in Mexico. PagaPhone develops and manages financial and telecommunications services with the objective of including and providing better opportunities to users who use the PagaPhone platform.

29 february 2024 at 23:35

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Support for independent local journalism because you deserve to know





The Government of Canada remains committed to helping Canadians access news coverage on topics of local interest that affect them.

SAGUENAY, QC, March 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Local journalism reflects our day-to-day realities, informs us about issues that might affect us and, through storytelling, unites us as neighbours and Canadians. The Government of Canada remains committed to ensuring that all Canadians can access sustainable and robust independent news.

The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced $58.8 million in funding to extend the Local Journalism Initiative for the next three years (2024-27). This important investment will help support the creation of original local journalism that covers the diverse needs of Canada's underserved communities. Today's funding brings total support for this initiative to $128.8 million over eight years, since its 2019 launch. The minister made the announcement at the Future of Regional Information Summit, organized by the Cegep de Jonquiere's art and media technology graduate school along with la Federation nationale des communications et de la culture.

To protect the independence of the press, the government will continue to work with not-for-profit organizations to administer this funding. These organizations provide the funds that support media organizations produce local journalism in underserved communities.

With the help of the Initiative in 2022-23, news organizations were able to hire or maintain more than 400 jobs for journalists, who covered issues and stories in nearly 1,500 underserved communities across Canada. Of this group, 60 journalists provided coverage in Indigenous communities, 84 in ethnocultural communities, 161 in official language minority communities and 11 in 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

In our democracy, declining local journalism has negative effects on local communities and may result in less accountability. As news organizations innovate to reach audiences, the Government of Canada will continue its suite of measures to help independent, reliable journalists do their important work.

Quotes

"A free and independent press is vital in informing, engaging and connecting us as Canadians. We have responded to the disruptions and challenges facing news organizations and have consistently supported news organizations through funding programs, tax credits for hiring journalists, and the Online News Act. To assure underserved communities get the news they deserve, we will continue to support the Local Journalism Initiative, which helps Canadians get reliable facts and information when they need them."

?Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage

Quick Facts

The Local Journalism Initiative was launched in 2019 as a five-year, $50 million program to ensure that trusted, local perspectives are available and to encourage local community engagement. It was further provided with $10 million over two years as part of the COVID-19 Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors, and provided with another $10 million in 2023?24 during Budget 2022. Today's investment brings total support for this initiative to $128.8 million over eight years since 2019.

The Local Journalism Initiative provides annual funding to more than 400 journalist positions across the country. The content produced will be made available to media organizations through a Creative Commons licence so that Canadians can be better informed.

Associated Links

Local Journalism Initiative

Canada Periodical Fund

Supporting Canadian journalism

The Online News Act

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

1 march 2024 at 12:00

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AIMIA ANNOUNCES DIVIDEND RATES ON SERIES 3 PREFERRED SHARES AND SERIES 4 PREFERRED SHARES





TORONTO, March 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) ("Aimia" or the "Company") announced today the applicable dividend rates for its Cumulative Rate Reset Preferred Shares, Series 3 (the "Series 3 Shares") and its Cumulative Floating Rate Preferred Shares, Series 4 (the "Series 4 Shares"), further to its February 22, 2024 notice and announcement that it will not exercise its right to redeem all or any part of the outstanding Series 3 Shares and, as a result of which, subject to certain conditions, the holders of the Series 3 Shares will have the right to convert all or any number of their Series 3 Shares into Series 4 Shares on a one-for-one basis.

With respect to any Series 3 Shares that remain outstanding on or after on April 1, 2024 (March 31, 2024 falling on a Sunday, a non-business day), holders of the Series 3 Shares will be entitled to receive fixed, cumulative, preferential cash dividends, payable quarterly, as and when declared by the Company's Board of Directors. The annual dividend rate for the five-year period from and including March 31, 2024 to, but excluding, March 31, 2029 will be 7.773%, being equal to the five-year Government of Canada bond yield plus 4.20%, as determined in accordance with the rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to the Series 3 Shares.

With respect to any Series 4 Shares that may be issued on April 1, 2024, holders of the Series 4 Shares will be entitled to receive quarterly floating rate, cumulative, preferential cash dividends, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Aimia. The dividend rate for the floating rate period from and including March 31, 2024 to, but excluding, June 30, 2024 will be 9.181%, being equal to the three-month Government of Canada Treasury Bill yield plus 4.20% per annum, calculated on the basis of the actual number of days in such quarterly period divided by 36, as determined in accordance with the rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to the Series 4 Shares (the "Floating Quarterly Dividend Rate"). The Floating Quarterly Dividend Rate will be reset every quarter.

The Series 3 Shares are issued in "book entry only" form and must be purchased or transferred through a participant (a "CDS Participant") in the depository service of CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. ("CDS"). All rights of holders of Series 3 Shares must be exercised through CDS or the CDS Participant through which the Series 3 Shares are held. As such, beneficial owners of Series 3 Shares who wish to exercise their conversion right should communicate as soon as possible with their broker or other nominee to obtain instructions for exercising such right through CDS on or prior to the deadline for exercise, which is 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on March 18, 2024. All notices received after this deadline will not be valid.

Holders of Series 3 Shares as of the applicable record date remain eligible to receive dividends on their Series 3 Shares, as and when declared by the Board of Directors of Aimia, for the period from and including December 31, 2023 to, but excluding, March 31, 2024 at the current annual dividend rate of 6.01%.

All inquiries regarding the conversion of Aimia's Series 3 Shares should be directed to the Company's Transfer Agent, TSX Trust Company at 1-800-387-0825 or [email protected].

About Aimia

Aimia Inc. (TSX: AIM) is a holding company that makes long-term investments in private and public businesses through controlling or minority stakes. Aimia targets companies with durable economic advantages evidenced by a track record of substantial free cash flow generation over complete business cycles, strong growth prospects, and guided by strong, experienced management teams. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Aimia is positioned to invest in any sector, wherever a suitable opportunity can be identified worldwide. In addition, we seek investments that may efficiently utilize the Company's operating and capital loss carry-forwards to further enhance shareholder value.

For more information about Aimia, visit www.aimia.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which are based upon Aimia's current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs. All information that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would" and "should", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to payment of dividends with respect to the Series 3 Shares and the Series 4 Shares. Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the forward-looking statement will not occur. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and reflect several material factors, expectations and assumptions. Undue reliance should not be placed on any predictions or forward-looking statements as these may be affected by, among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. A discussion of the material risks applicable to the Company can be found in Aimia's current Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form, each of which have been or will be filed on SEDAR+ and can be accessed at www.sedarplus.ca. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Aimia disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Aimia Inc.

1 march 2024 at 13:15

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Long ReadBest known for her role in the film 'Good Bye Lenin!', the actress has publicly opposed the war in Ukraine and Vladimir Putin. In February 2022, she fled with her daughters to Latvia, a country where she is enjoying unexpected success.

Chulpan Khamatova has a precise memory of the day in February 2022 when Russia attacked Ukraine and her life veered into unknown territory. She was on vacation in Seychelles with her youngest daughter, enjoying a break from performances of The Master and Margarita, an adaptation of Bulgakov's novel in which she had been performing in Moscow, and had booked an excursion to the sea to swim with turtles on February 24. In the cab to the boat, she glanced at her cell phone and was stricken with terror: Vladimir Putin had just launched an invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv and several other major cities were being bombed.

The 45-year-old Russian actress, an adored star of both the theater and the cinema who had won multiple awards, was stunned. "My hands started to shake," she said. "I thought of my friends in Ukraine, of my daughters in Moscow, of my country flouting all the rules, of the monstrous Putin who had just committed the irreparable. What a nightmare!"

How could she have been so blind, she thought, as to believe that this dreaded war would not happen? She remembered the discussions over the previous weeks with her friends  writers, actors and filmmakers. There had been those who said, "Putin is crazy. He's capable of the worst. Nothing will stop him." And there had been those who, like her, thought, "No, because that would be suicidal. He would isolate Russia and lose all credibility." But he had done it. While her daughter and the other tourists were rushing to dive into the Seychelles lagoon, she clutched at her phone, her mind thousands of kilometers away. "I wasn't able to think. My head was like a turbine. What was going to happen to all of us? Putin had just wiped out the future, and I was convinced that my life was shattering."

On the boat, no one suspected that the frail blonde woman, visibly desperate, was one of Russia's most famous actresses, particularly well-known for her role in Good Bye Lenin! (2003), directed by Wolfgang Becker. She didn't look up, concentrating on her screen. She had to immediately give her consent to sign open letters and petitions against the war, including one by her journalist friend Dmitry Muratov, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. She had to immediately contact colleagues and friends to urge them to react. She had to immediately change her plane tickets.

She still had a week's worth of vacation left. She instantly decided she would not spend it in Moscow. Instead, she would slip into Latvia, where she had a refuge, a simple house built in the middle of the woods. "I sometimes went there on vacation, but it was above all a plan B, in case things went wrong in Russia." She also needed to get Moscow-Riga tickets for her two other daughters, aged 19 and 20. "The urgent thing was to get us all together. As for the rest, I would figure it out later." And so it was that, two days later, armed with a suitcase containing sandals, swimsuits and sarongs, Khamatova landed in Riga, where it was -18 C.

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Former US ambassador to Bolivia, Manuel Rocha talks to the press on July 11, 2001. GONZALO ESPINOZA / AFP

A former US ambassador to Bolivia charged with spying for Cuba for four decades told a judge on Thursday, February 29, that he will plead guilty. Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in December for what US officials called "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent."

Rocha pleaded not guilty two weeks ago to charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government but he told Judge Beth Bloom at a pre-trial conference on Thursday that he wanted to change his plea. A date of April 12 was set by the court for Rocha to formally change his plea to guilty and for sentencing.

Rocha, a naturalized US citizen originally from Colombia, allegedly began aiding Havana as a covert agent of Cuba's General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981, and his espionage activities continued until his arrest, according to US authorities. Attorney General Merrick Garland, announcing Rocha's arrest, said he had "repeatedly referred to the United States as "'the enemy'" and "repeatedly bragged about the significance of his efforts."

Rocha joined the State Department in 1981 steadily ascending the ranks as a seasoned diplomat. His assignments took him to various prominent posts, including stints in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, the Dominican Republic, and Washington. Rocha's tenure also saw him contribute to the National Security Council during President Bill Clinton's administration from 1994 to 1995. Moreover, he held the esteemed position of ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, serving under both Clinton and George W. Bush. He also served as an advisor to the US military command responsible for Cuba.

The criminal complaint against Rocha details how, over multiple meetings with an undercover FBI agent beginning in November 2022, he "behaved as a Cuban agent," praising the communist-ruled island's late leader Fidel Castro and "using the term 'we' to describe himself and Cuba."

He admitted traveling to Havana in 2016 or 2017 to meet with his DGI handlers and asked the undercover agent to send "my warmest regards to the Direccion," referring to the DGI.

'Assassinated' by Cuba

Rocha additionally faces a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida by the widow of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. She alleges Rocha was responsible for the death of her late husband, the 2002 winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for human rights, in a car crash in Cuba in 2012.

A court document claims that "the Cuban terrorist dictatorship assassinated Mr. Paya with impunity" as a direct result of Roche's "actions as a covert agent for the Cuban terrorist dictatorship and its intelligence-gathering mission against the United States."

Another Cuban dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the same car crash, while two others in the vehicle survived: Spanish politician Angel Carromero and Swedish conservative politician Jens Aron Modig. Cuban authorities blamed the crash on Carromero, who was driving, but he claims the car was struck by a Cuban secret service vehicle.

In a report published last June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded that Cuban state agents participated in the dissidents' deaths. "I seek what I have sought all along: for the truth, for justice, and for the regime and its accomplices" to "stop acting with impunity," Paya's widow Ofelia Acevedo said in a statement.
More than 30 news organizations signed an open letter on Thursday, February 29, expressing solidarity with journalists working in Gaza and calling for their protection and freedom to report.

The letter, coordinated by the Committee to Protect Journalists, was signed by global news agencies Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters, as well as other leading media outlets including the New York Times, BBC News and Israel's Haaretz.

"For nearly five months, journalists and media workers in Gaza  overwhelmingly, the sole source of on-the-ground reporting from within the Palestinian territory  have been working in unprecedented conditions," the letter said. It noted that at least 89 journalists and media workers in Gaza have been killed in the war, according to the CPJ.

The Israel-Hamas war began following an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed 30,035 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.

"Journalists are civilians and Israeli authorities must protect journalists as noncombatants according to international law," said the letter, also signed by the Association for International Broadcasters and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). "Those responsible for any violations of that longstanding protection should be held accountable."

How many journalists have been killed in Gaza? At least 26,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, and that death toll includes journalists. Since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's bombardments on Gaza that followed, NGOs have been documenting the killings of journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) use different methods to report on these killings. As of January 30, the CPJ reported that at least 85 journalists and media workers had been killed since October 7, and that 78 were Palestinian. The IFJ said 99 journalists had been killed as of January 30, with Palestinian journalists counting for 92 of those deaths. RSF reported that 20 journalists had been killed from 2023 to January 30, 2024. The CPJ and IFJ's counts are higher because they both count media support workers, like translators, drivers and fixers in their tolls. RSF only lists journalists killed "if their death was linked to their journalistic activity," meaning if they were killed while working or because of their work. It's hard to prove if journalists in Gaza are being targeted by Israel because of their profession. The CPJ and RSF have called for investigations into some of their killings.
LETTER FROM ANTANANARIVO

A billboard against rape and pedophilia deployed by the NGO Nifin'Akanga on a street in Antananarivo, July 2023. NIFINAKANGA

As of Friday, February 23, Madagascar has become one of the world's most stringent countries in its approach to child rapists. In a ruling that cannot be appealed, the island country's High Constitutional Court (HCC) mandated the implementation of surgical castration for perpetrators of rape against minors. The court specified that this penalty must be applied "systematically" when the victim is under 10 years old, while its imposition for older victims will be left to the discretion of judges.

When tasked with assessing the legality of the bill passed by Parliament in early February, the magistrates exceeded the severity initially proposed by President Andry Rajoelina. The text submitted provided for the introduction into the penal code of a penalty of chemical or surgical castration. Prior to this, the penalty for raping a minor under the age of 15 was imprisonment, with a maximum sentence of life, albeit rarely imposed.

But the HCC deemed it contrary to the law's objective to retain the gradation of penalties according to the age of the victims. "Because chemical castration is temporary and reversible," it contradicts the aim of "permanently neutralizing sexual predators and reducing the risk of recidivism." Justice Minister Landy Randriamanantenasoa, who had justified the government's initiative by the need to combat the resurgence of rape, did not react to the HCC's decision.

'A culture of rape'

The government's decision to focus on a penalty that is supposed to deter potential aggressors is far from enjoying unanimous support among victims' aid associations, who were not consulted on this revision of the penal code. "This response is not appropriate. It trivializes the stereotypical image of the isolated rapist, unable to control his sexual urges. But that's not the reality. In Madagascar, there is a culture of rape thriving within the confines of households, particularly among children and teenagers. This disconcerting phenomenon underscores prevailing power imbalances within relationships, ones that society tends to hush up in the pursuit of a dubious notion of cohesion within Madagascan social structures," lamented Marie-Christina Kolo, who founded the Women Break the Silence movement. "Victims, especially young children, often hesitate to report their aggressors, and families frequently opt for settlements involving financial compensation instead of pursuing legal action, as they lack trust in the judicial system."

Like her, Mbolatiana Raveloarimisa, founder of the feminist association Nifin'Akanga, regrets that the government's plan fails to address protections for abused children: "Girls under 10 get pregnant and they don't have access to therapeutic pregnancy termination, which, regardless of the circumstances, remains forbidden in Madagascar."

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Italy's Matteo Salvini, Germany's Tino Chrupalla, Austria's Harald Vilimsky, the Czech Republic's Tomio Okamura and Bulgaria's Kostadin Kostadinov at an ID European Party rally in Florence, Italy, December 3, 2023. ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP

In early February, a note from Marine Le Pen appeared on the WhatsApp group for leaders of the Rassemblement National (RN) party. She expressed surprise at the announcement by the European party Identity and Democracy (ID) that it was being joined by the Bulgarian party Vazrajdane, which is notoriously close to Vladimir Putin. The subject of the war in Ukraine was then at a lull in French political discourse, but the far-right leader rightly sensed that it would come up again before the European elections on June 9 and that there was no point in providing easy targets to those who, like Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, consider Le Pen and her party to be "Vladimir Putin's troops" in France.

But Le Pen, like RN President Jordan Bardella, is a member of the top committee of this transnational alliance, which acts as the antechamber for the RN's group in the European Parliament, which has the same name. Vazrajdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov, known for his homophobic and anti-Semitic provocations, shared a stage with Bardella at an ID party rally in Florence, in December 2023.

Can Le Pen deny any complicity with the Putin regime a,d at the same time choose the Kremlin's powerhouses in Europe as her allies? In addition to their hostility to immigration and European integration, the members of the potential ID parliamentary group, which could become the third strongest force in the Parliament after the June 9 vote, share a soft spot for Russia's regime.

Read more Subscribers only French PM suggests 'Putin's troops are already in our country,' pointing at Le Pen

This is a source of concern for some RN figureheads, who are tired of their image as Putin's mouthpiece in France, as well as for the ID party's Danish and Estonian members, who are very sensitive to the issue. On Wednesday, February 28, ID leaders met at their request to decide on the membership of the Slovak National Party (SNS) and the Bulgarian party Vazrajdane, announced a month earlier. They decided to cancel a conference planned in Sofia and to hear Kostadinov before possibly reviewing their inclusion within the European party.

'We're very attractive'

On February 16, three members of Vazrajdane, which means Renaissance, traveled to Moscow for an event organized by Putin's United Russia party, to "build bridges" between the two countries. They listened to Putin lecture on the "neo-colonialism of the collective West" and they "discussed the possibility of training diplomats" from Bulgaria at the Russian Foreign Ministry. Facing backlash, Kostadinov defended his party's officials against what he calls "the millions of Euro-Atlantic microbes."

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The parents of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, attend a funeral ceremony for their son at the Borisovo cemetery in Moscow's district of Maryino on March 1, 2024. OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP

Late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was laid to rest on Friday, March 1, in a Moscow cemetery where thousands of mourners had gathered, two weeks after he died in an Arctic prison. The anti-corruption campaigner, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent opponent, was buried after a brief candle-lit funeral service in a nearby church.

The casket was left open in accordance with Russian Orthodox tradition but was quickly closed after the religious service where Navalny's parents could be seen. At the cemetery, Navalny's coffin was lowered into the grave to the soundtrack of the film Terminator 2 which his spokeswoman said was the 47-year-old's favorite movie.

Russian police arrested at least 67 people across Russia on Friday at tributes to Navalny, according to the rights monitoring group OVD-Info. OVD-Info said it knew of "at least 67 arrests in 16 towns", including six arrests in Moscow where Navalny's funeral was held, drawing large crowds. The group had said earlier that 18 people were detained in Novosibirsk. The Kremlin had warned that action would be taken against "unauthorised" protests and there was a large police presence at the funeral service and burial in Moscow

Navalny's death has been condemned by Western leaders and his supporters have accused Putin of murder and of trying to prevent a dignified public burial. The Kremlin, which has denied involvement and dismissed the accusations as "hysterical", warned against "unauthorized" protests around the funeral.

"We won't forget you!" and "Forgive us!" some mourners shouted, applauding as the coffin arrived for burial. Thousands then filed past the grave to pay their last respects. People lined up in the streets shouting Navalny's name, and some even braved the police presence with slogans such as "freedom for political prisoners" and "No to war," social media videos showed.

Navalny's open casket, Moscow, March 1, 2024. MARIA TURCHENKOVA FOR LE MONDE

'Make you proud of me' -

His widow Yulia Navalnaya, who has promised to continue his activism, paid tribute on social media. "I don't know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me," she wrote. She thanked him for "love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking about me."

Earlier this week she said she feared the funeral could be disrupted by arrests. Some 400 mourners have been detained at Navalny memorials since his death, rights organization OVD-Info has said, and more detentions were feared at the funeral where a heavy police presence could be seen.

Gathering outside the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church before the funeral of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, in Moscow's Maryino district, March 1, 2024. MARIA TURCHENKOVA FOR LE MONDE

"Any unauthorized gatherings will be in violation of the law and those who participate in them will be held responsible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to TASS news agency. On the day of the funeral, Peskov said he had "nothing to say" to the family of the deceased.

The French, German and US ambassadors were seen among mourners outside the church, as were some of Russia's last free independent politicians.

'Nothing to say'

Navalnaya has blamed Putin for her husband's death, which has sparked outrage among Western leaders and within the opposition.

Western governments have been quick to hold the Kremlin responsible but have stopped short of making direct accusations of involvement. Putin's spokesman Peskov has criticised the accusations made by her and some Western leaders as "vulgar."

A hearse, which reportedly transports a coffin with the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, arrives at the Soothe My Sorrows church before a funeral service and farewell ceremony in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. STRINGER / REUTERS

Navalny shot to prominence through his anti-corruption campaigning, exposing what he said was rampant graft at the top of Putin's administration. He was arrested in January 2021 when he returned to Russia after being treated in Germany for a poisoning attack.

"Alexei was tortured for three years," Navalnaya told lawmakers in Brussels. "He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls, and then even letters."

"And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body," she said.

'Ideas will live on'

His body was held in a morgue for eight days before being returned to the family, which Navalny's team believed to be a bid to cover up responsibility for his death. His family and his team have also accused authorities of trying to prevent a dignified public burial, fearing it could turn into a flashpoint for dissent.

Navalny's team said local investigators had threatened to bury him on the prison grounds if his mother did not agree to a "secret" funeral. Once the body was released, allies struggled to find a place that would agree to hold a funeral ceremony, as well as hearse drivers. And a civil ceremony allowing the general public to pay their respects to the body  common in Russia  has not been allowed.

Navalnaya has vowed to continue his life's work and urged to "fight more desperately, more fiercely than before."

Read more Subscribers only Yulia Navalnaya vows to continue her husband's fight
The Beauty industry in Ireland is booming. And with it, dangerous behaviour.



In a brand new RTE Investigates documentary, reporter Pamela Fraher goes undercover examining regulation of the Irish beauty industry, with illegal Botox and the sale of prescription medicine widely available.

The aesthetics industry In particular in Ireland is booming, with record numbers of people seeking cosmetic procedures. Multitudes of treatments from the cosmetic to the clinical have grown in popularity, but the utter lack of regulation has allowed the industry to explode.

RTE Investigates uses covert filming to show the prevalence of unlicensed Botox and weight-loss medicines sold by beauty salons and businesses breaking the law, leaving the public at potential risk from products and procedures that are not fit for purpose.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by RTE One (@rteone)

Dr Eithne Brenner, Aesthetic Medicine Physician: "There are procedures being done in every corner in Ireland today, which are putting people at undue risk."



RTE Investigates goes undercover examining how prescription only products are moving around beauty salons and cross border.



One major supplier selling Botox, instructs the undercover RTE Investigates reporter: "You put them in your bag, drive across the border. No police, no customs, no nothing."





Watch RTE Investigates: Botox & Beauty at Any Cost, this coming Monday, March 4 at 9.35pm on RTE One and RTE Player.


THR CAPPAMORE-KILMALLOCK Municipal District has received 100,000 for one project out of a pot of 18m in Active Travel investment grants, revealed Cllr Mike Donegan.

The cathaoirleach called a special meeting regarding the Active Travel / National Transport Authority (NTA) allocations for Limerick.

Mr Donegan said of the 38 projects listed for Limerick City and County Council the Cappamore-Kilmallock electoral area is only getting one dedicated project - Caherconlish NS.

That is 100,000 for our area out of 18m. I supported the amalgamation of the city and county as long there wouldnt be an imbalance or if it was detrimental to the county. Now we see this. Were being forgotten about, said Cllr Donegan.

He said his motto in politics is that nobody is left behind.

I was out in Ballyorgan recently and locals showed me the state of the footpaths. There has been significant deterioration and there is no Active Travel grant for them. We have to tell the people of Garrienderk there is no funding for their footpath and they have been on the list for years.

However, there is plenty of money for footpaths and cycle lanes in the city. Rural areas are being neglected, said an exasperated Cllr Donegan.

The biggest single allocation out of the 18m is 2m for the Father Russell Road Cycle Scheme, followed by 1.7m each for the Mill Road, Corbally Active Travel Scheme and Limerick City and County Council Active Travel Office - staff costs.

The meeting heard that there is a 3m fund for Active Travel improvements in towns and villages but that will be divided between four municipal areas.

Sean McGynn, senior engineer Active Travel at Limerick City and County Council, said they applied for 4.9m but received 3m.

There is a reduction in monies, said Mr McGlynn.

Council colleague Brian Kennedy, director of transport and mobility, said NTA funding for Limerick of 18m is down 3m on last year.

We have a very good reputation with the NTA for delivering schemes. Myself and Sean will chase them to get more money, said Mr Kennedy, who added that more money can become available later in the year and the important thing is to have schemes in Limerick shovel ready.

Cllr Eddie Ryan said the county is on the hind teat compared to the city and spoke about the 2m allocation for the Father Russell Road Cycle Scheme. He said he has never seen a bike on the new Hyde Road Active Travel Scheme.

Thats genuine and over a long period of time. I dont know what use is being made of them. I think it is negligible, said Cllr Ryan.

Mr Kennedy said it is important to have a network of segregated cycle lanes so people can cycle to work, school, the city centre etc.

READ MORE: Call to repair and clean Limerick city parklets

By the end of 2025 when there is a proper network you will see a big difference, said Mr Kennedy.

Mayor Gerald Mitchell said Active Travel has brought improvements to the city and county.

It is a pity the funding has been reduced and a lot of it is going to the city. A lot of work has been done on footpaths and we must have safe footpaths due to claims, said Cllr Mitchell.

Cllr Donegan acknowledged the great work that has been done on bus shelters in the municipal area.

Cllr Teefy said all they are looking for is a fair share.

Good luck to the city but we need a bigger share in the county. Footpaths make such a big difference to communities. One thing about Covid is that it got more people out exercising and that is continuing. You have to remember we started off very low base with footpath repairs. A lot of them were the original footpaths built 50 years ago, said Cllr Teefy, who asked Mr Kennedy and Mr McGlynn to put the pressure on for more funds.
Two award-winning female choirs will present a special Spring choral concert to celebrate International Womens Day on Friday, March 8 in St Marys Church, Kilbane.

The Gunas (Killaloe) and Seoda Chamber Choir (Limerick) are delighted to be joining forces for this special celebration in Marys Church, Kilbane, Co. Clare (V94 HX75) at 7.30pm.

Both female choirs who have performed throughout Ireland and beyond are well known for their contributions to the musical and cultural life in the Clare and Limerick areas.

Under the talented direction of Rhoda Clery, (The Gunas) and Maire Keary Scanlon, (Seoda), the choirs will perform many of their old favourites in the beautiful 19th century church of St. Marys, Kilbane. Both choirs will be accompanied by Irina Dernova (piano) and Lucia Murphy (violin).

READ MORE: Limerick postman heralded for his heroic life-saving action

It is third time lucky for this choral event as concerts scheduled in December 2022 and March 2023 had to be cancelled due to snow!

In recent times, St Marys Church has undergone a complete refurbishment by a small group of local volunteers, with minimal funding, and a great deal of local support.

This is a free concert and refreshments will be served after the performance. There will be an opportunity for members of the audience to make a retiring donation.
THE programme for this years Seachtain na Gaeilge festival in Limerick has been announced by Irish language network, Comhluadar Luimnigh.

While seachtain might suggest a week long festival, Seachtain na Gaeilge 2024 actually lasts for 17 days commencing on March 1, and will conclude on St Patricks Day.

Ava Nic Searraigh, development officer for Comhluadar Luimnigh, is looking forward to an eclectic range of events across the city and county.

This year we have expanded our programme even further as we constantly strive to reach new communities, and cater for diverse interests. While firm favourites like the ciorcal comhra in the Milk Market and the pop-up Gaeltachts feature again in this years programme, there are new and innovative events also such as an Escape Room experience as Gaeilge for the 20-30 age cohort, bowling as Gaeilge for families, and bilingual storytelling with Eddie Lenihan in Wickham Way, outlined Ava.

READ MORE: PICTURES: Seachtain na Gaeilge programme launched in Limerick

The bilingual storytelling with Eddie Lenihan is being organised in conjunction with Limerick City and County Council, she said, adding that Comhluadar is working with the Limerick City and County Council, and with civic and community organisations and different businesses across the 17 days.

For the children - Giggles the clown will pay a visit to the Milk Market on the morning of Saturday, March 16, and to the Manor Fields in Adare later that day.

Giggles ability to craft everyday items, such as guitars, swords and teddies out of balloons never fails to amaze, and he promises a special duais or prize for every child who uses their Irish with him.

Members of the Irish language community will have a chance to pay tribute to the late Conradh na Gaeilge stalwart Sean O Moronaigh at a commemorative celebration of his life in Halla Ide, Thomas Street on Friday, March 1 at 8pm.

Other events take place in Ahane, Adare, Castleconnell, Analog Devices, Glenbrohane and more.

The full programme is available on Comhluadar Luimnighs website www.comhluadarluimnigh.ie
THE FIRST Independent candidate running for Limericks directly elected mayor has been confirmed.

John Moran has confirmed that, within 24 hours after launching his website www.johnmoran.ie and his first call for nominations, he received well over the required sixty people who have come forward to nominate him to contest the Limerick mayor election as an independent.

I will be on the ballot as the first independent candidate, said Mr Moran in a statement.

Mr Moran, who was formerly Secretary General of the Department of Finance, said that it is clear that the people of Limerick have spoken, they agree with me that a break from the past is needed.

With this level of support coming so quickly to remove this barrier to being a candidate, I can now say with confidence my name will be on the ballot as the leading independent candidate nominated by the voters of Limerick, he added.

While party candidates can be nominated by their partys head office, in Dublin, independent candidates must gather the signatures of at least 60 Limerick voters to be allowed to run.

Moran said: It did not take a national party HQ pushing a candidate or their policies. It required only civic-minded citizens who share my vision for how Limerick should be governed differently in a truly inclusive way putting Limerick first. The movement for a new future for Limerick began in earnest this week.

READ MORE: Green TD: 'Broken system sparked bid to be Limerick's first executive mayor'

I now want to get to work to ensure in the weeks ahead everyone across our county is heard, has the space to debate their future vision of Limerick and is registered to vote, he added.

Through his website encouraging voter registration and pitching his case for his nomination (www.johnmoran.ie), individuals can read more on his profile, register to his campaign and indicate further interest in nominating him as an independent candidate.

Even though we have hit the initial required target, I encourage people to continue to add their names to the nominating list. The more people who come on board, the stronger the message to the existing parties that Limerick wants a break from the past to ensure strong and independent leadership for Limerick, Moran added.
Former Irish president Mary McAleese has called for a yes vote in the referenda on family and care.

Ms McAleese said the amendments would take Ireland another step towards the egalitarian future that our citizens desire.

Two referenda will be held on March 8 proposing to change the Irish constitution.

The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships.

The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers.

Ms McAleese said that people had a responsibility to vote in the referenda.

March 8 is our opportunity to insert new realities, new energy, new insights into parts of our constitution that have just aged badly.

She told a media event on Friday: I intend to vote yes to both proposed changes to the constitution because I am persuaded strongly that they will reflect the overwhelming impulse for equality and inclusivity that is the hallmark of modern Ireland.

They remove from the constitution language and attitudes that have long been controversial on account of perceived sexism.

They will also stop the marginalisation of many good, decent people whose strong contribution to family and community life has been completely under-valued, rendered second class.

Ms McAleese was speaking at an event titled We Are Family jointly hosted by Treoir and One Family as part of a wider platform of civil society organisations calling for yes votes.

The former president said it was unacceptable that families outside marriage and civil partnerships were not being recognised by the constitution.

On the second referendum which deals with what is commonly referred to as the women in the home article, Ms McAleese said there are conflicting views on the current provision.

She said some people see it as patronising and paternalistic while others see it as valuable recognition of womens work in the home.

However, Ms McAleese said it was anachronistic.

She said: It is no longer suited to an Ireland anxious to promote gender equality.

Ms McAleese said the reality is that care can be stretched across a vast spectrum of everyday reality life.

In recent years that invisible world of what constitutes care within so many families has been revealed.

She said a yes vote for the proposed amendment would put a renewed spotlight on family care.

She said those who drafted the constitution always expected it to be changed.

There is simply no value in holding on to those outdated concepts for the sake of nostalgia.

Ms McAleese added: To leave those articles as they are would contradict the dynamic of the momentum of our people.

Other speakers included John OMeara who recently won a case at the Supreme Court which found he was entitled to the widowers pension even though he was not married or in a civil partnership with his long-term partner.

Mr OMeara and his three children challenged a High Court decision to uphold the refusal by the Department of Social Protection to grant him the pension.

The seven-judge Supreme Court unanimously said that the section of legislation which had excluded the OMearas was invalid, having regard to a different Article of the Constitution of Ireland, which states that all citizens should be equal before the law.

Speaking at the event on Friday as the carer of his children, he said that the case did not change his constitutional position: Im still not recognised as in a family even though I won that case.

The first of the proposed amendments would extend constitutional protection to families founded on other durable relationships.

Mr OMeara said he was supporting a yes vote in both referenda.

Sinaad Gibney, a single parent and former chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, said her relationship with her daughter was a unique bond.

Ms Gibney said: The reality is families come in all shapes and sizes.

She added: It is painful for me that my beautiful little family, of me and my daughter, is not recognised in the constitution as a real family.

The event was chaired by columnist and former Barnados CEO Fergus Finlay who said he disagreed with those calling for a no vote in the second referendum.

However, he said there was an unfought battle over disability rights in Ireland.

Deirdre McCarthy, a social worker from Co Cork, also told the audience she was supporting a yes vote in both referenda.

Ms McCarthy, who became a lone parent at 17, said she felt abandoned by the constitution as her living situation was not recognised as a family.

She said that in 2023 some 41% of children were born outside marriage and civil partnerships.

Christopher Tuite, a support worker, said he became a father at a very young age.

He said he is an equal partner with his childs mother but he is recognised constitutionally as a single male because they are not married.

He said he would be voting yes in both referenda, adding: Fathers cannot continue to be left on the sidelines.

Maxine Walshe, a psychotherapist and carer, said she works with lone parents who struggle to make ends meet and feel isolated.

She added: The fight wont be over on March 8, but a yes, yes vote puts us in a much stronger position to push for that change.

Fergal Landy, CEO of the National Forum for Family Resource Centres, said the group was strongly encouraging people to vote in favour of the proposed amendments.

He said: It aligns with our views of equality, human rights and inclusion. We dont think any family should feel excluded in society.

Mr Landy said he believed he was in a durable relationship with his long-term partner with whom he has three children.
Two power suppliers in Northern Ireland have announced price decreases following a fall in wholesale market costs.

It comes after a Utility Regulator review of the regulated tariffs for Power NI and SSE Airtricity Gas Supply.

From April 1, Power NIs domestic tariff will reduce by 6.3%, or 64 per year, whilst SSE Airtricity Gas Supplys tariff for domestic and small business customers in the Greater Belfast and West gas areas will reduce by 22.8%, or 320 per year.

An announcement around Firmus Energys regulated gas tariff is set to be made next week.

Colin Broomfield, director of markets for the Utility Regulator, said the reductions are primarily driven by the steady fall in wholesale energy prices.

In January 2024, the Utility Regulator commenced a review of Power NIs regulated electricity tariff, and SSE Airtricity and Firmus Energys regulated gas tariffs, he said.

Following our analysis, we have agreed that a 6.3% decrease in Power NIs electricity tariff and a 22.8% reduction in SSE Airtricitys regulated gas tariff will become effective from April 1 2024. These reductions are primarily driven by the steady fall in wholesale energy prices.

These reductions will see a typical Power NIs domestic customer paying 64 less a year. The annual bill for a typical domestic credit customer with SSE Airtricity Gas Supply will decrease by around 320 per year.

Raymond Gormley, head of energy policy at the Consumer Council, said it was welcome news.

We have concluded our review of the regulated tariffs for: @PowerNI  a 6.3% decrease or 64 per year saving @sseairtricity Gas Supply  a 22.8% decrease or 320 per year saving More info on our tariff review https://t.co/BTwEqDzdNN pic.twitter.com/4idQVxz2BF  NI Utility Regulator (@UREGNI) March 1, 2024

We know from our research that most consumers in Northern Ireland are still really worried about home energy prices, he said.

We urge anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills or top up their meters to contact their supplier directly for help and support.

Now that there is some change in electricity prices with the regulated and unregulated suppliers, we encourage consumers to use our free online energy price comparison tools to check that they are on the best deal or if they could save money by switching supplier, billing method or tariff.

William Steele, director of Power NI customer solutions, said it is the fourth consecutive tariff reduction by the supplier.

As wholesale prices in the global market have fallen, Power NI has been able to deliver yet another decrease in unit prices for our customers, with our fourth consecutive tariff reduction, he said.

Despite market volatility we have been able to keep our tariffs below the equivalent Great Britain and Republic of Ireland average, enabling us to continue to provide stability and delivering hundreds of pounds in savings for local households over the last year.

We are continuing to work closely with our charity partners and other key stakeholders across our local communities to provide support to those in need.
Healing Pharma India Private Limited (HPIPL), a leading generic pharmaceutical company, has captivated consumers with its compelling pricing and steadfast commitment to keep delivering on promises, thereby setting new benchmarks in the industry.

With a sharp focus on affordability and reliability, Healing Pharma has established itself as a trusted name in the pharmaceutical landscape. By offering high-quality generic medications at competitive pricing, the organization has not only made healthcare accessible to a wider audience but has also earned the trust and loyalty of consumers nationwide.

"Healing Pharma is dedicated to enhancing its connection with consumers across the country while offering easy access to affordable healthcare solutions without compromising on quality," said Mr. Sanjay Parekh & Mr. Hitesh Jain, Managing Director at Healing Pharma. We are highly committed to delivering what we promise our customers in terms of meeting industry standards, underscoring our mission to make a positive impact on people's lives."

Healing Pharma, known for its steadfast dedication to customer satisfaction, has resulted in widespread acclaim and recognition. By strategically focusing on transparency and integrity, the organization has earned a distinguished reputation as a symbol of reliability and excellence within the pharmaceutical industry.

With the strategic approach towards pricing and product delivery, Healing Pharma has successfully managed to meet the healthcare needs of people from all classes. As Healing Pharma continues to hypnotize consumers with its compelling pricing and unwavering commitment to delivering promises, the company remains poised to lead the way, setting new industry benchmarks and shaping the future of healthcare.

Healing Pharma took a huge leap in shaping the new world of pharma with the unique integration of a Certificate of Analysis (COA) via QR codes on each product packaging. This QR code initiative empowers the consumer to self-verify the authenticity of the product through quick scanning using their smartphone devices.

Moreover, Healing Pharma recently won two prestigious awards 'Most Promising Company of the Year in the Generic Pharma Industry by Shri. Dilip Walse Patil, Cabinet Minister of Co-operation, Govt. Of Maharashtra and the 'Scroll of Honour' by Shri. Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, to exceptionally contribute to the generic healthcare sector. Healing Pharma India was honored with the title 'Fastest Growing Pharmaceutical Companies' in the 'Global Indian Book 2022,' presented by the Vice President of India.

About Healing Pharma

Healing Pharma is a leading generic pharmaceutical company with its headquarters in Mumbai. With the commitment to catering quality, and affordable healthcare, Healing Pharma has crossed the 100 Crore club in the financial year 2022-2023, marking a significant milestone in its journey of success since its inception in just five years. For more information, visit https://www.healingpharma.in/

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.

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Boeing said on Thursday it had reached a $51 million settlement with the U.S. State Department for numerous export violations including Chinese employees in China improperly downloading documents related to U.S. Defense Department programs.

The State Department said from 2013 through 2017 three Chinese employees at Boeing facilities in China downloaded technical data involving programs including the F-18, F-15 and F-22 fighter jets, the E-3 airborne warning and control system, the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the AGM84E cruise missile.

Boeing said there were additional unauthorized downloads of technical data at Boeing and partner facilities in 18 countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Taiwan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2018.

The administrative settlement covers unauthorized exports of technical data and resolves 199 violations of the Arms Export Control Act and International Traffic in Arms Regulations, the State Department said.

The State Department said the settlement "highlights the importance of exporting defense articles only pursuant to appropriate authorization" and followed "an extensive compliance review" by the government.

Boeing said it was "committed to our trade controls obligations, and we look forward to working with the State Department under the agreement." The company added it was committed to continuous improvement of its trade controls compliance program.

Boeing also engaged in some unauthorized exports of defense material and technical data related to defense programs to a number of countries including Israel, Turkey and Lebanon, the State Department said.

Boeing voluntarily disclosed the violations, which mostly occurred before 2020, and the government documents did not allege disclosure of classified material. The department said Boeing cooperated and "has incorporated numerous improvements to its compliance program since the conduct at issue."

The settlement includes a three-year consent agreement and a $51 million civil penalty, of which $24 million will be suspended by the State Department so Boeing can use the funds for remedial compliance measures to strengthen its compliance program.

For at least two years, Boeing will engage an external special compliance officer to oversee the agreement, which will also require two external audits, the State Department added.

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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.
The descendants of Walt Disney and his late brother Roy O. Disney on Thursday released two letters addressed to Disney shareholders, backing the company and Chief Executive Bob Iger in their fight against Peltz and his Trian Fund Management. Trian is seeking two seats on the Disney board at Aprils annual meeting.Disney is not a company that makes widgetsit makes magic," read one of the letters, which was signed by Roy P. Disney, Susan Disney Lord, Abigail E. Disney and Tim Disney, all grandchildren of Walts brother, who served for decades as the financial brains behind the company. Bob Iger, his management team, and the Board of Directors are faithful to this magic."

They criticized Peltz and other activists in the company as wolves in sheeps clothing, just waiting to tear Disney apart if they can trick shareholders into opening the door for them."

The letters could bolster Disneys case to shareholders as investors cast their ballots for board members. As Aprils annual meeting approaches, Disney and Trian have traded barbs in securities filings and videos posted online.Disney says Peltz and Trians other nominee, former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, lack successful track records in the media industry necessary to offer constructive advice and are motivated by personal grudges against Iger. Trian, meanwhile, has argued that Disney needs to cut costs and that the company has lost its creative mojo.

A second letter, written with less combative language and signed by Walt Disneys grandchildren, also opposed Peltz and praised Igers leadership. Bob Iger has grown this company in a modern world, and he continues to maintain a balance of creativity and profit," the letter said.

Since returning to Disney in late 2022, Iger has crafted a vision for the companys future that includes a focus on streaming, theme parks, its studio and ESPN. We love Disney and recognize building on its rich history of delighting loyal fans is essential to its future success," a Trian spokesman said in response to the letters. Trian has a track record of investing in great companies and helping them grow long term, he said.

Support for management from the Disney family has historically carried great symbolic importance to shareholders and fans. In 2004, after the board declined to renew his contract, Roy E. Disney, the son of Walts brother and a former animation studio executive, launched the Save Disney" activist campaign along with the attorney Stanley Gold.

The campaign, which targeted smaller individual investors, eventually succeeded in toppling Michael Eisner, whom Roy E. Disney believed was mismanaging the company and tarnishing his uncles legacy.

Thursdays letters are a dramatic twist in the oft-rocky relationship between the Disney family and Iger. Abigail E. Disney, Walts niece, co-directed a 2022 documentary called The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales" that criticized low wages among Disneys hourly parks workers.

In past years, she had publicly berated the company for the size of Igers compensation as CEO. A representative for Abigail E. Disney didnt reply to an email seeking comment Thursday.

Thursdays letters were written after Roy P. Disney, grandson of Walts brother, grew increasingly upset about Peltzs activist campaign and rallied his cousins together to make a public statement, according to a person familiar with the matter. The grandson couldnt be reached for comment.

Iger wrote in a statement that he approaches every day with a deep sense of respect for everything Walt and Roy created" and said it was incredibly meaningful" to have the support of their families.

We are committed to protecting their legacy as we chart Disneys path ahead," Iger wrote.

Write to Robbie Whelan at robbie.whelan@wsj.com
Delhis Finance Minister, Atishi, will table the Delhi Economic Survey (2023-2024) and Outcome Budget in the Assembly on March 1.

Atishi is also likely to present the budget for the 2024-25 financial year next week on March 4, according to sources. This will be Atishis first budget as Delhis Finance Minister after she was inducted into Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals cabinet in March last year.

The budget session of the Delhi assembly began on February 15 and was expected to run until February 21. The session was, however, extended to the first week of March, with Atishi citing a delay in budget finalisation.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi is expected to make announcements on the 80,000+ crore budget for residents, as 2024 is an election year. Sources said the focus will be on education, health, power and roads, among other sectors.

Also Read: Delhis per capita income rises over 14% to more than 4.4 lakh, highest in India: Report

Last year, the budget was presented by Kailash Gahlot, a minister in Kejriwals cabinet, following the arrest of former Finance Minister, Manish Sisodia, in the excise policy case. Based on the theme of Clean, Beautiful, and Modern Delhi, the budget amounted to 78,800 crore with a provision of 21,000 crore for Delhis infrastructure.

Healthcare

Arvind Kejriwals governments key focus area has been healthcare. Last year, the government allocated 9,742 crore for this sector. This time, the budget is expected to see an increased outlay on infrastructure building of hospitals and for under-construction projects.

In 2023-24, the government announced the remodelling of 15 hospitals and increased the bed count to 30,000 from an existing 14,000. The department grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons during the alleged scams in Mohalla clinics.

Health sector experts say the government should strengthen existing infrastructure rather than announce new facilities.

Education

Education, especially in public schools, is another focus area of the government, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently praising what he calls the Delhi Model of Schools.

Allocations in the 2023-24 budget included 16,575 crore for education. Some of the expectations from Atishis budget are new schools and more hiring of principals and teachers, among others. Atishi was an advisor to Manish Sisodia, who was also the Education Minister until he was arrested a year ago.

Also Read: Delhi ranks third in terms of per capita income: Eco Survey of Delhi

In last years budget, the then Finance Minister, Kailash Gahlot, had announced that government schools and teachers would be given new tablets.

Environment

Atishi is expected to make some announcements regarding government policies on curbing air pollution, a perennial issue in the national capital, especially during winter months. The government is also expected to increase incentives offered to people for buying electric vehicles in Delhi. More initiatives for the set up of more charging stations in the national capital are also expected.

The Delhi government provides multiple subsidies on the purchase of electric vehicles, road tax waivers and purchase incentives of up to 30,000 for two-wheelers. Over 10 per cent of cars sold in Delhi run on electric engines.

ARVIND More Information

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EVERYONE HAS an opinion about tipping these days. How much is enough? Calculated before or after tax? The restaurants suggested figure, or something else entirely?

What to tip on wine seems to be a particularly thorny subset of the question. The appropriate" amount depends on who is ordering the wineand who is serving it. What percentage is right? I sought answers from diners, sommeliers, bartenders and even an academic who studies the behavior of that most mysterious of creatures, the average consumer.

But first I talked to my doctor, Martin M. Feuer. The topic of tipping came up when I saw him in New York a few weeks ago. Though Dr. Feuer doesnt drink wine, he considers it appropriate to split restaurant bills evenly with his wine-drinking friendswho, in turn, apparently have strong opinions on what constitutes a reasonable wine tip. Dr. Feuer wanted my take.

One friend told Dr. Feuer that his tip depends on how much interaction" he has with the sommelier: If he simply orders a bottle from the restaurants wine list he doesnt tip as much as he would if he sought the sommeliers help. And if the bottle costs $200 or more, this friend tips less15% on wine, 20% on foodthan he would on a wine that costs half as much (in which case he would tip 20% across the board). Another friend doesnt believe in tipping on the total amount including sales tax but, rather, tips on the pretax amount.

I told Dr. Feuer Id never heard of delineating separate tips for wine and food, and I have never considered calculating a pretax tip. I told him that I would ask some fellow diners and restaurant professionals for their views.

When I posed wine-tipping questions to Bernadette James, who is both sommelier and bartender at the Living Room and Stages at One Washington in Dover, N.H., she said she considers a tip to be her customers assessment of her job. I believe I should be tipped on my performance," James said. At the Living Room, she noted, most customers tip 20% on the post-tax tally, though some are more generous. Very few of the restaurants diners tip on a pre-tax amount. James noted that diners who require less help than others in choosing a bottle still tip well, which she considers a sign of appreciation of the wine list she has taken care to create.

The customers who tip pre-tax at Bibliotheque wine bar and bookstore in New York tend to be from an older generation, observed wine and beverage director Scott Woltz. Such customers are more my parents age," said the 44-year-old Woltz. (His parents are in their 70s.)

While Woltz is a salaried employee, the wine bar staff works for minimum wage plus tips, so he is particularly attuned to the importance of those tipsso much so that he recently programmed the tip screen of the wine bars point-of-sale system to suggest three possible tip percentages: 18, 20 and 22%. Diners also have the option of writing in their own figure, Woltz said, but most customers opt to tip 18% or 20% on the post-tax amount.

Woltz does see an exception: customers who tip with a dive bar mentality." They might order two glasses of wine (ranging from $15 to $26 each) at the bar and carry them to their seats, leaving behind a $1 tip for each glass. Thats why Im pushing my staff to do more table service," Woltz explained.

Most of the friends I consulted for this column leave a 20% post-tax tip regardless of the price of the wine or the degree to which the sommelier has lent assistance, though very few spend as much as $200 a bottle. My friend Barbara said that if she ever did spend that much on wine, shed be happy to tip 20% on that number as well.

Barbara, who lives in Denver, appears to be in accord with other diners in her city. According to Carlin Karr, wine and beverage director of the Boulder-based Frasca Hospitality Group, We see a standard 20% or more, for which we are grateful." At all four Frasca Group restaurants in Denver and Boulder, tips are shared among all employees, front and back of house. There are none of the surcharges for the use of credit cards that one finds at some other restaurants, Karr noted, and there are no suggested tip amounts. Guests who receive extra attention from the sommelierperhaps a phone conversation before the dinner to select a particular wine and arrange to have it decanted a few hours prioroften tip more.

All the restaurant professionals I spoke with said they are generous tippers when dining out. As Karr put it, Otherwise I feel like Im wronging my tribe." But, like so many diners these days, many of them suffer from tipping fatigue." Erik Liedholm, wine director of the Seattle-based John Howie restaurant group, said that even when buying a newspaper at a coffee shop he gets the obligatory stare down" for a tip from the person behind the counter.

Liedholm said that he and his Seattle peers have seen a slight decrease in tips postpandemic, but he noted that Seattles minimum wage is relatively high ($19.97 an hour). His wine team receives 6% of bottled-wine sales and $5 for every BYO corkage (patrons who bring their own bottle). Furthermore, the team pools all their tips so no one is penalized for working a slower service," Liedholm said.

Hoping to gain more perspective on all these disparate tipping practices, I called William Lynn, a professor of consumer behavior and marketing at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration in Ithaca, N.Y., who studies tipping practices. Lynn said he normally spends around $30 on wine" when he dines out. While he professed a lack of expertise in tipping on wine specifically, he thought the same principles that apply to tipping generally should apply in this case: Wine is a part of the bill. You tip 15-20%."

From his research, Lynn has gleaned five main reasons why people tip. The first reason is to reward good service, he said. The second is to help servers make a good living, and the third is the hope of getting better future service. The fourth reason to tip is for social approvalwhether its approval of the server or third-party observers," Lynn explained. And the fifth comes down to obligation: Tipping is simply what one is expected to do.

I certainly tip to recognize good wine service, though I tip well, too, if I choose a bottle myself: As James noted, it takes expertise to put together a good restaurant wine list. In BYO restaurants, which are quite plentiful in my home state of New Jersey, to make sure that the staff doesnt bear an undue financial burden for that policy, I tip as if the cost of a good bottle were included in the bill. Finally, in line with Lynns fifth reason, I tip well because until more American restaurants settle on a better way to remunerate their staff, its just what you do if youre dining out.

Email Lettie at wine@wsj.com.
Bank Holidays in March 2024: Mark your calendars for the following upcoming bank holidays this month of March 2024 . All banks will remain closed for at least 14 days in March. These include public holidays, some regional holidays, second and fourth Saturdays and all Sundays. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the corresponding state governments determine the holidays.

Please note that some holidays will be as per the local customs of different regions in India and will vary in different states.

See | Maharashtra Bank Holidays in 2024

Below is the full list of other bank holidays in March 2024:

National Holidays:

March 1: Chapchar Kut (Mizoram)

March 8: Mahashivratri (except Tripura, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Itanagar, Rajasthan, Nagaland, West Bengal, New Delhi, Goa, Bihar, Meghalaya)

March 25: Holi (except Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Kerala, Nagaland, Bihar, Srinagar)

March 29: Good Friday (except Tripura, Assam, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh)

Also Read | Bank Holidays in 2024. Check the full list here

State Holidays:

March 22: Bihar Diwas (Bihar)

March 26: Yaosang second day/Holi (Odisha, Manipur, Bihar)

March 27: Holi (Bihar)

Regular Bank Closures:

Every Second Saturday (March 9)

Every Fourth Saturday (March 23)

Sundays: March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31

Also Read | Are SBI branches near you open today? Here's when the bank will remain closed on Saturdays in 2024

Online banking available

Nationwide access to online banking services is always open despite the shutdown of either private or public sector banks. It becomes important for individuals to develop a heightened awareness of scheduled bank holidays, taking note of the specific dates, thereby enabling them to meticulously plan their visits to their nearby branches.

While this list provides a general overview, it's crucial to remember that regional variations might exist. To ensure you're fully prepared, double-check with your specific bank branch or their official website for the most up-to-date and accurate holiday schedule.

Bank Holidays List

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) releases the list of bank holidays, which is based on various factors including national/state holidays, cultural or religious observance, operational requirements, government announcements, and coordination with other banks. It's important to note that the RBI communicates its holiday schedule through official channels, including its website and notifications to banks and financial institutions.

Also See | Stock market holiday 2024: Check days, dates, and trading holidays in the new year

Nationwide access to online banking services will persist despite the shutdown of either private or public sector banks. It becomes imperative for individuals to cultivate a heightened awareness of scheduled bank holidays, taking note of the specific dates, thereby enabling them to meticulously plan their visits to their nearby branches.

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CG Power said it has partnered with Japan's Renesas Electronics and Thailand's Stars Microelectronics for a 7,600 crore (or $222 million) semiconductor facility in Sanand, Gujarat, as part of India's chip push.

The Union Cabinet on February 29 approved the establishment of three semiconductor plants with a combined investment of 1.26 lakh crore. To encourage domestic manufacturing of semiconductors, the government is also offering incentives amounting to 76,000 crore.

The construction of these semiconductor plants is set to commence within the next 100 days, Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw said during a press briefing after the cabinet meeting.

While the first two approvals were for different units of the Tata Group, the third was for Murugappa Group-owned CG Power.

All You Need to Know About CG Power's New Planned Chip Plant

CG Power and Industrial Solutions will form a joint venture (JV) with an arm of chip specialist Renesas Electronics Corp, and Stars Microelectronics for a 7,600 crore facility in Sanand, Gujarat.

The JV plans to invest the 7,600 crore over a five-year period, which will be financed through a mix of subsidies, equity, and potential bank borrowings as required, it said in a statement.

Renesas, a leading semiconductor company headquartered in Japan, will provide advanced semiconductor technology and expertise. Stars Microelectronics will provide both technology for legacy packages and training and enablement, CG Power said in a release.

The proposed plant in Sanand is anticipated to have a daily capacity of 15 million chips. The focus of CG Power's semiconductor unit will be on manufacturing chips catering to consumer, industrial, automotive, and power applications.

The JV aims to create an outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT) facility, responsible for packaging, assembling, and testing foundry-made silicon wafers to produce finished semiconductor chips.

Renesas Electronics America and Stars Microelectronics will hold stakes of 6.76 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, CG Power will be the majority stakeholder, possessing 92.34 percent of the joint venture, as per a Reuters report.

CG Power shares rallied as much as 11.38 percent to 494.40 apiece on the BSE on March 1. At 10:25 am, CG Power shares were trading 6.91 percent higher at 474.50 apiece on the BSE.

In January, CG Power announced a standalone profit after tax of 216.47 crore for the October-December quarter. Its standalone total income for the quarter increased to 1,914.86 crore, up from 1,680.30 crore in the same period last fiscal year.

In the same quarter, the company said it had applied to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for approval to establish an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test facility.

What Other Proposals Were Approved?

Tata Electronics will establish a semiconductor fab with Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp at the special industrial region in Dholera, Gujarat. The facility aims to manufacture 50,000 wafers monthly, requiring an investment of 91,000 crore.

Tatas have also received government approval for their Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test (TSAT) proposal to construct a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in Jagiroad, Assam. The government has given the green light to this project, which involves an investment of 27,000 crore.

The facility, with a daily capacity of 48 million chips, is anticipated to create more than 27,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly, in the region. And marks a significant milestone as it will establish India's inaugural semiconductor unit in the Northeast.

The three investment proposals, totalling over 1.26 lakh crore, combined with the previously sanctioned Micron unit, will use around 59,000 crore from the 76,000 crore incentives. Vaishnaw anticipates more semiconductor proposals soon.

Last June, the Cabinet greenlit Micron's proposal to establish a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat. Currently heavily reliant on semiconductor imports, the Indian government aims to boost domestic manufacturing.

The global semiconductor industry is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, with Indian semiconductor demand expected to surpass $110 billion.

(With inputs from PTI, Reuters and Bloomberg)

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Once a stock-market trend has been identified and namedthink FAANG or the Magnificent Seventhe headiest gains are typically past. But riding a trend after it has been named can deliver market-beating returns for another year or so before the trade loses momentum and gives back some of the gains.

To study the performance of named stock-market trends, my research assistants (Matthew Rickard and Camila Marin Builes) and I did a deep-dive on eight named trends over the past 10 years that were popularized by the mainstream media and covered by more than three such organizations.

The final list of named trends we researched was:

 Watchfor retailers Walmart, Amazon.com, Target, Costco Wholesale and Home Depot.

 FANGfor tech titans Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet.

 FAANGfor Facebook, Amazon, Apple (the second A after 2017), Netflix and Google.

 Granolafor big European companies GSK, Roche, Nestle, LOreal, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, ASML Holding, AstraZeneca, SAP and Sanofi.

 The Magnificent Sevenfor tech giants Nvidia, Tesla, Meta, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft.

 MT SAASfor cloud-computing players Microsoft, Twilio, Salesforce, Adobe, Amazon and Shopify.

 BATfor Chinese tech firms Baidu, Alibaba Group and Tencent.

 Cloudfor emerging cloud-computing stocks, notably PayPal, Zoom Video Communications, Vimeo, Dropbox, Alphabet, Adobe and Salesforce

Smaller named trends like Mamaa (Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet) and Emcloud were omitted because of overlap with other named trends, and their inclusion wouldnt have changed results.

From first mention

Next, we identified the first date each trend was mentioned in the popular press. Then, for each named trend we looked at the stock returns around this date going back 24 months before the zero-date (date of first mention) and 24 months after the zero-date.

For each named trend, we use an equal weighting to calculate the return of the trade. So, for instance for FAANG, we applied a 20% weight to Metas return, a 20% weight to Apples, a 20% weight to Amazons, 20% to Netflix and 20% to Alphabet. Finally, we calculated the cumulative excess returns over time for each named trend, where the excess return is the return for the trade minus the return on the S&P 500.

The first interesting finding: When we look at the average of all these eight named trends, we see considerable price run-up before the trade being named. For the 24 months before the zero-date, we see the average named trend deliver 36% in excess returns. This means that if you magically knew about a new named trend before it happened, you could earn 36 percentage points above the S&P 500 for the two years before it was named.

Worth the ride, until

But even if you dont have this magical foresight, it still doesnt hurt to ride a trend once it has been coined. On average, once the trend has been named and looking ahead 12 months, an investor can still earn about 13 percentage points in excess returns.

Yet 12 months following the naming is about the best you can do as returns peak at this point on average and decrease a bit subsequently. From the 12-month mark to the 24-month mark after a trend has been named, the average named trend lags behind the S&P 500 by about 2 percentage points.

When we look at the individual named trends, it might surprise people that the two best trades from the zero-date to the 24-month mark in our sample were the BAT and Cloud trendsboth earning more than 60% in excess return over the two-year period once they were coined by the press.

On the other end, the MT SAAS trade did the worst, dropping more than 95% in excess returns over the two-year period after being named.

All in all, this means your best option is to jump on a named trend as soon as you first hear about itprovided you havent been too late to the partyand ride the initial momentum, if it happens. But if you get in past the 12-month mark, the returns might not be so magnificent.

Derek Horstmeyer is a professor of finance at Costello College of Business, George Mason University, in Fairfax, Va. He can be reached at reports@wsj.com.
NSC vs ELSS: Numerous products qualify for tax benefits under Section 80C, including insurance, tax-saving fixed deposits , NSC, and ELSS. The suitability of an investment product depends on factors like risk tolerance, time horizon, and future fund needs.

ELSS Mutual Funds

Equity Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS) mutual funds offer tax deductions up to 1,50,000 annually under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Investing in ELSS provides the advantage of both tax benefits and wealth accumulation. ELSS funds have a short lock-in period of three years, the shortest among all tax-saving investments, and have the potential to yield high returns compared to other options under Section 80C.

National Savings Certificate (NSC)

NSC is a popular investment option offered by the Government of India to encourage small savings among individuals. It is available through post offices across the country and offers attractive benefits to investors.

Under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, individuals can claim a tax deduction of up to 1.5 lakh per financial year on the principal amount invested in NSC. However, it's important to note that while the principal amount invested in NSC is tax-free up to the specified limit, the interest earned on NSC is taxable. Despite the taxation on interest earned, NSC remains a popular investment choice for many individuals due to its safety, and guaranteed returns

The choice between ELSS and NSC hinges on individual financial goals and risk appetite. ELSS suits those seeking higher returns with higher risk tolerance, while NSC offers stability and guaranteed returns for risk-averse investors," said Abhishek Soni, CEO and Co-founder of Tax2win.

Understanding the investment horizon is crucial; ELSS, with a 3-year lock-in, suits short-term goals, while NSC, with a 5-year lock-in, caters to long-term objectives. added the Tax2win CEO.

ELSS are risky for a short duration. They have the potential to give you better returns as compared to NSC in the long run. Though the ELSS schemes have a lock-in period of only three years If you are investing in ELSS funds or for that matter in any equity scheme or mutual fund, you should have a minimum time horizon of eight to 10 years," said Mumbai-based investment and tax expert Balwant Jain.

If your time horizon is shorter than seven years, you should consider investing in NSC or Tax Savings Bank FD for tax savings u/s 80 C. For making investments in ELSS I would suggest you the route of a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) so that your investment is spread over the year, added Jain.

Despite the new tax regime, i.e. tax on Long-Term Capital Gains from ELSS, these funds, in the opinion of experts, still, hold their place as one of the best tax-saving options. ELSS can play a significant role in your portfolio. These equity-linked instruments have the potential to offer higher returns and are an ideal choice of investment for the long term. ELSS holds its ground, even with its returns being taxed, with higher post-tax returns than any other Section 80C investment options such as Public Provident Funds (PPFs) and ULIPS. ELSS has a lower lock-in period. Unlike the PPF, NSC, and EPF, all of which require a minimum of five five-year lock-in period, ELSS is a far better option with just three years of lock-in," said Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, of Clear.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Were going to cure the world of its pain" declared Richard Sackler (portrayed by Michael Stuhlbarg) in the Hulu miniseries Dopesick," which chronicled how Purdue Pharma used deceptive practices to make OxyContin a blockbuster. Opioids didnt cure pain, but they led to a nationwide scourge that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans.

These days, doctors no longer prescribe opioids as easily. Unfortunately for millions of Americans still suffering from debilitating pain, the alternatives arent great, leaving a gap in care that is in urgent need of a medical solution.

In recent months, Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced positive results from studies of its experimental nonopioid painkiller. The excitement has added about $20 billion to the companys market capitalization in recent months, with some Wall Street analysts describing the pain market as the next big opportunity after obesity. Yet the results, while encouraging, are far from being a home run. In two late-stage studies, the drug eased patients pain more than the placebo but failed to outperform Vicodin. In a bunion surgery trial, the opioid-based Vicodin outperformed Vertexs drug on pain relief. The upshot is that while Vertexs drug might not be a blockbuster, its success is likely to pave the way for better drugs down the line.

For decades, the hunt for safe and effective pain treatments has eluded the pharma industry. It isnt that researchers dont know how to stop pain. Drugs can target receptors in the brain to reduce it, as opioids do quite well, but not without also triggering feelings of euphoria, or dulling mental acuity. Crucially, there is also the potential for addiction.

Pain can also be blocked at the source by local anesthetics. Dentists do it all the time during dental procedures. But if you were to turn that into a pill, it would run the risk of blocking neuronal signaling within the brain, or affecting the hearts rhythm, says Stephen Waxman, a Yale University neuroscientist. The challenge for drug developers has been how to create a highly selective pill that can target pain without compromising other bodily functions.

We could block all pain, but we wouldnt live very long," says Thomas Buchheit, director of Duke Universitys Regenerative Pain Therapies Program.

In recent decades, scientists identified genetic mutations that made people either feel too much pain or made them unable to sense it. A child in Pakistan with a genetic mutation entertained street crowds by walking on hot coals and sticking knives through his arms. The discovery of the mutated gene, which encodes sodium channels that regulate the transmission of pain signals to the brain, offered a tantalizing target because it represented a way to potentially block pain at its source with limited side effects.

But relieving pain by blocking these channels, known as Nav1.7 and Nav1.8, has proved difficult, and companies including Teva, Roche and Biogen have undertaken clinical trials that failed to demonstrate conclusive evidence of pain relief. One issue is that these sodium channels are similar to others that regulate functions in the heart and brain. Another challenge, Waxman says, is that unlike cancer, for example, where a clear marker in the blood can be measured after a treatment is given, assessing pain is more subjective, with results often based purely on patients responses.

Vertexs success, then, should be viewed in the context of a long string of failures. Think of the opportunity less as the GLP-1 bonanza remaking the treatment of obesity and more like the slow, but promising, progress being made in fighting Alzheimers. While its drug didnt beat opioid-based Vicodin in acute-pain studies and didnt outperform Lyrica, an older drug, in a separate study with diabetic neuropathy patients, the results are likely to unleash more investment and research into this class of sodium channel blockers. And since Vertex will be able to claim its drug isnt addictive, it should establish a decent-size market.

This is an important step forward because it establishes proof of concept that this approach can reduce pain," says Waxman. Latigo Biotherapeutics recently raised $135 million to focus on the same sodium channel as Vertex. Sean Harper, co-founding managing director at Westlake Village BioPartners, an investor behind Latigo, argues that so-called Nav inhibitors could follow a trajectory similar to that of statins. While the first drug wasnt the most effective, it paved the way for subsequent ones with a better clinical profile. In the longer term, other approaches, such as gene therapies, could become available.

If approved, Vertexs drug will initially be available for acute pain. That means it could be prescribed after surgery, when a patient needs a week or two of medication. While that is a multibillion-dollar market, the challenge is that doctors dont mind prescribing opioids for short durations, says Myles Minter, an analyst at William Blair.

Price is a crucial factor. Opioid generics cost as little as 50 cents a pill, compared with an estimated $10 for Vertexs drug, Minter says. Passage of the Nopain Act, legislation promoting the use of nonopioids, could help with the cost, but wouldnt close the gap entirely. The bigger opportunity will be for neuropathic pain, which is treated chronically. After positive midstage results in people with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy, Vertex is in talks with the Food and Drug Administration to conduct a broader study of people with neuropathic pain. Such chronic markets represent a much bigger opportunity because pills are taken for years and opioids arent as suitable because of their addictive nature, says Minter.

There is no arguing that pain, whether acute or chronic, is a huge market in desperate need of better drugs. In the ideal world, Vertexs drug would be so effective that it would simply make opioids obsolete, but it wont. In a field littered with failures and a dearth of options, though, it is a big step forward.

Write to David Wainer at david.wainer@wsj.com
(Bloomberg) -- Testing positive for Covid-19 will no longer mean prolonged isolation for most people under new US guidelines released Friday.

People with Covid whose symptoms are improving and have been fever-free for 24 hours without medication can return to work, school or other public places, US health officials said. The updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations acknowledge the waning severity of infections along with the effectiveness of treatments and vaccines.

After sweeping across the world and leaving more than 1.1 million Americans dead in its wake, Covid has been significantly tamed by vaccines, drugs such as Pfizer Inc.s Paxlovid and widespread immunity resulting from infections. The new US guidance extends beyond the coronavirus to familiar contagions like flu and RSV that can be fatal for the most vulnerable, but arent considered national emergencies.

We are in a new place," CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. Even as Covid cases remained high this winter, there were fewer hospitalizations and deaths. With that continued trend over yet another season, we felt we could move forward."

CDC Director Mandy Cohen joins Bloomberg News reporter Riley Griffin to discuss new Covid-19 guidelines, the fentanyl crisis and reproductive health care. Watch here on Monday, March 4, at 3:30 pm ET.

Respiratory viruses still remain a threat, particularly for people 65 and older and those with compromised immune systems. Elderly people and those with chronic diseases who are vulnerable to Covid have opposed changes in guidelines that would put them at higher risk of contact with infected people.

There were 76,000 Covid deaths in the US last year, the CDC said, down from 245,000 in 2022. Flu causes as many as 51,000 US deaths annually.

Cohen said she hopes that the revised guidance will be easier for Americans to observe. And if more people are following that guidance, that means less viral spread," she said, noting that high-risk individuals were top of mind" while developing the recommendations.

People infected by Covid, flu or RSV should still stay at home as much as possible and seek treatment, the CDC said. Some remain contagious even after their symptoms abate or their fever resolves without medications like Tylenol. Those who do return to work or school should mask, keep their distance from others, wash their hands and take other measures for five days.

The CDC has additional recommendations for people who are pregnant, immunocompromised, have disabilities or are over the age of 65.

Today, 98% of the US population has some Covid immunity from vaccination, infection or both, Brendan Jackson of CDCs National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases told reporters on Friday. Still, that immunity can subside, so its important to stay up to date with shots, he said.

We saw far too few folks get the updated Covid vaccine this past season," said Cohen, who took over as CDC director last summer. Get ready now for your updated Covid-19 and flu shot this fall."

States that have already shortened recommended isolation times havent seen significant changes in Covid hospitalizations or deaths. Last year, Oregon began to allow those who see their Covid symptoms improving and have been fever free for 24 hours without medication to end isolation. California followed in January, adding that those who are asymptomatic but testing positive dont need to isolate but should wear a mask for 10 days.

The guidance removes yet another obstacle to employers efforts to coax workers back to the office. Payroll company Gusto found that at professional service firms, almost a third of employees took at least one sick day in 2023, a 42% increase from 2019, and average absences were about 15% longer.

Companies should provide flexible paid leave and remote options to employees to help them stay home when theyre sick, Cohen said.

While the CDC has repeatedly evaluated its Covid isolation guidance in recent years, new waves of illness brought about by viral mutations have discouraged the agency from making major changes. CDC last changed its Covid-19 isolation recommendation in 2021.

The agency was criticized for confusing messaging during the pandemic and is aiming to give a clearer, consistent understanding of how to navigate respiratory illnesses. Weve learned a lot of lessons through Covid," Cohen said.

Covid, flu and RSV all produce similar symptoms that can make it difficult to distinguish among them without testing, Cohen said, and the reality is, we know a lot of folks arent getting tested when theyre sick." That spurred the CDC to craft more streamlined advice."

We know that this virus can change and we may need to change with it," Cohen said. This is the best information we have today."

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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Around 97.62 percent of the 2000 banknotes in circulation as on May 19 last year have already been returned, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in an announcement made on Friday.

Besides, the total value of 2,000 banknotes in circulation, which was 3.56 lakh crore at the time of withdrawal in May last year, has now fallen to 8,470 crore on February 29, 2024, the announcement further states.

For the unversed, the banking regulator had announced the withdrawal of 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation on May 19, 2023. RBI keeps publishing the status of withdrawal from time to time like it did today.

Past announcement

The last announcement with regards to 2,000 currency notes was made on Feb 1, 2024 when it was revealed that 97.50 per cent of the banknotes in circulation as on May 19, 2023 were returned.

Notably, the facility for deposit and exchange of currency notes was available at all bank branches up to October 7, 2023.

Additionally, the facility for exchange of the 2000 banknotes has been available at the 19 Issue Offices of the Reserve Bank since May 19, 2023.

Since Oct 09, 2023, RBI Issue Offices have also been accepting currency notes from individuals as well as entities for deposit into their bank accounts.

Further, members of the public are sending 2000 banknotes through India Post from any post office within the country, to any of the RBI Issue Offices for credit to their bank accounts.

And not to mention that the 2000 banknotes continue to be legal tender.

Why were the notes discontinued?

While announcing discontinuation of notes on May 19, 2023, RBI told the stakeholders that around 89 percent of the 2000 denomination banknotes were issued prior to March 2017 and are at the end of their estimated life-span of 4 to 5 years.

Importantly, the total value of these banknotes in circulation fell drastically from 6.73 lakh crore on March 31, 2018 (comprising 37.3 percent of notes in circulation) to 3.62 lakh crore (comprising only 10.8 percent of notes in circulation on March 31, 2023).

It was also observed that this denomination was not commonly used for transactions, RBI had noted that time in the announcement.

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An explosion rocked The Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield, Bengaluru on Friday. Nine people were injured in the incident, said officials. The co-founder of the famous cafe chain reported said two blasts, within just 10 seconds, occurred. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah reportedly confirmed that Rameshwaram cafe explosion on Friday noon was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device.

Follow Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Live Updates here

While speaking with reporters in Mysuru, Siddaramaiah said somebody kept a bag at the cafe which exploded injuring some people. "CCTV footage from the cafe is being examined. It has come to be known that someone had left a bag at the cafe. The accused in the incident will be punished," he was quoted by ANI as saying.

Here are all the details about Rameshwaram Cafe blast: 10 points

1. Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan said nine people were injured in the blast. The CM and the Home Minister have been given complete information on the incident. Nine people were injured in the incident. An investigation is underway. We will get feedback from the FSL team," he said. Three employees are among the nine injured .

Three of those injured were taken to a hospital nearby where staff said two of them had suffered minor injuries. The third had 40 percent burn injuries and was in intensive care, news agency PTI reported.

ALSO READ: The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru, rocked by blast, is hub for food lovers: All you need to know about this cafe

2. Divya Raghavendra Rao, co-founder and managing director of The Rameshwaram cafe chain, told the local TV9 news channel on Friday that as per the information she received there were two explosions within 10 seconds of each other. The blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in the east of the city occurred during the busy lunch hour when crowds from nearby offices lined up.

3. She added that something kept in a bag had exploded. "The explosion happened in the area where customers wash their hands. It was nothing in the kitchen that exploded... something that was kept in a bag exploded," she was quoted as saying.

4. While the exact cause of the blast is ascertained, a policeman at the site said a bomb squad would investigate the matter. "The cafe had given its CCTV footage to help police investigate the cause of the blast," Rao said. Earlier, a team of forensic experts also collect evidence from the site of the explosion. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also likely to visit the spot.

5. Earlier, it was suspected that a cylinder blast had caused a fire at the cafe. Whitefield Fire Station said, "We received a call that a cylinder blast occurred in the Rameshawaram cafe. We reached the spot and we are analysing the situation".

6. However, BJP MP from Bangalore South Tejasvi Surya said he spoke with "Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj", who informed Surya that "the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion". Surya added, It seems to be a clear case of bomb blast."

7. A man who is working as a security guard at The Rameshwaram Cafe said, I was standing outside the cafe. Many customers had come to the hotel. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a fire broke out, causing injuries to the customers inside the hotel."

8. There were no ambulances, and the injured were transferred in auto-rickshaws, eyewitnesses at the Rameshwaram Cafe told News18.

9. Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly R Ashok also launched a scathing attack on the Congress government in the state. "The bomb blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru is yet another glaring example of the deteriorating law and order situation in Karnataka ever since CM Siddaramaiah led Karnataka government came to power in the state," he tweeted.

10. BJP MP PC Mohan also tweeted, "Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru."

(With inputs from agencies)

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday confirmed the use of a small improvised explosive device (IED) in The Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru. Shedding light on the explosion that rocked the popular eatery in the city, Shivakumar said that the blast occurred at around 1 pm on Friday. "It was a low-intensity blast," he said.

He said a youngster had come and "kept a small bag which exploded after an hour". The timer was fixed for a blast to happen after an hour. As many as 10 people were injured in the explosion that rocked the famous cafe, Shivakumar said. Follow Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Live Updates here "All of those injured are out of danger...It is not a very big bomb, our officers are saying. But still, we have to do our duty," he said, adding that the Forensic Science Laboratory and the bomb squad are investigating the matter. "More than seven-eight groups have also been formed to probe the incident. We are looking at all angles (including the terror angle)...," DK Shivakumar said. He also asked all the Bangloreans to not worry".

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it was reported that the person who had taken the token from the cashier had breakfast at the cafe and left the bag there. "Around eight people were injured in the incident," he said.

ALSO READ: The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru, rocked by blast, is hub for food lovers: All you need to know about this cafe

Siddaramaiah said the investigation into the explosion is going on in full swing and that strict action will be taken against the culprits.

"Preliminary investigations revealed a small improvised explosive device, more information will be available after the full report," the CM posted on X.

ALSO READ: Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast: Owner says 'something kept in bag exploded', 9 injured | 10 points

"Such an incident should not have happened in the state. Another such incident happened in Mangalore. Whoever did this will be found out and strict action will be taken against them," he said.

He asked political parties to not indulge in politics at this time.

DK Shivakumar and Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara, along with DGP Alok Mohan, visited the Bengaluru explosion site for inspection on Friday. A team from the National Investigation Agency also visited the explosion site in the Whitefield area.

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Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast: The main culprit behind the bomb blast that took place at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe has been identified on the CCTV camera recording. Based on the CCTV footage, the accused appears to be of 28 to 30 years of age, he visited the restaurant and ordered Rava idli at the cafe, said Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday.

Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast Live updates

The bomb blast, that occurred at Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday afternoon, left at least ten people injured. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had confirmed that the blast was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED).

DK Shivakumar also said that the youngster visited the restaurant, ordered his food, kept a small bag, and immediately left the restaurant without receiving his order. The bomb exploded nearly an hour after he left the place.

"The blast occurred at 1 pm. It happened at Rameshwaram Cafe. A young man of about 28-30 years came to the cafe, purchased Rava Idli at the counter, placed the bag near a tree (adjacent to the cafe) and left. After one hour the blast occurred," Shivakumar said after visiting the blast site along with Home Minister G Parameshwara.

While speaking with the media, the Congress leader also said that multiple aspects of the matter have been considered during the investigation in the matter. Moreover, he assured "every Bangalorean not to worry."

At present the matter has been investigated by the Central Crime Branch (CCB). The incident site was also investigated by the FSL and bomb squad team. While speaking with the reporters, DK Shivakumar also said that the police are free in the investigation, the police will find the culprit within a few hours."

Responding to the criticism from the opposition party BJP, Shivakumar said, Let them say whatever allegations they have...for us it's not the allegations, we are looking at the image of Karnataka."

Mentioning the cooker blast that took place in 2022, during the BJP government, he said, I don't want to blame anyone here."

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended birthday wishes to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who turned 73 years old today. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi wrote, Best wishes to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on his birthday."

Praying for his long and healthy life in service of the people," the Prime Minister added.

Nitish Kumar met PM Modi in New Delhi on February 7. This was the first visit of the Janata Dal (United) supremo after he dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the INDIA bloc to form a new government with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar.

The meeting took place five days ahead of Nitish Kumar's government's scheduled floor test on February 12. He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah after meeting PM Modi.

Nitish Kumar took the oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time in Raj Bhawan, Patna, switching sides again, this time with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It was for the second time in two years that Nitish Kumar had jumped the ship, his fifth crossover in a little over a decade.

After parting ways with the BJP in 2022, Nitish Kumar took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on PM Modi and the ruling party in the national election.

In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Jungle Raaj'. Till now, he has been Bihar's CM on eight occasions. In 2013, Nitish broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

In 2017, Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015. He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state.

In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is all set to challenge before the Supreme Court the acquittal of Abdul Karim Tunda, the main accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case. CBI officials are studying the judgment and an appeal would soon be filed in the Supreme Court, officials were quoted by PTI as saying.

He said probe agencies alleged that Tunda helped other accused in making bombs which they planted after being inspired by him. "The defence presented facts before the court and there was no direct evidence against Tunda or confession statement against him," the lawyer was quoted by PTI as saying.

Meanwhile, Justice Gupta, in his judgment, said that while the prosecution presented evidence indicating Tundas role in helping other accused to make the bombs, it failed to establish his direct role in the blasts, the Hindustan Times reported.

Irfan and Hamiduddin were, however, sentenced to life imprisonment for planting the bombs, their counsel Abdul Rashid told reporters.

"Hamiduddin and Irfan have been found guilty. They were convicted for planting bombs and have been sentenced to life imprisonment. They will appeal before the Supreme Court," Rashid said.

He said that Hamiduddin has been in jail for the last 14 years and Irfan for the last 17 years.

What CBI said

The cases related to the serial blast were handed over to the CBI, which had registered five separate FIRs in the matter.

A CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the investigation revealed that the various accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy with the object to over-awe the Government established by law, spreading terror in public at large and creating disharmony among different communities of the country by committing terrorist acts, like bomb explosions in the running prestigious trains in different parts of the country, on the occasion of first anniversary of the demolition of a structure at Ayodhya.

The agency had filed chargesheets against 21 accused, of which 15 were awarded life sentences 20 years ago on February 28, 2004 by a TADA court in Ajmer. The Supreme Court had upheld the sentence of 10 of these convicts.

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Former Miss India Tripura Rinky Chakma passed away this week after a lengthy battle with cancer. The former beauty queen was diagnosed with malignant phyllodes tumour  a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer two years ago. Chakma had been crowned Miss India Tripura in 2017 and won the addition titles of Miss Congeniality and Beauty with a Purpose during the pageant.

Rinky was truly a force to be reckoned with, embodying grace and purpose. Representing Tripura at the Femina Miss India 2017 pageant, she was honored with the title of Miss Beauty with a Purpose, a testament to her impactful endeavors and compassionate spirit," the Miss India Instagram handle recalled.

Chakma took to Instagram in late January to reveal her health struggles after an extensive social media hiatus. At the time she had been undergoing chemotherapy sessions and awaiting brain surgery.

I was diagnosed with Malignant phyllodes tumour (breast cancer in 2022). After i had my first surgery , it metastasized into my lungs and now in my head (brain tumor). My brain surgery is still pending as it's already widespread all my right side of my body till my lungs and it will only be possible if i heal with chemotherapy first with just 30% hope," she wrote in the caption.

Chakma was hospitalised in a critical state on February 22 after one of her lungs almost stopped functioning. She passed away at a Delhi hospital mere days later.

What is malignant phyllodes tumor?

According to data shared by the US government run National Library of Medicine, malignant phyllodes tumor is a rare tumor of the breast that typically occurs in females aged between 35 and 55 years. They account for 0.3 to 1% of all primary breast tumors and 2.5% of all fibroepithelial breast tumors.

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New Delhi: Indias chip-making ambitions took a giant leap on Thursday with the Centre greenlighting three projects worth 1.26 trillion, with the Tata group leading two of them.

While Tata Electronics Pvt. Ltd (TEPL) will build Indias first semiconductor fab in Gujarats Dholera for 91,000 crore along with Taiwans Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (PSMC), Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt. Ltd (TSAT) will build an assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) plant in Assams Morigaon for 27,000 crore. Separately, CG Power Pvt. Ltd will build an ATMP unit in Gujarats Sanand at an investment of 7,600 crore, along with Japans Renesas Electronics.

A Union cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared all three projects, bringing chip investments approved so far to around 1.5 trillion, including Microns ATMP plant cleared last June. Separately, the cabinet also okayed an incentive scheme for rooftop solar power with 75,000 crore outlay, set the stage for auctioning critical minerals by fixing their royalty rates, and approved subsidy rates for the next sowing season.

Ground-breaking for all three semiconductor projects is expected in the next 100 days, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, adding the Tata-PSMC fab may be ready in around two and a half years, producing around 3 billion chips a year across 28nm, 50nm, 55nm and 90nm nodes.

The facilities combined will generate 1 lakh indirect jobs, and 26,000 direct jobs. A number of key component supply chain companies will also come to India, such as five key strategic companies that we welcomed to India after Microns factory construction began," Vaishnaw added.

The Cabinet did not take up Tower Semiconductors application for an $11 billion fab, minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said. Towers application spans a prolonged period and is a complex fab proposal, and is likely to be taken to the Cabinet in the coming months," Chandrasekhar said. He said the goverment has so far received $26 billion worth of semiconductor applications, including the Tower proposal.

Vaishnaw added that the Centre has offered electronics design automation (EDA) tools to 104 Indian universities, licensed from Cadence Design, Synopsys and Siemens. These very expensive tools are helping us create a talent pool of 300,000 engineers, who will then work across chip design, fabs and ATMP facilities. These will then lead to a build-up of value addition in electronics manufacturing across India," Vaishnaw said.

Chandrasekhar said India now consumes $110 billion in semiconductors, making it the third largest consumer after China and North America.

Separately, the cabinet approved 75,021 crore subsidies for rooftop solar equipment for 10 million homes under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, first proposed in the interim budget on 1 February. Equipment up to 1 kilowatt (kW) will get a  30,000 subsidy, while for 2 kW and 3 kW systems, they will be  60,000 and 78,000, respectively. Households covered by the scheme will get free power up to 300 units a month, as well as access to collateral-free, low-interest loans for installing solar power equipment. The government expects the scheme to fuel substantial household savings and reduce the strain on electricity grids.

The interim budget had said the schemes beneficiaries would be able to save  15,000-18,000 per year on their electricity bills. The scheme will be implemented through special purpose vehicles established by central public sector enterprises designated for each state. State-run REC Ltd will be the implementing agency for the scheme.

The government will also develop a model solar village in each district of the country to encourage adoption of rooftop solar power in rural areas, Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said.

In another key decision, the cabinet approved royalty rates for 12 critical and strategic mineralsberyllium, cadmium, cobalt, gallium, indium, rhenium, selenium, tantalum, tellurium, titanium, tungsten and vanadiumpaving the way for auctioning blocks of these minerals. These minerals are key components for semiconductors, batteries and solar module manufacturing, playing an important role in Indias net zero target of 2070 and the ambitious plan to become a manufacturing hub.

The government also approved a subsidy of 24,420 crore for phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers, adding three new grades to aid farmers and enhance the productivity of oilseeds and pulses. It also approved the fertilizer departments proposal to set nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) rates for the 2024-25 kharif sowing season, which runs from April to September. The subsidy on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) will continue at 4,500 per tonne.

Despite rising prices of fertilizers in the global market, we have decided to keep the prices the same as the last season," minister Anurag Thakur said. Per-kilogram subsidies for nitrogen (N), phosphatic (P) potassic (K) and Sulphur (S) fertilizers have been set at 47.02, 28.72, 2.38, and 1.89 respectively. The subsidy on phosphatic fertilisers has been increased to 28.72 per kg from 20.82 per kg in the 2023 rabi season; however, the subsidy on nitrogen (N), potassic (K) and Sulphur (S) remain unchanged.

DAP-based fertilizers will be available for  1,350 per bag, while muriate of phosphate (MOP) fertilizers will be available for  1,670 a bag, and NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for  1,470 per bag. For the 2023-24 kharif season, a subsidy of  38,000 crore was announced. The FY25 budget allocated 1.64 trillion for fertilizer subsidy, lower than the revised estimate of 1.88 trillion allotted for FY24.

Though India is moving toward gaining self-sufficiency in urea, it still depends on imports to meet demand for rock phosphate, the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilizers.

India is dependent on imports for muriate of potash and imports nearly 5 million tonnes of phosphate rock, 2.5 million tonnes of phosphoric acid and 3 million tonnes of DAP annually.

Since its inception in 2010, the NBS scheme has played a pivotal role in ensuring farmers have access to essential nutrients at subsidized prices, now expanded to cover 25 grades of P&K fertilizers for both rabi and kharif seasons.
A clash between two groups at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) resulted in injuries to some students during a dispute over the selection of election committee members.

Meanwhile, Vice-chancellor Santishree D Pandit stated that strict action would be taken against those involved, regardless of their political affiliations. The violence occurred in the university's School of Languages building late on Thursday night. Students from both Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed groups have filed police complaints against each other.

The complaints were registered at Vasant Kunj North police station. A university official said some students have been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.

"We received information about the clashes on the campus at 1.15 am. At least four students were injured. Multiple complaints have been received from both sides. Further inquiry is on," a police officer told PTI.

University Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit said the administration will look into the matter and take strict action.

"The JNU (students' union) elections are conducted by students. It is their responsibility to ensure that it is a peaceful democratic process. The Inter-hostel Administration (IHA) oversees the conduct of the polls. Any complaints by the students' body will be looked into by the IHA. Very strict action will be taken against those found guilty irrespective of their political affiliation," she told PTI.

The vice-chancellor also said once the medicolegal cases of students severely injured in the violence are done, the authority concerned will prepare a report and take appropriate action.

Pandit warned the students that any act of violence on campus may lead to deferring the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) polls further.

A video clip of the incident showed a man thrashing students with a stick while in another, a person is seen throwing a bicycle at students. Other videos also purportedly showed individuals being mobbed and beaten up by a group while security personnel of the university tried to rescue them.

The ABVP told PTI that two students seen in one of the videos beating others with a stick and throwing a bicycle were members of its JNU unit and claimed that they were trying to defend themselves.

On the other hand, Left-backed groups alleged that ABVP members, disgruntled by the selection of the election committee members, attacked JNUSU office bearers and other students.

Also Read: Ex-JNU Student Shehla Rashid applauds 'Article 370' movie, says inside story of bloodless

JNUSU Joint Secretary Mohammad Danish, who was presiding the School General Body Meeting along with JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh, claimed that he received threats to his life from ABVP members because of his religious identity.

He also alleged that he was held hostage during the meeting.

"On the last day of the General Body Meeting at the School of Languages, ABVP resorted to another round of violence at the end of the meeting. Initially attempting to disrupt the selection process for the election committee, the ABVP resorted to violence against students when thwarted by JNU students," the Left-backed All India Students Association (AISA) claimed in a statement.

"Accompanied by Kanhaiya Kumar, a student of Japanese MA and the ring-leader of the SL (School of Languages) unit, the ABVP goons were seen wielding rods and targeting and beating common students indiscriminately. They singled out Muslim students and objected to the names of Muslim students being proposed for the election committee," it alleged.

Also Read: JNU bans protests on campus; may expel students who flout rules

The Left students' group claimed their members Shaurya and Madhurima Kundu, both pursuing PhD, and Priyam and Anwesha, students of MA Linguistics, were chased and beaten up by ABVP members. It also accused the JNU administration of shielding the RSS-affiliated student group.

The ABVP, in turn, accused the Left group of foul play in electing the candidates of the election committee and alleged that the politburo chief in the General Body Meeting tried to provide undue advantage to SFI candidates.

"In General Body Meeting at the School of Languages, the chief of Politburo unilaterally declared that first election committee candidates who have secured more than two-third of the seats will be automatically declared winners. In the counting process if 100 hands are being raised to support a candidate, then the Politburo chief counts it as 300.

"The open rigging in the counting of votes and imposition of self-made rules is a manifestation of autocracy akin to the system of Politburo," the ABVP said in a statement while claiming that its members were injured in the attack by the Left groups.

(With inputs from PTI)

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West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar took stock of the preparations ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's public meeting in Arambagh, Hoogly, on Friday. He will also inaugurate several government projects in the state today.

PM Modi's proposed rally is scheduled for March 1 in Arambagh. On March 2, his rally has been proposed to be held in Krishnanagar. He will address both the rallies and also dedicate a few public schemes to the people," Majumdar had announced in a video statement last week.

PM Modi in West Bengal: Here are five things to know

1) The Prime Minister would address a public rally in Arambagh and Krishnanagar in the state on March 1 and 2 respectively.

2) PM Modi will hold a public meeting in Arambagh Hooghly later today and will also inaugurate several government projects.

3) He is also likely to hold another rally in the first week of March in Barasat, a subdivision in North 24 Parganas district and next to Sandeshkhali village, where alleged atrocities against women have been committed by TMC strongman Sheikh Shahjahan and his aides, a party source said as quoted by PTI.

4) The PM will launch multiple development projects worth over 22,200 crore, a visit which becomes politically significant as well as it comes amid the BJP's sharp attack on the Bengal government over the Sandeshkhali issue.

5) Sukant Majumdar also mentioned that the Prime Minister is coming to Bengal, it is a matter of happiness for all of us and he will address the people of West Bengal. There is a lot of enthusiasm among the workers too.

6) PM Modi will also be addressing the women of the entire country from Barashat, West Bengal on March 6.

(With inputs from agencies)

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At least five people have been injured after an explosion at a Bengaluru eatery. The incident took place at the popular Rameshwaram Cafe in the Rajajinagar area during the lunch hour. The victims  believed to include three cafe staffers as well as a customer  have been shifted to a hospital.

The cause of the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe was not immediately known. Officials suspect the subsequent fire was caused by a cylinder blast. Initial reports had claimed that an unknown object kept inside a bag within the restaurant had exploded. A policeman at the site told Reuters that a bomb squad was on its way to investigate. We received a call that a cylinder blast occurred in the Rameshawaram cafe. We reached the spot and we are analysing the situation," officials from the Whitefield fire station told ANI. ALSO READ: Bengaluru cafe blast LIVE updates

Police and fire personnel have rushed to the spot.

We received a call about a cylinder blast in Rameshwaram cafe. Immediately, a fire engine was rushed to the spot. Initial suspicions are that it is a cylinder blast. However, it is being ascertained. It is a minor blast and we have shifted those injured to the hospital. The incident occurred between 1.30 and 2 pm. We are probing it from all angles," a police officer said.

Television footage showed some minor damage inside the cafe premises, with police and fire officers clearing crowds that gathered after the blast.
UK-based wanted gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias, Nandu, has claimed responsibility for the killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) state president Nafe Singh Rathee who was gunned down along with a party worker by unknown assailants near Bahadurgarh railway crossing in Jhajjar on Sunday, PTI reported.

The gangster took to social media and said that he was the one who got Nafe Singh killed. He alleged that the leader had a close friendship with gangster Manjeet Mahal and Nafe Singh used to work with Mahal's brother Sanjay in capturing properties.

He supported Mahal in the murder of my brother-in-law and my friends. This will be the outcome for anyone who joins hands with my enemy. If anybody supports my enemies, I will support their enemies and all the 50 bullets will wait to take away that person's life," he said as quoted by ANI.

The gangster revealed that the entire Bahadurgarh knows the number of people Nafe Singh captured and killed while in power, adding to which he said, "No one could raise their voice because of his power."

If the police had been so active in the murder of my brother-in-law and my friends, I would not have needed to do this," he called police being inactive.

Who is Kapil Sangwan aka Nandu?

1) Kapil Sangwan (32) alias Nandu, a native of Delhi's Najafgarh is wanted in 18 cases including MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act), murder, attempt to murder, extortion and robbery and arms act in Delhi, Haryana, and Rajasthan, PTI reported citing Sangwan's dossier prepared by the Delhi Police.

2) Nandu is a dropout from a hotel management course at a reputed private university in Haryana's Manesar. He also has a reward of 2 lakh for his arrest by the Delhi Police.

3) Delhi Police officer informed that Sangwan and Mahal  both residents of Najafgarh  have been part of a feud since 2015 when Mahal and his men allegedly killed Sangwan's brother-in-law Sunil alias 'Doctor'.

4) On instructions from his elder brother Jyoti Prakash alias Baba, who is currently in Tihar jail, to take revenge, Sangwan formed a team of his associates and killed Nafe Singh alias Mantri, who was a close associate of Mahal, the officer said. Jyoti Prakash is the other half of the infamous Kapil-Jyoti Baba gang.

5) In 2017, Sangwan also gunned down Mahal's father Shri Krishna in his house in Nazafgarh, as per PTI reports.

6) According to Sangwan's dossier, his crime graph began with the first case of extortion registered against him in Delhi's Chhawla area in September 2014. He was booked for an attempt to murder in Chhawla in November 2014 and in the same month, he was found to be involved in a robbery in Haryana's Jind.

7) Sangwan is also known to be short-tempered and trigger-happy, a police officer said. Between 2014 and 2016, he was allegedly involved in at least 12 crimes in Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

8) The officer said he was previously arrested by Rajasthan Police from Bhagrota in Jaipur on April 29, 2016 along with five of his associates  Sachin, Gulshan, Gajraj, Pankaj and Paramjeet. He was booked in a case of MCOCA by Delhi Police Special Cell in 2019, as per the dossier quoted by PTI.

9) But in 2020, Sangwan managed to flee to the United Kingdom when he came out of jail on parole for a month, the officer. He procured a fake passport from Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly and fled to Dubai via Thailand and then settled in the UK, he said.

10) As per the dossier, members of his gang who work under Sangwan are Vipin alias Judu, Anil Sharma alias Podi, Vicky alias Khadu, Amit Dahiya, Prashant Gullia, Vasudev alias Vasu and Kirshna Kumar alias Ankush.

(With inputs from agencies)

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An explosion occurred at the famous Rameshwaram Cafe in Whitefield, Bengaluru, on Friday. The cafe has been a centre of attraction for food bloggers across the country. A foodie wouldn't have missed an Instagram and YouTube video about how "iconic" this Bengaluru cafe has been.

The latest news about a fire at this popular eatery has taken the internet by storm, with netizens thronging social media with videos showing a huge crowd outside the Rameshwaram Cafe when the explosion happened. Follow Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Live Updates here At least five people were injured in a fire that was caused by a suspected cylinder explosion at the eatery on Friday, police said. While there was no immediate word on the exact number of injured persons, police said at least five people have been shifted to the hospital. The explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe at Kundanahalli led to a blaze.

Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe a hub for food lovers

One would have come across a picture of Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan posing with a plate of South Indian food and the Rameshwaram Cafe in the background. He also shared these pictures on Instagram and said, "After visiting these delicious and iconic eateries in Banglore, such raha hun food blogger ban jaun." His post had gone viral last week.

The Instagram page of Rameshawaram Cafe describes it as a "Premium Veg Dakshin Bharatiya Cafe". It is located at various locations including Indiranagar, JP Nagar, Brookfield and Rajajinagar in Bengaluru and Madhapur in Hyderabad.

The cafe's social media handle on X informed that The Rameshwaram Cafe is owned by Mr Raghavendra Rao and Chartered Accountant (CA) Divya Raghavendra Rao.

What makes The Rameshwaram Cafe unique? the cafe's website reads: "The tastes and the quality of the food is consistent across all the outlets. With uncompromised quality, its one-of-a-kind South Indian Cafe thats open from 6.30 AM to 1 AM throughout and caters to people across all strata."

Several food bloggers have reviewed this cafe. One of them said, "Hand down the best Podi Isli ever!! If you come to Bangalore, DO NOT miss out on The Rameshwarama Cafe.

"When in Bengaluru, visiting @RameshwaramCafe is a must! Best south indian food I ever had. The place is bit crowded and less spacious but the taste is worth to stand and eat," a social media user said in a post.
BEIRUT: The Iran-backed Hezbollah signalled on Thursday that it would halt its attacks on Israel from Lebanon when the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip stops, but that it was also ready to keep on fighting if Israel continued hostilities.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been trading fire since the Palestinian group Hamas stormed southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, in a steadily intensifying conflict that has fuelled concern of wider escalation.

"The war in the south is linked to the aggression on Gaza on the one hand, and to securing means of protection for our country on the other," senior Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said.

"When the (Israeli) occupation halts its aggression on Gaza, this front stops, because it is a supportive front," he said in comments made at an event to commemorate a Hezbollah field commander killed in an Israeli strike earlier this week.

Two sources familiar with Hezbollah's thinking told Reuters on Tuesday that the group would halt fire on Israel if Hamas agrees to a proposal for a truce in Gaza - unless Israeli forces kept shelling Lebanon.

Mediators are seeking to secure a Gaza truce, which U.S. President Joe Biden has said he hopes will be in place by the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, expected to start this year on March 10.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant indicated on Sunday that Israel planned to increase attacks on Hezbollah in the event of a possible ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.

But Gallant also left the door open to a diplomatic deal to achieve Israel's goal of a withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from the border, and the return of tens of thousands of Israelis who have fled the area.

The fighting, the worst between Hezbollah and Israel since 2006, has also uprooted tens of thousands of people in Lebanon.

Referring to Gallant's comments, Fadlallah said he had threatened to "continue targeting Lebanon". "The resistance will repel all aggression on its country," Fadlallah said, in the comments, a copy of which were circulated by his office.

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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
Iran's elections today: In the midst of extensive protests spanning several years, Iranians are set to participate in voting on Friday to elect members of a fresh parliament from a roster of pre-approved candidates.

Additionally, they will cast their votes for the 88-member Assembly of Experts, a significant entity responsible for appointing the supreme leader.

Voters

In Iran, with approximately 87 million people, there are roughly 61 million eligible voters, all of whom must be at least 18 years old.

The ballot counting process is primarily manual, implying that the final election outcome might not be declared until three days following the voting day, although interim results could surface earlier.

Also Read: Why Iran attacked Pakistan, Syria and Iraq

As per Iran's constitution, five seats in parliament are specifically allocated for representatives of religious minority groups.

During the 2021 presidential election, which resulted in the victory of hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi, the voter turnout stood at 49%, marking the lowest recorded turnout for a presidential vote. Millions of ballots were deemed invalid, presumably from individuals who felt compelled to vote but chose not to cast a ballot.

Similarly, in the 2019 parliamentary race, the turnout was recorded at 42%.

Political Parties

Iran does not possess a tradition of structured party membership or well-defined party agendas, with politics primarily organized along factional lines.

The reformist faction, marginalized from the country's political mainstream following disputes over the re-election of a hardline president in 2009, has refrained from endorsing any specific list of candidates for the parliamentary elections.

Also Read: The Middle East faces economic chaos

The largest hardline faction, comprising former members of the elite Revolutionary Guards, their affiliated Basij militia, and other supporters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is expected to maintain its dominance in parliament. This faction includes parties such as the Devotees and Path-seekers of the Islamic Revolution, the Front of Islamic Revolution Stability, the Islamic Coalition Party, and the Association of Combatant Clergy.

Where do women stand?

Parliamentary election in Iran is viewed as a significant assessment of the country's political climate. Among the candidates, there are 1,713 women, a notable increase from the 819 who ran in the previous election in 2020. The voting is scheduled for March 1, and the newly elected parliament

According to AFP, Afifeh Abedi, a reformist female candidate in Iran's upcoming legislative elections on Friday, aims to enhance the role of women in society and introduce a new perspective in a parliament primarily controlled by conservative men.

"Women are very active in society but hold a very small share of the power," the 44-year-old candidate told AFP ahead of a campaign event at a mosque in southern Tehran.

View Full Image Candidate Afifeh Abedi arrives in a mosque for a campaign event in Abuzar, in southern Tehran, on February 26, 2024, ahead of next month's elections in Iran's 290-seat parliament. As Iran's legislative elections draws nearer, Abedi has stepped forward as a rare reformist woman voice to run for a seat in a parliament largely expected to be dominated by male conservatives. (Photo by Atta KENARE / AFP) (AFP)

The current Iranian parliament, largely controlled by conservative factions, comprises just 16 female members, with four representing Tehran, the capital.

Out of approximately 15,200 candidates vying for parliamentary seats, only about 12% are women, as per statistics from the interior ministry.

Despite assurances from consecutive administrations, there has been only one instance where a woman held a position in the cabinet, which occurred in 2009.

Protests in Iran

Following the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody, the Iranian parliament has shifted its focus towards addressing issues related to Iran's compulsory headscarf, or hijab, for women. Amini's death sparked widespread protests across the nation.

These protests swiftly evolved into demands for the overthrow of Irans clerical rulers. Subsequently, a security crackdown ensued, resulting in the deaths of over 500 individuals and the detention of more than 22,000 others.

In recent weeks, there has been a growing dissemination of calls to boycott the upcoming elections. Notably, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and imprisoned women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi has labelled the elections as a sham" and has advocated for their boycott.

The Islamic Republic, with its ruthless and brutal suppression, the killing of young people on the streets, the executions and the imprisonment and torture of men and women, deserves national sanctions and global disgrace," Mohammadi said in a statement.

(With inputs from agencies)

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukraines military is set to receive first of what may be hundreds of thousands of 155mm artillery shells as part of an international effort to forage allied stockpiles as US efforts to send more aid get hung up in Congress.

Ukraine could see the first shells arrive within weeks under the initiative, which has the Czech Republic serving as the middleman to link governments willing to finance the purchase of excess 155mm shells in third countries, Jan Jires, the countrys director general for defense policy and strategy, said in an interview in Washington.

Jires said a number of European countries are part of the initiative. He didnt identify what nations are funding the purchases or whose stockpiles are being tapped but said deliveries are likely to be disclosed after their arrival.

Czech President Petr Pavel said at the Munich Security Conference last month that his country had identified 500,000 rounds of 155mm shells and 300,000 rounds of 122mm ones that could be delivered within weeks if the money was made available.

Read more: Europe Looks Abroad to Get Ukraine Weapons With Russia Advancing

In Washington, House Republican lawmakers have stymied the Biden administrations $60 billion request for Ukraine military assistance, which includes more than $3 billion for munitions that would be drawn down from Pentagon stockpiles. The US has provided Ukraine more than 2 million rounds of 155mm caliber munitions since Russias invasion two years ago.

The Czech Republic initiative is one way of us demonstrating we are actually doing something, not waiting what is going to happen on the Hill," Jires said.

US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told reporters Tuesday that government-owned, contractor-operated facilities are on track to ramp production of 155mm shells to about 36,000 a month starting about April from 28,000 a month as of October. The funds requested in the stalled legislation are needed to achieve the Armys goal of producing 100,000 155mm shells a month by late 2025, she said.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Odysseus, the first U.S. spacecraft to land on the moon in half a century, lost power and went dormant on Thursday as it entered a frigid lunar night, ending its core mission after a lopsided touchdown one week ago that hindered its operations and scientific goals.

Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based aerospace company that NASA paid $118 million to build and fly Odysseus, said its ground control team had received a final "farewell transmission" from the spacecraft before it went dark on the moon's south pole region.

"Goodnight, Odie. We hope to hear from you again," Intuitive said in an online update, referring to the spacecraft by the nickname its engineers had affectionately adopted for a lander they said proved to be more robust than expected.

Earlier in the day, Intuitive said its teams would program Odysseus to "phone home" to the company's ground control center Houston if and when the spacecraft receives enough solar power to reawaken in three weeks with the next sunrise over its landing site.

The company previously said Odysseus would likely run out of battery power sometime Wednesday night, just after its sixth full day on the moon, as the sun sank low on the lunar horizon and solar energy regeneration became insufficient.

But Intuitive said on Thursday morning that Odysseus was "still kicking," and that flight controllers would seek to download a final stream of data trasmitted the 239,000 miles (385,000km) to Earth before contact was lost.

Intuitive's shares - which had nearly tripled and then plummeted in wild swings over the course of the mission - remained up about 20% from just before the launch, giving the company a market value of about $600 million.

The six-legged Nova-C-class lander, shaped like a hexagonal cylinder and standing 13 feet (4 m) tall, was launched on Feb. 15 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket supplied by Elon Musk's SpaceX. It arrived in lunar orbit six days later.

The vehicle reached the lunar surface last Thursday after an 11th-hour navigational glitch and nail-biting descent that ended with Odysseus catching one of its feet on the ground and landing in a sharply tilted position, immediately impeding its operations.

Intuitive Machines have said human error was to blame for the navigational issue. Flight readiness teams had neglected to manually unlock a safety switch before launch, preventing subsequent activation of the vehicle's laser-guided range finders and forcing flight engineers to hurriedly improvise an alternative during lunar orbit.

The last-minute work-around likely prevented a crash-landing but may have contributed to the vehicle landing askew, apparently catching a foot on the uneven surface and coming to rest leaning at a 30-degree angle, company officials said.

An image released on Wednesday showed the spacecraft as it was touching down on the surface, with its landing gear visibly damaged.

The company has said that two of the lander's antennae were knocked out of commission, and its solar panels were likewise facing the wrong direction.

Despite persistent difficulties in communicating with the lander and keeping its solar batteries charged, NASA said it managed to extract some data from all six of its science payloads delivered by Odysseus.

Intuitive and NASA executives both hailed the science achieved and the "soft" lunar landing itself - the first ever by a commercially manufactured and operated space vehicle - as a key breakthrough in a new chapter of lunar exploration.

Odysseus was also the first U.S. spacecraft to make a controlled descent to the lunar surface since NASA's final crewed Apollo mission to the moon in 1972.

And it was the first under NASA's Artemis program, which aims to send several more commercial robot landers to the moon on science scouting missions ahead of a planned return of astronauts to Earth's only natural satellite later this decade.

To date, space agencies of just four other countries have ever achieved a "soft" moon landing - the former Soviet Union, China, India and, just last month, Japan, whose lander likewise tipped over on its side.

The United States is the only country ever to have sent humans to the lunar surface. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Lisa Shumaker and Lincoln Feast)

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Delegating well is the six-pack of management: widely desired and harder to achieve the older you get. In theory, handing appropriate decisions off to people lower down the corporate ladder means greater satisfaction all round. Bosses get more time to concentrate on the issues that really deserve their attention. Middle managers and workers enjoy a greater sense of autonomy. And the organisation benefits from faster decision-making on the part of people who are better informed about the matter at hand. In practice, however, delegation is a minefield.

Some bosses do not even try to delegate. They may mistrust people below them or crave control. Their career success may simply have persuaded them of their own genius. But there are kinder explanations, too. Startup founders are conditioned to do everything, at least until firms get to a certain size. Plenty of managers shoulder more work than they should in order to protect their teams from overload.

Other managers do delegate but they do so for the wrong reasons. Studies suggest that people are likely to hand off decisions when choices are hard, when the consequences affect others and when they want to avoid being blamed for a bad outcome. In a paper from 2016 by Mary Steffel of Northeastern University and her co-authors, volunteers were told that they had to book hotel rooms at a conference, either for their own use or for their boss, and asked them if they would like to reserve the rooms themselves or delegate the task to an office manager. When they were choosing for the boss and the hotels were ropey, people were more likely to pass the job to the hapless office manager.

A new study, by Victor Maas and Bei Shi of Amsterdam Business School, reaffirms this bleak picture of human motivation. It found that people were more likely to hand work off to subordinates when the performance targets for that particular task were demanding; they were much happier to keep hold of tasks with targets that were easier to attain. If a habitual micromanager unexpectedly asks you to take the lead on something, in other words, run for the hills.

The great mass of managers fall into a greyer area. They may be full of good intentions to leave decisions to others but still find it hard to do so. What if you put trust in your team members but then discover you violently dislike the choices they make? What if you want to hand over some decisions but you know that your own bosses will hold you personally responsible for them? These problems can easily result in faux-tonomy"a lip-service version of delegation in which managers do not actually leave their teams to get on with things or underlings use their freedom solely to guess what the boss would like.

One way to navigate such problems is to use an explicit decision-making framework that tries to make it clear who is on the hook for what. These frameworks are not perfect. Project managers often use something called the RACI model. Its first two letters sort those who are responsible" from those who are accountable", a distinction which normal people may find confusing" and incomprehensible". Other, clearer frameworks are available. They have punchy names like DACI, DARE and DICE: you might be choosing a cloud-computing vendor but you get to feel a little like you are in the special forces.

As well as working out who does what, it helps to have a way to parse what kinds of decision can be delegated and what not. Before Jeff Bezos started hanging out in spacesuits and doing laughable photoshoots in Vogue, he liked to articulate his management philosophy in annual letters to Amazons shareholders. In 2015 he made a useful distinction between type-1 decisions (one-way doors") that are important and irreversible, and type-2 decisions (two-way doors") that can be reversed if they do not pan out. Type-1 decisions warrant slow, deliberative processes; type-2 decisions should be taken quickly by smaller groups. Having a theory of decisions improves choices on what to delegate and reduces the chance of regrets.

Delegating well requires a lot of judgment, too. Delegation is not all-or-nothing. A detached boss can be as demotivating as a micromanager; you have to stay informed on decisions and, on occasion, override them. But checking in at the right cadence, and letting people proceed with decisions that you would not have made yourself, demands self-restraint and discipline. Just like those abs.
On Thursday the Supreme Court criticised the union government's apparent failure to specify a range of prices that private hospitals and clinical establishments can charge for their services. Although a rule on this issue was framed 12 years ago, the court noted that it had not been enforced.

It also directed the union health secretary to meet with his state counterparts within a month, with the next court hearing expected in another six weeks. The meeting is supposed to set a yardstick for standard rates, and the court has offered the example of the Central Government Health Services scheme as a possible one to deploy.

This is a breathless order that will hurt the bottom lines of healthcare companies while providing no relief to citizens, for whom treatment costs at private hospitals is a huge concern. One does not even have to conduct a dipstick survey to get a measure of this anguish.

The union government told the court that under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010, and rules framed in 2012, all hospitals must display the rates charged for each type of service, which must be within those set by the union and state governments. This was an attempt to control prices across the country, but less than half the states came on board. The rules included setting up district-level bodies, state-level councils, and of course a National Council headed by a joint secretary.

Since price control was then the sole aim  as it seems to be again, following the Supreme Court order  there was no mention of how the quality of medical service would be measured, who would do it, or whether this was indeed a practical idea.

In no country does the government provide healthcare to the entire population, so private establishments fill the breach. But a huge disparity between demand and supply in India has led to gross overcharging and mistreatment.

To make this a good deal for everyone, there must be a regulator  preferably at the national and state levels. This is what the court should have asked for. The insurance sector, saddled with hugely inflated insurance claims for hospital stays, has already called for this.

Since the National Health Authority only manages public health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, private hospitals (which are supposed to be managed by state governments) are outside its purview. As a result the National Health Accounts Estimate released by Niti Aayog in April 2023 showed that in FY20, Indians spent 47.1% of their total health expenditure from their own pockets.

The shortage has boosted the stocks of all hospitals and healthcare companies. Before Thursdays correction, the earnings per share of the top 10 listed ones were well above the Nifty 100 average. Yet only one such institution  Apollo Hospitals  is on the list of the top 100 tax-paying companies.

This shows the sector has been living a charmed life. How? Finance ministry data sectors shows that the effective tax rate for speciality and super-speciality hospitals" was 29.51% in FY22. This was a tad higher than the effective corporate tax rate of 27.81%. But the catch is in the number of entities that actually paid this rate. Just 1,880 did so in FY22. What about the rest? They took shelter under the guise of charitable entities". A scheme to tax such entities, proposed by the Tax Administration Reform Commission under Dr Parthasarathi Shome, is gathering dust.

Why has this happened? Given the huge unmet need for healthcare among the population, successive governments have been ready to offer benefits to hospital chains that set up shop in their states. They should have asked for accountability in return, which would have required a regulator with effective powers. But there has been movement on this front.

The alternative we are faced with is a micromanaged regime of national price controls, which requires thousands of inspectors to enforce. This will only bring in more ills and no remedies. The court order will hurt healthcare companies and provide no relief to customers. A set of competitive prices, not government inspectors, could have helped reform healthcare in India.
The tech narrative in the last two years has been dominated by artificial intelligence (AI) and the excitement and disruption generated by it. However, the narrative started to sour a little in the latter half of 2023, as ethical issues got thrown uplike copyright, bias, privacy and deepfakes. Now, with elections looming across most of the democratic world, 2024 promises to be the year when AI will experience its first major ethical testwhether it helps democracy or subverts it. Major democracies like India, the US, UK, Indonesia and others go for pivotal elections this year. While deepfakes existed before GenAI, products like Sora and Stable Diffusion have democratized their production, making them easier, faster and cheaper to make at scale. We are also at peak social media, with WhatsApp, TikTok and the like making their global distribution a piece of cake. Bangladesh and Slovakia went to polls earlier this year, and deepfakes came to the party. A Bangladeshi opposition leader was shown to be ambivalent about his support for Palestinians, a disastrous position to take in the country. In Slovakian elections, also earlier this year, a major contender reportedly talked about rigging the elections and, even more alarmingly, raising the price of beer, which reportedly contributed to his defeat. A fake voice of President Joe Biden urged people not to vote in the US primaries. With memories of the 2016 Cambridge Analytica debacle still fresh, these have set off alarm bells as the big elections near.

This is where I take a contrarian stance. Look at Pakistan, which went to polls recently with a former prime minister in jail, his party symbols taken away and candidates threatened and imprisoned. While eventually other parties were declared to have won, most reports claim that Imran Khans party won convincingly despite heavy rigging and manipulation. Khan turned the narrative of AI subverting democracy on its head by leveraging GenAI to canvass across the country while behind bars. GenAI was used to create footage of his urging voters to come out and vote for his party, and this was widely shared on YouTube and other online channels. People heeded his call and came out in record numbers, handing astonishing victories to his party candidates. Without taking sides here, Pakistan showed how AI could be used in a role different from that of a democracy-destroyer.

I am not denying the destructive power of deepfakes, and I fear their use in Indian and other elections to inflame discourse and shape narratives. However, there is a lot of good that AI can also do to improve elections, a core pillar of democracy. The Pakistan example is one creative way. AI can also be used to enhance transparency, inclusivity and efficiency in elections. Its advanced data analysis capabilities can monitor election-related data in real-time, identifying any irregularities suggesting fraudulent activity. AI algorithms can detect patterns of irregularities in voter registrations or ballot submissions. AI can also improve the security of electronic voting systems. Additionally, threat-detection algorithms can help identify potential cyber threats.

Generative AI can help upgrade voter education and awareness by generating hyper-personalized content on candidates and their manifestoes, focused on local issues, in peoples local dialects. This personalized approach could enhance political awareness and spur informed voting, especially among marginalized groups. GenAI can help do this at scale and much lower cost with higher efficiency, thus empowering even less-moneyed candidates.

AI-run systems can also enhance accessibility for voters with disabilities. AI-powered voice recognition systems, for instance, could assist visually impaired voters in casting votes. AI can parse the fire-hose of information on social media to gauge public opinion across demographic groups, ensuring that all sections of society are represented in the political conversation. Even something as mundane as the logistics of electioneering can be optimised and costs saved, something very important for large countries like India. AI can help make voter registration and verification more efficient, eliminating long queues by calling up the data needed to verify eligibility well in time.

AI is a dual-use technology, with huge benefits accompanied by immense destructive power. As we try and contain its adverse fallout on elections through deepfakes, we should also look at how it could improve our fragile democracies. Even if imperfectly, Imran Khans party succeeded in pointing this potential out to the world.
Chinas vaunted internet censors are capable of sifting an ocean of information and eradicating sensitive content within seconds. One young woman managed to hoodwink them for weeks.

The text of a letter purportedly sent from a Tehran prison began to circulate on the Chinese internet last year around Lunar New Year. Its author, writing under the name Mahsa, described how Iranian secret police snatched her during a crackdown on anti-headscarf protests and interrogated her about her feminist beliefs.

When he pushed me to admit that all our work vilified the Supreme Leader, he didnt even dare to say his name himself," read one passage. What a joke!"

Over the following days, the letter reached thousands of Chinese readers, many of whom marveled at its familiar descriptions of state control. Is this a strange land?" wrote one user on the popular social-media platform Weibo. Or is this the homeland?"

The answer arrived weeks later when a new version appeared on overseas websites. It had footnotes and an epilogue revealing that Mahsa" was a Chinese writer who had adopted the persona of an Iranian protester to tell the story of her own detention and interrogation. That writer would turn out to be Wu Qin, a former editor at a state-run media outlet.

Recently translated into English, Wus letter is a rare example of subversive writing in China that has managed to have enduring impact. Barriers to communication have soared to new heights as leader Xi Jinping gives priority to security above all else. In reaching for a roundabout way to tell her story, Chinese observers say, Wu has opened a new window into the challenges activists in China now wrestle with, and the links they have with others laboring under authoritarian rule around the globe.

Chinese government censorship, already some of the most suffocating in the world, has grown more intense in recent years. Authorities have rolled out digital filters that are exponentially faster than humans at finding and zapping sensitive content. Those systems are operated by a police force that has broadened its list of targets to include people who demonstrate even mild political defiance. That has all but eradicated the space for dissenting voices to spread and for political activists to communicate.

"As the wall gets higher and higher, the flow of information requires more creativity," said Jiang Xue, a prominent Chinese journalist. The Letter from a Tehran Prison is a great inspiration."

Chinese observers said a dialing up of political controls in China began after a lone protester unfurled banners on a bridge in Beijing in the fall of 2022 calling for Xi to be deposed. The incident occurred as Xi was set to claim his norm-breaking third term as leader of the Communist Party. Wu, in her mid-30s, was caught up in the ensuing crackdown.

Based in Beijing, Wu often attended private gatherings of artists, activists and other intellectuals, many of whom were targeted by authorities after the bridge protest. That November, police from Beijing traveled to the southern city of Guangzhou, where Wu was staying with friends, and detained her along with three others, Wu said in an interview.

The police interrogated them overnight, then issued Wu 15 days of administrative detention for picking quarrels and provoking trouble," a vague offense the government often uses to round up activists. Pandemic travel restrictions prevented the police from transporting her back to Beijing, so they decided to let her off with a warning. They downloaded data from her devices before letting her go, she said.

Wu said she worried that authorities would find something in the data to justify arresting her again. Friends urged her to consider fleeing the country and to write a testimony in case she was taken into custody again.

She had paid close attention to the protests in Iran against headscarves. To give herself some distance from her experiences, she came up with the idea of writing about them as if they had taken place there instead. Cloaking her story in foreign clothing had the secondary benefit of helping it slip past censors, she said.

She gave Persian names to her friends and some prominent Chinese dissidents, and switched Chinese place names for places in Iran, which she had visited twice before. She said she named herself Mahsa in tribute to Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old whose 2022 death in police custody in Tehran sparked the Iranian protests.

In the car, they incessantly berated me," she wrote. She described how irritated the police were at being dispatched from the capital to fetch her in the middle of the pandemic. No one knew whether they would be able to make it back safely to their cozy nest in Tehran."

She described being taken to the basement of a police station and having male officers stand guard over her when she used the toilet. She wrote about feeling shame at giving up her device passwords almost immediately after her interrogation began.

After being released, she wrote, she struggled with the fractured memory that comes with living under constant censorship and surveillance, which often means communicating with loved ones by means of disappearing messages. I reluctantly watch as messages full of warmth disappear after 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or one hour," she wrote in the letter, which was addressed to the authors mother. I dont dare take screenshots because anything can become evidence."

The original version of the letter was published in January 2023, in a public account dedicated to the arts on the popular do-everything app WeChat. At the time, police were tracking down participants in nationwide protests against Covid restrictions that had broken out late the prior year. The letters portrayal of young dissidents being hounded by security officials struck a chord with liberal-minded readers, who shared it in their own social media feeds.

Parts of the letter contain minor details that are unlikely to be set in Iran, such as the crime of picking quarrels," which only exists in China. Wu said she hoped those hints would be picked up by her readers, but not the censors.

Initially, few saw through the camouflage. An acclaimed online literature magazine, taking it as a work of translation, recommended it in an introduction to the hijab revolution.

A few days after the letter was published, Wu sat down at a restaurant at Chinas border with Laos, and planned to make a run for freedom. She added footnotes to the letter that made explicit the connection to China, and shared it with friends. She told them to release the footnoted version if she was arrested attempting to leave.

Wu eventually settled in Germany. In March, feeling disconnected from her community in China, she decided to reveal herself as the author of the letter in a message on WeChat.

Within hours, the original version of the letter attracted tens of thousands more viewspushing its total readership above 100,000, according to the WeChat account that published itbefore censors blocked it. All of Wus Chinese social-media accounts were subsequently suspended.

The storytelling power of Wus letter is a departure from the writings of previous, mostly male Chinese dissidents, which tended to be less personal, said Zeng Jinyan, a Sweden-based Chinese scholar on gender and social activism. She said it reflects the changing face of Chinese activism, which is increasingly being driven by women.

Now living in Berlin, Wu has resumed writing for a Chinese audience about dispossessed groups in other countries, such as Burmese people living in exile after the 2021 military coup in Myanmar.

Restriction of speech in China has made coherent expression all but impossible for activists there, Wu said.

Its a triumph if the activists can just take care of themselves, and a bonus if they can still find the energy and creativity to speak out," she said. Resilience is crucial."

Write to Wenxin Fan at wenxin.fan@wsj.com

View Full Image How One Woman Duped Chinas Censorship Machine

View Full Image How One Woman Duped Chinas Censorship Machine
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to release the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections soon. Reports claim that the party has finalised the names of candidates for nearly 155 of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats. The first list may feature the names of some high-profile leaders.

The BJP's central election committee (CEC) met on Thurday night where each Lok Sabha seat was discussed. Aaj Tak reported that, the party might not bet on member of parliaments whose performance has not been satisfactory. Some Union Ministers might not be fielded this time, according to sources.

The report quoted sources saying that the saffron party may cancel tickets of 60-70 MPs, they said. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is also expected to field some new and popular faces.

ALSO READ: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP finalises names of nearly 155 candidates, says report

Here's a look at what the BJP's first list of candidates may look like and what is expected in the coming days.

Uttar Pradesh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will most probably contest from his bastion Varanasi. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh may contest from Lucknow, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah may fight from Gandhinagar.

Discussions on 50 of the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh were held during key BJP meet on Thursday night and Friday morning, sources told news agency PTI on Friday. Among these seats, six have been given to alliance partners in Uttar Pradesh, they said.

Apna Dal (Sone Lal Patel) will fight for two seats, Rashtriya Lok Dal is likely to get two seats in Western Uttar Pradesh, Om Prakash Rajbhars SPBSP will contest for one seat, and Sanjay Nishad's party will contest for one seat.

West Bengal

The BJP may field Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Shatrughan Sinha in Asansol, Bengal.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai's name may also feature in the first of candidates from Tamil Nadu.

Kerala

V Muraleedharan, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, could contest from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.

Delhi

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari could contest from North East Delhi and his name could be included in the first list of candidates.

Madhya Pradesh

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Sing Chouhan can be filled by Bhopal Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will likely contest from Guna-Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh respectively.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP leader Prahlad Patel, and BJP's State President VD Sharma were also present in the meeting, where discussions were held regarding the names of candidates for all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Telangana

Out of 17 seats in Telangana, candidates for four to five seats were discussed in the BJP meeting. Candidates could be allowed for these seats in the first list. Three current MPs, G. Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Arvind Dharmapuri may also get tickets again, PTI reported.

Assam

BJP sources told news agency PTI that out of 11 of 14 seats in Assam, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could contest from Dibrugarh. Seats in Assam have also been earmarked for BJP allies AGP and UPPL. AGP would contest in Barpeta and Dhubri seats, while the UPPL is set to field its candidate from the Kokrajhar seat.

Uttarakhand

All five seats in Uttarakhand were discussed in CEC and the names could be announced in the first list of the party.

Other states

Seats in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Goa were also discussed. Sources said one of the candidates from the two seats in Goa has been finalised. Further rounds of meetings of the CEC are expected soon.

(With inputs from PTI and India Today)

ARVIND More Information

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Fuelling the ongoing Chinese flag ad controversy, Bhartiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu unit extended birthday wishes to Chief Minister MK Stalin in Mandarin language on social media. Taking a jibe at the CM, Tamil Nadu BJP shared a picture of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader with birthday wishes written in Mandarin.

"On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu, here's wishing our CM MK Stalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!" the post on X said.

The saffron party didn't stop here and even commented birthday message for Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin in Mandarin encouraging people to wish him in the Chinese language: "For those who would like to wish our CM in Mandarin, please use this'

TN CM MK Stalin, PM Modi and Chinese flag ad controversy

Controversy erupted on February 28 after a newspaper advertisement of the DMK government allegedly showcased a China flag among rockets from other countries in the background.

The advertisement promoted the laying of the foundation stone for ISRO's second launch pad complex in Kulsekarapatinam. The advertisement also included the photograph of PM Modi and DMK leader MK Stalin.

The advertisement also attracted criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said, DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now that they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China's sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu."

PM Modi also alleged that the DMK is not ready to accept India's progress in the space sector. "They are not ready to accept India's progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India's space in it. They did not want to present India's space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it's high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds," PM Modi said.

DMK's reaction on the ad controversy

Accepting its mistake, the MK Stalin's party has made it clear that the move to add the image of China's flag in teh ISRO advertisement was not intentional and happened by mistake.

"A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area. The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us," said DMK leader Anitha Radhakrishnan on Thursday.

Other leaders of the party continued to defend the advertisement by reminding that China is not an officiallt declared enemy country of India.

I don't think India has declared China an enemy country. I have seen that the Prime Minister has invited the Chinese PM and they have gone to Mahabalipuram. Just because you do not want to accept the truth, you are finding reasons to divert the issue," said DMK MP K Kanimozhi defending the advertisement.

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Deputy, Devendra Fadnavis, have declined an invitation to dine with Sharad Pawar amid the ongoing Maharashtra political crisis. The Opposition leader had invited CM Eknath Shinde and the two Deputy CMs  including his nephew Ajit Pawar  to share a meal at his residence in Baramati during their visit on March 2. The surprise invitation comes mere days after the senior Pawar lost control of his party following a split in the NCP.

Eknath Shinde said, We have a hectic schedule tomorrow. We have to go to Ahmedabad, next time we will come for sure, we have conveyed our message to Sharad Pawar."

"I received the letter written by you, as well as an invitation for dinner from you. As you are aware that after the efforts of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, the Namo Maharojgar Melava is being organized in Baramati. This big programme will be held in Baramati, after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj will be held in Badhu Budruk and Tuljapur and immediately after that, the bhoomi pujan of the memorial of revolutionary Lahuji Vastad Salve is scheduled. The whole day is going to be very busy as two important programmes are being organized one after the other. Therefore, I will not be able to accept your urgent invitation this time. Thank you once again," the Maharashtra Deputy CM said.

The chief minister and his deputies will be attending the 'Namo Maharojgar Melava' job fair in Pune district on Saturday.

The CM is coming to Baramati for the first time after taking the oath as CMand I am very glad about his visit to attend the Namo Maharojgar Event in Baramati. Therefore, I would like to extend the invitation for the meal at my residence after the event, along with his other Cabinet colleagues," Sharad Pawar had written in his missive to Shinde.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction was recently declared as the real party by the Election Commission. The Deputy CM had parted ways with his uncle to join the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year. There are also claims that his wife  Sunetra Pawar  may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Baramati. The seat is currently held by his cousin and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has in recent weeks publicly hinted that he would be open to discussions to end the war in Ukraine on Moscows terms, as Kyivs military momentum stalls.

The outlines of a deal the Russian leader likely wants can be seen in a draft peace treaty drawn up by Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in April 2022, about six weeks after the start of the war. Western officials and analysts say those objectives remain largely unchanged after two years of fighting: Turn Ukraine into a neutered state permanently vulnerable to Russian military aggression.

While the broad outlines of the ultimately unsuccessful peace negotiations havebeen disclosed, the full 17-page document, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and others familiar with the negotiations, hasnt been made public.

The document, dated April 15, 2022, sketches out how negotiators on both sides sought to end the fighting by agreeing to turn Ukraine into a permanently neutral state that doesnt participate in military blocs," barred from rebuilding its military with Western support and leaving Crimea under de facto Russian control.

Ultimately no deal was agreed upon. The scale of Russian war crimes in Ukraine became apparent, Ukraines military fortunes improved and the West poured in weapons to bolster Kyiv.

Today, Ukraine says that it wont start peace talks until Russia removes troops from its country. Two years of conflict have hardened Ukrainian public opinion against any kind of peace deal, and Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky has warned that any cessation of hostilities would simply allow Russia to re-arm and better attack Ukraine further down the line. Analysts say a military victory for either side looks increasingly out of reach.

The document shows the deep concessions negotiators on the Ukrainian side were considering as Kyiv struggled in the early weeks of the war. It also serves as a reminder of the compromises that Russia might try to force Ukraine to swallow if Western military support dries up and Russia makes significant territorial gains.

The draft treaty states that Ukraine, while being allowed to pursue EU membership, wouldnt be allowed to join military alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. No foreign weapons would be allowed on Ukrainian soil. Ukraines military would be pared down to a specific size. Russia sought to limit everything from the number of troops and tanks to the maximum firing range of Ukrainian missiles.

The Crimean Peninsula, already occupied by Russia, would remain under Moscows influence and not be considered neutral. Moscow also pushed for the Russian language to operate on an equal basis with Ukrainian in government and courts, a clause Kyiv hadnt signed off on, according to the draft document.

The future of the area of eastern Ukraine covertly invaded and occupied by Russia in 2014, wasnt included in the draft, leaving it up to Putin and Zelensky to complete in face-to-face talks. That meeting never took place.

The treaty was to be guaranteed by foreign powers, which are listed on the document as including the U.S., U.K, China, France and Russia. Those countries would be given the responsibility to defend Ukraines neutrality if the treaty was violated. But while the treaty held, guarantors would be required to terminate international treaties and agreements, incompatible with the permanent neutrality of Ukraine" including any promises of bilateral military aid. The international security guarantees wouldnt apply to Crimea and Sevastopol.

View Full Image Russian negotiators pushed for numerical limits on a variety of Kyivs military systems, including artillery pieces. PHOTO: STRINGER/REUTERS

The document reflects deeply held Russian phobias that the West, led by the U.S., was for years developing Ukraine as a so-called anti-Russia" as a way to undermine, contain and attempt to seize control of Russia. After Putins initial attempt to take control of Kyiv and topple the government failed, the document appears to offer the next best thing: a way to cut off Western support for Kyiv.

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered earlier this week to host talks anew, any renewed attempt at peace looks unlikely in the immediate future. While the front line has hardly budged for a year, pessimism is growing about the outlook for Ukraine, with Russia recently making its first significant advance in months and Kyivs forces running low on ammunition and manpower. Billions of dollars of U.S. funding for Ukraine is snarled in Congress, Western attention has shifted to the Middle East and polling is favorable for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has said he would broker an immediate peace deal if elected.

Putin told talk show host Tucker Carlson recently that he was ready to dialogue," and some former Kremlin officials say they have put out feelers in recent months to explore halting the conflict along existing front lines.

Putin has argued that Ukraine balked at a first chance at peace under Western pressure. At a June 17, 2023 meeting with several African leaders, Putin displayed a document that he said had been initialed by the head of Kyivs negotiating team. The draft, he said, had 18 articles with appendices stipulating the number of military personnel and armored vehicles. The Kyiv government, as their masters usually do, threw it all on the trash heap of history," Putin said. They rejected it."

Samuel Charap, a Russia analyst at RAND, said Moscows impulse to negotiate might wane as it sees Western aid held up and notches more advances on the battlefield.

Western officials warn that despite two years of costly fighting, Putin maintains his maximalist goals in Ukraine, which includes engineering regime change in Kyiv to ensure a state that does the Kremlins bidding.

Any such peace agreement by Ukraine leaves it at the mercy of Russia for any future repeat of the invasion," says Keir Giles, a director at the Conflict Studies Research Centre, a U.K. think tank.

Since its initial invasion of eastern Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has violated more than 400 international treaties and conventions, according to the think tank Chatham House. Past cease-fires or peace treaties involving Russia in Georgia, Syria and Ukraine have all been subsequently exploited by the Kremlin for its own gain, Giles says.

The first round of tentative peace talks began only days after the February 2022 invasion. Russian and Ukrainian negotiators initially met in Belarus before moving to Turkey and continuing talks on and off until April. The resulting document appears loosely based on the 1990 treaty that created a united Germany, where Soviet Union troops quit East Germany on the condition that the country renounce nuclear weapons and cap the size of its army.

The draft treaty with Ukraine included banning foreign weapons, including missile weapons of any type, armed forces and formations." Moscow wanted Ukraines armed forces capped at 85,000 troops, 342 tanks and 519 artillery pieces. Ukrainian negotiators wanted 250,000 troops, 800 tanks and 1,900 artillery pieces, according to the document. Russia wanted to have the range of Ukrainian missiles capped at 40 kilometers (about 25 miles).

Other issues remained outstanding, notably what would happen if Ukraine was attacked. Russia wanted all guarantor states to agree on a response, meaning a unified response was unlikely if Russia itself was the aggressor. In case of an attack on Ukraine, Ukrainian negotiators wanted its airspace to then be closed, which would require guarantor states to enforce a no-fly zone, and the provision of weapons by the guarantors, a clause not approved by Russia.

Russia wanted to add Belarus as a guarantor; Ukraine wanted to add Turkey. Ukrainian negotiators italicized text indicating they refused to discuss a Russian clause requesting Kyiv withdraw claims for it to come under jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes war crimes, according to the document. They also wouldnt ratify a clause to cancel all mutual sanctions.

Negotiations continuedeven over Zoombut they eventually stopped altogether in June 2022.

Write to Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com, Thomas Grove at thomas.grove@wsj.com and James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Thursday claimed that in the event of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regaining power at the Centre after the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024., there would be an escalation in the price of cooking gas cylinders to 2,000.

The chief minister was addressing a gathering at a government programme in Jhargram district.

We distributed rice at a free cost... If they (BJP) win again, the gas price can be increased up to Rs.1500-2000. You have to collect cow dung and wood again for the cooking. This is the scenario of Delhi. They don't love West Bengal and tribal people," Mamata Banerjee said, ANI reported.

She also issued an ultimatum to the BJP-led central government, stating that houses under the Awas Yojana must be completed by the end of April. She warned that if this deadline is not met, her government would start construction from May onwards.

On Tuesday, Banerjee had set a deadline of April 1 for the central government to complete building houses for the beneficiaries or else her government would build around 11 lakh houses for them.

Banerjee referred to her government's actions of paying MGNREGA workers their overdue wages, which she claimed had not been provided by the BJP-led central government. "I asked one youth whether he got the money for the 100 days work scheme. He said he got around 30,000. This was the amount that the central government had not paid people like him for the last two years. We have paid 59 lakh people their dues," Banerjee said.

Shajahan Sheikh arrest: BJP vs TMC

However, the Trinamool Congress leader chose not to address the arrest of party leader Shajahan Sheikh, who stands accused of sexual offenses against women and land grabbing in the Sandeshkhali area of North 24 Parganas district. Sheikh was apprehended early on Thursday.

The BJP and the Trinamool Congress are presently engaged in an intense political confrontation over the arrest of TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, who is the primary suspect in the Sandeshkhali sexual assault case. The Trinamool Congress has taken action by suspending the controversial politician from the party for a period of six years.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose said, "...I am glad that good things are happening".

West Bengal BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh said, "We hope that the truth of Sandeshkhali will come out through different kinds of agencies as well as court intervention. Party of the scoundrels and criminals - the TMC - will face the consequences".

On the arrest of TMC MP Santanu Sen said that the arrest of Shahjahan is a prove that the Mamata-led Bengal government follows 'rajdharma' in an administrative manner. "We had taken action against Partha Chatterjee and Jyotipriya Mallick, and similarly, we have taken action against Shibu Hazra and Uttam Sardar and now Sheikh Shahjahan has been arrested. On one side, accused leaders openly move in BJP-ruled states and on the other side our administration doesn't spare accused TMC leaders if there is evidence against them. BJP should learn 'rajdharma' from the TMC".

-With agency inputs

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Central Election Committee Meeting (CEC) held at the party headquarters in Delhi on Thursday.

The meeting focused on discussing Lok Sabha election seats across approximately 17 states. During the meeting, decisions were made regarding over 155 seats, the details of which are expected to be released within the next couple of days.

Here are the top 5 updates:

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP's National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, as well as Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges from various states were present at the meeting. The meeting also saw the attendance of Chief Ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Goa.

Also Read: Opposition exodus continues: 5 politicians from Bengal, Assam, Telangana, Odisha defect to BJP in one day

2. Additionally, former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP leader Prahlad Patel, and BJP's State President VD Sharma participated in the discussions. Notably, deliberations were held concerning the candidate selections for all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Also Read: If BJP wins in 2024, you will collect cow dung for cooking: Why CM Mamata Banerjee said this in Bengal's Jhargram

3. ANI reported citing sources that the announcement of the names of 4 to 5 candidates from Telangana could be made soon. Moreover, three current MPs G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Arvind Dharmapuri may also get tickets again. Discussions took place during the meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding candidate selections. Furthermore, discussions on candidate names were conducted with BJP leaders from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

4. ANI reported that BJP sources said that the names of candidates from Assam were discussed in the meeting, in which all Lok Sabha seats were filled with leaders from Assam. Meanwhile, BJP will contest on eleven seats there, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could contest from Dibrugarh, while State Minister Rameshwar Teli could be sent to the Rajya Sabha.

Also Read: Rajya Sabha Polls: NDA four seats short of majority in Upper House. What it means for BJP

5. In the meeting, talks were also held on candidates for the seats in Jammu, while deliberations for Kashmir will take place in the next meeting. Moreover, talks centered on two to three seats in Delhi during the meeting, with plans for further discussions in subsequent rounds. While candidates have been confirmed for one seat in Goa, decisions are pending for another seat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has introduced the slogan 'Crossing 400' for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP's target is to secure over 370 seats independently.

(With inputs from ANI)

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It has been more than three decades since Joe Biden passed out in a New York hotel and remained unconscious for several hours. He endured two brain surgeries to repair the silent ravages of twin aneurysms, or ballooning of arteries, one of which had ruptured. After six months of recovery, Mr. Biden returned to the only life he knows.

He wont let his health remove him from public life again.

Mr. Bidens personal decline has exploded into an irremediable public embarrassment. Nine months before the election, an ABC News/Ipsos poll reports that 86% of Americans, including 73% of Democrats and 91% of independents, believe Mr. Biden is too old to hold his office.

Time doesnt improve old age. As the world slips beyond his understanding, we hear of Mr. Bidens blowups. Anger and aggression characterize his responses, publicly and inside the White House. The rate of Mr. Bidens decline can only accelerate and so can its cost. Voters can tolerate a president dismissed by a special prosecutor as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," but a commander in chief with his finger on the nuclear trigger who cant control his belligerence would no doubt terrify them.

Despite Mr. Bidens shameful retreat from Afghanistan, Vladimir Putins brazen invasion of Ukraine, Hamass strike on our closest Middle East ally, an invasion of illegal immigrants across the southern border, and the normalization of crime near our homes, America should buckle up: The lowest point of the Biden administration is yet to come. Weakness always invites the wolves. Economic, diplomatic and military competitors will organize to take advantage of this administrations frailty. The pressure for political change at home will become more intense.

Power doesnt often age gracefully. It clings and expires in a labored rush, devoured by another generation, hungry for its time in the sun. Washington cant long remain a country for old men: Democrats will either replace Mr. Biden in a putsch at their convention in August, or voters are likely to do so in November. In either case, the Democratic Party will soon present the country with what it craves: a generational change in leadership.

New faces like Govs. Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro will give Democrats the facade of generational progress, but their partys vision of government will remain stuck in the past. The Democrats know only yesterdays government. They worship the industrial-age management machine. They see government as a factory where they crank out laws, rules and regulations on an assembly line. They have declared themselves to be our betters and cant imagine a world in which they wouldnt assert top-down, mechanical control of every breath the little people take.

Todays old Democrats will soon be replaced by younger leaders who hold the same antiquated ideas. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other young Democratic aspirants are incapable of understanding, much less managing, todays intricate social systems and the interwoven, living, breathing emergent economic structures otherwise known as businesses. They dont believe in an open economy, healthcare system or education system because they would have no power in them. Despite the appearance of generational progress, the Democratic Party will remain the hood ornament for an arrogant, old top-down government that cant keep up with our instantly adaptive world.

This would be a great moment for the Republican Party to offer its vision of the futureif only we had either a vision or a Republican Party. We have neither.

Can anyone name a GOP leader whose vision appeals beyond the partys base and inspires Americans to come together for a greater purpose? Can we name a national Republican figure who does more than rage against the dying light Democrats offer today? Can we identify a nationally known conservative leader with sufficient confidence in Republican principles to believe our partys ideals can appeal to all voters and attract minorities, young people and even college-educated women?

It can be done. Ronald Reagan did it. Where is our Reagan today?

In 2016 Donald Trump stuck a wrench in the machinery of the tired old self-serving political establishment. For the good of the country, every Republican should help him do so once more. But Messrs. Biden and Trump are political holding actions. Mr. Bidens beliefs are old. Mr. Trump cant be imitated. Neither is capable of building what comes next.

The next generation of Democrats is coming, hiding their antiquated socialism behind fresh faces. Only the next generation of Republicans can beat them. What Reagan did in his time for his Republican Party, a fearless, new generation of Republicans must do for oursrenew the old GOP.

Mr. Castellanos is a Republican consultant and founder of Purple Strategies.
BOGOTA, ColombiaAll this week, the news couldnt have been brighter for Biden administration officials trying to slow migration through the jungle that connects South America with Central America, an essential corridor for would-be immigrants heading to the U.S.

A Colombian crackdown on boats that are indispensable in getting migrants to the Darien Gap had left several hundred migrants stranded and far from its trails, local officials and businesses who cater to migrants said. More than 520,000 people had traversed those footpaths in 2023 to get to Panamacompleting a crucial stage en route to the U.S.but by late this week, the numbers passing through had slowed to a trickle.

Everything has been stopped for all the travelers," Edilberto Escobar, who makes a living guiding migrants through the Darien, said by phone from the town of Acandi near the Darien. This affects us a lot because this is a source of work for everyone, from those who sell boots [to migrants] to those who are guides."

The development proved short-lived, though, after Colombian government officials and the owners of the boat companies agreed Thursday to permit the boats to once again transport migrants as of 6 a.m. Friday.

The captains of the boats must now ensure that the migrantspeople from as near as Venezuela and as far away as Chinahave filled out transit documents on a Colombian government online app before boarding for transport across the Gulf of Uraba.

American authorities had said in recent days they wanted to go after bus, plane and boat companies that knowingly transport undocumented migrants in Latin America, to slow the stream of migrants far from the southwestern border.

Its very hard for there to be a coordinated action that makes a difference," said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, which researches immigration policies. Theres a lot of effort to temporarily disrupt [migrants], but not a lot of coordinated efforts to do it in a concerted way."

U.S. officials in the Colombian capital and Washington declined to respond to questions about the fleeting efforts to crack down on the boat captains. Two captains had been detained by Colombias navy on Sunday and later charged with trafficking migrants because their passengers didnt have transit documents.

That led the regions boat companies, bracing for more arrests, to suspend service from the towns of Necocli and Turbo to the west side of the Gulf of Uraba, close to the Darien Gap.

These actions create a lot of chaos, our services end up collapsing," said Mario Bustamante, a representative for Maritima y Fluvial El Caribe SAS, one of the transportation companies whose service was disrupted.

On Thursday, authorities from Necocli and Turbo announced the resumption of boat operations after a meeting with officials from President Gustavo Petros government, a representative from the U.S. Embassy and boat-company executives. Petros government agreed to dispatch more migration officials and open temporary lodging for migrants in Necocli and Turbo.

Trying to slow the arrival of migrants to the southwest border, U.S. officials have pressed authorities in Mexico, Central America, Colombia and other countries to require visas of foreign travelers, prosecute migrant smugglers and accept flights of their deported nationals. The companies that move U.S.-bound migrants have now come under scrutiny.

We are confronting migrant traffickers that take advantage of vulnerable migrants," Eric Jacobstein, a State Department official who deals with Central America, Cuba and regional migration, said last week. He said the U.S. is implementing a new policy in which visas to the U.S. would be restricted for those operating transport companies that move undocumented migrants to the U.S.

U.S. authorities have focused on charter flight providers to Nicaragua, a key landing point for migrants from all over the world, and on bus drivers and owners in Mexico.

In November, the U.S. government imposed visa restrictions on individuals running charter flights into Nicaragua for thousands of U.S.-bound migrants from Haiti, Cuba and Africa. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortegas regime had allowed little-known charter airlines and travel agencies to operate flights from Caribbean, African and Eastern European airports to Nicaragua, according to Haitian and Nicaraguan civil-aviation data.

In Mexico, immigration authorities have reported the detention of large groups of migrants traveling on buses, including a group of more than 310 crammed in two buses in January in the Gulf state of Veracruz and another 100 or so in Yucatan state in February. Mexican authorities said bus owners and drivers are often linked to organized crime groups and smugglers.

Bus lines using Mexican federal highways are required to check travel documents and the legal status of migrants heading north or face the risk of fines. But hundreds of private bus operators can quickly arrange travel for large groups managed by human smugglers and skirt enforcement.

Colombia, too, has cracked down on bus companies. But analysts and Petro government officials who work on immigration issues said the number of migrantsfrom all over the world but the largest group made up of Venezuelanshave taxed migration authorities.

We have had to learn along the way how to handle this situation of massive migration," said Francisco Coy, vice minister in Colombias Foreign Relations Ministry.

While some 2.8 million Venezuelans have settled here, many Venezuelans pass through Colombia en route to the Darien, as do migrants who have come here from countries as divergent as Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam.

In 2010, 559 migrants were recorded traveling through the Darien by Panamanian migration authorities. By 2021, the number had shot up to 133,726. Last year, it was four times as many, with 328,650 of them Venezuelans.

To slow the flow of migrants, U.S. officials said they are looking to increase cooperation with Petros government to grant legal status and employment opportunities to more migrants so they would remain in Colombia. American officials said they also want to expand a program permitting would-be migrants who seek refugee status, family reunification and a status called parole in the U.S. to apply from Colombia.

The measures seek to undermine a booming human-trafficking industry, senior Biden adviser Juan Gonzalez told reporters after meeting with Petro last month. That is really a conversation that weve been having with President Petro and the Colombian government," he said.

So far, though, there has been little impact on the movement of migrants. A poll by the Caracas polling firm Consultores 21 in December found that one in three Venezuelans wanted to leave their country, mostly for economic reasons, and that the U.S. was their preferred destination.

Ronal Rodriguez, a scholar at the Venezuela Observatory of Bogotas Rosario University, said the latest migration trends, coupled with the economic and social crisis in Venezuela, point to increased migration in the months ahead.

In January, 36,001 people crossed the Darien, Panamanian migration data shows, compared with 24,634 in January 2023. And in February, an additional 36,292 crossed, up from 24,657 in February 2023.

This year is a year of migratory growth," he said. Theres a dynamic that in the summer were going to have a big, important outflow of Venezuelans who are going to take the Darien Gap route."

Already, those who benefit from the movement of migrantsfrom guides to food vendors to sellers of tents and camping gearare readying for the arrival of migrants who plan to enter the Darien.

Bustamante, the representative of the boat company, said his firm now sells tickets and manages operations for 12 boat routes used by migrants, compared with three routes five years ago. On a typical day, several of the companys boats set saileach one carrying 70 passengers.

Santiago Perez and Jenny Carolina Gonzalez contributed to this article.

Write to Juan Forero at juan.forero@wsj.com and Kejal Vyas at kejal.vyas@wsj.com
Tech giant Google may remove apps from 10 Indian companies, including popular matrimony apps, amidst a disagreement over service fee payments, Reuters reported citing sources. The move could also potentially escalate tensions with startup firms, it added

The dispute revolves around the startups' resistance to Google's imposition of a service fee ranging from 11-26 percent, on in-app payments in India. This comes after antitrust authorities mandated Google to dismantle its previous system, which charged fees between 15-30 percent.

Legal Backing for Google

Google gained approval to enforce the fee or remove apps following court decisions in January and February. The Supreme Court's decision not to grant relief to startups played a crucial role in this authorisation.

Alphabet Inc's unit, Google, has issued notices of Play Store violations to Indian companies Matrimony.com and Info Edge. Matrimony.com, responsible for the BharatMatrimony app, and Info Edge, operating a similar app named Jeevansathi, are currently reviewing the notices.

Companies and Market Reactions

Shares of Matrimony.com and Info Edge fell by 2.7 percent and 1.5 percent respectively after the news broke. The stocks have since recovered. At 1.35 pm, Matrimony.com was at 545, and Info Edge was at 5,291.15.

Executives of both companies told Reuters they are reviewing the notice and will consider the next steps.

"The move means all the top matrimony services will be deleted," Murugavel Janakiraman, the founder of Matrimony.com, told Reuters.

"To our mind, we have been compliant since February 9 on Jeevensaathi. We have paid all invoices on time. We are in touch with Google and replying to the notice to say that we are compliant," said Sanjeev Bhikchandani, founder of InfoEdge.

Google's Perspective

Google, in a blog post, highlighted that 10 Indian companies had chosen not to pay for the significant value they receive on Google Play. It stressed its right to charge fees, citing the Supreme Court's decision on February 9, which refused to interfere with this right.

The potential removal of Google's apps raises concerns within the Indian startup community, which has been critical of the company's practices. Google, with a 94 percent share of phones based on its Android platform, asserts that its fees support investments in the app store and Android OS, ensuring free distribution and covering developer tools and analytic services.

Google added that only 3 percent of over 200,000 Indian developers on the Google Play platform are required to pay any service fee.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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World War III: Amidst the backdrop of escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the specter of a potential nuclear World War III looms ominously over the international community. The ongoing conflict, which has been characterized by military build-ups, territorial disputes, and diplomatic standoffs, has raised concerns about the possibility of a catastrophic escalation with global ramifications.

At the heart of the crisis lies the long-standing geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the West, exacerbated by Ukraines strategic significance as a buffer state between Russia and NATO member countries. Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatist movements in eastern Ukraine have fueled tensions and led to a series of confrontations between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The recent deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border and in Crimea, coupled with inflammatory rhetoric from Moscow, has raised fears of a potential military invasion or further aggression against Ukraine. In response, Western countries, including the United States and members of the European Union, have condemned Russias actions and imposed economic sanctions, heightening the risk of a broader confrontation.

Amidst the conventional military posturing and diplomatic maneuvering, the specter of nuclear conflict looms large. Both Russia and NATO possess significant nuclear arsenals, and any miscalculation or escalation could potentially trigger a devastating nuclear exchange with catastrophic consequences for humanity.

The situation is further complicated by the involvement of other global powers, including China, which has expressed support for Russias actions and called for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The possibility of a wider conflict involving multiple actors with competing interests adds another layer of uncertainty to an already volatile situation.

Against this backdrop, the international community faces a critical challenge in finding a peaceful and diplomatic resolution to the crisis. Efforts to de-escalate tensions and engage in dialogue must be prioritized to prevent further escalation and mitigate the risk of a catastrophic conflict.

However, achieving a peaceful resolution will require diplomatic finesse, compromise, and a willingness to address the underlying grievances and security concerns of all parties involved. International organizations such as the United Nations and diplomatic channels must be utilized to facilitate dialogue and negotiation, while also upholding principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and respect for international law.

Ultimately, the specter of nuclear World War III serves as a stark reminder of the existential threats posed by geopolitical conflicts in the modern era. As the world watches anxiously, the imperative for diplomacy, restraint, and collective action has never been greater in averting the potentially catastrophic consequences of a nuclear conflagration.

In recent years, geopolitical tensions have been on the rise, sparking concerns about the possibility of a global conflict. As countries engage in strategic rivalries, territorial disputes, and military build-ups, some observers fear that the world may be inching closer to another world war. Lets examine the factors contributing to these escalating tensions and the implications for global stability.

Rising Power Competition: One of the primary drivers of geopolitical tensions is the intensifying competition among major powers for influence and dominance on the world stage. The rivalry between the United States and China, often characterized as a new Cold War, has led to increased tensions in areas such as trade, technology, and military presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Similarly, tensions between Russia and Western nations have flared over issues like Ukraine, Crimea, and interference in domestic affairs.

Territorial Disputes and Regional Conflicts: Numerous territorial disputes and regional conflicts around the world have the potential to escalate into larger-scale confrontations. In the South China Sea, competing territorial claims among countries like China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and others have raised concerns about military confrontations and maritime disputes. In the Middle East, ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continue to fuel instability and regional tensions.

Nuclear Proliferation and Arms Race: The proliferation of nuclear weapons and the modernization of military arsenals by various countries have heightened fears of a potential arms race and the risk of nuclear conflict. Tensions between nuclear-armed states, such as the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea, pose a significant threat to global security, especially if diplomatic channels fail to mitigate tensions and prevent miscalculations.

Cyber Warfare and Hybrid Threats: In addition to conventional military threats, the proliferation of cyber warfare capabilities and hybrid tactics pose new challenges to international security. State-sponsored cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns, and sabotage operations targeting critical infrastructure, government institutions, and private enterprises have the potential to destabilize societies and escalate tensions between nations.

Regional Instability and Failed States: The presence of fragile states, weak governance structures, and ongoing conflicts in regions like the Middle East, Africa, and Russia exacerbate geopolitical tensions and create fertile ground for extremist ideologies, terrorism, and proxy wars. The spillover effects of regional instability can have far-reaching consequences and draw major powers into conflicts through alliances and strategic interests.

While the prospect of a third world war remains a deeply concerning possibility, it is essential to recognize the complex and multifaceted nature of contemporary geopolitical dynamics. Diplomatic efforts, dialogue, and multilateral cooperation are crucial for de-escalating tensions, preventing conflicts, and promoting peace and stability on a global scale. As the world navigates through these challenging times, collective action and a commitment to international norms and institutions are paramount in averting the catastrophic consequences of global conflict.

Shayne Heffernan
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A man who killed his former girlfriend three decades ago is set to be put to death in March in what would be Georgias first execution in more than four years
Campus police arrested a suspect in the killing of an Augusta University College of Nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. CNN's Ryan Young reports.
This year's National Famine Commemoration will take place in Edgeworthstown, Co Longford on Sunday, May 19.

The public ceremony, which will be broadcast on the RTE News Now channel, will provide an opportunity for the people of Longford and surrounding counties to honour the memory of those who perished or sought escape to a new life abroad during the Great Irish Famine.

This is the first time the State Commemoration has taken place in County Longford. As in previous years, it will include military honours before culminating in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony in remembrance of all those who suffered or perished.

Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee said: Each year the National Famine Commemoration gives communities a chance to gather and pay their respects to the people of our nation who faced hardship and suffering during An Ghorta Mor. As chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee, I am very pleased to announce that this year's National Famine Commemoration will be held in Edgeworthstown.

She continued:Edgeworthstown has a deep connection to the devastating impact of the Famine. The town was founded by the Edgeworth family, which included the renowned novelist Maria Edgeworth. The family was involved in many charitable efforts at the time to provide assistance to their locality. Maria Edgeworth in particular used her international influence to secure support for her community, using her final novel, Orlandino, to raise funds for the famine relief effort.

"The community focused attitude of this admirable family will be reflected in the commemoration ceremony which will represent the culmination of a week of remembrance activities in the local area.

Minister Martin also expressed her appreciation for the work of the members of the National Famine Commemoration Committee for their commitment in ensuring that the tragic events of the Great Famine are appropriately remembered and that the extraordinary contributions of the resulting diaspora are rightly celebrated.

The Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr Colm Murray, said: It is an honour that Longford will host the National Famine Commemoration ceremony in 2024. The people of Edgeworthstown and the wider community will embrace this commemoration as an opportunity to remember the victims of the Famine both locally and across the country, and to recognise the role of those who strove to alleviate the devastating impact of this disaster, such as Maria Edgeworth and her family. We look forward to working closely with the Ministers Department to ensure a solemn and appropriate commemoration.
The death occurred, peacefully in the loving care of the staff of St. Columban's Retirement Home, Navan, on Sunday, November 5, 2023 of Fr Michael Dodd (Columban Fathers), Liscahill, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford; Korea, USA and Dalgan Park, Navan.

Michael (Mike) Dodd was born on January 25, 1937 at Drumming, Ardagh, Co Longford. He was educated at Edgeworthstown NS and St Mels College. He entered Dalgan in September 1955 and was ordained priest on December 20, 1961.

Appointed to Korea in 1962, after language studies he spent his first term in Chindo, in Mokpo and in Kwangju City. In 1968 he was appointed to promotion in the USA.

He served in Bayside and later in Chicago before being reassigned to Korea in 1974. In his second term in Korea, Michael served in Sangkye Dong, Seoul and Kongdok Dong, Seoul.

He specialised in ministry to young industrial workers (JOC/YCW). He was appointed Regional Director from 1980-1984 and this included a generous amount of time spent in preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Korea in 1984.

In May 1984 he was reassigned to the Region of Ireland to the Student Formation Programme and also served as a member of the Regional Council.

In 1986 he was assigned to the USA Region for promotion work of our Mission Education materials for Catholic Grade Schools, High Schools and Schools of Religion (formerly CCD) throughout the dioceses of New England.

He also did mission appeals on weekends, was appointed a Counsellor to the Region, ministered to two Korean communities in Connecticut, and promoted support for Amnesty International.

From 1994 to 2004, he was appointed as director of the Washington Justice and Peace Office. His public relations skills and his capacity as a public speaker enabled him to develop this office until he handed it over to Amy Woolam Echeverria.

From 1994 to 2013 he was appointed to Columban HQ in Omaha and to the Planned Giving Department. In 2013 he retired from active ministry and returned to Dalgan.

Mike will be remembered for his competence and his sense of humour during a long and varied career in so many different ministries. He died in Dalgan Nursing Home on November 5 last.

Fr Michael Dodd was predeceased by his parents Anthony and Delia, brother Anthony. He is very deeply regretted by his sister May, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, extended family, Columban family and friends. May Fr Michael Rest in Peace.
President Michael D Higgins has been taken to a hospital in Dublin after feeling unwell earlier on Thursday.

A medical team attended the Aras an Uachtarain to assess the 82-year-old.

The PA news agency understands that initial tests did not show anything wrong with the president, but he was taken to hospital as a precaution following medical advice.

A source confirmed that he was taken to a hospital but that it was as a precaution following advice from the paramedics who assessed him at his official residence in the Phoenix Park.

In a statement, a spokesman for the president said: Aras an Uachtarain can confirm that, having felt unwell, President Michael D Higgins was this evening brought to hospital for precautionary tests.

The president was initially assessed at Aras an Uachtarain where no immediate concerns were identified but a decision was made to proceed to hospital in order to undergo tests, the initial results of which have been positive.

The president, who will remain in hospital overnight, is in excellent spirits and has thanked the medical staff for the care he has received.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has defended the choice of phrase durable relationships as a way of describing families that are not based on marriage.

He also admitted it can be hard to get the message across to the public, but said leaflets had been dropped to households and posters had been hung.

Irish people will vote next Friday in a referendum on whether to change the constitution to say families can be based on durable relationships as well as on marriage.

The No campaign says the wording is unclear and could have unintended consequences.

Theres no perfect language and we spent years and endless meetings trying to figure out what the best wording is, Mr Varadkar said on Virgin Medias The Six OClock Show.

So the relationship that exists between a child and their mother or father when theyre born, thats the one-parent family  thats pretty immediate, its committed, its caring, its long lasting.

For people who are co-habiting its a bit more complicated, but weve actually set that out in a law back in 2010 already, and that says that somebody is co-habiting if theyre together for more than five years, or two years if theres a child involved.

But what (the wording) doesnt say is that durable relationships are the same as marriage. Marriage will still have a special value or special protection, but you can have a family thats based on durable relationships.

Now, that doesnt mean that every durable relationship is a family its not just a durable relationship on its own. It still has to be a social unit and operate on that basis.

Voters will also cast ballots on whether to delete references to a womans roles and duties in the home and replace it with a new article acknowledging family care.

The Government has been criticised for proposing wording that the state shall strive to support care, rather than stronger wording such as that proposed by the Citizens Assembly, which said it would take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community.

Mr Varadkar said although the Government has an obligation to people with high care needs, care is not something that should be provided entirely by the state.

It very clearly says that its not just the family that is responsible the state has to strive to support that.

Very often, the state will step in if somebody doesnt have a family to look after them or if they have particular very high care needs.

But certainly, my experience of life  and Im sure its most peoples experience of life  my parents brought me up, they cared for me. When theyre old, Im going to make sure theyre looked after.

God forbid if something happened to either of my sisters, Ill make sure that my nephews and nieces are looked after, they have a home, they have an education.

I dont actually think thats the states responsibility, to be honest. I do think that is very much a family responsibility, but families deserve the support of the state, and thats really what this article will say.

But that doesnt preclude us from doing more for people who are disabled. So a lot of people who I know who have disabilities, they want to be independent and they dont want to be dependent on their family in any way, and none of this stops us from making that possible.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: March 01 2024

"Melanies Law" would extend orders of protection for family members beyond the individuals named in them and to minors in the family, regardless of their age.

Assemblyman Ed Flood (R,C-Port Jefferson) attended a press conference to advocate for Melanies Law(A.6026/S.6288), a measure that would extend orders of protection for family members beyond the individuals named in them and to minors in the family, regardless of their age.

Melanie Chianese was a resident of Wappinger, New York when her life was tragically taken by her mother's ex-boyfriend while he was under supervised release pending sentence, later pleading guilty to a domestic violence felony. Because Melanie did not have a direct relationship with the perpetrator, she was denied an order of protection. This act is named after Melanie to honor her passion for helping others during her life in hopes that her story can inspire needed change and save lives.

It is admirable to see Melanies mother stand with me and my colleagues to fight for a change in our criminal justice system, said Flood. Her mother standing with us brings back emotions and memories, yet she continues to advocate and pursue her wishes to make a difference. I urge the Legislature to push this proposal through the legislative process quickly so Melanies Law can help save lives.

Assemblyman Ed Flood Represents the 4th Assembly District, which includes parts of Suffolk County, including Brookhaven and the villages of Old Field, Poquott, Belle Terre, Port Jefferson and Lake Grove. For more information, please follow Assemblyman Flood on Facebook.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: March 01 2024

Empire Wind I is located 15 miles off New Yorks shore, and Sunrise Wind is located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island.

Governor Hochul today announced the State has conditionally awarded two offshore wind projects from its fourth offshore wind solicitation  a planned 810-megawatt project, Empire Wind 1, (developed by Equinor) and Sunrise Wind, a planned 924-megawatt project (developed by Orsted and Eversource). The competitively selected projects will create more than 800 near-term family-sustaining construction jobs and invest $2 billion in near-term enhanced economic development statewide, including developer-committed investments to support disadvantaged communities. The projects, totaling over 1,700 megawatts of clean energy, will be the largest power generation projects in New York State in over 35 years once they enter operation in 2026, and will continue progress towards achievement of the States Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) goal to develop 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035. I promised to make New York a place for the renewable energy industry to do business, and we are delivering on that promise, Governor Hochul said. Offshore wind is foundational to our fight against climate change, and these awards demonstrate our national leadership to advance a zero-emissions electric grid at the best value to New Yorkers. Todays announcement is the latest step forward as President Biden continues to deliver historic progress on growing the American offshore wind industry, creating good-paying union jobs, and advancing our ambitious climate and clean energy goals, said White House Deputy National Climate Advisor Mary Frances Repko. With support from the Presidents Investing in America agenda, these projects will benefit local workers and communities and strengthen a domestic manufacturing base that stretches across the nation. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to partner with leaders like Governor Hochul and other governors across the country to build on unprecedented offshore wind efforts  from permitting projects and leasing wind energy areas, to catalyzing a Made in America supply chain, to expanding port and transmission infrastructure. Todays announcement represents continued action taken by the State as part of New Yorks 10-point Action Plan, announced by Governor Hochul in 2023, resulting in competitively selecting over 1,700 megawatts (MW) of clean, locally produced energy which is enough to power one million New York homes and deliver approximately 10 percent of New York City and Long Islands electricity needs. As mature projects, Empire Wind I, located 15 miles off New Yorks shore, and Sunrise Wind, located more than 30 miles east of the eastern point of Long Island, have already completed most federal and state permitting milestones, including Empire Wind I receiving final approval of their Construction and Operations plan from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) last week. Both projects are expected to ramp up construction activity this year while driving local investments and enhanced economic benefits to New York State at cost-competitive rates. Todays awards are conditional on successful contract execution. In addition, the Community Offshore Wind 2 project has been waitlisted and may be considered for award and contract negotiation at a later date. Combined, Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind will:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over three million metric tons annually, the equivalent annual emissions of over 740,000 cars.

Usher in the construction and operation of the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal assembly and staging port, jump-starting over 400 construction jobs this year to transform the currently inactive 70-acre waterfront site in a disadvantaged community into a thriving offshore wind port.

Invest more than $80 million in construction and manufacturing associated with advanced foundation components at the Port of Coeymans.

Continue to make investments totaling $135 million in electric grid infrastructure on Long Island and $200 million in transmission related investments, backed by a Project Labor Agreement with Long Island skilled tradesmen and women, including heavy equipment operators, electricians, and line workers.

Provide public health benefits resulting from reduced exposure to harmful pollutants  including fewer episodes of illness and premature death, fewer days of missed school or work, less disruption of business, and lower health care costs.

Deliver a host of benefits in line with Climate Act goals, with over $1 billion invested in disadvantaged communities, $117 million supporting minority, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, and over $43 million in workforce development investments.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, I am incredibly proud of the NYSERDA teams demonstrated ability to rapidly respond to market challenges by expertly executing on this expedited solicitation in a manner that ensured competition, a robust evaluation process and yielded a cost that is competitive in todays market. We are excited to see Equinor and Orsted and Eversource step up now and get these projects energized in the near term. Todays announcement further demonstrates Governor Hochuls leadership in renewable energy and New York States commitment to partnering with companies who will deliver clean offshore wind power, create jobs for future generations and develop critical port infrastructure at the same time. Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind were previously awarded by NYSERDA in 2019 as part of NYSERDAs first offshore wind solicitation. As part of these awards, the projects will be held to new contract provisions that bring additional benefits to the State, including:

New economic benefit commitments above what was originally contracted, including $32 million committed to community-focused investments in New Yorks disadvantaged communities and $16.5 million towards wildlife and fisheries monitoring.

Commitments to purchasing a minimum of $188 million of U.S. iron and steel, supporting U.S. manufacturing and the New York Buy American Act.

Requirements for Labor Peace Agreements for operations and maintenance services.

The average bill impact for customers over the life of these projects under these awards will be approximately two percent, or about $2.09 per month. The weighted average all-in development cost of the awarded offshore wind projects over the life of the contracts is $150.15 per megawatt-hour which is on-par with the latest market prices. Following successful contract execution, NYSERDA payments under these awards will only begin once projects have obtained all required permits and approvals, have been completed and begin delivering clean energy to New York. Equinor Renewables Americas President Molly Morris said, Governor Hochul and NYSERDA have once again shown their commitment to offshore wind and we are grateful that Empire Wind has been selected to help lead the way. This is an advanced project that will soon deliver reliable renewable power to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, with environmental and economic benefits that begin at the local level and will extend across the state. We thank Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for executing on this expedited process and look forward to continued community engagement as we move toward a groundbreaking at the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal this spring. rsted Group EVP and CEO Americas David Hardy said, With these provisional awards in New Yorks fourth offshore wind solicitation, we can see all the pieces of the states offshore wind economy coming together, and were incredibly proud of the role Sunrise Wind will play in this new American clean energy industry. We thank Governor Hochul and her administration for driving this industry forward at a critical moment to the benefit of current and future New Yorkers. Sunrise Wind is on a path to adding nearly a gigawatt of clean energy capacity to New Yorks grid by the end of 2026, while creating jobs and new career paths, investing in local communities, diversifying the regional energy mix, and propelling the state toward its clean energy targets. Building on these awards and consistent with New Yorks 10-Point Action Plan, NYSERDA expects to announce awards for Tier-1 land-based renewables projects in April 2024. New Yorks 10-Point Action Plan serves to reinforce the State's dedication to clean energy development, sustainability, and economic growth and supports the States progress towards achieving the Climate Act goals, including obtaining 70 percent of the State's electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Public Service Commission Chair Rory M. Christian said, I applaud Governor Hochuls determined drive to ensure New York remains on track to meet its clean energy goals. Projects such as these will create the good-paying, clean energy jobs that we will need to support our economy long into the future. State Senator Kevin Parker said, Todays announcement shows New Yorks commitment to furthering renewable energy projects despite unforeseen challenges. I commend the Governor for her leadership and am optimistic that New York State will continue to tackle climate change, achieve our climate goals and deliver critical benefits to New Yorkers. State Senator Pete Harckham said, These projects represent the dawn of a new era of opportunity for New York, where clean energy projects will create thousands of good paying union jobs and power our homes and businesses with abundant clean energy while ridding our economy of planet-killing emissions.

Assemblymember Didi Barrett said, The announcement of these two rebidded offshore wind contracts illustrates New Yorks commitment to keep us on pace to reach our 70% by 2030 goal. These two mature projects represent 10% of the power needed in downstate New York and should provide enough capacity to power one million New York homes, all while investing in our communities, creating good paying jobs, and supporting U.S. manufacturing and the New York Buy American Act.

Assemblymember Deborah Glick said, Shifting to clean, sustainable energy, like wind, is necessary to achieve New Yorks climate goals. Empire Wind 1 and Sunrise Wind will not only bring in over 1,700 megawatts of clean energy, but these projects will create more than 800 sustaining jobs and create billions of dollars in economic development, proving that projects that save the environment can create jobs and grow New Yorks economy. I applaud Governor Hochuls leadership in advancing New Yorks Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goals in this project and beyond.

New York State Building Trades President Gary LaBarbera said, As New York continues to pursue the goals set out by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, it is critical that we push forward large-scale offshore wind projects that boost our clean energy infrastructure and create thousands of good-paying union careers for hardworking New Yorkers. We applaud leadership in Albany and NYSERDA for pushing forward these initiatives off the shores of Long Island and Brooklyn that will propel us to our climate objectives, help usher in a new green economy, and uplift our underserved communities. Our tradesmen and tradeswomen look forward to playing a role in pushing these crucial projects forward and pursuing the family-sustaining careers and paths to the middle class they create.

New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said, We are pleased that this award includes more stringent statutory labor standards because of legislation signed by the governor last year. This will ensure that New Yorks clean energy future is built, operated, maintained, repaired, and manufactured by workers who earn good wages, and enjoy the benefits and protections guaranteed by union contracts. New York City Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez said, The New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO applauds Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for the important progress announced today with the awarding of the largest power generation projects in New York State in over 35 years, and for their continued commitment to strong labor standards as we transition to a clean energy economy. The NYC Labor Movement looks forward to continuing to work together to ensure that as we invest in our renewable energy future, addressing climate change and helping achieve energy independence, were also creating good union jobs and building a strong and resilient economy for all New Yorkers. Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO President John Durso said, The working people we represent are on the front lines of the climate crisis, and today is a good day on the front lines. Governor Hochuls leadership expediting the solicitation process has kept New York State on track to achieve 9 GW by 2035 and delivered enhanced economic investments that are going to keep Long Islanders working." Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties President Matthew Aracich said, I would like to thank Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for their leadership and hard work surrounding New York's fourth solicitation. The 800 family-sustaining Building Trades construction jobs that will be created as a result of this solicitation will truly move the economic needle here on Long Island. The opportunity provided by the offshore wind industry will allow the Building Trades to provide our pathway from community member to apprentice to journeyman for years to come; this pipeline provides a real path to the middle class for our local residents. Alliance for Clean Energy NY Interim Executive Director Deb Peck Kelleher said, Todays announcement is a win for all New Yorkers. When completed, these offshore wind projects will make a tangible impact in meeting our states climate and renewable energy goals. New Yorkers will breathe easier with clean electricity generation. As a growing industry, offshore wind will continue to be an integral part of our clean energy future. Long Island Association President & CEO Matt Cohen said, The LIA applauds Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for advancing critical offshore wind projects, which will bring transformative economic and clean energy benefits to Long Island and New York State. The eyes of the country are on our region as we continue to be a leader in creating jobs and supply chain opportunities while simultaneously combating climate change in partnership with rsted and Equinor.

New York Offshore Wind Alliance Director Fred Zalcman said, The Hochul Administration's award of multiple advanced-stage OSW projects a huge win for New York's economy and environment, and firmly anchors New York as a critical hub in the manufacture of project components and port-side construction activity. With today's announcement, the state has deftly navigated the economic headwinds of the post-COVID global economy and has decisively put the US offshore wind industry on a firmer and more inclusive footing, while protecting consumer interests.

New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said, The selection of Empire 1 and Sunrise Wind  two shovel-ready projects that will move forward this year  is not only a boon for the states clean energy portfolio, it will also jumpstart the domestic renewable energy supply chain while providing hundreds of well-paying construction jobs, making it a win-win for the environment and the economy. We applaud Governor Hochul for recognizing that there is no more urgent threat than climate change and no greater need than getting off of fossil fuels and delivering on the state's clean energy promises. Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito said, The selection of Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind clearly signals that New York is committed to advancing offshore wind and continuing our renewable energy revolution. These two offshore wind projects are already well advanced in the regulatory and siting process which provides a time advantage that NY was wise to leverage. Continuing these projects is a smart economic decision that will provide local jobs, cleaner air and assists us in reaching our carbon reduction goals. This valuable announcement creates positive momentum for our energy transition and boldly states that NY is open for business for offshore wind implementation. Thank you to Governor Hochuls leadership and the team at NYSERDA for their thorough, thoughtful expediated review. Together we are building a cleaner, greener New York. New York City Environmental Justice Alliance Executive Director Eddie Bautista said, NYC-EJA is thrilled to see these offshore wind projects moving forward. These projects bring the opportunity to greatly modernize our port and energy infrastructure while cleaning the air we breathe. The re-industrialization of our waterfront, if done correctly, will employ our community members and it doesnt have to be at the expense of our health. We look forward to playing an active part in the development and operation of these projects to ensure working class people within our neighborhood ultimately benefit from these investments.

Center for Economic Growth President Mark Eagan said, Todays announcement signals New York States commitment to building a sustainable and robust market for offshore wind. CEG looks forward to continuing its partnerships with Empire Wind and Sunrise Wind to deliver community and economic benefits in the Capital Region.

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) Chief Operating Officer Melissa Roman Burch said, NYSERDAs selection of Equinor's Empire Wind 1 project in the states fourth offshore wind solicitation round moves us one step closer to transforming the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into one of the largest offshore wind port facilities in the nation and pave the way for meaningful job creation in the clean energy sector. We look forward to working with our partners in the private sector, as well as in state and city government, to continue to revitalize our waterfront infrastructure, build a clean energy future, and create jobs for all New Yorkers.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: March 01 2024

Elijah Giron shot four times at perceived enemy of the gang; defendant was found in possession of more than 200 fentanyl pills at arrest and faces up to 49 years in prison.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Latin Kings gang member was convicted yesterday at trial for an attempted murder on January 9, 2023, in Westbury.

Elijah Giron, 21, was convicted yesterday after a jury trial before Judge Howard Sturim, of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony), two counts of Criminal Use of a Firearm in the First Degree (a B violent felony), two counts of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree (a B felony), Attempted Assault in the First Degree (a C violent felony), two counts of Criminal Use of a Firearm in the Second Degree (a C violent felony), two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony), Criminal Possession of a Firearm (an E felony), and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree (an A misdemeanor).

The trial started on Thursday, February 22, 2024, and closings were yesterday. The jury deliberated for approximately three hours. The defendant faces up to 49 years in prison and is due back in court on April 23, 2024.

This defendant  a known Latin Kings member  used extreme violence to try and kill a perceived rival of his gang, DA Donnelly said. During the course of Elijah Girons arrest, it was further discovered that he was in possession of more than 200 fentanyl pills. My office will aggressively prosecute gang members who utilize violence and sell deadly drugs because every family in Nassau County deserves to live in a safe environment.

DA Donnelly said that on January 9, 2023, at approximately 11:17 p.m. on South Fulton Street in Westbury, defendant Elijah Giron stepped out of the drivers seat of a Dodge Challenger and fired four rounds from a 9 mm pistol towards a person standing outside a different vehicle. The victim was not struck by the bullets. The defendant then fled the scene.

Giron and the victim, a perceived enemy of the Latin Kings gang, were in an argument on social media.

On January 20, 2023, members of the Nassau County Police Departments Gang Investigations Squad arrested the defendant. While searching Giron, 200 pills were recovered from the defendants sock and three pills were recovered from his waistband.

Upon testing it was revealed that the pills  which were pressed to look like prescription pain medications  were in fact fentanyl pills.
IDF troops operate in Khan Younis in late February. (IDF)

The Israel Defense Forces have sent the Bislamach infantry brigade into the heart of Khan Younis to operate against Hamas terrorists in the southern Gaza city. This marks a new phase in operations in the city, which began in early December. The 98th division of commandos and paratroops, bolstered by the 7th armored brigade, have been fighting Hamas in Khan Younis for three months.

Now, according to reports, the paratrooper brigade is being redeployed. The Bislamach brigade, which is based around a training unit, had been operating in the neighborhoods of Daraj and Tuffah near Gaza Citys center in December. It was then redeployed at the end of December. The deployment of the brigade appears to represent a less intense phase of fighting in Khan Younis.

Khan Younis is the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, and it was also home to one of the largest and most powerful Hamas brigades. There were several Hamas battalions in the city with several thousand fighters. Hamas terrorists had set off from areas near the city, from Khirbat Ikhzaa and Khuzaa near the border with Israel, on October 7. Hostages were transported back to Khan Younis after the attack. In addition, a video of Sinwar in a tunnel under Khan Younis in the early days of the war was found by the IDF.

When the IDF first entered the city, it did so rapidly and by using commandos and paratroops of the 98th division. It also deployed tanks from the 7th armored and Givati infantry and other forces. The 98th also used new technology in the city, including the IDFs new precision Iron Sting mortars. The 120mm mortar is deployed via a Humvee in which the launch tube is deployed from the rear of the vehicle. The mortar uses data imported from the computer and can then be used to conduct precision fire. This gives infantry in the field the opportunity to conduct precise strikes rather than waiting for air support.

Despite successes in Khan Younis, the battle has been grinding on. The IDF found extensive tunnels and evidence of hostages, but did not free any hostages in the city. Although it eliminated Hamas battalions, it did not find top Hamas commanders. Khan Younis is close to the city of Rafah, which sits on the Egyptian border. There are believed to be several Hamas battalions operating out of Rafah as their last major bastion in Gaza, surrounded by more than 1 million displaced Gazans. Once the IDF gained total control over Khan Younis, this likely contributed to the freedom of action that enabled them to conduct a raid in Rafah that freed two hostages in mid-February. That raid used the IDFs new Eitan APCs which are wheeled and can drive on roads at a high speed to extract the two hostages and special forces and move them to a helicopter.

Now, the IDF says it has operated in Khan Younis to eliminate terrorists who carried out rocket launches at Israel and eliminate several terrorists who were carrying weapons. Over the past day, IDF troops conducted targeted raids on a series of targets in western Khan Yunis. During the activity, the troops located a weapon storage facility containing numerous AK-47 rifles and ammunition. Additionally, four terrorists approached IDF troops, which directed an aircraft, that targeted and killed the terrorists, the IDF said. In addition, the IDF said the 7th armored brigade raided several homes of Hamas commanders.

Abasan, a suburb of Khan Younis, was also targeted by Israeli infantry during the last week of February. Dozens of targets were hit by the IDF Givati infantry brigades fire control center, the IDF said. Two soldiers were killed in clashes in the area. The IDF says Abasan is important to control because terrorists used it as a staging area for attacks on three Israeli border communities on October 7.

The continued fighting throughout Gaza, from Zaytun in the north near Gaza City to central Gaza and Khan Younis illustrates the continued challenge posed by Hamas. The IDF is also focusing on securing a zone called the Netzarim corridor which cuts across the center of Gaza, dividing the strip into two parts. This is supposed to make isolating remaining terrorists in the north and south easier and enable rapid maneuver into those areas to conduct new sweeps.

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.
February was an unusually big month for Apple this year because it all started with the release of Apple Vision Prothe first major new product in a new category for Apple in a decade.

March should be another big month, with a significant new iOS release (especially for those in the EU) and possibly new Macs and iPads as well. Heres what we think is coming from Apple in March.

New hardware releases: March event with new Macs, iPads, and more?

Weve long heard that Apple is targeting March for several important new product releasespossibly at its first event of the year. The M3 MacBook Air (in both 13- and 15-inch varieties) should be on the way but dont expect much more than an upgrade from the M2 to the M3 processor. The laptops will probably get Wi-Fi 6E support but we dont expect any other changes.

The iPad lineup gets shaken up a little more. First, the iPad Air is expected to get two major new changes: the first is the availability of a new 12.9-inch model, and the second is a bump to the M2 processor. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 are also expected.

The iPad Pro will get even more changes. The new models will sport M3 processors, new OLED displays, and a slimmer design. The camera is rumored to be moved to the top edge when held horizontally (landscape), and theres a rumor of a new redesigned Magic Keyboard. There might even be some sort of MagSafe charging system, though its unclear if this refers to the iPad-style MagSafe connector or the iPhone one.

Apple may introduce these products at an event in Marchsome years have them and some dont. The March events of years past have been in the 2nd, 3rd, and last week of the month. There was even a spring event in April one year, but that was due to pandemic-related delays.

We havent heard of the imminent release of other products like AirPods, HomePods, Apple TV, or even an iPhone SE (which usually releases in the spring). But Apple is fond of introducing a new iPhone color in the spring, so it wouldnt surprise us a new shade for the iPhone 15.

Apple has until March 6 to comply with the European Unions Digital Markets Act, which requires the company to allow apps to be distributed through avenues outside the App Store and to allow apps to accept payment processors other than Apples for digital goods and services, among other things. All that is coming in iOS 17.4, which just got a release candidate at the end of February. Expect the iOS 17.4 release (and associated iPadOS, tvOS, and macOS updates) to drop on March 4 or 5.

iOS 17.4: ALong with the EU changes, this release also includes new emojis, virtual card numbers for Apple Cash accounts, transcripts in Podcasts, and more.

tvOS 17.4: Apple was going to introduce SharePlay for Apple Music in this release, but pulled it during the beta process. Its unclear if it will return in the final release.

macOS 14.4: This release adds the new emoji as youll find in iOS and iPadOS 17.4, along with the improved iMessage security system. It will likely launch in mid-March

Services

Apple TV+

Here are the shows, series, and movies we expect to release on Apple TV+ in TK. If you want to know whats coming later, check our full guide to upcoming Apple TV+ content.

The Completely Made-up Adventures of Dick Turpin: Together with his gang of lovable rogues, Turpin rides the highs and lows of his new endeavors, including a brush with celebrity, all whilst trying to escape the clutches of the thief-taker. March 1

Napoleon: A big historical action epic film about Napoleon Bonaparte, starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Ridley Scott. March 1

The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy (season 2): The seven-part second season of the country-hopping travel series follows Levy as he makes his way from the very north of Europe to the very south. March 15

Manhunt: A limited series true crime story about the hunt for John Wilkes Booth and the aftermath of Abraham Lincolns assassination. March 15

Palm Royale: A 10-episode comedy series. Set in 1969, its based on the true story of Maxine Simmons as she attempts to secure her place in Palm Beach high society. March 20

Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (season 2): With big changes affecting the Rock, the Fraggles, Doozers, and Gorgs, they will be forced to confront their past and celebrate their interdependence as they move through challenges together with hope, silliness and brand new songs, all while dancing their cares away  down at Fraggle Rock. March 29

Apple Arcade

Apple releases new games to Apple Arcade on the first Thursday of the month. That means March 7 for this months releases. Check our Apple Arcade FAQ for a full list of Apple Arcade games and more details on the service.

The Battle of Polytopia+: The unique turn-based strategy game from 2016 comes to Apple Arcade.

Bloons TD Battles 2+: Head-to-head tower defense battles.

Crayola Adventures: Story-telling adventure and minigames with lots of creative tools.
Whether youre a working professional or a student, you need a reliable suite of tools to conquer work and academic tasks. Theres no other software like Microsoft Office built to meet this challenge. Lifetime access to Microsoft 2021 is now only $44.99.

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With this lifelong license, you can access these top-rated productivity apps anytime, and updates are included for life. To ensure smooth installation, simply check if your PC has at least Windows 10 and 1GB of RAM.

Improve your productivity with a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows, now just $44.99.

Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License

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StackSocial prices subject to change.
Mobile World Congress was held this week in Barcelona and we understand if it passed you by. While Apple and the iPhone are on everyones mind, MWC is primarily an Android show. But there are still some announcements that will get Apple fans a little jealous. Here are five of them that caught our eyeand we hope Apple is paying attention too.

Galaxy Ring

As if Samsung was reading the rumor blogs, right after reports emerged that Apple had explored the development of a smart ring, new details emerged of the upcoming Galaxy Ring, which reportedly wont work with iPhones. We dont know much about it other than itll track most health metrics that a smartwatch doessleep, heart rate, fertility, etc.and last about a week between charges. Just as importantly, its the first smart ring from a major smartphone company and looks great in pictures, so consider our interest piqued by the prospect of an Apple Ring.

Mattas Inghe

Gemini in Google Messages

Were still waiting for Apple to unveil its first true generative AI featurewhich should be coming at WWDCbut Google has been moving at a fast pace with its own Gemini chatbot. Despite some early issues with image creation, Gemini continues to add new tools to its arsenal. The latest announced at MWC: You can chat with Gemini right in the Google Messages app. We dont know what Apple has planned for Gen AI in iOS 18, but something similar in iMessage would be fun.

OnePlus Watch 2

Apple Watch is the king of smartwatches, but theres still one area where wed like to see a big boost: battery life. So were a little jealous of the OnePlus Watch 2, which claims 100 hours of battery life with light use and about half that with heavy use. Testers have been able to go two to three days with normal use. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 9 is still stuck at around a day and a half.

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Honor Magic 6 Pro

Among the oodles of new tech introduced with Vision Pro is next-level eye-tracking tech for navigating without flailing your hands all over the place. Honor also has new eye-tracking tech, but its not in a headset, its in the companys new Magic 6 Pro phone. Called Assistive eye-gaze control, it will expand notifications banners and launch apps when it detects that youre looking at them for longer than normal. Since itll be a while before everyone can afford a Vision Pro, we wouldnt mind eye-tracking on the iPhone 16.

Lenovo ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop

Some day well be wearing a Vision Pro thats as thin and clear as a pair of glasses. Some day well be using iPhones and iPads that are little more than thin sheets of glass. Lenovo wants that future to be now. The company unveiled its 17.3-inch Micro-LED transparent display at MWC, with a completely borderless and see-through display experience. Its one of the coolest things weve ever seenand were sure hoping Apple has something similar deep in its labs.
The general election is looming in the United Kingdom - it must be held no later than January 28, 2025 - and Britons living overseas will be able to vote after the 15-year cap was finally lifted last month.

Furthermore, the right to vote does not just apply to Britons abroad who had voted previously while resident in the UK. Britons who moved abroad when they were too young to vote can register to vote as well and the Labour Party, through Labour International, is busy spreading the word that it is important to use that democratic right to vote and to register now.

Fiona Urquhart, the Chair of Labour International who has lived and worked in Luxembourg for over 30 years, told the Bulletin this week that in the wake of Brexit, millions of people, especially Britons living and working abroad in the EU, realised that they now have a role in influencing and having a say on very crucial decisions which affect their daily lives.

She highly recommends that all Britons living abroad use their democratic right to vote, even though it may not be for the Labour Party.

Challenges

Even when we have been away from the country for many years, Labour International members and all other overseas citizens maintain personal, financial, and emotional ties to the UK.

We are directly affected by many elements of government policy, despite our distance, and most of us have friends and family who are having to deal with the impact of the disastrous Conservative attempt at government.

Potential overseas voters care deeply about the UK, and it is only right that they have their say in its future, she said.

Since the UK withdrew from the European Union, tens of thousands of Britons have been faced with numerous challenges and hurdles, which no one was fully aware were coming or that were brushed under the carpet.

In Spain, Britons have been faced with the nightmare complications over exchanging driving licences, for example, having to get new TIE identity cards and now the burning issue is the 90-day rule, which has had a negative impact on Britons across the EU. Fiona also pointed out that Britons in Canada, for example, have been crippled by the pension freeze - in short their pensions are set at the rate they were when they emigrated and are not entitled to UK pension increases.

So, the issues facing Britons living abroad, many of whom are overseas for professional reasons, are numerous and Fiona said that the Labour Party is well aware of the situation.

Winning is not a given

However, until it gets into power - and Fiona was quick to stress that winning the next general election is not a given hence why every vote counts, especially those from overseas - Labour will not be in a position to begin to redress the problems.

With regard to the 90-day rule, weve just seen what happened in France. The proposed easing of the cap failed at the very last hurdle and we know that Spain is also pushing for change. Its in everybodys interest but its a question of getting the quid pro quo right and convincing 27 countries to agree on a decree which would only affect the British. That will take some doing after the sour taste Brexit has left.

But the Labour Party has made it clear that it wants to see a greater level of freedom of movement within the EU for Britons, in particular for professionals and trade, and within that remit could or would come the 90-day rule. It would have to be part of a bigger deal, she explained.

Yes, its ironic that Labour, Labour International, is keen to stress the impotence of Britons abroad voting again after it was Tony Blair who introduced the 15-year cap, but I think, as do many of the members, that Brexit moved the goal posts, totally changed the political environment.

By using the right to vote and voting for Labour, the UK will finally have a stable government, after 14 years of upheaval and chaos, which cares about the interests of Britons wherever they may live in the world.

Britons living abroad are no longer the expats of old. Many more are professionals or academics who have moved abroad to work and set up businesses but, in the EU, they face recruitment problems when it comes to employing seasonal staff from the UK as well as the complicated important export procedures and paperwork and extra VAT costs.

I think what the majority of people have realised, including those who voted in favour of Brexit and I know Britons living in the EU who did, is that Brexit was neither thought through properly nor clearly presented to the electorate. Many of us at home and overseas are now paying the price.

No longer have MEPs

So, it is extremely important that people use their democratic right to vote again in the general elections.

While the UK does not have MPs representing Britons abroad like France or Italy, as a result of Brexit Britons no longer have an MEP to refer to when they have problems. Yes, there is the Foreign Office but it is more concerned about trade than it is with the worries and problems individual Britons face, she added.

Having the status of a Constituency Labour Party (CLP), means Labour International is entitled to send delegates to Annual Conference, is represented on the National Policy Forum, can nominate for national committees and make supporting nominations in leadership elections.

And it is assisted by an NEC Liaison Officer, who is appointed from current members of the NEC.

The structure and function of Labour International are governed both by the Labour Party Rulebook and by Labour International Rules, and Fiona is hopeful that these criteria will mean that MPs for Britons overseas could eventually become a reality under a Labour government.

At the end of the day, Labour wants to make it easier for Britons living overseas. Right now the party is obviously being cautious, its not making too many bold announcements because, should it come to power, it does not know what its going to be faced with, what state the economy will be in and so forth. But I cant stress enough that it is well aware of many of the problems facing Britons overseas, especially in the EU.

One has to remember that the 15-year voting cap was lifted as a result of the Votes for Life campaign launched by the late veteran Labour International member who lived in Italy, Harry Shindler with, granted, support from the Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale. So that is further evidence of issues facing Britons abroad, how strong they feel about their rights and how more often that not its far better to work together than create divisions. As the late Jo Cox said in her maiden speech we are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us, Fiona stressed.

There are at least 2.4 million Britons living and working abroad and they should not be marginalised.

Appetite to vote

Whether there is an appetite amongst the overseas community to vote, its difficult to say. But I am convinced that Brexit has woken people up and that now we have the power to vote, we can all do our bit to try and make a change and for the better.

I know of many Britons who have become disenchanted with politics and politicians over the past few years, but now is the change to reengage. Many more people are aware that politics affects our daily lives, the lives of our families and friends in the UK, our children and their future. And this is why, should Labour win the next election, it is prepared to revisit some of the Brexit agreements, such as the Windsor Agreement and make it easier for Britons to come and go in Europe.

Restoring that freedom of movement is paramount and a meeting to discuss the Trade and Cooperation agreement has already been agreed on for 2026. Following that, a yearly revision is being pushed for by all parties involved, both the EU and the UK.

Closer working relations

Closer working relations have to be struck for the better of everyone affected and the only party which has made it clear it is prepared to go down that route is Labour. The party is open to resolve, while not talking about reversing Brexit - its too late for that and, to be honest, it would never happen.

But key issues can and will be worked on. Solving the 90-day problem works both ways, its good for the UK and its beneficial for Spain and France, for example, not to mention the rest of the EU.

Im not just talking about professionals or the wealthy, Im talking about ordinary people. Those are the people Labour cares most about, the working people who have the courage to get up and go, move overseas to work or live. And why shouldnt they?

But trying to convince the EU to follow one-way traffic solely in favour of Britons is not going to be easy, its not going to happen overnight. However, as part of a larger deal, its not impossible if the willingness is there, she said.

For example, the EU Observers view of what Labour could or should do, rather than official Labour policy is if Labour is serious about reviving growth, looking for practical ways to reduce trading barriers with a market that accounts for nearly half of all of Britains trade will not be a choice but a necessity for the future government. In its defence, Labour has proposed some ideas to that end.

Integrated

This includes a new veterinary agreement to reduce friction in trading agrifoods, better mobility provisions to ease movement of working professionals travelling to and from EU countries, and a set of measures like a regular EU-UK political summit that could improve trust in bilateral relations, Fiona explained.

Exploring, moving abroad, travelling, its a great British strength, its something weve always done.

Weve integrated with overseas communities, become key parts of society, made huge contributions, helped expand cultures, grow businesses and create employment and prosperity.

Travel broadens the mind, enables us to exchange knowledge and experiences, its for the good of all, so hopefully we will see Labour return to power and set about resolving the freedom of movement problems.

But for that to happen, those who are entitled to vote, in the UK or overseas, should do so and preferably Labour for a stable future, she added.

What is more, Keir Starmer knows what it is like to do a propert days work as a barrister.

For more information on Labour International and registering to vote from overseas go to: https://www.labourinternational.net/overseas-voting/
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Its been well over a month since migrants were reported to be sleeping on the floor at Boston Logan International Airport and despite Massachusetts pleas for federal funding and its efforts to get them comfortably settled, families are still staying at the airport overnight.

As of Feb. 29, the states emergency shelter system was 17 families over its 7,500 cap that Gov. Maura Healey imposed last year, with 15 new families enrolled in the previous 24 hours.

We continue to see migrants at the airport... They also arrive at Logan at all hours, said Massachusetts Port Authority Director of Media Relations Jennifer Mehigan. The airport is continuing to coordinate with the state to bring people to welcome centers during the day, Mehigan said.

Read more: Haitian migrants hunker in Boston Logan terminal amidst shelter crisis

The spokesperson added the majority of people are still not flying in, but come into the airport in a number of ways, and that staff who speak Haitian and Creole are still being made available to assist.

The first reports of the migrants overnight stays at the airport about 80% of whom were Haitian  came in November 2023, with the reports resurfacing again at the end of January. In July 2023, migrants were being turned away from Boston Medical Center and told to go to the airport, Channel 7 had reported.

By Jan. 30, state officials had laid out a plan to move the families into the Cass Recreation Complex in Roxbury as a temporary safety-net site.

The site was able to accommodate 400 individual people with food, security, legal services, medical care and transportation as they waited for long-term shelter placement, according to Gov. Maura Healeys office.

However, the site had rapidly approached its 400-person capacity days after opening, according to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, MassLive previously reported.

But at 6:12 a.m. on Feb. 29, a familiar image of Terminal Es tile floor edged by patterned, gray or cartoon-character blankets covering people, their young children and their lifes belongings was posted to X by WCVB reporter Jennifer Eagan.

Read more: State to move migrants staying at Logan Airport to Boston recreation center

As of March 1, there were 96 families, each at least two people or more, utilizing the Roxbury recreation complex, according to a spokesperson for the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

The spokesperson could not confirm whether the safety-net site was at capacity and stated this was due to its fluidity, with families in and out as they receive emergency assistance placement.

The spokesperson added the Roxbury site is not exclusively for families who slept at Logan, and is also for other Massachusetts families on the emergency assistance waitlist.

The state is always examining potential and ever-changing possibilities to solve the seemingly endless overflow issue, the spokesperson said.

Of the 7,517 families in the system, over 3,800 are in overflow motels or hotel sites outside of traditional shelters, according to state data.

In order to continue placing families in the emergency housing and giving them assistance after, federal funding and more residences opened up is crucial, said Jeffrey Thielman, President and CEO of International Institute of New England, a migrant resettlement agency that helps people in hotels.

Were putting out a plea to people that if they have a second home theyre not using, an auxiliary dwelling unit theyre not using, or whatever, wed love to talk to them about the possibility of renting it, Thielman said.

The other thing were all conscious of on the ground is that we dont have federal money, enough federal money, Thielman said, adding it was a federal problem that we cant solve at the state level.

He said some of people who enter the United States as humanitarian parolees actually come with federal funding, but that all of the people coming now do not.

Thielman estimated it costs anywhere between $25,000 and $50,000 to care for a single family for 12 months  but that number varies very significantly for families.

The amount includes the costs of staffing, direct assistance and services such as English classes, employment services, case management and housing support, as just some of the aid the migrants receive. The amount of time a family receives aid is also different for every situation, Thielman said.

Though the Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson stated they did not have information on any new safety-net sites like Roxburys being established for migrants specifically at Logan, Healey announced on Monday a new overflow shelter would open in Bostons Seaport to support migrant families as soon as possible, in a conversation with WCVB.

Reports and first emerged earlier in month that the state was eyeing the 92,000-square-foot building in Fort Point, owned by the Unitarian Universalist Association, as a potential site, MassLive previously reported.

The persisting issue, however, Thielman reiterated, is federal funding. I think what other people can do is ask the federal government to get something done, and give money to the states like ours, he said.

We can create a better system to help folks and to try and help them transition to the United States in a more organized and supportive way... if were going to solve the workforce crisis, in which there just arent enough workers, were going to have to find ways to get people housing, Thielman said.
With Massachusetts being the birth place of the beloved chocolate chip cookie, perhaps it is no surprise Bay Staters are celebrating Chocolate Chip Cookie Week from March 3-9.

The classic cookie came to be after a Massachusetts woman, Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, added chunks of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate to cookie dough in 1939.

According to Nestle, Wakefield believed the chocolate would melt and transform into chocolate cookie dough.

Instead, Wakefield created a happy-accident that would take Massachusetts, and the country, by a chocolatey storm.

Almost 90 years later, the chocolate chip cookie is still as popular as ever.

Its not hard to find a chocolate chip cookie. They can be found at most bakeries, grocery stores and convenience stores. But MassLive has put together a list of cookie shops with raving chocolate chip cookie reviews, whose cookies go above and beyond when it comes to baking up the classic.

Whether it be the chocolate they use, the size of the cookie or unusual ingredients, these bakeries offer truly epic chocolate chip cookies.

Levain Bakery, Boston

Levain Bakery, at 180 Newbury St., Boston, is well-known for its New York-style cookies.

The bakery considers itself New York Citys most famous cookie, and has been recognized in publications such as The New York Times.

This world-class cookie has made its way to Boston and into the bellies, and hearts, of Massachusetts cookie lovers.

Levain Bakery is a woman-owned business whose renowned chocolate-chip cookie beat Bobby Flays in a bakeoff in 2008, and has inspired countless cookie connoisseurs to try and replicate it.

Levains official website describes it as a decadent take on a classic chocolate chip cookie,  possessing a perfectly crispy exterior and satisfyingly thick and gooey, interior.

It is made with semi-sweet, dark chocolate chips for a rich depth of flavor.

In addition to Levains take on the classic cookie, it also offers a chocolate chip walnut cookie, which is the bakerys signature dish.

Packed with semi-sweet chocolate chips and chunks of walnuts, Bay Staters have several options to choose from when celebrating chocolate chip cookie week at Levains.

Cookie costs start at $5.65.

Hours: Open daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Chip City Cookies offers over 40 unique flavors of gourmet cookies.Chip City Cookies

Chip City, Watertown, Boston

Located at 104 Bond Square in Watertown, and 97 Causeway St. in Boston, Chip City offers guests a brown sugar cookie mixed with dark or milk chocolate chips.

This cookie-joint features a rotating menu  providing guests an opportunity to try nine of 46 cookie flavors.

Chip City considers its cookies ooey-gooey, with the classic chocolate chip always on deck at $4.75 per cookie, plus tax.

Hours:

Monday through Thursday, 2 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Friday, 2 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Saturday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Sunday, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Insomnia Cookies in Worcester's Kelley Square. Aviva Luttrell

Insomnia Cookies, Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Amherst

Just as its name suggests, Insomnia Cookies is up-all night, serving guests until 1 a.m.

According to Insomnia Cookies, the concept was conceived in a dorm room in 2003 when several college friends were craving for something delicious.

As the story goes, they wanted to satisfy not only their late-night cravings but their insatiable hunger for adventure; for those stories that can only happen when the sun goes down and the Insomniac comes out.

More than 20 years later, the concept has taken-off and the company has more than 200 locations  six of which are in Massachusetts.

Insomnia Cookies offers at least three variations of chocolate chip cookies: Vegan Chocolate Chunk, Gluten-free Chocolate Chip and a Deluxe Triple Chocolate Cookie.

Classic cookies  such as the Vegan Chocolate Chunk and Gluten-free Chocolate Chip  are $2.95 each.

Deluxe cookies  such as the Triple Chocolate Cookie  are $4.95 each and are considered to be extra big cookies with extra good stuff, according to Insomnia Cookies.

Hours vary by location:

30 Main St., Amherst

Sunday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 3 a.m.

222 Clarendon St., Boston

Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 12 a.m.

Thursday through Friday, 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

Saturday, noon- 1 a.m.

Sunday, noon- 12 a.m.

Other locations:

61 Bromfield St., Boston

65 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge

708 Commonwealth Ave., Boston

One Kelley Square, Space 1B, Worcester

Cookies in the kitchen at Hot Oven Cookies in Springfield. (Don Treeger/The Republican)

Hot Oven Cookies, Chicopee, Springfield

Hot Oven Cookies, located at 28 Center St., Chicopee and 1209 Parker St., Springfield, is a woman-owned cookie shop offering rotating flavors to keep the menu fresh and fun. Weekly offerings are announced every Sunday via social media.

This cookie shop is known for its unique take-on a classic chocolate chip cookie: The Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cookie.

It is described as possessing a caramel cookie dough with hand-chopped Belgian chocolate and extra, extra vanilla.

This flagship cookie has become a staple at Hot Oven Cookies, earning its way onto the weekly offering list alongside The Boozy Cake Batter Sugar, Coquito Snickerdoodle and the Guava Cheesecake.

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. or until sold out.

Sheila Coon, owner of Hot Oven Cookies, with a few of her cookies in her former Allen Street store in Springfield. That store moved to Parker Street. (Don Treeger/The Republican)

Top Shelf Cookies, Boston

Top Shelf Cookies, located at 516 Gallivan Blvd., Boston, offers 12 cookie flavors daily, six of which are regularly available.

One repeat contender is Top Shelf Cookies popular Boston Lager Chocolate Chip.

This cookie combines two revolutionary and vital discoveries from the state of Massachusetts: Chocolate Chip Cookies and Boston Lager.

It is made with Samuel Adams Boston Lager, brown sugar, milk chocolate chips, vanilla extract and cinnamon.

Hours:

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Cookie Time Bakery, Arlington

Cookie Time Bakery, located at 1375 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, offers guests a variety of more than 40 cookie flavors from which to choose.

According to Cookie Time Bakery, what makes its cookies so special is butter.

Cookie Time Bakery offers several chocolate chip cookie variations such as the traditional chocolate chip, chocolate chip M&Ms, vegan chocolate chip shortbread, orange chocolate chip and coconut chocolate chip shortbread.

Hours:

Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The Bean Counter Coffee Bar and Bakery in Worcester

Bean Counter Bakery, Worcester

Bean Counter Bakery Cafe, located at 270 Grove St., Worcester, offers several chocolate chip cookie options, including a Chocolate Chunk cookie, Peanut-Butter Chocolate Chip and Not Your Grandmas Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Gluten-free and vegan-friendly chocolate chip cookie options are also available.

This bakery describes the Not Your Grandmas Chocolate Chip Cookie as a French style, all-butter cookie with Callebaut chocolate, finished with Maldon sea salt. It costs $4.50 per cookie.

For the chocoholics, the Chocolate Chunk Cookies features large chunks of Belgian chocolate, providing more semi-sweetness in every bite.

Hours:

Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. - 7 p.m

Sunday, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Crumbl Cookies expand to encompass nearly 1,000 stores. Jessica Jones-Gorman

Crumbl Cookies, various locations

Crumbl Cookies is well-known for its cookies, with nearly 1,000 locations throughout the country.

Massachusetts is home to 16 of those locations, with shops in Attleboro, Dartmouth, Foxborough, Millbury and West Springfield.

Crumbl Cookies offers a rotating menu with at least six unique flavors on-hand daily. The classic Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie and Chilled Sugar Cookie are always available.

Crumbls Milk Chocolate Chip Cookie is described as thick, soft, and packed with milk chocolate chips.

Each cookie costs $4.78.

Hours vary by location. Find a store near you.

Cookie Monstah, various locations

While it all started with a food truck and an oven, Cookie Monstah has caught the attention of various media outlets, including Bostonia, Boston Magazine and the Travel Channel, and has grown to encompass six stationary locations in addition to the Monstah truck.

According to its official website, Cookie Monstahs chocolate chip cookie features Callebaut Belgian chocolate, bourbon vanilla and farm-fresh butter.

The cookies are put to rest, hand scopped, then baked to perfection.

Cookie Monstah offers five variations of chocolate chip cookies  chocolate chunk, double chocolate, gluten-sensitive chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip and vegan chocolate chip.

Cookie Monstah has taken this treat up another notch, offering an array of cookie sandwiches stuffed with Richardsons Cow-to-Cone farm-fresh ice cream.

Single cookie costs start at $2.75, with cookie sandwiches start at $7.

Locations:

111 Turnpike St., North Andover

43 Dodge St. Unit A., Beverly

1257 Highland Ave., Needham

505 Paradise Road, Swampscott

76 Burlington Mall Road, Burlington

75 Newbury St., Danvers

Hours vary by location. Find a store near you.

Did we miss one? Email the name and Massachusetts location of more bakeries that offer epic chocolate chip cookies to dgagnon@masslive.
The funeral for the Shrewsbury woman who died in a car crash in Spencer on Feb. 22 will be held on Friday, according to her obituary.

Joan Milsop, 83, was a passenger in a Hyundai Sonata that approached the intersection on Meadow Road at around 1 p.m. that day, according to the Telegram & Gazette. As it went through the intersection, a Jeep Compass crashed into the Hyundai.

Milsop died at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, her obituary read.

Her husband drove the Hyundai and was hospitalized after the crash, Spencer police Lt. Norman Hodgerney told the Telegram. The Jeep crashed into a utility pole after the cars collided, but the driver was not hurt, Hodgerney added. No charges have been filed.

Milsop was born on Oct. 1, 1940, in Dover, N.J., her obituary said. She grew up in Berkshire Valley, N.J., and attended Patterson State Teachers College. She met her future husband Bob while they were working part-time at Bambergers Department store in Morristown, N.J., and married in 1966.

By then, Milsop worked at Schering-Plough in Union, N.J., while her husband worked for a Newark-based insurance company, her obituary said. They moved north to Connecticut in 1973 where she worked as a business manager for the public schools in Canton. Fourteen years later, the couple moved again to Shrewsbury, and Milsop worked as a business manager for Grafton Public Schools.

During this time, she was an active member of the Shrewsbury Congregational Church and served on the Board of Deacons, her obituary said. After she retired from Grafton, she ended up working part-time as a Price Chopper cashier in Shrewsbury, but had to leave in early 2020 on doctors orders (she suffered from [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]), the obituary read.

Milsop is survived by her husband, her sister Barbara Endean and her nephew William Dickerson, all of Shrewsbury.

Visiting hours were held from 2 to 4 p.m. and will continue from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Bermingham Funeral Home at 216 S. Main St. in Wharton, N.J.

Milsops funeral will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday at the funeral home. She will be interred at Berkshire Valley Presbyterian Church in Wharton.
BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has called on officials at all levels to foster a Marxist style of learning to integrate theory with practice, thereby contributing to advancing Chinese modernization with solid actions.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in the preface he wrote to the reading materials for the sixth group of trainee officials.

Noting that Chinese modernization opens a new path for humanity toward modernization and creates a new form of human advancement, Xi said it is both a glorious historical mission and a severe realistic test for the Party.

Xi underlined efforts to truly master the key skills of Marxism and to ensure political unity and unity in action with a high-level unity in thinking.

He also urged comprehensively enhancing the officials' political competence as well as their leadership caliber and working ability in line with the advancement of Chinese modernization.

The purpose of learning the Party's theoretical innovations is to apply them to practice, Xi noted.

Xi further emphasized the necessity for officials at all levels to maintain their focus on addressing obstacles hindering high-quality development, addressing issues drawing public grievances, and resolving prominent problems in the process of Party building.

"Efforts should be made to effectively prevent and diffuse major risks and work in innovative ways, thus transforming the blueprint mapped out at the 20th CPC National Congress into reality," Xi said.

The reading materials for the sixth group of trainee officials, currently awaiting publication, consist of nine publications. Among them, four books are intended for theoretical study, while five focus on selected cases concerning the promotion and expansion of Chinese modernization. These cases span a range of topics, including the economy, education, rule of law, culture, and national security.
Jack Teixeira, the national guardsman accused of sharing classified information about Russias war in Ukraine on social media, is expected to plead guilty in an upcoming hearing, a family spokesperson told WCVB-TV.

Teixeira, 23, of North Dighton, previously pleaded not guilty to an indictment of six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to national defense. Spokesperson Jen Reed said when he appears in U.S. District Court on Monday, he will change his plea, the news station reported.

On Thursday, prosecutors filed to change the purpose of the Monday hearing, The Boston Globe wrote.

Stationed in Massachusetts, Teixeira has been accused by prosecutors of retaining and transmitting classified national defense information on a social media chat room for gamers called Discord. Teixeira faced charges under the Espionage Act earlier in April when he was arrested. He transmitted classified national defense information on Discord in two different ways in 2022, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors say he accessed classified documents containing national defense information from a classified workstation at the Otis United States Air National Guard Base, and then transcribed and transmitted the information in written paragraphs to other users on Discord.

Officials claimed he posted images of documents with classification markings such as SECRET or TOP SECRET, to Discord. At least one of the documents containing national defense information was found in digital form in a particular account associated with Teixeira, according to the Department of Justice.

In an announcement on Dec. 11, the Air Force Inspector General said that while its investigation found Teixeira responsible for the social media leak of information on the war in Ukraine, leadership members in the 102nd Intelligence Wing also were found indirectly at fault for Teixeiras actions.

He was denied release in September.
Firefighters battled a massive fire that engulfed two floors of the historic Whitinsville Lasell Manor in Northbridge, according to the Grafton Fire Department.

Northbridge firefighters were called to combat a 5-alarm fire at the manor at 120 Hill St., with Grafton firefighters assisting, the Grafton Fire Department said on Facebook. Flames were seen shooting from the roof, which turned the situation into a defensive operation for firefighters.

The fire began at around 1:04 a.m., Northbridge Fire Chief David White told NBC 10 Boston. By 5:45 a.m., the fire was under control as firefighters continued to douse hot spots on the buildings timbers.

Seven people were living in the building, White told NBC. All of them evacuated safely and no injuries were reported.

Its a historic building, as you can tell, White added. Its one of the old mansions in town. It does have a little value there.

The mansion was built in 1890, during Americas Gilded Age, according to Preservation Massachusetts. The 43-room structure was built for Charles Whitin Lasell, president of Whitin Machine Works. In 2021, the mansion sold for $1.35 million, according to the Telegram & Gazette. It now serves as Estate of Mind, an event center thats a haven for artists to showcase their talents, according to the manors website.
The Red Sox have dipped into free agency to add some competition to their group of position players before Opening Day.

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Boston has agreed to a minor league contract with veteran first baseman C.J. Cron, a source said Friday morning. Cron is expected to join the team in Fort Myers in the coming days.

Cron, a 34-year-old who was an All-Star in 2022 with the Rockies, gives the Red Sox a veteran right-handed hitting option at first base. With Justin Turner having signed with Toronto, Bobby Dalbec was projected to make the roster as a backup option behind Triston Casas. Cron will now challenge him for that spot. Cron, who has flashed power throughout his 10 major league seasons, gives the Red Sox a higher offensive floor than Dalbec but less positional versatility; Dalbec can also play third base and the corner outfield spots while Cron has only played first base since debuting in 2014. If he makes the team, Cron may also take some designated hitter at-bats from Masataka Yoshida.

Cron, like all XX(B) free agents, will have an opt out clause in the days leading up to Opening Day (March 28). For now, hes not on the 40-man roster. According to The Boston Globes Alex Speier, Cron would earn $2 million if hes added to the roster and his deal also includes up to $500,000 in performance bonuses.

In 2023, Cron dealt with lingering back issues and was limited to just 71 games between the Rockies and Angels. In total, he Cron hit .248 with 12 homers, 37 RBIs and a .729 OPS; he was traded from Colorado to the Halos on July 30. The 2023 season was a bit of a disappointment after Cron made the All-Star team in 2022, hitting .257 with 29 homers, 102 RBIs and a .783 OPS in 150 games for the Rockies. In 2021, he smashed 29 homers and posted a .905 OPS. For his career, the former first rounder is a career .260 hitter with 187 homers in 10 years with the Angels, Rays, Twins, Tigers and Rockies.

In his first full season in the majors in 2023, Casas played sparingly against left-handed starters with manager Alex Cora trying to protect the rookie by starting Justin Turner (the regular DH) at the position against southpaws. But Casas did log 97 plate appearances against lefties and held his own, posting an .817 OPS (not far off from his .865 OPS against righties). He will get the vast majority of work at first base but there is room on the roster for a right-handed complement. Cron has a career .814 OPS against lefties but has struggled against them for the last two seasons.

Dalbec didnt have much of a path to playing time last season with Turner on the roster and got into just 21 major league games (while slugging 33 homers at Triple-A). Earlier in camp, manager Alex Cora said Dalbec had a chance to make the team as a right-handed bench bat. Now, hell be in a battle for a roster spot  and may well head back to Triple-A because has a minor league option remaining.
Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, our Jewish community has been feeling deeply isolated in our profound grief. In our towns we have seen hostage signs defaced and destroyed, aggressive and antisemitic chants in public demonstrations, and rampant misinformation about Jews and Israel that has caused unprecedented levels of antisemitism in our community.

Multiple towns in Western Massachusetts have either voted for a ceasefire resolution in Gaza or are in various stages of putting such resolutions up to a vote.
SPRINGFIELD  Police working in a lengthy joint investigation made three arrests and found more than 150 grams of cocaine, a machine gun and a second firearm while executing a search warrant Friday on the 900 block of Liberty Street.

Further search warrants on the 100 block of Marion Street and 1500 block of Carew Street led to six arrests and the recovery of 182 bags of heroin, 184 capsules of cocaine totaling about 34 grams and $4,245 in cash, the Springfield police department said.
A man from Westfield wanted on a murder charge was arrested in the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina on Thursday afternoon, according to the Springfield Police Department.

Jermaine Atkins, 36, of Westfield, was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of Nicorie Adams, 30, of Springfield, on Rochelle Street on Jan. 31, according to police spokesperson Ryan Walsh.

Authorities in South Carolina arrested Atkins Thursday afternoon on a fugitive from justice warrant. Court records show he faces five charges: murder; assault to murder with a firearm; discharge of a firearm within 500 feet of a building; carrying a loaded firearm without a license; and carrying a firearm without a license.
Ahead of PDAC in Toronto, the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business (www.CanadaAfrica.ca) underscored its appreciation of Elephant Trade-Services , announced as headline sponsor during the 30th Year Anniversary of the Toronto-headquartered organization.

Garreth Bloor, President of the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business said: Elephant Trade-Services is a proudly DRC based company, which has supported the work of the Chamber, enabling us to undertake extensive programming welcoming leaders at the highest levels in Canadian and African markets, including our two recent programs in the DRC and Kenya.

Just last week, the Canada-Africa Chamber of Business was pleased to have concluded the second Canada Africa Business Conference (https://apo-opa.co/3Uk4DYH), hosted on the invitation of H.E. President William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, and headline sponsored by Elephant Trade-Services. The event was joined by PS Maninder Sidhu , Prime Minister Trudeaus Parliamentary Secretary to Canadas Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development.

During the DRC-Canada Leadership Visit to the Lualaba Province earlier this month, Chamber Board Chair, Paula Caldwell St-Onge, conveyed to Governor Fifi Masuka Saini  and VIP guests  the vital role of the firm in the Chambers mission to accelerate Canada-Africa trade and investment: Thank you, Mr. Gabriel Tshitende (https://apo-opa.co/3uOXGUX), for your leadership as CEO of Elephant Trade-Services. We are now positioned to achieve even more growth in Canada-Africa trade and investment, with the dramatically increased profile you have afforded the DRC, through our world-class networking and information-sharing events.

Wayne Floreani, President of MineAfrica Inc. and co-host of the 25th Annual Africa Mining Breakfast & 22nd Annual Investing in African Mining Seminar (the largest African mining event in North America) affirmed:
Biocon Biologics has signed a settlement and license agreement with Janssen Biotech Inc., and Johnson & Johnson (collectively known as Janssen) that clears the way to commercialize its Bmab 1200, a proposed biosimilar to Stelara, in the United States of America.

The agreement licenses the Company to launch in the United States, in February 2025, once approved by the U.S. FDA. The U.S. FDA has accepted the Companys Biologics License Application (BLA) for Bmab 1200 (bUstekinumab) for review under the 351(k) pathway.

Biocon Biologics and Janssen have finalized the settlement agreement to dismiss the pending Inter Partes Review (IPR) for US 10961307 before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademarks Office.

Shreehas Tambe, CEO & Managing Director, Biocon Biologics Ltd, said:

This settlement agreement reflects our commitment and focus on science and innovation. We are pleased that this allows Biocon Biologics to be amongst the first launch group to offer a reliable, high quality biosimilar option to patients and healthcare providers in the United States with our bUstekinumab, Bmab 1200. This development enables Biocon Biologics to build further on our existing immunology franchise in the US. As a fully integrated biosimilars company, Biocon Biologics is committed to expanding access to life-changing treatments with our broad portfolio of products.

Matthew Erick, Chief Commercial Officer  Advanced Markets, Biocon Biologics Ltd, said:

This agreement for a biosimilar Ustekinumab is an important milestone in our companys commitment to delivering affordable, life-changing biosimilar medicines. It underscores the Companys steadfast resolution of supporting the well-being of patients impacted by inflammatory diseases and driving positive change within the healthcare industry.

Stelara (Ustekinumab) is a monoclonal antibody medication that prevents abnormal regulation of interleukin IL-12/23 associated immune diseases and has been approved for the treatment of psoriasis, Crohns disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The reference brand, Stelara, had sales of $7 billion in the United States in 20231.
Les membres du gouvernement ont pris note la President de lInde, Droupadi Murmu, qui sera linvitee dhonneur du 12 mars 2024, des activites prevues au Champs de Mars pour le National Day Celebrations 2024, pris cinnaisance des retombees de la participation du Premier Ministre a 1a 37e Session Ordinaire de lUnion Africaine, des regulations pour la mise en service de la A1-M1 Link soit le pont construit a Chebel et qiil ya vait ai 28 fevrier 2024 585 cas actifs de la fievre de la Dengue a Maurice,

Cabinet has taken note that HE Smt Droupadi Murmu, President of the Republic of India, would be the Chief Guest on the occasion of the National Day Celebrations 2024. She would be on a State Visit to Mauritius from 11 to 13 March 2024. During the visit, the President of the Republic of India would, inter alia, pay a courtesy call on the President of the Republic of Mauritius, have a tete-a-tete with the Prime Minister and would attend the Flag Raising Ceremony at Champ de Mars.

2. Cabinet has taken note of the activities being organised for the National Day Celebrations 2024 on the theme Ansam Nou Avanse. The Flag Raising Ceremony would be held on 12 March 2024 at Champ de Mars, Port Louis. The programme of the Official Ceremony would comprise, inter alia, a Fly Past by Mauritius Police Helicopters, Dornier Aircraft, March past by the Disciplined Forces, Uniformed Organisations, defile of vehicles and floats, performance by Majors and Majorettes of Queen Elizabeth College, culminating with a Cultural Programme by Mauritian artists followed by a popular show.

3. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Prime Minister in the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and his mission to Dubai. The AU Summit opened under the theme Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century  Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive Lifelong Quality and Relevant Learning in Africa. At the Opening Session of the AU Summit, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, emphasised on the need to address the challenges currently faced by the continent in terms of, inter alia, inter-States conflicts, unconstitutional change of Government, rise in terrorism, instability within States, climate change, increasing poverty and the decline of great principles. The Prime Minister intervened:

(a) during the presentation of the report on activities of the Peace and Security Council and the State of Peace and Security in Africa and he reported on the status of negotiations between Mauritius and the UK on the exercise of sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. Following his intervention, the Summit adopted a declaration calling upon the UK to expedite the conclusion of the negotiations and thereby complete the decolonisation of Mauritius and of Africa;

(b) on the Report presented by the President of Kenya on Climate Change where he expressed his appreciation on the operationalisation of the Loss & Damage Fund and emphasised that its success would depend on the continued commitment of developed nations as well as an effective and transparent resource distribution to affected countries in a timely manner; and

(c) on the Report on the situation on Palestine. He underscored the unflinching support of Mauritius to the cause of Palestinian people and expressed concern on the unabated war in Gaza, despite the recent Order of the International Court of Justice requesting Israel to take immediate steps to prevent the Commission of all acts which could amount to genocide in Gaza and allow access to humanitarian aid. He also appealed to the

International Community to multiply its efforts at different levels to bring an immediate and permanent ceasefire and reset the momentum to Israel-Palestine peace process in line with the two-State solution.

In the margins of the African Union Summit, the Prime Minister had bilateral meetings with the President of the Republic of Central Africa, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the President of Madagascar, the President of the Union of Comoros, the Prime Minister of Lesotho and the Vice-President of Seychelles.

During his mission in Dubai, the Prime Minister had several meetings, namely with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, and the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates. He also met the Chief Executive Officer of G42 and the Chairperson and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group.

4. Cabinet has taken note that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has, in a press release issued on 23 February 2024, following the conclusion of its Article IV Consultation Mission to Mauritius, revised upwards its real GDP growth estimates for Mauritius for both 2022 and 2023.

For the year 2022, the IMF has raised the GDP growth rate for the third time, i.e., from 6.1 percent estimated in October 2022 to 8.3 percent in April 2023, then to 8.7 percent in October 2023 and now to 8.9 percent in February 2024. As for the year 2023, the IMF has upgraded the GDP growth rate for the second time, i.e., from 4.6 percent in April 2023 to 5.1 percent in October 2023 and now to 6.9 percent in February 2024.

The IMF has highlighted that the Mauritian economy has rebounded strongly from the impact of the pandemic, supported by the deployment of pre-pandemic fiscal and external buffers.

5. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Public Service Commission of Mauritius and the Union Public Service Commission of India. The areas of cooperation would include, among others:

(a) exchange of experience on modern approach to public service recruitment and selection;

(b) sharing of expertise in the use of Information Technology in the preparation of written examinations and holding of Computer Based Recruitment Tests and Online Examinations; and

(c) sharing of experience and expertise on various processes as well as organising training sessions for officials.

6. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Independent Commission Against Corruption of the Republic of Mauritius and the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Republic of India. The objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding would be, inter alia, to:

(a) share relevant information on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering strategies;

(b) undertake joint activities and collaborate where appropriate, in each Partys efforts to detect and prevent money laundering and corruption and exchange ideas, knowledge, skills, technological abilities and experience in the application of international standards in the fight against corruption and money laundering cases;

(c) assist and provide technical assistance, share knowledge, skills, experience and best practices on corruption prevention and anti-corruption education; and

(d) share knowledge on effective investigative techniques and best practices to carry out information gathering and intelligence operations for the purpose of detecting money laundering and corruption-related offences.

7. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius and the International Financial Services Centres Authority of India. The Memorandum of Understanding would cover major areas of collaboration between the two jurisdictions and would aim at promoting the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions on the principles and procedures outlined therein. Furthermore, the Memorandum of Understanding would contribute to establishing a framework for mutual assistance and to facilitate the exchange of information between the regulatory authorities for development, regulation and enforcing or ensuring compliance with their respective law or regulatory requirements.

8. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Energy and Public Utilities of Mauritius and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates on cooperation in the fields of water, sanitation and energy. The main areas of collaboration would include Energy, Renewable Energy, Hydrogen and Derivatives, Liquefied Natural Gas, Energy Efficiency, Water, Water Efficiency and Desalination, Application of Digital Technology, Wastewater and sanitation and other areas of mutual interest.

9. Cabinet has agreed to drafting instructions being given for the preparation of a Bill to enhance the Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation framework of Mauritius. The main objectives of the new legislation would be to:

(a) address any legislative gap identified during the recent Money Laundering/Terrorism Financing National Risk Assessment exercise carried out by the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance;

(b) address minor deficiencies in technical compliance with the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations; and

(c) sustain the effectiveness of the regime to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism and proliferation.

10. Cabinet has agreed to the promulgation of the Motorways and Main Roads (Amendment) Regulations 2024. The Regulations would provide for the classification of the newly constructed A1-M1 Link Road and the A1-A3 Link Road. The A1-A3 Link Road starts from the junction with A1 Road at Chebel Roundabout, passes through Malabar Hill Roundabout and ends with a signalised junction on the A3 Road at Gros Cailloux. The A1-M1 Link Road

connects the A1 Road at Chebel Roundabout, passes through the bridge spanning over the Grand River North West Valley to end at the junction with Motorway M1 at Soreze.

11. Cabinet has taken note that the Road Traffic (Construction and Use of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 would be promulgated. The Regulations would provide for the removal of restrictions on the operation of high-floor buses in Mauritius.

12. Cabinet has taken note that the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicle, Road Service and Carriers Licence) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 would be promulgated. These Regulations, inter alia, provide for the implementation of a Public Service Vehicle, Road Service and Carriers Licence by the National Land Transport Authority.

13. Cabinet has taken note that the Central Water Authority (Dry Season) Regulations 2022 would be amended to allow a person entitled to carry out irrigation of sugarcane to abstract water from a watercourse provided that such watercourse does not feed impounding reservoirs and where the Central Water Authority does not abstract water for domestic water supply. In addition, such abstraction should not cause prejudice to any interest that a person may hold in the concerned watercourse. The Regulations would apply over the period 04 to 31 March 2024.

14. Cabinet has taken note of the status of road capital projects being implemented by the Road Development Authority. Some of these projects include:

(a) the construction of La Vigie  La Brasserie  Beaux Songes Link Road (Phase 1) project, which was completed and opened to the public in December 2023;

(b) the construction of the Grade Separated junction to link the Verdun Bypass and St Pierre Bypass project, which was expected to be completed by April 2024; and

(c) the construction of Terre Rouge Flyover on Motorway M2 project, which was expected to be completed by November 2024.

15. Cabinet has agreed to the construction of drain networks and culvert at Morcellement Sans Souci, Montagne Blanche by the Drain Infrastructure Construction Ltd.

16. Cabinet has agreed to the Reconstruction of Beau Champs Bridge at Bel Ombre project being implemented by the Road Development Authority.

17. Cabinet has agreed to the signing of a Loan Agreement with the World Bank/International Bank for Reconstruction and Development to finance the Rodrigues Airport Project. The scope of the project would cover:

(a) infrastructure development in relation to the construction of a new airport runway and associated facilities. Other infrastructure that would be erected include a new control tower, meteorological building, rescue and fire-fighting station;

(b) technical assistance to support the project implementation and the aviation sector development;

(c) support to Rodrigues Sustainable Integrated Development with focus on access to water and food security through technical assistance and small key investments; and

(d) technical assistance to the sustainable development of the tourism sector in Rodrigues, with respect to tourism promotion, skills development and strengthening of tourism infrastructure.

18. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius accepting the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies and depositing the instrument of acceptance with the WTO. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies would be incorporated in the broader WTO Agreement (Marrakesh Agreement) by way of a Protocol amending the said Agreement. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies would be a major step forward for ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful subsidies. The prohibition of subsidies for overfished stocks is critical to the development of sustainable fishing and goes in the direction of the initiatives taken by Mauritius to promote sustainable fishing. The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies would also provide for targeted technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries for implementation purposes.

19. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the 7th Meeting of the Groupe de Contact Maurice-Reunion sur la Securite held on 20 February 2024. The meeting focused mainly on internal and maritime security. Discussions centered, inter alia, on cooperation in the fight against narcotics, money laundering, illegal immigration, terrorism, and environmental issues. Both countries also agreed on future collaboration in new areas of concern regarding internal security such as fight against domestic violence, road safety and cynotechnics.

The technical agreement on the exchange of information on vessel traffic monitoring and training of staff and the arrangement technique relatif a la lutte contre les trafics des stupefiants et de substances psychotropes were signed during the meeting.

20. Cabinet has taken note that, as at 28 February 2024, there were 585 active cases of Dengue Fever in Mauritius, of which 65 had been hospitalised in both public and private hospitals. For Rodrigues, 458 active cases of Dengue Fever had been recorded as at 28 February 2024, of which five were hospitalised. Fogging, larviciding and vector control activities were ongoing across the island. In addition, a mass sensitisation campaign was being carried out.
Castlebar councillors debated the funding of the town's Linenhall Arts Centre at their municipal district (MD) meeting this week.

Councillor Martin McLoughlin brought up the topic of the art centre's funding, saying he did not realise the organisation were in such dire straits.

When I read that theyre facing an uncertain future, I realised how serious this was, he said.

Cllr Cyril Burke supported the Fianna Fail councillor, and said the Linenhall provides a great outlet to those in the arts sector.

It also provides for people that are retired, they go in there for their teas and coffees. It's a great facility for the town to have, he added.

Cllr Burke explained an agreement was made by the MD at the beginning of their term, for each councillor to give 5,000 to 6,000 of their GMA funding per year to the hall. He said the amount being given is dropping.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne seconded this, and said everyone must commit to it.

Alternatively, Cllr Blackie Gavin commented that there are an awful lot of organisations that need funding, not just the Linenhall.

Cllr Gavin said the MD werent afraid to bring in the towns pay and display parking to collect from in order to fund capital projects, but nothing has happened since.

This local authority is starved with capital projects, there's nothing happening, he said.

The Fianna Fail councillor, who was first elected in 1991, named the current Castlebar MD as the worst he has sat on. He said they are crying out for facilities, but haven't got the funds.

This municipal district is starved, and we have an area now as big as county Louth that we cannot serve financially, he concluded.

Cllr Donna Sheridan supported Cllr Gavin, and acknowledged that the council does not own the Linenhall building.

Is there any other building across the county that were doing work on that we don't own? she questioned.

The Fine Gael councillor said it was not fair that one tenth of the district's money is expected to fund one organisation.

I have supported them and given huge contributions, and I have been met with letters that said they were very disappointed with my allocation, she added.

Cllr Sheridan questioned the Linenhalls balance sheets, and wondered if any other community group funded by the district had as much money as Linenhall in their bank account.

While I agree and have supported the Linenhall every year since I was elected, we have to get real on what we can and can't spend.

We have to support and keep the lights on in all our small community centres, concluded Cllr Sheridan.
Mayo County Council have announced an exciting programme of free events to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge.

The council is once again participating in Seachtain na Gaeilge, with a wide range of free bilingual and Irish-language events organised across the county in the first two weeks in March.

Whether youre a cainteoir duchais (native speaker), liofa (fluent), or looking to brush up on your Gaeilge, there is something here for everyone.

Mayo County Councils Irish Language Officer, Fionnuala Nic Phaidin said the council are delighted to partner with organisations such as Comhar Dun Chaochain, Duchas.ie and Maynooth University to create the programme of events.

The events aim to link the Irish language with the arts, literacy development, play, local history and heritage.

We have a strong Irish language community in Mayo and a very rich Gaeltacht heritage which adds so much to our county she said.

Those looking to practice their conversation skills can call into Castlebar, Ballina and Westport libraries for a friendly chat and cupan tae at a Ciorcal Comhra, or venture out for an atmospheric evening of song, poetry and song as Gaeilge in Westport Library with Westport Comhaltas.

Austin Vaughan, Mayo County Librarian, said they are happy to support the celebrations. He called the programme of events rich and said everyone at the library is looking forward to celebrating the cupla focal with the community.

Weve got everything from drumai (drums) to comhra (chat) to ceol (music), and lots more he concluded.

Local history and heritage buffs are also in for a treat, with two workshops held by the Duchas team showcasing the wealth of folklore material available online from the Iorras Gaeltacht as well as the wider county.

Highlights for younger participants in Mayo County Library branches include a comic-drawing workshop, sean-nos singing, treasure hunt, toddlers morning, storytime and a competitive Teanga Bheo table quiz. Children with all levels of Irish are welcome to join in.

Seachtain na Gaeilge is a great opportunity for people with all levels of Gaeilge to learn more about the Irish language in Mayo and to try something new said Nic Phaidin.

Seachtain na gaeilge takes place from March 1-17.

All Mayo County Council Seachtain na Gaeilge events are free, however attendees are advised to check Offig na Gaeilges website or their local library for further details, as registration is required in some instances.
THE Department of Integration has refused to confirm if a property in Claremorris will accommodate Ukrainian refugees.

The owner of the building recently issued a statement saying they were intending to redevelop the property for housing.

Claremorris Ballindine Says No (CBSN) recently gathered outside the property to oppose it being used to house refugees.

The meeting was addressed by local Independent representative Cllr Richard Finn and Aontu local election candidate Paul Lawless.

In January, Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive of Mayo County Council, issued a statement saying it was understood that the building had been offered as accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

In response to a query from The Mayo News, the Department of Integration said it can only confirm use of a premises once a contract has been signed, and will, in the first instance, inform local public representatives and statutory agencies through its Community Engagement Team.

Sean Cleary, the owner of the premises, said that he originally intended to develop it as a language school but said this was no longer a viable option.

Extra security, including fencing, security cameras and an alarm have been installed at the building.

While this is a very versatile building and lends itself to many commercial/office uses, the desire is to renovate the structure to a residential apartment development and potentially a small housing development, Mr Cleary commented on a CBSN Facebook post.

I believe this will enhance the streetscape and provide some living accommodation in a very desirable location.

Racism and targeting of foreigners is an unacceptable behaviour, and needs to be called out! Likewise posting outlandish fake news behind a mask is unacceptable!

The Mayo News has contacted Mayo County Council for a statement on the matter.
Mayo man and rally competitor, David Mannion, is fundraising for a new Down Syndrome facility in Swinford.

The local man, whose two-year-old daughter, Ruby, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth, began fundraising for the new facility at the Galway International Rally, and will continue his efforts at Sundays Mayo Stages Rally.

The Swinford facility, which is currently under construction, will be a centre of excellence operated by Down Syndrome Mayo. The centre will offer services to people with Down Syndrome, and their families, from babies to adults.

After the Galway International Rally, the current figure raised is just under 24,000, and the Mayo Stages Rally on March 3 will push the figure even higher.

Rubys Story

Speaking to The Mayo News, David said Rubys post-natal diagnosis was a curveball for him and his wife, Cathy.

David and Cathy Mannion with their daughters.

Thankfully, Ruby has not had any health complications.

She's hitting all the milestones, let me tell you, she's a typical two-year-old, she's full of devilment, she has everyone wrapped around her finger; shes the boss of the house said David.

David said the objective of the fundraiser is to shed positive light on people living with Down Syndrome.

We don't treat her any differently than if she didn't have syndrome, and we don't want anyone else treating her any differently, he said.

She is our little baby girl at the end of the day, who just has Down Syndrome, added David.

Rallying for awareness

David said after being involved in rallying for 17 years, finding a Down Syndrome community within the rally community really opened [his] eyes and felt reassuring.

He first came across a Facebook group of a couple of fathers and parents of children with Down Syndrome, and he got in touch.

Im getting to meet an awful lot of people that I nearly know now in a Down Syndrome level as opposed to a rally level. You see a different side of it, said David.

With the rally community being so big, David said it was already a supportive and welcoming group.

As well as Facebook, Davids fundraising page on Instagram has got him in contact with many people, including UK professional rally driver, Ryan Champion.

Mr Champion has a son with Down Syndrome, and so David sent him a message asking about the stickers, slightly surprised to receive a response.

Ever since, Ryan has been sending me pictures, he recently sent a picture of a car in Sweden, the car came from Kenya, and it had the fundraiser stickers on it, told David.

The sticker was also visible on Mr Champions Roger Albert Clarks winning Porsche 911 in 2021.

The sticker seen on a rally car

When it comes to events, stickers are handed out to those in attendance, and David said it always sparks conversation.

You cheekily offer somebody a sticker, and theyll say oh, what's that for?, and when you say its for Down Syndrome, theyll say oh I have an aunt, or a cousin, or I know someone with Down Syndrome, thats what I mean about the Down Syndrome community within the rally community, he said

David told The Mayo News that people are only delighted to put [the stickers] on and raise awareness.

In 2022, David printed a small number of stickers to share and stick on the rally cars.

Quickly, the demand for the stickers increased and Ronan Walsh, of Snap Printing, had very generously sponsored the first draft of stickers.

I had to put in another order to Ronan, who once again graciously printed more, said David.

He added: Ironically at Galway International Rally 2023, I was speaking with a competitor also part of the Down Syndrome community, and they asked if I had any more stickers, it lit a light bulb to up the ante and raise the profile and awareness.

Now, there are numerous sticker sizes, and people, both in and outside the rally world, have been messaging, asking for stickers to display on their cars.

The new centre

In speaking about what the new centre would mean to Davids family, and those like him, he said the plan for the centre is to have various services offered out of it.

Services offered will include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, even counselling services for our parents and families as well he said.

The counselling for parents who might be struggling with things, that's the honest truth, Im not going to deny that [for us] it didn't come in the shock at the time he added.

The centre of excellence will be run by DS Mayo, but it will be open to anybody who needs it,

Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) has 25 local branches and is focused on working to improve the quality of life of their members and let members be seen as valued members of society.

The swing in the new playground as part of the centre

The late Mairt Campbell left his home to DSI so that it could be used to provide services and support to the Down Syndrome community.

It was his wish that the house would be used to provide the necessary and vital support needed. He wanted to provide a focal point that people could use to advance the outcomes for people with Down Syndrome.

DSI is redeveloping the house into a multi-functional regional centre, with a fully accessible and inclusive playground to the rear of the house.

The centre, located just outside Swinford, will be used for activities, seminars and educational purposes. Members will be able to access life-changing therapies such as speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, play therapy and also counselling if required.

DSI foresees this centre being used to provide services for members throughout the West of Ireland.

The centre will also be a place where expectant parents can reach out for advice and to learn more about Down Syndrome as they embark on their new journey.

Builders on site hope to have the centre finished this year.

Overall, it will be a social hub for all people with Down syndrome and their families.

For more information, see Down syndrome Mayo or Rallying for Down Syndromes Instagram page; and to donate, see their iDonate page.
by Ray Schultz , February 29, 2024

Tim Burke, an investigative reporter based in Tampa, Florida, was indicted by a federal grand jury last week on 14 charges, including conspiracy and accessing a protected computer without authorization, in a case that raises First Amendment concerns.

Burke and an unnamed party called CONSPIRATOR 2, who resides in Washington, DC, stand accused of using compromised credentials to gain unauthorized access to protected computers, scouring those protected computers for electronic items and information."

They are also charged with "obtaining and stealing electronic items and information deemed desirable, organizing and exploiting some of those electronic items and information, and intercepting and disclosing the contents of wire, oral, and/or electronic video communications.

Earlier, Burkes home was raided by the FBI and computers, cellphone and other equipment seized.

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The troubling case has its origin in outtakes of an interview between Tucker Carlson and Kanye West, now called Ye, containing antisemitic remarks by the latter, Columbia Journalism Review writes.

Burke allegedly downloaded the unencrypted footage from a server used by broadcasters who continuously livestream.

In addition, he intercepted sports-related content, the indictment continues.

Burke also violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the indictment says.

The Freedom of Press Foundation (FPF) has strongly criticized the indictment.

The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a vague, ambiguous law, and the Supreme Court and the DOJ itself have cautioned prosecutors against testing its outer limits, says Seth Stern, advocacy director of the FPF.

Stern adds, Prosecutors should not be experimenting with the CFAA as a means of criminalizing journalists finding information online that embarrasses public figures.

Mark Rasch, Burkes lawyer, told Columbia Journalism Review that this behavior covers a range of normal journalistic activity. There was no hacking involved, nor any other criminal behavior, he added.

Rasch said he was surprised by the content of the indictment because he expected the government to come up with something that was actually a crime, CJR continues.

Stern notes that the indictment does not mention Burke is a journalist, contending that he is not currently employed by a news organization. He has worked for the Daily Beast and Deadpan, and is now a freelance writer and media consultant, CJR reports.

Its extremely dangerous for the government to appoint itself the judge of who is and isnt a journalist, especially in a world where journalism is rapidly evolving, Stern says. You dont have to be employed by a news outlet or write under your own byline to engage in journalism. But this isnt even a close case  Burke is a career journalist by any definition.
by Ray Schultz , February 29, 2024

A virtual town hall conducted by Vice ended when employees barraged it with thumbs-down emojis in reaction to the mass layoffs at the digital media outlet, according to Oliver Darcys Reliable sources newsletter.

The emojis became too much to ignore, flooding the screen for all to see, Darcey reportedly wrote.

CEO Bruce Dixon said the emojis had become impossible to ignore, the report continues.



A Vice Media spokesperson responded, It is unfortunate that employees remaining with the organization who greatly want to contribute to its success were sabotaged by a few bad actors, according to CNN.

The spokesperson continued, We understand that emotions are running high after such a significant change to the company and will continue to communicate. Our strategic vision moving forward is the right one for Vice.

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Vice announced in February that it would shut down its site and lay off hundreds of employees.

One victim of the staggering layoffs at Vice was Jordan Pearson, the executive editor of technology coverage at the failed digital media outlet, responsible for the Motherboard technology site, TBN reports.

Pearson had also served as managing editor and a senior editor.

In other Vice news, thereports that Essence is in talks to buy Refinery29, which reaches a young audience.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, March 1, 2024

Google said it will crack down on companies in India that have not complied with its app billing policy, even as Sundar Pichai is helping to develop technological advancements in his country of origin.

The move marks the latest dispute in the ongoing conflict between Google and local internet companies in India.

The dispute centers on Google's app billing policy, which has been a point of contention worldwide. Despite being given more than three years to comply, including a grace period after a Supreme Court order, some developers have continued to resist integrating Google's billing system or opting for one of the alternatives.



"After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Courts order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally," Google wrote in a blog post.

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Developers in India in the Google Play and the Android and Play ecosystem collectively supported more than 2.5 million jobs in 2022, according to Google, which cites investments it made in platforms, tools, and resources that have enabled developers to thrive.

In order to sustain efforts, Google Play charges a service fee when developers sell in-app digital goods.

Ten companies in the country -- including many well-established names that Google did not disclose -- had avoided paying fees despite benefiting from the platform. One news outlet in India points to streaming platforms Altt, Stage, and Aha, among others.



Google said a small group of developers in India had more than three years to prepare and comply with PlayStores payments policy, but did not.

Android handsets in India hold about 95% of the smartphone market, which concerns the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a think-tank representing startups in the country.

It called the action of delisting the app developers disappointing, and that it seemed as if Google had tried to intimidate developers into complying.

Google has seen many types of payment challenges worldwide. In Europe, the company began to allow developers of non-gaming apps to offer European users alternate payment systems.

In a blog post, Google outlines its plans to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a legislation aimed at regulating large technology companies.
by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, March 1, 2024

With more young people looking for ways to lessen their use of smartphones, Mattel and HMD are teaming up for a pop-culture solution: The Barbie Flip Phone.

Human Mobile Devices and Mattel revealed plans for the new device at the recent MWC event in Barcelona. And while Adam Fergusen, global head of marketing at HMD, says its too soon to reveal photos of the new device, he expects the phone to help Gen Z break up with the smartphone.

Digital detox is a huge trend right now, he tells Marketing Daily. If you look for #bringbacktheflipphone, youll find 60 million views on TikTok.

The Barbie phone builds on that desire, splashing some vintage pink and sparkle on the mental-health trend.

The Barbie news is just the latest new development from HMD, guardians of the Nokia brand and Europes leading smartphone manufacturer. Among the companys new initiatives: Increased repairability for devices, scheduled for rollout in July, and a fusion platform, which allows people to build their own hardware and software integrations for a slimline smartphone.

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HMD had a good year, achieving its first full year of profitability. But industrywide, sales of mobile devices have declined for two years in a row, a rare event. Fergusen says that means the industry is braced for a pick-up in 2024, which HMD hopes to capitalize on.

For the Barbie brand, he says this is an opportunity to further move into tech products. Barbie is the original girl empowerment brand, and this helps Mattel move deeper into the STEM world.

Primarily, the Barbie phone will offer Gen Z a much sought-after mental-health solution, with the limited connectivity of a flip phone effectively putting an end to doom-scrolling.

Gen Z wants to take a step away from social media specifically, as well as screen time in general, a strong trend both in the U.S. and globally," Fergusen says. "They want to protect their mental health, and this is the perfect vehicle.

The device, which will be available globally, allows for phone connectivity and texting. And it does have some limited internet connectivity. It will be very different from the smartphone experience consumers are used to.

The idea is to remove temptation. You can walk out the door in the morning and think, 'Im going to have a social-media-free day, but with all the buzzing, ringing and notifications pinging, theres always that slight temptation to go and check," he says.

Just how many GenZ-ers are likely to go for flip phones? He thinks plenty. A third of Gen Z in the U.S., for example, are already taking steps to limit their time on social media. And globally, about 81% of 16- to 24-year-olds have taken action to reduce general smartphone screen time in the last month.

Certainly, flip phones arent for everyone. Smartphones make shopping easier with digital wallets. And many people cant imagine life without Uber, Instacart or Amazon and email at their fingertips.

Fergusen says HMD is currently working on ideas for devices that would make room for all the magnificent things smartphones can do and still block social media. But for now, this is a first step in helping people shield their mental health.

And while the phones wont be marketed to children, he thinks some parents are eager to have some phone connection with kids while still restricting access to social media.

Fergusen, who declined to say how much the Barbie Flip Phone will cost or give any details about the marketing, says he isnt worried that the launch is coming too late, or that Barbie peaked in 2023. Barbie will continue to gain momentum, particularly in any way connected to technology.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, March 1, 2024

In a surprise move, Meta Platforms quietly dropped its lawsuit against Israeli analytics company Bright Data, which scraped data posted by Facebook and Instagram users.

Meta also waived its right to appeal a decision against it by U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen in the Northern District of California. He ruled last month that Bright Data didn't violate Meta's terms of service by scraping publicly available data from Instagram and Facebook because Bright Data wasn't logged in when it gathered the data.

Bright Data only engaged in logged-out scraping of public data ... and thus did not breach the terms either while it had accounts with Facebook and Instagram or after terminating its accounts, Chen wrote in a 37-page order awarding Bright Data summary judgment on the claim that it broke its contract with Meta by violating the platform's terms of service.

That ruling was at odds with most other decisions regarding scraping, Colorado attorney Kieran McCarthy, who has represented companies in other battles over web scraping, told MediaPost last month.

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Meta hasn't yet responded to MediaPost's request for comment.

The platform's move appears to end a court battle dating to January 2023, when Meta alleged in a federal complaint that Bright Data wrongfully used automated tools to gather data from Facebook and Instagram -- including users profile information, followers, and posts that users have shared with others -- and then selling that data.

Meta contended in court papers that Bright Data offered to sell an Instagram data set containing 615 million records for $860,000. That data set includes at least 34 fields from Instagram users profiles, including full name, ID, country code, region, post count, biography, business category, hashtags, followers, following, posts, profile image, highlights, verification status, business email, and business addresses, according to Meta.

The complaint included a claim that Bright Data -- which itself had accounts with Meta from April 2021 until December 2022 -- violated the platform's terms of service.

Bright Data said it only gathered information that was publicly available on the web -- meaning posts Instagram and Facebook users made available to all web users, regardless of whether they had Meta accounts.

Meta is still pursuing a complaint against the U.K.-based company Voyager Labs, which provides analytics services to law enforcement.

Voyager recently asked U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco to dismiss that matter.

Martinez-Olguin is expected to hold a hearing in that case on April 4.
by Teresa Buyikian , March 1, 2024





Image above: Carls Jr.'s new Spicy Breakfast Burger.

Its a mixed bag of coffee, classics and sweets in QSR land. Heres a few of this weeks happenings.

Locations

Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii has signed a new three-store agreement for the greater Knoxville area. The chain is currently going through site selection, with the first location slated to open as early as fall 2024.

Benihana opened Benihana RA Sushi Brickell in Miami, FL, this week. The fast casual restaurant location takes up 1,280 square feet, and offers dine-in, takeout as well as delivery. Benihana now operates more than 100 restaurants, under the Benihana, RA Sushi, and Samuri brands, in the United States, the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Juniors Restaurant and Bakery, the world-famous Brooklyn deli, opened its first West Coast location at Resorts World Las Vegas (RWLV) last week. According to the announcement, Drawn by RWLV's vibrant atmosphere and bustling tourism, Junior's chose the property to host its first-ever west-coast location since the food chain's inception. The partnership is expected to attract locals and visitors alike who are eager to embrace Brooklyn culture straight from the Las Vegas strip.

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Menu

Carls Jr. has added two new burgers to its menu. The Spicy Breakfast Burger features a beef patty topped with jalapenos, bacon, an egg, pepper jack cheese, Hash Rounds (Carls Jr.s version of a flatter tater tot) and ketchup, on a seeded bun. The Spicy Western Bacon Cheeseburger has an angus patty, jalapenos, two strips of bacon, pepper jack cheese, onion rings and BBQ sauce on a seeded bun.

Panera Bread has announced the addition of nine new menu items launching April 4 that include: four sandwiches  Toasted Italiano, Chicken Bacon Rancher, Ciabatta Cheesesteak and a Tomato Basil BLT; four salads  Mediterranean Chicken Greens with Grains, Southwest Chicken Ranch, Balsamic Chicken Greens with Grains and a Ranch Cobb Salad; and an entree, Bacon Mac & Cheese. Panera said of its existing dishes that the company is offering guests better value through enhanced portions and lower price points, while also being easier for guests to navigate.

Wendys has permanently added its new CinnabonPull-Apart to its national breakfast menu. The sweet collaboration is made of warm, buttery dough bites baked together with world-famous Cinnabon cinnamon and topped with their signature cream cheese frosting, per the brand. DashPass members, customers of DoorDashs loyalty program, will receive special Wendys Cinnabon Pull-Apart deals through Mar. 10.

Yogurtland has announced its new seasonal frozen yogurt flavors, in honor of St. Patricks Day on Mar. 17. Customers can order the Lucky Irish Mint flavor on its own or mix it with the Cookies and Cream flavor to make a Mint Cookies and Cream Swirl. Customers can select from gummy rainbow cluster toppings, in addition to ordering an online-exclusive digital Luck of the Rainbow cup, which features Lucky Irish Mint topped with candy-coated chocolate and mochi and is only available online or through the Yogurtland app. Yogurtland will also launch its exclusive Yogurtland Charms, only available on Mar. 17. Customers with a $15 minimum spend who post to their social media from the store will receive a complimentary three-pack of the charms.
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On October 5, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a seminar for Greek educational staff on the teaching of Holocaust issues at the "Yiannos Kranidiotis" Amphitheatre.



The event, titled "Prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps: research and education", was successfully organized in collaboration with the Diplomatic and Historical Archives Service, the "Arolsen Archives" of Germany, the Jewish Museum of Greece and the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports. Approximately 25 teachers attended the seminar.



The "Arolsen Archives", located in the German town with the same name, have the sad privilege of possessing authentic Nazi archives containing documents of persons who were exterminated or martyred in concentration camps and forced labour under Nazism, as well as personal testimonies of survivors.



The conference was addressed by Ambassador Chryssoula Aliferi, who represented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Victoria Peloni, who represented the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Peter-Alberto Behrens, who represented the "Arolsen Archives", and Zanet Battinou, who represented the Jewish Museum of Greece.



Among other things, useful educational tools were presented during the seminar, including digital ones, which were provided by the "Arolsen Archives" for teaching multifaceted Holocaust issues.



The need and the duty to promote respect for the Memory of the Holocaust, its preservation and their handing down to future generations was emphasized on the part of all participants.




Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Kotsiras, will visit Chicago, United States, from February 23 to 26, 2024, to brief Greek Diaspora members and associations on the government's recent initiatives for Diaspora Geeks, particularly postal voting and the Foreign Ministry's Strategic Plan for Greeks Abroad.



During his stay in Chicago, Mr. Kotsiras will meet with His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael of Chicago, as well as with representatives of Diaspora organizations, and prominent members of the Greek community. The Deputy Minister will also visit the National Hellenic Museum, the Asia Minor and Pontos Hellenic Research Center, the Center for Hellenic Studies at the University of Chicago, the Greek community "Koraes Elementary School and the Greek American Rehabilitation and Care Center for the Elderly.



On Sunday, February 25, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend the Divine Liturgy at St. Demetrios Church in Elmhurst, Chicago, and will address the Greek community.


Madame Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Dear Mariya,

Thank you for your warm welcome.

This may be my first visit to our friend, neighbor and ally, Bulgaria, yet we share months of intense and multifaceted cooperation, for which I warmly thank you.

It would be an oversight on my part if I did not highlight from this podium the Ministers diligence and effectiveness in the service of her country, significantly upgrading its international standing, as well as her deep commitment to European values and to the vision of European integration.

In particular, I would like to refer to the successes she has achieved during her tenure. Bulgaria's accession to the Schengen zone for air and sea transport, the substantial progress in terms of Bulgaria's accession to the OECD, as well as to the Eurozone.

In times of successive crises but also of serious challenges ahead of us, such as the European Parliament elections, the formation of the new institutions, the implementation of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, the progress of the integration process, the Minister's pro-European and leadership qualities are absolutely essential to us.

Dear Madame Minister,

Today, we had the opportunity to reaffirm the excellent level in the strategic character of the bilateral relations between Greece and Bulgaria, which serve as a model of cooperation between two neighboring countries that share a common European future.

Indeed, I am confident that Bulgaria's full integration into the Schengen zone, which Greece will unconditionally support with specific initiatives it will undertake, will give further impetus to the relationship between the two countries, with the direct exchange of goods, services and people.

Greece and Bulgaria have already established an enviable exchange in terms of citizen movement, making the two destinations very attractive in both countries.

It is important for human interaction, for people-to-people politics, to further cultivate cultural exchanges, as well as academic exchanges of students and professors.

Our economic relations have an exceptionally high potential.

Already, Bulgaria is the second-largest export destination for Greece, while Greek investments are ranking third in Bulgaria. Together, we form a pivotal trans-European hub for transport, communications, and energy - sectors to which we attach clear priority on the basis of the North-South Corridor.

Our countries, dear Minister, have highlighted the importance of solidarity both bilaterally and in European level.

Greece supplied Bulgaria with natural gas in the spring of 2022, when Russia cut off supply, and in the period that followed we significantly deepened our energy cooperation. Notably, we launched the second electricity power interconnector in the summer of 2023, and we inaugurated the IGB interconnector pipeline in October 2022, contributing to a significant increase in the quantities of natural gas transported between our countries.



And of course, we are ready to be supplied with natural gas from the upcoming operation of the Alexandroupolis FSRU Terminal, a project that will positively transform the energy map in our wider region.

We have achieved a lot in the energy sector and we hope to build upon this positive momentum to achieve even more.

We also discussed the issue of the water management of the Arda River. I am hopeful for a prompt settlement of the issue in accordance with EU law, to the benefit of our countries, as well as the interconnectivity agreements between the two countries in the infrastructure sectors.

Of course, we discussed the worrying developments in our region and around the world.

Two years after Russias unlawful invasion of Ukraine, Greece and Bulgaria support Ukraine in its fight to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is not about a war between two countries but rather about defending the values of liberal democracy and International Law against revisionism and aggression.

At the same time, in the Middle East, the principles of humanitarianism are currently being tested, with tragic civilian casualties and the use of hostages as a negotiating tool, violating every notion of human dignity. Each additional day of conflict exacerbates an already dramatic situation.

Both our countries share the same principled stance in our foreign policy based on adherence to International Law, with an emphasis on the rule of law and European integration.

In this regard, we support the European perspective of the Western Balkans, Ukraine and Moldova. This perspective is based on the principle of own merits and adherence to the established criteria, particularly commitment to the European acquis, respect for International Law, adherence to agreed-upon terms and establishment of good neighborly relations.

It is not only geography that unites us, dear Madame Minister, but also a common understanding of fundamental principles.

And I would like to warmly thank you for your support of Greeces participation in the Three Seas Initiative and the wider initiatives undertaken in the Black Sea region.

Dear Madame Minister, dear Mariya,

To conclude, I would like to express my confidence that, just as you left your personal mark as a member of the European Commission and as Foreign Minister, you will continue to do so after your inauguration as Prime Minister, maintaining your diligence and steadfast foreign policy positions, in a dynamic Bulgaria that is reforming and modernizing.

It would be our great honor to welcome you to Greece soon in your new capacity.

Thank you very much.
A troubled Air National Guard unit is grappling with seemingly rampant misbehavior within its ranks, particularly among its noncommissioned officers, including sexist and racist discrimination, inappropriate jokes and a generally poor working environment. And its commander is telling the formation to shape up.

A command climate survey for the 176th Maintenance Squadron with the Alaska National Guard reported that 100% of the women who responded reported sexual harassment behaviors within the unit and high rates of gender-based mistreatment and exclusion. The survey, done last year, was part of a presentation marked as controlled unclassified information, a term used for unclassified but protected material, but was obtained by Military.com.

It also painted a pattern of poor performance from the squadron's noncommissioned officers and a culture of dysfunction -- racial discrimination, a lack of recognition and awards, discrimination based on sexual orientation, a chain of command set up in a way that's confusing to know who is in charge, a general pattern of poor communication between noncommissioned officers and subordinates, and administrative issues that go unresolved for months at a time.

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According to the presentation, 90 people responded to the survey. David Bedard, the 176th Wing spokesman, told Military.com in an emailed statement Thursday that the survey is designed to provide results as "anonymously as possible; therefore, the exact number of female respondents is not made available to the unit."

At the time of the survey, 12 of the 272 members in the 176th were female, Bedard told Military.com.

The 176th Wing is the overarching organization made up of approximately 1,500 airmen, including the 176th Maintenance Group, which encompasses the 176th Maintenance Squadron, according to the wing's website.

"These complaints have been centered around comments, jokes, attacks, or observations that run the gamut from sexual orientation, to racism, to religious freedom, to gender; all of which are unacceptable in the modern workplace," Col. Michael Cummings, the 176th Maintenance Group commander, wrote in a memo following the presentation, also marked as controlled unclassified information, to the force that was also obtained by Military.com.

"When I ask about this seemingly endless stream of complaints, I am told, 'It's just Maintenance. We are hard on each other. It's our culture," he added. "That can no longer be our culture."

The note was written in September, but this is the first time it has been publicized.

The survey, conducted last year, asked subordinates to rate the command team and give feedback on workplace culture. In response, all the women surveyed reported sexually harassing behaviors in the unit, and the majority of women reported gender-based discrimination.

"It's a good ol' boy club," one enlisted airman assigned to the squadron told Military.com on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media. "It's inappropriate jokes, racism. This is a cultural issue."

Despite the survey results and the commander's letter identifying a cultural problem, Bedard told Military.com that those don't relate to formal and specific complaints.

"Responses on the anonymous survey do not equate to actionable complaints; rather, they identify potential areas for concern within the command relating to the command climate," Bedard said. "Any complaint made to the 176th MXS leadership is thoroughly investigated, and appropriate disciplinary action is taken."

Bedard did not directly respond to the question when asked whether any supervisors or leadership -- some of whom were identified as "toxic" within the survey -- had been fired, reassigned or retired. He said that "there is a process of progressive discipline focused on performance improvement," adding that "potential administrative disciplinary action ranges from verbal and written counseling to potential removal."

Following the survey results, Bedard said, "Leadership briefed the unit during numerous commander's calls to ensure maximum dissemination of the results," which included a town hall, and additional legal resources were provided to airmen "in case they didn't feel comfortable airing their concerns to leadership during the feedback forum."

The widespread harassment reported within the 176th Maintenance Squadron mirrors larger Air Force trends that officials have been grappling with for years.

A 2021 Air Force Inspector General survey found widespread sexual harassment within the ranks, noting that one out of every three female military respondents and one out of every four female civilian respondents experienced sexual harassment during their time in the Air Force.

The 176th Wing traces its history back to 1969 as a tactical airlift group. Its mission has evolved to combat search and rescue, agile combat support for air expeditionary force tasking, and strategic airlift, according to the wing's website.

The 176th Maintenance Group and the 176th Maintenance Squadron keep the C-17A Globemaster III, HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60 Pave Hawk aircraft maintained, a high-tempo mission because the wing provides search-and-rescue and airlift operations across the globe, as well as a 24/7 search-and-rescue mission for the entire state of Alaska.

The state is widely considered among the most difficult environments for troops to operate, with frigid temperatures frequently dropping to minus-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Military bases are also so scattered and much of the state is so rural, part-time troops often have to travel long distances for duty.

Due to this high-stress mission, Cummings wrote in his leader memo that the ongoing harassment and culture are harming the 176th Maintenance Squadron's mission overall.

"These behaviors do not contribute to the mission, they detract from it," Cummings wrote. "Additionally, as we all know, the Guard is expected to do more with less than our active-duty partners. We cannot afford to have our staffless leadership continually tied up in the administrative monster that surrounds these complaints instead of focusing on the mission and their people."

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RAFAH, Gaza Strip  Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City on Thursday, witnesses said. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos, bringing the death toll since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000, according to health officials.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede for the food aid and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

The violence was quickly condemned by Arab countries, and U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern it would add to the difficulty of negotiating a cease-fire in the nearly five-month conflict.

The Gaza City area was among the first targets of Israels air, sea and ground offensive, launched in response to Hamas Oct. 7 attack into Israel.

While many Palestinians fled the invasion in the north of the enclave, a few hundred thousand are believed to remain in the largely devastated and isolated region. Several deliveries of aid reached the area this week, officials said.

Aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, with crowds of desperate people overwhelming aid convoys. The U.N. says a quarter of Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes.

Military officials said the pre-dawn convoy of 30 trucks driving to northern Gaza were met by huge crowds of people trying to grab the aid they were carrying. Dozens of Palestinians were killed in the stampede and some were run over by the trucks as the drivers tried to get away, said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson.

Israeli troops guarding the area fired warning shots toward the crowd because they felt endangered, he said.

We didnt open fire on those seeking aid. Contrary to the accusations, we didnt open fire on a humanitarian aid convoy, not from the air and not from land. We secured it so it could reach northern Gaza, he said.

Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound at Shifa Hospital, said he and others went to the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard there would be a delivery of food. Weve been eating animal feed for two months, he said.

He said Israeli troops opened fire on the crowd as people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks, causing them to scatter, with some hiding under cars. After the shooting stopped, people went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again. He was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off, he said.

At least 112 people were killed, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said. The Health Ministry described it as a massacre.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan accused Israel of targeting civilians in the incident. In separate statements, they called for increased safe passages for humanitarian aid. They also urged the international community to take decisive action to pressure Israel to abide by international law and to reach an agreement for an immediate cease-fire.

The U.N. Security Council scheduled emergency closed consultations on the killings for later Thursday at the request of Algeria, the Arab representative on the 15-nation body.

The increasing alarm over hunger across Gaza has fueled international calls for a cease-fire, and the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are working to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a pause in fighting and the release of some of the hostages Hamas took during its Oct. 7 attack.

Mediators hope to reach an agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts around March 10. But so far, Israel and Hamas have remained far apart in public on their demands.

Biden had earlier expressed hope that a deal would be done by Monday. He said Thursday that looked unlikely.

Hope springs eternal, Biden told reporters. I was on the telephone with people from the region. Probably not by Monday, but Im hopeful.

When asked if the bloodshed in Gaza City on Thursday would complicate those efforts, he said, I know it will.

In a statement condemning Thursdays attack, Hamas said it would not allow the negotiations to be a cover for the enemy to continue its crimes.

Medics arriving at the scene of the bloodshed Thursday found dozens or hundreds lying on the ground, according to Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He said there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and wounded and that some were being brought to hospitals in donkey carts.

Another man in the crowd  who gave only his first name, Ahmad, as he was being treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds to the arm and leg  said he waited for two hours before someone with a horse-drawn cart had room to take him to Shifa.

The violence came more than a month after witnesses and health officials in Gaza accused Israeli troops of firing on a previous aid distribution in Gaza City, killing at least 20 people.

Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital, said the facility received 161 wounded patients, most of whom appeared to have been shot. He said the hospital can perform only the most essential surgeries because it is running out of fuel to power emergency generators.

The Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,035, with another 70,457 wounded. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government in Gaza, maintains detailed records of casualties. Its counts from previous wars have largely matched those of the U.N., independent experts and even Israels own tallies.

The Hamas attack into southern Israel that ignited the war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants seized around 250 hostages. Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most of the other captives during a November cease-fire.

Violence has also surged across the West Bank since Oct. 7. An attacker shot and killed two Israelis at a gas station in the settlement of Eli on Thursday, according to the Israeli military. The attacker was killed, the military said.

Meanwhile, U.N. officials have warned of further mass casualties if Israel follows through on vows to attack the southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half of Gazas population of 2.3 million has taken refuge. They also say a Rafah offensive could decimate what remains of aid operations.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are believed to remain in northern Gaza despite Israeli orders to evacuate the area in October, and many have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive. The U.N. says 1 in 6 children under 2 in the north suffer from acute malnutrition and wasting.

COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian civilian affairs, said around 50 aid trucks entered northern Gaza this week. It was unclear who delivered the aid. Some countries have resorted to airdrops in recent days.

The World Food Program said earlier this month that it was pausing deliveries to the north because of the growing chaos, after desperate Palestinians emptied a convoy while it was en route.

Since launching its assault on Gaza following Hamas Oct. 7 attack, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israels Kerem Shalom crossing. Despite international calls to allow in more aid, the number of supply trucks is far less than the 500 that came in daily before the war.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut and Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel.
Capt. Walter H. Allman III will take the helm as the U.S. Naval Academy's 90th commandant of midshipmen this summer, the academy announced Wednesday.

Allman, a 1997 graduate of the Naval Academy, will return to Annapolis from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, where he currently serves as director of Targeting and the Fires and Effects Center for the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Allman will assume the role from current Commandant of Midshipmen Col. James "J.P." McDonough III, who has served in the position for three years.

McDonough will retire after 30 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, a spokesperson for the academy said.

The commandant of midshipmen is responsible for day-to-day conduct, military training and professional development of more than 4,400 midshipmen at the academy.

Allman is a career naval special warfare officer. His previous assignments include SEAL Teams 1 and 3 and SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1. He also served with the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, where he completed several combat deployments and contingency operations in support of Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

His command tours include Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron 4 and Naval Special Warfare Groups 3 and 8.

While a midshipman at the Naval Academy, Allman was named an honorable mention All-American for the academy's sailing team in 1996 and 1997.

Allman earned a master's degree in defense analysis from the Naval Postgraduate School. He later researched concepts for the Navy's future of undersea warfare operations and served a staff tour as a naval special warfare officer detailer in Tennessee.

He is a recipient of numerous military awards, including the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Combat 'V' and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

Allman isn't the only recently announced change in leadership at the Naval Academy.

In January, Vice Adm. Yvette Davids became the academy's 65th superintendent -- the first woman to occupy that role. Davids took the reins from Rear Adm. Fred Kacher, who served as acting superintendent for five months following Vice Adm. Sean Buck's retirement in September.

"I am honored for the opportunity to lead the Brigade of Midshipmen and to mold our next generation of Navy and Marine Corps leaders," Allman said in a news release. "The enthusiasm and dedication demonstrated by the Brigade, staff, and faculty are inspiring. Our family looks forward to returning to the Naval Academy and joining a team committed to supporting the mission and facing the challenges of today."

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BOSTON -- Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform, is expected to plead guilty in his federal case, according to court papers filed Thursday.

Prosecutors asked the judge to schedule a change of plea hearing for Monday, but no other details were immediately available. Teixeira had previously pleaded not guilty.

Teixeira was indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. Each count is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The Massachusetts U.S. attorney's office declined further comment. An attorney for Teixeira didn't immediately return a phone message Thursday.

Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, has been behind bars since his April arrest for a leak that left the Biden administration scrambling to assess and contain the damage among the international community and reassure allies that its secrets are safe with the U.S.

He was accused of sharing classified military documents about Russia's war in Ukraine and other sensitive national security topics on Discord, a social media platform popular with people who play online games. Investigators believe he led a private chat group called Thug Shaker Central, where enthusiasts shared jokes, talked about their favorite types of guns and discussed wars, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Authorities say Teixeira, who enlisted in the Air National Guard in 2019, began around January 2023 sharing military secrets with other Discord users -- first by typing out classified documents and then sharing photographs of files that bore SECRET and TOP SECRET markings. Teixeira worked as a "cyber transport systems specialist," essentially an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks.

Authorities have said that Teixeira was detected on April 6 -- the day The New York Times first published a story about the breach of documents -- searching for the word "leak" in a classified system. The FBI says that was reason to believe Teixeira was trying to find information about the investigation into who was responsible for the leaks.

Prosecutors say he continued to leak government secrets even after he was warned by superiors about mishandling and improper viewing of classified information. After being admonished by superiors, he was again seen viewing information not related to the intelligence field, not his primary duty, according to internal Air National Guard memos filed in court.

Authorities have provided few details about an alleged possible motive, but accounts of those in the online private chat group where the documents were disclosed have depicted Teixeira as motivated more by bravado than ideology.

Prosecutors had urged the judge to keep Teixeira jailed while the case played out, in part because of an arsenal of weapons found at his home and his history of disturbing online statements. They included one social media post saying that, if he had his way, he would like to kill a "ton of people" because it would be "culling the weak minded."

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani last year denied Teixeira's bid for release, saying "No set of release conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community, or prevent destruction of evidence."

In pressing for their client to be freed from jail, Teixeira's attorneys pointed to the pretrial release of former President Donald Trump and others in high-profile classified documents cases. Teixeira's lawyers noted that prosecutors did not seek to detain Trump -- or his co-defendant, Walt Nauta -- even though they said the former president and his valet "possess extraordinary means to flee the United States."
Republicans tore into Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday over his failure to notify the White House for days about his hospitalization for complications from prostate cancer surgery.

At his first appearance before Congress since the hospitalization, Austin repeatedly stressed that there were never any gaps in command and control of the military during his emergency hospitalization and that procedures for notifying other Pentagon officials and the White House of absences have since been improved.

But he dodged several questions about holding himself or his staff accountable for failing to notify the president he was in the hospital, and at one point acknowledged he does not know who made the decision not to inform the public, despite the Pentagon completing an internal review into what went wrong.

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The testimony infuriated Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, who blasted the secrecy surrounding the early January hospitalization as "totally unacceptable," an "embarrassment" and "an extreme lack of leadership."

"Our adversaries should fear us," Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said. "And what you've done is embarrass us."

That Austin could be in the hospital for three days without the president knowing, Banks added, suggests "the president is that aloof or you are irrelevant."

While some Democrats on the committee said the breakdown in communications was troubling, they also downplayed any national security concerns and repeatedly pivoted to the perils of Congress not approving funding for Ukraine and the Defense Department. The Pentagon, like the rest of the federal government, is operating on a stopgap funding measure more than five months into the fiscal year, and a bill to provide aid for the wars in Ukraine and Israel has stalled in the House.

"There was nothing embarrassing about what happened here. There was nothing that makes us appear weak," Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the ranking member of the committee, said about Austin's hospitalization. "If we care about confronting our adversaries, rather than nitpicking the secretary of defense about his precise process in this situation, we should go ahead and pass the national security supplemental that the Senate has passed with 70 bipartisan votes to precisely meet those national security needs."

Thursday's hearing was the first time Austin had faced lawmakers since he was rushed to the hospital on New Year's Day in an ambulance for what was later revealed to be complications from an earlier surgery to treat prostate cancer. While Austin transferred his authorities as defense secretary to Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Jan. 2, neither she nor the White House knew the reason until Jan. 4. Congress and the public weren't informed until Jan. 5.

And it wasn't until several more days -- Jan. 9 -- that the White House, Congress or the public found out that Austin had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December and underwent surgery to treat it Dec. 22.

The hearing provided little new insight into the timeline of events or why Austin and his staff did not think to tell the White House and President Joe Biden he was in the hospital. But it offered lawmakers an opportunity to vent their frustrations over the situation directly to Austin.

"I find it very concerning that the secretary could be hospitalized for three days without anyone else in the administration even noticing," House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said Thursday. "That suggests Secretary Austin's advice is not sought or heeded in the White House, even while military operations were ongoing in the Middle East."

Rogers also said the committee must know "who made the decision to withhold this information from the president."

While Austin said Thursday, as he has before, that he "didn't get this right" and that he takes "full responsibility" for the breakdown, he also at times appeared to blame his staff for failing to notify the president of his hospitalization.

"I was the patient, and so I expect that my organization would do the right thing," Austin said.

An internal Pentagon review -- ordered by Austin's Chief of Staff Kelly Magsamen, one of the key staffers involved in the breakdown -- essentially absolved his staff of wrongdoing, finding no "indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate," according to an unclassified summary released Monday. Instead, the review found that Austin's aides "were hesitant to pry or share any information that they did learn" about the secretary's health because of concerns about his privacy, the summary said.

The most detail that was publicly offered on Austin's staff delaying White House notification was when Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Magsamen was out with the flu during this time period, which "caused a delay in these notifications."

Pentagon officials also hinted at a dynamic of deference to privacy within Austin's inner circle in the days after the news broke in early January.

Under questioning from Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., about who decided not to tell the public about the hospitalization after Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Chris Meagher was informed Jan. 2, Austin said he did not know. Ryder, who was also told about the hospitalization Jan. 2, has previously acknowledged he "should have pushed for an earlier public acknowledgment" and vowed to "do better next time."

When reporters pressed Ryder on the same question -- who made the determination to inform the American public -- he simply said, "I have no excuse."

Austin, a retired general, also repeatedly rejected comparisons between his situation and that of a service member who fails to notify their chain of command of their absence.

"I didn't disappear," Austin said. "I was in a military medical facility in Washington."

To date, the Pentagon has not said whether any Pentagon staffers have been assigned additional training, received negative reviews or any other disciplinary action stemming from this incident.

On Feb. 1, Austin told reporters that Magsamen has not offered to resign.

Republicans, many of whom have called on Austin himself to resign, made clear they found his testimony unsatisfactory.

"This is not about process," said Waltz, one of the Republicans who has called for Austin's resignation. "You've made this about process. This is about judgment and poor judgment. My teenage daughter knows to tell her supervisor if she's not going to work. The American people, truck drivers, bartenders know they have to tell their boss, or they get fired. But you've held yourself to a different standard. And that's unacceptable."

Related: Internal Pentagon Review Finds No 'Ill Intent' Behind Austin Hospitalization Secrecy
The Biden administration has announced that it will conduct military airdrops of humanitarian aid in the coming weeks into Gaza amid growing concern for civilians trapped in the grinding war.

"The United States will carry out airdrops of aid into Gaza in coordination with our international partners, particularly Jordan," John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Friday at a press conference. "We're also going to redouble our efforts to open up a humanitarian maritime corridor to move ... humanitarian assistance by sea -- hopefully, large amounts by sea."

The move comes amid growing political pressure on President Joe Biden not only from supporters of the Palestinians but also members of Congress, who have been pushing him to offer more aid and assistance in recent days.

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Kirby stressed that the plan, which will involve multiple drops, requires significant planning and is not without risks.

"It is extremely difficult to do an airdrop in such a crowded environment as is Gaza," he explained, before adding that the area is "very very densely populated" with "a lot of people confined to small spaces."

"You want to do it in a way that you can get it ... as close as you can to the people in need, but not in a way that puts them in any danger," he added.

He noted that airdrops will not replace moving in aid by ground -- a process that has become slow and increasingly fraught over the past several weeks.

Kirby's announcement of the plan comes just a day after reports of Israeli troops opening fire on a crowd of Palestinians who were trying to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza. The resulting chaos left more than 100 people dead.

Kirby sidestepped questions whether that incident precipitated the airdrop announcement but did say that it "underscored for the president ... the need to continue to find alternative routes and alternative means of getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza."

"The idea of airdrops is not a new one," he said. "It's something that we have floated in the interagency before."

Few specifics were offered during the announcement, with some military officials in the Pentagon saying they learned of the airdrop and maritime corridor plans only as they were being made public.

When asked about a timeline for the first drop, Kirby said that it would happen "certainly [in the] coming weeks," adding that "I can't get too predictive right now."

Meanwhile, Navy officials said they were unaware of any plans involving the service or the proposed maritime channel, directing Military.com to the Army's Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore program.

Those same officials, however, said that the Navy is ready to support any orders, should they receive them, speculating that conversations may be occurring at higher levels.

"We're much further along in terms of being able to execute airdrops than we are a maritime corridor," Kirby noted.

The announcement comes as Biden's handling of the war in Gaza has become an increasingly apparent political liability for him as he seeks a second term in this year's presidential elections.

In Michigan, which has one of the largest Arab American and Middle Eastern populations in the country, a call for Democratic voters to choose "uncommitted" over Biden in the state's primary election Tuesday in protest of his position on the war drew a stronger-than-expected response, with the "uncommitted" option garnering more than 100,000 votes.

Democrats in Congress have also increasingly urged Biden to be more aggressive in pushing Israel toward a cease-fire, using U.S. leverage to ensure Israel follows the laws of war and seeing to it that Israel allows humanitarian aid to get to Gazans.

For example, more than a dozen Senate Democrats pushed to include conditions on arms sales to Israel in a national security funding bill the upper chamber approved last month, and more than half of the Senate Democratic Caucus supported an amendment to restrict "emergency" arms sales that Biden has used to expedite sending weapons to Israel.

Top Democrats applauded Biden's announcement Friday about the impending airdrops.

"Tragic incidents like yesterday show that the Netanyahu government must do more to protect innocent life and increase humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement. "Not only is it the right thing to do morally, it's in Israel's best strategic interests."

Meanwhile, Reed and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, announced Thursday that they sent a letter to Biden urging him to deploy a Navy hospital ship to the region.

The Navy maintains two hospital ships -- the USNS Mercy based in San Diego and the USNS Comfort based out of Norfolk, Virginia. However, the Mercy just returned from a deployment in mid-February, and Navy officials told Military.com that the Comfort is in a maintenance period.

But Navy officials told Military.com that they have other assets they could utilize if the service is asked to support such a mission.

Related: As US Troops Take Fire in Middle East, Lawmakers Consider Billions in New Funding
WASHINGTON  U.S. senators declined on Thursday to block the sale of F-16s to Turkey, despite voicing deep disdain for Turkey's conduct as an ally. They were upholding an unofficial bargain that Turks would get the fighter jets if they stopped blocking Sweden's accession to NATO.

A deal's a deal, said Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Call it quid pro quo," Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who introduced the resolution to try to block the sale, told fellow senators. That sounds better than extortion.

The Senate voted 13 to 79 to reject Paul's proposal.

Along with the Democratic committee chairman, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Risch took the Senate floor before the vote to acknowledge some of the many U.S. objections to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government: its human rights record, its attacks on U.S. allies in Syria, its backing for offensives by Azerbaijan on an ethnic Armenian enclave, and Turkey's ties with Russia on military deals and other matters.

Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic senior foreign policy leaders argued, adding Sweden to NATO was too important to the overall strategic interests of the Western military alliance and to the U.S. to allow fellow NATO member Turkey to spoil it.

Sweden, and Finland, sought to join NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the majority of other NATO allies supported the accession, saying the two countries' militaries, industries and locations near or bordering Russia would strengthen the alliance. Finland joined NATO last year, after Erdogan lifted initial objections to that country as well.

Erdogan's objections to Sweden included it offering refuge to Turkish critics in exile. But Erdogan also publicly linked his objections to hopes of overcoming U.S. reluctance to sell him new models of the advanced fighter jet.

Im not here to defend Turkey or the other things that they do, Risch said. What I am here to do is defend the importance of NATO.

Paul argued before the vote that continuing to withhold the advanced fighter jets was the best leverage the U.S. had to try to influence Turkey's behavior as an ally.

What will Turkey do next time they want something? he asked.

The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the $23 billion F-16 sale to Turkey in January, along with a companion $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece.

The State Department agreement came just hours after Turkey deposited its instrument of ratification for Swedens accession to NATO with Washington, which is the repository for alliance documents, and after several key members of Congress lifted their objections.
The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday will finalize its policy of providing abortions to veterans and other beneficiaries in certain cases, including in states that have banned the procedure, according to a federal notice.

The move will make the abortion policy official, but the VA has been providing veterans and covered dependents abortions on an interim basis since September 2022 -- just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade -- if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or their life or health is at risk because of the pregnancy. The policy also allows VA doctors to provide abortion counseling to any patient.

The abortion services were part of the Biden administration's reaction to the high court ruling, and Republicans have since floated proposals to block them. For now, the policy will be finalized without any changes in a rule that will be published in the Federal Register on Monday, according to the notice posted Friday on the Federal Register's website.

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The VA announced it would for the first time offer abortions in certain circumstances as states banned or severely restricted the procedure in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, called Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The ruling overturned 50 years of nationwide abortion rights granted by Roe v. Wade.

"These state bans and restrictions on abortion presented a serious threat to the health and lives of over one hundred thousand veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries who relied, or may rely in the future, on VA health care," the notice published Friday said, using the acronym for the VA's health coverage for dependents.

In the first year of its policy, the VA performed 88 abortions, according to a letter the department sent Congress that was obtained by Military.com in October.

In order to quickly change its medical coverage to allow abortions, the VA used a fast-track process called an "interim final rule." That allowed the VA to provide the procedure while it went through other steps of the sometimes lengthy federal rulemaking process, including collecting public comment.

Now, the abortion policy is being cemented with the final rule set to publish Monday.

During the public comment period, the VA received 57,901 comments, many of which "merely expressed support or requested the [interim final rule] be rescinded without suggested clarifications or changes," according to Friday's notice.

Many of the comments in opposition to the policy argued the VA does not have the legal authority to provide abortions or that the policy was written broadly enough to allow abortions in any circumstance.

In rejecting changes responding to those comments, the VA argued, as it has in the past, that it has the authority to provide abortions under a 1996 law that allows the department to cover the health care that the VA secretary deems is "needed."

The department also argued that adding more restrictions, such as a gestational limit or a specific definition for what health conditions qualify for an abortion, would interfere with doctors' judgments about what care their patients need.

"The decision about whether a pregnancy endangers the veteran's or CHAMPVA beneficiary's life or health, and the needed care or medically necessary and appropriate treatment, must be made on a case-by-case basis by appropriate health care professionals," the notice said.

While the VA policy is about to now be fully set in regulation, Republicans in Congress are likely to continue trying to roll it back. A Senate GOP effort to force the VA to reverse the policy failed last year, but Republicans who control the House included VA abortion restrictions in their initial version of the 2024 VA spending bill, which has yet to become law.

Bipartisan leaders in both chambers of Congress announced earlier this week that they reached a deal on six 2024 spending bills, including the VA bill, that is expected to mostly avoid third-rail political fights such as abortion, though negotiators have been tight-lipped about exactly which policy riders made it in. The text of the deal is expected to be released over the weekend.

Related: VA Says It Performed 88 Abortions in the Past Year, But Congress Again Threatens Subpoenas in Pursuit of More Details
Veteran protesters in Portland, Oregon, set their military uniforms on fire Wednesday in memoriam of Senior Airman Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation on the steps of the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 25 in protest of the war in Gaza.

A video that was widely shared on social media Feb. 28 showed a number of protesters in front of a sign that read, "Veterans Say: Free Palestine! Remember Aaron Bushnell" as they put their uniforms in a metal drum and set them on fire.

"Aaron wore his uniform as he took that act, that ultimate sacrifice," Matt Howard, a Marine Corps veteran and board member with About Face, the group behind the vigil, told Military.com. "There's obviously an intentional decision that he made, and I think similarly, folks, our members and other veterans that participated, felt really strongly that that symbolism is important."

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In the minutes leading up to his protest, Bushnell donned his uniform and walked toward the embassy, recording his last moments before setting himself ablaze, screaming "Free Palestine!" as he burned. The 25-year-old airman from Whitman, Massachusetts, said he was making an "extreme" protest in response to the more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in the last five months.

Israel declared war in response to Hamas' unprecedented cross-border attack Oct. 7, in which the Islamic militant group killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage. The country launched a brutal, ongoing ground offensive in the weeks following the attack, and the destruction in Gaza has been likened by some experts as akin to genocide.

About Face: Veterans Against the War, originally founded as Iraq Veterans Against War, held the vigil for Bushnell in effort to ensure the sacrifice they said he made was not in vain. "Some of us are burning our medals. The rest of us are burning the last pieces of the military we had, to tell Aaron that he's not alone, and to show him that he's not alone," one of the protesters said in the video.

The group has seen a serious uptick in the number of veterans reaching out, Howard said, since Bushnell's passing last Sunday. The now-widely reported event is just one of a growing number of public protests since his death specifically aimed at the U.S. military's leadership and the organization's role in the war.

"The war on Gaza wouldn't be able to happen if it wasn't for U.S. munitions, diplomatic cover, U.S. support," Howard said. "We [feel veterans] need to reject the idea that we all just need to kind of follow this particular line that the administration is pushing, and that the military is obviously very supportive of as well."

The U.S. has not put any military boots on the ground in Gaza, and President Joe Biden has vehemently denied that it will. In support of Israel, however, the U.S. has sent a number of munitions such as Iron Dome rockets, in addition to a small number of special operations forces to help Israel with intelligence operations. The Navy has deployed ships to police the Red Sea and fend off attacks by Houthi rebels, who have targeted merchant shipping in opposition to Israel.

Speaking Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington, D.C., Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin was interrupted by a number of activists who were escorted out of the room as they shouted their remarks. "Say his name, Aaron Bushnell!" one activist shouted. "Cease-fire now," another yelled, according to footage provided to Military.com from someone involved in the protest.

The Air Force is treating Bushnell's death as one of the 100 or so suicides it faces every year, Allvin said. The service and the other military branches have been struggling to reduce the number of troops who die by suicide, as well as increase access to mental health resources.

"Right now, where we are in that case is, understanding that has a lot of political fervor attached to it, this is just one of our airmen that we lost," Allvin said at the think tank event.

The service is offering other airmen and Guardians mental health care and guidance on how to move forward following Bushnell's death and as they conduct an investigation into it.

In addition to the burning of uniforms, more than 300 veterans attended a virtual vigil held for Bushnell this week, sponsored by About Face, Howard said. Other veterans, like Shaniyat Chowdhury, a Marine Corps veteran in New York City, have been attending local protests against the war and candlelight vigils both for Bushnell and for the lives lost in Gaza.

Chowdhury was among a number of veterans arrested in the days leading into Veterans' Day weekend in 2023, after conducting a sit-in at the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., demanding her support in calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. Gillibrand is a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.

"He was one of us. You know, so it's like even in those final moments, we just understood," Chowdhury said of Bushnell in an interview with Military.com. "There is a sense of just that camaraderie that is forever-lasting, especially now that we're on the other side of things and are trying to use our experience in a way that will be more helpful to the world."

While veterans are no longer subjected to the restrictions of military regulations, active-duty, reserve and Guard service members still must adhere to a number of guidelines from their individual branches and the Defense Department as a whole.

Under DoD Directives 1344.10 and 1325.06, active-duty service members are allowed to participate in various forms of protest, including joining political organizations and attending events as spectators as long as they remain out of uniform. But they are not allowed to actively participate in protests as organizers or to speak at such events, nor are they allowed to pen political sentiments outside of letters to editors, for example.

Although the burning of flags and uniforms is a historically protected form of First Amendment speech, they still have to adhere to Defense Department guidelines, Rose Riley, an Air Force spokesperson, told Military.com in an email.

-- Thomas Novelly contributed to this story.

-- Rachel Nostrant is a Marine Corps veteran and freelance journalist, with work published in Reuters, New York Magazine, Military Times and more.

Related: Air Force Identifies 25-Year-Old Cyber Specialist as Airman Who Set Himself on Fire in Front of DC Embassy
Nancy Black Tribune Content Agency

Linda Black Horoscopes for Friday, March 1, 2024

Todays Birthday (03/01/24). Communication unlocks lucky doors this year. Realize personal dreams with disciplined plans and coordinated action. Shared springtime profits ease a financial adjustment with your summer income. Personal epiphanies light up the autumn, inspiring a shift with joint finances this winter. Everything is available in conversation.

To get the advantage, check the days rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19)  Today is a 6  Take it easy with your partner, especially about finances. Set the tone to gentle. Harmony may require effort. Communication can resolve areas that seem stuck.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)  Today is a 7  Adapt around new circumstances with your partner. Consider carefully before acting. Obstacles and barriers abound. Communication is your golden key. Strategize and plot together.

Gemini (May 21-June 20)  Today is a 7  Prioritize health. Avoid physical challenges. Conditions may not match your energy or expectations. Monitor carefully. Pitfalls line the path. Patiently and cautiously advance.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)  Today is a 7  Keep an open mind. Romantic expectations disappoint. Dont get pushy. Clean messes. Creative barriers abound. Clear space. Set the pieces in place for later.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)  Today is a 7  Nurture yourself. Peace starts at home. You can see whats missing. Clean, sort and organize. Prepare something delicious. Rest and enjoy your cozy space.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)  Today is a 7  Plot, prepare and sketch your ideas. Follow your creative inspiration. Physical barriers can cause delays. Dont pound on locked doors. Prepare and network.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)  Today is an 8  Monitor cash flow to adapt around slowdowns or blockages. Stay in communication. Catch any mistakes before they get expensive. Review budgets and discuss options.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)  Today is an 8  A personal challenge resolves with a measured, thoughtful response. Communication is your superpower. Dont push. Patiently wait for obstacles to clear. Practice diplomacy and tact.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)  Today is a 6  Step away from the noise and hustle. Enjoy peaceful privacy for creative contemplation. Imagine, envision and sketch out your ideas. Patiently prepare and plot.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)  Today is a 7  Dont push someone beyond their limits. Use your words. Force can backfire. Listen and share. Communication and networking can resolve breakdowns. Collaborate patiently.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)  Today is a 7  Wait for better conditions to launch a professional project. Polish and prepare. Let things flower naturally. Choose the timing carefully. Share data, resources and connections.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)  Today is a 7  Study options carefully. Take a pause to assess conditions before advancing. Avoid traffic or accidents. Challenges block the road. Discover solutions in conversation.

Astrologer Nancy Black continues her mother Linda Blacks legacy horoscopes column. She welcomes comments and questions on Twitter, @LindaCBlack. For more astrological interpretations like todays Gemini horoscope, visit Linda Black Astrology by clicking daily horoscopes, or go to www.nancyblack.com.

2024 Nancy Black. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
INDIANAPOLIS -- This draft class is deep at cornerback, although there will be one fewer prospect for the Detroit Lions to evaluate at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Alabama star Kool-Aid McKinstry has pulled out of the combine after a fracture was discovered in his foot during medical testing at an Indianapolis hospital. He has a Jones fracture, according to NFL Network, which is a break of the bone on the pinky toe side of the foot on the fifth metatarsal. Such fractures can occur from increased training or running on uneven surfaces.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP, MI  A Michigan man is accused of shooting a gun at his girlfriends head, missing her by inches, police said.

An argument broke out between a couple Thursday, and the man allegedly pointed a handgun at the woman and discharged a round into the wall behind her, barely missing her head, WPBN/WGTU reports.

Ogemaw County Sheriffs deputies responded to the reported felonious assault at a residence in Richland Township. The 25-year-old female victim from Prescott was not injured. Her 42-year-old boyfriend from the Johnson Lake area was arrested.

Michigan State Police troopers assisted in executing a search warrant at the residence. Multiple firearms, ammunition and suspected illegal narcotics were seized.

This case remains under investigation.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Reese Partlow deals with I-cell disease, a rare genetic condition that causes children to develop slowly after birth.

Usually, children with I-cell stop growing during their second year of life, and most do not survive past early childhood, according to University of Michigan Health. But Reese bucked the odds and is now 11.

And her family said she inspires them and her care providers with her determination and loving demeanor.

Reeces grandparents, Cynthia and Alan Helisek, made a $7.5-million gift to C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital in Ann Arbor in honor of her and her fight against the rare disease.

The gift from the Wayne and Joan Webber Foundation, run by Cynthia Helisek, will help advance technology-enabled care and provide services to families of children like Reese with complex medical needs, hospital officials said.

The way Reese is living her life has taught me and the people around her so much. Through the surgeries, illnesses, and other challenges, shes managed to find a way to not let anything hold her back, said her father Mike Partlow.

Hopefully her story can capture the fact that great work is being done at Mott and her experience can help other kids moving forward.

Helisek is the niece of Wayne and Joan Webber, and her desire is that the foundations gift improves the health care experience for children going through complicated medical journeys such as Reeses.

Part of the donation will establish the Webber Little Victors Virtual Care Congenital Heart Fund, which will provide technology updates for patients such as wearable devices, virtual therapies and other remote services for child cardiac patients, officials said.

Another part of the donation will create the Webber Little Victors Virtual Care Gastrointestinal Fund, which aims to provide similar technologies for gastrointestinal care, officials said.

The use of virtual visits, monitoring devices, and other tools was growing before the COVID-19 pandemic, but that experience really showed how these resources could transform care for the kids who need it most, Dr. John Charpie, division director of pediatric cardiology at University of Michigan, said in a statement.

These tools can keep our care teams more connected with families and could decrease their trips to the hospital because we can quickly intervene and respond to changes in a patients health based on real-time monitoring of their condition.

A final outcome of the gift is the establishment of the Reese Partlow Social Worker in Genetic Counseling Fund, which aims to provide a trained social worker to help families through the care process and processing of a children receiving a life-altering genetic diagnosis, officials said.

This gift drives the innovation and technology that keeps Mott at the leading-edge of pediatric medicine and allows our Little Victors and their families to receive the highest quality care, even in the comfort of their own homes, Luanne Thomas Ewald, chief operating officer at Mott and Von Voigtlander Womens Hospital, said in a statement.

The Webber Foundation gift in honor of Reese will also designate the Mott Pediatric Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit as the Reese Partlow PCTU, officials said. Reese first came to Mott at seven weeks old dealing with heart issues and developmental delays, but always approached the process with a playful attitude, her mother Leslie Partlow said.

Its so cool to see how people love Reese so much, her mother said. And she loves everyone.

Reeses story is about perseverance, her father said, adding he hopes it inspires other families and children.

The way Reese is living her life has taught me and the people around her so much, he said. Through the surgeries, illnesses, and other challenges, shes managed to find a way to not let anything hold her back.

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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- A statewide informational road trip to bring awareness to college savings plans will make its first stop in Washtenaw County next week.

Officials from the Michigan Department of Treasurys Section 529 college savings program will host an informational session from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Pittsfield Branch Public Library, 2359 Oak Valley Drive.

Representatives with the Michigan Education Trust and Michigan Education Savings Program initiatives will also be at the event to discuss the features and benefits of each plan and offer general tips to educate parents, grandparents and others on saving for college, officials said.

The prospect of saving for college can be daunting for parents as they work to balance all their immediate needs throughout the year - thats why were providing a one-stop shopping event for families to easily gather information in a low-key, no-pressure environment, Diane Brewer, executive director of both 529 plans, said in a statement. As college tuition and fees continue to rise, its more important than ever for parents to get as early a start as possible on building college savings for their children.

Attendees can purchase a MET contract and open a MESP account on-site, officials said. MET could contribute $150 toward each new prepaid tuition contract purchased at Tuesday session. The terms and eligibility requirements of the matching grant are available online.

The MET is Section 529s prepaid tuition program that aims to allow enrollees to pay for future education at todays price, officials said. MESP is a Section 529 college savings plan that offers families various investment options.

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GRAND BLANC, MI  When Sarah Courneya was hired into Grand Blanc Community Schools as a teacher in 2006, she was first greeted by Jan Cornelison

Cornelison was her teacher at the same district 21 years earlier.
KENTWOOD, MI  The Michigan Strategic Fund has provided a $400,000 grant to a Kentwood-based snack maker that plans to add up to 37 new jobs and invest up to $30 million to expand its manufacturing, warehousing and distribution building to meet rapidly increasing demand.

SnackCraft, a subsidiary of Greece-based Unismack, is making a 186,000-square-foot expansion of its building at 4444 52nd St. SE.

Additional storage space and 16 loading docks included in the expansion are expected to reduce third-party warehousing and logistics costs, according to a memo from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The Michigan Strategic Fund is the public funding arm of the MEDC.

SnackCraft describes itself as a gluten-free, allergen-controlled manufacturer of baked and salty snack foods. As a contract food manufacturer, SnackCraft is hired by third-party companies to produce snacks that those companies sell under their own name. The company employs 70 people, and its products can be found throughout the U.S. It opened its Kentwood facility, which serves as its U.S. headquarters, in 2022.

RELATED: Greek snack company opens U.S. headquarters in Kentwood, plans up to 185 jobs

The expansion demonstrates our commitment to the area and enables the future growth potential for both existing and new customer opportunities, as well as securing SnackCrafts long-term food manufacturing platform, Joseph Riley, CEO of SnackCraft, said in a statement.

The MEDC says the up to 37 new jobs the project could create would be expected to pay $35.50 per hour plus benefits, according to a memo. The types of jobs those are expected to be were not detailed in materials provided by the MEDC, and Riley could not be reached for an interview Thursday, Feb. 29.

The MEDC said the $400,000 state grant was needed to ensure that SnackCraft would expand in Kentwood rather than elsewhere in the U.S. The company is experiencing growing demand from customers on the East Coast, and Sullivan County in New York was considered as a site for the expansion, the MEDC said.

A timeline for the expansion was not included in materials from the MEDC or The Right Place, a regional economic development group based in Grand Rapids that assisted with the project. However, Brent Case, vice president of business attraction at The Right Place, said through a spokesperson that construction has already been completed.

In addition to the state grant, SnackCraft has also received a 50% property tax cut from the city of Kentwood to help offset the cost of the expansion, according to a new release from The Right Place.

I connected with SnackCraft in early 2022 when they were in the process of establishing their first North American operations here in Kentwood, Case said. Being part of their journey, from the initial stages to helping with their expansion just over a year later, has been an incredible opportunity. Im excited to see whats in store for them moving forward.

Prior to now, SnackCraft received a $1 million grant from the MSF for the establishment of its headquarters in Kentwood in 2022. Thus far, the company has created 70 of the 185 jobs it said it would create as part of that grant award.

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John Gibbs says Ottawa County commissioners cannot lead the county effectively
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI -- Just three hours after he was fired as Ottawa Countys administrator, John Gibbs released a letter claiming county commissioners breached his contract and violated his First Amendment rights.

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners terminated me for cause, breaching my employment contract, and violating my First Amendment rights for exposing their corruption, he said in a 12:15 a.m. Friday statement.

Gibbs was absent from an Ottawa County board meeting a few hours earlier where they voted 10-1 to fire him based on complaints of dishonesty and misconduct.

His termination came about six weeks after an attorneys leaked letter revealed serious signs of discord between Gibbs and county commissioners. The attorney, Aaron Davis, warned commissioners not to fire Gibbs or face legal consequences.

Gibbs, a failed congressional candidate, was a highly touted pick by commissioners to lead the countys administration after they abruptly fired John Shay on Jan. 3, 2023. He was chosen by a newly installed majority faction of commissioners affiliated with Ottawa Impact, a platform espousing ultra conservative views.

In the letter released Friday, Gibbs claimed he was fired for speaking out against what he viewed as bad decisions by commissioners.

Only after I identified corruption and opposed bad governance did the Board target me by concocting a laundry list of miscellaneous, contrived allegations that only saw the light of day after I attempted to hold them accountable, he wrote.

Related: John Gibbs says Ottawa County commissioners cannot lead the county effectively

The laundry list referred to by Gibbs was released in a Feb. 23 letter from a special attorney for Ottawa County hired specifically because of the discord. It came out one day after Gibbs was placed on paid suspension Feb. 22.

Commissioners and some county employees made myriad allegations, including that he made physical threats against the countys corporation counsel, sexist comments about a county official, installed a secret camera in his office and was insubordinate to commissioners and tried to sabotage their work.

Gibbs attorney, Noah Hurwitz, claims the real reason Gibbs fell out of favor with commissioners is because he complained about poor performance from the countys corporate counsel, including late legal advice and allegedly inaccurate advice.

Related: John Gibbs accused of physical threats, sexist comments, installing secret camera

In Gibbs new statement, he said he was upset by the turn of events and suggested that commissioners were to blame for the problems.

But that is secondary to the sadness that comes with not being able to serve the people of Ottawa County any longer. I began my tenure with high hopes. But the new commissioners did not have the knowledge or temperament to govern the County. I tried to leverage my years of experience in government working under President Trump and Dr. Ben Carson to bring good governance to the table but was rejected in my attempts to do so. My sincere efforts were cut down by the commissioners sword of nepotism and vindictiveness, he wrote.

Related: John Gibbs asking for $630K to resign from Ottawa County administrator role

As part of the statement, he included a long list of accomplishments that included providing more transparency in the budget process, hiring a new director for the countys veterans affairs department, making the accounts payable ledger public and doing the groundwork for a data-driven strategic plan based on metrics.

Gibbs made no mention of filing a lawsuit against the county in the statement. But his attorney, Hurwitz, earlier wrote that Gibbs could claim the county violated the states whistleblower protection act as well as his First Amendment rights to free speech surrounding his complaints.

Hurwitz warned that firing Gibbs would give rise to the causes of action described below as he then wrote about First Amendment protections.

Related: John Gibbs denies accusations of physical threats, sexist comments, insubordination

Gibbs said that, in the coming months, he intends to help in Donald Trumps presidential election efforts. Gibbs is a former acting assistant secretary under President Trumps administration.

Going forward, I look forward to leveraging my background and skills for the betterment of our Country, and to ensuring that President Trump is our next President and has a successful second term. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke truth to power and faced the consequences. I will always strive to do the same he wrote.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A 60-year-old man died late Thursday, Feb. 29 after he was struck by a pickup truck in Grand Rapids.

The victims name has not been released.

Police responded to the fatal pedestrian crash around 10 p.m. on Plainfield Avenue, just north of I-96, according to a news release from the Grand Rapids Police Department.

The victim had attempted to run across Plainfield Avenue and was struck by an oncoming pickup truck, Lt. Brad Bush told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press.

First responders attempted life-saving efforts, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said.

Police said the driver of the pickup truck remained at the scene and was cooperative with investigators.

The crash remains under investigation, but police do not suspect speed, alcohol or drugs to be a factor in the crash, according to the release.

The police department asks anyone with information to contact Traffic Unit Officer Tyler Kohl at 616-456-4513 or tkohl@grcity.us. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 or www.silentobserver.org.
OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  In a meeting in which Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs was not present, the county board voted to fire him from the top county role.

The county commissioners fired him with cause Thursday night, Feb. 29. It was nearly a unanimous vote with the lone Democrat voting against the motion that ends Gibbs 14-month run as county administrator.

Gibbs was placed on paid administrative leave last week after a closed-door meeting took place to discuss commissioner and county staff complaints allegedly made against him.

Gibbs, a failed congressional candidate, was placed in the county administrator role in a surprise move last January by a newly elected board majority made up of members of an ultra-conservative group called Ottawa Impact.

RELATED: He was Ottawa Impacts first big surprise - was he an expensive mistake?

At that 2023 meeting, Ottawa Impact members voted to remove the previous administrator, John Shay, and replace him with Gibbs.

Since he was suspended on Feb. 22, Gibbs attorney and a special attorney hired by the county to address Gibbs employment have exchanged letters accusing Gibbs of and then denying a variety of issues. These accusations included that Gibbs allegedly made physical threats against the countys corporation counsel, made sexist comments about a county official and installed a secret camera in his office.

Gibbs attorney Noah Hurwitz called the move by the board retaliation for Mr. Gibbs efforts to protect the county.

Gibbs previously told the county board he was willing to resign from his position for a $630,000 lump sum, then allegedly told board Chair Joe Moss hed be agreeable to a $420,000 settlement.

In a Feb. 15 letter, Hurwitz claimed Gibbs has been harassed, defamed and belittled by the county following his constitutional expression of free speech for rightfully criticizing the performance of the countys corporation counsel in furtherance of the public interest.

Gibbs took to his congressional campaign website Wednesday to personally respond to the allegations against him, saying Ottawa County commissioners cannot lead the county effectively.

According to Gibbs employment contract, he was entitled to a 90-day notice if he was fired without cause along with nine months salary, equal to $157,500, and nine months of health insurance.

However, the board voted Thursday night to fire Gibbs with cause in a 10-1 vote, with Commissioner Doug Zylstra voting no.

Zylstra said in a statement that while he believes several of the accusations against Gibbs are serious, he would have preferred a full investigation take place and then a mediation rather than outright firing Gibbs.

Having said that, it is my hope that we can take the proper processes to hire a new administrator so that we once again have a fully functioning and responsive administrative office, Zylstra said.

Neither Gibbs nor his attorney was present at the meeting despite being notified of the meeting.

RELATED: Attorney: John Gibbs suspension is retaliation for efforts to protect Ottawa County

The board has determined Mr. Gibbs has been dishonest, committed gross misconduct or committed malfeasance, Moss said when making the motion to terminate Gibbs contract.

Several commissioners asked whether the board should direct special counsel Brook Bisonet to seek mediation with Gibbs, but board Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea called that directive premature until or unless Gibbs files an active lawsuit against the county.

Theres a dispute right now, I dont think its unusual to have a mediation right now but I understand (Rhodeas) point, Bisonet said Thursday. If Mr. Gibbs gets another job, decides to move on. Im sure his attorney will be in contact with us and if theyre open to mediation thats something we can bring back to the commission.

RELATED: John Gibbs denies accusations of physical threats, sexist comments, insubordination

Moss declined to speak to reporters after the board voted to fire Gibbs, other than saying I wish him the best. He told his fellow commissioners that a job posting for a new permanent county administrator would need to be posted and will work with the countys human resources department and attorney. Moss said there will be a thorough search process to find Gibbs replacement.

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  The day after he was fired by the county board, the former Ottawa County Administrator is calling for voters to not reelect board members who are part of a far-right political group called Ottawa Impact.

Ottawa Impact, created as a response to COVID-19 masking mandates, is led by county board Chair Joe Moss and Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea. The group holds a majority on the board and originally hired Gibbs for the top county job in a surprise move last January.

But the county board soured on Gibbs once he began criticizing the attorneys Ottawa Impact members hired as Ottawa County corporate counsel, the Kallman Legal Group. After placing Gibbs on administrative leave earlier in the month, the board voted 10-1 on Thursday, Feb. 29, to terminate Gibbs employment contract.

RELATED: Ottawa County fires John Gibbs after a myriad of allegations

In an interview with MLive/The Grand Rapids Press Friday, March 1, Gibbs said he wasnt surprised he was fired.

It was not totally unexpected, Gibbs said. This board has a tendency to operate impulsively without thinking and thats just what they did last night. I saw it coming. It was a horrible move for them, its going to end up very badly for them, but it is what it is.

Leading up to his termination, a special attorney hired by the county wrote a letter outlining a variety of alleged complaints against Gibbs work performance, including claims Gibbs made physical threats against the countys attorney, made sexist comments about a county official, disparaged county employees faith and installed a secret camera in his office.

Gibbs says not only is none of that true, but that the alleged complaints are concocted and retaliation. Currently, Gibbs is consulting with his attorney to determine what type of lawsuit he will file against the county. He told MLive hes looking at a potential First Amendment violation lawsuit and possibly a wrongful termination lawsuit.

RELATED: John Gibbs accused of physical threats, sexist comments, installing secret camera

We will be filing, and it will be pretty robust, Gibbs said. I think it will be strong. One of the things about the board is that they dont really think things through ahead of time, so thats a good (thing) for me in terms of documenting their actions and building a very strong case.

While the Ottawa County board of commissioners majority has certainly changed their minds about liking Gibbs, he too has changed his mind about supporting the Ottawa Impact group.

The previous board, I think there was something that might have warranted change, so people voted for change, Gibbs said. The problem is what we got was that the commissioners talk a good talk, but they do not know how to govern.

They dont have the right temperament for it, they dont have the right knowledge and they dont have the right values to govern.

Gibbs told MLive he believes Ottawa County voters need different choices than the Ottawa Impact commissioners and candidates in both the upcoming August and November elections.

RELATED: He was Ottawa Impacts first big surprise - was he an expensive mistake?

I think you need people who actually understand how to govern and understand how not to treat people despicably to be in charge, Gibbs said. My personal belief is Ottawa Impacts got to go and that we need some new voices in there.

Working in a very close capacity with Ottawa Impact commissioners, they have absolutely no clue what theyre doing, and they dont care that they have no clue.

14 1 / 14 Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs placed on paid administrative leave

During Thursday nights meeting, several commissioners commented they would be opening to a mediation with Gibbs should he file a lawsuit against the county but were warned by attorney Brook Bisonet that it may take several months to find an appropriate mediator to facilitate such a settlement.

RELATED: John Gibbs says Ottawa County commissioners cannot lead the county effectively

Gibbs said he expects to file litigation against Ottawa County at the appropriate time.

This could have all been avoided, Gibbs said. When they asked me to resign, I said lets do this reasonably and amicably. They refused, they wanted to go World War III. I didnt want to go down this path. This is not my preferred path, to do litigation. But its where we got, so I think it looks very bad for them.

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JACKSON COUNTY, MI  An Ohio man convicted of nearly killing his coworker at a Jackson-area motel has been sentenced to prison.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Susan Jordan sentenced Nicholas Stamper Thursday, Feb. 28, to serve 20-30 years in prison for the near-fatal beating of a coworker while they were staying at a Jackson-area motel.

Stamper, 37, was found guilty as charged Dec. 14, on one felony count each of assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to maim, mayhem and tampering with evidence.

Related: Ohio man charged in Jackson County near-fatal beating of coworker found guilty as charged

Stamper was accused of brutally assaulting a 31-year-old man before abandoning him at Brooklyns Super 8 motel in February of 2022. The victim did not receive any medical attention for nearly three days, police said.

He was found by motel staff Feb. 22 in a badly beaten state in the bathtub of his motel room.

Stamper was arrested May 24, 2022, in a joint operation by the Columbia Township Police Department and Toledo Police Department.

A front desk attendant for the motel testified at a preliminary examination that Stamper and the victim were staying at the motel for about three weeks as they worked on a construction project in the area.

On the night of Feb. 20, the attendant heard a commotion coming from a nearby hallway. When checking to see what was happening, he saw Stamper pounding on a door, stating he couldnt get into his room, he said.

In wasnt until he got closer that he noticed Stamper was covered in blood.

Stamper told the attendant he and the victim had gotten into a fight, which began after the victim said something about Stampers children, he said.

After a short look into the victims room, motel manager Scott Spence noticed what appeared to be bloodstains but did not see the man himself, Spence testified. He did not check the bathroom at this time.

The next day, Feb. 22, the boss for the construction project and his driver visited the motel to pick the men up to drive them to work. Shortly after arriving, they notified Spence that he should call an ambulance.

The victim was found in his units bathroom, the walls of which were drenched in blood, Spence testified. The man himself was found in the fetal position in the bathtub, also covered in blood.

During the assault, the victims ear was damaged to the point it was nearly removed from his head, police said. The mans eyes were also severely damaged during the assault.

The victim was taken Henry Ford Jackson Hospital before being transferred to Henry Ford Health in Detroit, where he was treated for life-threatening injuries, police said.

Stamper was credited for 637 days served.

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- The driver who ran a stop light and killed another man was sentenced to prison for multiple counts, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

At 1:39 p.m. July 3, 2023, Miguel Angel Huerta-Altamirano was driving a vehicle west on West Cork Street at about 75 miles per hour and failed to stop or slow for the red light at South Burdick Street, causing a crash with three other vehicles, KDPS said in a news release on March 1.
SAGINAW, MI  The day a local surgeon was charged with making terrorist threats during an operation at Ascension St. Marys Hospital, a coworker filed a lawsuit against him for threatening her more than a year prior.

According to her attorney, its the first of several suits she plans to file on behalf of hospital staff.
FRANKFORT, MI  Part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will be closed this summer due to the northern advancement of an invasive tree-killing pest.

The Old Indian Trail off M-22 near Sutter Road was closed indefinitely following the discovery of a hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infestation in the lakeshores southern wilderness area this winter, the Park Service announced Friday, March 1.
* Chinese companies have brought world-leading technologies and concepts to the forefront of the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, igniting wow moments among attendees.

* In recent years, Chinese enterprises have demonstrated formidable innovation and research and development capabilities.

* China has built nearly 3.38 million 5G base stations by the end of 2023. China's achievements in 5G development could serve as an inspiration to other countries and regions worldwide.

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 here witnessed a vibrant display of cutting-edge innovations from Chinese firms, creating awe among attendees and inspiring the global mobile industry.

This year's mobile tech gala, running from Feb. 26 to 29, attracted around 2,400 exhibitors. Over 300 Chinese firms, spanning a wide range of industries including telecom operators, equipment manufacturers and fiber producers, attended the event, nearly double the number from the previous year.

"Chinese firms have become an integral part of the exhibitors in Barcelona," said Sihan Bo Chen, greater China head of GSMA, an international mobile operator association and the event organizer.

WOW MOMENTS

Two girls couldn't contain their excitement after witnessing an eyewear-free 3D tablet integrating 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies at Chinese telecom company ZTE's booth.

"It's a wow! It's incredible and quite impressive," said Seulgi Lee, head of the South Korean startup Thingsflow, after experiencing the 3D selfie technology. After activating the 3D mode with one click, Nubia Pad 3D II, the company's latest 3D tablet, instantly started to convert a large amount of 2D content such as streaming media, games and movies into 3D.

"The eyewear-free 3D experience in games is even better and very impactful," added Jiyoung Lee, manager of Thingsflow.

Li Hongyu, product line general manager of ZTE mobile devices, explained the innovative features of the second-generation 3D tablet, emphasizing its neural network deep learning algorithms and attributing the tech-enabled AI eye-tracking engine to high-speed visual sensors and eye-detection algorithms.

At Xiaomi's booth, the bay blue Xiaomi SU7 car captured attention with its sleek design, drawing praise from technology influencer Adam Butcher, who deemed it "hot" and expressed great interest in purchasing one.

"This smart car is truly making waves at this year's MWC! Since the moment we opened our booth this morning, we've been inundated with interviews from both domestic and international media outlets, with scarcely a moment's respite," said a Xiaomi staff member responsible for the European market.

Mats Granryd, director general of GSMA, praised the top-notch offerings at the Chinese booths. "If you go around and see what they are showcasing, it is really cutting-edge," he said.

"In recent years, Chinese enterprises have demonstrated formidable innovation and research and development (R&D) capabilities. This surge is evident in significant investments in R&D, the establishment of global research centers, as well as the growing number of patents filed," said Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU.

5G AND BEYOND

Apart from consumer products, Chinese companies also showcased advanced 5G solutions.

"Chinese companies have brought world-leading technologies and concepts to the forefront of MWC," said Sihan Bo Chen, highlighting examples such as Honor's On-device AI, Xiaomi's "Human x Car x Home" concept, and Huawei's Telecom Foundation Model.

According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China made its commercial launch of 5G in 2019, and the country has built nearly 3.38 million 5G base stations by the end of 2023, solidifying its global leadership in this domain.

Ericsson CTO for Asia Pacific Magnus Ewerbring commended Chinese operators for their successful deployment and business initiatives in 5G.

"China is very advanced in applying the 5G technology to different industries, such as manufacturing, and I think other operators in the world can derive a lot of inspiration from what's being done in China," he said.

After five years of 5G development, challenges have also emerged, including the saturation of 5G user growth, decelerating traffic and revenue growth and a lack of killer applications in the 5G era, said Li Qiang, general manager of Mobile Planning and Construction at China Mobile.

Speaking at the "5G Beyond Growth Summit" hosted by Huawei during the MWC, Li outlined the company's strategy for addressing these challenges by focusing on the commercial deployment of 5G-Advanced (5G-A), with the goal of achieving full commercialization by 2026.

5G-A technology promises a tenfold increase in network capacity compared to traditional 5G, with the peak downlink rate soaring from the initial gigabit level to ten gigabits, according to Huawei.

During the MWC 2024, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding to build a "5G-A Country" project with UAE's leading telecom company to shape the Middle East and global 5G-Advanced commercial network demonstration benchmarks and accelerate the digital transformation of the UAE.

"In terms of the number of base stations, connections, and commercial applications, China is almost in an absolute leading position globally," said Sihan. She believes that China's achievements in 5G development could serve as an inspiration to other countries and regions worldwide. (Video reporters: Peng Zhuo, Shan Weiyi, Kang Yi, Hu Jiaqi, Gao Jing, Zhang Zhaoqing, Ismael Peracaula; video editors: Zheng Xin, Hui Peipei, Liu Ruoshi, Wang Han)
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. (OTCMKTS:BABWF  Get Free Report)s share price shot up 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $1.89 and last traded at $1.89. 1,050 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 4,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.80.

International Consolidated Airlines Group Price Performance

The companys 50-day moving average price is $1.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.86.

International Consolidated Airlines Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of passenger and cargo transportation services in the United Kingdom, Spain, Ireland, the United States, and rest of the world. It also provides aircraft leasing, aircraft maintenance, tour operation, call centre, ground handling, trustee, storage and custody, and airport infrastructure development services.

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The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL  Get Free Report) CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,736 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,712,069.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Allstate Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of ALL traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $159.52. The stock had a trading volume of 2,632,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,973. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $100.57 and a 1-year high of $168.05. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $153.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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Allstate (NYSE:ALL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $14.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($1.36) EPS. The companys revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 12.95 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allstate

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from Allstates previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. Allstates dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -287.10%.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Allstate by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,270,589 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $3,595,266,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322,673 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Allstate by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 22,294,372 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $2,430,978,000 after acquiring an additional 181,050 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Allstate by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,123,728 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $1,137,160,000 after acquiring an additional 75,898 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Allstate by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,926,917 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $660,318,000 after acquiring an additional 172,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,815,257 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $643,015,000 after acquiring an additional 63,438 shares in the last quarter. 77.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALL. HSBC began coverage on shares of Allstate in a research note on Thursday, December 28th. They set a hold rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $171.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Allstate from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $117.00 to $171.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Allstate from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $159.12.

View Our Latest Research Report on ALL

About Allstate

(Get Free Report)

The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. The company operates through Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; and Run-off Property-Liability segments. The Allstate Protection segment offers private passenger auto and homeowners insurance; other personal lines products; and commercial lines products under the Allstate and Encompass brand names.

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Jones Financial Companies Lllp lessened its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,404 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 13,448 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in TJX Companies were worth $20,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $68,000. United Bank lifted its position in TJX Companies by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 15,197 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,780,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in TJX Companies by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,304 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 15,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 10.0% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.28% of the companys stock.

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TJX Companies Stock Down 1.9 %

NYSE:TJX traded down $1.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $99.14. 10,567,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,815,561. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $72.92 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The firm has a market cap of $112.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies ( NYSE:TJX Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 62.67%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on TJX Companies from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on TJX Companies in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. They set an outperform rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $101.38.

Read Our Latest Analysis on TJX Companies

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 17,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.06, for a total transaction of $1,514,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 576,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,307,911.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

About TJX Companies

(Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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Jones Financial Companies Lllp decreased its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT  Free Report) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 127,355 shares of the medical technology companys stock after selling 1,018 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in Medtronic were worth $9,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Perceptive Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the second quarter valued at $41,143,000. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 21.4% in the third quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,205 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Medtronic by 19.3% in the third quarter. Wallace Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,889 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc grew its stake in Medtronic by 68.5% in the third quarter. Stack Financial Management Inc now owns 187,193 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $14,668,000 after purchasing an additional 76,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in Medtronic by 21.9% in the third quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 4,053 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.75% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Medtronic

In other Medtronic news, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total value of $2,613,065.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,289 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,110,842.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 4,997 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.17, for a total transaction of $410,603.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,910 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,375,534.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Salmon sold 30,695 shares of Medtronic stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.13, for a total transaction of $2,613,065.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,110,842.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MDT shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Medtronic from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Medtronic from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Medtronic from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Medtronic from $104.00 to $98.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $94.91.

Read Our Latest Report on MDT

Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of Medtronic stock remained flat at $83.36 on Thursday. 8,188,067 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,316,655. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $85.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $110.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.78. Medtronic plc has a 12-month low of $68.84 and a 12-month high of $92.02.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The medical technology company reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $8.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.95 billion. Medtronic had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 13.71%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Medtronic plc will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 19th. Medtronics dividend payout ratio is currently 87.90%.

Medtronic Profile

(Free Report)

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.

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Shares of Mongolia Growth Group Ltd. (CVE:YAK  Get Free Report) shot up 2.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$1.45 and last traded at C$1.45. 227,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 779% from the average session volume of 25,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$1.41.

Mongolia Growth Group Trading Down 2.1 %

The company has a market cap of C$37.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firms 50-day moving average price is C$1.51 and its 200 day moving average price is C$1.43.

Mongolia Growth Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Mongolia Growth Group Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides property management, leasing, renovation, and development services in Mongolia. The company operates through three segments: Investment Property Operations, Corporate, and Subscription Products. Its investment portfolio consists of office, retail, land and redevelopment, and commercial and residential properties.

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NETSTREIT (NYSE:NTST  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2024 earnings guidance on Tuesday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.240-1.280 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 1.210. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BTIG Research reduced their target price on NETSTREIT from $23.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas downgraded NETSTREIT from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on NETSTREIT from $22.00 to $18.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 27th. Mizuho upgraded NETSTREIT from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $18.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded NETSTREIT from an underweight rating to a sector weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NETSTREIT presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $18.22.

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NETSTREIT Stock Up 0.3 %

NETSTREIT Announces Dividend

NTST traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $16.80. 1,870,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,231,435. NETSTREIT has a twelve month low of $13.49 and a twelve month high of $20.47. The company has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 152.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $17.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.64.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.88%. NETSTREITs dividend payout ratio is currently 745.52%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in shares of NETSTREIT during the 2nd quarter worth about $320,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NETSTREIT during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of NETSTREIT during the 1st quarter worth about $64,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of NETSTREIT by 62.4% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,936 shares of the companys stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of NETSTREIT by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,260 shares of the companys stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter.

NETSTREIT Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

NETSTREIT Corp. is an internally managed real estate investment trust (REIT) based in Dallas, Texas that specializes in acquiring single-tenant net lease retail properties nationwide. The growing portfolio consists of high-quality properties leased to e-commerce resistant tenants with healthy balance sheets.

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Alberta Investment Management Corp cut its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,568 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 21,122 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corps holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $16,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 27,320 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,519 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,936,016 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $284,353,000 after purchasing an additional 22,519 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 41.3% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,348 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,271 shares during the last quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 50.4% in the third quarter. Provident Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,172 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 3,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kidder Stephen W lifted its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 93,007 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $9,008,000 after buying an additional 1,325 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ABT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Abbott Laboratories from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $128.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $133.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $124.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abbott Laboratories currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $120.00.

Abbott Laboratories Trading Down 0.0 %

ABT stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,880,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,288,082. The firm has a market cap of $205.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $113.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $120.44.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $1.19. The firm had revenue of $10.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.19 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 14.27%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 42,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.50, for a total value of $4,781,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,315,537.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 12,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $1,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,704 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,444,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,901,250 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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American Bank Incorporated (OTCMKTS:AMBK  Get Free Report)s stock price was down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $16.27 and last traded at $16.27. Approximately 145 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.85.

American Bank Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.07.

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American Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th.

About American Bank

American Bank Incorporated operates as the bank holding company for American Bank that provides various banking products and services to consumer, business, institutional, and governmental customers. It accepts a range of interest-bearing checking and money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts.

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China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited (OTCMKTS:CRHKY  Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 100 shares, a drop of 98.4% from the January 31st total of 6,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 39,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.0 days.

China Resources Beer Price Performance

China Resources Beer stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $8.63. The stock had a trading volume of 7,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,859. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $7.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.61. China Resources Beer has a 1-year low of $7.12 and a 1-year high of $16.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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About China Resources Beer

(Get Free Report)

Further Reading

China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures, distributes, and sells beer products in Mainland China. The company offers its products under the Nong Li, Li, Lowen Fruit Beer, and Snow Draft Pure Malt Beer, Snow Xiao Pi Qi brands. The company was formerly known as China Resources Enterprise, Limited and changed its name to China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited in October 2015.

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CTT  Correios De Portugal, S.A. (OTCMKTS:CTTPY  Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $8.02 and last traded at $8.02, with a volume of 0 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $8.02.

CTT  Correios De Portugal Stock Performance

The stocks fifty day moving average price is $7.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.40.

CTT  Correios De Portugal Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CTT  Correios De Portugal, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides postal and financial services worldwide. It operates through Mail, Express & Parcels, Financial Services & Retail, and Bank segments. The company offers courier and urgent mail transport services; postal financial services; and banking services.

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First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO  Free Report) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 415 shares of the medical research companys stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,627 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,997,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. 1776 Wealth LLC now owns 799 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 568 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,276 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 232 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Trading Down 0.3 %

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened at $570.18 on Friday. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $415.60 and a 52 week high of $593.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.84, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $546.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $514.49.

Thermo Fisher Scientific ( NYSE:TMO Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical research company reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $5.64 by $0.03. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.78% and a net margin of 13.99%. The business had revenue of $10.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. Thermo Fisher Scientifics quarterly revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the medical research company to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Thermo Fisher Scientifics previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Thermo Fisher Scientifics payout ratio is currently 10.10%.

Insider Transactions at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In other news, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total transaction of $89,703.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at $660,192.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 14,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.00, for a total transaction of $8,186,092.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,901 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,250,362. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Debora L. Spar sold 164 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546.97, for a total value of $89,703.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $660,192.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,277 shares of company stock worth $22,533,584 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.32% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TMO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TheStreet raised Thermo Fisher Scientific from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $515.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $592.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Thermo Fisher Scientific in a research note on Monday, December 18th. They issued a buy rating and a $610.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $596.00.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

(Free Report)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.

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Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV  Free Report) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 215,924 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 5,688 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $92,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PrairieView Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CGC Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pacific Center for Financial Services lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 134.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 75 shares of the companys stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN bought a new position in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000.

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iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:IVV traded up $1.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $510.45. The companys stock had a trading volume of 5,991,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,480,239. The company has a 50-day moving average of $488.76 and a 200-day moving average of $459.90. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a 12 month low of $382.37 and a 12 month high of $512.63. The firm has a market cap of $394.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43 and a beta of 1.00.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Company Profile

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Standard & Poors 500 Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the United States equity market.

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Jones Financial Companies Lllp decreased its stake in Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,610 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 4,137 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllps holdings in Chevron were worth $16,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P boosted its position in Chevron by 85.1% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 159,115 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $25,908,000 after acquiring an additional 73,141 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 25.2% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 7,335 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 4.7% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 40,538 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $6,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Chevron by 43.5% during the first quarter. Lumature Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Chevron by 13.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,068,600 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $336,830,000 after purchasing an additional 250,840 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.87% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on CVX shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Chevron from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Chevron from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Chevron from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 14th. Finally, DZ Bank downgraded shares of Chevron from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $181.53.

Chevron Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE CVX traded down $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $152.01. 9,270,318 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,786,120. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.87. Chevron Co. has a fifty-two week low of $139.62 and a fifty-two week high of $172.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $282.32 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $3.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.19 by $0.26. Chevron had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 15.24%. The business had revenue of $47.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $50.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.09 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chevron Co. will post 13.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from Chevrons previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.39%.

Chevron Profile

(Free Report)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

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Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in Kosmos Energy Ltd. (NYSE:KOS  Free Report) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,970,519 shares of the oil and gas producers stock after selling 857,220 shares during the quarter. Kosmos Energy accounts for 6.5% of Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. owned 1.95% of Kosmos Energy worth $73,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KOS. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Kosmos Energy by 143.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,579 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Kosmos Energy by 50.1% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,394 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Kosmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.24% of the companys stock.

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Kosmos Energy Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:KOS traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $6.28. 4,078,652 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,701,563. Kosmos Energy Ltd. has a one year low of $5.28 and a one year high of $8.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $6.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.83. The company has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 2.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Kosmos Energy ( NYSE:KOS Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $507.81 million during the quarter. Kosmos Energy had a net margin of 12.55% and a return on equity of 39.94%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Kosmos Energy Ltd. will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

In other Kosmos Energy news, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 166,524 shares of Kosmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total value of $1,004,139.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,909,135 shares of the companys stock, valued at $23,572,084.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Ronald W. Glass sold 17,525 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total transaction of $105,675.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 290,855 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,753,855.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew G. Inglis sold 166,524 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.03, for a total transaction of $1,004,139.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,909,135 shares of the companys stock, valued at $23,572,084.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 335,337 shares of company stock valued at $2,022,082. Insiders own 1.79% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Kosmos Energy in a report on Monday, November 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $10.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Kosmos Energy from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $9.53.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Kosmos Energy

About Kosmos Energy

(Free Report)

Kosmos Energy Ltd. engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties along the Atlantic Margins in the United States. The company's primary assets include production projects located in offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as a gas projects located in offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

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Shelton Capital Management decreased its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 348,162 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 6,290 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Managements holdings in Pfizer were worth $11,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 2nd quarter valued at $10,304,000. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 176,239 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $5,846,000 after purchasing an additional 7,991 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pfizer during the second quarter worth about $2,072,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 88.5% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 452,352 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $14,109,000 after buying an additional 212,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ETF Store Inc. boosted its holdings in Pfizer by 12.0% during the third quarter. ETF Store Inc. now owns 6,803 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 727 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.05% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $79,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $238,230. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.05% of the companys stock.

Pfizer Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PFE traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.60. The company had a trading volume of 32,525,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,051,121. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $150.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.86, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.62. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $25.76 and a 12-month high of $42.22.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.37 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 3.62% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.22 EPS for the current year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 26th will be given a $0.42 dividend. This is a positive change from Pfizers previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 25th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.32%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 466.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PFE shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $36.88.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PFE

Pfizer Profile

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Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Ryde Group Ltd. (RYDE) is planning to raise $14 million in an initial public offering on the week of March 4th, IPO Scoop reports. The company will issue 3,000,000 shares at $4.00-$5.00 per share.

In the last 12 months, Ryde Group Ltd. generated $7.8 million in revenue and had a net loss of $4.6 million. The company has a market-cap of $86 million.

Maxim Group acted as the underwriter for the IPO.

Ryde Group Ltd. provided the following description of their company for its IPO: We are a Singapore-based ride-hailing app. (Incorporated in the Cayman Islands) Our vision is to become a asSuper mobility appat where multiple mobility tools can be accessed and function seamlessly out of a single app, offering ultimate convenience and reliability for our customers. We currently operate in Singapore, with our core businesses in the following segments: (i) mobility, where we provide on-demand and scheduled carpooling and ride-hailing services, matching riders to our driver partners; and (ii) quick commerce, where we provide on-demand, scheduled, and multi-stop parcel delivery services. Our mobility business segment includes carpooling and ride-hailing. Carpooling refers to services that connect riders with driver partners who provide rides in a variety of vehicles, such as cars of different seating capacities. Carpooling is about sharing rides and is provided via our RydePOOL service in our mobile app. We launched carpooling through our RydePOOL service in Singapore. RydePOOL allows real-time, on-demand bookings as well as advance bookings via our Schedule Pickup function, and only allows seating capacity for one rider per request, while riders may have to share their ride with other riders. Ride-hailing refers to services that connect riders with private-hire or taxi drivers, with the rider having the option to choose the type of ride from a variety of vehicles, such as cars of different seating capacities and make. We started off with only carpooling services, but ride-hailing services was a natural adjacency for us as we have the technology and the platform to enable it. Our ride-hailing services allow riders to determine the number of seats they require for the trip, and offers real-time, on-demand bookings as well as advance bookings and multi-stop options. We started to grow our offerings in this space and currently have the following different service offerings: RydeX, RydeXL, RydeLUXE, RydeFLASH, RydePET, RydeHIRE, and RydeTAXI services. Quick Commerce is a package delivery booking service, which enables driver partners to accept bookings for package delivery services through our driver partner app. Our partners that fulfill deliveries range from driver partners, to motorcyclists and walkers as well. Consumers can arrange for instant deliveries and cater for different package sizes. E-commerce businesses, Food and Beverage businesses and social sellers can utilise our last mile delivery services to their customers as an option as well. We provide our quick commerce service through our RydeSEND offering, which comprises of real-time on-demand, scheduled, and multi-stop parcel delivery services. Acquisition of Meili On February 20, 2023, we completed the purchase of Meili Technologies Pte. Ltd. (asMeiliat), a last-mile on-demand logistics service provider in Singapore, where we purchased the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Meili for a purchase consideration of S$450,000 which shall be satisfied through the issuance of exchangeable notes to the shareholders of Meili in an amount equal to the proportion of the purchase consideration (asMeili Acquisitionat). The Meili Acquisition enables us to expand our business into the quick commerce industry, thereby increasing our revenue streams, acquire a new consumer and driver partneras base as well as improve our operational efficiency. By leveraging on the existing technology and operational infrastructure of Meili, our operational costs have reduced. We believe that the Meili Acquisition helps us to stay competitive in the quick commerce market and potentially grow our business.A *Note: Net loss and revenue figures are in U.S. dollars for the 12 months that ended June 30, 2023. (Note: Ryde Group Ltd. increased the size of its micro-cap IPO in an F-1/A filing dated Jan. 18, 2024, to 3.0 million shares  up from 2.25 million shares originally  and kept the price range the same at $4.00 to $5.00  to raise $13.5 million. Background: Ryde Group Ltd. disclosed terms for its IPO in an F-1/A filing dated Oct. 2, 2023: 2.25 million Class A ordinary shares at a price range of $4.00 to $5.00 to raise $10.13 million. Background: Ryde Group Ltd. filed its F-1 on Aug. 31, 2023, without disclosing terms for its IPO. The company submitted confidential IPO documents to the SEC in May 2023.) .

Ryde Group Ltd. was founded in 2014 and has 38 employees. The company is located at Duo Tower, 3 Fraser Street, #08-21 Singapore 189352 +65-9665-3216 and can be reached via phone at +65-9665-3216 or on the web at http://www.rydesharing.com/.

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Shelton Capital Management lessened its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,648 shares of the companys stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Managements holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $11,628,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Retirement Group LLC raised its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 159.1% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 57 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the companys stock.

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Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of LLY traded up $25.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $778.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,149,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,373,512. The firm has a market cap of $740.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.32. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $669.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $608.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $309.32 and a 52-week high of $794.47.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.19. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 51.22% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. Eli Lilly and Companys revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is 89.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 78,573 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $648.07, for a total value of $50,920,804.11. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,333,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $64,375,262,246.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 195,055 shares of company stock worth $125,254,657. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LLY. Truist Financial increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TheStreet downgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $800.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $710.00 to $865.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $677.62.

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About Eli Lilly and Company

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:TAIPY  Get Free Report)s share price traded up 3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $14.67 and last traded at $14.67. 2,172 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the average session volume of 1,356 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.25.

Taisho Pharmaceutical Stock Performance

The firms 50 day moving average is $14.58 and its 200 day moving average is $12.25.

About Taisho Pharmaceutical

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Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings Co, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and prescription pharmaceutical products in Japan and internationally. It operates through Self-Medication Operation Group and Prescription Pharmaceutical Operation Group segments.

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The Berkeley Group Holdings plc (OTCMKTS:BKGFF  Get Free Report)s stock price fell 3.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $58.74 and last traded at $58.74. 923 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 81% from the average session volume of 511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.07.

The Berkeley Group Price Performance

The businesss 50 day moving average price is $55.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.00.

The Berkeley Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Berkeley Group Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the residential-led and mixed-use property development and ancillary activities in the United Kingdom. The company is involved in land selling activities. It operates under the Berkeley, St Edward, St George, St James, St Joseph, and St William brand names.

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Tokyo Gas Co.,Ltd. (OTCMKTS:TKGSY  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,700 shares, a decline of 69.7% from the January 31st total of 15,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 31,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Tokyo Gas Co.,Ltd. Stock Performance

Shares of TKGSY stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $10.55. 1,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,679. Tokyo Gas Co.,Ltd. has a twelve month low of $9.01 and a twelve month high of $12.66. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $11.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.41.

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About Tokyo Gas Co.,Ltd.

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Tokyo Gas Co,Ltd. engages in the production, supply, and sale of city gas, and LNG in Japan. The company offers engineering solutions; gas construction; and gas pipelines services, as well as engages in gas appliances business. It is also involved in fuel procurement, power generation, and sales of electricity; and overseas resource development, renewable energy, and LNG infrastructure business.

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Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. (OTCMKTS:TKGBY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 39,500 shares, a growth of 659.6% from the January 31st total of 5,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. Stock Performance

TKGBY stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.10. 604 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,684. The stocks 50 day moving average is $2.05 and its 200 day moving average is $1.91. Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. has a 12-month low of $1.14 and a 12-month high of $2.29.

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Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. Company Profile

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Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S. provides various banking products and services in Turkey. The company offers current, savings, time and term deposit, e-savings, YUVAM, NET, ELMA, overdraft, and gold accounts; general purpose, auto, mortgage, commercial, and project loans, as well as IBOR reforms and foreign trade financing; investment funds, stocks, derivatives, Garanti BBVA e-trader platform, time barred deposit and investment lists, and derivative instruments; credit and debit cards, bonusflas, and POS and e-commerce products; and insurance and pension products.

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White Knight Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH  Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 750 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Page Arthur B raised its position in UnitedHealth Group by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Page Arthur B now owns 6,841 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $3,449,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,078 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $2,056,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 2.8% in the third quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 114,629 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock worth $57,795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kolinsky Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 5,088 shares of the healthcare conglomerates stock valued at $2,565,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 85.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on UNH. HSBC restated a reduce rating and set a $480.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and issued a $610.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $584.00 to $581.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $596.00 price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $610.00 price objective on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research report on Thursday, November 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $575.79.

UnitedHealth Group Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:UNH traded down $4.68 on Thursday, reaching $493.60. The companys stock had a trading volume of 6,627,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,080,038. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 12-month low of $445.68 and a 12-month high of $554.70. The firm has a market cap of $456.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $520.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $94.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $92.13 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 6.02%. UnitedHealth Groups revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 27.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 8th. This represents a $7.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. UnitedHealth Groups payout ratio is currently 31.54%.

Insider Activity at UnitedHealth Group

In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total transaction of $36,370,321.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 635,528 shares in the company, valued at $349,788,255.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Stephen J. Hemsley sold 66,081 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $550.39, for a total value of $36,370,321.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 635,528 shares of the companys stock, valued at $349,788,255.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Thomas E. Roos sold 858 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.79, for a total value of $451,127.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,977,233.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the companys stock.

About UnitedHealth Group

(Free Report)

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.

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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.
Harsh Kumar  is Correspondent at Moneycontrol based in Delhi. Harsh covers BFSI sector. You can reach him at Harsh.kumar@nw18.com
Santosh Nair is Executive Editor, Special Projects, Moneycontrol. He has been writing on the financial markets for over two decades, having previously worked with Business Standard, myiris.com, Crisil Market Wire and The Economic Times. He is also the author of the popular book on Indian markets, Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts.
Siddharth Upasani is a Special Correspondent at Moneycontrol. He has been covering the Indian economy, economic data, and monetary and fiscal policies for nine years. He tweets at @SiddharthUbiWan. Contact: siddharth.upasani@nw18.com
Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 13 years.
Hiral Thanawala is a personal finance journalist with over 10 years of reporting experience. Based in Mumbai, he covers financial planning, banking and fintech segments from personal finance team for Moneycontrol.
Kayezad E Adajania heads the personal finance bureau at Moneycontrol. He has been covering mutual funds and personal finance for the past two decades, having worked in Mint and Outlook Money magazine. Kayezad was the founding member of Mints personal finance team when it was set up in 2009.
On February 28th, 2024 Chinese New Year Reception for Foreign Missions and Agencies in Shanghai, "Beautiful Anhui Engages with the World", was held in Shanghai. A sincere invitation was extended to everyone to visit Anhui and experience the unique charm of its culture and local customs.

Anhui Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism organized a performance rich in Anhui's local culture and charm. The exciting array of performances included Huangmei Opera, Anhui Opera, flower drum lantern dance, traditional Chinese music, and acrobatics, creating an enthusiastic and joyful atmosphere with non-stop climaxes. Guests from various backgrounds welcomed the Spring Festival and exchanged friendly conversations amidst songs and laughter.

Through cultural exchanges and interactions, mutual understanding between different countries was enhanced, distances were bridged, and the exchanges and mutual learning of civilizations were deepened.

More than 200 Chinese and foreign guests attended the meeting, including heads of consular institutions from 43 countries in Shanghai, representatives from over 10 foreign local governments and business associations in Shanghai, and foreign media representatives.





Source: anhuinews.com
March 01, 2024 / 09:41 PM IST

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and his council of ministers will visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday to offer prayers at Ram Temple, the idol consecration of which took place on January 22.

A state government release said Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary, chief whip in the Assembly Balkrishna Shukla and the ruling BJP's whip Vijay Patel will also be part of the team.

Patel and other dignitaries will reach Ayodhya at around 11 am on March 2 and offer prayers at the Ram Mandir. They will also visit Tent City on the banks of Saryu River and return late evening, the release said.
Manish Anand is Delhi-based journalist. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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Tim Culpan is a technology columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Based in Taipei, he writes about Asian and global businesses and trends. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication
Beth Kowitt is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering corporate America. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
Marc Champion writes editorials on international affairs. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
09:00 | Urubamba (Cusco region), Mar. 1.









The regulation specifies that this change in tourist circuits will come into effect gradually until next June 1.









The date coincides with the entry into force of the dynamic capacity period in Machu Picchu, which will allow up to 5,600 visitors per day.





The change in the implementation of tourist circuits in Machu Picchu aims to guarantee the sustainable use, preservation, and conservation of the Inca citadel.





Initially, it was established that the new circuits would come into force until February 29, 2024.









In the recitals of the resolution, it is stated that the change of date is due to the fact that the implementation of the new tourist circuits in the area of Machu Picchu has faced some setbacks that are being overcome, adding that significant progress has been made, which will allow a prompt implementation of the circuits.





The resolution also provides that the Ministry of Culture must approve the protocol for visiting the llaqta of Machu Picchu within a maximum period of 60 calendar days.





The document was signed by Culture Minister Leslie Urteaga





(END) MAO/RMB/MVB

The Ministry of Culture has changed the date of implementation of new tourist circuits aimed at ensuring the sustainable use, preservation, and conservation of the llaqta of Machu Picchu Peru's main tourist attraction, located in Urubamba province, Cusco region.Publicado: 1/3/2024
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The Delhi High Court has overturned an order by the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had mandated the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to disclose information about the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The Trust oversees the management of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The High Courts decision came as it ruled in favour of a petition filed by the CBDT, challenging the CIC's order dated November 30, 2022.

Justice Subramonium Prasad -- who presided over the case -- said that RTI applicant Kailash Chandra Moondra has the option to seek the desired information through the appropriate channels specified under the Income Tax Act, instead of the RTI Act.

Moondra had filed an RTI application, requesting detailed documents related to the Trust's application for tax exemptions or deductions on its donations, including a copy of the trust deed.

The request was initially denied by the CBDT's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), a decision upheld by the appellate authority within the CBDT, leading Moondra to file a second appeal with the CIC.

The CIC's decision to reverse the earlier denials and direct the CPIO to furnish the requested information was the subject of the CBDT's legal challenge.

In its defence, the CBDT cited Section 138(1)(b) of the Income Tax Act, which protects the confidentiality of assessee information, arguing that such details cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act.

The board's argument was supported by a recent high court judgement regarding the non-disclosure of information about the PM Cares Fund's tax exemptions under the RTI Act, reinforcing the limited jurisdiction of the CIC in matters protected by specific provisions of the Income Tax Act.

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.
Updated at 9.45pm on 2 March 2024 to show that the portal even mischievously uses the name and photos of Sudhir Sethi, founder and chairman of Chiratae Ventures

The duck test is a form of abductive reasoning that implies that a person can identify an unknown subject by observing that subject's habitual characteristics. The same test can be applied to Ponzi schemes, multi-level marketing (MLM) or collective investment schemes (CIS). After observing and writing on these for years, we can say, "If it looks like a Ponzi, operates like a Ponzi, and shows huge returns like a Ponzi, then it probably is a Ponzi."

One such Ponzi scheme making the rounds is Tata Restart ( www.tatarestart.com ), which not only misuses the Tata brand name but also mischievously uses images of former group chairman Ratan Tata, to promote a typical get-rich-quick investment plan. Moneylife received this information from Pranjal R Daniel, who runs a website called Strategy India , which offers consultancy on direct selling. Mr Daniel had also copied the Tata group's IDs and several police officials to alert them about the misuse of the group name.

Tata Restart shows that it is promoted by Bengaluru-based Sudhir Sethi. However, Mr Sethi, founder and chairman of Chiratae Ventures, is not related to this portal. Like Mr Tata, his name and photos are fraudulently used by the operators behind Tatarestart.com to gain credibility.

A representative of Mr Tata confirmed that Mr Tata's name is fraudulently used by Tata Restart.

Like a Ponzi scheme, Tata Restart promises high returns to investors with little or no risk involved. Like a typical MLM, it also offers incentives for recruiting new participants into the scheme.

Interestingly, Tata Restart claims to reached 7,000 children and "aims to reach 30,000 children, reconnecting them with education and empowering them to reimagine their future". But then, like a typical MLM, this is also just a big talk, and Tata Restart immediately jumps to its seven packages for investment.

Tata Restart is collecting Rs2,500 to Rs5 lakh as an investment from the public. It promises to repay Rs50 per day for 100 days to Rs11,000 daily for 150 days, a 100% - 300% return on investments! Further, there are 'attractive' offers to win top-selling cars, including BMW 3 Grand Limousine and Range Rover!

For its lowest package, if the investor 'invests' Rs2,500, Tata Restart promises to repay Rs50 per day for 100 days or Rs5,000, double returns in just 100 days. For the highest package, the investor needs to invest Rs5 lakh to receive Rs11,000 per day for the next 150 days. It amounts to Rs16.50 lakh, more than three times the investment in just 150 days!

Obviously, such high returns are too good to be true. Had it been possible, the wealthiest people would have simply invested money in Tata Restart and become richer without doing anything.

There is a QR code on the Tata Restart website which is used for making payments. The description above the QR code says, "After submitting the payment's screenshot, you will get the fund between 30 minutes."

The QR code is associated with Equity Capital Advisors India Pvt Ltd from Mulund, Mumbai. Equity Capital Advisors is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which regulates collective investment schemes-CIS in the country. Also, the website offers no clarity about the relationship between Tata Restart and Equity Capital Advisors.

There are a few more red flags for discerning investors. First, the address of Tata Restart is listed as 'Near Allahabad Bank, Distt. Sonprayag, Uttarakhand'  it does not disclose the name of the town. Also, when Tata Restart has its own website, why does it display the email ID [email protected] below its address?

Almost all Ponzi, MLM or CIC schemes (scams) typically generate profits through money collected from new investors rather than investment or business activities. These schemes are unsustainable because they rely on a continuous influx of new investors to keep them afloat, and no legitimate profits are generated to sustain the promised returns.

Such schemes usually collapse when there are not enough new investors to pay returns to earlier investors or when the operator decides to abscond with the remaining funds.

Some MLMs claim that they earn money through their own sales of products or services. However, most of them 'encourage' recruiting new participants into the scheme to earn additional commissions from new recruits' sales, commonly called downlines or legs. Participants (read: investors) are typically required to purchase a starter kit or a certain amount of inventory to join the scheme, and they may be pressured to recruit others to do the same.

Further, all these Ponzi, MLM and CIS schemes often involve complex compensation structures that may make it difficult for participants to earn significant profits unless they recruit large numbers of new members. Even here, Tata Restart shows binary (read: new recruitment) at 10%, with a total deduction of 15% and per day capping at Rs35,000. In short, the top person (typically the operator or promoter and close associates) can earn Rs35,000 per day from its downlines.

We contacted the PR representative of Mr Tata about the scheme misusing his name and photograph. If we receive any response from the Tata group about the action taken, it will be added to this column.

According to Robert FitzPatrick, president of US-based Pyramid Scheme Alert, these schemes are an 'endless chain' or a 'pyramid scheme'. "I believe this form of fraud is a clear danger to national economies. They subvert efforts to accumulate wealth. They divert energy and funds from real businesses. They often divert people from seeking more education with their promises of fast wealth. They destroy the savings and equity of lower-income people. They confuse people as to what a legitimate value-based business is. Calling it a business does not make it so. A real business requires an exchange of value."

Moneylife has, for long, been exposing Ponzi schemes , MLM companies, money circulation schemes, pyramid-marketing schemes and other similar companies that defraud the unwary public by offering them misleading inducements and depriving them of their hard-earned savings.

Remember, all these Ponzi, MLM, CIS or pyramid schemes can dupe people by promising high returns or lucrative opportunities with little effort or risk. They often rely on persuasive tactics, such as testimonials from supposed successful participants or misleading marketing materials, to attract new investors or recruits. Once the schemes collapse or fail to deliver on their promises, many participants lose their investments or find themselves unable to recoup their losses. It is a universal truth that nothing comes free in the world, especially money.

Moreover, there is no easy way for victims of Ponzi, MLM, CIS or pyramid schemes to get back their investments. The victims need to approach SEBI , the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) and the local police station or economic offences wing (EOW).

Update:

In an email, TCM Sundaram, founder and vice chairman of Chiratae Ventures, says, "Tata Restart website is not just misusing the Tata name, it is also misusing Sudhir Sethi's name, data and pictures fraudulently. Mr Sethi is not in any manner whatsoever associated with 'Tata Restart', 'TATA RESTART | Let's Restart The Brighter Future or www.tatarestart.com' or the persons or entities operating these platforms or similar platforms - this is a clear case of identity theft by the persons operating Tata Restart."



"While we are taking necessary legal steps against 'Tata Restart' website on behalf of Mr Sethi, given the reputational damage that could be caused to Mr Sethi on account of the false and fraudulent use of his name, data and pictures, we request you to please correct the article stating that the 'Tata Restart' website is misusing even Mr Sethi's name and credentials in addition to Tata's name," Mr Sundaram says.



In 2006, Mr Sethi, along with Mr Sundaram, set up IDG Ventures, which was rebranded to Chiratae Ventures in 2018. Chiratae Ventures currently has an asset under management (AUM) of about US$1.2bn (billion) under management. It has been a first or second investor in marquee companies like Lenskart, Myntra, FirstCry, Cult.fit, and PolicyBazaar.
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by the Vedanta group against the closure of Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi.

A Bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, refused to interfere with the 2020 decision of the Madras High Court upholding closure of the plant for environmental violations.

Noting the repeated nature of breaches coupled with severity of violations by the plant, the bench, also comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said that the health and welfare of the local people is of utmost concern.

The Tamil Nadu government had ordered the copper smelter plant to be shut down in 2018 following a violent protest that led to the death of several persons in police firing. At least 13 people were killed and many injured in the police firing on people protesting against the Sterlite copper plant on May 22, 2018.

The plant was made operational during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic to produce oxygen.

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.
Gran participacion peruana en la Feria BIOFACH 2024! ?????? En este evento, el mas importante de productos organicos llevado a cabo en #Alemania, la delegacion nacional encabezada por #PROMPERU genero expectativas comerciales por mas de USD 17 millones ??. pic.twitter.com/LiYJHsGx8z
Download your ticket(s) ahead of time to speed up your entry into the show. Your tickets will not be emailed to you or available to print at home.
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who led his country from 1984 to 1993, has died at the age of 84.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada has issued a statement following his death.

I learned with great sadness today of the death of the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada.

Mr. Mulroney loved Canada. After a distinguished business and legal career, he became Prime Minister in 1984 and made significant progress on important issues here at home and around the world.

Mr. Mulroney never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home, the statement reads.

The conservative leader, the 18th prime minister in Canada's history, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, his daughter posted online.

Mulroney led Canada through the closing days of the Cold War and forged a free trade agreement with the US.
Summer 2024

Explore the Cloud Rainforest ecosystem with local guides. Plant trees to offset your carbon footprint and restore the rainforest. Cultural exchange with local high school students. Learn Spanish. Focus on sustainable development, conservation, protected areas, and renewable energy.

Host: Monteverde Institute

Monteverde Institute Program Dates: May 11 - June 20 2024



May 11 - June 20 2024 Application Deadline: February 16, 2024

February 16, 2024 Deposit Deadline: March 8, 2024

March 8, 2024 Earn 9-10 credits, including 9 in upper-level HASS



This six-week, faculty-led, study abroad program offers students the chance to learn about global sustainability practices as they are situated in the practical context of a rural community in the mountains of Costa Rica. Students will be immersed in Costa Rican culture and language, spending approximately five weeks in a homestay program with trusted local families. Learning will be balanced between classroom experiences, homework, and interactive field work.

The Monteverde Institute will provide Spanish language instruction, facilities, and local program coordination.

Students learn both by reading/discussing and by participating in daily Costa Rican life. They live with a host family for at least four weeks, plus 15 hours of classroom instruction in Spanish language, and participation in Costa Rican cultural activities, including cooking and dance. All levels of Spanish speakers from complete beginners with no prior Spanish to advanced Spanish speakers are welcome. Placement tests at the start of the program will determine student's study level. Students who elect to take the placement test in Spanish language upon returning to Michigan Tech, can earn back credits for courses they test out of (a good way to earn extra credits for your buck!). Earning back credits requires enrolling in an additional Spanish course at Michigan Tech upon return and earning grade of B or better.

Follow our adventures on the 2022 Costa Rica Student Blog.

Courses

Students register for 9-10 summer session credits (Track A) through Michigan Technological University and pay the associated tuition costs. Courses offered include: SS 3260 Latin American Cultural History, SS 3960 Cultural Immersion, SS 4390 Seminar in Sustainability, PE 0167/0267- Mindful Yoga, and PE 0175- Hiking in Costa Rica. All courses meet General Education requirements and meet major requirements for Social Sciences majors. Research or internship opportunities may also be available- contact instructor if you are interested.

SS 3960 Cultural Immersion

Generally meets in classroom M-R 2 hours/day.

Cultural immersion in the Costa Rican rainforest requires students to learn about live in, and contribute to the Monteverde community. Students will learn about how the Monteverde community works with the tourism industry and researchers to help maintain a sustainable ecosystem. The class will require students to live with Costa Rican families, practice Spanish, and engage in service learning to understand local social, environmental, and economic dynamics.

Course Description

SS 3960 - Cultural Immersion Course designed for students on supervised study abroad or exchange programs in which they investigate and report on cultural patterns and behaviors. Credits: variable to 3.0; Repeatable to a Max of 9

variable to 3.0; Repeatable to a Max of 9 Semesters Offered: On Demand

On Demand Pre-Requisite(s): UN 1015 and (UN 1025 or Modern Language - 3000 level or higher)

SS 4390 Seminar in Sustainability

Field Trip based, total of 12 hours in classroom setting.

This practice and discussion-based class focuses on Costa Rica's efforts to be a global leader in sustainability. We'll focus on Costa Rica's environmental challenges and responses, including substantial attention to renewable energy, environmental and energy policy, water quality and quantity, urbanization, reforestation, ecotourism, food sovereignty, and conservation and protected areas. Weekly field trips allow students to study global environmental problems in the classroom, then experience Costa Rica's solution in practice. Review the 2022 syllabus.

Course Description

SS 4390 - Seminar in Sustainability This seminar in sustainability topics will cover a rotating set of topics, depending on semester offering. Topics may include energy use, justice, pollution, green design, or regulations bearing on sustainability. Credits: 3.0; Repeatable to a Max of 9

3.0; Repeatable to a Max of 9 Lec-Rec-Lab: (0-3-0)

(0-3-0) Semesters Offered: On Demand

On Demand Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman

May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman Pre-Requisite(s): UN 1015 and (UN 1025 or Modern Language - 3000 level or higher)

SS 3260 Latin American Cultural History

Generally meets in classroom M-R 2 hours/day

This course examines Latin American culture, focusing on Costa Rica. The class will examine the sources and patterns of particular cultural traditions, while at the same time understanding the trajectory of social, political, and economic transformations. Particular attention will be paid to Costa Rica within the latin American context.

SS 3260 - Latin American Cultural History This course examines the diverse, but interconnected, cultures of Latin America. The class will examine the sources and patterns of particular cultural traditions, while at the same time understanding the trajectory of social, political, and economic transformations throughout the region. Credits: 3.0

3.0 Lec-Rec-Lab: (3-0-0)

(3-0-0) Semesters Offered: Fall, in odd years

Fall, in odd years Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman

May not be enrolled in one of the following Class(es): Freshman Pre-Requisite(s): UN 1015 and (UN 1025 or Modern Language - 3000 level or higher)

Itinerary

Each week generally includes 4 days of courses/fieldwork in Monteverde, plus a field trip to another community. Review the daily itinerary from 2022 to get a sense for the opportunities we'll engage in.

Monday - Thursday Time Activity 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.* SS 3960 Cultural Immersion 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. Lunch 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. SS 3260 Latin American Culture and History 3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Break 3:30p.m. - 4:30 p.m. SS 4390 Seminar in Sustainability

*One hour of spanish class for each student group, but timing varies by level. Beginners meet 9-10; Intermediate 10-11; Advanced 11-12.

Costs

2024 Program cost is $3,000. Students pay a $1,000 deposit by March 8, 2024. Students then register for summer Track A credits with MTU and pay the associated tuition. Tuition will include a "lab fee" of approximately $2,000. The deposit plus the lab fee cover the costs of the program in addition to the instruction (total program cost= $3,000). This includes room and board (all food and lodging), travel expenses within country, field trip costs, health and travel insurance, and program administration. In addition, students are responsible for making their own flight arrangements and purchasing roundtrip airfare to Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaria (SJO) in San Jose, Costa Rica. Students are also required to pay airport exit fees ($29).

Support Study Abroad Costa Rica

Support Study Abroad in Costa Rica by donating here. Your contribution will help support study abroad scholarships for low-to-moderate income, first generation, and students of color to study sustainability in Costa Rica for five weeks while they earn 9 Michigan Tech credits that count towards their degree.

Study Abroad Information

Have questions about studying aboard? Your program leader can help you with your pre-departure. Here are some other resources that will help you with your visit:

Behavior, Expectations, and Accommodations Students are expected to abide by the Michigan Tech student conduct code. There is zero tolerance for drug use. Violations will result in immediate expulsion from the program and no refund. Michigan Tech has standard policies on academic misconduct and complies with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding discrimination, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. For more information about reasonable accommodation for or equal access to education or services at Michigan Tech, please call the Dean of Students Office, at 906-487- 2212 or follow the link above.

Financial Aid You can cover all program costs with financial aid. To qualify, you must be enrolled in 12 summer credit hours. You will receive 9 credit hours in Track A for this program. Michigan Tech students may enroll in 3 credit hours in Track B to achieve full-time status, or enroll in an additional 3 credit directed readings course with your program leaders while abroad. Please contact one of the program leaders if youre interested in the directed readings option. Consult with the Michigan Tech financial aid office or the financial aid office of your home university, if you are not a Michigan Tech student, for more information about how to fund your study abroad.

Health and Safety Costa Rica has well respected health care and facilities with a life expectancy of 80 years. There are three health clinics and pharmacies in Monteverde. The Monteverde Institute has well defined emergency procedures to assist students with any sickness or emergency situation. Reasonable precautions should be taken as in any area abroad. The program coordinator will assist you in finding the closest medical facilities.

Monteverde Institute Expectations

While visiting with our host institute please review the MVI Student Handbook and Student Code of Conduct (page 23 of the handbook) to know what to expect and what is expected of you during your visit.
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. Senate on Feb. 29 soundly defeated an effort to stop the $23 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkey, which President Joe Biden's administration approved after Turkey approved Swedens joining the NATO alliance, Reuters reports.

The Senate voted 79 to 13 against a resolution of disapproval of the sale introduced by Republican Senator Rand Paul.

Before the vote, Paul criticized Turkey's government and said allowing the sale would embolden its misbehavior.

In a press release before the vote, Senator Paul emphasized Turkish President Erdogans brazen endorsement of Hamas, human rights violations in Turkey, the procurement of Russian S-400 air and missile systems and its support for Azerbaijan in its brutal conflict against Nagorno-Karabakh.

Turkeys unwavering support for Azerbaijan in its brutal conflict against Nagorno-Karabakh resulted in widespread casualties and a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, displacing over 100,000 individuals, the press release reads.

Backers of the sale said it was important for Washington to keep its word to a NATO ally.

The Biden administration formally informed Congress on Jan. 26 of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Turkey, a day after Ankara fully completed ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden.

The sale had been held up for months over issues including Turkey's refusal to approve Sweden's accession to the military alliance. Turkey first asked to make the purchase in October 2021.
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), an alliance of political parties, carry flags as they gather for a sit-in protest against, what they call election rigging and are demanding free and fair results of the general elections along the main Highway in Jamshoro, Pakistan February 16, 2024.
FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an event following his arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023.
Australian Minister for International Development and the Pacific, and the Minister for Defense Industry, Pat Conroy speaking at the Solomon Scouts and Coast watchers commemorative service to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal in Honiara on Solomon Islands in August 2022.
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Arab nations have failed to get immediate support for a UN Security Council statement that would have blamed Israeli forces for opening fire at Palestinians waiting for the delivery of food and other humanitarian aid near Gaza City and killing more than 100 people, the Times of Israel reports.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, told reporters after an emergency closed council meeting on the deaths, that 14 of the 15 council members supported the statement put forward by Algeria, the Arab representative on the body.

The United States did not support the statement and US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told a reporter who questioned why, We dont have all the facts on the ground  thats the problem.

Hamas-led Gaza health officials said Israeli troops fired on Feb. 29 on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy, killing at least 112 people and injuring 760 others.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic stampede and as a result of being run over by aid trucks. The IDF's chief military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli troops guarding the area fired warning shots toward the crowd because they felt endangered.
The Guam Education Board holds a special meeting at the Guam Department of Education headquarters in Tiyan on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.
Fresh from a deadly cholera outbreak, Zambia declares drought a national emergency View Photo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP)  Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema Thursday declared the countrys debilitating drought a national disaster and emergency, saying it has devastated food production and electricity generation as the nation battles to recover from a recent deadly cholera outbreak.

Like some of its neighbors, the southern African country is suffering a severe drought as the El Nino weather pattern worsens harsh weather conditions attributed in part to climate change.

In an address to the nation, Hichilema said he has instructed security forces to focus more on food production in the largely peaceful country.

He said 84 of the countrys 116 districts are affected by the prolonged drought and authorities will take food from areas where there is an excess and distribute it to needy areas. In addition, the country plans more food imports and is mobilizing United Nations agencies and local businesses to assist.

The drought has destroyed about 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of the 2.2 million hectares (5.4 million acres) planted with the staple maize crop, he said.

This drought has devastating consequences on many sectors such as agriculture, water availability and energy supply, risking our national food security and the livelihoods of millions of our people. The dry spell is projected to continue even into the month of March, affecting over 1 million of our farming households, said Hichilema.

Electricity generation has not been spared, with the country expecting a power deficit of about 430 megawatts potentially reaching 520 megawatts by December, he said, as water levels decline at the countrys major source of hydro power, the Kariba Dam, which it shares with neighbor, Zimbabwe.

To cope, the country will import electricity and also ration supplies to its approximately 20 million people, he said.

Zambia was recently hit by one of its worst cholera outbreaks that killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000.

Some Zambians, weary of continued crises, have coined songs labeling the outbreaks of coronavirus and cholera as well as the current drought as a triple tragedy, said Hichilema.

Although many countries in southern Africa are yet to declare a national disaster, they are also in a dire situation because of the influence of El Nino weather patterns, according to the U.N agency, the World Food Program.

Parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana are experiencing the driest February in the past 40 years, while severe rainfall shortages have been recorded in southern Malawi, eastern Angola and parts of Mozambique, said the WFP in a bulletin this week.

The United States Agency for International Development, the U.S. governments foreign aid agency, has estimated through its Famine Early Warning Systems Network that 20 million people in southern Africa will need food relief between January and March.

Many people in the areas of highest concern such as Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, parts of Mozambique and southern Madagascar will be unable to feed themselves into early 2025 due to El Nino, USAID said.

By FARAI MUTSAKA

Associated Press
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Security Council that Moscow has no plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space, TASS news agency reports.

We have already discussed with you the rumors that some Western figures are spreading about our alleged plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space. I say alleged because, as I have already said, and as we know very well, we do not have such plans, Putin said.
Gunfire paralyzes Haiti as powerful gang leader says he will try to detain police chief, ministers

Gunfire paralyzes Haiti as powerful gang leader says he will try to detain police chief, ministers View Photo

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Heavy gunfire paralyzed Haitis capital Thursday, and at least four police officers were slain, as a powerful gang leader announced that he would try to capture the countrys police chief and government ministers.

The move came during the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya trying to finalize details for the deployment of a foreign armed force to Haiti to help combat gangs.

Gunmen shot at Haitis main international airport and other targets, including police stations, in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise. At least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, suspended all flights.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue and leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, was seen in a recorded video announcing that the aim was to tie up the police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry from returning to Haiti.

With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country, he said.

A spokesman for the prime ministers office could not be immediately reached for comment. The head of Haitis National Police, Frantz Elbe, and police spokesman Garry Desrosiers did not return messages for comment.

Gunfire still rang out Thursday evening and dozens of Haitians were seen carrying children and heavy bags stuffed with belongings fleeing their neighborhoods. They raised their hands as a peace offering to potential gangs while rushing through intersections.

Armored vehicles patrolled empty streets in downtown Port-au-Prince while others remained stationed near gang-controlled slums.

Residents in some neighborhoods, including Canape Vert and Turgeau, set up roadblocks to prevent gangs from entering as men who were not wearing uniforms stood by with machine guns.

Pierre Alex Boucher, a math teacher who lives in downtown Port-au-Prince, said he heard heavy gunfire before dawn. Several hours later, as the gunfire continued, he stood on his roof and said he saw police in an armored car trying to fight gang members and then abruptly leave.

The shooting then worsened, and when he saw what he believes were teenagers with machine guns, he fled his home, feeling that his life was in danger.

The area is completely invaded by gangs, Boucher said of his neighborhood. A lot of people couldnt make it out, and some locked themselves inside their homes.

He said he spoke with friends who saw people who had been shot to death.

The country has to revolt against the gangs, he said. No one is safe.

It was not clear if Cherizier, the gang leader, had the backing of other major gangs that are estimated to control up to 80% of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.

Diego Da Rin, with the International Crisis Group, noted that Barbecue in his speech referred to a coalition called Viv Ansanm, which means living together in Haitian Creole. The coalition was created last year as part of a peace pact between Barbecues federation and another powerful gang called G-Pep and had as a main goal to bring down Henrys administration.

However, the coalition crumbled just days after it was announced, and Da Rin said it remains to be seen whether Barbecue truly has the support of other gang leaders.

I dont know how much credibility to give Barbecue right now, Da Rin said. Rivalries between gangs are so strong and alliances ever shifting that its complicated they could act in a concerted manner for a long time without much trouble.

However, he noted that gunmen launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. In addition to the attack on the main international airport, gunmen also set fire to a police station in downtown Port-au-Prince.

The attacks came a day after Henry met in Guyana with Caribbean leaders, who said he pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. It is the third time he has announced such a deadline, with previous promises made in 2022 and 2023. There are currently no elected officials in Haiti, with Henry sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Henry traveled from Guyana to Kenya in hopes of moving forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. A court in the East African nation ruled last month that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, but Henry and Kenyan officials have been working on a deal that would allow forces to arrive in Haiti soon.

There has always been the danger that as discussions progress and the goal of the mission gets closer that the gangs will try to flex their muscles and discourage the troops, Da Rin said.

The government of Haiti said in a statement that Henry arrived in Kenya on Thursday. They did not say when he would return to Haiti.

___

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

By EVENS SANON and DANICA COTO

Associated Press
Brazils finance minister proposes global tax on the super-rich at G20 meeting in Sao Paulo View Photo

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Brazils finance minister told his peers Thursday at a G20 meeting in Sao Paulo that countries should implement a global tax on the super-rich in an effort to tackle rampant tax evasion.

Fernando Haddad said tax evasion can be resolved through international cooperation so that these few individuals make their contribution to our societies and to the planets sustainable development.

He added that Brazil is pushing for a declaration on international taxation by G20 members that he hopes would be ready in July. But in a press conference at the end of the meeting, he recognized the path would be far from smooth.

There will be a lot of debate about this, which is absolutely natural, especially because not every country feels the same way about this problem that was brought to the G20 by Brazil, he said.

Brazil currently has the presidency of the 20 leading rich and developing nations and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has put issues that concern the developing world  such as the reduction of inequalities and the reform of multilateral institutions  at the heart of its agenda.

Brazil has a role to play, a legitimacy to use on the issues that need to be addressed and that are not always represented in the G20, Haddad said, pointing to environmental, social and fiscal issues.

According to a 2023 study by advocacy group Tax Justice Network, countries around the world could lose up to $4.8 trillion in tax revenue over the next decade due to tax havens. And a report earlier this year by the EU Tax Observatory cited by Haddad, found that billionaires worldwide have effective tax rates equivalent of between 0% and 0.5% of their wealth.

In recent years, scandals such as the Panama Papers Leak and the Paradise Papers have shone a light on the pervasiveness of tax evasion and avoidance in business practices.

Meanwhile, the gap between the super-rich and the bulk of the global population has been supercharged since the coronavirus pandemic, according to anti-poverty organization Oxfam International.

There are fewer taxes on assets today than two or three decades ago. The global movement has tended towards reducing taxation on companies and wealth, said Andre Vereta-Nahoum, a sociology professor at the University of Sao Paulo.

But with inequalities soaring, more are calling for higher taxes on the wealthy  including U.S. President Joe Biden, who has pushed for a billionaire minimum income tax although the likelihood of Congress passing that proposal is minimal.

In a sign of growing global consensus on the matter, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution late last year backing stronger international tax cooperation to make it fully inclusive and more effective.

The difficulty is no longer putting the issue on the table, the data is there. The difficulty is arriving at a common document, said Carla Beni, an economist from the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university and think tank.

____

Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

By ELEONORE HUGHES

Associated Press
Columbia, CA  A blizzard warning is not stopping Columbia College from holding a two-day summit where students and educators can get the latest teaching techniques from a renowned educator today and tomorrow.

Learning specialist Dr. Saundra McGuire, a Professor Emerita of Chemistry, Director Emerita of the Center for Academic Success, and retired Assistant Vice Chancellor at Louisiana State University, will lead sessions aimed at transforming learning and teaching methods to boost student success. Funded by the Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Grant, the event offers a unique opportunity to engage with Dr. McGuire.

In 2007, she received the US Presidential Award for Excellence in Mentoring, and she has had engagements spanning over 400 institutions in 46 states and 10 countries. Kirsten Miller, co-chair of the Columbia College professional development committee, expresses excitement about the event. Were thrilled to offer different sessions with something for everyoneeducators, students, and peer tutorsso everyone can apply these empowering strategies directly to their roles, she noted. Being able to offer this summit free of charge is a testament to our commitment to fostering excellence in teaching and learning across our community.

College officials want the public to know that the summit is still on and kicks off today, Thursday, February 29, with two sessions being held: one at 4:305:45 p.m. and the other from 6:157:45 p.m., with free dinner provided in between. Then on Friday, March 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., the summit will continue with two specialized tracks, one for educators focused on practical strategies to elevate teaching methods and the other for peer mentors and tutors. The event is free, and registration is encouraged due to the limited space, but not required. College officials added, Dr. McGuires best-selling books, Teach Students How to Learn and Teach Yourself How to Learn, have become essential resources for students and educators at Columbia College.
Turkey rejects accusations by a human rights group that it committed abuses in Syria

Turkey rejects accusations by a human rights group that it committed abuses in Syria View Photo

ANKARA, Turkey (AP)  Turkey has rejected allegations by a human rights group that Turkey bears responsibility for some of the abuses and possible war crimes carried out mostly against Kurdish residents in northern Syria.

Human Rights Watch said in a 74-page report released on Thursday that the alleged abuses were committed by Turkish forces and also by Ankara-backed armed factions in areas they control in northern Syria.

A senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official denied the accusations on Friday, insisting that the report by the New York-based watchdog did not reflect the realities on the ground and ignored Turkeys security concerns.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol, also insisted that Turkey fully respects international humanitarian law.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched three major operations inside Syria, targeting Syrias main Kurdish militia  the Peoples Protection Units or YPG, a U.S.-backed faction that Turkey considers to be a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency within Turkey. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people.

The Human Rights Watch report  titled Everything is by the Power of the Weapon: Abuses and Impunity in Turkish-Occupied Northern Syria  documents allegations of abductions, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, sexual violence and torture.

The human rights group said that it also found that the Turkish army and intelligence agencies were involved in carrying out and overseeing abuses.

The Turkish official asserted that the Syrian opposition now runs and controls areas that were cleared of militants by the Turkish forces.

The opposition had made significant progress in improving human rights in those areas and were cooperating with U.N. agencies, the official said.

By SUZAN FRASER

Associated Press
Missouri House passes property tax cut aimed at offsetting surge in vehicle values View Photo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri residents could see a roughly $138 million tax break under legislation passed Thursday by the House in an attempt to offset a recent surge in local tax collections caused by higher vehicle values.

The legislation changing the way Missouris personal property tax collections are calculated comes as lawmakers in numerous states this year are considering ways to reduce property taxes charged on homes, real estate and other property.

Home values have risen at a faster-than-normal pace in recent years. Vehicle values typically decline as cars and trucks get older, but used vehicle values also rose during the coronavirus pandemic because of supply shortages. That resulted in higher tax bills for many people in states that allow property taxes on vehicles.

Republican state Rep. Mike McGirl said his Missouri legislation, which now goes to the Senate, would return to taxpayers about a quarter of the windfall that local governments received from the surge in vehicle values. Legislative analysts said that could amount to about $138 million, effective in 2026.

The bill will ultimately mean less tax revenue for our schools (and) for public safety, said Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth, who opposed the measure.

The Tax Foundation, a nonprofit group that researches taxes, has said property taxes are likely to be the biggest tax issue in many state legislatures this year.

Several states already have enacted property tax cuts. West Virginia last year passed a credit for personal property taxes that residents pay annually on vehicles, at an estimated cost of $157 million to the state.

Colorado lawmakers meeting in a November special session approved legislation increasing residential deductions for property tax purposes and decreasing the property tax assessment rate. In Texas, voters in November approved a plan cutting property taxes by $18 billion.

By DAVID A. LIEB

Assocaited Press
FBI raids 2 homes owned by top aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams View Photo

NEW YORK (AP)  Federal agents searched two properties owned by a top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents carried out morning raids at two Bronx addresses, which records show are owned by Winnie Greco, a former fundraiser for Adams who now serves as his director of Asian affairs.

The purpose of the investigation was not revealed, and it wasnt immediately clear whether it was related to Adams. But it was another sign of deepening law enforcement scrutiny of the Democratic mayor and members of his inner circle.

A person with knowledge of the matter said the investigation that led to Thursdays raid was being overseen by the U.S. attorneys office in Brooklyn, and it was separate from a criminal inquiry being conducted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan that led FBI agents to seize Adams electronic devices as he left an event last fall.

The person wasnt authorized to disclose information publicly about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Neighbors of Grecos said federal agents began searching the two homes, which are on the same block, at around 6 a.m. and remained in the area for several hours.

Greco was placed on administrative leave Thursday, according to a City Hall spokesperson. A prolific fundraiser, she had worked closely with Adams for over a decade, serving as his conduit to the citys Asian-American communities.

In November, the citys Department of Investigation opened a probe into her conduct following a news report that raised questions about her political fundraising and whether she used her position in the administration to obtain personal benefits.

According to that report, published by the local news outlet The City, Greco demanded that a city employee complete free renovations on her home when he was supposed to be working.

Greco is at least the third aide to Adams whose home has targeted by federal agents. In November, the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova, who worked in the mayors international affairs office. Four days later, agents quietly seized the mayors cellphones and an iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan.

That investigation, which is being led by Manhattan prosecutors, is believed to be focused on whether the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors, according to a warrant reported on by The New York Times.

Adams has repeatedly deflected questions about the investigation while stressing that he has not officially been accused of wrongdoing.

Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines, a spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement Thursday. As we have repeatedly said, we dont comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway.

There was no immediate response to a voicemail seeking comment left at a phone number listed as Grecos.

__________

Associated Press photographer Mary Altaffer contributed to this report.

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and LARRY NEUMEISTER

Associated Press
Woman convicted of murder conspiracy, coverup, in 2019 disappearance of Connecticut mother View Photo

A woman was convicted Friday of conspiring to murder Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished from a wealthy Connecticut enclave in 2019 and was never found.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was convicted by the Stamford jury following a lengthy trial in which prosecutors laid out a case that she helped her then-boyfriend, Dolus husband, plot and cover up the killing of his estranged wife as they battled each other in divorce and child custody proceedings.

Fotis Dolus, who denied he had anything to do with the disappearance, never stood trial: He killed himself in January 2020 shortly after being charged with murder.

Troconis sat with her head down and cried as the jurors were polled to confirm they agreed with the verdict. She could be heard sobbing before marshals cuffed her and led her from the courtroom.

A spokesperson for Jennifer Dulos family, Carrie Luft, thanked the jury, judge and prosecutors but stressed that a mother, daughter, sister, cousin and cherished friend still remains missing.

Todays verdict is a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother, Luft said in a statement. The family hopes the verdict might spur new leads.

Besides the conspiracy to commit murder charge, which is punishable with up to 20 years in prison, the jury convicted Troconis of hindering the prosecution and evidence tampering. Her bond was set at $6 million and she is scheduled to be sentenced May 31.

Troconis lawyer, John Shoenhorn, said he respects the jurors decision but doesnt understand it and plans to seek a new trial.

Ive been doing this a long time. Its not like Im cynical or hard-boiled about this, but I truly just dont see how the jury could have reached this verdict, he told reporters, adding that Michelle is devasted.

Troconis likely wont be freed on bond for a couple of days, he said. Meanwhile, she is due in court Tuesday for a hearing on whether she should be held in contempt over an incident that occurred during the trial.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished on May 24, 2019, after dropping off her children at school. At the time, she was living with them in New Canaan while Fotis Dulos stayed in the familys spacious home about 70 miles (115 kilometers) away in Farmington. Troconis and her daughter were living with Fotis Dulos at the time.

The case drew widespread attention and was the subject of a made-for-TV movie, Lifetimes Gone Mom.

Jennifer Dulos was a member of a wealthy New York City family whose father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded his own brokerage firm. She also was a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Fotis Dulos built luxury homes and was originally from Greece.

Troconis, a dual American and Venezuelan citizen, has described herself as a co-founder of horse riding therapy programs in different parts of the world who once had her own TV production company in Argentina and hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.

Members of Troconis family were shocked and angered by the verdict and said she is being unfairly blamed.

Choosing and putting my sister as the guilty person is not the right thing to do because she is innocent, sister Claudia Troconis-Marmol said tearfully outside the courthouse. She called the verdict an injustice.

Police alleged that on the morning of Jennifer Dulos disappearance, Fotis Dulos drove his employees pickup truck to a New Canaan park, rode a bicycle to her house, attacked her in the garage and drove off with her in her Chevy Suburban, which was later found abandoned at the park.

Although her body hasnt been found, a judge declared her legally dead last October. A medical examiner also concluded that evidence from the garage, including suspected blood spatter, indicated she could not have survived such an attack.

Hours after Jennifer Dulos disappeared, Troconis was seen on surveillance video accompanying Fotis Dulos on a trip to Hartford, where he discarded trash bags from the back of his own pickup truck.

During the trial, the prosecution and state forensic experts showed a shirt, bra and zip ties with blood-like stains that had been found in one of the bags. The experts testified that DNA samples from the items were a highly likely match to Jennifer Dulos DNA.

They also said DNA and fingerprints on some of the items and bags were a highly likely match to Fotis Dulos, and DNA that was a highly likely match to Troconis was found on one of the bags.

The jury watched nearly seven hours of police interviews with Troconis on three different days, which showed her saying she didnt know what was in the bags.

In court, Troconis lawyer also argued that her likely DNA was found only on a microscopic sample from one of the bags, and that Fotis Dulos could have had spread it there after having contact with Troconis.

Prosecutors said Troconis lied to police during her first interview by saying Fotis Dulos was at his Farmington home when she woke up on the morning Jennifer Dulos disappeared. She acknowledged during a subsequent interview that was not accurate.

While its our hope that todays verdict brings Jennifers family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests, States Attorney Paul J. Ferencek said in a statement.

Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis Dulos and his one-time lawyer in a civil case, is also awaiting trial on a murder conspiracy charge in the case. He has pleaded not guilty.

By DAVE COLLINS and SUSAN HAIGH

Associated Press
Mitch McConnells decision to step down as GOP leader reverberates in Kentucky View Photo

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Mitch McConnells decision to step down as Senate Republican leader in November is reverberating back home in Kentucky, setting off a wave of speculation about the future of his seat as well as the loss of influence for the Bluegrass State.

McConnell was cagey enough in his announcement to leave room for guessing about whether he might seek another term in 2026. Those who know him well are coming down on both sides of that question.

It rings the bell for the Senate race in 2026, said Kentucky political commentator Al Cross, a longtime McConnell watcher. While he hasnt made any announcement, its a foregone conclusion now that hes not going to run for reelection. He made those repeated references to age and nearing the end of his career. So its clear enough.

State Senate President Robert Stivers was more circumspect, saying he wouldnt be surprised if the 82-year-old senator seeks another term in 2026.

I do not believe that this announcement today is any indication of what his future plans may be, Stivers said Wednesday.

McConnell is Kentuckys longest-serving senator and won his seventh six-year term in 2020.

He has wielded his influence to put Kentucky near the head of the table when federal funds were passed out to fix roads, build bridges, support universities, improve airports and more. He often said his leadership position enabled Kentucky to punch above its weight.

We will never be represented by someone as powerful as Mitch McConnell in the United States Senate, said Republican state Sen. Damon Thayer, the Kentucky Senates majority floor leader.

The state wont have the influence weve had, Stivers said. We lose that.

McConnell spoke from the Senate floor in somber, valedictory tones, but he left open the possibility that he might seek another term, declaring at one point: Im not going anywhere anytime soon.

I will finish the job the people of Kentucky hired me to do as well  albeit from a different seat in the chamber, he said. And he didnt commit to leaving that seat.

I still have enough gas in the tank to thoroughly disappoint my critics, he said, and I intend to do so with all the enthusiasm to which they have become accustomed.

Aides said McConnells Wednesday announcement was unrelated to his health. However, the senator had a concussion from a fall last year and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking.

Those health setbacks, along with his fractured relationship with former President Donald Trump, had already sparked speculation about whether McConnells current term could be his last. Trump has steamrolled fellow Republicans in his bid for another term in the White House, and it has been hard to imagine him and McConnell collaborating again.

Still, McConnell has hardly shrunk into the background. He headed up recent efforts to continue U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, signing off on an unsuccessful compromise to link it to border security.

And just this week he attended a White House meeting with fellow Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who rebuffed efforts by McConnell, President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders to persuade him to put more aid to Ukraine to a House vote.

On the political front, Kentucky Republicans will have no shortage of contenders whenever a Senate seat opens up. Part of McConnells legacy is that of a key strategist behind the partys rise from backbencher status to outright dominance in the state.

Republicans now hold five of the states six U.S. House seats, and perhaps some could seize the rare opening to try to move to the Senate.

The last person to win a major statewide election, however, was a Democrat. Gov. Andy Beshear, who has vowed to serve out his entire second term, proved his popularity with the states voters last year with a resounding reelection win in a campaign other Democrats have studied for clues on how to connect with red state voters. Beshear on Thursday emphatically ruled out any interest in the 2026 Senate race.

I love this job, the governor told reporters. Were seeing amazing things happen in the commonwealth. Our economy is just exploding in special ways and my kids are happy. Im going to keep doing this job every day for this four-year term that I was elected to.

The man Beshear defeated last year, former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is another possibility. Hes one of many McConnell proteges who might seek the job.

At the Kentucky statehouse, Republican legislators reflected on McConnells announcement and his storied Senate career. He ousted a Democratic incumbent in 1984, when Ronald Reagan won reelection to the White House.

I dont guess Im shocked but a little melancholy about it, actually, Republican House Speaker David Osborne said. Hes an institution. So Im disappointed. Its a bad thing for Kentucky.

A group of GOP Kentucky lawmakers attended a recent political fundraiser for McConnell, which Stivers took as a sign that he might seek another term. McConnell has long been a prolific fundraiser, both for himself and for other Senate Republicans.

This week, a day after McConnells announcement, a Kentucky legislative committee advanced a bill on Thursday to strip the governors authority to appoint a new U.S. senator if a vacancy occurs. The bill, introduced last week, calls for a special election to fill a vacancy. Its GOP sponsor says it has nothing to do with McConnell. Current law specifies the governor must fill a Senate vacancy by choosing from a three-name list, provided by leaders from the same party as the senator who formerly held the seat.

While the speculation percolates, GOP lawmakers in Kentucky say it would be wrong to write off McConnell once hes out of leadership.

More to come, I predict, said, Thayer, the state Senates majority floor leader.

By BRUCE SCHREINER

Associated Press
Justin Amash announces Republican bid for Michigan US Senate seat after having previously left GOP View Photo

LANSING, Mich. (AP)  Former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, who left the GOP in 2019 after calling for the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump, announced a Republican bid for Michigans U.S. Senate seat Thursday.

Amash represented Grand Rapids from 2011 to 2021, and he becomes the third former U.S. representative to join the Republican field vying for Michigans open Senate seat. Former U.S. Reps. Mike Rogers and Peter Meijer have also announced Republican campaigns, as has businessman Sandy Pensler.

Im convinced that no candidate would be better positioned to win both the Republican primary and the general election, Amash said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Thats why, today, Im making it official: Im joining the race for United States Senate in Michigan.

The decision to jump into the Republican primary comes after Amash left the party to become an independent. He had been the lone House Republican to support a Trump impeachment inquiry in 2019.

He opted not to seek reelection to Congress after his fifth term and to instead pursue a Libertarian nomination for president. At the time, Amash said that millions of Americans do not feel well represented by either major political party.

Amash seems to have come back to the party, but he promised in his announcement to be an independent-minded senator prepared to challenge anyone and everyone on the peoples behalf, if elected.

Amash, whose father is Palestinian and his mother Syrian, was the first Palestinian American lawmaker to serve in the U.S. Congress. Earlier this year, Amash said on social media that several relatives were killed when an Israeli airstrike struck a church in Gaza City.

Michigans U.S. Senate race is expected to be the lone competitive open seat in the country this year. Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced last January that she would not seek reelection after having served in the upper chamber since 2001.

On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin is considered the favorite to win the nomination and has dominated other candidates in fundraising  bringing in $11.7 million between her campaign launch in February 2023 and the end of that year.

Rogers, who served seven terms in the U.S. House, has led all Republicans in fundraising. The Republican race is expected to be highly competitive, with Meijer and Pensler each having the ability to at least partially self-fund their campaigns. Former Detroit police Chief James Craig dropped his Republican bid earlier this month.

Amash and Meijer  who are both from Grand Rapids  will each face the difficult task of overcoming past support for impeachments of Trump. Meijer was among 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 after the deadly mob siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump wields significant influence over Republicans in Michigan, and his endorsement for the U.S. Senate seat has the potential to dramatically impact the outcome of the race.

The GOP has not won a Michigan U.S. Senate race since 1994.

Defending the Michigan seat could prove crucial for Democrats in their effort to maintain the Senate, where the party holds a 51-49 majority and also faces tough headwinds as they defend seats in Republican-leaning states from West Virginia to Montana and Ohio.

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI

Associated Press
Haley says she raised a strong $12M in February, but cant point to long-term plan to beat Trump

Haley says she raised a strong $12M in February, but cant point to long-term plan to beat Trump View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Friday that she raised $12 million in February, a haul that will likely allow her to remain in the Republican primary against former President Donald Trump past next weeks Super Tuesday  even though she cant point to an upcoming state where she expects to beat him.

The former ambassador to the United Nations noted that she outraised Trump in January and insisted that the donations have continued to flow despite her not having a long-term plan to challenge  or even really dent  the former presidents commanding lead in the primary.

When I go into a fundraiser, she said during a meeting with reporters in Washington, They dont ask me, Whats your strategy? They dont ask me, Whats your plan? All they say is, Thank you for giving me hope.

Haley got some good news later in the day, when moderate Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins became the first senators to endorse her, defying most top GOP leaders who have lined up behind Trump. Murkowski has her own personal history with the former president, who in 2021 vowed to personally campaign against her when she was up for reelection the following year  though that threat didnt stop the senator from winning another term in 2022.

Collins said late Friday that Haleys experience as a successful Governor and as a strong representative of our country as ambassador to the United Nations makes her extremely well-qualified to serve as our first female president. She has the energy, intellect, and temperament that we need to lead our country in these very tumultuous times.

Murkowskis home state of Alaska and Collins home state of Maine are among the 15 holding GOP primaries Tuesday.

Haleys announced February total has not yet been verified by official campaign finance filings. Still, Haley argues that another strong month with donors shows that Republicans are hungry for a viable alternative to Trump. Haley, who is also a former South Carolina governor, is the last Trump challenger standing from a field that was once crowded with more than a dozen Republican White House candidates.

Trump has swept every early GOP contest heading into Saturdays primary in the nations capital  including trouncing Haley in South Carolina. But Haley outraised Trump in January, taking in $11.5 million while her allied super PAC brought in another $12 million. The former presidents campaign raised $8.8 million in January with his primary super PAC taking in another $7.3 million.

Asked about Haley announcing her strong February fundraising, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election.

Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over, Cheung said.

As Biden steps up his own fundraising and travel around the country amid his own reelection campaign, the president has also zeroed in on Trump while largely assuming the race with Haley is over  calling his presidential predecessor a threat to the nations core values and very democracy.

Haley says shes not anti-Trump and doesnt fault Republicans for voting for him in the primary. After her meeting with reporters, she held a campaign rally in Washington ahead of its GOP primary on Saturday  though there are only about 23,000 registered Republicans in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Who says theres no Republicans in D.C.? Haley joked to a crowd of more than 500 in a Washington hotel ballroom. She was finishing Friday in North Carolina, another Super Tuesday state.

In her earlier discussion with reporters, Haley ducked questions about where she might win a primary on Super Tuesday or beyond, saying, I dont look all the way down the road. She has repeatedly refused to comment about long-term plans aside from saying that she will reevaluate after Tuesday.

Super Tuesday, were gonna try to be competitive. I hope we go forward. But, this is all about like, how competitive can we be? Haley said. Can we continue to show that there is a big number of Americans who are saying they want to go in this direction?

She has said previously that she has no interest in mounting a third-party presidential challenge against Biden and Trump with the centrist No Labels group. Haley said Friday that shed not spoken to No Labels but didnt plan on mounting a White House bid with them because she said it would require her to team up with a Democratic running mate.

If I ran for No Labels that would mean its about me, Haley said. Its not about me, its about the direction I think the country should go.

Dick Best, a retired civil servant and Republican from Washington who described himself as a strong supporter of Haley, said he thought she had a good chance of winning the District of Columbias GOP primary. He pointed to her background on defense and willingness to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I think thats a real strength that she has, is foreign policy and that shes not an inherent pleaser, Best said contrasting Haley with Trump, who has often seemed accommodating to Putins interests.

Its a real challenge, Best said of Haleys long-term primary chances. But you never know whats going to happen with the rest of the year.

By WILL WEISSERT

Associated Press
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. On the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan on March 1 had a meeting with Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait, the foreign ministry said.

Ararat Mirzoyan congratulated Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya on his appointment as Minister and expressed his willingness to enrich the bilateral agenda with joint efforts.

According to the source, the interlocutors discussed issues on the expansion of the political dialogue between the two countries, expressing readiness to take practical steps towards the use of the existing potential in various fields. Both sides emphasized that friendly ties and contacts between the two peoples have already created good foundations, and high-level mutual visits can give additional impetus to the developing agenda.

Issues of regional security were discussed. Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the latest discussions in the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations. Minister Mirzoyan emphasized the position of Armenia on the importance of clear commitment to the mutual recognition of territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 and of providing most possible clarity in the further delimitation process.

Humanitarian issues were touched upon.

As part of the peace agenda and in the context of unblocking regional communications, Ararat Mirzoyan presented the "Crossroads of Peace" project developed by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, its economic advantages and opportunities for investments.
Ousted Michigan Republican Party chair loses key ruling at appeals court View Photo

DETROIT (AP)  The ousted former leader of the Michigan Republican Party lost a key court ruling Thursday in her effort to regain the top post.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said it wont suspend a lower courts order affirming Kristina Karamos removal by party members.

Karamo was hoping that a stay would clear the way for her to lead a meeting Saturday in Detroit to select presidential delegates for the partys national convention.

Former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, with backing from the national party and former President Donald Trump, is recognized as the new chair of the state Republican Party. He is scheduled to lead a similar meeting across the state in Grand Rapids.

Karamo has refused to concede that party members properly voted her out of office. But a Kent County judge on Tuesday said the Jan. 6 vote was valid and any actions by her since that date were void and have no effect.

The order has injected more chaos into the political process, Karamos lawyers told the appeals court. The order will require a complete change of party administration, as well as cancellation or attempted cancellations of leases, contracts and other legal obligations, leaving the (party) in further disarray.

Hoekstra, however, said he is seen as the duly elected chair of the Michigan party.

Its time to put this behind us and move forward with the business of electing Republicans in November, he said Thursday.

Trump easily won Michigans Republican primary this week over Nikki Haley.

Karamo was voted out of leadership after months of internal fighting over finances and strategy. She was a Trump supporter and unsuccessful Republican candidate for secretary of state when she won the top party post in 2023.

This is an intra-party dispute that should be resolved through the political process  not court intervention, Karamos lawyers said.

By ED WHITE

Associated Press
Federal prosecutors seek July trial for Trump in classified documents case View Photo

WASHINGTON (AP)  Federal prosecutors are requesting a July 8 trial for former President Donald Trump on charges that he illegally retained and concealed classified documents. Defense lawyers say no trial should be conducted this year but proposed August 12 as an alternative possibility.

The dueling proposals were submitted Thursday ahead of a pivotal hearing in Florida at which the judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, is expected to set a trial date. The trial is currently set for May 20, but Cannon indicated months ago that she expected to revisit that date during Fridays hearing.

The trial date in the classified documents prosecution has taken on added significance in light of the uncertainty surrounding a separate federal case in Washington charging Trump with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The Supreme Court said this week that it would hear arguments in late April on whether Trump as a former president is immune from prosecution, leaving it unclear whether that case might reach trial before the November election.

In their motion, defense lawyers made clear to Cannon their strong preference to avoid a trial in the current year while Trump  who faces four separate state and federal prosecutions  is campaigning for the Republican nomination for president.

A key element of the Trump team strategy has been to seek to delay his criminal cases until after the election. If elected president, Trump could order the Justice Department to dismiss the federal cases or could seek to pardon himself.

As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution, which affords President Trump a Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceedings as well asa First Amendment right that he shares with the American people to engage in campaign speech, defense lawyers wrote.

But they proposed August 12  weeks after the Republican National Convention  as a possible alternative trial date in the event Cannon seeks to move forward with a trial this year.

Defense lawyers have separately asked Cannon to dismiss the case, citing among other reasons the immunity argument that will soon be considered by the Supreme Court.

Of the four criminal cases that Trump faces, the only one with a trial date that seems poised to hold is a New York state prosecution charging him with falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to a porn star. That case is set for trial on March 25.

Another case, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, charges him with scheming to subvert the presidential election in Georgia in 2020. No trial date has been set.

By ERIC TUCKER

Associated Press
California governor pushes back against criticism of fast food minimum wage law View Photo

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration has denied a news report that he pushed for an exception to the states new fast-food minimum wage law that benefits a wealthy campaign donor.

Californias minimum wage is $16 per hour. But starting April 1, most fast-food restaurants in the state must pay their workers at least $20 an hour under legislation Newsom signed last year to much fanfare. It doesnt apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item.

That exception puzzled some industry watchers and was never fully explained by Newsom or other supporters of the law. But Bloomberg News on Wednesday reported it was connected to opposition from Panera Bread franchisee Greg Flynn, whose company owns 24 of the restaurants in California and has donated to Newsoms campaigns.

This story is absurd, Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack said Thursday.

Flynn said in a statement Thursday that he opposed the initial legislation and suggested fast casual restaurants like bakeries, bagel shops and delis be excluded if the intent of the bill was to address alleged labor code violations in fast food restaurants.

But he denied asking for an exemption or special considerations and said he was surprised when the exemption appeared in the final bill. He said he met with Newsoms staff about the bill alongside other restaurant owners but did not speak to the governor about it.

The Flynn Group and Flynn Properties operate 2,600 restaurants and fitness centers across 44 states, according to the companys website. Campaign finance records show Flynn Properties and Greg Flynn  the founder, chairman and CEO  have donated more than $220,000 to Newsoms political campaigns since 2017. That included a $100,000 donation to Newsoms campaign to defeat a recall attempt in 2021.

The governors office is now arguing Panera Bread is not exempt from the law.

Stack said to be exempt from the minimum wage law as a bakery, restaurants must produce bread for sale on site. The Governors Office said many chain bakeries, such as Panera Bread, mix dough at a centralized off-site location and then ship that dough to the restaurant for baking and sale.

Since last year, Panera Bread has been reported as a restaurant exempt from the law and Newsoms office has not said otherwise, even when the governor was directly asked why the chain was exempt.

A message left with Panera Bread about their baking process were not immediately returned. Flynns statement did not directly address that argument, but he says its likely his restaurants will have to raise wages either way.

Such a narrow exemption has very little practical value. As it applies to all of our peer restaurants in the fast casual segment, we will almost certainly have to offer market value wages in order to attract and retain employees, he said.

Republican leaders in the state Legislature highlighted the report and called for an investigation.

Put simply, campaign contributions should not buy carveouts in legislation, Republican state Senate leader Brian Jones said. Its unacceptable.

Assemblymember James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the assembly, said Attorney General Rob Bonta or another entity responsible for investigating conflicts of interest should look into the matter.

This exemption, there is no explanation for it. Someone had to push for it, he said.

The law was authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden, a Democrat from Pasadena. Holden told reporters Thursday he was not involved in the negotiations over the bills final amendments, which included the $20 minimum wage increase and the exemption for bakeries. He said those talks happened between the business community and labor unions  groups Holden said were brought together through the governors leadership.

Holden said he did not know Flynn or his status as a Newsom campaign donor. He declined to discuss if there were any legitimate policy reasons for exempting bakeries from the law.

Im not going to try to start parceling every individual group, Holden said. The way that the bill moved forward, everyone whos in is in.

The law represented a compromise between labor unions and business groups. Tia Orr, executive director of the Service Employees International Union California, said the law was a transformational step toward an economy that works for all, not just billionaires.

Like all transformational initiatives, it addressed difficult questions around its scope, including what constitutes a fast-food restaurant as opposed to a bakery, for example, and it involved literally hundreds of businesses in discussions, Orr said. But the big picture is clear: a half million fast food workers in our state now have the power to improve their workplaces.

Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, said the issue has the potential to damage Newsom, much like when Newsom went to dinner at the French Laundry during the pandemic at a time when he was urging people to avoid public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That issue gave momentum to a recall effort, which voters ultimately rejected.

The last time the governor got in the middle of a restaurant-related controversy, his hesitation to address it turned a small problem into a much bigger one, Schur said.

Lawmakers are considering more exemptions for the fast-food minimum wage increase. On Thursday, the state Senate approved a bill that would exclude fast-food restaurants in airports, hotels, large event centers, theme parks, museums, gambling establishments, corporate campuses and certain public lands.

Holden said workers in these restaurants are attempting to negotiate salaries higher than $20 per hour. He said they were concerned being included in the minimum wage law would hurt those negotiations.

___

Associated Press reporter Tran Nguyen contributed.

By ADAM BEAM

Associated Press
Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister who forged closer ties with US, dies at 84

Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister who forged closer ties with US, dies at 84 View Photo

TORONTO (AP)  Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who forged close ties with two Republican U.S. presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but is now celebrated, died Thursday. He was 84.

The countrys 18th prime minister died peacefully and surrounded by family, daughter Caroline Mulroney said in a post on X. Mulroneys family said last summer he was improving daily after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer in early 2023. A family spokesman said Mulroney died at a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida, where he was being treated after a recent fall.

Leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1983 to 1993, Mulroney served almost a decade as prime minister after he was first elected in 1984 after snagging the largest majority in Canadian history with 211 of 282 seats.

The win would mark Canadas first Conservative majority government in 26 years. His government was reelected in 1988. Mulroney entered the job with widespread support, but he left with the lowest approval rating in Canadian history. His Progressive Conservative party suffered a devastating defeat just after he left office. But in the years after the loss, prime ministers sought his advice.

He had the courage to do big things, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. He shaped our past, but he shapes our present and he will impact our future as well. He was an extraordinary statesman and he will be deeply, deeply missed.

The man known for his charm and Irish blarney  a gift for the gab  was an ardent advocate of stronger U.S.-Canadian relations. He pushed a free trade deal forward in no small part due to his chumminess with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Few Canadians around during his reign have forgotten the widely broadcast Mulroney-Reagan duet of When Irish Eyes Are Smiling at the Shamrock summit in Quebec City in 1985, named after the pairs Irish heritage and the fact that their meeting fell on St. Patricks Day. The 24-hour meeting opened the door to future free trade talks between the countries.

Along with a fan base of fellow conservative Margaret Thatcher, Mulroney also had an enduring friendship with former President George H.W. Bush.

Mulroney eulogized both Reagan and Bush at their funerals. Reagan and Mulroney became friends as two national leaders during the last decade of the Cold War. Mulroneys nine years in power overlapped with Bushs four.

Former President George W. Bush expressed sadness at Mulroneys death and credited him with helping end the Cold War.

In a statement referencing the Canadian leaders close relationship with his father, Bush quoted from Mulroneys words at the elder Bushs funeral: But the best ships are friendships, and may they always be.

May his ship sail on in fair winds and following seas, the statement from Bush and his wife, Laura, said.

It was Mulroneys amiable relationship with his southern counterparts that helped develop the free-trade treaty, a hotly contested pact at the time. The trade deal led to a permanent realignment of the Canadian economy and huge increases in north-south trade. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world. More than 75% of Canadas exports go to the U.S.

He unleashed free enterprise, crushed inflation, restored fiscal sanity and concluded one of the greatest free trade agreements the world has ever seen, Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement.

On the world stage, he stood firmly on the side of Western allies against communism and for freedom. He was among the first and most strident to fight against South Africas Apartheid policy and champion the cause of Nelson Mandela.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Mulroney holds a special place in South Africas history.

During his term, he spoke out against apartheid, advocated the economic isolation of the regime and took a stand when many in the international community were wavering, Ramaphosa said in a statement.

However, Mulroneys administration was saddled with scandals and his time as prime minister came crashing down in 1993 when voters delivered a devastating election defeat to his Progressive Conservative Party, leaving it with just two seats in the 295-member House of Commons. He left shortly before the election result.

The defeat came amid widespread unhappiness over Canadas then-depressed economy. Canadians blamed Mulroney for a 3-year-old recession that left a record number of people out of work or bankrupt.

Under his leadership, a much-criticized 7% sales tax was pushed through, as well as the 1988 U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement, after more than 100 years of tariff protection. The agreement later included Mexico in 1994, evolving into the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Prime Minister Mulroneys instrumental role in the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement laid the foundation for decades of economic cooperation and shared prosperity between the United States and Canada, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, said in a statement.

Mulroney, the Quebec-born, half-Irish boy from Baie-Comeau (a small-town in the French-speaking province), campaigned hard on the trade agreement following his first term.

But many constituents opposed the treaty, concerned the agreement would jeopardize Canadian sovereignty. Critics blamed the rising unemployment during the late 80s and early 90s in Canada on factors such as businesses moving south to escape higher Canadian taxes and labor costs.

Former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted Mulroney was vilified for the free trade deal during his leadership but said history will remember him as the leader who set Canada on a path to unprecedented economic growth and prosperity.

Mulroney also irked Canadians by failing to unite the countrys then bickering provinces and resolve French-speaking Quebecs desire for special status in the constitution, eventually leading to what would become a referendum on Quebec separation after he left office. The Quebec separatists lost a narrow vote.

He helped revive the conservative party. It didnt exist in Quebec before him, former Prime Minister Jean Chretien said.

Mulroney was born March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, an isolated smelting town on Quebecs North Shore. The town mill was American-owned. Mulroney was raised on the notion that American investment meant jobs for his father and the other families in Baie-Comeau.

Hired as a labor lawyer by Montreals largest law firm, he later became the president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Hanna Mining.

In 1972, he met a bikini-clad Mila Pivnicki by the pool at the Mount Royal Tennis Club. She was 14 years his junior. She would become his wife at age 19.

His was survived by his wife, Mila, and four children: Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas.

___

Follow APs Canada coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/canada

By ROB GILLIES and CHARMAINE NORONHA

Associated Press
The Latest | US will airdrop aid to Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire as crowd sought food

The Latest | US will airdrop aid to Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire as crowd sought food View Photo

The United States military will airdrop humanitarian assistance into Gaza, President Joe Biden announced Friday, a day after witnesses say Israeli forces shot desperately hungry Palestinians crowding around a food aid truck.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded in Gaza City on Thursday, the Health Ministry in Gaza said.

Israel says many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and its troops fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way.

Since the war began, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israels Kerem Shalom crossing.

The U.N. says a quarter of Gazas 2.3 million people face starvation. Aid officials have said that airdrops are not an efficient means of distributing aid and are a measure of last resort.

The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has soared above 30,000 since Israels war on Hamas began nearly five months ago, after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Currently:

 The EU says it will send funds to Gazas main aid provider after the U.N. agency agrees to an audit.

 Biden approves military airdrops of aid into Gaza after the chaotic encounter that left more than 100 dead.

 A Gaza doctor says gunfire accounted for 80% of the wounds at his hospital from aid convoy bloodshed.

 Find more of APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.

Heres the latest:

SOME 9,000 PALESTINIAN WOMEN HAVE BEEN KILLED, UN WOMEN SAYS

UNITED NATIONS  An estimated 9,000 Palestinian women have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since Hamas Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel, and many more are reported to be buried under the rubble, the United Nations agency promoting gender equality says.

UN Women said in a statement late Friday that, at the current rate, an average of 63 women will be killed every day the war continues. And an estimated 37 of them will be mothers who leave devastated families and children less protected, it said.

UN Women said its rapid assessment of 120 women between Feb. 8-11 found that 84% reported that their family eats half or less the amount they did before the war began. And the same percentage indicated that at least one family member had to skip meals during the previous week, the agency said.

Unless there is an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, UN Women said, many more people will die in the coming days and weeks.

UN TEAM THAT VISITED GAZA HOSPITAL REPORTED LARGE NUMBER OF GUNSHOT WOUNDS

UNITED NATIONS  The United Nations says a U.N. team that visited Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported that there were a large number of gunshot wounds among the more than 200 people still being treated for injuries from Thursdays deadly incident involving Palestinians seeking aid from a humanitarian convoy.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday the team reported after their visit Friday that Shifa reportedly admitted more than 700 injured people and received the bodies of more than 70 people who were killed in Thursdays bloodshed near Gaza City.

The U.N. team met with some of the more than 200 injured Palestinians still in the hospital on Friday, and from what they saw of patients getting treatment there was a large number of gunshot wounds, Dujarric said.

The spokesman said he wasnt aware that the team from the U.N. humanitarian office, World Health Organization and U.N. childrens agency UNICEF examined the bodies of those killed.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others injured according to health officials when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off the aid convoy.

Israel said its troops accompanying the convoy fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way, and said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede that started when Palestinians rushed the aid trucks.

BIDEN NOW SAYS HE HOPES GAZE CEASE-FIRE DEAL CAN BE MADE BEFORE RAMADAN

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden said earlier this week that a cease-fire deal could be reached by Monday. But on Friday evening, he said he still held hope a deal can be struck, but possibly before Muslims around the globe begin observing the holy month of Ramadan that is expected to begin March 10.

Im still hoping so, Biden said. Were still working real hard at it. Were not there yet.

He added, You know, its not over until it is over and said that all sides have to agree on timing but that theyre still far apart.

BIDEN SAYS UNITED STATES WILL BEGIN AIRDROPS OF HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden said Friday that the U.S. will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza, a day after witnesses say Israeli troops killed dozens of Palestinians as crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

Biden said the airdrops will begin in the coming days, and made the announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed on Thursday and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way.

PALESTINIAN RIVALS HAMAS AND FATAH MEET IN MOSCOW, FIRST MEETING SINCE OCT. 7

BEIRUT  Representatives of rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah met in an official capacity for the first time since Oct. 7 this week at a summit hosted by Russia, along with other Palestinian factions.

Following two days of meetings, the factions said in a joint statement Friday that they aim to hold more rounds of meetings to reach national unity that includes all Palestinian forces and factions within the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Hamas is not part of the Fatah-dominated PLO, which has officially recognized the state of Israel. Hamas does not  although its leaders have signaled they are interested in joining the PLO, which would at least implicitly entail recognizing Israel based upon pre-1967 borders.

Hamas political official Osama Hamdan said last week that his group hopes to reach a unified position on future governance of the Palestinian territories with Fatah and other factions. Hamdan said Hamas supports a Palestinian government to be formed by the factions that would oversee post-war reconstruction and prepare for general elections in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

EGYPTS FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS HE HOPES FOR PAUSE IN GAZA FIGHTING

ANTALYA, Turkey  Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri expressed hope for an agreement to pause fighting in Gaza that could lead to a permanent cease-fire.

Speaking at a diplomacy forum in the Turkish city of Antalya, Shoukri said it was important that a cease-fire is achieved before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10.

We are hopeful that the areas of divergence between the two sides can be bridged and that we can reach at least a temporary cessation of hostilities to lead to a permanent one, Shoukri said.

If this conflict was to continue in Ramadan, Egypts top diplomat added, I think this will have a very dire consequence in that the emotions will be further inflamed, the dissatisfaction of the Arab and Muslim world  not to mention, of course, the West Bank and Jerusalem  will be aggravated.

GAZA HOSPITAL SAYS 80% OF ITS PATIENTS WOUNDED IN MELEE WERE HIT BY GUNFIRE

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  The head of a Gaza City hospital where some of the wounded from a deadly melee over an aid convoy had been taken said Friday that more than 80% had been hit by gunfire.

The remainder of the patients  34 of 176 were injured in a stampede triggered by the shooting, said Dr. Mohammed Salha, acting director of the Al-Awda Hospital.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 were wounded after huge crowds of desperate people raced to pull goods off an aid convoy Thursday, according to health officials.

Witnesses said they came under fire from nearby Israeli troops. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

The high ratio of gunshot injuries among the wounded at Al-Awda Hospital suggests there had been heavy Israeli fire.

It was not immediately clear how many of the 112 dead had been killed by gunfire.

THE EU AGREES CONDITIONS FOR GIVING $50 MILLION TO U.N. AGENCY FOR GAZA

BRUSSELS  The European Union said Friday that it will pay 50 million euros ($54 million) to the main U.N. provider of aid in Gaza next week after the agency agreed to allow EU-appointed experts to audit the way it screens staff to identify extremists.

The UNRWA agency is reeling from allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. The agency fired the employees, but more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about $450 million, almost half the budget for 2024.

The EUs executive branch, the European Commission, had been due to disburse 82 million euros ($89 million) to UNRWA on Feb. 29 but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit. The commission is the third biggest donor to UNRWA after the United States and Germany.

The commission said two further tranches of funding worth 16 million euros ($17.3 million) each will be given to UNRWA as it complies with the agreement.

UNRWA is on the brink of financial collapse.

TURKEY DENOUNCES ISRAELI FORCES FIRING ON PALESTINIANS WHO WERE WAITING FOR AID DELIVERY

ANKARA, Turkey  Turkey denounced Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid as yet another crime against humanity.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza and alleged that the latest event, which left more than 100 people dead, was evidence of Israels intention to destroy the entire Palestinian population.

The entire world must realise that the atrocity in Gaza is about to become a global catastrophe with repercussions far beyond the region, the ministry said. We therefore call on all those with influence over the Israeli government to stop the ongoing violence in Gaza.

By The Associated Press
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Bird Song of the Day

Winter Wren, Grand Manan Island; Middle Dam Pond, New Brunswick, Canada. JUMBLED COLLECTION OF MUSICAL NOTES. Hardly!

* * *

Politics

So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital. Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles

2024

Less than a year to go! * * * Trump (R) (Willis, Election Interference) Ex-divorce lawyers testimony complicates Willis, Wade controversy [The Hill]. The defense is seeking to disqualify Willis, Wade and the entirety of the Fulton County district attorneys office from continuing to prosecute the sweeping racketeering case against Trump and several allies. At the heart of their argument is the timeline of Willis and Wades relationship, which defense attorneys say began prior to Wades hiring. The defense claims Willis has benefited from Wades employment via trips the pair took together while dating. Wade was hired in November 2021. Both prosecutors have maintained that they began dating in early 2022  after Wades hiring  and broke it off in summer 2023, just before Trumps indictment was handed down, insisting there is no conflict. But testimony this week threw their timeline further into question. Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for 2020 Trump campaign operative Michael Roman, who first publicly surfaced allegations of the relationship, presented Bradley with the defenses silver bullet Tuesday: text messages showing the ex-Wade law partner confirming the defenses timeline. Despite Bradleys demurring on the witness stand, his text messages align with testimony given at an earlier hearing by an ex-friend of Willis. Robin Yeartie, who met Willis in college, testified earlier this month that Willis and Wade began a romantic relationship in 2019, after a municipal court conference  and several years earlier than the prosecutors have claimed, under oath. Willis dismissed Yearties testimony. And: Judge Scott McAfee will hear arguments from the attorneys Friday afternoon and will then proceed to craft a decision. He previously said the allegations against Willis and Wade could result in their disqualification if evidence shows an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of one.' Trump (R) (Willis, Election Interference) Texts Show Witness Readily Helped Build a Case to Disqualify Trump Prosecutors [New York Times]. undreds of text messages obtained by The New York Times show that Bradley, a former law partner and friend of Wade, helped a defense lawyer to expose the relationship between the two prosecutors. The texts reveal that Bradley, who served for a time as Wades divorce lawyer until the two men had a bitter falling-out, assisted the effort to reveal the romance and provide details about it for at least four months  countering the impression he left on the witness stand that he had known next to nothing about the romance. And: Before exposing the romance in her Jan. 8 filing, Merchant asked Bradley in a text, Do you think it started before she hired him? Absolutely, Bradley replied, adding that the romance had started when the two served as local judges, before Willis election as district attorney in 2020. But on the witness stand this week, Bradley said he had only been speculating about the timing. Although Wade had told him about the relationship, he said on the stand, he did not have direct knowledge about when it began. Trump (R) Trumps one loss this week: His 2024 courtroom strategy [Axios]. Trumps delay tactics are paying off in court, but he may be losing one of his most potent venues for his grievance-centered campaign: courthouses. It now appears likely that just one of Trumps four criminal cases  the one in New York involving hush money paid to an adult film actress  will conclude before the 2024 election. That means Trump  whos used court appearances for rants against against Democrats and fundraising pleas  may need new backdrops in casting himself as a victim of politically motivated prosecutors. Even as hes orchestrated his court appearances as campaign messaging, Trump has complained of being stuck here instead of being on the campaign trail. But some of Trumps biggest fundraising hauls of the campaign have come after his courthouse speeches, his team has said. The U.S. Supreme Courts decision on Wednesday to hear arguments over whether Trump has immunity for any crimes committed as president has thrown a wrench into his court calendar  an extension of his campaign schedule.  Im sure the Democrats will come up with something else * * * Trump (R): She sits in a tough chair: Meet Susie Wiles, the operative trying to guide Trump through four indictments to the White House [NBC]. In a rare on-the-record interview the day after Trump romped to victory over Nikki Haley in South Carolina, the platinum-bobbed and blue-eyed Wiles, 66, said his success so far is attributable to precisely one person: President Trump.' She had better! More: She said his natural political skills  determination and being a student of people and a good reader of sentiment  have been coupled with invaluable experience gained over eight years in the political and policy arenas. Hes now more knowledgeable about what it takes to be president after his first term. Hes more knowledgeable about how to interact with the media. His personnel instincts are, I think, better honed, Wiles said in a 30-minute phone call. The new skills are inside the package of the same Donald Trump, and I think thats whats making the difference this time.' But then theres this: A former Trump campaign official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid angering him and Wiles, pointed to Trumps cash crunch as a reason to doubt Wiles effectiveness. This person said Wiles is capable in state-level races and presidential primaries, in which close relationships with outside power players matter more than they do in a full-scale national campaign for the White House.  Well see. But it makes sense to spend early and lock the nomination up. s Trump (R): No, Trump, the Black people arent on your side [Renee Graham, Boston Globe]. I think thats why the Black people are so much on my side now because they see whats happening to me happens to them, Trump said. Does that make sense? No. It doesnt. Its a safe guess that a majority of the Black people do not equate the legal wages of Trumps self-inflicted sins  91 federal felony counts from four indictments in four jurisdictions  with the more than 400 brutal years of legalized, systemic, and institutional discrimination that Black people in America have always faced.  Surely not all or even most. But I cant help but recall the (Black) people cheering Trumps motorcade as he drove by on his way to being arraigned. Well-to-do suburbanites they were not. Whats happening to me happens to them? Yep. Trump (R): Trump Says He Is Absolutely Considering Gov. Greg Abbott As Potential VP Pick [HuffPost]. In a joint interview with Fox News Sean Hannity during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump said the governor is absolutely included on his vice presidential shortlist. Certainly, he would be somebody that I would very much consider, Trump said in a joint appearance with Abbott. Trump praised Abbott as a spectacular man, adding that he was honored to receive his endorsement this past November. Abbott, though [as he must], told CNNs State of the Union Sunday that he remains focused on Texas and helping Trump win re-election in his current position as governor.  Whats Abbot going to do? Swing Texas Trumps way? * * * Biden (D): Axelrod: Biden Needs To Worry About Black Voters, Especially If Trump Picks Tim Scott As VP [RealClearPolitics]. [Trumps] polling, you know, 20, 21% among, African-American voters here. Biden, got 88% of that vote, back in 2020. And this is going to be a marginal race. So, this is a concern. And, yes, Black men and particularly younger Black men are the ones that are drifting away. Some may vote for Trump, some may not vote at all. And, this has to be a concern, for the Biden campaign. Trump knows that. And I, by the way, I think it may impact on his vice presidential choice. And, you know, theres a lot of talk about Tim Scott as a vice presidential candidate. I think if he picks Tim Scott, its partly because he recognizes this would be helpful in kind of sealing in, that portion of the African-American vote that he now has. Biden (D): The Increasing Attacks on Kamala Harris [The New Yorker]. The deck: The Vice-President is trying to cast herself as a leader and connect with voters who are not excited about the Democratic ticket.  I read the whole article, and it boils down to trying. Theres nothing there. * * * Williamson (D): Marianne Williamson Re-Enters 2024 Race After Winning 3% in Michigan [Bloomberg]. Self-help author Marianne Williamson said she is unsuspending her long-shot presidential campaign a day after winning 3% of the vote in the Michigan Democratic primary. Some people would say, youre delusional. But Ill tell you whats delusional. Whats delusional is just closing our eyes and crossing our fingers and hoping that somehow Biden and Harris will be able to beat that juggernaut of dark, dark vision, she said, referring to Republican Donald Trump, in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter. Williamson, 71, has championed progressive ideas, including Medicare-for-all and free college tuition. Her re-entry into the race is meant to capture ongoing dissatisfaction with Biden, 81, among some Democrats amid concerns about his handling of the economy and mental acuity.  Heres the Tweet: #Unsuspended pic.twitter.com/7BEcIo3iij  Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson) February 28, 2024 Williamson (D): Marianne Williamson unsuspends her 2024 presidential campaign [WXYZ Detroit]. The Democratic candidate announced Wednesday she is throwing her hat back in the ring, unsuspending her campaign after announcing she was calling it quits three weeks ago. I had suspended it because I was losing the horse race, but something so much more important than the horse race is at stake here, and we must respond, she said in a video posted to X.  Williamson, running as a progressive to the left of President Biden, came in third with around 3% of the votes, beating out fellow presidential hopeful Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota despite having already suspended her race.  Williamson beats Phillips like a gong. Thats pretty funny. * * * Against Democrats What, Me Worry? Approach to Losing Working Class Voters [Ruy Tiexeira, The Liberal Patriot]. More recycled Thomas Frank, though it does seem that Tiexeira has the zeal of the apostate. Still, check this out:  the progressive or intersectional left.  Tiexeira ties his shoelaces together right there. He apparently cannot  exactly as liberal Democrat cannot  of empowering the working class, period. Here is the mathematical defintion of intersection: {1,2,3}  {2,3,4} = {2,3}. Less is less. Surely what we want is more is more? Perhaps what we want is, not coincidentally, union {1,2,3}  {2,3,4} = {1,2,3,4} (if I have that notation right, and Im not sure I do. Americans Arent Paying Close Attention to the 2024 Election [The Liberal Patriot]. Yes, Labor Day is a ways away. Interesting chart, though: Our democracy.

#COVID19

I am in earnest  I will not equivocate  I will not excuse  I will not retreat a single inch  AND I WILL BE HEARD. William Lloyd Garrison

Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot; includes many counties; Wastewater Scan, includes drilldown by zip); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); Iowa COVID-19 Tracker (in IA, but national data). Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts (especially on hospitalization by city).

Lambert here: Readers, thanks for the collective effort. To update any entry, do feel free to contact me at the address given with the plants. Please put COVID in the subject line. Thank you!

Resources, United States (Local): AK (dashboard); AL (dashboard); AR (dashboard); AZ (dashboard); CA (dashboard; Marin, dashboard; Stanford, wastewater; Oakland, wastewater); CO (dashboard; wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); FL (wastewater); GA (wastewater); HI (dashboard); IA (wastewater reports); ID (dashboard, Boise; dashboard, wastewater, Central Idaho; wastewater, Coeur dAlene; dashboard, Spokane County); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); KS (dashboard; wastewater, Lawrence); KY (dashboard, Louisville); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MN (dashboard); MO (wastewater); MS (dashboard); MT (dashboard) ; NC (dashboard); ND (dashboard; wastewater); NE (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NJ (dashboard); NM (dashboard); NV (dashboard; wastewater, Southern NV); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); OK (dashboard); OR (dashboard) ; PA (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); SD (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); UT (wastewater); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater); WV ( wastewater ); WY ( wastewater ).

Resources, Canada (National): Wastewater (Government of Canada).

Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usees); BC (wastewater); BC, Vancouver (wastewater).

Hat tips to helpful readers: Alexis, anon (2), Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Chuck L, Festoonic, FM, FreeMarketApologist (4), Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JEHR, JF, JL Joe, John, JM (10), JustAnotherVolunteer, JW, KatieBird, LL, Michael King, KF, LaRuse, mrsyk, MT, MT_Wild, otisyves, Petal (6), RK (2), RL, RM, Rod, square coats (11), tennesseewaltzer, Tom B., Utah, Bob White (3).

Stay safe out there!

* * *

Covid is Airborne

SARS-CoV-2 Contamination on Healthy Individuals Hands in Community Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic [Cureus]. From the Abstract: We collected 1,022 swab samples from the hands of healthy participants. According to the criteria for data collection, 97 samples were excluded, and 925 samples were analyzed using RT-qPCR. The RT-qPCR-positive samples did not contain viable viruses, as confirmed by the plaque assay results. The detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the hands of healthy individuals was extremely low, and no viable viruses were detected. These results suggest that the risk of contact transmission via hands in a community setting is extremely rare.  Shocked, shocked. Somebody tell CDC!

Maskstravaganza

Impact of community mask mandates on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Ontario after adjustment for differential testing by age and sex [PNAS Nexus]. Model study. From the Abstract: In Ontario, Canada, irregular regional introduction of community mask mandates in 2020 created a quasi-experiment useful for evaluating the impact of such mandates The prevented fraction associated with mask mandates was 46% (95% CI 4151%), with 290,000 clinical cases, 3,008 deaths, and loss of 29,038 quality-adjusted life years averted from 2020 June to December, representing $CDN 610 million in economic wealth. Under-testing in younger individuals biases estimates of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and obscures the impact of public health preventive measures. After adjustment for under-testing, mask mandates emerged as highly effective. Community masking saved substantial numbers of lives, and prevented economic costs, during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Ontario, Canada. Conversational tip: When I talk to people about my mask the one thing that resonates is when I say

 I havent been sick for 4 years.

I see the wheels turning and the longing in their eyes.

Ive cracked what works.

Nobody wants to be sick!  Jacaranda Stop the #PopulationCull (@Randall87454048) February 29, 2024 * * * Evaluation of the Efficacy and Aerodynamic Intervention of Face Shields against Pathogenic Aerosols Using Computational Fluid Dynamics and Wells-Riley Transport Model (accepted article) [Philippine Journal of Science]. From the Abstract: Results showed that the face shield is only effective against coughs hitting perpendicular to the surface. At other angles of attack, the protection by the face shield diminishes, and wearing a face shield can instead increase the infection risk against pathogenic aerosols. * * * The Industrial Designer behind the N95 Mask [Scientific American]. [At 3M, Sara Little Turnbull] dug into that non-woven technology and all its many potential uses. She came up with 100 original product ideas, including one whose effects would resound across the globe: the moldable bra cup. Instead of an overly rigid and uncomfortable shape, the moldable cup fit snugly to the breastand with fewer seam lines at that! [But] that moldable bra cup would pave the way for another invention  one with much farther-reaching effects While she was working with 3M, Sara was also taking care of three sick family members. Both her parents and her sister were dying, all at the same time, which meant that Sara spent a lot of time in hospitals. And she began to notice the masks the doctors were wearing  a flat piece of fabric, with a tie in the back. Maybe it was the boredom of long hours spent in hospital rooms; maybe it was a racing brain that couldnt be tamed; maybe it was a project designed to distract herself from her own intense grief  we cant say for sure. But Sara had an idea. What if she could take that moldable bra that shed designed and turn it into a better medical mask? In 1972, 3M produced a mask and it looked a whole lot like a moldable bra cup!  Speculating very freely: Will Dr. Freud please pick up the white courtesy phone? Is it possible that the N95 activates unconscious taboos, and that this is one source for the unreasoning resistance to them? Compliance with containment measures to the COVID-19 pandemic over time: Do antisocial traits matter? [Personality and Individual Differences]. 2021. From the Abstract: This study investigated the relationships between antisocial traits and compliance with COVID-19 containment measures. The sample consisted of 1578 Brazilian adults aged 1873 years who answered facets from the PID-5, the Affective resonance factor of the ACME, and a questionnaire about compliance with containment measures. Our findings indicated that antisocial traits, especially lower levels of empathy and higher levels of Callousness, Deceitfulness, and Risk-taking, are directly associated with lower compliance with containment measures. These traits explain, at least partially, the reason why people continue not adhering to the containment measures even with increasing numbers of cases and deaths.  A lot of libertarians in Brazil, then? (Seriously: I deprecate cross-country/cross-cultural studies. And I dont think snarking on anti-maskers is effective, pragmatically, though heaven knows what is.)

Prevention

Reducing Vaccinia virus transmission indoors within 60 seconds: Applying SAFEAIR-X aerosol with Iodine-V as a disinfectant [PLOS One]. Iodine-V ((C 26 H 39 N 4 O 15 ) x * (I 2 ) y ) demonstrates an in vitro virucidal activity by deactivating SARS-CoV-2 viral titers. The antiviral properties of Iodine-V reduce viral load in the air to inhibit viral transmission indoors. This antiviral property was applied to form a disinfectant solution called SAFEAIR-X Aerosol.  The experiment measured the antiviral efficacy of SAFEAIR-X following exposure to the Vaccinia virus (VACV) samples as a confirmed surrogate for SARS-CoV-2. The SAFEAIR-X showed 96% effectiveness, with 2 seconds of spraying duration and 60 seconds of contact time releasing less than 0.0001 ppm of iodine into the air, and a log reduction value of 1.50 at 60 seconds in 2 out of 3 tests was observed. Therefore, this study demonstrates SAFEAIR-X aerosol as a potential indoor surface and air disinfectant.  Awesome. When can we buy it?

Elite Maleficence

PETITION TO THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW CHALLENGING ALLEGED UNDERGROUND REGULATION (PDF) [World Health Network] (embedded at the end of todays Water Cooler). This petition challenges the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) one day guidance for Covid isolation, shortly to be adopted by the CDC, as we saw in Links this morning. Here is the key paragraph: CPDH just promulgated the rule, arbitrarily. They dont get to do that. CDPH must think theyre the CDC, or something. (On underground regulation, see The California Department of Political Health Mandates Covid Infection with Its New One Day Order (and How to Stop Them) at NC.) PETITION TO THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW CHALLENGING ALLEGED UNDERGROUND REGULATION [World Health Network] (embedded at the end of todays Water Cooler). The same argument, but for Californias department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), known as Cal/OSHA.

* * *

TABLE 1: Daily Covid Charts

LEGEND

1)  for charts new today; all others are not updated.

2) For a full-size/full-resolution image, Command-click (MacOS) or right-click (Windows) on the chart thumbnail and open image in new tab.

NOTES

[1] (Biobot) Biobot drops, conformant to Walgreen positivity data (if that is indeed not a data artifact). Note, however, the area under the curve, besides looking at peaks. That area is larger under Biden than under Trump, and it seems to be rising steadily if unevenly.

[2] (Biobot) Regional separation re-emerges.

[3] (CDC Variants) As of May 11, genomic surveillance data will be reported biweekly, based on the availability of positive test specimens. Biweeekly: 1. occurring every two weeks. 2. occurring twice a week; semiweekly. Looks like CDC has chosen sense #1. In essence, theyre telling us variants are nothing to worry about. Time will tell.

[4] (ER) Does not support Biobot data. Charts and data provided by CDC, updates Wednesday by 8am. For the past year, using a rolling 52-week period.

[5] (Hospitalization: NY) Not flattening.

[6] (Hospitalization: CDC) Still down. Maps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates weekly for the previous MMWR week (Sunday-Saturday) on Thursdays (Deaths, Emergency Department Visits, Test Positivity) and weekly the following Mondays (Hospitalizations) by 8 pm ET.

[7] (Walgreens) Thats a big drop! It would be interesting to survey this population generally; these are people who, despite a tsunami of official propaganda and enormous peer pressure, went and got tested anyhow.

[8] (Cleveland) Flattening, consistent with Biobot data.

[9] (Travelers: Posivitity) Down, albeit in the rear view mirror.

[10] (Travelers: Variants) About time for something to challenge JN.1. But whats other? Something to look forward to, I guess! Alert reader RoadDoggie points out that Other is NV.1, which is (very suddenly) 12.5% of the total, even if JN.1 still dominates. Here is the Biobot history of HV.1:

As you can see, HV.1 was dominant in November 2023. On todays CDC variant NowCast, it is quite low. Odd.

Stats Watch

Manufacturing: United States ISM Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) [Trading Economics]. The ISM Manufacturing PMI in the United States fell to 47.8 in February 2024 from 49.1 in the previous month, firmly below market expectations of 49.5 to point to the 16th consecutive period of declines in manufacturing activity, erasing previous hopes of fresh traction in the sector.

* * *

Antitrust: Google predatory advertising practices probe expanded by Canada antitrust watchdog [New York Post]. As part of the Competition Bureaus probe  which expands on an investigation that initially began in 2020  the law enforcement agency obtained an order from the Federal Court of Canada requiring Google to producing relevant records and written information, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Competition Bureau was issued its first court order related to their investigation into Googles conduct in the online-display-advertising market in October 2021, which sought to determine whether the Alphabet subsidiary was impeding the success of competitors and surging prices as a result, The Journal reported.

Tech: Elon Musk sues OpenAI accusing it of putting profit before humanity [The Guardian]. Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit accusing OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, of betraying its foundational mission by putting the pursuit of profit ahead of the benefit of humanity. The worlds richest man, a founding board member of the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, claimed Altman had set aflame OpenAIs founding agreement by signing an investment deal with Microsoft. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco on Thursday, claims OpenAI is now developing artificial general intelligence (AGI)  a theoretical form of AI that can perform a range of tasks at or above a human level of intelligence  for profit rather than for the benefit of humankind. OpenAI Inc has been transformed into a closed-source, de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft. Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximise profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity, the lawsuit alleges.  I dont understand. Profit is the benefit of humanity. What other reason could there be?

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Todays Fear & Greed Index: 77 Extreme Greed (previous close: 79 Extreme Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 77 (Extreme Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Mar 1 at 1:22:35 PM ET.

Photo Book

Astronomy Picture of the Day [NASA]. How does the sky turn dark at night? In stages, and with different characteristic colors rising from the horizon. Image Credit & Copyright: Dario Giannobile:

Zeitgeist Watch

A new company is shipping Arctic ice from Greenland to chill posh drinks in Dubai [CNN]. The startup company, Arctic Ice, shipped its first container of around 22 tons of Greenland ice to Dubai this year for sale to high-end bars and restaurants. Founded in 2022 by two Greenlanders, Arctic Ice has an interesting  and controversial  business model. It scours the fjord near the countrys capital city of Nuuk for icebergs that have naturally detached from the ice sheet. We are looking for the clearest and thereby also oldest and purest ice, said Malik V. Rasmussen, one of the co-founders of Arctic Ice.  Enjoy it while it lasts!

Air as a Service business model (alert reader DG):

Class Warfare

Dr. Panglosss Panopticon [Crooked Timber]. What Acemoglu and Robinson are saying is something quite different than what Noah depicts them as saying. For sure, they acknowledge that persuasion has some stochasticity. But they stress that it is not a series of haphazard accidents. Instead, under their argument, there are some kinds of people who are systematically more likely to succeed in getting their views listened to than other kinds of people. This asymmetry can reasonably be considered to be an asymmetry of power. Under this definition, power is a kind of social influence. Again, it is completely true that it is extremely difficult to isolate social influence from other factors, proving that social influence absolutely caused this, that, or the other thing. But if Noah himself does not believe in the importance and value of social influence, then why does he get up in the morning and fire up his keyboard to go out and influence people, and why do people support his living by reading him? I imagine Noah would concede that social influence is a real thing! And if he were actually put to it, I think that he would also have to agree to a very plausible corollary: that on average he, Noah Smith, exerts more social influence than the modal punter argufying on the Internet. Lots of people pay to receive his newsletter; lots of other people receive it for free. That means that he is, under a very reasonable definition, more powerful than those other people. He is, on average, more capable of persuading large numbers of people of his beliefs than the modal reply-guy is going to be. This understanding of power is neither purely semantic nor empirically useless.  Yep.

News of the Wired

The Butterfly Redemption [Hakai]. Along with eight other incarcerated women, Heather is entrusted with the care and feeding of nearly 4,000 members of an endangered species, the Taylors checkerspot butterfly. With this trust comes the privilege of working just beyond the razor-wire fence during the day before returning to life among the general prison population each night. Recognizing the need for urgent action, the Oregon Zoo began a captive breeding program for the species in 2003. In 2011, the zoo helped establish the breeding program at Mission Creek as part of The Evergreen State College and Washington States Sustainability in Prisons Project. Since then, the work undertaken by these incarcerated women has become one of the last best hopes for the species survival.  Thats good, or at least better, certainly for Heather. Its too bad every citizen doesnt have an easy pathway to becoming a citizen scientist. We need more of them!

What To Do After You Finish the NY Times Crossword Puzzle [Kottke.org]. Good compendium of crossword links. But really the main thing to do after finishing the puzzle is to open the Spelling Bee back up Am I right???  Im so old I remember when the paper version of the Times was actually an event. It weighed a metric f*ckton, cost under two bucks, and sometimes it was actually good! In my lifetime!

* * *

Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi, lichen, and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From SR:

SR writes: The majesty of bark. Sorry I dont know what kind it is. But I havent seen you feature bark. And it is beautiful. Perhaps some woodpeckers handiwork too. More bark would be lovely. After all, I stan for stumps, why not bark?

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals:

Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated:

If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you!

APPENDIX World Health Networks Challenges to Californias One Day Covid Isolation Guidance

Id supply URLs, but these were only filed today, so theyre too new. Please circulate widely.
Yves here. The intensity of the legal and information campaign against Julian Assange demonstrates the fragility of our soi-disant leaders. Even though he exposed war crimes and dirty election dealings, they did not represent threat to security. But youd never know that if you listened to the calls for him to be drawn and quartered.

This post seeks to clear up some of the cultivated misinformation about Assange.

By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at Gods Spies



An enemy of the state is a person accused of political crimes such as treason. In designating persons as enemies of the state, the government can realize the political repression of political opponents, such as dissidents. A government can justify political repression as protecting the national security of the country and the nation.

 Wikipedia here

Its time to talk about Julian Assange, again. A decision on his extradition from the torture of his UK imprisonment to the torture of a U.S. imprisonment  where I believe he will be killed  could come any day.

From a legal standpoint, his crimes are none.

Misconception: Julian Assange is a traitor who should be brought to trial in the United States. Correction: Assange is not an American citizen, he has never lived in the US, and he does not have any significant ties to the US. He is an Australian citizen who was living and working in London when the US government opened its case against him. The charges against him are connected to WikiLeaks publication of materials in the public interest. Assanges extradition would set a dangerous precedent that could put other publishers and journalists around the world at risk, regardless of citizenship. Worryingly, the US government has also stated that First Amendment protections will not apply to Assange as a non-citizen. Misconception: Julian Assange is a whistleblower who leaked classified information. Correction: Assange played a different role to that of whistleblower; he did not leak classified information himself, but he published information that was leaked to him. The leaker, former Army analyst Chelsea Manning, already served more than seven years in prison before President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence, stating it was very disproportionate relative to what other leakers have received. If extradited to the US, Assange would be the first publisher tried under the Espionage Act, which lacks a public interest defence, meaning anyone accused in this way cannot sufficiently defend themselves. He faces the possibility of a staggering 175-year prison sentence.

But from the standpoint of the State, Assange is an enemy. The most notable of these crimes are listed below. (For others, like the diplomatic cables leaks, see this excellent piece by Lee Fang.)

1. Many, even self-identified liberals, hate him for publishing leaked information about Hillary Clinton and the DNC during the 2016 election.

Heres Hillary Clinton in May 2023. Note the phrase Russian Wikileaks below.

Clinton said she was confident that she was on track to winning the election until two things reversed her momentum: the release of campaign chairman John Podestas emails, which were allegedly stolen by Russian hackers, and Comeys Oct. 28 letter to Congress that he had reopened the bureaus investigation into her use of a private email server. I was on the way to winning until the combination of Jim Comeys letter on October 28 and Russian WikiLeaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off[.]

It is a widely held but factually baseless belief, that Russia worked with Wikileaks to hack and publish DNC data. When challenged, the Justice Department declined to present evidence of its truth.

2. Those who run the State hate him for exposing how the U.S. makes war.

Watch the Wikileaks-made film, Collateral Murder, embedded at the top. (If the embed wont play, click here.)

Its brutal to watch, but I challenge you to do it anyway. It shows not just murder, but a special kind of murder  murder from the safety of the air, murder by men with machine guns circling their targets like hunters with shotguns who walk the edges of a trout pond, shooting at will, waiting, walking, then shooting again, till all the fish are dead.

The film also shows war crimes, apparently par for the course, that implicate the entire structure of the U.S. military, as everyone involved was acting under orders. They sought permission to fire, waited, then got it before once more blasting away. The publication of this video, plus all the Wikileaks publications that followed, comprise the whole reason everyone in the U.S. who matters, everyone with power, wants Julian Assange dead.

The Heavy Hand of the State

Everyone with power also want him hated. Generating that hate is the process were watching today.

Everyone in this case includes every major newspaper that published and received awards for publishing Wikileaks material; all major U.S. televised media outlets; and all respectable U.S. politicians  including, of course, Hillary Clinton, who was rumored (though unverifiably) to have said, Cant we just drone this guy?

It was revealed by Michael Isikoff that the CIA and the Trump administration contemplated his murder:

Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange, going so far as to request sketches or options for how to assassinate him. Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred at the highest levels of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. There seemed to be no boundaries. The conversations were part of an unprecedented CIA campaign directed against WikiLeaks and its founder. The agencys multipronged plans also included extensive spying on WikiLeaks associates, sowing discord among the groups members, and stealing their electronic devices.

So please watch the film, though it may break your heart. The footage shows not only murder, but bloodlust and conscienceless brutality, so much of it in fact that this became one of the main reasons Chelsea Manning leaked it in the first place. As she said at her court-martial:

The most alarming aspect of the video for me, was the seemingly delight of bloodlust they [the pilots] appeared to have. They dehumanized the individuals they were engaging with, and seemed to not value human life in referring to them as dead bastards, and congratulating each other on the ability to kill in large numbers.

Bodies Pile on Bodies

This is done in our name, to keep us safe. This continues to be done every day that we and our allies are at war in the Middle East.

A supporter of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after he shot a wounded Palestinian as he lay on the ground in Hebron, holds a placard during a protest calling for his release in Tel Aviv on April 19. ( Baz Ratner / Reuters/REUTERS)

Bodies pile on bodies as this continues. The least we can do, literally the least, is to witness and acknowledge their deaths. And prevent the murder of Julian Assange for the crime of exposing these murderers for who they are. Its still not too late. For the latest as of this writing, please watch this.

(This is an expanded version of a previously published article.)
Yves here. We are running this post as a two-fer: a public service announcement of sorts, as well as a vignette of regulatory corruption. The post below discusses Seresto tick collars, which have been the subject of not mere thousands but over 100,000 FDA incident reports, including over 3,000 pet deaths. Recall that the Chinese melamine pet food scandal started with reports from what Wikipedia calls veterinary organization of a mere 100 deaths, although admittedly Canadian importer Menu Foods confirmed the toxicity in test animals and issued a recall. Here, the FDA looks unwilling to take on Seresto, even with the Office of the Inspector General finding the FDA review to be deficient and directing the agency to perform a new, more rigorous examination.

This smells of the FDA trying to protect a producer rather than consumers and users. This sort of behavior is pervasive in bank regulation, where too often the authorities bend over backwards to protect banks rather than make them shape up. And too often that extends to coddling incompetent and/or corrupt bank executives.

But banks really are essential to the economy, like it or not. One bank failing or being put down by regulators, even if entirely warranted, can set off runs in similar-looking banks even if they are in better condition. And regulators want banks to be profitable so they can put enough aside for loss reserves and increases in capital.

So bank regulators have conflicting priorities and lack good theories and guidelines as to what adequately profitable might amount to, which also makes them easy marks for industry blather like, If we arent making pretty good dough, we cant pay enough to keep that oh so important talent paid well enough to stick around.

In other words, bank regulators at least have a colorable excuse for their intellectual capture. The FDA has none. So what is going on here?

By Johnathan Hettinger. Originally published at The New Lede

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not properly reviewed the safety of a popular flea and tick collar that has been linked to more than 3,000 pet deaths, according to the agencys top watchdog.

The EPAs Office of Inspector General (OIG), an independent office in the agency tasked with holding the agency accountable, published a report on Thursday calling on the EPA to make a proper, science-based decision on the Seresto product and improve its processes for making safety determinations for pet products..

The report found that the agency has not conducted or published animal risk assessments as it promised to do, and continues to rely on an inadequate 1998 companion animal safety study.

Seresto pet collars work by releasing two active ingredients, the pesticides flumethrin and imidacloprid. The OIG found that the EPA has failed to properly review those active ingredients, including in a new analysis last year.

Pet Deaths

At a Congressional hearing in June 2022, pet owner Faye Hemsley, of Pennsylvania reported that her dog, Tigger, began to suffer from neurological issues, including his head drooping and a loss of energy, before dying five days after she first put the Seresto collar on him.

Thomas Maiorino, of New Jersey, also testified at the hearing that his familys dog, Rooney, suffered neurological issues and eventually a seizure, after wearing Seresto. They eventually decided to put the dog down. Many other pet owners reported neurological issues in their animals, including seizures, as well as pet deaths.

The collars have been the subject of more than 105,354 incident reports, including the 3,000 pet deaths, more than any other EPA regulated product in history, according to the EPAs incident database. From 2012 through 2022, the EPA received more than 100,000 incident reports related to the collars, including more than 2,500 pet death reports and nearly 900 reports of human pesticide incidents related to the Seresto pet collars.

The EPAs response to reported pesticide incidents involving Seresto pet collars has not provided assurance that the collars can still be used without posing unreasonable adverse effects to the environment, including to pets, the OIG report states.

The collar has been under sharp scrutiny in recent years, after USA Today and Investigate Midwest published an investigation spotlighting the high number of incident reports about Seresto. The US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is now the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, launched an investigation and subsequently determined that the EPA knew for years that Seresto was linked to a high number of pet deaths but took no action and recommending that the EPA take it off market.

The OIG report recommends that the EPA issue a new decision on the chemicals, but the agency disagrees. In a response to the OIG, Michal Freedhoff, the EPAs assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, wrote that its 2023 investigation satisfied requirements under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, which is the law regulating pesticides.

Freedhoff said there was a lack of evidence to tie the pesticides in the collars to the pet deaths.

In many of the death-related incidents, critical details of the incident were often missing, preventing the Agency from determining the cause of the death, Freedhoffs response states.

The only reported deaths that were found to be probably or definitely related to Seresto product use were associated with mechanical strangulation or trauma caused by the collar, often associated with a failure of the release mechanism. In addition, the rate of deaths reported for Seresto was similar to that for other pet products reviewed.

But the OIG found that the EPAs July 2023 investigation was fundamentally flawed and said the agency needs to improve assessments of adverse effects to pet health and update inadequate animal safety guidelines to align with international standards.

Lacking Regulatory Rigor EPA proposed transferring all regulation of pet products to the Food and Drug Administration.

The OIG also recommended the EPA implement standard operating procedures for how to conduct domestic risk assessments, measurable standards to determine when a product poses unreasonable adverse effects. The OIG also recommended EPA implement better data requirements both pre-approval and for incident reporting.

EPA product registration signals to the public that this product has undergone rigorous scrutiny and is deemed safe for public use, EPA Inspector General Sean W. ODonnell said in a press release. Registration reviews must be conducted at the highest standard to safeguard public trust and protect human health, pet health, and the environment.
Yves here. For those who follow Alexander Mercouris, the post further down from John Helmer may seem a tad redundant, since Mercouris read from it at some length in his Thursday presentation. Nevertheless, I am adding some additional commentary on the Helmer piece.

The overarching issue is what Russia does about the US and NATOs professed undying enmity for Russia. Russia cannot rely on hope, as in that Donald Trump will win in the US this fall, or that there will be enough regime change in European capitals to fracture European unity. Putin has commented repeatedly about how different US presidents have made commitments to him, only to have them be walked balk. He has attributed that to the existence of a permanent US bureaucracy which follows its aims irrespective of whoever is in the White House.1

And even if most European capitals eventually settle into what Aurelien has called epic sulking, Poland and the Baltic states look determined to keep whipping up anti-Russian fervor at every turn.

In other words, one of Russias aims had been a neutral Ukraine. Russia was determined to stop NATO perched on its borders. That had been agreed in the draft terms in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in March 2022.

But now whatever is left of Ukraine will be smaller than the Ukraine that almost agreed to terms in 2022. And Russia is still faced with the question of how to secure the neutrality of a rump Ukraine, as in the parts of Ukraine that Russia does not occupy and eventually succeed in having join the Russia Federation. Recall that the process used with the Crimea and the four newly adopted oblasts was a referendum. Having gone that route twice, any other way would look illegitimate. Putin also said at the very start of the SMO that Russia did not want to go where it was not welcome. He and likely the rest of the Russian leadership does not intend to garrison hostile territory; its costly and corrupting.

So how does Russia secure the neutrality of what will be left of Ukraine, which is presently in the hands of an acutely hostile government and still has Europe and the US keen to support it any way they can? Even if NATO is militarily impotent in terms of ground attack,2 it could still install boatloads of long-range launchers that could conceivably throw nuclear weapons.3 And closer to the Russian border in this context is clearly less desirable.

I have some quibbles with the Helmer post below. He makes it clear that substantial portions come straight from a single source. Single sources are problematic unless you can verify what they said (and even if they provide documents, those may not be complete enough to tell the full story).

Helmer does take issue with armchair generals who dont read or speak Russian and are trying to provide combat assessments on a current basis. Here I suspect he is taking aim at Simplicius the Thinker, who Russia-fluent readers have criticized for drawing incorrect inferences from machine-translated material. I have separately found him to be iffy when he gets out of his lane of military analysis and speculates about politics.

Nevertheless, Helmers source is generally on the same page as Simplicius on the current Russian approach, which is to press into Ukraine forces at many points on the extended front line. Simplicius depicts Russia as shifting the intensity of attack to force Ukraine into a plugging holes in the dyke scrambling. That may be true but recall that Ukraine would be limited to arial

forces in that approach; infantry cant be repositioned that rapidly.

This post opens with Ukraines failure any serious defensive lines behind the ones Russia is in the process of breaching, and the impossibility of constructing anything that would meaningfully impede Russian forces, both given time limits and Russian ability to make long-distance strikes. That allegedly (and very credibly) has Ukraine and US/NATO leaders in a lather. The US has publicized that Ukraine will run out of air defense missiles by the end of March and is projected to deplete its artillery by sometime in June. The loss of air defenses seems particularly critical, since that means Ukraine will be open to attack even in formerly supposedly pretty-well protected areas such as Kiev.

The part I take issue with is how Helmers source depicts Russia as having baited the West by pulling out of Kherson and Kharkiv as a great deceptive ruse. There has been an outbreak of revisionist history in depicting Russian shortcomings, such as its failure to counter the Western propaganda narrative of how across-the-board terrible Russia is (no good military, falling apart economy, pervasive corruption, demoralized citizens) as deliberate, so as to further dupe the West. In fact, Russian citizens complained about how Russia seemed to be doing nothing in the fact of the continuing barrage of denigration of Russia, when in fact there was realistically nothing Russia could do to penetrate the Western media bulwark. And keep in mind the Collective West was also strategically motivated to keep touting the inevitable Ukraine victory. Alexander Vershinin (of the famed Return of Industrial Warfare paper at RUSI) stressed how the fact that the West was running a coalition war mean that managing the coalition, as in the politics of participating states, was key element of the project. Hence the seemingly bizarre Western fixation on narrative management was the result of a design constraint.

Similarly, Putin has described how the West dominates the information space, as if that is something Russia has to endure, at least for now.

In fact, Russia has done something more far impressive than these revisionists suggest, which is demonstrate remarkable bureaucratic adaptability in the face of adverse developments. The highest profile display was the way Russia responded to the gut-punch of the shock and awe economic sanctions. It was stunning to see Russia contend to the loss of SWIFT and limited access to the Mastercard/Visa network, the loss of many EU and US retail establishment operators (even if arguably not essential to the economy, the potential job loss would be significant) and the loss of many Western suppliers. Western economists have refused to acknowledge that Russia was able to improvise on this scale and with such success, shifting its trade focus from the West to China and the Global South, having local operators step up to fill the gaping chasms left by the loss of US and European suppliers, and turning to China, India, Turkiye and other countries where that was a better sourcing option.

With the Kherson/Kharkiv pullouts, Russia clearly never intended to become as overextended along the line of contact as it became. The strategy was to send in a force clearly too small to threaten Ukraine but big enough to turn the tide in the Donbass, so as to force Ukraine to negotiate. That happened with impressive speed.

But when the West kicked over that table, Russia dithered. It did not legally have a ready way to beef up its forces in Ukraine (Russian law limits the use of force outside Russia; I will skip over the particulars). It had a complicated and arguably unwieldy command structure. And it hadnt expected the Ukraine response, backed by the US and NATO, would be as determined as it proved to be.

Even though the Kherson and Kharkiv retreats were military sound and well executed, they were politically costly. They created extreme alarm in the Donbass, in that citizens in the abandoned areas, particularly officials, were subject to reprisals. How could they be sure Russia would not abandon them too? Russian citizens also worried that these setbacks could be a harbinger of worse to come.

So Russia was effectively forced to quickly recognize the four oblasts that Russia had entered as Russian territory, launch its partial mobilization, qnd make even more concerted efforts to ramp up military production and improve its weaponry.

Here Russia got lucky. The West simply refused to believe, despite clear Russian plans, that Russia could meaningfully strengthen its military. Russia wound up having ample time to retrain reservists and bring new enlistees up to combat capability. But the fact that Russia succeeded in increasing its combat capability as rapidly as it has is still very impressive.

By John Helmer, the longest continuously serving foreign correspondent in Russia, and the only western journalist to direct his own bureau independent of single national or commercial ties. Helmer has also been a professor of political science, and an advisor to government heads in Greece, the United States, and Asia. He is the first and only member of a US presidential administration (Jimmy Carter) to establish himself in Russia. Originally published at Dances with Bears

The collapse of the Ukrainian army following the battle of Avdeyevka, and its disorganized retreat, have accelerated Russian military thinking of how far westward the NATO allies will decide that the Ukrainian statelet can be defended against the expected Russian advance  and how fast new NATO defences can be created without the protection of ground-to-air missile batteries like Patriot, long-range artillery like the M777, and mobile armour like the Abrams, Bradley, and Caesar: all of them have already been defeated in the east.

In short, there is no longer a NATO-command line of fortification east of the Polish border which deters the Russian General Staff. Also, no bunker for the Zelensky government and its NATO advisors to feel secure.

Cutting and pasting from the Russian military bloggers and the Moscow analytical media, as a handful of US podcasters and substackers are doing as often as their subscribers require, is the Comfy-Armchair method for getting at the truth. Reading the Russian sources directly, with the understanding that they are reporting what their military and intelligence sources are saying off the record, is still armchair generalship, but less comfy, more credible.

Offence is now the order of the day up and down the contact line. The daily bulletin from the Ministry of Defense in Moscow calls this improving the tactical situation and taking more advantageous positions. In the past three days, Monday through Wednesday, the Defense Ministry also reported the daily casualty rate of the Ukrainian forces at 1,175, 1,065, and 695, respectively; three M777 howitzer hits; and the first Abrams tank to be destroyed. Because this source is blocked in several of the NATO states, the Russian military bloggers, which reproduce the bulletins along with videoclips and maps, may be more accessible; also more swiftly than the US-based podcasters and substackers can keep up.

Moscow sources confirm the obvious: the operational objective is to apply more and more pressure at more and more points along the line, in as many sectors or salients (directions is the Russian term) as possible simultaneously. At the same time, air attack, plus missiles and drones, are striking all rear Ukrainian and NATO airfield, road, and rail nodes, ammunition storages, vehicle parks, drone manufactories, fuel dumps, and other supply infrastructure, so as make reinforcement and redeployment more difficult and perilous.

What cannot be seen are the Russian concentrations of forces aimed in the north, centre and south of the battlefield. Instead, there is what one source calls an educated guess is that when the main blow comes, it will be North, Chernigov, Sumy, Kharkov, Poltava, or Centre, Dniepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, or both simultaneously. For timing, the source adds, after the Russian election.

That is now less than three weeks away, on March 17. President Vladimir Putin will then reform his new government within four to six weeks for announcement by early May. Ministerial appointments sensitive to the General Staffs planning are the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who is expected to remain in place; and the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who may retire.

Following the call of French President Emmanuel Macron for the possibility of French ground force deployment to the Ukraine battlefield, and the subsequent clarification by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, the Russian assessment has been derisory. As for Emmanuel Macrons statements about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine, replied Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova, I would like to remind you that just a month ago, the French Foreign Minister denied Pariss involvement in recruiting mercenaries for the Kiev regime, and called direct evidence crude Russian propaganda. There is a strong impression that the French President is, in principle, not aware of what his subordinates say, or what he says himself. And now I want to remind Macron of the history of France. That is different. In April 1945, Berlin was defended by the French SS division known as Charlemagne, and a number of others. They also directly defended the Fuhrerbunker  Hitlers bunker. They were among the last to be awarded the Nazi Order of the Knights Cross in the Third Reich. The French SS men from Charlemagne became the last defenders of the Reichstag and the Reich Chancellery. Emmanuel, have you decided to organize the Charlemagne II division to defend Zelenskys bunker?

The view in Moscow is that there is now as much indecision, vacillation, and chaos between the Elysee and the Hexagon Balard in Paris as there is in Washington between the White House and the Pentagon, over what last stand NATO can make in the Ukraine, and where to position it  east of Kiev, or east of Lvov and the Polish border region.

The Moscow source again: the NATO fortress and bunker plan for the Ukraine is proving a failure, and the Ukrainians are falling back on the old Wehrmacht tactic of ad hoc battlegroups with increasing percentages of unit leftovers and low-quality conscripts acting as fire brigades to plug holes in the lines so as to delay the Russian advances. But what is the bunker fallback plan along what lines  is the plan to wait until the Americans, French, Germans or Poles show up? This is the stuff of Nazi dreams. Its too late.

A western military source comments: Im not so sure, as some of the Russian milbloggers are, that the broad front approach [Russian General Valery] Gerasimov is taking heralds a new approach to modern warfare  or operational art, if you like. The push at different points, conserving men and materiel in favour of firepower is being done as much, or more out of political considerations, which include those of a domestic character (Putins public support, domestic stability); and also the military objective since Day One of the Special Military Operation  to draw in and destroy as many and as much of the US-NATO manpower and equipment in the Ukraine as possible.

The Russian retreat conducted in Fall of 2022 was part of the plan and struck me as being inspired by the Mongol tactic of attacking, making a big show of running away, only to turn to pursue and then destroy the enemy. The Ukrainians and their NATO handlers fell for it hook, line and sinker. Now they dont have the forces needed to maintain their fortress strategy, let alone conduct much in the way of counter-attacks. It was in this fashion that Gerasimov gained the upper hand in the two-front war  the one on the Ukrainian battlefield and the one on the Russian home front.

Deep battle is still the Russian doctrine. Its form and components may change, but the concept remains the same. The art is in figuring out where and when the holes drilled in the other sides military, economic, and political structures will line up, and present the path to be exploited by Gerasimov. We can bet hes known for quite some time.

Two translations follow of current Russian military analyses. The first is by Boris Rozhin, whose Colonel Cassad Telegram platform is one of the leading military blogs in Moscow. The second is by Yevgeny Krutikov who publishes long pieces in Vzglyad, the semi-official security analysis medium in Moscow, and short pieces in his Telegram account, Mudraya Ptitsa (Wise Bird).

The translation is verbatim and unedited. Maps and illustrations have been added.

Source: https://t.me/s/boris_rozhin -- posted on February 27, 2024  20:25. Part II has not been published yet.

February 27, 2024

The operational crisis of the Armed Forces of the Ukraine  Part 1

By Boris Rozhin (Colonel Cassad)

The successes of our troops strengthen faith in a collective victory. However, it is necessary to soberly assess the three factors that make up the operational situation at the front:

 our forces and materiel  the forces and materiel of the enemy;

 the ratio between them;

 the operational environment.

The situation in which the enemy is now on the defensive can be called an operational crisis. For four months, the Armed Forces of the Ukraine [VSU is the Russian acronym] command concentrated their reserves in Avdeyevka and Chas Yar, weakening other sectors of the front (in particular, Kupyansk and Zaporozhye). Having failed to ensure a crucial preponderance of forces, against the background of an increase in the media importance of Avdeyevka, the enemy lost the operational initiative and is now forced to withdraw to reserve linesof defence. But they are not fully operational.

The transfer of reserves of the VSU is carried out under the increasing attacks of our aviation and high-precision attacks on key railway nodes (for example, Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka). Many VSU units need to be withdrawn for reformation, which is currently impossible. Therefore, they are equipped at the expense of mobilized citizens with low motivation and combat training.

LARGE MAP OF OPERATIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Source: Rybar. Click on original to enlarge view: https://t.me/s/rybar -- February 29 00:42.

By developing an offensive initiative west of Avdeyevka, our units have deprived the enemy of the opportunity to gain a foothold there. According to the Bakhmut scenario in the summer of 2023, when attacking near Kleshcheyevka and Berkhovka, the VSU created a hotbed of tension, forcing us to hold large forces in position. Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have the opportunity to fully regroup, so they are withdrawing troops in key operational areas: Zaporozhye (Orekhov) and Slavyansk-Kramatorsk (taking into account our positions in the Avdeyevka and Bakhmut initial areas).

The new [VSU] commander-in-chief, [General Alexander] Syrsky, is confused about exactly where to concentrate his forces. In conditions of simultaneous movement of our formations along the entire front line: in the Zaporozhye, Donetsk, Lugansk (the Svatovo-Kremennaya line) and Kupyansk operational directions, the concentration of forces and materiel in a particular area will inevitably create conditions for a breakthrough of the Ukrainian defence.

The advance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Maryinsk-Ugledar operational and tactical direction and in the area of Novomikhailovka creates conditions for squeezing the enemy west of the Marinka-Ugledar highway and in the direction of Kurakhovo, which in the foreseeable future will become a key node in the VSU defence in this area. The situation is developing in a similar way in the Konstantinovsky direction, where our troops are having success at Chas Yar, advancing at the moment with coverage to Ivanovskoye, the largest defensive line in front of the ChasYar fortress area.

MAP OF THE CHAS YAR OPERATIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Source: Rybar. Click on the original to enlarge view: https://t.me/rybar/57610

Steady pressure is recorded in the area of Yampolovka and Ternov, the Serebryansky forest, as well as on the left bank of the Seversky Donets, where an offensive is underway against Belogorovka in order to reach Seversk. Positional battles continue south of Seversk in the RazdolovkaVeseloe strip. Our units are moving along the railway line, although the tactical conditions of the terrain are not conducive to a rapid offensive there. The situation is more complicated in the Kupyansk direction. However, despite the difficulties of advancing and the altitude differences, we are managing to contain large enemy forces on both banks of the Oskol.

A likely scenario for the development of the situation is that during the coming month the VSU will continue the gradual withdrawal of troops to new lines along a rear echelon from 15 to 20 kilometres back, while simultaneously trying to engage us in battles in areas where terrain conditions and defensive fortifications will allow us to hold positions: these are Chas YarKonstantinovka, the southern approaches to Seversk (Rayaleksandrovsky fortress area), the Marinka KurakhovoUgledar line (Donetsk direction), and RabodinoOrekhov (Zaporozhye).

At the moment of withdrawal from a particular area, the enemy will transfer his forces from site to site in order to inflict maximum damage to our advancing group. The VSU does not consider any other option, for example, to counterattack, since the concentration of troops required for that risks taking the shape of the Avdeyevka scenario, with the real prospect of falling into a  [trap].

Left, Boris Rozhin; right, Yevgeny Krutikov.

Source: https://vz.ru/

February 28, 2024

How Russian troops are shifting Ukrainian defenses after

Avdeyevka

By Yevgeny Krutikov

The advance of Russian troops to the West after the liberation of Avdeyevka has not been stopped at all. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have not been able to gain a foothold on any defensive line for many days, and moreover, this applies not only to the Avdeyevka direction. What is happening on the line of contact in the special operation zone and what will be the target of the Russian army in the coming weeks?

After the liberation of Avdeyevka the units of the Russian Armed Forces maintained a high rate of advance in this section of the line of contact. The enemy hastily tried to create new lines of defence to the west of the city along the StepovoyeBerdych-OrlovkaLastochkinoTonenkoeSevernoye line. But by Tuesday, February 27, Russian assault units had occupied the first line (Stepovoye, Lastochkino, Severnoye) and began operations to occupy the second line.

In some instances the enemy simply abandoned their positions, unable to withstand the blows of bombs and assault actions. The open spaces (fields, forests, and gullies) west of Avdeyevka came under the control of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation almost without a fight.

There is an explanation for this. First of all, the organization of defence on new frontlines is extremely costly and timeconsuming; it requires a huge amount of equipment and specialists, and most importantly, time. It is precisely this time which the Russian troops are seizing to consolidate their positions, denying them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and constantly putting pressure on them, primarily with long-range weapons.

The VSU, as it now turns out, were not prepared at all for the rapid abandonment of Avdeyevka. In addition, it seems that the enemy cannot withstand a direct clash with Russian troops outside of positions they have fortified in advance. The VSU can cling to long-term fortified areas which have been prepared for a long time, but with the constant pace of the Russian offensive, they are forced to withdraw even from these positions.

Behind the new line of defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has developed in the Avdeyevka area at the moment (provisionally around Orlovka), an empty space has opened up in which there are no natural obstacles capable of supporting new defensive fortifications. There is nothing like this up to the next major settlements of the Donbass, primarily Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsky). The enemy has not strengthened the small villages there in any way, thinking it wouldnt be necessary.

MAP OF AVDEYEVKA AREA OPERATIONS AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2024

Source: Rybar. Click on original to enlarge view: https://t.me/rybar/57677

The only limitation on the Russian forces for moving forward in this direction may be the old positions of the VSU on the flanks. For example, Kurakhovo is planned to be another fortress, which by the very fact of its existence creates a flank threat to the advance of the Avdeyevka grouping of the Russian forces.

The situation in another section of the contact line, west of Artemovsk, is indicative in this regard. The enemys positions in front of Chasov Yar in the villages of Krasnoe (Ivanovskoye) and Bogdanovka have looked to be very strong. But the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation began to move there not head-on, but from the north, pushing through and bypassing the fortified areas of the VSU. As a result, by Tuesday, the assault groups had advanced almost to the centre of the village. At the same time, several heights were occupied, opening the way further to the west.

This manoeuvre is clearly visible on satellite images of the area where the lines of the enemys trenches south of Krasnoe are visible. Apparently, the VSU was afraid of the movement of Russian attack aircraft from this direction, from Kleshcheyevka. The ruins of Kleshcheyevka themselves are practically surrounded at the moment, but this direction has become secondary to movement on Chasov Yar.

The first districts of Chasov Yar  east of the canal, where the VSU units are located  are now being constantly shelled by Russian artillery and bombs [], which make it impossible for the enemy to manoeuvre their reserves and rotate.

The enemy transferred most of the reserves available at the beginning of February to Kupyansk. In Kiev this stabilization of the front near Kupyansk is considered a great achievement. The Kiev command is motivated to hang stubbornly on to the zone around Kupyansk by the realization that if they lose this node, that would lead to the redeployment of parts of the Russian forces all the way up to Kharkov.

But the most important thing that the intelligence and leadership of the VSU are currently doing is trying to determine where the new main blow of the Russian offensive will occur after Avdeyevka. The fact is that the Russian armed forces are now maintaining an operational pace along the entire line of contact. There is no section of the front line where successful assault operations would not be noted. This multiple bites [ ] strategy currently being undertaken by the Russian forces has led to the disorganization of enemy behaviour and the dispersion of its resources.

For example, the first assault detachments of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on Tuesday night already entered the settlement of Terny in the Limansky direction and gained a foothold in it. The movement to Terny had not halted even for a day over several weeks, remaining in the shadow of the larger-scale events in the Avdeyevka direction and around Rabocino. But all of a sudden now it has turned out that in this area, units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have entered completely new positions, threatening to move further west to the Liman and looming over the enemys Seversk grouping.

In Kiev, there is a well-founded fear that these new landmark breakthroughs by Russian units may generally lead to the collapse of Ukrainian defence and the transition of military operations to the more western regions of Ukraine.

Moreover, almost the entire line of contact, except for the Chasov Yar area, is now so fragmented that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have the opportunity to enter the operational space in several directions at once. Even the western press is now actively writing that the Russian forces are capable of providing assault operations simultaneously in two or three areas. No one knows which one of them will end up being the main one.

It is possible that there will be no main direction of impact, at least in the classical understanding of this concept. The new military reality also offered by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is a novel tactic: the movement of small assault groups with powerful support from artillery and heavy aerial bombs. Thus, the occupation of enemy strongholds is ensured, and only then are large open spaces cleared with the help of tanks.

In other words, relatively large settlements, turned into strongholds by the enemy, become something like a general direction, a vector of movement. For example, Pokrovskoye (Krasnoarmeysk) is located 40 kilometres west of Avdeyevka. This is clearly the next target for Russian troops. But the movement towards this goal need not be direct, but may be guided by the requirement to bypass and destroy the enemys defence lines.

At Chasov Yar, movement that was not in a straight line turned out to be effective for the Russian forces, bypassing from the flanks the enemys fortified areas south of Krasny. Operations to hold down the enemy are conducted in Kupyansk in a straight line, while unexpected assault actions on the outskirts of this section of the front (the same Terny) lead to new threats of the encirclement of the defending units of the VSU.

Perhaps in the coming days we will see the next offensive operations of the Russian forces according to a linear scheme: the encirclement of Kurakhovo through the occupation of Krasnogorovka, access to the heights south of Chasov Yar, movement to Seversk, access to the supply lines of Ugledar, forcing the channel in Terny, breaking the enemys defences west of Avdeyevka, and much more.

None of these areas will be the chief or main one, but each of them will create the preconditions for the further liberation of the Donbass.

[*] The lead picture is reproduced by Boris Rozhin to illustrate his battlefield report of February 28, at 19:17, indicating the disorganized retreat of Ukrainian forces west and south along the Berdych-Orlovka-Tonenkoe line in the central sector. Today, the enemy has actually lost this line. Orlovka is in the process of coming under the control of Russian troops. In the next 24 hours, we should expect the appearance of videos with flags in Orlovka. Berdych is next. An advantageous and prepared line of defence did not last long. The enemy will retreat to the west with subsequent attempts to use natural water barriers and terrain to compensate for the lack of prepared engineering structures.

____

1 Putin described this phenomenon in his interviews with Oliver Stone; he more recently has depicted the deep state or Blob as a strength, which is an acknowledgement that America sticks to the same policies irrespective of changes in the political weather. I took that further to mean that it makes America a resolute opponent.

2 Special forces are not a substitute for an army. Douglas Macgregor has repeatedly described how weak NATO militaries are. The US is unable to meet recruitment targets and its army is already smaller than at the time of Desert Storm. Russian submarines can prevent the US sending troops and supporting supplies. The UKs army is so small it wont fill a stadium. Frances is only fit, as Macgregor put it, for safari. Polands is the best but it could not begin to stand up to the Russians.

3 Forgive me for having less than full recall of details (and this is the problem with commentators preferring YouTube to print), but former CIA analyst Ray McGovern has described more than once how the Wests recent installations feature launchers that are designed to hide the type of missle loaded in. He depicted that as one of the reasons for increased Russian anxiety.
YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. On March 1, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Hakan Fidan. Special representatives for normalization of relations between the two countries also took part in the meeting, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

According to the source, the interlocutors discussed the normalization process of relations between Armenia and Turkiye and reaffirmed the willingness to reach full normalization of relations. Views were exchanged on possible concrete steps in that direction.

International and regional issues were also touched upon.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) hopes to keep his seat in Congress, recanting an announcement from two weeks ago that he wouldnt seek reelection in Tennessees 7th District. Since his Valentine's Day announcement, Green says he has received calls from constituents, colleagues and former President Donald Trump.

I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington, Green said on Feb. 14, announcing his plan to leave Congress. In a statement released Thursday, he says he will indeed seek reelection to help President Trump end this border crisis once and for all.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green Will Not Seek Reelection Clarksville Republican has previously eyed higher office, opens seat that partially covers Nashville

Green heads the powerful House Homeland Security Committee and spent much of the past year pushing impeachment articles for Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Trump appointed Green as Secretary of the Army in 2017, but the Clarksville Republican pulled his nomination after coming under fire for anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ comments. He has represented Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, which was redrawn in 2020 to include parts of Nashville, since 2018.

Since entering Congress, Green has blocked action on climate change, opposed COVID vaccinations and refused to certify Joe Bidens 2020 presidential victory. Green briefly pursued the House speakership in October before backing far-right pugilist Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Green reported $433,164 on hand at the end of 2023. Former state Rep. Brandon Ogles, a Republican and cousin of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, filed paperwork for Greens seat earlier this month. Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry announced her candidacy in December and remains the only Democrat in the race.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and members of the Tennessee General Assembly also reached out encouraging Green to keep his seat, according to campaign manager Alex Joyner.
Antibiotic contamination of U.S. food supply increasing as Big Pharma pushes more drugs for animals

The threat of antibiotic resistance is increasing as the pharmaceutical industry continues to pump out new antibiotic drugs to replace old antibiotic drugs that no longer work.

Believe it or not, most antibiotics sold in the United States are administered to livestock used in the meat industry. And they are typically given to healthy animals for purposes other than treating sickness  this includes for prophylactic and growth promotion purposes.

As of 2020, upwards of 69 percent of the U.S. antibiotic supply is found in meat that people and other animals eat for sustenance. Since the drugs often persist in meat tissue, many people are thus consuming a steady dose of antibiotic drugs on a daily basis with every meal.

The vast majority of the country has no idea this is the case, assuming instead that their meat is "safe" since it bears approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), but this is not necessarily the case.

"When animals are given antibiotics, it causes unnatural growth by altering their gut microbiome," warns Dr. Joseph Mercola. "In the process, some of those gut bacteria become antibiotic-resistant. Contaminated meat can then become a source of drug-resistant infections."

(Related: More than a decade ago, we reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] was allowing more than 30 million pounds of antibiotics to be given to American livestock every year.)

Natural antibiotics are better

Some may recall that in 2013 we published the above-linked article about the FDA's antibiotic allowance in food that the same federal agency issued a guidance calling on farmers to begin phasing out the use of medically important antibiotics in livestock production. This aimed to stem the tide of antibiotic resistance, which is something the World Health Organization (WHO) likewise agreed was best in 2017 when it urged farmers to stop giving their healthy animals antibiotics just to make them grow more quickly.

We are building the infrastructure of human freedom and empowering people to be informed, healthy and aware. Learn about our free, downloadable AI tools on nutrition, health and preparedness at this article link. Every purchase at HealthRangerStore.com helps fund our efforts to build and share more tools for empowering humanity with knowledge and abundance.

Also in 2017, the U.S. government tightened its rules for antibiotic use in healthy animals, followed by California becoming the first state one year later to outlaw the use of antibiotics in food-animal production, as well as outlaw the use of antibiotics in animals without a veterinarian's prescription.

The after-effects of these policy changes appeared beneficial at first, resulting in a 42 percent decline in antibiotic use in America between 2015 and 2017. Then, between 2017 and 2022, antibiotic use spiked by 12 percent, with 4.3 percent of that rise occurring in 2022 alone.

The way Big Pharma is getting around the new restrictions is by creating new antibiotics that are slightly different than the older ones, which allows farmers to give their animals a larger variety of antibiotics in smaller individual amounts. Think of it like a loophole that the pharmaceutical industry is exploiting, as usual for profit.

Besides the antibiotic resistance problem, there are also the health problems associated with antibiotics, many of which bear a "black box" warning from the FDA for being extremely dangerous. The good news is that there are natural alternatives.

Dr. Mercola recommends the following "natural antimicrobials" which he says are safer and often more effective than the kind dispensed by your local pharmacy or veterinary clinic:

1) Garlic: effective against Salmonella, E. coli, Klebsiella, Clostridium and Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus

2) Ginger: effective against E. coli, S. Aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecalis

3) Echinacea: Effective against urinary tract infections (UTI), vaginal yeast (candida), ear infections (otitis media), athlete's foot, sinusitis, hay fever (allergic rhinitis) and slow-healing wounds

4) Goldenseal: Effective against gram-positive bacteria, including MRSA

5) Myrrh oil: Effective against gingivitis, treatment-resistant trichomoniasis vaginalis (an STD) and Lyme disease

6) Thyme

7) Oregano oil: Effective against Streptococcus mutans (causes dental cavities) along with 11 0ther multidrug-resistant bacteria including MRSA, as well as their biofilms

8) Clove: Effective against gram-negative and gram-positive UTI-causing Proteus mirabilis, Staphylococcus epidermis, S. aureus and K. pneumoniae

9) Olive leaf: Effective against Klebsiella, Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Salmonella

10) Colloidal silver: Effective against multidrug-resistant gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria

In many ways, America's food supply is among the most toxic and contaminated in the world. Find out more at FoodCollapse.com.

Sources for this article include:

Mercola.com

NaturalNews.com
The average age of a Ukrainian soldier has increased to 43

At the second anniversary of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Kyiv is facing a new and unique challenge: the increasing average age of its armed forces personnel

More and more middle-aged men are joining the frontlines, posing difficulties for commanders in planning and executing strategic operations.

Dmitro Berlin, the battalion commander of the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, revealed that the average age of soldiers in his battalion has soared to 45.

Stationed in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, the 32nd was heavily targeted by the Russian Armed Forces during its winter offensive campaign. The older average age of the 32nd's troops presented it with more physical challenges. Berlin acknowledged that at this age, even simple tasks like carrying ammunition and body armor become more arduous.

Compounding the issue is the lack of fresh forces or younger soldiers joining the battalion. Consequently, whenever the unit experiences casualties, the quality of the reinforcements diminishes and the brigade's average age increases. (Related: Ukraine purchases 50,000 womens uniforms amid worries that females could be conscripted.)

Traditionally, military forces, especially in the last century, comprised younger individuals in their 20s and 30s. In contrast, the average age of soldiers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is now significantly higher, with the Sunday Times estimating the average age to be 43. The average age in individual brigades can soar as high as 54.

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Aging troops parallel aging Ukrainian population

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's overall population has decreased from 52 million to 37 million.

The average age of Ukrainian citizens has increased, and the average life expectancy for men and women from 2023 and 2024 is projected to decline to 57 and 70, respectively, as a result of the Russian special military operation.

The average lifespan of Ukrainians is not expected to return to the pre-war levels of 66 and 76 for men and women, respectively, until at least 2032, as projected by the Kyiv Institute of Demography and Social Research.

The conflict in Ukraine has claimed the lives or caused injuries to more than half a million people. The Ukrainian military has faced significant casualties, with over 200,000 reported, comprising both wounded and killed personnel over two years of war.

Despite the length of the conflict and the fact that Russia's population of over 140 million dwarfs that of Ukraine, Kyiv still maintains a volunteer-only military, where enlistment requires a conscious decision, with no forced conscription in the middle of the night.

However, there is a catch to this: Only men over 27 are eligible for frontline duty. While this policy is meant to protect younger generations and secure the nation's future, the prolonged conflict may necessitate Kyiv to reconsider its position on the draft.

There are already indicators that Ukraine is considering a shift in policy. President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an injection of 500,000 troops into the armed forces back in December to counter Russia's own mobilizations.

Then-Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi mentioned the possibility of a mass mobilization to meet wartime demands for more troops, with a strategic focus on recruiting younger Ukrainians to meet the physical demands of soldiering and active combat.

Watch this video from Southfront Press discussing how the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is preparing to send Europeans to shore up Ukraine's rapidly depleting armed forces.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ukraine received $1.25 billion grant from US taxpayers to pay the wages of government employees.

Ukraine pays huge rewards to Russian DEFECTORS who turn over military equipment.

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Sources include:

RMX.news

TheTimes.co.uk

NationalInterest.org

Brighteon.com
Bioactive compounds in GINKGO BILOBA found to improve cognitive recovery after stroke

A preliminary study revealed that ischemic stroke survivors had faster and better recovery of cognitive function after receiving injections of ginkgo diterpene lactone meglumine (GDLM)  a combination of the biologically active components of the "living fossil," ginkgo biloba.

One of the three main strokes, ischemic stroke occurs when a blood clot (called a thrombus) blocks or clogs an artery leading to the brain.

GDLM is made of extracts from ginkgo biloba, an herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and considered the oldest living tree species in the world. GDLM is composed of ginkgolides A, B and K and has been widely used in the treatment of ischemic stroke in China. (Related: Ginkgo biloba shows potential value in the treatment of over 100 diseases.)

How the study was done

In early 2023, researchers tested the effects of GDLM on more than 3,000 survivors of mild to moderate stroke at 100 centers in China and analyzed their cognitive recovery. Most of the patients' cognitive status was reported as "moderately impaired" using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA), with an average score of 17 out of 30.

About half of the stroke survivors were randomly selected to receive daily intravenous injections of 25 milligrams (mg) of GDLM for 14 days, while the other half received daily intravenous placebo injections.

Capital Medical University Clinical Epidemiology Assistant Professor Dr. Anxin Wang at the Beijing Tiantan Hospital said: "If our positive results are confirmed in other trials, GDLM injections may someday be used to improve cognitive function for patients after ischemic stroke."

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What the researchers found

Compared to initial cognitive screening assessment scores, the researchers reported that:

By day 14, stroke survivors who received the GDLM injections had improved cognitive scores at an average of 3.93 points  3.62 points higher than those who received placebo injections.

By day 90, those who received the GDLM injections had even more improved cognitive scores at an average of 5.51 points  5.04 points higher than those who received the placebo treatment.

Wang said: "The proportion of patients who reached a clinically significant level of improvement was 20 percent higher in the GDLM group  indicating that GDLM injections may improve cognitive function in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Since the follow-up time in this study was only 90 days, the longer-term effect of GDLM injections requires longer-term research."

Wang further noted that GDLM shows a neuroprotective effect through multiple mechanisms, such as expanding brain blood vessels, improving the tolerance of brain cells to hypoxia (inadequate oxygen) and increasing cerebral blood flow. Other studies have also found that GDLM can promote the release of chemicals that help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study shows that ginkgo biloba's active compounds exert a variety of neuroprotective and reparative effects that can help maintain the blood-brain barrier; reduce brain edema; improve energy metabolism; protect against oxidation, inflammation and apoptosis; and promote angiogenesis, or the formation of new blood vessels that normally supports wound healing and supplies oxygen-rich blood to organs and tissues.

The results of this randomized clinical trial were presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2024, which was held in Phoenix on Feb. 7-9.

Visit Herbs.news for more on the health benefits of Ginkgo biloba.

Learn about "Ginkgo biloba's brain benefits" by watching the video below.

This video is from the Holistic Herbalist channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ginkgo biloba promotes better blood flow and a healthy brain.

Ginkgo biloba found to have neuroprotective effects against retinal degeneration.

Ginkgo biloba, resveratrol and cacao beans scientifically proven to combat cognitive decline.

Sources include:

Newsroom.Heart.org

Stroke.org.UK

ScienceDirect.com

Nature.com

JAMANetwork.com

Brighteon.com
Leaked documents from a Chinese contractor offers rare insight into how the CCP operates its cyberwarfare and surveillance operations

Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online leak of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation's top policing agency and other parts of its government  a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese citizens and foreigners

The impacted company is known as I-Soon, based in Chengdu, Sichuan, a security contractor with ties to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS). Among the apparent targets of the tools provided by I-Soon are Chinese ethnic minorities and dissidents in parts of the communist nation that have seen significant anti-government protests, such as the relatively freer Hong Kong and the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang in China's far northwest.

The dump of scores of documents and the subsequent investigation were confirmed by two employees of I-Soon. The dump, which analysts consider highly significant even if it does not reveal any especially novel or potent tools, includes hundreds of pages of contracts, marketing presentations, product manuals and client and employee lists. (Related: Cybersecurity official warns: Americans must prepare for CYBERATTACKS from Chinese hackers.)

The leaked documents reveal, in detail, the methods used by Chinese authorities to surveil dissidents within the mainland as well as overseas. The documents also provide insight into how Chinese authorities hack into the networks of other nations and spread pro-Beijing narratives on social media platforms.

The documents show apparent I-Soon hacking of networks across Central and Southeast Asia, as well as Hong Kong and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.

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I-Soon and Chinese police are investigating how the files were leaked, the two I-Soon employees said. One of the employees said I-Soon held a meeting about the leak and was told it wouldnt affect business too much and to continue working as normal.

Jon Condra, an analyst with Massachusetts-based cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, called the leak the most significant leak ever linked to a company "suspected of providing cyber espionage and targeted intrusion services for the Chinese security services." He said organizations targeted by I-Soon  according to the leaked material  include governments, telecommunications firms abroad and online gambling companies within China.

Until the 190-megabyte leak, I-Soon's website included a page listing clients topped by the MPS and included 11 other provincial-level security bureaus and 40 other municipal-level public security departments.

The companys website was fully offline later. An I-Soon representative refused an interview request and said the company would issue an official statement at an unspecified future date.

Cyber tools used to surveil dissidents, flood social media with propaganda

Chinese censorship bureaus can directly surveil Chinese social media platforms and order them to take down anti-government posts or to keep watch over individuals who may be troublemakers. China does not have this similar power on overseas sites like Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, where millions of Chinese individuals flock to evade state surveillance and censorship.

This is where I-Soon comes in, with its tools designed to curb dissent on overseas social media platforms and to flood them with pro-Chinese content.

Theres a huge interest in social media monitoring and commenting on the part of the Chinese government, said Mareike Ohlberg, a senior fellow in the Asia Program of the German Marshall Fund.

To control public opinion and forestall anti-government sentiment, Ohlberg said, control of critical posts domestically is pivotal. "Chinese authorities have a big interest in tracking down users who are based in China," she said.

The source of the leak could be "a rival intelligence service, a dissatisfied insider or even a rival contractor," said chief threat analyst John Hultquist of Google's cybersecurity division, Mandiant.

One leaked draft contract shows I-Soon was marketing "anti-terror" technical support to Xinjiang police to track the region's native Uyghurs who have migrated to Central and Southeast Asia. I-Soon also claimed it had access to a hacked airline and cellular and government data from multiple nations including Afghanistan, Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand.

"We see a lot of targeting of organizations that are related to ethnic minorities  Tibetans, Uyghurs. A lot of the targeting of foreign entities can be seen through the lens of domestic security priorities for the government," said Dakota Cary, a China analyst with the cybersecurity firm SentinelOne.

Cary added that he believes the documents are legitimate because they align with what would be expected from a contractor hacking on behalf of Chinas security apparatus with domestic political priorities.

Cary found a spreadsheet with a list of data repositories collected from victims and counted 14 governments as targets, including India, Indonesia and Nigeria. The documents indicate that I-Soon mostly supports the Ministry of Public Security, he said.

Cary was also struck by the targeting of Taiwans Health Ministry to determine its Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) caseload in early 2021  and impressed by the low cost of some of the hacks. The documents show that I-Soon charged $55,000 to hack Vietnams economy ministry.

Watch this Feb. 22 episode of "The Alex Jones Show" on InfoWars as Alex Jones discusses how agents of Communist China are the prime suspects for AT&T's recent outage.

This video is from Polyxena Lobcovice on Brighteon.com

More related stories:

New documents reveal horrific conditions in illegal medical lab in California owned by Chinese firm.

China bans critical industries from purchasing Micron products for failing "cybersecurity review."

Cybersecurity expert successfully builds PROPAGANDA MACHINE that can mass produce AI-generated DISINFORMATION.

Sources include:

Independent.co.uk

InfoSecurity-Magazine.com

Brighteon.com
Next phase of modern warfare: The development of neuroweapons that can control the human brain

The next great theater of war is no longer just about military might or economic control. Instead, it is about control over the human brain

This is according to the study "Neurowar Is Here," published in December 2021 by Joshua D. Gramm and Brian A. Branagan to complete their Masters of Science degrees in Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

"Great power competition has returned to the forefront of international relations, as China and Russia seek to contest America's global leadership," wrote Gramm and Branagan. "This contest is ultimately a battle to manipulate and control both adversaries and domestic populations alike. The battle for influence begins and ends in the human mind, where reality is perceived." (Related: Pentagon advisor wants to create mind control neuro-weapons. This should terrify us all.)

According to the study, neuroweapons target the brain or central nervous system, manipulating the mental state, capacity and behavior of their targets. The authors argue that mass media is hiding this ongoing battle for control of people's minds and thoughts, making it all the more terrifying.

They identified neuroweapons as the weapons of this battle, "that specifically target the brain or the central nervous system in order to affect the targeted person's mental state, mental capacity and ultimately the person's behavior in a specific and predictable way."

This reality has been understood by military analysts and technologists since at least the year 2000. This is when the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology published a study on crowd control technologies and when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced new policies on the use of non-lethal weapons and the use of radio frequency and directed energy weapons which can manipulate human behavior in unprecedented ways. These developments gravely concern Gramm and Branagan.

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"The greatest concern is with systems which can directly interact with the human nervous system," warned Gramm and Branagan. "The research undertaken to date both in the U.S. and in Russia can be divided into two related areas: individual mind control and crowd control."

Ban on neuroweapons only way to safeguard humanity

Gramm and Branagan argue that the only way for these kinds of neurowarfare technologies to be prevented from being used on a wide scale on the global public is by banning them. But the only way to ban these neuroweapons is through massive public support that could lead to research on them being declassified.

However, the lack of international agreements banning the use of neurotechnologies for remote control of human nervous systems has alarmed the pair. An international agreement that will ban the use of neurotechnologies that could control human brain activity is the biggest goal.

Without such an agreement, more and more questions about the future of these neurotechnologies will be left unanswered, such as who will control them and how they will be used.

Learn more about the latest developments in technology at FutureTech.news.

Watch this lecture from James Giordano, chairman of the IEEE Brain Project and a member of Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics, as he discusses the future of warfare and the risks associated with the use of neuroweapons.

This video is from the MEGA Make Earth Great Again channel on Brighteon.com.

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Army research into nanotechnology and quantum mechanics similar to whats now being put into "vaccines."

Brain CONTROL: Musks neurotechnology company Neuralink looking for brain implant trial volunteers.

FDA approves Elon Musks Neuralink brain implants that seek to CONTROL the human mind. Government efforts to control your thoughts, speech and life spearheaded by CISA.

BIO-RACE WARS: Defense report warns that future plagues will target specific genomes and races.

Sources include:

Expose-News.com

BNNBreaking.com

Apps.DTIC.mil [PDF]

Brighteon.com
Noise pollution from offshore wind turbines could lead to the EXTINCTION OF WHALES

For years, the government has insisted that the increase in whale, dolphin and cetacean deaths off the East Coast has no relationship to the high decibel pile driving from the construction and operation of large industrial wind turbines and boat activity in areas that have previously been undisturbed.

On Feb. 18, 2022, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, also referred to as the National Marine Fisheries Service, released a story entitled "A Whale's World of Sound" which described how "sound" is critical to the health and well-being of cetaceans  whales, dolphins and porpoises  and other marine species. (Related: Renewable energy wind turbines are KILLING WHALES, documentary proves.)

For whales, exposure to "noises" can cause immediate effects, such as behavioral disruption and impacts on hearing. They can also result in longer-term effects, such as increased stress.

Increasingly background noise, notably in areas of persistent and heavy use, reduces their "listening and communication" spaces  making it more difficult for cetaceans to communicate, navigate and hear critical sounds from predators and prey.

For humans, health authorities have admitted that the "wind turbine syndrome" is real. Living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, migraines, panic attacks, sleep deprivation tinnitus and vertigo, among others, according to research done by New York pediatrician and psychiatrist Dr. Nina Pierpont. (Related: Wind farms pose health risks to local residents, but governments around the world dont care.)

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According to the Dolphin Research Center, there are 16 species of whales and dolphins considered to be in danger of extinction or vulnerable despite decades of protection.

The North Atlantic right whale has been identified as the most critically endangered large whale in the world.

On Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium announced that the North Atlantic right whale population estimate for 2022 was 356 individuals  a downward trajectory from the 2021 estimate that was recalculated as 364, primarily due to 18 calves born in 2021.

Consortium Chair Dr. Scott Kraus said: "We continue to injure and kill these whales at alarming rates, such that they cannot carry out basic biological functions like growth and reproduction. While the absolute population numbers are important, other indicators are discouraging. Until we implement strategies that eliminate injuries and deaths and promote right whale health, this species will continue to struggle."

In a press release, New England Aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center senior scientist and Consortium identification database curator Philip Hamilton said: "We can't just focus on [detected] bodies. We must also reduce all injuries that harm this species if they are to turn the corner."

Whistleblower speaks out

A few months later, on Nov. 3, 2022, a letter surfaced, authored by NOAA's own Chief of Endangered Species, Dr. Sean Hayes, who bravely sounded the alarm  noting that not only the construction but the operation of wind turbines could drive whales, among other cetaceans, to extinction.

Risking his career and reputation, Hayes indicated that since May 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NOAA Fisheries have been aware of these. yet "these agencies have failed to put in place any meaningful measure to protect these endangered species from extinction."

He pointed out that recent data collection has found the whales were increasingly relying on the southern Massachusetts wind lease area as a last refuge for foraging and raising their young  the very same area that has been "approved by the federal government for industrialization by offshore wind companies."

On Thursday, Feb. 1, a press release from BOEM listed several renewable energy efforts underway offshore Massachusetts, including commercial wind leases offshore Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Hayes said that "NOAA must issue an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) when a federally listed marine mammal may be harmed."

He stressed: "The presence of wind turbines would disrupt the dense populations of zooplankton that right whales rely on for food. The wind lease areas are the only known winter foraging areas for right whales. Unlike vessel traffic and noise, which can be mitigated to some extent, oceanographic impacts from installed and operating turbines cannot be mitigated for the 30-year lifespan of the project unless they are decommissioned."

New Bedford Light reported that a lawyer from the Conservation Law Foundation  an organization that is reportedly "strongly supportive of offshore wind," acknowledged that the area slated for wind development was "poorly surveyed" for right whales before the sale of at least 1,400 square miles of federal waters to foreign wind energy companies by the permitting agencies.

Watch the following video about how sonar and 5G frequencies are killing whales and other sea life.

This video is from the Truth and Consequences channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Green fail: Many of Scotlands wind turbines are powered by diesel fuel generators that even more ironically are leaking polluting hydraulic fluid into the environment.

New documentary "proves" building offshore wind farms does kill whales.

Whales had sonar 32 million years before the U.S. Navy.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Fisheries. NOAA.gov

Dolphins.org

NAWRC.org

NewBedfordLight.org

BOEM.gov

Brighteon.com
Australian-based scientists have developed a new drug to fight the growing threat of fungal infections. The synthetic treatment was announced after a study found dangerous strains are annually causing 6.5 million severe infections a year globally, and killing up to 3.8 million people.

Some fungal infections have adapted to shake off common drugs due to their widespread use, but more worryingly the superbug candida auris strain actually emerged in humans already resistant to most treatments, causing serious problems in hospitals in the United States.

Candida auris sticks to surfaces when somebody colonised by it comes into a healthcare setting and leaves it behind. They have to scrub the whole operating theatre to get rid of this bug if its in there, biotechnology expert Dr Megan Lenardon explained to Yahoo News Australia.

Some fungus strains grow in human lung tissue in a way similar to mould on bread. Source: Getty (File)

Is the drug ready for human trials?

Lenardon is part of a multidisciplinary team led by University of NSW chemical engineer Professor Cyrille Boyer that developed the new synthetic polymer drug to fight fungal infections.

The technology has been tested using modelling, but they are yet to begin human trials, as they lack the funding to do so. We are still working to improve their efficiency and efficacy and selectivity, Boyer said. "We are at the early stage of development, and we need money."

How will the drug be applied?

While synthetic polymers have been developed as a bacterial treatment, they have not previously been used to attack fungal infections. Traditional treatments use protein parts called peptides, but they are hard to synthesise and they are quickly degraded by the human body. Boyers synthetic polymers can act like peptides and can be produced from raw materials costing as little as $100 a kg.

The polymers will likely be applied systemically to treat blood infections, but they could also be used in a topical cream to treat superficial infections on the nails, or to prevent fungal biofilms that spread on medical devices like catheters.

Story continues

Human cells infected with candida albicans over a period of 24 hours. Source: UNSW

Am I at risk of fungal infection?

Fungal spores are all around us, but they generally only severely impact those who are immunocompromised. Infections are often seen in cancer chemotherapy patients, as well as HIV AIDS patients. People taking monoclonal antibody therapies for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory diseases are also susceptible to infection because the drug can weaken the immune system.

What could fungus do to our bodies?

When it comes to medically relevant infections the three main players are aspergillus, candida, cryptococcus and pneumocystis which she describes as very different beasts, but they generally break down human tissue in the same way they attack decaying leaf litter.

Aspergillus are really great at breaking down things in soil. It produces lots of spores, and we breathe in millions every day and were fine. When were immunocompromised those spores can germinate in people's lungs. If youve ever seen like mouldy bread, there's beautiful fibrils radiating out, and aspergillus will do that in the lung, she said.

Cryptococcus is similar  you breathe in spores  then they get taken up by macrophages in lungs and go into your central nervous system.

Candida albicans is a bit different because it lives in your gut and is part of your gut microbiota. When youre immunocompromised it can escape the gut, get into your bloodstream, travel around into your major organs where it just invades and causes lesions, sepsis and death.

Under the right conditions, mould will continue to grow inside homes as spores are always present in the air. Source: Getty

Is climate change increasing the risk of infection?

Relatively speaking there are few fungi that are pathogens of humans, because most can't grow at a warm 37 degrees which is necessary to survive in our bodies.

There are instances where a rare fungi will suddenly jump into a human, often in an exotic tropical location, but these are usually isolated cases. However, climate change will likely result in more fungi adapting to hot conditions.

As the world gets hotter, you're going to get more and more fungi that are currently not pathogens that will be able to grow at 37 degrees. And so if they do find a human body, they might be capable of then causing disease, Lenardon said.

In the United States and to some degree Australia, fungi that are able to infect humans are also increasing their environmental range, and this means more people will come into contact with them.

Fungi divide a lot more rapidly than we do  an hour and a half in a lab as opposed to 30 years for a human  and they can adapt and evolve to warmer climates much faster than us, Lenardon said.

The study has been published in the in the journal American Chemical Society.

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PFAS in biosolids fertilizer sparks damages lawsuit

Washington, DC  The first in what may be a tidal wave of product liability lawsuits has been filed against a major manufacturer of biosolids-based fertilizer for damages caused by toxic chemicals they contain. Fertilizers produced from sewage sludge have dangerous levels of toxic PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), according to laboratory testing arranged by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), and thus present a major threat to American agriculture and public health.

(Article republished from Peer.org)

Five farmers from Johnson County, Texas, filed a lawsuit this week against Synagro Technologies, Inc. and its Texas affiliate. The lawsuit alleges that Synagros biosolids-fertilizer contains high levels of PFAS that poisoned them, killed their livestock, polluted their water, and rendered their property worthless. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), several of the PFAS found in the biosolids and on the farms are so toxic to humans that there are no safe levels of them.

The concentrations of PFAS in the soil, water, and fish and calf tissue from these farms were stunningly high; for example, there were 610,000 ppt of PFOS in a stillborn calf liver, and 57,000 and 74,000 ppt of PFOS in two fish samples.

Synagros biosolid fertilizer was produced from sewage sludge that Synagro purchased from the water treatment plant serving the City of Fort Worth. Synagro makes approximately 26,500 tons of fertilizer each year at that location and claims to have approximately 1,000 such contracts with water treatment plants across North America. It manages 6.5 million tons of biosolids annually.

Similar instances of PFAS poisonings of farms, dairies, and ranches have occurred in several states, stated PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pointing out that Maine has outlawed land application of biosolids after more than 60 farms were found to have unsafe levels of PFAS contamination. This lawsuit against Synagro will likely be the first of many.

Filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, Maryland, where Synagro is headquartered, the suit alleges that the company falsely markets its biosolids fertilizers as safe and organic and failed to warn purchasers of the risks associated with PFAS exposure.

Although civil and criminal sanctions at both the state and local levels are available, the PFAS biosolids problem calls for a national solution, added Bennett, noting that Johnson County, Texas, has also opened a criminal investigation into Synagro over these events. Unfortunately, EPA has yet to act to protect consumers and farmers from these avoidable toxic exposures.

The suit was brought by the Austin, Texas firm of Guerrero & Whittle PLLC in partnership with the Baltimore firm of Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP.

Read more at: Peer.org
Bulk of Republicans locked in on support for Trump

Republican voters delivered a decisive result for President Donald Trump in the South Carolina presidential primary. The former president demonstrated his command over Republican voters in the fourth and final early primary, defeating the states former governor Nikki Haley by 20 percentage points on Feb. 24.

(Article by Lawrence Wilson republished from TheEpochTimes.com)

The people spoke for Trump, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told The Epoch Times, virtually waving a white flag over the Haley campaign, of which he had been a notable proponent.

Ms. Haley has vowed to continue her run for the White House at least through Super Tuesday, March 5, when 15 states will conduct presidential primaries.

Yet the overwhelming support for President Trump in South Carolina, which builds on the momentum generated in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, validates Mr. Normans assessment.

Neither legal battles, nor age, nor mean tweets, nor the outcome of previous elections will keep the party from nominating its favorite son.

Republicans want Donald Trump, and nobody but Donald Trump, and many appear immune to any argument to the contrary.

Age and Vitality

Ms. Haley has begun to criticize the former president, albeit gingerly. One line of attack was a veiled reference to his age and the insinuation that he represents an older generation.

Ms. Haley tied President Trump to incumbent President Joe Biden, whose age and mental acuity have become a concern to many voters. Ms. Haley frequently repeated polling numbers suggesting that 70 percent of Americans do not want either man in office, and said that electing either one would be voting for more of the same.

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Referring to herself as a fresher, more vigorous alternative, Ms. Haley often used the phrase new generational leader.

The idea sticks with many Haley supporters, who picture her as a fresher, more vigorous candidate.

I dont want either old man in the White House, Haley supporter Diane Derusha, 75, of Mt. Pleasant told The Epoch Times.

However, the argument failed to persuade President Trumps core voters in the Palmetto state, most of whom believe he is actually more fit for the job as leader of the free world than Ms. Haley.

Among Republican voters in South Carolina, 69 percent said Trump has the physical and mental health to be president, according to exit polling reported by CBS. Just 62 percent of them said the same of Ms. Haley.

Electability

Ms. Haleys most direct attack on President Trump centered on his ability to win a general election. Donald Trump cant win, she said in stump speeches. He lost in 2018. He lost in 2020. He lost in 2022, and he continues to lose.

Referring to polling data on hypothetical matchups between President Trump vs. President Biden and herself vs. President Biden, Ms. Haley told reporters in Columbia on Feb. 2, Trump doesnt defeat Joe Biden ... I defeat Biden.

Indeed, a number of polls show that Ms. Haley would fare better in the general election than would President Trump. The latest, conducted by Marquette University, shows Ms. Haley with a 16 percent lead over President Biden. Other polls show a lead of about 3 percent.

Polls involving President Trump have shown him winning by about 2 percentage points. Others indicate that he would lose to President Biden.

Haley supporters are well-attuned to that polling and are convinced Ms. Haley is the more electable candidate.

If you look at the big picture, do we want to win? Melanie Sabelhaus, co-chair of Women for Nikki, said on Feb. 23. Wake up America! We want to win. The polls are saying ... she can beat Joe Biden.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has also seen the same opportunity, noting that the GOP results from South Carolina show this is a three-way race, thanks to those who wont vote for President Trump or President Biden.

Tonights results in South Carolina proved this is officially a three-way race. A recent NBC poll showed that in a three-way dead heat, 34% of Americans could see themselves voting for me right now. I have the highest net favorability of any candidate and continue to gain  Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) February 25, 2024

Part of Ms. Haleys favorable polling against President Biden could be that she draws strong support among moderates, independents, and even some Democrats. In the New Hampshire primary, 70 percent of voters choosing Mrs. Haley were independents.

In South Carolina, 53 percent of Haley voters were independents, and 70 percent described themselves as moderates.

Ive already voted for Nikki, Kurt Kehelbeck, 64, of Charleston, told The Epoch Times, having cast his ballot during the early voting period.

But to win the Republican primary, a candidate must have the support of Republican voters. And most of that support has gone to President Trump.

As for electability in the general election, most Republican voters still believe President Trump would fare better than Ms. Haley.

Of Republican primary voters, 83 percent said President Trump was either very likely or somewhat likely to defeat President Biden in a general election. For Ms. Haley, just 59 percent said the same.

Normalcy

Ms. Haley has positioned her candidacy as a return to normalcy after what she described as disorder and unpredictability surrounding President Trump, who pitches his presidency around efforts to drain the swamp.

Chaos follows him, she told rally goers in Columbia on Feb. 1.

Hes gotten more unstable and unhinged, Ms. Haley said of President Trump in a speech at Clemson University on Feb. 20.

After the New Hampshire primary, Ms. Haley added a line to her stump speech about President Trumps reaction to her 40 percent share of the vote.

Donald Trump had a temper tantrum on stage. He was completely unhinged. All he did was talk about revenge ... and my dress, she told supporters in Myrtle Beach on Feb. 22.

But two days earlier, when Laura Ingraham asked what revenge meant to him during a Fox News town hall, President Trump was given a chance to respond to the media coverage about his alleged plans for vengeance.

I dont care about the revenge thing. I know they use the word revenge, Will there be revenge? he said. My revenge will be success.

Ms. Haleys supporters are apt to use words like disrespectful or arrogant to describe President Trump. They appear to see Ms. Haley as calmer and more level-headed.

The most important thing she can do is bring a divided country together. She can reach across the aisle and begin to heal whats broken, Mark Wilson, 65, of Mt. Pleasant told The Epoch Times.

Many of President Trumps supporters, on the other hand, seem more likely to believe that America is in the midst of an internal conflict that needs to be won rather than healed.

Of those who voted for President Trump in this primary, 90 percent said the most important characteristic they look for in a candidate is someone who fights for people like me.

If we dont take this country back, were going to be like Afghanistan or Iraq or Iran or some third world country, Douglas Benton of Myrtle Beach told The Epoch Times. If things didnt change, he said, Its going to get ugly.

Lawsuits

As President Trumps legal problems have mounted over the past year, Ms. Haley has leveraged them as an argument against his presidential candidacy.

He spent $50 million of his campaign funds to pay for legal fees. Are you kidding me? she told reporters in Columbia on Feb. 1. Hows he going to campaign against Joe Biden when he has no money? she asked, adding that his court cases will continue throughout the year.

To many Trump supporters, the former presidents legal woes have no bearing on his ability to get elected or to govern. Many view the cases against him as abuses of prosecutorial power intended to scare away voters and keep him out of office. As such, his candidacy is cast as a quest for justice.

Michael Large, 62, of Moncks Corner told The Epoch Times he wanted to show my support for a man that I believe is being politically persecuted and deserves another chance. Thats really why I want him in office.

Exit polls showed that 67 percent of Trump supporters believed his legal problems dont matter, and 61 percent said he would be fit to hold office even if convicted of a crime.

Perhaps the most telling finding of the exit pollsters is that Republican voters were largely unpersuadable in the days before this primary.

Most Republican voters had made their choice long before heading to a polling site. More than two-thirds of Trump voters had locked in their choice more than a month before the election.

If the mindset of Republican voters generally mirrors that of South Carolinians, the grail quest for a dozen Republican candidates whose last name is not Trump and a significant number of Republican and independent voters in the GOP presidential race appears to be futile.

Voters are saying, there simply is no Republican alternative to Donald Trump.

Read more at: TheEpochTimes.com
Questions surround self-immolator Aaron Bushnells intelligence links and high security clearance

When Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. while shouting free Palestine, the 25-year-old was described as a U.S. airman. Wearing his military uniform, he identified himself as a member of the Air Force in a video that was streamed live on Twitch of the incident. However, a lot more has emerged about him since his dramatic suicide on Sunday, and questions are swirling around his U.S. intelligence work and his security clearance.

Bushnell, who said I will no longer be complicit in genocide before setting himself on fire, served in the Air Forces 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing.

A friend who spoke to Bushnell said that he shared secret knowledge about American troops fighting in the Hamas tunnels of Gaza just hours before the incident.

The friend said that he discussed his top-secret clearance for military intelligence data, adding: He told me on Saturday that we have troops in those tunnels, that its US soldiers participating in the killing.

According to the friend, Bushnell said there were American troops on the ground killing numerous Palestinians. He said that he believes there could be truth to his claims because his job entailed processing intelligence data linked to the Gaza conflict.

One of the things he told me is that coming across his desk  was the US military was involved in the genocides going on in Palestine, the friend reiterated, adding that Bushnell sounded scared when discussing it. He described him as a calm and collected individual who did not seem likely to kill himself.

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Theres just too many things I dont know, but I can tell you that the tone of his voice just had something in it that told me he was scared, the friend added.

These claims fly in the face of statements made by the White House that American troops would not be on the ground in combatant roles in Gaza.

Bushnell followed left-wing extremist and antifa accounts on social media

Bushnells social media accounts indicate that he was a radical left-wing extremist. Some of his posts mocked the deaths of fellow servicemen, and he also had connections to antifa networks.

The Post Millennial took a deep dive into his post history before his social media posts were scrubbed and found that he supported the Stop Cop City movement, a violent far-left movement that is trying to stop a police training facility from being built in Atlanta. He also supported the vandalism of a state senators home who was targeted because he wanted to prevent minors from undergoing sex-change operations. In addition, he followed a number of left-wing extremist organizations online and even engaged with them in posts on Reddit.

Many are questioning how someone with connections to antifa terrorists could have obtained a security clearance. Senator Tom Cotton wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking why an individual who obviously harbored extreme, anti-American views was allowed to serve and wondered whether his extreme views were known and ignored or never even picked up on by the Pentagon.

You have made it a top priority to address extremism amongst our total force, and this act of horrific violencein support of a terrorist groupraises serious questions about how this individual was allowed to serve on active duty, he wrote.

He also asked whether Bushnell had access to classified material or demonstrated concerning behavior before this incident.

There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered here, and although this initially seemed like a straightforward case of a mentally disturbed individual making a dramatic gesture, it is clear that there's a lot more to this story.

Sources for this article include:

Revolver.news

HindustanTimes.com

ThePostMillennial.com
The true state of the economy that is being hidden by the media to protect dementia Joe in the run up to the 2024 presidential election

If reporting on the true state of the economy, meaning a 2024 recession is still possible, or even probable, would the media hold back on reporting the truth in an election year if it would help a Democrat president?

(Article by Susan Duclos republished from AllNewsPipeline.com)

That was a rhetorical question. Of course they would, and there are major indicators showing that is exactly what is happening.

We'll start with the liberal media because they're in the best position possible to gaslight and influence Americans. If they ignore something, a significant number of Americans will never see it, unless they are readers of Independent News Media as well. They direct the news, not as much as they used to thanks to the internet, but it does take a lot of work from independent websites collectively to force the MSM to address a topic they prefer the public remain ignorant of.

How can we tell if a MSM source is liberal or not?

We used to be able to look to donations to political candidates by journalists until many news outlets prohibited the practice, especially after the numbers were made public, proving liberal bias in the news.

Flashback 2017, BallotPedia:

According to Juliana Heerschap, Brat's communications director, the congressman was referring to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), which examined donations by journalists to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the presidential primaries and the first month of the 2016 general election campaign. CPI reported that more than 96 percent of those donations were made to Clinton. Ballotpedia also reviewed three other analyses. The Center for Responsive Politics found that 65 percent of contributions from those identified as journalists went to Democrats in the 2010 election cycle. An analysis by MSNBC.com found that 87 percent of the 143 donors (who made contributions from 2004 through the start of the 2008 campaign) gave to Democrats or liberal causes. The Media Research Center found that 94 percent of donors affiliated with five news outlets also contributed to Democrats between 2008 and 2016.

Americans are aware of the bias, with many even admitting their preferred sources have a bias, which is likely why they stick to those sources. Many Americans only want to see the news that fits their own thoughts and ideology.

This was confirmed by a former MSNBC producer, Ariana Pekary, resigned from the network and wrote a scathing letter as to her reasoning, where she called MSM news a "cancer," and explained how she was told point blank that "Our viewers dont really consider us the news. They come to us for comfort."

Human knowledge is under attack! Governments and powerful corporations are using censorship to wipe out humanity's knowledge base about nutrition, herbs, self-reliance, natural immunity, food production, preparedness and much more. We are preserving human knowledge using AI technology while building the infrastructure of human freedom. Learn about our free, non-commercial AI / LLM project here. Support our efforts to build the infrastructure of human freedom by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com, featuring lab-tested, certified organic, non-GMO foods and nutritional solutions.

While there are a variety of issues the media carries water for the Democrats on from abortion to Donald Trump, the economy is the focus of this piece.

MEDIA LIES ABOUT THE ECONOMY.....

According to the liberal MSM, "Bidenomics" is working beautifully, although many have stopped using the actual term, especially Democrats up for reelection.

There are a number of reasons for that. The number one reason is because Americans are still paying the biggest share of their income on food than they have for 30 years.

Joe Biden blames the media for not reporting "the right way" on the economy, which has got to be the saddest thing ever, since all the media does is protect Biden with their reporting. What the media cannot do is change the bills Americans see every time they leave the grocery store, or any retail store for that matter.

What the media can do is pretend that the chances of recession are over, while claiming that all signs show a recovering economy. In fact, one of the easiest ways to tell a leftists media outlet from one more to the center or even right-leaning is to look at the headlines.

Now, most know the Associated Press and NYT are far left liberal websites, but Business Insider is known to be only slightly left of the center, and yet the headlines couldn't be more different.

NYT reported America is "dodging" a recession on January 20, 2024, with Business Insider admitting there is still a very high chance of recession in 2024, on February 12, 2024, and the AP was published today, February 26, 2024.

One before and one after the BI piece say things are dandy, no recession, while the one in the middle of those two sites shows an 85% chance of recession in 2024.

A recession is likely to hit the US economy in 2024, a new economic model highlighted by the economist David Rosenberg suggests. The economic indicator, which Rosenberg calls the "full model," suggests there's an 85% chance of a recession striking within the next 12 months. That's the model's highest reading since the Great Financial Crisis in 2008.

Look at your grocery bills, your wallet and your savings, and you decide which site is more accurate, and whether the NYT and the AP are actively working to protect Biden from his own policies.

Read more at: AllNewsPipeline.com
Arizona residents drive entire Maricopa County Board of Supervisors out of meeting after serving them for TREASON

The entire Maricopa County, Ariz., Board of Supervisors was driven out of a recent meeting by a cohort ofwho served them for

Michelle "Miki" Klann, who spoke directly to the board, reported that every last scoundrel on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors fled the room and "vacated their post" after citizens stormed the room and informed them about their personal liability in the 2020 election heist they oversaw.

(Fact check: A forensic audit found that Arizona's 2020 election results are based on systemic fraud, meaning Biden did not win in that state.)

"My name is Michelle Klann, and I'm here today to put you on public notice and to inform you that you are not our elected officials," Klann said to the board.

"None of you have ever signed an oath to the Republic of Arizona. Instead, you have signed an oath of office to a foreign corporation which means this is an act of insurrection."

Klann would continue by informing the board members that they do not have a proper bond carrying surety for their actions with regard to We the People.

"Due to all the voter fraud, you have never been formally voted in," Klann proclaimed. "Acting as if you have any authority over the people is a direct act of treason."

Found it. It happened after the meeting was ended. pic.twitter.com/YprmP0yHLX  The C Report (@TheCReport) February 29, 2024

Maricopa County board members carry $21 million personal liability EACH

Representing the "body sovereign," Klann explained to each board member before they all fled the room that they are personally liable for $21 million each, and now have the opportunity to cure that liability.

"The fine is $1.75 million per claim and there are 12 signatures which means you are each personally liable for $21 million," Klann explained about the liability breakdown based on each board member's 12 signatures certifying the last election.

"If you do not resign in three days, you will be presented with a writ quo warrento, and a waiver of tort. If you do not rebut these truths and you remain in office, we will be notifying the military, and your act of treason will be grounds for an immediate military tribunal. I do not need to tell you the penalties for treason."

Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com.

Each board member was also handed a jump drive containing a 5,000-page document notifying all board members about the dangers of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "vaccines," poison in the water, and other matters of importance to Arizona citizens.

"These are high crimes and acts against humanity," Klann said. "If you cover up high crimes, you will be held guilty for committing acts against humanity."

"Therefore, I hereby command you to send a public broadcast to every resident in Maricopa County notifying them of these dangers within the next three days or you will be in direct violation and derelict of your supposed duty, making you even more accountable for your actions. Notice to agent is notice to principal. You have been formally served on record."

The language that Klann used throughout her speech is based on common low, which you can learn more about at ThePeoplesOperationRestoration.com.

The goal with this move is to inspire Americans everywhere  in every town, city and community across the nation  to put their treasonous government officials on notice that they must either do the right thing immediately or suffer the consequences.

"Now this needs to be served on every politician in Washington," wrote someone on X about the matter, encouraging others to be like Klann and get the job done.

More related news can be found at Rigged.news.

Sources for this article include:

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com

ThePeoplesOperationRestoration.com
In latest left-wing assault on democracy, Illinois REMOVES Trump from primary ballot

Donald Trump's name will not appear on Illinois' Republican primary ballot, Cook County Judge Tracie Porter has decided.

Porter reportedly ordered local election officials to strike Trump's name from the running, effective March 1. Trump's legal team was given just two days in between the ruling and its effective date to appeal.

The ruling stems from the actions that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump, according to Porter, led a "riot" at the United States Capitol. This, she says, disqualifies him from seeking reelection in the Land of Lincoln.

Citing the 14th Amendment's Insurrection Clause, Porter says it is only fair that Trump be disqualified because he "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the nation.

With the Illinois state primary race set to kick off on March 19, some Illinois voters wanted to see Trump banned from it. They filed a formal objection with the state election board, pointing to his alleged "participation in the Jan. 6, 2021 [sic] events."

"While officials later voted unanimously to retain his name on the GOP ballot, the move prompted a legal challenge from the voters' lawyers, who presented the same argument to the court," reports explain about what transpired.

Illinois is now the third state  Colorado and Maine also did this  seeking to block Trump from being nominated as the Republican candidate for president in 2024, even though he is leading by a longshot.

(Related: If voters reelect him this fall, Trump says he might gut the U.S. intelligence agencies, which are infested with traitors.)

Thanks to your generous support, we are building the infrastructure of human freedom and actively donating our technology to independent publishers, authors and home schooling organizations. Learn about our game-changing non-commercial AI project here. Support our ongoing efforts to preserve and enhance human knowledge by shopping at HealthRangerStore.com.

It's all up to the Supreme Court

Try as they might to stop Trump, Illinois, Colorado and Maine will have to submit to whatever the Supreme Court ultimately decides on the matter. All three state rulings are being appealed to SCOTUS, which initially did not want to address the matter but has since signaled that it might take up the issue after all.

Earlier this month, a majority of the Supreme Court's justices questioned whether state officials even have the constitutional authority to apply the Insurrection Clause to a presidential candidate.

Liberal justice Elena Kagan questioned "why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States," while conservative-leaning Justice Amy Coney Barrett said much the same.

"It just doesn't seem like a state call," Justice Barrett commented.

So far, Trump has swept every GOP primary contest that has been held, including in Michigan, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina where he was the overwhelming victor.

The former president still has to contend with criminal cases in multiple states, including one involving an alleged hush-money scheme with porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump is also accused of improperly handling classified material.

In all of the cases, Trump denies wrongdoing and claims innocence. In his view, all of them are politically motivated at their core.

"One man, Biden, illegally put in the White House. Another man, Trump, illegally kept out of the White House. And it is all done in plain view with the blessing of the Supreme Court. It's all too far gone to be saved," one commenter wrote about the circus of corrupt politics that has come to dominate U.S. affairs.

"Americans wonder why they do not get good representation yet do nothing when their political process is hijacked right in front of them," wrote another with sheer wonder as to how and why Americans allow this type of thing to continue.

"They think they can 'vote' their way out of the problem in a totally hijacked political system where the law does not apply to one party but does to the other."

The latest news about Trump's third bid for the presidency can be found at Trump.news.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

NaturalNews.com
Mayor of Athens, GA where Laken Riley was murdered by an illegal, gets curb-stomped by locals: Liar! You have blood on your hands

Watching the left scramble to distance themselves from the horrific murder of Laken Riley by one of Bidens illegals, is downright appalling and heartless. For years, Dems have championed sanctuary city policies, essentially rolling out the red carpet for every dreg of humanity, only to now recoil as these twisted and failed policies disastrously implode, putting innocent Americans at risk or worse. But shifting blame or deflecting responsibility wont cut it anymore. The murder of Laken Riley marks a turning point, and as they try to dodge accountability like cockroaches, the resilient folks of Athens are making sure they cant just slink away.

(Article republished from Revolver.news)

This was clearly evident during a press conference with Democrat Mayor Kelly Girtz, who attempted to shift blame away from himself and his partys policies. But the community wasnt buying it. They directly called him a liar and accused him of having blood on his hands. Despite the mayors denials, its clear to the people of Athens that his support for sanctuary policies created an environment where an illegal monster event could brutally murder a young American girl in the prime of her life.

Kelly Girtz (D), the Mayor of Athens, Georgia where Laken Riley was m*rdered by an illegal tried deflecting and shifting the blame. The people werent having it! Youre a liar! You have blood on your hands! pic.twitter.com/84118yr4YL  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 28, 2024

And in case you want video proof that this sleazy Democrat politician created this sanctuary for murderers, here he is 5 years ago, declaring Athens a sanctuary city.

Here is the Mayor of Athens, 5 years ago, declaring Athens a Sanctuary City Laken Rileys skull was just disfigured by an illegal who slaughtered her while out for a jog pic.twitter.com/dUyKzb1Vbr  Jack Poso ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2024

President Trump knows exactly whos to blame for Lakens murder: Joe Biden and the entire Democrat Party.

President Trump just released a new ad about illegal immigration focused on Laken Riley's murder Share it. No more Laken Rileys Elect Trump. Deport them allpic.twitter.com/wE8bPpJm5u  Jack Poso ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 27, 2024

President Trump had this to say about Lakens murder:

President Trump speaks out about the murder of Laken Riley. CLOSE THE BORDER NOW! pic.twitter.com/jrzyEtFpeY  Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) February 28, 2024

President Trump is right. Close the border and protect our citizens. But instead of doing that, Girtz is trying to deflect. Now, following the horrific and deadly outcome of his misguided policies, which led to the murder of a young woman simply out for a jog, Girtz is urging us not to politicize the event. This guy wants to emerge unscathed, and accepting zero responsibility for the fate of that young, vibrant life taken so senselessly. But it gets more cold-hearted. Even as a member of his community was cruelly slaughtered, this hair-brained politicians focus remains on the rights of illegals and bashing Trump.

Here is the Mayor of Athens, GA telling us we must respect the dignity of migrants, and tries to deflect to Trump and Charlottesville Laken Riley was just beaten to death under his sanctuary city policies pic.twitter.com/qkD4iqTvIm  Jack Poso ?? (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2024

This disconnected, woke Democrat is cautioning against linking crime with illegal immigration, while we all sit here and watch crime rates soar and our citizens suffer and die. Its becoming harder for even the most cult-like liberals to overlook the possibility that this ongoing assault on American safety might not be accidental.

Read more at: Revolver.news
The people of Gaza are being deliberately starved

The U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri charges Israel with the deliberate starvation of the Palestinians of Gaza:

(Article republished from DanielLarison.Substack.com)

There is no reason to intentionally block the passage of humanitarian aid or intentionally obliterate small-scale fishing vessels, greenhouses and orchards in Gaza  other than to deny people access to food, Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, told the Guardian. Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. In my view as a UN human rights expert, this is now a situation of genocide. This means the State of Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable  not just individuals or this government, or that person.

The Israeli government has been inflicting collective punishment on the people of Gaza from the start of the war, and a major part of that punishment has been cutting them off from outside supplies of food, water, and fuel. Israeli forces have been systematically destroying Gazas local means of food production since then. It has been clear from official statements and the actions of their government that they mean to harm the entire population. Fakhri is the latest expert to confirm what we have been seeing for months: the people of Gaza are being starved to death on purpose by the Israeli government.

The Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders, Christopher Lockyear, spoke before the U.N. Security Council last week and described the horrific conditions that have been created by the Israeli campaign and blockade:

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This situation is the culmination of a war Israel is waging on the entire population of the Gaza strip  a war of collective punishment, a war without rules, a war at all costs. The laws and the principles we collectively depend on to enable humanitarian assistance are now eroded to the point of becoming meaningless.

Lockyear also detailed how MSF staff and facilities have repeatedly been attacked by Israeli forces. He said, Israeli forces are attacking our convoys, they are shooting at and raiding our hospitals, they are detaining our staff, and bulldozing our vehicles. For a second time, one of our staff shelters has been hit. This pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence.

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Phillipe Lazzarini, raised the alarm last week that the agency was on the brink because of the decisions of U.S. and other governments to halt funding:

I fear we are on the edge of a monumental disaster with grave implications for regional peace, security and human rights.

It is important to remember that the U.S. and other Western governments that chose to halt funding for UNRWA did so on the basis of unproven Israeli claims that a handful of agency employees took part in the October 7 attack. The entire population is being made to suffer for the alleged wrongdoing of a few people. Fakhri concludes that the governments that have cut off funding to UNRWA are complicit in the deliberate starvation of Gazas people:

Ending funding almost instantaneously based on unsubstantiated claims against a small number of people has no other purpose other than collective punishment of all Palestinians in multiple countries. The countries that withdrew this lifeline are undoubtedly complicit in the starvation of Palestinians, Fakhri said.

Despite the International Court of Justices order that Israel must facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and enable basic services, Amnesty International said this week that Israel has failed to take even the bare minimum steps to comply. According to Amnesty, the small trickle of aid that has been allowed in has actually decreased in the weeks since the ICJ ruling. The Israeli government flouts international law because it assumes that it will never pay a real price for doing so, and so far the Biden administration has given them every reason to think that.

In addition to the severe hunger created by the blockade and the destruction of food production, the people of Gaza are suffering from the collapse of the health care system, the breakdown in public sanitation, and the rapid spread of disease. The New York Times reported over the weekend:

Prominent epidemiologists have estimated that an escalation of the war in Gaza could cause up to 85,000 Palestinian deaths over the next six months from injuries, disease and lack of medical care, in addition to the nearly 30,000 that local authorities have already reported since early October.

Children are obviously among the hardest hit by these disasters. The executive director of UNICEF writes:

Even now, we estimate that at least 90% of Gazas children under the age of five are affected by one or more infectious diseases, and that 70% have had diarrhea in the past two weeks  a 23-fold increase compared with the 2022 baseline [bold mine-DL].

The children of Gaza are especially vulnerable to the spread of disease because they are so badly malnourished. The spread of malnutrition in Gaza has been extraordinarily fast. Fakhri spoke about this in his comments to The Guardian:

The speed of malnourishment of young children is also astounding. The bombing and people being killed directly is brutal, but this starvation  and the wasting and stunting of children  is torturous and vile [bold mine-DL]. It will have a long-term impact on the population physically, cognitively and morally  All things indicate that this has been intentional, said Fakhri, a law professor at the University of Oregon.

Children are dying of starvation in Gaza right now. The youngest children are at the greatest risk, and there are reports of many young children perishing from hunger. One of the latest victims was a two-month old infant, Mahmoud Fattouh. He will not be the last. UNICEF warns that there will soon be an explosion of preventable child deaths as a result of starvation.

This is the horrific and predictable result of the collective punishment of millions of people. Conditions will continue to deteriorate if the war is not halted and the blockade is not lifted. The U.S. is in a unique position to press for an end to both to avert an even greater man-made catastrophe, but our government refuses to do any of the things needed to prevent it from happening.

Read more at: DanielLarison.Substack.com
Trump goes there: blasts Joe Biden for beautiful Laken Rileys death in devastating new ad

Laken Riley, a young nursing student from Georgia who had her entire life ahead of her, was brutally murdered by one of Joe Bidens illegals, who waltzed across our wide-open border without a care in the world and slaughtered the young girl while she was out on a morning jog.

(Article republished from Revolver.news)

People Magazine:

Authorities have released the cause of death in the killing of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old nursing student who disappeared while on a jog on a Georgia college campus last week. Riley, a student at Augusta Universitys campus in Athens, Ga., died from blunt force trauma to the head, Sonny Wilson, the coroner at the Athens-Clarke County Coroners Office and Morgue, confirms to PEOPLE. Jose Ibarra, 26, has been charged in connection with Rileys death, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. Riley was reported missing by a friend after she did not return from her jog on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday. Her body was found later that day in the woods behind Lake Herrick and she was unconscious and not breathing, and had visible injuries the UGA Police Department said in a statement. Georgia officials have since revealed gruesome details about the killing and accused Ibarra of disfiguring her skull, according to an arrest affidavit reviewed by PEOPLE. Ibarra is also accused of using an object to harm Riley during the incident, the affidavit states. Ibarra also physically hindered the victim from making a 911 call, the affidavit claims, adding that he also allegedly dragged her body to a secluded area. Ibarra was arrested on Friday and has been charged with several offenses, including murder, kidnapping and assault, online court records show.

Did you happen to notice that People Magazine didnt mention Ibarras immigration status even once? Its unsettling that even when a vibrant American life is savagely snuffed out, our shameless propaganda media will still go out of its way to cover for the murderer. However, despite the medias shameless propaganda, Americans are finally paying attention to the border invasion. Its become the top election issue for 2024.

LA Times:

As Biden and former President Trump head to the U.S.-Mexico border this week ahead of the Super Tuesday primaries, new polling finds that an increasing number of Americans view illegal immigration as a very serious problem, and a majority support building a border wall. Republican candidates who want to frame the Biden administration as weak on immigration have repeatedly hammered it as a top issue on the 2024 election campaign trail. Biden is intent on laying the blame for inaction at the border on his opponent, who helped sink the largest immigration package in Congress in years. A Monmouth University poll released Monday shows that the competing messaging is sticking  with 8 in 10 Americans across partisan lines seeing illegal immigration as at least a somewhat serious problem. Sixty-one percent of all respondents say its a very serious problem, up from fewer than 50% in 2015 and 2019. Among Republicans, 91% see illegal immigration as a very serious issue, compared with 58% of independents and 41% of Democrats.

Thankfully, the truth about Bidens massive failures is finding its way out, and President Trump is leading the charge. His Super PAC has just released a powerful ad, correctly blaming Joe Biden for the death of Laken Riley.

Devastating political ad from Trumps PAC attacking Joe Biden for Laken Rileys death. Immigration is the number one concern of all voters per Gallup poll. pic.twitter.com/msPWO0cvgi  Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) February 27, 2024

The takeaway from that ad is clear: Youre not safe in Bidens America. Its true. How can we feel secure when neighboring countries are offloading their criminals and the mentally unstable into our communities, creating a massive flood of crime? This is yet another reason why Trump is outpacing Biden on all fronts and has successfully taken the reins of the GOP.

The Conservative Treehouse:

President Trump is beating Joe Biden in this battleground state poll by 6 points. However, the Republican Senate candidate, Dave McCormick, is running 7 points behind the Democrat Bob Casey. The combined margin of difference is 13 points, or put another way  Trump pulls more support within the state than the Republican Party. The Pennsylvania reality shows the scale of how much the Republican Party is now the party of Donald Trump. The dynamic makes sense, because the overwhelming majority of middle class average Americans align with the policy agenda simply known as America First. The distance between the Trump support base and the support base of the overall Republican Party is considerable. Thus, if we can remove the larger influence of the corporate Republican apparatus from the RNC and party apparatus, the ranks of the new Trump era Republican Party will grow. A new larger tent brand of Republican exists in the MAGAnomic policy, the economic policy of Trump that expands the wealth of the average American. Thanks to the MAGA influence, the RNC/GOPe party of old crony capitalists and vulture hedge fund owners is diminishing rapidly. The Wall Street tribe now assembles with the Democrats and the Main Street tribe now assembles with Trump republicanism.

The GOP has no choice but to be fully on board with Trumps resurgence. With momentum, energy, and a vision that reminds us of the excitement of 2016, hes steering a massive political revival. People hang on his every word, and his messages, particularly the recent one about Laken Riley, hit home. Bidens failures, especially at the US border, have been piling up. The preventable horror of Laken Rileys murder could very well mark the grim end of his regime.

Read more at: Revolver.news
HIDDEN ESCALATION: Head of UK armed forces SECRETLY helping Ukraine craft battle plans against Russia

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the United Kingdom's outgoing head of armed forces, has decided to stay another year after all, but not to serve Brits.

Radakin says it is worth his while to postpone his retirement for the sake of helping Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fight against Russia.

The 58-year-old, who was scheduled to retire last November, will instead stay on to help advise Zelensky about how to win the war against his opponent, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to reports, Radakin was asked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to stay in his post until autumn 2025, a request that was reportedly approved by King Charles III.

Sources close to Radakin cited his successes in "shuttle diplomacy" between Washington and Kyiv last summer. Radakin held key meetings in person with Ukrainian military chiefs even as the White House expressed anxiety about the U.S. possibly appearing too closely involved in the war.

"They said he was able to grasp the tactical detail of the land war in Ukraine while also able to link this to the bigger strategic picture and the need to align the military response with the wider economic and diplomatic effort," reported The Times.

"He travelled without any British ministers to Kyiv to meet President Zelensky to discuss Ukraine's strategy and how the West could help. A Ukrainian military source said he was liked for his 'wise strategic thinking' and had been helping the country with its battle plans, without going into detail for security reasons."

(Related: Did you hear? Western special forces are already on the ground in Ukraine fighting against Russia.)

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Ukraine will collapse without U.S. welfare payments

Radakin was first appointed to his post just a few months before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He is now leading the British military through what The Times described as "the most dangerous period since the end of the Cold War."

Radakin is credited with having helped Ukraine strategize how to destroy Russian ships and reopen the Black Sea. Now, Ukraine's maritime trade is returning, or so we are told, to pre-war levels.

For the rest of his extended time as military head, Radakin's job will be to maintain government "continuity," especially with the UK's general election soon to come.

"I think the secretary of state respects his experience and sees him as an ally in wanting to improve the armed forces and ensure it is prepared to defend our great country," commented a source close to Defense Secretary Grant Shapps.

"He has helped sail the ship of state through three prime ministers, the death of a monarch, and a war in Europe," said another military source about Radakin's strong relations with allies like Ukraine and the United States.

There are also efforts afoot to overhaul the British military to improve its capabilities moving forward.

Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine war rages on with no apparent end in sight. Ukraine is running out of ammunition, we now know, and Russia is steadily making advances further and further into the territory.

Without further U.S. funding, Ukraine is likely to collapse, The Times admits, though Radakin says he believes "Britain is safe" from the conflict, this countering warnings from General Sir Patrick Sanders, chief of staff of the British army, who recently suggested that Brits need to train and get equipped for conflict.

Despite growing threats to Great Britain, Sunak has not announced any plans to increase defense spending.

Estonia, meanwhile, says it is preparing for a potential armed conflict with Russia in the next decade, citing claims that Russia will go after the West at large next.

The latest news about the escalation that will come from this can be found at WWIII.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheTimes.co.uk

NaturalNews.com
The EU would be permitted to exit the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) if a deal, which documents reveal was clinched today (March 1) between the European Commission and member states, is approved next week.

The EU executives new proposal for the EU Council offers member states the option to approve modernising the international trade agreement which protects fossil fuel investments, at the ECT conference, due in November, while allowing the EU and Euratom, the European Atomic Energy Community, to leave the treaty, according to the document.

But the compromise does not imply that EU member states are automatically allowed to remain part of the ECT. They would still require an authorisation from the EU to do so and failure to obtain it would require them to quit the treaty.

The decisions related to the modernisation of the ECT will be subject to a unanimity vote. If the vote is successful, the decisions for the modernisation of the ECT will be considered adopted by the Energy Charter Conference, the document read.

A Belgian Presidency spokesperson welcomed the commission proposal on modernising the treaty, and told Euronews the presidency would try breaking the deadlock on the ECT.

The ECT is an international agreement, in force since the early 1990s, that allows energy companies to sue countries taking measures that could harm their expected profits. The treaty, one of the world's most litigated investment agreements, has been criticised for strong-arming governments, with the commission saying it became increasingly outdated.

Paul de Clerck, trade expert at Friends of the Earth Europe, applauded the Belgian Presidency for brokering the deal dubbing it an historic moment.

It is the first time that climate concerns prevail over trade interests. The ECT is a wreck and we are convinced that other member states will follow the examples of Spain, France, Germany, the UK and many others, and also jump ship, stated de Clerck.

Story continues

Since last summer, EU talks on the ECT had reached a deadlock. The commission initially proposed a coordinated withdrawal of the EU and all member states, but a number of them advocated for modernisation and continued participation in the treaty.

Nine member states announced their intention to withdraw from the ECT since October 2022  Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain. In the meantime, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Poland have officially notified their withdrawal. The UK announced its withdrawal last week. Italy was the first to quit the treaty in 2016.

The EU Council is set to vote on the exit proposal on March 7 with the parliament's plenary vote planned for March 11.
Ukrainians are not trained to operate U.S. F-16 fighter jets, would not be Russia-Ukraine war game-changer, says Jake Sullivan

For White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, sending the United States-manufactured fighter planes would not have made any difference in Kyivs failed summer counteroffensive on Russian attacks because Ukraine does not have enough trained F-16 pilots to fly them.

Sullivan told ABC News that even if the U.S. was able to deliver the aircraft early, they would not have been a game-changer, disagreeing with the narrative that the White House did not provide enough "war-fighting equipment" for Ukraine to succeed on the front line.

"The idea that we did not mobilize a massive quantity of resources and capabilities to deliver to Ukrainians simply doesn't wash," Sullivan answered when asked whether the White House's incremental approach to deliveries of advanced weaponry was to blame for Ukraine's lack of progress in the battling of Russian forces. "If you look at some total of what the United States provided to Ukraine in this fight it is an incredible quantity of material delivered at speed, at scale outpacing the expectation."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for Western fighter jets, saying they are needed to counter Russian air attacks. According to Sullivan, the fault is not with them. He "clarified" that the delay in delivery was not because they were not available. There are additional capabilities that Ukrainians have looked for, F-16 being one of them," he continued, explaining that while they are prepared to provide the jets, Ukrainians would not be able to maintain, let alone operate them.

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Back in August, U.S. President Joe Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, took back his words in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets. Biden supported the transfer of the planes by other countries and so Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort, prompting hopes among officials in Kyiv that the planes would be defending Ukrainian airspace by as early as September. (Related: Netherlands, Denmark confirm U.S. approval of F-16s for Ukraine  but will it matter?)

Back then, a U.S. official, who requested anonymity to be able to speak on the matter, revealed Washington would be prepared to bring the aviators to the United States, where the Air Force trains some 400 F-16 pilots a year if European capacity proves insufficient to meet Ukrainian demand. They described the training effort, rather than hobbled by Western foot-dragging as Ukrainian officials charge, as only slowly getting off the ground because of the complexities of standing up a new international initiative and the challenges Ukraine must face in identifying aviators with the right skills amid an existential fight. They left the F-16 training effort to European allies.

Moscow has also warned that the move would be a dangerous escalation, given that with some modifications F-16 can carry nuclear bombs, and vowed to destroy the jets in Ukraine if they arrive.

Zelensky: F-16 pilots training on the final stage

As the war with Russia enters its third year, Zelensky is standing his ground, convinced that Ukraine can still take Moscow down. The Ukrainian president recently released a video showing off his nation's pilots preparing to train on F-16 fighter jets.

Zelensky suggested that training for some Ukrainian pilots was entering the final stages and that the aircraft would be available soon. "All Ukrainians are waiting for the day when the first Ukrainian F-16s appear in our skies and strengthen the defense of our cities and communities," he wrote on X.

All Ukrainians are waiting for the day when the first Ukrainian F-16s appear in our skies and strengthen the defense of our cities and communities, as well as the capabilities of Ukraines Defense Forces. While our pilots and personnel continue their training, I thank the F-16 pic.twitter.com/NgaAtC5x8K  Volodymyr Zelenskyy / ????????? ?????????? (@ZelenskyyUa) February 23, 2024

The video that went viral showed how the aircraft was being serviced and taken off. "Our combat experience is truly invaluable, but still, this is a very condensed training program," one pilot who was named Moonfish said. "I think the boost here is not the combat experience but the motivation to go back and keep fighting," he said, adding that it was more agile than the MiGs he had been flying. "It feels like the jet wants to you to fly it more aggressively."

A technician named in the clip as Ihor admitted that the system seemed "incomprehensible to us and unrealistic to integrate in Ukraine" at first but he claimed to realize that it simplifies the work, saves time and helps us move forward. The video described how the F-16 would keep Russian aviation away from Ukraine's borders.

The first Danish F-16 fighter jets are expected to be handed over to Ukraine this summer, the country's defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen said, although there were "several conditions that must be met for Ukraine to use" them. Poulsen said the coalition of countries providing the fourth-generation fighter jets "are now working to bring things together this summer." Meanwhile, Belgium will transfer F-16s to Ukraine, but not until 2025, while Norway has confirmed it will supply F-16s soon.

Head over to UkraineWitness.com for more updates on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

WashingtonPost.com

MSN.com
An international team of scientists discovered what is thought to be over 100 new species dwelling on seamounts off the coast of Chile.

From deep-sea corals to glass sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, and squat lobsters, scientists believe these finds from a recent mission may contribute to new science.

The scientists set sail early in 2024 on the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor research vessel to explore the depths of the southeastern Pacific Ocean.

They dispatched a robotic underwater vehicle, or ROV, outfitted with lights and cameras, down more than 5,000 feet to webcast the hidden delights beneath the sea.

Scientists discovered a life form that looks like a living constellation and moves like an underwater tumbleweed; scarlet crustaceans with long, spindly legs wrapped in spines; and a variety of species that emit bioluminescence.

"On this expedition, we were able to observe over 150 species that have not been reported for the region, and we believe potentially 100 or more of those are new species to science," said Erin Easton, an assistant professor at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley who was involved in the expedition.

One creature that stuck out was a "walking" fish with googly eyes and crocheted skin.

It's a sea toad, a deep-sea anglerfish known for its melancholy visage and the bright lure it dangles in front of to entice prey. Its doily-like skin is made up of tiny needles that most likely provide protection and openings for sensory organs.

The sea toad has modified fins that allow it to walk on the seafloor-partly as a hunting technique and partially because it is more energy efficient than swimming.

The sea toad, which is the first scientific report of one in the southeastern Pacific, is most certainly a new species, according to scientists.

Read Also: New Species Karamoja Dwarf Gecko Found Pregnant in Uganda Forest Along with 4 Other New Gecko Species

Seamounts

The researchers also identified four newly undiscovered undersea mountains known as seamounts, as well as six that were already known to scientists.

Team member Jan Maximiliano Guerra, a Ph.D. student at the Catholic University of the North, said the distinct morphology of the seamounts allows various sorts of organisms to exist and adapt to a lifestyle that can only be found on that specific mountain.

"Therefore, most of the species we find along this mountain range and in the seamounts are unique in nature and cannot be found anywhere else in the world," he added.

According to NOAA, there may be more than 100,000 seamounts globally, but less than 0.1 percent of them have been studied. Far fewer are protected from potentially damaging human activities, including commercial fishing, bottom trawling, and mining.

Fortunately, two of the underwater mountains the scientists discovered are already marine protected areas.

Experts said more seamounts should be protected.

During the mission, chief scientist Javier Sellanes, a marine biologist at the Catholic University of the North in Chile, saw massive sponges, fields of sea lilies, seafloor-dwelling octopuses, and enormous, 10-foot-tall bamboo corals-all of which lived in quite different environments.

Many plants and animals found on seamounts are especially fragile, as they reside nowhere else.

Related Article: UCR Nematologists Find New Species of Beneficial Nematodes in Thailand
Imagine forgetting to water your houseplants and finding them wilted and dry. You might try watering them in hopes of reviving them, but it may already be too late.

Plants can only survive for so long without water, and once they reach a certain point of dehydration, the damage is irreversible.

Now imagine entire fields of crops facing the same fate due to drought. As climate change brings more extreme weather events, including prolonged periods of dryness, this is becoming a more common concern for farmers around the world.

But what if there were ways for plants to survive even in dry conditions? Scientists are looking to an unlikely source for inspiration: mosses.

Moss: The Mighty Survivor

Mosses are small, non-flowering plants that can be found in almost every environment on Earth, from damp forests to dry deserts.

They are known for their ability to thrive in conditions that would kill most other plants, including extreme temperatures, harsh sunlight, and, most importantly, drought.

The secret to their success lies in their unique physiology. Mosses lack the complex root systems of other plants and instead absorb water directly through their leaves.

They also have a waxy coating that helps to prevent water loss. When conditions become dry, mosses can enter a state of dormancy, essentially shutting down their metabolism and waiting for rain. In this state, they can survive for months or even years without water.

Also Read: Oldest Moss Takakia in Himalayas Growing for 390 Million Years Risks Extinction to Climate Breakdown

Moss as a Model for Drought Tolerance

Scientists are studying the drought-resistant properties of mosses in the hope of developing new crops that can better withstand dry conditions.

One approach is to identify the genes that are responsible for moss's desiccation tolerance and see if they can be transferred to other plants.

Another approach is to study the way mosses interact with the microbes in their environment. Mosses are often home to a diverse community of bacteria and fungi that can help them to access water and nutrients.

Scientists are trying to understand these relationships and see if they can be replicated in other crops.

The research is still in its early stages, but the potential benefits are significant. If scientists can develop crops with even a fraction of the drought tolerance of mosses, it could help to ensure food security in a world facing increasing water scarcity.

Mosses may be small and unassuming, but they have a lot to teach us about surviving in harsh environments. By studying these tiny plants, scientists may be able to develop new crops that can help to feed the world in a changing climate.

This research is not only important for food security but also for the conservation of natural ecosystems.

Many plants and animals rely on healthy ecosystems for their survival, and drought can have a devastating impact on these ecosystems.

By developing drought-resistant crops, we can help to protect these vital habitats.

In addition to the potential benefits for agriculture and conservation, research on moss could also lead to the development of new technologies for drought-proofing other aspects of our lives.

For example, scientists are exploring the use of moss in green roofs, which can help to insulate buildings and reduce stormwater runoff.

The possibilities are endless, and the potential impact of this research is significant. By learning from the humble moss, we may be able to create a more sustainable future for ourselves and for the planet.

Related article: Moss: The Ancient Plant That Holds the Secrets of Life on Earth
Researchers unearthed that springs and groundwater resources in Texas suffered from a water decline that can significantly impact water supplies and ecosystems.

Drought conditions and climate change effects have impacted communities and water supplies due to a lack of rainfall and intense heat. The decline of groundwater resources is bad news for wildlife and human populations.

In addition, climate change is a factor that could exacerbate weather conditions, causing severe to extreme droughts, wildfires, storms, and hurricanes.

As a result, understanding the groundwater supplies and drying up of Texas Spring is crucial to developing mitigation efforts and preventing potential impacts on water security.

Drying Springs and the Decline of Groundwater Resources

To understand the drying springs in Texas, researchers conducted a study using satellite imagery, historical data, historical maps, and fieldwork. The methods will help researchers examine the dry conditions impacting springs. The research, "Major and Historical Springs of Texas," and his subsequent 1981 book, "The Springs of Texas, Volume 1, can provide new insights into the declining groundwater resources.

"For the first time in nearly half a century, we looked at the status of major and historical springs across the state to see if more springs had gone dry. Indeed, more-many more-have failed over the past 50 years," Robert E. Mace, Ph.D. said, as quoted in a report.

The researchers at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University raised concerns about the increasing dry conditions of spring since the early 1980s.

"As groundwater use in the state continues to rise, the resulting decrease in spring flow jeopardizes not only our groundwater and surface-water supplies but also the ecosystems that rely on these springs," Mace, Meadows Center Executive Director, added.

Alarmingly, the researchers found that the dry conditions reached 30%. The result is higher than expected, compared to data of 11% in 1981. The study can help the state develop adapting strategies to address the drought problem, especially Texas and Southern US are no strangers to challenging drought.

Also Read: Wildfire, Extreme Drought Can Cause Widespread Emergence of Invasive Species in California's Ecosystem

Extreme Drought and Wildfires Effect on Invasive Species

In the recent NWN report, researchers discovered that prolonged drought and wildfires can allow the spread or emergence of invasive species in California. The report was published in Ecology.

The Pacific Northwest is no stranger to climate change effects and prolonged drought. Invasive species can easily spread and multiply, impacting the native species.

As a result, control and mitigation efforts are important to fight invasive species' impact on the economy and ecosystem.

Related Article: Pacific Northeast Vulnerability to Wildfire Risk Doubled by 2035, New Report Warns

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Pacific Northwest can expect challenging weather conditions this week, particularly in Oregon and Washington, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Motorists should stay alert for potential travel hazards due to stormy conditions.

The NWS short-range public discussion warned of heavy snow in the Sierra. Limiting outdoor plans is advisable to keep safe from potential winter storms. Meanwhile, lower elevation heavy rains could unload in the coastal Pacific Northwest and California.

NWS monitors the development of a deep upper vortex in Southwestern Canada that could bring challenging weather conditions to the Pacific Northwest. A potential cold front can also influence the weather conditions. On the weekend, homeowners should check for widespread precipitation in Northern California.

In addition, heavy snowfall is forecast in Washington, the Olympic Range, and the Cascades of Oregon. Flooding threat could unload in Northwestern California and Northern Sierra.

Weather in the Pacific Northwest and Western US: Where Will Stormy Conditions Unload?

According to the NWS Weather Prediction, a major Western winter storm could develop, impacting portions of the West Coast and Sierra Nevada. In the higher elevations, homeowners should watch out for multiple feet of snow, including in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada with a potential blizzard outlook.

The blizzard and blowing snow can lead to reduced road visibility and poor road conditions due to widespread damaging winds. Damage to crops and powerlines is possible.

In addition, the latest weather forecast warned of strong storms in the Pacific Northwest. Homeowners should watch out for potential hail, snow, and thunderstorms. Oregon and Washington can expect slower commutes or travel disruption.

On Friday, strong winds and heavy snow are forecast in the following areas:

Salt Lake City

Boise

Billings

Seattle

Portland

In Los Angeles, the advisory showed that hazardous ocean conditions and high surf could unload this late week or on the weekend. The forecast advises that a challenging weather outlook could emerge on the Ventura coast. Rough seas can occur, causing dangerous beach conditions.

A cold storm is also expected this week, bringing widespread rain and mountain snow.

The forecast warned of winter driving conditions this week.

On the weekend, colder conditions and snow could unload in Spokane, Boise, Salt Lake City, Redding, and Medford.

Also Read: Wyoming, Colorado Weather Forecast: Snowy Outlook, Stronger Winds Likely to Impact This Week

Snow Preparedness for Motorists in the Pacific Northwest

The latest forecast warned of a stormy outlook in the Western US and Pacific Northwest this week, causing power outages and widespread travel disruption. When commutes are essential, Americans should stay at home until the poor weather conditions become better.

In addition, homeowners should also store home emergency kits. The recommended emergency kits are battery-powered radio, flashlights, medicine kits and winter clothes.

Related Article: California's Blizzard Threat: Impactful Storm to Bring Travel Disruption, Road Closures

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News
Experts said that Mexico's Popocatepetl Volcano had erupted at least 13 times, prompting flights to be grounded for everyone's safety.

The volcanic activity has also prompted officials to issue a warning on individuals not to climb the volcano. The Mexican government said that the Popocatepetl Volcanic Alert Traffic Light is presently in Yellow Phase 2.

Danger Of Fragments

It was urged that the public should not go near the volcano, especially its crater, due to the danger posed by the fall of incandescent fragments.

Officials have recorded the activity of the volcano in the last 24 hours, with 13 exhalations and 1398 minutes of tremor. They said that when explosions occurred, incandescent fragments have been thrown as what has been recently observed.

''Respect the exclusion radius of 12 kilometers from the crater, being within this area is not safe. In case of heavy rain, stay away from the bottom of ravines due to the danger of mud and debris flows,'' officials said.

Airport officials said that some of the ash was found inside planes at Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport and this condition led to the cancellation of at least 22 flights.

They added that the ash cloud has also led to the temporary closure of Puebla International Airport, which is located close to the volcano. If the plumes continue, the operations could be suspended.

Authorities said that the volcano's name, Popocatepetl, is the Aztec word for smoking mountain.

Located about 45 miles southeast of Mexico City in central Mexico, the volcano is considered one of the most dangerous in the world since roughly 25 million people live within 60 miles of the said volcano. Due to this, it is also one of the world's most closely-monitored volcanoes.

After lying dormant for more than 70 years, the roughly 17,800-foot volcano, known affectionately as "El Popo," awoke in 1994. Volcanologists said that this has been spewing toxic fumes, ash, and lumps of incandescent rock persistently ever since.

Read Also: Mexico Volcano Eruption: Popocatepetl Spews Volcanic Ash 20,000 Feet Into the Sky, Authorities Prepare for Possible Evacuation

Volcanic Ash

The United States has been working with international partners to monitor volcanoes around the world through the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAACs) network, which is responsible for issuing volcanic ash advisories 24/7.

The VAAC forecasters have been using information from NOAA satellites to monitor clouds whose location, evolution and/or spectral properties are consistent with volcanic activity.

The satellites can estimate the height of ash clouds, determine the extent of ash, and estimate the amount of ash present.

Advisories are useful to air traffic controllers because large amounts of ash can significantly damage aircraft and are a major safety concern.

Authorities said that approximately 90% of the world's volcanoes are not regularly monitored for activity.

Authorities need to distill large amounts of data into actionable information for timely volcanic eruption detection led to the development of an automated detection tool.

Experts said that VOLcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit (VOLCAT) system automatically detects new eruptive events and issues alerts when new events occur.

Related Article: Popocatepetl Volcano Shows New Volcanic Activity, Millions of Mexicans Warned for Evacuation: Authorities
The latest report showed the expected peak of beautiful views of Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC this March despite the usual month for the blossom is April.

According to the latest forecast, the Cherry Blossom is expected between the following dates:

March 23

March 26

Many Americans are looking forward to the arrival of Cherry Blossoms in the US, especially in Washington DC. The blossom sightings are mesmerizing to view, bringing wonderful trees from Japan.

However, the weather conditions can impact the peak dates of Cherry Blossoms. This March, the latest forecast showed that the Northeastern US could expect colder conditions this week. A stormy condition could bring challenging weather in the Northeast, causing slower commutes due to a mix of snow and rain.

According to the National Park Service (NPS), cherry trees can be traced back to 1912 in Washington DC. The planting of said trees is a token from Japan. The cherry tree holds a cultural importance for them. In the US, the peaking of Cherry blossoms signifies the solidarity between the two nations.

Washington DC Cherry Blossom Peak: Where Will It Unfold?

In the latest report, the Park Service highlighted the possible peak of Cherry blossoms in Washington DC between March 23 and March 26, with peak bloom lasting up to 10 days.

The warm conditions could also play a role in the late dormancy of Cherry trees this year. The weather conditions can significantly impact the much-awaited Cherry blossoms.

Recent reports showed that over 3,000 trees are present in Washington DC. People who want to see the Cherry blossoms should anticipate the following:

Over 1.5 million visitors come to Washington DC to see the beautiful cherry blossoms.

In visiting Japan for the said trees, tourists are advised to prepare because it is one of the most anticipated events.

Also Read: Tokyo Celebrates 'Hanami' Cherry Blossoms Viewing After 2 Years of Cancellations

More Facts About Cherry Blossom Trees

Cherry blossoms are stunning in sight, but the trees have many amazing facts. It can only bloom for a week, which can unfold in March or early April. The common variety is the Somei-yoshino cherry tree. In terms of varieties, there are about hundreds with different characteristics.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, the cherry serves as a symbol of renewal. Macon, Georgia is considered a cherry blossom capital.

In addition, it is only popular in Japan but also in parts of Vancouver, Georgia, and the US. Picnics are also usual during the peak of cherry trees, especially during the first week of April.

One of the oldest trees is found in the Jissoji Temple's grounds which has been present for 2000 years.

Related Article: Climate Change Affects Flowering Dates Of Cherry Blossoms In Japan, Experts Says

For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News
Lake Tulare, dubbed as the "ghost lake" or "phantom lake," completely disappeared 80 years ago. It occurred at a time when water from its reservoir was diverted and the area that the body of water sits on was converted into agricultural land. In 2023, the said California lake re-emerged due to flooding rain fuelled by water vapor-carrying atmospheric rivers. Recently, the ghost lake disappeared again despite a series of rainfall events since January 2024.

Despite the environmental impacts of heavy rain and flooding in the United States, local authorities previously expressed the need for beneficial rain. This is because wet weather supplements both natural bodies of water like lakes and rivers and artificial reservoirs such as dams. These natural aquatic environments can also be home to various aquatic animals such as fish and eels. However, the disappearance of inland water environments is detrimental to both animals and humans.

In the case of Tulare Lake, it was once the largest freshwater lake (historically) west of the Mississippi River. Before modern civilization, the phantom lake has reportedly provided natural resources for Native Americans for thousands of years. In the past, experts and some tribes in California suggested the restoration of the lake. One main reason is it benefits not only the Golden State and its surrounding regions but also other parts of the US.

Tulare Lake Disappears Again

Tulare Lake has "significantly shrunk in size" despite months of coordinated efforts against flooding, according to a September 2023 report by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. In addition, accelerated water dispersal, including by reclamation districts has contributed to the reduction of water from the phantom lake. The governor's office also said that evaporation played a significant role in reducing the floodwaters.

These anthropogenic factors are only risk-reduction measures against flooding that could impact nearby communities from the overflow of the lake. However, relatively favorable weather has led to the disappearance of Lake Tulare again, despite recent heavy rain across the state, according to local reports. The water from the ghost lake did not vanish overnight, as further receding waters have been reported earlier in February 2024.

Also Read: Ghost Lake: Rising Waters of Tulare Lake Wreak Havoc on California Local Communities [Report]

Lake Tulare Restoration

More than a decade before the re-emergence of California's ancient lake, the Water Education Foundation highlighted the benefits of a potential Lake Tulare restoration project, which could solve the state's water woes. In recent years, California has also experienced a combination of wildfires and scorching temperatures, especially during the summer months. This is despite the atmospheric rivers that impacted the state previously.

More than a century ago, the first signs that Lake Tulare was drying up started to emerge until its complete disappearance 80 years ago. Its comeback last year was a surprise to many people but it was not an assurance that the phantom lake would be permanently filled with water until the long-term future.

Related Article: Over $42 Million California Funding to Help Fight Climate Change by Planting Trees, Green Spaces
More than two million animals have died in Mongolia this winter, a government official said Monday, as the country experiences harsh cold and snow.

Malnutrition And Exhaustion Due To Winter

From December to March, the landlocked country experiences harsh weather, with temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit) in some locations.

However, this winter has been more harsh than normal, with below-average temperatures and considerable snowfall, according to a recent United Nations assessment.

2.1 million animals have died from malnutrition and weariness, according to Gantulga Batsaikhan of the country's agriculture ministry.

According to government data, Mongolia had 64.7 million such animals as of the end of 2023, including sheep, goats, horses, and cows.

Read Also: Cold Weather Adaptations: Yakutian Horses Rapidly Evolve Defense Against Extremely Cold Temperatures

Dzuds In Mongolia

Dzuds, a peculiar slow-onset disaster unique to Mongolia, are extreme winters characterized by freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and ground so frozen that animals cannot reach pasture, which usually results in the deaths of a large number of livestock.

According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the frequency and intensity of dzuds have increased since 2015, owing to the intensifying effects of climate change and inadequate environmental governance.

This winter, the dual "white" and "iron" dzud is distinguished by a very heavy snow cover that prevents animals from accessing grass (white dzud), as well as a short thaw and subsequent hard freeze that seals up pastures in ice.

Mongolia has seen six dzuds in the last decade, notably in the winter of 2022-2023, when 4.4 million head of cattle died.

This year's dzud was compounded by a summer drought, which prevented animals from accumulating enough fatty stores to withstand the hard winter.

It is also reported that 70% of Mongolia is facing "dzud or near dzud" conditions. This is compared to 17% of the country at the same time in 2023.

"The winter started with heavy snow but suddenly air temperatures rose, and the snow melted. Then the temperatures dropped again, turning the melting snow into ice," said herder Tuvshinbayar Byambaa.

The worst dzud on record occurred in the winter of 2010-2011, killing almost 10 million animals, accounting for nearly a quarter of the country's entire livestock at the time.

Snowfall this year, the biggest since 1975, has exacerbated herders' problems, keeping them in colder places and preventing them from purchasing food and hay for their animals from adjacent towns.

Mongolia is one of the world's most sparsely inhabited countries, with around one-third of its 3.3 million people living nomadic lifestyles.

The government has committed to assist, initiating a campaign to provide hay feed to herders in an effort to avert future losses of critical commodities such as meat and cashmere, one of the country's major exports.

But for the time being, Tuvshinbayar and his fellow herders can only hope for better weather.

"It is becoming too hard to be a herder - we suffer drought and flood in summer and dzud in winter. I'll start losing my animals if the snow does not melt in the coming months," he added.

Related Article: How To Help Wild Animals During Winter?
After scorching over a million acres (404,686 hectares) of grassland and woodland and destroying homes in small villages scattered around the Panhandle, fire firefighters battled to contain the largest wildfire in Texas history.

Largest Wildfire In Texas

The Texas A&M Forest Service reported that the Smokehouse Creek Fire had doubled in size.

In recent days, powerful winds have blasted across the sparsely populated area. During this brief respite, firefighters utilized the opportunity to create barriers and douse hot patches of toppled trees and dense grass.

"This is now the largest fire in recorded Texas history," said Erin O'Connor, lead public information officer for Texas A&M Forest Service.

Snow brought some relief to the parched terrain, but the temperature is predicted to persist over the weekend.

The Texas A&M Forest Service predicts that there will be a higher chance of wildfire activity on the Plains on the weekend due to the possibility of strong winds over West Texas.

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas declared 60 counties to be under a state of emergency and ordered the Texas Division of Emergency Management to be more prepared for the wildfires.

As of Thursday noon, there were four active wildfires blazing in the Texas Panhandle region:

Smokehouse Creek Fire, Hutchinson County, est. 1,075,000 acres, 3% contained. The 687 Reamer Fire has merged with Smokehouse Creek.

Windy Deuce Fire, Moore County, est. 142,000 acres, 30% contained

Grape Vine Creek Fire, Gray County, est. 30,000 acres, 60% contained

Magenta Fire, Oldham County, est. 2,500 acres, 65% contained

While Texas is in the midst of its natural fire season, which runs from January to May, the size of the Smokehouse Creek blaze stands out, according to Flavio Lehner, an atmospheric science professor at Cornell University.

He believes that human-caused climate change is a contributing element, though no precise cause has yet been recognized by officials.

"It's warmer than it has been in the past, and that makes the vegetation drier, you add in the lack of rainfall, and that makes the conditions right for fire," Lehner said.

Read Also: Texas Panhandle's Wildfires: Smoke and Burning Conditions Cause Forced Evacuations

Damages And Casualty

The number of structures burned or people evacuated was also unknown, however, scores of residences had been devastated.

Texas A&M also reported that at least one person died in the fire.

Joyce Blankenship, 83, was discovered dead in her Stinnett, Texas, house on Wednesday as wildfires destroyed the area. Her relatives describe her as a devoted mother, grandma, and former substitute teacher.

Her grandson, Lee Quesada, stated that he had posted in a community forum asking for help in locating her. Quesada said authorities informed his uncle that Blankenship's remains had been discovered in her burned-out home.

Quesada said she'd occasionally surprise him with humorous stories "about her more ornery days."

"Just talking to her was a joy," he recalled, noting that she went by the moniker "Joy."

Although a lone fatality is reported as of press time, the authorities have yet to conduct a thorough search for victims but have warned that the destruction to certain areas is severe.

Related Article: Texas Wildfires: Nuclear Weapons Plant Halts Operation, Causes Evacuations in the Area
A "frustrated" Coles customer claims she was accused of "stealing" by staff after a seemingly kind exchange with a stranger.

Tara Louise was shopping at her local Coles supermarket with two of her sons and at the checkout realised she spent over $30 so could get one cardboard Pokemon collectable  known as Coles Builders (Pokemon Edition).

"We were only entitled to one so I knew there was going to be arguments coming," the NSW mum explained online, anticipating the jealousy of any child who would miss out. Then, out of nowhere a "lovely" couple next to them gifted Tara and her boys their receipt so they could get an extra Pokemon Builder.

Tara was shocked by the alleged accusation from a Coles staff member. Source: TikTok/ Facebook

'That's stealing' says Coles worker

The couple left the store and Tara walked up to the Coles worker with both receipts. "I handed her the two receipts, she then started to go through my groceries looking in my bag and said, 'Which was your receipt because there's two here?'" Tara recounted.

After explaining to the employee one was hers, and the other was from the couple in front, Tara claims the woman immediately told her "no". "She said 'No, you can't have that, that's stealing. You're not allowed that, you're only allowed your own receipt'," the frustrated mum claimed.

Shocked at being called a "thief", the mum-of-two said she was "p***ed" off by the worker's attitude. "For them to call me a thief is so belittling and embarrassing in front of other people," she said. "Generally, I don't want to complain, but I just got really p***ed off."

Tara said the staff usually scribble out the receipt once she has collected the Pokemon Builder so it should never have been a problem. "Isn't that why they sign over the receipt so that you know that those cards have been collected?"

Coles offers gift to mum following incident

After alerting Coles to the incident, a spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia their team is "currently working to contact the customer to gift her with some of our collectable cases and a few additional Pokemons".

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"We know how much our customers and their kids are loving collecting our unique Coles Builders Pokemon Edition and are aware what the age-old sibling rivalry can be like in households!" they said.

Outpouring of support for mum

Since sharing her experience online, hundreds have agreed with Tara  some even sharing their own similar experiences at Coles and Woolworths.

"OMG couldnt agree more, thats disgraceful and worth the rant!" one responded.

"I did the same at Woollies, I asked the lady behind me with children if she was collecting whatever it was at the time and the cashier said to me, 'I dont want to hear that, I cant know that you are giving these away.' So I collected them, and as she came out, I gave them to her and we were both so confused," another person said.

Coles Builder Pokemon Edition terms and conditions

When looking through the terms and conditions online, there appears to be no rule that says a person cannot give away their collectables. It's understood staff can use discretion when looking at receipts.

Some of the main terms and conditions include:

For every $30 spent in one transaction "after any applicable discounts and exclusions", Coles will provide customers with one Coles Builder Pokemon Edition.

The "campaign" runs between February 7 and March 26.

Obtaining a Coles Builder Pokemon Edition is "subject to stock availability and is at the sole discretion" of Coles.

Your receipt must be redeemed at the point of purchase and at the time of the relevant transaction.

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As reported by NATO on February 26, 2024, in Catania, Italy, the Mediterranean Sea is the setting for a significant NATO exercise known as Dynamic Manta 24. This event has gathered ships, submarines, aircraft, and personnel to participate in an exercise aimed at preparing NATO submarine crews to deal with potential underwater threats. The exercise is notable for its scale and complexity in the region, focusing on enhancing allied capabilities in submarine warfare.

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The Dynamic Manta 24 exercise includes the participation of allied maritime Special Operations Forces (SOF), aiming to improve interoperability between the forces (Picture source: NATO)

Dynamic Manta 24 is conducted alongside NATO's Steadfast Defender exercise, illustrating the alliance's capacity to manage multiple exercises and missions simultaneously throughout the Euro-Atlantic area. The ASW exercise is designed to integrate modern submarines and technologies to provide realistic training scenarios.

The exercise emphasizes the importance of teamwork in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), allowing different platforms to contribute their unique capabilities. The objective is to allow allies to improve their skills, develop new tactics, and enhance interoperability and teamwork. Dynamic Manta provides training that aims to increase participants' proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare operations.

This iteration of the exercise includes the participation of Allied Maritime Special Operations Forces (SOF), aiming to improve interoperability between the forces. A notable aspect is the involvement of a Greek SOF team deploying from an Italian submarine, highlighting a focus on combined operations.

These combined tasks included methods for the deployment and recovery of personnel from submarines, enemy shore infiltration by boat, conducting surveillance and reconnaissance missions, establishing communication with submarines, and coordinating submarine retrieval post-mission targeting virtual coastal objectives. Italian Navy vessels were also involved in the exercise. The activity aligns with the Hellenic Defense General Staffs objectives for international military collaboration and seeks to enhance interoperability among the forces involved.

Commander, Submarines NATO, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Thomas Wall, has commented on the importance of collaboration in ASW and the exercise's role in improving anti-surface warfare capabilities and contributing to NATO's Deter and Defense concept.

The exercise is organized by NATOs Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) and takes place off the eastern and southern coasts of Sicily. It involves six submarines from Greece, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkiye, coordinated by the NATO Submarine Command (COMSUBNATO). Additionally, Maritime Patrol Aircraft and Helicopters from various countries participate, supported by the surface ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), led by Italian Navy Rear Admiral Pasquale Esposito.

Italy, as the host nation, provides logistical and operational support for the exercise from various facilities including Catania and Augusta Harbors, the naval helicopter base in Catania, Naval Air Station Sigonella, and Augusta Naval Base.

Scheduled between February 26 and March 8, the exercise aims to offer allied navy units from nine nations the opportunity to engage in training designed to enhance their anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills.

Dynamic Manta is part of a series of MARCOM-led maritime exercises intended to maintain the readiness and defensive capabilities of the Alliance. Along with its sister exercise, Dynamic Mongoose, which occurs in the North Atlantic, Dynamic Manta forms part of NATO's ongoing submarine warfare training and cooperation, which includes the participation of Allies and partners such as Sweden.
Motorists driving on foreign licences in one state will have just months to convert to an Australian one as new rules come into effect aimed at closing a "loophole" in the law that allowed overseas-licensed drivers to accrue dozens of demerit points and remain on the road.

In NSW, new rules introduced on March 1 will mean foreign nationals still driving on their licence from their home country will have just months to make the switch, depending on your visa status, as authorities crack down on road safety.

New rules to stop foreign driver loophole

Drivers who have been in the state since before July 1, 2023, will have exactly 12 months to move onto a NSW licence. This includes those who may have been driving on their international licence for years before the rule change.

NSW will force foreign drivers to switch to Australian licences to close a legal loophole. Source: AAP.

Foreign nationals entering NSW, that are permanent residents, will have just three months from their arrival date to make the switch. Foreign nationals that are just visiting, on temporary visas, will have a total of six months to switch to a NSW licence.

Change made to make NSW roads safer

According to Transport for NSW (TfNSW), the former approach allowed thousands of people to choose to stick with a foreign licence, some of who "have racked up more than 35 demerit points without being banned from the road" by remaining outside the system, that applies to the nearly seven million other drivers in the state.

TfNSW said in the five-year period between 2018-2022 there were 23 fatal crashes and 468 serious injury crashes involving a driver or rider on an overseas licence, and in 2024, a further five fatal crashes involved drivers or riders not on a NSW licence.

The new crackdown will likely put an end to dodgy demerit point trade on Facebook Marketplace, where foreign nationals take on Aussie drivers' points for a fee. Source: Facebook

"The changes we announce today are squarely aimed at the safety of all seven million drivers on our roads. This will improve the overall standard of driving in NSW and therefore safety at a time when this is absolutely critical for all of us to keep at top of mind," NSW Minister for Roads John Graham said on Friday.

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"The former government talked tough in this area but what they left behind was a work-lite, safety left in the backseat compromise that squibbed the challenge in this space.

This regulation change means no one will be able to drive around for years and years on end without coming under the NSW licence system. The government is not going to cop people running up demerit points with impunity."

New rules to combat dodgy demerit point trade online

The new rule changes will also address the selling of demerit points on social media, most commonly on Facebook Marketplace, where foreign drivers would cop Australian drivers' points for a fee, as they did not face a limit on how many they could accrue without being banned from the road.

Under the deal, the seller steps forward to take on the persons penalty for offences such as speeding and using a mobile phone while at the wheel in exchange for big bucks.

A text exchange showing demerit points offloaded for cash. Source: Supplied

Its just the tip of the iceberg with an entire black market operating online in the exchange of demerit points for cash. On Marketplace, there are dozens of posts in Sydney alone where cash is offered to take on demerit points.

Last year, Yahoo News Australia contacted a seller under the guise of someone looking to offload points, with one man explaining how he does it.

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Increase in leopard numbers is testament to India's unwavering dedication to biodiversity: PM Modi

New Delhi, February 29

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed happiness on Thursday over the increase in the leopard population in the country.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, took to social media and announced that the leopard population now stands at 13,874.

"Released the report on Status of Leopards in India today. Happy to share that the estimated leopard population in 70% of the leopard occupied area in India is now 13,874, up from 12,852 in 2018. Central India recorded the highest population with Madhya Pradesh having 3,907 leopards," Yadav posted on X.

Thanking the Prime Minister for his guidance, he said, "This conservation journey embodies the ethos of one earth, one family, and one future. Congratulations to all contributors to this crucial mission."

Earlier in January, as many as 718 snow leopards were reported as part of the first-ever scientific exercise that was carried out by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Bhupender Yadav released the report during the National Board for Wildlife meeting held in New Delhi.

The Snow Leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) programme is the first-ever scientific exercise.

The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is the National Coordinator for this exercise, which was carried out with the support of all snow leopard range states and two conservation partners, the Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysuru and WWF-India.

The assessment covered over 70 per cent of the potential snow leopard range in the country, covering approximately 120,000 km2 of crucial snow leopard habitat across the trans-Himalayan region, including the Union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

(ANI - Posted on 01 March 2024)

Increase in leopard numbers is testament to India's unwavering dedication to biodiversity: PM Modi

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PM Modi meets Bill Gates, discussion on AI for public good take centre stage

New Delhi, March 1

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and philanthropist Bill Gates held a dialogue centred around harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for the greater good of the public.

"A wonderful meeting indeed! Always a delight to discuss sectors which will make our planet better and empower millions of people across the globe," said Prime Minister Modi in a post on X.

The two also discussed DPI, women-led development. Microsoft co-founder Gates also emphasised the lessons learned from India and spreading them across the world.

"It is always inspiring to meet with @narendramodi, and there was a lot to discuss. We talked about AI for public good; DPI; women-led development; innovation in agriculture, health, and climate adaptation; and how we can take lessons from India to the world," Bill Gates posted on X.

Earlier, the philanthropist also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar. The two leaders, as they met, also exchanged books on Thursday.

In a post on X, Jaishankar shared a picture of him and Gates posing for a picture with their respective books.

"A good book exchange with @BillGates. And a great conversation," Jaishankar wrote.

Bill Gates, who is on a visit to India, arrived in Odisha's capital, Bhubaneswar, on Tuesday.

(ANI - Posted on 01 March 2024)

PM Modi meets Bill Gates, discussion on AI for public good take centre stage

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In a first, India exports pomegranates by sea to USA

New Delhi, March 1

India has successfully flagged off its first commercial trial shipment of pomegranates to the US via sea under the aegis of Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) from Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday.

Last year APEDA successfully carried out an air shipment of pomegranates with irradiation treatment and static trial in association with ICAR-NRC Pomegranate Solapur as a technical partner.

Based on the successful result of the static trial, APEDA aimed for a successful sign-off for this consignment via sea-opening trade relations to potential markets for Indian pomegranates.

India, one of the largest producers of pomegranates in the world, is also now aiming to be amongst the top pomegranate exporting countries. The country is a key player with its market expanding in the EU, Middle East and Asian countries.

The trial air shipment, static sea trial and the sea container were executed by APEDA-registered InI Farms - a top exporter of fruits and vegetables from India with their produce being exported to over 25 countries worldwide.

Over the years, the firm has made extensive efforts to enhance the quality and shelf life of pomegranates to meet the strict standards of the global markets. As part of the Agrostar group, InI Farms has established a value chain for pomegranates by working directly with farmers in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The fruit was sourced from Anarnet registered farmers from Sangola in Maharashtra. Significantly, the premium received by farmers was 20 per cent compared to other export markets and 35 per cent compared to the domestic market.

Pomegranate is an important agri-produce of India, the rich history associated with fruit and its nutrition value contribute to its popular demand. India produces some of the best varieties of pomegranate in terms of quality with soft fleshy seeds, low acidity and attractive color.

Bhagwa pomegranate is considered amongst the best varieties around the world. In the last decade, India has increased the area as well as the production of Pomegranate and seen an increase in exports.

In the Pomegranate market, India holds a significant advantage of being able to supply Pomegranates throughout the year with trained farmers for export quality products. Pomegranate production in recent years has been growing at a healthy rate of 20-25 per cent.

In India, the major Pomegranate producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with Maharashtra contributing to more than 50 per cent of the production share.

(IANS - Posted on 01 March 2024)

In a first, India exports pomegranates by sea to USA

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As friends, family and the broader Sydney community prepare to honour allegedly murdered couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird in a public service this evening, more stories are emerging illustrating "how loved" they were and how much the pair "touched everyone's lives".

Friends of Davies, 29, have detailed his "funny" and cheeky nature, revealing one of the last text messages he likely sent before he was allegedly killed by NSW Policeman Beau Lamarre-Condon alongside his partner.

Long-time friend Dean Bailey, who knew "Lukey" from when he lived in Brisbane, said he received a text from him shortly before the alleged murders took place.

Bailey said he could "physically picture Luke laughing" when he received a message from him, less than an hour before the alleged deadly altercation took place.

Jesse Baird (left in both pictures) and Luke Davies (on the right) are both being remembered for their kindness, generosity and their love of their each other. Source: Instagram

One of Davies' final messages before alleged murder

"Wed always send funny Instagram memes back and forth to each other, and I received one at 9.18am the morning of the incident," Bailey told Sunrise on Friday morning.

"It was a funny Instagram meme, followed by a crying laughter emoji, which is pretty much what Luke was like. You could picture him physically laughing as he sent that message... to know that within 30 minutes after that, things took a turn for the worse and the unimaginable happened, its heartbreaking to think what went on from that message that he sent to me."

Friends of Luke Davies, Dean Bailey (left) and Joel McCoy, revealed one of the last text messages the slain Qantas flight attendant sent before his death. Credit: Seven

Another of Davies' friends Joel McCoy also spoke of his heartbreak, and said the horrific circumstances of the deaths of Baird and Davies made it had to grieve.

"I think it was really upsetting to hear that he kinda wasnt actually meant to be there when it all unfolded," Mr McCoy said. "So, yeah, it does kinda change things a little bit and make it even harder again to grieve and accept that was just wrong place, wrong time."

The two men fronted media on Friday morning after Qantas, Davies' employer, revealed it will name its Mardi Gras float in honour of him.

Story continues

A growing memorial has been set-up outside of Baird's Paddington address, in Sydney's inner-east. Source: NCA

Vigils held to remember slain couple

Vigils will be held across both Sydney and Brisbane this evening in honour of the couple, whom loved ones have said were very "in love" and full of life at the time of their premature deaths.

NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, 28, remains in custody at Silverwater prison after being charged last week with murdering both men. Lamarre-Condon allegedly killed both Baird and Davies at Baird's Paddington home in Sydney's inner east, before transporting them to a rural property in NSW's Southern Tablelands. Their bodies were found in surfboard bags in a shallow grave on Tuesday afternoon.

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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

A few passing clouds. Low 26F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Buried deep below the surface in rural towns across Australia, a glimpse of history remains. A time when gold seekers from around the world rushed Down Under for a nice piece of the golden pie.

But almost 200 years on from the gold rush era in Australia, locals are still digging up hidden treasure, with a man appearing to have struck gold while digging on a property in the Queensland town of Childers recently.

Suspecting it could be valuable, but not knowing what it was, the curious Aussie took to Facebook to ask "is this gold" alongside a picture of a pretty impressive rock which he'd innocently unearthed.

While he didn't share the circumstances around how he found the suspected treasure, he revealed he dug it up "on a property near Childers"  about 80 kilometres southwest of Bundaberg in the state's North Burnett region. But a debate around its legitimacy swiftly followed.

The huge quartz rock featuring suspected gold was unearthed by a man on a property in Queensland. Source: Facebook.

Queensland's 'extremely rich for gold'

The rural town is within close proximity to Paradise Dam which has a deep history of gold mining, Leigh McGrath from Golden Prospecting Tours told Yahoo News Australia. Even now, it's "renowned" for its high-quality gold  and is one of the spots where the 53-year-old conducts his tours. So it's very likely the man is sitting on a pretty valuable find, he said.

The picture shows a ginormous stone which McGrath identified as a quartz  a common source for gold to form, along with ironstone. But without knowing exactly how or where the supposed chunk of gold was found  for example, if it was in a shaft or mine or private property  it's "really tricky" to properly identify gold based on a photo, he said.

"Queensland's extremely rich for gold," the tour guide revealed, so too is Western Australia and Victoria. But the quartz will look different depending on where it's located. And so too will the gold.

"If you're down in the gold triangle (the area from Ballarat, across to Bendigo and up to Wedderburn in Victoria) the quartz is what I call smoky quartz  it's really clean with beautiful gold veins through it," McGrath told Yahoo. "But up in Clermont, Queensland where we're from, we get a lot of buggy mineralised quartz, which is really dirty, ugly-looking quartz".

Story continues

The discovery was made in Childers, a rural town and locality in the Bundaberg region in Queensland. Source: Google Images

Simple trick to rule out 'fool's gold' or pyrite

He admitted that while he's not familiar with the type of quartz often found in Childers, he noted the man's rock "looks like it has vein going through the middle of it". This suggests it's likely a pretty legitimate find. Gold prospector Tyle Mahoney from Kalgoorlie, WA also agreed "at first glance it looks like gold".

One way to tell is to hold it to the light. This will help identify if it's pyrite, or "fool's gold" as it's commonly called. Pyrite is a mineral often mistaken for gold  and far less valuable. Compared to actual gold, these minerals will flake, powder, or crumble when poked with a metal point, whereas gold will gouge or indent like soft lead.

"The way you tell that it is fake gold is to look at it in the light and if it blinks at you, so it doesn't shine all the way, whatever angle you roll it, it's fool's gold," he explained. "If you hold real gold in the light you can turn it on any angle and it still shines the same way from every angle".

Leigh McGrath, 53, runs Golden Prospecting Tours out of Clermont, Queensland. Source: Supplied

How much is gold worth in Australia?

In terms of value, Leigh said it's hard to determine what the man's find could be worth based on the photo as gold is usually valued by weight. Currently, gold is priced at about $3,000 per ounce in Australia.

"The only way to get any type of estimate of how much gold is in that quartz is to do a weight test. It's a water weight test where a formula can calculate the disbursement of water compared to your gold weight."

Following a heated discussion about the man's discovery on social media, it appears the post has been removed entirely.

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The host

Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner

Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News' weekly health policy news podcast, "What the Health?" A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book "Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z," now in its third edition.

Reverberations from the Alabama Supreme Court's first-in-the-nation ruling that embryos are legally children continued this week, both in the states and in Washington. As Alabama lawmakers scrambled to find a way to protect in vitro fertilization services without directly denying the "personhood" of embryos, lawmakers in Florida postponed a vote on the state's own "personhood" law. And in Washington, Republicans worked to find a way to satisfy two factions of their base: those who support IVF and those who believe embryos deserve full legal rights.

Meanwhile, Congress may finally be nearing a funding deal for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. And while a few bipartisan health bills may catch a ride on the overall spending bill, several other priorities, including an overhaul of the pharmacy benefit manager industry, failed to make the cut.

This week's panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University's schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine.

Panelists

Rachel Cohrs Stat News @rachelcohrs

Riley Griffin Bloomberg @rileyraygriffin

Joanne Kenen Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico @JoanneKenen

Among the takeaways from this week's episode:

Lawmakers are readying short-term deals to keep the government funded and running for at least a few more weeks, though some health priorities like preparing for a future pandemic and keeping down prescription drug prices may not make the cut.

After the Alabama Supreme Court's decision that frozen embryos are people, Republicans find themselves divided over the future of IVF. The emotionally charged debate over the procedure  which many conservatives, including former Vice President Mike Pence, believe should remain available  is causing turmoil for the party. And Democrats will no doubt keep reminding voters about it, highlighting the repercussions of the conservative push into reproductive health care.

A significant number of physicians in Idaho are leaving the state or the field of reproductive care entirely because of its strict abortion ban. With many hospitals struggling with the cost of labor and delivery services, the ban is only making it harder for women in some areas to get care before, during, and after childbirth  whether they need abortion care or not.

A major cyberattack targeting the personal information of patients enrolled in a health plan owned by UnitedHealth Group is drawing attention to the heightened risks of consolidation in health care. Meanwhile, the Justice Department is separately investigating UnitedHealth for possible antitrust violations.

"This Week in Health misinformation": Panelist Joanne Kenen explains how efforts to prevent wrong information about a new vaccine for RSV have been less than successful.

Also this week, Rovner interviews Greer Donley, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, about how a 150-year-old anti-vice law that's still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide.

Plus, for "extra credit" the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:

Julie Rovner: ProPublica's "Their States Banned Abortion. Doctors Now Say They Can't Give Women Potential Lifesaving Care," by Kavitha Surana.

Rachel Cohrs: The New York Times' "$1 Billion Donation Will Provide Free Tuition at a Bronx Medical School," by Joseph Goldstein.

Joanne Kenen: Axios' "An Unexpected Finding Suggests Full Moons May Actually Be Tough on Hospitals," by Tina Reed.

Riley Griffin: Bloomberg News' "US Seeks to Limit China's Access to Americans' Personal Data," by Riley Griffin and Mackenzie Hawkins.

Also mentioned on this week's podcast:

Credits

Francis Ying Audio producer

Emmarie Huetteman Editor
A recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition discusses possible associations between the national taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and lowered rates of adverse health outcomes.

Study: National taxation on sugar-sweetened beverages and its association with overweight, obesity, and diabetes. Image Credit: Brent Hofacker / Shutterstock.com

Efforts to reduce SSB consumption

The consumption of SSBs or soft drinks has significantly increased throughout the world over the past several decades. This has been associated with rising rates of weight gain, a higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, as well as a higher risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality if consumed over the long term.

Previously, the Global Burden of Disease study showed that deaths linked to soft drink intake rose between 1990 to 2019. This was accompanied by a rising number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and the number of years lived with disability, the latter of which doubled during this period.

In 2009, the American Heart Association (AHA) suggested that added sugars should not exceed 100 and 150 calories each day for females and males, respectively. The World Health Organization (WHO) also limits daily free sugar intake to less than 10% of daily energy intake.

Many countries have imposed a tax on SSBs to raise revenue and limit their consumption. Some research shows that when the price of SSBs increases by 20%, their consumption may decline to similar levels. However, this prediction has not been supported by any study on global SSB consumption in relation to national tax policies and population health impact.

The current study aimed to summarize national taxation policies on SSBs throughout the world and estimate the impact of tax laws made after 1990 on population-level metabolic parameters like obesity and type 2 diabetes.

What did the study show?

Since 1990, SSB taxation has occurred in 53 countries, 24 of which were high-income countries (HIC), whereas 18 and 10 were upper-middle-income and lower-middle-income countries, respectively. Rwanda was the only low-income country to impose SSB taxation.

All but eight of the laws were implemented after 2000. In 15 countries, laws changed the tax amounts over time.

Most of the analyzed laws were a single amount based on the volume of the product, whereas a minority were based only on the sugar content of the beverage. The remaining laws were ad valorem taxes and imposed according to the product's value.

The lowest and highest taxation per volume of the product was for Vanuatu and Thailand, as compared to Tonga and Norway, respectively. Median tax amounts in both purchasing power parities (PPPs) and United States dollars (USD) were about 0.3 and 0.16, respectively, per liter. For HICs, median tax amounts in PPPs and USD were 0.25 and 0.2, respectively, compared to 0.356 and 0.17 for lower-middle-income countries.

Some countries taxed SSBs based on the sugar content per gram of sugar for all SSBs. Comparatively, in France, SSBs were taxed for every kg of sugar plus per liter if a product had over 15 kg of sugar per 100 liters.

The median ad valorem tax amount for HICs was 50% compared to 10% and 340% for upper and lower-middle-income countries, respectively. Although a low-income country, Rwanda also had ad valorem taxation on SSBs.

Only one country, Hungary, showed a significant reduction in the slope of overweight prevalence after taxation was implemented. However, a slowing trend was observed in Paraguay.

Obesity rates declined in Brazil, Hungary, and Panama, with slowing trends observed in El Salvador, Honduras, and France. A significant reduction in obesity levels was observed in Panama and Paraguay following taxation.

Diabetes prevalence also declined in Hungary after the tax was introduced, while Finland and Guatemala showed a reduction in the slope. Honduras, Hungary, and Fiji also exhibited slowing post-taxation trends.

Similar findings were observed among children and adolescents. Samoa was associated with reduced overweight individuals, whereas five countries, including Brazil, Palau, and Samoa, showed a slope reduction, with post-intervention slowing trends observed.

The prevalence of obesity declined after taxation in El Salvador, Uruguay, and Tonga, whereas slope reductions were observed in Nauru, Palau, and Tonga. Slowing trends were observed in four countries, including Brazil and Uruguay.

Overall, ad valorem taxation was associated with larger slope reductions for diabetes among adults as compared to amount-specific taxes. However, the change in the slope of obesity among adults was associated with the year of tax implementation. Slope reductions for overweight children and adolescents were observed in upper-middle-income countries.

What are the implications?

The evidence that taxation of SSBs was associated with health-related outcomes like diabetes, overweight, and obesity was stronger among children than adults. Previous studies showed stronger correlations among adults than observed in this study; however, similar results were observed among children. Of 17 countries reporting level or slope changes, most exhibited a change associated with one or more indicators for one or more population groups.

SSB taxation could be an effective policy intervention to improve the population's health."

The variation in tax design could be partly due to the imbalance in the number of countries in each group, with amount-specific taxes more common. Limited data availability after the introduction of taxation may have skewed the results, along with too short a period of observation.

Taxation on a food product may convey negative sentiments to consumers; however, this effect was not studied in the current study. Reverse causality must also be excluded since, if SSB consumption was already declining, taxation might have become feasible without the fear of political losses.

There is a need to identify factors that predict the effectiveness of taxation as a strategy to reduce SSB consumption and improve related health outcomes at various levels. Other public health strategies should be simultaneously applied, especially education about the adverse effects of SSB consumption and behavioral interventions to break unhealthy consumption patterns.
Iryna Ethell, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside, has been awarded a five-year grant of $2.4 million from the National Institutes of Health to study mechanisms of hyperexcitability and seizures in neurodevelopmental disorders such as such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism.

In this project we will address critical gaps in our knowledge, such as what role do astrocytes play in inhibitory synapse development in the hippocampus. We expect our work will lead to the development of novel therapeutic targets to treat neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and epilepsy." Iryna Ethell, professor of biomedical sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Riverside

Astrocytes are star-shaped cells in the brain that are actively involved in brain function. They regulate synaptic connections between neurons. Each neuron in the brain receives numerous excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. The balance between excitation and inhibition in neuronal circuits can play a role in causing many neurological disorders.

Ethell's lab has studied a protein called ephrin-B1, which spans the membrane surrounding the cell and plays a role in maintaining the nervous system. Preliminary findings from her lab show that loss of astrocytic ephrin-B1 increases susceptibility to seizures and reduces sociability in mice.

EphB receptor signaling is a cellular pathway that regulates many developmental processes and is necessary for distributing and organizing synapses. Ethell explained that ephrin-B/EphB receptor signaling in the brain controls the development of inhibitory networks, that control brain excitability in a timely and special manner to ensure orderly brain functions and preventing seizures.

"If you compare the brain to driving a car, your excitatory network is a gas pedal that initiates the brain responses, but inhibitory networks are the brakes to ensure it does not crash," Ethell said.

The research will use mouse models as well as state-of-art analysis and imaging approaches.

"We think this project will further our understanding of the mechanisms which lead to neurodevelopmental disorders and will allow us to discover novel interventions for treating these disorders by fixing abnormal inhibitory networks," Ethell said.
Individuals with mild cognitive impairment, especially of the "amnestic subtype" (aMCI), are at increased risk for dementia due to Alzheimer's disease relative to cognitively healthy older adults. Now, a study co-authored by researchers from MIT, Cornell University, and Massachusetts General Hospital has identified a key deficit in people with aMCI, which relates to producing complex language.

This deficit is independent of the memory deficit that characterizes this group and may provide an additional "cognitive biomarker" to aid in early detection -; the time when treatments, as they continue to be developed, are likely to be most effective.

The researchers found that while individuals with aMCI could appreciate the basic structure of sentences (syntax) and their meaning (semantics), they struggled with processing certain ambiguous sentences in which pronouns alluded to people not referenced in the sentences themselves.

"These results are among the first to deal with complex syntax and really get at the abstract computation that's involved in processing these linguistic structures," says MIT linguistics scholar Suzanne Flynn, co-author of a paper detailing the results.

The focus on subtleties in language processing, in relation to aMCI and its potential transition to dementia such as Alzheimer's disease is novel, the researchers say.

Previous research has looked most often at single words and vocabulary. We looked at a more complex level of language knowledge. When we process a sentence, we have to both grasp its syntax and construct a meaning. We found a breakdown at that higher level where you're integrating form and meaning." Barbara Lust, co-author, professor emerita at Cornell University

The paper, "Disintegration at the syntax-semantics interface in prodromal Alzheimer's disease: New evidence from complex sentence anaphora in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI)," appears in the Journal of Neurolinguistics.

The paper's authors are Flynn, a professor in MIT's Department of Linguistics and Philosophy; Lust, a professor emerita in the Department of Psychology at Cornell and a visiting scholar and research affiliate in the MIT Department of Linguistics and Philosophy; Janet Cohen Sherman, an associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of the MGH Psychology Assessment Center; and, posthumously, the scholars James Gair and Charles Henderson of Cornell University.

Anaphora and ambiguity

To conduct the study, the scholars ran experiments comparing the cognitive performance of aMCI patients to cognitively healthy individuals in separate younger and older control groups. The research involved 61 aMCI patients of Massachusetts General Hospital, with control group research conducted at Cornell and MIT.

The study pinpointed how well people process and reproduce sentences involving "anaphora." In linguistics terms, this generally refers to the relation between a word and another form in the sentence, such the use of "his" in the sentence, "The electrician repaired his equipment." (The term "anaphora" has another related use in the field of rhetoric, involving the repetition of terms.)

In the study, the researchers ran a variety of sentence constructions past aMCI patients and the control groups. For instance, in the sentence, "The electrician fixed the light switch when he visited the tenant," it is not actually clear if "he" refers to the electrician, or somebody else entirely. The "he" could be a family member, friend, or landlord, among other possibilities.

On the other hand, in the sentence, "He visited the tenant when the electrician repaired the light switch," "he" and the electrician cannot be the same person. Alternately, in the sentence, "The babysitter emptied the bottle and prepared the formula," there is no reference at all to a person beyond the sentence.

Ultimately, aMCI patients performed significantly worse than the control groups when producing sentences with "anaphoric coreference," the ones with ambiguity about the identity of the person referred to via a pronoun.

"It's not that aMCI patients have lost the ability to process syntax or put complex sentences together, or lost words; it's that they're showing a deficit when the mind has to figure out whether to stay in the sentence or go outside it, to figure out who we're talking about," Lust explains. "When they didn't have to go outside the sentence for context, sentence production was preserved in the individuals with aMCI whom we studied."

Flynn notes: "This adds to our understanding of the deterioration that occurs in early stages of the dementia process. Deficits extend beyond memory loss. While the participants we studied have memory deficits, their memory difficulties do not explain our language findings, as evidenced by a lack of correlation in their performance on the language task and their performances on measures of memory. This suggests that in addition to the memory difficulties that individuals with aMCI experience, they are also struggling with this central aspect of language."

Looking for a path to treatment

The current paper is part of an ongoing series of studies that Flynn, Lust, Sherman, and their colleagues have performed. The findings have implications for potentially steering neuroscience studies toward regions of the brain that process language, when investigating MCI and other forms of dementia, such as primary progressive aphasia. The study may also help inform linguistics theory concerning various forms of anaphora.

Looking ahead, the scholars say they would like to increase the size of the studies as part of an effort to continue to define how it is that diseases progress and how language may be a predictor of that.

"Our data is a small population but very richly theoretically guided," Lust says. "You need hypotheses that are linguistically informed to make advances in neurolinguistics. There's so much interest in the years before Alzheimer's disease is diagnosed, to see if it can be caught and its progression stopped."

As Flynn adds, "The more precise we can become about the neuronal locus of deterioration, that's going to make a big difference in terms of developing treatment."

Support for the research was provided by the Cornell University Podell Award, Shamitha Somashekar and Apple Corporation, Federal Formula Funds, Brad Hyman at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Cornell Bronfenbrenner Center for Life Course Development, the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging, the Cornell Institute for Social Science Research, and the Cornell Cognitive Science Program.
Health providers and addiction experts warn the funding structure is unstable for a California initiative that steers patients with substance use disorder into long-term treatment after they are discharged from emergency rooms, which has already led some critical employees to leave their jobs.

Supporters of CA Bridge's behavioral health navigator program, which launched in 2022, say its reliance on one-time funding makes it hard for hospitals to retain navigators amid a growing drug crisis. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, 7,385 Californians died from opioid-related overdoses, of which 88% involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be 50 times as strong as heroin.

"This should be very basic, 101 first aid for opioid use disorder, and we are truly struggling to sustain it," said Andrew Herring, an emergency medicine physician at Alameda Health System's Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, and a co-founder of CA Bridge. "Everyone is looking at everyone else to pay for this. The doctors, nurses, social workers, and care managers are standing by, ready to do work that is inherently compelling and wonderful, but they're simply not being paid to do it."

The navigator program is just one component of CA Bridge, a multilayered program aimed at expanding the use of medications for substance use disorders in ERs. CA Bridge funds training for doctors and nurses to increase the use of prescription medication, and its navigator program pays hospitals up to $120,000 to contract with behavioral health workers.

Currently, 284 navigators have been assigned to place patients into long-term treatment after they are discharged from an ER. Once a year is up, hospitals have the option to bring navigators on staff or allow those contracts to expire. CA Bridge officials confirmed more than a hundred navigators have left their positions.

In response, state officials say they are trying to expand the use of Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, which covers low-income people, to help pay for navigators by nudging managed-care plans to cover such services. Officials said the state is also trying to secure additional federal grants through March 2025. However, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom did not include new state funding in his latest budget in the face of a $38 billion deficit.

CA Bridge started in 2018 and has since received almost $100 million in federal and state funding as it has expanded across California. As of January 2024, 265 hospitals with emergency departments, or 83% of those in the state, are participating in the program and about 100 hospitals have hired navigators as permanent staff. According to a January 2023 CA Bridge report, 76,801 patients have been prescribed buprenorphine, and an estimated 34,560 were connected to follow-up care.

Hospital industry representatives say more of their members would join the program if they knew it would have sustainable long-term funding.

The program raises doctors' awareness of the benefits of prescribing medications such as buprenorphine, which works by binding to the same brain receptors as more dangerous opioids, reducing withdrawal symptoms. Buprenorphine, naltrexone, and methadone are the only medications approved in the U.S. to treat opioid use disorder. Only 10% of Californians with substance use disorder received appropriate treatment in the previous year, according to a 2022 analysis by the California Health Care Foundation.

Meanwhile, CA Bridge navigators, who are trained in harm reduction, behavioral health, and community outreach, help place patients into long-term treatment after discharge, a step that can be lifesaving and that the behavioral health system often struggles to complete. One study of patients in England found they were four times as likely to die from an opioid overdose within 48 hours after a visit to the ER versus other times.

Patients who received help from a navigator were more than three times as likely to be in treatment within 30 days after they visited the ER than those who did not receive the assistance, found one study conducted from September 2021 to January 2022 in three public hospitals, including Highland.

Even though hospitals that hire navigators can be reimbursed by billing Medi-Cal for community health care services, few hospitals have negotiated that benefit with Medi-Cal's health plans. David Simon, a spokesperson for the California Hospital Association, said the service is new and that the state has yet to provide guidance on how to bill health plans.

In the past, supporters of the navigator program have suggested reducing barriers to billing Medi-Cal and tapping various state funds.

"A statewide funding mechanism to sustain the navigators' services on an ongoing basis has yet to be solidified," a coalition of dozens of health providers and advocates wrote last year.

Aimee Moulin, a principal investigator and co-founder of CA Bridge, said the program needs momentum to stem an epidemic of overdose deaths. While the program has helped expand the use of medications for opioid addiction, she said, there is still work to do to bring in additional hospitals and persuade them to incorporate addiction care.

"For opioid use disorders, we have highly effective medications," said Moulin. "Its not like we dont know what works. Its just a matter of getting them out there."

This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
The long-standing demand of bank employees to have 5-day workweek is likely to be accepted by the government this year. According to media reports, the bank employees are likely to get 5 working days in a week, subject to the finance ministry approval, and a salary hike in June 2024.

According to an ET report, the United Forum of Bank Unions, a coalition of bank employee unions, has written a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to allow a 5-day workweek for the banking sector.

The bank employee union also assured that there will be no reduction in banking hours for customers or in the total working hours for employees and officers.

The ET report said the union has urged the finance minister to review the matter favourably and direct the Indian Banks Association (IBA) accordingly.

Currently, bank branches are closed on second and fourth Saturdays. Banks unions have been demanding since 2015 offs on all Saturdays and Sundays. Under the 10th Bipartite Settlement signed in 2015, RBI and the government agreed with the IBA and declared second and fourth Saturdays as holidays.

On salary, the IBA and bank employee unions last year reached an agreement for a 17 per cent salary hike across all public sector banks (PSBs) in India, amounting to Rs 12,449 crore.

The salary hike, if approved by the Centre, will benefit about 9 lakh employees, including 3.8 lakh officers, across all PSBs and select old-generation private banks.

The MoU reached by IBA and bank employee unions after negotiations held on December 7, 2023, included a commitment to finalise the wage revision within 180 days, according to a TOI report.
Red Sea shipping has been targeted by Houthi rebels

Well, we didnt see that one coming  the Houthis took us all by surprise, a distinguished former security official muttered to me this week. In just under four months the Houthis have attacked 57 vessels in and around the Red Sea. They have disrupted waterways carrying 15 per cent of global trade and all but shut down the Suez Canal to major maritime traffic.

With relatively modest means and weaponry, the Houthis have shown the vulnerable nature of the worlds great shipping choke points  the narrow passages of sea easily blocked and where vessels and their crews can be hijacked and held to ransom.

The UK is particularly susceptible  three of the great choke points are on our doorstep: the Faroes Gap, the Straits of Denmark and the Dover Strait in the English Channel.

As a country that has to import roughly 50 per cent of its food, and a higher proportion of its energy requirement, it shouldnt need the Houthis to remind us that we need to revise our strategic thinking against new variations of maritime threats.

The Houthi campaign opened with the hijacking of the Isle of Man-registered Galaxy Leader. It was seized by helicopter commandos and escorted to Al-Hudaydah, where the 25 member crew remain hostages. Last week, the British-registered freighter Rubymar was damaged by a missile exploding nearby, and is now sinking at the stern  the first to be crippled irreparably. American and British planes have carried out air strikes on Houthi bases inland  but with little effect so far. The adroitness of the Houthi deployment, concealment of bases and supply dumps, and ingenuity of guidance systems for drones and missiles, have taken Western allies by surprise.

The political rationale of the Houthi operation is convoluted. Ostensibly they are attacking pro-Israeli interests to get the fighting in Gaza to stop and aid delivered to the beleaguered Palestinians there. Though supplied by Iran, it is not clear that they are under orders from Tehran, nor how tight their alliance is with Hamas  and if so with what parts of Hamas, those of Gaza, Qatar or Beirut? The path to a negotiated peace for Gaza is unlikely to lead through Sanaa, the Yemen capital.

Story continues

The message of the Houthis is plain and crude: major maritime choke points are at the mercy of determined maritime banditry

The message of the Houthi action is plain and crude. Many of the major maritime choke points are at the mercy of determined maritime banditry to block the channels.

The straits of Malacca and Sunda in Indonesia have long been a playground of outright commercial piracy, as has been the southern Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb to Somali pirates. Potentially it is a free-for-all for state, non-state and neo-state actors, like the Houthis, to cause excess damage.

Costs can run into the billions. One of the biggest bills was incurred by pure accident, however, when the 220,000-tonne monster freighter Ever Given became wedged in the Suez Canal on March 23, 2021, owing to adverse winds and mechanical failure. She stuck for six days at a cost to global trade of $9.6 billion a day, according to Lloyds List, with a tailback of 369 ships at the canal entrances. Ever Given eventually docked at Felixstowe four months late.

With the onset of global warming, the High Arctic has become the new arena of maritime choke points  as Vladimir Putin has not ceased to remind us, even in his recent major policy speech.

The opening of the notorious Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route across Russia and Europe mean that the journey from China to Europe can be reduced by 2,500 nautical miles, or 40 days sailing time for most super-freighters. Russia is building a fleet of new icebreakers and Canada currently deploys 18.

China, the premier power in maritime commerce in the IMF index, is acutely aware of its maritime constrictions. Just under 80 per cent of all Chinas hydrocarbon imports pass through the pirate-plagued Strait of Malacca.

Britain, too, has a very big stake, being the fifth in the IMF ranking of world commercial maritime powers. Wiseacres from Geoffrey Chaucer to Walter Raleigh and Winston Churchill have been acutely aware of Britains maritime vulnerability  and potential. Chaucers wily merchant was a keen open-seas advocate, and would that the sea were kept for anything betwixt Middleburgh and Orwell.

With maritime commerce booming  from $4 trillion 20 years ago to more than $11 trillion, Britain needs to declare its hand and publish a new maritime strategy. Its a national interest, not to say good national earner.

Robert Fox is the Evening Standards Defence Editor
Paytm has announced that it has mutually agreed to discontinue various inter-company agreements with Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL). Paytm said the company and its associate entity, PPBL, introduced additional measures to strengthen their approach towards independent operations of PPBL.

One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm) would like to inform that the Company and its associate entity, Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), have introduced additional measures to strengthen their approach towards independent operations of PPBL, Paytm said in a regulatory filing.

Paytm Payments Bank has been instructed by the Reserve Bank of India to halt its basic banking services from March 16. Earlier this week, on Monday, Vijay Shekhar Sharma  the founder of Paytm  announced his resignation from the board of Payments Bank, which replaced its directors with new inductees, mostly from the banking and bureaucratic fraternity.

Paytm had announced earlier that it would sign up new partnerships with other banks and take measures to provide seamless services for its customers and merchants. In its intimation to stock exchanges on Feb 1, 2024, the company had indicated the possible financial impact.

As informed earlier, One 97 Communications Limited and its services that include the Paytm app, Paytm QR, Paytm soundbox and Paytm Card machines will continue to work uninterrupted. Paytm is committed to uphold the highest standards of market leading innovation and technology enabled solutions for its customers.

The move to diassociate offerings and reduce dependency will see both Paytm and Payments Bank discontinue inter-company agreements. Paytm had earlier announced that it would sign up new partnerships with other banks and take measures to provide seamless services for its customers and merchants.

As part of this process to reduce dependencies, Paytm and PPBL have mutually agreed to discontinue various inter-company agreements with Paytm and its group entities. Further, the shareholders of PPBL have agreed to simplify the Shareholders Agreement (SHA) to support PPBLs governance, independent of its shareholders. The Board of OCL approved the termination of agreements and amendment of SHA on March 1, 2024, said the filing.

Paytm also clarified in the filing that its services would continue to operate seamlessly amid scrutiny, saying it was committed to uphold the highest standards of market leading innovation and technology-enabled solutions for its customers.
The Indian Army commenced the online application process for the Agniveer Recruitment 2024 on February 13. Interested candidates can apply by visiting the official website at joinindianarmy.nic.in. According to the official notification, the last date to submit the registration forms for Agniveer Recruitment 2024 is March 22. Candidates should exercise caution when filling out the application because once submitted, the information will be considered final.

The Indian Army chooses Agniveers through the Agnipath Scheme. This scheme offers an excellent opportunity for the countrys youth to gain experience in the Army without making a long-term commitment. Currently, recruitment notifications for Mahila Army Police, Havildar, Surveyor Automated Cartographer, Constable Pharma, Nursing Assistant, and Nursing Assistant Veterinary in the Indian Army have been released under the Agniveer Scheme.

While speaking to Local18, Army Recruiting Office (ARO) Lansdowne Director Colonel Paritosh Mishra said that many new measures have been included to improve the recruitment process. From this year interested candidates can apply for technical posts apart from general duty. This will increase the chances of success in the recruitment process. Also, more applications are expected for Mahila Sena Police, Mishra told Local18.

The ARO office has also sent some suggestions, taking into consideration the input from previously held rallies, to improve the facilities for candidates- especially women- to register and attend the event. He claimed that numerous new initiatives have been implemented this year to enhance the hiring procedure.

Meanwhile, Agniveer recruitment includes these new four rules:

 The Armed Forces has implemented a new adaptability test to determine candidates suitability for the challenging environment, which will be administered before the medical test. Those who pass this exam will be eligible for the next round of selection.

 In addition to the entrance examination, a new typing test for Agniveer Office Assistant, previously known as Agniveer Clerk, will be administered. Both examination levels will be determined by the candidates age and ability.

 To distinguish between genuine and fake candidates, a new biometric verification process in the form of an iris scan has been implemented. Youth should only register using their Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers, as Aadhaar verification will be conducted during the recruitment rally. Candidates who enrolled through cyber cafe should keep the email address they used.

 Earlier, IITs were the only institutions to offer incentives to young candidates seeking technical recruitment. But polytechnic has now been added to the list. So, students enrolled in polytechnics can also participate in the Agniveer recruitment process.
A clash erupted at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, involving members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed groups (JNUSU), resulting in injuries to several students. The incident, triggered by disputes over the selection of election committee members at the School of Languages, escalated into violence on Thursday night, leading to the hospitalization of affected students, as per university officials.

Several videos circulated on social media depicted a man wielding a stick to attack students, and another person throwing a bicycle amid chaotic scenes. Additional videos suggested individuals being mobbed and beaten while university security personnel attempted to intervene. The injured students were admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, according to university sources, PTI reported.

VIDEO | A clash broke out between ABVP and Left-backed groups at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, on Thursday night. The ruckus was over the selection of election committee members at the School of Languages.(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/vQV991KaIe  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 1, 2024

JNUSU alleges that the ABVP orchestrated an attack immediately after the student general body meeting, accusing the ABVP of attempting to manipulate the election process to undermine JNUSUs influence. Conversely, the ABVP contends that members of the left-leaning JNUSU initiated the assault.

In response to the clash, both ABVP and Left group students filed police complaints against each other. The university administration has yet to provide an immediate response, and the exact number of injured students remains unconfirmed.

#BreakingNews | ABVP vs Left: In the JNU violence video, students were attacked with sticks and bicycles thrown at them @_anshuls shares more details | @anjalipandey06#Security #loksbhaelections2024 pic.twitter.com/4jcbf5UeGj News18 (@CNNnews18) March 1, 2024

The JNU administration is committed to restoring peace on campus. Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit assured that strict action will be taken against those involved, irrespective of their political affiliations, as reported by PTI. As the altercation unfolded within the university grounds, efforts are underway to address the situation and ensure the return of normalcy to the campus environment.

 With Inputs from PTI
The prestigious constituency of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, is all set to witness a fierce fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party, the states ruling Biju Janata Dal, and the Congress in this years Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, when Lok Sabha and assembly elections were held simultaneously in the state, there was a straight fight between the BJP and BJD for the Bhubaneswar parliamentary seat. The Congress and Left had fought the election in an alliance but Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Janardan Pati failed to make an impact on this constituency. The last time that a CPI(M) candidate won from Bhubaneswar was more than three decades ago in 1991 when Sivaji Patnaik emerged victorious.

In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik campaigned in Bhubaneswar. BJP candidate, former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi, managed to wrest the seat from the BJD, which had held it for sixteen years without a break. This was also the first time that the BJP had won the Bhubaneswar seat.

For the 2019 election, the BJD dropped MP Prasanna Kumar Patasani who had won the Bhubaneswar seat five successive times from 1998 to 2014 and still enjoys a reputation of never having lost an election. Patasani was replaced with a fresh face, retired IPS officer Arup Patnaik, to take on former IAS officer Sarangi. However, the experiment did not work and the BJD paid a heavy price, losing the prestigious constituency to the BJP. Sarangi defeated Patnaik by a slim margin of nearly 24,000 votes. In 2019, the BJP won 8 of Odishas 21 Lok Sabha constituencies, up from 1 In 2014

One of the reasons behind the BJP wresting the Bhubaneswar constituency from the BJD was the absence of a Congress candidate. Political analysts say that the votes of the Congress were transferred to the BJP instead of the Left, tilting the scales in favour of the saffron party. Though the last time the Congress won this seat was more than 25 years ago in 1996, when Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, now a BJD rebel leader, was elected from here, the party still enjoys a vote base, though much reduced.

In 2019 though, the BJD stamped its dominance in the assembly polls, sweeping all the seven seats under Bhubaneswar: Jayadev, Bhubaneswar Central, Bhubaneswar North, Ekamra-Bhubaneswar, Jatani, Begunia, and Khurda.

Back in 2014, when the Modi wave was sweeping India, in Bhubaneswar, BJD candidate Patasani defeated BJPs Pruthwiraj Harichandan by a margin of nearly 1,89,000 votes. Congresss Lok Sabha candidate Bijoy Mohanty ended up in third place with 1,45,783 votes.

In the 2014 parliamentary elections, the BJD won 20 of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP 1, and the Congress none. Then, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJDs tally dropped to 12, while the BJPs shot up to 8, and the Congress secured 1 seat. The BJPs vote share too rose by 23% in just five years between 2014 and 2019. For the first time in Odisha, there was split voting: for Narendra Modi at the Centre and Naveen Patnaik in the state.

While the official list of candidates is yet to be declared, there is a buzz about the BJP and BJDs possible nominees from Bhubaneswar  MP Aparajita Sarangi and Shreemayee Mishra. Even though BJDs 2019 candidate Arup Patnaik lost by a slim margin, the party, it appears, has decided to drop him and field former actor Mishra who is the party general secretary and an engineering graduate in a bid to regain its lost bastion of Bhubaneswar.

Unlike last time, will the Congress field a candidate and will there be an alliance of opposition parties in Odisha without the BJP? When asked, state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak said, Discussions are on with all  CPI, CPI(M), JMM, AAP. Nothing is final yet. On whether the Congress would field a nominee from Bhubaneswar this time, Pattanayak responded, Definitely, we will give a candidate.

Hitting back at BJP state president Manmohan Samals jibe of the Congress being the number 3 party who no one looks at, Pattanayak said, We lost 12 by-elections and we were in third position in Telangana; so how did we come back to power? After 24 years in power in Odisha, how has BJD changed in West Bengal? So, Naveen Patnaik is not powerful and neither is the BJP. We are definitely going to be number one this time. They may underestimate us but I dont bother. We are putting in hard work at the booth and gram panchayat levels. We are doing our job very strongly this time.

The Congress has been reduced to 13% vote share in the assembly elections and 16% in the Lok Sabha polls. For the past 25 years, it has been out of power in Odisha. However, it is making a determined bid to change its fortunes in the state. Sunil Kanugolu, the man behind the successful Congress campaign in Telangana, has already visited Odisha. The party has set up a war room manned by thirty people as well as call centres. According to sources, top Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, and Sachin Pilot are all set to campaign here.

Meanwhile, the party is attempting to be visible on the ground with pitched protests almost every other day gheraoing the secretariat and the chief ministers residence Naveen Niwas. The womens wing of the Congress is active. The partys state president Sarat Pattanayak has walked 2,000 kilometres across Odisha in the Bharat Jodo campaign. He also pointed to the good response of the people towards Congress president Kharges rally and MP Rahul Gandhis Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra earlier this year. We are not calling anyone, yet 15,000-20,000 people gathered. Why did they come? They have watched the BJP and BJD rule for the past 25 years. For nine years, BJP-BJD ruled Odisha in an alliance. Even after that, they remained as one. People realise that now. If you vote for BJD, it goes to BJP; if you vote for BJP, it goes to BJP. BJP gave Ashwini (Vaishnaw) Babu a Rajya Sabha berth and the BJD openly supported him. The only alternative is the Congress, he said.

Pattanayak also recalled, We had just 10 MLAs in 1990 when Biju Patnaik was the chief minister. I was an MP, and Janaki Babu was the PCC president. We campaigned across the state and from having just 10 MLAs in the assembly, we formed the government and Janaki (Ballabh Patnaik) Babu became the chief minister. So, in politics, you cannot say second or third. Congress is in the fight. Our fight is against the BJD. Congress will definitely do better. We will go up from nine (the current number of Congress MLAs in the assembly) to 90. Mission 90 will definitely be successful.
The BJP held a late night Central Election Committee meeting on Thursday that went on till the wee hours of Friday where 350 Lok Sabha seats were discussed across 18 states and UTs. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaving the meeting at 3:30am, sources say many surprises may be in store when it comes to ticket distribution for Lok Sabha elections 2024.

The Surprises

Sources say there is likely to be a major disruption in Delhi where as many as five of the seven sitting MPs may be dropped this time. Bhojpuri film star Manoj Tiwari who has a massive sway among the large section of Purvanchali voters in Delhi could be among the few to retain the party ticket.

Sources suggest former army chief and Union Minister VK Singh will likely be dropped from the Ghaziabad seat where a senior organisation insider may make the cut. There has been buzz that a Bollywood A-lister may make their electoral debut with a BJP ticket.

Another Bhojpuri star also seems to have made the cut, but is likely to be fielded not from Bihar but from a Hindi-speaking belt of West Bengal. Sources say the star is likely to be fielded from Asansol where the sitting MP is TMCs Shatrughan Sinha.

Jammu Kashmir unit president Ravindra Raina, who was MLA from Nowshera, is likely to be fielded in the Lok Sabha election this time.

In Uttar Pradesh, a big chunk of sitting MPs, including Union Ministers, will be dropped, suggest BJP sources, adding that fresh faces will be given a chance instead.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was dropped from the top post despite winning the state election in December, is all set to be fielded in the Lok Sabha elections, say sources.

A controversial MP from Madhya Pradesh, who is known for statements that put the party in discomfiture, is likely to be dropped this time.

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani is likely to be fielded as well from Porbandar seat.

Who Might be Repeated

Among the leaders who are part of the BJPs core machinery and likely to be repeated at the polls is Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who is all set to fight from Lucknow. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who toppled the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and joined the BJP, is all set to fight from Guna-Shivpuri. Former Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal, who was brought to the Centre to make way for Himanta Biswa Sarma in the state, is likely to fight from Dibrugarh in Assam.

Both Telangana BJP president G Kishan Reddy and his predecessor Bandi Sanjay Kumar will fight Lok Sabha elections from the state.

The BJP also has managed a caste balance while choosing the names, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. BJP sources say Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to fight once again from his current Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. In the first list, both PM Modi and Amit Shahs names will feature, say sources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening chaired the Bharatiya Janata Partys Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in the national capital to take a call on the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the partys headquarters. Top leaders, including partys National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges of various states were present in the meeting.

#WATCH | BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting concludes; Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda leave from the BJP headquarters, in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/xOM8KmrNns ANI (@ANI) February 29, 2024

The leaders held discussions on the seats of Lok Sabha across about 17 states and set seals on more than 155 seats, the list of which will be released in a day or two.

According to an India Today report, the BJP is likely to announce its candidates on weak seats in Uttar Pradesh before the Election Commission releases dates for the Lok Sabha elections that are expected to be held in April-May.

Glimpses from BJP Central Election Committee Meeting being held at party headquarters in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/qu7rp5DQ5j BJP (@BJP4India) February 29, 2024

The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Goa were also present at the meeting.

Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP leader Prahlad Patel, and BJPs State President VD Sharma were also present in the meeting, where discussions were held regarding the names of candidates for all 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh.

Sources indicated that the announcement of the names of 4-5 candidates from Telangana could be made soon.

Three current MPs G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Arvind Dharmapuri may also get tickets again.

Discussions were held with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the names of candidates in the meeting.

Discussions were also held on the names of candidates with BJP leaders from Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand.

BJP sources said that the names of candidates from Assam were discussed in the meeting, in which all Lok Sabha seats were filled with leaders from Assam.

BJP will contest on eleven seats there, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could contest from Dibrugarh, while State Minister Rameshwar Teli could be sent to the Rajya Sabha.

Discussions were also conducted on candidates for the seats in Jammu, while deliberations for Kashmir will take place in the next meeting.

Additionally, discussions were held on two to three seats in Delhi, but another round of meetings will happen. Candidates have been finalised for one seat in Goa, while one seat is yet to be decided.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a slogan of Crossing 400 in this years Lok Sabha elections. The BJP aims to win more than 370 seats on its own.

(With inputs from agencies)
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to announce its first list of 100 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections within 24 to 48 hours. According to sources, the initial list will have names of most top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The saffron party, which held a poll body meeting in the national capital to take a call on the first list of candidates for the elections scheduled in April-May late on Thursday night, plans to field former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha, the constituency from where late Sushma Swaraj (BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister) contested and won several times.

Meanwhile, the party has asked former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje not to fight the polls.

The list is likely to feature PM Modi, who will contest from Varanasi, Amit Shah, who will fight from Gandhinagar, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur and Smriti Irani from Amethi.

The party is likely to announce its candidates on weak seats in Uttar Pradesh before the Election Commission releases dates for the Lok Sabha elections that are expected to be held in April-May.

The grand old party plans to field candidates from all 17 seats from Telangana and give tickets to three incumbent MPs, G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and Arvind Dharmapuri. BJPs Soyam Bapu Rao, who lost his assembly seat in the last elections, is unlikely to get a ticket.

The saffron party plans to field a Hindu woman candidate against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP will not contest from all 80 seats and will reserve some for its potential allies like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In the last poll body meet, 56 UP seats were finalised.

However, Delhi is poised to see the biggest change as the BJP plans to field newcomers in four out of seven seats.

The BJP has been targeting at least 370 seats in the 2024 polls and has been seeking feedback from all leaders for the last few years. The party is considering responses from the NaMo app, too.

The leaders held discussions on the seats of Lok Sabha across about 17 states and set seals on more than 155 seats during Thursdays key huddle, which began around 10:30 pm and lasted for more than four hours at the party headquarters.

BJP sources said that the names of candidates from Assam were discussed in the meeting, in which all Lok Sabha seats were filled with leaders from Assam. BJP will contest on eleven seats there, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal could contest from Dibrugarh, while State Minister Rameshwar Teli could be sent to the Rajya Sabha. Discussions were also conducted on candidates for the seats in Jammu, while deliberations for Kashmir will take place in the next meeting.
A worker of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjabs Tarn Taran district on Friday, police said.

The incident took place when Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Chohla was going to Kapurthala district for a court matter in his car. He was travelling alone, they said.

When Singh reached the railway crossing between Fatehbad and Goindwal Sahib, the assailants, who had been following him, opened indiscriminate fire on him and fled from the spot, police said.

After receiving information about the incident, police personnel led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Ravisher Singh reached the spot. Multiple police teams have been formed to nab the assailants, they said.
Unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14, the UAEs first Hindu stone temple opened its doors to the public on Friday.

Constructed by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), the temple is situated on a 27-acre site in Abu Mureikhah, near Al Rahba, along the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway, with an estimated cost of around Rs 700 crore.

The wait is over! #AbuDhabiMandir is now open for all visitors and worshipers, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, who runs the temple in Abu Dhabi, announced on a social media post on X.

The post also mentioned that the temple would be open from 9 am to 8 pm on all days, except Monday when it will be closed for visitors.

The wait is over!#AbuDhabiMandir is now open for all visitors and worshipers.Opening hours:Tuesday to Sunday: 9am-8pmEvery Monday: Closed for visitors pic.twitter.com/JnYvZoVSPk  BAPS Hindu Mandir (@AbuDhabiMandir) March 1, 2024

The temple website (https://www.mandir.ae/) provides detailed guidelines for visitors, including preferred attire, prohibited items, and photography rules. Adhering to these guidelines is essential to maintain the tranquil atmosphere and ensure orderly management of our premises, according to temple authorities.

Constructed with sandstone and marble, the temple follows the Nagara style of architecture, in line with the ancient principles outlined in the Shilpa and Sthapatya Shastrasthe Hindu scriptures that elucidate the science of temple design and construction. With a workforce of at least 3.5 million Indians in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hosts the largest Hindu Mandir in the Gulf region, operated by BAPS. Additionally, Dubai houses three other Hindu temples.

The land for the temple was donated by the UAE government. A grand ceremony attended by almost 5,000 people marked the inauguration of the architectural marvel by Modi on February 14. Overseas devotees were allowed to visit between February 15 and 29.

With inputs from PTI.
The initial assessment by central intelligence agencies of Bengalurus Rameshwaram Cafe blast on Friday suggests that it was likely orchestrated by a small, amateur group of people rather than a large-scale terror organisation. The planning and execution appear unpolished, and the bomb-making and ingredients too indicate the involvement of a small cadre of individuals with limited experience. Agencies will clear the air about the type of explosives used in the attack after an assessment.

At least nine people were injured in a fire caused by the blast reported at Bengalurus Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday. The explosion occurred around 1pm at the cafe in the citys Whitefield area.

A team of forensic experts was seen collecting evidence from the site.

The cafe is one of the most popular food joints in Bengaluru.

Sources also said that preliminary findings suggest that the explosive may be a combination of chemicals. It had a small trigger system with homemade explosives and items that may have been sourced locally, they said.

Central intelligence agency sources also claimed that an alert was issued two weeks earlier regarding the upcoming festival season, although it lacked specific details. A senior official noted that the bomb was planted hastily, further supporting the notion of amateur involvement.

Initial investigations by the local police have indicated that the IED was not only locally sourced but there has been an effort to be a copycat terror module.

A senior police officer close to the investigations said that a thorough probe into sleeper cells in Karnataka as well as possible terror groups from neighbouring states is also being looked into.

Six teams of the state police department who are familiar with investigating such terror groups have been sent to search for leads.

Sources said that given the use of an improvised explosive device (IED), it is likely that the low-intensity bomb did not utilise high-grade explosives like RDX. The National Security Guards (NSG) bomb data centre will analyse the explosive and investigate any connections to previous blast patterns.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been called in, and it is anticipated that the case will be transferred to the central body for further probe. Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have been invoked in the FIR, underscoring the seriousness of the incident and the need for thorough investigation by specialised agencies like the NIA, said sources.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said that someone seemingly had left a bag at the spot and the CCTV footage was being examined. The CM added that the Rameshwaram Cafe blast was probably caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device.

We have learnt that someone had kept a bag there. We are examining the CCTV footage. We are still investigating. Police is at the spot. It was a low-intensity blast, he said.
People value lakes for a wide variety of reasons. Lakes can hold significant personal and cultural meaning, provide opportunities for recreation, bolster property values and even comprise peoples livelihoods. These values can motivate people to work together to protect, preserve and manage lakes for our future generations.

The Owasco Watershed Lake Association is an organization of citizens who conduct activities and events that increase knowledge and raise awareness of the urgency to act now, as stewards, to improve lake conditions. The Bob Brower Scientific Symposium in Plain English is an annual educational effort planned to advocate for a common mission of protecting and improving water quality in Owasco Lake. Here is what is planned for this year's symposium, to be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, March 9, at Auburn Public Theater, 8 Exchange St., Auburn:

"Our Lake, Our Legacy" is the theme of the hybrid (live and virtual) symposium, which is free and open to the public. It will review current research-based efforts using cutting-edge technology on monitoring and managing the quality of our freshwater lake in language easy to understand. To register, visit owla.org, mark your calendar and plan to attend in person or virtually. The New York Section American Water Works Association is offering continuing a education credit for professional engineers and water treatment operators.

This years presenters will share interesting and thought-provoking information about our freshwater lake. Ken Kudla, marketing specialist, and past board president of OWLA, will present Our Regional Freshwater Resources and take us through the finite amount of fresh water that exists and where it is in the world. You will learn that we only have a sliver of the pie, representing 95% of all freshwaters in the United States. Everyone will want to become better watershed stewards after hearing this presentation.

Seth Jensen, director of municipal utilities for the city of Auburn, will talk about the reality of Providing Safe Drinking Water." It will be an overview of where Auburns water comes from and how it is treated, monitored and tested. He will discuss concerns with emerging contaminants and how they are monitored and treated. To continue to provide safe drinkable water, our local municipality is investing in capital improvement projects, watershed protection and future initiatives for the health and stability of our community.

Kirsten Workman, a Cornell PRO-DAIRY nutrient management and environmental sustainability specialist, will draw upon her decades of experience focusing on applied research of nutrient management and environmental sustainability. The Evolution of Agriculture and Water Quality in New York: A Path of Continuous Improvement is the title of her talk. Farming practices have changed over time as farmers have increased productivity and simultaneously improved their environmental outcomes. Sustainable farming practices play a pivotal role as keys for water quality, soil health and climate resiliency.

Lisa Cleckner, director of the Finger Lakes Institute, will comment on its current research of in-lake monitoring and trends of Owasco Lake in What Does the Buoy Tell Us About the Biology and Ecology of Owasco Lake Phytoplankton." Cleckner will report on data collected regarding the limnology of biological, physical and chemical aspects of Owasco Lake. She will delve into the different microscopic, single-celled photosynthetic organisms that live suspended in Owasco Lake. Like land plants, they take up carbon dioxide, make carbohydrates using light energy and release oxygen. What is changing?

The message from this years Bob Brower Scientific Symposium in Plain English  "Our Lake, Our Legacy"  is to inspire us with hope to become better watershed stewards. Together we can protect Owasco Lake for the sake of our own personal enjoyment, plants and animals today. We also protect the lake for the sake of the future. We must use our knowledge of natural ecosystems and our capacity to learn from each other for the sake of our grandchildren. For something bigger and more important than our yards alone, yet dependent on them as well. Act today and register at owla.org for this free symposium.
The blast at Rameshwaram Cafe, a popular eatery in Bengaluru, which injured at least nine, was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), top intelligence sources told News18. Meanwhile, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that someone had left a bag at the spot and the CCTV footage is being examined.

An IED was used to cause the low-intensity blast. It has been recovered from the spot. Many suspects are on the radar, said sources.

The agencies are mainly looking at two angles  terror and business rivalry. The eatery chain was doing good business. Signals were picked last week that rivals may try to tarnish their image, said sources.

The CM said: We have learnt that someone had kept a bag there. We are examining the CCTV footage. We are still investigating. Police is at the spot. It was a low-intensity blast.

We received a call about a cylinder blast in Rameshwaram cafe. Immediately, a fire engine was rushed to the spot. The incident occurred between 1.30 and 2 pm. We are probing it from all angles, a police officer said, earlier in the day.

In the past, Bengaluru has seen several Islamic State (ISIS or IS) modules being neutralised. Bangalore in the past many ISIS operatives were active those were neutralized.

#BengaluruBlast | 9 people have been injured. omeone kept a bag at the Rameshwaram Cafe. Home Minister will visit the blast site: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah@harishupadhya shares more details #Karnataka #RameshwaramCafe #NationAt5 | @poonam_burde pic.twitter.com/zcqAdAccxJ News18 (@CNNnews18) March 1, 2024

In December 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams swooped on 19 locations spread across Ballari and Bengaluru in Karnataka, Amaravati, Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra, Jamshedpur and Bokaro in Jharkhand, and Delhi.

The eight ISIS agents arrested during the raids were involved in actively promoting terror and related acts and activities of the proscribed organisation, said officials.

They were operating under the leadership of Minaz (alias Md Sulaiman).

ALSO READ | Injured Taken in Autos: Witness Account as Lunch-Time Blast at Popular Cafe Rocks Bengaluru

The raids also led to the seizure of raw materials for explosives, such as sulphur, potassium nitrate, charcoal, gunpowder, sugar and ethanol, sharp-edged weapons, unaccounted cash, and incriminating documents, along with smartphones and other digital devices.
At least nine people were injured in a fire caused by a blast reported at Bengalurus Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday. The blast occurred around 1 pm at the Whitefield branch of the cafe in the citys Rajajinagar.

The blast was caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), top intelligence sources told News18. The agencies are mainly looking at two angles  terror and business rivalry.

Meanwhile, the police have cordoned off the area. The bomb squad and firefighters are have reached the site and rescue work is currently underway. A team of forensic experts was also seen collecting evidence from the site of the explosion.

Notably, the cafe is one of the most popular food joints in Bengaluru.

Speaking about the blast, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said that investigations are underway and CCTV footage covering nearly 2 km has been secured. We can confirm the details once our police team provides information about the presence of an IED, etc. Our various teams are currently at the spot, he added.

CM Siddaramaiah Points To Suspicious Bag

Responding to the blast, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Friday said that someone had left a bag at the spot and the CCTV footage is being examined. The Chief Minister added that the Rameshwaram Cafe blast was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device.

We have learnt that someone had kept a bag there. We are examining the CCTV footage. We are still investigating. Police is at the spot. It was a low-intensity blast, Siddaramaiah said.

#BengaluruBlast | 9 people have been injured. omeone kept a bag at the Rameshwaram Cafe. Home Minister will visit the blast site: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah@harishupadhya shares more details #Karnataka #RameshwaramCafe #NationAt5 | @poonam_burde pic.twitter.com/zcqAdAccxJ News18 (@CNNnews18) March 1, 2024

BJP Attacks Congress

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya took to X posted: Just the other day, Congress MLC B K Hariprasad professed love for Pakistan, and today Bengaluru, in a throw back to UPA days, sees, what is possibly a lone wolf attack. The Congress must stop compromising on security for appeasement politics.

Just the other day, Congress MLC B K Hariprasad professed love for Pakistan, and today Bengaluru, in a throw back to UPA days, sees, what is possibly a lone wolf attack. The Congress must stop compromising on security for appeasement politics. https://t.co/s7ek7gAM1W Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) March 1, 2024

BJP leader Tejasvi Surya also claimed that the explosion occurred because of a bag left by a customer, not a cylinder explosion, in a social media post on X.

Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He informed me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer and not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured. Its seems to be a clear case of bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from CM, Tejasvi wrote.
Protesting farmer Shubhkaran Singh, who was killed during clashes between farmers and Haryana security personnel at the Khanauri border point last week, died of a firearm injury, according to the post-mortem report. The report also indicated the presence of foreign bodies in his head.

A native of Bhatinda, 21-year-old Shubhkaran was killed and 12 security personnel were injured in clashes at Khanauri on the Punjab-Haryana border on February 21. The incident took place when some protesting farmers were trying to head towards police barricades, put up to halt their Delhi Chalo march.

According to a Hindustan Times report, a CT scan conducted before the autopsy showed several metal pellets in his head. The post-mortem examination also found an injury mark on the occipital region (the rearmost region of the skull) and showed that his body bore no other injury marks, as per the report seen by Hindustan Times.

The metal pellets found in Shubhkarans skull were also handed over to the police, which may be sent to ballistics experts to ascertain the nature of the firearm that caused his death, people close to the matter said.

Doctors said they submitted the report to the Patiala police.

Shubhkaran was cremated on Thursday.

Meanwhile, seven days after his death, Punjab Police on Wednesday night registered a case of murder.

The Punjab Police has registered a case under sections 302 (murder) and 114 (abettor present when an offence is committed) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Patran Police Station in Patiala.

According to the FIR filed on the complaint of Shubhkarans father, the case has been registered against an unidentified person and the place of occurrence has been shown as Garhi in Haryanas Jind district.

Punjab IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill said, In the matter of Shubhkaran (Singh), after consulting the legal experts, Punjab Police has registered zero FIR. Further investigation will be done as per law. His family is performing his last rites today. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann provided compensation of Rs 1 Crore to the family and a daughter in the family is being given the job of a Constable
The Indian Navy is all set to commission a new base, INS Jatayu in the Minicoy Islands of Lakshadweep, in a move to strengthen its position in the Indian Ocean.

This would also give us a strong foothold in the area to keep an eye on the military and commercial activities of adversaries in the area, as this is around 50 miles from the islands of the Maldives, an official said.

The Navy will also formally induct its aerial marvel, the MH 60R helicopter into its fleet next week, bolstering its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capabilities.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission the newly inducted MH 60R Seahawk multi-role helicopter at the INS Garuda here on March 6, Navy officials were quoted by PTI as saying.

With this MH 60R, we have filled a major gap in our anti-submarine warfare capability. The anti-submarine capability and the sustenance of the chopper will change the way we are doing our surveillance and it will give us a larger surveillance bubble, Captain M Abhishek Ram told PTI.

Quoting Defence officials, an ANI report said that the Indian Navy will also hold its commanders conference on board the twin aircraft carriers, including INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, where they will be undertaking high-tempo operations like taking off from one carrier and landing at the other, along with participation from other warships and submarines in the carrier battle groups.
The injured were transferred in auto-rickshaws, eyewitnesses at popular Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru told News18. Police suspect that the fire at the eatery was caused by a cylinder explosion. At least five people were injured in the incident.

Another eyewitness said that there was a lot of smoke when the incident took place. Police and fire personnel have rushed to the cafe situated in the HAL police station area. The blast occurred around 1 pm at the Whitefield branch of the cafe in the citys Rajajinagar.

While there was no immediate word on the exact number of injured persons, police said at least five people have been shifted to the hospital. The injured reportedly included three staff and one customer.

The area has been cordoned off as the police are investigating the explosion.

The cafe, one of the most popular ones in the city, was founded in 2021 by CA Divya Raghavendra Rao and Raghavendra Rao. The name was chosen as a tribute to the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalams birthplace.
Karnataka Police has started investigating the allegations of the Pakistan zindabad slogan inside the Vidhana Soudha by supporters of winning Congress candidate Syed Naseer Hussain in the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday.

Police have picked up several people from various places across the state and recorded their statements. They have sent the voice recordings for forensic tests to ascertain what happened on Tuesday.

Speaking about the investigation, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said the forensic report was yet to come. As soon as the report comes, we will take strict action. Action has already been taken on seven people.

The Pro-Pak slogan row had created a political furore in Karnataka on Wednesday, with the opposition BJP demanding the resignation of the Siddaramaiah government Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said serious action would be taken against those who allegedly raised the Pakistan zindabad slogan.

The BJP lodged a police complaint on the issue, and staged protests in several parts of the State, including Belagavi, Chitradurga, and Mandya, on Wednesday, condemning the Congress government.

If the FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report proves that the slogan raised in favour of Pakistan is true, serious action will be taken in this regard. There is no question of protecting those who raised slogans in favour of Pakistan, the Chief Minister told reporters.

Opposition BJP staged a protest from the well of the House in the Assembly, demanding the Congress governments resignation for its inaction in nabbing the culprits who shouted the Pakistan zindabad slogans, and accused it of trying to shield those behind it, which was met with strong rebuttal from the ruling side.

Not satisfied with the state governments statement, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said that despite having all the evidence and videos, the government is still not ready to accept that the slogans were raised and have not arrested anyone.

This (Vidhana Soudha) is the heart of seven crore people of Karnataka, the sanctity of this place has been polluted with pro-Pakistan slogans. If we are not able to take action against those who shouted such a slogan it is as good as deadthis government has no right to continue in power even for a moment. I demand this governments resignation. It is the matter of the country, the Constitution and law and order, he said.

In the Council, BJP MLC Ravi Kumar said, This government is anti-Constitution. If Pakistan Zindabad slogans are raised in Vidhana Soudha, it is unfit to govern. It has to be removed. At this juncture, Congress MLC Abdul Jabbar allegedly addressed Ravi Kumar in singular. Taking strong exception to this, BJP members including Kumar stormed to the well and seemed to be trying to go towards the Congress legislator in an attempt to confront him.

This led to a heated exchange between the ruling and opposition sides. Realizing the situation may go out of control, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti adjourned the house for some time. But the situation continued as there was a fierce argument between both sides, forcing senior Congress leaders and Ministers to intervene.

(With PTI inputs)
KERALA LOTTERY NIRMAL NR-369 RESULT ON FRIDAY, MARCH 1, LIVE UPDATES: The Kerala State Lottery Department has announced the result of the Nirmal NR-369 lucky draw for Friday, March 1. Check the full list of winning numbers below.

ALSO READ: Kerala Lottery Result Today LIVE: Karunya Plus KN-512 WINNERS for March 7, 2024; First Prize Rs 80 Lakh!

FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR NIRMAL NR-369

WINNING NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE WORTH RS 8,000 ARE

NN 889140

NO 889140

NP 889140

NS 889140

NT 889140

NU 889140

NV 889140

NW 889140

NX 889140

NY 889140

NZ 889140

WINNING NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE WORTH RS 70 LAKH IS NR 889140 (GURUVAYOOR)

Agent Name: SHEEBA

Agency No.: R 7783

WINNING NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE WORTH RS 10 LAKH IS NP 130815 (VADAKARA)

Agent Name: K VISWANATHAN

Agency No.: D 3701

WINNING NUMBER FOR 3RD PRIZE WORTH RS 1 LAKH ARE

NN 735922 (THRISSUR)

NO 310702 (NEYYATTINKARA)

NP 774791 (KARUNAGAPALLY)

NR 898561 (VADAKARA)

NS 203536 (THIRUVANANTHAPURAM)

NT 951443 (KAYAMKULAM)

NU 621963 (WAYANADU)

NV 558507 (CHITTUR)

NW 753769 (GURUVAYOOR)

NX 276227 (CHITTUR)

NY 405993 (ERNAKULAM)

NZ 533859 (MANANTHAVADY)

WINNING NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE WORTH RS 5,000 ARE

0614 1820 2020 2224 2277

2395 2767 3121 3309 3478

4142 4594 5321 6180 7573

9062 9410 9683

WINNING NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE WORTH RS 1,000 ARE

0073 0933 1477 2480 3372

3862 3950 4175 4296 4611

5136 5167 5227 5232 5666

5917 6256 6291 6366 6605

6628 6882 7054 7237 7355

7357 7699 8214 8220 8316

8370 8473 8551 8633 9543

9708

WINNING NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE WORTH RS 500 ARE

0020 0088 0116 0162 0250

0291 0551 0808 0829 0855

0899 1118 1229 1437 1843

1938 2321 2400 2507 2508

2809 2963 3248 3308 3574

3661 3713 3806 3875 3969

4044 4050 4164 4222 4494

4864 4918 4993 5203 5437

5439 5499 5517 5519 5920

6081 6262 6416 6671 6835

7026 7150 7261 7306 7442

7521 7524 7733 7838 8090

8138 8235 8311 8362 8557

8599 8614 8834 8840 8858

8892 8898 9192 9322 9487

9527 9586 9713 9981

WINNING NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE WORTH RS 100 ARE

0004 0059 0124 0190 0282

0389 0510 0587 0699 0813

0834 0997 1095 1173 1287

1300 1313 1358 1475 1514

1551 1655 1736 1786 1878

2017 2206 2342 2494 2510

2652 2799 2897 2982 3014

3024 3135 3150 3429 3528

3583 3679 3848 3991 3992

3993 4001 4139 4410 4526

4624 4627 4645 4681 4914

4951 4952 4980 5000 5182

5197 5206 5308 5405 5440

5483 5536 5652 5686 5755

5819 5859 5871 6000 6074

6126 6240 6319 6360 6384

6422 6431 6655 6707 6718

6782 6848 6936 7007 7098

7108 7110 7220 7352 7564

8007 8036 8066 8072 8421

8705 8723 8763 8907 8945

8978 9019 9052 9108 9164

9314 9318 9523 9576 9581

9759 9783 9791 9852 9880

9889 9928

NIRMAL NR-369 LOTTERY: PRIZE STRUCTURE

1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakh

2nd Prize: Rs. 10 Lakh

3rd Prize: Rs. 1 Lakh

4th Prize: Rs. 5,000

5th Prize: Rs. 1,000

6th Prize: Rs. 500

7th Prize: Rs. 100

Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000

HOW TO CHECK NIRMAL NR-369 RESULTS?

To know the results of the Kerala Nirmal NR-369, visit the official website of Kerala Lottery Departments at www.keralalottery.info, or check your ticket number in person by visiting the Kerala Government Gazette office. To get more information, contact the Kerala Lottery Departments official sources.

HOW TO CLAIM YOUR PRIZE?

To find out if you are the winner or not of Nirmal NR-369, check the number of your lottery ticket and match it with the published number in the Kerala Government Gazette office. If yours and the published number match, then you are eligible for the prize. The winners get 30 days from the day the results are announced, to claim the prize. To receive your prize you have to visit the Kerala Lottery office in Thiruvananthapuram. Carry your identification proof for verification and also the winning ticket to avail your prize money.
A 32-year-old Kolkata-based photographer was stabbed to death by his live-in partner hours after he shared a family photo of him, the woman and her son on his social media account.

The deceased  identified as Sarthak Das  was living with the accused, Sanhati Paul  a professional makeup artist  who was divorced and had a son, an India Today report said.

Das had shared several pictures of him and Paul on his social media account with hashtags such as #betterhalf, #loveofmylife, etc. However, the family captioned post is not visible on his profile anymore.

Reportedly, the couple had been living in a rented flat for a year and a half. Recently, the two had been having a lot of fights.

In the incident, which took place on Wednesday, Paul allegedly stabbed the victim multiple times with a knife, following which she called the police.

Soon after receiving the call, cops reached the couples apartment in Dumdum area, situated in Kolkatas North 24 Parganas. They found Sarthaks body  with several stab marks  in a blood pool.

Though he was rushed to a nearby hospital, doctors declared him to be dead on arrival, the report added.

Police officials said the woman confessed to murdering Das during interrogation. Though the reason as to why Paul stabbed Das is yet to be ascertained, cops placed her under arrest on charges of murder.

DCP (South Zone) Barrackpore, Anupam Singh told Times of India, We arrested the woman and seized the murder weapon. She confessed to the crime. She will be produced in a court on Thursday.

Last year, several such murder cases came to light across the nation. A 56-year-old man named Manoj Sahani had killed his 36-year-old live-in partner  Saraswati Vaidya  in Mumbais Mira Road in June, 2023.

He had allegedly killed and chopped her body into several pieces, police said, adding that the accused used to boil body parts in cooker to ensure there is no foul smell.

Later in August, a 24-year-old woman was bludgeoned to death with a cooker by her lover in Bengalurus New Mico Layout on Saturday. The accused, Vaishnav, had doubted the victim of having an affair with someone.

Initial probe had revealed that the victim, Deva, was hit in the head with a cooker three times. The accused had emptied out the rice from the cooker on a plate and then went ahead to hit Deva in the bedroom using that cooker. After suffering several injuries to her head, Deva died on the spot.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Raj Bhavan on Friday evening. She called the meeting a courtesy meeting as per protocol.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Banerjee said she also took up the issue of the states pending dues with the PM. I mentioned the issues of the state to the prime minister, besides having a chat with him, said CM Banerjee.

Asked about the issue of the Centres dues to the state, which the ruling TMC has been flagging frequently, Banerjee said, I raised that matter also.

PM Modi, who is on a two-day tour of West Bengal from Friday, will stay the night at Raj Bhavan. Banerjees convoy entered the governors house shortly after the prime minister arrived there.

Taking to X, Governor C V Ananda Bose said he received the PM at the Raj Bhavan.

Governor of West Bengal, Dr. C. V. Ananda Bose, met PM @narendramodi. pic.twitter.com/vvdABsrlyv PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 1, 2024

Bose had also attended the prime ministers official programme at Arambagh earlier in the day, where Modi inaugurated, dedicated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,200 crore.

In December last year, Banerjee met Modi in New Delhi to press for the release of the states dues.

According to the TMC, the Centre owed Rs 1.18 lakh crore to West Bengal. The Union government has said it released on Thursday two tranches of tax devolution to all states, with West Bengal receiving Rs 10,692 crore, the fourth highest amount after Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

The state government commenced payment of dues to approximately 30 lakh MGNREGA workers on Monday, amounting to Rs 2,700 crore, pending since March 2022.

The withholding of West Bengals MGNREGA dues by the Centre has been a focal point in the states political discourse for the past year.

(with inputs from PTI)
The Finance Ministry on Friday said that Paytm Payments Bank has been fined Rs 5.49 crore by the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) for non-compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India initiated a review of Paytm Payments Bank after receiving specific information from law enforcement agencies regarding certain entities and their network of businesses engaged in various illicit activities.

The Finance Ministry said that the funds generated from these unlawful operations, i.e. proceeds of crime were routed and channelled through bank accounts maintained by these entities with the Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.49 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd with reference to the violations of its obligations under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), the ministry stated.

In response to the penalty, a Paytm Payments Bank spokesperson said that the fine pertains to issues within a business segment that was discontinued two years ago. Following that period, we have enhanced our monitoring systems and reporting mechanisms to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)

The imposition of the penalty by the FIU was passed on February 15. The FIU action follows RBIs January 31 directive barring Paytm Payments Bank from accepting fresh deposits or credits in the accounts of its customers from February 29. The date was later extended to March 15.

With inputs from agencies.
February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.

According to teendvmonth.org, teen dating violence affects nearly 10% of all teenagers throughout the U.S. It includes stalking, harassment, and physical or sexual abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control and prevention states that teen domestic violence has both short-term and long-term consequences.

While healthy relationships tend to have a positive effect on emotional development and future relationships, abusive relationships often do the opposite. Dating violence victims are likely to experience suicidal thoughts, antisocial behaviors, depression and anxiety, and engage in unhealthy behavior such as alcohol and drug use, which can lead to future victimization. Unfortunately, many cases go unreported because victims are afraid to tell their family and friends.

If you or someone you know is experiencing teen dating violence, and would like to talk to a trained professional, please call domestic violence educator Brooke Belair at Community Action Programs Cayuga/Seneca at (315) 255-1703 ext. 173.

Throughout February, organizations and individuals nationwide came together to highlight the need to educate young people about dating violence, teach healthy relationship skills and prevent the devastating cycle of abuse.

With their adult allies, youth activists achieved a major victory in 2005 and 2013, when the importance of addressing teen dating abuse was highlighted in the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Both chambers of Congress have declared the entire month of February as the time to recognize teen dating violence awareness and prevention. Making a difference in reducing domestic violence begins with educating teens.

On Feb. 21, the Zonta Club of Auburn partnered with CAP Cayuga/Seneca at their second annual teen violence dating awareness event held at the Booker T. Washington Community Center, which was and open to all students in grades eight to 12 and hosted by Belair.

The event featured music provided by DJ Mere, food and several different educational materials, such as a video that depicted a troubled teen dating situation and informational handouts for the students to analyze and answer questions relating to teen dating violence. As an example, two of the questions were: "How could a partner use technology/social media to abuse you?" "How can you get out of an abusive relationship, what are some steps you should take?"

Locally, the Zonta Club of Auburn works to make our community and world better for all by lifting up women and girls.

We assist countywide food pantries and volunteer at Sts. Peter and John Episcopal Church soup kitchen, where 80% of the meals served are to women and children.

We help women and their families transition out of homelessness through our welcome home baskets and first night's dinner, which are donated to the Auburn Rescue Mission.

Through our mini service grant awards, we fund female entrepreneurs of local women-owned businesses.

We provide higher education opportunities through our Jean M. Coon and Young Women In Public Affairs scholarships.

On March 7, the Zonta Club of Auburn will present its inaugural fundraiser, Lady Luck. Funds raised will help further our mission. It will also help to raise awareness and provide support for those impacted by domestic violence by partnering with key local service agencies.

We are very thankful for the generous sponsorship of Nucor, and wish to thank the Katie Socci Memorial Fund and Savannah Bank for their support. The Knights of Columbus will be providing the venue and a light buffet on lucky March 7, when the names of the lucky lady winners will be drawn.

Our Lady Luck fundraiser offers seven chances to test your luck, with prizes of cash plus lottery tickets  who knows what your final take might be. But you must be in it to win it, and time is running out!

A $50 donation gets one chance to win, and entitles one to attend the Knights of Columbus drawing party. A $100 donation gets three chances to win, and entitles two to attend the drawing party.

If you would like to donate to help make a difference, please visit our Facebook page @ZontaClubofAuburn and scan the QR code there. The deadline is March 3.

The Zonta Club of Auburn also welcomes new members. For more information on how you can make a difference in our community, please email us at mcw729@gmail.com or terembe@verizon.net.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi faced intense protests by Khalistan proponents in the United Kingdom, sources told CNN-News18 on Friday.

Gandhi paused his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of this years Lok Sabha elections and headed to the UK to deliver lectures at the University of Cambridge.

The Wayanad MP is a Visiting Fellow of the Cambridge Judge Business School. He was a student of Trinity College of the University of Cambridge and was awarded the MPhil in Development Studies in 1995.

According to sources, the Congress leader was targeted by Khalistani protesters during his interaction at the Judge Business School. He was able to leave only after the intervention of local authorities, they added.

Cambridge University Police did not allow the pro-Khalistan Sikhs to enter the Judge Business School, the sources said.

According to them, Paramjit Singh Pamma, a designated terrorist and coordinator of the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) outfit in Europe, was leading this protest against Rahul Gandhi.

The protesters blamed the Gandhi clan for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Amritsar killings, said the sources. Sikhs will continue to challenge Rahul Gandhi during his foreign visits, they said.

Rahul Gandhi was later escorted out of Cambridge University by UK Police under security cover, the sources said.
Illegal lending apps have unleashed massive advertising campaigns, prompting a thorough investigation by multiple agencies to protect citizens and their money from being siphoned off. The Union governments recent report reviewed by News18 has highlighted the alarming trend, drawing the attention of cybersecurity agencies, who have asked tech giants to deploy experts to curb the menace.

These ads, orchestrated by organised threat actors  some of whom operate from abroad  have raised serious concerns, and the government has urged companies like Google and Meta to handle the matter with utmost importance.

Analysis by a central cyber agency has revealed that numerous mobile applications are running ad campaigns through Meta platforms.

Multiple suicides have been reported across India linked to harassment and extortion by illegal app operators and loan-recovery agents. The exploitation of users by misusing app permissions exacerbates the issue, with harvested credentials and data posing future cybercrime risks.

Now, running massive ad campaigns to lure people will add fuel to fire as agencies are struggling to curb the effects of these illegal loan-lending apps.

Government sources have told News18 that the Centre has urged Meta to bolster its malicious advertisement detection mechanisms to curb the widespread problem of loan app-related harassment. Additionally, strict advertising policies, especially for financial services ads originating from overseas, are being enforced. Redirection analysis for published ads is also mandated to track their origins and ensure compliance.

To enhance detection efforts, the government advocates for the correlation of known patterns such as IP addresses, payment information, and geographic locations associated with blacklisted or detected apps. Meta is urged to deploy a team of experts to scrutinise emerging platform abuse patterns, as emphasised by a Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official speaking to News18 on the condition of anonymity.

Furthermore, safety campaigns targeting loan customers are slated for launch. Beyond Metas involvement, Google is requested to act on hash values identified as malware in the report. Integrating these values into Play Protect and developing auto-detection algorithms will help eliminate similar malicious apps from the Android ecosystem. Telecom companies are also tasked with identifying telemarketers to further combat the illicit promotion of these apps.

The collaborative efforts of government agencies, tech giants, and telecommunications providers aim to safeguard citizens from the pernicious impacts of illegal lending apps, the official said. It will help in fortifying detection mechanisms, enforcing stringent policies, and fostering industry collaboration, stakeholders strive to mitigate the threats posed by these exploitative practices and ensure the security of digital consumers.
A day after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government sparked a row by using a photograph of a Chinese rocket in an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility, the Tamil Nadu unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wished Chief Minister MK Stalin on his birthday in his favourite language Mandarin.

The Tamil Nadu BJP took to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), wishing Stalin in Mandarin. It wrote, On behalf of @BJP4Tamilnadu, heres wishing our Honourable CM Thiru @mkstalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!

On behalf of @BJP4Tamilnadu, heres wishing our Honourable CM Thiru @mkstalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life! pic.twitter.com/2ZmPwzekF8 BJP Tamilnadu (@BJP4TamilNadu) March 1, 2024

The Tamil Nadu BJP said, As DMK wanted to use the Chinese flag and rocket in ads, we wished the CM in their favourite language from their favourite country. If it was a mistake, they could have apologised but their leader Kanimozhi defended the ad.

The X post came soon after the Tamil Nadu government admitted its small mistake pointed out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Tamil Nadu Fishermens Welfare and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan said, A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of rocket launch pad in Kulasekarapatnam area.

The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, on Wednesday, pointed out the goof-up while inaugurating a new ISRO facility in the southern state. Prime Minister Modi said, DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted Chinas sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu.
Two low-intensity improvised explosive devices (IEDs) went off within five seconds at the popular Bengaluru-based south Indian restaurant Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday while people had filled the place to have their afternoon meals, authorities told News18.

Witness reports have been varying as most were in fear after being part of the explosive episode.

We were standing and eating when suddenly there was a piercing sound and smoke engulfed us. We thought it was a cylinder blast and it felt like it came from the kitchen side of the restaurant. There was thick smoke all around and we could hardly breathe, said Amruth, who works in a nearby IT company.

CCTV footage that has been handed over to the investigating agencies shows that at 12:55:32, a blast takes place near the washbasin area of the cafe, followed by a bigger one at 12:55:37, which causes the roof of the restaurant to collapse and forces people to run helter-skelter in fear.

Within minutes, the place was engulfed in black smoke and witnesses told News18 that they saw a few people fallen on the ground, unconscious due to the impact of the blasts.

It is suspected that a bag was placed below the washbasin area and that could have contained the explosive devices, police sources say.

Harish, a local trader whose shop is located adjacent to Rameshwaram Cafe, came running when he heard the blast. He tried to enter the place, but the thick smoke and falling debris stopped him in his tracks.

I saw a lady asking for help. She was badly injured and then we quickly asked the autorickshaws plying nearby to help move the victims to the nearest hospital, he told this reporter.

Young engineering student Shanthala, who had been passing by, sat on the pavement, as she was shocked to see the cracked glass and feel the tremor from the blast.

I thought it was a cylinder blast, but it was so big. For one second, I thought the whole place was going to blow up. I was too shocked to even move. I was an athlete in school and at this time my feet would not even move. It felt like lead, she said, recounting her horror.

Sachin Lamani, the security guard who was on duty, was also in a daze. News reporters were buzzing around him asking him questions on what he saw, and he kept recounting his experience.

I was outside the restaurant but I briefly saw somebody place a bag in a tiffin box shape. Then the blast happened, and all I could see were people screaming for help and running around. I have told the police all that I saw, Lamani told News18.

Nine people have been injured and a woman is said to have sustained 40 per cent burn and shrapnel injuries while others reportedly suffered minor injuries and are undergoing treatment at local private hospitals.

Medical director of Brookefield Hospital Dr Pradeep Kumar said three of the injured are out of danger.

Two customers and a staffer are admitted to the hospital. One of them, a woman of 45 years of age, has suffered 40 per cent burn injuries, mostly on the right side of her body. She is being treated in the ICU. She has suffered cuts on the right side of her body and will need plastic surgery. Her eardrum is also damaged due to the explosion sound, Dr Kumar said.

When asked what the injury tells about the blast, Dr Kumar said that it was probably a low-intensity explosion as there were no rip-off injuries, including that of the woman.

Their clothes have been handed over to the forensic experts for analysis, the doctor further said.

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said, CCTV is being examined. Someone had kept a bag there. The police are saying it is an IED; we do not know whether it is a terror attack.

The entire top brass of the Karnataka police including state DGP Alok Mohan, Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, internal security division ADGP M Chandrashekar, apart from National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials arrived on the scene to assess the gravity of the blasts and gather evidence to understand the reason behind this attack.

Police sources told News18 that preliminary investigations indicated that IEDs had been used with a timer trigger device along with nuts and bolts that were found strewn on the ground. The local NIA team along with the bomb squad have also collected evidence from the spot to analyse how the explosives would have been made.

Forensic teams are collecting evidence. We will find out who did this, but right now we do not want to speculate, DGP Mohan told the media.

Managing director and founder of Rameshwaram Cafe Divya Raghavendra Rao has said that the blast had not happened due to any cylinder or any kitchen-related equipment.

There is only a handwashing area near the sink, a place to collect plates, and a dustbin. Other equipment is placed at the back of the restaurant. Some people have informed us that a bag was kept near the handwashing area and we also found the bag near the spot, she told the media.
Two major cities in India, Bengaluru and Mumbai, have been running without elected representatives to their municipal corporations for four years and two years, respectively. As a result, many residents say they are having to deal with decisions being made by MLAs who are not in tune with the real ground-level issues.

In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election has been on hold since March 2022, while in Bengaluru, polls for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) have been pending since September 2020. The Congress government in Karnataka has claimed that the long-delayed Bengaluru civic body polls will be held immediately after the Lok Sabha elections this year.

Corporators are elected to be the voice of the people and ensure a smooth transition of policies and development through voter inclusivity. That seems to be completely missing in these two major metros of India, explain urban experts from both cities.

MP Doing MLAs Job, MLA Corporators Job, Corporator Missing

The situation has become such that today, Members of Parliament are doing the work of MLAs, MLAs are doing the work of corporators, and corporators do not exist. Where will people go? Who will be their voice? You cannot have a top-down system like we are seeing in Mumbai and Bengaluru where decisions are made by the state government, who are not in sync with what people want on the ground, said a senior bureaucrat who has also served as the chief of the Bengaluru city civic body, BBMP.

The situation is no different in Mumbai.

Eminent citizen and activist Zoru Bathena points out that despite all their flaws, the corporators are the eyes, ears, and voice of the people of Mumbai. For the last 2 years, Mumbais BMC has been running solely on the whims and fancies of the state government and its MLAsand the ongoing loot and plunder of our beloved city are for all to see.

A recent example from Bengaluru is of when the BBMP presented its annual budget. In accordance with the state budget announcement, it has been decided to bring about a sharp increase in the guidance value of property taxes for the southern metro. This move is expected to drastically increase the annual property tax paid by owners.

Another senior bureaucrat who has worked closely with the BBMP in an earlier term said that a budget encompasses the programmes you plan for the coming year and how you plan to finance them. It speaks about the taxes you are going to impose and how you will meet the gap. The programmes they were to bring about, have they consulted anybody? No public consultation at all. A group of bureaucrats has decided what is good for the city. This goes against any kind of democratic norm, he pointed out.

With the administration of the BBMP headed by commissioner Tushar Girinath, the annual budget of Rs 12,371.63 crore for the financial year 2024-25, the fourth of its kind in the absence of an elected council, was presented.

Sampat Thakur is a former corporator in BMC and a member of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray). A resident of Denwadi in south Mumbais Thakurdwar area, Sampath one day noticed that the work of stormwater drainage in his area had begun without notice, and the local BMC contractor had piled up the large pipes in his area. This had become a cause of concern for the residents as it began to hamper their movement.

When the contractor was questioned about the work order, he failed to produce one and was asked to stop work immediately.

He did not have a work order and, moreover, in our area, there is no issue with waterlogging. So why is this work being done? Who do we ask these questions? There are no councillors in the BMC, and officers do not answer our queries, Thakur said.

On March 8, the BMC will complete two years of working without councillors. BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has been appointed as the administrator and has been running the show along with his deputies. The BMC is regarded as the richest civic body in the country, with an annual budget of over Rs 50,000 crore.

Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar spokesperson Clyde Crasto calls municipal corporators guardians of the wards they are elected from.

Unfortunately, for the past two years, we do not have any of them representing their wards. This is because their term ended two years ago, Crasto said.

V Ravichandar, a civic evangelist from Bengaluru, says that it is always good to have democratically elected people in all tiers of governance. Corporators are the ones closest to the constituents, and in a non-corporator setup, officers and bureaucrats do not have the same connections as elected representatives.

Theres a difference between a job and representing people

Corporators face elections and want to be reelected, so they take care and people can also go to somebody with their grievances. What really gets impacted is the connection between the common denominator of the citizenry and their elected representatives. As part of the administration, there are officers at the back end managing the body. For them, its a job. There is a difference between a job and representing people through the ballot process; that is the essence of democracy, Ravichandar explained.

Mumbai-based RTI and civic activist Kamlakar Shenoy who keeps a close eye on BMCs projects and expenditures thinks that there is no control over the spending of the BMC. He said that the BMC administrator and his team have been destroying the financial stability of the civic body and compromising the safety of life and health of citizens.

Thousands of crores of rupees could have been used to address the acute staff shortage in every department, completion of bridges, which have been closed for the last 10 years, providing safe, smooth, and obstruction-free roads and footpaths, Shenoy said.

Prolonged absence of elected representatives defeats the very purpose of local self-government, says Mumbai-based activist BN Kumar.

People depend on their next-door corporators who are supposed to be contactable for any local civic issue  be it the garbage, water supply, bad roads, or even environmental-related issues,  Kumar said. The experience is that the concerned officials remain unconcerned as there is no one to hold them accountable, he pointed out and said the local elected representatives can apply the pressure required on the administration to get the matters resolved.

Who do you expect us to go to?

Bengaluru resident and architect Rashmin Perla echoes Kumars sentiments. He speaks with utter frustration about the state of affairs.

Whether it is law and order, illegal constructions, debris on roads, pets being neutered, borewells going dry in our area, or footpath driving causing nuisance, none of this is being addressed because there are no corporators. Who do you expect us to go to? We cannot have the MP or MLA on speed dial for all these local issues, but we are forced to do so, he said.

Powai-based resident Pravada who daily travels between Chandivali and JVLR for work is upset due to the numerous potholes along her route. I am very upset with the BMC that for the past many months, no one has bothered to repair them. We will have rains soon and in such a scenario if the road deteriorates, you can imagine the situation. If we had a councillor he or she could have at least fixed this, she said.

Administrators of both BMC and BBMP were not available for comment.
Gujarats Jamnagar wore a festive look as VVIPs from all over the world gathered to celebrate the pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant from March 1-3.

The venue holds a special significance for the Ambani family due to their deep-rooted familial ties with the city.

A nine-page event guide and wardrobe planner sent to guests offers an overview of what to expect at the three-day pre-wedding bash.

Many guests will travel to Jamnagar on chartered flights from Mumbai or Delhi between 8am and 1pm on March 1.

In order to accommodate everyones luggage, we ask you to pack consciously, with one item of hand luggage and one piece of hold luggage per person, or three total suitcases per couple, the guide says. If you bring more luggage, we cannot guarantee it will arrive on the same flight as you, but we will do our best to bring it in at the earliest.

All three nights of celebrations will be themed. Day 1 is called An Evening in Everland, with the dress code listed as elegant cocktail.

A mood board for the dress code shows models decked up in cocktail attire and also mentions that the temperature will be in the 22-25 degrees Celsius range.

Day 2 will host A Walk on the Wildside with jungle fever the suggested dress code. It is set to be held outdoors in the Ambanis animal rescue centre in Jamnagar, and guests are advised to wear comfortable shoes and clothing for this event.

Invitees will then swap their safari-themed outfits for more elegant ones for Mela Rouge. The dress code for this is dazzling desi romance, suggesting glamorous traditional South Asian attires for all.

The final day will also comprise two events. The first one, Tusker Trails, suggests casual chic dressing, as guests are expected to further explore the green ambience of Jamnagar.

The final party, Hashtakshar, calls for an elegant evening with heritage Indianwear.

Hairstylists, sari drapers, and make-up services will be available on-site. But, despite the detailed wardrobe suggestions, guests are free to wear whatever they are comfortable in, as we would like you to enjoy each moment to the fullest and make beautiful memories that last a lifetime, the guide concludes.

Convoys of luxury cars lined up at the Jamnagar airport for the second consecutive day on Friday as eminent personalities and celebrities from around the world arrived to attend the three-day pre-wedding festivities.

Anant Ambani, the youngest of the three children of Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani, is set to, later this year, marry Radhika Merchant, the younger daughter of Viren Merchant, CEO of Encore Healthcare, and entrepreneur Shaila Merchant.

A green room decked with various types of flowers has been set up for the guests and security has been deployed in large numbers for their safety.
The first lunar eclipse of the year 2024 is going to occur on March 25. The festival of Holi aligns with the first lunar eclipse of this year. As per the Panchang, the lunar eclipse is set during the full moon of Shukla Paksha in the Phalgun month. It will start at 10:23 am and conclude at 3:02 pm. Along with India, the eclipse will also be visible in other locations including America, Japan, Russia, Ireland, England, Spain and others. On this occasion, Gurugrams astrologer Narendra Juneja says that the first lunar eclipse of this year will open the fortunes of 9 zodiac signs including Cancer and Virgo.

He claims that there is a possibility of promotion or salary increase in their job while unmarried people may get their life partner this year. Let us take a look at some of the positive effects of the lunar eclipse on the zodiac signs.

Aries:

This lunar eclipse can bring positive results for Aries zodiac people. As per astrologer Narendra Juneja, the leadership ability of these zodiac sign people is expected to increase during this year. It will also result in their success in the workplace. Pending projects will be completed and new opportunities will be available. Aries are expected for the possibility of promotion too at their workplace.

Taurus:

This lunar eclipse can bring positive changes for the people of Taurus who desire stability and security. They will get new responsibilities, which will develop leadership abilities. astrologer Narendra Juneja, the feeling of permanency in the job will increase. The relationships with workplace colleagues are also expected to get better during this lunar eclipse.

Cancer:

This lunar eclipse indicates financial gains for the people of the Cancer zodiac. Projects will be successful and with a possibility of promotion. Cancer zodiac people are likely to experience mental peace and satisfaction this year. There will be profit in business and expansion plans will be successful. New investment opportunities may be available.

Virgo:

Astrologer Narendra Juneja claims that this lunar eclipse indicates success for the people of the Virgo zodiac. They will get opportunities to learn new art. Happiness and romance are expected to increase in their love relationships. They will also receive success at their workplace.

Libra:

People with Libra sign can benefit from partnership and cooperation during this lunar eclipse period. Success will be achieved through teamwork. There can be problems of mental stress and insomnia during this lunar eclipse. Workload may increase in job. It is advised to adopt a cooperative attitude with colleagues and maintain balance. The Libra zodiac people must avoid taking risks in investment during this period.

Scorpio:

This lunar eclipse indicates a change for the Scopions. You may have to face new challenges, but success will be achieved with determination. There is a possibility of a job change. Passion and romance will increase in love relationships. Unmarried people can get the partner of their choice.

Sagittarius:

For Sagittarius people, this lunar eclipse indicates foreign travel and expansion. There will be opportunities to acquire new knowledge and skills. The import-export business will prove profitable. A love affair can also develop with a foreign person.

Capricorn:

For Capricorn people, this lunar eclipse indicates stability and security in their careers. There is a possibility of promotion too. You can get relief from old health-related problems. You can get benefits from long-term investment.

Aquarius:

This lunar eclipse indicates success in the social circle for the people of Aquarius. The goal will be achieved through teamwork and cooperation. Participating in social work will provide mental satisfaction. Friendship and understanding will increase in love relationships. Desired partners can be found through social circles.
The world celebrates International Womens Day annually on March 8. The day honours womens social, economic, cultural, and political achievements and existence in general. Whether occupying roles as homemakers, teachers, engineers, economists, doctors or architects, women consistently contribute to making the world a better place through their unwavering gusto, determination, and convictions. Hence, this day is also dedicated to raising awareness about the challenges women still face, such as gender inequality, discrimination, and violence and commemoration.

ALSO READ: Happy Womens Day 2024: Best Wishes, Images, Messages, Quotes, Greetings To Share With Amazing Women in Your Life!

How Did It Start?

National Womens History Month began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female textile workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women. Then, on March 8, 1908, women workers in the needle trades marched through New York Citys Lower East Side to protest child labour, and sweatshop working conditions, and demand for womens suffrage. Beginning in 1910, March 8 became annually observed as International Womens Day.

Read on to learn about the history and significance of International Womens Day, key facts, theme for this year and how to celebrate this day.

Why 8 March? History And Significance

The Socialist Party of America founded National Womens Day in New York on February 28, 1909. This was proposed by labour activist Theresa Malkiel, commemorating citywide protests against garment workers regarding their inequality and oppression. The call for change gained traction when 15,000 women marched through New York City, demanding higher wages, shorter hours, and voting rights. Later that year, German delegates proposed the idea of a womens day, taking inspiration from American socialists.

In 1975, the United Nations began celebrating International Womens Day, and then the UN General Assembly declared March 8 as International Womens Day in 1977 in support of womens rights and global peace. Since then, the United Nations has played a significant role in commemorating the day by establishing a theme each year.

Talking about its significance, this day celebrates womens achievements, accelerates gender parity, and raises awareness about gender equality as well as fundraising for various charities focused on females.

What Is The IWD 2024 Theme?

The theme of this years Womens Day is Invest in women: Accelerate progress. This theme means that establishing gender equality and womens well-being in all aspects of life is more important than ever in order to develop strong economies and a healthy world. When we value and respect women from all different backgrounds, the world gets better for everyone.

International Womens Day 2024: Key Facts

International Womens Day is an official holiday in many countries, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Laos, Georgia, and Russia, among others. Purple, green and white are the official colours of International Womens Day. Purple signifies justice and dignity, green symbolizes hope and white represents purity. The first-ever Womens Day was celebrated in the United States on 28 February 1909 in commemoration of the 1908 garment workers strike in New York against harsh working conditions, more working hours, and lesser wages. In some parts of the world, International Womens Day has been clubbed with Mothers Day to signify the importance of women as mothers. A womens rights advocate, activist, and supporter of womens rights, Clara Zetkin, first came up with the idea of celebrating Womens Day as a holiday worldwide.

How Is Womens Day Celebrated?

Attend International Womens Day eventsMany communities hold rallies, workshops, marches, and panel discussions focused on womens empowerment. One can attend such events to learn more about the history and significance of International Womens Day. Support women-led organisationsMake an effort to buy goods and services from women-owned companies that would motivate them more to work hard. Donate to causes that empower women and girlsNumerous non-profit organisations and charities work tirelessly to support womens rights and well-being. Celebrate the women in your life and their achievementsTake out some time to appreciate the contributions of the women (sister, mother, wife, friends, colleagues) in your life.

By raising awareness, celebrating womens achievements, and taking action we can all contribute to a more equitable world for all.

Why Do People Wear The Colour Purple?

Wearing purple on IWD signifies solidarity with womens rights movements and a commitment to achieving gender equality. Its a visible way to show support and awareness for the cause.

Is There An International Mens Day?

Yes, there is an International Mens Day, celebrated annually on November 19. Its stated aims are to focus on mens and boys health, improve gender relations, and promote positive role models for men. However, its important to note that the need for a specific day for men is debated, as some argue that men already benefit from significant social and economic advantages.

Why Do We Need It?

Gender inequality persists in areas like pay, education, healthcare, and violence. IWD raises awareness, celebrates women, and pushes for change toward equal opportunities and rights.
World Civil Defence Day, observed annually on March 1, focuses on promoting the significance of civil defence strategies in protecting individuals and their belongings from natural disasters, accidents and other unforeseen emergencies. The occasion also pays tribute to the contributions of numerous civil defence organisations, acknowledging their dedicated efforts in safeguarding communities and preserving lives. The day also aims to bring the attention of the global community to the necessity of civil preparedness and civil protection in the world.

In India Civil Defence Day is observed on December 6 to create awareness about civil defence and its importance among the citizens.

World Civil Defence Day History

The International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) was established in 1972. Its history traces back to 1931 when Surgeon General Saint-Paul founded the Association of Geneva Zones. In 1958, this association transformed into the International Civil Defence Organisation and attained a new status as a non-governmental organisation.

The ICDO focuses on promoting studies and research related to population protection, as well as facilitating coordination efforts in natural disaster prevention. In 1972, representatives from ICDO member states approved the organisations constitution. The ICDO declared March 1 as a global holiday in 1990.

World Civil Defence Day Significance

World Civil Defence Day is significant for raising awareness about emergency preparedness and the crucial role of civil defence organisations in safeguarding communities. It honours the dedication of civil defence personnel, promotes preparedness among individuals and governments, and fosters collaboration among stakeholders for effective emergency response.

Facts About Civil Defence in India
Zero Discrimination Day is observed on March 1 annually. The specific day is dedicated to promoting equality, inclusion, and diversity worldwide. It is an opportunity to celebrate everyones right to live a full and productive life with dignity  regardless of their age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, skin colour, height, weight, profession, educational qualifications, belief systems, or any other element that has the potential to violate human rights and perpetuate poverty and inequality. Each year, Zero Discrimination Day has a specific theme to focus attention on particular areas where discrimination is prevalent.

Zero Discrimination Day History

Zero Discrimination Day was first celebrated by the United Nations on March 1, 2014, after UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013. The campaign aims to promote equality in healthcare access and to combat discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

In 2014, the director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, inaugurated Zero Discrimination Day on World AIDS Day. The launch took place in Beijing and received substantial support from the Chinese government, civil society, celebrities, the China Red Ribbon Foundation, and the Hanergy Holding Group. Similar events were scheduled in numerous countries worldwide in the days leading up to March 1, 2014.

Zero Discrimination Day 2024 Theme

The theme for this years Zero Discrimination Day is To protect everyones health, protect everyones rights. On the 10th anniversary of Zero Discrimination Day, UNAIDS emphasises on the importance of protecting human rights as a fundamental step towards ensuring health for all.

A press statement by UNAIDS released on February 27, 2024, says Zero Discrimination Day was created to promote equality and fairness for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity, or HIV status. However, recent trends indicate a concerning decline in progress.

There is a disturbing rise in attacks on the rights of women, girls, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other marginalised communities. When laws, policies, practices, or norms condone punishment, discrimination, or stigma against these groups, it not only violates their rights but also hampers public health efforts by deterring them from accessing crucial health and social services.

By upholding rights for all, we can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and create a safer, fairer, kinder, and happier world for everyone, says Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS.

Zero Discrimination Day Significance

The significance of Zero Discrimination Day lies in its call for a world free of discrimination, where everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Discrimination not only violates human rights but also undermines social and economic progress. By raising awareness and promoting a culture of inclusivity, Zero Discrimination Day seeks to create a more just and equitable society for all.

The aim is also to inspire individuals, governments, and organisations to take decisive action to eradicate discrimination. This day promotes celebrating diversity, embracing differences, and opposing discrimination in all its manifestations.

Various events and social media campaigns are organised worldwide to raise awareness and advocate for equality. It serves as a moment for people across the globe to come together and pledge to create a fairer, more tolerant world.

Zero Discrimination Day 2024 Quotes

Here are some inspiring quotes to mark Zero Discrimination Day:

HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug: Heaven knows they need it.  Princess Diana. To tell you the truth, Im shocked, as I travel across this country, at how little people know or dont want to know about HIV/AIDS. There are a lot of people who dont know that HIV is one thing and AIDS is another. Those people just think its one big old alphabet of a disease.  Actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. Give a child love, laughter, and peace, not AIDS.  Nelson Mandela. Discrimination is a disease.  Roger Staubach. 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.  Martin Luther King Jr.

Zero Discrimination Day serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of respecting and valuing diversity. It calls on individuals, communities, and governments to take action to end discrimination and create a more inclusive world for all. By promoting equality and inclusion, we can build a better future for everyone, leaving no one behind.
A former supervisor for the town of Mentz has been charged with a sex crime involving a child and is negotiating a plea agree agreement with prosecutors.

Richard Nielens Jr., 65, who is also a former member of the Mentz Town Board, was before Judge Thomas Leone in Cayuga County Court for a conference on Thursday. He faces one count each of first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors (a class D felony) and endangering the welfare of a child (a misdemeanor).

Cayuga County Senior Assistant District Attorney Heather De Stefano and Rome Canzano, Nielens' attorney, told Leone they haven't reached a plea agreement yet, but they hope to have one soon.

"We aren't terribly far away, probably," De Stefano said.

Nielens is due back in court March 21.

He was arrested on the charges in December. Cayuga County District Attorney Brittany Grome Antonacci told The Citizen she could not comment on the charges while Nielens' case is pending.

According to state law, first-degree disseminating indecent material to minors involves communicating "either in words or images actual or simulated nudity, sexual conduct or sado-masochistic abuse" that "invites or induces a minor to engage in sexual intercourse, oral sexual conduct or anal sexual conduct, or sexual contact with him or her, (or to engage in a sexual performance, obscene sexual performance, or sexual conduct for his or her benefit)."

Nielens had been a member of the town board for 12 years before he became supervisor.

Mark Emerson, the current Mentz supervisor, told The Citizen that Nielens served as supervisor from 2016 to 2021, and lost elections to Emerson in 2021 and 2023.
Actor Silambarasan TRs latest film was Pathu Thala, directed by Obeli N Krishna. He is currently collaborating with director Desingh Periyasamy for a project tentatively titled STR48. The announcement was made last year, generating significant anticipation. Produced by Kamal Haasan under his home banner, the films poster was unveiled on February 3 to celebrate Silambarasans birthday.

On Thursday, Silambarasan teased fans with a promo video, sparking confusion among them about whether it was the highly anticipated teaser for STR48. In the film, the actor portrays a dual role, and recently, it was disclosed that he underwent a significant physical transformation for his character. Described as a period fantasy action film, the 25-second promo released shows an army preparing for battle, eagerly awaiting the arrival of its king.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Silambarasan TR (@silambarasantrofficial)

Silambarasan shared the video with the caption, Excited about this one! Stay tuned! Although the actor didnt provide any hint if the video is related to STR48, fans speculated that it could be due to its historical setting. However, since there hasnt been an official confirmation, its believed that the video is part of Silambarasans upcoming advertisement. Its possibly a promo for a popular brand.

Silambarasan TR is currently undergoing special training in Thailand for his role in the film. Additionally, there is speculation that Kamal Haasan will make a cameo appearance in the movie. Pooja Hegde has been selected to star opposite Silambarasan in STR48. Devi Sri Prasad has been roped in to compose the music for the movie.

As per reports, its a full-fledged action movie set in a historical backdrop, and director Desingh Periyasamy intends to make it the largest film of STRs career. The estimated budget for the film will reportedly be around Rs 100 crore, making it the most expensive movie of STRs career. The film showcases STR in a dual role, with each character having its own unique identity.
Akshay Kumar, who is gearing up for his next release Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, on Friday arrived in Jamnagar to attend Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants pre-wedding bash. He opted for black casuals and looked very cool. His photo has gone viral. Well, earlier in the day many celebrities including Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sara Ali Khan, and others were also spotted at the airport.

Akshay Kumar is seen posing for the camera in the photo. Several celebrities including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Manushi Chhillar, Rani Mukerji, and Manish Malhotra have already arrived in the city for the pre-wedding bash. On Thursday night, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone were also snapped by the paparazzi as they reached Jamnagar for the most awaited pre-wedding bash. Before this, Alia Bhatt was also seen arriving for the mega bash with her actor-husband Ranbir Kapoor and mom-in-law Neetu Kapoor. Jawan director Atlee has also reached the pre-wedding venue.

Take a look here:

Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambanis youngest son Anant Ambani and industrialist Viren Merchants daughter Radhika Merchant are all set to host their grand pre-wedding festivities in Gujarats Jamnagar from March 1-3.

During the three-day pre-wedding bash, Day 1 is called An Evening in Everland, with the dress code listed as elegant cocktail. Day 2 will host A Walk on the Wildside with jungle fever the suggested dress code. The final day will also comprise two events. The first one, Tusker Trails, suggests casual chic dressing, as guests are expected to further explore the green ambience of Jamnagar. The final party, Hastakshar, calls for an elegant evening with heritage Indianwear.

The guests will be served breakfast with 75 dishes, lunch with more than 225 items, dinner with around 275 dishes, and a midnight meal with over 85 items to choose from. The midnight meal that will begin at the stroke of midnight will go on till 4 am. This meal reportedly has been specially curated for the foreign guests. Every single item served will be prepared under strict guidelines and protocol and none of the dishes served will be repeated for the 12 different meals over three days.

A troupe of 65 chefs including 20 women chefs, and four trucks full of ingredients will be reaching Jamnagar from Indore.
Disha Patani has carved out a name for herself in Bollywood with hits like Baaghi 2, M.S Dhoni-The Untold Story and Malang. The stunning actress has also delivered some of the most iconic statements in the field of fashion. The actress who is excited to headline Karan Johar-backed film Yodha, starring Sidharth Malhotra revealed in a recent interview that she wouldnt have had an acting career, if not for Karan Johar.

At the Yodha trailer launch event on Thursday, Disha Patani expressed, If I am an actress today, it is also because of Karan Johar; because he was the one who actually spotted me when I was modelling. I was just 18. I feel like I wouldnt have been here, if he hadnt spotted me at that time. So when people say whatever (hinting at nepotism) I am an outsider. So I feel like this is the opportunity that he gave me.

Reacting to this, Karan Johar replied, I love you. Meanwhile, Sidharth Malhotra who made his acting debut with Karan Johars Student Of The Year quipped, Kya baat kar rahi ho Disha, main bhi (What are you saying Disha, me too).

Sidharth Malhotras upcoming action thriller Yodha is one of the most eagerly anticipated Bollywood movies this year. The film, which also stars Raashii Khanna and Disha Patani, has been creating a lot of excitement. Recently, its official trailer was released on the internet and has been well received. Its trailer launch has made history in Hindi cinema for a unique reason. On February 29, the much-awaited official trailer of Yodha, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Disha Patani, and Raashii Khanna, was unveiled. It has become the first Hindi film to have an in-flight trailer launch. The trailer was launched mid-flight with several media personnel on board.

Disha Patani, the leading lady of the film, took to her Instagram stories to share some photos and videos of the launch. The flight was originally headed to Ahmedabad from Mumbai, with journalists scheduled to attend the press conference for the trailer launch of Yodha. Along with the films cast, producers Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Shashank Khaitan were also present on the flight.

The movie features Sidharth Malhotra as Arun Katyal, a patriotic Indian soldier who refuses to negotiate with the enemy, takes preemptive action in combat, and is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for his nation.

The poster of Yodha was also released in a similar manner, while the team behind the film was in mid-air, en route to Dubai.

In the two-minute and forty-nine-second trailer, Sidharth Malhotras character, Arun Katyal, is portrayed as a proud son who witnessed his fathers service in the Indian Army. Despite being unjustly suspended and labelled a traitor, Arun remains dedicated to protecting his country.

Following the success of the National Award-winning film Shershaah, Yodha marks the next major collaboration between Amazon Prime, Dharma Productions, and Sidharth Malhotra. Directed by debutants Sagar Ambre and Pushkar Ojha, the action thriller follows Arun Katyal, the commanding officer of an elite unit, Yodha Task Force, on a thrilling rescue mission. Produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Shashank Khaitan, Yodha will grace the theatres on March 15.
Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber have sparked divorce rumours after a call for prayers shared by the models father, Stephen Baldwin. The couple was seen headed to a church late at night on Thursday after Stephens message on social media left fans concerned about their marriage.

Stephen Baldwin shared on Instagram, I seldom like to post about certain folks in the limelight because of the negative comments we get. Eileen and Haileys mom pray often together for J&H and our children as well. There are special challenges that folks in high visibility positions face, and also the enemy doesnt want them to draw closer to Jesus.

He added, So often, regardless of the material things or the accolades, they often face spiritual warfare that is intense and seeks to ship-wreck their faith, marriage and life in general. So thank you.

This left fans wondering if Justin and Haileys marriage has hit a rough patch. While Justin and Hailey used to gush over each other on social media when they got married, the duo have now been sparking divorce rumours for quite some time.

When Hailey shared pictures from her New Years celebration with her best friend and model Kendall Jenner, fans were quick to notice that Justin was absent from the carousel. Haileys post led some fans to believe that their marriage was in trouble. Neither Hailey nor Justin have addressed these rumours.

Hailey Baldwin met Justin Bieber in 2006 while he was still dating Selena Gomez. After breaking up with Selena, Justin began dating Hailey. While the two called it quits earlier, they started dating again in 2016. Two years later, in 2018, Hailey and Justin tied the knot in a secret courthouse wedding in New York. A year later, they again got married in the presence of their close friends and family.
Anant Ambani, 28, the youngest son of chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited Mukesh Ambani, one of the worlds richest men, and philanthropist Nita Ambani, is set to tie the knot with Radhika Merchant, the daughter of industrialist Viren Merchant and wife Shaila Merchant. While the wedding is not until later this year, a three-day pre-wedding bash will be held in Gujarats Jamnagar city from March 1 to 3. While several Bollywood stars have arrived, others like Madhuri Dixit, Disha Patani and Genelia DSouza were also spotted leaving for Jamnagar.

In a video that was shared by the popular paparazzo handle Viral Bhayani on Friday, Madhuri Dixit along with her husband Dr Nene were spotted at the airport. While Madhuri had donned a pink pantsuit, Dr Nene wore a striped shirt and black denim jeans.

Disha Patani is also among the b-town attendants at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchants pre-wedding bash. The actress was spotted at the airport in a white top and baggy denim pants. Before heading inside, Disha waved at the paps.

Genelia DSouza and Riteish Deshmukh were also papped outside the Mumbai airport, as they were leaving for Jamnagar. The adorable couple posed for the shutterbugs and also waved at them. Riteish Deshmukh sported a blue denim jacket, jeans and purple t-shirt. Genelia opted for a white and blue combo.

Popular Indian celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Arjun Kapoor among others will be gracing the celebration with their respective families.

During the three-day pre-wedding bash, Day 1 is called An Evening in Everland, with the dress code listed as elegant cocktail. Day 2 will host A Walk on the Wildside with jungle fever the suggested dress code. The final day will also comprise two events. The first one, Tusker Trails, suggests casual chic dressing, as guests are expected to further explore the green ambience of Jamnagar. The final party, Hastakshar, calls for an elegant evening with heritage Indianwear.

The guests will be served breakfast with 75 dishes, lunch with more than 225 items, dinner with around 275 dishes, and a midnight meal with over 85 items to choose from. The midnight meal that will begin at the stroke of midnight will go on till 4 am. This meal reportedly has been specially curated for the foreign guests. Every single item served will be prepared under strict guidelines and protocol and none of the dishes served will be repeated for the 12 different meals over three days.

A troupe of 65 chefs including 20 women chefs, and four trucks full of ingredients will be reaching Jamnagar from Indore.

It has been reported that a special Indore Sarafa Food Counter will also be put up there that will serve well-known food items including Indori kachoris, poha jalebi, bhutte ki kees, khopra patties, upma, and other such dishes with authentic flavours

Famous international artists, including pop star Rihanna and magician David Blaine, are set to perform at the pre-wedding festivities. Top Indian musicians who will perform include Arijit Singh, Ajay-Atul, and Diljit Dosanjh.
Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani had a dreamy wedding in Goa. The lovebirds tied the sacred knot in an intimate ceremony, in the presence of their close friends and family. Her wedding pictures have taken all over the internet, and now, adding more to the gallery, the actress recently gave a glimpse of their pilgrimage visit in Amritsar. Rakul, Jackky along with her parents seeked blessings at Golden Temple. Dropping a couple of photos, the actress wrote, Blessed.

Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnanis wedding ceremony took place on February 21 in Goa. The couple first got married with an Anand Karaj ceremony, honouring Rakuls Sikh roots. It was followed by the Pheras in the evening to commemorate Jackkys Sindhi heritage. Several celebrities, including Shilpa Shetty, her husband Raj Kundra, Varun Dhawan, his wife Natasha Dalal, Ananya Panday, and Aditya Roy Kapur, attended the wedding.

Earlier last week, Rakul took to her Instagram handle to share her official wedding teaser. The video clip featured several moments from their pre-wedding and wedding celebrations. It began with Rakul walking down the aisle to get married to the man of her dreams. The two shared a warm hug before their jaimala ceremony.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent a letter to Jackky Bhagnanis parents, Vashu and Pooja, as the actor-producer got married to Rakul Preet Singh. Rakul shared a picture of the letter with which PM Modi congratulated the family and sent wishes to the newlyweds. The years to come are an opportunity for the couple to discover each other while also embarking together on the path of self-recovery, a part of the letter read.

A source had earlier revealed, Rakul and Jacky had initially planned for their wedding to take place in the Middle East. After nearly six months of meticulous planning, everything was pretty much in order. However, following the call from the Indian PM in December urging rich and influential families to choose India as the venue for their big life events, Rakul and Jackky reconsidered their original plans and relocated the wedding to India. Their decision, made in mid-December, necessitated a complete reset, involving the destination, rest, and accommodations. Despite the considerable changes, the couple embraced the overhaul, driven by their love for the country and desire to contribute to its growing economy.
The upcoming season of Khatron Ke Khiladi has been making headlines for a long time now. While everyone is eager to know who will be participating in the stunt-based reality show this time, it has now been reported that Sanaya Irani might make her comeback on TV with KKK 14. If a report by TellyChakkar is to be believed, Sanaya has been approached by the makers of Khatron Ke Khiladi 14. However, there is no update if the actress has accepted the offer or not.

Sanaya Irani is known for shows like Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, Miley Jab Hum Tum and Rangrasiya. This is not the first time that Sanaya has been approached for Khatron Ke Khiladi 13. The actress revealed last year too that she was offered to participate in Rohit Shettys show. However, back then, she rejected the show due to her vertigo issues.

I was in discussion with the makers, but I cant take part in it because I suffer from vertigo. Apparently, they tried to work things around it, but I was clear that there are some things I will not do. I am approached every year, but I dont think I can ever be a part of it, she told ETimes.

Khatron Ke Khiladi is a popular reality show which is known for its spine-chilling stunts. It showcases a courageous group of celebrity-participants who join this competition to confront their worst fears. The 13th season of the show was won by rapper Dino James. It was shot in Cape Town, South Africa.

Recently, it was reported that Munawar Faruqui and Mannara Chopra have also been confirmed for KKK 14. A report by Times Now claimed that the two were offered Khatron Ke Khiladi 14 following which they confirmed their participation. The stand-up comedian was roped in for Rohit Shettys Khatron Ke Khiladi even for the 12th season. However, he had to back out of the show at the last moment due to visa-related issues.

Besides Munawar and Mannara, their Bigg Boss co-contestant Navid Sole has also expressed excitement to be a part of Rohit Shettys show. While Bigg Boss was intense, pushing myself in a different arena like stunt-based challenges sounds thrilling, he said recently and then shared, I handle most things well, but heights and spiders send shivers down my spine. Khatron Ke Khiladi would be a chance to confront those fears head-on.
In the recent episode of Shark Tank India, pitchers Shreya Bansal and Prateek Kedia were seen introducing their yoga mat brand. They claimed that their mats were eco and pocket-friendly. The pitchers asked for Rs 60 lakh for 2 per cent equity in their company.

Explaining his vision for the brand, Prateek told judges, Humein jitni marketing mile utna kam hai. The more we market the sooner our product scales. We are self-taught, and we dont have any mentor to guide us so we would want to learn from you all and understand your secret sauce to success. We had decided that till we dont cross Rs 1cr revenue per month, we wont bring in any external party. So after doing the gross, this is the first time we are talking to any investor formally for funding." All the sharks saw the products and were impressed with it due to which Amit Jain and Aman Gupta hurled taunts at each other.

After Anupam Mitta and Namita Thapar made their offers to the pitchers, Amit Jain asked a few questions to the pitchers. However, Aman Gupta interrupted by saying, There is no need for technology here". Amit also hit back at Aman and replied, Jisko samajh mein nahi aati technology woh aise hi bolte hai." When Aman further said, I have a good tech brand bros", Amit taunted him saying, We wonder how, apni boat pe break lagao."

Shark Tank India returned with season three on January 22, 2024. Several familiar sharks from the previous seasons including Namita Thapar, Executive Director at Emcure Pharmaceuticals Limited, Aman Gupta, Co-founder of Boat, Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder and CEO of Lenskart, Anupam Mittal, Founder and Director of Shaadi.com and Vineeta Singh, CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, returned for Shark Tank India Season 3.

Joining them were also the new additions to the panel, which include Amit Jain, CEO and co-founder of Car Dekho, Ritesh Agarwal, Founder of OYO, Azhar Iqubal, Co-Founder and CEO of Inshorts, and Radhika Gupta, CEO of Edelweiss Capital. Recently, film producer Ronnie Screwvala also joined the show.
Choreographer Bosco Martis recently revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had knee and back injuries while shooting the Jhoome Jo Pathaan song in his superhit film Pathaan. Bosco said that despite sustaining these injuries and not being entirely comfortable with the steps, Shah Rukh insisted that Bosco should not change them. Instead, Shah Rukh said that he would give his best.

Speaking to Siddharth Kanan, Bosco said, SRK sir is a beauty to work with. SRK sir says, Bhai, tu jo step de main woh karunga. Tu yeh dekh le whether it looks good on me or not (Ill do whatever you tell me to do, you just check if it looks good on me or not).'

He continued, Hes got a busted knee, his back is gone. He never complains, never. Thats the beauty. Even in Pathaan, the way he came, the streets were Now, in Spain, you cant fix the streets. You work with what you have, whether theyre cobbled or slippery. But hes never complained, he knows that somebody is there to protect him. Hes somebody who surrenders, he knows that there is a choreographer whos there to protect him.

He continued, He wasnt comfortable with the step, because there was a lot of knee. But he said, Dont change the step because of my physicality. You do it the way you want it to, and Ill try my best. And thats the energy and effort thats gone into making him such a superstar.

Pathaan is an action thriller directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra. It is the fourth instalment in the YRF Spy Universe, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and John Abraham, with Dimple Kapadia and Ashutosh Rana in significant roles. The story revolves around Pathaan, a skilled agent who worked for RAW but chose a different path due to certain reasons. The plot is set when India revoked Article 370 for Jammu & Kashmir. The cast also includes Salman Khan, Viraf Patel, and others. The movie was released on January 25, 2023.
Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambanis youngest son Anant Ambani and industrialist Viren Merchants daughter Radhika Merchant are all set to host their pre-wedding festivities in Gujarats Jamnagar. It is no secret that the functions will be a star-studded affair with performances by several Indian and global artists. To attend the same, several Bollywood celebs like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapur have arrived in Jamnagar. Among them is also Varun Dhawan and his wife Natasha Dalal who recently announced their pregnancy.

On Friday, paparazzo handle buzzzooka_events shared a clip on Instagram that captured Varun Dhawan, his father and director David Dhawan and Natasha Dalal outside Jamnagar airport. Before leaving the scene, the trio posed together for the shutterbugs. In the clip, one can see Varun Dhawan donning a white t-shirt, light blue pants, black and dark blue jacket and blue sneakers. Meanwhile, Natasha Dalal wore an all black outfit.

Take a look:

Popular Indian celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Arjun Kapoor among others will be gracing the celebration with their respective families.

During the three-day pre-wedding bash, Day 1 is called An Evening in Everland, with the dress code listed as elegant cocktail. Day 2 will host A Walk on the Wildside with jungle fever the suggested dress code. The final day will also comprise two events. The first one, Tusker Trails, suggests casual chic dressing, as guests are expected to further explore the green ambience of Jamnagar. The final party, Hastakshar, calls for an elegant evening with heritage Indianwear.

And, Moneycontrol has quoted reports saying that, according to the head of The Jardin Hotel, around 2,500 dishes with a global menu including Thai, Japanese, Mexican, Parsi, and Pan Asian will be part of the three-day fare that will have four meals per day.

The guests will be served breakfast with 75 dishes, lunch with more than 225 items, dinner with around 275 dishes, and a midnight meal with over 85 items to choose from. The midnight meal that will begin at the stroke of midnight will go on till 4 am. This meal reportedly has been specially curated for the foreign guests. Every single item served will be prepared under strict guidelines and protocol and none of the dishes served will be repeated for the 12 different meals over three days.

It has been reported that a special Indore Sarafa Food Counter will also be put up there that will serve well-known food items including Indori kachoris, poha jalebi, bhutte ki kees, khopra patties, upma, and other such dishes with authentic flavours

Famous international artists, including pop star Rihanna and magician David Blaine, are set to perform at the pre-wedding festivities. Top Indian musicians who will perform include Arijit Singh, Ajay-Atul, and Diljit Dosanjh.
Tesla has a problem in Germany. Yes, again. The US electric vehicle (EV) giant has just one manufacturing facility in all of Europe, just outside of Berlin, and wants to expand it in order to bolster manufacturing. But most locals here are vehemently against any green signal which would allow the company to expand the facility which, they say, would come at the cost of hundreds of trees in the area.

It is reported that Tesla wants to expand its production facility in Germany by 420 acres with the primary aim of increasing its output from here. But a majority of locals here are opposing any such move with environmental groups joining in to highlight the high number of trees that would need to be chopped down for the expansion to take place. Local reports highlight that many of the residents in the vicinity of the facility have now started building temporary homes on trees in the area to prevent Tesla crew from cutting these down.

Around 60 per cent of all people who participated in a non-binding vote said they are against Tesla expansion plans in the area just outside of Berlin. (REUTERS)

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The protest is being led by a group which calls itself Robin Wood, as per an AFP report. The group points to the dense population of trees in the area where Tesla plans to expand its facility while also pointing out that the area is a water-protection site.

This is not the first time Tesla has had to face wrath of locals in Germany. At the time of construction of the facility, there were massive protests from locals who said the Tesla plant would be a burden on natural resources in the area. Some even accused the company of stealing our water. Eventually, however, Tesla was able to go ahead with the 740-acre plant which has been in operation since 2022 and rolls out Tesla Model Y EVs. Politicians and industry groups argued that the facility will generate a huge number of jobs which would eventually benefit local communities.

First Published Date:
As announced by Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, on February 23, 2024, the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935 stands repealed in Assam. Inarguably, the Assam Cabinets decision is revolutionarily progressive and praiseworthy, in letter and spirit. In a bold assertion, the Assam CM in the state assembly on February 26, 2024, announced that he will not allow child marriages to happen in the state until he is alive. His assertion is embedded in the grim social realities of under-age womens abuse under the system of marriage, thus leading to the worst possible crimes and discrimination against women and children.

It is a significant step towards concretisation of the prohibition of child marriage in the state, as the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935, allows marriages to be registered even if both parties have not attained the legal age of 18 and 21, respectively. The provision states in the Muslim Marriage Act that marriage is possible if the bride has attained puberty and the marriage union is consensual. Thus, the Muslim Marriage Act clearly legalises such underage marriages. The usage of such personal laws promoting underage marriages is unsound as per modern legal codes, scientifically deleterious and socio-economically dangerous, leading to inter-generational gender deprivation.

The Himanta Biswa Sarma dispensation has been quite firm on its stance on the prohibition of child marriage in the politically most courageous way to create a more inclusive ecosystem for the Muslim youth, across the gender. And child marriages are perpetuated mainly by underdevelopment, poverty, lack of education and narrowed social choices.

Earlier, in March 2023, the Himanta Biswa Sarma dispensation decided to book men who married girls aged below 14 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA). Sarma, briefing the Cabinet decision, stated that men marrying girls below 14 years of age will be facing non-bailable charges, while those marrying girls between 14 and 16 years of age will be charged under bailable sections. If the groom is below 14 years of age, he will be sent to a reform house. Muslims constitute 34 per cent population of Assam as per the census of 2011 accounting for 1.06 crore out of the 3.12 crore population of the state. Underdevelopment of such a huge chunk of the population and non-contribution to the workforce will adversely affect the society and economy of the state.

Child Marriage: A Societal Scourge

Child marriages expose the underage bride to domestic violence, pregnancy and hampered economic prospects (as per the Law Commission of India reports). The need for legislative interventions in the form of the latest Assam Cabinets decision to repeal the Muslim Marriage Act is a sine qua non to improve the conditions of women in the country, particularly of such a vulnerable age group of the marginalised communities. As per a recent study, government interventions have resulted in an average benefit-cost ratio of 16.8 per cent and are projected to decrease the rate of marriages of girls aged 1517 years to 7.5 percentage points by 2050 and by 2030, the proportion of girls completing school is estimated to increase by 13 per cent along with increased productivity of 16.4 per cent.

Statistical data would state that as many as 32 per cent of women in the age group of 20-24 years in Assam are married before 18, according to the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21). Also, 12 per cent of women in the 15-19 age group were either mothers or pregnant. The majority of child brides in the world, i.e. 223 million of them, or one-third of the total, live in India and at least 1.5 million underage girls get married annually in India. According to the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), underage marriage accounted for 23.3 per cent of the total marriages in India. In India, nearly 16 per cent of adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married. While the prevalence of girls getting married before 18 has declined from 47 per cent to 27 per cent between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016, it is still too high. The NCRB says in 2019, 523 cases were registered under the PCMA, 2006 while in 2018, 501 cases were lodged.

Noticeably, the Indian National Congress (INC) and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) both staged a protest and walkouts later, in the State Assembly, against the Assam Cabinet decision to repeal the archaic and medieval Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act, 1935. This divides the progressive and conscientious vision of Himanta Biswa Sarma along with his grit and political courage to lead such reformatory legislation for the creation of a more inclusive society in the state, and the Congress modus operandi of catapulting Muslim sentiments towards obscurantism, disapproving social progress among the community. The Congress pro-Islamic fundamentalist stance can be seen in various misguided decisions of the party when it was in power, e.g. the Rajiv Gandhi governments passing of the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce) Act, 1986, overturning a progressive verdict of the Supreme Court in favour of the old, divorced Muslim woman Shah Bano, seeking maintenance from her ex-husband.

So, the attitude and the disposition of the Congress is that of being typically and categorically against engendering any progressive ideas among the Muslims, the largest minority of the nation. The INC has always been intersecting a disorderly intervention in religion vis-a-vis individual rights, liberal democracy vis-a-vis religious fundamentalism, and progress vis-a-vis obscurantism. And this disposition of the INC negates the Nehruvian secularism and scientific temperament envisioned by the leader, post-independence.

Muslim Marriage Act and Puberty and Decisional Autonomy

Unlike Hindu Marriage Law, Muslim marriage is a contract validated by the capacity of the parties to maintain, where puberty stands as a capacity. However, to consider puberty as a capacity is legally and morally inaccurate even under the Muslim Personal Law. Musawah is a Muslim women-led movement for gender equality within the religion. It explains candidly in a statement that Bulugh (puberty) and Rushd (intellectual capacity to handle property-related affairs) are two capacities needed for the marriage contract, only one capacity i.e. Bulugh is not a substantial standalone factor enough to make a marriage contract valid. Rushd is an imperative factor to be considered, as it will provide the bride to be independent and mature enough to make marital decisions, given its consequences on her educational and professional aspirations and economic worth. Thus, Rushd can be equated with decisional autonomy, declared to be fundamental by the Supreme Court to be inalienable in any such unions.

A child bride will be out of school and turn non-contributing to financial activities and become less productive, thus contributing to a low Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) for women. According to the Annual Periodic Labour Force Survey, LFPR registered for women is 25.1 per cent against 57.5 per cent for men in 2020-21. Of all the parameters listed by the ILO that affect the LFPR negatively, child marriage remains a major one, thus impacting the national economy, leading to an inter-generational cycle of poverty with unskilled girls and boys.

Consensual marriage is a misnomer for a minor who is incapable of naturally making decisions accurately with autonomy. India does not have close-in-age exemptions and the age of consent in India is currently set at 18. While the IPC earlier prescribed it to be 16, POCSO set the age at 18, creating a discrepancy. However, this discrepancy was removed, when the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 increased the age of consent under Section 375 from 16 to 18. Therefore, any person under the age of 18 is legally incapable of giving their consent, and any sexual relations they enter into shall be unlawful. If an older person engages in sexual activity with an underage person, it shall be considered as statutory rape, even if the two are in a mutual, consenting relationship.

Families have no qualms about marrying their underage daughters to older men and underage female brides under family pressure are compelled to give their consent for such marriages. A recent study conducted by the National Law School of India Universitys (NLSIU) Centre for Child and the Law showed that cases revolving around romantic relationships accounted for 21.58 per cent in Delhi, 21.21 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, 20.52 per cent in Maharashtra, 15.69 per cent in Assam, and 5.45 per cent in Karnataka, meaning rest of such marriages are all arranged by their families, which is a staggering number. Another recent study revealed that 24 per cent of all POCSO Act cases registered in 2016-2020 (3 states data) involved consensual relationships. However, to differentiate between forced unions and consensual unions again is problematic. Any eagerness to validate such underage marriages merely on the grounds of consent and religion will throw the floodgates open to allow forced and even abusive arranged marriages of child brides to much older men to be protected on similar grounds.

The Delhi High Court showed similar eagerness in Fija v. State (NCT of Delhi) (involving the runaway marriage of a 15-year-old girl), allowing Muslim Personal Law to precede the PCMA but failing to even note the age of the groom. The accused, Javed, was 26 years old. This is a case where it can be stated that what is legal is not always moral. To avoid such situations, government interventions in the form of laws and legislations clearly prohibiting such underage unions, unless both the parties are physically and mentally in a mature stage to exercise decisional autonomy, is sine qua non.

Age, decisional autonomy and judicial deliberations

Decisional autonomy, which comes with age and economic independence, is recognised as a fundamental right in the Justice K S Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017 case. Even in the pre-Puttaswamy position, the Supreme Court in Independent Thought v. Union of India, 2013, which removed the marital rape exception in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for child brides, noted how child marriage violates bodily integrity and decisional autonomy.

Bodily integrity is relevant to the discussion on PCMA not only in theory (cases have recognised that sex constitutes an important aspect of marriage) but also practically. Minors in forced arranged child marriages, lacking access to justice and therefore unable to file rape complaints or marriage annulments, may become inextricably trapped in a vicious cycle of sexual violence leading to debilitating health and mental conditions of the victims. Despite having Acts like the PCMA and the POCSO in place, 1.5 million child marriages are happening each year in India, with ab initio invalidation. The NCPCR has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Punjab and Haryana High Courts 2022 decision which upheld the marriage of a man with a minor girl. The plea said there is an increased belief among law enforcement and judicial circles that the POCSO Act is being misused and that the majority of cases under it result from consensual relationships between teenagers elopement, which is far from reality. It also claimed certain NGOs adopted flawed methodologies to present a wrong picture that 60-70 per cent of cases fall under the consensual relationship category. Such a claim is factually incorrect, misleading, and prejudicial to the interests of children, a colossal failure of the Indian criminal justice system.

The petition cited NCRB data which showed that from 2019 to 2021, there were a total of 1,50,061 victims of POCSO, of which, approximately 44,104 victims fall within the age bracket of 16 to 18 years. Therefore, the data corroborates that only 29.39 per cent of victims fall in the age bracket of 16-18 years and around 70 per cent of the victims are under the age of 16. It further contended that the POCSO and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act are secular in nature and should apply to all sections of society, leaving no exceptions on the grounds of personal laws. Appearing for NCPCR, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that girls as young as 14 and 15 are being married and no personal law and custom be pleaded in the face of statutes such as POCSO, PCMA and the Indian Penal Code, which make such marriages an offence.

The Supreme Court, in December 2022, had already asked the government to respond to a separate petition filed by the National Commission for Women (NCW) to make the minimum age of marriage for Muslim women on par with persons belonging to other faiths, thus seeking through its petition the enforcement of the fundamental rights of minor Muslim women, who had contracted marriage before attaining the age of majority, whether consensually or otherwise. NCW, like the NCPCR, had raised the question of whether personal law could override statutory provisions of POCSO and the PCMA and argued in its petition that the practice of marrying below the age of 18 would expose Muslim women to abuse and harassment which is arbitrary and discriminatory in nature.

Child marriages and the far-reaching adverse impact on the individual, society and economy

International organisations like UNICEF and UNFPA have a commitment to stand firmly to eradicate this social evil. UNFPA promotes policies, programmes and legislation designed to end child marriage. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) had included early marriage in target 5.3, aiming to eliminate it by 2030. Child marriage in India has grave implications for population control as adolescent brides are likely to have a high fertility rate, thus impacting a rise in TFR (Total Fertility Rate).

Child marriage negatively influences childrens rights to education, mental growth and development, health and protection which are fundamental rights and fall under the scope of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution which is a basic structure of the Constitution, making it inviolable under any circumstance.

A child bride is more susceptible to domestic violence and becomes infected with sexual diseases and HIV/AIDS. Child marriage is the main driving factor that negatively impacts the health, medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and the child, both in the ante-natal and post-natal way. It also adversely affects key parameters such as Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR). The goal to reduce MMR particularly is in tune with SDG 3, which aims by 2030, to reduce the global MMR to less than 70 per 100,000 live births.

Children account for 40 per cent of Indias total population. Collective societal and governmental contribution to the achievement of specific results in relation to the child population, in the form of short-term (increasing access to education, reducing anaemia), medium-term (ending child marriage) and long-term (eliminating gender-based sex selection and reaching gender equality). A continuous attempt by the government to improve the grassroots levels of execution mechanisms, of the various policy measures, advocacy initiatives coupled with Acts like the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, POCSO Act, the PCMA and direct government initiatives to criminalise child marriage, like the Assam Cabinets decision to repeal the Muslim Marriage Act, will create a robust safety net to aid implement Indias dedicated mission of building a nurtured, safe and sustainable ecosystem for the children, particularly belonging to the marginalised strata.

The author is a senior faculty in the Department of History, ARSD College, University of Delhi. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Police have subjected seven people to inquiry in connection with supporters of Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha, allegedly raising pro-Pakistan slogans, the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday as the opposition BJP and JD(S) stepped up their attack on the Congress regime.

The BJP demanded that the Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot recommend the dismissal of the Government. This act of anti-national slogans from Naseer Hussains supporters needs to be thoroughly probed by the NIA/IB, national agencies and culprits to be booked under the law and need to be punished, a delegation led by the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka told the Governor in Raj Bhavan.

This government has failed utterly to comply with the Law and Order situation and to uphold the Constitutional values, he added. Speaking to reporters, Ashoka alleged that the Congress has been trying to cover up the case as it has planned to tamper with the Forensic Science Laboratory investigation report.

In the Legislative Assembly, Siddaramaiah assured that based on evidence strict action will be taken against those who chanted the slogans, and the government has no intention to protect anyone.

The Chief Minister was responding to protests by opposition BJP and JD(S), which rocked the proceedings of the House for the second consecutive day, with their members trooping into the well of the House and later staging a walkout.

Hussains supporters allegedly shouted Pakistan zindabad slogans, while celebrating his victory in the Rajya Sabha polls in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha, which houses the legislature and state secretariat, on Tuesday. A purported video of the incident was telecast by TV news channels and it also had gone viral on social media. The government has taken the issue seriously. We need not learn patriotism from you. In accordance with law seven people have been subjected to inquiry and their statements have been recorded. Investigation is going on. FIR was registered suo moto. If the government was not serious we would not have booked a suo moto case, Siddaramaiah said.

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, meanwhile, called for a centrally monitored investigation by the NIA into the alleged raising of pro-Pakistan slogans in the corridors of Vidhana Soudha here. Terming the incident as a security breach of seditious nature, the senior BJP leader said it is imperative to uncover the identities of the perpetrators and any potential instigators behind this reprehensible act.

Also, the local law enforcement agencies may face undue pressure or influence, she said urging the Ministry of Home Affairs to initiate an NIA probe. The Chief Minister said: Whoever it is, those who have shouted Pakistan zindabad slogans, strict action will be taken against them. We are not sitting quite waiting for the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report, an investigation is going on, Home Minister G Parameshwara said an investigation is on, and the police are awaiting FSL report to have technical evidence to know the truth.

The government has taken it seriously and will take strict action. There is no need for the government to protect anyone. Not convinced by the governments clarification, opposition members continued their protest from the well of the House shouting slogans against the government, even as Siddaramaiah replied to the discussion on the budget.

Ashoka said there is no trust in this government as no action has been taken yet to nab the culprit and punish him; instead, attempts seem to be on to shut the case. The government is trying to protect the desha drohis (traitors). This government has no moral grounds to stay in power even for a minute, he said, demanding the governments and Chief Ministers resignation.

They have colluded with desha drohis. This government is in favour of terrorists. We will meet the Governor asking him to sack this government, he said, as he announced that the opposition will stage a walkout.
Former Chief Minister and TDP leader Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Friday shot off a letter to Governor S Abdul Nazeer, alleging that Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy-led dispensation is systematically weakening TDP leaders and their families financially.

In a letter to the Governor, Naidu claimed that the Andhra Pradesh State Directorate for Revenue Intelligence (APSDRI) is intentionally being used to harass TDP leaders.

The leader of the opposition in the state assembly stated that the agency under the leadership of Mr Chilakala Rajesweara Reddy, a close associate of the ruling YSRCP, has transformed itself into a weapon targeting TDP activists and leaders both financially and politically.

He accused APSDRI officials of acting at the behest of the ruling party instead of upholding the law.

Highlighting instances of harassment, the senior leader of the party pointed to the recent case involving TDP MLA Yeluri Sambasiva Rao and former minister P Narayana in Nellore. The latest victim, he stated, is Mr Pattipati Pulla Raos son, Mr P Sarath, who served as an additional director of a firm for a brief period almost four years ago.

He expressed concern over the APSRDI taking over a case under the GST Director General, Hyderabad, questioning the motives behind such actions.

He asserted that these actions are clear attempts to target and harass TDP leaders, emphasizing the urgency for the Governors intervention to safeguard democracy in Andhra Pradesh.

In the letter, Naidu noted that quick action by Nazeer would help save democracy in the southern state.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday said he gave the go-ahead to Minister Vikramaditya Singh to meet the rebels who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls, in what appeared to be a placatory gesture even as he called the same six MLAs black serpents.

Vikramaditya Singh, who is the son of the partys state unit president Pratibha Singh, was also scheduled to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi as the crisis in the Himachal Congress simmered.

In an attempt to appease the dissatisfied faction in the partys state branch, Sukhu has appointed Rampur MLA Nand Lal as the chairman of the 7th State Finance Commission with the rank of cabinet minister.

The MLA who was appointed for the post is believed to have close ties with Vikramaditya Singh and Pratibha Singh. On Friday, she repeated her complaint that the Congress party workers were overlooked by Sukhu after the party came to power in the state more than a year ago.

Six Congress MLAs triggered the Himachal crisis this week when they voted for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan in the Rajya Sabha election for the lone seat from the state.

The MLAs voting for the Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi failed to make it past the halfway mark in the 68-member House.

Later, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six from the assembly after the Congress complained that they had kept away from voting on the state budget despite a party whip. Fifteen BJP MLAs were suspended over a ruckus in the House.

Amid the crisis, Vikramaditya Singh announced his resignation from the cabinet but softened his stand later after a meeting with the Congress observers, who were scrambled to Shimla by the partys central leadership.

Disqualified MLAs Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto are holed up in a hotel in Haryanas Panchkula, where Singh met them late Thursday night while on his way to Delhi.

The state public works department minister was also scheduled to meet Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Kharge during his two-day trip to Delhi.

At a public rally at Dharampur in Solan district, Sukhu slammed the rebels calling them six black snakes (kale naag) who tried to destabilise the party. How can people who sell their honour for money serve people of their constituencies, he said.

In Shimla, the CM told reporters that the PWD minister informed him Thursday that some of the Congress rebels wished to come back.

I told Vikramaditya Singh to talk to these rebel MLAs and the Congress central leadership, the chief minister said.

He said Singh will meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and we will see what development takes place.

But there is no threat to the (state) government, he claimed.

Asked whether the Congress would take the rebels back, Sukhu referred to a previous remark that the party was ready for this.

Pratibha Singh, the wife of former CM Virbhadra Singh  who died in 2021  on Friday repeated that the crisis could have been averted had the MLAs grievances been addressed in time.

She claimed there had been acrimony towards Sukhu for ignoring party workers after the assembly polls win.

Fourteen months is a long period and I have been consistently urging the chief minister to accommodate leaders who worked hard for the partys victory. But nothing was done, she said.

She said Rajinder Rana  one of the rebel MLAs  is a tall leader who defeated former chief minister P K Dhumal and expected a cabinet berth. The Congress leader, however, added that all issues have now been settled.

She also dismissed rumours that she is joining the BJP.

Following the disqualification of the rebel MLAs, the effective strength of the House has reduced from 68 to 62 while the number of Congress MLAs has shrunk from 40 to 34.

The BJP has 25 MLAs and the remaining three are Independents.

The Independent MLAs were among the nine MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BJP candidate.

(with inputs from PTI)
After cutting ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), senior All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader KP Munusamy has dared the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to field Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Dr S Jaishankar from any constituency in Tamil Nadu for upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

AIADMK recently severed ties with BJP-led NDA in Tamil Nadu following differences of opinion with the state BJP President K.Annamalai.

Recently speaking at a public function on the occasion of former Chief Minister Jayalalithas birth anniversary in Krishnagiri, Munusamy said, Two Tamils are Union MinistersOne is External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and another is Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Let both of them contest (Lok Sabha polls) from any constituency in Tamil Nadu.

If Bharatiya Janata Party has heart, if it has courage, if it has confidence that people of Tamil Nadu will vote, put Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar in any constituency of Tamil Nadu.. Then you will know how the people of Tamil Nadu will learn a lesson, the AIADMK leader said.

This comes days after Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said that there are chances that BJP might field External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman from the constituencies in Karnataka in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Currently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is a member of Rajya Sabha from the state of Gujarat whereas Nirmala Sitharaman represents Karnataka in the Upper House.

The AIADMK leader asked why did the BJP made Union Minister of State L Murugan a Rajya Sabha MP. You should have made him stand in the (Lok Sabha) election. Why didnt you make him stand? You see that you cannot win if you stand. Then why are you deceiving the people? he asked.

It may be recalled that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, AIADMK in alliance with NDA could garner only one seat  Theni which AIADMK leader P. Ravindhranath won defeating senior Congress leader and former Union Minister, EVKS Elangovan.

After breaking up the alliance with the BJP, the AIADMK is currently expecting secular votes in its kitty and is try again to align itself with the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) at any cost as it is the political arm of the powerful Vanniyar community which can have a a major say in the Western region of Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day visit to West Bengal ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections where he will lay the foundation stone for and inaugurate several development projects in Arambagh and Krishna Nagar.

Taking his Vikas push to another level in the eastern state, where the BJP is locked in a bitter battle with the ruling TMC, the prime minister is expected to deliver a number of crucial messages.

For the BJP, the narrative in Bengal will be the atrocities committed on women in Sandeshkhali. Following weeks of relentless pursuit, Shahjahan Sheikh, the main culprit in the case and a local TMC leader, was arrested on Thursday.

While the TMC has taken a high moral ground after the arrest, BJP said the action was too little and too late.

In the backdrop of the Sandeshkhali developments, the timing of PM Modis visit assumes significance. The prime minister is expected to attack chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her misrule. His principal line of attack will be that Banerjee, despite being a woman leader, could not ensure the safety of women in her own state.

The BJP has also been attacking TMC for its dynastic politics and corruption  including a scam involving Shahjahan. PM Modi will also talk about democracy being in danger in Bengal, with public not being allowed to vote, like it was recently witnessed in the panchayat elections. He will contrast it with the benefits of double-engine growth and how BJP-ruled states have ease of living and ease of doing business.

The prime minister is also expected to highlight the initiatives taken by the Centre for the cause of women, driving home the point that none of these benefits are available to Bengals women because of the state governments politics.

After Shahjahans arrest, the TMC leadership has been questioning the Centre over their failure to act against several other leaders who are in the BJP fold right now. However, the fact that TMCs action against the accused came only after the BJP leadership relentlessly pursued the cases of violence against women and land grabbing has put Trinamool on the back foot.

PM Modis rally in Barasat in 24 Parganas is expected to host more than two lakh women, including some victims of Sandeshkhali violence.

While the BJP and TMC were locked in a bitter battle in the 2021 assembly polls, the one factor that worked in Banerjees support was the faith women voters had in her. In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this is the vote bank that the BJP is eyeing. Women have the potential to change any election result, as has been witnessed in the assembly polls of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

Armed with Modi magic, the saffron party is hoping to write a new and successful chapter in its history in the eastern state of Bengal. From a party that had just two Lok Sabha seats in 2014 to 18 seats in the 2019 elections, the BJP is hopeful that the tally will only improve in the 2024 elections.

Development in Arambagh

In Arambagh, Hooghly, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone for and dedicate to the nation multiple developmental projects related to sectors like rail, ports, oil pipeline, LPG supply and wastewater treatment.

He will inaugurate Indian Oils 518-km Haldia-Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline developed at a cost of about Rs 2,790 crore. This pipeline passes through Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The pipeline will supply crude oil to Barauni Refinery, Bongaigaon Refinery and Guwahati Refinery in a safe, cost-efficient, and environment-friendly manner.

PM Modi will also dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of multiple projects for strengthening of infrastructure at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, worth about Rs 1,000 crore. The projects whose foundation stone will be laid include reconstruction of Berth No. 8 NSD and mechanisation of berth no. 7 & 8 NSD of Kolkata Dock System.

He will dedicate to the nation the project for augmentation of the firefighting system at oil jetties of Haldia Dock Complex, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. The newly installed fire-fighting facility is a state-of-the-art fully automated set-up equipped with cutting edge gas and flame sensors, ensuring immediate hazard detection. The prime minister will dedicate the third Rail Mounted Quay Crane (RMQC) of Haldia Dock Complex with lifting capacity of 40 Tonnes. These new projects at Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, will boost the productivity of the port substantially by helping in faster and safer cargo handling and evacuation.

Important rail projects worth about Rs 2,680 crore will also be dedicated to the nation. The projects include the third rail line connecting Jhargram-Salgajhari (90 Kms); doubling of Sondalia-Champapukur rail line (24 Kms); and doubling of Dankuni-Bhattanagar-Baltikuri rail line (9 Kms). These projects will expand the rail transport facilities in the region, improve mobility and facilitate seamless service of freight traffic leading to economic and industrial growth in the region.

The prime minister will inaugurate Indian Oils LPG Bottling plant with a capacity of 120 TMTPA at Vidyasagar Industrial Park, Kharagpur. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 200 crore, the LPG bottling plant will be the first in the region. It will supply LPG to about 14.5 lakh customers in West Bengal.

He will also inaugurate three projects related to wastewater treatment and sewerage in West Bengal developed at a cost of about Rs 600 crore and funded by the World Bank.

PM at Krishnanagar, West Bengal

In Krishnanagar, PM Modi will inaugurate, dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of several development projects related to sectors like power, rail and road.

Strengthening the power sector in the country, the prime minister will lay the foundation stone of Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station Phase II (2660 MW) in Purulia district. This coal-based thermal power project of the Damodar Valley Corporation employs highly-efficient super critical technology.

He will inaugurate the Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system of Unit 7 & 8 of Mejia Thermal Power Station. Developed at a cost of about Rs 650 crore, the FGD system will remove sulphur dioxide from flue gases and produce clean flue gas and forming gypsum, which can be used in cement industry.

The prime minister will also inaugurate the road project for four laning of Farakka-Raiganj Section of NH-12 (100 Km). Developed at a cost of about Rs 1,986 crore, the project will reduce traffic congestion, improve connectivity and contribute to socio economic development of North Bengal and Northeast region.

Four rail projects worth more than Rs 940 crore, including project for doubling of Damodar-Mohishila rail line; third line between Rampurhat and Murarai; doubling of Bazarsau-Azimganj rail line; and new line connecting Azimganj-Murshidabad will also get the green signal.
Google continues to battle app developers in India over its Play Store fees and this week, the company has decided enough is enough. Google has released a strongly-worded post, wherein it has talked about 10 companies not complying with its policies which means, not paying Google its Play Store fees.

Latest development in this story on Friday has seen Google remove apps like Quack Quack, Altt, Aha and Shaadi.com from the Play Store in the country. Info Edge had claimed that it has paid all the dues to Google, but things took a wild turn as apps like Naukri.com and 99acres from the company were also removed on Friday evening. Other apps on Googles hitlist were Kuku FM, and Truly Madly among others.

Google has faced multiple antitrust cases in the Indian Court over the years but a recent order was dismissed, which means the company is now ready to pull the trigger and enforce strict action on these unnamed companies.

Google has always pointed out that its Play Store policies and fees are competitive but its problem with these 10 companies is that they are paying to other app stores but not the Play Store. For an extended period of time, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen not to pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from court, Google said in this blog post.

Google has tweaked its fees which was between 15 to 30 percent and made it 11 to 26 percent to apps that have the in-app purchase options in India. It seems these 10 unnamed companies are not even paying that part of their deal, which has irked Google into coming out with a public note on the whole matter. Googles use of the term to enforce strict action, the company says, can include removal of the non-compliant apps from the Google Play Store.

These apps could then have to resort moving to other app stores like Indus and Aptoid or host the link to download their respective apps from their website, which is a definite point of friction for the consumers and also the companies who have to now share this message with the people who are interested in using their apps.

Google and Apple continue to face questions about their policies that border on monopolistic in nature for different platforms and the new saga suggests the story will continue as the developers look to get the best deal for their business, while Google feels the need to safeguard its processes from a miniscule share of its developer community.
Have you ever encountered a complex mathematics problem and found yourself wishing for a solution? Well, theres an app called Photomath, which happens to be owned by Google; it is designed to assist you in learning and problem-solving.

Google acquired Photomath in May 2022, but the app has just recently been presented under the Google banner on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

So, how does Photomath function? True to its name, the application enables you to capture an image of a math equation, after which it provides you with step-by-step solutions. Its capable of tackling various problems, including word problems, equations, trigonometry, calculus, and more.

This addition to Googles app portfolio is undoubtedly a valuable resource that has the potential to benefit many people, particularly students looking to improve their learning experience.

Heres a simple guide on using the Photomath App:

1. Download the Photomath app. Click here to download from the Apple Store, and here to download from the Google Play Store.

2. Open the app and use the in-built scanner to capture a clear image of the math problem.

3. Ensure that you capture the entire problem without missing any details.

4. Alternatively, manually input the problem into the app.

5. Once completed, the app will present a step-by-step solution to the problem, offering a valuable learning tool.
The Chinese defence ministry late Thursday claimed that the current border situation between China and India is generally stable and that both nations have kept diplomatic and military channels open for dialogue. The remarks were made by senior colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for Chinas ministry of national defence, during a press briefing. The remarks come after India said that the new round of China-India Corps Commander Level Meeting did not make any progress.

The above statement is not true, said Colonel Zhang. He said at the recently concluded 21st round of Corps Commander Level Meeting between China and India on February 19 both sides had a positive, in-depth and constructive communication on resolving the border issues, concerns and agreed to reach a solution acceptable to both sides at an early date.

China attaches great importance to the China-India military-to-military relations and hopes that India and China will work towards the same goal, enhance mutual trust, properly settle differences and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas, Zhang said.

The 21st round of India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at the Chushul-Moldo border meeting point last month. During the meeting, India sought complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh. The Indian side highlighted that the disengagement is necessary for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas.

A report by the Press Trust of India said the Indian side  strongly pressed for resolution of the lingering issues at Depsang and Demchok points. The report, citing people familiar with the developments, said there was no tangible forward movement in the talks.

The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in Eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas, it said in a statement.

The MEA said the two sides shared their perspectives on this in the talks held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere.

The two sides have agreed to maintain communication on the way ahead through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms. They also committed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in the interim, it said.
Shortly after Maryam Nawaz became the first woman chief minister of Punjab province on Monday, Pakistans social media was flooded with posts  many of them in poor taste  slamming the senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, considered the political heir of three-time PM Nawaz Sharif.

Questions were raised: did she get the post by virtue of being the daughter of Nawaz Sharif, or did she earn her position when elected to head Pakistans most populous region? Maryam assumed the chief ministerial post amid a boycott by lawmakers of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), backed by former prime minister Imran Khans party PTI.

In her maiden speech at the provincial legislature, Maryam said that she was happy to sit in the seat where her father used to sit. My father trained me how to run the office, the 50-year-old leader said in the provincial assembly. Today, every woman of the province is proud to see a woman chief minister, she said and hoped that the tradition of female leadership would continue in the future as well.

She faced a barrage of criticism by Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which say that their candidate of PP159 won against Maryam in the election marred with rigging allegations. No wonder PTIs supporters, who are visibly active on social media and say the entire election was stolen from them, have launched an online tirade against Maryam  though there remain those on the other side of the spectrum who hail her appointment as a progressive move.

When asked to comment on Maryam, Imran Khans sister Aleema said, She is not capable of this (chief ministership of Punjab?). That something should be said. I pity her. She was forced to sit on a chair. In a video posted on X, PTI-leaning journalist Imran Riaz Khan described Maryam as a mandate thief. He said even if Nawaz Sharif and his family formed a government, the people of Pakistan would not accept that.

The woman who stole Punjab's mandate & became CM by force is continuously acting like she is in a bollywood movie.Someone cancel her subscription of Indian channels please!!!#MaryamNawazpic.twitter.com/GobMyrdmpL  Huda Naveed (@Huda_Nav) February 26, 2024

You all chanting women empowerment wont change the fact that #MaryamNawaz stole the mandate of 130 million people and its an insult to even put her next to our hard working women of Pakistan. Not a moment of pride but SHAME! https://t.co/ynAW5fxJIP MJ (@KhanMahein) February 26, 2024

This father can do anything for his daughter even if it means sending his countrymen to jail or joining hands with his old enemies. Such a lovely bond  #MaryamNawaz pic.twitter.com/Sjf3zCaYou Cric Basheer (@basheer_699) February 26, 2024

In a political commentary published in GEO News, Pakistani columnist Mehmal Sarfra answered the questions raised on Maryams credentials to lead Pakistans most populous region. One answer would be that this may well be true that her rise as CM of Punjab is because of who she is. But it is also true that the hate she gets online and offline from both men and women is not just because she is Nawaz Sharifs daughter. It seems that she gets this hate because she is a woman and an aggressive one at that, Sarfra wrote.

She asked why is it that Maryam is mentioned in the vilest of ways. When we look at male politicians who have even worse language skills, with worse manners, and who have made it their brand that they have no respect for male and female political rivals alike, why is it that Maryam gets more flak, and they dont? Maybe it has to do with our societys mindset where men are appreciated for these attributes while women are demeaned and humiliated for lesser thingsAs a society, we want women to breakdown but we dont expect to see them stand up to bullies. A courageous woman invites hatred in many forms. An opinionated woman invites hatred. An independent woman invites hatred, she said.

Writing in the Dawn newspaper, columnist Rafia Zakaria found a link between a successful Pakistani woman and her familys stature. She argued that the high achievements of a woman in the country simply meant that her family of men was usually powerful enough to allow her to break the gender barrier. In Pakistan, if you have a certain surname, you can overcome the fact that you are a womanThey allow your achievement to carry the added glamour of being the first woman in addition to the cushion provided by their family. Add a few promises geared to improving the condition of women and their job is done, argued Rafia, an attorney teaching constitutional law and political philosophy.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- Recently, United Nova Technology (UNT), a Chinese provider of core chip technology in power devices, MEMS, and connectivity, officially signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Chinese new energy vehicle maker Li Auto.

Photo credit: UNT

According to the agreement, UNT and Li Auto will engage in comprehensive strategic cooperation in the field of silicon carbide (SiC). Both parties will actively promote the productization process and enhance their market competitiveness collaboratively. Additionally, discussions are underway for deepening cooperation in areas such as analog integrated circuits (ICs).

To deepen their collaboration, the two companies propose to establish regular high-level and working-level communication mechanisms to ensure strategic alignment and smooth business operations.

UNT specializes in power, sensing, and transmission applications, providing contract manufacturing services for analog chips and module packaging. The company is primarily engaged in the R&D, production, and sales of MEMS, IGBT, MOSFET, analog ICs, and MCUs, offering complete system contract manufacturing solutions for automotive, new energy, industrial control, and home appliance sectors.
44 people died in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka late Thursday after a fire blazed through a seven-storey building. The blaze in the building in Dhakas upscale Bailey Road, which also contains a popular biryani restaurant, has been contained.

The fire started in the popular restaurant around 10pm local time, spreading quickly through the eatery and engulfing dozens dining inside. Firemen brought the blaze under control and a probe has been launched to ascertain what led to the blaze.

33 people, including women and children, were declared dead at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital while 10 others died at the citys main burns hospital, Bangladeshs Health Minister, Samanta Lal Sen, said.

The emergency services were called to the Kacchi Bhai restaurant. Kacchi Bhai, a popular chain of restaurants, is in a building that has seven floors. The restaurant in its website is claiming that the fire started at a restaurant in the lower floors of the building.

The building also houses other restaurants, as well as several clothing and mobile phone shops.

We were on the sixth floor when we first saw smoke racing through the staircase. A lot of people rushed upstairs, said a restaurant manager called Sohel, while speaking to news agency AFP.

We used a water pipe to climb down the building. Some of us were injured as they jumped from upstairs, he said.

Others were trapped on the rooftop and called out for help.

Another survivor, Mohammad Altaf, said he narrowly escaped the blaze through a broken window. He said two of his colleagues who helped people escape the blaze later died.

In Bangladesh, fires in commercial and residential buildings are common and are blamed on lack of safety awareness and inadequate enforcement of regulations.

In July 2021, at least 52 people were killed including many children when a fire swept through a food processing factory.

In February 2019, 70 people died when an inferno ripped through several Dhaka apartment blocks.
Dozens of US lawmakers are asking President Joe Biden not to recognise the new government in Pakistan until allegations of election rigging are probed. This came after voters in Pakistan went to the polls, earlier this month in a vote marred by a mobile internet shutdown, violence and unusually delayed results.

The United States, Britain and the European Union have expressed concerns, about reported election irregularities and urged a thorough investigation. The results of Pakistans election should represent the will of the people. For the sake of democracy and all Pakistanis, we are calling on the Biden Administration to withhold recognition of a new government until an investigation determines the election was not rigged, Congressman Greg Casar wrote on X.

The results of Pakistans election should represent the will of the people.For the sake of democracy and all Pakistanis, we are calling on the Biden Administration to withhold recognition of a new government until an investigation determines the election was not rigged. pic.twitter.com/SeVoH2Bqxh  Congressman Greg Casar (@RepCasar) February 28, 2024

Pakistans National Assembly swore in newly elected members of parliament on Thursday in a chaotic scene as allies of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan shouted and protested what they claim was a rigged election. Lawmakers from Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party repeatedly chanted Vote-thief! as Shehbaz Sharif, whos expected to form the next government, entered the parliament on Thursday with his brother Nawaz Sharif.

The letter, cosigned by over thirty US lawmakers dated Wednesday, urged Biden and Blinken to withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted. It asked them to urge Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity, and task State Department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release.

The letter also urged Biden and Blinken to make clear to Pakistani authorities that Washington could use the leverage for military and other cooperation to be halted if relevant steps were not taken. The letter signed by Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives was led by Representatives Greg Casar and Susan Wild. The signatories included Representatives Ro Khanna, Jamie Raskin, Cori Bush and Barbara Lee.

(With agency inputs)
With few hours left before the World Trade Organisations (WTO) closing session in Abu Dhabi, India stands firm on safeguarding the interests of developing nations amid delicately poised negotiations. Negotiators released new draft deals on Friday showing that all-night talks had failed to produce a breakthrough on key issues, leading to a third extension for the sides to reach a deal.

The deadlock at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) could be broken before a new deadline, with several delegates cautioning that some nations were far apart on many key issues. Many officials had already gone home on the fifth day of the ministerial meeting, although Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal remained.

Hours after the original deadline had passed, the biennial high-level meeting of trade ministers from around the world is seeking to revise global commerce rules on a broad range of issues from fishing and farming to e-commerce. Indias stance at the WTO reflects its commitment to protecting farmers interests by pushing for a permanent solution to Public Stockholding (PDH) while upholding the peace clause adopted at the 2013 Bali ministerial.

India remains steadfast in safeguarding the interests of farmers and fisherfolk and facilitating the entry of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) into the global trade arena, advocating for a longer transformation period of six years. As the voice of developing nations, India opposes the extension of the E-Commerce Moratorium and ensures that Chinas International Food Defence (IFD) agenda is thwarted.

India has asserted the need to maintain the WTO solely as a platform for trade, stressing the need to foster fair and equitable global trade practices. Some developing countries opposed extending a moratorium on digital trade. India and China have disagreed on key issues including on investment. So far, no deals have been agreed after nearly five days of talks in Abu Dhabi.
Raj Singh, a Sikh musician who was part of a Sikh kirtan group, was shot dead outside a gurdwara at Selma in the US state of Alabama on Saturday (February 24). Raj Singh, aka Goldy, who hails from Tanda Sahuwala village in Bijnor district in UP, was a ragi (musician) who was in the US with his musical group for one and a half years.

Goldy was standing outside the gurdwara when unidentified assailants shot him in the abdomen. His family received the news of his death on Sunday.

We were informed about the incident by relatives. It has been five days, and his postmortem is yet to be done. We have reached out to the gurdwara committee for more information, and they are helping us. We have also appealed to our government for justice and the arrest of the killers, Gurdeep Singh, the deceaseds brother-in-law, was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

Goldys family believes that his killing could be a case of hate crime, even though the precise motive behind Singhs murder is yet to be ascertained.

Selma police are saying there is no indication of racial motivation behind Raj Singhs killing, according to Selma-based news outlet GVWire, which cited sergeant Caleb Garcia.

This is the second murder of an Indian-origin person in the US state in the month of February. Earlier last month, Pravin Raojibhai Patel, 76, an American hotelier of Indian origin was shot dead after a confrontation with a man asking for a room in his motel in Sheffield, Alabama.

A Kerala student, Neil Kumar, was shot dead at point-blank range in Alabama as assailants tried to rob him. Goldy leaves behind his mother, two sisters and a younger brother and was the sole provider for his family after his fathers death.

His family has urged the government to help bring his body back to India for cremation.
Conflicting media reports on Thursday said that Israeli troops in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire on Palestinians scrambling for food aid in a chaotic incident that the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory said killed more than 100 people. Reactions to the deaths have poured in from around the world.

The Israeli military said a stampede occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some people being run over. The Gaza health ministry condemned the massacre in Gaza City, saying 112 people were killed and more than 750 wounded.

What Hamas and Israel said

Hamas said the incident could endanger talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages it is holding. When asked if he thought it would complicate the talks, US President Joe Biden said: I know it will. Medics in Gaza said they could not cope with the flood of serious injuries, which came as the death toll in nearly five months of war passed 30,000, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel disputed the account provided by officials in Hamas-run Gaza, which has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months since the Palestinian militant groups deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The Israeli military said the trucks were operated by private contractors as part of an aid operation that it had been overseeing for the past four nights.

We recognize the suffering of the innocent people of Gaza. This is why we are seeking ways to expand our humanitarian efforts.Watch the full statement by IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari on the incident regarding the humanitarian aid convoy the IDF facilitated. pic.twitter.com/m6Pve3Odqw  Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) February 29, 2024

One Israeli official said there had been two incidents, hundreds of metres apart. In the first, dozens were killed or injured as they tried to take aid from the trucks and were trampled or run over. He said there was a second, subsequent incident as the trucks moved off. Some people in the crowd approached troops who felt under threat and opened fire, killing an unknown number in a limited response, he said. He dismissed the casualty toll given by Gaza authorities but gave no figure himself.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said dozens had been trampled to death or injured in a fight to take supplies off the trucks. He said tanks escorting the trucks had subsequently fired warning shots to disperse the crowd and backed away when events began to get out of hand. No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy, he said at the briefing. The IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point.

The US State Department said it was urgently seeking information on the incident as did the French foreign ministry. It said the Health Ministry had presented undeniable evidence of direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing, in addition to the testimonies of all witnesses who confirmed being targeted with direct fire without posing any threat to the occupying army. The White House said Biden discussed the tragic and alarming incident with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to secure the release of Israeli hostages and a six-week ceasefire.

UN condemnation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the incident and was appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week, Dujarric said.

Qatar denounces massacre

Qatars foreign ministry condemned in the strongest terms the heinous massacre committed by the Israeli occupation, calling for urgent international action to halt the fighting in Gaza.

It went on to warn that Israels disregard for Palestinian lives will ultimately undermine international efforts aimed at implementing the two-state solution, and thus pave the way for the expansion of the cycle of violence in the region.

France says fire unjustifiable

Frances foreign ministry said The fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food is unjustifiable.

The tragic event came as an increasing and unbearable number of Palestinian civilians were suffering from hunger and disease, it added, saying Israel must abide by international law and protect aid deliveries to civilians.

Writing on the social media platform X that Palestinian civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his strongest condemnation of the killings.

Italy demands ceasefire

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Israel to protect the Palestinian population after the tragic deaths.

We strongly urge Israel to protect the people in Gaza and to rigorously ascertain facts and responsibilities, he said on X. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her deep dismay and concern over the violence.

Saudi calls for ceasefire

Saudi Arabias foreign ministry condemned the deaths and reiterated the need to reach an immediate ceasefire.

It also renewed its demands to the international community to take a firm position to oblige Israel to respect international humanitarian law, immediately open safe humanitarian corridors, allow the evacuation of the injured, and enable the delivery of relief aid.

Toll Tops 30,000

The Palestinian health authorities said 30,035 Palestinians were now confirmed killed and more than 70,000 wounded in Israels offensive, launched after the Oct. 7 attack in which Israel said Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and abducted 253.

Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million population have been displaced from their homes at least once. Aid deliveries to northern Gaza have been sparse and chaotic. UN and other relief agencies have complained that Israel has blocked or restricted their attempts to get aid in. Israel denies putting any restrictions on humanitarian aid.

(With agency inputs)
Sri Lanka on Friday awarded the construction of three solar and wind hybrid power generation facilities to an Indian company after cancelling a tender won by a Chinese firm. This decision follows the temporary shelving of the project, initially financed by an Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan, two years ago.

This came amid strategic competition for major infrastructure projects in the island nation, which is currently emerging from its worst economic crisis since independence. Beijing, which is also Sri Lankas single largest bilateral creditor, accounted for around 10 percent of the island nations $46 billion foreign debt at the time of a government default at the peak of the crisis in 2022.

Indias assistance for the energy deal underscored the significance New Delhi attached to bilateral energy partnership, the Indian embassy said in a statement. India: a committed partner! HC @santjha & Hon.State Minister Indika Anuruddha witnessed contract signing of the Hybrid Renewable Energy Project in Nainativu, Analaitivu & Delft islands, off Jaffna. This grant project by India addresses energy needs of the people of the 3 islands, the Indian mission in Sri Lanka said in a post on X.

India: a committed partner! HC @santjha & Hon.State Minister Indika Anuruddha witnessed contract signing of the Hybrid Renewable Energy Project in Nainativu, Analaitivu & Delft islands, off Jaffna. This grant project by addresses energy needs of the people of the 3 islands. pic.twitter.com/HLU66KnYN1 India in Sri Lanka (@IndiainSL) March 1, 2024

The project will consist of work to construct 530 kw of wind power, 1,700 kw of solar power, 2,400 kWh of battery power and a 2,500 kw diesel power system for Delft, Analativu and Nainativu islets, Sri Lankas Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said in a statement. Sri Lankas energy ministry said Friday that the project had been revived and was now fully funded by an $11 million Indian government grant. It added that renewables firm U-Solar from Indias tech hub of Bengaluru had been awarded the building contract.

The Indian envoy in Colombo Santosh Jha was present at the ceremony. The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, the Government of India and the U Solar Clean Energy Systems, a Bengaluru-based company signed the agreement. Indias assistance to the project for the people of the three islands, which are not connected to the national grid, underscores the significance attached by GOI to bilateral energy partnership as well as the human-centric nature of development partnership, officials said.

Several landmark initiatives such as the power grid connectivity, multi-product two-way oil pipeline are currently under discussion between India and Sri Lanka in the energy sphere, according to a report in NewsFirst.lk, a Sri Lankan news portal. Indias overall development partnership portfolio stands at USD 5 billion with almost USD 600 million being in grants alone, it said.

(With agency inputs)
In a major development at the ongoing WTO ministerial in Abu Dhabi, Thailands Ambassador to the WTO, Pimchanok Vonkorpon Pitfield, has been replaced and ordered to return to Geneva after a spat with the Indian delegation.

This decision follows reports of dramatised jibes during a meeting on February 27 at the 13th ministerial conference (MC), which prompted India to recall the Thai envoy. Sources indicate that the Thai Foreign Secretary is now representing the country at the ongoing ministerial. This comes as the WTOs closing session has been extended, with talks delicately poised as the Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala striving for positive outcomes.

Tensions flared during a meeting this week after the Thai envoy made offensive remarks about Indias use of Public Stockholding (PSH) for export purposes. India took offence to the tone and manner of the comment made during a meeting. It was the tone used, which was offensive and this remark was followed by members of the Cairns grouping applauding the comment. Bharat took objection to what was said, and the manner, in which it was said, sources revealed.

It was reported that despite its clarification that PSH export is not a standard policy, the matter escalated when India walked out of a meeting involving the Thai official. Sources earlier confirmed to CNN-News18 that the matter was raised with the Thai ambassador in India. The matter was also raised during a one-on-one between US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Sources say this matter was also.

Indias farmer and fisherfolk interests are being stressed at the WTO, with the government asserting that food safety and security wont be compromised. On Wednesday, Goyal said India is a consensus builder in the WTO by playing a key role in the process but some countries are breaking that. He also said that India stands on strong principles of justice at the WTO and wants to ensure that all decisions taken at the multi-lateral body are in the best interests of Indias farmers and fisherfolk.
A manhunt was launched by police in the US city of El Cajon on Thursday after a shooting at a dentists office left one dead and two injured, local media reported.

Police in the town, about 30 kilometers outside of San Diego, said on social media they were searching for an armed and dangerous 29-year-old suspect who fled the scene after the attack, which they described as an active shooter event.

Related to the shooting, the suspect has been identified as 29 year old Mohammed Abdulkareem. He is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him call 911. pic.twitter.com/T9lwhlFLPp El Cajon Police (@elcajonpolice) March 1, 2024

The two people who were injured were taken to the hospital in stable condition, local California TV station KUSI reported. It was unclear whether the shooter knew the victims. Gun violence is common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.

Polls show a majority of Americans favor stricter gun regulations in theory, but the powerful firearms lobby and mobilized voters supporting the countrys culture of strong gun rights have repeatedly made congressional action politically difficult.

Police investigation ongoing in the 400 block of North Magnolia. This was an active shooter event with at least three victims. We are searching for a light skinned male, 20-30 years old wearing all black clothing. The suspect fled the scene in a white U-haul pickup truck with AZ Plate AM14894, last seen northbound on N Mollison, El Cajon Police wrote on X.

A divided US Supreme Court heard arguments on Wednesday on the legality of bump stocks, simple devices that can allow rapid fire from otherwise semi-automatic guns. That case stems from the worst mass shooting in US history, in October 2017, when a man fired on a crowd attending an outdoor music concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and wounding around 500.

(With agency inputs)
WASHINGTON: More than one-third of the total delegates available in both the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries will be awarded on Super Tuesday, when 16 states and one U.S. territory hold presidential nominating contests.

On the Republican side, 854 of 2,429 will be at stake on Super Tuesday, which is traditionally the biggest day on the presidential primary calendar when it comes to the number of states holding presidential primaries and caucuses, as well as the number of delegates in play. Democrats will award 1,420 delegates. Nobody will lock up the nomination on Super Tuesday, but each partys frontrunner can get pretty close.

Former President Donald Trump, who has won every presidential contest in which hes appeared on the ballot and earned 122 delegates, needs 1,093 more to hit his so-called magic number of 1,215. Once he receives that many delegates, hell have won a majority of available delegates to the Republican convention this summer and will be considered the partys presumptive nominee.

The earliest Trump can hit that number is March 12, though that could change depending on how many delegates he receives on Super Tuesday and in the days leading up to it. The exact number of delegates available on a date can also change as state parties finalize their plans.

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, the last major candidate on the Republican side, enters this week having won a fraction of delegates available in four of the six states and territories that have awarded them thus far.

Republican delegate rules vary by state, but their system generally makes it easier for frontrunners to quickly rack up large numbers of delegates because many states  including Super Tuesdays biggest prize, California  award all their delegates to candidates who win a majority of the vote. In Texas, which has the second biggest delegate haul, 150 delegates will be assigned based on the Super Tuesday primary results, while state officials say they will assign another 11 at the statewide convention in May.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is in a position to pick up a substantial number of delegates. Bidens magic number currently sits at 1,968, though that could shift slightly depending on how the party decides to handle New Hampshire, which broke party rules by holding its party primary in January. The earliest Biden can hit that figure is March 19. He currently has 206 delegates.

Democrats award delegates proportionally everywhere, making it easier for trailing candidates to pick up delegates, at least in theory. Bidens major challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips, hasnt been able to take advantage, but these rules open the door for ballot options like uncommitted or no preference to receive delegates, should they qualify by meeting a vote threshold of 15%, either statewide or in a congressional district.

These uncommitted delegates, who will arrive at the Democrats summer convention unpledged and can choose whom to vote for, have been the only thing between Biden and a clean sweep thus far. In Michigan, the uncommitted ballot option received two delegates. Seven Super Tuesday states  including Iowa, whose all-mail election will report results that day  offer some sort of uncommitted option.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor
Former US ambassador to Bolivia Victor Manuel Rocha charged with spying for Cuba for four decades told a judge on Thursday that he will plead guilty.

The 73-year-old ex-diplomat was arrested in December for what US officials called one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent.

Rocha pleaded not guilty two weeks ago to charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government but he told Judge Beth Bloom at a pre-trial conference on Thursday that he wanted to change his plea. A date of April 12 was set by the court for Rocha to formally change his plea to guilty and for sentencing.

Who is Rocha?

Rocha, a naturalised American citizen originally from Colombia, allegedly began aiding Havana as a covert agent of Cubas General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981, and his espionage activities continued until his arrest. US Attorney General Merrick Garland, announcing Rochas arrest, said he had repeatedly referred to the United States as the enemy' and repeatedly bragged about the significance of his efforts.

Rocha joined the State Department in 1981 and rose through the ranks as a career diplomat, also serving in posts in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, the Dominican Republic and Washington. Rocha served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 in the administration of president Bill Clinton and was the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Clinton and George W. Bush. He also served as an advisor to the US military command responsible for Cuba.

The criminal complaint against Rocha details how, over multiple meetings with an undercover FBI agent beginning in November 2022, he behaved as a Cuban agent, praising the communist-ruled islands late leader Fidel Castro and using the term we to describe himself and Cuba. He admitted traveling to Havana in 2016 or 2017 to meet with his DGI handlers and asked the undercover agent to send my warmest regards to the Direccion, referring to the DGI.

Assassination Claims

Rocha additionally faces a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida by the widow of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya. She alleges Rocha was responsible for the death of her late husband, the 2002 winner of the European Parliaments Sakharov Prize for human rights, in a car crash in Cuba in 2012.

A court document claims that the Cuban terrorist dictatorship assassinated Mr. Paya with impunity as a direct result of Roches actions as a covert agent for the Cuban terrorist dictatorship and its intelligence-gathering mission against the United States.

Another Cuban dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the same car crash, while two others in the vehicle survived: Spanish politician Angel Carromero and Swedish conservative politician Jens Aron Modig. Cuban authorities blamed the crash on Carromero, who was driving, but he claims the car was struck by a Cuban secret service vehicle.

(With agency inputs)
OTTAWAA report released by the office of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner alleges that Aylo, the parent company of Pornhub, has violated the country's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

PIPEDA regulates how private sector organizations, like Aylo or really any technology company, can use or disclose personal data.

The inadequate privacy protection measures on Pornhub and other Aylo sites have led to devastating consequences for the complainant and other victims of non-consensual disclosure of intimate images, said Philippe Dufresne, the commissioner.

Privacy is a fundamental right...Given the enormous risks involved, Aylo must take steps to ensure that it only posts intimate images and videos with the direct knowledge and consent of everyone appearing in the content.

Aylo sued the office to prevent the release of the report in a federal court in May 2023.

Litigation prevented Dufresne from releasing the report until February 2024.

An Ontario woman initially filed a complaint with the privacy commissioner who was victimized by revenge porn uploaded to the site in 2015. She reached out to Aylo, known as MindGeek at the time, to remove the material, and it did. But it kept circulating.

Since Pornhub had download functions at the time, the woman's video of her victimization was downloaded and re-uploaded several times and was eventually found 700 times on 80 other websites  the vast majority of these sites aren't owned by Aylo.

Findings in the report indicate that the woman hired a professional takedown service at a significant personal cost. It is worth noting that the download feature was problematic for content that was actually produced consensually and legally.

The report documents what Dufresne considers shortcomings in Aylo's trust and safety overhaul since December 2020.

Dufresne proposed changes in Aylo's trust and safety protocols that are non-binding. Despite this, Aylo has openly confirmed major overhauls and, in the eyes of the United States federal government, in contrast, engagement with law enforcement and regulators.

"We are proud to have instituted Trust and Safety policies that rely heavily on not only our internal policies and moderation team, but also on our array of external partnerships and technologies, that surpass those of any other major user-generated platform on the internet," says Sarah Bain, vice president of public engagement for Ethical Capital Partners, in an email to AVN.

Ethical Capital Partners, a private equity firm, is the ownership group that purchased Aylo in the summer of 2023.

"We take harm to anyone very seriously," explains Bain. "Day in and day out, Aylos Trust & Safety and engineering teams work collaboratively with law enforcement, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to prevent online abuse and to hold those abusers to account."

Dufresne's report alleges that Aylo has shown no indication of collaboration with law enforcement. Evidence suggests otherwise.

Barring the fact that Aylo's ownership group includes attorneys and former law enforcement executives, this notion is outdated.

Aylo collaborates with Crime Stoppers International and has voluntarily reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), based in the United States and affiliated with law enforcement agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The company also reached a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents conducted a 30-month investigation related to Aylo's indirect relationship with the Girls Do Porn sex trafficking ring that used the imagery of a supposed legal operation to cover up its organized illegal activities.

The majority of Dufresne's report features information gathered well before the trust and safety overhauls after Aylo's acquisition.

Canada's privacy commissioner is not the only national government official to accuse Aylo of violating data and personal privacy laws.

European Union regulators have received campaigns from groups in the Euro bloc alleging violations of GDPR and the Digital Services Act that requires large internet platforms to report on trust and safety and user data to the European Commission.
Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammad Bin Salman banned iftar in mosques ahead of the holy month of Ramadan citing concerns about cleanliness inside mosque premises after iftar meals. The holy month of Ramadan is slated to begin on March 11 and conclude by April 9 this year.

#Infographic |The #Ministry_of_Islamic_Affairs, Dawah and Guidance issues a number of instructions related to mosques during the blessed month of #Ramadan 1445 AH. pic.twitter.com/bbyWZLeOwl  Ministry of Islamic Affairs (@Saudi_MoiaEN) February 20, 2024

The Saudi Arabian ministry of Islamic affairs in a set of instructions to mosque employees last week restricted imams and muezzins from collecting financial donations for organising iftar feasts and banned feasts inside the mosques while raising concerns regarding cleanliness. The Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance issues a number of instructions related to mosques during the blessed month of Ramadan 1445 AH, the notice, also shared on social media site X, read.

The Ministry stressed on imams and muezzins in various regions of the kingdom not to collect financial donations for Iftar projects for fasting people and other projects, and that Iftar projects should not be carried out inside mosques out of concern for their cleanliness, so the appropriate place should be prepared for this in the courtyards of mosques, without creating any temporary rooms or tents or the like for this purpose, the order said.

Iftar should be held under the responsibility of imams and the muezzins, with the obligation of the one who prepares iftar to clean the place immediately after finishing the breakfast, the order further added.

The ministry also discouraged using cameras inside the mosque premises. It said that the imam and worshippers offering namaz should not be recorded as it undermines the worshippers reverence. It also slapped a ban on broadcasting prayers on media of any kind, including social media. As per the directive, no cameras will be allowed inside the mosque premises during prayer times. It also urged visitors to refrain from filming.
PIERRE, S.D.An age verification proposal targeting adult websites introduced in the South Dakota state legislature has died.

The bill is House Bill 1257, which was introduced by state Rep. Bethany Soye.

The bill made it through the House of Representatives but was deferred by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Documentation shows that the committee deferred the bill to the 41st day of the legislative session. But there are only 40 legislative days.

Such an order is a procedural tool to delay indefinitely or until the next legislative session bills that are against the agenda of chamber leadership or the governor.

Soye is a far-right Republican who similarly introduced a bill in 2023 to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth throughout the state. This bill was adopted by the conservative Gov. Kristi Noem.

A columnist for the conservative Washington Examiner was the first to report the "killing" of House Bill 1257. If it did pass, the bill would have implemented "reasonable age verification" requirements similar to other copycat bills throughout the United States.
German police said this week's arrest of Daniela Klette , a long-hunted alleged militant hiding in Berlin, was a "masterpiece." Journalists, however, weren't quite sure where the extraordinary skill factored inunless it came from themselves. "What was their success? Listening to a podcast?" a reporter quipped at a news conference, challenging the narrative that police were to be credited, per the New York Times . As the Times and Reuters reports, months before Monday's arrest, a podcast team managed to track down Klette, on the run from police for 30 years, in about 30 minutes using facial recognition software.

In December, German public broadcaster ARD released "Legion: Most Wanted," a two-part documentary podcast about the search for Klette. During reporting, the podcast team had reached out to Bellingcat investigative journalist Michael Colborne, asking that he put photos of Klette into publicly available image search tools powered by artificial intelligence. The tools returned images posted to Facebook, believed to show the same woman, now going by the name "Claudia Ivone," living in Berlin and active in its Afro-Brazilian scene. The podcast team said they reached out to police to check the finding. Police previously said they were led to Klette through a tip from the public in November, around the time the journalists were at work.

It's unclear if this was the tipoff. Asked for the source of the tip Thursday, a prosecutor said "we make no disclosures about our detection methods," per Reuters. But as Colborne tells the Times, it's concerning that a Canadian man who doesn't speak German was able to find one of Germany's most wanted terrorist suspects "in like literally 30 minutes." Some argue police have their hands tied by Germany's strict data protection laws, which limit the use of AI-powered investigative tools. There are other factors to consider, too, including the risk to police. After initially claiming no guns were found in Klette's apartment, police announced Thursday that a hand grenade, grenade launcher, and Kalashnikov machine gun were discovered, per the Times. (More artificial intelligence stories.)
President Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, made separate trips to the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday to advocate their own versions of who's to blame for the problems there. While each placed responsibility on the other, Biden added a political dare for his potential election opponent, the New York Times reportschallenging him to support the border legislation the former president had instructed congressional Republicans to block. Here's a look at their arguments:
In what is being called a case with chilling implications for journalism, investigative reporter Catherine Herridge was on Thursday held in civil contempt and ordered to pay $800 a day until she reveals her sources. The ruling was stayed so Herridge can appeal. Herridge worked for Fox News in 2017 when she wrote a series of stories about Chinese American scientist Yanping Chen, the Washington Post reports. Chen was probed by the FBI, which investigated whether she lied about her service in the Chinese military and whether she used a Virginia graduate program she founded to funnel information about US servicemembers to China, the AP reports. Chen, who was never charged, sued the federal government, alleging internal government documents had been leaked to Herridge, violating Chen's privacy.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who forged close ties with two Republican US presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but now celebrated, died Thursday. He was 84. The country's 18th prime minister died peacefully and surrounded by family, his daughter Caroline Mulroney said in a post on X , formerly known as Twitter. Mulroney's family said last summer he was improving daily after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer in early 2023. Leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1983 to 1993, Mulroney served almost a decade as prime minister. He was first elected in 1984 after snagging the largest majority in Canadian history with 211 of 282 seats, the AP reports.

The win would mark Canada's first Conservative majority government in 26 years. His government was re-elected in 1988. Mulroney entered the job with massive support, but he left with the lowest approval rating in Canadian history. His Progressive Conservative party suffered a devastating defeat just after he left office. In the years after the loss, prime ministers sought his advice. "He had the courage to do big things," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "He shaped our past, but he shapes our present and he will impact our future as well. He was an extraordinary statesman and he will be deeply, deeply missed."

Mulroney pushed the 1988 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement forward in no small part due to his chumminess with Ronald Reagan. He also had an enduring friendship with George HW Bush. Few Canadians around during his reign have forgotten the widely broadcast Mulroney-Reagan duet of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" at the Shamrock summit in Quebec City in 1985, named after the pair's Irish heritage and the fact that the summit fell on St. Patrick's Day. The 24-hour meeting opened the door to future free trade talks between the countries. The agreement later included Mexico in 1994, evolving into the North American Free Trade Agreement.

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But many constituents were opposed to the treaty, concerned that the agreement would jeopardize Canadian sovereignty. Critics blamed the rising unemployment during the late '80s and early '90s in Canada on factors such as businesses moving south to escape higher Canadian taxes and labor costs. Mulroney also irked Canadians by failing to unite the country's then bickering provinces and resolve French-speaking Quebec's desire for special status in the constitution, eventually leading to what would become a referendum on Quebec separation after he left office. The Quebec separatists lost a narrow vote. (More Canada stories.)
A court employee and a police officer were fatally shot Thursday after the court process server tried to serve an eviction notice at a home in Independence, Missouri, authorities said. A second officer was critically injured, but is expected to survive, police said. Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Thursday afternoon at a news conference outside Centerpoint Medical Center that two of his police officers were met with gunfire while coming to the aid of Drexel Mack, the man who had been trying to serve the eviction notice, the AP reports.

Mack, or another civil process server also at the home, had called 911 saying Mack had been shot, Dustman said. The officers responded at about 1:10pm and approached Mack to help him when someone shot at them, he said. "I'm very tragically sorry to report that we lost one of our own," Dustman said, identifying the officer as Cody Allen, 35. The second officer, whose name wasn't released, underwent surgery and is expected to recover. A third officer also "took gunshot rounds" and had minor injuries, the police chief said. Dustman called Allen a hero and described the police department as a "broken family," over Allen's death. "He always had a smile," Dustman said.

A man suspected in the shooting was in custody and sustained minor injuries, Cpl. Justin Ewing with Missouri State Highway Patrol said during an earlier news conference. Mack, who was in his early 40s, had worked for Jackson County for over a decade, officials said. "We are devastated that a court employee, who is a public servant, was shot by a member of the public while performing their job," Presiding Judge Jalilah Otto said in a statement. More than a dozen officers lined up outside the hospital late Thursday afternoon to escort the bodies of the slain to the medical examiner's office.

(More Missouri stories.)
Several supporters of Alexei Navalny were reportedly arrested Friday as they left their homes to attend a memorial for the Russian opposition leader, per the Guardian . Allies said more than 1,000 people lined up outside the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows in Moscow's Maryino district, where Navalny formerly lived, ahead of the memorial, despite fears that more would be arrested. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said "any unauthorized gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable."

In an address to the European Parliament on Wednesday, Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya said arrests were possible. Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, fought to retrieve her son's body and hold an open funeral, to be streamed live on Navalny's YouTube channel, despite what she said was pressure from the Kremlin to hold a closed ceremony in the remote Arctic region where Navalny died in a penal colony. Though her children urged her not to attend, "I couldn't not come," a 58-year-old woman in attendance told the Washington Post, calling Navalny's death "unjust and cruel." "I don't see anything illegal in coming to say goodbye to a great man," added a man in attendance, per the Guardian. US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, as well as the ambassadors of Australia, France, and Germany, paid their respects.

"All those who support Alexei and write about it, it is very important now and will be even more important later. So please don't stop," Navalny aide Kira Yarmysh said on the YouTube stream, per CNN. The crowd didn't hold back despite a heavy police presence, including what the Post describes as "busloads of riot police and security trucks." There was applause and chants of "Navalny! Navalny!" as his coffin was moved inside the church Friday, per the Guardian. The service began at 2pm local time or 6am ET. The body will then be taken to Borisovskoye cemetery to be buried. (More Alexei Navalny stories.)
Former President Trump currently only has a firm trial date for one of the four criminal cases against him but that is expected to change Friday. US District Judge Aileen Cannon is holding a hearing in Florida in the classified documents case and Trump's lawyers, after months of pushing for delays, have proposed an August 12 trial date. The New York Times calls the move an "abrupt turnabout" that may be an effort to ensure the trial in Trump's other federal case doesn't start until after the election. The Times notes that the jury pool in Florida is likely to be a lot more Trump-friendly than the jury pool in Washington, DC, where the 2020 election interference trial will be held.

In a court filing submitted Thursday, Trump's lawyers argued against holding a trial in the documents case this year, saying, "As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution," per NBC News. But Trump "respects that the Court issued an Order directing the parties to submit scheduling proposals," they said. Special counsel Jack Smith's team says the trial will last four to six weeks, NBC News reports. Trump is expected to attend Friday's hearing, which will deal with the trial's timing and other issues, including how classified evidence will be handled and a proposed questionnaire for potential jurors.

The case was originally slated to go to trial on May 20, but Cannon, who was appointed by Trump in 2020, is expected to push it back at Friday's hearing, Politico reports. Prosecutors are asking for a July 8 start date. The former president faces 40 felony charges in the documents case. His hush money trial in New York is due to begin on March 25, while the Georgia election interference case is unlikely to start before the November election. (More Trump indictments stories.)
Four people are dead and a suspect has turned himself in after shootings in two locations in northern Germanyand that suspect is reportedly one of that nation's soldiers. Police on Friday said the shooting took place overnight in the rural areas of Bothel and Scheessel, and that the gunman turned himself in shortly afterward, reports the AP. "The perpetrator's motive is currently not conclusively known," a police release notes of the "homicides," adding, "A motive in the family environment cannot be ruled out." A child is said to be among the four who were gunned down.
Father's Day this year might look different for Jerry Jones. A Texas judge on Wednesday nixed an appeal by the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, the most valuable sports franchise in the world, in a 2022 paternity case involving a 27-year-old woman who says Jones, 81, is her biological father. The AP notes that the ruling means Jones now has to proceed with a paternity test to establish if he's tied to Alexandra Davis, who says she was conceived after the married Jones had a relationship with her mother, an American Airlines ticket agent, in the mid-'90s.

Jones has repeatedly denied that he's Davis' father, though he did reach a 1998 settlement with her mothera settlement that hinged on Davis and her mom never publicly identifying him as Davis' father. Davis originally sued in 2022 to have a court rule that she wasn't bound by that agreement reached between her mother and Jones, but she eventually dropped that complaint and filed this one, seeking to make Jones take a DNA test.

Davis' lawyer calls this week's decision by Judge Sandra Jackson a "huge victory," per the Dallas Morning News. Davis "is in a position where she really no longer has to hide her truth or live under the thumb of fear, and maybe she's going to finally get some peace," attorney Kris Hayes said after the ruling. Davis also sued Jones last March for defamation; that case is still pending, after being partially dismissed, then refiled late last year. (More Jerry Jones stories.)
For more than four decades, a diplomat working in the US State Department secretly funneled information to Cuba's communist government. That's according to prosecutors, and now to Victor Manuel Rocha himself, a former ambassador to Bolivia who on Thursday switched his initial plea of not guilty to guilty in a Miami court. It's a move that "brings one of the highest profile espionage cases between Cuba and the US to an unexpectedly rapid conclusion," reports the BBC. More coverage:

The charges: Rocha is charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, as well as wire fraud and making false statements to obtain a US passport.

Rocha is charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, as well as wire fraud and making false statements to obtain a US passport. Busted: Per a charging document, Rocha was contacted by an undercover FBI agent via WhatsApp in November 2022, with the agent claiming to be from Cuba's intelligence services with a message for Rocha from "your friends from Havana." During subsequent meetings with the agent, Rocha spilled the beans on his work for the Cuban government. He was arrested in December.

Per a charging document, Rocha was contacted by an undercover FBI agent via WhatsApp in November 2022, with the agent claiming to be from Cuba's intelligence services with a message for Rocha from "your friends from Havana." During subsequent meetings with the agent, Rocha spilled the beans on his work for the Cuban government. He was arrested in December. The recordings: Rocha was reportedly caught on tape admitting he spied since at least 1981, lauding late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as "Comandante" and calling the United States "the enemy," per a Justice Department release late last year.

Rocha was reportedly caught on tape admitting he spied since at least 1981, lauding late Cuban leader Fidel Castro as "Comandante" and calling the United States "the enemy," per a Justice Department release late last year. No espionage? The AP explains that although that would usually be the charge in such counterintelligence cases, prosecutors and Rocha's legal team were more easily able to come to a plea agreement on the lesser charge of acting as a foreign agent.
As the largest wildfire in Texas history engulfed his town, Danny Phillips was left helpless. "We had to watch from a few miles away as our neighborhood burned," he said, his voice trembling with emotion. In his hard-hit town of Stinnett, population roughly 1,600, families like his who evacuated from the Smokehouse Creek fire returned Thursday to devastating scenes: melted street signs and charred frames of cars and trucks. Homes reduced to piles of ash and rubble. An American flag propped up outside a destroyed house. Phillips' one-story home was still standing, but several of his neighbors weren't so fortunate

Stinnett's destruction was a reminder that, even as snow fell Thursday and helped firefighters, crews are racing to stamp out the blaze ahead of higher temperatures and winds forecast in the coming days, the AP reports. Already, the Smokehouse Creek fire has killed two people and left behind a desolate landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle, and burned-out homes in the Texas Panhandle. The blaze stayed about the same size Friday, just shy of 1,700 square miles. It merged with another fire and is 5% contained, up from 3% on Thursday. according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. The largest of several major fires burning in the rural Panhandle section of the state, it has also crossed into Oklahoma.

Gray skies loomed over huge scars of blackened earth in a rural area dotted with scrub brush, ranchland, rocky canyons, and oil rigs. Firefighter Lee Jones was helping douse the smoldering wreckage of homes in Stinnett to keep them from reigniting when the weather starts turning Friday and continues into the weekend. "The snow helps," said Jones, who was among a dozen firefighters called in from Lubbock to help. "We're just hitting all the hot spots around town, the houses that have already burned."

(More Texas wildfires stories.)
An appeals court ruling on Friday in the case of one of the Capitol rioters means that more than 100 defendants in the Jan. 6 violence may be resentenced, reports the Washington Post. In many of the cases, the sentence isn't expected to change at all. Some defendants, however, may see a reduction as a result of the ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.

This case: The ruling involves Larry Brock, who entered the Capitol in combat gear while carrying zip ties. Last year, the retired Air Force officer was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of charges including obstruction of an official proceeding. Brock engaged in no violence on that day.

The ruling involves Larry Brock, who entered the Capitol in combat gear while carrying zip ties. Last year, the retired Air Force officer was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted of charges including obstruction of an official proceeding. Brock engaged in no violence on that day. An enhancement: Brock appealed his sentence because the judge, at prosecutors' request, had applied a sentencing enhancement, finding that Brock interfered with the "administration of justice." The appeals court on Friday ruled that the enhancement shouldn't have been used, per Fox News.
With the delivery of supplies into Gaza diminishing and the political pressure over the crisis increasing, President Biden announced Friday that the US will begin airdrops of humanitarian aid. The UN had warned that "famine is almost inevitable" unless something changes, per Axios , and a UN official said Friday that at least 10 Palestinian children have died of starvation. At the White House, Biden said Israel isn't allowing sufficient shipments. The amount of aid reaching Gaza is "nowhere near enough," he said, per Politico . "Innocent lives are on the line and children's lives are on the line. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several."

Palestinians have looted aid trucks after Hamas' civilian police stopped escorting the vehicles, saying they were being targeted by Israel. Aid workers have fallen under fire, per Axios. Along with Israeli restrictions, those factors have led to backups of supply trucks at crossings into Gaza. And on Thursday, more than 100 people who were waiting for supplies were killed in Gaza City. "We're going to pull out every stop we can," Biden said, in an appearance with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Pentagon officials provided no information about how the drops would be carried out. Analysts pointed out that planes can't carry as much as a convoy of trucks can. Airdrops are a flawed solution, said a former official who handled aid for the US Agency for International Development, per Politico. Drops from a high altitude pose a danger to civilians, while drops from a low altitude are risky for the aircraft's crew, Dave Harden said. "Air drops are a symbol of massive failure," he posted on X. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)
A third person has been arrested over powerline tampering, copper and electrical thefts in Christchurch.

It comes after police arrested two others caught on February 16.

Three men between the ages of 40 and 48 are due to reappear in the Christchurch District Court on March 8 and 21 on charges related to the incidents.

But the crime continues in the city.

"The three arrested were not the only people involved in this activity and we would caution scrap metal dealers that this is occurring and to be wary of frequent customers," Snr Srg Roy Appley said.

"Police continue to investigate Christchurch powerline tampering, electrical supply and copper thefts, including incidents over the last four weeks, one incident occurring just last night on Raymond Road.

"Recent incidents have occurred in the Marshlands, Dallington and Bromley areas, including Lower Styx Road, Banks Avenue, and Gayhurst Avenue, typically between 3am to 5:45am."

Police are warning against the "extremely dangerous" crime.

"If someone were to touch these downed lines, they could be badly injured or killed," Snr Srg Roy Appley said.

Anyone who sees damaged power equipment is asked to contact Orion on 0800 363 9898, or police immediately on 111 if you see anyone acting suspiciously around power poles and lines.
European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a "massive" and "illegal" operation of collecting data from hundreds of millions of users in the region.



The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities Thursday.

The groups claim that Meta (META) collects an unnecessary amount of information on its users -- such as data used to infer their sexual orientation, emotional state or even their susceptibility to addiction -- which they are unable to freely consent to.

The company's practices, the groups argue, breach parts of the European Union's signature data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR.

"With its illegal practices, Meta fuels the surveillance-based ads system which tracks consumers online and gathers vast amounts of personal data for the purpose of showing them adverts," the BEUC said in a statement.

Meta disputes the allegations.

"We take our regulatory obligations extremely seriously, and are confident that our approach complies with the GDPR," a company spokesperson said in a statement.

"Since 2019, we've overhauled privacy at Meta. We're held accountable for protecting people's privacy by regulators, policymakers and experts. We work with them to ensure that what we build follows best practices and meets high standards for data protection," the spokesperson added.

Thursday's complaints will potentially expose the company -- for years the subject of intense regulatory scrutiny in Europe -- to yet more legal action.

Last May, EU regulators fined the tech giant a record-breaking 1.2 billion ($2.13 billion NZD) for violating GDPR rules by transferring the personal data of Facebook users to servers in the United States.

According to the European Data Protection Board, the fine is still the biggest-ever levied under the law, which has applied in the EU since 2018.

"We are gravely concerned about Meta's practices," a spokesperson for the Norwegian Data Protection Authority told CNN Thursday.

"Data protection is a human right for all, not a premium feature reserved for the wealthy. Our hope is that the complaints can spark more regulatory scrutiny on the European level," the spokesperson said, adding that Norway would pass the complaint to Irish authorities, the lead regulators for Meta in Europe.

Graham Doyle, deputy commissioner at Ireland's Data Protection Commission, told CNN the authority had not yet received any of the complaints from its counterparts.

"We would expect these complaints to go through an initial complaint examination at the respective (data protection authorities) before being forwarded to the DPC for review," he said.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain, in collaboration with the Bahrain Society for Children with Behavioral and Communication Difficulties Alia for Early Intervention, welcomed Dr. Stephen Shore, a visiting professor of special education at Adelphi University, Feb. 28.

The event allowed sailors, parents, professionals and caregivers the unique opportunity to interact with Dr. Shore, who is not only an expert in his field but also on the spectrum himself.

Its so gratifying to see the US Navy seeking to increase their awareness, acceptance and appreciation of individuals on the autism spectrum as we collaborate towards making fulfilling and productive lives for autistic people the rule rather than the exception, said Dr. Shore.

He led two sessions during his visit. The first included staff members and focused on interaction with autistic students from an educator perspective. The second included Sailors and families and focused on simulating and understanding what those with autism experience on a daily basis.

Dr. Rania Al Khalifa, director, Alia for Early Intervention and Alia Rehabilitation Center, was appreciative of NSA Bahrain for opening their doors and welcoming future collaborative opportunities to further autism awareness across cultures.

Understanding

By fostering interactions and dialogue, we aimed to enhance the understanding and perspective of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, as well as other developmental and neuro-developmental disorders, said Dr. Al Khalifa.

Together, we are working towards creating a more inclusive and supportive community for children with behavioral and communication difficulties. Benjamin F. Wright III, installation program director, NSA Bahrain, was excited, both as a professional and as a parent, to learn from Dr. Shore and understand his unique perspective on ASDs and the stigmas surrounding them.

My three-and-a-half-year-old has been diagnosed with autism. When I got here, I didnt know where to go or who to talk to; it was all very new, said Wright. I found out [Dr. Shore] was here, read one of his books, saw his videos and have been following him for a while. He is a big deal in the community, so it was a godsend that he was here.

Thankful

Capt. Zachariah Aperauch, commanding officer, NSA Bahrain, was thankful for the abiity to share knowledge, support local organizations, and increase communication skills and mutual understanding between communities. Autism and interactions with those on the spectrum are conversations that arent had enough in our Navy, said Aperauch.
AFP | Islamabad

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Lawmakers were sworn in during the first sitting of Pakistan's new parliament Thursday, three weeks after an election marred by widespread allegations of rigging.

Pakistan's February 8 poll took place with ex-prime minister Imran Khan jailed and barred from running, and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party targeted by a campaign of arrests and censorship.

Khan's followers defied the crackdown to win more seats than any other party but the military-backed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is set to shut them out of power with a coalition government.

According to the coalition agreement, former premier Shehbaz Sharif -- who ousted Khan in a 2022 no-confidence vote -- will be elected prime minister again by new lawmakers in the coming days.

Parliamentarians began arriving at the 336-seat National Assembly in Islamabad on Thursday morning and took their oaths of office in unison around 11:30 am (0630 GMT).

PTI members were forced to run as independents in the election but some arrived at parliament carrying portraits of Khan, brandishing them in defiance as Sharif and other PML-N leaders entered the chamber.

"In democracy, the parliament is a sacred place," PTI's acting chief Gohar Ali Khan told reporters as he arrived to be sworn in.

"Those who don't have public trust and don't have the mandate should not be sitting here."

Gohar held aloft a poster reading "Release Imran Khan" as he signed the register of parliamentarians but the moment was omitted from state TV broadcasts as cameras cut away.

The Sharif family's PML-N has agreed to govern with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) run by the dynasty of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, as well as several smaller factions.

In return, the PPP has been promised the office of president for their patriarch and Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari.

Cabinet positions have yet to be announced.

Analysts regard the broad alliance as a shaky enterprise, facing overlapping economic and security crises plaguing the nation of more than 240 million.

Monitors have also warned the PML-N coalition may suffer from a perceived lack of legitimacy by portions of the public sceptical over whether their votes were counted.

Despite PTI-aligned candidates exceeding expectations, Imran Khan claims the election was brazenly rigged to prevent his party's landslide return to power.

Islamabad cut mobile internet signal nationwide on election day, citing security reasons but declining to give specifics. Results were also delayed, further stoking rigging claims.
AFP | Washington

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

A judge in the US state of Illinois on Wednesday ordered former President Donald Trump stricken off the state's primary ballot over his role in the January 6 Capitol riot.

The decision by Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter comes as similar anti-Trump ballot measures have cropped up in several states, including a Colorado ruling now before the US Supreme Court.

The question before the nine US justices is whether Trump, the presumed Republican presidential candidate, is ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado because he engaged in an insurrection -- the January 6, 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.

Earlier this month, the high Court signaled it was skeptical of the Colorado ruling.

Trump blasted the Illinois decision as politically motivated and unjust.

"Democrat front-groups continue to attempt to interfere in the election and deny President Trump his rightful place on the ballot," Trump's campaign said, vowing to appeal the decision.

Anticipating pushback, the judge in Illinois put her decision on pause until Friday to allow an appeal.

"In the meantime, President Trump remains on the Illinois ballot, is dominating the polls, and will Make America Great Again!" Trump's campaign said.

Colorado and more than a dozen other states are to hold their presidential nominating contests on March 5 -- also known as "Super Tuesday" -- and the Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling before then.




Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu has said that the first draft report of the ongoing review of the 1999 constitution would be ready in August 202.





He equally said the final clean copy for the presidential assent after the voting on the expected issues of concern by the two chambers of the National Assembly would be out in August, 2025.





Kalu dropped the hints at a press conference by the House Committee on Constitution Review on Thursday.





It could be recalled that the committee on its inauguration, Monday, in Abuja, gave a 24-month timeline for the conclusion of the exercise.





At the press conference, Kalu who doubles as the chairman of the committee said: We are pushing to ensure that in our activities, that in no distant time, the first draft of the work we are trying to do in the constitution will be ready.





This will be subject to approval of the work done by the subcommittee. Let me mention that by our target, the first draft of the constitution will be out in August 2024.





Second draft will be out in October 2024, we will commence zonal inputs from October 2024, well keep collecting inputs from citizens from 14th October 2024 as we prepare for the last version or the last draft copy of the constitution.





We are hoping that there will be a harmonization of the issues, on the 27th, 28th February 2025.





We are hoping that during a technical working retreat that will take place in February 2025, the Senate and the House of Representatives documents will be harmonized.





It is our desire that on the 17th of March 2025, we will have harmonized documents considered in the House. It is our believe that by April 2025, we will have the final copies of draft amendments produced.





We are optimistic also that by 12th May 2025, well have, the final clean copy of amendments bills agreed on.





And we are looking at 22nd May 2025, as a time when we will have final report laid for consideration and voting.





This is to say that members will be voting on the work we have done on this important date of 22nd May 2025.





We are believing that around the 29th of May or 13th of June, knowing fully well what these important dates mean to Nigerians, we will expect the final concurrence of state assemblies secured.





If it delays more than that, it will not go beyond August of 2025 because we believe that by August 2025, the president will receive the bills that will be presented to him for presidential assent. So, our targets are that transmission of bills to Mr President for assent will take place August 2025.





And with this, we are sure that our target to get this job done in 24 months will be achieved if we send it to Mr President by August 2025 and hoping that by December we will have a constitution thats fully amended.





The Deputy Speaker also called for submission of memoranda from different interest groups, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Labour Unions, relevant institutions of government and the members of the general public to aid the committees work.





He said that the thematic areas included Federal Structure and Power Devolution; Local Government/Local Government Autonomy; Public Revenue, Fiscal Federation, and Revenue Allocation; Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security Architecture; Comprehensive Judicial Reforms; Electoral Reforms to strengthen INEC to deliver transparent, credible, free and fair elections; Socio-economic and cultural rights as contained in Chapter 2 of the

constitution and Traditional Institutions.





Other are Issues of Gender; Strengthening the Independence of oversight institutions and agencies created by the constitution or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly; Residency and Indigene Provisions; Immunity; The National Assembly; Process of state creation and State access to mining.





In exercise of the powers conferred on the Legislature by Sections 4, 8, and 9 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended) and Order 20, Rule 30 of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives (11th Edition) and the Legislative Agenda of the 10th House of Representatives, I am pleased to invite the Executive and Judicial bodies, State Governments, Women Groups, Academics, Civil Society Organizations, Labour Unions, Professional bodies, Ethnic Nationalities, Nigerians in the Diaspora, Diplomats and the general public, to submit memoranda or proposals for further alteration(s) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on the following thematic areas: The Federal Structure and Power Devolution; Local Government/Local Government Autonomy; Public Revenue, Fiscal Federation, and Revenue Allocation; Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security Architecture; Comprehensive Judicial Reforms; Electoral Reforms to strengthen INEC to deliver transparent, credible, free and fair elections; Socio-economic and cultural rights as contained in Chapter 2 of the constitution; Traditional Institutions; Issues of Gender; Strengthening the Independence of oversight institutions and agencies created by the constitution or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly; Residency and Indigene Provisions; Immunity; The National Assembly; Process of state creation; State access to mining, he said.





The committee, however, extended the call for memoranda to any other matter that will promote good governance and the welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality, and justice.




President Bola Tinubu says it is unacceptable for the labour unions to call for a strike within the first nine months of an administration.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday at the inauguration of the red line rail project, Tinubu asked the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to maintain peace, adding that it is not the only voice of Nigerians.

The NLC had declared a two-day nationwide mass protest for February 27 and 28, over the economic hardship being faced by Nigerians.

On Tuesday, the protest took place in many parts of the country, including Abuja, the federal capital territory (FCT).

However, the leadership of NLC on Tuesday evening announced the suspension of the second day of the protest, noting that the objectives were achieved on the first day of the rally.

Joe Ajaero, NLC president, also alleged that the congress was intimidated and harassed in a bid to prevent the street marches.

The Labour union should understand that no matter how much we cling to our freedom and rights to call for strike within nine months of an administration is unacceptable, Tinubu said.

If you want to participate in the electoral process, wait until 2027. If not, maintain peace, you are not the only voice of Nigerians.

THERES LIGHT AT END OF TUNNEL

Tinubu said Nigeria will overcome the economic challenges it is facing, adding that he is aware that smugglers and corruption will fight back.

Tinubu said there is no going back on the ongoing reforms by his administration.

I asked for this job, I cannot complain. These reforms that are ongoing, we are not looking back because it is all about the people, he said.

One thing I know is that there is a very bright light at the end of the tunnel.

I agree smugglers will fight back, corruption will fight back we will fight them to ruin.

Corruption will go away. We will save the money for you; to educate our children; to pay for the healthcare system of our people; to pay for modern transportation system.

The fight is on, we are not looking back. This economy, we will grow it; we will feed ourselves out of the penury and we will be happy that we did it.

If it is corruption, we must exterminate it no matter how hard it is fighting back no to corruption. We must adhere to our pledge. Nigeria will be out of economic problems.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, says efforts by the federal government to ameliorate the impacts of the economic hardship on Nigerians are already yielding results.

Speaking with TheCable, Onanuga said many Nigerians have been complaining about the hardship due to lack of money.

He listed several initiatives rolled out by the president and some state governors to ensure people have food to eat as well as money to buy other basic needs.

The opposition can say nothing has worked but we can see some light already, Onanuga said.

For instance, the foreign exchange market is being stabilised. In the last one week or so, sanity has been restored in all these crazy movements of the naira in the black market.

On the food situation, from the reports we are gathering across the country, prices of foodstuffs are not going up, they are going down.

The major problem is that people dont have enough disposable income. What the government is doing, at least to all federal workers is to pay them N35,000 up till April. Even some states are also giving wage awards.

It is clear that many people are crying about food prices because they dont have enough money to spend. That is why the federal government and some states are making wage awards.

Look at Ogun state. The governor has rolled out palliatives worth N5 billion for households in the state. Lagos state has also announced a series of measures. In Ekiti, the state government also announced N5,000 palliatives for 10,000 households.

In Borno State, the governor recently raised the number of households being targeted for palliatives from 300,000 to 400,000. I can go on and on.

Most of them are making efforts to ensure that the workers have money to survive while others are also assisting the citizens.

The federal government is making efforts to boost food supply. We just issued a statement recently to tell Nigerians the state of governments effort on the 2,000 metric tonnes of grains and the 60,000 expected from rice millers.

The Nigerian Customs is also selling seized 25kg bags of rice at N10,000. A lot of things are being done to cushion the effects of the hardship and make sure Nigerians dont suffer.




The Oyo North senatorial candidate of Accord Party during the 2023 general elections, Shina Abiola Peller has joined the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Oyo state.





Peller joined the PDP on Thursday.





The event was held at Iseyin, the hometown of the former member of the House of Representatives.





Our correspondent reports that Peller represented Iseyin/ Itesiwaju/ Iwajowa/Kajola federal constituency between 2019 and 2023.





The reception of Peller from Accord to PDP was witnessed by the state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, represented by his Deputy, Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal.





Makinde, while speaking, expressed confidence that the PDP remained strong and united in Oyo State and would win the forthcoming local government elections as a result of his governments people-oriented programmes.





He charged PDP members, especially in Oke-Ogun and Ogbomoso to support and welcome the defectors with a large heart, so that the party could continue to wax stronger, as according to him, there is enough room for everyone to operate.





I want to greet our party leaders and elders who are here at this event. Being progressive without power is zero but we want power in Iseyinland, Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso and Oyo State in general.





This is why Shina Peller is joining the party that gives power to the people.





When you are looking for something within a particular place and you didnt get it, wont you leave the place and go to another place where you can find it?





I want to assure Peller that he and other followers wont regret joining the PDP and a lot of benefits will come to them, undoubtedly, he said.




The Nigerian Army says it never demanded money from selected trainees undergoing training at the Depot, Nigerian Army, Zaria, for vetting.





The Director, Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this in a statement on Thursday, describing the said demands as fraudulent actions of some faceless unscrupulous persons.





According to him, the claim was not only fraudulent but criminal and must be nipped in the bud before it festers.





He said it is common knowledge throughout the history of the Nigerian Army that training of potential recruits and officer cadets are fully funded and borne by the Nigerian Army.





Nwachukwu added that the attempt to fleece unsuspecting members of the public, whose wards successfully scaled through the meticulous and rigorous process was criminal.





According to him, this is viewed as criminal intent aimed at tarnishing the reputation of the Nigerian Army.





Parents and guardians are therefore urged to jettison such spurious requests in whatever guise and to report anyone trying to fleece them.





Already, efforts are on to track the source of these messages in order to bring them to book.





The Nigerian Army reiterates that training of potential recruits and officer cadets is fully funded and borne by the Nigerian Army.





Members of the general public are urged to be wary of the antics of criminals to scam them, he said.








A student of the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, Owerri, has died while several others sustained injuries in a cult-related incident.





The incident took place on Friday morning when students from Imo State University, IMSU, entered the FUTO campus in a motorcycle convoy, leading to a confrontation.





During the confrontation, the FUTO Man O War commander was fatally stabbed in the neck by one of the IMSU students.





The death and injuries have left the university community in mourning and shock.




Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says previous direct development interventions by the financial regulator gulped over N10 trillion.

Cardoso disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking to journalists after the monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja.

On October 12, 2023, the CBN governor said the apex bank would pull back from direct development interventions, stressing the need for the apex bank to return to its core function of monetary policies and advisory roles to support economic growth.

Speaking at the news conference on Tuesday, Cardoso reiterated the CBNs resolve to move away from the intervention programmes but noted that the bank is open to partnerships.

The intervention has two dysfunctions. One it takes a lot of time for something you do not have an expertise to do, and two, if not carefully handled, creates a lot of distortions in your economy through inflow of money supply, Cardoso said.

The interventions that took place in the recent past were estimated in excess of N10 trillion. Im not talking about ways or means. What was the budget of the federal government of Nigeria? What was the budget of the largest states in Nigeria? Do the maths and it would tell you the extent of damage too much of what may appear to be good things can do to an economy.

So for me, its a major issue. A number of things will be naive to say. Were not going to get directly involved in interventions, those that are out there, they need to be properly monitored to ensure they come back in.

We have to ensure that we monitor them to ensure that they come back in and were doing so. We are already doing that and with various degrees of success at some point in time, in the interest of transparency, those figures will be made public.

The time when we have failed interventions is over. There is no wiggle room to take up interventions that have a great potential to fail and do not get down to the people who were intended to in the first place.

Cardoso also said he believes the efforts and policies put in place by the apex bank are making significant impacts and bringing back confidence.




Inmates at the Jos Correctional Center, Plateau State, on Friday staged a protest over the economic hardship ravaging the nation.





It was gathered that the protest began immediately the inmates were informed of the downward review of sizes of food in the correctional center.





The inmates were said to have refused to take orders from the custodial officials and also shunned breakfast during the protest.





According to Daily Trust, the inmates converged at the center of the prison yard while shouting on top of their voices.





They were, however, dispersed by the custodial officials, who used tear gas to force them back to their rooms.





The Comptroller of the Jos Correctional Center, Raphael Ibinuhi, confirmed the development, blaming the protest on high cost of living.





He said, The problem has to do with the high cost of goods in the market. The contractor in charge of the foods said they are being forced by the price of food items to reduce the size of the plate of foods.





So, it is the food size that provoked the protest. I dont think the protest is necessary because the food challenge and the cost of items is a national issues that the federal government is already addressing.





And I want to believe that since it is a national issue, whatever step taken by the federal government to address it will be felt everywhere in the country including the Correctional centers.





There have been series of protests across the country due to the high level of economic hardship faced by citizens.




The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says foreign airlines have reopened their low-inventory tickets for Nigerians to access cheaper flights.

Michael Achimugu, the authoritys director of public affairs and consumer protection, disclosed this in a post on X on Thursday.

He said the development followed recent meetings between the NCAA and aviation stakeholders, including the international airlines.

In August 2022, (BA) had closed its inventory in Nigeria in the global distribution system (GDS), over the foreign airlines trapped funds controversy.

The move had prevented local travel companies from issuing tickets at relatively lower rates to travellers.

On January 30, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it had concluded the payment of all verified foreign exchange (FX) claims by airlines, releasing an additional $64.44 million to the concerned foreign aviation firms.

Providing updates on recent engagement with stakeholders, Achimugu said the inventory reopening would allow Nigerians to access lower ticket prices.

I am proud to announce that, after the meetings with international airlines on the 12th and 13th of February, all of the airlines  bar one, have reopened their low-inventory tickets for Nigerians to access lower ticket prices for international flights, he said.

Recall that most of these airlines had closed the low tickets to Nigerians for about a year, subjecting our citizens to only the highest possible airfares. But the swift intervention of Capt. Chris Najomo, DGCA, has eased the situation. More wins to come.

I am proud to announce that, after the meetings with international airlines on the 12th and 13th of February, all of the airlines - bar one, have reopened their low-inventory tickets for Nigerians to access lower ticket prices for international flights. Recall that most of these https://t.co/UNxy1geJHS  Michael Achimugu (@mikeachimugu01) February 29, 2024





On February 12, Chris Najomo, the acting director-general of the NCAA, expressed concern over the high cost of airfares, especially on international routes.

Najomo said the authority would set up a committee to review the situation and bring down the airfares.

It has come to the notice of this authority about the increase and high cost of airfares, especially on international travels, the director-general said.

And NCAA in a view of trying to make sure that these airfares are brought down, has decided to set up a high-powered committee which will look at all the variances and how we can bring these airfares down.

Weve met with the airlines and other stakeholders and other agencies we will make sure that this is done.

Some foreign aviation firms operating in Nigeria are Lufthansa German Airlines, KLM, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, British Airways, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir, and Turkish Airlines.




A suspected ritual killer, Adebayo Olamide Azeez, on Thursday revealed how he lured seven women through a dating app, mychat to their untimely death for ritual purposes.

Azeez, 32, confessed to being a member of a ritualist gang which specialised in killing women and selling their body parts for money rituals.

Operatives of the Ogun State Police Command had earlier arrested and paraded members of the gang, namely, Moses Abidemi Awuraji, Oluwo Samuel Monday, Peter Oluwalolese, Jamiu Yusuf, Akinwunmi Ifatosin, Sherifff Agbai and Osojieahen Alioneitouria.

They were all arrested for allegedly killing a 35-year-old woman, Sulaimon Adijat, for money ritual.

Azeez, who had been on the run, but was later arrested by the police, said he joined the gang in September last year and has participated in the killing of seven women.

He spoke when suspected criminals were paraded by the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alamutu.

Alamutu said the suspect conspired with Moses Abidemi Awuraji, a herbalist, to kill the victims for money ritual.

The suspects strangled their victims to death and dismembered their body parts and sold them to Oluwo Monday Samuel and Alfa Ariwo (who is still at large) for ritual purposes.

The three suspects confessed to the killing of ten different ladies at the Igbo Olomi residence of Moses Abidemi, Alamutu said.

Narrating how he lured and killed the victims, Azeez said, I got the ladies from MyChat, which is a hookup app. I just told them that I wanted to hook up with them whenever Moses Abidemi Awuraji contacted me that they needed human body parts.

They will call me and say that they need body parts, I will go on the app and chat with the ladies for a hookup. I didnt know the ladies before, we didnt have any conversation before, I only talked to them on the app. I ask if they are available and we negotiate on the amount they want to collect. When we reach an agreement, I will send my address to them and they will come over to me at Atan-Ota.

I will pick them up and call Moses Abidemi Awuraji that they are around, I will then take them to Moses Abidemi Awurajis house in Igbo Olomi, Atan-Ota, and inside his sitting room, we will kill them.

Abidemis wife (Awuraji Mariam) will pin their legs down while I strangle them.

I joined the gang in September in 2023 and we have killed seven ladies. These are the ladies that I brought to the house that we killed.

I dont know what they use the corpses of the ladies for, my job is just to source for the ladies and bring them in. They dont usually tell me the amount they will give, at times, they will pay me N30,000, other times, they gave me N40,000.

I cant say no to them whenever they ask me to bring the ladies. I dont know who they sell the body parts to and I dont ask them about it, my own is just to source the ladies and collect my money.

Meanwhile, Alamutu said the Command is working assiduously to unravel the identity of other victims.

He urged members of the public with missing relatives to report to the police with photographers of the missing persons.




The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says those laying curses on Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the commission, should make better use of their time.

Speaking exclusively with TheCable, Rotimi Oyekanmi, chief press secretary to the INEC chairman, also admonished those attacking Yakubu to cure themselves of their visible ignorance of the laws governing the electoral system and the commissions processes and procedures.

On February 25, the first year anniversary of the 2023 presidential election, some Nigerians took to social media platforms to rain curses on the electoral commission boss.

The aggrieved youths had alleged that Yakubu rigged the 2023 presidential election for incumbent President Bola Tinubu.

However, Oyekanmi described the 2023 elections as a huge success and the most painstakingly planned.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) believes that the 2023 general election was a huge success, despite some challenges that the commission had to grapple with, he said.

It was the most painstakingly planned election and for the most part, our plans were successfully executed.

Just last Friday, we released the official report of the election, which consisted of 526 pages, organised into 14 chapters and fortified with 60 tables, 14 boxes and 10 graphs. There is a lot to chew in the report.

And for the first time ever in Nigerias electoral history, the 2023 elections unveiled unprecedented political diversity, with four political parties capturing gubernatorial seats, effectively breaking the duopoly that has long dominated the political scene.

Besides, seven parties won senatorial seats, eight secured federal constituencies and nine were successful in state legislatures.

While the report emphasises the significant impact of technological advancements on the integrity of the electoral process, especially the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which reduced electoral fraud and bolstered the credibility of elections, the document also explained the challenges encountered with the INEC result viewing (IReV) portal during the presidential election.

With the report now in the public domain, we expect stakeholders to interrogate it and offer useful advice on how we can further improve the electoral system.

He added that: As for those persons who embarked on what they described as a a day of curses, my advice is that they should pay adequate attention to substantive issues, make more productive use of their time, and cure themselves of their visible ignorance of the laws governing the electoral system and the commissions processes and procedures.
Xem them

...

Tin bai cuoi cung

Khong con du lieu e load




Former Minister of Power and Steel under ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Olu Agunloye, has filed a N1 billion suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, over allegations that it published his name on its websites wanted list.





Agunloye, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/167/2024 and filed by his team of lawyers led by Mr Adeola Adedipe, SAN, also joined the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) as 2nd defendant.





The case, presently before Justice Emeka Nwite of a Federal High Court, Abuja, has now been fixed for April 18 for hearing.





The originating summons, dated and filed February 8, was sighted by the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday.





Agunloye sought six reliefs, including a declaration that the EFCC cannot lawfully exercise its discretion, powers and or functions under Sections 1(2\(c\, 6, 7, 13 of the EFCC Act, 2004, ditto Section 4 of the Police Act 2020, by declaring him wanted on its official website or any other related platform.





Agunloye said this was without recourse to any safeguard in Sections 34({1)(a), 35, 37, 39, 41 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including a judicial intervention, order or leave of court, pursuant to Sections 1(1), 8(1) & 42(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.





He, therefore, sought an order for the EFCC, its agents, privies, representatives and other related affiliates to forthwith remove his picture, name, references, details and or particulars from the wanted list published on its official website or any other related platform.





He also sought a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC and the AGF, both jointly or severally, whether by themselves or their staff, from further declaring the plaintiff wanted in relation to the particulars and subject matter of this suit, either on the EFCC official website, newspaper publication or any other related platform, except by a judicial intervention and recourse to all constitutional safeguards available to him in law and equity.





General damages of one billion naira (N1, 000, 000, 000 00) against the defendants, especially the 1st defendant





Cost of this action.





In the affidavit which he personally deposed to, Agunloye said he sought a redress and judicial intervention from the court with regard to some very disturbing actions of the anti-graft agency, which he said, ought not to occur under the watch of the AGF, which is the chief law officer of the federation.





Agunloye said this was so because sometime from November 2002 to May 2003, while he served as Minister of Power and Steel, he awarded contracts to Messrs Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited for the construction of the Mambilla Power Project by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).





The award of the said contracts followed all the necessary administrative and authoritative due process, obtaining the necessary approval.





Moreover, since the award of the contract, successive administrations have continued to interface with the company, Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited, so much so that the government entered into a settlement agreement with it over a dispute.





On an allegation of breach of contract by the company, Sunrise Power and Transmission Limited resorted to taking out an arbitral proceeding before the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris, France  in Case No: 26260/SPN/AB/CPB between Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited Vs. FGN





It is in connection to this arbitral proceeding that the 1st defendant invited me for interrogation on 3rd of May, 2023 and I did honour same on 16th May, 2023, despite my frailties and hailing health conditions.





Upon my release on administrative bail, the 1st defendant persisted in hounding me to return for further grilling which I frowned at because I was undergoing serious medical treatment related to heart.





When the threat and disturbances became alarming, in June 2023, I filed a suit in court to challenge the unnecessary harassment because I was not running away, but only attending to my health with notice to the 1st defendant.





It was, however, traumatising on the night of Tuesday, 12th December 2023, when I started receiving calls from all around the globe that I had been declared wanted by the 1st defendant.





Knowing fully well that I was not on the run, I reported at the EFCC headquarters here in Abuja the next day, 13th December 2023 where I was served with a criminal charge and was detained till 18th December 2023.




Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has expressed optimism about emerging as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Aiyedatiwa said this at a strategic meeting of officials and other members of the Lucky Aiyedatiwa Campaign Organisation Foot Soldiers, LACO-FS, in Akure.

A statement by the LACO-FS Director of Information, Mr Kayode Fasua, quoted the governor as saying My supporters should continue working and never doubt as my coming victory in the primary and general elections is the promise of God.

He described his predecessor, the late governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu as a prophet, who foresaw that he would succeed him as the next governor of Ondo State.

This (my emergence as governor) is what my late boss, Governor Akeredolu wanted. A lot of people dont know Akeredolu; they dont know that he was a prophet.

There was a time after he (Akeredolu) returned from a medical vacation that he told the cabinet members during an executive council meeting that Look, Aiyedatiwa will emerge as the next governor, he recalled.

Aiyedatiwa said his ambition, to contest for governor beyond the mandate of his joint ticket with the late Akeredolu, was not a tour de force but a sincere mission to transform Ondo State and uplift the standard of living of its people.

The LACO-FS Convener, Dr Oladipupo Okeyomi, during the occasion, said over 250,000 campaigners code-named Foot Soldiers had been positioned across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State, to secure victory for Aiyedatiwa.




The erstwhile Chief Executive of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, has said he will speak up in due course following his sack by President Bola Tinubu.





Irukeras statement came as a response to a demand by an X user that he should speak up about an allegation that he was removed due to his inability to effectively perform the duties of his office.





NE reported that Tinubu had in a letter to the Senate explained the reason for the removal of Irukere as Chief Executive of the FCCPC.





The letter said Irukera was removed due to his inability to effectively perform the duties of his office, adding that it has become pertinent to restructure and reposition critical agencies of the Federal Government for efficiency and effectiveness.





Disagreeing with the content of the letter sent to the upper legislative House, an X user @MalachyOdo1 wrote, At this point, Mr. Irukere has to speak up.





However, Irukera replied on X on Friday saying he will speak up at the right time.





He said: In due course. Silence is discipline, not weakness.




President Bola Tinubu has assured Nigerians that his administration will restructure the country as promised earlier, but noted that a good foundation must be laid.

Tinubu gave the assurance during a visit to the National Leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure, Ondo State on Wednesday.

After the closed-door meeting with some selected leaders of the group, the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr Jare Ajayi, quoted the President as having assured Nigerians that he would still restructure but that certain structures need to be put in place.

Quoting the President, Ajayi said: On the issues of restructuring, the President said that he is aware of the need to restructure Nigeria but that a good foundation must be laid before bringing the restructuring in place such that if it is done in a rush without a proper foundation, the restructuring may collapse very soon but it would be done.

He (Tinubu) said that when he took the oath of office, he (Tinubu) pledged his allegiance to Nigeria, that he knows what he is facing.

Tinubu said: I prayed for it, I danced for it, I campaigned for it and I got it. I know the enormous responsibility. So, dont pity me, Baba (Fasoranti), just sit down and relax.

He (Tinubu) assured Nigerians that he understood the struggle and that he is trying to build the structures that will not be reversed.

The President said that the structure he is trying to put in place in Nigeria economically, socially and politically would be such that it would bring Nigeria back to where it is supposed to be.

On the hardship Nigerians are facing, he (Tinubu) appreciates the pains Nigerians are going through and said that very soon, Nigeria will overcome it; that is a matter of time. He said that the kind of the policies government is implementing will bring positive solutions to the challenges.

He said that Nigerians should grow our foods. That we should eat the food we grow. Doing so would wean us from depending on foods from foreign sources.

Afenifere insists on restructuring, true federalism

Responding, Pa Fasoranti said: Your performance so far has shown that you understand the full gravity of your mandate which is to show the Nigerian people that a good government is possible.

In Yorubaland, we do not seek for any special treatment or unfair advantage. We know you are our own, but you now belong to all Nigerians. Your mandate was freely given by the people of Nigeria and blessed by God. Therefore, Mr President continue to govern fairly and courageously and with the fear of God. That is what we expect, that is what we know you will do.

You know that since the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, the Yoruba people, led by Afenifere, have been at the forefront of the campaign for the restructuring of Nigeria.

It is now incumbent on you to address this issue of constitutional reforms with courage, fairness and determination.

We know we cannot return to the past, but we have to seek a future where regional competitions would bring out the best in our country as it did during the First Republic.

We seek, therefore, a true Federal Republic that would reflect fiscal federalism. We believe a review of the 2014 National Constitutional Conference would help you in charting the course.

For the people of the South-West, restructuring also has a more pressing meaning. Today, Nigeria has a population of 200 million which would double in the next 25 years to 400 million.

However, the South-West is facing an avalanche of migration from the other zones of the country to the extent that in 25 years, if the current trend continues, the South-West would be home to 50 per cent of the population of Nigeria.

We need to be prepared so that our region would not be overwhelmed by imported challenges.

We want each of the geopolitical zones to have greater responsibilities for security, food production and infrastructural development.

Since the removal of fuel subsidy, which was costing Nigeria $10 billion yearly, the state governments have been receiving hefty allocations from the Federation account.

Mr President should persuade the governors to allow this change of fortune for the states to reflect at the grassroots so that life can be better for our people. They should not just buy rice and yams for the people.

Mr President, thank you for this visit. You owe a duty to posterity to serve Nigeria with all your strength and wisdom.
An intoxicated woman who struck and killed her boyfriend with her car following an argument has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, officials said.

Tina C. Lewis, 35, of Mount Holly, was sentenced on Thursday on an aggravated manslaughter conviction, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said. She pleaded guilty to the charge in September 2023.

A struggle began between Lewis and her boyfriend, Craig Everett, when he drove her to Recovery Centers of America in Mays Landing on September 24, 2021, and she refused to go inside, officials said. After they were outside of the car, Lewis went back in the vehicle and climbed over the center console into the drivers seat. Her boyfriend entered the passengers seat and attempted to get her out of the vehicle, authorities said.
Five men from New York and Tennessee have been charged for their involvement in three well-organized and violent robberies in Bergen County last fall that specifically targeted Rolex watches, the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said Friday.

Albeiro Melendez-Gerardi, 28, Melvin Ochoa, 23, Carlos Olivera-Natera, 29, and Luis Pacheco Tovar, 29, all from New York, and Victor Noguera-Leon, 28, of Nashville, Tennessee were charged with a variety of first- through third-degree crimes including conspiracy to commit to commit robbery, armed robbery and weapons offenses.

All of the robberies included a weapon, and one robbery on Nov. 3, 2023 resulted in a stabbing, authorities said.

The first alleged robbery took place at 3:11 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2023 when two subjects approached someone in a shopping center in Edgewater and held a gun while demanding the persons watch, authorities said. The suspects took the persons watch while a third person served as a lookout and escaped in separate vehicles.

Investigators said the person was likely followed by the suspects from Hudson County prior to the armed robbery.

The organized pattern of weapons, lookouts and escape vehicles was repeated two more times in November at different locations, according to authorities.

On Nov. 3, 2023 at about 10:05 pm., officers in Palisades Park responded to a report of a stabbing on East Palisades Boulevard. The victim was approached by two suspects and grabbed from behind after parking his car in his driveway, authorities said, adding he was held down and stabbed as a third person acted as a lookout.

The suspects forcibly removed the victims watch while stating they had a handgun before fleeing in separate vehicles operated by other men waiting nearby, investigators said. It was determined by investigators that the person was likely followed by the suspects from New York City.

The third incident happened on Nov. 9, 2023 at about 3:50 p.m. when Edgewater police responded to a report of an armed robbery on River Road. Authorities said a woman was approached by two suspects after parking her car at a shopping center and displayed a handgun while a lookout kept watch nearby.

One suspect covered the womans mouth while the other removed her watch from her wrist, authorities said. The suspects again fled in separate vehicles, but one vehicle whose description was broadcast to nearby law enforcement was stopped by Port Authority Police shortly afterward.

Olivera-Natera was allegedly driving the vehicle and subsequently arrested on Nov. 9 in Edgewater, authorities said.

Investigators from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office said the five suspects operated as a group and were each responsible for one or more of the three armed robberies.

Olivera-Natera has been held at the Bergen County Jail since his arrest, and charges were added to include his alleged involvement with the two previous robberies in Edgewater and Palisades Park, authorities said. Charges were upgraded by prosecutors for Olivera-Natera regarding his alleged role in the Nov. 9 armed robbery. He is awaiting a pre-trial detention hearing on March 6.

Ochoa was arrested in New York City on Nov. 27 with the assistance of the New York City Police Department and was extradited to New Jersey on Dec. 7. He is being held in the Bergen County Jail.

Pacheco Tovar was also arrested in New York City on Feb. 6, 2024 and is being held in the city with pending criminal charges in an unrelated matter, officials said. The Bergen County Prosecutors Office said they will seek extradition to New Jersey following the disposition of the New York charges.

Melendez-Derardi was arrested on Dec. 4, 2023 in Florida with the help of the FBI and extradited Jan. 24 to New Jersey, where he is being held.

Noguera-Leon was arrested in Texas on Feb. 27, 2024 with the assistance of FBI agents and is awaiting extradition to New Jersey.

Attorneys for the suspects were not immediately available for comment Friday.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
A judge in Bergen County has ruled the firing of a Lyndhurst police sergeant nearly two years ago was improper and ordered the officer returned to his job with back pay.

Richard Pizzuti was terminated March 8, 2022, following a disciplinary hearing over six days in which the sergeant was accused of taking evidence and paperwork home with him from another officers arrest.

Pizzuti was also accused of lying to internal affairs over the matter, according to court documents filed after the officer sued Lyndhurst a week after his termination.

In her ruling on Feb. 2, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Christine A. Farrington found that a 21-day suspension without pay is the appropriate penalty for the conceded charge.

A spokesman for the Lyndhurst Police Department referred questions about the matter to Township Attorney Carmine Alampi.

Alampi said the township plans to appeal the judges ruling but noted that Pizzuti has been returned to his job and is on the payroll.

The township attorney would not disclose the type of evidence Pizzuti took home from the police station.

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Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino.
Holtec, an energy industry supplier with ties to New Jersey politics, was cited by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Thursday for improperly spending $62,000 from a decommissioning trust fund as it continues taking apart the site.

Its the fourth time Holtec has been cited by regulators for issues related to the decommissioning since taking over the power plant in 2019.

A spokeswoman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission  a federal agency which issued the civil penalties  said the most recent violation was discovered during a routine inspection at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant.

The NRC staff found that the company used the decommissioning trust fund for expenses that were not legitimate decommissioning activities  about $62,000 was used for a number of community outreach activities, said Diane Screnci, an agency spokeswoman.

The company said it spent the money on charitable expenditures and has already taken steps to pay back the trust fund.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission specifies that decommissioning trust funds can only be used for removing a facility from service and reducing residual radioactivity to a level that permits release of the property.

We take our responsibility as watchful stewards of the trust fund very seriously. We are also deeply committed to our local communities we serve as part of the decommissioning process, Patrick OBrien, a spokesman for Holtec International, said Friday.

It is in that spirit as a strong community partner that these charitable expenditures were made, as part of our regular community outreach and engagement activities, OBrien said.

We take any violation very seriously and have already taken corrective actions to ensure the amount was restored to the trust fund, with interest, and that this issue does not recur with our future community and charitable contributions, OBrien said.

Holtec has been issued violations four times since taking over the plant in July 2019. The company was fined $150,000 in December 2021 and $50,000 in January 2022  both for security-related issues. Holtec was issued its third citation in November for improperly shipping radioactive materials out of state.

The nations oldest nuclear plant, Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey Township shut down in September 2018 by mutual agreement with the state.

It was purchased by Holtec in July 2019 and immediately entered the decommissioning process. The decommissioning of nuclear facilities involves safely removing residual materials and reducing radioactivity to a level that permits the license to be terminated, with the property released either for unrestricted use or under specified restricted conditions.

Oyster Creeks Nuclear Decommissioning Trust Fund to complete the decommissioning on time.

The license at Oyster Creek nuclear plant is expected to expire in 2029, according the Nuclear Regulatory Commission website.

Holtec has close ties to South Jersey Democratic power broker George E. Norcorss III, who sits on its board and had been a focus of a long-running investigation by a special governors task force into how millions in state tax incentives were awarded  including those that went to Holtec.

In January, an investigation by a special anti-corruption unit within the state Attorney Generals office led to a $5 million settlement after Holtec was accused of attempting to game the system in its efforts to get a substantial tax break for its investment in a tech startup.

The company was also cited in a 2019 investigation into wide-ranging abuses of the states economic incentive programs, after receiving one of the biggest tax breaks ever awarded by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

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Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com.
Anheuser-Busch workers will vote starting this weekend on a proposed five-year contract endorsed Wednesday night by their unions leadership, heading off a possible strike.

Voting by approximately 5,000 employees at the companys 12 U.S. breweries, all members of the Teamsters union, will begin Sunday and continue through Tuesday, the union announced Thursday.

One of the breweries is the 73-year-old factory in Newark, an iconic presence off Routes 1 and 9 near Newark Liberty International Airport, where nearly 200 are employed.

The current contract expires at 11:59 p.m. Thursday and the union, prior to the tentative agreement, had said it was prepared to walk off the job Friday morning.

There have been five strikes over the decades involving the Newark factory but none since 1976, based on published reports.

The union said results will be shared after voting concludes.

The tentative agreement includes wage increases of $8 per hour, including an immediate $4 per hour raise in the first year, adding up to a 23% increase by the end of the contract.

Teamsters make the beer, Teamsters make Anheuser-Busch successful, and our members deserve the best contract, Teamsters General President Sean M. OBrien said in announcing the tentative agreement Wednesday night.

Anheuser-Busch also lauded the outcome.

At Anheuser-Busch, we have said time and again that our people are our greatest strength, and we are incredibly pleased to have reached a tentative agreement that continues to recognize the talent, dedication, and hard work of our teams, while also positioning the Company for long-term success, said Brendan Whitworth, CEO, Anheuser-Busch.

Brands brewed in Newark include Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch, Busch Light, Natural Light and Rolling Rock.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
Jersey City mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey took a shot at another landmark city project Thursday, questioning everything from the price tag of the Loews Jersey theater renovations to the competency of the group managing the project.

The former governor, who last week said plans to open a satellite Pompidou Centre in Jersey City should be ditched, is now raising concerns over the rising costs and delays in transforming the Loews, in the heart of Journal Square, from a historic movie house into an A-list entertainment venue.

He did not go as far as for calling for the project to be cancelled.

The theaters renovation presents an opportunity to revitalize and contribute to the Journal Square neighborhood, McGreevey said in a statement. Yet, any project in which Jersey City engages in must be well-planned, detail, appropriate, given the citys other commitments and responsibility.

McGreeveys statement drew a quick rebuke from Hudson County District 2 Commissioner Bill ODea, who is also running for mayor.

I dont think (McGreevey) understands development, said ODea, who is involved in the Loews project as role with the Elizabeth Development Company. Once you get inside of historic buildings and start to really design the work and layout of it, you find things that are going to cost more money to restore or renovate.

Repurposing the 94-year-old landmark is considered an integral part of Mayor Steve Fulops plan to revitalize Journal Square as a major development boom takes places in the neighborhood.

A deal between the city and Devils Arena Entertainment, the Newark-based operator of the Prudential Center, to renovate and operate the space as a major concert and event venue was announced in 2021, with a projected cost of $72 million.

But the cost has ballooned by 45% to $105 million and the project has yet to begin in earnest.

With the increased cost from $72 to $105 million, how much will Devils Arena Entertainment (DAE) pay and how much will Jersey City taxpayers pay? McGreevey asked. Will the $33 million of increased cost in renovation be shouldered by Jersey City taxpayers?

While ODea said that watching the cost on projects will be an issue in the mayoral race, he said that McGreeveys put out releases without answers, and that the Loews renovations is worthwhile project.

McGreevey also said Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, DAEs parent company, focuses upon managing sports arenas and other very large venues. Is HBSE competent or the appropriate choice to renovate and operate Loews Jersey Theatre, a relatively small theater and which is clearly distinct from other HBSE projects?

Fulop said earlier this month at a Journal Square Community Association meeting that the Loews project would begin in February or March and that it could take between 12 to 18 months to finish.

ODea added that the bulk of the restoration will begin within 90 days and that the financing agreement will show how much tax money via bonding will be spent.

Fulop and his spokeswoman did not comment on McGreeveys concerns. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, which owns the theater, declined to comment. City Council President Joyce Watterman, another mayoral candidate, did not respond for comment.
 [  ]  2024-02-29 17:30:16 .

I heard the tradition on leap day from a nurse practitioner. She told me that a woman could propose marriage to her partner on leap day. I googled for the details. Here it is. Haha, don't miss the opportunity which is only available one day every four years! Pop the question It's a British and Irish tradition for women to propose marriage to their partner on leap day. The tradition is thought to date back to fifth-century Ireland, when Saint Bridget complained to Saint Patrick that women were tired of waiting for men to propose. The patroness saint of Ireland was able to convince Saint Patrick to allow women to propose to men once every four years, which became known as "Ladies' Privilege" or "Bachelor's Day."
Hundreds of polar plungers will be taking on a wintertime challenge Saturday at Lake Hopatcong.

The 14th annual Leap in the Lake starts at 1 p.m., with plungers dashing from the beach at Hopatcong State Park in Roxbury into the frigid waters of New Jerseys largest lake.

Temperatures are expected to be about 40 degrees for the event, which is organized by Lake Hopatcong Elks No. 782 in Morris County.

Were so lucky we dont have to cut any ice this year, said Rick Gathen of Stanhope, founder of Leap in the Lake.

Plungers are donating a minimum of $50 to participate and proceeds benefit a program for children with special needs, other youth services and building renovations, according to the Elks chapter.

It is the latest in a series of polar plunges in New Jersey this winter. The largest was last weekend at the Jersey Shore, where a crowd estimated at more than 8,000 gathered for the 31st Polar Bear Plunge at Seaside Heights.

Three events  the Atlantic City Polar Bear Plunge in Atlantic City, the Brigantine Polar Bear Plunge in Brigantine, and the Sons of Ireland Polar Bear Plunge in Long Branch  were held on New Years Day.

Lake Mohawk, a private lake in Sparta, is having an early-spring plunge on March 24, organized by Sparta Elks No. 2356.

Gathen, who lives in Stanhope, said the Lake Hopatcong event has grown over the years.

We started with 13 leapers. This year we will have over 800, Gathen said.

Participants will be sent over in waves, allowed up to minute in the water, and will not be permitted to venture further than 12 feet, he said.

They run in, they run out. You get some that dive in, Gathen said.

The event will be followed by a three-hour post-leap party starting at 2 p.m. at the Elks building, with food, raffles and music.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
A representative of Gov. Phil Murphys administration said New Jersey wants a higher $10 toll credit and credit for George Washington Bridge tolls to be applied against the MTAs proposed $15 congestion pricing fee.

Other requests made at a public hearing on Friday include shortening the proposed 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. peak tolling period and not charging the congestion fee during off-peak hours to avoid harming night workers, said Chris DElia, a transportation policy advisor for Murphy.

If approved by the MTA board, congestion pricing would charge a $15 fee to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan, which is designed to reduce traffic, crashes, air pollution and raise $1 billion annually for subway, bus and commuter rail projects. A projected 80,00 to 110,000 commuters are forecasted to switch from driving to transit use, MTA officials said.

DElia outlined five steps the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which would run the program should take before a planned mid-June implementation.

He called on the authority to increase the proposed $5 toll credit toward the $15 congestion charge to at least $10 at all New Jersey crossings, including the George Washington Bridge. The current proposal only extends a $5 toll credit at the Hudson and East River tunnels.

New Jerseyans already pay $15 to cross into New York and a (total) $25 to $30 fee when they use the tunnels, it is too much, he said.

The Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority should shorten the duration of the peak hour pricing times from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., reducing it to 6 a.m. through 8 p.m., DElia said.

The authority also shouldnt charge a congestion pricing fee during off peak hours because congestion is lower and public transportation operates less frequently, he said. One of the goals of congestion pricing is to promote use of subways and buses to deliver an estimated 17% reduction in traffic volume.

Tolling during these hours will only harm night workers, he said.

He also called on the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority to clarify that low income drivers s receive a 50% discount on peak hour tolls after 10 consecutive trips would also eligible for any toll crossing credits and that those drivers would receive credits or refunds equal to the tax credit for low income residents of the central business district.

The MTA should not move forward, DElia said. The TBTA should take the following measures to address the inappropriate burdens the toll would have on New Jersey, its communities, residents and low income drivers.

The state filed more comprehensive written comments with the MTA during a public comment period that ends on March 10. The first in person and online public hearing was held Thursday night where more than 150 people commented during four hours.

New Jersey filed suit in federal court last July challenging a June approval given to the congestion pricing program by the Federal Highway Administration and contending a more stringent Environmental Impact Statement should have been conducted. A hearing is scheduled to start on April 3, but the court scheduled a mandatory settlement conference on March 13 in Newark.

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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
Investigators in Ocean County on Friday identified the body of a man found in the trunk of a car earlier this week as a local resident who was last seen alive in New York City.

David Koscuik, 57, of Lakewood, was identified as the person found dead about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday inside the trunk of a vehicle parked in the area of Fairway Court in Lakewood, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.

Lakewood police were called to the scene on a report of an unconscious male. When officers arrived, they found Koscuik dead inside the trunk, Billhimer said in a statement.

This investigation remains active and ongoing; there is no known danger to the public, and additional information will be released when it becomes available, Billhimers statement said.

Koscuik was last seen alive on Feb. 8 in Brooklyn, New York, wearing a black Steelers sweatshirt and driving a gray 2017 Chevrolet Malibu, according to a statement issued last week by police in Manchester Township.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Detective Olga Brylevskaya of the Ocean County Prosecutors Office at 732-929-2027, extension 4105, or Lakewood police Detective Austin Letts of at 732-363-0200.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
TAMPA, Fla.  A thought crossed my mind this week when Juan Soto came out in favor of the Yankees signing Blake Snell.

Me, curious: Was Soto trying to shore up the Bombers roster because he himself is thinking about a long-term commitment in New York?

Me, skeptical: Soto was just doing Scott Boras - his agent, Snells agent - a solid.

You dont have to be a genius to pick Door Number 2. The only way for Soto couldve made it interesting was to say, nah, were good without Snell. And then counted to five before laughing.

Otherwise, Soto was just lending a hand to an out-of-work free agent. Or, more accurately, to a master negotiator who never loses - but is doing just that.

Boras looks like hes in panic mode this week. Not only is he struggling to find a landing spot for Snell, but Jordan Montgomery and Matt Chapman are in similar purgatory.

The fact that Boras agreed to hawk Cody Bellinger on a short-term deal to Cubs was revealing. The Human Shark is nervous about the upcoming season. Opening Day is less than a month away. Holding out, waiting for one owner to lose his nerve, isnt working this time around.

That explains why Boras pitched Hal Steinbrenner on a three-year deal for Snell, with opt-outs in both the second and third seasons. The offer was supposed to give the Yankees a safety net in case Snell bombed in Year One like Carlos Rodon (another Boras client). But that strategy backfired.

Not only did Steinbrenner pass, but one source said the Yankees were stunned. The offer was actually worse than what Boras was originally seeking: a nine-year, $270 million monstrosity.

Why would the Yankees ever go short with Snell? said the source whos been briefed on the talks.

Spot-on question. Surely Boras knows the luxury tax surcharge would double Snells salary in the first year. So why would Steinbrenner pay, say, $63 million for a pitcher who could walk away after one or two summers?

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The idea would be to give the Yankees more years, not fewer, and reduce the annual average salary. And even then, Snell would have to accept no more than $20 million the first year.

The luxury tax would boost that to $42 million, but the sticker shock would diminish over time - say, 4-5 years. Maybe Snell would agree to defer some of his earnings like Shohei Ohtani.

Then again, maybe not. Probably not. Make that certainly not. Boras may be bending to market conditions, but it would take a massive retreat to put Snell in Pinstripes at this point.

Snell and the Yankees are not close. So Keep an eye on the Giants, whose chances are improving by the day. They have the money and two glaring holes in the rotation Keaton Winn and Tristan Beck, both injured.

Theres one other obstacle that stands between Snell and the Yankees. A year ago Boras was dangling Rodon in Steinbrenners face, promising the left-handers breakthrough with the Giants would translate nicely in the Bronx.

Steinbrenner fell hard. Sources say Brian Cashman didnt even have to convince the young Boss to write a check for $162 million. Steinbrenner was even more enthusiastic about Rodon than his general manager.

Twelve months later, Steinbrenner is still feeling burned. Rodon was awful. Only now has he gotten himself into shape and taken the six-year commitment seriously.

Nevertheless Rodons struggle has made it that much tougher for Steinbrenner to be tempted by Snell. Even if Boras demands werent so absurdly high, the young Boss wouldve been skeptical about The Next Great Piece of the Puzzle.

And one last thought about Boras hard line stance. It cost Snell whatever chance he had of being a Yankee. When Steinbrenner came back with a six-year, $150 million counter, Boras and Snell not only passed, they didnt even bother to negotiate.

Instead, they stuck to the original $270 million demand, which was never going to happen. Steinbrenner couldnt pull up stakes fast enough. He pivoted to Marcus Stroman. Snell has been on the outside ever since.

When the left-hander finally signs somewhere, his first conversation should be with Boras. Rodon should start with a searing question: how did you let the Yankees slip away?

Other random thoughts from camp:

WHERE IS MARIANO RIVERA?

The Yankees are proud of the roster of guest instructors in spring training. Rightfully so. Not many clubs can fill the clubhouse with rock star alumni like Ron Guidry, Willie Randolph, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams and Tino Martinez.

But Mariano Rivera is conspicuously absent, as is Jorge Posada. I asked Aaron Boone about those two. He said logistics were problematic. But Rivera, in particular, has been absent the last few years, not just this one.

Doesnt seem right.

WHERE IS NESTOR CORTES FUNKY WINDUP?

Nestor Cortes threw 48 pitches against the Twins on Monday, and by all accounts it was a successful outing. His shoulder, injured twice last year, felt fine, the velocity held steady at 92-93 mph and the delivery was as athletic as it was conventional.

Somehow Cortes kept it by the book throughout. Not a single funky, leg-swinging, arm-dropping made-up-on-the-fly wind-up all afternoon.

Too bad. Its fun to watch Cortes undress hitters. Hes the most creative starter since Orlando Hernandez and David Cone.

So why did Cortes play it straight, especially in a spring game that didnt count?

The left-hander cautioned against looking too hard for a reason.

I want to wait until I know (the shoulder) is all the way back before I start playing around, Cortes sad. Maybe next time.

THE AGELESS WILLIE RANDOLPH

The former six-time All-Star second baseman still participates in infield drills with the present-day Yankees. Everyone is impressed by Randolphs quick hands and strong arm.

How old is he? one young Yankee asked incredulously. When told Randolph will be 70 in July, the 20-something said, Thats amazing. He can still pick it.

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Bob Klapisch may be reached at bklapisch@njadvancemedia.com.
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Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Snow this morning will give way to lingering snow showers this afternoon. High 37F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snowfall around one inch..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy with snow showers around this evening. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 50%.
Zion Lutheran Church of rural Pickrell is celebrating their 150th anniversary throughout the year. Sunday, March 10 will be the first of three special services to mark the milestone.

Tamme Zimmerman and his wife Trientje were the first to arrive from Hannover, Germany in 1862. The Homestead Act brought other families to the area around the same time with Lutheran beliefs.

Committee member Denise Schlake-Ideus said many of the founders of the church were Homesteaders or connected to the Homestead Act.

Many of the founders were family, she said. They came to the United States for different reasons, but the Homestead Act and free land was important."

The Evangelical Lutheran Zion congregation was founded in 1874 by nine German immigrants that met in a dugout and sod houses. They were all from towns in Ostfriesland while it was part of Hannover  the Kingdom or Province.

Committee member Marcella Rademacher said the committee was planning to do three special services throughout 2024.

We are focusing on chunks of 50 years, she said. A lot happened in our first 50 years.

The first church was 30x40 feet and was built for $50 in 1881. Only seven years later they enlarged the building because they had so many people. That church was moved across the road and a new church building was planned. In 1916 the cornerstone was laid and completed the following year for approximately $45,000 without debt. It was important to the congregation that they not have debt.

From 1902-1945 Pastor Reents served the church as the pastor and only spoke High German.

Rademacher said the pastor only wanted to speak High German.

He only wanted to speak High German, she said. Even the superintendent of schools came to the church and told him the church shouldnt be using only High German to teach the catechism classes and in the sermons. We were at war with Germany at the time.

In 1942 the use of English increased and by 1946 both German and English languages were used in separate services. It wasnt until 1962 that the German services were discontinued.

The largest number of members at the church was around 979 in the 1920s.

Rademacher said she has seen minutes that encouraged people to find other churches to attend in the area.

They said Reents was preaching members could sit outside and hear him, she said. I found meeting minutes that encouraged people to find other churches. The capacity of this church is just over 800. Can you imagine a church saying we have too many members and you need to build other churches?

Four different parsonages were built during the first 50 years.

The New German School building was built in 1921 and sits to the east of the church. It has been used for many years for Sunday school classes.

One of the goals of the committee is to restore the Heritage Room at the old schoolhouse.

Committee member Connie Thornburg said there was a lot of memorabilia.

We have a lot of photos and memorabilia, but it was all in file cabinet drawers, she said. Our goal was to have a room where we could display the items. We wanted it to have a living history type of scenario.

A silent auction is being held at the church to raise funds for the Heritage Room.

The first pastor at Zion Lutheran was a Missouri Synod church, however, the congregation has never been in the Missouri Synod. Over the years the name of the synod has changed. They are now a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA).

Throughout the past 150 years, over 3,000 children have been baptized in the church.

On March 10 Bishop Scott Johnson will be giving a special message during the service. Anyone in the community with connections to the church is invited to attend. A meal will be provided for church members who had responded previously following the service.

Other services in July and October celebrating the anniversary are being planned.
Louisiana consistently ranks among the nations deadliest states from gun violence. For most of the past decade, only Mississippi had more deaths from firearms than our state.

That statistic alone should prompt our lawmakers to pass legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of people not trained and mature enough to use them responsibly, but they reliably do the opposite.

This week, during Gov. Jeff Landrys special session on crime, legislators hastily and overwhelmingly approved Senate Bill 1 by state Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia.

Effective July 4, the new law will allow any law-abiding person 18 or older to carry a concealed handgun in Louisiana  without a permit or any training whatsoever.

Thats a significant change from existing law, which requires a concealed-carry permit, a minimum age of 21 and live-fire training.

Miguezs bill doesnt define law-abiding. Its just a talking point. Effectively, his bill lets anyone who is not a convicted felon or judicially declared incompetent carry a concealed handgun.

As applied to 18-to-21-year-olds, it includes your average oversexed, emotionally not-yet-fully formed high school senior  and his or her consequentially obtuse, potentially ill-tempered friends, cousins and older siblings.

How many of them do you think will know or follow the bills limitations on where they can pack heat?

In recent years, similar concealed-carry bills either failed to pass or were vetoed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards, who comes from a long line of sheriffs. This year, thanks to Landrys staunch support, Miguezs bill sailed through both legislative chambers.

But lawmakers didnt stop there. They also passed Miguezs Senate Bill 2, which grants immunity from civil damages if someone with a concealed carry permit shoots and injures or kills a perpetrator.

Miguez says that will encourage people who carry concealed handguns to get training and permits.

Maybe.

This much is certain: SB 2 does not define perpetrator  and that opens a Pandoras bx of potential abuses.

Basically, the message is, Keep shooting. Empty the clip, said former state Rep. Joe Marino, a no-party independent from Gretna and a criminal defense attorney. If the person you shoot cant testify and there are no other witnesses, you can claim self-defense.

Feel safer now?

Marino added that SB 1, the so-called constitutional carry law, will actually make law enforcement officers jobs more dangerous.

A police officer friend told me that going forward, cops can assume people may be legally packing guns, Marino said. Even in routine traffic stops, everyone will be asked to step out of the car and place their hands on the hood. Everyone will be patted down for officer safety.

And in case youre wondering, Im a lifelong outsdoorsman and responsible gun owner. I believe safety through training is the most important rule of gun ownership. I dont have a concealed-carry permit, but I got the training anyway because I dont want blood on my hands.

Requiring such training to carry a concealed handgun doesnt violate the Second Amendment.

It just makes us safer.
Have you ever been in downtown Billings and found yourself really needing a Kenner R5-D4 action figure? Or a full collection of the 1999 Inspector Gadget McDonalds Happy Meal toys? Maybe a 1:24 scale die cast version of the car Kevin Harvick drove at the 2001 Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham Speedway? Or perhaps you desire more Neil Diamond records than anyone could possibly listen to in one sitting?

Boy, are you in luck. On Friday, YesterYears Antique Mall, which vacated its old location at 102 N. 29th St. at the end of January, is reopening, now at 208 N. Broadway, right under Skypoint in the middle of downtown.

During its last days at the corner of North 29st Street and First Avenue North, there was a mannequin in the stores window clutching a Hart-Albin department store shopping bag in its plastic hand. Its placement there was a knowing wink. Like all antiques, it was an acknowledgment of the past  said department store was the dominant retail force in downtown Billings for most of the 20th century  and also a nod to the future. Because the new YesterYears location just so happens to be the same one Hart-Albin vacated 30 years ago.

Hart-Albin opened in 1902, just 20 years after Billings was founded. R.M. Hart and B.R. Albin established the store in January of that year, and opened a location on Montana Avenue. Soon, it moved to the Stapleton Building, at the corner of Broadway and First Avenue North (now occupied by Big Dipper Ice Cream and Stacked, A Montana Grill, among others).

But business  and Billings  kept booming. So in 1917, Hart-Albin opened at the corner of Broadway and Second Avenue North, in a purpose built department store that was cutting edge. It had multiple floors of shopping and high, vaulted skylights that allowed the natural light to pour into the retail space. Western artist J.K. Ralston painted a mural of early Billings, with the first Hart-Albin store prominently featured.

For well over half a century, Hart-Albin was the center of Billings downtown. At its height, Hart-Albin owned a big chunk of downtown, including their former home in the Stapleton building. Hart-Albin stores opened in Missoula, Helena and Bozeman.

But the flagship was always that spot in Billings. It gave the town a metropolitan flair, a feeling that something big and modern was happening here.

Until it wasnt. In 1991, Hart-Albin closed. Plenty of things have been blamed for its demise. The company suffered a devastating fire in 1988 after a Christmas decoration malfunctioned. Montanas economy slumped in the 1980s, and the value of the companys real estate holdings began to dry up.

But the biggest reason was probably the same thing that helped Hart-Albin expand so fast in the first place: Billings just kept growing. By the 1980s, the West End started to present retail and housing opportunities that drew people away from downtown.

Whatever the reason, in 1990, Raymond Hart, grandson of R.M., announced that the store would close. The company declared bankruptcy, liquidated their stock, and were out of business by the next year.

That was the end of Hart-Albin, but not the Hart-Albin building. Herbergers moved in to the space in 1992, but they left in 1997. Part of the building was turned into offices, and D.A. Davidson moved in. But for 25 years, that retail space on the bottom floor stayed empty.

Not anymore. YesterYears  along with their 60 vendors  moved into the Hart-Albin building at a breakneck pace. Their old location closed on Jan. 31, meaning they had to move into their new space in a month  and the shortest month of the year, at that.

Still, the move went smoothly. That is largely thanks to Montana Muscle Movers, who took 33 truckloads, full to the brim, from one YesterYears location to the next. YesterYears owner Danny Kramer estimated that the total number of items that needed to be moved had to be over a million.

The YesterYears vendors boxed up their antiques, and then Muscle Movers took it from there. They had the moving process done in a blistering 18 days.

If we would have had to move this, it would have taken us six months, joked YesterYears manager (and Dannys son) Austin Kramer. We would have gone out of business.

With the hardest part taken care of, the Kramers were free to start planning. Danny had the space all mapped out before the move began. That was an easier process than it was at the old store. That space was also a former department store, Vaughn-Ragsdale, but it had served a litany of purposes over the year, including a pool hall. As YesterYears grew and expanded, it started spilling into areas of the building that werent nearly as conducive to retail. One corner of their retail space was in a basement, complete with concrete floors and low ceilings.

Even into the present day, the old YesterYears buildings future remained in limbo. Its owned by the nonprofit Downtown Billings Association (DBA), and was tapped as ground zero for the ambitious, and ultimately unsuccessful, One Big Sky District.

In December of last year, news broke that the old YesterYears building would be demolished to build the Futurity Tower, a high-rise with retail, restaurant and office space, capped by 120 apartments. When its finished, itll be the fourth tallest building in the whole state.

Good news for downtown, but it also meant YesterYears lease was up. Thankfully, the Kramers and company used that as an opportunity, not a setback.

The Hart-Albin building was a perfect fit, and the Kramers worked with the buildings current owners  Zoot Enterprises  to transform the old, unused retail space into something that could be used again.

At 20,000 square feet, the square footage at Hart-Albin is technically smaller than the space at the Vaughn-Ragsdale building, which had 25,000. But the floor space at Hart-Albin works much better as a retail environment. Its wide open and well lit, allowing ample room for all the booths, and everything the vendors can stuff into them. Still, it has that classic, maze like atmosphere of a good antique store, where youre never sure what youll see around the next corner. Its mostly all open, although there are a few small alcoves tucked away  theyre the old Hart-Albin dressing rooms.

Hart-Albin is also a seamless fit because of its age. Just think of it  an antique store in a store that is, itself, an antique. How could you resist? The checkout counters are salvaged from the Hart-Albin store, and came from Toucan Gallery, unearthed when they moved earlier this year. And there are little Hart-Albin mementos spread throughout the store, including a role of Hart-Albin branded wrapping paper that Kramer found at the old YesterYears. Theyve got Hart-Albin shopping bags, a pair of shoes with the original price tag, and a snack tray that still has its original Hart-Albin receipt.

In this way, YesterYears didnt move as much as it stepped even deeper into downtown Billings history.

Danny Kramer is a lifelong antiquer, and he estimates that he owns about a third of the merchandise for sale at YesterYears. This move was a big project, but he bought the company, and pulled off a major expansion, about four years ago, just months before the COVID pandemic shut down everything. If they could weather that, a move across a couple blocks was nothing, right?

Said move was made much easier because YesterYears secured a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) grant of $150,000 to help cover moving costs. Thats what paid for Montana Muscle Movers, and allowed the Hart-Albin space to be cleaned up and refurbished, complete with all new LED lighting and ADA compliant aisles. That lighting might be the biggest difference in the whole store. It feels like a totally new business, not just because its a new space, but because you can see everything so clearly now.

They were able to get the funding because of the unusual way in which they lost their old building.

We utilized an aspect of TIF thats written into the state statute that allows for you to relocate businesses if the relocation due to further redevelopment, explained Katy Easton, CEO of Downtown Billings Alliance.

They didnt want to redevelop the YesterYears building if it meant losing YesterYears, so the TIF funding allowed the business to easily move, and keep going downtown.

If we hadnt gotten (TIF funding), wed have been gone, said Austin.

Getting the funding meant going in front of Billings City Council, but as Easton pointed out, this wasnt just an effort to save one small business. There are 60 vendors here. Saving YesterYears is saving 60 small businesses.

YesterYears might have lost their longtime home, but they gained a whole lot more. And now, under Skypoint in the heart of downtown, they can preserve Billings history while being surrounded by it.

We love downtown, gushed Danny. We didnt want to go the West End. And more people need to come downtown, because business is booming.
Increased public attention on crime and safety in Billings over the past few years has forced a reckoning with all that happens behind closed doors, because crime data shows that the most prevalent form of violent crime in the Magic City is domestic violence.

The last two years were the first time Ive ever heard the city government say anything about domestic violence, said Erin Lambert, director of YWCA Billings, who has been at the organization for almost 20 years. The data has always been there, but it wasnt taken seriously."

Some domestic violence initiatives  expanding the Family Justice Center, dedicating more Billings Police Department investigators to the topic  await the impending city budget cycle for funding. But in the meantime, initiatives through the courts and criminal justice system seek to address the issues  and, in the process, demonstrate ideological rifts when it comes to where to focus resources.

One initiative includes the creation of a specialized domestic violence court, created by Justice Court Judge David Carter.

The goal of my domestic violence court is to use all tools available to focus on victim independence, from a financial, legal, and emotional perspective Carter said.

Carters court seeks to address the lack of resources available to survivors through the justice system after sentencing.

Prosecutions are about litigation, Carter said. After sentencing, the role is over, the baton doesnt get passed.

Though offenders are under the supervision of Probation and Parole after sentencing, victims are no longer involved or connected to the courts.

If a victim hasnt worked through their own issues, then as soon as the government steps away from the case, it doesnt create a brick wall, said Judge Jessica Fehr, of Yellowstone District Court. Victims need to have gotten to a place where theyre strong enough to stand on their own and say no to the abuser.

Carter encourages victims to create a parenting plan  so that there isnt uncertainty around custody if the relationship were to end  and to get his or her name on a lease, cellphone plan, car loan, all of which can be obstacles to separation.

Its difficult to get into a tug of war over someone elses emotions when it comes to love, but we can help make it easier for them to walk away, Carter said.

The court does not currently have any funding or personnel to provide this assistance, but it can make referrals.

Carter currently has about 20 cases in his domestic violence court. Cases end up in the court after being ordered to it or through offenders volunteering to participate prior to sentencing. They usually stay in his court for around a year.

Carter says the court has faced obstacles, including personnel, awareness, and philosophical issues around the approach to the issue.

If domestic violence cases are thorny, with divided loyalties, then so too are approaches to address the problem, which can focus on both supporting survivors or trying to reform offenders.

In contrast, Carter said, when it comes to substance use disorder treatment court, the models are very well-developed.

But across the board, specialization is seen as a way to produce better outcomes.

There are currently three domestic violence witness specialists and three domestic violence prosecutors in Billings municipal court. There are no specialized attorneys at the County Attorneys Office, which prosecutes felonies, such as strangulation or subsequent family member assault.

There are also two specialized domestic violence investigators at the Billings Police Department. City Council recently requested BPD to investigate the feasibility of allocating additional officers to domestic violence investigations, which Police Chief Rich St. John said would not be a possibility without increased funding and staffing.

This specialization can lead to more successful prosecutions.

Its important to know what needs to get documented when the victim is cooperative, Lambert said.

There has also been a push to have probation and parole specialize in domestic violence, with pilot programs currently underway in Great Falls and Missoula. In Great Falls, this has resulted in increased home checks, increased participation in Batterers Intervention for offenders, and better assessment of counseling needs, according to a Department of Corrections newsletter article by Monica Huffman, the regions DOC victim liaison.

While these specialty caseloads can be a useful tool within P&P offices based on the unique needs of the community, the assignment of specialty caseloads to certain officers increases caseloads for other officers in the office, said Carolynn Stocker, a spokesperson for the DOC, on why this program does not exist in Billings.

Currently, five of 39 probation and parole officer positions in Billings are vacant. The average caseload of each officer is 87. With full staffing, caseloads would be about 70.

Even with adequate staffing, some lawyers and advocates who work with domestic violence victims fear that these programs can be dangerous for victims  and wonder if the focus on offender rehabilitation is the best way to reduce recidivism and revictimization.

I have mixed feelings about these kinds of programs, Lambert said. I dont think they empower a victim, they put victims at risk.

Theres no positive that can come from that approach at all, said Benjamin Halverson, one of three city attorneys who specializes in domestic violence cases, on having probation and parole officers monitor victims. Theres no incentive for victims to be truthful, thats not a safe place for a victim to be honest.

When it comes to batterers intervention programming, Halverson was similarly dubious.

The vast majority of these men are not fixable, Halverson said. Domestic violence isnt caused by addiction or mental illness, its caused by undiagnosed personality disorders. Theres no known way to treat that clinically thats an effective use of resources.

Currently, domestic violence offenders are required to undergo an assessment as part of sentencing.

Id be shocked if any judge is not imposing, at a minimum, a domestic violence assessment and to follow all recommendations, Fehr said.

Alternatives, a community corrections organization in Billings, offers much of this programming, paid for by grants from the federal government and the Montana Board of Crime Control. There is no domestic violence specific programming, but most partner/family member assault offenders participate in classes in criminal thinking errors, anger management, and parenting, according to Hollie Bowman, Director of Community Programs at Alternatives.

When it comes to preventing revictimization, Halverson believes more should be done on the legal side, outside of criminal court, to support victim empowerment.

A big need that is constantly lacking is assistance in the civil system, Halverson said.

Currently, during civil disputes over children and property, victims are asked to do so much on their own.

Halverson says his office tries to set victims up with civil attorneys whenever they can, but on a good year this would be getting just five victims legal assistance.

If victims are unrepresented in court and the abuser is, they get run over, Halverson said. The process itself can be so traumatizing.

Even with resources, it can still be difficult to prevent victims from returning to their abusers.

I have a woman in family recovery court, who weve offered the moon and the stars to, but shes so enmeshed with her partner that she says no to everything were offering, Fehr said. Shes in love with him and that trumps everything, but all of us watching are thinking This is violent, this is toxic.

Its so dangerous, so heartbreaking, and a lot of times you feel very helpless watching the cycle play out, she added.
At just 18-years-old, Conor Warren from Ilfracombe is among a group changing the scenery of youth mental health advocacy with his ground breaking organisation, Spark UK.

Founded by Connor and his friends when he was only 14-years-old in December 2020, Spark UK has quickly emerged as an award-winning mental health organisation run by young people for young people.

Since its creation, Spark UK has grown to a team of 12 and has set up as a community interest company.

"Spark UK is an award-winning mental health organisation run by young people for young people," said Conor.

"We create lessons, resources, and campaigns for thousands of young people across the country.

The organisation provides lessons, resources and campaigns to support young people's mental health nationwide.

In 2023, Conor led the team to win the Coronation Champions award from the Royal Voluntary Service and HRH The Queen Consort.

One of their most notable campaigns is the annual All Star Advent campaign, where each day in December, videos featuring celebrities offer tips and advice on mental health behind virtual doors.

Celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench, Dame Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry, Bradley Walsh and Bear Grylls have all lent their support to the initiative, helping to raise awareness and provide guidance on mental health issues.

Another one of Conors highlights was attending the Kings coronation concert on May 7, 2023, where he was chosen as a Coronation Champion which he was awarded for his voluntary work.

Reflecting on the inception of Spark UK, Conor shared: "We always joke it started on a rant." He recalled a conversation with friends about the lack of mental health education in schools, which led them to take action.

"After ranting for over an hour, we came to the conclusion, why wait, why dont we try this ourselves? he said.

Conors dedication to mental health advocacy extends beyond Spark UK, as he is actively involved in five other charities, including RNLI, Scouts, and Young Devon.

Also, he has demonstrated his skill in public speaking at events like the London Design Biennale.

As a mental health advocate and public speaker, Conor has shown the importance of reaching out for support.

"My number one tip is to reach out to someone if you can," he advised.

"Talking almost always can be the first step to help."

Looking ahead, Conor has envisioned expanding Spark UK's reach and impact, with aspirations to increase its presence in schools and communities nationwide.

He has aimed and would like to develop innovative digital platforms and resources to make mental health programs more accessible and scalable.

Reflecting on his journey since the inception of Spark UK, Conor has shown the value of perseverance and the power of asking.

"The biggest lesson I have learned over the past four years is there is no harm in asking," he said.

"The worst answer you are going to get is a no."
The lyrics to Hotel California and other classic Eagles songs should never have ended up at auction, Don Henley told a court Wednesday.

I always knew those lyrics were my property. I never gifted them or gave them to anybody to keep or sell, the Eagles co-founder said on the last of three days of testimony at the trial of three collectibles experts charged with a scheme to peddle roughly 100 handwritten pages of the lyrics.

On trial are rare-book dealer Glenn Horowitz and rock memorabilia connoisseurs Craig Inciardi and Edward Kosinski. Prosecutors say the three circulated bogus stories about the documents' ownership history in order to try to sell them and parry Henleys demands for them.

Kosinski, Inciardi and Horowitz have pleaded not guilty to charges that include conspiracy to criminally possess stolen property.

Defense lawyers say the men rightfully owned and were free to sell the documents, which they acquired through a writer who worked on a never-published Eagles biography decades ago.

The lyrics sheets document the shaping of a roster of 1970s rock hits, many of them from one of the best-selling albums of all time: the Eagles' Hotel California.

The case centers on how the legal-pad pages made their way from Henleys Southern California barn to the biographer's home in New York's Hudson Valley, and then to the defendants in New York City.

The defense argues that Henley gave the lyrics drafts to the writer, Ed Sanders. Henley says that he invited Sanders to review the pages for research but that the writer was obligated to relinquish them.

In a series of rapid-fire questions, prosecutor Aaron Ginandes asked Henley who owned the papers at every stage from when he bought the pads at a Los Angeles stationery store to when they cropped up at auctions.

I did, Henley answered each time.

Sanders isnt charged with any crime and hasnt responded to messages seeking comment on the case. He sold the pages to Horowitz. Inciardi and Kosinski bought them from the book dealer, then started putting some sheets up for auction in 2012.

While the trial is about the lyrics sheets, the fate of another set of pages  Sanders' decades-old biography manuscript  has come up repeatedly as prosecutors and defense lawyers examined his interactions with Henley, Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and Eagles representatives.

Work on the authorized book began in 1979 and spanned the bands breakup the next year. (The Eagles regrouped in 1994.)

Henley testified earlier this week that he was disappointed in an initial draft of 100 pages of the manuscript in 1980. Revisions apparently softened his view somewhat.

By 1983, he wrote to Sanders that the latest draft flows well and is very humorous up until the end, according to a letter shown in court Wednesday.

But the letter went on to muse about whether it might be better for Henley and Frey just to "send each other these bitter pages and let the book end on a slightly gentler note?

I wonder how these comments will age, Henley wrote. Still, I think the book has merit and should be published.

It never was. Eagles manager Irving Azoff testified last week that publishers made no offers, that the book never got the bands OK and that he believed Frey ultimately nixed the project. Frey died in 2016.

The trial is expected to continue for weeks with other witnesses.

Henley, meanwhile, is returning to the road. The Eagles' next show is Friday in Hollywood, Florida.
One person is in custody after a Sheherd man was shot dead earlier this week.

Quaid Fluckiger, 24, died Wednesday in a Billings hospital, according to a statement from Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder. Kennedy Aigner, a 22-year-old woman also from Shepherd, was booked soon after into Yellowstone County jail on suspicion of homicide and tampering with evidence.

The investigation into Fluckigers death is still ongoing, Linder wrote in his statement published Thursday.

County deputies responded early Wednesday morning to a report of a sick or injured person at a home along Chicago Road in Shepherd. Deputies found an unresponsive Fluckiger inside the house. A Help Flight brought him to a Billings hospital, where staff found he had a gunshot wound. Fluckiger died shortly after arriving at the hospital, Linder said.

Deputies arrested Aigner as a result of the investigation into Fluckigers death. As of Thursday afternoon, county attorneys had yet to file any criminal charges against her.
After years of successful trade cases, the domestic steel industry was shocked when the U.S. International Trade Commission voted against imposing protective tariffs on tin imports despite the idling of tin mills, including East Chicago Tin and at Gary Works.

Cleveland-Cliffs and the United Steelworkers union are blaming U.S. Steel for not taking part in the case after the ITC released a report with its rationale. The quasi-judicial agency that adjudicates international trade law found tin mill imports from Canada, China and Germany did not cause economic injury in the United States.

"It is now clear that the decision by United States Steel Corporation not to participate as a petitioner in this trade case  or provide a substantive response to the ITCs request for further information on the idling of tin lines in Gary and East Chicago, Indiana and the closure of UPI in California  directly led to the ITCs negative determination," Cleveland-Cliffs' Chairman, President and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said. "Had U.S. Steel cooperated with the ITC, the Commission would not have been left without the information needed to discern the market forces behind U.S. Steels withdrawal from the tin mill products market in the United States.

U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski said the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker did comply with the the ITC's probe.

"Although U. S. Steel was not a petitioner in the tin mill case, it fully cooperated with the U.S. International Trade Commission, replying to its questionnaires," she said. "U. S. Steel has been a leading petitioner for decades in successfully using the U.S. trade laws to address unfair trade across a broad range of steel products from dozens of countries, ensuring a stronger future for steel workers and steel manufacturing in this country. U.S. Steel remains in the tinplate business and continues to process orders from existing customers and accept orders from new customers."

Cleveland-Cliffs is idling its Weirton Tin Plant in West Virginia and laying off 900 workers as a result of the decision, which it says will flood the market with cheap, unfairly traded steel.

Goncalves said tariffs were warranted given all the tin mills U.S. Steel has idled in recently years, such as its tin mill operations at Gary Works.

U.S. Steels January 2022 announcement that it would shut down its UPI tin mill in Pittsburg, California left the West Coast completely exposed to imports, particularly from Asian countries like Japan and China. This decision played a major role in the surge of imported tin mill product that hit the U.S. in mid-2022 and decimated the domestic industry, harming workers and communities," he said. "In spite of U.S. Steels intransigence, I am grateful for the partnership of the USW that allowed this case to go forward. The report issued this week made clear that, unfortunately, the ITC discounted the filings and testimony of the USW that clearly articulated how its members at Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel had been materially injured by unfair trade.

United Steelworkers Union International President David McCall said the International Trade Commission's decision not to act is going to hurt the American steel industry.

USW members across the tin mill industry can compete with anyone on a level playing field, said USW International President David McCall. Unfortunately, the ITCs decision continues to leave them and their families vulnerable to unfair trade, threatening their livelihoods and imperiling the communities in which they live and work."

He called for tougher trade laws to protect good-paying union steelworker jobs in America.

Dumped and illegally subsidized tin mill products have already cost far too many good, American jobs, and USW members understand as well as anyone that without relief, foreign producers will continue to undercut our market until we are wholly dependent on them," McCall said. Its clear that our nation urgently needs strategic reform of our broken trade system so that domestic workers and industries arent forced to fight on a case-by-case basis to ensure they have a future.

The United Steelworkers union is arguing U.S. Steel's proposed sale to Nippon Steel would jeopardize more trade cases and what's left of the American steel industry.
Another woman told police McKee admitted to her that he and two other men killed Callahan. She said McKee told her where Callahan's body was located and she went to see it, the affidavit said.

Callahan suffered a skull fracture, rib fractures and internal bleeding. She died of multiple blunt force injuries.
CROWN POINT  A jury was still out late Thursday night after deliberating for approximately six hours in the trial of Gary man accused of killing a 39-year-old man and burning his body in a field in June 2022.

Kenneth Burns, 52, stood trial before Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez on a charge of murder. The trial ended with a hung jury.

A new trial was set for June 15.

Over three days, jurors heard testimony from 13 witnesses, including law enforcement, a forensic pathologist, DNA specialist and two people who were upstairs in the home where victim Andre White was killed.

White's burned body was found June 8, 2022 in an area near the 4800 block of West 21st Avenue with gunshot wounds to the stomach and neck.

During closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Jacquelyn Altpeter said the physical evidence in the case supported witness testimony. Witness Vernon Reeves testified Tuesday that on the night of June 7, 2022, he and his girlfriend were in the upstairs area of a house on the 2600 block of West 17th Avenue in Gary while Burns and White were talking downstairs.

After multiple popping sounds were heard, Burns called Reeves downstairs. Reeves said when he rushed down, he saw Burns holding a gun at his side and White slumped forward over a chair, bleeding. Reeves said when he asked Burns why he shot White, he said White was "talking too much" and "talking (expletive)." Reeves reached out to police a few days later and gave a formal interview.

"Andre White loses his life simply because he was talking (expletive) to the wrong person," Altpeter said.

The prosecution said video surveillance from a nearby business showed a Dodge Durango registered to Burns driving around 1:44 a.m. on June 8, 2022 down the street where White's body was later found. No other vehicles traveled on that road on that date and time. Gary police Detective Daryl Gordon testified that he was granted a search warrant for Burns' vehicle and found remnants of blood upon spraying a chemical agent designed to show evidence of a cleaned bloodstain. A DNA specialist testified the blood belonged to White.

Burns was arrested almost three weeks after the homicide when he was found hiding in an abandoned house. The state played a clip from the first phone call he made after his arrest in which his first words are, "well, they got me." Prosecutors said these factors demonstrate his guilt.

Defense attorney Scott King said the witnesses in the case who were at the house the day of the killing were not credible because they had been drinking copious amounts of alcohol that day, a fact that one of the witnesses admitted to.

"Someone under the influence of alcohol might be questioned about the accuracy of what they heard, what they saw," King said.

King urged the jury to consider other possible reasons for Burns' actions: He might have avoided police and hidden in the abandoned house out of fear, King said. Burns previously said he did not "mess with" police. King also told the jury that there is a possibility someone else was driving Burns' vehicle because no one actually saw Burns in the car.
LAPORTE  A driver speeding along a local stretch of the Indiana Toll Road was nabbed Thursday with a large amount of methamphetamine, according to LaPorte County police.

An officer working as part of a highway interdiction team spotted the speeding vehicle shortly after noon and pulled it over, police said.

The driver, identified as Kortney Moore Jr., 26, of Ohio, was found to have a large quantity of the illegal drug, according to police.

Moore was taken into custody and faces a felony count of dealing in methamphetamine.
CROWN POINT  A Lake Criminal Court jury had not yet rendered a verdict Thursday night in a Chicago man's 2022 homicide over a purported argument about a car engine after a three-day trial in Lake Criminal Court.

George D. James, 47, stood trial for the murder of Arlandus Jackson, 37, Thursday this week. Jurors left around 2:30 p.m. to deliberate and had not yet reached a verdict by 9 p.m.

The trial ended with a hung jury. A new trial was scheduled for April 22.

The jury listened to testimony from an eyewitness, numerous detectives and forensic experts throughout the trial. Jackson was shot multiple times on Oct. 2, 2022 outside James' residence on the 900 block of Williams Street.

Witness Marcus Johnson testified at trial Tuesday that he and Jackson left Chicago around 4:30 p.m. and arrived at James' Williams Street residence around 6:30 p.m. to deliver the engine. Quickly, the men started to argue about where to put the engine and the environment turned hostile, Johnson said.

Johnson testified James walked away from the argument toward a shed and came back three minutes later with a large gun. James shot toward Jackson, who collapsed onto the tailgate of the truck and instructed James to push Jackson's body further into the truck and leave or "you're next." Johnson said he called Ernest Shed, the friend who connected him with James, and asked him to direct him to a hospital. Johnson arrived at Methodist Hospital in Gary around 7 p.m. with Jackson's body in the back of his truck.

Deputy Prosecutor Bernard Johnsen said during closing arguments that Johnson's testimony is corroborated by the investigation. Phone records show Johnson called Shed on the morning of Oct. 2, again around 3:10 pm. and around 4:50 p.m. Johnson then made four calls to Shed in the span of 15 minutes, starting around 6:40 p.m. Detective Kristopher Adams testified that when Johnson was showed a photo lineup after the shooting, he immediately identified James as the shooter.

"Everything Marcus Johnson said added up to the evidence," Johnsen said.

Defense attorney Gojko Kasich said during his closing argument that Johnson was a less than credible witness. He said Johnson had previously misidentified James, even pointing out a mugshot of another man once and telling attorneys it was James "disguising himself," Kasich said. Police did not find a gun to connect with the crime and there was little physical evidence available. He questioned why detectives never brought Johnson to the crime scene and asked him to point out where the shed was.

The state, he argued, did not meet their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that is necessary for a murder conviction.

"No person in our country should be convicted for a crime of murder unless there is absolute certainty of his guilt," Kasich said.
The Illinois Department of Public Health redesignated the Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital in the south suburbs as an Acute Stroke Ready hospital.

It's the only hospital in the south suburbs to be designated as a the first stop for potential stroke patients.

Franciscan Health Olympia Fields President and CEO Raymond Grady said the status allows us to further demonstrate our commitment to health equity and assuring that every member of our community has access to quality care.

The hospital in Olympia Fields has worked with Rush University Medical Center in the near west side medical district in Chicago for a decade. Rush neurologists partner with local physicians to Rush University Medical Center to make bedside telehealth stroke evaluations.

Rapid assessment is imperative to get the best health outcomes with strokes, which involve of loss of blood flow to the brain or bleeding in the brain and can result in lasting brain damage, disability and death. Acute Stroke Ready hospitals get CT scan results back to a doctor 45 minutes after a stroke patient walks in the emergency room.

The Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Emergency Department is pleased to continue providing world class stroke care to our community with the redesignation of our Emergency Department as an Acute Stroke Ready Center, Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Medical Director of Emergency Services Derwin Phillip said.

The hospital has a high rate of administering tissue plasminogen activator or a clot-busting medication used to treat strokes in the early stages, which is vital since oxygen-deprived brain cells can die within minutes. The telehealth evaluations determine if it should be used quickly.

The collaborative efforts and process improvements in the detection, assessment and treatment of our stroke patients will ensure our emergency department maintains this designation for years to come, Phillip said.

For more information, call 708-747-4000.
HealthLinc, the community health center, will soon open its latest clinic in Michigan City.

The holistic health care provider is opening its latest facility at 200 Alfred St. at 8 a.m. Monday. The 39,000-square-foot clinic will have 33 medical exam rooms, 12 dental rooms and two procedure rooms.

It will offer comprehensive patient care with medical, dental, optometry, podiatry and pharmacy services. Patients also can get enrolled in health insurance, get treated for addiction and receive medical-legal assistance.

The new HealthLinc Michigan City clinic is a shining example of our commitment to providing exceptional health care to our communities, said CEO Melissa Mitchell. The new clinic allows us to expand our reach and increase accessibility and services. Our dedication to innovation, quality care and patient-centered approach drives us forward, and we are excited to continue making a positive impact on the health and well-being of those we serve."

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. April 2 with an open house at 6 p.m. that day.

The new clinic will focus on patient education, a patient-centered approach and preventative services, which HealthLinc said helped it earn recognition as a National Quality Leader.

We take pride in delivering health care the way it should be delivered, centered around the patient and in a way that supports health equity, said Mitchell. Access to affordable, high-quality health care is a basic right everyone should have and is at the heart of our mission.

Founded in 1996 at the Hilltop Neighborhood House Health Center in Valparaiso, HealthLinc has grown to around 500 employees and a presence across Northern Indiana. It has a dozen locations, including in Valparaiso, East Chicago, Indiana Harbor, Knox, LaPorte and South Bend.

It plans to open a learning lab for students in Michigan City in partnership with Ivy Tech.

Our Michigan City leaders continue to work toward economic inclusion throughout all facets of our quality-of-life offerings, from healthcare and workforce development to education opportunities and beyond, said Economic Development Corp. Michigan City executive director Clarence Hulse. HealthLincs new space and continued commitment to providing care to all of our community members are vital to how we can create the economic inclusion that we are working toward every day.
LAPORTE  Declining enrollment is forcing the LaPorte Community School Corp. to contemplate school closings and staff reductions.

Its in response to a study conducted by South Carolina-based McKibben Demographic Research that shows the number of students throughout the corporation has dropped by 900 since 2008. The study also projected the current enrollment of 5,688 students will further drop by close to 300 students over the next seven years and roughly 200 more by 2034.

Jerome McKibben, owner of the research firm, said LaPorte mirrors a nationwide trend of fewer child births in an aging population.

Even before the pandemic, we had four states and 800 counties in the U.S., 12 of them in Indiana, that had more deaths than births, McKibben said during a Wednesday night presentation before the LaPorte School Board.

Interim Superintendent Peggy Hinckley said the biggest reason for the loss of students here, though, is school choice.

Since school choice began in Indiana in 2011, the district has gained 240 school-aged children but lost 974 students, with most of those choosing to attend school in the nearby South Central and New Prairie school districts, Hinckley said.

She said the net financial loss to the corporation from lower enrollment is $8,600 per child.

To make up for the lost revenue, Hinckley said the corporation kept dipping into its budget surplus, which has dropped from $10.5 million to $7.3 million since 2019.

We just continued to lose cash balance and thats not a responsible fiscal position to take, she said.

Hinckley said shes currently pouring through data to help her decide what she feels is the best response.

Whatever she recommends, Hinckley said she doesnt believe more than one school building, if any, will need to close.

She said there is a need for staffing cuts, but it was too early for her to speculate on the amount and where to make them.

Ultimately, the School Board will have the final say on what to do to close the gap between incoming revenues and expenditures.

Hinckley said she hopes any decision to close a school and reduce staff is made no later than the April 15 meeting of the School Board to give parents and employees time to prepare for a change.

If we would do nothing and continued on this path, at some point, were going to have a problem. If we correct it now then well be OK, Hinckley said.

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Region hospitals welcomed babies Thursday with the rarest birthday  on Leap Day that happens only once every four years.

Leap Day babies, sometimes called leaplings or leapers, typically celebrate their birthdays on Feb. 28 or March 1 instead of on the bonus day that happens to adjust the calendar to the 365 days and six hours it takes the Earth to revolve once around the sun. Though some leaplings have been known to joke about finally being old enough to drive at the age of 64 or old enough to drink at the age of 84, legally, the government declares that Leap Day babies are officially a year older every March 1st and they of course do not age at one-fourth the rate of everyone else.

Carly Dobin of DeMotte gave birth to her Leap Day daughter Molly Grace just after midnight Thursday morning in the brand new birthing center at the newly constructed Franciscan Health Crown Point Hospital.

Little Molly Grace is not the first Leap Day baby in the family. Her great-grandfather also was born on Leap Day nearly a century earlier.

Dobin's late grandfather Martin Kinney, who died last February and would have turned 96 years old Thursday, also was a Leap Year baby. His birth made the front page of the newspaper in Goshen in Northern Indiana as the rare, once-a-presidential-term birthdays often garner local news coverage.

Kinney, who lived in Crown Point and practiced law in Merrillville for many years, loved having a Leap Year Birthday, said his daughter and Carly Dobin's mother, Kathy OConnor of Hebron.

This Leap Day, Methodist Hospitals had one birth at its Southlake campus in Merrillville and two at its Northlake campus in Gary, spokesman Brad Lukas said.

Sawyia Younger gave birth to Antawan Jr., and Jahmya Moore gave birth to Da'Karri Hicks. Both those Leap Day births took place at Methodist Hospital Northlake Campus on Grant Street in downtown Gary. The swaddled babies slept peacefully in the maternity ward in their hand-knit frog caps.

"Methodist Hospitals' staff made special leap year hats for the babies born today," Lukas said.

Northwest Health-La Porte had two deliveries of Leap Day babies and expected a third as of Thursday afternoon, spokeswoman Kelly Credit said. Northwest Health-Porter in Valparaiso had one Leap Day baby and expected to deliver three more before the day was done.

It's estimated there's only a .068% chance of being born on a Leap Day. Only about 5 million people across the globe, or less than 0.1% of the total population, were born on a Leap Day.

Franciscan Health Family Birth Centers in Crown Point, Dyer, Michigan City and Olympia Fields marked the special occasion by giving the Leap Day babies knitted frog hats and matching onesies. Lindsay and Todd Norton of Lowell also had a son at Franciscan Health Crown Point on Leap Day. Born at 7:54 a.m. Thursday, Norton weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and measured 20 inches.

TAnda and Caleb Harris of Hammond had the baby girl Mahla Harris at 5:22 a.m. Thursday at Franciscan Health Dyer. She weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and measured 20 inches long.

Julia Hendricks and Ty McCurdy of Michigan City had a daughter at 1:31 a.m. on Leap Day at Franciscan Health Michigan City. The baby girl Layanii McCurdy weighed 5 pounds 12 ounces and measured 18.5 inches long.

Sara and Jacob Faso of Dyer had the baby girl Penelope Faso at 1:52 p.m. Thursday at Franciscan Health Crown Point. She weighed 8 pounds and measured 19 inches long.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is looking to fuse its artificial intelligence systems into the bodies of humanoid robots as part of a new deal with robotics startup Figure.

Sunnyvale, California-based Figure announced the partnership Thursday along with $675 million in venture capital funding from a group that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as well as Microsoft, chipmaker Nvidia and the startup-funding divisions of Intel and OpenAI.

'New possibilities for how robots can help in everyday life'

Figure is less than two years old and doesn't have a commercial product but is persuading influential tech industry backers to support its vision of shipping billions of humanlike robots to the world's workplaces and homes.

"If we can just get humanoids to do work that humans are not wanting to do because there's a shortfall of humans, we can sell millions of humanoids, billions maybe," Figure CEO Brett Adcock told The Associated Press last year.

For OpenAI, which dabbled in robotics research before pivoting to a focus on the AI large language models that power ChatGPT, the partnership will "open up new possibilities for how robots can help in everyday life," Peter Welinder, the San Francisco company's vice president of product and partnerships, said in a written statement.

Financial terms of the deal between Figure and OpenAI weren't disclosed. The collaboration will have OpenAI building specialized AI models for Figure's humanoid robots, likely based on OpenAI's existing technology such as GPT language models, the image-generator DALL-E and the new video-generator Sora.

That will help "accelerate Figure's commercial timeline" by enabling its robots to "process and reason from language," according to Figure's announcement. The company announced in January an agreement with BMW to put its robots to work at a car plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, but hadn't yet determined exactly how or when they would be used.

Human form provides unique challenges

Robotics experts differ on the usefulness of robots shaped in human form. Most robots employed in factory and warehouse tasks might have some animal-like features  a robotic arm, finger-like grippers or even legs  but aren't truly humanoid. That's in part because it's taken decades for robotics engineers to develop robots that can walk effectively on two legs or reliably manipulate small objects.

Whitney Rockley, co-founder and managing partner of Toronto-based venture capital firm McRock Capital, said she understands the appeal of humanoids because they're relatable, evoking emotions and starting conversations. In practice, however, she said they're still awkward and pose huge technical challenges, which is why she's sticking to investing in nonhumanoid robots.

"We look at robotics and automation really practically and say, 'What kind of timeline are we willing to commit to in order to really see commercial liftoff and deployments and applications?'" Rockley said. "And I think that the groups that are backing a lot of humanoid solutions right now, they're in there for the long haul, which is great because you need that, but it's going to take decades upon decades."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hinted at a renewed interest in robotics in a podcast hosted by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and released early this year in which Altman said the company was starting to invest in promising robotics hardware platforms after having earlier abandoned its own research.

"We started robots too early and so we had to put that project on hold," Altman told Gates, noting that "we were dealing with bad simulators and breaking tendons" that were distracting from the company's other work.

"We realized more and more over time that what we really first needed was intelligence and cognition," he said, "and then we could figure out how we could adapt it to physicality."

Robots are starting to deliver takeout orders. Are they here to stay? Robots are starting to deliver takeout orders. Are they here to stay? What are drones and sidewalk delivery vehicles? How far off are drone or sidewalk deliveries?
Republicans in Montanas 2023 Legislature likely gerrymandered Montana Public Service Commission districts to disadvantage voters in Montana cities, a court ruled Thursday.

Judge Christopher D. Abbott, of Montanas First Judicial District, concluded that legislators likely violated Montanas anti-gerrymandering laws, skewing political districts to the disadvantage of voters in urban areas.

Specifically, Abbott found credible evidence by mathematical analyst, Stephanie Somersille, who despite hundreds of attempts producing election maps according to state guidelines was unable to replicate the map produced by legislators in Senate Bill 109.

The Court concludes that plaintiffs are likely to establish that SB 109 was intended to secure a partisan advantage for Republican candidates for PSC, and to limit the influence of voters not inclined to vote for Republican PSC candidates, Abbott ruled.

The voters who sued were Joseph LaFromboise, Nancy Hamilton, Simon Harris, Donald Seifert, Daniel Hogan, Georg Stark, Lukas Illion and Bob Brown.

The political district redraw by Republican legislators locked in control of who decides what most Montanans pay for electric and natural gas service. The new political districts passed along party lines in 2023, divided Billings, Bozeman, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula each into two districts and split Great Falls into three districts.

Somersille found that in dividing the communities, lawmakers engaged in a gerrymandering practice known as cracking, in which people with common interests are divided to weaken their collective voting strength.

A low-profile agency with a substantial impact on Montana consumers, the Montana Public Service Commission is a five-member panel that approves rates for monopolies. In that capacity, the PSC affects the household budgets of more than 400,000 Montana utility customers. Those customers are legally recognized as captive, meaning they lack the free-market choice of shopping around for a better deal. The commission is charged with ensuring captive customers have reasonably priced, reliable electric and natural gas service, while utilities receive a fixed rate of return.

Republicans have held all five commission seats since 2009. The PSC has become an attractive landing spot for former legislators. Before state senators approved SB 109, one Republican joked that if it werent for the five Public Service Commission seats, he didnt know here all the old, termed-out legislators will go to go to work.

There are two former legislators on the PSC currently, Randy Pinocci and Jennifer Fielder. Base salary for a public service commissioner is $115,876 a year. In-person attendance is optional. Side jobs are permitted. Current commissioner, Jim Brown is also a practicing attorney and registered lobbyist. Commissioner Ann Bukacek runs a small, solo medical practice in Kalispell.

Voters sued Montanas Secretary of State Christie Jacobsen last October over the new districts, hoping to prevent the gerrymandered map from being used in the 2024 election. Jacobsen is the states top election official. The secretary of state offered no credible defense against Somersilles analysis, the judge ruled.

It was the second time in three years that voters sued over the maps. In late 2021 voters brought a federal lawsuit over PSC districts that had been adjusted only once in 47 years to bring the districts populations into balance. A three-judge panel approved a map that brought the districts into balance with a population difference of no more than 6%. That map was used in two PSC districts on the ballot in 2022 but discarded by Republicans in the 2023 Legislature.

Abbott denied a request to prevent the Legislatures gerrymandered districts from being used in the 2024 election. The voters in the most recent case produced no suitable alternatives to the 2023 maps. Abbot declined to revert to the court-approved map of 2022, saying that the 6% difference in population between districts was larger than what Montanas districting laws found acceptable.

Instead, Abbott said the current lawsuit would be expedited, so that a 2025 ruling would be in hand in time for the 2025 Legislature.

The populations of 2023 Legislatures PSC districts did balance, Abbott said. The sponsor of SB 109, Republican Sen. Keith Regier, had argued during the 2023 legislative session that each of the five districts had an equal number of adequately balanced legislative districts, 20.

Regier, in selling other lawmakers on his bill, suggested cities were better off divided with more than one commissioner having a piece of a community. The map also broke from the practice of not dividing counties when drawing PSC districts.

The Public Service Commission districts are the only state government districts drawn by the Legislature, an exception authors of the 1972 Montana Constitution didnt foresee, Abbott said. Members of the Constitutional Convention were genuinely concerned about gerrymandering and took steps to ensure the states political districts wouldnt be drawn by legislators, who were assumed to be inherently biased.

At the time, the only political districts created by the state were for U.S. House and the state Legislature, Abbott reported. Montana Constitution authors created an independent, bipartisan districting commission to draw both.

There werent districts for the states public service commissioners, of which there were three, because each was elected statewide. Then, in 1974, the Legislature increased the number of commissioners to five and created a district for each. Because the anti-gerrymandering language in the state constitution spoke only of legislative and congressional districts, the Legislature empowered itself to draw the districts for the utility commission. Immediately, there were differences between how the bipartisan districting commission created political districts and how the Legislature did so.

Legislative and congressional districts were apportioned after every decennial U.S. Census. The PSC districts were produced only three times in 47 years, first in 1974, but not again until 2003. After the 2010 Census, the chairman of the Public Service Commission asked the Legislature not to redraw the districts and lawmakers obliged. By 2021, the district populations were out of balance by as much as 24% a violation of the one person, one vote provision of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Allison Boudreau was totally getting her teacher on Wednesday morning at Evans Elementary School in Lake Station.

Second step, plan it out! she told her third-grade students.

Second step, plan it out! they shouted back in unison.

Third step, write, write, write," she told them.

Third step, write, write, write! they shouted back while standing around her.

After her six-step lesson plan, the students returned to their seats to write, write, write, using a storytelling template dating back centuries. It prompts the young kids to tell their personal stories using narrative details, characters, dialogue, editing, revisions and other timeless writing techniques.

Then your stories go out to the world, Boudreau told them.

This exchange was a thing of beauty from my viewpoint as a lifelong writer.

Children at this age love to talk, and they seem to never stop talking, but there can be a disconnect from their brain to their hand, Boudreau told me as her students worked on their stories. A lot of our kids are struggling writers. But they like to story-tell.

Humans are wired to tell stories. Weve been doing it since our earliest exchanges with each other. Weve gone from storytelling around the glow of campfires to storytelling around the glow of computer screens. The modes of storytelling have changed but not the primal importance behind it.

Writing is about sharing ideas and stories, Boudreau said. You dont need a curriculum to teach writing to children. But there is a process.

A booklet designed for her students shared an outline thats been used by generations of new writers, at any age: Pick an idea. Whats on your mind? Narrow the topic. Write a lead that hooks readers. Add key details. Use juicy words, the booklet suggests.

Ive been using a similar outline since my first newspaper story.

When I told the third graders that Ive been writing stories for more than 25 years, they collectively gasped.

Almost to like infinity, one boy yelled out.

Yes, Ive been writing for almost infinity, I told them with a laugh.

The students have their own newspaper, the Panther Post, sharing their stories, photos and drawings. One headline screamed, The Newspaper Kids are BACK!

I loved everything about it. I have a passion for writing like Boudreau has a passion for teaching.

I just play school every day like when I was a girl, she said.

When Boudreau was in third grade, she asked her teachers for extra copies of assignments so she could teach them to her dolls. She was born to get her teacher on, a phrase that hit home for her this week.

The day I visited her school  one of my favorites in Northwest Indiana  special guests showed up to record a documentary about the schools teachers, staff and students.

Two years ago, the Indiana Department of Education launched a first-of-its-kind partnership to provide interactive professional development and support to educators across the state.

The partnership with Get Your Teach On, an organization established by highly-acclaimed educators Hope and Wade King, provide Indiana educators and administrators with free access to conferences, workshops and training sessions developed to ignite their passion for teaching and promote positive educational outcomes for students.

Get Your Teach On picked our little school as a Indiana Department of Education collaboration site, Boudreau said with the excitement of a schoolgirl. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be doing this here.

The organizations founders, Hope and Wade King, visited the school along with fellow facilitator Chris Pombonyo to interact with staff members and record parts of the documentary.

Theyre incredible, Boudreau said. They have poured magic into our low resource, low morale, low just-about-everything school to the point were overflowing now.

The entire school buzzed with excitement this week.

Theyre bringing all of the magic, said Boudreau, whos on the leadership team for the GYTO collaboration.

The school's students enjoyed escape rooms that were sorted into houses.

Yes, like Hogwarts from Harry Potter, Boudreau said with a raspy voice from an earlier battle with laryngitis.

This house system is designed with hopes of boosting student and staff morale by giving them a house and implementing a whole school mentality.

GYTO has funded all of this, including signage, a beautiful mural and new TVs to display a constant run of house points, Boudreau said.

The organization also sponsored five educators from the school to previously attend a three-day regional conference in Las Vegas. And it will be sponsoring another group from the school for an upcoming national conference in Orlando, Florida.

Id be lying if I said I didnt have wet eyes right now, Boudreau told me. Im so proud of this little under-served, underdog school. I have so much excitement in my teacher heart, yet sadness that our time as a collaboration site is coming to an end.

To complement today's column on the universal importance of writing, my Monday column will celebrate National Read Across America Day by visiting Wallace Elementary School in Hammond to read the book, How to Be a Lion, to second graders. I hope they don't eat me alive.

PHOTOS: Boone Grove hosts Lake Station in football
A New York man who was part of the mob of former President Donald J. Trumps supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and who then smoked a joint in a senators office, was sentenced on Thursday to three and a half years in prison.

The sentencing of the man, Brandon Craig Fellows, came about six months after a federal jury in Washington, D.C., convicted him of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony and several misdemeanors, including illegally entering and remaining in a restricted building.

Judge Trevor N. McFadden, whom Mr. Trump appointed to the federal bench, sentenced Mr. Fellows to 37 months in prison on the riot-related charges, plus five months on a contempt of court charge.

Mr. Fellows, 29, of Schenectady, gained a measure of notoriety when, after entering the Capitol through a broken window and walking into the buildings Senate wing holding a Trump 2020 flag, he went to the private office of Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, according to court records and news reports.
A former graduate student at M.I.T. has pleaded guilty to killing a Yale graduate student in January 2021 in a gruesome shooting that shocked people on both university campuses.

The defendant, Qinxuan Pan, 32, narrowly escaped arrest just minutes after the murder. He spent the next three months hiding from law enforcement, and the following two years maintaining his innocence. That changed on Thursday, when Mr. Pan pleaded guilty, possibly bringing an end to a case that had caused some Connecticut residents to question the competence of local police.

Mr. Pan faces a single charge of murder, according to a statement by John P. Doyle Jr., the states attorney in New Haven. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Pan could face 35 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25.

The prosecutors office made no mention of Mr. Pans possible motives for the attack. In a 96-page warrant filed in state court in February 2021, a New Haven police detective described Mr. Pans actions as follows:

In 2019, when he was a doctoral student in M.I.T. s department of electrical engineering and computer science, Mr. Pan met Zion Perry, an undergraduate student at M.I.T., and they became friends. The two remained in contact through Facebook, where Ms. Perry posted an announcement celebrating her engagement on Jan. 30, 2021, to Kevin Jiang, a 26-year-old graduate student in environmental science at Yale.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Union Square in Manhattan on Thursday evening, then flooded a subway platform and rode a train to the financial district, where they condemned U.S. military aid to Israel and took aim at Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York as she delivered remarks at a Wall Street restaurant.

The protest, organized by the activist group Within Our Lifetime, began with a 6 p.m. rally in Union Square that drew about 400 people, many wearing kaffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags. Protesters then surged into the Union Square subway station and rode a No. 5 train en masse to Wall Street, chanting and placing stickers with slogans on the cars walls.

They disembarked and marched toward Cipriani Wall Street, where Ms. Hochul was scheduled to appear. Finding a police barricade outside the restaurant, they circled the area repeatedly, at times clashing with the police.
There was a lot of breathless speculation before Tuesdays presidential primaries in Michigan, but the actual results didnt clarify the two most important questions: How many uncommitted voters angry about President Bidens approach to the war in Gaza will abstain in November, even though Donald Trump would surely be much more supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu than Biden? And how many blue-collar workers will support Trump in the false belief that hes on their side?

But we can at least say with certainty that Trump is not now and never has been pro-worker  while Biden is.

Naturally, thats not the way Trump tells the story. In September, during an autoworkers strike, Trump, addressing workers at a nonunion Michigan auto parts factory, declared that he had saved an auto industry that was on its knees, gasping its last breaths when he took office. The day before, by contrast, Biden joined union workers on the picket line.

This is, however, pure self-aggrandizing fantasy. When Trump took office, the auto industry had already regained most of the ground it had lost during the Great Recession. This recovery was possible because in 2009, the Obama-Biden administration stepped in to rescue the major auto companies. At the time, many Republicans vehemently opposed that bailout.
The Securities and Exchange Commission began an inquiry into OpenAI soon after the companys board of directors unexpectedly removed Sam Altman, its chief executive, at the end of last year, three people familiar with the inquiry said.

The regulator has sent official requests to OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT online chatbot, seeking information about the situation. It is unclear whether the S.E.C. is investigating Mr. Altmans behavior, the boards decision to oust him or both.

Even as OpenAI has tried to turn the page on the dismissal of Mr. Altman, who was soon reinstated, the controversy continues to hound the company. In addition to the S.E.C. inquiry, the San Francisco artificial intelligence company has hired a law firm to conduct its own investigation into Mr. Altmans behavior and the boards decision to remove him.

The board dismissed Mr. Altman on Nov. 17, saying it no longer had confidence in his ability to run OpenAI. It said he had not been consistently candid in his communications, though it did not provide specifics. It agreed to reinstate him five days later.
A fire ripped through a shopping mall in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, late Thursday, killing at least 46 people and leaving dozens of others injured, officials said.

The deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning after people became stuck in an enclosed room and suffocated from the smoke, the countrys health minister, Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, told reporters.

At least 75 other people were injured, fire officials said.

Earlier, Bachchu Mia, a police inspector at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, said that at least 27 bodies had been identified and sent to their families.

Witnesses said the shopping mall had one staircase and elevator, with no emergency exit, making escape difficult. Some people trapped inside jumped from higher floors, they said.
As he celebrated victory early Friday after winning a parliamentary election, George Galloway, a veteran left-wing firebrand, directed his attack squarely at the leader of Britains opposition Labour Party.

Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza, Mr. Galloway said, wearing the fedora hat that has become his trademark. You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on.

Mr. Galloway won the election  for a seat in Rochdale, north of Manchester, that had previously been held by Labour  after a chaotic campaign that became emblematic of the anger that has swept through British politics over the war in Gaza.

Voting took place on Thursday to replace Tony Lloyd, a Labour Party lawmaker who had represented the district but died of blood cancer in January. Mr. Galloway achieved a clear victory, with 12,335 votes.
Thousands of desperately hungry civilians in northern Gaza gathered on the street before dawn on Thursday, hoping to find food on a humanitarian convoy. Instead, hundreds were killed and injured trying to get aid from the trucks, according to Gazan health officials. Local hospital staff said scores were killed or wounded by gunfire. The Israel Defense Forces claim that most of the victims were trampled or run over by vehicles, and that their soldiers only fired at a group of people who were threatening their forces. Israeli officials declined to provide unedited footage of the incident. The fragments of drone footage they released only add to the confusion around the series of events that killed and wounded so many Gazans. I.D.F. footage shows hundreds of civilians surrounding aid trucks on the coastal Al-Rashid Road in Gaza City. Throngs of people crowd around each truck, hoping to catch bags of food as they are tossed off the back. At one point, people in the crowd suddenly appear to panic and run in multiple directions. The I.D.F. says that this footage shows a mass stampede where Gazans are trampled, but the quality and short length of the clips makes it difficult to confirm these claims. Another clip in the I.D.F. footage shows two Israeli tanks a quarter-mile down the road and at least a dozen bodies lying nearby. The video doesnt show the events that caused the casualties, but several people can be seen crawling and ducking for cover. Other video, filmed from a side street by an Al Jazeera camera crew, helps fill in some of the gaps about what unfolded on the ground. It captures shots fired as crowds of people scatter and take cover. It is not clear when this footage was filmed in relation to the I.D.F. drone video, but what is clearly visible is tracer ammunition, a specialized type of projectile that ignites to illuminate its path, which helps troops fine-tune their targeting. The source of the fire is not captured in the footage, but the trajectory shows its coming from the direction where Israeli military vehicles are positioned, just a half-mile away.
The top human rights official at the United Nations condemned Israels military offensive in Gaza in an especially forceful statement on Thursday and warned that an assault on Rafah would add a new level of horror to the war.

The terror attacks by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups on Oct. 7 were appalling and entirely wrong, said Volker Turk, the U.N.s high commissioner for human rights. But, he added, so is the brutality of the Israeli response.

He laid out the toll of its military campaign: what the United Nations estimates is 100,000 dead, injured or missing Palestinians, amounting to one in 20 of Gazas people; the unprecedented number of deaths of U.N. employees and journalists; some 17,000 Palestinian children orphaned or separated from their families.

There appear to be no bounds to, no words to capture, the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, he said in an address to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. This is carnage.

Mr. Turk was opening a council discussion of a report by his office on developments in Gaza and the West Bank, highlighting the human and physical devastation of the war in Gaza and the profoundly discriminatory systems of control and endless humiliation of Israels policies in occupied territories.

His statement drew a rebuke from Israels ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Meirav Eilon Shahar, who condemned it as an affront to the victims of the Oct. 7 attack.
Teams searching the Yellowstone River this spring for asphalt from the 2023 derailment near Reed Point will not be limited to 136 miles downstream.

We will continue downstream until we dont find asphalt, said Larry Alheim, of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. Last year cleanup crews covered 50,000 river miles, he added.

Alheim was one of several speakers to address a crowd in Columbus on Thursday night as part of the Unified Commands briefing regarding continued cleanup efforts.

Last June, 17 Montana Rail Link train cars derailed while crossing the Yellowstone River. Ten of the cars fell into the river. In addition to an estimated spill of 420,000 pounds of asphalt, molten sulfur and scrap metal was dumped into the water. The cause of the derailment is still under investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration.

So far, crews cleaning up the taffy-like asphalt have recovered more than half, about 236,000 pounds.

A lot of that 200,000 pounds was found up near the derailment, Alheim said.

Recovering 50% of the spilled material is a larger percentage than is cleaned up at most oil spills, said Joyel Dhieux, of the Environmental Protection Agency. Typically, 30% is considered good for recovery of spilled oil, she said.

Alheim said sampling of the soil underneath asphalt found onshore showed the ground was below DEQ cleanup standards.

Water samples taken from the river  12 to 20 per day for 10 days  also revealed no petroleum hydrocarbons, Alheim said. Last July, an EPA official explained asphalt is composed of long hydrocarbon chains, unlike gasoline, benzene or toluene which readily dissolve in water. Asphalt, on the other hand, is designed purposely not to dissolve. Fish ingesting any asphalt also should not be harmed, he added.

The effect of the asphalt spill on fish in the river is still being studied with results not expected until May. Last fall, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel collected fish for the testing as far upstream as Big Timber, near the derailment and as far downstream as Billings.

This was the second collection of fish after an initial study showed some fish were contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PAHs can occur naturally in some shale formations, but are also found in fertilizers and carried aloft in smoke.

Following the first round of results, the states Fish Consumption Advisory Board advised anglers to avoid eating fish caught in the Yellowstone River between Reed Point and the Highway 212 bridge in Laurel.

Mike Ruggles, FWP Region 5 supervisor, said scientists so far have found no direct link between the asphalt spill and the high levels of PAHs in Yellowstone River fish. He said the agencys scientists are trying to better understand where the contaminants are coming from, but so far dont have a definitive answer.

The fact that contamination is being found at different levels in fish of varying sizes upstream and downstream of the spill is confounding.

Its showing up everywhere we look, he said, but pinning down a source is difficult.

We cant say, Yep, this is it. Thats the source, he added.

In response to an audience members question, Ruggles said FWP has not collected any samples of river sediments for testing.

Alheim said most of the molten sulfur solidified on contact with the water and was easily recovered, with little found downstream. An audience member said there was still metal protruding from the bank below the bridge that could threaten boaters. Alheim said removal of the scrap will be considered during this springs survey below the derailment as crews look for debris or asphalt.

There is no definitive cutoff for when cleanup operations would be halted. Instead, it will be based on when crews are seeing minimal returns for their efforts while weighing the impacts of the collection process, Dhieux said.

We want to get as much as we can, Alheim said.

Even after crews are pulled, landowners or recreationists who find asphalt can still report the discovery to Unified Command for cleanup. More information on the second phase of the cleanup process can be found online.

Recently, conservation groups and fishing outfitters voiced their concerns regarding the long-term effects of the asphalt spill and called for continued monitoring of the river ecosystem.
Gunter Brus, a founder of the radical art movement known as Viennese Actionism, who courted outrage and arrest in the 1960s by using his body  and bodily effluvia  to shatter the bourgeois civility of a country haunted by its Nazi past, died on Feb. 10 in Graz, Austria. He was 85.

His death was announced in a statement by Kunsthaus Bregenz, an art museum in Bregenz, Austria, that is currently hosting an exhibition by Mr. Brus. The museum did not say where he died or cite the cause.

The weight of his nations history bore heavily on Mr. Brus, who was born in the village of Ardning in 1938, the year of the Anschluss, the annexation of the country by Adolf Hitler, a native of Austria, into the Nazi Reich.
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When Tessa Hulls set out to write a book about three generations of women in her family, she had few illusions about how hard the task would be.

The tale was geographically sprawling, and spanned a century: Her grandmother Sun Yi, a journalist in Shanghai, fled China for Hong Kong in 1957, then slowly went mad; her mother, Rose, attended an elite boarding school in Hong Kong founded in part for the mixed-race children of European expatriates, then moved to the United States in 1970.

Much of her familys story was accessible only via her grandmothers memoir, a best seller published in Hong Kong and written in Mandarin  a language that Hulls, who was born and raised in Northern California, could not read  and through her mother, whom Hulls had spent a lifetime running away from.
Boeing said on Friday that it was in talks to acquire Spirit AeroSystems, a struggling supplier that the manufacturer spun out nearly two decades ago and that makes the bodies of the 737 Max jet.

In reabsorbing Spirit, Boeing would be seeking to rescue and restructure a troubled but important partner that has been battered by years of losses and quality control problems. Spirits problems have also at times limited how fast Boeing can produce Max planes, its most popular commercial jet.

Bringing Spirit, one of the companys key suppliers, back in house would be a significant strategic shift for Boeing, which has long relied on outsourcing to make its planes. That strategy has come under increasing scrutiny amid concerns about Boeings quality issues.

Both companies have faced intense scrutiny since Jan. 5, when a panel on a 737 Max 9 blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff, exposing passengers to deafening wind at 16,000 feet. The pilots operating the plane landed it safely with no serious injuries reported. Experts say the episode could have been catastrophic had it happened at a higher altitude with passengers moving about the cabin.
A rash of lawsuits are threatening to stall a shareholder vote on the long-delayed merger of former President Donald J. Trumps social media company and a cash-rich shell company.

Two early founders of Trump Media & Technology Group have filed suit to preserve their ownership stake in the business, the parent company of the Truth Social online posting platform. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday under seal in Delaware Chancery Court by a partnership led by Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, claims that Trump Media is trying to dilute its ownership stake in the company, of which Mr. Trump is a majority shareholder.

The lawsuit seeks an expedited hearing in Delaware state court ahead of a March 22 vote by shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp. on its merger with Trump Media. Digital World is the special purpose acquisition company that was set up to raise money from investors in an initial public offering and to use that money to find a private company like Trump Media to buy.

Mr. Moss and Mr. Litinsky were contestants on Mr. Trumps realty television show, The Apprentice, and went to him in January 2021 with the idea of creating a social media company.
The two largest pharmacy chains in the United States will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone this month, a step that could make access easier for some patients.

Officials at CVS and Walgreens said in interviews on Friday that they had received certification to dispense mifepristone under guidelines that the Food and Drug Administration issued last year. The chains plan to make the medication available in stores in a handful of states at first. They will not be providing the medication by mail.

Both chains said they would gradually expand to all other states where abortion was legal and where pharmacies were legally able to dispense abortion pills  about half of the states.

President Biden said in a statement on Friday that the availability of the pill at pharmacies was an important milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone, a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for more than 20 years.
Robert M. Young, an eclectic director whose documentary subjects included civil rights lunch counter sit-ins and sharks, and whose feature films included one about a Mexican American farmer who kills a Texas lawman and one about a woman who takes revenge on her attacker, died on Feb. 6 in Los Angeles. He was 99.

The death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his son Andrew.

In an interview with the Directors Guild of America in 2005, Mr. Young recalled what attracted him to filmmaking.

I wanted to be in life, he said. I wanted to be having adventures, I wanted to be living in the world.
Today, city businesses that have not already taken up arms in the battle against trash must do so.

The required weapon is a bin with a secure lid. All businesses must put their trash in such containers from now on. No longer can they leave their trash out in the open in plastic bags.

Food-related businesses  restaurants, bars, delis, bodegas, grocery stores, wholesalers and catering companies  have had to use containers since last August. The Department of Sanitation said those groups accounted for 20 percent of city businesses but by far the largest portion of the trash that attracts rats.
After Jose Uribe, a New Jersey businessman, was subpoenaed in connection with a broad bribery investigation involving Senator Robert Menendez, he got a message from the senators wife, Nadine Menendez.

She wanted to get their stories straight about a Mercedes-Benz convertible he had given her as a bribe, he admitted Friday in federal court in Manhattan. They met a few hours later at a Marriott Hotel.

She asked what was I going to say if somebody asked me about the car payments, he said.

He agreed to lie to investigators  and to his own lawyer, he said.

Nadine says something like, That sounds good, he told the judge, Sidney H. Stein of Federal District Court, according to a transcript of the proceeding.
Nancy Wallace, who toiled tirelessly to clean up the only freshwater river that flows in New York City, the Bronx River, and to reclaim it for recreation and as a natural habitat, died on Feb. 15 at her home in Marblehead, Mass. She was 93.

Her death was confirmed by her daughter Lane Wallace.

Living in White Plains, N.Y., in the 1980s, Mrs. Wallace galvanized a broad campaign to rescue the river, at the time an inaccessible 23-mile watercourse that was home to more flotsam, like the carcasses of junked cars and rusted refrigerators, than fauna.

The river is mostly tidal and brackish from East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx down to where Hunts Point meets the saltwater East River, but it is considered generally fresh as it flows south from its source near the Kensico Dam in Westchester County.
A seismic shift is taking place in the North Dakota party convention endorsing system with the fragmentation of power and resources and candidates bypassing the structured system and going directly to the polls.

While North Dakota history is full of erratic appeals to primary elections, the present fracture was led by U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer and Gov. Doug Burgum, both of whom took their cases to the public after rejection by conventions. The precedent has been established.

By electing Cramer to lesser offices, the Republican Party gave him the visibility to successfully challenge the convention nominee. It was a matter of ingratitude.

There is little question that Burgum bought his gubernatorial office by throwing gobs of personal money to defeat Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who was the party favorite.

With a bitter fight now occurring between the moderate Republicans and the right wing, a number of candidates for state and legislative offices have announced that they will not seek convention endorsements but will bypass conventions and go straight to primaries.

In brutal skirmishes, the new hard line state GOP leadership has orchestrated the defeat of incumbent legislators who have carried the conservative flag for years. Ideology has driven common sense to the wall.

Racial primaries

Seasoned political observers should not have been surprised because the shift of the solid Democratic South to a solid Republican South is a lesson in American political history.

When liberal firebrands like Hubert Humphrey in 1948 started championing a greater role for the Black community, a bigoted South instantly saw race as the issue and closed ranks to ward off growth of Black power. Primaries were used to keep Blacks out of the polls.

As the movement away from conventions grows, more political fights will be settled in primaries and that will change the dynamics of campaigns. North Dakota politics will become a free-for-all.

Conventions meaningless

Conventions may continue to meet to hear the persistent in both parties offer a litany of campaign promises to bind the nominees to party principles. All the while, candidates are running their own polls to find the hot issues while disregarding the rhetoric of party platforms.

Conventions will become meaningless, replaced by a different paradigm of political action.

Party conventions require candidates to prove their qualifications for candidacies, often requiring credentials in local districts. There will be no sifting in the primary system. Any incompetent with a German or Scandinavian name still has the edge. Otherwise, the bored rich will find politics a new form of polo to play.

Party conventions have made it possible for candidates to come forward even though they dont have the personal resources of wealthy candidates who have the edge. There will be fewer opportunities for the unfunded aspirants.

Party conventions reduce the chaos that pervades politics by pumping up loyalties from convention to convention.

Well-heeled candidates

Leaving the less-fortunate behind, well-heeled candidates will dominate politics in the primary age. Burgum has already demonstrated the power of money in a variety of ways, including his own election.

Defenders of the primary revolution will say: Let the people decide. That isnt what they mean. They are really saying: The primary is my best shot because we can use money to brainwash the public with mass media.

The shift from conventions to primaries means a changing of the guard. Moneyed politicians will take center stage. Different manipulators will make the decisions. When the elite take charge, the system will become less democratic.
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions.

ross douthat

Theres Michelle. Can you hear us?

michelle cottle

(ALTERED VOICE) Is it not working in here either?

carlos lozada

Oh. What was that?

michelle cottle

(ALTERED VOICE) I sound like a demon from hell.

ross douthat

Guys, I think youre going to be glad to have some Catholics on this episode. Just putting it out there.

lydia polgreen

From New York Times Opinion, Im Lydia Polgreen.

michelle cottle

Im Michelle Cottle.

ross douthat

Im Ross Douthat.

carlos lozada

Im Carlos Lozada.

lydia polgreen

And this is Matter of Opinion. All right, guys. So I wanted to talk about where the debate over abortion is going. And I want to talk about it in light of a recent decision by Alabamas Supreme Court, which ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children and that the destruction of frozen embryos can amount to the wrongful death of a human being. This decision obviously is coming at a very politically potent moment. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, fights over abortion have upended a lot of our fixed ideas about politics. It played havoc with the midterms in 2022. And now, it seems as though other areas of reproductive health care are up for grabs, just in time for the 2024 election. But before we go to where the debate is headed, this ruling took me really by surprise. I wasnt expecting it. And so Im curious, did you guys have any personal reactions to hearing it? And were you surprised?

carlos lozada

Uh, yeah. Often with significant cases that are going to generate either big public controversy or potential big policy impacts, we hear about them, sometimes months ahead of time. This came like a lightning bolt. But youve been hearing a lot of warnings that post-Dobbs, things like IVF could potentially be at risk. So theres also some kind of I-told-you-isms going around, but not with me. This was very surprising.

michelle cottle

So I, like Carlos, had not had forewarning that this was in the pipeline. I just had missed it somehow. But what actually happened does not surprise me.

ross douthat

Im never surprised by anything, so yeah. No, I mean, I think I was not familiar with all of the details of the specific Alabama laws that were interpreted in this case. And so I wont pretend to have had for knowledge in that sense. But having some kind of IVF flashpoint in the abortion debate, I think, was pretty much inevitable.

lydia polgreen

Yeah. Yeah. Well, before we get too deeply into how this is playing out politically and what some of the big issues that are at stake here, could somebody just walk us through the specifics of this particular case and the decision? Carlos, I have a feeling actually sat down and read the entire decision and all the dissents. (LAUGHING) So Im going to call on you.

carlos lozada

Where would you  where would you get that? Where would you get that idea?

michelle cottle

Oh, Carlos.

carlos lozada

Yes. I just assumed we all did. But I will go ahead. Yeah, I read it last night. Actually, I do recommend that folks read it. Its incredibly interesting. So as Lydia said, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children, referred to them as extrauterine children under state law. The case that led to that ruling involved three couples whose frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed in a fertility clinic in Mobile, Alabama. Now, they were not harmed in the normal course of IVF treatment or in the transport of embryos as sometimes happens, but rather when someone just kind of wandered into the unlocked storage area, the cryogenic nursery, as they call it, and dropped several embryos on the floor. Now, these couples, its important to know, are people who, in some cases, had already had children through IVF treatment. They sued the clinic, and also the local hospital where the storage facility was located, for wrongful death. And the court ruled 8 to 1 that the failure to secure the storage area violated the states Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. The court also relied on a constitutional amendment from 2018  pre-Dobbs, it should be noted  that recognized the sanctity of unborn life and of unborn children. Now, since the ruling came down, the Alabama State legislature has voted to protect IVF providers from lawsuits. But one thing thats gotten a lot of attention is that while the main opinion drew largely on interpretations of state law and the state Constitution, there was a concurring opinion by the chief justice that invoked sort of very overtly religious language. He wrote that all life is made in the image of God and that human life cannot be wrongfully destroyed without incurring the wrath of a holy God. So this has, as you can imagine, become a big part of the story of this case. Yeah, I mean, I think this question of the wide variety of religious views on this issue is actually important. And I think theres a pretty diverse set of views on this. Ross, maybe you can give us a sense of what the lay of the land is for Christians in particular.

ross douthat

I can try. Its, I would say, in certain ways, a fairly unsettled area, where I think you have a lot of people Christians and otherwise, who havent necessarily thought through all of the implications of their own positions on these issues. But there is a specifically Catholic objection to IVF-style fertility treatment, which is connected to the idea that human beings should be created in the loving act of a man and woman, not in some sort of method that is alienated from that act. Its different from what you might call the sort of generic pro-life issue with IVF, which is not about those Catholic arguments exactly, so much as its just saying, to the extent that IVF involves the intentional destruction of embryos, it involves the destruction of a human life. A lot of people who are sort of generally pro-life just dont honestly think that closely about this issue at all, sometimes have used IVF themselves, sometimes, like most people in contemporary America, know someone whos gotten pregnant through IVF, and if some of these issues were pointed out to them, might become more concerned about how IVF is practiced, but generally just take the view that the IVF debate and the abortion debate are kind of separate. And its that perspective, I think, thats driven much of the political reaction to this, where most prominent Republican politicians, starting with Donald Trump, never 

[chuckles]

:  never a man especially interested in moral and theological consistency, have basically come out and said, oh, you know, well, obviously, IVF should be allowed, and we want to encourage people to have families who have issues with fertility and so on, right?

michelle cottle

All right. So taking a step back, Im not so much fascinated by the people who object to IVF. I figure that is a pretty consistent position, from a religious standpoint, especially if you are of the mind that an embryo is a child. What I am finding completely fascinating, and I have to admit to a little bit of satisfaction on this, are the large number of ostensibly pro-life Republicans who have just, flat out, panicked about this ruling, either because they were just lazy in their thinking about reproductive rights, or because theyve realized that they were not prepared for this outpouring of public outrage on this issue. I mean, if you are extremely consistent in your pro-life views, you really shouldnt back IVF. Thats pretty shabby moral thinking. Im sorry. It just is.

lydia polgreen

Yeah. And I think there was also a lot of punditry in the immediate aftermath of Dobbs that pooh-poohed the idea that Clarence Thomass dissent that talked about going after Obergefell  that that was all kind of liberal overreacting, hyperventilating. And there was also a line of argument that was basically like, yeah, look, this is not going to affect birth control or IVF. This is just about abortion. And to me, thats a little bit like the people who are like, dont worry. Trump will accept defeat and leave office in 2020. So I think political panic is probably the right word to describe what were seeing.

ross douthat

But it is important to stress  and I think Carlos, as the deep reader, will agree  that this decision was actually not textually based on Dobbs or on abortion law.

lydia polgreen

Yes.

ross douthat

It was based on laws that were in existence and were sort of accepted under Roe. As long as you had legal abortion, you also could have laws that said, if somebody injures a pregnant woman and their child dies, they can sue for damages.

michelle cottle

But I want to jump in here and say that this being a legal issue, you use every ruling for your sides furthering of your approach to this. You can parse this all you want to. And Ive seen people like Ed Whelan doing this, saying, oh, its not really about abortion. It doesnt really count on Dobbs. But as we know, part of what Chief Justice Parker in Alabama has done is, hes used every opportunity, even if its not really closely related to abortion rulings, to build this legal infrastructure that can then be pointed to by other courts to say, well, if this is true, then this must be true. So I am not actually comforted by whether or not this was strictly based on Dobbs or not.

carlos lozada

No, no, Im not 

michelle cottle

Theres a reason were seeing it now.

lydia polgreen

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Carlos, youve been wanting to jump in.

carlos lozada

Yeah. Whats interesting to me about the politics of this is, I feel theres a sense in which Republicans are going to have to make up their minds about what it means to be pro-life. Theyre sort of caught in a bind. As Ross mentioned, you have party leaders like Speaker Johnson, like Donald Trump, coming out in strong support of IVF. But there is a non-trivial segment of the party, including Speaker Johnson in the past, who have supported life-at-conception acts, constitutional protections for pre-born humans. And so I think that you have to decide if being pro-life means being pro-natalist, which would make you pro-in-vitro, or pro-personhood, which would make you perhaps question in vitro fertilization much more along the lines that Ross explained. So thats a dilemma. Thats something that theyre going to have to square. And they havent so far.

michelle cottle

And what you wind up having then is that people like Nikki Haley and like the entire Senate Republican campaign arm, which sent out a memo to its candidates saying, if you dont come out in favor of IVF, you are committing political malpractice, and this is insanity, you need to be pro, pro, pro  OK, well, if the whole idea of protecting embryos is going to be consistent, except when it suits, like, affluent people who can afford IVF, then you start to question what actually their problem is. Thats when it starts to get into, well, maybe they just only care about certain people or certain processes or things like that.

lydia polgreen

Right. And I think the context is important here. What is IVF for? And we are a group of Gen Xers, you know, Ross sort of on the cusp.

carlos lozada

Stop. Im in. Im in Gen X.

michelle cottle

Maybe.

carlos lozada

You will not  you will not read  you will not read me out.

michelle cottle

Whether we want you in here, Ross.

lydia polgreen

But I mean, I think we all know, personally, people who have struggled with fertility and probably know people personally who have access to IVF, right?

michelle cottle

Tons of them.

lydia polgreen

Tons and tons of them. And you know, IVF is a really important technology that help people start families later, and that starting families later is often a way for women to have more control over how their careers unfurl. You know, so so IVF is a real felt need and, I think, a feminist drive for women to have more control over when and how many children that they have. So this is all in the same bucket as abortion, right?

michelle cottle

Exactly.

lydia polgreen

I mean, I think thats the  its fundamentally about your reproductive destiny and who gets to make decisions and on what timeline and how many children and all of that kind of stuff.

michelle cottle

And I find it particularly rich, the conservatives who dont like contraception, who have come after contraception on the off-chance that certain kinds prevent implantation, and they cannot abide that, because that embryo is a baby. Well, Im sorry, but if thats the case, you cant back IVF, because those embryos are babies, too. And the way its practiced, you are looking at thousands of frozen babies in cryogenic nurseries. If youre going to be that strict about it, you got to stick to your guns, people.

ross douthat

I feel like youre angry at Republicans, whichever stance they take here.

michelle cottle

No, no, no.

ross douthat

Youre basically trying to say  youre saying to conservatives, either you have to bite the bullet and acknowledge that  which, for the purposes of this conversation, Im happy to acknowledge  yes, I think its a big problem that there are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of, essentially, human beings that we keep on ice in this country. Ill bite that bullet. But the alternative youre saying is, well, if you wont bite that bullet, if you want to essentially carve out an exception for IVF, then you are a terrible hypocrite who just wants to control womens bodies or something, when in fact, all Republicans are doing in that case is doing what Democrats do with late-term abortion, which is trying to be a little fuzzy, have it both ways, and get closer to the muddy middle on abortion, right? I mean, isnt that what you want? Shouldnt you be happy if Republicans are moving towards the center, rather than saying, oh, well, this just proves again that youre building the Handmaids Tale dystopia?

lydia polgreen

Well, look, I mean, I think hypocrisy  I mean, whats the saying? Hypocrisy is the nod that vice gives to virtue. I dont expect total consistency from any politician. But I do think that there is a sort of fundamental problem here, which is that ultimately, you have a political party, elements of which are pushing and successfully enshrining law that is really, really, really far away from what most Americans think and believe. And you can do that on the basis of a moral principle, right? I mean, if you, like Ross, believe that these are children, then just as abolitionists believe that slavery was absolutely morally unacceptable and you could do anything in order to stop it, that is a point of view, right? But there are political 

ross douthat

Just to be clear, it is not my position that you can do anything 

lydia polgreen

Oh, no, no 

ross douthat

 in order to 

lydia polgreen

Of course.

ross douthat

 just 

lydia polgreen

Yes. No, I didnt  I didnt think that it was.

michelle cottle

Can I jump in and ask Ross, what is your position on IVF?

ross douthat

What is my  I think IVF should be permissible. But I think there should be limits on the number of embryos created, and there should be an effort to encourage people to only create embryos that they are likely to implant. I think theres going to be some gray area, because obviously, the state cant force you to implant embryos. But my goal would be to have fewer embryos on ice, which, again, is what exists, to some extent, in other developed countries.

lydia polgreen

Ross comes out for harm reduction. This is great. Carlos.

carlos lozada

This is what the opinion  the Alabama opinion says. Theres this extensive discussion of IVF laws and regulations in New Zealand, in Australia, in Europe. I think they mentioned Italy in particular. It struck me as interesting, because I know that often in American conservative jurisprudence, its not cool to cite 

lydia polgreen

Socialized medicine in Europe?

carlos lozada

 the laws of other countries. But here, it certainly was. But one thing that I am struck by in the political debate here is that I wonder if IVF is a more, sort of, politically advantageous issue for Democrats than abortion. Because just the polling suggests that theres an overwhelming consensus in favor of IVF. And I know I mentioned in our discussion last week with Paul Krugman how the original its the economy, stupid slogan actually was, the economy, stupid, and dont forget about health care. I can imagine, in this next election cycle, a version of it being, its the economy, stupid, but dont forget about abortion and IVF.

lydia polgreen

Yeah.

carlos lozada

Because these are going to be  I can only imagine there will be a very significant focus for the Democrats.

ross douthat

Except that the Republican nominee is one Donald Trump, who everyone can sense doesnt care remotely about abortion, except insofar as it sort of helps or hurts his political prospects, and whose immediate response to this was to come out with a guns-blazing, pro-IVF statement. So I think in that sense, like, there is some odd political neutralization of this issue by having Donald Trump, rather than  certainly than Ron DeSantis, but even Nikki Haley, as the Republican nominee.

lydia polgreen

Yeah. No, I think theres going to be a lot of sticky questions that are going to have to be answered, and people are going to have to take stands that might be uncomfortable. And while I think its true that Donald Trump doesnt give a damn about this issue and will just do whatevers politically expedient, I think whats clear and whats become clear is that through the different kinds of judges whove been either elected or appointed in various parts of the country on the federal and state benches, the different state legislatures, some of which are really quite captured by particular political point of view and reflect some of the more extreme edges of this debate, I think theres just going to be a lot of things like this that are going to pop up and surprise people. And that, I think, is going to be a big challenge for the Republicans to deal with.

michelle cottle

I think thats totally right. And its not just the specifics. I mean, Republicans can come out and say they dont like  they definitely support IVF. But anything that puts the question of reproductive rights front and center makes people start to think, well, what are their motives? How far will they take this? And there are a lot of states that are trying to get abortion access amendments or ballot measures into this election year. And that sort of thing is going to drive voters, the more that were talking about anything to do with reproductive rights.

lydia polgreen

All right. Lets take a quick break. Well be right back. One of the big questions that Im hearing bubbling up in our conversation here is, I think Michelle and I feel quite strongly that this is a direct result of Dobbs. And while the argument around, is it or not, its all happening under the penumbra of this new era that were in, this new post-Roe era. And that, to me, feels inescapable. Voters are not going to sit down and read this decision. Theyre going to be like, oh my God, theres a new thing about my reproductive rights, and theyre going to think Dobbs, whether or not the decision actually argues that. So I think you cant really run away from it.

ross douthat

Perhaps the way in which the media covers these things also plays some role in influencing how voters receive rulings. Just wanted to make that 

michelle cottle

Well, thats true in every  thats true of every issue.

ross douthat

It is. Yes, yes, yes, it is.

carlos lozada

No, I think  I think Ross is right that Trump, as in so many things, is able to somehow get a free pass on issues of abortion or reproductive rights, because people look at him and think, like, eh, he doesnt really think this or that. But you know what? Theres a lot of video of Donald Trump taking victory laps for his ability to get Gorsuch and Kavanaugh and Barrett on the court. I think its going to be hard to make too strong a separation. And the way this Alabama ruling plays into that is interesting. Because as I read the decision, theres one sense in which it didnt feel like Dobbs played a major part in it. It drew on laws and constitutional amendments that long predated Dobbs. At the same time, it also felt to me that you can have state justices feel more empowered to write rulings such as this one in a Dobbs world. Not because they draw explicitly from it, but because the window has opened more widely. Theres a cascading effect, where I think Dobbs grants a, quote unquote, permission structure to move in this direction.

michelle cottle

Well, thats what Im saying about, its not the specifics of this particular case or, in some instances, abortion being kicked to the states in general. Its the pro-life reaction to it. I think Ross is totally correct that the pro-life movement was not prepared for Roe to fall. And they responded in ways like, for instance, thinking about making it a crime for women from a pro-life state to cross over and get an abortion elsewhere. Things like that just make people freak out. Because whatever your moral claims, people are like, well, thats just punitive and was not what I was expecting.

ross douthat

Let me say something in defense of the pro-life movement in this context. Im not  I mean, I think its fair to say the pro-life movement wasnt prepared for the fall of Roe. At the same time, in fact, the pro-life movement is a bunch of people, relatively small group of people in the context of America, working in activist groups, many of them in Washington, DC, some of them around the country, who are trying to deal with the political reality of this larger thing called the Republican Party. And its the Republican Party thats totally unprepared to talk about abortion, argue about abortion, handle it in any way in public. And the pro-life movement doesnt have the power to determine what either a random state legislator in Louisiana or Alabama does or what, you know, Donald Trump or Nikki Haley says. And what were witnessing playing out is, yes, its the failures of the movement in some way, but its also sort of a testament to just the limits of a discrete movement as an agent operating in a context where most of the people involved in US politics dont want to think about abortion, dont want to talk about abortion, and when confronted with abortion, veer in all kinds of directions 

michelle cottle

Behave badly.

ross douthat

Yeah. Well, but in both ways. I think what you see with Republicans is both, on the one hand, you get the outliers who are saying things like, oh, were going to prosecute women and so on. And then on the other hand, you have Republican legislators who are like, what can we do to make this issue magically go away? And so you have both things going on, and I dont think the pro-life movement has figured out what to do about that. But thats the situation.

carlos lozada

Look, its useful to compare the two parties in this regard. Not specifically on abortion, but think about what is considered to be like an extreme kind of left point of view, like defund the police. No one actually defunded the police, right? That was the thing that created this huge uproar. There were city councils that maybe, in some places, tried to do x, y, z, and then ended up not actually even really being able to do it. And so I think that there is this kind of cohesive sensibleness that is broadly enforced in the Democratic Party, whereas it seems on the right, with the Republican Party, there are just all of these things that just keep popping up and popping up, from judges in particular places who were either elected or appointed, or state legislatures that are completely uncompetitive and therefore can play in these highly ideological spaces. So again, to me, it speaks more to the fact that the Republican Party seems like much more effectively hijacked by people who hold opinions far outside of the mainstream than the Democratic Party is at the moment.

ross douthat

I mean, I dont know about that. I think that 

lydia polgreen

I mean, give me an example, please.

ross douthat

I think that  well, so on the Republican side, lets see what happens with IVF, right? And we can revisit this conversation in six months or a couple of years. And if you get a bunch of Republican states that either ban IVF or sort of embrace models that effectively close all IVF clinics in the state, then Ill agree that that is sort of a surprising example of a very small faction within the Republican Party working its will politically. Im pretty skeptical that thats going to happen. I know more people who are anti-IVF, Im sure, than anyone else who works at the New York Times, and I am pretty skeptical that their views are going to actually be law in Alabama or Mississippi in two years, right? But lets see. I mean, well see.

lydia polgreen

No, but Ross, Im sorry. Can you give me  like, whats a comparable example on the left? Youve sort of said the comparable 

ross douthat

The comparable example  the way American politics works is that the comparable examples on the left tend to be in city government rather than state government.

lydia polgreen

Well, that sounds like a pretty big difference, right?

ross douthat

Well, I mean, which  what is more important to America? Philadelphia and San Francisco, or 

lydia polgreen

The state of Alabama?

ross douthat

 or a rural red state? Yeah, I think thats  I think these are open questions. I think control of the city governments of the Bay Area is more politically important than political control of the government of Nebraska. Yes, absolutely.

michelle cottle

OK, wait. I want to take a step back here, speaking to whether or not this is some kind of outlier example or whatever. So in the last Congress, 167 House Republicans co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act, which would confer full personhood rights 

ross douthat

Speaker Johnson.

lydia polgreen

14th Amendment rights.

michelle cottle

Fertilized eggs. Then you start a battle between the rights of the mother and the rights of the fertilized egg at whatever stage, that if were taking this seriously, its going to lead to all kinds of problems, just by definition.

lydia polgreen

Thats like 167 members of the House of Representatives. That is not a fringe.

ross douthat

But what you see from the reaction from House Republicans to this ruling is that the people who signed on to that did not, in fact, take it seriously, which is why you see the extremely conservative speaker of the House immediately coming out with a statement in support of IVF, which is, I think, a reflection of, again, the actual position.

carlos lozada

It sounds like, with Ross saying, dont take the Life at Conception Act seriously, and Lydia saying, well, no one really defunded the police  it sounds like we dont need to take seriously the sort of fringier positions on either side of the spectrum here. And thats great. But it really says something about what we mean when we speak out in politics.

lydia polgreen

I think this question of, oh, lets not take the extremes of either party seriously is actually not what I believe, Carlos. I think these voices, and particularly if they bubble up into state-level politics or national politics in a meaningful way, we should take them seriously. I think Defund the Police never took off as a thing that actually happened. But I think it had real political consequences for Democrats. Democrats have never been seen as particularly strong on crime. And that movement, I think, really harmed Democrats with voters. And I think something very similar is going on here. Theres already a belief and an inclination to not trust Republicans when they suddenly backpedal and say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because the reality is, this is a country where there is majority support for abortion. The polling is  we can argue and dice the polling one way or whatever. Even Donald Trump who, our colleagues reported, favors a 16-week abortion ban because its a nice round number, four months  I think that one of the core questions here is like, in a democracy, to what extent should policy and the policies that these parties are putting forward respond to the beliefs of the people who live in that country? And how far over your skis can you get from public opinion, particularly through the courts?

carlos lozada

I think the question you raise is incredibly important. What I found interesting in both Dobbs and in the Alabama ruling is how they both recognized that what they were doing could be the cause of great social upheaval, and certainly controversial. But they both basically said, thats not our problem. In the Alabama ruling, it says that the text of the Wrongful Death of a Minor Act is sweeping and unqualified. It applies to all children, born and unborn, without limits. Its not the role of the court to craft a new limitation based on our view of what is or is not wise public policy. And Alito, in Dobbs, said something very similar. He was talking about Casey versus Planned Parenthood, the 1992 case that upheld Roe but with some limits. He wrote, the Casey plurality was certainly right that it is important for the public to perceive that our decisions are based on principle, i.e. not just political decisions, right? And we should make every effort to achieve that objective by issuing opinions that carefully show how a proper understanding of the law can lead to the results we reach. But we cannot exceed the scope of our authority under the Constitution, and we cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences, such as concern about the publics reaction to our work. So like, public opinion, public reaction, the social context in which these opinions land is irrelevant in this view. And both the Alabama decision and Dobbs present that point of view, which, in a kind of jurisprudential sense, sounds very sage, but to your point, when it means that courts are getting well past public opinion, can cause a huge backlash, not the least of which is to the legitimacy of those institutions themselves.

lydia polgreen

I think thats absolutely right. And I suspect well have lots more to say on this issue. And I am sure that our listeners do, too. So listeners, we want to hear where you think the abortion debate is headed. Share your thoughts on this episode with us in a voicemail by calling us at 212-556-7440, or send us an email at matterofopinion@nytimes.com. Well be right back.

michelle cottle

So we missed you dearly last week.

carlos lozada

Terribly.

lydia polgreen

Aw.

michelle cottle

But in your absence, we recruited our colleague in Times Opinion, Paul Krugman, to talk about the economy and how it will play a role in the presidential election. And then, we asked listeners how, if at all, the state of the economy would impact their vote. And there was one answer that we heard over and over again.

caller 1 Its not going to affect it one bit. caller 2 Very little. caller 3 Hi, my name is Kelly. Im from Bloomington, Indiana. And the economy will not affect my vote at all. Why? Trump. Thats it. Just because of Trump. caller 4 Hi, this is Mike from Sacramento, California. The top issues for me are democracy and avoiding an authoritarian and womens reproductive health as well as civil rights. The economy is well down after those. caller 5 Hi, my name is Evan. I live in Tryon, North Carolina, the tiny, tiny little town just across the border from South Carolina in the middle of nowhere, definitely Trump country. The economy, for me, has nothing to do with the election this year. The phrase isnt its the economy, stupid. For me, its democracy, stupid. I do not want Trump to be back in the White House. (LAUGHING) I will vote for Biden. I dont care if we go into a recession.

lydia polgreen

Huh.

caller 5 Its all about democracy.

michelle cottle

Ah, hes hardcore. I like it.

lydia polgreen

Wow.

michelle cottle

So one of our listeners, Larry in South Bend, Indiana, did 

carlos lozada

South Bend! University of Notre Dame!

michelle cottle

Give it up for Carlos 

carlos lozada

Go Irish!

ross douthat

Thats right.

lydia polgreen

Go football!

michelle cottle

All right. So Larry did point to rising housing costs and food costs as factors that might influence his vote. But overall, our very unscientific measure of listener responses does align with Paul Krugmans opinion that the economy likely wont be the main factor driving voters decisions this election.

ross douthat

Can I  I just want to suggest that the listenership of our podcast might not be fully representative.

michelle cottle

What, you dont think were the heartbeat of America?

carlos lozada

Whoa, whoa.

ross douthat

Of the nation. I just 

carlos lozada

What do you mean?

ross douthat

I just  I love our listenership. Theyre the best people, the finest people. But yeah, I think this was a slightly unscientific poll.

michelle cottle

Arent we anti-science? Were anti-science, arent we?

ross douthat

I suspect our listeners are more varied than this crew is currently giving them credit for.

carlos lozada

Now, OK. We can conclude that 

ross douthat

No, theyre varied. Its a diverse tapestry, Carlos. I just  I just think there might be a skew towards what you might call postmaterialism in voting behavior.

michelle cottle

All right. Trump voters out there need to call us this week. If you are listening, please, please phone us.

ross douthat

Or people who are voting for Joe Biden because they love the Biden economy, right? Where are those  where are those guys?

michelle cottle

Bidenomics, baby.

lydia polgreen

All right, guys. Thats it for this week. Thank you so much for joining us. It was wonderful to see you all.

carlos lozada

Great to have you back, Lydia.

lydia polgreen

Thank you.

ross douthat

Yes, Lydia.

lydia polgreen

See you next Friday.

michelle cottle

Bye.

carlos lozada

See you guys.

lydia polgreen
On Thursday, President Biden and Donald Trump separately toured strips of the border, flanked by federal and state agents. For both, there was an eerily similar use of border security backdrop, signaling the decisive role it and immigration will play in the election.

Their visits were but another reminder of how the border is used for political theater. Across South Texas, where I lived in recent years, I have repeatedly witnessed federal and state agents convert tiny slivers of the border into sites of violent spectacle. On a stretch of the Rio Grande where I went bird-watching, congressional delegations cruised the river in gunboats, wearing flak jackets.

To the west, in Eagle Pass, Gov. Greg Abbott authorized the installation of razor wire. He has accused Mr. Biden of attacking Texas and branded asylum seekers as invaders. He prevented federal Border Patrol agents from routine access to the riverbank, even after a Supreme Court ruling in January allowed agents to cut or remove the wire. In short order, Eagle Passs Shelby Park, where the drama has been centered, became a destination for militias and religious zealots.

The Wild West-style politics surrounding the standoff between Texas and the federal government over Shelby Park has once again cast the border as a political theater, a place where the nations violent frontier history has been enacted time and again. The re-creation of that history has made the routine processing of asylum seekers into a menacing scene.
This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions.

ezra klein

From New York Times Opinion, this is The Ezra Klein Show. Joe Bidens presidency now is dominated by two foreign policy crises  Russias invasion of Ukraine and Hamass attack on Israel, which then led to Israels invasion of Gaza. Early on, both crises lent themselves to clarity. There was no justification for Russias invasion. There was no justification for Hamass massacre of Israeli civilians. Both have become considerably more complex. Ukraine does not seem able to fully liberate its territory from Russia. The scale and ferocity and displacement and death toll of Israels response in Gaza has made Israel, in the eyes of much of the world, in the eyes even of many Americans, into the aggressor. In both of these, America is a supporting actor. We do not call the play. We give Ukraine arms and encircle Russia and sanctions. We give Israel arms and money and protection from U.N. resolutions, and we ask in return that it act with some respect for Palestinian life, with some view of a peaceful future. But what happens when the lead actors in these conflicts refuse to act as we wish? This is a phase of the wars that were now in. Zelensky continues to call for full repulsion of Russias presence, long after many believe that is possible. Netanyahu is prosecuting a war so brutal that Biden has criticized it in public. But though we keep supporting Israel, Netanyahu routinely and publicly rejects our vision of both how the war should be conducted now and what should happen afterwards. And thats put Biden in a tough spot. Americans disapprove of his handling of both Ukraine and Israel. Republicans are turning towards isolationism, and I think, more accurately put, they are turning towards Trumpism. Whatever Donald Trump says is what they believe. Theyre refusing to even vote in the House on the latest Ukraine aid package. Israel is splitting the Democratic coalition. It is a central problem for Biden in 2024. It has become not just a foreign policy problem but a domestic politics problem. And an interesting signal of the frustration and fracture here is Richard Haass. Haass was president of the Council on Foreign Relations for 20 years and is now President Emeritus, served in multiple presidential administrations, and he is, as much as anyone anywhere is, the walking, talking center of Americas foreign policy establishment. And Ive been noticing in his media appearances and in his Substack, which is called Home and Away, a very particular kind of critique emerging  that our foreign policy is insufficiently independent, that weve become captured by allies. We do not control and are not willing to confront, and oftentimes dont even really seem able to influence. Haass has been urging Biden to go around Netanyahu to speak directly to the Israeli people. Hes been arguing that we need a new strategy on Ukraine. And so I wanted to hear him out. As always, my email  ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. Richard Haass, welcome to the show.

richard haass

Great to be with you.

ezra klein

So last Friday, the Netanyahu government released a proposal for what they think the day after in Gaza should look like. What did that proposal say?

richard haass

Well, it actually told us very little other than, the day after it looks like today. It looks like continued Israeli military occupation, some  I think  unrealistic hope that they would find, quote unquote, locals to work with, no mention of the Palestinian Authority. So as I read it, Ezra, it sounded to me pretty much like a recipe for open-ended occupation and still lacking the political  what would you call it  complement or analog to Israels military strategy.

ezra klein

What was the Biden administrations response?

richard haass

Well, Jake Sullivan said he had some concerns. I think it was decidedly unenthusiastic. And I think the administration, not that it needed any reminding, got reminded that this Israeli government and this American administration are on very different pages. Indeed, in some ways, theyre not in the same book.

ezra klein

Im going to admit  and I think Im somebody who follows this reasonably closely  that Im confused about how to describe Americas position on this now. So we support Israel. We think Netanyahu is wrong on almost every particular. And were going to do nothing about that divergence. Were going to have concerns about that divergence. Or another version of this might be that we support Israels right to defend itself. We think that defense has gone way too far. Its over the top, as the President said at that press conference. But we support Israel anyway, that there is what feels like a quite growing gap, and a very explicit gap, between what Israel and the Netanyahu government say they want, what we say we want, but then nothing that I really see happening to close the gap between our articulated hopes, desires, beliefs, strategic needs, and whats happening there. Like, what am I missing here?

richard haass

Youre not confused. Essentially, the United States and Israel see this very differently. The administration has been quietly and increasingly critical of what Israel is doing and not doing. But whats missing is any so-what. So you have a situation where, from almost the get-go, the President, as everyone listening to this will remember, was extraordinarily supportive of Israels right and necessity to respond to the barbarism of Oct. 7. But then you had a real divergence from what you might call the heavy-handed, not-discriminating nature of the Israeli response. Weve been almost like a disappointed uncle, saying, gee, we really dont think this is the way to do it. Gee, we really dont think this is in your interest or ours. And let me take a step back. Whats odd about U.S. policy now that were five months into this is, everything seems to be premised on the notion that we can persuade this Israeli government, this Israeli prime minister, to see things differently and to do things differently. But theres virtually no evidence, or precious little evidence, that hypothesis is working. Yes, the Israelis have let some aid in. But, otherwise they are going in a very different direction. So to answer your question, I dont think the policy of quiet or gentle persuasion is working. What the administration has to contemplate is whether its willing to set out on a much more independent policy, not with this Israeli government as a partner, but almost to distinguish between this Israeli government and this prime minister on one hand and Israel and U.S.-Israeli relations on the other.

ezra klein

Let me try to strongman the Biden administrations view here. When I talk to them about this, what I hear is something that you said there, too, which is, you dont know what were doing behind closed doors. You dont know how strong the Presidents communications in conversations with Netanyahu are. You dont the kinds of things that we are pushing them on, preventing. Sometimes it is not emotionally satisfying to work behind closed doors, but it is the path of maximal influence. Now, one response to this might be that it does not feel to a lot of us like we are being very influential. In fact, it feels like Netanyahu almost takes a certain delight, or maybe to frame it less emotionally, that he sees a certain important politics for himself in publicly spitting on what we are saying. Hes very public about his disagreement with us. But one thing I think that this theory misses, that is very present in a lot of at least liberal thinking about this issue and liberal feeling about this issue, is that the question a lot of people have about foreign policy is not simply, what are we doing, how influential are we, but what are we complicit in. And for a lot of people, where even the administration is saying, what has happened in Gaza has gone much too far, the idea that Americas supplying arms to that, that it is protecting it from U.N. pressure, that we are not just complicit but supportive in it  whatever we say, like, we are actually providing material  feels terrible, right? There is a moral dimension to foreign policy. How do you think about that set of concerns, both the pushback from the Biden people and the kind of slightly less realist take that I think is powering a lot of liberal backlash?

richard haass

Couple of reactions. One is that this is typical of a situation where you have a close relationship with another country. But it doesnt mean you agree on everything. So we cant throw the entire relationship to the side because we disagree, for example, how Israel  with how Israel is prosecuting the war in Gaza. Israel faces some very real challenges from Iran, from Iran-backed proxies, and so forth. So how we thread that needle is not easy. One idea Ive been advocating for is, we can continue to provide Israel with military help, which gets at what you were suggesting, but say it cant be used in certain settings. If we provide you with certain types of large ordnance, large bombs, those cant be used in populated areas of Gaza. And theres other areas where I would say the administration has been unwilling. I think the President, more than anyone else, has been unwilling to separate himself. We finally have begun to distribute a draft resolution in the U.N. Security Council after vetoing three over the last few months. We should have done this much sooner, where we could control the text, and we could distinguish ourselves between what Israel is doing and we are. Ive advocated the President give a speech. Ive actually advocated the President go to the Knesset, take a leaf out of Bibi Netanyahus book, who came to the Congress, trashed Barack Obamas Iran deal. Well, I think the President should go to the Knesset, speak over the head of this Israeli government directly to the Israeli people. In some ways, dont let Bibi control the narrative. We could get tougher economically. We could, for example, start saying that any Israeli good produced in occupied areas in settlements or something  that those are going to face a special tariff, or theyre going to at least be labeled as coming from occupied territories. So theres lots of things the United States could do to express disapproval with Israel without throwing the baby out with the bath water.

ezra klein

I want to go back to the question of arms for a minute. When I talk to a lot of people on this issue and I say, what is the leverage America has here, what should America actually be doing that it is not  a lot of the debate is about things like calling for a ceasefire, but just in a practical way, if they wanted to use leverage, what do they have, one thing I hear is that we should just stop treating Israel exceptionally from the perspective of our own arms. I mean, we have laws. The Arms Export Control Act  the so-called sort of Leahy rules. And they require for anybody getting arms shipments from us a pretty stringent look at whether those arms are being used in ways that violate human rights or go against American policy. In what we give and do not give Ukraine, theres been a very public debate about which arms they can have and what they can do with them and what going too far would look like. And there are all kinds of things Ukraine wants that we dont give them. And the argument from some of these people is that we should just de-exceptionalize this, that Israel has been given special exemptions from some of these rules. There was a State Department official who resigned in part over this and has talked about it. Weve created a special pathway for their arms, but that this is a problem, that we actually dont need new laws, we dont need new rules, we just need to enforce the ones we have. What do you think of that?

richard haass

Im pretty sympathetic to that. Look, we had obvious disagreements with Israel in 56 during the Suez Crisis. I was involved in something in 1991. This is when the Iraqis first launched missiles against the Israelis, and the Israelis went to then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and said, please give us the codes  whats called I.F.F., Identify Friendly Versus Foe  so that Israeli aircraft could fly against Iraq. And we said no. We didnt give them a green light there. We said that threatens the cohesion of this coalition we built. Well take care of it. Thank you very much. Youve got to stand down. The Israelis werent happy, and they stood down. We subtracted out certain aid from Israel during the loan guarantees, also during the Bush 41 administration. So we have had times where we have basically not given Israel carte blanche, however you want to describe it. We have disagreed with them, and theyve paid a certain price for it. So Id be prepared to do that now. Now, again, all Im saying is, its got to be measured, and weve got to recall that again, Israel faces a larger menu of threats, which is why I would not be in favor of withholding arms, say. But the idea of saying were going to insist on certain what are called end-user controls, that you cant use these arms in certain situations where theres lots of civilians present, I think, is totally legitimate.

ezra klein

I think theres an interesting thing in the American debate about Israel  that Israel faces a large menu of threats, as you put it, which is true. Very true. In a way, youd think that would give us more leverage in the relationship. Israel really needs American support, right? The fact that we put battleships nearby to say, if Iran gets into this in any significant way, they can somewhat expect that were going to have a role as well  that was an important thing that happened right at the beginning of this war. And yet, in some ways, it is used often in the opposite way. I think the question Ive had about the Biden administration  the one that I dont feel like Im able to get a good answer to but maybe you are  is what is the resistance to using the actual leverage we have? At this point, given that, again, theres a divergence in articulated policy, theres a lot of political cost being paid by the Biden administration at this point for the level of support theyve given Israel, in ways that do not track how we are in other places, there feels like a real resistance to saying, we are going to do anything here but words. Why?

richard haass

Let me refer to a wise man I once appeared on a television show with named Ezra Klein. You divided American thinking about Israel among three generations. And the oldest generation, which, essentially, is the Presidents, is extremely sympathetic, sees Israel still in the founding moment. 1948, probably through 67, Israel is David. Israel is a democracy. Its a special relationship. And I think the Presidents still there. My guess is  more than my guess  younger people in the administration feel differently. And thats also, by the way, at the risk of getting ahead of ourselves, something of a warning, I would suggest to the Israelis. Joe Bidens reluctance to take on Israel is not the future. In some ways, its the past. And one of the things that Im most worried about, because I care about this relationship, is, at times, the cavalier approach the Israeli leadership acts towards this relationship, assuming that it will remain special, assuming that Israel will always have a degree of freedom that no other ally or partner of the United States enjoys. I dont agree. I dont see that. So I think theres a shortsightedness there that, potentially, will come back to haunt Israel.

ezra klein

I want to come back to your idea that Joe Biden should do what Bibi Netanyahu has done and go around Netanyahu and give a speech directly to the Israeli Knesset, which is their version of our Congress. What would you want him to say in that speech?

richard haass

Its essential that the President of the United States stand up and say, Im sympathetic to what youre doing, draw the parallels, say, to 9/11. But then he says, we overreached after 9/11, and it led to Iraq, and we paid an enormous price. So its understandable that you want to do what your government is doing, but from where I sit  and Im sympathetic. Im even empathetic. I also am critical. I just dont think it will work. And I would go through the logic  or if you will, illogic  of some of the Israeli position, the idea that you can eliminate Hamas, that you can only bring to a situation military instruments and not have political instruments. Its almost as if Clausewitz was never translated into Hebrew. Where is the political dimension of Israeli policy? And the President can sympathize and say, look, what happened was barbaric. I understand all the opportunities the Palestinians have had in the past. What he should do, I would say, is make the case why Israels policy is not in the long-term interest of Israel  if you want it to be a secure, prosperous, Jewish democratic state, occupation cant go on forever  why its not in the interest of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. He would talk about the various conditions and tests that would be presented to Palestinians. He wouldnt stand up and even necessarily even mention a two-state solution, only to say, I think thats the ultimate thing. I understand that youre not ready for it. Well, let me talk about some of the conditions or tests the Palestinians would have to meet. So I think the President  how would I put it? If I had to choose his approach, he would take his lead from Yitzhak Rabin, not Shimon Peres. Yitzhak Rabin was a reluctant peacemaker. And as a result, he could bring the body politic of Israel along. When he said, this isnt easy for me, Israelis got it. Shimon Peres was never really successful, because he was an enthusiastic peacemaker. So I think President Biden has to sympathize, empathize with the Israelis, but point out the error of their ways, present an alternative trajectory, but reassure them its not going to be imposed on them. Heres the test that will be applied. And make the case that if we can get there, that is far, far better for Israel than the alternative of not getting there.

ezra klein

Youve been lobbying the administration directly on doing this. What has been their response to you?

richard haass

I believe theres considerable sympathy on the idea of the president giving a major speech. Probably not going to the Knesset, but giving a major speech before some audience here in the United States. The administration is also now circulating its own draft resolution. Its not quite clear to me whether they really intend to go forward with it or its a bit of leverage against the Israeli government. I dont get the sense that theyre prepared yet to put conditions on military aid, though I think they could on its use. Theyve introduced the sanctions. I dont get the sense theyre prepared to broaden economic sanctions yet. But these things are being talked about. The last four or five months have, I think, brought home to most senior people in the administration, not to mention a lot of junior people in the administration, that our policy isnt working. Ezra, Ive just come back from the Persian Gulf. And its not just that Israel is radicalizing a new generation of Arabs who couldnt care less about Palestinians six months ago. Suddenly, the Palestinian cause has been reawakened in the Middle East. Its not just that Israel is slightly poisoning its own relationship with the Arab world, but we are losing standing. Everywhere I went. This is a really toxic combination for Americas reputation, because were seen as not standing by certain friends who deserve us, and were standing by too uncritically by others. That is a really bad combination for the position of the United States in the world.

ezra klein

When Ive thought about this Knesset idea and Joe Biden giving a speech like this, one of the things I wonder about with it is whether, in American politics, we sufficiently appreciate or take seriously how right-wing Israeli politics has really become. They dont like Netanyahu anymore. He has failed them. They would like to see other leadership. Benny Gantz is a more reasonable person than Netanyahu. But in terms of the things that are dominant beliefs among U.S. policymakers, particularly things like, the only answer to this is a two-state solution, that Palestinians should be responsible for governing the West Bank and Gaza, its not just that Netanyahu disagrees with us now but that the Israeli center disagrees with it now. I saw a poll not long ago that asked Israelis, if supporting a two-state solution was a cost of keeping American support for Israel, should Israelis support a two-state solution or they should give up on American support for Israel? And a majority, a solid majority, said give up on American support for Israel. And so thats been a question in my mind, that when youre talking about Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin, when I talk to people who work on this issue and have worked on it for a very long time, and I talk to them about who they talk to, right? And these are all people who know so much better than I do. I always get a bit of a sense that there are contacts, like the people they know, are not the people in power anymore, by and large, that theres a desire to work with the Israeli government of 2007 but not really a plan for what to do with the Israeli polity of 2024.

richard haass

Im smiling, because I tend to agree with you. I think a lot of Americans, particularly American Jews, have this view of Israel, which is Paul Newman in Exodus. Its Ari Ben Canaan. And its outdated. Its a liberal, Western-oriented Israel. And that just ignores the demographic shifts and the policy shifts within Israel. Theres no longer a labor party to speak of. This Israel is qualitatively different. So I dont argue your basic point that Israel has shifted dramatically to the right for all sorts of political and demographic reasons, and it has to do also with the influx of refugees from places like Russia, the large families of the ultra-orthodox, the emigration of a lot of the startup nation people to this country. So all of that has made for a much more right-wing issue. That said, Bibi Netanyahu, to me, has failed one of the first tests of leadership. He is following public opinion. Where has he challenged public opinion in the wake of Oct. 7? The great leaders in history, whether its the Churchills, the F.D.R.s, what have you, they dont just follow public opinion polls. So if you thought that what Israel is doing is understandable but perhaps counterproductive, a real leader would take it on. I havent noticed one ounce of that from Bibi Netanyahu. Also, if we ever do use the phrase two-state solution, it has become so freighted with symbolism, weve got to be really careful and make it clear that its not unconditional. Its got to be demilitarized. It only comes about in stages. And weve got to remember, Israel has post-traumatic stress disorder, and it should, collectively. And weve got to understand that as we approach it. If we want to bring it along, we cant rush it, and we cant jam them. But we do have to begin that conversation. Because left to its own devices, this is not going to end up well. This is not going to end up well for Palestinians, for Israelis, or for Americans. And what Im most worried about is that rather than this crisis being midwife to something better, that this crisis will be a midwife to more drift. And what I like to call  I hate to call  the one-state non-solution  thats the most likely outcome, where you have an open-ended war, low-level war, in Gaza, and you have continued settlement of the occupied territories, and the Israeli American relationship grows more distant, particularly among younger Americans. That is not a good outcome. But left to its own devices, thats where were heading.

ezra klein

Theres an argument out there that Ive been mulling, that the problem with American policy, or one of them, is that we dont accept this dark one-state reality that exists now, where you, in fact, do have Israel in control of the West Bank, in control of Gaza. In Foreign Affairs, Marc Lynch and Shibley Telhami had this interesting piece on this, and theyre talking here about what the aim of U.S. policy should be. They write, U.S. policy should be centered, not on implausible efforts to revive talks of unachievable outcomes, by which I mean the two-state solution right now, but on forcefully spelling out the legal and human rights standards it expects to be met. What do you think of that?

richard haass

I disagree. I read the piece, as you would expect from the former President of the Council on Foreign Relations. I have to read  I enjoy reading and learn from Foreign Affairs. Theyve given up on the two-state solution. We may get there, and thats a different conversation. But Im not there. And I think its a mistake. To paraphrase Churchill, the two-state solution is the worst possible approach to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, except for all the others. So we ought not to give up on it. We ought to think about how we can bring it about on terms that would be acceptable to both Palestinians and Israelis. I think the Saudi willingness to normalize relations with Israel potentially gives us some incentive and some leverage to work with. So I think its way premature and counterproductive to adopt the position that the two-state solution is dead. Might be on life support, but its not dead. And the real question is, can we revive it? There was a piece in the same issue of the magazine by Martin Indyk, which said this is a strange reaction. But youre now seeing the resurrection of the idea. And I think the reason you are seeing the resurrection of the idea is people have looked into the abyss. An open-ended war in Gaza and continued settlement of de-occupied territories, and now, you have the right wing and Israel talking about transfer of Palestinians out of these areas and so forth. It would destabilize the region, and it would basically put Israel on a perpetual war footing. It would give Iran tremendous leverage and tools to work with. Why is that in anyones interest? So I dont want to have the conversation about how to make what I call the one-state non-solution better. I think the focus ought to be still on, can we revive a two-state approach.

ezra klein

One of the things that I think is interesting in their argument is that it gets us away from a problem in the two-state conversation, which is that in the two-state conversation, because Israelis have a state and Palestinians do not, it becomes about all this conditionality on what Palestinians have to do to earn this thing that Israelis already have. So youve mentioned this a bit yourself. It should be demilitarized. How is it governed? What is the condition of the Palestinian Authority? But the structure of that  it has all this conditionality on Palestinians. And one thing I think makes our role in this look quite unfair to the world is that we dont impose a lot of conditionality on the Israelis. So the fact that the settlements are functionally illegal under international law  its something that weve mostly just given up on. Were not withholding our aid because of it. Occasionally, the President will lament that it is true. But we have no plan for rolling it back. And so one thing I find somewhat appealing about these more behavioral approaches, as opposed to imagining a kind of final state settlement, is it focuses us a little bit more and a little bit more neutrally on the behavior of both sides in the here and now, and allows us maybe to act as a more honest broker with more equal standards.

richard haass

But you have to stop doing certain things. We cant go from where we are to two states. But the thrust of U.S. policy should have been and should be, now and going forward, to preserve the option of a two-state solution. And we have been lax to a fault in looking the other way. Its almost as if we had a settlement resistance fatigue. We got rolled. And it wasnt easy to stand up to it. I remember when I worked again for Bush the father and I was his Middle East adviser at the White House, to stand up on those issues was politically brutal. I actually think now, it wouldnt be as brutal, because the domestic context here, the political balance has shifted in this country in the debate about Israel. But no, we should  our position should be, nothing should be done that prejudices the possibility of a two-state outcome. That means for Palestinians, youd be pushed back on things like violence. We insist on good governance  not necessarily democracy but a degree of good government. And I think in the Israelis, weve got to push back on all sorts of settlement creation and expansion. Then we have to think about whats the appropriate responses if and when our position is flouted. Yes, thats what American foreign policy should be willing to do here.

ezra klein

The other major crisis that has occupied Bidens term has been Russias invasion of Ukraine. Were entering year three of that war. Where is it? [MUSIC PLAYING]

richard haass

Well, the glass half full would say, what an extraordinary accomplishment that this country with, what, not even one third the population of Russia, a military thats a fraction of Russias, has essentially held its own over the last two years. Russias net gain of territory last few years is negligible. Theyre essentially where they were after 2014, holding Crimea and the East. And Ukraine, with substantial help from the United States and Europe, has done remarkably well in more than holding its own, inflicting great damage on the Russian forces. Thats the glass half full. Glass half empty is Ukraine has paid an enormous price for this economically. Just the other day, President Zelensky talked about 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost their lives. Those numbers, many people think are low. I dont know how many injured. Perhaps more worrisome, as you and everyone listening to this knows, in the last few weeks, were beginning to see some discernible shifts on the battlefield. Russia continues to throw enormous mass at the battle, both people and equipment and ammunition. And Ukraine lacks. It, just more than anything, lacks the ammunition. And even though Ukraine has moved, which people like me argued for some time, into defensive stances, which require less in the way of resources, theyre still increasingly overwhelmed. So theyre beginning to lose some towns. Well see where that goes from here. And the psychological trend has changed. Six months ago, if wed been having this conversation or nine months ago, at the beginning, say, of the second year of the war, there was all sorts of anticipation about the counteroffensive. What could Ukraine accomplish? People like me were skeptical, but so be it. Thats a very different conversation than were having now. Now, the feeling is almost what the Soviets used to call the correlation of forces is slightly shifted against Ukraine, for any other reason, because of us. Not that theyve gotten worse at fighting, not that the Europeans have gotten less supportive. Its us. So thats where we are now. And so the question is, I think year three, by the end of this fighting season, the map looks somewhat like  pretty much like it looks now, probably somewhat in the Russians favor, a couple of percent maybe more of territory. I dont mean to be cavalier, because thats peoples lives and towns. But the Russians will pick up. The big variable is still U.S. aid, whether its forthcoming at any point. If it is, it will stop the Russian gains. So I dont think anything decisive will happen on the battlefield. I dont think anything will happen diplomatically. But all things being equal, I expect youll see modest Russian gains as the year goes on.

ezra klein

That aid, theres a $60 billion bill stuck right now in the House. The expectation is, if Speaker Johnson would bring it to a vote, it would pass. It would pass in a bipartisan way. The expectation is Speaker Johnson will not bring it to a vote. How would you describe where Republicans have moved on Ukraine and what their policy is? Like, what is the strongman version of how Republicans see this right now?

richard haass

So full disclosure, I was a Republican for 40 years. I left the Republican Party about three years ago. Though I often quote Ronald Reagan  I dont feel I left the party. I felt the party left me. And this is one of the principal chapters and verses as to why. The Republican Party went from the most internationalist  and often willing to have a dimension of military force in American foreign policy  now to being isolationist. Its also quite critical of allies. And then, on top of that, youve got this bizarre romance with Russian authoritarianism that seems to be an extension of the former President more than anything else, but no one seems willing or able to stand up to him. I think the arguments Ive heard on the Republican side  I guess there are a couple, and I dont agree with them. Ill just articulate them. One is where the war in Ukraine were focusing on the wrong place. Either we should focus at home, classic butter versus guns, or we should focus on China and the potential threat to Taiwan. So I see two groups of Republicans opposing this focus geographically. Some might have a third  we should focus on helping Israel or taking on Iran. That is basically the wrong geopolitical focus. Theres also some criticism of Ukraine that  you see this from Senator Vance and others a little bit  that were pouring good money after bad, that Ukraines definition of success can never be met, so why are we contributing to a policy that is destined to fail. And thats where I think, by the way, the friends of Ukraine havent done it any favors. All this talk about complete military liberation of Russian-controlled territories  not that its not desirable. Its not that its not right. Its just not going to happen. So its always a mistake in foreign policy or in life to define success in terms you cant meet, because it gives those who have no interest in that  it gives them a pretty good argument. So were seeing that. But I havent heard anything else. I think its basically classic isolationism. In some cases, theyve got a different set of foreign policy priorities, or in some cases, they simply think this policy cant succeed, so why should we fund it?

ezra klein

Let me pick up on that last point. So I was watching Jake Sullivan on Meet the Press over the weekend.

archived recording (jake sullivan) But at the end of the day, Ukraine still has the capacity if we provide them the tools and resources they need to be able to prevail in this war. And it is up to us, the United States and our allies and partners, to deliver on our commitments. And thats why its so important that Congress act.

ezra klein

Zelenskys view is that Ukraine will win. It will get its territory back, and nothing less than that is acceptable. And Sullivans argument was that victory is possible, and it is possible so long as America keeps funding Ukrainian counter-offensives, giving it the weaponry it needs. Victory might have been more possible, may still be more possible, if we really did open the spigot of all weapons, right? But were not doing that. I was having some trouble with this, because as somebody  I would like to see this aid pass. I also didnt really believe that Jake Sullivan believed victory is possible if we did the aid. And Im not  it might have been a little more couched than that, but thats what he was saying. And so there is a way  and I feel this, in some ways, echoes some of the things happening with Netanyahu in the administration  where its like we like Zelensky a lot better than we like Netanyahu, but were a little bit yoked to him. And its very hard for us to say something different than what he is saying. But what he is saying, I think, is no longer believed  that the goal is achievable. And weve not really articulated now a different policy. Were just sort of putting money into his policy. What should our policy be like? How do we manage a situation like that, where we support Ukraine but maybe have a different view of what is now realistic?

richard haass

So a couple of reactions. At the risk of agreeing with you too much, youre essentially right here. And for two years now, the administration has basically said, our policy is whatever Ukraine wants. And Ive argued against that from the get-go, privately and publicly, and said to people, since when is that American foreign policy? We should do what we think is desirable, but also achievable. Weve got to look at the entire world. This is not the only consideration. And we cant set ourselves up for failure. So I think the idea that Ukraine is gonna  was or is going to militarily liberate is not going to happen. Its just beyond their capability. And Ive never suggested, though, that Ukraine should give up the ultimate goal of complete liberation. But who said that has to be done through military tools? That could be done diplomatically. Indeed, my view is, if they can hold their own and fight Russia to a draw, which theyve been doing, I think the day will come, probably under a post-Putin or a post-post-Putin leadership, where that conversation can happen. And you could have  now, the best we can have is a stalemate, maybe a ceasefire or an armistice. Down the road, I think you could potentially have a peace agreement. But thats not with Putin. Its with some future Russian leader who might want Russian reintegration into Europe and the West. Its one of the reasons, by the way, I want to save those frozen assets as an incentive one day for that Russian 

ezra klein

Thats the money weve frozen of Russians abroad.

richard haass

Yeah, about $300 billion in Western financial institutions. And some people are saying, give it to Ukraine now. And my view is, one, I want to save it as leverage down the road; two, what Ukraine needs now is not money to rebuild. It needs arms this. Wont help them. I think its somewhat tangential to their immediate needs. So I think the administration has been unwilling to look  whats the word  insufficiently supportive of Ukraine. Theyre worried that theyre going to get criticized. But I think their position was and is untenable. I think we  let me make a larger point. In foreign policy, we spent so much time thinking about how do we deal with our adversaries, and we have a whole playbook for that balance of power  military tools, negotiations, arms control, sanctions. OK. Whats interesting is how much less developed is the foreign policy playbook or toolkit, whatever phrase you want to use, for dealing with friends. And here we are. We just spent some time talking about one friend, Israel. Now, were talking about another friend, Ukraine. And in both cases, were not exactly in the same place. Were at a very different place with this Israeli government. So the question there is, how do we support Israel without supporting Israeli policy? Very hard to deal  to navigate that. And with Ukraine, we dont have as much problems with the leadership, but its not going to work. So again, how do we be supportive without giving them a blank check, particularly given the critique that, why are you asking us to fund a policy that cant succeed? So I think in both cases, the administration  particularly, Ukraine has been directionally right  the Biden administration policy. But its, for way too long, been unwilling to have the tough, honest conversation, hey, this isnt going to work. And again, as we discussed before with Israel, I think there has to be both privately and publicly a greater willingness almost to strike out on an independent path. [MUSIC PLAYING]

ezra klein

One thing that scares me in the politics of foreign policy right now is, I think that there is the distance between the somewhat high-minded and somewhat legitimate arguments you will hear from congressional Republicans on Ukraine aid right now, which have validity, and what is actually happening in the party on Ukraine. What is actually happening when Donald Trump says, if our friends dont give enough to NATO, Ill let Russia do whatever the hell they want? What is actually happening when Tucker Carlson, until, like, 25 minutes ago, the most important media figure on the right, is going giving these slavish interviews with Vladimir Putin and being like, they have bread in Russian grocery stores? Can you imagine that? Bread? What is actually happening when Republicans are knowingly being part of what is a Russian election op and what they are doing with Hunter Biden in the House? Like, this has all come out. We now know we were getting disinformation from Russian agents. But they just sort of quietly delete that from their list of particulars. Theres no soul-searching on whats actually going on there. And so theres this thing happening where, on the one hand, you have a Republican Party that seems to have a lot of tendrils reaching out towards Russia. You then have another part of the party afraid of crossing that part of the party, thats trying to figure out a reasonable policy description of why its going to do what Russia would kind of like and not give this aid to Ukraine. And then on top of that, you have Donald Trump, who is wrapping this in both some crazy commentary, as is often his wont, but then a sort of neo-isolationist guns-and-butter argument that, I will say, in my just travels and reporting and talking to people about the elections, I feel is resonating. I feel there is a resonance of his  This is a mess. Why are we spending this money over here? America is crumbling and broken. Its not my view of America or our fiscal reality, but it feels like there is some energy in it. And that this needs some kind of defense. And there isnt a very good one, because there isnt a way to wedge out the kind of fake Republican arguments from the real Republican arguments.

richard haass

So two things  I felt a little bit uncomfortable when you asked me to talk about the Republican defenses of their opposition to aid to Ukraine, because I didnt want to dignify them. And thats what you got at just now  that yes, there are serious arguments for opposing some aid to Ukraine, whether its because we ought to focus on helping Taiwan, or this isnt going to work, or what have you. But thats not an argument for opposing all aid to Ukraine. If the Republicans were serious in saying, we cant put so many eggs in the basket, then the conversation would be, OK, if you dont want to put a dozen eggs in the basket, what about 10? What about nine? What would be as serious, where we dont lose Ukraine and all its accomplished? I dont see Republicans saying that. If they wanted to have a foreign policy conversation, we could have it about how to reallocate U.S. resources. But theyre not. Because no serious foreign policy conversation would say, no aid to Ukraine. So this is not a foreign policy position. This is one totally born of domestic politics  partially the isolationism thats always there, partially just Donald Trump, which, again, also reflects this bizarre, right-wing, Republican fascination with Putins anti-woke, homophobic, Christian, white Russia. Theres something going on there that I dont pretend to understand, but it resonates clearly and in some circles. On the isolationism, look, its always there. Its never that far from the surface. And by the way, Republicans dont own it. Its in the Democratic party, too. Its everywhere. And on one hand, its kind of attractive. Well, why should we be doing so much over there when we have all these problems over here? And then, youve got to explain. And anytime youre explaining in politics, youre behind, but there are real explanations, where weve learned that what we do over there can be good in and of itself, plus it can help us. Theres those arguments. What were doing over there in the way of spending on defense, as big as it is, is probably, what, 50 percent or 60 percent the Cold War average of what we spent as a percentage of our G.D.P. on defense? And I think we learned during the Cold War that we can have both guns and butter. Also, you have to explain to people that the problem with what ails us domestically  and theres many things  its not because of a lack of spending. We spend twice the O.E.C.D. average, twice the advanced industrial country average, on health care. But the last I checked, Americans arent twice as healthy, and they dont live twice as long. So how much we spend is not necessarily the critical thing. Its how we spend it. So lets have a serious conversation about how we spend our money domestically and so forth. You want to get serious about budgetary issues, youve got to talk about entitlements. Last I checked, Donald Trump and Republicans dont want to talk about entitlement reform. So I think you can engage the conversation on isolationism, but its not as simple or easy one. And youve got to talk about it, both the case for involvement over there, and why what were doing over there is not responsible for the border issue or the lack of quality of schools or health care costs. But it aint an easy conversation to win.

ezra klein

The foreign policy conversation to me right now feels more confusing and opaque than at other times I can remember covering it, in the sense that it sometimes feels like neither side can actually say what their real foreign policy is. So Republicans, for the reasons weve just discussed, and the Democrats a bit, because a lot of our foreign policy is being set in a real way by difficult allies, by Netanyahu, by Zelensky. I think Biden can be more honest about his foreign policy, and others can, and theres been an extremely strong set of arguments made by the administration about what our foreign policy is towards China and how it understands strategic competition, right? If you go back to all these Jake Sullivan speeches, they actually represent a pretty big effort to shift American foreign policy positioning. But when it comes to the issues, the crises that are in Americans faces every day, that are leading the news every day, theyre much more constrained in a way, unlike what theyre willing to say and what theyre willing to do, because they are trying to be supportive to allies they do not control. So you have this sort of weird thing where the Republicans have public and private rationales, and sometimes, I think, a lot of just fear of crossing Donald Trump. And so its not really an engaged debate on that side in a way where you can argue with things people are saying and feel like you are arguing with the thing that youre actually confronting. And on the Democratic side, I actually dont feel, as somebody who follows this quite closely, that the Biden administration is really articulating a strategy on a bunch of these things now. I mean, you can kind of figure out what it is. But it has just become complicated, as they are in this delicate dance with their partners. And so its made for, I think, a very strange debate.

richard haass

Its not just that theyre in a delicate dance with their partners. I think theyre also in a delicate situation in terms of domestic politics. So theres some difference between the two. I think what explains the administrations reticence to take on Israel more directly as the President. Hes just not there. And he is uncomfortable doing it. Hes edging in that direction. And here we are, February turning into March, and hes now farther along that path than he was in October and November. But hes somewhere along that path. But my guess is, he will gradually move in that direction of more distance between the United States and Israel and more what I would call an independent American foreign policy, rather than a foreign policy thats only trying to persuade Israel to act differently. I think in Ukraine, the administration long ago realized that Zelenskys goals were unrealizable, that it wasnt they werent desirable. Of course theyre desirable. You just cant get from here to there. And not, by the way, I think, because they were reluctant to provide certain arms. I think thats exaggerated. Even if they had done it, I dont think it would have turned the tide. But I just think they were worried about looking insufficiently supportive of an ally, and they held back. But privately, they understand that a definition of victory, of complete military liberation, is a non-starter. Thats why theyre very comfortable with circumstances that have forced the Ukrainians to shift to a much more defensive-oriented strategy. Theyll get through this year. I think there will be real diplomatic prospects. The real question is whether Ukraine will be negotiating from a position of strength or weakness. I do think diplomacy will ultimately come. The administration didnt want to be seen as pushing a friend that was reluctant and somehow selling them out, when Ukraine could at least credibly claim that it was trying to recover what was rightfully theirs in the interests of principles of world order that we subscribe to. The administration was just reluctant to take on that fight.

ezra klein

You said a second ago that part of what explains the reticence, the sometimes opacity here, is domestic politics. And I was thinking about whether or not that felt right to me. And one of the  Im not sure this analogy is right, but I want to try it out on you  that these crises have a little bit of a feeling to me of the way Covid politics changed over time. Theres a period, and this is a period in which Joe Biden ran and the early part of his administration, in which a quite strict, lockdown-oriented, distancing-oriented  obviously, then vaccines, maybe even vaccine mandates  when that politics was very strong. And it took liberals  it took Democrats  some time when that politics had weakened. Because variants made it so the vaccines stopped preventing transmission  a set of things happened, and people wanted to get back to their lives. And liberals struggled for a while to get into that phase of Covid, right? Where they were sort of open enough. And it felt to me a little bit like on Ukraine, and then now more recently, on Israel  that Democrats, or at least the Biden administration, is a little bit stuck in phase one of both conflicts, that domestic politics, it looks to me, like where they are is actually unpopular and is causing them real political problems and actually opening space for Trump in a way that concerns me. But it still feels very much like the first round on Israel, which is like, Israels been attacked and we need  it has a right to defense, and it is our ally. And on Ukraine, a  this is an unprovoked  I mean, this is true, still  unprovoked aggression by Russia. Russia needs to be stopped. Like, the Ukrainian forces are heroic, and our job is to help them win. And even as both of these now feel like they are in a different phase, it doesnt really feel, certainly from a communications level, like our policies in that different of a phase.

richard haass

I would actually add another issue to the pattern you just set up, which is the border, where the administration policy is clearly not working. I think it was originally adopted to placate a certain constituency within the Democratic party. Its clearly failed. Its alienating a much broader band of Americans to Mr. Trumps advantage, and the President is belatedly trying to adjust. So I think that is quite similar to the pattern you just set out. Whats odd is that I think there is more scope for adjustment in all these cases than the administration seems willing to entertain. And Ive thought about that a lot. Because the domestic politics now, as opposed to 50 years ago, being, quote unquote, tougher on Israel would probably play better. In terms of, Ukraine must liberate every square inch of territory that Russia is sitting on through military means, I know that some of the individuals who are big advocates. But I watch while I sort of say, who are the real friends of Ukraine? Is that a wise path to insist on? So I dont think the President would pay an enormous price if he said, look, we support Ukraine. Weve done all this. Were going to continue to help them. But on the other hand, we cant get from here to there. It doesnt mean were selling them out. It means we have to adjust what it is we do on there. Yeah, so I actually think the administration has more scope. And then the question is, and youre getting at it  well, why dont they take advantage of it? And is it sort of the Washington bubble? That theyre so worried about what a couple of members of the foreign policy elite will say or what a couple of columnists will say or what a couple of Republicans might say? My guess is they exaggerate the price of angering some of the critics of looking unprincipled or, quote unquote, being charged with selling out your friends. And my guess is, if youre willing to do something and explain it and explain it again, and it has real substance and merit to it, my sense is you can bring most of the American people along with you.

ezra klein

This is a place where I do think a different form of the domestic politics has created a set of problems. Im glad you brought up immigration and the border. Because I think thats an interesting case study from this perspective. Its such an interesting issue, because Ive talked to the Biden administration a fair amount about this, and this is not an issue where theyre saying Republicans have invented a problem. They will sit down in front of you and say, our asylum process is completely broken. Its a disaster. We need to do something about it right now. And so they back the Murphy bipartisan negotiations, led on the Democratic side by Senator Chris Murphy, which was a big shift rightward on immigration policy for the Democrats that has, in that instance in the Senate, Republican support, and is then killed by Donald Trump. And one of the things that I think is difficult for them, in some ways, with where the Republican Party has gone is that it is useful to have bipartisan structures in which you can make your adjustments into policy. So you can imagine the Republican Party were talking about that has only the high-minded objections to Ukraine, negotiating out, with the administration, money that, in both rhetorical ways and substantive ways, is attached to an admission that the strategy needs to change  that its more defensive, that were not looking for a total victory anymore, that were backing Ukraine up, but we have a different kind of view on whats going on here. But in practice, Republicans are just kind of at a no. Israel is more complicated. Leave that to the side for a minute. But immigration  I mean, they did try to come to a deal, right? They did try to shift policy dramatically. And Republicans, probably to Bidens political benefit, just said, no. But it does mean that Biden then cannot say, look, we actually did this. Like, people were right. This was a problem, and we solved it. And that inability in a divided government to make policy adjustment through bipartisan compromise  it does feel like a very significant challenge.

richard haass

100 percent. The Republicans have ceased to be a party of governance or cogovernance. Everything is politics and only politics. But I think theres a difference between the two issues of the border and Ukraine. On Ukraine, the President cant get the aid approved without the House of Representatives. Thats a fact of life. So there, I think he has to simply be prepared to use the bully pulpit more. And its not his strength, quite honestly. But the President has to be willing to spell it out and spell it out and spell it out again. In press conferences and addresses, think of F.D.R. taking a reluctant America closer to entry into World War II through fireside chats. It takes sustained public conversation. The Oval Office is potentially a great classroom. The President is potentially the teacher-in-chief. This president is not comfortable in that role, and thats a real shortcoming. And I say this as someone who  on Ukraine, for example, I think hes gotten it more right than not. But he cant get to where he needs to get without the House of Representatives. Thatll only happen through public opinion, essentially, penalizing them for this position. The border  if he cant do the same thing there, then hes got to do more things unilaterally. Hes got some executive authority. Challenge the Republicans to stop him. Challenge the courts to say he cant do it. I think theres much more he could do on the border issue, both rhetorically, but more important, substantively. And he just has to be willing to do it and stare down his own left.

ezra klein

It seems to me that a lot of the election is about to be fought on this question of stability. And I think this is something that people are not quite tracking in Donald Trump and his appeal. It is something that in terms of the people Trump has running his campaign now, who are much more capable Republican operatives than hes had in the past and are known for trying to turn the strength of the candidate theyre facing  in this case, Joe Biden  against him, the argument Trump is going to be making, the argument they kind of are making, is that Biden, who represented stability, who represented normalcy, has not actually been able to bring stability and normalcy, that prices went in all different directions, mostly up, that the border is overrun. I think that is somewhat but not totally invented. Certainly very hyped. But it is real. And then, were in this morass in Ukraine. People are upset about Israel. And that the thing that Joe Biden was here to offer a kind of stable world, a world where you had competent people in competent positions who were going to take care of things  the world doesnt feel that way to people. The sort of ambient sense of chaos, of crisis, is a real problem. And that kind of ambient sense is always an opportunity for the strongman personality, which Trump has. And while Trump has his own challenges, as a person, for presenting any kind of calm or predictability, this seems like a real fight thats going to happen. I think theres a good chance that the candidate who wins in 2024 is the one who Americans trust to keep things kind of stable. And I think theres an assumption on the Democratic side that Trump cannot win a fight like that. And Im not sure now that he cannot win a fight like that. I think Bidens age does not help in this respect. I think that he does not appear to people to be up to this. Whether he is or not is a different question, but I think thats a real problem for them. Im curious how that tracks for you.

richard haass

Im with you, except for the word stability. I agree strongly that this is a populist moment. To take Reagans question, Are you better off than you were four years ago? Americans feel  they dont feel they are. Without attributing causality, if bad stuff happens on your watch and youre the incumbent, you pay a price for it. If good stuff happens on your watch, even if you dont deserve the credit, you get it. Its just correlation. Its association. So theres enough thats going wrong, whether its higher prices, border issues, several wars. This is not a good moment to run as an incumbent, saying four more years. Doesnt really resonate. So its a good moment for Trump or any outsider who represents a populist, who represents change. And I dont think the argument would be stability. In a funny sort of way, what Trump could do  and it worries me, because I think it has the potential of working someone, of resonating  and saying, we face real problems. Hell attribute them all to Biden. And hell say, and you need somebody like me. You need a strong guy to fix them.

ezra klein

Order.

richard haass

Order. And thats the Orban codeword for illiberalism. That order  no pun intended  trumps everything else, and that Americans know theres something thats gone wrong in this country. And the difference, in some ways, between the parties is we have a very different set of prescriptions. I travel around the country a lot speaking about American democracy and about whats going wrong with it, which I actually think has become our biggest national security threat. And whether the groups are to the left or the right, people nod their heads. They know somethings wrong. Somethings gone off the rails. And what worries me is, those who are selling the snake oil of order, even at, shall we say, the cost of certain democratic rights, that there might be an audience for that. There might be a market for that. And I think thats the danger as we head into November.

ezra klein

I think thats a good place to end. So as our final question, what are three books you would recommend to the audience?

richard haass

Im glad you asked that question. First is a book by Benn Steil, former colleague of mine at the Council on Foreign Relations, an economic historian, whos written a book, recently published, called The World That Wasnt: Henry Wallace and the Fate of the American Century. And Henry Wallace was F.D.R.s third vice president. And if he had been his fourth vice president, or if F.D.R. had died before the end of his third term, history would have played out fundamentally differently. And the idea that somebody with such a radical  in this case, pro-Soviet sympathizer, or worse, fellow traveler set of views, could be literally a heartbeat away from the presidency, was quite extraordinary. Second book, also by a former colleague of mine at the Council on Foreign Relations  in this case, Ian Johnson, whos one of this countrys leading historians of China, wrote a book called Sparks. And the subtitle is Chinas Underground Historians and Their Battle For the Future. And its a story about these truly courageous Chinese historians who have fought the party, fought the leadership, showing tremendous bravery. And its also fascinating how much the party cares about history. And you realize that the battle of history is not some arcane thing about the past. The battle over history is a political struggle for the present and future. And its just wonderfully written. Third and last, I got sent a manuscript out of the blue a few months ago, about six months ago. And someone said, I thought you might be interested in this book. I dont know about you. I get a lot of these. And I was going to put it aside, but I thought I recognized the name, and the subject matter intrigued me. And what it was about was two diplomats who became the ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission at the American embassy in Saigon in the early 60s. And the book is called Diplomats At War: Friendship and Betrayal on the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict. It was just published about two weeks ago by Charles Trueheart. And its just a great foreign policy story of bureaucratic infighting, regime change. And what do you do  coming back to the conversation of today? What does the United States do when it has strategic interests as it sees them and it doesnt have a person it sees as a partner? So I found it such a timely book, unexpectedly so. Really nicely done.

ezra klein

Richard Haass, thank you very much.

richard haass

Thanks for having me, Ezra.

ezra klein
As the morning of Oct. 7 recedes into the distance, its horrors only seem to be growing. Again and again, we Israelis tell ourselves what has become part of the formative story of our identity and our destiny. How for several hours Hamas terrorists invaded the homes of Israelis, murdered some 1,200 people, raped and kidnapped, looted and burned. During those nightmarish hours, before the Israel Defense Forces snapped out of its shock, Israelis had a harsh and concrete glimpse of what might happen if their country not only suffered a punishing blow but also actually ceased to exist. If Israel were no longer.

I have talked with Jewish people living outside of Israel who have said that their physical  and spiritual  existence felt vulnerable during those hours. But more than that: Something of their life force had been taken, forever. Some were even surprised by the magnitude to which they needed Israel to exist both as an idea and as a concrete fact.

As the army began to strike back, civil society was already enlisting en masse in rescue and logistical operations, with many thousands of citizens volunteering to do what the government should have been doing were it not in a state of feckless paralysis.

At the time of publication, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7. They include many children, women and civilians, many of whom were not Hamas members and played no part in the cycle of war. Uninvolved, as Israel calls them in conflictese, the language with which nations at war deceive themselves so as not to face the repercussions of their acts.
INTERNATIONAL

An article on Thursday about a breakaway territory in Moldova asking Russia for protection from Moldova referred imprecisely to the status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. They have recognition from Russia and a handful of other countries; it is not the case that they have no international recognition.

NATIONAL

An article on Thursday about a fast-spreading wildfire in Texas that prompted evacuations misstated the given name of a man who said that the fire had gotten close to his backyard. He is Cory Cameron, not Cody.

To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@nytimes.com. To share feedback, please visit nytimes.com/readerfeedback.

Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@nytimes.com.

For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@nytimes.com.
Lamy, a German pen manufacturer, made a recent splash when it quietly rereleased Dark Lilac, a much-celebrated color of ink. A lush purple with a golden sheen, Dark Lilac, despite its popularity, had been produced only once before  as a limited edition in 2016.

Its reappearance a couple of weeks ago was so unexpected that the fountain pen community, which makes up a small but passionate corner of the office supplies market, was agog.

There was just one problem: It was not the same color.

There is drama in the fountain pen community, Aidan Bernal, a 23-year-old fountain pen enthusiast, said at the start of a recent TikTok in which he did his best to explain the saga  one that has involved conflicting company statements, amateur sleuthing and an elusive shade of purple.

An absolutely beautiful ink, Mr. Bernal said in a telephone interview.

Long overshadowed by its ballpoint, gel and felt-tip rivals, the regal fountain pen, which has an internal reservoir for refillable ink, has enjoyed a modest resurgence in recent years. Brian Goulet of Goulet Pens, an online retailer in Richmond, Va., suggested that its revival had dovetailed with a trend of consumers returning to analog goods like vinyl records, mechanical watches and single-blade safety razors.
Joe Biden and Donald Trump are not yet the official presidential nominees of their parties, so voters have not had the opportunity to watch them go head to head, as in 2020, in a debate or interview setting. But on Thursday, as each visited the U.S.-Mexican border to address the issue of immigration, the two were as close to a face-off as has been seen since the last election  even if they were 300 miles apart.

The result was a picture not just of different policy and presentation styles, but of political positioning, with little to do with actual border conditions and more to do with the general election.

Thats clearly what both men were costumed for, anyway. It sure wasnt for a stroll along the dusty edges of the Rio Grande.

Neither Mr. Trump nor Mr. Biden even bothered to doff his jacket or roll up his shirt sleeves, the universal sartorial signal for Im mucking in, to pretend differently.
Nine Jewish students from prominent universities told members of Congress on Thursday that they feel unsafe on campus, but that their complaints of antisemitism had been waved away by university administrations.

At a bipartisan round table organized by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, the students described various episodes of antisemitism they had experienced on campus since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, accusing their schools of pandering to violent and disruptive protesters while minimizing the threat to Jewish students.

Ive been told over and over again that the university is taking these issues seriously, but always  no action, said Noah Rubin, a student at the University of Pennsylvania.

The round table in Washington was led by Representative Virginia Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina. The 20 members of Congress, including Ms. Foxx, who participated were evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
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Graceland was one of my fathers first stops in America. He had always been a fanatic, performing his first Elvis impersonation at a talent show in Port Harcourt, Nigeria  a way for expats working on oil refineries to let loose. My mother is his enabler, sewing the sequins onto his blue satin capes, bedazzling the ivory jumpsuit with the deep V-neck. When he rumbles, Thank you, thank you very much, especially to my Priscilla, with a wink flung at my mom, she still beams.

Growing up in Karachi, my father and his friends would pile into the cinema, erupting in song and dance whenever Elvis graced the screen. My dad always carried a comb in his pocket to perfect his Presley-esque hairstyle: smooth sides, floppy front. Elvis personified everything American, what my dad wished to embody: charisma, rebellion and sex appeal.

My father, Airaj Jilani, immigrated to the U.S. in March 1979 and worked for an oil-and-gas company in Texas in the days when South Asian men were not welcome. To this day, he wears cowboy boots and his Southern drawl is deeply ingrained. His identity, unlike mine, has never been a question mark.

His Elvis impersonations began in Pakistan with performances for family, which quickly catapulted him into becoming a local rock star. As a kid, I watched him shake his hips in local talent shows with utter wonder. Women chased him off the stage, grabbing his scarves. He embraced every aspect of newfound celebrity. Since then, he has performed at benefits, at office parties, throughout Venezuela, on a boat in Istanbul and in a Beirut night club, where an Instagram account streamed his performance live.
A Colorado paramedic convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man whose case helped drive the national police reform movement, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison.

The case was a rare criminal prosecution of emergency medical personnel, and stirred outrage among paramedics and firefighters across the nation who worry that urgent decisions made as part of their jobs can be criminalized.

The paramedic, Peter Cichuniec, 51, a former lieutenant with Aurora Fire Rescue, was convicted in December of criminally negligent homicide and second-degree assault for the unlawful administration of drugs. He was one of five police officers and paramedics prosecuted in state district court over three consecutive trials.

A second paramedic and a police officer were also convicted. In January, Randy Roedema, 41, a lieutenant in the Aurora Police Department officer at the time, was sentenced to 14 months in a county jail. Jeremy Cooper, the paramedic working with Mr. Cichuniec, is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
The state Board of Higher Education has granted North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott up to 30 days of developmental leave to prepare to teach a class at North Dakota State University on artificial intelligence, as well as complete a book on technological change.

Hagerott said he will prepare the syllabus for the course, work with instructors at NDSU, and will be available for lectures, Prairie Public reported.

The boards vote Thursday was 7-1, with board member Jeffry Volk casting the lone vote in opposition. He said hes hearing from a number of people both inside and outside of higher education about the proposal.

"This is one of the few items ever that I've gotten feedback before a meeting, suggesting it's the wrong thing to do," Volk said. "And to be frank, I tend to agree. We've got a lot of professors in our system. Why can't they be the ones developing the programs that are needed for cybersecurity and AI?"

Hagerott has cited a policy allowing the chancellor and university presidents with more than five years of experience to take a developmental leave of absence. He said the AI field is new but expanding rapidly.

"We don't have that many people laying around to do this," he said. "My goal would be that I'm able to help faculty expand these programs."

Hagerott said he will use the time in blocks during the spring, summer and fall.
A board of trustees meeting at the University of Pennsylvania was disrupted on Friday by a group of pro-Palestinian students protesting the schools involvement with Israel, prompting the trustees to adjourn the meeting about 10 minutes after it started.

Holding up their hands, some painted red to signify blood, the group of about 12 students started to protest shortly after J. Larry Jameson, Penns interim president, began addressing the universitys board of trustees. It was his first public meeting with the trustees since taking office in December.

Endowment transparency now! Divest from genocide! the students chanted.

The protesters, representing a group called Freedom School for Palestine, said their action was a response to Penns relationship with Israel, citing a study-abroad program, a recent faculty trip to Israel and donations to the I.D.F., referring to the Israeli military. A Penn spokesman denied that the university makes donations to the I.D.F.

We condemn the board of trustees support for the genocidal Israeli state, and we call on Penn administration to support Palestinian students, drop disciplinary charges against pro-Palestinian demonstrators and divest from genocide, the group said in a statement. It added that it was pushing for the universitys $21 billion endowment to rescind investments in Israeli companies or other entities aiding the war in Gaza. It was not clear whether Penn had investments in the country.
Kenya and Haiti signed a security deal on Friday intended to remove the last major obstacle to the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to the gang-ravaged Caribbean nation.

President William Ruto of Kenya said that after months of delays the agreement would enable the fast-tracking of a security mission that has stirred cautious hopes in Haiti, where violence is escalating, but has drawn sharp criticism from Kenyan rights groups.

The mission, backed by the United Nations and largely financed by the United States, has been on hold since January when a Kenyan court ruled the deployment illegal because Kenya and Haiti had not signed a formal reciprocal agreement.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti flew to Kenya to finalize such an agreement  even as violent gangs were rampaging through the streets of his own capital, Port-au-Prince, pressing for his ouster.
With Mexicos presidential election just three months away, one thing is clear: The candidate for the governing party appears to be running away with it.

Claudia Sheinbaum, a physicist and protegee of the current president, holds a commanding lead of about 30 percentage points in the polls over the oppositions Xochitl Galvez, a tech entrepreneur, as campaigning officially starts on Friday.

Playing it safe at a time when the departing president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, remains broadly popular, Ms. Sheinbaum has kept so closely to his policies and persona that she not only vows to adopt his priorities, she also sometimes imitates his slow-paced way of talking in appearances across the country.

But while Ms. Sheinbaums exceptionally disciplined campaign has cemented her front-runner status, the candidate who could be Mexicos first female president remains something of an enigma to many Mexicans.
Look closely at this tiny, idyllic island: Victorian-era fortifications dot the windswept coastline. A concrete anti-tank wall disrupts a quiet beach. Overgrown greenery covers bunkers and tunnels.

This is Alderney, where the 2,100 people who call the island home do not lock their cars. Where the streets are quiet and the pubs (nine of them) are lively, and the roads dont have traffic lights. And where reminders of World War II hide behind most corners.

This fiercely independent island in the English Channel, roughly 10 miles from France, is at the center of a debate about how to remember Nazi atrocities and live mindfully among sites where misdeeds occurred  and how to reckon with the fact that Britain never held anyone responsible for running an SS concentration camp on its soil.
It took authorities more than 30 years to hunt down one of Germanys most wanted fugitives. For Michael Colborne, an investigative journalist running old photographs through a facial recognition service, it took about 30 minutes.

At the request of a German podcasting duo, hed been asked to search for matches to the decades-old wanted photographs of Daniela Klette, a member of the leftist militant group Red Army Faction, Germanys most infamous postwar terrorist group, originally known as the Baader-Meinhof gang.

Instead, the facial recognition software he used lighted upon a woman called Claudia Ivone. In one image, she posed with her local capoeira troupe as they waved their arms exuberantly. Another showed her in a white headdress, tossing flower petals with an Afro-Brazilian society at a local street festival.

He had stumbled on an alias Ms. Klette had used for years, as she hid in plain sight in the German capital.
This image of Aleksei A. Navalnys body in a coffin, at a church in southern Moscow, conveys many of the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, an institution that has bound itself closely to the Kremlin but that also counted opposition figures, including Mr. Navalny, among its faithful.

I, to my shame, am a typical post-Soviet believer, Mr. Navalny said in an interview in 2012. I keep fasts, I got baptized at church, but I go to church quite rarely.

Being an Orthodox Christian, he said, made him feel like I am part of something big and shared.

He added: I like that there are special ethics and self-restraints. At the same time, it doesnt bother me at all that I exist in a predominantly atheistic environment. Until I was 25 years old, before the birth of my first child, I myself was such an ardent atheist that I was ready to grab the beard of any priest.

Those remarks reflected the circumstances of many Russians who came of age as the Soviet Union broke apart and as the Russian Orthodox Church again rose to prominence in public life.
Elena Milashina, a daring Russian reporter beaten unconscious and doused in liquid iodine last year, said she has bid farewell to far too many journalists, activists and opposition figures who died an untimely death.

But never, she said in a phone interview from Moscow, had she seen anything like the scene on Friday on the streets of the sleepy Maryino neighborhood on the outskirts of the Russian capital.

This was the most optimistic funeral I can remember, said Ms. Milashina, 47, citing the large crowds and a palpable sense of unity. There was no grief. There was this surge of inspiration that we are all together, and that there are many of us.

The funeral of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny on Friday may come to be remembered as a seminal moment in Vladimir V. Putins Russia. It was a day when the presidents decades-long nemesis was laid to rest, underlining Mr. Putins dominance; but it was also a day when an ocean of pent-up dissent re-emerged, if only for a few hours, on Moscows streets.
Russians traveled from far and wide to bear witness as Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison at 47, was buried in Moscow on Friday amid a heavy police presence.

Some mourners chanted his name. Others said, Thank you for your son! to Mr. Navalnys mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, who had fought for days to reclaim his body. Eventually, the authorities relented, but Mr. Navalnys team described having to overcome a gantlet to persuade a church, a cemetery and a hearse to take part in the burial.

Thousands turned out for the service, Mr. Navalnys supporters estimated. Foreign diplomats were among the crowd. Some Russians shouted, No to war, risking arrest. In the end, Mr. Navalnys coffin was lowered into the cemetery grounds to the strains of the Sinatra song My Way and one from the movie Terminator 2, video showed.
More governments issued condemnations on Friday after the deadly melee surrounding an aid convoy in northern Gaza, where scores of Palestinians were killed as Israeli forces opened fire in an incident whose precise details remain unclear.

The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, called the deaths horrific and called for an urgent investigation. This must not happen again, he said in a statement that stressed the inadequate quantities of aid reaching civilians and demanded that Israel open more aid crossings, speed up deliveries and increase protections for ordinary Palestinians, NGOs, medics and others providing help.

Mr. Cameron also called for an immediate pause in the fighting. A sustained pause in the fighting is the only way to get lifesaving aid in at the scale needed and free the hostages cruelly held by Hamas, he said.

The Indian government said in a statement that it was deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza yesterday during delivery of humanitarian assistance.

Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern, it said. We reiterate our call for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance.

South Africa, whose government has been extremely critical of Israels military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, said it condemns the massacre of people as they sought lifesaving aid. The people who came under fire, South Africa said in a statement issued by its Department of International Relations and Cooperation, were already vulnerable due to the onslaught on Palestinians over the last four months.
What We Know About the Deaths Near the Gaza Aid Convoy

Gazan authorities said that more than 100 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in a chaotic scene early Thursday morning in Gaza City, where a crowd gathered around a convoy of trucks carrying desperately needed aid and the Israeli military opened fire.

Drone footage released by the Israeli military shows hundreds of people circling around the trucks along the Al-Rashid coastal road, and a video posted on social media includes audio of shots fired near civilians.

Al-Rashid Al Jazeera video shows shots fired near crowd Social video taken hours later shows dead and injured on truck Aid trucks seen on this stretch of road Israeli drone footage shows people lying on the ground Mediterranean Sea Gaza Israeli military outpost North 1,000 feet Mediterranean Sea North Aid trucks seen on this stretch of road Al-Rashid Israeli military outpost Israeli drone footage shows people lying on the ground Al Jazeera video shows shots fired near crowd Social video taken hours later shows dead and injured on truck Gaza 1,000 feet Mediterranean Sea North Aid trucks seen on this stretch of road Al-Rashid Israeli drone footage shows people lying on the ground Israeli military outpost Al Jazeera video shows shots fired near crowd Social video taken hours later shows dead and injured on truck Gaza 1,000 feet The New York Times; Satellite image by Planet Labs, captured Feb. 14.

Gazan and Israeli authorities have offered differing accounts of the event: Gazan health officials said in a statement that scores of people had been brought to hospitals with gunshot wounds and had been killed or injured in a massacre, while Israeli officials said that most had been killed or injured in a stampede or after being run over by trucks.

A Gazan doctor said that he saw dozens of dead and injured people with gunshot wounds lying in the street, as well as the bodies of people who appeared to have been trampled or hit by aid trucks.

The Israeli military claimed that the drone video it released showed a mass stampede in which Gazans are trampled, but the quality and the length of the clips makes it difficult to confirm these claims, adding confusion to the sequence of events that led to the deaths.

The video, which does not include audio, was edited by the Israeli military with multiple clips spliced together, leaving out a key moment before many in the crowd begin running away from the trucks, with some people crawling behind walls, appearing to take cover.

BEACH Crowds gathering around trucks AL RASHID BEACH Crowds gathering around trucks AL RASHID BEACH Crowds gathering around trucks AL RASHID The New York Times; Composite image from drone footage released by the Israeli military

After a cut in the drone video, at least a dozen bodies are visible on the ground at the scene; it is not clear whether the people are injured or dead. A small number of people may have been struck by aid trucks during the panic, and two Israeli military vehicles are also visible at the scene.

Israeli military vehicles Aid convoy AL RASHID Israeli military vehicles Aid convoy AL RASHID Israeli military vehicles Aid convoy AL RASHID The New York Times; Still image from Israeli military drone footage

A separate video released by Al Jazeera of the crowd near the aid convoy captures the sound of gunfire and shows multiple tracer rounds, originating from the southwest where an Israeli military base is located. The two tanks visible in the drone video were stationed on Al-Rashid around 250 meters from the base.

The Israeli military has acknowledged that soldiers opened fire, saying that it was only in face of danger when the mob moved in a manner which endangered them.

Another video, captured several hours later and posted on Instagram, shows at least a dozen injured people atop a truck.

Wounded and killed Palestinians were transported to multiple hospitals in northern Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital and Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, according to officials. Gazas health ministry has said Al-Shifa and other hospitals in northern Gaza have sustained extensive damage since the start of the war and are now barely functioning because of a shortage of fuel and supplies.

Injured people were brought to multiple hospitals in Gaza City Buildings in Gaza have been extensively damaged since the start of the war and many hospitals are no longer functioning. Sources: Damage analysis of Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite data by Corey Scher of the CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University; satellite image from Copernicus Note: Data is of Gaza through Feb. 26 at 5:49 p.m. in Gaza and Israel. The New York Times

The United Nations recently warned that famine is imminent for more than half a million of Gazas residents, and that one in six children under the age of 2 in northern Gaza is suffering from acute malnutrition. The Gazan health ministry said on Wednesday that at least six children in the territory had died from dehydration and malnutrition.

Humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza has dwindled as the United Nations and other relief agencies have struggled to deliver even small amounts of food and supplies amid Israeli entry restrictions, airstrikes and the ground invasion. Aid delivery has also been hampered by the breakdown of civil order as increasingly desperate civilians converge on aid convoys before the trucks can reach distribution centers.

President Biden said that the loss of life in the aid convoy episode could jeopardize efforts to negotiate a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas, after saying earlier this week that he hoped a cease-fire deal could be reached by Monday.
A federal agency says a defunct cattle company has about $15 million to $20 million worth of meat to sell while owing $191 million to investors, including $40 million in North Dakota.

The Securities and Exchange Commission updated the Agridime website this week with information on the case that the agency has labeled as a Ponzi scheme.

We currently estimate that Agridimes inventory of meat is the companys single most valuable asset, the Feb. 27 update says.

It says meat is being sold through a new retail website AmericanGrazedBeef.com.

Agridimes retail meat sales had to be halted when credit card companies no longer wanted to work with Agridime due to the federal court case, which caused a six-week hiatus in our retail operations as we worked to put a new organization and website in place, the update says.

It notes two farms in Kansas, Morgan Creek Farms and Goracke Farms, as raising the companys cattle.

The update says investigators are still examining Agridimes financial records and identifying assets, including livestock. It says the company has about 6,500 head of cattle.

A complaint by the SEC alleges that Agridime raised at least $191 million from more than 2,100 investors in at least 15 states. The complaint, which was unsealed in December, says Agridime began using money from new investors to pay off previous investors, fitting the definition of a Ponzi scheme.

The complaint said Agridime sold contracts to investors promising returns of up to 32%. Agridime said investors could reap the benefits of investing in cattle without doing any work.

About $40 million, more than 20%, of the investments came from North Dakota, according to the states Securities Department.

A sales agent for Agridime, Taylor Bang, based in Killdeer in western North Dakota, collected more than $6 million in Agridime commissions selling unsecured investments, the Securities Department said.

North Dakota and Arizona issued a cease-and-desist order and the SEC launched an investigation.

The company was incorporated in Texas in 2017, led by Jed Wood of Texas and Josh Link of Arizona.

The complaint said from Dec. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023, Agridime began using money from new investors -- at least $58 million -- to pay off previous investors instead of investing in cattle and raising them.

The SEC update says there are no hearings scheduled in the case, but on Feb. 23, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman issued an order requiring attorneys for the parties to meet as soon as practicable for a scheduling conference. It also requested a report from attorneys in the case, due March 8, including proposals for a timeline and how the case might proceed.

Bang is not named in the federal complaint against Agridime and Bangs attorney, Brent Edison of the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo, said he is not involved in the federal case.

Bang told the North Dakota Monitor in December that the $6 million figure for Agridime commissions was way high.

Edison told the Monitor that Bang, a longtime cattle broker in the Killdeer area, was similarly situated as other investors.
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An Argentinian man got the shock of his life after undergoing what he thought was surgery on his gallbladder, only to later learn that the doctors had performed a vasectomy instead.

Earlier this week, 41-year-old Jorge Baseto went to the Florencio Diaz Provincial Hospital in Cordoba, Argentina, for a gallbladder surgery. The operation was scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, but due to circumstances out of his control, Jorges procedure was postponed to Wednesday. That is apparently the small detail that caused a viral malpractice scandal that has engulfed the whole country. On the day of the surgery, hospital staff came into the patients room, laid him on a stretcher, and without asking him a single thing or even checking his chart, they took him to the operating room. The doctors didnt bother checking his chart either, so they just performed the type of surgery they had scheduled for the day, vasectomy.

Photo: Jafar Ahmed/Unsplash

When Jorge woke up from his surgery, he had no idea what had happened, but then a doctor came in to check on him, and after looking at his chart, he gave him the shocking news  he had undergone a vasectomy instead of the scheduled gallbladder operation. The Argentinian man was speechless for a few moments, then he began to panic, but he didnt have much time for that, as he was soon scheduled for the surgery he was supposed to get in the first place.

After his second surgery, Jorge Baseto wanted to know how the error had occurred and what could be done to reverse the vasectomy. The doctors kept blaming each other for the blunder, and they kept telling him not to be overly dramatic about the situation, as he could still conceive children through artificial insemination if he wanted to. As for the vasectomy, because of his age and the size of the severed ducts, the chances of success were very slim, so there was no point in even trying.

It is very strange because in my chart it said gallbladder everywhere, all they had to do was read it, you didnt have to be a scientist to figure it out, Jorge told Argentinian news outlet El Doce. I dont want to point the finger at anyone, but no one here is taking responsibility. They focus on saying: Well, dont be so dramatic, because through insemination you can still have a child.

Jorges lawyer, Diego Larrey, said that his client is devastated. Although he is a father of two boys, he is apparently in a new relationship and he had plans to try for a child with his new partner in the future. They obviously would have liked to conceive naturally, but now they only have the option of artificial insemination.

I am angry and helpless because what they did is irreversible, there is no changing it, Jorge said. I just cant understand this level of negligence, how you can make such a huge blunder.

The mans lawyer told reporters that the error stemmed from his clients rescheduled surgery. Vasectomies are usually performed on Wednesdays, and the staff at Florencio Diaz Provincial Hospital, including the doctors, just treated Jorge Basto as another vasectomy patient, instead of bothering to look at his chart.



The drama is currently ongoing, but it looks like Jorge is looking to sue the doctors and the hospital for negligence.
Manuel Rocha

Former US ambassador Manuel Rocha plans to plead guilty to charges that he served as a secret agent for Cuba in what is billed as one of the biggest breaches of national security in years.

The 73-year-old had been working as a senior international business advisor on business development matters for LLYC at the time of his Dec. 4 arrest.

He had joined LLYC last September after working as US ambassador to Bolivia and serving in the US interests section in Cuba.

Rocha also did stints in Dominican Republic, Italy, Argentina, Mexico and Argentina.

He is expected to plead guilty to two counts of conspiring to act as a foreign agent and be sentenced on April 12. Each count carries a maximum of five to 10 years in jail.

Rocha, who was shackled at the hands and ankles, told a federal judge in Miami on Feb. 29 that he would enter a guilty plea.

LLYC cut ties with Rocha after his arrest, and noted that the spying allegations lodged against him were unrelated to his work for the Madrid-based firm.

The US is LLYC's No. 2 market.
BOC Consult (Ltd.), a consultancy in the fields of public affairs, investor relations, labor relations and communication, is established by Rudiger O. Assion and Ernst Primosch. BOC Consult will provide support to companies and decision-makers in special situations such as crises and transactions. Assion was most recently head of financial communication for Edelman in the DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland). He previously held executive positions at Swiss derivatives bank Leonteq Securities AG, and served as corporate communications chief of Deutsche Borse AG, as well as in leadership roles at General Motors, VW Group and BMW Group. In 2019, Primosch founded Bureau of Communication GmbH, a comprehensive communications and brand consultancy that acquired PR-Journal Verlag GmbH in 2021 and now acts as a shareholder in BOC Consult GmbH. Other partners in the consultancy include Dr. Philipp Rosler, former FDP federal minister and vice chancellor of Germany; Jan Schoch, founder of Leonteq and Michael Krons, a journalist, political scientist, and media expert. The consultancy is headquartered in Dusseldorf and operates offices in Vienna and Zurich.

Tess Pawlisch, Margaret Huang

Needle, which provides a full range of services from communications strategy and media relations to content development and thought leadership, is launched by Tess Pawlisch and Margaret Huang. Pawlisch was most recently director of business development at The Key PR and has also led fundraising and communication programs for non-profits, philanthropic organizations, and political campaigns. In addition to running her own firm, Huang has served as a senior VP at Ditto PR and an advisor to founders, venture capitalists, C-suite executives, and journalists. The agency launches with a roster across industries  artificial intelligence, consumer technology, climate, healthcare, political advocacy and venture capital. Were always looking for ways to help founders succeed that are both scalable and effective, said Neil Devani, founder and managing partner of Necessary Ventures, a Needle client. The results that the Needle team has brought to our portfolio companies have supported hiring, fundraising, and growth.

Phillip Sontag,

Meridith Bridge

BleuCooper Communications, which specializes in brand management, media relations and integrated marketing campaigns, merges with MK Bridge Communications, a provider of public relations strategies, media relations services, and corporate communications expertise. BleuCooper founder and managing partner Phillip Sontag and MK Bridge managing partner Meridith Bridge previously worked together at Instinctif Partners. The merged agencies, which will maintain their distinct brands while operating under the BleuCooper name, will offer an integrated suite of public relations and marketing communications solutions, showcasing expertise across such industries as consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, leisure and hospitality, corporate, healthcare, and technology. A virtual firm, BleuCooper will form customized teams to efficiently meet clients' needs without incurring additional expenses. "This strategic merger enhances our capabilities and opens new doors for our clients, said Sontag. Its exciting to partner with Meridith again, another true PR professional.
Kristen Ingraham

Clarity appoints Kristen Ingraham as president, North America. Ingraham has been running her own consulting and communications business since exiting Padilla, where she was a senior VP, in March 2023. She was previously an SVP at Buffalo.Agency, a VP at Porter Novelli and a senior director at PMK*BNC. In her new position, Ingraham will spearhead Claritys growth in North America from its current base of offices in New York and California. Kristen is a strong leader of talented teams and brings not only commercial acumen and deep contacts in the North American market but also experience in a range of sectors that build on Claritys heritage in technology, said Clarity CEO Rachel Gilley. The announcement of Ingrahams hire coincides with the appointment of a new executive committee to support Rachel Gilley, who became CEO last month to drive the next phase of Claritys global growth.

Shane Robbins

Food marketing agency Ingredient hires Shane Robbins as senior director, client services. Robbins joins the company from Minneapolis-based digital consultancy Nerdery, where he served as client success director. Before that, he was SVP, group account director at McCann Worldgroup for over two decades, serving as co-lead of McCanns Minneapolis office and North American account lead on General Mills. At Ingredient, his primary focus will be leading the account management team, supporting business development and onboarding new clients to set the foundation for successful client relationships. With his extensive background in client management, he is poised to not only enhance our account management team but also elevate the satisfaction of our amazing clients, says Ingredient VP, account services Michele Souder.

Ryan Asdourian

Lumen Technologies, which offers communications, network services, security, cloud solutions, voice, and managed services, brings on Ryan Asdourian as EVP and CMO. Asdourian joins Lumen from Microsoft where he most recently led the company's security business group, with responsibility for P&L, sales enablement, and marketing across North and South America. Before that, Asdourian led business development and marketing for the Microsoft Surface business group in the United States, and the Windows and Devices business group in the United Kingdom. In his new role, he will oversee brand and product marketing, and corporate communications. "Ryan is a proven leader who has demonstrated a remarkable ability to link product capabilities with customer needs and market those products in disruptive ways," said Lumen president and CEO Kate Johnson.
The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU), Irelands independent energy, energy safety and water regulator, secured a prosecution against Brian Farrell for illegally carrying out restricted electrical works and falsely portraying himself as a registered electrical contractor (REC).

Brian Farrell of Ballymahon, Co Longford was convicted at Longford District Court in respect of two offences; carrying out designated electrical works without being a registered electrical contractor contrary to Section 9E (3) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 as amended.

And describing himself as a registered electrical contractor or in a manner likely to suggest he was a registered electrical contractor without being a member of a designated body contrary to Section 9D (25) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 as amended.

The Court heard evidence from Sean Ward, Electrical Investigative Officer from the CRU, that on April 19, 2021 the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) received a notification via email from the Safety Supervisory Body, Safe Electric, regarding alleged illegal electrical works carried out on a domestic property at Tang, Ballymahon, Co Westmeath by Brian Farrell.

Prior to work commencing, Mr Farrell indicated he could certify the electrical work to allow the ESB to connect the electricity to the homeowners new home once the works were complete. He also suggested that he was able to issue a certificate and in doing so, portrayed himself in a manner likely to suggest he was a registered electrical contractor.

On February 5, 2020, the homeowner posted on a Facebook page looking for advice on a builder.

On February 6, 2020, Mr Farrell contacted the homeowner after seeing the post, asking to keep him in mind for the electrical works.

In January 2021, the homeowner met Brian Farrell outside a shop, in the local area, and he said he would be still interested in quoting.

Mr Farrell eventually started on site to complete the electrical wiring in September 2021, while informing them he was in the process of becoming Safe Electric registered and assured the homeowners confidence in his ability.

Mr Farrell previously applied with Safe Electric to become a registered electrical contractor but this application was rejected in May 2021.

Subsequent inspections found a number of breaches of the national wiring rules whereby; main tails cabling, cabling to solar PV and percolation all undersized. No isolation provided for inaccessible sockets. Lighting circuits wired with only a foot of oversized cabling, overpopulated and not wired to ever function; some lighting and socket circuits wired from a bedroom socket below; No certificate of compliance was issued for the electrical works completed. These were potential hazards to occupants of the house.

Mr Farrell attended the CRU on a voluntary basis and made full admissions of guilt under caution. He also admitted to providing a fake Electrical Completion Certificate to the homeowner.

The Court viewed photographs of the electrical works carried out by Mr Farrell.

Judge Bernadette Owens noted the mitigation put forward by Mr Farrells solicitor that he cooperated with the CRU investigation, had made a substantial repayment to the homeowner.

Judge Owens commented that this was a very serious matter and, in the circumstances, imposed criminal convictions and fines of 1,000 in respect of both offences, totalling 2,000.

The CRUs Chairperson, Jim Gannon, said, This successful prosecution by CRU sends a clear message that, Safety is paramount and the CRU will actively investigate and prosecute unregistered individuals that act outside the law. The CRU would remind the public that all restricted electrical works in the home must be completed by registered electrical contractors, to ensure the work is safe.
Improved fortunes in Offaly winners after recent weeks poor winning returns where visits of Offaly dogs to winning enclosures were scarce. A much better week for Offaly greyhounds and owners having some quality winners around the tracks. The highlight of the week was the final of the Tote Gold Cup where a winners prize of 16k was up for grabs. Add in the semifinals of the Cork Cup and the quarter-finals of the Midlands Derby it was a great week of racing.

Friday Racing



First Two Offaly winners of the week were in Galway with both for Birr owner Bill Pardy. In an ON2 unraced sprint grade, Cappaneale Bono won by four lengths in 18.30 (.05 slow) at 2/1. In an ON3 unraced sprint, Cappaneale Pest was first back in kennels for Pardy and Sean Maher in 17.91 (.05 slow) by nine lengths.



Two good winners in Newbridge for Ballinagar owner Iggy Daly and the Euro-Dollar-Syndicate. In an S2 sprint, Dalgan won his first race in seven attempts in a much improved 17.26 (20 fast) by nine lengths at 2/1. In an A3 contest, My Way Paddy did a career best run in 28.30 (40 fast) by six lengths at 3/1.



In Shelbourne Park, in the final of the Time Greyhound Nutrition A3 575 stake, Rathfalla Logan (Skywalker Logan-Devilsbit Storm) won the 1.75k first prize for George Roche in 31.93 by one length at 5/2. Two Offaly winners on the supporting card, in final of an A3 sweepstake Brayview Jet (Jaytee Jet-Highview Novel) was first home for Croghan trainer Gerry Merriman with another 1.75k going his way in a winning time of 29.03 by three lengths at 3/1. In the semifinals of the Barking Buzz A1 stake, Laughil Ray won for Kilcormac owners Mary and Paul Jennings in 28.78 by one length at 9/4 with Clonard trainer Kevin Losty at the helm.

Saturday Racing

Curraheen Park hosted the semi-finals of the Time Greyhound Nutrition A1 Cork Cup, Bambis Lady won the first for Breda Boyle and Patrick Sheehy in 28.78 by one length at 9/4. The second semi went to champion trainer Graham Holland as Faypoint Susie was too good for her rivals in 28.87 by two lengths at 3/1.

First Offaly winner on Saturday was also in Galway as Margaret Bolton made the trip from Geashill with Meteoric Moon and won an A6 race in 29.61 (10 slow) by two lengths at 3/1.

In Mullingar, in the quarter-finals of the Kilbride Kennels A2 550 Midlands Derby, Rough Frankie set the bar highest when winning stopping the timer in 30.58 (50 slow) at 5/4 fav by four lengths. Another Faithful County winner on the supporting card as Love You won the first race, an ON2 unraced, by seven lengths at 1/2 fav for Edenderry trainer David Hanlon.

The final of the Droopys Stud Open Bitch Stake was top of the bill on a decent card in Thurles, the 3.1k first prize went to Singalong Dolly (Droopys Sydney-Mydras Dawn) for Pat Buckley in 28.72 (20 slow) by one length at 4/1.

The most valuable final of the year so far took place in Shelbourne, the Tote Gold Cup AAO stake. The 16k first prize went to Boylesports Coco (Droopys Sydney-Barn Swallow) who was winning her thirteenth race and brought her career earnings to over 29k for her trainer Dolores Ruth in 28.52 by a neck at 7/4 fav. Deadly Style was an unlucky second for Michael ODonovan but received a generous runners up pot of 6.5k.

One super Offaly winner earlier on the card when Carrick Keano fresh from getting to the final of the Rural Kennels Open unraced in Clonmel showed why hes one of the fastest pups in the country when stopping the clock on easily the fastest time of the night in 28.34 by six lengths at 8/15 fav. Edenderry owner Thomas Glynn and trainer Robert Gleeson have a real live chance with this fellow heading into all the big upcoming stakes of the year. Fingers crossed.

Sunday Racing

Three Offaly winners at the matinee meeting in Mullingar with two from the Moneygall kennels of the Jones. In an A1 grade Lingrawn Aoife had her tenth career win for Liam Jones in 29.88 by one length at 8/1. In an A4 race Lingrawn Grace also had her tenth career win, this time for Kevin Jones in 29.94 by five lengths at 3/1. Our final winner of the week was in an A6 contest as Lahinch Roxy won for Clara owner P.J. Cleary in 30.12 by one length at 6/1. All races in Mullingar were rated .50 slow.

Upcoming events

Friday, final of an A3 stake in Newbridge and final of an A1 in Shelbourne.

Saturday, final of the Cork Cup in Curraheen Park and semifinals of the Midlands Derby in Mullingar.

Tribune Offaly dog of the week

Easy decision this week as Carrick Keano gets the nod for Thomas Glynn when winning in Shelbourne on Saturday in a super 28.34 by six lengths. Brilliant display.

Offaly Winners

Superb twelve Offaly winners this week. Well done to all connections.


The Missouri River at Bismarck-Mandan was well below flood stage on Friday after a National Guard operation the day before to break up an ice jam just south of the metro area that pushed up the river to the highest level in 13 years.

The river at Bismarck was at 12.39 feet at midafternoon Friday, according to National Weather Service data. That was more than 2 feet below minor flood stage of 14.5 feet, and well below the crest late Thursday afternoon of 15.43 feet.

It was the highest crest since the historic river flood in 2011, when it rose to 19.25 feet in the Bismarck area. In other flood years, the river in 2009 crested at 16.11 feet, and in 1997 at 13.66 feet. Moderate flood stage at the Bismarck gauge is 16 feet, and major flood stage is 18 feet.

The National Guard used two Blackhawk helicopters to drop water on the leading edge of the jam on Thursday afternoon and evening, in the area of Fox Island and the Heart River confluence. The four-hour operation dropped more than 70,000 gallons, and the river level quickly fell when the ice moved downriver.

The weather service and the North Dakota Department of Water Resources on Friday said river ice was moving again on its own, and that with warm weather forecast additional ice formation was expected to be minimal.

Most of the ice in the Bismarck-Mandan river area right now is stranded on sand bars or shallow water; otherwise its all moving or completely gone, weather service Hydrologist Allen Schlag said.

Gov. Doug Burgum, Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Alan Dohrmann, state Water Resources Director Andrea Travnicek and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., on Thursday night asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to maintain reduced flows from Garrison Dam upstream to help ease the flooding situation.

The Corps, which manages the river, earlier Thursday had agreed to reduce the daily average flow from 25,000 cubic feet per second on Wednesday to 22,000 cfs on Thursday and 19,000 cfs on Friday.

The Corps in a statement Friday said "Releases from Garrison Dam will continue to decline toward 16,000 cfs through the weekend."

The weather service lifted a flood warning for the Bismarck-Mandan area at midafternoon Friday.

Millions of dollars have been spent on flood protection in the Bismarck area since the record 2011 flood, and no damage was reported from the high river levels Wednesday and Thursday. At minor flood stage, only low-lying areas along the river are subject to flooding. Even at moderate flood stage -- which the river fell just shy of -- few Bismarck-area homes are imperiled, according to information provided by Michelle Klose, director of utility operations for Bismarck Public Works.

Burleigh County residents can report any flood-related items to Burleigh County Emergency Management at 701-222-6727.

Morton County residents can report any flood-related items to Morton County Emergency Management at 701-667-3307.

Weekend weather

Winter weather is likely in North Dakota this weekend, according to the weather service.

The potential for at least 2 inches of snow Saturday night through Sunday night is highest in the north, with a medium chance in the Washburn region and a low chance in the Bismarck area, though some snow is still expected in the capital city. Parts of northern North Dakota could see more than half a foot of snow, forecasters said, and the weather service issued a winter storm watch for the northwest and north central regions. There's also a low chance in much of the state including Bismarck-Mandan for light ice accumulations.

Recent wintry weather to end February and begin March is in stark contrast to February conditions overall. Preliminary rankings from the weather service indicate it was the fifth-warmest February on record in Bismarck, with an average temperature of 29.2 degrees. And so far the winter as a whole -- December through February -- ranks as the fourth-warmest for the capital city, at 24.4 degrees.

The weekend forecast calls for daytime highs in the 40s on Saturday and the 30s on Sunday.

The latest spring flood outlooks from the weather service, released Thursday, continue to indicate an overall low risk of flooding for the Missouri, James and Souris River basins. The outlooks focus on spring snowmelt runoff and rain rather than unpredictable ice jams. Thursday's outlook noted that the ice jam in the Bismarck area "created plenty of angst over its potential to pose a real problem."
Met Eireann has extended Snow and Ice Warnings to much of the country is warning of icy stretches, poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions. A separate Ice Warning comes into effect tonight for all of Ireland.

A series of weather warnings have been issued covering all of Ireland.

A Status Yellow Snow-Ice warning is in place for Cavan, Monaghan, Dublin, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Wicklow, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo with Met Eireann warning that falls of sleet and snow may lead to temporary accumulations

That warning ends at 12pm on Friday.

A Status Yellow Snow-Ice Warning for Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, Wicklow and all of Munster comes into place at noon and remains in place until 6pm.

Met Eireann is warning that a band of rain will continue to move southwards, turning to sleet and snow in places. this could lead to icy stretches on untreated surfaces, poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions

A Status Yellow Ice warning for all of Ireland will be in place from 6pm on Friday until 9am on Saturday. Met Eireann is warning that it will be cold tonight with ice on untreated surfaces leading to hazardous travelling conditions.

A Status Yellow Rain warning for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow remains in place until 3am on Saturday.
THIS year's allocation of 3,940,000 for National Roads and Greenways across Offaly has been welcomed by a number of local representatives.

The biggest chunk of the allocation is 2,400,000 for the Turraun to Shannon Harbour stretch. In all six different stretches have been allocated funding with 80,000 also allocated for signage.

Local Fianna Fail TD Barry Cowen has welcomed the funding, which was announced as part of a total of over 440 million allocated to National Roads and Greenways nationwide. The allocations will be made to local authorities across the country through Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

Deputy Cowen said: This funding is crucial to continue improving our greenways infrastructure. Improving our infrastructure not only benefits the local community, but it also attracts investment and tourism to the area. I am committed to working with Offaly County Council and my colleagues in Government to secure funding for Offaly and to deliver the best possible services and amenities for all our residents.

Offaly Green Representatives, Minister Pippa Hackett, Cllr Mark Hackett, Liam Walsh and Ekaterina Koneva also welcomed the allocation for the County Offaly stretch of the Grand Canal Greenway.

This is part of a wider announcement of 5.9 million for Offaly as part of the funding allocations for national roads and greenways throughout the country by Minister Eamon Ryan and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII).

Welcoming the allocation, Minister Pippa Hackett said The Grand Canal Greenway is a County Offaly treasure of national significance and this allocation is proof that this Government continues to recognise its value by investing in its ongoing development.

The Greenway contributes to the economic growth of both rural and urban areas of the county, promoting local business, tourism and activity-based holidays. On its own, the Greenway is a fantastic amenity that spans the County, but it also extends access to other trails and facilities, like historic sites, and other existing and developing outdoor activities. Todays allocation also compliments the EU Just Transition Regenerative Tourism Scheme which is open now and which County Offaly is primed and ready to benefit from.

Offaly Grand Canal projects funded under the 2024 allocations are, as follows;

Daingean to Edenderry 700,000

Daingean to Tullamore & Henesy's Br. to Turraun 35,000

Kilbeggan Link 250,000

Leabeg to Boora 450,000

Shannon Harbour to Banagher 25,000

Turraun to Shannon Harbour 2,400,000

Signage & Enhancement 80,000

Cllr Mark Hackett, who represents North Offaly in the Edenderry District said; A further 700,000 for the Daingean to Edenderry stretch of the Grand Canal Greenway is another great development for North Offaly, and for Offaly in general. Investment of this scale will lead to more business opportunities along the routes; like cafes and bike shops, better access for the community who live here and use it regularly, and will boost tourism as visitors choose to visit and stay to enjoy everything that Offaly has to offer.

Green Party representatives, Liam Walsh in Tullamore, and Ekaterina Koneva in Birr, hailed the announcement as a great win for the Environment, as continued investments means more and more people can choose to leave the car at home, accessing and enjoying our beautiful county on foot or by bike.
IT was with much delight that Finbarr Spain, Chairman of Birr Historical Society, welcomed Orla Connaughton, Archivist, Offaly Archives and Michael Byrne, Secretary Offaly History (Offaly History & Archaeological Society) to Birr in February 2024.

Both Societies are members of the Federation of Local History Societies and share an interest in preserving and promoting Offalys unique history and local heritage. The establishment of a County Archives service in 2020 has brought together years of work in the collecting and conserving of historical records by Offaly County Library and Offaly History.

In his illustrated talk, Michael Byrne outlined the development of Offaly History Society from the time it was originally founded by James Rogers in 1938. He was a Sinn Fein Solicitor up to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (6 December 1921) and then supported the Free State government thereafter. During WW11, (1939-1945) due to petrol rationing, people could not travel and the Society did not succeed.

In 1969, Offaly History was established as a voluntary society and it is located in Bury Quay, Tullamore. The Society now concentrates on publishing books, social media, monthly newsletters, blog articles, digitising material, family history, has printed 12 Offaly Heritage Journals, you-tube videos, historical meetings and much more. There is a very good bookshop at the premises in Bury Quay which has over 3000 history books for sale.

The Society recently reprinted the book Sketches with the Microscope by Mary Ward which was first printed in 1857. The Irish Mist Story was published in 2023 and Michael highlighted the great history of distilling in Offaly such as, the distilleries in Birr, Banagher and Kilbeggan.

Sadly, many historic records were lost when the Four Courts in Dublin were burned in June 1922 and Offaly Courthouse in July 1922. Michael praised the work of the late Librarian Violin Doolin and the late County Librarian Anne Coughlan who collected materials and saved the minute books of Birr and Tullamore Workhouses.

Orla Connaughton gave an overview of the Archives and how to access the collections. For example, local government records, the De Renzi Papers, Parsonstown Commissioner Records (1855-1925), diaries, photographs, Mitchell Papers which cover five generations of legal records, Parsonstown Model School Volumes of Register (1860-1985), records of Birr Business and Professional Womens Association (1968-1979). Birr Barracks Leinster Regiment records and photographs are digitised on the website.

Orla highlighted the importance of documentary heritage for the preservation of history. The archives are for people to use and it is for everyone. Just book an appointment via email archivist@offalyhistory.com .

Chairman, Finbarr Spain thanked Michael and Orla on behalf of Birr Historical Society for their very informative presentations, his committee and everyone for their attendance.
OFFALY TD Barry Cowen has said he accepts the decision of Fianna Fail to add two more candidates to the party ticket for Midlands North West in the June European Parliament elections.

The shock move by the party to run three candidates in the sprawling five-seater came a month after a selection convention in Mullingar picked Deputy Cowen ahead of two party senators, Lisa Chamber, Mayo and Niall Blaney, Donegal.

Fianna Fail has not held a seat in the Midlands North West European Parliament constituency since Donegal man Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher lost out in 2014.

While it was anticipated that Fianna Fail would add a second candidate to give geographical balance to voters, the party was not expected to put three on the ballot paper.

Reacting to the enlarged line-up, Deputy Cowen said: I was delighted to be selected by the Fianna Fail members at our recent convention and will now lead out our team in the campaign. The team now has a candidate in Connacht, Ulster and Leinster in this vast constituency..

My priorities will concentrate on the transition to sustainability in food, farming and agriculture and the transition to sustainability in energy. I want to ensure that the ongoing transition rewards participants rather than merely covering the costs involved in order to maintain and enhance the rural economies' contribution to our success.

Ill also champion a pan-European project that builds on the ambition associated with west coasts offshore wind potential. This can deliver energy security for our region and country and also contribute up to 300 billion to our economy by 2050.

"It is imperative that we protect our tax regime in Europe. Global tax rate provisions entered into by Europe must be reciprocal on the part of likes of China and USA. Failure to ensure this is a threat to the record jobs growth, export successes and revenue receipts which this country can ill afford. It is those revenues that determine our ability as a nation to respond to housing, health, education, infrastructure amongst other demands of government.

Events over the last European Parliament term alone has proven that Europe matters. The manner in which Europe united and responded to Brexit, Covid and the Ukraine war has proven this.

Our candidates are united and committed to improving our regions' representation in Brussels. In Leinster, Ill be seeking support for my candidacy and encouraging transfers for my colleagues as they will also in Connacht and Ulster. It is that strategy, that commitment that we hope the electorate will support and thus improve and enhance our regions and countrys return from Europe.

We must remedy the failure of Fianna Fail to secure an MEP in this constituency in 2014 and 2019 despite having had enough votes to do so. I hope now to ensure this strategy, geography and transfers secures that elusive representation and proves successful on voting day.

At the selection convention Deputy Cowen received nearly 900 votes on the first count, putting him ahead of Senator Blaney, who was reported to be on 803, with Senator Chambers trailing behind on 570.

Senator Chambers was then eliminated and Senator Blaney closed the gap slightly, getting 268 transfers compared to Deputy Cowen's 248, but the Offaly man remained on top in the final count.

Commenting on the addition of the two candidates this week, Fianna Fail's director of elections, Minister Darragh OBrien TD, said: "This is a very strong, ambitious ticket and represents the best of what Fianna Fail offers, in the form of three highly committed, hard-working and able public representatives who are determined to fight for Ireland in Europe.

"This is also a very geographically well-balanced ticket, with the candidates strategically spread across a vast geographic constituency. Niall, Lisa and Barry bring unique and complimentary strengths and abilities to our ticket. I know they will individually and collectively work hard to maximise our vote and ensure that we are successful in June.

"I look forward to working with them as we bring our message of how much Europe matters to the people and communities of Midlands North West."

The Midlands North West constituency, which was formerly a four-seater and has been enlarged this year with the addition of Offaly and Laois, is currently represented by Luke Ming Flanagan, Roscommon (Independent), Chris MacManus, Sligo (Sinn Fein), and Colum Markey (Louth) and Maria Walsh, Mayo (both Fine Gael).

Mr Markey replaced Mairead McGuinness after she was appointed an EU commissioner and Mr MacManus replaced the MEP elected for Sinn Fein at the last poll in 2019, Matt Carthy, after he won a seat in the Dail in 2020.

Michelle Gildernew MP to run in the Midlands North West European constituency.

Mr MacManus has been joined on the Sinn Fein ticket by Michelle Gildernew, an MPfor the Westminster Fermanagh-South Tyrone constituency.

Midlands North West comprises Offaly, Laois, Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath.

Former Kildare North TD Frank ORourke has been appointed campaign manager for Deputy Cowens campaign.

I have been a campaign manager in the past so I am aware of the effort that is required for this role. As a former TD for Kildare and a former member of Kildare Co Co, I am aware of the many issues that can affect our people and our constituency. The EU has become an important influencer in all our lives, and it is important that we have someone of the strength and calibre of Barry Cowen in the EU looking after our interests, said Mr O'Rourke.

Fianna Fail has a strong, ambitious and balanced team in Barry Cowen, Lisa Chambers and Niall Blaney. All three are determined to fight for Ireland in Europe and I am looking forward to managing Barrys campaign between now and June. Barry has already been campaigning in Kildare and he has received a very warm reception.

We will work as hard as we can to ensure Fianna Fail wins back a seat in the Midlands-North-West and more importantly that we deliver on the issues that are important for the people, concluded the Kildare man.
CaCa: He wrote from religious perspectives, which may appeal to you.

It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.

James Baldwin

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1962/11/17/letter-from-a-region-in-my-mind

Take up the White Mans burden

Ye dare not stoop to less

Nor call too loud on Freedom

To cloak your weariness;

By all ye cry or whisper,

By all ye leave or do,

The silent, sullen peoples

Shall weigh your Gods and you.

Kipling.

Down at the cross where my Saviour died,

Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,

There to my heart was the blood applied,

Singing glory to His name!

Hymn.

Iunderwent, during the summer that I became fourteen, a prolonged religious crisis. I use religious in the common, and arbitrary, sense, meaning that I then discovered God, His saints and angels, and His blazing Hell. And since I had been born in a Christian nation, I accepted this Deity as the only one. I supposed Him to exist only within the walls of a churchin fact, of our churchand I also supposed that God and safety were synonymous. The word safety brings us to the real meaning of the word religious as we use it.

Therefore, to state it in another, more accurate way, I became, during my fourteenth year, for the first time in my life, afraidafraid of the evil within me and afraid of the evil without. What I saw around me that summer in Harlem was what I had always seen; nothing had changed. But now, without any warning, the whores and pimps and racketeers on the Avenue had become a personal menace. It had not before occurred to me that I could become one of them, but now I realized that we had been produced by the same circumstances.

Many of my comrades were clearly headed for the Avenue, and my father said that I was headed that way, too. My friends began to drink and smoke, and embarkedat first avid, then groaningon their sexual careers. Girls, only slightly older than I was, who sang in the choir or taught Sunday school, the children of holy parents, underwent, before my eyes, their incredible metamorphosis, of which the most bewildering aspect was not their budding breasts or their rounding behinds but something deeper and more subtle, in their eyes, their heat, their odor, and the inflection of their voices. Like the strangers on the Avenue, they became, in the twinkling of an eye, unutterably different and fantastically present.

Owing to the way I had been raised, the abrupt discomfort that all this aroused in me and the fact that I had no idea what my voice or my mind or my body was likely to do next caused me to consider myself one of the most depraved people on earth. Matters were not helped by the fact that these holy girls seemed rather to enjoy my terrified lapses, our grim, guilty, tormented experiments, which were at once as chill and joyless as the Russian steppes and hotter, by far, than all the fires of Hell.

Themes [edit]

Struggle for self [edit]

In all of Baldwin's works, but particularly in his novels, the main characters are twined up in a "cage of reality" that sees them fighting for their soul against the limitations of the human condition or against their place at the margins of a society consumed by various prejudices. Baldwin connects many of his main charactersJohn in Go Tell It On The Mountain, Rufus in Another Country, Richard in Blues for Mister Charlie, and Giovanni in Giovanni's Roomas sharing a reality of restriction: per biographer David Leeming, each is "a symbolic cadaver in the center of the world depicted in the given novel and the larger society symbolized by that world". Each reaches for an identity within their own social environment, and sometimesas in If Beale Street Could Talk's Fonny and Tell me How Long The Train's Been Gone's Leothey find such an identity, imperfect but sufficient to bear the world. The singular theme in the attempts of Baldwin's characters to resolve their struggle for themselves is that such resolution only comes through love. Here is Leeming at some length:

Love is at the heart of the Baldwin philosophy. Love for Baldwin cannot be safe; it involves the risk of commitment, the risk of removing the masks and taboos placed on us by society. The philosophy applies to individual relationships as well as to more general ones. It encompasses sexuality as well as politics, economics, and race relations. And it emphasizes the dire consequences, for individuals and racial groups, of the refusal to love. David Adams Leeming, James Baldwin: A Biography ?

Social and political activism [edit]

Baldwin returned to the United States in the summer of 1957 while the civil rights legislation of that year was being debated in Congress. He had been powerfully moved by the image of a young girl, Dorothy Counts, braving a mob in an attempt to desegregate schools in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Partisan Review editor Philip Rahv had suggested he report on what was happening in the American South. Baldwin was nervous about the trip but he made it, interviewing people in Charlotte (where he met Martin Luther King Jr.), and Montgomery, Alabama. The result was two essays, one published in Harper's magazine ("The Hard Kind of Courage"), the other in Partisan Review ("Nobody Knows My Name"). Subsequent Baldwin articles on the movement appeared in Mademoiselle, Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, and The New Yorker, where in 1962 he published the essay that he called "Down at the Cross", and the New Yorker called "Letter from a Region of My Mind". Along with a shorter essay from The Progressive, the essay became The Fire Next Time.[193]:?9499,?15556? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Baldwin
   

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Department of Examinations announced dates of Scholarship Exam, O/L, A/L

Posted by Editor on March 1, 2024 - 6:28 pm

The Department of Examinations has announced the dates for several major school examinations in Sri Lanka to be held in the year 2024.

Accordingly, the G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O/L) Examinations 2023 are scheduled to take place from May 06 to May 15, 2024, while Grade 5 Scholarship Examination 2024 is set for September 15, 2024.

In addition, the G.C.E. Advanced Level (A/L) Examinations 2024 will take place from November 25 to December 20, 2024.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner General of Examinations, Amith Jayasundara, said that the dates for the 2024 G.C.E. Ordinary Level (O/L) examination will be announced later.
.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhbx6iplYNY

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been asked for an opinion. The question put before the panel of 15 judges at The Hague in the Netherlands, is simply put, "Is the Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem legal under international law?".

A simple question about a complex problem between Israel and Palestine that began in 1948.

51 countries, along with three international organizations, have sent representatives to The Hague to answer the 'Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem'. Each person addressing the court was allotted 30 minutes to make their case for whether it is legal, or it is illegal.

On Monday, February 26, the very last day of the court's hearings, Dr. Ralph Wilde, representing the Arab League took his place behind the podium. Later, some of the audience may have said, "They saved the best for last."

As Marwan Bishara would later comment, the Arab League has never been very effective, but this time they stole the show.

Dr. Ralph Wilde is a member of the Faculty of Laws at University College London. He is currently engaged in an interdisciplinary research project, funded by the European Research Council, on the extraterritorial application of international human rights law, called 'human rights beyond borders'.

Dressed in his flowing legal robe, and speaking in a melodious British accent, everyone watching and listening was captivated by his presentation. He spoke in a dry, legal manner with neither emotion, nor drama. He proceeded to present his case like a surgeon cutting into a diseased body and removing the cancer, and sewing up the incision with tight, neat stiches.

"The Palestinian people have been denied the exercise of their legal right to self-determination through the more than century-long violent, colonial, racist effort to establish a nation State exclusively for the Jewish people in the land of Mandatory Palestine," said Wilde.

"Today I will address, first, violations of international law arising out of the re'gime of racial domination -- apartheid -- perpetrated against the Palestinian people across the entire land of historic Palestine, and then, second, the existential illegality of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 1967," said Wilde.

The global citizenry has watched the conflict through successive generations. Many wondered why couldn't Israel be a non-racist state, where all citizens are treated the same, have the same rights and obligations, and Palestinians who were living in exile could return home?

Israel's greatest partner is the US, which is based on a secular government, with all races treated equally, and all live under the same laws and obligations. Why couldn't Washington, DC. teach the Israelis the formula for success, and an end to conflict?

The UN, the US, and most other nations have stressed the two-state solution is the goal to be met. Others have offered that a one-state solution is more like the American model.

However, the US and UK have been working diligently and systematically since 1948 to keep Israel in constant turmoil and at odds with the oppressed Palestinians who are denied all human rights.

Israel is now considered to be a pariah state, similar to South Africa under apartheid.

"We as South Africans sense, see, hear and feel to our core the inhumane, discriminatory policies and practices of the Israeli regime as an even more extreme form of the apartheid that was institutionalized against black people in my country," Vusimuzi Madonsela, South African ambassador to the Netherlands, told the court."

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Dehumanize, demonize, propagandize. Any atrocity can be justified

This story is about what colonialism does to the colonizers. Conquering and suppressing others turns people into monsters, as we have seen in Gaza for four months now.

All colonizers do terrible things, so why am I singling out Israel and America as monsters? Because, as journalist Patrick Lawrence wrote on Consortium News, "We are now able to watch videos of Israeli soldiers celebrating as they murder Palestinian mothers and children, as they dance and sing while detonating entire neighborhoods, as they mock Palestinians in a carnival of racist depravity."

I could write 20 pages listing Israeli crimes and not be any closer to the end, because they keep committing new ones. Who could have imagined healthy young people blocking food deliveries to children their government is starving, and dancing while doing it? How does this happen?

History shows that such depraved behavior could happen to anybody put in the position of subjugating and oppressing others. People become monsters when they learn to dehumanize and demonize their targets, to create narratives that justify their aggression, and to believe the narratives they create.

The European colonizers who looted the world for centuries dehumanized everyone they conquered. The Africans, Americans, and Pacific Islanders were savages, non-people who could be starved and massacred at will. Read a bit about what the Belgians did in the Congo, and you will be reminded of what's happening in Gaza now.

European colonizers said they were bringing civilization and modernity to backward savages. They talked about the "white man's burden" to enlighten the darker peoples. More often than not, they enlightened by massacring them and stealing their stuff.

Since World War II, the US and Israel have taken over where Europe left off. Like Americans, Israelis absorb daily propaganda that teaches them they're the good guys. Palestinians, even children, are terrorists and deserve all the pain they get.

I've written eight articles on Gaza, published on Medium, Substack, and lately on Op-Ed News. I get a lot of comments from Israeli trolls and their supporters in the US and England. They explain why what Israel does is necessary and desirable. The more people they kill, the more justified they feel.

In response to an article called Jews Are Traumatized People, a young Israeli man wrote, "You propose I share my home with a hyena. When I scream because I am being eaten alive, you will write about my trauma and how it has warped me. When the hyena has consumed even my bones, you will declare peace."

He hits all the monster notes. His people are in danger. Their enemies are animals. The world doesn't understand. It's all Hamas' fault.

Israel-supporting monsters come back again and again to the murderous Hamas attack of October 7, which they have blown up to a full-scale attempted genocide of Jews. They repeat Israeli government tales of mass rapes, beheaded children, incinerated families, none of which are backed by independent evidence.

None of the trolls admit they have ever done anything to hurt Palestinians. Occupying people for 75 years, dispossessing them of their homes, destroying their farms and villages, making them live under a blockade, imprisoning and shooting their youth - these kind of things fall outside the narrative and can be ignored.

They also ignore the slaughter ---rivaling the extermination camp Auschwitz -- which they are perpetrating in Gaza. To them, they are just hated because they're Jews. One wrote me, "See, the world has already forgotten October 7." She couldn't imagine how Israel's killing 50.000 people and destroying whole cities might lose them popular support.

Americans share monster bloodlines

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I start with genocide news, go to actions YOU CAN take and then five more items of relevance (please share and act)

Item 1: (Genocide) Seven Babies died in one of the only remaining hospital with incubators. They died.... for lack of milk. They add to over hundreds of babies (less than 1 year old) who died by carpet bombing residential neighborhoods. But now, the deaths of babies is already more from malnutrition and diseases (genocide by famine) than from bombings. It is expected to rise. Amnesty on genocide by hunger click here

Former Mossad official: Children over 4 deserve to be starved click here

In the early morning Thursday

few aid trucks drove to reach Gaza City where 700,000 people are in a state of famine and despair.

As >3000 rushed to get the sacs of flour, the nearby Israeli military post opened fire with machine guns and tank fire.

Over a thousand were injured by Israeli bullets and a minimum of 112 were reported dead on the scene (but dozens of fallen nearer to check point could not be reached so the numbers in this one massacre are liable to climb higher).

Many of the injured will die because the only major hospital in the area (Al-Shifa) is only able to provide minimal treatment as it has been attacked with its supplies almost gone and many of its medical staff were kidnapped by the occupation army.

Again look for amputations and bullet extraction with kitchen knives and no anesthesia.

What Israelis think:

Kill more civilians e.com/6333781/israel-hamas-poll-palestine/

Israel engineering deep pockets of starvation in Gaza click here

As a friend wrote "The strategy of genocide has increased its efficiency of murder by hitting into the places where more people can be eliminated with less use of ammunitions, or, in the case of babies, even without any ammunition and in silence."

This child and his bird were killed tter.com/6WONTGO/status/1762701382199435608?s=20

How is Israel's arms industry profiting from war on Gaza click here

No Access, No Information: Thousands of Gazans Forcibly Disappeared by Israeli Forces click here

ITEM 2: ACTIONS you can take

ACTION 1: Join the millions protesting in dozens of cities and countries Saturday 2 March. Global partial list here .answercoalition.org/rafah_protest

ACTION 2: Please send or hand deliver this letter from Veterans for peace to US state department offices, embassies and consulates abroad and to the media. (also Record your action with a photo, video, or text and send it to communications@veteransforpeace.org ) click here

ACTION 3: Act to stop members of US congress who support genocide ionnetwork.org/letters/expel-andy-ogles/ Silence in the face of Evil is itself evil Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident (1906-1946)

ACTION 4: You want peace? Here an Israeli and a Palestinian acting for it. .youtube.com/watch?v=nZBbOBPLSvA

ACTION 5: Do BDS. Boycott .youtube.com/watch?v=eP0XoovKE7k Israeli universities are key partners of the apartheid regime (not one Israeli university complained about the destruction of Palestinian universities) click here

ACTION 6: Follow and donate .unrwausa.org/donate

ACTION 7: Change complicit government officials. George Galloways's workers party just got voted in in British elections. Expect more like this.

Israels Secret Role in Britain .youtube.com/watch?v=pDuIVcWH2-U

New Labour MK is married to Israel spy recruiter and served in the genocidal army click here

As people discover horrors from infiltration of politics by the Zionist (racist genocidal) lobby Lowkey EXPOSES

Sign petition: We deserve to know: Is the U.S. complicit in human rights abuse? .winwithoutwar.org/act/sanders-502b

ITEM 3 This is an interview I did thursday night live on instagram (10,000 saw it) .instagram.com/p/C38i2gFuaFR/?hl=en

ITEM 4 Accolades and statements keep coming on the self sacrifice of Aaon Bushnell. I would like to see a bronze monument erected to him, exactly where he self-immolated himself. His extreme sacrifice must not be forgotten. Indeed people are waking up:

tter.com/abierkhatib/status/1762595028503818418?s=20

Veterans For Peace statement about Aaron Bushnell protesting to the death click here click here

Scott Ritter .youtube.com/live/mFO_LsStmuA

ITEM 5: More on government hypocrisy:

Hamas Rape Narrative COLLAPSES, Israeli Forces Accused of SEXUAL VIOLENCE in Gaza: Briahna Joy Gray tu.be/F_RcgBjOQs0

Egypt selling the Palestinians for 10 billion click here tu.be/y5S1s-V_dNc

Suing the German government click here -EU just restored funding to UNRWA after they discovered the Israeli lies.

Even the US intelligence casts doubt on Israeli claims of UNRWA-Hamas links, report says click here

ITEM 6: Scholasticide

Destroying Gaza universities and education is part and parcel of colonial activities click here

click here

larsagainstwar.org/toolkit/ Zionist Israeli universities are complicit: That is why academic and cultural boycotts are also as important as economic boycotts globally of Israeli (and US!) products. See click here

ITEM 7: While many governments stand with apartheid Israel and its genocide of Palestinians, the people stand with human rights and against their government.

Here is an example from Australia (where I am heading in Apri). click here

Ireland imposes sanctions on apartheid "Israel" tter.com/MintPressNews/status/1762506572285071383?s=20

The ultimate chutzpah to cap:

the US administration will give 53 million in humanitarian aid to people in the West Bank and Gaza.

That is after cutting funding of $350 million to UNRWA (which is devastating this UN agency).

This after sending billions to Israel (more per capita than any other country or even any state of the union in the US).

This after sending over 200 billion of weapons to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the past five decades.

This after the US weapons delivered over the past 5 months leveled Gaza strip causing over $6 BILLION in damage (let alone over 110,000 casualties proportionally equivalent to 15 million US Citizens)

Stay Human and keep Palestine alive

Mazin Qumsiyeh

A bedouin in cyberspace, a villager at homeProfessor, Founder, and (volunteer) Director Palestine Museum of Natural History Palestine Institute of Biodiversity and Sustainability Bethlehem University Occupied Palestine siyeh.org

facebook pages

Personal .facebook.com/mazin.qumsiyeh.9

Institute .facebook.com/PIBS.PMNH
By Robert Weiner and Ben Kearney

Hunter Biden is not the only political child with a famous last name. While he has long been targeted by House Republicans attempting to impeach his father, no public information directly linking President Biden to his son's business actions exists after over two years of trying. Hunter opened his deposition to the House Oversight Committee on February 28th stating, "I did not involve my father in my business," and saying his testimony "should put an end to this baseless and destructive political charade."

It is unclear what Hunter Biden can now be investigated for in Congress, given that he never served in the White House plus what legal experts call the "fruit of the poison tree" now that FBI has just arrested prime informant Alexander Smirnov for fraud in the case.

Donald Trump's children, meanwhile, were often in the spotlight for their partaking in his Presidential administration or maintaining his vast business empire. The access and benefits Trump passed onto his children drastically differ from Hunter Biden's potential and actualo benefits.

Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, by becoming advisors in his cabinet, broke anti-nepotism laws passed in 1967 that stated Presidents could not appoint their relatives to the White House staff, presidential commissions, or to official posts (Section 3110 of Title 5, also known as the Anti-Nepotism Statute). Kushner, as Trump's senior adviser, was blocked against having a top-secret security clearance back in 2019 until President Trump himself reversed and approved the designation. No one debated that Jared and Ivanka continued to receive the benefits of the Trump real estate and investment businesses, valued as much as $740 million according to ethics filings released by the White House as they joined Trump in the White House as the New York Times reported in March 2017.

Perhaps of most significance is Jared's $2 Billion from Saudi Arabia for a fund like he's never administered before. So much for distance from the Saudis after the assassination and chopping up of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and supplying 15 of the 19 9-11 hijackers.

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Endorsing Scott M. Schmerelson in the 2020 election.

(Image by Nicole Thiroux-Petersen) Details DMCA



For the past three elections in LAUSD BD3, I have endorsed and voted for incumbent Scott M. Schmerelson and had anticipated doing so again this year. While he is often too timid a leader for my taste, he was at least usually on the right side of public education issues. His extensive experience as an education professional provided an important voice on the Board, even if the majority was in the pocket of the Charter School Industry and refused to listen.

Going into 2023, I had high hopes for Schmerelson. Dr. Rocio Rivas' victory in the 2022 election had finally given pro-public education Board Members a majority and the chance to bring needed change to the District. Freed from the minority, Schmerelson would have his time to shine.

Unfortunately, my optimism was quickly dashed when at an LAUSD Board meeting on January 17, 2023, Schmerelson supported the notorious North Valley Military Institute (NVMI) charter school and was the lone vote in their favor. While he would later reverse course and write a letter in favor of their charter revocation by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, his original position was very concerning. The history of NVMI was well documented and no Board Member should have been supporting them, especially one who ran on a platform of holding privately operated charter schools accountable for the public funds that they receive.

My concern was further heightened when I received an email from Schmerelson's Chief of Staff taking the position that my proposed "Improving Special Education Within the LAUSD" Board Resolution "runs counter to and does not align with the IDEA, [and] as a result, it is not feasible for the District to pursue." It is hard to understand how a proposal to protect the ability of parents to fully participate in the IEP process could run counter to the law that enshrines the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)for students with Special Education needs.

Schmerelson has since backtracked from this email and promised to look into the possibility of sponsoring a resolution that addresses at least some of the concerns expressed in my proposal. While some preliminary steps have been taken, the lack of progress has been disappointing, considering that I have been pushing the proposed resolution for over 14 months. While I hope that he will eventually follow through as promised, the results at this point are uncertain.

Schmerelson answered questions about PROP-39 Co-Locations, Student Safety, and Governance for the LAUSD Candidate Forum series. Unfortunately, he did not answer the questions about Special Education, which would have given insight into his position on my proposed resolution. He also skipped the questions about the budget.

With the concerns expressed above, I cannot bring myself to vote for Schmerelson in this election. Can any of the other five candidates seamlessly replace the current Board Member?

Dan Chang is "Definitely Not."

While he is running as a change agent, Chang is embracing endorsements from past LAUSD Board Members who have brought dysfunction to the district while pushing for the expansion of charter schools without ensuring that they were properly regulated. Since he did not answer any of the 25 questions in the LAUSD Candidate Forum series, potential voters are left wondering what his positions are for these issues facing the school district that he wants to help lead. His website is also short on specifics.

Perplexingly, Chang has made a point of emphasizing his involvement in the "turnaround" of Locke High School even though the record shows that the Green Dot takeover of this public school was a failure. Furthermore, his bragging about his role in the success of this charter school chain is undermined by the fact that it has closed several of its franchises, disrupting the families whose children attended the schools.

Elizabeth Badger is also "Definitely Not."

A perennial candidate, Badger is making her third attempt for the BD3 seat (in addition to candidacies for State Assembly and City Council). Unfortunately, she has made no visible effort between races to promote change within the LAUSD. During the 2020 race, I noted that her answers to my candidate questionnaire showed a lack of specificity that made it apparent to me that she had not used the previous five years to immerse herself in District issues. This time around she did not even bother to answer any of the questions in the LAUSD Candidate Forum series.

Raquel Villalta is the final "Definitely Not."

As I showed in my endorsement of BD7's Lydia Gutierrez, under the right circumstances I am willing to overlook a difference in political values as long as there is an underlying support for public education. Unfortunately, Villalta is not only a right-wing extremist who supports bigoted groups like the one that violently demonstrated in front of Saticoy Elementary School in June, but she is also supportive of charter schools.

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On February 19, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu bragged that "I am the one who for decades blocked the establishment of a Palestinian state." On February 21, the Knesset approved a resolution joining Netanyahu with, in his words, "an overwhelming majority against the attempt to impose on us the establishment of a Palestinian state."

Apparently someone forgot to inform Netanyahu, and the Knesset, of several inconvenient facts, foremost among them that the state of Palestine was established in 1988, eight years before his first term as prime minister.

The state of Palestine is recognized by 139 of the 193 United Nations member states (Israel is recognized by 165). It's recognized as an observer state by the UN itself. It's a member state of UNESCO, Interpol, and the International Criminal Court.

The state of Palestine generously claims less land than it's entitled to under United Nations Resolution 181 (it's willing to settle for a return to pre-1967 truce lines), while Israel occupies quite a bit more than it's entitled to under that resolution.

UNR 181, by the way, is the international legal instrument which authorized the creation of Israel, which set its only internationally recognized borders, and which Israel agreed to as a condition of UN membership. To the extent that Israel violates UNR 181, Israel abdicates its status as a "legitimate" state.

To be fair, the state of Palestine also defies UNR 181, demanding part of Jerusalem for its capital ... as does Israel. Per UNR 181, Jerusalem is supposed to be an "international city," belonging to neither state and governed under UN auspices.

Whenever there's talk of a "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Arab conflict in Palestine, Israel and its backers -- especially the US -- pretend that any "second state" is a proposal for the future, a proposal that can be rejected, temporarily or permanently.

That little bit of propagandizing becomes less and less useful as time goes on. The state of Palestine is not a proposal, it's a fact. Yes, much of the state of Palestine remains under foreign occupation, but few asserted that Poland and France ceased to exist while under German occupation during World War 2, or that Japan and Germany ceased to exist while under Allied occupation after that war.

I'm skeptical that two states really promise any "solution" to the conflict (I prefer a "no-state solution"), but the opening move toward ANY solution is recognizing reality. Trying to fantasize away the state of Palestine's existence isn't going to work.
Treatment is prevention: Stop the spread of infection by finding all and treating all TB



SHOBHA SHUKLA, BOBBY RAMAKANT - CNS



Find all TB, treat all TB, prevent all TB - to end TB

(Image by CNS) Details DMCA



"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."



These golden words of Michelangelo perhaps sum up the fundamental gap in the fight to end TB worldwide.



The stark reality that around 3 million people were missed by TB services globally in 2022 (as per the latest WHO Global TB Report) reminds us once again that there is no place for complacency. We have to a) stop missing all TB cases and b) stop failing to link every person diagnosed with TB to care continuum.



The only pathway to end TB is to find all TB, treat all TB, and prevent any further transmission of TB infection.



"Once we diagnose a patient, we must treat them - which also stops the spread of infection. Finding all TB patients and putting them on effective treatment is the most important part of #endTB efforts," said Dr Joju Pomson, a senior pulmonologist who has also served as District TB Officer and District Medical Officer in Kozhikode (Calicut) and Malappuram in Kerala.



Dr Pomson added: "If we do not find a person with TB, then the infection can further spread to another 10 people. That is why finding all TB cases, and treating all of them remains so fundamental. We must go for 100% detection of all estimated cases everywhere and put them on treatment, motivate them to finish the therapy and get cured. We also need to get the diagnosis closer to the people."



Offering a TB test to all the people is important in high burden settings



"We are seeing more TB cases as we are testing more. Our latest National TB Prevalence Survey shows that around 60% of patients who had TB showed no symptoms. If we take random x-rays of people, some are likely to have TB but no symptoms. Our motto is to - find all TB to eliminate TB," said Dr Kuldeep Singh Sachdeva, who has earlier been the head of India's TB elimination programme at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (as Deputy Director General - TB). Dr Sachdeva has also served as Southeast Asia Regional Director of International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) and currently leads Molbio Diagnostics as President - Chief Medical Officer.



Agrees Dr Rennis Davis Kizhakkepeedika, President of Association of Pulmonologists Thrissur and Professor and Head, Pulmonary Medicine Department and Vice Principal, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences. "Findings of our national TB prevalence survey are an eye-opener as over half of TB patients would have been missed if x-ray screening was not done. We have a lot of undiagnosed TB in the population. I feel we have to get to the community level and find TB regardless of the 4 symptoms, as many may not have them. If we can reach the moon, then why cannot our TB and health services 'reach the unreached' at the community level?"



Ensuring that everyone gets screened for TB and all those with presumptive TB get a WHO recommended molecular test diagnosis is key to ending TB. We need to stop using TB tests like microscopy which underperforms in diagnosing TB and misses around half of TB patients, in addition to not being able to diagnose drug resistant TB.



That is why the WHO's highest level initiative Find.Treat.All (first launched in 2018) calls upon all governments to replace microscopy with upfront molecular testing completely. This call was also echoed by the world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on TB in September 2023. But, as per the latest WHO Global TB Report, more than half of those diagnosed with TB in 2022 did not receive a molecular test.



Screen everyone regardless of TB symptoms



As typical symptoms of TB may not be there in all people with TB, x-ray is the best screening tool recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). We now have handheld battery-operated x-ray machines to screen for TB. We also have point-of-care, decentralised and battery-operated molecular tests for accurate diagnosis of all those screened for presumptive TB. We must replace microscopy with 100% upfront molecular testing - we are moving in this direction, but we have to increase the pace, said Dr Rakesh PS, who has earlier served the WHO as well as Kerala State TB Office, and is currently part of the Southeast Asia regional team of The Union.



"Community involvement is a must. We have to take help of people who have lived experience of going through TB disease. They are the ones who know the ground realities - what it is like to seek care, how to navigate through the health system, get diagnosed and be put on treatment. Science has gifted us tools to get correct and accurate TB diagnosis in one hour. But situation on the ground could be different. It may take a person many visits to the clinic /doctor (even months) to finally get a test done for TB," added Dr Sachdeva.



Bridge the gap between what science has to offer and what reaches the people



"Our role as a community service organisation, is to bridge the gap between what science has to offer and what reaches the people. All of us are at risk of TB, but some- like migrants, homeless and slum dwellers- who we call the key vulnerable populations- are more exposed and vulnerable to it due to poor living and nutritional conditions. Many people in the community do not read newspapers and do not have access to media. Also, there is a lot of misinformation about TB. We can help at the grassroots by going from person to person and mobilizing communities to access services. People in the community should have access to correct information and create demand for the best tools to help find all TB," said Lisbeth Aarup of Humana People to People India.



Dr Sachdeva, Dr Rakesh PS, and Lisbeth Aarup were among the panelists who spoke at a media workshop hosted by Kerala Union of Working Journalists Thrissur at Thrissur Press Club along with TB People (India) and CNS. Dr Joju Pomson and Dr Rennis Thomas K were featured in the End TB Dialogues at the 78th National Conference of Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases (78th NATCON).



Treatment is also prevention



Failure to find people with TB of the lungs will not only increase their human suffering but also infection will keep spreading from one person to another. Finding them - which means early and accurate molecular test diagnosis - and linking them to effective treatment, supporting them through the treatment and ensuring they get cured - is vital cog-in-the-wheel if we are to inch towards ending TB.



Treating latent TB infection is also preventing TB. More importantly, addressing risk factors of TB play a vital role in protecting people from getting infected in the first place. TB risk factors also increase the risk of people progressing from latent TB infection to active TB disease. These risk factors also make TB difficult to treat. As per the WHO, biggest risk factor for TB is undernutrition. Tobacco and alcohol use, diabetes, and HIV are some of the other major risk factors that put people at risk of TB. Comprehensive TB prevention campaigns that are evidence-based must be rolled out optimally to protect people from TB. Also we must remember that protecting people from malnutrition, tobacco, alcohol, HIV or diabetes would be a major boost for public health and sustainable development.



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In an exemplary collaboration that bridges the gap between cutting-edge AI technology and the F&B sector, MEVO Anna has partnered with Chun Hong Food Industries Pte Ltd to introduce a transformative AI-powered B2B solution. This groundbreaking system has automated the order capturing process for Chun Hong, driving a significant 80% adoption rate amongst its F&B retail clientele and shifting operations from manual to fully automated. Chun Hong Food Industries, ever eager 
As the chill of winter approaches in South Africa, Fire & Gas Lifestyles invites Cape Town homeowners to transform their living spaces in preparation. With an exquisite collection of wood-burning fireplaces, built-in braais, and gas water heaters, Fire & Gas Lifestyles is ready to ensure your home becomes your cosy haven throughout the colder months. Bringing Warmth Indoors For those who cherish the traditional crackle and warmth of wood-burning fireplaces, Fire & 
Sam Zermeno knew his ankles were shattered.

The 28-year-old heard them crack when he hit the ground, having lost his grip about 15 feet up a rock face on Californias Mount Baldy. He looked over and saw the horrified look on the face of his wife, who was carrying their young child in a hiking backpack as she watched him fall.
The Oregon Senate approved a housing and homelessness package Thursday that includes $25 million for Albina Vision Trust, a Portland nonprofit leading the redevelopment of the citys historic Lower Albina neighborhood.

Senate Bill 1530 now heads to the House of Representatives, where it could get a vote next week.
Washington County officials have refused to release the completed investigation of Washington County Jail deaths that former Sheriff Pat Garrett launched in 2022 to promote transparency and improvement.

The move stands in contrast with the approach in Multnomah County, where a similar spate of inmate deaths sparked an external review that Sheriff Nicole Morrisey ODonnell has made public.

A lawyer for the Washington County sheriff said in December that the investigation, completed in late 2023, was not subject to disclosure under Oregon public records law due to possible litigation against the county.

However, an outside expert on government transparency, Jack Orchard, disagreed. There is a significant level of public interest in jail operations, said Orchard, who consults with the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association on open records issues. It would be surprising to me that everything in the report is off limits.

In 2022 and 2023, a total of six people died in the custody of the Washington County Jail and families for two of the victims have said they may sue. The six deaths represented a significant increase in jail fatalities for the county. In the five years leading up to 2022, its jail saw an average of one or two in-custody deaths per year.

Garrett, the sheriff until his retirement Nov. 30, called the spate unprecedented and said in June 2022, after the first family announced it may sue, that he would investigate. As I continue my commitment to transparency and improvement, I will arrange an outside entity to conduct an additional review, he told KGW Channel 8.

But in a Dec. 7 email to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Kim Stuart, senior assistant Washington County counsel, claimed any report on jail deaths would be exempt from public disclosure on the grounds that litigation is reasonably likely to occur.

The Oregonian/OregonLive appealed the denial to Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton, arguing that the public has a right under the records law to know about the safety of its jail regardless of possible litigation.

Earlier this month, Deputy District Attorney David Pitcher, on behalf of Barton, declined to consider the appeal, saying the investigation records belonged to the elected sheriff and, therefore, werent subject to review by his office. Under Oregon public records law, the next step for a person seeking a record in the custody of an elected official is to sue in state circuit court and to demonstrate in court that it contains information that enhances the publics understanding of the jails operations.

The newspaper would have a strong chance of prevailing if it were litigated, Orchard said.

Washington County officials did not previously indicate that Garrett or his successor, Sheriff Caprice Massey, wanted to withhold the investigation under their authority as elected officials.

Massey declined through a spokesperson for the sheriffs office to be interviewed. Garrett did not respond to email or phone calls.

In Multnomah County, 10 inmates died in the Multnomah County Detention Center and Inverness Jail in 2022 and 2023.

Morrisey ODonnell in August called the deaths extremely distressing and launched two independent reviews. The sheriffs office published the first, from the National Institute of Corrections, on its website Jan. 12. The second review, by Oregon State Police, is ongoing, said Chris Liedle, a spokesperson for Morrisey ODonnell.

But she is expected to present both reviews to the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners in April, he said.

 Beth Slovic is a deputy editor on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach her at 503-221-8551 or bslovic@oregonian.com.

Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.
Dave Turin, who grew up in Oregon and made an impression on the Discovery Channel series, Gold Rush, working alongside fellow Oregonian Todd Hoffman, is back with a new series, Americas Backyard Gold.

The new series follows another Discovery Channel show, Dave Turins Lost Mine, in which Turin traveled around the country to explore abandoned mines and determine whether those spots still had enough gold to make them worth mining.

In his new show, Americas Backyard Gold, Turin again hits the road, visiting ordinary folks to show them how they might be able to locate undiscovered gold.

Before he came into viewers living rooms on Gold Rush, Turin, a civil engineer, worked with members of his family helping operate a rock quarry business located in Brightwood.

Americas Backyard Gold premieres at 9 p.m. Friday, March 15 on the Discovery Channel. No cable? You can stream Discovery Channel shows via Fubo, which offers a free trial; or Sling TV.

 Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Reach her at 503-221-8227, kturnquist@oregonian.com or @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
Lifetime, which has produced so-called Ripped From the Headlines TV movies inspired by such true-crime cases as that of Nancy Crampton Brophy, the Oregon woman convicted of killing her husband, Daniel Brophy, is at it again, with another project inspired by an Oregon murder.

In this instance, however, the crime dates back to the 1970s, and to a case in which a female student at Oregon State University in Corvallis was found murdered in her dormitory room.

This week, Lifetime announced that Bethenny Frankel, known as an entrepreneur and original cast member of the Bravo reality series, The Real Housewives of New York City, has been cast in the upcoming movie, Danger in the Dorm, which is based on a story true-crime writer Ann Rule wrote about the Oregon murder.

According to an archived story, dated Feb. 9, 1972, from The New York Times, the victim was Nancy Wyckoff, an 18-year-old from Glendale, California, who was found stabbed to death in her dormitory room at Oregon State University.

The attack, the story says, was the third attack on campus coeds in five days, noting that the other victims of attacks were young women from, respectively, San Mateo, California, and Portland.

In a news release about the Lifetime project, Danger in the Dorm is described as the story of a quiet college campus that is terrorized by a killer after an honor student is murdered.

According to the announcement, the film focuses on Kathleen (played by Clara Alexandrova) who is the childhood best friend and fellow classmate of the murder victim. Frankel, whos making her acting debut in Danger in the Dorm, plays Kathleens mother, Joanne.

The movie is currently in production, and is scheduled to debut this summer as part of the Lifetime Ripped From the Headlines slate.

Frankel has lately been in the news for her so-called reality reckoning efforts, which include her call for reality TV personalities to be able to unionize, just as members of the Screen Actors Guild do. Frankel has also accused reality TV producers of exploiting some of the people who appear on such shows.

In the Lifetime press release for Danger in the Dorm, Frankel says, In my 20s I briefly attempted acting and was shocked to be asked to immerse myself in such a significant role. My greatest takeaway is to recognize the thankless hard work that the cast and crew input every day. It exceeded my wildest imagination and I watch TV and movies differently now. Cold outdoor scenes and 13-hour days are the norm. It was an incredible experience that Im grateful to have been afforded. This embarks another possible new chapter in my 50s. As if being an accidental influencer wasnt enough. Im not worthy!

(Dont have cable? You can stream Lifetime movies on DirecTV Stream; on Philo, which offers a free trial; and on Fubo, which also offers a free trial.)

 Kristi Turnquist covers features and entertainment. Reach her at 503-221-8227, kturnquist@oregonian.com or @Kristiturnquist

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
The cool, timeless look of midcentury modern remains popular in architecture and interior design because it relies on sleek lines, soothing natural materials and see-through walls that embrace the outdoors. And so much more.

For 11 years, preservation organization Restore Oregon has hosted tours, talks and other educational and fun gatherings to celebrate the states exuberant modernist era. Experts explain the design decisions, material selections and restraint used by architects and builders to achieve a seemingly spare aesthetic and supporters can visit private homes never open to the public.

Programs by Restore Oregon highlight that midcentury modern, a style that continues to influence current trends, is in need of protection from the wrecking ball.

Restore Oregon Modernism events for 2024 wont begin until May 9, but with limited tickets issued, they often sell out.

Members of the nonprofit organizations Modernist Society, who donate $250 a year to support saving Oregons architectural legacy, are granted pre-sale access to tickets, and are admitted free to some events and invited to private parties. Restore Oregon caps Modernist Society membership at 100 (more information is at restoreoregon.org).

Nicole Possert, executive director of Restore Oregon, said the Modernist Society was started in 2023 to bring the design and preservation community together to learn, appreciate and care for Pacific Northwest Regional style of Modernism.

The response was immediate and overwhelming, so we are offering our Modernist Society experience package for 100 people once again, she said.

6 1 / 6 Central Lutheran Church in Portland

Restore Oregon Modernism 2024 program has several opportunities for supporters to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of architect Pietro Belluschi, who designed modern homes, office towers as well as churches and synagogues that are praised for their purity of form.

This years program will also spotlight architect John Storrs, who was inspired by the Pacific Northwest as well. His handsome midcentury modern homes had raw cedar siding, Douglas fir surfaces and other unpainted and textured wood that he saw as an understandable, romantic material.

The first event is a May 9 lecture on sacred spaces designed by Belluschi, the only Oregonian to receive both the National Medal of Arts for his lifetime achievements and the American Institute of Architects highest honor, the Gold Medal. He died in Portland at age 94 in 1994.

As one of the originators of Northwest regional modernism starting in the 1930s, Belluschi employed native wood, rough stone and glass for practical as well as passionate reasons. Natural materials are a reflection of a larger world and are enhanced in architecture by the judicious use of such intangibles as space, light, texture and color, he said.

Two of Restore Oregon Modernism events will be held at the 1950 Central Lutheran Church in Northeast Portlands Irvington neighborhood, which was put up for sale in January, the first time for one of Belluschis 42 religious buildings. The congregation that hired Belluschi almost 75 years ago can no longer afford the historic landmark, according to church leadership.

With its graceful blending of Pacific Northwest modern, Japanese and Nordic aesthetics, Portlands Central Lutheran Church was praised by the American Institute of Architects and modern architecture experts at Docomomo US/Oregon.

Restore Oregon Modernism lecture on Sacred Spaces of Pietro Belluschi from 6 to 9 p.m. May 9 at Central Lutheran Church, 1820 N.E. 21st Ave., will address Belluschis choice to involve sculptors Frederic Littman and Leroy Setziol in his projects. Admission is included in Modernist Society membership or $25 at restoreoregon.org.

On May 11, Restore Oregon Modernism has organized Sacred Spaces of Pietro Belluschi Tour of four of the architects Portland-area churches as well as viewings of metalwork and carvings by Littman and Setziol. Tickets to the self-guided, self-paced tour, held 11 a.m.-5 p.m., are included in Modernist Society membership or are $55 for a single ticket or $100 for two tickets.

1946 Menefee House, a Belluschi-designed residence in Yamhill (seen in 2017) has metalwork and woodcarving by Frederic Littman and Leroy Setziol.Rita Wolff/Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere

On June 8, Restore Oregon supporters can go inside the 1946 Menefee House, an elegant, single-story ranch house Belluschi designed on farmland in Yamhill. Under the living rooms vaulted wood-clad ceiling is a dazzling copper fireplace hood created by Littman.

The dramatic modern residence for actor-turned-turkey tycoon Percy (P.L.) Menefee was named the most progressive house in the U.S. by Progressive Architecture magazine. Admission to the tour, held noon-4 p.m., and wine from area vintners is included in Modernist Society membership or is $75.

Pietro Belluschis was born Aug. 18, 1899, and birthday celebrations are scheduled throughout the year by Restore Oregon in partnership with Pietros son, architect Anthony Belluschi, and daughter-in-law Marti Belluschi. The couple restored and live in Pietro Belluschis famous last home, the 1948 Burkes-Belluschi residence in Portlands West Hills.

This midcentury modern house with a daylight basement on Southwest 19th Drive in Southwest Portlands Hillsdale neighborhood is one of four kindred dwellings designed by architect John Storrs in the so-called Storrs Quadrant.ELEETE Real Estate

Restore Oregon Modernism 2024 program also honors Storrs, a hands-on perfectionist, with a tour July 13 of the fabled Storrs Quadrant, where four of the architects homes, completed around 1957, share an acre of land partitioned into four lots on and around Southwest 18th Drive in Portlands Hillsdale neighborhood.

Four couples pooled their funds to hire Storrs to design each of them a modern house with a daylight basement. When construction was nearly complete, the couples got together, assigned a number to each lot and blindly picked a number to determine their home.

Fortunately, they each believed they got their preferred location and all lived in the same homes for 30 or more years, Brad Wilson, whose parents were one of the couples, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2022.

Storrs three-decade-long architecture career ended with his death in 2003.

Admission to Oh My Storrs! A Four Home Tour, held noon-4:30 p.m. on July 13 with a glass of wine and hors doeuvres is $125. ATOMIC Modernist Society members, who have donated $325 to Restore Oregon, are admitted for free and Modernism Society members will receive a discount, according to Restore Oregon.

 Janet Eastman | 503-294-4072

jeastman@oregonian.com | @janeteastman
The Oregon Legislature has an opportunity during the special session to provide life support for arts and culture organizations in the state. House Bill 4124 and Senate Bill 1582 would provide limited funding for various arts and cultural organizations throughout the state, from Ashland to Bend to Portland. Historically, arts and culture organizations have contributed to the states economy - over 62,000 jobs and more than $9 billion, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Beyond the economic contribution, these organizations provide the connective tissue for a vibrant society.

Take the Oregon Symphony as one example. It provides a wide variety of concerts and events that bring thousands of people downtown, who end up supporting hotels, restaurants and other businesses. The events range from classical concerts to modern compositions, rap stars, movies, kids programs and the annual Gospel Christmas and Mariachi Christmas programs. The Symphony plays in Salem; has programs at Alberta Rose Theatre; and provides concerts at St. Marys Home for Boys and the Reser in Beaverton. Symphony musicians participate in the Lullaby Project, Symphony Storytime and play in schools and retirement homes.
Longtime state Rep. Paul Holvey, the second-ranking Democrat in the Oregon House, plans to retire after 20 years in the Oregon House.

Holvey of Eugene announced his plans in a press release shortly after leaving the House floor Thursday and didnt immediately return a call. He said in his press release that he needs to focus on personal and family priorities.

It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve the state of Oregon, he said. I am so grateful for all the years of support and trust from my community to represent them in the Oregon Legislature. I also would not have been able to serve without 20 years of support, sacrifice and patience from my wife, Terrie. To all who have engaged in dialogue with me to help make decisions to better all of Oregon, I say thank you. It has been a rewarding experience, and Im grateful to House District 8 for the opportunity.

Holvey, a former carpenters union representative, hails from a deeply Democratic district based in Eugene. He overwhelmingly beat back a recall attempt last fall from United Food and Commercial Workers 555, the union that represents Oregon grocery workers, with 90% of voters choosing to keep him in office.

Candidates have until March 12 to file for office, and one Eugene Democrat is already interested. Doyle Canning, an attorney and community organizer who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the 4th Congressional District in 2022 and now works as legislative director for Rep. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, confirmed to the Capital Chronicle that shell run for the newly open seat.

I am a proud progressive from Eugene and ready to carry forward the priorities that Rep. Holvey has brought to Salem so consistently over the last 20 years, to be a champion for union rights and working families, for our climate and environment and for a responsive and more accountable government, Canning said.

She praised Holveys 20 years of service for Eugene, calling him a steadfast supporter of labor and the environment.

Canning said shes entering the race with support from Pham, former state Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, and Eugene City Councilor Lyndsie Leech.

-- Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
The Oregon House voted 51-7 on Thursday, passing the bill that will unwind the most controversial element of Measure 110, the 2020 voter-approved law that decriminalized possession of small amounts of street drugs.

House Bill 4002 makes minor drug possession a misdemeanor crime again and gives local governments the ability to opt into diversion programs that encourage treatment before a person found with drugs is booked into jail.

Some lawmakers voted against the bill because they did not want to recriminalize drugs, while others voted no because they felt House Bill 4002 did not go far enough.

The bill now heads to the Senate as early as Friday, where it is expected to pass.

Seven representatives voted no and two did not vote:

These were the no votes:

Jami Cate, R-Lebanon

Farrah Chaichi, D-Aloha

Ed Diehl, R-Stayton

Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie

Travis Nelson, D-Portland

Khanh Pham, D-Portland

Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass

These lawmakers didnt vote (they were excused for medical reasons)

Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany

Tracy Cramer, R-Salem

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
In unusually emotional proceedings, the Oregon House on Thursday voted to make minor drug possession a misdemeanor crime, bringing the state a step closer to ending its pioneering and fraught experiment with decriminalization.

House Bill 4002 passed in a bipartisan 51-7 vote. Four Democrats and three Republicans voted against it; two lawmakers were excused.

It is expected to get a floor vote Friday in the Senate, where it is expected to pass.

The House also on Thursday signed off on an estimated $211 million in spending on a wide-ranging array of projects and programs intended to expand access to substance abuse treatment, including in jails, and mental health services.

The vote was marked by candid and often deeply personal revelations from lawmakers who talked about their own losses and family experiences with addiction.

Several spoke of losing close family members and friends to fentanyl overdoses. Another spoke about the painful legacy of her fathers alcoholism.

Rep. James Hieb, R-Oregon City, said he lost two brothers to drug overdoses a decade ago.

He cast a vote in favor of HB 4002, saying he was pleasantly surprised by the bill.

I do not believe it is perfect, he said. But it is much better than expected. I believe this bill will help addicts. I believe this bill will help so many families.'

Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, spoke of the grief of attending the funerals of friends and community members who died from drug overdoses.

Its heartbreaking that as I grow older, I go to more and more funerals, not because of the natural process but because of overdoses, said Ruiz, who voted for the bill.

He said lawmakers owe those struggling with addiction the resources, the time and the ability to seek recovery.

Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, warned her colleagues about her remarks in advance, saying some of this will be difficult to hear.

A Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue firefighter and paramedic, Grayber said she has worked so many overdoses.

I can remember those faces, she said.

She recalled walking into a home to find a man who had overdosed and was on the floor with his toddler curled on his chest. She said she remembered him from five previous medical calls.

This time, though, the man was beyond help, she said.

There was nothing I could do to bring him back, she said. We did all the things. He was gone.

Grayber voted for the bill, saying fentanyl poses an extraordinary public health risk.

What we have on our streets today is more powerful, more insidious than we have ever seen before, she said. The lethality of what we are dealing with is different.

Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, who co-chaired the committee tasked with coming up with policy proposals during the short session to address criticism of Measure 110, said HB 4002 isnt like other criminal justice bills intended to send a tough message about criminal conduct.

With this bill, when it comes to possession of small amounts of drugs, we are sending a much different signal, he said.

The bill creates a new class of misdemeanor that comes with the potential of up to 180 days in jail, but lawmakers say people found with street drugs should have multiple opportunities to enter treatment before they wind up in a jail cell.

Our intention, our goal, Kropf said, is treatment and recovery.

Under HB 4002, local governments and law enforcement agencies would decide whether to opt into an approach giving people the chance to pursue substance abuse treatment before they are booked into jail. Lawmakers said 23 counties so far have signed onto the approach.

The spending bill that passed the House earmarks more than $30 million for county-based diversion programs.

The bill leaves it to each county to decide the details of how the so-called deflection programs would work -- a provision that some lawmakers and critics worry will lead to disparities in how the law is applied.

Though Measure 110 passed 59% to 41% in 2020, the explosion of the fentanyl crisis and open drug use since the initiative passed  especially in downtown Portland  soured many Oregon voters on the decriminalization law and paved the way for Thursdays vote.

The bill received strong and even enthusiastic Republican support, with one lawmaker calling it the most pro-law enforcement bill the House has passed in years.

Rep. Christine Goodwin, R-Canyonville, said the bill will give police and prosecutors the necessary tools to hold drug dealers accountable and direct drug users into treatment.

Oregonians have been clear, she said, they are ready for this misguided experiment to be over.

Four Portland-area Democrats -- Reps. Travis Nelson, Farrah Chaichi, Mark Gamba and Khanh Pham -- cast no votes, as they raised concerns about racial and ethnic disparities in enforcing drug laws and said they worried the bill burdens the beleaguered court system and moves the state further away from treating addiction as a public health problem.

Criminalization for drug addiction is not the answer, Nelson said.

The Democrats who voted no emerged from the House to a small gathering of Measure 110 advocates that included Sandy Chung, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, which lobbied against the bill. They applauded the lawmakers, handing them bouquets of white roses as a gesture of thanks for breaking with their party.

Republican Reps. Jami Cate, Ed Diehl and Dwayne Yunker also cast no votes.

-- Noelle Crombie is an enterprise reporter with a focus on criminal justice. Reach her at 503-276-7184; ncrombie@oregonian.

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Legislation to create a long-term safety net for asylum seekers in Oregon has died in a House committee but the main sponsor is hopeful the issue or funding can be resurrected and approved before the Legislature adjourns this month.

The Oregon Department of Human Services spent millions of dollars beginning in November 2022 to operate a hotel near Portland International Airport to provide shelter, food and services for asylum seekers. Despite high demand, state officials abandoned that program a year later, and lawmakers and Gov. Tina Kotek pointed to new legislation in the five-week short session as the next step to help newly arriving immigrants.
Brooks Wine in Amity has a new head winemaker for the first time in two decades: Claire Jarreau. It is both a celebratory and bittersweet moment for all of us at Brooks, Jarreau said.

Jarreau takes over the head winemaking title from Chris Williams, who is stepping down as head winemaker after holding the position for 19 years. Jarreau has assisted Williams at Brooks Wine for the past seven years and has worked at the winery since 2014.

Before arriving at Brooks Wine, Jarreau worked as a cellar intern for wineries in Austria, New Zealand, South Africa and Oregon. Jarreau holds a chemistry, viticulture and enology degree from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

Brooks Wine in Amity, Oregon, was founded by Jimi Brooks in 1998. Brooks quickly earned national attention for his thoughtful wines, charisma and commitment to biodynamic farming principles.

Brooks success was cut short by a fatal aortic aneurysm on the morning of Sept. 4, 2004, and he died just weeks before harvest was set to begin. A group of winemakers from local wineries pitched in to help Janie Brooks Heuck, Jimis sister, get the wines made and bottled that year.

Brooks left behind an 8-year-old son, Pascal Brooks, who suddenly became the worlds youngest winery owner. Brooks Heuck, named 2022s Wine Person of the Year by the Oregon Wine Press, became Brooks Wines managing director.

Williams was part of the team that finished the 2004 harvest for Jimi Brooks. In addition to being his close friend, Williams had been helping Jimi Brooks make wine for several years. In 2005, Williams was named head winemaker at Brooks Wine.

The winery Jimi Brooks started with 300 cases of wine in 1998 has grown to approximately 20,000 cases annually during Williams tenure as head winemaker. Williams said he definitely feels all of those long days and nights spent at the winery. After 20 years, I feel like I want to relax. I also felt like this was a good time for someone else to take over the responsibilities of head winemaker, Williams said.

Over the years, Williams head winemaking duties at Brooks left little time to do other things. At the top of his to-do list is a motorcycle trip to Alaska that Williams has been dreaming about for 30 years. Williams said he especially looks forward to not worrying about whats happening at the winery while he cruises north to Alaska.

For anyone who admires Williams as much as I do, dont worry: He will remain on staff at Brooks Wine for the foreseeable future. Im still full-time here. Maybe Ill help Shannon Mayhew in our biodynamic estate garden a day or two each week. I dont honestly know. At this point I told Janie Id stay indefinitely to help Claire get her team together. If they dont need me, I can do other stuff.

Many great things have happened at Brooks Wine during Williams tenure. The long list includes earning biodynamic certification from Demeter and being named one of the Top 100 Wineries In The World by Wine & Spirits Magazine on three occasions.

I asked Williams what accomplishments he was proudest of at Brooks. Growing this winery to what it is now, having it be an important part of the community that creates income and a way of life for the 30 or so people that work here, Williams said.

Whenever there is a winemaking change, some of the winerys fans will cross their fingers that their favorite wines will not suffer. Id like to put that notion to rest right now. Brooks Wine is in great hands with Jarreau.

You only have to talk with Jarreau for five minutes to understand that she loves making wine with Eola-Amity Hills fruit, particularly her passion grape, riesling. The fact that she has been part of making great wines at Brooks for the past decade should put everyone at ease.

Williams said in the winerys official statement today, Ive seen Claire grow tremendously as a winemaker over the last 10 years. Her care for the brand, the land and the community is tangible.

Jarreau said she is honored that Janie and Chris have such faith in her. As for the Brooks fans, Jarreau suggested they should expect little tweaks, but no hard turns.

For Brooks wine lovers everywhere, this is excellent news.

11 a.m.-5 p.m., daily, 21101 S.E. Cherry Blossom Lane, Amity, brookswine.com or 503-435-1278

-- 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
Memorable guest characters were a hallmark of The Good Wife during its seven-season run on CBS from 2009 to 2016, and Elsbeth Tascioni was one of the more distinctive. Quirky and easily distracted, she was underestimated and therefore a formidable advocate (or foe) in the courtroom. Played by Carrie Preston with an offbeat cadence and winning sincerity, Elsbeth was a terrific contrast to the glossier, more outwardly sophisticated lawyers in her midst. She worked like gangbusters in small doses. But can a character like that carry an entire show?

Elsbeth attempts an answer.

CBS latest procedural makes some key changes to her circumstances. Shes no longer based in Chicago (the setting for The Good Wife and the shows first spinoff The Good Fight) but has relocated to New York to provide her services as an outside observer monitoring the Police Department after one too many wrongful-arrest lawsuits.

But instead of using her legal background and impressive intelligence to weed out corruption or excessive force, creators Michelle and Robert King, along with showrunner Jonathan Tolins, have Elsbeth working in concert with the police, nosing around crime scenes and interviewing witnesses until she solves the case.

Its a premise that borrows from shows like Monk or Psych or Elementary  long-running successes, all  but the execution leaves much to be desired. Elsbeth follows the cat-and-mouse formula of Columbo, with a murder unfolding at the top of each episode. This requires a certain amount of storytelling skill to pull off because the audience is already ahead of the main character. We know whodunit. The thrill is in watching our sleuth outsmart the culprit through a combination of deductive reasoning and sly but seemingly harmless questioning of the guilty party. And yet theres nothing about Elsbeths approach or methods that feels intentional  or draws you in.

Her gung-ho presence should make her a ringer, with her fluttery affectation and tote bags loaded up on each arm  no criminal would clock her as a serious threat to their scheme. Elsbeth isnt lacking self-awareness, either; she knows shes a bit of an oddball. This should create a more interesting dynamic than it does. If only she had a point of view or signature strategy. Something. She bumbles from one observation to the next with her confidant/chaperone, a patrol officer played by Carra Patterson. Every so often they report to Wendell Pierces doubting police captain.

Preston is as talented as they come, but she has little to work with here. Patterson and Pierce are given even less. This cant be creatively fulfilling for anyone, with Elsbeth reduced to a collection of tics and unbridled enthusiasm. What happened to those fantastic chess moves that once defined her as a lawyer?

If you squint, you can see glimmers of the shows potential. The Kings have a knowing and entertaining interest in pop culture and riff on it in ways that are just this side of camp. One episode is centered around a Real Housewives-esque series called Lavish Ladies. Another is a parody of Only Murders in the Building. The guest stars are first-rate and having a ball, from Linda Lavin to Jane Krakowski to Jesse Tyler Ferguson to Stephen Moyer, Prestons old pal from True Blood.

But as a show, Elsbeth seems uninterested in capturing the humor, intelligence and fun of the Kings previous endeavors. Even with her perpetually sunny disposition, it makes no sense that Elsbeth would be so eager and wide-eyed to embed with the police after a 30-year career as a defense attorney. She may seem flaky at first glance, but she was never the simple-minded naif we see here.

Ive been rewatching The Good Wife recently and am reminded how great the show was for most of its run. Rarely did it take itself too seriously, and it did a better job than most at threading the needle between its case-of-the-week format and servicing longer ongoing storylines. It was  and remains  smarter and tangier than almost anything else on television.

It also had a healthy suspicion of law enforcement. So why turn the wonderfully original Elsbeth into this? Its baffling to see the Kings embrace such blatant copaganda.
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - The carnage in Gaza has left more than 30,000 dead and must end immediately, UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council on Thursday, after almost five months of constant Israeli bombardment and mass displacement in the enclave, prompted by Hamas-led attacks
Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - Repeated warnings from humanitarians over desperate food insecurity and imminent famine in Gaza came into focus on Friday amid reports from the enclaves authorities that a 10th child had died from malnutrition and dehydration
Photo: (Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images )

A 16-year-old is facing charges for supposedly killing two people and injuring two others in a shooting occurrence in Alaska on Sunday night, as outlined in court documents filed on Monday.

16-Year-Old Shots 2 Adult, Injures 2 More

The teenager is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in relation to the occurrence, which has flustered Point Hope, a distant Inupiat whaling community along Alaska's northwest coast, bordering the Chukchi Sea.

North Slope Borough police reacted to a shooting report at a home around 11:35 p.m. Two individuals were found dead, and two others were seriously injured, all casualties of gunshot bruises, according to court records from the Second Judicial District at Kotzebue. Police did not provide updates on the condition of the injured victims.

One witness informed the police that they observed the 16-year-old entering the home with a handgun and initiating the shooting, while another witness reported seeing the armed teen fleeing in a vehicle.

Within 10 minutes, the teen arrived at the Point Hope police station with his father, who stated that his son had confessed to shooting the four victims. Subsequently, the 16-year-old was detained, according to court documents.

Read Also: Corona Movie Theater Shooting: Man Convicted to Life for Killing 2 California Teenagers

As of Tuesday, the cause of the shooting stands uncertain. The teen is being considered as an adult in the legal dealings, according to the Alaska Department of Law. The identity of the minor was not voiced by NBC News, persistent with their policy.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy conveyed havoc over the dreadful occurrence and offered condolences to the distressed families.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah A. Patkotak guaranteed the public that the shooting was a secluded incident, and there is no ongoing danger to the community.

The Point Hope Tikigaq School will be closed temporarily, according to Patkotak, although the relevance to the shooting was not clarified. The incident is currently under investigation.

Police Investigates the Point Hope Shooting Incident

Point Hope, with a population of approximately 675, is situated on a triangular spit of land extending into the Chukchi Sea, about 700 miles northwest of Anchorage and 200 miles from Russia.

It has a rich history as one of the longest continually inhabited Inupiat areas in North America, with residents engaging in bowhead whaling for over 2,000 years.

The town, surrounded by a fence made of whale bones, relies on a state-owned airstrip and summer barges for supplies.

Subsistence hunts for bowhead whales and the use of firearms for hunting are common among residents. Shootings are not unprecedented, with a police officer fatally shooting a man in Point Hope in May of the previous year.

North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak mentioned the borough fire department flying in emergency medical services staff from other communities to support Point Hope, recognizing potential trauma among local responders.

Maniilaq Association, a nonprofit providing health and social services, sent behavioral health counselors to assist Point Hope residents.

Related Article: 13-Year Old Teen Allegedly Shot a Man on a Denver Bus After an Argument
Photo: (Photo : Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images)

In what was supposed to be a whimsical journey into the enchanting world of Willy Wonka, families in Glasgow found themselves caught in a confectionery catastrophe at the Willy Wonka 'Chocolate Experience.'

Amid promises of an immersive adventure, the event ended in disappointment, leaving parents questioning whether artificial intelligence played a role in this candy calamity.

Family Disappointment Unveiled at Glasgow's Willy Wonka Chocolate Experience

Anticipation ran high as families, drawn by the allure of Willy Wonka's world, flocked to Glasgow's 'Chocolate Experience.'

However, the joy quickly turned to dismay as attendees discovered a sparsely adorned warehouse, a far cry from the paradise of oversized lollipops and extraordinary props promised on the event's website. For parents like Alana Lockens, who shelled out 35 per ticket, the stark contrast to the advertised wonderland was a bitter pill to swallow.

As attendees voiced their discontent online, suspicions of artificial intelligence involvement began to circulate.

The event's website showcased interactive exhibits and exclusive images, seemingly untraceable through reverse image searches.

The strange and nonsensical lettering in some visuals hinted at AI-generated content. Furthermore, actors hired for the event reported receiving bizarre, gibberish-laden scripts, raising questions about the authenticity of the entire experience.

Michael Archibald, one of the hired actors, recounted his skepticism when he discovered the warehouse's lackluster state during rehearsals.

The costumes, essential for creating the magical atmosphere, were only delivered last minute, adding to the chaos. "I knew the script was AI-generated," Archibald confessed, capturing the perplexity that gripped those involved.

Read Also: Florida Measles Outbreak Sparks Outcry; State Surgeon General Under Fire Amid School Controversy

Chocolate Experience Catastrophe Unfolds: Event Canceled Amidst Outcry

By Saturday afternoon, the discontent reached its peak, leading to the abrupt cancellation of the 'Chocolate Experience.' Outraged attendees, feeling conned, demanded refunds, prompting local police intervention.

The parallels drawn with the infamous Fyre Festival, another event marred by false advertising, fueled the narrative of a candy catastrophe reminiscent of the disastrous island concert.

House of Illuminati, the London-based event company behind the debacle, incorporated just three months ago, faced severe backlash.

The company, which describes itself as a realm where fantasy and reality converge, issued a now-deleted statement on Facebook, apologizing for the last-minute letdown and promising full refunds.

The Aftermath: Families Seek Redress Amidst AI Speculations

As the dust settles, questions linger about the role of artificial intelligence in crafting the illusory charm that lured families to the 'Chocolate Experience.'

Actors like Paul Connell, aware of the AI-generated scripts, improvised to salvage the situation, attempting to bring some joy to disappointed children.

The company's director, Billy Coull, has seemingly erased his online presence in the face of mounting criticism, leaving disgruntled attendees organizing on social media platforms to share their experiences and seek redress.

In a surprising move, the venue provider, Box Hub, distanced itself from House of Illuminati's debacle, offering its space for free to host another event for the dismayed families.

As families await refunds, the fallout from Glasgow's Willy Wonka 'Chocolate Experience' serves as a cautionary tale in an era where the boundaries between reality and AI-generated illusions become increasingly blurred.

Related Article: Beverly Hills Students' AI Prank Sparks Investigation: School Takes Swift Action on Deepfake Photos
Photo: (Photo : Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images )

A Republican senator has denied a bill aimed at opposing access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), unfavorable to vote on the matter despite the uproar following the latest Alabama Supreme Court decision that jeopardizes the practice.

Republican Senator Denies Vote for IVF Protection Access

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, denied a vote requested by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who, having faced infertility challenges, utilized IVF to have her two children.

Duckworth's proposed legislation seeks to create a federal right to IVF medication, responding to the Alabama ruling that has delayed fertility care in the state, causing anguish and concern for families in the midst of the process.

The Alabama Supreme Court's decision, which deems frozen embryos as children under state law, prompted several clinics in the state to temporarily halt IVF services.

Democrats have swiftly capitalized on this election-year ruling, cautioning that other states might follow suit, raising concerns about potential threats to other rights, particularly in the aftermath of the U.S.

Supreme Court's 2022 decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade and the federal right to abortion. Hyde-Smith defended the Alabama ruling, emphasizing the GOP's belief that the federal government should not interfere in state-level decisions on reproductive care.

Earlier this month, the Alabama Supreme Court expressed a broad ruling announcing that "unborn children are 'children' ... without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics."

This far-reaching agreement by the court's majority raises consideration about the future of in vitro fertilization (IVF) medication in the state.

Consequently, some IVF providers have briefly paralyzed certain aspects of their care for patients due to apprehensions about possible legal danger.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sen. Duckworth and other Senate Democrats delivered speeches on the bill. Duckworth asserts the importance of taking action now to avoid the situation from being useless.

Read Also: Alabama Legislature's Urgent Response: Securing IVF Protections Amidst Unprecedented Court Ruling

IVF Treatment Halts as Senate Bill Blocked

Democrats, aiming to hold Republicans liable, issued on Tuesday their boldness to move forward with the legislation. Before Hyde-Smith's objection, several Republicans had indicated a willingness to support Duckworth's bill, although some questioned the necessity of federal intervention.

Sen. Marco Rubio, for example, stated that there is no ongoing effort in Florida or any state across the country to ban fertility treatment.

Alabama lawmakers are now scrambling to find ways to protect IVF treatments, with former President Donald Trump expressing strong support for their availability. Many GOP lawmakers echoed their backing for IVF services, emphasizing their pro-family stance.

Despite this, Senate Republicans have blocked Duckworth's bill for the second time, prompting Democrats to challenge GOP senators to demonstrate genuine support for IVF access.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized Republicans who denounced the Alabama ruling, likening them to arsonists blaming the ensuing fire.

For Sen. Duckworth, the bill carries personal significance, as IVF enabled her to have children after facing infertility due to injuries sustained while piloting a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq.

Duckworth described her struggle with infertility as one of the most heartbreaking challenges, emphasizing the profound impact of IVF on her ability to experience the complexities and joys of motherhood.

Related Article: Defending IVF Rights : Republican Senate Hopefuls Unite Amid Alabama Ruling Chaos
Photo: (Photo : MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images )

In this Leap Year, Thursday signifies Leap Day, falling on Feb. 29, a date that occurs every four years. Each occurrence of Leap Day brings with it distinct traditions observed globally.

February 29 Comes with Unique Traditions Worldwide

In 2024, anticipate not only new resolutions, books, and movies but also the excitement of a leap year, providing an extra day in February due to Earth's orbit around the sun taking approximately 365.25 days.

February 29, a rare day, is special for "leap day babies." This year comes with unique traditions worldwide, such as women proposing on Leap Day, wearing red petticoats in Scotland for luck, and penalties for rejecting proposals in Denmark and Finland.

Some cultures consider leap years unlucky for marriage, associating them with divorce or misfortune in farming.

In Taiwan, leap years are thought to bring increased risk to elderly parents, prompting daughters to return with pig trotter noodles for longevity.

Germany has a women-only May Day tradition during leap years, reversing roles. Leap year-born individuals, called "Leapings," enjoy a four-day festival in Anthony, Texas.

In Reggio Emilia, Italy, a leap year is known as the whale's year, as locals believe whales give birth only during such years.

The French satirical newspaper, La Bougie du Sapeur, publishes once every four years, and a special leap year cocktail was created in 1928 at London's Savoy Hotel.

Leap Year Traditions and Superstitions

Women Have the Ability to Take on the Role of Proposing, as Opposed to Men

In the contemporary era, women have the freedom to propose to their partners at any time. However, historically, proposing was predominantly reserved for men, except on leap days, allowing women to break gender norms and initiate proposals.

Women Might Choose to Wear Petticoats in a Shade of Scarlet

Donning a red petticoat is a specific wardrobe choice for women participating in Leap Day proposals in Scotland. The red color is believed to attract male attention and ensure a successful proposal.

Read Also: Family Vacation: Fostering Positive Impacts Through the Creation of Lasting Memories and Experiences

Declining a Proposal on Leap Day Could Lead to Consequences or Penalties

Rejecting a leap day proposal could lead to penalties. In 1288, Queen Margaret of Scotland instituted a law imposing fines ranging from 1 to a silk gown for men who declined such proposals.

Similar penalties exist in Denmark and Finland, involving gloves and fabric for the rejected woman.

In Certain Nations, Leap Day is Regarded as an Unfavorable or Unlucky time

Some cultures consider leap years, especially leap day, as harboring bad luck for marriage.

Greek traditions associate leap year marriages with an increased risk of divorce. In Scotland, those born on leap day are believed to face a life of suffering, and overall, leap years are considered ominous for farmers.

Elderly Parents in Taiwan Receive a Distinctive Meal

In Taiwan, leap years are viewed as unfortunate, with a belief that elderly parents are more likely to die every four years.

Married daughters return with pig trotter noodles during the leap year to promote longevity and wish their parents good health.

A Tradition for Women Exclusively on May Day

A longstanding tradition in Germany's Rhineland involves young boys placing a birch tree adorned with ribbons on their crush's doorstep during May Day.

In leap years, this tradition reverses, with only women participating in the maypole dance.

Whales Are Known for Being Especially Fortunate

In Reggio Emilia, Italy, a leap year is known as the whale's year. Locals believe that whales give birth exclusively during leap years.

French La Bougie du Sapeur Publication

La Bougie du Sapeur, a French newspaper, publishes once every four years on February 29.

Named after a leapling character from an old French comic strip, the newspaper has gained popularity since its inception in 1980.

Festival for Those Born on a Leap Day in the United States

Anthony, New Mexico, declares itself the Leap Year Capital of the World. Every four years, 'Leapers,' individuals born on February 29, gather for a festival, including a 'Mix and Mingle' event at the Sombra Antigua Vineyard and Winery.

Beverage Crafted for Leap Day

The Leap Day Cocktail, invented in 1928 at The Savoy in London by bartender Harry Craddock, is a special mixture to celebrate the milestone.

Comprising Grand Marnier, sweet vermouth, gin, and lemon juice, it indicates the oneness of this extraordinary day.

Related Article: 12 Non-Traditional Birth Announcement Ideas To Surprise Your Family, Friends
Photo: (Photo : LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images )

On Thursday, February 29, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs documented the detention of an Indonesian intern by the Japanese Police.

The 21-year-old female, identified as JP, is under detention for abandoning her neonate baby, which is treated as a serious offense in Japan, carrying a possible prison penalty of up to five years.

Indonesian Intern Arrested for Abandonment of a Baby

JP, currently undergoing training as an apprentice in Hiroshima Prefecture, was arrested by the Onomichi City Police, as verified by the Indonesian Consulate General in Osaka.

The Consulate General has been in communication with the Onomichi Police and relevant entities, including the Job Training Institute (LPK) in Indonesia, responsible for sending and hosting migrant workers in Japan.

Details regarding the specific location where JP allegedly abandoned the baby are not yet available. The Japanese police have refrained from disclosing more information, citing the suspect's lack of consent. The Onomichi police are actively investigating JP's legal status.

Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, declared that both the Indonesian Foreign Ministry and the Consulate General in Osaka will jointly monitor the case and continue consular assistance if JP grants permission and access.

The arrest of JP, a 21-year-old trainee in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, for supposedly abandoning her newborn has accumulated global attention.

The Onomichi City Police detained her, citing serious violations of Japanese laws governing child protection, carrying severe penalties. This incident highlights the intricate connections between migrant worker concerns, legal frameworks, and global diplomacy.

Read Also: Cleveland Mother Pleads Guilty After Leaving Toddler Alone for Vacation - Chilling Details Emerge

Immediate Detention and International Consular Measures

Upon learning of the arrest, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly acknowledged the gravity of the situation, emphasizing the comprehensive attention the case is receiving in both Japan and Indonesia.

The Consulate General in Osaka, collaborating with the Onomichi Police and the Job Training Institute in Indonesia, is vigilantly monitoring developments.

Despite the limited information disclosed due to JP's privacy rights, the consulate's proactive involvement illuminates the nuanced obstacles faced by migrant workers abroad and the pivotal role of diplomatic missions in delivering consular aid.

Japan's Legal Ramifications, Assistance Mechanisms

Child abandonment in Japan extends beyond a moral issue, representing a significant legal transgression under stringent child protection laws.

JP's case thus transcends personal tragedy, shedding light on the legal hurdles confronting foreign nationals and raising concerns about the support structures available to distressed migrant workers.

The engagement of the Indonesian Consulate General underscores the necessity of international support mechanisms for citizens entangled in legal predicaments overseas.

The ongoing inquiry by the Onomichi police into the circumstances surrounding the alleged abandonment is pivotal for comprehending the broader issues at stake.

The commitment of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry to oversee the case and offer consular aid, contingent on JP's consent, underscores the delicate balance between respecting individual rights and ensuring nationals receive essential support.

This case may affect an extensive discourse on the obligations of sending and hosting countries in safeguarding migrant workers' rights and well-being.

As this case happens, it serves as a touching reminder of the complexity surrounding migrant labor, the obstinacy of legal systems, and the fundamental role of diplomatic missions in navigating these complexities.

The resolution of JP's case may hold far-reaching consequences, potentially influencing policies on migrant workers' rights, international collaboration in legal matters, and consular assistance protocols.

It underscores the imperative for robust support systems for citizens abroad, emphasizing not only the legal but also the human dimension of international labor migration.

Related Article: 'Baby India' Case Update: Mother Alleges Mental Health, Postpartum Depression in Court as Cause of Abandonment
Photo: (Photo : OLIVIER DOULIERY / Getty Images)

The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) is now under the magnifying glass, grappling with serious allegations of orchestrating a strategic "call deflection scheme" and fumbling the administration of the federal loan program.

The allegations, brought forth by prominent education groups, have ignited a heated debate over the practices of one of the nation's largest student loan companies.

As the spotlight intensifies on MOHELA, the American Federation of Teachers and the Student Borrower Protection Center have released a comprehensive report outlining the alleged mismanagement within the student loan giant.

This report, obtained through public information laws, paints a troubling picture of MOHELA's handling of the federal loan program, particularly the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) initiative.

Systemic Issues in Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The focal point of the accusations revolves around MOHELA's role in administering the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The report contends that MOHELA allowed a backlog in PSLF applications to burgeon, leaving nearly a million forms unprocessed. This backlog, the report argues, has adversely affected borrowers who have diligently served in public service-oriented jobs, such as teachers and government employees.

Some borrowers, the report alleges, were incorrectly informed that they did not qualify for the PSLF program, while others had their payments inaccurately counted, potentially jeopardizing their eligibility for full relief.

Adding another layer to the saga, the report delves into what it characterizes as a systematic call deflection. The report delves into what it characterizes as a systematic "call deflection scheme" employed by MOHELA.

The executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, Mike Pierce, asserted, "There is substantial evidence indicating that questionable activities are unfolding in Missouri."

In response, the company rebuffed the accusations, dismissing them as untrue, disingenuous, and characterizing them as merely a publicity stunt.

According to the findings, MOHELA strategically diverted borrowers from seeking assistance through customer service representatives.

The company's internal plan, outlined in July, purportedly included measures to encourage self-service online, hindering borrowers from promptly resolving their issues.

Critics argue that this intentional strategy was implemented to save the company money, potentially at the expense of borrowers facing challenges in repaying their student loans.

Read Also: Florida Measles Outbreak Sparks Outcry; State Surgeon General Under Fire Amid School Controversy

Escalating Tensions Amid Student Loan System Challenges

The back-and-forth between MOHELA and education advocacy groups amplifies against the backdrop of the Biden administration's reliance on student loan companies to execute signature debt relief policies.

This clash occurs at a critical juncture when student loan forgiveness has become a significant topic in the political landscape.

The ongoing friction between student loan companies and key Democratic constituencies further complicates the landscape, adding pressure on the federal government to reconsider the current student loan system.

The accusations against MOHELA have thrown the company into the midst of a contentious debate over the integrity of its practices.

As the allegations of "call deflection" and program mismanagement linger, the broader implications for the student loan industry and the borrowers it serves remain uncertain.

The Biden administration, in the midst of its efforts to address the student debt crisis, faces additional challenges as it grapples with the complexities raised by these accusations against a major player in the student loan landscape.

Related Article: Million-Dollar SNAP Fraud Unearthed: NYC Bodega Owners Charged in Massive Benefit Scam
Deaf Access Services merges into People Inc.

People Inc. has completed a long-planned merger with another Western New York nonprofit.

Deaf Access Services has merged into People Inc., a major Western New York health and human services agency. The merger was part of a long-term plan when Deaf Access Services affiliated with People Inc. in December 2018, but only recently did Deaf Access Services "fully merge operationally" into People Inc., said Liz Kahn, vice president of marketing and communications for People Inc.

People Inc. said the merger expands its program portfolio, which already includes senior services, affordable housing, health care and services for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

"The Deaf services People Inc. now provides were built from the ground up by the Deaf and hard of hearing community through Deaf Access Services," People Inc. President and CEO Anne McCaffrey said.

"People Inc. took that foundation very much to heart with this affiliation, and now with the merger. It has been rewarding to expand these unique access efforts and we expect that growth to continue," she added.

It's the latest growth for People Inc.

In another recent development, it was announced in the fall that Autism Services would dissolve and, as of Feb. 1, its programs funded by the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities would be transferred to People Inc.

People Inc., an Amherst-based nonprofit, has an annual budget of more than $200 million and a payroll of 4,000 employees, providing programs and support to more than 12,000 people  including those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families and older adults  across Western New York and the Rochester region.

Since Deaf Access Services affiliated with People Inc., the organization said "there has been a substantial increase in services provided."

Through the merger, People Inc. has added services that include American Sign Language Interpreting, Captioning Access Real-Time Translation, assistance with long-term employment, ASL classes, support groups, Deaf refugee services and connections to resources.

The merger led to no disruption in essential programming, McCaffrey said.

In a video message, David Wantuck, director of Deaf community services, said the merger will not affect the services provided for the Deaf, Deaf Blind and hard of hearing community but will instead open "up even more opportunities for us and our community partners to thrive."

"We are working to build a bridge that allows equity in communication and all levels of access for Deaf and hard of hearing people," Wantuck said in a statement. "With the merger, we have the momentum necessary to meet, and even exceed, our goals."

Elderwood partners with VNS Health

Elderwood Health Plan, a managed long-term care plan that serves residents of Erie, Niagara, Monroe, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties, has entered into an agreement with VNS Health.

Under the partnership, managed long-term care plan members from Elderwood will have the option to transfer to VNS Health or choose another managed long-term care plan in the area.

While Elderwood Health Plan is scheduled to cease operations as a managed long-term care plan as of May 1, Elderwood will continue to play a role in the care of homebound older adults and people with disabilities through the recent formation of an Independent Practice Association.

Through that IPA, Elderwood will manage the care of its former members who enroll in the VNS Health managed long-term care plan in addition to any new and existing VNS Health members who live in Erie, Niagara, Monroe, Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties.

Under the agreement, VNS Health's managed long-term care plan will automatically bring on any of the roughly 1,200 members now enrolled in the Elderwood plan who do not choose to join another managed long-term care plan during the election period.

The transition comes after a change in state requirements set in the 2023-24 state budget, which required all managed long-term care plans to have a Medicare Advantage Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan.

It is the same requirement that led Fallon Health Weinberg, a partnership between Massachusetts-based Fallon Health and Weinberg Campus of Getzville, to close its Managed Long-Term Care plan, which affected 31 employees who were let go between Dec. 15 and Jan. 12.

"Elderwood is excited to find a partnership in VNS Health, and believe this will benefit our members," said Dr. Jeffrey Rubin, co-owner and co-president of Elderwood Health Plan.

"VNS Health understands the importance of our Western New York community and keeping a local presence through Elderwood," Rubin said. "We share the same values of putting our members, community and employees first, and are excited to pursue this new opportunity."

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy  from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.

THE LATEST

A Broadway grocery store aims to be an oasis in a food desert.

A cannabis dispensary opened in the Town of Tonawanda.

A Lackawanna manufacturer wants to expand on the former Bethlehem Steel site.

A vacant Silver Creek school could become apartments.

D'Youville University wants to open an osteopathic medical school.

A Buffalo startup raised another $1 million.

Starbucks and the union representing workers ended their stalemate.

More funding is coming for the new Ralph Wilson Park.

The downtown Buffalo hostel, facing a deadline to move, wants more time.

CVS is closing a local store.

A local consultant has been hired to bolster Bills stadium community oversight.

The Buffalo Sabres will pay for new videoboard and roof at KeyBank Center.

Work is delayed again on Sinatra's Heritage Point.

Catholic Health is still losing big money  but nowhere near as much as it once was.

Kaleida Health cuts its loss in half as revenues grow.

Prospectus: From the editor: Ghosts of Buffalo's past spark Buffalo's economic future.

Prospectus: David Robinson on building the New Buffalo, one baby step at a time.

ECMC is getting a big federal grant.

Two solar farms are in the works for Evans.

Prospectus: Stephen Tucker talks about the future of manufacturing, tech training.

Prospectus: Not your grandparents tech training: Higher ed caters to new industry and student needs.

Prospectus: How modern-day twists on old trends are reshaping Buffalo Niagara.

A Buffalo charter school has its eyes on Medaille's campus.

ACV Auctions' earnings report had some encouraging signs.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. This UB program aims to help women and minorities build their startups.

2. FanDuel's CEO hasn't forgotten about her roots in the Buffalo Niagara region.

3. Need a place to stay to see the eclipse? The prices are astronomical.

4. Southgate Plaza: The suburban plaza that could.

5. Take a closer look inside The Caz music venue.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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Photo: (Photo : ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty Images)

In the recent Alabama Supreme Court verdict classifying embryos as children, both chambers of the Alabama Legislature efficiently passed bills aiming to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.

The proposed legislation, driven by Republicans, seeks to provide legal protection to patients, medical practitioners, and IVF service providers, alleviating potential legal challenges.

As these bills move closer to a consolidated version, Governor Kay Ivey of Alabama prepares to sign the protective measures into law, offering a remedy to concerns raised by the court ruling just a fortnight ago.

Swift Legislative Progress Amidst National Discontent

The two bills, identified as SB 159 and HB 237, secured approval in the State Senate and House, respectively, revealing bipartisan support despite extended legislative deliberations.

These bills intend to establish both civil and criminal immunity for individuals or entities involved in goods or services related to IVF, addressing uncertainties stemming from the recent Supreme Court ruling.

Throughout the debates, concerns were voiced by members of both Democratic and Republican parties, emphasizing the urgency of providing immediate relief to IVF clinics affected by the court's decision.

While the legislative momentum intensifies, critics, including advocacy groups for reproductive rights, argue that the proposed bills inadequately address the core issue arising from the Supreme Court - the treatment of embryos created through IVF as children under Alabama law.

Democrats, in particular, stress the need for a more comprehensive approach, expressing reservations about the extensive immunity granted to medical practitioners.

This ongoing debate highlights the intricate balance required between protecting IVF practices and ensuring accountability for potential adverse outcomes.

The urgency to safeguard IVF practices in Alabama arises from the Supreme Court's recent classification of embryos as children, potentially subjecting IVF providers to legal consequences.

Republican lawmakers, under pressure to swiftly resolve the matter, acknowledge the imperfections in the proposed bills while emphasizing their role as a crucial interim solution.

Amid concerns regarding unintended consequences and the necessity for a thorough examination of the issue, the pro-life stance of Alabama becomes a focal point in the evolving legislative discourse.

Read Also: Million-Dollar SNAP Fraud Unearthed: NYC Bodega Owners Charged in Massive Benefit Scam

Alabama's Pro-Life Position Challenged by Legislative Response

Alabama lawmakers grapple with the aftermath of the Supreme Court's ruling, leading to the suspension of services in several IVF clinics and sparking broader concerns that conservative anti-reproductive rights groups could target the medical procedure.

The Supreme Court's decision effectively deems embryos created through in vitro fertilization as children, holding individuals legally responsible for destroying embryos under the state's wrongful death law.

This decision triggers widespread criticism against Republicans in Alabama and the broader U.S. who have traditionally opposed reproductive rights.

Consequently, Alabama's Republican lawmakers face significant pressure to provide a legislative remedy to protect IVF, including calls from former President Donald Trump to address the issue expeditiously.

The bill emphasizes that no legal action, suit, or criminal prosecution shall be initiated against individuals or entities providing goods or services related to IVF, except for intentional acts unrelated to IVF services.

Additionally, the bill proposes retroactive immunity for acts, omissions, or services not subject to litigation on the effective date of the legislation.

While the proposed legislation aims to keep clinics operational and families progressing, concerns have been raised by lawmakers from both parties.

Some view the measure as a hasty reaction, potentially undermining Alabama's pro-life status.

Amidst the ongoing discussions, Democrats propose a constitutional amendment affirming that embryos stored outside a woman's uterus are not considered unborn children or human beings under state law.

Related Article: Leap Year 2024: Unveiling the Ancient Secrets and Modern Celebrations of the Extra Day
Photo: (Photo : Al Bello /Getty Images)

Students across Puerto Rico have taken to TikTok to expose the alarming decay within their public school system, igniting a call for urgent educational reform.

The viral videos depict the harsh reality of crumbling infrastructure, emphasizing the pressing need for immediate attention from education authorities.

Puerto Rican students have taken social media by storm, utilizing TikTok as a platform to unveil the shocking decay within their public schools.

The videos, gaining widespread attention, reveal a harsh reality of crumbling infrastructure, unsanitary conditions, and a systemic neglect that has propelled these students into a digital movement demanding urgent educational reform.

Viral on TikTok Calling for Educational Reform

At the forefront of this digital uprising are TikTok videos showcasing the dismal state of school environments across the island.

Broken bathrooms, abandoned areas lacking basic amenities, and crumbling classrooms have become emblematic of the urgent need for change.

The hashtag #PuertoRicoStudents has become a rallying cry, amplifying the voices of students who refuse to let their concerns go unnoticed. These videos, viewed and shared by thousands, serve as a powerful tool in highlighting the pressing issues faced by students daily.

The viral eruption on TikTok has transcended mere exposure; it has become a catalyst for change.

Puerto Rican students are no longer content with being passive observers of the decay in their schools. Instead, they are uniting under a common cause, demanding urgent educational reform.

The call for reform extends beyond social media activism, as students mobilize for tangible changes in the educational infrastructure. They argue that their right to a conducive learning environment has been systematically neglected for far too long.

Beyond the immediate decay showcased in the videos lies a deeper, systemic crisis within Puerto Rico's public education system.

The island, grappling with a history of financial challenges, has faced additional adversities such as Hurricane Maria and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These events have left schools vulnerable and neglected, with the decay serving as a visible consequence of years of overlooked issues.

The students' use of TikTok as a platform amplifies their collective plea for reform and forces a long-overdue conversation about the systemic challenges embedded in the educational landscape.

Read Also: Million-Dollar SNAP Fraud Unearthed: NYC Bodega Owners Charged in Massive Benefit Scam

Decay in School and Urgent Plea for Attention

The Puerto Rico Department of Education, entrusted with a substantial budget of nearly $2.5 billion and access to over $3 billion in federal funding, is now under intense scrutiny.

Students argue that these funds should be directed towards addressing the pressing issues showcased in their TikTok videos.

Their urgent plea extends beyond immediate repairs; they are advocating for a comprehensive overhaul of the educational system to ensure a conducive learning environment for all students.

The widespread attention garnered by their videos has turned the spotlight on the need for transparency and accountability within the education system.

the viral eruption on TikTok has not only brought the decay in Puerto Rico's public schools to the forefront but has also become a powerful force for change.

The call for urgent educational reform is no longer confined to social media; it resonates in classrooms, homes, and the hearts of students who envision a future where their right to quality education is non-negotiable.

The digital movement initiated by these students marks a pivotal moment, demanding not just repairs but a fundamental transformation of Puerto Rico's educational landscape.

Related Article: MOHELA Faces Scrutiny for Alleged 'Call Deflection' and Student Loan Program Mismanagement
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Proper Names and Political Claims: Semitic Echoes as Foundations for Claims to the Nephite Throne, written by Lyle H. Hamblin

Abstract: The Book of Mormon contains examples of phonemes in character names that resemble Semitic root words. The possible meanings of the names and their timing in the Book of Mormon narrative provide a deeper level of context to the Nephite political challenges in the books of Mosiah through 3 Nephi. Specifically, the English phonemes for the Hebrew and Arabic root-word for king, M-L-K, appear in character names in the Book of Mormon narrative when the people of Zarahemla, who were descended from Mulek, the last king of Judah, are discovered by the Nephites in the book of Omni. King names then appear frequently during the time in the narrative in which there are attempts to reestablish a monarchy during the early reign of the judges. King names disappear after Moroni put an end to those king-men, that there were not any known by the appellation of king-men (Alma 51:21, 62:9). The presence and timing of these king names suggests that the Mulekite claim to the local Israelite throne resonated rhetorically through Nephite politics for over a century and was violently contested in the multiple civil and external wars in the books of Alma through 3 Nephi.

Interpreting Interpreter: Kingly Names; Kingly Ambitions, written by Kyler Rasmussen

This post is a summary of the article Proper Names and Political Claims: Semitic Echoes as Foundations for Claims to the Nephite Throne by Lyle H. Hamblin in Volume 60 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/. The Takeaway: Hamblin identifies the names in the Book of Mormon that appear to be related to the root M-L-Kmeaning king in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabicoutlining and cautioning against the often-monarchical ambitions of these figures, which begin with the appearance of the Mulekites and end with Moronis purge of the king-men.

Incidentally, the Interpreter website is so inactive, and the Interpreter Foundation so unproductive, that its really difficult for me not to fall behind in calling attention to the latest Interpreter developments. But Im going to try to catch up today, now that Im finally back home and trying to settle back into a productive routine. Accordingly, here are three additional recent items that I had not yet called to your notice:

Hugh Nibley Observed: About the Portrait of Hugh Nibley, by Rebecca Fechser Everett

Rebecca Fechser Everett says in Hugh Nibley Observed of her portrait of Hugh Nibley I have enjoyed the whole process of creating this portrait from thought to finish. Ive developed the piece to attempt to include as many images as I could associate with Brother Nibley and his lifes interests. Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Hugh Nibley Observed, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Shirley S. Ricks, and Stephen T. Whitlock. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/hugh-nibley-observed/.

Conference Talks: Centralizing Scriptural Resources, 2020 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference

Ryan Dahle spoke about Centralizing Scriptural Resources at the Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference on Saturday, 19 September 2020. All of the conference presentations were filmed, and both video and audio recordings of each presentation are available. Videos, audio recordings and transcripts are available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-book-of-moses-conference/papers/. The videos are also available on the Interpreter Foundation YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation. A YouTube playlist is also available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLv7A618LA-cCvxMqWRk8kxI.

Interpreter Radio Show  February 18, 2024

For the 18 February 2024 episode of the Interpreter Radio Show, Bruce Webster and Robert Boylan and Kris Frederickson discussed Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lesson 11, the recent article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship by David M. Belnap and Nalini M. Nadkarni, naturalistic explanations of the Book of Mormon, and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Their conversation was recorded, and it has now been archived, freed from commercial interruptions, and made available online for your listening pleasure. The New Testament in Context portion of this show, for the Come, Follow Me Book of Mormon lesson 11, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, 5 March 2024. The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard regularly on Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

And have I mentioned this newly available Interpreter book?

Stephen D. Ricks and Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, eds. The Temple: Symbols, Sermons, and Settings

Proceedings of the Fourth Interpreter Matthew B. Brown Memorial Conference

The Temple on Mount Zion, 10 November 2018 (Temple on Mount Zion Series 5)

Someday, perhaps  and to the absolute astonishment of some of my critics  the Interpreter Foundation will produce something that isnt mere name-calling and personal attacks intended to injure and wound others. I mean, its theoretically possible. Right?

In closing, I offer a trio of inflammatory entries from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File:

Imagine a world in which there are no longer any religious people to commit such outrages. Its easy, if you try. Imagine, above us, that theres only sky. Imagine all the people living for today.

As the late Karl Marx (1818-1883) wrote in his 1843 Critique of Hegels Philosophy of Right:
At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Attractive folding OLED display

Loud, clear speakers

Long battery life Cons Folding design is awkward for both tablet and laptop use

Tiny touchpad

Limited connectivity, no Wi-Fi 7

Performance doesnt live up to the price Our Verdict The ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 is Lenovos latest folding experiment, but it turns out a bigger screen isnt always better.

Folding displays are an old hat for Lenovo. Its first laptop with a folding OLED display, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 13, arrived in 2020, and received a second generation update. The companys new folding laptop, the ThinkPad X1 Fold 16, upgrades to a much larger OLED display. That sounds great, but reality doesnt live up to expectations.

Looking for more laptop options? Check out PCWorlds roundup of the best laptops available today.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Specs and features

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 is an innovative device, and it all comes down to the display. It has a 16.3-inch screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 2,024 (thats an aspect ratio of 1.26:1, which is non-standard, to say the least). Its a flexible OLED display coated in plastic, making it possible to fold the entire device, display and all, in half. A keyboard attachment and active pen are included, too.

CPU: Intel Core i7-1250U

Memory: 16GB LPDDR5

Graphics/GPU: Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics

Display: 16.3-inch diagonal 25602024 folding OLED touchscreen

Storage: 512GB NVMe PCIe 4 solid state drive

Webcam: 1440p webcam with IR camera

Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2

Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.1, optional 5G mobile data

Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition, fingerprint reader

Battery capacity: 48 watt-hour + 16 watt-hour dual battery (base model has single 48 watt-hour battery)

Dimensions: 6.94 x 10.87 x 0.69 inches (folded, screen only).

Weight: 2.89 pounds (screen only) up to 4.27 pounds (with keyboard and kickstand)

MSRP: $2,499 to start, $3,246 as-tested.

Dig deeper into the specifications, however, and theres two red flags. The first is the processor. Lenovo relies on Intels older 12th-gen Core processors, not the newer, more power-hungry, and more performant 13th-gen Core or Intel Core Ultra processors.

And then theres the price. You can expect to pay at least $2,500 for the X1 Fold 16, if you buy at MSRP, and the model I reviewed rang up at $3,246. Thats a lot of scratch, and it erodes the devices value.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Design and build quality

IDG / Matthew Smith

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 1s design is innovative, to say the least. It pairs a 16.3-inch OLED touchscreen with a folding mechanism that turns the display into a notebook-sized portable. The hinge has enough resistance to keep it firmly in whichever position its placed, but not so much that its difficult to use.

Because of this, its possible to use the X1 Fold 16 in several modes. If folded at a 90 degree angle, or something close to it, it becomes an ultra-portable laptop. The upper half the display remains the display, while the keyboard attaches magnetically to the lower half. If the display is laid flat, however, the keyboard can instead be used as a kickstand for ita bit like a plus-sized Surface Pro.

The display can also be used without the keyboard. Folding it part-way and holding it like a book can prove useful for reading documents. Lay the display flat, however, and the X1 Fold becomes a gigantic tablet.

It all sounds good, even great, on paper. But my time with the X1 Fold 16 left me frustrated.

The large 16.3-inch display proves more awkward than it seems. Unfolding the display and using it with the keyboards kickstand delivers gobs of display space, which I appreciate. But the X1 Fold isnt really a laptop in this mode, as you need a large, flat surface to keep it stable.

Folding the display and using the X1 Fold as a clamshell laptop reveals other weaknesses. The screen is small in this mode, yet the keyboard deck feels tall, which looks and feels awkward. I also noticed some apps (mostly older apps with no recent updates) didnt want to play nice with the boundaries of the display, causing portions of the app to appear below the Windows taskbar.

Tablet mode has its own problems. The display can fold, but its always the same size, so youre forced to handle its full 2.89-pounds of weight. Thats a lot of heft for a tablet and it quickly becomes tiring. The size of the display is awkward, too, as it feels too large to hold like a book or magazine. It works better as a canvas laid flat on a tablet or desk, but that use case seems like a niche.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Keyboard, trackpad, pen

IDG / Matthew Smith

The problems continue with the keyboard. Lenovo usually scores well here, but the X1 Fold 16s design demands compromise. The keyboard has to fit over the lower half of the X1 Fold 16s display, so the keyboard is shallow and offers tiny palm rests. My wrists were left dangling in mid-air while the meat of my palms made contact with the edge of the keyboard. Typing felt uncomfortable after just a few minutes.

Key feel isnt great, either. The detachable keyboard measures a little more than a quarter of an inch thick, leaving less room for each key to travel. Lenovo does what it can to provide a firm, crisp bottoming action that offers tactile and audible feedback, but I still felt the typing experience was wooden and dull.

Its not all bad news. While the keyboard is shallow, its reasonably wide, and Lenovo uses every millimeter available. The result is a spacious layout where most keys are close to their full size. The keyboard is backlit, too, and of course adorned by the classic ThinkPad trackpoint, a small red nub in the center of the keyboard that can be used to control the mouse without moving your hands away from a typing position.

Lenovo also ships the device with an active pen. Its large enough to feel comfortable in-hand and can attach magnetically to the side of the device. I wouldnt say it felt any better or worse than other similar pens Ive used recently, but handwriting appeared swiftly and accurately.

The touchpad, however, continues to sour the story. The keyboards shallow profile leaves little space, so the touchpad measures roughly four inches wide by two inches deep. Thats extremely shallow for a modern PC, and it can cause problems when using multi-touch gestures to flip between windows or scroll down a web page.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Display, audio

IDG / Matthew Smith

The large 16.3-inch OLED touchscreen takes a bit of the edge off the touchpads small size, as its possible to scroll or swipe on the display itself. And while the shallow keyboard is mostly a downside, it does leave the display close at hand when the X1 Fold 16 is used in clamshell mode. In fact, I found myself tapping buttons and links on the display nearly as often as the small touchpad.

Its a beautiful display, too. The unusual 2,560 x 2,024 resolution works out to roughly 200 pixels per inch (ppi) which, though not the very best available in 2024 (the Dell XPS 16, for example, delivers over 250 ppi), is certainly more than enough to look pleasant and sharp.

OLEDs usual advantages are present, too. Color looks vibrant, the contrast ratio is high, and the display can achieve a perfect minimum luminance of zero nits when required. These perks combine for a lifelike and immersive image. I especially noticed this when using the fully unfurled 16.3-inch display with the keyboards kickstand. Its a big, beautiful canvas thats wonderful for viewing and editing photos.

However, this all comes with a caveat: display glare. Glare is a common issue for OLED displays, as most are glossy, but the X1 Fold 16 is especially reflective. Sitting in my office, with the display at half brightness, I could see my own reflection so clearly I was able to shave in an open File Explorer tab set to Dark Mode. This, as you might have guessed, is not part of my normal routine, but the X1 Folds extreme gloss encouraged me to give it a try. I suppose its a perk if you need to check your hair before a video call, but its more likely to prove a distraction.



The X1 Fold 16s OLED display is paired with excellent speakers. Lenovo uses a trio of speakers, though only two are enabled depending on the mode in which the device is used. This approach prevents your hands from obstructing the speakers when holding the device. The speakers are strong, too, with good volume and a clear presentation thats rarely muddy or dense. External speakers are better, of course, but I was happy to use the X1 Fold 16s speakers for casual listening as I worked.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The X1 Fold 16s webcam can record up to 1440p resolution at 30 frames per second. Recorded video looks crisp, attractive, and vibrant, with good color reproduction and reasonable handling of exposure in rooms with mixed lighting. Its still a webcam, but youll look sharper than anyone else on your video call.

Lenovos microphone array captured exceedingly clear and strong audio that was easy to make out even when I spoke softly. Noise cancellation was just average, though, obscuring most repetitive noises but allowing some louder and more abrupt sounds, like a saw in a neighbors yard, come through. Still, its a good microphone and great for online chat.

Theres two forms of biometric login, as well: a fingerprint reader and facial recognition (the latter is only available with the keyboard attached). Both work well, though my usual preference for facial recognition remains, as its often quicker and more reliable.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Connectivity

The X1 Fold 16s chooses to focus on the latest connectivity instead of legacy ports. It offers two Thunderbolt 4 ports, which also support USB-C, and one USB-C. All three ports support Power Delivery and can be used to charge the device. Theyre also on different flanks, which means a convenient port is always available no matter how the device is used. Thats an important point not all 2-in-1s and foldable devices get right.

USB-A is missing, however, as is wired Ethernet. I dont blame Lenovo for choosing to ditch these ports, as they dont align with the X1 Fold 16s futuristic design. Still, they will make legacy devices a tad harder to connect.

Wireless connectivity spans Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.1. Thats a minor disappointment, as most laptops are moving to Wi-Fi 7. This difference is unlikely to matter for most people, as a majority of U.S. homes have yet to even upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E, nevermind Wi-Fi 7. Still, it could be an issue if you plan to hold on to the X1 Fold for many years, as Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 will eventually dominate.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Performance

The X1 Fold 16s design is innovative, but the hardware inside is not. It ships with an Intel Core i7-1250U processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and a 512GB solid state drive. These specifications are a slight upgrade from the base model, which has an Intel Core i5-1230U. Intels 12th-gen core is now a couple generations behind the latest chips, and that has an impact on the X1 Fold 16s performance.

IDG / Matthew Smith

PCMark 10, which tests multiple aspects of a PCs performance, put the X1 Fold off to a rough start with a score of 4,590. Thats towards the low end for a PC sold in 2024. Many less expensive laptops, like the Acer Swift Go 14 or HP Pavilion Plus, can outperform the X1 Fold 16.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Cinebench R20, a heavily multithreaded processor benchmark, doesnt change the narrative. The Intel Core i7-1250U has 10 cores, but only two of those are performance cores, and the processors maximum rated Turbo power consumption of 29 watts. The new Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, by comparison, has 16 cores with six performance cores and a maximum Turbo power consumption of 115 watts.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Handbrake further underscores the X1 Fold 16s modest performance. It required nearly an hour to complete the transcode of a 1080p feature film from an .mp4 to .mkv format using Handbrake 0.9.9. Now, to be clear, it is possible to transcode more quickly using other apps and methods. What this test shows, however, is that the X1 Fold 16 isnt a great fit for long-duration, CPU-heavy task.

IDG / Matthew Smith

The hits keep coming in 3DMark Time Spy, where the X1 Fold 16 hits a tepid score of 1,159. Thats certainly towards the low end for an Intel Core i7 processor with Iris Xe integrated graphics. Blame the maximum graphics frequency, which is rated at just 950MHz. A newer and more powerful Intel chip, like the Intel Core i7-1360P, increases that to 1.5GHz. And the latest integrated graphics from AMD and Intel can nearly triple the X1 Fold 16s score.

In shortthe X1 Fold 16 is rather awful at games and other 3D workloads. The high-resolution display doesnt help matters, either. Even games that are many years old are unlikely to run well at the displays native resolution.

I wont sugarcoat it. The X1 Fold 16s performance is bad value for money. The configuration I reviewed retails above $3,000 yet it repeatedly lost to laptops sold for as little as $1,000. This isnt really a surprise, as the X1 Fold 16 performance is right in line with laptops weve tested that have similar hardware like the HP Spectre Foldable and Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3.

There is one positive, howeverthe X1 Fold 16 is fanless, which means its completely silent. Im not a fan of fan noise, so this benefit didnt escape my notice. Still, as much as I value silence, its not enough to excuse the machines lackluster performance.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Battery life

The X1 Fold 16s battery, like so much of the device, is unconventional. Lenovo ships a 48 watt-hour battery in the base model, but upgraded models pair that with a second 16 watt-hour battery, for a total of 64 watt-hours.

IDG / Matthew Smith

Our standard battery test, which loops a 4K file of the short film Tears of Steel, drained the X1 Fold 16s battery in just shy of twelve hours. Thats not an exceptional result, but its solid and should prove up to handling a full workday even with occasional use of more demanding apps. My own day-to-day use, which mostly consists of web browsing and document editing, saw the battery last roughly 11 hours.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16: Conclusion

The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold 16 Gen 1 is an ambitious but flawed attempt to bring a larger folder screen to a PC. It seems like a good idea on paper: the older ThinkPad X1 Fold 13 always felt too small, so a bigger screen seems to make sense.

In practice, however, the X1 Fold 16 is too bulky for use as a tablet, yet still too small and awkward to use as a laptop. Its best when the 16-inch screen is used with the keyboard kickstand, but even this is far from perfect, as issues like the small touchpad and highly reflective screen remain a problem. And, because the X1 Fold 16 is an innovative and unusual device, Lenovo asks a tidy sum for it, making it even more difficult to recommend.

I can see a future for folding screens in PC laptops, but the X1 Fold 16 isnt going to take them mainstream yet.
Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has indicated that Ghana topped the list of countries in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion.



Speaking at the media launch of the 3i Africa Summit 2024 in Accra, Dr. Bawumia attributed the achievement to the successful implementation of the governments digitalisation agenda.



The acceptance of the Ghana card as the sole identification document for financial transaction in the country will in the long run help in the reduction of Non-Performing Loans and mobile money fraud. All of these developments have contributed to ensuring that Ghana is now ranked in number one in Africa in terms of access to financial inclusion, he said.



He emphasised that the path of the digital revolution is through financial technology and that Africas path would be different from many other countries.



The path of the digital revolution is through fintech and that is why we want to see the advancement of fintech. Africas path is going to be different from many other countries. While, we want to learn from other countries, we should first learn from each other, he added.



Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, disclosed that, the government is set to introduce the Fintech Innovation Fund.



According to him, this is to help promote the fintech industry.



Chief Executive Officer of the Development Bank Ghana, Kwamina Duker, emphasised the human element in the digital revolution.



He stressed the need for skilled individuals to execute and implement technological advancements.



With the wealth of technology, products, and ideas at our disposal, we still need people to execute them and make things happen.



Themed, Unleashing Africas Fintech and Digital Economic Potential, the 3i Africa Summit will be held in Accra from May 13 to 15, 2024, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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In an age dominated by conformity, a powerful wave of self-expression is reshaping the narrative. Amidst this cultural shift, jewellery is transcending its traditional role as a mere accessory, evolving into a profound storytelling medium that celebrates individuality.



Recognizing this shift, companies are responding to the demand for personalized products. QNET has recently unveiled its Embracelet collection under the luxury Swiss watch and jewellery brand, Bernhard H. Mayer. Crafted to celebrate the wearer's unique life choices, each piece in this exquisite line is a personal emblem, a unique fingerprint in the world of fashion.



Trevor Kuna, Chief Transformation and Reputation Officer of QNET, emphasized, "Jewellery is a very personal expression. That's why we worked with the master designers and craftsmen at Bernhard H. Mayer to develop a collection of stunning and distinctive bracelets that perfectly capture a person's individual personality."



"In the modern complexity of life, jewellery becomes a powerful tool for self-expression. The Embraceletcollection, featuring bolo-bracelets with stones like pink amethyst, amethyst, or diamonds, allows for versatile styling. Whether worn alone or mixed, each piece embodies personal aesthetics and emotional realms. For instance, amethyst enhances clarity, blue topaz refines communication, and diamonds symbolize prosperity."



As the jewellery industry undergoes a transformation towards inclusivity, diversity, and sustainability,designers are embracing unconventional materials and celebrating a broader spectrum of beauty. Bernhard H. Mayer's commitment to sustainability is reflected in their use of recycled gold to minimize environmental impact and protect human rights, and as such, the companys various suppliers are members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) - an international not-for-profit standard and certification organisation that ensures all materials are environment friendly and sourced ethically.



At the forefront of fashion's commitment to sustainability in 2024, companies like QNET and Bernhard H. Mayer pave the way for consumers to express their unique style responsibly.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has announced an upward revision of balance and transaction limits for customers' mobile money wallets, with changes set to take effect from March 1, 2024.



According to a statement released by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, this adjustment aligns with the growing volume of transactional activities and evolving customer requirements.



Under the revised limits, daily transaction caps have been raised across different tiers of mobile money accounts. The minimum account, previously capped at GH2,000, will now have a limit of GH3,000, while medium accounts, previously set at GH10,000, will see their limits increased to GH15,000.



Similarly, the threshold for enhanced accounts, previously at GH15,000, has been elevated to GH25,000 per day. Maximum account limits have also been adjusted upwards, with the minimum account limit rising from GH3,000 to GH5,000, medium account limits increasing from GH25,000 to GH40,000, and enhanced account limits climbing from GH50,000 to GH75,000.



In terms of monthly transaction limits, the minimum account, previously capped at GH6,000, will now have a limit of GH10,000. However, there are no changes to the monthly transaction limits for medium and enhanced accounts.



Customers seeking clarification on these changes are advised to contact customer service representatives at the respective mobile money service providers across the country, as stated in the announcement.

Source: graphiconline









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Mohammad Ravi Ismail has seen firsthand how hard it can be to grab a jug of milk or loaf of bread close to home on Broadway on Buffalos East Side.

Dollar Tree used to be an option, but that store never reopened after the December blizzard. Some people headed to the Walmart 5 miles away in Cheektowaga, but that is a nonstarter for people without transportation.

So, in a region often called a food desert, Ismail is building an oasis.

Apon Supermarket will open at noon Saturday in a former Dollar Tree location at 1370 Broadway.

We saw an opportunity where we could help and serve the community, Ismail said.

The 14,000-square-foot store will be more than a corner grocery. It will carry traditional grocery goods and specialize in a number of South Asian and African foods to serve the diverse, nearby population.

We have a lot of Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian curries, African beans, breads, meat, chicken, fish, noodles  we have all kinds of stuff for everybody in the community, said Ismail. Im trying to feed the entire neighborhood, whatever theyre looking for.

Ismail and five partners originally emigrated from Bangladesh to New York City, but moved to Buffalo in recent years to join its growing Bangladeshi American community.

The store will be in Common Council Member Mitch Nowakowskis district, and he said he welcomes the addition.

It is, in my opinion, one of the areas in the city and in my district hardest hit by poverty, vacant land and abandonment, he said.

The neighborhood has a high concentration of people who do not drive, and do errands on foot.

Broadway-Bailey is in extreme need of access to not only quality products but a variety of them, Nowakowski said. This will be a more positive change than the current oversaturation of corner stores that sell nothing more than alcohol, chips and snacks.

Buffalos East Side is often referred to as a food desert because of its lack of availability of fresh, quality groceries. The disparity is also referred to as food apartheid, because of the way grocery chains have decided not to participate in the community.

There is a Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue, as well as a Save-A-Lot in the Broadway Market and an Aldi across the street from the Broadway Market on Broadway.

The city has tried to entice bigger grocery chains to locate on the East Side, but havent had success, largely due to the communitys low-income demographics. That has made it difficult for residents to find fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, at an affordable price.

In January, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., proposed incentivizing grocery stores to locate on the East Side and other food deserts using money from legislation called the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which provided funding in the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills to bring more healthy food access to underserved communities across the country.

Some grocery store chains only want to be in wealthy communities because they want people to spend a lot of money in their stores, Gillibrand said in January. They dont think its economical to locate in lower-income areas, so we need to give them money to get them to come here.

When the racist mass shooting at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue in 2022 forced the store to close for renovations for almost two months, it highlighted the lack of fresh food options on Buffalos East Side. At the time, Tops ran shuttles to another location so customers could still get groceries.

Ismail came to the United States from Bangladesh in 2000 when he was 4 years old, and grew up in Brooklyn. He owned a smaller grocery store in New York City before moving to Buffalo in 2018 seeking a better quality of life and more affordable living expenses, as well as the strong Bangladeshi American community in the area.

Living in New York City, everything is expensive. Youre working 24/7, you cant have time for your family and you have nothing saved for yourself after paying all the bills, he said.

One of his sisters moved to the area and encouraged him to follow.

She said, They have opportunities here, Buffalo is growing, Ismail said. So I took the initiative to come to Buffalo and I liked it.
Nestle Ghana Ltd. in collaboration with the Ministry of Education has reaffirmed its commitment towards academic excellence by honoring a total of forty-six students who excelled in the 2023 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE). The students including visually impaired and hearing impaired were selected from public and private schools across the country.



For their award package, each student received a laptop, a plaque, Nestle souvenirs and one year supply of Nestle products as well as a signed certificate by the President of the Republic of Ghana. The students also engaged in exciting activities prior to the official awards event. The activities included a tour of the Nestle factory in Tema, a visit to the Jubilee House, the Ministry of Education, the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, and an air-experience at the Air Force Base in Burma Camp.



The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo congratulated the award recipients. In his speech he said education is not a privilege but a fundamental right. Hecalled for all to reflect on the crucial role of education because the success of the youth depends on a solid educational foundation. He was emphatic, at the basic education level,every student will be mandated to study and will be examined on at least one Ghanaian language as part of the Basic Education Certificate Examination.



The awards ceremony, which was held at the Accra International Conference Centre, was attended by Ministers of State, members of the Diplomatic Corps, Traditional Leaders,Heads of Departments and Agencies, parents of awardees, teachers as well as otherstudents.



Speaking at the awards ceremony, Mr. Georgios Badaro, Managing Director of Nestle Ghana Ltd. reiterated his firm belief that recognizing and celebrating achievements is not only a way to honour individuals but also a way to inspire others to reach higher heights.Speaking on the theme Our Democracy, Our Pride, Mr. Badaro emphasized the importance of protecting the democracy of the country, so that the future leaders like theaward winners will be able to contribute to shaping the future of Ghana.



Since its inception in 1993, the Presidents Independence Day Awards, continues to reward excellence in academic performance. Today, the awards ceremony has become an integralpart of Ghanas Independence Day Celebration.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The United States of America (USA) says the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-gay bill is worrying even though it is yet to be assented to by President Nana Addo Dankwa AKufo-Addo.



The controversial bill was passed yesterday, February 28, 2024, by parliament.



However, the US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, in a statement said the bill if passed in law will undermine Ghana's laudable tradition.



Ghanas tradition of tolerance, peace, and respect for human rights is a source of stability and prosperity that has long served as a model for countries around the globe. This legislation is inconsistent with these values and will if it becomes law, undermine this laudable tradition, Matthew Miller said.



Adding that the bill will also affect Ghana's economy.



Below is the spokespersons full statement.



Ghanaian Parliaments Passage of Legislation Undermines Human Rights



Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson



The United States is deeply troubled by the Ghanaian Parliaments passage of legislation, officially called the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which would threaten all Ghanaians constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press, and assembly.



The bill seeks to criminalize any person who simply identifies as LGBTQI+, as well as any friend, family, or member of the community who does not report them. Limiting the rights of one group in a society undermines the rights of all.



The United States echoes the call by those Ghanaians who have urged a review of the constitutionality of the bill to protect the rights of all individuals in Ghana.



The bill would also undermine Ghanas valuable public health, media and civic spaces, and economy. International business coalitions have already stated that such discrimination in Ghana would harm business and economic growth in the country.



Ghanas tradition of tolerance, peace, and respect for human rights is a source of stability and prosperity that has long served as a model for countries around the globe. This legislation is inconsistent with these values and will if it becomes law, undermine this laudable tradition.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com









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The Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye has held bilateral discussions with the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Mochizuki Hisanobu on the completion of key road infrastructure projects in Ghana.



The bilateral meeting underscored the appreciation of the Ghanaian government for Japan's consistent support in driving socio-economic development, particularly in the infrastructure sector.

I wish to express the appreciation of the government of Ghana to the Prime Minister and the people of Japan for their contributions to the development of our country, particularly in the provision of infrastructure, said Mr. Asenso-Boakye.



Minister Asenso-Boakye further urged Ambassador Hisanobu to expedite the process of securing additional funding for the Volivo bridge project, highlighting its importance for enhancing connectivity and facilitating economic activities in the region.



In response, Ambassador Hisanobu assured that efforts were underway to facilitate the necessary funding arrangements for the Volivo bridge project, affirming Japan's commitment to fostering continued collaboration with Ghana.



His Excellency Hisanobu reiterated his government's commitment to supporting Ghana in its endeavours within the roads and highways sector.



The discussions also addressed issues on the progress of key projects such as the Kumasi Inner Ring Road (Asokwa to Santansi Roundabout) and the Tema-Motorway Interchange Phase 2 where necessary measures are being put in place to ensure smooth delivery of the projects.



Furthermore, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to provide additional grant funding to cover the increased costs incurred during the construction of the Assin Praso-Assin Foso Road Project. The extra expenses, totalling about 30.5 million Yen, were primarily due to factors such as fuel price hikes, material escalation, and challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Ghanaian Evangelist and Founder/President of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh has added his voice in the ongoing discussion over the passage of the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family values Bill, popularly known as the Anti-gay bill.



Dr. Lawrence stated that, the passage of the bill is in the best interest of Ghana as a sovereign state.



Speaking on the GTV breakfast show, the revered man of God said, "This nonsense cannot be taken to Kuwait, cannot be taken to Saudi Arabia, cannot be taken to certain parts of the continent. Does it mean that because of poverty, any junk at all should be placed on us?"



Dr. Lawrence Tetteh further stated that, he had listened extensively to the intellectual discourse and public debate surrounding the bill, hence, he believes strongly that the bill is good for the Ghanaian community.



"Thank God I have been to school and I've listened to intellectual discourse. We're losing and missing out on our crunch of it. Our cultural values does not accept it. Our religious values does not accept it. Our traditional norms does not accept it. I was born at James town. In that community, when you go there now, it is a mess," he stated.



The parliament of Ghana, on the 28th of February 2024, passed the controversial bill after three years of rigourous debtates and consideration. One of the sponsors of the bill, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Hon. Sam Nartey George, assured Ghanaians that the bill will be sent within seven daysa to the President, Akufo-Addo to assent to it.













Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com









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Sam George, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and chief crusader of Ghanas anti-LGBTQ+ bill, says over 90 percent of Ghanaians are in support of the passage of the bill.



The bill was passed on Wednesday, February 28, by a unanimous decision in Parliament; it however awaits presidential assent to become law.



The bill criminalizes every promotion, advocacy and practice of homosexuality.



Culprits will face a minimum of six (6) months to five (5) years imprisonment.



Though the international community have condemned the bill titled Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill and appealed to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, not to assent to it, Hon. Sam George is appreciative of the efforts by the members of the Legislative House and Ghanaians in passing it.



Speaking to the media, Hon. Sam George stated; 93% of Ghanaians support this bill and support the work that Parliament has done.



He lauded the media for their enormous work and cooperation in seeing to the finalization of the bill.



We couldnt have gotten that 93 percent support on our own but for the work that you, the media, have done in projecting the ills and vices of homosexuality and projecting proper Ghanaian family values. Well continue to work with you to make sure that our children are protected, the innocence of Ghanaian children is not attacked and that our cultural values are upheld and respected.



On the issue of infringement of human rights and suppression of the media in their reportage on LGBTQ+ matters, the Ningo-Prampram MP stated emphatically that the bill does not prevent the media from doing its j0b.



The intent of the bill has never been to gag your chapter 12 right. We respect your rights to editorials but you and I all know that editorials are different from advocacy. And so your editorial rights to issues on the subject of homosexuality, issues on the subject of Ghanaian family values will continue to be protected by us as sponsors and the constitution of the Republic, he stressed.

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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The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in collaboration with the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has conducted a seminar on Trade Facilitation.



The seminar took place in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana between 26th February and 1st March 2024.



The seminar empowered the Ghana Customs to understand the various free trade agreements and their mode of implementation. It also provided more information to them on emerging trends such as the Cross Border Women Traders and One-Stop Border Post concepts.



Ghana, has over the years, signed unto several free trade agreements. These agreements are critical to facilitating smooth trade thereby engendering the countrys economic transformation and development.



There is a need for Customs officers,particularly those at the borders, to understand these agreements and their implementation. This will help them facilitate movement of goods and people andoffer preferential treatments that promote these agreements.



In her remarks at the opening session of the Seminar, Ms. Suzuki Momoko, Chief Representative of JICA Ghana explained: Trade facilitation can provide important opportunities for Africa by increasing the benefits from open trade, therebycontributing to economic growth and poverty reduction.



In this regard, we welcome African-led initiatives on regional and continental economic integration including thecommencement of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).



She continued: JICA has provided various assistance to Africa to strengthen connectivity and facilitate trade. The introduction of One-Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) at borders and the modernization of Customs operations are examples of such assistance.



We have also supported corridor developments such as the West Africa Growth Ring, connecting Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Burkina Faso. Projects such as the ongoing Improvement of the Tema Motorway Roundabout and the recently completed Improvement of National Trunk Road N8 are among other Grant Aid projects JICA is implementing in Ghana, contributing to improvement of international corridors while enhancing intra-Africa trade.



Participants from Ghana Customs and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat attended the Seminar.

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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A Lawyer and the Executive Secretary for the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Moses Foh-Amoaning, has reposed confidence in President Nana Akufo-Addo on assenting to the LBGTQ+ bill.



According to Lawyer Foh-Anoaning, he believes the president, considering how smart a person he is, will append his signature to the bill for it to become a law.



On February 28, 2024, Parliament passed the bill which outlaws LGBTQ activities and criminalizes its promotion, advocacy, and funding.



Individuals found guilty would face a jail term of 6 months to 3 years, while promoters and sponsors of the act could face a 3 to 5 year jail term.



The passage of the Bill has drawn criticism from some stakeholders, including the Ambassador of the United States to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer.



Regarding the potential response of President Nana Akufo-Addo to the bill, Foh-Amoaning expressed confidence in the Presidents alignment with Ghanaian values and emphasized the political implications of any decision he will take.



Lawyer Foh-Amoaning added that the passage of the bill is not to criminalize individuals, but to provide care, treatment, and support for those grappling with gender identity and sexual orientation challenges.



He said, the focus of the Coalition is not to criminalize or dump people in prisonsthose people who get caught in these challenges, we were very clear in our mind that what they needed was care treatment and support, and its in the bill.



Responding to critics of the bill such as the Chairperson for the Centre for Democratic Development, Prof. Audrey Gadzekpo, and the evolution of perspectives within Ghanaian society, particularly mentioning Member of Parliament Sam George, Foh-Amoaning stressed the importance of education and understanding in shaping viewpoints.



Speaking on 3FM's Sunrise with Jonny Hughes, monitored by Peacefmonline.com, Foh-Amoaning explained, Sam himself has been educated by relating with us. He has understood how false this whole human rights argument is, and when I listen to Audrey, shes only talking standard LGBT template arguments. So, Sam probably then was not educated and he tells me that is the thing that pushed him and made him realize this is serious.



Mr. Foh-Amoaning addressed the political dimension of their advocacy, citing constitutional principles and the promotion of Ghanaian values as the foundation of their work.



He emphasized, if you say were political you are right because thats what we are engaged in, we want to ensure that the people of this country are protected and thats what the Constitution says.



Foh-Amoaning further underscored the potential political implications if the President fails to sign the Bill, warning that the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) could gain political advantage in the 2024 general elections.



Well, the President is a very smart politician and what Ive told everybody whos asked me this question is, first of all theres no President who has ascended the presidency of Ghana who has used the word of God more than this President. So, the point Im trying to make is, with all that I know about the President, I know he will sign this bill, he asserted.



He warned of significant consequences for the ruling party should the President choose not to sign the bill, predicting electoral repercussions and potential loss of support.



If he refuses to sign, it would be very easy the NDC will just package the NPP as 'Trumu Trumu' party.



Mr Foh-Amoaning reiterated the Coalitions commitment to promoting Ghanaian family values and protecting the interests of the nation.





Source: Kobina Darlington/peacefmonline.com









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Prof. Smart Sarpong, a Senior Researcher at the Kumasi Technical University, says the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, should not be compelled to assent to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.



Parliament, on Wednesday, February 27, passed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill by a unanimous decision to uphold Ghana's proper human sexual rights and family values.



The bill criminalizes the promotion, advocacy and every act of homosexuality.



Culprits will face a jail term of 6 months to 5 years.



The President has come under pressure to sign the bill, however the international community has condemned the bill describing it as "deeply harmful" and an infringement on human rights.



The US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer, and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk have both asked the President to cancel the bill.



Nonetheless, many Ghanaians who support the bill have asked the President not to hesitate in appending his signature to the bill to make it a law.



Renowned lawyer and Executive Secretary for the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values, Moses Foh-Amoaning, in an interview on 3FM, warned the President saying if he refuses to sign the bill, there will severe consequences for him and his New Patriotic Party.



If he refuses to sign, it would be very easy the NDC will just package the NPP as Trumu, Trumu party, he said.



Discussing the bill during Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Prof. Smart Sarpong asked those calling for quick presidential assent to exercise restraint and allow the President to peruse the bill before he agrees to it.



"We can't say the President should sign it immediately. What is he signing? Give him the room to peruse it. Even if he can't make any changes, he must know what he is signing", he remarked.



He, however, implored the President to do the needful after reading the bill saying "it is protecting the majority. This is not a law that is going to hunt the minority but rather to protect the majority . . . at least, about 99 percent of Ghanaians are for this bill".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Charles Owusu has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to assent to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill with immediate effect.



The bill, which has been passed by Parliament, makes the promotion, activism and acts of homosexuality in the country illegal and punishable by law.



Offenders will be sentenced to a minimum of 6 months to 5 years in prison.



Following the passage of the bill, pressure has been mounting on the President to cancel it.



International Community Blasts Ghana



UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk describes the bill as deeply harmful and implores the President not to append his signature to making it a law.



The bill broadens the scope of criminal sanctions against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transexual and queer people  simply for being who they are  and threatens criminal penalties against perceived allies of LGBTQ+ people.



I call for the bill not to become law. I urge the Ghanaian Government to take steps to ensure everyone can live free from violence, stigma and discrimination, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Consensual same-sex conduct should never be criminalized, Mr. Turk also argued.



US ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Evelyn Palmer also says the bill undermines human rights.



I am saddened because some of the smartest, most creative, most decent people I know are LGBT. The bill Parliament passed takes away not only their basic human rights but those of all Ghanaians because it undermines their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press. It will be bad for public order and public health. If enacted, it will also hurt Ghanas international reputation and Ghanas economy, she wrote on the embassys X page.



Presidential Assent



Although the bill has been passed, it awaits the President's signature to become law.



Without the President assenting to it, it will be difficult for the bill to become operational and for offenders to be punished.



President Nana Addo has, before the passage of the bill, made his stance clear that he is not in support of homosexuality, however whether or not he will sign this bill remains in suspense.



Legacy



Charles Owusu, Nkoranza North parliamentary aspirant, has appealed to the President to sign the bill immediately for posterity sake.



He condemned the LGBTQ+ community stressing their activities are a direct contravention of proper Ghanaian values and sexual orientation.



To him, no person in Ghana should be allowed to engage in homosexuality because aside it being against proper Ghanaian values, it is also an abomination to God and the nation.



"Let this be the number one legacy you will leave for this nation and posterity will remember you that it was under your regime that this abomination wasn't permitted," he advised the President.



He made these submissions on Peace FM's Friday edition of "Kokrokoo" morning show.

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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In recent times, the narrative of power challenges in Ghanaian schools has escalated, with numerous public institutions such as Mfantsipim School, Accra Academy, and Mondo Senior High Technical School among others facing abrupt electricity disconnections.



This persistent issue highlights the dire need for sustainable solutions in powering educational facilities, crucial for maintaining the quality of education.



Stepping into the spotlight with a pioneering initiative, the 1999 alumni of Holy Child School have set a remarkable precedent.



In a bid to combat these electricity woes, these visionary women have successfully funded the transition of their alma mater to 75% solar energy. This initiative not only addresses the immediate problem of power outages and financial strains on the school's budget but also serves as a beacon of climate-positive action with the potential for carbon credit benefits.



Founded in 1946 by the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, Holy Child School has long stood as a bastion of educational excellence and societal impact in Ghana. Its alumni include distinguished personalities such as Ghanas Ambassador to France, Anna Bossman; Goldman Sachs Vice President, Sabina Dankwah; and University of Ghanas Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nana Aba Amfo, to name a few.



The Solar Project



This solar project, a gift from the 1999 alumni commemorating their 25th anniversary and coinciding with the school's 78th speech and prize-giving day, symbolizes a profound act of giving back and forward.



In an exclusive interview with the Business and Financial Times, engineer Ing. Mrs. Sheila Enyonam Akyea, president of the year group, shared: "This project builds on the foundation laid by our predecessors. We're thrilled to extend their initial contribution, ensuring every corner of our school benefits. It's our way of ensuring current and future students receive the same level of empowerment and opportunity we had."



Project's Committee Chair Ing. Mrs. Teresa Kyei-Mensah, mentioned the substantial investment the solar installation demands, emphasizing ongoing fundraising efforts.



she said: "Once completed, the initiative promises significant savings for the school and, by extension, the Ghana Education Service, redirecting funds towards essential educational resources," she added.



Solar power, increasingly recognized for its affordability and environmental benefits, stands as a viable solution for Ghana's educational sector and its broader climate goals. With abundant sunshine year-round, Ghana is ideally positioned to harness solar energy, reducing the financial burden on public resources while contributing to global carbon reduction efforts.



The project was completed in January 2024 after a 1-month testing phase. The year group eagerly anticipate the handover ceremony at the 78th Speech and Prize-Giving Day of Holy Child School in Cape Coast on Saturday, 9th March 2024 marking a significant milestone in their commitment to sustainable development and quality education in Ghana.



This initiative not only lights the way for other schools grappling with similar challenges but also underscores the powerful impact of alumni engagement in shaping a brighter future for the next generation.













Source: Peacefmonline.com









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A Buffalo man who allegedly threatened in September to blow up Veterans Administration Medical Centers in Buffalo and Washington, D.C., has been arrested, federal officials said Friday.

A criminal complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York accused Demont Coston, 56, of making the threats in phone calls and text messages.

The complaint alleges that Coston called the Veterans Crisis Line Sept. 12 and threatened to blow up the VA Medical Center in Buffalo.

Coston, court papers said, is recorded as telling the crisis line: If I cant get help, cant nobody else get help. Thats how I feel. The next VA around me, aint gonna be the next VA around me no more.

Coston had served in the U.S. Navy and received an Other Than Honorable discharge, making him ineligible for VA benefits and services, court papers said. Coston has tried to get benefits and was denied, according to the complaint.

Following the threat, Buffalo police tried to do a welfare check on Coston but were unable to find him.

Coston then threatened to blow up the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 14, according to court papers.

Coston faces a penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he is convicted, according to federal prosecutors.

He eventually was found at a family members home in Maryland.

A federal judge on Thursday placed Coston under 24-hour-a-day home incarceration, with GPS monitoring. Coston also was prohibited from applying for a pistol permit and from contacting the VA.
In the dynamic realm of content creation and media marketing, Marsaw Media stands as a beacon of ambition, fun, passion and result. Comprising a team of seasoned professionals with over 20 years of collective experience in TV production, commercials, and private media agencies, Marsaw Media positions itself as a comprehensive solution provider for both private and commercial endeavours.



What sets Marsaw Media apart is not just its technical proficiency, but the infusion of passion, creativity, commitment, and loyalty into every project undertaken. The teams dedication spans the entire spectrum of content creation, encompassing photography, videography, and creative audio content. This diverse skill set ensures that clients can avail themselves of a wide array of services tailored to suit every occasion and activity.



Right planning



One of Marsaw Medias key strengths lies in its ability to understand the unique needs of businesses. The team meticulously plans and scripts purposeful content to align with the brands communication objectives. Whether its captivating photographs, engaging videos, or innovative audio content, Marsaw Media assures clients of satisfaction with its unwavering commitment to excellence.



Beyond content creation, Marsaw Media excels in media marketing, strategically selecting various channels to effectively reach the clients target audience. The focus is not just on creating content, but also on ensuring a successful media communication process. This expertise allows clients to entrust Marsaw Media with their brands narrative, confident in the teams ability to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of media marketing.



Marsaw Medias service offerings span a broad spectrum, covering concepts and content creation, production consultation, influencer marketing, social media management, aerial photography and video, real estate photography, product photography, corporate infomercials, films, movies, documentaries, and more. The versatility of their offerings makes Marsaw Media a one-stop-shop for all media-related needs.



Experienced leadership



At the helm of this ambitious venture are Ms. Crystal Franklin, the President of Marsaw Media and HTX Construction, and Mr. Troy Marsaw, the Chief Executive Officer. Their leadership not only reflects experience but, also a shared vision of forging mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with clients beyond the initial project.



Located in Labone, Accra, Marsaw Media is easily accessible for those seeking top-notch content creation and media marketing services. For inquiries, Ms. Crystal Franklin and Mr. Troy Marsaw can be reached at the following contact numbers: +233 53 755 8600 and +233 50 520 5504.



Marsaw Medias blend of experience, creativity, and dedication positions it as a powerhouse in the competitive landscape of content creation and media marketing. For businesses seeking to elevate their brand presence through compelling content and strategic communication, Marsaw Media stands ready to turn visions into captivating realities.









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 National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has disclosed that the party is set to announce the running mate for its presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama ahead of the 2024 general elections.



The much-anticipated announcement is expected to be made on February 29, 2024, says Sammy Gyamfi.



During the interview, Gyamfi stated that following deliberations and considerations, a formal declaration regarding the running mates selection will be delivered later in the week. The decision is currently pending final approval by the council of elders and the national executive committee of the NDC.



Gyamfi expressed confidence that the decision regarding the running mate would not only resonate with the partys grassroots supporters but also with the entire nation.



He highlighted that John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer, has conscientiously pondered on the matter and sought counsel extensively before arriving at a choice.



While Mahama has already made his decision regarding his preferred running mate, he is obligated by the partys constitution to seek formal advice from the Council of Elders and present the selection to the National Executive Committee of the party for endorsement before officially unveiling the choice.



Gyamfi in an interview with Ghanaweb emphasized, The candidate is very clear in his mind as to who he wants to be his running mate to complement him and deliver his vision, underlining the significance of this crucial decision in shaping the NDCs strategy for the upcoming elections.



Speculations are rife Mahama may maintain 2020 running mate, Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.



As anticipation mounts and speculation swirls ahead of the reveal, the forthcoming announcement of the NDCs running mate for John Dramani Mahama promises to be a pivotal moment in the trajectory of the partys campaign for the 2024 elections.







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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The Founder and President of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev. Lawrence Tetteh has expressed concern about his place of birth being a notorious neighbourhood for homosexuals now.



The man of God who was born in Accra James Town, a community inhabited primarily by the Gas told GTV's morning show in an interview monitored by Peacefmobline.com that the community is now a mess.



According to him, indigents now openly endorse and practice all forms of LGBTQ+ activities despite its consequences.



I was born in James Town, and it is a privilege to be born in James Town. But in that community when you go there now it's a mess. Why should we impose LBGTQ+ on our children? Why do we want to destroy our nation, he lamented.



Rev. Lawrence Tetteh was reacting to the International Community's attempts to force the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ practice in Ghana.



Following the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill (Anti-LGBTQ+ bill) on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 - the International Community has expressed their disapproval of warned that Ghana will face some economic challenges if the bill is assented by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.





Referring to LGBTQ as nonsense, Rev Lawrence Tetteh states that it cannot be taken to certain parts of the world.

pic.twitter.com/kRAmbZBijx  SIKAOFFICIAL (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) February 29, 2024

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com









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The Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah, has threatened to lead a protest against the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) due to the current intermittent power supply.



"I met them (ECG and GRIDCo) and requested a regional breakdown (indicating power distribution) and for them to inform me if there's a planned maintenance so that the media and the general public can be informed. I have still not received the regional breakdown . . . if they don't give it to me, I will embark on a demonstration," he threatened.



Simon Osei-Mensah contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' told ECG and GRIDCo that "if I dont get a satisfactory explanation after listening to the Ministry of Energy with their response, Ill demonstrate against them."



"What's the difficulty? I'm not asking for money or anything; just give a regional breakdown and that has become a challenge. I just want a fair distribution..." he stated.













According to Simon Osei-Mensah, his decision to demonstrate against these two companies follows the recurring power outages without any reasonable explanation of the actual problem.



Speaking on Kumasi-based Angel FM in an interview monitored by MyNewsGH.com, the regional minister noted that he has yet to meet the Ministry of Energy to find out the cause of power outages in his region.



The word of caution Im sounding to the ECG and GRIDCO is that if I dont get a satisfactory explanation after listening to the Ministry of Energy with their response, Ill demonstrate against them, he threatened.



The angry minister further noted that though he is part of the government, he will not sit down for these two companies to deny the people of his region electricity, especially when other regions are not experiencing a similar situation.



Im saying this, and everybody should put on record, Ill be the first government appointee, the first regional minister to lead a demonstration in this region if they are not able to give a reasonable explanation, Simon Osei-Mensah told Kwame Tanko in his interview.



Ill lead a demonstration in the region, and when the time comes, nobody should come and stop me, he added.



The threat from the minister is based on the fact that most parts of Greater Kumasi have been experiencing power outages in the past months.



This situation has also generated a lot of discussion among citizens in the region with the question of whether dumsor is back.



Residents have called on the Electricity Company of Ghana to devise a timetable. Meanwhile, in an earlier statement, ECG said they had resolved all problems.







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Two years ago, United Airlines dropped its flights from Harrisburg International Airport to Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. and transferred the route to Newark, New Jersey.

Now the airline will move that route back to Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, and drop flights from HIA to Newark, the airport announced.

The change will take place beginning June 27 and United will fly twice daily to Dulles.

The HIA departures will connect to 57 destinations throughout the United States and to 26 cities around the world.

Combined with Uniteds three times daily service to Chicagos OHare International Airport, travelers will be able to fly United from HIA to destinations in North, Central and South America; Europe; Africa, and Japan.

Of the five airlines that fly out of HIA, United served the fourth most passengers in 2023 at 17.4 percent but served the second most international travelers flying out of HIA last year, serving 26 percent. Only American Airlines served more international passengers (41%) flying out of HIA.

International traffic to and from HIA increased by 25 percent last year compared to 2022 with an average of 270 passengers a day flying to cities around the globe. Cancun, London, San Juan, Mexico City and Toronto were the most popular destinations.

The route to Washington D.C. isnt the only change at HIA coming in June.

Allegiant has announced it is launching a nonstop route to Jacksonville International Airport beginning on June 14.

Harrisburg International Airport is located in Lower Swatara Township, outside of Middletown.
By Jack Panyard, LNP, Lancaster, Pa. (TNS)

An Elizabethtown teenager was sentenced Thursday to up to six months in prison for driving under the influence, which led to a crash that killed a Bainbridge motorcyclist.

Molly Duffy, 19, pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence and careless driving for the April 15 crash that killed Travis Mayer, 37, and severely injured his neighbor, Austin Fisher, at River and Turnpike roads in Conoy Township.

Judge Dennis Reinaker sentenced Duffy to five years of probation after serving 72 hours to six months in prison. The first year of probation will be on house arrest, and Duffy will report to prison at the end of next week.

Police said Duffy was driving under the influence of Delta 9 THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, when she turned left onto River Road from Turnpike Road, cutting off the motorcyclists. Mayer bailed off his bike, but Duffy turned left, hitting and killing him. Fisher struck the car and was ejected from his motorcycle.

Fisher told police Duffy hesitated at the intersection but did not stop at the stop sign.

Members of Mayers family were present at Thursdays sentencing, including his wife and son Jordan, 16.

" April 15 he was doing everything right and still lost his life, Jordan Mayer said during sentencing. There are so many things I was robbed of.

Duffys lawyer, Alex Egner, told Reinaker that Duffy had been cooperative since the incident, and she had planned to plead guilty. She had not driven, was on house arrest since the crash and had been getting counseling as well, Egner said.
The leaders of the four state-related universities made it clear on Thursday they would not get in the same bind as the former Harvard and Penn presidents found themselves last year when questioned about antisemitic activity on campus.

Responding to Rep. Kristin Marcells pointed question posed during a House budget hearing, the higher education leaders individually affirmed that antisemitic behavior and calls for the genocide of the Jewish people is not consistent with the cultural values of their universities and said that conduct would be actionable under their student code of conduct as a form of bullying, harassment and intimidation.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood have something in the works over at Amazon.

Prime Video revealed Thursday the premiere date and cast for the upcoming docuseries Friends in Low Places, a behind-the-scenes look at the married couples plans to build their honky-tonk bar in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, according to a press release.

The series is set to debut on March 7, which falls on the same day as the Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonks launch party, located at 411 Broadway in Nashville.

Paying tribute to his roots, Garth enlists the help of his friends, day-one tour team and an all-star hospitality group to open the epic, four-story bar on Lower Broadway. This is a labor of love and his thank you to the community of Music City, the description added.

In the Amazon Prime Video teaser, the Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer explained what its like for customers at the bar.

When you walk into Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk, youre in that stadium show, youre at that dive bar, he said.

These people that come to a Garth Brooks spot, they expect what they see at a Garth Brooks concert, and so you bring in the best of the best, which also happens to be that family that youve been touring the world with for the last three decades, Brooks said.

This was so much more than I bargained for! With that said, what we have built is far more than just a business, Brooks said in the press release. This is by far, the craziest ride I have ever been on.

We started down this road fueled by passion, dedication, and a shared vision, Trisha Yearwood said in the release. Im really proud of the team that has built the Friends Bar and Honky-Tonk. We are excited to share the culmination of everyones efforts. Its even bigger than we dreamed!

Additionally, brothers Benjamin and Max Goldberg, who are positioned to oversee all aspects of the hospitality at the bar, will also be featured in the docuseries, accompanied bu Jenny Deathridge Bratt and Camille Tambunting, who will be handling Strategic Hospitality, according to the press release.
Country music singer Kacey Musgraves has announced a 2024 Deeper Well tour that includes two stops in Pennsylvania.

The seven-time Grammy Award-winner will perform Sept. 4 at Bryce Jordan Center in State College and on Nov. 10 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Musgraves, who also has won seven Country Music Association Awards and three Academy of Country Music Awards, will release the album Deeper Well on March 15.

You can find tickets to her Pa. concerts here:

Sept. 4 - Bryce Jordan Center, State College

Nov. 10 - PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh

The tour also includes these dates:

Sept. 6 - Boston, Massachusetts

Sept. 7 - Boston, Massachusetts

Sept. 9 - Newark, New Jersey

Sept. 11 - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Sept. 12 - Rosemont, Illinois

Sept. 15 - Englewood, Colorado

Sept. 19 - Vancouver, Canada

Sept. 20 - Seattle, Washington

Sept. 23 - Sacramento, California

Sept. 24 - San Francisco, California

Sept. 27 - Glendale, Arizona

Sept. 28 - Las Vegas, Nevada

Oct. 1 - San Diego, California

Oct. 3 - Inglewood, California

Oct. 4 - Inglewood, California

Nov. 6 - Laval, Canada

Nov. 7 - Toronto, Canada

Nov. 9 - Baltimore, Maryland

Nov. 12 - Louisville, Kentucky

Nov. 13 - Columbus, Ohio

Nov. 15 - Brooklyn, New York

Nov. 16 - Brooklyn, New York

Nov. 21 - Houston, Texas

Nov. 22 - Dallas, Texas

Nov. 23 - Dallas, Texas

Nov. 26 - Austin, Texas

Nov. 27 - Austin, Texas

Nov. 29 - Tampa, Florida

Nov. 30 - Hollywood, Florida

Dec. 2 - Orlando, Florida

Dec. 5 - Charlotte, North Carolina

Dec. 6 - Nashville, Tennessee

Dec. 7 - Nashville, Tennessee
Prosecutors have charged a 44-year-old Buffalo man with second-degree murder in connection with a September 2022 fatal shooting on Glenwood Avenue in Masten Park.

Martinko Jamel Caver pleaded not guilty Thursday during an arraignment on murder and weapons charges, the Erie County District Attorneys Office said.

State Supreme Court Justice Paul B. Wojtaszek ordered Caver held without bail.

Caver is accused of killing George McGee III, 33, who was shot at about 2:15 a.m. Sept. 5, 2022, on Glenwood near Brooklyn Street, prosecutors said in a news release.

McGee was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

At the time of the shooting, police said the crime appeared targeted in nature.

 Aaron BeseckerReach Aaron at abesecker[at]buffnews.com or 716-849-4602.
Kia and Hyundai car owners whose vehicles were stolen will soon be able to claim their piece of a $145 million settlement.

The law firm Hagens Berman announced that anyone who bought or leased a Kia or Hyundai model between 2011 and 2022 and had it stolen should receive a notice about the settlement by March 4, according to USA Today.

The lawsuit stems from claims that Hyundai and Kia let their vehicles become more susceptible to theft by not installing immobilizers in these models.

We are very pleased that it will allow customers who have been impacted by vehicle thefts to receive several additional benefits, Kia said in a statement.

Hyundai is committed to the comprehensive actions we are undertaking to assist customers and communities affected by the persistent thefts, the company said.

The suit is expected to cover about 9 million vehicles, USA Today said.

If you are eligible, you might have to wait a bit longer to receive any money. The court still has to grant final approval of the $145 million settlement before payments can be sent out. That hearing is scheduled for July 15.

The deadline to submit a claim is Jan. 11, 2025, the law firm said. To submit a claim, you must be registered as the owner or lessor of the vehicle. It doesnt matter if you bought the car from a dealership or a private individual.

Software upgrades will be available to vehicle owners who dont have an immobilizer, an antitheft device usually installed in modern cars. It prevents the car from starting unless a code is sent from the vehicles key.

The lawsuit was prompted by a viral trend on the TikTok social media app known as the Kia challenge, which showed people how to start Kia and Hyundai vehicles with only a screwdriver and USB charging cord.

How much money claimants will receive will depend upon how much in eligible losses they have incurred as a result of having their vehicle stolen. Check the law firms FAQ page for more details.

If you dont receive a notice but believe you might be eligible, you can find information on how to submit a claim at the respective Hyundai and Kia websites.
The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico has issued a travel warning for people planning to visit the country during spring break, highlighting a range of potential threats.

While noting that the vast majority of people who travel to Mexico do so safely, the embassy emphasized in its warning that crime, including violent crime, can occur anywhere in Mexico, including in popular tourist destinations.

U.S. citizens should exercise increased caution in the downtown areas of popular spring break locations including Cancun, Playa Del Carmen, and Tulum, especially after dark, the warning said.

In addition, the embassy warned against consuming unregulated drugs or alcohol, noting that, U.S. citizens have reported losing consciousness or becoming injured after consuming alcohol that was possibly tainted.

The embassy also warned that counterfeit medication is common and might be ineffective or contain dangerous ingredients. Medication should be purchased in consultation with a medical professional and from reputable establishments, it said.

Other risks the warning highlighted include drowning due to strong currents and rip tides, sexual assault, the higher costs of private hospitals, and the countrys rules regarding guns and ammunition (theyre illegal).

An August 2023 travel advisory from the U.S. State Department said that: Violent crime  such as homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery  is widespread and common in Mexico, and listed several areas U.S. citizens should avoid, including Colima state, Guerrero state and Zacatecas state. You can see the full list on the departments website.

To help stay safe, both the embassy and the State Department offer the following tips:
By Aaron Torres and Philip Jankowski, The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

With the U.S.-Mexico border as a backdrop, the leading Republican and Democratic contenders for the White House arrived in Texas on Thursday amid a growing focus on immigration as a powerful campaign issue.

Former President Donald Trump arrived at Eagle Pass around 2:20 p.m., where he met with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials before making brief remarks in which he blamed the migrant crisis solely on his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden.

This is a Joe Biden invasion, Trump told reporters from Shelby Park, which Texas officials took over in January as part of the states get-tough approach to illegal immigration.

This is a Biden invasion over the past three years. I call him crooked Joe because he is crooked, hes a terrible president, probably the worst president we have ever had. Probably the most incompetent president weve ever had, allowing thousands and thousands to come in.

Biden, about 300 miles away in Brownsville, challenged the presumptive Republican nominee to join him  or Ill join you, Biden said  in telling Congress to pass a bipartisan border proposal that has stalled on Capitol Hill.

Passing the legislation would correct many of the problems along the border, he said.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)AP

Speaking shortly after Trump in what was the second trip of his presidency to the Texas-Mexico border, Biden accused Trump of playing politics by asking Republican lawmakers to keep the legislation on the back burner.

Instead of playing politics, lets just get it done, Biden said.

Joined by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden largely ignored the friction between the federal government and Texas over border security.

Instead, he highlighted the need to pass the comprehensive bill, saying it would be the strongest border security legislation ever to be signed into law.

Folks, the bipartisan border security deal was a win for the American people, he said. And its a win for the people of Texas.

Some Democrats, however, have criticized the legislation as punitive toward migrants by limiting asylum claims, increasing detention capacity for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and failing to provide a pathway to citizenship for individuals already in the country.

About four-dozen migrant activists gathered Thursday morning near Brownsvilles airport to call on Biden to oppose the bill.

Dani Marrero Hi, a deputy director with LUPE, or La Union del Pueblo Entero, criticized Biden for not meeting with advocacy groups during his Brownsville trip. She also was disappointed that Biden was supporting a bill that, she felt, contained anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Its sad that were here trying to get our message across as if it was Trump, Marrero Hi said.

With a number of polls showing concern for the border giving Trump a distinct advantage over Biden, the dueling visits drew strong coverage from national and state media outlets.

President Joe Biden, second from the right, looks over the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. Walking with Biden are from l-r., Peter Flores, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jason Owens, Chief, U.S. Border Patrol and Gloria Chavez, Sector Chief, U.S. Border Patrol. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

In Eagle Pass, Abbott appeared alongside Trump in Shelby Park and called Bidens simultaneous trip to Brownsville an obligatory visit to a sanitized location that was scheduled after Trump announced his plans in Eagle Pass.

It just goes to show that Biden does not care about Texas or the border and whats going on, Abbott said. As a result, you see a disaster.

Trump toured the Eagle Pass park, which has been fenced off and turned into a staging area for the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety. He met with officials from both departments and was briefed by Texas border czar Mike Banks, who said the number of migrant apprehensions in the Del Rio sector had decreased rapidly in recent months.

Texas has done an amazing job, and in a pretty short amount of time they are going to have it all covered, Trump said. They have just been incredible and what they have showed  the operation has been nothing short of incredible.

Outside the main entrance to Shelby Park, festive Trump supporters chanted the former presidents name and waved Trump flags from street corners and truck beds.

Freddy Arellano said he had been outside Shelby Park since 10:30 a.m. in hopes of catching a glimpse of Trump. Trump, he said, knew the border far better than Biden.

Under Trumps presidency, we didnt have to worry about ports being closed, Arellano said.

Their jubilation was somewhat punctured when anti-Trump demonstrators arrived in the late afternoon, prompting shouting matches from dueling street corners. Local police stationed at the parks entrance intervened at one point when an angry Trump supporter shouted an obscenity while walking toward the small group of anti-Trump demonstrators.

FILE - Migrants who crossed the Rio Grande and entered the U.S. from Mexico are lined up for processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Sept. 23, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A federal judge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 blocked a new Texas law that gives police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S., dealing a victory to the Biden administration in its feud with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over immigration enforcement. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, file)AP

Frank Harper, a Houston resident demonstrating against Trump, called the former presidents immigration policies tyrannical and a fascist escalation. Of the tense atmosphere, he said, Anything can happen.

Look, if nobody stands up to them, then they will have their way, Harper said. That cant be allowed to happen.

2024 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press

A woman was convicted Friday of conspiring to murder Jennifer Dulos, a mother of five who vanished from a wealthy Connecticut enclave in 2019 and was never found.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was found guilty by the Stamford jury following a lengthy trial in which prosecutors laid out a case that she helped her then-boyfriend, Dolus husband, to plot and cover up the killing of his estranged wife as they battled each other in divorce and child custody proceedings.

Fotis Dolus, who denied the allegations, never stood trial himself: He killed himself in January 2020 shortly after being charged with murder.

Friends and family of Jennifer Dulos, including the her childrens nanny, left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

In the courtroom Friday, Troconis sat with her head down and cried as the jurors were polled to confirm they agreed with the verdict. She later rested her head on the table and could be heard sobbing before marshals cuffed her and led her from the courtroom.

In addition to the conspiracy to commit murder charge, which is punishable with up to 20 years in prison, the jury convicted Troconis of hindering the prosecution and evidence tampering. Her bond was set at $6 million and she is scheduled to be sentenced May 31.

She is also set to be back in court Tuesday for a hearing on whether she should be held in contempt over allegations that she displayed a portion of a sealed report on her laptop at the defense table during the trial.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, vanished on May 24, 2019, after dropping off their five children at school. At the time, she was living with the children in New Canaan while Fotis Dulos stayed in the familys spacious home about 70 miles (115 kilometers) away in Farmington. Troconis and her daughter were living with Fotis Dulos at the time.

The case drew widespread attention and was the subject of a made-for-TV movie, Lifetimes Gone Mom.

Jennifer Dulos was a member of a wealthy New York City family whose father, the late Hilliard Farber, founded his own brokerage firm. She also was a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne. Fotis Dulos built luxury homes and was originally from Greece.

Troconis, a dual American and Venezuelan citizen, has described herself as a co-founder of horse riding therapy programs in different parts of the world who once had her own TV production company in Argentina and hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.

Police alleged that on the morning of Jennifer Dulos disappearance, Fotis Dulos drove his employees pickup truck to a New Canaan park, rode a bicycle to her house, attacked her in the garage and drove off with her in her Chevy Suburban, which was later found abandoned at the park.

Although her body has never been found, a judge declared her legally dead last October. A medical examiner also concluded that evidence from the garage, including suspected blood spatter, indicated she could not have survived such an attack.

Hours after Jennifer Dulos disappeared, Troconis was seen on surveillance video accompanying Fotis Dulos on a trip to Hartford, where he discarded trash bags from the back of his own pickup truck. Police later found some of the bags after seizing Fotis Dulos cellphone, looking at its location data and obtaining the surveillance video from the locations.

In one of the trials most jarring moments, the prosecution and state forensic experts showed a shirt, bra and zip ties with blood-like stains on them that were found in one of the bags. The experts testified that DNA samples from the items were a highly likely match to Jennifer Dulos DNA.

They also said DNA and fingerprints on some of the items and bags were a highly likely match to Fotis Dulos, and DNA that was a highly likely match to Troconis was found on one of the bags.

The jury watched nearly seven hours of police interviews with Troconis on three different days, which showed her saying she didnt know what was in the garbage bags.

She said she thought it was unusual that Fotis Dulos was throwing the bags away in Hartford, but not too unusual that he was discarding trash at random places, because he had done it before with materials from his developments.

In court, Troconis lawyer also argued that her likely DNA was found only on a microscopic sample from one of the bags, and that Fotis Dulos could have had spread it there after having contact with Troconis.

Prosecutors said Troconis lied to police during her first interview by saying Fotis Dulos was at his Farmington home when she woke up on the morning Jennifer Dulos disappeared. She acknowledged during a subsequent interview that was not accurate.

Her lawyer said Troconis may have had trouble understanding police because the interviews were in English while her primary language is Spanish. Police said, however, that she didnt request an interpreter and didnt seem to have trouble understanding them.

The prosecution also showed the jury timelines Troconis and Fotis Dulos wrote detailing their locations and activities on the day Jennifer Dulos vanished. Troconis told police she only did that at the request of Fotis Dulos and his lawyer.

Prosecutors said Fotis Dulos left his cellphone at his house on the morning of Jennifer Dulos disappearance and that Troconis answered it later in the morning when one of his friends called, suggesting an attempt to provide an alibi.

Troconis denied that allegation and told police she answered the phone at the urging of Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis Dulos and his one-time lawyer in a civil case.

Police testified that Troconis accompanied Fotis Dulos to a car wash to get his employees truck cleaned and detailed, in what prosecutors alleged was another act of evidence tampering.

Mawhinney is also awaiting trial on a murder conspiracy charge in Troconis disappearance. He has pleaded not guilty.

Dulos children, including two sets of twins, ranged in age from 8 to 13 when their mother disappeared. Jennifer Dulos mother has had custody of the children ever since.

Associated Press writer Susan Haigh contributed to this story.
A Lancaster County man was charged after illegally euthanizing his four Sheepadoodle puppies because he was unable to sell them, police said in court documents.

John S. Stoltzfus Jr., 46, was charged with four felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and four misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals in connection to the deaths of four Sheepadoodle puppies in Oct. 2023, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

The affidavit provided the following account:

New Holland police received a report on Oct. 31 at 9:16 a.m. regarding the death of four black puppies from an employee of an animal organization that was not listed in court documents.

The employee told police that Stoltzfus Jr. contacted them on Oct. 30 requesting the removal of four Sheepadoodle puppies named Tammy, Terry, Todd, and Tom from a website that listed them for sale, the affidavit said. The breed is a cross between Poodles and Old English Sheepdogs.

When the employee asked Stoltzfus why, he said black puppies are not selling so he put them to sleep, according to court documents.

After Stoltzfus was asked if he had taken them to a veterinarian to be put down, Stoltzfus said that he did it himself, police said.

When Pennsylvania SPCA responded to his home on Nov. 1 at 9:35 a.m. to ask Stoltzfus about the disposal of the four puppies, he said that he had taken care of the puppies himself and put them in a compost pile on the property located at his home, the affidavit said.

Later that day, New Holland police and Pennsylvania SPCA executed a search warrant at his home.

Court documents said Stoltzfus was asked how he put the puppies down, Stoltzfus told police We have a good way of doing it. We took good care of them. He also told police, I put them down.

Stoltzfus told police he placed the puppies in a compost pile about a week ago.

After police asked Stoltzfus to show them where the puppies were killed, he took them to a floor-type drain inside of a barn, behind cows where the manure runoff goes.

Investigators noted that the drain was not deep and only 12-16 inches wide, according to the affidavit.

Court documents said no remains of puppies were found during the search. Police said the puppies were 16 to 20 weeks old and about 25 pounds each.

Stoltzfus is out on unsecured bail that was set at $10,000 and is awaiting a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 11.
Nutraceutical has recalled thousands of their Heritage Store Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash due to the product containing ethanol in a concentration that must be in child-resistant packaging as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA).

But the packaging of the Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash is not child-resistant, which poses a risk of poisoning if the contents are swallowed by young children, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The company announced the recall on Feb. 29, involving Heritage Store Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash in Wintermint and Eucalyptus Mint flavors. The bottles can be identified by their dark opaque brown color with a white lid. The pink and white label on the front of the bottles displays the Heritage Store logo, product name and flavor.

With about 102,100 bottles sold, Heritage Store Hydrogen Peroxide Mouthwash was distributed nationwide in stores including Whole Foods, Fresh Thyme Farmers Market, Moms Organic Market, New Seasons Market and Mothers Market & Kitchen.

The product wass also sold online at Amazon, iHerb, HeritageStore.com and other websites from October 2010 through December 2023 for about $10.50.

All lots are included in the recall.

Fortunately, no incidents have been reported.

If you have the recalled mouthwash, store it in a safe location out of reach and sight of children, and contact Nutraceutical for a full refund or free replacement product, including shipping, depending on availability.

Be sure to dispose of the product afterward.

Nutraceutical is contacting all known purchasers directly.

Regarding this product recall, feel free to contact Nutraceutical at 800-227-6063 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, email at info@nutracorp.com, or online at https://heritagestore.com/pages/recall, www.betterbeing.com/recall or www.Nutraceutical.com and click on Product Recall at the bottom right of the page for more information.
Update: Law enforcement declared the Maryland State House and other legislative buildings safe around 7 p.m. Thursday after sweeping the grounds in response to a threat of violence.

By Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun (TNS)

Several law enforcement agencies are clearing the Maryland State House on Thursday evening after receiving an anonymous threat, an official told The Baltimore Sun.

We got an anonymous threat, said Annapolis Police Chief Ed Jackson, whose agency is participating in the law enforcement response. Were still investigating.

The Maryland Capitol Police were leading the response, Jackson said. There were no preliminary reports of violence or injuries, he said, noting law enforcement wanted to err on the side of caution.

Carter Elliott, a spokesman for Gov. Wes Moore, said in a statement around 5:30 p.m. that the State House is currently under lockdown for a security threat.

No other information is available at the time, Elliott said.

The House and Senate office buildings were also on lockdown, with staff asked to shelter in place while police investigate, said Nick Cavey, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of General Services, which encompasses the capitol police. State Circle was closed to traffic.

Democratic Del. Sandy Bartlett of Anne Arundel County said in a phone interview at 5:41 p.m. that she was staying in place and waiting for the green light. She declined to say which building she was in.

Reporters who were working out of the State House were evacuated at 5:30 p.m. by law enforcement officers who had their guns drawn.

This article will be updated. Baltimore Sun Media reporters Hannah Gaskill, Sam Janesch and Luke Parker contributed to this article.

2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
State police are looking for a missing 55-year-old York County man who they say may be at special risk of harm or injury.

Winston Pinnock was last seen near the 7600 block of Seneca Ridge Drive, Springfield Township, on Tuesday around 9 a.m., according to a police report. Police said Pinnock drives a white Chevrolet work van.

Pinnock is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, 185 pounds, with black and gray hair, and brown eyes.

Anyone with information on Pinnock is asked to call 911 or contact state police in York at 717-428-1011.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard.

You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, and Stitcher. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | March 1, 2024

Another university is being sued over COVID remote learning. People are a bit hesitant to shop at a Giant Eagle after their price scanners failed inspection. One politician has introduced a bill to combat shrinkflation. Finally some, frankly, disappointing news.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.

As sponsored by Renewal by Anderson of Central PA.
Its time we changed the tone in our commonwealth and in our nation. People who step up to volunteer to ensure we have fair elections should be treated with admiration and respect. They certainly should not receive death threats.

But thats the state of American democracy today, and what a sad state it is.
A Depew woman faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling $162,000 from a Williamsville medical office, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn said.

Carrie Zielinski, who was arrested by Amherst police on Sept. 28, pleaded guilty Thursday morning to a charge of second-degree grand larceny.

Zielinski, 47, was the office manager and accountant for a Williamsville medical office and was accused of stealing the money between January 2019 and May 2023.

Officials said that she stole cash from the co-pays paid by patients. Another employee noticed discrepancies in the documented cash co-pays to the amount of deposited cash, which led to the discovery, they said.

As a condition of the plea, she promised to pay the full restitution worth $162,269.37 to the victim and their two insurance companies, the DA's Office said.

She is scheduled to be sentenced May 21.

 Debradita Sur
Canada's housing agency says the first-time home buyer incentive has been discontinued. A real estate sign is displayed in front of a house in the Riverdale area of Toronto on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler.
A Buffalo City Court judge on Thursday acquitted a man accused of making phone threats referencing the site of the citys 2022 mass shooting the day after the racist massacre.

Judge Rebecca Town acquitted Joseph S. Chowaniec of two misdemeanor counts following a bench trial that began Thursday morning.

Attorney: Buffalo man charged with phone threats after Tops shooting being denied speedy trial The defense attorney for Joseph S. Chowaniec, the man accused of making phone threats referencing the site of the 2022 Tops Markets mass shooting one day after the racist violence there, says Erie County prosecutors have waited too long to turn over evidence against her client.

Chowaniec, 53, of Buffalo, was arrested by city police May 15, 2022, the day after 10 Black people were killed and three other people were injured by a white supremacist at the Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue.

According to police and prosecutors, Chowaniec called Bocce Pizza and Southern Tier Brewing and demanded free food. After being denied, ended one call by twice saying, You can thank the Tops on Jefferson, and the other with Tops on Jefferson, also stated twice.

Defense attorney Brooke Meehan of Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo represented Chowaniec.

Attorneys with the Legal Aid Bureau declined comment.

An Erie County judge in October 2022 dismissed felony charges of making terroristic threats, ruling what Chowaniec was accused of doing was not terrorism.

It is beyond a doubt that terrorism poses a significant threat to our security and that crimes intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population must be prosecuted and punished, County Judge James Bargnesi wrote in his two-page decision. This is not one of those cases.

The county District Attorneys Office brought the misdemeanor charges, two counts of second-degree aggravated harassment, against Chowaniec in December 2022.

District Attorney John Flynn said he disagreed with Thursdays verdict, but declined to comment further because the case was automatically sealed.

Chowaniec placed the phone calls to Bocce Pizza on Delaware Avenue and Southern Tier Brewing in LECOM Harborcenter.

In a pretrial ruling, Town barred the District Attorneys Office from using as evidence statements Chowaniec made that were captured on police-worn body cameras.

An avowed white supremacist was sentenced in February 2023 to life in prison without parole after pleading guilty to domestic terrorism and other charges for the horrific grocery store attack.
Reality TV Star is Attempting One of the Wildest Poker Bankroll Challenges Ever, and Streaming it 24/7

February 29, 2024 Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S.

Kevin Martin has begun one of the wildest poker bankroll challenges ever, and every second of it can be witnessed on Twitch.

The popular longtime streamer has abandoned his entire bankroll  every last penny of it  in an attempt to go from $0 to a brand new bankroll. Martin answered a few questions for PokerNews during his Thursday stream, the second day of his unique challenge. He first explained what gave him the idea to go through with, more or less, starting his poker career over from scratch.

"I started my career in the micros," the GGPoker ambassador explained. "I spun it from nothing to what I've created today, and I've always wanted to revisit it, and it's about 10 years since I've started in poker."

"Great chance to put away all my money and restart with zero. Just want to show people heart, hustle in poker, you can just spin it up in this industry." - Kevin Martin

What's the Deal with the Poker Bankroll Challenge?

"KMart" began his quest to go from zero to hero by pawning off a few items so that he'd have a small bankroll to begin the challenge. On Wednesday morning, he turned on the Twitch stream, and he vows to keep it going 24/7 for quite some time. And when he says 24/7, he means it.

That includes keeping the camera on while he sleeps or takes a shower (facing the opposite direction of the shower, of course). After he logged off the GGPoker client on Day 1, he kept the video feed going from inside his bedroom, and aired a replay of that day's poker action along with it on the screen

Martin has a specific target goal to achieve  $5,000  a bankroll "that would be fantastic because that's what I had when I started my professional poker career."

Achieving a four-figure bankroll from nothing isn't the only goal of this challenge. He's also striving to "set a record for longest stream for a poker player in history."

Difficulties of a Bankroll Challenge

Martin, a reality TV star who appeared on Poker After Dark: Game of Gold last year and twice competed on Big Brother Canada, admits the challenge he's taken on won't be a walk in the park. But he's confident in his abilities to pull it off.

"I bricked yesterday, and tournaments have a lot of variance," Martin said of the rough first day of the challenge. "Yeah, it's not going to be easy, this is really f*****g hard. This is really, really, really difficult. How many top tier pros have had bankroll challenges that they gave up on?"

Going even further, Martin says his "rate of failure is really high." Many other high-profile pros have competed in bankroll challenges, with Chris Ferguson being the O.G. of it all when he went from $0 to $10,000 on Full Tilt Poker in 2011. Doug Polk is another high-stakes pro who successfully completed an online poker bankroll challenge when he built up from $100 to $10,000 in 2018.

Another obstacle "KMart" will face is getting enough sleep while attempting to reach his goal.

"I can go as long as possible, if I get my eight hours of sleep, I'm a health-oriented person. If I'm eating, sleeping, working out, I'll be fine and I can cook for a long time. So, yeah, I'm tracking my sleep, and I must have eight hours every single day."

Martin said he doesn't have any side bet action on the challenge, although poker fans can certainly wager on it if they so choose. He stands to lose $30,000 or more putting this together, which includes renting out an apartment for streaming purposes and to pay his team.

"This is a pure soul project where I want to create something beautiful for the poker world. Yeah, obviously if it can blow up, that would be great, but yeah, no additional side bets."

Poker fans can tune in to all the action 24/7 on the KevinMartin Twitch channel.

Sharelines @KevinRobMartin is streaming 24/7 a wild poker bankroll challenge.
The border was supposed to be Donald Trumps issue, but President Biden went to the border and outsmarted him.

What Did Biden Say On The Border?

Biden said:



This bill was in the United States Senate was on its way to being passed and it was derailed by rank partisan politics. The US Senate needs to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on merits, not on whether its going to benefit one party or benefit the other party. Its about whether it benefits the American people. What we deserve. The speaker of the House needs to put this bill on the floor because if you put it on the floor unrestricted, it would pass the majority of Democrats and Republicans in both houses support this legislation until someone came along and said, dont do that. Itll benefit the incumbent. Thats a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem. We need to act.

Its time for the speaker and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show a little spine pass a bipartisan bipartisan border bill, remember conservative

leaders supported this border security bill.

Lets remember who we work for, for Gods sake. We work for the American people. Let me end with this. I understand my predecessors in Eagle Pass today. So heres what I would say to Mr. Trump instead of playing policies this year, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together, you know, and I know its the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen. So instead of playing politics with the issue, why do we just get together and get it done unless you remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Video:

Biden tells Mike Johnson and Republicans in Congress to show some spine, Its time for the speaker and some of my Republican friends in Congress were blocked in this bill to show a little spine and pass a bipartisan border bill. pic.twitter.com/rGmIq38Tgn  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 29, 2024

Biden Beat Trump On His Own Issue

As Trump was lying and yelling at Eagle Pass about migrants coning to kill us all, President Biden delivered the message that the majority of voters want to hear. Biden argued that Democrats and Republicans should work together to get things done.

President Biden went to the border and beat Trump on his own issue by arguing that both parties can fix the border, but Donald Trump is in the way.

The centerpiece issue of Trumps campaign became a moment of Biden success.

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.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) is facing a new ad from her likely Democratic challenger Ike McCorkle vowed to kick her out of Washington.

The ad features McCorkle saying:

Life has a way of shaping us. My mom joined the Air Force when I was eight. I joined the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17. I served my first enlistment. I returned home to get my education. On September 12th 2001 I raised my right hand and bought a ticket straight to the front lines.

After nearly 18 years of service I made the decision to return home to my family. I recognized the dysfunction in Congress. I found the democracy I fought so hard to defend was broken. I saw politicians claiming to support our veterans but always coming up short when we needed them most.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Our campaign will fight to defend American democracy from extremists in Congress, and kick Lauren Boebert out of Washington for good. The job of a congressman should be about work, not words. My fight for the future of America is ongoing. Join me in this fight.

Watch the ad:

Rep. Boebert moved over to retiring Rep. Ken Bucks district, a +20 Republican district, because she looked headed for likely defeat in Colorados 4th district. Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed her, and the Republican Party is treating her like an incumbent in her new district, but Boebert has met resistance from voters, who appear to loathe her. She finished fifth in a straw poll of Republican candidates, and if she wins the primary, could face a difficult challenge from McCorkle, who is the opposite of Boebert in every way.

If Boebert gets through the GOP primary, a patriot who has already served his country twice is ready to take her on and defend democracy.

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.
Reporters asked Donald Trump if he had any legislative ideas for the border, and he answered by walking away.

Trump delivered his usual talking points about taking care of the border, and then walked away while ignoring a question from a reporter about having any legislative ideas for the border.

Video:

Reporter: Do you have any legislation ideas for the border? To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily. Trump, who killed the bipartisan deal to secure the border: *ignores and walks away* pic.twitter.com/IYnPXPxvQZ  Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 29, 2024

The only ideas that Trump has for anything involve how he can destroy democracy to stay in the White House forever, and how he can personally profit off of the presidency.

Nothing has changed. Donald Trump has never had a practical legislative idea in his life. Joe Biden is coming to the border to lay blame at the feet of Trump for killing a bipartisan bill. Donald Trump is coming to the border for a photo op.

Eagle Pass residents dont want Trump in their community, but being unwanted has never stopped Trump in the past.

There is no point outside of election politics to Trumps border visit, and his walking away confirms that the Trump campaign is about nothing, but Trump.

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Trumps speech on the border was such an incoherent, lie-filled disaster that CNN only carried a few minutes and had to cut it off to fact-check.

What Did Trump Lie About In His Border Speech?

CNNs Kaitlin Collins broke into the Trump coverage and said, As we do after every Trump speech, it seemed teams we have to have a series of fact checks because if multiple times and just those brief remarks there, he made several lies, told several lies about the border, also misrepresented his own past on the border in what he did while he was in office. This CNNs Daniel Dale is here. Our resident fact-check reporter Daniel, obviously weve been listening to this just writing down several of the things that he said that werent true. First off is the one that he has claimed repeatedly that I know you personally tried to fact-check, which is that there are people from jails and mental institutions that are being emptied and those people are coming across the border, something that the Trump campaign has never been able to provide any evidence of getting hes still repeats it almost every time he talks about the border.

Fact checker Daniel Dale said, I asked the Trump campaign, what is the evidence that unnamed foreign leaders are emptying out their institutions, their jails, sending people here as migrants, they couldnt come up with anything. I also took some notes. He said that we see columns of fighting-age men. They look like warriors. There is zero basis, Kaitlin, for this idea, yeah, that unnamed foreign countries are surreptitiously using migrants to assemble some sort of anti-US fighting force. You hear this on the far right, even if you think that many migrants are economic migrants rather than true asylum claimants, thats not an army. Its just nonsense. He talked about a supposed new form of crime under President Biden. He says, new migrant crime, look, some undocumented people have committed crimes under every president, under President Trump. Again, under President Biden, we have had some high-profile recent tragic cases, but every piece of data, all good studies, show that undocumented people, like other immigrants, commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans. He told the story that hes told before, Kaitlan about people arriving speaking languages that no ones ever heard. He said in a previous, recent speech, we didnt even have one translator who could understand this language. This, Ive looked into, this seems to be just conjured out of thin air. Its nonsense.

Dale continued, He also said that maybe these people are being led in because they presumably the Biden administration is looking for votes. I think you can make a convoluted case maybe one day people could be naturalized, turning to citizens, citizens then could vote. But I think its important to remind people that undocumented people, like other noncitizens, migrants cannot vote at present. And then finally, former president Trump, although repeated his frequent claim that he built 500 miles of wall. We have official figures on that it is 458 miles, much of which its important to note is replacement barrier replacing barriers that previously existed, not covering parts of the border that had no barriers in the past.

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Trumps Speech, Just Like Trump, Was A Mess

Trumps speech was lie-filled incoherent nonsense that was indecipherable to anyone who doesnt watch Fox News or Newsmax.

It was amazing that Trump came to the border knowing what Biden was going to talk about, and he offered no counter or defense. Trumps speech was the same formula of falsehoods that he used in 2016 and 2020.

Contrary to what Republicans think, this is not a winning election strategy, as the wheels are getting closer to falling off for the GOP.

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Federal prosecutors say they will not seek the death penalty while building their case against strip club owner Peter Gerace Jr. and three others they allege played a role in the death of federal witness Crystal Quinn.

A capital punishment case would have meant Gerace and the others would likely have been entitled to court-appointed attorneys versed in death penalty defense.

Even with that off the table, attorney Mark Foti, who represents Gerace, said this week that the four defendants still deserve extra counsel and resources for what he said should be considered a mega case, given the voluminous information about the witnesses and evidence expected at trial.

Meanwhile, prosecutors and the lawyer for Simon Gogolack, another of the defendants, clashed Friday over how much of that information should be turned over to the defense as a magistrate judge reconsiders Gogolacks pretrial detention.

A grand jury indictment accuses Gogolack of intentionally giving Quinn a lethal dose of fentanyl, which resulted in her death.

The prosecutors preferred to give a verbal summary of the evidence  instead of disclosing the actual evidence  at Gogolacks hearing Friday, and U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy allowed them to do that.

Providing the actual evidence would be an end run around the orderly, fair and safe disclosure of evidence, the prosecutors said.

Suspect in death of federal witness arranged drug deals while in jail, prosecutors say Sitting in jail did not stop Simon Gogolack from arranging drug deals, prosecutors say. The Wellsville man charged in the overdose death of Crystal Quinn used another inmate's telephone account to make calls to an accomplice on the outside, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors cited a January post on Gogolacks Facebook page directed to his alleged co-conspirators, saying prosecution material turned over to his defense will be openly shared by him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey L. Chalbeck said at Fridays hearing Gogolack was seeking to weaponize the discovery process to harm victims.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas T. Cooper said that Gogolack, in recorded jail calls, stated he would sell the names of my (expletive) victims and Im gonna sell the names in discovery and the media is gonna pay for this (expletive).

This is not a close call for detention, Cooper told the judge.

Jeffrey T. Bagley, an assistant federal public defender who represents Gogolack, said McCarthy ordered the government to produce all the evidence that it intends to rely on when he scheduled the hearing to reconsider Gogolacks detention.

But the government did not produce any of the discovery, Bagley said in a filing.

At Fridays hearing, he said, Im not asking for every piece of evidence.

New indictment targets those who prosecutors say had motive to kill Pharaoh's witness A 28-count superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday names six people  including Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club owner Peter Gerace Jr. and Outlaws Motorcycle Club national leader John Ermin  as part of a conspiracy to obstruct justice by targeting a federal witness for retaliation.

Bagley said he wanted evidence that he could analyze to see if it might affect the courts earlier detention decision.

At detention hearings for defendants in the case, prosecutors pointed to the results of Quinns autopsy, messages from Quinns phone and photographs from a co-defendants phone. McCarthy in September ordered Gogolack to remain in custody as his case proceeds. In January, Gogolacks lawyer asked him to reconsider the detention decision based on changed circumstances, and thats what Fridays hearing was about.

A 28-count superseding indictment unsealed in January accused four people of participating in a witness-tampering and retaliation conspiracy targeting Quinn, the federal witness. The former exotic dancer had agreed to cooperate in the federal governments separate sex- and drug-trafficking case against Gerace. Also accused of witness tampering and retaliation are Gogolack, who called 911 to report Quinns death in his home; Outlaws Motorcycle Club national leader John Ermin; and Wellsville resident Howard Hinkle Jr., among the last to be seen with Quinn.

McCarthy said he was surprised to hear about the Facebook post.

I was surprised someone could have a Facebook post from an incarceration facility, McCarthy said. I learn something new every day.

Bagley said he did not know if the post was authentic, raising the possibility someone else was playing games with Mr. Gogolack.

Mr. Gogolack knows if its his Facebook page or not, McCarthy replied, without asking him to confirm it.

Cooper said the government has already provided a substantial amount of voluntary disclosures to the defense, including FBI photos and reports of the search of Gogolacks Wellsville home, cellphone extractions, body camera footage of his arrest by Depew police and police interviews, Cooper said.

As for Fridays detention hearing, I dont know if I need exhibits to show the defendant is an obvious danger to the community and a flight risk, Cooper said.

McCarthy heard the governments case Friday, and he allowed Bagley to request more material from the government that he thinks he needs, based on what he heard from prosecutors, to argue his case at a future hearing.

At a court proceeding last week, prosecutors requested three months to disclose their evidence in the case, longer than typically needed for most cases in this district, Foti said.

The defendants will undoubtedly need substantial resources to defend this matter, he said.

As currently charged, the witness tampering and retaliation charges each carry a possible lifetime prison sentence.

The tampering count alleges that from March 2023 to Aug. 1, 2023, the defendants conspired to kill Quinn to prevent her testimony in the Pharaohs sex- and drug-trafficking case. The retaliation count alleges that they conspired to retaliate against Quinn for her participation in grand jury proceedings related to Geraces charges. Gerace had pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial on the Pharaohs charges.
President Biden announced that the US will be air dropping aid to the starving citizens of Gaza in the coming days.

Biden said:

Also were going to discuss the Middle East and yesterdays tragic and alarming event in north Gaza, trying to get humanitarian assistance in there.

And the loss of life is heartbreaking. People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families and you saw the response when they tried to get aid in.

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And we need to do more and the United States will do more.

In the coming days, we are going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine (Gaza) and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, (Gaza) including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance.

In addition to expanding deliveries by land, as I said, were going to insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses, because the truth is aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now  its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line.

We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several. And I wont stand by, we wont let up and were trying to pull out every stop we can to get more assistance in.

Hopefully we will know shortly. We are trying to work out a deal between Israel and Hamas  the hostages being returned and the immediate ceasefire in Gaza for at least the next six weeks, and to allow the surge of aid to the entire Gaza Strip, not just the south.

Biden had Ukraine on his mind as the Italian Prime Minister was in the Oval Office to meet with him about Ukraine.

President Biden is keeping his word and taking more assertive action to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. This action combined with the President putting restrictions on aid to Israel and making the aid conditional based on Israel complying with human rights laws represents a turning point.

Once the ceasefire takes effect hopefully soon, the US should play a central role in getting aid to Gaza.

The political sentiment seems to be shifting, as the US must do every in its power to help the people of Gaza.

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The DOJ said at the latest hearing on the Trump classified documents case that they have no limitation that would prevent them from trying Trump during the election.

Garrett Haake of NBC News posted:

@KenDilanianNBC reports big news from documents scheduling hearing today is that DOJ says policy about not taking actions close to elections DOES NOT apply post-indictments (so, trials). That means federal Trump trials could be ongoing during fall campaign/voting.

Trump has been hoping that he could run out the clock so that Special Counsel Jack Smith could not try him before the election, but criminal trials are not covered under the DOJs policy of not taking action close to an election. This is horrible news for the former president whose entire plan is to delay the federal criminal trials until after the election, so that he can return to the White House and order the federal criminal cases to be dropped.

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Special Counsel Jack Smith wants the trial to begin on July 8, and Trumps lawyers want an August 12 trial date. With four different criminal cases ongoing, the Trump team is trying to use the schedule to create conflicts and bottlenecks that would delay all of his trials.

That isnt going to happen. There is nothing in DOJ policy that would stop Jack Smith from trying Trump through election day.

One of Trump major assumptions behind his delay tactics has been shot down.

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The Alison South Marketing Group has a new name.

Moving forward, the company, which has an office at 132 Chesterfield St. S. in Aiken, will be known as the Osla Agency, according to a news release issued Thursday.

A new website  oslaagency.com  was launched Friday.

Alison South had been under new ownership since 2023," the release states.

As Osla, the company is continuing to offer full marketing services, including branding, strategy, design, digital and video.

The vision  was to develop an agency structure and brand that would set trends and cut through the static in an increasingly noisy marketplace, said Cynthia South, Oslas communications director and co-founder of Alison South, in a prepared statement.

In addition to Aiken, Osla has offices in the Augusta area and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The name, color and design of Osla represents a fresh and progressive approach to advertising strategy, said the companys chief marketing officer, Jeremy Richie.

While it was inspired by letters of the previous name, Osla is a Scottish word for one who came from a steep place, according to the release.

We like to think of that meaning as rising above the noise, taking an elevated view to envision the next great idea, and having the confidence and courage to go to the edge and cut through the static, Richie said.

Oslas primary color palette features green and black. Green symbolizes innovation, while black represents unity of all agency talents to achieve client success, according to Richie.

Our icon is a comma set in the center of the O, he said. The comma represents a bridge, continuation, connection and ongoing progress. This can be especially relevant for brands that emphasize continuity, fluidity and seamless connections. We see ourselves as that connection for so many facets of the services we provide.

Olsa is part of a network of international technology companies, the release states, including online education and training platforms, customized digital solutions and customer service call centers, the release states.
The man who coined the phrase if youre lucky enough to live in Aiken, youre lucky enough, ended his nearly 20-year run as the Aiken Chamber of Commerces president and CEO during a reception in his honor Thursday.

With his wife Sandra at his side, David Jameson, who announced his retirement last fall, shook hundreds of hands and received lots of hugs at the Chamber of Commerces headquarters as politicians, city and county officials, business owners and many others passed through the receiving line.

While taking a quick break from celebration, Jameson reflected on how he came up with his trademark saying.

It was totally by mistake, he recalled. I just said it aloud one day and it just seemed to resonate with everybody. So I said it the next day again and the next day. And before long it was THE quote.

Jameson, 72, also talked about his future.

Im going to try to decompress for a couple of months, he said. The summer will take care of itself between the beach and the lake. And then by the fall, I will have identified some places where I will volunteer and I will tiptoe into those waters.

Jameson, who became the Aiken Chamber of Commerces leader in 2006, is a recipient of the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolinas highest civilian honor.

During Thursdays event, S.C. Sen Tom Young, R-Aiken; S.C. Rep. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, and S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, presented Jameson with framed copies of resolutions passed by the states Senate and House that praised him for his efforts on behalf of the Aiken Chamber of Commerce and also during the whole of his 50-year career.

This has been fun, said Jameson of the reception. Ive seen a lot of folks I havent seen in a while. Everybody here means something to me, so that is kind of exhilarating. It will probably take me a long time to relax tonight and calm down.

Jim Tunison, who served as the Chamber of Commerces director of membership services, is Jamesons replacement, and Tunisons immediate predecessor at the organizations helm is happy about that.
A Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane sits on the assembly line during a media tour at the company's assembly facility in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing is in talks to buy Spirit AeroSystems, which builds fuselages for Boeing 737 Max jetliners including the one that suffered a door-panel blowout in January, according to a published report.
The editor in chief of The Post and Courier has been recognized as journalist of the year by the North American Travel Journalists Association, coinciding with her first year heading up new excursion endeavor Post and Courier Travel.

Autumn Phillips also won gold in the Destination Travel category for her piece Waking Up in Finland, gold in the Long-Form Narrative/Personal Essay category for her travel story Sudan in Calmer Times and an honorable mention in that same category for How to Travel to Complicated Places. A Journey to Lebanon.

Writing about travel has added so much meaning for me this year, said Phillips. Its allowed me to think more deeply about the places I visited and what it means to be out in the world. Its a gift to be able to do it at all, and to be recognized by NATJA is such an honor.

This is the North American Travel Journalists Associations 32nd annual awards. Founded in 1991, NATJA is an industry leader that fosters high-quality journalism by supporting the professional development of its members, providing program benefits and valuable resources, honoring the excellence of journalism throughout the world, and promoting travel and leisure to the general public.

Awards were granted to publications, journalists, photographers and destination marketing organizations. This year, NATJA established special recognitions for the publication, destination, journalist and photographer who excelled across various categories in the competition.

Those special recognitions were awarded to Phillips for journalist of the year, Travel + Leisure for magazine of the year, Kansas Tourism for destination of the year and Therese Iknoian for photographer of the year.

Submissions for this years awards competition included a diverse group of journalists, publications and destination marketing organizations from North America, said NATJA CEO Helen Hernandez. Selection of the winners by our independent panel of judges was particularly difficult this year because of the outstanding quality and broad range of articles, images and marketing campaigns submitted for consideration. I wish to extend my congratulations to all the winners for their exceptional work in enhancing the travel experience of those exploring new destinations and adventures.
Greenville, SC (29601)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. High 61F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph, becoming W and increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

A clear sky. Widespread frost likely. Low around 30F. NW winds at 15 to 25 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
GREENVILLE  You could call it an act of luck or an act of God that James Hester is on the cusp of opening his second restaurant when he didnt even see opening one at all.

He prefers to think the latter.

When he opened Wholy Smoke Family Restaurant in May 2020 in Mauldin with his father and another partner, it followed his fathers vision.

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But his father, a pastor, ultimately saw three.

This year, along with starting up a food truck park in Fletcher, N.C., Hester is opening a new restaurant in West Greenville inside the new, mixed-use Woven Project.

The new restaurant  West Greenville Smokehouse  is an ode to his past and future. The new restaurant will focus on barbecue but also more of a fusion approach  brisket quesadillas, barbecue sandwiches and fried fish baskets.

The plan is to open late 2024 or early 2025.

Woven was approved to move forward last year, after a long back and forth with the citys Planning Commission and City Council and amid community outcry that it would contribute to gentrification of the traditionally underprivileged neighborhood.

It started in West GreenvilleIn opening West Greenville Smokehouse, which Hester is doing on his own, he feels a little like he is coming home. Hesters father, John W. Hester Sr., a talented pitmaster, got his start cooking and selling barbecue in West Greenville, on the same block as Woodside Mill. The elder Hester used his skills to raise funds to start a church nearby on Woodside Avenue, in a now-vacant building that has become the famed, pink-painted Trap Church.

One of the ways my father raised money to obtain that property was he would cook barbecue on the weekends just on Saturday and Sunday, Hester said. He managed to set aside $30,000.

While Hester developed a passion and learned barbecue skills from his father, he eventually found his own path to restaurants, managing several in Texas. He didnt see ownership in his future until his father called him and asked him to help him open one, which he returned to Greenville to do.
GREENVILLE  Thousands of years from now, Traci Wright Martin s art could still be living on the moon.

Greenville will be a part of the journey.

The 43-year-old artist, who specializes in charcoal portrait drawings, will have her pieces sent to the moon as part of the Lunar Codex project.

Martins art will fly with over 35,000 painters, filmmakers, writers, podcasters and musicians from 223 countries who will see their work squeezed into microscopic copies and carried onto spaceships.

Founded in 2021 by Canadian physicist and author Samuel Peralta, the project aimed to inspire artists during the COVID pandemic and serve as a time capsule of modern-day Earth. Peralta has called it a Rosetta Stone to our culture  that is designed to stand for 10,000 years.

Whoever opens the time capsule will find 20 portraits of Greenville residents, people wearing COVID-19 masks and sketches of AI-generated kids by Martin.

Wearing a green T-shirt with two crescent moons and a full moon, she beams when discussing the Lunar Codex project.

Being chosen to be part of something that just symbolically talks about where the world is now, she said, where artists are, where this little part of the human experience (is), and having something to be part of that time capsule is an honor.

But this isnt a novel idea.

A new version of moon art

Art has traveled to the moon for decades, starting with the second landing, Apollo 12 in 1969, that featured ceramic tiles called Moon Museum, which included Andy Warhol. Last week, famous artist Jeff Koons sent his 125 mini sculptures to the moon on a SpaceX rocket.

But Lunar Codexs inventory stretches wide and far  across genders, races, cultures, continents and disciplines. It features poetry by Ada Limon, the U.S. Poet Laureate; woodcuts from printmaker Olesya Dzhurayeva, who fled Ukraine after Russias invasion; paintings made with eye-gaze technology by Connie Karleta Sales, who has an autoimmune disease, neuromyelitis optica; and the work of an 11-year-old Canadian poet.
The 34th Annual SC BBQ Shag Festival kicks off on Thursday, March 21, at the recreation park and ball fields in Hemingway. This year the festival runs from March 21-24. The four-day event features music, vendors, BBQ and fun for the whole family. First held in 1987, the event has grown to at Read moreSC BBQ Shag Festival kicks off March 21
Construction could begin in April on a new Kenmore Police Headquarters that will cost significantly more than originally anticipated.

The Village Board in 2021 voted to borrow up to $6.3 million to pay to replace the cramped, outdated structure that was built in 1951.

Now, with bids for the work due back soon, village officials expect the price tag to reach $8 million  and the Village Board recently approved borrowing up to $11 million toward the project.

Kenmore will no longer use eminent domain for police building expansion Kenmore Mayor Patrick Mang at Tuesday nights Village Board meeting abruptly announced the village no longer would pursue eminent domain to take control of the Insty-Prints site on Elmwood Avenue.

Its expensive building a police station, Kenmore Mayor Patrick Mang said Monday.

The village is spreading out the cost of the project through borrowing, but Kenmore homeowners possibly will see an impact on their property taxes, Mang said.

The project is moving forward after delays related in part to the debate over where to build the new facility.

Village officials for years had looked to expand, or replace, its aging police headquarters at 2395 Elmwood Ave., across from Mang Park.

The departments needs include a locker room for women officers; a secure garage bay for safer handling of prisoners; and more on-site parking for employees and visitors. The project also would make the structure more energy efficient and improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

Village leaders say they explored several options for expansion or relocation: adding a second story; acquiring and expanding onto a neighboring residential property; or moving the department to the Kenmore Community Center in Mang Park.

The best option, they decided in 2022, was expanding onto the Insty-Prints property at 2385 Elmwood Ave., just south of police headquarters.

When negotiations on the purchase of the property stalled that year, the village voted to begin the process to acquire the Insty-Prints site through eminent domain. The law allows a government to take control of private property for a public purpose, but the entity must pay fair value for the property.

Kenmore seeks to take Insty-Prints site for police expansion The Kenmore Police Headquarters, at 2395 Elmwood Ave. across from Mang Park, was built in 1951 and hasn't had a substantial renovation since.

The move sparked a backlash in Kenmore and, in December 2022, village officials decided to stay within the current headquarters footprint, adding a second story and expanding into the parking lot.

Village leaders had hoped to begin construction in 2023, but, Mang said, design and engineering work took longer to complete.

Building a police station is not that simple, he said.

The Police Department earlier this month moved into its temporary quarters in the Community Center, 135 Wilber Ave. in Mang Park.

The village spent about $629,000 to prepare a portion of the center, the former Betsy Ross Elementary School, for use as a police building and to create gated parking for police personnel in the nearby municipal lot, Village Clerk-Treasurer Kathleen Johnson said.

Rising costs for construction materials and labor are driving up the anticipated price for the police renovations, Mang said.

The village also had to revise the project designs a couple of times. And the project cost includes the building as well as updated police equipment, Mang said.

Businesses object as Kenmore moves to use eminent domain for police expansion "This is certainly not something we do as a first option," Clerk-Treasurer Kathleen Johnson said of pursuing eminent domain.

The Village Board in December voted to amend the original $6.3 million in borrowing to reflect a new figure of $11 million.

Both Mang and Johnson said the resolution gives the village the ability to borrow up to that amount but the expected cost of the work at this point is closer to $8 million.

The village wont know the final figure until bids come back at the end of the month.

Theres a lot of work out there. So these contractors are busy already, Mang said. So well just have to see what the prices come in at.

Construction could begin in April, Mang said, and take up to 18 months to complete.

The village is preparing its new budget and doesnt yet know how borrowing for the project will affect the bottom line for taxpayers, the mayor said.

That money is spread out, he said, so they may see somewhat of an increase in their taxes.
Does it seem to you that a lot of the controversies in education (homework, grading, punishment, curricula) exist because people arent considering things from the students point of view and what they might need? Read more'Luxury beliefs' leaving some kids in the dark
Renourishing oyster beds is vital to the state because oysters are vital to ecology. Oyster beds are a habit for fish, crabs, birds and 75% of the species we eat rely on oyster beds at some point in their lives. Read moreFrom recycling shells to building reefs, inside the effort to renourish SC's oyster beds
MONCKS CORNER  A man accused of gunning down two women in 2020 entered a plea to reduced charges, ending the prospect of a second trial after a jury failed to reach an unanimous verdict last month.

Damayjhon Quintez Gadson entered an Alford plea to two counts of manslaughter Feb. 29 in Berkeley County Circuit Court.

Judge Roger Young accepted the plea in which Gadson does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a jury to find him guilty.

Young sentenced Gadson to 27 years in prison.

The tragedy that left two women dead and Gadson imprisoned began June 28, 2020, when then-19-year-old Gadson arranged to meet 25-year old Lashawn Gadson for a paid sexual encounter. Though the two share a last name, they are not related, according to court testimony.

Neither of them had access to a car that night, so 61-year-old Lori Gentile agreed to drive them to a hotel in North Charleston, prosecutors said during Gadson's trial last month.

Records show Damayjhon Gadson walked to meet the women, where they picked him up at 204 Acme St. in Eutawville. The three never made it to the hotel.

A driver passing along the dark, rural and rainy 1800 block of Poplar Hill Road in Cross called to report a body in the road and a car crashed into a ditch by 10:54 p.m.

Lashawn Gadson was found dead in the middle of the road. She had been shot while running away from the car, then again while lying on the ground, experts testified. She suffered seven gunshot wounds.

Gentile was found dead in the driver's seat of her Kia Sorento that was crashed into a nearby ditch. The car was still in drive. She had been shot four times in the lower back and back of her head, experts testified.

Gadson had hopped a nearby fence, damaging it, and dropped his face mask as he fled the scene on foot. His uncle picked him up by 11:53 p.m. that night, according to cellphone evidence an expert laid out at trial last month.

The Berkeley County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant for his arrest. Cellphone records show he fled to a relative's house in Indiana on July 4. U.S. Marshals arrested him in Evansville, Ind., on July 6.
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND  Former Police Chief Chris Griffin resigned last month in the wake of allegations he made sexually inappropriate comments, discriminated against female officers and made them uncomfortable with his actions, according to newly released documents.

Town Council accepted Griffin's resignation as the island's top cop on Feb. 20 and approved a $10,000 payout for him on his way out the door. The town had placed Griffin on administrative leave the previous month due to an unspecified "personnel investigation matter." But island officials said nothing about what that entailed.

More details came to light March 1 after The Post and Courier obtained Griffin's personnel and complaint files in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Documents in the file show Griffin had amassed a number of commendations throughout his career, along with a string of complaints about his conduct on the job that date back as far back as 2019.

Three complaints and a corroborating statement filed in December accuse Griffin of making sexually suggestive comments and making female officers feel uncomfortable in his presence. One officer told town officials that Griffin allegedly told co-workers that she looked like she would put a "hurting on someone in bed" and that she looked like she would be a "freak in the sheets."

Another said Griffin suggested she couldn't wear a certain uniform because her chest wasn't big enough, and that she suspected him of tracking her cruiser and spying on her and others with a camera while they worked out in an employee gym, documents stated.

Two other officers said Griffin showed them a picture of a woman after a high-speed pursuit to Breach Inlet in August and explained that he had traveled to Florida to meet up with her. He then proceeded to describe their encounter in sexually explicit terms, noting that she was married, the documents stated.
AWENDAW  One of the Charleston area's dozen or so settlement communities celebrated a win on Feb. 27 thats helping it preserve its history and culture.

Charleston County Council voted unanimously to rezone the Ten Mile community, something residents said will prevent developers from building densely designed subdivisions out of character with the rest of the community.

The area had been zoned R4, or four homes per acre, but it was rezoned to S3, which is three homes per acre.

Ed Pinckney, a Ten Mile resident, said he appreciated that County Council heard the community's concerns.

We definitely wanted the downzoning, not only to make our community safer but to protect our culture going forward, he said.

Located near Awendaw, Ten Mile is one of several African American settlement communities facing the threat of real estate development. Newer neighborhoods surround the Phillips Community along S.C. Highway 41, and theyve encroached on Six Mile, Hamlin and Porcher Bluff.

These settlement communities, most of which were founded by African Americans in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, are in a rapidly growing part of the county. Charleston Countys overall population was 310,000 in 2000 and is projected to reach 450,000 by 2025, according to the states Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.

Housing prices in the area have been driven up as well, creating opportunities for longtime property owners. Three tracts in Ten Mile were sold to subsidiaries of Crescent Homes by residents of the neighborhood; Crescent Homes will proceed with construction of three subdivisions as a result.

County Councilman Larry Kobrovsky, who has supported historic preservation efforts, said the rezoning is a huge win in the region.

I think that rezoning was historic, Kobrovsky said. Itll keep the integrity of the land and keep it from being subdivided and keep the historical context of the land intact.
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
Happy Sunshine Week indeed. As we hope youve noticed, our newsroom is spending the week recounting successes its had using South Carolinas Freedom of Information Act to illumine your understanding of what your government is doing on your behalf, in your name and with your tax dollars. Read moreEditorial: SC judges support sunshine whenever they get a chance. They need more chances.
Erie County legislators say they support hiring an outside accounting firm to examine all accounts and transactions in the Erie County Clerks Office to determine how much public money has been mishandled or stolen.

It would not be a cheap proposition, given that Comptroller Kevin Hardwick estimated the cost will be $50,000 to $100,000. But, given the potential magnitude of the problem, legislators said, that is money well spent.

Someone stole $326K from Erie County by intercepting a check and forging a duplicate A check for $326,456 issued by the Erie County Clerk's Office to a state agency in March 2022 was intercepted, and a counterfeit check was made out to "Get Mobile LLC" using the same account details. The only thing that was notably different on the fake check was the name and address of the recipient. Law enforcement officials told The Buffalo News that the money is unlikely to be recovered.

A ballpark figure of $50,000 to $100,000, considering what was lost, or potentially lost, is a drop in the bucket, said Democratic Majority Leader Timothy Meyers, who chairs the Erie County Legislatures finance committee.

Thursdays Legislature discussion follows two audits and an additional report that has determined hundreds of thousands of dollars have been lost, stolen or mishandled in the Clerks Office. That includes more than $100,000 lost through fraud reportedly perpetrated by a county employee, and more than $300,000 lost when a Clerks Office check was intercepted and counterfeited by an outside criminal.

Other smaller amounts of real estate tax money, tied to complex transactions, may have been improperly distributed to local governments and the state.

A criminal investigation by the Sheriffs Office and District Attorneys Office, and an extended audit by the State Comptrollers Office, were launched last year into the potential embezzlement by a Clerks Office employee who has since been fired. However, roughly eight months have passed with no arrest.

Legislator Howard Johnson said he intends to put forth a resolution at the next Legislature meeting authorizing a forensic audit to be conducted and paid for out of the Clerks Office budget.

Its his problem. It should come from his office, said Johnson, D-Buffalo, referring to County Clerk Michael Mickey Kearns.

Both Democratic and Republican legislators said Thursday that they support the need for an outside audit. Johnson said he anticipates support from his Democratic colleagues, who hold a 7-4 majority. Republican legislators said they also support an outside audit, but they seemed less convinced that the costs should be borne by the Clerks Office.

'Smoking gun' evidence cited as Erie County comptroller says $114K missing from Clerk's Office More than $114,000 in cash has gone missing from the Erie County Clerk's Office since January of last year, and County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick said he's concerned a thief is still working in county government despite mounting evidence of fraud.

Kearns is an independent Democrat endorsed by the Republican and Conservative parties.

Legislator Lindsay Lorigo, R-West Seneca, questioned how independent an outside audit could be if it is being paid for by the Clerks Office.

While Hardwick and his staff made the case for a forensic audit, neither Kearns nor any of his staff attended the committee meeting. The Clerks Office also declined an invitation to attend the Buffalo Common Councils finance committee meeting to address audit-related concerns.

Kearns has previously pointed to an array of reforms that have been made at the Clerks Office to address serious findings made by county auditors, including the hiring of two additional accounting employees, and the replacement of a deputy clerk with a certified public accountant who has forensic auditing experience.

But the clerk has also repeatedly questioned the accuracy of the comptrollers latest audit regarding mortgage tax distributions, and has demanded to see supporting work related to the audit findings. Those documents were provided by the Comptrollers Office early this week.

Kearns previously told The Buffalo News that if the Legislature determines that an outside forensic audit is necessary, he will support that, but he objects to funds being taken from his office to do that work.

Hardwick says county department heads should not be allowed to ignore audit findings The county comptroller is asking the Erie County Legislature to require that audited county departments and offices submit corrective action plans within 60 days of an audit's release.

Meanwhile, Hardwick has also asked that the Legislature require any department or office audited by the Comptrollers Office be required to issue a corrective action plan within 90 days addressing all major findings. Currently, audited departments are not required to address audit findings, though most do provide an audit response.

The Legislature voted 7-3 two weeks ago to have the Comptrollers Office draft a policy for the Legislature to consider. All Democrats voted in favor of the resolution, and the three Republicans at the meeting voted against it, citing concerns about the Comptrollers Office wielding too much power.

Hardwick said Thursday that his office is preparing language for the Legislature to adopt regarding a mandated corrective action plan. He also said he is taking seriously the idea that the Legislature should play a greater role an any corrective action plan process.
GREENVILLE  Former President Donald Trump is endorsing incumbent U.S. Rep. William Timmons in this Junes GOP primary, a key announcement as the three-term congressman tries to withstand an intraparty challenge after narrowly avoiding a runoff two years ago.

Timmons has been vying against Republican state Rep. Adam Morgan of Greenville for the former presidents support.

Congressman William Timmons is a terrific advocate for the people of South Carolinas 4th Congressional District! Trump said in a post on his Truth social media platform.

A Captain in the Air National Guard, he fights hard to Secure our Border, Strengthen our Military, Support our Veterans, Grow the Economy, Defend our Second Amendment, and Hold Joe Biden and the Radical Left Accountable. An original Member of my South Carolina Leadership Team, Congressman William Timmons has my Complete and Total Endorsement! Trumps message continued.

Timmons has made a strong effort to curry favor with Trump. He received the former presidents endorsement before and showed no signs of wanting to give that up. It comes less than a week after Trump comfortably beat Nikki Haley in the Palmetto States Feb. 24 presidential primary.

Timmons appeared with Trump at multiple campaign stops in New Hampshire and across South Carolina, most recently at a rally in Rock Hill on Feb. 23. His campaign team knocked on doors across the Upstate leading up to the primary. He made repeated calls for Haley to suspend her campaign, and he prodded his opponent to stop dividing the Republican Party.

Morgan had refused to endorse Trump for the presidency early on in the race, saying that he was excited in November by the variety of options for Republicans. After Timmons public criticism in late January, Morgan threw his support behind Trump.

The state lawmaker, who serves as chairman of the ultra-conservative South Carolina Freedom Caucus, indicated a desire for Trumps endorsement in a sit-down interview with The Post and Courier ahead of his bid announcement .
COLUMBIA  A bipartisan group of state legislators is advocating for newly filed bills that would enshrine protections for in vitro fertilization in state law after a shock ruling from the Alabama Supreme Court determined frozen embryos have the same legal rights as children.

But some lawmakers contend legislative action isn't necessary as the legal landscape in South Carolina is different from Alabama and there is no threat to IVF here.

The House version of the bill would mandate any fertilized human egg or human embryo outside the uterus could not be legally considered a child.

The slightly broader Senate version would also prevent undue burden being placed on access to reproductive technologies and stipulate that fertility clinics are not required to preserve sperm, eggs or embryos outside the human body.

Decisions like what we saw in Alabama and clinics putting things on hold for that family thats so desperate to conceive  its hard to even describe how devastating legislation and rulings like this are, state Rep. Beth Bernstein said at a Feb. 29 press conference.

This will ensure that this will not happen here, the Columbia Democrat said.

Bernstein said her second child, who is now in his teens, was conceived through IVF.

Protecting IVF treatments and fertility treatments and centers and parents has nothing to do with politics, state Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, said at the press conference. This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue.

After the blowback from the Alabama ruling, many national Republicans have moved swiftly to express their support for fertility treatment and IVF. By day's end Feb. 29, several Republicans had signed on as cosponsors to the IVF protection legislation, including Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort; Rep. Gil Gatch, R-Summerville; and Gary Brewer, R-Charleston.
GAFFNEY  The backlash over comments made to a journalist continued for Cherokee County's top educator.

The Cherokee County School District Board of Trustees voted 7-2 to place Superintendent Dana Fall on administrative leave during a special called meeting Feb. 29. Board members opposed were Johnny Sarratt Jr. and Crystal Shippy.

The vote came after the board met behind closed doors for more than three hours. Fall was not at the meeting.

Fall will be paid while on leave, Chairperson Mark Nix told The Post and Courier.

"(Fall) will still be there for access if we have questions, but he will not be in the school," Nix said.

The board named former Deputy Superintendent Carl Carpenter acting superintendent.

"This board remains committed to the highest quality educational opportunities for the students in Cherokee County," Nix said.

The Gaffney Ledger reported that Fall told Nix Feb. 24 he was leaving to lead Spartanburg County School District 4 and would start July 1. The next day, Fall told The Ledger that the District 4 role paid "a lot more money" and had "5,000 fewer students."

The comment led to a public outcry from Woodruff residents. At a meeting Feb. 26, the Spartanburg County School District 4 Board of Trustees voted unanimously to not proceed "with any binding employment offer or employment contract" with Fall and pause its search for a new superintendent as it "re-evaluates the search process."

Kevin Ramsey, a Cherokee resident and parent of a former student in the school district, said he came to the meeting to see how the board responded.

"This is a great school district. It's got a lot of outstanding kids and a lot of great employees," he said. "We shouldn't be a crutch for somebody looking to go somewhere else."
SPARTANBURG  The Hub City moviegoers will soon be able to watch a feature film created in Spartanburg at local theaters.

The Little Box of Hope was written and directed by Edgar Bravo, an independent filmmaker who moved to Spartanburg after years of making movies in Los Angeles.

His films have been distributed in over 70 countries and are available to watch on streaming services such as Tubi.

Bravo was attracted to the city after meeting with business people from the area and talking with Katherine O'Neill, the chief economic development officer of OneSpartanburg, which works to promote economic growth and works as the citys chamber of commerce.

I found the people in the Upstate pretty entrepreneurial, very amazing, Bravo said. I really felt that this was the best place to start the film production company.

Atlanta was the obvious choice for him. It has been dubbed the Hollywood of the South and countless television series and blockbuster movies have been filmed in the city. But Bravo said it is now too big for him and was looking for something smaller.

Atlanta turned out to be kind of like Los Angeles, mainly for big studios and studio movies and all that kind of stuff, he said.

Spartanburg fit what he wanted. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, meaning workers choose whether to join a labor union when getting hired, and Bravo said non-union labor is important for smaller films on tight budgets.

Also, the people he met from the city just appealed to him.

A lot of people love film in the Upstate, Bravo said. I'm sure some smaller Hollywood films will come here once they see how fantastic it is.

One of the people he met from the Upstate was Rob Springer, who would go on to star in the film.
The Guam Visitors Bureau and Guam International Airport Authority paid a visit to the president of the Republic of Palau as well as to the Australian ambassador to Palau in Koror, Palau on Feb. 22, GVB announced in a press release. The visit was intended to strengthen ties with Palau and seek air routing opportunities for visa waiver countries such as Taiwan, Australia, Papua New Guinea and other potential travel markets to Guam, GVB said in the release.

Leading the Guam delegate were GVB President and CEO Carl T.C. Gutierrez, GIAA marketing program coordinator Elfrie Koshiba, GVB senior marketing manager Taiwan Gabbie Franquez, and GVB executive assistant to the president and CEO Valerie Sablan, GVB said.

The Guam delegates first met with Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. on Feb. 21 to discuss shared goals in tourism and sustainability among the islands, GVB said in the release. Also in attendance were Palau Minister of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism and Development Ngirai Tmetuchl, Minister of Finance Kaleb Udui Jr. and Minister of Health and Human Services Gaafar J. Uherbelau.

As an independent nation that also relies on the tourism industry, Palau welcomes visitors from around the world with the majority arriving from China and Taiwan, a market that has slowed in Guam due to the lack of direct flights, GVB said. GVB and Palau expressed a deep interest in partnering as a cohesive front to seek the extension of flights from Taipei-Koror and route development of Taipei-Guam-Koror, GVB said in the release.

President Whipps and Gutierrez discussed the benefits of U.S. national security and Taiwan national security, despite Palaus recent offers from China, and how Palau in its sovereignty would play an instrumental role in the effort to acquire extended air routes on behalf of the Micronesian islands. The two dignitaries agreed on the importance of this mission and the benefits to the islands sustainability. While in Palau, GVB continued the discussion with Minister Tmetuchl to discuss in depth future plans of collaboration and market strategies that benefit both island destinations.

Palau extended its full support and will accompany Guam on a trip to Taiwan in May to create a united stance in meeting with Executive Yuan Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan with various Taiwanese government officials, the American Institute in Taiwan, which is the de facto U.S. Embassy in Taiwan, and United Airlines.

As an honorary citizen of Palau, it gives me great confidence that President Whipps and his trusted cabinet members extend their sovereignty to help Guam not only to expand our tourism industry, but also for national security, said Gutierrez. It is because of our close relationship with Palau that we must latch on to their sovereignty and explore opportunities for new market viability.

Palau receives regular direct flights on United Airlines from Guam, China Airlines from Taipei, Alii Palau Airlines from Singapore, Nauru Airlines island-hopper, and Air Niugini from Papua New Guinea and Australia.

On Feb. 22, the Guam delegates paid a courtesy visit to Australian Ambassador to Palau Richelle Turner, who gave more detailed information on the travel from Australia and Papua New Guinea to Palau via carrier Air Niugini. Air Niugini flies the Brisbane-Port Moresby-Koror route with 180 passengers and food cargo once a week. Turner expressed that there is interest in Australia to travel into Guam, but groups have been denied clearance in the past. Both Australia and Papua New Guinea are included in the Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program and their citizens may visit Guam visa-free for up to 45 days. The ambassadors next visit to Guam will be in April of this year, GVB said, at which time further discussions will ensue.
Buffalove, Drake style

Drake doesnt forget where he came from or how he made it back to Buffalo.

The Canadian rappers path includes five Grammy Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards and 24 albums and mixtapes, and wound through Amherst  notably Daemen University.

The second show that I ever did was in the lunchroom at a school called Daemen College in Buffalo, New York, Drake told a capacity crowd Wednesday night at KeyBank Center. I hold this place very near and dear to my heart, because you were one of the first people to ever support me.

Drake performed for the first time in Buffalo since 2016, though hes no stranger to Western New York. He also included a shoutout to Walden Galleria on his October 2023 track, Away from Home.

His first visit to the Buffalo area came in April 2009, when he performed at Daemens Springfest. The Wick Social Room hosted the show, and its immortalized in Drakes 2021 song The Remorse, which chronicles his early days in music:

Daemen College booking me to pull up and speak the facts.

The audience may have known Drake  then an actor who went by his given name of Aubrey Graham  as Jimmy Brooks from the Canadian TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Or they may have downloaded his mixtape, So Far Gone, released in February 2009.

His visit to Daemen came less than two months before his first hit, Best I Ever Had, was released as a single on June 16, 2009. It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 that year.

Drake has grown up. So has Daemen, which took on university status in March 2022. The Wick Social Room is now the John R. Yurtchuk Student Center.

Or as Drake said it: All things change.

 Rachel Lenzi

What the cell?

Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown had to wait a few extra minutes on Tuesday before he could convene the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. board meeting.

Thats because he needed to have a quorum for the multitude of action items, and one of the board members had run out to her car to retrieve her cellphone.

In the meantime, he noted aloud that everyone around the table was busy on their own cellphones.

So when the remaining board member returned, he called the meeting to order by recognizing the real attendance.

OK, we have all the cellphones present, he said.

 Jonathan D. Epstein

Grounds for action

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency recently completed its own in-house renovation, expanding its fourth-floor conference room at 95 Perry St. so it can host board meetings for itself and the Buffalo Urban Development Corp.

The agencies had previously used the fifth-floor conference room, but thats now been claimed by Empire State Development Corp.

So, of course, the ECIDA staff took out bets on who would be the first to stain the new carpeting with coffee.

The winner: John Cappellino, its CEO.

I have to confess it was me, Cappellino told his board this week. I was over by the thermostat, trying to make sure the air conditioner was working, and I tipped my cup. So it was me. Someone had to go through the door first.

So it turns out the carpet was  with our deepest apologies to Maxwell House  good through the first drop.

 Jonathan D. Epstein
NEW YORK (AP)  Federal agents searched two properties owned by a top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday.

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents carried out morning raids at two Bronx addresses, which records show are owned by Winnie Greco, a former fundraiser for Adams who now serves as his director of Asian affairs.

The purpose of the investigation was not revealed, and it wasn't immediately clear whether it was related to Adams. But it was another sign of deepening law enforcement scrutiny of the Democratic mayor and members of his inner circle.

A person with knowledge of the matter said the investigation that led to Thursdays raid was being overseen by the U.S. attorneys office in Brooklyn, and it was separate from a criminal inquiry being conducted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan that led FBI agents to seize Adams electronic devices as he left an event last fall.

The person wasnt authorized to disclose information publicly about the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Neighbors of Grecos said federal agents began searching the two homes, which are on the same block, at around 6 a.m. and remained in the area for several hours.

Greco was placed on leave Thursday, according to a City Hall spokesperson. A prolific fundraiser, she had worked closely with Adams for over a decade, serving as his conduit to the citys Asian-American communities.

In November, the city's Department of Investigation opened a probe into her conduct following a news report that raised questions about her political fundraising and whether she used her position in the administration to obtain personal benefits.

According to that report, published by the local news outlet The City, Greco demanded that a city employee complete free renovations on her home when he was supposed to be working.

Greco is at least the third aide to Adams whose home has targeted by federal agents. In November, the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova, who worked in the mayor's international affairs office. Four days later, agents quietly seized the mayors cellphones and an iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan.

That investigation, which is being led by Manhattan prosecutors, is believed to be focused on whether the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors, according to a warrant reported on by The New York Times.

Adams has repeatedly deflected questions about the investigation while stressing that he has not officially been accused of wrongdoing.

Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines, a spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement Thursday. As we have repeatedly said, we dont comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway.

There was no immediate response to a voicemail seeking comment left at a phone number listed as Grecos.

Associated Press photographer Mary Altaffer contributed to this report.

This story was initially published Feb. 29. It was updated on March 1 to delete a reference to her being placed on administrative leave. The mayor says she is on sick leave.
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LANGLEY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Adastra Holdings Ltd. (CSE:XTRX)(FRA:D2E) ("Adastra" or the "Company"), a leading cannabis processor and producer of two top Canadian concentrates brands, with a focus on product innovation and commercialization for adult-use and medical markets, is pleased to announce that it has received a Purchase Order ("PO") for CAD $1,047,439 from the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis ("AGLC").Adastra's PO from the AGLC is the largest single PO in Adastra's history. The PO was secured by the Company in early February and included a wide range of Adastra's product mix, including offerings from its in-house brand, Endgame Extracts ("Endgame"). This PO signals the strong position the Endgame brand has in Alberta which, according to Headset, holds four of the top ten selling concentrate brands[1] and two of the top ten selling vapor pen brands[2].CEO UpdateOn February 29th, 2024, Michael Forbes resigned as CEO, Director and Corporate Secretary, effective March 29, 2024. Mr. Forbes will be focusing on his other ventures in the cannabis and health space, including Ageless Living, longevity-based interdisciplinary clinics.The Company is currently in the process of selecting and approving a new CEO and hopes to make an announcement later this month. Mr. Forbes has advised the Board of Directors of his willingness to support Adastra during this period of transition to ensure an orderly leadership transition to his successor."When Michael joined Adastra in April 2021, the Company's quarterly revenues stood at $1.2 million. Fast forward nearly three years, and we're thrilled to receive our largest single purchase order to date, exceeding $1 million. This order is nearly the same amount as the quarterly revenue figure from when Michael first joined. This remarkable milestone underscores Michael's profound impact as CEO, driving revenue growth and scaling operations at Adastra," said Lachlan McLeod, Chief Financial Officer. "We thank Michael for his leadership and guidance during his tenure as CEO. As Michael plans to focus his time on his other ventures, we extend our best wishes for his continued success." "It has been an honour and privilege to have served as CEO of Adastra during this significant restructuring phase. I am proud of where the Company is today. Receiving our largest single purchase order of over $1 million is truly a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. This milestone reflects not only our commitment to excellence but also the trust and confidence our customers have in our premium products," said Michael Forbes, CEO of Adastra."As we move forward, I am confident that Adastra will continue to thrive and achieve even greater success. I am committed to ensuring a smooth transition to the next management team. I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has been part of this journey, from our employees to our shareholders and partners. Together, we have overcome challenges and seized opportunities, and I am excited to see what the future holds for the Company. Adastra means to the stars and I still believe that to this day." About Adastra Holdings Ltd.Adastra has become one of Canada's leaders in the supply and manufacturing of ethnobotanical and cannabis products for lawful adult-use. It serves medical markets and engages in forward-looking therapeutic applications. With cannabis concentrate products sold through retailers at more than 2,000 locations across Canada, Adastra's Phyto Extractions and Endgame Extracts brands are now well established with a growing distribution presence. As a Health Canada licensed facility, it specializes in extraction, distillation and manufacturing of a range of cannabis-derived products. Adastra partners with healthcare professionals and practitioners within the regulated environment to create products suitable for the medical cannabis market, with the ultimate aim of addressing the needs of patients. For more information, visit: www.adastraholdings.ca ContactsMichael Forbes, CEO, Corporate Secretary & Director(778) 715-5011 michael@ adastraholdings.ca Forward-Looking InformationThis news release contains forwardlooking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation concerning the business of the Company. Forwardlooking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the Company. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forwardlooking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward looking information is often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and in this news release includes statements regarding, but not limited to the expectation for future growth, the anticipation of creating longterm value for customers, partners and shareholders, the timeline for identifying a new CEO, the expectation for even greater success for the Company, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. There are numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and the Company's plans and objectives to differ materially from those expressed in the forwardlooking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forwardlooking information include: the availability of a qualified workforce; changes in regulations or licensing affecting the Company's business; reduced demand for cannabis and cannabis related products; reductions in the Company's retail space and store locations; changes in consumer brand preferences; and other factors beyond the control of the Company, including the risk factors set out in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F dated May 16, 2023, filed with Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . These and all subsequent written and oral forwardlooking information are based on estimates and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update these forwardlooking statements.[1] https://www.headset.io/the-best-selling-cannabis-products/alberta-concentrates [2] https://www.headset.io/the-best-selling-cannabis-products/alber
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Boxwood Successfully Completes its 5th Residential Services Franchisee TransactionJUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 /Boxwood Partners is pleased to announce the sale of Panther Overhead Door, LLC ("Panther" or the "Company"), a leading franchisee within Precision Garage Door Service ("PDS"), a Neighborly company, by Impact Home Services ("Impact"), a franchisee of Precision Garage Door Service, Mr. Rooter, and Mr. Electric, which all three brands are part of the Neighborly community. Impact was formed by Shirin Kanji in 2021 and partnered with Eagle Merchant Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, in 2023.Boxwood Partners, a leading boutique middle-market investment bank, acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Panther on the transaction. The transaction was led by Brian Alas (Managing Director), Madison Day (Vice President), John Atkinson (Associate) and Drew Asadorian (Analyst). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.The Panther transaction marks Boxwood's fifth franchisee transaction and fourth within the Neighborly system within the last year.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."We're very grateful to the Boxwood team for locating the right solution for Panther," said Doug Bencsko. "The Impact team was a logical fit, both culturally and operationally, to optimize the Houston market." About Boxwood PartnersBoxwood Partners, LLC is a boutique investment bank based in Jupiter, Florida with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other important transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. For more information about Boxwood Partners, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com About Impact Home ServicesImpact is an independent operator of three franchises within Neighborly, the world's largest home services company. Formed in 2021 by Shirin Kanji, Impact operates Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Mr. Electric and Precision Door Service franchises in Metro Atlanta and broader Georgia, servicing both residents and commercial customers. Impact is actively seeking add-on investments of independent plumbing, electrical and garage door repair businesses in Georgia and adjoining markets.About Eagle Merchant PartnersEagle is focused on partnering with founder-owned businesses based in the Southeast with unique growth opportunities and targets investments in franchise, consumer, and industrial businesses with EBITDA between $2 million and $20 million. For more information, please visit eaglemerchantpartners.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.About Precision Garage Door ServicePrecision 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 atNeighborly.comand through the Neighborly App. For more information about Precision Garage Door Service, visitPrecisionDoor.net Contact:mryan@ fishmanpr.com 847-945-1300SOURCE: Boxwood Partners, LLC
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Metallurgical test work confirms DRI grade iron concentrate with combined Silica and Alumina below 2.5%(All numbers reported in US dollars)TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Cerrado Gold Inc. (TSXV:CERT)(OTCQX:CRDOF) ("Cerrado" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive metallurgical test results confirming the ability to produce High Purity, DRI Grade iron concentrates at its Mont Sorcier magnetite iron ore project located near Chibougamau, Quebec held through its 100% owned subsidiary, Voyager Metals Inc. The metallurgical tests were the initial phase in determining the final flow sheet design for the feasibility study at Mont Sorcier targeted for later this year.The design and analysis of the metallurgical test work program was conducted by Soutex Inc., a consultancy firm specializing in ore processing and metallurgical processes based in Quebec City, Quebec, with test work completed by SGS Canada, one of the world's leading testing, inspection and certification companies based in Quebec City.The results of this initial phase of test work demonstrate that the Mont Sorcier project has the potential to produce a high purity iron concentrate grading 67% iron with low Silica and Alumina; making it suitable to be classified as a Direct Reduction Iron ("DRI") grade product. Such a product significantly reduces the overall emission of greenhouse gases in steel production compared to other lower grade concentrates. It has the potential to be used in electric arc furnaces to produce steel products, further reducing emissions. Also, as the Mont Sorcier project is a magnetite material, reducing the use of coal in the steel making process and when combined with the availability of Hydroelectric power in Quebec, lowers overall emission levels.As the global demand for Green Steel increases, it is expected that the demand and price premium paid for higher grade products will continue to increase to a level above the most commonly traded iron products and replace demand for lower grade materials. The ability to produce High Purity iron concentrates places Mont Sorcier as a project capable of delivering Critical and Strategic High Purity Iron as outlined by the Quebec Government, as it aspires to become a leader to support energy transition through the development of critical and strategic minerals and reduce overall global emissions.The test work program was designed to evaluate alternative processing flowsheets to maximize the value of the project as compared to the previous 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in July 2022 and to assess the capability of producing a high purity iron concentrate, with low deleterious elements, suitable for direct reduction.Composite samples representative of the Life of Mine material were processed at the laboratory scale through the following stages:The material was ground to a size of minus 1.7 mm and was subjected to a magnetic separation process: The concentrate of the first magnetic separation stage, the cobber stage, was reground to a P80 of 106m and submitted to a rougher magnetic separation process; The rougher concentrate was then reground to a P80 of 38m, and magnetite was recovered in a final cleaning magnetic separation stage. The magnetic concentrate was then processed through a hydroseparation step to remove low density fine material, followed by a sulfur flotation step aimed at reducing the sulfur content in the concentrate. These processing steps led to the production of a concentrate grading 65% Iron, 3% silica with a sulfur content below 0.4%, for an iron recovery of 75%, which was in accordance with the previous PEA results. The concentrate was then processed through an additional reverse iron flotation stage to assess the capability of producing a low silica concentrate. Successful tests led to the production of a 67% iron concentrate, with combined silica and alumina grades below 2.3% (SiO2  1.8% Al2O3  0.5%) and sulfur content below 0.4% for an iron recovery of 61%.The results generated from this test work program represent a significant step forward compared to previous results and demonstrate not only that a base case of 65% iron concentrate is readily achievable but also that the production of high purity 67% iron concentrates is now possible. Going forward, continued work will focus on flowsheet and grind size optimization, in addition to confirmation of the test work results obtained on the composite on variability samples. Currently, the deposit is defined by five domains, and work will now shift to understanding the best sequence for mining and processing to deliver the optimal production profile and enhance project economics.Mark Brennan, CEO and Chairman, stated: "We are very pleased that the test results have confirmed the ability to produce DRI grade 67% iron concentrates with low levels of impurities. As the global steel markets continue to aim to reduce overall emissions in the steel production process, concentrates such as those from Mont Sorcier are expected to be in high demand to support this transition and replace lower grade materials." Review of Technical InformationThe technical information contained in this news release with respect to the Mont Sorcier Project has been reviewed and approved on behalf of Voyager by Pierra-Jean Lafleur of Voyager Metals, who is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").About CerradoCerrado Gold is a Toronto-based gold production, development, and exploration company focused on gold projects in South America. The Company is the 100% owner of both the producing Minera Don Nicolas and Las Calandrias mine in Santa Cruz province, Argentina, and the highly prospective Monte Do Carmo development project, located in Tocantins State, Brazil. In Canada, Cerrado Gold is developing it's 100% owned Mont Sorcier Iron Ore project located outside of Chibougamou, Quebec.In Argentina, Cerrado is maximizing asset value at its Minera Don Nicolas operation through continued operational optimization and is growing production through its operations at the Las Calandrias Heap Leach project. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package in the heart of the Deseado Masiff.In Brazil, Cerrado is rapidly advancing the Serra Alta deposit at its Monte Do Carmo Project, through feasibility and into production. Serra Alta is expected to be a high-margin and high-return project with significant exploration potential on an extensive and highly prospective 82,542 hectare land package.In Canada, Cerrado holds a 100% interest in the Mont Sorcier Iron Ore, which has the pot
PR-Inside.com: 2024-03-01 13:00:13

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Strengthening Industrial Cybersecurity: Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporate Align to Deliver Operational Technology Cybersecurity and Zero Trust Remote Access SolutionsNEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) today announced an agreement to expand their Operational Technology (OT) security businesses through marketing and technical development.Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Announce Collaboration Based on this agreement, Mitsubishi Electric will integrate its factory-automation (FA) equipment and OT security solutions with Dispel's secure remote-access technology to provide a Zero Trust Remote Access Service that enables comprehensive monitoring and control of industrial processes. For Mitsubishi Electric, the goal is to accelerate digital manufacturing by enabling secure data utilization throughout the entire product lifecycle - from design and installation to operation and maintenance - thereby strengthening the company's Circular Digital-Engineering business."At Mitsubishi Electric, we are creating new value in OT security by combining our OT technology and expertise in manufacturing with information-system security technologies from leading security vendors," said Kunihiko Kaga, Mitsubishi Electric's Representative Executive Officer and Industry and Mobility Business Area Owner. "Through our collaboration with Dispel, we expect to contribute to OT security and society as a whole by providing secure environments for remote maintenance." "What matters to industrial customers is uptime, availability, and crew safety," said Ian Schmertzler, President of Dispel. "Cyber security should not be something they need to worry about, but the shifting regulatory and threat landscape has made it impossible to ignore. By providing a Zero Trust Access platform aligned with NIST 800-53 to their customer base, Mitsubishi Electric is making it possible for their clients to refocus on what matters." Dispel - recognized for its work in critical sectors including oil & gas, manufacturing, food & beverage production, utilities, automotive, and defense - develops end-to-end, Moving Target Defense-based OT network solutions focused on enabling rigorous access control and sustained asset visibility. Dispel's approach provides significant security and operational efficiency advantages over legacy VPN and proxy solutions through automation, standards alignment, and integrations with industry peers.With over 20 million hours of safe operation, Dispel's Zero Trust Remote Access platform goes beyond traditional solutions to provide the comprehensive suite of features needed in high-value operational technology settings, such as password vaulting, privileged access management, session recording, vendor self-management, just-in-time access, and endpoint isolation.This partnership signifies a determined, shared commitment by Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to extend OT cybersecurity capabilities, offering secure, efficient, and resilient operational solutions to the entire industrial consumer base.About DispelDispel is a leading provider of zero trust remote access and moving target defense networks. Founded in 2015, with offices in New York, Austin, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo, Dispel serves industrial and defense clients worldwide, protecting over $280 billion of manufacturing and the utilities covering over 47 million people each year. Dispel's secure remote access, data streaming, and asset visibility platform enhances cybersecurity and efficiency capabilities for operational technology in a variety of industrial and military applications. For more information, please visit www.dispel.com About Mitsubishi Electric CorporationWith more than 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its "Changes for the Better." The company recorded a revenue of 5,003.6 billion yen (U.S.$ 37.3 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com *U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of 134=U.S.$1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2023Contact InformationBen Burkepress@ dispel.com SOURCE: DispelView the original press release on newswire.com
PR-Inside.com: 2024-03-01 18:03:19

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICATORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / E2Gold Inc. (the "Company") (TSXV:ETU)(OTCQB:ETUGF) is pleased to announce its plans to raise up to $1,000,000 in an equity private placement to fund its next stage drilling plans on its district-scale Hawkins gold project in north Central Ontario. Shareholders can learn more about these plans at the upcoming Prospectors and Developers Conference in Toronto, March 3 to March 5, at Booth 2130.Eric Owens, CEO, states, "Our 2023 field crews were able to confirm high grade gold and base metals in surface occurrences up to 200 m north and 3.5 km east along trend with the existing McKinnon Zone Inferred Resource." Dr. Owens added, "A shallow-level program is planned to test this never-before-drilled area." Figure 1. Map of McKinnon Zone Eastern Extension with proposed initial drill targetsThe private placement will consist of a combination of units ("HD Units"), priced at C$0.025, and Flow Through Units ("FT Units"), priced at C$0.030, in any combination to raise a maximum aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,000,000.Each HD Unit will consist one common share of the Company plus one common share purchase warrant to acquire one additional common share at a price of C$0.05 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. Each FT Unit will be comprised of one "flow-through" common share of the Company (a "FT Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant exercisable to acquire one additional common share at a price of $0.06 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance thereof. Up to 50% of the offering may be purchased by insiders. The offering remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.In other matters, the Company notes that it has entered into a general security agreement dated February 26th, 2024 (the "GSA") in connection with an existing promissory note of the Company dated March 15, 2023 (the "Promissory Note"), held by certain insiders (non-arm's length parties). The Promissory Note is in the principal amount of US$153,000, is due on demand, and bears interest at a rate of 12.5% per annum until repayment. Pursuant to the GSA, security has been granted against the Promissory Note in respect of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company. The GSA remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.The Company has also negotiated an extension of property option payments to the underlying claim holder of the Hawkins optioned claims. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has been granted an extension of the annual cash payment, which is normally due on January 28, 2024, to April 28, 2024, in exchange for non-cash remuneration relating to the transfer of assessment credits and other housekeeping matters.Further to the Company's press release dated December 20, 2023, the private placement (the "Offering") that closed on December 20, 2023, is exempt from minority shareholder approval and valuation requirements pursuant to subsections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101.The Company paid a finder's fee of $16,800 to eligible registrants assisting in the Offering and issued an aggregate of 560,000 broker warrants ("Broker Warrants") to such registrants, with each Broker Warrant entitling the holder to acquire one Share at $0.05 for a period of two years following the date of issuance.ABOUT E2GOLD INC.E2Gold Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company with a large flagship property, the 80 km long Hawkins Gold Project in north-central Ontario, about 140 km east of the Hemlo Gold Mine, and 75 km north of the Magino and Island Gold Mines. The property is anchored by the McKinnon Zone Inferred Resource of 6.2 Mt grading 1.65 Au g/t, for 328,800 ounces of gold.1 E2Gold is committed to increasing shareholder value through discoveries at Hawkins.Note 1: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate on Hawkins Gold Project, Ontario, by P&E Mining Consultants, effective date September 10, 2020.For further information please contact:Jeff PritchardInvestor Relations info@ e2gold.ca +1 647 699 3340Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of E2Gold, including with respect to the receipt of all regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.SOURCE: E2Gold Inc.
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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 29, 2024 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. (TSXV:FWTC) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed its condensed consolidated audited financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2023. Copies of these financial statements and related management's discussion and analysis can be found on the Company's issuer profile at www.sedarplus.ca . All financial information in this news release is reported in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.Operating Highlights and Recent Corporate DevelopmentsOn October 5, 2023, the Company issued a total of 452,000 common shares with a deemed value of $22,600 in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp., for certain advertising services provided to the Company. On October 23, 2023, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement of 9,240,000 units at a price of $0.05 per unit for gross proceeds of $462,000. Each unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each common share purchase warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of $0.075 per share at any time on or before October 20, 2026. In December 2021, the Company began the building of a mobile demonstration unit which can be placed on a customer's site to allow for a longer term (6-8 month) performance of the FO technology at industrial throughput that is not achievable in a laboratory setting. This revenue-generating unit was completed in November, 2023 and is now available to be used by or sell to our customers. On January 11, 2024, the Company announced that it has been contracted by CleanTech Lithium PLC to provide advisory services for the support and development of their Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") processes in Chile. On January 16, 2024, the Company issued a total of 452,000 common shares with a deemed value of $22,600 in settlement of compensation to AGORA Internet Relations Corp. for certain advertising services provided to the Company. Management Commentary"Over the last quarter we have been pleased with the response from investors to the non-brokered private placement and we continue to pursue further financing initiatives to ensure support of all commercial activities. As important, we continue to provide guidance in the water treatment needs for our clients especially in the lithium resource sector which is vital to sustainable energy management." Summary of Financial ResultsIncome StatementBalance SheetStatement of Cash FlowsAbout Forward Water Technologies Corp.Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Forward Osmosis technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology allows for the reduction of challenging waste streams simultaneously returning fresh water for re-use or surface release. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors. In addition, the Company has initiated early stage R&D for the treatment of food and beverage process streams.For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com Contact 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 financing initiatives, 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.sedarplus.ca . 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.
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FLORHAM PARK, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Hisamitsu America, today, celebrates the 90th anniversary of the Salonpas patch, the world's No. 1 brand of Over-the-Counter (OTC) topical analgesics in the patch category,1 which was introduced in Japan in 1934.Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., with dual headquarters in Kyushu and Tokyo is the parent company of Hisamitsu America, manufacturer of Salonpas and global pioneer and innovator of transdermal and topical patch technology operating around the world."Since its inception, the Salonpas brand has evolved into a legacy of trusted and effective OTC pain relief solutions including patches, creams, gels, sprays and liquids," says John Incledon, President & CEO, Hisamitsu America, the marketers of Salonpas, the #1 Doctor and Pharmacist recommended OTC Topical Pain Patch2 and the first FDA-approved OTC topical pain reliever in 2008 with the Salonpas Pain Relief Patch.Time-Tested, Research-Driven, Cross-Generational Efficacy"Salonpas is more than a pain relief patch; it's a symbol of time-tested, trusted medicine that transcends generations," said Bob Arnot, M.D., internal medicine who is a journalist, author and served as a medical and foreign correspondent for NBC and CBS. "Crafted with care and precision, Salonpas has become synonymous with effective and innovative OTC topical pain relief solutions." Remarkable Growth in the U.S. MarketSince 2010, Salonpas has witnessed extraordinary growth in the U.S. market. Retail sales have surged over tenfold, reaching over $200 million3 in 2023. "This achievement underscores the brand's ongoing commitment in bringing innovation to the topical pain relief category to satisfy a growing number of customers," says Incledon.Despite Salonpas achieving record revenues in the U.S., less than 1 in 3 U.S. households are buying products in the External Analgesics category, with the Salonpas OTC brand facing even lower consumer adoption.4"I see Hisamitsu America as the little engine that could,' continually striving to win the hearts and minds of every pharmacist, doctor, and consumer," says Incledon. "People who have discovered Salonpas are satisfied and brand loyal, but our goal is to bring many more people under the topicals tent' like other parts of the world, especially Japan. People have many effective options for pain relief that do not involve taking a pill." Salonpas' is cited as the fastest growing search term - up 98.8% in 20235 with more Facebook fans and followers than any other systemic or topical OTC analgesic brand6. The brand continues to innovate and educate with the extraordinary growth of the Salonpas brand in the United States reinforced by the success of the Salonpas Lidocaine 4% Pain Relieving FLEX Patch distinguished as the #1 new item in the External Analgesics OTC category7."As we mark this significant milestone, we extend our gratitude to our loyal customers, partners, and dedicated teams worldwide. The 90th Anniversary of Salonpas is not just a celebration of the past but a reaffirmation of our commitment to advancing pain relief solutions for the future," says Incledon.Since its formation, the company mission of Hisamitsu is to improve the quality of life for people around the world through R&D, manufacturing, and the sale of topical analgesic products. Hisamitsu's culture focuses on spreading compassionate consideration to others.About Hisamitsu America:Hisamitsu America is the North American subsidiary of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc., founded in 1847, a global pioneer and innovator of transdermal and topical patch technology with a focus on pain relief. The Salonpas product line, which gained early acceptance in Asia and is now registered in over 100 countries, has pioneered the development of topical patches to relieve pain. Since 2010, Salonpas has become one of the fastest growing OTC brands in the USA. Salonpas became the most popular pain relief brand on Facebook in 2020. For more information, visit: https://us.hisamitsu/ Sources:Salonpas Named the World's No. 1 OTC Topical Analgesic Patch Brand - Euromonitor International Limited (global topical analgesics/anaesthetic market, 2022 data.) Salonpas is the #1 Doctor and Pharmacist recommended OTC Topical Pain Patch Brand (IQVIA: ProVoice Survey 2023) Salonpas retail sales exceeded $200 mm with record sales across Food, Drug, Mass, Club, and ecommerce channels (Circana: MULO/Club & Ecommerce data ending 12/31/23). Less than 1 in 3 households buy products in the general category of External Analgesics in U.S. households, with the Salonpas OTC brand attracting 1 in 20 households. (Circana HH Panel, Rolling 52 weeks data ending 12/31/23) Salonpas' has been cited as the fastest growing search term - up 98.8% in 2023 (CommerceIQ, 2023) More Facebook fans and followers than any other systemic or topical OTC analgesic brand. (Meta: March 2024) Salonpas Lidocaine 4% Pain Relieving FLEX Patch is distinguished as the #1 new item in the External Analgesics OTC category (Circana MULO, 52 wks. ending 12/31/23)Media Contact: Nancy Thompson, Vorticom, Inc. 212.532.2208 (o), 917.371.4053 (m); nancyt@ vorticom.com SOURCE: Hisamitsu America
NEW YORK (AP)  Morning commutes on a New York City subway line were severely delayed Thursday after a train conductor was slashed in the neck, with transit officials blaming union members for disrupting service as they demanded safer working conditions.

The attack on the conductor happened around 3:40 a.m. as a southbound A train was pulling into a station in Brooklyns Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Transportation Workers Union Local 100 said.

The conductor, Alton Scott, was slashed in the neck as he put his head out a window to make sure the track was clear, the union said. He needed 34 stitches to close the deep gash and is now recovering at home. Police said an arrest has not been made.

Commuters on the train line awoke to major delays during the morning rush, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority saying at the time it was running as much service as we can with the train crews we have available. Normal operations resumed on the subway line later Thursday.

Union and city officials offering conflicting versions of what caused the delay.

A union spokesperson, Alina Ramirez, said workers reported for work as usual Thursday but remained on standby in the hours after the attack until they received safety assurances from transit management, as is typical following such incidents. She added that at least one transit worker filed a safety complaint after the incident, trigging officials to conduct an inspection of the station before service could resume.

But later Thursday, Richard Davey, president of New York City transit for the MTA, told reporters that union leadership decided to put on some kind of work stoppage charade which impacted a couple of hundred thousand New Yorkers commuters today on the A and the C.

Look we have evidence  by the way our employees wanted to move the trains, we have evidence that union officials were standing in the doors preventing the trains from moving," Davey said.

Ramirez did not respond to a voicemail and text message seeking a response to Davey's comments. Earlier Thursday, she stressed that the union did not authorize any official work stoppage or slowdown.

New York state has a law in place that blocks public employees from striking. Davey said the agency's lawyers were reviewing the incident.

Both sides agreed more needs to be done to keep workers safe.

Were facing heinous crimes and brutal assaults. Enough is enough, said Richard Davis, the unions president.

The MTA has been experimenting with installing physical barriers such as orange rubber poles at some subway stops to deter attacks on subway conductors.
PR-Inside.com: 2024-03-01 18:16:20

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ROCK HILL, SC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / The ACA 1095 Recipient Copy Deadline has arrived, and many businesses are likely scrambling to meet the critical milestone in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance calendar. Today, March 1, 2024, marks the IRS deadline for businesses to distribute copies of ACAForms 1095-Band1095-Cto recipients and employees.While this deadline is distinct from the e-filing deadline with the IRS, it remains a pivotal component of successful ACA reporting. Whether your business has missed the deadline or is uncertain aboutACA reportingrequirements, ACAwise offers a last-minute, comprehensive solution to navigate these challenges seamlessly.Affordable Care Act Reporting Overview:The ACA 1095 Recipient Copy Deadline is a crucial ACA compliance milestone, requiring businesses to furnish employees and recipients with copies of Form 1095, detailing essential health coverage information.Who needs to file ACA Forms? Typically, providers of health insurance coverage and Applicable Large Employers (ALE) with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees.The IRS mandates that businesses required to complete ACA reporting must distribute copies of Forms 1095-B/C to recipients by March 1, 2024, for the 2023 tax year.For businesses in need of a comprehensive ACA reporting solution, ACAwise is the answer. Key indicators include the need for ACA code generation, recipient copy distribution solutions, a dedicated account manager, TIN matching for SSN accuracy, working with raw data, or catching up on reporting requirements from previous tax years.Complete Solutions from ACAwise:ACAwisestreamlines the ACA reporting process, offering flexible options for data submission. Once uploaded, the platform undergoes precise data validations, generating forms with codes if needed. ACAwise supports distribution via postal mail or secure online access, state filing, and facilitates e-filing with the IRS, including support for corrections.Time is of the essence as the ACA 1095 Recipient Copy Deadline approaches. ACAwise empowers businesses with its user-friendly platform, and expert support, and ensures seamless ACA compliance. Don't let the deadline overwhelm you; choose ACAwise to make ACA compliance a stress-free experience.Addressing the approaching ACA deadlines, the CEO and Co-founder of SPAN Enterprises, (ACAwise's parent company), Agie Sundaram, stated, "As we approach the crucial deadlines for ACA reporting, the ACAwise team is here to assist businesses in meeting their IRS and state requirements. With IRS penalty rates on the rise, timely adherence to deadlines is more critical than ever. We strongly advise reaching out to our team of experts as soon as possible for the 2023 tax year. Let's work together to navigate this process seamlessly for a penalty-free tax filing experience for your business." For inquiries, contact ACAwise at support@ acawise.com or submit reporting requirements atacawise.com About ACAwiseCreated in response to the Affordable Care Act, ACAwise is a full-service reporting provider. The experienced team at ACAwise manages the ACA reporting needs for organizations of any size and scope. The ACAwise solution includes data validations, the generation and e-filing of accurate Forms 1094-B/C and 1095-B/C with the IRS and state, complete ACA code generation, recipient copy distribution, past-year filing, and more.About SPAN EnterprisesBased in Rock Hill, South Carolina, SPAN Enterprises has been developing industry-leading software solutions for IRS e-filing and business management tools for over a decade.The SPAN Enterprises portfolio of products includesTaxBandits , Tax990, ACAwise, ExpressExtension,123PayStubs , and TruckLogics.For any media inquiries, please contact Stephanie Glanville, Content Writer at stephanie@ spanenterprises.com SOURCE: ACAwise
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Omega Pacific Resources Inc. (CSE:OMGA) ("Omega" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive option agreement (the "Agreement"), dated Feb 29, 2024, with Copaur Minerals Inc. ( "Copaur" or the "Optionee") to acquire up to 100% undivided interest in its Williams Copper-Gold Project (the "Project") located in the Toodoggone region of north-central British Columbia.The OptionA total of C$3 million in exploration expenditures must be incurred in year one and the payment of C$1 million in cash and 3 million shares to CopAur upon CSE approval of the option in order for Omega to earn a 51% interest. Omega will have a second option to acquire an additional 29% (for a total of 80%) by completing another $3 million in exploration expenditures in the second year and the payment of C$500,000 in cash and 2 million shares to CopAur. If Omega exercises the second option it will have a third option to acquire the remaining 20% by paying an additional amount to CopAur equal to the fair market value of the remaining 20% as determined by an independent valuator which Omega may satisfy by the payment of cash or the issuance of additional shares of Omega on or before the third year anniversary of the option agreement.In the event that Omega does not exercise the second option, to acquire the additional 29%, Omega shall relinquish and transfer back to CopAur a 1.01% interest in the Williams Property so that CopAur will hold a 51% interest and Omega will hold a 49% interest and the parties will form a joint venture. If Omega exercises the second option but does not exercise the third option to acquire a 100% interest, the parties will be deemed to form a joint venture to continue to advance the Williams Property.The PropertyThe Williams property is comprised of mining claims totaling 9,731 hectare consolidated land package with substantial gold and copper discovery potential and hosts two large exploration targets, the T-Bill prospect which is prospective for mesothermal style gold mineralization, and the GIC porphyry prospect which is prospective for porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum style mineralization.Soil geochemical sampling and targeted drilling have recently been completed, which showed strong mineralization both at surface and at depth. The property is situated halfway between the Red Chris and Kemess North mines, and on trend with the approximately 3-million-ounce Lawyers Gold-silver deposit.Qualified PersonThe foregoing technical information was approved by Grant Carlson, P.Eng., a Qualified Person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 and Director for the Company.About Omega PacificOmega Pacific is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of mineral projects containing base and precious metals.For more information, please contact:Omega Pacific Resources Inc. Jason Leikam, Chief Executive Officer & DirectorTel: +1 (778) 650 4255Email: jason@ omegapacific.ca Cautionary StatementCertain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information under the provisions of Canadian securities laws including statements about the Company's plans. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of beliefs, assumptions, and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors should change, except as required by law.Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.SOURCE: Omega Pacific Resources Inc.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Sassy Gold Corp. ("Sassy" or the "Company") (CSE:SASY) (OTCQB:SSYRF) (FSE:4E7) is pleased to announce that it has signed binding letters of intent with various arms-length vendors (the "Vendors") to acquire a total of fifteen (15) advanced uranium properties in Utah and Colorado, USA (the "Transaction"). All of these properties, comprising 8,200 acres or 33 sq. km, are located within the Colorado Plateau geological region and fourteen (14) of them have featured historical production with more than two dozen past producing mine portals and shafts among them (the "Properties").This strategic move into Utah and Colorado, at a favorable time in the uranium cycle, builds significantly on Sassy's existing uranium footprint in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin where the company owns a 20% interest in the Highrock Uranium Project. In addition, Sassy owns 100% of the Foremore Gold-Silver-Base Metal Project in Northwest B.C.'s Eskay Camp and also owns significant share positions and corresponding assets in MAX Power Mining Corp., Gander Gold Corp., and Galloper Gold Corp., with the latter now approved for listing on the CSE.Utah/Colorado Property HighlightsThe 15 properties each are known to contain sandstone-hosted, roll-front uranium deposits; Clear path to potential near-term extraction at the Independence Property located in the San Rafael Swell, immediately off Interstate 70 near the community of Green River, Utah; Uranium mineralization outcrops at surface at Independence, a notable past producer in the region, and dips east toward Western Uranium's San Rafael Project; Independence is currently permitted for small-scale underground extraction and surface disturbance; Strong exploration upside at each of the 15 properties through data compilation and relatively shallow drilling to build on historical results; Infrastructure already in place at most of the mine sites, combined with the relatively shallow depth of the tabular sandstone-hosted deposits, is expected to keep the redevelopment capital cost of these properties low; Properties are within trucking distance to the only operating conventional uranium mill in the United States (White Mesa); Partnership with property vendors, who provide local expertise, surface drilling and underground mining; Abundant opportunities to improve historic economics of region's uranium/vanadium deposits; All properties are full-year road accessible from local workforce communities and services; Exploration work will commence with confirmatory drilling, along with the digitization of the existing extensive library of geological data, past production data and mine plans. Uranium Mining in UtahEnergy Fuels reported December 21, 2023, that it had commenced uranium production at its La Sal Complex in Utah comprising its La Sal and Pandora mines in the vicinity of Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill.Most of Utah's historical production (122 million lbs U3O8 since 1904) has been from the sandstone-hosted deposits in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, which Sassy will target at several of the Utah and Colorado properties, including Independence. The average grade of uranium mineralization in Utah's sandstone-hosted deposits is 0.30% U3O8, higher than in many other significant uranium producing districts worldwide with the exception of course of Canada's Athabasca Basin (source: Utah Dept. of Natural Resources, 2021, Open-File Report 735).The North Lisbon and Central Lisbon Valley properties are located in the heart of Utah's Lisbon Valley District which has accounted for 64% of the state's total historical production, according to data from the Utah Dept. of Natural Resources.Historical mineralization and production may not be indicative of future performance of the properties to be acquired by Sassy.CEO CommentsMark Scott, Sassy's President and CEO, commented, "This acquisition of past producing uranium mines with known deposits, on reasonable terms, is undeniably a big step forward for Sassy Gold. These advanced projects, with their accessible, shallow, tabular-style deposits, give the Company multiple development and deal-making options moving forward. We intend to launch a study aimed at identifying the commercially optimal mix and sequence of extraction, mining method, technology and equipment options presented by these projects. While that is ongoing, there is at least one of the mines with an obvious path to possible near-term extraction, which we will begin studying and pursuing concurrent with the work being performed regarding the other sites." Project MapMark Scott added, "The strength of our team and the assets, their proximity to the only available route to market in the United States, uranium's long-term pricing fundamentals and the market's current enthusiasm for uranium make the timing of this deal extremely favorable. For good reason, our entire team is excited about our direction forward with this transaction, which took several months of concerted effort to bring together." Property DetailsThe Company and the Vendors progress toward completion of the Definitive Agreements.A Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to verify the historical drilling data. Additional work, including confirmatory drilling and logging, will be required to confirm and update the historical drilling and logging data, including a review of data integrity, assumptions, parameters, methods, and testing. Historical exploration data do not meet reporting requirements as prescribed under NI-43-101. Sassy is not treating the historical data as current and it should not be relied upon.Terms of the TransactionSassy has signed three LOI's with the Vendors, as it relates to the Properties, on February 16, 2024. Under the terms of the LOI's, Sassy will pay a total value of $8,391,326 USD, of which 25%, or a total of $2,097,832 USD will be paid in cash over four equal payments of $524,458 on closing of the Transaction, and on the 6-month, 12-month and 24-month anniversaries of the closing of the Transaction. Common shares of Sassy ("Shares") will be issued to the beneficial owners of the Vendors on the same schedule as the cash payments, with 75% of the Transaction's value payable in Shares. The value and number of the Shares will be determined by the price of the financing completed immediately prior to the closing of the Transaction and based on the prevailing CAD/USD exchange at that time. The Vendors maintain a 1% gross royalty on most of the properties, with exclusions for two state leases which are already subject to state royalties, and the "BM Claims" within the I
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Temenos AG ("Temenos" or the "Company") (OTC PINK:TMSNY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.The investigation concerns whether Temenos and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.[Click here for information about joining the class action]On February 15, 2024, Hindenburg Research ("Hindenburg") published a report entitled "Temenos: Major Accounting Irregularities, Failed Products and An Illusive Turnaround." Citing a four-month investigation of the Company and discussions with 25 former employees, Hindenburg claimed to have "uncovered hallmarks of manipulated earnings and major accounting irregularities," including "evidence of roundtripped revenue, sham partnerships, rampant pulling forward of contract renewals, backdated contracts, excessive capitalization of seemingly non-existent R&D investments and other classic accounting red flags." Following publication of the Hindenburg report, Temenos's American depositary share ("ADS") price fell $28.39 per ADS, or 28.2%, to close at $72.30 per ADS on February 15, 2024.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
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Do you, or did you, own securities of Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE:NOVA)? Did you purchase your securities between February 25, 2020 and December 7, 2023, inclusive? Did you lose money in your investment in Sunnova Energy International Inc.? Do you want to discuss your rights? NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Sunnova Energy International Inc. ("Sunnova or the "Company") (NYSE:NOVA) between February 25, 2020 and December 7, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the "Complaint").If you purchased or acquired Sunnova securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Sunnova Energy International Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Investor Relations Manager Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later thanApril 16, 2024 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.According to the Complaint, Sunnova provides energy as a service in the U.S. The Company offers electricity, operations and maintenance, monitoring, repairs and replacements, equipment upgrades, on-site power optimization, and diagnostics services. As of October 2023, the Company operated a fleet of residential solar energy systems purportedly serving over 386,000 customers.In September 2023, Sunnova entered into a $3.0 billion partial loan guarantee agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Loan Programs Office ("LPO") to support solar loans originated by Sunnova under a new solar loan channel named Project Hestia (the "LPO Loan"). In a press release detailing the LPO Loan, Sunnova stated that Project Hestia was expected to "provide disadvantaged homeowners and communities with increased access to clean, flexible power via Sunnova services by indirectly and partially guaranteeing the cash flows associated with consumers' loans" and that Sunnova's "purpose-built technology" was "designed to improve customer insights regarding their power usage and will facilitate demand response behavior." Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Sunnova routinely engaged in predatory business practices against disadvantaged homeowners and communities, the same groups that Project Hestia was purportedly intended to benefit; and (ii) the foregoing conduct subjected the Company to a heightened risk of regulatory and/or governmental scrutiny, as well as significant reputational and/or financial harm.On December 8, 2023, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Chair of the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Senator John Barrasso, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, sent a letter to the DOE and Sunnova seeking information related to the LPO Loan and Project Hestia following the release of the "disturbing" reports regarding the Company.On this news, Sunnova's stock price fell $2.00 per share, or 16.12%, to close at $10.41 per share on December 8, 2023.If you purchased or acquired Sunnova securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Sunnova Energy International Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Investor Relations Manager Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for sixteen consecutive years.ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2024 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.Contact Information:Peter AlloccoInvestor Relations ManagerBernstein Liebhard LLP https://www.bernlieb.com (212) 951-2030 pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 29, 2024 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is investigating potential claims on behalf of purchasers of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated ("UnitedHealth" or "the Company") (NYSE:UNH). Investors who purchased UnitedHealth securities are encouraged to obtain additional information and assist the investigation by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/UNH Investigation Details:On February 27, 2024, The Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") reported that the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") has launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth. Specifically, the WSJ reported that DOJ investigators have been interviewing healthcare industry representatives in sectors where UnitedHealth competes to determine the possible impacts of acquisitions made through its health services arm, Optum. On this news, UnitedHealth's stock price fell $27.04 per share, or 5.15%, over the following two trading sessions, to close at $498.28 per share on February 28, 2024.What's Next?If you are aware of any facts relating to this investigation or purchased UnitedHealth securities, you can assist this investigation by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/UNH . You can also contact Peretz Bronstein or his law clerk and client relations manager, Yael Nathanson of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC: 332-239-2660.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
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on Thursday confirmed that the crypto exchange platform, Binance, is being investigated by Nigerian authorities.

In its first official confirmation of the clampdown efforts on the activities of Binance and other crypto platforms, a top official of the ONSA confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the security advisers office is coordinating an interagency investigation into the operations of Binance.

I am confirming that the office of the national security adviser, as part of ongoing operations in the foreign exchange market with the CBN and other law enforcement and security agencies, is coordinating an interagency investigation into the operations of Binance, Zakari Mijinyawa, Head of Strategic Communication at the Office of the National Security Adviser, told PREMIUM TIMES after multiple requests for comment Thursday.

However, Mr Mijinyawa did not provide additional details about the investigations as of press time Thursday night.

PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday reported how the government detained two executives of Binance crypto exchange platform amid desperate efforts to stabilise the nations foreign exchange market and contain the value of the local currency.

Sources with details of the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that the two executives were detained in Abuja, the federal capital territory, days after they flew into the country as part of moves to negotiate with the Nigerian authorities amid a crackdown on the crypto platform.

They had arrived in Nigeria earlier in the week to negotiate with the government amid the crackdown. However, the meetings were deadlocked as Binance officials declined to meet some of the demands put forward by the Nigerian government.

They were also accused of operating a business worth billions without the requisite registrations and documentation.

According to sources who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday evening, the Nigerian authorities requested Binance executives to provide data relating to transactions involving the Nigerian Naira on the Binance platform in the last seven years. They also demanded that some other data relating to Nigeria be deleted from the Binance platform.

However, the Binance executives insisted that they should be taken to their respective countries embassies before they could comply.

While the full identities of the two Binance executives remain sketchy as of press time Wednesday night, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that one of them is an American and the other a British-Pakistani.

The Nigerian government also obtained a court warrant to detain the officials for at least twelve days in the first instance, a source with knowledge of the matter told PREMIUM TIMES, adding that the investigation was consequently taken over by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) while the two executives were detained at a guest house near the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Background

Last week, this newspaper reported how the Nigerian government blocked the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds.

Sources within the major telecommunication companies in the country told PREMIUM TIMES last week that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) communicated the directive to telcos and they had started acting on it.

Apart from Binance, other platforms such as Forextime, OctaFX, Crypto, FXTM, Coinbase, and Kraken, among others, were equally blocked.

Presidency and regulatory sources said the government decided to move against Binance and other crypto firms following reports that currency speculators and money launderers were using them to execute criminal activities. Authorities believe the criminal activities going on on platforms are contributing significantly to the weakening of the naira.

Binance, a digital assets platform, serves as a window for peer-to-peer transactions allowing users to advertise interest to sell or buy currencies of their choice.

In September 2023, Nigerias Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) placed a disclaimer on Binance Nigeria Limited, saying the platform was neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal.

In its reaction last week, Binance said users behaving in a manipulative way will be removed from its platform.

As industry leaders, we are working hand in hand with local authorities, lawmakers, and regulators to ensure we act on non-compliance, the platform added, noting that it is setting an upper limit for ads, filtering and removing bad ads, requiring and raising deposits for merchants posting ads as well as processes for actioning against any market manipulators.

But this week, the crypto exchange platform has declined comments amid the clampdown as multiple requests sent to its communication and media units were left unanswered.

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The Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing, Aminu Tambuwal (PDP-Sokoto), on Thursday, inspected the newly constructed BUA Cement plant in Sokoto State.

Mr Umahi, who was in Sokoto to inspect the reconstruction of a 372 km dual road from Sokoto to Zaria in Kaduna State, urged BUA cements management to reduce the price of cement in the market.

He emphasised the governments commitment to stabilizing the Nairas value and assured the public that efforts were underway to address the rising costs of commodities.

The minister disclosed that President Bola Tinubu was deeply concerned with the escalating prices of commodities including cement.

He revealed that the president had directed cement companies to revert to the previous prices during a meeting with the manufacturers.

I encourage them to comply with the presidents directive, facilitating a massive housing programme and the national agenda for concrete roads, he stated.

Regarding the plant, BUAs fifth in Nigeria, Mr Umahi commended the companys commitment and expressed confidence in the products quality, aligning with the governments objectives.

In his remarks, Mr Tambuwal emphasised the importance of cement production in the housing sector, praising the collaboration between the government and BUA cement.

I believe this partnership will greatly support the Federal Governments initiative to provide affordable housing, addressing the significant housing gap in the country, he said.

Mr Tambuwal congratulated BUA for its steadfastness, saying that it will contribute significantly to the governments initiative.

The Managing Director of BUA, Yusuf Binji, assured that the fifth plant would significantly increase the daily cement production, contributing to lower market prices.

The new plant will add 165 trucks to our daily production capacity, further driving down the products price in the market, Mr Binji affirmed.

(NAN)

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Filmmaker and actor Tolani Oyebamiji, popularly known as Sisi Quadri, is dead.

Sisi Quadri died at the age of 44.

His colleagues broke the news of his death on social media on Friday.

As of press time, the cause of the Yoruba actors death has not been disclosed.

His colleague, actress Ronke Odusanya, described the death of the actor, who rose to fame for his role in the movie Seniyan Seranko, as sudden and painful.

She said that the actor was hale, agile, and active when she saw him a few days ago. She noted they discussed strategies to push her comedy series, Salaye, forward.

She wrote: This is so sad and So painful. You were hale. agile and active when we saw each other a few days ago, and we even talked about how we would push Salaye. How can you leave so soon? Hou is an amazing actor. Thank you for coming onboard salaye and being there. May God Almighty grant your family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this loss.

Also, actor Muyiwa Ademola expressed sadness over the death, noting that the late actor had been around for a while.

He said that it was unfortunate as the late actors career had just begun to flourish for the world to see, likening it to a withering flower.

Mr Ademola wrote: What a world! What a life!! The Final Curtain has been drawn! It is a wrap! You cant act again! Journey well bro and may The Almighty Protect All You Left Behind.

Furthermore, actress Abiola Bayo wrote on her Instagram page, Sisi Quadri, you will be greatly missed. May your soul rest in perfect peace.

Another actor, Tunde Yusuf, who posted a picture of Sisi Quadri, expressed that everything in the world is according to the will of God. He maintained that we have come from Him and unto Him, we shall return.

Actress Regina Chukwu also extended her condolences to the late Sisi Quadri family, recounting the story of his recent battle for his life.

She said, Most people dont know but yes, I trained under him as a make-up artist on set for years.

Background

Born on 26 December 1979, the late actor featured in several movies before gaining fame in Seranko Seniyan, released on 4 December 2004.

He gained popularity in his twenties with the rise of social media, beginning skit-making with actress Funmi Awelewa before their movie, Ebudola.

Before his passing, he worked as a fashion designer and previously as a makeup artist before pursuing acting. He studied cloth design for four years, which he completed in 1999.

He completed his primary and secondary education in Ore, Ondo State. Subsequently, he met his dads elder brother, who introduced him to his lecturer, Toyin Olaiya (Alaga council), leading him into acting.

He graduated from The Polytechnic Iree in Osun State. Sisi Quadri was part of the cast in the four-part series Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre, released today, 1 March.

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An explosion at the home of Abubakar Musa, a judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, has killed three persons.

The victims, a welder and his two apprentices were working on a leaking diesel container at the residence in Kubwa, a satellite town in Abuja, when the tragic incident occurred on Thursday.

The welder, who was identified as Salihu Abubakar and the apprentices whose names could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report, died instantly from the explosion.

Their remains were evacuated to the mortuary by officers from Galadima Police Station near Gwarimpa Estate, where the matter was reported.

A witness, who did not want his name mentioned, said the welders started the work the previous day but could not complete it due to a lack of power supply.

The welder and his boys came here yesterday to work because they have a place around the estate. But they couldnt finish because there was no light.

This morning, they came to do it but the security man said he warned them against working on a container of diesel that has diesel in it, but they did not listen to him. He said he left them even though he is in charge of the houses security because he could not risk his life, they narrated.

Judge speaks

The judge, Mr Musa, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was not at the scene when the incident occurred.

He expressed deep regret over the incident.

I gave this job to a professional who has been working on my gate. This was not the first time. I told him that the leaking container contained some diesel, but he said he could do it.

On my way to work this morning, I had a second thought about the job to stop them, but due to so many activities in my head, I forgot about it.

But my security guard said that he told them that there was diesel inside the container and it wouldnt be possible for them to weld the metal container without evacuating the diesel. But they refused to heed him, which made him leave them. He (the security guard) said that he refused to stay close to them.

Mr Musa said the two apprentices started the work before they were joined by their master shortly before the explosion.

He was not there at the beginning, but he rushed to the house to stop his two boys when the explosion occurred that killed the three of them, he said.

However, tensions arose when one of the victims brothers accused the judge of negligence. He said the deceased left behind eight young children.

Reactions

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the acting chairperson of Efab Metropolis Estate Residents Association, Ibrahim Garba, for comments, but he declined to speak.

The facility manager of the estate, Obiora Ulasi, also declined to comment.

Police speak

The estate police said the matter had been transferred to the Galadima police station but officers at the station refused to speak with this newspaper.

However, the FCT Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, confirmed that three persons died in the incident.

There was a fire incident and we went there to check and provide security. They employed the services of a welder to fix a gas tank. The judge told us that the tank was leaking and he called them to weld it, she said.

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NEW YORK (AP)  New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday stood by a longtime adviser whose properties were raided by the FBI and shrugged off concerns about the mounting federal probes of people linked to his administration.

FBI agents searched two Bronx addresses Thursday owned by Winnie Greco, a former fundraiser for Adams who now serves as his director of Asian affairs. They also searched the New World Mall in Flushing, Queens, a popular Asian food court where several fundraisers were held for Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign.

Greco is at least the third Adams aide whose home has been targeted by federal agents. Agents have also seized the mayors cellphones and an iPad in a separate federal probe focused at least in part on whether his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.

During a round of local media appearances Friday, the Democrat said his administration is cooperating with investigators and that he remains committed to serving city residents.

The inquiry is going to take its course, Adams said on 1010 WINS news radio. It's imperative for me to stay focused on public safety, improving the city. That's what I got to do."

My job is to make sure trash is off the streets and the city is clean, he said on NY1. Those who are doing reviews of any actions that may be perceived to be incorrect, theyre going to do their job.

Adams also defended Greco, a prolific fundraiser who has worked closely with him for over a decade and served as his conduit to Asian American communities. He has frequently appeared alongside Greco at the New World Mall, including during an event held last month to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Campaign records show Adams held at least three fundraisers at a restaurant inside the mall, bringing in dozens of donations that totaled $249  the maximum amount that qualifies for the city's generous matching funds program.

When asked specifically if he still had confidence in Greco during an appearance on WPIX-TV, the mayor quickly responded: Yes, I do.

Adams disclosed Friday that she is on sick leave for now and that the question of whether she'll be placed on unpaid administrative leave will be addressed later.

The mayors office said later that Greco experienced a medical episode during Thursday's raid that required federal authorities to request an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

The administration declined to provide further details of the incident other than to stress that Greco will not be performing any city duties until the investigation is complete.

Federal authorities haven't revealed the purpose of Thursday's raid  which was overseen by the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn  including whether it is related to Adams.

In November, the citys Department of Investigation opened a probe into Greco's conduct following a news report that raised questions about her political fundraising and whether she used her position in the administration to obtain personal benefits.

According to that report, published by the local news outlet The City, Greco demanded that a city employee complete free renovations on her home when he was supposed to be working.

___ This story has been updated to correct it by deleting a reference to a City Hall spokesperson saying Thursday that Greco was placed on administrative leave. The spokesperson didnt say that.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked political parties to submit the list of candidates for the Edo State governorship election holding later in the year.

The electoral body said it would not extend the deadline beyond the 24 March deadline.

INEC has scheduled the Edo state governorship elections for 21 September.

The Commission has earmarked a period of 20 days for political parties to upload the Personal Particulars (Form EC9) and Names/List of Nominated candidates (Form EC9B) of their candidates to the portal which will open at 9.00 a.m. on Monday 4th March 2024 and automatically shut down at 6.00 p.m on Sunday 24th March 2024. Access Code to the portal will be available for collection by the national chairpersons of political parties from today, it said in a statement by its spokesperson, Sam Olumekun.

Mr Olumekun said the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties expired on 24 February, as provided for by the schedule of activities issued by the commission.

The next activity is the submission of nomination forms by political parties via the dedicated online portal, he said.

He added that the commission would not extend the deadline as it believed 20 days is enough for the political parties to upload the details of their respective candidate.

INEC will publish the final list of candidates on 23rd April, according to a schedule of activity earlier released by the commission.

It also said the public campaign by political parties and the candidates commences on 24 April and ends on 19 September, 24 hours before election day.

Refresher Training

Mr Olumekun said the commission would organise refresher training for two persons per political party to ensure seamless nominations on its portal.

The training commences today Friday 1st March 2024 and ends on Monday 4th March 2024. The Venue is the Media Centre at the INEC Headquarters in Abuja, he said.

The Media Centre will also serve as the Help Desk during the period of nomination of candidates in case any political party needs assistance, he said.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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Dear Reader,

Nine years after Nigeria put in place its most comprehensive law yet to address Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), the menace continues in many parts of the country. The federal law, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, has been domesticated in 35 of Nigerias 36 states. The only state where it is yet to be domesticated is Kano, officially Nigerias most populous state.

Unfortunately, the absence of such a law in Kano, the commercial capital of Northern Nigeria, has contributed to the rise in SGBV cases in the state. Almost 200 cases were reported in the state in the last four months, while over 4,000 cases were recorded in the last five years. One of the Kano victims is Hureira (not real name), a four-year-old who was raped by a provision shop owner on her street. Hureiras mother narrated her ordeal to PREMIUM TIMES and she, other victims families, and experts say the absence of such a VAPP law makes it difficult to get justice. Unfortunately, the Kano State Government says it is not in a rush to put the law in place.

Like Kano, Katsina was reluctant to domesticate the law  it only did so last December. Still worried about the rise in SGBV cases, Katsina now wants to create a special court to try perpetrators.

But even in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, where the VAPP Act has been in place since 2015, officials say SGBV cases are still on the rise. Over 2,000 cases were recorded in the last four months, an official said. The official, however, suggests that it was not a case of an increase in SGBV incidents, but of more people having the confidence to report SGBV.

In Lagos, Nigerias commercial capital, the VAPP Act is not the problem  Lagos had its equivalent of VAPP even before the federal law was put in place. However, the state is grappling with a directive that prevents womens right to safe abortion. In June 2022, Lagos put in place a directive that allows for safe abortion  abortion is illegal in most parts of Nigeria, a largely conservative society. However, a week later, the Lagos government rescinded the directive. This means that in Lagos, arguably Nigerias most liberal city, women and girls, including rape victims, cannot legally have an abortion.

Gender advocates in Lagos have now called on the state government to reinstate the directive, called the Lagos State Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications.

Like Kano, Katsina was reluctant to domesticate the law  it only did so last December. Still worried about the rise in SGBV cases, Katsina now wants to create a special court to try perpetrators.

We understand that certain religious, cultural, and philosophical convictions oppose the document developed over four years, activist Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi said. She added that the denial of safe abortion to survivors of rape not only violates their right to health and privacy but also may infringe upon the prohibition of ill-treatment.

Mrs Akiyode-Afolabi has now launched an online petition, Save Women from Dying in Nigeria, which, as of 26 February, has garnered about 300 signatures.

Also in February, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the treatment of complications arising from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) cost global health systems $1.4 billion a year. FGM has been reduced in Nigeria, but the practice still occurs in some parts of the country and many survivors, last year, narrated their experiences to PREMIUM TIMES.

These and other gender stories can be found on the Gender Page of the PREMIUM TIMES website.

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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused President Bola Tinubu of playing politics while millions of Nigerians suffer from hunger and insecurity due to government policies.

The NLC, the largest amalgamation of labour unions in Nigeria, also said it is troubled by President Bola Tinubus recent statement that the labour union lacks the moral ground to challenge his government since it openly supported an opposition presidential candidate in last years election. The president suggested that the NLC should instead focus on preparing for the 2027 election.

President Tinubus insinuation that Labour lacks the moral ground to challenge his administration, merely nine months into office, is deeply troubling, the NLC wrote in a statement by its president, Joe Ajaero.

Moreover, his focus on partisan issues and the distant 2027 election cycle, rather than the urgent needs of the populace, further underscores a disconnect from the realities faced by Nigerians on a daily basis.

The pervasive hunger, unemployment, housing insecurity, and escalating costs of basic necessities such as food and healthcare demand immediate attention and decisive action.

Mr Tinubus criticism of the labour union follows its insistence on embarking on a nationwide protest despite the governments pleas.

The NLCs nationwide rallies on Tuesday were to protest the alleged failure of the government to implement agreements it had with the labour union following last years removal of subsidy on petrol which has led to a huge increase in the prices of goods and services across the country.

In his Friday statement, Mr Ajaero insisted that the federal government was yet to implement most of the agreements it had with the labour movement.

In any case, to avoid the dissipation of energy, it is important that we focus on the real issues because we have engaged the government since June 2023 after the subsidy is gone statement. The issues are around the non-implementation of agreements reached between us and the government, Mr Ajaero wrote before listing some of the agreements reached.

Read Mr Ajaeros full statement below.

MR. PRESIDENT: WE ARE NOT AFTER YOUR JOB

The recent statements attributed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the commissioning of the Red-Line Railway Project have sparked deep concern within the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). We find these remarks, particularly those concerning the role of Labour in governance, to be profoundly at variance with the struggles faced by ordinary Nigerians under existing policies.

President Tinubus insinuation that Labour lacks the moral ground to challenge his administration, merely nine months into office, is deeply troubling. Moreover, his focus on partisan issues and the distant 2027 election cycle, rather than the urgent needs of the populace, further underscores a disconnect from the realities faced by Nigerians on a daily basis.

It is regrettable that the President seems oblivious to the profound hardships endured by millions of Nigerians. The pervasive hunger, unemployment, housing insecurity, and escalating costs of basic necessities such as food and healthcare demand immediate attention and decisive action. Yet, instead of addressing these pressing concerns, President Tinubu appears preoccupied with political calculations and future electoral prospects.

The NLC wishes to emphasize that our primary objective is not to vie for political positions, including that of the President. Rather, our sole focus is on advocating for effective governance that prioritizes the welfare and security of all Nigerians. We urge President Tinubu to redirect his efforts towards fulfilling this fundamental duty of public office, rather than engaging in political rhetoric.

It is imperative that we refocus our collective energy on addressing the substantive issues that have been the subject of engagement between Labour and the government since June 2023. These include critical matters such as wage increases, social welfare programs, infrastructure development, and the revitalization of key sectors such as education and healthcare.

In any case to avoid the dissipation of energy, it is important that we focus on the real issues because we have engaged the government since June 2023 after the subsidy is gone statement. The issues are around the non-implementation of agreements reached between us and the government.

For example; on June 5, 2023 after the hike in the Price of PMS, the following agreements were reached between us and the Government viz;

1. Review Proposal for Wage Increase and Award including framework for timing and implementation

2. Review the program of Cash Transfer and propose inclusion of low-income earners in the program

3. Review issues hindering effective delivery in the education sector and propose solutions for implementation

4. Revive the CNG conversion programs

5. Review the framework for the completion of rehabilitation work on the Nations refineries

6. Review framework for the maintenance of Roads and expansion of Rail networks across the country

Mr. President, these agreements were reached but the Committee that was saddled with working on these was never inaugurated and none of them was implemented until we were forced to organize a nationwide rally while the president gave his personal commitment. However, Mr. President, nothing came out of your promises.

It took another round of protests for the October 2, 2023 agreement to be reached. We outline the agreement below so that your government will tell Nigerians which one it has been able to implement. They are;

1. The first item on the Agreement is the N35,000 Wage Award.

2. Port Harcourt Refinery will come on stream by December, 2023

3. 25,000 cash transfers to 15 million poor household would be implemented

4. Tax waivers for workers, small businesses and general public

5. Government interference in the internal affairs of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and RTEAN to be stopped

6. The agreement will be deposited as settlement with the Court by Government.

7. That CNG buses and 55,000 conversion kits will be provided

8. All parties shall henceforth commit to the use of social dialogue in all of our engagements

9. The National Minimum Wage Committee to be set up immediately.

10. Outstanding Wages and Salaries for Tertiary Education workers in all federally  owned educational institutions to be paid

11. States and Private sectors to be compelled by the federal government to give Wage Award to workers

12. Fertilizer initiative to farmers across the nation

13. Provision of funds for MSMEs across the nation

14. Visitation to the Refinery to monitor completion of the PH refinery

Once again Mr. President, these are the issues and not election or perhaps seeking to take over your job. We would want Mr. President to show us the items his government has implemented in this agreement. Perhaps, the Government wants to tell Nigerians that we do not have right to ask that it complies with the agreement it willingly reached with us?

But beside all these, in the two MoUs signed with this government on the 5th of June and October 2nd 2023, which item has his government implemented beside rhetoric. The first MoU has seven items while the second has 15 items. It has been a chain of broken promises not only to Labour but to hungry Nigerians

President Tinubus administration must be held accountable for the commitments made in previous agreements with Labour. It is disheartening to note the apparent lack of progress in implementing these agreements, despite repeated assurances from the government. Nigerians deserve transparency and tangible results, not empty promises and bureaucratic delays.

Furthermore, the use of divisive language and veiled threats against Labour by President Tinubu is unacceptable. It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to foster constructive dialogue and collaboration in addressing the myriad challenges facing our nation. Violence and intimidation have no place in a democratic society, and any attempts to suppress dissent will only exacerbate tensions and undermine our collective efforts towards progress and prosperity.

Finally, the NLC reiterates its unwavering commitment to championing the interests of Nigerian workers and the broader populace. We call upon President Tinubu to heed the voices of ordinary Nigerians, prioritize governance over politics, and take meaningful steps towards building a more inclusive and equitable society.

Comrade Joe Ajaero

President

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President Bola Tinubu on Thursday officially commissioned the Lagos Mass Rail Transit (LMRT) red line train project.

The project, which is in its first phase, runs from Agbado in Ogun State to the Oyingbo axis of Lagos State. The 37 km rail line has eight stations, namely Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba and Oyingbo.

Mr Tinubu, in his address, assured that Nigeria will be out of economic problems, adding that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I speak to Nigerians through this podium that change is possible. We cannot afford to relax. We will grow the economy; we will free ourselves from the penury.

Im assuring you that Nigeria will be out of economic problems; we just need to persevere and work hard, he said.

Mr Tinubu urged the Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali, who was present at the event, to collaborate with other ministries at the sub-national level in order to achieve all round development across the country.

He, however, cautioned the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), against undertaking strike actions within nine months of his administration.

The Labour union should understand that no matter how much we cling to our freedom and rights, to call for strike within nine months of an administration is unacceptable. If you want to participate in the electoral process, wait until 2027; if not, maintain peace. You are not the only voice of Nigerians, he said.

Earlier, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his address, commended the President for his unflinching support for the state.

Governor Sanwo-Olu also reiterated his administrations commitment to bring out development in the states transport sector.

For the first time in the history of Lagos, we have an integrated transportation system, comprising the road, which is the BRT that we are using, the rail, which is the rail mass transit programme, and the waterways, through the state ferries, he said.

The governor hinted at the states plans to expand the Lagos Mass Rail Transit (LMRT) train project.

There are a total of 6 lines that we have on our Lagos rail mass transit system when fully developed. We have started preliminary works on the next rail projects  the green line and the purple line.

The green line is a 71. 4 km rail from Marina to Lekki free trade zone, while the Purple line is a 54.3 km rail from Ojo close to Lasu into Mowe, Ogun State. the governor said.

At the event, Governor Sanwo-Olu and Mr Tinubu also witnessed the signing of the contract for Phase 2 of the LMRT red line train project (Oyingbo to Marina)

Olatunde Owoeye, a resident who attended the event, lauded the state government for the initiative, stressing that the blue and red rail lines will bring ease to all Lagos residents.

I believe that it will help the transport sector because of the traffic in Lagos. I know people will love it because they will be able to meet up various activities. It will also reduce the rate of accidents on our major roads, he said.

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The UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Central Africa, Abdou Abarry, has expressed concern over growing reports of violence and gun battles in NDjamena, the Chadian capital.

Mr Abarry in a statement on Thursday stated that he is following with great concern the events taking place.

He called on all actors to show calm and restraint, particularly at a time when Chad is entering the final stages of its political transition.

With presidential elections planned for 6 May, Mr Abarry reiterated that he and the entire UN system continue to be available to support the efforts of the government and the people of Chad to ensure a peaceful, inclusive and credible electoral process.

Media reports on Thursday suggested that opposition leader Yaya Dillo had been killed in a shootout in NDjamena.

He is a cousin of Chads military ruler Mahamat Idriss Deby Into, whose father, Idriss Deby, he replaced in 2021 after spending three decades ruling the landlocked nation which borders North and Central Africa.

According to news reports, Dillo was blamed for a deadly attack on Chads main security agency, although he denied any involvement.

It was widely believed that he would be the main political opponent of the president in the upcoming vote, according to reports.

(NAN)

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A 300-level student of Imo State University (IMSU) Thursday, allegedly stabbed to death a final year student of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, (FUTO).

Both IMSU and FUTO are in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

The police spokesperson in Imo State, Henry Okoye, in a statement on Friday, identified the suspect as Francis Marvellous, 21, and the victim as Chinagorom Kingsley, 22.

Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the suspect was later arrested in response to a distress call from the Chief Security Officer of the FUTO, Patrick Egwu, a retired deputy superintendent of police.

The spokesperson said police operatives, on arrival, rescued the suspect who was almost being lynched by angry mod.

The body of the victim was recovered and rushed to Federal Medical Center, Owerri where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the mortuary, he said.

The police spokesperson did not mention where the incident happened.

The statement indicated that the suspect was paraded at the State Police Headquarters on Friday.

On interrogation the suspect confessed to the crime, admitting that he had a heated argument with personnel of the universitys Man O War Unit on 29 February at about 22:00hrs during which he brought out a knife he neatly concealed in his trousers and stabbed the victim to death, Mr Okoye stated.

The police spokesperson said the suspect mentioned three others who were with him during the fight.

He said the three others were the suspects brother, Francis Promise, another identified simply as Prince and a man popularly known as Soji.

Efforts are on top gear to arrest the suspects at large and ascertain their involvement in the case.

The suspects will be arraigned in court upon completion of investigation by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), he said.

Suspect not Hausa/Fulani student

There were speculations shortly after the incident that the suspect was from the Hausa/Fulani ethnic nationality.

But Mr Okoye described the speculation as false, adding that the misinformation was a handiwork of mischief makers who want to provoke unnecessary inter-tribal conflict between Igbo people and northerners residing in the South-eastern state.

The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, according to the statement, has directed the deputy commissioner of police in charge of the SCID to handle the case and ensure that the arrested suspect and those peddling the fake news are prosecuted in line with the law.

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Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the emergence of Bola Tinubu as president of Nigeria is not by chance but a Divine blessing based on the purity of his heart.

Mr Shettima stated this on Friday when he hosted a delegation of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) on a courtesy visit at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The road that led to the Tinubu Presidency did not happen by chance. This is a man whose trajectory is characterised by making sacrifices for the good of the nation.

The presidents success is a divine blessing which is a reward for the purity of his heart, he said.

Mr Shettima emphasised the need for leaders to invest in building bridges, stressing that Mr Tinubus contributions to providing an alternative platform for the Nigerian political system could not be underrated.

President Tinubu made sacrifices and built bridges. He was a veritable sanctuary for victims of political witch hunts.

When other governors were struggling to have a seat at the dining table with former President Olusegun Obasanjo way back then, he provided an alternative platform for the Nigerian political system, he said.

Mr Shettima, therefore, urged Nigerians to be patient with Mr Tinubu as he piloted the affairs of the country to success because he did not become president by accident.

He urged the newly appointed Board of NCPC to demonstrate unwavering devotion to duty.

He reminded the board members of the importance of religious commitment in addressing the challenges facing the nation.

All of you here were picked because of your religious devotion. We cannot condone what is taking place in the system.

We must all strive to make a positive impact to attain the Nigeria of our dreams, he said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NCPC, Stephen Adegbite, a bishop, expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the opportunity given to them to serve on the board.

He also commended the vice presidents exceptional leadership, recounting instances of support for the Church and efforts to foster peace and harmony in Borno State while he was governor.

Your antecedent and what we have known about you are immense.

When we came to Maiduguri, Borno State, I was the Director of National Issues and Social Welfare at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The then CAN chairman in Borno State said to us that they had an exceptional governor, who supported Christians and rebuilt churches destroyed by Boko Haram, he said.

He added that Vice President Shettima stood with the Church and ensured that there was peace and harmony in the church in Nigeria and with people of other faiths.

Mr Adegbite also noted that the commissions role goes beyond pilgrimage as it extends to ensuring a harmonious environment for the nation.

For us as a commission, our assignment is beyond pilgrimage.

It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that we have a harmonious environment for our nation, to build bridges and ensure that there is peace and harmony in Nigeria, he said.

(NAN)

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A medical team in Saudi Arabia has successfully separated conjoined Nigerian twins, Hassana and Huseina.

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Nigeria announced this in a statement on Friday.

The procedure, which began on Thursday morning, marked the culmination of meticulous planning and execution by a dedicated team of medical professionals.

The twins, who arrived in Riyadh on October 31, 2023, underwent comprehensive examinations that revealed shared areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves, embassy spokesperson Mohammed Alsahabi wrote.

Read the full statement below.

SAUDI ARABIA MEDICAL TEAM SUCCESSFULLY SEPARATES NIGERIAN CONJOINED TWINS

In a landmark medical achievement, a Saudi medical and surgical team, following the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has successfully completed the separation surgery of Nigerian conjoined twins, Hassana and Husaina, at the King Abdullah Specialist Childrens Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh.

The procedure, which began on Thursday morning, marked the culmination of meticulous planning and execution by a dedicated team of medical professionals. The twins, who arrived in Riyadh on October 31, 2023, underwent comprehensive examinations that revealed shared areas in the lower abdomen, pelvis, lower spine, and lower spinal nerves.

The surgical intervention unfolded in nine planned stages, lasting approximately 14 hours. A team comprising 38 consultants, specialists, technicians, and nursing staff specializing in anaesthesia, pediatric surgery, urology, orthopaedics, plastic surgery, and pediatric neurosurgery collaborated seamlessly to ensure the success of this complex operation.

This surgical milestone marked the 60th operation undertaken by the Saudi program for separating Siamese twins, a program that has provided care for 135 conjoined twins from 25 countries over the past 34 years.

Prior to the commencement of the procedure, Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), and head of the medical team, expressed confidence in the success of the procedure, noting a 70 per cent success rate.

Dr. Al Rabeeah extended heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to the Saudi leadership for its unwavering support of the program. The successful separation of Hassana and Husaina exemplifies the Kingdoms commitment to advancing medical science and extending compassionate healthcare on a global scale.

Mohammed Alsahabi

Press Attache at Saudi embassy in Abuja

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The National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) has partnered with Netherlands-based HemoClear BV to tackle blood transfusion shortages.

The alliance, according to a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, is set to introduce autologous, a patient-own blood transfusion service, to address issues of blood shortages leading to suffering and preventable death.

Due to the hurdles of using the existing autologous blood processing equipment for blood transfusions, the alliance aims to overcome such barriers by introducing HemoClears pioneering micro-filtration technology that facilitates the collection and processing of a patients blood during surgery.

Hemoclear explained that the technology will transform the blood into safe, transfusion-ready blood without the need for additional machinery or power sources.

According to Hemoclear, severe bleeding after childbirth is one of the major causes of maternal mortality worldwide and is a significant contributing factor in the deaths of some 200,000 women a year in sub-Saharan Africa.

Benefits to Nigeria

The NBCS/HemoClear alliance is financially supported by the French Fund for Innovation in Development (FID), reinforcing the commitment to global health improvements.

This partnership was concretised by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during the inaugural Dutch trade mission to Nigeria.

The MOU was witnessed by the Dutch Vice Minister for Public Health, Marjolijn Sonnema; Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Nigeria, Wouter Plomp, and the National Coordinator of the Presidential Unlocking Healthcare Value-Chain Initiative, Abdu Mukhtar.

Representing the Minister of Health, Muhammad Pate, Mr Mukhtar said the partnership to initiate an autologous blood service, resonates with the vision of President Bola Tinubu to establish a coordinated blood ecosystem.

This partnership aligns with the National Health Plan and the Presidential initiative to unlock the health sector value chain and encourage private sector participation. We expect that this will help boost synergy for blood value chain optimisation and increase blood supply quality and efficiencies thereby reducing pains and saving Nigerian lives, he noted.

We expect that this will help boost synergy for blood value chain optimisation and increase blood supply quality and efficiency thereby reducing pains and saving Nigerian lives.

More comments

In his remarks, the Director General, NBSC, Saleh Yuguda, explained that incorporating autologous transfusions will significantly mitigate blood shortages in critical situations.

Mr Yuguda said it will enable the preservation of donated blood for treating conditions like sickle cell anaemia and cancer.

The CEO of HemoClear, Vincent Franssen, also expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration, noting that partnering with the NBSC guarantees streamlined implementation support, offers premier clinical training and logistics know-how, and sets the stage for future local production.

Both the NBSC and HemoClear underscore the importance of continued blood donations, as autologous transfusions are not universally applicable. Donated blood and its components will remain crucial in various cases where autologous blood is not a treatment option, the statement reads in part.

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The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), has warned that the prevailing weather conditions favour the prevalence of meningitis outbreak in Nigeria.

NiMet highlighted on its official X account that states like Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, and Borno are highly favourable for the meningitis outbreak.

It added that the conditions in states like Zamfara, Kano, Bauchi, Kebbi, Katsina, and Gombe have moderate situations with meningitis outbreaks, while other states are places where low or no meningitis vigilance is required.

According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Nigeria recorded a total of 303 confirmed cases and 190 deaths from Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) across 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) between 2022 to 2023.

NCDC noted that the highest burden of CSM in Nigeria occurs in the Meningitis Belt, which includes all 19 states in the Northern region, the FCT, and some southern states such as Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, and Osun.

Other warnings

As of 14 February, NiMet raised alarm over the weather conditions across the country, noting that air temperatures hit 41C over the North and 39C over the South.

NiMet had warned that the high heat level can cause dehydration, heat-related illness, and respiratory issues, among other chronic conditions.

According to NiMet, the northern part of the country will expect to experience more heat than the southern region.

NIMET said as a result of the high temperature, people will experience dehydration which could cause fainting; Chickenpox disease, Measles, and heat rash.

Others include weakness of the body, dry lips, and other heat-related ailments that could increase their vulnerability to other medical conditions.

Preventing Meningitis

To reduce the spread of meningitis, NCDC advised people to avoid overcrowding and ensure adequate ventilation and airflow in the home.

The disease control centre encouraged the use of disposable tissue to cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

NCDC urged that people should ensure they wash their hands, especially after sneezing or coughing.

Seek proper diagnosis and treatment at a medical facility if a sudden high fever or neck stiffness occurs,  NCDC said.

About Meningitis

According to NCDC, Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, a thin layer of the connective tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord.

This inflammation can be caused by infection with organisms like bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi. Injuries and certain drugs can also cause such inflammation.

On transmission, NCDC said meningitis is transmitted from direct person-to-person contact, including droplets from the nose and throat of infected persons; and close and prolonged contact with an infected individual.

CSM initially presents as fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, photophobia (pain on looking at bright lights), neck stiffness, and altered conscious levels. It may be more difficult to observe these signs in younger children, but irritability, poor feeding, and inactivity are common, NCDC noted.

NCDC advised that people ensure they receive the appropriate vaccination required to protect against meningitis.

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A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison for the 2022 rape of a 13-year-old child in the Town of Evans.

Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi sentenced Jacob Pearson, 39, of Wilcox, Pa., to 10 years of post-release supervision, as well. Pearson will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

Prosecutors said Pearson and his victim knew each other when they had sexual intercourse. Pearson pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in December. An order of protection on behalf of the victim will remain in effect until 2055.

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn in a news release commended Detective Ken Kloss of the Evans Police Department for his work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Meredith M. Mohun of the Special Victims/Domestic Violence Bureau.

 Jay Tokasz
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) says corruption is prevalent in the Nigerian judiciary.

A representative of the UNODC, Melissa Omene, said this on Friday at a judicial accountability event in Abuja.

The event was organised by Tapinitiative, a not-for-profit organisation

Speaking on a 2019 survey that was conducted by the UNODC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Ms Omene said the survey found that 20 per cent of those who had contact with the Nigerian judiciary were confronted with a request for the payment of a bribe.

Indeed, corruption in the Nigerian judiciary is extensive and both male and female judges are party to it.

Giving a comparative analysis of the issue, a UNODC study on gender and corruption in 2020, disclosed that male judges are far more likely to be involved in bribe-seeking conduct than their female colleagues.

The study said corruption amongst judicial officers had eroded public confidence in the judiciary.

Why public trust in judiciary waning

Weighing in on the quality of justice dispensation by Nigerian courts, a lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, blamed lawyers and judges for the loss of public confidence in the judicial system.

Mr Okutepa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former member of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), said the country is in a moral decay.

He decried the conduct of senior lawyers who compromise judges to get favourable verdicts.

There is no accountability from the judiciary because the Nigerian society does not demand accountability, he said.

The lawyer criticised the process of appointment of judges that is based on rationing.

Mr Okutepa pointed out that recent judgements of the Supreme Court on crucial cases dealt a fatal blow to public confidence in the judiciary to do justice on matters that come before it.

The Supreme Court has elevated the rules of court above constitutional provisions. There is no accountability from the Nigerian judiciary, he submitted.

He lamented that the age-old principle of judicial precedent has been bastardised across the courts in Nigeria.

You can see five different decisions of the Supreme Court on one issue that are inherently contradictory, Mr Okutepa said, adding that precedents are set based on who is before the court.

In the build-up to last years general elections, the Supreme Court delivered two separate judgements affirming the candidacy of Ahmad Lawan, a former Senate President, and Godswill Akpabio as authentic ticket-holders for the National Assembly elections in their respective states of Yobe and Akwa Ibom.

Messrs Lawan and Akpabio were presidential aspirants in the All Progressives Congress and could not have been aspirants at the same time for the parliamentary polls because of the latest provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

But the Supreme Court in 2022 declared them winners of the legislative primary elections of the APC, a development that drew outrage amongst close observers of the Nigerian judiciary.

Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom State and minister under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, would later win the main election to become the current Senate President.

Similarly, a panellist at the event, Chioma Onyenucheya-Uko, said the judiciary missed an opportunity to bolster its public image when the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja last year rejected requests by the two leading opposition candidates  Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi  to have the courts proceedings televised.

The panel, moderated by Lillian Okenwa, a journalist and lawyer, said nepotism was commonplace in judicial appointments.

But, a former judge of the Federal High Court, Ibrahim Buba, rated Nigerian judges high in the discharge of their duties.

Delivering a keynote address on the topic, Impact of judicial accountability on public trust in the legal system, Mr Buba said Nigerian judges stood up to dictators and democratic leaders in their judicial functions.

having regards to the conditions and environment of work, with all modesty, I say KUDOS to the Nigerian bar and the Nigerian bench, take away politics, where people differ on opinions and questions of law and both may be right, the Nigerian judiciary has given a very good account of itself, Mr Buba said.

He explained that politicians who cannot have their way undermine the independence of the Nigerian judiciary, not only starving it of funds but ensuring an erosion of independence of the judiciary and having friction and try to remove the chief judges unconstitutionally.

Nigerian judges are courageous, very, very courageous, they have dared the military, they have dared the political class, like every society, they have also dealt even with their colleagues who are found wanting.

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The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has issued a one-week ultimatum for the Nigerian government to pay the unions members withheld salaries or risk an industrial action.

In a statement jointly signed by SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, the workers asked the government to pay the withheld salaries like their academic counterparts who were paid four months out of the months owed.

JAC said it has written protest letters to the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the exclusion of the non-academic staff when the government decided to pay part of the withheld salaries but that the letters were not responded to two weeks it was submitted.

We therefore use this opportunity once again to call on the federal government to do the needful within the next seven days as the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU should not be held responsible should the wheel of administration and corporate governance be grounded to a halt in the university sector, as we have exercised enough patience, part of the statement reads.

The statement added: If nothing is done by the federal government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decisions on the matter.

JAC said it has done everything possible within its power to prevail on their members to maintain industrial peace and tranquillity.

While we appreciate the Federal Government for paying our academic counterpart, we also deem it necessary that our members are also paid, the statement said, adding that the unions can no longer guarantee industrial harmony on the campuses should the government fail to pay them.

Withheld Salaries

In 2022, two months after ASUU commenced nationwide strike, both SSANU and NASU also embarked on nationwide industrial action that further crippled activities across the campuses.

The action was to protest the governments failure to fulfill its promises to the workers and what they described as gross underfunding of the universities.

At the time, the former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a No Work, No Pay policy and withheld the workers salaries.

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) also took part in the strike at the time.

SSANU queried the rationale behind the governments insistence on the no work, no pay policy, saying the due process was followed before embarking on the strike that lasted four months. Till the end of his tenure, Mr Buhari never authorised the payment of the workers.

Selective payment

However, in October, Mr Tinubu announced that his government would pay four months of the withheld salaries to members of ASUU, immediately raising concerns as to the fate of the members of the other unions.

The National Vice President of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, told this newspaper at the time that the directive appeared to be selective in favour of a single union out of others whose members salaries were withheld.

He said the presidents directive if not reviewed to include SSANU and other unions could be a recipe for disaster as he threatened another round of strikes if SSANU members withheld salaries were not paid alongside that of ASUU.

The directive appears to be misdirected because all university unions went on strike last year and not ASUU alone. To that extent, that directive cannot be selective in favour of a single union but can only be general, Mr Salaam said in October.

Some days ago, the Nigerian government began paying the academics, leaving out the non-academic staff.

If nothing is done by the federal government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decisions on the matter, JAC said.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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So, Abiola had an ad with the kicker, Endless Power Interruptions, followed by the rider, All Nigeria needs is one transformer! In between, you have the semiotic message of a lit lantern in the midst of darkness, depicting poor power supply or the failure of government to guarantee steady and regular powerto Nigerian homes.

One of the captivating political campaign lines of MKO Abiola has been immortalised in a seminal work by Professor Tunde Ope-Davies (Tunde Opeibi) of the University of Lagos. Titled Discourse, Politics and the 1993 Presidential Election Campaign in Nigeria, the book documents the drive of the gladiators to secure the mandate of the electorate. Ope-Davies uncanny nose for hidden details smokes out Abiolas rush for virtually every trick in the advertising books to outwit his main challenger, Bashir Tofa of the National Republican Convention (NRC), leading Abiola to create the famous punchline on the transformer as a metaphor for abiding leadership. MKO, as he was fondly called, was of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is quoted by Ope-Davies (then known as Tunde Opeibi) as saying during his search for votes that all Nigeria needed to overcome its age-old statehood concerns was one transformer, one singular and enduring personality in the saddle, whose beam of integrity would permeate all of society for salutary ripples in his days and beyond.

So, Abiola had an ad with the kicker, Endless Power Interruptions, followed by the rider, All Nigeria needs is one transformer! In between, you have the semiotic message of a lit lantern in the midst of darkness, depicting poor power supply or the failure of government to guarantee steady and regular powerto Nigerian homes.

Ope-Davies recalls how the subject of failed and flawed leadership is then broached in the body copy: This country has the resources to ensure stable power supply. All it takes is one achiever who can transform what seems impossible to be possible. M.K.O. Abiola has the courage and honesty of purpose to unite us in a bold move to solve our problems All Nigeria needs is one transformer A transformer is the equipment that generates electricity in every neighbourhood. Without a transformer, there cannot be power supply. Often, officials of the company responsible for power supply blame lack of good or ageing transformer for their inability to ensure good and steady power. While suggesting that he would address the problem by providing the leadership that would ensure regular energy supply, he presents himself as the one transformer who would transform the society. One could see the creativity in the use of social amenities to promote political candidates campaign messages. Instead of making promises in plain language, he appeals to the visual senses of the people.

This book on the June 12, 1993 poll was written in 2009 to chronicle the trajectory of a politicians victory through effective campaign strategies. It salutes the peoples overwhelming trust in Abiola as their freely chosen leader. But alas, Abiolas triumph was aborted by the conspiracy and infighting among the military authorities and their civilian co-travellers. He wasnt allowed to transform into the transformer he promised us. Weve had to continuously mourn a doleful political leadership underhandedness that has followed Abiolas loss. Instead of a transformer, weve have had pall-bearers giving us abyss darkness. Each departing gloom always gave birth to a blacker dimness, until finally, in Muhammadu Buhari, we were hit with a somnolent blindness that sent all the nation of 200 million plus to sleep for eight years. He reminded us of Rip Van Winkle, the character in Irving Washingtons short story who slept for 20 years and missed the American Revolution in 1776.

You dont have him or her, you dont have light. You may have all the resources of this world as our beloved Nigeria has, still they would all come to zero if theres no hero of a transformer to show the way to exploit these assets for mass benefit. But if you have zero or limited resources, a hardworking, innovative and selfless leader would bond with his or her people to readily create a mass of wealth

Still, sitting at Abiolas feet wasnt a wasted time. We received the lesson of all time: a nation that slips at the leadership level is bound to trip and fall. You must get it right at the point where youre choosing who to lead you. Hes the transformer who gives you and the entire society the light that leads you away from the pit of perdition.

You dont have him or her, you dont have light. You may have all the resources of this world as our beloved Nigeria has, still they would all come to zero if theres no hero of a transformer to show the way to exploit these assets for mass benefit. But if you have zero or limited resources, a hardworking, innovative and selfless leader would bond with his or her people to readily create a mass of wealth surpassing the so-termed riches or minerals of an endowed nation bereft of a good leader, a transformer. It was the point Nigerias late novelist, Chinua Achebe, made in the book he published in 1983, The Trouble with Nigeria.

We must begin to work harder at choosing our leaders, whether at the centre or at the wings, outposts or grassroots, seeing thats the make-or-mar stage of the process of efficiently administering a society, its people and resources. Thats what also decides if that society would be a success or failure, if it would march into a prosperous and stable future, or if it would just be taking unsteady baby steps with fears that it would be a matter of a few years for the legs to collapse and prevent further movement altogether.

More than 60 years after so-called Independence, Nigeria is still shady about its status: to stay together or break up, to shred its constitution or retain it, to run a presidential or parliamentary system, to be under an arrangement in which the majority become poorer and destitute while a minuscule steal state wealth with impunity or to work for a truly just order, to create more states or not, to bring back the regional system or let it remain in the past? The weak and indifferent leaders weve had over the decades have been defeated by these demons, such that theyre recurring little devils that feature under every administration and in every age. Lay hold on the newspapers of the 70s through the 80s, 90s and the current century and youd find the imps everywhere. No strong leader has emerged to rock the boat and change the order. Warped religion, corruption cronyism (nepotism), ethnic considerations, compromised (stained) leadership etc. combine to block such attempts.

Nigerians must be harsher than Babatunde Jose. For, our task is to choose one who, having been seen to have transformed himself, would be entrusted the task of exuding light to some 200 million+ compatriots. Surely, much more of Spartan discipline and impersonal propensity would be required of him and his government than of journalists.

We need leaders with character that emerge from a crucible of fire. They should pass the unbending integrity test. In their 2011 book, Segun Osoba, The Newspaper Years, Mike Awoyinfa and Dimgba Igwe relate how late Babatunde Jose, a giant of Nigerias newspaper journalism, recruited his reporters, who went on, not only to become the greatest in the industry, but also outside their discipline. Jose was unsparing and disruptive in his search for those who would mould the society through their reports.

At an interview session, Jose wanted to know what a young potential reporter would do if, while he was making love with his wife, he heard a bang outside followed by a scream. One fellow said hed disengage and shower before going to cover the event. Another said: I wont shower. I would just put on my pants and trousers and go. Thats the answer that made Joses day: Forsaking personal pleasure to serve the public. The book also records the case of the one who has an urgent journalistic assignment. But then here comes his pregnant wife; she is groaning, needing to be taken to the hospital. Whats the poor journalist going to do? Our fellow says hed take his woman to the health facility and leave for the assignment after his wife delivers. He missed it, according to Jose. He said hed tell the young man since he wasnt a nurse, why would he wait at the hospital after taking her there? Jose said: I was that harsh in my assessment of peoples attitude to work (I looked for) those who were impersonal, who showed that the love for work transcends personal conveniences.

Nigerians must be harsher than Babatunde Jose. For, our task is to choose one who, having been seen to have transformed himself, would be entrusted the task of exuding light to some 200 million+ compatriots. Surely, much more of Spartan discipline and impersonal propensity would be required of him and his government than of journalists.

Nigeria hasnt had such leaders. Its the reason challenges of decades past are still here in the 21st Century. Nations that started the race with us have left us far behind. We were destined to have a shot at the moon. But our leaders failed to envision a dream and a future as a John Kennedy had for the United States. Some of my compatriots say that its late to dream again of a transformer waking the giant, that there are no new territories to conquer.

As an invincible optimist, I disagree.

Banji Ojewale is a writer at Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.

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Nwabuezes most ambitious project was the drafting of the Nigerian Constitution of 1979. Led by Chief Rotimi Williams, the nations then-leading name in the legal profession, Professor Nwabueze and the other eminences of the 1978-79 Constitution Drafting Committee constructed what turned out to be an ill-conceived, ill-fitting American-style outfit, which was draped over Nigeria as it attempted to return to civilian rule after 13 years of military dictatorship and a civil war.

Let us celebrate Professor Benjamin Obiefuna Nwabueze, one of the great legal minds of our generation.

It is difficult to speak of Nwabueze, except in superlatives. His grounding was in constitutional law. He was a renowned scholar, a university teacher and mentor to many, a prolific author of many books, an adviser to governments across the African continent, and a drafter of democratic constitutions.

The encomiums showered on Nwabueze from all sides are well deserved  and so are some of the criticisms. Nwabueze was not a god with feet of clay. He was thoroughly human, with his full share of the positives and negatives to which all flesh are heir. And when it is all added up, when his achievements are weighed against his failings, he would be found to be an exceptional person, a rare specimen of the human family.

Nwabuezes most ambitious project was the drafting of the Nigerian Constitution of 1979. Led by Chief Rotimi Williams, the nations then-leading name in the legal profession, Professor Nwabueze and the other eminences of the 1978-79 Constitution Drafting Committee constructed what turned out to be an ill-conceived, ill-fitting American-style outfit, which was draped over Nigeria as it attempted to return to civilian rule after 13 years of military dictatorship and a civil war.

The goal was admirable, but the method and the result were dismal. All that the 1979 Constitution did was to canonise the military dictatorship then in practice, with all the decentralised and reserved powers of the four Regions of the First Republic taken away and handed to a central, plenipotentiary civilian federal government.

The 1979 Constitution was a boomerang. When its obvious defects were observed during the civilian government of Shehu Shagari (1 October, 1979 to 31 December, 1983), discussions to amend it had hardly begun when another military coup blew everything to pieces. Then was to follow 16 more years of military dictatorship. Nigeria whirled further and faster downhill till it hit bottom, with six years of General Sani Abacha, the worst of them all.

Abachas sudden death in 1998 brought no relief. On the contrary, his henchman and successor dredged up the flawed 1979 Constitution, transmogrified it a dozen-fold, and foisted it on the incoming civilian government as the 1999 Constitution.

One might ask: Where was Professor Nwabueze in all this drama?

It takes intelligence to perceive ones mistakes; humility to accept them when pointed out by others; godliness to confess your mistakes publicly and accept responsibility for them; and saintliness to openly and seriously engage to correct your mistakes and undo the damage.

Professor Nwabueze was one of the first to see the flaws of the 1979 Constitution. Here are his own words in a newspaper interview:

Quite frankly, there are many flaws and many errors in the content of the constitution. So many errors, and I as a person was partly responsible because I was a member of the constitution drafting committee set up by the military government in 1978. I was not only a member but chairman of one of the sub-committees that produced Chapter 2, the Fundamental Objectives and [Principles of State Policy]; and one of the cardinal flaws in the constitution is the concentration of powers in the centre.

That is why I accept that I am partly responsible for that because at the time, late Chief Rotimi Williams, a close friend of mine, and nearly everybody in the Constitution Drafting Committee, were so overwhelmed with this feeling, this patriotic feeling that we needed unity and the most effective way to achieve unity of the country is by having a very strong central government.

Most of us in the committee shared that idea at the time. Chief Williams shared it because of the patriotism in us and we wanted a united Nigeria, we feel we can achieve unity by having a strong central government. Then, what did we do to achieve our mis-guided objective? We took away 50 per cent of the items on the concurrent list and gave it to the centre.

We (felt) by doing this, we (were) establishing unity. We did not stop at that. We looked at the residual matters, these are matters exclusive to the states, we took a large part of it, more than 30 percent and close to 50 percent; we took it away from states and gave to the centre. And the result is the almighty Federal Government, but what we discover(ed) was that instead of producing unity, we produced disunity because of the intensity of the struggle to control the centre.

The intensity is so much and it is not just in the political power that was concentrated at the centre, much of the money also went to the centre, and so by action we destroyed what is called fiscal federalism. Too much money at the centre increased the struggle for the control of the centre and the control of the money itself, and that has remained the feature of the Constitution up till today.

So when people struggle and agitate for true federalism, for fiscal federalism, they know what they are talking about and they are right, that must be changed; and until it is changed, we might not achieve true federalism because the basis on which we did it has proved to be misguided, the unity we thought we will achieve was not achieved and what we achieved was more disunity than unity because of the struggle. . . .

So not only restructuring in political power, not only restructuring in financial power, you have to restructure the territorial basis of zones

And so, the 1979 Constitution was Nwabuezes greatest project but also a cataclysmic failure, and his deepest regret. His efforts to correct that mistake and make amends to the nation came to nought. In his own voice, and in the voice of The Patriots, the activist organisation which he co-founded, Nwabueze repeatedly called for a Conference of the Nigerian Nationalities to write a new Constitution and restructure the territory in a way that reflects the will of the people. When eventually President Goodluck Jonathan organised such a conference in 2014, his successor in 2015 paid no heed whatsoever to its recommendations. Nigerians can judge for themselves in what direction the nation travelled in his successors eight years in office.

The struggle for restructuring and a new Constitution continues.

For Nwabueze, its lights out.

Good night, Sir.

And may the Good Lord who made us all and sees every heart, forgive you your sins, look kindly on your efforts to make amends for your mistakes, and grant you rest in His Heavenly Kingdom.

Onwuchekwa Jemie was a co-founder of The Guadian newspaper, and its pioneer Editorial Page Editor. He was also Editor-in-Chief of BusinessDay newspaper.

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The believer that is keen to attain the mercy of their Lord in Ramadan makes plenty of supplications before Ramadan that they are able to receive the month in a state of wellbeing, strength, peace, safety and security. For there were those wishing to fast the month of Ramadan, but are not able to do so for valid reasons. While there are others whose passing cut off their hopes of reaching the month. And there are Muslims who fast in fear due to the lack of security in their areas.

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask forgiveness from Him. We repent to Him; and we seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. Anyone who is guided by Allah is indeed guided; and anyone who has been left astray, will find no one to guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, the Only One without any partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is His servant and His Messenger.

Dear brothers and sisters! Know that, when the month Ramadan enters, the gates of heaven (Jannah) are opened, the gates of hell are closed and the devils are chained, according to the Hadith in two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim).

Respected brothers and sisters! Ramadan is a month in which goodness increases and good deeds are multiplied and mercies descend. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

Whoever fasts Ramadan out of faith (iman) and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins. [Bukhari and Muslim]

And whoever spends the nights of Ramadan in prayer out of faith and in the hope of reward, will be forgiven his previous sins (Bukhari and Muslim).

And the Merciful month of Ramadan has:

The Night of Decree is better than a thousand months. [Quran, 97:3]

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) was keen about it and sought it out. For that reason, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would seclude himself in the Mosque during the last ten nights of Ramadan and say:

Look for Lailatul-Qadr (Night of Decree) in the last ten nights of Ramadan. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Allah the Almighty said:

The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the crescent of] the month, let him fast it. [Quran, 2: 185]

And the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when Jibril met him. Jibril use to meet him every night during the month of Ramadan and study Quran with him. And the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was more generous in doing good than the generous wind. [Bukhari and Muslim]

And Umrah is recommended in Ramadan. For the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

For Umrah in Ramadan is (equal in reward) to Hajj. [Bukhari and Muslim]

Dear servants of Allah! Ramadan is the month of private worship. For a person may refrain from food, drink, and all things that break the fast but is not actually fasting, because they have not intended to fast, or because their heart is devoid of Iman (faith), or because they do not perform the obligatory prayers. So Allah Almighty attributed fasting to Himself saying:

Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, except fasting which is (exclusively) for Me, and I will reward him for it. And the breath of one observing fasting is better to Allah than the fragrance of musk. [Bukhari]

And the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

Every good deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied. A good deed will be multiplied ten times up to as many as seven hundred times, or as much as Allah wills. Allah says: Except for fasting, which is for Me and I shall reward for it. He gives up his desire and his food for My sake. [Muslim]

And despite these virtues and rewards, a fasting person may only attain hunger from their fasting. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

There are people who fast and get nothing from their fast except hunger, and there are those who pray and get nothing from their prayer but a sleepless night. [Sunan Ibn Majah]

This is because such a person combined fasting with performing sins, false speech, idle talk and wasting time. Such a person is in loss. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

May the one upon whom Ramadan enters but is not forgiven be humiliated. [See Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]

The believer that is keen to attain the mercy of their Lord in Ramadan makes plenty of supplications before Ramadan that they are able to receive the month in a state of wellbeing, strength, peace, safety and security. For there were those wishing to fast the month of Ramadan, but are not able to do so for valid reasons. While there are others whose passing cut off their hopes of reaching the month. And there are Muslims who fast in fear due to the lack of security in their areas.

Be grateful to Allah Almighty for His favour upon you for letting you reach Ramadan. And supplicate much to Him the Almighty that He completes His favour upon you by granting you success to excel in fasting and praying at night. And ask Allah the Exalted plentifully for help in performing acts of worship with proficiency and sincerity. For a person is weak and is completely dependent upon the help of Allah.

Then if the month passes, we should ask Allah Almighty to accept our fasting, our night prayers and our good deeds and to overlook our mistakes, errors and missteps and to not make us among the losers. For this is the way of the righteous. They perform righteous deeds and safeguard them from errors and deficiencies. And in spite of that they are fearful that Allah Almighty may not accept their deeds. Allah the Almighty said:

And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord. [Quran, 23:60]

Dear brothers and sisters! The fasting person who is keen to attain the bounties of Allah Almighty in Ramadan must make the best use of their time in seeking the pleasure of their Lord. So they should not waste a part of Ramadan or even one moment within it. They should occupy their time with acts of obedience such as prayer, sadaqah (charity), remembrance of Allah (Zikr), reciting and reflecting upon the Quran, and night prayer and giving and acts of goodness. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

If a man prays with the Imam until he leaves, that will be counted for him as if he spent the whole night in prayer. [Sunan an-Nasai]

And the fasting person who is keen on attaining the forgiveness of their Lord in the month of Ramadan shall avoid idle speech, quarrelling and disputing as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) instructed:

When anyone of you is fasting, let him not utter evil or raise his voice in anger and if anyone insults him or wants to fight, let him say, I am a person who is fasting. [Bukhari and Muslim]

The one keen to free themselves from the Fire in Ramadan should not occupy themselves with time-wasters and sinful matters. For fasting does not mean to only refrain from eating, drinking and intimate relations. Rather, it is to constrain the sight from looking at the forbidden. And to restrain the hearing from listening to the prohibited. And to restrain the tongue from uttering obscene, evil and cheap speech. And to restrain the hands from extending to what Allah Almighty has forbidden. And restraining the feet from going to what incurs the wrath of Allah the Exalted.

Respected servants of Allah! Be conscious of Allah Almighty and obey Him and supplicate plentifully. For the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

There are three whose supplication are not rejected, the supplication of a parent, the supplication of a fasting person and the supplication of a traveler. [Sahih Al-Jami]

And Allah the Almighty said:

And when My servants ask you concerning Me  indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. [Quran, 2: 186]

And Allah Almighty has placed this verse in the middle of the verses about fasting in Surah Al-Baqarah.

So be keen to make plenty of supplications (Dua) throughout the month of Ramadan and not just at the time of breaking the fast. And repeatedly ask your Lord over and over. And supplicate the supplication of one who is in utter and utmost need. And do not be stingy with yourselves. For your Lord is near, merciful and answering.

I ask Allah the Almighty to make us among those who occupy themselves with what raises their ranks with their Lord and make the most out of these blessed days. May Allah Almighty accept our fasting, prayers and good deeds. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.

I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon our beloved Prophet as our Lord commanded:

Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace. [Quran, 33: 56]

O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.

O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet (Peace be upon him) has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good.

Dear servants of Allah! Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.

Remember Allah, the Great  He will remember you. Thank Him for His favours  He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him  He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him  He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true and sincere followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com; or +2348038289761.

This Friday sermon (Jumuah Khutbah) was prepared for delivery today Friday, 19 Shaaban, 1445 AH (1st March, 2024).

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Despite the inspirations I draw from my encounter with Stubb, it leaves me with mixed feelings. His good nature is brilliant. Contrasting that with African leaders leaves much to be desired. I enjoyed working with him, and hopefully, his style and taste will influence me, but time shall tell!.. As President Alex Stubb starts his new role, I wish him the best and expect the Finns to be better off for his choice.

I joined the Florence School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute (EUI) because I saw people like Professor Alex Stubb on the university faculty. Stubb was once the prime minister of Finland. The EUI also has a former Greek finance minister and the president of the European Commission, amongst other notable figures, on its faculty. I thought it was an excellent crowd to associate with, an opportunity to learn from those who have been in the trenches and a chance to step away from the idealism of the ivory tower to the pragmatism of everydayness.

Since joining the EUI, apart from a one-off encounter with overt racism at a bank in downtown Florence, I have not been disappointed. Instead, I have been surprised in many ways, and a significant part of that surprise was my encounter with President Stubb of Finland, who starts his new role on 1 March.

To put things in context, I was interviewed online in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, I could not travel to Florence for the interview. When I got the job, everyone told me Florence is gorgeous and wished they could swap places with me. I took their words for it.

When I eventually arrived in Florence, it did not meet my expectations. Either my expectations were disproportionately raised by those I encountered before Florence, or Edinburgh was already a high standard to beat, apart from the weather and food (where Florence has the upper hand).

The other thing about Florence is the number of tourists it hosts annually. The city is always crowded  in and out of season, which may speak to the reputation of Florence as a choice destination for tourism. The downside to Florence residents is that it makes long-term rents scarce. Landlords prefer to go with the flow of the lucrative tourist market.

Of course, making more money from short-term lets than long-term rentals is easier. As such, it took me time to find a place to stay in Florence. So, for a while, I commuted from Edinburgh and spent a reasonable amount of time on flights and through airports. It was fun but not really because the tear and wear on the body should not be taken for granted.

After two-and-a-half years with Stubb as a colleague, he returned to politics. This time, he went for the highest post in his country  the president! The contest came. Despite the pressures, he remained calm and narrowly won the election. And less than a week after winning this significant and prestigious post, he visited us  his former colleagues  at the EUI.

But Stubb had an apartment in Florence and stayed there most of the time. At some point, I learnt he was moving apartments. In his usual kindness and collegial spirit, he suggested that I take his while he moved to another one. I did not bother to check the apartment. Why should I? I thought. I just assumed that it must be good since a former prime minister of Finland lived in it. That was just the start of the big surprise that awaited me.

When I got there, it was a humbling experience. It was not anything flashy or outlandish. It was simply bare to the point that I could not spend more than four days in the apartment. The area was just average but pale. Stubb was simply a tenant. I am not sure he bought any mansion in Florence, as he moved into another rented apartment. His former landlord was kind enough to allow me some time to experience the place. When I left, he did not begrudge me. Tenants are not in short supply, as the demand for apartments is one of the only constants in Florence.

Beyond the lacklustre apartment, Stubb did not have a car in Florence. He moved around on his bicycle. I came to realise that he enjoys biking as a sport. Stubb is more resilient than I am.

After two-and-a-half years with Stubb as a colleague, he returned to politics. This time, he went for the highest post in his country  the president! The contest came. Despite the pressures, he remained calm and narrowly won the election. And less than a week after winning this significant and prestigious post, he visited us  his former colleagues  at the EUI.

During his visit, he mixed with all  staff and students. This is the fascinating bit about Stubb. He is very accessible and down to earth. Although he may not have an eye for the minutest details, as a colleague puts it, the big visionary picture is never lost on him.

My encounter with Stubb has left me thinking about politics, politicians, and life in Nigeria/Africa. First, how many former prime ministers would bother considering academia as the next step in their list of options? How many will live a very simple life within and outside office? How many will engage intellectually and cherish the beauty and truism of ideas rule the world? Stubb believes in this and pursues it.

It is instructive to note that Stubb was the first director of the Florence School of Transnational Governance. In his short tenure, he grew the school into a global brand. The school might be one of the first to transform a director into the president of a country. This is already a high bar for Stubbs successor.

My encounter with Stubb has left me thinking about politics, politicians, and life in Nigeria/Africa. First, how many former prime ministers would bother considering academia as the next step in their list of options? How many will live a very simple life within and outside office? How many will engage intellectually and cherish the beauty and truism of ideas rule the world? Stubb believes in this and pursues it. How many will be prepared to run sophisticated, elegant, and fair elections, as Stubb did? How many will come back to identify with their lowly placed colleagues, just less than a week after winning the presidential election of a First World country? Many things and thoughts.

Alex Stubb and his Scandinavian approach to life and politics say a lot to those who think simplicity, humility, and authenticity should not co-habit in our politics and amongst our political class.

Despite the inspirations I draw from my encounter with Stubb, it leaves me with mixed feelings. His good nature is brilliant. Contrasting that with African leaders leaves much to be desired. I enjoyed working with him, and hopefully, his style and taste will influence me, but time shall tell!

As President Alex Stubb starts his new role, I wish him the best and expect the Finns to be better off for his choice.

Kenneth Amaeshi is a professor of sustainable finance at the European University Institute and a public philosopher.

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As he did so, he said: Aaron Bushnell, I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine, in the hands of their colonisers, is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.

Just 25. I mean Aaron Bushnell, a soldier of humanity. Inside his United States Air Force uniform, he wore the conscience of sacrifice for a people he may never have met. He was trained by the most powerful military in the world to obey the last order. But he was not going to obey the order of the US Commander-in-Chief, President Joe Biden, an elderly grandfather making excuses for the continuous massacre of Palestinian babies and children, even in hospitals where they seek medical care. As a principled soldier, the last order Bushnell was willing to obey, was that of his conscience.

He was not going to sit by, watching genocide visited on a people, not by aliens, but by their neighbours whose past knew genocide. He was not going to be part of an establishment which, at every turn and corner, blocked the urgent ceasefire necessary to save tens of thousands of lives. As a soldier, he knew that unless decisive steps are taken, these figures would easily climb to hundreds of thousands sent to avoidable early graves.

What greater love can a human have than to sacrifice his life for others? On Sunday, 25 February, at approximately 12:58 p.m. local time, the Development Operations engineer of the United States Air Force donned the uniform of his service and walked smartly to the Israeli Embassy. As he did so, he said: Aaron Bushnell, I am an active duty member of the United States Air Force. And I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest but compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine, in the hands of their colonisers, is not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.

When he got to the embassy gates, he doused himself in inflammable liquid and set himself ablaze, shouting continuously: Free Palestine! Free Palestine!! Free Palestine!!!

As a first responder security man tried to put off the flames, rather than help, an obvious secret service agent merely trained his gun at the burning Bushnell. This prompted the former to shout: I dont need guns, I need fire extinguisher! In this brief moment, we see two species of human beings: a conscientious one, intent on saving life, and a conscienceless secret service agent ready to shoot a dying man engulfed in flames.

The flames that extinguished the life of young Bushnell were in the United States, but they were seen all over the world. They were flames of love for humanity. It was a symbolic act, but worth far more than the combined rhetoric of those sitting in the White House, Downing Street, Elysee Palace, Bellevue Palace or the comfortable chambers of the United Nations.

The flames that extinguished the life of young Bushnell were in the United States, but they were seen all over the world. They were flames of love for humanity. It was a symbolic act, but worth far more than the combined rhetoric of those sitting in the White House, Downing Street, Elysee Palace, Bellevue Palace or the comfortable chambers of the United Nations.

I will not put it past people who have lost their humanity to claim that Bushnell was a psychiatric case. Such persons cannot understand how a person could sacrifice his life this way. Their Biblical progenitors would have blamed Jesus Christ for needlessly losing his life for the helpless and defenceless, and standing up against the Israeli establishment.

This explains why US Secret Service Spokesperson, Joe Routh, told the press that the security services responded to what appeared as an individual that was experiencing a possible medical/mental health emergency. But it was not Bushnell who was in a mental health emergency, it is the millions of human beings that stand by watching genocide perpetrated before their very eyes and doing nothing about it.

I had thought that after colonial Germany, from 1904 to 1907, wiped out half of the Namibian people; the Turks between 1915 and 1923 exterminated 1.5 Armenians; Hitlerite Germany exterminated six million Jews; Belgium under Leopold II massacred 15 million Congolese; and the 1994 Rwandan genocide, humanity would never again allow genocide. But with one going on today in the Palestine, I am convinced that a large section of humankind has lost its soul.

Amongst those who remain human is Netherlands Deputy Ambassador, Angelique Eijpe. She, after 21 years in service, including in Gaza, resigned in protest against the Dutch governments support of the genocide in the Palestine. She tried to dialogue with government officials under Prime Minister Mark Rutte, but failed. She participated in weekly sit-ins by civil servants of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, expressing dissent against the governments policies in the Palestine. But little or nothing was achieved. So, Eijpe decided to resign.

Bushnells sacrifice reminds me of that by John Brown who on Sunday, 16 October, 1859, decided to strike a blow for enslaved Black peoples, who were regarded as no higher than mules. Brown lost his two sons in that battle, while he himself was captured.

She said of her resignation letter: I wrote about the moral standing we have lost in the Netherlands. For example, the government has refused to define whats going on as war crimes or potential war crimes. We have abstained twice in the UN General Assembly, where it comes to voting for a ceasefire. We are here in The Hague, the capital of peace and justice, and our credibility has really suffered an extreme blow. Some civil servants in the US and Europe are taking a stand against their governments support for Israels war in Gaza. Several have resigned because they no longer feel able to implement government policies they disagree with.

One of the most courageous steps taken by a country to stop this genocide was that by South Africa under President Cyril Ramaphosa. Where the Apartheid Zionists in Israel were being protected by the US and some European countries, South Africa dragged a yelling Israel to the International Court of Justice. The international court in January gave an interim ruling ordering Israel to stop its acts of genocide, including the wilful destruction of hospitals and homes, and allow humanitarian assistance to be provided the civil populace. But like an international outlaw protected by a powerful mafia, Israel has continued to ignore the ruling and common sense.

Bushnells sacrifice reminds me of that by John Brown who on Sunday, 16 October, 1859, decided to strike a blow for enslaved Black peoples, who were regarded as no higher than mules. Brown lost his two sons in that battle, while he himself was captured.

The seriously injured Brown was brought to court in a stretcher and sentenced within one week. But he scored a moral victory over the lynch mob that tried him and the establishment that put them in place. On being sentenced to death, he told the court: I see a book kissed here which is the Bible, and which teaches me all things; that I would have men do unto me, so must I do unto them. I endeavoured to act up to that instruction. I fought for the poor; and I say I was right. History proved the saintly John Brown right. That same history, will prove Aaron Bushnell right.

May his soul rest in power.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.

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At a time of renewed geo-political interest in Africa, and an increasing questioning of traditional development finance models, Harvard Business School has released a case study examining the role and impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), and its unique approach to catalysing entrepreneurship in Africa.

The Foundation, Africas leading funder of young entrepreneurs, has pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa. Drawing directly from Tony Elumelus entrepreneurial journey, his acknowledgement that luck and chance played an important role in his success, the Foundation democratises luck, spreads opportunity, in a sector agnostic approach.

It has developed a bespoke infrastructure that reaches every country in Africa. The Foundation is a direct expression of Elumelus philosophy of Africapitalism, that the private sector must play a pivotal role in Africas development, and that investment must seek social, as well as economic returns.

The case study, the first of its kind focused on African philanthropy, was launched on Thursday, 29 February, 2024, before a class of graduate students at Harvard Business School and explored the Foundations unique approaches and transformative initiatives, showcasing how the strategic philanthropy offered by TEF,is driving positive change and elevating countries and communities.

The case study recognises challenges the Foundation faces, and its responses, as it developed its mission, since founding in 2010. The track record is impressive, with over 20,000 entrepreneurs funded, over a million connected digitally and the development of an impact assessment capacity.

TEF has disbursed over USD$100 million, reaching every African country. The Foundation is increasingly developing a partnership-based approach, working with institutions such as the EU, US agencies, the UNDP, the ICRC, the Ikea Foundation, and others to develop bespoke programmes focused on fragile states, female entrepreneurs and sustainability initiatives.

Tony Elumelu, who spoke at Harvard said, TEF is creating economic hope and opportunity for African entrepreneurs. We know that entrepreneurship is the solution to youth unemployment and insecurity. Through the intervention of the Foundation, we are transforming our young people,giving them hope. Collectively, all of us can resolve the challenges that we have on the continent.

It is wonderful to have had the opportunity to work with HBS, to spotlight our successes, acknowledge the challenges that we have at times faced, and provide the opportunity to spread our experience, for the benefit of others.

The Harvard Business School session provided an opportunity to engage in a meaningful discussion on the role of philanthropy in shaping sustainable and inclusive economies. As the world grapples with complex challenges around demographics, climate and sustainability, the Tony Elumelu Foundation model offers a fascinating model of how strategic philanthropy can be a driving force for positive change.

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The Commander of Kano States moral police, (Hisbah) Aminu Daurawa, has resigned his appointment.

Mr Daurawas resignation on Friday followed Governor Abba Yusufs criticism of the Hisbah, which has been conducting raids on suspected blackspots of immoral activities in the state.

Mr Daurawa in a 2:53 minutes video on his Facebook page said he resigned his appointment because of the governors criticism.

I was in Kaduna State with the Kano State lawmakers on an official assignment when I heard some discouraging comments from Kano State.

I have done my best to ensure a good moral society where I have invited filmmakers and tik-tokers, I used my money with that of subordinates and empowered the tic-toke to buy Data, and I counselled them on morality.

I invited Murja Kunya and her group also, I counselled and prayed for them to be responsible persons some of them went back to the wrong ways.

I have done my best but I am seeking forgiveness from the governor for annoying him, I resigned from my position as the Hisbah commander, Mr Daurawa said.

What the governor said

Governor Yusuf had expressed dissatisfaction with the operations of Hisbah, while hosting a group of Ulamas at the Government House, on Thursday.

I was disturbed when I saw a video of the Hisbah operations raiding suspected places of immoral activities. They beat the suspects with sticks and while they were running some officials squeezed their legs and packed them in a vehicle like animals. This is not right.

In this kind of operation someone, if not of Gods protection, may have a spinal cord injury and you made him permanently deformed.

Its a mistake to be hugging young women and men and throwing them inside a Hilux like goats. I saw a video of how the Hisbah raided students dormitories of Bayero University (off campus), beating and squeezing them in a vehicle.

With this, I believe that something must be done to correct the abnormalities. The Hisbah must initiate means of tackling immorality in a moral way to achieve the desired objectives otherwise the people they are trying to correct will go astray.

May Allah protect us. If these children go astray we dont know what the state will look like, the governor said.

The governor said the Hisbah should collaborate with the police, Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies in arresting suspects and charge them to court without brutality.

The governors remarks were in reaction to a controversy that followed the arrest and arraignment of Murja Kunya, a popular Tik-toker and her supporters.

Ms Kunya was arrested last month by Hisbah officials at her residence with her boyfriend following complaints by her neighbours. She was arraigned for allegedly posting inappropriate and un-Islamic content on TikTok.

Following her plea, the court ordered her detention until 27 February when the court would hear the case against her. However, she was later released allegedly following an order from above.

Her release sparked a controversy on social media with many commentators accusing the state authorities of selective justice.

Ms Kunya is currently undergoing a psychiatric evaluation in Kano on the order of the court.

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A 37-year-old woman died Wednesday following a motor vehicle crash on Route 5 at Lakeview Road in Hamburg.

Hamburg police said Jenny E. Zuhlke was killed in the accident at about 11:30 a.m. Anthony Rydzewski, 40, who was driving a second vehicle in the crash, was taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center with serious injuries, police said in a post on Facebook.

The social media post on Thursday did not specify whether Zuhlke was driving a vehicle or if she was a passenger, nor did it mention any other details about the victims and what happened. Police officials did not respond to voice messages seeking more information.

Officers with the Hamburg Police Accident Investigation Unit are asking anyone who saw the crash to call them at 716-648-5111.

 Jay Tokasz
DUBLIN , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Aerospace and Defense Predictions 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The thematic intelligence ecosystem assesses how well companies are positioned for the future based on their competitive position in the main themes disrupting their sector.



This report is a multi-theme report organized by theme. It covers 10 themes drawn from the defense industry: Advanced Materials; Alternative Propulsion; Artificial Intelligence; Counter-Drone Technologies; Geopolitics; Hypersonic Technologies; the Internet of Military Things; Robotics / Unmanned Systems; Soldier Modernization and Space Systems.



Key Highlights

Studies of emerging technological trends and their broader impact on the aerospace and defense markets.

Samples of analysis on the various emerging trends and technologies which are likely to shape development and procurement initiatives global over the course of the next ten years.

Report Scope

The key defense challenges that forces and defense sector suppliers face are covered.

The investment opportunities for armed forces, suppliers, and institutional investors, across a range of different technology and industry themes are covered.

Highlights from the diverse research and development programs currently being undertaken by various military organizations as well as aerospace and defense companies within the most critical thematic bubbles impacting the wider aerospace, defense and security markets.

Key Benefits

Determine potential investment companies based on trend analysis and market projections.

Gaining an understanding of the market challenges and opportunities surrounding various aerospace and defense themes.

Understanding how spending in critical or emerging segments of the aerospace and defense supply chains will fit into the overall market and which spending areas are being prioritized.

2024 Theme Map

Advanced Materials

Alternative Propulsion

Artificial Intelligence

Counter-Drone Technologies

Geopolitics

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)

Hypersonic Technologies

Internet of Military Things (IoMT)

Robotics / Unmanned Systems

Soldier Modernization

Space Systems

Company Coverage:

Airbus

Arconic

Boeing

DuPont Nemours

EaglePicher

Echodyne

Enersys

General Electric

Hexcel

Honeywell

Lockheed Martin

Lyten

Metamaterials Technologies

Noble Biomaterials

Polyjoule

Tencate

Teijin

Alphacore

AVIC

CeramTec

Denchi Power

Graphenano

Marshall Advanced Composites

Siemens

Rolls-Royce

Eviation

AeroVironment

General Atomics

General Dynamics

General Electric Aviation

ZeroAvia

Shell

Bloom Energy

MTU Aero Engines

Cummins (CMI)

H3 Dynamics

GKN Aerospace

ElringKlinger

China Commercial Air Group

Pipistrel

Air Liquide

ArianeGroup

EMEC Hydrogen

Norsk E-fuel

RTX Corp

Aeristech

Protonex

Honda

Anduril

Autodesk

ATLAS Elektronik

BAE Systems

Elbit Systems

NASA

Northrop Grumman

Palantir

Percepto

Red6

Aerojet Rocketdyne

Amentum

Hanwha Corp

Indian Ordnance Factories

Trasdigm

Aselsan

D-Fend

Indra Sistemas

Israel Aerospace Industries

L3Harris

Leidos

Leonardo

QinetiQ

Rafael ADS

Teledyne

Thales

Almaz-Antey

AntiDrone

ARTsys360

Black Sage

CERBAIR

Citadel

DefSys

DroneShield

EDGE Group

Elt Roma

Goshawk

KB Radar

KEAS

Regulus

Rokestan

ST Kinetics

United Instruments Corp

Huntington Ingalls

Kongsberg

MBDA

Rheinmetall

Baykar

DJI Technologies

Kratos Defense & Security

MilRem Robotics

Nammo

Naval Group

Oshkosh Defense

Saab

Tactical Missiles Corporation

Exquadrum

HTPN Industries

Hermeus

Venus Aerospace

Space Transportation

SpaceX

Systima

IBM

DXC Technology

Rohde & Schwartz

CASC

Crye Precision Systems

Gentex Corp

SIG Sauer

Excelitas

Geissele Automatics

Safran Group

ArianeSpace

ViaSat

United Launch Alliance

BlueOrigin

Leaf Space

Magellan

Maxar Technologies

RocketLabs

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qpxysh

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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Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Appointment honors Korstanje's accomplishments as an exemplary scientist and mentor

BAR HARBOR, Maine, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Associate Professor Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., has been named the Evnin Family Chair at The Jackson Laboratory. An expert in the genetics of kidney function and disease, Korstanje's appointment marks a new chapter in his 20 years of service to JAX's mission.

"Ron's exceptional contributions to JAX have advanced research discoveries and nurtured generations of future scientists," said President and CEO Lon Cardon, Ph.D., FMedSci. "His appointment as the Evnin Family Chair bolsters our commitment to understanding the most complex health challenges of our time. I'm grateful to him, and to the Evnin family for their support in helping us recruit and retain top scientists."

As a standout researcher in his field, Korstanje has authored more than 110 publications exploring the intersection of kidney function, aging, metabolism and genomics. He is a lead collaborator at the JAX Center for Aging Research and is a consummate volunteer for internal committees and boards and for organizations outside of JAX.

To better understand the biology of aging and age-associated decline of kidney function, Korstanje has been performing studies in different species, including C. elegans, zebrafish, mice, and even black bears. He co-authored studies which discovered new genes that were previously unassociated with lifespan, and identified therapies that act on these genes to improve kidney function and extend lifespan and healthspan.

Born and educated in the Netherlands, Korstanje first arrived at JAX in 2001 as a postdoctoral fellow, working alongside the late legendary scientist and mentor Beverly Paigen, Ph.D. He was recruited back overseas to the University of Groningen in 2004 as a research associate in the medical biology division, where he quickly progressed to assistant professor. After returning to JAX in 2007 as a research scientist in Paigen's laboratory, he advanced to the rank of associate professor in 2019.

Throughout his tenure at JAX, Korstanje has mentored dozens of undergraduate, predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. He also works with students in the nonprofit biomedical research institution's prestigious Summer Student Program (SSP), which marks its 100th anniversary this summer. Korstanje has served as the Bar Harbor SSP resident supervisor, living with his family alongside students throughout the 10-week program. In a full-circle moment, last year the inaugural Paigen Fellow was named to a yearlong appointment in his laboratory.

"I'm honored to be appointed the Evnin Family Chair," Korstanje said. "For more than two decades, I've been able to advance my research with the help of world-class resources and incredible mentors and colleagues here at JAX. I'm excited to continue making contributions to this wonderful community of scientists and our shared vision for a healthier future."

The Evnin Family Chair was established in 2015 by Emeritus Trustee Anthony B. Evnin, Ph.D., and his wife Judith, who were among the first to support endowed chairs at JAX. Korstanje succeeds the late George Weinstock, Ph.D., a pioneering geneticist and deeply respected member of the JAX community. The Evnins also established a second chair, the Evnin Family Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Research, to support novel JAX research focused on protecting people from Alzheimer's disease even if they carry the genetic disposition toward it.

JAX currently has 15 endowed chair positions funded by support from generous donors. To learn more, visit our endowed chair page.

About The Jackson Laboratory

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States (Maine, Connecticut, California), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.

SOURCE The Jackson Laboratory
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of America Corporation announced today that it will redeem on March 18, 2024 all JPY 58,500,000,000 principal amount outstanding of its 0.383% Fixed/Floating Rate Senior Notes, due March 18, 2025 (ISIN: XS1963075913; Common Code: 196307591) (the "Notes").

The Notes were issued under the Bank of America Corporation U.S.$65,000,000,000 Euro Medium-Term Note Program. The redemption price for the Notes will be equal to the Optional Redemption Amount of JPY 100,000,000 per JPY 100,000,000 Calculation Amount (as specified in the applicable Pricing Supplement dated March 13, 2019), plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the redemption date of March 18, 2024.

Payment of the redemption price for the Notes will be made in accordance with the applicable procedures of Euroclear Bank SA/NV and Clearstream Banking, S.A. Citibank, N.A., London Branch is the Principal Agent for the Notes and Citibank Europe plc is the Registrar for the Notes.

Forward-looking statements

Certain information contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are not guarantees of future results or performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions difficult to predict or beyond our control. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement and should consider the uncertainties and risks discussed under Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and in any of our subsequent Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statement was made.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 69 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 3,800 retail financial centers, approximately 15,000 ATMs (automated teller machines) and award-winning digital banking with approximately 57 million verified digital users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business households through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BAC).

For more Bank of America news, visit the Bank of America newsroom and register for email news alerts.

www.bankofamerica.com

Investors May Contact:

Lee McEntire, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.388.6780

[email protected]

Jonathan G. Blum, Bank of America (Fixed Income)

Phone: 1.212.449.3112

[email protected]

Reporters May Contact:

Bill Halldin, Bank of America

Phone: 1.916.724.0093

[email protected]

Christopher P. Feeney, Bank of America

Phone: 1.980.386.6794

[email protected]

SOURCE Bank of America Corporation
VICTORIA, Seychelles, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The globally leading Web3 trading wallet Bitget Wallet has now integrated support for the Blast Mainnet, making it the first all-in-one Web3 wallet for the Blast ecosystem. Users can effortlessly add and switch mainnets within the wallet with just one click, without the need for manual configuration. This integration enables users to manage, transfer, swap, and interact on one of the largest L2 launches in 2024.

Bitget Wallet now supports the Blast Mainnet, pioneering full ecosystem support as a Web3 wallet

Bitget Wallet has aggregated liquidity from mainstream DEXs within the Blast ecosystem, such as BlasterSwap and MonoSwap, into its Swap feature. This allows for mainnet token Swap transactions, providing users with convenient services for trading assets on the Blast blockchain.

During the Blast testnet phase, Bitget Wallet was among the first to offer support, unveiled a dedicated zone in its DApp page for Blast. This section featured over 40 elite projects from Blast's Big Bang incentive program, enabling users to easily explore, interact, and potentially receive future airdrops in the Blast ecosystem. Following the launch of the Blast mainnet, Bitget Wallet plans to continue integrating popular projects from the Blast ecosystem, offering users extensive asset management features and a comprehensive ecosystem experience.

Bitget Wallet's COO, Alvin Kan, highlights Blast as a Layer 2 solution with staking at its core, gaining market attention since launch. He says, "We're committed to cutting-edge tech, lowering Web3 engagement barriers. Collaborating with quality mainnets like Blast, we aim to drive Web3 ecosystem growth."

This week, Bitget Wallet engages with popular Blast ecosystem projects, exploring market traction, "Stake Layer 2" narrative, TVL enhancement strategies by staking and earning points, notable projects, and effective ways for users to participate in the Blast ecosystem upon mainnet launch. This provides users with valuable insights for meaningful ecosystem engagement.

Additionally, Bitget Wallet is organizing major events to support the Blast ecosystem, providing users with opportunities for discovering new assets.

About Bitget Wallet

Bitget Wallet stands as Asia's largest and one of the world's top non-custodial Web3 wallets, boasting over 19 million users globally. Featuring a comprehensive array of features including asset management, intelligent market data, swap functionality, launchpad, inscribing, DApp browsing, and more, Bitget Wallet promises users an unmatched multi-chain Web3 experience. Currently, Bitget Wallet supports over 100 blockchains, hundreds of EVM-compatible chains, and more than 250,000 cryptocurrencies. By aggregating liquidity across hundreds of leading DEXs and cross-chain bridges, Bitget Wallet is able to facilitate seamless and efficient trades on 40+ blockchains.

For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord

SOURCE Bitget Wallet
LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications are now available for California Credit Union's Summer Internship Program for local high school seniors and college students. Now in its third year, the program offers paid internships to provide students with professional work experience and mentoring in multiple areas throughout the organization, including opportunities in the Real Estate, Electronic Services, Human Resources and Accounting departments.

"We're committed to supporting our local students in every area, including providing hands-on work experience and mentoring to help set them up for success in the financial industry and open doors to a future career," said California Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "Through our Summer Internship Program, we will integrate students into teams across the credit union so they can apply what they learn in the classroom to a hands-on setting in the business world."

Los Angeles County college students and high school seniors can learn more and apply for the internships through the credit union's website. Applications will be accepted through April 12th for the summer program.

The California Credit Union internships will provide students with practical work experience within and across multiple departments, leadership development skills, and school-to-career readiness, with direct training and mentoring with managers. All internships will be paid, part-time opportunities at the credit union's Glendale headquarters offices from June 24th through August 16th.

About California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of nearly $5 billion, approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. The credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @CaliforniaCreditUnion.

SOURCE California Credit Union
HOUSTON, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Callon Petroleum Company (NYSE: CPE) ("Callon" or the "Company") today announced that it has commenced cash tender offers (the "Offers") for any and all of its 8.000% Senior Notes due 2028 (the "2028 Notes") and any and all of its 7.500% Senior Notes due 2030 (the "2030 Notes" and, together with the 2028 Notes, the "Notes"), upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and Consent Solicitation Statement, dated as of March 1, 2024 (as it may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Statement"). The Offers will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on March 28, 2024, unless extended or earlier terminated (as such time may be extended, the "Expiration Time").

The following table sets forth the material pricing terms for the Offers:

Title of Note CUSIP

Numbers ISIN

Numbers Principal

Amount

Outstanding U.S. Treasury

Reference

Security Bloomberg

Reference

Page Fixed

Spread (basis

points) Consent

Fee(1)(2) 8.000% Senior

Notes due 2028 13123XBD3

(144A) /

U1303XAG1

(Reg S) US13123XBD30

(144A) /

USU1303XAG17

(Reg S) $650,000,000 UST 3.000% due

7/31/2024 FIT 3 50 $30 7.500% Senior

Notes due 2030 13123XBF8

(144A) /

U1303XAH9

(Reg S) US13123XBF87

(144A) /

USU1303XAH99

(Reg S) $600,000,000 UST 2.875% due

6/15/2025 FIT 4 50 $30

________________________________ (1) Per $1,000 principal amount. (2) The Total Consideration for Notes validly tendered prior to the Consent Fee Deadline and accepted for

purchase is calculated using the Fixed Spread and is inclusive of the Consent Fee (as each is defined below).

The Offers are contingent upon, among other things, the closing of the merger (the "Merger") contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated January 3, 2024 (the "Merger Agreement"), by and among Callon, APA Corporation, a Delaware corporation ("APA"), and Astro Comet Merger Sub Corp., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned, direct subsidiary of APA. Callon will not be required to accept for purchase any tendered Notes or delivered Consents (as defined below) or pay the Total Consideration or the Tender Offer Consideration (as each is defined below), as applicable, if the Merger is not consummated on or prior to the settlement date (the "Merger Condition"). The consummation of the Offers is also conditioned upon receipt of the Requisite Consents (as defined below) (the "Requisite Consents Condition"). There is no assurance that the Offers will be subscribed for in any amount.

Holders who validly tender (and do not validly withdraw) their Notes at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 14, 2024 (the "Consent Fee Deadline"), and whose Notes are accepted for purchase, are eligible to receive total consideration per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase equal to the fixed spread plus a yield based on the bid-side price of the U.S. Treasury Reference Security, each as specified on the front cover of the Statement (the "Total Consideration"), which includes a consent fee of $30 per $1,000 principal amount of the Notes (the "Consent Fee"), upon satisfaction of all conditions to the Offers, as applicable. Holders who tender Notes at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on March 14, 2024 (the "Withdrawal Deadline") may withdraw such tender at any time at or prior to the Withdrawal Deadline. Tenders of Notes may not be withdrawn after the Withdrawal Deadline, even with respect to Notes tendered after the Withdrawal Deadline, except in certain limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law. The Total Consideration and Tender Offer Consideration, as applicable, will be calculated by the Dealer Managers at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on March 15, 2024, unless extended by the Company.

Holders who validly tender (and do not validly withdraw) their Notes after the Consent Fee Deadline but at or prior to the Expiration Time, and whose Notes are accepted for purchase, will be entitled to receive the Total Consideration less the Consent Fee (the "Tender Offer Consideration"). Holders who tender their Notes after the Consent Fee Deadline will not receive the Consent Fee.

Payments for Notes purchased will include accrued and unpaid interest from and including the last interest payment date up to, but not including, the settlement date accepted for purchase. Provided the Merger Condition and Requisite Consents Condition have been satisfied and all other conditions to the Offers have been satisfied or waived (as applicable), settlement for Notes tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time and accepted for purchase is expected to occur on April 1, 2024.

In connection with the Offers, the Company is soliciting (the "Consent Solicitations") consents ("Consents") from the holders of the Notes for certain proposed amendments (the "Proposed Amendments") that would, among other things, eliminate substantially all restrictive covenants and certain of the default provisions contained in each of the indentures governing the Notes. A tender of Notes under the procedures described in the Statement will constitute the consent of such holder of Notes to the Proposed Amendments. Holders may not deliver Consents without also tendering their Notes. The Proposed Amendments for each series of Notes require that the Company accepts for payment validly tendered and not validly withdrawn Notes representing at least a majority of the aggregate principal amount of the applicable series of Notes then outstanding (the "Requisite Consents"). The Proposed Amendments will not become operative until the settlement date (and in no event prior to the satisfaction of the Merger Condition). The Consent Solicitations are being made pursuant to the Statement, which more fully sets forth the terms and conditions of the Consent Solicitations.

The Offer and Consent Solicitation for each of the 2028 Notes and 2030 Notes is being made independently of the Offer and Consent Solicitation for the other series of Notes, and the Company reserves the right, subject to applicable law, to terminate, withdraw, amend or extend the Offer and Consent Solicitation for any series of Notes without also terminating, withdrawing, amending or extending the Offer and Consent Solicitation for any other series of Notes.

The 2028 Notes are callable on or after August 1, 2024 at a redemption price of 104.00% and the 2030 notes are callable on or after June 15, 2025 at a redemption price of 103.75%. The Total Consideration or the Tender Offer Consideration, as applicable, will be based on a yield to those respective call dates at those specified redemption prices, as described in the Statement.

Available Documents and Other Details

MUFG Securities Americas Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. and Mizuho Securities USA LLC are acting as Dealer Managers for the Offers and Solicitation Agents for the Consent Solicitations. Capital One Securities, Inc., PNC Capital Markets LLC and Regions Securities LLC are acting as Co-Dealer Managers for the Offers and Solicitation Agents for the Consent Solicitations. Questions regarding the Offers or the Consent Solicitations may be directed to MUFG Securities Americas Inc. at (212) 405-7481, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. at (212) 525-5552 or Mizuho Securities USA LLC at (212) 205-7736. D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as Information Agent and Tender Agent for the Consent Solicitations. Requests for copies of the Statement may be directed to D.F. King by telephone at (800) 791-3320 or by email at [email protected].

None of Company, the Dealer Managers and Solicitation Agents, the Co-Dealer Managers and Solicitation Agents, the Tender Agent and Information Agent, the trustee under the indentures governing the Notes or any of their respective affiliates is making any recommendation as to whether holders of the Notes should tender any Notes in response to the Offers and the Consent Solicitations. Holders must make their own decision as to whether to participate in the Offers and the Consent Solicitations and, if so, the principal amount of Notes as to which action is to be taken.

About Callon Petroleum

Callon Petroleum Company is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on the acquisition, exploration and sustainable development of high-quality assets in the Permian Basin in West Texas.

No Offer or Solicitation in Connection with Merger

Communications in this press release are for informational purposes only and are not intended to and do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, in any jurisdiction, in each case with respect to the Merger and shareholder meeting related thereto or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance, exchange or transfer of the securities referred to in this document in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable law. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act").

Additional Information and Where to Find It

In connection with the Merger, APA has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-4 (the "Registration Statement") that includes a joint proxy statement of Callon and APA and a prospectus of APA (the "Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus"). The Registration Statement was declared effective on February 15, 2024, and APA filed a prospectus on February 16, 2024 and Callon filed a definitive proxy statement on February 16, 2024. Callon and APA commenced mailing of the definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus to their respective stockholders on or about February 16, 2024. The Merger will be submitted to Callon's stockholders and APA's stockholders for their consideration. Callon and APA may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the Merger. This press release is not a substitute for the Registration Statement and definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus that has been filed with the SEC or any other document that Callon or APA has filed or may file with the SEC and send to Callon's stockholders and/or APA's stockholders in connection with the Merger. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF CALLON AND APA ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND DEFINITIVE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, AS EACH MAY BE AMENDED OR SUPPLEMENTED FROM TIME TO TIME, AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CALLON, APA, THE MERGER, THE RISKS RELATED THERETO AND RELATED MATTERS.

Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Registration Statement and definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus, as each may be amended or supplemented from time to time, and all other relevant documents that are filed or will be filed with the SEC through the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by Callon will be made available free of charge on Callon's website at http://www.callon.com under the "Investors" tab or by contacting Callon's Investor Relations Department at (281) 589-5200 or [email protected]. Copies of documents filed with the SEC by APA will be available free of charge on APA's website at https://www.apacorp.com.

Participants in the Proxy Solicitation

Callon, APA and their respective directors and certain of their executive officers and other members of management and employees may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Callon's stockholders and APA's stockholders in connection with the Merger. Information regarding the executive officers and directors of Callon is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2023 annual meeting filed with the SEC on March 13, 2023 and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. You can obtain a free copy of this document at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by accessing Callon's website at http://www.callon.com. To the extent holdings of Callon's securities by such executive officers and directors have changed since the amounts printed in the definitive proxy statement for Callon's 2023 annual meeting, such changes have been or will be reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on Form 3 or Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Information regarding the executive officers and directors of APA is included in its definitive proxy statement for its 2023 annual meeting filed with the SEC on April 11, 2023 and certain of its Current Reports on Form 8-K. You can obtain a free copy of this document at the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by accessing APA's website at http://www.apacorp.com. To the extent holdings of APA's securities by such executive officers and directors have changed since the amounts printed in the definitive proxy statement for APA's 2023 annual meeting, such changes have been or will be reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on Form 3 or Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Investors may obtain additional information regarding the participants in the solicitations in connection with the Merger and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, by reading the Registration Statement, the definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC regarding the Merger. Stockholders of Callon and APA, potential investors and other readers should read the definitive Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus carefully before making any voting or investment decisions.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release concerning the Merger, including any statements regarding the expected timetable for completing the Merger, the results, effects, benefits and synergies of the Merger, future opportunities for the combined company, future financial performance and condition, guidance and any other statements regarding Callon's or APA's future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial conditions, assumptions or future events or performance that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical facts. The words "anticipate," "believe," "ensure," "expect," "if," "intend," "estimate," "probable," "project," "forecasts," "predict," "outlook," "aim," "will," "could," "should," "would," "potential," "may," "might," "anticipate," "likely," "plan," "positioned," "strategy," and similar expressions or other words of similar meaning, and the negatives thereof, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, failure to obtain the required votes of Callon's stockholders or APA's stockholders to approve the Merger and related matters; the risk that a condition to closing of the Merger may not be satisfied, that either party may terminate the Merger Agreement or that the closing of the Merger might be delayed or not occur at all; potential adverse reactions or changes to business or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the Merger; the diversion of management time on Merger-related issues; the ultimate timing, outcome and results of integrating the operations of Callon and APA; the effects of the business combination of Callon and APA, including the combined company's future financial condition, results of operations, strategy and plans; the ability of the combined company to realize anticipated synergies in the timeframe expected or at all; changes in capital markets and the ability of the combined company to finance operations in the manner expected; the effects of commodity price changes; and the risks of oil and gas activities. Expectations regarding business outlook, including changes in revenue, pricing, capital expenditures, cash flow generation, strategies for our operations, oil and natural gas market conditions, legal, economic and regulatory conditions, and environmental matters are only forecasts regarding these matters.

Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Callon's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is on file with the SEC and available on Callon's website at http://www.callon.com under the "Investors" tab, and in other documents Callon files with the SEC, in APA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, which is on file with the SEC and available on APA's website at http://www.apacorp.com under the "Investors" tab, and in other documents APA files with the SEC, and in the Registration Statement.

All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. Neither Callon nor APA assumes any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

CONTACT:

Investor: (281) 589-5200; [email protected]

Website: www.callon.com

SOURCE Callon Petroleum Company
NAGOYA, Japan, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Central Japan Startup Ecosystem held a symposium and panel discussion under the theme, "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" at NAGOYA INNOVATOR'S GARAGE, a dynamic facility where entrepreneurs and enterprises come together to create new ideas, businesses and industries.

Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Panel Discussion

Thanks to Central Japan's longstanding focus on 'Monozukuri', which focuses on the pride, skill, and pursuit of excellence through innovation and improvement, the region is leveraging this to create a manufacturing integrated ecosystem with mobility at its core.

The symposium was a hybrid event focusing on Central Japan's commitment to being the "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation." This was followed by a panel discussion, where suggestions and perspectives on how Central Japan can fulfill the role of "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" were shared with the audience and how it will play a powerful role in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs and startups to further develop and succeed. The event successfully introduced what Central Japan is doing in the rapidly evolving field of mobility and was an excellent platform opportunity to discuss the future of mobility in this region.

Event Highlights

The event opened with a speech by Shuichi Hirano from JETRO Nagoya (Director-General for Chubu, Chief Director, JETRO Nagoya). JETRO Nagoya and JETRO Hamamatsu have been carrying out projects to promote the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem overseas and one of their pillars is regional branding. For instance, an exchange with foreign media was held in December 2023 with five startups based in Central Japan. The event effectively communicated the strength of the Central Japan Ecosystem to overseas media and successfully achieved coverage in key media.

Toshio Sumi (Director, Economic Affairs Bureau Startup Support Office, Innovation Department, Nagoya City Economic Affairs Bureau) provided an overview of Central Japan, its history of innovation and manufacturing, and initiatives from the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem. Its mission is to be the Homeland of Mobility 5.0, making a positive impact on society by bringing the future of mobility to our doorsteps and is actively encouraging like-minded entrepreneurs and startups to the area. He also introduced two unicorn startups working towards Mobility 5.0 - Tier IV which is focused on autonomous driving and SkyDrive Inc. which is developing flying cars and will be featured in the upcoming Osaka World Expo 2025.

This was followed by a presentation by Katsuya Kawaji (Director, Startup Promotion Division, Industry Department, Hamamatsu City) who provided an overview of the startup ecosystem in Hamamatsu City, which has long held a strategic location for transportation, logistics, and culture in Japan. It is leveraging these assets, including its concentration of companies, mainly in the manufacturing industry, and has been developing various actions to "co-create" innovation and ecosystems with various stakeholders, including companies, startups, and entrepreneurs, both within and outside the region.

Mobility Designer Kazuhiko Makimura made a key note speech about the "Revolution Mobility 5.0 and Transportation Re-Design." New mobility services rapidly accelerated during the pandemic, and his speech examined the current situation and future prospects for transportation that builds communities in the age of carbon neutrality. A key takeaway was to not only think of mobility as simply a movement, but as a service. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a concept offering a more integrated approach to urban mobility as a service, creating an environment where this movement can be done easy, through various modes of transportation and requires ease of connectivity. In an era where the value of mobility is changing, the possibilities of MaaS and automated driving will expand the shape of cities and the nature of society.

Panel Discussion Highlights

The event was followed by a panel discussion, "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" moderated by Naohiro Nishiguchi. Panelists shared their suggestions and perspectives on how Central Japan can fulfill the role of "Homeland of Mobility 5.0 - Leading Society to the Next Generation" that will play a powerful role in encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs and startups to further develop and succeed. Some key takeaways include the following:

When discussing what is Homeland of Mobility 5.0, Akira Odoi (General Manager, Innovation Promotion Department, Value Creation Division of the Central Japan Economic Federation) explained what this concept means to Central Japan Ecosystem and said, "Central Japan will be a hub for mobility change." There are numerous companies including Toyota and its group companies - industries in aerospace, machinery, manufacturing products concentrated here, making us the industrial center of Japan. We can create a unique ecosystem by combining our strength in these areas of manufacturing and technology with startups to create open innovation and further this region as the Homeland of Mobility 5.0, while providing a range of mobility services that support society in the next ten years and beyond.

Mr. Nishiguchi commented that entrepreneurship is not just making a startup, it is also about the awareness that a change needs to be made and highlighted a point from Mr. Sumi's earlier presentation that "We don't have Mobility 5.0 yet. We are going to make it. We have problems and we are going to make something that solves them. That is what entrepreneurship is."

Regarding the startup ecosystem framework and its strengths, Hans Greimel, an automobile journalist, provided an international perspective. Japan's startups can be seen in a similar way to Toyota  reliable and safe, but this takes more time understandably, less risk taking and conservative, and this translates into the foreign perception of startup culture in Japan - not at the same pace, but at the same time, Hans said, "I would say there are big benefits  the focus on technology and reliability. Startups in Japan are not here today, gone tomorrow, but are more practical and pragmatic and with a long term view, which means they are more reliable in the long term." The Chubu region startups are focused on mobility. He said, "If we think of Japan as an ecosystem, we should think about Central Japan as the incubator for mobility startups here thanks to the strength of Japanese motor and aerospace companies, along with their suppliers- it is an amazing concentration of this kind of engineering talent and a huge resource that should be utilized."

From a female entrepreneur perspective, Kyoko Yokota has been providing support to female entrepreneurs for more than 20 years, and the number is steadily increasing. She felt that this was an exciting moment for Chubu region and for up and coming female entrepreneurs and researchers working in mobility. "I feel the enthusiasm of Central Japan through this event, and believe it is important for Central Japan to lead the efforts of each region for Japan as a whole," she commented.

The completion of the Maglev train in the next few years will bring a trip between Tokyo and Nagoya to around 40 minutes and that will show the region's strength in mobility. Though this region is rich in internationally recognized companies and have been world leaders for decades, there are some weaknesses that were addressed. Though many global companies are based in Central Japan, they tend to look beyond their borders. Sometimes it would help if these companies looked at their doorstep and in their own backyard. Some of the panelists mentioned that startups in this region need more support and there needs to be greater cross fertilization with these global companies. It was also stressed that startups in the region need to foster a global mindset, ensuring that English materials and a website are available. It is also important to raise the international profile of Central Japan and highlight strengths of this region, so events such as this are vital.

Each panelist offered a unique perspective because each comes from different areas of expertise.

This discussion was an excellent opportunity for all participants to deepen their understanding of the future of mobility and Central Japan's role in it

Keynote speech/Panelist:

Kazuhiko MAKIMURA

Kazuhiko Makimura is a Mobility designer with a PhD in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. He is also a guest Professor at the University of Tsukuba and Kobe University as well as a part-time lecturer at Nanzan University. He is actively engaged in urban/transportation think tanks as a specialist in developing visions of mobility for the future.

Moderator:

Naohiro NISHIGUCHI

Naohiro Nishiguchi is a serial entrepreneur and holds many roles including Managing Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network Japan, President of Startup Genome Japan K.K., Professor at Sophia University. He is also a Certified Innovation Management Professional by the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE).

Panelists:

Hans GREIMEL

Hans Greimel is an award-winning American business journalist and book author who covers Asian automakers as the Asia Editor at Automotive News. He attended Carlos Ghosn's first press conference in Beirut, Lebanon after his escape from Japan in January 2020. Greimel's coverage led to the book Collision Course: Carlos Ghosn and the Culture Wars that Upended an Auto Empire, published by Harvard Business Review Press in 2021.

Kyoko YOKOTA

Kyoko Yokota is Chief Executive Officer of Colabolabo Co., Ltd, Tokyo. In 2006, Kyoko Yokota started Colabolabo which provides business support for female entrepreneurs. It also manages website, "Women Presidents.net", where a database of female entrepreneurs is made available to whoever is interested in their businesses. Yokota was selected as one of Forbes Japan's "10 Japanese Women Who Will Create the Future! She has served as a member of the JST Startup Ecosystem Formation Support Committee and other committees in the fields of gender equality and local government.

Akira ODOI

Akira Odoi is the General Manager, Innovation Promotion Department, Value Creation Division of the Central Japan Economic Federation. Before taking this position, he worked for the Marubeni Corporation. Since taking the post, he has actively been engaging in activities that contribute to the economic development of the Chubu region, such as stimulating innovation and promoting start-ups.

Background on Central Japan

Located in the Chubu region, also known as Central Japan  right in the middle of Japan's main island, Honshu, this region is proud of playing a vital role in the history of Japan's manufacturing craftsmanship. It was where Toyota first began, and as a tech pioneer, it is now the home to a wide range of sectors such as automobiles, photonics, and aerospace, using advanced, cutting-edge technologies.

Central Japan continues to invite entrepreneurs and capitalists from all corners of the world to facilitate stateoftheart open innovation by infusing new ideas with local craftsmanship. And as a result, take part in playing a crucial role in paving the path towards the Homeland of Mobility 5.0 the future of mobility.

Central Japan Startup Ecosystem provides everything a startup needs  from highly trained workers in many specialized fields to opportunities to conduct feasibility studies with leading companies in various industries including the mobility sector. There are also accelerator programs, financial support systems, innovative university seeds, and collaborative partnerships with ecosystems outside of Japan and also attract a wide range of entrepreneurs to this region.

About the Central Japan Startup Ecosystem

In July 2020, Aichi prefecture, Nagoya City and Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka-prefecture became one of the four regional Startup Ecosystem Global Base Cities groups designated nationwide by the Japanese Cabinet Office.

There are 371 startups in Central Japan, of which 150 are university-launched. An estimated 18,615 billion yen (as of July 2022) of funds have been raised, in addition to accelerator programs, financial support systems, and innovative university seeds.

Collaborative partnerships with Station F, INSEAD, BLOCK71, Paris &Co, Bpifrance, Venture Cafe, Plug and Play, Israel Innovation Authority, Tsinghua University, China Medical University, National University of Singapore, the University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University, North Carolina State University, University of Nebraska and the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad attract a diverse range of entrepreneurs to the region.

For more information, please visit https://central-startup.jp/en/

SOURCE Central Japan Startup Ecosystem Consortium
Author will host virtual, live storytime & donate his children's book to school libraries

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Taking grassroots efforts to build a meaningful relationship between children and reading, Robert Vincent, author and illustrator of the children's book "From the Pocket of an Overcoat" (Friendly Falls Press; Archway Publishing from Simon & Schuster) is partnering with elementary schools throughout the U.S. by reading his picture book to students (in-person and virtually) to inspire kids to read during "Read Across America" and "National Reading Month" held in March. He will also be donating his book to libraries in those schools.

From the Pocket of an Overcoat written and illustrated by R. Vincent

March 2 is the annual start of "Read Across America," which creates awareness and motivates children to become excited about reading, which is key to helping kids thrive. Reading out loud to kids early in childhood can help establish strong literacy and language skills as well as prepare them for academic success, help develop social-emotional learning, and become better readers. In a bit of serendipitous synchronicity, March 2 is also International Rescue Cat Day.

"From the Pocket of an Overcoat" is based on the real-life story of a cat named Max adopted by Vincent's son Matthew from a homeless woman who found Max as a tiny kitten and had him in the pocket of her overcoat as she was trying to find him a home. In the book, Max Buckles' journey of finding a new home from the city to the country with Farmer Buckles and his other animals (including four dogs) discovers a true sense of belonging within his new family. Max's story about self-identity, acceptance, adoption, and animal rescue provides the perfect opportunity to bring awareness about rescuing a homeless cat during International Rescue Cat Day. Like Max, millions of cats in shelters and on the streets are looking to be adopted into a new home and family.

Vincent will conduct live and virtual readings in elementary schools across the nation including WorldSpeak multilingual school (Los Angeles, CA), Sontag Elementary School (Rocky Mount, VA), and Barack and Michelle Obama Academy (Atlanta, GA).

"WorldSpeak multilingual community of international families is honored to have author and illustrator Robert Vincent read his children's book to the students," said Angelika Getmanchouk, WorldSpeak Head of School. "Our school system is built on loving languages, developing literacy skills early in life, appreciating diverse cultures, and having the ability to connect with people worldwide. By celebrating 'Read Across America,' WorldSpeak spotlights the advantages of early language and literacy education in fostering a lifelong love of reading and communicating across cultures."

"Kids can have an exciting, learning experience when reading to them," said Vincent. "Introducing new and fun characters like Max and other animals that are relatable to kids helps stimulate their interest in reading with empathy while learning about social issues such as animal rescue and pet adoption. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my book with schools across the U.S. to help encourage reading with an entertaining story."

Paws down, this fun-to-read children's picture book about Max the cat is an entertaining and engaging read for ages three and up  not to mention adults. A portion of each book sale of "From the Pocket of an Overcoat" will be donated to organizations that promote animal rescue and adoption  The Humane Society and Best Friends. Readers and fans of Max Buckles can like and follow the book on Instagram and Facebook, and can also send an email to [email protected] with proof of purchase to get a special Thank You note from Max himself. To learn more, visit www.maxbuckles.com or explore the following hashtags: #maxbuckles, #maxbucklesbooks, #maxthecat, #readenjoysharemax and #fromthepocketofanovercoat.

About Robert Vincent

Robert Vincent is a children's book author and illustrator, as well as the author of several other literary works. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Kathy. Robert and Kathy's son Matthew is a violinist with the Oakland Symphony, where he is concertmaster, and a violinist with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera. In December 2009, Matthew adopted a lovable black cat named Max. The rest, as they say, is history.

SOURCE Friendly Falls Press LLC
M&A Veteran to Steer Corporate Development Strategy and Global Expansion

BOISE, Idaho, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a leading provider of SaaS-based investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, today announced the appointment of Mike Chen as its new Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Development.

Mike Chen brings more than 20 years of expertise in M&A and corporate business development to the role, having previously served as Head of Corporate Development and Ventures at Guidewire Software as well as Vice President of Corporate Development at Oracle. Chen has also held senior-level roles at Deutsche Bank Securities and Credit Suisse Securities in their Technology Investment Banking Divisions.

As Clearwater's new Head of Corporate Development reporting to Chief Strategy Officer Shane Akeroyd, he will be responsible for driving inorganic strategic initiatives by identifying and executing on new avenues for growth and innovation. Chen's experience in running successful corporate development programs for software companies combined with his dedication to client success will be instrumental in helping realize Clearwater's inorganic growth ambitions and achieving the Company's expansion goals.

"We are delighted to welcome Mike Chen to Clearwater," said Sandeep Sahai, CEO at Clearwater Analytics. "Mike will add depth to our M&A expertise, underscoring our plans to capitalize on the inorganic growth opportunities we see ahead of us, which will be a good complement to our plans for continued organic growth. Mike brings exceptional Corporate Development experience to the role and will guide us in identifying promising solutions that add to our portfolio of offerings, amplify our innovative efforts, and provide our clients with more trusted solutions."

"I'm honored to be joining a remarkable leader in the industry, at a time when the market conditions are ripe for M&A activities," said Chen. "Clearwater's comprehensive portfolio of full investment lifecycle solutions, exceptional client service, and stellar reputation in the market are world-class and make it the ideal platform to pursue M&A opportunities. I look forward to working alongside our senior leaders to shape the future of our Company."

To learn more about Clearwater Analytics, speak to an expert today.

About Clearwater Analytics

Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a global, industry-leading SaaS solution, automates the entire investment lifecycle. With a single instance, multi-tenant architecture, Clearwater offers award-winning investment portfolio planning, performance reporting, data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, compliance, risk, and order management. Each day, leading insurers, asset managers, corporations, and governments use Clearwater's trusted data to drive efficient, scalable investing on more than $7.3 trillion in assets spanning traditional and alternative asset types. Additional information about Clearwater can be found at clearwateranalytics.com.

SOURCE Clearwater Analytics
A recent Buffalo News article headline read, Man still avoids deportation after decades of jail, appeals. This article is an omen of what lays ahead for our country. A brief recap: Twenty years ago, a citizen of the Dominican Republic but living here, was convicted of multiple charges and ordered deported. Since that time, he has had multiple arrests, convictions, and incarcerations for even more serious crimes. He has fathered three children. He was ordered out of our country at least three times but won reprieves each time by the immigration appeals board. His lawyers now claim he shouldnt be deported because they say he may not be able to maintain his medication regimen if sent back to his native country and adding deportation could be a violation of the U.N. Convention Against Torture. They have petitioned for his release from the federal facility currently holding him, claiming that to keep him there our government must prove he is either a threat to others or a flight risk.
OKLAHOMA CITY, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Desert Hospitality Management is proud to announce a new strategic partnership with Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both entities, combining the renowned Hilton brand's commitment to quality with Desert Hospitality Management's expertise in operational excellence.

Embassy Suites OKC Exterior Embassy Suites OKC Logo

"We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Desert Hospitality Management," said Christian Harris, General Manager for Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center. "This partnership represents a strategic decision to elevate our guest experience and operational efficiency. We believe that Desert Hospitality Management's proven track record in the hospitality industry aligns seamlessly with our commitment to providing exceptional service to our guests."

In 2022 Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center won the Conrad Achievement Award. This award's criteria include a ranking in the top 1% of Embassy Suites across the Americas, based on customer satisfaction ranking, employee service quality and inspection outcomes. "To receive the Conrad Achievement Award is a tremendous accomplishment," said Ghee Alexander, Chief Operating Officer for Desert Hospitality Management. "We're extremely proud of the hotel's accomplishments to date and excited to be moving into this next chapter of growth together as partners."

Desert Hospitality Management brings a wealth of experience and a dynamic approach to hotel management, emphasizing a people-first philosophy to enhance guest satisfaction. Their commitment to innovation, sustainability, and community engagement aligns perfectly with Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center's values, ensuring a harmonious and mutually beneficial partnership. "As we step into this partnership with Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center, we are excited about the opportunity to contribute to the hotel's success and uphold the high standards that the Hilton brand is known for," stated Alexander. "Our team is dedicated to delivering operational excellence, fostering a positive work environment, and exceeding guest expectations."

Desert Hospitality Management and Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center are confident that this collaboration will contribute to the growth and success of the hotel in the competitive hospitality landscape.

For further media inquiries, please contact:

Tasha Houck-Barnett, Director of Sales & Marketing, Embassy Suites Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center

Address: 741 N. Phillips Avenue, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73104. Ph: 405.706.1784, Email: [email protected]

About Desert Hospitality Management:

Desert Hospitality Management (DHM) is a leading hotel management company located in Tucson, Arizona. DHM provides operational excellence, innovative solutions, and personalized service in the hospitality industry. Their vast portfolio of successful properties includes leading hotel brands for Hilton, Marriott and Wyndham. DHM is committed to exceeding industry standards and delivering unparalleled results for its expanding portfolio of hotels.

For further information please visit: https://deserthospitality.com

About Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center:

Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center is located across from the campus of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). The hotel offers 195 spacious suites, complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast, fitness center, exceptional meeting rooms, indoor pool and outdoor patio seating with a fire pit and a range of amenities designed to provide guests with a comfortable and enjoyable stay. With a commitment to exceptional service, Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City is a premier destination for both business and leisure travelers. Embassy Suites by Hilton Oklahoma City Downtown/Medical Center received the 2022 Conrad Achievement Award. This award's criteria include a ranking in the top 1% of Embassy Suites across the Americas, based on customer satisfaction ranking, employee service quality and inspection outcomes.

For further information please visit: www.hilton.com/en/hotels/okcokes-embassy-suites-oklahoma-city-downtown-medical-center

SOURCE Desert Hospitality Management
ROGERS, Ark., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Swarm Aero, developer of large uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms, has selected Northwest Arkansas as the site for its advanced, high-volume manufacturing of uncrewed aircraft. The company conducted a nationwide search, surveying potential locations in more than 20 states, and chose Northwest Arkansas for its robust skilled labor force, vibrant community and attractive business environment.

Danny Goodman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Swarm Aero said, "Rogers was the perfect place for us. The facilities were great, the community was welcoming and we felt very much wanted here."

Swarm Aero was founded to provide the U.S. Armed Forces and our allies with cutting-edge defense capabilities to meet requirements for the Pacific Theater. Leveraging artificial intelligence and autonomy, the company's swarming technology provides the U.S. Military with new use cases for UAVs and saves lives by keeping our nation's most important assetsour servicemen and womenout of harm's way.

Goodman continued, "I thank Congressman Steve Womack for listening to our story and making the introductions that made this possible. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of his district."

Northwest Arkansas is critical to the company's mission as the future home of its advanced manufacturing center. Headquartered in Oxnard, CA, Swarm Aero has established an office in Rogers, AR and is working with local community leaders and real estate groups to plan its new production facility. The Arkansas location will be designed for high-rate production, with considerable investment in advanced manufacturing technologies, and at full production will employ a large force of engineers and technicians.

Swarm Aero was founded in 2022. The team has extraordinary pedigree in working with the Department of Defense (DOD) to fulfill critical needs and requirements as well as decades of aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Airbus, Archer, and others. The team has previously completed billions of dollars in contracts involving DOD, has built software platforms supporting millions of users and employed cutting-edge AI in critical applications.

SOURCE Swarm Aero
GRANTS PASS, Ore., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dutch Bros' newest drinks are about to "pop off"! Starting today, for a limited time, Poppin' Boba is available at all 850+ Dutch Bros locations. Coming in Vanilla Honey or Strawberry, customers can add new Poppin' Boba to any of their fave drinks!

Poppin' Boba Featured Drinks: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9218053-dutch-bros-adds-new-poppin-boba/

Dutch Bros adds a pop of flavor with new Poppin Boba

The Poppin' Boba Vanilla Freeze features blended vanilla coffee with vanilla honey boba

features blended vanilla coffee with vanilla honey boba The Poppin' Boba Caramel Chai features caramel chai with vanilla honey boba

features caramel chai with vanilla honey boba The Poppin' Boba Fire Lizard Rebel features a mix of Dutch Bros' exclusive Rebel energy drink and strawberry & tropical fruit flavor with strawberry boba

features a mix of Dutch Bros' exclusive Rebel energy drink and strawberry & tropical fruit flavor with strawberry boba The Poppin' Boba Lemonade features blackberry lemonade with strawberry boba

"Rolling through your local Dutch Bros is an experience in itself so we always want to make sure you have a drink to match that energy," said Tana Davila, chief marketing officer at Dutch Bros. "We're really excited to elevate the drinking experience with our Poppin' Boba, it's a new and fun way to add a pop of flavor!"

Poppin' Boba and featured drinks are available until April 30.

About Dutch Bros

Dutch Bros Coffee is a drive-thru coffee company dedicated to making a massive difference one cup at a time. Headquartered in Grants Pass, Oregon, where it was founded in 1992 by Dane and Travis Boersma, it's now sharing the "Dutch Luv" with more than 850 locations in 17 states. Dutch Bros serves specialty coffee, smoothies, freezes, teas, an exclusive Dutch Bros Rebel energy drink and nitrogen-infused cold brew coffee. Its rich, proprietary coffee blend is handcrafted from start to finish.

In addition to its mission of speed, quality and service, Dutch Bros is committed to giving back to the communities it serves. Through its Dutch Bros Foundation and local operators and franchisees, the company donates several million dollars to causes across the country each year.

To learn more about Dutch Bros, visit www.dutchbros.com , follow Dutch Bros Coffee on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , & TikTok , and download the Dutch Bros app to earn points and score rewards!

SOURCE Dutch Bros Coffee
SOUTHPORT, Conn., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The face of leadership in business is changing, with impact-driven CEOs being celebrated, including Stewart Shanley, who, in a heartfelt moment for the Earth Animal family, was recently named to the 2024 MO 100 CEOs Impact Ranking. The Ranking, curated by Big Path Capital, recognizes more than profits and growth it acknowledges leaders who believe that businesses have a responsibility not only to the bottom line, but to social and environmental change too.

Stewart Shanley- CEO Earth Animal leads the pack proving you can drive profits and do the right thing for pet, people and the planet.

Known for his altruistic outlook, Stewart's vision aligns well with the MO 100's focus on CEOs who see every business transaction as an opportunity to create positive outcomes.

"I am so honored," said Stewart. "At Earth Animal, we aim to help shape a more regenerative and inclusive economy that benefits animals, people and the Earth. This is an award for the entire company in recognition of all our efforts in running Earth Animal as a force for good."

Companies led by this year's MO 100 honorees, including Stewart, have shown higher revenue growth, indicating a shift towards a business landscape where impact and purpose matter. The 2024 Ranking recognizes leaders from 77 Certified B Corporations, including Earth Animal. Certified B Corporations pass rigorous reviews to demonstrate a high level of social and environmental performance, a commitment of accountability to all stakeholders, and transparency.

"The MO 100 Top Impact CEO Ranking celebrates leaders who are leveraging the engine of capitalism to create shared prosperity," said Michael Whelchel, Founder and CEO of Big Path Capital, which assists purpose-driven companies and private equity funds in raising capital and company exits. "These CEOs are the real catalysts and agents of change driving the most dynamic segment of the economy."

Dr. Bob and Susan Goldstein, Co-Founders of Earth Animal, are thrilled Stewart's efforts have been recognized in Big Path Capital's prestigious ranking. "Congratulations, Stewart, on being recognized as one of the top impact B-Corp CEOs. You deserve to be in good company, and all of us at Earth Animal are genuinely proud."

Founded in 1979, Earth Animal is not just another pet care company. As a Certified B Corporation, it's on a mission to create award-winning products for dogs and cats with a focus on holistic, humane, and sustainable practices. And Earth Animal doesn't just talk the talk; they walk the walk. They have a long-established promise of committing 1% of their annual net sales to invest in a more sustainable future for all Earth's animals, fund initiatives to improve their positive impact, and support mission-driven organizations that need it most. https://earthanimal.com/sustainability/.

About Big Path Capital

Big Path Capital advises leading impact companies and funds in capital raises and in mergers and acquisitions. As the first Certified B Corporation investment bank over 15 years ago, Big Path Capital has worked with over 200 company and fund clients, connecting them to the largest network of impact investors in the world. www.bigpathcapital.com

About Earth Animal

In 1979, Dr. Bob and Susan Goldstein, Co-Founders of Earth Animal, embraced the transition from conventional veterinary medicine to an integrative and holistic approach focusing on the whole animal. They began creating natural products without using toxic chemicals to treat their patients and family animals. Since then, Earth Animal's focus has been to pioneer another way - a more holistic, humane, and sustainable way to enhance and preserve quality of life for dogs and cats. Their award-winning products are produced with purpose in the USA with Earth's finest ingredients.

Contact: Susan Goldstein, 203.557.3322, 373732@email4pr.com

SOURCE Earth Animal
STOCKHOLM, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial Times and Statista have acknowledged EasyPark Group among the fastest growing companies in Europe. EasyPark Group, one of the global leaders in mobile paid parking, recorded a five year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60 percent in transactions placing them on the list for 2024.

Since EasyPark Group was founded in 2001, the company has eased parking for millions of users. Today, the company is guided by its vision of making cities more livable, helping drivers save time and money by finding and managing parking and electric vehicle charging. EasyPark allows business, parking operators, property owners and cities to administrate, plan and take data-driven decisions. In 2022, the company made a strategic move by acquiring ParkMobile, marking the beginning of its expansion into the North American market. The company is present in over 4,000 cities across more than 20 countries. EasyPark Group claims spot 679 on the 2024 issue of the Financial Times and Statista's list of Europe's fastest growing companies.

"EasyPark Group is embarking on an exciting growth journey, and we are thrilled to be recognized for our achievements so far. With over a decade of sustained high double digit growth, we're poised to maintain this momentum as we expand our services and global presence. With our vision of making cities more livable, we help cities improve the quality of life by helping them to invest in better space utilization through our product innovations and data insights. In 2024 we expect to continue the outlined growth and we're focused on expanding our footprint and seizing new opportunities around the world", says Cameron Clayton, CEO at EasyPark Group.

The FT1000  Europe's Fastest-Growing Companies 2024 is a ranking of 1,000 companies in Europe that achieved a high growth rate in revenues between 2019 and 2022. See the full list here.

CONTACT:

Lina Lindahl

Communications Manager

[email protected]

The following files are available for download:
CHICAGO, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Education Couture , a Chicago-based organization, is thrilled to announce three new additions to their "Reading Music" catalog, set to release in March, National Reading Month in the U.S. These new hip-hop-influenced tracks aim to make learning fun by combining radio-ready melodies with foundational reading instructions to engage new readers.

CVC, focusing on the closed syllable structure, releases on March 1, 2024 .

. Silent E, highlighting the quiet-e concept, debuts on March 15, 2024 .

. R Control, exploring r-controlled syllables, arrives on March 29, 2024 .

Education Couture Unveils Three New Scholastic-Themed Hip-Hop Tracks to Celebrate National Reading Month

Alongside the new music, the beta version of the Education Couture Letter Sounds web application becomes available on desktop and laptop devices, offering additional learning support.

These tracks build on the success of " Every Syllable " and "Long Story Short," produced in partnership with Stellar Award nominee and celebrated music industry heavyweight Rex Hardy Jr. of Graphic Beatz production and are distributed exclusively by AMG Kidz, led by Grammy nominee Johnathan Anderson . This collaboration reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality educational music.

"Our goal is to ignite a passion for reading among the youth. Through ' Reading Music, ' we aim to make literacy engaging and accessible for communities in Chicago and beyond," said a spokesperson for Education Couture.

Education Couture has been at the forefront of combining music with literacy to captivate young minds. This initiative is part of a broader effort to innovate education and instill a love for reading through modern, relatable tools .

We invite educators, parents, community members, and media partners to join this journey, integrating our music into learning environments and homes to inspire young readers everywhere.

For more information or to support our mission, contact:

Q.Quinn

Call or text: 773.985.7444

[email protected]

Let's make literacy resonate with every child, transforming education one note at a time.

SOURCE Education Couture
NEW YORK, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The electric vehicle supply equipment market size is estimated to grow by USD 68.74 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 29.9% during the forecast period. However, the growth momentum will progress. The deployment of smart grids for EVs is an emerging trend shaping market growth. The smart grids for electric vehicles also form part of the Advanced EV Charging Infrastructure and by providing real-time information on load requirements and power quality to the operators, they support the wider deployment of variable generation technologies. Also, they are a foundation for V2G infrastructures, as they involve grid applications such as Smart Energy Metering, Supervisory Control, and Data Acquisition Systems in the area of SCADA Networks, Information Technologies, or any Communication Network. Although there are no established smart grid standards, international agencies such as the International Electromechanical Commission (IEC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have developed many standards, including those for EVs. Furthermore, many countries are actively investing in smart grid technology and the expansion of electric vehicle charging stations will probably be driven by these developments, which, in turn, will fuel the growth of the global electric vehicle supply equipment market during the forecast period. Request a sample report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Market 2023-2027

Report Coverage Details Page number 163 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 29.9% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 68,744.87 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 28.11 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 44% Key countries US, China, Germany, France, and The Netherlands

Segment Overview

Technavio has segmented the market based on type (Level 2, Level 1, and Level 3), application (Residential and Commercial), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The level 2 segments are estimated to witness major growth during the forecast period. Level 2 charging refers to the charging infrastructure that offers power at a higher voltage (240 volts, AC) and amperage than a standard household power outlet, leading to faster and more efficient charging for electric vehicles. This category provides EV owners with a convenient and reliable charging solution for both residential and commercial use. Also, Level 2 charging stations can be installed by homeowners in their garages or parking lots, delivering an efficient and quick recharging solution for EVs. This allows them to charge their vehicles on a night basis in order to ensure that they are prepared for their daily commutes without any trouble. Such factors are expected to drive the growth of the level 2 segment in the electric vehicle supply equipment market during the forecast period.

Geography Overview

By geography, the electric vehicle supply equipment market is segmented into APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global electric vehicle supply equipment market.

APAC is estimated to account for 44% of the global market during the forecast period. Technavio's analysts have elaborately explained the regional trends and drivers that shape the market during the forecast period. The high sales of BEVs and PHEVs in countries such as China , Singapore , Japan , and South Korea are majorly contributing to the growth of the electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) market. China is the single largest contributor to the regional EV market and also the largest seller of EVs across the globe. The rising emphasise on alternative fuel vehicles in emerging markets in Asia is acting as an enabler for the growth of the regional electric vehicle supply equipment market in the region. The growing stringency of emission norms in emerging economies is driving OEMs to expand their portfolio of BEVs and PHEVs and driving the installation of EV charging stations in the region. Download a Sample Report

The increased demand for electric vehicles

Government financing, incentives, and subsidies aimed at developing and expanding EV recharging infrastructure are the major drivers of the market's growth. Government bodies have taken various reforms and have expanded subsidies and incentives such as e-AMRIT for developing EV charging infrastructure. Similarly, standards for fuel efficiency of vehicles, recharging infrastructure, consumer tax credits, and substantial R&D support are also fueling the growth of such vehicles in the United States. Nevertheless, government help is essential for driving the sales of new energy vehicles such as BEVs and PHEVs. Government bodies are promoting the use of EVs with increasing concerns over environmental pollution and the depletion of conventional sources of energy. For the use of EV chargers, subsidies and incentives are provided by government authorities in different EVSE markets in order to boost sales of BEVs and PHEVs. The aid from governments is anticipated to drive the growth of the global EV charging station, in turn, creating demand for electric vehicle supply equipment market growth during the forecast period.

The lack of standardization of EV charging is a major challenge hindering market growth. Insights on Market Drivers, trends, & Challenges, historic period(2017 to 2021) and forecast period(2023 to 2027). Request a sample report!

Analyst Review

The market is witnessing unprecedented growth, driven by a confluence of factors ranging from technological innovation to governmental initiatives aimed at curbing environmental degradation. As the world grapples with geopolitical tensions and fluctuating fuel prices, the spotlight is increasingly turning towards sustainable solutions like electric vehicles (EVs) powered by renewable sources of energy.

Within this landscape, the global electric vehicle supply equipment market is a crucial component, encompassing a diverse array of products and accessories. From chargers to sockets, electrical circuits to communication protocols, the market caters to the burgeoning needs of EV manufacturers, EV drivers, and end-consumers alike.

One of the pivotal growth drivers in this sector is the escalating concern over environmental issues such as global warming and the carbon footprint associated with combustion engines running on petrol, diesel, and gas. As consumers become more environmentally conscious, the demand for EVs and the requisite charging infrastructure continues to surge.

Government initiatives, including subsidies and tax redemptions, play a pivotal role in incentivizing the adoption of EVs and bolstering market share. In Europe, countries like France and Germany are leading the charge by implementing progressive EV policies and investing in technological innovation. Solar-powered charging stations, in particular, are gaining traction as renewable sources of energy are leveraged to power the EV ecosystem.

Despite the promising outlook, the EVSE market faces several challenges. High costs associated with infrastructure deployment and technological advancements remain significant hurdles. Segmentation within the market, including station types such as supercharging, normal charging, and inductive charging, further complicates the landscape.

However, as consumer awareness grows and technological innovations continue to drive down costs, the market is poised for exponential growth. Residential solutions like onboard charging stations and portable chargers are becoming increasingly popular, catering to the needs of EV drivers with driver anxiety.

EV charging kiosks are also emerging as a convenient solution for both urban and rural areas, ensuring widespread accessibility to charging infrastructure. As the EVSE market evolves, it will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of transportation, mitigating environmental concerns, and fostering sustainable development on a global scale. Request a sample report!

Related Reports:

The Global Electric Vehicle Test Equipment Market size is estimated to grow by USD 117.98 million between 2022 and 2027 accelerating at a CAGR of 23.11%.

The Global Electric Vehicle (EV) Market size is estimated to grow by 25,927.15 thousand units between 2022 and 2027 accelerating at a CAGR of 37.45% during the forecast period.

Table of contents

1 Executive Summary

2 Market Landscape

3 Market Sizing

4 Historic Market Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Market Segmentation by Type

7 Market Segmentation by Application

8 Customer Landscape

9 Geographic Landscape

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

11 Company Landscape

12 Company Analysis

13 Appendix

About US

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
Whenever Disaster Strikes Fast Guard Service has responded for over a decade.

BORGER, Texas, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the devastating Smokehouse Creek Fire, currently recognized as the second-largest wildfire in Texas history, Fast Guard Service is actively extending its support to businesses and individuals affected by the disaster. With an area larger than the state of Rhode Island engulfed in flames, the need for comprehensive security and support services has never been more critical. Fast Guard Service, a leading security guard company, is at the forefront of providing essential assistance during these challenging times.



The Smokehouse Creek Fire has already claimed one life and continues to pose a significant threat to properties, wildlife, and the well-being of Texas residents. In light of the fire's scale, which surpasses 900,000 acres, Fast Guard Service has mobilized its experienced team of security professionals to ensure the safety and security of those in the affected areas.



Unwavering Support in Times of Need



Understanding the gravity of the situation, Fast Guard Service is offering a range of services designed to meet the unique needs of this crisis. These services include:



Evacuation Assistance: Coordination and support during evacuations, ensuring individuals and businesses can relocate safely.

Property Protection: Security patrols and monitoring services to protect evacuated homes and businesses from potential looting or vandalism.

Emergency Response: Quick response teams available 24/7 to address urgent security concerns and collaborate with local emergency services.

Logistical Support: Assistance in managing the flow of goods and services essential for disaster response and recovery.



"Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire. As a company committed to safeguarding communities, we see it as our duty to step in and offer our expertise during such a dire time," said Roderick C. Payne Jr, President of Fast Guard Service. "Our team is on the ground, working tirelessly to assist in evacuation efforts, protect properties, and provide a sense of security to those impacted by the wildfire."



Fast Guard Service is a premier security services provider, specializing in offering rapid, reliable, and responsive security solutions to a wide range of challenges. With a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the complexities of disaster response, Fast Guard Service remains dedicated to serving communities in need, reinforcing its reputation as a pillar of support in times of crisis.



For more information on Fast Guard Service and its initiatives during the Texas wildfire, please visit https://fastguardservice.com/.



Contact:



Roderick C. Payne Jr

8442548273

[email protected]

Fast Guard Service Steps Up to Assist Businesses and Individuals Amidst Texas Wildfire Crisis

SOURCE Fast Guard Service
Nicholas & Tomasevic: Decision is a win for misclassified workers in California

SAN DIEGO , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Judge Jinsook Ohta (S.D. Cal.) granted final approval of a $130 million settlement between delivery drivers and Flower Foods Distributors in California. It represents one of the largest recoveries for individual class members (over $113,000 each) for wage/hour violations in American history. The settlement requires Flowers to spend over $64 million to buy back territories and discontinue its independent distributor program in California. Counsel for the Class, Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP, describes the change in Flowers' business model as a "rare accomplishment" in employment class action litigation.

Class members that averaged pay before the settlement of $48,000 per year are now estimated to earn as employees between $80,000 to $99,000 per year, plus health, vision, retirement and insurance benefits.

The Court awarded Nicholas & Tomasevic over $18 million in attorneys' fees.

Nicholas & Tomasevic attorneys Craig Nicholas, Alex Tomasevic and Shaun Markley, represent the class. Francis Tobin and Jared Palmer of Ogletree Deakins represent Flowers Foods. Case Number 3:18-cv-01190, in the U.S. District Court.

Contact:

Craig Nicholas

619-325-0492

[email protected]

SOURCE Nicholas & Tomasevic
One heroa service member, veteran, first responder or healthcare workerwill be recognized with $10,000 by Freedom Mortgage on Fourth of July in Philadelphia

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Freedom Mortgage, one of the largest full-service independent mortgage companies, and a top Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and top Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (government-insured) lender in the U.S., starts accepting submissions today for the fifth annual Freedom Mortgage Celebrate Freedom Contest. The winner will be announced on July 4, 2024, at the Wawa Welcome America Festival in Philadelphia during the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony presented by Freedom Mortgage.

The Celebrate Freedom Contest is open to all service members, veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers. Entrants must submit an original photo and an essay of 1,500 characters (with spaces) or less based on their personal experience that answers the question: "What does freedom mean to me?"

Service members, Veterans, first responders or healthcare workers enter Freedom Mortgage's contest for $10,000 prize! Post this

"At Freedom Mortgage, we take great pride in recognizing those who selflessly dedicate their lives to the service of others," said Stanley C. Middleman, president and CEO of Freedom Mortgage. "For the past five years, we've been truly humbled by the stories shared by service members, veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers. We can't wait to spotlight another hero this Fourth of July."

As an incentive to encourage submissions for the Celebrate Freedom Contest, Freedom Mortgage will make a $10 donation for each of the first 600 submissionsup to $6,000which will be divided between both Feeding America and the USO (United Service Organizations). This donation to Feeding America will help provide at least 30,000 meals to people facing hunger.

The Celebrate Freedom Contest grand prize award winner will receive a trip for two to Philadelphia to attend the Wawa Welcome America Festival on July 4 and receive a check for $10,000 from Freedom Mortgage.

The contest runs from March 1 until 5:00 p.m. EST on May 1. The grand prize winner will be notified in June. For full rules and to enter the Freedom Mortgage Celebrate Freedom Contest, visit www.freedommortgage.com/celebrate.

One of the nation's largest independent mortgage companies, Freedom Mortgage is committed to fostering homeownership and financial betterment across the country. Through Freedom Cares, the company's employee engagement and philanthropic program, Freedom Mortgage strives to better the communities in which it operates. Click here (or visit https://share.vidyard.com/watch/TXnCz9P4zeTkyQHWK6uMKW) to watch a recap of Freedom Mortgage's philanthropic activities last year. For more information, visit www.teamfreedomcares.org.

For more information about Freedom Mortgage visit www.FreedomMortgage.com.

About the Wawa Welcome America Festival

Wawa Welcome America is Philadelphia's premier summer festival that celebrates freedom and independence from Juneteenth to July 4th. As the nation's largest July 4th celebration and one of the largest free festivals in the country, Wawa Welcome America offers Philadelphians and visitors sixteen days of free, family-friendly programs that celebrate the lives, voices, and experiences of all Americans through art, culture, wellness, and history. The Wawa Welcome America Festival includes concerts, firework displays, Wawa Hoagie Day and more! Visit July4thPhilly.com for more information about this year's celebration.

About Freedom Mortgage

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, Freedom Mortgage is an independent mortgage company that provides mortgage loans through retail, wholesale and correspondent channels. One of the nation's largest non-bank mortgage lenders and servicers, the company is licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Freedom Mortgage is a top VA and FHA (government-insured) lender in the U.S. (Inside Mortgage Finance, JanuarySeptember, 2023), and is one of the mortgage industry's largest philanthropic supporters of the USO of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The company is also renowned for its vibrant work environment, where all team members can thrive. In 2023, Freedom Mortgage was honored, for the third year in a row, as a Top Workplaces USA . Additionally, last year the company made it back on the Inc. 5000 Honor Roll, for the ninth time, as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. Freedom Mortgage's mission is to foster homeownership for all consumers across America. Freedom Mortgage, Lender NMLS ID: 2767. Equal Housing Opportunity. For more information, please visit www.FreedomMortgage.com.

FREEDOM MORTGAGE CONTACT:

Ellen Longo

609-678-0968

[email protected]

SOURCE Freedom Mortgage Corporation
This Supreme Court is devoid of any judicial quality. By giving Donald Trump a break for an insurrection that he allowed to happen and then gave comfort to is a slap in the face of those police who were harmed or killed during and after the January 6 debacle. If the judges actually viewed the tape of those terrorists who broke into and defaced the Capitol, they would have removed Trump from any office holding job.

I had a chance to listen to the case and was amazed at the lack of intelligence from the Trump puppet: Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch. If they read the Constitution, they would have discovered not only did Trump engage in the insurrection, but he also gave comfort and aid to the terrorists who invaded the Capitol. What a royal stance for lifelong judges. Those same justices complained when picketers protested in front of their homes. How ironic.

We are now stuck with Roberts, Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Alito and Amy Coney Barrett for a very long time. Trump even bragged that if he is reelected he will be a dictator for day one.

There was a book entitled "Profiles in Courage," for the dangerous Trump puppets, the new title should be "Profiles in Shame."

Joseph Yonder

Depew
DUBLIN, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Commercial Aircraft Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) - Market and Technology Forecast to 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Commercial aircraft MRO market consists of maintenance, repair and overhaul services for commercial aircraft platforms such as regional, narrowbody, widebody and business jet aircraft. The MRO process in commercial aviation is carried out at different stages of an aircraft's lifespan. Based on the maintenance scope and tasks, MRO type in this study is classified as engine, airframe, components, line, and modifications.

The market players include aircraft OEMs that provide aftermarket services for their platforms, independent MRO service providers and airline MRO businesses.

Commercial aircraft MRO market is a highly specialised market requiring a high level of accuracy and skilled technical expertise. Aircraft maintenance is a mandatory requirement for platforms around the world in order to efficiently operate the aircraft and avoid catastrophic failures due to lack of maintenance leading to loss of life. Following the standard scheduled MRO checks and catering to the unscheduled repairs, occurring due to accidents, enable aircraft end users to get the best use out of the platforms during their life span and even prolong the life span of the aircraft. Thus, the market is highly driven by ageing airline fleets that need midlife upgrades, as well as, the scheduled and unscheduled maintenance of large airline fleets in various regions.

Additionally, the increasing travel demand post the COVID-19 pandemic has led to many airlines into placing new aircraft orders. These aircraft once delivered, will add to the growth of the MRO demand that the commercial aircraft industry will generate.

The study examines, analyses, and predicts the evolution of commercial MRO technologies, markets, and outlays over the next 8 years - 2025-2032 in the aerospace industry. It also examines markets geographically, focusing on the top 95% of global markets, in the North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.

Throughout the study it shows how commercial aircraft MRO is conducted today to add real value, as well as how will they be done in the near and distant future. To provide the most thorough and realistic forecast, this report provides a twin-scenario analysis.

Covered in this study

Overview: Snapshot of the commercial aircraft MRO market during 2024-2032, including highlights of the demand drivers, trends, and challenges. It also provides a snapshot of the spending with respect to regions as well as segments and sheds light on the emergence of new technologies.

Snapshot of the commercial aircraft MRO market during 2024-2032, including highlights of the demand drivers, trends, and challenges. It also provides a snapshot of the spending with respect to regions as well as segments and sheds light on the emergence of new technologies. Market Dynamics: Insights into the technological developments in the market and a detailed analysis of the changing preferences of governments around the world. It also analyses changing industry structure trends and the challenges faced by the industry participants.

Insights into the technological developments in the market and a detailed analysis of the changing preferences of governments around the world. It also analyses changing industry structure trends and the challenges faced by the industry participants. Segment Analysis: Insights into the various type and platform markets from a segmental perspective and a detailed analysis of factors influencing the market for each segment.

Insights into the various type and platform markets from a segmental perspective and a detailed analysis of factors influencing the market for each segment. Regional Review: Insights into fleet modernisation patterns and development of the technology for top countries within a region.

Insights into fleet modernisation patterns and development of the technology for top countries within a region. Regional Analysis: Insights into the segmental market from a regional perspective and a detailed analysis of factors influencing the market for each region.

Insights into the segmental market from a regional perspective and a detailed analysis of factors influencing the market for each region. Impact Analysis: Analysis on how certain events will impact the commercial aircraft MRO market. This will give you an indication on which factors are important for the forecast.

Analysis on how certain events will impact the commercial aircraft MRO market. This will give you an indication on which factors are important for the forecast. Key Program Analysis: Details of the top programs in each segment expected to be executed during the forecast period.

Details of the top programs in each segment expected to be executed during the forecast period. Competitive landscape Analysis: Analysis of competitive landscape of this industry. It provides an overview of key companies, together with insights such as key alliances, strategic initiatives, and a brief financial analysis.

Key Report Benefits

Determine prospective investment areas based on a detailed trend analysis of the global commercial aircraft MRO industry over the next eight years.

Gain in-depth understanding about the underlying factors driving demand for different application segments in the top spending countries across the world and identify the opportunities offered by each of them.

Strengthen your understanding of the market in terms of demand drivers, industry trends, and the latest technological developments, among others.

Identify the major channels that are driving the global commercial aircraft MRO business, providing a clear picture about future opportunities that can be tapped, resulting in revenue expansion.

Channelise resources by focusing on the ongoing programmes that are being undertaken by the ministries of different countries within the market.

Make correct business decisions based on thorough analysis of the total competitive landscape of the sector with detailed profiles of the top platform providers around the world which include information about their products, alliances, recent contract wins and financial analysis wherever available.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Introduction



2 Executive Summary

2.1 Trends and Insights

2.2 Main Findings

2.3 Key Conclusions



3 Technologies and Developments

3.1 Technology overview

3.1.1 Industry 4.0

3.2 Predictive and Prescriptive Maintenance based on Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML)

3.3 Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

3.4 Robots and Drones for MRO

3.5 Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud

3.6 Blockchain

3.7 Additive Manufacturing (AM)



4 Market Overview

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Market Structure

4.3 MRO market volumes distribution over forecast period by Region

4.4 Market Dynamics and Competitive Landscape



5 Market Analysis and Forecast Factors

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Segmentation

5.3 Drivers

5.4 Trends

5.5 Opportunities

5.6 Challenges



6 Country Analysis

6.1 Brazil

6.2 China

6.3 European Countries

6.4 India

6.5 Russia

6.6 Singapore

6.7 UAE

6.8 US



7 Global and Regional Market Forecast to 2032

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Commercial Aircraft MRO market by Region overview

7.3 Commercial Aircraft MRO market Regions by MRO Type

7.4 Commercial Aircraft MRO market Regions by Platform

7.5 Commercial Aircraft MRO market Regions by Organisation

7.6 Opportunity Analysis



8 Market Forecast to 2032 by MRO Type

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Commercial Aircraft MRO market by MRO Type overview

8.3 Commercial Aircraft MRO Type market by Region

8.4 Opportunity Analysis



9 Market Forecast to 2032 by Platform

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Commercial Aircraft MRO market by Platform overview

9.3 Commercial Aircraft Platform market by Region

9.4 Opportunity Analysis



10 Market Forecast to 2032 by Organisation

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Commercial Aircraft MRO market by Organisation overview

10.3 Commercial Aircraft Organisation market by Region

10.4 Opportunity Analysis



11 Impact Analysis



12 Leading Companies

Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M)

Airbus SE

The Boeing Company

GE Aerospace

Lufthansa Technik AG

MTU Aero Engines AG

Raytheon Technologies

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

SAFRAN S.A.

Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering)

AAR CORP.

General Dynamics Corporation (GD)

Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO)

SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC)

Turkish Technic Inc.

AMETEK Inc.

Bombardier Inc.

Delta TechOps (DTO)

Embraer S.A.

StandardAero

TAE Aerospace



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rnx1ez

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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Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
BARCELONA, Spain, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 26, the four-day Mobile World Congress (MWC2024) 2024 opened in Barcelona, Spain. Cloudsky is excited to be included again this year in the Intel's Converged Edge Media Platform demo at MWC 2024. The innovative Android Cloud Gaming solution from Cloudsky, optimized on Intel's Converged Edge Media Platform, is a great example of how orchestrated, cloud-native, cutting-edge media services can be deployed at the edge.

X86 based Android cloud gaming, industry technological innovation

Cloudsky X86 architecture Android cloud gaming solution was unveiled at MWC 2024

The technical values of cloud gaming, such as heterogeneous computing power, cloud computing, virtualization, real-time rendering, and low-latency networks, have been highly recognized and focused on by the industry, and cloud gaming plays an important role in promoting the prosperity of digital culture, the integration of data and reality, and the high-quality development of the digital economy. At present, the market generally adopts x86 and ARM based solution to support PC and mobile cloud gaming respectively, which will incur high infrastructure construction, operation and maintenance cost, as well as low computing resources utilization.

Cloudsky's Android Cloud Gaming solution is developed based on x86 architecture and the Intel Data Center GPU Flex Series solution. Coupled with Intel Bridge Technology, its industry-leading cloud gaming technology capabilities such as virtualization and containers, real-time rendering engine, video encoding, and low-latency streaming engine, enables X86 architecture to run containerized Android systems, revolutionizing the development of new technology.

This solution has significant advantages of high performance and low TCO. In terms of performance, the solution is compatible with mainstream Android games on the market, with a single card supporting up to 68 channels of Android cloud games, with a quality of up to 1080P 60 frames, supporting game play anytime and anywhere as well as supporting web pages and mobile terminals without client-terminal limitations lowering the threshold for game playing.

At the same time, the platform is more flexible and scalable, and consumes less energy. With a single server, it can increase game density, serve more users with a smaller data center footprint. Coupled with SW and HW integration and highly optimized network transmission technology, it further improves overall equipment and infrastructure cost. In addition, the platform is capable of running other media workload such as media transcoding simultaneously through on-demand scheduling meeting customer's expectation on optimized TCO and excellent user experience.

Cloud Gaming Technology Innovation accelerates the expansion of visual computing applications development

The innovative Android Cloud Gaming solution launched with Intel's cloud-native Converged Edge Media Platform not only reflects the in-depth cooperation between the two parties in the promotion of innovative technologies and user experience improvement, but also represents an important innovation in the technical foundation of cloud gaming.

Cloudsky self-develops customized ultra-high-performance GPU computing power servers as part of its one-stop cloud gaming PaaS solutions to support the latest high-end CPU and ultra-high-performance graphics and image rendering GPU on the market, which can be flexibly deployed and enables cluster-based management, intelligent scheduling, distributed processing, automatic operation and maintenance..

At the same time, the cloud gaming service platform supports PCs and mobile phones contents, enabling PC games, console games, mobile games and other game content under single architecture, which not only reduces the investment and operation and maintenance costs of cloud resource pool infrastructure, but also improves the efficiency of cloud computing resources utilization.

"We are honored to participate with Intel to showcase our innovations to the world at this compelling show," said Crusoe Mao (Cloudsky Founder and CEO). "In the future, we will continue to explore ways to create a better cloud gaming experience for users and inject new vitality into the development of the global cloud gaming industry. "

Emerging industries such as digital twins, digital humans, and digital cultural tourism under the concept of cloud gaming and the metaverse have many similarities in terms of underlying technologies, and cross-empowerment and deep integration can promote the expansion of low-latency visual computing business demand scenarios such as games, videos, graphics rendering, spatial computing.

In the future, Cloudsky will continue to cooperate with the world's top technology companies to accelerate the construction of infrastructure in the field of visual computing, introduce more and richer low-latency application scenarios, bring more exciting and innovative experiences to users, and help promote the development of future industries.

SOURCE Cloudsky
PENSACOLA, Fla., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GovCIO, a provider of advanced technology solutions and digital services for the federal government, is thrilled to announce the grand opening of its new Pensacola office, marking an exciting milestone in the company's history. The new facility is strategically located near Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola and Corry Station.

GovCIO Opens New Florida Office Near Pensacola Naval Air Station

The new office space increases the GovCIO footprint and supports the company's growth strategy. This past year, the company has grown to over 3,000 employees globally. GovCIO has been one of the fastest growing government contractors with a new office opening in Eatontown, New Jersey and annual revenue increasing by 17 percent, a testament to the company's commitment to strategic expansion.

"Given our portfolio's consistent double-digit growth since 2019, our team recognized the perfect opportunity to establish a physical presence in the Pensacola region as part of our strategic vision," said John Anderson, GovCIO Sector President, National Security Services. "This move signals our enduring commitment to our partners and we are excited about this next chapter and the expanded opportunities this new office brings."

For several years, GovCIO has maintained a long-standing military partnership in the Pensacola region working on various programs. These programs include the Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) Ready Relevant Learning (RRL) initiative at NAS Pensacola and working with the Center for Information Warfare Training (CIWT) servicing their education and training needs at NAS Corry Station.

"By establishing a physical presence in Pensacola, we are strengthening our customer relationships and delivering even more tailored solutions, allowing us to better support our customer's missions," said Jim Brabston, GovCIO CEO.

Visit GovCIO to learn more about how the company is transforming government IT and staying at the forefront of digital innovation.

About GovCIO

GovCIO is a rapidly growing provider of advanced technology solutions and digital services for the federal government. Combining our extensive federal experience with the latest innovations in IT and disruptive approaches, our experts develop comprehensive solutions to meet the most pressing demands of today's government agencies. From the U.S. military to Health and Human Services, we have an impressive track record of helping our customers optimize how they operate.

GovCIO is transforming government IT, empowering our federal customers to meet the challenges of today while building the government of tomorrow.

Let us show you what we can do. Visit www.govcio.com for more information.

Media Contact

Emyly Hall

Senior Communications & Marketing Specialist, GovCIO

[email protected]

SOURCE GovCIO
AUSTIN, Texas, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GovOS, Inc., a leading provider of cloud software for state and local government, today announced that its board of directors has appointed Matt Coury as chief executive officer, effective March 1, 2024. Coury, who served as president and chief operating officer for GovOS, has also been appointed to GovOS's board of directors, also effective March 1, 2024. Company founder Michael Crosno will become executive chairman effective March 1, 2024, and will continue to serve as a member of the board. To support the transition, Josh Stanley, chief financial officer, will take on the additional role of chief operating officer, also effective March 1, 2024.

Michael Crosno, founder of GovOS, said, "I'm thrilled to announce that Matt Coury will be taking the reins as our new CEO. Over the past two years, I've had the privilege of partnering with Matt, witnessing firsthand his unwavering determination, collaborative spirit, and commitment to customers. I couldn't be more excited about what lies ahead for our team and our customers."

Newly-named CEO Coury previously served as president and chief operating officer for GovOS. Post this

Crosno added, "I'm ready to transition to an executive chairman role. I'll still be very involved with GovOS, but my role will focus more on strategy, advising Matt and our senior team, and working with our board of directors on accelerating growth initiatives."

Coury, who previously served as president and chief operating officer for GovOS, has been with the company since January 2022. In his prior role, he was responsible for product development and innovation, sales and marketing, customer success and professional services, and driving execution and accountability across the company.

Before joining GovOS, Coury led the Value Creation Director Team at Vista Equity Partners working on value creation activities and transformation across their portfolio of 80+ software companies. He also worked for over eight years at Boston Consulting Group where he helped companies drive integration and strategic transformation within their organizations.

"I'm honored and excited to lead GovOS as we head into our next stage of innovation and growth," Coury said. "We have an incredible opportunity ahead of us to help state and local governments improve the way they work and serve their communities. In the coming months, we will continue to invest in innovation and focus on execution to build on our strong position in the industry."

As mentioned above, Josh Stanley, who previously served as chief financial officer, will take on more day-to-day management of key functions in the dual role of chief operating officer and chief financial officer, effective March 1, 2024.

About GovOS

GovOS is a leading provider of transaction and compliance software for state and local governments to streamline property, licensing, and tax interactions with businesses and citizens. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, GovOS serves more than 800 government agencies across the United States. With the company's secure suite of cloud-based solutions, governments can maximize revenue, increase compliance, reduce costs, and meet constituent demand for modern, self-service transaction and payment services. In 2024, GovOS was named to the GovTech 100 list by Government Technology for the second time.

For more information, visit GovOS.com

CONTACT: Stephanie Beer, [email protected]

SOURCE GovOS
Hormel Foods team members commemorate MLK Day and Black History Month with an essay competition for elementary and middle school students from across the country

AUSTIN, Minn., Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Three winners of the 13th annual Hormel Foods MLK essay contest visited the company's World Headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 28, to read their winning essays to Hormel Foods team members. Three students  Yvanna Lopez from Austin, Minnesota; Madison Blair from Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Aisha Mohamed from Barron, Wisconsin  claimed the top honors among hundreds of entries from 15 schools this year.

Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods Corporation congratulated Yvanna Lopez, Aisha Mohamed and Madison Blair, Minneapolis for claiming top honors in the 13th annual Hormel Foods MLK essay contest.

The Hormel Foods Black Leaders & Allies Advancing Cultural Knowledge (BLAACK) business resource group sponsors the annual essay competition for elementary and middle school students across the United States. Contestants are asked to write an essay with the theme, "What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Means to Me."

"We're here today to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by having the top three students from across the country share what Dr. King means to them," said Cedric Moore, BLAACK president and senior customer executive for Retail sales at Hormel Foods. "One thing I admire about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was his persistence and that he never gave up. He fought for the equal rights for all individuals and that is evident as we look around this room at the diversity that sits amongst us all. Today, these students are displaying the excellence of Dr. King's legacy by sharing their essays with us."

The nationwide competition promotes the value and importance of cultural differences and provides a platform for celebrating diversity. The goals of the program are to promote Dr. King's legacy, encourage children to aim high, give them exposure to minority professionals in business and create a lasting partnership between Hormel Foods and local schools.

These three students honored Dr. King's legacy by putting into words what he means to them.

"When I think of Dr. Martin Luther King I think freedom, bravery, and perseverance," Madison Blair said in her essay. "I work hard as a student because Dr. King fought for me so I can have the best education."

About Hormel Foods  Inspired People. Inspired Food.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), based in Austin, Minnesota, is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, Skippy, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus, Jennie-O and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of the best companies to work for by U.S. News & World Report, one of America's most responsible companies by Newsweek, recognized on Fast Company's list of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, received a perfect score of 100 on the 202324 Corporate Equality Index and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement  Inspired People. Inspired Food.  to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit hormelfoods.com.

Contact: Media

[email protected]

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Human Capability Initiative (HCI) concluded today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bringing in a new era in global collaboration for human capability development. HCI was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program (HCDP) Committee.

This groundbreaking forum gathering over 10,000 registered participants from more than 100 countries has set a precedent for international efforts in harnessing human potential, culminating in over 50 strategic partnerships and launches. These collaborations, spanning diverse sectors from education to artificial intelligence, mark significant strides toward global human capability enhancement.

Notable announcements include the Saudi Ministry of Education's educational visa program set to make Saudi Arabia a global learning hub for over 132,000 international students, researchers, and professors, aligning with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 aspirations to attract and retain worldwide talent.

The Saudi Ministry of Education will also contribute to revolutionizing education in lower-income countries by officially joining the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) with a substantial $38 million contribution to equip young generations with the necessary skills for jobs of the future.

As the Kingdom prioritizes the future readiness of Saudi students across all disciplines, the Saudi Ministry of Education has unveiled plans to elevate its Curriculum Development Center into a national autonomous entity under the direct supervision of the Minister of Education. This revamped Center will focus on strategic curriculum planning and development aligned with international best practices and emerging global trends, preparing future generations for success in an ever-evolving world.

Further adding to the successes HCI has brought, groundbreaking education partnerships were struck between Saudi Arabia and some of the world's biggest sector leaders including Porsche, Hyundai, LinkedIn, and IE University, leveraging the power of international collaboration to accelerate human capability development at home and abroad.

These initiatives, alongside others announced during the event, underscore HCI's role as an enabling platform for impactful collaboration and a necessary catalyst for future-ready human capability development across the globe.

The conference featured a robust agenda, with over 100 insightful sessions led by global and local luminaries in government, industry, and academia including thoughtful future-facing discussions featuring Ministers of Education from around the world. Discussions spanned crucial topics such as the sustainability skill gap, job automation by AI, and the future of education and workforce adaptability, emphasizing the central role of human potential in addressing contemporary global challenges.

The CEO of HCDP, Engineer Anas AlMudaifer, commented: "HCI has inspired collaboration among the brightest minds in the world to future-proof people. Thought provoking ideas shared at HCI have and the thought-provoking ideas shared, and impact-driven partnerships forged today have reaffirmed that commitment. Unlocking the full potential of humanity requires global collaboration, and Saudi Arabia, as a global convenor, is sparking dynamic dialogue through HCI. The huge success of HCI has energized the world of human capability development, serving as an inspirational platform for more knowledge and collaborations to come, and more importantly, demonstrated that together, we can truly unlock the full potential of our societies."

Saudi Arabia is undergoing a profound transformation under Vision 2030 that aims to create opportunities for citizens, open the Kingdom to the world and diversify its economy. At the heart of Vision 2030 lies the people, who embody the ambition of Saudi transformation. This belief in people is the aspiration behind the hosting of Human Capability Initiative, sparking actions among changemakers in governments, private sector and non-profit organizations globally to invest in the most valuable resource of our society  the people.

Contact: Tariq Al Qwaifel, +966 56 466 6669, [email protected]

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2352410/Human_Capability_Initiative_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Human Capability Initiative (HCI)
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Infinix, a trendy tech brand crafted for young consumers, is thrilled to announce its selection as a winner of the Best of MWC 2024 awards from multiple news outlets after showcasing its groundbreaking new flagship-level gaming technology at ShowStoppers MWC 2024, the official networking event partner for Mobile World Congress. This new concept gaming technology is set to redefine the mobile gaming experience with its cutting-edge smartphone gaming technology enhanced by AI.

"We are overjoyed to have pushed the boundaries of mobile gaming technology to unprecedented heights at MWC. The tremendous honor of winning the esteemed Best of MWC 2024 awards from globally renowned media outlets underscores our unwavering dedication and passion to deliver the cutting-edge mobile gaming technology that captivates and inspires young professional gamers worldwide. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to continuously bring forth the most innovative and exhilarating gaming experiences for the next generation of gamers," said Tony Zhao, General Manager of Infinix.

The new technology has surpassed AnTuTu benchmarks with a score of an unprecedented 2,215,639. This achievement is made possible by integrating the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset, a world-class self-developed CoolMax system, and an AI management platform. These innovations work seamlessly together to ensure users enjoy the best possible mobile gaming experience. Infinix has also showcased its industry-leading technologies, such as Infinix AirCharge, Infinix E-Color Shift, and Extreme-Temp Battery, which have amazed global audiences and the press.

Infinix's Flagship-Level Mobile Gaming Innovation Steals the Show at ShowStoppers MWC 2024

Infinix proudly received the esteemed Gadgety Awards, recognizing the best and most cutting-edge consumer electronics in the world. This award, titled Best of Showstopper MWC 2024, was bestowed upon Infinix's first dual-core flagship mobile gaming concept technology, showcasing their commitment to pushing the boundaries of mobile gaming. Additionally, Infinix's groundbreaking technology received another notable award from GadgetMatch, a top-tier technology media outlet, for 'Best of MWC 2024'.

Infinix has also received other notable media awards, including:

TrustedReviews' Best in Show MWC 2024 for Infinix's E-Color Shift Technology

Yanko Design's Best of MWC 2024 for Infinix E-Color Shift Technology

FoneArena's Best Product of MWC 2024 for Infinix AirCharge

Mashable Middle East's Best of MWC 2024: Best Phone for Infinix E-Color Shift Technology

For more details visit: http://www.infinixmobility.com/

About Infinix:

Innix Mobility is a rapidly emerging technology brand that designs, manufactures and markets an expanding portfolio of smart devices worldwide under the Innix brand, which was founded in 2013. Targeting today's youth with rst in class technology, Innix creates trendy, powerful and attainably priced smart devices that bring the latest technology on the market to users around the world at a time when they need it at a price that they want.

For more information, please visit: http://www.infinixmobility.com/

SOURCE Infinix
COLORADO, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Democrat Jason Palmer, competing in the 2024 Colorado Democratic presidential primary, is experiencing a surge in momentum as he campaigns ahead of voting on March 5th. Palmer has recently gained national prominence by qualifying for the presidential ballot in sixteen U.S. states and territories, and being covered by outlets like POLITICO, BBC, AP News, MarketWatch, and Tavis Smiley on KBLA Talk Radio.

In groundbreaking news earlier this week, Palmer became the first candidate to release a talking AI-powered version of himself. At 52, Palmer stands out as one of the youngest Democratic candidates, offering a fresh perspective based on his experience as an entrepreneur and technology leader. His platform focuses on people-first conscious capitalism, modernizing our federal government, and reigniting the faith of young people and independents who have lost confidence in America's institutions.

Palmer has also gained ground as the only Democratic candidate on the ballot who has been strongly advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza since November, and also believes the United States should withhold additional military aid to Israel until a ceasefire is in effect. If Palmer had been President, America would not have vetoed the recent U.N. resolutions calling for a ceasefire.

Palmer also distances himself from the Biden Administration's immigration policies. He believes the administration needs to be fighting harder for a path to citizenship for Dreamers, and simultaneously implementing policies that prevent undocumented border-crossers from remaining in the United States for up to three years on parole.

Palmer has a comprehensive website that clearly explains his distinct positions on twenty-five issues that are important to Americans, including housing affordability, unions, and improving our education-to-workforce system at PalmerForPresident.us.

Palmer has deep ties to Colorado and is a strong supporter of more federal funding for education and upskilling. In recent years, he invested in two transformational Colorado-based companies, Galvanize and PAIRIN. Galvanize was an early pioneer in the tech boot camp space, quickly becoming the leading provider of software engineering and data science programs. PAIRIN is a nationally recognized technology company that's revolutionizing the way workforce and education intersect to foster a seamless and rewarding career journey for students and professionals.

Speaking with multiple audiences and constituents in Colorado, Palmer has focused on local priorities like cost of living, crime and public safety, and housing affordability. His forward-thinking approach has captured the attention of voters across the political spectrum.

On the campaign trail, Palmer met with the leadership of the Denver Pipefitters Local 208, a union with a membership of 1,800, which is part of the United Association representing 363,000 plumbers, pipefitters, and tradesmen in the water industry nationally. He also spoke with the membership of House District 2 Democrats during their monthly meeting.

Please visit PalmerForPresident.us to stay in touch with the latest campaign news.

About Jason Palmer:

Jason Palmer is a Democratic Presidential candidate, entrepreneur, turnaround leader, and impact investor with strong fluency in technology and education. Prior to his Presidential run, he served in executive and leadership positions at Microsoft, Kaplan Education, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and leading impact investor New Markets Venture Partners. Palmer earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a proud resident of Baltimore, Maryland, and a devoted father. Learn more at https://palmerforpresident.us.

SOURCE Palmer for President
LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Luxebooth.com, the leading name in luxury photo booth rental experiences, is proud to announce its ambitious national expansion, bringing their unique photo booth rental services to new markets throughout the United States. This strategic growth initiative follows the successful opening of its latest office at 112 W 9th St #1125, Los Angeles, CA 90015, setting a new standard for Los Angeles photo booth rentals while signaling a broader move to dominate the industry nationwide.

Setting Sights on Nationwide Growth: Luxebooth.com's Future Plans

Black and White Photo Booth Luxebooth.com Photo Booth Rental

With an eye on the future, Luxebooth.com is set to broaden its horizons in 2024, targeting major cities including Portland, Denver, Miami, San Francisco, Fort Worth, Sacramento, San Antonio, Boston, and Charlotte. The company's planned expansion into Las Vegas by 2025 further highlights its commitment to establishing a comprehensive network of licensee-operated luxury photo booth experiences across the country.

Kris Hartmann, founder of Luxebooth.com, shared, "Our vision for Luxebooth.com extends beyond simply offering photo booth rentals. We're dedicated to crafting uniquely memorable experiences for our clients while fostering a supportive community for our licensees, enabling their success and growth alongside our brand."

Empowering Entrepreneurs: Fostering Success: Luxebooth.com's Entrepreneurial Support Through Licensing

The expansion strategy enhances Luxebooth.com's mission to support entrepreneurship through its licensing program, offering licensees comprehensive tools, support, and marketing strategies to thrive in the luxury event market. The company's licensing model is designed to ensure consistent, high-quality service, fostering growth among licensees and maintaining the brand's reputation for excellence.

Autonomy and Opportunity: The Advantages of Luxebooth.com's Licensing Over Franchising Unlike traditional franchising, Luxebooth.com offers a licensing opportunity that provides entrepreneurs complete control over their business operations, free from the stringent regulations typically associated with franchising. This approach allows for greater flexibility and innovation, empowering licensees to tailor their business to their vision while benefiting from Luxebooth.com's industry expertise and support.

Industry Leadership

Innovating the Event Space: Luxebooth.com's Industry-Leading Services

Luxebooth.com sets the industry standard with offerings that include AI-powered background removals, face swap capabilities, 360 photo booths, corporate event solutions, green screen technology, GIF and black & white glam style booths, and wedding photo booth services. This diverse range of products positions Luxebooth.com as a leader in the photo booth rental industry, ready to meet the varied needs of clients nationwide.

Media Contact:

Samantha Mitchell

888-383-4708

373820@email4pr.com

SOURCE Luxebooth.com Photo Booth Rentals
NEW YORK , Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The mass spectrometry market is expected to grow by USD 2.52 billion from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 10.08% during the forecast period, according to Technavio Research. The market has been segmented by end-user (pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, chemical and petrochemical industries, and others), product (instruments, consumables, and services ), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW)). North America is estimated to contribute 42% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The increasing interest of some pharmaceutical companies in discovering and developing drugs is one of the main factors. In addition, there has been a strong increase in R&D activity in the Mass Spectrometry market. Read a Free PDF Sample Report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Mass Spectrometry Market 2023-2027

Report Coverage Details Page number 166 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 10.08% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 2,520.16 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 9.94 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 42% Key countries US, Canada, Germany, UK, and China

Company Profile:

908 Devices Inc., ABB Ltd., Agilent Technologies Inc., Bruker Corp., Endress Hauser Group Services AG, European Virtual Institute for Speciation Analysis, JEOL Ltd., Kore Technology Ltd., LECO Corp., Perkin Elmer Inc., Rigaku Corp., Shimadzu Corp., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., and Waters Corp.

Agilent Technologies Inc - The company offers mass spectrometry such as triple quadrupole LC-MS, quadrupole time of flight LC-MS, and high throughput LC-MS.To gain access to more company profiles available with Technavio, buy the report!

Segmentation Analysis

The market share growth by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries segment will be significant during the forecast period. The development of new drugs using the inherent mass-to-charge ratio of specific molecules to reveal their structure is one of the main reasons for the growing demand for mass spectrometry in the pharmaceutical industry. View a PDF Sample Report

An increase in the use of hyphenated technology

The combination of one or more functions into a single product is known as hyphenation. It often requires two individual instruments to be built under a single casing, which can work in tandem with each other. Increased adoption of LCM instruments has been achieved as a result. In a variety of applications, the coupling of LC separations with Mass characterization was used.

Increasing demand for portable mass spectrometers is a major trend in the market. Identify key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market. Download a sample report to gain access to this information.

Analyst Review

The Mass Spectrometry Market is experiencing significant growth attributed to various factors such as spending on pharmaceutical R&D, government regulations on drug safety, and the quality of food products. Additionally, advancements in technology have led to increased crude and shale gas production.

Governments worldwide are implementing stringent government initiatives for pollution control, which is further propelling the demand for mass spectrometry solutions in environmental testing. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry heavily relies on mass spectrometry for drug discovery and development processes, thereby driving R&D investments.

In the European Union, the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard showcases the region's commitment to innovation, influencing premium product pricing strategies within the mass spectrometry market. Ensuring compliance with regulatory standards is crucial for both established and emerging countries in the adoption of mass spectrometry technologies.

Within the market, various segments such as instrument, software & services, and sample preparation techniques cater to diverse end-user segments including pharma-biopharma manufacturing, research labs & academic institutes, and environmental testing labs.

Notably, techniques like LC-MS, GC-MS, and ICP-MS are pivotal in specific applications such as drug discovery, environmental testing, and clinical diagnostics. Additionally, the OMICS research segment benefits significantly from mass spectrometry technologies.

In summary, the Mass Spectrometry Market is intricately linked to numerous sectors, ranging from pharmaceutical companies to petrochemical industries, reflecting its versatile applications and broad market potential. The Mass Spectrometry Market, dominated by industry labs, thrives in the pharmaceutical sector, providing precise testing solutions. Its growth mirrors advancements in analytical technology, meeting market demands for accurate analysis and identification of compounds. Download a sample report

Related Reports:

The high throughput screening (HTS) market size is estimated to grow by USD 19.9 billion at a CAGR of 12.12% between 2023 and 2028.

The Spectrometry Market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 9.65% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 7,199.81 million.

ToC:

1 Executive Summary

2 Landscape

3 Sizing

4 Historic Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Segmentations

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Vendor Landscape

11 Vendor Analysis

12 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
IRVINE, Calif., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total February sales of 32,705 vehicles, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to February 2023. Year-to-date sales totaled 62,984 vehicles sold; an increase of 17.5 percent compared to the same time last year. With 25 selling days in February, compared to 24 the year prior, the company posted an increase of 2.5 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis.

CPO sales totaled 5,640 vehicles in February, an increase of 12 percent compared to February 2023.

February 2024 sales highlights include:

Best-ever February sales with 32,705 vehicles sold.

Best-ever February sales of CX-50 with 5,480 vehicles sold.

Best-ever sales of CX-30 with 10,026 vehicles sold.

Mazda Canada, Inc., (MCI) reported February sales of 4,075 vehicles, an increase of 50.1 percent compared to February last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 8,549 vehicles sold; an increase of 46 percent compared to the same time last year.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported February sales of 6,625 vehicles, an increase of 19 percent compared to last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 12,955 vehicles sold; an increase of 7 percent compared to the same time last year.

About Mazda North American Operations

Proudly founded in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda has a history of sophisticated craftsmanship and innovation, and a purpose to enrich life-in-motion for those it serves. By putting humans at the center of everything it does, Mazda aspires to create uplifting experiences with our vehicles and for people. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia through approximately 795 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario; operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City; and operations in Colombia are managed by Mazda de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at news.mazdausa.com.

Follow @MazdaUSA on social media: Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and Threads.

























































Month-To-Date

Year-To-Date

































February February YOY % % MTD

February February YOY % % MTD







2024 2023 Change DSR

2024 2023 Change DSR































Mazda3 3,063 2,846 7.6 % 3.3 %

5,943 4,423 34.4 % 29.0 %





Mazda 3 Sdn 1,751 1,584 10.5 % 6.1 %

3626 2,596 39.7 % 34.1 %





Mazda 3 HB 1,312 1,262 4.0 % (0.2) %

2317 1,827 26.8 % 21.7 %































Mazda6 0 0 - -

0 0 - -































MX-5 Miata 436 783 (44.3) % (46.5) %

825 1,507 (45.3) % (47.4) %





MX-5 135 404 (66.6) % (67.9) %

283 760 (62.8) % (64.3) %





MXR 301 379 (20.6) % (23.8) %

542 747 (27.4) % (30.3) %































CX-3 - 0 - -

- 0 - -





CX-30 10,026 8,026 24.9 % 19.9 %

17799 13,091 36.0 % 30.5 %





CX-5 10,362 12,282 (15.6) % (19.0) %

20556 22,115 (7.0) % (10.8) %





CX-9 1 3,515 (100.0) % (100.0) %

1 6,685 (100.0) % (100.0) %





CX-50 5,480 3,165 73.1 % 66.2 %

11213 5,754 94.9 % 87.1 %





MX-30 0 2 (100.0) % (100.0) %

- 11 - -





C70 12 0 - -

12 0 - -





C7P 4 0 - -

4 0 - -





CX-90 3,321 20 16505.0 % 15840.8 %

6631 20 33055.0 % 31728.8 %





CARS 3,499 3,629 (3.6) % (7.4) %

6,768 5,930 14.1 % 9.6 %





TRUCKS 29,206 27,010 8.1 % 3.8 %

56,216 47,676 17.9 % 13.2 %































TOTAL 32,705 30,639 6.7 % 2.5 %

62,984 53,606 17.5 % 12.8 %

























































*Selling Days 25 24





50 48





























































SOURCE Mazda North American Operations
Mercedes-Benz and MN8 Energy have committed over $1 billion to build North America's fastest EV charging network by the end of the decade, powered by 100% clean energy and open to all EV drivers, prioritizing premium quality and an elevated experience

The EV Charging Summit & Expo (Mar. 20-22 in Las Vegas) is North America's largest EV charging infrastructure event

LAS VEGAS, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrew Cornelia, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America, will headline the upcoming EV Charging Summit & Expo (Mar. 20-22 in Las Vegas) with a Mar. 21 keynote address entitled, "The Path Forward: A New Phase of EV Charging." Cornelia, a recognized leader in the EV charging sector, will explore the industry's transition into a new era focused on the quality, speed, and reliability of EV charging infrastructure.

"Today's EV charging is a major barrier to widespread electrification of the automobile industry. Mercedes-Benz HPC is dedicated to solving this issue through setting new benchmarks in seamless customer experiences and reliability of public EV charging, said Cornelia. "I am excited to connect with key stakeholders across the industry to discuss how we collectively improve availability, access, safety and predictability for all EV drivers today and into the future."

The EV Charging Summit & Expo takes place March 20-22, 2024, at The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees can purchase passes at EVChargingSummit.com . Qualified media members may apply for press credentials using the online media request form .

Despite significant investments in EV charging infrastructure across the United States, nearly half of consumers cite charging as the biggest hurdle to EV adoption. Cornelia's keynote will address these concerns head-on, advocating for an enhanced charging experience as the linchpin in the cultural shift toward electric transportation, available to all drivers from day one.

Cornelia's participation in the event comes months after the launch of the Mercedes-Benz Charging Network, inaugurated at the first charging hub in Sandy Springs, Georgia. Mercedes-Benz, in partnership with MN8 Energy, has committed to invest over $1 billion to deliver 2,500 chargers within at least 400 charging hubs across North America by the end of the decade.

Cornelia stands at the forefront of the EV charging industry as the President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America. Cornelia is a longtime leader in the EV sector and previously led Strategic Finance for the launch of Tesla's charging network and helped pioneer Volta Charging's innovative model to redefine driver experience. He also holds advisory positions at Bluedot and eDRV, contributing to innovative EV charging solutions.

"The launch of Mercedes-Benz HPC North America's new charging network is a major event in the EV charging industry," said Luke Vinci, president of MVP Media Network, which hosts the EV Charging Summit & Expo. "We know accessibility and reliability of charging infrastructure will determine the success of transportation electrification. We're thrilled to have Andrew sharing his perspective and expertise with EV Charging Summit attendees."

Andrew Cornelia's Sessions at the EV Charging Summit & Expo include:

9:35 am9:45 am | Thu, March 21, 2024

Keynote Address: The Path Forward: A New Phase of EV Charging

9:45 am10:30 am | Thu, March 21, 2024

Keynote Panel: The Realities of Today's EV Charging Network to Meet Rising Deployment Demands

Additional Panelists:

Chris Hutter, Chief Executive Officer, National Power

Jim Castelaz, Founder and CTO, Motiv Power Systems

Alex Schroeder, CTO and Former Executive Director, Joint Office of Energy and Transportation

About Mercedes-Benz HPC North America

Mercedes-Benz HPC North America is responsible for the development and operation of the Mercedes-Benz high-power charging network in North America, helping realize the next, essential step forward in Mercedes-Benz's electrification strategy: Expansion of the overall North American EV charging map to help propel EV adoption to the next levels. Its mission is to deliver an industry-leading premium charging experience, with plans to deploy 400 charging stations and over 2,500 high-power chargers across North America by the end of this decade. As part of Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG, we play a crucial role in expanding the North American EV charging infrastructure and driving EV adoption. The company is a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Investment Company LLC and MN8 Energy, a leading renewable energy company. MN8 will develop and operate the EV charging stations that form the Mercedes-Benz High Power Charging North America network. Mercedes-Benz HPC North America is part of the Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG family of companies, the financial and mobility services division of Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

Further information on Mercedes-Benz HPC North America is available at: https://www.mbusa.com/en/ev-charging-stations.

About the EV Charging Summit & Expo

The EV Charging Summit & Expo industry leaders, government officials, municipalities, utility companies, residential and commercial decision-makers, and researchers from across the globe. As the leading independent professional event focused on the education and development of specialized EV industry needs, the Summit & Expo offers pre-conference workshops, structured networking opportunities, educational panel discussions, case studies, and a robust expo floor providing a comprehensive attendee experience to stay ahead in a highly competitive and fragmented market.

For more information about the EV Charging Summit & Expo, including registration details and sponsorship opportunities, please visit EVchargingsummit.com .

SOURCE EV Charging Summit & Expo
Co-workers will take part in a week of service projects across four states

ST. LOUIS, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercy's Day of Service pays tribute to Sister Mary Roch Rocklage, an icon in health care who relentlessly served and was known for her can-do spirit.

This year's service week will be March 4-8 across every community Mercy serves in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. The day of service was first established in 2023 in honor of Sister Roch, a Sister of Mercy and the first president and CEO of the Mercy system, who passed away in 2022. Sister Roch was known for her giving spirit, which goes hand in hand with volunteering.

"This is a beautiful way to honor the life of Sister Roch," said Kevin Minder, Mercy's senior vice president of mission and community health. "It reminds me to reflect on one of my favorite Sister Roch quotes: 'We exist to serve.'"

Aundria Goree, Mercy's executive director of community health, said community health leaders across the entire Mercy system worked to coordinate hundreds of opportunities for Mercy co-workers. Volunteer activities may include loading boxes at a local food bank in St. Louis, serving meals at The Salvation Army in Oklahoma City, power washing furniture at a homeless campus in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and more.

Co-workers who volunteer during the year can utilize Mercy's Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program. Established in 2022, the VTO program provides co-workers with time to volunteer during work hours at local nonprofits or community events and still get paid. In 2023, more than 2,300 co-workers took part in the VTO program, serving more than 13,500 volunteer hours.

"Service is in our Mercy DNA, and it's a blessing to be able to live this core value inside and outside the walls of Mercy," Minder said. "Sister Roch's life is a legacy of service, and with 50,000 Mercy co-workers, we have the opportunity to make an impact in the communities where we live."

Besides volunteerism being good for communities, it's also good for overall health.

"Research has shown volunteering offers significant benefits for improving mental and physical health, provides a sense of purpose and helps with nurturing new and existing relationships," Goree said.

The volunteer program is just one example of Mercy giving back to its communities. Mercy provided free care and other community benefits, along with traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid, worth more than half a billion dollars to Mercy's communities in fiscal year 2023.

Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 900 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 4,500 physicians and advanced practitioners and 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2023 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

Contact: Mardi Taylor, Office: 479-314-1101, Mobile: 479-462-7289, [email protected]

SOURCE Mercy
NEEDHAM, Mass., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mission Wealth LP, a renowned national wealth management firm, has announced its merger with Charles Carroll Financial Partners, reinforcing the latter's commitment to delivering exceptional client service and strengthening its internal succession plan. This merger marks the fourth integration in the past thirteen months for Mission Wealth and a union where Mission Wealth welcomes the firm's 37th partner.

Headquartered in Needham, MA, Charles Carroll Financial Partners specializes in providing personalized investment management and financial planning based on the client's needs, goals, and aspirations. This strategic merger enhances Mission Wealth's ability to provide exceptional service to new and existing clients in the New England region.

This merger marks the fourth integration in the past thirteen months and welcomes Mission Wealth's 37th partner. Post this

"We are excited to welcome Bill and Andrew, a father-son team, to the Mission Wealth family. With the merger, Bill and Andrew will continue to provide their clients with personalized, expert guidance," said Matthew Adams, CEO and Managing Partner.

Mission Wealth Grows to 37 Shareholders

Founded in 2000 by Brad Stark and Seth Streeter, Mission Wealth is steadfast in its commitment to pioneering the future of wealth management, delivering unparalleled service and advice to its clients. With over $7.4B of assets under management, Mission Wealth remains independent of external shareholders or capital providers. Mission Wealth's co-founders began the journey of internal succession in 2008 and both remain highly involved in the business. Today, the firm is proud to have 37 shareholders, with a single share class, and a process where all partners contribute to guiding the firm's direction.

"Our equity structure ensures that all employees of the firm have the opportunity to become a shareholder through four distinct pathways," noted Adams. "With a history of successfully developing the next generation of Wealth Advisors, we are excited to welcome Andrew to the team and are committed to supporting him on the path to partnership along with all other employees of the firm."

Learn About Bill Hayes and Andrew Conway

Carroll W. "Bill" Hayes, MBA, CFP began his financial career at Merrill Lynch in 1989 before joining Fidelity Investments in 1992. Throughout his tenure at Fidelity, Bill assumed diverse roles and managerial positions spanning various divisions including Trust, 401(k), Brokerage, and Money Management. In 2001, Bill led a Private Access team headquartered in Boston where his responsibilities included managing over $3 billion and an international client base. Bill holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation and served as a Commissioner on the Disciplinary and Ethics Commission of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards from 2011 to 2016.

"With this partnership, Andrew and I are not just merging firms; we are securing a succession plan that ensures our clients and Andrew will have the support needed in the years ahead," said Bill Hayes of the merger. "Joining Mission Wealth enables me to continue serving my clients in the way they are accustomed to while providing a broader array of services and expertise, best-in-class resources, tools, and support."

Andrew Conway started his career in the finance industry as a sales and retirement specialist for an ETF asset manager. In his role at Charles Carroll Financial Partners, Andrew oversaw a wide range of corporate responsibilities including business development, marketing, operations, and investment analytics. His financial expertise includes college planning, ETFs, retirement plans for small businesses, and emerging technologies. Andrew is a graduate of Harvard University with honors in his field.

"The merger presents exciting opportunities for our current and prospective clients," said Andrew Conway. "I am particularly enthusiastic about the professional development and mentorship programs available at Mission Wealth."

About Mission Wealth

Mission Wealth is a nationally recognized RIA that oversees over $7.4 billion in client assets under management. Mission Wealth is known for its service model, driven by a world-class technology stack that offers financial planning, investment counsel, tax strategies, estate planning coordination, philanthropic advice, and asset protection solutions tailored to each client's needs. For more information on Mission Wealth's merger and partnership opportunities, please visit missionwealth.com/opportunity.

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube

00567906 03/24

SOURCE Mission Wealth Management, LP
DUBLIN, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Multiplex Assays Market by Type (Protein [Bead, Planar], Nucleic Acid, Cell) Technology (Flow Cytometry, PCR, Immunoassay) Application (R&D, Diagnosis (Oncology, Cardiovascular, Infectious, Autoimmune Diseases) Product, End User - Global Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global multiplex assays market is expected to reach $6.24 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 9.0% from 2023 to 2030.

The growth of this market is attributed to several factors, the advantages of multiplex assays over singleplex assays, the use of multiplexing in companion diagnostics, the increasing prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases, and rising awareness about the importance of early disease diagnosis. However, the high costs of multiplex assay equipment restrain the growth of this market.



The growing need for high-throughput and automated laboratory systems and the increasing focus on personalized medicine is expected to generate growth opportunities for the players operating in this market. However, the shortage of skilled professionals and the risk of cross-reactivity are major challenges to market growth.



Among all the types studied in this report, in 2023 protein multiplex assays segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market. Protein multiplex assays are further segmented into bead-based assays and planar assays.

In 2023, the bead-based assays segment is expected to account for the largest share of the protein multiplex assays market. Multiplex bead-based assays have become essential tools for diagnosing various diseases. These assays are used for testing allergies, cancer markers, cytokines, cardiac markers, autoimmune diseases, and endocrine diseases. Bead-based assays offer a dynamic range of analytes as they are measured using flow cytometry. They are suitable for high-throughput analysis and are much more rapid, making them the preferred alternative to planar assays.



Among all the products studied in this report, in 2023, the consumables segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market.

The large market share of this segment is attributed to the repetitive use of kits, the growing portfolio of disease-specific kits for early diagnosis of diseases, and the increasing product approvals. The continuous advancements in reagents and kits, the development of user-friendly diagnostic kits, and the adoption of multiplex assay kits in clinical and research laboratories positively impact the demand for consumables used in multiplex assays.



Among all the technologies studied in this report, the flow cytometry segment is projected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Flow cytometry is considered an important tool in clinical diagnosis and research & development. It provides a multiparametric analysis of many single cells, which can be used in multiple research areas. Additionally, market players are launching advanced flow cytometers to support growing market needs. For instance, in June 2023, Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.) launched a BD FACSDuet to automate sample preparation during clinical flow cytometry diagnostics.



Among all the applications studied in this report, in 2023, the research & development segment is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market.

The large market share of this segment is attributed to increasing applications of multiplex assays in drug discovery, biomarker profiling, and understanding disease mechanisms. The demand for multiplex assays in research & development is increasing rapidly and is also contributing to the largest share of the segment.



Among all the end users studied in this report, the research & development segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The highest CAGR of this segment is attributed to factors such as the increasing R&D investments by pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, the widespread utilization of multiplex assays in drug discovery & development, and a growing emphasis on personalized medicine research. The rising spending on R&D by pharmaceutical companies is also contributing to the largest share of this segment.



In 2023, North America is expected to account for the largest share of the multiplex assays market, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

North America's large share is attributed to the region's high R&D spending by the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies for the development of drugs and biomarker identification, increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, rising healthcare expenditure, presence of leading market players in the region, and favorable government initiatives for research & development. According to the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, U.S. pharmaceutical R&D expenditure increased from 91.1 billion in 2020 to 102.3 billion in 2021.



The report offers a competitive landscape based on an extensive assessment of the product portfolio offerings, geographic presences, and key strategic developments adopted by leading market players in the industry over the years (2020-2023).

Market Insights

Market Dynamics

Advantages of Multiplex Assays over Singleplex Assays Leading to Their Increased Adoption

Growing Use of Multiplexing in Companion Diagnostics Driving the Demand for Multiplex Assays

High Costs of Multiplex Assay Equipment Hampering Adoption Among End Users

Increasing Focus on Personalized Medicine Boosting the Utilization of Multiplex Assays

Shortage of Skilled Professionals and the Risk of Cross-reactivity Limiting the Adoption of Multiplex Assays

Factor Analysis

Technology Trends

Technological Advancements in Multiplex PCR Technology

Integration of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning into Multiplex Assay Systems

Development of Smartphone-based Diagnostic Testing Platforms

Regulatory Analysis

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Asia-Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Pricing Analysis

Porter's Five Forces Analysis

Company Profiles (Company Overview, Financial Snapshot, Product Portfolio, and Strategic Developments)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.)

Seegene Inc. ( South Korea )

) Qiagen N.V. ( Netherlands )

) PerkinElmer Inc. (U.S.)

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. ( Switzerland )

) Agilent Technologies Inc. (U.S.)

Abbott Laboratories (U.S.)

Siemens Healthineers AG ( Germany )

) Illumina Inc. (U.S.)

Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.)

Quanterix Corporation (U.S.)

DiaSorin S.p.A. ( Italy )

) Merck KGaA ( Germany )

Competition Analysis

Overview

Key Growth Strategies

Competitive Benchmarking

Competitive Dashboard

Industry Leaders

Differentiators

Vanguards

Emerging Companies

Scope of the Report:



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Type

Protein Multiplex Assays

Bead-based Assays

Planar Assay

Nucleic Acid Multiplex Assays

Cell-based Multiplex Assays

Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Product

Consumables

Instruments

Software & Services

Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Technology

Flow Cytometry

Multiplex Immunoassay

Multiplex Real-Time PCR

Sequencing

Other Technologies

Note: Other technologies consist of microarray and immunohistochemistry



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Application

Research & Development

Clinical Diagnosis

Infectious Diseases

Oncology

Cardiovascular Diseases

Autoimmune Diseases

Other Diseases

Note: Other diseases include neurological diseases, thrombosis, and drug abuse testing.



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by End User

Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

Diagnostic Laboratories

Hospitals

Other End Users

Note: Other end users consist of academic institutes & research centers, forensic labs, agriculture companies, and food & beverage companies



Multiplex Assays Market Assessment, by Geography

North America

U.S

Canada

Europe

Germany

U.K.

France

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe (Roe)

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

China

Japan

India

Rest of Asia-Pacific (RoAPAC)

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America (RoLATAM)

Middle East & Africa



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/e2drm5[bead?w=12[bead?w=12

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SOURCE Research and Markets
WASHINGTON, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, on the rearrest of Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan. Sultan, who received a 2019 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club in recognition of his unjust detention, was released from prison Tuesday only to be re-arrested on Thursday, according to local reports .

"We are deeply concerned by the rearrest this week of Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan. Every day of the five-and-a-half years Sultan spent in prison simply for doing his job as a journalist was a day too long. He was unjustly accused of aiding insurgents, even though he was merely reporting on them."

"Sultan's release from incarceration on Tuesday should have been a joyous occasion that brought lasting relief and comfort to his family. Instead, Indian authorities reportedly rearrested Sultan on Thursday on old charges just hours after he returned home."

"The National Press Club awarded Sultan a 2019 John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award in recognition of the egregious injustice of his case and the worsening conditions for the press in the India-controlled portion of Kashmir under the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The re-arrest of Sultan is a fresh reminder of the repression that journalists continue to face in India, the world's largest democracy."

"Journalism is not a crime. Any government that arbitrarily arrests and detains journalists for doing their jobs is violating the basic human rights of journalists to report information, and citizens to access information. We demand an immediate end to Aasif Sultan's senseless imprisonment."

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the U.S. and worldwide.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, press freedom consultant for the National Press Club, [email protected], (202) 662-7534

SOURCE National Press Club
Invitation to bid

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- NATCOM, Haiti's leading telecommunications company, is initiating the procedures to select qualified auditors for its 2024 financial statements audit. This endeavor underscores NATCOM's commitment to transparency, accuracy, and adherence to both local regulations and international accounting standards.

Notice is hereby given, that NATCOM, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, will receive sealed proposals for:

BID PACKAGE:

Engaging in a comprehensive examination of NATCOM's financial data for the fiscal year 2024; combined with a thorough IT system audits aimed at safeguarding and maintaining the integrity of data.

Please kindly contact the individual referenced in the invitation to bid letter to acquire official detailed information.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The audit encompasses:

Reviewing data for NATCOM's 2024 financial statements.

Conducting IT system audits to ensure data integrity.

Issuing timely audit reports, in compliance with Haitian accounting laws, taxation regulations, and international standards.

Collaborating with Viettel Group's auditors for consolidated audit reports following IAS 600.

Language: English and French.

Sealed proposals will be accepted until 15h00 on March 31st, 2024 (Haitian time).

AUDITOR REQUIREMENTS:

Certified auditor in Haiti or internationally.

or internationally. Issuing Legal Financial Statements in Haiti

Fluent in English, with experience in telecommunications auditing.

Experience with companies exceeding 700 employees and 50 million dollars revenue in the past 5 years.

revenue in the past 5 years. Proficient in handling big-four audits in the last 5 years.

Membership in accredited international auditing associations.

NATCOM prioritizes corporate governance and financial transparency. The selection of qualified auditors is paramount to maintain stakeholder trust.

ABOUT NATCOM:

NATCOM is Haiti's foremost telecommunications provider, offering mobile, internet, and enterprise solutions. A collaboration between the Haitian government and Viettel Group, NATCOM drives innovation and connectivity across Haiti.

For more information, visit natcom.com.ht.

Questions associated with this project should be directed to:

[Contact Person] Mr. Phan Van Ba

[Position] Chief Investment Department

[Email Address] [email protected].vn

[Phone Number] (509) 3204 7333

SOURCE NATCOM
SHANGHAI, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2171.HK), a company focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors, announces that today the National Medical Products Administration ("NMPA") of China has approved the New Drug Application ("NDA") for zevorcabtagene autoleucel (R&D code: CT053, an autologous CAR-T product candidate against BCMA), for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have previously progressed after at least 3 lines of therapy (including a proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulator agent).

Zevorcabtagene autoleucel is an autologous BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell product, generated by transducing T cells with a lentivirus encoding a CAR comprising a fully human BCMA-specific single chain variable fragment ("scFv"), the human CD8 hinge domain, CD8 transmembrane domain, 4-1 BB co-stimulatory domain and CD3 activation domain. The proprietary novel fully-human scFv has high binding affinity and stability.

The approval of zevorcabtagene autoleucel is based on an open-label, single arm, multi-center Phase II clinical trial (LUMMICAR STUDY 1, NCT03975907) conducted in China. The trial results were released at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology ("ASH"), and zevorcabtagene autoleucel demonstrated encouraging efficacy and a favorable safety profile.

Multiple myeloma is an incurable malignant plasma cell disorder that accounts for approximately 10% of all hematological cancers.[1] With China's ageing population coupled with an increase in life expectancy, the number of patients with multiple myeloma is expected to expand. Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the prevalence of multiple myeloma in China in 2023 is approximately 153,000 per annum, and the number of new cases would be 23,200 per annum. It is estimated that the prevalence of multiple myeloma in China is expected to grow to 266,300 by 2030.[2]

Prof. Wenming Chen, the principal investigator of the LUMMICAR STUDY 1, Director of Hematology Department, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, said, "In the realm of traditional treatments, the prognosis for patients dealing with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma remains notably grim, given the limitations of available therapeutic alternatives. These individuals confront substantial unmet clinical needs, necessitating an expeditious adoption of an effective, safe, and convenient treatment modalities. The approval of zevorcabtagene autoleucel not only expands the array of choices available to clinical practitioners but also brings new hope to patients."

Prof. Chengcheng Fu, the principal investigator of the LUMMICAR STUDY 1, Director of Hematology Department, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, said, "Based on the published results of the LUMMICAR-1 study, zevorcabtagene autoleucel has demonstrated profound and enduring therapeutic efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, exhibiting overall favorable tolerability. We are pleased to witness the regulatory approval and market launch of zevorcabtagene autoleucel. We look forward to its potential to benefit a larger number of individuals, aiding them in achieving high-quality, long-term survival."

Dr. Zonghai Li, Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer of CARsgen Therapeutics, said, "This year marks the tenth anniversary of CARsgen, and I am delighted to announce the NDA approval of zevorcabtagene autoleucel. This achievement stands as a significant milestone in the company's development and serves as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our team. I would like to express heartfelt gratitude to our team members, investigators, patients, and the broader community for their support and trust. We look forward to zevorcabtagene autoleucel bringing renewed hope to adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, thereby improving their survival. Guided by the vision of 'Making Cancer Curable,' we remain committed to exploring new technologies, expanding our product pipeline with global rights to address the major challenges of CAR T-cell therapies, and bringing innovative and differentiated cell therapies to cancer patients worldwide."

About Zevorcabtagene Autoleucel

Zevorcabtagene autoleucel is a fully human, autologous BCMA CAR T-cell product for the treatment of R/R MM. As informed by the NMPA on March 1, 2024, zevorcabtagene autoleucel was approved on February 23, 2024, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have previously progressed after at least 3 lines of therapy (at least one proteasome inhibitor and immunomodulator). CARsgen is conducting a separate Phase 1b/2 LUMMICAR STUDY 2 clinical trial in North America to evaluate the safety and efficacy of zevorcabtagene autoleucel in R/R MM.

Zevorcabtagene autoleucel received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) and Orphan Drug designations from the U.S. FDA in 2019, as well as Priority Medicines (PRIME) and Orphan Medicinal Product designations from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Zevorcabtagene autoleucel also received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the NMPA in 2020.

In January 2023, CARsgen and Huadong Medicine announced a collaboration for the commercialization of zevorcabtagene autoleucel in mainland China. Huadong Medicine was granted the exclusive right to commercialize zevorcabtagene autoleucel in mainland China.

About CARsgen Therapeutics Holdings Limited

CARsgen is a biopharmaceutical company with operations in China and the U.S. and is focused on innovative CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. CARsgen has established a comprehensive CAR T-cell research and development platform, encompassing target discovery, innovative CAR T-cell development, clinical trials, and commercial-scale production. CARsgen has internally developed novel technologies and a product pipeline with global rights to address major challenges of CAR T-cell therapies, such as improving the safety profile, enhancing the efficacy in treating solid tumors, and reducing treatment costs. CARsgen's vision is to become a global biopharmaceutical leader that brings innovative and differentiated cell therapies to cancer patients worldwide and makes cancer curable.

Forward-looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical fact or that do not relate to present facts or current conditions are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements express the Group's current views, projections, beliefs and expectations with respect to future events as of the date of this press release. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and factors beyond the Group's control. As a result, they are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and actual events or results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements and the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those detailed under the heading "Principal Risks and Uncertainties" in our most recent annual report and interim report and other announcements and reports made available on our corporate website, https://www.carsgen.com. No representation or warranty is given as to the achievement or reasonableness of, and no reliance should be placed on, any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts contained in this press release.

References 1. Kyle RA, Rajkumar SV. Multiple myeloma. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1860-1873. 2. Frost and Sullivan. Cellular Immunotherapy Market. Independent Market Research version March, 2021. Data on file.

Contact CARsgen

For more information, please visit https://www.carsgen.com/

Public Relations: [email protected]

Investor Relations: [email protected]

SOURCE CARsgen Therapeutics
CENTER VALLEY, Pa., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Olympus, a leading global medtech company providing innovative solutions for medical and surgical procedures, announced today that EndoClot products are now used in 49 of the 50 U.S. states as well as the District of Columbia and Guam, since Olympus became the exclusive U.S. distributor of EndoClot hemostatis and submucosal injection solution technologies in 2022.

EndoClot products are used by more than 700 accounts, including most of the countrys top-ranked (by size) Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs)

More than 5,000 EndoClot kits have been shipped to customers to date. EndoClot products are used by more than 700 accounts, including most of the country's top-ranked (by size) Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs).

Since their launch, EndoClot products have been discussed in close to 20 relevant professional education courses offered via Olympus Continuum, providing physicians with peer-demonstrations of EndoClot technology capabilities during procedures.

"Olympus knew that EndoClot technology would be important to improving procedure efficiencies and contributing to improved patient outcomes," said Patrick Romano, Vice President, GI Business Unit Leader, Olympus Corporation of the Americas. "But we are nevertheless impressed with the traction that the products have gained in such a short time. The team has been focused on EndoClot since its commercial launch because identifying and treating GI bleeds have been problems in need of optimized solutions for some time."

The EndoClot Polysaccharide Hemostatic Spray (PHS) and EndoClot Submucosal Injection Solution (SIS) were developed by EndoClot Plus, Inc. (EPI), which joined with Olympus in a U.S. distribution agreement in 2022, extending upon an earlier agreement in the EMEA region. EndoClot PHS and SIS became commercially available in the U.S. in September 2022 and in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region in April 2023. Both products are based on the EndoClot Absorbable Modified Polymer (AMP) technology, which has demonstrated an excellent safety profile.1 The EndoClot AMP particles work by absorbing water from blood. The dehydration process causes a high concentration of platelets, red blood cells and coagulation proteins, which helps accelerate the body's clotting cascade. AMP particles are biocompatible, bioabsorbable, non-pyrogenic, starch derived and contain no animal or human components.1

"I have been an EndoClot technology user, both PHS and SIS, from almost as soon as it was available, and I am pleased with the results," said Ahmed Saeed, MD, Premier Gastroenterology of Kansas City, Overland Park, Kansas.* "Patients deserve the technology that can prevent complications from becoming more emergent and requiring follow-up care."

The EndoClot PHS System enables physicians to apply an advanced powder hemostat during a procedure using controlled, consistent air pressure through a portable air compressor. Used for hemostasis of nonvariceal gastrointestinal bleeding, excluding Forrest Ia classification of bleeding, the EndoClot PHS System1:

Is indicated for use within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and in combination with other conventional techniques, like clipping, for large and diffuse bleeds, such as those occurring in peptic ulcers, post-biopsy, polypectomy, tumor bleeding, as well as post-EMR and ESD;

Allows for easy irrigation with water during procedures;

Provides control of delivery and anti-reflux capability through the applicator design, which can prevent occlusion and treat hard-to-reach bleeds; and

Features an air compressor of small, portable design and provides consistent air pressure to propel powder to the bleeding site, while helping prevent the white-out effect common with CO2 propellant.

Performing hemostasis within the GI tract is a technically demanding procedure and the use of EndoClot PHS and associated devices may result in patient injury including but not limited to inflammatory reaction, bowel rupture and air embolism. EndoClot PHS is not indicated for use in surgical or trauma applications.

The EndoClot SIS System is intended for use in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures for submucosal lift of polyps, adenomas, early stage cancers or other gastrointestinal mucosal lesions, prior to excision with a snare or endoscopic device. The EndoClot SIS solution1:

Provides a long-lasting, high lift that may create significant mucosal separation allowing for easy dissection;

Accurately delivers to the targeted area owing to use of a specialized spiral syringe design; and

Minimizes residual artifacts that may cause abnormalities during pathological investigations.

Use of a lifting agent during EMR/ESD/POEM and difficult polypectomy and the associated devices may result in patient injury, bleeding and/or perforation.

For more information visit the EndoClot PHS and EndoClot SIS product pages. A new video highlighting use of the EndoClot PHS and EndoClot SIS has been developed to provide more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlCaoiM2Eo0.

1. Data on file with Olympus as of 16/Aug/2022

*Dr. Saeed is a paid consultant to Olympus.

About Olympus

At Olympus, we are committed to our purpose of making people's lives healthier, safer and more fulfilling. As a global medical technology company, we partner with healthcare professionals striving to provide best-in-class solutions and services for early detection, diagnosis and minimally invasive treatment, aiming to improve patient outcomes by elevating the standard of care in targeted disease states.

For more than 100 years, Olympus has pursued a goal of contributing to society by producing products designed with the purpose of delivering optimal outcomes for its customers around the world. For more information, visit medical.olympusamerica.com.

SOURCE Olympus Corporation of the Americas
TORONTO, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Lisa McDonald, Executive Director, Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), joined Dean McPherson, Head, Global Mining, TMX Group to close the market and celebrate the opening of PDAC 2024.

PDAC 2024 Closes the Market Friday, March 1, 2024

The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) is the leading voice of the mineral exploration and development community, an industry that employs more than 664,000 individuals, and contributed $132 billion to Canada's GDP in 2021. Currently representing over 7,000 members around the world, PDAC's work centers on supporting a competitive, responsible, and sustainable mineral sector. PDAC 2024: The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration.

The annual award-winning Convention in Toronto, Canada brings together up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, business opportunities and fun.

CNW sponsored announcement. To learn more visit www.newswire.ca.

SOURCE Toronto Stock Exchange
BERLIN, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Photovolt Development Partners, a leader in renewable energy solutions, announced its latest U.K. initiative aimed at supporting farmers while promoting environmental sustainability. Through strategic partnerships with landowners, Photovolt is championing the integration of solar farming into agricultural landscapes.

Farmers across the country are facing increasing challenges, from fluctuating market prices to climate change impacts. In response, Photovolt recognizes the potential of solar energy to provide farmers with diversified revenue streams while preserving the natural environment and their land.

"Solar provides farmers with an opportunity to diversify their revenue streams, while preserving the natural environment and their own land," said Julia Lejeune, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Photovolt. "We are committed to supporting farmers in embracing sustainable practices that benefit both their operations and the wider community."

Solar farms not only offer financial benefits to farmers but also contribute to creating a legacy of enriched soil and habitat for future generations. Photovolt's solar farms are designed to be temporary, quick to build, and quick to remove, with a typical lifespan of between 25 and 45 years. Landowners partnering with Photovolt receive an option fee and a stable annual rent per acre, or a percentage of the gross revenue from the solar generation. Additionally, portions of the land used for solar farms may continue to be used for sheep grazing and other mixed-use purposes.

To gain consent for solar farm projects, Photovolt demonstrates significant biodiversity net gain, ensuring that landowners benefit from enhanced biodiversity during and after the tenancy period. The company implements an extensive mitigation strategy after public consultations to minimize visual impact, prioritizing the preservation of the natural landscape.

"We believe in fostering mutually beneficial relationships with farmers, ensuring that our solar projects contribute positively to both the environment and local communities," added Lejeune.

Furthermore, Photovolt's leases include a requirement to reinstate the land to its previous condition upon project completion, removing all solar equipment and cabling. This commitment ensures that the land can continue to be utilized for agricultural purposes.

Photovolt's partnership with farmers represents a significant step towards a more sustainable future, where renewable energy and agriculture work hand in hand to create lasting benefits for all stakeholders.

About Photovolt:

Photovolt Development Partners is a leading provider of renewable energy solutions, dedicated to promoting sustainability and environmental stewardship as a developer of utility-scale photovoltaic power plants. With a focus on innovation and collaboration, Photovolt is committed to driving positive change for future generations.

SOURCE Photovolt
The announcement by Mark Engel, Precisio Biotix's Chairman and CEO, signifies a greater commitment to globalizing the Company's antibacterial science.

DOVER, Del., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Precisio Biotix Therapeutics ("Precisio") today announced the acquisition of CC Bio, creator of the ZEUS anti-bacterial lysin platform. This bio-informatics platform is highly complementary to Precisio's LysiThru high-throughput lysin screening system. CC Bio is led by UK-trained PhD scientists Dr. Matthew Cummings and Dr. David Corcoran. This announcement comes on the heels of global leading lysin scientist Dr. Raymond (Ray) Schuch joining Precisio as Vice President, Director of US Operations.

Precisio creates lower cost novel precision biological antibacterials with a focus on lung and skin infections. The Company's key assets include: (1) LysiThru, the Company's industry-leading high throughput screening, engineering, and AI system for creating best- or first-in-class novel lysins (engineered precision enzymes that rapidly break targeted bacterial cell walls without causing resistance); (2) a strong pipeline of lysin and phage products that will be able to address multiple problematic bacterial diseases, including antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) infections; and (3) one of the strongest scientific teams to address the global need for novel medicines to fight AMR infections.

Dr. Assaf Raz, VP of R&D, stated: "We are delighted to add Matt and David to our team. Not only are they two of the top scientists in the lysin field but they also share our common goal of using advanced technologies to efficiently create low-cost precision antibacterials to address some of the world's largest unmet medical needs."

Precisio's Chairman Mark Engel added "Developing novel antibacterials is a very difficult business  the field is littered with failed companies. We are working with lysins, since they attack pathogen cell walls, a mode of action that does not lead to antibiotic resistance. Lysins are one of the most powerful potential new modalities for treating AMR infections. Lysins are enzymes that specifically target and rapidly break down the cell walls of bacteria without creating new resistance and therefore can be used as alternatives to traditional antibiotics, particularly where these no longer work well against specific antibiotic-resistant infections."

Dr. Raymond Schuch, VP, Director of US Operations further added "I am thrilled to have Matthew and David join such an experienced and effective team to further our goal of bringing a new and cutting-edge antimicrobial modality into human therapeutic use for the treatment of severe and life-threatening infections with antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. The threat from AMR and its impact on human health becomes more significant every day. It must be met with a pipeline of new effective agents, such as lysins and phages, with novel mechanisms of action distinct from antibiotics. Matthew and David's notable commitment to bringing such precision antimicrobials into clinical use was the driving force for adding them to an already dynamic and successful team."

Precisio was represented in this transaction by Corporate Partners, a New York-based merchant bank. Partner Mario Gobbo said, "Precisio is a unique organization, and we are pleased to be working with management, who have built several successful life science companies. Precisio thus far has been funded by family capital: they are highly capital efficient and derisk their R&D whenever possible. With the addition of CC Bio, Precisio has now brought together many of the top scientists in the field."

ABOUT PRECISIO BIOTIX THERAPEUTICS

Precisio is a clinical-stage biotech company creating lower-cost novel precision engineered biological antibacterials, with an initial focus on skin and lung infections. Precisio is a platform-plus-product company (Rx, consumer). Management has had multiple previous successful exits.

ABOUT CC BIO

CC Bio is an early stage bioinformatics company based in London, United Kingdom. Utilizing deep expertise in synthetic biology and microbiology, CC Bio has developed Zeus, a pioneering endolysin design platform which complements Precisio Biotix's existing LysiThru endolysin discovery platform. CC Bio's goal is to eliminate bacteria-based disease in a potent, specific and prophylactic fashion, harmonizing the relationship between eukaryotic and microbial cells.

Contacts: Aileen Shen, Director of Investor Relations, at [email protected] or Daniela Wambold, Corporate Partners, [email protected]

SOURCE Precisio Biotix Therapeutics, Inc.
FREMONT, Calif., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Power Knot Ocean, the market leader for onsite organic waste management solutions in the marine environment, announced today the successful deployment of 26 of its machines aboard Princess Cruises' latest luxury cruise ship, the Sun Princess. The integration of Power Knot's LFC biodigesters and WEP effluent pumps on board Sun Princess marks a significant stride toward sustainable waste management practices within the cruise industry.

Sun Princess, Princess Cruises' newest flagship, weighing 175,500 tons and accommodating 4,300 guests, is set to make its debut in early 2024. Embarking on voyages to the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Caribbean, the ship promises an unparalleled cruise experience with its state-of-the-art amenities, a diverse range of culinary offerings, and opulent staterooms and suites.

The LFC biodigester is a food waste biodigester that uses natural aerobic digestion to break down food waste into water, mitigating the need for traditional disposal methods and contributing to a substantial reduction in both cost and environmental impact. The biodigester units are strategically placed in key areas of the ship such as a galley or garbage room where food waste is processed or handled to improve operations. With nine different sizes available, accommodating the digestion of 10 kg (20 lb) to 6000 kg (13200 lb) of food waste per day, the LFC biodigester provides a versatile and effective approach to waste reduction.

Alongside each LFC biodigester is a WEP effluent pump. These are used to move the effluent to a convenient location so that it can easily be sent to the ship's on board treatment facility.

"The installation of our LFC biodigesters and WEP effluent pumps on the Sun Princess exemplifies our dedication to sustainable waste management solutions. By seamlessly integrating our advanced technology into the ship's operations, we are contributing to a cleaner, greener future for the cruise industry," said Iain Milnes, President of Power Knot.

About Power Knot Ocean

Power Knot Ocean provides safe and economically sound solutions for managers of cruise ships, cargo ships, and yachts globally seeking to reduce their carbon footprint and comply with DOJ and MARPOL regulations. Our technologies are proven, available today, have been in reliable use for many years, and offer a payback period typically of less than two years. We design, develop, and manufacture our products in our headquarters in Silicon Valley, California.

CONTACT: Cecillia Wong, Power Knot, 4088898433, [email protected]

SOURCE Power Knot LLC
SHENZHEN, China, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 26, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held a promotion meeting of the Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (the Qianhai Plan).

The Qianhai Plan, released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on December 21, 2023, details Qianhai's future development, covering areas including development goals, spatial layout, industrial development, business environment, urban construction, quality life, and governance model. It aims to enhance Qianhai's role of a demonstration and leading area in the construction of the Greater Bay Area, as well as further deepen cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, according to the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.

At the meeting, Wu Shulin, Director General of the Department of Regional Economy of the NDRC, first comprehensively introduced the current situation of Qianhai's development and construction, and the overall requirements to implement the Qianhai Plan. That is, the mission to step up Guangdong-Hong Kong and Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation, and expand development fields for Hong Kong. Wu then systematically elaborated on specific measures in industrial development, business environment, urban construction, public services, institutional mechanisms, and other areas.

Wu said that in the next step, NDRC will work with relevant departments of the central government, and fully support Guangdong and Shenzhen to deepen the comprehensive cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, taking the implementation of the Qianhai Plan as an opportunity. Such support and cooperation are also expected to make new contributions to Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, and its in-depth integration into the overall development of the country.

Tsang Kwok-wai, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR government, said that the Qianhai Plan is of great significance to the high-level construction of Qianhai and the Greater Bay Area, and in-depth reform and opening-up and comprehensive high-quality development of the country. Meanwhile, the Qianhai Plan also provides support and guidance for the Hong Kong SAR government to practice "One Country, Two Systems" and maintain long-term prosperity and stability.

According to Tsang, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is an important carrier to support Hong Kong's advantageous industries in expanding the mainland market, as well as a gateway for mainland companies to use Hong Kong as a platform to explore the international market. The exchanges will help Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its positioning as the international finance, shipping, and trade center, and the international aviation hub, and boost local economic and social development. Hong Kong will continue to support Qianhai in playing its pioneering role, and promote more policy innovations and breakthroughs.

"The Hong Kong SAR government will continue to take actions proactively, and establish links with Greater Bay Area cities to deepen cooperation based on each other's strengths. We will break through the difficulties and barriers on the path of development, and roll out more measures promoting the exchanges of people, goods, capital, and information, so that talents, companies, and every average citizen from Hong Kong and the rest of the world can seize the broad opportunities of the Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, we will support Greater Bay Area cities to access the international market, fully leveraging Hong Kong's role as the two-way international platform of 'bringing in' and 'going global'. Hong Kong will always be ready to serve the motherland's development with its strengths." Tsang said.

SOURCE Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone
They utilized crown ether B18C6 with interfacial passivation action to prevent lead leakage and degradation of perovskite due to moisture

BUSAN, South Korea, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Perovskite solar cells are thought of as the strongest contender to replace the conventional silicon solar cells in next-generation photovoltaics. They are made of an A+ cation, a B2+ divalent cation, and an X- halide. Generally containing Pb2+ or Sn2+, they achieve high power conversion energy that is suitable for commercial use. Unfortunately, the presence of lead ions causes issues such as lead leakage, which is a hazard for the environment. Moreover, in the presence of moisture, the perovskite tends to get corroded. Multiple approaches have been suggested to resolve this issue, including encapsulating the device and compositional engineering of the perovskite light absorbers.

Researchers from Pusan National University show that crown ethers, specifically B18C6, can prevent lead leakage by forming strong host-guest bonds with lead ions in perovskite solar cells. They also provide higher resistance to degradation due to moisture.

Now, a team of researchers from Pusan National University in South Korea have published a study in Volume 92 of the Journal of Energy Chemistry in this direction. It was made available online on 1 February 2024 and has been published in the May 2024 edition. The researchers tested many crown ethers in this study to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells. When asked about the relevance of this study, lead researcher Assistant Professor Ji-Youn Seo from the team says, "This study emphasizes the efficacy of interface passivation by achieving increased power conversion efficiency, and demonstrates that crown ether not only blocks lead leakage through the formation of host-guest complexes with lead ions but also imparts strong resistance to moisture to the treated films, showing improved long-term stability in high humidity environments compared to existing solutions. This research highlights the potential of crown ether to simultaneously address lead leakage and long-term stability for sustainable perovskite solar cells ready to advance commercialization and renewable energy applications."

The team found that B18C6 was the best ether for interfacial passivation. With B18C6, there was an increased charge carrier lifetime (or the time spent by an electron in the conduction band of a semiconductor and a hole in the valence band of a semiconductor) seen within the perovskite. The work function (or the minimum energy required to move an electron from a metal's surface) between the hole transfer material and the perovskite was also improved. Thus, the researchers obtained an exceptional power conversion efficiency of 21.7% with B18C6. Compared to untreated perovskites that showed signs of lead leakage, the perovskites with B18C6 showed no signs of lead leakage when a depth profile of all layers was conducted. Furthermore, while normal perovskites showed lead iodide formation when exposed to 95% humidity at room temperature for 300 hours, no such issue was observed for the perovskite passivated by B18C6.

Within the next five years, perovskite solar cell technology, as a type of next generation emerging solar technology, is positioned to potentially replace the globally prevalent silicon solar cells. This technology can enhance photoelectric conversion efficiency to over 30% when used alongside existing silicon solar cells, thereby increasing the possibility of replacing fossil fuel-based energy sources and contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality. Additionally, perovskite solar cells exhibit superior photoelectric conversion efficiency even under indoor lighting, making them applicable to electronic devices and the Internet of Things (IoT), thus offering significant energy-saving opportunities.

Here's hoping for the commercialization of perovskites with crown ethers soon!

Reference

Title of original paper: Interfacial Engineering Through Lead Binding Using Crown Ethers in Perovskite Solar Cells

Journal: Journal of Energy Chemistry

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jechem.2024.01.042

Lab website address: https://sites.google.com/view/nemd

ORCID id: 0000-0002-0473-1279

About the Pusan National University

Website: https://www.pusan.ac.kr/eng/Main.do

Contact:

Jae-Eun Lee

[email protected]

82 51 510 7928

SOURCE Pusan National University
SAO PAULO, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Raizen Fuels Finance S.A. ("Raizen Fuels") today announces the consideration to purchase for cash any and all of the outstanding 5.300% notes due 2027 (the "Notes") issued by Raizen Fuels and guaranteed by Raizen S.A. and Raizen Energia S.A. (together, the "Guarantors").

The offer to purchase the Notes (the "Offer") is being made upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the offer to purchase dated February 26, 2024 (the "Offer to Purchase").

The following table sets forth certain information relating to the Offer, including the consideration (the "Consideration") payable for Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase in the Offer and the offer yield for the Notes, as calculated at 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) today.

Title of

Security CUSIP ISIN Principal

Amount

Outstanding Reference

U.S.

Treasury

Security Bloomberg

Reference

Page Fixed

Spread

(bps) Offer

Yield Consideration(1) 5.300%

Notes due

2027 75102X AA4 /

L7909C AA5 US75102XAA46

/

USL7909CAA55 U.S.$725,000,000 4.125% due

02/15/2027 FIT1 95 5.285 % U.S.$1,000.33













(1) Per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered and accepted for purchase, based on the Fixed Spread (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) plus the yield calculated to the maturity date of the Notes, based on the bid-side price of the Reference U.S. Treasury Security (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) as of 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) today. The Consideration does not include Accrued Interest (as defined below), which will be payable in cash.

The Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on March 1, 2024, unless extended by Raizen Fuels in its sole discretion (such time and date, as the same may be extended, the "Expiration Date").

The Consideration payable for the Notes accepted for purchase in the Offer was determined in the manner described in the Offer to Purchase by reference to the Fixed Spread set forth in the table above plus the yield calculated to the maturity date of the Notes, based on the bid-side price of the Reference U.S. Treasury Security for the Notes as of 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) today.

Validly tendered Notes may be withdrawn in accordance with the terms of the Offer, at any time at or prior to 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on March 1, 2024, except as described in the Offer to Purchase or as required by applicable law (such date and time, as the same may be extended, in the sole discretion of the Offeror, the "Withdrawal Date"). The settlement date of the Offer will occur promptly after the acceptance by Raizen Fuels for purchase of the Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Date or at or prior to the Guaranteed Delivery Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase), for Notes tendered using the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) upon satisfaction (or waiver by Raizen Fuels) of each and all of the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, and is expected to be no later than three business days following the Expiration Date, on March 6, 2024 (the "Settlement Date"), subject to extension by Raizen Fuels in its sole discretion.

Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (as defined in the Offer to Purchase), Holders who (i) validly tender their Notes at or prior to the Expiration Date or (ii) deliver a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery (or comply with the Depository Trust Company's Automated Tender Offer Program procedures applicable to guaranteed delivery) and all other required documents at or prior to the Expiration Date and validly tender their Notes at or prior to the Guaranteed Delivery Date pursuant to the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures, and, in each case, do not validly withdraw their Notes at or prior to the Withdrawal Date, will be eligible to receive the Consideration as described in the Offer to Purchase.

In addition to the Consideration, holders whose Notes are tendered and accepted for purchase in the Offer, including Notes tendered pursuant to the Guaranteed Delivery Procedures, will be paid accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes from, and including, the last interest payment date to, but excluding, the Settlement Date ("Accrued Interest"), payable on the Settlement Date. For the avoidance of doubt, Raizen Fuels will not pay accrued interest for any periods following the Settlement Date in respect of any Notes purchased in the Offer.

Completion of the Offer is conditioned upon the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions described in the Offer to Purchase. Raizen Fuels has the right, in its sole discretion, to amend or terminate the Offer at any time, subject to applicable law.

***

Raizen Fuels has retained Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC to serve as dealer managers and D.F. King & Co., Inc. to serve as information and tender agent for the Offer. The Offer to Purchase, the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery and any related supplements are available at the D.F. King & Co., Inc. website at www.dfking.com/raizen. The full details of the Offer, including complete instructions on how to tender Notes, are included in the Offer to Purchase. Holders of Notes are strongly encouraged to carefully read the Offer to Purchase because it contains important information. Requests for the Offer to Purchase and any related supplements may also be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. by telephone at +1 (212) 269-5550 or +1 (800) 714-3305 (US toll free) or in writing at [email protected]. Documents relating to the Offer, including the Offer to Purchase and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, are also available at www.dfking.com/raizen. Questions about the Offer may be directed to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. by telephone at +1 (800) 558-3745 (toll free) or +1 (212) 723-6106 (collect); Itau BBA USA Securities, Inc. by telephone at +1 (888) 770-4828 (toll free) or + 1 (212) 710-6749 (collect); J.P. Morgan Securities LLC by telephone at +1 (866) 846-2874 (toll free) or +1 (212) 834-7279 (collect); and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC by telephone at + (800) 624-1808 (toll free) or +1 (212) 761-1057(collect).

This press release shall not constitute an offer to purchase or a solicitation of acceptance of the offer to purchase, which are being made only pursuant to the terms and conditions contained in the Offer to Purchase. The Offer is not being made to, nor will Raizen Fuels accept tenders of Notes from, holders in any jurisdiction in which the Offer or the acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or blue sky laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction where the laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer will be made by the dealer managers on behalf of Raizen Fuels.

None of Raizen Fuels, the Guarantors, the information and tender agent, the dealer managers or the trustee with respect to the Notes, nor any of their respective affiliates, makes any recommendation as to whether holders should tender or refrain from tendering all or any portion of their Notes in response to the Offer. None of Raizen Fuels, the Guarantors, the information and tender agent, the dealer managers or the trustee with respect to the Notes, nor any of their respective affiliates, has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation in connection with the Offer other than the information and representations contained in the Offer to Purchase.

Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any U.S. state securities commission nor any regulatory authority of any other country has approved or disapproved of the Offer, passed upon the merits or fairness of the Offer or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of the disclosure in the Offer to Purchase.

About Raizen Fuels, Raizen and Raizen Energia

Raizen Fuels Finance S.A. is a public limited liability company (societe anonyme) organized and existing under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since January 20, 2014, having its registered office at 16, rue Eugene Ruppert, L-2453 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies (Registre de commerce et des societes, Luxembourg) under number B184033, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raizen Energia, who, in its turn, is wholly-owned by Raizen S.A.

Raizen S.A. is a publicly-held corporation (sociedade anonima) under the laws of Brazil. Raizen S.A. is the parent guarantor and ultimate holding company of the Raizen group. Raizen S.A.'s executive offices are located at Avenida Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco, 222, Block 2, Room 321, in the City of Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, CEP 22631-455, Brazil, and its telephone number is +55 11 2344-6200.

Raizen Energia S.A. is a corporation (sociedade anonima) under the laws of Brazil, and a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of Raizen S.A. Raizen Energia's executive offices are located at Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, 4.100, 11th floor, in the City of Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, CEP 04538-132, Brazil.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Other than statements of historical fact, information regarding activities, events and developments that Raizen Fuels and the Guarantors expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections. Many forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe, "estimate" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are predictions only and actual results could differ materially from management's expectations due to a variety of risk factors. All forward-looking statements attributable to Raizen Fuels or the Guarantors are expressly qualified in their entirety by such risk factors. The forward-looking statements that Raizen Fuels or the Guarantors make in this press release are based on management's current views and assumptions regarding future events and speak only as of their dates. Raizen Fuels or the Guarantors assume no obligation to update developments of these risk factors or to announce publicly any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements that Raizen Fuels or the Guarantors make, or to make corrections to reflect future events or developments, except as required by the U.S. federal securities laws.

DISCLAIMER

This press release must be read in conjunction with the Offer to Purchase. This announcement and the Offer to Purchase contain important information which must be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the Offer. If any holder of Notes is in any doubt as to the action it should take, it is recommended to seek its own legal, tax, accounting and financial advice, including as to any tax consequences, immediately from its stockbroker, bank manager, attorney, accountant or other independent financial or legal adviser. Any individual or company whose Notes are held on its behalf by a broker, dealer, bank, custodian, trust company or other nominee or intermediary must contact such entity if it wishes to participate in the Offer. None of Raizen Fuels, the Guarantors, the dealer managers, the information and tender agent and any person who controls, or is a director, officer, employee or agent of such persons, or any affiliate of such persons, makes any recommendation as to whether holders of Notes should participate in the Offer.

SOURCE Raizen Fuels Finance S.A.
Earth station network license from Ofcom enables Rivada to provide communications services in Great Britain

MUNICH, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ofcom, the U.K.'s independent communications regulator, has today granted Rivada a license that enables the company to provide satellite communications services in Great Britain.

Rivada is launching a constellation of low-earth orbit satellites to provide government communications, maritime and aviation connectivity, enterprise networking and backhaul services for telecommunications networks.

The OuterNET: Rivada's global orbital network (PRNewsfoto/Rivada Space Networks)

Ofcom stated: "In October, Ofcom consulted on Rivada's license application and having assessed responses, concluded that Rivada's system is capable of coexisting with other services. We also believe that granting the license will not create a material risk to competition, and that Rivada's planned services would benefit U.K. consumers and businesses."

The network license allows Rivada to use spectrum and deploy user terminals in the U.K., which are dishes and antennas used by customers to connect to its satellite network. These can be used on a building, in the air or at sea.

Prof. David Hendon, CBE, Senior Vice President at Rivada and former CEO of Ofcom's predecessor, the Radio Communications Agency, commented: "Ofcom is well known in the regulatory world for its painstaking due diligence and great legal caution, so this marks an impressive milestone for Rivada, in which one of the world's leading regulatory bodies has approved the roll out of a unique new network, the OuterNET, for communications services in the U.K."

Declan Ganley, CEO, Rivada Space Networks, said: "This is a significant step for Rivada in terms of market access. We are now on an exciting path to ensure that the OuterNET is available globally to solve essential connectivity and networking challenges and open up new business opportunities."

About the OuterNET :

The OuterNET is the first unified global communications network. Rivada's global low-latency point-to-point network of 600 low earth orbit (LEO) satellites is a unique next-generation constellation combining inter-satellite laser links with advanced onboard processing and routing to create a ubiquitous optical mesh network in space. This "orbital network," in which data stays in space from origin to destination, creates an ultra-secure satellite network with pole-to-pole coverage, offering end-to-end latencies much lower than terrestrial fiber over long distances. And by routing traffic on a physically separated network, it provides a layer of defense for any organization that needs to securely share data between widely distributed sites. The first satellite launch is set for 2025, with global service available in 2026.

Media Contacts

Melanie Dickie, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer

Rivada Space Networks GmbH

Tel: +31 6 14 22 97 62 Email: [email protected]m

Brian Carney, SVP Corporate Communications

Rivada Networks, Inc

Tel: +1 (207) 256-0386

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Rivada Space Networks
Program and Scholarship, funded through Johnson & Johnson charitable donation, honors Oliver's legacy, supports next generation of NJ public service leaders

NEWARK, N.J., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Center for Politics and Race in America at Rutgers University-Newark was named in honor of the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver, the first Black woman in New Jersey to hold statewide office, at a ceremony attended by Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, Oliver's family, members of the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, and leaders from Johnson & Johnson.

From left, Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor, family members of the late Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, New Jersey Sen. Britnee Timberlake, Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way, James Jones, co-director of the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America, and Jeannine LaRue. Photo credit: Nora Luongo Vanessa Broadhurst, Johnson & Johnson Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs. Photo credit: Tamara Fleming

"It is my privilege to join Rutgers University officials to honor my dear friend and mentor, the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver," said Lt. Gov. Way. "Sheila was and remains the epitome of what a true public servant should be; dedicated, compassionate, and filled with integrity. As we gather to launch Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America in her honor, I know she is sure to touch the many young people who will continue to build on the legacy of her passionate work."

The Center for Politics and Race in America, established last year with state funding, is a "fact tank" for research on the nation's political life and a resource for underrepresented students seeking careers in government and public service.

"Today, we proudly rename the Center of Politics and Race in America in honor of the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, a trailblazer who fought tirelessly for justice and equality,'' said James Jones, the center's co-director. "Lt. Gov. Oliver's legacy will continue to inspire our center as we expand access to public service as a profession and promote research and public policy that confronts systemic inequalities.''

To that end, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson announced at the ceremony that it has made a charitable donation to fund the Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver Leadership Scholarship, part of the center's Public Service Leadership Program at Rutgers School of Arts & SciencesNewark. The scholarship will provide four Rutgers-Newark students with stipends to participate in public service internships over the next five years. The initial application process will be established and opened in the first half of 2024 with the first scholars awarded this Summer.

Johnson & Johnson has a long legacy of civil engagement within its home state throughout its 138-year history. The initiative highlights the company's values of diversity, equity, and inclusion which fuel its pursuit to create a healthier, more equitable world.

"Lt. Gov. Oliver dedicated her life to public service and improving the lives of all New Jerseyans, especially those in underserved and marginalized communities. She was a trailblazer and continues to be an inspiration for so many," said Vanessa Broadhurst, Johnson & Johnson's Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs. "Johnson & Johnson is proud to honor Lt. Gov. Oliver's legacy of public service through the scholarship in her name to cultivate the next generation 'Sheila Olivers'well-rounded, passionate and driven public servants who represent the very best of New Jersey and the state's rich diversity and culture."

A Newark native, Oliver was the first African American woman in New Jersey history to hold statewide office when she was elected as the state's second Lt. Governor in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. In addition to her role as Lt. Governor, she also served as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, leading state efforts to strengthen and expand initiatives for fair and affordable housing, community revitalization, homelessness prevention, and local government services that support New Jersey's 564 municipalities.

In 2010, Oliver became the first African American woman to serve as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and only the second in our nation's history to lead a state legislative house. She died while in office as Lt. Governor on Aug. 1, 2023.

"While our family still mourns the loss of a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend, it brings us an immense amount of pride to see Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver's legacy live on for centuries to come with the renaming of Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America, along with the Johnson & Johnson charitable donation to the Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver Leadership Scholarship," said Renee Oliver, Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver's niece and President of the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association. "Aunt Sheila dedicated her heart and soul to her craft and serving those in need from all walks of life. On behalf of the entire Oliver Family, we truly believe that this fitting tribute will have a lasting impact on the next generation of public servants to come and that they will be inspired to invoke positive change in Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver's honor."

Gov. Phil Murphy, who was not able to attend the event, shared a statement. "My dear friend and partner in government, the late, great Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver was a trailblazer whose legacy lives on in many ways. I am proud to see it continue with this fitting tribute as the Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America is named in her honor,'' he stated. "Sheila's work in New Jersey, especially in her community, has left a lasting impact on many folks who hold careers in public service. She was a mentor and role model to many, and this new honor will ensure that the legacy of her work lives on and continues to inspire young people seeking to make positive change in our state, nation's capital, and beyond."

A leading mission of the Center for Race and Politics in America, in addition to advancing research and political data analysis, is to diversify the field of young people who have access to opportunities in public service and politics, including internships on Capitol Hill, which often serve as stepping-stones to elected office and successful careers in the private sector.

According to 2021 research from Center Co-director James Jones, Black and Latino students comprise 15 and 20 percent of undergraduates but just seven percent and eight percent of paid Hill interns.

The center will prepare others to follow in Oliver's footsteps.

In a tribute video that was shown at the ceremony, an emotional Oliver, speaking after she was elected, declared: "This may not be the first glass ceiling I have broken, but it is certainly the highest. I hope that somewhere in this great state of New Jersey, a young girl of color is watching tonight and realizing that she does not have a limit to how high she can go.''

Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor praised Oliver as a "shero.''

"Her vision and courage as a boundary-breaking leader were surpassed only by her compassion and her example as someone who fervently sought for our nation to live up to its promise. She embodied the principle of lifting as one climbs, which we saw time and again throughout her career as she engaged with our students, faculty, and staff to urge us forward in making educational opportunity a reality for all,'' said Cantor. "I can think of no better enduring tribute to her at Rutgers-Newark than to name CPRA in her honor, and we couldn't be more grateful to Johnson & Johnson for its investment in new generations of changemakers to emulate her."

"As a daughter of Newark, Lt. Gov. Oliver's vision for political life was shaped by her experiences in Newark's public schools, her education at Lincoln University, a historically Black university, and Columbia University, an elite predominantly White university, and her work as an urban educator, as an activist and advocate. These are the settings and institutions that informed her understanding of the levers, power and possibilities of political engagement,'' said Jacqueline Mattis, co-director of the center and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. "She understood the complex ways that race intersects with other social identities including gender, class, sexuality, immigration status to influence all people's life outcomes, the attitudes that we all hold about the world around us, and our relationships with structures of power. It is fitting that this inclusive, non-partisan center is named in her honor."

At the ceremony, New Jersey State Sens. M. Teresa Ruiz and Britnee Timberlake read resolutions in honor of the center's renaming and Johnson & Johnson's gift.

About the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America

The center is a resource that rapidly disseminates high-quality data and faculty scholarship on race and politics at the national and state levelwith a particular focus on New Jerseyand a place for cutting-edge training in political research methods and data analysis. It also seeks to diversify the field of young people who have access to careers in government and public service through paid internships and other programs. It is co-directed by Rutgers-Newark professor James Jones, a professor of Sociology and Africana Studies and a leading authority on congressional staff diversity, and Jacqueline Mattis, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. More information about the center can be found at https://sasn.rutgers.edu/cpra.

About Rutgers UniversityNewark

Rutgers UniversityNewark (RU-N) is a diverse, urban, public research university that is an anchor institution in New Jersey's cultural capital. It is exceptionally well positioned to fulfill higher education's promise as an engine of discovery, innovation, and social mobility. It has a remarkable legacy of producing high-impact scholarship that is connected to the great questions and challenges of the world. It is in and of a city and region where its work on local challenges undertaken with partners from many sectors resonates powerfully throughout our urbanizing world. Most importantly, RU-N brings an incredible diversity of people to this workstudents, faculty, staff, and community partnersmaking it more innovative, more creative, more engaging, and more relevant for our time and the times ahead.

About Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association

The Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, is a private, non-profit, non-partisan charitable organization, committed to empowering underserved communities and educating and developing young women of color who are interested in government, public policy, and community organizing. Visit www.sheilaoliver.com for more information.

SOURCE Rutgers University - Newark
NEW YORK, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The seed treatment market is set to grow by USD 3,063.64 million from 2022 to 2027 progressing at a CAGR of 8.32% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The rising awareness regarding seed-applied technologies is driving market growth. The increasing demand for food is coinciding with a decline in per capita arable land availability, primarily due to population growth and urbanization. To enhance the efficiency of their farmlands, farmers are focusing on developing techniques like high-yield hybrid seeds for progressive food production. The utilization of treated seeds with extended shelf life and good quality becomes essential in this context. Government awareness programs, such as the India Seed Treatment Campaign, are also contributing to the growth of the seed treatment market during the forecast period. To tackle the challenges posed by limited land availability, vendors are continuously introducing high-yield hybrid seeds. In China, there is a particular emphasis on increasing yields per hectare through the introduction of new varieties that offer higher yields while requiring reduced water, fertilizers, and other inputs, and are more resistant to droughts, heat, submersions, pests, and diseases. Consequently, the combination of declining arable land and the development of treated crops is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Download Sample Report in minutes!

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Seed Treatment Market 2023-2027

Report Coverage Details Page number 158 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.32% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 3,063.64 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 7.5 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 36% Key countries US, China, India, Russia, and France

The traditional strategies aimed towards developing innovative seed treatment products

Key players in the market are adopting various growth strategies, including acquisitions, partnerships, and collaborations, to expand their market presence and gain significant market shares. Both international and locally active players operate in the market under consideration. However, the prominent players strategically prioritize acquisitions and partnerships to enhance their position in the global seed treatment market. The partnership with Albaugh LLC, for instance, enables them to expand their portfolio of customized seed treatments, demonstrating their commitment to product innovation. These factors are expected to contribute to the growth of the global seed treatment market during the forecast period.

The ban on chemical-based seed treatment solutions is a major challenge hindering market growth. Download Sample Report in minutes!

Market Segmentation

This report extensively covers market segmentation by crop type (oilseeds, cereals and grains, and fruits and vegetables), type (chemical and non-chemical), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa).

The oilseeds segment will account for a major share of the market's growth during the forecast period. In the past 4-5 years, there has been a rising demand for oilseeds like soybean and rapeseed globally. This increasing demand for soybean and cotton seeds, which are among the most consumed crops worldwide, significantly contributes to the growth of the global seed treatment market. To meet the higher demand, oilseed producers have been increasing their productivity, leading to an expansion in the cultivation area for pulses and oilseeds, further driving the growth of the global seed treatment market in the oilseed segment during the forecast period. View Sample Report

Companies Mentioned

AGLUKON Spezialduenger GmbH and Co. KG

Albaugh LLC

Associated British Foods Plc

BASF SE

BioWorks Inc.

Excel Crop Care Ltd.

FMC Corp.

Humintech GmbH

Koch Industries Inc.

MITSUI and CO. LTD.

Novozymes AS

Nufarm Ltd.

OMEX

Plant Health Care Plc

Roquette Freres SA

Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.

Syngenta Crop Protection AG

UPL Ltd.

Bayer AG

Corteva Inc.

Companies Offerings

AGLUKON Spezialduenger GmbH and Co. KG - The company offers seed treatment that helps to boost root development, germination, and uniform emergence.

The company offers seed treatment that helps to boost root development, germination, and uniform emergence. BASF SE - The company offers seed treatment solutions such as corn, soybean, and cereals.

The company offers seed treatment solutions such as corn, soybean, and cereals. Associated British Foods Plc - The company offers seed treatments such as seed polymers and bespoke solutions under its subsidiary Germains Seed Technology. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform

Analyst Review

In the agriculture, where farmers tirelessly toil to meet the world's growing demand for food, the seed treatment market plays a pivotal role in ensuring crop productivity and minimizing losses due to various factors such as pest infestations, fungal diseases, and abiotic stresses.

Seed treatment involves the application of insecticides, fungicides, and other chemicals to seeds before planting, thereby protecting them from soil-dwelling insect pests, nematodes, and seed-borne diseases. Syngenta Group, a key player in this market, provides a range of seed treatment chemicals containing active ingredients like Metalaxyl, Carbendazim, Thiram, Captan, Imidacloprid, Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam, Fipronil, and Chlorpyrifos. These potent chemicals not only combat pests but also enhance abiotic stress tolerance in crops, helping them withstand droughts, heatwaves, and other adverse environmental conditions.

Farmers, facing constant challenges from crop diseases and pest control, rely on seed treatments to safeguard their seedlings during the preharvest stage and throughout the crop cycle. By employing fungicidal seed treatments containing Tricyclazole and other agents, they effectively manage fungal diseases like rice blast, ensuring healthy plant establishment and maximizing rice yield.

In addition to protecting seeds from pests and diseases, seed treatments contribute to sustainable farming practices by reducing the need for chemical sprays post-planting, thus minimizing environmental impact. This approach aligns with the goals of governments and extension services worldwide, which often support such initiatives through subsidies and awareness campaigns aimed at promoting industry collaborations for sustainable agriculture.

Furthermore, seed treatments target a diverse range of pests, including sucking insects like wireworms, seed-corn maggots, grubs, caterpillars, and beetles, thereby ensuring optimal crop production and minimizing crop losses due to pest damage.

Overall, the seed treatment market continues to evolve, driven by advancements in chemical formulations, technological innovations, and increasing awareness among farmers about the benefits of seed treatment. As agriculture faces new challenges in the form of climate change and evolving pest pressures, the role of seed treatments in safeguarding crop yield and enhancing food security remains indispensable. View Sample Report

Related Reports:

The genetically modified (GM) seeds market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.69% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 18.38 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by product (corn, soybean, cotton, canola, and others), type (herbicide tolerance and insect tolerance), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The rise in the adoption of biofuels is notably driving the market growth.

The chemical seed treatment market share is expected to increase to USD 3.39 billion from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 9.64%. This report extensively covers chemical seed treatment market segmentation by type (insecticides, fungicides, and others) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). One of the key factors driving the global chemical seed coating treatment market growth is the increased use of herbicides.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Executive Summary

2 Landscape

3 Sizing

4 Historic Size

5 Five Forces Analysis

6 Segmentations

7 Customer Landscape

8 Geographic Landscape

9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10 Vendor Landscape

11 Vendor Analysis

12 Appendix

About US

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
KENNEWICK, Wash., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Senske Services, a national leader in lawn care, pest control, and home services, proudly announces its strategic acquisition of Turf Doctor, a well-established provider of professional lawn care and pest control services in Augusta, Maine. This latest acquisition highlights Senske Services' commitment to growing its presence and delivering exceptional services to customers from coast to coast.

Turf Doctor, founded by Michael Russo in 1997, has been a trusted name in Augusta, known for its dedication to creating healthy and vibrant lawns throughout Maine. Under Russo's leadership, Turf Doctor has built a strong reputation for excellence in lawn care solutions, including fertilization, weed control, and pest management.

Mr. Russo, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, "I am confident that Senske is the ideal partner to carry on the legacy of Turf Doctor. Their commitment to customer service and environmental responsibility aligns perfectly with the values that have defined our company."

Casey Taylor, CEO of Senske Services, expressed excitement about the expansion into Maine, stating, "We are thrilled to welcome Turf Doctor into the Senske Family of Companies. Michael Russo and his team have built an outstanding organization, and we look forward to continuing their tradition of excellence in lawn care and pest control services."

As Turf Doctor joins Senske Services, they will now operate under the Blades of Green division with Brad Leahy, COO of Blades of Green, overseeing both operations. It will be a seamless transition for both customers and employees as the company continues operating as the Turf Doctor brand. "We are proud of the team we have built at Blades of Green, and we are excited to welcome our new colleagues to the company," said Mr. Leahy. "We look forward to continuing to grow and add more states in the northeast."

About Senske Services: Since securing investments from private equity firm GTCR, Senske Services has added 10 brands to its portfolio and in addition to Canada, serves customers in fourteen states across the U.S. Senske remains committed to its international expansion strategy, actively seeking partnerships with distinguished home services companies.

More on Senske's M&A process can be found at www.senske.com/why-senske/mergers-and-acquisitions/.

SOURCE Senske Services
TAMPA, Fla., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seth Coulson, CFA, has joined DoubleLine Capital as a Relationship Manager for institutional investors and investment consulting firms in the Midwestern United States.

Mr. Coulson is based at DoubleLine's Los Angeles offices and reports to Ryan Hart, Director, Institutional, Global Relationship Management.

From July 2008 to joining DoubleLine, Mr. Coulson was a Vice President at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) in Newport Beach, Calif., where he was responsible for coverage and sales generation from many of PIMCO's largest institutional prospects and clients across the Western and Central U.S., including corporate, public, nonprofit and multi-employer clients.

Prior to PIMCO, Mr. Coulson worked at State Street IMS in Irvine, Calif., where he led the allocations process for PIMCO's Agency mortgage-backed securities trades.

Mr. Coulson holds a Master of Business Administration, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Los Angeles, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance Major/Spanish Minor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

About DoubleLine

DoubleLine Capital LP is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. DoubleLine's offices can be reached by telephone at (813) 791-7333 or by email at [email protected]. Media can reach DoubleLine by email at [email protected]. DoubleLine is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP.

SOURCE DoubleLine
VANCOUVER, BC, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Reagent Processing Corp. (CSE: CRPC) (OTC: GRXXF) (Frankfurt: G0A) is pleased to provide an update on progress with the Laguana Santa Maria Soda Ash Project, located in Salta Province, Argentina. The project is strategically located in the "Lithium Triangle," a geographic area of significant lithium carbonate project development by such companies as POSCO, Arcadium Lithium PLC, Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Americas. Soda ash is a critical reagent required to produce lithium carbonate; each tonne of lithium carbonate produced utilizes two tonnes of soda ash in processing. Currently, much of the soda ash supply for the production of lithium carbonate in Argentina is sourced outside the country.

The 260 hectare Laguna Santa Maria appears as a salar or salt flat. Work to date has included a Vertical Survey and a site visit with limited sampling. The project concept is one of a salar that hosts brine exploitable as a "in liquid" soda ash deposit. The project area is a Mining License with a history of small-scale soda ash production by the prior owner.

Results of a recently completed Electromagnetic Sounding indicates a depth potential of over 280 meters comprised of two layers of granulitic material. The upper layer is an unsaturated zone down to approximately 35 meters and is not the target zone. Below this layer is a zone of saturation with high salinity. It is comprised of medium sediments and is the target zone.

Eleven surface/solid and fifteen liquid/well samples were obtained during the 2023 site visit. The surface samples were hand dug as pits and had values ranging from 501 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) CO3 (carbonate) to 325,406 mg/kg CO3 indicating a carbonate surface formation.

The Fifteen liquid samples were obtained at various locations around the project by the perforation of the surface structure with a hand dug well. Of the fifteen liquid samples taken to date, thirteen were deemed to represent near surface waters within the unsaturated zone. The other two samples have returned high values of calcium carbonate, carbonate, bicarbonate and sodium, and are deemed to represent leakage upwards from the saturated target zone below.

Sample LMS 0-2 returned 24,414 milligrams per liter (mg/L) Ca Co3 (calcium carbonate), 11,951CO3 mg/L CO3 (carbonate), 5,484 mg/L HCO3 (bicarbonate), and 22,858 mg/L Na (sodium), with total dissolved solids at 58,723 mg/L.

Sample LMS 05 returned 15,981 mg/L CaCO3, 7,980 mg/L CO3, 3,270 mg/L HCO3 and 15.844 mg/L Na with total dissolved solids at 39,727 mg/L.

All test work was completed under the supervision of Mr. William Feyerabend, a director and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. All samples were analyzed by Alex Stewart Laboratories, an ISO certified laboratory located in Mendoza, Argentina. Quality Assurance and Best Practices were employed in the sample program including blank insertion prior to assy.

This small sample set would indicate that a soda ash product may possibly be produced by the evaporation of liquid contained within the target zone. The next phase of work will include an onsite bulk sample of brine for evaporative testing.

Company President Adrian F.C. Hobkirk is quoted, "We are pleased with the initial results from the first phase of evaluation of the Laguna Santa Maria soda ash deposit. The close proximity of the Mining Licenses to significant lithium production and development represents a unique strategic business opportunity for the Company.

Company Director Mr. Willaim Feyerabend, a Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person under N.I. 43101 participated in the production of this press release and approves of the scientific and technical content contained herein.

About Critical Reagent Processing Corp.

Critical Reagent Processing Corp. (CRPC) has completed its purchase option agreement to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Mina Laguna Santa Maria project, which consists of two mining concessions licensed for the production of sodium carbonate, "Soda Ash". Pursuant to the option agreement, the Company is now the holder of 100% of No 17.643 Ignacio VI and 86% of No 1.255 Santa Maria and has filed documentation to obtain the remaining 14% of No 1.255 Santa Maria, located in Salta Province, Argentina. The 260 hectare property hosts a natural deposit of sodium carbonate, or soda ash. Soda ash is a necessary reagent for the production of lithium carbonate. The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2022, 165,000 tonnes of soda ash were exported from the United States to Argentina, with a value of $US 48 million. CRPC believes the Laguna Santa Maria Project holds a competitive advantage over soda ash importation into Argentina as it is located in country, and in an area of significant lithium carbonate production and project development. Management is continuing to evaluate the property and market for soda ash in Argentina. Results of a bulk sample chemical evaluation are expected shortly.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Adrian Hobkirk President and CEO

T: 954-684-8040

E: [email protected]

W: www.crpc-corp.com

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351998/CRPC_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Critical Reagent Processing Corp.
VANCOUVER, BC, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Sitka Gold Corp. ("Sitka" or the "Company") (CSE: SIG) (FSE: 1RF) (OTCQB: SITKF) is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval to list its common shares (the "Shares") on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") following satisfaction of regulatory requirements. The Shares will be de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange at the close of markets on March 4, 2024 and begin trading on the TSX-V at the open of markets on March 5, 2024.

"We are looking forward to working with the TSX-V and expect this listing to improve the Company's visibility across both domestic and international capital markets," stated Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka. "With exposure to a broader base of potential investors, we believe this will provide a means of expanding the company's investor base and ultimately assist in unlocking the value of Sitka's gold discoveries in the Yukon and Nevada along with the other mineral assets within its portfolio of projects."

Upon listing, the Company's trading symbol "SIG" will remain unchanged and shareholders will not be required to take any action in connection with the Company's listing on the TSX-V. The Shares will also continue to be listed on the OTCQB Marketplace in the United States under the symbol "SITKF" and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1RF".

Appointment of New Director

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Angus Campbell, P. Geo., to the Board as a Director.

Mr. Campbell is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of global project experience. He has extensive exploration and operational knowledge gained by working on greenfield, brownfield and mine development projects. Most recently he was Vice President of Exploration for Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. which was acquired by B2Gold Corp. in 2023 for $1.2 billion. During his 10 years with Sabina, Angus led exploration initiatives that resulted in a new deposit discovery and over 2.5 million ounces of resource growth. Prior to Sabina, Angus was Exploration Manager for Chile with BHP Billiton based in Santiago. Throughout his career he has held senior technical positions with a focus on Health Safety Environment and Community, business development and discovery. He has worked throughout North and South America and parts of Asia. Angus was a member of Rio Algom's Spence copper deposit discovery team in Chile who were honoured with the PDAC Bill Denis award in 1998. Angus holds a B.Sc. in Geology and is a registered Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia.

Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka, stated, "We are very excited to welcome Angus Campbell to the Board of Directors. His distinguished career brings an incredible amount of experience and knowledge to our team at a key stage in the Company's growth. We look forward to working with Angus as we continue to advance the major gold discovery at our flagship RC Gold Project in Yukon and unlock value across our portfolio of other mineral properties."

In connection with the appointment of Mr. Campbell to the Board, the Company has granted Mr. Campbell 400,000 incentive stock options (the "Options"). The Options are exercisable at $0.14 per Share for a period of three years from the date of grant and are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's new stock option plan. In order to comply with applicable TSX-V policies, the Company adopted a new 10% rolling stock option plan which will be put to shareholders for approval on an annual basis in accordance with TSX-V policies.

Upcoming Events

Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at the following events*:

Tombstone Gold Rush Breakfast - Fireside Chat - Toronto, ON : March 5, 2024

: Invest Yukon Precious Metals Luncheon - Toronto, ON : March 5, 2024

: PDAC, Toronto, ON : March 3 - 6, 2024 Exhibitor Booth #2346: March 3-6 One-on-One Meeting Program: March 4-5 Core Shack Booth #3310: March 3-4

: Swiss Mining Institute, Zurich, Switzerland : March 20 - 21, 2024

: 121 Mining Investment, London, England : May 16-17, 2024

*All events are subject to change.

Agreement for Investor Relations Services

The Company announces that it has entered into an investor relations agreement (the "IR Agreement") with Jennifer Coe, B.Sc., (the "Consultant"), pursuant to which the Consultant has agreed, effective September 1, 2023, to provide marketing and shareholder communications services to the Company for a term of 12 months, and thereafter for subsequent terms of 6 months, subject to termination in accordance with the terms of the IR Agreement.

The Consultant has been engaged to heighten market awareness for the Company and to broaden the Company's reach within the investment community. In conducting her marketing and communications program, the Consultant will employ a number of different communication methods, including digital marketing, broadcasting, newsletter dissemination, phone calls and emails.

The Consultant brings over 15 years of marketing experience to Sitka from a variety of industries including nine years as Director of Member Services at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver where she managed marketing, communications and public relations. In the past four years she has been actively involved in the junior mining sector and now will focus on leading Sitka's major marketing, branding and communication initiatives.

The Company will pay the Consultant a monthly cash fee of $5,000 which the Company intends to pay out of its general working capital account. Pursuant to the IR Agreement and subject to the approval of the Company's Board and the necessary regulatory consents and approvals, the Company may issue to the Consultant, from time to time, Options to purchase Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan.

The Company and the Consultant act at arm's length. The Consultant currently holds (i) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.19, expiring on April 6, 2026; (ii) 50,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.12 expiring on February 25, 2025; and (iii) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.20 expiring on January 4, 2027. The Consultant has no other interest in the Company or its securities, or any right to or intent to acquire such an interest at this time.

The Consultant has agreed to comply with all applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX-V in providing the services to the Company.

About Sitka Gold Corp.

Sitka Gold Corp. is a well-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the RC, Bee Bop, Barney Ridge, and OGI properties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold and Silver property in Arizona. Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Clear Creek and Mahtin properties in Yukon, the Alpha Gold property in Nevada, and the Coppermine River project in Nunavut.

The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC Gold Project in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023). A total of approximately 6500 metres of additional diamond drilling within 16 drill holes has been completed at RC Gold since the announcement of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

SITKA GOLD CORP.

"Donald Penner"

President and Director

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the development of the business, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing of the Shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, about: general business and economic conditions; the timing of the receipt of regulatory approvals, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk the Shares will not be listed on the TSX-V and de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

SOURCE Sitka Gold Corp.
Starlight's vital programs are needed in hospitals to unleash the healing power of play

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Starlight Children's Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of its Power of Play campaign, aimed at raising funds and awareness of the healing power of play for kids in hospitals and their families. The month-long campaign aims to raise $225,000 through different activations, including its annual Stream For Starlight Spring Stream event, starting on March 1.

"Hospitalization can be scary and stressful for kids. At Starlight, we work to transform the hospital experience through programs that provide therapeutic play and positive distractions, uplift spirits and empower kids with a renewed sense of optimism and courage. Studies show that happiness can help patients recover faster and with fewer complications," said Adam Garone, CEO of Starlight Children's Foundation. "This important fundraising campaign supports our mission of delivering happiness to hospitalized kids and their families, helping make the journey to recovery a little brighter."

When play is at the heart of a child's treatment, it can have a substantial positive effect. Post this

Play is an essential part of childhood. But for hospitalized kids, it may look different. When play is at the heart of a child's treatment, it can have a substantial positive effect, from reducing pain levels to helping kids comply with treatments.

Through longstanding partnerships, including Nintendo of America and Radio Flyer, among others, Starlight offers its vital programs  like Starlight Gaming, Starlight Radio Flyer Hero Wagons, Starlight Hospital Gowns, Starlight Virtual Reality and toy deliveries  free of charge to its nationwide network of children's hospitals and healthcare facilities. Funds raised through the Power of Play campaign will go toward placing Starlight programs at partner hospitals across the country.

Key Highlights of the Power of Play Campaign:

March 8  March 10 : A 50-hour raid train streaming event to raise $50K in support of Starlight Gaming by MAR10 Day on March 10 . The kick-off event commencing on March 8 at 4 pm ET on Starlight's Twitch channel will usher in an exciting lineup of live streams featuring popular creators such as TheHungerService, Smirky, Amish_Ace and many others.

 : A 50-hour raid train streaming event to raise in support of Starlight Gaming by MAR10 Day on . The kick-off event commencing on at on Starlight's Twitch channel will usher in an exciting lineup of live streams featuring popular creators such as TheHungerService, Smirky, Amish_Ace and many others. March 10  March 31 : Starlight hosts its annual Spring Stream fundraising event on Twitch with over 120 content creators. Click here for the campaign schedule.

 : Starlight hosts its annual fundraising event on Twitch with over 120 content creators. Click here for the campaign schedule. Child Life Specialist Month: Child life specialists are invited to share the best practices of play techniques in promoting healing and recovery on social media.

March 27 : Little Red Wagon Day honors the Original Little Red Wagon, celebrating the power of play and imagination as children of all ages take flight with their favorite set of Radio Flyer wheels, including the Starlight Radio Flyer Hero Wagon.

Starlight Children's Foundation invites individuals, corporations, and the community to support Starlight's Power of Play campaign and make a lasting impact on the lives of children facing illness.

To learn more about the campaign or make a contribution, visit starlight.org/play.

About Starlight Children's Foundation

Hospital stays can be lonely, stressful, and scary. That's why Starlight exists. Founded in 1982, Starlight Children's Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that aims to deliver happiness to seriously ill children and their families through vital programs that impact millions of kids annually. Donor-funded and offered free of charge to hospitals and families, Starlight programs unleash the power of play, empowering kids with a renewed sense of optimism, resilience, and courage. Starlight is a top-rated charity committed to the equitable allocation of programs to its nationwide hospital network. Happy kids heal faster.

Learn more at starlight.org and follow Starlight on social media @starlightchildrensfoundation.

SOURCE Starlight Childrens Foundation
DUBLIN, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Switzerland Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis, 2023-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.





Switzerland's construction industry was expected to shrink by 2.7% in real terms in 2023, owing to deteriorating macroeconomic conditions, weakening housing demand and a fall in government revenue, which are all expected to weigh on the industry's performance. In October 2023, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced a loss of CHF12 billion ($12.7 billion) on its gold, foreign currency investments and Swiss franc positions for the third quarter of 2023, compared to loss of CHF13.2 billion ($14 billion) in Q2 2023 and an overall loss of CHF132 billion ($139.7 billion) in 2022, which is the biggest loss in the bank's 116-year history.

Previously, in 2022, the SNB lost CHF131 billion ($138.7 billion) on foreign currency positions and CNF1 billion ($1.1 billion) on Swiss franc positions, while the SNB lost CHF9.2 billion ($9.7 billion) from July to September 2023, and this was expected to weigh on the construction industry in 2024.



However, the Swiss construction is expected to pick up from 2024 by 2.4%, and is forecast to grow at an annual average growth rate of 1.6% between 2025-27, supported by government investments in transportation infrastructure. As per the 2024 Budget, the government is estimated to spend CHF29.3 billion ($31 billion) for social welfare including 32.7% of the budget, CHF11.9 billion ($12.6 billion) for the development of transportation infrastructure, CHF12.4 billion ($13.1 billion) will be allocated to leisure, health, protection of the environment, and CHF8.4 billion ($8.9 billion) into education and research.

Furthermore, the government aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90%, compared to 1990 levels, by 2050, under the "Long-term climate strategy to 2050" plan. To support this target, it is focusing on increasing the capacity of renewable energy across the country. The country aims to nearly triple output from non-hydro renewable sources such as wind and solar by 2035. The government also aims to achieve an additional renewable electricity generation capacity of 17TWh by 2035.



The report provides detailed market analysis, information, and insights into Switzerland's construction industry, including:

Switzerland's construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type, and construction activity

construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type, and construction activity Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in Switzerland's construction industry

construction industry Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline.

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Switzerland. It provides:

Historical (2018-2022) and forecast (2023-2027) valuations of the construction industry in Switzerland , featuring details of key growth drivers.

, featuring details of key growth drivers. Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector

Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline.

Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Construction Industry: At-a-Glance



3. Context

3.1 Economic Performance

3.2 Political Environment and Policy

3.3 Demographics

3.4 Risk Profile



4. Construction Outlook

4.1 All Construction

4.2 Commercial Construction

4.3 Industrial Construction

4.4 Infrastructure Construction

4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction

4.6 Institutional Construction

4.7 Residential Construction

5. Key Industry Participants

5.1 Contractors

5.2 Consultants



6. Construction Market Data



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6kndgf

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SOURCE Research and Markets
NANYANG, China, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Co-hosted by the Nanyang Chinese Medicine Development Bureau, the China Association of Chinese Medicine (CACM) and the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM), the Zhang Zhongjing Medicine Culture Festival & Forum on High-quality Development of TCM was held in Nanyang, China from February 26th to 28th.

The 16th Zhang Zhongjing Medicine Culture Festival & Forum on High-quality Development of TCM Takes Place in Nanyang, China

Themed "Promote the International, Industrialized, and Modernized Development of Zhong Jing Culture", the event included 14 academic forums and 16 related activities, including the opening ceremony and a session dedicated to honoring the eminent Chinese pharmacologist and physician, Zhang Zhongjing. The forum brought together over 700 attendees, among them more than 30 foreign diplomats, international students, representatives from relevant international organizations, as well as delegates from Hong Kong and Macao. Notable participants included Chen Zhu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress, and President of the Red Cross Society of China; Lu Cairong, Vice President of China International Communications Group (CICG) and Secretary of the Party Committee of CICG; Huang Hongxia, Director of the Health Commission of Henan Province; Hui Mo, Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine at the Health Bureau of Macao SAR Government; and Tang Zuxuan, a senior researcher and leading practitioner in Chinese medicine.

In addition to live streaming and interactive online sessions that engaged over 2 million virtual participants, the forum facilitated concurrent trade negotiations and a project-signing event that culminated in the execution of agreements for 58 projects, with a combined investment totaling 36.4 billion yuan. The Zhongjing Comprehensive Health Care Industry Expo, an integral part of the forum, featured nine exhibition areas with 180 booths, hosting over 200 Chinese TCM companies and attracting nearly 100,000 visitors.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2352771/Image1.jpg
DALLAS, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera's Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO, and Emmanuel Villaume, The Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director, announce programming for The Dallas Opera's 2024/2025 Season.

The 67th season of The Dallas Opera (TDO) features four productions, bookended by Verdi's dramatic La traviata and Puccini's enduring romance, La boheme. In between are two Dallas Opera premieres: Debussy's tragic Pelleas and Melisande and Gluck's setting of the classic myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Annual events in 2024/2025 include the Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Family Recital, featuring acclaimed baritone Christian Gerhaher; the free season-opening People's Choice Concert; two family operas: The Three Little Pigs and Pepito; the biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition; and the Hart Institute for Women Conductors Showcase Concert.

"The 2024/2025 season offers something for everyone," said Ian Derrer, The Dallas Opera's Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO. "In two enduring Italian classics by Verdi and Puccini and two Dallas premieres of landmark operas written centuries apart, we welcome a starry array of artists to Dallas for the first time. Ludovic Morlot and Ivan Lopez Reynoso make their podium debuts leading The Dallas Opera Orchestra and Chorus with phenomenal casts of international acclaim."

He continued, "Audiences of all ages will find something to enjoy, from The Three Little Pigs to our free concerts for the community, to the OperaTruckall which spotlight our emerging local talent. Whether you're an opera fan or have never attended before, we hope you'll join us."

The Dallas Opera has an extraordinary legacy of world-class productions and thrilling premieres featuring the greatest operatic artists of our time. Inaugurated in 1957 with a concert featuring the incomparable Maria Callas, TDO is known for the notable U.S. debuts of a host of legendary artists including Dame Joan Sutherland, Jon Vickers, Franco Zeffirelli, and others. The company has long been an industry leader and innovator through groundbreaking initiatives including the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, free and low-cost digital streaming, art song recitals, the national vocal competition, and outstanding family and education programs. As one of the largest performing arts employers in North Texas, TDO is proudly committed to diversity, both onstage and off, and is a major contributor to the economic vitality and international cultural reputation of this region.

For details, visit dallasopera.org

Photos: here

SOURCE The Dallas Opera
NORTHFIELD, Ill., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Brian McDonagh, MD is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member for his contributions to the Medical field.

Dr. Brian McDonagh, MD, is a renowned medical professional known for his exceptional contributions to the field of medicine, particularly in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and peripheral neuropathy. As the founder of Vein Clinics of America, Dr. McDonagh has developed innovative treatment protocols that have brought hope and relief to countless patients.

The neurologist is celebrated for his innovative medical breakthroughs, which have transformed the lives of patients suffering from MS, Crohn's Disease, and Peripheral Neuropathy. His pioneering work has resulted in the development of highly effective treatments that have rapidly alleviated symptoms and improved the quality of life for numerous individuals.

A staunch proponent for Alternative Medicine, Dr. McDonagh is pleased to be recognized for his contributions to the field of neurology. Evident in his work, the doctor notes that he is concerned that the body of neurology will be left behind by Alternative Medicine, of which he has had excellent progress for MS, Migraines, Trigeminal Neuralia, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and a host of neuropathies. Dr. McDonagh recommends that his peers examine the work of his mentor, John Lyftogt, MD, in New Zealand, who is considered the father of PIT (Perineural injection treatment). His influence on the doctor has played a major role in shaping his medical journey.

The doctor's journey to medical excellence began at University College Dublin, where he earned his Bachelor's degree and MD. His unwavering commitment to advancing medical knowledge led him to pursue a residency at Tucson Hospital in Detroit, where he honed his skills and expertise.

Reflecting on his inspiration to contribute to the field of neurology, Dr. McDonagh extends his heartfelt gratitude to his four children and eight grandchildren for their boundless love and support throughout his medical career. Their unwavering encouragement has been a source of strength and inspiration. Dr. McDonagh's commitment to his patients' well-being and his contributions to medical advancements have undoubtedly earned him recognition within the medical community. His philosophy revolves around treating patients like family. His compassionate and personalized care approach ensures that patients receive the highest level of attention and support.

Dr. McDonagh's future projections encompass a commitment to delivering continuous, exceptional care to his patients. His dedication to advancing medical knowledge and improving patient outcomes remains unwavering. Aside from his professional pursuits, Dr. McDonagh finds relaxation in word games, enjoys reading, and has an appreciation for the beauty of opera. These interests reflect his multifaceted approach to life.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE The Inner Circle
Iconic brand offers $10,000 breakfast nook makeover to five lucky winners, chance to redeem epic morning merch goodness

HORSHAM, Pa., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With Thomas' Nooks and Crannies goodness, the possibilities are endless and  this year  the brand is serving up a delicious new way for fans to elevate their mornings. From a chance to win an epic breakfast nook makeover to scoring cozy, limited-edition merchandise, the folks at Thomas' are getting their muffin' on and celebrating the endless varieties of Thomas' English Muffins with the launch of their Muffin' But Possibilities sweepstakes and loyalty program.

Thomas Launches Muffin But Possibilities Sweepstakes and Loyalty Program, Offering $50,000 in Kitchen Makeovers and Chance at Limited-Edition Merch Fans can redeem points for epic prizes including a Thomas mug, Thomas blanket, and English Muffin-shaped slippers to keep fans toes toasty

From sweet mornings with Cinnamon Raisin to savory snacks on Sourdough, Thomas' array of unique English Muffin varieties  and its iconic Nooks & Crannies texture  provide the perfect canvas for all of life's delicious moments. Muffin' But Possibilities will offer fans the chance to score breakfast delight in return for their love of the Nooks & Crannies goodness. From March 1 through May 31, fans can head to MuffinButPossibilities.com to earn loyalty points for every Thomas' English Muffin purchase to snag limited-edition merchandise. Those who visit the site can also enter the Muffin' But Possibilities sweepstakes for a chance to win one of five, $10,000 kitchen nook makeovers, providing fans with the breakfast haven of their dreams.

"At Thomas', we believe breakfast should be a celebration of endless varieties and possibilities and this year, we're inviting our fans to experience Muffin' But Possibilities with us," said Janice Wisniewski, Brand Manager for Thomas'. "We value the importance that a delicious breakfast moment can bring, and we want to make it easier to savor those special moments by offering ways for our fans to take back their mornings, slow down and savor the goodness of Thomas'. We understand that we play a role in brightening our fans' day, and we hope Muffin' But Possibilities serves up a little extra joy in their mornings."

During the program period, English Muffin lovers can earn points by purchasing specially marked Thomas' English Muffin 6-packs and submitting proof of purchase via the program microsite. Any purchase of Thomas' Original English Muffins will earn five points while any flavor variety purchase  including favorites such as Buttermilk, Light Multi-Grain, Blueberry, among other flavors will score 10 points. After successfully submitting each delicious purchase, fans can redeem points for epic prizes including a Thomas' mug, Thomas' blanket, and English Muffin-shaped slippers to keep fans' toes toasty.

Thomas' dates back to 1880 when Samuel Bath Thomas created his original English Muffin in New York City using a secret process that included griddle baking to create the famous Nooks & Crannies English Muffin. The company has since added bagels and breakfast breads, including a line of swirl breads, to its breakfast offerings. Today, Thomas' sells the #1 English Muffin and #1 grocery bagel in the U.S. For a full list of Thomas' products and where to buy them, please visit www.ThomasBreads.com.

For more details and official rules on the Muffin' But Possibilities sweepstakes and loyalty program, visit MuffinButPossibilities.com.

About Bimbo Bakeries USA

Bimbo Bakeries USA is a leader in the baking industry, known for its category leading brands, innovative products, freshness and quality. Our team of 20,000+ U.S. associates operates approximately 60 manufacturing locations in the United States. Over 11,000 distribution routes deliver our leading brands such as Arnold, Artesano, Ball Park, Bimbo, Boboli, Brownberry, Entenmann's, Little Bites, Marinela, Mrs Baird's, Oroweat, Sara Lee, Stroehmann and Thomas'. BBU is owned by Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B de C.V., the world's largest baking company with operations in 34 countries.

SOURCE Bimbo Bakeries USA
CLAWSON, Mich., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Navigating today's real estate market can be a real headache, especially when trying to find a mortgage solution that aligns with your unique financial needs. Greenside Capital LLC, a pioneering mortgage brokerage, is addressing this challenge head-on. With an innovative and cost-saving approach to mortgage lending, Greenside Capital LLC empowers clients by streamlining the home buying and refinancing process in a cost-effective manner.

As a broker, Greenside Capital LLC has significantly more options than a bank or traditional mortgage lender because they shop dozens of lenders for you to find the best solution. The company offers a range of personalized mortgage solutions tailored for a diverse clientele, ranging from individuals with challenging credit histories or limited budgets to high-net-worth professionals such as physicians and lawyers. They understand the unique needs of home buyers, who often feel overwhelmed by the complex and confusing mortgage process and are unsure if they qualify. Greenside Capital LLC addresses these concerns with a rapid approval process and diverse loan programs tailored to individual circumstances.

"Many potential homeowners think they need a big down payment, or they worry about their credit score," says Nick Kwasiborski, co-founder of Greenside Capital LLC. "We're here to simplify things. We're making homeownership more achievable with options for as little as 1% down and flexibility around credit histories."

The team at Greenside Capital LLC has a rich history in the mortgage industry, offering over 20 years of experience and having funded over $1 billion in mortgages. Through their expertise, they have developed a streamlined process, which promises approval in as little as 15 minutes, and the ability to close loans in ten days or fewer.

Moreover, Greenside Capital LLC's model ensures clients receive competitive rates, often leading to significant cost savings. Clients tend to save tens of thousands of dollars in costs and interest working with a broker, compared to a direct lender. This economic efficiency is part of their commitment to integrity, transparency, and client-focused service.

For individuals seeking a dependable, streamlined, and customer-focused mortgage experience, Greenside Capital LLC emerges as a promising leader. Specializing in personalized mortgage solutions in Michigan, Colorado, and Florida, the firm is now expanding to new states.

To learn more about Greenside Capital LLC and their innovative mortgage solutions, visit https://greensidecp.com/.

Media Contact:

Nick Kwasiborski

(248)-762-8724

[email protected]

SOURCE Greenside Capital LLC
Women have been serving in the military, officially or unofficially, since the Revolutionary War.

Just as there are famous men who are veterans, there are famous women vets as well.

"Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps' Women's Reserve.

Melina Glusac contributed to a previous version of this article.

Harriet Tubman was a military leader and Union spy during the Civil War.

Harriet Tubman. MPI/Getty Images

Most know Harriet Tubman for her groundbreaking work with the Underground Railroad and, later, as an abolitionist, but as reported by National Geographic, Tubman was also an integral part of the Civil War.

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In 1863, Tubman and Colonel James Montgomery led a group of soldiers in freeing slaves from plantations in South Carolina, making Tubman the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition, according to National Geographic.

Her work continued as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. This operation was so covert that only President Lincoln knew about it.

Tubman received compensation for her military contributions decades later, in 1899. Thomas B. Allen, the author of "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent," called Tubman "one of the great heroines of the Civil War."

Queen Elizabeth was a military truck driver during World War II.

Queen Elizabeth outside a first aid truck during World War II. Keystone/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth was only 18 years old when she begged her father, King George VI, to take part in helping out during World War II.

She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in England that same year and was known as "Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor," according to the National Archives.

While serving, the young queen drove military trucks and trained as a mechanic  making her, to this day, the only female member of the Royal Family to enter the armed forces.

NASA's Eileen Collins was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force  and in space.

Eileen Collins. NASA

Eileen Collins broke several barriers during her career: Not only was she NASA's first female shuttle commander, but at 23, she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, according to the agency.

Story continues

She joined the Air Force in 1978, becoming one of the first four women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma.

She wrote in Time, "The Air Force was testing whether women could succeed as military pilots. We obviously were living in a fishbowl  everyone knew who we were, our personal business, our test scores and our flight performance. My philosophy was to be the best pilot I could be."

Her military training directly led her to test-pilot school, where she "knew" she would go on be the first female space shuttle pilot  and succeeded in doing so.

"Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps' Women's Reserve.

Bea Arthur. Lennox McLendon/AP Photo

Before she was Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls," Emmy Award-winning actor Bea Arthur was a Marine.

As reported by The Daily Beast, Arthur enlisted into the Women's Reserve when she was just 21 years old, first serving as a typist and truck driver. She worked her way up to staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945.

Official documents show that Arthur's supervisors thought she was "argumentative," which is not a far cry from the feisty persona she became known for on both "The Golden Girls" and "Maude."

"Stranger Things" actress Jennifer Marshall served in the US Navy for five years.

Jennifer Marshall as Susan Hargrove on "Stranger Things." Netflix

Before Jennifer Marshall scored the role of Susan Hargrove on Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things," she served in the United States Navy from ages 17 to 22.

According to Marshall's website, during her time in the service, she was a forklift operator, aircraft handler, and logistics specialist, and also worked for the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention (SAVI) program.

Marshall was awarded many honors and medals for her time in the Navy. Now, in addition to acting, she works with Pin-Ups For Vets, a non-profit organization that aids hospitalized veterans and deployed troops.

Food Network star Sunny Anderson was in the Air Force.

Sunny Anderson. Jim Spellman/Getty Images

Anderson, who hosts, "The Kitchen," "Cooking for Real," and "Home Made in America," grew up around the military because of her parents. As an adult, she enlisted in the US Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, working in Seoul, South Korea, and in San Antonio, Texas.

"I knew that there were radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines, for the military, by the military, and I wanted to be a part of that," Anderson told ABC News in 2013.

She also wanted to train in something that would be useful when she left the military.

"My transition from the Air Force started before I even got in the Air Force," she said.

Radio talk show host Robin Quivers was a captain in the Air Force.

Robin Quivers. Walter McBride/WireImage via Getty Images

Robin Quivers has co-hosted "The Howard Stern Show" for over 30 years, but before that she served as a captain in the US Air Force.

Quivers got her degree in nursing from The University of Maryland and put it to use by joining the military as a second lieutenant after college. She quickly climbed the ranks, and when she was discharged in 1978, her official title was captain, according to Biography.com.

She served as a reserve in the Air Force until 1990, per military records, after which she fully pivoted to her career in radio. But Howard Stern hired her for his show in 1981, which means that Quivers  though she was "inactive"  was still technically serving while she was on the air.

Actress Zulay Henao served in the US Army for three years.

Zulay Henao. JB Lacroix/ Getty Images

Colombian-American actress Zulay Henao has appeared on the show "Army Wives," but few know that she herself served in the US Army before becoming an actress.

Henao enlisted after completing high school, and, after three years serving, went on to enroll at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.

She previously spoke to the paparazzi about her time in the military, saying: "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, and I wouldn't have the perspective I have of the world, if it weren't for the Army."

Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock was in the National Guard.

Shauna Rohbock. Harry How/Getty Images

Shauna Rohbock is an Olympic bobsledder and won the silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. But before that, according to Team USA, Rohbock joined the Utah Army National Guard and was part of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program.

Olympian Amber English competed while still in the military  she won gold in women's skeet shooting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Amber English at the 2020 Olympics. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

At her first Olympics, First Lt. Amber English took gold with an Olympic record score of 56, NBC reported. Technically not yet a veteran, she's a logistics officer and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, according to Military.com.

After English's win, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated her on Twitter, now known as X.

"Your country is extremely proud of you today, and I'm so glad you're representing us," he wrote.

She joins an illustrious list of medal winners, both male and female, with military backgrounds.

"Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years.

Gal Gadot. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

After Gal Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004, and before she became Wonder Woman in 2017, she served her mandatory two years in the IDF. During Gadot's assignment, she worked as a "physical fitness specialist," teaching things like gymnastics and calisthenics to the soldiers, Pop Sugar reported.

Pro-Palestine groups have criticized her service, as well as her support of the Israeli military and cause in social media posts.

"I think much of it comes from ignorance and people not understanding what most people do in the army in Israel or what I did in the army during my service in the military," she told The Jakarta Post in May 2021. She added: "Being an Israeli and going to the army is an integral thing. It's something you have to do. It's mandatory."

Ruth Westheimer, better known as the sex therapist Dr. Ruth, trained as a sniper in the IDF.

Dr. Ruth. Donna Svennevik/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images

Dr. Ruth is a Holocaust survivor, and after World War II ended, she moved as a teenager to what would become Israel. During her time there, she trained as a sniper due to her small size.

She told The New Yorker in 2013, "I have no idea what the experience would be if I had to show it. But I was a very good sniper."

Read the original article on Business Insider
DUBLIN, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The "U.S. Decorative Veneers Market - Focused Insights 2024-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.





The U.S. decorative veneers market was valued at USD 1.53 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.51% from 2023 to 2029.

Consumer preference for customization and personalization of decorative veneers has risen across the U.S. market in the last few years. The demand for exotic wood species-based veneers, including zebrawood, rosewood, and ebony, is growing significantly, driving the U.S. decorative veneers market.

The U.S. decorative veneer sheet market report contains exclusive data on 28 vendors. AHC Hardwood Group, Columbia Forest Products, Flexible Materials, FormWood Industries, Inc., G L Veneer, MBVeneer Corp, Oakwood Veneer, and Timber Products Company are the leading players with strong market penetration.

In the U.S. decorative veneers market, most companies balance high-quality product offerings with competitive pricing to sustain the market. Many companies focus on niche application segments like high-end furniture, musical instruments, or architectural projects.

Hardwood veneer material is a dominant segment with a market size of over 60% in the U.S. decorative veneers market due to its rich colors, traditional appeal, and diverse species. Hardwood veneers are known for their decorative accents and fire-resistant properties. The demand for reclaimed wood and FSC-certified veneers is rising in the U.S., which drives the demand for hardwood veneers. Due to technological advancements, digital printing can be possible for hardwood veneers, which creates an aesthetic appeal for the interior of homes.

The furniture application segment has the largest market share in the U.S. decorative veneers market. The furniture segment includes chairs, racks, tables, crockery units, bookcases, dressers, side tables, office furniture, T.V.s, benches, chests & drawers, etc. The increasing requirement for relaxing spaces, growing family sizes, and a preference for sustainable furniture drive the demand for furniture segments in the U.S. decorative veneers market.

Residential end-user segmentation is growing significantly, with the fastest CAGR of 3.69% during the forecast period. The availability of decorative veneers in various colors, textures, species, and patterns to achieve a luxurious wood look helps to gain traction in the market. It drives the demand for decorative veneers in the U.S. market during the forecast period.

MARKET DRIVERS

Increasing Demand for Patterned and Textured Veneers: Patterned and textured veneers offer additional visual interest and dimension to surfaces. The demand for interior design is growing considerably in the U.S., allowing for the creation of subtle accents and unique focal points. The diverse options like organic textures, embossed designs, and geometric patterns drive the demand for decorative veneers in the U.S. market.



Transforming Homes with Decorative Veneers: Home improvement projects are continuously rising in the U.S. post-pandemic. This includes installation, repair, replacement, etc. Renovation of a home helps to increase the value of property. Decorative veneers offer a spectrum of ceiling and wall paneling choices, enhancing consumer preference for personalized home decor that aligns with aesthetically appealing decorative veneers. It drives the demand for decorative veneers in the U.S. market during the forecast period.

KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED

How big is the U.S. decorative veneers market?

What is the projected growth rate of the U.S. decorative veneers market?

What are the drivers in the U.S. decorative veneers market?

Who are the leading players in the U.S. decorative veneers market?

VENDORS LIST

Key Vendors

AHC Hardwood Group

Columbia Forest Products

Flexible Materials

FormWood Industries, Inc.

GL Veneer

MBVeneer Corp

Oakwood Veneer

Timber Products Company

Other Prominent Vendors

Brookside Veneers Ltd

Danzer Holding Ag

Herzog Veneers

International Veneer Company, Inc.

Lenderink Technologies

Sauers & Company Veneers

The October Company, Inc.

Universal Veneer

Veneer Technologies

WiseWood Veneer

A.V.E.C. American Veneer Edgebanding Co., Inc.

BVC Company

Certainly Wood, Inc.

Fibromade

Great Lakes Veneer

Indiana Veneers Corp.

Joe Woodworker

Manthei Wood Products

Miller Veneers

UV Group

U.S. DECORATIVE VENEER SHEET MARKET SEGMENTATION & FORECAST

Material Market Insights (2023-2029)

Hardwood Veneers

Softwood Veneers

Engineered Veneers

Others

Application Insights (2023-2029)

Furniture

Walls, Ceilings, & Doors

Cabinetry & Fixtures

Others

End-User Market Insights (2023-2029)

Residential

Commercial

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sp300p

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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Research and Markets

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Andy Greenlee Will Continue Serving the Company as Chairman of the Board

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- US Farathane, a leading supplier of injection molded, compression molded and extruded products to the global automotive industry, announced the appointment of Dave Wiskel to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Wiskel succeeds Andy Greenlee, who has led the company for nearly three decades and grew the business from $20 million in revenue in 1996 to over one billion dollars of revenue today. Greenlee will remain actively involved in US Farathane as Chairman of the Board.

Before joining US Farathane, Wiskel served as Chief Executive Officer of global automotive manufacturer Plasman for more than 18 years. He led the company's innovative product diversification and multiple strategic acquisitions, vastly expanding its operations across the globe. During his tenure, the company's revenue increased tenfold from $100 million to $1 billion.

"The past three decades with USF have been wonderful and I look forward to working closely with Dave as he leads USF into the future as our new CEO. When we partnered with Atlas Holdings last year, my goal was to ensure USF was well positioned for future success when it came time to pass the baton to my successor. Dave Wiskel is a veteran of the global automotive industry who is recognized broadly for his record of innovation and strategic vision and someone I have known and respected for many years. I could not be more excited to see what Dave brings to the future of this great company," said Andy Greenlee, Chairman.

"USF enjoys a reputation for excellence in our industry thanks in large part to the tremendous dedication and skill of Andy Greenlee. Under his leadership, the USF team has continuously grown the business strategically, with value to its customers as the guiding principle. I am grateful for the opportunity to carry on his legacy while charting the next course for USF as we focus on operational efficiency, engineering excellence and sustainable growth for many years to come," said Dave Wiskel, Chief Executive Officer.

This successful execution of a long-term succession plan is the latest in a series of transformative recent moves for USF. At the end of 2023, USF opened new production facilities in Georgetown, Texas and Shanghai, China. In addition to the appointment of Wiskel, the Leadership Team and Board have been strengthened with the recent hiring of Scott Hazlett as USF's Chief Operating Officer, following a long and successful career at Accuride Corporation, and the addition of industry veterans Fritz Henderson and Gurminder Bedi to the USF Board of Directors.

Henderson spent 26 years with General Motors in several executive management roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, and currently sits on several boards including those of Adient, PLC, Marriott International, Inc. and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Bedi is a 30-year Ford veteran where his progression included head of Ford Quality, President of Ford South America, and COO of Autolatina, a major Ford VW joint venture. He retired from the automaker in 2001 as Vice President, Ford Truck. He was Chairman of Compuware and served on the Boards of Actuant and Kemet and is currently on the Board of Blue Bird Corp. Henderson and Bedi are both also Operating Partners with investment firm Atlas Holdings LLC, which acquired USF in June 2023, in partnership with Greenlee.

About US Farathane

With 19 manufacturing facilities through the United States, Mexico and China, US Farathane is a leading global solutions partner to automotive OEM's and Tier 1 suppliers, providing injection molded, compression molded and extruded products for the interior and exterior of the vehicle. They also offer world-class design and engineering services as well as tooling design and build expertise. US Farathane is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified as well as TS 16949 certified. US Farathane customers include General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, Tesla, Honda, Toyota, and several other large global OEMs. For more information, please visit www.usfarathane.com.

Media Contact:

Jim Curtis, Director of Human Resources

jimcurtis@usfarathane.com

SOURCE US Farathane
Men's grooming leader Wahl to create campus oasis where safe manscaping comes standard with FREE trimmers and the chance to win $2,000.

STERLING, Ill., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- It's been a long furry winter, so as spring break approaches, Wahl is helping college students prepare for the most perfectly groomed trip of their life. The company is inviting University of Texas at Austin students to visit The Nether Region  a place where safe below-the-belt grooming comes standard thanks to the Wahl Manscaper. The pop-up oasis can be found in Gregor Gym Plaza during the UT Marketplace event on March 6, 2024, from 10 a.m.  3 p.m. Tourists to The Nether Region can expect a welcome gift as Wahl gives away 100 FREE Wahl Manscaper trimmers from its custom vending machine  one of which will hold a golden ticket worth $2,000.

Mens grooming leader Wahl to create UT campus oasis where safe manscaping comes standard with FREE below-the-belt trimmers and the chance to win $2,000. Mens grooming leader Wahl is inviting UT students to visit The Nether Region  a place where safe below-the-belt grooming comes standard thanks to the Wahl Manscaper. The pop-up oasis can be found in Gregor Gym Plaza during the UT Marketplace event on March 6, 2024, from 10 a.m.  3 p.m. Tourists to The Nether Region can expect a welcome gift as Wahl gives away 100 FREE Wahl Manscaper trimmers from its custom vending machine  one of which will hold a golden ticket worth $2,000.

"Even before they step foot on the beach, college guys cringe at the thought of nicking themselves when grooming down there," said Steven Yde, Vice President of North America Consumer at Wahl. "That's why we're visiting college campuses  to let them know below-the-belt grooming can be a cringe-free experience with the #1 tool for safely navigating their 'nether region.'"

Top Tips for Safely Navigating the Nether Region

The Wahl Manscaper is key to fearless travels below the equator. The trimmer's integrated protection system prevents injuries, promising guys a smooth, snag-free experience as they explore bushy jungles, uncharted nooks and crannies. The following Wahl Manscaper features and grooming tips will ensure your precious cargo is protected:

Pack smart. Yes, you can pack the trimmer in your checked luggage or carry-on.

Start fresh. The trimmer is fully waterproof, so a hot shower is a great way to open the pores and get ready to tame Paradise Jungle.

Explore danger-free. From the base of Mount Nethers to the soft rolling Dingle Hills, its safe-touch blade and wrap-around guard will help you navigate smoothly, minus bumps, nicks or cuts.

Take your time. Don't rush it, with lithium-ion technology that runs an industry-best 100 minutes, and a fuel gauge that indicates how much run time is left, you can enjoy the scenery.

Don't miss. No trip to The Nether Region is complete without a stop up north of the Beltline and down south in The Thighlands. With an adjustable dial that offers 20 different cutting lengths, every terrain is covered.

The Wahl Manscaper has a MSRP of $59.99, and is currently available at WahlUSA.com or major retailers including Walmart.com. Besides the flagship below-the-belt trimmer, other grooming tools in the Manscaper lineup include a beard trimmer, hair clipper, shaver and more. For more information about grooming tips and tools visit WahlUSA.com or follow @WahlGrooming on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

About Wahl Grooming

Celebrating its 105th anniversary, Wahl continues to help men look and feel their best with innovative products manufactured to define and elevate the men's grooming category. The company set the standard with the first-ever practical electric hair clipper in 1919, and later strengthened its leadership with the world's first battery-powered facial hair trimmer. It's this continued commitment to excellence that has solidified Wahl's place as the world's go-to brand for men's grooming solutions. For more information, visit WahlUSA.com. The Wahl Manscaper is a registered trademark of Wahl Clipper Corporation. All rights reserved.

Download Product Images:

https://cloud.hoffmanyork.com/portal/s/012381978700943272031

SOURCE Wahl
 Over 260 restaurants to participate in Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb, showcasing The Mile High City's award-winning culinary scene. 

DENVER, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Foodies rejoice today as Denver celebrates the start of the 20th annual Denver Restaurant Week, presented by Superior Farms American Lamb. The program will run Friday, March 1  Sunday, March 10.

With 265 participating restaurants  the most since 2015  representing dozens of cuisine types, there is truly something for every appetite. All participating restaurants are listed on DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston cheers to 20 years of Denver Restaurant Week with Justin Bresler of VISIT DENVER, leadership of Denver Restaurant Week's presenting sponsor, Superior Farms, additional Denver Restaurant Week sponsors and local Denver chefs. Denver Restaurant Week 2024

There are four price points available this year ($25, $35, $45 and $55), for diners to enjoy a multi-course meal for a great deal over the 10-day, two-weekend event.

This history of Denver Restaurant Week goes back to 2005 when the program was created to showcase Denver's growing culinary offerings over a traditionally slow time of year for restaurants. The program also aimed to improve the reputation of Denver's culinary scene to both locals and visitors alike. In its inaugural year, 83 restaurants participated in the program. Since then, Denver Restaurant Week has grown to highlight Denver as a culinary destination with multiple James Beard Award-winning chefs and recent Michelin Guide recognition.

With participating restaurants across the Denver Metro area, diners are encouraged to explore new neighborhoods outside of their normal routine. Denver Restaurant Week is the perfect time to revisit some classic Denver favorites like Tamayo, Bistro Vendome and D Bar Denver or try new hotspots including Senor Bear, The Greenwich, Kawa Ni and more. This year's Restaurant Week also includes unique events such as an English style High Tea at Babe's Tea Room and wine tasting at Blanchard Family Wines and Bigsby's Folly Winery.

Some of Denver's recent Michelin Guide restaurants are included in this year's program, including Ash'Kara, Dio Mio, Mercantile Dining & Provision, Fruition Restaurant and Noisette, making it the perfect opportunity to indulge at local spots that exude culinary excellence.

Check out DenverRestaurantWeek.com to learn more.

VISIT DENVER's Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb is also sponsored by Stella Artois, Uber Eats, Society Insurance, OpenTable, Franciscan Estate, High Noon, J Vineyards, Orin Swift, Colorado Restaurant Association-Mile High Chapter, Downtown Denver Partnership, and media sponsors 5280 Magazine, CBS Colorado and Westword.

To learn more and book a reservation, visit DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

About VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau

Celebrating 115 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Denver welcomed more than 36.3 million visitors in 2022, generating $9.4 billion in spending, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs and making Tourism one of the city's largest industries. Learn more about Denver on the VISIT DENVER website or at Tourism Pays Denver. Follow Denver's social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:

Caroline Campbell: (303) 571-9451 or [email protected]

Abby Schirmacher: (303) 571-9418 or [email protected]

SOURCE VISIT DENVER, The Convention & Visitors Bureau
KYIV, Ukraine and WASHINGTON, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 29, in Kyiv and Washington, a landmark conference on veteran policy in Ukraine convened, marking a pivotal collaboration between Ukrainian and American experts. Together, they embarked on crafting an Action Plan and Analytical Report, drawing from valuable American insights. These documents, slated for unveiling in April at a conference in Washington and presentation to the U.S. Congress, seek to elevate the support framework for veterans and their families in Ukraine.

Lieutenant Colonel Vitalii Hersak

The initiative was spearheaded by esteemed organizations including "Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni), "US Ukrainian Activists," Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," and the NGO "White Ribbon Ukraine."

Vitalii Hersak, Chair of "Free and Faithful," expressed optimism regarding Ukraine's potential to integrate international best practices into its veteran policy domain.

"We have a wealth of knowledge to glean from our global partners to truly cultivate a veteran-friendly Ukraine. I am confident that our collective efforts will pave the way for an effective ecosystem encompassing social welfare, medical provisions, psychological resilience, and economic empowerment for veterans," he emphasized.

Participants at the conference engaged in insightful dialogues and knowledge-sharing sessions concerning the implementation of enduring strategies for medical care, psychological rehabilitation, and the resolution of socio-economic challenges affecting veterans.

Distinguished representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine actively contributed to the discourse. Notable American figures, including Bonnie Carroll, President of TAPS, Andre Hollis, Head of Tiger International Advisors, and Nathan White-Wilson, Head of the Gallant Knights Private Security Services, provided invaluable perspectives.

Kateryna Odarchenko, Head of the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," underscored the pivotal role of international collaboration in shaping effective veteran policies and extended gratitude to all project contributors.

"Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni) is an Ukrainian NGO established under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Vitalii Hersak to champion democracy, sovereignty, and European integration in Ukraine, while providing unwavering support to the nation's defenders, war veterans, and their families (viv.org.ua).

"US Ukrainian Activists" is an NGO based in the USA, remains dedicated to supporting Ukraine, its people, and cultural heritage.

Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" is a non-profit organization committed to fostering transparent dialogues between the state, business, and society on international level (Institute-polita.us).

White Ribbon Ukraine is an organization dedicated to spearheading social initiatives aimed at combating violence and fostering safer communities.

SOURCE Free and Faithful (Vilni ta Virni)
Companies on the 2024 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list had an average growth rate of 162.77 percent.

LOS ANGELES, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that The Plug Drink ("The Plug") is No. 6 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Pacific private companies, based in California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Alaska. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Pacific economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

"This is an exciting achievement for The Plug, and it's just an amazing honor to be recognized for all of the hard work we've put in during these last couple of years," said Ray and Justin Kim, Co-Founders.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific region. Between 2020 and 2022, these 170 private companies had an average growth rate of 162.77 percent; by 2023, they'd also added 10,689 jobs and $5.5 billion to the region's economy.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific, including company profiles, can be found at inc.com/Pacific starting February 27, 2024. You'll also find an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria.

"The honorees in our Inc. 5000 network are the Who's Who of private companies. They're energizing regional economies as they engineer the future of their industries. Learn who they are and what they do  they'll be impacting things for a while," said Eric Hagerman, Special Projects Editor at Inc. Media.

The Plug, the leading all-natural liver health supplement brand, was founded in 2019 by brother-duo Ray and Justin Kim. After viewing South Korea's advancement in the recovery industry, the brothers were determined to create a staple product for the American market. Enter The Plug Drink. The plant-based drink grew steadily in popularity with a heavy online presence and ultimately spread into retail across California counties. With the introduction of The Plug Pills in 2022, Plug products have expanded into the retail channels of major American cities with the help of partnerships such as KeHe Distributors. The brand continues to grow and extend its reach, fulfilling its mission of educating its consumers on the importance of liver health.

Contact:

Justin Kim

323-846-0131

[email protected]

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2024 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2020 and 2022. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2020. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2022. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2020 is $100,000; the minimum for 2022 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com .

SOURCE The Plug Drink
Companies on the 2024 Inc. 5000 Regionals: Rocky Mountain list had an average growth rate of 122.44 percent.

DENVER, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that Wurk is No. 49 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Rocky Mountain list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing Rocky Mountain private companies, based in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Rocky Mountain economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

"This recognition as No. 49 on the prestigious Inc. 5000 Regionals: Rocky Mountain list is a testament to the hard work and vision of every member of the Wurk family," said Deborah Saneman, CEO of Wurk. "As we continue to push boundaries and shape the future of the cannabis industry, we remain steadfast in our mission to redefine excellence and leave a lasting impact on the world around us."

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Rocky Mountain region. Between 2020 and 2022, these 72 private companies had an average growth rate of 122.44 percent; by 2023, they'd also added 3,838 jobs and $1.7 billion to the region's economy.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals: Rocky Mountain, including company profiles, can be found at inc.com/RockyMountain starting February 27, 2024. You'll also find an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria.

"The honorees in our Inc. 5000 network are the Who's Who of private companies. They're energizing regional economies as they engineer the future of their industries. Learn who they are and what they do  they'll be impacting things for a while," said Eric Hagerman, Special Projects Editor at Inc. Media.

About Wurk

Wurk allows cannabis companies to manage payroll, human resources, timekeeping, scheduling and tax compliance, and minimizes compliance risks in the ever-changing cannabis regulatory environment. The company uses its expertise and trusted partnerships to provide guidance on 280E tax law, accounting and compliant banking. Its platform is designed to scale nationally with the growth of the industry, while incorporating the local laws and regulations unique to individual states. Wurk is the first payroll provider, and only the third company in the cannabis technology industry, to complete a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 1 Type 2 Audit of systematic controls by a third party CPA firm. For more information visit enjoyWurk.com .

Media Contact

MATTIO Communications

[email protected]

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2024 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2020 and 2022. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2020. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2022. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2020 is $100,000; the minimum for 2022 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The world's most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multiplatform content reaches more than 50 million people each month across a variety of channels including websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and print. Its prestigious Inc. 5000 list, produced every year since 1982, analyzes company data to recognize the fastest-growing privately held businesses in the United States. The global recognition that comes with inclusion in the 5000 gives the founders of the best businesses an opportunity to engage with an exclusive community of their peers and the credibility that helps them drive sales and recruit talent.

The associated Inc. 5000 Conference is part of a highly acclaimed portfolio of bespoke events produced by Inc. For more information, visit www.inc.com .

SOURCE Wurk
Wright Brand, the #1 thick-cut bacon brand and part of the Tyson Foods portfolio, will serve as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Wright Brand 250 on Saturday, May 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway during NASCAR All-Star Race weekend

The Tyson Foods history with North Wilkesboro Speedway began when the company sponsored a NASCAR Cup Series race, the Tyson  Holly Farms 400, from 1990-96, and continued with sponsorship of the 2023 Tyson 250 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race; North Wilkesboro's Tyson Brand manual leaderboard will also return this year

Brand Tyson Foods remains actively involved in the Wilkes County community, employing approximately 2,200 team members in the area with nearby operations in Monroe, North Carolina and Danville, Virginia

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Race fans visiting North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18 will be in for a day of sizzling excitement, with Wright Brand serving as the official sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Wright Brand 250 on NASCAR All-Star Race weekend.

Wright Brand, known for its renowned thick-cut bacon, is part of the Tyson Foods portfolio. The Tyson Brand sponsored the 2023 Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro, won by Kyle Larson who led 138 of 252 laps on his way to a weekend sweep of the first NASCAR races in nearly 27 years at North Wilkesboro.

The Wright Brand 250 sponsorship builds on a decades-old relationship between Tyson Foods and the historic five-eighths-mile oval. The track's fall NASCAR Cup Series race was known as the Tyson Holly Farms 400 from 1990-96 and the Holly Farms 400 from 1979-89 before Tyson Foods acquired Holly Farms.

Today, Tyson Foods remains vested in the Wilkes County community. It employs nearly 2,200 team members in Wilkes County, with nearby operations in Monroe, North Carolina, employing more than 1,400 team members. Last year, Tyson Foods invested $300 million in an innovative, fully-cooked food production facility in Danville, Virginia, which created nearly 400 jobs in the area.

"We're thrilled for Wright Brand to serve as this year's entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway, paying homage to Tyson Foods' storied history with the beloved track," said Brock White, vice president, Tyson Foods. "As the #1 thick-cut bacon brand, we take pride in helping to energize and bring families together across America. We look forward to lending a hand in powering some of the best racing talent as they compete on this iconic track."

The return of the timeless Tyson Brand red-and-yellow manual leaderboard was met with rave reviews last year. The leaderboard will return this May again outside Turn 3.

Race fans seeking to witness motorsports history can buy three-day ticket packages to the May 17-19 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. Weekend packages include access to all Friday/Saturday NASCAR practice and qualifying sessions; the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear on Friday, May 17; the Wright Brand 250 and All-Star Heat Races on Saturday, May 18; the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 19; and two concerts with artists to be announced at a later date.

Tickets and Additional Information

Fans can purchase weekend packages by visiting www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com and obtain the latest news and information surrounding NASCAR All-Star Race week by following along on X, Instagram and Facebook.

CLICK HERE for high-resolution logos and photos.

About Wright Brand

Rich in tradition and flavor, the bold taste of Wright Brand bacon has been enjoyed for more than 100 years, since Roy Wright and Fay Eggleston handcrafted their first batch in 1922. It's a history of doing things a certain way and one we don't plan on changing. Wright Brand bacon, including Hickory, Applewood, Double Smoked and Maple offerings, are all real wood smoked, thick cut, hand-trimmed and 100% wood smoked to impart deliciously and uncompromising rich flavors. Bacon the Wright Way For more information on Wright Brand, including product offerings and delicious bacon recipe ideas, visit WrightBrand.com

SOURCE Speedway Motorsports
By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Friday urged member states not to oppose reforms to an international energy treaty it says the bloc should leave anyway because it undermines efforts to fight climate change.

Allowing the treaty to be reformed would halve the time non-EU energy firms would continue to enjoy the pact's protections to their investments in the EU after the bloc's departure.

The 1998 Energy Charter Treaty allows energy companies to sue governments over policies that damage their investments and in recent years has been used to challenge policies that require fossil fuel plants to shut.

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Brussels first proposed a coordinated EU departure from the treaty last July, after member states including Denmark, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and the Netherlands announced plans to quit, with most citing climate change concerns.

But other countries have yet to come on board, with some, including Cyprus and Hungary, keen to stay in, and others concerned that their efforts to modernize the treaty would go to waste with their departure.

In a bid to find the required majority support for a joint exit, the European Commission proposed on Friday that EU countries should back reforms the treaty's roughly 50 signatories agreed last year, but which had little chance of coming into force without the EU's green light.

Lukas Schaugg, an analyst at the International Institute for Sustainable Development think tank, said he was hopeful the proposal could "unblock the deadlock" among member states.

One of the key proposed reforms to the treaty is the reduction to 10 years the period energy firms from non-EU signatories such as Japan and Turkey would enjoy protection of their existing investments in the bloc.

Brussels' proposal would allow the changes to enter into force, after which, the EU would leave the treaty.

Withdrawing from the treaty without first approving the reforms would leave the EU subject to the current sunset clause that for 20 years protects existing investments.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
Bianca Gignac was swimming under the stars, against a backdrop of colorful, cliffside houses, with a complete stranger, her clothes left in a pile on a rock.

Bianca was in the harbor of Riomaggiore, the southernmost of the five picturesque fishing villages that make up the Italian Cinque Terre region. Built into the rocks overlooking the Ligurian Sea, its spectacularly scenic.

The Cinque Terre is unlike anything youve experienced, Bianca tells CNN Travel today. Its like a dream. Something youll never comprehend until youre there. Its truly a must-see place.

Bianca had arrived in Riomaggiore, fallen for its beauty and now  somehow  shed found herself swimming - sans clothes - with a guy shed just met. The two strangers laughed, splashed each other, soaked up the moment.

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We were swimming in the phosphorescence, under the stars, Bianca recalls. It was a perfect July 26 evening.

It was July 26, 2003, to be precise. Bianca was a Canadian college student in her mid-20s, spending the summer in Italy. She was studying fine arts, and a scholarship from the Italian Cultural Institute of Vancouver led her to Florence  the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of visiting Europe.

When Bianca arrived in Florence, she was grieving a failed relationship. Slowly and surely, Italy had won her over, helped her rebuild her sense of self.

I went on to have the most incredible summer, I was really finding my footing, says Bianca.

Then, three days before I was leaving to go home, my friend said, Lets go to the Cinque Terre. Its the most romantic place Ive ever been to. And so we went there for the weekend. And within hours, I met him.

Him was Biancas nighttime swimming companion  Alessandro Morelli, a twentysomething from La Spezia, the nearest city to the Cinque Terre, a 10-minute train journey from Riomaggiore.

I had a steady job with the local shipyard, Alessandro tells CNN Travel. It was a job everyone assumed hed do all his life  in general, his life was steady and routine.

Story continues

Alessandro was in Riomaggiore on July 26 for a friends birthday party. The plan was to gather on the beach to celebrate and enjoy the long summer night. Alessandro was walking through the village with a friend when they decided to detour via one of the outdoor bars built into the cliffs.

It was at this bar that Alessandro and Biancas eyes first met.

The connection was plain and simple, says Alessandro. He couldnt stop looking at Bianca.

The red hair  she was the prettiest girl Id ever seen, Alessandro recalls.

He told his friend he was going to go and speak to her. Then, Alessandro got up, walked over to Biancas table and asked if he could buy Bianca and her friend a drink.

The moment Alessandro approached her table, Bianca felt an instant connection.

What struck me was he was very kind. He wasnt cocky, she says. He was a kind person and I could feel that.

Bianca asked Alessandro if he wanted to sit with them. Then, his friend pulled up a chair too.

We just started talking, says Bianca  they spoke in English, as Biancas Italian wasnt great back then.

So it was the four of us. And we literally talked into the night, she recalls. We were in this little bar, it still exists today, 20 years later - it overlooks the little bobbing boats in the harbor. Its super picturesque.

Bianca met Alessandro in the village of Riomaggiore, pictured, part of the Cinque Terre. - Artie Photography/Moment RF/Getty Images

The group stayed until closing. Then they walked down to the harbor and greeted the birthday party revelers.

Thats when Alessandro suggested the nighttime dip: Lets go swimming, he said to Bianca.

Im not going swimming in those waters, said Bianca, skeptically. It was pitch black out, the sea dark and the water and rocks illuminated only by starlight.

But Alessandro won Bianca over  in his presence, she felt safe, free, happy.

So we went out skinny dipping, Bianca recalls.

It was a joyful end to the evening. Later, in the early hours of the morning, Bianca and her friend returned to their rented room, tired, but happy.

Then, mere hours later, the sun was streaming through the window, and there was a knock on the door.

I was like, What is going on? Who is that? recalls Bianca.

She tentatively opened the door, and there was Alessandro and his friend from the night before, grinning.

These guys were there, with their speedos on, their bags, their sunscreen and they were like, Girls, lets go on a boat trip.

It was July 27  Biancas birthday. Shed mentioned the significance of the date the night before, and Alessandro figured a boat trip was the perfect way to celebrate.

Alessandros friend was from Riomaggiore and he had a boat  one of the fishing boats bobbing in the marina. So the group spent the day floating around the Cinque Terre villages, admiring the green hills, the houses dotted among the cliffs, sunbathing and exploring. It was a magical birthday.

Bianca and Alessandro were inseparable for the rest of the weekend.

We were simply living the typical Italian summer. Going to the beach, going out for pizza  going on walks, says Bianca. The guys just kept knocking on our door every day and taking us out. And we just kept saying yes.

The four of them - Bianca and her friend and Alessandro and his friend - all got on well.

It seemed incredibly normal and comfortable and we just all were having a great time and it was very relaxed  almost like we had been friends for a long time, says Bianca.

A decision to stay

Alessandro and Bianca not long after they met in Italy. - Bianca Gignac

Bianca and her friend were only in Riomaggiore for a long weekend. The next week, she had a midnight train booked to Rome, which would take her to the airport and back to Canada, bringing her Italian summer to an end.

After three days with Alessandro, Bianca didnt want to leave, but she figured she had no choice.

I packed up my bag. I was leaving Italy for good, she says.

Before heading to the train station, Bianca went out for a last dinner with Alessandro, three steps away from where we met, while waiting for the train to arrive at the station.

Biancas bag was at her feet. Shed checked out of her accommodation. All the signs pointed to her leaving. But neither Bianca nor Alessandro could accept that this was goodbye.

Bianca, dont go, Alessandro said, as the time came for her to make her way to the station.

I have to, Bianca said. I have a job, I have college.

But Bianca made no signs of moving. Something inside her knew  she wasnt going.

So Bianca missed her train. She missed the flight. It was out of character, but it was exciting. It felt like the right decision.

With Alessandro in tow, Bianca returned to her vacation rental and asked the owner if she could extend the trip  back then Cinque Terre wasnt as busy as it is today, so that was a potentially doable request. The owner, who knew Alessandro, just looked at the pair of them and laughed and laughed.

Its a small village, says Bianca. He slapped Alessandro on the back and gave him the keys.

Over the next 10 days, Bianca and Alessandro grew even closer.

We didnt try hard or force anything. It was just completely natural and we were just spending every minute together for a week, says Bianca. He even brought me to meet his mother, Paola, almost right away. I just sat in their kitchen and she was so sweet. She fed me, of course.

Alessandro also took Bianca on the back of his scooter for hilltop rides around the Cinque Terre. They spent long days together, exploring, chatting.

And then I really did go, says Bianca. When we said goodbye at the train station, I was crying. I was like, Im never going to see you again. And I really believed that there was no concept that I would ever see him again.

Back in Canada

Back in Canada, Bianca focused on her degree. She was going into her final year of college and her goal was graduating. She tried to put Alessandro out of her mind. But before shed left Italy, theyd exchanged contact details.

And while Bianca assumed theyd never see each other again, Alessandro was sure it was meant to be. He made an effort to stay in touch.

I started calling her, and wed talk over the phone, he says.

These conversations became more and more regular.

And then, when Christmas rolled around, Alessandro suggested Bianca should come back to Italy, stay with him for the holidays.

I have school, Bianca said. And I dont have any money to go to Italy

Ive got a solid job, said Alessandro. Ill buy your plane ticket.

The idea of seeing Alessandro again, of being back in Italy, was almost overwhelming to Bianca. During their months apart, shed daydreamed about night swimming in Riomaggiore, about their long days exploring together, the evenings at cliffside restaurants. She decided to go for it.

Okay, Im coming, Bianca told Alessandro on the phone.

When Bianca told her college friends her plans, they were in disbelief. Some didnt believe it could last.

But one friend was adamant. He bought you a plane ticket? Youre going to marry him and have babies.

I dont think so, said Bianca. But lets see.

Bianca spent the holidays with Alessandro and his extended family in La Spezia. The trip lasted just over a week, but by the time Bianca was heading back to Canada in early 2004, she and Alessandro had a goal: when Bianca graduated from college, shed come back to Italy.

So that was our plan. So then it was just about me going home, wrapping up, graduating, says Bianca.

That summer, Alessandro came to Canada to celebrate Biancas graduation and meet her family. Then, right after graduating, Bianca moved to Italy. It was exciting, but a little surreal. And for Bianca  who still didnt speak much Italian  it was a big step.

One of Alessandros friends told him he thought Bianca would last two weeks. But he was quickly proven wrong. Bianca stayed for one month, then two and then

Within three months of us living together, we were married, says Bianca.

It was a somewhat spontaneous decision. We were young and dumb, says Bianca today, laughing.

But it also felt like the absolute right decision. Bianca and Alessandro were in love, and wanted to spend their lives together.

Bianca phoned her parents in Canada to break the news.

I called my family and I said, Im getting married. In three weeks. I am so sorry to do this to you. I know thats hard to hear that Im getting married in three weeks. But Im doing it, Bianca recalls.

Her loved ones were a little surprised, but supportive.

Even if we had this long distance thing for a while, we had been together enough for people to understand that it was super serious, she says.

We just ran off to city hall. We got married on a Friday, got the day off work, and showed up in clothes we already owned. I went to the florist across the street and got a babys breath, and put it behind my hair.

Alessandros friend  the one whod been there the night the couple met in Riomaggiore  translated the wedding service from Italian to English for Bianca. Alessandros family also attended and toasted their future.

Life in Italy

Bianca and Alessandro on a return trip to Italy. - Bianca Gignac

Bianca and Alessandro lived and worked in Italy for the next two years, including a period living with Alessandros mother in her home. Bianca had been hesitant about moving in there, but everyone being under one roof allowed her to really bond with Alessandros loved ones.

All of his family lived there. His aunt lived upstairs. His uncle used to live downstairs, it was the family home that the grandfather built. So it was just this incredible experience for somebody like me, coming into this whole culture and becoming part of his life, says Bianca.

Bianca and Alessandro also spent a period living in an apartment, just the two of them. During this time, they lived in the moment just enjoying the now, as Alessandro puts it.

But they also learned a lesson that became essential to their relationship, as they navigated cultural differences and the first months of married life.

When youre in a relationship, you need to exercise the deepest patience, says Alessandro. Even more so when someone is from a different culture.

Patience and understanding, you have to have that as a couple anyway, agrees Bianca. When you are in an international relationship, it takes a lot more compassion and understanding.

Bianca worked in a gelateria, which she says was very stressful, but which she credits as the reason why she finally perfected Italian. In time, she could speak the language fluently, and she was acclimatized to life in La Spezia.

But after two years, Bianca and Alessandro were ready for a change. They relocated to Canada, to Vancouver Island, where Biancas family lived.

This marked a shift into a new chapter of their lives.

We bought a house and I was pregnant within a month, says Bianca. We ended up totally building a life in Canada, and having our daughter.

A new chapter

While she was busy reacquainting herself with Canada, looking after a newborn, and then a toddler, an idea started percolating in Biancas head.

In time, this idea became a business: Italian Fix  a Canada-based tour company running specialized Italian small group tours, aiming to give visitors a taste of Italy as the locals live it.

The company was inspired by Biancas knowledge from living in Italy and the lifestyle that I had grown to love and be a part of, as she explains it.

Her companys first trip was  of course  to the Cinque Terre.

I got my first group of nine guests and I completely introduced them to all the people I had met there, all of my connections that Ive built over the two years, and I just was like Welcome to my world, and heres a week of living in the Cinque Terre, recalls Bianca.

That was the start and the seed of the company now Ive been running for 12 years.

As for Alessandro, he was happy and enthusiastic to put down roots in Canada. He got a good job working in engineering, and focused on co-parenting with Bianca.

While Alessandro found there were many differences between Italy and Canada, he felt they were mostly positive.

Plus, he often joined Bianca on her Italian trips. The couple would take their daughter along too, and spend time with their Italian family.

Alessandro and Bianca have been together for over 20 years. - Stefano Butturini

Bianca and Alessandros shared commitment to prioritizing work, family and travel became the cornerstone of their family life.

Even if we grew up in different countries, we have the same worldview. And the same worldview is, work hard, say yes to opportunities, dont give up on yourself and your own dreams and see what incredible life you can build together, says Bianca.

Thats one of the values that we do say to our daughter  were like, Dont miss out on opportunities. If somebody gives you an opportunity, say yes. Because thats very much how weve lived our life.

The family have lived in Canada ever since, aside from a year spent living in Costa Rica.

Everything really does open up after you move to one country  moving to others doesnt seem so daunting, says Bianca. We had a fabulous year living on a white sand beach, and it was one of the best experiences.

Bianca and Alessandros daughter is now in her teens. Bianca and Alessandro still take her to Italy whenever they can.

Shes been to most corners of Italy, she speaks Italian, says Bianca. We have so much affection for Italy, we have so many friends there. Half of our friends and half of our amazing family memories are in Italy  theyre half in Canada, and theyre half in Italy, because we really have lived this international family life, living in two places.

The Cinque Terre, of course, will always have a special place in Bianca and Alessandros hearts.

Its not a magical place where we go and relive our initial connection, says Alessandro. Its just home. Its home number two.

Catching or missing a train

Looking back on their 20 years together, Alessandro and Bianca say they feel grateful and proud.

Over the two decades, the relationship has evolved in a million ways, says Alessandro.

But the very core of who we were  which is two young people who wanted a great life for themselves, and were brave enough to say, yes  were actually the same kind of people, he says.

The couple are always looking to the future and potential exciting opportunities  work-related, travel-related, family-related. They pride themselves on trusting their instincts, diving head first into what feels right, just as they did with their romance back in July 2003.

All the things we built, that we have, are thanks to us jumping on that train that was running by, says Alessandro. Over 20 years of us being together, that to me was actually a lesson  dont ever miss a train, because it might not go by again.

Or do miss the train, says Bianca, laughing. Because then you get to stay, like I did.

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Agra, March 1 : The mathematics and biology question papers of the Uttar Pradesh class 12 Board exam were allegedly shared on a WhatsApp group an hour after the examinations began on Thursday.

The District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Agra, Dinesh Kumar, has lodged a complaint with the police in Agra's Fatehpur Sikri.

The principal of Atar Singh Inter College, Rajhauli, in Kiraoli in Fathepur Sikri, his son, who works as a computer operator at the institute, and others have been named in the complaint, the FIR said.

It is alleged that the question papers were posted on the WhatsApp group "All Principals Agra" by the principal's son.

Joint Director of Secondary Education Department and Observer for the exams, Mukesh Agrawal, said, "We have formed a committee after the incident, and accordingly directed the officials concerned to take necessary steps in this regard. Legal action will be taken against those who have done this act."

The question papers were shared an hour after the exam began in the second shift, officials said.
Lucknow, March 1 : The Samajwadi Party (SP) has told the Election Commission (EC) that people had lost faith in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and ballot papers should be used in the polling.

In a meeting with the EC team on Thursday evening, other opposition parties raised the issue of alleged malfunctioning in EVMs, irregularities in electoral rolls, abuse of government machinery by the ruling party and strict enforcement of the model code of conduct during elections.

SP also raised objection to the EC's directive to the political parties to refrain from using children in election campaigns.

"Elections are considered a festival of our democracy and people of all age groups, including children, participate in the election activities," said Naresh Uttam Patel, SP State President.

The EC team led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar is in Lucknow on a three-day visit to review the preparation in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP delegation urged the poll panel for checking voters, who arrived at polling booths with their faces covered under burqas or veils, at multiple levels by women staff to curb bogus voting during the Lok Sabha election.

The poll panel was also urged to conduct the polling process under video cameras at all polling booths across the state.

The BJP delegation, including Co-operative Minister J.P.S Rathor, State General Secretary Sanjay Rai and State Convenor Arunkant Tripathi raised the demand for setting up of polling booths in multi-storied buildings and residential societies to ensure participation of maximum voters, proper seating arrangement at polling booths for the elderly and differently-abled voters, transparent electoral rolls and a clear cut guideline for the installation of party flags and wall writing in the Lok Sabha election.

The EC team met the representatives of national and regional political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress, Apna Dal (Sonelal) and Samajwadi Party in a meeting organised in Yojana Bhawan on Thursday.

The SP State President said, "The EC told us that EVMs will be used in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The Samajwadi Party will participate in the electoral process and during the counting of votes when a candidate raises demand for recounting of votes then instead of counting slips of five voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) the EC should order recounting of the slips of all the VVPATs."

The SP also drew the attention of the EC toward irregularities in electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh. During the revision of voters' lists, 30.85 lakh names of the voters had been removed while the names of 57.29 lakh voters had been added. Today, there were 15.3 crore voters in Uttar Pradesh.

"We told the panel that names of the supporters of the SP have been deleted from the voters' lists. The anomalies in the voters' lists should be corrected before the poll," Patel added.

Congress delegation, including Deputy leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, former MP P.L. Punia and Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Misra Mona raised the issue of abuse of official machinery by the ruling BJP in the coming Lok Sabha election, uniformity in voters' lists and deletion of names of voters during the revision of electoral roll.

The Congress delegation also expressed dissatisfaction over the reply of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) on the complaint lodged by the party regarding the fire in the strong room of the election warehouse in Farrukhabad district in which several EVMs were destroyed.

The Congress leaders said that large scale transfer of administrative and police officers was being carried out before the start of the election process with the aim of misusing election machinery during the poll. The transfers of officers should be stopped immediately and those made in the past three months should be reviewed by the EC.

The BSP delegation led by State unit President Vishwanath Pal raised the demand for strict measures to conduct free and fair polling during the Lok Sabha election.
A California lawmaker has reintroduced legislation to offer undocumented seniors cash assistance when they can no longer work, a proposal identical to one Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed four months ago.

The push is again spearheaded by Assemblyman Juan Carrillo, D-Palmdale, who introduced Assembly Bill 2415 earlier this month. If passed, the legislation would offer around $1,500 per month to undocumented individuals who are blind, disabled or older than 65.

Carrillo, who immigrated from the Guadalajara, Mexico at 15, called the issue personal. He spent years working without a social security number, yet still paid federal and state taxes. Many undocumented aging workers do the same, but lack an economic safety net when they stop working.

About 165,000 undocumented workers in California were age 55 or older in 2019, according to the UC Merced Community and Labor Center.

Those workers end up contributing to the Social Security system, which they will not benefit from when they retire.

Undocumented immigrants paid an estimated $3.7 billion in state and local taxes in 2019, according to USCs California Immigrant Data Portal.

Its just fair to give them back a little bit of the contributions they made to the state, Carrillo said.

Monthly cash assistance would be provided through a state-funded program that helps people who are ineligible for Social Security benefits based on immigration status. But even then, the program has requirements on which noncitizens qualify for the assistance.

The bill would eliminate an eligibility requirement to apply for Social Security which has historically been a barrier for some undocumented residents. Carrillo said this legislation is needed given the lack of immigration reform, a feat the federal government has tried to accomplish on a national level for decades.

If we had an immigration reform in place, we wouldnt be having these conversations, Carrillo said.

Last fall, an identical bill overwhelmingly passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Newsom. In his veto statement, Newsom cited the proposed expansions $180 million annual cost, as estimated by the California Department of Social Services.

Story continues

He also pointed to recent steps his administration has taken to help undocumented residents, such as the expansion of Medi-Cal eligibility and committing to offering food assistance to undocumented residents over 55. The Medi-Cal expansion is expected to cost $4.8 billion for the next two years, and $3.7 billion annually following 2025.

While I appreciate the authors goal to expand CAPI (Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants) eligibility regardless of immigration status, enacting this policy without providing funding would not be prudent nor would it meet its intended purpose, Newsom said in the October veto message.

This years bill might see a similar fate given the states projected budget deficit of $73 billion.

Still, advocates are hopeful. They argue the legislation is vital to an aging workforce who have paid their state taxes through the years and should now reap the benefits.

We have to make hard choices, but why do we keep making hard choices against the very people who serve this country and the state and have nothing? said Angelica Salas, executive director of Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.

Carrillo acknowledged the budget situation, saying his goal is bring the bill to Newsoms desk once again. He believes putting the policy in place would be the first step to allocating future funding.
Prayagraj, March 1 : The Allahabad High Court has ordered the police and administration in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district to ensure release of 28 camels, belonging to one Mohd. Anas.

The court fixed March 18 as the next date of hearing in the case.

The district police are now hunting for 28 camels that local police had allegedly seized from Mohd. Anas here in 2019.

After being seized in 2019, the camels were handed over to one Vikrant Vats, who claimed to have been associated with an organisation that takes care of animals.

In August 2019, camels in large numbers were brought from Rajasthan to Lisari Gate and Kotwali areas of Meerut for sacrifice on Bakrid. The police are said to have seized them saying there was a ban on sacrifice.

The owner Mohd. Anas then filed a complaint in the office of city magistrate, Meerut, requesting that either the animals be handed over to him or the cost incurred in buying them be given to him.

The court ruled in favour of Anas and directed the then city magistrate to hand over the camels to him.

When Anas did not get his camels, he moved the high court.
Dhaka, March 1 : At least 43 people were killed in a deadly fire that broke out at a six-storey commercial building on Baily Road in Dhaka late on Thursday night.

Of the deceased, 33 died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 10 in Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, said Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen.

He added that more than 22 people were severely burned are battling for their lives.

Around 75 people, including 42 in an unconscious state, were rescued from Green Cozy Cottage Shopping Mall.

The Fire Service says the Green Cozy Cottage houses Kacchi Bhai biriyani shop, an outlet of retailer Illiyeen, and several other shops.

Live videos shared by people on Facebook showed a fire engulfing the building while onlookers gathered outside.

Locals and firefighters were seen rescuing the people trapped inside the building in some of the videos.

The fire that broke out around 9:50 p.m. was brought under control after two hours.

Mohammad Rashed, a rescue worker of the Fire Service, exited through the back of the building with five other workers. All of them escaped out of the building with air jumping bags.

A security guard in an adjacent building recounted his experience saying, "There was no fire at first, we only saw smoke. When I went to the ground floor of the building to inspect the matter I heard a gas cylinder burst and the fire spread to the upper floors of the building."

"The fire spread so fast that the Fire service was struggling to rescue people. Some got down from the building by climbing a rope, but many were injured in this way," he added.

Around 10-15 people have been taken to the Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery for sustaining injuries from the fire.

Three platoons of paramilitary, Bangladesh Ansar and one of the specially trained Ansar Guard Battalion have been deployed to help in the fire and rescue operation working together with the Fire service.

Santo Das, rescued from the building at around 11:40 p.m., told IANS that the fire might have originated from a cylinder blast. He works at a restaurant on the third floor of the building.

At least 19 people have been rescued so far, Fire Service officials said. Nearly 12 units of the firefighters worked to douse the fire and carry out rescue operations.
New Delhi, March 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) to finalise the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The meeting which began at 10.45 p.m. on Thursday ended at 3.15 a.m. on Friday.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of party National President J.P. Nadda in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National BJP Organisation General Secretary B.L. Santhosh, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, party leaders K. Laxman, Iqbal Singh Lalpura and other top members of the CEC were also present in the meeting.

Union Ministers Mansukh Mandaviya, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje were also present in the party's CEC meeting.

Besides, Deputy Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states and party in-charges of various states, co-election in-charges and top leaders of the State Core Committee formed regarding the upcoming Lok Sabha elections were also present in the CEC meet.

According to sources, earlier on Thursday, a high-level meeting was held in the presence of Amit Shah and J.P. Nadda at the official residence of Prime Minister Modi.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP's CEC meeting held the brainstorming session to finalise the names of party candidates on more than 150 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Goa, Jharkhand, Delhi, Tripura, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, and rest of states and union territories.

According to the BJP sources, the party is likely to release the first list of Lok Sabha candidates on Friday.

Prime Minister Modi has set the aim of securing 400-plus seats for the NDA-led BJP alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections for which he has appealed to the people to help BJP win more than 370 seats.

At the same time, the Prime Minister, who is working for making a developed India by the year 2047, also wants to promote young candidates within the BJP to take the party forward.
Lucknow, March 1 : Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is caught in a bind. His strategy on OBCs, Dalits and minorities, has backfired badly with both upper castes and the PDA sections of society mounting scathing attacks on him.

Of the seven SP MLAs who cross-voted in recent Rajya Sabha polls, five belonged to upper castes -- three Brahmins, two Thakurs -- and their grievance was that the Samajwadi Party has given up on the policy of inclusiveness.

"PDA leaves no room for us in the party. The manner in which Swami Prasad Maurya slammed Sanatana Dharma and Akhilesh Yadav maintained a studied silence on the issue, shows that he actually approved Maurya's diatribe," said one of the Brahmin MLAs.

Manoj Pandey, one of the MLAs who went against the party line, visited the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Thursday, said, "Majority of the MLAs wanted to go to Ayodhya with the delegation led by the chief minister. We felt that the temple visit should be above party lines but our leaders decided against going and we had to comply."

While the upper caste MLAs are making no bones about their discomfort in the Samajwadi Party, the OBC leaders, ironically, are also questioning the PDA formula.

Party MLA Pallavi Patel slammed the selection of candidates for the Rajya Sabha and said, "Where is the PDA in selection of candidates like (Jaya) Bachchan and (Alok) Ranjan." She later relented but cast her vote for Ramji Lal Suman, a Dalit.

Swami Prasad Maurya, even after quitting the SP, said that the SP is not following the PDA in the true sense of the term. He said that 'Akhilesh has lost his way on socialism and secularism."

Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, a former SP ally, has been repeatedly criticising Akhilesh and accusing him of using the PDA formula as a mere slogan.

Former MP Salim Sherwani also quit the party, accusing Akhilesh of ignoring Muslims while selecting candidates for the Rajya Sabha.

Former Minister Abid Raza has also resigned on the same grounds.

With upper castes, OBCs and Muslim leaders deserting him on the eve of Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav now faces an uphill task in Uttar Pradesh.

On one hand, he needs to work overtime to keep his party intact and, on the other, to retain the faith of his voters in his policies -- both of which require great political acumen.
New Delhi, March 1 : 'WiseLife', the yoga and wellness brand has bagged a deal of Rs 1.2 crore with four sharks in the new episode of the entrepreneurial reality show 'Shark Tank India' season 3.

Hailing from Gurugram, Prateek Kedia and Shreya Bansal bring their brainchild 'WiseLife' to 'Shark Tank India 3'. Their yoga mats are made from natural rubber, suede, cork thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), and have features like -- one time rolling, superior grip and extra cushioning.

Talking about the idea behind the business, Prateek said: "Sharks, like lakhs of youngsters, I, too, had made work my life. I would work over 50 hours a week and be under constant stress. I finally realised that life could not go on like this. After all, health is wealth. So, I finally started doing yoga. I ordered a few yoga mats online then I faced problems like the mats not unfolding properly, slipping while doing asanas due to no proper grip, and my elbows and knees were pained because of no proper cushioning."

"To solve these problems, we present to you Wiselife," he shared.

Shreya continued saying, "Our mats not only come in attractive designs, but have good quality, affordable and are eco-friendly."

"We have also launched yoga props like belts, blocks, wheels and others," she said.

Prateek said that they have one lakh plus customers, and want to take this yoga experience to every Indian household and inspire people to focus on their health and wellness.

Hence, they asked for Rs 60 lakh for 2 per cent equity.

Ritesh Agarwal (Founder and CEO of OYO Rooms), complemented the pitchers and said: "I'm glad to see you barefoot. You've incorporated yoga into every aspect of your life."

Aman Gupta (Co-Founder and CMO of boAt) candidly asked Ritesh: "Do you do yoga?" To which the latter replied: "A little bit. You see, my wife is a yoga trainer."

Namita Thapar (Executive Director of Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd) said: "I do it regularly and it has changed my life. How did you get into yoga at such a young age?"

Replying to Namita, Prateek said: "We both used to work for PWC. We were doing our CA Articleship there. The Articleship period is extremely hectic. Our health and wellness took a hit at the time. We decided to join a yoga class together. Doing yoga made us feel really better."

Anupam Mittal (Founder and CEO of Shaadi.com) said: "There's a Canadian brand...Lululemon. They made activewear and yoga wear super cool. This was the go-to brand, right? Is your brand somewhat positioned along those lines, because I'm getting that feeling?"

Prateek replied: "We are inspired by Lululemon for sure...But this brand is completely Indian. We need to address the Indian market. We have 40 plus yoga mat designs, and they are all 100 per cent sustainable, and natural rubber on the bottom."

Shreya continued: "We have the entire yoga range. No matter what product you need for yoga, it is available with us."

Ritesh said: "I believe your product experience truly is world-class. Your yoga-driven designs are a unique competency."

Anupam went on to say: "Are you just looking for a platform like Shark Tank to get the WiseLife brand out or do you really want to raise funds and take this to the next level?"

Prateek replied saying, "First of all, any amount of marketing is not enough. Our product will go wherever we get marketing. We're completely self-taught. We don't have a mentor who could guide us. So, we expect you and your team to share your mantra or secret sauce with us."

"We had internally set a benchmark for ourselves. Until we didn't cross a revenue of Rs 1 crore a month, we would not involve external parties. Unless we're not sure about our business, why should we raise capital and complicate matters? Last month, our gross revenue was Rs 1 crore. This is the first time we're having a formal discussion with an investor to raise funds," he added.

Finally they sealed a deal of Rs 1.2 crore for four percent equity with Aman, Anupam, Namita and Ritesh.

'Shark Tank India 3' streams on SonyLIV.
New Delhi, March 1 : One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, and Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) on Friday announced to discontinue various inter-company agreements, as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ban on the bank's operations inches closer.

In a BSE filing, the company said that as part of the process to "reduce dependencies", Paytm and PPBL have "mutually agreed to discontinue various inter-company agreements with Paytm and its group entities."

Further, the shareholders of PPBL have agreed to simplify the Shareholders Agreement (SHA) to support PPBL's governance, independent of its shareholders.

"The Board of OCL approved the termination of agreements and amendment of SHA on March 1, 2024," the filing read.

The company had earlier announced to sign up new partnerships with other banks and take measures to provide seamless services for its customers and merchants.

"In its intimation to stock exchanges on Feb 1, 2024, the company had indicated the possible financial impact," it said.

Services like Paytm app, Paytm QR, Paytm soundbox and Paytm Card machines will continue to work uninterrupted beyond the RBI's March 15 deadline.

Paytm said it is committed to uphold the highest standards of market leading innovation and technology enabled solutions for its customers.

Late last month, Paytm's Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma stepped down as Non-Executive Chairman and Board Member of Paytm Payments Bank.

PPBL's future business will be led by a reconstituted Board by OCL, after the RBI ban on the bank operations from March 15.
Seoul, March 1 : Some offices of the Korean Medical Association (KMA), the country's largest doctors' group, were on Friday raided by police as part of an investigation into five current and former Association leaders accused of instigating a walkout by trainee doctors.

The raids, the first investigative action that police have taken since thousands of interns and resident doctors walked off the job on February 20, also came a day after the government-set deadline for the trainee doctors to return to work, Yonhap news agency reported.

Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency searched several offices, including that of the KMA's emergency committee and the Seoul Medical Association, to secure evidence from the mobile phones and computers of the officials.

On Tuesday, the health ministry filed a police complaint against the KMA's emergency committee chief Kim Taek-woo; two others members of the KMA leadership; a former KMA chief; and Lim Hyeon-taek, the chief of the Korean Pediatric Society.

The ministry accused them of instigating the trainee doctors' mass resignations by expressing support and providing legal assistance in the government's first legal action taken in connection with the walkout.

The investigation came as thousands of intern and resident doctors have stayed away from their jobs at general hospitals nationwide since Tuesday last week in their collective action protesting the government's plan to hike the medical school admission quota by 2,000 seats next year.

The government had given the striking interns and resident doctors until the end of Thursday to return to work or face punitive action, such as the suspension of their medical licenses.

Earlier, the police also warned that those accused in connection with the walkout would face arrest if they defy police questioning without a valid reason.
New Delhi, March 1 : Celebrating achievements, both in the boardroom and at home, is essential. Acknowledging successes, no matter how small fosters gratitude and resilience. Planning quality family time and creating lasting memories have become non-negotiable commitments, much like the commitment to the growth of my incense company.

Amita Agrawal, Director and Head of the Perfumery Division, MDPH, and Zed Black said, "My journey as a female entrepreneur has been marked by the delicate art of balancing work, family, and personal aspirations. In the vibrant world of business, setting clear priorities has become my guiding principle to strike the right chords between professional ambitions and the nuances of personal life."

By setting priorities, women entrepreneurs can strategically allocate their time and energy, ensuring that they make impactful strides in their careers while fostering a balanced and fulfilling personal life. Balancing these priorities is not a one-size-fits-all equation, but rather a dynamic process that requires adaptability, effective communication, and a steadfast commitment to both professional and personal well-being.

Here are some practical tips outlined by Amita:

Set Boundaries: Communicate and set boundaries between work and personal time. Foster understanding and support from your team and family. Also, learn to Say No by assessing your capacity and learn to decline additional commitments when necessary to focus on tasks that align with your goals and priorities

Effective Time Management: Use time management tools to enhance productivity & prioritize tasks based on urgency and importance, adds Amita Agrawal.

Flexible Work Arrangements: Explore flexible work arrangements that suit your lifestyle. Embrace remote work or flexible hours if feasible for your business.

Delegate and Outsource: Delegate tasks at work and home to capable individuals. Outsource non-essential business or personal tasks to free up time.

Prioritize Self-Care: Schedule regular breaks, exercise, and moments of relaxation. Prioritize self-care to maintain physical and mental well-being. Also, utilize technology for automation and efficiency in both work and personal tasks. Explore apps and tools that can help streamline processes.

Continuous learning and networking with fellow women entrepreneurs has also provided a valuable support system, contributing to a balanced and fulfilling life. Celebrate achievements, plan quality family time, and stay flexible to enjoy the beauty of entrepreneurship. As we share insights, support one another, and prioritize well-being, the collective strength of women entrepreneurs grows, creating an inspiring symphony that resonates throughout the business world. Together, we elevate not only our enterprises but also the narrative of success for generations to come. Supported by my understanding partner, my in-laws, my children, and my daughter-in-law, I navigate the challenges and joys of balancing responsibilities, creating a harmonious space where the laughter and love of my grandchildren take centre stage.

IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in
New Delhi, March 1 : Top industry bodies on Friday hailed the government's decision to clear three semiconductor fabrication (fab) manufacturing projects worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore, saying that the emergence of the country as a global semiconductor manufacturing destination "no longer seems to be a distant dream." New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Top industry bodies on Friday hailed the government's decision to clear three semiconductor fabrication (fab) manufacturing projects worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore, saying that the emergence of the country as a global semiconductor manufacturing destination "no longer seems to be a distant dream."

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved three semiconductor units that will start construction within the next 100 days and generate direct employment of 20,000 advanced technology jobs and nearly 60,000 indirect jobs.

Pankaj Mohindroo, Chairman, India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) told IANS that by 2027, "India will have the fab and Outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) units producing."

"By the end of the decade, we may have more than 10 fabs and 20 OSAT units in production, besides many semiconductor product design companies," Mohindroo added.

The semiconductor fab with 50,000 wafers per month capacity will be set up by Tata Electronics Private Ltd (TEPL) in partnership with Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (PSMC), Taiwan, in Dholera, Gujarat. This fab will be constructed with an investment of Rs 91,000 crore.

As per Lt Gen Dr SP Kochhar, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the approval on the establishment of three semiconductor units under the India Semiconductor Mission is a positive and commendable development.

"This serves as an excellent example for our nation towards attaining self-sufficiency in line with our Prime Minister's vision of 'Atmanirbharta' and will further inspire India's goals to become a global manufacturing and supply chain hub," Kochhar said in a statement.

Moreover, with the output from these facilities being poised to benefit various sectors and segments, it is expected to provide a fillip to the 'Digital India' mission through increased technological prowess and advancement of the indigenous industrial ecosystem, "besides generating employment and attracting more investments in the country."

India already has deep capabilities in chip design. With these units, the country will develop capabilities in chip fabrication.
Seoul, March 1 : South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday said that Seoul and Japan are partners in the pursuit of global peace and prosperity as they work to overcome their "painful past" and move toward a new future.

Yoon Suk Yeol made the remark as he marked the 105th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule, a watershed event during Japan's 1910-45 brutal occupation of the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Now, Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past," he said during a commemoration ceremony at the Memorial Hall of Yu Gwan-sun in Seoul. "Sharing the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, our two countries have become partners in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity."

Yoon Suk Yeol cited efforts under his administration to strengthen bilateral cooperation against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and build partnerships across industries.

"If Korea and Japan build trust through mutual exchanges and cooperation and work together to resolve difficult challenges that history has left us, we will be able to usher in a new and brighter future for our bilateral relations," he said. "I hope that the 60th anniversary of Korea and Japan normalising diplomatic relations next year will serve as an opportunity to take our bilateral relationship to a higher level, one that is more productive and constructive."

He also said the independence movement will be made complete only when the Korean Peninsula achieves a unification that brings freedom and abundance to everyone, noting the repressive rule of the North Korean regime.

"Now, we must move toward a free, unified Korean Peninsula where the people are its rightful owners," he said, noting the need to draw on the help of the international community.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity. Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights," he said.

President Yoon reiterated his commitment to helping the North Korean people, including defectors to the South, citing the government's designation of July 14 as North Korean Defectors' Day.

He also recalled that North Korea recently labeled the South its "primary foe" and "invariable principal enemy," saying, "This is truly deplorable."

Meanwhile, President Yoon called attention to the various types of independence movements that were carried out under colonial rule, including those who engaged in armed struggle and others who pursued diplomacy around the world or initiated educational and cultural movements to empower Koreans with necessary skills

"The blood and sweat of these independence activists enabled our country's independence and became the foundation of the Republic of Korea," he said, referring to South Korea by its formal name. "I believe that the significance of all of these independence movements must be duly recognised and their history should be passed down correctly generation after generation."
French farmers stop traffic on the Champs-Elysees, while Polish farmers block road to Lithuania

Farmers' protests continued across Europe on Friday, with 66 arrests in Paris after protesting farmers blocked the Champs-Elysees during the early hours.

Placing tractors and straw bales along the iconic avenue near the Arc de Triomphe and French President Emmanuel Macron's office, the Elysee Palace, the farmers briefly brought traffic to a standstill.

Described as a "symbolic" and "peaceful" act by the French farmers union, the tractors were escorted by National Police motorbikes.

In addition to their national demands, the French farmers are protesting against an EU trade pact with the Mercosur group of South American countries.

Polish farmers block access to Lithuania

In Poland, farmers blocked the road to Lithuania, the only access route from the Baltic States to Poland and southern countries.

They are opposed to the alleged re-export of Ukrainian grain, which would go from Poland to Lithuania in transit and return from Lithuania as an EU import to Poland with no testing or control.

But Jerzy Plewa, former Polish deputy agriculture minister and a former Director General for Agriculture and Rural Development at the European Commission, in an interview with Euroactiv blamed "record exports from Russia,".

Low grain prices on global markets are largely due to Russias record exports, which are being sold at low prices particularly to African markets, but also to Europe, he said.
Indian envoy thanks governor of quake-hit Ishikawa for helping Indians. Image Source: IANS News

Tokyo, March 1 : Indian Ambassador to Japan Sibi George met Hiroshi Hase, governor of the quake-hit Ishikawa, on Friday and thanked him for all the assistance extended to Indians there.

A 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck the northernmost peninsula of Noto in Ishikawa this year, killing hundreds of people and rendering many homeless.

"Ambassador @AmbSibiGeorge visited #Ishikawa Prefecture & met Honable Governor, Mr. Hiroshi Hase. Expressed his condolences for loss of lives due to Noto Peninsula earthquake," the Indian Embassy in Japan said in a post on X.

"Thanked for assistance extended to Indians in #Ishikawa and reiterated Indiaas solidarity to Ishikawa and Japan," the post read.

As per a Japan Times report, the death toll in the quake has risen to 240 with 75,000 homes being damaged in the disaster.

Hours after the earthquake, the Indian embassy in Japan set up an emergency control room and issued helpline numbers for its citizens.

In a letter to his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed India's solidarity with Japan and its people and said that he is "deeply anguished and concerned" over the earthquake.

"I am deeply anguished and concerned to learn about the major earthquake that struck Japan on January 1," PM Modi wrote.

"I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families of those who lost their lives. We stand in solidarity with Japan and its people affected by the disaster," he added.

Japan's ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki has expressed his gratitude and said India's support is much valued during this difficult time.

"Dear friends in India, I am deeply grateful for so many sincere condolences, prayers, and warm encouragement regarding the Noto (Neng Deng ) Earthquake in Japan," Ambassador Suzuki said on X.

Ambassador George's meeting comes in the backdrop of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to Japan from March 6-8 for the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue.
Hyderabad, March 1 : Power distribution companies in Telangana on Friday started issuing 'zero bills' to eligible households as the 'Gruha Jyothi' scheme for 200 units of free electricity came into force.

Hyderabad, March 1 (IANS) Power distribution companies in Telangana on Friday started issuing azero billsa to eligible households as the aGruha Jyothia scheme for 200 units of free electricity came into force.

Employees of power distribution companies were seen visiting peopleas homes and issuing azero billsa to eligible beneficiaries of the scheme, which was one of the guarantees of the Congress party in the recent Assembly elections.

Officials said those families who hold white ration cards (BPL families) and have linked the same with Aadhaar cards and have applied for the scheme during Praja Palana will be issued azero billsa if their monthly consumption is below 200 units.

A customer, who consumed 114 units with a total bill amount of Rs.489, received a azero billa on Friday.

Officials said necessary changes have been made in the billing software to issue azero billsa. The process started in Hyderabad and it will be extended to the entire state in the next few days.

To cover the subsidy cost, Discoms will send details of the subsidy to the state government by the 20th of each month.

The Telangana Congress government on February 27 began implementation of two guarantees including aGruha Jyothia.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy also launched another scheme to provide one cooking gas cylinder for Rs.500.

The Telangana government had started implementation of two of its guarantees two days after coming to power as the Congress party had made 13 promises as part of its six guarantees during the elections.
Google allows more time for pilot real-money gaming apps in India. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, March 1 : Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Google on Friday announced to support 'Shakti, India Election Fact-Checking Collective', which is a consortium of news publishers and fact-checkers in the country, in order to curb the spread of deepfakes.

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Google on Friday announced to support aShakti, India Election Fact-Checking Collectivea, which is a consortium of news publishers and fact-checkers in the country, in order to curb the spread of deepfakes.

The project will focus on connecting independent fact checkers and Indian language publishers, giving them a collaborative platform to share fact checks, research resources and alerts on elections-related viral misinformation and deepfakes.

"Fact-checks in multiple Indian languages and formats, including videos, will be shared and amplified via partnering news publishers, ensuring they reach a wider set of language users and diverse audiences across the country," the company said in a statement.

The 'Shakti' project will be driven by DataLEADS, in collaboration with the Misinformation Combat Alliance and other fact checkers, with support from the Google News Initiative (GNI).

The project will also provide news organisations and fact-checkers essential training in advanced fact-checking methodologies, deepfake detection, and the latest Google tools like the Fact Check Explorer.

"The Fact-Checking Collective will continue to prioritise publishers producing original news in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi," said the tech giant.

"In an era where digital information flows faster than ever, the need to empower people with trustworthy and credible information has never been more critical," said Bharat Gupta, President, Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA).

Google said that since 2018, it has supported the training of more than 65,000 journalists, media educators and journalism students in over 15 languages globally, "and empowered them with digital tools and skills needed to find, verify, and tell engaging stories while tackling the ever-evolving risk of misinformation".
Thiruvananthapuram, March 1 : Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Friday said the youth in Kerala were being trained to indulge in violence and bullying by certain forces, and appealed to all "not to create a cult of violence".

The Governor said this while speaking to the media here soon after visiting the residence of a 2nd year BVSC student, Siddarth, whose body was found hanging at his college in Wayanad on February 18. The student's death has now snowballed into a major controversy after reports surfaced of him being mob lynched and brutally assaulted by senior students.

The preliminary reports said it was a case of suicide. But following the post-mortem report, Siddarth's family has alleged that he was murdered, and have pointed fingers at students, most of whom are attached to the CPI(M)'s student wing SFI.

At least 18 students of the College have been arraigned as accused. Eight of these have been arrested, while the rest are on the run.

"Tragedies do happen, but certain forces are promoting the cult of violence in the state. Just the other day the Kerala High Court upheld the verdict of a trial court in the case of a murder of a former party leader. In that case, senior leaders of a political party are included as accused (referring to the T.P. Chandrasekheran murder case).

"Where do you want to take the society. Young people are being trained to indulge in violence and bullying. The system has collapsed as everywhere in Kerala this is going on," said Governor Khan.

He then went on to say, "Consequent to such crimes, the police register cases against these young people.

"They want to create an army of people who due to the cases cannot apply for jobs or passports. I appeal to all not to create a cult of violence."

Father of Siddarth has demanded a detailed probe and said, 'If all the accused are not arrested I will not sit idle."

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal also arrived at Siddarth's house, slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for supporting the SFI.

"Siddarth was a brilliant student and his father told me that he was adamant on not joining the SFI and that is what led to the brutal assault. Vijayan in order to cover up his negative vibes is behind the support that he extends to the SFI to engage in such acts of crime. The scenario in colleges where SFI is strong is like concentration camps. We will be with the grieving family and will ensure that justice is delivered," said Congress general secretary.

State Minister of Animal Husbandry J.Chinchurani, who is also the pro-chancellor of the BVSC institute, said the probe was underway and all aspects will be looked into.

"If the dean of the institute M.K. Narayanan has done any wrong, strict action will be taken. It was he who had taken Siddarth to the hospital. All aspects will be probed," said Chinchurani.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said, "Siddarth was murdered and his body hanged to make it look like a suicide. "All the brutalities happened in the hostel and it is strange that the dean and the hostel warden feigned ignorance. The SFI has turned into a criminal gang and there is fear in many campuses. Their strength comes from the support that they get from the CPI(M)."
Kolkata : Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, accused of sexual violence and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali village, being produced at the Bhawani Bhawan. Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, March 1 : With Sheikh Shahjahan being in the custody of West Bengal CID, top ED official are in discussions with their CBI and NIA counterparts on how to get the suspended Trinamool Congress leader into the remand of a central agency.

Sheikh Shahjahan is the accused mastermind in the January 5 attack on ED and CAPF personnel at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal.

On Thursday, in a plea to a Division Bench, the ED had drawn the attention of the Calcutta High Court to the possibility of crucial evidence being tampered with while Shahjahan was in CID custody.

Now, top ED officials are working on technical possibilities to get the accused out of the state police's custody.

Sources said that the manner in which a section of the state police had held the ED responsible for inaction and the resultant delay of 55 days in the arrest of Shahjahan, has made the central agency sleuths nervous as they don't expect any cooperation from West Bengal cops.

After Shahjahan's arrest on Thursday, the Additional Director General of police (South Bengal), Supratim Sarkar, told media persons, "The state police might have some legal hurdles, but the same was not the case with the ED. So there is the question of why did the ED not arrest him."

Given this cold war, the ED is also trying for a court order to get the accused out of the state police's remand and into the custody of a central agency.
Yami says she hopes to have inspired young women to join IB, NIA. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, March 1 : Yami Gautam says she hopes her character, spirited intelligence officer Zooni Haksar in the political action thriller 'Article 370', inspires young women to join the Intelligence Bureau and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Sharing her vision, Yami, whose character in the film protects the nation from terrorist threats, noted: "If your audience connects with the film at a personal level and says their teenage daughters want to now join the IB or become an NIA officer, that is a huge compliment."

She also pointed out how important it was to get the acknowledged of Army veterans who have seen that life in the old Jammu and Kashmir state. "That kind of validation is precious," Yami added.

A political thriller, 'Article 370' is set against the backdrop of the abrogation by the Narendra Modi government of the constitutional provision that assured a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

Set against the backdrop of true events, the film offers audiences a gripping narrative with political intrigue, national security threats and pulse-pounding action sequences woven in.

Directed by Aaditya Suhas Jambhale, 'Article 370' has a stellar ensemble cast that also includes Priyamani, Arun Govil and Vaibhav Tatwawadi.
Bhopal, March 1 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that the two-day regional industry conclave that began in Ujjain on Friday will pave the way for all-round growth in the state.

The state government has estimated that the conclave will succeed in achieving its target of attracting investment worth more than Rs 1 lakh crore.

More than 800 investors across the world are participating in the conclave.

Chief Minister Yadav said that the conclave would not be limited to signing MoUs with the investors, but to execute those projects on the ground as early as possible.

"Our government will give more priority to those who would be ready to invest in Madhya Pradesh as soon as possible. Signing MoUs with investors is not the only aim, but to execute those plans on the ground as early as possible. This is the main aim of this conclave," he said.
North 24 Parganas: Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, accused of sexual violence and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali village, being produced at the Basirhat court. Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, March 1 : A day after his arrest, now suspended Trinamool Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan is reportedly not cooperating with the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police, who are investigating the cases registered against him, sources said.

Shahjahan, the accused mastermind behind the attack on ED and CAPF teams at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district on January 5, was arrested from Minakhah in the same district late on Wednesday night after being on the run for 55 days.

And soon after a district court remanded him to 10-day police custody on Thursday, Trinamool suspended Shahjahan, a party strongman in Sandeshkhali who's also accused of harassing the villagers in the trouble-torn area, from the party for six years.

State police sources said that Shahjahan is reportedly refusing to answer the queries put forth by the investigating officers, especially the ones relating to the attack on ED and CAPF teams on January 5.

At times, the sources added, he is even arguing with the interrogating officers, claiming that since he has already answered the same questions put forth by the Basirhat district police, he is not willing to give the same answers again.

Shahjahan was brought to the CID headquarters Bhabani Bhavan in Kolkata from the Basirhat sub-divisional court on Thursday. Early on Friday morning, he was taken from to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital for the statutory medical check-up.

After check-up, he was brought back to Bhabani Bhavan where the interrogation process got underway.

However, Shahjahan went silent as soon as questions relating to the attack on ED and CAPF officers were asked, the sources said.
Islamabad, March 1 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) backed candidate Ali Amin Gandapur on Friday was elected as chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province while PML-N's Sardar Ayaz Sadiq became the National Assembly Speaker.

The chief minister demanded the resignation of Pakistan Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja accusing him of being involved in the "rigging" in the February 8 general elections, Geo News reported.

Ali Amin Gandapur also sought quashing of FIRs against the female candidates of PTI, and asked Pakistan Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa to form a judicial commission to probe the May 9 violence.

He demanded fair trial for PTI founder Imran Khan and his release from jail.

He promised to live up to expectations of Imran Khan.

On economic situation, the chief minister said: "We need to stand on our own feet, increase our revenue and give relief to the poor."

Gandapur became chief minister defeating Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate Ibadullah Khan.

Ali Amin Gandapur had served as the federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during PTI's tenure at the Centre.

He had also served as a member of the KP Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and provincial minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to outgoing speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq secured 199 votes out of a total of 291 votes cast.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq defeated PTI-backed candidate Amir Dogar who bagged got 91 votes.
New Delhi, March 1 : A Delhi court on Friday dismissed AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan's anticipatory bail plea in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case.

Special Judge Rakesh Syal of Rouse Avenue Court pronounced the verdict after having it reserved on February 24.

The ED had recently summoned the accused in the matter. It has also opposed the anticipatory bail application, arguing that Khan may not cooperate in the investigation if he is granted pre-arrest bail.

Special Public Prosecutors Manish Jain and Simon Benjamin, representing the ED, had earlier said that Khan had previously approached the Delhi High Court against the summons, which was later withdrawn, alleging concealment of this fact in his current plea.

Khan had challenged the constitutional validity of Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and also sought a directive to quash the cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and the ED.

Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing Khan, had also earlier argued and requested interim protection but the court declined to grant relief.

Guruswamy had pointed out that Khan had been summoned in connection with a money laundering case. She had contested the issue of two FIRs being filed in the same case, with the first FIR dated November 23, 2016, filed by the CBI.

The allegation was related to Khan's alleged wrongful appointment as Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board.

She had cited the principle of criminal law that prohibits two FIRs for one cause, noting that the second FIR was based on the same allegations as the first, despite the closure of the matter by the agency, terming it as administrative irregularities.

She had also pointed out that previous bail orders in both cases concluded that there was no loss to the exchequer, as there was no evidence of bribery or recovery of proceeds of crime.

Special Judge Syal had recently taken cognisance of an ED charge sheet filed in the case.

The ED had filed the charge sheet against Zeeshan Haider, his partnership firm Skypower, Javed Imam Siddiqui, Dawood Nasir, and Qausar Imam Siddiqui.

The case pertains to a property worth Rs 36 crore in Okhla being allegedly acquired with illicit funds, purportedly influenced by Khan, who reportedly handed over Rs 8 crore in cash.

During the investigation, the ED considered FIRs filed earlier by the CBI, ACB, and the Delhi Police.

The ED said that the property was bought at Khan's behest, and presented with evidence of Rs 27 crore cash transaction.
Roobens Denis, 31, was arrested in Portugal. He has been wanted by Quebec City police since July. (Provided by the Service de police de la Ville de Quebec - image credit)

A man who was a close associate of the leader of the Blood Family Mafia (BFM) was arrested in Lisbon, Portugal, on Thursday.

Roobens Denis, 31, was arrested by local authorities after being wanted by Quebec City Police for seven months.

Denis was wanted for drug trafficking offences, said police in a statement. They say Interpol issued a red notice  a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.

Denis is considered by police to be a right-hand man of Dave "Pic" Turmel, the leader of the BFM, who is also wanted. The BFM has been entangled in a bloody conflict with the Hells Angels for almost a year.

Roobens Denis and Dave Turmel are both wanted by Quebec City police.

Roobens Denis, left, posing beside Dave "Pic" Turmel, right, who is still wanted by police. (Provided by the Service de police de la Ville de Quebec )

Extradition proceedings will be initiated as of Friday. If accepted, Quebec City police will take charge of the extradition procedure to bring Denis back to Canada to face justice.

Sources tell Radio-Canada that for the past year, Quebec City street gangs and independent drug dealers have been refusing to pay Hells Angels a 10 per cent fee to sell drugs on its territories.

On Thursday, Quebec police forces announced they had arrested more than 30 people during operations targeting areas of Montreal, Longueuil, Saguenay and Sept-Iles, Que., following a surge of violent crimes linked to gangs.
New Delhi, March 1 : A local court has sentenced two men for their involvement in an attempted robbery and assault on a doctor during a night walk in the upscale Bungalow Road area of Delhi in 2018.

The court sentenced Bhola alias Sunil and Gautam alias Sachin for the offences related to the attack on Dr. Meetu Bhushan.

While Bhola was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment, Gautam received a seven-year jail term for injuring the doctor with a pistol during the incident.

The court noted that the convicts not only attempted to rob a vulnerable person but also inflicted injuries upon Dr. Bhushan, resulting in her needing stitches for a head injury.

Additional Sessions Judge Ekta Gauba Mann of Tis Hazari Court stressed the gravity of such crimes, stating that they not only disrupt societal peace but also instill fear among residents.

Refusing to take a lenient view, Judge Mann upheld the rule of law, sentencing both convicts to rigorous imprisonment and imposing fines of Rs 20,000 each.

Gautam alias Sachin was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for the offence under Section 398 of the IPC. The court awarded a compensation of Rs 20,000 to the complainant, Dr. Bhushan, from the fine amount. Furthermore, a sum of Rs 13,772 for state expenses was awarded from the fine amount, with the remainder deposited with the court.

The case, stemming from an FIR lodged on July 6, 2018, pertains to an incident where Dr. Bhushan and her househelp were accosted while taking a night walk with her pet dog.

The assailants demanded her gold chain, fired in the air, and assaulted her with a pistol before fleeing the scene.

Both accused persons were subsequently arrested, and a charge sheet was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 394 (causing hurt while attempting robbery) and 34 (common intention).
Gurugram, March 1 : The Municipal Corporation Manesar (MCM) will develop the city's first eco-tourism botanical park in Kasan village of Haryana's Gurugram district, officials said on Friday.

The civic body has identified about 50 acres of land in the village for the purpose.

The park, to be developed under the 'Divya Nagar Scheme', will be built near the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway, officials said. Applications have been invited from the consulting agencies in contract with the Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), they added.

The initiative has been taken by the MCM to take Manesar forward in the field of tourism, officials said.

A large forest area will be created along with an artificial lake in the park on the lines of Chandigarh and Karnal, they added.

"The first eco-tourism park will be constructed on 50 acres of land in Kasan village. A tender has been floated to develop and design the park," Ajay Nirala, Executive Engineer, Horticulture, Municipal Corporation, Manesar said.

The state government had approved a new policy for the development of eco-tourism in the cabinet meeting held in Chandigarh in January.
Colombo, March 1 : India on Friday inked a pact with Sri Lanka to provide renewable energy to three islands Delft, Nainativu and Analaitivu off Jaffna which are completely cut off from the national grid.

On behalf of Sri Lankan government, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority and M/s. U Solar Clean Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd from India signed the contract for the implementation of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems as a grant assistance from Government of India (GOI).

The agreement was signed in the presence of High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Sri Lanka State Minister for Power and Energy Indika Anuruddha.

The hybrid project, which is aimed at addressing energy needs of the people of the three islands combines various forms of energy including both solar and wind, towards optimising capacities, the Indian High Commission said.

"GOI's assistance to the project for the people of the three islands, which are not connected to the national grid, underscores the significance attached by country to bilateral energy partnership as well as the human-centric nature of development partnership," the High Commission said.

The energy sector was identified as a priority area in the India-Sri Lanka Economic Partnership Vision document which was adopted during the visit of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to India in July, 2023.

"Several landmark initiatives such as the power grid connectivity, multi product two-way oil pipeline are currently under discussion between India and Sri Lanka in the energy sphere," it added.

"GOI's overall development partnership portfolio stands at USD 5 billion with almost USD 600 million being in grants alone. While several flagship grant projects such as 1990 Suwaseriya Emergency Ambulance have already been completed, others such as the third and fourth phases of Indian Housing Project and Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity Project are under different stages of implementation, the High Commission said.
New Delhi: Media persons at the Supreme Court complex on the day of the court's verdict. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, March 1 : The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on a plea filed by Umar Ansari, son of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, in connection with the alleged hate speech case registered against him by Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police during the 2022 Assembly polls.

A Bench presided over by Justice Hrishikesh Roy granted three weeks' time to Umar Ansari to file a rejoinder affidavit to the reply by the UP government in the matter.

Earlier on January 25, the Bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, issued a notice and granted interim protection from arrest to Umar Ansari taking note of the submission that other co-accused, including Abbas Ansari, had already been granted regular bail by the trial court.

"Issue notice returnable within a period of four weeks, in the meantime, the petitioner is protected from arrest," the court had ordered.

In December 2023, the Allahabad High Court rejected the anticipatory bail application filed by Umar Ansari, co-accused in the hate speech case. He allegedly threatened UP government officials with payback at a public meeting in Paharpur area in Mau, during elections.

Mau police, in March 2022 booked the Ansari brothers under Section 171F (offence of undue influence at an election) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC, after a video of the speech went viral on social media.

The Supreme Court in July last year had declined to quash criminal proceedings against Umar Ansari and asked him to apply for discharge before the trial court.

He had contended that he was charged for merely being on the stage when his brother allegedly made the controversial speech in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
Jaipur, March 1 : A Chetak helicopter of the Indian Army made a 'precautionary' landing in a farm field near Didwana village in Rajasthan on Friday.

It was followed by another Chetak helicopter which landed there in order to assist the first chopper. As per sources, after 10 minutes, both the helicopters took off again.

Col Amitabh Sharma, PRO (Defence), Jaipur, said that the two choppers have now reached their destination.

aIt was a precautionary landing," he said.

The Army pilots and soldiers detected a technical flaw which was rectified within 10 minutes after which both the helicopters took off again, officials said.
Bengaluru, March 1 : Karnataka BJP on Friday claimed that the Forensic Science Laboratory's (FSL) report has proved that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised in the Assembly during the celebration of the victory of Congress leader Syed Naseer Hussain.

Former BJP General Secretary C.T. Ravi said that the FSL report has proved that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised inside the Assembly.

Ravi told media persons that he had got information from his sources that the FSL report proves that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised during the celebration.

He said that the police has arrested four persons. "But there are doubts that the Congress government may hush up the entire case. We demand the immediate release of the FSL report," Ravi said.

The Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojari asked why the government is showing negligence in the case. "No arrests have been made as of yet. The government has utilised the assembly session to misguide people and even after 60 hours the government has not given any information regarding the arrests," he said.

LoP Poojari alleged that the government is supporting the anti-nationals who are indirectly supported by the Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Cabinet.

"Is it correct to support the enemy nation? Instead of acting swiftly, they claim that Pakistan is not an enemy nation. We have condemned the government for its stand and submitted a complaint to the Governor," Poojari said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that the FSL report will be made public as soon as it is submitted to the government.

"Those who are against the nation and have loyalty for any other country strict action will be initiated against them," the Chief Minister said.

He said that the BJP need not teach patriotism to the Congress. "It is Congress which brought freedom to this country, not the BJP party. They will make allegations for carrying out politics. If the pro-Pakistan slogans were raised, strict action would be taken," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.

--IANS

mka/dan
New Delhi, March 1 : The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by self-styled godman, Asaram Bapu, seeking suspension of sentence on medical grounds.

Asaram has been serving life imprisonment in Jodhpur prison following his conviction under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other offences by a trial court in 2018, for raping a minor girl.

A Bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna allowed the petitioner to file a fresh application before the Rajasthan High Court seeking to undergo treatment in Madhavbaug Heart Hospital in Maharashtra's Khopoli, under police custody.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, said that Asaram's application would be considered by the High Court in accordance with the law.

Further, the top court stressed for expeditious disposal of the appeal filed by Asaram challenging his conviction.

On January 11, the Rajasthan High Court rejected the fourth application filed by Asaram seeking suspension of sentence or bail on the ground that law and order problems may arise if he is allowed to receive medical treatment of his choice.

The Special Leave Petition filed before the apex court referred to the discharge report prepared by AIIMS, Jodhpur on February 6 indicating that the petitioner required heart Bypass surgery and prior Enteroscopy for evaluating small bowel movements.

"The petitioner, at midnight of 21.02.2024, had another episode of massive pain in his chest and was rushed to AIIMS, Jodhpur. It is important to note that this marks the third instance within a mere four-month period where the petitioner has been rushed to the hospital in critical condition due to severe chest pain. On both previous occasions, AIIMS diagnosed this chest pain as indicative of a heart attack," said the plea filed through advocate Rajesh Gulab Inamdar.
New Delhi, March 1 : The Adani Group, at the Regional Industry Conclave 2024 which began in Ujjain on Friday, vowed to make colossal investments of up to Rs 75,000 crore in Madhya Pradesh, which, in turn, will generate over 15,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities in the state, spread across various industrial sectors.

In his address, Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, talked about immense possibilities for growth in the state and reiterated the Adani Groupas commitment for big-ticket investments in the state.

"I see infinite possibilities for infinite growth - especially in energy and infrastructure - and the Adani Group is excited about investing in Madhya Pradesh," he told the gathering.

Further, lauding the state government for prioritising progress over politics and creating a congenial environment for growth, he spoke about Adani Groupas existing presence in a wide range of sectors including roads, cements, thermal power, renewable energy, and power transmission sectors.

"In Madhya Pradesh, the Groupas cumulative investment stands at Rs 18,000 crore and it has created over 11,000 job opportunities so far," he said.

He further vowed to double down investments on existing projects and also launch new projects for spurring growth in the state.

Giving a low-down on upcoming investments planned by the business behemoth, Pranav Adani informed that Adani Group will increase investments in the state up to Rs 75,000 crore, out of which Rs 5,000 crore will be spent on building Mahakal Expressway, from Ujjain to Bhopal through Indore.

He also unveiled the companyas plans of setting up a clinker unit in Chorgadi and two cement grinding units in Dewas and Bhopal, at an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore.

The company has also ambitious plans of making big investments in natural resources and a food processing centre in the state.

aWe will invest over Rs 4,000 crore in natural resource sector and another Rs 600 crore to expand our presence in food processing, logistics and agri-logistics, and defence manufacturing," said Pranav Adani.

In a bid to make the state power-surplus, the Adani Enterprises Director said that the company has set investment targets of Rs 30,000 crore for ramping up power generation capacity.

"We will invest close to Rs 30,000 crore to ramp up the power generation capacity, at our Mahan Energen plant in Singrauli,from its current 1,200 megawatts to a massive 4,400 megawatts. We will also invest close to Rs 28,000 crore to set up 3,410 MW capacity Pumped Storage Projects," he told the conclave.

Earlier on Friday, the two-day Regional Industry Conclave 2024 kicked off in Madhya Pradesh, with Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav laying the foundation stone and inaugurating 57 projects, spanning across 20 districts including Bhopal, Ujjain, and Indore.

The state government expects the Conclave to attract investments of over Rs 1 lakh crore, with employment opportunities for more than 17,000 people.
Bengaluru, March 1 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Bengaluru South constituency, Tejasvi Surya on Friday urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to provide answers to the people about the blast that took place at a cafe here in the city's Indiranagar area.

The blast took place in Rameshwaram Cafe at around 1.15 p.m. when many people had gathered at the cafe as it was the lunch hour. At least five persons were injured, the police said, adding the condition of three wounded individuals is said to be serious.

An initial probe suggested the use of low-intensity Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

On the incident, taking to social media, Tejasvi Surya who is also the national president of BJP Yuva Morcha, said: "Just spoke to Rameshwaram Cafe founder Sri Nagaraj about the blast in his restaurant. He told me that the blast occurred because of a bag that was left by a customer, and it was not any cylinder explosion. One of their employees is injured. It seems to be a clear case of a bomb blast. Bengaluru demands clear answers from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah."

Meanwhile, Home Minister G. R. Parameshwara was briefed about the blast by senior police officers.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayanand has rushed to the spot and inspected the place.

Among the injured, two persons have been admitted to the Vaidehi hospital and three to the Brookefield Hospital.

One of the injured persons, Swarna, an IT professional, has been shifted to ICU as she has suffered severe burn injuries. A hospital source said the woman suffered burn injuries on the face.

Sources said that soon after the blast, the Rameshwaram Cafe was engulfed in thick black smoke. Most of the customers were IT professionals as the cafe is located in the Kundalahalli Gate area near Indiranagar, considered an 'IT corridor'.
Srinagar, March 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the Kashmir Valley on March 7, his first visit to the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.

The last time the Prime Minister visited Kashmir was in February 2019.

During his visit to Kashmir on March 7, the Prime Minister is expected to announce the score of developmental projects and also interact with the beneficiaries of various national schemes and programmes in the Valley.

Sources said that the main venue of the Prime Ministeras visit will be the Bakshi Stadium and not the convention centre by the banks of the Dal Lake.

They said that Bakshi Stadium has been chosen as the venue because a large number of people are expected to attend PM Modias programme.

A large number of people including those from the civil society and various local organisations have exhibited interest in attending the Prime Ministeras programme in Srinagar city.

PM Modi will visit Kashmir at a time when separatists called Bandhs and strikes are a thing of the past.

Stone pelting that had assumed menacing proportions before the abrogation of Article 370 has completely vanished.

Educational institutions have functioned normally and a record number of over 2 crore tourists visited Kashmir last year.

Businesses have been running normally and the common man has been living a peaceful and fearless life after the abrogation of Article 370.

It is because of the historical decision to abrogate Article 370 and integrate J&K completely with the rest of the country that the Prime Minister has fixed a symbolic target of 370 seats for the BJP in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Even the political adversaries of the BJP admit that J&K has witnessed peace and normalcy after Article 370 was abrogated.

However, the BJP had been looking forward to a mega public rally to be addressed by PM Modi in south Kashmir Anantnag district that would announce the partyas poll campaign in Kashmir.

There is still no official word on whether the Prime Minister addresses a rally in Anantnag or not.

There is, however, no doubt that the people look forward to the March 7 visit as they expect a magnanimous development package and a probable announcement by the Prime Minister on the regularisation of thousands of ad-hoc and contractual employees working in various government departments.

Earlier, PM Modi visited Jammu on February 20. He inaugurated and also laid the foundation of developmental projects worth Rs 32,000 including the 48.5 Km extension of Railway service from Banihal town to Sangaldan and the inauguration of AIIMS in Vijaypur in Samba district.

The Prime Minister addressed a mega public gathering in Jammu and also interacted with the beneficiaries of various national flagship programmes in J&K.

The Prime minister expressed his satisfaction at the success of his Jammu visit and also appreciated the efforts made by L-G Manoj Sinha in ensuring that the benefits of the national developmental programmes reach the common man.

A large number of the Pahari community came out on February 20 to thank Modi for granting ST status to them.

The demand for ST status by the Pahari community in J&K was pending for more than 50 years and despite promises no previous state government had granted this status to them.
In the last week of 2023 and the first two weeks of 2024 alone, 4,810 people 65 and older lost their lives to COVID-19. Where's the outrage?

The COVID-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasnt doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.

The death toll was shocking, as were reports of chaos in nursing homes and seniors suffering from isolation, depression, untreated illness and neglect. Around 900,000 older adults have died of COVID-19 to date, and they account for 3 of every 4 Americans who have perished in the pandemic.

But the decisive actions that advocates had hoped for havent materialized.

Efforts to strengthen care quality in nursing homes and assisted living centers have stalled. Most people  and government officials  appear to accept COVID-19 as part of ordinary life. Many seniors at high risk arent getting antiviral therapies for COVID, and most older adults in nursing homes arent getting updated vaccines.

In the last week of 2023 and the first two weeks of 2024, 4,810 people 65 and older lost their lives to COVID-19  a group that would fill more than 10 large airliners  according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the alarm that would attend plane crashes is notably absent.

During the same period, the flu killed an additional 1,201 seniors and respiratory syncytial virus infections killed 126.

It boggles my mind that there isnt more outrage, said Alice Bonner, 66, senior adviser for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

Do we simply not care? Here's what veteran health care professionals, researchers and policymakers who are older themselves had to say.

The pandemic and ageism

Prejudice against older adults is nothing new, but it feels more intense, more hostile now, said Karl Pillemer, 69, a professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University.

I think the pandemic helped reinforce images of older people as sick, frail and isolated  as people who arent like the rest of us, he said. And human nature being what it is, we tend to like people who are similar to us and be less well disposed to the others.

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A lot of us felt isolated and threatened during the pandemic. It made us sit there and think, What I really care about is protecting myself, my wife, my brother, my kids, and screw everybody else, said W. Andrew Achenbaum, 76, the author of nine books on aging and a professor emeritus at Texas Medical Center in Houston.

In an environment of us against them, Achenbaum continued, whos expendable? Older people  who arent seen as productive, who consume resources believed to be in short supply. Its really hard to give old people their due when youre terrified about your own existence.

Wenham, Mass., Public Nurse Mari Beth Ting prepares a patient to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a senior center. Vaccinations are down though they are still necessary for society to protect medically vulnerable people, including senior citizens.

Combine the fear of diminishment, decline and death that can accompany growing older with the trauma and fear that arose during the pandemic, and I think COVID has pushed us back in whatever progress we were making in addressing the needs of our rapidly aging society. It has further stigmatized aging, said John Rowe, 79, a professor of health policy and aging at Columbia University.

Everyone loves their own parents. But as a society, we dont value older adults or the people who care for them, said Robert Kramer, 74, co-founder of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.

Kramer thinks boomers are reaping what they have sown: We have chased youth and glorified youth. When you spend billions of dollars trying to stay young, look young, act young, you build in an automatic fear and prejudice of the opposite.

Integration, not separation

We separate ourselves from older people so we dont have to think about our own aging and our own mortality, said G. Allen Power, 70, chair in aging and dementia innovation at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging in Canada. But the best way to overcome stigma is to get to know the people you are stigmatizing.

The solution: We have to find ways to better integrate older adults in the community as opposed to moving them to campuses where they are apart from the rest of us, Power said. We need to stop seeing older people only through the lens of what services they might need and think instead of all they have to offer society.

That is a core precept of the National Academy of Medicines 2022 report Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity. Older people are a natural resource who make substantial contributions to their families and communities, the reports authors write.

Those contributions include financial support to families, caregiving assistance, volunteering and ongoing participation in the workforce, among other things.

When older people thrive, all people thrive, the report concludes.

In classes he teachers, Kramer tries to convey the message that future generations will get their turn.

You have far more at stake in changing the way we approach aging than I do, he tells his students. You are far more likely, statistically, to live past 100 than I am. If you dont change societys attitudes about aging, you will be condemned to lead the last third of your life in social, economic and cultural irrelevance.

Anne Montgomery, 65, a health policy expert at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, believes that baby boomers can rewrite and flip that script if we want to and if we work to change systems that embody the values of a deeply ageist society.

Not all her colleagues are as optimistic. For himself and the baby boom generation, Kramer thinks its too late to effect the meaningful changes he hopes the future will bring.

I suspect things for people in my generation could get a lot worse in the years ahead, Pillemer said. People are greatly underestimating what the cost of caring for the older population is going to be over the next 10 to 20 years, and I think thats going to cause increased conflict.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF  an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do we care about old people?
Kolkata, March 1 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that when the women in Sandeshkhali were desperately seeking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's help against the atrocities by local Trinamool Congress leaders, she was busy "protecting the accused persons".

"Finally, following the continuous protests by the state BJP leaders and immense public pressure, the principal accused behind the oppression was arrested yesterday. But before that, he remained absconding for so many days. Somebody surely was protecting him," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing a public rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district.

"The women of Sandeshkhali desperately sought the help of the Chief Minister for protection against such heinous oppressions. But at that point in time, she was actually busy protecting the accused," he added.

"Time has come for the people of West Bengal to ask the Chief Minister whether the votes of some people are so important to her even that if it is at the cost of the dignity of women," Prime Minister Modi said.

The Prime Minister also launched a scathing attack on leaders of the Opposition's INDIA bloc for being "totally silent" and "blind" on what was happening in Sandeshkhali.

"No one in the INDIA bloc dared to seek an explanation from the Chief Minister on what had been happening in Sandeshkhali. No one ever went there to meet the helpless women... You will be shocked to know what the Congress President said. He said that such things happen in West Bengal. Is it not an insult to the people, especially the women, of West Bengal?" the Prime Minister said.

Prime Minister Modi said that what happened in Sandeshkhali, is a "matter of shame" for West Bengal where proponents like Raja Ram Mohan Roy worked for women's dignity. "Where he might be now, I am sure that the soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy is being pained by the atrocities against the women in Sandeshkhali."
New Delhi, March 1 : India has successfully flagged off its first commercial trial shipment of pomegranates to the US via sea under the aegis of Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) from Vashi in Navi Mumbai, the Commerce Ministry said on Friday.

The pomegranate shipment comprising 4200 boxes (12.6 tons) by InI Farms was flagged off by Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and APEDA chairman Abhishek Dev.

Last year APEDA successfully carried out an air shipment of pomegranates with irradiation treatment and static trial in association with ICAR-NRC Pomegranate Solapur as a technical partner.

Based on the successful result of the static trial, APEDA aimed for a successful sign-off for this consignment via sea-opening trade relations to potential markets for Indian pomegranates.

India, one of the largest producers of pomegranates in the world, is also now aiming to be amongst the top pomegranate exporting countries. The country is a key player with its market expanding in the EU, Middle East and Asian countries.

The trial air shipment, static sea trial and the sea container were executed by APEDA-registered InI Farms - a top exporter of fruits and vegetables from India with their produce being exported to over 25 countries worldwide.

Over the years, the firm has made extensive efforts to enhance the quality and shelf life of pomegranates to meet the strict standards of the global markets. As part of the Agrostar group, InI Farms has established a value chain for pomegranates by working directly with farmers in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The fruit was sourced from Anarnet registered farmers from Sangola in Maharashtra. Significantly, the premium received by farmers was 20 per cent compared to other export markets and 35 per cent compared to the domestic market.

Pomegranate is an important agri-produce of India, the rich history associated with fruit and its nutrition value contribute to its popular demand. India produces some of the best varieties of pomegranate in terms of quality with soft fleshy seeds, low acidity and attractive color.

Bhagwa pomegranate is considered amongst the best varieties around the world. In the last decade, India has increased the area as well as the production of Pomegranate and seen an increase in exports.

In the Pomegranate market, India holds a significant advantage of being able to supply Pomegranates throughout the year with trained farmers for export quality products. Pomegranate production in recent years has been growing at a healthy rate of 20-25 per cent.

In India, the major Pomegranate producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with Maharashtra contributing to more than 50 per cent of the production share.
New Delhi, March 1 : Union Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday said that at least eight large investment firms are looking to explore opportunities in the telecom sector amid rapid digital transformation and new opportunities.

More and more investors are looking at the country as an emerging market for investments.

"At least eight large investment firms have met me so far and they want to explore investments in the telecom sector in India. Because the market size is very large, technology acceptance is very high. The India stack is so widespread," the minister said.

aTelecom is the gateway to digital India. Combine all these factors, and investor interest in India is huge," he added.

According to the minister, there will be new business models and the country will see new technical advancements in the near future.

India's telecom sector, that lost a precious decade due to the 2G scam and policy paralysis, swung back to life after 2014 as the government took several steps to correct the situation in the telecom market and effectively handled the failures that resulted from the lack of clarity in policy in the sector, said the 'White Paper on Economy' last month.

Underlining how the Narendra Modi government turned the economy around and rebuilt the countryas image, the 'White Paper' said the government brought transparent methods of spectrum auction, trading and sharing that further enabled the optimal utilisation of spectrum.

The 5G auction in 2022 "increased the overall spectrum availability for the telecom service providers (TSPs) by allocating the highest-ever quantum of spectrum, i.e., 52 GHz, at the highest-ever auction value.

"Also, healthy cash flow for TSPs enabled them to make capital investments in 5G technology, leading to the rollout of 5G network in the country, which is acknowledged as the fastest 5G rollout in the world," it said.
Tumakuru : , March 1 (IANS) Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara said that nine persons were injured in the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Kundalahalli Gate area in Bengaluru's Whitefield on Friday.

Addressing reporters at Kunigal in Tumakuru district, he said that all the injured have been shifted to the hospitals, and he will visit the spot by the evening or Saturday morning.

"The blast incident occurred at noon. The investigation is on to find out how the blast took place, who are behind the act. The Bengaluru Police Commissioner and state police chief have rushed to the spot and conducted an inspection," he added.

To a question if an improvised explosive device (IED) was used, the Home Minister maintained that samples are being collected from the blast site. "It is said that the explosives were kept in the bag. If proof is found in this regard, the future course of action will be initiated."

Asked about involvement of any organisation in the blast, he said: "I will rely on the specific information by the department. Speculation is not good in these cases."

Meanwhile, Rameshwaram Cafe co-founder and MD Divya S. Rao told media that she got information from the staff that two blasts occurred in the wash basin area of the cafe in a span of 10 seconds. "There was no explosive material such as cylinders or any such equipment kept there. They are stored at the back end near the kitchen."

She also stated that the CCTV footage is intact and has been handed over to the police.
Hassan : , March 1 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the blast that occurred at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru's IT hub Whitefield on Friday was due to an improvised explosive device (IED).

At least nine persons were injured in the blast.

Talking to reporters at Hassan, the Chief Minister said that he has been informed that it is an improvised explosive device (IED) blast.

"CCTV footage is being examined and police are carrying out an investigation. I have asked the Home Minister (Dr. G. Parameshwara) to visit the spot," he said.

The Chief Minister said that the explosive was kept in a bag abandoned by the suspect.

"The police are gathering information from the cashier about the person, as he had got the token from the cashier, got the food, and later kept the bag near the hand wash.

"These incidents have taken place at all times. They should not happen. The state had not witnessed such an incident for a long time. The last incident was the Mangaluru cooker blast incident, it was also a small incident. This is the first incident after the Congress government came to power," CM Siddaramaiah said.

He asserted that the culprits will be found and strict action will be taken against them, and there should not be any politics in these matters.

"We will initiate harsh action," he stated.

State DGP Alok Mohan said that they had contacted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB), and police and the FSL teams are conducting an investigation at the site.

The blast took place at around 1.15 p.m. when many people had gathered at the cafe, located in the Kundalahalli Gate area near Whitefield, as it was the lunch hour.
Mumbai, Mar 1 : Popular TV actress and 'Bigg Boss' regular Devoleena Bhattacharjee has sought the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar for the return of the body of her friend and dancer Amarnath Ghosh, who was shot dead in the US.

The 'Saath Nibhaana Saathiya' and 'Dil Diyaan Gallaan' actress took to X on Friday and penned a long note on her friend from Kolkata who was shot dead in the US on Tuesday evening.

"My friend #Amarnathghosh was shot and killed in the St Louis Academy neigbourhood in the US on Tuesday evening. Only child in the family, mother died three years back, father passed away during his childhood. Well, the reason, the details of the accused are not revealed yet, or perhaps no one is left in his family to fight for it except his few friends. He was from Kolkata."

Continuing about her friend, Devoleena wrote: "Excellent dancer, was pursuing PhD, was taking an evening walk and suddenly he was shot multiple times by an unknown person."

She ended the note with her appeal: "Some friends in US are trying to claim the body but still no update about it. @IndianEmbassyUS kindly see to it if you could. At least we should know the reason of his murder. @DrSJaishankar @narendramodi"

A series of attacks beginning this year has put the focus back on the security and safety of Indian students across the US, which has seen at least five of them dying in mysterious circumstances in the last couple of months.
Nagpur : , March 1 (IANS) Amid the finishing touches being given to the seat-sharing talks by MVA constituents, VBA President, Prakash Ambedkar, claimed on Friday that his party can bag at least six seats independently in the Maharashtra Lok Sabha elections and it was also prepared to field candidates in all 48 constituencies if need be.

An MVA ally, the VBA had claimed a couple of days ago that it was in a 'winnable' position in 27 of the 48 parliamentary constituencies in the state and had submitted its list of those seats, besides several other conditions like certain candidates, etc, to the alliance partners.

In a brief media interaction here, Ambedkar, the grandson of the Chief Architect of the Indian Constitution, said that Shiv Sena-UBT and Congress were engaged in a tussle over seat-sharing, though they have denied it.

"We (VBA) are still considered outsiders Our talks will begin only after they resolve their differences. However, the VBA can bag at least six Lok Sabha seats on its own strength. We are also prepared to field our candidates in all 48 constituencies if the seat-sharing talks and alliance doesn't work out," declared Ambedkar.

The VBA's support for the MVA is considered critical as the latter is facing a big challenge from the ruling MahaYuti alliance of the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP.

Responding cautiously to the latest contentions by Ambedkar, the MVA allies said that he had held discussions with AICC General Secretary, Ramesh Chennithala, NCP-SP President Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena-UBT President and former Chief Minister, Uddhav Thackeray.

In case there are any major differences over certain constituencies, the top leaders of the three main MVA allies will take a final call, they averred, conceding that the clock was ticking as the Election Commission of India is likely to announce the poll schedules shortly.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the erstwhile Congress-(undivided) NCP combine had suffered damage to its vote bank in at least a dozen seats when the VBA was in alliance with the AIMIM.

However, after the VBA-AIMIM partnership crashed before the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Congress-(undivided) NCP partnership again soared and it captured power in alliance with the Shiv Sena (undivided) led by Uddhav Thackeray, which had snapped ties with the BJP over 'unfulfilled promises'.
Mumbai, March 1 : In a significant achievement, the Agriculture Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has facilitated a maiden commercial shipment of Maharashtra pomegranates to the US, an official said here on Friday.

The pomegranates were sourced from Anarnet registered farmers of Sangola in Solapur district, and the first consignment went by the sea route to the Big Apple through the APEDA recognised Inl Farms and the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board in Navi Mumbai.

APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev and Ministry of Commerce & Industry Additional Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal flagged off the first shipment comprising 12.6 tonnes of pomegranate in 4,200 boxes, with officials of the US Consulate and others present, and hailed by Union Minister Piyush Goyal.

Significantly, for this export order, the farmers received a premium that is 20 per cent higher compared to other export markets and 35 per cent more than the domestic markets.

An important agri-produce of India, the rich history associated with the pomegranate fruit (known as 'Anaar' locally) and its nutrition value plus health benefits contribute to its huge demand. India produces some of the best pomegranate varieties in terms of quality, soft fleshy seeds, low acidity and an attractive colour.

The 'Bhagwa Pomegranate' is considered among the best varieties globally, and in the past decade, India has seen an increase in the production as well as the cultivation area of the fruit, besides a hike in exports.

In the world pomegranate market, India has a distinct advantage of being able to supply it round-the-year with trained expert farmers cultivating quality fruits.

With production growing healthily at around 20-25 per cent, the major pomegranate growing states are Maharashtra with 50 per cent of the total share, and the rest contributed by Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.

In the past, APEDA has facilitated pomegranate exports worth over $58.36 million (2022-2023) to Bahrain, Bangladesh, EU countries, Nepal, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UAE and the UK.

With the consignment to the US, India not only ranks among the largest pomegranate producing countries in the world but also aims to be one of the top exporters of the luscious fruit.
New Delhi, March 1 : Expressing its shock at the loss of lives in northern Gaza, India on Friday reiterated its call for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance in the war-torn region.

More than 100 people were killed and close to 700 were injured as Israeli troops reportedly opened fire on hungry civilians who had gathered around food aid trucks in Gaza City on Thursday.

This came just as the Hamas-run Health Ministry announced that the death toll had crossed the 30,000 mark since Israel's attacks began on October 7 last year.

"We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in Northern Gaza yesterday during the delivery of humanitarian assistance," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement issued on Friday

"Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern," it said, reiterating its call for "safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance".

Speaking at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed India's concerns on the Gaza conflict, adding that the humanitarian crises arising from conflicts require a sustainable solution.

"The conflict in Gaza is of great concern to us all. The humanitarian crises arising from conflicts require a sustainable solution that gives immediate relief to those most affected," he said, adding that efforts must also focus on seeking a two-state solution where Palestinian people can live within secure borders.

World leaders strongly condemned the "tragic incident" saying it could jeopardise ceasefire negotiations.
Chennai : Former Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam arrives at the first day of Tamil Nadu assembly session in Chennai, October 17, 2022. (Photo: R. Parthibhan/IANS). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, March 1 : The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the plea filed by expelled AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam (OPS) against the notice issued to him and his relatives in the suo moto revision petition taken by the Madras High Court in the disproportionate asset case.

A bench, headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, refused to interfere with the Madras High Courtas order taking up the revision petition after OPS was set free in the case by a trial court in 2012.

However, the bench, also comprising Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, clarified that the observations contained in the impugned order of the High Court issuing notice will have no bearing on the outcome of the revision petition.

Justice Anand Venkatesh of the High Court in August last year had observed that Tamil's Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) used to file cases against opposition leaders and when the same opposition leaders come to power, it opens a re-investigation and closes the file. He added that this was a practice that was unheard off in the criminal judicial system.

Justice Venkatesh said that he took up the case which was closed a decade ago suo moto because the courts are looking at ordinary people, and the MPs, MLAs, ministers in a different manner
Kate Winslet reveals comical sex scenes in The Regime forced the crew to leave set for laughing

Kate Winslet revealed that the sex scenes in the satirical drama The Regime were so comical that crew members were asked to leave the set for laughing too much.

The Oscar winning actress plays the dictator of an imagined central European state, who has an affair with her bodyguard Zubak (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) in the Sky Max series.

While shooting intimate scenes can often be awkward for both actors and crew, Winslet confessed that they had the opposite impact on the set of the dramedy.

The 48-year-old recalled the shows cinematographer and hair and make-up artist being asked to leave for being unable to contain their laughter.

She shared: When we were shooting episode five, Elena and Zubak are having sex. And she's screaming at him: No biting, no biting!

Two people had to be sent out for laughing. One of them was Alwin Kuchler, our cinematographer, and one of the hair and make-up people.

Winslet pictured with her co-star Matthias Schoenaerts (HBO/Sky Max)

Winslet acknowledged that while the comic relief was appreciated for easing tension on set, there was a hiccup when the absence of the hair and makeup artist during filming became an issue, particularly when her co-stars' tattoos started transferring onto her skin.

That was actually kind of a problem because Matthias had all these tattoos, and as he got sweatier and sweatier they just kept sort of rubbing off on me, she said as reported by MailOnline.

And I said: 'This is really like I've got the newspaper printed on me.

The Regime, which also stars Andrea Riseborough and Hugh Grant, has been penned by Will Tracy from Succession and helmed by director Stephen Frears.

The series was primarily filmed at the picturesque Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria, with additional scenes shot in the baroque rooms of Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham.

It hits UK screens in April on Sky Max.
Bhopal, March 1 : Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Friday that the two-day regional industrial conclave in Ujjain (March 1-2) will pave the way for the exclusive growth of Madhya Pradesh.

Scindia, who joined the inaugural session virtually from Delhi, congratulated Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav for organising three big events togather in Ujjain.

He asserted that the occasion would set the momentum for developing the religious and historical city of Ujjain into the new business hub of Madhya Pradesh.

"Today's occasion is very close to my heart and I have no doubt that Ujjain is going to be the new business hub of Madhya Pradesh, a new mini-Bombay like Indore," Scindia said in a congratulatory statement during the inauguration of the Ujjain Vyapar Mela, which is part of the two-day regional industrial conclave that commenced here on Friday.

The Union minister said that CM Mohan Yadav deserves a big applause for organising three programmes  Vyapar Mela, Vikram Mahotsav and Regional Industrial Conclave -- simultaneously in Ujjian.

"CM Mohan Yadav's relentless efforts have made it possible to hold three big events in Ujjain at one time. I won't hesitate to say that CM Yadav is implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visions on the ground. PM Modi has always emphasised on industrialisation, along with protecting religious and historical values," Scindia said in his virtual address.

Meanwhile, Scindia also urged the investors to participate in the regional industrial conclave in Ujjain.

"Today's occasion is very close to my heart... I believe that Ujjain will be the next mini-Bombay, just like Indore in Madhya Pradesh," he said.

Before Scindia's address, CM Yadav inaugurated the three events in the presence of senior BJP leaders and ministers.

Addressing the gathering, CM Yadav said that under the leadership of PM Modi, India is setting new records in development.

The Regional Industry Conclave-2024 is being organised on the theme 'Madhya Pradesh is the Future Ready State'.

Leading industrialists from across the world, including from the US, Canada, Fiji, Germany, Gabon, Israel, Japan, South Korea and more than 30 representatives from Singapore and Zambia are participating in the event.

The two-day conclave will have buyer-seller meets, B2B conferences, and five theme-based sessions.
Karachi, March 1 : A Hindu teacher, charged with blasphemy in 2019 in the Ghotki district of Sindh in Pakistan, was ordered by a court to be released immediately if not wanted in any other case, a media report said.

The court acquitted the accused on the grounds that the prosecution failed to establish a case against the him, The Express Tribune reported.

"It is a cardinal principle of law that when the prosecution fails to establish the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt and there are facts and circumstances leading to an inference other than the guilt of the accused, its benefit has to go to him not as a matter of grace but as his right," said the judgement.

The relatives, community members and friends of the teacher have expressed concerns over his security, as they believe that his life is in danger.

"He was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2019 and incarcerated for nearly five years, but has finally been acquitted and ordered to be released by the court," said Sukh Dev Hemnani, a board member of the Sindh Human Rights Commission, The Express Tribune reported.

"We are trying to arrange security for him and his family," he told The Express Tribune, adding that the court reserved the verdict in the case during its last hearing, but released the verdict on Friday.

"His life is in danger as anyone could harm him," Hemnani said, adding that 'misinformation' regarding the case could cause trouble for the teacher.
New Delhi, March 1 : A south Delhi cloth shop cashier, who allegedly fled away with Rs 1 crore of business receipts, and two others who aided him, have been arrested, police said on Friday.

A senior police official said that the cashier was identified as Rishabh Kumar Sharma, 26, a resident of Greater Kailash-I. "He had given the cash to another accused Sachin Yadav, who had kept it at his uncleas house with Aakash," the official said. Both have also been taken into custody.

According to police, the shop owner, a resident of Gurugram, filed a complaint that Sharma, who worked at his cloth shop in South Extension, had on Tuesday, as usual, collected the cash, amounting to Rs 1 crore, and went to deposit it at a bank in adjoining Defence Colony area but didn't return.

"The complainant said that he tried to connect and trace him but to no avail, as his mobile phone was switched off," the official said.

During the probe, CCTV footage of the crime spot and surrounding areas was collected and thoroughly analysed to trace the movement of the accused.

"The team also activated their local sources to get any clue about the accused person. During the analysis of the CCTV footage, it was learnt that Sharma used a scooty while absconding," Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Ankit Chauhan said.

Police team then identified the route taken by him and found that he went to Sarita Vihar and Nehru Place. Further with the help of technical surveillance it was revealed that he was in touch with his friend Sachin Yadav before switching off his mobile phone.

"The police team interrogated Yadav, and initially, he tried to mislead the police, but on consistent questioning, broke down and disclosed that the accused Sharma, along with his wife, had gone to Dehradun, and had taken Rs 2.5 lakh from the cash for his expenses and rest of the cash was left with him," the DCP said.

Yadav further disclosed that he had kept the cash with his uncle at Pul Prahladpur area.

aImmediately, the team conducted a raid at his uncleas house and Rs 91,19,500 was recovered from there," the DCP.

In the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, Sharma used his wifeas mobile phone to contact Yadav through internet calling and told him that he, along with his wife, are coming back from Dehradun and will be going to Gujarat by train, he said.

"Sharma further asked him to meet at Nizamuddin Railway Station along with the cash. Both Sharma and his wife were nabbed there," said the DCP.

"A total of recovered cash amounting to Rs 93, 46,000 was seized. Moreover, two empty bags, used in carrying the cash, were also recovered from the forest area of Aali village on the instance of Yadav," he added.

On interrogation, Sharma disclosed that he used to collect and deposit cash, usually amounting to around Rs 2-3 lakh, in a bank at Defence Colony. aHowever, on that day, the cash amount was substantial as it had not been deposited for a few days. Therefore, he became greedy upon seeing the large sum and planned to flee with the cash," the DCP said.
Kolkata, March 1 : Breaking his daylong silence, Trinamool Congress spokesman Kunal Ghosh made it clear on Friday evening that he does not want to continue as the party spokesperson, nor does he want to stay as the state General Secretary of West Bengal's ruling party.

"I do not want to continue as the state General Secretary and spokesman of the All India Trinamool Congress. I am a misfit in the system. It has become impossible for me to continue with my assignments.

"However, I will continue as a soldier of the party. Please do not allow any rumours to be spread about me shifting the political camp. Mamata Banerjee is my leader and Abhishek Banerjee is my general. The All India Trinamool Congress is my party," Ghosh said in a message on his official X handle.

In another post soon after this message, Ghosh referred to the scathing attacks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the state government and the ruling Trinamool Congress on issues such as Sandeshkhali and corruption.

"The allegations can be countered with logic. But the problem is that the leaders of the two opposition parties in the Lok Sabha, who are responsible for launching such counter-attacks, have regular contacts with the BJP. The Centre uses them in different ways. In fact, one of them was tamed when he was saved from the Rose Valley scandal," Ghosh said.

Although he did not name anyone, it was clear that the post pointed at the leader of Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandopadhyay, who was earlier arrested by the ED in connection with the multi-crore Rose Valley scam.

The second reference, as felt by the political observers, was made at leader of Congress' Parliamentary party, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.

On Friday morning, Ghosh had removed himself from the official WhatsApp group of Trinamool spokespersons.

The speculation about Ghosh severing ties with the Trinamool Congress began doing the rounds since Friday morning after he dropped his party identity from his social media profile, and also accused a section of the party leadership of selfishly indulging in factionalism.

In his new bio on X, Ghosh has just described himself as a journalist and social activist, dropping all references to his party.

He also put up a post on X blaming a section of the Trinamool leadership, without taking any name.

"The leader is incapable, selfish, indulging in factionalism and will resort to immorality throughout the year. After winning elections because of the sentiments of the common Trinamool workers over Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, he will again start serving self-interest. This cannot happen again and again," Ghosh posted on X earlier in the day.
Jaipur, March 1 : The contingents of the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self Defence Force are taking part in 'Dharma Guardian', a joint military exercise, at the Mahajan field firing ranges in Rajasthan, where they are undergoing intense training in room intervention, close quarter battle firing, obstacle clearance and unarmed combat.

Yoga was also practised during the exercise, highlighting its contributions towards attaining a healthy body and sharp mind, said Col Amitabh Sharma, PRO (Defence), Jaipur.

The fifth edition of 'Dharma Guardian' between the Indian Army and the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force will continue till March 9.

'Dharma Guardian' is an annual exercise which is conducted alternatively in India and Japan. The contingents from both sides comprise 40 personnel each. The Japanese contingent is being represented by troops from the 34th Infantry Regiment, while the Indian Army is being represented by a Battalion from the Rajputana Rifles.

The aim of the exercise is to foster military cooperation and enhance combined capabilities to execute joint operations in semi-urban environments under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The exercise focuses on a high-degree of physical fitness, joint planning, joint tactical drills and basics of special arms skills.

Lieutenant General Togashi Yuichi, Commanding General, Eastern Army, Japanese Ground Self Defence Force, is scheduled to visit the Mahajan field firing ranges on the sidelines of the joint military exercise on March 3, said Col Sharma.

The joint exercise will enable the two sides to share their best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures of conducting tactical operations.

The exercise will also facilitate developing interoperability, bonhomie and camaraderie between the troops from both sides. This will enhance the level of defence cooperation, further fostering bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.
Ahmedabad, March 1 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday expressed concerns over suicide rates in Gujarat, urging the state government to take immediate measures.

Recent statistics unveiled in the state assembly reveal a distressing trend, with 25,478 individuals, including 495 students, having ended their lives in the last three fiscal years.

"The data, highlighting a sharp increase in suicide cases, points towards mental health issues, severe physical illnesses, family problems, financial crises, and academic failures as the principal causes," Kharge said in a statement.

The Congress president further said: "These figures not only shed light on the pressing issue but also underscore the failure of the BJP-led state government to address the myriad socio-economic challenges plaguing the citizens of Gujarat.

"Particularly concerning are the high incidence rates in urban centers such as Ahmedabad, Surat, and Rajkot, with Ahmedabad alone reporting 3,280 cases. This stark statistic calls into question the effectiveness of the government's strategies to combat the root causes of this escalating crisis," he added.

In response to this crisis, the Congress has demanded a comprehensive evaluation of the current helpline services and an increase in resources allocated for mental health and financial support for those in need.

Additionally, a call for a thorough and transparent investigation into the circumstances leading to these suicides has been made.
Kolkata, March 1 : The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of West Bengal police on Friday issued a notice to the Deputy Director of Enforcement Directorate (ED), Gaurav Varil, asking the latter to be present at the CID headquarters Bhabani Bhavan here on March 4.

According to state police sources, Varil has been served the notice under Section 160 of the CrPC to get some information from him, since the agency is a complainant in the cases against Sheikh Shahjahan, the now-suspended Trinamool Congress leader who is the accused mastermind behind the attack on ED and CAPF teams at Sandeshkhali on January 5.

Shahjahan was arrested from Minakhah in North 24 Parganas district late on Wednesday night after being on the run for 55 days.

The sources said the CID wants to record Varil's statements on the complaints registered by the central agency against Shahjahan.

The senior ED official has also been asked to bring some documents related to the matter when he visits the CID headquarters.

To recall, Varil was the officer who had registered the complaint on behalf of ED against Shahjahan and his associates responsible for the attack on the agency officials on January 5, in which three agency staff were seriously injured.
Amaravati/New Delhi, March 1 : Alleging that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy is protecting the accused in the murder of his uncle and former minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, the latter's daughter Y. S. Sunitha Reddy on Friday appealed to people to defeat him in the coming elections.

Addressing a news conference in Delhi, she appealed to people to defeat the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and support her fight for justice.

"Please do not vote for and bring my brotheras party into power. If that happens ,there will be no hope for justice," said Sunitha Reddy, who has been fighting for justice in the murder case for the last five years.

She alleged that the YSRCP government encouraged the politics of murder.

"You donat want murderers to be ruling you. You need a healthy democracy. You need a government that helps improve society and help uplift the society in all aspects."

Stating that the CBI investigations into her fatheras murder have come to a standstill, she said there was pressure on the investigating agency.

Replying to a query, she alleged that Jagan Mohan Reddy is shielding Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy - her father's cousin - and his son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy, who are accused in the case.

Asked if she was suspected Jagan Mohan Reddyas involvement, she said: "I can't say if his role is there or not. It is for the CBI to probe. His name has come up, probe it. If there is involvement, make it public and if not, leave him. I am not here to say whether they did or not. It is for the CBI. They have to complete the investigation."

She referred to the CBI's statement that Jagan Mohan Reddy knew about the death of Vivekanand Reddy early on March 15, 2019, much before M.V. Krishna Reddy publicly announced it.

She said on March 15, it will be five years since her fatheras murder but the case has still not been solved..

"Normally a murder case is solved in five days but here five years have passed," she said.

She recalled that Vivekananda Reddy had contested the MLC election in 2017 and was defeated under a conspiracy. He, however, became stronger after that betrayal and was active in politics.

Sunitha Reddy also mentioned that after rushing to Pulivendula after learning after her fatheras murder, she went to the mortuary, where Avinash Reddy told her that Vivekananda Reddy campaigned for him till 11.30 p.m.

"I did not realise the motive behind this. In criminal cases we hear and see on TV, many times, the murderers will be amidst us but we donat realise. This was one of those things," she said.

Vivekananda Reddyas daughter remarked that she never realised that those close to them may be involved.

She said Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was then Leader of Opposition, had filed a petition in the High Court for transfer of murder case to the CBI. She said after the elections, she met him and drew her attention to the case pending in the High Court for transferring the murder case to CBI.

"If I donat catch those who killed my uncle, what will people think of me? I need to solve this. It will be done. Whoever is the culprit will be found," she quoted Jagan Mohan Reddy as saying.

Sunitha Reddy said when she again met him with the same request, he told her that if the case is transferred to the CBI, Avinash Reddy will go to the BJP.

She said Jagan Mohan Reddy also withdrew the case he had filed in the High Court. She later filed a petition for a CBI probe. The agency took over investigation in July 2020 and it took one year for it to make arrests and file a charge sheet.

"The moment accused number four Shiva Shankar Reddy was arrested, the scenario changed because the fear started about who is next in line - Bhaskar Reddy and Avinash Reddy. With that, started the filing of cases against CBI officers," she said.

She mentioned that in January-February 2022, the CBI team left for Kadapa because of the cases. This forced her to approach the Supreme Court, which asked the CBI to re-start investigations and complete it as possible and also transferred the case to Telangana.

Sunitha Reddy also referred to the Kurnool incident of May last year when a CBI team waited two days outside a hospital seeking support of local police to detain Avinash Reddy but had to return empty-handed.

She alleged that after getting bail, the accused were influencing witnesses in the case.

Demanding an early completion of the CBI probe, she remarked: "It should not become like 11 other cases which have not gone to trial even after 11 years."

She was apparently referring to the disproportionate assets cases the CBI registered against Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Sunitha Reddy thanked her cousin and state Congress chief Y.S. Sharmila Reddy, TDP President N. Chandrababu Naidu, Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan and all those who have supported her.

"At this point I donat have an answer. Let us see how things go forward," she said when asked if she would join any political party to carry forward her fight for justice.

Former minister and former MP, Vivekananda Reddy was murdered at his residence in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, weeks before the elections. He was alone there at the time.

In April last year, the CBI had arrested Bhaskar Reddy, and claimed that both Avinash and Bhaskar Reddy conspired to eliminate Vivekananda Reddy because he was against fielding Avinash Reddy from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat and wanted Jagan Mohan Reddy to instead field his mother Vijayamma or sister Sharmila.

However, the father-son duo denied the allegation.

Avinash Reddy was granted anticipatory bail by the Telangana High Court on May 31, 2023.
Hyderabad, March 1 : Tollywood director Krish has approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail in the Radisson Hotel drugs case.

Krish filed a petition in the court denying his involvement in the case, which was busted by Cyberabad police on February 26. He claimed that he is being falsely implicated in the case.

The court, which took up hearing on the petition on Friday, directed Cyberabad police to submit details of the case and adjourned the hearing to March 4.

Police had named Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, who is popularly known as Krish, as accused number 10 in the case.

It had said on Wednesday that the director was absconding and that a notice was served to him.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Vineeth, when police contacted Krish and called him for a medical examination a few days ago, he had stated that he was in Mumbai and would come for the test. However, he later stopped responding to the police's calls.

Gajjala Vivekanand, director of Manjeera Group of Companies, was arrested in the case along with businessman Nirbhay Sindhi and film producer Kedhar on February 26.

Syed Abbas Ali Jaffri, who was allegedly supplying cocaine to Vivekanand, was arrested the next day.

Police found during the investigation that Jaffri, a former employee of Vivekanand, was getting the drugs from Mirza Waheed Baig. They added Baig and Vivekanandas driver Gaddala Praveen as suspects in the case.

Vivekananda, son of BJP leader Gajjala Yoganand, had invited his friends to the party. Krish, model-cum-YouTuber Kallapu Lishi Ganesha, Raghu Charan, Sandeep, Neil, and Swetha had allegedly attended the party and consumed drugs using a paper roll in two rooms at the hotel.

Police said that they are all absconding. A couple of them have reportedly gone abroad. A case has been registered against all the accused under Sections 25, 29, and 27-A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Gachibowli Police Station.

The Special Operations Team- Cyberabad and Gachibowli Police had jointly conducted the operation on the night of February 25. Police said on receipt of credible information about consumption of drugs by Vivekanand with his friends, the police teams visited the hotel but by the time, all the guests left the place.

On examination of the premises, the police team found three used plastic sachets of cocaine (of one gram each) and white paper roll for the usage of drugs.

Based on further information, the police teams visited the house of Vivekanand and brought him to the police station. He was sent for medical examination and tested positive for the drug.
India can notch true economic potential with more women in workforce: US Consul-General. Image Source: IANS News

Ujjain : , March 1 (IANS) India cannot achieve its true economic potential without the greater inclusion of women in the formal workforce, US Consul-General in Mumbai, Mike Hankey, said here on Friday.

Addressing the Ujjain Regional Industrial Conclave, Hankey said that the US views India as one of its strongest partners globally.

"The US' partnership with India is one of our most consequential relationships. Simply put, our countries are better together. The backbone of our bilateral relationship is our critical commercial ties," Hankey said.

He went on to add, ahead of the International Women's Day (March 8) that "India cannot reach its true economic potential without greater inclusion of women in the formal workforce. For the US Consulate in Mumbai, promotion of women's economic empowerment is a priority in all initiatives".

Currently, the US is India's largest trading partner with over $190 billion worth goods and services exchanged last year, Hankey said. He said that the US looks forward to continuing its strong partnership with India and Madhya Pradesh to foster prosperity, inclusion and security for both the countries.

Thanking Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Hankey said he was happy to come and work with the state government, local businesses and higher education institutions to advance benefits to both the nations.

During his trip here, Hankey visited the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Shiva Temple, went to IIM-Indore, met industry and pharmacy leaders in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the SelectUSA Summit, witnessed the inauguration of the world's first Vedic Clock in Ujjain and toured the Jantar Mantar observatory built by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1725.
Classic cheesecake with berries - Vladislav Noseek/Shutterstock

Ancient Greece is credited as the birthplace of an astounding number of innovations, from democracy, philosophy, and logic to alarm clocks, theater, and central heating. Among those works of genius on the list, we'd be remiss to leave out one important entry: cheesecake, the eternally beloved dessert whose earliest form can be traced back millennia.

In his 230 A.D. work "The Deipnosophists," a translation of which is provided by Tufts University's Perseus Digital Library Project, the Greek rhetorician Athenaeus instructed home cooks (by way of referencing an earlier cooking-related text) to "take some cheese and pound it" before adding honey and spring wheat flour and forming it "into one mass." Athnenaeus' account alone proves that cheesecake in some form existed nearly two thousand years ago; however, the dessert may have existed even long before that.

Some historians believe a version of cheesecake was served as far back as 776 B.C., when the inaugural Olympic Games took place, though anthropologists have found cheese molds on the Eastern Aegean island of Samos that are even older, dating back to 2,000 B.C. Indeed, Athenaeus credited his recipe in part to the third century B.C. Greek poet Callimachus. So between then and now, how did it evolve into the dessert we know and love?

Read more: 8 Chocolate Bars That Are Totally Different Outside The US

Cheesecake, The Food Of The Gods?

View of Rome - Sean Pavone/Shutterstock

As Rome completed its conquest of Greece in 27 B.C., cheesecake went through some changes of its own. Namely, in addition to crushing the cheese, Romans added eggs and served it warm instead of cold. A recipe for this version, called libum, appears in Marcus Porcio Cato's treatise on agriculture, titled "De Agri Cultura."

Similarly to Athenaeus' instruction, Cato's version says to break up two pounds of cheese in a mortar, add one pound of wheat flour (or a half pound of fine flour for a "dainty" cake), and mix thoroughly before adding an egg. "Pat out a loaf, place on leaves, and bake slowly on a warm hearth under a crock," reads one translation.

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Not only was libum served for special occasions, but it was lauded as a food of the gods by the likes of Ovid, Horace, and Virgil. According to Historical Italian Cooking, the latter poet wrote that Priapus, a minor fertility god, preferred his with milk, while Ovid declared that libum must be prepared by an old woman to be considered a worthy offering to Vesta and Liber.

Cheesecake, Then And Now

Basque cheesecake - Qwart/Getty Images

The spread of the Roman Empire throughout Europe and Scandinavia put libum through a round of culinary telephone. For instance, King Richard II's master cooks, who collaborated on the 14th century English cookbook "Forme of Cury," may have used libum as inspiration for sambocade, their own version of cheesecake made from cheese, egg yolks, saffron, ginger, and salt, baked into a pastry shell. (For all you Old English scholars out there, the original recipe began as follows, courtesy of Oxford University Press by way of A Boke of Good Cookery: "Take and make a crust in a trap & take cruddes and wryng out e wheyze and drawe hem urgh a straynour and put hit in e crust." Huzzah!)

The first record of Sweden's version of cheesecake, ostkaka, came two centuries later, favoring cottage cheese and a dollop of jam on top. German Kasekuchen, made with fresh, unripened cheese, came right on its tail around the 17th century.

As for the New York-style cheesecake you're probably most familiar with, starring a sweet cream cheese filling and graham-cracker crust? Barely preceding the unexpectedly recent origins of pillowy and crust-free Basque cheesecake, the Cheesecake Factory-esque version came into the picture around the 1920s.

Read the original article on Daily Meal.
New Delhi, March 1 : As robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) gains traction in India, more surgeons need to be trained in advanced technologies to enhance its accessibility for more people, experts said here on Friday.

Leading robotic surgeons from the Clinical Robotic Surgery Association (CRSA), at an event here, stressed upon the need to prepare more surgeons to make robotic surgery available for eligible patients across the country.

"RAS has many benefits for patients such as early discharge, short hospital stay, fewer painkillers, fewer antibiotics, fewer complications, and less ICU stay. Another beauty of robotic-assisted surgery is that it has a short learning curve, and excellent standardisation," CRSA President Dr. Vivek Bindal said.

With the precision and dexterity of robotic systems, surgeons can achieve better clinical outcomes, reduced complications, and shorter recovery times for patients.

"Along with training our existing surgeons, it is important to introduce such technologies to our budding surgeons," said Bindal.

Dr Randeep Wadhawan, senior consultant and HOD, Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka, said that "when it comes to healthcare, it is important to focus on technology backed by clinical evidence".

"Hence, it is important to have alliances with global leaders in robotic-assisted surgery through partnerships, investments, and knowledge exchange which will further enhance the local ecosystem," he added.

Before a surgeon is allowed to perform robotic-assisted surgeries, he or she has to go through 60 to 70 hours of simulator training, dry lab training, case observation, and mentorship programmes.

"Currently, there are over 850 robotic-assisted trained surgeons across major private and government hospitals in India, equipped to perform a variety of robotic-assisted surgeries in areas such as urology, surgical oncology, general surgery and gynaecology," said Mandeep Singh Kumar, VP and Country GM, Intuitive India.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, March 1 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday said that the identity of the man suspected to be behind the blast at a cafe here has been traced, adding the accused would be arrested "in a few hours".

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had earlier said that the blast that occurred at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru's IT hub Whitefield on Friday was due to an improvised explosive device (IED). At least 10 people were injured in the blast.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters, his deputy Shivakumar said: "We are confident that he (suspect) will be tracked in a few hours. Our officers are very capable... his facial features have been observed, and more or less, he has been identified. At an appropriate time, our police officers will speak to the media."

The blast took place at around 1.15 p.m., when most customers were having lunch in the cafe.

On this, Shivakumar further said: "One youth during lunch hour arrived at the cafe, ate Rava idli and kept a bag near a tree, and left. After one hour, a low intensity blast happened. The timer was fixed to the bomb by the youth.

"Ten people were injured, the explosion had made a huge sound. The CCTV has captured the entire visuals of the blast. The accused had come by bus. After alighting from the bus, he came here. All his movements have come to our notice," the Deputy CM said.

"Seven to eight teams have been formed. We have met the patients and we will take care of their medical care. An investigation is being done from all angles," Shivakumar said.

He further said: "We don't want any politics in the incident. It is about the image of Karnataka and Bengaluru. We will protect that at any cost. Nobody in Bengaluru needs to panic."
Jaipur, March 1 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday launched a counter-attack against former CM and senior Congressman Ashok Gehlot at a public meeting over the latter's criticism of the present state government, saying the Congress government used to be run from hotels, while the BJP regime works on the basis of values.

Sharma also said that Gehlot should see his manifesto to check how many 'fake' announcements were made.

"This is not a government of loot and lies like the Congress. This is a double-engine government of the BJP, which is necessary for development. This is the Bharatiya Janata Party, not your Congress Gehlot Saheb," Sharma said.

He also asked Gehlot "how much did the Congress misuse power?"

"Look inside yourself to see what the Congress government did not do. This is the BJP party which runs on ideas and values. We always keep in mind what we have promised.

"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fulfilled the promises he had made. You people had said that Article 370 will not be removed, but see, it has been removed. This is the wonder of Narendra Modi," Sharma said.
India to continue working with Bhutan on its development agenda. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, March 1 : The annual India-Bhutan Development Cooperation Talks were held in the national capital on Friday with both sides reviewing the progress of the projects supported by the Indian government in the Himalayan nation.

While the Bhutanese delegation was led by Secretary Aum Pema Choden, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, the Indian side was headed by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra.

Senior officials from the Royal Government of Bhutan and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) were also present at the talks, which were "held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere in keeping with the excellent bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries".

The projects are supported by India under the 12th Five Year Plan of Bhutan, an MEA statement noted.

It further stated that through the 12th Five Year Plan bilateral partnership, "83 Project Tied Assistance and 524 high impact community development projects in areas of education, health, digital development, capacity development, law, infrastructure, trade, agriculture, sports, and culture have been successfully implemented".

Both sides discussed priority sectors and projects for Bhutan's 13th Five Year Plan to achieve the Royal Government of Bhutan's goal of a "Healthy, Prosperous and Secure Bhutan".

India conveyed that, it will continue to work together with their South Asian neighbour on its development agenda, in line with His Majesty's vision and based on the priorities and aspirations of Bhutan.

With this intent, the two sides agreed to hold the next Development Cooperation Talks in Thimphu at a mutually convenient date.

The Bhutanese side also expressed appreciation to the people and the Indian government for their unwavering support and cooperation extended during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kohima, March 1 : The Nagaland Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to reconsider its decision to fence the India-Myanmar border and scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) between the two countries.

Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton introduced the resolution, which requested the Union Government to work out regulations for movement of people across the borders in close consultation with the people inhabiting the border areas, and for suitably bringing in the village council authorities concerned in the entire system of regulations.

The resolution said that proposed fencing and scrapping of the FMR will cause immense hardship and inconvenience, and also agony to the Naga people living in the India-Myanmar border areas due to the fact that the traditional land-holding system straddles the international border in many areas, and people have to cross it on a daily basis for normal cultivation activities.

"These measures will seriously disrupt the age-old historical, social, tribal, and economic ties of the Naga people living on both sides of the international border. Now, therefore, in view of the special and unique situation, this house, hereby, resolves to request the Government of India to reconsider its decision, and to abandon the plan of suspending the FMR and fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border," it said.

The FMR allowed citizens residing close to both sides of the border to move 16 km into each other's territory without a passport or a visa.

Citing the vulnerability of the 1,643 km unfenced India-Myanmar border spanning Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram and various threats, the Union government has decided to fence the entire border and to scrap the FMR. Of the four northeastern states, fencing has been started along the border in Manipur. So far, a 10-km-long stretch in Manipuras Moreh has already been fenced, and works for another approximately 20 km along the state have also been sanctioned by the Union Home Ministry.
New Delhi, March 1 : The Delhi High Court on Friday rebuked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for its failure to pay the unpaid dues and arrears, as per the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations, to its employees.

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora expressed dismay over the MCD's financial mismanagement, questioning its ability to fulfill essential responsibilities such as maintaining roads, hospitals, and development activities in the national capital while failing to meet its payroll obligations.

The court was hearing a series of petitions, some dating back to 2017 and others filed during the Covid-19 pandemic, regarding the issue of non-payment of salaries and pensions to MCD employees, including retired personnel.

Despite the MCD's counsel assuring the court that salaries and pensions up to January of the current year had been disbursed, the bench demanded prompt resolution of the outstanding arrears of the 7th CPC.

It gave the MCD an ultimatum, asking it to either rectify its financial predicament independently or face dissolution.

Acting Chief Justice Manmohan pulled up the MCD's counsel, saying that the court had provided ample opportunities over the past seven years for the civic body to rectify its inefficiencies.

The court also expressed displeasure over the lack of tangible progress, noting the dire consequences of the MCD's negligence on its employees.

The court demanded a clear affidavit from the MCD detailing the amount of outstanding arrears and scheduled the next hearing for March 28.
Hyderabad, March 1 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday announced that a Farmers Commission and an Education Commission will be constituted in the state soon.

The Education Commission will formulate policies to strengthen the education system while the Farmers Commission will make recommendations for the welfare of farmers and tenant farmers and also address their grievances.

Interacting with the representatives of various social organisations and civil society at the Secretariat, he said that the government will hold an all-party meeting to discuss the welfare and protection of the rights of the tenant farmers.

The CM and representatives shared the idea of bringing a new law for the protection of rights of the tenant farmers.

Revanth Reddy opined that wide-ranging discussion should be held on extending the Rythu Bharosa benefits. The governmentas main objective is to extend the benefit to the helpless and if required, the real beneficiaries should be provided more assistance. He announced that the crop insurance scheme will be fully implemented.

The Chief Minister also emphasised the adoption of crop rotation schemes in the state and said farmers should adopt new methods to cultivate all crops. He told the participants that the government has taken up a slew of welfare programmes from the day it assumed power in the state.

Within hours after the formation of the new government, the Dharna Chowk was opened at the Indira Park and the Praja Bhavan's doors were opened for people to address their grievances.

Revanth Reddy reiterated that the government is committed to provide jobs to the unemployed. The Telangana State Public Service Commission will take up the recruitment process in a transparent manner on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
First decision in power will be to grant special category status to Andhra, promises Congress. Image Source: IANS News

Tirupati, March 1 : Congress General Secretary Sachin Pilot on Friday promised that after the INDIA bloc forms the government at the Centre, the first decision of the Cabinet will be to accord special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

He made the promise while addressing a public meeting here along with state Congress President Y.S. Sharmila Reddy.

Titled 'Nyay Sadhana Sabha', the public meeting was held at Taraka Rama Stadium to demand special category status for the state.

Sachin Pilot recalled that 10 years ago, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had taken a decision in the Cabinet to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh but the BJP government betrayed the trust of people of the state.

"The people of Andhra Pradesh deserve the special category status and the Congress will give the status when we get voted to power," he said.

The Congress leader said since the BJP has no presence in the state, it has no intention of giving special category status. He said that no regional party has commitment and conviction to deliver the special status to Andhra Pradesh and that it is only a national party like Congress that will live up to its promise.

Sharmila said the first file to be signed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

Claiming that the Congress is the only party which is sincere over the issue, she urged the people to decide whether they want to elect those who fight for the special status or those who "mortgaged" it.

Stating that SCS is Andhra Pradeshas right, Sharmila said she joined the Congress because it is committed to the issue. She recalled that it was the same venue that then BJP leader and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 promised that Andhra Pradesh will be given special category status not just for five years but for a period of 10 years.

Sharmila Reddy said Modi had also promised to build an excellent state capital, develop the state as a hardware hub, and construct Polavaram project but did not fulfill a single promise in 10 years. She said the BJP government at the Centre has done injustice to the state for the last 10 years.

"Neighbouring states are marching ahead on the path of development but Andhra Pradesh does not even have a state capital. Ours is the only state in the south which has no Metro rail," she said.

Targeting both ruling YSR Congress and main opposition Telugu Desam Party, she said both have become "slaves" of the BJP and compromise on the stateas rights.

Slamming her brother and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Congress leader said he promised three state capitals but failed to deliver even one.

Sachin Pilot claimed that people want a change as the BJP government during the last 10 years made policies that weakened farmers, Dalits, backward castes, women, and middle classes.

He said the BJP government talks about federalism but is hesitant to give equitable share to states in the national wealth. He mentioned that the Karnataka government staged protests in Delhi and earlier Kerala and many other states also lodged protests. Sachin Pilot also alleged that the BJP government is using CBI, ED, IT and other agencies to attack leaders of opposition parties and using the agencies as a tool to control people.
Panaji, March 1 : The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Goa Police has conducted a raid at Arambol in North Goa and arrested two Kerala youth for allegedly possessing LSD blots valued at Rs 25 lakh, officials said on Friday.

"The accused have been identified as Md Basi Mecheri (26) and Murshid Mustafa Kulangara (24), both natives of Calicut, Kerala, who were presently residing at Arambol," the police said.

"We have seized 250 high-quality triple-dip LSD blots valued at Rs 25 lakh from their possession. As per sources, the blots seized from their possession are three times stronger, effective and much more dangerous. They were meant to be sold in the party circuit at higher rates," the police said.

"We suspect the involvement of an inter-state network as the accused persons had come to Goa for distribution of the contraband in the party circuit. However, their bid was foiled due to the swift action by the ANC officers," the police added.

Last week, the ANC had arrested a Nigerian national with drugs valued at Rs 75 lakh.
Imphal, March 1 : The Manipur Assembly on Friday once again adopted a unanimous resolution urging the Central government to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to prevent illegal immigrants, especially from Myanmar, to settle in the northeastern state which shares a 398-km unfenced border with the neighbouring country.

The resolution urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to implement the NRC in Manipur moved by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who also holds the Home portfolio.

The Chief Minister posted on 'X': "Today, the Manipur Legislative Assembly took a significant step by reaffirming our resolution passed on August 5, 2022. It is our firm belief that the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur is crucial for safeguarding the interests of our state and contributing to the greater good of our nation.

"The decision to urge the Central government to expedite the implementation of the NRC reflects our commitment to ensuring the security and integrity of Manipur. I urge all citizens to support this endeavour as we strive to build a stronger, more prosperous Manipur for generations to come," he said.

After coming to power for the second consecutive time in the March 2022 assembly elections, the BJP-led government headed by Singh, unanimously passed a resolution in the state assembly on August 5, 2022 urging the Centre to implement the NRC in Manipur.

Many organisations, mostly belonging to majority Meitei, including the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in their separate memorandum and letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have been demanding implementation of NRC in the state.

The demand further intensified after the ethnic violence broke out on May 3, last year.

The COCOMI, apex body of the Meitei community, earlier on a number of occasions urged the Prime Minister and Home Minister not to divide Manipur and to introduce the NRC for the greater interest of the state and the country.

COCOMI coordinator Jeetendra Ningomba had claimed that the foreign elements, including some of the leaders of the Kuki-Zomi militant outfits with which Suspension of Operation (SoO) pacts were signed, are directly involved in the Manipur conflict and they should either be eliminated or pushed out of the territory of India.

"To identify illegal immigrants, the NRC must be implemented in the state with 1951 as the base year. This is to deprive illegal immigrants from being citizens though they may continue to stay as guests, if necessary, without indulging in destructive politics by creating concocted history and bombarding the media and seeking support from the left liberals to achieve what is known as a Kuki-Zomi nation (Zalengam) comprising areas from three countries," the COCOMI memorandum to PM Modi had said.

In June 2022, the Manipur government approved 1961 as the base year for identifying 'natives' and properly implementing the Inner-Line Permit (ILP) to protect the indigenous people's demography, culture and tradition.

The ILP under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 provides a temporary travel document to the residents of other Indian states need to possess to enter the state and to live in the state for a specific period.

The ILP had been in force in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

On December 11, 2019, it was promulgated in Manipur, to allow an Indian citizen into the ILP enforced areas for a stipulated period with the written permission of the state and competent authority. But the pro-NRC tribal organisations claimed that the ILP was not enough as Manipur could not come up with the definition of "indigenous inhabitants".

The NRC can effectively curb the infiltration and illegal stay of immigrants in Manipur, the organisations stated.

--IANS

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Lady Gabriellas husband Thomas Kingston died from a traumatic head wound in February 2024

Dave Benett/Getty Thomas Kingston and Lady Gabriella Windsor attend the private view for "Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto" on September 13, 2023 in London, England.

Lady Gabriella and her late husband Thomas Kingston were married for four years before his death.

Kingston married the daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, Queen Elizabeths first cousin, on May 18, 2019, at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle, almost exactly one year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding at the same location on May 19, 2018.

The British financier also previously dated Kate Middletons younger sister Pippa Middleton, who is now married to James Matthews. Though the two ended their relationship in 2011, they remained friends through the years.

Related: All About Lady Gabriella, the Widow of Thomas Kingston and Royal Family Member

After nearly five years of marriage, Kingston died on Feb. 25, 2024, after a traumatic wound to the head. He was 45 years old.

"It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of Thomas Kingston, our beloved husband, son and brother, a statement on behalf of the family read. Tom was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him. His death has come as a great shock to the whole family, and we ask you to respect our privacy as we mourn his passing."

Heres everything to know about Lady Gabriella's late husband Thomas Kingston and their relationship.

He was a financier

David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Thomas Kingston and Lady Gabriella Windsor attend the London Premiere of Apple's acclaimed documentary "The Elephant Queen" on October 17, 2019.

Before his death, Kingston served as a director of Devonport Capital, where he worked across emerging markets and investment management, per his companys website. He earned his bachelors degree in economic history from Bristol University and began his career in the foreign office.

He worked for Voltan Capital Management until 2017 at which point he pivoted to his latest position at Devonport. He was also a chartered financial analyst.

He was a hostage negotiator in Iraq

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Tom Kingston and Lady Gabriella Windsor attend day 1 of Royal Ascot on June 20, 2017 in Ascot, England.

At the start of his career, Kingston was a project manager for a government-sponsored conflict resolution project in Iraq. While there, he worked on hostage negotiations and also helped Canon Andrew White, the vicar of the only Anglican church in Iraq, with various tasks.

Story continues

The thing about Tom was he was never scared, he told The Telegraph following Kingstons death. Whatever I asked him to do he would do it with a big smile on his face in the middle of a war zone.

He was previously in a relationship with Pippa Middleton

Danny Martindale/Getty Pippa Middleton and friend Tom Kingston watch the Queens Mother Champion Steeple Chase at Cheltenham Racecourse on March 14, 2013.

Kingston previously dated Princess Kate's sister Pippa around 2011. Though the two didnt date for long, they remained close friends and spent time at events together, like the Cheltenham races in March 2013.

Kingston and Lady Gabriella also attended Pippas wedding to James Matthews in 2017, and she returned the favor when Kingston got married as well.

He and Lady Gabriella got married in May 2019

Andrew Parsons - WPA Pool/Getty Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston leave after marrying in St George's Chapel on May 18, 2019 in Windsor, England.

Lady Gabriella and Kingston had been linked since 2015 and in September 2018, Buckingham Palace officially announced they had gotten engaged the previous month. Kingston popped the question in Sark, one of the Channel Islands just off the coast of France.

On May 18, 2019, the couple tied the knot at Windsor Castle. For the big day, Lady Gabriella wore a lace bridal gown by Luisa Beccaria and accessorized with a Russian fringe style tiara in a nod to family tradition as both her mother and grandmother wore the same one on their special days. The guest list included Queen Elizabeth and a surprise appearance by Prince Harry, who had just welcomed his son Archie less than two weeks earlier.

He often accompanied Lady Gabriella to royal events

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston watch from the Royal Box at Ascot Racecourse on June 24, 2023 in Ascot, England.

Kingston could often be seen by Lady Gabriellas side at royal events like Trooping the Colour, a celebration of the monarch's birthday, and the Royal Ascot. He attended the latter in June 2023 as he and his wife sat by King Charles and Queen Camillas side in the royal box.

The pair stepped out again shortly after for a Chanel exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Less than two weeks before his death, Kingston accompanied Lady Gabriella and Queen Camilla at a Celebration of Shakespeare event on Feb. 14.

He died in February 2024

Two days after his death on Feb. 25, 2024, in Gloucestershire, the palace spokesperson released a statement that King Charles and Queen Camilla were aware of Kingstons death and sent their heartfelt thoughts to his family.

"The King and The Queen have been informed of Thomass death and join Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and all those who knew him in grieving a much-loved member of the family. In particular, Their Majesties send their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Gabriella and to all the Kingston family," the statement said.

Three days later, Kingstons cause of death was identified as a traumatic head wound. Senior coroner for Gloucestershire, Katy Skerrett, said Kingston had lunch with his parents before his father took their dogs on a walk, The Telegraph reported.

"On his return, Mr. Kingston was not in the house," Skerrett said, according to The Telegraph.

The outlet reported he had died by suicide at his parents home in the Cotswolds. Per a post from Sky News correspondent Dan Whitehead on X (formerly Twitter), Kingston "was found in a locked outbuilding with a catastrophic head injury  a gun was found at the scene."

The inquest into his death was adjourned to a later date, PEOPLE confirmed.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.



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Read the original article on People.
Guwahati, March 1 : Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday downplayed an alleged threat made by a pro-Khalistani leader demanding members of the hardline group 'Waris Punjab De' (WPD), including its leader Amritpal Singh, be moved from the Central Jail in Dibrugarh to Amritsar.

"Why do you think that Khalistanis are such a threat? The threat was for me, yet it seemed like you were more afraid," CM Sarma told reporters.

The alleged threat was conveyed to the journalists' cell phones through recorded messages from someone claiming to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of banned outfit aSikhs for Justice".

The message threatened Sarma with "consequences" if he does not order the transfer of Amritpal Singh and his aides to the Amritsar jail from Dibrugarh.

It further stated that "Sikhs for Justice" is bringing a case against India before the UN. Ten members of the pro-Khalistani group, including Amritpal and one of his uncles, were apprehended from different regions of Punjab as part of a crackdown on the group, and they were lodged at Dibrugarh Central Jail since March last year under the National Security Act (NSA).

The Assam Chief Minister received similar threats in April last year from the same banned outfit and the state police opened an investigation in the matter.

--IANS

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New Delhi, March 1 : President Droupadi Murmu, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, will be awarding the President's Standard and Colours to four Indian Air Force units on March 8 - the first time in the IAF's history that four units will get the coveted honour together on one day.

The award of the Presidentas Standard and Colours is the highest military honour for any armed forces unit.

The selected units are recognised for the meritorious services rendered by them during the past 25 years. The Ministry of Defence said that the award is an acknowledgement of the operational excellence, dedication and proven contribution of these units both during peace and war.

President Murmu will be awarding the Presidentas Standard to 45 and 221 Squadrons and the Presidentas Colours to 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and 509 Signal Unit.

The Presidentas Standard will be received by 45 Squadron Commanding Officer, Group Captain M. Surendran, and 221 Squadron Commanding Officer, Group Captain Shubhankan, while the Presidentas Colours will be received by 11 BRD commander, Air Commodore Ashutosh Vaidya, and 509 Signal Unit commanding officer, Group Captain Vivek Sharma.
Bengaluru, March 2 : The Opposition BJP hit out at the Congress government in Karnataka over the blast at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram cafe.

After Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that the business rivalry angle is being also probed, state BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra the Congress leader's conduct remains the same, his name would be included in the "list of anti-nationals".

Speaking to reporters in Kunigal of Tumakuru district, Shivakumar said that the officers probing the blast incident are looking into the angle of business rivalry.

"Rameshwaram cafe blast is being investigated. There is no need for people of Bengaluru to be concerned. CCTV footage of surrounding areas is available and the verification is on to find out the movement of people in two kilometres of radius," he said, adding that there is no need to panic.

BJP leader Vijayendra said that the "my brother policy" of the Congress government in Karnataka has become a "great threat" to the people.

"I claim this because, when the cooker blast took place in Mangaluru, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar said that the accused were his brothers. He gave them clean chit. The Congress did not initiate action because of minority appeasement after the episodes which took place in Shivamogga during the celebration of Tipu Jayanthi, when anti-national elements pelted stones, barged inside the houses of Hindus," the state BJP chief said.

"The state government should handover the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) immediately. The BJP will not stoop to the level of carrying politics over such incidents," he said, adding that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah should have resigned.

Terming the blast a "terrorist act", Leader of Oppostion R. Ashoka claimed that whenever Siddaramaiah comes to power, terrorists get "emboldened".
Couple engaged in intimacy in car runs over B'luru cop when stopped for questioning. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, March 2 : A man on a two-wheeler died as he fell off a flyover in Delhi's Badarpur area after being hit by a car on Friday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Pratap Singh, 35, a resident of New Seemapuri area and working as an Assistant Manager at the Yamaha showroom in Noida.

Police said information was received at the Badarpur police station in the evening from the Apollo Hospital, that a man had been involved in an accident opposite NTPC gate No 1 and was brought to the hospital where he was declared dead.

The deceased was identified, and during the inquiry, it was revealed that Singh was travelling from the Faridabad to Sarita Vihar on his scooter.

"When he was on the Badarpur flyover near Tughlakabad metro station, his scooter was hit from behind by a car. As a result of this accident/impact, he fell from the flyover onto the service road," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Southeast, Rajesh Deo said.

The DCP said that his relatives have been notified, and legal action is being taken. The driver of the offending vehicle, Virender Rana, 35, a resident of Uttam Nagar, has also been apprehended, he added.
Jaipur, March 2 : A total of six persons on Friday were killed in lightning strikes in different places in Rajasthan, an official said.

A 17-year-old girl student and a 25-year-old youth were killed at Lalsot in Dausa. In Daulatpura, another girl student was struck by lightning while she was on her way home from school.

In Sawai Madhopur, a husband and wife -- Rajendra (30) and Jalebi Meena (28) died when they were working in the field.

Besides, a youth identified as Dhannalal was also killed in a lightning strike in the same district, the police said.

Another woman, Beena Devi, was also killed while she was working in the field.

Meanwhile, officials said that people should take shelter in a safe place during thunderstorms and lightning, and avoid sitting or standing near/ beneath trees.

The Met Department had earlier sounded 'orange alert' in seven districts including Karauli, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Tonk and Dausa.

Intermittent rain along with wind was witnessed in Ajmer, Jaipur, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur and Dausa on Friday.
Patna, March 2 : Kaimur is one such district in Bihar where sitting MLAs have either switched parties or rebelled against their own party.

This district is located along the border with eastern Uttar Pradesh. It has four Assembly constituencies such as Bhabua, Mohania, Chainpur and Ramgarh, and sitting MLAs of each of these Assembly constituencies have either 'switched parties' or turned rebellious against their own party since the 2020 Bihar Assembly election.

Bharat Bind, who was elected on an RJD ticket from Bhabhua Assembly constituency in 2020, joined the BJP on Friday.

He said that he was inspired by the works and vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that he is ready to face the RJD.

Sangeeta Kumari, an MLA from Kaimur district, representing the Mohania Assembly constituency, also jumped ship and joined the BJP on February 27.

She claimed that the top leadership of RJD were not listening to her grievances.

The RJD has not even appointed a block president in the Mohania Assembly constituency since Kumari resigned from the party. However, Kumari won the 2020 Bihar Assembly election on an RJD ticket.

Bharat Bind and Sangeeta Kumari may be facing criticism of switching parties but they have not started such a trend.

It started soon after the 2020 Bihar Assembly election when Mohd. Jama Khan, the MLA from Chainpur Assembly constituency, won the seat on a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket but he later joined the JD (U).

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rewarded Jama Khan by making him a Cabinet minister in the BJP-JD(U) alliance government. He was the lone BSP MLA during the 2020 Bihar Assembly election.

Ramgarh MLA Sudhakar Singh was made the Bihar Agriculture Minister during the Mahagathbandhan government but he openly criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, following which the former quit as a Cabinet Minister under pressure from the latter.

After quitting his post, Singh kept criticising the Nitish Kumar government.

At one stage, RJD had given showcause notice to Singh expelling him from the party. As he is the son of State RJD President Jagadanand Singh, he was not expelled from the party.
Simon Boughton has been a pillar of childrens publishing over the past 30 years, during which he spent more than a decade each in leading positions at Random House and Macmillan. He also founded Roaring Brook Press, where books he edited and published include Caldecott Medal winners My Friend Rabbit and The Man Who Walked Between the Towers. Currently publishing director of Norton Young Readers, Boughton assumes the mantle of childrens book author on March 12, when his debut title, The Wild River and the Great Dam: The Construction of Hoover Dam and the Vanishing Colorado River, will be released by Little, Browns Christy Ottaviano Books. In a recent conversation, Boughton discussed the genesis of his book; information he uncoveredin turn spectacular and soberingwhile researching and writing the history of the Hoover Dam; and what potentially lies ahead for the once raging, now diminished Colorado River and its environs.

What was your impetus for writing The Wild River and the Great Dam?

The book probably began with my childhood fascination with big things built by big machines. And as an adult I am still fascinated with big enterprises, mechanical things, and engineering. I was drawn to the idea of building something on the scale of Hoover Dam, and the audacity involved in the thinking that humans could engineer a whole environment with machinery that was newly available. This was such an engaging and remarkable construction story and the idea of writing a book on the subject appealed to meand so I decided to do it.

Had you visited the site of Hoover Dam before deciding to write about it, and if so, did viewing it further ignite your curiosity about its story?

I first visited several years agoduring a publishing conference in Las Vegas, as it happens!and was struck by how permanent Hoover Dam and Lake Mead seemas if theyre part of the landscape and have always been there. But of course they havent, and I wondered what the land and the world around were like before. I also knew a little about the dams place in the folklore around the Great Depression, so was curious about the reality behind that.

I then visited Hoover and several of the other dams on the Colorado River during the research for the book. Even knowing more about their impact on the landscape and their contradictory stories, Im still struckand awedby their presence and strange beauty. Visiting Hoover Dam at dawn and watching the sun come up over the canyon is quite an experience.

Do you think that you approached the subject of the book with more objectivity than a U.S. native would, since you are British?

I dont know that I would say that. I would say as a European I find the American experience so fascinating and so unlike the European experience. I think Europeans are drawn to the American West because its so magnificent, and because you can still see the pastits so close in time. Its a history that I am not part of as a newcomer, and a history that I find complicated and engaging.

How did you come to publish the book with Christy Ottaviano Books?

Christy and I were colleagues at Macmillan for several years, and I know her as a wonderful, passionate editor. I also knew she has an interest in nonfiction, and at the time I was outlining the book she was starting her new imprint at Little, Brown. So, I took a chance and wrote to see if shed be interested in reading the proposal.

 [It's] a complicated story, full of contradiction and consequence, and in many ways, it didn't turn out the way the dam builders expected it to. 

Did you encounter any surprises as you researched the genesis and building of Hoover Dam?

There were a couple of things that I knew less about and took me beyond these childhood fascinationsand that I think make this a larger, more compelling, and timely story.

One was the social history involved. This dam was built in the 1930s, and a remarkable record exists of people building it, in the form of oral histories and thousands of photographs, which paint a vivid picture of the time and place. It was the Great Depression, and the project drew people who were not just construction workers, but people who were desperate for work. Whole families moved to the desert for the project. Many remained after it was finished, and what was planned as a construction camp became a town and a community.

How did those archival records help deepen your knowledge of the hands-on mechanics of the building of the dam?

I was pleased to discover that there were transcripts and tapes, which contained the voices of individuals who were part of the dams construction crew, as well as families and others, describing what the building process was like and the difficulties involved, including the exploitation of the laborers.

Did you unearth any unexpected revelations?

I came to understand Hoover Dam as, in a way, the technical expression of this idea of manifest destiny, that white European people were supposed to settle the West and move into a world that was previously occupied by Indigenous people. Most of the American West is arid, and white settlement meant figuring out how to get water out of the ground and manage its supplysomething that was done with almost no thought or regard for Indigenous people, or for the environment.

That is a complicated story, full of contradiction and consequence, and in many ways, it didnt turn out the way the dam builders expected it to. In the early 20th century, it seemed like a good idea not to waste water by letting it flow into the ocean, but this water management system devised in the 20th century is not sustainable in the 21st century. At its heart, this book is an engineering story, a social history, and a story of how we use resources.

A metaphor for this, if you like, are the mudbergs that I discovered actually lie under the surface of the Colorado River reservoirsgreat mounds of silt that move around unpredictably, out of sight beneath the surface of the water. Theyre like the unforeseen consequences of actions we take that we dont fully understand, and the consequences of trying to control nature.

The word contradictions surfaces repeatedly as you talk about the Hoover Dam project and its ramifications.

I was lucky to work on several books with author Steve Sheinkin, who once said to me that the best stories from history are stories of contradiction. I think thats why the story of Hoover Dam makes for such good storytelling.

Yet for all these contradictions, there is also something remarkable about the human spirit and enterprise that built Hoover Dam. One hundred years after the building of the dam, we have vast new problems in terms of climate change and management of resources, but Id like to think that if we can bring together the same ingenuity, sense of common purpose, and vision, those problems can be overcome.

In what ways do you hope The Wild River and the Great Dam will help effect that?

I hope this book leads to conversation. I want to have readers think about the impact of what we are doing and to get them thinking about sustainabilityabout how the salad on your plate at lunchtime gets there and why we are able to have so many things that we take for granted.

As a longtime publisher and editor, did your debut experience as an author whet your appetite for writing additional works for young readers?

Yes, it did. I started this book a while ago, and I really enjoyed being on the other side of the process. I love writing but I havent had enough time to devote to it. I do have some thoughts about another bookI think theres a related story that I am interested in telling, one that also touches on the notion of an idea we have at a moment in time seeming like a good idea, but not turning out as we had anticipated.

The Wild River and the Great Dam: The Construction of Hoover Dam and the Vanishing Colorado River by Simon Boughton. Little, Brown/Ottaviano, $19.99 Mar. 12 ISBN 978-0-316-38074-4
Following its annual winter conference, held in New York City February 911, the Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators invited members to its livestreamed Golden Kite Gala on February 22 and a virtual conference held February 2324. The Golden Kite Awards went to winners and honorees across seven childrens and young adult categories, and another prize, the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor, went to Martha Brockenbroughs middle grade whodunit, To Catch a Thief.

According to executive director Sarah Baker, SCBWI registered 700 attendees for the in-person conference and 600 for the virtual event. People continue to sign up and enjoy the virtual [programming] all month long, so hopefully that number keeps growing, Baker said. All the conferences main stage sessions and virtual creative labs, including talks by Newbery Honor author Cece Bell, performance poet Jason Coelho, and author-illustrator James Ransome, remain available to view for 30 days.

At each winter conference, SCBWI assembles a slate of editors and agents to assess the state of the childrens market, and this years discussion of The Outlook for Childrens Publishing in 2024 was moderated by Put Your Shoes On and Get Ready! illustrator TeMika Grooms. I fielded these questions from my writer friends, my illustrator friends, and [SCBWI] staff members, so these are real questions, Grooms told the panelists, before asking them about their editorial styles, where they find illustrators (Instagram, SCBWIs Illustrator Gallery, our competitions books, sometimes), and what makes them fall in love with a manuscript.

All four paneliststhree editors and an agentadvised authors to reflect on the reason why theyve felt compelled to write their book. Patrice Caldwell, literary director at New Leaf Literary Media, asks her clients, Was this the book you meant to write? because I want to know why this was the thing that set you on fire, and I think editors do too. Mallory Loehr, who oversees five imprints and some 20 editors at Random House Books for Young Readers, asks authors to write up what you really think this book is about because editors take that on. Your why becomes their why as well, and they have to pitch it to the salespeople in marketing and publicity. The stronger your why is, the stronger that connection, and it goes all the way through to the reader.

What Editors and Agents Are Reading

By sharing titles theyre reading for fun, the panelists suggested their editorial tastes to an audience of writers and artists hungry for tips and trends. Everyone saw potential in stories with diverse representation and inventive illustration.

Loehr, who said shes seeing a lot of books and submissions about identity as well as mashups that defy genre and age boundaries, is reading Veera Hiranandanis middle grade historical fiction How to Find What Youre Not Looking For (shes writing a picture book for us) as well as Kelly Barnhills When Women Were Dragons. I read like a 12-year-oldthats my inner reader, Loehr said. If you dont get me on page one, youre not going to get a 12-year-old, or an eight-year-old, or a 15-year-old. She looks for instant action (I need something to happen) and for characters who seem like people you want to befriend.

As a reader, Caldwell is a fan of spicy romantasy, calling Scarlett St. Clairs Hades x Persephone series 10 out of 10. She sees scary fare having a moment too, although the panelists said they shy away from blood and body horror. To Loehrs concern about grabbing the reader from page one, Caldwell hazarded, As an agent, I feel like theres almost too much emphasis on first pages. While she was definitely not countering the polish that a final draft requires, she admitted, Im the person who will forgive your first pages if Im into it. Shell request a full manuscript if the voice is good, but somethings clunky about it, and shell skip around the manuscriptshe mimed flipping random pagesto see if the story as a whole has legs. Perfection can come later.

Alvina Ling, editor-in -chief of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, wore a lucky red cardigan for the year of the dragon, while recommending Gene Luen Yang and LeUyen Phams Lunar New Year Love Story. Shes also reading Elizabeth Gilberts Big Magic for her podcast with Grace Lin, Book Friends Forever. She calls for a renewed emphasis on classic storytelling, and she shared three qualities that attract her to a manuscript: Im looking for books that remind me of the books I loved as a child, the books Im loving right now, and the books I wished I had as a child. If Im drawn in by the voice, thats an A-plus.

Ling said that as an editor of authors including Holly Black and Libba Bray, I ask a lot of questions. I love world building. She described her style as collaborative, because Im not the writer, youre the writer, so I do trust that you can solve the questions I have. She reminded the audience that an editors job is to act as the reader. As Im editing, Im looking for the things that take me out of the story, and over rounds of edits, she helps eliminate distractions.

Susan Van Metre, executive editorial director at Walker Books US, held up a copy of Ever Since by Elena Brujas as her reading selection. I can be very picky, and this is so beautifully written, she said. It really captures the feeling of loss and the expectations you can get, moving from girlhood to teenhood. Calling herself a reading omnivore, Van Metre admitted, I dont like reading about rich kids. I just want to put that up about myself. Instead, shes been thinking about Beverly Cleary and her recognition that there are high stakes for kids in the ordinary stuff. I get excited by a writer who recognizes that there doesnt have to be murder [or] major adult-level drama.

Van Metre added that shes still invested in middle grade, even if the categorys numbers slipped in 2023. Things are cyclical, and its middle grades turn to struggle, she said. I love writing that respects childrens intelligence and capabilities, and books that appeal to children immediately but also have some heft to them. Saluting Candlewicks design department, she said, If you want to make a book thats a bit different and possibly expensive to make, were a house thats willing to figure that out. She also remarked that YA, like M.T. Andersons Feed, has been a smaller part of our list, and its something were interested in growing.

Strategic Thinking in a Cyclical Industry

For all the discussion of hot titles and authorial ambitions, the panelists encouraged creators to bear in mind the flux in publishing and the need for a long-haul strategy. Whatever is trending now will not be trending in five years, Loehr cautioned. Dont follow. Do what you need to write for yourself.

The panelists encouraged midlist authors to develop their promotional skillsets through school visits, social media, and genuine friendships with local booksellers and librarians. Because its hard for an author to break out at trade shows or American Library Association gatheringspublishers consider featured appearances an investment, Loehr reminded listenersauthors have to build a career foundation and sustain their success.

Im always telling my clients, nothing is going to sell your backlist like your frontlist, Caldwell said. Thats not saying to work so much that you burn yourself out. [But] when you write, its a craft, you know? Its your personal thing. When you get published, its now a business.
Kevin Hanson, president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Canada, has left the company.

Hanson joined Simon & Schuster as president of S&S Canada in 2005, from HarperCollins, where he was a v-p of sales and marketing. (Hanson has also contributed editorials to PW.) In 2013, he was named the companys first Canadian publisher, in which capacity he oversaw the launch of its first domestic list. Until that point, S&S Canada only marketed and sold books from the U.S. and U.K in Canada, and did not publish its own titles. In an email to staff sent on Thursday, S&S global CEO Jonathan Karp said that Hanson had helped S&S become "a vital presence in the Canadian marketplace."

Hanson's departure comes in the wake of S&S's acquisition by KKR last year, and is just the latest in a number of departures at the company. Earlier this month, Sarah St. Pierre, S&S's editorial director, left for Penguin Random House after less than a year in the role. In December, Nita Pronovost, v-p and editor-in-chief, left following the publication of her second novel, The Mystery Guest, under the pen name Nita Prose; her first book, The Maid, sold more than a million copies for its publisher, Penguin Random House. Felicia Quon, former v-p of marketing and communications, left last October and joined Vancouver-based Page Two publishing house as sales director.

S&S has also added people in several roles, including bringing in Jim Gifford and Rosemary Shipton as executive editors. Karp was asked for additional information and the name of a successor by Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper, but did not offer further comment.
Nippon Steels proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel will strengthen national security, protect U.S. Steel jobs, and boost U.S. manufacturing. There is a lot to like, though it should not be a surprise that election year politics has produced some knee jerk opposition to an iconic American company being acquired by a company headquartered overseas.



A bipartisan group of more than fifty members of the U.S. House sent a letter to President Biden raising concerns about the acquisition. They worried that the deal would endanger national security, reduce U.S. jobs, and harm U.S. manufacturing. A bipartisan group of Senators has also opposed the deal.



It is understandable that politicians would be concerned about the fate of a famous U.S. company and the workers and communities which depend on it. But a review of the facts and economics show that this deal is a win for U.S. Steel and should receive strong bipartisan support in Washington.



First, rather than threaten national security, this investment in U.S. Steel will strengthen our national security. Japan is one of our closest allies, and we have one of the strongest economic and trade relationships in the world. Japan is the largest foreign investor in America, and Japanese companies have been investing in America for years. Nearly one million Americans are employed by Japanese companies in the U.S. and it is the number one foreign employer in the U.S. manufacturing sector.



Japan automakers have been building cars in the U.S. for decades, investing billions of dollars in America and employing thousands of American workers. None of these investments have posed a threat to national security. And the entire automobile industry favors this deal over the other potential buyer, Cleveland-Cliffs. Analysts say a U.S. Steel-Cliffs merger would raise antitrust concerns, increase auto prices, and result in job losses in both industries.



Chinas dominance of the worlds steel market is the real competitive threat to the entire U.S. steel industry. China produces more than half of the worlds steel, and six of the largest ten steel companies are Chinese. Nippon Steel is the worlds fourth-largest steel producer, and the acquisition of U.S. Steel would elevate it to second place. Both companies stand to benefit from the deal. Not only would Nippon gain access to American industrial capabilities, but U.S. Steel would also achieve greater global market reach. Additionally, U.S. Steel would receive an abundance of technological advancements and investments to help it modernize and be better able to compete.



Second, Nippon Steel has pledged to protect U.S. steel jobs. The company has been operating in the U.S. for nearly forty years. With investments in eight steel companies in this country, it has a long track record of supporting U.S. workers, their unions, and their communities. The company has promised it will keep the U.S. Steel name and headquarters in Pittsburgh with its 1,000 jobs. It will not shift any production or jobs overseas. Rather than losing jobs, the deal will strengthen U.S. Steel and ultimately provide more jobs and better job security for its workers.



Finally, this investment in America will benefit US manufacturing and the U.S. economy. A stronger, modernized U.S. steel industry would better serve U.S. manufacturers that use steel products. A more efficient and productive steel industry would be able to expand production of domestic steel, benefiting U.S. manufacturers and discouraging them from moving their operations and jobs overseas.



The Nippon-U.S. Steel deal will enhance our national security, protect U.S. jobs, and benefit U.S. manufacturers. It is a good deal for America and should receive bipartisan support.
TLC / Reality TV World

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/29/2024



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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.

star Michael Ilesanmi has been found after being reported missing, and he was apparently trying to run from his wife Angela Deem in "fear for his life".blogger John Yates revealed in a YouTube Live video on February 26 that Michael has been found."Michael is safe. There's the good news," John said, after which Angela could be heard in the background saying, "Thank god."Angela found out that Michael was okay only hours after she had gone live via TikTok to announce her husband's disappearance."Angela got a phone call from the police here stating that they were contacted by Michael. They verified it with him," John explained."He did have a burner phone or another phone -- a phone that nobody knew about. And on that phone, he had pictures, I guess, of his passport, the one that he left [behind]. So they verified his ID and it's him."John went on to reveal "the wild part" of this shocking turn of events."[Michael] told the police that he was in fear for his life here and he did not want Angela knowing his location," John revealed.A man could be heard in the background adding, "[Michael] asked the police not to tell her."Angela declared, "I asked him to go home because he doesn't love me. Now he has to fight for his visa here, and he's done."Once Angela learned that Michael was seemingly hiding from her, she said, "I'm f-cking mad as hell right now. Tell the truth. I'm worried thinking he was hurt."Michael went missing on Friday, February 23, just two months after arriving in the United States from Nigeria, according to John.Angela claimed in a TikTok live video on February 26 that the police were "involved" and they couldn't find Michael. Angela also said her home security system didn't capture any footage of Michael leaving their house, In Touch Weekly reported Angela shared of the situation earlier this week, "Michael left everything here. I know that there's people probably thinking, 'Oh, maybe he just left.' But like, nothing, not any ID, nothing to show his name on it, no clothing, not a toothbrush. Zero point zero zero."Angela pointed out how Michael didn't have his wallet either, further emphasizing that he had "nothing" with him."[The] clothes on his back [are] what he left with on Friday," she explained, adding that he "only had like $40 on him."Angela said if Michael had left on his own, he "should have" called her."Everybody in this town, I'm going to tell you, they say, 'Angela, he's f-cking walked out because he's got no reason to stay here.' I don't want to believe that," Angela told John, according to In Touch.Angela said Michael, whom she married in Nigeria in 2020, might have family in Idaho.Angela therefore wondered if Michael had used her to get to America and planned to leave her as soon as he touched foot in her Georgia home."I'm telling you now. I'm not going to let you f-cking come here if you didn't love me," Angela vented.When scolded to use her common sense and asked if she had contacted immigration, Angela said she was "not allowed" to."If Michael is really missing and doesn't contact us, immigration can take over. That's all I can tell you," Angela said.Angela and Michael were first introduced to the world on Season 2 of : Before the 90 Days.Angela and Michael -- who also starred on Season 7 of as well as Seasons 5, 6 and 7 of : Happily Ever After? -- have been dating for years and waiting for Michael's visa to be approved so he could move to the United States.The pair first applied for a visa in March 2020 but experienced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.A December 2022 episode of : Happily Ever After? showed Angela finding out that Michael had been cheating on her in Nigeria. They split in early 2023 but clearly got back together.Angela and Michael starred on Season 1 of 90 Day: The Last Resort, and then Michael finally moved to America in December 2023.Once Michael touched down in the U.S., Angela says they had fun traveling to California and New York.Angela and Michael will be starring on Season 8 of : Happily Ever After?, which premieres Sunday, March 17 at 8PM ET/PT on TLC.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage!
Disney/John Fleenor

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/29/2024



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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.

star Joey Graziadei has revealed if he regrets not asking Lexi Young to stay and give him more time to determine if he could envision having kids sooner rather than later.Lexi quit while the cast was in Montreal, Canada because Joey said he'd like to wait years before getting married and welcoming children, whereas Lexi must try to conceive in the near future due to her ongoing battle with endometriosis , which can cause infertility issues.When asked if he wishes he had begged Lexi to stay on the show, Joey told E! News, "No, because if you really look at that conversation and get down to the nitty gritty, you can understand that I did explain to her that I was open to a different timeline if it's something that we would talk about more.""And she just didn't feel like it was something that we could get on the same page with," he continued, "and I'm completely okay with that."Joey noted "what's most important" is that Lexi "got to speak her truth."He added, "[She got to] end it on her own terms, and I think that's something really special that a lot of women don't get to do through this process."star therefore concluded, "I have no regrets there and have nothing but respect for Lexi, and I obviously know she'll be an amazing mother someday -- and that's what she deserves."Lexi, who had her eggs frozen less than two weeks before appearing on Joey's season, may not be able to have children of her own due to endometriosis, which is an incurable disease of the reproduction system.While Joey told Lexi that he definitely wants to have kids, he said he'd like to have a two-to-three year engagement and then be married for a couple of years before bringing a baby into the picture.Lexi, meanwhile, would like to start a family as soon as possible since she may have trouble carrying a child. She is also due for another endometriosis surgery in the near future."My doctor wants me to have my second surgery as close as possible to the time I want to try to start conceiving," Lexi recently shared on Instagram, explaining her timeline for starting a family."Having a third or fourth surgery later on could cause a lot of scar tissue. I am kind of in a place right now of a waiting game. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm not in a place to have children right now. I am hopefully going to be there soon, but I just can't have the surgery at this moment."Joey was very supportive of the fact Lexi lives with endometriosis and may always have symptoms and pain from it. Lexi cried because Joey had handled the news so well and comforted her instead of running.When Lexi broke up with Joey, she unexpectedly showed up at his hotel room in Montreal and expressed her concerns about how long he wanted to wait to have kids.Lexi explained how Joey's timeline for having children was not something she had the privilege of doing due to her health crisis."As someone who has infertility, I have to take that really seriously as I date, knowing I'm in my thirties now. [Having a kid] is something that's going to have to happen at a little bit of a faster pace for me," Lexi explained to star.Lexi therefore concluded, "I think it would be unfair of me to [have you] keep me here when I'm just on a different timeline."Joey admitted he was "stunned" by her decision to leave him. He told Lexi that he'd never forget their one-on-one date in Malta and, up to that point, he had zero doubts that he could see a future with her."I never felt scared when you said that," Joey insisted to the bachelorette. "If anything, the only thing I felt... was, 'Does that mean she needs to have kids now? Because I need to get my head wrapped around that.'"Lexi was very emotional when dumping Joey, who in turn admitted he was "crushed" by the news."I hate this. This isn't what I had in my head of what I thought was going to happen... But you're going to get everything that you want, and you're going to make a remarkable mother," Joey told Lexi.Once Lexi's departure aired on ABC, she took to Instagram and posted a lengthy message to fans about how she was grateful to have been able to share her story, and she thanked Bachelor Nation for receiving it so well.On 's latest episode , Joey narrowed down his pool of bachelorettes to only four women: Daisy Kent Maria Georgas , and Rachel Nance . He had eliminated Jenn Tran and Kelsey Toussant in Jasper, Canada. Click here to learn more about Joey's bachelorettes or click here to read spoilers that reveal how Joey's season ends and who he picked as his winner.Interested in more news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Written By Patrick McCarthy & Tom Marshall

Photos by After Action AZ

In a true case of whats old is new again the last several years have seen not only a resurgence of the lever action rifle, but an evolution of it. Although this platform was once reserved for ranchers and cowboy action shooters, well-known companies like Midwest Industries have committed significant resources to developing accessories that modernize this oft-overshadowed platform.

Smaller custom houses like Mad Pig Customs go even further, offering complete boutique builds with selectable furniture, accessories, and colorways. With all this effort expended to teach an old gun new tricks, some of you are certainly wondering: why?

Were not sure theres a definitive answer. If all you care about is practicality and cost-effectiveness, its impossible to deny the advantages of a modern semi-auto rifle with a detachable 30-round magazine.

But there are still some genuine merits to an updated lever gun, sometimes colloquially known as the cowboy assault rifle. Speaking of assault rifles, a rifle with a manually cycled action and tube magazine can skirt just about any assault weapon restriction in the country. You can forget about fin grips and put flash hiders back on the menu, even in places like California. For those who live in (or frequently travel through) freedom-restricted territory, a tactical lever gun might be a great way to get around draconian legislation while still having an accurate and heavy-hitting rifle with all manner of modern accessories.

Caliber options are many, ranging from rimfire to the behemoth .45-70 which has a documented history of taking down most of the worlds biggest and toughest game  Marlin even jokingly advertised it as effective against a T-Rex.

Both of the sample guns youll see in this article are in .30-30 Winchester, a highly respectable caliber in its own right for general preparedness. With bullet weights typically ranging from 150 to 170 grains and muzzle velocities around 2,000 feet per second, this caliber has been used on nearly every game animal on the North American continent from mule deer to black bear, elk, and moose.

This translates easily for use as a defensive caliber. While not known for its long-range capabilities, its generally accepted as a 200-yard cartridge, which is right in line with most mass-issue military calibers. In fact, its trajectory and ballistic data is very similar to that of arguably the most widely used military caliber on the modern battlefield: 7.62x39mm Russian. While a lever gun lacks the capacity or rate of fire of an AK-type rifle, the .30-30 is in very good ballistic company when it comes to in extremis use in mixed terrain environments.

Preparation is an intensely personal pursuit. Some folks have determined that they simply dont require the capacity or fire rate of a modern semi-automatic carbine. But many of those same folks think it prudent to have a firearm of some kind around for the ever-ominous just in case. A lever-action rifle is easier to shoot than a pistol and reaches farther than a shotgun. But, until a few years ago, this choice meant sacrificing easy access to modern enhancements like suppressors, weapon lights, electronic optics, lasers, modular grips, or adjustable stocks. Those days are over, and were here to prove it.

Were showcasing two separate rifles, both built by Mad Pig Customs, each with different furniture and accessories. Mad Pig refinished each rifle in our preferred Cerakote colors, installed their signature lever and trigger parts, and performed a complete action job to ensure smooth and reliable functionality.

We hope to shed some light on the myriad possible configurations available with a modernized lever-action rifle and prove once and for all that this platform hasnt been relegated to history books.

RECOIL STAFF EDITOR TOM MARSHALLS SETUP

This rifle started life as a Marlin 30AW. No longer in production, the 30AW was meant as a more budget-friendly alternative to the flagship Marlin 336. With less expensive furniture and more rustic in the fit and finish, the 30AW was truly a workingmans gun.

Cables for the SureFire Scout and Holosun IR laser were tamed with Emissary Development Micro Cable Clips. Also note the Walker Defense NILE grip panels.

The team at Mad Pig Customs stripped this rifle down to the skeleton and rebuilt it, starting with a Midwest Industries M-LOK handguard and a Form Stocks back end. The MI handguard offers a full-length, seven-sided M-LOK interface with a continuous top rail.

This allowed us to mount both a Vortex UH-1 holographic sight (on an ADM riser) as well as a Holosun LS-321G dual-beam laser/illuminator. Also from Midwest Industries are the universal shell caddies, which each hold a pair of .30-30 rounds.

Form Rifle Stocks offers a subtle, less tactical look with increased functionality over traditional lever gun stocks.

The Form Stock retains a modicum of traditional styling with the upgrade of an adjustable-height comb, which comes in handy when using an optic riser. A SureFire Dual-Fuel Scout light gave us low-light ability, with a dual-lead remote switch to run both light and laser from one switch. A pair of Walker Defense NILE grip panels and an Emissary Development Handbrake Mini gave us a little customization for support hand control.

Mounting our Vortex UH-1 on an ADM riser gave a better heads-up shooting posture optimized for night vision shooting.

Finally, a Langolis Rhodesian sling from Wilderness Tactical was mounted to the factory sling studs. The muzzle device is a Rearden Manufacturing brake that also features their suppressor mount.

RECOIL OFFGRID EDITOR PATRICK MCCARTHYS SETUP

Unlike Toms rifle, this one has been a so-called tactical lever gun from day one.

It started out as a Marlin 336 Dark Series, a special variant that was only available for a short time before Remington went bankrupt, ceased production of Marlin rifles, and sold the brand to Ruger (Ruger recently announced the relaunch of the Marlin Dark Series, this time with a M-LOK forend and adjustable stock straight from the factory). Originally, the Dark Series came with a 16.25-inch threaded barrel, XS lever rail with ghost ring sight, and painted black wood furniture.. Mad Pig Customs replaced this rifles wood furniture with a machined aluminum stock from Chisel Machining and a LASAI handguard from Hoptic USA.

Chisel Machines stock offers maximum utility with futuristic styling that may be jarring for lever rifle purists.

The stock features a soft Kick-Eez recoil pad, adjustable cheek rest, QD sling socket, and an attachment point for a six-round Hoptic LongBow ammo carrier. The handguard is equipped with a Hoptic USA Quiver carrying two more rounds of .30-30, a JMac Customs HRD handstop, a Burn Proof Gear heat-resistant rail wrap, and a SureFire Mini Scout Light Pro Infrared with selectable white or IR output.

Our JK Armament can worked especially well with subsonic loads, with user-adjustable length through the use of modular baffles.

Atop the rifles original XS sight rail is a Leupold VX-6HD 1-6x24mm LPVO in a Midwest Industries 30mm QD scope mount; a Leupold DeltaPoint Pro NV red dot is mounted at the 12:00 position on a Reptilia ROF-SAR ring mount.

The magnified optics simple duplex reticle and illuminated FireDot are ideal for daytime shooting, and the top-mounted, NV-capable DeltaPoint pairs with the IR weapon light to make this rifle usable under night vision just like my favorite AR-15s.

A Leupold LPVO with top-mounted red dot makes maximum use of the .30-30s range at distance while also providing a fast-engagement option for near targets.

Finally topped off with a JK Armament suppressor attached to the threaded Rearden SPB muzzle brake via a Rearden Atlas adapter, and a Blue Force Gear Vickers padded sling.

AMMO CARRIAGE CONSIDERATIONS

One of the downsides of lever guns is their tube magazines, which make their manual of arms more similar to that of a shotgun than a modern bolt-action or semi-auto. While weve already touched on the idiosyncrasies of reloading, this also affects ammo carriage and load bearing.

You wont be carrying a box magazine in a belt pouch, so youre left with tossing a fistful of loose rounds in your pants pocket  a compromise thatll inevitably lead to slow, fumbled reloads  or seeking specialized ammo carriage equipment which is a little harder to source. We found two companies who offer lever-gun-specific ammo pouches.

Wilderness Tactical offers a simple, low-profile solution called the ZipLoader. This is the equivalent of wearing an ammo butt cuff on your belt. Its a simple nylon platform with 10 elastic loops for individual cartridges. We paired this with a small, zippered Bug Pack, also from Wilderness Tactical, which was used to carry loose rounds to replenish our other ammo carriers between drills.

This Wilderness Tactical belt sleeve let us keeps additional rounds at the ready without being intrusive in street clothes.

For those who want a larger supply of organized ammo storage, or more flexibility for carriage, Grim Hunter Tactical makes two products we had the chance to evaluate for this article. The first is their Quick Loader Pouch, a fold-out pouch that carries 24 rounds. There are eight loops hard sewn to the outside of the pouch. Inside the pouch are two more tear-away cards that hold another eight rounds each, which attach to the inside of the pouch by hook-and-loop. We really like this modular design, as it allows you to attach those cards to other places you might want ammo  stick them to the headliner in your truck, the outside of your range bag, or even the sleeve of your combat shirt or jacket.

The Quick Loader Pouch can be ordered with either MOLLE/PALS backing or a belt loop and is available in nearly two dozen colors.

If your lever gun is your dedicated bugout or SHTF rifle, Grim Hunter offers a Lever Gun Chest Rig consisting of two Quick Loader Pouches and a third detachable pouch that can be used as a medical kit or admin pouch. On Grim Hunters website, you can choose to have your ammo pouches biased to the left or right side of the rig, based on personal preference. Its available in a variety of colors with multiple harness options.

Finally, much like a shotgun, it may be advantageous to carry a few extra rounds on the gun itself for speed reloads. These can be carried on a traditional fabric or leather butt cuff or attached to modern M-LOK-mounted carriers such as those seen on our rifles.

While testing and training with our lever guns, we used Sellier & Bellot 150-grain soft point .30-30 ammo.

HOME ON THE RANGE AT GUNSITE

The effectiveness of any tool is contingent on its users skill and experience, and our lever-action rifles are no different. The two of us have spent quite a bit of time training with AR-15s, but AR-15s these aint.

Many of the fundamentals carry over  stance, grip, sight picture, trigger control, and so on. However, the manual of arms is drastically different from an AR in addition to the reloading and ammo management challenges we mentioned earlier. This led us to seek training from Lew Gosnell, an instructor who has amassed a variety of vintage and modern lever-actions and spent many years teaching students about the intricacies of these rifles.

A rack full of cowboy assault rifles, from traditional to futuristic.

Gosnell is a Marine Corps veteran who also spent 31 years working in law enforcement on the streets of East L.A. These days, he teaches Defensive Lever Gun and other courses at Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona.

In case youre not familiar with Gunsite, its considered by many to be the mecca of firearms training in the United States, if not the whole world. Founded in 1976 by Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper as a location at which to teach his Modern Technique of the Pistol, Gunsite has evolved into an expansive facility with a wide range of pistol, rifle, shotgun, and even edged weapon classes. It offers everything from classrooms and traditional range bays to run-and-gun simulator courses, complex shoot houses, and vehicle-based training areas. Its like an amusement park for shooting enthusiasts, complete with catered lunches, an on-site campground, and a museum built inside Coopers home.

After traveling to Gunsite and meeting Gosnell, we headed out to the 50-yard Hanneken range to start working with our lever guns.

HALF-COCKED

The first order of business was to learn about manipulating the lever guns safeties.

Both of our Marlin rifles feature manual cross-bolt safeties  Marlin calls it a Hammer Block Safety  but this feature is a relatively recent addition introduced in the early 1980s. Gosnell and many other lever gun users view this manual safety as redundant and excessive.

Gunsites Defensive Levergun course gave both editors a chance to pressure-test their respective rifle configurations against a variety of shooting problems from CQB to engaging targets at distance with movement and time constraints.

Historically, the primary safety on an exposed hammer lever gun was the half-cocked position, pulled back halfway to full cock.

This prevented the hammer from resting against the firing pin, which could potentially fire a round if an object struck the hammer hard enough. It also prevented users from carrying the gun fully cocked and ready to fire at all times, which could lead to a negligent discharge if a foreign object touched the trigger.

To prepare our lever guns for a drill, we went through the following procedure:

Half cock the hammer then engage the manual safety.

Load the tube magazine.

Cycle the lever to chamber a round. The hammer is now fully cocked. (Top off the tube magazine with one more round if necessary.)

With the manual safety still engaged and the gun pointed in a safe direction, place the firing hand thumb on the fully cocked hammer and apply pressure.

Maintaining firm pressure on the hammer, press the trigger just long enough to carefully lower the hammer into the half-cocked position.

Index the trigger finger safely on the side of the receiver and disengage the manual safety.

As soon as Gosnell gave the command to fire, we quickly thumbed our hammers back to fully cocked position and pressed the trigger.

In a way, the manual safety serves as training wheels  if a shooter lets the hammer slip while returning it to half cock, it prevents the gun from firing. But once we had done enough dry- and live-fire reps of this process to be fully comfortable with it, we left the manual safety disengaged and carefully returned our guns to half cock after firing.

Always be careful to maintain a good grip on the hammer while returning it to half cock; this is not something that should be rushed. As Gosnell explained, this procedure may feel strange to us today, but it was the standard modus operandi for more than a century before the introduction of cross-bolt safeties.

FEEDING THE BEAST

Loading a lever gun is similar to loading a shotgun, but the placement of the loading gate on the right side of the receiver (as opposed to the underside) means youll have to load with your firing hand.

Hold the gun in a low-ready position against the shoulder, and press each round into the tube magazine until the loading gate closes behind it. Alternately, you can use a violin load position by resting the buttstock sideways over your shoulder, leaving the loading gate facing upward. Gosnell reminded us to keep our heads up and eyes downrange while loading to remain aware of potential threats.

Engaging targets at unknown distance, obscured by terrain, while using natural barriers forced us to wring the most out of these upgraded classics.

Also like a shotgun, its OK to load a round directly into the chamber while the action is open. This can be useful for speed reloads in conjunction with a match-saver-style ammo carrier directly in front of the ejection port (as seen on both our rifles). However, be aware that lever guns can have trouble feeding if theyre operated at steep angles. So, dont try to chamber load  or operate the lever at all  with the muzzle pointed at the ground.

To run the lever, be quick and forceful but deliberate. Babying it or failing to run the lever all the way forward may induce a malfunction. We also found that the angle of hand movement is important. Depending on your rifle and lever design, you may need to push your hand down, forward, or somewhere in between to achieve the smoothest action.

TESTING OUR SKILLS

Once we were comfortable manipulating, loading, and firing our lever guns on the 50-yard range, we moved on to more complex challenges. After all, that manual of arms may feel comfortable on a flat range, but doing it while running, transitioning between multiple targets, and navigating around obstacles is a different story. This wasnt just a lever gun class, it was a defensive lever gun class.

We started by setting up a barricade on the range, leaning out from either side to shoot without exposing ourselves more than necessary. Then, we ratcheted up a notch by heading down to The Pit, an indoor simulator course that most of us would call a shoot house. We practiced clearing the structure, slicing the pie around doorways and corners to methodically take in every angle before proceeding.

Admittedly, wed prefer a semi-auto rifle over a lever gun for these close-quarters applications, since thumbing back the hammer before firing and running the action between shots was tougher than just mashing a trigger. That said, our Mad Pig Marlins had no trouble getting repeatable, accurate hits on the threats in hallways, corners, and windows. The red-dot optics mounted tall on both rifles were helpful for this purpose, offering a wide field of view and fast sight acquisition.

Next, we headed to Gunsites Military Crest, a winding trail with various natural shooting positions and an array of steel targets at distances of 100 to 200 yards or greater.

We braced off trees and rocks and used our rifles in standing, kneeling, and sitting positions. With a slight hold-over for the longer shots, we had no trouble ringing steel from each position. The only challenge we encountered was running the lever in positions where the rifle rested on a flat surface, such as kneeling behind a stump; it may be necessary to lift or rotate the rifle to make room to move the lever.

This is also why lever guns arent ideal for prone shooting.

For our final challenge, we moved to the Scrambler, a course that continued our work on positional shooting but added an emphasis on speed. With four rounds in our guns and a shot timer running, we sprinted between seven positions and shot steel targets while standing, kneeling, and sitting. Some stations had fallen logs or trees to use for support, but others required unsupported shots.

This also tested our ability to load our rifles quickly while moving, and to carefully engage the half-cocked position after each hit  just like any other move-and-shoot drill, its essential to make your weapon safe before running ahead with it. By the end of the Scrambler we were out of breath and grinning.

RECOIL editors Tom Marshall and Patrick McCarthy pose with Gunsite instructor Lew Gosnell at the end of their Defensive Levergun course.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, the question remains: is it worth the effort to teach an old gun new tricks? Based on our experience with these two builds and our range time at Gunsite, wed give an emphatic yes. While we certainly wont deny there are more efficient, ergonomic, and cost-effective defensive weapons on the market, that doesnt mean the venerable lever gun isnt worth owning. And if its worth owning, its worth modifying and improving with aftermarket parts, just like your favorite semi-auto carbine.

These two modernized lever guns were built to deliberately push the envelope and become as AR-like (or tactical, if you prefer that term) as possible.

Theyre unabashedly extreme, like classic muscle cars converted into fire-breathing supercharged dragsters. You may not want a full M-LOK forend and adjustable stock for your lever gun, much less an infrared laser and night-vision-height optic mount, and thats OK. Our intent was to show whats possible using existing off-the-shelf components and a little fine-tuning in the hands of lever gun specialists at Mad Pig Customs.

The result is a pair of rifles that never fail to stir up controversy on social media or draw a crowd at the local range. More importantly, theyre much more capable for dynamic shooting and defensive use than they were in unmodified form. Sorry, grandpa, you may not like it, but the future is now.
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The University of Georgias Executive Committee discussed updates regarding UGAs new medical school at the UGA Executive Committee council meeting on Wednesday.

Jack Hu, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, said that UGA is hoping for the school to be open by fall 2026, with 60 students accepted into the program. If the accreditation takes longer, Hu said that it will then be pushed to fall 2027.
It is 10 years since Bandhan Financial Services became the first microfinance institution (MFI) to receive the universal bank licence.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters

A year later, in 2015, it started operations.

Bandhans entry into banking was seen as a vote of confidence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the countrys microfinance sector.

Subsequently, the RBI awarded small finance bank licences to nine MFIs.

For any microlender that evolves into a bank, the challenge is how to quickly diversify the loan book to include a higher share of secured loan.

Microloans are unsecured. Conscious of this, the Kolkata-based Bandhan acquired affordable housing finance company Gruh Finance in 2019 from what was then HDFC Ltd.

This helped it to increase the share of its secured loan book.

The banks unsecured book, however, is still heavy at 55.5 per cent. Asset quality concerns over these unsecured microloans have returned.

Asset quality and NPA concerns

Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the banks gross non-performing assets (NPAs), as a percentage of gross advances, were below 2 per cent.

During the pandemic years, the gross NPA ratio shot up: to 6.81 per cent in 2020-21 (FY21) and 6.46 per cent in (FY22) from 1.48 per cent in 2019-20 (FY20).

The bank managed to bring it down to 4.87 per cent in FY23.

This financial year, though, the gross NPAs are on the rise again.

They shot up to 7.3 per cent towards the end of September, before slipping slightly to 7 per cent by the end of December, courtesy an NPA sale to asset reconstruction companies (ARCs).

Slippages were elevated (essentially in Emerging Entrepreneur Business, or EEB), with potential one-offs from system migration issues, but sale to ARCs has pushed down GNPLs/NNPLs (gross/net non-performing loans) to 7 per cent/2.21 per cent versus 7.32 per cent/2.32 per cent in Q2FY24.

"Despite this, the stress pool was sticky at 14.4 per cent (QoQ), indicating continuing forward flows, Elara Capital said in a note post the October-December earnings.

EEB, which is essentially the microloan portfolio, includes loans to both groups and individuals.

The third quarter saw EEB slippages of Rs 993 crore, 45 per cent of which were due to the migration to a new core banking system platform in October.

Then came festival-related holidays, which typically impact loan repayment collections, the bank said.

During an interaction with analysts, Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, managing director and chief executive officer of Bandhan Bank, said the slippages had reduced in November and December.

He assured that these would decline further in the months to come.

In a note after the Q3 earnings, brokerage house Anand Rathi said, Slippages are a high Rs 13.9 billion (5.4 per cent of loans), of which Rs 9.9 billion stemmed from the EEB book.

"[The] management stated that the slippage run rate sharply improved in December 2023, indicating lower stress formation.

EEB forms roughly 50 per cent of Bandhans total loan portfolio  down from 54 per cent in December 2022 and 65.4 per cent in December 2021.

The bank has clarified that 85 per cent of loans in the EEB book had been extended in FY24. Only 0.11 per cent loans disbursed this financial year, it said, had slipped to the non-performing category.

The days per due parameter had also shown signs of recovery. (Days per due is the number of days by which a borrower has missed an EMI payment.)

Repayment overdue for 61-90 days had fallen from Rs 720 crore in the June quarter to Rs 530 crore in December.

Repayment overdue also improved in the 1-30 days and 31-60 days categories between the April-June and October-December periods.

While the bank has brought down its dependence on the overall ECB portfolio, within it, EEB group loans, too, are expected to fall  from 33 per cent of the overall loan portfolio to 26 per cent by 2026, mainly because of other loans recording stronger growth.

Geographical diversification is also in focus, with the EEB portfolio from West Bengal and Assam falling below 45 per cent.

Focus on NIMs

Investors are also keeping a close eye on net interest margins (NIMs) since the bank raised deposits at a higher rate amid tight liquidity in the banking system.

The liquidity of the banking system, which shifted to a deficit in September, persisted throughout the October-December quarter.

The incremental bulk deposits were raised at a higher rate of 8.1 per cent in 3QFY24 and the full impact of the same is expected to be seen in 4QFY24, broking house Nirmal Bang said.

The banks NIM remained largely stable on a sequential basis at 7.2 per cent in Q3FY24.

Loan growth for the lender has continued to be robust with advances growing 7.7 per cent sequentially in the third quarter and 18.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1.16 trillion as on December 31, 2023.

In fact, the loan book has more than doubled since FY19, from Rs 44,776 crore.

Q3 saw better growth momentum, with 8 per cent QoQ loan growth and better growth across segments. Q4 being a strong quarter, expect growth momentum to improve, the Elara note said.

The CEOs term

The one person who has been part of the banks journey from the starting line is Ghosh, its CEO.

He has led Bandhan since its inception, but his term ends on July 9.

Last year, the board had approved his reappointment for three years.

The RBIs approval is awaited. This is another aspect that investors are tracking closely.

Broking firm Nirmal Bang had said that clarity about the status of an extension to Ghosh is a reason why the stock of Bandhan Bank will see an overhang in the near to medium term.

In recent times, the regulator has been strict about extending the term of bank CEOs.

A few years back, the RBI extended then RBL Bank MD and CEO Vishwavir Ahujas term for just one year, sending a clear signal that the lender needed to find a new leader.

Last year, the term of IndusInd Banks MD and CEO was extended by only two years though the board had approved a three-year extension.

And this year, the RBI denied Federal Bank MD & CEO Shyam Srinivasans extension for one year even if he was eligible.

According to RBIs recent norms, a CEO can serve up to 15 years.

Srinivansan will complete 14 years this year.

Asked whether the bank has received any communication from the regulator on his extension, Ghosh told Business Standard: It is not right to comment on the issue.

"My focus is business, compliance, mitigating risk, and good governance.

A decade after it became a full-fledged bank, Bandhan would want to be seen as a success story.

Disclaimer: This article is meant for information purposes only. This article and information do not constitute a distribution, an endorsement, an investment advice, an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities/schemes or any other financial products/investment products mentioned in this article to influence the opinion or behaviour of the investors/recipients.

Any use of the information/any investment and investment related decisions of the investors/recipients are at their sole discretion and risk. Any advice herein is made on a general basis and does not take into account the specific investment objectives of the specific person or group of persons. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
'Such steps would be a barrier and something people do not want.'

IMAGE: A Karnataka Rakshana Vedike member vandalises a signboard of a business establishment during a protest in Bengaluru to minimalise the usage of English and promote Kannada in banners and on signboards. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Karnataka government's decision to request multinational companies in the state to disclose the number of Kannadigas employed there has faced criticism from industry veterans who prioritise meritocracy over politics.

"This move to compel companies to hire more locals is not advisable. Instead, the government should promote and incentivise companies to generate more high-end jobs with locals. The information technology industry is global, and such policies will not benefit the sector," said Venkatraman Balakrishnan, chairman of Exfinity Venture Partners and former Infosys board member.

"The recent statement by a minister from Karnataka, proposing that MNCs display the number of Kannadigas employed on a notice board, is a misguided move," said T V Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital Partners and former Infosys board member.

"If the Karnataka government is genuinely interested in providing greater employment opportunities for Kannadigas, it would be better to invest more in higher education and skill development, particularly for those from North Karnataka, where high-quality educational institutions are scarce," Pai added.

No industry in Bengaluru discriminates against anyone in hiring, Pai stated.

"IT companies and MNCs in Karnataka hire based on objective tests and interviews. The government should keep in mind that there is no queue of people knocking on doors to set up offices in the state," Pai said.

"Every state is competing, and every state is trying to attract MNCs to create jobs. Such steps would be a barrier and something people do not want," he added.

Another C-suite level executive of a Bengaluru-based MNC concurred with the view that employment should be based on merit and not on language.

"Karnataka's entire growth story so far has been built on the premise of providing equal opportunities to all, which is crucial to nurturing innovation within the companies and the state," the executive said.

Karnataka is home to over 5,500 IT-IT-enabled services companies and nearly 750 MNCs contributing to over $58 billion in exports, providing direct employment to over 1.2 million professionals and creating over 3.1 million indirect jobs, according to the Karnataka Economic Survey 2022-2-23.

Commenting on the issue, Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder of TeamLease, said, "We keep seeing these spurts of unreasonable protectionist and populist moves at different points in various states. Any state economy not based on meritocracy cannot improve its gross domestic product or the per capita earnings of individuals. However, that is completely ignored."

After the government tabled the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development (Amendment) Bill in the legislative council, Karnataka's Minister of Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi said MNCs must display the number of Kannadigas employed on notice boards on their campuses.

'We are contemplating making information on Kannadigas employed at industries and MNCs public. It is under discussion, and rules will be framed,' the minister said.

With the Lok Sabha polls around the corner, a dispute over language in Karnataka has been flaring up over the past few months.

Pro-Kannada activists have been protesting and blackening signboards of outlets with their names in English after the civic body Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike issued a notification directing businesses that 60 per cent of their signboards must be in Kannada.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed to raise the minimum local content under public procurement order in government contracts.

But several local suppliers and multinational companies (MNCs) are saying such a steep target is not attainable.

Class-I suppliers, whose goods, services or works offered for procurement has local content equal to or more than 50 per cent may see it hiked to 70 per cent, while it may go up to 50 per cent from 20 per cent for Class-II suppliers.

Local manufacturers say the move to hike localisation will benefit foreign companies.

"As the specialised components are not manufactured in India, domestic players will be ineligible under the scheme.

"The component can then be procured only through imports from foreign companies.

It looks to support the Make in India programme, yet practically in technology products, reaching 50 per cent has been a challenge," said N K Goyal, chairman emeritus of the Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association, an association of telecom equipment players.

In mobile phones, localisation is only 15-20 per cent.

"Hence such a high PLI would make all manufacturers ineligible, Goyal added.

Ministries like the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have asked stakeholders, such as telecom equipment makers and those who participate in government trades, to furnish comments by March 12.

MNCs reckon that DPIIT targets are ambitious, but they also echo the concerns of local manufacturers.

The proposed increase will place significant pressure on the supply chain as specialised components and materials are not readily available or manufactured in India at competitive prices.

"This will only lead to an increase in costs and make Indian products less competitive, says a top executive of a telecom gear maker.

Telecom equipment MNCs point out that the PCB fabrication of telecom equipment is of a higher grade than that of consumer electronics, and such fabrication facilities are not available in India.

Therefore there is a need to consider the unique challenges and the availability of local sourcing in different sectors and set realistic localisation targets, a telecom player added.
Russian oil supplies to India will continue to flow unhindered and suppliers will come up with ways to sidestep secondary sanctions, a Russian official told Business Standard.

Kindly note the image has only been published for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy, Pixabay

Russian traders are considering options to stay one step ahead of Washington as the US resorts to a slew of secondary sanctions on the export of Russian crudes to weaken burgeoning oil trade between India and Russia, according to government and industry officials from both nations and ship-tracking data.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, speaking at the Munich Security conference, reiterated India's stand to buy Russian oil for the country's energy security.

Oil Secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at the India Energy Week in Goa that Russian barrels are not sanctioned for countries like India, but if the ships they are delivered on come under sanctions then India cannot buy such shipments.

Indian refining officials told Business Standard that there was no question of paying for cargoes arriving on sanctioned vessels, and in many cases such shipments are rejected even before the oil is loaded.

It is precisely this weakness that Washington has targeted, Indian officials told Business Standard.

By zeroing in on vessels that supply crude to India they have ensured that participants in trade like shippers, insurers, and most importantly Indian banks, with operations in Washington and dealing with US dollars, are forced to review their operations to process Russian trade flows.

India is not the only nation staring down Washington's sanction barrel. Mounting roadblocks to trade are beginning to affect oil supplies and Russia's economic relations with Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and to a lesser extent with China, industry officials said.

"While the US has every interest in discouraging India-Russia bilateral trade ties, and will use the threat of secondary sanctions, it is not likely that the logic of ever-closer trade relations between the two BRICS partners can be thwarted by the Biden administration easily," said London-based energy expert Tilak Doshi, who has decades of experience in the sector.

There was a noticeable 5 per cent monthly decline in oil tanker shipments from Russia to India in January compared to December, said Petras Katinas, an analyst covering Russia for Finnish think-tank CREA, attributing part of the decline to factors, such as OFAC (US) sanction enforcement.

An official from the Russian consulate told Business Standard at the India Energy Week that Russian oil supplies to India will continue to flow unhindered and suppliers will come up with ways to sidestep secondary sanctions.

Photograph: Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

The latest sanctions by the US are aimed at shipping companies.

In late December, Dubai-based shipping company Sun Ship Management, a key shipper of the biggest Russian grades like Urals and Sokol to India on over 50 vessels in the past year, was sanctioned.

The Sun Ship fleet has special ice-class vessels that are needed to transport a light, sweet premium grade like Sokol from Sakhalin-1 project, subject to extreme weather conditions, and in which state-run explorer ONGC has a 20 per cent stake.

Sokol, which is used by refiners to blend with comparatively heavier, higher sulphur Urals to make it more palatable in Indian refineries, constituted around 8 per cent of India's Russian crude purchases in 2023, and 10 per cent in November. Urals, Russia's biggest export, constitutes over 70 per cent.

Initially, these secondary sanctions targeted ships carrying higher-priced grades like Sokol.

Washington has now expanded it this month to cover ships loading Urals. NS Leader, a vessel that typically carries Urals grade to India, came under sanctions this month.

Russian traders are now seeking ways to counter these sanctions, refining officials said.

One such mechanism adopted by Rosneft to supply the Sokol grade, which may be used to ship Urals also, is the use of non-sanctioned carriers for the last leg of the journey to Indian ports.

Two Mumbai-based refining officials said that banks typically look at the ship that discharges the cargoes at the Indian port, and do not investigate all the ships that brought the fuel from Russia.

Rosneft succeeded in sending three Sokol cargoes of a combined 2.1 million barrels of oil this month to discharge at Vadinar, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam ports; two more cargoes may land end February at Visakhapatnam and Jamnagar.

Volumes still trail the 5 million barrels of Sokol received by Indian Oil in November but are still a jump from none received in December and January -- when 10 Sokol laden vessels, most owned by Sun Ship, had to turn back en route to India after fresh US sanctions.

None of the Sun Ship vessels are now directly delivering Sokol cargoes to India, refining officials said.

"There are several STS transfers happening," said Viktor Katona, an analyst for Kpler.

"STS is not necessarily a violation of sanctions but might indicate one," he added.

STS can also be an optimisation of routes for sanctioned vessels, Katona said, with nice, clean drops to the destination.

In case sanctioned vessels are idle, then there are fewer vessels available to ship Russian crude, which leads to an increase in freight rates, an Indian refining official said.

For instance, Stealth Maritime-owned Jaguar delivered a Sokol parcel on February 5 at Vadinar after receiving the crude from a Sun Ship-owned ice-class tanker Viktor Titov at ship-to-ship transfer point in Yeosu in South Korea, according to ship-tracking data from Paris-based market intelligence agency Kpler.

Leah Shipping-owned Seagull discharged a Sokol cargo at Mumbai on February 13 after loading at Yeosu STS the oil from the Sun Ship-owned Yuri Senkevich.

Similarly, Rani, owned by Grand Maritime, may deliver a Sokol cargo to Visakhapatnam after receiving the cargo from Pavel Chernysh, another Sun Ship ice tanker, at Yeosu STS.

In addition to the above shipments, there are over 11 million barrels of Sokol cargoes floating in Asian waters, according to Vortexa data.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
He is only the agent that can bring them that change for they are quite aware that he has articulated no vision on how to set Pakistan back on the rails, notes Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy (retd).

IMAGE: A portrait of Imran Khan is seen amid flags of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and the Jamat-e-Islami at a joint protest demanding free and fair results of the elections, outside the provincial election commission of Pakistan, in Karachi, February 10, 2024. Photograph: Akhtar Soomro/Reuters

Let's start at the beginning of this crisis two years ago. Imran Khan, a selected PM is chugging along, looking over his shoulders for guidance till tensions start building up between him and the then chief of army staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa who is on an extended tenure courtesy Imran Khan himself.

The issue is that the then DG ISI, an Imran acolyte, is being moved out by the COAS to command the Peshawar Corps.

Imran decides to challenge the COAS by sitting on this posting proposal. The COAS takes it as a personal affront.

By the time Imran has to ultimately acquiesce with much reluctance, he is already known to be acquiring a mind of his own on practically every issue, much at variance with perceived wisdom.

He questions the utility of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, tries to form a separate Islamic front with Turkiye and Malaysia thereby insulting Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Pakistan's largest benefactors and finally accuses the USA of conspiring to get him removed.

The last straw that breaks the camel's back is his visit to Russia on the very day the Ukraine offensive was launched, February 24, 2022, much against the COAS' wishes.

From then on it is steadily downhill till the vote of no-confidence (well stage managed, no doubt) pushes him out of office and onto the street.

The people of Pakistan are in the meantime watching this charade, this game of dumb charades actually.

They are now being asked to play guess the name of this film.

Watching the actors at play, they are guessing the name of the film and find it's the same film that plays repeatedly in their country.

They don't want to see this film again so they simply support Imran Khan who promises not to show them the same movie again.

That's all he promises. What's more important now is that the junior leadership in the army, the officers, the rank and file, the powerful ex-servicemen lobby and families too, fed up with the same film (the status quo), demand a new movie.

Imran Khan is not the change they demand; he is only the agent that can bring them that change for, after all, they are quite aware that he has articulated no vision on how to set Pakistan back on the rails but is now pitching himself as a martyr of the anti-establishment cause; no more, no less.

He then gets arrested on May 9 last year and all hell breaks loose.

Army establishments including the Lahore corps commander's official residence is raided by mobs with no real aim in mind but just to knock some busts off their pedestals and maybe snare a peacock or two. They succeed much to the chagrin of the army.

IMAGE: In happier times Imran Khan with then Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Now, the new COAS (General Syed Asim Munir) suddenly galvanises himself, realising after six months in the chair that he better crack down or the whole house of cards that the army has built for itself, will crumble.

So what does he do? He starts charging civilians under the Army Act and goes barnstorming across cantonments and military stations all over the country reminding everyone in khakis of their responsibilities except that his men know that politics is not their responsibility.

They have no choice but listen, and sullenly, they do. In the meantime, while the streets are seething with anger and while the Baluchis and the TTP are on a turkey shoot in their happy hunting grounds, a convicted PM is brought back with much fanfare, his convictions magically wiped out and he is told to please get back into the driving seat again.

However all this doesn't go according to plan because, remember, the common folk do not want to guess the same movie again and wish to see a new one, very different one from what the establishment actors pantomime.

So they wait patiently and quietly till the 8th of February and then they speak their mind.

Suddenly they find the Internet has gone on the blink and when it is restored, voila, they find the old actors back on stage.

Now, this agitates them to no end. They voted to see a new film but The Night of the Generals got them the same old film flickering on their screens.

This is a young generation who do not wish to see the old actors once again.

Enough of this game of dumb charades, they say. Where is the new film they ask? What is its name?

However there is no new film that they are eagerly awaiting.

It's the same old one that's playing in the theatres again, one they do not want to see.

Now the problem is that no one knows the name of this film, at least not yet.

Right now it is certainly not Captain, Oh My Captain.

So the guessing game of dumb charades continues while the old, boring film plays on.

Lieutenant General Gautam Moorthy, PVSM, AVSM VSM, (retd) is the founder and MD of CASA (The Current and Strategic Affairs Forum), an independent, virtual think-tank. He was a former Director General, Army Ordnance Corps and Administrative Member, Armed Forces Tribunal.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
'Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance. If he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message.'

IMAGE: Annie Raja begins her election campaign by paying homage to the memories of Areekkara Kuttappan who made crucial contributions to the social formation of Arala. Photograph: Kind courtesy Annie Raja/Facebook

Annie Raja, member of the Communist Party of India's national executive, is the CPI's candidate from Wayanad, Kerala.

Wayanad is represented in Parliament by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who won the seat by defeating the CPI's P P Suneer by a massive margin in 2019. The seat has been held by the Congress in three successive elections.

Ms Raja, a CPI veteran, is general secretary of the All India Federation for Women and married to CPI General Secretary Doraiswamy Raja.

The Left is part of the INDIA alliance, but has been a traditional rival of the Congress in Kerala.

The Left parties recently announced all 20 candidates in the fray for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.

CPI leaders have minced no words in saying that Rahul Gandhi should move out of Kerala and engage in a direct electoral contest with a BJP candidate instead.

"The Congress has not decided whether he will be the candidate from Wayanad or not," said Annie Raja.

"I hope good sense prevails and together we defeat the RSS-BJP government at the Centre," the CPI candidate tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in a phone interview while travelling through the constituency.

What made you decide to contest from Wayanad, a seat that Rahul Gandhi won with a huge margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha election?

This is not the first time the CPI is contesting from Wayanad. The Left Democratic Front has been contesting against the United Democratic Front for a very long time. It is nothing new. I am carrying out the responsibility given to me by my party.

IMAGE: Annie Raja being congratulated by her supporters on being selected to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Wayanad. Photograph: Kind courtesy Annie Raja/Facebook

Is this not a finger in the eye of the INDIA alliance? Both the Congress and CPI are part of this alliance against the BJP-led NDA?

Why should it be? In Kerala, the fight is between the Left Democratic Front and United Democratic Front. In the meeting of INDIA alliance partners it was made very clear by the Left parties that Kerala has had a tradition of LDF versus UDF contest and it will remain so.

Accordingly, the Left Front is contesting all the 20 seats in Kerala.

Does this not destabilise the shaky INDIA alliance on the national level because this is after all a national election?

In 2019, the Congress fielded Rahul Gandhi who defeated the CPI's P P Suneer who belonged to the minority Muslim community.

The CPI had contested in the last Lok Sabha election also and is doing the same this time.

IMAGE: Annie Raja being greeted by supporters on her way to Wayanad. Photograph: Kind courtesy Annie Raja/X

Would you be more accepting if any other Congress candidate except Rahul were to contest from Wayanad?

It is the prerogative of the Congress to select a candidate -- be it from its top leadership to the panchayat level. The Congress is an independent party just like the CPI. In a democracy, we should respect the right of individual parties to select their candidates.

In that spirit, the Left Front has announced all 20 candidates.

Do you think Rahul Gandhi, the leading face of the Opposition, should be directly fighting a BJP candidate rather than any other party?

That will definitely give a message to the Fascist forces that we mean what we say and are serious about our message. All the other INDIA alliance partners will support him.

Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance and if he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message, but that is finally for the Congress party to decide.

IMAGE: Annie Raja speaks to the media. Photograph: Kind courtesy Annie Raja/X

What are the chances of your victory considering it is a strong Congress seat?

Victory or failure is at the hands of the voter. We have tremendous confidence in the voters, and all the 20 Left Front candidates in Kerala will win. We are confident that the people will vote for us.

It is for the people to decide whom they want as their representative.

What message are you trying to convey through your candidature?

My message is that this election is very critical and crucial for the country because our Constitutional values like democracy, secularism have been undermined and destroyed by the RSS-BJP government.

It is important for the people to defeat them. We will fight it out and defeat the BJP-RSS. If I am elected as the people's representative I will be with them in good times and bad.

MPs do not do charity when they work for the people; it is the right of those who have elected them and even those who haven't -- this will also be our message to the people.

IMAGE: Supporters raise slogans for Annie Raja. Photograph: Kind courtesy Annie Raja/X

What changes can one expect in the country if Mr Modi wins another term?

I am afraid, of late, the India -- secular and democratic -- as we know is not there. We are hoping that we will reclaim the India that we cherish.

If Modi comes to power we don't know if the biggest democratic festival -- the elections will remain or not.

The fear is that India will become a theocratic State and that is what we want to avoid by mobilising secular, democratic and Left forces.

What are your impressions of Rahul Gandhi as a politician considering you are contesting the seat that he currently represents in Parliament?

He is a respectable leader. He is a sincere Congress leader and his sincerity does not need a certificate from anyone.

He has walked the length and breadth of the country. He is the face of the INDIA alliance. I have nothing personal. He is not my enemy nor am I his enemy. We have mutual respect for each other.

Moreover, I don't think we need to discuss this because the Congress has not decided whether he will be the candidate from Wayanad or not.

IMAGE: Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Lucknow. Photograph: ANI Photo

So there is a possibility that he may not contest from Wayanad?

I do not know. I hope good sense prevails and together we defeat the RSS-BJP government at the Centre and save this country and people from this tragedy.

Can the BJP win any seats in Kerala in 2024?

PM himself knows that winning seats in Kerala is not easy and that is why he has made repeated visits and road shows. The people of Kerala are democratic and strongly believe in secular values which is visible in the state.

The BJP will not win any seat.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Of 225 Rajya Sabha sitting members analysed, 33 percent have declared criminal cases against themselves while the total assets of these sitting MPs stood at Rs 19,602 crore, according to poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms.

IMAGE: A view of the new Parliament building, in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo

Also, 31 of them or 14 percent are billionaires.

The Association for Democratic Reforms also showed that 18 percent of these parliamentarians have declared serious criminal cases which include instances of murder and attempted murder.

In an analysis conducted by the ADR and National Election Watch, two Rajya Sabha sitting members have declared cases related to murder under IPC Section 302, while four MPs have declared cases related to attempt to murder under IPC Section 307.

"Out of the 225 Rajya Sabha sitting MPs analysed, 75 (33 percent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves and 40 (18 percent) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared serious criminal cases," the report said.

The analysis also delved into the distribution of these criminal cases across different political parties.

The BJP leads with 23 percent of its 90 Rajya Sabha members having declared criminal cases against themselves.

The Congress follows closely behind with 50 percent of its 28 MPs facing similar charges.

The ADR analysis said five (38 percent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha members from TMC, four (67 percent out of six members from RJD, four (80 percent) out of five MPs from Communist Party of India-Marxist, three (30 percent) out of 10 MPs from Aam Aadmi Party, four (36 percent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha members from YSRCP and two (20 percent) out of 10 MPs from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

Moreover, when considering serious criminal cases, the trend persists, with significant percentages of MPs from various parties facing such charges.

"Ten (11 percent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 9 (32 percent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha MPs from Congress, 3 (23 percent) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from TMC, 2 (33 percent) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from Rashtriya Janata Dal, 2 (40 percent) out of 5 Rajya Sabha MPs from CPI-M, 1(10 percent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from AAP, 3(27 percent) out of 11 Rajya Sabha MPs from YSRCP and 1(10 percent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from DMK have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits," the report said.

The report said 11 (61 percent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra, 8 (50 percent) out of 16 MPs from Bihar, 9 (29 percent) out of 31 MPs from Uttar Pradesh, 6(33 percent) out of 18 Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu, 6(67 percent) out of 9 MPs from Kerala and 7(44 percent) out of 16 MPs from West Bengal have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

The analysis covers 225 out of 233 Rajya Sabha members, with one seat from Maharashtra vacant and four seats from Jammu and Kashmir undefined.

Three MPs were not analyzed due to unavailability of their affidavits.

In addition to the criminal background, the analysis also delved into the asset holdings of Rajya Sabha members. It was found that the average assets per MP stand at a staggering Rs 87.12 crore.

Further dissecting the data, the report revealed significant disparities in asset holdings across different political parties.

Among major parties, 9 (10 percent) out of 90 Rajya Sabha members from BJP, 4 (14 percent) out of 28 Rajya Sabha members from Congress, 5 (45 percent) out of 11 MPs from YSRCP, 2 (20 percent) out of 10 Rajya Sabha members from AAP, 3 (75 percent) out of 4 Rajya Sabha members from TRS and 2 (33 percent) out of 6 MPs from RJD have declared assets valued more than Rs 100 crore.

Among the major parties, the average assets per MP for analysed MPs are as follows: BJP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 37.34 crore, Congress MPs have average assets of Rs 40.70 crore, TMC MPs have average assets worth Rs 10.25 crore, YSRCP MPs have average assets worth Rs 357.68 crore, TRS Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth a whopping Rs 1,383.74 crore, DMK Rajya Sabha members have average assets worth Rs 6.37 crore, and AAP Rajya Sabha members have average assets of Rs 114.81 crore.

Moreover, the total assets of the analyzed Rajya Sabha sitting members amount to a staggering Rs. 19,602 crore, according to the analysis.

When broken down by party, the total assets for analyzed MPs are as follows: BJP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,360 crore, Congress MPs have total assets of Rs 1,139 crore, YSRCP MPs have total assets of Rs 3,934 crore, TRS MPs have total assets of Rs 5,534 crore, and AAP MPs have total assets of Rs 1,148 crore.
Allegations of misconduct and dishonesty by Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes are at the heart of a report more than 600 pages long released Thursday by Chippewa County.

The reacted report, prepared by von Briesen & Roper attorney Jill Pedigo Hall, highlights concerns about Hakes' honesty and reliability, questions the credibility of his statements and accuses Hakes of attacking the integrity and reputation of the attorney conducting the investigation.

The Chippewa County Board hired the attorney to investigate Hakes' activity. After receiving the latest report, members voted to express "no confidence" in Hakes, cut communications with him and passed the report on to the district attorney for further legal review.

Hakes has expressed frustration with the investigation, doubts about the fairness of the investigator and displeasure with the cost of the ongoing deep dive into his past and present actions. He also stated that it has led to positive changes within the sheriff's office.

Records obtained by The Chippewa Herald show through December, von Briesen & Roper billed $129,000 for its investigation, which continued into February. Invoices from January and February were not yet available. Payments were made by the county's self-insured account with Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Co.

The investigators' latest report into Hakes was provided to the county board Feb. 13 and acts as a supplement to a prior report on Hakes released to the public Sept. 7.

Hakes was given the opportunity to augment the recent report prior to its release, according to county human resources director Toni Hohlfelder. He did not submit any augmentation.

Hakes said Thursday that Hohlfelder was accommodating but because he wasnt given a copy of the report itself, he would have needed to sit at her desk to review it and provide augmentation. He said his schedule did not allow him to give up that time.

Hakes instead released a public statement Thursday in which he took issue with the investigation, its conclusions and evidence as well as the investigator.

Report findings

One focus of Halls latest report is on the honesty and reliability of Hakes.

The findings of this continued investigation provide substantial evidence of the dishonesty of Sheriff Hakes in his responses to the First Report issued in this matter and his multiple public statements issued since September 20, 2023," Hall states.

The 31-page investigation report supplement came with 619 pages of attached exhibits.

According to Halls report supplement, Hakes attempted to distort the evidence and divert attention from his dishonesty by attacking Halls integrity and reputation.

"He has attacked this reporters integrity and professionalism through use of such defamatory terms as 'formed biases,' 'innuendo,' 'preconceived notions and opinions,' 'coerced interviews,' 'hostile interrogation,' 'sloppy,' 'negligent,' 'impropriety,' 'intentional misrepresentation,' and 'desperately searching for negative and derogatory information,' Hall wrote.

Halls initial investigation was based on in-person interviews with 25 people within the Chippewa County government, including county board supervisors, sheriffs office members, colleagues and officials.

The report supplement added information based on formal interviews conducted between Oct. 11 and Dec. 15 that involved 10 county board supervisors, nine additional sheriff's office members, one additional county manager, 10 follow-up interviews with sheriff's office members, a follow-up interview with the complainant, five community members, two district attorneys, a former Supreme Court marshal and three private citizens.

The report supplement raised concerns about Hakes' alleged lack of integrity and honesty.

The Chippewa County district attorney and human resources director have independently called into question his credibility, and a defense attorney has filed a motion in a criminal case to question his credibility as a witness.

District attorney Wade Newell raised concerns Hakes credibility may be called into question in numerous criminal cases based his time as Chetek police officer and as Chippewa County sheriff.

Chippewa County officials also investigated allegations Hakes made regarding past discriminatory practices within the department. The report said these were investigated and that "Sheriff Hakes was dishonest in representations he made" and "there was no factual basis for his allegations."

Hakes responds

As a new sheriff, I inherited what was in many ways a dysfunctional culture," Hakes states in an October letter to the Chippewa County Board. "I am actively attempting to change a culture that has been described to me as being demeaning to certain divisions, passing over the best applicants because of gender, quid pro quo favoritism and fear of retaliation."

When the board voted to continue investigating Hakes on Oct. 10, members said they would continue an independent investigation into his conduct. Hakes said he expected that would be done by someone other than Hall.

I do not believe that Attorney Hall at this point can truly be an objective investigator. She has already issued wrongful opinions and speculations. A fundamental reality that we learn in law enforcement is that once an investigator is invested in a theory of a case it is nearly impossible for that person to be objective in dealing with evidence that is inconsistent with that theory. For that reason, we almost always assign the case to someone new who truly can be independent of any preconceived notions, Hakes wrote to the board. While I believe continuing this investigation by hiring any outside party is a needless waste of taxpayer funds, bringing Attorney Hall back makes it extremely unlikely that any additional report is going to be impartial.

Hall wrote in her supplement that Hakes has not responded to allegations truthfully, has been uncooperative and has attempted to turn the investigation into a popularity contest.

He has made pronouncements based upon what he suggests is 'implied' instead of the clear evidence presented, the report states. He has attempted to refocus attention from issues around his honesty to likeability, which is not a subject of this investigation."

Hakes stated Thursday he believes Hall does not understand the role of an elected sheriff.

It is clear that Attorney Jill Pedigo Hall used this second report as an opportunity to defend her reputation and that of her firm and to continue to profit at the expense of Chippewa County taxpayers," Hakes stated. "There are many inaccurate statements in this report that show Pedigo Halls lack of understanding of the role of the Sheriff elected by and directly responsible to the people.

Hakes told The Chippewa Herald that he doesnt agree with the bulk of the report.

And I think there's plenty of things taken out of context there, he said.

Hakes also complained about the money, time and resources the county has invested in the investigation.

While he remains critical about the investigation, Hakes said it has led to some positive changes at the department.

We created and continue to utilize our Peer Support Team to assist with the onboarding of new employees, as well as the mental well-being of our staff. In my role as Sheriff, I have come to understand the limitations of my ability to fulfill all roles for all individuals, necessitating a more effective delegation of responsibilities, he wrote in an email Thursday. I have gained insight into the importance of articulating my viewpoints with precision, recognizing that my statements may not always be interpreted as intended. The lessons Ive taken from this experience will help me lead.
Describing the explosion at the city's popular eatery Rameshwaram Cafe on Friday as a "bomb blast", Karnataka police chief Alok Mohan on Friday said investigations are on and the police will find those who are behind it.

IMAGE: People seen running for cover after explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe that was caught on CCTV camera, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, March 1, 2024. Photograph: ANI on X

"At 1 pm, a bomb blast occurred at the hotel (cafe), nine people were injured, and no one is serious. We are investigating. FSL (forensic) teams have come and are checking. City police commissioner and other officers are at the spot. We will certainly identify who did it," Mohan, who visited the spot said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said no one has suffered serious injuries and the injured -- both staff and customers -- are being treated in hospital.

Asked whether an improvised explosive device was used for the blast, he said, "We are checking. Let's not say anything now itself. The FSL team has come and they are checking. Once they collect (samples from the spot), we will examine."

The DGP said he has spoken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G Parameshwara and has shared the information about the incident to them.

Asked about reports that some batteries found at the spot, he said once the FSL team does the full examination, there will be clarity.

Mohan also said that information about the incident has gone to the National Investigation Agency and Intelligence Bureau.
Citing "strong evidence" of election rigging in Pakistan, a group of influential lawmakers, including Muslim legislators, belonging to the ruling Democratic Party has urged US President Joe Biden to withhold "recognition" of a new government in Islamabad until a transparent and credible investigation is conducted.

IMAGE: Nawaz Sharif' supporters cheer as they gather at the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party office at Model Town in Lahore, February 9, 2024. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

The February 8 general election, marred by allegations of widespread rigging, in Pakistan, resulted in a hung Parliament with independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party winning more than 90 seats at the 266-member National Assembly.

Ex-premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N bagged 75 seats and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto's PPP got 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan won 17 seats.

In a joint letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers expressed concerns about "pre- and post-poll rigging in Pakistan's recent parliamentary elections" and urged the US Congress to "withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted".

Islamabad is a long-standing ally of Washington and it is in the interest of the US to ensure that democracy thrives in Pakistan and that election results reflect the interests of the Pakistani people, not the interests of the Pakistani elite and military, the letter sent on Wednesday said.

Since the election resulted in a hung Parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party have struck a post-poll deal along with four other parties to form a coalition government, which may effectively end Khan's chances of returning to power.

A party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government.

PTI has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the "mandate thieves" will result in the worst political instability.

"Given the strong evidence of pre- and post-poll rigging, we urge you to wait until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation has been conducted before recognising a new Pakistani government. Without taking this necessary step, you risk enabling anti-democratic behaviour by Pakistani authorities and could undermine the democratic will of the Pakistani people," the US lawmakers said.

The letter urged Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity and tasked state department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release.

It urged the Biden administration to "make clear" to Pakistani authorities that US law provides for accountability for acts that violate human rights, undermine democracy, or further corruption, "including the potential for military and other cooperation to be halted".

The letter noted that before the elections, former prime minister Khan was sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and 14 years on "questionable charges" of leaking state secrets and corruption. Members of his PTI party "were forced" to run as independents and prohibited from using the party symbol on the ballot, "despite consistently polling as the most popular party in the country".

"Leading up to the election. PTI members faced police raids, arrests, and harassment. On the day of the election, Pakistani authorities suspended mobile calls and data, making it harder for voters to find polling stations," the lawmakers noted.

While the pre-poll rigging efforts rightly received widespread international and domestic condemnation, attention has now turned to widespread allegations of past-poll rigging, they said.

"Concerns arose after delays in reporting final results and early returns showed PTI-backed candidates on a path to victory. Over the coming days and weeks, previously reported vote totals allegedly changed dramatically, while video evidence emerged on social media of purported abuses by security forces and election officials at polling stations, as results were delayed well past legal deadlines," the letter said.

The legislators noted that findings by nonpartisan observers also lend credibility to these concerns.

According to the Free and Fair Election Network, which is nonpartisan but has worked closely with election authorities, more than two-thirds of polling sites suffered from the kinds of election law violations that could have enabled changing outcomes of races, they noted, adding that these findings were echoed by other election monitors, human rights organisations, and the nation's media as well.

"This growing body of evidence and diversity of voices has led many of the leading observers, human rights organisations, and media organisations to call for a transparent, credible audit process to verify the true outcome of the election," they emphasised, urging the Biden administration "to show Pakistanis that the US stands with them in their fight for democracy and human rights".

According to a report in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, all 33 signatories are pivotal progressive Democrats essential for securing President Biden's second term.

It noted that influential Muslim lawmakers -- Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Andre Carson -- have also endorsed the "pro-PTI letter".

The letter was also signed by Indian-origin Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the chairperson of the Progressive Caucus.
The Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party took a jibe at Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Stalin on Friday by extending birthday wishes in Mandarin amid the ongoing 'Chinese flag' newspaper advertisement controversy.

IMAGE: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin. Photograph: ANI Photo

In a post that said 'happy birthday in his (CM Stalin's) 'favourite' language', the BJP posted a picture message with wishes written in Mandarin along with the Chief Minister's photo.

'On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu, here's wishing our CM MK Stalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!' the post on X said.

Controversy erupted on February 28 after a newspaper advertisement of the DMK government allegedly showcased a 'China flag' among rockets from other countries in the background.

The advertisement promoted the laying of the foundation stone for Indian Space Research Organisation's second launch pad complex in Kulsekarapatinam.

This invited criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was on his two-day visit to the state earlier this week.

He called out the ruling party in the state while he was addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli.

However, DMK MP K Kanimozhi defended the advertisement, saying, "I don't think India has declared China an enemy country."

"I don't know from where the person who did the artwork found this picture," Kanimozhi said.

"I don't think India has declared China an enemy country. I have seen that the Prime Minister has invited the Chinese PM and they have gone to Mahabalipuram. Just because you do not want to accept the truth, you are finding reasons to divert the issue," she said.

Meanwhile, DMK leader and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan accepted the mistake on Thursday after the Tamil Nadu government was left red-faced after an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that featured a rocket with the flag of China.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, attended by senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to hold deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls ended early on Friday.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, at the party headquarters, in New Delhi on Thursday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president JP Nadda and others are also present. Photograph: Shrikant Singh/ANI Photo

The meeting, which began around 10:30 pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.

BJP president J P Nadda and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting as the ruling party looks to name its candidates for a sizeable number of the 543 Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission (EC) announces the poll schedule.

The elections are expected to be held in April-May

Leaders from various states, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant, were among those who arrived for the meeting.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also came for the meeting.

State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective states are discussed.

A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent assembly polls, sources said.

Many Union ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya, are likely to be fielded in the general elections, after the party chose not to give them another Rajya Sabha term during the recent biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament.

The BJP's poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees.

The party's brain trust, including Shah and Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to draw the lists of probables, before the CEC takes a final call.
After nearly four months of extensive search, the body of the mother of an Indian soldier, alleged to have been abducted by cadres owing allegiance to Arambhai Tenngol in November last year, has been traced and is at present in the mortuary of an Imphal hospital, officials said here on Friday.

IMAGE: File image of Army and Assam Rifles personnel rescue civilians from violence-hit areas, in Manipur. Photograph: PTI Photo

The officials said the remains of Rifleman H Hoakip's mother, identified as Nengkim (60), are in the Imphal hospital and army was making all out efforts to shift it to Leimakhing Military Hospital from where it would be shifted to Churachandpur for last rites.

Hoakip, who was posted in Jammu and Kashmir sector, is at present on leave with his father, who escaped the brutal assault that took place on November 7 at Kangchup Chingkhong village in Manipur's Kangpokpi district. The family was going to Leimakhong.

On that day, the Manipur police had tweeted that a vehicle carrying five individuals belonging to the Kuki community (2 women and 3 men) en route from Churachandpur to Leimakhong was confronted by an enraged mob at Kangchup Chingkhong.

The mob forcibly took away four of them, while one escaped.

His father, identified as Manglun Haokip, was located by the army in a bad condition and he was airlifted to Base Hospital Guwahati after initial treatment at Leimakhing Military Hospital.

Rifleman H Hoakip has since been coordinating the transfer of his mother's mortal remains from Imphal to LMS, with plans to eventually transport the entire family, including himself, to their native place in Churachandpur via an Army helicopter, the officials said.

The father, during his conversation with the security forces, had identified the kidnappers as members of Arambhai Tenngol, a Meitei activist group, which has of late been involved in various anti-social activities.

The fate of the soldier's aunt Neilam (55), brother-in-law Jamkhotang (40) and cousin Thangjam Haokip (25) still remain unknown.

The state has witnessed escalating violence since May 3, 2023 with 219 casualties reported after a "Tribal Solidarity March" in the hill districts protested the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.

The Meiteis, constituting around 53 percent of Manipur's population and residing predominantly in the Imphal Valley, contrast the tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, who make up 40 percent and primarily inhabit the hill districts.
The meteoric rise of Shajahan Sheikh from a modest background of a helper in a local transport company to becoming the so-called 'tiger' of Sandeshkhali is what Bollywood film scripts are made of. And so does his fall.

IMAGE: Suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh being brought to Bhabani Bhawan in the CID office regarding the Sandeshkhali incident, in Kolkata on Thursday, February 29, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo

Sheikh, a key accused in sexual assault and land grab in Sandeshkhali, was arrested in the early hours of Thursday after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed large-scale protests by women.

He was remanded to 10 days of police custody by a local court. Following his arrest, the TMC also removed Sheikh from all party positions.

The rise of Sheikh started towards the fag end of the erstwhile Left Front rule in Bengal. After spending a few years as a helper in passenger vehicle services from Sandeshkhali to Sarberia, he got into the fish business.

"One of his maternal uncles was into pisciculture and Shajahan started helping him. After a few years and rapid development in business, they became No. 1 in the trade in Sandeshkhali area," a retired police officer, who was posted in the North 24 Parganas district during that time, told PTI.

Sheikh began his own baby shrimp business by 2004, when he had already created a 'Robinhood-like' image in Sandeshkhali, a riverine area in North 24 Parganas district.

On his family background, the ex-police officer hinted at Sheikh's roots in Bangladesh, from where he allegedly crossed the borders to come to West Bengal during the late 90s.

His proximity with a local Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA is believed to have helped him develop a 'controlling power' in the brick kiln industry in the area.

However, after the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, ending the 34-year Left Front rule in the state, Sheikh faced problems continuing his domination in the area. So, he switched sides in 2013.

When contacted, a senior leader of the TMC, who did not want not to be named, claimed that a former minister who used to wield considerable influence in the region and is currently in jail in a corruption case had played a vital role in the induction of Sheikh into the TMC.

"It was him (the ex-minister) who realised that Shajahan would help the party garner minority votes in Sandeshkhali. Shajahan also played a crucial role in the party's victory in the Lok Sabha constituency in 2019. As a reward, he was given a ticket to fight the panchayat elections and he won with flying colours," he said.

Sheikh was made the upa-pradhan (deputy head) of the panchayat marking his rise in the TMC and then the chief of the party's Sandeshkhali unit.

In 2022, he won a seat in the Zilla Parishad.

By then, he had got back the power to pull strings in local fishery units, including baby shrimp business, and brick kilns.

"He had under his control nearly 200 fishery units, local wholesale fish markets, processing centres for baby shrimps as well as supplying them to fish farmers in all corners of the state," the TMC leader said.

Known for his fondness of motorbikes, Sheikh owns nearly 20 two-wheelers and a few four-wheelers, an officer in Basirhat Police District said.

According to documents he had submitted to the State Election Commission before the panchayat polls held last year, Sheikh is a businessman having a yearly turnover of Rs 19.8 lakh and bank deposits of more than Rs 1.9 crore and owner of around 43 bighas of land and a house at Sarberia in Sandeshkhali area.

During his rise in and around Sandeshkhali, Shajahan started gaining recognition as the messiah as well as the last word in family and land disputes.

"Shajahan is the person who ensured that Sandeskhali is free from any opposition. A sense of fear around 'Bhai' whom even the police used to refer to his assistance whenever locals approached them with any complaint," veteran CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said.

Incidentally, after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Sheikh was named in a first information report (FIR) following clashes between TMC and Bharatiya Janata Party activists from the locality resulting in the deaths of two persons.

On January 5 this year, while trying to enter Sheikh's residence, a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had to face resistance and assault from the villagers.

They went there as part of investigations into the ration distribution scam.

Weeks after, women started protesting and gheraoed the local police stations demanding the immediate arrest of Sheikh and his associates Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar holding them responsible for land grabbing and gang-raping women.

This led the opposition parties in Bengal to escalate their demands to arrest Sheikh and his men immediately.

The BJP, CPI-M, and the Congress alleged that the ruling TMC administration has been 'giving protection' to Shajahan and his men while some of the TMC leaders claimed that Shajahan was wrongfully framed by the opposition parties who have joined hands keeping in mind the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Shajahan was on the run since then until police picked him up from Minakah, around 30 km from Sandeshkhali, early Thursday.
The human mind is an enigma and there can be myriad reasons for a man or a woman to die by suicide, the Supreme Court has said while acquitting a man charged with abetting the suicide of his landlady 24 years ago.

IMAGE: A view of the Supreme Court of India. Photograph: ANI Photo

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Ujjal Bhuyan said it may not always be the case that someone has to abet commission of suicide and circumstances surrounding the deceased in which he finds himself are relevant.

"Human mind is an enigma. It is well neigh impossible to unravel the mystery of the human mind. There can be myriad reasons for a man or a woman to commit or attempt to commit suicide: it may be a case of failure to achieve academic excellence, oppressive environment in college or hostel, particularly for students belonging to the marginalized sections, joblessness, financial difficulties, disappointment in love or marriage, acute or chronic ailments, depression, so on and so forth," the bench said.

In this case, the man, a former tenant, proposed to his landlady, who was returning after dropping her sister's children off at school.

The man threatened her that if she did not agree to marry him, he would destroy the families of her sisters, outrage their modesty and kill them.

After she reached home, the woman informed her sisters about the incident over the phone. Thereafter, she consumed poison in the house.

She was rushed to hospital where she died on July 6, 2000.

The top court said there was no evidence on the basis of which it can hold the appellant guilty of abetting the suicide of the deceased.



"While the death of a young woman is certainly very tragic, it cannot be said with any degree of certainty that suicide has been proved; the other essential ingredient constituting the offence under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of IPC, viz, abetment cannot also be said to have been proved," the bench said.

The court said on a conjoint reading of the entire material on record, it is of the opinion that the prosecution had failed to prove the charge of abetment to suicide against the appellant.

"The settled legal position, the evidence on record and the glaring omissions of the prosecution as pointed out above, leaves no room for doubt. We are therefore of the unhesitant view that the conviction of the appellant is wholly unsustainable," the bench said.
The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police on Friday sought to close a case related to an alleged Rs 25,000 crore scam at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank in which Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was among the accused.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases the 2nd and 3rd instalments of Namo Shetkari MahaSanman Nidhi during a public event, in Yavatmal, as Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar look on, February 28, 2024 . Photograph: ANI Photo

Special public prosecutor Raja Thakre filed a 'C summary' report before RN Rokade, special judge for cases against MPs and MLAs.

The court will hear the matter on March 15.

The court will now decide whether to accept the report or direct the agency to continue the investigation and file a chargesheet.

A 'C summary' report is issued by police when a criminal case is filed due to a mistake of facts, or the offence is of civil nature.

The prosecution had on January 20 filed a second closure report in the case, saying nothing incriminating was found even after a fresh investigation.

The EOW had filed its first closure report in September 2020, and the court had accepted it.

But in October 2022, the EOW informed the special court that it was conducting further investigations based on points raised by the complainants (who had filed a petition opposing closure) and the Enforcement Directorate.

Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as deputy CM in July 2023 after parting ways with his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar.

The EOW filed the First Information Report in the case under Indian Penal Code sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act following a Bombay High Court order of August 2019.

The case pertained to loans of thousands of crores of rupees obtained by sugar cooperatives, spinning mills and other entities from district and cooperative banks in the state.

The FIR named Ajit Pawar, then a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and more than 70 others who were directors of the MSC Bank during the relevant period, as accused.

The state exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 25,000 crore between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, due to irregularities at the bank, the FIR claimed.

Banking and Reserve Bank of India regulations were violated while disbursing loans to sugar mills at very low rates and selling off assets of defaulter businesses at throw-away prices, the EOW then alleged.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday declined NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar's invite for a meal at his residence in Baramati in Pune district on Saturday, citing a hectic schedule.

Shinde sought to make light of the invite extended by his political rival, saying nothing much should be read into it.

Two days ago, the former Union minister sprang a surprise when he invited Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, all his political rivals, to his residence in Baramati for a meal. Shinde and the two deputy CMs will be in Baramati, the home turf of the NCP founder, on Saturday to inaugurate a job fair.

Fadnavis has also declined the invite, citing his busy schedule, while the stand of Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's politically estranged nephew who parted ways with him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year, was not yet known.

Chief Minister Shinde told reporters after the end of the budget session of the state legislature that he had conveyed to the senior Pawar that it wasn't possible for him to visit his home.

"We have a tight schedule (on Saturday) as after the Baramati event we have to go to Ahmedabad. I told him (Sharad Pawar) that next time on my Baramati visit, I would visit him," he said.

Shinde maintained that nothing much should be read into the Rajya Sabha MP's invite, adding, "If someone comes close to your home, you are bound to invite him over."
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan accepted the mistake on Thursday after the Tamil Nadu government was left red-faced after an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that featured a rocket with the flag of China.

IMAGE: A portion of the advertisement that appeared in the newspapers. Photograph: X

Radhakrishnan said that a small mistake was made in the newspaper advertisement by them.

"A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area. The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us," said the DMK leader.

Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party president K Annamalai on Wednesday criticised the ruling DMK for using the 'China flag' in rocket advertisement promoting the proposed second launch pad of ISRO in the state.

Annamalai alleged that DMK has been 'desperate' to paste stickers since the announcement of the second launch pad coming up in the state was made.

'This advertisement by DMK Minister Anita Radhakrishnan to leading Tamil dailies today is a manifestation of DMK's commitment to China and their total disregard for our country's sovereignty. DMK, a party fighting high on corruption, has been desperate to paste stickers ever since the announcement of ISRO's second launch pad in Kulasekarapatinam was released,' Annamalai said in a post on X.

Earlier, the BJP Tamil Nadu chief further accused the DMK of being the reason Tamil Nadu lost Satish Dhawan Space Centre to Andhra Pradesh.

'The amount of desperation only proves their attempt to bury their past misdeeds, but we must remind them that DMK was why the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is today in Andhra Pradesh and not Tamil Nadu,' Annamalai said.

'When the first launch pad of ISRO was conceptualised, TN was the first choice of ISRO. TN CM Annadurai, who could not attend the meeting because of severe shoulder pain, deputed Mathiyazhagan, one of his ministers, for the meeting,' the post further mentioned.

'ISRO officials were kept waiting for a long time, and Mathiyazhagan was finally brought to the meeting in an "inebriated state" and was incoherent throughout the meeting. And this was the treatment our country's space programme received 60 years ago. DMK hasn't changed much and has only become worse!' he added.

The controversy erupted following a newspaper advertisement by the DMK government promoting the laying of the foundation stone for ISRO's second launch pad complex in Kulsekarapatinam, which showcased a 'China flag' among rockets from other countries in the background.

Meanwhile, #Thankyoukanimozhi was trending on the micro-blogging site, X, on Wednesday, lauding DMK MP from Thoothukudi, Kanimozhi, for her efforts towards bringing ISRO's second launch pad to Kulasekarapatinam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier in the day, also criticised the DMK government over the newspaper advertisement while he was addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli.

"The DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China's sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu," Modi said while addressing a gathering in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.

The prime minister alleged that the DMK is 'not ready' to accept India's progress in the space sector.

"They are not ready to accept India's progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India's space in it. They did not want to present India's space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it's high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds," Modi said.

The prime minister was on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, during which he launched multiple development projects in the state.
A law firm has billed more than $129,000 for its investigation into Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes for allegations of sexual misconduct and malfeasance.

Records obtained by The Chippewa Herald show through December, von Briesen & Roper billed $129,000 for its investigation, which continued into February. Invoices from January and February were not yet available.

Payment receipts provided by the county show between June 9 and Dec. 31, the countys self-insured liability insurer, Wisconsin Municipal Mutual Insurance Co., made 17 payments to the law office of von Briesen & Roper.

Four payments were described as miscellaneous attorney expenses such as travel, and the other 13 are listed as attorney legal fees.

The payments were for attorneys fees and costs on each invoice received by WMMIC and Chippewa County from von Briesen and Roper, Chippewa County Corp. Counsel Todd Pauls wrote in an email in response to a record request from The Chippewa Herald.

The funds came from the countys self-insured retention account, not directly from the county, Pauls wrote.

The largest payment was $20,322 for fees during the month of August. The second largest payment was $19,497 for the month of July. Between June 9 and July 11 there were an additional three payments totaling $18,686.

Attorney Jill Pedigo Hall released two reports as part of her investigation since von Briesen & Roper was hired by the county. The first report was released Sept. 7. The 87-page document showed the investigation into Hakes began with allegations of sexual harassment but expanded to include a host of other concerns about alleged misconduct and policy violations.

On Thursday, Halls second supplemental report into Hakes was released. The report concluded that Hakes was repeatedly dishonest and misleading both on the job and in the course of being investigated.

Hakes said Thursday the amount spent on the investigation troubled him.

It makes me feel discouraged and disheartened. Because with the amount of money that they've spent on this investigation, we could have hired a second drug cop, which we desperately need, he said. "We could increase our courthouse security staffing, which we need, and the $18,000 a month theyre spending on average into my investigation would pay for our internet hotspots that I been trying to get back so we have better connectivity while we're in the field taking calls for service."

On Feb. 20, after the final report was provided to the Chippewa County Board, supervisors approved a pair of motions stating they had no confidence in Hakes, would cut communications with him and then forwarded the investigation reports to the district attorney for review. The board also agreed to only get information and reports regarding sheriffs department administrative and law enforcement matters from the departments chief deputy or chief deputys designee.

Hakes said the county board was misguided.

Tonight the county board spent over four hours in closed session reviewing yet another report from Madison-based attorney Jill Pedigo Hall in an investigation that has now topped over $100,000 in taxpayer funds, Hakes stated after the Feb. 20 meeting. Hall was given a blank check and unlimited scope to further tarnish my reputation.

Hakes said in January he believed the investigation could have been handled in a more efficient manner.

I never once supported any use of any taxpayer funds on this investigation at all," he told The Chippewa Herald. "I tried to cooperate without the investigator being involved to keep the cost of the situation as minimal as possible to the taxpayers.

Hakes also took issue with the county's use of a Madison-based law firm.

There is a lot of things and a lot of good that money could have been spent on, and I was willing to cooperate with them," he said. "And if they would have had an outside law enforcement agency investigate, it would have been done legally, professionally and free.
The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.

IMAGE: The Tejas Mark-1A's successful maiden flight, February 19, 2024. Photograph: Spokesperson MoD/X

In 1993, when development work began on the Tejas Mark-1, the Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) -- the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory set up to oversee the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) project -- took on the challenge of making the new fighter highly manoeuvrable and safe.

These conflicting features were achieved through world-class avionics that combined an unstable design (which continuously tended to throw the aircraft out of the sky); with a quadruplex fly-by-wire flight computer that continuously stabilised the fighter.

The skills that went into this sophisticated design had been cultivated since the early 1960s when Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) designed and built the HF-24 Marut fighter bomber.

On February 19, this avionics design capability was taken a step further.

In a significant step forward for the Tejas Mark-1A programme, a new 'Digital Fly by Wire Flight Control Computer' (DFCC) was integrated and test flown by ADA on a Tejas LCA prototype.

On February 20, the defence ministry announced that the 'DFCC has been indigenously developed by ADA for the Tejas Mark-1A.'

The Indian Air Force is buying no more than 40 Tejas Mark-1 fighters.

After that, it will buy 83 Tejas Mark-1A fighters, for which it signed a contract with HAL in 2021.

The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.

The former is being fitted with a highly capable active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an electronic warfare suite with an on-board jammer, a Combined Interrogator and Transponder and a digital map generator that carries the complete digital map data of South Asia.

The Mark-1A will also carry the Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM).

With a range of 60-70 kilometres, the IAF bought the ASRAAM from MBDA UK, for upgrading its Jaguar fighters.

Now each Tejas Mark-1A will carry two ASRAAMs on its outboard stations.

Integrating these weapons and avionics onto the Tejas Mark-1A requires a more powerful and capable mission computer, with connections that can connect the new digital world with the older Tejas fighter's analogue ports and cabling.

This will be the function of the DFCC. The defence ministry says the new DFCC will feature a Quadraplex Power PC-based processor, high-speed autonomous state machine-based I/O controller, enhanced computational throughput and complex on-board software complied with DO178C level-A safety requirements.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Bharat Rashtra Samithi MP BB Patil joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday in yet another setback to the regional party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls as the country's ruling party looks to boost its tally in Telangana and other southern state.

IMAGE: Former Bharat Rashtra Samithi MP BB Patil. Photograph: Courtesy Facebook

The development came a day after Pothuganti Ramulu, the BRS MP from the Nagarkurnool parliamentary constituency in the state, joined the BJP, which is expected to field the son of the Dalit leader from the seat and Patil from Zahirabad, which he currently represents in Lok Sabha.

After the BRS lost the assembly elections recently, a number of its leaders quit the party to join the BJP or the Congress, which is in power in the state now.

Two-term MP Patil lauded the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the party's Telangana in-charge Tarun Chugh and its OBC morcha chief K Lakshman.

On Thursday, Ramulu, his son Bharat Prasad and some other BRS leaders from had joined the BJP.

Patil told reporters Modi has vision for the development of India and that is why the country has seen so much of work in the last 10 years. "He is known as the most trusted leader in the world," he added.

He praised the Modi government for the Ram temple construction, the repeal of Article 370, banning the practice of triple talaq, and giving free Covid vaccines among other issues.

"For the development of my parliamentary constituency and Telangana, there is no other option than taking this step. We need funds and work from the Centre. Definitely, we got a lot of help from the Modi government," he said.

Chandrasekhar said Patil's vote of confidence in Modi's leadership reflects the endorsement the prime minister has from across the country.

Chugh claimed the BRS is finished now and the party is left only with K Chandrashekar Rao, his son KT Rama Rao and daughter K Kavitha.

BRS leaders are fed up with the family's nepotism and corruption, he added.
His legacy will endure through the countless lives he touched, the legal precedents he set, and the principles he upheld.

K T S Tulsi pays rich tributes to Fali Nariman, the doyen of the legal fraternity who passed into the ages last week.

IMAGE: Fali Sam Nariman. Photograph: ANI Photo

The legal fraternity and nation mourn the loss of one of India's most distinguished legal minds, Senior Advocate Fali S Nariman who departed this world on Tuesday, February 20, at the age of 95.

Nariman's journey through life and the legal field was marked by brilliance, tenacity, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

A stalwart in the field of law, his illustrious career spanned several decades, leaving an indelible mark on the legal landscape of India.

Nariman earned widespread acclaim for his fearless advocacy and legal acumen. His courtroom presence was formidable, and his eloquence unmatched.

He was a distinguished constitutional law advocate who argued many landmark judgments including the renowned National Judicial Appointments Commission case.

He also appeared in the T M A Pai case concerning the scope of minority rights under Article 30 of the Constitution of India, the significant SC AOR Association case, which resulted in the collegium system, and many others.

He famously tendered his resignation as the additional solicitor general of India in June 1975 as a demonstration against the emergency proclamation order issued by the Indira Gandhi administration.

His legal prowess and upright morals earned him respect not only in India but also internationally.

IMAGE: Mr Nariman, right, and Dr Arun Shourie at a protest at the Press Club of India in New Delhi, June 8, 2017, against the CBI raids on NDTV promoters Radhika and Prannoy Roy's homes. Photograph: Subhav Shukla/PTI Photo from the Rediff Archives

An outspoken advocate for secularism and civil liberties, Nariman was a significant public figure whose discerning assessments of judicial developments carried considerable weight.

His principled stand on various issues showcased his commitment to democracy and the Rule of Law.

He was morally upright and duty-bound as an individual so much so that in the final judgment in the Cauvery Water Dispute: State of Karnataka v State of Tamil Nadu, Civil Appeal No. 2453 of 2007 delivered on February 16, 2018, the Supreme Court took note of his stand on the issue and observed: 'We think it necessary to state here that Mr. Nariman had courageously lived up to the highest tradition of the Bar.'

In addition to his legal prowess, Nariman was a celebrated author, penned several books that reflected his thoughts on law, politics, and life.

His book Before Memory Fades is widely read among young lawyers and continues to be a source of inspiration for aspiring legal minds.

In his autobiography, he wrote: 'I have lived and flourished in a secular India. In the fullness of time if God wills, I would also like to die in a secular India.'

IMAGE: A prayer meeting for Mr Nariman at the Parsi Anjuman Dharmshala in New Delhi, February 23, 2024. Photograph: Amit Sharma/ANI Photo

Nariman's passing leaves a void that will be challenging to fill.

His legacy will endure through the countless lives he touched, the legal precedents he set, and the principles he upheld.

As the nation bids farewell to this legal luminary, his contributions in the pursuit of justice will be remembered with gratitude and respect.

Today, he has bequeathed forth a substantial body of original work that serves as a source of motivation for forthcoming generations to aspire to and emulate his standards, as they transcend temporal boundaries.

May his soul rest in peace.

K T S Tulsi is a senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP from Chhattisgarh.
There's much talk in the United States about how the main contenders in November's presidential election are old and have dodgy memories.

But as The Wall Street Journal newspaper pointed out on Wednesday, the leaders of the most populous nations on earth are over 70.

We all know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will turn 74 on September 17, but do you know how old these leaders are?

You have to answer each question to move on to the next.

JOE BIDEN A. 79 B. 81 C. 80 B.

Joe Biden will turn 82 on November 20. If he wins the November 5 election, he will be the oldest American president to take office.

The USA is the third most populous country in the world with 339,996,563 people (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Joe Biden at Raleigh-Durham international airport in Cary, North Carolina, January 18, 2024. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters XI JINPING A. 70 B. 71 C. 73 A.

The Chinese tyrant turned 70 on June 15 last year. Like Mao Zedong, China will be rid of him only when he dies since he has dismantled the two terms for a Chinese leader system set up by Deng Xiaoping.

China is the second most populous country on the planet with 1,425,671,352 people (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Xi Jinping in Beijing, December 20, 2023. Photograph: Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via Reuters VLADIMIR PUTIN A. 71 B. 74 C. 75 A. Putin was 47 when he became prime minister in 1999. He has ruled Russia either as president and prime minister, overseeing its transition from fledgling democracy to a neo-Stalinist dictatorship.

Russia is the world's ninth most populous nation with 216,422,446 people (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Vladimir Putin at the Russia Expo in Moscow, January 23, 2024. Photograph: Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool/Reuters LULA A. 81 B. 80 C. 78 C.

Luiz Incio Lula da Silva or simply Lula was 58 when he was first elected Brazil's president in 2003. He served two terms till 2011 and was re-elected for a third term last year. Brazil is the most populous country in South America with 216,422,446 people (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Lula speaks at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) at the Chancellery in Berlin, December 4, 2023. Photograph: Liesa Johannssen/Reuters SHEIKH HASINA A. 77 B. 71 C. 76 C.

Bangladesh's prime minister was born a month and a fortnight after the birth of East Pakistan.

Bangladesh has 172,954,319 people (as in 2023) and is the world's 8th most populated nation (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Sheikh Hasina speaks to foreign observers and journalists at the prime minister's residence in Dhaka, January 8, 2024. Photograph: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters BOLA AHMED TINUBU A. 71 B. 75 C. 72 A.

Chief Tinubu was elected president of Nigeria last year. The most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria has 223,804,632 people and is the 6h most populous country on earth (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrives at a polling station to cast his ballot in Ikeja, Lagos, February 25, 2023. Photograph: James Oatway/Reuters SHEHBAZ SHARIF A. 73 B. 72 C. 70 B.

Pakistan's prime minister designate is a couple of years younger than his elder brother Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan is the fifth most populated nation on earth with 240,485,658 people (as in 2023).



IMAGE: Shehbaz Sharif, during his first term as prime minister, addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, September 23, 2022. Photograph: Caitlin Ochs/Reuters PRABOWO A. 73 B. 71 C. 72 C.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country on earth with 277,534,122 people (as in 2023), it ranks behind the US and ahead of Pakistan on the list of most populated nations.

Prabowo won this month's presidential election though the result has not been made official yet. He will succeed Joko Widodo, who is 62.



IMAGE: Prabowo Subianto with Vice President candidate Gibran Rakabuming Raka at an event to watch the results of the general election in Jakarta, February 14, 2024. Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters DONALD J TRUMP A. 75 B. 77 C. 79 B.

Trump believes he has the 2024 presidential election wrapped up. If he does, he will equal Joe Biden's record of the oldest president to be sworn in -- Biden was 78 on January 20, 2021; Trump will be the same age on January 20, 2025 if he is (hopefully not!) elected on November 5, 2024.



IMAGE: Donald J Trump at a Fox News town hall with Laura Ingraham in Greenville, South Carolina, February 20, 2024. Photograph: Sam Wolfe/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Feature Production: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Sunshine and clouds mixed. High near 45F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A few flurries are possible. Low 29F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Dozens of representatives from Columbus area businesses packed the IMC room at Columbus High School on Feb. 28 for the Perkins Advisory Committee Meeting they hold every year.

More than that, they were there to talk about the future, both for students and for business.

"It will tell us 'what are we looking for in employees?' and 'are they going into a field we're going to need?,' knowing one day they're going to come back to the community and be our workers," said Juli Thelen, a community outreach specialist and executive assistant at Behlen Manufacturing Co. "(It is about) knowing what's important to them as we grow."

Those in attendance represented all kinds of job fields, from medical to manufacturing, city administration, mechanical work, education and more. They were there to learn about career and technical education offerings at the school and discuss how they, as businesses, see the incoming workforce through that lens.

High School Principal Dave Hiebner said it was important to have those local industries present as stakeholders in this conversation. The Perkins grant is a set amount each year and varies based on enrollment and similar factors.

Hiebner's role is to ensure the funds are spent responsibly. As Columbus High School applies independently, their responsibilities and numbers are a little different than a whole district or education service unit.

"Any CTE program in Nebraska should be looking at those local needs, what students want, what industries want and how we blend together to give our students the best opportunities possible," Hiebner said.

Career Coordinator Allie Bastian was the one responsible for sourcing those individuals, which she said is an important part of prepping CHS students for the workforce once they leave CHS.

Like Thelen, Bastian said the goal is for these graduates to stay or return once they've graduated and pursued some kind of training or education.

"We always want industry and community college input because we want to meet what they need, we want to keep graduates in Columbus, and if not in Columbus, in Nebraska and CHS is doing that very well," Bastian said.

Bastian explained that industries can fund scholarships or training and the grant allows funding for programs and resources while students are still in high school on top of that. As a specific example, the Perkins Grant helped the school implement pre-engineering, electronics, mechatronics and robotics instructor Adam Whitmore's programmable logic controller curriculum.

"That was a need students were interested in. He could teach it, he also teaches at Central Community College, it really helps their futures. We're really able to fill all the spaces with CTE money we wouldn't have without it, honestly," Bastian said. "It helps students prep for the future. You don't have to go to a four-year college anymore, it gives them more opportunities."

It also provides for child development equipment, culinary, health science and video production equipment. For example, the mock animals used for simulated butchery in culinary and food science classes fell under Perkins funding. In total, it accounted for $45,199 in 2023-2024.

In the last year or so, manufacturing has shown increased interest among outgoing seniors, something Bastian said she found interesting. In the past, health science has been a steady leader, but manufacturing, human services, law enforcement and firefighting has shown increased interest.

Based on the excellent attendance, Thelen said her biggest takeaway from the event was that there is interest in the youth who are going into education or the workforce, and that it comes from a wide array of businesses.

"This is a huge group this time, a very good, diverse group here and it shows how important we find the work that's happening here in the high school, how important it is to our workforce," Thelen said.
Mika Gadsden is well versed in the electoral process, having run for mayor, served as a polling precinct clerk and worked as a political activist over the past decade.

But Gadsden said even she was having a hard time determining which congressional district she is slated to vote in later this year in South Carolina's Charleston County.

Her confusion stems from a process known as gerrymandering, in which political parties in power manipulate the boundaries of voting districts to gain an electoral upper hand.

The process can amount to an "assault on democracy," Gadsden said.

The effects of gerrymandering are neither new nor uncommon, but with Democrats and Republicans currently splitting control of Congress by the narrowest of margins, experts say a small number of pending redistricting battles and newly released maps could help determine which party holds the levers of power in the U.S. House of Representatives after this year's elections. The states where the stakes are highest include:

South Carolina, where the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether to allow a new congressional map to stand.

New York, where the state Legislature rejected this week the latest congressional map drawn by a bipartisan commission and adopted a new one.

Wisconsin, where a recent lawsuit could lead to the redrawing of congressional maps.

Louisiana, where a new map released in late January creates an additional majority-Black congressional district.

North Carolina, where redistricting has been the subject of Supreme Court rulings and ongoing lower-court fights.

South Carolinas electoral maps  redrawn in 2021  moved Gadsden and some 30,000 other Black voters out of a competitive district and into one that has been in Democratic hands for four decades.

The process, she said, has sown seeds of confusion" and really does demoralize a lot of people who find their vote will carry less weight.

SC maps 'really an assault on democracy,' voter says

What we see is that the powers that be have pretty much picked the winners for people, Gadsden said. Its so undemocratic. Its really an assault on democracy in general.

The practice of moving electoral district boundaries to promote certain outcomes, such as increasing the odds that a certain party wins or reducing the voting power of particular groups of voters, is not a new part of our election system. Politicians have employed the tactic for centuries, and voting rights activists have been trying to combat it for about as long.

The back and forth has left courts to determine when such redistricting crosses a legal line.

After South Carolinas governor signed the new maps into law, the state NAACP and a local voter sued, alleging that the new state map is an example of illegal gerrymandering that discriminates against those voters based on the color of their skin.

With that case now in the hands of the Supreme Court, the implications for Gadsden and the other voters in Charleston could be significant. Should the court decide the gerrymander was illegal, those Black voters will go back to casting their ballots for a seat that a Democrat held as recently as 2021, when Republican Rep. Nancy Mace won election.

Decisions in a few cases could have nationwide effect

And with Republicans holding a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, experts say the ramifications of that court decision and a handful of other pending cases that allege illegal gerrymanders could be felt nationwide.

There are going to be some places where Democrats pick up a seat or two or, maybe in New York, three or four, said Paul M. Smith, senior vice president of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center and a lawyer who has argued multiple landmark gerrymandering cases before the Supreme court. In North Carolina, when the new Supreme Court there had the map redrawn, the Democrats lost two or three or four seats.

So it may end up having a net effect thats fairly modest across the country, Smith said.

But given how closely divided the House is, we might very well find that a decision or two here were decisive, because whichever party is in control next time might be in control (of the House) by about two seats.

Candidates choose their voters when maps redrawn

Mitchell D. Brown, senior counsel for voting rights for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, puts the problem of gerrymandering plainly.

It occurs, he said, when legislators are choosing their voters, and voters are not choosing their legislators.

Our democracy is supposed to be of the people, by the people and for the people, Brown said.

But right now its of the elected officials, by the elected officials and for the elected officials.

The anti-democratic effects of gerrymandering, Brown and other experts argue, are wide-ranging.

When individual voters see the power of their vote weaken as they are packed by party, race or other factors into districts designed to reliably elect candidates of a certain party, Brown said it tends to dampen voter interest in elections where outcomes seem preordained.

Voters also can be undermined by a gerrymandering tactic known as cracking, which involves splitting up groups of voters and assigning them to electoral districts that are safe for the party they dont belong to.

However gerrymandering is implemented, Brown said, the result is it makes it harder for voters to hold politicians accountable at the ballot box. And when officials are less accountable to their constituents, he said, the effects are felt far beyond the polling precinct.

The practical effect is theres less representation, Brown said. When gerrymandering is based on race, he added, the needs of the Black community are not met because you have elected officials that dont speak to the experience of the Black community.

The creation of safe seats can also exacerbate partisan polarization and push people to the extremes, politically, said Smith, of the Campaign Legal Center, because politicians have to focus primarily on winning primaries, not general elections.

And that, Smith said, pushes people toward the extreme right or the extreme left.

Wonky shapes lead to shift in political power

While the problems with gerrymandering are easy to see, the practice is difficult to stop, according to Smith, who has spent decades trying to do so.

Despite repeated attempts to get the Supreme Court to find it illegal when an electoral map is designed to guarantee one party wins most of the seats, even if they dont get most of the votes, Smith said the court determined in 2019 that such partisan gerrymandering is a political question thats too complicated for the federal courts to deal with.

And so, he said, you cant go to federal court and challenge partisan gerrymandering.

But the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the rights of state courts to combat partisan gerrymandering in maps drawn by state legislatures. Last year, the court ruled that the North Carolina courts can regulate redistricting to ensure it accords with the state constitution.

North Carolina has really been ground zero for the redistricting and gerrymandering conversations nationwide, said Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University.

The Supreme Court ruling leaves the partisan gerrymandering fight at a state level. In North Carolina, that allowed a new conservative state supreme court majority to reverse a previous ruling, allowing Republican-leaning redistricting maps to be implemented for the 2024 election, Cooper said. The court also ruled that political gerrymandering was not a question for state courts.

The fight over gerrymandering in North Carolina is nothing new but has increased in the past decade, Cooper said. Since 2010, the state has seen seven congressional district voting maps enacted, four of which were used in elections.

Texas maps reflect 'unbridled gerrymandering,' professor says

The change in gerrymandering after 2010 was seen in Texas as well, Rice University political science professor Mark Jones said. The states 2021 voting maps reflected unbridled gerrymandering in a way that hadn't been the case in 2005 and 2011, Jones said.

Congressional districts in Texas pack Democrats together, twisting and turning to form wonky shapes that span miles. In Texas, the redistricting has all but ensured a Republican hold in the state, Jones said. While gerrymandering might not always play a significant role in elections, in a year like 2024, when the election is close, a handful of seats could affect control, Jones said.

Gerrymandering takes some of the question out of elections, leaving some voters feeling disenfranchised, Jones said. The near-constant changes in North Carolina also make it difficult for voters to know who represents them at a state and national level, Cooper said. Despite challenges, Cooper says, it's unlikely anything will change in North Carolina.

The latest maps in North Carolina, allowed by the state Supreme Court, are still being challenged in court, Cooper said. The most recent lawsuit, filed in December, alleges racial gerrymandering, the first case to do so for the current maps, he said.

The stakes are too large for people to not at least try to overturn these maps, Cooper said. Both parties are challenging the maps. Its very clear they know the maps mean power. Its a convenient fiction  but a fiction  to say the people still get the final say.

Courts can intervene if race main motive vs. politics

While state courts have become the main battleground over partisan gerrymandering, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that federal courts can get involved in race-based gerrymandering.

Thats based in part on the Constitutions Equal Protection Clause, which says states cannot undermine citizens rights, and in part on the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law designed to ensure all citizens have an equal opportunity to participate in elections.

But to pursue cases under those provisions, a court has to determine, first, whether race was the predominant motive in the minds of the people drawing the lines, Smith said.

That can be tricky, especially when race seems to be used as a proxy for party, as often occurs with Black voters, who tend overwhelmingly to vote for Democrats. Brown said the difficulty in making distinctions between race and party means Black voters dont have the same protections.

All the legislature has to do is say, Hey, we didnt do this for racial reasons. We did this for partisan reasons, Brown said.

Courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have heard several cases that hinge on such determinations. While many of its decisions were widely viewed as undermining legal protections for Black voters, the court surprised observers last year when it upheld a key piece of the Voting Rights Act that requires states to create opportunities for voters of color to elect candidates of their choice when theyre faced with massive racially polarized voting, like in the South, Smith said.

The effect of that decision will be felt in this years congressional election, because the ruling resulted in the drawing of a second Black-majority district in Alabama. That district is expected to elect a Democrat to Congress.

Decision helps cause of 'racial justice' in districting

It also means there will be continued efforts to create majority-Black, majority-Latino districts in situations where, if you dont, the majority white population will control all the districts, Smith said. So that was a very positive decision for those who believe in racial justice in districting.

Brown said such protections are crucial, because, he argues, race is a factor even when legislators profess not to be considering it.

To believe that a legislature can draw a race-blind map is farcical, Brown said. These people know where the Black voters are, where white voters are, where Latino voters are. To say something is race blind, you can draw your district by memory, and you know how to gerrymander. Race is always going to undergird what the legislature does, which is going to affect minority voters.

The South Carolina case currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court hinges on whether the justices find politics or race influenced the district maps.

If justices rule the new electoral maps were drawn to advance a partisan advantage, the changes will be allowed to stand.

If the high court determines legislators were motivated by a desire to pack Black voters in a single safe district, the court could order maps to be redrawn.

Clyburn case complicates gerrymandering discussion

This distinction between race and politics has been further clouded by the findings that Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Black Democrat who has represented the states 6th Congressional District since 1993, worked with Republicans to move Black voters into his district in order to shore up his chances of reelection.

ProPublica examined Clyburns role in depth. A three-judge panel that found the new lines represented a racial gerrymander also described the congressmans staffs role in helping Republicans alter his district.

While a Republican who led the redistricting effort said he received a map from the staff of Congressman James Clyburn and (that) he incorporated the Clyburn staff proposals into the final plan, he also acknowledged making dramatic changes to the staffs recommendations, court documents say.

Clyburns office has strongly denied that he participated in the states gerrymandering, but experts have long described an unholy alliance between Black Democratic lawmakers and Republican lawmakers to draw maps that create safe seats for the former at the expense of a broader advantage for the former.

Is there a fair solution to drawing districts?

While theres no doubt legislators from both parties work behind the scenes to draw maps to their advantage, Smith said there isn't an obvious way to draw them objectively and fairly.

The challenge lies, in part, in how people tend to congregate geographically by party, which leads to what Smith calls unintentional gerrymandering.

One of the things that is true of the way our country is set up is that Democrats tend to cluster themselves in cities, he said. And so if you draw maps without thinking of partisanship at all  just draw squares or whatever  you end up with more Republican seats than Democratic seats, even if its a 50-50 state, because the Democrats pack themselves into a smaller number of districts with really, really high percentages of Democrats.

So although he said Republicans have been in a better position to do more gerrymandering, Smith said he doesnt think they are more prone to it than Democrats.

As courts tangle over whether to allow legislators to move electoral lines and decide who elects whom, a growing number of states have taken such decisions out of their hands altogether through the formation of redistricting commissions.

Samuel Wang, a Princeton University professor who leads the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, said court victories and citizens initiatives have led to a sharp decline in the practice over the past decade.

You look at the congressional level  the degree of gerrymandering in the U.S. House of Representatives compared to 10 years ago  the distortion is less than half what it was in 2012, he said. So things are getting better.

But issues remain.

While the movement to create independent commissions is spreading across the country, Smith believes theres a natural limit on how far that can go because in about half the states, at least, in order to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, it has to be passed twice by the legislature. And they dont pass it.

Are independent commissions better at drawing maps?

Though experts say commissions tend to make better maps than politicians, some have struggled, including in New York.

New York voters changed the state constitution to take redistricting out of the hands of the state legislature and into an independent commission. But the commission deadlocked on its first attempt, which gave the job of redistricting back to legislators. That Democrat-controlled body then drew its own maps, which were signed into law, promptly challenged in court and invalidated.

The state Supreme Court then appointed a special master to draw yet another new map, which was used for a 2022 election that saw Republicans make important gains in New Yorks congressional races.

But Democrats have been fighting to allow the Independent Redistricting Commission to have another chance at redrawing the maps, and in December, the state Supreme Court ruled in their favor.

When that new map was released this month, little was different from the one used in 2022. Had the state Legislature approved that map, Republicans would have been expected to maintain their gains. But on Feb. 26, Democrats rejected the map. Two days later, the state Legislature adopted a slightly different map designed to help Democrats pick up seats in a small number of key battleground U.S. House districts without drawing further court challenges.

Congress seen as unlikely to act on redistricting rules

Ultimately, Smith and others say, comprehensive change to the nations redistricting rules would have to come from the U.S. Congress itself. But that, Smith said, is unlikely anytime soon.

Congress is the place where a lot of the problems with our democracy could get fixed, Smith said. Its just, youve gotta get a majority in both houses  and a filibuster-proof majority at that  who really want to fix them, and thats not easy. We dont have that now.

That leaves voters like Gadsden, in Charleston, waiting for court decisions and new maps that will decide where they vote, influence who wins their local elections and help determine who controls a bitterly divided Congress.

Gadsden views the situation as an alarming part of a larger assault on peoples access to their own democracy.

It seems like the old guard within the establishment really has worked hard to maintain a level of power that doesnt serve the voter at all, she said. It really does not serve the voter.

It also does not serve democracy, Wang said.

It is possible through legislative jiggery-pokery to gain an advantage that could never be gotten through any amount of campaigning, Wang said. So at the level of national power, it actually could be quite consequential.

Election advantages due to district mapping
Recruitment agencies Potentia and Crew Technology Recruitment have completed a merger, creating what they say is the country's largest locally-owned tech recruitment business.

With 50 staff providing national coverage across the countrys main tech hubs, Potentia (with offices in Auckland and Wellington) and Crew (based in Christchurch and Dunedin) will remain separate brands within the Potentiate Group.

While there are no day-to-day operational changes, the merger are expected to create efficiencies, opportunities and better access to jobs and talent nationwide.

Potentia managing director Guy Day said expanding the business footprint south was a natural step.

When the opportunity came to talk to Crew, it was a no-brainer for us to make this happen, especially with them already having such an established presence in the South Island."

Crew director Tom Sweeney said the merged business would use its brands, experience, and synergies to offer unmatched value to clients and candidates across Aotearoa.
Mardi Seng, a newly elected senator from the Khmer Will Party, said shes recovered from her December hunger strike.

Mardi Seng, wearing checked shirt, attends a meeting of the Khmer Will Party in this undated photo.

The brother of a jailed Cambodian American lawyer Theary Seng visited her in prison on Friday and later told Radio Free Asia that she appeared to be in good health following her 10-day hunger strike in December that required hospital treatment.

She is doing fine physically and emotionally, said Mardi Seng, a newly-elected senator from the opposition Khmer Will Party.

She has remained the same. She is strong, he said. She has maintained her stand saying she didnt commit any crimes. She hopes the government will release her soon.

As a pro-democracy advocate and human rights activist, Theary Seng became well-known for dressing herself in elaborate costumes at public protests, including as the Statue of Liberty.

Her 2022 treason conviction stemmed from her failed efforts in 2019 to bring about the return to Cambodia of opposition leader Sam Rainsy. She was sentenced to six years in prison.

In December, she announced a hunger strike to demand her release. After a week of fasting, prison officials sent her to a Phnom Penh hospital for an examination.

Cambodian American lawyer Theary Seng arrives dressed as a chained Statue of Liberty for her treason verdict at Phnom Penh Municipal Court, June 14, 2022. (Prak Chan Thul/Reuters)





Mardi Seng said his sister now jumps rope every day as part of her exercise routine in prison.

She is trying her best to make sure she stays healthy, he said.

The brief hospital visit in December allowed an Appeals Court hearing to be delayed. It was unclear when the next hearing would take place.

Mardi Seng said they recently fired Theary Sengs Cambodian lawyers. She plans to represent herself wherever the next hearing takes place, he told RFA.

Last year, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a judgment calling her detention arbitrary, politically motivated, and in violation of international law.

U.S.-based international human rights lawyer Jared Genser said in July that he was pushing for the United States to designate her case as wrongfully detained under the Levinson Act, a 2020 law that would allow sanctions to be imposed on individuals responsible for holding American citizens hostage.

Mardi Seng spent much of his childhood in Michigan with Theary Seng and their other three brothers. He told RFA they returned to Cambodia after their university education to restore the country.

The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party won 55 of 58 seats in the Feb. 25 Senate election. Mardi Seng said that he and the other two senators from the Khmer Will Party see their victories as a new start for helping people who are voiceless and powerless.

Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Most claimed they contracted leukemia and diabetes after being vaccinated with the Chinese vaccine.

UPDATED at 8:07 am ET on March 1, 2024.

Luo Zhehan, a primary school student in Chinas Jiangsu province, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after being vaccinated with a domestically-produced COVID-19 vaccine and passed away a month afterwards. Believing there was a link between the two, his family tried to seek justice from authorities, but said they faced threats of imprisonment during their pursuit.

Nearly 3,000 people who say they have suffered illnesses and severe side effects from the vaccine have issued a petition calling on the authorities to take responsibility, as representatives vowed to take their grievances to Beijing during the two sessions meetings that will open next Tuesday. Like Luos family, however, they face an uncertain and challenging path ahead.

Qian Dalong, the victims representative in Beijing told Radio Free Asia that the authorities have blocked the petition on the internet after it spread online rapidly, while many human rights representatives have been monitored by the police or placed under house arrest.

The two sessions are the states most important annual political meetings  the concurrent meetings of the National Peoples Congress, or NPC, top legislature, and the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference , the political advisory body to the Chinese Communist Party.

But he said the group has mailed the petition to delegates of the two sessions, hoping to draw their attention to their plight.

[The authorities have] set up layers of obstacles to prevent people from speaking. We have already mailed [the petition] to them. Whether the delegates have a conscience, or dare to take up the issue? We dont know.

Qian Dalong says he is currently being surveilled. (Photo provided by Qian Dalong)





Qian said he suddenly became paralyzed after taking the third dose of the Chinese vaccine, Sinovac. He revealed the side effects of the vaccine on Chinese social media last July, which led to a month of detention and the blockade of his Weibo account. Attempts to contact the authorities via the government to take responsibility failed.

There should be more than 3,000 victims, as some dont even realize that its because of the vaccine, he said.

Most of the nearly 3,000 victims who signed the petition have contracted leukemia (2,973 cases) and type 1 diabetes, according to a post by the Chinese blog Weiquanwang, which translates into Rights Protection Network, on Feb. 22.

The victims and their families last called out to the Chinese government to investigate and take responsibility in February last year.

In an open letter, they called on the National Health Commission to investigate all cases of major health problems occurring after vaccination, and to call in independent and scientific investigators to probe their claims, as well as pay the medical expenses of those left sick or disabled by vaccines, and offer them appropriate levels of care.

RFA cannot independently confirm the claims made by the petitioners and whether there is scientific evidence of a link between the vaccine and the illnesses. China has faced international criticism over its lack of transparency over its response to COVID-19. The National Health Commission and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention did not respond to requests for comment.

Systemic problem

An expert involved in handling public health incidents and did not want to be named for fear of reprisal believes that Chinas public health incidents are systemic problems.

In the history of Chinas public health, similar incidents have emerged one after another. The most terrifying thing about this country is not the technical problem, said the expert. The Chinese government and vaccine companies are bound by interests. There has never been transparent data and credible information. The system is shady, so what defenders are facing is not just a company, but the entire government.

The expert called on the health ministry to act as a coordinator for the drug company to fork out the money for a third agency to establish a fund that the victims can supervise. The fund will be used for the immediate treatment of victims and for their long-term well-being.

But I dont have any hope, the expert added.

According to Chinas Vaccine Administration Law, the state implements a compensation system for abnormal vaccination reactions. But the government has brought forth official experts to refute victims claims.

One was the Chinese Academy of Sciences fellow, Wang Fusheng who slammed the victims and rights advocates claims as irresponsible, reiterating that research has shown the vaccine does not cause leukemia and diabetes.

Translated with additional reporting by RFA Staff. Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

Updates to clarify that the victims believe there is a causal link between the vaccine and illnesses and severe side effects. Adding that RFA cannot independently confirm a link between the two.
Analysts say the concept of 'work secrets' extends the domain of state security, could damage confidence.

Employees work at the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China where China's home-grown C919 passenger jet is produced, in Shanghai, May 4, 2017.

China's latest piece of security legislation will have a further chilling effect on foreign investment and the economy by creating a new category of confidential information called 'work secrets,' analysts said in recent commentaries and interviews with RFA Mandarin.

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday signed an executive order that will see the Law on Safeguarding State Secrets take effect from May 1, after the law was revised and adopted by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Feb. 27.

The move follows a number of police raids last year on foreign consultancy firms including Mintz Group and Bain & Co, prompting concerns from foreign investors that Beijing's widening national security focus could hurt investor confidence.

All government departments and state-owned enterprises will be required under the law to "determine the confidentiality level" of state secrets they work with, and implement new rules about managing a "declassification" period for employees who leave their posts, including bans on overseas travel and new employment, state media reported.

"During the declassification period, personnel who have access to secrets are not allowed to work or leave the country ... nor are they allowed to disclose state secrets in any way," state broadcaster CCTV reported.

What are work secrets?

However, the measures don't just apply to state secrets -- they will also apply to "work secrets," according to Article 64 of the new legislation.

Work secrets" refers to "information produced or collected by departments in the performance of their duties, the leaking of which would cause an adverse impact," according to Chinese law expert Jeremy Daum.

Chinese police are seen during a raid at the office of the Capvision consultancy firm in Shanghai in this undated photo. (Screenshot from CCTV via AP)





In a commentary on his China Law Translate blog, Daum said an earlier draft had defined a "work secret" more narrowly "but the final version seems even broader."

"Work secrets and internal documents arent a new issue, but it is unfortunate to see them further enshrined in law," he wrote, adding that the clause could lead to "overzealous identification" of work secrets, leading to increased risk for workers and decreased transparency for the general public.

China has also recently broadened the scope of its Counterespionage Law, and detained an employee of Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma last March on suspicion of "spying," prompting a protest from Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Market research

Xia Ming, professor of politics at New York's City University, said the new law could have an impact on foreign companies wanting to carry out market research in China.

"The first thing any company that wants to invest in China does is to carry out market research on China," Xia said. "But all kinds of data are regarded as confidential by China, because they touch on the political security [of the regime]."

"They think people could interpret specific and minor fluctuations in the data to create information that is unfavorable to their political system and regime [stability]," he said. "So everything is confidential."

U.S.-based economist Li Hengqing said there has already been an impact from last year's legislation and consultancy firm raids.

"Everyone is definitely feeling the chill now," Li said. "The more [Beijing] does this, the more foreign businesses and entrepreneurs will be discouraged from investing in China."

Staffers wait for visitors under display of CCTV images at the Hikvision booth, a state-owned surveillance equipment manufacturer, during the Security China 2023 expo in Beijing, June 7, 2023. (Ng Han Guan/AP)





He said the move runs counter to recent claims from the ruling Chinese Communist Party Central Committee that it is expanding its economy to more global participation.

"Preferential policies for foreign investors would take them in the complete opposite direction," Li said.

Stability of the regime

But for Beijing, all sensitive information must now "adhere to the overall concept of national security," and follow the ruling party's approach to managing secrets, state media reported.

According to the party's Central Security Office director Li Zhaozong, the revised law provides a "strong legal guarantee for better protecting national sovereignty, security and development interests."

Writing in party newspaper the People's Daily on Feb. 28, Li said the same principles of secrets management would apply to any domain into which the party's national security approach is extended, although he didn't mention "work secrets" by name.

According to Li Hengqing, that can mean any area that affects the security of Xi Jinping's grip on power or that of the ruling party.

"It's all about the stability of the regime," Li said. "Xi Jinping once said, 'What is the point of economic development if we neglect the stability of the regime?'"

"He doesnt really care about the peoples livelihood or the country's economic development," he said.

Xia Ming said the law will also have a huge impact on internet service providers, who will be required to cooperate with the authorities in investigating any cases involving the leaking of unauthorized information online.

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Clashes between rebel groups and the junta have left the city with massive displacement, looting and arson.

The Kachin Independence Army joint forces and the military junta fought in Mongmit city in northern Shan state on Jan. 28, 2024.

Months of intense battles between anti-junta groups and junta forces have ravaged the city of Mongmit in Myanmars Shan state, resulting in widespread displacement, lootings and arson, according to locals.

Currently under junta control, the city was once a battleground where the Three Brotherhood Alliance clashed with junta forces. A ceasefire between the two, mediated by China, was established on Jan. 11, but battles persisted with the Kachin Independence Army, which did not partake in the ceasefire agreement.

After launching attacks on Jan. 18, the KIA, in alliance with the All Burma Students Democratic Front and Peoples Defense Forces, temporarily took over the city, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday.

However, on Jan. 29, the junta forces recaptured the city through a fierce counterattack involving airstrikes and heavy artillery. This offensive led to the destruction of over 200 buildings, including key structures like the market, monasteries, and a school, as well as 100 residential homes.

In this tumultuous period, close to 10,000 inhabitants evacuated the city, abandoning their homes and businesses for extended durations. The resulting void has triggered a wave of robberies throughout the urban neighborhoods, according to locals.

The Kachin Independence Army joint forces and the military junta fought in Mongmit city in northern Shan state on Jan. 28, 2024. (Citizen journalist)





A resident, among those who have returned to the city, told RFA that he saw a group of people holding sticks and swords looting houses.

They took everything without leaving anything behind. It was a group of people in plain clothes and most of them were criminals in the past, said the resident who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons.

They did not even leave the fence door. They took it away and no one dared to say anything. Then they burned homes. Its already like a ruined city.

Another woman from Mongmit said that nearly all the shops in the city had been looted, including her own.

Our shop has been looted and there is nothing left, just like every shop in the city now. It was broken into and our goods were stolen, she said, declining to be identified for fear of reprisals. Its worse where there are no people now, some of them are returning to the city.

Mongmit and its neighboring city Mabein have been under martial law since Wednesday.

Shan states junta spokesperson, Khun Thein Maung, did not respond to RFAs inquiries.

According to the Shan Human Rights Foundations statement on Tuesday, a total of 27 civilians were killed by heavy artillery and airstrikes from Jan. 1 to Feb. 2, including two mass killings.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Taejun Kang.
Hong Kongs Crypto License Scheme Sees 24 Applicants, Far Fewer Than Singapores 70

The deadline for virtual asset trading platform (VATP) crypto license applications in Hong Kong has passed, with the number of applicants reaching 24, a significantly lower figure than the 70 applicants seen in a similar scheme in Singapore.

At least five cryptocurrency firms submitted their applications in the final days leading up to the February 29 deadline, per a report from the South China Morning Post.

Cryptocurrency exchanges that have not yet applied must exit the Hong Kong market by May 31.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will announce approved and declined applications on a public register by June 1, 2024.

After securing approval, virtual asset trading platforms can onboard new retail and institutional crypto investors and start marketing in Hong Kong.

Major Exchanges Tied to China Submit Applications



Major crypto exchanges with ties to mainland China or Hong Kong, including industry giants, have either applied for licenses directly or through their affiliates.

HBGL Hong Kong, an affiliate of HTX (formerly Huobi Global), submitted an application twice for its Huobi HK platform, while HKVAEX, an affiliate of Binance, applied in April.

OKX, another prominent exchange founded in China, submitted its application back in November.

Currently, OSL and HashKey are the only licensed exchanges serving retail investors.

Besides the list of crypto exchanges being considered for approval, the SFC also released a list of those whose applications have either been withdrawn or outrightly rejected by the agency.

The list includes Ammbr HK Limited, BitHarbour HK Limited, Meex Digital Securities Limited, and HBGL HK Limited. Out of the four exchanges, only the Meex Digital Securities Limited application was rejected by the SFC.

The other three withdrew their applications.

Hong Kongs Crypto License and Regulations May Limit Competitiveness



It is worth noting that there have been concerns about the strict requirements for the registration process, which could potentially hamper the markets competitiveness.

While Hong Kong allows crypto firms to tap into developer talent in mainland China, the high costs associated with the licensing process differentiate it from Singapore.

Estimates suggest that the entire process, including external assessors and hiring a local responsible officer (RO), could cost over HK$60 million (US$7.7 million).

Angela Ang, a former regulator with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told SCMP that the lower number of applicants in Hong Kong can be attributed to the stringent requirements.

Furthermore, there is concern that Hong Kongs regulations may limit the global competitiveness of crypto companies using the city as a base of operations.

The current framework restricts the scope of activities and services that can be offered to customers, potentially hindering their ability to operate globally.

Hong Kong also aims to regulate tokenized securities and stablecoins as part of its broader Web3 push, while the monetary authority explores the concept of a digital Hong Kong dollar.

In comparison, when Singapores Monetary Authority gave crypto companies one month to notify their pre-existing status and intention to be licensed in 2021, it resulted in about 70 official license applications by the end of 2021, three times the number in Hong Kong.
Refugees pay much higher foreigners rates at public hospitals and clinics, which most cannot afford.

A Rohingya mother and her child sit on a bench while waiting to see a doctor at the Qatar Fund for Development Clinic in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 25, 2024.

If it wasnt for the generosity of Malaysias refugee community, things could have been a lot worse for Rohingya man Rashid Ahmad Abdul Kadir.

In January, the 35-year-old was struggling with pain so bad from gallstones that he could barely breathe.

I was scolded by the doctor because he said I came too late and my organs had been damaged, said Rashid Ahmad, who arrived in Malaysia from Myanmars Rakhine state in 2012.

The cash-strapped father of two only got through the ordeal after his friends raised 3,800 Malaysian ringgit (U.S. $800) for his operation at a public hospital.

I could not afford the amount for surgery on my own, he told BenarNews.

Malaysias nearly 200,000 refugees already have it tough because they are not legally allowed to work, many live in appalling conditions, and their children are often denied education. But a little talked about concern is their access to affordable healthcare, which could make the difference between life and death.

Because Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees are viewed as illegal migrants and must pay much higher foreigners rates at government hospitals and clinics.

That puts an enormous financial strain on people like Rashid Ahmad, who earns a meager living working odd jobs such as washing dishes or cutting grass, with no rights or social security benefits.

After being discharged from hospital in February, Rashid Ahmad had to skip the daily dressing of his wounds at a nonprofit medical clinic because, even at a subsidized price, he could not afford it.

I cannot move on my own. Trips to the clinic also need money, said Rashid Ahmad, who lives in Ampang near Kuala Lumpur.

Debbie Stothard, founder of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, an advocacy group, described Malaysias policy of denying refugees access to affordable public healthcare as illogical and irresponsible.



We are preventing Rohingya and other refugees from contributing to Malaysian society, she told BenarNews. To ensure they can contribute, they must be healthy enough. It is just that basic.

Rohingya refugee Rashid Ahmad Abdul Kadir, who recently had an operation for severe gallstones, is cared for by his wife at home in Ampang, Malaysia, Feb. 13, 2024. [Ahmad Mustakim Zulkifli/BenarNews]





Some 186,490 refugees, most of whom are ethnically Rohingya from Myanmar, are registered in Malaysia with U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR.

Healthcare is the No. 1 concern for most of them, said U.S.-based Rohingya activist Norhayati Ali during a recent visit to Malaysia.

Refugees and asylum seekers with UNHCR cards are charged 50% of the foreigners rate at public healthcare facilities. But for those who are undocumented, the fees can be 40 times the cost charged to Malaysians, according to advocacy groups.

Otherwise, refugees have access to subsidized care at 15 nonprofit health clinics across the country. However, these offer only basic healthcare that does not require hospitalization or specialist treatment.

Ahmad Ikram, general manager of a nonprofit clinic in Kuala Lumpur, said it was not uncommon to hear of cases where refugees could not pay for treatment.

Some refugees have had to stay in the hospital even though they should have been discharged because they could not pay the medical costs. In one case, a patient ran away because he could not afford to pay before being discharged, he told BenarNews.

At his clinic, Ikram said he most commonly saw refugees for conditions like diabetes, hypertension and skin diseases. He offers only general treatment, vaccinations and family planning consultations.

Typically, his referrals to hospital were cases involving preterm births, respiratory diseases, infections, gastrointestinal issues and surgical procedures.

The number of refugees seeking help at the clinic is normally between 70-80 per day, but when authorities conduct raids around here, those numbers could halve, he said.

When we ask why, they say they are afraid of getting caught while seeking treatment and being sent back home.

Refugees wait for a check up at the Qatar Fund for Development Clinic in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 25, 2024. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]





Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail told Parliament in June last year that Malaysia was establishing a comprehensive database on the number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

This would help the government tailor policies towards them, including for healthcare, he said.

In the meantime, Rohingya community leaders like Rafik Shah Mohd Ismail are calling on Malaysians to show compassion.

Everyone gets sick. For refugees, whether registered with UNHCR or not, hospital bills are expensive, he told BenarNews.

A deposit is required before surgery is performed; these can range from around 1,500 ($317) ringgit to 5,500 ringgit ($1,160).

While the community tries to help out with hospital fees when possible, it is often too expensive, said Ismail, who is based in Selayang, Selangor state.

Weve encountered situations where babies remained hospitalized because their parents couldn't afford the bills, he said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
Suspects are accused of spying on prominent Uyghurs and Uyghur organizations in Turkey.

Ethnic Uyghur demonstrators wave flags of Turkey and East Turkistan during a protest against China, near the Chinese consulate in Istanbul, Feb. 5, 2023.

An alleged spy for China living in Istanbul evaded detection by Turkish authorities for years, Sadiq Memetezizs undercover work taking him to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Syria and Xinjiang in Chinas far-west, Turkish media reports said, citing official documents.

Memeteziz, or Shadeke Maimaitiaizazi in Chinese, was one of six arrested on Feb. 20 for allegedly spying for China, Turkeys Haberturk newspaper and TV channel said Wednesday.

Haberturk revealed the identities of four the six men arrested earlier this week, indicating they met with Chinese intelligence officials in Saudi Arabia.

The media reports didnt identify the ethnicity of the men, but Radio Free Asia has confirmed that they are all Uyghurs. One of the six, named Ehmetjan, was later released. A seventh one is still at large and wanted by police.

The suspects are accused of spying on prominent Uyghurs and Uyghur associations in Turkey and passing the information to Chinese intelligence officers. The arrests follow a probe by the Istanbul chief prosecutors Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Bureau, media reports said.

If they are indeed shown to have spied for China, the case would illustrate the lengths that Beijing will go to gather information on Uyghurs abroad as part of its transnational repression.

Uyghur diaspora

With roughly 50,000 Uyghurs living in Turkey  the largest Uyghur emigre population outside Central Asia  the Muslim-majority country has become a focus for Chinese espionage.

Radio Free Asia in February 2023 reported on how the Chinese governments efforts to coerce Uyghurs to gather information on each other undermines trust and can dampen social and cultural gatherings, preventing Uyghur refugees from rebuilding their communities abroad.

In the past, Turkey offered Uyghurs a safe place to live outside Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and is the only Turkic and Muslim country that has consistently raised the issue of the plight of Uyghurs at the United Nations and in bilateral talks with China.

So this crackdown on alleged spies for China represents a shift on Turkeys part.

The Istanbul chief prosecutors office would not comment on the ongoing investigation. RFA could not reach the Chinese Embassy in Ankara for comment.

Family is shocked

Memetezizs son, who lives in Istanbul, told RFA that he does not believe his father is a criminal, and that it is premature to call him such until judicial authorities issue a verdict.

We also recently came across the news and were shocked by it, said the son, who declined to be named for fear of retribution. It was a mix of sadness and disbelief, as we never imagined such a thing could happen.

The son said he has lived apart from his father for two-and-a-half years, balancing work and studies, and that they occasionally checked in with each other.

As of now, we havent received any updates from the police or the judicial bodies, he said. There was no concrete evidence or confirmation, and judicial bodies havent said anything like what was reported in the news reports yet. All we've heard is that he was arrested.

Personally, I find this hard to believe because he has been running his own business for over 20 years, the son added. He has his own brand and products, and even when we lived together, he focused on his business and trade with Central Asia. Politics was never his concern due to his business commitments. Hence, I doubt the accuracy of these news reports.

Details of alleged activities

Based on an arrest notice issued by the Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Bureau, Memeteziz, in his mid- to late 50s, moved to Turkey from Xinjiang  where 11 million Uyghurs live  in the 2000s and had contact with someone from the Ministry of National Security, Chinas spy agency.

He met with an official named Li from the Chinese Communist Partys Kargilik (Yecheng in Chinese) County Committee in Xinjiangs Kashgar prefecture, both via phone and in person, the notice said.

According to information from the Turkish National Intelligence Service, it appears that Memeteziz met with Chinese intelligence officials outside Turkey. He traveled to Hong Kong in February 2023, then proceeded to Xinjiangs Kargilik county, where he had face-to-face meetings with two spies named Li and Alimjan.

Subsequently, Memeteziz met with Alimjan again in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. To conceal these meetings, Chinese intelligence officials in China and Saudi Arabia provided Memeteziz with two different passports, the Turkish news reports said.

Records indicate that Memeteziz continued to travel to and from Xinjiang with ease, particularly after 2017 when Chinese authorities began detaining Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims en masse in re-education camps under the guise of preventing religious extremism and terrorist activities, the reports said.

In 2023, Memeteziz received US$7,000 in Beijing and US$15,000 in Saudi Arabia in exchange for his espionage activities for China, said the reports.

Upon his return to Turkey in August 2023, Memeteziz obtained information about Uyghur organizations and their meetings, and the addresses of prominent Uyghurs living in Turkey. He collected photos and documents to share with Chinese intelligence officials, the news reports said.

The notice from the chief prosecutors office said that Memeteziz, under instructions from the Chinese intelligence agency, tried in January 2023 to move to an area where Uyghur religious teacher Abduqadir Yapchan resided, but he could not find accommodations.

China had accused Yapchan of being part of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a Muslim separatist group that the U.S. State Department dropped from its list of terrorist organizations in October 2020 because of a lack of credible evidence that it continued to exist. Turkish police arrested him in August 2016 on charges of being a terrorist and kept him in detention or under house arrest.

In April 2021, a court in Turkey rejected a request by Beijing to extradite Yapchan to China to face terrorism charges, ending years of detention and legal limbo under the threat of harsh Chinese punishment.

Other suspects

The arrest warrant for a second suspect, Hebibulla Urumci, said he acted as an intermediary in transferring money from a spy named Alimjan to Memeteziz. It also indicated that Urumci collaborated with Memeteziz in Pakistan and made multiple international trips, according to Turkish media.

Hashim Sabitoglu, the third man arrested, recently traveled to Saudi Arabia under the guise of making an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, but instead met with Chinese intelligence operatives. Memeteziz received payments from China through Hashim under the guise of business funds.

Abdullah Nasir, the fourth suspect, was reported to have continuously met with a Chinese intelligence officer named Zhong Xuegang, who identified himself as a Chinese consulate officer.

Nasir was said to have stayed with Zhong in a hotel in Bursa, a city in Turkey about 92 kilometers (57 miles) south of Istanbul. Nasir was also acquainted with a spy named Alimjan and had a significant number of passport records on file, Turkish media said.

Memeteziz was assigned to gather information about Uyghurs in Syria by using Abdullah, an employee at a Uyghur bakery in Zeytinburnu, a working-class area on the European side of Istanbul.

When RFA contacted Abdullah  the bakery worker, not the suspect Abdullah Nasir  he said he didnt know Memeteziz but mentioned someone from Kargilik who visited the bakery every two or three days, trying to gather information about Uyghurs in Turkey and in other countries.

He would chat with me while buying naan, Abdullah said, referring to Uyghur flatbread. One day, he mentioned wanting to help people in need and asked if there were any religious kids from Kargilik. He asked me to let him know if I knew any. I told him I didn't know any.n

I cant confirm if hes a spy because theres a lot of gossip in the community, Abdullah said. I didt have a close relationship with him. He didnt live in Zeytinburnu, and he told me he was coming from the Aksaray area to buy naan.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Welcome to The Azadi Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that unpacks the key issues in Afghanistan. To subscribe, click here.

I'm Abubakar Siddique, senior correspondent at RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. Here's what I've been tracking and what I'm keeping an eye on in the days ahead.

The Key Issue

A prominent ethnic Pashtun poet has spent a month in Taliban captivity in what his family and rights activists see as another example of the hard-line Islamist group's sustained assault on freedom of expression.

Ezatullah Zawab's family members say they are completely in the dark about his situation a month after he was arrested under unclear circumstances. But Zawab's supporters have an idea why he is behind bars.

"We think that it is a conspiracy to silence my father through character assassination," Zawab's son, Nusrat Arman, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi.

Arman has rejected official claims that Zawab was arrested for carrying alcohol, which is strictly prohibited by the Taliban.

Zawab's supporters say the real reason is that the Taliban did not like Zawab's literary magazine, Meena ("Love" in Pashto), because it published prose and poetry that could be seen as critical of life under Taliban rule. Zawab is known for penning satirical verse with political undertones.

"The current political system in Afghanistan is dictatorial," Zarifa Ghafari, a rights campaigner, told Radio Azadi. "The Taliban silences anyone who raises a voice against it."

Why It's Important: Zawab's arrest shows the Taliban is underscoring its lack of tolerance for dissent in any form.

Pashtun poets such as Zawab were relatively immune to Taliban oppression because of their popularity and distance from known political factions. Some of them even dared to criticize the Taliban government for its abuses and mistakes publicly.

But as the Taliban strengthens its stranglehold on power, it is showing a willingness to mute even traditional avenues for airing grievances and criticism like poetry.

Since its return to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed all-encompassing censorship. It has detained and tortured journalists, writers, and activists, prompting hundreds in those fields to flee the country.

Despite early promises to tolerate a free press, the Afghan media has significantly declined under the Taliban. Hundreds of media outlets have been shut down and journalists not working for the Taliban are grappling with mounting restrictions.

To deny Afghans access to credible information, the Taliban has banned some international broadcasters. Its government has also denied visas to foreign correspondents to keep the country under wraps.

What's Next: The Taliban is doubling down on creating a media environment that only amplifies its views and promotes its interests.

Some Taliban officials had already declared all forms of photography un-Islamic amid speculation that women will be completely banned from working in or appearing on electronic media.

As the Taliban continues to replace journalism with propaganda, waning international interest in Afghanistan and diminishing access to the country makes accurate reporting on Taliban-ruled Afghanistan increasingly difficult.

What To Keep An Eye On

An international nongovernmental organization, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), has issued a fresh warning about the impact of climate change in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan is the 12th-most-vulnerable country in the world to the impacts of climate change," the DRC said in a report issued on February 27.

The report says climate change "continues to worsen the frequency and severity of climate-related disasters such as droughts, floods, and landslides."

The DRC warned that a deepening water crisis and climate change present unique challenges to some 40 million Afghans, 80 percent of whom depend on natural resources for their livelihoods.

"Next year, we will not be able to look after our livestock, so we are selling them now," Faeza, a peasant in the western Ghor Province, told Radio Azadi. "Without water, grass, and vegetable feed, it will be difficult to keep them alive."

Why It's Important: Afghanistan remains one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, and its ability to adapt and difficulties in attracting international aid under the unrecognized Taliban government stand as major obstacles to dealing with the situation.

In one rare bit of good news following years of drought, an ongoing spell of rain and snowfall is expected to prevent drought in parts of the country this summer. However, the country remains the third-greatest at risk from human and natural disasters in the world.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org

Until next time,

Abubakar Siddique

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Friday. You can always reach us at azadi.english@rferl.org
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 the White House National Security Council spokesperson saying they "are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him."

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said "this is not what free and fair elections look like," adding in his message on X, formerly Twitter, that illegal elections have also been held on occupied Ukrainian territory.

The French Foreign Ministry said Putin's reelection came amid a wave of repression against civil society. It also praised in a statement the courage of "the many Russian citizens who peacefully protested against this attack on their fundamental political rights."

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 importants 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.

WATCH: Leading psychiatrists discuss how excessive power can impact brain functioning and what the impulse for total control reveals about the mind and personality traits of authority figures.

Putin was opposed by three relatively unknown, Kremlin-friendly politicians whose campaign was barely noticeable. The main intrigue was whether Russians would heed opposition calls to gather at polling stations at noon on March 17 to silently protest against Putins rule.

Russian media had reported in the months leading up to the election that the Kremlin was determined to engineer a victory for Putin that would surpass the 2018 results, when he won 77.5 percent of the vote with a turnout of 67.5 percent.

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 overwhelming support for Putin and his war, experts said.

Independent election observers were barred from working at this years presidential election for the first time in post-Soviet history, experts said. Russian elections have been notorious for ballot stuffing and other irregularities.

The vote was also held in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, where hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers are located.

The United States called the elections neither fair nor free.

'Noon Against Putin'

With options to express resistance severely limited by the lack of competition and repressive laws, opposition leaders called on voters opposed to Putin to gather near polls at noon to show the Kremlin and the country that they were still a force.

Russia's opposition movement suffered a serious blow last month when Aleksei Navalny, 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.

Long lines formed at polling stations across Russia's 11 time zones at the designated time for the "Noon Against Putin" protest, including in Novosibirsk, Chita, Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Moscow among other Russian cities.

"We're not really expecting anything, but I'd somehow like to make a record of this election for myself, tick the box for myself, so, when talking about it later, I could say that I didn't just sit at home, but came and tried to do something," said one Russian who came to vote at noon.

"The action has achieved its goals," Ivan Zhdanov, the head the Anti-Corruption Foundation formerly headed by Navalny, said in a YouTube video. "The action has shown that there is another Russia, there are people who stand against Putin."

The Moscow prosecutor's office had earlier warned of criminal prosecution against those who interfered with the vote, a step it said was necessary due to social-media posts "containing calls for an unlimited number of people to simultaneously arrive to participate in uncoordinated mass public events at polling stations in Moscow [at noon on March 17] in order to violate electoral legislation."

Lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina, who has left the country, told Current Time that if people do not bring posters and do not announce why they came to the polling station at that hour, it would be hard for the authorities to legitimately declare it a "violation."

But she warned that there were "some basic safety rules that you can follow if you're worried. The first is not to discuss why you came, just to vote. And secondly, it is better to come without any visual means of agitation: without posters, flags, and so on."

Ella Pamfilova, head of Russia's Central Election Commission (TsIK), on March 16 said there had been 20 cases of people attempting to destroy voting sheets by pouring liquids into ballot boxes and eight incidents of people trying to destroy ballots by setting them on fire or by using smoke bombs.

Russians living abroad also took part in the "Noon Against Putin" campaign, with hundreds of people lining up at 12 p.m. outside the Russian embassies in Sidney, Tokyo, Phuket, Dubai, Istanbul, Berlin, Paris, and Yerevan among other capitals.

"It's not an election. It's just a fake. And so we're here to show that not Russians elect the current leader of Russia, that we [are] against him very severely, and that lots of people had to flee their country to be free," said Anna, a Russian citizen living in Berlin and who gathered outside the embassy in the German capital.

Putin was challenged by Liberal Democratic Party leader Leonid Slutsky, State Duma deputy speaker Vladislav Davankov of the New People party, and State Duma lawmaker Nikolai Kharitonov of the Communist Party, none of whom opposed the war.

The Russian leader had the full resources of the state behind him, including the media, police, state-owned companies, and election officials.
Iranians voted on March 1 in two elections that will usher in a new parliament and Assembly of Experts as opinion polls projected a low turnout amid calls for a boycott of what many see as "engineered" balloting.



Voting began at 8 a.m. local time in the first election since the deadly nationwide protests that erupted following the September 2022 death while in police custody of Mahsa Amini. She had been detained for allegedly not following Iran's hijab laws.

Iran's rulers need a high turnout to repair their legitimacy following the unrest, but many Iranians said they would not vote in "meaningless" elections in which more than 15,000 candidates were running for the 290-seat parliament. Partial results are not expected before March 2.

Prominent figures, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, have said they would boycott the elections, labeling them as superficial and predetermined. Mostafa Tajzadeh, a former deputy interior minister, has voiced his refusal to vote, criticizing the supreme leader's indifference to the country's crises.



The state-linked polling agency ISPA, which ordinarily releases frequent polling data ahead of elections, put out its first and only survey results on February 28. It found that only 38.5 percent of respondents said they would "definitely" turn up to vote and projected turnout of 41 percent on election day.



Another poll by the state broadcaster IRIB, which was released on February 29, projected a 43.1 percent turnout.

Turnout was "good," state media reported, but witnesses who spoke with Reuters said voting at most polling centers in Tehran and several other cities was light. Officials twice extended voting hours to allow late-comers to cast ballots.

Voter apathy, fueled by general dissatisfaction over living standards and a clampdown on basic human rights in Iran, has been growing for years.

Even before Amini's death, which sparked massive protests and the Women, Life, Freedom movement, unrest had rattled Iran for months in response to declining living standards, wage arrears, and a lack of welfare support.



In the last parliamentary elections in February 2020, ISPA predicted a 52 percent turnout, but actual participation was 42.57 percent --- a historic low for legislative elections since the Islamic republic came to power in 1979.



In a last-ditch effort to encourage a high turnout, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said after casting his ballot in Tehran that voting would "make the friends happy and ill-wishers disappointed."



While domestically the attention is mostly on the parliamentary elections, it is perhaps the Assembly of Experts polls that are more significant. The 88-seat assembly, whose members are elected for eight-year terms, is tasked with appointing the next supreme leader. Given that Khamenei is 84, the next assembly may end up having to name his successor.



Analysts and activists said the elections were "engineered" because only candidates vetted and approved by the Guardians Council are allowed to run. The council is made up of six clerics and six jurists who are all appointed directly and indirectly by Khamenei.

In dozens of audio and written messages sent to RFE/RL's Radio Farda from inside Iran, many said they were opting against voting because the elections were "meaningless" and likely to consolidate the hard-liners' grip on power.



State television has been providing wall-to-wall coverage of the elections from across the country. News outlets linked to the establishment tried to generate excitement on banned social media platforms -- including Telegram, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter)  by posting videos with catchy captions.



As has become the norm, some outlets, including the IRIB-run Young Journalists' Club, have posted videos and images of women in polling stations dressed in attire that on a normal day would likely earn them a warning or even detention.



Activists and opposition groups post statements on social media arguing that a high turnout would legitimize the Islamic republic.

In the run-up to the elections, authorities arrested several people for allegedly calling for a boycott.

With reporting by Reuters
In the winter of 1924, inhabitants of a small village near Tehran looked up as a metal-bodied airplane swooped in to land, bumped along a field, then collapsed in a cloud of dust after its landing gear broke.

The pilot of the plane was Swiss aviator Walter Mittelholzer, who had received an invitation from the Persian government to deliver a new Junkers aircraft to the country, which would be renamed Iran in 1935.

Kaspar Surber, a Swiss journalist who wrote a book on Mittelholzer, told RFE/RL the aviator was chosen for the flight to Persia in part to "popularize flying" through aerial images he would take there.

Mittelholzer was famous at the time for becoming the first person to extensively photograph Switzerland's mountains from an airplane.

In the 1920s, Surber says there was something of a "race" between German and British aviation companies to begin air services in Persia, making Mittelholzer's photography skills a key promotional advantage.

A Swiss newspaper wrote of the aviator, "The Swiss people know what to expect from their Mr. Mittelholzer, who can not only pilot a plane across unknown countries but also photograph and film in flight."

After their ignominious landing 40 kilometers outside of Tehran, Mittelholzer and mechanic Ernst Bissegger had a tense confrontation with villagers before help eventually arrived from the Persian capital and their aircraft was repaired.

Mittelholzer and Bissegger's flight of more than 3,000 kilometers from Switzerland to Persia included a standoff with Turkish authorities who confiscated their plane, troubles with poor-quality gasoline purchased in Baghdad, and erroneous maps that forced them into the ill-fated landing during which their plane's landing gear collapsed.

Mittelholzers initial impressions of the territory of Persia from above were of "areas that lie desolate and empty and wander past the observing eye for hours. Huge alluvial fans, piles of rubble, and deltas of saline rivers [that] characterize the country."

Isolated settlements occasionally came into view as the pair flew over Persian territory.

"Here and there a green patch shines," Mittelholzer wrote, "a space in the center of which features residents' mud huts rising on narrow and winding streets. Silver bands mark the irrigation channels at the edges of the gardens."

Mittelholzer seized the opportunity to photograph Persia extensively from above in photographs that are now held by the ETH Zurich library.

The Swiss aviator and photographer also made use of his camera on the ground to capture a country on the cusp of dramatic change under Reza Shah Pahlavi, a ruler who would become known as Persia's "modernizing strongman."

At the time of Mittelholzer's visit to Persia, the country was without major rail or road networks, and camel caravans were still in use as a means of foreign trade, making air transport an enticing possibility for the country's rulers.

With the aviation industry still in its infancy in Persia, Mittelholzer and Bissegger had the sky virtually to themselves as they swept low over urban centers to snap images that would soon stun European audiences.

Mittelholzer predicted that aerial photography would play a significant role in documentary imagery of the future.

"Another hitherto unseen world opens up before us. It is as if the Earth has thereby gained a new face, and man a new, unflawed eye," he wrote in 1928.

After spending several weeks inside Iran, the two Swiss aviators eventually made the long trek back to Central Europe by car. Mittelholzer would later co-found a company that became Swissair, Switzerland's national carrier until 2002. He died in a mountaineering accident in 1937 aged 43.

In a newspaper obituary, a friend noted that Mittelholzer's death in the mountains that he loved, and that had sparked his extraordinary career, had a certain tragic poetry: "They have embraced him 0n his last wanderings and claimed him, and perhaps he would not have wished for a better end, but alas it came all too soon, there was so much more for him to do."
Mourners outside of Russia, including Russians living abroad, held memorial services honoring opposition leader Aleksei Navalny on March 1 as his funeral took place in Moscow. People in Armenia, Georgia, and Bulgaria placed signs, flowers, and candles for Navalny, whom some described as a source of hope and courage.
The Newville Borough Council defended itself again Thursday night on accusations of ignorance to its financial issues, as well as against one residents new petition to oust three members.

The council discovered in 2022 that Newville was in a financial hole of around $800,000 via unpaid municipal pension obligations and more, and Fred Potzer, who was the boroughs manager since 1994, was fired the next month. No charges have been filed in the matter, though a financial audit is pending in the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office.

Earlier this week, The Sentinel reported that the Pennsylvania auditor general had sent audits to the borough in 2019 saying Newville was only in partial compliance with its pension plans. Current Newville officials claim that, despite Council President Scott Penners name being on the mailing, the audit was only sent to the borough office where they allege that Potzer was able to intercept it before reaching the eyes of the council at the time.

Still, Newville residents Thursday night further aired their frustrations, with one resident claiming officials did not do due diligence.

What I get frustrated about is there seems to be a lot of blaming the people that sit up here, Penner said, but yet were the ones who are stepping up and trying to right the ship.

Penner, the only council member who was also on the council in 2019, told The Sentinel that Newvilles financial hole may not have ended up being the magnitude it is if he had seen those pension audits five years ago, but he claimed Potzer controlled the information that the council was getting.

Essentially, if you looked at your checking account every day and it said something and that wasnt true, how would you know any different? Penner said.

Newville officials say they didn't see state audits that indicated financial discrepancies years before distress Compliance audits for Newville's police pension plan and nonuniformed pension plan were released in 2019 through the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General.

Resident wants three seats vacated

As faith in Newvilles government fluctuates, resident Vicki Witter brought a new issue to light. She filed a petition Tuesday in Cumberland County Common Pleas Court on behalf of other Newville residents, and the council was served Thursday night.

Witter and others claim that three councilmembers  Edward Sinkovitz, Joe Kindon and Jack Ericksen  reelected for 2024, did not present the required notarized affidavits of their residency before retaking office.

She also said Mayor Michael Croutch should have officially sworn them into new terms at a council meeting in January but did not do so.

The petition asks the court to declare those three seats vacant, and it requests that three Newville residents be appointed to the vacant seats.

If anything, its making you all more aware of all of the regulations that should be followed that clearly werent followed or rules or oversight or checking imbalances, Witter told the council of the petition.

Nobody was doing that, and thats why were in all of this mess, she said. So, if me filing a petition makes you more aware ... amen.

After Witter spoke, Sinkovitz addressed the lack of trust people have in the council.

We try to please everybody, and it just seems like that people all think that this all seems like it happened the last two or three years, all the problems that have been mounting, he said. And Im not making any excuses for our oversight, things we missed, but I defy anybody else to come in here and know all the voting rules and all this. Its just not going to happen. Were all volunteers.

Sinkovitz then listed off names of previous people who served on the council while Potzer was employed.

All these things happened unto them, too, he said.  ... Theres no way youre going to fix it in a year.

Climbing out of financial hole

Right before the new year, the council voted to increase property taxes by 50% and cut one full-time police officer. There is also a 1.5% increase in earned income tax rates for people who live or work in the borough.

Newville is just one of four Pennsylvania municipalities considered financially distressed under state Act 47. It received about $800,000 in state loans but still faced a deficit of nearly the same amount for 2024, which led to the tax increase and police cut.

The borough now projects a balanced budget, but thats not a golden ticket, as the outside consultant estimated it will be three to eight years before Newville emerges from state oversight.

Were trying to chew off this year what we can chew off, Ericksen said in December. I dont think anything can be off the table going forward.

All council members, however, indicated Thursday night theyre not interested in selling or leasing Newvilles water and sewer authority. Although, Borough Manager Robert Sabatini said, the council wont know the value of that infrastructure until the district attorney submits his forensic audit.
I'm Steve Gutterman, the editor of RFE/RL's Russia/Ukraine/Belarus Desk.

Welcome to The Week In Russia, in which I dissect the key developments in Russian politics and society over the previous week and look at what's ahead.

As Aleksei Navalnys family prepared to bury him, Russians remembered Boris Nemtsov, assassinated near the Kremlin nine years ago, and a leading human rights activist, Oleg Orlov, was sentenced to prison for his criticism of the war against Ukraine.

Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.

Prison And Death

One was being buried, another was sentenced to prison, and a third was remembered nine years after he was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin.

Aleksei Navalny. Oleg Orlov. Boris Nemtsov.

For supporters, all three represent a Russia that could have been and perhaps could still be  but not, opponents of President Vladimir Putin fear, anytime soon.

To varying degrees, their fates are all connected to the most momentous thing Putin has done in almost a quarter-century as president or prime minister: attacking Ukraine, both in 2014, with the occupation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas, and with the full-scale invasion of February 2022.

At a protest a year before his killing, Nemtsov railed against Moscows rapidly unfolding aggression in Ukraine, calling it despicable and impudent  and also harmful for Russia.

He and his associates were working on a report on the extent of Russias interference in Ukraine when he was assassinated on February 27, 2015.

On the same date this year, Orlov -- co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Memorial human rights center -- was found guilty of discrediting the Russian military and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison. The verdict came after a retrial  initially, his punishment was a fine of 150,000 rubles ($1,650), but prosecutors appealed the ruling, and a new trial was ordered.

Orlov was charged over an article in which he wrote that Russia was "slipping back into totalitarianism, but this time the fascist kind."

"The bloody war that Putin's regime has unleashed in Ukraine is not only the mass murder of people and the annihilation of [Ukraine's] infrastructure, economy, and cultural sites," Orlov wrote. "Not only the destruction of the foundations of international law. It is also a severe blow to the future of Russia."

A Reckoning Rejected

Nemtsov and Navalny were firmly rooted in post-Soviet Russia, both young enough so that most of their adult lives  and in Navalnys case, all of it  were lived after the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991.

Orlov, 70, is a bridge to the past, not just by dint of his age but also because the now-outlawed Memorial was founded in the 1980s and, in addition to its human rights work in the Putin era, the group chronicles crimes of the state going back to Stalins Great Terror and beyond.

In 2022, Memorial was awarded a share of the Nobel Peace Prize for its outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights abuses, and the abuse of power in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. To some Russians, it embodies a crucially needed effort for a reckoning with the countrys past -- and a time when that reckoning seemed within reach.

If Orlov represents the unfulfilled promise of a time now past, Navalny  for supporters  represented a ray of hope for what he liked to call the beautiful Russia of the future.

For a decade or more, he was the most prominent opposition leader  in part because the field was thinned by the killing of Nemtsov. The pair had appeared at many of the same protests in 2011-12, when Russians hoping for political change hit the streets to protest parliamentary elections tainted by widespread evidence of fraud and Putins plan to return to the presidency after a stint as prime minister.

He presented himself as an alternative to Putin and sought to challenge Putin in the most direct way possible, though it turned out to be impossible: by running against him in 2018.

'Links In A Chain'

After surviving a near fatal nerve-agent poisoning in August 2020 and returning in January 2021 to Russia, where he was arrested upon arrival in January 2021, he died in prison on February 16 under suspicious circumstances.

Open-source investigators have linked the poisoning to Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives, and Navalny has alleged that Putin was behind it. Three and a half years later, family and associates say they believe Putin had him killed.

In a statement to the court on the day of his conviction, Orlov said that Navalnys death belongs squarely in the context of Russias war on Ukraine and the spiraling state clampdown on dissent, which has intensified since Putin launched the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Actually, these are all links in one chain  the death, or rather the murder, of Aleksei Navalny; judicial reprisals against other critics of the regime, including me; the stifling of freedom in the country; and the deployment of Russian troops in Ukraine, he said. "These are all links in the same chain.

In just over four months since the end of my first hearing in this court, said Orlov, who was led away in handcuffs after the judge pronounced the verdict, many events have taken place that show how quickly, and how much more deeply, our country is sinking into darkness.

However, he voiced confidence that the descent will eventually be reversed.

Those who have dragged our country into the pit where it is nowhave no vision for the future. Only false narratives of the past, mirages of imperial greatness. They are pushing Russia backward, Orlov said. But we live in the 21st century, the real future is with us, and that is the basis of our victory.

That's it from me this week.



If you want to know more, catch up on my podcast The Week Ahead In Russia, out every Monday, here on our site or wherever you get your podcasts (Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts).



Yours,



Steve Gutterman



P.S.: Consider forwarding this newsletter to colleagues who might find this of interest. Send feedback and tips to newsletters@rferl.org.


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BEDFORD  A Pennsylvania couple accused of animal neglect and cruelty were charged Friday with hundreds of offenses and jailed with bail set at $1 million.

The 99 felony counts of animal cruelty and other allegations against Nyal and Renee Piper were filed two months after investigators seized animals from their Johnstown home in western Pennsylvania.

The Pipers were also charged with nearly 300 misdemeanors and 81 summary charges.

An official at the Bedford County Correctional Facility said Nyal Piper, 81, and Renee Piper, 62, were both incarcerated there as of Friday afternoon. Court records did not list defense lawyers for them and an employee of the district court said no lawyer had appeared on their behalf.

Prosecutors say the charges involve 90 dogs, eight cats and a turtle.

They face additional charges for the remains of three animals that were found at the home and for five dogs who had to be euthanized.

District Judge Kevin Diehls bail order also put as conditions of release that they not possess any animals and that they allow unannounced inspections.
The University of Virginia is one step away from changing the name of Alderman Library, after years of discussion about the universitys controversial first president and his legacy on Grounds.

Edwin Alderman served as UVas chief executive from 1905 to 1931.

He was also an advocate for eugenics, a movement devoted to improving the human species through the control of hereditary factors. Alderman led the charge to transform UVa into a leading eugenics research center, according to a 2018 university report on the schools history of racism.

And while eugenics popularized many health care practices accepted today  such as birth control, prenatal screenings and marriage restrictions prohibiting close relations from reproducing  the movement has become more associated with its controversial applications  such as compulsory sterilization, racial segregation and forced abortions and pregnancies.

During a Thursday meeting of the UVa Board of Visitors Buildings and Grounds Committee, all but one member of the 11-person committee voted to approve a resolution to rename the recently ated library after UVas fourth president, Edgar Shannon.

Shannon served during a politically tumultuous time in the universitys, and countrys, history. During his tenure from 1959 to 1974, Shannon admitted the first female undergraduates in 1970, pushed to increase Black admissions and endorsed a student-led protest against the Vietnam War.

The votes were not cast without some discussion and criticism.

Rachel Sheridan noted that a naming committee had limited name alternatives to other UVa presidents.

They narrowed the decision to seven human beings. And I, for one, think that there are more than seven human beings worth honoring in this institution, Sheridan said.

Paul Harris also argued that the university should consider more diverse candidates, such as women or people of color who were either Virginians or attended the states flagship school.

But that was not the focus of his argument. Instead, Harris spent six minutes Tuesday reading from a prepared speech, in which he argued the library should not be renamed at all.

This vote is yet another same reminder of the graceless world in which we live. I find it amazing that people can be so confident in their own rectitude, Harris said. Renaming buildings is a discouraging reflection of our culture, a culture that is no friend to grace.

I would like to see this university devote its resources to building bridges across the issues that divide us rather than searching through stacks in the library to find human imperfections of past leaders for the sole purpose of condemning those who did not and cannot meet unforgiving and impossible standards, he continued.

Some members applauded Harris speech. Doug Wetmore said he agree with every word of it.

Other visitors did not, including Robert Blue.

Blue noted that there is a tunnel on Grounds named after his own great-great-grandfather, and hed have no problem if someone wanted to change its name.

I reject the notion that changing the name somehow erases history, he said. In my mind, the only person who gets perpetual naming rights at the University of Virginia is Thomas Jefferson.

Jefferson, the Founding Father and third U.S. president, founded the school in 1819.

Both the student and faculty representatives on the board claimed that their peers on Grounds want to see Aldermans name removed from the library.

I cant speak on what students would have preferred the name to be, but I do know that the preference generally amongst the student body was that it would not be Alderman Library, student representative Lillian Rojas said.

Rojas added that a student petition to change the name currently has over 1,300 signatures, and she called student support for the name change overwhelming.

With recent protests on Grounds over the Israel-Hamas war, Rojas said that Shannon is an apt choice for the moment.

I think seeing Shannon and hearing the speeches he made throughout Vietnam have really related to students throughout these difficult times, she said.

During the Vietnam War, Shannon took the side of student protesters and even sent a letter to then-President Richard Nixon opposing the U.S. invasion of Cambodia.

Committee Chairman John Nau III was a UVa student during Shannons tenure.

In 1968, most of us were going to go into the service, he said. He kept the fire going, but he turned the heat down. He did a miraculous job in having this not become a front-page school like a whole lot of other ones.

Harris was the only person not to vote in favor of the change, choosing instead to abstain.

The name change will not become official before Friday afternoon, when the entire Board of Visitors will make a final vote.
High Court reporters

Gardai have made "20 efforts" seeking Gemma O'Doherty so she can be brought before the High Court to answer a complaint that she is in contempt of the court, a judge has been told.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey agreed on Friday to again adjourn an application until gardai are able to execute an order that she come before the court.

The court has previously heard Ms O'Doherty, who is editor of a newspaper called The Irish Light, is out of the jurisdiction.

The contempt application arises out of Ms O'Doherty's alleged refusal to obey an order not to harass the mother of a young man who took his own life.

Edel Campbell, the mother of the late Diego Gilsenan, is suing Ms O'Doherty, over the use of her son's image in the Irish Light newspaper, which is edited by Ms O'Doherty.

Ms O'Doherty was ordered to remove images of Diego from any media platforms under her control, or from publishing any images of him or the family on any medium.

However, it was claimed there have been numerous other publications in clear disregard of the court order.

As a result, an application was made by Ms Campbell's lawyers for her attachment and committal to prison for contempt of court.

Ms O'Doherty denies any wrongdoing.

Last week, Mr Justice Sanfey adjourned the matter so that gardai could be served with the attachment and committal papers. The judge said the case could come back at any time in the interim if the gardai located her or if she chose herself to attend.

On Friday, the judge was told she had not turned up and gardai had not been in a position to execute the order.

David Kennedy SC, for Ms Campbell, said gardai had, however, also said they had seen broadcasts by Ms O'Doherty which indicate she is aware that the case was before the court on Friday.

Mr Kennedy also said gardai had "made 20 efforts to serve the order".

Mr Justice Sanfey said he also knew she was aware the case was on Friday because she had asked to join the hearing remotely by video link, but this had been refused because the purpose of the application is to secure her personal attendance at court.

He said he would adjourn the matter, not to a specific date, but with liberty to apply to have the case brought back when gardai are in a position to give effect to the order.
By Cillian Sherlock, PA

Former president Mary McAleese has called for a yes vote in the referendums on family and care.

Ms McAleese said the amendments would take Ireland another step towards the egalitarian future that our citizens desire.

Two referendums will be held on March 8th proposing to change the Constitution.

The family amendment proposes extending the meaning of family beyond one defined by marriage and to include those based on durable relationships.

The care amendment proposes deleting references to a womans roles and duties in the home, and replacing it with a new article that acknowledges family carers.

Campaigners are calling for yes votes in upcoming referendums. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA

Ms McAleese said that people had a responsibility to vote in the referendums.

March 8th is our opportunity to insert new realities, new energy, new insights into parts of our constitution that have just aged badly.

She told a media event on Friday: I intend to vote yes to both proposed changes to the Constitution because I am persuaded strongly that they will reflect the overwhelming impulse for equality and inclusivity that is the hallmark of modern Ireland.

They remove from the constitution language and attitudes that have long been controversial on account of perceived sexism.

They will also stop the marginalisation of many good, decent people whose strong contribution to family and community life has been completely under-valued, rendered second class.

Ms McAleese was speaking at an event titled We Are Family jointly hosted by Treoir and One Family as part of a wider platform of civil society organisations calling for yes votes.

The former president said it was unacceptable that families outside marriage and civil partnerships were not being recognised by the Constitution.

On the second referendum which deals with what is commonly referred to as the women in the home article, Ms McAleese said there are conflicting views on the current provision.

She said some people see it as patronising and paternalistic while others see it as valuable recognition of womens work in the home.

However, Ms McAleese said it was anachronistic.

She said: It is no longer suited to an Ireland anxious to promote gender equality.

Ms McAleese said the reality is that care can be stretched across a vast spectrum of everyday reality life.

In recent years that invisible world of what constitutes care within so many families has been revealed.

She said a yes vote for the proposed amendment would put a renewed spotlight on family care.

She said those who drafted the Constitution always expected it to be changed.

Mary McAleese addressed an event calling for yes votes in the referendums. Photo: Cillian Sherlock/PA

There is simply no value in holding on to those outdated concepts for the sake of nostalgia.

Ms McAleese added: To leave those articles as they are would contradict the dynamic of the momentum of our people.

Other speakers included John OMeara, who recently won a case at the Supreme Court which found he was entitled to the widowers pension even though he was not married or in a civil partnership with his long-term partner.

Mr OMeara and his three children challenged a High Court decision to uphold the refusal by the Department of Social Protection to grant him the pension.

The seven-judge Supreme Court unanimously said that the section of legislation which had excluded the OMearas was invalid, having regard to a different Article of the Constitution of Ireland, which states that all citizens should be equal before the law.

Speaking at the event on Friday as the carer of his children, he said that the case did not change his constitutional position: Im still not recognised as in a family even though I won that case.

The first of the proposed amendments would extend constitutional protection to families founded on other durable relationships.

Mr OMeara said he was supporting a yes vote in both referendums.

Sinaad Gibney, a single parent and former chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, said her relationship with her daughter was a unique bond.

Ms Gibney said: The reality is families come in all shapes and sizes.

She added: It is painful for me that my beautiful little family, of me and my daughter, is not recognised in the Constitution as a real family.

The event was chaired by columnist and former Barnados chief executive Fergus Finlay who said he disagreed with those calling for a no vote in the second referendum.

However, he said there was an unfought battle over disability rights in Ireland.

Deirdre McCarthy, a social worker from Co Cork, also told the audience she was supporting a yes vote in both referendums.

Ms McCarthy, who became a lone parent at 17, said she felt abandoned by the Constitution as her living situation was not recognised as a family.

She said that in 2023 some 41 per cent of children were born outside marriage and civil partnerships.

Christopher Tuite, a support worker, said he became a father at a very young age.

He said he is an equal partner with his childs mother but he is recognised constitutionally as a single male because they are not married.

He said he would be voting yes in both referendums, adding: Fathers cannot continue to be left on the sidelines.

Maxine Walshe, a psychotherapist and carer, said she works with lone parents who struggle to make ends meet and feel isolated.

She added: The fight wont be over on March 8th, but a yes, yes vote puts us in a much stronger position to push for that change.

Fergal Landy, chief executive of the National Forum for Family Resource Centres, said the group was strongly encouraging people to vote in favour of the proposed amendments.

He said: It aligns with our views of equality, human rights and inclusion. We dont think any family should feel excluded in society.

Mr Landy said he believed he was in a durable relationship with his long-term partner with whom he has three children.
Carry on Jatta 3 Movie in Hindi OTT Platform Release Date News

Carry on Jatta 3 is a Punjabi film

Carry on Jatta 3 OTT Platform Release Date Update: "Carry on Jatta 3" is a Punjabi film which is set to release on March 15. Carry on Jatta 3 is a comedy film with actors like Gippy Grewal, Binnu Dhillon, Sonam Bajwa, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Kavita Kaushik, Nasir Chinyoti, Jaswinder Bhalla, B.N. Sharma and Karamjit Anmol, while it is directed by Smeep Kang.

Carry on Jatta 3 is a romantic comedy that follows Jass, whose pursuit of love leads to hilarious chaos. When his love interest's family clashes with his own, Jass devises a crazy plan to win her heart.

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With unexpected twists and comedic moments, the film explores the craziness of love and the lengths people will go to for it. "Love and Laughter" promises laughs and heartwarming moments for all rom-com fans.

"Carry on Jatta 3" OTT Platform Release Date Update News: You can watch the film on Disney Plus Hotstar on March 15. Disney Plus Hotstar has itself confirmed the release date.
Operation Valentine OTT Platform Release Date News

Operation Valentine It's an action Telugu film

Operation Valentine OTT Release Date Update:"Operation Valentine" which has been released on 16 February 2024. It's an action Telugu film with actors like Manushi Chhillar, Ahaana Gill while it is directed by Shakti Pratap Singh.

"Operation Valentine" is an exhilarating and patriotic film that highlights the bravery of Air Force heroes and the intense challenges they encountered during one of India's largest and most ferocious aerial attacks.

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With thrilling action sequences and a gripping storyline, the movie pays tribute to the courage and resilience of those who defended their country against overwhelming odds. Get ready for an edge-of-your-seat experience that celebrates the spirit of patriotism and heroism.

"Operation Valentine " OTT Platform Release Date Update News : You can watch with the film on Amazon prime.
Railways Strike 2024: Railway unions threaten to stop train services from THIS date

The indefinite Strike for OPS would begin on May 1, 2024.

Railways Strike 2024 Date News: Several unions of railway employees and workers have threatened to stop the train services across India if their demand  implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)  is not met. These unions have come together under the banner of the Joint Forum For Restoration of the Old Pension Scheme (JFROPS).

As per the decision by the unions, the indefinite Strike for OPS would begin on May 1, 2024, which also happens to be International Labour Day. The decision was taken during the JFROPS core committee meeting, said Shiva Gopal Mishra, the convener of JFROPS and general secretary of All India Railwaymen's Federation.

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In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, Shiva Gopal Mishra shared the notice regarding the indefinite strike by railway unions in 2024. The notice stated that it was unanimously decided to serve upon "Indefinite Strike Notice as per relevant Rules on 19th March 2024, and the Indefinite Strike to comment on 1st May 2024 i.e on International Labour Day".

The press note further stated that after "considering the prevalent situation thoroughly and keeping in view the Non-Response of the Government on Restoration of Defined Guaranteed Old Pension Scheme in place of NPS", the committee decided "that there is no alternative left but to resort to direct action by all constituent trade unions collectively".

Mishra was later quoted by PTI as saying, The government is completely non-committal to our demand for the restoration of Defined Guaranteed Old Pension Scheme' in place of New Pension Scheme. Now, there is no alternative left but to resort to direct action."

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According to Mishra, several unions of other government employees will also go on strike along with railway workers. He said that the OPS was in the interest of workers, however, the New Pension Scheme doesnt take care of their employees' welfare.

(For more news apart from Railways Strike 2024 Date News, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman)
Falconer, New York-based MF Meats is recalling around 93,277 pounds of raw meat products citing potential contamination with a non-food grade substance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service or FSIS announced.

The affected products may have been contaminated with non-food grade mineral seal oil, which is not approved for use in meat processing.

The recall involves various weights of meat cuts and ground meat. The products display Julian dates of 330-365 (November 26 - December 31) and 1-47 (January 1 - February 16).

The impacted raw meat items, with establishment number "EST. 569" inside the USDA mark of inspection, were produced from November 26, 2023 through February 16, 2024. These items were shipped to restaurants in New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The recall was initiated after the company received four complaints from restaurants reporting a chemical taste in the meat products. Following an investigation, it was found that its mineral oil supplier sent them a drum containing non-food grade mineral seal oil labeled as food grade mineral oil.

The non-food grade mineral seal oil was applied to food contact surfaces and not directly to the meat products, the agency noted.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products to date.

FSIS, over concern that some product may be in restaurants' refrigerators or freezers, urged them to throw away the recalled meat items or return to the place of purchase.

In similar developments, FSIS recently warned against Trader Joe's frozen RTE chicken pilaf product citing the potential contamination with foreign material, specifically rocks.

In November last year, Doctors Scientific Organica called back a limited quantity of Burn Boot Camp Afterburn Grass-Fed Whey Protein Bars Triple Chocolate Almond flavor products as they may contain foreign material, including disposable hairnet, shrink wrap and parchment paper.

For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Pearson Plc (PSO,PSON.L), a British education services provider, on Friday, reported a rise in preliminary pre-tax income for the full year, supported by reduced costs and expenses, higher sales from English language learning, and assessment, qualifications segments.

For the 12 months, the company posted a pre-tax income of 493 million pounds, higher than 323 million pounds in the previous year.

Net profit stood at 380 million pounds or 52.7 pence per share as against last year's 244 million pounds or 32.6 pence per share.

Operating profit surged to 498 million pounds from 271 million pounds a year ago. The growth was driven by trading profit improvements and a reduction in the costs of major restructuring, partially offset by net loss related to acquisitions and disposals compared to a net gain in 2022.

Adjusted operating profit was up at 573 million pounds from 456 million pounds a year ago.

Operating expenses were 1.322 billion pounds, down from 1.549 billion pounds in 2022.

Cost of goods sold slipped to 1.839 billion pounds from last year's 2.046 billion pounds.

English Language Learning segment registered sales of 415 million pounds as against last year's 321 million pounds.

Sales of the Assessment and Qualifications segment stood at 1.559 billion pounds, higher than 1.444 billion pounds a year ago.

Sales were 3.674 billion pounds, down from the previous year's 3.841 billion pounds, reflecting performance, portfolio changes, and currency movements.

The Group said that it intends to extend its previously announced ongoing 300 million pounds of share repurchase program by 200 million pounds.

For the full year, Pearson will pay a final dividend of 15.7 pence per share bringing the total for the year to 22.7 pence per share, higher than last year's 21.5 pence per share. The final dividend will be paid on May 3 to shareholders on record March 22.

Looking ahead to the full year, Pearson expects its underlying sales growth and adjusted operating profit to be in line with current market expectations. This shows an underlying sales growth of 3.7 percent with adjusted operating profit of 621 million pounds.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is condemning a stunning student referendum at the University of Virginia calling on the school to divest from companies doing business in Israel.

In a letter sent to the schools leaders on Friday, Miyares directly compared the divestment movement, which has picked up momentum on college campuses during Israels monthslong war with Palestinian terror group Hamas, with the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people and launched the war in the first place.

I write to you today with grave concern about the recent student-led referendum at the University of Virginia, Miyares wrote to the schools governing Board of Visitors. The UVA referendum in question urges the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia Investment Management Company to participate in the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign.

Students held a referendum this past week on a measure calling on the school to divest any and all monies in its $13.6 billion endowment invested in companies engaging in or profiting from the State of Israels apartheid regime and acute violence against Palestinians.

Nearly 8,000 voted, and the referendum passed Thursday with 67.87% of the vote.

The referendum is nonbinding, however, and has no power over the Board of Visitors or the UVa Investment Management Company, the agency charged with regulating the schools endowment fund.

The institution is not bound by the results of this student referendum, UVa spokeswoman Bethanie Glover previously told The Daily Progress.

Nevertheless, Miyares still called on the Board of Visitors to reject the referendum and offer students essential moral clarity.

My earnest desire is for the Board of Visitors to explicitly reject and definitively repudiate the misguided attempt by the UVA student body to undermine the legitimacy of Israel, he wrote.

Miyares letter warns of alarming trends among college-age young adults between 18 and 24, citing a December Harvard-Harris poll which found 60% of the demographic deemed Hamas Oct. 7 terrorist attack justified.

The fact that a majority of young Americans surveyed feel that terrorism might be justified indicates a moral compass veering dangerously towards the rocky shoals of antisemitism, Miyares wrote. Terrorism and kidnapping of the innocent must never be justified.

He noted that Virginia recently codified into law a definition of antisemitism: a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or nonJewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.

Miyares argued the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement is inherently antisemitic.

Just like direct attacks from Hamas, BDS poses an existential threat to the Jewish state, he wrote.

Reports of antisemitism have been on the rise at UVa since Oct. 7. There have been dozens of complaints from Jewish students and their families that they have been harassed, intimidated and even physically assaulted. The university has said it is looking into those claims, and the U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation.

The referendum was spearheaded by UVa Apartheid Divest, a group that has roots in the student protests against the racist apartheid regime in South Africa and has been revived in recent years in response to other worldwide conflicts.

A third-year representative of that group, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, acknowledged that the referendum is nonactionable but told The Daily Progress that it is a line in the sand. His group, he said, will use the results of the referendum as a lobbying tool as we continue to push the unaccountable, undemocratic institutions that have control over our universitys investments to be transparent about our investments and divest from apartheid and genocide.

But the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, Miyares wrote, disguises its malicious intentions while ignoring other human rights abuses elsewhere in the world.

I await the same organizers at UVA who pushed the BDS referendum to place as much effort to condemn the rape, sexual assault of innocent Jewish women, and the murder of the innocent, he wrote.

More than 30,000 people have died so far in the Israel-Hamas war, the overwhelming majority of those Palestinians. Since Oct. 7, Israel has been bombing and blockading the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, a 140-square-mile territory home to 2 million people, half of which are under the age of 18. Palestinian authorities, including Hamas, have charged Israel with senselessly killing civilians. Even U.S. President Biden has called the Israeli response over the top. Israel has maintained that Hamas, which started the conflict when it attacked Israeli civilians going on five months ago, continues to operate out of hospitals, schools and apartment buildings, using civilians as shields.
Sporting goods manufacturer Vista Outdoor Inc. (VSTO), Friday announced that it had received a proposal from investment firm MNC Capital Partners to buy the company for $35 per share in cash, which amounts to $2.9 billion, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The publication reported that Vista's board is yet to make a final decision.

Earlier, Vista was in talks with Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group to sell the sporting goods for $1.91 billion.

Following the announcement, Vista's stock is trading at $32.48, up 4.10 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
China-based Li Auto (LI) launched its first pure electric model MEGA multi-purpose vehicle at the 21st Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition.

The vehicle's exterior resembles China's high-speed bullet train, which helps MEGA to give a good performance range due to low wind resistance. It is powered by dual electric motors with a total powertrain power of 400 kW and a total torque of 542 Nm. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.5 seconds.

The company's CEO Li Xiang stated that the latest 102.7 kWh battery provides the 5.3-meter-long multi-purpose vehicle with a driving range of 441 miles between charges.

The high-powered battery is manufactured by CATL, a China-based battery giant, which also makes the vehicle compatible with 5C ultra-fast charging.

The Chinese company is also planning to invest at least RMB 6 billion to build more than 5,000 directly operated supercharging stations that support 5C charging.

The company executive informed at the event that Li Auto is bringing in partners to work on building supercharging stations with more than 300 kW charging power, enabling MEGA to get a 500-kilometer range on a 15-minute charge.

Additionally, MEGA is equipped with an intelligent driving system, AD Max, powered by Nvidia Orin X chips.

The Beijing-based company is also planning a software update in June in a bid to enable the vehicle to autonomously park and change lanes.



MEGA, priced at RMB 559,800, equivalent to $77,756, will be out for deliveries on March 11. The company stated that it offers a free 20-kW DC charging pile or 6,000 kWh of free charging for customers who pre-order the vehicle, and 3,000 kWh of free charging for customers who order between March 11 and April 30.

According to the company website, a pre-order requires a deposit of RMB5,000, which is refundable for a limited time period. However, within 2 hours of MEGA launch, more than 2,000 orders were received, which underscores the demand for the multi-purpose vehicle among family users.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
After exiting the Indian market, Ford is reportedly planning to re-enter  This time with EVs and Hybrids

Global automotive juggernaut, Ford, is contemplating its plans to position itself as a car manufacturer in India. In a rather long see-saw session, there have been multiple speculations around Fords upcoming strategy for the Indian market. Latest reports suggest Ford could stick to Hybrids and EVs along with a probable JV with Tata Motors.

Ford India Strategy Could Revolve Around Hybrids, EVs

After years of dwindling sales, Ford pulled the plug on its Indian operations, similar to what automotive juggernauts like Chevrolet from General Motors and Fiat from Stellantis (then Fiat Chrysler Association) did. Company held two manufacturing facilities in India  Sanand and Chennai.

Sanand plant was sold to Tata Motors and the transaction happened rather smoothly and ownership was handed over. However, same cant be said about Fords Chennai plant. Ford was in the final round of talks with JSW Group for the sale of its Chennai plant and was called off in the final stages.

The deal with JSW Group was said to be almost finalised and considered a closed chapter. However, this deal went south and Chennai facility is still under Fords ownership. The hesitation for Ford follows with the recent success of Indian automotive sector climbing the ranks to solidify third largest car market position, followed by China and USA.

What may be Fords strategy?

The Chennai plant may prove to be a strategic export hub for ASEAN nations with proximity to ports and sea routes. As per a recent report, people in the know-how have revealed that Ford might retain the manufacturing facility to sell hybrid and electric vehicles along with SUVs.

These adhere to Fords global strategies and the brand has significant expertise and pioneering in said genres. Fords recent patent applications reveal a compact or sub-compact SUV that could take EcoSport name considering its legacy, loyalty and recall among enthusiasts. This might be Fords mass market offering while keeping halo products in the line.

Speaking of, Ford Mustang EV name was trademarked in India earlier this year and new Ford Everest (sold as Endeavour in India) design patents have been filed too. These developments align with the recent report mentioning Ford may stick to SUVs and EVs, while the smaller SUV could be a hybrid vehicle.

Ford JV with Tata Motors?

The report also mentioned speculations about Ford getting into a JV with Tata Motors. Tata is currently Indias leading electric car maker on a scale larger than any other manufacturer. A JV with Tata may benefit both companies. For Ford it will help penetrate the Indian market while for Tata, they might get to launch cars in the US market.

Source
Hyundai sales in February 2024 saw a YoY growth but MoM decline while exports too ended with lower sales

Indian auto industry sales as a whole showed off an upward trajectory in February 2024 both across the two wheeler and passenger vehicle segments. Hyundai Motor India Limited has also released their sales report for the month of February 2024 wherein sales growth of 4.58 percent YoY has been seen.

Hyundai Domestic Sales January 2024

Total sales (domestic + exports) grew to 60,501 units in February 2024, up from 57,851 units sold in February 2023. This included 50,201 unit sales in domestic markets relating to a 6.81 percent YoY growth from 47,001 units sold in February 2023. Exports however, fell by 5.07 percent to 10,300 units in the past month from 10,850 units shipped in February 2023.

Taking into account sales in domestic markets, the company has a varied lineup of 13 cars and SUVs among which are Grand i10 Nios, i20, i20 N-Line, Aura, Exter, Venue, Venue N-Line, Verna, Creta, Alcazar, Tucson, Kona EV and Ioniq 5 EV. Domestic sales stood at 50,201 units last month, a 6.88 percent growth over 46,968 units sold in February 2023. It was however, a 12.11 percent de-growth when compared to 57,115 units sold in January 2024.

The recently launched Creta is what has boosted company sales to a great extent. Its demand is such that in a month Hyundai got over 50k bookings for new Creta. Hyundai has recorded 1 million sales of the Creta since the time of launch in 2015 amounting to 1 Creta being sold every 5 minutes.

Hyundai Upcoming Launches in 2024

The company now gets ready to launch Creta N Line. Bookings have opened for the N Line at company dealerships and features have been detailed. No pricing is announced as on date but the Creta N Line is expected to range between Rs 19 lakh to Rs 21 lakh (ex-showroom). Launch date is set for 11th March 2024. With bookings just being opened, Creta N Line has received such outstanding response.

The Creta N Line boasts an exclusive Thunder Blue colour with a contrasting black roof to enhance its sporty appeal. It will be offered in two variants of N8 and N10 will be powered by a 1.5 liter Kappa Turbo GDi petrol engine making 160 hp power and 253 Nm torque. Transmission options will include a 6 speed MT and 7 speed DCT.

Hyundai is also testing Alcazar facelift, as revealed by spy shots. It will be the companys third launch this calendar year after the Creta facelift in Jan this year and the Creta N Line in March 2024. Hyundai Alcazar facelift could be slated for launch by June 2024.
The revelation of Vinfast patenting Klara S electric scooter comes just a couple of days after they start construction at their EV plant in India

Recently, Vinfast broke ground on its first EV manufacturing facility with USD 500 million (Rs. 4,000 Crore) investment in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. Recent revelations show Vinfast is hot on setting an electric scooter portfolio as well, along with electric cars. Vinfast Klara S electric scooter has now been patented in India, fueling speculations.

Vinfast Klara S Patented In India

Vietnamese automaker, Vinfast, might be better for its portfolio of electric cars. Vinfast was also a key player in the race to acquire Fords Chennai plant post the American brands exit from Indian market. But Vinfast serves up a decent range of electric scooters on home turf. The same could be one of its identity in India as well.

India is currently the hottest market for electric scooters and there are more players today than what the industry expected a decade ago. The adoption rate for electric scooters has seen a greater reception from Indians than any other 2W EV genre. As an electric scooter manufacturer, that might prove a perfect business proposition for Vinfast.

First electric scooter launch from Vinfast in India may be Klara S, as it was recently patented in India. Klara S is a classic design electric scooter, giving me Vespa vibes. Vinfast proudly advertises Klara S as Quintessence Of Italian Design. It is a handsome-looking electric scooter and could be a fitting rival to Bajaj Chetak and Ola S1 range, owing to their design genres.

We can see a hexagonal-shaped LED headlight, U-shaped LED tail light, LED turn indicators and premium-looking pillion foot-pegs. There are options for contrasting colours on the floor board along with seats. A fully digital instrument cluster along with telematics features facilitated by a built-in e-sim are note-worthy attributes.

Specs, features and performance

Colours for Klara S include  Black, Red, White, Blue, Matte Black, Nurturing Green and Moss Green. For starters, Vinfast Klara S measures 1,890 mm in length, 684 mm in width, 1,125 mm in height and has a 1,321 mm long wheelbase and a 760 mm seat height. Klara S boasts a 108 kg kerb weight with two removable batteries.

Yep, Vinfast embraces removable battery tech and there are two removable battery packs (22 ah each) populated with Li-ion cells sourced from LG Chem. These battery packs provide juice to a 1.2 kW (1.6 bhp) electric hub motor sourced from Bosch powering the rear wheels. Claimed range from this system is 120 km at 30 km/h speed, while top speed is 48 km/h.

Load bearing capacity for Vinfast Klara S is rated at 150 kg. Notable componentry includes front and rear disc brakes with Nissin calipers, 14-inch front wheel with 90/90-14 tyre and 120/70-12 rear tyre wrapped on 12-inch rear wheel. Price starts from VND 39.9 million (approx Rs. 1.34 lakh) without batteries and 400W charger. Batteries are offered as a service for VND 350,000 every month (approx Rs. 1,178).
As we close another Black History Month, it is an opportune moment to highlight two prominent themes in the life and legacy of Carter Godwin Woodson, a pioneer of Black History Month who was born in Buckingham County, Virginia. As a renowned historian and faculty member of two historically Black colleges and universities, Woodson ardently supported both the humanities and HBCUs. In fact, the humanities and HBCUs are deeply connected and hold special value in the lives of many of our distinguished Black leaders over the past 150 years.

The humanities, as defined by the National Humanities Center, help us understand and interpret the human experience, as individuals and societies. Accordingly, the humanities have helped many African Americans contextualize the oppressive environment they lived in and provided a framework for how to express and revolutionize their condition. For Booker T. Washington, it was the combination of his education at Hampton Institute and theological training at seminary that equipped him with the tools to become the inaugural principal at the Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers and a transformational national leader and activist.

HBCUs enabled African Americans to pursue higher learning and advance their position in a society that otherwise prohibited them. They created places of refuge and sanctuary, where one could learn, think and teach freely. Virginia Union University, the first of six HBCUs in the commonwealth, though only five are operational today, was established in 1865 for the expressed purpose of educating newly liberated African Americans. To date, Union is widely known for its divinity program and religious studies and has many notable alumni, including the first Black governor in Virginia and the United States: Lawrence Douglas Wilder.

Although certain progress has been achieved over the past century, many people find themselves in similar predicaments today. That is, seeking outlets and safe spaces to learn their history, express their culture, find their faith and improve their position in society. In fall 2021, the Hunt Institute released a Federal and State Policy Scan Brief on HBCUs. Their sample concluded some of the principal reasons for Black students attending HBCUs were to experience less racism and explore their cultural roots. Sadly, racialization in the United States continues to demonstrate that if Black, Indigenous and people of color, or BIPOC, do not protect and preserve their history and culture, it will be altered, if not erased. In the poignant words of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, The negro digs up his past. This persistent threat to Black-related studies necessitates a greater responsibility for the BIPOC community to be familiar with our history and stewards of our traditions.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences recently conducted research on Americans and their engagement with and perception of the humanities, entitled The Survey of the Humanities in American Life. The study revealed that, due to higher rates of religious study, literary and poetry event attendance, and online sharing of humanities content, Black Americans are more engaged with the humanities than the general public. That fervor directly translates to campus life in HBCUs and places a premium on cultural capital. As a result, the humanities and HBCUs maintain a symbiotic relationship whereby a student does not need to be formally in the classroom to be enriched by the humanities. Notwithstanding, HBCUs mostly maintain a strong liberal arts curriculum and have seen significant growth in certain liberal studies and interdisciplinary humanities programming.

Ultimately, HBCUs, despite their underfunding and underappreciation, overperform and continue evolving to better serve their students. As we reflect on the history and contributions of African-descended people, let us apply Woodsons words: Real education means to inspire people to live more abundantly, to learn to begin with life as they find it and make it better. The intersection of the humanities and HBCUs is a place where that education thrives.
Virginias 5th Congressional District Rep. Bob Good has sterling conservative credentials, after all hes slightly to the right of Attila the Hun and hes the head of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

Under normal circumstances such conservative bona fides are enough to discourage any Republican from challenging him in the primary. But Good endorsed Ron DeSantis in the 2004 Republican presidential primary, and he endorsed Donald Trump only after the Florida governor dropped out of the race.

In the MAGA cult thats the unpardonable sin, and regardless how conservative Good may be, Trump supporters will never forgive him for not endorsing their orange messiah from the start.

Goods heresy in endorsing DeSantis emboldened Virginia Del. John McGuire to run against him in the GOP primary, and now Good is running scared. So scared in fact that he made the embarrassing rookie mistake of inviting his supporters to attend the grand opening of a Trump store in Farmville, a McGuire campaign event.

Good joined his supporters in crashing McGuires party, and the stores owner was incensed by the interlopers sacrilegious action and she was caught on tape angrily asking him to leave.

A Trump store is akin to a place of worship, and the orange buffoons supporters will never forgive Good for defiling their temple with his audacious stunt.

Im a progressive, and both Good and McGuire are anathema to me, but Good is substantially more of a rightwing nut, and I hope that he loses his primary.
By now, the pattern is all too familiar. Charlottesville city government undertakes a major initiative with the potential to address this communitys longstanding contributions to climate change. In the end, the policy direction selected perpetuates fossil fuel habits rather than charting a climate-responsible course to the future.

On Tuesday, City Council considered the alternative fuels study for Charlottesville Area Transit and endorsed a plan to dramatically grow the citys fossil fuel burning, dirty diesel bus fleet to its largest size ever. It also moved towards a transit plan that will irresponsibly dump, for years, copious amounts of transit-based air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions into our neighborhoods. City Manager Sam Sanders summed up the meeting well while thanking Kimley-Horn consulting for their plan contributions: You just did the job that we asked you to do.

Why would city officials double down on fossil fuels, given what is known about the rapidly growing, negative impacts of climate change? The answer is simple. City Hall is committed to a narrow vision of social justice and dedicated to addressing socioeconomic and racial inequities at every turn. Any other consideration, including urgently needed climate action, is secondary to efforts intended to combat classism and racism. Addressing these two ills is fully appropriate, and I support priority action against them  but not without equal, simultaneous effort to fight climate change. City Hall asserts that the CAT plan is the best way to provide reliable transportation to those without cars. That is impossible, given that the plan irresponsibly ignores the maturity of battery electric buses and charts a course to rapidly increasing diesel exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions.

In reality, the endorsed plan hurts disadvantaged residents. It betrays the goal of social justice. Sadly, climate change is not an equal opportunity menace, as its impacts fall most heavily on those least able to protect themselves. We have seen repeatedly that poorer and disenfranchised individuals suffer the most from climate degradation, whether in heat islands, flooding, utility bills or toxic pollutants. The citys disregard for the climate and the well-being of neighbors is part of a multiyear pattern of missed opportunities to protect people and planet.

Charlottesville City Council unanimously adopted a pair of greenhouse gas reduction goals in July 2019. Subsequently, in March 2021, the city unanimously adopted an Affordable Housing Plan that made no attempt to weave together housing affordability and climate change solutions. In November 2021, the city unanimously adopted a Comprehensive Plan that included an incomplete environmental chapter with no climate action plan. Fifteen months later, the city amended its Comprehensive Plan by bolting on a terribly tardy Climate Action Plan. By then, the citys vision of zoning reform was already well established. In December 2023, the city unanimously adopted a new zoning ordinance that does little or nothing to protect tree canopy, manage stormwater, disincentivize tear downs or motivate the construction of energy-efficient-, clean-energy-ready and enabled buildings. The new code includes bonuses for the construction of more affordable housing, but there were never discussions of bonuses for building more environmentally responsible housing.

Over the years, climate action by the city of Charlottesville has been, and continues to be, an afterthought. Despite the input of hundreds of community residents urging climate action now, Charlottesville City Halls ongoing, callous indifference for the environment, and continued embrace of fossil fuels, shamefully harms all people and our one, shared planet.
A traffic stop earlier this month in Linn County led authorities to a stash of fentanyl pills and powder.

Oregon State Police troopers found the drugs after stopping two California residents in a silver Honda Accord the afternoon of Feb. 16 on Interstate 5 not far from Brownsville, according to a news release from the agency.

A Place to Sleep, episode 6: Brownsville Find out how a man arrested in the 1960s for being a drug addict shaped the law that requires Oregon cities to designate a place to sleep for homeless people.

The trooper observed suspicious behavior from the cars occupants, indicating possible drug activity, the release states, so a K-9 unit was called to assist with the stop.

After the dog alerted to the potential presence of illegal drugs, the vehicle was searched, and troopers discovered what appeared to be 10,000 fentanyl pills along with 4 pounds of fentanyl powder in a grocery bag behind the drivers seat, according to the release.

A small amount of other illegal narcotics was also found in the vehicle, the release states.

The driver, Danny Yohan Cruz Benitz, 18, of Oakland was arrested under the suspicion of possessing a controlled substance and attempted delivery of controlled substance, according to the release; and passenger Walter Omar Mayorga Aguilar, 20, of Sacramento was arrested under the suspicion of possessing a controlled substance, attempted delivery of controlled substance, and a parole/probation violation.

The investigation is ongoing.

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ASIA

Afghanistan

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council is expected to consider the renewal of the mandate of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which is set to expire on 17 March. Prior to that, the Council will hold its quarterly meeting on Afghanistan. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNAMA Roza Otunbayeva is expected to brief. A civil society representative may also brief.

Key Recent Developments

Afghanistan continues to suffer from a multifaceted crisis, as the international community grapples with how to approach international engagement with the Taliban and to address the countrys many challenges. The humanitarian conditions in Afghanistan, which is currently experiencing one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises, remain a chief concern.

The 2024 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP), launched in December 2023, estimates that approximately 23.7 million peoplemore than half the countrys populationwill require some form of humanitarian assistance in 2024. A 14 December 2023 Integrated Food Security Classification Phase (IPC) report projected that, between November 2023 and March, 15.8 million Afghans will experience either crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity. Due to funding shortfalls, the World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it will be able to provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to around seven million people, less than half of those in need.

Human rights have continued to be curtailed in recent months, particularly those of women and girls. Since January, UNAMA has been documenting a trend of arbitrary arrests and detentions of women and girls because of alleged non-compliance with the Islamic dress code related to the wearing of hijab. In an 11 January statement, UNAMA said that it was examining allegations of ill-treatment during the detentions and that ethnic minorities have been disproportionally targeted by such enforcement operations. Analysts have characterised the direct enforcement against women, rather than punishing male relatives or guardians, as a new tactic by the Taliban that signals an escalation of their crackdown on womens rights. The Taliban has rejected reports that women are being arrested and mistreated for not complying with the dress code, with the Talibans chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, saying that Afghan women wear hijab on their own [accord].

A 16 February report of quarterly country-wide consultations with Afghan women conducted by UN Women, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and UNAMA reflects the detrimental effects of the Talibans restrictive decrees against women and girls, noting that 50 such edicts have been issued since August 2021. It says that the strict enforcement of the hijab decree has deepened depression and anxiety among women, many of whom have been staying at home, fearing arrest. According to the report, the women consulted did not accept the current plight as their future and called on the international community to make womens rights a priority in their engagements on Afghanistan, including by linking international aid to better conditions for women and by facilitating opportunities for women to talk directly with the Taliban.

Against this backdrop, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened the second meeting of Special Envoys and Special Representatives on Afghanistan on 18 and 19 February in Doha, Qatar. According to Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric, the Doha meeting aimed to discuss how to approach increasing international engagement in a more coherent, coordinated and structured manner, including through consideration of the recommendations of the independent assessment on Afghanistan. The Taliban did not attend, partly due to their objection to the participation of representatives from Afghan civil society and womens groups at the meeting. They have also expressed opposition to some of the recommendations of the independent assessment, which the Security Council requested in resolution 2679 of 16 March 2023, particularly the appointment of a UN Special Envoy who would focus on diplomacy between Afghanistan and international stakeholders and advancing intra-Afghan dialogue. (For more information on the independent assessment, see our Whats in Blue stories of 27 November 2023 and 8 December 2023.)

Speaking at a 19 February press conference, Guterres stated that there was consensus during the Doha meeting about the independent assessments programmatic proposals, while acknowledging that deadlock persists over an essential set of questions, including over the rights of women and girls. (For more information on the Doha conference, see our Whats in Blue story of 25 February.)

On 26 February, the Security Council held a private meeting in line with resolution 2721 of 29 December 2023, which requested the Secretary-General to brief the Council about the second meeting of the group of Special Envoys and Special Representatives on Afghanistan and about his consultations on the appointment of a Special Envoy for Afghanistan. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed at the meeting, at which India, Iran, Pakistan, Qatar, and Turkiye also participated. Council members that have signed on to the Shared Commitments on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)Ecuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Switzerland, the UK, and the USread a statement prior to the meeting. They called for Afghan womens equal, meaningful, and safe participation and leadership at all levels and stages of decision-making, including in all fora and mechanisms seeking to advance international engagement on Afghanistan.

Women, Peace and Security Shaharzad AkbarExecutive Director of the civil society organisation Rawadaribriefed the Council during the 20 December 2023 open briefing on Afghanistan. She said that, since the Talibans takeover, her organisation has documented an alarming pattern of human rights violations, including the repression of womens rights in every conceivable sphere of life. Among other recommendations, Akbar urged the Security Council to be clear that the normalization of relations with the Taliban is not possible without swiftly reversing all restrictions on womens rights and Afghanistan meeting its international legal obligations, including under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). She further urged the Council to support justice and accountability for human rights violations by the Taliban and called on UN member states and UN bodies to investigate the Talibans treatment of Afghan women as both gender persecution and gender apartheid.

Key Issues and Options

The main issue for the Security Council in March will be the renewal of UNAMAs mandate. The Council could choose to pursue a straightforward renewal of the missions mandate, which many Council members and civil society representatives view as robust. Looking ahead, if a Special Envoy is appointed, members could have an informal discussion with the UN Secretariat to discuss the division of labour and cooperation between the Special Envoy and UNAMA.

The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan is a significant issue for the Council. An informal meeting with humanitarian organisations working in Afghanistan could allow Council members to learn more about the problems facing those working to deliver aid in the country, while also providing an opportunity to consider whether there are steps that the Council could take to help manage these challenges.

The human rights situation in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, is another major issue. Council members could hold an informal meeting with representatives of UN Women, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and civil society to discuss how the Council can exert pressure on the Taliban regarding its practices and policies that restrict human rights.

The terrorist threat in Afghanistan is also a key concern. The Council could meet with a counter-terrorism expert, which would give members a chance to discuss possible options for bolstering the Councils effort to manage the threat posed by terrorism in Afghanistan.

Insecurity affecting children in Afghanistan is another matter of concern. The Secretary-Generals most recent report on children and armed conflict in Afghanistan, which was released on 22 December 2023 and covers the period between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022, noted that 3,248 children were killed or maimed during the reporting period, mostly from incidents involving explosive devices, which are ubiquitous throughout Afghanistan. Members could consider inviting a representative of UNICEF to brief in their quarterly meeting on Afghanistan to learn more about what the international community could do to address such issues.

Council and Wider Dynamics

Although Council members are generally united in their desire to see a prosperous, peaceful Afghanistan free from terrorism and ruled by an inclusive government, they have been divided over how to achieve this goal. Some members, including the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded states, have argued that the Taliban must adhere to international norms if they want to obtain international recognition and receive economic and development aid from the international community. Several of these members appear to favour maintaining pressure on the Taliban, particularly regarding their policies and practices that violate the rights of women and girls.

China and Russia, on the other hand, have contended that the international community should provide assistance to Afghanistan without linking it to other issues, such as human rights, and appear to prefer dialogue and engagement with the Taliban over increased pressure. China has sent an ambassador to Kabul, and on 30 January became the first country to accept diplomatic credentials from a Taliban envoy. Beijing has emphasised that it has not officially recognised the Taliban regime as Afghanistans government, however.

Afghanistans neighbouring countries have taken a similar approach, pursuing trade relations with Kabul and cooperation to address issues such as poppy cultivation. This has also been reflected in diplomatic engagement; the Taliban have participated in meetings held in regional countries, and on 29 January hosted their first international meeting in Kabul, titled Afghanistan Regional Cooperation Initiative, which was attended by representatives from neighbouring and regional countries, including China, Iran, Pakistan, and Russia.

Some analysts have suggested that some Western countries, including the US, are concerned that increasing cooperation between regional states and Afghanistan can weaken international leverage over the Taliban by giving it the economic benefits and appearance of legitimacy that it seeks.

There are also differences of view among Council members about the implementation of the independent assessment on Afghanistan. China and Russia have emphasised the importance of taking into account the Talibans views on the assessment, and have questioned the added value of a UN Special Envoy. Other members, including the US, have expressed support for the appointment of a Special Envoy, maintaining that such a position will be crucial in coordinating international engagement on Afghanistan. It seems that these positions were reiterated during the Doha meeting and the Councils 26 February private meeting.

Although there is general support among Council members for UNAMAs work, negotiations on renewing the missions mandate in the past two years were difficult. During the negotiations on resolution 2626 of 17 March 2022, which extended the missions mandate, China and Russia contended that UNAMAs primary focus should be assisting with efforts to address the humanitarian and economic crises in Afghanistan. Other members, including the P3, sought a more robust mandate for UNAMA spanning several additional areas, including the protection of human rights and the promotion of inclusive governance and gender equality. Such provisions were retained over China and Russias objection, leading Russia to abstain on the resolution. A contentious issue during last years mandate renewal negotiations was a provision requesting the Secretary-General to conduct an independent assessment, leading the then-penholders (Japan and the United Arab Emirates) to seek two separate resolutions, one addressing UNAMAs mandate and another on the independent assessment. (For background, see our Whats in Blue stories of 17 March 2022 and 15 March 2023.)

It seems that many Council members, including several of the elected members that joined the Council in 2024Algeria, Guyana, the ROK, Sierra Leone, and Sloveniasupport retaining a robust mandate for UNAMA. During the upcoming mandate renewal negotiations, these members may express a preference for a straightforward renewal of the missions mandate and seek to insulate the discussions on UNAMA from more controversial issues, such as the appointment of a Special Envoy for Afghanistan.

Japan is the penholder on Afghanistan.

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PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING

Conflict Prevention

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council will hold an open debate on Promoting Conflict Prevention  Empowering All Actors Including Women and Youth. Japan is organising the open debate, being held under the Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace agenda item, as a signature event of its Council presidency. Briefings are expected by representatives of the UN Secretariat, academia, and civil society.

Key Recent Developments

The Secretary-Generals July 2023 policy brief, A New Agenda for Peace (NAfP), which outlines his vision for the future of multilateralism and the UNs work on peace and security in a changing world, calls for member states to prioritise and invest more in conflict prevention. The NAfP stresses the need for UN member states to recommit to multilateralism to prevent or resolve disputes. This is all the more critical, according to the policy brief, because of the worlds current geopolitical fragmentation and rising inter-state conflict. The NAfP calls for boosting preventive diplomacy by making greater use of the UN and its good offices capacities and building or repairing regional security architectures. It further underscore that preventive tools, outlined in Article 33 of the Charter, remain relevant, even though they have been underused. (Article 33 of the UN Charter sets out tools such as negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and judicial settlement, among others, which the Council can call upon parties to use to peacefully settle disputes.)

The NAfP also calls for increasing the focus on prevention at the national level, which can complement diplomatic action. It stresses that prevention at the national level is primarily the responsibility of nations and governments, who should address the drivers of conflict and violence in their societies. One of the NAfPs innovations is the Secretary-Generals proposal for all UN member states to develop national prevention strategies. According to the NAfP, national prevention initiatives should entail approaches grounded in sustainable development and be multidimensional, people-centred and inclusive of all the different components of society. Such strategies should aim to prevent not only conflict but also violence committed by extremist groups, criminal groups, and armed gangs, as well as gender-based and domestic violence. According to the NAfP, this would be consistent with Sustainable Development Goal 16.1, in which all states, not just conflict-affected countries, are committed to reducing all forms of violence. The UN, when requested, can provide support for the development and implementation of such strategies. One of the NAfPs recommendations is that the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) create a mechanism to mobilise political and financial support for national and regional prevention strategies.

The NAfP is one of several inputs, including the August 2021 report Our Common Agenda, that the Secretary-General has prepared for Septembers Summit of the Future on strengthening global governance. In January, Namibia and Germany began co-facilitating negotiations among member states on a Pact for the Future, which world leaders may adopt at the summit. Meanwhile, the PBC, under the chairmanship this year of Ambassador Sergio Franca Danese (Brazil), is beginning preparations for the 2025 review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture (PBAR). The upcoming PBAR will be an opportunity for member states to make operational the relevant NAfP recommendations for the PBC.

On 6 December 2023, the Secretary-General invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, a rarely used prevention tool that allows him to bring to the Councils attention any situation that threatens international peace and security, when he wrote to the Council on the threat posed by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue is how the open debate can help to generate ideas to strengthen prevention, given the number of ongoing conflicts, the increasing risk multipliers such as climate change, pandemics and food insecurity, and preventions cost-effectiveness compared to responding once conflict erupts. It seems that a focus will be placed on comprehensive approacheswhich the NAfP says are required for effective preventionthat bridge the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, including by strengthening cooperation across the UN system. Related to such comprehensive approaches is the strengthening of institutions to identify and manage challenges that may lead to conflict and building countries resilience by empowering women and youth.

The open debate is expected to highlight, as another key issue, the challenges that states face in preventing conflict and its recurrence and how the international community, including the Security Council, can work in support of national efforts to address these challenges. This includes considering how to assist states in taking national ownership in identifying root causes of conflict and encouraging them to develop prevention strategies. In this regard, a key issue is how to improve synergies between the Council, the PBC, international financial institutions, and other relevant stakeholders. The debate is meant to contribute to discussions on the Summit of the Future and the 2025 PBAR.

Options for the Council to increase its engagement in prevention include making greater use of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa, considering an expansion of the geographic scope of the working group beyond Africa, and more regularly using the Secretary-Generals monthly luncheons with the Council to consider subjects with a preventive scope. Fact-finding or visiting missions to determine whether a dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, as foreseen in Article 34 of the UN Charter, is another option for increasing Council preventive engagement. The Council may also pay additional attention to states that are hosting large refugee populations and are suffering severe economic, environmental and security strains.

As part of supporting efforts for structural prevention, the Council can continue to strengthen its attention to peacebuilding and draw on the advice of the PBC during its deliberations and mandate renewals (for its part, the PBC should continue its efforts to improve the substance of its advice). The Council can also encourage closer coordination in information-sharing and early warning within the UN system.

Council and Wider Dynamics

The Security Council has struggled to engage effectively in prevention, often because of concerns about interference in states internal affairs, a particular impediment to addressing intra-state conflict. Past initiatives like Horizon Scanning and Situational Awareness briefings for the Council to identify potential conflict situations have failed to gain traction, partially because of these concerns. Even after conflict erupts, states frequently try to block the Council from discussing such situations because of sensitivities over internal interference and the stigma often associated with being on the Councils agenda. New geopolitical dynamics have made the Councils preventive engagement even more complicated.

Useful prevention tools that Council members all appear to value are the UNs regional offices for West Africa, Central Africa, and Central Asia (UNOWAS, UNOCA and UNRCCA), known for their early warning and good offices activities. These offices also support states and sub-regional organisations in developing responses to structural conflict drivers and help promote common analysis and coherence among UN agencies, funds, and programmes for more conflict-sensitive development assistance.

Several Council members are interested in seeing the Council strengthen its engagement in prevention. Japans organisation of this open debate is a further expression of its interest in prevention and peacebuilding: in January, Japan, along with Council members Guyana and Mozambique, organised an Arria-formula meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace through Comprehensive Approaches. The UK has traditionally been a proponent of improving the Councils engagement in prevention.

Meanwhile, there appears to be rising interest among UN member states in having the PBC become more explicitly involved in prevention, given its mandate to address issues that lie between peace and development and the PBCs practice of discussing situations only with the consent of the country concerned. Some states remain hesitant, however, to endorse the PBCs serving as a conflict prevention platform.

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AFRICA

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council will hold a briefing and consultations on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The anticipated briefer is the Special Representative and Head of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita.

Key Recent Developments

On 20 December 2023, the DRC held presidential, legislative, and provincial elections. The electoral process was marked by irregularities, including controversies around voter registration and delays in the opening of polling stations, among other things. On 31 December 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) declared Felix Antoine Tshisekedi the winner with 73 percent of the vote, but the opposition contested the results and called for a rerun. The aftermath of the elections also saw protests organised by the opposition in Kinshasa, which turned violent when the Congolese police tried to disperse demonstrators. Following confirmation of the election results by the Constitutional Court on 9 January, Tshisekedi was inaugurated for a second term on 20 January at a ceremony attended by regional leaders.

On 19 December 2023, the Council unanimously adopted resolution 2717, renewing MONUSCOs mandate for one year. According to the resolution, the mission will withdraw its Force from South Kivu by the end of April 2024 and limit the implementation of its mandate to the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri from May 2024 until the end of the current mandate. The Council requested the Congolese government and the UN to provide an update on the implementation of this drawdown process by June 2024 to inform the next steps in MONUSCOs gradual, responsible, and sustainable withdrawal in accordance with resolution 2717.

Following the renewal of MONUSCOs mandate, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix visited the DRC from 1 to 7 February, where he discussed the security situation in the eastern part of the country, MONUSCOs gradual and responsible drawdown, and the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse in meetings with MONUSCO staff, government officials (including President Tshisekedi), the leadership of the South African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), and civil society representatives. Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance Catherine Pollard and Special Coordinator for Improving UN Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Christian Saunders accompanied Lacroix on the visit. At Frances request, Lacroix and Pollard briefed the Council on 12 February in closed consultations. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 12 February.)

Following the meeting, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana), in her capacity as Februarys Council President, read out press elements in which Council members expressed concern about the escalating violence in eastern DRC and the ongoing tensions in the region. Council members condemned the offensive launched on 7 February by the Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) near Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, and the military activities of all other armed groups operating in the country. They also condemned the violence in Kinshasa on 10 February targeting UN personnel and other diplomatic missions and called for impartial investigations into the incidents.

On 20 February, the Security Council met again to consider the situation in the DRC. France, the penholder on the file, requested the meeting to discuss the deteriorating security situation in eastern DRC, and Keita briefed the Council on the matter. (For more, see our Whats In Blue story of 19 February.)

The East African Community Regional Force (EACRF), which was deployed in eastern DRC under the framework of a regional initiative spearheaded by the East African Community (EAC) known as the Nairobi process, ceased operations when its mandate expired on 8 December 2023. The Congolese government chose not to extend the EACRFs mandate, apparently disappointed by the forces inability to neutralise the M23, and sought the support of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which decided on 8 May 2023 to deploy SAMIDRC in the eastern DRC. SAMIDRCcomposed of troops from Malawi, South Africa, and Tanzaniahas been deployed in North Kivu since December 2023, replacing the EACRF.

On 22 November 2023, SADC formally requested UN assistance for SAMIDRC, including facilities, equipment, air asset services, medical support, and information- and intelligence-sharing, among other forms of support. When renewing MONUSCOs mandate in December 2023, the Council indicated its intention to evaluate the circumstances under which limited logistical and operational assistance could be provided to an AU-mandated regional force deployed within MONUSCOs operational area, in alignment with MONUSCOs mandate and within existing resources. It further requested the Secretary-General to submit a report in June, including his recommendations on this matter.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 7 January, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk released a statement on the DRC. He raised concerns about the rise in ethnic-based hate speech and incitement to violence, particularly in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu and in the Kasai and Katanga regions, after the December 2023 elections. He called on the authorities to thoroughly and transparently investigate all reports of hate speech and incitement to violence and to hold those responsible to account.

Sanctions-Related Developments

On 20 February, the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee approved the request by France, the UK, and the US for the designation of six individuals under its sanctions list: two from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and one each from the Twirwaneho armed group, the National Peoples Coalition for the Sovereignty of Congo (CNPSC), M23, and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).

Women, Peace and Security

Sandrine Lusambathe national coordinator of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Solidarite Feminine pour la Paixbriefed the Council during the 11 December 2023 open briefing on the DRC. She said that since she last briefed the Council in 2021, the security situation in the DRC had deteriorated. Addressing MONUSCOs drawdown, she said that civil society had received little information as to the disengagement plan for the mission. The mapping-out of the protection activities and capacities of the UN agencies that were identified under MONUSCOs mandate was insufficient in terms of needs analysis, she added, and did not take into account the contributions and participation of civil society, hence failing to enable the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and the inclusion of young people. Among other recommendations, Lusamba said that women should be at the centre of MONUSCOs and the UN Country Teams work. She also recommended that MONUSCO and the UN Country Team work with local and national NGOs to develop indicators measuring the protection and promotion of womens human rights, including in the areas of gender-based violence, attacks on women human rights defenders, sexual and reproductive rights and the meaningful participation of women.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for Council members in March is the worsening security situation in eastern DRC and heightened regional tensions. The insecurity has also exacerbated the humanitarian situation because of the massive displacement of people from the ongoing fighting in North Kivu. Council members are likely to reiterate the need to find a political solution to the situation in eastern DRC and continue expressing their support for regional initiatives.

The implementation of MONUSCOs disengagement plan adopted by the Council pursuant to resolution 2717 is another key issue for Council members. They will be keen to receive updates on the missions drawdown from South Kivu by the end of April 2024 as part of this disengagement process.

Also an issue of major concern to Council members is the misinformation campaign against MONUSCO that resulted in the recent attack on the mission. On 10 February, violent protests erupted in Kinshasa, with MONUSCO being a primary target. The mission reported that several of its vehicles were set ablaze during the demonstrations. Council members may continue to underscore the need to enhance the missions strategic communication efforts to counter increasing challenges posed by mis- and disinformation.

A possible option is a presidential statement to respond to some of the major developments in the DRC, including the security situation in eastern DRC, heightened regional tensions, and MONUSCOs gradual and responsible drawdown.

Council Dynamics

At the 20 February meeting, Council members expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in DRC and its broader ramifications for regional peace and stability. They called for de-escalation of tensions and the resolution of the situation through dialogue. Accordingly, Council members expressed support for regional initiatives, commending the role of Angolan President and chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) Joao Lourenco for convening a mini-summit on the situation in eastern DRC in Addis Ababa on 16 February on the margins of the AU Summit.

Some members condemned the recent attacks by the M23 near Sake, a town located 27 kilometres from Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu. France condemned Rwandas support for the group and the presence of its forces on Congolese territory. A threshold has been crossed with the deployment and use on Congolese territory of anti-aircraft systems that do not correspond to the capabilities of a simple armed group, France added. The US also called on Rwandan forces to end their support to M23, withdraw from Congolese territory, and immediately remove all their surface-to-air missile systems. It further called for a serious evaluation of Rwandas role as a major UN troop-contributing country.

Council members condemned the attacks against MONUSCO and underscored the need to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers. Regarding MONUSCOs disengagement process and its withdrawal from South Kivu in April, several Council members cautioned against leaving a security vacuum that could exacerbate the security situation. The members of the A3 plus one grouping (Algeria, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and Guyana) expressed hope that SAMIDRCs support for the Congolese national army would prevent the advance of all armed groups and help stabilise the situation.

France is the penholder on the DRC. Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone) chairs the 1533 DRC Sanctions Committee.

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ASIA

DPRK (North Korea)

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council is expected to extend the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1718 Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) Sanctions Committee. The panels mandate expires on 30 April.

Additionally, the Chair of the 1718 DPRK Sanctions Committee, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland), is scheduled to brief Council members in closed consultations on the 90-day report on the committees work.

Key Recent Developments

The tensions on the Korean Peninsula have shown no signs of abating in recent months. The DPRK has continued to test its missile technology and other weapons in violation of Security Council resolutions. At the same time, an absence of meaningful diplomatic progress continues to characterise inter-Korean relations.

On 27 November 2023, the Council convened for an open briefing after the DPRK claimed that it had successfully launched a military reconnaissance satellite on 21 November. DPRK state media announced that a Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite had been launched on a Chollima-1 rocket from the DPRKs Sohae satellite launch facility and had entered Earths orbit. At the briefing, Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari noted that sovereign states have the right to engage in peaceful space activities; however, he emphasised that Council resolutions strictly prohibit the DPRK from using ballistic missile technology.

On 18 December 2023, the DPRK launched a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards the Sea of Japan. According to the Japanese defence ministry, the missile flew for 73 minutes and reached an altitude of more than 6,000 kilometres before falling into the sea west of Hokkaido, outside Japans exclusive economic zone. This was the fifth ICBM launch by the DPRK in 2023. A day later, the Council convened for an open briefing on the DPRK to discuss the launch.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has remained volatile in 2024. On 5 January, the DPRK fired around 200 artillery shells towards Yeonpyeong Island, part of the Republic of Korea (ROK). According to the ROK military, the shells landed in the buffer zone between the two countries and did not enter ROK territory. ROKs military has reported that the DPRK fired more artillery shells towards the island on 6 and 7 January. In response, the ROK conducted live-fire artillery drills south of the maritime buffer zone between the two countries.

On 14 January, the DPRK conducted its first ballistic missile launch this year. The DPRK announced that it had tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) equipped with a hypersonic warhead. According to media reports, the ROKs Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that the missile was launched from an area north of Pyongyang. It travelled some 1,000 kilometres before landing in the Sea of Japan. On 18 January, Council members held closed consultations to discuss the incident.

The DPRK has also conducted five cruise missile launches so far this year, including a 15 February test of a new anti-ship weapon known as Padasuri-6. At that launch, the DPRKs leader, Kim Jong-Un, reportedly told DPRK state media that the country would boost its deployment of surface-to-sea missiles and strengthen its maritime defence posture in a more assertive challenge to the Northern Limit Linethe de facto maritime border separating the DPRKs and ROKs territorial waters, which the DPRK disputes.

Those comments followed a recent change in the DPRKs policy towards inter-Korean relations and unification. At the end-of-year meeting of the governing Workers Ruling Party in late December 2023, Kim classified relations between the two Koreas as hostile. Kim also instructed his military to prepare for war and the possible use of nuclear weapons in response to any attack by the ROK. Speaking in the DPRK parliament on 15 January, Kim called for constitutional changes that would classify the ROK as a hostile state. He also ruled out the possibility of Korean unification.

There are growing concerns among some countries over alleged arms transfers between the DPRK and Russia. On 6 January, the US, together with 49 other member states and the High Representative of the EU, issued a joint statement condemning the export of ballistic missiles to Russia by the DPRK and contending that these arms transfers contravene several Council resolutions. During a 10 January Council briefing on Ukraine, several Council membersJapan, the ROK, Slovenia, the UK, and the USexpressed concern over Russias alleged use of ballistic missiles from the DPRK in Ukraine. Russia rejected these claims and accused the US of spreading misinformation. (For more, see our Whats in Blue story of 9 January.)

On 27 February, the ROK and the US announced that the 2024 edition of the countries annual joint military exercise Freedom Shield would take place between 4 and 14 March.

Key Issues and Options

The DPRKs frequent weapons tests, many of which violate Council resolutions, remain a major issue for the Council. Sanctions evasion is also an important issue, as is the overall effectiveness of the sanctions regime, particularly given that the DPRK is widely believed to have increased its nuclear arsenal since the regime was introduced in 2006 and has shown little inclination to scale back its weapons programmes. Illustrating this challenge, a recent report by the UK-based investigative organisation Conflict Armament Research analysed a recovered DPRK-made ballistic missile that Russia fired against Ukraine in January and found that 75 percent of its components were linked to US companies and 16 percent to European companies, marking the first public identification of the DPRKs reliance on non-domestic technology for its missile programme.

The Council may seek to address these issues when extending the Panel of Experts mandate. For instance, Council members could add language condemning the DPRKs recent missile tests and urging member states to comply with existing sanctions. They could also request the panel to provide the 1718 Sanctions Committee with periodic briefings on the DPRKs nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Further, members could add language clarifying that the panel may provide the committee with incident reports concerning specific events that might violate Council resolutions on the DPRKan authority that has been subject to dispute under the current mandate. Given the allegations raised by the US regarding possible arms transfers from the DPRK to Russia, the committee could also consider specifically requesting the panel to investigate the US claims and provide a stand-alone report outlining its findings to the committee.

In addition, Council members may consider adding language addressing the potential unintended adverse impact of sanctions on the civilian population of the DPRK. In this context, they could note recommendations to the Council contained in the panels most recent midterm report, dated 12 September 2023. These include conducting more active outreach with civil society organisations providing humanitarian assistance in the DPRK to facilitate implementation of Council resolution 2664 of 9 December 2022, which established a standing humanitarian exemption to the asset freeze measures imposed by UN sanctions regimes, and considering exemptions for certain exports currently under sanctions, the proceeds of which might be used to finance humanitarian supplies.

Council Dynamics

Deep divisions among Council members continue to shape its dynamics on the DPRK. The P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded countries take a more active role in drawing the Councils attention to and condemning the DPRKs ballistic missile tests, which they consider destabilising for the region. These members generally support using sanctions to manage the threat posed by the DPRK and call on member states to comply with existing Council resolutions. They often urge the country to engage in dialogue and abandon its weapons programmes while emphasising that it is responsible for escalating tensions. Some of these members also call for the Council to show unity and respond to the DPRKs weapons tests and argue that China and Russia have emboldened it by blocking Council action on the file.

China and Russia, on the other hand, blame the US for heightening tensions and accuse it of not doing enough to incentivise the DPRK to participate in denuclearisation talks. These two members have also contended that sanctions should be eased because of their impact on the humanitarian situation and continue to express their support for a draft resolution circulated by China in October 2021 that would provide sanctions relief to the DPRK if adopted. They also repeatedly blocked attempts to issue a Council product responding to missile launches conducted by the DPRK throughout 2022 and 2023.

These dynamics prevented Council agreement on substantive changes to the Panel of Experts mandate during last years renewal, resulting in a straightforward extension. (For more on those negotiations, see our Whats in Blue story of 23 March 2023.) Despite the change in the Councils composition this year, Council dynamics are unlikely to be affected significantly. Among the current non-permanent members of the Council, Japan and the ROK have a major stake in non-proliferation and security issues on the Korean Peninsula.

The US is the penholder on the DPRK.

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SECURITY COUNCIL AND WIDER UN STRUCTURE

EU-UN Cooperation

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council will hold its annual meeting on strengthening EU-UN cooperation under the agenda item Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security. Josep Borrell Fontelles, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is expected to brief.

Background and Key Recent Developments

Strengthening cooperation with regional and sub-regional organisationsas envisioned in Chapter VIII of the UN Charterhas become an increasingly prominent theme for the Security Council. The Council has maintained the practice of holding annual briefings on cooperation between the EU and the UN since 2010, although these briefings were not held in 2012 and 2018. Since 2013, Council members have also held annual informal meetings with members of the EU Political and Security Committee. In 2014, the Council adopted a presidential statement welcoming the EUs cooperation with the UN and its contributions towards the maintenance of international peace and security and its involvement in international negotiations and mediation processes.

Council briefings on EU-UN cooperation have generally addressed areas of common concern between the two organisations, focusing on the EUs main foreign policy priorities and objectives and addressing current crises that overlap on the EU and Security Council agendas. This year, the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East, triggered by the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas, are expected to be a central focus of Borrells briefing.

Two years into Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU remains firmly committed to supporting Ukraine. On 1 February, the European Council agreed to provide Ukraine with up to 50 billion euros in grants and loans until 2027. The financial aid package is considered crucial for supporting Ukraines economy, providing predictable financing to help cover the cost of salaries, pensions, and public services. On 23 February, the EU adopted its 13th package of sanctions against Russia. Furthermore, in December 2023, the European Council decided to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine.

Concerning the situation in Gaza, the EU has allocated an initial 125 million euros for humanitarian aid in 2024. Additionally, since 7 October 2023, EU member states have collectively contributed over 600 million euros in financial support to the occupied Palestinian territories. The EU and its member states are the largest donors to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Following allegations claiming links between some UNRWA staff members and the terror attacks of 7 October in Israel, however, some EU member states suspended their financial contributions to the agency. In a 4 February blog post, Borrell insisted that defunding UNRWA would be both disproportionate and dangerous.

In addition to the contribution of troops and police from EU member states to UN peacekeeping missions, the EU fields its own missions through the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), some of which are mandated by the Security Council. The EU currently deploys around 4,000 personnel across 12 civilian missions and nine military operations. The EU has established several missions and operations since the Councils last briefing on EU-UN cooperation in February 2023.

In Europe, the EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) was deployed on 20 February 2023 as a civilian mission with a two-year mandate. EUMA is responsible for observing and reporting on the situation on the ground, contributing to human security in conflict-affected areas, and building confidence between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 24 April 2023, the EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM Moldova) was launched to enhance the resilience of the security sector in the country.

In Africa, the EU Military Partnership Mission (EUMPM) in Niger was launched in February 2023 to enhance the ability of the Niger Armed Forces to contain terrorist threats. According to media reports, Nigers military administrationwhich assumed power after a coup detat in July 2023 that ousted President Mohamed Bazoumannounced in December 2023 that it was withdrawing from EUMPM in Niger and revoking the 2012 EU capacity-building civilian mission EUCAP Sahel Niger, which was established to strengthen the countrys internal security forces. In an 18 December blog post, Borrell described the move as a hostile signal, cautioning that history shows that expelling partner supporting efforts to improve security in Sahel results only in leaving more room for terrorism and insecurity.

In the post, Borrell also described the challenges facing EU missions in countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR) because of the regions shifting geopolitical configuration. He noted a backdrop of increasing destabilization in the region, encouraged by foreign actors hostile to Europe, an indirect reference to Russias expanding influence in the region. Nevertheless, Borrell stressed that many African countries are willing to work with the EU on security issues. In December 2023, the EU Security and Defence Initiative in support of West African countries of the Gulf of Guinea (EU SDI GoG) was established in partnership with Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin to complement the EUs ongoing support for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

More recently, in the Middle East, the EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Operation ASPIDES was launched on 19 February in response to the repeated Houthi attacks on maritime shipping in the Red Sea since October 2023. The aim of ASPIDES is to restore and safeguard the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2722, which took note of the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks, including those that undermine navigational rights and freedoms.

The EU has been a major financial partner of the AU in supporting AU Peace Support Operations (AUPSOs). It welcomed the adoption on 21 December 2023 of Security Council resolution 2719 on using assessed contributions to support specific AUPSOs, which was co-sponsored by many EU member states. The EU is expected to play a critical role in supporting the AU to cover the 25 percent of costs that will not be financed by UN assessed contributions.

Collectively, the EU and its member states are the largest financial contributors to the UN system. EU member states provide approximately one third of the UN regular budget, one quarter of the UN peacekeeping budget, and one quarter of all financial contributions to the UNs agencies, funds, and programmes.

Council Dynamics

Under Article 34 of the Treaty of the European Union, EU member states on the Security Council are to defend the positions and the interests of the EU. Currently, three Council membersFrance, Malta, and Sloveniaare EU members. The UK, which has not been a member of the EU since 31 January 2020, has occasionally joined EU members in making joint statements.

The relationship between the EU and Russia deteriorated precipitously following Russias invasion of Ukraine. At the June 2022 briefing on EU-UN cooperation, Russia described its relations with the EU as having reached a level tunneling below rock bottom. At the latest briefing in February 2023, Russia remarked that there was an abyss below that rock bottom, adding that its relations with the EU essentially no longer exist.

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PEACEMAKING, PEACEKEEPING AND PEACEBUILDING

In Hindsight: The Security Council and Conflict Prevention

Background

Conflict prevention is at the core of the UN Charter. As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres remarked during his swearing-in ceremony on 12 December 2016, prevention is not a novel conceptit is what the founders of the UN asked us to do. Indeed, the charters first article says that a primary purpose of the UN is to maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and calls on all members to settle their international disputes by peaceful means. Chapter VI on the peaceful settlement of disputes provides the framework for the Councils prevention work.

This month, Japan will make conflict prevention a focus of its presidency, with an open debate on promoting conflict prevention as one of its signature events. (For more information, see the conflict prevention brief in our March Monthly Forecast.) Members will continue to consider conflict prevention as they negotiate the Pact of the Future, ahead of the Summit of the Future in September 2024.

The draft Pact of the Future document under negotiation includes a section on international peace and security that incorporates ideas from the Secretary-Generals A New Agenda for Peace (NAfP). The NAfP calls for boosting preventive diplomacy by making greater use of the UN and its good offices capacities and building or repairing regional security architectures. It underscores that preventive tools, outlined in Article 33 of the Charter, have been underused. (Article 33 directs the parties to a serious dispute to settle it using peaceful means, including negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and judicial settlement, among others. It further asserts that the Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon the parties to settle their dispute by such means.) The NAfP also distinguishes between prevention at the global level and prevention at the national level.

As reflected in the NAfP, conflict prevention activities range from operational measures like the use of early warning and preventive diplomacy, to longer term structural interventions and peacebuilding that address underlying causes of conflict such as socio-economic inequality, ethnic discrimination and fragile state institutions.

Members agree that prevention saves lives and is more cost-effective than managing conflicts, addressing their attendant humanitarian effects, and rebuilding post-conflict countries. But geopolitical dynamics in a fragmented, multipolar world have made prevention even more complicated for the Council. The past decade or so has been particularly difficult: since 2011, the Security Council and the broader international community have been unable to prevent intractable conflicts or conflict escalation in the Central African Republic, Haiti, Israel-Palestine, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen, among others

Although the Council has adopted several formal outcomes focused on different aspects of conflict prevention, including the importance of early warning mechanisms, these have, by and large, not gained traction. Members have often pushed back against upstream prevention, which tends to focus on situations not on the agenda, often sparking accusations of interference in states internal affairs, a particular impediment towards addressing intra-state conflict. Even after conflict erupts, states frequently try to block Council engagement.

Examples of Council Prevention Tools

Secretariat Briefings

The Security Councils focus on conflict prevention is often through thematic debates rather than country-specific discussions. In the recent past, however, members sought more country-specific discussions through a prevention lens, including by horizon-scanning and situational awareness briefings.

Monthly, between November 2010 and March 2012, the head of the Department of Political Affairs (now DPPA) scanned the horizon for the Council with the aim of providing information that might allow for better conflict prevention, including preventive diplomacy. The initiative had come from the UK. But by late 2012, these briefings dwindled. Some members felt that they added little to what was in the public domain, while others took issue with the countries being discussed, at times attempting to limit the agenda.

In 2016, New Zealand initiated situational awareness briefings at a less formal level. These took place in the Secretariat and were chaired by a member of the Secretary-Generals Executive Office, which also set the agenda. They focused largely on situations on the Councils agenda in the hope that this would be less controversial than discussing matters not on the agenda. These meetings presented a holistic picture of country-specific threats through briefings by senior representatives of UN entities, including DPA, DPKO, OCHA, and OHCHR. Reluctance grew on the part of the Secretariat, and the meetings became less frequent.

In November 2018 the ten elected members and the incoming five members carried out a demarche to the Secretary-General to request early warning briefings by the Secretariat. This led to a few such briefings in 2019 before they stopped altogether during the COVID-19 pandemic. A subsequent attempt by elected members led to two informal early warning briefings for E10 members, one at the end of 2022 and another in January 2023.

Other Council initiatives for informal and candid discussion of this nature include the Informal Interactive Dialogue format, which is a closed, informal meeting of Council members for which there is no record, and the Secretary-Generals monthly lunches with members are possible venues for quiet discussions. The so-called sofa talks created in 2019 (at a time of Council cleavages over a number of issues) to bring together Council permanent representatives for an informal discussion, lapsed with COVID-19 and have shown only limited signs of revival. The Secretary-Generals lunches have provided a discreet space for the Secretary-General to speak to the 15 members on issues that he sees as potential international peace and security concerns. These lunches can be seen as an indirect use of Article 99 of the UN Charter, which provides that the Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. In the current geopolitical environment, more robust use of this article may be necessary.

UN Regional Offices

The Council receives biannual reports and briefings from the heads of the UN regional offices in West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Central Africa (UNOCA) and Central Asia (UNRCCA), which may flag the risk of crises, as they have done in Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea and Nigeria. In such cases, the Council receives information on potential conflict situations not on the Councils agenda, including diplomatic efforts and responses to structural conflict drivers. UNOWAS briefings are also one way of keeping the Council informed of concerns pertaining to Mali, following the closure of MINUSMA and the termination of the Mali sanctions regime.

Visiting Missions

Since the Council dispatched a visiting mission, consisting of three Council members, to Cambodia and Viet Nam from 26 June to 14 July 1964, it has used this tool for a number of purposes, including preventive diplomacy, gathering first-hand information, supporting peace processes, and mediation. (Under Article 34 of the Charter, The Security Council may investigate any dispute, or any situation which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security.)

Following the Cold War, Council members began making regular visiting missions, with three to five such trips the norm in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Pandemic restrictions affected the Councils ability to travel; visiting missions resumed in late 2021, but at a much lower rate, with one in 2021, none in 2022 and two in 2023. Difficulty agreeing on the destination and a heavy workload may have contributed to fewer visiting missions.

The Future of Conflict Prevention

The difficulties for the Security Council to delve into, and support, conflict prevention and resolution in country-specific settings has helped drive attention to structural prevention and the need to address the drivers of conflict and violence at the national and local levels, as evident in its recent conflict prevention thematic debates. The NafP proposes that all UN member states develop national prevention strategies that are grounded in sustainable development and are multidimensional, people-centred and inclusive of all the different components of society. It also recommends a role for the PBC in supporting these national strategies, to which member states may be amenable as the PBC will only discuss countries with the consent of the government concerned.

Several Council thematic resolutions emphasise structural prevention, including resolution 2282 (2016) on the ten-year review of the UN peacebuilding architecture, which points out that a comprehensive approach to sustaining peace involves preventing conflict and addressing its root causes. Among other issues, it underlines the importance of strengthening the rule of law at the international and national levels, and encourages sustainable development, national reconciliation and unity, including through inclusive dialogue and mediation, good governance, accountable institutions and the protection of human rights. A critical Council role in prevention, including structural prevention, comes through its mandating of special political missions as well as peacekeeping operations that prioritise support to some of these measures. The Council has also, in recent years, paid more attention to root causes in its country-specific and thematic resolutions and presidential statements.

Council members may wish to bring greater attention to bear on structural prevention efforts, on planning visiting missions strategically around situations where it has the potential to encourage and support Article 33 activities (including enquiry and mediation), and on how best to use the Secretary-Generals good offices role, including the efforts of special political missions.
MIDDLE EAST

Lebanon

Expected Council Action

In March, Council members expect to receive a briefing in consultations on the Secretary-Generals report on the implementation of resolution 1701. Adopted in 2006, resolution 1701 called for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. The Secretary-Generals report, which is due on 7 March, will cover the period from 21 October 2023 to 20 February. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and a representative of the Department of Peace Operations are the expected briefers.

Key Recent Developments

Following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas on 7 October 2023, near-daily exchanges of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon continue to give rise to serious concerns about a major escalation of violence in southern Lebanon as well as in the wider region. (For background on the war in Gaza, see the The Middle East, including the Palestinian Question brief in our January Monthly Forecast. The Blue Line is a withdrawal line set by the UN in 2000 to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. While not representing an international border, it acts in practice as a boundary between Lebanon and Israel in the absence of an agreed border between the two states.)

The exchanges of firethe most intense since the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollahhave resulted in casualties among both combatants and civilians on both sides of the Blue Line. As at 22 February, 273 people have been killed in Lebanon since the escalation, including 42 civilians, while 16 people have been killed in Israel, including six civilians, according to data cited by the wire service Agence France Presse. Briefing the 22 February Security Council meeting on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said that approximately 100,000 Israelis and over 87,000 Lebanese have been displaced from their communities.

The recent intensification of the strikes, and statements by Israeli and Hezbollah officials, have caused concerns that brinkmanship may soon give way to open conflict. According to a 14 February statement by Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric, the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) reported a concerning shift in the fire exchanges between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and armed groups in Lebanon, including targeting of areas far from the Blue Line. On 15 February, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi reportedly said that Israel is intensifying the strikes all the time, and Hezbollah are paying an increasingly heavy price, while on 14 February, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said that fire from southern Lebanon would end when the attack on Gaza stops and there is a ceasefire, adding that if Israel expands the confrontation, we will do the same.

On 25 February, Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant reportedly said that a temporary pause in fighting in Gaza will not apply to Lebanon, adding that Israels aim is to push Hezbollah away from the Israeli border, either through a diplomatic agreement or by force. On 26 February, Israeli airstrikes near the city of Baalbek, northeast of Beirut, marked their deepest strikes into Lebanese territory since the escalation, and were followed by Hezbollah firing 60 rockets towards an IDF post in the Israeli-occupied Golan. On 27 February, Wronecka expressed deep concern at the gradual expansion in the exchange of fire across the Blue Line in scope, scale and intensity, urging an immediate halt to the cycle of violence and a return to a cessation of hostilities.

Diplomatic initiatives by the US and France have focused on de-escalation and on bringing the parties to a negotiation process over disputed areas along the Blue Line as a way to promote diplomatic solutions and disincentivise military confrontation. However, these efforts have yet to bear fruit.

Against this backdrop, UNIFIL continues to work to implement its mandate, including through patrols in its area of operations and engagement with local officials and conflict parties. At the time of writing, no fatalities among UNIFIL peacekeepers have been reported since the start of the escalation. Some peacekeepers have been wounded, however, and several of the missions positions have been hit.

The US and several other donor countries suspended aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)which provides services in 12 Palestine refugee camps in Lebanonafter Israel accused 12 of its staff members of having participated in the Hamas-led 7 October 2023 attack. UNRWA fired the staff members associated with the allegations and, upon request of the UN Secretary-General, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the main investigative body of the UN, began investigating the allegations. In a 22 February statement, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that, to date, Israel had not shared any evidence with UNRWA regarding the allegations against UNRWA staff. (Separately, the UN also mandated an independent review led by former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna on how UNRWA upholds neutrality principles.)

Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus recently stressed that the suspension of aid will leave the Agency without funding by the end of February and highlighted the dire consequences for the estimated 250,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon, including in terms of schooling and healthcare.

Lebanon has been without a president for over a year since Michel Aouns term ended on 31 October 2022, with opposing politico-sectarian blocks unable to agree on a compromise candidate. The presidential vacuum is compounded by the fact that Lebanons government remains in caretaker status. To avoid an additional anticipated vacuum, the Lebanese parliament voted on 15 December 2023 to extend Lebanese Armed Forces Commander Joseph Aouns term for one year.

Almost two years since the April 2022 Staff Level Agreement between Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Lebanon does not appear to be close to satisfying the preconditions set by the IMF to support the country with around $3 billion.

Anti-refugee sentiment continues to be a source of concern in Lebanon, which hosts the largest number of refugees per capita in the world.

The investigation into responsibility for the 4 August 2020 Beirut port explosion remains stalled.

Human Rights-Related Developments

Noting that [k]illings in foreign territory are arbitrary when they are not authorised under international law, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Saul, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Morris Tidball-Binz, recently condemned Israels alleged killings of a Hamas deputy leader and six others in Lebanon, which would amount to extrajudicial killings and crimes of murder. They added that Israel was not exercising self-defence because it presented no evidence that the victims were committing an armed attack on Israel from Lebanese territory and that Israel has not provided any legal justification for the strike or reported it to the Security Council, as required by Article 51 of the UN Charter. Saul and Tidball-Binz also emphasised that Lebanon has a duty to prevent the use of its territory to prepare terrorist acts against Israeli civilians, and to investigate, arrest and prosecute or extradite suspects involved in terrorism in Lebanon or Israel, in accordance with human rights law.

Key Issues and Options

The continuing exchanges of fire across the Blue Line and the risk of the expansion of the war in Gaza to Lebanon and the wider region are major issues of concern for Council members. Open war in southern Lebanon would have potentially catastrophic effects on the country, where the inability of politicians to agree on a presidential candidate is normalising the paralysis of key Lebanese institutions and, in turn, decreasing the chances of addressing the countrys ongoing socioeconomic problems.

Council members and UN member states may consider stepping up diplomatic efforts to emphasise to all actors involved that brinkmanship is likely to have disastrous consequences. The Council may consider issuing a statement calling on all relevant parties on both sides of the Blue Line to cease fire, make use of UNIFILs liaison and coordination mechanisms, and adhere to resolution 1701. The statement could also emphasise the importance of respecting international law and stress that civilians and civilian objects must never be targeted.

Though not addressing the causes of the long-standing hostility between Israel and Hezbollah, a ceasefire in Gaza would likely contribute to quietening the situation along the Blue Line, possibly opening space for indirect talks between Lebanon and Israel. While the Palestinian question remains unresolved, however, the risk of a regional conflagration connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and involving Lebanon is likely to persist even after the end of the war between Israel and Hamas. The resumption of a political process between Israelis and Palestinians to move towards a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and achieve a two-state solution would have beneficial effects for the whole region, however remote the possibility currently appears. A key issue for Council members and UN member states would be to build effectively on any political momentum in the region to better support Lebanon in overcoming its own multi-layered crises.

Council Dynamics

Although the Council has not met on Lebanon since Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia joined in January, the arrival of these five members seems unlikely to change the Councils broad support for Lebanons sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence, and security.

Members agree that a full-scale conflict between Israel and Hezbollah should be avoided. During the 22 February Council meeting on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, several Council members expressed concern about the possibility for the war in Gaza to expand regionally, with members including Japan, Slovenia, and Russia referring specifically to the situation in Lebanon. France, the penholder on Lebanon, stressed that full respect for resolution 1701, by all parties and with the assistance of UNIFIL, is necessary to the stability of the country and the whole region.

Council members continue to have differences over Hezbollah. Some members distinguish between Hezbollahs political and military wings and have designated only its military wing as a terrorist organisation. Other members, including the UK and the US, have listed Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organisation. In contrast, Russia sees Hezbollah as a legitimate sociopolitical force.

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Non-Proliferation

Expected Council Action

In March, Japan plans to convene a high-level briefing on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as a signature event of its presidency. The meeting will be chaired by Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief.

Background

Article 26 of the UN Charter determines that the Security Council is to formulate, with the Military Staff Committee, plans for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments, with the overall aim being the least diversion for armaments of the worlds human and economic resources. In January 1947, the Council accepted, as one of its most urgent tasks, the global elimination of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in line with General Assembly Resolution 41(1), underlining that the general reduction of armaments and armed forces was an important measure for strengthening international peace and security.

Early Security Council WMD initiatives were soon overtaken by the Cold War, however, and the dissolution of the Commission on Conventional Armaments and the Atomic Energy Committee in 1952 arguably marked the end of the Councils substantive work on the regulation of armaments based on Article 26. The General Assembly stepped up and has been instrumental in the adoption of treaties regulating WMD, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, the Security Council undertook several non-proliferation initiatives. Resolution 1540, adopted in 2004 under Chapter VII of the Charter, requires all states to establish controls over WMD and the means to deliver them and to enact and enforce the necessary national implementing legislation, with the objective of prohibiting terrorists and other non-state actors from developing, acquiring and using WMD. Following a spate of Council meetings in 2004-5, then-Council member Costa Rica convened a thematic debate on 19 November 2008 to consider Article 26 and the Councils duty to promote peace with the least diversion of resources for armaments. Additionally, in September 2009, the Security Council held a summit-level meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, adopting resolution 1887 which, the UN noted, affirmed its commitment to the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and established a broad framework for reducing global nuclear dangers.

Since 2010, the level of Council engagement has fallen. Debates on general disarmament and its role in the maintenance of international peace and security are rare. In April 2012, the US convened a briefing on nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and security, after which the Council adopted a presidential statement reaffirming that the proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery constitutes a threat to international peace and security. In September 2016, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT, the Council adopted resolution 2310, which urged all states that have either not signed or not ratified the treaty to do so without further delay.

In January 2018, Kazakhstan organised a debate on WMD and confidence-building, and in February 2020, the Council held a briefing on non-proliferation with a specific focus on supporting the NPT ahead of the 2020 Review Conference. (More about NPT review conferences is below.) In September 2021, Ireland convened a briefing on the 25th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT. In August 2022, China organised a briefing on promoting common security through dialogue and cooperation, during which Council members discussed the importance of nuclear disarmament to reduce strategic risks, particularly in light of the escalating tensions among major nuclear powers.

For more background information and analysis on this topic, see the In Hindsight: The Security Council and Weapons of Mass Destruction in our September 2022 Monthly Forecast.

Key Recent Developments

The worlds nuclear risks have grown in recent years, with extensive modernisation of nuclear arsenals reported in 2023 and overall global military expenditures reaching $2.2 trillion, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In January 2022, the five permanent members of the Security Council (P5) reaffirmed the 1985 declaration by US President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought, but nuclear signalling by senior Russian officials has heightened threat perceptions in this regard, particularly in connection with Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Following the invasion, the US halted its strategic stability dialogue with Russia. In February 2023, Russia announced its withdrawal from the 2010 New START Treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement capping Russian and US strategic nuclear forces. Negotiations for a successor to the New START treaty, which expires in 2026, were put on hold. The escalation of missile capabilities and increased plutonium production by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), along with Irans uranium enrichment activities, have further intensified global nuclear tensions.

In August 2022, the NPT Review Conference convened, having been postponed for two years because of COVID-19. The aim of these conferences, which are usually held every five years, is for state parties to produce a consensus document that assesses the treatys implementation, establishes updated commitments, and provides recommendations to advance the NPTs objectives. They have been contentious. After four weeks of negotiations, the most recent conference ended in failure on 26 August 2022 over Russian objections to language on the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Since then, the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference, which held its first session in August 2023, has faced setbacks. Iran, with the support of Russia and Syria, objected to the inclusion of the chairs summary of the meeting as a working paper in the official document list, arguing that the summary inaccurately depicted the situation concerning the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Irans nuclear programme.

In Geneva, the Conference on Disarmament, a key multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations responsible for having shaped major nuclear arms control treaties such as the NPT and CTBT, remains deadlocked. Since 1996, with the exception of 1998 and 2009, the conference has failed to agree on a programme of work, preventing it from initiating substantive deliberations. Addressing the conference on 26 February, Guterres called for the body to be reformed, stressing that the paralysis and deadlock that have come to define it is something that is not acceptable. In A New Agenda for Peace, released in July 2023, Guterres called on member states to urgently reinforce the barrier against the use of nuclear weapons.

Key Issues and Options

The key issue for the Council is how it can promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. A related issue is the need to build trust and reduce tensions among the nuclear powers.

With the nuclear weapons states tending to argue that the security environment is not conducive to disarmament, prospects today appear limited for the Security Council to advance the global regulation of nuclear weapons and the general reduction of armaments. Still, global security tensions are the very reason some Council members might search for innovative ways of pursuing this agenda.

One option for the Council would be to consider a presidential statement or resolution that outlines confidence-building mechanisms to reduce the threat of nuclear war and strategies for promoting nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The Council product could also encourage greater efforts to achieve equal, full, and effective participation of women in all decision-making processes related to disarmament, as recommended by the Secretary-General in his 2018 report titled Securing our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament. The Council could also request the Secretary-General to produce a report that proposes recommendations for how the Security Council, the General Assembly, and other parts of the UN system can work together more effectively to address nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament issues.

Council Dynamics

Council members are generally supportive of overall non-proliferation efforts. Council dynamics vary, however, in country-specific situations. On Iran, for example, the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) remain concerned about Irans activities that contravene the JCPOA and the countrys lack of cooperation with the IAEA. China and Russia are more supportive of Iran, and both states have previously blamed the US for the collapse of the JCPOA, criticising it for withdrawing from the deal and imposing unilateral sanctions on the Iranian regime.

The Council also remains sharply divided regarding the DPRK. The P3 and other like-minded countries regularly condemn its ballistic missile tests and argue that they destabilise the Korean Peninsula and increase tensions throughout the region. China and Russia, on the other hand, blame the US for heightening tensions and accuse it of not doing enough to incentivise the DPRK to participate in denuclearisation talks. These two members have also contended that sanctions should be eased, citing their negative humanitarian impact.

All Council members are parties to the NPT. China and the US have signed the CTBT but have yet to ratify it. While Russia ratified the CTBT on 30 June 2000, it revoked its ratification on 8 November 2023, although it remains a state signatory. All other Council members have signed and ratified the treaty. Regarding the TPNW, three Council membersEcuador, Guyana, and Maltahave signed and ratified it, while Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone have as yet only signed the treaty. The remaining nine members have not signed the TPNW.

The current Council membership includes several members of the Non-Aligned Movementincluding Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Mozambique, and Sierra Leonewhich has frequently criticised the P5 for not fulfilling their disarmament obligations under the NPT. Approximately 90 percent of the 12,500 nuclear warheads in existence are owned by Russia and the US.

Nuclear weapons have only been used twice in warfare, in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. As such, Japan attaches particular importance to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In December 2023, a Japan-initiated resolution titled Steps to building a common roadmap towards a world without nuclear weapons was adopted by the General Assembly with the support of 148 member states. The resolution urges all states, particularly those possessing nuclear weapons, to make every effort to ensure that such weapons are never used again, pending the total elimination of nuclear weapons, and to refrain from any inflammatory rhetoric concerning the use of nuclear weapons, based on the recognition that all states have a shared interest in averting a nuclear war.

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AFRICA

South Sudan

Expected Council Action

The Council is expected to renew the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) before its 15 March expiration. Prior to this, the Council will hold a briefing, followed by consultations, on the Secretary-Generals 90-day UNMISS report, released on 24 February.

Key Recent Developments

Special Representative and Head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom briefed the Council on 14 December 2023. He expressed concern that the conditions required for holding credible and peaceful elections, scheduled for December, are not in place. As noted in the Secretary-Generals 24 February report, key issues that remain to be determined include, among others: the constitution-making process, the type and number of elections, an elections security plan, and an elections dispute mechanism. The report also emphasised the need for political parties to agree to a political code of conduct outlining the norms of legitimate political behaviour for the election.

In his briefing, Haysom maintained that a critical mass of such key issues must be addressed by April for peaceful and credible elections to be held by December, based on his discussions with electoral experts. He added that South Sudan could still decide to move forward with elections in December without such pre-conditions in place but cautioned that comparable experiences suggest that elections are a likely trigger for relapses into violence in societies emerging from conflict unless adequate time, resources and confidence-building measures are invested in their preparation.

On 3 November 2023, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued presidential decrees to begin the process of reconstituting South Sudans National Constitutional Review Commission, National Elections Commission, and the Political Parties Council. In an 8 February statement at the 34th plenary meeting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), the body responsible for overseeing the implementation of the R-ARCSS, Haysom acknowledged the swearing-in of these institutions but cautioned that the inability to finalize the Transitional Security Arrangements remains a threat to peace before, during and after the elections. In this regard, he said that it was critical for the parties to agree on the middle command structure, advance the SDSR [Strategic Defence and Security Review] process in order to facilitate the commencement of security sector reforms, and to train and deploy the Necessary Unified Forces.

The security situation in South Sudan remains fragile. In his 12 December 2023 report to the Council, the Secretary-General highlighted several reasons for the grim security environment and its effects on civilians. These include the return of thousands of South Sudanese from war-torn Sudan, leading to land disputes; violence perpetrated by the National Salvation Front (NAS), an armed group that continues to fight government forces; the arrest by government forces of civilians suspected of supporting the NAS; and inter-communal violence.

In an 11 December 2023 press statement, Council members condemned violence in Warrap State in South Sudan and in the Abyei Administrative Area, a disputed territory straddling Sudan and South Sudan, that led to the deaths of some 75 people in November 2023 and ten people in December 2023. In the statement, members called on the transitional government in South Sudan to contain the violence and defuse tension between the affected communities.

On 1 February, 38 people died and 52 were wounded in inter-communal violence in an area of Lakes State that borders Unity and Warrap States. The fighting was sparked when herders from Warrap entered Lakes State in search of water and pastureland and clashed with local inhabitants.

Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Hanna Serwaa Tetteh visited South Sudan from 18-23 February to assess the implementation of the R-ARCSS and planning for the elections. At a press conference in Juba at the end of the visit, Lacroix underscored the UNs continued commitment to supporting South Sudan, notwithstanding crises in other parts of the world that were overwhelming the media landscape, while Tetteh emphasised that elections are not an exit strategy for ending a peace processbut the opportunity for people to focus their attention on the important task of nation building.

Human Rights-Related Developments On 17 February, the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan concluded its twelfth visit. In a press release at the end of the mission, Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson of the Commission, said the Commissions investigations found that the violence and gross human rights violations continue with impunity, with women and children being the main target of these crimes. The Commission called on South Sudanese leaders to end political and local conflicts and carefully navigate the conclusion of the countrys political transition to achieve durable peace and prevent violence and gross human rights violations. During their visit, the Commission met with the President, the First-Vice President, senior cabinet ministers and legislators. Its members also engaged with civil society, victims and survivors, human rights defenders, and journalists.

Women, Peace and Security From 11 to 14 December 2023, members of the Informal Expert Group (IEG) on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) undertook a visiting mission to South Sudan. Representatives of France, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Russia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US, as well as then-Council members Gabon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), participated in the visit, which was proposed by the two IEG co-chairs for 2023, Switzerland and the UAE. (In January, Sierra Leone succeeded the UAE as IEG co-chair after the conclusion of the UAEs Council term at the end of 2023.) Representatives from UN Women, which acts as the IEG Secretariat, also attended.

The visit took place mainly in Juba and featured several meetings with South Sudanese government officials and UN representatives in South Sudan. The participants also had the opportunity to meet with civil society representatives and women political leaders and to visit a UN Mine Action Service mine action demonstration site, where they met with women deminers. On 13 December 2023, IEG members travelled to Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal State for a one-day visit.

On 16 January, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl (Switzerland) briefed Council members on the visiting mission under any other business, a standing item in closed consultations. This was the first Council meeting to be held to discuss a visit by IEG members. Field visits by the IEG on WPS are included in the 2016 IEG guidelines as an option to improve the flow of information on WPS to the Security Council. The visit to South Sudan marked the second visit undertaken by IEG members; the first was to Lebanon in June 2022.

Key Issues and Options

The key issue for the Council in March is how to approach the renewal of the UNMISS mandate. One option would be for the Council to adopt a technical rollover, renewing the mandate until the end of April. At that point, the Council could decide whether the mandate needs adaptation, depending on the status of South Sudans preparations for the envisioned December elections and other outstanding tasks related to the implementation of the R-ARCSS. Another option for the Council would be to renew the mandate for the standard one-year period.

An additional important issue is how UNMISS can enhance its capacity to protect civilians, which is one of the missions core mandated tasks. In keeping with the recommendations of the independent assessment of the implementation of the UNMISS protection of civilians mandate, the Council could encourage the mission to adopt a more proactive posture and expand its footprint by, for example, responding quickly to outbreaks of violence, systematically conducting patrols to protect women and girls carrying out subsistence activities (such as gathering firewood) at camps for internally displaced persons and at the Malakal protection of civilians site, and employing more community liaison assistants.

Another key issue is the ongoing restrictions on humanitarian access and violence against aid workers in South Sudan. One option in this regard would be for the Council president to conduct a demarche on behalf of all Council members to South Sudan, seeking its assistance in facilitating unfettered humanitarian access.

Council Dynamics

Council members remain concerned about the delays in the implementation of the R-ARCSS, including preparations for elections. Some Western countries have maintained that a lack of political will by South Sudans authorities is a key reason for these delays. Others are less critical of the government and advocate for enhanced international financial support to assist South Sudan in its political transition.

Differing views persist on the utility of the arms embargo on South Sudan. China, Russia, and African members have tended to view the arms embargo as counter-productive while others have seen this as an important tool in curtailing instability in the country.

The US is the penholder on South Sudan, while Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu (Sierra Leone) chairs the 2206 South Sudan Sanctions Committee.

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Status Update since our February Forecast

Myanmar

On 5 February, the Security Council convened for a private meeting on Myanmar (S/PV.9541). Newly appointed Special Envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Myanmar Alounkeo Kittikhoun and Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Mohamed Khaled Khiari briefed. The UK, the penholder on Myanmar, requested the meeting.

Iraq

On 5 February, the Security Council held an open briefing on the 2 February US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria under the threats to international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9542). The meeting was requested by Russia. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed.

On 6 February, the Council held an open briefing (S/PV.9543), followed by closed consultations, on Iraq. Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert briefed on recent developments in the country and on the Secretary-Generals reports on UNAMI (S/2024/96) and the issue of missing Kuwaiti and third-party nationals and missing Kuwaiti property (S/2024/95). Iraq and Kuwait also participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Ukraine

On 6 February, the Security Council convened for an open briefing on Ukraine under the Threats to international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9544). Russia requested the meeting to discuss an incident that occurred on 3 February in which Ukrainian forces allegedly shelled the city of Lysychansk in the Russian-controlled region of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed, and Ukraine participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

On 12 February, the Council held an open briefing on Ukraine under the Threats to international peace and security agenda item (S/PV.9546). Russia requested the meeting to mark the ninth anniversary of the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, also known as the Minsk II agreement, adopted on 12 February 2015. Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas Miroslav Jenca and political activist and journalist Steve Sweeney briefed. Germany and Ukraine participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

On 23 February, the Council convened for a briefing on the situation in Ukraine, held at ministerial level (S/PV.9557). Ukraine, supported by Slovenia, requested the meeting to mark the two-year anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres briefed the Council. Ukraine and eight other European member states participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure. At the outset of the meeting, Russia raised a point of order objecting to the number of non-members of the Council from the EU participating in the meeting.

Kosovo

On 8 February, the Council held an open briefing on Kosovo (S/PV.9545) under the agenda items Security Council resolutions 1160 (1998), 1199 (1998), 1203 (1998), 1239 (1999) and 1244 (1999) and Letter dated 5 February 2024 from the Permanent Representative of Serbia to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2024/134). Citing article 35 of the UN Charter, Serbia requested the meeting, with Russias support, to discuss rising tensions in Kosovo following Pristinas decision to make the euro the only valid currency for conducting cash payment transactions. Special Representative and Head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Caroline Ziadeh briefed. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure, and Prime Minister Albin Kurti of Kosovo participated under rule 39.

Middle East, including the Palestinian Question

On 12 February, Security Council members convened for closed consultations on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. Algeria requested the consultations to discuss the situation in Rafah following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus 9 February announcement that he had ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israeli security establishment to prepare a combined plan to evacuate civilians and to destroy Hamas forces in that area.

On 20 February, the Security Council voted on a draft resolution (S/PV.9552) on the war between Israel and Hamas authored by Algeria (S/2024/173). The draft text, which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, failed to be adopted owing to a veto by the US. All other membersexcept the UK, which abstainedvoted in favour of the text. The vote marked the eighth time that the Security Council has voted on a draft resolution on the war. Only two of the eight draft resolutions on the crisis voted on by the Council thus far were adopted: resolution 2712 of 15 November 2023 and resolution 2720 of 22 December 2023. Neither of these resolutions called for a ceasefire.

On 22 February, the Security Council convened for an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question (S/PV.9556). Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland and Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) Secretary General Christopher Lockyear briefed in the open chamber. Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security Gilles Michaud briefed during the closed consultations.

Following the meeting, Guyana, Februarys Council president, read out press elements saying that the Council was briefed on the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the extremely difficult and dangerous working conditions for UN and humanitarian personnel operating in Gaza. Among other things, the statement said that Council members stressed the importance of respecting deconfliction mechanisms for the safety and security of UN personnel and facilities, as well as access to appropriate security equipment.

On 27 February, the Security Council held a briefing on food insecurity in Gaza under the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict agenda item (See the Conflict and Food Insecurity status update for more information).

On 29 February, Council members held closed consultations on Gaza at the request of Algeria after an incident earlier on the same day in which dozens were reportedly killed and injured during a transfer of aid supplies.

Climate Change and Food Insecurity

On 13-14 February, the Security Council convened for a high-level open debate on The impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security, the signature event of Guyanas presidency (S/PV.9547 and S/PV.9547 Resumption 1). President Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana chaired the meeting. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provided opening remarks. The briefers were: Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Simon Stiell; Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol; and Jimena Leiva Roesch, the Director of Global Initiatives and Head of Peace, Climate, and Sustainable Development at the International Peace Institute.

Libya

On 15 February, the Security Council held an open briefing (S/PV.9549), followed by closed consultations, on Libya. Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Abdoulaye Bathily briefed the Council on the latest political, security, and humanitarian developments in the country. Additionally, Ambassador Yamazaki Kazuyuki (Japan), chair of the 1970 Libya Sanctions Committee, presented the periodic report on the committees activities. Libya participated in the meeting under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Counter-terrorism

On 8 February, Council members issued a press statement (SC/15583) condemning the 7 February terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Pakistan. The attacks were claimed by ISIL and killed at least 26 people and injured 45 more.

On 15 February, the Council held an open briefing (S/PV.9550) on the Secretary-Generals 18th biannual strategic level report (S/2024/117) on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) to international peace and security. Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism and Head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Natalia Gherman, and Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Jurgen Stock briefed the Council.

Somalia

On 19 February, the Security Council held a briefing on the situation in Somalia (S/PV.9551). Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Somalia and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) Catriona Laing and Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) Mohamed El-Amine Souef briefed. Laing highlighted recent developments, including Somalias admission to the East African Community (EAC), its attainment of debt relief after reaching the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative completion point, the Security Councils decision to lift the arms embargo on the Somali government, and the AUs endorsement of Somalias candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for 2025-2026. Souef spoke about the transfer of security responsibilities to Somali security forces and post-ATMIS arrangements. Somalia participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure. Its permanent representative, Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman reiterated his countrys condemnation of Ethiopia for signing a 1 January memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic in the northern region of Somalia.

Central African Republic

On 21 February, The Security Council held a briefing on the situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) (S/PV.9554). Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the CAR and Head of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) Valentine Rugwabiza briefed the Council and described the missions efforts to fulfill its mandate in protecting civilians and helping the CAR government in expanding state authority across the country. The CAR participated under rule 37 of the Councils provisional rules of procedure.

Colombia

Between 7 and 11 February, the Security Council conducted a visiting mission to Colombia, which was co-led by the UK (the penholder on the file), Guyana, and Switzerland. The visiting mission allowed Council members to assess the progress and challenges in the implementation of the 2016 Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace between the government of Colombia and the former rebel group Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo (FARC-EP). It also afforded them an opportunity to learn more about the total peace policy promoted by the administration of Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego, which entails the promotion of dialogue with armed groups operating in the country as well as the implementation of the 2016 agreement. The visiting missions co-leads briefed the Council about the visit on 22 February (S/PV.9555).

Conflict and Food Insecurity

On 27 February, the Security Council held a briefing on food insecurity in Gaza under the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict agenda item (S/PV.9560). Guyana and Switzerland, the Councils focal points on conflict and hunger, joined by Algeria and Slovenia, requested the meeting after OCHA sent Council members a white note, dated 22 February, on food security risks in the Gaza Strip. The white note estimated that at least 576,000 people in Gaza are one step away from famine and that Gazas entire population of 2.2 million is experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity due to the armed conflict. OCHA Head in Geneva and Director of the Coordination Division Ramesh Rajasingham, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Deputy Director-General Maurizio Martina, and World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Carl Skau briefed.
AFRICA

Sudan

Expected Council Action

In March, the Council will hold a briefing on the Secretary-Generals report on UN efforts to support Sudan on its path towards peace and stability in accordance with resolution 2715 of 1 December 2023, which terminated the mandate of the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS).

The Council will vote on a draft resolution extending the mandate of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee Panel of Experts, which expires on 12 March.

Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (Republic of Korea), the chair of the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee, is expected to brief the Council on the committees work.

Key Recent Developments

Sudan is facing the devastating consequences of fighting that erupted on 15 April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudans military leader and chairperson of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemeti). During the conflict, the RSF has made significant advances, taking control of most of Darfur and western Kordofan and large areas of Khartoum and Omdurman. In mid-February, the SAF scored its first major victory of the war, retaking part of Omdurman, a city of 1.2 million people, from the RSF.

The fighting over the past ten months has had dire human rights and humanitarian effects. According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an organisation that collects conflict- and crisis-related data, more than 13,000 people had been killed since the onset of the conflict, as at 17 January. OCHAs 4 February Humanitarian Update noted that some 10.7 million people have been displaced in Sudan since the start of the conflict, including 1.7 million who have fled to neighbouring countries, including the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and South Sudan. In addition, according to the World Food Programme, nearly 18 million people confront acute food insecurity in Sudan, including almost five million at emergency hunger levels.

On 18 January, the 42nd extraordinary summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) heads of state and government was held in Entebbe, Uganda. In a communique released following the meeting, the members:

called on the warring parties to meet within two weeks;

directed the IGAD Secretariat, in coordination with the AU Commission, to revise the Roadmap for the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of Sudan, adopted in June 2023 at the 14th ordinary session of the IGAD Heads of State and Government, with clear timelines; and

directed the IGAD Secretariat to convene, within one month, a Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led process aimed at establishing a democratic government in Sudan.

The Sudanese government decided not to take part in the summit, irked by IGADs decision to put the situation in Sudan on the agenda and to invite Dagalo to participate in the meeting. Sudan subsequently announced that it was suspending its membership in IGAD, severely hampering IGADs ability to play a mediating and convening role in the conflict. Since late December 2023, Dagalo has visited several African countries, meeting with senior government officials in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda.

On 29 January, ICC Prosecutor Karim Asad Ahmad Khan provided the semi-annual briefing to the Council on the Courts Darfur-related activities. Khan said that the failure to execute arrest warrants for those indicted by the court had contributed to the climate of impunity and the outbreak of violence that commenced in April and that continues today. He added that there is reason to believe that Rome Statute crimes are being perpetrated by both the SAF and the RSF in the current fighting in Darfur, although he did not specify which type or types of crimes he was referencing under the statute. (Under the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over four crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.)

The Expanded Mechanism for the Resolution of the Sudan Crisisa diplomatic grouping that includes the AU, IGAD, the UN, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and several African, European and Middle Eastern statesconvened on 20 February in Addis Ababa. During the session, which was attended by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the new chair of the AU High-Level Panel for Sudan, the participants emphasised the importance of achieving a ceasefire and coordinating different mediation efforts on Sudan. They also affirmed their support for the efforts of the AU High-Level Panel.

On 27 February, Council members discussed the humanitarian situation in Sudan under any other business at the request of the UK. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths briefed members. He spoke about the adverse humanitarian effects of Sudans decision on 21 February to close border crossings with Chad; while humanitarian aid was being delivered through these crossings, Sudan expressed concern that they were being used to transit weapons to the RSF. Griffiths also referred to the upcoming international humanitarian conference for Sudan and its neighbours, which is planned for 15 April in Paris and strives to raise funds to help civilians, to call for respect for humanitarian law, and to advocate for unfettered, safe, and full humanitarian access in Sudan.

Human Rights-Related Developments On 5 February, a group of UN experts issued a joint statement regarding the humanitarian situation in Sudan, noting that the country is facing one of the fastest unfolding crises globally since the fighting started between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023. Currently, about 25 million people, including over 14 million children, are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and support. The experts urged all parties to the conflict to facilitate the work of human rights defenders and cooperate with the International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, which was established by the Human Rights Council in October 2023. They also called for increasing funding for humanitarian response to Sudan, which was only 3.1 percent funded as at 21 January. Sanctions-Related Developments On 15 January, the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee held informal consultations, during which it received a presentation about the final report of the Panel of Experts that was released the same day and covered developments since 12 March 2023. The final report provided an extensive account of various aspects of the conflict, including its dynamics, the financing of the warring parties, the humanitarian impact and violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), recruitment patterns of the warring parties, the proliferation of weapons and violations of the arms embargo, and its regional impact, among other things. (For more, see our February 2024 Sudan brief.) In a 6 February press release, the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee reminded the conflict parties in Darfur to adhere to their responsibilities under international humanitarian law, including by protecting civilians from violence and children from recruitment in military forces. The Committee also reminded the parties that those violating international humanitarian law and committing other atrocities or violating the arms embargo may be subject to targeted sanctions.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Security Council is how to support efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Sudan. Council members could hold a private meeting with the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) and member states with influence over the warring parties to discuss the search for a mediated solution to the crisis. (A private meeting is a closed, formal meeting format; unlike closed consultations, non-Council member states are allowed to participate in this format.) An additional option would be for the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, to brief on ongoing mediation efforts in the region and his interactions with different stakeholders in Sudan and the region in this regard.

Another issue for the Security Council is the humanitarian crisis and how to ensure continuous and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and, at the same time, secure the safety and security of UN personnel and other humanitarian actors. Periodic briefings by OCHA could help keep the Council informed of the humanitarian situation on the ground.

Regarding the renewal of the Panel of Experts of the 1591 Sanctions Committee, the Council could decide to extend the panels mandate for one year. Another option would be to extend the panels mandate until September, aligning it with the mandate cycle of the sanctions measures, as introduced by resolution 2676, and having a broader discussion on the sanctions regime and the panel in September.

Council Dynamics

Council members share continued concerns about the ongoing conflict in Sudan and its severe humanitarian and human rights effects. Members have diverging views, however, on the tools that the Council should use to address the situation. For example, there are strong disagreements among members on the utility of the Sudan sanctions regime and the work of the ICC regarding the situation in Darfur. In last years negotiations on resolution 2676, which renewed the mandate of the Panel of Experts assisting the 1591 Sudan Sanctions Committee until 12 March, China, Russia, and Mozambique, along with other member states that have since left the Council, supported instituting a sunset clause that would make the sanctions time-bound rather than open-ended. Nine Council membersEcuador, France, Guyana, Japan, Malta, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Slovenia, and the UKare state parties to the Rome Statute of the ICC, while Algeria, China, Mozambique, Russia, Sierra Leone, and the US are not. While the US is not a state party to the statute, it supports the courts work on Darfur. Russia is perhaps most vehemently opposed to that work, declaring at the Councils 29 January meeting that The regrettable, if not outright tragic, effects of the Councils involvement of the ICC in the situations in Libya and Darfur teach us one thing only: the Council made a mistake by transferring these situations to the ICC, a mistake that must not be repeated. It is important to assess the damage that this entity has caused to specific countries.

The US holds the pen on Sudan sanctions, while the UK is the penholder on Sudan more broadly.

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MIDDLE EAST

Syria

Expected Council Action

The Council expects to hold two meetings this month on Syria: one on the political and humanitarian issues and another on the chemical weapons track.

Key Recent Developments

The political track in Syria remains at a standstill, and the Syrian Constitutional Committee has not met since June 2022. Russia, a close ally of Syria, has been objecting to Geneva as the venue for convening the Constitutional Committee, following Switzerlands imposition of sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. During his briefing at the 21 December 2023 Council meeting on Syria, Special Envoy for Syria Geir O. Pedersen said that [t]he blockage of the Constitutional Committee for a year and a halflargely over what should be a secondary issue, namely, the venuehas sent the wrong signal and has been a setback. He added that no venue in the regionis both on offer and attracts consensus, while calling on member states to respect the Syrian-led, Syrian-owned, and UN-facilitated nature of the Constitutional Committee. Pedersen also appealed to members to act in a manner that enables the Constitutional Committee to resume, at least initially in Geneva, and for reciprocal, verifiable and parallel confidence-building measures to be agreed and implemented.

On 10 February, the Syrian government agreed to extend its consent for the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Bab al-Salam and Al Raee border crossings at the Syria-Turkiye border by UN humanitarian agencies and their partners until 13 May. This follows the Syrian governments 11 January decision to extend authorisation of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing at the Syria-Turkiye border until 13 July. In a recent statement, OCHA announced that these extensions are crucial, as the UNs cross-border operations remain a vital support system for people in north-west Syria.

US forces in the Middle East have been increasingly targeted since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October 2023. On 7 February, Politico reported that over 160 attacks on US soldiers, mostly using drones and rockets, had been launched by Iranian proxies in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria since October. While these have largely been thwarted by US air defence systems, a US military facility known as Tower 22 in northeast Jordan was hit by an armed drone on 28 January. Kataib Hezbollah, a Shia militant group in Iraq supported by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, carried out the operation, which resulted in the deaths of three US service members and injured more than 40.

On 2 February, in response to the 28 January attack on Tower 22, the US launched retaliatory airstrikes against 85 targets in western Iraq and eastern Syria. In a statement, the US Central Command said that the strikes were conducted by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the US, which dropped more than 125 precision munitions on several targets, including command and control operations centres; intelligence centres; rocket, missile, and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) storage facilities; and logistics and munitions supply chain facilities used by Iraqi and Syrian militia groups and their [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)] sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and Coalition forces. The Iraqi government said that 16 people had been killed and 25 wounded, including civilians. In Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rightsa UK-based monitoring group with a presence in the countrysaid that at least 23 people affiliated with the militias had been killed.

On 4 February, a drone attack reportedly conducted by Iran-backed militias hit a training base of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a primarily Kurdish group opposing the Syrian government, at the al-Omar oil facility in Deir-ez-Zor governorate in northeastern Syria. At least six SDF soldiers were killed in the attack. While US personnel were present in the area, no casualties were reported among them. In a 22 February Newsweek article, Syrias permanent mission to the UN was reported as saying that the presence of U.S. troops on Syrian territory is illegal, illegitimate, and constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and international law.

On 5 February, at the request of Russia, the Council held a meeting on the 2 February US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria under the threats to international peace and security agenda item. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo briefed and expressed concern about the tensions engulfing the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October 2023. She reiterated the Secretary-Generals call for all parties to step back from the brink and to consider the unbearable human and economic cost of a potential regional conflict.

Airstrikes, allegedly by Israel, continue to target sites in Syria. According to media reports, airstrikes on 20 January killed five Iranian military figuresincluding the head of intelligence for Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and his deputyand several members of Syrias security forces in Damascus. On 21 February, airstrikes killed two foreign nationals and one Syrian in the Kafr Sousa district of Damascus. While Israel has not commented on the January and February strikes, it has historically targeted sites associated with Iranian forces and affiliated militants in Syria.

On 22 December 2023, the Council received its most recent briefing on the Syria chemical weapons file. Adedeji Ebo, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, provided the briefing. He reported that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) had consulted with the Syrian authorities between 30 October and 5 November 2023, the first time such consultations had occurred in over two and a half years. Nonetheless, Ebo observed that gaps, inconsistencies and discrepanciesremain[ed] unresolved in the declaration submitted by the Syrian Arab Republic with regard to its chemical weapons programme.

On 27 February, Pedersen (via videoconference) and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths briefed the Council on the political and humanitarian situations in Syria, respectively. Pedersen said that the Syrian parties had been unable to agree to an alternative to Geneva as the setting for Constitutional Committee meetings. In the interim, while continuing to search for such a site, he said that he would issue invitations to a potential ninth round of Syrias Constitutional Committee in late April in Geneva, appealing to the Syrian parties to respond positively. While declaring that in 2024 Syrias humanitarian outlook looks bleak, Griffiths welcomed the Syrian governments recent decision to extend its permission for the use of the Bab al-Salam and Al Raee border crossings for aid delivery. He added that cross-line deliveries also must be pursued with vigour.

Human Rights-Related Developments

On 13 February, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a report on the experiences of Syrian returnees once they are back in their original areas and other host communities inside Syria. The report documents human rights violations and abuses against the returnees (particularly those returning from neighbouring countries) that are perpetrated by the Government of Syria, de facto authorities and other armed groups across the country. It also highlights the challenges Syrian women face, in particular, the discriminatory restrictions on their liberty to move freely and independently. The report calls on all parties to the conflict to fully respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue for the Council is maintaining international attention to and support for the needs of the Syrian people at a time when international attention is largely focused on other crises, such as those in Gaza and Ukraine. As Griffith noted in his 27 February briefing to the Council, the 2023 Humanitarian Response Plan garnered less than 40 percent of the funding required, which is the worst-funded response plan since the start of the conflict. One option would be for Council members to emphasise the importance of increasing support for Syrias humanitarian needs in their statements in the open chamber.

The need to break the underlying political impasse in Syria and support the Special Envoys work in this regard is another key issue. The Council could consider adopting a presidential statement which backs Pedersens efforts to reinvigorate the political process.

Council Dynamics

Syria remains one of the most divisive files on the Councils agenda. China and Russia are supportive of the Syrian government, emphasising the need to respect the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity and drawing connections between unilateral coercive measures on Syria and the challenging humanitarian situation in the country. In contrast, the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) and other like-minded members criticise the government for violating international humanitarian law and human rights law, arbitrarily detaining people, and not engaging meaningfully in political dialogue.

Switzerland is the penholder on the Syria humanitarian file.

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UNDOF (Golan)

Expected Council Action

In March, the Council will hold its quarterly consultations on the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan.

Background and Key Recent Developments

UNDOF was established following the conclusion of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement (the 1974 agreement) between Israel and Syria, which ended the Yom Kippur War. Its mandate is to maintain the ceasefire between the parties and supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces as well as the areas of separation (a demilitarised buffer zone) and limitation (where Israeli and Syrian troops and equipment are restricted) in the Golan.

Carrying out the mandate entails monitoring violations of the 1974 agreement, reporting them, and liaising with both sides. Such violations regularly include unauthorised personnel and equipment present in the areas of separation and limitation, weapons fired, and drones and aircraft traveling across the ceasefire line.

There has been a significant rise in hostilities in the Middle East following the 7 October attack against Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian armed group and de facto authority in Gaza, and the subsequent response by Israeli forces, including airstrikes and ground operations in the Gaza Strip.

The Golan has not been spared from the recent tensions in the region. On 30 January, several rockets were fired from Syria towards the southern area of the Golan Heights. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) retaliated by launching airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure around Daraa, southwestern Syria.

On 20 February, missiles struck a residential building in Damascus, killing at least two people. Syrian state media has reported that missiles were launched from the direction of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israel did not comment on the attack.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched 60 rockets at Israels Nafah military base in the Golan on 26 February. The group said the attack was in response to Israeli air strikes near Baalbek, Lebanon. No casualties were reported from the rocket fire.

Key Issues and Options

A key issue is restrictions on the movement and access of UNDOF personnel. In his 30 November 2023 report, the Secretary-General raised concerns over restrictions on UNDOFs movement in the area of operation, including at the Qunaytirah crossing.

Another important issue is ensuring that UNDOF personnel are equipped with the necessary resources to fulfill the missions mandate, along with maintaining the safety and security of peacekeeping personnel.

The continuing hostilities in the region and the risk of wider escalation represent another issue for the Council. Members may consider pursuing a press or presidential statement urging the parties to adhere to international law and their commitments under the 1974 agreement, while expressing concern about the risk of escalation resulting from these violations and the potential danger they pose to the safety of peacekeepers.

Council Dynamics

It remains unclear whether and how the recent escalation of conflict in the region will affect the Councils work on the Golan file in the future. But for now, the unanimous adoption of resolution 2718 on 21 December 2023, which reauthorised UNDOFs mandate for six months, illustrated that the Council remains united in its view that UNDOF plays an important role in regional stability. Despite deep divisions in the Council regarding the Syria file and opposing positions by the UNDOF co-penholdersRussia and the USabout who holds sovereignty over the Golan, as well as antagonism over the conflict in Ukraine, the two countries continue to consider UNDOF as a separate issue on which they agree. The difficult dynamics on other Council files were not evident during the straightforward negotiations on UNDOFs mandate in December, and no Council member felt that an explanation of vote was necessary following the adoption. Some Council members believe that the situation has turned into a protracted conflict owing to continued violations of the 1974 agreement by both sides.

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MIDDLE EAST

Yemen

Expected Council Action

In March, the Security Council is expected to hold a briefing, followed by closed consultations on Yemen. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg and a representative of OCHA are expected to brief. The Head of the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), Major General Michael Beary is expected to brief during consultations.

Key Recent Developments

Attacks by the Houthi rebel group on commercial shipping following the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas last October, and US and UK military strikes against the Houthis in response, have stalledand risk upendingYemens peace talks. Speaking at the Councils 14 February briefing on Yemen, Grundberg said, Until recently, we were making steady progress in our mediation. However, he continued, The mediation landscape is now undeniably much more complex, and efforts to reach an agreement are being buffeted by different priorities and interests. Grundberg added that as much as he has tried to insulate the peace process from wider regional dynamics, the reality is that mediation efforts in Yemen cannot be neatly cordoned off. He also raised concerns about worrying developments inside Yemen, flagging clashes and mobilisations along Yemens front lines and growing threats by the parties to return to fighting.

Grundberg called for a regional de-escalation, reiterating UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and saying that he was engaging the Yemeni parties and relevant regional actors to support de-escalation in the Red Sea to protect the mediation space in Yemen. He underscored the need for the Yemeni parties to stop public provocations, refrain from military opportunism inside Yemen, and refocus on safeguarding the progress made to date in the peace talks.

The crisis in the Red Sea and the nearby Gulf of Aden continued, however, as the Houthis and the US and its allies exchanged attacks. On 18 February, at least one Houthi anti-ship missile struck a Belize-flagged, British-registered cargo vessel, called the Rubymar, near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The US military said in a 23 February statement that the vessel was taking on water and that damage to the ship had created an 18-mile oil slick. On 19 February, the EU launched a naval mission called EUNAVFOR ASPIDESaspides is Greek for shieldto restore and safeguard freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Gulf. The operations headquarters will be in Larissa, Greece, under the command of Greek Commodore Vasileios Gryparis. Operation ASPIDES joins Operation Prosperity Guardian, a naval coalition formed in December 2023 of over 20 countries, according to the US, to deter and counter Houthi attacks. (The Prosperity Guardian military operation is separate, according to the US, from the strikes that it and the UK have conducted on Houthi targets in Yemen. These strikes have been supported by Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.)

On 16 February, the US designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group became effective. The US had announced the designation on 17 January but delayed its entry into force by 30 days to engage stakeholders, crucial to facilitating humanitarian assistance and the commercial import of critical commodities in Yemen, to mitigate the potential adverse impacts of the designation. In guidance on 16 February, the US set out exemptions to sanctions associated with the SDGT for non-governmental organisations, international organisations and businesses to continue to operate in Houthi-held areas. During the 14 February Council briefing, OCHA Director of Operations and Advocacy Edem Wosornu took note of US plans to issue general licenses to maintain humanitarian activities and essential commercial imports. But she added that the UN still fear[s] there may be an effect on the economy, including commercial imports of essential items, stressing that aid cannot make up for gaps in supplies of commercial goods.

Sanctions-Related Developments

On 23 February, the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee held informal consultations to discuss with the Yemen Panel of Experts its programme of work following the renewal of its mandate on 15 November 2023. The Secretary-General appointed three of the panels experts (on armed groups, regional affairs and finance) by letter dated 9 January 2024. The appointment of the panels arms and international humanitarian law experts remains pending.

Key Issues and Options

The Red Sea crisis has complicated Omani-mediated talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia to reach a peace agreement and the UN Envoys efforts to develop a road map for an inter-Yemeni political process. The roadmap apparently would set out a strategy for addressing security, political and economic priorities as part of this process. Since the crisis, there have been new concerns that the Houthis could make a fresh bid to seize oil and gas fields in Marib and Shabwah governorates, while Yemeni government officials have urged the international community to support it in taking back territory under Houthi control. Fragile relations among the factions that form the Yemeni governments Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) and how a political process should address some PLC members calls for a separate southern Yemeni state remain additional concerns related to political efforts.

The Houthi threat to commercial shipping and the continued exchange of attacks by the Houthis on vessels and by US-led forces on Houthi targets is a new key issue for the Council. Resolution 2722 of 10 January on the Red Sea crisis included a request that the Secretary-General provide monthly written reports through 1 July on Houthi attacks on merchant and commercial vessels to inform the Councils consultations. The first such report was issued on 8 February.

If peace talks remain stalled, one option for Council members is to issue a press statement to encourage the parties to protect the progress that has been made and continue engaging with the Special Envoy to develop his roadmap. Such a statement could call for parties to de-escalate the current Red Sea crisis and to refrain from provocative actions or rhetoric. In the event of a deal between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, Council members could issue a press statement to welcome or endorse any agreement and reiterate members support for Grundberg to lead an inter-Yemeni political process for a comprehensive peace agreement.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen remains a key issue. OCHAs 2024 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) projects that 18.2 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection services in 2024, compared to 21.6 million in 2023. In addition to last years small improvements in the humanitarian situation, the response plans budget of $2.7 billion compared to $4.3 billion in 2023 reflects this years HRPs more targeted, prioritised, and risk-informed programming after donors funded less than 40 percent of last years plan. The risk that regional conflict dynamics could reverse humanitarian gains and exacerbate needs is a key issue.

Council Dynamics

Council members are united in their support for the various mediation efforts. They have welcomed the Houthi-Saudi talks and stress the ultimate need for an inclusive Yemeni political process under UN auspices to achieve a sustainable resolution of the conflict. Members have also condemned the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea and are concerned about the consequences for maritime security, freedom of navigation, and Yemens peace process.

The Red Sea crisis, though, has created some Council divisions during its Yemen discussions. Russia and China, which abstained along with Algeria and Mozambique on the adoption of resolution 2722, have indicated that US and UK strikes in Yemen violate international law because they did not receive Council authorisation. The US and UK stress that their strikes are undertaken in self-defence under article 51 of the UN Charter. In the Council, the US and Japan co-authored resolution 2722, which took note of the right of member states, in accordance with international law, to defend their vessels from attacks. The Houthis continue to hold the Japanese-operated cargo ship Galaxy Leader and its crew since capturing the vessel, linked to an Israeli businessman, last November. France has indicated that it will participate in operation ASPIDES.

The UK is the penholder on Yemen. Ambassador Joonkook Hwang (Republic of Korea) chairs the 2140 Yemen Sanctions Committee.

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In his budget presentation for 2024-25, Tripura Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy revealed a remarkable 94.04% surge in trade between Tripura and Bangladesh over the last five years. The trade volume skyrocketed from Rs 390.68 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 758.09 crore in 2022-23, with exports from Tripura to Bangladesh reaching Rs 121.37 crore in 2023-24.

Singha Roy highlighted major power projects under Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank funding by the Tripura State Electricity Corporation. External projects in forest and livelihood sectors, including Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Indo-German Development Cooperation (IGDC), are underway. The Finance Minister also announced the upcoming launch of the World Bank-funded Enhancing Landscape and Ecosystem Management Project (ELEMENT) with a cost of Rs 1764.94 crore.

Emphasizing agricultural initiatives, Singha Roy noted the substantial benefits under the 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana' for 2,46,339 farmers and extensive coverage under the 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana'. Additionally, progress was reported in rubber plantation, tribal family support, and successful international trade events for Agar tree products.

The Finance Minister highlighted the formation of 47,600 women Self Help Groups (SHGs) under the Tripura Rural Livelihood Mission, with a focus on empowering rural women. The state government aims to elevate more women in SHGs to 'Lakhpati Didis', targeting 1.14 lakh women by 2025-26. During 2024-25, a total of Rs 698.68 crore is allocated to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).
Adani Group's subsidiary, Kutch Copper Ltd (KCL), is set to launch its $1.2 billion copper smelter, slated to be the world's largest single-location plant of its kind. The plant, situated in Mundra, Gujarat, will commence operations in the coming weeks. Initially boasting a capacity of 500,000 metric tons, KCL aims to scale up to 1 million metric tons by the fiscal year 2028/29.

To facilitate operations, KCL plans to source copper concentrates from Peru, Chile, and Australia. Vinay Prakash, the Managing Director of KCL, expressed openness to acquiring copper assets both in India and internationally. The company will import copper concentrates through a strategic mix of short and long-term arrangements with global miners and traders.

Prakash highlighted the significance of the copper smelter in enhancing domestic metal supplies, addressing India's robust demand driven by the construction, transport, and power sectors. India's copper imports surged following the 2018 closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter, resulting in a gap filled by imports from countries such as Peru, Chile, Australia, and Indonesia.

Currently, only Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Copper Ltd produce copper within India. With an estimated refined copper production of 555,000 metric tons per year against domestic consumption exceeding 750,000 metric tons, India imports around 500,000 metric tons annually to meet the shortfall.
The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) has successfully concluded its inaugural EdTech Trade Mission to India 2024, which took place from 26 February to 1 March 2024. This ground-breaking initiative was designed to tap into India's rapidly expanding online education market and to foster partnerships that enhance collaboration between Australia and India.

The mission provided a dynamic platform for Australian EdTech companies, universities, and training organizations to deepen their understanding of the Indian online education landscape and the EdTech ecosystem. By engaging with key stakeholders, potential collaborators, investors and clients, the mission facilitated meaningful discussions and networking opportunities.

A highlight of the mission was the participation in the India Digital Summit 2024 (IDS) held in Mumbai on 27 and 28 February 2024, which offered Australian delegates invaluable networking opportunities. 15 delegates from 5 Australian EdTech organisations and 3 Australian Universities joined the missions itinerary which included visits to Mumbai and Bengaluru. These cities were chosen for their vibrant ecosystems and as representative of the opportunities available for Australian entities looking to expand into the Indian market.

Dr. Monica Kennedy, Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner at Austrade, commented, "The Australian EdTech Trade Mission to India 2024 was a resounding success, creating a unique platform for Australian companies to explore the Indian market and establish connections. The engagement and partnerships formed during this mission are a testament to the synergies between the Australian and Indian EdTech sectors".

The EdTech Trade Mission 2024 has laid a solid foundation for future collaboration between Australian and Indian EdTech innovators. As demand for innovative educational solutions continues to rise in India, Australian EdTech firms are well-positioned to meet this demand. Austrade remains committed to supporting Australian companies in navigating the Indian market and seizing the opportunities for growth and collaboration that lie ahead.
Investors will be closely watching the stock market on March 1, 2024. The Sensex and Nifty, two key equity benchmark indices, are expected to open with small gains on Friday following the release of Q3 GDP data. As of 7:30 am, Nifty futures were up 38 points at 22,198, compared to the previous close of the Nifty futures.

Suven Pharmaceuticals: Advent International, a global private equity firm, has recently announced the merger of two of its pharmaceutical portfolio companies, Cohance Lifesciences and Suven Pharmaceuticals. The merger will result in the creation of a new entity with three distinct business units - Pharma CDMO, Spec Chem CDMO, and API+ (inclusive of formulations). As per the merger agreement, for every 11 shares of Suven, 295 shares of Cohance will be allotted to the shareholders of both companies. "The new shares of Suven so issued will be traded on the NSE and BSE. Advent entities shall own around 66.7 percent stake and the public shareholders will hold around 33 percent stake in the merged entity. This ratio is pre-ESOP dilution," the firms clarified in the release.

Vedanta: The Supreme Court has dealt a significant blow to the mining company Vedanta by dismissing the company's appeal to reopen its Sterlite Copper smelting plant in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu. The court has upheld the 2020 verdict of the Madras High Court and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) to shut down the plant due to environmental regulation violations. The facility was closed following violent protests in 2018, which resulted in 13 deaths.

Radico Khaitan: The producers of Rampur single malt whiskey have experienced considerable growth due to a strategic shift towards premium and luxury segments. This focus on high-margin products has resulted in a nearly six-fold increase in shareholder value, from Rs 4,500 crore to Rs 24,000 crore, according to Abhishek Khaitan, the managing director. In an exclusive interview with Mint, he stated that to meet the significant demand for Indian single malts, the company has tripled its plant capacity over the years and expanded its premium product portfolio.

Coal India, NLC India, Vedanta: Several companies, including Vedanta, Coal India, NLC India, Jindal Power, Dalmia Group, and Ola Electric, have submitted their bids for 20 mineral blocks in the first round of auctions for critical minerals in India. The Ministry of Mines announced on Thursday that it had received over 50 bids for these strategic and critical mineral blocks since the auction's launch on November 29. "The bidders represent a wide array of sectors like mining companies, EV manufacturers, cement producers, energy sector etc. Notable among them are Vedanta Ltd, Coal India Ltd, NLC India Ltd, Shree Cement, Orient Cements, Ola Electric, Dalmia Group, Rungta Group and Jindal Power etc", the statement said.

Indian Hotels Corporation: Indian Hotels Corporation Ltd (IHCL) is planning to recruit around 2,000-2,500 employees in FY25, in line with its aggressive growth strategy. This hiring initiative is a response to the company's strong pipeline of 85 hotels, according to Puneet Chhatwal, CEO and MD of IHCL. Chhatwal said, "Our workforce already exceeds 33,000. Considering our hotel business alone, if each hotel has an average of 100 rooms, we can add up to 2,000-2,500 employees just there".

Titan: CK Venkataraman, the managing director of Titan, predicts continued growth for the company's premium business sector for the next three to four years. Venkataraman, at an event, said, "In the upcoming years, a significant shift in per-capita income is anticipated. The numbers for the top-tier income segment are expected to grow at a faster pace compared to the lower income segments. This trend has been observed over the past few years as well".

DLF: The property developer has outlined plans to launch 10 million sq. ft in FY25, with an expected revenue of Rs 24,200 crore. This is part of its strategy to construct properties in Chennai, Goa, and Mumbai, in addition to their main markets in Gurugram and Panchkula. The company recently informed investors that approximately 5.8 million sq. ft of this development will cater to the super luxury segment. "We will commence our launches in Gurugram, and after two projects here, we will shift our focus to Mumbai and Chennai", said Aakash Ohri, Joint MD and Chief Business Officer at DLF Home Developers, during a recent investors' call.

Tech Mahindra: Tech Mahindra, India's fifth-largest IT services company, has recently urged its employees to return to the office for at least three days per week starting from 1st April. In an internal communication reviewed by Mint, the company stated that employees were expressing their desire for spontaneous interactions, collaborative environments, and a deeper connection with their colleagues that reflects across various industries. The HR team of Tech Mahindra has devised a plan to gradually reintroduce office-based work, and employees will be required to work in the office for three days per week, which amounts to 12 days per month, from 1st April 2024.

Pidilite Industries: On Thursday, Pidilite Industries announced the appointment of Sudhanshu Vats as the Managing Director designate. Bharat Puri, the current Managing Director, is set to step down from his position in April next year upon the conclusion of his term. The Pidilite board endorsed Vats' appointment as Managing Director Designate during its Thursday meeting. Vats is presently serving as the Deputy Managing Director of Pidilite Industries. Furthermore, the board has also sanctioned the appointment of Kavinder Singh, currently MD and CEO of Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India, as Executive Director and Joint Managing Director designate.
Systematic investment plan (SIP) investments are on the rise in India. According to data revealed by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), the total SIP amount collected in January 2024 amounted to 18,838 crore. While planning to start an SIP online, investors often wonder about the most ideal frequency of investing in an SIP. Investing in equity mutual funds in India involves exposing ones portfolio to a considerable amount of risk and requires the investor to regularly re-assess their investment. Read on to know tips on how often you must make an equity SIP investment.

The types of SIP investments based on their frequency:

Investors generally categorise SIP mutual fund investments into three categories based on the investors choice of the frequency of investment  daily SIPs, weekly SIPs, and monthly SIPs. Of these three categories, daily and monthly SIP investments are more popular.

What is the best frequency to invest in an SIP?

Here are some points that you must consider before choosing the frequency of your SIP investments:

Investing in small and mid-cap funds through daily SIPs could offer lower returns: Small-cap funds invest in companies that have a lower market capitalisation, and therefore, are highly volatile. Investing in a small-cap fund when the market is declining could lead to higher losses. On the contrary, when the market is high, investing daily in a small-cap fund can yield higher returns. However, you can expect stable and higher returns by investing in large-cap funds through daily SIPs.

The efficacy of daily SIPs depends on the funds management: You must assess the mutual funds management strategies before investing since the returns of daily SIPs depend on the efficiency of the funds management.

Monthly SIPs are better suited for people who earn monthly salaries: It is advisable for investors who earn daily wages to invest in daily SIPs. Monthly SIPs, on the other hand, are ideal for people who earn monthly salaries. Investors must ideally select the SIP date a few days after the date on which they receive their salaries.

You can monitor your monthly SIPs more efficiently: Opting for monthly SIPs is the best way to plan a mutual fund investment. Investors must also use an SIP investment calculator to better plan their monthly SIPs. Also called SIP calculator, these are free, online tools that can help investors determine the ideal tenure and investment amount for their SIP investments.

Tracking daily SIPs is difficult: Since investors who choose daily SIPs have multiple entries of purchase in their account, it is a lot more convenient for investors to track their monthly SIP contributions as opposed to tracking their daily SIP amounts.

Before deciding on the frequency of your SIP investment, you must use an SIP return calculator to analyse your returns. A mutual fund SIP calculator can help you develop clarity on how to invest in mutual funds  through monthly SIPs or daily SIPs. You must also regularly re-assess your SIP investments to check if they are aligning with your investment objectives.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Looking west along Richmond Terrace, at Park Avenue in Port Richmond, this view shows some buildings still standing from the 1920s. A few of the old buildings have been renovated to house new businesses. The double-decker porched building, which was the site of the St. James Hotel, built in 1795, and the diner on the corner, are gone.

Richmond Terrace is shown between Richmond Avenue and Park Avenue in Port Richmond. There is a barricade in the center of the street with two signs attached: "STRAIGHT AHEAD / FOR / BAYONNE / FERRY" and "CONSTRUCTION / DETOUR." Businesses visible include the Richmond Clipper diner, Schiff's Furniture, and Sam's Taxi. It is dated c1950-1955. (From the Historic Richmond Town Collection) Staten Island Advance

This corner was a busy section for commerce, due to the ferry to Bayonne, New Jersey, just a block away. Ferries between what is now Port Richmond and Bayonne, formerly known as Bergens Point, started running in the early 18th century, when Jacob Corson established service across the Kill van Kull. It ended its run in December 1961, according to Bayonne Metro.

A current photo shows Park Avenue along Richmond Terrace, looking west. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)Staten Island Advance

2040 Richmond Terrace is shown in the photo from the NYC Municipal Archives Digital CollectionsStaten Island Advance

A September 2023 artist's rendering shows a planned building that will go up at 2040 Richmond Terrace in Port Richmond, the site of the old hotel, according to the Port Richmond-North Shore Alliance and Grinberg Management. Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  All New York City businesses need to put their trash in containers starting Friday, March 1, according to the city Department of Sanitation (DSNY).

As part of Mayor Eric Adams crusade against rats, the city began efforts to containerize businesses trash in April, and all will have to do so starting in March.

Previously, food-related businesses needed to start using trash bins with secure lids starting Aug. 1 and chain businesses with five or more locations in the city needed to start doing so Sept. 5.

Weve declared that rats are public enemy number one  but were not stopping there; were also going after the black trash bags that litter our streets, aiding and abetting rodents, Adams said in September. Thats why, starting next spring, were requiring every New York City business to put out their trash in containers. Thats 20 million pounds of black bags and rat buffets off our streets  every single day. Our streets will look cleaner and smell cleaner across all five boroughs, and New Yorkers wont have to dodge trash mountains or scurrying rats as theyre walking.

All business trash, disposed food, and food-soiled paper must be in a bin with a secure lid when set out at the curb for collection, but the rules do not apply to recyclables, according to DSNY. The requirements do not apply to recyclables or to businesses that have waste collected from a loading dock.

In an effort to educate businesses on the new responsibilities, DSNY sent mailers to all covered establishments, held information sessions, spoke at community meetings, and had the rules featured on the departments social media accounts.

The city will have a one-month warning period, but after, businesses found to be in violation of the trash container rules will be subject to fines, starting at $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense, and $200 for all subsequent offenses.

Adams administration has taken a series of other steps in the mayors war on rats, including container requirements for residential properties, increased composting efforts and the hiring of the citys first rat czar.

Ultimately, the citys residential trash containerization efforts will culminate in an official NYC bin program that requires owners of all residential properties in the five boroughs to purchase specific bins for their garbage.
(Editors note: This article is part of an Advance/SILive.com Womens History Month special series, History Makers, which profiles Staten Islanders making important, lasting impact on our community. Do you have someone you would like to nominate for a profile? E-mail their name and a brief nomination to tips@siadvance.com.)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A Staten Island high school senior who just turned 17 last week is on cloud nine, having proven the skys the limit for her highest dreams.

Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade and is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African-American female pilot to earn her private license.

On Monday, Feb. 26 at Republic Airport in Farmingdale, Long Island, the Mariners Harbor teen took the biggest test of her life her check ride, the final step to getting her private pilots license. And she passed!

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland gets a hug from her mom, Lakema Freeland, after becoming the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Clear Eye Visuals)(Courtesy Kamora Freeland)

I love flying and I have a passion for it, Freeman said, noting that the views are what first drew her into flying. Plus, pilots can make up to a salary of $700,000, so that caught my attention, too. The next step is to become a commercial airline pilot.

For her check ride test on Feb. 26, Freeland took the three-hour test with a DPE, or Designated Pilot Examiner. However, having left her home early in the morning for the 90 minute-drive to Long Island for the test, Kamora was nerve-wracked when her test flight was delayed due to weather condition.

Luckily, the skies cleared up and all systems were go for her landmark test. Surrounded by family, including parents Lakema and David Freeland, Kamora completed her test with flying colors.

The talented student, who brought the Go-Pro device that she received for her birthday to record her flight, attributes her success upon landing to her mom and dad, saying, My parents believe in me and that builds up my courage and ambition.

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Clear Eye Visuals)Courtesy Kamora Freeland

Prior to the test, the young pilot  who earned a full scholarship to Spelman to study economics  completed a solo cross country flight in December 2023, at just 16 years old.

A solo cross country flight is when you fly to three different airports alone, explained Kamoras proud mom, Lakema Freeland. She flew solo to two airports in Connecticut and Republic Airport in Farmingdale.

She has been been taking flying lessons three times a week, starting at the age of 15. Now she is the youngest African American female licensed pilot. I am overjoyed, her mom added.

Growing up as the youngest of four siblings, Kamora always found security in the presence of her two older brothers. However, when they left home to pursue their education, Kamora took her mothers advice and embarked on a journey of self-discovery and personal growth.

It was during this transformative period that Kamora discovered her love for flying airplanes. A chance encounter with an aviation program for underprivileged children, initiated by two dedicated NYC police officers, opened doors for Kamora at exactly the right time.

Ultimately, Kamoras journey led her to her first cross country solo flight in December 2023, at 16 years of age (video below), making history that is a testament to her power of perseverance of pursuing her passion.

So, does Kamora ever get nervous when she flies? No way, she said. I hope my journey to becoming a pilot and making history inspires other young people to reach for the stars.

I believe that the skys the limit and you can do anything you put your mind to.

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Clear Eye Visuals)Courtesy Clear Eye Visuals

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Kamora Freeland)(Courtesy Kamora Freeland)

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Kamora Freeland)Courtesy Kamora Freeland

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Kamora Freeland)Courtesy Kamora Freeland

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Clear Eye Visuals)Courtesy Kamora Freeland

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Kamora Freeland)Courtesy Kamora Freeland

Staten Islander Kamora Freeland, a senior at Kingsborough Early College High School in Brooklyn  an honors student who skipped 11th grade who is heading to Spelman College in the fall  has become the youngest African American female pilots to earn her private pilots license. (Courtesy Kamora Freeland)Courtesy Kamora Freeland
Coal-rich Chinese province advances shift to green energy

Xinhua) 13:31, February 27, 2024

TAIYUAN, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- Installed capacity of new energy produced by wind and solar power in north China's coal-rich Shanxi Province had reached 50.93 million kilowatts as of January 2024, accounting for 38.2 percent of the province's total, according to the State Grid's Shanxi branch.

Wind and solar power each boasts capacity exceeding 25 million kilowatts, the company added.

In 2019, China launched an energy revolution pilot program in Shanxi, hoping that the province would make breakthroughs in building a clean and low-carbon energy consumption model and promoting energy technology innovation.

In 2023, Shanxi delivered a new high of 157.6 billion kWh of electricity to other regions, of which 9.6 billion kWh was new energy, registering an increase of about 15 percent year on year.

Shanxi proposed that by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), new and clean energy would account for 50 percent of its total installed capacity and 30 percent of its total power generation.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
China Mobile International (CMI) announced at Mobile World Congress 2024 that it has struck an alliance with stc Group to advance deployment and implementation of IoT connectivity services for businesses.

Under the terms of the alliance agreement, stc Group will provide IoT connectivity services to CMI in Saudi Arabia. Both companies said they would leverage their combined expertise to facilitate access to cutting-edge IoT capabilities, particularly for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

CMI said its IoT capabilities enhance the scope and efficiency of smart solutions, driving the integration of IoT technologies across various sectors.

CMI also said that the partnership will strengthen stc Groups position as a key player in the IoT market and contribute to the growth of the digital economy in the region.

The partnership is part of CMIs strategy to create a partner ecosystem with regional and global carrier partners, enabling local operators to provide services leveraging China Mobile's 5G and IoT capabilities.
A cyberattack on a health care technology company has created havoc throughout the countrys medical system as hackers have threated to release patient information and delay prescriptions and paychecks for medical workers, the Associated Press is reporting.

Change Healthcare, which processes billions of medical transactions a year, said on Thursday that the ransomware group ALPHV, or Blackcat claimed responsibility for the attack, the report said.
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Talks between SpaceX and Vietnams Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to allow Starlink satellite broadband services in the country have reportedly been put on hold, as has a pilot project with coast guard drones using Starlink connectivity.

According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, SpaceX has had several meetings with MIC officials during the second half of 2023 to negotiate Starlinks entry into the Vietnamese market.

However, the talks broke down when the MIC made it clear the government would not relax foreign ownership limits for SpaceX, the report said.

Vietnams current telecoms law, passed in 2009, limits foreign ownership to a non-controlling 50% stake of telecoms companies with network infrastructure. In November 2023, parliament approved a revised telecoms law that kept those limits in place.

Earlier this month, a draft decree to implement the 2024 telecoms law in July added a requirement that foreign satellite service providers must ensure that all traffic generated by satellite subscriber terminals in Vietnam passes through a local ground gateway connected to the public telecoms network.

According to a report from VNA, the MIC considers cross-border satellite communications to be a risk in terms of data from Vietnamese internet users being collected abroad and used illegally.

The Reuters report said there is no word yet on when talks between SpaceX and the MIC might resume.

The report also said that while talks were ongoing, Starlink was reportedly conducting a pilot project with Vietnam's coast guard, which was using Starlink satellites to guide drones patrolling the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. That pilot has also been suspended.
Gray was unrepresented in the matter but has long insisted the two businesses operate legally, telling the Federal Court in his Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) matter that Creditnet  operates from a Sovereign Jurisdiction which is NOT under the control or jurisdiction of APRA, according to the judgment handed down in the matter. Court documents filed by the banking regulator in the case showed there had been recent inquiries regarding the bona fides of Creditnet Bank Internationale. It also revealed the regulator had been sending warning letters to the group and Gray since 2004 before it took court action in 2023. APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole said the action was taken to protect Australian bank users. Credit: APRA declined to say why it took 19 years to take court action against Gray and his entities. In a press release issued after it won orders against Gray, APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole said consumers needed to be vigilant and research unfamiliar businesses describing themselves as banks before depositing money. APRA protects bank depositors through its licensing regime, prudential framework and active supervision. We have taken action once again to prevent Australians mistakenly believing they are depositing money with an APRA-regulated entity and receiving the same protections, Cole said.

A review of the groups activities reveals it has been embroiled in issues facing other banks in Australia and overseas. Creditnet Bank Internationale caused an international stir in 2009 when its documents were used by an American man in an attempted 15 billion ($25 billion) fraud against the small Micronesian state of Palau. Court documents filed by Palau in the US, seeking assistance from US authorities to gather evidence in the case, show that the man had come very close to pulling off this fraud attempt. Gray told this masthead that the financial instruments issued to the man were for funding commercial, humanitarian and infrastructure projects and were in good order. Grays business has also had dealings with Garrett who is perhaps most widely known as the creator of popular summer sipper and 1990s favourite, the Andrew Garrett Sparkling Shiraz. Andrew Garrett in 2004. Credit: John Donegan In 2006, Garrett attempted to launch separate takeover bids for Fosters, Qantas, BHP and Suncorp using bills of exchange from CreditNet Bank International. Garrett sued Westpac in the Federal Court for failing to honour the documents that purported to provide him access to funds exceeding $US11.35 billion ($17.44 billion).

The court found Westpac acted appropriately when it refused to honour the documents after being unable to establish the bona fides of Creditnet Bank Internationale. The judgment in the matter shows Garrett had direct dealings with Gray to arrange his finance, including documents used by Garrett to launch his takeover offer of some of Australias biggest companies. Gray told this masthead Creditnet Bank Internationale had lawfully issued the documents and that the court committed an error at law in the way that it came to its conclusion. This low-resolution, old photo is the only image associated with Robert Gray online including on his X social media profile page. Regarding the APRA court case, Gray said he was unable to properly defend himself due to personal circumstances. He told this masthead: Between the last two-way emailed letters of communications that Creditnet Bank Internationale had with APRA, and recent events taken place in the FEDERAL COURT, I was kidnapped and held for ransom. After paying the ransom funds I was released and ended up being hospitalised for an emergency operation. No documents were ever served on me to give me a chance to declare the Truth of the Status of Creditnet Bank Internationale to the court.

In the years after his use of Creditnet Bank Internationale, Garrett  who was in 2009 declared a vexatious litigant by the Federal Court and Supreme Court of South Australia over a separate legal matter involving National Australia Bank  branched out into sovereign citizen banking himself. In 2023, APRA secured Federal Court orders stopping Garrett using the term bank or claiming that three companies  Dynamic Capital Bank, Banque de Capital Dynamique and Banca di Como  were banks. Loading Justice Michael Lees judgment approving APRAs stop order request provides insight into the ethos behind these types of banks. As will already be evident, Mr Garretts claims are not legally compelling. Indeed, to borrow an expression from a case involving claims not dissimilar to those in the present case, they resemble a jumble of gobbledygook, Lee said. This is self-evident and I do not propose to waste time dealing with the allegation I am a bankrupt, nor explain why I consider the better view is that I should not be imprisoned in Outer Mongolia or some such place. According to Lees judgment, Garrett also filed documents in that case that referred to the judge and APRAs legal team as prisoners and drew up a table that assigned them prisoner numbers.
On a pristine beach near Gapuwiyak, in the Top End, NITV science reporter and Going Places with Ernie Dingo presenter Rae Johnston, enjoys an audience with Australian music royalty, a concert at sunset, a revealing conversation with a film actor and later shares the catwalk with a rising face of fashion.

[Yothu Yindi founding member] Witiyana Marika and I sat on this beautiful beach, which was part of his homeland, and he taught me about why it is that Yolngu people are born to be creative and express their culture through creativity, says Johnston, who spoke to Marika as a two-part Back Roads special showcasing the internationally renowned creativity of the Yolngu people of East Arnhem Land.

Science reporter Rae Johnston travelled to East Arnhem Land to showcase the Yolngu people in a special two-part episode of Back Roads.

Weve got so many incredible artists that come from this tiny part of the country  Baker Boy and Yothu Yindi and King Stingray  it just seems to be an area that creates superstars.

Johnston, a Wiradjuri woman from Darug and Gundungurra Country in the Blue Mountains, was visiting East Arnhem Land for the first time.
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Review Eating outHobart The best place to eat seafood in Hobart right now is inside a luxury car showroom The 10-seat Omotenashi experience is an intimate showcase that could be a template for future dining. Callan Boys March 1, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Lachlan Colwill and Sophie Pope behind the Omotenashi counter inside Hobarts Lexus showroom. Adam Gibson Good Food hat Good Food hat 16.5 / 20 How we score Japanese$$$ Heres a joke Ive heard a few times from Tasmanian chefs: Wheres the best place to eat local seafood in Hobart? Head to the airport and fly to Sydney or Melbourne. Nice one. Very good. Never gets old. Like all great jokes, its also built on truth. Broadly, fishers get a better price for their top catch in markets north of Bass Strait and long-established supply chains can be hard to access, even for Hobart restaurants happy to pay a premium for consistent product. Visit Tasmania! We have farmed salmon and scallops and a ferry to MONA. Just dont expect to eat any of our king crab or sashimi-grade tuna. But over the past two years, chefs Sophie Pope and Lachlan Colwill have been developing relationships with fishers and wholesalers to change that punchline. The best place to eat seafood in Hobart right now? The Lexus of Tasmania showroom. Yes, that Lexus, maker of cars. You can leave your coat in the SUVs boot isnt something I expected to hear at a restaurant serving 16 small courses on antique ceramics sourced from Kyoto.

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The experience (which feels like a more appropriate word than restaurant) came about when Pope and Colwill were looking for a venue to showcase Tasmanian produce and practise omotenashi, the Japanese expression of wholehearted hospitality. Photographer, chef and friend of the couple Luke Burgess had just the place: a stunning, 10-seat counter and open kitchen he was helping design for Lexus Hobart. Apparently, Lexus dealerships that invest in extra activities, such as a restaurant, are granted access to more cars by the global head office. Chefs get a nice deal on rent. Everybody wins. You can leave your coat in the SUVs boot isnt something I expected to hear at a restaurant serving 16 small courses on antique ceramics from Kyoto. The evening begins with a glass of fizz and the opportunity to mingle with other guests in the showroom, which is a handsome, Tasmanian oak-lined space in its own right. Feel free to take your drink in the drivers seat of a $130,000 RZ450e. Thirty minutes later, were called to the monolithic counter for the first pour of sake (matched drinks are included in the price) and three hinnomaki variety gooseberries, grown for Omotenashi by a nearby farm and coated in a lusciously smooth shiraae mixture of pounded tofu, sesame and miso.

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Feel free to run your finger through the sauce if youre that way inclined, says Colwill. Ah, good. This is going to be fun as well as delicious. Next, a golden-hued ichiban dashi soup, humming with kelp and hongarebushi (sun-dried skipjack tuna) and the last peas of summer. Duke Ellington plays in the background and time slows down. The LX500d fades from my peripheral. Pea and ichiban dashi. Sophie Pope Rather than a rapid volley of one-bite sushi, the chefs take turns preparing and explaining each small course. When I visited in January, raw seafood highlights included silver trevally (both top loin and melting belly); sweet King George whiting brushed with shoyu dashi (like soy sauce, but not as rich); yellow-eye mullet with a warm lick of charcoal smoke; and firm, clean-flavoured tiger flathead sharpened by pickled nasturtium. King George whiting sashimi. Sophie Pope

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Gosh, its good stuff. Each course is an exercise in subtle manipulation, calibrating the ageing and seasoning to exponential degrees so the fish becomes something transcendental while still tasting very much of itself. Beautifully marbled Robbins Island wagyu from north-west Tasmania, thinly sliced and served in a broth of sake, shiitake dashi and dried bonito, is the only meat course. Breakout hit of the night is the cooling, vinegared sunomono dish, pretty with local cucumbers and their flowers, sour cherries, blueberries, raspberries and red currants. Laced with a dressing of shiso and fermented plum, each bite offers a new dimension of juice and tang. Go-to dish: Sunomono of berries and flowers. Sophie Pope Just as memorable is Popes mochi (Japans favourite chewy, glutinous rice cake) filled with cream and new-season apricot. It will also be some time before I taste another dessert as pure and soothing as her blackcurrant ice-cream.

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Omotenashi is potentially more than a celebration of fish and fruit, though. With traditional restaurant models becoming increasingly cost-prohibitive for young owner-chefs, this could be a template for future dining. Id be all for a pop-up in a Porsche shop. How about a modern Korean concept out the back of an Aesop? Or in a high-rise office space the landlord is struggling to lease? Few chefs will ever be able to afford a Lexus, but more should be able to pay rent on an inner-city space where, like Pope and Colwill, they can pursue their ambitions. New ideas are what Australian dining needs, not the same old bistros and farmed salmon crudo. The low-down Vibe: Intimate showcase of Tasmanian produce hosted by chefs who can still crack a smile Go-to dish: Sunomono of berries and flowers (as part of a set menu) Drinks: Paired sake, tea and natural wines, some quite rare Cost: $300 per person, including matched drinks This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine

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Eating outRestaurant news Stopwatches, NDAs and bathroom reports: The secret life of a mystery diner Incognito visits by members of the public are serious business for restaurants wanting to stay on top. But its not just anyone who can join the secret eaters club. Emma Breheny March 1, 2024 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

You dont need to wear a corny disguise to be a mystery diner, but you do need to be very practiced with a stopwatch, have a keen eye for detail, and the stamina to complete a 16-page questionnaire within 48 hours of your visit. Marnie Bodin, a digital marketing specialist, is a mystery diner for the service Allow Me, which generates colour-coded reports on customer experience for busy restaurant owners. Bodin visits restaurants, cafes and bars about once a fortnight, reporting via an app on how long (to the second) it takes to be greeted at the door, whether she is offered another drink, and whether the bathrooms are clean. Mystery diner Marnie Bodin takes a seat at Kisume, which regularly uses the services of such diners. Wayne Taylor Venues of all kinds employ undercover diners, similar to secret shoppers, to get feedback on their food, service, value for money, and atmosphere. Invisible Guest, a service that was established in 2011, has 200 diners who assess everything from fast-food outlets such as Lord of the Fries to fine-dining restaurants including the two-hatted Gimlet at Cavendish House for a fee that starts at $134, plus the cost of a meal.

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Diners use different templates for cafes, bars, fast food outlets, pubs and upmarket restaurants but all are extremely detailed, covering up to 160 customer touchpoints, starting with how easy it is to make a booking to how well the staff know the cocktail list and can answer questions. There is an art to this, says Invisible Guest founder and chief executive Ian McKerracher. You dont just slag off a business. Were providing commentary and criticism that is constructive. He estimates that each report takes his assessors up to two hours to complete. Staff are assessed on their knowledge of the drinks list, food and more. Simon Schluter Invisible Guest is highly selective when recruiting assessors, with fewer than a third of applicants making the cut.

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Bodin, who worked in food publishing and before that hospitality, was selected by Allow Me five years ago after filling in an application that asked her to describe her most recent dining experience. Some of her friends who applied were not successful. Having that knowledge of both sides of the fence, I thought I could really help businesses, says Bodin. Lucas Restaurants, which operates Grill Americano, Society, Chin Chin and other venues around Melbourne, runs its mystery dining program in-house, rather than using an external service, so it can handpick people who best match the target audience for their venues. The diners identities are closely guarded, with just two employees at head office provided access to the list. Each diner is asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Chin Chin in Melbourne may ask diners to comment on portion sizes or bathroom cleanliness. Supplied

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The restaurant group introduced the program 14 months ago to get a more consistent pulse-check of the experience in each of its venues, rather than relying on Google reviews or feedback from its reservations system. You hear about really good and really bad experiences, which is important, but you dont hear whether there was soap in the bathroom three out of four nights in a week, says Celia McCarthy, Lucas Restaurants general manager of brand, communications and guest experience. The Lucas crew of about 60 mystery diners may be asked one week to report on the portion sizes of a feed-me menu at Chin Chin, and the next to assess the value for money of a vintage cocktail in Societys bar. Two or three staff members sift through the data to create reports, which are sent to venues. We got a lot of feedback from guests that when they sit down, 75 to 80 per cent of people know what they want to drink. That was a really good learning: how can we speed up that sequence of service? says McCarthy.

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Another Lucas venue, Grill Americano, introduced a chefs choice menu after mystery diners reported feeling overwhelmed by the number of choices on its A3 a la carte menu. Grill Americano introduced a chefs choice menu after hearing mystery diner feedback. Amy Hemmings Studio Amaro, Firebird and eight other restaurants owned by Commune Group use a pool of about 15 mystery diners, hand-picked every three months to cover a spread of ages, genders, geography and preferences when dining out. You want to get a broad range of opinions on what your product is and what the public are feeling, says Commune Groups Simon Blacher. Theyre almost giving you management reports: it was too hot, it was too cold, it was too bright, she didnt clear the plates, that dish was too spicy, says Blacher.

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Firebird restaurant in Prahran is visited regularly by mystery diners. Bonnie Savage Using mystery diners certainly is not cheap, but businesses that can afford them  particularly groups with many venues  agree its a worthwhile investment. You cant be everywhere all the time, says Blacher. He views secret diners as a team who arent necessarily invested in the business yet have an educated perspective on restaurants. McKerracher, of Invisible Guest, says: Its one of the few opportunities there are for operators to really understand and get truthful feedback. Opinion The 10 dishes a food critic never orders

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At Huaweis Day0 Forum 2024, taking place on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2024, MTN Groups Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Chika Ekeji, gave a keynote speech to explain how 5G is driving digital progress in Africa.

Ekeji focused on the opportunities that 5G provides for value creation, explaining that MTN aims to unlock the dividends of 5G across Africa. The group is present in 19 markets, with a user base approaching 300 million.

He noted that 5G must be seen within context, and that this is of course different for Africa than for more developed markets. MTN is firmly focused on delivering the benefits of a modern connected life to everyone, and delivering this requires a well-considered strategy. To achieve this, MTN focuses on four strategic priorities  building the largest and most valuable platforms; driving industry-leading connectivity operations; creating shared value; and accelerating the transformation of its portfolio.

Exploring 5G capabilities to enable use cases in Africa, Ekeji noted that the technology is initially enabling enhanced mobile broadband and improved Fixed Wireless Access across he continent, and he noted 5Gs increasing prevalence is facilitating industrial use cases that require massive IoT.. This growing availability of reliable connectivity is further capable of supporting enhanced network slicing, offering enhanced security and the ability to meet more diversified requirements for the digital progress of Africa.

Since 2020, MTN has launched 5G in four African markets  South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda. Ekeji noted that MTN Groups 5G network coverage reaches around 50 million people, with EMBB and FWA use cases driving usage thus far and 5G data accounting for around 3-5% of total network traffic. He also touched on the importance of private networks (a growing consideration for Africas enterprise segment). MTN is aiming to deploy 5Gin more markets by year-end 2024 and expand its 5G population coverage by up to 10 million people.

Ekeji outlined the three main horizons for 5G use cases, noting that core connectivity was of course the foundation, with premium connectivity enabling scenarios including edge computing, B2B connectivity, and private networks. Operators will then go on to develop solutions supporting a wide variety of use cases, such as IoT, AR/VR, B2B2C monetisation, etc.

By 2030, Ekeji shared GSMA estimates indicating that the GDP impact of 5G in Sub-Saharan Africa may reach US$26 billion, equivalent to around 0.48% of the regions economy by that time. He noted that the retail, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors in particular stand to benefit from enhanced 5G connectivity, while many other areas would also see their efficiency enhanced.

Ekeji argued that the social value of 5G is equally important to its economic value. With fixed broadband penetration rates typically below 2% in many African markets, 5G presents an opportunity to further democratise internet access. Ekeji noted that 5G can create more opportunities in both healthcare and education, furthering the social impact that it will enable.

Focusing on each of these areas, Ekeji began by exploring the potential of 5G for the mining industry in Africa - a major pillar of the continents economy that stands to benefit substantially from the improved efficiencies enabled by 5G implementation. He emphasised that even basic network connectivity enables scenarios that can improve the efficacy of extractive industry operations. Further benefits can be realized by adopting advanced technologies including 5G + IoT, AI surveillance, and drones. Many of these use cases can also apply to the logistics of port management, with Ekeji noting that remote operation, surveillance and AR assistance can enable autonomous workflows, better energy efficiency and improved productivity in that segment.

On the subject of healthcare, Ekeji elaborated on challenges and the healthcare divide in Africa and underlined how 5G has the potential to address this sector. As of 2020, almost 40 countries in the World Health Organisations Africa index reported having fewer than 20 medical doctors per 10,000 people. Here 5G can help to increase access to healthcare services via remote consultations, CT and ECG monitoring, as well as helping to train more doctors via modern immersive experience even remotely. In the future, more advanced use cases such as remote surgery and medical delivery via drones will become feasible. In addition to the healthcare divide, Africa also has a significant educational divide, with vast numbers of high school-age young people not being educated. Distance learning enabled by 5G presents a means of addressing this issue, whether for general learning, higher education, or vocational learning.

To properly position the continent to take full advantage of 5G, Ekeji outlined a set of mitigations essential to addressing some barriers to 5G adoption. To improve coverage, 5G-ready spectrum must be made available promptly and at fair prices, with regulatory policies put in place to support effective rollouts. Further, bringing down the cost of entry-level smartphones is also essential, and Ekeji noted that it would require device financing schemes as well as policies to support low-cost manufacturing or reduced import duties on handsets. Services will also need to be affordable, which Ekeji argued can be increasingly achieved via operational efficiencies e.g. using green energy solutions to improve reliability and reduce costs, or making more effective use of spectrum via refarming, virtualisation, and automation.

In conclusion, Ekeji argued that while policies and practices would certainly spur 5G adoption, better understanding is required around the benefit that 5G can enable, both for Consumer and Enterprise customers.. To address this, the telecom industry needs to better articulate the capabilities and value proposition of 5G to all stakeholders, using solutions as a means to demonstrate the value proposition.
Talk of a softening luxury market is competing with applause at fashion week in France, but a single accessory could drown out Parisian pessimism.

Through the gloom of the cost-of-living crisis and the fluctuating finances of luxury conglomerates, such as Gucci-owner Kering and Dior-owner the LVMH group, the watch industry is ticking along to the gratifying tune of billions of dollars.

Right on time: A guest outside the Dior show in Paris brandishing her luxury watch in a sea of accessories. Credit: Getty

Last year, Swiss watch exports reached a record high of 26.7 billion francs ($46.4 billion). Melbourne Grand Prix sponsor Rolex lead the way, making 1.24 million timepieces last year with sales of $17.6 billion.

In its watch and jewellery division, LVMH reported sales of 10.9 billion ($18 billion) for last year. The company report does not offer individual breakdowns for the category, which includes Bulgari and Tiffany & Co but singled out TAG Heuer for its achievement of record-breaking revenue.
Like most Australians, I lost the cash habit at some point in the past decade, content to tap away to pay for everything from coffee to groceries. I often have no cash in my wallet.

He went on Sky News to explain himself. If you have a cashless society, the banks control your life, youre not able to buy a loaf of bread without permission from the banks, Katter said. Its bad enough now but it will become infinitely worse.

Last month Katter was fired up because a cafe in the Australian Parliament House initially refused to accept his $50 note, telling him it was a cashless business. Katter told them it was too bad for them because cash was legal tender, and they legally had to accept it.

Recently, though, Ive been trying to change that. I started noticing that more and more retailers, especially cafes and small shops, were imposing surcharges for card payments. Being the former Money editor of this masthead, I knew how quickly little amounts can add up. Ive also been finding that an increasing number of businesses no longer accept cash. Ive encountered this several times in the month since Katters run-in at the Canberra cafe.

On the Saturday before last, I was unfortunately not at the second Taylor Swift concert, having failed to find tickets. Nor was I at the Bondi Beach Party, murdering the dance floor with Sophie Ellis-Bextor. But I was at the Capitol Theatre, seeing the entrancing Australian Ballet production of Alice with my daughter.

The Australian Ballet production of Alice in Wonderland. Credit: Louie Douvis

I was surprised to find that the bar at the theatre is cashless. The bartender informed me that this was stated in the terms and conditions of sale when I bought my tickets. The website confirms the policy but does not state a reason.

Earlier in February, I came across the same phenomenon at Spice Alley, off Broadway, where there is a collection of small food stalls and shared tables in a central courtyard. I wanted to give my teenagers cash, so they could go and choose their own meals, but the stalls were all cashless, forcing us to go one by one. One of the stallholders told me that Spice Alley management did not allow them to take cash, but customers could load currency onto a cashless payment card at a central cashier. The Spice Alley website says the policy is to improve speed of service, safety and hygiene.
NSW local member Alex Greenwich called for calm after a confrontation between police and protesters on Oxford Street on Friday night, pleading with people not to take the Mardi Gras parade away from us.

Around 300 people attended a snap protest at Taylors Square in Surry Hills on Friday night.

In a statement, NSW Police said the protest was unauthorised.

NSW Police physically intervene to remove protesters blocking the road during a snap rally on Oxford Street. Credit: @brianthomsontv

We dont need anyone stoking division or conflict, Greenwich said in an interview on Weekend Today on Saturday.
A member of Cranbrook Schools council has temporarily stepped aside ahead of a program set to air on the ABC about the private all-boys institution.

James Sheller, a senior counsel with New Chambers and a vice president on Cranbrooks board, has taken a leave of absence after discovering a longstanding and close friend was involved with the program.

Cranbrook declined the ABCs invitation to participate in the Four Corners program. Credit: The Australian Institute of Architects

Four Corners, the public broadcasters investigative flagship, is planning to run an episode on Monday night titled Old School, claiming it will expose new allegations and include interviews with female staff who have left the school.

There is no suggestion that any of the ABCs allegations are against Sheller.
Bergin says when Macquarie went to the farm in 1815 Georges Head wasnt even on any government maps. In 1822 surveyor John Septimus Roe did a survey and thats the first time it appears, Bergin said. They probably referred to the area as Georges Head because it was close to where the Georges Head battery was built was 1801 on Middle Head, it was merely a place name. Her view seems to be supported by a trigonometric survey of Port Jackson by Thomas Florance in 1828 which shows King Bungarees Farm at the Middle Head location. Bungaree farm location 1828 according to surveyor Thomas Florance trigonometric survey. Bergin has also used details contained in the field book of the acting surveyor of the colony, James Meehan. The Australian Dictionary of Biography quotes Meehan as saying: I have measured every farm that has been measured since August 1803. Bergin approached Tony Dawson, an authority on Meehan, and asked him to map out the locations and sitings in the field book. Translating and mapping that data, Dawson places Bungarees bark farm huts at Middle Head.

Bergin, speaking from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said she believes Dawsons interpretation of the field book is a groundbreaking development. This is the missing map that never existed before and is important, she said. The huts were located right in the middle of where the Harbour Trust wants to do some work. I think they should be taking the work I did and putting more resources into taking that to the next step. Dawson said he had traced a lot of Meehans other work and found him to be pretty precise. I went through Meehans field book and reconstructed his trace which gave me the idea that Bungaree was up on Middle Head somewhere to the north-east of where he had been placed before, he said. The problem was what they called Georges Head in the first place isnt the Georges Head that there is now. When Meehan did the survey in 1816 he did say at one point, its the point at the southern end of Balmoral Beach and that that was the boundary of Bungarees farm. It fits with Middle Head rather than Georges Head.

Grace Karskens, professor of history at the UNSW specialising in Australian colonial and Aboriginal history and author of The Colony, said, Linda could be on to something. Meehans field book of Middle Head. Credit: State Archives Bungaree was a very significant man, she said. He had wide recognition among Aboriginal people and was able to cross many different language groups, and thats not normal, hes a special person. He became a very well-liked both by his people and the white people. Bungaree is one of those special people who steps forward as an envoy, and you had to be very brave to do this, and negotiated with the invaders. He was very politically astute, he knows who holds the power and he was also a great voyager. Of the new claims, she added: The astonishing rediscovering the Aboriginal history of Sydney has been a relatively recent process, and inevitably there will be new discoveries and refinements as we go along.

Id need to check other documents, but I suspect the original mix-up was because the small headland on the south shoreline of Middle Head where the 1801 battery was built was called Georges Head. These were naval officers, and they were precise about seacoast topography, which explains why they were writing Georges Head in their reports from 1801, and not Middle Head which was less specific. Bungaree Walkway currently placed at Georges Head. Perhaps the small headland was still known by that name when Macquarie tried to get Bungaree and his family to settle there. Exactly when the name Georges Head migrated to its present location is another interesting question. Sydney Harbour Federation Trust which manages Middle Head signed off on the master plan for the area in December, which will see existing heritage defence buildings repurposed for a visitor centre and cafe, and pathways and tracks repositioned. The master plan makes reference to Bungaree stating: Recent research indicates that the location of Bungarees Farm may have been ... where the [World War Two] brick buildings are today. Further research with possible archaeological investigation will validate and enrich this nationally significant story.

Janet Carding, executive director of the Harbour Trust, said the Trust was actively interested in learning more about the site. We are currently getting advice from a professional historian who has an archaeological background. We really need some advice from an archaeologist whether there might be anything findable. If something was made out of wood, well, there might not be anything there to find. Drone photo over Middle Head. Credit: Sydney Harbour Federation Trust. We have always thought that talking about Bungaree would be part of what we do at Middle Head and this just reconfirms that there is interesting and active research going on. Now there is something new. We have encouraged Linda Bergin to publish her research so that it is on the public record. A direct descendant of Bungaree, Tracey Howie, from the Central Coast, said she welcomed further research into the latest study. Its exciting news, to be able to pin down the location and put any discussion to rest so that people can pay their respects in the appropriate area, she said. She said she believed Middle Head was a more culturally and environmentally appropriate location.
This is what it looks like when all sectors come together to solve the housing crisis.

Last week, Brisbane Youth Service and the Property Industry Foundation, with support from the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council, brought six corporate partners together to turn an empty property in an affluent Brisbane suburb into short-term housing for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Six corporate partners donated goods and time to get a vacant property ready for four young people in need of stable and supportive short-term accommodation. Credit: Brisbane Youth Service

The house  called Falconer House 2  is part of Brisbane City Councils Community Housing Partnership Project (CHPP), a program that sees vacant properties earmarked for future development converted into short and long-term accommodation.

It sits beside Falconer House 1, another council-owned property that was converted six months ago and is currently housing four young people.
Police call-outs would be reduced by a third if they were able to triage jobs with experts and social workers, the outgoing Queensland police commissioner says, as she declared officers cannot be the be all and end all.

Friday marks the end of the five-year reign for the services first female commissioner, Katarina Carroll, who last week announced she would not seek an extension to her contract.

The decision to leave early was to allow for leadership change, Carroll said at the time, and heightened speculation and chatter about her future was distracting for the service.

Katarina Carroll announced her resignation as Queensland Police Commissioner last week. Credit: Matt Dennien

The revelation came amid a long-running political debate over crime and internal tensions, with officers facing an uphill battle to manage soaring workloads, increases in job call-outs, and dozens of their colleagues calling in sick.
The prime minister and legal leaders have condemned the oppositions politicisation of the wrongful arrest and charging this week of a former immigration detainee and convicted sex offender released into the community after last years High Court ruling.

Police have denied racial profiling played a role in the arrest of former detainee Alfons Pirimapun, who was subsequently and wrongfully charged with stalking and sexual assault in Richmond earlier this week.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during question time on Thursday. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Hours later, police dropped all charges against him and said it had been a case of mistaken identity. On Friday afternoon, Victoria Police said detectives had taken a 54-year-old Kew man into custody over the allegations, and he was assisting them with their inquiries.

Also on Friday, Victoria Police Commander Mark Galliot insisted that racial profiling was not a factor in the original arrest.
A magistrate has vented her frustration at the pace at which charges against AFL star Marlion Pickett are progressing through the WA court system, stating she would not allow the matter to stall any longer.

Pickett, who hails from WA but plays for Richmond Football Club in Victoria, was arrested in June last year in connection to a spate of thefts across WA from early December 2022 to January 2023.

Richmond star Marlion Pickett leaves court in Perth in June. Credit: Rebecca Peppiatt

But since his first appearance in court for a bail application that was granted allowing him to continue his sporting obligations, Picketts matters have been back before the court four times with no appearance from him and no progression of the issues.

On Friday his charges were adjourned by consent again, with magistrate Sarah Oliver saying she wanted the matters to progress on the next occasion.
The federal government is being urged to examine reducing Australias reliance on Chinese made-cranes and electric vehicles because of fears they could be used for spying or to disrupt the normal functioning of society.

United States President Joe Biden last week issued an executive order to improve cybersecurity protections at American ports, including new regulations for Chinese-made cranes and investing $30 billion to spur the production of locally-made cranes.

Australias biggest ports operator, DP World, was forced to close its operations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle last November after a cyberattack. Credit: Peter Rae

Peoples Republic of China-manufactured ship-to-shore cranes make up the largest share of the global market and account for nearly 80 per cent of cranes at US ports, US Coast Guard cybersecurity chief Jay Vann said, explaining the need for the executive order.

By design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced and programmed from remote locations.
Whatever politicians think about being tested for drugs and alcohol, a majority of Australians believe the time has arrived to halt the regular spectacle of MPs behaving badly with tougher controls at their parliamentary workplace.

The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for the Herald by research company Resolve Strategic found 55 per cent of voters in favour of drug and alcohol testing of parliamentarians. Voters also back the idea of suspending MPs from parliament for one or two weeks if they are suspected of being under the influence of either, although this had slightly narrower support of 53 per cent.

The poll was conducted after high-profile National Party MPs put political public drunkenness on the agenda last month: Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was videoed lying on the footpath outside a Canberra pub swearing into his mobile. His explanation? He was on a prescription drug. Then Nationals deputy leader Perrin Davey appeared to slur her words in a Senate hearing. Her explanation? She had a speech impediment due to a throat operation. Both admitted to consuming alcohol too.

Once tales abounded of drunken politicians, usually at their own expense: In the 1960s prime minister John Gorton reputedly threw up on a plane and then assured a flight attendant that turbulence even affected old RAAF fighter pilots  only to be told the aircraft had not taken off. But more recently, the darker side of politics and alcohol came home with the rape allegations of Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and led to then-sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins 2021 report Set the Standard, which painted a damning assessment of the Parliament House workplace culture.
Nothing quite beats seeing the northern lights, or aurora borealis, in all their glory. But where and when can you see them?

Lucky for us the next few years are going to be the best for seeing the northern lights due to heightened solar activity as we approach "solar maximum" in the current solar cycle.

So if you are planning a trip to see the northern lights now is the time to do it. Not sure where to go? Here we have rounded up some of the best places to see auroras around the world.

Related: Aurora colors: What causes them and why do they vary?

The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field protects us from energetic assault.

As Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike. The southern lights, or aurora australis, are produced in the same way.

We asked Tom Kerss, astronomy, author and northern lights expert what three pieces of advice he would give to someone wanting to see the northern lights.

Tom Kerss Social Links Navigation Astronomer & Author Tom Kerss is an astronomer and the author of numerous best-selling books about the night sky for both adults and children, including Northern Lights, Diamonds Everywhere and the Starry Stories Series.

What are your top tips for seeing the northern lights? 1. Unless you're lucky enough to have the lights come to you, seeing auroras is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Fortunately, we can forecast where and when they are likely to become visible, so you can increase your odds. Being in Norway between late September and mid-March, during the darkest, moonless nights, and being mobile will greatly improve your chances. 2. It's important to persevere! The arctic nights can be extremely cold, but you'll need to push yourself and stay up late to make the most of the auroral zone. On good nights, the Lights are visible as soon as it gets dark, but you should try to stay up until after midnight. 3. Taking your own photographs of the Northern Lights is so alluring, and very rewarding. Today's cameras  including smartphones  capture super, colourful and clear shots. But try not to get too carried away. Make sure you absorb the luminosity, colour and subtle movement of the Lights with your own eyes. You'll make pictures in your mind that you can't share, but you can feel!

What is your favorite aurora fact? My favorite fact about auroras is that they appear not only on Earth, but on many other worlds. Every planet in the Solar System (except Mercury) exhibits auroras, as do several moons and even a comet! Moreover, we've measured auroras on other stars, and possibly even exoplanets, and they can teach us about the environments and interiors of these remote worlds.

Where to see the northern lights in Europe

If you live in Europe, the easiest thing to do is head to the far northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland. Many local people speak English in those regions and there are lots of tours available.

Wherever you plan on going, bear in mind that cloudy skies may make it difficult to catch auroras on any one particular night. If possible, leave yourself extra time to accommodate inclement weather.

Here is a list of some possible European northern lights trips and tour providers:

Norway

Northern lights display during a Hurtigruten Astronomy Voyage, Norway. (Image credit: Eva Stiegler, Hurtigruten)

Astronomy Voyage Bergen  Kirkenes  Bergen Price: From 2942pp, includes breakfast, lunch and dinner + exclusive excursion to the Troms planetarium. Duration: 12 days Northern Lights Promise: If there is no recorded sighting of the northern lights while sailing, Hurtigruten will give guests a free 6- or 7-day Classic Voyage to redeem the following season. Terms and Conditions apply. If you're interested in booking the Astronomy Voyage head over to Hurtigruten's official site.

If you're looking for the ultimate skywatching and cultural experience in Norway, we recommend taking the Hurtigruten Coastal Express along the stunning Norwegian Coast.

There are a number of voyages available as well as specialized " Astronomy Voyages " that include additional astronomy lectures from an onboard astronomer and a visit to Troms's impressive planetarium and science center.

You can read more about what it's like to experience the Hurtigruten Astronomy Voyage in our article .

The Northern Lights Company based in stunning Vesteralen, Norway, offers various 4, 5 or 7-night northern lights trips between September and April.

All tours include transport, accommodation, aurora chasing by night as well as daytime activities so guests not only get to see beautiful Norway but also experience it.

From eagle safaris and visits to the local Sami Reindeer farm to aurora research at the Andy Space Centre and photography trips. There is something for everyone with the Northern Lights Company.

Visit Troms sells aurora-watching trips around the city of Troms in Norway. The largest urban area in Northern Norway and the world's third largest city above the Arctic Circle, Troms lies just within the Northern Lights Oval, the region above Earth's geomagnetic North Pole where aurora displays are most likely to occur.

Visit Troms sells 'aurora chases,' dynamic night hunts for aurora displays in the aurora season between September and April, and slower-paced 'experiences' such as dog-sled and boat trips and overnight stays at aurora hotspots. Troms can be accessed by plane from Norway's capital Oslo; adventure seekers are sometimes rewarded by an aurora display during their incoming flight.

Sweden

Northern lights above STF Abisko Turiststation, January 2024. (Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic)

Lights over Lapland sells a range of aurora-watching packages that take skywatchers to Sweden's northernmost region, Lapland. Lapland straddles the border between Sweden and Finland, with both sides offering excellent aurora viewing opportunities in winter months and the midnight sun experience in summer.

Lights over Lapland operates on the Swedish side of the border with most of its tours aiming for Abisko National Park (not far from the Esrange Space Center which runs rocket tests for ESA and is gearing up to perform the first satellite launches from continental Europe).

"Abisko has developed a reputation for being the No. 1 aurora-watching destination on the planet, due to the fact that it is located in a very special microclimate with less precipitation than any other location on Earth that is located within the aurora zone," photographer Chad Blakley, who is a co-founder of Lights over Lapland, told Space.com via email.

If you want to see what it's like to chase auroras in Swedish Lapland check out our article on what it's like to put Abisko's "cloud-busting weapon" to the test .

Iceland

Aurora over Kirkjufell, near Grundarfjordur, Iceland. (Image credit: David Clapp via Getty Images)

Guide to Iceland sells a range of aurora-watching packages on the North Atlantic island, including bus tours, boat tours and hunting trips. Situated just below the Arctic Circle, Iceland provides a decent chance of catching the Northern Lights during winter months. If that doesn't work out, you can instead relax in the island's powerful natural hot springs and outdoor pools.

Viatour operates evening aurora-watching trips from Iceland's capital Reykjavik. The bus tour takes tourists across the island to its most popular aurora spots. The operator says that those who don't get to see the northern lights during their trip can join again at no additional cost.

Arctic Adventures offers a large number of tours from day trips to multi-day excursions to experience the very best of Iceland. There is a range of northern lights tours available whether it be traveling by bus, boat, or multi-day hiking tours. Experience the majestic northern lights with Arctic Adventures and make memories that will last a lifetime.

Where to see the northern lights in North America

Alaska's arctic environment is the perfect place to see the northern lights. (Image credit: Patrick J. Endres via Getty Images)

Northern lights photography If you're interested in trying to photograph the northern lights check out our guides on how to photograph auroras, as well as the best equipment for aurora photography.

There are plenty of options for good aurora viewing in North America. While far-eastern Canada tends to be cloudy, the shore of the Hudson Bay, the northern Canadian towns of Yellowknife or Whitehorse, or the west coast of Alaska are usually good bets. (The city of Fairbanks itself can be a great choice for seeing northern lights without needing to go too far in the wilderness.)

Alaska Tours offers a range of packages from one-day trips to week-long tours that take visitors past the Arctic Circle to the heart of Alaska's wilderness, where the chance of catching the glowing auroras is among the best in the world.

Aurora Borealis Yokon runs one-day to five-day aurora-watching trips in the Yukon territory in northwestern Canada. A direct neighbor of Alaska, Yukon offers pretty much the same aurora-observing conditions during the winter months.

In the east, Churchill Arctic Adventures offers trips to Churchill, Manitoba, on the western shores of Hudson Bay. The company operates dedicated 'aurora domes,' heated cabins and other outposts in the boreal forest that allow visitors to observe the magnificent lights in perfect comfort. If the aurora doesn't show up, then perhaps some of the polar bears residing in this region may.

Can I see the northern lights from my home?

Submit your photos! If you capture an amazing photo of the northern lights and would like to share it with Space.com and our news partners for a story or gallery, send images to spacephotos@space.com.

The "standard" aurora borealis, observable in the Arctic regions, is generated by the solar wind , which constantly flows toward Earth. It manifests itself into a large "ring" above Earth's geomagnetic North Pole and is known as the aurora oval.

During times of heightened solar activity, the aurora oval can expand more southern latitudes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center maintains a detailed 30-minute aurora forecast where you can see the predicted extent of the auroral oval and the probability of auroras. The aurora borealis is visible most nights, weather permitting, within a band several hundred miles wide that's centered at about 66 degrees north  about the same latitude as the Arctic Circle.

But geomagnetic storms, caused by coronal mass ejections (CME), can ramp up the northern lights considerably and make them visible over much wider areas. In early November 2023, for example, a powerful geomagnetic storm sparked auroras as far south as Greece and Turkey .

Related: Aurora myths, legends and misconceptions

As the solar cycle intensifies, such occurrences might become more common (or rather, slightly less rare). We recommend keeping an eye on Spaceweather.com for alerts of possible incoming geomagnetic storms as well as NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center .

Yet even the most powerful geomagnetic storm will fail to deliver the experience unless other factors cooperate  a cloud-free sky, not too much moonlight, nighttime hours and absence of light pollution. (City-dwellers have to get out into the countryside for an aurora experience no matter how strong the geomagnetic storm supercharging the sky might be.)

But you can have an aurora experience without even leaving your house if you so choose. Our northern lights webcams article offers aurora views from some iconic locations from across Europe and North America, all in one place.

When to see the northern lights

If you're planning an aurora-viewing trip, the best time is throughout the winter months. Anytime between late September to late March is a good time for northern lights hunting as the long nights provide ample aurora viewing opportunities.

The good news is that the sun's approximately 11-year solar cycle of solar activity is ramping up as we approach solar maximum. This means that the next few years will be the perfect time to plan a northern lights adventure.

The northern lights can appear for long periods or short bursts lasting only a few minutes (if that!) so the best way to see them is to wrap up warm, and wait. I have been on several northern lights hunts and sometimes they can appear when you least expect, so unless you're already outside and ready, you'll miss them completely. For me, the wait is all part of the experience, especially when you're out aurora hunting with other like-minded individuals. It provides the perfect opportunity to share aurora stories, do a spot of stargazing and simply enjoy the shared experience of the night sky .

Hunting the northern lights is an unforgettable experience. (Image credit: Daisy Dobrijevic)

Northern lights forecasts
US probes security risks posed by Chinese tech in cars



Washington, Feb 29 (AFP) Feb 29, 2024



US President Joe Biden announced an investigation Thursday into the national security risks posed by Chinese tech in cars, warning they could be used to collect sensitive data.

China reacted angrily, calling the probe discriminatory and accusing Washington of "weaponizing" trade issues.

Biden has ordered the Commerce Department to conduct the investigation, focusing on connected vehicles containing technology from "countries of concern" such as China, and to respond to threats.

"China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices," Biden said in a statement.

"China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security."

Washington has been working to lower the US auto sector's reliance on the world's second biggest economy, offering tax breaks for American-made electric vehicles and batteries, while trying to build up its domestic production capacity.

The latest action concerns vehicles that constantly connect with personal devices, other cars, US infrastructure and their manufacturers -- including electric and self-driving cars.

As part of the probe, Commerce will collect information with a 60-day public comment period.

Authorities could eventually impose limits on some transactions but officials did not commit to a timeline.

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, told AFP that China "firmly opposes" American generalization of national security and "weaponizing" economic and trade issues.



- New vulnerabilities -



The White House said connected vehicles collect vast amounts of data on drivers and passengers, log information on US infrastructure through cameras and sensors, and can be piloted or disabled remotely.

"New vulnerabilities" could arise if a foreign government gained access to their systems or data, it added.

"This is yet another acknowledgement by the Biden administration that critical and emerging technologies are set to shape both economic growth and national security," Thibault Denamiel of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told AFP.

It is noteworthy that the new measure considers "risks associated by technology transfers into the United States," he added.

Previous moves, targeting outbound investment restrictions and semiconductor export controls, focused on transfers from the United States to foreign countries.



- Preemptive action -



"China imposes restrictions on American autos and other foreign autos operating in China," said Biden.

"Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?" he added.

While there are not many such vehicles containing China-made tech on US roads currently, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stressed the need to "understand the extent of the technology in these cars."

A senior US official told reporters on condition of anonymity it is important to act before there are large numbers of these vehicles in the country, with China's automobile export market growing rapidly and making strong inroads including in Europe.

In a January post-earnings conference call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Chinese car companies were "the most competitive" globally, expecting that they would likely be successful outside China.

"If there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world," he said.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing welcomed the investigation, calling for more to be done including higher tariffs and limiting EV tax credits.

In November, 14 members of Congress signed letters to 10 China-related companies involved in the auto sector, raising concerns over the handling of data collected when testing autonomous vehicles in the United States.

Besides autos, Biden issued an executive order this week aimed at limiting the flow of sensitive US personal data abroad.
Musk sues OpenAI over 'betrayal' of mission



Paris, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Elon Musk has launched a legal case against OpenAI, the AI firm he helped to set up in 2015, accusing its leaders of a "betrayal" of its founding mission.

The tycoon, who left OpenAI in 2018, argued in documents filed in a San Francisco court late on Thursday that firm was always intended as a non-profit entity.

But he said recent boardroom changes meant OpenAI was now effectively a subsidiary of software giant Microsoft, arguing that this was breach of contract.

Musk has accused Microsoft of controlling OpenAI several times, with both firms denying the claims.

AFP has contacted both companies for their reaction to the filing.

OpenAI captured the public imagination in late 2022 with the release of its chatbot ChatGPT, which can generate passable poems and essays and even succeed in exams.

The firm has also developed image and video generating tools that are seen as the leaders in their field.

The success of its products has helped attract huge investment into AI, which boosters say could transform every aspect of human life.

Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI since 2019, poured billions more into the firm last year.

And the software giant stepped in when OpenAI's board fired CEO Sam Altman in November last year, hiring him and offering to house any staff members who were unhappy with his ousting.

The OpenAI board later climbed down, Altman was reinstated and several board members were replaced.



- 'Calamitous implications' -



OpenAI started life as a non-profit dedicated to developing "artificial general intelligence" (AGI), a vague term loosely defined as a kind of AI that would far outstrip human capabilities on all measures of intelligence.

The idea was for OpenAI to guarantee that such technology would be safe for humanity.

But Musk's legal case said this founding principle had been "turned on its head", accusing OpenAI of continuing in secrecy "towards a profit-centric future with possible calamitous implications for humanity".

The changes to OpenAI in 2023 were "a stark betrayal of the Founding Agreement, turning that Agreement on its head and perverting OpenAI Inc's mission", the filing stated.

The document pointed out that OpenAI still claimed to be pursuing AGI that "benefits all of humanity".

"In reality, however, OpenAI Inc has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft."

Musk is asking the court for compensation, to force OpenAI's leaders to make their research open to the public and ban them -- or Microsoft -- from making a profit from the technology.

Since leaving OpenAI, Musk has joined the chorus of critics warning that superintelligence could spell the end for humanity.

He also launched his own AI firm, xAI, last year and said he wanted to raise $1 billion from investors.
Accused Pentagon leaker to change plea to guilty: court documents



New York, Feb 29 (AFP) Feb 29, 2024



Jack Teixeira, the US airman accused of leaking top secret Pentagon documents in an online chat forum, will plead guilty to charges that could land him in prison for decades, court documents showed Thursday.

Prosecutors requested a change of plea hearing for March 4, at which Teixeira will confirm his decision to reverse his current plea of not guilty.

The Massachusetts Air National Guard IT specialist was arrested in April for allegedly orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade, some of which concerned the war in Ukraine.

He is facing six counts of retaining and transmitting national defense information. They each carry sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

Teixeira is accused of posting the documents -- some dated as recently as early March 2023 -- to a private chat group on the social media platform Discord.

Some of the files later appeared on other sites, including Twitter, 4Chan and Telegram.

The documents, which soon spread across the internet, pointed to US concern over Ukraine's military capacity against invading Russian forces and showed Washington had apparently spied on allies Israel and South Korea, among other sensitive details.

It was the biggest such breach since the 2013 dump of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden and raised tough questions about access by Teixeira and other junior staffers to high-level secrets.

Teixeira was an airman first class, the third-lowest rank for enlisted US Air Force personnel and had possessed a top secret security clearance since 2021.

In May 2023 a judge ordered that Teixeira remain in jail after prosecutors argued he posed an ongoing risk to American national security.

Prosecutors said that Teixeira might still have access to classified documents and that "hostile" nations could aid his escape if he was released from prison.

They also cited his history of making "violent" statements.

Teixeira wrote on social media in November 2022 that he wanted to "kill a ton of people" because it would be "culling the weak minded," the prosecution wrote in a court document.

Teixeira was detained in April 2023 in a dramatic arrest broadcast live on TV networks.

gw/nro
Hackers stole 'sensitive' data from Taiwan telecom giant: ministry



Taipei, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Hackers stole "sensitive information" including military and government documents from Taiwan's largest telecom company and sold it on the dark web, the island's ministry of national defence has said.

The confirmation of the democratic island's latest major data leak followed a report by local news channel TVBS on the hack of telecom giant Chunghwa Telecom.

That report included a screenshot of a post in which hackers announced they were "selling Chunghwa Telecom 1.7 TeraBytes of data" that included government contracts.

"The initial analysis of this case is that hackers obtained Chunghwa Telecom's sensitive information and sold it on the dark web, including documents from the armed forces, foreign affairs ministry, coast guard and other units," the defence ministry confirmed in a statement sent to AFP Friday.

Taiwan is one of the world's top targets for cyber-security attacks, according to digital data experts. Some have have suggested that tactics employed against Taiwanese infrastructure bear the hallmarks of Chinese state-sponsored groups.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory, and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.

The defence ministry added that an air force contract included in the Chunghwa leak was "not confidential information, thus (there was) no information leakage".

Correspondence between the navy department and Chunghwa also contained no classified information, the ministry said.

"We have asked the contractor involved to strengthen its information security control to prevent any further incidents," it said.

Neither the ministry statement nor the TVBS report identified the hackers or said where they were located.

Chunghwa, a publicly traded company, announced in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange Thursday that it had "conducted investigations to clarify the cause of the suspected incident".

"Currently, there is no significant impact on the Company's operations," it said, referring to potential losses from the data theft.

Government officials have said that persistent cyber threats are a form of "grey zone harassment" engaged in by China on a near-daily basis, including flying warplanes around the island and sending vessels to its surrounding waters.

While stopping short of clear acts of war, these tactics are enough to keep Taiwan's military and digital security agencies occupied, experts say.

Last year, Microsoft flagged the threat from a China-based group called Flax Typhoon that was targeting Taiwan.

The US tech giant said Flax Typhoon intended "to perform espionage and maintain access" to various Taiwanese organisations for as long as possible.
New Finland president eyes 'difficult' security decisions



Helsinki, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Finland's new president Alexander Stubb said Friday he was ready to take "difficult decisions" to protect the country's security, following its accession to NATO amid tension with Russia.

Addressing parliament at his swearing-in following his February election victory, the conservative former prime minister warned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine marked a dangerous new era of division.

"The main task of the president of the republic is to ensure under all circumstances that peace is maintained in Finland," he told parliament at his swearing-in.

"I promise to do that, but if things get tough, I am also prepared to take difficult decisions to ensure the security of our country."

As head of state for a six-year term, Stubb will be in charge of foreign policy in co-operation with the government.

The role gained fresh importance after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, raising tensions with Finland along its 1,340-kilometre (830-mile) border with Russia.

In response to the assault, Finland joined the western military alliance NATO in April 2023.

It accused Russia of orchestrating an influx of migrants across its eastern border in August. Stubb was among the supporters of its decision to then close the border in November -- a measure scheduled to last at least until April 14.

"The post-Cold War era is over. It was ended by Russia's attack on Ukraine," Stubb said in his investiture speech.

"The things that were meant to bring us together -- free movement, trade, technology, energy, information and currency -- are tearing us apart," he added.

"The tools of cooperation have been weaponised. At the same time cooperation in Europe has been strengthened, and that is good."

Stubb's predecessor as president, Sauli Niinisto, was reputed to have met more often than any other European leader with Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
Swedes say 'too many sacrifices' made for NATO bid: poll



Stockholm, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



A majority of Swedes believe their country made "too many sacrifices" to become a member of NATO, but agreed Sweden's security would be strengthened, a poll released Friday showed.

Sweden is on track to become the 32nd member of the military alliance within days, after last holdout Hungary ratified its bid on Monday.

Ending two centuries of military non-alignment, the Nordic country applied for NATO membership along Finland in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to a poll conducted by analyst firm Indikator for Swedish broadcaster SR, 55 percent of Swedes believe that the Scandinavian country "has made too many sacrifices to join NATO".

Meanwhile, 77 percent believe that "Sweden's security is strengthened" by its membership.

The survey polled 2,413 people between February and 26 February. But no questions were asked about the type of sacrifices people took issue with.

The results show that Swedes see "the NATO process for the complicated issue it has been," Per Oleskog Tryggvason, head of research at Indikator, told AFP.

"The opinion that Sweden's security is strengthened by NATO membership, for that there is an overwhelming consensus. But you can see that the road there has not been straightforward," Oleskog Tryggvason said.

Sweden's bid primarily faced opposition from Turkey which accused the Nordic country of providing a safe haven for dozens of suspects it believes are linked to a failed 2016 coup attempt and Kurdish separatists.

Sweden came to an agreement with Turkey in 2022, committing to consider its extradition requests and to lift an arms embargo dating to Turkey's 2019 military incursion into Syria.

It also amended its constitution in order to beef up anti-terror legislation.
Russia labels author Lyudmila Ulitskaya foreign agent



Warsaw, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Russia on Friday declared the acclaimed novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya a "foreign agent" for opposing the war in Ukraine and allegedly promoting LGBTQ "propaganda".

The 81-year-old literary icon, who lives in exile, began protesting the Kremlin's authoritarian tendances in the Soviet era and is a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin.

Ulitskaya "opposed the special military operation in Ukraine" and "carried out propaganda of LGBT relations", Russia's justice ministry gave as the reason for her listing.

Already a longtime favourite for the Nobel Prize in literature, she joins a long line of Russian cultural figures -- including writer Boris Akunin -- shunned by the Kremlin.

Russia applies the term "foreign agent" to people it sees as traitors and enemies of the state, and requires all those labelled to mark their publications with a warning.

Ulitskaya, a trained biologist, was born in central Russia in 1943 when the USSR was in the throes of World War II. She has authored 22 volumes including plays and children's tales.

Her best-seller "Daniel Stein, Interpreter," published in 2006 and translated into more than two dozen languages, is based on the real story of a Polish Jew who becomes a Catholic priest.

"The Kukotsky Case," her 2001 novel that traces the lives of a doctor and his family over several decades of the Soviet era, won the Russian Booker prize in 2001.

When Putin ordered his military operation in Ukraine, Ulitskaya left for Germany, predicting that the "senseless" conflict would be "catastrophic" for Russia.

Many prominent cultural figures have fled Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine, and those who have stayed face strict censorship or court proceedings.
Ryanairs group chief executive Michael OLeary said: We are very disappointed at these latest Boeing delivery delays, but we continue to work with Boeing to maximise the number of new B737 aircraft we receive by the end of June, which we can confidently release for sale to customers during the summer 2024 peak.
Mark Selby, Wahaca co-founder, said: We couldnt have achieved this position without the tireless work being done, not just within the company but also from the incredible suppliers and producers who help to fill our menus with dishes that as well as tasting great, have a minimal impact on the environment.
One way of helping energise the valuations of companies listed in the UK  and giving savers a helping hand  is from tax breaks to encourage individual investors to back the stock market. City experts think Hunt is considering tax breaks for individual saving accounts (ISAs) specifically designed to funnel money into shares, to help deepen the pool of capital available in London, which could in turn boost the valuations of listed companies.
It's not always obvious when rock bottom has been hit. Perhaps we won't know until, or even if, things begin to get better. As for now, I keep returning to  of all things  a 1959 lecture by the great American theoretical physicist, Richard Feynman, entitled: There's plenty of room at the bottom. He was talking about atoms, of course, but I always inferred a broader meaning.
The Houthi campaign opened with the hijacking of the Isle of Man-registered Galaxy Leader. It was seized by helicopter commandos and escorted to Al-Hudaydah, where the 25 member crew remain hostages. Last week, the British-registered freighter Rubymar was damaged by a missile exploding nearby, and is now sinking at the stern  the first to be crippled irreparably. American and British planes have carried out air strikes on Houthi bases inland  but with little effect so far. The adroitness of the Houthi deployment, concealment of bases and supply dumps, and ingenuity of guidance systems for drones and missiles, have taken Western allies by surprise.
English nationalists might complain that St George gets a raw deal compared to the international attention that falls on St Patrick, but surely it is St David, the patron saint of Wales, who is most absent from the national conversation? Still, his comparatively modest life  there is no dragon-slaying or driving out of snakes on the CV of the 6th century bishop  is no reason not to celebrate all things Welsh this March 1.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Webb said: I would like to thank the witnesses that provided accounts to police as this allowed us to establish what had taken place and to arrest Pryce at the earliest opportunity, safeguarding the public.
To thank him for his efforts, Tony and Paula were given a tour of the new outer-space themed unit, which is equipped with two operating theatres to help treat up to an additional 2,300 children every year.
Mr Nicholson also said that blocking the plans would likely lead to the store closing, which would cause terminal harm to the vitality and viability of the area and meant the benefits of the plans outweighed any harmful effects.
Ms Lame argued in her recent piece that she had several achievements under her belt since her appointment to the role in 2016, saying: During a difficult time for the night-time economy, Ive helped hundreds of night-time venues keep their doors open  including the likes of Fabric, Ministry of Sound, Egg, G-A-Y and Fire, to name just a handful.
In the London mayoral contest, all eyes are on incumbent mayor Sadiq Khan and his Conservative rival Susan Hall (the latest polling for the Evening Standard has Khan miles ahead). But what of the dark horse in the race, Liberal Democrat Rob Blackie? Though he hasnt made much of a splash yet, there are two months of campaigning left until polling day and Blackie has a trick up his sleeve, or rather under his collar.
She told PA: I believe that the UK Governments position on hostages and political prisoners has to change because it is no longer adequate. It is unacceptable to say to ones citizens that if you end up being imprisoned by a dictator somewhere out there in the world, youre on your own.
He was also interrogated by a US Senate committee in connection with claims he had profited improperly from trading in Iraqi oil, claims he denied in a fiery Senate hearing. He was later accused by the same committee of lying under oath, which he again denied.
Google plans to close down more than 20 million Google Business Profile websites, a service that allowed users to quickly generate a website using information from their Google Business Profile.

If you currently use this Google website builder for your business website, youll need to find an alternative solution. However, its important to note that Google Business Profiles themselves will remain unaffected by this change and will continue to function as usual. In fact, maintaining your Google Business Profile is essential, as it provides significant benefits for local SEO.

Adam Boote, Director of Growth at Localsearch, Australias leading digital marketing presence provider, commented on the impact of this change on the small business landscape:

With the deadline for the discontinuation of Googles free Business Profile website feature taking effect from this Friday, at Localsearch we have been closely observing the impact on businesses across Australia.

Weve experienced a significant increase in demand for new websites across the board. This heightened interest underscores the importance for businesses to maintain a robust online presence in todays digital landscape. For those who are yet to transition away from a Google Business Profile website, it is crucial to act now to ensure your businesss online presence is not significantly impacted from Friday onwards.

Here are the key details regarding the shutdown of Google Business Profile websites, according to Google:

The shutdown is scheduled for March 2024.

Visitors who click on your website domain will be redirected to your Google Business Profile (GBP).

The redirections will cease on June 10, 2024. After this date, visitors clicking on your website URL will encounter a 404 error message.

If your Google Business Profile website used a domain ending with business.site or negocio.site, those domains will be removed from the website field on your Google Business Profile.

Google advises users to update your Google Business Profile to point to a new website.

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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Mrs Caldwell looks forward to meeting with Mr Yousaf and says that if he genuinely cares about the victims then he has no other option but to organise a judge-led public inquiry that acts without fear or favour  that is the very least her Emma and the many women who spoke up deserve, for far too long those in the police or Crown who failed them remained in the shadows.
Mr Nahel told the Associated Press that Israeli troops opened fire as people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks, causing the Palestinians to scatter. After the shooting stopped, people went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again, he said, adding that he was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off.
The NHS is committed to helping as many young people and families affected by extreme weight issues as possible through our new network of 30 specialist clinics, which offer tailored packages of physical, psychological and social support  but the NHS cannot solve this issue alone, and continued joined-up action by industry and wider society is needed if we are to avoid a ticking health timebomb for the future.
He wants a court ruling asking OpenAI to make its research and technology available to the public and prevent the startup from using its assets, including its most advanced AI model GPT-4, for the financial gains of Microsoft or any individual.
Earlier this week, Ms Navalnaya told the European Parliament in Strasbourg: Im not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether the police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband. It has not been made clear who will be attending the service, but organisers say the day will be live-streamed online.
The legislation has passed the Senate, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to put it up for a vote in the House. Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly urged Johnson during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying Congress "must take care of America's needs first." Biden said earlier this week he was optimistic a cease-fire deal could be reached by early next week.
He appeared on the BBC One show alongside Labrador Penny, asking for 150,000 for a 5% stake in Park Life, whose flagship product is a frisbee-shaped dog treat which can be thrown more than 40 feet.
But Mr Wolff said: There is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there was an issue and it was investigated and yesterday the sport has received the message that its all fine... I believe with the aspiration as a global sport, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sports position is?
The much-discussed right to disconnect law has been passed by parliament, meaning that employees can now choose to ignore unreasonable attempts by their bosses to contact them outside of working hours.

Although this is an important step to ensure employees have a good work-life balance, business owners may be left feeling confused and grappling with difficulties adapting to the new laws.

How the right to disconnect presents new challenges to employers

Maintaining flexible working hours

Flexible working hours have become a coveted aspect of work for millions of employees across Australia. This arrangement enables workers to balance their professional responsibilities with personal commitments, such as medical appointments, school drop-offs and optimising work hours according to individual work styles. However, critics caution that the right to disconnect poses a potential threat to the preservation of such flexible work arrangements. These arrangements are often based on a reciprocal understanding, wherein employees enjoy personal flexibility in exchange for remaining accessible outside of regular hours for urgent matters.

Keeping businesses flexible

The right to disconnect law has the potential to make it harder for businesses to be adaptable and flexible, aspects which are crucial to ensure a business thrives. Small businesses, which typically operate with limited resources, may find it challenging to maintain operations with the same level of flexibility and efficiency as before the implementation of the bill.

Accessing assistance outside of working hours

In certain circumstances and industries, its essential for individuals to work beyond their designated hours to accomplish tasks, address emergencies, and communicate with teams across various time zones. However, the new law makes it difficult for businesses to enforce this without running into legal trouble, meaning that businesses may encounter a shortage of personnel available to assist in such scenarios.

Increased operational costs

The implementation of the right to disconnect legislation may result in increased costs for businesses. These may stem from the need to develop and enforce new policies and procedures, hire additional staff or pay overtime to cover essential tasks previously handled outside of regular hours as well as legal and compliance expenses, and productivity and efficiency costs.

How to overcome potential challenges of the right to disconnect

The main point of the right to disconnect is to ensure that employees arent always on and have sufficient time away from work. For employers, the first step should be establishing clear policies outlining expectations for after-hours communication and response times. While many business owners maintain online accessibility around the clock sending messages to employees as their schedules permit, its essential to clarify to staff that immediate responses are not mandatory and employees wont be penalised for only responding during work hours.

Its worth noting that in certain circumstances some element of flexibility may be necessary, particularly during emergencies. Thats why continuous and transparent dialogue between employer and employee is crucial to ensure expectations are set and everyone is on the same page. If employees do express a willingness to be available for emergencies, perhaps in exchange for preferred working hours or more flexibility, such contact doesnt violate the new law.

To help manage the need for out-of-hours communication, businesses can adopt solutions such as email schedulers that honour do-not-disturb periods, and AI chatbots capable of assisting customers beyond regular working hours. However, while technology can be incredibly helpful in managing certain aspects of the right to disconnect, its not a cure-all for all associated challenges. For businesses in need of supplemental manpower and swift resource allocation, freelancers can be a valuable solution. These self-employed professionals establish their own work schedules, enabling businesses to engage them for projects outside of standard hours if necessary. Utilising global freelancer platforms like Fiverr provides access to freelancers across various time zones. Require overnight assistance? Consider hiring a freelancer based in the UK to work while your team rests.

Fiverr makes it easy for businesses to find a freelancer who meets their needs. Once a business has identified what kind of assistance theyre looking for, hiring managers can use the platform to filter by location, language, service options, budget, availability and delivery time. After selecting the consultants who appear suitable, they can delve further into the freelancers experience and review customer feedback firsthand to pinpoint the ideal person who fits the requirements.

As the debate surrounding the right to disconnect continues to evolve, its evident that both businesses and employees face a myriad of challenges but also opportunities. Effective implementation of clear policies and open communication are key to cultivating a workplace that respects employees boundaries, promotes work-life balance, and ultimately fosters a happier, more productive workforce.

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A damaged Ferrari found at the Yoovidhya family residence in 2022. Photo by Reuters

Former Thai police chief Somyot Poompanmoung is indicted for allegedly helping Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya evade justice after his Ferrari fatally struck a policeman in Bangkok in 2012.

The Office of the Attorney General said it also will indict seven other individuals, comprising police officers, a lawyer, an engineering specialist, and a former deputy attorney general, as reported by The Independent.

Last year, Somyot, the national police chief from 2014 to 2015, faced accusations of tampering with evidence in the 2012 case from Thailands National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Vorayuth is the grandson of Red Bull co-founder Chaleo Yoovidhya and an heir to the energy drink giants fortune.

The Yoovidhya family holds a 51% stake in Red Bull and has a net worth of $20 billion, according to Forbes.

In 2012, then 27-year-old Vorayuth allegedly drove a Ferrari that rear-ended a traffic cop's motorbike, resulting in the officer's death on a main street in Bangkok, according to AP News.

Police tracked the Ferrari back to the Yoovidhya family residence on a nearby road.

For years, Vorayuth managed to avoid court and flee the country, living a lavish lifestyle abroad without facing the consequences of his actions.
Opportunity for Vietnam as Indonesia to import 1.6M tons more rice

Bags of rice at a store in HCMC's Go Vap District. Photo by VnExpress/Thi Ha

Indonesia plans to increase rice imports by 1.6 million tons this year, giving Vietnamese exporters a big opportunity, the Vietnam Trade Office in that country said.

The import licenses for the additional quota would be issued soon by its Ministry of Trade once legal procedures are completed, it said.

It will increase the countrys rice imports to 3.6 million tons this year.

Vietnamese exporters could capitalize on this opportunity, but would have to compete on price with many other countries, according to the head of a government agency in Dong Thap Province, one of the largest rice producers in the Mekong Delta.

According to the official, Vietnam has advantages in terms of delivery times and quality, but its prices are high.

"If businesses offer competitive prices, the chances of winning bids will be better."

The trade office advised businesses to push exports in the early months of the year since Indonesias main rice harvest has been delayed by two to three months due to a water shortage caused by the El Nino phenomenon.

Indonesia imported 441,930 tons of rice in January, an 82% increase year-on-year, including 32,340 tons from Vietnam.

Thailand accounted for 129,780 tons.

Last month seven Vietnamese companies won a bid to export 300,000 tons of rice to Indonesia.

Last year Indonesia was the second largest importer of Vietnamese rice, buying over 1.1 million tons or nearly nine times the volume it had imported in 2022.
The minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu, will participate, on Saturday, at the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya - ADF 2024, where she will talk about the importance of strengthening the profile of the Black Sea on the agendas of NATO and the EU, the central theme of this year's edition being "Promoting diplomacy in times marked by turbulence", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) said in a statement sent to AGERPRES on Friday.

Minister Odobescu will be the main speaker in the panel "The Black Sea: a new 2.0 version of regional responsibility?", together with Turkey's deputy Foreign minister, Mehmet Kemal Bozay, Ukraine's deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, Mikola Tocitki, - the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Lasha Drsalia, and the secretary general of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, Lazar Comanescu.

During the debates, Odobescu will emphasize the importance of strengthening regional cooperation between the states bordering the Black Sea, which share common values and objectives, for the consolidation of security and stability, as well as economic development and connectivity in the region.

In the context of participating in the forum, Luminita Odobescu will have bilateral meetings with counterparts and representatives of some international organizations, on which occasion she will exchange opinions on regional and international security and review the opportunities for strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation.
Chairman of Save Romania Union (USR) Catalin Drula believes that the Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader "makes mafia style politics", maintaining that USR mayors, "under daily assault", are forced to sign the PSD membership.

"Marcel Ciolacu behaves like a political thug. USR mayors are under daily assault. Either they join the mafia or everybody knows what happens to you. Marcel Ciolacu "takes care" of you if you sign the PSD membership. If you don't, if you resist, you'll be handled by a few audits from the Court of Auditors, a little file, bankruptcy of the town hall. That's how the political thug from Buzau, Hayssam's stalker, the purse-carrier of the corrupt and perverted, the failed SRI [Romanian intelligence service, editor's note] doctorate student Marcel Ciolacu, understands politics. Mafia style. Just like Adrian Nastase when his head was filled and he was dreaming of having Romania on a platter. The noose is tightening, Marcele!" wrote Drula on Facebook on Friday.
Senate Chairman Nicolae Ciuca, also the national leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), on Friday conveyed a strong message of solidarity and support to Romanians in Moldova "in this very complicated security context," saying that one day, Romania and Moldova will be together in the big European family.

"For our brothers and sisters from across the Prut River. I want to convey today, from Chisinau, a strong message of solidarity and support in this particularly complicated security context. The citizens of Moldova already know that Romania is their most reliable partner. We, liberals, have supported and will continue our unconditional support for them. My thoughts are also with the hundreds of thousands of Moldovan citizens living in Romania who are worried about their families across the Prut River. I want you to know that Romania values just as much the places where you were born," Ciuca wrote in a social media post on Friday.He added that Moldova is an independent and sovereign country that "must and can decide its fate.""The Republic of Moldova is today on track to joining the European Union. It is an independent and sovereign country and is the only one that must and can decide its fate. I have faith that one day, not too far away, we will be together in the big European family."Ciuca on Friday was on an official visit to Chisinau, Moldova, to meet Moldovan Parliament Chair Igor Grosu and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
Women exhibited great courage, determination and loyalty in three of the novels I read for book clubs in January and February.

Jillian Cantor takes a well-known classic and flips the script, telling the story from a female perspective, while author Jessica Knoll, inspired by the real-life Florida sorority targeted by a serial killer, gives women a voice and, with it, power in Bright Young Women.

The contents of an 18th-century midwifes diary were the inspiration for Ariel Lawhons The Frozen River. Lawhon will discuss her bestseller at the Grants View branch on Thursday. Katherine Reay, author of The Berlin Letters, will join Lawhon.

Beautiful Little Fools

By Jillian Cantor

I hope shell be a fool  thats the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool. Influenced by Daisy Buchanans words in the much-read The Great Gatsby, Cantor reimagines F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic as a mystery told by three women  Daisy, Jordan Baker and Catherine McCoy  and a detective who is sure one of them is involved.

In the original, Jay Gatsby is shot to death in the swimming pool of his mansion by mechanic George Wilson, who believes Gatsby to be the hit-and-run driver who killed his wife, Myrtle. But what if George wasnt the only one with a motive? Set in the 1920s, Cantor develops each womans story and how it relates to Gatsby. As the drama plays out and culminates in that summer in 1922, the reader discovers friendships, secrets and survival instincts.

The women didnt seem to have brains and were not developed in the classic original, said one member at book club. The author did a good job of dissecting the original and bringing it into a book that was relevant in the modern age, said another member.

The beautiful art deco cover sets the tone for this absorbing adaptation. I last read The Great Gatsby in college, and though it was entertaining enough, I didnt feel the need to revisit it. Instead, I rewatched the visually stunning 2013 movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.

One book club member read The Great Gatsby after reading Cantors version and said that although she enjoyed Cantors book better, it was fascinating to pick out parts of the original that Cantor incorporated into her book. Dont skip the authors note at the end, where Cantor describes her writing process and fondness for the original.

Bright Young Women

By Jessica Knoll

It was my turn to pick in February for this book club, and I initially spotted Bright Young Women because of its flashy yellow cover with a vividly pink face peering out. It didnt take long to discover it was much deeper than a typical thriller.

In another refreshing reframing, this one set mostly in the 1970s, Knoll directs our attention away from a renowned serial killer, known only as The Defendant in the book, to a united group of brave and intelligent women who work to bring justice to his victims and show that the killer was not the charming mastermind the media portrayed him to be.

The two narratives revolve around Pamela, president of her sorority and an ambitious student at Florida State University, and Ruth, an early victim of The Defendant living in Seattle. Pamelas timeline flashes between the modern day and late 1970s, when she witnesses the immediate aftermath of a massacre at her sorority house and is the only one to see the killer as he slips out the front door. Tina, Ruths partner and a grief counselor, is the link between the two women.

The characters are more fleshed out than typical thrillers, and Knolls sharp writing helps the reader get a feel for the time period, especially the weird polite mindset of women. During the trial, Pamela says of one of the traumatized and injured survivors, Nobody likes a complainer, and we wanted so much for people to think well of us.

After reading this book, I found myself taking a deep dive on the internet to parse what was true in this book and what was fiction. I wasnt the only member of the book club to do that, and we discussed the victims  some who survived and others who didnt. One book club member said she was initially turned off by reading a book about a serial killer, but she ended up loving Knolls fictionalized take.

The title is a play on the words of a Florida judge who called Ted Bundy a bright young man. In this novel, Knoll makes the women the smart ones who realize their worth and arent afraid to challenge the societal norms at the time.

The Frozen River

By Ariel Lawhon

I enjoy historical fiction that introduces me to a fascinating person, and if its not set during World War II, thats a bonus. Inspired by the journals of Martha Ballard, a midwife and healer who delivered more than 800 babies, Lawhon takes readers back to the post-Revolutionary War era and gives an eye-opening account of what it was like to be a woman during that time.

Set during the harsh winter of 1789-90  such a cruel season  the novel begins with a body being pulled from the icy Kennebec River in Hallowell, Maine. The victim is a man accused of brutally raping the ministers wife, and there is no shortage of suspects.

As a midwife, Martha is not only aware of her communitys medical needs, but she is also privy to many of her neighbors secrets. The novel is interspersed with Marthas diary entries about births, deaths and the weather as she works to uncover the truth.

Marthas care, compassion and courage are evident as she navigates a time where a womans opinion is not valued and mostly dismissed, especially by a young, incompetent doctor who thinks women have no business being in the medical field. And he went to Harvard  as he reminds Martha often.

The murder case gives readers a peek into how crimes were handled and justice meted out. Warning, as a woman, their justice may make you rage. Book club members of my second club were fascinated by the beauty and harshness of nature depicted in the book and the daily struggle to stay alive. Though some of us wouldnt mind making candles as a crafty, fun project, we wouldnt want to have to make them to survive.

We were also surprised that Puritans werent so strait-laced. According to Lawhon, four in 10 first pregnancies in Marthas day were conceived out of wedlock, resulting in many shotgun weddings and nine-pound premature babies.

The Housemaid

By Freida McFadden

I read The Maid by Nita Prose for a book club in 2022, and I remember confusion over another Maid book  a memoir by Stephanie Land. Somehow during that time, I failed to notice Freida McFaddens psychological thriller The Housemaid. With a keyhole image on its cover similar to The Maid, I can understand how I may have overlooked it.

Though not new, the book is still buzzy thanks to its bright, eye-catching cover and enthusiastic reviews on TikToks BookTok, and one of my book clubs picked it for January.

Millie is a recent parolee who is living out of her car and desperate for work. She cant believe her good luck when she gets hired by Nina Winchester and her handsome husband, Andrew, as a live-in maid and nanny. She hesitates when she sees her attic room with a tiny window and a door with a lock on the outside. And Ninas mood swings and unstable behavior also give her pause. Not to mention her oddly dressed, bratty daughter. But as an ex-convict, she keeps her mouth shut and hopes a good reference for a new employer is in her future.

Though, like me, other book club members found the twisty plot sometimes hard to believe, it was also addictive and so bizarre that it was hard to put down. I read it in a 24-hour period.

I have already breezed through McFaddens sequel, The Housemaids Secret  a bit predictable and formulaic, though still gripping. The third book of the planned trilogy, The Housemaid Is Watching, arrives on June 11, and Im looking forward to seeing what Millie is up to next.

Yellowface

By R.F. Kuang

It usually takes me at least 30 minutes, sometimes more than an hour, to be engrossed in an audiobook, but Helen Lasers narration in Yellowface and the writing itself drew me in from the very beginning.

June Hayward, later rebranded as Juniper Song, and Athena Liu are two authors who both went to Yale and share an ambivalent friendship. While Athenas debut novel was met with rave reviews and follow-up success, Junes career has mostly flopped. After Athena dies in a freak choking accident in front of June, she makes the impulse decision to steal Athenas just-finished manuscript, a novel about Chinese laborers in World War I.

In the audiobook, Laser does a compelling job of conveying Junes self-delusion, bitter emotions, defensive thoughts and crippling anxiety of being found out.

And perhaps it was Lasers voice that made the difference for members of my third book club. Like me, one listener found June likably awful and the book captivating. But another member who read the book said it was toxic for her. It was like taking a deep dive into comments on social media, and she had to put the book aside at times and take a break. Another member found June so despicable that she didnt want to finish the book, but for me, being disgusted with June was part of the fun.

Another member, who listened, said she liked the look into the publishing world and the issues of racism and cultural appropriation in the industry.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

By James McBride

Reviews from that club were also mixed for The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride.

The member who selected the book enjoyed all the quirky characters and subplots.

It reminded me of living in a small town, where it seems like everyone knows everyone elses story, but where the real truth is still sometimes carefully hidden, she said. Yes, the plot wandered, circled back and tangled itself, but it was still interesting to see where wed end up.

McBrides newest novel is set in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in a historically immigrant Jewish and Black neighborhood called Chicken Hill.

The wandering plot and many characters were part of the reason most members did not connect with the book.
"FAMOUS FLYER READY TO PAY ANY SUM TO GET SON BACK SAFE

Asks Governor and New Jersey Officials to Hold Up Offer of Reward

HOPEWELL N.J., March 2.  Ransom has been demanded and Col. Charles A. Lindbergh is willing to meet any demand if he can get the child back safe. The baby, Charles Augustus Jr., 20 months old, was kidnapped from the Lindbergh home last night.

It was learned shortly before noon today that a note found pinned to the sill of the window through which the baby was taken from its crib by the kidnappers made a definite ransom demand. It also threatened to harm the child if the money was not paid, if the contents of the note was divulged, or if the method of payment suggested in the note was revealed.

So threatening was the note that for hours its very existence was denied by police investigating the crime. No one would say how large the demand was, but a report that it was $50,000 went undenied by sources close tot he Lindbergh family and to the widespread search."
Missouri has had a monster first year in recreational cannabis sales, bringing in more than $1.13 billion, but some producers say new state packaging regulations are causing significant roadblocks and long delays that threaten to leave them with empty shelves.

The new rules are intended to educate consumers and make marijuana products look less appealing to kids, said state health department spokeswoman Lisa Cox. In 2021, the U.S. saw 3,054 reported cases of children ingesting edible cannabis products, a staggering increase from the 207 reported cases in 2017, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

Already, the Missouri constitution prohibits edible marijuana-infused candy in shapes or packages that are attractive to children or that are easily confused with commercially sold candy that does not contain marijuana.

But now, companies must submit their designs to the state for approval  and its slow going. About 13,500 designs have been submitted for review since September and roughly of the 8,800 that made the first cut, as of January, 1,950 applications had been approved and 1,290 have been denied. About 5,500 applications are in the pipeline, awaiting a decision, according to the state Division of Cannabis Regulation.

I think its one of the largest challenges our industry will face in Year 2, said Jack Cardetti, spokesman for industry group MoCannTrade. The ability to bring new and creative products to the market is really going to slow down. Now you have to go ahead and get permission, which is going to be a challenge.

Soon, packaging will only be allowed one color besides black and white, and logos or images cannot be larger than the word marijuana or marijuana-infused product. All text must be in either black or white, and all products must also have a warning label.

This is the first time each marijuana product sold in Missouri is required to go through an approval process, Cardetti said. That, coupled with the plain packaging requirement, makes Missouri unusual among states with legal adult-use marijuana sales, he said.

The state has allowed companies until May 1 to use their existing packaging and label art and until July 1 for dispensaries to empty their inventory of noncompliant packaging. But after being alerted by industry workers that delays in global shipping and manufacturing will impact their ability to meet this deadline, the division announced that it would allow extensions  on an individual basis.

Cardetti said the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services pre-approval process is often a long and arduous one.

Its a huge worry  getting to this deadline and having half-empty shelves, Cardetti said. Its a solution in search of a problem.

As long as inventory is available, changing what a package of edibles or other product looks like wont affect sales, said Greenlight Dispensary CEO John Mueller.

Eliminating colors isnt going to stop someone from walking into a Greenlight Dispensary, he said. Other states are much more limited in variety and selection and that really drives the consumer much more than packaging that only has two colors versus 10.

Curio Wellness, a vertically integrated cannabis company headquartered in Maryland, is gearing up to start operations at its first Missouri facility in Maryland Heights, but seeking pre-approval for its products has delayed the companys opening, said co-founder Wendy Bronfein.

I dont think that promotes safety in any way, said Bronfein said. It assuredly does not inform consumers or promote education of products.

Some of its designs have been denied approval, Bronfein said, and had to be remade and shipped from China, further elongating the process and dipping into Curio Wellnesss budget. Plus, sometimes the edits suggested by a reviewer were made without a clear reason for why something needed to change, she said. Or an application was denied without any communication as to why.

Its just the arbitrary decisions of those in charge of the decision making, Bronfein said.

For one of its infused chews packages, Bronfein said Curio Wellness had to remove instructions on how to open the packet, a code number used to track packaging designs and different colors that indicate the potency.

The integrity of your design is compromised, and I think that people dont think that these things are important but they are, she said. Were building true companies and brands, and this is part of the whole ecosystem.
The verdict mandating that a local woman must apologize and pay compensation for defaming the Da Phuoc Waste Management Company was upheld by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court.

The court on Thursday upheld the original ruling that defendant Nguyen Hong Thu was guilty of "insulting and damaging the reputation" of the Vietnam Waste Solutions Company (VWS), which manages the city's largest landfill, Da Phuoc in Binh Chanh District.

The judges' panel dismissed the defendant's appeal and accepted the plaintiff's demands for compensation.

It required Thu to cease defamatory actions against David Duong, 66, a Vietnamese American dubbed the "king of trash," who legally represents VWS.

Duong's Da Phuoc landfill handles 7,000 tons of trash every day, or more than 70% of all trash in Vietnam's largest city. His business in the U.S., California Waste Solutions, has also won billion-dollar contracts with local authorities.

At the Thursday trial, the 48-year-old Thu was required to remove the "offensive" posts, and publicly apologize to Duong on her personal Facebook account, and on her "The truth about the stench in Phu My Hung" fanpage.

Additionally, she was ordered to compensate the plaintiff with over VND7 million (US$285) for evidence collection costs.

From 2016 to 2020, Thu used her personal Facebook account and the mentioned fanpage to publish numerous posts criticizing VWS and David Duong. The posts attracted many comments, interactions, and shares.

Those posts often contained negative language directed towards David, linking his image to VWS and attributing the source of bad odors in Phu My Hung, the high-end residential complex in southern HCMC's District 7, to the Da Phuoc landfill operated by his company, the court heard.

The court stated that determining whether the odor originated from the landfill falls under the jurisdiction of state agencies and is not under the purview of private citizens such as Thu.

The correct legal recourse for citizens is to petition such agencies, according to the court, but Thu instead took to using the social media platform to post "inappropriate" content that insulted the honor, dignity, and reputation of the plaintiff.

Her behavior was thus deemed a violation of the Cybersecurity Law and Civil Code.

The court also dismissed the defendant's claim that her Facebook was hacked and no longer exists, stating that the execution of the original judgment would proceed according to legal regulations.

A part of Da Phuoc landfill in HCMC's Binh Chanh District in 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

According to a lawsuit filed by the VWS, Thu used her Facebook account to create the fanpage in 2016 to claim that the odors in the densely populated Phu My Hung residential area were caused by VWS.

VWS argued that her posts were distortive, false, and defamatory towards David Duong and VWS.

During the first trial in July last year by the Nha Be District Peoples Court, the plaintiff withdrew part of their lawsuit that demanded Thu pay compensation of over VND28 million.

The court initially accepted part of the plaintiff's lawsuit demands at the previous trial, but Thu then appealed in its entirety.

At the hearing, the defendant's representative argued that Thu did not post any information related to VWS or David Duong and that she only wrote posts saying that the odor in Phu My Hung was responsibility of Da Phuoc landfills investor.

Thu denied using derogatory language against the company.

According to the defendant, the content posted on Facebook was accurate, based on reports from the Government Inspectorate, media agencies, and the results from evaluations by relevant state agencies dealing with the Da Phuoc landfill issues.

VWS was established in 2005 to design, construct and operate the Da Phuoc Integrated Waste Management Facility.

In 2020, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in HCMC said the Da Phuoc landfill was reaching its capacity and would be closed in 2024.

Nearby residents in Binh Chanh District and District 7 have been complaining about stenches and foul odors emanating from the facility for years.
BROOKLYN  Polished.com Inc. has suspended its operations and is planning to file for bankruptcy. The online appliance retailer, formerly St. Louis-based Goedekers, said in a news release that despite working aggressively to raise capital and improve its liquidity position, the company could not obtain additional financing.

The companys closure comes after a comprehensive review by the companys board of directors of available strategic alternatives, and upon consultation with the members of the companys management, with the assistance of the Companys legal and financial advisors, Polished said in a statement.

Troubles have long been mounting for Polished. In 2022, the company forced out its chief executive, vice president and chief financial officer amid an internal investigation. It was later revealed that former CEO Albert Fouerti charged the company $800,000 in expenses unrelated to the company and its operations.

The audit also found that the company did not have all the necessary documentation for all of its employees and the companys controls, software and procedures for managing and tracking inventory, including damaged inventory, were insufficient.

Last year, the company regained listing status on the New York Stock Exchange American, as it had previously failed to meet multiple SEC deadlines for required filings, though it later received a deficiency letter from the NYSE American for not being in compliance with the listing standards, as its stock had been selling at a low price for a substantial period of time.

NYSE American staff informed the company it needed to do a reverse common stock split, or show sustained price improvement, before March 13, 2024.

According to its most recent earnings report, Polished saw a 46% decrease in product sales from the year before. Third-quarter product sales were at $77.8 million in 2023 compared to last years $143.6 million sales for that quarter.

Goedekers began in south St. Louis in 1951 as a television repair shop. It saw success in the area and eventually grew to a 50,000-square-foot showroom in Ballwin. In 2019, Goedekers was sold to New York investment firm 1847 Holdings for $6.2 million, which in 2021 acquired Appliances Connection before moving the combined company headquarters to New York and changing its name to Polished.

Common stock for the company was trading at $1.85 per share at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
ST. LOUIS  In the 15 months since ChatGPT was released, St. Louis-area executives have corralled hundreds of millions of dollars toward AI adoption.

All the while, their lawyers were watching the first lawsuits emerge around generative AI use and bracing for a new legal landscape for businesses.

This month Husch Blackwell established a team dedicated to artificial intelligence law, stacked with attorneys who specialize in intellectual property, corporate issues, tech and risk management. Its the latest focus for the legal sector as generative AI programs like ChatGPT  which can create new data, images and text  have rippled beyond the tech world, into St. Louis hospitals, manufacturers and the financial sector.

I think to remain competitive, theyre going to have to be on top of AI, said Rudy Telscher, a partner at Husch Blackwell in St. Louis who is co-leading the group. If youre a company thats not, you might be concerned about whether you can remain competitive two years from now.

The technology has opened up a new legal landscape of intellectual property disputes, data privacy concerns and employment discrimination risks. In one of the early cases involving ChatGPT, The New York Times sued OpenAI, the company behind the program, and Microsoft for copyright infringement. Companies can risk employment discrimination cases, Telscher said, if biased data finds its way into AI-based HR programs. Attorneys in New York, Colorado  and recently, in OFallon, Missouri  have been disciplined for using generative AI to create legal briefs that cited nonexistent cases.

One of the things that we tell our clients is that, with any use of artificial intelligence, there has to be a human in the middle, said Blake Rooney, chief information officer at Husch Blackwell.

Still, St. Louis-area companies are banking on the belief that generative AI technology  when used correctly  will make business more efficient, and offer competitive advantages.

You look back to things like the internet and the microchip, and were like, Well, those things changed our lives, Telscher said. I think you will see that artificial intelligence is going to change our lives. To make things more efficient  a lot of times, better. Of course, were going to have a lot of concerning things that we have to grapple with as well.

On a recent morning, Rooney and Telscher spoke to the Post-Dispatch about the promises of generative AI, and the risks. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: At one of our big companies here, Emerson, one of the first things that they did after ChatGPT came out was tell their employees, You cannot use this program for anything work-related. Do you think thats the kind of step that all companies need to take? Should that become sort of a standard?

Teschler: When you get into the realm of ChatGPT, whatever youre typing into the chat is public and can be figured out. So, for example, even our firm has a policy against our lawyers putting in confidential client information in the search queries on ChatGPT.

That said, we are using databases like (Thomson Reuters legal assistant software) Co-Counsel, and others, that are internal and that are secret.

Some artificial intelligence programs are going to maintain confidentiality, and some wont. You have to be on top of it.

Q: Are there other defensive steps that you all are advising companies to take right now?

Telscher: I think every company should meet with a lawyer who knows how to draft artificial intelligence policies.

I think companies certainly are going to want to have policies in place for what their employees can and cannot do. ... Because the last thing they want to have happen is, employees just start doing whatever they want with it. Bad things will happen.

Q: What do you think were going to see in terms of the proactive litigation in AI, like The New York Times case against OpenAI and Microsoft? Do you think were about to see kind of a huge cascade of those sorts of cases?

Telscher: Over the next three years, I would call it the wild, wild west. ... There are going to be a lot of different disputes  courts trying to figure things out. Youll see conflicting decisions. A court in California may view it differently than a court in St. Louis; theyve got different industries, different things to protect.

Its going to be a ton of work for any law firm to stay on top of that, as well as the companies.

Q: If Im an executive at a St. Louis company, what are some of the key things you think I need to know? If I havent been paying attention to whats going on in the generative AI world, what are some of the key things that I have to be paying attention to and have to know right now?

Rooney: I think the key things are just understanding what the risks are. What the opportunity is. Understanding how youre ensuring that your inputs to these platforms are protected. Understanding who owns the rights to the outputs of these platforms.

But I think the other thing thats key in this is: There will be a lot of efficiency for knowledge workers that will come out of this, that I think is unrecognized by a lot of organizations today. We had a particular situation a few months ago, where we needed to create bios for 114 summer associates. And thats historically been a project that took basically a month of someones time, to take the resumes and questionnaires that were collected and create these bios. And we were able to do this using AI prompts.

A monthlong project turned into an afternoon project. ... Someone just had to proofread those bios and then get them out the door. So every organization is going to see a lot of efficiency gains from artificial intelligence.

Theres a lot of thinking about the potential issues. But the potential efficiencies for organizations are huge.
CLAYTON  A judge will allow Webster University to access over $30 million in restricted donations that college officials said will help them strengthen its financial standing during a difficult period for the private institution.

St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Stanley J. Wallach on Friday ordered Webster University to add protections around the funds, cautioning Webster that doing anything other than honoring donors original intent could have a chilling effect for future donations.

Board Chair Sumit Verma said that the university intends to keep with donors wishes while being able to meet a loan obligation. He added that the university is focused on achieving greater efficiency after cutting costs.

The support of donors during this financially challenging time demonstrates the commitment they have to Webster and the impact the university has on the students and communities we serve, Verma said in a text message.

Webster developed plans to use restricted donor funds  which are earmarked for research, scholarships and professorships  late last year after its liquidity ratio, a measure of an organizations ability to pay its debts, plummeted. Its attorneys on Friday said that bondholders expressed concerns about Websters financial health and pressured the university to quickly correct the situation. A recent Moodys report from February of this year warned Webster is at risk of default without an improvement to its liquidity ratio.

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Over the past decade, Webster has lost more than $160 million, including a $37 million deficit at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Yet its board of trustees continually awarded raises to then-Chancellor Beth Stroble and President Julian Schuster that made the two among the highest-paid university leaders in the St. Louis region.

In addition, the school faced a lawsuit over unpaid rent at its satellite campus in downtown St. Louis. Its bond rating has fallen into junk status, which affects the schools borrowing power. And a recent audit revealed that nearly $2 million had been misappropriated by a former employee in the previous school year; the university has not provided details but has referred the issue to authorities.

Four of its leaders, including Stroble and CFO Richard Meyer, have since resigned.

The universitys troubles with its liquidity ratio are related to a loan Webster obtained to construct the new business school building on its main campus in Webster Groves. Its ratio had fallen from its required 75% to 20% at the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

On Friday, university attorneys told Judge Wallach that the restricted endowment funds will enable the university to just meet the ratios requirement.

They argued against Wallachs request to add protection around those funds, stating that the money is already protected: Webster passed a resolution that said the funds would be re-restricted when possible, its attorneys said Friday. Verma, the board chair, also told donors in a letter that Webster would only spend the money to pay bills as a last resort, and that the trustees executive committee would vote on the matter before doing so.

Im having a hard time getting comfortable with what seems like a blank check, Wallach said Friday.

He ordered Webster to house those funds in a separate account to protect donors money from being used for day-to-day operations. The money will return to restricted status once Websters liquidity ratio is over 100%, after the university has at least one full year of a budget surplus, and as long as the university remains compliant with its loan agreements.

Webster filed its petition to tap restricted endowment funds on Feb. 1, two days after Verma sent a letter to donors informing them of the universitys plan. The Missouri attorney generals office, which represents the public interest, said it would not intervene.

A handful of donors sued to stop the university from accessing their restricted endowments that went towards scholarships and professorships. They settled with the university last week and declined to share details.
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

To cap off February as Black History Month, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush introduced a resolution honoring a St. Louis couple integral to the history of both civil rights and education.

John and Mary Meachum were singled out in the tribute Bush submitted Thursday to Congress.

I am proud of the rich history that St. Louis holds and am dedicated to ensuring that the stories of brave individuals like Mary and John Meachum are told for generations to come, Bush said in a statement.

U.S. Reps. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, Illinois, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, were co-sponsors of the resolution.

John Berry Meachum was born a slave in 1789 in Virginia, but managed to buy his own freedom and moved to the St. Louis area.

In 1827, he founded the First African Baptist Church in St. Louis, the oldest black church west of the Mississippi River. He also risked arrest by teaching people of color how to read and write, conducting the lessons in the churchs basement and on boats in the Mississippi.

Mary Meachum is honored with a historical site in north St. Louis known as Freedom Crossing. The location is part of the Underground Railroad and marks where she set out in 1855 for free-state Illinois with nine escaped slaves.

Although she was arrested on the Illinois river bank, charges of violating fugitive slave laws were eventually dropped.

After the Civil War, she served as president of the Colored Ladies Soldiers Aid Society, which worked with wounded Black veterans and taught them to read.

She and her husband both are buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
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

Republicans in central Missouri have a plan for the 3rd Congressional District seat  and it doesnt include splitting the regions vote to make victory easier for a St. Louis-area candidate.

Former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia announced Wednesday he would seek the GOP nomination to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth.

So on Thursday, former Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks announced he would not be entering the GOP race, as he had declared just last week.

In a statement, Burks said he would not file for the office, a move that will theoretically tilt central Missouri voters toward Schaefer.

With the chances of success for either of us nearly impossible while both of us are in the race, I have decided to suspend my campaign for Congress, he said.

Burks moves means that two local candidates  state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman of Arnold and former state Sen. Bob Onder of Lake St. Louis  could end up splitting votes from the St. Louis section of the district.

The seat became a hot commodity in January when eight-term incumbent Luetkemeyer announced he would not run for reelection. He is from St. Elizabeth, which is about 15 miles east of Osage Beach in Miller County.

The heavily Republican district covers 16 counties and reaches from the Mississippi River to the Lake of the Ozarks. It takes in a substantial portion of the Columbia/Boone County area, as well as parts of Jefferson and St. Charles counties.

Schaefer served in the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2017 and has worked as a lawyer and lobbyist since leaving the Legislature.

Truck driver Brandon Wilkinson of Fenton also has filed for the GOP primary in August.

Two candidates who lost to Bethany Mann in the 2022 Democratic primary have announced their intentions to seek the office again: Jon Karlen of St. Charles and Andrew Daly of Fulton.
ST. LOUIS  A St. Louis man was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for killing a Eureka High School sophomore and a 25-year-old woman in two separate incidents.

Graylon Lindsey, 24, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, which had been reduced from first-degree in a deal with prosecutors. He received two concurrent terms of life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years.

Lindsey admitted to shooting and killing 16-year-old Kyierah Jeffries on May 14, 2022 in the 4200 block of Minnesota Avenue.

He also pleaded guilty to killing Arriell Dixon nine days earlier in the 4200 block of Obear Avenue.

Charges said Dixon called 911 on May 5 and said she had been shot. She offered a description of Lindsey and the car he was driving. Police used that information to locate a Nissan on surveillance video near the scene of the shooting.
JEFFERSON CITY  A Chesterfield-based loan servicing organization pushed back Friday on allegations that it mismanaged a federal aid program, arguing the U.S. Department of Education is partially to blame for complaints included in a recent report.

The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, better known as MOHELA, said in an emailed statement to The Independent that the company follows all guidelines laid out by the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Federal Student Aid. That, the company said, may cause delays for borrowers.

MOHELA does not have authority to process loan forgiveness until authorization is provided by FSA, which can take months to occur, the servicer wrote.

MOHELA is currently the defendant in two class-action lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri  one of which also cites the Department of Education as a co-defendant. The lawsuits contend MOHELAs failure to timely process and render decisions for student loan borrowers impacted people nationwide.

And on Wednesday, the American Federation of Teachers and the Student Borrower Protection Center published a 47-page report detailing what they referred to as MOHELAs servicing failures.

MOHELA labeled the investigation a PR campaign.

It is unfortunate and irresponsible that information is being spun to create a false narrative in an attempt to mislead the public. False accusations are being disingenuously branded as an investigative report, it said.

The organizations behind Wednesdays report began publishing information on MOHELA after the servicer was brought into a U.S. Supreme Court case that eventually struck down widespread student-loan forgiveness. MOHELA said the investigations make it seem as though it played an active role in the case when in fact Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey brought MOHELA into the case without its cooperation.

The campaign claims that MOHELA was an active part of a legal challenge before the Supreme Court that challenged President Bidens student debt relief proposal. This is false. MOHELA was not an active party in the case, MOHELA wrote.

The report alleged MOHELA wrongfully denied Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) applications and padded its pockets doing so, which MOHELA denies.

All borrowers entitled to PSLF are expected to receive it, its spokesperson told The Independent. Loans that are eligible and qualified for PSLF forgiveness are provided to MOHELA by the U.S. Department of Educations Office of Federal Student Aid for final processing and approval.

FSAs latest report on the status of PSLF applications, dated June 2023, says almost 890,000 applications are in active processing. A year prior, a month before MOHELA took over servicing of PSLF loans, the backlog was about 316,000 applications.

Borrowers have complained about long waits to receive approvals or denials, and receiving information from MOHELA can be frustrating because of a communication strategy that diverts them to the website.

In 2023, MOHELA fielded 1.3 million calls focused on Public Service Loan Forgiveness, according to its spokesperson. The servicers website currently warns of high call volume.

Democratic U.S. senators, in a letter sent to MOHELA in July, said they were concerned that some callers waited up to nine hours to reach a customer-service representative.

In an expected surge of calls when student-loan-payments resumed in September, MOHELA unleashed a series of call-deflection messages, as they are called in the servicers communications playbook.

MOHELA said call deflection was a term used by FSA as it advised servicers to push customers to self-service options.

MOHELA was directed by FSA to refer borrowers to and encourage the use of self-service options, whenever possible, to help manage the anticipated surge of millions of borrowers returning to payment at a time when all federal loan servicers were mandated by FSA to cut costs and limit customer service hours despite the anticipated high demand, it said.

Deflection was used by FSA in its overarching Return to Repayment Playbook for servicers, the statement continued.

MOHELA warned senators in August that rigid funding from the FSA would prohibit it from adding staff specifically for the surge.

It earned $68.7 million in PSLF servicing fees in fiscal year 2023, according to its financial statements.
ST. LOUIS  Progressive groups and activists on Thursday broke with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on a bill aimed at strengthening oversight of police surveillance.

Advocates, organizers and representatives of organizations like Arch City Defenders, Action St. Louis and Abortion Action Missouri came to City Hall on Thursday and urged aldermen to advance the plan, calling it an essential check on police power that would build trust between officers and residents. They pushed back on Jones claims that the plan would make officers jobs harder and lead to increased crime.

We the people deserve the right to approve or deny the use of any surveillance technology that will be used in our neighborhoods, said Tammy Bufford, an organizer with Action St. Louis.

The testimony marked the latest disagreement between Jones and left-wing activists who pushed hard to get her elected, but have been disappointed by police department budget increases, fights with watchdogs at the city jail and the breakup of homeless camps downtown. It also came just days after Aldermanic President Megan Green, a longtime Jones ally, said the mayors opposition made her question Jones commitment to increasing government transparency.

Conner Kerrigan, a mayoral spokesperson, brushed off the conflict Thursday evening. He said that Jones is focused on keeping residents and visitors safe on city streets, and that there is no indication that the bill would help that cause.

The bill in question would require city agencies to present their plans for new and existing surveillance technology to the board at public hearings and get aldermanic approval to move forward. The concept has been kicking around left-wing circles for several years now, and once enjoyed support from Jones and a majority of current board members.

But things took a turn this fall. Jones began pushing for the reintroduction of red-light cameras to combat reckless driving. Green said that couldnt happen until the oversight bill passed. Jones and Police Chief Robert Tracy balked.

After months of stalemate, Jones held a press conference last week blasting Green and her allies for holding up red-light cameras as people died on city streets. Her staff criticized the oversight bill as something that would divert police from crimefighting, lead to increased crime, and perhaps violate a state law restricting officials interaction with police.

And Tracy told aldermen Thursday that police could address transparency concerns by simply releasing more information about their surveillance activity.

But advocates pushed back.

William Waller, a managing attorney at Arch City Defenders, said that when he was a public defender, he saw police and prosecutors drop significant cases to conceal their use of a controversial cellphone tracking device. And he said his former colleagues tell him theyre still hiding it.

That actually belies much of what Chief Tracy claimed about the transparency of the SLMPD, he said.

John Chasnoff, a longtime police reform activist, said he was there when the state law Jones office brought up was written. It was intended to keep city officials from asking police to do them or their friends favors, he said, and specifically exempted actions taken as part of a lawmakers official duties, like passing a bill.

Im dismayed at the administration for making that argument, Chasnoff said.

And Chad Marlow, an attorney for the ACLU, said the mayors offices messaging about crime rising in other cities after they adopted similar legislation ignored the fact that crime rose in cities across the country at the same time.

Classic causation fallacy, he said.

Maggie Olivia, policy manager for Abortion Action Missouri, an abortion rights group, emphasized to aldermen that the people speaking to them have spent a lot of time and money electing people to advance their interests.

They are imploring you to pass this bill, she said.

The committee did not take a vote on the bill Thursday. Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, the bill sponsor, said he expects to have another hearing next week.
ST. LOUIS  Supporters of stalled plans to make life easier for the homeless are trying a new approach.

Unlike previous proposals, which waded into panhandling, public urination and city-sponsored encampments, a new bill from Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier, of Tower Grove East, focuses on making it easier to open a shelter. It also moderates previous efforts to that end: It weakens neighborhoods veto power on permits rather than eliminating it.

Sonniers plan would require providers to gather signatures on a petition from 25% of the people living within 500 feet of a proposed shelter to get started. Currently, they need a majority.

Once providers reach the new threshold, they could appear at a public hearing and get provisional permits to operate for eight months. After that, the building commissioner would hold a final hearing, hear any concerns about the shelter, and decide whether to grant a full, three-year permit.

The plan is the latest attempt to address one of the citys prickliest issues: There arent enough shelter beds for all of the people living on the streets. Yet shelters cant persuade residents to allow them to open up in their neighborhoods. And that leads to people camping on the riverfront, outside downtown businesses, and occasionally, outside City Hall.

Sonnier and Aldermanic President Megan Green tried to eliminate the petition requirement this fall. But they put the plan forward at the same time they were pushing bills to exempt homeless people from the citys law against public urination and make it harder for the city to break up encampments.

The proposals collapsed amid a wave of opposition: Neighborhood associations bucked at losing their veto power. Business owners said people were already pooping outside their doors, and didnt need further encouragement. Key progressive aldermen said Sonnier and Green needed to go back to the drawing board.

But Sonnier filed the new bill this week after months of negotiations. And she said Friday she thinks the proposal will address critics concerns: There will still be some petitioning required. The public hearings will allow for more public input.

We just wanted to make a process thats more community-immersive and accessible, she said.

A hearing on the bill is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, Room 208.
Indonesia's Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) on Thursday addressed concerns regarding online gambling advertisements on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Speaking at a press conference with representatives from the Singapore office of the platform X, Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan, director-general of informatics application at the ministry, said the ministry wanted to streamline the process of identifying and removing gambling content without manual intervention.

Pangerapan said that they issue a notice to take down for such content, but it becomes cumbersome if it repeats. Indonesian authority asked the platform to develop a system for automatic handling.

Concerns among netizens have escalated due to the proliferation of online gambling advertisements on X, involving public figures. This was deemed disruptive, appearing in search results even for users who did not follow accounts promoting online gambling.

According to a recent survey by Populix, 63% of internet users claimed they have been exposed to online gambling ads, with 41% of respondents admitting an interest in visiting online gambling sites after seeing such advertisements. Out of this group, 16% eventually tried online gambling.

In 2023, Kominfo took down 810,785 pieces of content related to online gambling, nearly quadrupling the number removed in 2022.

Kominfo Minister Budi Arie disclosed that stern warnings and ultimatums were issued to various social media platforms, including Meta in October 2023 and X in January 2024. These warnings led to Meta removing 1.65 million online gambling content pieces and 450,000 related advertisements from August to October 2023.

Indonesia's law governing electronic transactions and information prohibits online gambling, imposing severe penalties of up to ten years imprisonment and fines of up to 10 billion Rp (US$645,000) for operators found guilty of operating gambling sites.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip  The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of the Palestinians wounded in the bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire, suggesting there was heavy shooting by Israeli troops.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others injured Thursday, according to health officials, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede that started when desperate Palestinians in Gaza rushed the aid trucks. Israel said its troops fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way.

Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, told The Associated Press that of the 176 wounded brought to the facility, 142 had gunshot wounds and the other 34 showed injuries from a stampede.

He couldnt address the cause of death of those killed, because the bodies were taken to government-run hospitals to be counted.

Dr. Husam Abu Safyia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the majority of the injured taken there had gunshot wounds in the upper part of their bodies, and many of the deaths were from gunshots to the head, neck or chest.

The bloodshed underscored how the chaos of Israels almost 5-month-old offensive has crippled the effort to bring aid to Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, a quarter of whom the U.N. says face starvation.

The U.N. and other aid groups have been pleading for safe corridors for aid convoys, saying it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, including crowds of desperate people who overwhelm aid convoys.

U.N. officials say hunger is even worse in the north, where several hundred thousand Palestinians remain even though the area has been isolated and mostly leveled since Israeli troops launched their ground offensive there in late October. U.N. agencies havent delivered aid to the north in more than a month because of military restrictions and lack of security, but several deliveries by other groups reached the area earlier this week.

Acknowledging the difficulty of getting aid in, U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday the U.S. soon will begin air dropping assistance to Gaza and will look for other ways to get shipments in including possibly a marine corridor.

The announcement came hours after a Jordanian plane over northern Gaza dropped packages attached to parachutes, including rice, flour and baby formula.

Innocent lives are on the line, and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there, Biden said. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

Aid officials have said that airdrops are an incredibly expensive way of distributing assistance.

I dont think the airdropping of food in the Gaza Strip should be the answer today. The real answer is open the crossing and bring convoys and bring meaningful assistance into the Gaza Strip, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said Thursday.

Thursdays convoy wasnt organized by the U.N. Instead, it appeared to have been monitored by the Israeli military, which said its troops were on hand to secure it to ensure it reached northern Gaza. The ensuing shooting and bloodshed raise questions about whether Israel will be able to keep order if it goes through with its postwar plans for Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put forward a plan for Israel to retain open-ended security and political control over the territory  an effective reoccupation  after Hamas is destroyed. Under the plan, Palestinians picked by Israel would administer the territory, but its uncertain if any would cooperate.

That would leave Israeli troops, who throughout the war have responded with heavy firepower when they perceive a possible threat, to oversee the population amid the massive postwar humanitarian and reconstruction operation envisioned by the international community.

Israel launched its air, sea and ground offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas Oct. 7 attack into Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 others. Since the assault began, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israels Kerem Shalom crossing.

Despite international calls to allow in more aid, the number of supply trucks is far less than the 500 that came in daily before the war.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,228, with another 71,377 wounded. The ministry doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

Thursdays bloodshed took place as a convoy of around 30 trucks entered Gaza City before dawn.

Many of the wounded described a scene of desperation and chaos, with people climbing on the moving trucks to get bags of flour when Israeli troops began shooting, including from a tank.

I was holding a bag of flour on my way home. They shot me in the right foot and in the left foot. Shells were fired above our heads, gunfire, said Sameer Salman, who was being treated in Kamal Adwan.

The Israeli military said dozens of the deaths were caused by a stampede and that some people were run over by trucks as drivers tried to get away.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said Israeli troops guarding the area fired shots only towards a threat after the crowd moved toward them in a way that endangered them. He said the troops didnt open fire on those seeking aid.

Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press Writer Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

Updated at 3:45 p.m.
Theres something fitting about the fact that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the very embodiment of the old Republican establishment, announced he will exit party leadership just as the GOPs current descent into post-establishment extremism was highlighted by the slithering of neo-Nazis at the conservative movements most visible annual convention.

On Wednesday, McConnell, 82, the Senates longest-serving leader, announced he will step down as the chambers top Republican in November (though he will serve out the rest of his Senate term).

One of lifes most underappreciated talents, McConnell told his Senate colleagues, is to know when its time to move on to lifes next chapter.

His partys next chapter is already well underway, as demonstrated by last weeks Conservative Political Action Conference. A group of Nazis appeared to find a friendly reception at the annual convention as they secured official CPAC badges, openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories, NBC News reported.

Meanwhile, here in Missouri, the state GOP is dealing with revelations that a gubernatorial candidate on this years Republican primary ballot has ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

As problematic as McConnells tenure has been, these and other episodes indicate that the hard-right, MAGA-fueled populist movement rising to replace him and other GOP establishment figures promises to be much worse.

None of which is to sing McConnells praises.

His abuse of his power regarding Supreme Court appointments was beyond Machiavellian: stalling a Barack Obama nominee for almost a year in order to let the voters decide, then ramming a Donald Trump nominee though in mere weeks so they couldnt. The resulting radical-right bench has ushered in a legalistic hellscape for rape victims, couples seeking fertility treatments and communities wracked by gun violence.

Though Trump long ago threw McConnell into that crowded space under his bus for the unforgivable sin of not groveling to him enough, the outgoing leader was instrumental in creating the current possibility of a second Trump administration  a threat to democracy that should transcend partisan concerns for anyone, of any party, who pays any attention to Trumps authoritarian (and racist) rhetoric.

After the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, McConnell publicly and correctly blamed Trump, saying, The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and others. Yet after Trumps well-deserved impeachment for that outrage, McConnell refused to vote to convict him or to rally his Republican caucus to that clearly warranted punishment.

McConnells excuse at the time for that gross dereliction of his duty was that the criminal legal system could deal with Trump after he left office. Now, Trumps defense strategy in his criminal trial over Jan. 6 is that, because the Senate refused to convict him, he is immune from criminal conviction.

So yes, McConnell is culpable, to a point, for todays dangerous continuation of the MAGA movement. And long before that, he represented the worst of the corporate-coddling, country-club style of Reagan conservatism that used to define the GOP.

But even moderates and liberals may soon look back on that crowd fondly in comparison to what seems to be coming with a transformed GOP.

CPAC itself is a useful measure of that transformation. Its first keynote speaker at its first national convention, in 1974, was none other than then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan.

By 2021, the annual gathering was touting  literally  a golden statue of Trump.

The subject of their idolatry had, by that point, already referred to the Tiki torch-carrying white nationalists of Charlottesville, Virginia, as very fine people, had used a presidential debate to shout out to the neo-fascist group Proud Boys (stand back and stand by) and had told four congresswomen of color (three of them American-born) to go back to their own countries.

So it perhaps wasnt surprising that in the Trump era, CPAC has had an embarrassing problem with racist provocateurs showing up at an annual convention that generally includes nationally known Republican political candidates. It has put them in the awkward position of having to eject the likes of prominent white nationalist Nick Fuentes from the event in recent years.

As NBC reported from last weeks CPAC convention, the racists are still showing up. Theyre just having an easier time getting in.

Ryan Sanchez, who was previously part of the Nazi Rise Above Movement, took photos and videos of himself at the conference with an official badge ... (and) can be seen in the lobby of the conference hotel giving a Nazi salute, NBC reported. Other attendees in Sanchezs company openly used the N-word.

Closer to home, the Missouri GOP on Thursday was scrambling to eject Darrell Leon McClanahan III from this years Republican gubernatorial primary ballot, after revelations that he has past ties to the KKK.

In a tweet, the state party vowed to get rid of him because his affiliation fundamentally contradicts our partys values.

That certainly used to be true. This was the Party of Lincoln, after all, long before it was the party of Reagan or of McConnell.

But now its the Party of MAGA  a movement built around a man who has emboldened Americas racist subculture to come out from under their rocks.
In Ukraine Russia has displayed a callous attitude towards killing civilians. Russia doesnt publicize these deaths, but they do make the news when Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine is abandoned because of an Ukrainian offensive. Russia was known for its barbaric kill them all attitude in wartime, even when the endangered civilians were Russians. The Ukrainian policy is to get civilians out of the way in a combat zone and not attack them deliberately, even if they are Russians. This is the case in some Russian-occupied Ukrainian areas where Russian civilians have been brought in to cement control over the area. Not surprisingly, many of those Russians have fled back to Russia once the fighting got close to them.

It turned out that Russia has become more enthusiastic about killing civilians because of changes in their combat doctrine several years before the Ukraine invasion. We know this because Russian military leaders openly discussed the matter before the invasion and explained why this was the way to go.

Russian military journals have always been a good source of how new Russian strategy and tactics are evolving. The actual rules (doctrine) are usually secret but to speed development, contending views and interpretations are discussed in Russian military journals. Such is the case with Russian operations in Syria and Ukraine, and before that in Chechnya. The pre-Ukraine invasion articles are notable because many were written by senior Russian generals, some of them considered likely candidates to take over top positions in the Russian armed forces. The articles also indicate that Russia considers the Syrian campaign just about done and doesnt make much mention of similar operations in Ukraine, which are far from over even though between 2014 and 2021 the combat was very low compared to after 2021.

These journal articles talk about new doctrines to be applied widely so that indicates current (pre-invasion Ukraine) and future operations will rely heavily on this new doctrine. One feature of the new doctrine is the recognition that Russia is now and will in the future operating on a small military budget. The new doctrine stressed the need to use all available resources and ignore the conventional rules of war (Geneva conventions) because those transgressions will be sufficiently hidden by the Russian ability to influence global mass media with Internet-based disinformation. Actually, that did not work out so well in Ukraine and Russia has been suffering from economic sanctions since 2014 because of it. But in a place like Syria, where there are many players, it is possible to shift the blame for bad behavior to someone else sufficiently to make it less obvious that Russia is misbehaving as much as the worst of them.

Case in point was the use of airstrikes (often using unguided weapons) against enemy (or neutral) Syrian civilians. This had been a Syrian tactic even before the civil war began in 2011 and was also used by many rebel factions (especially those that were Islamic terrorists). Russia made it clear in the journal articles that Russian commanders were, as much as possible, in overall command once they arrived in force during late 2015. That meant when the Russians or Syrians bombed civilians it was no accident. Russian forward observers for airstrikes or artillery fire were mainly concerned with not hitting allied forces. This was especially true of Iranian forces, which, the Russians admitted, did not take orders from the Russians but would cooperate to avoid friendly fire incidents. The Russians simply handled the Iranians the same way they did other Islamic terror groups and treated them as potentially useful and not to be antagonized unless absolutely necessary. More cooperative militias and factions got better support from the Russians and this overall doctrine worked quite well.

The new doctrine stressed the use of rapid decision making and using video conferencing as much as possible to replace traditional face-to-face meetings to finalize plans and assignments. The Russians considered the tech available for video conferencing mature enough to rely on regularly. This was not the case during the Ukraine invasion where Russian combat commanders have a difficult time communicating. The new doctrine stresses the need to use all available resources, including civilian gear (like construction equipment) to get the job done. This improvisation was often learned from the Syrians and the enemy, who were often operating largely off stuff they had stolen.

The paramilitary nature of operations in Syria made it easy to accept the widespread use of Russian military contractors in combat roles. NATO forces had been using a lot more armed military contractors since 2001 but mainly for security around bases. Russia often used their military contractors as combat troops to reinforce the capabilities of Syrian forces. This includes Syrian army infantry or irregulars the Syrians made great use of for local security and, occasionally, offensive operations. The Russian military contractors were nearly all former Russian military and, while not considered Russian soldiers, they were considered more reliable and trustworthy and were paid much more than Russian troops. The military contractors also got around the Russian laws prohibiting the use of conscripts in a combat zone. This was recognition that the Russian public would tolerate heavy losses among Russian contractors and allied forces, but not among members of the Russian military and especially conscripts. Russia had a limited number of non-conscript Russian troops willing or able to go to Syria. Highly paid contractors were another matter. Russian military journals used to make a big deal about the usefulness of an all-volunteer force but since the sanctions and lower oil prices showed up after 2014 (and the defense budget was cut 30 percent in 2016) the prospects of an all-volunteer force are quite dim. The new Russian doctrine emphasizes keeping casualties for Russian troops as low as possible.

The new doctrine takes for granted that Russia has to fight a poor mans war because there is no alternative. Many of these new doctrinal principles are those employed by successful irregular forces in the past. The Russians stress the rapid integration of any available resources into the Russian led war effort. The Russian journal articles make it clear that Russia only went into Syria with the understanding that Russians would be in charge, even if that meant annoying the Iranians at times. The Iranians cooperated as long as the Russians did not embarrass them or publicize the fact that the Russians were providing technical resources (air power, electronic warfare capabilities) that Iran lacked. That approach worked less well with the Turks, who occupied portions of northwest Syria and were generally left alone by the Russians. The Iranians were different in that they provided a large (at times more than 60,000) mercenary force that comprised the largest reliable force of ground troops available to the Syrians.

The new Russian doctrine pointed out the importance of adapting and doing so quickly. An example of this could be seen in how the Russians handled occasional problems with the Syrian tactic of negotiating with civilians in a rebel-held area (especially one that was surrounded) and offering safe passage for Islamic terrorists and civilians who wanted to remain with them, to another rebel-held area. One shortcoming of this tactic was that the Syrian and Iranian forces could not always be trusted to observe the safe part of safe passage. The Russians solved this by inserting their own troops to ensure compliance, even if it meant the Russians had to arrest or even fire on their allies to compel compliance. Russia even brought in military police units composed of Russian soldiers and police from Moslem parts of Russia who volunteered for this peacekeeping duty. The presence of armed Russian Moslem troops discouraged Islamic terrorists and similar minded Iranian mercenaries from misbehaving while carrying out these safe passage operations.

Russia has come to call this use of superior command and control and discipline management superiority and that is an accurate term. The Russian commanders were allowed to do whatever worked to get the job done. If this resulted in some bad publicity because of dead civilians or other battlefield indiscretions, the Russian government would criticize in private and praise in public. This often included quickly and quietly transferring home officers who were not up to the job. This made it possible for Russian commanders to be more flexible and innovative than Russian officers have been allowed to be since World War II. As a result, this new doctrine is very popular with most Russian officers and troops. During the Ukraine invasion this aspect of the new doctrine was not much in evidence. Commanders were hesitant to act without orders from above.

In Syria, management superiority included the authority to quickly assess the quality of local forces and put them to work doing what they were best at. Russia quickly identified the most competent and effective Syrian officers and supported them with additional resources and whatever else they needed. The Syrian government went along because the Russians were helping to create Syrian heroes the Syrian government could take credit for. It also became common knowledge among all factions (enemy and friendly) in Syria that the Russians were willing to make deals quickly and decisively. This proved to be a valuable military asset.

In many respects, this new doctrine isnt much different than what was adopted, on a much larger scale, after the Nazis invaded Russia in mid-1941. The Russian leaders (especially dictator Josef Stalin) were shocked, not only that the Germans had broken their promises but that the military reforms and changes Stalin had made in the 1930s had crippled the Russian military. That allowed the Germans to advance quickly and kill or capture millions of Russian troops in the process. Stalin adopted a new doctrine remarkably similar to the current one. Reality will do that to you if you pay attention. This flexibility did not survive the end of World War II, when the Russian military promptly became less flexible.
March 1, 2024: Going into 2024 the Iranian navies are expanding their fleets. Iran is unique in that it has two navies. One is the regular navy while the other is a more specialized naval force operated by the IRGC or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. There is also a Coast Guard which is the coastal waters component of the Border Guard Command that guards land borders.

The regular fleet consists of three Russian built Kilo class submarines, an Iranian-built coastal submarine and two midget submarines. Surface warships consist of seven frigates, four of them which entered service after 2010 while the other three have been in service since the early 1970s. There are four corvettes, three of them rather ancient, having entered service in the 1950s and 1960s. The most recent one entered service in 2023 and more of these are under construction. These include the two new Soleimani Class twin hull catamaran corvettes. These displace 600 tons and have a top speed of 59 kilometers an hour and a max range of 9,900 kilometers. Their shape makes it more difficult for enemy radar to track and, if the new corvette maintains radio silence, it is difficult to detect and track.

This new class of corvettes is heavily armed with six anti-ship cruise missiles, six land attack surface missiles and 16 anti-aircraft missiles. There is also one 30mm autocannon and four three-barrel 20mm autocannon. The ship carries a helicopter and facilities for launching or recovering three fast attack boats, each carrying an anti-ship missile.

The navy already has fifteen fast attack craft displacing 234 or 275 tons each. There are six offshore patrol boats, three of them 85 ton ships and three displace 105 tons. There is only one minesweeper ship although Iran may have helicopter-based mine sweeping capability.

Support ships consist of ten landing craft, four of them displacing 2,500 tons and the rest of them 280 tons. There are fourteen amphibious air cushion landing craft, eight displacing 10 tons and six displacing 55 tons. There are 27 fleet auxiliary support ships with 14 capable of distant high seas operations while the rest are for operations near the Iranian coasts in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. One frigate is based in the landlocked Caspian sea and a coastal submarine is being built for the Caspian Sea Fleet along with a fast attack craft combat ship.

A 7,500-ton destroyer is under construction along with two more frigates and six fast attack craft. At the end of 2023 Iran added another warship to its Caspian Sea Fleet by introducing the Damavand, a Moudge-class frigate. The original and first Moudge-class ship was the Jamaran, which was lost in 2018 during a storm. In mid- 2021 Iran put the fourth Moudge class frigate, the Dena, into service. This ship is described as a Light Frigate. These ships are actually heavily armed and haphazardly equipped corvettes. Iran planned to put seven into service and three more were under construction with uncertain service dates because of the difficulty in finding the needed warship components.

The Jamaran entered service in 2010 after at least six years under construction. The second one, the Damavand, entered service in 2015. This one was built in a Caspian Sea shipyard and took six years to complete. In early 2018 it ran aground while entering port in bad weather. Satellite photos showed it partially submerged. The ship was refloated and towed to a shipyard for repairs, where it was declared complete after 18 months. Despite that the ship never returned to service. This may be due to problems with equipment damaged when the ship was partially sunk. Getting necessary electronic and mechanical components is always a problem when building these ships. For example, the third Moudge, the Sahand, entered service at the end of 2018 after eight years of construction efforts. This one was more heavily armed and equipped for long-distance voyages of up to 150 days if accompanied by a supply ship. To demonstrate this, Sahand traveled to the Atlantic in 2021, accompanied by a tanker/supply ship. This was mostly a publicity stunt.

It is unclear how long the latest Moudge was under construction because Iran carries out a lot of this work in a shed, to protect the new warship from the elements during five or more years of construction effort. Iran now tries to keep quiet about warship construction efforts because of these unpredictable delays.

Iran has had little access to foreign shipbuilders since the 1980s, and by 2000 had developed the capability of building their own small warships. These are crude but they float, and their weapons generally work. Construction takes place in the commercial shipyards that Iran has developed since the 1990s to repair existing commercial ships and build smaller tankers and cargo carriers. This eventually led to warships, which is a common trend for nations seeking to build their own. Before the monarchy was overthrown in 1979, Iran bought modern warships from foreign suppliers, a practice still common among Persian Gulf oil states. Only the UAE has developed some warship construction capability, mainly as part of its effort to prepare the economy for less dependence on oil income.

The Iranian Navy is led by officers who think along more conventional lines than their government. Western ship commanders generally have good professional relationships with their Iranian counterparts, even when the Iranian Navy is under orders to give Western ships a hard time. If an Iranian captain reports by radio that he has his orders, it means he will follow through with whatever bizarre actions he has been ordered to carry out but be apologetic about it to his foreign peers.

The Iranian Navy has fewer options than the Revolutionary Guard, simply because the navy has fewer but larger and easier to spot warships. Since 2005 the navy has generally been stationed on the Indian Ocean and the Caspian Sea, while the IRGC navy has been given responsibility for the Persian Gulf and protecting all those Iranian oil facilities along the coast. The Revolutionary Guard is not a real threat to Arab oil fields and tankers because the Arabs and their Western allies have control of the air and can destroy Iranian warships, boats, oil fields and tankers that way. What the IRGC hopes to do at sea is create as formidable a threat as possible, even if this threat, in the form of suicidal speedboats and missile boats backed up by shore-based anti-ship missiles, is short-term. In the long run, any Iranian naval power is doomed if it becomes a problem to other nations in the Gulf.

In Iran, the IRGC has its own Navy of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution. The main job of the IRGC is to protect the religious dictatorship from the Iranian armed forces and a growing number of angry Iranians. As a result, the IRGC Navy has about as many personnel, 23,000, including marines and naval aviation, as the Iranian Navy. The IRGC force has about 40 large missile and torpedo boats, 100-200 tons each and over a thousand smaller craft, many of them just speedboats with dual outboard engines and machine-gun mounts.

The IRGC builds its own small boats and regularly holds highly publicized ceremonies to induct new boats into the IRGC Navy. The IRGC operates most of the 1,500 small boats used by the naval and coast guard forces. Because of this, opponents have had to develop two sets of tactics for dealing with Iranian naval forces. Irans two navies are very different from each other. The traditional navy exists alongside the less well equipped, but more fanatical, forces of the IRGC. Both forces are equipped, trained, and led very differently. The IRGC force is sworn to defend the religious dictatorship while the regular navy strives to defend Iran.
March 1, 2024: American airstrikes continue to be used against Afghan mercenaries serving in the Iranian Fatemiyoun Brigade to battle for Shia Islam. These Shia Afghans join the brigade for the money, which is $500 a month. That is a lot more than they could make back in Afghanistan. Currently Iran is using Fatemiyoun Brigade members to fight in Syria against groups hostile to Iran. That includes American soldiers and, when brigade members succeed in killing one or more Americans, the United States retaliates and usually kills a lot more brigade members. The most recent American air strike was in January 2024 and 12 Brigade members were killed in Syria because a recent attack across the border in Jordan killed three Americans.

The brigade was formed in 2014 to fight in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, is still active and still composed of about 20,000 Shia Afghan men, most recruited Afghan refugees living in Iran. The brigade works for the Iranian IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) Quds Force. For the IRGC their main task is to keep the Iranian religious dictatorship in power. The Quds Force handles Iranian troublemaking in foreign countries. The IRGC has been accused of seeking to expand its own control over Iran. The Quds Force are the enforcers of IRGC foreign policy in other countries, particularly Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Iran and the IRGC honor dead brigade members as Iranian heroes. One of the death benefits of brigade members is that their surviving family members get resident permits to stay in Iran. These permits enable family members of deceased brigade members to get jobs in Iran and attend schools and universities.

Iranian media that is controlled by the IRGC publicizes and praises dead brigade members. Publicly, Iran denies any involvement or association with brigade activities. After all, any brigade members killed are Afghans, not Iranians. After a decade of existence, anything Iran says about brigade activities has to be double checked for accuracy because Iran uses the brigade as a proxy force. The brigade does Iranian dirty work and the Afghan members of the brigade take the blame. This is what Iran tells the UN and foreign countries. Iran always denies any association with the brigade and its Afghan members. Hardly anyone believes this anymore and international organizations like the UN and the World Bank dismiss any efforts by Iran to shift responsibility for violence, committed on Iranian orders, to the Afghans in the brigade. Despite this deception effort, Iranian mass media covers the funeral or commemorative ceremonies held in Iran by families of deceased brigade members. Iran will do all it can to return bodies to the families of brigade members killed in action. These families live in Iran.

Iranian denials of any association with the brigade is causing problems with the Afghans serving in the brigade. These men accuse Iran of taking advantage of the brigade members and not honoring brigade sacrifices while working for Iran. For example, Iranian officials deny that any military personnel linked to Iran were among the casualties after Americans air strikes. Irans ambassador to the United Nations tells the U.N. Security Council that Iran has no connection to the Fatemiyoun Brigade bases attacked in Iraq and Syria. Iranian diplomats at the UN accuse the U.S. of falsely blaming Iran and deny that people killed in American airstrikes have anything to do with Iran and that only innocent civilians, rather than members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade had been killed.

The IRGC did not issue statements acknowledging the deaths of the Afghans under their command as they typically do when Iranian forces are killed, nor did any official threaten to avenge the deaths. Yet Iranian media cover the families of dead brigade men who are brought back to Iran for funerals. Iranian media publish pictures and videos of the funerals and deny to foreigners that this has anything to do with the Iranian government. This is the case even when the Fatemiyoun Brigade flag is displayed at funerals.

The Afghans living in Iran and providing the men to serve in the brigade accuse Iran of dishonoring the funerals of brigade members killed fighting for Iran. These Afghan are told privately that if they disagree with how Iran is dealing with publicity about the brigade, they can simply go back to Afghanistan. Some families have done this, but not always as a protest against Iranian mistreatment. Many Afghans are returning to Afghanistan as part of an Iranian effort to establish control over western Afghanistan areas where most of the Afghan Shia live. The Afghan government is not happy with this but since the Americans left in 2021, the new Afghan government has a lot less ability to deal with foreign intruders or local rebels.

Some Afghans, including members of the Quds Force, are angry at the way the Iranian government deals with deaths of brigade members. There is often no mention in the Iranian media of these deaths. Some Quds force members criticize the silence of the Quds Force officials about brigade deaths.

Most of the Afghans who fled to Iran over the years were Shia Hazaras, one of the largest ethnic minorities in Afghanistan. At home in Afghanistan, the Hazaras were among the natural allies of American forces because they shared common enemies in the Taliban and in Al Qaeda. But in the convoluted landscape of the Middle East today, they are now aligned with Iran and seeking to chase American forces out of the region.

In Syria, the Fatemiyoun Brigade often played a leading role in fighting Islamic terror groups like al Qaeda and ISLI. These Islamic radical groups initially has some success in taking control of territory in eastern Syria and western Iraq, including some major cities. The Fatemiyoun Brigade played a generally unheralded role in driving the Islamic terrorists out of these areas. Meanwhile the brigade has suffered over 10,000 casualties over the years, including 3,000 dead. Most of the casualties were suffered in Syria. In 2019 the American government declared the brigade a terrorist organization.

The Fatemiyoun Brigade forces outside of Iran often serve as stops for Iranian trucks moving weapons, including UAVs, missile components and other tech from Iran to Lebanon via Iraq and Syria to Hezbollah bases in Lebanon. American and Israeli airstrikes regularly bomb brigade bases in Syria, often killing brigade members in the process. These dead are usually described as Iranians and not Afghan members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade. Iran does not want to publicize the brigade or their role in creating and sustaining it. The Quds Forces take the lead in maintaining this deception. So far it is working, and brigade members continue to die in obscurity.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Alison Taylor, clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business and author, joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss the role of business in society, including stakeholder capitalism, employee engagement, and measuring impact with data and technology. Listen in as they explore how ESG fits within the bigger picture of driving societal progress and achieving long-term value creation for all stakeholders.

Listen Now

Looking for more? Subscribe to the ESG Talk podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, and YouTube.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Workiva on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Workiva

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/workiva

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Workiva

View the original press release on accesswire.com
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or the "Company") (TSX:ARA) is pleased to announce that the second patent for its groundbreaking process to extract heavy rare earths in an environmentally friendly way has been received. The patent has been granted in Chile and is valid for 20 years. It centers around the innovative Circular Mineral Harvesting (CMH) process created by Aclara, a groundbreaking technique for processing ionic clays housing rare earths. CMH establishes a fully enclosed flowsheet, setting a new standard for sustainable rare earth extraction.

Circular Mineral Harvesting - Environmental Attributes:

No crushing or milling required

95% of water used is recirculated

99% of the reagent (a common fertilizer) recycled back into the process

No liquid residues and no tailings dam needed

No radioactivity

Figure 1 - Circular Mineral Harvesting Process flowsheet schematic

This patent grants Aclara the right to exclude others from using or selling products made by our unique process. Special emphasis has been placed on two parts of the process; the water and the reagent recirculation components of the flowsheet, recycled with 95% and 99% efficiency respectively. Aclara stands apart from other mining operations in our sector by not having a tailings dam, a distinction achieved through the absence of liquid residues. At the end of the extraction process, Aclara's environmentally friendly spent clays are suitable for revegetation with native species, reinforcing the eco-friendly nature of the Company's extraction process.

Barry Murphy, COO commented:

"This is a great milestone for Aclara, putting the company on track to become the cleanest source of heavy rare earths in the world. This patent underscores our commitment to innovation in the Rare Earths industry. Our team's ongoing dedication to advancing environmental standards goes hand in hand with our continuous efforts to optimize both CAPEX and OPEX, solidifying our leadership in responsible resource extraction."

Our process has been successfully tested at our Pilot Plant in Concepcion, Chile, with ionic clays from our Chilean project last year, and where the ionic clays from our Brazilian project are being processed. We are expecting to produce around 10 kilograms of a high-purity heavy rare earths concentrate for commercial uses, and we should have the results of this piloting campaign in the next month.

About Aclara

Aclara Resources Inc. (TSX:ARA) is a development-stage company that focuses on heavy rare earth mineral resources hosted in Ion-Adsorption Clay deposits. The Company currently has two projects under development: the Penco Module in the Bio-Bio Region of Chile, and the Carina Project in the State of Gois, Brazil.

Aclara's rare earth extraction process offers several environmentally attractive features. It does not involve blasting, crushing, or milling, and therefore does not generate tailings, thus eliminating the need for a tailings storage facility. The extraction process developed by Aclara minimizes water consumption through high levels of water recirculation made possible by the inclusion of a water treatment facility within its patented process design. The ionic clay feedstock is amenable to leaching with a common fertilizer, ammonium sulfate. Further, harmful levels of radionuclides, typical of hard rock rare earth deposits, are not concentrated within the Aclara flowsheet.

Simultaneously, alongside the development of the Carina and Penco projects, the Company intends to identify and evaluate further opportunities to increase future production of heavy rare earths. This will involve greenfield exploration programs and the development of additional projects within the Company's concessions in Brazil, Chile, and Peru.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects the Company's current expectations regarding future events, including statements with regard to: the expectations of the Company's management as to the operation of the pilot plant and expected success resulting therefrom. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated as of March 28, 2023 filed on the Company's SEDAR profile. Actual results, timing, performance, achievements or future events or developments could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws.

For further information, please contact:

Ramon Barua

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE: Aclara Resources Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada Inc. appoints Ron Stevens Vice President of Operations and Director of the Board.

CHATHAM, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada ("AGinvest"), a key player in the Canadian agricultural investment sector, proudly announces the promotion of Ron Stevens to the crucial role of Vice President of Operations. Mr. Stevens, an integral part of the AGinvest team for the past three years, has consistently showcased exceptional leadership, dedication, and a profound understanding of the intricacies of the agricultural investment industry. His promotion highlights the company's strategic emphasis on optimizing and enhancing farmland through operational expertise. Coincident with this promotion Stevens has been appointed to the Board of Directors. He joins the other Directors -- including the recently appointed Brian D'Costa and Joseph Shaw, and new Chair Derek Broderson -- in shaping the strategy and governance of AGinvest.





Ron Stevens

Ron Stevens Vice President of Operations and Director of the Board.





In his prior capacity as the Director of Operations, Stevens played a pivotal role in navigating the company through diverse challenges, significantly contributing to its overall success. AGinvest stands out for its investment in Canadian farmland and its additional commitment to adding value through operational excellence.

As the newly appointed Vice President of Operations, Stevens will spearhead efforts to oversee and optimize AGinvest's complex operational activities. His mandate includes ensuring operational efficiency, scalability, and alignment with the company's strategic goals. Leveraging his experience and proven track record, Stevens is poised to lead the Operations team and drive AGinvest's continued growth and success.

Kent Willmore, CEO of AGinvest, expressed enthusiasm about the promotion, stating, "We are delighted to announce Ron Stevens as our Vice President of Operations and welcome him to the Board of Directors. His dedication, strategic vision, and operational expertise have consistently contributed to our company's success. As we continue to expand and innovate in the agricultural investment sector, we are confident that Stevens will play a pivotal role in leading our operations to new heights."

In response to the announcement, Stevens shared his excitement about the new role, saying, "I am honoured and thrilled to take on the Vice President of Operations role and join the Board at AGinvest. I look forward to working closely with our talented team to enhance operational efficiency, drive innovation, and deliver strong returns for our investors."

AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada has distinguished itself as a trailblazer in the agricultural investment sector by investing wisely in Canadian farmland and taking the additional steps to add value through operational experience and expertise. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on long-term value creation, the company continues to strengthen its market position, emphasizing the integral role that leading operations play in its future success.

About AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada

AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada ("AGinvest") is a farmland investment manager with a mission to serve both investors seeking a superior alternative investment and farm families seeking a farm-centric capital partnership. https://www.aginvestcanada.com

Contact Information

Kent Willmore

President and CEO

[email protected]

5193528413

SOURCE: AGinvest Farmland Properties Canada Inc.

View the original press release on newswire.com.
Leveraging exploration experience on a new project with similarities

to Storm Copper and deposits of the Central African Copper Belt

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSX-V:BAY)(OTCQB: ATBHF) (the "Company" or "Aston Bay") is pleased to announce that on February 29, 2024, it entered into a binding letter agreement (the "Agreement") with Emerald Geological Services ("EGS") pursuant to which it has been granted an option (the "Option") to acquire an undivided 80% beneficial interest in a property owned by EGS in Nunavut, Canada (the "Property").

Highlights

$3 million total expenditure over four years to acquire an 80% interest with no yearly minimums

Over 74-kilometre ("km") long trend of sediment hosted style stratiform copper ("Cu"), silver ("Ag"), zinc ("Zn") and cobalt ("Co") mineralization Chalcocite boulders at surface yield up to 61.2% Cu with 5600 grams per tonne ("g/t") Ag in select grab samples Several polymetallic trends already identified in rock and soil sampling Recent prospecting rock grab samples yielded up to 37.8% Cu, 27.4% Zn, 1100 g/t Ag, 3 g/t gold ("Au") and 1700 ppm Co

Mineralization is similar in style to the mineralization in deposits of the Central African Copper Belt and the Storm Copper Project

Airborne electromagnetic ("EM") geophysics and prospecting planned for 2024 season

Permitting for drilling is well advanced

"We are very excited to option the Epworth Property," stated Thomas Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. "This is an impressive 74-kilometre-long trend of high-grade copper, silver and zinc mineralization with accompanying gold, cobalt and lead. This mineralization is in a style typical of the Central African Copper Belt that boasts several large, high-grade deposits. We have similar mineralization at our Storm Project and look to leverage our knowledge and experience gained there to make new discoveries at Epworth."

Bruce MacLachlan from Emerald Geological Services added, "EGS is extremely pleased to partner with Aston Bay in advancing the Epworth Property, as we feel that this underexplored sedimentary belt has the potential to host large base metal deposits. We are excited to work with a company that shares our vision and which has already had success in similar geological settings in Nunavut."

Figure 1: Payback South Boulder. Massive chalcocite with silver (61% Cu, 5600 g/t Ag).

Location

The Epworth Property is located approximately 80 km southeast of the village of Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada (Figure 2). The property is approximately 70 km from tidewater to the north. Logistical access is provided by float plane and helicopter from Kugluktuk and the city of Yellowknife 500 km to the south. Recent staking has significantly expanded the size of the property from 15 claims over 8320 hectares (20,559 acres) to now consist of 51 claims covering an area of 71,134.86 hectares (175,778 acres) over a trend approximately 74 km by 14 km in lateral extent.

Figure 2: Location of the Epworth Property, Nunavut, Canada.

Geology

The Epworth Project is part of a broad platform-type clastic carbonate sequence belonging to the early Proterozoic Coronation Supergroup that extends from the north shore of Takijuq Lake to the Coronation Gulf for over 130 km. Polymetallic sulphide mineralization occurs as disseminations in the matrix of coarse clastic quartzites or as concordant zones of cherty replacements within permeable dolomite. The mineralization assemblage, stratigraphy, diagenetic evolution and rift-related tectonic setting of the Coronation Supergroup compares favourably to the African Copperbelt that hosts large (>100mt) high-grade (3-4% Cu) sediment-hosted stratiform copper deposits.

History

Noted from the air by a bush pilot in the 1940s, The Epworth Project was explored by Noranda Mining and Exploration in the mid-1990's discovering new base metal showings. Prospecting, mapping, geophysics and sparse drilling (only 132m in the original claim block,

Recent Work

Prospecting programs in the 2020's have defined several trends in conjunction with historic work. Rock grab samples up to 38% Cu, 1100 g/t Ag, 3 g/t Au, 27% Zn, 17% lead along with 1700 ppm Co and other anomalous mineralization define the 2.8 km long "Metallic Trend." Prospecting and soil sampling have yielded promising new trends and showings such as the new Northeast Showing discovered in 2023 yielding up to 19% Pb and 0.8% Cu in rock grab samples.

Aston Bay will provide more comprehensive information on the Epworth Property on an updated website in the coming weeks.

Terms of the Agreement

Under the terms of the Agreement, Aston Bay can earn an 80% undivided interest in the Property by spending a minimum of $3 million on qualifying exploration expenditures ("Expenditures") over a four-year period. Aston Bay also agreed to make a cash payment of $50,000 to EGS on the business day following the date of the Agreement. EGS shall be the operator during the term of the Agreement, but the parties shall also establish a technical committee to approve all Expenditures. The technical committee will be composed of two members, one appointed by each of Aston Bay and EGS, with Aston Bay to have a casting vote.

The Agreement provides for an 80 / 20 joint venture (the "JV") to be formed between the parties upon Aston Bay earning its interest in the Property. The Agreement is binding, but it also provides that it will be replaced by a definitive agreement and such agreement will contain the terms of the agreement that will govern the JV. Pursuant to that agreement, EGS will have a carried interest until the JV completes a bankable feasibility study in respect of the Property, with EGS's contributions to the JV to be credited against future revenue from the Property. After completion of a bankable feasibility study, EGS shall be diluted in the event it does not contribute its proportionate share and its interest will be converted into a 2% net smelter return if its interest is diluted to below 10%. Aston Bay shall have a right to repurchase 50% of such royalty for $1.5 million during the two-year period after commencement of commercial production from the Property.

Qualified Person

Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this press release.

About Aston Bay Holdings

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade copper and gold deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona. The Company is currently exploring the high-grade Buckingham Gold Vein in central Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands with high-grade copper potential in the area.

The Company is 100% owner of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit and has been optioned to American West Metals Limited.

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://astonbayholdings.com/.

Statements made in this press release, including those regarding the Agreement, grant of the Option and Expenditures to be made on the Property, management objectives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the future may constitute "forward-looking statement", which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of such verbs as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "plan", and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative forms. This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this press release, Aston Bay's expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this press release that are not supported by historical fact are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which apply only at the time of writing of this press release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. We seek safe harbour.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

(416) 456-3516

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province receive foreign sailors rescued by a fishing vessel on Jan. 29, 2024 in this still image captured from a video. Video courtesy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau's portal

Ten Indonesian and one Malaysian sailors rescued off Vietnam's southern coast were handed over to representatives of the two countries' consulates general in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday.

A fishing vessel from the south-central province of Binh Thuan found vessel Samudra Indah II of Malaysia sinking at a place about 20 nautical miles northeast of Con Dao Island, which belongs to Ba Ria - Vung Tau, at 4:50 p.m. on Jan. 29, and saved 11 crew members drifting at sea.

Being notified of the incident, the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Border Guard Command asked for coordination from relevant forces and vessels operating near the area to search for the missing and bring the 11 rescued sailors to Con Dao.

The sailors were safely brought to Con Dao island at 10:50 p.m. on the same day.

At the hand-over event, Encun Asun, a crew member of Samudra Indah II, said they had gone adrift for 17 hours before being rescued by Vietnamese fishermen.

Border guards of Ba Ria - Vung Tau arranged accommodation, supplied essential items, and sent doctors to examine their health, he said, adding that they will never forget these deeds.

Indonesian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Agustaviano Sofian thanked the Vietnamese authorities and fishermen for saving and caring for the crew members as well as handing over them to the consulates general for repatriation.
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / The leading national Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU) organization serving postsecondary career education schools, staff, and students, has welcomed Beyond13 as its newest allied member. The partnership aims to amplify the voice of higher education professionals with the goal of benefiting the students they serve.

What is CECU?

CECU has played a vital role in advocating for the interests of postsecondary career education schools and their students for years. The organization serves as a unified voice for the for-profit higher education sector, representing more than 1,100 campuses and affiliate members across North America.

Beyond13 and CECU share a common goal: ensuring student success. This is why their partnership is so valuable. Both organizations are dedicated to providing students with the tools and support they need to excel in their higher education and future careers.

The Benefits of Allied Membership

As an allied member of CECU, Beyond13 gains a platform to amplify its advocacy efforts and collaborate with other like-minded organizations in the industry. This partnership opens up avenues for sharing best practices, collaborating on research initiatives, and developing effective strategies to promote career education.

Beyond13 also owns several online platforms that offer specialized education options. These include Bible College Online, Christian Degrees, Health Degrees Online, and Top Healthcare Degrees.

The partnership between the two organizations also advances the mission of career education, supports student success, and assuring more credibility of Beyond13 and its clients.

The Significance of the Partnership

The alliance between Beyond13 and CECU is a testament to the increasing importance of collaboration and collective action in advancing the interests of career education.

By joining forces, these two organizations can contribute their expertise, resources, and networks to create meaningful change and improve educational opportunities for students nationwide.

The inclusion of Beyond13 as an allied member underscores CECU's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

####

About Beyond13

Beyond13 is a boutique performance marketing agency dedicated to empowering students to access quality online education and achieve academic success.

One of the most critical ways in which Beyond13 fulfills its mission is connecting students to their prospective universities, based on their interests and lifestyle.

Whether assisting students with researching various institutions, providing insights into specific programs, or offering the best online college or university for them to connect with, Beyond13 acts as a trusted partner, ensuring that students have the necessary information at their fingertips.

You can learn more about Beyond13 here: www.beyond13.agency.

Contact Information

Lisa O.

Marketing Specialist

[email protected]

888-423-0213

SOURCE: Beyond13

View the original press release on newswire.com.
Boxwood Successfully Completes its 5th Residential Services Franchisee Transaction

JUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Boxwood Partners is pleased to announce the sale of Panther Overhead Door, LLC ("Panther" or the "Company"), a leading franchisee within Precision Garage Door Service ("PDS"), a Neighborly company, by Impact Home Services ("Impact"), a franchisee of Precision Garage Door Service, Mr. Rooter, and Mr. Electric, which all three brands are part of the Neighborly community. Impact was formed by Shirin Kanji in 2021 and partnered with Eagle Merchant Partners, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, in 2023.

Boxwood Partners, a leading boutique middle-market investment bank, acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor to Panther on the transaction. The transaction was led by Brian Alas (Managing Director), Madison Day (Vice President), John Atkinson (Associate) and Drew Asadorian (Analyst). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Panther transaction marks Boxwood's fifth franchisee transaction and fourth within the Neighborly system within the last year.

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.

"We're very grateful to the Boxwood team for locating the right solution for Panther," said Doug Bencsko. "The Impact team was a logical fit, both culturally and operationally, to optimize the Houston market."

About Boxwood Partners

Boxwood Partners, LLC is a boutique investment bank based in Jupiter, Florida with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other important transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. For more information about Boxwood Partners, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com.

About Impact Home Services

Impact is an independent operator of three franchises within Neighborly, the world's largest home services company. Formed in 2021 by Shirin Kanji, Impact operates Mr. Rooter Plumbing, Mr. Electric and Precision Door Service franchises in Metro Atlanta and broader Georgia, servicing both residents and commercial customers. Impact is actively seeking add-on investments of independent plumbing, electrical and garage door repair businesses in Georgia and adjoining markets.

About Eagle Merchant Partners

Eagle is focused on partnering with founder-owned businesses based in the Southeast with unique growth opportunities and targets investments in franchise, consumer, and industrial businesses with EBITDA between $2 million and $20 million. For more information, please visit eaglemerchantpartners.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 .

Contact:

[email protected]

847-945-1300

SOURCE: Boxwood Partners, LLC

View the original press release on accesswire.com
CBRE

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE: CBRE) climbed to No. 3 on the Barron's list of the 100 most sustainable U.S.-based companies for 2024 - up from No. 4 last year. This is the seventh consecutive year that CBRE has made the top 100 list.

The 1,000 largest U.S.-based publicly traded companies are evaluated under the Barron's program. They are scored on more than 230 environmental, social, and governance performance metrics across five categories: shareholders, employees, customers, community and the planet. Scores are weighted according to the financial materiality of each category to a company's industry.

The Barron's accolade follows CBRE's achieving an A- performance score from CDP on its 2023 climate change disclosure. CDP's annual climate change disclosure and scoring process is recognized as the global standard of corporate transparency on climate impacts, risks and opportunities. The A- score is within CDP's Leadership band, reserved for companies implementing best practices in climate change governance.

CDP gave CBRE high marks in several categories, including emissions reduction initiatives and low carbon products; opportunity and risk disclosure; risk management processes; targets; and Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. CBRE's partnership with Emitwise was also recently highlighted by CDP as an innovation in tackling one of climate change's biggest hurdles-decarbonizing the supply chain.

"CBRE has a unique opportunity and obligation as the world's largest commercial property manager to accelerate sustainability across the commercial real estate industry. It's an honor to have our own sustainability efforts recognized, as we navigate many of the same challenges that our clients face and are focused on developing solutions that can be replicated to drive progress at scale," said Rob Bernard, chief sustainability officer, CBRE.

CBRE was also recently recognized on Forbes' inaugural Net Zero Leaders list as the highest-ranked commercial real estate company and appeared on 3BL's annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking for the fifth consecutive year.

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 2023 revenue). The company has more than 130,000 employees (including 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: [email protected]

SOURCE: CBRE Group, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Commerce Resources Corp. (TSX.V:CCE)(FSE:D7H0)(OTCQX:CMRZF) (the "Company" or "Commerce") is pleased to announce the appointment of Patrik Schmidt as its new Vice President of Exploration effective March 1, 2024. Jody Dahrouge will be stepping down as Vice President of Exploration; however, will remain as a Director of the Company. Mr. Dahrouge continues to play a critical and active role with the Company as Director.

Patrik Schmidt, Principal at Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., is a Professional Geologist (M.Sc., P.Geo.) and a member of the Ordre des gologues du Quebec (OGQ), and the Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (PGO). With over 10 years' experience, Mr. Schmidt has worked as Project Manager on multiple projects and commodities covering various deposit types, with a particular focus on rare earth elements (REEs), rare metals (Li, Ta, Nb, etc.), and carbonatite complexes. Over his career he has developed a versatile skill set which spans grassroots mineral exploration, mineralogy and geochemistry, to high-level project management of multi-rig drill exploration programs with significant success.

Mr. Schmidt has played a key role in the discovery of the Ashram Rare Earth Element and Fluorspar Deposit, the Mallard Prospect (Nb-Ta-Phosphate), and the Miranna Prospects (Nb-Ta-Phosphate) held by the Company. Additionally, as a consultant geologist, Mr. Schmidt led the team that discovered the CAP Carbonatite in B.C., and more recently has been a key figure in the discovery and exploration of the CV Lithium Trend where numerous lithium pegmatites have been discovered, including the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite in which Patrik has been instrumental to its advancement.

Chris Grove, President and CEO of the Company commented, "We are thrilled to have Patrik join our executive team here at Commerce. Patrik has been involved as a consultant to the Company as early as 2008 and he is a natural fit as we build out our executive team."

Darren L. Smith, M.Sc., P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor Rare Earths and Niobium to the Company comments, "Since 2008 I have worked closely with Patrik on numerous projects covering a plethora of commodities and deposit types. In addition to his strong understanding of various commodities and deposit styles, his skill set is finely tuned to REEs and rare metals. He has been a key asset in drill targeting and surface exploration of the Eldor Property to date and so it is with great pleasure to formalize his involvement."

About the Ashram Deposit

The Ashram Deposit ranks as one of the largest REE (and fluorspar) deposits globally, consisting of a monazite dominated, single mineralized body outcropping at surface, and has a footprint approximately 700 m along strike, over 300 m across, and 600 m deep, remaining open in several directions. The deposit hosts a measured resource of 1.6 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.77% rare earth oxide (REO) and 3.8% F, an indicated resource of 27.7 Mt at 1.90% REO and 2.9% F, and an inferred resource of 219.8 Mt at 1.88% REO and 2.2% F, at a cut-off grade of 1.25% REO (Effective Date July 5th, 2012). Note, mineral resources are not mineral reserves as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the Mineral Resources will be converted into Mineral Reserves.

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources Corp. is a junior mineral resource company focused on the development of the Ashram Rare Earth and Fluorspar Deposit located in Quebec, Canada. The Company is positioned to become one of the lowest cost rare earth producers globally, with a specific focus on being a long-term supplier of mixed rare earth carbonate and/or NdPr oxide to the global market. The Ashram Deposit is characterized by simple rare earth (monazite, bastnaesite, xenotime) and gangue (carbonates) mineralogy, a large tonnage resource at favourable grade, and has demonstrated the production of high-grade (>45% REO) mineral concentrates at high recovery (>70%) in line with active global producers. In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, Ashram is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally and has the potential to be a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets.

For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.commerceresources.com or email [email protected].

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP.

" Chris Grove "

Chris Grove

CEO and President

Tel: 604.484.2700

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://www.commerceresources.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.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which includes any information about activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include that that mixed REC is readily saleable; that partial separation of REEs will allow for the marketability of individual elements to be produced; that Ashram has the potential to become one of the largest fluorspar deposit and a long-term supplier to the met-spar and acid-spar markets; and that the Company is positioning to be one of the lowest cost rare earth element producers globally. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Risks that could change or prevent these events, activities or developments from coming to fruition include: that we may not be able to fully finance any additional exploration on the Ashram Project; that even if we are able raise capital, costs for exploration activities may increase such that we may not have sufficient funds to pay for such exploration or processing activities; the timing and content of any future work programs; geological interpretations based on drilling that may change with more detailed information; potential process methods and mineral recoveries assumptions based on limited test work and by comparison to what are considered analogous deposits that, with further test work, may not be comparable; testing of our process may not prove successful or samples derived from the Ashram Project may not yield positive results, and even if such tests are successful or initial sample results are positive, the economic and other outcomes may not be as expected; the availability of labour and equipment to undertake future exploration work and testing activities; geopolitical risks which may result in market and economic instability; and despite the current expected viability of the Ashram Project, conditions changing such that even if metals or minerals are discovered on the Ashram Project, the project may not be commercially viable; The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Strengthening Industrial Cybersecurity: Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporate Align to Deliver Operational Technology Cybersecurity and Zero Trust Remote Access Solutions

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) today announced an agreement to expand their Operational Technology (OT) security businesses through marketing and technical development.

Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Announce Collaboration





Based on this agreement, Mitsubishi Electric will integrate its factory-automation (FA) equipment and OT security solutions with Dispel's secure remote-access technology to provide a Zero Trust Remote Access Service that enables comprehensive monitoring and control of industrial processes. For Mitsubishi Electric, the goal is to accelerate digital manufacturing by enabling secure data utilization throughout the entire product lifecycle - from design and installation to operation and maintenance - thereby strengthening the company's Circular Digital-Engineering business.

"At Mitsubishi Electric, we are creating new value in OT security by combining our OT technology and expertise in manufacturing with information-system security technologies from leading security vendors," said Kunihiko Kaga, Mitsubishi Electric's Representative Executive Officer and Industry and Mobility Business Area Owner. "Through our collaboration with Dispel, we expect to contribute to OT security and society as a whole by providing secure environments for remote maintenance."

"What matters to industrial customers is uptime, availability, and crew safety," said Ian Schmertzler, President of Dispel. "Cyber security should not be something they need to worry about, but the shifting regulatory and threat landscape has made it impossible to ignore. By providing a Zero Trust Access platform aligned with NIST 800-53 to their customer base, Mitsubishi Electric is making it possible for their clients to refocus on what matters."

Dispel - recognized for its work in critical sectors including oil & gas, manufacturing, food & beverage production, utilities, automotive, and defense - develops end-to-end, Moving Target Defense-based OT network solutions focused on enabling rigorous access control and sustained asset visibility. Dispel's approach provides significant security and operational efficiency advantages over legacy VPN and proxy solutions through automation, standards alignment, and integrations with industry peers.

With over 20 million hours of safe operation, Dispel's Zero Trust Remote Access platform goes beyond traditional solutions to provide the comprehensive suite of features needed in high-value operational technology settings, such as password vaulting, privileged access management, session recording, vendor self-management, just-in-time access, and endpoint isolation.

This partnership signifies a determined, shared commitment by Dispel and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to extend OT cybersecurity capabilities, offering secure, efficient, and resilient operational solutions to the entire industrial consumer base.

About Dispel

Dispel is a leading provider of zero trust remote access and moving target defense networks. Founded in 2015, with offices in New York, Austin, Washington, D.C., and Tokyo, Dispel serves industrial and defense clients worldwide, protecting over $280 billion of manufacturing and the utilities covering over 47 million people each year. Dispel's secure remote access, data streaming, and asset visibility platform enhances cybersecurity and efficiency capabilities for operational technology in a variety of industrial and military applications. For more information, please visit www.dispel.com.

About Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

With more than 100 years of experience in providing reliable, high-quality products, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) is a recognized world leader in the manufacture, marketing and sales of electrical and electronic equipment used in information processing and communications, space development and satellite communications, consumer electronics, industrial technology, energy, transportation and building equipment. Mitsubishi Electric enriches society with technology in the spirit of its "Changes for the Better." The company recorded a revenue of 5,003.6 billion yen (U.S.$ 37.3 billion*) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. For more information, please visit www.MitsubishiElectric.com.

*U.S. dollar amounts are translated from yen at the rate of 134=U.S.$1, the approximate rate on the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market on March 31, 2023

Contact Information

Ben Burke

[email protected]

SOURCE: Dispel

View the original press release on newswire.com.
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Forward Water Technologies Corp. ("Forward Water" or the "Company") (TSXV:FWTC) today announced that Grant Thornley, Vice-President of Engineering Solutions will be attending PDAC in Toronto from March 3 to March 6, 2024 and meeting with Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) and mining clients at this event.

Date: March 3-6, 2024

Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre

Link: https://www.pdac.ca/convention

The PDAC offers unparalleled opportunities to engage with the global mining and exploration community and stay abreast of the latest trends and technologies driving the sector, thanks to its comprehensive programming. Forward Water is excited in the increased growth of our patented industrial forward osmosis (iFO") technology in global markets, signaling increased acceptance of thermal evaporation technology replacement with iFO". The ability to extract and deliver up to 95% clean water for process reuse and the concentrating of critical minerals such as lithium >20X have been the main drivers in our market growth, while the ability of iFO" to be operated with alternative energy sources such as geothermal and solar thermal has aided in our growth as well. Mr. Grant Thornley, Vice President of Engineering Solutions commented, "Participating in PDAC is a great opportunity for us in learning and discussing the needs and challenges of the DLE and mining markets and how we can deliver solutions to them".

About Forward Water Technologies Corp.

Forward Water Technologies Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company dedicated to saving the earth's water supply using its patented Industrial Forward Osmosis (iFO") technology. The Company was founded by GreenCentre Canada, a leading technology innovation centre supported by the government of Canada. The Company's technology enables the extraction of clean water from challenging process and waste streams that conventional technologies can not be operated on. Due to its high-water extraction ability, iFO" is used in DLE processes for the hyper-concentrating of lithium prior to conversion. The Company's mandate is to focus on the large-scale implementation of its technology in multiple sectors, including industrial wastewater, oil and gas, mining, agriculture and ultimately municipal water supply and re-use market sectors.

For more information, please visit www.forwardwater.com.

About PDAC

The PDAC is the world's premier mineral exploration and mining convention for people, governments, companies, and organizations within the mineral exploration industry. The convention takes place annually in Toronto and was first founded in 1932, it is currently the largest mining and exploration event in Canada. The show attracts exhibitors from all over the world with an international reputation for its networking, deal-making and discussion of current issues, trends and technologies shaping the industry today. For more information, please visit www.pdac.ca/convention.

Contact Information

For more information or interview requests, please contact:

C. Howie Honeyman - Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

519-333-5888

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws including statements regarding expansion and uptake of the Company's technology and the ability for the Company to achieve its growth strategy and business plan. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, the ability to scale the technology and the adoption of the technology by potential customers.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impacts from the coronavirus or other epidemics, general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; unanticipated operating events; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Forward Water Technologies Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Focus Financial Partners Inc. ("Focus" or the "Company"), a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement under which GW & Wade, LLC ("GW & Wade"), headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, will formally join fellow Focus partner firm The Colony Group, LLC ("Colony"). This transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

The transaction merges GW & Wade's $10.4 billion regulatory AUM as of 12/31/23, with Colony's $21.1 billion regulatory AUM as of 12/31/23. This also marks Focus' second signed intra-partnership merger as part of its new hub strategy.

GW & Wade, led by Principals Roger Wade and Tim Pinch, joined Focus in 2007 and has been a stalwart of the Focus partnership for years. The firm has extensive expertise in tax planning, financial planning, asset management, retirement and estate planning.

"We strive to have a positive impact on the lives of our clients and to help them achieve their financial goals, and we pride ourselves on developing long-lasting relationships built on trust," said Wade.

"We know Michael Nathanson and the Colony team share these values, which is one of several reasons we are excited to join forces with another industry leader in wealth management," said Pinch.

"It is important that we continually enhance our teams and services for our clients, and our view of the long-term future is bright as we welcome the GW & Wade team to Colony," said Michael Nathanson, CEO of The Colony Group and President of Focus. "Over the years, Focus has become home to many outstanding wealth management firms, and it is exciting to see two of them joining forces. We expect that, through opportunistic mergers such as this one, Focus will continue to facilitate the accelerated evolution of firms that choose such a path."

Following the merger, GW & Wade will operate as GW & Wade at The Colony Group.

###

About Focus Financial Partners Inc.

Focus Financial Partners Inc. is a leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms. Focus provides access to best practices, resources, and continuity planning for its partner firms who serve individuals, families, employers and institutions with comprehensive wealth management services. Focus partner firms benefit from the synergies, scale, economics and best practices offered by Focus to achieve their business objectives. For more information about Focus, please visit www.focusfinancialpartners.com.

About The Colony Group, LLC

The Colony Group, LLC is an investment advisory firm registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with locations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, D.C and Virginia. Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training and does not imply that the SEC has endorsed or approved the qualifications of Colony or its representatives. With origins dating back to 1986, Colony's team provides individuals and families, executives, business owners, entrepreneurs, athletes and entertainers, institutions and non-profit organizations with deep expertise that goes beyond investment management and can encompass tax, estate, retirement and philanthropic planning, asset allocation and sustainable investing solutions, family office services, business management services, divorce and dispute resolution services, and life-enrichment services through Curated by ColonyTM. For more information about Colony, please visit www.thecolonygroup.com and follow Colony on LinkedIn.

About GW & Wade, LLC

GW & Wade, LLC is a financial advisory firm headquartered in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with additional offices in Palo Alto, California and Reston, Virginia. Since 1986, GW & Wade's team has served successful individuals and their families, providing extensive expertise in tax planning, financial planning, asset management, retirement and estate planning. GW & Wade also provides equity compensation and tax planning services and seminars for the executive management teams of public and private companies. For more information about GW & Wade, please visit https://www.gwwade.com.

Media Contact

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

SOURCE: Focus Financial Partners

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AUSTIN, MN / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a Fortune 500 global branded food company, announced Katie Clark has been appointed to the role of senior vice president and chief communications officer.

In this role, Clark will oversee the company's global communications, including external media relations, internal communications, global impact communications and corporate reputation. Clark will report directly to Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Hormel Foods.

"I am delighted Katie is joining us at Hormel Foods. She is an impressive leader with well-rounded communications experience across several industries, and her perspective will be an asset to our company," Snee said. "I look forward to working closely with her to continue our company's journey to make a difference for our customers, team members, consumers, shareholders and the communities where we live and work."

Clark brings more than two decades of communications experience from various industries, including CPG, retail and healthcare. Recently, she was named a 2024 "Top Woman in Communications" by Ragan Communications and PR Daily.

About Katie Clark

Prior to joining Hormel Foods, Clark served as vice president of communications for Mattress Firm, the nation's largest mattress retailer with more than 2,300 stores across the United States. She joined the company in 2020, leading internal communications, public relations, media relations, crisis and issues management, executive communications and social impact.

Before joining Mattress Firm, Clark spent seven years at PepsiCo in various leadership roles spanning both internal and external communications. Her last role at PepsiCo was director of communications for PepsiCo Beverages North America, a $21 billion beverage business. In that role, she led external communications, including corporate reputation, issues management, proactive and reactive earned media and thought leadership. She also served as director of global internal communications, director of public relations for the Tropicana brand and senior manager of internal and executive communications for the Quaker Oats brand. Before joining PepsiCo, Clark spent a decade at Blue Cross and Blue Shield in communications and marketing roles.

Clark earned her master's in business administration from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Virginia Tech.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Hormel Foods Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Hormel Foods Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/hormel-foods-corporation

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Hormel Foods Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Epping manufacturing facility will be home to new 2.2MW system

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Kimberly-Clark and integrated energy solutions company, Energy Partners (EP), have signed a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to install one of the largest rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to the terms of the agreement, EP will install a 2.2MW rooftop system at Kimberly Clark's Epping manufacturing site of well-known brands Huggies and Kotex.

Once the project is completed, the rooftop system at Epping facility will allow an annual energy production of 3,478 MWh per year which will save over 3,130 tonnes of CO 2 emissions each year[1], equivalent to powering 1,030 median residential homes in the country every year[2]

Collaboration

Charl du Plessis, General Manager of EP Power, confirms that the design of the system was developed in close collaboration with Kimberly-Clark's local and international engineers and project managers to ensure compliance with regulatory and design specifications.

"The new rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will enhance Kimberly-Clark's capacity to manage electricity consumption, whilst also enabling them to substantially increase their renewables penetration. This is especially exciting to us, and we are proud to be part of the Kimberly-Clark journey to meeting their 2030 sustainability goals," says du Plessis.

Steven Hayes, General Manager of Kimberly-Clark Sub-Saharan Africa says, "We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and this project will contribute toward helping us meet our 2030 goal to reduce total emissions by 50% compared to 2015 globally. The installation of this rooftop solar photovoltaic system and partnership with Energy Partners is a significant step toward achieving our renewable energy targets, and we are proud to be part of the solution in creating a more sustainable future for South Africa."

[1] Emission Factor in 2023 from IEA and in SOFI = 0.9 kg/kwh

[2] www.worlddata.info

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Kimberly-Clark Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/kimberly-clark-corporation

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Kimberly-Clark Corporation

View the original press release on accesswire.com
ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Luvu Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: LUVU), a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands, today announced the appointment of Chris Knauf as Chief Financial Officer, effective February 20, 2024. He has succeeded Martin Scott, who stepped down on February 20, 2024, following the filing of the 10-Q Quarterly Report for the period.

Chris Knauf brings over two decades of corporate finance and accounting experience working with public and private companies of all sizes, scopes, and industry sectors. From 2018 to 2024, Mr. Knauf served as Senior Vice President of Accounting for Locumtenens.com, the largest medical staffing company in the United States. Prior to Locumtenens, Chris was CEO/CFO of Built NY, a lifestyle consumer products company. Before joining Built, Mr. Knauf held executive positions with the History Channel's international consumer products division and Martha Stewart Omnimedia e-commerce division.

"We are excited to welcome Chris Knauf to Luvu Brands," said Louis Friedman, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer. "Chris brings significant finance expertise, strategic planning capabilities, and deep experience at a range of consumer product companies. His skills and leadership are an excellent fit as we execute our strategic plans for growth and increased profitability."

"I am excited to join Luvu Brands at this phase of the company," said Chris Knauf. "LUVU has the opportunity to see significant growth in value through disciplined planning and careful execution. I look forward to working with the entire LUVU team to build strategy and structure that will accelerate profitable growth and shareholder value creation."

About Luvu Brands

Luvu Brands, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of consumer lifestyle brands through the Company's websites, online mass merchants, and specialty retail stores worldwide. Brands include: Liberator, a brand category of iconic products for enhancing sexual performance; Avana, sleep comfort pillows including inclined bed therapy products, assistive in relieving medical conditions associated with acid reflux, and surgery recovery, and Jaxx, a diverse range of casual fashion daybeds, sofas, and beanbags made from polyurethane foam and repurposed polyurethane foam trim.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the Company occupies a 140,000 square foot vertically-integrated manufacturing facility and employs over 200 people.

The Company's brand sites include: www.liberator.com, www.jaxxbeanbags.com, www.avanacomfort.com plus other global e-commerce sites. For more information about Luvu Brands, please visit www.luvubrands.com.

Company Contact:

Luvu Brands, Inc.

Chris Knauf

Chief Financial Officer

Phone #: 770.246.6424

Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements can be identified using words such as "should", "may", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "forecasts", "expects", "plans", and "proposes". These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements, and other disclosures, including the statements made under LUVU's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and our other filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of LUVU and are difficult to predict. LUVU does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law. The information which appears on our websites and our social media platforms, including, but not limited to, Instagram and Facebook, is not part of this press release.

SOURCE: Luvu Brands, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Tourists pass by the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan. 31, 2020. Photo by Reuters

Immigration officers in Malaysia have detained a Singaporean man for overstaying his visa to the country for 13 years.

The 34-year-old man was arrested on Feb. 25 after immigration officials in the state of Johor received a tip-off from residents, saying there were foreigners hidden inside a building in Jalan Wadi Hana, which is near the Johor Bahru checkpoint, Strait Times reported.

The Singaporean man had been staying in Malaysia since 2011.

He will be charged with violations of the Immigration Act for not holding a valid permit to remain in Malaysia and for breaching the conditions of his travel documents, Today Online reported.

Singaporeans are exempted from applying for visas to enter Malaysia for a stay of up to 30 days.
Selected startups are matched with interdisciplinary teams of UC Berkeley graduate students to advance their innovations, with the support of MetLife employees

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) and the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, are pleased to announce that the application window for the 2024 startup cohort of the Cleantech to Market (C2M) accelerator program is open until March 10. Startups from across the country will be chosen to represent the most promising climate tech innovations and paired with interdisciplinary graduate student teams to receive free commercialization support. At the end of the semester, the student teams present recommendations and compete for MetLife Climate Solutions Awards, which are intended to further support the growth of the winning solutions.

This will be the third year MetLife is involved with the C2M accelerator program. As part of MetLife's support, employee volunteers lend their business development and management expertise to help students advance the business plans and strategies of their assigned startups. The program is directly aligned with MetLife's initiative to contribute $5 million to drive climate-related partnerships and solutions.

"At MetLife, we recognize that working toward a resilient environment requires collective action from multiple stakeholders," said MetLife Vice President, Global Sustainability and Climate Lead, Josh Wiener. "By partnering with the Haas School of Business on the C2M accelerator program, we're helping bring together MetLife employees, startups and students to advance innovative climate solutions."

MetLife has a longstanding history of embracing technology and cultivating a culture of innovation. The C2M accelerator program embodies this spirit and gives MetLife employees insight into technology advancements across industries, including low-carbon energy, green chemistry, and water technologies.

"MetLife's involvement in C2M has expanded our support for current and future climate tech leaders participating in the program," said Brian Steel, director of the C2M program since 2012. "We look forward to welcoming this year's cohort of students and startups and connecting them with the skills and expertise of MetLife employees later this year."

Founded by students in 2008, C2M has paired more than 200 researchers and entrepreneurs with graduate student teams. The majority of technologies C2M teams have supported have become startups, which have collectively raised more than $500 million in disclosed funding and employ approximately 400 people.

To learn more about MetLife's commitment to sustainability, visit MetLife.com/Sustainability. For more information about the C2M accelerator program, and the application for startups, visit haas.berkeley.edu/c2m/.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help individual and institutional customers build a more confident future. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets globally and holds leading positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.

Contacts:

Olivia Janicelli

(212) 578-3547

[email protected]

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from MetLife, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: MetLife, Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/metlife-inc

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: MetLife, Inc.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
VILNIUS, LITHUANIA / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Oxylabs, a leading web intelligence collection platform, has once again secured its position as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe. The Financial Times and Statista's FT1000 list, a prestigious annual ranking of Europe's top-performing companies, has recognized Oxylabs as the continent's fastest-growing public data acquisition company for the third consecutive year.

Oxylabs' consistent inclusion in this esteemed list highlights the increasing demand for reliable methods of extracting public web data. As the industry leader in growth, Oxylabs has prioritized ethical data acquisition throughout its business activities for years, setting the benchmark for responsible scraping practices.

Julius Cerniauskas, CEO of Oxylabs, expressed the company's commitment, stating, "Oxylabs making the list of Europe's fastest-growing companies for the third time in a row indicates that the need for reliable public data extraction is still on an upward trend. It also shows that ethical business practices are perfectly compatible with growth. Leading by example, we expect to actively foster a responsible mindset in the wider web data community."

For the last few years, Oxylabs has been instrumental in advancing compliant and ethical data acquisition standards.

"The Ethical Web Data Coalition Initiative (EWDCI) that we co-founded is helping us promote common standards and self-regulation in our industry. This year, we will continue working in this direction as rapid AI advancements are posing new challenges for web data companies. To add, our continuous efforts to ensure secure data handling have been recently recognized with an ISO/IEC 27001:2017 certification," emphasized Julius Cerniauskas.

Oxylabs' cutting-edge solutions and premium proxy infrastructure have attracted major players in the e-commerce, travel and hospitality, IT, and cybersecurity industries. These businesses rely on public web data for market and competitive research, ad verification, digital shelf optimization, SEO optimization, and other critical tasks.

To learn more about EWDCI, please visit its official website. The complete list of Europe's fastest-growing companies compiled by The Financial Times in partnership with Statista is available here.

About Oxylabs

Established in 2015, Oxylabs is a web intelligence acquisition solution and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilize the power of big data. Constant innovation, an extensive patent portfolio, and a focus on ethics have allowed Oxylabs to become a global leader in the web intelligence collection industry and forge close ties with dozens of Fortune Global 500 companies. In 2022, 2023, and 2024 Oxylabs was named Europe's fastest-growing web intelligence acquisition company in the Financial Times' FT 1000 list. For more information, please visit: https://oxylabs.io

Contact Information

Vytautas Kirjazovas

Head of Communications

[email protected]

+44 7999 885206

SOURCE: Oxylabs

View the original press release on newswire.com.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 1, 2024 / Sassy Gold Corp. ("Sassy" or the "Company") (CSE:SASY) (OTCQB: SSYRF) (FSE:4E7) is pleased to announce that it has signed binding letters of intent with various arms-length vendors (the "Vendors") to acquire a total of fifteen (15) advanced uranium properties in Utah and Colorado, USA (the "Transaction"). All of these properties, comprising 8,200 acres or 33 sq. km, are located within the Colorado Plateau geological region and fourteen (14) of them have featured historical production with more than two dozen past producing mine portals and shafts among them (the "Properties").

This strategic move into Utah and Colorado, at a favorable time in the uranium cycle, builds significantly on Sassy's existing uranium footprint in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin where the company owns a 20% interest in the Highrock Uranium Project. In addition, Sassy owns 100% of the Foremore Gold-Silver-Base Metal Project in Northwest B.C.'s Eskay Camp and also owns significant share positions and corresponding assets in MAX Power Mining Corp., Gander Gold Corp., and Galloper Gold Corp., with the latter now approved for listing on the CSE.

Utah/Colorado Property Highlights

The 15 properties each are known to contain sandstone-hosted, roll-front uranium deposits;

Clear path to potential near-term extraction at the Independence Property located in the San Rafael Swell, immediately off Interstate 70 near the community of Green River, Utah;

Uranium mineralization outcrops at surface at Independence, a notable past producer in the region, and dips east toward Western Uranium's San Rafael Project;

Independence is currently permitted for small-scale underground extraction and surface disturbance;

Strong exploration upside at each of the 15 properties through data compilation and relatively shallow drilling to build on historical results;

Infrastructure already in place at most of the mine sites, combined with the relatively shallow depth of the tabular sandstone-hosted deposits, is expected to keep the redevelopment capital cost of these properties low;

Properties are within trucking distance to the only operating conventional uranium mill in the United States (White Mesa);

Partnership with property vendors, who provide local expertise, surface drilling and underground mining;

Abundant opportunities to improve historic economics of region's uranium/vanadium deposits;

All properties are full-year road accessible from local workforce communities and services;

Exploration work will commence with confirmatory drilling, along with the digitization of the existing extensive library of geological data, past production data and mine plans.

Uranium Mining in Utah

Energy Fuels reported December 21, 2023, that it had commenced uranium production at its La Sal Complex in Utah comprising its La Sal and Pandora mines in the vicinity of Energy Fuels' White Mesa Mill.

Most of Utah's historical production (122 million lbs U3O8 since 1904) has been from the sandstone-hosted deposits in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, which Sassy will target at several of the Utah and Colorado properties, including Independence. The average grade of uranium mineralization in Utah's sandstone-hosted deposits is 0.30% U3O8, higher than in many other significant uranium producing districts worldwide with the exception of course of Canada's Athabasca Basin (source: Utah Dept. of Natural Resources, 2021, Open-File Report 735).

The North Lisbon and Central Lisbon Valley properties are located in the heart of Utah's Lisbon Valley District which has accounted for 64% of the state's total historical production, according to data from the Utah Dept. of Natural Resources.

Historical mineralization and production may not be indicative of future performance of the properties to be acquired by Sassy.

CEO Comments

Mark Scott, Sassy's President and CEO, commented, "This acquisition of past producing uranium mines with known deposits, on reasonable terms, is undeniably a big step forward for Sassy Gold. These advanced projects, with their accessible, shallow, tabular-style deposits, give the Company multiple development and deal-making options moving forward. We intend to launch a study aimed at identifying the commercially optimal mix and sequence of extraction, mining method, technology and equipment options presented by these projects. While that is ongoing, there is at least one of the mines with an obvious path to possible near-term extraction, which we will begin studying and pursuing concurrent with the work being performed regarding the other sites."

Project Map

Mark Scott added, "The strength of our team and the assets, their proximity to the only available route to market in the United States, uranium's long-term pricing fundamentals and the market's current enthusiasm for uranium make the timing of this deal extremely favorable. For good reason, our entire team is excited about our direction forward with this transaction, which took several months of concerted effort to bring together."

Property Details

The Company and the Vendors progress toward completion of the Definitive Agreements.

A Qualified Person (as defined in NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to verify the historical drilling data. Additional work, including confirmatory drilling and logging, will be required to confirm and update the historical drilling and logging data, including a review of data integrity, assumptions, parameters, methods, and testing. Historical exploration data do not meet reporting requirements as prescribed under NI-43-101. Sassy is not treating the historical data as current and it should not be relied upon.

Terms of the Transaction

Sassy has signed three LOI's with the Vendors, as it relates to the Properties, on February 16, 2024. Under the terms of the LOI's, Sassy will pay a total value of $8,391,326 USD, of which 25%, or a total of $2,097,832 USD will be paid in cash over four equal payments of $524,458 on closing of the Transaction, and on the 6-month, 12-month and 24-month anniversaries of the closing of the Transaction. Common shares of Sassy ("Shares") will be issued to the beneficial owners of the Vendors on the same schedule as the cash payments, with 75% of the Transaction's value payable in Shares. The value and number of the Shares will be determined by the price of the financing completed immediately prior to the closing of the Transaction and based on the prevailing CAD/USD exchange at that time. The Vendors maintain a 1% gross royalty on most of the properties, with exclusions for two state leases which are already subject to state royalties, and the "BM Claims" within the Independence Property, which are already subject to two 1.5% Net Smelter Royalties payable to a third, unrelated party. Additionally, each LOI includes a provision which will pay a maximum of one "PEA Bonus" per LOI, in the amount of $100,000 cash and 1 million Company shares, upon the Company publishing a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for any property covered by that LOI. As at December 31, 2023, Sassy had over $26 million CAD in assets on its balance sheet and cash/marketable securities of over $3 million CAD.

The LOI's commit the Company and the Vendors to a 30-day due diligence period, which may be extended by the Company for the purpose of completing any required financing and further due diligence, along with any required stock exchange, regulatory and/or shareholder approvals (see below). The parties will complete the drafting of the Definitive Agreements for the Transaction during this due diligence period.

Sassy Private Placement

The Company announces the launching of a non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering") for an aggregate of $2.5 million. The Offering will consist of one share of the Company at a price of CAD $0.0375 (3.75 cents) per share, with no warrants attached. The Offering is subject to CSE approval and all securities will be subject to a four-month hold period. Closing of the Offering will occur respective of the closing of the Transaction and funds from the Offering will be used for working capital for the Company and its projects or bona fide debt settlements, as applicable.

Shareholder Approval

Pursuant to CSE Policy 4.6(3), securityholders' approval is required if the number of shares issued may be more than 50% of the total number of securities or votes of the listed issuer outstanding (calculated on a non-diluted basis) accompanied by a new Control Person (as defined in the CSE Policies) or 100% of the total number of securities or votes outstanding. The Company intends to rely on the exemption in CSE Policy 4.6(1)(b) whereby the CSE's requirement for approval may be satisfied by a written consent signed by shareholders owning more than 50% of the outstanding common shares.

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Ian Fraser, P. Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Sassy Gold. Mr. Fraser is the Qualified Person responsible for the scientific and technical information contained herein under National Instrument 43-101 standards.

About Sassy Gold Corp.

Sassy is an exploration stage resource company currently engaged in the identification, acquisition and exploration of high-grade precious metal and base metal projects in North America. Its focus is the Foremore Project located in the Eskay Camp, Liard Mining Division, in the heart of Northwest B.C.'s prolific Golden Triangle. Sassy also holds significant equity positions in Gander Gold Corp., Galloper Gold Corp., and MAX Power Mining Corp., as well as a 20% interest in the Highrock uranium project, giving the Company and its investors direct and indirect exposure to gold, copper, lithium and uranium.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "continues", "projects", "potential", "budget" and similar expressions, or are events or conditions that "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events, and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

Certain information and statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including: the signing of the Definitive Agreement; the closing of the Transaction; satisfaction of any conditions precedent, and satisfaction of those conditions with the Definitive Agreement, is not assured; closing of the Offering; any historical production and quality thereof; path and timing to future extraction; any potential exploration upside of the Properties or potential future drilling and target areas; payment methods for the Transaction; history of stone-hosted, roll-front uranium on any of the Properties; future opportunities to improve historic economics of the region's uranium/vanadium deposits; historic mineralization and production within the State of Utah and State of Colorado and any inferred indication of future performance of properties to be acquired; accuracy of historical drilling or exploration data; certainty of any exchange, regulatory or securities approval, if applicable.

The forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that the Company has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release regarding, among other things: that all required regulatory approvals can be obtained or maintained on the necessary terms and in a timely manner, as applicable; that counterparties to the Company's agreements and contracts will comply with the terms thereof in a timely manner; that there are no unforeseen events preventing the performance of contracts; and that there are no unforeseen material costs relating to exploration of the Company's properties.

Although the Company believes that the material factors, expectations and assumptions expressed in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available to it on the date such statements are made, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurances that such statements and information will prove to be correct and such statements do not guarantee future performance. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

Actual performance and results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to known and unknown risks, including those set forth in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (a copy of which can be found under Sassy's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca). Accordingly, readers should not place undue importance or reliance on the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that the list of factors is not exhaustive. Statements, including forward-looking statements, contained in this news release are made as of the date they are given and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

All currency within the news release is intended to be in USD, unless otherwise stated.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information

Mark Scott

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

Terry Bramhall

Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

[email protected]

1.604.833.6999 (mobile)

1.604.675.9985 (office)

SOURCE: Sassy Gold Corp.

View the original press release on accesswire.com
Independence Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: IRT) (IRT or the Company) today announced the appointment of Craig Macnab to its Board of Directors (the Board), effective February 29, 2024. Mr. Macnab brings over 20 years of experience to IRTs Board after serving in various executive and board roles in the REIT industry, including most recently as CEO of National Retail Properties, Inc. for 13 years. Mr. Macnabs appointment increases the size of IRTs Board to 10 members, including 8 independent directors. In connection with this announcement, the Company has entered into a cooperation agreement with Argosy-Lionbridge Management, LLC (ALM), an IRT stockholder.

IRT also announced that its Board has reaffirmed the Companys commitment to leadership in corporate governance practices by waiving the option to classify its Board under provisions of the Maryland Unsolicited Takeover Act, or MUTA, unless first approved by the stockholders of the Company by a majority of the votes cast on the matter.

We are pleased to welcome Craig to the IRT Board, said Scott Schaeffer, Chairman and CEO of IRT. Craigs appointment broadens the experience and diversity of perspectives represented on our Board, and we are confident he will bring invaluable skills and expertise from his decades of leadership in the REIT industry. The Boards decision to opt out of MUTA reinforces our objective of maintaining leading governance and delivering value to our stockholders.

Im honored to be joining IRTs Board, said Craig Macnab. IRT has created a compelling and differentiated real estate platform, underpinned by its focus on creating a scaled portfolio of high-quality assets across core Sunbelt and Midwest markets that are well positioned to support long-term growth. I look forward to partnering with my fellow Board members and the management team to continue driving the organizations track record of success into the future.

Greg Morillo, CIO & Managing Partner of ALM, said Craigs appointment and our agreement with the Company is the result of a constructive dialogue with IRTs Board and management team over several quarters. We see significant opportunity for value creation at IRT, as the Company increases its financial flexibility through its previously announced Portfolio Optimization and Deleveraging Strategy, and believe Craigs deep industry experience will contribute to the Companys execution of this strategy. We are also pleased with the actions taken by the Company to opt out of MUTA.

ALM has agreed to abide by certain customary standstill and voting commitments, including supporting the Boards slate of directors, subject to limited exceptions. The cooperation agreement will be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an exhibit to a related Current Report on Form 8-K.
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Apartment Income REIT Corp. ("AIR") (NYSE: AIRC) announced today that Chief Executive Officer, Terry Considine, and CFO, Paul Beldin, will host a roundtable discussion at the Citi 2024 Global Property CEO Conference on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 9:35 am Eastern Time.

A live webcast of the discussion will be available here. A replay of the discussion will be available using the same link approximately 12 hours after the end of the live event and will be available for one year.

About AIR

Apartment Income REIT Corp (NYSE: AIRC) is a publicly traded, self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). AIRs portfolio comprises 76 communities totaling 27,010 apartment homes located in 10 states and the District of Columbia. AIR offers a simple, predictable business model with focus on what we call the AIR Edge, the cumulative result of our focus on resident selection, satisfaction, and retention, as well as relentless innovation in delivering best-in-class property management. The AIR Edge is a durable operating advantage in driving organic growth, as well as making possible the opportunity for excess returns for properties new to AIRs platform. For additional information, please visit aircommunities.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301542088/en/

Matthew OGrady

Executive Vice President, Capital Markets

(303) 691-4566

[email protected]

Source: Apartment Income REIT Corp
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alight (NYSE: ALIT or the Company), a leading cloud-based human capital technology and services provider, today announced that its Operating Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Heaton, will represent the Company at the KeyBanc Emerging Technology Summit on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, and at the Bank of America Information & Business Services Conference on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

The Companys presentation at the KeyBanc Emerging Technology Summit will be hosted at 10:00 a.m. PT on March 6 and available via live webcast here.

The Companys presentation at the Bank of America Information & Business Services Conference will be hosted at 10:00 a.m. ET on March 14 and available via live webcast here.

About Alight Solutions

Alight is a leading cloud-based human capital technology and services provider that powers confident health, wealth and wellbeing decisions for 36 million people and dependents. Our Alight Worklife platform combines data and analytics with a simple, seamless user experience. Supported by our global delivery capabilities, Alight Worklife is transforming the employee experience for people around the world. With personalized, data-driven health, wealth, pay and wellbeing insights, Alight brings people the security of better outcomes and peace of mind throughout lifes big moments and most important decisions. Learn how Alight unlocks growth for organizations of all sizes at alight.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301200658/en/

Investor Contact:

Jeremy Cohen

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Mariana Fischbach

[email protected]

Source: Alight, Inc.
MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of a- (Excellent) of Assurant Danos Mexico, S.A. (ADM) and Assurant Vida Mexico, S.A. (AVM). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. AM Best also has affirmed the Mexico National Scale Rating (NSR) of aaa.MX (Exceptional) of ADM and AVM. The outlook of the NSR is stable.

The ratings reflect ADMs and AVMs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as each companys adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

The positive outlook on the FSR and Long-Term ICRs reflect AM Bests expectation that the companys balance sheet strength will continue to improve, underpinned by positive bottom-line results. The ratings of ADM and AVM also reflect their affiliation and strategic importance to Assurant, Inc., the ultimate parent, as a stepping-stone to grow in the Latin America market. The ratings also consider the solid reinsurance structure mainly supported by the group. ADM and AVM initiated operations in 2004 and are owned by Assurant Holding Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., which is part of Assurant, Inc. Distribution for both companies is based on sales through financial institutions, auto companies, telecommunications carriers, retailers and other channels.

ADM and AVM follow their groups underwriting, ERM and corporate governance practices, receive reinsurance support and benefit from its brand recognition to expand their market share in Mexico. Both subsidiaries also benefit from their groups capital contributions, when required, in support of growth targets.

In 2022-2023, ADM maintained its balance sheet strength at a strong level as the company continued to strengthen its capital base through the reinvestment of earnings. Premium growth during 2022 benefited from an improvement in sales in the companys global auto, mobile, home, retail and original equipment manufacture business lines, as well as commercial alliances with high profile distributors. As of December 2023, ADM increased its profitability through positive technical and underwriting results and management expense control, which was supported by an increase in investment income, partially resulting from its strategic asset allocation.

AVMs balance sheet strength also was at a strong level in 2022-2023, supported primarily by profitability. AVMs underwriting results also benefited from a reserve release in 2023 mainly due to the annualization of its policies. The company presented positive bottom-line results as of December 2023, backed by profitable underwriting and strengthened by investment income.

Factors that could lead to positive rating actions for ADM and AVM include a sustained reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength, underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and favorable operating performance. Conversely, negative rating actions could take place if operating performance substantially deteriorates, resulting in a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization to a level no longer supportive of the current ratings.

Negative rating actions also could occur if the subsidiaries parental support or their strategic importance to the group deteriorates in AM Bests view.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2024 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301573668/en/

Ricardo Rodriguez

Financial Analyst

+52 55 9085 2708

[email protected]



Salvador Smith

Senior Financial Analyst

+52 55 9085 7506

[email protected]



Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

[email protected]



Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of a- (Excellent) of Virginia Surety Seguros de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (VSSM) (Mexico City, Mexico). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. AM Best also has affirmed the Mexico National Scale Rating (NSR) of aaa.MX (Exceptional) of VSSM. The outlook of the NSR is stable.

The ratings reflect VSSMs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The positive outlook on the FSR and Long-Term ICR reflects AM Bests expectation that the companys balance sheet strength will continue to improve, underpinned by positive bottom-line results. The companys balance sheet strength has been assessed at a strong level since it began operations in Mexico. The ratings of VSSM also factor its recent affiliation and strategic importance to Assurant, Inc., the ultimate parent, as well as its risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR).

VSSM is a subsidiary of Virginia Surety Company, Inc., a general underwriting entity part of The Warranty Group, Inc. In 2017, The Warranty Group, Inc. completed a merger agreement with Assurant, Inc., with the purpose of combining insurance operations in various jurisdictions, including the operation in Mexico. VSSM started operations in Mexico in January 2017, focused on the auto insurance line of business and other property/casualty business lines. VSSM also underwrites specialty products, offering coverage in cases of theft or accidental damage for consumer technology products, such as cellphones, photographic and sound equipment and home appliances. VSSM places its coverage products through its network of manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

VSSM operates under the same management as Assurant Danos Mexico, S.A. and Assurant Vida Mexico, S.A., subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc. These companies operate separately but do not compete against each other; moreover, VSSM takes advantage of the operational synergies derived from being part of the Assurant group.

Factors that could lead to positive rating actions for VSSM include a sustained reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength, underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR, and favorable operating performance. Conversely, negative rating actions could take place if operating performance substantially deteriorates, resulting in a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization to a level no longer supportive of the current ratings.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.

For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2024 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301924741/en/

Ricardo Rodriguez

Financial Analyst

+52 55 9085 2708

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

[email protected]

Salvador Smith

Senior Financial Analyst

+52 55 9085 7506

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Beazer Homes, alongside their partners, proudly announced the donation of $1.9 million to Fisher House Foundation this week. This substantial gift, presented to David Coker, President of Fisher House Foundation, during a special event in Las Vegas, marks a profound commitment to supporting military and veteran families in times of need.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301860088/en/

Beazer Homes employees, trade partners and Fisher House staff gathered in Las Vegas to celebrate their fundraising efforts. (Photo: Business Wire)

The donation represents the culmination of extensive fundraising efforts by Beazer Homes employees, bolstered by the generous contributions from partners who directly donated to Fisher House. Notably, all gifts received were magnified by the Beazer Charity Foundation, which provided a 150 percent match for all donations.

Speaking on behalf of Beazer Homes, President and CEO Allan Merrill underscored the company's deep-rooted partnership with Fisher House Foundation, highlighting its significance as the companys national charity partner.

Fisher House Foundation builds comfort homes where military and veteran families can stay at no cost while a loved one is in the hospital. These homes are located at military and VA medical centers around the world.

This annual fundraising event is not only an opportunity for collective action but a testament to our teams passion for uplifting communities through volunteerism and giving back, Merrill said.

Merrill further expressed gratitude to the teams and individuals whose extraordinary efforts resulted in the Beazer Charity Foundation's largest matching gift to date, a 77 percent increase in support from 2023 and totaling nearly $5 million for the nonprofit since 2017.

Beazer builds in many of the communities where we have Fisher Houses across the country, and their support has really taken us to the next level. When Beazer Homes learns of a need locally, they don't wait to be asked for help. They come in and they are a part of the solution, says David Coker, President of Fisher House Foundation. Were grateful for their generosity and for the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments together. It's absolutely inspirational.

Among the sponsors contributing to this philanthropic endeavor were Beazer Homes national partners, including James Hardie, Daikin, Mohawk, Whirlpool, Builders FirstSource, Dupont, Sherwin-Williams, Moen, and more.

The support from our partners demonstrates a shared commitment to making a meaningful difference in the lives of military families across the nation, Merrill said.

Additionally, Beazer Homes reaffirmed its dedication to charitable endeavors through its wholly-owned Charity Title Agency with its "100% of Profits to Charity" commitment. Through this pledge, all net profits from its title agency business are directed to the Beazer Charity Foundation, empowering employees to champion causes they are passionate about and contribute to their communities' well-being.

For more information about Beazer Homes' philanthropic initiatives, please visit charitytitlegroup.com/CharitableGiving.

About Beazer Homes

Headquartered in Atlanta, Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH) is one of the countrys largest homebuilders. Every Beazer home is designed and built to provide Surprising Performance, giving you more quality and more comfort from the moment you move in  saving you money every month. With Beazer's Choice Plans, you can personalize your primary living areas  giving you a choice of how you want to live in the home, at no additional cost. And unlike most national homebuilders, we empower our customers to shop and compare loan options. Our Mortgage Choice program gives you the resources to easily compare multiple loan offers and choose the best lender and loan offer for you, saving you thousands over the life of your loan.

We build our homes in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. For more information, visit beazer.com, or check out Beazer on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Fisher House Foundation

Fisher House Foundation is best known for its network of 96 comfort homes where military and Veteran families can stay at no cost while a loved one receives medical treatment. These homes are located at major military and VA medical centers nationwide and in Europe, close to the medical center or hospital they serve. Fisher Houses have up to 21 suites with private bedrooms and baths. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, a warm dining room, and an inviting living room. Fisher House Foundation ensures that there is never a lodging fee. Since its inception, the program has saved military and Veteran families an estimated $610 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation. Learn more at fisherhouse.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301860088/en/

Alyssa Thys

Communications Director

770-392-2007

[email protected]

Source: Beazer Homes
MUMBAI, India & TOKYO & AYUTTHAYA, Thailand--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited (CG), a part of Tube Investments of India Limited and the Murugappa Group; Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723, Renesas), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions; and Stars Microelectronics (Thailand) Public Co. Ltd (Stars Microelectronics), a Thailand-based Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) provider; had recently signed a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to establish a Joint Venture (JV) to build and operate an OSAT facility in India. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, approved the project of the JV under Indias Semiconductor scheme on February 29, 2024.

The JV brings together unique capabilities of the partners with a vision to Make in India for the World. CG, with around 86 years of manufacturing expertise, is keen to build semiconductor capabilities and ecosystem in India. Renesas, a leading semiconductor company headquartered in Japan, will provide advanced semiconductor technology and expertise. Stars Microelectronics, a Thai based OSAT, will provide both technology for legacy packages and training and enablement.

The JV will be 92.3% owned by CG, with Renesas and Stars Microelectronics each holding equity capital of approximately 6.8% and 0.9%, respectively. The JV plans to invest INR 7,600 crores over a five-year period, which will be financed through a mix of subsidies, equity, and potential bank borrowings as required.

The JV will set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sanand, Gujarat, with a capacity that will ramp up to 15 million units per day. The JV will manufacture a wide range of products  ranging from legacy packages such as QFN and QFP to advanced packages such as FC BGA, and FC CSP. The JV will cater to industries such as automotive, consumer, industrial, 5G, to name a few.

Commenting on this new venture, Mr. S. Vellayan, Chairman, CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited, said, CGs entry into the semiconductor manufacturing marks a strategic diversification for us. Our partners, Renesas and Stars Microelectronics, will make our learning curves steeper and help us focus on innovation and excellence. This is a very exciting phase for the entire nation, and we are very keen to build out Indias semiconductor capability and ecosystem.

Mr. Natarajan Srinivasan, Managing Director, CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited, added, It is a matter of great pride for CG to implement this project of National importance.

Commenting on the partnership, Mr. Hidetoshi Shibata, CEO of Renesas said, India is a critical part of Renesas business. We value its innovative landscape and robust potential growth and are committed to accelerating our investment in India. By partnering with the Murugappa Group and Stars Microelectronics, we will bolster Indias semiconductor ecosystem and address the growing semiconductor demand for the customers worldwide.

Mr. Prompong Chaikul, Chairman of Executive Committee of Stars Microelectronics (Thailand) Public Co., Ltd added, "We are deeply honored to join forces in this thrilling venture. Leveraging our expertise and experience in OSAT, we are committed to providing robust support to ensure the success of this project in India."

About CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited

CG Power and Industrial Solutions Limited is an engineering conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, India. The Company is a leader in the Electrical Engineering Industry and has two business linesIndustrial Systems and Power Systems. It manufactures Traction Motors, Propulsion systems, Signaling Relays etc., for the Indian Railways, and wide range of Induction Motors, Drives, Transformers, Switchgears, and other allied products for the Industrial and Power sectors. Recently, the Company also made a foray into the business of Consumer Appliances such as Fans, Pumps and Water Heaters.

The Company has world-class manufacturing plants across 9 locations in India and one in Sweden, and a Pan India network of 4 Regional and 15 Branch offices, with around 3000 employees. The Companys consolidated revenue for FY23 was Rs 6,973 crores (USD 838 million).

The Company continues to excel and maintain its leadership position across its businesses, backed by its outstanding expertise, customer-centric approach, and enhanced focus on innovation and sustainability.

Since November 2020, the Company has become a part of the renowned Murugappa Group.

About Murugappa Group

A 123-year-old conglomerate with presence across India and the world, the INR 742 billion Murugappa Group has diverse businesses in agriculture, engineering, financial services and more.

The Group has 9 listed companies under its umbrella  Carborundum Universal Limited, CG Power & Industrial Solutions Limited, Cholamandalam Financial Holdings Limited, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Limited, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, Coromandel International Limited, EID Parry (India) Limited, Shanthi Gears Limited, Tube Investments of India Limited and Wendt India Limited. Brands such as Ajax, Hercules, BSA, Montra, Montra Electric, Mach City, Gromor, Paramfos, Parrys are part of the Groups illustrious stable.

Abrasives, technical ceramics, electro minerals, electric vehicles, auto components, fans, transformers, signaling equipment for railways, bicycles, fertilizers, sugar, tea and several other products make up the Groups business interests.

Guided by the five lights  integrity, passion, quality, respect and responsibility  and a culture of professionalism, the Group has a workforce of over 73,000 employees.

For more details, visit https://www.murugappa.com/

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. The leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Stars Microelectronics

Stars Microelectronics, is a total electronic solution provider of Outsource Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) and electronics manufacturing services (EMS). It is headquartered in Thailand with sales representatives in all key regions of the world including USA, Europe, and Japan. With world-class facilities, experienced professional and strategic infrastructure, Stars provides quality products at competitive cost.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229974725/en/

Media Contacts:

CG Power

Ms. Jini PK

+91-9445034039

[email protected]

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Akiko Ishiyama

+ 1-408-887-9006

[email protected]

Source: Renesas Electronics Corporation
A series of measures were announced by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Thursday to protect foreign tourists from overcharging and rip-offs.

The meeting discussed foreign tourists being hounded by tuktuk and taxi drivers, coercing them to shop for goods and services from their affiliated shops, the traffic situation, and different aspects of tourism safety.

Speaking after the meeting, BMA Permanent Secretary Wanthanee Wattana said that among the measures, the BMA will employ artificial intelligence technology with its extensive network of security cameras to monitor violations of traffic laws, sidewalks blocked by vendors, and violations of parking bans on major roads frequented by foreign tourists.

Stickers will be issued for tuktuks, taxis, and shops to certify that they will not overcharge tourists. The stickers will signify that the shops and vehicles have been registered by the BMA and will not rip off tourists. Signs will warn tourists against being lured into being overcharged for goods and services.

The BMA will join forces with other government agencies to monitor and fine opportunists who overcharge tourists, Wanthanee said, noting that it will also seek help from the public to monitor such crimes.

The administration will also provide useful information for tourists such as publicizing telephone numbers via which they can call to seek help, or publishing guide books informing tourists of shops that offer goods and services at friendly prices, she added.
More than 80 Southern California businesses will rally the community during March in support of pediatric care and research at CHLA

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Childrens Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) launched its ninth annual Make March Matter campaign Friday. Model, actress and CHLA supporter Kaia Gerber joined the hospital to kick off the campaign. Saving lives is everyones business, and the month-long fundraising drive empowers local businesses to rally community participation to raise $1 million or more in March to support childrens health in Los Angeles.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301906127/en/

Children's Hospital Los Angeles kicks off its ninth annual Make March Matter fundraising campaign. Left to right: Dawn Wilcox, Vice President of Development & Corporate Partnerships and Founder of Make March Matter; Alexandra Carter, Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer; Kaia Gerber, model, actress and CHLA supporter; Paul Viviano, President and Chief Executive Officer; CHLA patient Sawyer with parents Robby and Caylin and brother Hunter; CHLA patient Melody; and Nikki DeLoach, actress and Chair of CHLA Board of Trustees. (Photo: Business Wire)

At Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, we are dedicated to delivering world-class expertise in pediatric medicine and pioneering clinical and research breakthroughs, all while remaining deeply committed to our local community right here in Southern California, says CHLA President and CEO Paul S. Viviano. Make March Matter is especially dear to our hearts because we feel the groundswell of support from local businesses who stand behind our mission to create hope and build healthier futures for children.

Since the campaigns inaugural launch in 2016, local businesses and corporate partners have helped raise more than $12 million to aid in funding lifesaving care for children in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. Individuals can participate in this years campaign in very accessible ways including dining or ordering takeout from local food establishments, shopping, participating in events across the greater Los Angeles area, including fitness and cooking classes, and much more.

CHLA sees more than 700,000 patient visits a year  mostly by children in LA County, but also from all 50 states and from more than 90 countries. In addition to treating a broad range of health issues, from common illnesses to traumas and chronic diseases, the hospital is also dedicated to innovation, supporting advances in research designed to improve pediatric health outcomes and partnering with physicians across the nation to bring the best care to children in Los Angeles.

Corporate Partners

Businesses across the southland have pledged their support for CHLA throughout the month of March. Each business has selected a unique way to contribute to the campaigns collective impactsome sell specific items with proceeds supporting CHLA, others devote a portion of overall sales for the entire month and still others create their own unique fundraising campaigns to encourage their employees and consumers to contribute. Panda Express, through its philanthropic arm Panda Cares, has been Make March Matters top fundraiser for the past eight years.

Panda takes great pride in our 20+ year-long partnership with CHLA advancing childrens health, and we thank our guests and team members for their support every March in particular, says Tina Hsing, Director of Panda Cares. CHLAs commitment to providing compassionate, family-centered care to patient families could not be more aligned with Panda Cares dedication to the health and well-being of children.

For a complete list of participating partners and events taking place throughout the month of March, or to donate, go to MakeMarchMatter.org. Individuals may also share how they are supporting the campaign on social media by following @GetInvolvedCHLA on Instagram and using #MakeMarchMatter.

Make March Matter

Make March Matter is an annual fundraising campaign that builds awareness and support for childrens health in Los Angeles. The campaign supports Childrens Hospital Los Angelesa nonprofit pediatric academic medical center offering more than 350 specialty programs and services to help the health of children. The goal of the campaign is to raise money in support of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles to ensure that all of its pediatric patients receive the critical, lifesaving care they need. Saving lives is everyones business.

About Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is at the forefront of pediatric medicine and is the largest provider of hospital care for children in California. Childrens Hospital is home to renowned experts who work together across disciplines to deliver inclusive and compassionate care, and drive advances that set pediatric standards across the nation and around the globe. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles delivers a level of care that is among the best in the world for a truly diverse population of children. The hospital is consistently ranked in the top 10 in the nation on U.S. News & World Reports Honor Roll of Best Childrens Hospitals, including No. 1 in California and No. 1 in the Pacific U.S. region. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles embraces the hospitals mission to create hope and build healthier futures. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is among the top 10 childrens hospitals for National Institutes of Health funding. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles supports the full continuum of research, allowing physicians and scientists to translate discoveries into treatments and bring answers to families faster. The pediatric academic medical center also is home to one of the largest training programs for pediatricians in the United States. And the hospitals commitment to building strong communities is evident in CHLAs efforts to fight food insecurity, enhance health education and literacy, and introduce more people to careers in health care. To learn more, follow CHLA on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and X, formerly known as Twitter, and visit CHLA.org/blog.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301906127/en/

Lauren Song

[email protected]

Source: Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On February 25, 2024, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hosted an influential roundtable forum, Origins of Insight: The Impact of Family Roots on Women's Brain Development and Cognitive Patterns. Esteemed speakers Datin Seri Haflin Nazri Aziz, Chairperson of Perwakilan Washington DC and Deputy Chairwomen of ASCWDC; Ms. Eva Ye, CPA, Founder of Sunshine Home Group and VIC Real Estate Investment Club; and Ms. Grace SHI, Director of the International Institute of Well-Being (IIWB), engaged in a profound exploration of how family environments shape the cognitive and emotional development of women.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240228591228/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

The roundtable was mediated by Ms. Sofronie Dun, a producer with extensive experience in film, journalism, TV, and studio management, and a member of the MIT Sloan School of Management MBA class of 2025. Among the audience were notable figures such as Prof. Agustin Rayo, Dean of MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS); Pauline Marquez, Congressional Liaison Officer at the Embassy of Malaysia to the United States; and Ms. Yu Yu, the Matsutaro Shoriki Chair, Art of Asia at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, reflecting the broad interest and interdisciplinary engagement the forum attracted.

Datin Seri Haflin Nazri Aziz discussed the foundational role of family ethos in nurturing women's insight and intelligence, emphasizing the significance of maternal wisdom and the cultural and ethical legacies families carry forward. Ms. Eva Ye highlighted the journey of self-discovery and transformation that women embark on, overcoming familial constraints through innovation and showing the courage to adapt to change. Ms. Grace SHI encouraged stepping beyond traditional boundaries to chart new cognitive territories, underlining the importance of personal evolution and the positive ripple effects it has on society.

This MIT dialogue emphasized the intricate ways family shapes women's intellect and spirit, highlighting the importance of a nurturing environment, generational wisdom, and role models. It revealed a journey of transformation, where overcoming familial limitations is seen as a path to personal and societal progress. The discussions underscored the vital role of understanding family impact on women's development, advocating for awareness and innovation to enable women to surpass traditional boundaries and contribute to a more inclusive society.

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IIWB Team

[email protected]

https://www.iiwellbeing.com/

Source: IIWB
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESS) announced today that Angela L. Kleiman, President and CEO, will be participating in a roundtable presentation at the 2024 Citigroup Global Property CEO Conference held in Hollywood, FL on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 11:40 a.m. Eastern Time.

To listen to the panel, please visit the webcast link on the Investors section of the Companys website at www.essex.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for thirty days following the event. A copy of any materials provided by the Company at the conference can be obtained through the Investors section of the Companys website.

About Essex Property Trust, Inc.

Essex Property Trust, Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development. Additional information about the Company can be found on the Companys website at www.essex.com.

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Loren Rainey

Director, Investor Relations

(650) 655-7800

[email protected]

Source: Essex Property Trust, Inc.
SANTERAMO IN COLLE, Bari, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Natuzzi acknowledges the remarkable contribution of Jason Camp, who, after four years of dedicated service, will be transitioning from his role within the company. Jason Camp has led our overall North American operations since October 2019. In July 2022, he shifted his focus to Retail, prompting Ottavio Milano to assume the role of North American President in 2023 to facilitate integration with our headquarters.

Jason Camp's leadership has been instrumental in driving the expansion of our retail presence in North America, culminating in the opening of 16 new stores and the significant strengthening of our brand presence in the market.

"Jason Camp's impact on our organization has been significant," said Pasquale Natuzzi, founder and Executive Chairman. "His strategic leadership, retail competences, and passion for our brand have been invaluable assets in supporting our retail expansion. We are grateful for his contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

"Retail is central to our business strategy in North America and Globally," commented Antonio Achille, Group CEO. "Since 2021, we opened 130 new stores, between directly operated stores and franchises, globally. With 680 stores worldwide as of December 31, 2023, retail is a key competitive advantage of Natuzzi and represent an incredible platform to grow our business and strengthen our brands globally. We are steadfast in our commitment to improving organic performance, which remains our top priority. Additionally, retail will play a pivotal role in the development of the Natuzzi Italia Brand, reflecting our dedication to quality and customer experience.

In line with our commitment to enhancing our retail operations, in 2023, we have established a Global Retail Division under the leadership of Diego Babbo. This division is dedicated to modernizing and professionalizing our retail approach by developing tools and strategies to support our Regions and Dealers in enhancing the retail experience; we are pleased and very encouraged with the achievements reached to date."

Year to date, retail like-for-like sales have improved significantly versus the same period of the previous year, and we continue to work on enhancing the retail experience to strengthen the positive sales momentum.

In North America, we are pleased to announce that Lou Mossotti will assume the role previously held by Jason Camp. Lou brings extensive experience in North American retail, including Bassett Furniture where he spent almost 20 years, and has been with Natuzzi since October 2021.

As we transition to this new chapter, we express our gratitude to Jason Camp for his leadership and dedication.

_______________________________________________________________________________

About Natuzzi S.p.A.

Founded in 1959 by Pasquale Natuzzi, Natuzzi S.p.A. is one of the most renowned brands in the production and distribution of design and luxury furniture. With a global retail network of 680 monobrand stores in addition to more than 600 galleries as of December 31, 2023, Natuzzi distributes its collections worldwide. Natuzzi products embed the finest spirit of Italian design and the unique craftmanship details of the Made in Italy, where a predominant part of its production takes place. Natuzzi has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 13, 1993. Always committed to social responsibility and environmental sustainability, Natuzzi S.p.A. is ISO 9001 and 14001 certified (Quality and Environment), ISO 45001 certified (Safety on the Workplace) and FSC Chain of Custody, CoC (FSC-C131540).

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Natuzzi Investor Relations

Piero Direnzo | tel. +39 080-8820-812 | [email protected]

Natuzzi Corporate Communication

Giacomo Ventolone (Press Office) | tel. +39.335.7276939 | [email protected]

Giancarlo Renna (Communication Manager) | tel. +39. 342.3412261 | [email protected]

Source: Natuzzi S.p.A.
HANOI, Vietnam--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FPT Corporation (FPT) has acquired the IT services company Next Advanced Communications NAC Co., Ltd. (NAC), making it FPTs first merger & acquisition (M&A) deal in Japan. With NAC as FPTs wholly-owned subsidiary, the company aims to double its customer base and service offerings, deepening its foothold in the Japanese market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240229752610/en/

The strategic investment signing ceremony between NAC and FPT took place in Tokyo, Japan (Photo: Business Wire)

The strategic move aligns with FPTs global expansion strategy and enables the Vietnamese firm to capitalize on NACs talent pool of nearly 300 experienced engineers and strong expertise centred on technology and business consulting, architecture design, system planning, design, development, and operation. With these additional resources, FPT aims to achieve one billion USD in revenue from the Japanese market by 2027 and have more than half of its employees in Japan as multinational employees.

With current challenges for digital transformation in Japan, including an ageing population, shortage of ICT human resources and complexity of existing systems, the acquisition of NAC reflects FPTs commitment to accompanying Japanese businesses in digital transformation and green transformation. This also enables FPT to foster sustainable growth and competitiveness and expand its services to new industries and a wider range of customers.

"Like NAC, FPT strives to leverage technology to address a variety of customer issues, with the goal of creating a sustainable society for everyone. We aim to enhance the Japanese engineer talent pool and cooperate with local companies to help our clients maintain business continuity despite geopolitical challenges. Additionally, FPT prioritizes and fosters a multicultural work environment. I believe NAC and FPT employees will find greater success and happiness in our collaboration," said Do Van Khac, FPT Software Senior Executive Vice President and FPT Japan CEO.

Naoto Yamazaki, NAC Chairman, said: Since we started NAC 13 years ago, we have achieved success as an independent company. Today, as we join the FPT family, I believe not only can we maintain our growth but also form a stronger synergy for the future. NAC and FPT will strive to accelerate our business more than ever and become a company that can contribute to society.

Since 2014, FPT has completed multiple M&A deals in the US and Europe. In Japan, the firm recently formed a joint venture with Konica Minolta and made a strategic investment in LTS Inc. The acquisition of NAC, as FPTs first M&A deal in Japan, highlights its focused, long-term commitment to this key market. This also generates momentum for the corporations future M&A activities.

FPT has nearly two decades of presence in the Japanese market with the operation of FPT Japan, one of the countrys largest foreign-invested tech firms in terms of human resources. With a workforce of 2,900 onsite employees, nearly 15,000 employees working from overseas, 16 local offices and innovation hubs, FPT Japan has provided services and solutions to over 450 clients worldwide. The company is also recognized for excellent employee benefits and workplace happiness, earning accolades such as Best Workplaces in Asia, Best Places To Work in Japan, and Best Places To Work for Women in Japan.

About FPT Corporation

FPT Corporation (FPT) is a globally leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam. FPT operates in three core sectors: Technology, Telecommunications, and Education. During over three decades of development, FPT has constantly provided practical and effective products to millions of people and tens of thousands of business and non-business organizations worldwide, establishing Vietnams position on the global tech map. Keeping up with the latest market trends and emerging technologies, FPT has developed the Made-by-FPT ecosystem of services, products, solutions, and platforms, which enables sustainable growth for organizations and businesses and offers distinctive experiences to customers. In 2023, FPT recorded a total revenue of US$2.17 billion and 70,000+ employees. For more information, please visit https://fpt.com.vn/en.

About NAC Co., Ltd.

NAC Co., Ltd. was established on March 31, 2011. The company's main businesses are marketing, consulting support, system planning, and system design, development, operation, and maintenance. By providing these services, NAC aims to realize a sustainable future as a member of the FPT Group.

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Mai Duong (Ms.)

FPT Software

PR Manager

[email protected]

Source: FPT Corporation
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc. ("Harbor"), the asset manager that curates a select suite of actively managed ETFs, mutual funds, and collective investment trusts has extended its strategic partnership with C WorldWide Asset Management by launching the Harbor International Compounders Fund. (Ticker: HSICX).

The Harbor International Compounders Fund (HSICX) will pursue an actively managed strategy that seeks long-term growth of capital and invests primarily in equity securities of non-U.S. companies, including those located in emerging market countries.

C WorldWides experienced investment team seeks to identify what they believe to be high-quality companies with consistent, recurring revenues, stable free cash flows, and sustainable returns on invested capital. In seeking to identify those companies for the Funds portfolio, the investment team conducts qualitative assessments of companies, including, among other criteria, each companys business model, management, and financial and valuation metrics.

We believe C WorldWide provides overseas expertise that our clients can rely on. After the successful launch of the Harbor International Compounders ETF (OSEA) in 2022, we wanted to extend Harbors and C WorldWides reach to more clients in the United States whom we believe need that same expertise in the form of a mutual fund, said Kristof Gleich, President and CIO at Harbor Capital Advisors. As we also have this compelling strategy for retirement plans, we are delighted to round out this offering with an investment manager with whom we have been working at the highest level for clients since 1986, Gleich continued.

Were excited to continue to add expertise in overseas investing to Harbor Capitals strategic investment solutions, said Bo Knudsen, CEO at C WorldWide. Being part of their distribution ecosystem, we are excited to be able to provide more clients with our compelling, concentrated, and thematic long-term investment process.

The active, concentrated Fund is focused on international companies with expected sustainable earnings growth to help drive compounded long-term wealth creation.

About Harbor Capital

Harbor Capital Advisors is an asset manager with an AUM of $50.1billion as of 12/31/2023 and is known for curating an intentionally select suite of active ETFs, mutual funds, and collective investment trusts from boutique managers. Advisors looking for distinct and differentiated investment options for their clients portfolios often connect with our obsession to find what we believe to be the best and bold solutions that have the potential to produce compelling risk-adjusted returns. For more information, visit www.harborcapital.com.

About C WorldWide

C WorldWide Asset Management is a focused and independent asset manager based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Their objective is to deliver consistent, long term asset growth for their clients through active investments in listed equities on global stock exchanges.

Their combination of a distinct investment philosophy based on selective stock-picking and long-term global trends, coupled with a stable team of experienced portfolio managers, has since 1986, generated attractive long-term investment returns. https://www.cworldwide.com

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a Harbor fund before investing. To obtain a summary prospectus or prospectus for this and other information, visit harborcapital.com or call 800-422-1050. Read it carefully before investing.

All investments involve risk including the possible loss of principal.

There is no guarantee that the investment objective of the Fund will be achieved. Stock markets are volatile and equity values can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market and economic conditions. Investing in international and emerging markets poses special risks, including potentially greater price volatility due to social, political and economic factors, as well as currency exchange rate fluctuations. These risks are more severe for securities of issuers in emerging market regions. A non-diversified Fund may invest a greater percentage of its assets in securities of a single issuer, and/or invest in a relatively small number of issuers, it is more susceptible to risks associated with a single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than a more diversified portfolio.

The Subadviser considers certain ESG factors in evaluating company quality which may result in the selection or exclusion of securities for reasons other than performance and the Fund may underperform relative to other funds that do not consider ESG factors.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance investing. Environmental (E) factors may include metrics such as climate change and carbon emissions, air and water pollution, biodiversity, water scarcity, among others. Social (S) considerations center on human rights, labor standards, data protection and privacy, employee engagement, and more. Governance (G) metrics may include Board composition, executive compensation and incentives, bribery and corruption, and more. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities. The views expressed herein may not be reflective of current opinions, are subject to change without prior notice, should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to purchase a particular security.

Shares are bought and sold at market price not net asset value (NAV). Market price returns are based upon the closing composite market price and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times.

Harbor Funds Distributors, Inc. is the Distributor of the Harbor Mutual Funds.

Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Distributor of the Harbor ETFs.

3405129

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301311890/en/

MEDIA CONTACTS: Hedda Nadler  [email protected]

Andrew Greene  [email protected] 212-759-4440

Source: Harbor Capital Advisors, Inc.
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

HSBC Continental Europe informs the public that the universal registration document including the 2023 annual financial report was filed with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on 1 March 2024 under number [D.24-0076].

This document is made available free of charge to the public under the conditions provided for by the regulations in force and can be consulted in the Investor Relations area of the website of the Company (www.hsbc.fr) and that of the AMF (www.amf-france.org).

The tables in the appendices of the HSBC Continental Europe 2023 Annual and Second Half Results press release published on 21 February 2024 have been updated following the completion of audit procedures relating to the accounts and can be consulted in the news and media area of the website of the Company (www.hsbc.fr).

Communique de presse publie par

HSBC Continental Europe

Siege social :

38 avenur Kleber

75116 Paris

Site internet : www.hsbc.fr

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301490102/en/

HSBC Continental Europe

Source: HSBC CONTINENTAL EUROPE
Firm recognized as Global Fund Manager of the Year, mid-market investor of the year, innovator of the year among other awards

Gautam Bhandari, Chief Investment Officer, recognized as Personality of the Year

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- I Squared Capital, a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager, today announced the firm had won eight Infrastructure Investor Annual Awards. This includes global awards for Fund Manager of the Year, Mid-Market Investor of the Year, and Innovator of the Year. Gautam Bhandari, I Squareds Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner, won Personality of the Year.

Sadek Wahba, Chairman & Founding Partner, I Squared said: I am pleased that I Squareds world-class capabilities and industry expertise are being recognized on this global stage. I would like to thank our partners and investors for their votes and continued support.

Wahba added: I Squared has expanded and evolved at a rapid pace in the last 12 months. These awards highlight our differentiated market position and our ability to innovate in the space. I am incredibly proud of the teams efforts and take great pleasure in congratulating Gautam for winning Personality of the Year Award.

Gautam Bhandari, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner, added: These awards represent the best of I Squared and demonstrate our unyielding commitment to our investors. Our strategy to institutionalize the firm ensures I Squared continues to grow in a smart and sustainable way as we take our expanded product suite to the market. We are very grateful for the recognition.

As for 2024, it has been a very busy start to the year. Last month, the firm announced ten new hires as part of a significant upgrade to the firms sales and distribution capabilities and the firm launched a new brand identity and website.

Sadek Wahba concluded: I Squared now has over 260 employees operating across seven offices with one mission: to constantly redefine the investment landscape by harnessing the power of our culturally diverse team to foster an environment where every idea is valued, every detail matters, and every team member contributes to our success. These awards are a testament to that mission and to the efforts of the I Squared team.

The full list of I Squareds Awards are as follows:

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR, GLOBAL

Gautam Bandari  The I Squared founding partner became its global CIO, in a year of change that saw three of Bhandaris initiatives  its infratech, growth markets, and credit funds  reach a final close on a combined $2.7 billion. In addition, he also spearheaded the launch of the managers first Energy Transition Fund, targeting $2 billion.

FUND MANAGER OF THE YEAR, GLOBAL

I Squareds its $1.8 billion Growth Markets Fund close is a standout for an OECD-fixated asset class. But I Squared also closed its debut $750m credit fund and $150 million infratech offering, another less usual highlight. Theres also the mega Whistler Pipeline deal, and plenty of platform action, including Cube Highways Bombay listing and HEXA Renewables Malaysian greenfield initiative.

MID-MARKET INVESTOR OF THE YEAR, GLOBAL

I Squared closed its landmark $1.8 billion ISQ Growth Markets Infrastructure Fund, focused on smaller deals in emerging markets. The firm deployed over $2 billion to create or buy new platforms, including environmental services platform Enva, in the UK and Ireland; distributed energy firm RPower; Australian heavy-duty transport equipment rental company Rentco; Filipino distributed renewables firm Berde Renewables; and EM smart meters company Polaris.

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR, GLOBAL

Betting on a substantial increase in the adoption of technology in various infra sectors, I Squared closed one of the asset classs first InfraTech funds in June, raising $150 million for it. Launched in 2021, the fund will invest between $5 million and $30 million in growth-stage companies that serve or disrupt infrastructure technology in traditional sectors such as power, transport, telecoms and social infrastructure.

POWER & UTILITIES INVESTOR OF THE YEAR, NORTH AMERICA

I Squared acquired a controlling interest in the Whistler Pipeline, a 450-mile pipeline transporting natural gas from the Waha area in the Permian Basin to Agua Dulce in Texas, with opportunities to grow through the demand for LNG. I Squared also invested in the Texas-based RPower, which provides an array of energy services such as resiliency-as-a-service to microgrid, to design-build-transfer contracts and to energy management services.

EQUITY FUNDRAISING OF THE YEAR, ASIA-PACIFIC

While not a strategy exclusively focused on the Asia-Pacific region, I Squared Capitals inaugural $1.8 billion Growth Markets Infrastructure Fund will primarily target investments in the region, alongside other markets in Latin America. A significant amount of capital from the fund has been deployed in Asia to date, including in Indian roads platform Cube Highways, Taiwan elderly care investment firm Formera Senior Care, Indian gas distributor AG&P City Gas, and data centre platform BDx II. The firm secured a commitment from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, among others.

TRANSPORT DEAL OF THE YEAR, ASIA-PACIFIC

Cube Highways (I Squared Capital)  Cube Highways, the largest highway sector Infrastructure Investment Trust in India sponsored by ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund I and II, was listed by I Squared Capital on the Bombay Stock Exchange in April 2023. The listing raised approximately $630 million and saw investors including British Columbia Investment Management Corporation and Mubadala Investment Company buy into the public trust, which owns and operates a portfolio of 18 roads across India.

TRANSPORT INVESTOR OF THE YEAR, ASIA-PACIFIC

I Squared Capital completed the public listing of Cube Highways, its Indian toll roads platform, this year. The platform was structured as an Infrastructure Investment Trust and was the largest such InvIT focused on highways in India. The listing generated around $630 million and was backed by multiple institutional investors, securing a strong return of I Squareds Global Infrastructure Fund I and II. The firm has signed agreements to acquire more Indian roads under Fund III, too.

About I Squared

I Squared is a leading independent global infrastructure investment manager with over $38 billion in assets under management focused on investing in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Headquartered in Miami, the firm has more than 260 professionals across its offices in London, New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Taipei. I Squared Capital has invested in a diverse portfolio of 82 companies with over 66,000 employees in 71 countries across the utilities, energy, digital infrastructure, transport, environmental infrastructure, and social infrastructure sectors providing essential services to millions of people around the world. You can find out more by visiting: www.isquaredcapital.com.

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I Squared Media

Dominic McMullan

+1 (786) 794-2861

[email protected]

Source: I Squared Capital
Results from Blood-Based Liquid Biopsy Test Comparable to Those of Invasive Tissue Biopsy Molecular Tests in Stratifying Risk of Aggressive Prostate Cancer

ROYAL OAK, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- IMMUNIS.AI, an immunogenomics company developing blood-based cancer surveillance technologies, today announced that results from a prostate cancer risk stratification study evaluating the companys novel blood-based liquid biopsy platform were published in The Journal of Urology. The results validate the ability of the platform to accurately stratify risk for patients with diagnosed prostate cancer. In the study, Immunis.AIs non-invasive platform promises new standards of testing for active surveillance patients.

The test is designed to non-invasively identify the presence of aggressive cancer in men already diagnosed with prostate cancer who are on or are considering starting active surveillance, said Kirk Wojno, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Immunis.AI. When used to aid in decisions concerning active surveillance of prostate cancer, our test has the potential to replace periodic invasive active surveillance procedures, including prostate tissue biopsies, with a simple blood test.

Currently, only ~30% of patients remain compliant with active surveillance protocols, which involve having multiple biopsies, currently deemed the gold standard for surveillance. This alone limits the effectiveness of surveillance leading to worsened patient outcomes and missed opportunities for cure.

One of the big challenges in prostate cancer management is distinguishing those patients with early prostate cancer who are appropriate for active surveillance from those who need to be aggressively treated. The novel approach published by Immunis.AI utilizes the RNA signature created by the immune systems response to cancer. The potential to better select patients would mark a significant advance in prostate cancer active surveillance, said Philip Kantoff, M.D., advisor to the company and author of the publication.

Study Design and Results

In the study, peripheral blood samples were collected from 706 subjects with confirmed prostate cancer based on positive biopsy. Immune cells were isolated from these blood samples, and gene expression levels in the patients lymphocytes and monocytes were identified using RNA sequencing to evaluate the prostate cancer-specific immune profile of each patient.

To characterize each patients immune profile, gene expression levels in their lymphocytes were subtracted from gene expression levels in their monocytes, a process called subtraction-normalization that eliminates the confounding effects of patient-to-patient variability in gene expression levels. Using AI predictive modeling, the normalized immune profile of each patient was evaluated against known immune signatures for indolent or aggressive prostate cancer.

The model produced an individual risk score for each patient which categorized them into one of three groups: very low-risk (90% NPV), low-risk and high-risk for harboring clinically significant prostate cancer.

Data from the study shows that the immune profile is effective as a biomarker of prostate cancer severity and is significantly better than clinical factors alone in predicting which patients have aggressive cancer. The individual risk score produced by the model was successful at accurately establishing the likelihood of each patients cancer being clinically significant and requiring treatment.

When a patient has cancer, their immune cells arm themselves to fight it off, which is reflected in changing levels of gene expression in those cells, said Wojno. While the actual gene expression levels in lymphocytes and monocytes may vary from patient to patient, the relationship between the two gene expression levels produces a distinct immune signature for patients with indolent cancer and those with aggressive cancer, helping to identify the presence and severity of cancer without making a general comparison to a standardized patient population. By looking at the personalized immune profile specific to each patient instead of comparing to population averages, we can more accurately assess aggressiveness of an individuals cancer and better inform treatment decisions.

Modifying active surveillance protocols based on the patients immune response to their own prostate cancer is a completely novel and very exciting concept. Immunis.AIs liquid biopsy test represents a new frontier to developing dynamic risk-based active surveillance strategies that can improve patient care, improve the active surveillance experience and lessen the patient burden of intensive monitoring, decreasing the need for surveillance prostate biopsies, said Jason Hafron, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Michigan Institute of Urology and author of the publication.

Immunis.AI intends to commercialize the test in the U.S. and Europe. In the U.S. alone, the total addressable market is estimated to be up to $4 billion.

About Immunis.AI, Inc.

Immunis.AI is a privately held company committed to making a global impact by empowering patients and their physicians with actionable information for disease management. Our patented platform leverages the bodys own immune defense system, state-of-the-art analytical methods, and AI and machine learning to provide unique real-time insights into a patients disease. Our vision is to leverage our validated platform to deliver a suite of non-invasive, blood-based, assays that can have broad use in active surveillance and early detection. Our mission is to provide tools for physicians and patients that can be used to more accurately make critical decisions on treatment plans for patients in the most comfortable and cost-efficient manner. For more information, please visit our website: https://immunis.ai/.

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Katie Morris

ENTENTE Network of Companies

[email protected]

Source: Immunis.AI, Inc.
CEO Choon-Peng Ng and Vice President of Innovation, Michael Fehlings, Ph.D., will discuss Asias role in the golden age of biotech and AI in therapeutics

SAN DIEGO & SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ImmunoScape, a biotechnology company focused on next-generation T Cell receptor (TCR)-based immunotherapies, today announced that members of its executive team will present at two upcoming conferences, BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Summit 2024 and The State of Precision Medicine 2024.

Here is the upcoming event schedule:

BioCentury-BayHelix East-West Summit: Singapore  March 4-6, 2024, Marina Bay Singapore Company Presentation Presenter: Choon-Peng Ng, CEO, ImmunoScape Date/Time: March 5, 2024 at 10:15am local time Panel: R&D SHOWCASE #1: HOW WILL ASIA DRIVE BIOTECHS GOLDEN AGE? Biotech has entered a golden age, with new frontiers in ADCs, bispecifics and cell therapies, new classes of small molecules, and an ever-expanding toolkit for delivering, disrupting and editing genes. What role are Asian innovators playing? Are they creating Hot Spots of innovation in specific technologies or disease areas? And where will Singapore leverage its greatest domain expertise? This panel will dive into the emerging strengths of Asia's biotech Hot Spots and the centers of excellence where Western R&D leaders and investors are looking to the region for innovation. Panelist: Choon-Peng Ng, CEO, ImmunoScape Date/Time: March 5, 2024 at 2:00pm local time More about the event here

Inside Precision Medicines 2nd Annual The State of Precision Medicine Summit  March 6, 2024, Virtual Panelist: Michael Fehlings, Co-Founder, VP of Innovation, ImmunoScape Date/Time: March 6, 2024 at 2:55pm ET Panel: AI for Therapeutics: Upstream Applications; Downstream Challenges Register for free for the virtual event here



To learn more about ImmunoScape and other upcoming events, visit the website.

About ImmunoScape

ImmunoScape is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of next-generation TCR cell therapies in the field of oncology. The company's proprietary Deep Immunomics technology and machine learning platforms enable highly sensitive, large-scale mining and immune profiling of T cells in cancer patient samples to identify novel, therapeutically relevant TCRs across multiple types of solid tumors. ImmunoScape has multiple discovery programs ongoing and will be progressing towards IND-enabling studies and entry into the clinic. For more information, please visit https://immunoscape.com/.

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Media:

Kalyn Schieffer for ImmunoScape

[email protected]

Source: ImmunoScape
In response to the recent finalization of the European Migration Pact, the European Christian Political Movement together with member party Valores, convened in Toledo, Spain, to critically assess the Pact's implications and advocate for a more humane approach to migration in Europe. The conference, titled "Open Border or Fortress Europe. A Christian Reflection on Migration and the New EU Pact" took place on 24 February 2024 at hotel Cigarral el Bosque in Toledo.

The European Pact on Migration and Asylum has sparked contentious debate since its proposal (September 2020), with some arguing that it fails to uphold fundamental principles of human dignity and rights, while others saying that it is giving migrants (and smugglers) carte blanche to enter Europe and imposing unfair burdens on the border countries. In December 2023 a political agreement was struck between legislators on the five most debated aspects of the matter, with other proposals having already been agreed upon: the Screening Regulation, the Eurodac Regulation, the Asylum Procedure Regulation, the Asylum & Migration Management Regulation, and the Crisis/ Force Majeure Regulation.

The speakers at the conference addressed some of these measures, spoke about the Pacts shortcomings, and proposed alternative frameworks in line with Christian thought and tradition and our European values. Jose Carlos Abellan, professor of law and bioethics, made a brief introduction about the Pacts five new agreements and asked some probing questions about our duty as hosts, as Christians and as Europeans.

Dr. Noemi Mena Montes, professor of International Affairs & Communication at Radboud University, investigative journalist in migration and asylum, and expert in intercultural communication and reconciliation, opened the conference with defining the terms (migrant, expat, asylum seeker) and busting some myths about migration. She expertly showed data which contradicted what we often hear in the media about the number of migrants, the frequency and their origin. The figures showed that, for example, the majority of refugees and displaced people in Africa move around inside the continent, almost 30 million. The data she presented also showed that irregular immigration into Europe is much, much lower than colloquially believed and much lower than regular immigration. The reason it feels like the problem is bigger than it is is because the media focuses on a few isolated cases or on only one type of phenomena and present it as representative of a larger picture.

Dr. Montes also spoke about the reasons for migration, poverty and lack of opportunities being the main ones. Foreign companies sweeping in and buying fishing and exploring rights in the coastal waters of some African countries was another factor mentioned. The speaker also addressed the myth that migrants are stealing the jobs which the locals could otherwise get, by showing how temporary workers are essential in agriculture for example, and that many times farmers struggle to find workers in season.

She criticized the Migration Pacts externalisation of borders, via the agreements the EU made with Tunisia and Marocco where they receive aid on the condition they keep migrants from crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Dr. Montes ended her presentation by talking about another myth we oftentimes hear, namely that most migrants are men. She recounted the personal stories of a few women she met and talked about their struggles and how their challenges during displacement or migration can be very different and much more dangerous than we can know. Besides poverty or lack of employment, women also may be prevented from getting and education, may be facing horrific physical and sexual abuse, including genital mutilation, forced marriage etc.

The second speaker, Dr. Jean- Frederic Poisson, president of VIA party in France, author, and board member of ECPM, invited the audience to reflect around the question: Do we have a duty to welcome foreigners? He began by dissecting some of reasons invoked which may underpin this duty: namely the need for cheap manual labour, the declining birth rate, charity, the colonial past, etc. He reminded the audience that as Christians, indeed, we are called to love our neighbour as ourselves, and our neighbour is every human being no matter how close or far.

While he concluded that the duty is valid, even if only because we share the same human nature, Dr. Poisson also invited us to use prudence and wisdom in fulfilling this duty. He spoke about two dangers connected to the process of migration: the overwhelm of the host countrys systems on one hand and the uprootedness, displacement and indignities which migrants suffer. He mentioned as possible solution the view which ECPM also holds, namely that the richer, host countries from the North and West should insist in their foreign policies towards source countries on the respect for fundamental rights, rule of law, protection of women and other measures which would reduce or eliminate displacement and the need to migrate in the first place. Cooperation and economic agreements between countries should lead to development and people thriving in their country of origin, not merely enriching the West. Mr. Poisson ended his presentation with a call to resistance against fragmentation and an us versus them mentality. He encouraged the audience to hold fast to inherited values and traditions, to the primacy of the family, to the love of neighbour, and to reject the idea that unfettered mass migration is a solution to all that ails Europe.

Dr. Alfonso Galdon, president of Valores party in Spain and professor of environmental science, spoke about his partys approach to migration. He criticized the powers in Brussels who have abandoned the Christian values on which the European project was founded and denounced the failures of multiculturalism. Europe is having a crisis of identity, forgetting its roots, and therefore abandoning boundaries and limits. He recalled the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas regarding the reception and treatment of immigrants, who said that those who choose to live as guests in the host countries merely abiding by the responsibilities which correspond them but without fully integrating, that they should be shown mercy but not given citizenship. While those who wish to fully integrate and assimilate and seek the common good of the country which receives them should be considered citizens from the third generation. St. Thomas also advised receiving the foreigners with whom the host country might have an affinity, like common language or ancestry, common values and culture etc.

Dr. Galdon reminded the audience that every person has the right to shelter and a home and that corrupt governments are to blame for the instability and poverty people often experience which causes them to leave their home. And then, once they immigrate to a foreign country, many times they form separate communities and segregate themselves from the host people and culture. This is why his party, Valores, values greatly this principle of affinity guiding the process of immigration, saying that Spain should favour immigrants of Hispanic heritage, as they have the same culture and language as Spain and same values as Europe.

The conference ended with questions from the public, which was comprised of people from Latin America as well who shared their perspective on the challenges of migration in Europe.
Transaction Represents 81st Acquisition for Leading Distributor of Foodservice Packaging and Janitorial Sanitation Products

JERSEY CITY, N.J. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Imperial Dade, a leading North American distributor of foodservice packaging supplies, industrial products, and janitorial supplies, today announced the acquisition of Brawner Paper Company, Inc. (Brawner or the Company). The transaction represents the 81st acquisition for Imperial Dade under the leadership of Robert and Jason Tillis, Chairman and CEO of Imperial Dade, respectively. Financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1946 by Thom Brawner, the Company has been a driving force in the paper and janitorial supply industry for over 70 years. In 1976, the leadership transitioned to Leonard Beasley who managed the Company until his passing in 2016. Currently owned and operated by Nell Harris and her team, the Company remains committed to providing their hundreds of customers in the greater Houston area and associates with the highest level of attention. The Company commands an exceptional reputation in the market and operates with the same hyper focus on customer service as it had when it was founded. By leveraging Imperial Dades market leading platform, Brawners customers can expect the same exceptional customized service coupled with an even greater offering of products and solutions.

Brawner is a great strategic fit with Imperial Dade. Their relentless focus on customer service aligns well with Imperial Dade, said Robert Tillis. I would like to enthusiastically welcome the Brawner family into Imperial Dade. We are excited to partner with the Nell Harris and Brawners outstanding employees, said Jason Tillis.

The Brawner family is humbled to become part of Imperial Dade, the leading distribution platform across North America. We share the same core values and focus on our employees and customers and could think of no better fit, said Nell Harris, President of Brawner Paper Company, Inc.

About Imperial Dade

Founded in 1935, Imperial Dade serves more than 120,000 customers across North America. Since Chairman Robert Tillis and CEO Jason Tillis assumed their roles in 2007, the company has grown both organically and through acquisitions to become a leader in the foodservice, packaging, and janitorial supplies industry. For additional information, please visit www.imperialdade.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301549120/en/

Imperial Dade

Paul Cervino

(201) 437-7440 x 2302

Source: Imperial Dade
Offer Submitted February 19, 2024

DALLAS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MNC Capital Partners, L.P. (MNC) today announced that on February 19, 2024, it submitted a proposal to acquire Vista Outdoor, Inc. (NYSE: VSTO) (Vista) for $35.00 per share at which point Vistas closing share price was below $30.00 per share.

MNC submitted a proposal on February 19, 2024, to which Vista Outdoor responded on February 26, 2024.

MNC sent a follow up letter on February 28, 2024, to which Vista Outdoor responded on February 29, 2024.

The full text of these letters and responses can be found below.

Contact (For Press Inquiries Only):

Bob Christie

Brunswick Group

917-860-9410



On behalf of MNC Capital Partners, L.P.: https://mnccapitalpartners.com/

MNC PROPOSAL

February 19, 2024

Members of the Board of Directors

C/O Mr. Michael Callahan

Vista Outdoor Inc.

1 Vista Way

Anoka, MN 55303

STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Michael:

We are writing to express our strong interest in acquiring all the outstanding shares of Vista Outdoor Inc. (Vista or the Company) for a purchase price per share of $35.00 in cash (the Transaction). This proposed transaction is materially superior to the October 16, 2023 publicly announced sale of the Companys Sporting Products division, The Kinetic Group, to CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP a.s., and the separation of the Companys Outdoor Products division, Revelyst, Inc., into a public company. The Transaction would allow the Sporting Products business and its critical national security assets to remain under U.S. ownership and would create value certainty and enhanced sponsorship for the Outdoor Products business. The proposed price offers a substantial premium to Vistas share price, which already reflects a takeover premium. Given Vistas share price is currently trading close to its 52-week high, our proposal also reflects a highly attractive value overall to Vistas shareholders.

Key considerations of our proposal include:

All-cash : All-cash acquisition for 100% of the Company.

: All-cash acquisition for 100% of the Company. Regulatory Considerations : No regulatory risk and no Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review; unlike the current proposed transaction for the Sporting Products business.

: No regulatory risk and no Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review; unlike the current proposed transaction for the Sporting Products business. Sporting Products : The Sporting Products business is a national asset, evidenced by its significant ammunition and primer manufacturing capabilities and its key role in refilling the U.S. Defense Department and local law enforcement stockpiles. These capabilities are even more important today, given U.S. ammunition shortages and increasing demand from U.S. and NATO allies abroad. This transaction would allow the business to stay American-owned with a long-term U.S. owner who is aligned with the interests of Americas national security and consumers; and no need for CFIUS review. As you are aware, this view has been publicly expressed by public officials including a former United States Secretary of State. We are proud to represent an American alternative to the currently contemplated sale to a foreign entity.

: The Sporting Products business is a national asset, evidenced by its significant ammunition and primer manufacturing capabilities and its key role in refilling the U.S. Defense Department and local law enforcement stockpiles. These capabilities are even more important today, given U.S. ammunition shortages and increasing demand from U.S. and NATO allies abroad. This transaction would allow the business to stay American-owned with a long-term U.S. owner who is aligned with the interests of Americas national security and consumers; and no need for CFIUS review. As you are aware, this view has been publicly expressed by public officials including a former United States Secretary of State. We are proud to represent an American alternative to the currently contemplated sale to a foreign entity. Outdoor Products: The announced divestiture of the Sporting Products business provides limited liquidity and certainty to public Vista shareholders, leaving Outdoor Products as a subscale public company undergoing a critical multi-year turnaround plan. We strongly believe the next stage of Outdoor Products growth and development is best pursued and accelerated as a private company.

Before turning to specific elements of our proposal, it is important to note that we at MNC Capital (MNC) have long followed, and care deeply about being the best steward of Vistas entire portfolio of leading brands. We are excited to pursue the offer described below to acquire the Company, which provides the Companys shareholders with a very attractive valuation for the business as well as a high degree of speed and certainty to consummate the Transaction. The Transaction would allow the Companys public shareholders to de-risk their investment and obtain immediate liquidity at a considerable premium.

We take very seriously the time, effort, and trust that all parties have invested to date in facilitating our due diligence of the Sporting Products business. These past efforts allow us to submit this letter with the intention to conduct expedited due diligence on the Outdoor Products segment only.

Acquisition Price

Subject to confirmatory due diligence, we are proposing a purchase price of $35.00 a share. Our valuation assumes total fully diluted shares of the Company as disclosed in its most recent public filings. 1

Financing

Our agreement would not be subject to any financing contingency. Our financial advisor stands ready to take you through the details of our financing.

Timing

MNC and its capital sources invested significant time and resources to complete due diligence of the Sporting Products segment in the Fall of 2023 alongside the work of its third-party advisors: FTI Consulting, Stax, Kirkland & Ellis, Marsh, Mercer, B Riley, Timberwolf Environmental and Stephens Inc. We have also now performed extensive outside-in diligence on the Outdoor Products business with all publicly available data and information and the support of several additional third-party advisors who we stand ready to introduce. We are prepared to devote substantial internal and external resources to move expeditiously towards the signing of a definitive agreement after finalizing our confirmatory diligence.

MNCs interest in the Transaction, the existence of this letter, and its contacts are confidential, should not be disclosed without our prior written consent and should be treated in accordance with our existing confidentiality agreement. As is customary, the Proposal is not, and is not intended to be, a binding commitment or agreement. It also does not and is not intended to impose any legal or public disclosure obligations on any party but is merely a statement of MNCs present desire to further discuss the Transaction with Vistas board of directors.

We believe the proposed valuation and our ability to close produce both greater certainty and materially higher value than current alternatives being considered by the Companys Board of Directors.

We are excited by the prospect of working expeditiously with the company and its advisors towards a transaction. Please feel free to contact Marshall McKissack at Stephens Inc. at [email protected] if you have any questions regarding the offer.

Sincerely,

Mark Gottfredson

MNC Capital

__________________

1 Share count assumes 58,146,933 common shares outstanding as of January 29, 2024 and 45,270 options outstanding, 242,904 performance-based awards nonvested and 741,023 restricted stock units nonvested as of March 31, 2023.

VISTA RESPONSE

February 26, 2024

Good Afternoon Mark,

The Board is currently reviewing the proposal consistent with its fiduciary duties, in consultation with our legal and financial advisors. We will revert to you promptly once the Board's review of your proposal is complete.

Best,

Mike

MNC FOLLOW UP LETTER

February 28, 2024

Members of the Board of Directors

C/O Mr. Michael Callahan

Vista Outdoor Inc.

1 Vista Way

Anoka, MN 55303

STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL

Dear Michael:

We are writing to follow up on our February 19, 2024 letter expressing our strong interest in acquiring Vista Outdoor Inc. (Vista or the Company). It has been over a week since we made our proposal, which included our readiness to have our advisors review the details of our funding with your advisors, and we look forward to a response from the Company. To re-iterate, our transaction provides a high degree of certainty to the Company, as it would not be subject to a financing condition and has no CFIUS risk. To further emphasize this, we continue to stand ready to provide you, under an appropriate NDA, with detailed information on our sources of funding. In summary, based on our prior proposal, we expect total uses to be approximately $2.9 billion and are planning to fund the transaction with approximately $1.5 billion of equity and $1.4 billion of debt financing (with specifics available under that NDA).

We believe we have made a compelling proposal providing significantly higher value than the existing publicly announced sale of the Companys Sporting Products division, The Kinetic Group, which already includes a control premium. Our offer represents a substantial premium to how the market is valuing, and will value, Revelyst - which lacks the scale to trade well as a standalone public company and will be better positioned to grow with private sponsorship. While we do not currently see a reason to increase our offer, if there is something missing from our valuation, we are open to hearing your perspectives.

We want to reiterate our support and respect for the management of both businesses. We strongly believe that the leadership team and employees at The Kinetic Group and Revelyst have been the key drivers of the Companys success. At the appropriate time, we welcome the opportunity to discuss managements plans and objectives for this next stage of growth at the Company. We strongly believe in the future of Revelyst and that its trajectory and development can be accelerated outside of public market constraints. Lastly, we are proud to represent a U.S. ownership alternative for The Kinetic Group, which is a national security asset (and given its primer manufacturing capabilities, is arguably an asset to Americas greater global allies as well). Our proposal would enable The Kinetic Group to stay American-owned with long-term U.S. shareholders aligned with the interests of Americas national security, consumers, and international allies. To reiterate, our proposal also poses no CFIUS risk.

MNCs interest in the Transaction, the existence of this letter, and its contacts are confidential and should not be disclosed without our prior written consent. As is customary, the Proposal is not, and is not intended to be, a binding commitment or agreement. It also does not and is not intended to impose any legal or public disclosure obligations on any party but is merely a statement of MNCs present desire to further discuss the Transaction with Vistas board of directors.

We are excited to pursue this transaction and look forward to promptly having the opportunity to provide additional detail on our proposal. We respectfully request that by the end of the day tomorrow your advisors contact Marshall McKissack at Stephens Inc. at [email protected] to discuss next steps.

Sincerely,

Mark Gottfredson

MNC Capital

VISTA OUTDOOR RESPONSE

February 29, 2024

Good Afternoon Marshall,

We confirm that we are in receipt of MNC's letter dated February 28, 2024.

The Board is actively reviewing the proposal from the MNC letter dated February 19, 2024, including in consultation with our legal and financial advisors. We are very focused on our fiduciary duties and are carefully reviewing the proposal in compliance with such duties.

As you are aware, Vista Outdoor and its representatives are subject to the provisions set forth in Section 6.09 of the Merger Agreement between Vista Outdoor and Czechoslavak Group A.S.

We expect to be in a position to respond to MNC's proposal next week.

Best,

Mike Callahan

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301559962/en/

Contact (For Press Inquiries Only):

Bob Christie

Brunswick Group

917-860-9410



On behalf of MNC Capital Partners, L.P.: https://mnccapitalpartners.com/

Source: MNC Capital Partners, L.P.
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (the Company or MVMD) (CSE: MVMD) (OTCQB: MVMDF) (FRA: 20MP) is pleased to provide a broad business update of its progress across its three core lines of business:

Nutraceuticals - novel innovations through the Companys Quicksome technology that are designed to improve the administration and efficacy of nutraceutical health and wellness products; Agriculture  the Companys licensed Agrarius agricultural plant signaling technology that is designed to organically drive increases in crop yields and overall plant health; and Husbandry Animals/Aquatic Species - the application of solubilized drugs through the Companys Quicksol technology that is designed to positively impact the health of husbandry animals and aquatic species.

We believe are at a very exciting time in our Companys progress. The MVMD team and our extensive network of partners has made significant progress advancing our commercialization priorities, stated Dennis Hancock, President & CEO of Mountain Valley MD. We are confident that the tangible value proposition of our technologies is being very well received and that we have successfully laid the groundwork needed to support our long-term commercial viability, while supporting our desire to make a global impact in line with our vision of More Life.

BUSINESS UPDATES

NUTRACEUTICALS

Quicksome Powered Eons Deeper Sleep Product Launched

MVMDs contracted manufacturing partner in the U.S. (Lead Manufacturer) has completed the set-up and testing of equipment to enable the proprietary production of nutraceutical applications for MVMDs Quicksome technology, including sublingual rapid dissolve tablets and powders. The GMP manufacturing and initial consumer order fulfilment for the first product to embody the Quicksome technology was completed in February 2024 with the Eons Deeper Sleep rapid dissolve mushroom tablet product. The Eons product was produced by Circadian Wellness Corp. (CW) under license from MVDM and is available to purchase directly from the CWs website at eons.com.

The Company has demonstrated through third-party and in-house studies that its patented liposomal Quicksome technology uses proprietary formulations and stabilizing agents to encapsulate active ingredients, enabling a more optimized delivery into the body through sublingual applications when compared to orally consumed pills. When the Quicksome technology is consumed sublingually, the Company believes there is an increase in the overall efficacy of the active ingredients, a reduction in variability of impact, and promotes the ability to use less actives versus competitive products.

The Companys formulators completed and transferred three proprietary formulations for initial product creations for CWs Eons brand, targeting the launch of Deeper Sleep, and expanded to energy, and immunity enhancements under a fees-for-service agreement. The launch of CW's mushroom-infused sublingual sleep product marked the beginning of a series of consumer products that Eons will have the option to launch in the future under its licence and as it determines. Although outside of MVMDs control, it is anticipated that a variety of consumer products that embody MVMDs technology under CWs Eons brand will be available for sale in the United States ongoing through the 2024 calendar year and beyond.

To date, the Company has worked on a range of formulations for Quicksome-powered product applications, including sleep, energy, appetite suppressant, cognition, immunity, calm, and pain relief. Completed formulations and GMP quality product samples under the Companys Mountains of brand now enable the Company to pursue business development opportunities with its Lead Manufacturer, who has a broad list of clientele who currently purchase white label and proprietary products.

In 2023, the Company filed for, and was granted, trademark protection with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its proprietary MOUNTAINS OF  brand in the effort to secure the option to create unlimited future product applications. The Company believes this will be valuable in its business development efforts and broad growth plans for its nutraceutical line of business.

AGRICULTURE

Agrarius Trial Results Exceeding Managements Expectations

MVMD is a licensed reseller of Agrarius, a certified organic agricultural product, that when administered, is designed to activate a plants defense mechanisms at the cellular level, without the actual stress factor. The intended effect of Agrarius is that treated plants grow deeper roots and open up their foliage to optimize the effect of photosynthesis, thus increasing growth hormones, plant efficiency for water use and nutrients, decreasing the requirement of fertilizer where used, and increasing overall resistance to diseases and stressed climate conditions.

Agrarius has been tested across numerous major agricultural crops, and has demonstrated its ability to naturally increase crop yields from approximately ten to fifty percent or more depending on crop type, reduce fertilizer usage where used by more than thirty percent, and increase general resilience to pests and climate change forces such as drought.

MVMD believes Agrarius presents a significant opportunity to support its growth objectives and is currently conducting business development activity in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the United States of America. The focus of the current business development activities has been to target large scale farming operations to induce trial activity on crops that would demonstrate the benefit to improving crop yields and overall plant health.

There are currently more than 30 active crop trials being conducted by targeted large scale farming operations, which would represent a potential multi-million dollar field coverage pipeline if the clients were to purchase Agrarius product from the Company after successful trial completion and related government registrations that enable the sale of the product. It is managements view that the business development effort has been well received by the initial large scale farming operations the Company has been targeting and working with for trialing.

Completed trials that have been documented through MVMD farming prospects and MVMD directly managed trials over the past year have exceeded managements expectations. Beyond validating the anticipated yield improvements, the Company has seen the potential for unique pest and disease management applications as recently demonstrated in a trial conducted by a Valencia citrus producer, and verified by an independent laboratory that worked directly with the farm.

In what the Company believes could be a landmark trial, Agrarius has shown potentially promising results in mitigating Huanglongbing (HLB), a globally destructive citrus greening disease that is currently declared as incurable*. Treated citrus trees exhibited notable recovery signs, including the emergence of healthy green foliage, abundant and large white flowers, and the production of spot-free, juicy Valencia oranges, with an anticipated overall yield increase of approximately 10%. The Agrarius test plot improved visual health indicators, and has also demonstrated an enhanced distribution of both macronutrients and micronutrients within the plant system. The Company believes these findings to be materially significant and highlight Agrarius as a potential organic solution for citrus producers facing the impacts of HLB, with potentially the first viable method for revitalizing affected orchards and introducing sustainable disease management practices.

The Company anticipates revenue from Agrarius sales activity in the 2024 calendar year based on the anticipated timing for registration approvals and logic of the crop trialing cycle during which farming organizations aim to personally validate on their respective farms the anticipated positive impact on crop yields and/or fertilizer reduction. The Company had anticipated sales activity to occur by the end of the calendar year 2023, however the Company is subject to the timelines associated with the registration process in each jurisdiction which are in part outside of the Companys control. Management does not anticipate any challenges to obtaining registrations at this time in its initial focus markets of Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

MVMD has hired key team members in South America who are familiar with local language, customs and trade requirements to support its agriculture line of business in Mexico, Central America and South America (LATAM), including in the areas of finance, operations, business development, and agronomy.

The Company plans to operate its LATAM sales operations through subsidiaries, including in Panama, to facilitate the registration and distribution of the Agrarius product for sale in various jurisdictions. The Company has also contracted the services of a Panamanian distribution company, the location providing for certain tax advantages, and has arranged the delivery of Agrarius product to support sales fulfillment in LATAM once registrations are completed in various jurisdictions over the coming months. The initial business development strategy of the Company in LATAM focused on Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay, Panama and Mexico, but has been expanding to meet the demand from interested parties, including to Costa Rica, Argentina and Bolivia.

The Company believes that it has interested customers who have trialed the product and would be likely to proceed with product orders once registrations allow Agrarius to be broadly applied on their crops. Agrarius is currently registered for sale in 41 states in the USA, with additional state approvals anticipated through the 2024 calendar year. As the LATAM registration process has been taking longer than anticipated by the Company, the Company has started a more concentrated effort on targeted sales activities in the USA in states in which registrations have already been obtained, including an immediate focus on citrus growers.

HUSBANDRY ANIMALS / AQUATIC SPECIES

Plans to Introduce Soluvec 1% Coated Fish Feed in Bangladesh by May of 2024

The Company has applied its Quicksol solubilization technology to the drug Ivermectin to create its Soluvec 1% product formulation, which was designed to provide a safer and more effective solution that can be administered broadly across the husbandry animal and aquatic species marketplace.

The Company previously disclosed positive outcomes of multiple pharmacokinetic trials that were conducted under the supervision of The People's Republic of Bangladeshs Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock for an injectable Soluvec 1% solubilized Ivermectin technology, and Soluvec 1% coated standard fish feed across farmed fish species. The trials indicated that Soluvec 1% is 2,500 times more soluble than standard Ivermectin, enhancing its efficacy and its ability to be absorbed. In aquaculture, Soluvec 1% treated feed led to enhanced growth and survivability outcomes in species like Indian Catfish and Tilapia, indicating potentially substantial benefits for biomass production.

The Company entered a license agreement with a privately held Ontario corporation (the Licensee) for its Soluvec 1% animal husbandry applications for the territory of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. In exchange for a royalty percentage against net sales, the agreement provides the Licensee with the exclusive rights, within Bangladesh, to work through its partners inside the territory to coordinate Soluvec 1% manufacturing and distribution of related Soluvec 1% products, both in injectable and food coating applications.

Management has been advised by the Licensee that the Licensee has received necessary government approvals and completed the manufacturing agreements that enable the Licensee to commence manufacturing of the Soluvec 1% coated standard fish feed for farmed fish species within Bangladesh. The Licensee has confirmed it is working with its manufacturing partner to commence production and finalizing plans to introduce Soluvec 1% coated standard fish feed in Bangladesh by May of 2024.

The Company continues to evaluate the opportunity to license its Soluvec 1% product in territories outside of Bangladesh. Managements belief is that the government product approval from Bangladesh granted to the Licensee for farmed fisheries enables the Company to look at strategic business development initiatives outside of Bangladesh in line with anticipated product production in Bangladesh in the 2024 calendar year. The Company believes that sending commercially manufactured samples of the Soluvec 1% product will reduce costs and enable several independent evaluation trials to happen simultaneously with potential key partners in a variety of territories.

To safeguard its intellectual property and the Companys licensing royalty model, the Company has initially filed for Quicksol patent protection in key markets it has deemed strategically important at this time for expansion outside of Bangladesh. MVMD has filed for Soluvec protection in 12 additional markets outside of the United States, including Canada, China, India, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil, Peru, Argentina, and Chile.

APPOINTMENT OF CFO

The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Anderson, CPA, CA, to the role of Chief Financial Officer, replacing Yong Yao effective immediately. Mr. Anderson is a seasoned executive, who brings 20 years of financial experience to MVMDs team. Mr. Anderson brings a wealth of expertise in public company financial reporting, mergers and acquisitions, and complex financial instruments. His background includes public market engagements for CSE and TSXV listed companies, working with Latin American subsidiaries and managing audit engagements with firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, MVMDs current auditor.

Mr. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University in Montreal, and has served as the Managing Director of Malaspina Consultants since 2018, where he leads a team of skilled accountants along with his business partners, who provide accounting services to a broad clientele. Since July 2009, his tenure at Malaspina Consultants Inc. has been marked by CFO and accounting roles for various public and private companies across multiple industries. Previously, Mr. Anderson worked with a large auditing firm.

I am very pleased to welcome Matt Anderson to the MVMD team to support this important growth phase of our Company, said Dennis Hancock, President & CEO of MVMD. Mr. Anderson brings extensive public markets experience and has a deep network of financial experts that will be valuable as we scale up our business.

References

* - United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. (n.d.). Citrus Greening. Retrieved February 16, 2024, from https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/plant-pest-and-disease-programs/pests-and-diseases/citrus/citrus-greening

The Company is not making any express or implied claims that its product(s) or intended product(s) has or have the ability to eliminate, cure or contain any virus, ailment, disease or other condition of plants or animals.

ABOUT MOUNTAIN VALLEY MD HOLDINGS INC.

Mountain Valley MD is building a world-class organization centered around the implementation, licensing and reselling of key technologies and formulations:

patented Quicksome oral formulation and delivery technologies,

patented Quicksol solubility formulation technology

licensed product reseller of Agrarius, a novel agricultural plant signalling technology

Consistent with its vision towards More Life, MVMD applies its owned and licensed technologies to its work for advanced delivery of molecules for human and husbandry animal applications, including the development of products for pain management, weight loss, energy, focus, sleep, anxiety, and more. Additionally, MVMDs work with Agrarius is focused on generating a positive impact on crop yields and reducing fertilizer usage.

MVMDs patented Quicksome technology utilizes proprietary formulations and stabilizing molecules to encapsulate and formulate active ingredients into highly efficient product formats. The result is a new generation of product formulations that could be capable of delivering nutraceutical and drug molecules into the body faster, with greater impact, efficiency and accuracy.

MVMDs patented Quicksol technology covers all highly solubilized macrocyclic lactones that could be effectively applied in multiple viral applications that could positively impact human and animal health globally.

MVMDs licensed Agrarius agricultural plant signalling technology is designed to be applied to crops to naturally increase yields, reduce fertilizer usage, and increase general resilience to pests and climate change.

For more Company information and contact details, visit www.MVMD.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.

The Company is making forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the Companys three (3) lines of business to achieve commercialization; the strategy of engaging one Lead Manufacturer and the impact thereof; the anticipated increase in business development efforts to secure additional nutraceutical licensing partnerships; timing for the full production readiness for MVMD's proprietary brand products; the timing of commercial manufacturing for Circadian, including the mushroom-infused products under the Eons brand; the potential multi-million dollar field coverage pipeline from trialing Agrarius customers and the expectation trialing customers will place orders; the timing of anticipated revenues and related ramp-up of sales growth; plans and structure related to LATAM operations, and the impacts thereof, including tax benefits; the registration process, the territories, and the timing thereof; the timing of commercialization of Soluvec 1% inside Bangladesh and the factors related thereto; and future opportunities for Soluvec 1% outside of Bangladesh.

The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the CSE nor OTC has reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301856835/en/

For further information:



Dennis Hancock

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc.

Investor Relations @ 647-725-9755

Email: [email protected]

www.MVMD.com

Source: Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc.
Two new hires and internal promotion to drive strategic goals.

GOLDEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On Tap Credit Union isn't your average bank. A trusted financial partner since 1954, their team crafts personalized financial solutions tailored to each individual's personalized goals. They guide members every step of the way and make the financial journey a breeze. As they look toward the future and their commitment to growth, they are expanding the leadership team with top-notch talent.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240227518461/en/

Nicole Zimmerman, Director of Marketing; Jamie Gaffney, Director of Business Services; Nathan Stumme, Director of Risk Management (Photo: Business Wire)

New Director Positions:

Nicole Zimmerman, On Taps new Director of Marketing, joined the credit union in October 2023 after having served as a Senior Marketing Manager in the start-up industry for the last year and Marketing Manager at iLending, an auto refinance organization in Englewood, CO for two years. Prior to that, Ms. Zimmerman held numerous Marketing roles in her 8-year career span at Red Rocks Credit Union in Highlands Ranch, CO. She started as the Marketing Coordinator in early 2013, working her way up to Marketing Specialist in 2017 before her departure in late 2020. She holds a bachelors degree in marketing and finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jamie Gaffney, On Taps new Director of Business Services, joined the credit union in November 2023. Originally from Wyoming, Jamie had her sights set on city life and spent 10 years managing New World restaurants in New York City. When it was time to come back west, a career change was in mind, and she started at her local credit union as a teller in 2011. She quickly moved up the ranks as a Financial Service Associate III, a Member Service Advocate and Lead Member Representative in credit unions both in Wyoming and Texas. An opportunity arose in the commercial world at Jonah Bank of Wyoming and Ms. Gaffney spent 6 years on their commercial team honing her skills in all things business and building trusting relationships with customers.

Promotions:

Nathan Stumme joined the credit union in April 2023 initially as a Fraud Prevention Advocate and was promoted to Director of Risk Management in December 2023. He started in banking in 2016 as a Retail Banker for Woodforest National Bank in the Houston, Texas area for two years. From there, he started a 5-year career at JSC Federal Credit Union, initially as a Consumer Loan Processor. As JSC FCU grew, they rebranded to Wellby Financial and Mr. Stumme helped create their first Risk Department, taking a role as Internal Auditor with a focus on regulatory compliance and vendor management. In 2022, he spent a year with the Kansas Bankers Association as a remote Compliance Operations Specialist, helping small banks across Kansas build and maintain their compliance programs. He moved to Colorado in March 2023. Originally from Iowa, he studied Computer Science at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

About On Tap Credit Union

Formerly Coors Credit Union, On Tap Credit Union is a full-service cooperative financial institution serving people living and working in Jefferson, Denver, Boulder, and Larimer counties. Founded in 1954, the credit union has $379 million in assets and 20,000 members who are also owners of the organization. The credit union provides personal consultation and financial solutions including vehicle, mortgage, and home equity loans, credit cards, insurance, savings and investment accounts, and financial guidance, as well as a full suite of business services including a variety of commercial lending solutions. For more information, please visit www.OnTapCU.org.

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On Tap Credit Union News Media Contact

Nicole Zimmerman

303.215.4675

[email protected]

Source: On Tap Credit Union
Award based on employee survey recognizes company culture and support, leading to a 75% female workforce and celebration of diversity through Inclusion Consulting

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Strong Tower Consulting, a Bellevue, Washington-based management-consulting firm, was recently named as one of the Best Places to Work in Consulting by Best Companies Group. This survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best places of employment in the consulting industry. Through a survey of its employees, Strong Tower was recognized for its unique Inclusion Consulting approach to the industry. As a certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE), and a Women Owned Business Enterprise, Strong Tower was founded on the underlying virtues of creating value by bringing more perspectives and ideas to the table, the inclusion and celebration of a wide set of diverse skills and backgrounds, an obsession with client results, an every-day dedication to philanthropy, and a carbon-neutral workplace.

Based on decades of experience across the consulting industry, we set out to create something that would help clients achieve great results by bringing more diverse ideas to the table, said Strong Tower Partner Lorna Croswell. Our diversity-led approach to consulting resonates with our clients and attracts the best of a workforce with a wide range of experience and perspectives, offering them a positive, supportive company culture to continue or build their careers.

With a workforce of more than 75% female employees, Strong Tower has created unique programs to support women such as the Womens Leadership and Development Group and Returning Caregivers program, which provide formal and informal mentorship and company-wide initiatives ensuring each woman at Strong Tower can reach her full potential.

Our consultants are recruited and celebrated for their wide-ranging business and life experiences and are encouraged to apply these very qualities to project work in order to create high value for our clients, continued Croswell. We provide our consultants with a transparent environment, free of corporate friction, packed full of positive support, teamwork and mentorship and leadership, while recognizing the vital importance of balance in our daily lives.

Also popular with employees, Strong Tower operates as a 100% carbon neutral firm, encouraging lower carbon work patterns while offsetting transportation and energy use by investing in clean energy programs and planting one tree for every week worked by each of their team members.

Companies from across the country entered the process to determine the Best winners. The process consisted of an employee engagement survey measuring the employee experience in eight core focus areas - Leadership and Planning, Corporate Culture and Communications, Role Satisfaction Work Environment, Relationship with Supervisor, Training, Development & Resources, Pay & Benefits and Overall Engagement.

Since 2019, Strong Tower has been recognized for several other key awards including two time Microsoft Prestige Award Supplier of Year Finalists (2023, 2024), Disability:IN Supplier of the Year (2019), Corporate Champion for Economic Development (2021)  The Puget Sound Business Journal, Washington States 100 Best Companies To Work For (2021, 2022, 2023)  Seattle Business magazine, Washingtons Most Equitable Workplace (2020)  The Puget Sound Business Journal.

More information on Strong Towers service areas and Inclusion Consulting approach can be found at strongtower.consulting.

About Strong Tower Consulting

Strong Tower is a Seattle-based management-consulting firm defined by Inclusion Consulting  a dedication to trustworthy, high-quality client service and the power of diversity to solve problems, exceeding expectations of our clients and employees. Strong Tower was founded on the underlying virtues of creating value by understanding clients needs, bringing more perspectives and ideas to the table, including and celebrating a wide set of skills, and an obsession with results created alongside our clients.

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Katherine MacDonald

[email protected]

Source: Strong Tower Consulting
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Trinity Place Holdings Inc. (NYSE American: TPHS) (the Company) announced that on February 21, 2024, the NYSE American notified the Company that it had reviewed the plan of compliance (the Plan) that the Company submitted to the NYSE American and determined to accept the Plan and grant a cure period through May 29, 2025. As previously disclosed, on November 29, 2023, the Company received a deficiency letter from the NYSE American indicating that the Company was not in compliance with the NYSE Americans continuing listing standards set forth in Sections 1003(a)(i) and (ii) of the NYSE Company Guide since it reported stockholders deficit of $(1.2) million as of September 30, 2023 and losses from continuing operations and/or net losses in three of its four most recent fiscal years ended December 31, 2022. As a result of the acceptance of the Companys plan of compliance, the Companys listing is being continued pursuant to an extension. The NYSE American staff will review the Company periodically for compliance with the initiatives outlined in the Plan. If the Company is not in compliance with the continued listing standards by May 29, 2025 or if the Company does not make progress consistent with the Plan during the cure period, the NYSE American staff will initiate delisting proceedings as appropriate.

This notification from the NYSE American has no immediate impact on the listing of the Companys shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the Common Stock), which will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE American during the period mentioned above, subject to the Companys compliance with the other listing requirements of the NYSE American. The Common Stock will continue to trade under the symbol TPHS, but will have an added designation of .BC to indicate the status of the Common Stock as below compliance. The Notice does not affect the Companys ongoing business operations or its reporting requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).

As previously disclosed, on February 14, 2024, the Company closed the transactions contemplated by the Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of January 5, 2024 (as amended, the Stock Purchase Agreement), between the Company, TPHS Lender LLC, the lender under the Companys corporate credit facility, and TPHS Investor LLC, an affiliate of Company Investor. Under the terms of the Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company must complete the delisting of its shares of Common Stock from the NYSE American no later than forty-five days following the closing, unless certain conditions under the Stock Purchase Agreement are met or as otherwise agreed by the parties.

About Trinity Place Holdings

Trinity Place Holdings Inc. is a real estate holding, investment, development and asset management company. As of February 14, 2024, the Companys real estate assets and related liabilities are held through an entity owned 95% by the Company, with an affiliate of the lender under the Companys corporate credit facility owning a 5% interest in and acting as manager of such entity. These real estate assets include (i) the property located at 77 Greenwich Street in Lower Manhattan, which is substantially complete as a mixed-use project consisting of a 90-unit residential condominium tower, retail space and a New York City elementary school, (ii) a 105-unit, 12-story multi-family property located at 237 11th Street in Brooklyn, New York, and (iii) a property occupied by a retail tenant in Paramus, New Jersey. The Company controls a variety of intellectual property assets focused on the consumer sector, a legacy of its predecessor, Syms Corp., including FilenesBasement.com, its rights to the Stanley Blacker brand, as well as the intellectual property associated with the Running of the Brides event and An Educated Consumer is Our Best Customer slogan. In addition, the Company had approximately $305.4 million of federal net operating loss carryforwards at September 30, 2023, as well as approximately $291.7 million of various state and local NOLs, which can be used to reduce its future taxable income and capital gains.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes 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. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, and, consequently, the actual performance of the Company may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include the risks and uncertainties, as well as the other factors, described in more detail in the Companys filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as may be updated or supplemented by any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or other filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or release any revisions to any forward-looking statement or to report any events or circumstances after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301057614/en/

Linda Flynn, (212) 235-2191

[email protected]

Source: Trinity Place Holdings Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TrueNorth, a leading professional services organization specializing in implementation, systems integration and engineering of digital solutions for the financial services industry, and Brim Financial (Brim), a next generation provider of credit card platform as-a-service and one of the fastest growing Fintechs in North America, are excited to announce their strategic partnership aimed to bring robust and innovative consumer, small medium business (SMB) and commercial credit card solutions to banks, fintechs and major brands in the US and Canada.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301450636/en/

(Graphic: Business Wire)

TrueNorths CEO, Alex Gonikman, expressed his vision for the partnership, We are delighted to join forces with Brim, a company that is disrupting the industry. Our collaboration with Brim perfectly aligns with our mission of bringing best-in-class technologies to our customers. Through this partnership TrueNorth will co-invest in creating dedicated Brim delivery expertise, as well as assets and accelerators, including pre-integrations, methodologies and best practices to increase project predictability and speed to market.

Brims CEO, Rasha Katabi, echoed the sentiment, stating, We are thrilled to partner with TrueNorth, a company that shares our passion for innovation and excellence in the financial services industry as we accelerate our rollout with banks in the US market. TrueNorth has a proven track record of delivering cutting-edge digital solutions to financial institutions, we are confident that they will help us streamline client implementations as well as scale and support the growth of our business.

This partnership marks a significant milestone in the credit card industry, as it brings together two leading companies with complementary strengths and visions. Brim and TrueNorth will invest in joint go-to-market and co-innovation efforts as well as building a highly integrated delivery organization that provides the scale and elasticity to support Brim market expansion.

About Brim Financial

Brim Financial, one the fastest growing enterprise technology companies, according to Deloittes Technology Fast 50 Canada and Technology Fast 500 North America. Brim's turn-key Credit-Card-as-a-Service has been recognized as best-in-class for product capabilities by Aite-Novarica Group in their analysis of global Credit-Card-as-a-Service providers. Brims robust platform and feature-rich products deliver a broad suite of payment solutions for Businesses and Consumers as well as comprehensive Enterprise Workflows. To learn more, visit www.brimfinancial.com.

About TrueNorth

TrueNorth.co is at the forefront of digital innovation within the financial services sector, providing a comprehensive suite of services including advisory, implementation, and systems integration. Led by veteran software architect Alex Gonikman, TrueNorth employs over 180 professionals dedicated to delivering advanced digital solutions that ensure client success in the dynamic financial landscape. TrueNorth is headquartered in New York City, with development centers across the globe, and strategic offices across the U.S.

For more information about TrueNorth, visit www.TrueNorth.co

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McKinley Harris, (417) 214-6817 [email protected]

Source: TrueNorth
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 2004 has reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with CN Rail, covering 3,000 workers across the country.

The new three-year deal comes after months of negotiations, kicking off in October 2023, with the current collective agreement having expired on Dec. 31, 2023. USW Local 2004 represents 3,000 CN employees who inspect, maintain and repair the railways track, bridges and infrastructure across Canada.

We are proud of this new deal that we were able to reach after many long weeks, said Cole Kramer, USW Local 2004 president. Our members do important work in ensuring the continuing viability of our national railways and I am pleased that we were able to reach an agreement that fairly compensates them for their efforts.

The new agreement is being unanimously endorsed by the unions nine-member bargaining committee. Ratification meetings will take place during March via regional in-person and online townhall meetings. Results of the ratification vote are expected by the end of March or early April.

The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation  including good wages, benefits and pensions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301702787/en/

Shannon Devine, USW Communications Department, [email protected], (cell) 416-938-4402

Source: United Steelworkers
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) (Vista or the Company) is proud to announce the publication of its inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") Report. The ESG Report provides transparency and outlines progress on the Companys ESG performance in 2023, and goals and key initiatives for the coming year.

Frederick H. Earnest, President and CEO of Vista, commented, I am pleased to announce the publication of our first ESG Report and to share our perspectives and plans for the journey ahead. We recognize the importance of conducting our business in a responsible and sustainable manner, and we are fully committed to aligning our business practices with current and evolving ESG principles to ensure the long-term success and positive impact of our operations.

The Company also announces that it will be attending the 2024 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention March 3  6, 2024, in Toronto at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Management will be meeting with shareholders, investors, industry peers, and the media during the convention. Vista invites all those attending PDAC to visit the management team at booth #2235 in the Investors Exchange to receive the latest updates on Vista and the Mt Todd gold project in Northern Territory, Australia.

Vistas inaugural ESG Report is available on the Companys website at www.vistagold.com and copies will be available at Vistas PDAC booth #2235.

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 one of the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and demonstrates 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 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.

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 the ESG Report provides transparency and outlines progress on the Companys ESG performance in 2023, and goals and key initiatives for the coming year; our belief that Mt Todd is one of the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and demonstrates compelling economics; 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 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, 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/20240229931899/en/

Pamela Solly

Vice President of Investor Relations

(720) 981-1185

Source: Vista Gold Corp.
Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) today announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the AGENT Drug-Coated Balloon (DCB), which is indicated to treat coronary in-stent restenosis (ISR) in patients with coronary artery disease. ISR is the obstruction or narrowing of a stented vessel by plaque or scar tissue.

"With more than 100,000 patients treated globally to date in both clinical and commercial settings, we are very pleased to introduce this proven therapy as the first drug-coated coronary balloon in the U.S ," said Lance Bates , president, Interventional Cardiology Therapies, Boston Scientific. "The AGENT DCB addresses a critical unmet need by providing a dedicated treatment option for the challenging condition of ISR and we look forward to offering U.S. physicians the opportunity to treat their patients with this novel device."

While the stenting of coronary lesions continues to show a substantial improvement in quality of life for patients with coronary artery disease, ISR still encompasses 10 percent of percutaneous coronary interventions in the U.S. 1,2 Serving as an alternative to traditional therapies such as balloon angioplasty, additional layers of stenting or radiation, the AGENT DCB is a paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter that transfers a therapeutic dose of drug to the vessel wall to help prevent ISR reoccurrence.

Following Breakthrough Device Designation granted for the technology by the FDA in 2021, the approval was supported by positive results from the multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled AGENT IDE trial, which enrolled 600 patients at 40 U.S. sites.3 In the prespecified interim analysis of the first 480 patients enrolled, the study met the primary endpoint of target lesion failure (TLF) at 12 months with the AGENT DCB demonstrating statistical superiority to uncoated balloon angioplasty (17.9% vs. 28.7%; P=0.006).4,5 Findings also included zero definite/probable cases of clotting within the stent (0.0% vs. 3.9%, P=0.001), a 49% risk reduction in heart attack at the target vessel (6.4% vs. 12.3%, P=0.03) and low adverse event rates at 12 months.

"The AGENT IDE trial demonstrated that the AGENT DCB is an effective and safe treatment option for coronary in-stent restenosis, even in a high-risk population, which included many individuals with multi-layer stents or diabetes," said principal investigator Dr. Robert W. Yeh , section chief of interventional cardiology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "Treating ISR has been challenging in the U.S. with limited therapies available, and this new technology will help physicians reduce the risk of restenosis without radiation or introducing additional metal layers, which do not provide an adequate result for some patients."

The AGENT DCB is available in Europe , parts of Asia Pacific and Latin America for the treatment of patients with ISR and previously untreated small vessel coronary disease. Boston Scientific plans to launch the technology in the U.S. in the coming months.

More information on the AGENT DCB is available here.
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"The United States strongly condemns actions by the SAF and RSF, as well as some civilian officials, to constrain civic space, restrict access to internet and mobile phone networks, stoke interethnic conflict," said State Spokesperson Miller.
Fisker (NYSE: FSR) was unable, without unreasonable effort and expense, to complete the preparation of its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the Report) by February 29, 2024 due to the circumstances described below. As previously disclosed in the earnings release furnished as Exhibit 99 to the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 29, 2024 (the Preliminary Earnings Release), the Company requires additional time to finalize the Companys consolidated financial statements, finalize the assessment of its internal control over financial reporting and related disclosures, and complete its procedures for the Report. The Company has experienced a change in key accounting personnel and, as a result, lacks a sufficient number of professionals with an appropriate level of accounting knowledge, training, and experience to appropriately analyze, record, and disclose accounting matters timely and accurately. The Company disclosed certain material weaknesses in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2023. In addition to the previously disclosed material weaknesses, the Company has identified a material weakness in revenue and the related balance sheet accounts, which will be disclosed in the Report. The Company will continue to evaluate its internal control over financial reporting and may identify additional material weaknesses as it completes its procedures on the Report. As previously disclosed in the Preliminary Earnings Release, the Company expects its capital expenditures and working capital requirements to decrease during 2024 and beyond as it enters the second year of production of the Fisker Ocean. The Companys business plan is highly dependent on the successful transition to its new Dealer Partner model in 2024. Furthermore, to the extent the Companys current resources are insufficient to satisfy its requirements over the next 12 months, the Company will need to seek additional equity or debt financing, and there can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in these efforts. If the financing is not available, or if the terms of financing are less desirable than the Company expects, the Company may be forced to decrease its planned level of investment in product development, scale back its operations, including further headcount reductions, and reduce production of the Fisker Ocean, which could have an adverse impact on the Companys business and financial prospects. As a result, the Company expects to conclude and disclose in the Report that there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The Company expects to file the Report by March 15, 2024, the expiration of the extension period
TDCX Inc. (NYSE: TDCX), today announced that it has entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger with Transformative Investments Pte Ltd, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (Parent), and Helium, an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (Merger Sub), pursuant to which the Company will be acquired by Mr. Laurent Junique, Founder, Executive Chairman, Director, CEO of the Company and his affiliates in a transaction implying an equity value of the Company of approximately US$1.037 billion.

The members of the Buyer Group currently beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately 86.1% of all the issued and outstanding shares, representing approximately 98.4% of the aggregate voting power of the Company. Parent and the Buyer Group members have entered into rollover and contribution agreements, pursuant to which (i) Parent has irrevocably agreed to contribute its shares in the Company to the Merger Sub prior to the closing of the Merger (as defined below) in exchange for newly issued ordinary shares of Merger Sub, and (ii) certain other Buyer Group members and their affiliates have irrevocably agreed to contribute their respective shares in the Company to the Merger Sub prior to the closing of the Merger in exchange for newly issued ordinary shares of Parent.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, the Merger Sub will merge with and into the Company through a short-form merger in accordance with Part XVI and in particular section 233(7) of the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the Merger), with the Company surviving the Merger as the surviving company and becoming a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent as a result of the Merger.

Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger (the Effective Time), (i) each Class A ordinary share, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (each a Class A Share) and each Class B ordinary share, par value US$0.0001 per share, of the Company (each a Class B Share, and together with each Class A Share, collectively, the Shares) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than the Excluded Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement), the Dissenting Shares (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and Shares represented by ADSs (as defined below), shall be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive US$7.20 in cash per Share without interest (the Per Share Merger Consideration); (ii) each American Depositary Share, representing one (1) Class A Share (each, an ADS or, collectively, the ADSs), issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than ADSs representing the Excluded Shares), and each Share represented by such ADSs, shall be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive US$7.20 in cash per ADS without interest (the Per ADS Merger Consideration) (less applicable fees, charges and expenses payable by ADS holders pursuant to the deposit agreement, dated September 30, 2021, entered into by and among the Company, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.); and (iii) each vested warrant granted pursuant to the Warrant Agreement to Purchase American Depositary Shares of TDCX Inc. dated September 2, 2022 between the Company and a certain shareholder, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive US$7.19 in cash per vested warrant without interest (the Per Warrant Merger Consideration, together with the Per Share Merger Consideration and the Per ADS Merger Consideration, the Merger Consideration).

The Merger Consideration represents a premium of 48% to the closing price of the Companys ADSs on December 29, 2023, the last trading day prior to the Companys receipt of the going-private proposal on January 2, 2024, and a premium of 17% to the closing price of the Companys ADSs on February 29, 2024, the last trading day prior to the execution of the Merger Agreement.

The Companys board of directors (the Board), acting upon the unanimous recommendation of a committee of independent and disinterested directors established by the Board (the Special Committee), approved the Merger Agreement and the Merger. The Special Committee negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors. Because the Merger is a short-form merger in accordance with Part XVI and in particular section 233(7) of the Companies Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, the Merger does not require a shareholder vote or approval by special resolution of the Companys shareholders if a copy of the Plan of Merger is given to every registered shareholder of the Company.

The Merger is currently expected to close in the second quarter of 2024. If completed, the Merger will result in the Company becoming a privately-owned company wholly-owned directly by Parent, its ADSs will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and the ADS program will be terminated.

Houlihan Lokey (China) Limited is serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee; Hogan Lovells is serving as U.S. legal counsel to the Special Committee; and Maples and Calder (Hong Kong) LLP is serving as the Cayman Islands legal counsel to the Special Committee.

Goldman Sachs (Singapore) Pte. is serving as financial advisor to the Buyer Group; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as U.S. legal counsel to the Buyer Group; and Travers Thorp Alberga is serving as the Cayman Islands legal counsel to the Buyer Group.
March 1, 2024

SBM Offshore announces that the agenda of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) and the invitation for shareholders to attend the AGM have now been published on the Companys website. The AGM will be held at the Steigenberger Airport Hotel Amsterdam (Stationsplein Zuid-West 951, 1117 CE Schiphol, the Netherlands) on Friday April 12, 2024 at 10.30 a.m. Central European Time.

Corporate Profile

SBM Offshore designs, builds, installs and operates offshore floating facilities for the offshore energy industry. As a leading technology provider, we put our marine expertise at the service of a responsible energy transition by reducing emissions from fossil fuel production, while developing cleaner solutions for alternative energy sources.

More than 7,400 SBMers worldwide are committed to sharing their experience to deliver safe, sustainable and affordable energy from the oceans for generations to come.

For further information, please visit our website at www.sbmoffshore.com.

Financial Calendar Date Year Annual General Meeting April 12 2024 First Quarter 2024 Trading Update May 8 2024 Half Year 2024 Earnings August 8 2024 Third Quarter 2024 Trading Update November 14 2024 Full Year 2024 Earnings February 20 2025

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Wouter HoltiesCorporate Finance & Investor Relations Manager

Mobile: +31 (0) 6 23 34 37 64 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Media Relations

Evelyn Tachau BrownGroup Communications & Change Director

Mobile: +377 (0) 6 40 62 30 34 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.sbmoffshore.com

Market Abuse RegulationThis press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

DisclaimerSome of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on managements current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. These statements may be identified by words such as expect, should, could, shall and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The principal risks which could affect the future operations of SBM Offshore N.V. are described in the Impact, Risk and Opportunity Management section of the 2023 Annual Report.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and performance of the Companys business may vary materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements described in this release. SBM Offshore does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

Nothing in this release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release SBM Offshore and SBM are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

"SBM Offshore", the SBM logomark, Fast4Ward, emissionZERO and Float4Wind are proprietary marks owned by SBM Offshore.

Attachment

Source: SBM Offshore Amsterdam B.V.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Young learners have new places to grow and thrive, as three new Ballad Health Centers for Early Learning open across the Appalachian Highlands of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

As viewers and listeners tuned in to the first day of the annual Niswonger Childrens Network Radiothon, Ballad Health announced major steps towards fulfilling its commitment of opening up to 2,000 childcare slots across the region. New Centers for Early Learning in Greeneville, Tennessee; Lebanon, Virginia; and on the campus of East Tennessee State University are now open, with collective capacity to serve approximately 300 children. Each center serves Ballad Health team members and community members, and each accepts children who qualify for state childcare financial assistance in Tennessee and Virginia.

When we launched the Ballad Health Niswonger Childrens Network and our Strong Starts program, our intent was to integrate healthcare, education and community support and make the Appalachian Highlands the best place in the country to live, work and raise a family, said Ballad Health Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alan Levine. High-quality childcare not only helps ensure children are ready to learn by the time they enter school, but it helps parents and other caregivers pursue their own education and work goals with confidence. This benefits not only our team members, but the larger community as well.

In an internal survey, Ballad Health team members emphasized that dependable childcare is a critical factor when choosing a place to live and work. To support this need, Ballad Healths Board of Directors voted in early 2022 to invest up to $37 million to improve access to childcare by opening up to 11 new centers throughout the region, in addition to the current programs run by Ballad Health in Johnson City and Elizabethton, and a third run on the campus of Bristol Regional Medical Center by the YMCA of Bristol.

Were thrilled to open the first of our new childcare centers to begin serving families in our communities, said Dr. Amy Doran, Ballad Healths corporate director of early care and education. Together, we will work to ensure children are kindergarten-ready with a best-in-class curriculum that supports early literacy, numeracy and science skills, in addition to social and emotional development.

All Ballad Health Centers for Early Learning will be open five days a week, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., only closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

Children, especially infants, toddlers and preschoolers, learn through play. Its key to their social, emotional and critical thinking abilities, said Dr. Seth Brown, chief medical officer for the Niswonger Childrens Network. The curriculum at our childcare centers ensures that children arent just being looked after  theyre being set up for a lifetime of learning and growing, which helps prepare them for a brighter future of better health.

Now open: The Centers for Early Learning in Greeneville, Tennessee, and Lebanon, VirginiaDuring the first day of the Radiothon, Ballad Health cut the ribbon on its Centers for Early Learning in Greeneville, Tennessee, and Lebanon, Virginia.

Its been more than 10 years since we opened the doors of the first and only childrens hospital here in the Appalachian Highlands. It was a landmark moment for the region, and we continue to see returns on that investment every single day, said Scott Niswonger, a Greeneville resident and chief benefactor for Niswonger Childrens Hospital and the Niswonger Childrens Network.

Investing in childrens well-being beyond the hospital is another milestone moment. The Ballad Health Strong Starts program, which supports families from birth to age 5, has thousands of participants region-wide, and the Strong Futures program here in Greenville supports hundreds of moms in addiction recovery and their children. Adding high-quality childcare to the mix locally is helping further wrap families in the type of support necessary for our children to learn and grow, and I am thrilled with Ballad Healths continued commitment."

Located on the campus of Tusculum University, the Center for Early Learning in Greeneville features six classrooms bordering a common area, as well as a playground that includes innovative equipment to encourage imaginative play. At full capacity, 92 children, from infants to age 5, can be served.

In Lebanon, the Center for Early Learning is located less than three miles from Russell County Hospital, making it especially convenient for Ballad Health team members and their families. At full capacity, 70 children, from infants to age 5, can be served.

People with young families are a huge part of our team, and theyre crucial to our ability to provide care, said Greta Morrison, administrator and chief nursing officer of Russell County Hospital. The childcare crisis has a direct effect on the shortage of healthcare professionals and qualified professionals nationwide, and it is vital for everyone that there is adequate access to high quality childcare.

Ballad Health, East Tennessee State University unveil partnership to expand access to childcare and train future educatorsThe Ballad Health and East Tennessee State University (ETSU) partnership will enhance ETSUs current early childhood development curriculum, as students can complete their required observation hours at Ballad Healths Centers for Early Learning, while developing hands-on experience under the guidance of licensed, experienced childcare professionals.

ETSU and Ballad health continue to partner to produce positive, generational change, said Dr. Brian Noland, president of East Tennessee State University. From the Strong BRAIN Institute  which promotes the awareness of best practices and empirical study of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)  to this newest childcare center on campus, where we will train the next generation of early childhood development professionals educating our children, our commitment to the region is always growing.

Once a licensing transfer is complete, ETSUs current childcare center will become part of the Ballad Health Centers for Early Learning, and it will be expanded accommodate significantly more children. The expanded center will continue to house current Little Bucs and Head Start students, while offering more childcare openings for team members of Ballad Health and ETSU, as well as community members. At full capacity, at least 133 children, from infants to age 5, can be served.

Even with the addition of these centers, new centers slated to open in Norton, Kingsport and Abingdon later this year and Ballad Healths future expansion efforts, the region still has a long way to go in terms of completely addressing the shortage of high-quality childcare, Levine said. We believe this effort is a model of how employers, government and community organizations can partner to tackle this challenge.

Registration informationFamilies interested in enrolling their children in Ballad Healths Early Learning Centers, or those who have questions, should fill out this form: https://redcap.link/ChildcareInterestForm or call 423-430-7632.

Radiothon continues to support local childrens careThe Niswonger Childrens Network Radiothon, which supports Niswonger Childrens Hospital and the extension of other childrens network services, continues on Friday, March 1, airing on 98.5 WTFM, 95.9 The Hog WRZK, Classic Hits 102.7 WVEK, and ESPN Tri-Cities from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. News Channel 11 anchors will also broadcast live from the event in the childrens hospital lobby.

Interested donors can call 855-611-KIDS (5437) to make their pledges. Donations can also be accepted at any time by visiting www.niswongerchildrensradiothon.org or texting KITE to 24365.

For more information about the 2024 Niswonger Childrens Hospital Radiothon, please visit www.niswongerchildrensradiothon.org or email [email protected].

###

About Ballad Health:Ballad Health is an integrated community health improvement organization serving 29 counties of the Appalachian Highlands in Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina and Southeast Kentucky. Our system of 20 hospitals, post-acute care and behavioral health services, and a large multi-specialty group physician practice works closely with an active independent medical community and community stakeholders to improve the health and well-being of close to one million people. By leading in the adoption of value-based payments, addressing health-related social needs, funding clinical and health systems research and committing to long-term investments in strong children and families in our region, Ballad Health is striving to become a national model for rural health and healthcare. Learn more at www.BalladHealth.org.

About the Ballad Health Niswonger Childrens Network:The Ballad Health Niswonger Childrens Network is a regional system of healthcare and community services marking a new phase in high standards of care and well-being for children, regardless of where they live across the Appalachian Highlands. The Ballad Health Niswonger Childrens Network is comprised of physical assets, such as hospital and clinic locations, as well as community outreach programs and partnerships that advance childrens health. It also represents Ballad Health and East Tennessee State Universitys commitment to expand pediatric services and specialties, along with a concerted regionwide effort to expand services for children beyond care when theyre sick or hospitalized.

Ashlea Ramey Ballad Health 423-863-2383 [email protected]

Source: Ballad Health
CRANBURY, N.J., March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Science Conference (CSC), the premier cannabis science conference focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and compliance, is thrilled to announce its new and exciting full-day workshop for CSC Spring 2024. Powered by Cannabis Nurses Network (CNN), the Cannabis Nursing: A Paradigm Shift in Healthcare workshop is scheduled for May 7, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri, at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. The CSC Spring 2024 conference will be held from May 7  May 9.

Designed with the dedicated nursing community in mind, and in honor of National Nurses Week (May 6  May 12), this comprehensive workshop aims to provide nurses with invaluable insights into the therapeutic potential of cannabis in patient care. As the health care landscape evolves, nurses play a pivotal role in embracing innovative approaches to enhance patient well-being. This workshop offers a unique opportunity for nurses to deepen their understanding of the industry and provides a collaborative platform that connects nurses with the top minds shaping the future of health care.

Participants will delve into the latest advancements in cannabis research, gaining invaluable expertise and contributing to the ongoing dialogue surrounding its integration into patient care. The workshop will be presented by the CNN Speakers Bureau and will include the following sessions:

Introduction to Cannabis Nursing: A Journey Through History, Science and Therapeutics

Legal Considerations for Nurses in Cannabis Medicine

Essential Knowledge for Cannabis Patient Care: Exploring the NCSBN Guidelines

Cannabis Use Across the Lifespan: Case Studies and Patient Narratives

Cannabis Research and the Nurses Role: Understanding Addiction, Use Disorder, and Harm Reduction

The Future of Cannabis Nursing: Impact and Prospects

Join Cannabis Science Conference Spring 2024 for world-class education, networking opportunities and the chance to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers.

For event details and registration, please visit the event page.

About Cannabis Science Conference

Cannabis Science Conference is the industrys premier event, focusing on analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and compliance. CSC brings together cannabis industry experts, including instrument manufacturers, testing labs, research scientists, cultivators, medical practitioners, policymakers, patients and interested novices to network and share ideas. CSC runs semiannual events nationwide in emerging markets, aimed at improving cannabis science. Join us for world-class education, stellar networking, and the opportunity to connect with thought leaders, leading scientists, pioneers in cutting-edge medical applications and industry suppliers. CSC is a brand of MJH Life Sciences, the largest privately held, independent, full-service medical media company in North America, dedicated to delivering trusted health care news across multiple channels.

Media Contact:Julia ParadizovaMJH Life Sciences[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d18ab641-3d19-4393-a00a-ddba1399ffa4

Cannabis Science Conference Spring 2024 will host Cannabis Science Conference Spring 2024 This full-day preconference workshop is sponsored by Cannabis Nurses Network and Medical Marijuana 411.

Source: Cannabis Science Conference
Rethink Acromegaly is created by Chiesi and members of the acromegaly community to help people living with the condition, along with their caregivers and families, to make informed healthcare decisions

Program includes resources for healthcare professionals to optimize disease management to improve patient outcomes

BOSTON, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases, today announced the launch of Rethink Acromegaly, a disease education program. Intended to provide audiences with the latest information and resources, RethinkAcromegaly.com serves as a resource to empower people living with acromegaly, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals.

Acromegaly is a rare endocrine disorder characterized by excessive growth hormone production, typically stemming from a benign pituitary tumor. This hormonal imbalance leads to the enlargement of bones, cartilage, and organs, resulting in noticeable physical changes along with less obvious but serious comorbidities. Left untreated, acromegaly can severely impact ones health, lifespan, and quality of life. The Rethink Acromegaly campaign provides tailored resources for the community. People living with acromegaly and their caregivers will have access to tools to support them in taking charge of their care and getting help managing their disease. Through the program, healthcare professionals will gain valuable insights regarding optimizing patient care through downloadable resources and treatment guidelines.

"At Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, we understand that developing medicines for underserved patient communities is just one piece of the puzzle. Giacomo Chiesi, Head of Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, said. Equipping individuals with rare diseases, caregivers, and their healthcare providers with the knowledge and resources they need to navigate their disease is equally vital. Through Rethink Acromegaly we aim to increase awareness and understanding of this complex condition."

Jill Sisco, President, Acromegaly Community, added, Living with acromegaly can be grueling and the milestones along the journey from diagnosis through treatment can greatly impact patients day-to-day lives. Rethink Acromegaly sheds light on a much-needed paradigm shift in the way this disease is managed. Patient care should be viewed holistically, factoring in quality of life, and I hope that the launch of this program supports the patient community as they work with their health care providers to take charge of their care.

For more information visit RethinkAcromegaly.com.

About AcromegalyAcromegaly typically develops when a benign tumor of the pituitary gland produces too much growth hormone, ultimately leading to significant health problems. Common features of acromegaly are facial changes, intense headaches, joint pain, impaired vision, and enlargement of the hands, feet, tongue, and internal organs. Serious health conditions associated with the progression of acromegaly include type 2 diabetes, hypertension, respiratory disorders, and cardiac and cerebrovascular disease. For many patients with acromegaly, despite being biochemically controlled with injectable somatostatin receptor ligands (iSRLs), they still experience persistent acromegaly symptoms.

About Chiesi Global Rare DiseasesChiesi Global Rare Diseases is a business unit of the Chiesi Group established to deliver innovative therapies and solutions for people affected by rare diseases. As a family business, Chiesi Group strives to create a world where it is common to have a therapy for all diseases and acts as a force for good, for society and the planet. The goal of the Global Rare Diseases unit is to ensure equal access so as many people as possible can experience their most fulfilling life. The unit collaborates with the rare disease community around the globe to bring voice to underserved people in the health care system.

For more information visit www.chiesirarediseases.com.

About Chiesi GroupChiesi is an international, research-focused biopharmaceuticals group that develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in respiratory health, rare diseases, and specialty care. The companys mission is to improve peoples quality of life and act responsibly towards both the community and the environment.

By changing its legal status to a Benefit Corporation in Italy, the US, and France, Chiesis commitment to create shared value for society as a whole is legally binding and central to company-wide decision-making. As a certified B Corp since 2019, were part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact. The company aims to reach Net-Zero greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions by 2035.

With over 85 years of experience, Chiesi is headquartered in Parma (Italy), operates in 31 countries, and counts more than 6,500 employees. The Groups research and development centre in Parma works alongside 6 other important R&D hubs in France, the US, Canada, China, the UK, and Sweden.

For further information please visit www.chiesi.com

Chiesi Group Media ContactChiara TravaginRare Communication ManagerTel: +39 348 8818985Email [email protected]

Sky Striar LifeSci CommunicationsTel: 617-797-6672Email [email protected]

Source: Chiesi Global Rare Diseases
MONTREAL, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) announced today that a new tentative three-year collective agreement has been reached with the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 2004. USW represents approximately 2,500 track and bridge employees at CN, primarily responsible for track maintenance across Canada.



No details of the tentative agreement will be released publicly until the agreement is ratified. The current collective agreement expired on December 31st, 2023.

For more information on United Steelworkers, visit their website at www.usw.ca.

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. CN's network connects Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through an 18,800-mile rail network. CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

Contacts:
CryptoBlox Technologies Inc.

-Unaware of Any Material Change -

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vancouver, BC. , March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the request of CIRO, CryptoBlox Technologies Inc. (CryptoBlox or the Company) (CSE: BLOX) wishes to confirm that the Companys management is unaware of any material change in the Companys operations that would account for the recent increase in market activity.

"CryptoBlox" is a blockchain technology infrastructure company focusing on building out its diversified Blockchain Ecosystem Strategy that consists of Infrastructure & Sustainable Digital Asset Mining, Sustainable Mining Products & Technology, and Structured Digital Asset Products & Blockchain Payments. The Companys Infrastructure will be based on the value chain that stems from off-grid/alternate energy powered digital asset mining, along with a diversified portfolio of sustainable mining and blockchain fintech products and services enabled by both the Sustainable Mining Products & Technology and Structured Digital Asset Products & Blockchain Payments layers. The Company will be focused on providing alternate energy solutions to power digital asset mining operations throughout North America - with the first site being in Redwater, Alberta. By using alternative energy sources and state-of-the-art operations techniques, the Company will be positioned to achieve a high degree of financial optionality and long-term operational certainty, which can result in some of the cleanest and lowest-cost digital asset mining operations in the world.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Name  Akshay Sood

Contact information - [email protected] or call 236-259-0279

Source: Cryptoblox Technologies Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Tuesday 27th of February, in 60 participating locations across Canada, Dennys once again partnered with the WITS Programs Foundation and CKNW Kids Fund in honour of Pink Shirt Day, helping to support awareness of bullying prevention resources.

This year, Dennys is extremely proud to announce that their 2024 Pink Shirt Day campaign raised over $35,000. Thanks to the unwavering love and support from their guests, 100% of the proceeds from all Grand Slam breakfasts ordered on February 27th will be going to provide critical support to WITS and CKNW Kids Fund programs.

Born from humble beginnings in 2007, the inspiration for Pink Shirt Day came from a simple act of kindness in a small-town Nova Scotia high school. From 2008, moved by the events of this simple initiative, provincial and national governments began to proclaim that the last Wednesday of each February annually would be Pink Shirt/anti-bullying day, with countries across the globe also organizing bullying prevention fundraisers of their own in the years after.

For almost 60 years, Dennys Canada has worked to actively engage with their guests and make a positive impact in collaboration with meaningful organizations. They believe that local businesses and communities grow together when there is partnership and support. Throughout the last five years, Dennys Canada has helped to raise over $100,000 to donate to these two incredible bullying prevention organizations.

We have always been active members of the communities we serve. For the fifth year in a row, we are thrilled to partner with the WITS Foundation and CKNW Kids Fund for our Pink Shirt Day fundraiser, which supports bullying prevention. Were so thankful to our team members and guests for participating in these meaningful events over the years. shares Deborah Gagnon, President & Chief Operating Officer of Dennys of Canada & Bar One.

Located in British Columbia, CKNW Kids Fund is a provincial group that provides timely support to vulnerable kids with physical, mental, and social challenges living in BC communities. During February, they work to raise awareness and funds to support anti-bullying programs in collaboration with partners. The WITS Programs Foundation is a Canadian charitable organization, whose mission is to create safe environments for children and youth.

Dennys support helps us empower thousands of Canadian kids via the WITS Programs and our Pink Shirt Day Canada broadcast, said Andy Telfer, Executive Director of the WITS Programs Foundation. With help from Dennys and the Northland group, children learn to be safe using the WITS strategies, and youth learn to make their communities more inclusive and kinder year-round through our Pink Shirt Project program.

ABOUT DENNYS CANADA

Vancouver-based Dencan Restaurants Inc. currently owns and operates 58 Dennys Restaurants across Canada and is owned by Northland Properties Corporation. Part of the highly regarded worldwide Dennys organization, Dencan Restaurants Inc. has a well-deserved reputation for high-quality food and guest satisfaction. From fluffy pancakes to crispy bacon, to juicy burgers, to something from the Fit Fare Menu, guests will always find delicious value and variety.

More information can be found at www.dennys.ca or on social @dennyscanada.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c27b6bfa-f699-409b-be33-0f0e7b566757https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d0be0239-0e27-4220-990f-d9a17511cd9fhttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8fbb2f3f-d254-479c-9b7e-213329182d3chttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c585618e-203b-4884-bc28-115c77d86d04

Media Contact Blaithin Noone Manager, Public Relations & Communications, Northland Properties +1 (604) 730-6610 [email protected]

Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Richmond Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Richmond Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Canada Grand Slam Fundraiser Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Canada Grand Slam Fundraiser Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Richmond Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Richmond Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Kelowna Pink Shirt Day - Denny's Kelowna

Source: Denny's Canada
Detroit, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DTE Energy Foundation today invited Michigan nonprofits that serve local communities to submit Letters of Intent for a chance to be selected for a grant that will support community transformation efforts. The DTE Foundation will provide up to $150,000 to be shared across two or more Michigan nonprofits focused on local, community transformation and revitalization.

Letters of Intent will be accepted now through 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1. Nonprofit organizations interested in applying can do so at the link here. The winning nonprofits will be notified by Friday, Oct. 4.

Community Transformation is a key focus of the DTE Foundation, and we understand each city in Michigan has needs specific to residents and their location, said Rodney Cole, president, DTE Foundation. Thats why its important for us to hear from the nonprofit applicants, ensuring we support their unique mission and community needs. 

The DTE Foundation transforms lives by helping area communities renew, refresh, or create community space, restore safety, beautify blocks, and increase community health and well-being. It focuses on community spaces, safety and security, and community development.

Grants will be considered when meeting the following criteria:

Applicants must be legally established 501(c)(3) public charities by the Internal Revenue Service and have the capacity to directly receive and manage the grant to be eligible.

Fiduciary, fiscal sponsor payment arrangements and Type III supporting organizations are not eligible.

The organization must be located in and directly benefit a project in Michigan.

The DTE Foundation must be the majority contributor to the overall project.

Submitted projects cannot be energy-related in any way.

The organization must provide a long-term sustainability plan for any future needs of the project.

The grantee must provide an annual report detailing the community impact of the grant.

The organization must be willing to fulfill press release and grant presentation requests.

About the DTE Energy FoundationThe DTE Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy, continuing the legacy of community support and involvement of its electric and natural gas utilities, which serve 2.3 million electric customers in Southeast Michigan and 1.3 million natural gas customers in Michigan. In 2023, the DTE Energy Foundation provided more than $17 million in grant support to nearly 300 nonprofits where the company has a business presence with a focus on driving positive, meaningful change in key areas like jobs, equity, human needs and the environment. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE aspires not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world, serving as a force for growth and prosperity in the communities across Michigan. Visit DTEFoundation.com to learn more.

###

Joelle Kruczek DTE Energy Foundation 313-235-5555

Source: DTE Energy
The United States and Brazil, the largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, are working in partnership to achieve a common desire, a common objective, a common goal to leave the next generation a better future, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro. We are focusing on the areas and on the issues that really have an impact in their daily lives. The first of these is the one existential threat to humanity, and thats climate change.

The rainforest  the Amazon  is one of the worlds greatest natural resources when it comes to actually effectively dealing with climate change carbon emissions.  So, the United States is working side by side with Brazil to support its efforts to preserve the rainforest, to combat deforestation. Were putting resources into that; were engaged with many other countries around the world to encourage them to participate.

In 2025, Brazil will head up the COP, COP30,[Conference of the Parties to the UN Climate Change Conference] in Belem. This is a very important opportunity to advance progress on the many different ways in which all of us are dealing with climate change, and we applaud Brazils leadership, said Secretary Blinken.

Another area where Brazil is leading, and the United States has partnered with Brazil, is on dealing with the challenge of food insecurity and global hunger, he said.



With Brazil, we have a partnership to bring artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve the soil in countries. And one of the things that we found and is at the heart of one of our own major new initiatives  VACS, our Vision for Adapted Crops and Soil  is when you have resilient and nutritious seeds resilient to climate change and other extreme weather patterns, when you have strong soil, anything is possible.

In all of the areas of focus that Brazil has set forward, again, it comes to advancing the rights of workers and laborers, whether it comes to dealing with climate change, food security, whether it comes to reforming the institutions that shape how countries interact around the world  we are working hand in hand with Brazil on that, said Secretary Blinken.

We remain committed  to advancing our common agenda, both between the United States and Brazil directly as well as through Brazils leadership of the G20.
TORONTO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euro Sun Mining Inc., (TSX: ESM) (Euro Sun or the Company) is pleased to announce that, through its wholly owned Romanian subsidiary SAMAX Romania S.R.L. (SAMAX), it has successfully concluded meetings with the Romanian Ministry of Economy (December 2023) and the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests (January 2024).

Represented by Mr. Grant Sboros (CEO of Euro Sun) and Mr. Sorin Halga (General Director of SAMAX), the meetings held in Bucharest have discussed various aspects of Euro Suns permitting submission and the ability of the Euro Sun to support the long-term economic aspirations of Romanias Hunedoara region.

In the meeting at the Ministry of Economy, the focus was on how Romania was working to implement the changes contained within the European Commissions recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act in the next two to three months. The meeting also examined how Romania, with its abundance of natural resources and extended border, was being identified as being at the forefront to aid and benefit in the eventual rebuild of Ukraine. The Rovina Valley Project was considered important in this regard.

In the successful engagement with the honourable minister, Mr. Mircea Fechet, Minister of Environment, Water and Forests, a full commitment of support was given to get the Rovina Valley Project into production. Once a follow-up meeting requested by this ministry is concluded, then a meeting with the Prime Minister of Romania was deemed appropriate.

Mr. Grant Sboros Chief Executive Officer of Euro Sun Mining commented, We are extremely thankful for these fruitful engagements with the honorable ministers, and deeply humbled by the support given. Our talks have highlighted the significant role that our Rovina Valley Project will play in Romanias economic future, aligned to the demands set out in the European Commissions Critical Raw Materials Act. The recognition of our ability to support the long-term economic aspirations of Romania, whilst enabling critical mineral security for Europe was also viewed as exciting.

US$125,000 Promissory Note

Euro Sun is pleased to announce that it has issued a convertible promissory note (the Note) to John Robins and James Paterson (the Lenders) providing for a principal amount of US$125,000 (the Principal Amount) and maturing on February 22, 2025. The Note bears interest at 6% per annum, compounded monthly, and is secured against all of the assets and property of the Company pursuant to a general security agreement. The Principal Amount and all interest accrued thereon is convertible into common shares of the Company (the Conversion Shares) at a price of $0.035 per Conversion Share.

Euro Sun intends to use the Principal Amount for funding annual mining license fees for the Rovina Valley Project and for working capital costs in Canada and Romania.

All Conversion Shares issued under the Promissory Note are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance.

About Euro Sun Mining Inc.

Euro Sun is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Rovina Valley gold and copper project located in west-central Romania, which hosts the second largest gold deposit in Europe.

Further information:

For further information about Euro Sun Mining, or the contents of this press release, please contact Investor Relations at [email protected]

Caution regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, adoption of the Critical Raw Materials Act, rebuilding of Ukraine, future meetings with the Romanian government, issuance of the Conversion Shares and use of proceeds of the Principal Amount. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the 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 risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.eurosunmining.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities of the Company 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, or for the account or benefit of U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements.

Source: Euro Sun Mining Inc.
TORONTO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fox River Resources Corporation (the Company or Fox River) (CSE: FOX) is pleased to provide a corporate update outlining the progress of ongoing projects.

Battery Supply Chain Initiatives  Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP)

Continue ongoing testing of Martison concentrate for production of purified phosphoric acid (PPA) incorporating the JESA Technologies Hemi-Dihydrate process, to produce merchant grade phosphoric acid (MGA);

Test development of the LFP Cathode Active Material utilizing the Martison PPA;

Continue ongoing research aimed at developing processes for the economic extraction of high-grade Niobium and REEs contained in the lateritic resource; and

Advocacy for the inclusion of phosphate on Canada's Critical Mineral list.

Pilot Plant Phosphoric Acid Tests

In Q3 2023, a 600-kilogram sample of Martison phosphate concentrate was sent to the facilities of JESA Technologies in Lakeland, Florida USA for the production of phosphoric acid using the JESA Technologies Hemi-Dihydrate (HDH) process. In excess of 100 litres of Merchant Grade Acid (MGA - 54% P2O5) were produced for the purposes of testing its suitability for the production of purified phosphoric acid (PPA) used in the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery markets, the results of which are expected to be announced upon the completion of the final report in late Q1.

Producing PPA for the LFP Battery Market

The Company is currently evaluating the various process requirements for producing PPA specifically for the LFP battery markets. The PPA chemical specifications are dependent on the technology being deployed by the various LFP producers and will thus determine the necessary pre-treatment and post-treatment steps during the solvent extraction stages to produce the PPA. Determining what pre-treatments or post-treatments are required will have a direct impact on both the capital cost and operating costs of the PPA plant. Once this has been defined with the chosen LFP producer, the company will proceed to produce PPA for the specific LFP process being utilized (anticipated to be by Q3).

Produce LFP Cathode Active Material utilizing the Martison PPA

Government policy initiatives in both Canada and the United States have been enacted to secure the North American supply chain for materials critical for the production of LFP batteries. Having the PPA and the LFP cathode active material (CAM) produced in North America is essential for the avoidance of potential geopolitical risks associated with non-allied imports.

An update regarding the timing for conducting LFP tests will be given once the production of PPA is completed.

Develop a Metallurgical Process for the High-Grade Niobium and REE Lateritic Resource

Along with the Niobium (Nb) and Rare Earth Elements (REE), the lateritic material contains high levels of iron oxide in the form of goethite (-FeO(OH)). Fox River is investigating pyrometallurgical processes to extract the Nb and REE from the lateritic material by reducing the iron oxides to metallic iron through either high-temperature smelting or direct reduction and concentrating the Nb and REE into a low-mass slag or gangue phase, allowing for economic recovery by leaching. Initial experiments at laboratories in South Africa and Canada show that the process is promising, and work is continuing.

An alternative process is under investigation, whereby the lateritic material is baked at high temperature with concentrated sulphuric acid. This converts the REE to water-soluble sulphates and the goethite to insoluble Fe2O3. Additional work is required to determine the recoverability of the Nb under this process.

Advocacy for the Addition of Phosphate to Canadas Critical Mineral List

The Company feels that phosphate meets the Canadian Critical Mineral Criteria as currently outlined.

Phosphate is an essential mineral for both the production of Lithium Iron Phosphate cathode active material for the EV battery markets, and for a secure domestic supply of phosphate fertilizer to the Canadian farmer. The company continues to advocate for the inclusion of phosphate to the Federal Critical Mineral List. This would allow the project access to the federal governments funding programs involving grants, infrastructure funding, loan guarantees, and investment tax credits.

The Federal Government is also streamlining the timeline of the permitting process for Critical Mineral project development.

Technical Information

Mr. Tim Horner, P.Geo. CGeol CEng, Consulting Geologist for the Company, is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, responsible for the accuracy of technical information contained in this news release.

ABOUT FOX RIVER

Fox River owns a 100% interest in the Martison Phosphate Project, located near Hearst, Ontario. The Martison Phosphate Project hosts the Anomaly A deposit which forms the basis for a positive preliminary economic assessment with an effective date of April 21, 2022. Additional information can be found at www.fox-river.ca or under Fox Rivers profile on SEDAR.

For further information, please contact:

Stephen D. CasePresident & Chief Executive OfficerTel: (416) 972-9222www.fox-river.ca

Neither the Canadian Securities 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, exploration results, potential mineralization, statements relating to mineral resources, and the Companys plans with respect to the exploration and development of its properties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of Fox River Resources Corporation, including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, volatility of commodity prices, risks associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and estimates, currency fluctuations, dependency upon regulatory approvals, the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing, and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

Source: Fox River Resources Corporation
The board of directors of IDEX Biometrics ASA has resolved to issue 358,525 ordinary shares at NOK 1.32 per share to employees who participate in the companys 2023 Emloyee Share Purchase Plan (ESPP). The ESPP was approved by the annual general meeting on 23May 2023.

12 employees participated in the ESPP in this period. The participating employees have elected to invest a part of the base salary in ordinary shares in the company. Purchase takes place every six months.

Following the issue, the company's share capital will be NOK 41,964,098.25 divided into 279,760,655 shares, each with a nominal value of NOK 0.15.

Primary insiders

IDEX Biometrics discloses transactions by the following primary insiders in IDEX Biometrics shares ISIN NO0013107490:

CEO Vince Graziani acquired 64,127 ordinary shares at NOK 1.32 per share.

IDEX Biometrics 2023 ESPP

The ESPP was approved at the annual general meeting on 23 May 2023. Reference is made to the notice of that meeting where the plan document for the ESPP was attached.

All employees in the company and its subsidiaries, except in China, have been offered to subscribe for shares in the Company in connection with the ESPP. The ESPP is structured around two contribution periods, starting on 1 September and 1 March and lasting for the following six months. During each contribution period, a fixed amount (up to 20% of the employees gross base salary) is withheld from the employees net salary each month. The employee may sign up to participate in the ESPP from the date of the public disclosure of the interim report before the contribution period until the beginning of the contribution period. Unless the employee actively withdraws from the ESPP, participation is automatically renewed for the same amount for subsequent contribution periods. The board's resolution to issue new shares in connection with the ESPP is made pursuant to the authorization granted by the company's annual general meeting on 23 May 2023 to increase the company's share capital in connection with the ESPP.

In accordance with the ESPP, the subscription price is the lower closing price of the IDEX Biometrics share, as traded on Oslo Brs, on the first or last day of the contribution period, less 15% discount. Payment of the subscription amount is made out of the relevant employee salary withholding.

In accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the Prospectus Regulation) Article 1 (5) h, issuance of shares in connection with the ESPP is exempt from the obligation to publish a listing prospectus.

For further information contact:

Marianne Be, Head of investor relations

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: + 47 9180 0186

About IDEX Biometrics

IDEX Biometrics ASA (OSE: IDEX) is a global technology leader in fingerprint biometrics, offering authentication solutions across payments, access control, and digital identity. Our solutions bring convenience, security, peace of mind and seamless user experiences to the world. Built on patented and proprietary sensor technologies, integrated circuit designs, and software, our biometric solutions target card-based applications for payments and digital authentication. As an industry-enabler we partner with leading card manufacturers and technology companies to bring our solutions to market.

For more information, visit www.idexbiometrics.com

About this notice

This notice was published by Erling Svela, Vice president of finance, on 1 March 2024 at 19:30 CET on behalf of IDEX Biometrics ASA. The information shall be disclosed according to section 58 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act (STA) and in accordance with section 512 of the STA.
NEW YORK, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYCB or the Company) (NYSE: NYCB) and reminds investors of the April 8, 2024 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.



Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In NYCB To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you suffered losses exceeding $100,000 investing in NYCB stock or options between March 1, 2023 and February 5, 2024 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/NYCB .

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com .

As detailed below, the complaint alleges that the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by making false and/or misleading statements and/or failing to disclose that: (i) the Signature Bank acquisition would not be immediately accretive to New York Community Bancorp because it caused New York Community Bancorp to be required to comply with materially enhanced prudential standards, including, among other things, risk-based and leverage capital requirements, and liquidity standards, and required that New York Community Bancorp build capital, reinforce its balance sheet and strengthen its risk management processes; (ii) New York Community Bancorp failed to comply with the materially enhanced prudential standards; (iii) New York Community Bancorp overstated the quality of its commercial office loan assets; (iv) New York Community Bancorp was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio than represented; (v) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to incur higher loan losses because it was experiencing higher net charge-offs and deterioration in its commercial office portfolio; (vi) New York Community Bancorp was reasonably likely to be forced to increase its allowance for credit losses due to its status as Category IV bank; (vii) New York Community Bancorp's loan loss provisions were understated so it overstated quarterly earnings and/or understated quarterly losses; and (viii) New York Community Bancorp failed to have adequate internal risk or disclosure controls and procedures.

On January 31, 2024, New York Community Bancorp disclosed that it had recorded a $552 million provision for loan losses, up significantly from the $62 million reported just one quarter earlier, and that as a result, New York Community Bancorp had incurred a 4Q23 loss of $252 million, or $0.36 per share, down significantly from a profit of $0.27 per share Wall Street consensus estimate. New York Community Bancorp also disclosed it would cut its quarterly dividend from $0.17 to $0.05 per share. On this news, the price of New York Community Bancorp stock fell nearly 38%.

Then, on February 5, 2024, Bloomberg reported, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter, that it had been mounting pressure from a top US watchdog that led to New York Community Bancorp's surprise decision to slash its dividend and stockpile cash in case commercial real estate loans [went] bad. According to the Bloomberg article, [t]he drastic financial moves . . . followed behind-the-scenes conversations with officials from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the people said, asking not to be identified describing the confidential discussions. On this news, the price of New York Community Bancorp stock fell more than 22%.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding NYCBs conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP ( www.faruqilaw.com ). Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4bde5a72-f32e-4aaf-9187-2830bc82c5a2
OTTAWA, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dominion President Bruce Julian issued a statement today in the wake of the passing of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, P.C. C.C. G.O.Q., 18th Prime Minister of Canada, who passed away on February 29, 2024.

On behalf of The Royal Canadian Legion, I would like to express condolences to the family of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on his passing. We remember his dedication to Canada and thank him for his lengthy service to our country.

All Legion branches will fly the Canadian and Legion flags at half-mast until sunset on the day of the funeral.

About The Royal Canadian Legion

Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canadas largest Veteran support and community service organization. We are a non-profit organization with a national reach across Canada as well as branches in the U.S. and Europe. With close to 260,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches, our strength is in our numbers.

Public Relations / Media Inquiries: [email protected]; Nujma Bond 343-540-7604Legion.caFacebook.com/CanadianLegionTwitter.com/RoyalCdnLegionInstagram.com/royalcanadianlegionYouTube.com/user/RCLDominionCommandLinkedIn.com/company/royalcanadianlegion

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2894965a-cf3f-4273-a281-fa870e166357

Legion flags at half-mast In honour of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

Source: The Royal Canadian Legion
Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, Inc. v. Dept. of Energy, Office of Management and Budget, and Energy Information Administration, Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Administrator Joseph DeCarolis, et al.

Washington, D.C., March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance settled with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to formally end an attempt to force cryptocurrency mining companies to hand over sensitive information about their operations through a mandatory Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Survey. NCLA alleged that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had given EIA emergency permission to collect this data despite EIAs failure to demonstrate that short-cutting the statutory process would prevent public harm, as federal law requires. Representing the Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, Inc., NCLA celebrates this victory in defense of privacy rights and the rule of law, thanking co-counsel Gray Reed and Cherry Johnson Siegmund James for their tireless work every step of the way.

Without following the notice-and-comment process, EIA Administrator Joseph DeCarolis requested on January 24 that OMB allow his agency to demand monthly information collections from cryptocurrency mining companies about their energy consumption, including sensitive and highly proprietary information. DeCaroliss request relied on EIAs assertion that cryptocurrency mining potentially disrupted the electric power industry, claiming that EIA should be allowed to skip the Paperwork Reduction Acts required comment process before such data collection because public harm is reasonably likely if normal clearance procedures are followed. In fact, EIA never established that public harm would likely result if its faux emergency request were denied.

On February 23, NCLA secured a Temporary Restraining Order blocking EIAs survey for 14 days nationwide. Now, DOE and EIA have agreed to withdraw the survey and destroy any information they received in response to it. They also agreed to withdraw their February 9 notice, which sought comments about continuing the emergency survey. Instead, the agencies will publish a new notice in the Federal Register proposing data collection and allow comments to be submitted for 60 days afterward, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The federal agencies have additionally agreed to fully reimburse NCLAs travel expenses under the Equal Access to Justice Act through today.

NCLAs Texas Blockchain Council v. Dept. of Energy lawsuit alleged that in unlawfully demanding these companies data, EIA appeared to be responding to political pressure rather than a genuine emergency implicating public harm. But the Paperwork Reduction Act allows emergency exceptions only in limited circumstances. EIA is wise to abandon this effort and pursue any proposed survey through proper legal channels. NCLA will remain vigilant against future Administrative State attempts to unlawfully collect Americans information and property.

NCLA released the following statements:

Public notice and comment is integral to how our government functions. We are pleased that the parties were able to reach an agreement and secure the opportunity for our clientsand the public at largeto comment on the governments proposal. It is critical that our nations data remain impartial and that starts with an open and transparent process.

 Kara Rollins, Litigation Counsel, NCLA

We appreciate the governments prompt recognition that it had no plausible emergency justification for circumventing the notice-and-comment requirements put in place to prevent rushed and ill-considered agency action, but it shouldnt have required an emergency lawsuit to stop EIAs lawless survey. OMB and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs are supposed to be the watchdogs here, but it seems they may be asleep at the switch.

 Russ Ryan, Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

For more information visit the case page here.

ABOUT NCLA

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights.

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TORONTO, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors for the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is pleased to announce four appointments to the board:

Mary Condon has joined the board as a Consumer Interest Director. She is a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School where she teaches Securities Regulation and Advanced Securities in Osgoodes JD program and directs and teaches the Professional LLM program in Securities Law. She served as Dean and Interim Dean of the school from 2018 to 2023. In October 2023, Ms. Condon was appointed as a part-time adjudicator of the Capital Markets Tribunal (Ontario). Previously, she was a board member of the Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization, and Commissioner and board member of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), where she was also a Vice-Chair. In January 2024, she was appointed a Commission member of the Central Bank of Ireland. In 2018, she was named one of the top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada by Womens Executive Network. She is a recipient of the Walter S. Owen Chair from University of British Columbia and the first recipient of the Alan Marks Medal from University of Toronto.

Bonnie Lysyk has joined the board as a Community Director. She became the 13th Auditor General of Ontario on September 3, 2013, after having previously served as Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan, and Deputy Auditor General and Chief Operating Officer of Manitoba. She completed her 10-year term as Auditor General of Ontario on September 3, 2023. She also has significant experience working in senior roles in the energy, insurance and pension sectors, and has served on financial sector, professional, and not-for-profit boards. She has delivered audit and governance training domestically and overseas. In 2020, she was presented with the Distinguished Leader Award by the Goodman School of Business of Brock University for inspiring the next generation of business leaders. In November 2023 Toronto Life listed Ms. Lysyk as eight in their Top 50 Most Influential People of 2023. She is a Senior Fellow with the C.D. Howe Institute and a contributing columnist with The Trillium: Queens Park News.

Sarah Shody has joined the board as an Industry Director. She is the Associate General Counsel, Wealth for HSBC Canada, where she advises HSBC Canada on legal matters related to its retail wealth management and asset management businesses. Prior to joining HSBC Canada, Ms. Shody held roles at Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal, and prior to those, she practiced litigation at two of Canadas top Bay Street law firms. She is also an Industry Member of the Hearing Committee of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario School of Law, and also holds a B.A. in Media, Information and Technoculture from the University of Western Ontario.

Michael Thom has joined the board as a Consumer Interest Director. He is the Managing Director for CFA Societies Canada. He leads the strategic direction of CFA Societies Canada and advances the highest professional standards of integrity and ethics for the ultimate benefit of Canadian society. He joined CFA Societies Canada following many years of leadership in capital markets and investment management. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia and is both a CFA charterholder and CAIA charterholder.

OBSIs bylaws require the majority of directors, including the chair, to be independent, meaning they have not been affiliated with industry or government for at least two years. These independent directors are referred to as community directors. Three of the community directors are also designated as consumer interest directors, who have a particular interest in, access to, and competency with the interests and perspectives of the types of consumers that OBSI serves. The board also includes three designated industry directors who are directly affiliated with a participating firm.

Industry directors and consumer interest directors are expected to bring their unique perspectives and expertise to board deliberations to ensure that OBSI governance is undertaken with an understanding and appreciation of the interests and concerns of all the stakeholders served by the organization. All directors have a fiduciary duty to OBSI and do not advocate for or represent any outside interest while engaged in OBSI governance.

The Board of Directors would also like to express its sincere thanks to community directors Catherine Adams, Carmela Haines and Bharat Mahajan who have completed their terms, for their contributions, insights and commitment to OBSI throughout their many years of service.

More information about the Board of Directors is available on the OBSI website here.

Canadas Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is a national, independent, not-for-profit organization that helps resolve and reduce disputes between consumers and financial services firms in both official languages. OBSI is responsive to consumer inquiries, conducts fair and accessible investigations of unresolved disputes, and shares its knowledge and expertise with all stakeholders and the public. If a consumer has a complaint against an OBSI participating bank or investment firm that they are not able to resolve with the bank or firm, OBSI will investigate at no cost to the consumer. Where a complaint has merit, OBSI may recommend compensation up to a maximum of $350,000.

For more information, contact:Mark Wright, Director, Communications and Stakeholder Relations416-287-2877 ext.2225[email protected]

Source: Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
OKLAHOMA CITY, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) has been selected as one of 19 U.S. institutions to participate in the prestigious International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) focusing on Thailand.

The Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Embassy Bangkok identified a cohort of 48 U.S. and Thai higher education institutions for the program. U.S. participants include community colleges, state colleges and universities, and private institutions from 15 states. Thai participants include a diverse group of institutions across the country, focusing on areas such as teaching, agriculture, engineering, and community engagement.

For the next nine months, this group will work on developing and enhancing international higher education partnerships between the two countries.

"Oklahoma City Community College is honored to be one of 19 institutions chosen by the Institute of International Education to participate in this International Academic Partnership Program with Thailand," said OCCC President Dr. Mautra Staley Jones.

In April 2024, U.S. participants will join a high-level delegation to Thailand to visit potential partners, learn first-hand about the Thai higher education landscape, and meet with a range of entities that play important roles in higher education cooperation, such as the U.S. Embassy, EducationUSA, and the Thai Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation.

"Building a partnership with Thailand opens doors to cultural exchange and academic collaboration while recruiting international students enriches our campus community with different perspectives and talents," said Dr. Jason Johnson, vice president of Student Affairs at OCCC.

IAPP was developed by IIEs Center for International Partnership in 2009 as international academic partnerships were on the rise, but without professional guidance or strategy. Since its inception, the program has worked with more than 350 higher education institutions and 13 partner countries, including Norway, Cuba, Greece, New Zealand, and India.

About Oklahoma City Community College

Since its inception in 1972, Oklahoma City Community College (OCCC) has been the heartbeat of the Metro, dedicated to empowering learners and strengthening communities. Serving more than 18,000 students, we are committed to producing leaders. Student Success, Community Enrichment is our mission, and we offer more than 87 degree and certificate programs that provide a foundation for further education or immediate career readiness. We remain dedicated to providing accessible, affordable, high-quality education that equips students to achieve personal and professional goals. OCCC is more than an institution; we are a community catalyst, fostering growth and success in our city, our workforce, and the lives of our students. Discover your potential at OCCC, where your future is our purpose. Visit us at occc.edu.

Contact:Sarah Barrow Executive Director of Communication 405-834-5406 [email protected]

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ab82022d-2aa1-4fb2-9ff0-40586795f463

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/69ba1284-fdc0-4f53-92c9-05ceab1d0e55

Oklahoma City Community College campus OCCC is the fourth-largest institution of higher education in Oklahoma, serving more than 18,000 students. Dr. Mautra Staley Jones, president of OCCC More than 40 countries are represented within the Oklahoma City Community College student body.

Source: Oklahoma City Community College
TORONTO, Feb. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Talisker Resources Ltd. (Talisker or the Company) (TSX:TSK | OTCQX: TSKFF) is pleased to announce additional high-grade drill results highlighted by 24.41 g/t Au over 1.50 metres within a broader interval of 7.33 g/t over 5.70 metres at its 100% owned flagship Bralorne Gold Project.

Key Points:

Talisker initiated resource conversion drilling on October 17, 2023 with 15,000 metres of planned drilling.

Hole SB-2023-030A intersected 24.41 g/t Au over 1.50 metres within a broader interval of 7.33 g/t Au over 5.70 metres on the BK-9870 Vein.

on the BK-9870 Vein. Hole SB-2023-030A also intersected 10.40 g/t Au over 0.80 metres within a broader interval of 5.51 g/t Au over 3.00 metres on the Alhambra Vein.

on the Alhambra Vein. Hole SB-2023-026 intersected 18.93 g/t Au over 1.00 metres within a broader interval of 6.49 g/t over 4.95 metres on the BK-9870 Vein.

on the BK-9870 Vein. The resource conversion drill program is focused on increasing confidence in the Alhambra, BK-9870 and BK Vein.

A total of 81 drill holes were drilled during the resource conversion program, totaling 14,949 metres.

All 2023 assays have been received. Currently, there are 2,157 samples from the 2024 Q1 drilling program at the assay laboratory awaiting to be received.

SB-2023-026 Description

All assays have been received.

Located in the King block and hosted in diorite intrusive.

Intersected the BK-9870 vein from 51.70  57.00 m.

SB-2023-030A Description

All assays have been received.

Located in the King block and hosted in diorite intrusive.

Intersected the BK-9870 vein from 62.90  63.50 m.

Intersected the Alhambra vein from 159.75  160.35 m

Major vein structures intersected are considered classic Bralorne crack-seal quartz-carbonate veins with densely banded sulphide septae. Crack-seal septae host fine-grained arsenopyrite and pyrite mineralization. Alteration halos consist of strong silica-sericitemariposite alteration halos.

Table 1: Bralorne Gold Project - Drill Holes SB-2023-026 and 2023-030A Diamond Drill Hole Name From(m) To(m) Interval(m) Au(g/t) Interpreted Structure SB-2023-026 49.2 50.2 1 2.05 BK-9870 Vein Halo SB-2023-026 50.2 51.2 1 0.97 SB-2023-026 51.2 51.7 0.5 2.26 SB-2023-026 51.7 52.2 0.5 6.47 SB-2023-026 52.2 53 0.8 4.32 SB-2023-026 53 53.5 0.5 0.55 SB-2023-026 53.5 54 0.5 0.02 SB-2023-026 54 54.5 0.5 13.65 BK-9870 Vein SB-2023-026 54.5 55 0.5 24.20 SB-2023-026 55 56 1 1.30 BK-9870 Vein Halo SB-2023-026 56 56.65 0.65 7.55 SB-2023-026 56.65 57.15 0.5 0.82 SB-2023-026 57.15 57.65 0.5 1.29 SB-2023-030A 62.3 62.8 0.5 2.61 BK-9870 Vein Halo SB-2023-030A 62.8 63.3 0.5 64.80 BK-9870 Vein SB-2023-030A 63.3 63.8 0.5 5.81 SB-2023-030A 63.8 64.4 0.6 0.18 BK-9870 Vein Halo SB-2023-030A 64.4 65.4 1 0.29 SB-2023-030A 65.4 66.2 0.8 0.24 SB-2023-030A 66.2 67 0.8 1.98 SB-2023-030A 67 68 1 2.97 SB-2023-030A 158.1 158.6 0.5 0.46 Alhambra Vein Halo SB-2023-030A 158.6 159.1 0.5 1.98 SB-2023-030A 159.1 159.6 0.5 3.92 Alhambra Vein SB-2023-030A 159.6 160.4 0.8 10.40 SB-2023-030A 160.4 160.9 0.5 2.10 Alhambra Vein Halo SB-2023-030A 160.9 161.4 0.5 0.88 SB-2023-030A 161.4 162 0.6 3.11 SB-2023-030A 162 162.6 0.6 8.10 SB-2023-030A 162.6 163.75 1.15 2.20 SB-2023-030A 163.75 164.35 0.6 2.50 SB-2023-030A 164.35 164.85 0.5 3.91 SB-2023-030A 164.85 165.35 0.5 3.13 SB-2023-030A 165.35 165.9 0.55 1.25 SB-2023-030A 165.9 167 1.1 0.10 Notes: Diamond drill hole SB-2023-026 has a collar orientation of Azimuth 112.91; Dip -60.04. Diamond drill hole SB-2023-030A has a collar orientation of Azimuth 113.02; Dip -69.59. True widths are estimated at 40 - 90% of intercept lengths and are based on oriented core measurements where available. Method Reported includes the most up-to-date information as of the date of this press release.

All reported drill assay results are available on the Companys website.

For further information, please contact:

Terry HarbortPresident and CEO [email protected] +1 416 357 0227 Matt FilgateVice President, Corporate Development [email protected] +1 778 679 3579

Qualified Person

The technical information contained in this news release relating to the drill results at the Bralorne Gold Project has been approved by Leonardo de Souza (BSc, AusIMM (CP) Membership 224827), Taliskers Vice President, Exploration and Resource Development, who is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Talisker Resources Ltd.

Talisker (taliskerresources.com) is a junior resource company involved in the exploration and development of gold projects in British Columbia, Canada. Taliskers flagship asset is the high-grade, fully permitted Bralorne Gold Project where the Company is currently transitioning into underground production at the Mustang Mine. Talisker projects also include the Ladner Gold Project, an advanced stage project with significant exploration potential from an historical high-grade producing gold mine and the Spences Bridge Project where the Company holds ~85% of the emerging Spences Bridge Gold Belt, and several other early-stage Greenfields projects.

Sample Preparation and QAQC

Drill core at the Bralorne Gold Project is drilled in HQ to NQ size ranges (63.5mm and 47.6mm, respectively). Drill core samples are a minimum of 50 cm and a maximum of 160 cm long along the core axis. Samples are focused on an interval of interest, such as a vein or zone of mineralization. Shoulder samples bracket the interval of interest such that a total sampled core length of not less than 3m both above and below the interval of interest must be assigned. Sample QAQC measures of unmarked certified reference materials (CRMs), blanks, and duplicates are inserted into the sample sequence and makeup 9% of the samples submitted to the lab for holes reported in this release. ALS Global performs sample preparation and analyses in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and SGS Canada in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Drill core sample preparation includes drying in an oven at a maximum temperature of 60C, fine crushing of the sample to at least 70% passing less than 2 mm, sample splitting using a riffle splitter, and pulverizing a 250 g split to at least 85% passing 75 microns (ALS code PREP-31 / SGS code PRP89). Gold in diamond drill core is analyzed by fire assay and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) of a 50g sample (ALS code Au-AA26 / SGS code GO_FAA50V10), while multi-element chemistry is analyzed by 4- Acid digestion of a 0.25 g sample split with detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) for 48 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Re, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn, Zr). Gold assay technique (ALS code Au-AA26 / SGS code FAA50V10) has an upper detection limit of 100 ppm. Any sample that produces an over-limit gold value via the gold assay technique is sent for gravimetric finish (ALS method Au-GRA22 / SGS method GO_FAG50V) which has an upper detection limit of 1,000 ppm Au. Samples where visible gold was observed are sent directly to screen metallics analysis and all samples that fire assay above 1 ppm Au are re-analysed with method (ALS code Au-SCR24 / SGS code - 6 - GO_FAS50M) which employs a 1kg pulp screened to 100 microns with assay of the entire oversize fraction and duplicate 50g assays on the undersize fraction. Where possible all samples initially sent to screen metallics processing will also be re-run through the fire assay with gravimetric finish provided there is enough material left for further processing

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. The use of any of the words could, intend, expect, believe, will, projected, estimated and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on Taliskers current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Various assumptions or factors are typically applied in drawing conclusions or making the forecasts or projections set out in forward-looking information. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to Talisker. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of Taliskers management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, title and environmental risks and risks relating to the failure to receive all requisite shareholder and regulatory approvals.

The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and Talisker is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

Figure 1: Plan view showing location of SB-2023-026 and 2023-030A in relation to the proposed Mustang Mine development.

Figure 2: Cross section showing the SB-202-026 drill hole intersection on the BK-987 Vein with previously released hole SB-2023-031.

Figure 3: Cross section showing SB-2023-030A intersection on the BK-9870 Vein and Alhambra Vein with previously released holes SB-2023-007 and SB-2023-031.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2f1caa5b-9b24-4ffb-8a7c-3a0b9fa6226e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b6cf05dd-c8ad-44b9-ab0a-a5b4eaa05c1a

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bf487f55-4922-4e68-97ab-ff33034651d5

Figure 1 Plan view showing location of SB-2023-026 and 2023-030A in relation to the proposed Mustang Mine development. Figure 2 Cross section showing the SB-202-026 drill hole intersection on the BK-987 Vein with previously released hole SB-2023-031. Figure 3 Cross section showing SB-2023-030A intersection on the BK-9870 Vein and Alhambra Vein with previously released holes SB-2023-007 and SB-2023-031.

Source: Talisker Resources Ltd.
SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Macerich Company (NYSE: MAC) (the Company) announced that it granted two inducement equity awards to Jackson Hsieh on March 1, 2024, the effective date of Mr. Hsiehs appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, pursuant to the employment agreement entered into between the Company and Mr. Hsieh effective March 1, 2024. The awards were granted in accordance with New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual Rule 303A.08 as an inducement to Mr. Hsiehs employment with the Company.



The inducement awards include a sign-on equity grant in the amount of 304,692 Company Long-Term Incentive (LTIP) units (the Sign-On LTIP Grant) and an annual equity grant in the amount of 396,098 LTIP units (the 2024 Annual LTIP Grant). Each of the Sign-On LTIP Grant and 2024 Annual LTIP Grant will generally have the same terms and conditions as LTIP units granted under the Companys Long-Term Incentive Program and the Companys Amended and Restated 2003 Equity Incentive Plan (the Equity Plan), but such inducement awards will be granted outside of the Equity Plan reserve.

The Sign-On LTIP Grant will vest 50% on the third anniversary and 25% on each of the fourth and fifth anniversaries measured from March 1, 2024, subject to Mr. Hsiehs continued service with the Company on each applicable vesting date. The Sign-On LTIP Grant is subject to certain termination-related vesting provisions generally providing for, in the event of an involuntary termination of employment without cause or resignation for good reason, or in the event of Mr. Hsiehs termination of employment due to death, disability, or retirement, accelerated vesting of all remaining unvested LTIP units subject to the Sign-On LTIP Grant.

The 2024 Annual LTIP Grant has been granted in the following allocations: 35% of the award as a time-vesting award vesting ratably over three years (one-third per year measured from January 1, 2024), and 65% of the award as a performance-vesting award vesting over a three-year performance period and with an opportunity to earn up to a maximum of 579,294 LTIP units based on one or more pre-established performance goals established by the Companys Board of Directors (or a committee thereof) in its sole discretion, subject to a potential cap of 386,196 LTIP units based on the Companys compounded total annual return over the three-year performance period, and further adjusted on a range from (x) the number of earned LTIP units plus 20% of such LTIP units to (y) the number of earned LTIP units minus 20% of such LTIP units, in either case based on the Companys percentile rank performance with respect to per-share total return to holders of the Companys common stock relative to the total return of a group of peer REITs, as measured at the end of the three-year performance period. The time-vesting portion of the 2024 Annual LTIP Grant is subject to certain termination-related vesting provisions generally providing for, in the event of an involuntary termination of employment without cause or resignation for good reason, or in the event of Mr. Hsiehs termination of employment due to death, disability, or retirement, accelerated vesting of all remaining unvested time-based LTIP units subject to the 2024 Annual LTIP Grant. The performance-vesting portion of the 2024 Annual LTIP Grant is also subject to certain termination-related vesting provisions generally providing for, in the event of an involuntary termination of employment without cause or resignation for good reason, vesting based on actual performance at the end of the applicable performance period (or vesting based on actual performance measured as of the change in control date if such termination or resignation occurs in certain change in control related circumstances and if such change in control occurs prior to the end of the applicable performance period).

ABOUT MACERICH

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerichs portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, D.C. corridor. Developing and managing properties that serve as community cornerstones, Macerich currently owns 46 million square feet of real estate, consisting primarily of interests in 43 regional town centers. Macerich is firmly dedicated to advancing environmental goals, social good, and sound corporate governance. A recognized leader in sustainability, Macerich has achieved a #1 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) ranking for the North American retail sector for nine consecutive years (2015-2023). For more information, please visit www.Macerich.com.

Macerich uses, and intends to continue to use, its Investor Relations website, which can be found at www.investing.macerich.com, as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Additional information about Macerich can be found through social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

INVESTOR CONTACT: Samantha Greening, Assistant Vice President, Investor

Relations, [email protected]
Yemen is at a crucial moment, declared Timothy Lenderking, U.S. special envoy for Yemen in recent Congressional testimony. Reckless Houthi attacks are jeopardizing the very real accomplishments of multilateral diplomacy over the past three years, he warned.

Iran is equipping and facilitating Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives are supporting Houthi attacks from inside Yemen. I can't imagine the Yemeni people, want these Iranians in their country. This must stop.

The Houthis have launched more than 45 attacks against oil tankers and other ships carrying hazardous materials. They are making maritime traffic through the Red Sea costly and dangerous, noted Special Envoy Lenderking:

The Houthis are exacerbating economic and humanitarian conditions in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia and elsewhere. These attacks on commercial vessels are acts of terrorism. The Houthis are not even adhering to their stated goals. They are mostly striking ships with no connection whatsoever to Israel, and driving up the difficulty and cost of delivering humanitarian aid to people around the world, including, of course, to Yemenis themselves.

Houthi hypocrisy becomes even clearer as we look at their continued abuse of the human rights of the Yemeni people, declared Mr. Lenderking:

Their detention facilities are filling up with political detainees. They are recruiting child soldiers and indoctrinating them in hate. They are blockading the city of Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, and they routinely restrict humanitarian access.

In response to the Red Sea threat, the United States and its partners are employing a military, economic, and diplomatic strategy to raise the cost of continued attacks and shift the Houthi calculus. The U.S. military has acted decisively to thwart the Houthi military threat. In addition, on February 16 the U.S. designated the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global terrorist organization.

On January 10th, the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 2722, which demands a halt to these reckless attacks. Such efforts are one component of a broader diplomatic strategy, said Mr. Lenderking. We do not seek this confrontation, but we will respond to the attacks, he assured.

Ultimately, peace in Yemen serves the interests of all Yemenis, just as it does those of the United States and its regional partners.
UDINE, Italy, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Travels With Audrey, a local private travel company has become Italys first to offer discerning travelers cultural vacations in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

Founded in 2015 by International Certified Tour Manager, Audrey De Monte, Travels With Audrey, started as a provider of private guided tours in Italy, France, and Spain. After discovering Friuli and meeting her husband, Manlio, a local Friulano, the company underwent a transformation in 2023. Now, Travels With Audrey stands as one of Italys first to provide travelers with genuine, personalized cultural experiences in Friuli.

Audrey goes beyond typical tourist experiences by linking travelers with local artisans, licensed tour guides, and friends in what is known as one of Europes best kept secrets. The company also takes pride in hosting guests, planning personalized tours in small groups and introducing travelers to local farm-to-table eateries and regional wines.

Audrey De Monte shares, I truly believe that one of the best ways to experience travel is to immerse yourself in the traditions and experiences of a local. At Travels with Audrey, we are so proud to be the first travel company in Friuli-Venezia Giulia to personally host cultural vacations, while providing genuine and enriching experiences that guests will truly love.

Travels With AudreyTravels with Audrey is a privately owned travel company that was founded in 2015 by Audrey De Monte, an International Certified Tour Manager and multi-lingual travel expert. With a focus on cultural experiences, Audrey is passionate about connecting travelers to the local culture in Italy. Their tours provide travelers with the opportunity to escape the crowds, connect with locals, enjoy regional dishes, taste local wines, as well as much more.

For further information about Travels with Audrey and available tours please contact: Audrey De Monte at [email protected].

Source: Travels With Audrey
(Updated - March 1, 2024 4:03 PM EST)Boeing (NYSE: BA) is currently in discussions to acquire Spirit AeroSystems ...

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FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc, is seen in Wichita, Kansas, U.S. December 17, 2019. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo

By Tim Hepher and Allison Lampert

PARIS/MONTREAL (Reuters) -Airbus and Spirit AeroSystems have explored the idea of the European planemaker taking over a plant in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Spirit makes wings for the A220 but no such deal is likely in the short term, industry sources said.

An Airbus spokesperson said it had no comment on M&A speculation.

A spokesperson for Spirit, which has said it is in ongoing contractual price negotiations with Airbus, said "we continue discussions with Airbus. We value our partnership with Airbus".

Airbus bought the 110-130-seat CSeries passenger jet programme from Canada's Bombardier in 2018 and renamed it A220.

Cash-strapped Bombardier subsequently sold the Belfast plant, where it had started building the jet's carbon-composite wings, to Spirit, which is in turn a former subsidiary of Boeing.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier that Boeing is in talks to buy back Spirit which is struggling with cash flow problems.

Spirit has said it is negotiating higher prices with Airbus having reached a pricing deal with Boeing. Airbus, on the other hand, has pushed in the past for Spirit to cut prices as part of efforts to bring the A220 into the black, the sources said.

By-passing the pricing talks by bringing the loss-making wing manufacturing for the A220 in-house is not seen as Airbus' preferred option, but the question of ownership could become a more urgent topic if Spirit is re-absorbed into Boeing.

Bombardier bought Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing employer from Short Brothers, the world's oldest planemaker, in 1989.

In 2017, the politically sensitive plant was caught in the cross-hairs of a dispute between Boeing and Bombardier about aircraft subsidies.

It employs innovative techniques to build wings for the A220, reducing the involvement of energy-guzzling autoclaves or pressurised ovens.

But industry sources say the wings are built at a significant loss, meaning Airbus could be forced to redesign them at an estimated cost of $1-2 billion to make them profitable to build if it eventually took control of the plant.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Allison Lampert, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)
CAVE CREEK, AZ

Endexx Corporation (OTCQB: EDXC), a pioneer in the plant-based wellness sector, today disclosed a pivotal update to its corporate governance framework. Following a comprehensive review and in alignment with our strategic vision for growth and transparency, Endexx has made the decisive move to engage Victor Mokuolu, CPA PLLC (VMCPA) as our new independent auditor, effective from the fiscal year ended September 30, 2023. This transition is detailed in our recent Form 8-K/A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

NewMediaWire ) - March 01, 2024 -

The decision to part ways with our previous auditors, Turner, Stone & Company, L.L.P. (T&S), was ratified by our Board of Directors on February 9, 2024. It's imperative to note that this change was necessitated by a series of challenges, including delays and disagreements which we believe were not in the best interest of our company and its stakeholders. Despite our efforts to resolve these matters, it became clear that a change was necessary to uphold our commitment to the highest standards of accuracy, transparency, and accountability in our financial reporting.

The engagement of VMCPA marks a significant milestone in Endexxs journey. Finding a new auditor under such circumstances was a challenging endeavor, reflecting our determination to align with partners who share our values and commitment to excellence. VMCPA brings a fresh perspective and a high level of expertise that we believe will be instrumental in our continued growth and success.

This auditor transition is one of many steps we are taking to strengthen our corporate governance, enhance operational efficiencies, and drive sustainable growth. We are confident that this change aligns with our strategic goals and the long-term interests of our shareholders.

Endexx Corporation is on a path of strategic evolution, with a focus on expanding our market reach, enhancing our product offerings, and delivering value to our shareholders. We are committed to navigating these changes with integrity, transparency, and a forward-looking approach.

We appreciate the patience and support of our shareholders during this transition period. Endexx looks forward to a future filled with opportunity, growth, and innovation. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to advance our mission of delivering high-quality, plant-based wellness products to consumers worldwide.

About Endexx Corporation

Endexx Corporation develops and distributes all-natural, plant-derived wellness products and topical skincare products. Its products vary from balms, creams, lotions, butter, masks, scrubs, and oils, all with the shared purpose of healthy skin and grooming wellness. The science behind these products involves a decade of clinical research in the field and lab work to provide a functional formulation with ingredients for optimal absorption and support of skin health. www.endexx.com

Hyla currently markets its proprietary non-nicotine, guarana, and L-Dopa-based vape products in a wide variety of flavors. The Hyla device is the first non-nicotine vape product to be produced in this manner in the United States and provides an unprecedented 4,500 puffs per device. Hyla is currently being distributed in 10 countries and has signed distribution agreements with an additional nine countries. www.tryhyla.com

Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This presentation may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future development activities. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief, or current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with the Companys business and finances in general, including the ability to continue and manage its growth, competition, global economic conditions, and other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

No Offer or Solicitation. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, where applicable, the requirements under the securities laws of any other applicable jurisdiction.

For further details, please contact:

Endexx Corporation

[email protected]
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - BMEX Gold Inc. (TSXV: BMEX) (FSE: 8M0) ("BMEX" or the "Company") announces that it will consolidate all of its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of ten (10) preconsolidation shares for every one (1) post-consolidation share (the "Consolidation"). There are currently 86,075,932 issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. Following the Consolidation, it is expected that there will be approximately 8,607,593 common shares outstanding.

The Consolidation is subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange. The record date for the Consolidation will be set subsequent to receipt of Exchange approval for the Consolidation. The Company will issue a further news release, confirming the record date and the effective date for the Consolidation.

Further to the Company's news release dated January 26, 2024, the Company expects that 100% of the proceeds raised from the sale of the non-flow-through units on its recent financing will be used for payment of salaries for the Company's CEO and CFO.

About BMEX Gold Inc.

BMEX Gold Inc. is a junior Canadian mining exploration company with the primary objective to acquire, explore, and develop viable gold and base metal projects in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Quebec, Canada. BMEX is currently fully focused on its 100% interest in the two projects, both located in the prolific Abitibi greenstone belt:

King Tut Project consists of 120 contiguous claims on 5,206 hectares

Dunlop Bay Project consists of 76 mineral claims that cover 4,226 hectares

BMEX common shares trade under the symbol "BMEX" on the TSX-V and under the symbol 8M0 on the Frankfurt Exchange.

For further information please contact:

BMEX Gold Inc.

Robert Pryde, President

Tel: +1 (403) 478 6042

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (as defined under applicable securities laws), based on management's best estimates, assumptions, and current expectations. Such statements include but are not limited to, statements with respect to the plans for future exploration and development of the King Tut and Dunlop Bay properties and the acquisition of additional exploration projects. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "expected", "budgeted", "forecasts" , "anticipates" "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: risks related to the King Tut and Dunlop Bay projects; risks related to general economic conditions, actual results of current exploration activities, unanticipated reclamation expenses; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; fluctuations in prices of metals including gold; increases in market prices of mining consumables, possible variations in resource estimates, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; delays in the completion of exploration, development or construction activities, changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments in areas in which the Company operates. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are made as of the date hereof and are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as require by law. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. Please refer to the Company's most recent filings under its profile at www.sedarplus.ca for further information respecting the risks affecting the Company and its business.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199981
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - C3 Metals Inc. (TSXV: CCCM) (OTCQB: CUAUF) ("C3 Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it and its subsidiaries have entered into a joint venture agreement (the "JV Agreement") with Geophysx Jamaica Limited ("Geophysx") to combine the past producing Pennants Gold Mine with its Main Ridge Project to create the Super Block Project. C3 Metals will act as the operator of the joint venture ("JV").

Super Block Project1 JV Highlights and Benefits for C3 Metals' shareholders:

JV Property: Exposure to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine and other highly prospective copper and gold exploration targets that appear to overlap C3 Metals' and Geophysx's mineral concessions. Past producing Pennants Gold Mine: Operated as an open pit between 2002 and 2004 with estimated production of approximately 16,000 gold ounces (Source: Jamaica Mines and Geology Division). Reported non-compliant NI 43-101 historical mineral resource of 75,500 tonnes at 20.4 g/t gold 1,2 . Historical high-grade drill intersections 3 from the mine property (drill results are historical in nature and have not been independently confirmed): 1.7m at 430.0 g/t gold; 3.8m at 56.4 g/t gold; 4.6m at 25.6 g/t gold; 9.2m at 18.4 g/t gold; and 3.1m at 17.0 g/t gold. The Main Ridge project: Rock and soil sampling defined a coherent gold anomaly extending 4km southeast and northwest of the former Pennants Gold Mine along the Bennett Fault. Rock chip samples assayed up to 35.8 g/t gold at surface . The Rio Minho Fault, a parallel fault to the north of the Bennett Fault, is host to strong copper-silver mineralization defined over a 4km strike length. Channel sample results include: 16.0m at 1.22% copper and 7.8 g/t silver. 2.0m at 6.07% copper and 19.4 g/t silver.

Exposure to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine and other highly prospective copper and gold exploration targets that appear to overlap C3 Metals' and Geophysx's mineral concessions.

Geophysx is a known brand in Jamaica with considerable financial bandwidth. Geophysx is a private mineral exploration company that has explored the whole island of Jamaica and is the dominant mineral exploration license holder in the nation. It is managed by its founder, Robert "Bobby" Stewart. The Stewart family is a hospitality and industrial powerhouse in the island. The JV gives C3 Metals leverage to Geophysx's relationships and acumen in Jamaica. Conversely, the JV gives Geophysx leverage to C3 Metals' technical team.

Dan Symons, President and CEO of C3 Metals, stated, "We are very excited to enter into this JV with Geophysx. The Pennants mine was a small, high-grade producer of some 16,000 ounces of gold. We believe the potential for additional discovery to be very high. Historical data, surface sampling, and geophysical data suggest that mineralization at Pennants potentially extends over 4km. C3 Metals' will maintain its primary focus on copper-gold along a cluster of porphyries within our Bellas Gate project. We see this JV as an excellent opportunity to add unrealized value to our Company. The synergies of putting these properties together are very clear.

"We would also like to take the opportunity to welcome Mr. Stewart as a strategic, 5% shareholder of C3 Metals through our November 2023 private placement. Bobby and I share a vision of the stakeholder value that can be created through the systematic exploration of the Super Block Project."

Bobby Stewart, President of Geophysx, commented: "We're very happy to be partnering with C3 Metals on the Main Ridge Super Block Project. As fellow explorers, we've come to know the company, their team, their skill set, and their values. We have always been an advocate of combining our two halves of the mineral system around Main Ridge, as a necessity to build value and create a potentially very successful project here. Geophysx Jamaica is passionate about realizing a new and exciting industry here in Jamaica which can bring tremendous social and economic benefit through sustainable and environmentally sound mineral exploration and development. We truly believe that this partnership will be good for Jamaica, and are excited to begin the planned work program with our new partners."

Under the terms of the JV Agreement, C3 Metals will contribute approximately 4,400 hectares and Geophysx will contribute 5,470 hectares, with a total of 9,870 hectares forming the Super Block Project JV area (Figure 1). C3 Metals will continue to hold a 100% interest in 17,855 hectares, including the Bellas Gate project where the Company is actively drilling with two rigs. The Bellas Gate project remains C3 Metals' primary focus.





Figure 1: Map showing the Super Block Project JV area and C3 Metals' 100% owned Arthurs Seat and Bellas Gate concessions.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2661/199988_aab4bff3140a3b08_001full.jpg





Figure 2: Map of Super Block Project JV showing gold and copper prospects.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2661/199988_aab4bff3140a3b08_002full.jpg

Next Steps for the Super Block Project JV

C3 Metals, as the operator of the JV, intends to conduct immediate field work to prepare for a drill program that is anticipated to commence during the second half of 2024. Work for the initial program includes:

Merging historical drilling, geochemical and geophysical datasets to create a geologic model for the Super Block Project;

A boots-on-the-ground mapping and sampling campaign across the Super Block Project, focused across the two main splay faults known to host gold and copper-silver mineralization (the Bennett and Rio Minho faults, respectively);

In addition to the past producing Pennants Gold Mine, nine intermediate to low sulphidation epithermal prospects have been identified to date; Five gold prospects Four copper-silver prospects

Prospects will be ranked and prioritized following this work, with drilling anticipated to commence during the second half of 2024.

Key JV Agreement Terms

Under the terms of the JV:

Each party has an initial 50% interest in the Super Block Project.

Each party will elect two members to a Management Committee, which will include the President from each party and one additional member.

C3 Metals will act as the operator of the Super Block Project. In this role, C3 Metals will be responsible for proposing annual work plans and budgets to be approved by the Management Committee. C3 Metals will receive a 5% operator administrative fee until such time a production decision is made on the Super Block Project.

The Management Committee has approved a 2024 work program and budget of approximately US$950,000 or approximately US$475,000 per party.

Both parties must contribute to funding further development at the Super Block Project on a pro rata basis or have their interest diluted as per the standard formula outlined by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.

Should either party of the JV be diluted to a 5% interest, such interest will be converted to a 3% net smelter royalty on the Super Block Project of which 2% can be repurchased for US$2,000,000.

The JV Agreement was executed on February 24, 2024 and is subject to termination in the event certain conditions subsequent are not satisfied on or before July 15, 2024, including the subdivision of existing mineral tenures by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mines (Jamaica) to form the Super Block Project.

For additional information, contact:

Dan Symons

President and CEO

+1 416 716 6466

[email protected]

ABOUT C3 METALS INC.

C3 Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on creating substantive value for its shareholders through the discovery and development of large copper and gold deposits. The Company is actively exploring in Jamaica where it has identified 16 porphyry and 40 epithermal prospects over a 30km strike extent. The Company holds an 100% interest in 17,855 hectares of exploration licenses and a 50% interest in 9,870 hectares in a joint venture with Geophsyx Jamaica Ltd, the largest mineral tenure holder in the country. Mining is currently the second largest industry in Jamaica, and historical mining dates back to the colonial eras of the 1500s (Spanish) and 1800s (British). The Company also holds approximately 24,000 hectares located in the prolific high-grade Andahuaylas-Yauri Porphyry-Skarn belt of Southern Peru. Mineralization at Jasperoide is hosted in a similar geological setting to the nearby major mining operations at Las Bambas (MMG), Constancia (Hudbay) and Antapaccay (Glencore). At Jasperoide, the Company has identified over 15 skarn prospects and an outcropping porphyry system over two parallel 28km belts. The Company has published a maiden resource estimate on the first of these skarn targets, which contained Measured & Indicated Resources of 52Mt at 0.5% copper and 0.2 g/t gold.

Related Link: www.c3metals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

QP Statement

Stephen Hughes, P.Geo. is Vice President Exploration and a Director for C3 Metals and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Hughes has reviewed the technical information in this news release and approves the written disclosure contained herein.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Although such statements are based on reasonable assumptions of the Company's management, there can be no assurance that any conclusions or forecasts will prove to be accurate.

While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined, risks relating to variations in grade or recovery rates, risks relating to changes in mineral prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of minerals, risks related to increased competition and current global financial conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks, and regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks.

The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof, and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

1The mineral resource cited above is presented as a historical estimate and uses historical terminology which does not conform to current National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") standards. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Although the historical estimates are believed to be based on reasonable assumptions, these estimates were calculated prior to the implementation of NI 43-101. As these historical estimates do not meet current standards as defined under sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101, C3 Metals is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

2Published report, Geochemical exploration for gold in Jamaica: A comparison of stream sediment and soil surveys, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, 4, 161-170, 1 May 2004, authored by Robert G. Garrett, Gerald C. Lalor and Mitko Vutchkov.

3Data from the above drill results are reported historical results and it is unknown what type of quality-control programs were performed at the time. C3 Metals' QP also advises that true width of the above results cannot be determined at this time.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199988
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE" or "the Exchange") today welcomed the listing of Galloper Gold Corp. The company's common shares began trading on the CSE earlier today under the symbol BOOM.

A Vancouver-based resource company, Galloper is focused on prospective gold and base metals projects at Glover Island and Mint Pond, both of which are located in Newfoundland, one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions. Led by a team with successful exploration and production backgrounds, initial drilling is planned for 2024.

"Newfoundland has a distinguished history of mining exploration and development by exciting junior companies," said James Black, the CSE's Vice President, Listings Development. "We are pleased to welcome BOOM, a company that exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit that the CSE is committed to support."

About the Canadian Securities Exchange:

The Canadian Securities Exchange is a rapidly growing exchange invested in working with entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors to access public capital markets in Canada. The Exchange's efficient operating model, advanced technology and competitive fee structure help its listed issuers of all sectors and sizes minimize their cost of capital and enhance global liquidity.

Our client-centric approach and corresponding products and services ensure businesses have the support they need to confidently realize their vision.

The CSE offers global investors access to an innovative collection of growing and mature companies.

STAY CONNECTED WITH THE CSE

=============================

Website: https://thecse.com/

Blog: https://blog.thecse.com/

CSE TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/csetv

CSE's "The Exchange for Entrepreneurs"" Podcast: https://blog.thecse.com/category/cse-podcast/

Linkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/company/canadian-securities-exchange

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CSE_News

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/canadianexchange/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CanadianSecuritiesExchange/

Contact:

Richard Carleton, CEO

416-367-7360

[email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200101
This release provides the corrected name for Claratti in the second paragraph

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) - Turnium Technology Group Inc. (TSXV: TTGI) (FSE: E48) ("Turnium" or "the Company"), an industry leader in cloud native SD-WAN, focused on improving application performance for enterprises with safe and secure multi-site connectivity without the burden of expensive dedicated bandwidth and hardware, announces its financial results for Fiscal Q1 2024. All financial information is provided in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

These results are being published following the recent announcement of the Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Claratti Limited that will bring hundreds of Australian based clients into the Turnium portfolio, driving growth in cross-sell opportunities.

Ralph Garcea, Chairman of Turnium commented, "In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Turnium team continued its focus on expanding our channel partners, increasing monthly recurring revenue (MRR), and delivering superior product and service solutions to our global clientele. The Company is very well positioned to achieve cashflow positive results this year, as we continue to execute on our dual pronged growth strategy: First priority is continuing our organic growth initiatives, further expanding our Global Partnership Program which has onboarded 16 new agreements over the last 12 months. The second part of the growth strategy involves mergers and acquisitions, where we have two planned for this year. Our intention to acquire Claratti, discussed below, is one of these strategic acquisitions. We continue to evaluate other acquisitions as we look to scale our revenue over the next few years."

The Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2023, are available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Fiscal First Quarter 2024 Highlights:

Revenue in the first quarter increased to $1.28 million, compared to $1.26 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter increased to $1.28 million, compared to $1.26 million in the previous quarter; Gross Margin in the first quarter increased to $0.89 million, compared to $0.87 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter increased to $0.89 million, compared to $0.87 million in the previous quarter; Total Expenses in the first quarter decreased to $1.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter decreased to $1.5 million, compared to $2.2 million in the previous quarter; Net Loss in the first quarter decreased to ($0.62) million, compared to ($1.7) million in the previous quarter;

in the first quarter decreased to ($0.62) million, compared to ($1.7) million in the previous quarter; Number of Common Shares Outstanding (basic) at the end of the first quarter 2024 was 104,605,243.

Fiscal Quarter Financial Highlights:

The Company's key financial results for the three months ended December 31, 2023, are as follows:

Canadian Dollars Q1 F2024 -

For the three months ended December 31, 2023 Q4 F2023 -

For the three months ended September 30, 2023 Q3 F2023 -

For the three months ended June 30, 2023 Q2 F2023 -

For the three months ended March 31, 2023 Total revenue 1,284,210 1,257,622 1,476,342 1,185,056 Gross margin 890,182 873,459 916,845 886,540 Total Expenses 1,495,940 2,217,763 1,512,661 2,089,325









Net comprehensive income (loss) (624,842) (1,662,592) (745,223) (1,201,843)

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding 104,605,243 90,370,451 68,935,614 68,865,009 Basic and diluted loss per common share (0.01) (0.02) (0.01) (0.02)

Special Notes:

It is anticipated that revenues and expenses may vary, perhaps materially, from quarter to quarter due to several factors, including changes in product mix, costs related to planned increase in market share, global expansion costs and ongoing corporate development initiatives. Although revenues may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, and such fluctuations may be material, management expects that revenues will increase year over year.

There are no known trends or seasonal impacts on the Company's business although seasonal trends may develop as the Company grows.

Subsequent Highlights to the Fiscal First Quarter:

February 28, 2024 - the Compnay announced it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Claratti Limited (Claratti), a provider of managed IT Solutions for enterprises covering areas such as internet and telecommunications services, remote work and connectivity, cybersecurity and high-quality hardware and software. Claratti is headquartered in Perth, Australia and serves hundreds of clients across Australia. Additionally, the Company also announced that Mr. Derek Spratt will be retiring as CEO, effective February 29, 2024, but will continue as a Director. The Company has implemented an Office of the CEO consisting of Founder/Director Johan Arnet and Director Jim Lovie. All decisions going forward, until a permanent replacement for the role of CEO has been appointed, will be a collaborative effort between the Chairman, Mr. Arnet and Mr. Lovie, with input from the rest of the Board. (Link)

February 20, 2024 - the Company and Wafaicloud announce partnership to drive cloud adoption across the Middle East. Wafai International Company Inc. of Saudi Arabia (WafaiCloud) has signed a multiyear term and volume commitment to partner with Turnium Technology Group Inc. Currently with 200 sites already in service, Wafai forecasts aggressive growth in its Turnium SD-WAN pipeline which can grow revenue more than 10 times within three years.

Additional Fiscal First Quarter 2024 Highlights:

November 29, 2023 - the Company has changed its auditor from Manning Elliott LLP to Kingston Ross Pasnak LLP, effective November 28, 2023. The former auditor submitted a resignation letter as the auditor of the company, effective November 27, 2023, and the board of directors of the company appointed the successor auditor as the company's auditor, effective November 28, 2023, until the next annual general meeting of the company.

November 29, 2023 - the Company announced the appointment of Konstantin Lichtenwald as the Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lichtenwald has over 16 years of finance and accounting experience, including corporate compliance, accounting and financial management, initial public offerings, and reverse takeovers, providing corporate finance, valuation, taxation, financial reporting, consulting and other accounting services to both small businesses and public companies.

October 24, 2023 - the Company's board of directors has authorized the grant of an aggregate of 3.1 million incentive stock options to directors, officers and employees of the company, at an exercise price of $0.10 per common share. The options are exercisable for a five-year period from the date of grant. Certain grants will be subject to vesting terms in accordance with the terms of the option plan.

October 12, 2023 - The Company's development of Turnium SD-WAN version 7.0 is progressing toward completion. This new software release will revolutionize Turnium SD-WAN and increase the use-cases and capabilities that Turnium Channel Partners can use to solve common customer issues in today's cloud-based networked business environment. Version 7.x will enable Turnium to integrate the numerous global partners that have been announced to date, and others that are currently in our pipeline - as Turnium scales from 10,000+ lines currently to 100,000+ lines over the next few years.

September 28, 2023 - The Company has signed a five-year OEM (original equipment manufacturer) licensing agreement with a large technology group and service provider in Southeast Asia. The new five-year OEM licensing agreement with the Southeast Asian service provider, signed on July 18, 2023, will activate across Indonesia initially.

September 25, 2023 - At the Company's shareholder meeting held on September 15, 2023, all resolutions were passed. A total of 54,836,337 common shares were represented at the Meeting, representing approximately 54.9% of the common shares issued and outstanding as of the record date.

September 12, 2023 - SDWAN & SASE Solutions Ltd. has joined the Turnium Technology Group global partner program to enable it to license, package and bundle Turnium's SD-WAN software into SDWAN & SASE Solutions' portfolio.

About Turnium Technology Group Inc.

Turnium Technology Group Inc. delivers its SD-WAN solution as a white label, disaggregated software platform that OEM channel partners host, manage, brand, and price. Turnium is also available to Resellers as a Turnium-branded managed service. Turnium SD-WAN is sold through a channel partner program designed for Communications Service Providers, Internet and Managed Service Providers, System Integrators, and Value-Added Resellers.

For more information, contact [email protected], visit www.ttgi.io or follow us on Twitter @turnium.

About SD-WAN

SD-WAN is revolutionizing the networking and telecommunications industry by abstracting secure, high-speed networking and network control from underlying physical circuits. SD-WAN frees enterprises, small and medium businesses, cloud and managed services providers from the business and cost constraints imposed by traditional telecommunications companies.

# # #

Turnium Contact:

Investor Relations: Bill Mitoulas, Email: [email protected], Telephone: +1 416-479-9547

Media inquiries: please email [email protected].

Sales inquiries: please email [email protected]

www.ttgi.io, www.turnium.com

CAUTIONARY NOTES

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain acts, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company, as the case may be, to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Some of these risks are described under the "Caution on Forward-Looking Information" section and "Risk Factors" section of the MD&A. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199984
Kingston, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Delta Resources Limited ("Delta" or "the Company") (TSXV: DLTA) (OTC Pink: DTARF) (FSE: 6GO1) is pleased to provide final assay results for the first four (4) drill holes, and one (1) drill hole extension, from its initial 2024 drill campaign at its 100% owned Delta-1 Gold project. The holes reported total 1,371 metres of a 5,000 metre drill campaign previously announced on January 16, 2024 at the Delta-1 Gold project located 50 km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The objective of this drill campaign is twofold:

To fill in gaps from Delta's previous drilling within a mineral envelope already identified within a 2km strike and 250 metre vertical depth to further increase the overall mineral inventory and, Exploration drill holes to the east, west and further depths to demonstrate the potential of significantly expanding the mineral envelope.

Highlights :

Drill Hole D1-24-90 intersected 15.94 g/t gold over 10.0 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-87 intersected 1.66 g/t over 10.5 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-88 intersected 1.05 g/t over 12.2 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-89 intersected 1.03 g/t over 16.1 metres,

Drill Hole D1-24-34ext intersected 1.09 g/t over 21.0 metres.

Andr Tessier, President, and CEO commented: "We are extremely pleased with these initial results from our 2024 drill campaign at the Delta 1 Gold deposit in Thunder Bay, Ontario. These results are a great way to start the year at Delta. Once more, the gold zones continue to show continuity and homogeneity. Drill hole D1-24-90 was especially excellent with high grades that are sure to help the economics of the deposit. We look forward to additional results from the current ongoing campaign."

Complete results from the first four (4) drill holes and one (1) drill hole extension are provided in Table 1 below. The 2024 drill campaign is ongoing with final assay results still pending.

TABLE 1: Table of new drilling results at the Delta-1 Project; February 29, 2024.

DRILL HOLE Easting Northing Elevation

Azimuth

Incl.

Length

FROM

TO

Au Grade

CORE LENGTH

NO (UTM Zone 16)

(m)





(m) (m) (m) (g/t)

(m)

D1-24-34* 290368 5385357 449 180 -70 344.3 33.00 196.00 0.76 163.00 incl. 33.00 75.50 1.31 42.50 incl. 33.00 45.00 2.08 12.00 incl. 115.50 142.00 1.11 26.50 incl. 150.00 171.00 1.09 21.00 217.00 224.10 1.17 7.10 D1-24-87 290363 5385284 455 180 45 222 35.30 45.80 1.66 10.50

incl. 41.70 45.80 3.63 4.10 65.50 70.90 1.23 5.40 102.50 121.00 0.37 18.50 192.00 192.80 22.30 0.80 D1-24-88 290539

5385267

443

180

45

294

114.00

126.20

1.05

12.20

incl. 125.30 126.20 7.24 0.90 D1-24-89 290599.02 5384971.8 455 0 45 348 169.50 171.00 4.31 1.50 199.90 216.00 1.03 16.10 incl. 215.00 216.00 9.40 1.00 276.00 282.00 1.05 6.00 294.00 313.00 0.42 19.00 D1-24-90 290658

5385194

445

180

45

300

106.00

109.00

1.38

3.00

113.00 123.00 15.94 10.00 incl. 113.80 114.80 57.80 1.00 incl. 120.20 121.10 99.40 0.90 132.40 143.50 0.64 11.10 212.50 218.30 1.60 5.80 *The intercepts of drill hole D1-23-34 include the intercepts of the initial 144m of the hole drilled in 2023 and previously reported.

Figure 1: Map showing the location of the drill holes reported in this release.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8482/200024_f9e7566464e2ba41_002full.jpg

Detailed Results :

Drill Hole D1-24-90 (figure 2) was designed to intersect the gold zone 50 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-67 which previously assayed 0.66 g/t Au over 40.20 metres including 0.95 g/t Au over 20.2 metres. The hole intersected several gold zones including a high-grade zone grading 15.94 g/t gold over 10.0 metres including 57.80 g/t Au over 1.0 m. and 99.4 g/t Au over 0.90 metres.

It appears the gold zone is dipping shallowly towards the south, at this section, in contrast to the steep north dip in sections to the west. The current interpretation is that the gold zone may have been rotated along NE-trending structures. If the zone continues eastward with this dip, it is possible the drill holes completed in the "deep blue" low magnetic anomaly in 2023 may have been drilled down-dip, therefore missing the zone.

Drill Hole D1-24-87 (figure 3) was designed to intersect the gold zone 50 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-33 which previously assayed 1.15 g/t Au over 89.70 metres. The hole intersected multiple gold zones starting at 30 metres vertical depth with intercepts of 1.66 g/t Au over 10.5 metres and 1.23 g/t Au over 5.4 metres. Drill Hole D1-24-87 also intersected the Gamma Zone at 70 metres vertical depth with 18.5 metres grading 1.23 g/t gold. Drill hole D1-24-87 also intercepted a narrow but high-grade zone of 22.30 g/t Au over 0.8 metres at a vertical depth of approximately 130 metres.

Drill Hole D1-24-88 (figure 4) was designed to intersect the gold zone 60 metres up-dip from the intercept of drill hole D1-23-65 which previously assayed 1.39 g/t Au over 35.50 metres. The drill hole appears to have overshot the Beta Gold Zone but successfully intersected the Gamma Zone starting at 85 metres vertical depth with an intercept of 1.05 g/t Au over 12.20 metres, including 7.24 g/t Au over 0.90 metres.

Drill hole D1-24-34 Extension (figure 3) deepened drill hole D1-23-34, which previously assayed 109.0 metres grading 0.86 g/t Au, was extended by 206.7 metres to test the extent of the Beta gold zone at depth. The extension, drill hole D1-24-34 Extension, successfully extended the Beta Zone with an intercept 51.7 metres grading 0.69 g/t gold including a 21.0 metre section grading 1.09 g/t gold. Drill hole D1-24-34 Extension also successfully intersected the Gamma Zone at a 200 metres vertical depth with an intercept of 7.1 metres grading 1.17 g/t gold. Combined, the intercepts of D1-23-34 and D1-24-34 Extension amount to 0.76 g/t gold over 163.0 metres from 30 metres vertical depth, including sections of 1.31 g/t over 42.5 metres, 1.11 g/t gold over 26.5 metres and 1.09 g/t gold over 21.0 metres.

Drill hole D1-24-89 (figure 5) was designed to test the Gold Zone 130 metres below the intercepts of drill hole D1-23-39 and 180 metres below drill hole D1-23-38. The section is complex, with the mineralized zone being partially diked-out. Nonetheless, the hole successfully extended the zone to a vertical depth of 210 metres below the dike, with intercepts of 0.42 g/t gold over 19.0 metres and 1.05 g/t gold over 6.0 metres.

Geological Discussion

The Delta-1 project is located in the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt and covers a 19 km strike extent of the Shebandowan Structural Zone. Gold mineralization at Eureka, occurs within a broad corridor of highly altered (ankerite-calcite-silicification and albitization) rocks exhibiting highly anomalous gold values of up to 0.2 g/t gold. Higher-grade mineralization within this corridor is associated with a stockwork of quartz-ankerite-pyrite-gold veinlets, with increased density of these veinlets generally proportional to increased gold grade. The gold mineralized zones have so far been intersected for a strike of approximately 2.3 kilometres, with a higher-grade segment extending for nearly 950 metres. So far, the mineralized zone extends from surface to a vertical depth of approximately 250 metres. Mineralization strikes approximately 100 to 120 degrees azimuth, with a dip of 75-80 degrees north (shallower dips of 50N are observed in the western portion of the zone). Higher-grade, wide ore shoots are observed and appear to be plunging approximately 40 degrees towards the west, within this structural corridor. Similar ore shoots are often observed in structurally controlled gold deposits and often occur with a certain periodicity. The currently defined ore shoots are open at depth.

Analytical Protocol and QA/QC

Chemical analyses reported in this press release were performed at AGAT Laboratories. AGAT Laboratories is accredited to ISO 17025 by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). Sample preparation was performed in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a comprehensive Quality Assurance and Quality Control program that includes duplicate samples, blanks, and analytical standards.

The following assaying protocol was adopted at Delta-1 to reduce the assay variability due to nugget effect caused by visible gold:

If visible gold is observed in the sample or within the assumed mineralized zone , the assay is performed by Metallic Screening whereby the entire sample is crushed, a 1 kg portion is pulverized and screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

, the assay is performed by Metallic Screening whereby the entire sample is crushed, a 1 kg portion is pulverized and screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. If no visible gold is observed or outside of the mineralized zones , an initial assay is performed by 50 g Fire Assay with ICP-OES finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. If the assay result exceeds 2.0 g/t gold, remaining rejects are pulverized, a 1 kg portion is screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

NQ-size drill core was sawed in half lengthwise and half of the core was sampled and sealed in clean plastic bags before being shipped for assay. The remaining half of the core was replaced in core boxes and is stored at Delta's core storage facilities. Standards and blanks are inserted in the sequence of samples on site as quality assurance and quality control in addition to the regular insertion of blank, duplicate, and standard samples accredited by SGS Canada Minerals Laboratories during the analytical process.

Qualified Persons

Daniel Boudreau, P.Geo. and Manager of Exploration at Delta Resources Limited, is the Qualified Persons as defined by NI-43-101. He has supervised the drilling program in the field and 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.

Figure 2 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-90.

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Figure 3 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercepts of drill holes D1-24-34Ext and D1-24-87.

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Figure 4 Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-88.

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Figure 5: Vertical section looking east, showing the intercept of drill hole D1-24-89.

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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:

Contact Delta Resources Limited

Frank Candido, Chairman

Tel: 514-969-5530

[email protected]

or

Andre Tessier, President and CEO

Tel: 613-328-1581

[email protected]

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200024
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Element 29 Resources Inc. (TSXV: ECU) (OTCQB: EMTRF) (BVL: ECU) ("Element 29" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received environmental permit approval for exploration drilling at its wholly-owned Atravesado porphyry target on the Flor de Cobre copper project, located in southern Peru.

The permit, known as a Declaracin de Impacto Ambiental ("DIA"), allows the Company to drill from a maximum of 40 drilling platforms. Following approval of the environmental permit, Element 29 requested approval from the Peruvian General Mining Bureau ("DGM") for the Authorization to Initiate Exploration Activities ("AIEA"), which is a normal course step that triggers Peruvian authorities to evaluate the effect of exploration activities on the local community. The outcome of this evaluation will establish whether there is a need for a prior consultation process ("Consulta Previa"). In parallel, the Company is negotiating a surface rights agreement with the local community. After completing these steps, the Company expects that Peruvian authorities will be able to issue approval of the AIEA.

Partnering with GlobeTrotters on Exploration

The Company plans to partner with GlobeTrotters Resource Group ("GlobeTrotters"), a private exploraton company focused on project generation in South America. GlobeTrotters has been actively exploring in Peru for more than 10 years and responsible for the initial discovery of the Company's flagship Elida porphyry Cu-Mo-Ag deposit and the Atravesado porphry Cu target at Flor de Cobre. The plans are to utilize GlobeTrotters' technical expertise in Peru to advance the Company's portfolio of highly prospective porphyry Cu projects and share operational resources to potentially significantly cut costs. The plans to partner with GlobeTrotters, the largest shareholder of the Company, complements the appointment of Manuel Montoya as Chief Technical Officer (see February 29, 2024 press release).

Richard Osmond, Chairman and CEO, commented, "The receipt of the Atravesado target DIA on our Flor de Cobre project is an important step towards drilling this highly prospective target. Our Peruvian team has worked diligently on both permitting and on gaining a better understanding of the Atravesado target. We anticipate receipt of the drill permit by Q3 2024."

Mr. Osmond continues, "The planned partnership with GlobeTrotters fits perfectly with our strategic plans to reduce corporate costs and focus our efforts as much as possible on advancing our portfolio of highly prospective Peruvian porphyry copper projects in one of the top mining jurisdictions globally."

Atravesado is a large porphyry Cu target on the 1,800 hectare ("ha") Flor de Cobre property (Figure 1) in the Southern Peru Copper Belt (Figure 2) that hosts some of the world's largest Cu mines and deposits. Outcrop samples anomalous in Cu and molybdenum ("Mo"), resistivity and chargeability anomalies, and corresponding geological indicators define the target with an area of approximately 1.5 km x 2.0 km. Mapping completed by the Element 29 geological team suggests Atravesado is part of a larger porphyry complex that extends to the Candelaria zone to the southeast. The core of the Atravesado target has not been tested by drilling (Figure 1 and Figure 3).

Candelaria Concessions

As part of the Company's option agreement renegotiation discussions with the underlying property vendor of the Candelaria concessions comprising a total of 127.12 ha, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Candelaria Resources S.A.C. has signed a non-binding letter of intent following the expiry of the previous 5-year option agreement entered in 2019. The Company will provide status updates on the new negotiations with the property vendor.

Figure 1: Map of the Flor de Cobre property, located in southern Peru. Atravesado is a large porphyry Cu-Mo exploration target associated with an increased density of quartz veinlets and late mineral porphyry dikes associated with a cluster of outcrop samples with anomalous Cu geochemistry. The target is also coincident with a high resistivity and moderate chargeability geophysical anomaly at a depth of 250 m thought to represent a leached potassic altered porphyry complex at depth. The location of two historical drill holes outside of the porphyry target area were completed by Anglo American in 2007. The blue dashed line is the location of the section shown in Figure 3 below. Concessions outlined in red are wholly owned by Element 29.



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Figure 2: Regional setting of the Flor de Cobre Project in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, between Freeport McMoRan's Cerro Verde mining complex and Nexa Resources' Chapi mine. The project is at a moderate elevation of less than 2,700 m, is road accessible, and is close to excellent infrastructure for mine development and operation.



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Figure 3: Cross section through geophysical line L3600N shows the results of the IP-Resistivity 2D inversion. The high resistivity anomaly in the center of the section is interpreted to represent the buried Atravesado porphyry complex. The high chargeability anomalies that straddle the high resistivity anomaly in the center of the section are interpreted to represent a pyritic halo associated with a flanking phyllic alteration zone. The low chargeability anomaly coincident with a moderately to low resistivity anomaly in the upper-central part of the section is interpreted to represent leached capping suggesting potential for enrichment at dept.



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Qualified Person

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Osmond (P.Geo.), Element 29's Chairman and CEO, who is the "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Flor de Cobre

Flor de Cobre is a porphyry Cu exploration project that contains the recently outlined Atravesado porphyry Cu target 2.5 km northwest of the historical Candelaria mine. The property is in the Southern Peru Copper Belt and is 5 km northwest of Nexa Resources' Chapi mine and 26 km southeast of the Cerro Verde mine owned by Freeport-McMoRan, Sumitomo Metal Mining, and Compania de Minas Buenaventura. Flor de Cobre hosts a classic Andean porphyry system with primary Cu sulphide mineralization associated with a multi-phase quartz monzonite porphyry complex. Weathering redistributed primary mineralization into a sub-horizontal enrichment blanket containing secondary Cu oxide and sulphide minerals at the base of a hematitic leached cap. Remnants of the upper jarositic component of the leached cap overlying the hematitic cap are preserved on the higher hill tops around the Candelaria prospect. An IP/Resistivity geophysical survey completed in 2019 outlined a core of moderate resistivity that coincides with widespread Cu oxide mineralization, strong Cu geochemistry, and late-stage quartz monzodiorite porphyry dikes. The resistive core is surrounded by a high-chargeability halo corresponding with weathered quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration.

About Element 29 Resources Inc.

Element 29 Resources Inc. is an emerging copper exploration and development company focused on advancing its portfolio of Peruvian projects towards development in one of the world's more established mining jurisdictions. Element 29's growth strategy is led by our strong board and management, who have a proven track record of discovery and delivering value to our shareholders.

The Company's principal objective is to explore and develop its Flor de Cobre Porphyry Cu Project located in the Southern Peru Copper Belt, 26 km southeast from Freeport-McMoRan's Cerro Verde copper mine, and its Elida Porphyry Cu Deposit in west-central Peru. Both projects are well located for potential mine development and will benefit from nearby infrastructure including roads, powerlines, ports, water, and a skilled workforce.

More information is available at www.e29copper.com.

For additional information:

Richard Osmond, Chairman & CEO

1-888-246-7881

[email protected]

The TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") has neither approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "Forward-looking Statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute Forward-looking Statements. Words such as "will", "intends", "proposed" and "expects" or similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-looking Statements. Forward-looking Statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's future plans, goals, expectations or strategies regarding the exploration and development of its resource properties, including advancing its portfolio of Peruvian copper projects; the Company's planned exploration of drilling targets and expected discovery of highly prospective porphyry Cu; approval of the AIEA from Peruvian authorities; the planned partnership with GlobeTrotters and the expected benefits thereof; and the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary entering into a binding option agreement with respect to the Candelaria concessions, if at all.

Forward-looking Statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, and important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations including uncertainties related to the Company's ability to raise sufficient capital for its operations on acceptable terms or at all, fluctuations in copper and other commodity prices, uncertainties inherent in the exploration of mineral properties, legislative, political or economic developments, including changes in Peruvian federal and/or provincial laws that may significantly affect the mining industry, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary's ability to enter into a binding option agreement with respect to the Candelaria concessions on acceptable terms or at all, and other risk factors set forth in the Company's prospectus under the heading "Risk Factors".

Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on Forward-looking Statements as there can be no assurances that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Element 29 to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any Forward-looking Statement. Any Forward-looking Statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200154
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Highlights The plant, located in Sicily, has 245 MW, enough to supply more than 140,000 households with clean energy. The company's goal. . .
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - EV Minerals Corporation(CSE: EVM) (FSE: RLC)(the "Company" or "EV Minerals")is pleased to announce that, further to its press releases of February 23, 2024 and February 29, 2024, the Company has acquired (the "Acquisition") the Baldwin and Lunge Projects (the "Sudbury Projects"). The Acquisition was carried out pursuant to a purchase agreement (the "Agreement") with Graycliff Exploration Limited (the "Vendor").

As partial consideration for the Sudbury Projects, the Company issued the Vendor an aggregate of 2,000,000 common shares (the "Common Shares") in the capital of the Company, at a deemed issuance price of $0.05 per Common Share. In addition, as partial consideration for the Sudbury Projects, the Company made a one-time cash payment of $25,000 to the Vendor on February 6, 2024, upon signing of the letter of intent dated February 6, 2024, between the Company and the Vendor.

The Company acknowledges that there is an existing 2% net smelter return royalty ("NSR") on the Sudbury Projects and upon closing of the Acquisition, the Company assumed the Vendor's obligations of the NSR and will have the right to buy back 1% of the NSR for $1 million (reducing such NSR to 1%).

All Common Shares issued are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

About EV Minerals Corporation

EV Minerals Corporation is a Canadian exploration company focused on mineral exploration and development. The current focus is the EV Nickel Project, host of the nickel-copper-cobalt McNickel deposit. The Project is comprised of 32 mineral claims covering approximately 1,792 hectares located in the Saguenay area, the Province of Quebec. This deposit is reputed containing a historical resource of 5.585 million tonnes with grades of 0.21% Ni, 0.11% Cu and 0.03% Co (NI 43-101 non-compliant resource), which is to be re-evaluated with the consideration of using either bioleaching or acid leaching and electrowinning for nickel, cobalt and copper recovery.

For more information, please contact:

Nicholas Konkin

President and CEO, Director

[email protected]

416-642-1807 Ext 305

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200125
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (OTCQB: FRERF) (FSE: FR20) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that encouraging historic drill data from the late 1950s pertaining to the Company's Urasar property in Armenia has been identified. Additionally, results from the Company's maiden drill program at the Vardenis project in central Armenia have been received.

Urasar project

Urasar was last worked by Soviet government teams in the 1950s and 1960s resulting in the identification of three mineralized zones and four geochemically anomalous zones along a 14 km strike length (see news release dated October 10, 2023).

At the end of 2023, the Company completed a soil geochemical survey comprising 744 C-horizon soil samples which display a continuous gold-copper/base metal anomaly over a 15 km strike length, as shown in the figure presented below. Gold values ranged up to 449 ppb with a mean of 142 ppb (see news release dated February 5, 2024).



Figure 1. Gold in C-horizon soil samples at Urasar

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Recently recovered historic drill data

Fremont's country manager and chief geologist, Hovhannes Karapetyan, recently uncovered in government archives, information regarding a historic Soviet drill hole from 1959, which is located within the western part of the Urasar exploration permit. Yellow River hole #1 (there were no subsequent Soviet drill holes in this zone) bottoms in 25 meters containing 1.27% copper from 209m to 234m vertical depth. Copper values higher up the hole were also anomalous ranging from below detection (300 ppm) to 0.77% Cu. Figure 2 shows the approximate location of this historic drill hole. This information is not compliant with NI-43-101 guidelines, and cannot be used for future resource calculations, but it does demonstrate the focus of previous exploration work and points to one of the main areas of follow-up for upcoming exploration work at Urasar. Once weather permits, the Company plans to rehabilitate the old road into the area, and carry out detailed mapping, additional sampling, and a ground magnetometer survey.



Figure 2. Location of historic drill hole at Vardenis

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Vardenis project

The Razmik Cu-Mo porphyry target at Vardenis was the subject of two diamond drill holes totalling 770m in late October and early November 2023. The Razmik zone is likely the center of the entire 32 km2 Vardenis alteration system and is one of several significant and promising exploration targets within the property. The system is characterized by a large zone of quartz-sericite alteration with two centers of B and D-type porphyry-style veinlets*.

The quartz sericite alteration zone at Razmik measures approximately 2.1 km by 0.5 km with a NW strike and displays two centers of D and B veinlets, Razmik SE and Razmik NW. Razmik SE is approximately 450m by 300m of multiple outcropping zones of B veinlets surrounded by D veinlets. Sampling of these veinlets shows molybdenum values up to 600 ppm and copper values up to 0.14% Cu (historic Dundee Precious Metals Corp. data, hereafter referred to as "Dundee", see news release dated June 6, 2023). Razmik NW comprises a core of B veinlets with dimensions of 430m by 230m, surrounded by a zone of pyrite veinlets of approximately 700m by 400m. Historical sampling shows molybdenum values up to 2,093 ppm (the highest Mo value in the property), and 442 ppm copper (also historic Dundee data). Figure 3 below displays Razmik NW, Razmik SE and the location of the two drill holes.

*Sillitoe, Richard H., Porphyry Copper Systems, Economic Geology, Volume 105, No 1, January 2010





Figure 3. VARD-01 and 02 drill hole locations at Vardenis; geochem data = surface rock chip values

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Drill results

The visibly mineralized intervals from the two holes were submitted for fire assay and multi-element analysis comprising approximately half the drilled core. Both drill holes intersected geochemically anomalous gold and copper values, ranging up to 1.82 g/t Au in VARD-01 and up to 1,365 ppm Cu in VARD-02. The zones hosting significant sulfide mineralization that were processed from VARD-01 comprise 59m to 111m, 154m to 222m and 313m to 357m depth. From hole VARD-02, the zones sent for assay and multi-element analysis include the intervals 29m to 68m, 145m to 161m and 280m to 357m depth.

In total, 141 two-meter sample lengths were sent for geochemical analysis to the ALS laboratory in Romania. In addition, 39 samples were collected at 20m intervals from both holes for spectral short-wave infrared investigation which characterizes alteration assemblages used as vectors in copper porphyry exploration.





Figure 4. Au, Cu, Ag & Mo geochemical plots for VARD-01

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Figure 5: Spectral data for VARD-01

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Figure 6: VARD-02 - Strong anomalism of K, Na and Ca suggests alkali alteration such as destruction of Ca plagioclase to form K-feldspar or albite. This is a good indicator of higher temperature alteration processes at depth. High Mg anomalies at the bottom of hole may suggest chlorite or even biotite alteration. This K, Na and Mg increase is accompanied by a slight Cu anomaly.

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Interpretation of drill results

VARD-01 and VARD-02 intersected anomalous gold and copper geochemistry, ubiquitous sericitic and argillic alteration, and significant porphyry-style quartz veining/brecciation (particularly in VARD-02), but did not penetrate to the potassic-altered, mineralized center of the system. Despite the lack of ore-grade values of copper and gold, these holes are the first step in the exploration of a large, mineralized porphyry system. Additional and deeper drilling will be necessary along with systematic sampling and spectral analysis of the existing and future drill holes. The important insights from this maiden drill program at Vardenis are the following:

Significant copper and precious metal mineralization are typically absent in the transition zone from advanced argillic to mineralized potassic alteration environment. VARD-01 and VARD-02 were both drilled within this transition zone, but the depth and geometry of this transition zone are still to be determined;

As shown in Figure 4, VARD-01 displays multiple geochemical anomalies high in the hole, near the surface limit of B-type veinlets. This coincides with a logged lithological contact and indicates the presence of a favourable hydrothermal feeder;

This feeder/contact may conduit to high sulfidation mineralization associated with advanced argillic alteration and vuggy silica as occurs at high elevations at Vardenis --where Dundee drilled seven shallow holes exploring for gold (see TSX qualifying report, "Technical Geological Report for the Vardenis Property: Armenia, July 25, 2023, on the Company website);

Spectral data from VARD-01 and VARD-02 show dominance of white mica with minor amounts of kaolinite, dickite, and chlorite, which reinforces the Company's belief that the Razmik SE and Razmik NW zones are in the center of the copper porphyry environment;

VARD-02 displays an encouraging trend of increasing copper towards the end of the hole as well as anomalous Na, Mg, Ca, with increasing quartz veining. These are good indications of increasing hydrothermal temperature and approaching mineralization;

Additional detailed logging of both holes is necessary to verify vein classification, mapping of intrusive phases and review of alteration features.

President and CEO Dennis Moore commented, "The amount of porphyry-style veining, brecciation and sulfide mineralization observed in these two initial drill holes at Vardenis demonstrates that we are within the porphyry environment and just need to close in on the core of the mineralizing system. The limited spectral analysis completed to date indicates that we need to drill deeper. Additional detailed logging and analysis will be carried out by a porphyry copper specialist once the weather permits in late April or May."

Moore continues, "To intersect significant intervals of economic mineralization in the first drill holes of an exploration campaign is an uncommon event that involves a bit of serendipity. The usual course of mine-finding is a deductional process involving stages of geophysics, detailed mapping, sampling, and of course additional drilling. We have just started, and we expect to be successful."

Nevada gold assets

The Company has entered into an agreement to sell its wholly owned subsidiary, Intermont Exploration, Corp. ("Intermont"), to an Australian consortium (the "Buyer"). Intermont holds the Cobb Creek asset in Elko County Nevada. The purchase price totals US$300,000 to be paid over two years. Certain debts of Intermont owing to Fremont's former Vice President of Exploration have been transferred to Fremont. The Buyer will assume all ongoing costs of Intermont including option and BLM payments. Other than Hurricane, Cobb Creek is the last remaining Nevada gold asset held by the Company. The Company continues to seek opportunities to monetise the Hurricane asset.

About Fremont Gold

Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of potential world-class copper-gold mineral opportunities within the central Tethyan belt of Armenia, and controls one gold exploration project located on the Cortez Trend in Lander County Nevada.

Qualified person

The content of this news release was reviewed by Dennis Moore, Fremont's President, CEO and interim Chairman, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Dennis Moore

President and CEO, interim Chairman

For further information, contact:

Telephone: +351 9250 62196

www.fremontgold.net

https://twitter.com/GoldFremont

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fremont-gold/

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.

Forward-Looking statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this news release 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 including, without limitation, statements regarding future exploration programs at Urasar. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations including the risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. 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 only as expressly required by Canadian securities law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200031
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Lode Gold Minerals Corp. (TSXV: LOD) (OTCQB: SBMIF) ("Lode Gold " or the "Company" and formerly Stratabound Minerals) is pleased to announce that it has accepted subscriptions for the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered financing designated to close on March 5, 2024.

The Company is pleased to have received 100% participation in the private placement from all board members and management, making it a related-party transaction. The Company has relied on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of such insider participation.

The company received subscription agreements for aggregate proceeds of $1,432,652.50 for the issuance of 57,306,100 units of the company at $0.025 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share at an exercise price of $0.05 per common share for a period of two years following the date of closing. The Company may accelerate the expiry date if the shares trade at $0.30 or more for a period of 10 days, including days where no trading occurs. Securities issued on this proposed closing will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and day. The closing of the financing is subject to TSXV final approval.

Ron Tomlinson, CEO of Tomlinson Group states, "We have renewed confidence in our new management team and Lode Gold's vision and thus are stepping up to fund the Company's 2024 plans."

Chad Tappendorf, Managing Director of Coast Capital LLC adds, "With an invigorated new team at the helm, we are affirming our commitment to Lode Gold and maintaining our shareholding with an upsized investment."

Hashim Ahmed, Lode Gold's Chairman, commented: "The quick close of the financing is a testament to renewed momentum and strategy that new management and advisors have brought into Lode Gold. We are on track and actively executing our restructuring, growth strategy and plans."

ABOUT LODE GOLD

Lode Gold is a Canadian exploration and development company with grassroots and advanced exploration properties in highly prospective and safe mining jurisdictions.

Its Golden Culvert and Win Projects, Yukon, covering 99.5 km2 across a 27-km strike length, are situated in a district-scale, high-grade-gold-mineralized trend within the southern portion of the Tombstone Gold Belt. Gold deposits and occurrences within the Belt include Fort Knox, Pogo, Brewery Creek and Dublin Gulch, and Snowline Gold's Valley target on its Rogue property in the Selwyn Basin.

Its McIntyre Brook Project, New Brunswick, covering 120 km2 and a 17-km strike length in the emerging Triple Fault Gold Belt, is surrounded by Puma Exploration's Williams Brook Project (5.55 g/t Au over 50m) and is hosted by orogenic rocks of similar age and structure as New Found Gold's Queensway Project.

The Company is also advancing its Fremont Gold development project in the historic Mother Lode Gold Belt of California where 50,000,000 oz of gold has been produced. Fremont, located ~500km north of Equinox Gold's Castle Mountain and Mesquite mines, has a PEA with an after-tax NPV of USD $217MM, a 21% IRR, 11-year LOM, averaging 118k ounces per annum at USD $1,750 gold. The project hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 1.16 Moz at 1.90 g/t Au within 19.0 MT Indicated, and 2.02 Moz at 2.22 g/t Au within 28.3 MT Inferred. A sensitivity to the March 31, 2023 PEA at USD $2,000/oz gold gives an after-tax NPV of USD $370MM and a 31% IRR over an 11-year LOM. The MRE evaluates only 1.4 km of the 4 km strike length of the Fremont property that features 4 gold-mineralized zones. Significantly, three step-out holes at depth hit structure, typical of orogenic deposits that often occur at depth. Fremont is located on private land in Mariposa, the original gold rush county and is 1.5 hours from Fresno, California. The property has year-round road access and is close to airports and rail. Please refer to the Fremont Gold project PEA dated March 31, 2023 under NI 43-101 guidelines. The technical report has been reviewed and approved by independent "Qualified Persons" Eugene Puritch, P.Eng., FEC, CET, and Andrew Bradfield, P.Eng. both of P&E, and Travis Manning, P.E. of KCA.

The Company also holds a pipeline of early-stage exploration projects including the critical mineral Captain Cobalt-Copper-Gold Deposit in New Brunswick and the Dingman Gold Project, Ontario.

QUALIFIED PERSON STATEMENT

The scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Jonathan Victor Hill, Director, BSc (Hons) (Economic Geology - UCT), FAusIMM, and who is a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.stratabound.com or contact:

Gary Nassif

Senior Vice President, Director

[email protected]

+1 (416) 915-4157

Kevin Shum

Investor Relations

[email protected]

+1 (647) 725-3888 ext. 702

Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

WARNING: The Company relies upon litigation protection for "forward-looking" statements. The information in this release may contain forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, changes in laws or regulations, failure to obtain regulatory, exchange or shareholder approval, the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this forward-looking information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200091
Cleveland, Ohio--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - In a significant development for healthcare and legal access to medical marijuana in the United States, MMJ.com has announced its expansion to offer services across 26 states. This initiative represents a pivotal moment in the ongoing effort to provide patients with legal, safe, and convenient access to medical marijuana, reflecting changing societal attitudes and advancements in telehealth.

Image byMMJ.com



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The expansion by MMJ.com not only broadens the accessibility of medical marijuana to a larger segment of the population, but also underscores the importance of telehealth services in modern healthcare. By facilitating online consultations with state-certified doctors, MMJ.com is at the forefront of leveraging technology to meet patient needs amidst evolving legal landscapes.

Implications for Healthcare and Legal Systems:

Enhanced Patient Access: This expansion highlights the growing recognition of medical marijuana's potential benefits, offering an alternative treatment path for patients with various conditions.

This expansion highlights the growing recognition of medical marijuana's potential benefits, offering an alternative treatment path for patients with various conditions. Legal and Regulatory Evolution: The initiative reflects broader changes in state and federal perspectives on cannabis, signaling a shift towards more progressive drug policies.

The initiative reflects broader changes in state and federal perspectives on cannabis, signaling a shift towards more progressive drug policies. Telehealth Innovation: By utilizing telehealth to connect patients with medical professionals, MMJ.com is setting a precedent for future healthcare services, especially in areas requiring specialized care.

About MMJ.com: MMJ.com is dedicated to enhancing patient access to medical marijuana through an advanced telehealth platform. They connect patients with state-certified medical marijuana doctors for evaluations, emphasizing compliance with state laws. Their mission encompasses not only facilitating legal and secure access to cannabis for therapeutic purposes but also pioneering the integration of healthcare and technology to advance medical marijuana use. MMJ.com's approach signifies a broader commitment to patient care, leveraging digital innovation to meet the evolving needs of patients across multiple states.

Contact:

John MMJ" and [email protected]

6090 Royalton Road

Cleveland

Ohio, 44133

United States

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200033
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. (TSXV: PEMC) ("Pacific Empire", "PEMC" or the "Company"), a British Columbia copper-gold explorer, announces that the company will be presenting at The Metals Investor Forum in Toronto on March 1st and 2nd.

Metals Investor Forum Toronto

The annual conference will take place in-person at the Delta Hotels Toronto Hotel March 1st to March 2nd. Brad Peters, President & CEO, will be presenting on March 2nd at 10:00 am Eastern Standard time. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://metalsinvestorforum.com/

Planned Airborne MobileMT" Survey at Trident

PEMC intends to initiate the MobileMT survey as soon as possible following the Prospectors and Developers Association Conference ("PDAC") held in Toronto, Ontario from March 3-6, 2024.

"Attending the PDAC conference gives us an opportunity to visit with the team at Expert Geophysics and to discuss certain aspects of the survey," commented Pacific Empire's President and CEO, Brad Peters. "The ability to look for deep fluid conduits is attractive and may have implications in other areas of the property in addition to our adjacent Pinnacle property. If you are going to inject a volume of rock with hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of metal, you are going to need a serious plumbing system."

The Company also announces that pursuant to the Company's stock option plan, 5,000,000 incentive stock options exercisable at $0.05 per share for a period of three years have been granted to directors, officers, management company employees and consultants of the Company.

About Trident

The Trident property is an exploration stage property hosting an alkalic porphyry copper-gold-silver prospect with district-scale potential that is accessible by vehicle. The property is located approximately 50 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper Corp.'s Kwanika Deposit and 50 km to the northwest of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Mine. The property covers 6,618 hectares endowed with well-established logging roads providing important efficient access for exploration programs.

Copper mineralization on the property was first discovered in 1969, while exploration crews were following up on anomalous stream sediment samples. The following year, Falconbridge optioned the property and over the next two years completed IP and magnetic surveys, geological mapping, soil sampling and diamond drilling. This work led to the discovery of the A Zone.

Additional exploration programs were completed by Kookaburra Gold Corp. from 1988 through 1991, Solomon Resources Ltd., from 2006 through 2008. In 2013, PEMC optioned the property and in 2014, in turn, PEMC optioned the property to Oz Minerals which completed that same year an IP survey and completed a two drillhole, diamond drill program at Trident.

In 2022, Pacific Empire acquired a 100% interest in the property in exchange for granting the vendors a 2% net smelter return royalty ("NSR"). One-half (1%) of the 2% NSR may be purchased for $500,000 by Pacific Empire.

Prior to 2014, known mineralization on the property was believed to be associated with fracture and/or shear zones structures striking 120 degrees and dipping 75 degrees towards the northeast. A review of historical drill core by the Pacific Empire exploration team has led to a much different interpretation with respect to the nature of known mineralization on the property. The most important observation was the determination of the presence of hornblende-feldspar monzonite porphyry intrusions detected within drill core obtained from the A Zone. These types of porphyry intrusions are typically characterized by sheeted quartz sulphide veins and disseminated chalcopyrite and bornite residing immediately adjacent to and within the porphyry dikes. Other observations include; The highest grades noted in historical drilling can be seen to be directly associated with intervals where such porphyry intrusions occur.

Figure 1 - Regional Land Position and Significant Companies

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Figure 2 - Location of planned MagnetoTelluric Survey

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Figure 3 - South Hogem Copper-Gold Belt

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"Between our 100% owned Trident and Pinnacle projects runs the Klawli river. The gold flakes and nuggets in the vial displayed on the map were collected from that location on the Klawli river. It is this and other geochemical evidence gathered by the PEMC exploration team which leads us to postulate the potential for a gold-enriched copper system nearby on either Trident, Pinnacle, or possibly both projects. To date, visible gold has been observed in outcrop at Trident, placer gold discovered in the nearby Klawli river gravels, and as well gold detected in drill core from Pinnacle. All three of these known occurrences of gold and their respective locations suggests there may be a shallow buried, large scale, gold-enriched, copper porphyry deposit within our district scale land package," commented Brad Peters, President, CEO and Director of Pacific Empire.

Table 1 - Highlights from Historical Drilling at Trident

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About Pinnacle

The Pinnacle project is located 60 km to the west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Copper-Gold Mine and 30 km to the southeast of NorthWest Copper's Kwanika Copper-Gold Deposit in a proven copper-gold porphyry district. Access to the Pinnacle is by road including a new and expanding network of logging roads and trails throughout the main target areas. This improved access is a major development and is anticipated to contribute to cost effective drill support and bedrock exposure.

"We are truly excited to have had the Pinnacle property returned to PEMC. The Teako exploration team meaningfully advanced the property including fully permitting for IP geophysics and diamond drilling. Additionally, work by Teako advanced our understanding of the Aplite Ridge target area. Over the past 2 years significant logging operations have developed an extensive road network that now covers the entirety of the southern half of the property providing new outcrop exposure and efficient access. The 2023 forest fires dramatically affected the property leading to even further future opportunities.

Qualified Person

Kristian Whitehead, P.Geo., serves as a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this news release, approving the disclosure herein.

About Pacific Empire

Pacific Empire is a copper exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol PEMC. The Company has a district scale land position in north-central British Columbia totaling 22,541 hectares.

British Columbia is a "Green" copper jurisdiction with abundant hydroelectric power, access and infrastructure in close proximity to the end market.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Brad Peters"

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.

Tel: +1-604-356-6246

[email protected]

www.pemcorp.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibilityfor the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation: closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or around December 31, 2023, the funds will be used for exploration on its flagship Trident copper-gold-silver project and for general working purposes, are forward-looking statements. 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, the following risks: the need for additional financing; operational risks associated with mineral exploration; fluctuations in commodity prices; title matters; environmental liability claims and insurance; reliance on key personnel; the potential for conflicts of interest among certain officers, directors or promoters with certain other projects; the absence of dividends; competition; dilution; the volatility of our common share price and volume and the additional risks identified the management discussion and analysis section of our interim and most recent annual financial statement or other reports and filings with the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable Canadian securities regulations. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200029
Vancouver, British Columbia and Johannesburg, South Africa--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX: PTM) (NYSE American: PLG) ("Platinum Group" or the "Company") is pleased to announce positive results from its Annual General Meeting held on February 29, 2024 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The meeting had a turnout of shareholders representing 59.54% of its issued shares eligible to vote at the meeting. Shareholders strongly supported the appointment of the Board and the resolutions proposed.

The number of directors is fixed at six and on a show of hands the Shareholders elected management's six nominees for directors. Details of the proxy voting are as follows:

DIRECTOR NUMBER

OF SHARES PERCENTAGE

OF VOTES CAST

FOR FOR WITHHELD Diana Walters 51,164,556 99.62% 0.38% Frank Hallam 51,165,333 99.62% 0.38% Timothy Marlow 50,412,760 98.15% 1.85% John Copelyn 49,872,247 97.10% 2.90% Stuart Harshaw 50,851,624 99.01% 0.99% Mpho Makwana 51,163,923 99.61% 0.39%

The re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors was voted in favour by 99.57% of the Shareholders.

For more information on these matters, please refer to Platinum Group's information circular, available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or at www.platinumgroupmetals.net.

About Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Platinum Group Metals Ltd. is the operator of the Waterberg Project, a bulk underground palladium and platinum deposit located in South Africa. The Waterberg Project was discovered by Platinum Group and is being jointly developed with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd., Mnombo Wethu Consultants (Pty) Ltd., Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation and Hanwa Co. Ltd.

On behalf of the Board of

Platinum Group Metals Ltd.

Frank R. Hallam

President and CEO

For further information contact:

Kris Begic, VP, Corporate Development

Platinum Group Metals Ltd., Vancouver

Tel: (604) 899-5450 / Toll Free: (866) 899-5450

www.platinumgroupmetals.net

Disclosure

The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes any forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The Company directs readers to the risk factors described in the Company's annual information form, Form 40-F annual report and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedarplus.ca, respectively.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199953
The production site under PNK Group's purview will receive additional equipment to further this goal.

Bethel, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Located in Bethel County, Pennsylvania, PNK Group's plant for producing structural elements for buildings has already reached its planned capacity. Despite this achievement, the company anticipates a 20-30% increase in productivity.

Acquired in April 2023, the plant specializes in manufacturing precast concrete elements, including columns, panels, beams, dock pits, and other products distributed to Pennsylvania and Georgia. Its production capacity enables the construction of approximately 4 million square feet of industrial buildings annually.

Occupying a 48,000-square-foot complex on approximately 28 acres of land, the facility employs around 80 technical engineering and industrial worker professionals.





PNK Group aims to enhance the efficiency of Bethel Factories

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Equipped with cranes boasting a lifting capacity of up to 15 tons and additional hydraulic machinery from Germany, the plant is slated for significant capacity expansion following modernization.

The Bethel County plant marks PNK Group's second venture in the United States, with the first located near Winder, Georgia, boasting even more significant production potential. PNK Group plans to develop its East Coast plants further and establish project completion centers based on these facilities.

As an engineering and manufacturing pioneer, PNK Group spearheads technological advancements in industrial construction. The company's construction methodology, utilizing large-unit blocks, streamlines building assembly through precise element production, minimizing the need for extensive labor and heavy machinery.

Contact Info:

Name: Mark B. Stiles

Email: [email protected]

Organization: PNK Group

Address: 17 State Street, Suite 3930

Phone: 16465177915

Website: https://pnk.group

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/200034
Shallow High-Grade Intersections Include 23.5m @ 1.18% Cu, 1.46% Zn, 6.8 g/t Au (7.4% CuEq)

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - T2 Metals Corp.(TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E)("T2" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a third set of results from the 2023 Q4 infill and delineation drill program at the Sherridon Project in Manitoba, that include the highest gold grades reported from the project to date. Sherridon is a well-known Volcanic Hosted Massive Sulphide ("VHMS") camp in the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, with both a significant mining history and substantial copper-rich historical resources (see Table 4) calculated on behalf of Halo Resources Ltd in 2010. The Project has year-round road access, is 70 km from the mining centre of Flin Flon, and lies adjacent to an operating rail line.

These data represent the third set of results and include 3 shallow holes from the southeast end of the Lost Lake prospect (see Figure 2), targeted on the basis of a shallow southeast plunging exploration model. Of particular note is hole SHN23005, drilled near the southeasternmost limits of the known Lost Lake resource, with very high grades of gold and copper over 23.5m. The intersection lies only 20m below surface and includes some of the highest gold grades ever discovered at Sherridon.

The high gold and copper grades over a broad interval highlight the potential of VHMS style of mineralization in complexly folded host rocks. Gold grades have been higher than anticipated in numerous holes in the 2023 Q4 program, indicative of improved analytical methods vs prior explorers. Gold results in hole SHN23005 were re-checked with screen fire assay to overcome potential coarse gold analytical issues. Additional ground in the Sherridon area has been staked by T2 Metals in response to the results from this drilling program (see Company press release dated 22/02/24).

The most significant drill intersections of copper ("Cu"), zinc ("Zn"), gold ("Au"), and silver ("Ag") are provided below and in Table 2.

Drilling Highlights Include:

Lost Lake

SHN23005

23.50 m grading 1.18% Cu, 1.46% Zn, 6.8 g/t Au and 40.4 g/t Ag (7.4% CuEq) from 38.00 m;

including 4.50 m grading 0.38% Cu, 0.02% Zn, 29.2 g/t Au and 138.8 g/t Ag (25.0% CuEq) from 38.00 m;

including 8.67 m grading 2.48% Cu, 3.59% Zn, 2.5 g/t Au and 30.0 g/t Ag (5.8 % CuEq) from 50.05 m;

SHN23006

4.00 m grading 0.07% Cu, 0.42% Zn, 1.6 g/t Au and 17.6 g/t Ag (1.7% CuEq) from 154.00 m

SHN23007

6.70 m grading 0.82% Cu, 2.62% Zn, 0.3 g/t Au and 7.7 g/t Ag (2.0% CuEq) from 84.82 m

including 2.54 m grading 1.48% Cu, 5.19% Zn, 0.7 g/t Au and 14.4 g/t Ag (3.8% CuEq) from 88.98 m;

Notes:

Copper equivalents calculated using metal prices as at the first Sherrion drill press release (25 Jan 2024) (Cu $/t = 8,174; Pb $/t = 2,032; Zn = 2,487 $/t; Au = 2,020 $/oz; Ag = 22.7 $/oz) and assume 100% recovery of all elements. The formula used to calculate CuEq. = Cu (%) + ((Zn (%) * Zn (USD/t) ) + (Pb (%) * Pb (USD/t) ) + (Ag (g/t) * (Ag (USD/oz) /31.1) * 100) + (Au (g/t) * (Au (USD/oz) /31.1) * 100)) / Cu (USD/t) The formula used to calculate ZnEq. = Zn (%) + ((Cu (%) * Cu (USD/t) ) + (Pb (%) * Pb (USD/t) ) + (Ag (g/t) * (Ag (USD/oz) /31.1) * 100) + (Au (g/t) * (Au (USD/oz) /31.1) * 100)) / Zn (USD/t)

"Reported drill intercepts are downhole core lengths with true thickness estimated to be at least 90% of core downhole length."

The 2023 Q4 drill program saw 12 holes drilled with 10 intersecting intervals of semi-massive or massive sulphide from the Lost Lake and Cold Lake prospect areas. The exceptional thickness of mineralization in hole SHN23005 may be associated with a range of factors, including late remobilization of Au, Ag and Pb into the hanging wall of the VHMS system (analogous to the Chisel Lake Basin VHMS deposits found 70 km to the southeast) following intense regional deformation and metamorphism that effectively thickened the host horizon, and present a new targeting opportunity.

Mark Saxon, CEO of T2 Metals Corp., said, "This set of high gold drill results from the southeast end of the Lost Lake prospect represent a key moment for the Sherridon project. Gold-rich and gold-dominant VHMS deposits are well known from the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt and form very attractive targets. The grade and thickness of SHN23005 demonstrates the quality of mineralization that can exist at Sherridon, presenting new targets throughout the project area.

The Sherridon project is a relatively underexplored part of the Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, particularly with respect to deep drilling and targets similar to that drilled in SHN23005 lay completely untouched. We are very encouraged by the success of our exploration programs to date, along with the support of the Kiciwapa Cree and the Manitoba Mineral Development Fund (MMDF)."





Figure 1. Mineralization textures from drillhole SHN23005 (37.29m to 53.71m depth), Sherridon drill program, 2023.

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Twelve holes for a total of 1,500 metres were completed by T2 Metals during Q4 2023, testing a total strike length of 1,420 metres within, between and southeast of the Cold Lake and Lost Lake Deposits. These two deposits occur along a VHMS horizon that is both parallel to and normally less than 850 metres perpendicular to the VHMS horizon that hosts Sherritt Gordon's historic Sherridon East and Sherridon West Mines, where 7.74 million tonnes were mined at an average grade of 2.46% Cu, 2.84% Zn, 0.6 g/t Au and 33 g/t Ag (Goetz & Froese, 1981) between 1931 and 1951.

The Lost Lake and Cold Lake zones comprise a continuously mineralized horizon over a known strike length of approximately 1.8 km. The current T2 Metals drilling campaign further delineates shallow-dipping and plunging massive sulphide lenses and extends the historical drilling results by the previous explorers. It is also important to note that the while the Sherridon area is spatially and genetically associated with the prolific Paleoproterozoic Flin Flon - Snow Lake Greenstone Belt ("FFSLGB"), it has been under-explored despite the abundance of highly prospective felsic volcanic rocks, which host almost all of the historic VHMS resources in the FFSLGB, and despite the widespread precious and base metal endowment.

The company is incorporating 2023 results including assays, lithogeochemistry and core logging into its 3-D geological model to complete interpretation/analysis. Many geophysical follow-up opportunities and key VHMS-associated structural controls exist at Sherridon which provide additional high-value targets for planned 2024 drill programs. Cold Lake, Lost Lake and other historic resource areas are being considered for drill testing in 2024. Cross sections will be provided during Q1 2024 when all drill data is received and reported.





Figure 2: Cold and Lost Prospects, Sherridon, with Drill Hole Locations

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VHMS Type Deposits

VHMS deposits are attractive high-value exploration targets that sustain much of the world's supply of zinc, copper and silver and, in addition, are a major source of critical "high tech" metals germanium and indium. They typically occur in districts or "camps" comprised of numerous deposits of various sizes. They can be very high grade and are regularly gold enriched, with large very long-life deposits being "company-makers" (eg the founding of Rio Tinto). Longer-life mining operations tend to show total production exceeding the original pre-mining size by more than three times.

VHMS deposits can be discovered with conventional geophysical methods. Most deposits have simple sulphide mineralogy that is amenable to processing and high recovery.

Project Deposit Size* Location Owner Market Cap

(CA$) McIlvenna Bay 39 Mt at 2.04% CuEq Saskatchewan, Canada Foran Mining Corp $1,190 m Green Bay (Ming) 39.2 Mt at 2.07% CuEq Newfoundland, Canada FireFly Metals Ltd $155.8 m Palmer+ 4.7 Mt at 3.92% CuEq Alaska, USA American Pacific Mining Corp $53.1 m B26 7.0 Mt at 2.94% CuEq Quebec, Canada Abitibi Metals Corp $48.4 m Great Burnt 1.5 Mt at 2.73% CuEq Newfoundland, Canada Benton Resources Inc $26.8 m Pine Bay 3.4 Mt at 3.59% CuEq Manitoba, Canada Callinex Mines Inc $25.3 m Pickett Mountain 6.3 Mt at 5.17% CuEq Maine, USA Wolfden Resources Corp $13.1 m BMK 9.7 Mt at 2.2% CuEq Saskatchewan, Canada Murchison Minerals Ltd $9.1 m

Table 1: Notable North American VHMS Deposits with Active Exploration. *Values are derived from deposit owner company material and have not been verified by T2 Metals.

Sampling Procedures and Quality Assurance (QA) / Quality Control (QC)

The Company's QA/QC drill core sample protocol consists of collection of samples over a minimum 0.3 m interval to a maximum 1.4 m interval (depending on the lithology and style of mineralization) over the mineralized portions of the drillhole. The drill core sample is cut in half with a diamond saw, with half of the core placed in individual sealed polyurethane bags and the remaining half securely retained in the original core box for permanent storage. Drill core samples are shipped by transport truck in sealed woven plastic bags to Bureau Veritas Minerals Analytical Lab preparation facility in Timmins, ON for sample preparation. Sample analysis was carried out at Bureau Veritas Minerals laboratory in Vancouver, BC.

Gold was determined by Bureau Veritas method FA430, a lead fire-assay fusion of a 30 g pulverized sample with an atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) finish. Select samples were re-assayed using method FS652 1kg. This method involves the metallic sieving (150 mesh), of 1 kg of pulverized sample where both the plus fraction and the minus fractions are retained. The >150 mesh size was assayed in its entirety, and the

HOLE_ID FROM TO Interval Cu Zn Pb Au Ag CuEq ZnEq (m) (m) (m) % % % g/t g/t % % SHN23001 75.97 85.98 10.01 0.92 4.70 0.02 0.37 10.82 2.74 9.01 Including 75.97 80.79 4.82 1.45 6.88 0.02 0.65 16.96 4.21 13.84 Including 75.97 77.76 1.79 2.15 12.29 0.01 0.81 24.37 6.75 22.20 SHN23002 104.94 109.45 4.51 0.92 1.90 0.02 0.40 11.81 1.92 6.32 SHN23003 44.95 48.66 3.71 1.77 5.16 0.01 0.68 20.56 4.06 13.36 SHN23004 87.03 95.00 7.97 2.17 4.78 0.05 1.83 34.42 5.40 17.74 Including 87.03 90.83 3.80 4.23 9.77 0.03 2.30 54.00 9.52 31.30 SHN23005 38.00 61.50 23.50 1.18 1.46 0.19 6.79 40.39 7.4 24.4 Including 38.00 42.50 4.5 0.38 0.02 0.88 29.17 138.83 25.0 N.A. Including 50.05 58.72 8.67 2.48 3.59 0.02 2.50 30.03 5.8 19.2 SHN23006 154.00 158.00 4.00 0.07 0.42 0.17 1.58 17.63 1.7 5.4 SHN23007 84.82 91.52 6.7 0.82 2.62 0.02 0.34 7.70 2.0 6.4 Including 88.98 91.52 2.54 1.48 5.19 0.03 0.72 14.39 3.8 12.4 SHN23008 49.38 63.78 14.40 0.88 2.58 0.02 0.51 9.85 2.16 7.11 Including 49.38 52.13 2.75 3.34 6.00 0.01 1.92 33.23 6.99 22.95 SHN23009 34.91 40.65 5.74 1.42 1.18 0.03 0.85 18.85 2.63 8.65 SHN23010 105.00 110.52 5.52 1.77 1.47 0.09 2.30 37.22 4.41 14.50 SHN23011 39.00 53.50 14.50 0.92 2.82 0.04 0.78 13.76 2.52 11.50 Including 44.22 53.50 9.28 0.85 4.01 0.07 1.08 17.57 3.09 10.20 SHN23012 Hole terminated before target.

Table 2: Assay Results 2023 Q4 Drilling, Cold and Lost Prospects, Sherridon

HOLE_ID EAST NORTH RL DEPTH INCLINATION AZIMUTH SHN23001 367008 6111502 328 134.0 -45 220 SHN23002 367060 6111471 312 125.0 -55 220 SHN23003 367093 6111332 328 86.0 -52 220 SHN23004 367114 6111350 328 125.0 -50 220 SHN23005 367298 6111117 320 164.0 -45 220 SHN23006 367378 6111198 321 179.0 -45 220 SHN23007 367287 6111193 320 125.0 -45 220 SHN23008 366969 6111496 320 134.0 -60 220 SHN23009 366374 6112179 325 104.0 -45 220 SHN23010 366421 6112228 325 131.0 -55 220 SHN23011 367255 6111149 333 77.0 -45 220 SHN23012 367317 6111224 330 116.0 -52 220

Table 3: T2 Metals Drill Coordinates, 2023 Q4 (Coordinates given in UTM Zone 14N, NAD83).

SHERRIDON PROJECT - INDICATED RESOURCES (2010) Mining Method Million

Tonnes Cu (%) Zn (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Copper

(M lbs) Zinc

(M lbs) Gold

(oz) Silver

(oz) Open Pit 5.32 0.8 1.23 0.34 7.2 Underground 1.24 1.04 1.18 0.48 8.2 Total Indicated 6.55 0.85 1.22 0.37 7.4 122.1 M lb 176.3 M lb 77,192 oz 1.56 M oz SHERRIDON PROJECT - INFERRED RESOURCES (2010) Open Pit 12.24 0.62 0.77 0.26 5.3 Underground 3.62 0.91 1.08 0.32 7.4 Total Inferred 15.86 0.69 0.84 0.28 5.8 239.9 M lb 294.0 M lb 141,245 oz 2.94 M oz

Indicated and Inferred resources for Bob, Lost, Cold, and Jungle deposits. Mineral Resource estimates are based upon Bloom, L., Healy, T., Giroux, G., Halo Resources Ltd. 2010, Sherridon VMS Property, Technical Report NI43-101 - November 22, 2010, which is available at www.sedar.com.

Mineral Resources were estimated at a net smelter return (NSR) cut-off of US$20 per tonne and US$45 per tonne for open pit and underground respectively. Metal prices used were US$3.00/lb copper, US$1.05/lb zinc, US$1,000/oz gold and US$15.00/oz silver. Metallurgical recovery factors assumed were 92% for copper, 83% for zinc, 65% for gold and 57% for silver.

The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared under the direction of, and dated and signed by, a Qualified Person as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 and CIM Definition Standards. The data, information, estimates, conclusions and recommendations were consistent with the information available at the time of preparation. The terms "mineral resource", "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource" are defined in NI 43-101 and recognized by Canadian securities laws. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be upgraded to mineral reserves. T2 Metals has received the exploration and drilling data, but has not independently confirmed the Mineral Resource estimates. Halo has indicated that no Mineral Resource estimates were completed subsequent to those provided in Table 1.

Table 4: Sherridon Historical Resource Estimate, 2010

The qualified person for the Company's projects, Mr. Mark Saxon, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.

About T2 Metals Corp (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E)

T2 Metals Corp is an emerging copper and precious metal company enhancing shareholder value through exploration and discovery. The Company continues to target under-explored areas, including the Sherridon, Lida, Cora and Copper Eagle projects where post-mineralization cover masks areas of high geological prospectivity in the vicinity of major mines.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Mark Saxon"

Mark Saxon

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

t2metals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

[email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such risks include uncertainties relating to exploration activities. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199975
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (WKN: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) ("Thesis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed a vertical short-form amalgamation (the "Amalgamation") pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the "BCBCA") effective February 29, 2024, with the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary PPM Phoenix Precious Metals Corp ("PPM"). Pursuant to the Amalgamation, the resulting amalgamated company (the "AmalCo") has adopted the name "Thesis Gold Inc.", maintained the same Articles and management as the Company, issued no securities, and the symbol "TAU" remains the same.

Ewan Webster, President and CEO of the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. commented, "We are pleased to announce the amalgamation of Thesis Gold Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, PPM Phoenix Precious Metals Corp. This amalgamation will streamline our mining exploration activities and help to reduce corporate and operational expenses as we move forward."

On September 18, 2019, the Company acquired 100% of the Lawyers' Property through the acquisition of PPM and following the completion of the Company's plan of arrangement on August 23, 2023, the Company continued to indirectly own all of the mineral properties comprising the Lawyers Gold-Silver Project through its wholly-owned subsidiary, PPM. As a result of completing the Amalgamation, the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. now directly owns all of the mineral properties comprising the Lawyers Gold-Silver Project.

Thesis Gold Inc. has filed the Certificate of Amalgamation and Notice of Articles on SEDAR, which are publicly available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Additional information with respect to the Amalgamation and the business of the amalgamated Thesis Gold Inc. is available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Thesis Gold Inc.

"Ewan Webster"

Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO, and Director

About Thesis Gold Inc.

Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north central British Columbia, Canada. A 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers project alone projected an open-pit mining operation yielding an average of 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span1. By integrating the Ranch Project, the company aims to enhance the economics and bolster the overall project's potential. Central to this ambition was the expansive 2023 drill program, which continues to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The company's roadmap includes releasing a combined Ranch-Lawyers resource estimate by Q2 2024, with an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment slated for Q3 2024. Through these strategic moves, Thesis Gold intends to elevate the Ranch-Lawyers Project to the forefront of global precious metals ventures.

1Preliminary Economic Assessment: Lawyers Gold & Silver Project (2022). JDS Energy & Mining.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Dave Burwell

Vice President Corporate Development

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 403-410-7907

Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, intended use of proceeds from the Offering, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199951
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Vext Science, Inc. (CSE: VEXT) (OTCQX: VEXTF) ("Vext" or the "Company"), a U.S.-based cannabis operator with vertical operations in Arizona and Ohio, today announced that it has completed the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of a cannabis dispensary in Columbus, Ohio (the "Columbus Dispensary"), as part of the previously disclosed acquisition of Appalachian Pharm Processing, LLC, together with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies. As part of the closing, Vext will pay to CannAscend Ohio Columbus, LLC, additional aggregate consideration of approximately $2,879,322.00 plus approximately $148,000.00 for certain pre-closing tax liability of the Columbus Dispensary, subject to adjustments based on pre-closing operations. The Columbus Dispensary is called Strawberry Fields, and located at 2950 E. Main Street, Columbus, Ohio. On February 2, 2024, Vext received regulatory approval from the Ohio Department of Commerce to transfer ownership of the Columbus Dispensary to Vext.

Eric Offenberger, CEO of Vext commented, "With the adult-use market opening this year, Ohio is positioned for substantial growth and is expected to become a $4 billion market by 20281. Through the acquisition of Strawberry Fields, along with the previously announced Ohio Expansion Transaction, Vext has established a meaningful vertical presence in the state and is primed for growth and profitability over the next several years."

As a result of closing of the Acquisition, Vext's business in Ohio will include an operating Tier I cultivation facility, an operating manufacturing facility, and four strategically located retail dispensaries2.

Unless otherwise noted, all currency reference used in this news release are in U.S. currency.

About Vext Science, Inc.

Vext Science, Inc. is a U.S.-based cannabis operator with vertical operations in Arizona and Ohio. Vext's expertise spans from cultivation through to retail operations in its key markets. Based out of Arizona, Vext owns and operates state-of-the-art cultivation facilities, fully built-out manufacturing facilities as well as dispensaries in both Arizona and Ohio. The Company manufactures Vapen", one of the leading THC concentrates, edibles, and distillate cartridge brands in Arizona. Its selection of award-winning products are created with Vext's in-house, high-quality flower and distributed across Arizona and Ohio, as well as through Vext's partnerships in other states. Vext's leadership team brings a proven track record of building and operating profitable multi-state operations, with the Company having operated profitably since 2016. The Company's primary focus is to continue growing in its core states of Arizona and Ohio, bringing together cutting-edge science, manufacturing, and marketing to provide a reliable and valuable customer experience while generating shareholder value.

Vext Science, Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol VEXT and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol VEXTF. Learn more at www.vextscience.com and connect with Vext on Twitter/X and LinkedIn.

For more details on the Vapen brand:

Vapen website: VapenBrands.com

Instagram: @vapen

Facebook: @vapenbrands

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here and elsewhere in Vext's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. When used in this news release, words such as "will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should," and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements related to the Ohio Expansion Transaction, including the anticipated closing date and receipt of regulatory approvals related thereto, and other statements regarding future developments and the business and operations of the Vext, market projections of the cannabis industry in Ohio, and the Company's business plans in Arizona and Ohio, all of which are subject to the risk factors contained in Vext's continuous disclosure filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Although Vext has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; being engaged in activities currently considered illegal under U.S. Federal laws; change in laws; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindered market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change.

There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. Because of these risks and uncertainties, the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Vext disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise such information, except as required by applicable law, and Vext does not assume any liability for disclosure relating to any other company mentioned herein.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

Eric Offenberger

Chief Executive Officer

844-211-3725

For further information:

Jonathan Ross, Vext Investor Relations

[email protected]

416-244-9851

SOURCE: Vext Science, Inc

________________________

1 MJBizDaily

2 Vext has executed an asset purchase agreement (the "Asset Purchase Agreement"), together with other definitive agreements (together with the Asset Purchase Agreement, the "Definitive Agreements"), with the members of Big Perm's Dispensary Ohio, LLC ("Big Perm") to acquire from Big Perm two cannabis dispensaries located in Ohio, as well as all licenses and assets related to the business of such dispensaries for cash consideration of $9.4 million, subject to adjustments in certain circumstances (the "Ohio Expansion Transaction"). Subject to receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary conditions precedent, the Company expects that closing of the Ohio Expansion Transaction will occur in 2024.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199985
ELKO  Just a day after a Union Pacific train derailed near the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, spilling tons of corn, scattering debris along the two tracks of the east-west line and shutting down the bridge for nearly 12 hours, both tracks were brought back into service on Thursday.

No one was injured in Wednesday mornings derailment. But travel to and from Spring Creek on Lamoille Highway was brought to a standstill for nearly a dozen hours as traffic had to be rerouted.

Early Thursday, one of the dual east-west tracks was reopened and an Amtrak California Zephyr was able to hobble its way through the city. Thursday afternoon, a westbound freight train slowly passed through Elko.

We have opened one of the two mainline tracks closed after yesterdays derailment, Union Pacific spokesperson Robynn Tysver said in a email early Thursday. It was opened early this morning, and it will be used for passenger rail traffic.

The second line was back in service just hours after the first track was reopened.

Traffic resumed about 3 p.m. PST today, she said Thursday afternoon.

Tysver said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Elko Mayor Reece Keener said he was pleased inspectors with the Nevada Department of Transportation approved reopening the 12th Street Bridge so quickly, less than a dozen hours after the derailment brought train and car traffic to a standstill near the bridge.

We are indeed very fortunate that the preliminary bridge inspection passed, so that traffic flow was able to resume on Wednesday afternoon, he said in a Thursday email. I was informed that there will be an NDOT crew coming from Las Vegas next week.

Using specialized X-ray equipment, they will evaluate the bridge columns to ensure that theres no internal structural damage. Given the fact that the cosmetic damage to the bridge columns was minimal, this seems like a remote possibility. However, this is protocol for this type of incident which involves a collision with a bridge.

Close Workers discuss the what is needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Water Street below the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, was closed due to the grain spilled from the derailment of a Union Pacific train on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. A tangle of rail cars and debris lines the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. The 16-car train derailed, spilling tons of grain. No one was injured. Wheels and other debris are scattered on the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. With onlookers above on the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, workers below assess the damage of a Union Pacific train derailment on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. A rail car rests on its side after slamming into a bridge piling on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. Tons of grain spilled from the Union Pacific train derailment. Workers move some debris from the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, after a freight train derailed. An overturned grain car sits abutting a piling below the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Workers move some debris from the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, after a freight train derailed. Grain spills from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Workers discuss the work needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Spilled grain poured from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Spilled grain poured from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Workers discuss the what is needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Workers examine some of the wreckage of a Union Pacific train that derailed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. Workers examine some of the wreckage of a Union Pacific train that derailed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. A grain car is nearly perpendicular to the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. At least one power pole was knocked down by the Union Pacific train derailment in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Grain spills from derailed Union Pacific rail cars in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2014. Train cars are on their side and debris litters the Union Pacific tracks on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. A Union Pacific car is on its side in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Gallery: Train derailment A freight train hauling grain on Union Pacific tracks through Elko, Nevada, derailed the morning of Feb. 28, 2024. No one was injured. Workers discuss the what is needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Water Street below the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, was closed due to the grain spilled from the derailment of a Union Pacific train on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. A tangle of rail cars and debris lines the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. The 16-car train derailed, spilling tons of grain. No one was injured. Wheels and other debris are scattered on the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. With onlookers above on the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, workers below assess the damage of a Union Pacific train derailment on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. A rail car rests on its side after slamming into a bridge piling on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. Tons of grain spilled from the Union Pacific train derailment. Workers move some debris from the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, after a freight train derailed. An overturned grain car sits abutting a piling below the 12th Street Bridge in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Workers move some debris from the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, after a freight train derailed. Grain spills from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Workers discuss the work needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Spilled grain poured from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Spilled grain poured from a derailed and overturned Union Pacific car on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, following a derailment. Workers discuss the what is needed to clear the area of grain and rail debris on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada, after a Union Pacific train derailed. Workers examine some of the wreckage of a Union Pacific train that derailed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. Workers examine some of the wreckage of a Union Pacific train that derailed on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Elko, Nevada. A grain car is nearly perpendicular to the Union Pacific tracks in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. At least one power pole was knocked down by the Union Pacific train derailment in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Grain spills from derailed Union Pacific rail cars in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2014. Train cars are on their side and debris litters the Union Pacific tracks on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, following a derailment. A Union Pacific car is on its side in Elko, Nevada, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.

The mayor said the derailment was a painful reminder that the area needs a second route to link Elko and Spring Creek.

This topic has been on the minds of the Elko City Council, Elko County Commission, Elko County Regional Transit Commission and the Spring Creek Association for many years, Keener said. A new highway is needed, however the funding requirement which would likely exceed $50,000,000 (without a bridge) is well beyond the financial means of our local governments. This will take state or federal funding to make this a reality.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Wealth Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: WML) (OTCQB: WMLLF) (SSE: WMLCL) (FSE: EJZN) (the "Company" or "Wealth") - provides an operation update.

Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada ("PDAC")

Wealth Minerals will host at booth number 3141 during PDAC, the world's largest mining conference to be held in Toronto, Canada from March 3 - 6. Management will be at the booth and ready to meet during the conference.

Kuska Project

In preparation for advancing the Kuska Project past its current Preliminary Economic Assessment stage (See PEA report, as announced on February 16, 2024), the Company has completed a new geophysical survey with data lines both within the existing resource area as well as lines that intersect the new license areas as announced on February 27, 2024. Preliminary analysis suggest that the new geophysical lines demonstrate the continuation of the main Ollage geophysical anomaly into the recently acquired licenses. The Company will provide more detail upon final analysis of this geophysical survey in due course.

Yapuckuta Project

Wealth announces that the Atacama Project has been renamed to Yapuckuta Project. "Yapuckuta" means "rich in salt", or "abundant in salt" in the Kunza (Atacameno) language. This was done to better separate the name of the project from the geological feature upon which it sits, to avoid confusion and better accentuate the difference between Wealth's assets and those of our peer group to the south of us in the Atacama Salar.

The state environmental authorities have granted permission to a local indigenous organization in the Atacama Salar, to proceed with the drilling of groundwater monitoring wells covering a vast area that includes the Yapuckuta Project. Local indigenous communities participated in the permitting process and have agreed in moving forward with these activities, that will begin in the short term.

While these monitoring holes will be shallow and are not designed to intersect with what the Company believes will be the main brine reservoir in the Yapuckuta Project, they will provide valuable information about the geology, water levels and how deep and/or shallow brines exist in Wealth's Yapuckuta Project area, information that will be critical for future WML Environmental Assessment Study.

About Wealth Minerals Ltd.

Wealth Minerals (TSXV: WML) (OTCQB: WMLLF) (SSE: WMLCL) (FSE: EJZN) is a developer of premier Chilean lithium projects in support of the global energy transition. The Company's flagship Yapuckuta Lithium Project spans 46,200 hectares in the Atacama Salar, a region which contains the world's highest grade and largest producing lithium brine deposits. The Kuska Lithium Project spans 10,500 hectares and maintains an after-tax NPV (10% discount) of US$1.15B per a Preliminary Economic Assessment announced in January 2024.

As the energy transition takes hold, the Company's goal is to advance its project to production and serve as a leading provider of responsibly sourced lithium to North American industry. To learn more, please visit the Company's website www.wealthminerals.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors of

WEALTH MINERALS LTD.

"Hendrik van Alphen"

Hendrik van Alphen

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Marla Ritchie, Michael Pound or Henk van Alphen

Phone: 604-331-0096 or 604-638-3886

Investor Relations Contacts:

John Liviakis

Liviakis Financial Communications

(415) 389-4670

or

Lucas A. Zimmerman

Managing Director

MZ Group - MZ North America

(949) 259-4987

[email protected]

www.mzgroup.us

Public Relations Contact:

Nancy Thompson

Vorticom, Inc.

(212) 532-2208

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 press release, which has been prepared by management.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the Company's expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral projects, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the commodity markets generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199967
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 1, 2024) - Xplore Resources Corp. (TSXV: XPLR) ("Xplore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the launch of its new company website and corporate presentation. The updated platform provides investors, stakeholders, and interested parties with a comprehensive overview of the company's mission, operations, and exploration strategy.

The new corporate presentation provides a comprehensive overview of Xplore's portfolio of prospective lithium properties in the emerging Root Bay lithium district in northwest Ontario, Canada.

About Xplore Resources

Xplore Resources is a North American lithium exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under symbol XPLR. The Company has a prospective land package in the emerging Root Bay lithium district located in northwest Ontario. Xplore's flagship property is the Surge lithium project, on trend and near two lithium deposits and just 25 m from a new lithium discovery. The Company is led by a highly experienced management team with a strong track record of growing shareholder value.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,

Dominic Verdejo, CEO

Xplore Resources Corp.

For further information on Xplore, contact:

Telephone: 604-678-5308

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.xploreresources.com

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

Cautionary Note regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "anticipate," "significant," "expect," "may," "will" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify Forward-Looking Information. Forward-Looking Information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner; that all requisite information will be available in a timely manner. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, risks related to unforeseen delays; general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes; the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this Forward-Looking Information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this Forward-Looking Information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199952
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Healy & Jordan, PLLC, available at (228) 575-4005, has updated its expert legal representation services for auto accident victims in New Orleans and the surrounding areas, including Metairie, Slidell, and Kenner.



With its latest services, Healy & Jordan offers legal support for victims and families whose loved ones were injured in a road traffic accident, helping them hold the at-fault party accountable.

More details can be found at https://healyjordanlaw.com/areas-of-practice/personal-injury/

The latest service update comes as a recent report from the Center for Analytics & Research in Transportation Safety (CARTS) shows that over 67,917 injuries and 879 fatalities were recorded on Louisiana roadways in 2022. With the announcement, the injury attorneys at Healy & Jordan are now available round the clock to guide car accident victims in New Orleans and beyond through the legal process until justice is done.

Our goal is to take the burden of your legal problems off your shoulders, a representative said. Well assess your claims, walk you through your options, and aggressively advocate for your rights.

Due to Louisianas status as an at-fault state in auto crash cases, the burden of proof is usually on the claimant. Without legal aid, however, victims may struggle to gather the necessary evidence needed to support their case. Hence, working with investigators and other experts, the attorneys will piece together the circumstances of the accident on behalf of their client to build a solid case.

The team advocates for clients before insurance companies, negotiating for a maximum potential settlement that covers the victims ongoing and future medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Although the attorneys typically aim for quick out-of-court settlements, they are prepared to go to trial should negotiations fall through.

The law practices auto accident legal services are available on a contingency fee basisa policy that it describes as a deliberate move to ease the financial burden on victims and their families as they grapple with the aftermath of the car crash.

Alongside auto crash cases, Healy & Jordan also handles cases involving medical malpractice, maritime and offshore injuries, premises liability, product liability, and workers compensation claims.

Auto crash victims in New Orleans in need of expert legal guidance can book a complimentary case review and no-obligation consultation by calling the number in the description.

A satisfied client has this to say about their experience with Healy & Jordan: I highly recommend Al Jordan for legal services. His advice is straight and to the point. He is easy to talk to and understand. Great to work with.

Additional information is available at https://healyjordanlaw.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Megan Jordan

Email: Send Email

Organization: Healy & Jordan, PLLC

Address: 1323 28th Ave Suite A, Gulfport, MS 39501, United States

Phone: +1-228-575-4005

Website: https://healyjordanlaw.com/



Release ID: 89122977

Should you identify any discrepancies, concerns, or inaccuracies in the content provided in this press release or require assistance with a press release takedown, we strongly urge you to notify us promptly by contacting [email protected]. Our responsive team is committed to addressing your concerns within 8 hours by taking necessary actions to resolve identified issues diligently or guiding you through the necessary steps for removal. Our dedication lies in providing accurate and reliable information.
Also completed financings to fund the Acquisition, consisting of $550 million notes offering and an amendment to AAR's existing revolving credit facility, upsizing the facility from $620 million to $825 million

WOOD DALE, Ill. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) ("AAR" or the "Company"), a leading provider of aviation services to commercial and government operators, MROs, and OEMs, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of Triumph Group's (NYSE: TGI) Product Support business. Triumph Group's Product Support business is a leading global provider of specialized maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities for critical aircraft components in the commercial and defense markets.

AAR previously announced on December 21, 2023 , that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Triumph Group's Product Support business for an aggregate purchase price of $725 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction was financed with proceeds from AAR's previously announced $550 million notes offering and borrowings under its amended revolving credit facility.

"The completion of this acquisition scales AAR's repair capabilities, expands our footprint in the APAC region, and enhances our ability to serve our global customers," said John M. Holmes , AAR's Chairman, President and CEO. "We're excited to welcome more than 700 team members from the Product Support business who bring expertise in key areas to the AAR team."

About AAR

AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company with operations in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through four operating segments: Parts Supply, Repair & Engineering, Integrated Solutions, and Expeditionary Services. Additional information can be found at aarcorp.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements relating to future business opportunities and conditions, as well as anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition by the Company of Triumph Group's Product Support business (the "Acquisition"). Such statements are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and reflect management's expectations about future conditions. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future operating and financial performance and financial condition, or sustainability targets, goals, commitments and other business plans, and often may also be identified because they contain words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could,'' "estimate," "expect," "intend," "likely," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "target," "will," "would," or similar expressions and the negatives of those terms. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, risks associated with the Company's ability to successfully integrate the acquired business; the Company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the Acquisition as rapidly or to the extent anticipated; the effect of the Acquisition on the Company's operating results and business generally; the amount of costs, fees and expenses related to the Acquisition; and other factors that could affect the Company's business. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as well as the Company's other subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described and the anticipated benefits of the Acquisition may not be realized. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Contact:

Dylan Wolin

Vice President, Strategic & Corporate Development and Treasurer

+1-630-227-2017

dylan.wolin@aarcorp.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aar-completes-acquisition-of-triumph-groups-product-support-business-302077471.html

SOURCE AAR CORP.
KYIV, Ukraine and WASHINGTON , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 29 , a conference aimed at improving the lives of Ukraine's veterans took place, organized by a coalition of four Ukrainian and American civil society organizations: "Free and Faithful," the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," "US Ukrainian Activists," and "White Ribbon Ukraine." Coalition members seek to leverage the U.S. experience in veteran policy to address Ukrainian needs and prepare a report for the U.S. Congress on this matter.

Vitalii Hersak , Chairman of "Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni) believes that this initiative will contribute to the improvement of the effectiveness of state support for veterans and their families in Ukraine , and the strengthening of veteran diplomacy between our countries.

As the head of the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," Kateryna Odarchenko remarked that Ukraine is learning from its American counterparts, who possess years of experience in veteran support. The aspiration is for Ukraine to be a country where veterans lead dignified lives after their military service.

The conference delved into critical topics concerning veterans, such as medical, psychological, socio-economic support, the role of the civil sector, and international cooperation. Insights and advice from experts in veteran policy, including representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine.

Conference participants formed a working group tasked with developing an Action Plan to adapt U.S. veteran policy experience to Ukrainian realities. The coalition of Ukrainian and American civil society organizations will also prepare an Analytical Report for the U.S. Congress, highlighting the situation of veterans in Ukraine and proposing ways to improve their conditions. The results of this work will be presented at a conference in Washington . Additionally, coalition members will brief policymakers and government representatives both in Ukraine and the USA .

"Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni) is an Ukrainian NGO established under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Vitalii Hersak to champion democracy, sovereignty, and European integration in Ukraine , and provide unwavering support to the nation's defenders, war veterans, and their families (viv.org.ua).

"US Ukrainian Activists" is an NGO based in the USA , remains dedicated to supporting Ukraine , its people, and cultural heritage.

The Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" is a non-profit organization committed to fostering transparent dialogues between the state, business, and society, on international level (Institute-polita.us).

White Ribbon Ukraine is an organization dedicated to spearheading social initiatives aimed at combating violence and fostering safer communities.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adapting-the-us-veteran-policy-experience-to-ukrainian-realities-302076738.html

SOURCE Institute for Democracy and Development PolitA
Appointment honors Korstanje's accomplishments as an exemplary scientist and mentor

BAR HARBOR, Maine , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Associate Professor Ron Korstanje, Ph.D., has been named the Evnin Family Chair at The Jackson Laboratory. An expert in the genetics of kidney function and disease, Korstanje's appointment marks a new chapter in his 20 years of service to JAX's mission.

"Ron's exceptional contributions to JAX have advanced research discoveries and nurtured generations of future scientists," said President and CEO Lon Cardon , Ph.D., FMedSci. "His appointment as the Evnin Family Chair bolsters our commitment to understanding the most complex health challenges of our time. I'm grateful to him, and to the Evnin family for their support in helping us recruit and retain top scientists."

As a standout researcher in his field, Korstanje has authored more than 110 publications exploring the intersection of kidney function, aging, metabolism and genomics. He is a lead collaborator at the JAX Center for Aging Research and is a consummate volunteer for internal committees and boards and for organizations outside of JAX.

To better understand the biology of aging and age-associated decline of kidney function, Korstanje has been performing studies in different species, including C. elegans, zebrafish, mice, and even black bears. He co-authored studies which discovered new genes that were previously unassociated with lifespan, and identified therapies that act on these genes to improve kidney function and extend lifespan and healthspan.

Born and educated in the Netherlands , Korstanje first arrived at JAX in 2001 as a postdoctoral fellow, working alongside the late legendary scientist and mentor Beverly Paigen , Ph.D. He was recruited back overseas to the University of Groningen in 2004 as a research associate in the medical biology division, where he quickly progressed to assistant professor. After returning to JAX in 2007 as a research scientist in Paigen's laboratory, he advanced to the rank of associate professor in 2019.

Throughout his tenure at JAX, Korstanje has mentored dozens of undergraduate, predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. He also works with students in the nonprofit biomedical research institution's prestigious Summer Student Program (SSP), which marks its 100th anniversary this summer. Korstanje has served as the Bar Harbor SSP resident supervisor, living with his family alongside students throughout the 10-week program. In a full-circle moment, last year the inaugural Paigen Fellow was named to a yearlong appointment in his laboratory.

"I'm honored to be appointed the Evnin Family Chair," Korstanje said. "For more than two decades, I've been able to advance my research with the help of world-class resources and incredible mentors and colleagues here at JAX. I'm excited to continue making contributions to this wonderful community of scientists and our shared vision for a healthier future."

The Evnin Family Chair was established in 2015 by Emeritus Trustee Anthony B. Evnin , Ph.D., and his wife Judith, who were among the first to support endowed chairs at JAX. Korstanje succeeds the late George Weinstock , Ph.D., a pioneering geneticist and deeply respected member of the JAX community. The Evnins also established a second chair, the Evnin Family Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Research, to support novel JAX research focused on protecting people from Alzheimer's disease even if they carry the genetic disposition toward it.

JAX currently has 15 endowed chair positions funded by support from generous donors. To learn more, visit our endowed chair page.

About The Jackson Laboratory

The Jackson Laboratory is an independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution with a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center and nearly 3,000 employees in locations across the United States ( Maine , Connecticut , California ), Japan and China. Its mission is to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. For more information, please visit www.jax.org.

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SOURCE The Jackson Laboratory
BEIJING , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 30, 2021 , during the 29th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th Communist Party of China Central Committee, President Xi Jinping quoted the ancient proverb "Plants, trees and forests are a nation's wealth" to underscore the importance of maintaining harmony between humanity and nature.

The text has its origins in the ancient Chinese political and philosophical text Guan Zi written by philosopher and statesman Guan Zhong some 2,700 years ago. It expresses the idea that a good ecological environment has both an economic and social value in its own right.

China has exerted significant efforts to advance an ecological civilization, recognizing its vital role in sustaining the development of the nation. The belief that "green is gold" is a widespread consensus among the country's population, reflecting the shared understanding that prioritizing environmental harmony is crucial for both nature and humanity.

Take, for example, Yucun Village in Anji County, Zhejiang Province . Once a major limestone-mining area, the village has transformed itself into a picturesque community featuring a sea of bamboo, in turn becoming a highly sought-after tourist destination.

Once plagued by droughts, Youyu County in Shanxi Province has witnessed a remarkable increase in forest coverage, soaring from less than 0.3 percent 70 years ago to a current 57 percent. The once barren land is now a lush oasis, with an eco-ranch and agro-tourism emerging as major sources of local income.

Thanks to continued ecological conservation efforts, Yundang Lake in Xiamen , Fujian Province , has been converted from a polluted, foul-smelling water body covered in litter and overgrown weeds into an area well-known for its clean water, mangroves, egrets and other wildlife. It has become a popular tourist attraction and a landmark of the coastal city.

To coordinate the preservation and restoration of ecosystems in mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and sandy lands, the Chinese Government in 2016 launched the Shan-Shui Initiative under which it has thus far carried out dozens of massive projects to restore vital ecosystems. Shan-Shui literally translates to "mountains and rivers."

In December 2022 , the initiative was included as one of the 10 global flagship projects recognized by the United Nations for aiding planetary health. As of December 2023 , 5.33 million hectares had been restored.

The efforts to translate these environmental benefits into foundation for ecological agriculture, industry and tourism continue to be a priority throughout China .

The country is dedicated to enhancing its living environment to create a beautiful and sustainable home for all, a home characterized by lush mountains, verdant fields, vibrant wildlife and blooming flora.

The magnificent landscape not only enhances the income and aesthetic enjoyment of the Chinese people, but also fosters sustainable economic and social development. In turn, a greener China contributes to the creation of a more beautiful global village.

Harmony between humanity and nature is one of the key features of Chinese modernization.

China will consistently prioritize environmental protection to inject powerful impetus into the country's high-quality development.

TikTok

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https://x.com/BeijingReview/status/1763396431145033843?s=20

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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7428852670512467

YouTube

https://youtu.be/FLzAxdzepj4

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https://weibo.com/1719349955/O2XCFu7vX

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https://www.bjreview.com/Multimedia/Video/Ancient_Wisdom_Upgraded_Interpretation/202403/t20240301_800358253.html

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SOURCE Beijing Review
SAN DIEGO , Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ESET, a global leader in digital security, announced that it will present at FS-ISAC's 2024 Americas Spring Summit in March. The session, "Why Threat Intelligence is a Crucial Layer in Cyber Defense," will be presented by Tony Anscombe , ESET's Chief Security Evangelist, and Daniel Navarro , Sales Engineer at ESET North America. FS-ISAC's event theme is "Thriving Together in a Dynamic World" - bringing together decision makers and influencers from the financial, cyber and information security sectors.

With cybersecurity increasingly becoming an essential component of any institution, Anscombe and Navarro will discuss how cyberthreat intelligence is key to proactively disrupting adversaries and bad actors, and how organizations can work together to share this knowledge. They will explain how strong cyberthreat intelligence enables the ability to anticipate where attacks will come from rather than waiting until they appear, and how to understand the danger and adapt accordingly to enhance defenses.

"Cyber threats pose the biggest threat to any business, nonprofit or government organization, and financial institutions are particularly vulnerable to sophisticated attacks," said Anscombe. "With untold amounts of customer data, including financial data, at stake, financial organizations must arm themselves with the right cyber intelligence and be able to detect an attack before it happens. Our presentation will shed light on how this can be done, what to look out for, and how to immediately set a plan into place to stop an attack. Bad actors are constantly innovating and looking for new ways to penetrate networks, but if we have the right tools and work together, we can deter them long before they try to commit a breach."

With over 20 years of security industry experience, Tony Anscombe is an established author, blogger and speaker on the current threat landscape, security technologies and products, data protection, privacy and internet safety. He has spoken at industry conferences such as RSA, Black Hat, VB, CTIA, MEF, Gartner Risk and Security Summit and the Child Internet Safety Summit.

"Why Threat Intelligence is a Crucial Layer in Cyber Defense" will take place at 4:15 p.m. on March 4 . The Americas Spring Summit takes place from March 3-6 in San Diego . For more information on the FS-ISAC agenda, visit https://www.fsisac.com/events/2024-americas-spring.

About ESET

For more than 30 years, ESET has been developing industry-leading IT security software and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure and consumers worldwide from increasingly sophisticated digital threats. From endpoint and mobile security to endpoint detection and response, as well as encryption and multifactor authentication, ESET's high-performing, easy-to-use solutions unobtrusively protect and monitor 24/7, updating defenses in real time to keep users safe and businesses running without interruption. Evolving threats require an evolving IT security company that enables the safe use of technology. This is backed by ESET's R&D centers worldwide, working in support of our shared future. For more information, visit www.eset.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/eset-to-present-at-fs-isac-2024-americas-spring-summit-302076566.html

SOURCE ESET
Whenever Disaster Strikes Fast Guard Service has responded for over a decade.

BORGER, Texas , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the devastating Smokehouse Creek Fire, currently recognized as the second-largest wildfire in Texas history, Fast Guard Service is actively extending its support to businesses and individuals affected by the disaster. With an area larger than the state of Rhode Island engulfed in flames, the need for comprehensive security and support services has never been more critical. Fast Guard Service, a leading security guard company, is at the forefront of providing essential assistance during these challenging times.



The Smokehouse Creek Fire has already claimed one life and continues to pose a significant threat to properties, wildlife, and the well-being of Texas residents. In light of the fire's scale, which surpasses 900,000 acres, Fast Guard Service has mobilized its experienced team of security professionals to ensure the safety and security of those in the affected areas.



Unwavering Support in Times of Need



Understanding the gravity of the situation, Fast Guard Service is offering a range of services designed to meet the unique needs of this crisis. These services include:



Evacuation Assistance: Coordination and support during evacuations, ensuring individuals and businesses can relocate safely.

Property Protection: Security patrols and monitoring services to protect evacuated homes and businesses from potential looting or vandalism.

Emergency Response: Quick response teams available 24/7 to address urgent security concerns and collaborate with local emergency services.

Logistical Support: Assistance in managing the flow of goods and services essential for disaster response and recovery.



"Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire. As a company committed to safeguarding communities, we see it as our duty to step in and offer our expertise during such a dire time," said Roderick C. Payne Jr , President of Fast Guard Service. "Our team is on the ground, working tirelessly to assist in evacuation efforts, protect properties, and provide a sense of security to those impacted by the wildfire."



Fast Guard Service is a premier security services provider, specializing in offering rapid, reliable, and responsive security solutions to a wide range of challenges. With a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of the complexities of disaster response, Fast Guard Service remains dedicated to serving communities in need, reinforcing its reputation as a pillar of support in times of crisis.



For more information on Fast Guard Service and its initiatives during the Texas wildfire, please visit https://fastguardservice.com/.



Contact:



Roderick C. Payne Jr

8442548273

[email protected]

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SOURCE Fast Guard Service
BROOKLYN, N.Y. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As reported by Bloomberg , Floodbase has been awarded a grant through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of the President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience ( PREPARE ) to launch parametric flood insurance programs in Mozambique and Malawi , with support from African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.) and Global Parametrics.

Over 80% of people in Mozambique depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, and 99% of smallholder farmers in Africa are uninsured against agricultural risks. Historically, insurers have struggled to create economically viable flood insurance products across the African continent. Modeling flood risk across large, agricultural regions is challenging to do accurately, and claims management is operationally difficult and prohibitively expensive for traditional indemnity products. Both factors have limited the availability of flood insurance in emerging economies. And yet with devastating events like Cyclone Idai responsible for $700m in economic loss , it's clear that effective climate adaptation requires new solutions that bring together innovative technology, local expertise, and a new approach to transferring and reducing risk.

"Floodbase's analysis found that if its program had been in place during Cyclone Idai in March of 2019, more than 10,000 farmers in the central regions of Mozambique could have received a cash payout within days of the event  helping them avoid acute food insecurity, and replant and rebuild," said Samantha Power , USAID Administrator, during her COP 28 speech in UAE . Administrator Power also highlighted Floodbase in her speech, The End of Climate Shocks , at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center on January 30 , referencing its groundbreaking approach to extending insurance to rural Africa .

The costs of climate adaptation across the African continent are immense , and the exposure of agricultural communities to climate change poses a severe threat to economies, livelihoods, and food security. In 2021, President Biden launched the PREPARE initiative to support vulnerable countries and communities around the world in their efforts to adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change. Floodbase is one of the first grant recipients under the Adaptation Finance Window, a PREPARE initiative launched through the USAID Climate Finance for Development Accelerator that uses catalytic funding to de-risk the development and scaling of private-sector led climate adaptation approaches in developing countries. This grant will enable Floodbase to help smallholder farmers in Malawi and Mozambique avoid financial hardship in the wake of devastating floods that are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change. Floodbase-enabled parametric flood insurance will provide financial protection for previously uninsurable risks, ensuring that events like Cyclone Idai don't destroy the livelihoods of African farmers.

To achieve these aims, Floodbase will design risk transfer programs across Mozambique and Malawi , with Global Parametrics, a member of CelsiusPro Group, and ARC Ltd. supporting the project with underwriting, capacity building, and deployment of risk capacity. These parametric flood insurance programs are underwritten and monitored using satellite observations and machine learning, which enables insurers to trigger payouts in days rather than years. This approach eliminates the need for expensive claims management and quickly injects capital into local markets to minimize economic shock following floods.

The two parametric flood programs are just the beginning. An essential feature of this project is demonstrating the financial scalability and sustainability of parametric flood insurance in emerging markets. This approach can be applied to other agricultural risks across African markets. This model for public-private partnerships can help accelerate the success rate of humanitarian financing in increasing farmers' resilience to climate change in Africa and across the globe.

"Our collaboration with Global Parametrics, ARC Ltd., and USAID is an excellent blueprint for bringing new parametric flood products to market; USAID funding the development of the programs derisks the venture, both risk-transfer partners will ensure the programs are financially sustainable, and ARC Ltd. brings a wealth of local distribution expertise to ensure farmers can access policies. Both Floodbase and our partners are dedicated to closing the insurance gap in Africa and scaling our approach as broadly as possible," said Bessie Schwarz , Floodbase CEO.

"Parametric risk transfer and risk capacity deployment are pivotal for bridging the protection gap, especially as the demand for pre-arranged financing for climate disasters intensifies. In 2023, Global Parametrics, through its Natural Disaster Fund, strengthened climate resilience for 31 million poor and vulnerable people, deploying capacity to underwrite natural disaster risks in 70 countries eligible for official development assistance. We are grateful for the collaboration with Floodbase and ARC Ltd. to strengthen the resilience of communities in Malawi and Mozambique ," said Mark Rueegg , CEO of the CelsiusPro Group.

"We're excited to partner with Floodbase to complement our portfolio of innovative parametric solutions to support flood-vulnerable communities in Malawi and Mozambique . We have deep expertise distributing insurance products across Africa , which will help ensure the largest possible participation in these Floodbase parametric programs," said Lesley Ndlovu , ARC Ltd. CEO.

About Floodbase

Floodbase  a data provider and reporting agent  partners with re/insurers and humanitarian organizations to profitably design, underwrite, and monitor parametric flood insurance products. Built on nearly a decade of groundbreaking science, our proprietary solution continuously monitors flooding worldwide. Pairing decades of historical flood data with near real-time monitoring makes it possible to cover large corporate and public sector clients against previously uninsurable economic loss from flooding.

Contact our team of experts at [email protected] to partner on parametric flood insurance solutions that help close the flood insurance gap.

About USAID

USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID's work advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity, demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience. USAID, along with the State Department, co-lead implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE).

About ARC Ltd.

The African Risk Capacity Limited (ARC Ltd.) is a financial affiliate of the African Risk Capacity (ARC), a specialized agency of the African Union (AU), an initiative designed to improve current responses to climate-related food security emergencies.

ARC Ltd. is a mutual insurance facility comprised of its members, which have included Kenya , Mauritania , Niger , Senegal , Mali , Malawi , Gambia , Burkina Faso , Chad , Zimbabwe , Togo , Madagascar , and Zambia . The membership also includes its capital contributors who have provided premium subsidies, including USAID, FCDO SWISS, KFW/BMZ, IFAD, AFDB, WFP and STARTNETWORK.

About Global Parametrics

Global Parametrics, a member of the CelsiusPro Group, assists private and public organizations in understanding, managing, and mitigating the financial impact of climate risk and extreme weather events, with a particular focus on low-and-middle-income countries. Global Parametrics helps organizations and communities build climate resilience through innovation in parametric risk transfer and the deployment of risk capacity. Global Parametrics' solutions leverage the risk capacity of the Natural Disaster Fund (NDF), supported by paid-in capital from the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), along with committed risk share from Hannover Re.

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SOURCE Floodbase
PHOENIX, Ariz.  The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration and Hecla Mining Co. have announced plans work as partners in sustainable excellence to equip current and future generations of mining industry leaders with a host of resources and opportunities to ensure the long-term stability of this critical sector.

At the MINEXCHANGE 2024 SME Annual Conference & Expo on Feb. 26 SME and Hecla jointly announced their new three-year partnership.

The agreement includes a significant expansion of SME membership enrollment amongst Heclas employee base, offering access to the variety of benefits enjoyed by over 13,000 SME members.

SME and Hecla said they have also joined forces to produce and enhance events benefitting young professionals and students, such as MINEXCHANGEs SME Young Leaders Monday Night Social and Professional Development Luncheon, in addition to the Emerging Leaders Alliance Conference. SME said these events offer an abundance of personal and professional development opportunities for the future of mining.

To further promote industry engagement and visibility, the partnership will support the Women of SME Breakfast, the SME Mining & Exploration Division Luncheon, and the SME Foundation Gala, all of which are held annually at MINEXCHANGE.

This partnership will pay countless dividends to current and future SME members and the mining community at large, said David L. Kanagy, SME executive director and CEO. We look forward to working more closely with Hecla, a key player in American mining ingenuity, to accomplish our mutual goals.

Hecla is proud to partner with SME to pursue our common goals of innovation and sustainability, said Phillips S. Baker, president and CEO of Hecla. We look forward to leveraging this relationship to not only support our talented team of mining professionals, but also to develop the next generation of leaders in the mining industry.

Hecla has operating mines in Alaska, Idaho, and Quebec, Canada, and the company is developing a mine in the Yukon, Canada. Heclas Nevada properties include Hollister and Midas in Elko County, Aurora in Mineral County, Fire Creek in Lander County, and Monte Cristo in Esmeralda County.

SME offers its members around the world opportunities to advance their careers with technical resources, educational programs, networking opportunities, and professional development tools.

Kanagy, who has been the executive director of SME for 20 years, announced on Feb. 25 that he plans to retire from this role. The SME Board of Directors will form a search committee in the summer of 2024, with a goal of smoothly transitioning leadership by the beginning of 2026.
One heroa service member, veteran, first responder or healthcare workerwill be recognized with $10,000 by Freedom Mortgage on Fourth of July in Philadelphia

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Freedom Mortgage, one of the largest full-service independent mortgage companies, and a top Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and top Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (government-insured) lender in the U.S. , starts accepting submissions today for the fifth annual Freedom Mortgage Celebrate Freedom Contest. The winner will be announced on July 4, 2024 , at the Wawa Welcome America Festival in Philadelphia during the Celebration of Freedom Ceremony presented by Freedom Mortgage.

Service members, Veterans, first responders or healthcare workers enter Freedom Mortgage's contest for $10,000 prize!

The Celebrate Freedom Contest is open to all service members, veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers. Entrants must submit an original photo and an essay of 1,500 characters (with spaces) or less based on their personal experience that answers the question: "What does freedom mean to me?"

"At Freedom Mortgage, we take great pride in recognizing those who selflessly dedicate their lives to the service of others," said Stanley C. Middleman , president and CEO of Freedom Mortgage. "For the past five years, we've been truly humbled by the stories shared by service members, veterans, first responders, and healthcare workers. We can't wait to spotlight another hero this Fourth of July ."

As an incentive to encourage submissions for the Celebrate Freedom Contest, Freedom Mortgage will make a $10 donation for each of the first 600 submissionsup to $6 ,000which will be divided between both Feeding America and the USO (United Service Organizations). This donation to Feeding America will help provide at least 30,000 meals to people facing hunger.

The Celebrate Freedom Contest grand prize award winner will receive a trip for two to Philadelphia to attend the Wawa Welcome America Festival on July 4 and receive a check for $10,000 from Freedom Mortgage.

The contest runs from March 1 until 5:00 p.m. EST on May 1 . The grand prize winner will be notified in June. For full rules and to enter the Freedom Mortgage Celebrate Freedom Contest, visit www.freedommortgage.com/celebrate.

One of the nation's largest independent mortgage companies, Freedom Mortgage is committed to fostering homeownership and financial betterment across the country. Through Freedom Cares , the company's employee engagement and philanthropic program, Freedom Mortgage strives to better the communities in which it operates. Click here (or visit https://share.vidyard.com/watch/TXnCz9P4zeTkyQHWK6uMKW) to watch a recap of Freedom Mortgage's philanthropic activities last year. For more information, visit www.teamfreedomcares.org.

For more information about Freedom Mortgage visit www.FreedomMortgage.com.

About the Wawa Welcome America Festival

Wawa Welcome America is Philadelphia's premier summer festival that celebrates freedom and independence from Juneteenth to July 4th . As the nation's largest July 4th celebration and one of the largest free festivals in the country, Wawa Welcome America offers Philadelphians and visitors sixteen days of free, family-friendly programs that celebrate the lives, voices, and experiences of all Americans through art, culture, wellness, and history. The Wawa Welcome America Festival includes concerts, firework displays, Wawa Hoagie Day and more! Visit July4thPhilly.com for more information about this year's celebration.

About Freedom Mortgage

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida , Freedom Mortgage is an independent mortgage company that provides mortgage loans through retail, wholesale and correspondent channels. One of the nation's largest non-bank mortgage lenders and servicers, the company is licensed in all 50 states, the District of Columbia , Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands . Freedom Mortgage is a top VA and FHA (government-insured) lender in the U.S. (Inside Mortgage Finance, JanuarySeptember, 2023), and is one of the mortgage industry's largest philanthropic supporters of the USO of Pennsylvania and New Jersey . The company is also renowned for its vibrant work environment, where all team members can thrive. In 2023, Freedom Mortgage was honored, for the third year in a row, as a Top Workplaces USA . Additionally, last year the company made it back on the Inc. 5000 Honor Roll, for the ninth time, as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. Freedom Mortgage's mission is to foster homeownership for all consumers across America. Freedom Mortgage, Lender NMLS ID: 2767. Equal Housing Opportunity. For more information, please visit www.FreedomMortgage.com.

FREEDOM MORTGAGE CONTACT:

Ellen Longo

609-678-0968

[email protected]

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SOURCE Freedom Mortgage Corporation
With a $45,000 grant from the Robert Ellis Simon Foundation, Gateways now applies innovative, client-centered methods that combine the best practices of inpatient psychiatric care

LOS ANGELES , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center unveiled its groundbreaking Sensory Room , a pioneering addition to acute patient care in Los Angeles , generously funded by a $45,000 grant from the Robert Ellis Simon Foundation. This innovative space signifies Gateways' commitment to implementing client-centered approaches, blending the latest inpatient psychiatric care practices with immersive sensory interventions, meaningful activities, and fostering connections between clients and caregivers.

Sensory rooms offer a multisensory experience tailored to individual needs, granting clients greater control over their environment. Gateways' sensory room, available for adolescent and adult inpatients under the supervision of trained mental healthcare providers, aims to enhance emotional regulation skills and coping mechanisms, as highlighted in Advances in Mental Health, Volume 12.

Colleen Carroll , Occupational Therapy Director at Gateways Mental Health Center and Hospital, expressed enthusiasm about the sensory room's impact, stating, "Gateways prioritizes resources that prioritize our clients' well-being. The sensory room's innovative approach provides an engaging, safe space for clients to regulate their emotions, fostering self-esteem, self-management, and self-determination, as evidenced by numerous peer-reviewed studies."

Guided by Gateways' mental health professionals, clients can customize their sensory experiences by adjusting lighting, sound, and tactile elements, granting them autonomy over their care. Research published in Australian Psychiatry: Bulletin of the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists indicates that such autonomy reduces anxiety, distress, and agitation among clients.

The Robert Ellis Simon Foundation's generous donation made Gateways' Sensory Room possible, underscoring their commitment to supporting client-centered mental health initiatives for vulnerable communities in Los Angeles County . Edina Lekovic , Executive Director of the Foundation, emphasized their dedication to bringing mental health resources closer to residents and applauded Gateways' efforts to enhance accessibility and tailored care.

Dr. Phil Wong , Gateways Hospital's Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the importance of personalized care in challenging traditional perceptions of acute mental health treatment. "This grant empowers us to redefine acute mental health care by providing a safe, engaging experience for our clients," said Dr. Wong . " Gateways' Sensory Room sets a new standard for patient-centered care, aligning with our mission to empower individuals in their mental health journey."

About Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center: Since 1953, Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center has been a leading non-profit organization in Echo Park, serving the Greater Los Angeles area. Specializing in comprehensive mental and behavioral health services for adolescents, transitional-aged youth, and adults, Gateways is committed to providing innovative, client-centered care. For more information, visit gatewayshospital.org or call (323) 644-2000.

Media Contact:

Sydney Kovach

sydney@elevatepublicaffairs.com

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SOURCE Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center
WUHAN, China , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- GeeTest, a leader in innovative bot management solutions, proudly presents its latest offering  GeeTest Device Fingerprinting. The advanced cybersecurity solution designed to fortify online platforms against evolving digital threats. Leveraging sophisticated algorithms and cutting-edge technology, it intelligently identifies and tracks devices, providing a robust defense mechanism against malicious activities. Existing security measures often struggle to identify and prevent malicious activities originating from seemingly legitimate devices. GeeTest Device Fingerprinting steps in as a proactive and advanced solution to bridge this gap.

Embrace the future of security with GeeTest Device Fingerprinting  where innovation meets protection. Elevate your risk management strategy with our advanced solution that not only identifies risks but adapts to the evolving landscape of digital threats. GeeTest Device Fingerprinting provides the following 5 key features.

1. Risk Labels

Monitor traffic credibility from both behavioral and device dimensions, providing up to 34 black industry risk labels for reference. It facilitates the identification of devices with similar risk labels, offering optimization references for your security and business strategies.

2. Relation Map

By identifying connections among risky traffic, automating the organization of risk details, frequency information, and associated data for high-risk devices, this process provides data references for business departments.

3. Application Management

You can add as many applications as you need. Each application's data is distinguished through unique IDs and keys, facilitating secure data analysis for different modules of the business.

4. Access Control

According to your needs, you can manually add blacklists or whitelists to facilitate the management of access permissions to specific objects or resources.

5. Data Studio

Our Device Fingerprinting product includes a robust Data Studio feature, offering users an intuitive analytics dashboard for comprehensive insights. It enables informed decisions, pattern detection, and effective security strategy optimization.

GeeTest Device Fingerprinting leverages cutting-edge technologies such as Triple-Dimensional Review Technology, GCN Knowledge Graph, and Weak Feature Identification Technology. These technologies ensure comprehensive device identification and analysis while prioritizing user privacy. To learn more about key technologies at play you can download the product brochure of GeeTest Device Fingerprinting by clicking here.

In the fast-paced digital landscape, GeeTest's Device Fingerprinting emerges as a beacon of defense. By intelligently identifying and tracking devices, it offers a robust defense mechanism against a multitude of threats faced by industries today.

For more about GeeTest, follow the company on LinkedIn.

About GeeTest:

GeeTest, a CAPTCHA and bot management provider, protects websites, mobile apps, and APIs from automated bot-driven attacks, like ATO, credential stuffing, web scalping, etc. GeeTest has been developing human-bot verification technology since 2012. Now it processes 2.9 billion CAPTCHA requests daily and serves 320,000+ companies in sectors like blockchain, online games, e-commerce, etc. In November 2021 GeeTest was recognized as a selected vendor in Forrester's Now Tech: Bot Management, Q4 2021. In Aug 2023 , GeeTest CAPTCHA Awarded 2023 Best Ease of Use and Best Value Badges by Capterra.

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SOURCE GeeTest
BARCELONA, Spain , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 26 , the four-day Mobile World Congress (MWC2024) 2024 opened in Barcelona, Spain . Cloudsky is excited to be included again this year in the Intel's Converged Edge Media Platform demo at MWC 2024. The innovative Android Cloud Gaming solution from Cloudsky, optimized on Intel's Converged Edge Media Platform, is a great example of how orchestrated, cloud-native, cutting-edge media services can be deployed at the edge.

X86 based Android cloud gaming, industry technological innovation

The technical values of cloud gaming, such as heterogeneous computing power, cloud computing, virtualization, real-time rendering, and low-latency networks, have been highly recognized and focused on by the industry, and cloud gaming plays an important role in promoting the prosperity of digital culture, the integration of data and reality, and the high-quality development of the digital economy. At present, the market generally adopts x86 and ARM based solution to support PC and mobile cloud gaming respectively, which will incur high infrastructure construction, operation and maintenance cost, as well as low computing resources utilization.

Cloudsky's Android Cloud Gaming solution is developed based on x86 architecture and the Intel Data Center GPU Flex Series solution. Coupled with Intel Bridge Technology, its industry-leading cloud gaming technology capabilities such as virtualization and containers, real-time rendering engine, video encoding, and low-latency streaming engine, enables X86 architecture to run containerized Android systems, revolutionizing the development of new technology.

This solution has significant advantages of high performance and low TCO. In terms of performance, the solution is compatible with mainstream Android games on the market, with a single card supporting up to 68 channels of Android cloud games, with a quality of up to 1080P 60 frames, supporting game play anytime and anywhere as well as supporting web pages and mobile terminals without client-terminal limitations lowering the threshold for game playing.

At the same time, the platform is more flexible and scalable, and consumes less energy. With a single server, it can increase game density, serve more users with a smaller data center footprint. Coupled with SW and HW integration and highly optimized network transmission technology, it further improves overall equipment and infrastructure cost. In addition, the platform is capable of running other media workload such as media transcoding simultaneously through on-demand scheduling meeting customer's expectation on optimized TCO and excellent user experience.

Cloud Gaming Technology Innovation accelerates the expansion of visual computing applications development

The innovative Android Cloud Gaming solution launched with Intel's cloud-native Converged Edge Media Platform not only reflects the in-depth cooperation between the two parties in the promotion of innovative technologies and user experience improvement, but also represents an important innovation in the technical foundation of cloud gaming.

Cloudsky self-develops customized ultra-high-performance GPU computing power servers as part of its one-stop cloud gaming PaaS solutions to support the latest high-end CPU and ultra-high-performance graphics and image rendering GPU on the market, which can be flexibly deployed and enables cluster-based management, intelligent scheduling, distributed processing, automatic operation and maintenance..

At the same time, the cloud gaming service platform supports PCs and mobile phones contents, enabling PC games, console games, mobile games and other game content under single architecture, which not only reduces the investment and operation and maintenance costs of cloud resource pool infrastructure, but also improves the efficiency of cloud computing resources utilization.

"We are honored to participate with Intel to showcase our innovations to the world at this compelling show," said Crusoe Mao (Cloudsky Founder and CEO). "In the future, we will continue to explore ways to create a better cloud gaming experience for users and inject new vitality into the development of the global cloud gaming industry. "

Emerging industries such as digital twins, digital humans, and digital cultural tourism under the concept of cloud gaming and the metaverse have many similarities in terms of underlying technologies, and cross-empowerment and deep integration can promote the expansion of low-latency visual computing business demand scenarios such as games, videos, graphics rendering, spatial computing.

In the future, Cloudsky will continue to cooperate with the world's top technology companies to accelerate the construction of infrastructure in the field of visual computing, introduce more and richer low-latency application scenarios, bring more exciting and innovative experiences to users, and help promote the development of future industries.

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SOURCE Cloudsky
ROCKVILLE, Md. and SUZHOU, China , Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovent Biologics, Inc. (Innovent) (HKEX: 01801), a world-class biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and commercializes high-quality medicines for the treatment of oncology, metabolic, autoimmune, ophthalmology and other major diseases, announces that the first participant has been dosed in Australia in a first-in-human (FIH) phase 1 clinical trial of IBI3002, a global first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting Interleukin 4 receptor  (IL-4R) and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP).

This FIH study (NCT06213844) is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose (SAD) study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) (only in participants with asthma) of IBI3002 in healthy participants and participants with mild to moderate asthma, and to support further global clinical development of IBI3002.

IBI3002 is a humanized bispecific antibody targeting cell surface IL-4R and the alarmin cytokine TSLP, discovered and developed by Innovent for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including asthma. IL-4 receptors mediate the IL-4 signaling (both type 1 and type 2) and the IL-13 signaling (type 2). Both cytokine signaling pathways play key roles in the pathophysiology of type 2 (T2) inflammatory disorders1. TSLP is an epithelial cell-derived alarmin cytokine and triggers both T2 and non-T2 inflammation in asthma2.

IBI3002 has high-efficient dual-blocking function on both IL-4R and TSLP. In-vitro assays have shown superiority over the marketed monoclonal antibodies to respective target. By targeting both IL-4R and TSLP, IBI3002 is hypothesized to have potential effect in suppressing T2 and non-T2 inflammation. The potential synergistic effect in suppressing T2 inflammation is believed to be the basis of its superior efficacy in the treatment of T2 inflammatory disorders.

Dr. Lei Qian , Vice President of Clinical Development at Innovent, stated, "In the last few decades, knowledge about both pathophysiological mechanisms, clinical phenotypes and therapeutic options for asthma have significantly increased. In particular, the introduction of biologics for severe asthma paved the way to a true revolution in the field of asthma management, by potentially allowing a precision medicine approach. Targeting specific steps of the immune-inflammatory cascade through highly selective drugs represents a true revolution in the field of severe asthma management, and brings with it the potential of achieving optimal disease control in different severe asthma inflammatory phenotypes. We are looking forward to the development of this molecule in asthma and other inflammatory diseases."

About Asthma

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease driven by multiple immune cells, cytokines and inflammatory mediators, affecting all age groups. Characterized by variable symptoms of wheeze, shortness of breath, cough, and chest tightness, asthma is associated with chronic airway inflammation, reversible airflow limitation, and airway hyperresponsiveness3. According to the 2015 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, about 358 million people are suffering from asthma4. Asthma can be broadly classified as eosinophilic or non-eosinophilic on the basis of airway or peripheral blood cellular profiles. Eosinophilic inflammation is driven predominantly by T2 inflammation, including T-helper cells type 2 and group 2 innate lymphoid cells5. Compared with eosinophilic asthma, non-eosinophilic asthma is poorly understood6. Up to 10% of adults and 2.5% of children with asthma have severe asthma7. Patients with severe asthma have persistent symptoms or frequent exacerbations that require repetitive systemic glucocorticoid bursts or maintenance, despite adequate treatment with high-dose inhaled treatments8. In these patients, add-on treatment, which may include biologic therapies, is needed to reduce the disease burden2,3.

About IBI3002

IBI3002 is a global first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting cell surface IL-4R and the alarmin cytokine TSLP. It has high-efficient dual-blocking function on both IL-4R and TSLP. In-vitro assays have shown superiority over the marketed monoclonal antibodies to respective targets. By simultaneously targeting IL-4R and TSLP, IBI3002 has the potential of treating several inflammatory disorders, including asthma.

IL-4 is a central mediator of type 2 lymphocyte cell differentiation; it induces the production of type 2 associated cytokines such as IL-5, IL-9, IL-13, and/or type 2 related chemokines as thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) and eotaxins-3. IL-4 involved in B cells regulated isotype class switching to produce serum IgE, and the eosinophils recruitment through IL-5 releasement. Although IL-13 displays some redundancies in these pro-inflammatory processes, it has additional roles in mediating goblet cell hyperplasia, mucus production, smooth muscle contractility, and airway hyperresponsiveness. Together, IL-4 and IL-13 play critical roles in T2 inflammation1.

TSLP is an epithelial cell-derived alarmin cytokine that occupies an upstream position in the T2 inflammation induction and Th2 cells differentiation and maturation via IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 production. TSLP is also believed to be a trigger of non-T2 inflammation in asthma 2.

About Innovent

Innovent is a leading biopharmaceutical company founded in 2011 with the mission to provide high-quality biologics that are affordable to all. The company discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes innovative medicines that treat some of the most intractable illnesses. Its pioneering therapies to treat cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic, autoimmune and eye diseases. Innovent has 10 products in the market, 3 new drug applications under the NMPA review, 4 assets in Phase III or pivotal clinical trials and 20 more molecules in early clinical stage. Innovent partners with over 30 global healthcare leaders, including Eli Lilly, Roche, Sanofi, Adimab, Incyte and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Guided by the motto, "Start with Integrity, Succeed through Action," Innovent maintains the highest standard of industry practices and works collaboratively to advance the biopharmaceutical industry so that first-rate pharmaceutical drugs can become widely accessible. For more information, visit www.innoventbio.com, or follow Innovent on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Statement: Innovent does not recommend the use of any unapproved drug (s)/indication (s).

Forward-looking statement

This news release may contain certain forward-looking statements that are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to Innovent Biologics ("Innovent"), are intended to identify certain of such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements regularly.

These forward-looking statements are based on the existing beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates, projections and understandings of the management of the Company with respect to future events at the time these statements are made. These statements are not a guarantee of future developments and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the Company's control and are difficult to predict. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of future changes or developments in our business, the Company's competitive environment and political, economic, legal and social conditions.

The Company, the Directors and the employees of the Company assume (a) no obligation to correct or update the forward-looking statements contained in this site; and (b) no liability in the event that any of the forward-looking statements does not materialise or turn out to be incorrect.

References:

1. Zhu J. T helper 2 (Th2) cell differentiation, type 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) development and regulation of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-13 production[J]. Cytokine, 2015, 75(1): 14-24.

2. Brusselle G G, Koppelman G H. Biologic therapies for severe asthma[J]. New England Journal of Medicine, 2022, 386(2): 157-171.

3. Global Initiative for Asthma. 2023 GINA Report, Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention. 2023.

4. GBD 2015 Chronic Respiratory Disease Collaborators. Global, regional, and national deaths, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years, and years lived with disability for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 [published correction appears in Lancet Respir Med. 2017 Oct;5(10 ):e30]. Lancet Respir Med. 2017;5(9):691-706.

5. Gans MD, Gavrilova T. Understanding the immunology of asthma: Pathophysiology, biomarkers, and treatments for asthma endotypes. Paediatr Respir Rev. 2020;36:118-127.

6. Israel E, Reddel H K. Severe and difficult-to-treat asthma in adults[J]. New England Journal of Medicine, 2017, 377(10): 965-976.

7. Settipane RA, Kreindler JL, Chung Y, Tkacz J. Evaluating direct costs and productivity losses of patients with asthma receiving GINA 4/5 therapy in the United States . Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2019; 123(6): 564-572.e3.

8. Caminati M, Vaia R, Furci F, Guarnieri G, Senna G. Uncontrolled Asthma: Unmet Needs in the Management of Patients. J Asthma Allergy. 2021;14:457-466.

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SOURCE Innovent Biologics
BOSTON , Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) (the "Fund"), a closed-end fund managed by John Hancock Investment Management LLC and subadvised by Manulife Investment Management (US) LLC, announced today sources of its monthly distribution of $0.0825 per share paid to all shareholders of record as of February 12, 2024 , pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan. This press release is issued as required by an exemptive order granted to the Fund by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notification of Sources of Distribution

This notice provides shareholders of the John Hancock Premium Dividend Fund (NYSE: PDT) with important information concerning the distribution declared on February 1, 2024 , and payable on February 29, 2024 . No action is required on your part.

Distribution Period: February 2024 Distribution Amount Per Common Share $0.0825

The following table sets forth the estimated sources of the current distribution, payable February 29, 2024 , and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year to date from the following sources: net investment income; net realized short term capital gains; net realized long term capital gains; and return of capital or other capital source. All amounts are expressed on a per common share basis and as a percentage of the distribution amount.





For the period 02/1/2024-02/29/2024

For the fiscal year-to-date period

11/1/2023-02/29/2024 1 Source

Current

Distribution ($)

% Breakdown

of the Current

Distribution

Total Cumulative

Distributions ($)

% Breakdown

of the Total

Cumulative

Distributions Net Investment Income

0.0778

94 %

0.2162

66 % Net Realized Short- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Net Realized Long- Term Capital Gains

0.0000

0 %

0.0000

0 % Return of Capital or Other Capital Source

0.0047

6 %

0.1138

34 % Total per common share

0.0825

100 %

0.3300

100 %

















Average annual total return (in relation to NAV) for the 5 years ended on January 31, 2024

4.14 %





Annualized current distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of January 31, 2024

8.43 %





Cumulative total return (in relation to NAV) for the fiscal year through January 31, 2024

13.60 %





Cumulative fiscal year-to-date distribution rate expressed as a percentage of NAV as of January 31, 2024

2.81 %



_____________________________

1 The Fund's current fiscal year began on November 1, 2023 and will end on October 31, 2024 .

You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.

The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

The Fund has declared the February 2024 distribution pursuant to the Fund's managed distribution plan (the "Plan"). Under the Plan, the Fund makes fixed monthly distributions in the amount of $0.0825 per share, which will continue to be paid monthly until further notice.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact your financial professional or call the John Hancock Investment Management Closed-End Fund Information Line at 1-800-843-0090, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time .

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Fund's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

An investor should consider a Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing.

About John Hancock Investment Management

A company of Manulife Investment Management, we serve investors through a unique multimanager approach, complementing our extensive in-house capabilities with an unrivaled network of specialized asset managers, backed by some of the most rigorous investment oversight in the industry. The result is a diverse lineup of time-tested investments from a premier asset manager with a heritage of financial stewardship.

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the global brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. We draw on more than a century of financial stewardship and the full resources of our parent company to serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. Headquartered in Toronto , our leading capabilities in public and private markets are strengthened by an investment footprint that spans 18 geographies. We complement these capabilities by providing access to a network of unaffiliated asset managers from around the world. We're committed to investing responsibly across our businesses. We develop innovative global frameworks for sustainable investing, collaboratively engage with companies in our securities portfolios, and maintain a high standard of stewardship where we own and operate assets, and we believe in supporting financial well-being through our workplace retirement plans. Today, plan sponsors around the world rely on our retirement plan administration and investment expertise to help their employees plan for, save for, and live a better retirement. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.

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SOURCE John Hancock Investment Management
Co-workers will take part in a week of service projects across four states

ST. LOUIS , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercy's Day of Service pays tribute to Sister Mary Roch Rocklage , an icon in health care who relentlessly served and was known for her can-do spirit.

This year's service week will be March 4-8 across every community Mercy serves in Arkansas , Kansas , Missouri and Oklahoma . The day of service was first established in 2023 in honor of Sister Roch, a Sister of Mercy and the first president and CEO of the Mercy system, who passed away in 2022. Sister Roch was known for her giving spirit, which goes hand in hand with volunteering.

"This is a beautiful way to honor the life of Sister Roch," said Kevin Minder , Mercy's senior vice president of mission and community health. "It reminds me to reflect on one of my favorite Sister Roch quotes: 'We exist to serve.'"

Aundria Goree , Mercy's executive director of community health, said community health leaders across the entire Mercy system worked to coordinate hundreds of opportunities for Mercy co-workers. Volunteer activities may include loading boxes at a local food bank in St. Louis , serving meals at The Salvation Army in Oklahoma City , power washing furniture at a homeless campus in Fort Smith, Arkansas , and more.

Co-workers who volunteer during the year can utilize Mercy's Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program. Established in 2022, the VTO program provides co-workers with time to volunteer during work hours at local nonprofits or community events and still get paid. In 2023, more than 2,300 co-workers took part in the VTO program, serving more than 13,500 volunteer hours.

"Service is in our Mercy DNA, and it's a blessing to be able to live this core value inside and outside the walls of Mercy," Minder said. "Sister Roch's life is a legacy of service, and with 50,000 Mercy co-workers, we have the opportunity to make an impact in the communities where we live."

Besides volunteerism being good for communities, it's also good for overall health.

"Research has shown volunteering offers significant benefits for improving mental and physical health, provides a sense of purpose and helps with nurturing new and existing relationships," Goree said.

The volunteer program is just one example of Mercy giving back to its communities. Mercy provided free care and other community benefits, along with traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid, worth more than half a billion dollars to Mercy's communities in fiscal year 2023.

Mercy, one of the 20 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 900 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 4,500 physicians and advanced practitioners and 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas , Kansas , Missouri and Oklahoma . Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas . In fiscal year 2023 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

Contact: Mardi Taylor , Office: 479-314-1101, Mobile: 479-462-7289, [email protected]

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SOURCE Mercy
SAN DIEGO , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Applications are now available for North Island Credit Union's Summer Internship Program for local high school seniors and college students. Now in its third year, the program offers paid internships to provide students with professional work experience and mentoring in multiple areas throughout the organization, including Lending, IT, Business Insights & Analytics, Wealth Management and other departments.

"We're committed to supporting our local students in every area, including providing hands-on work experience and mentoring to help set them up for success in the financial industry and open doors to a future career," said North Island Credit Union President/CEO Steve O'Connell . "Through our Summer Internship Program, we will integrate students into teams across the credit union so they can apply what they learn in the classroom to a hands-on setting in the business world."

San Diego County college students and high school seniors can learn more and apply for the internships through the credit union's website. Applications will be accepted through April 12 th for the summer program.

The North Island Credit Union internships will provide students with practical work experience within and across multiple departments, leadership development skills, and school-to-career readiness, with direct training and mentoring with managers. All internships will be paid, part-time opportunities at the credit union's San Diego headquarters offices from June 24 th through August 16 th.

About North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union

California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 with assets of nearly $5 billion , approximately 200,000 members and 25 retail branches. The credit union serves community members and businesses in the California counties of Los Angeles , Orange , Riverside , San Bernardino , San Diego , and Ventura as well as school employees throughout the state. The credit union operates in San Diego and Riverside Counties as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. The credit union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. California Credit Union is certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with a Low Income Designation, offering inclusive products and services to build financial stability in our underserved communities, including a checking account certified as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. Visit northisland.ccu.com for more information or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @northislandcu.

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SOURCE North Island Credit Union
ORLANDO, Fla. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- OPTAC-X's tele-EMS technology with hybrid cellular and SATCOM capabilities that is currently being tested in a Mayo Clinic pilot proved immune to last week's nationwide cellular service outage. It could be the key to more resilient communications for first responders who saw FirstNet  the dedicated broadband network for first responders -- go down for several hours on Feb. 22 .

OPTAC-X, a telehealth leader with remote physician and tele-expert networks, announced last year it had entered into a know-how agreement with Mayo Clinic for the use of OPTAC-X's hybrid LTE-global SATCOM telehealth technology with patients in the ambulance. The technology, which operates on both cellular/LTE telecommunications and LEO and GEO satellite communications systems, allows physicians to connect to pre-hospital patients anywhere at any time regardless of local wi-fi or cellular availability. It enables emergency physicians to see and hear in real time what EMS personnel see and hear, including vital signs, as they treat patients before they arrive at the hospital.

Dr. Patrick Fullerton is the OPTAC-X Founder & CEO with many years of experience as an emergency room physician. He reported its network, as activated for the Mayo Clinic pilot, remained fully functional during the entire cellular service outage last week.

"The abrupt loss of the AT&T communications infrastructure highlights the critical need for EMS, law enforcement and fire departments to have alternate communication abilities with other agencies and hospitals coordinating first response and receiving critically ill patients or mass casualty events," said Fullerton. "The temporary loss of cellular communications is not a matter of if, but when. Considering the reality of cyber threats to national communications platforms, it is imperative that prehospital teams have an alternate form of resilient, reliable communication."

According to Keith Barr , CTO of OPTAC-X, its immunity to last week's cellular service outage lies in its calculated redundancy. "The OPTAC-X system begins with a flat and highly portable Kymeta satellite dish. The dish leverages two separate cell networks and GEO. Should one cellular network go down, then the system would fail over to the second. If both go down, then it could still function via GEO SATCOM," said Barr. "By combining terrestrial systems like cellular service and a celestial system like SATCOM, OPTAC-X remains resilient despite challenges that often bring other networks down."

The OPTAC-X telehealth system leverages its exclusive LTE and SATCOM services partner, Kymeta Corporation, the world's leading company for flat-panel antennas and on-the-move SATCOM, to deliver industry leading global LTE and SATCOM capability. Kymeta's software-enabled, metamaterials-based electronically steered antenna (ESA) provides mobile satellite and cellular communications.

OPTAC-X senior advisory board member and retired Brigadier General H.B. Gilliam sees an opportunity for OPTAC-X's unique technology outside of error-driven outages. He's responded to more than 20 natural disasters during a decorated military career that spanned 34-years with the U.S. Army and National Guard.

"The OPTAC-X system is dual primed for depth and continuity whether it be for fire, law enforcement or emergency medical services or all of these together," said Gilliam. "If in-place communications systems are wiped out by a natural disaster, not only can OPTAC-X function in such a scenario, but it also can provide great interoperability across all disciplines and help leaders coordinate their efforts."

About OPTAC-X:

For more information, please visit optacx.com.

About VANTIQ:

Visit VANTIQ's website at https://vantiq.com .

About Kymeta

For more information, visit www.kymetacorp.com.

Media Contact: Joel Staley, 407-242-9994, [email protected]

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SOURCE OPTAC-X
SAN DIEGO , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Medical, Inc., a global biotechnology company developing and commercializing precision, cell targeting therapies based on its proprietary Alluminox platform, is pleased to announce that, during the year 2023, findings from preclinical studies, clinical trials, and real-world data on Alluminox treatment (photoimmunotherapy) have been presented at multiple international conferences. The 21 presentations are listed at the end of the press release.

Mickey Mikitani , Co-CEO of Rakuten Medical, said, "Witnessing the surge in findings on Alluminox treatment shared at prestigious conferences around the world fills me with immense pride. We would like to thank all the dedicated healthcare professionals worldwide who share their excitement for this innovative technology and the potential of the Alluminox platform. Together with the medical community, we remain committed to advancing this treatment and shaping the future of patient care."

ASP-1929 (Japanese product name: Akalux IV Infusion 250 mg), the first drug developed on Rakuten Medical's proprietary Alluminox platform, was approved for unresectable, locally advanced or recurrent head and neck cancer in Japan under the Sakigake Designation System and the Conditional Early Approval System in September 2020 . With the increase in the number of treatment cases in the clinic, a range of findings on the Alluminox treatment have been reported, including treatment results and management of adverse events.

* Rakuten Medical's therapies based on Alluminox platform are investigational outside of Japan .

Significant progress was also made in clinical trial: Promising early evaluation data on safety and efficacy were observed in the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial (ASP-1929-181 study / ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04305795) of ASP-1929 photoimmunotherapy in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy presented at the American Head and Neck Society International Meeting (AHNS) in July 2023 in Canada . To further explore these data, AI-based studies of biomarkers and drug uptake quantification in tumors have been conducted in collaboration with Rakuten Institute of Technology, and the findings were presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in the United States in November 2023 . Rakuten Medical is currently considering initiating a new pivotal clinical trial to further demonstrate and confirm the safety and efficacy of this combination therapy.

In August 2023 , Mikitani was invited as a keynote speaker at ASCO Breakthrough, which is organized in Asia by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's premier cancer society. In his keynote presentation, Mikitani recalled his first encounter with the innovative technology, photoimmunotherapy, and shared his hope and confidence in the potential of Rakuten Medical's Alluminox platform to contribute to the treatment of a variety of cancer types and stages in the future. The full recording of this keynote is available on the ASCO Breakthrough website, and a digest version (1:45) is available here:

https://youtu.be/cYkjbrciiOU

FHNO 2023 (3 presentations) Meeting: The 23rd National Conference of Foundation for Head and Neck Oncology Location: Daman, India Dates: December 22-24, 2023 Title: Photoimmunotherapy for Lower Gingival Cancer Presenter: Daisuke Nishikawa , Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center, Japan Title: Photoimmunotherapy for Recurrent Head and Neck Cancers - Japanese experience Presenter: Daisuke Nishikawa , Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center, Japan Title: Near-infrared Photoimmunotherapy: Translational research and clinical application Presenter: Ryuhei Okada , Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Japan For more information on the presentations at FHNO 2023, please see the press release.

TJCOHNS 2023 (3 presentations) Meeting: The 16thTaiwan-Japan Conference on Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Location: Taichung, Taiwan Dates: December 16-17, 2023 Title: Photoimmunotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer (Abstract #: Ls2-1) Presenter: Kiyoaki Tsukahara , Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical University, Japan Title: Near-infrared Photoimmunotherapy: clinical application and translational research (Abstract #: Sy8-6) Presenter: Ryuhei Okada , Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Japan Title: Photoimmunotherapy for the treatment of head and neck cancer (Abstract #: P1-1) Presenter: Takeshi Shinozaki , Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital East, National Cancer Center Japan

ASHNO 2023 (2 presentations) Meeting: The 8thConference of the Asian Society of Head & Neck Oncology Location: Bangkok, Thailand Dates: November 27-29, 2023 Title: Photoimmunotherapy for head and neck cancers: Roles and strategies Presenter: Shigeru Hirano , Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan Title:  Near-infrared Photoimmunotherapy against Head and Neck Cancers (Abstract #: O-25) Presenter: Ryuhei Okada , Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Japan

SITC 2023 (2 posters) Meeting: The 38th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Location: San Diego , US Dates: November 3-5, 2023 Rakuten Medical Sponsored Title: Development of an image-based tumor microenvironment analysis coupled with peripheral flow cytometry reveals a distinct immune cell phenotype in responder patients in the Phase 1b/2 study ASP-1929-181 (Abstract #: 83) Presenter: Myra Gordon , Rakuten Medical, Inc., et al Rakuten Medical Sponsored Title: Development of a novel, cellular-level drug uptake quantification pipeline for accurate quantification of fluorescence-conjugated therapeutics: Data from the Phase 1b/2 open-label study ASP-1929-181 (Abstract #: 1307) Presenter: Amy Thorne , Rakuten Medical, Inc., et al For more information on the poster presentations at SITC 2023, please see the press release.

IAOO 2023 (2 presentations) Meeting: The 9th World Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology Location: Incheon, Korea Dates: November 1-4, 2023 Title: Photoimmunotherapy for Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer (Abstract #: FP13-6) Presenter: Yuta Takatsu , OtolaryngologyHead & Neck Surgery, Fujita Health University Hospital, Japan Title: Non-Surgical Treatment for Oral Cancer (Abstract #: SS15-5) Presenter: Kenichi Nibu, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

ASCO Breakthrough 2023 (1 presentation) Meeting: 2023 ASCO Breakthrough Location: Yokohama, Japan Dates: August 3-5, 2023 Title: Innovative Technology in Oncology Presenter: Mickey Mikitani , Rakuten Medical, Inc.

AHNS 2023 (5 presentations) Meeting: The 11thInternational Conference on Head and Neck Cancer of the American Head and Neck Society Location: Montreal, Canada Dates: July 8-12, 2023 Rakuten Medical Sponsored Title: Safety and efficacy findings from a phase 1b/2 open-label study of a novel combination of ASP-1929 photoimmunotherapy with anti-PD-1 therapy in EGFR-expressing advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (Abstract #: S252) Presenter: Ann M. Gillenwater , Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, US For more information on the presentation in the above title at AHNS 2023, please see the press release. Title: Photo-immunotherapy with Puncture-Guide Plate and Planning Navigation System (Abstract #: S155) Presenter: Takayoshi Suzuki , Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Japan Title: RM-1929 Photoimmunotherapy Impact of Catheter Placement on Outcomes (Abstract #: S242) Presenter: Ayan Kumar , Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, US Title: Long-term Survival with Photoimmunotherapy in Patients with Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer (Abstract #: S397) Presenter: Victor Jegede , Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, US Title: An experience of Alluminox treatment for head and neck cancer in clinical practice in Japan (Abstract #: S403) Presenter: Nobuhiro Hanai , Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Aichi Cancer Center, Japan

SNMMI 2023 (1 presentation) Meeting: The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2023 Annual Meeting Location: Chicago , US Dates: June 24-26, 2023 Title: Early FDG Response after Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy for Head and Neck and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (Abstract #: P50) Presenter: Liza Lindenberg , Molecular Imaging Branch, National Cancer Institute For more information on the presentation at SNMMI 2023, please see the press release.

IFHNOS 2023 (2 presentations) Meeting: The 7th World Congress of the International Federation of Head and Neck Oncologic Societies Location: Rome, Italy Dates: June 21-25, 2023 Title: Alluminox platform: the novel photoimmunotherapy for the head and neck cancer Presenter: Ichiro Tateya , Department of Otolaryngology & Head and Neck Surgery, Fujita Health University, Japan Title: Local depletion of immune suppressor cells using near-infrared photoimmunotherapy Presenter: Ryuhei Okada , Head and Neck Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, Japan

About Rakuten Medical, Inc.

Rakuten Medical, Inc. is a global biotechnology company developing and commercializing precision, cell targeting therapies based on its proprietary Alluminox platform, which, in pre-clinical studies, has been shown to induce rapid and selective cell killing and tumor necrosis. Alluminox therapies have not yet been approved outside of Japan . Rakuten Medical is committed to its mission to conquer cancer by delivering its innovative treatments as quickly as possible to as many patients as possible all over the world. The company has offices in 5 countries, including the United States , where it is headquartered, Japan , Taiwan , Switzerland and India . For more information, visit www.rakuten-med.com.

About Alluminox platform

The Alluminox platform is an investigational technology platform based on a cancer therapy called photoimmunotherapy, which was developed by Dr. Hisataka Kobayashi and team from the National Cancer Institute in the United States . Rakuten Medical is developing the Alluminox platform as a technology consisting of a drug, device, and other related components. The drug component of the platform consists of a targeting moiety conjugated with one or more dyes leading to selective cell surface binding. The device component consists of a light source that locally illuminates the targeted cells with light to transiently activate the drug. Pre-clinical data have shown that this activation elicits rapid and selective necrosis of targeted cells through a biophysical process that compromises the membrane integrity of the targeted cells. Therapies developed on the Alluminox platform may also result in local and systemic innate and adaptive immune activation due to immunogenic cell death of the targeted cancer cells and/or the removal of targeted immunosuppressive cells within the tumor microenvironment. Outside of Japan, Alluminox therapies have not yet been approved by any regulatory authority.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward looking statements. These statements include various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that may cause Rakuten Medical's business plans and results to differ from the anticipated results and expectations expressed in these statements. These "forward looking statements" contain information about the status and development of our research and products, including the Alluminox platform, combination therapies and related medical devices, as well as our commercial activities, other regulatory and marketing authorization efforts, the potential benefits, efficacy, and safety of therapies created using the Alluminox platform, and the status of regulatory filings. The approval and commercial success of the product may not be achieved. Forward looking statements relate to the potential benefits, efficacy, and safety of our therapies, and the status of regulatory filings. Such statements may include words such as "expect," "believe," "hope," "estimate," "looks as though," "anticipate," "intend," "may," "suggest," "plan," "strategy," "will," and "do", and are based on our current beliefs. In addition, this press release uses terms such as "important," "notable," and "abnormal" to express opinions about clinical trial data. Ongoing clinical trial studies include various risks and uncertainties, in particular, problems that arise during the manufacturing stage of our therapies, the occurrence of adverse safety events and situations and failure to demonstrate therapeutic benefits, and other various risks and uncertainties, both reasonable and unreasonable. For this reason, actual results, including regulatory approvals and uncertainties in the commercialization process of our therapies, may differ from published information. Except to the extent required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update this or any other forward-looking statement, whether because of new information, future developments or events, changes in assumptions, changes in the factors affecting forward-looking statements. If one or more forward-looking statement(s) is updated, no inference should be drawn that additional updates will be made to those or other forward-looking statements.

Contact Us

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SOURCE Rakuten Medical, Inc.
On Feb. 23, 2024, the Nevada Outdoor School hosted the Bookworm Trail Trip at the South Fork Meadows trailhead.

In partnership with the Elko Mybrary and the Bureau of Land Management, families with children enjoyed a short hike with book trivia along the way, which brought them to a story time, book trading and a craft station.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At its regular meeting held today, the Board of Directors of PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) declared the regular quarterly dividend of $0.3875 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable May 10, 2024 , to shareholders of record at the close of business April 26, 2024 .

Background:

PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM) is an energy holding company based in Albuquerque, N.M. , with 2023 consolidated operating revenues of $1.9 billion . Through its regulated utilities, PNM and TNMP, PNM Resources provides electricity to more than 800,000 homes and businesses in New Mexico and Texas . PNM serves its customers with a diverse mix of generation and purchased power resources totaling 3.1 gigawatts of capacity, with a goal to achieve 100% emissions-free generation by 2040. For more information, visit the company's website at www.PNMResources.com .

CONTACTS:

Analysts Media Lisa Goodman Raymond Sandoval (505) 241-2160 (505) 241-2782

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SOURCE PNM Resources, Inc.
SALT LAKE CITY and BENGALURU, India , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PRG), the fintech holding company for Progressive Leasing, Vive Financial, Four Technologies, and Build, and Infosys (NSE : INFY), (BSE : INFY), (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced an agreement that is expected to evolve and scale PROG Holdings' technology operations as an integral part of the Company's ongoing cloud- and AI-focused technology modernization and innovation efforts.

The collaboration will enable PROG Holdings to take advantage of Infosys' digital services, including cutting-edge technologies, which PROG Holdings believes will help it realize operational efficiencies, accelerate technology enhancements, and improve speed to market. The relationship is also expected to enhance and innovate key PROG Holdings' customer-and partner-facing technologies and systems, helping to widen its leadership gap within the virtual lease-to-own market.

PROG Holdings selected Infosys to assist on its technology evolution and efficiency efforts, including AI initiatives, due to Infosys' ability to provide global access to top talent and technology infrastructure that supports and augments the innovation and efforts of PROG Holding's internal technology teams.

Steve Michaels , President and CEO of PROG Holdings, said, "We look forward to working with Infosys to develop and enhance key systems that positively impact the speed to market, agility, and scalability of key PROG Holdings technologies and platforms. We expect our collaboration with Infosys will reduce friction for both our customers and retail partners, further solidifying PROG Holdings' position atop the virtual lease-to-own industry we helped create twenty-five years ago."

Dennis Gada , Executive Vice President and Global Head of Banking & Financial Services at Infosys, said, "We are excited to bring robust domain knowledge along with transformative AI capabilities using Infosys AI solutions like Infosys Topaz and a cloud-first digital foundation to help PROG Holdings increase market share of the virtual lease-to-own market. Our collaboration will focus on accelerating the development and deployment of technologies that offer operational excellence, agile innovation, and improved services for new and existing retail partners and customers.

About PROG Holdings, Inc.

PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: PRG) is a fintech holding company headquartered in Salt Lake City , UT, that provides transparent and competitive payment options to consumers. The Company owns Progressive Leasing, a leading provider of e-commerce, app-based, and in-store point-of-sale lease-to-own solutions, Vive Financial, an omnichannel provider of second-look revolving credit products, Four Technologies, a provider of Buy Now, Pay Later payment options through its platform, Four, and Build, provider of personal credit building products. More information on PROG Holdings and its companies can be found at https://investor.progholdings.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expected", "believes", "will" and similar forward-looking terminology. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the expected benefits to PROG Holdings of its strategic collaboration with Infosys, such as its realization of operating efficiencies, accelerated technology modernization and improved speed to market. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on current expectations and assumptions regarding the strategic collaboration, which are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the risks that the strategic collaboration may not achieve its expected benefits or may otherwise negatively impact, disrupt or have a material adverse impact on PROG Holdings' business operations, and other risks and uncertainties outside of our control. Additional risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include those listed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 , filed with the SEC on February 21, 2024 . In providing forward-looking statements, the Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. We enable clients in more than 56 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance, are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, our ability to attract and retain personnel, our transition to hybrid work model, economic uncertainties, technological innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, our corporate actions including acquisitions, and cybersecurity matters. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023 . These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/4364085/Infosys_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE Infosys
SHENZHEN, China , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 26 , the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held a promotion meeting of the Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (the Qianhai Plan).

The Qianhai Plan, released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on December 21, 2023 , details Qianhai's future development, covering areas including development goals, spatial layout, industrial development, business environment, urban construction, quality life, and governance model. It aims to enhance Qianhai's role of a demonstration and leading area in the construction of the Greater Bay Area , as well as further deepen cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen , according to the Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone .

At the meeting, Wu Shulin , Director General of the Department of Regional Economy of the NDRC, first comprehensively introduced the current situation of Qianhai's development and construction, and the overall requirements to implement the Qianhai Plan. That is, the mission to step up Guangdong - Hong Kong and Shenzhen - Hong Kong cooperation, and expand development fields for Hong Kong . Wu then systematically elaborated on specific measures in industrial development, business environment, urban construction, public services, institutional mechanisms, and other areas.

Wu said that in the next step, NDRC will work with relevant departments of the central government, and fully support Guangdong and Shenzhen to deepen the comprehensive cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong , taking the implementation of the Qianhai Plan as an opportunity. Such support and cooperation are also expected to make new contributions to Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability, and its in-depth integration into the overall development of the country.

Tsang Kwok-wai , Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR government, said that the Qianhai Plan is of great significance to the high-level construction of Qianhai and the Greater Bay Area , and in-depth reform and opening-up and comprehensive high-quality development of the country. Meanwhile, the Qianhai Plan also provides support and guidance for the Hong Kong SAR government to practice "One Country, Two Systems" and maintain long-term prosperity and stability.

According to Tsang, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone is an important carrier to support Hong Kong's advantageous industries in expanding the mainland market, as well as a gateway for mainland companies to use Hong Kong as a platform to explore the international market. The exchanges will help Hong Kong to consolidate and enhance its positioning as the international finance, shipping, and trade center, and the international aviation hub, and boost local economic and social development. Hong Kong will continue to support Qianhai in playing its pioneering role, and promote more policy innovations and breakthroughs.

"The Hong Kong SAR government will continue to take actions proactively, and establish links with Greater Bay Area cities to deepen cooperation based on each other's strengths. We will break through the difficulties and barriers on the path of development, and roll out more measures promoting the exchanges of people, goods, capital, and information, so that talents, companies, and every average citizen from Hong Kong and the rest of the world can seize the broad opportunities of the Greater Bay Area . Meanwhile, we will support Greater Bay Area cities to access the international market, fully leveraging Hong Kong's role as the two-way international platform of 'bringing in' and 'going global'. Hong Kong will always be ready to serve the motherland's development with its strengths." Tsang said.

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Program and Scholarship, funded through Johnson & Johnson charitable donation, honors Oliver's legacy, supports next generation of NJ public service leaders

NEWARK, N.J. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Center for Politics and Race in America at Rutgers University-Newark was named in honor of the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver , the first Black woman in New Jersey to hold statewide office, at a ceremony attended by Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way , Oliver's family, members of the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, and leaders from Johnson & Johnson.

"It is my privilege to join Rutgers University officials to honor my dear friend and mentor, the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver," said Lt. Gov. Way . "Sheila was and remains the epitome of what a true public servant should be; dedicated, compassionate, and filled with integrity. As we gather to launch Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America in her honor, I know she is sure to touch the many young people who will continue to build on the legacy of her passionate work."

The Center for Politics and Race in America, established last year with state funding, is a "fact tank" for research on the nation's political life and a resource for underrepresented students seeking careers in government and public service.

"Today, we proudly rename the Center of Politics and Race in America in honor of the late-Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver , a trailblazer who fought tirelessly for justice and equality,'' said James Jones, the center's co-director. "Lt. Gov. Oliver's legacy will continue to inspire our center as we expand access to public service as a profession and promote research and public policy that confronts systemic inequalities.''

To that end, New Jersey -based Johnson & Johnson announced at the ceremony that it has made a charitable donation to fund the Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver Leadership Scholarship, part of the center's Public Service Leadership Program at Rutgers School of Arts & SciencesNewark. The scholarship will provide four Rutgers-Newark students with stipends to participate in public service internships over the next five years. The initial application process will be established and opened in the first half of 2024 with the first scholars awarded this Summer.

Johnson & Johnson has a long legacy of civil engagement within its home state throughout its 138-year history. The initiative highlights the company's values of diversity, equity, and inclusion which fuel its pursuit to create a healthier, more equitable world.

"Lt. Gov. Oliver dedicated her life to public service and improving the lives of all New Jerseyans, especially those in underserved and marginalized communities. She was a trailblazer and continues to be an inspiration for so many," said Vanessa Broadhurst , Johnson & Johnson's Executive Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs. "Johnson & Johnson is proud to honor Lt. Gov. Oliver's legacy of public service through the scholarship in her name to cultivate the next generation 'Sheila Olivers'well-rounded, passionate and driven public servants who represent the very best of New Jersey and the state's rich diversity and culture."

A Newark native, Oliver was the first African American woman in New Jersey history to hold statewide office when she was elected as the state's second Lt. Governor in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. In addition to her role as Lt. Governor, she also served as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, leading state efforts to strengthen and expand initiatives for fair and affordable housing, community revitalization, homelessness prevention, and local government services that support New Jersey's 564 municipalities.

In 2010, Oliver became the first African American woman to serve as Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly and only the second in our nation's history to lead a state legislative house. She died while in office as Lt. Governor on Aug. 1, 2023 .

"While our family still mourns the loss of a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, cousin and friend, it brings us an immense amount of pride to see Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver's legacy live on for centuries to come with the renaming of Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America, along with the Johnson & Johnson charitable donation to the Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver Leadership Scholarship," said Renee Oliver , Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver's niece and President of the Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association. "Aunt Sheila dedicated her heart and soul to her craft and serving those in need from all walks of life. On behalf of the entire Oliver Family, we truly believe that this fitting tribute will have a lasting impact on the next generation of public servants to come and that they will be inspired to invoke positive change in Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver's honor."

Gov. Phil Murphy , who was not able to attend the event, shared a statement. "My dear friend and partner in government, the late, great Lt. Gov. Sheila Y. Oliver was a trailblazer whose legacy lives on in many ways. I am proud to see it continue with this fitting tribute as the Rutgers University-Newark's Center for Politics and Race in America is named in her honor,'' he stated. "Sheila's work in New Jersey , especially in her community, has left a lasting impact on many folks who hold careers in public service. She was a mentor and role model to many, and this new honor will ensure that the legacy of her work lives on and continues to inspire young people seeking to make positive change in our state, nation's capital, and beyond."

A leading mission of the Center for Race and Politics in America, in addition to advancing research and political data analysis, is to diversify the field of young people who have access to opportunities in public service and politics, including internships on Capitol Hill, which often serve as stepping-stones to elected office and successful careers in the private sector.

According to 2021 research from Center Co -director James Jones, Black and Latino students comprise 15 and 20 percent of undergraduates but just seven percent and eight percent of paid Hill interns.

The center will prepare others to follow in Oliver's footsteps.

In a tribute video that was shown at the ceremony, an emotional Oliver, speaking after she was elected, declared: "This may not be the first glass ceiling I have broken, but it is certainly the highest. I hope that somewhere in this great state of New Jersey , a young girl of color is watching tonight and realizing that she does not have a limit to how high she can go.''

Rutgers-Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor praised Oliver as a "shero.''

"Her vision and courage as a boundary-breaking leader were surpassed only by her compassion and her example as someone who fervently sought for our nation to live up to its promise. She embodied the principle of lifting as one climbs, which we saw time and again throughout her career as she engaged with our students, faculty, and staff to urge us forward in making educational opportunity a reality for all,'' said Cantor. "I can think of no better enduring tribute to her at Rutgers-Newark than to name CPRA in her honor, and we couldn't be more grateful to Johnson & Johnson for its investment in new generations of changemakers to emulate her."

"As a daughter of Newark, Lt. Gov. Oliver's vision for political life was shaped by her experiences in Newark's public schools, her education at Lincoln University, a historically Black university, and Columbia University, an elite predominantly White university, and her work as an urban educator, as an activist and advocate. These are the settings and institutions that informed her understanding of the levers, power and possibilities of political engagement,'' said Jacqueline Mattis , co-director of the center and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. "She understood the complex ways that race intersects with other social identities including gender, class, sexuality, immigration status to influence all people's life outcomes, the attitudes that we all hold about the world around us, and our relationships with structures of power. It is fitting that this inclusive, non-partisan center is named in her honor."

At the ceremony, New Jersey State Sens. M. Teresa Ruiz and Britnee Timberlake read resolutions in honor of the center's renaming and Johnson & Johnson's gift.

About the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America

The center is a resource that rapidly disseminates high-quality data and faculty scholarship on race and politics at the national and state levelwith a particular focus on New Jerseyand a place for cutting-edge training in political research methods and data analysis. It also seeks to diversify the field of young people who have access to careers in government and public service through paid internships and other programs. It is co-directed by Rutgers-Newark professor James Jones, a professor of Sociology and Africana Studies and a leading authority on congressional staff diversity, and Jacqueline Mattis , Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences-Newark. More information about the center can be found at https://sasn.rutgers.edu/cpra.

About Rutgers UniversityNewark

Rutgers UniversityNewark (RU-N) is a diverse, urban, public research university that is an anchor institution in New Jersey's cultural capital. It is exceptionally well positioned to fulfill higher education's promise as an engine of discovery, innovation, and social mobility. It has a remarkable legacy of producing high-impact scholarship that is connected to the great questions and challenges of the world. It is in and of a city and region where its work on local challenges undertaken with partners from many sectors resonates powerfully throughout our urbanizing world. Most importantly, RU-N brings an incredible diversity of people to this workstudents, faculty, staff, and community partnersmaking it more innovative, more creative, more engaging, and more relevant for our time and the times ahead.

About Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association

The Sheila Y. Oliver Civic Association, is a private, non-profit, non-partisan charitable organization, committed to empowering underserved communities and educating and developing young women of color who are interested in government, public policy, and community organizing. Visit www.sheilaoliver.com for more information.

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SOURCE Rutgers University - Newark
KENNEWICK, Wash. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Senske Services, a national leader in lawn care, pest control, and home services, proudly announces its strategic acquisition of Turf Doctor, a well-established provider of professional lawn care and pest control services in Augusta, Maine . This latest acquisition highlights Senske Services' commitment to growing its presence and delivering exceptional services to customers from coast to coast.

Turf Doctor, founded by Michael Russo in 1997, has been a trusted name in Augusta , known for its dedication to creating healthy and vibrant lawns throughout Maine . Under Russo's leadership, Turf Doctor has built a strong reputation for excellence in lawn care solutions, including fertilization, weed control, and pest management.

Mr. Russo , expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, "I am confident that Senske is the ideal partner to carry on the legacy of Turf Doctor. Their commitment to customer service and environmental responsibility aligns perfectly with the values that have defined our company."

Casey Taylor , CEO of Senske Services, expressed excitement about the expansion into Maine , stating, "We are thrilled to welcome Turf Doctor into the Senske Family of Companies. Michael Russo and his team have built an outstanding organization, and we look forward to continuing their tradition of excellence in lawn care and pest control services."

As Turf Doctor joins Senske Services, they will now operate under the Blades of Green division with Brad Leahy , COO of Blades of Green, overseeing both operations. It will be a seamless transition for both customers and employees as the company continues operating as the Turf Doctor brand. "We are proud of the team we have built at Blades of Green, and we are excited to welcome our new colleagues to the company," said Mr. Leahy . "We look forward to continuing to grow and add more states in the northeast."

About Senske Services: Since securing investments from private equity firm GTCR, Senske Services has added 10 brands to its portfolio and in addition to Canada , serves customers in fourteen states across the U.S. Senske remains committed to its international expansion strategy, actively seeking partnerships with distinguished home services companies.

More on Senske's M&A process can be found at www.senske.com/why-senske/mergers-and-acquisitions/.

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SOURCE Senske Services
TAMPA, Fla. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seth Coulson , CFA, has joined DoubleLine Capital as a Relationship Manager for institutional investors and investment consulting firms in the Midwestern United States.

Mr. Coulson is based at DoubleLine's Los Angeles offices and reports to Ryan Hart , Director, Institutional, Global Relationship Management.

From July 2008 to joining DoubleLine, Mr. Coulson was a Vice President at Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO) in Newport Beach, Calif. , where he was responsible for coverage and sales generation from many of PIMCO's largest institutional prospects and clients across the Western and Central U.S. , including corporate, public, nonprofit and multi-employer clients.

Prior to PIMCO, Mr. Coulson worked at State Street IMS in Irvine, Calif. , where he led the allocations process for PIMCO's Agency mortgage-backed securities trades.

Mr. Coulson holds a Master of Business Administration, University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, Los Angeles , and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Finance Major/Spanish Minor, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

About DoubleLine

DoubleLine Capital LP is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. DoubleLine's offices can be reached by telephone at (813) 791-7333 or by email at [email protected]. Media can reach DoubleLine by email at [email protected]. DoubleLine is a registered trademark of DoubleLine Capital LP.

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SOURCE DoubleLine
Trading Symbol: TSX: SVM

NYSE AMERICAN: SVM

VANCOUVER, BC , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Silvercorp Metals Inc. ("Silvercorp" or the "Company") (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) today announced that its off-market takeover bid for all of the ordinary shares in OreCorp Limited ("OreCorp") (ASX: ORR) that it does not already own ("Silvercorp Offer") will now close at 7:00pm ( Sydney time) on March 22, 2024 , unless further extended or withdrawn in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Corporations Act"). The Silvercorp Offer is contained in the replacement bidder's statement issued by Silvercorp and dated January 16, 2024 (as supplemented on February 2, 2024 ) ("Bidder's Statement").

Notice was lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and given to OreCorp today and will be given to each person as required by the Corporations Act.

Silvercorp further notes that, as at the time of this announcement, Perseus Mining Limited ("Perseus") has yet to provide an update on the status of its application to the Fair Competition Commission of Tanzania for an unconditional merger control approval in relation to its off-market takeover bid for all of the ordinary shares in OreCorp ("Perseus Offer"). This is despite Perseus' belief as disclosed in its replacement bidder's statement dated February 16, 2024 ("Perseus Bidder's Statement") and repeated in its BMO presentation on February 27, 2024 , that the relevant approval would likely be obtained by end of February 2024 . Also, unlike the Silvercorp Offer, Perseus has not agreed to waive all conditions to the Perseus Offer within 3 business days after the 50.1% minimum acceptance condition is satisfied (other than any condition which has been publicly announced being breached or suspected to be breached).

As such, the increased timing and execution risk associated with the Perseus Offer remains. Silvercorp encourages all OreCorp shareholders who have not already accepted the Silvercorp Offer to do so without delay.

About Silvercorp

Silvercorp is a Canadian mining company producing silver, gold, lead, and zinc with a long history of profitability and growth potential. The Company's strategy is to create shareholder value by 1) focusing on generating free cashflow from long life mines; 2) organic growth through extensive drilling for discovery; 3) ongoing merger and acquisition efforts to unlock value; and 4) long term commitment to responsible mining and ESG. For more information, please visit our website at www.silvercorpmetals.com.

For further information

Silvercorp Metals Inc.

Lon Shaver

President

Phone: (604) 669-9397

Toll Free 1(888) 224-1881

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.silvercorpmetals.com

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER - FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain of the statements and information in this news release constitute "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 and US securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). 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", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks relating to: the Company's off-market takeover bid for all of the ordinary shares in OreCorp; regulatory approvals, global economic and social impact of COVID-19; fluctuating commodity prices; calculation of resources, reserves and mineralization and precious and base metal recovery; interpretations and assumptions of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; exploration and development programs; feasibility and engineering reports; permits and licences; title to properties; property interests; joint venture partners; acquisition of commercially mineable mineral rights; financing; recent market events and conditions; economic factors affecting the Company; timing, estimated amount, capital and operating expenditures and economic returns of future production; integration of future acquisitions into the Company's existing operations; competition; operations and political conditions; regulatory environment in China and Canada ; environmental risks; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; insurance; risks and hazards of mining operations; key personnel; conflicts of interest; dependence on management; internal control over financial reporting; and bringing actions and enforcing judgments under U.S. securities laws.

This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, those referred to in the Company's Annual Information Form under the heading "Risk Factors" and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F, and in the Company's other filings with Canadian and U.S. securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this news release, and other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's assumptions, beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, or changes in any other events affecting such statements. Assumptions may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Consequently, guidance cannot be guaranteed. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Additional information related to the Company, including Silvercorp's Annual Information Form, can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, on EDGAR at www.sec.gov, and on the Company's website at www.silvercorpmetals.com.

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SOURCE Silvercorp Metals Inc
NEW YORK , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ColorComm Media Group, a full service marketing and communications firm headquarted in New York City , has been tapped by Sprinkles to market a new product launch for Spring 2024.

The announcement of this partnership highlights Sprinkles trust and commitment in ColorComm Media Group to reach Sprinkles stakeholders through creative strategies, consumer engagement, and media positioning.

ColorComm Media Group will provide comprehensive support to Sprinkles through strategic messaging, story development, influencer marketing, and thought leadership.

"Sprinkles is entering a new phase of growth and transformation while staying true to our legacy of distinctive and premium offerings," said Dan Mesches, Sprinkles President and CEO. "We are excited about ColorComm Media Group because of their unconvential strategic thinking and the ability to deliver unforgettable experiences that deepen our customers connection to our brand," said Mesches.

"With a history of working with reputable consumer brands, ColorComm Media Group is positioned to take Sprinkles through its expansion," said Lauren Wesley Wilson , Founder and CEO of ColorComm Corporation. "Sprinkles' new product launch will make the Sprinkles experience accessible to a large part of the country," said Wesley Wilson .

ColorComm Media Group clients include Walmart, Google, Coca-Cola, Nielsen and more.

ABOUT SPRINKLES

Sprinkles offers premium cupcakes, cakes and cookies that are baked fresh in small batches throughout the day and handcrafted with only the finest ingredients. Sprinkles opened its first bakery in Beverly Hills in 2005, drawing long lines of loyal cupcake fans and celebrity endorsements. Passionate innovators, in 2012, Sprinkles debuted the world's first Cupcake ATM and has grown to over 70 bakeries and ATMs coast to coast.

ABOUT COLORCOMM MEDIA GROUP

ColorComm Media Group (CMG) is a full-service strategic communications and marketing firm headquartered in New York City . CMG offers strategic communications counsel to Fortune 500 companies, consumer brands, and non- profit organizations to reach stakeholders, audiences, advocates, decision makers, and influencers. CMG is a team of fresh thinkers, cultural strategists, corporate communications experts, and brand marketers.

CONTACT: Bernita Cooper , 1-843-687-4711, bernita@colorcomm.com

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SOURCE ColorComm, Inc.
Dr. Landry Adds Decades of Vital Healthcare Knowledge and Experience

HARRIS, N.Y. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Discovery (TCFD) today announced that Donald W. Landry, MD, PhD, has been elected to its Board of Directors. His appointment is effective March 1st, 2024 .

Donald W. Landry , MD, PhD, served as the Physician-in-Chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons from 2007 through 2023.

Dr. Landry completed his PhD in Organic Chemistry at Harvard University with Nobel Laureate R.B. Woodward in 1979 and received his MD from the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1983. He joined the Columbia faculty in 1985 as an Instructor, and rose to full Professor of Medicine in 2004. Dr. Landry was the founding director of the Division of Experimental Therapeutics, which brings synthetic organic chemists to the Department of Medicine, and served as director of the Division of Nephrology, where he started the sub-subspecialty of ICU nephrology. He is currently the President of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Dr. Landry's contributions to our healthcare institutions and to the field of medicine have inspired students around the globe and provided the kind of leadership for which Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian became recognized around the world. For nearly four decades, Dr. Landry has conducted exceptional pioneering research and forged new medical approaches to intractable health challenges. Dr. Landry's work as a biomedical researcher and clinician is matched in significance by the enduring institutional contributions he has made to the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and to NewYork-Presbyterian. The Department's education and teaching efforts are nationally recognized and its internal medicine residency remains one of the finest in the country. The NIH-funded research of the department increased by 300 percent while he was chair, with 2022 NIH support to the department exceeding $206 million , and an NIH ranking among departments of medicine that rose from fifteenth to the top five, and this year to number three in the nation. In 2008, Dr. Landry received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the nation's second-highest civilian honor, from President George W. Bush at the Oval Office "for diverse and pioneering research and his efforts to improve the well-being of his fellow man.

"We are delighted to welcome Dr. Landry to the Board. We are grateful for his interest in our work and his willingness to serve. It is an honor to have a scientist and physician of Dr. Landry's stature join our board. I am confident our devoted staff and the many individuals we care for at The Center for Discovery will benefit greatly from his service," said TCFD Board Chair, Edward C. Sweeney .



"Together, our Board of Directors  leaders in their respective industries  provide an invaluable scope of services to The Center. Our Board members are tireless advocates on behalf of individuals with complex conditions everywhere, and help to secure The Center's future. We are thrilled to have Dr. Landry join the team  he will be an incredible asset to us and he is well-poised to hit the ground running as a Director," added TCFD President & CEO, Dr. Terry Hamlin .

"The vibrant spirit of The Center for Discovery radiates in the persons it serves, its devoted staff and its inspired leadership. The Center's profound recognition of and care for each person reflects a true devotion of mind, heart and soul to this service. I am delighted, and deeply humbled, to join The Board of the Center for Discovery," said Dr. Landry .

Dr. Landry joined an internationally-recognized team of leaders on the TCFD Board, including: Dr. Terry Hamlin , TCFD President and CEO; Edward C. Sweeney , Board Chair/NRS, Inc; Eileen Naughton , Treasurer/Former Vice President of People Operations at Google; Michael Dubilier , Secretary/Dubilier & Company; Nelly Bly-Arougheti , Director/Author/Editor; Ellen Alemany , Director/First Citizens; Kevin Fee , Director/Castlerock Asset Management; Joel S. Forman , Esq., Director/Akerman LLP; Aidan Quinn , Director/Actor; Kim Raisler , Director/Levine, Plotkin, & Menin, LLP/; Arthur L. Thompson , CFA, Director/Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC.; George Todd , MD, Director/ Mount Sinai ; and Allison Vella, Director, Saint David's School.

For more information about The Center for Discovery please contact Michael Rosen , Exec. VP of Development, Marketing, and Strategic Communications, [email protected].

About The Center for Discovery

The Center for Discovery (TCFD) is a leading provider of healthcare and education services for more than 1,200 children and adults with complex conditions, medical frailties and autism spectrum disorders, located 90 miles northwest of New York City. Named a Center of Excellence in 2016, TCFD has long been a leader in developing new models of care for individuals with complex conditions. Located on 1,500 acres of land in Sullivan County, TCFD houses school campuses, residences, medical and research facilities, organic and biodynamic farmland, and leased private businesses offering meaningful employment opportunities. Deeply focused on an individual's personal potential and possibilities, rather than a disability, TCFD strives to create better care and unique and challenging opportunities for the most vulnerable populations. For more information about TCFD, please visit www.tcfd.org.

The Center for Discovery

Michael Rosen

Executive VP of Marketing and Strategic Communications

(917) 232-5556

[email protected]

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SOURCE The Center for Discovery
KYIV, Ukraine , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The EU's introduction of Autonomous Trade Measures (ATM) for Ukraine in 2022 has been a crucial commercial lifeline for Ukraine's agricultural sector. Together with the EU's economic and military assistance these ATMs have played a key role in helping Ukraine's economy recover from the initial shock of the invasion and helped preserve a large number of jobs and livelihoods. Agricultural exports are a vital source of revenue for the Ukrainian Government and the sector plays a disproportionately large part of the Ukrainian economy and the erection of further trade barriers will have a negative impact on macroeconomic stability and employment in Ukraine  and with it the war effort.

On the 31 January 2024 the European Commission proposed to introduce automatic safeguard measures against agricultural exports from Ukraine (in particular, poultry, sugar and eggs). These would be introduced without an independent investigation that finds concrete evidence that the ATMs were damaging European markets, and would have negative long-term consequences for both Ukraine and the EU, including through delaying the integration of Ukraine into the wider European economy.

The FEU would draw to the European Commission's attention three key factors which should be considered when debating the extension of the EU's autonomous trade preferences for Ukraine for 2024-2025.

That safeguard measures should only be implemented following an independent investigation that allows all parties to put their case forwards. Compliance with the EU's interests in introducing protective measures at each specific stage of the autonomous trade preferences; Analysis should be done on the damage that would be cause by such restrictions on mutual trade and the further economic integration of Ukraine into the EU.

Link to the full version of the letter: https://fru.ua/en/news/feu-appealed-to-the-european-commission-and-the-european-parliament-with-proposals-to-take-into-account-the-position-of-ukrainian-business-in-the-regulations-on-the-extension-of-autonomous-trade-preferences-for-ukraine-for-2024-2025

Please contact [email protected] to arrange an interview with the FEU.

About The Federation of Employers of Ukraine

The Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU)  is the most influential association of Ukrainian business. Founded in 2002, by now for 20 years the FEU successfully represents and protects the interests of business in Ukraine and internationally. At present, the FEU unites more than 140 sectoral and regional organizations of employers representing the most important sectors of the economy of Ukraine , such as machine building, metallurgy, automotive, aerospace and defense industries, agriculture, chemical industry, IT, media industry, energy, medical and microbiological industry, construction, transport and infrastructure, retail and logistics, light and food industries, tourism, utilities, services sector.

The Federation represents over 8 thousands enterprises, collectively employing near 3 million people and generating about 70 % of the national GDP. The FEU is a member of The Confederation of European Business, shortened as BusinessEurope.

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SOURCE The Federation of Employers of Ukraine
China and Thailand signed an agreement on mutual visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports and passports for public affairs on Sunday. The policy, which will come into effect on March 1, is expected to boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The agreement was a major outcome during the first meeting of consultation mechanism between the ministers of foreign affairs of Thailand and China, which was held in Bangkok.

At a news conference in the Thai capital, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said: "It's important that peoples from the two countries have forged closer friendships and stronger bonds, and are now embracing a better life."

There will be a big increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand, Wang said. "We also welcome friends from Thailand to feel the vitality and vibrancy of China and the hospitality of the Chinese people."

At the news conference, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said the visa-free agreement is a symbol of long-lasting Sino-Thai friendship, trust and confidence, which is evidenced at every level.

"The meeting is a significant step in our cooperation, held at the level of foreign ministers of both countries, and we have agreed to alternately host at least once every year," he said. "I am certain that travel between our two peoples, whether for tourism or business, will become more convenient, and help to stimulate the tourism industry in both countries."

As next year will mark the 50th anniversary of China-Thailand diplomatic relations, Wang said China highly commends China-Thailand friendship and mutual trust. The bilateral relationship between the two countries has withstood the test of the changing international landscape and grown from strength to strength over the past half a century, he said.

"China always sees Thailand as a priority in its diplomacy with neighboring countries, and supports Thailand in following a development path that suits its national conditions," Wang stressed.

He also noted that China appreciates Thailand's firm commitment to the one-China principle and its active support for the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative.

"China is ready to work with Thailand to jointly deepen the building of a more stable, prosperous and sustainable China-Thailand community with a shared future, and provide more stability and certainty to a changing and turbulent world," Wang said.

To strengthen the cooperation with China, Parnpree said Thailand is committed to promoting trade, investment, security and cooperation on culture and tourism, to facilitating connectivity, people-to-people relations, and to advancing cooperation at various multilateral and regional forums.

During the meeting on Sunday, both sides also agreed to speed up development of the China-Thailand Railway, fully implement the China-Laos-Thailand Connectivity Development Corridor Outlook, and open the central line of the Trans-Asian Railway as soon as possible.

The two countries signed agreements on the export of poultry meat and podocarpus plants to China. Podocarpus is a versatile, low-maintenance plant for landscaping.

China will import more specialty agricultural products from Thailand, support more Chinese companies in investing and growing in Thailand, and foster new drivers of cooperation in new energy vehicles, digital economy and green development.

During the meeting, the two ministers also exchanged views on current key regional and international situations, including the situation in Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula and the Middle East.
 Over 260 restaurants to participate in Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb, showcasing The Mile High City's award-winning culinary scene. 

DENVER , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Foodies rejoice today as Denver celebrates the start of the 20th annual Denver Restaurant Week, presented by Superior Farms American Lamb. The program will run Friday, March 1  Sunday, March 10 .

With 265 participating restaurants  the most since 2015  representing dozens of cuisine types, there is truly something for every appetite. All participating restaurants are listed on DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

There are four price points available this year ( $25 , $35 , $45 and $55 ), for diners to enjoy a multi-course meal for a great deal over the 10-day, two-weekend event.

This history of Denver Restaurant Week goes back to 2005 when the program was created to showcase Denver's growing culinary offerings over a traditionally slow time of year for restaurants. The program also aimed to improve the reputation of Denver's culinary scene to both locals and visitors alike. In its inaugural year, 83 restaurants participated in the program. Since then, Denver Restaurant Week has grown to highlight Denver as a culinary destination with multiple James Beard Award-winning chefs and recent Michelin Guide recognition.

With participating restaurants across the Denver Metro area, diners are encouraged to explore new neighborhoods outside of their normal routine. Denver Restaurant Week is the perfect time to revisit some classic Denver favorites like Tamayo, Bistro Vendome and D Bar Denver or try new hotspots including Senor Bear, The Greenwich, Kawa Ni and more. This year's Restaurant Week also includes unique events such as an English style High Tea at Babe's Tea Room and wine tasting at Blanchard Family Wines and Bigsby's Folly Winery.

Some of Denver's recent Michelin Guide restaurants are included in this year's program, including Ash'Kara, Dio Mio , Mercantile Dining & Provision, Fruition Restaurant and Noisette, making it the perfect opportunity to indulge at local spots that exude culinary excellence.

Check out DenverRestaurantWeek.com to learn more.

VISIT DENVER's Denver Restaurant Week presented by Superior Farms American Lamb is also sponsored by Stella Artois, Uber Eats, Society Insurance, OpenTable, Franciscan Estate , High Noon, J Vineyards, Orin Swift , Colorado Restaurant Association-Mile High Chapter, Downtown Denver Partnership, and media sponsors 5280 Magazine, CBS Colorado and Westword.

To learn more and book a reservation, visit DenverRestaurantWeek.com.

About VISIT DENVER , The Convention & Visitors Bureau

Celebrating 115 years of promoting The Mile High City, VISIT DENVER is a nonprofit trade association that contracts with the City of Denver to market Denver as a convention and leisure destination, increasing economic development in the city, creating jobs and generating taxes. Denver welcomed more than 36.3 million visitors in 2022, generating $9.4 billion in spending, while supporting tens of thousands of jobs and making Tourism one of the city's largest industries. Learn more about Denver on the VISIT DENVER website or at Tourism Pays Denver. Follow Denver's social media channels for up-to-the-minute updates on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

With press or photo inquiries, please contact:

Caroline Campbell : (303) 571-9451 or [email protected]

Abby Schirmacher : (303) 571-9418 or [email protected]

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KYIV, Ukraine and WASHINGTON , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 29 , in Kyiv and Washington , a landmark conference on veteran policy in Ukraine convened, marking a pivotal collaboration between Ukrainian and American experts. Together, they embarked on crafting an Action Plan and Analytical Report, drawing from valuable American insights. These documents, slated for unveiling in April at a conference in Washington and presentation to the U.S. Congress, seek to elevate the support framework for veterans and their families in Ukraine .

The initiative was spearheaded by esteemed organizations including "Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni), "US Ukrainian Activists," Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," and the NGO "White Ribbon Ukraine."

Vitalii Hersak , Chair of "Free and Faithful," expressed optimism regarding Ukraine's potential to integrate international best practices into its veteran policy domain.

"We have a wealth of knowledge to glean from our global partners to truly cultivate a veteran-friendly Ukraine . I am confident that our collective efforts will pave the way for an effective ecosystem encompassing social welfare, medical provisions, psychological resilience, and economic empowerment for veterans," he emphasized.

Participants at the conference engaged in insightful dialogues and knowledge-sharing sessions concerning the implementation of enduring strategies for medical care, psychological rehabilitation, and the resolution of socio-economic challenges affecting veterans.

Distinguished representatives from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine actively contributed to the discourse. Notable American figures, including Bonnie Carroll , President of TAPS, Andre Hollis , Head of Tiger International Advisors, and Nathan White-Wilson , Head of the Gallant Knights Private Security Services, provided invaluable perspectives.

Kateryna Odarchenko , Head of the Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA," underscored the pivotal role of international collaboration in shaping effective veteran policies and extended gratitude to all project contributors.

"Free and Faithful" (Vilni ta Virni) is an Ukrainian NGO established under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Vitalii Hersak to champion democracy, sovereignty, and European integration in Ukraine , while providing unwavering support to the nation's defenders, war veterans, and their families (viv.org.ua).

"US Ukrainian Activists" is an NGO based in the USA , remains dedicated to supporting Ukraine , its people, and cultural heritage.

Institute for Democracy and Development "PolitA" is a non-profit organization committed to fostering transparent dialogues between the state, business, and society on international level (Institute-polita.us).

White Ribbon Ukraine is an organization dedicated to spearheading social initiatives aimed at combating violence and fostering safer communities.

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SOURCE Free and Faithful (Vilni ta Virni)
Wright Brand , the #1 thick-cut bacon brand and part of the Tyson Foods portfolio, will serve as the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Wright Brand 250 on Saturday, May 18 at North Wilkesboro Speedway during NASCAR All-Star Race weekend

The Tyson Foods history with North Wilkesboro Speedway began when the company sponsored a NASCAR Cup Series race, the Tyson  Holly Farms 400, from 1990-96, and continued with sponsorship of the 2023 Tyson 250 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race; North Wilkesboro's Tyson Brand manual leaderboard will also return this year

Brand Tyson Foods remains actively involved in the Wilkes County community, employing approximately 2,200 team members in the area with nearby operations in Monroe, North Carolina and Danville, Virginia

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. , March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Race fans visiting North Wilkesboro Speedway on May 18 will be in for a day of sizzling excitement, with Wright Brand serving as the official sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Wright Brand 250 on NASCAR All-Star Race weekend.

Wright Brand, known for its renowned thick-cut bacon, is part of the Tyson Foods portfolio. The Tyson Brand sponsored the 2023 Tyson 250 at North Wilkesboro , won by Kyle Larson who led 138 of 252 laps on his way to a weekend sweep of the first NASCAR races in nearly 27 years at North Wilkesboro .

The Wright Brand 250 sponsorship builds on a decades-old relationship between Tyson Foods and the historic five-eighths-mile oval. The track's fall NASCAR Cup Series race was known as the Tyson Holly Farms 400 from 1990-96 and the Holly Farms 400 from 1979-89 before Tyson Foods acquired Holly Farms.

Today, Tyson Foods remains vested in the Wilkes County community. It employs nearly 2,200 team members in Wilkes County , with nearby operations in Monroe, North Carolina , employing more than 1,400 team members. Last year, Tyson Foods invested $300 million in an innovative, fully-cooked food production facility in Danville, Virginia , which created nearly 400 jobs in the area.

"We're thrilled for Wright Brand to serve as this year's entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series at North Wilkesboro Speedway, paying homage to Tyson Foods' storied history with the beloved track," said Brock White , vice president, Tyson Foods. "As the #1 thick-cut bacon brand, we take pride in helping to energize and bring families together across America. We look forward to lending a hand in powering some of the best racing talent as they compete on this iconic track."

The return of the timeless Tyson Brand red-and-yellow manual leaderboard was met with rave reviews last year. The leaderboard will return this May again outside Turn 3.

Race fans seeking to witness motorsports history can buy three-day ticket packages to the May 17-19 NASCAR All-Star Race weekend. Weekend packages include access to all Friday/Saturday NASCAR practice and qualifying sessions; the NASCAR Pit Crew Challenge presented by Mechanix Wear on Friday, May 17 ; the Wright Brand 250 and All-Star Heat Races on Saturday, May 18 ; the NASCAR All-Star Open and NASCAR All-Star Race on Sunday, May 19 ; and two concerts with artists to be announced at a later date.

Tickets and Additional Information

Fans can purchase weekend packages by visiting www.NorthWilkesboroSpeedway.com and obtain the latest news and information surrounding NASCAR All-Star Race week by following along on X, Instagram and Facebook.

CLICK HERE for high-resolution logos and photos.

About Wright Brand

Rich in tradition and flavor, the bold taste of Wright Brand bacon has been enjoyed for more than 100 years, since Roy Wright and Fay Eggleston handcrafted their first batch in 1922. It's a history of doing things a certain way and one we don't plan on changing. Wright Brand bacon, including Hickory, Applewood, Double Smoked and Maple offerings, are all real wood smoked, thick cut, hand-trimmed and 100% wood smoked to impart deliciously and uncompromising rich flavors. Bacon the Wright Way  For more information on Wright Brand, including product offerings and delicious bacon recipe ideas, visit WrightBrand.com

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SOURCE Speedway Motorsports
FILE PHOTO: Cohere logo is seen in this illustration taken March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Canadian artificial intelligence startup Cohere is opening an office in New York City as the company looks to capture the talents and customers there, the company told Reuters.

The startup, which develops foundation models that compete with OpenAI and focuses on serving enterprise customers, will house about 30 employees in its office in the Meatpacking District, home to major tech companies such as Google.

Backed by Nvidia, Oracle and Salesforce, the company is in talks to raise over $500 million in a new funding round, sources told Reuters earlier.

Cohere said the new office will help it tap into the talent pool in New York, and support its work with enterprise AI adoptions with customers like McKinsey.

"New York is a critical talent market for us, and being firmly on the ground helps us connect directly with our many customers and partners in the city, said Aidan Gomez, Coheres co-founder and CEO.

(Reporting by Krystal Hu in Los Angeles; editing by Miral Fahmy)
General view of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, where service for Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a prison camp, is expected to be held, in Moscow, Russia February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Thousands of Russians chanted Alexei Navalny's name and said they would not forgive the authorities for his death as the opposition leader was laid to rest in Moscow on Friday.

At a cemetery not far from where Navalny once lived, his mother Lyudmila and father Anatoly stooped over his open coffin to kiss him for the last time as a small group of musicians played.

Crossing themselves, mourners stepped forward to caress his face before a priest gently placed a white shroud over him and the coffin was closed.

Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critic inside Russia, died at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16., sparking accusations from his supporters that he had been murdered. The Kremlin has denied any state involvement in his death.

The authorities have outlawed his movement as extremist and cast his supporters as U.S.-backed troublemakers out to foment revolution. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had nothing to say to Navalny's family.

Many thousands of people turned out to pay their respects at the cemetery and earlier outside the Soothe My Sorrows church in southeast Moscow where the funeral took place.

Among the large crowd, many people clutched bunches of flowers and some joined in a series of chants - "Russia will be free", "No to war", "Russia without Putin", "We won't forgive" and "Putin is a murderer".

Police were present in large numbers at what evolved into one of the biggest displays of anti-Kremlin dissent in years, but for the most part did not intervene. A rights group, OVD-Info, reported that 91 people had been detained in 12 towns and cities, including Moscow.

"There are more than 10,000 people here, and no one is afraid," said a young woman, Kamila, in the crowd. "We came here in order to honour the memory of a man who also wasn't afraid, who wasn't afraid of anything."

Kirill, 25, said: "It's very sad for the future of Russia... We won't give up, we will believe in something better."

RISKY AND RARE

Public demonstrations in Russia are risky and rare, especially since the start of the war in Ukraine that the Kremlin calls a "special military operation". More than 20,000 people have been detained in the past two years.

Despite Friday's high turnout and flashes of defiance, Navalny's death leaves Russia's fragmented opposition in an even more precarious position as Putin prepares to extend his 24-year rule by another six years in an election this month. All of the president's leading critics are behind bars or have fled the country.

Even from prison, Navalny had cheered his supporters with displays of resilience and humour in his frequent legal hearings and social media posts. His death leaves many feeling bereft.

"I want to do what Navalny told us to and not give up but I don't know what to do right now," said one young man in the crowd.

On a memorial website, more than 140,000 people lit "virtual candles" for Navalny. It was unclear how many of those were inside Russia.

MOTHER'S STRUGGLE

Navalny's mother Lyudmila, 69, had travelled to the "Polar Wolf" penal colony after his death and battled with authorities for a week to get them to release his body. She accused them of putting pressure on her to bury him without a public funeral, something the Kremlin denied.

The service was brief, and took place in a church whose worshippers had raised funds to buy drones and other equipment to support Russian soldiers in the Ukraine war that Navalny condemned as an act of madness by Putin.

Inside, Lyudmila was pictured seated and holding a candle as priests in white robes stood over her son's coffin.

"This is a photograph that is very hard to look at," said Ruslan Shaveddinov, co-host of a livestreamed event by Navalny aides now based outside Russia, who struggled to contain their emotions as the pictures and footage rolled in.

State media gave scant coverage to the funeral. The RIA news agency reported the fact of Navalny's burial, noting the presence of foreign envoys including the U.S., French and German ambassadors, and recalled that he had been jailed on a host of charges including fraud, contempt of court and extremism.

Navalny denied all those charges, saying they had been trumped up by the authorities to silence his criticism of Putin.

KREMLIN WARNING

More than a quarter of a million people watched the farewell to Navalny on his YouTube channel, which is blocked inside Russia. Messages, mostly expressing sadness but some also defiance, streamed down beside the video.

Allies of Navalny outside Russia have called on people who want to honour his memory but could not attend his funeral service to instead go to memorials to Soviet-era repression in their own towns on Friday evening at 7 p.m. local time.

The Kremlin said any unsanctioned gatherings in support of Navalny would violate the law and those who took part would be held accountable.

Navalny's wife Yulia and two children, who are living outside Russia, did not attend the funeral.

Yulia Navalnaya, who has pledged to continue her husband's work, thanked him for "26 years of absolute happiness".

She posted on X: "I dont know how to live without you, but I will try my best to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I don't know if I'll manage it or not, but I will try."

Dasha, Navalny's daughter, also posted an emotional farewell message on X, saying her father had given his life for his family and for Russia. "You always were and will forever be an example for me," she wrote. "My hero. My dad."

Navalny, a former lawyer, mounted the most determined political challenge against Putin since the Russian leader came to power at the end of 1999, organising street protests and publishing high-profile investigations into the alleged corruption of some in the ruling elite.

Navalny decided to return to Russia from Germany in 2021 after being treated for what Western doctors said was poisoning with a nerve agent only to be immediately taken into custody.

Putin has yet to comment on Navalny's death and has for years avoided mentioning him by name.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alex Richardson, William Maclean)
FILE PHOTO: Logo of an Apple store is seen as Apple Inc. reports fourth quarter earnings in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

(Reuters) - Apple's proposed changes for its App Store policies "disregard" the European Union's new competition law for Big Tech firms and amplify its dominance over app developers, a group of more than 30 tech firms and associations, including Spotify, said on Friday.

The move is the latest in an effort led by Spotify Technology against the iPhone maker's App Store policies, which some developers and firms regard as unfair.

"Apple's new terms not only disregard both the spirit and letter of the law, but if left unchanged, make a mockery of the DMA (Digital Markets Act)," the group wrote in a letter to the European Commission.

Apple charges up to 30% annual fee from developers who distribute their apps through the App Store and restricts them to its own payments processing system.

The company in January proposed certain changes ahead of a March 7 deadline to comply with certain conditions of the DMA, a legislation meant to make it easier for European users to move between competing services.

Apple said it would allow alternative app stores on iPhones and an opt-out from using the in-app payments system, but set a "core technology fee" of 50 euro cents per user account per year for developers who sign up for the new regime.

"The new fee structure in the proposed new terms seems designed to maintain and even amplify Apple's exploitation of its dominance over app developers," the letter, also signed by U.S. gaming firm Epic Games and French music streaming service Deezer, said.

Signatories to the letter included European Publishers Council (EPC), which includes chairmen and CEOs of the region's leading media groups.

European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton had said in January Apple could face strong action if changes to its App Store do not meet incoming regulations.

(Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint, as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Kosay Al N

By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - From air drops of humanitarian aid to supply ships from Cyprus, the United States is urgently seeking ways to feed the people of Gaza as Israel resists Washington's push for more aid access and U.S. efforts to broker a truce in the war test global patience.

With more than half a million people in the besieged enclave facing a looming famine amid Israel's military offensive, residents are desperate and aid deliveries have become chaotic and deadly.

On Thursday, over 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire while waiting for an aid delivery, Palestinian health officials said. Israel denied it was to blame, saying many victims were run over by aid trucks.

Under pressure at home and from allies abroad to act, the Biden administration is considering expensive proposals more often associated with natural disasters and the Cold War era.

The White House on Friday announced plans for military airdrops of food and supplies into Gaza in the coming days. France has already made several such deliveries to Gaza with Jordan and others in the region.

Another possible option is shipping aid by sea from Cyprus, some 210 nautical miles off Gaza's Mediterranean coast, said a U.S. official. U.S. officials visited Cyprus this week to examine a possible maritime aid operation, the official said.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday the United States would redouble efforts to open up a maritime corridor to Gaza to bring "hopefully large amounts" of aid by sea.

The details of such an operation, including where in Gaza supplies could be unloaded, were not clear. The U.S. official said the administration is considering using military or commercial ships, and it would be "complex in terms of securing a landing site".

No decision has been made on military involvement in such an operation, said the official, adding the Israelis were "very receptive" to the sealift option because it would avoid delays from protesters blocking land crossings to aid convoys.

The air drop idea has drawn skepticism from some in the humanitarian community.

"It's insane that the entity necessitating this expensive workaround is not ISIL (Islamic State) ... or the Soviets ... but a U.S. ally fighting a war with full U.S. backing," said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, referring to Israel.

"Airdrops are massively expensive and low-volume ... The fact that they need be considered is a major policy failure."

Israel says it is committed to improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and accuses Hamas militants of endangering Palestinian civilians by using them as human shields.

Asked about the options being considered by the U.S., a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington referred to a statement on Thursday in which Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel was coordinating aid deliveries and wants humanitarian aid to reach the enclave's people.

"We are working around the clock to make this happen," Hagari said in the video statement. "Israel puts no limits on the amount of aid that can go into Gaza."

UNSAFE FOR AID WORKERS

Aid deliveries to Gaza, particularly the north, have been rare and chaotic, as increased lawlessness, looting and the breakdown of the public order following Israel's military offensive that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians has made it extremely unsafe for aid workers to operate.

The conflict began with a Hamas attack into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 in which the militants killed 1,200 people and abducted more than 250.

Thursday's incident near Gaza City was the biggest loss of civilian lives in weeks. Hamas said it could jeopardize talks in Qatar aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages. Hopes had been growing of a truce before the March 10 start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The U.N. and relief agencies have criticized Israel for denying attempts to transfer humanitarian aid to northern parts of Gaza, restricting movement and communications.

The Biden administration says the best solution to the humanitarian crisis would be a temporary ceasefire, but as the negotiations drag on, it too is showing frustration with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday on hunger in Gaza, the United States was blunt about the responsibility of its ally.

"Simply put, Israel must do more," Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood told the Security Council.

Who provides security for aid shipments has emerged as a major problem. The U.N. does not have its own guards and Israeli forces have attacked Palestinian police who escorted aid trucks, accusing some of them of belonging to Hamas.

Without giving details, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said U.S. officials were considering a number of aid measures. He also said Washington was talking to Israel to get a border crossing in northern Gaza opened.

Miller said there are "security and technical challenges" with opening more border crossings, but that Israel has been willing to work through them.

He said Washington had previously intervened to convince Israel to open two border crossings in the south of Gaza that it had closed. "It's not something that happened overnight," he said. "It's something we pushed for repeatedly."

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols, Arshad Mohammed and Idrees Ali in Washington and John Irish in Paris; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he supported the spy chief's decision not to name a former politician who had "sold out" to a foreign intelligence service.

Director-general of security for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, said in an annual speech on Wednesday evening his agency had recently confronted a spy ring from a country he did not name, which had recruited an unnamed former politician several years ago.

Current and former members of the opposition party on Thursday pushed the government to release the former politician's name to avoid insinuations against those who had done nothing wrong.

Burgess said in a statement on Thursday evening ASIO would not release the name, and needed to protect its sources.

"It is an historic matter that was appropriately dealt with at the time. The individual is no longer of security concern," he said.

Albanese told reporters on Friday that ASIO had not sought his approval for the speech, but he had confidence in Burgess's decision.

"He does what he believes is in the interests of national security and ... has explained in a clear statement of why he did it," he said.

In the speech, Burgess said the former politician had "sold out" their country and at one point suggested a plot to introduce a family member of the prime minister into the spies' orbit, although the plan did not go ahead.

Following the revelations, Alex Turnbull, son of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said on Thursday in an interview with News.com.au that he had been approached about an infrastructure project by a group of suspected Chinese agents while his father was in office around 2017.

Australia introduced foreign interference laws in 2018. Malcolm Turnbull, who introduced the laws, later said the "key purpose" of the measures was to expose China's activities.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Stephen Coates)
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Tihange Nuclear Power Station is seen after the Belgian government agreed in principle to close its two nuclear power plants by 2025, in Tihange, Belgium, December 23, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's Chamber of Representatives has agreed to give the nuclear phase-out law an urgent procedure status, a spokesperson for Energy Minister Tinne van der Straeten said on Friday, confirming a report from Belga news agency.

This means that the energy committee could discuss Van der Straeten's bill as soon as March 12, the spokesperson added.

In December, Engie [ENGIE.PA] reached a deal on extending the operational life of the Doel 4 and Tihange 3 nuclear reactors.

Van der Straeten has said she hoped to complete the legislative process before the country's elections in June.

Tihange is a 1,038 megawatt (MW) reactor in eastern Belgium, while Doel is a 1,039 MW reactor near the port city of Antwerp. The reactors, which entered service in 1985, account for 35% of the country's nuclear energy capacity.

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Jason Neely)
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., February 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Friday plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.

Biden said the U.S. airdrop would take place in the coming days but offered no further specifics. Other countries, including Jordan and France, have already carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza.

"We need to do more and the United States will do more," Biden told reporters, adding that "aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough."

At the White House, spokesperson John Kirby stressed that airdrops would become "a sustained effort." He added that the first airdrop would be likely be military MREs, or "meals ready-to-eat."

"This isnt going to be one and done," Kirby said.

Biden told reporters that the U.S. was also looking at the possibility of a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of aid into Gaza.

The airdrops could begin as early as this weekend, officials said.

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the enclave's population - are one step away from famine, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces had killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City early on Thursday. Palestinians face an increasingly desperate situation nearly five months into the war that began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had "in a limited response" later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

With people eating animal feed and even cactuses to survive, and with medics saying children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration, the U.N. has said it faces "overwhelming obstacles" getting in aid.

While it is unclear which type of aircraft will be used, the C-17 and C-130 are best suited for the job.

David Deptula, a retired U.S. Air Force three-star general who once commanded the no-fly zone over northern Iraq, said airdrops are something the U.S. military can effectively execute.

"It is something that's right up their mission alley," Deptula told Reuters.

"There are a lot of detailed challenges. But there's nothing insurmountable."

The United States and others also expect aid would be boosted by a temporary ceasefire, which Biden said Friday he hoped would happen by the time of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on March 10.

ISRAEL 'AWARE' OF AIRDROP

Still, there have been questions about the effectiveness of air dropping aid into Gaza.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the airdrops would have only a limited impact on the suffering of those in Gaza.

"It doesn't deal with the root cause," the official said, adding that ultimately only opening up land borders could deal with the issue in a serious manner.

Another issue, the official added, was that the U.S. could not ensure that the aid simply didnt end up in Hamas hands, given that the United States did not have troops on the ground.

"Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid," Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group's U.N. Director, said. Gowan said that the only way to get enough aid was through aid convoys which would follow a truce.

"It is arguable that the situation in Gaza is now so bad that any additional supplies will at least alleviate some suffering. But this at best a temporary band aid measure," Gowan added.

Under pressure at home and abroad, another U.S. official said the Biden administration was looking at shipping aid by sea from Cyprus, some 210 nautical miles off Gaza's Mediterranean coast.

At the White House, Kirby acknowledged that the airdrops into Gaza were "extremely difficult" because of the dense population and ongoing conflict.

The U.S. for months has been calling for Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, something Israel has resisted.

Kirby noted that Israel had tried to airdrop supplies into Gaza and it was supportive of the U.S. airdropping aid.

"We are aware of the humanitarian airdrop," said an Israeli official in Washington.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, did not reply to a question on whether the U.S. had sought Israeli agreement in advance on the air drops or was coordinating the effort with it.

Biden's announcement of the fresh aid to Gaza was marred by gaffes as he twice confused it for Ukraine.

The U.N. delivered aid to besieged northern Gaza for the first time in over a week on Friday, said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The U.N. delivered medicines, vaccines and fuel to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The World Food Programme said 10 days ago that it was pausing deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza until conditions in the Palestinian enclave allow for safe distribution.

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on Friday that during February an average of nearly 97 trucks were able to enter Gaza each day, compared with about 150 trucks a day in January, adding: "The number of trucks entering Gaza remains well below the target of 500 per day."

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Nandita Bose; additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Rami Ayyub, William Maclean, Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)
A man works at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.(Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony that took place on Thursday, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime said the new e-commerce facility aims to streamline operations and inventory management before goods are dispatched to customers.

"Today's inauguration marks the unveiling of a model facility, poised to set a standard for the private sector to emulate. This infrastructure is pivotal in simplifying logistics, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency, ultimately elevating logistics performance," Sime said.

Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Airlines Mesfin Tasew, on the occasion, said the launch of the "modern e-commerce facility," after two years of construction, reaffirms the airline's unwavering dedication to catch up with emerging innovations and technologies and enhance its service delivery.

"It (the facility) is probably the first of its kind in Africa, and this move by Ethiopian Airlines sets up the e-commerce industry on the continent and follows the global trend," said Tasew, indicating that the airlines invested 55 million U.S. dollars to make the facility a reality.

Noting that e-commerce has come out to be a driving force shaping the way business operates and consumers interact, Tasew said the new facility will revolutionize the way the airline connects and conducts business and open up new avenues of opportunities.

The CEO said the Ethiopian Airlines has established a strategic partnership not only with Chinese construction companies but also with Chinese technology companies specializing in e-commerce such as Alibaba to make its dream a reality.

"When it comes to operation, we work very closely with Chinese e-commerce companies. We transport e-commerce goods from China to other parts of the world under the strategic agreement with them. Now, we can bring the goods from these companies to Addis Ababa. We sort and re-aggregate the goods here and transport them to other African destinations," Tasew told Xinhua.
FILE PHOTO: Canadas Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada February 26, 2024. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will crack down on foreign investment in the interactive digital media sector to stop state-sponsored actors from endangering national security, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Friday.

Starting immediately, Ottawa will increase scrutiny of investments "by entities owned or influenced by foreign states, particularly states that engage in activities that may pose a risk to Canada's national security", he said.

The term interactive digital media includes video games and virtual reality devices.

"Hostile state-sponsored or state-influenced actors may try to ... spread disinformation and manipulate information," Champagne said in a statement.

Although he did not identify any particular nation, Canada has repeatedly accused China and Russia of foreign interference. Both countries deny the charges.

Starting now, foreign entities wishing to invest in the sector might have to give stricter undertakings for a longer period of time, particularly with respect to creative independence, corporate governance and transparency, he said.

Factors Ottawa will be looking for when studying proposed foreign investment include the reach and audience of the products' content, whether the products have online elements and the degree of control or influence the investor would likely exert on the Canadian business.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)
FILE PHOTO: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 18, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Jahnavi Nidumolu, Aditya Soni and Sheila Dang

(Reuters) -Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has sued ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, saying they abandoned the startup's original mission to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity and not for profit.

The lawsuit filed late on Thursday in California Superior Court in San Francisco is a culmination of Musk's long-simmering opposition to the startup he co-founded. OpenAI has since become the face of generative AI, partly due to billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft. Musk went on to found his own artificial intelligence startup, xAI, launched last July.

Musk's lawsuit alleges a breach of contract, saying Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman originally approached him to make an open source, non-profit company, but the startup established in 2015 is now focused on making money.

Musk said OpenAI's three founders originally agreed to work on artificial general intelligence (AGI), a concept that machines could handle tasks like a human, but in a way that would "benefit humanity," according to the lawsuit.

OpenAI would also work in opposition to Alphabet Inc's Google, which Musk said he believed was developing AGI for profit and would pose grave risks.

Instead, OpenAI "set the founding agreement aflame" in 2023 when it released its most powerful language model GPT-4 as essentially a Microsoft product, the lawsuit alleged.

Musk has sought a court ruling that would compel OpenAI to make its research and technology available to the public and prevent the startup from using its assets, including GPT-4, for financial gains of Microsoft or any individual.

OpenAI's top executives rejected several claims that Musk made in his lawsuit, Axios reported on Friday, citing a memo.

"It was never going to be a cakewalk," Altman said in his note, also seen by Axios. "The attacks will keep coming."

OpenAI, Microsoft and Musk did not respond to Reuters requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Musk is also seeking a ruling that GPT-4 and a new and more advanced technology called Q* would be considered AGI and therefore outside of Microsoft's license to OpenAI.

Reuters in November was first to report on Q* and warnings from OpenAI researchers about a powerful AI discovery.

Musk, who runs electric vehicle maker Tesla, rocket maker SpaceX and social media platform X, decided to try to seize control of OpenAI from Altman and the other founders in late 2017, aiming to convert it into a commercial entity in partnership with Tesla, utilizing the automaker's supercomputers, said one source with knowledge of the situation.

Altman and others resisted, and Musk resigned, saying he wanted to focus on Tesla's AI projects. He announced his exit to OpenAI staff in February 2018 during a meeting at which Musk called for OpenAI to increase its development speed, which one researcher called reckless, the source said.

Musk did not respond to request for comment about his exit from OpenAI.

Since then, Musk on several occasions has called for regulation of AI.

"We expect this will have zero impact on AI development inside or outside of OpenAI, and would chalk it up to Musk seeking to get a slice of equity in a company he effectively founded but in which he holds no stake," said Giuseppe Sette, president and co-founder of market research firm Toggle AI.

OpenAI's tie-up with Microsoft is under antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and Britain following a boardroom battle last year that resulted in the sudden ouster and return of Altman and creation of a new temporary board.

The startup plans to appoint new board members in March, the Washington Post reported on Thursday. Microsoft said in November it would have a non-voting observer seat.

Some legal experts said Musk's allegations of breach of contract, based partly on an email between Musk and Altman, might not hold up in court.

While contracts can be formed through a series of emails, the lawsuit cites an email that appears to look like a proposal and a "one-sided discussion," said Brian Quinn, a law professor at Boston College Law School.

"To the extent Musk is claiming that the single e-mail in Exhibit 2 is the 'contract,' he will fall well short," Quinn said.

MUSK's xAI

Musk's rival AI effort with xAI is made up of engineers hired from some of the top U.S. technology firms he hopes to challenge, such as Google and Microsoft.

The startup started rolling out its ChatGPT competitor Grok for Premium+ subscribers of social media platform X in December and aims to create what Musk has said would be a "maximum truth-seeking AI."

According to xAI's website, the startup is a separate company from Musk's other businesses, but will work closely with X and Tesla.

Musk has also made waves about his interest in artificial intelligence via Tesla. In January, he stirred controversy with Tesla shareholders, saying he felt uncomfortable growing the carmaker into a leader in AI and robotics unless he had at least 25% voting control of the company. Musk, who ranked second on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List on Friday, at an estimated worth of $210.6 billion, currently owns about 13% of Tesla.

Musk, who has called AI a "double-edged sword," was among experts and executives who last year called for a six-month pause in developing systems more powerful than OpenAI's GPT-4, citing great risks to humanity and society.

Since ChatGPT's debut, companies have adopted it for a range of tasks from summarizing documents to writing computer code, setting off a race among Big Tech companies to launch offerings based on generative AI.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Austin, Tom Hals in Wilmington, Anna Tong in San Francisco, and Jahnavi Nidumolu, Aditya Soni, Akash Sriram, Yuvraj Malik and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Arun Koyyur, Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: Chad's interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia January 24, 2024. Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By David Lewis

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Days after the killing of Chad opposition politician Yaya Dillo, in disputed circumstances, many in the conflict-racked Central African nation are worried about how his allies, powerful relatives and rivals will react.

HOW DID YAYA DILLO DIE?

The Chadian government has said Dillo was killed in an exchange of gunfire with security forces on Feb. 28. It said members of his Socialist Party Without Borders had earlier attacked the internal security agency.

But the FACT opposition rebel group and the CNRD opposition party have called it an assassination and analysts say the circumstances are unclear.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CHAD?

The capital N'Djamena was quiet two days after the death, though residents said security forces were deployed in key locations and soldiers searched for weapons at checkpoints overnight. Access to the internet has been cut.

Dillo's death comes at a politically sensitive time as Chad prepares for presidential elections in May and June.

The votes were meant to draw a line under three years of military rule by transitional President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who seized power after his long-ruling father was killed in clashes with rebels in April 2021.

Deby junior, who is standing in the vote, has since faced street protests against delays in the elections and has had to bring some members of the opposition into his government, under moves to ease tensions brokered by regional leaders.

The United Nations and regional leaders have called for calm and urged Chadians to focus on the vote.

DIVISIONS IN THE RULING ELITE

The violence this week has further exposed the complex ethnic and family ties that make up Chadian elite politics.

Deby senior had concentrated military and political power around his Zaghawa ethnic group. His son has struggled to maintain that unity, and divisions have emerged, with some family members openly opposing him.

Dillo, the opposition leader who was killed, is from the same clan - believed to be a cousin or nephew of Deby junior - and his death has triggered anger within the family. Exacerbating these concerns, the transitional president's uncle, General Saleh Deby Itno, last week defected to Dillos party and was reportedly subsequently detained.

Roland Marchal, a Chad expert at the Centre for International Studies (CERI) at Sciences Po Paris, said the fact that Saleh joined Dillo's party was a signal that some in the extended family were extremely unhappy.

"The killing of Dillo is a sign of weakness. Yaya Dillo is not very popular in Chad so why take such extreme measures against him?" Marchal said.

Security sources say Deby junior has sought to stamp his authority on the security forces, including by creating new units loyal to him.

WHY IS CHAD IMPORTANT TO THE WEST?

As Islamist militancy spread across much of West Africa during the last decade, Chad has established itself as a key partner for Western and regional militaries.

Former colonial power France still has 1,000 troops and war planes based there, even as it has been forced to withdraw from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso due to rising anti-French sentiment in the region.

The United States has had drones based in Chad. N'Djamena also hosts the headquarters of the regional counter-terrorism task force.

Positioned between Libya and Sudan, Chad's remote borderlands are often used by smugglers and armed groups operating in regional conflicts.

Most recently, United Nations experts said that Chad has been used as a route to supply crucial weapons from the United Arab Emirates to the RSF, the militia that has been fighting the Sudanese army since April last year. The UAE denies this. Chad hosts nearly 700,000 Sudanese refugees from this conflict.

(Reporting by David Lewis; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Crystal Chambers)
A 3D printed natural gas pipeline is placed in front of displayed ExxonMobil logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) -U.S. energy major Exxon Mobil said on Thursday that trader salaries would be adjusted based on benchmarking and will include performance bonuses at the end of the year and long-term incentives as compensation.

Individual compensation outcomes will vary depending on company results, global trading, and individual performance, Exxon said.

Exxon launched a major push into trading in 2019, but pulled back in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic crushed energy demand. It rebooted and restructured the operation last year under a new chief.

The trading unit helped the company beat fourth-quarter profit estimates earlier this month.

"The company plans to offer competitive salaries, informed by benchmarking," Exxon said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, Bloomberg News had reported that the energy firm informed traders in the U.S. and Europe this month that base salaries would be cut to better align with industry standards.

Under the new compensation structure shared internally this month, the bonuses are the only way to offset salary cuts for some traders, the report added.

(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopian government forces battled militiamen on Friday in the capital of the Amhara region, Bahir Dar, the regional administration and residents said, in the first fighting there since the early days of the conflict last year.

Ethiopia's military has been fighting insurgents from the Fano militia since July in a conflict that left more than 200 people dead last year, according to United Nations reports.

Government officials have said on several occasions in recent months that the violence in Amhara, the country's second-largest region, is under control.

However, the state-appointed human rights commission has reported repeated outbreaks of violence, including drone attacks and house-to-house raids by government forces in areas outside the capital.

The Amhara government said in a statement on Friday that the federal army and regional security forces were conducting "a joint operation and house-to-house surveillance around Bahir Dar to sweep out the extremist force that had infiltrated into the city".

"These extremist groups could not resist the combined strength of the security forces, leaving behind their dead and wounded and abandoning their weapons," it said.

A Bahir Dar resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said he heard heavy weapons fire from early in the morning.

"Now it is calm. The roads are closed and there is no transportation," he said.

A resident of the town of Merawi, 36 km (22 miles) from Bahir Dar, said there had been fighting there too on Friday but it had also died down.

Spokespeople for Ethiopia's government and military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not possible to contact Fano as it has no formal structure.

The fighting in Amhara broke out less than a year after the government reached a peace deal in November 2022 to end a two-year civil war in the neighbouring Tigray region that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Fano militiamen fought alongside the army against Tigrayan forces, but relations between the two sides quickly deteriorated over accusations the federal government had left Amhara vulnerable to security threats. The government denied this.

(Reporting by George Obulutsa; Editing by Aaron Ross and Alison Williams)
By Cooper Inveen

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghanaian trans woman and activist Angel Maxine fled to Berlin before parliament passed an anti-LGBTQ bill. She fears for the safety of the friends she has had to leave behind.

Lawmakers on Wednesday unanimously passed the legislation that will intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities in the West African country.

"I needed a safe place to continue my work as an activist," said Maxine, who left the country last week. "The threats were just so much and I had to just find a way and just settle somewhere else and still have my voice."

Gay sex was already punishable by up to three years in prison in Ghana. The bill imposes a prison sentence of up to five years for the "wilful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities".

"(My friends) are all terrified. Everybody is scared," Maxine told Reuters, adding that they have to hide to avoid potential attacks against them if they cannot leave the country themselves.

The bill will now be presented to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who will decide whether it should be signed into law. Maxine said she and others in her community were urging the president, a human rights lawyer, not to sign it.

Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah, a Ghanaian-born artist and activist with the London-based UK Black Pride, which organises protests against the bill abroad, said the damage had already been done.

"Regardless of whether it is signed by the president or not, the fact that it has been publicised means that anyone who is emboldened enough to enact violence upon someone that they suspect to be queer will do it," they said.

Amnesty International's West Africa Researcher Michele Eken said the bill violated fundamental rights. Lawmakers say LGBTQ behaviour and advocacy goes against Ghana's cultural values.

The bill's passing comes as Ghana tries to emerge from a deep economic crisis and debt default with the help of a $3 billion International Monetary Fund loan programme secured last year and financing from the World Bank.

An IMF spokesperson said it was watching developments in Ghana closely, but could not comment on a bill that was not yet law.

The World Bank suspended new funding for Uganda after the East African country passed a harsh anti-LGBTQ bill last year. A spokesperson for the World Bank did not respond to requests for comment on Ghana's bill.

(Additional reporting by Rachel Savage; Writing by Bate Felix, Portia Crowe and Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Alison Williams)
FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -General Motors is recalling 820,000 newer pickup trucks in North America because tailgates could unlatch and open unexpectedly.

The recall covers 2020 through 2024 model year trucks with power unlatching tailgates because water could leak into the exterior tailgate switch and cause a short circuit while parked.

GM said it is aware of one reported incident of a minor injury and three minor property damage complaints related to the recall issue.

The recall covers about 570,000 trucks in the United States and 250,000 in Canada. The call-back is GM's largest U.S. recall of the year and one of the larger recalls filed so far in 2024.

U.S. and Canadian regulators said if the tailgate opens unsecured cargo could fall out of the truck bed and onto the road when moving.

GM dealers will replace the exterior touchpad switch assemblies but until replacement parts are available, vehicles in inventory at dealerships and owners may have the part disabled. GM said the replacement parts use a new material that improves resistance to water intrusion.

GM recommends owners inspect the tailgate to ensure it's closed and latched before driving.

GM said it is working quickly remedy the issue. The recall covers 2020-2023 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks and 2020-2024 heavy duty versions of the same pickup trucks with power unlatching tailgates.

GM opened an investigation in November after receiving complaints of unwanted tailgate opening and said it has received 136 complaints that alleged an unwanted tailgate opening.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Chris Reese; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
By Jonathan Stempel, Luc Cohen, Chris Prentice and Julia Payne

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Gunvor, one of the world's largest oil traders, agreed on Friday to pay about $662 million to resolve U.S. and Swiss investigations into a scheme to pay bribes to Ecuadorean officials to win business.

Gunvor pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate a U.S. bribery law at a hearing in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, marking the end of a long-running criminal probe.

The Geneva-based firm also resolved a related investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.

Jean-Baptiste Leclercq, Gunvor's general counsel, told U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano that the trader joined a conspiracy that ran afoul of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying intermediaries to win business with Ecuador's national oil company Petroecuador.

The payout includes a $374.6 million criminal fine and a forfeiture of $287.1 million. Gunvor will be credited for up to $93 million in payments to both Switzerland and Ecuador.

In a statement, Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist said Gunvor was sorry for past mistakes and committed to enhancing its now "industry-leading compliance program." The deal does not require Gunvor to hire a monitor.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission had been probing Gunvor since at least 2020, and a former employee in 2021 pleaded guilty over a scheme to bribe Ecuadorean government officials to win business.

Reuters reported in December that Gunvor had set aside $650 million to resolve the probe.

Authorities said that between 2012 and 2020, Gunvor and other conspirators paid more than $97 million to intermediaries, knowing some of the cash would be used to bribe officials in Ecuador.

In exchange, high-level Ecuadorean officials helped front companies for Gunvor win rights to a series of oil-back loan contracts with Petroecuador, authorities said.

One Gunvor employee directed an intermediary to bestow an 18-karat gold Patek Philippe watch on a Petroecuador official, the Justice Department said.

Switzerland's Attorney General also found Gunvor criminally liable for corruption in 2019, when it was ordered to pay $95 million for bribing officials in Congo Republic and the Ivory Coast.

That case was the first where a major trading firm had been found guilty on such charges in Switzerland.

U.S. prosecutors have made a multi-year push to root out fraud and misconduct in the commodities sector.

Traders who buy and sell raw materials often operate in jurisdictions where corruption is common, putting them at risk of violating the FCPA, which prohibits paying bribes to foreign officials.

Glencore agreed to pay more than $1 billion in connection with a decade-long bribery scheme covering several countries.

And in December, Connecticut-based commodities trader Freepoint Commodities reached a $98 million settlement of bribery and other U.S. charges.

Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, resolved U.S. and Brazilian probes in December 2020 by agreeing to pay $164 million and admitting to bribing officials in Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador. One of its employees, Javier Aguilar, was convicted last month of bribing Ecuadorean officials.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen, Chris Prentice and Jonathan Stempel in New York and Julia Payne in Brussels; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Kirsten Donovan)
A D9 bulldozer maneuvres near the Israel-Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Israel, February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

CAIRO (Reuters) -Seven hostages who have been held in Gaza were killed as a result of the Israeli military's bombardment of the enclave, Abu Ubaida, the spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam brigades said on Friday.

He did not include details, like a timeline, backing up the claim.

The Al-Qassam brigades claimed that the number of hostages killed due to Israel's military operations in Gaza has now exceeded 70 captives, Abu Ubaida added in a statement on Telegram.

Israeli officials have generally declined to respond to Hamas' public messaging on the hostages, casting it as psychological warfare.

Israel's military campaign follows Hamas militants' killing of 1,200 people in southern Israel and the abduction of at least 250 on Oct. 7, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel has responded with a military assault on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas freed more than 100 Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Israel releasing about 240 Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas at the outset of the war threatened to execute hostages in retaliation for Israeli military strikes, and Israel has accused it of having executed at least two of the dead hostages recovered by the Israeli military.

(Reporting by Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Sandra Maler)
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras on Thursday took steps to exit a World Bank settlement body that is assessing a dispute with an autonomous zone claiming close to $10.8 billion in compensation from the government for alleged damages.

The World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is assessing a complaint made by Honduras Prospera, an autonomous "free zone," or ZEDE, on the Central American nation's Caribbean coast.

Honduras' Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs) are special economic zones exempt from some national laws and taxes that were established to encourage investment.

President Xiomara Castro says she does not recognize the ZEDEs and in 2022 backed an attempt to repeal the law that created them. The law has been only partially repealed, but further steps to do away with the ZEDEs could come in 2025.

The World Bank on Thursday said it had received a "written statement of denunciation" from Honduras against the ICSID over the dispute settlement process, and that the country could now leave the body in late August.

Honduras Prospera had appealed to the ICSID in late 2022 after congress partially approved the repeal bill, with executives from the ZEDE saying they had exhausted attempts to negotiate with the government.

The ZEDE, which remains autonomous, is claiming $10.8 billion in damages arguing that legal uncertainty over the zone and the partial repeal discouraged past investments and hindered its future prospects.

Honduras Prospera in 2013 received a 50-year concession to manage around 157 hectares (388 acres) in the coastal region of Le Ceiba and about 23 hectares in Roatan, where it has been given administrative, fiscal, justice and security autonomy.

"The agreement still stands," Jose Luis Moncada, former head of Honduras' financial watchdog CNBS, told a local radio station on Thursday.

Honduras "is obliged to respect the result of this arbitration and any others that are presented before the end of August," Moncada said.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Tom Hogue)
Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (R) and Irelands Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defense Micheal Martin. (Photo: VNA)

At the talks, held as part of Sons official visit to Ireland, Martin welcomed the visit, the first to Ireland by a Vietnamese foreign minister over the past 20 years, and congratulated the Southeast Asian nation on its socio-economic achievements.

Speaking highly of Vietnams position and role in the region and the world, the host said Ireland views the country as a leading partner in the Asia-Pacific, and that Irish people give special sentiments to Vietnam.

For his part, Son affirmed the importance Vietnam attaches to its relations with Ireland, and its wish to enhance political trust and deepen multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, for sustainable development, and for peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large.

For measures to foster the bilateral collaboration in politics and diplomacy, the two ministers consented to step up delegation exchanges and contacts at all levels, especially the high one, raise the efficiency of legislative cooperation, effectively implement cooperation mechanisms, and intensify the close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums like the United Nations and cooperation mechanisms between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU).

Martin said he hopes that Vietnam will soon open its embassy in Ireland to boost the bilateral ties.

For economic, trade and investment cooperation, a pillar of the bilateral relationship, the two sides concurred to maintain their close coordination and maximise the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Son suggested Ireland encourage its businesses to invest in Vietnam in the areas which Ireland has strengths in and matches Vietnams socio-economic development orientations like digital transformation, energy transition, and high-tech agriculture.

The Irish side emphasised that Vietnam is a leading trade partner of Ireland, and ample room remains for the bilateral cooperation in this field.

Martin pledged that Ireland will consider Vietnams suggestion about the acceleration of the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Ireland will also propose the European Commission (EC) to soon remove its yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood, he said, asking Vietnam to facilitate the import of high-quality farm produce and food from Ireland.

Son hailed Irelands aid projects to Vietnam over the past time, and called on the country to continue its official development assistance (ODA), especially in human resources development, support for disadvantaged groups, and the settlement of bomb and mine consequences.

In national defence and security, the two countries will promote policy consultations and UN peacekeeping training for Vietnam, further exchange expertise, and work together to fight organised, cross-border and high-tech crimes.

The ministers also agreed on measures to boost cooperation in education-training, labour, tourism and people-to-people exchange, and exchanged views on cooperation opportunities in new, potential spheres like renewable energy, digital economy, and climate change.

They touched upon regional and international issues of shared concern, and expressed their support for multilateralism and rules-based international order, saying disputes should be settled by peaceful measures in accordance with the UN Charter.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they shared the stance on ensuring peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region, and handling disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law and the UN Charter, and the respect for the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On this occasion, the officials signed an agreement to tighten cooperation between the two ministries in the time to come.

While in Ireland, Son met with Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann (speaker of the upper house) Jerry Buttimer, and Ceann Comhairle of Dail Eireann (speaker of the lower house) Sean O Fearghail.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Cathaoirleach of Seanad Eireann (speaker of the upper house) Jerry Buttimer, and Ceann Comhairle of Dail Eireann (speaker of the lower house) Sean O Fearghail. (Photo: VNA)

The minister stressed that Vietnam wishes to forge its parliamentary ties with Ireland, thus contributing to advancing the relationship between the two countries in the coming time.

The hosts affirmed the importance they attach to the Vietnam-Ireland relationship, and commended Vietnams achievements in socio-economic development, poverty reduction and social welfare.

They also noted support for a cooperation agreement between the Irish parliament and the Vietnamese National Assembly.

The two sides held that substantial opportunities remain for the two countries to expand their relations, and agreed to increase all-level delegation exchanges, including those between committees and working groups of the legislatures, while beefing up cooperation at multilateral parliamentary forums like the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP).

Son also appealed to the Irish parliament to soon ratify the EVIPA and urge the EC to soon lift the yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood.

Fearghail lauded contributions by the Vietnamese community to Irelands scio-economic development, and promised to help them further integrate into the host society.

The same day, Son had a meeting with Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Dublin Patrick Gerard McKillen, during which the minister expressed his belief that the Honorary Consul will serve as an important bridge of friendship between the two countries, especially in business-to-business connectivity, education and training./.
FILE PHOTO: A sign shows directions to the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama automobile plant in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. July 15, 2022. REUTERS/Joshua Schneyer/File Photo

(Reuters) - Hyundai Motor America has recalled 186,588 cars to fix possible failure of trunk emergency release, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Friday.

(Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
FILE PHOTO: The IM Motors logo is displayed on a car during the media day of the 91st Geneva Auto Show, in Geneva, Switzerland, February 26, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -IM Motors, a premium electric vehicle brand of state-owned Chinese automaker SAIC, said on Friday it has raised more than 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) to work on new smart car models and technologies.

IM Motors' Series B round of equity financing was among the biggest investments into Chinese EV brands in the past two years, following Abu Dhabi-based CYVN's combined $3 billion investments into NIO and Stellantis' $1.6 billion purchase of a 21% stake in Leapmotor.

IM Motors, co-founded by SAIC, Alibaba and Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park Development in 2020, said the new funding will also be used to support its overseas expansion.

SAIC has said it plans to export IM Motors' cars to overseas markets including Europe this year.

State-backed investors in IM Motors' new capital raise included Bank of China's asset management unit, an investment arm of Agricultural Bank of China, and Shanghai government-backed Lingang Group, IM Motors said in a statement.

IM Motors said Chinese battery giant CATL, autonomous driving startup Momenta, and SAIC-invested battery firm QingTao Energy Development contributed to the new capital raise.

($1 = 7.1987 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Roxanne Liu, Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya and Haiti signed a security deal on Friday that Nairobi hopes will satisfy a domestic court's objections to its plan to send 1,000 police officers to lead a U.N.-approved mission aimed at tackling gang violence in the Caribbean nation.

Kenya announced plans in July last year to lead the mission to Haiti, where gangs control most of the capital and nearly 5,000 people were killed in the violence last year.

But Kenya's High Court ruled the deployment, initially expected by January, unconstitutional in the absence of a "reciprocal arrangement" with the host government.

That has effectively placed the entire mission on hold, even as the United States and Canada have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to it, and some countries have committed armed personnel.

On Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto said an agreement had been signed with Haiti.

"I am pleased to inform that (Haiti) Prime Minister Ariel Henry and I have witnessed the signing of this instrument. We have also discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking

of the deployment," Ruto said at the signing ceremony.

Haiti requested help in 2022 as the violence surged but could not find a country willing to lead a mission.

Many governments have been wary of intervening to support Henry's unelected administration in a nation where previous missions have been dogged by human rights abuses.

Besides Kenya, the Bahamas has committed 150 people, and Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda said they were willing to help. Earlier this week, Benin offered 2,000 troops.

Armed clashes involving gangs, police and vigilantes rocked Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on Thursday in what a gang leader said was a demonstration against the authorities.

(Reporting by Aaron Ross and Humphrey Malalo; Editing by George Obulutsa and Angus MacSwan)
FILE PHOTO: An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump gather in front of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - More than 100 people convicted of joining the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters could have their sentences shortened, following a federal appeals court ruling on Friday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said defendants who were implicated in obstructing the work of the U.S. Congress should not have been given longer sentences for having interfered with the "administration of justice."

Friday's decision upheld the conviction of Larry Brock, a retired Air Force officer who wore combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs when he and others loyal to the former U.S. president stormed the Capitol, but required that he be resentenced.

The 3-0 decision could also force district judges in Washington, D.C. to recalculate and perhaps shorten sentences for other rioters charged with felony obstruction.

In an email, the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on the decision, but said more than 100 defendants' cases could be affected. Brock's lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the felony obstruction issue next month, when it hears arguments on whether Jan. 6 rioters can be charged with obstructing an official proceeding.

A decision from that court could also affect Trump, who faces obstruction charges in the indictment accusing the Republican of plotting to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

'TEXTUALLY INDISPUTABLE'

Brock, 57, of Grapevine, Texas, was sentenced last March to two years in prison by U.S. District Judge John Bates, who had found him guilty in a non-jury trial on six criminal counts.

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend that judges apply the "administration of justice" enhancement to defendants who disrupt judicial proceedings.

Bates, however, agreed with some other judges on his court that its application could be broader.

Writing for the appeals court, however, Circuit Judge Patricia Millett rejected the Justice Department's argument that Congress' plan on Jan. 6, 2021 to certify the election results was the equivalent of a judicial proceeding.

The appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama said it was "textually indisputable" that the enhancement did not reach everything Congress does, or the administration of government, or administering laws generally.

"Brock's interference with one stage of the electoral college vote-counting process--while no doubt endangering our democratic processes and temporarily derailing Congress's constitutional work--did not interfere with the 'administration of justice,'" Millett wrote.

The sentencing enhancement lengthened Brock's prison stay by about nine months, his lawyer estimated. Brock is eligible for release in December, according to Federal Bureau of Prisons records.

The case is U.S. v. Brock, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-3045.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by William Maclean)
(Reuters) - Researchers in the Amazon have discovered the world's largest snake species - an enormous green anaconda - in Ecuador's rainforest that split off from its closest relatives 10 million years ago though they still nearly look identical to this day.

A video shared online shows the scale of these 20-foot-long (6.1-meter-long) reptiles as one of the researchers, Dutch biologist Freek Vonk, swims alongside a giant 200-kilo (441-pound) specimen.

It was thought that there was only one species of green anaconda in the wild, the Eunectes murinus, but the scientific journal Diversity this month revealed that the new "northern green anaconda" belongs to a different, new species, Eunectes akiyama.

"What we were there to do was use the anacondas as an indicator species for what kind of damage is being done by the oil spills that are plaguing the Yasuni in Ecuador, because the oil extraction is absolutely out of control," researcher Bryan G. Fry said.

Fry - an Australian professor of biology at the University of Queensland who for almost 20 years has been investigating anaconda species found in South America - told Reuters the discovery allows them to show that the two species split from each other almost 10 million years ago.

"But the really amazing part was, despite this genetic difference, and despite their long period of divergence, the two animals are completely identical," he said.

Although green anaconda snakes are very similar visually, there is a genetic difference of 5.5%, which surprised the scientists.

"Which is an incredible amount of genetic difference, particularly when you put it in the context that we're only 2% different from chimpanzees," Fry said.

Anacondas are incredibly useful sources of information for the ecological health of the area and the potential impacts on human health of oil spills in the region, Fry said.

Some of the snakes they studied in parts of Ecuador were heavily polluted by oil spills, and the anacondas and arapaima fish are accumulating a large amount of the petrochemical metals, he added.

"That means that if arapaima fish are accumulating these oil spill metals, that they need to be avoided by pregnant women, just like women avoid salmon and tuna and other parts of the world for fear of methylmercury," he said.

(Reporting by Anna Portella in Sao Paulo; Writing by Steven Grattan; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Brazil's Central Bank President Roberto Campos Neto speaks during the opening of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors meeting, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 28, 2024. REUTERS/Carla Carniel

By Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's presidency of the G20 believes upcoming meetings of the finance leaders of the world's major economies may conclude without a joint statement amid a lack of consensus on how to address geopolitical issues, said a senior official on Friday.

"We are at ease with that," the coordinator of the G20 finance track, Tatiana Rosito, said in an interview with Reuters.

"If it is not possible to have language that accommodates everyone ... we may have other chair summaries, but we will always work for consensus."

Deep divisions on how to mention the wars in Ukraine and Gaza led finance ministers and central bank governors to fail on issuing a joint statement on Thursday, despite Brazil's efforts to focus on a short text aligning with its priorities of addressing issues such as inequalities, poverty, and climate change.

According to Rosito, the final document presented by the Brazilian presidency had "99% consensus" among members, including on topics about economic fragmentation and commodity price volatility, often related to conflicts.

"The only thing that was not agreed upon is how to explicitly address the geopolitical discussion," she continued, emphasizing that the government believes this issue should be more appropriately addressed in the G20 diplomatic track.

For the upcoming meeting of the G20 financial track, which takes place in April on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings in Washington, Rosito said that priorities will include the reform of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and financing for climate development.

These themes closely align with Brazil's call for the massive channeling of resources to address challenges posed by climate change, especially in the cash-strapped Global South.

In this context, the Brazilian presidency of the G20 is planning to hold a side event addressing the role of rating agencies in evaluating multilateral development banks, enabling them to consider aspects that are more specific to these institutions, said the secretary.

Rosito mentioned that there are currently different interpretations regarding the possibility of the callable capital of MDBs also being considered for rating purposes, as ultimately, this amount is guaranteed by the treasuries of member countries.

Callable capital is the amount each member country would have to contribute if called upon, constituting the majority of the total capital of MDBs, as opposed to paid-in capital.

The secretary highlighted that Brazilians Ilan Goldfajn, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and former president Dilma Rousseff, who heads the New Development Bank (NDB), known as the BRICS bank, are working closely with the government. Dilma is coordinating discussions on how MDBs could advance in mobilizing resources.

She emphasized that, regarding Climate Funds, the idea is to conclude the Brazilian presidency of the G20 with a new governance framework outlined to make financing through these instruments more efficient and expedient.

(Reporting by Marcela Ayres and Bernardo Caram; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
FILE PHOTO: The Greek frigate 'Hydra' sails to take part in the EU naval mission in the Red Sea, at Salamina naval base, Greece, February 26, 2024. Greek Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

HAMBURG (Reuters) - Grain ships originating from the Black Sea or bound for Iran are about the only ones still sailing through the Red Sea as Houthi militants continue to attack vessels in the area, analysts said on Friday.

The attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis have disrupted global shipping since November and forced firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.

"Just about all (dry bulk grain) vessels going from the Americas and western Europe are avoiding the Red Sea, the only exception is vessels going to Iran, they're still taking the Red Sea route when shorter," said Ishan Bhanu, lead agricultural commodities analyst at data provider and analysts Kpler.

"All vessels we are tracking going from the Black Sea to Asia are going through the Red Sea, almost without exception," he added.

Grain transit through the Suez Canal hit a low of 2.6 million metric tons in February, down from 5.3 million tons in February 2023, Bhanu estimated.

The United States and other countries have sent naval vessels to protect civilian ships while the U.S. and UK have launched air strikes against Houthi forces, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.

"The Red Sea naval operation and air strikes have been going on for weeks now and it is pretty obvious that the Houthi attacks cannot be stopped easily by military means or that commercial ships can be given blanket protection," said one grain trader booking vessels to export cargoes from Europe.

"Many ship owners are still willing to accept the danger to their ships and vessels still can be booked for Red Sea sailings. Chinese purchases of Ukrainian corn recently are expected to transit the Red Sea."

(Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Kirsten Donovan)
FILE PHOTO: Residents walk on cracked ground next to the village of San Roman de Sau, at Sau reservoir which was partially submerged, though it later re-emerged, as the Iberian peninsula is at its driest in 1,200 years Spain, January 31, 2024. REUTERS/Nac

By Joan Faus

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Some light rain will be enough for Catalonia to avoid further emergency curbs on water use, a regional official said, as the Spanish region tackles its worst drought on record.

"We need very little rain to avoid entering phase two," David Mascort, the Catalonian regional government's environmental chief, told Reuters on Friday.

Under a first phase of restrictions, residents have to cut their water usage by 5% and farmers by up to 80%. Mascort raised the possibility of easing some of these, such as lifting the ban on filling swimming pools in the case of communal facilities.

Rainfall would avoid a second wave of measures under a state of emergency already affecting six million people in 200 towns and cities, including Spain's second largest city Barcelona.

Even the same low rain levels as May and June of last year, accounting to between 150 litres to 200 litres per square meter of rain over a period of one to two weeks, would allow Catalonia to drop the state of emergency, Mascort said.

Reservoir levels would then be at 20% of their capacity from the current 15%, he added in an interview.

"Will this happen? We have been waiting for it to rain as it should for three years", he said.

Some parts of the Iberian peninsula are at their driest in 1,200 years, a 2022 study showed, forcing officials to consider bringing in water by ship to Barcelona, as in 2008, for essential services such as hospitals.

Without enough rain, Barcelona would need not only to bring in water from a desalination plant near Valencia but potentially also more water from neighbouring Tarragona as well as the French city of Marseille, Mascort said.

Mascort said water use has fallen 16% year-on-year in some areas and overall consumption is lower than in nearby regions.

"People are making a great effort ... and that's why we have been able to survive 40 months of drought".

(Reporting by Joan Faus; Editing by Charlie Devereux and Alexander Smith)
FILE PHOTO: Border guards patrol during vehicle checks at the Slovak-Polish border in Zwardon, Poland as part of security measures put in place to detect illegal migrants, October 4, 2023. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland will end extended border controls with Slovakia at midnight on Saturday, the interior ministry said, after a decline in the threat of illegal migration across that part of the frontier.

Slovakia is a transit country for migrants - mostly from the Middle East and Afghanistan - seeking to reach western Europe, especially Germany, after crossing into the European Union via Hungary from Serbia, which is not in the EU.

Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria all tightened their borders with Slovakia on Oct. 4. The measures were later extended several times.

"This decision (to end controls) was motivated by the stabilisation of the migration situation in the so-called the Balkan route and the disappearance of the threat of illegal migration on the Polish-Slovak section of the state border," the Polish interior ministry said on Friday.

"As part of cross-border cooperation, the migration situation will be monitored on an ongoing basis and, if the threat increases, control activities at the border may be resumed."

Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria are all part of Europe's open-border Schengen zone.

(Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Polish farmers gather as they protest at Lithuanian border, alleging Ukrainian grain transports are brought back into Poland as 'EU' grain, and against European Union Green Deal near border crossing at Polish Lithuanian border in Budzisko, Poland, M

WARSAW (Reuters) -Polish farmers protested on the border with Lithuania on Friday against what they say are imports of Ukrainian grain through the Baltic country, something Vilnius denies.

Small groups with banners and Polish flags and joined customs officers checking trucks coming over the frontier from Lithuania, but made no attempt to block the Budzisko crossing, which is also used by vehicles carrying goods to and from Latvia and Estonia.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks against constraints placed on them by EU regulations meant to tackle climate change, as well as rising costs and what they say is unfair competition from outside the EU, particularly Ukraine.

The EU has waived quotas and duties on imports from Ukraine after Russia's invasion in 2022, angering farmers from neighbouring Poland, Hungary and Slovakia who say it undercuts their prices.

Polish farmers argue that some Ukrainian grain which is brought to Lithuania is later re-exported to other countries as European grain.

"Today's protest is taking place to draw attention to this uncontrolled inflow of grain into the European market, grain coming from Ukraine, from Russia," protest organiser Karol Pieczynski told Reuters.

"It arrives in Lithuania, Latvia, documents are changed and those products are then distributed throughout Europe as a European product, which says it meets all standards, but it meets no sanitary standards."

Lithuanian officials denied the accusations.

"I think people that are organising such events are mistaken, and this leads us into some escalation and some problems, logistical problems, between European countries, so it's quite sad," Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the head of the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Centre, said.

It wouldn't make commercial sense to bring Ukrainian grain to Lithuania and then re-export it to other countries, he added.

The agriculture ministers of Poland and Lithuania released a joint statement urging farmers not to block the Budzisko crossing.

"They called on Polish farmers ... to allow the government institutions of both countries to complete investigations into grain trade flows between Lithuania and Poland," the statement read.

(Reporting by Janis Laizans and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Crystal Chesters)
The headquarters of the UN Office in Geneva. (Photo: un.org)

At the meeting with the UN official, Dung affirmed that Vietnam will always be an active and responsible member of multilateral forums, especially the UN, through effective and substantive contributions in all aspects.

Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya. (Photo: VNA)

He highly appreciated the role of Valovaya, the first woman to hold the position of Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, and thanked the office in general and the official in particular for always creating favourable conditions to connect and support Vietnam in multilateral diplomatic activities.

For her part, Valovaya congratulated the Vietnamese Ambassador on his new position at the UN, expressing her appreciation for Vietnam's role and cooperation with the UN in general as well as cooperation between the permanent mission of Vietnam and her office in particular in many fields, especially sustainable development.

Valovaya emphasised that Vietnam is always a trusted partner, an active member, and has many important contributions to implementing UN missions as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed in his meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on the sidelines of the 55th High-Level Meeting of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on February 26.

Valovaya expressed her deep impression of Vietnam and its people during her first visit to Vietnam in October 2023. The official said she wants to continue cooperating with Vietnam on many other projects in the coming time.

Dung thanked Valovaya for her good assessments and sentiments for Vietnam and said he will try to continue promoting the cooperation between Vietnam and the UN during his term, especially when Vietnam is serving as a member of the UNHRC for the 2023-2025 tenure and running for re-election as a member of the council for the 2026-2028 tenure./
Pope Francis speaks during the international conference "Man-Woman: Image of God. Towards an Anthropology of Vocations" at the Vatican, March 1, 2024. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday warned of the dangers of so-called gender theory, saying he had commissioned studies into what he condemned as an "ugly ideology" that threatens humanity.

Addressing participants of a two-day conference in the Vatican on the evolving role of men and women according to Christian teachings, Francis said what he called "gender ideology" was a threat because it sought to erase the difference between the sexes.

"I have asked that studies be carried out into this ugly ideology of our times, which cancels out the differences and makes everything the same," the pope said.

"Cancelling out the differences means cancelling out humanity."

Gender theory, often called gender ideology by its detractors, suggests that gender is more complex and fluid than the binary categories of male and female, and depends on more than visible sex characteristics.

The 87-year-old pontiff said he was still suffering from a recent cold and had asked an aide to read his speech, but first wanted to "underline" his feelings on gender ideology.

He said he remembered reading a "prophetic" book called "Lord of the World" - a dystopian novel published in 1907 by a Catholic priest about a world where religion has no place - which warned of the risk of cancelling out differences between people.

"Read it if you have time, because it speaks of these problems of today," the pope told his visitors.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; editing by Alessandro Parodi and Kevin Liffey)
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians gather as they wait for trucks carrying bags of flour to arrive, near an Israeli checkpoint, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City February 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

By John Irish and James Mackenzie

PARIS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Pressure mounted on Israel on Friday over the deaths of dozens of Palestinians during a confused incident in the Gaza Strip in which crowds surrounded a convoy of aid trucks and soldiers opened fire, with several countries backing a U.N. call for an inquiry.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces had killed more than 100 people trying to reach a relief convoy near Gaza City early on Thursday, with famine looming nearly five months into the war that began with a Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Israel blamed most of the deaths on crowds that swarmed around aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over. An Israeli official also said troops had "in a limited response" later fired on crowds they felt had posed a threat.

Although the accounts of what happened differed sharply, the incident has underscored the collapse of orderly aid deliveries in areas of Gaza occupied by Israeli forces, with no administration in place and the main U.N. agency UNRWA hamstrung by an inquiry into alleged links with Hamas.

"We've asked the government of Israel to investigate, and it's our assessment that they're taking this seriously," U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday.

"They are looking into what occurred, so as to avoid tragedies like this from happening again." He said the Biden administration trusted Israel to complete its own investigation, adding that "we don't have enough information" to verify its account of what happened.

The Hamas attack on Oct. 7 killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and involved the seizure of 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave say.

With a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, many countries have urged a ceasefire, but U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday's incident will complicate talks for a deal involving a truce and hostage release.

India said it was "deeply shocked" at the deaths and Brazil said the incident was beyond "ethical or legal limits."

South Africa, which has brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, condemned the deaths. Israel denies genocide.

France and Germany have backed a call for an international inquiry. French President Emmanuel Macron voiced "deep indignation" and the "strongest condemnation of these shootings". Germany said "the Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened."

In Israel, ultra-rightwing security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged "total support" to Israeli soldiers who had "acted excellently against a Gazan mob that tried to harm them".

A columnist in the biggest daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said the incident would "create a turning point in the war" and could "exert international pressure that Israel will not be able to withstand, including from the White House."

AID DELIVERY ROW

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, particularly the north, after nearly five months of an Israeli air and ground campaign that has ruined swathes of the crowded coastal enclave and pushed it to the edge of famine.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who also called for an inquiry, said Israel had a responsibility to ensure more aid reached Gaza by opening more crossings and removing bottlenecks and bureaucratic obstacles.

"This must not happen again," he said in a statement. "We can't separate what happened yesterday from the inadequate aid supplies."

With people eating animal feed and even cactuses to survive, and with medics saying children are dying in hospitals from malnutrition and dehydration, the U.N. has said it faces "overwhelming obstacles" getting in aid.

The U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA said obstacles included "crossing closures, restrictions on movement and communications, onerous vetting procedures, unrest, damaged roads and unexploded ordnance."

Last week the U.N. said aid flows into Gaza were drying up and it was becoming increasingly hard to distribute aid within the enclave because of a collapse in security, with most residents hemmed into makeshift camps.

Israel has said there is no limit on humanitarian aid in Gaza and has said the quantity and pace of delivery was down to the U.N.

Israel's military said Thursday's delivery was operated by private contractors as part of an aid operation it had been overseeing. It gave no details on how the aid was intended to be distributed.

(Reporting by John Irish in Paris, James Mackenzie in Jerusalem, Rachel More in Berlin, Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Geneva, Angus McDowall, James Davey in London and Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Rosalba O'Brien)
Flowers are left on the ground near the Borisovskoye cemetery during the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Stringer

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Standing under grey skies holding red and white bouquets, Russians lined up patiently along pavements leading towards opposition politician Alexei Navalny's funeral on Friday, two weeks after his death in a Siberian penal colony.

By the time the coffin was being driven to a cemetery on the opposite bank of the Moskva River, thousands had gathered, chanting Navalny's name. Some called President Vladimir Putin, who Navalny's allies accuse of ordering his death, a murderer.

The Kremlin, which cast Navalny and his supporters as U.S.-backed extremists out to foment revolution, denies any state involvement in his death.

The protest went little further. The Kremlin said any unsanctioned gatherings in support of Navalny would violate the law, and police had deployed hours before the funeral, erecting metal barriers.

Mourners were forced to mill around a short distance from the site of the funeral, the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the Moscow district of Maryino where Navalny used to live, and from the Borisovskoye cemetery where he was later taken and buried.

Among the mourners were foreign dignitaries including U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, who stood solemnly in black outside the church before the funeral carrying red roses.

No mourners would give reporters their full names.

But all expressed their admiration for Navalny's fearlessness in the face of a government he believed would kill him one day, and said he had been a rare hope for change in a country whose veteran leader Putin is set to rule into at least the next decade.

"We came here to honour the memory of a man who also wasn't afraid, who wasn't afraid of anything," said one young woman standing outside the church, giving her name only as Kamila.

Another young woman said the police presence made her nervous, but that turning up for the funeral was a way to remember Navalny.

"Navalny was a great man, he fought for the rights of us, Russians, so that we could live in a better world."

"They wanted us to be afraid so they rounded up all these cars, all these police ... He wasn't afraid. Well, maybe he was afraid, but he fought," the woman said.

'THANK YOU FOR YOUR SON'

Inside the church, Navalny's body laid in an open coffin dressed in a suit and tie and draped with bouquets of flowers. "A picture that should never have existed," Navalny's political ally Leonid Volkov said on a live YouTube stream following the funeral.

Navalny was a Christian who condemned Putin's decision to send tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine as a crazy enterprise built on lies.

In the run-up to his funeral, his allies accused the authorities of blocking their plans to hold a bigger civil memorial service.

The Kremlin has said it has nothing to do with Navalny's funeral arrangements.

As Navalny's body was transferred from the church to the cemetery in a black van with tinted windows, mourners hugged his mother and father and said: "Thank you for your son."

Thousands followed the hearse across the bridge to the cemetery, where Navalny was buried in a grave decorated with green pine branches to Frank Sinatra's song My Way and music from Terminator 2, one of his favourite films.

Pondering Russia's future without Navalny, the most determined challenger to Putins rule, some supporters who attended the day's events said they held onto hope, and others that his death had erased it.

"I don't see anything good happening," said one man queueing outside the funeral, asked what he thought would come next. The abyss," he answered.

Kirill, a 25-year-old mourner, said he worried for Russia but hoped Navalny's struggle would continue.

We wont give up. We will believe in something better, he said.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by John Davison, Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Andrew Osborn and Philippa Fletcher)
FILE PHOTO: Pharmaceutical tablets and capsules are arranged in the shape of a U.S. dollar sign on a table in this picture illustration taken in Ljubljana August 20, 2014. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic/File Photo

By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) -A federal judge in Delaware on Friday upheld a law that requires some drugmakers to negotiate prices with the U.S government's Medicare health insurance program, rejecting a challenge by AstraZeneca to one of Democratic President Joe Biden's signature initiatives.

U.S. District Judge Colm Connolly's decision comes the day before the British drugmaker is due to respond to the U.S. government's initial bid for the price of its blockbuster diabetes drug Farxiga.

"Today's ruling offers more reason for optimism that we will drive down the cost of prescription drugs in America," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra said in a statement.

AstraZeneca said it was disappointed in the ruling and evaluating its path forward. It said its lawsuit was "necessary to support and improve patients' access to future life-saving medicines, and our rights as a company."

The ruling marks the third time the Biden administration's program has survived a court challenge.

The negotiation program, passed as part of 2022's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), allows the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS), which oversees Medicare, to negotiate prices for selected high-cost drugs. The agency announced 10 drugs in August that would be the first to be subject to the negotiations.

Drugmakers that refuse to participate must either pay heavy fines or withdraw altogether from Medicare, which covers 66 million Americans mostly aged 65 and older and accounts for a large share of U.S. prescription drug spending.

Manufacturers and industry groups filed lawsuits challenging the program on several grounds, including that it took away their property rights without due process, in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

Connolly, rejecting that argument, wrote on Friday that drugmakers are not "entitled to sell the government drugs at prices the government won't agree to pay."

"Understandably, drug manufacturers like AstraZeneca don't like the IRA," he wrote. "Lower prices mean lower profits. ... But AstraZeneca's 'desire' or even 'expectation' to sell its drugs to the government at the higher prices it once enjoyed does not create a protected property interest."

Other drugs chosen for the first round of negotiations include Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer's blood thinner Eliquis, Merck & Co's diabetes drug Januvia and Johnson & Johnson's blood thinner Xarelto. The government's initial bids were not public.

A federal judge in Ohio last September refused to block the law in a case brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobbying group.

Another federal judge in Texas last month dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the largest U.S. drug industry lobbying group.

Connolly and the judges in the two previous decisions were all appointed by Republican presidents.

The cases are expected to reach federal appeals courts and possibly the U.S. Supreme Court.

If the price negotiations are allowed to go forward, the first negotiated prices would be set in September and go into effect in 2026, with more drugs added in future years. The IRA aims to save $25 billion annually by 2031.

Industry analysts have said that the negotiated discounts could be steep, ranging from the statutory minimum of 25% to as much as 60%.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexander Smith, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler, Kirsten Donovan)
FILE PHOTO: President of Senegal Macky Sall delivers a national statement at the World Climate Action Summit during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky/File Photo

DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's President Macky Sall on Friday condemned a violent knife attack on a prominent female journalist and director of a private television station.

Maimouna Ndour Faye, who presents a political programme for 7TV television channel, was attacked and stabbed several times near her home in the early hours of Friday by an unknown assailant, the channel said in a statement.

Faye was hospitalised and her condition is stable, it said.

The attack comes amid heightened political tension in the West African nation over the postponement of a presidential election that was scheduled for Feb. 25.

It was unclear if the attack was politically motivated, officials said.

The attack has been condemned by Senegal's prominent figures, including the prime minister, and candidates in the presidential race.

"I strongly condemn this cowardly and inexcusable act of violence against journalist Maimouna Ndour Faye. Freedom of the press is a fundamental right that must be protected and respected in all circumstances," Sall said in a post on X.

In the run-up to Senegal's parliamentary elections in 2022, there was an increase in arrests and violence against media professionals in Senegal including an escalation in verbal and physical threats, according to watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

(Reporting by Portia Crowe and Ngouda Dione; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
FILE PHOTO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry listens as he holds a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne (not seen), amid the conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the new headquarters of t

By Tuvan Gumrukcu

ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) -Egypt's foreign minister said on Friday Cairo was hopeful that talks initiated by Qatar could agree on a ceasefire in Gaza before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Gaza truce talks have been taking place in Paris since last week in what appears to be the most serious push for weeks to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave between Israeli forces and Hamas militants and to secure the release of Israeli and foreign hostages.

"I can say that we have reached a point of understanding, we will still exert every effort with our brothers in Qatar and the U.S. and others close to the negotiations. We are hopeful that we can reach a cessation of hostilities and exchange of hostages," Minister Sameh Shoukry said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

"Everyone recognizes that we have a time limit to be successful before the start of Ramadan," he said.

A proposed deal from the start of Ramadan on March 10 and 11 includes a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages at a ratio of 10 to one, a senior source close to the talks told Reuters on Tuesday.

"We will continue to strive in collaboration with the United Nations, with our partners to relieve the suffering of the Gazan people and to increase the level (of aid). Practically, this cannot happen without the cessation of hostilities," Shoukry said.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki, speaking at the same panel with Shoukry, said Israel would not announce a ceasefire unless international pressure is imposed on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

"If we are not able to reach a ceasefire in the next two or three weeks, is clear we will see another round of attacks on Rafah and the continuation of a genocide," he said.

(Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Ece Toksabay and Angus MacSwan)
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol gives three cheers during a ceremony of the 105th anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement Day in Seoul, South Korea, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Friday improved ties with Japan were helping to combat threats from Pyongyang's weapons developments and called for help from the international community to bring about unification with North Korea.

Under Yoon's conservative administration, Seoul has sought better ties with Tokyo which have been fraught with historical baggage for years at a time of China's growing influence and North Korea's growing missile and nuclear programs.

During a ceremony to mark an independence holiday, Yoon said next year would be the 60th anniversary of normalised diplomatic relations with Japan and he hoped it could be a chance for the bilateral relationship to reach a "higher level."

"Now, South Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past and moving toward a 'new world'," he said in a speech to commemorate the formation of an independence movement against Japan's 1910-1945 occupation of Korea.

"The security cooperation between the two countries against North Koreas nuclear and missile threats has been strengthened further," he added.

During his speech, Yoon said that Seoul would need international help for any prospect of unification with North Korea.

"Unification is a challenging task that we cannot accomplish alone. The international community must pool its strength in a responsible manner," he said.

Yoon's comments come after the North's leader Kim Jong Un in January called South Korea a "primary foe" and said unification was no longer possible.

Tensions have also increased on the Korean peninsula following intensifying military drills by the South Korean and U.S. militaries, sometimes involving Japan, in response to weapons testing by the North, which said it was readying for a "nuclear war" with its enemies.

South Korea's government would continue to provide support for North Korean defectors, Yoon said, accusing Pyongyang of "tyranny and human rights abuses."

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Leah Millis, Nathan Frandino and Rich McKay

CANADIAN, Texas (Reuters) -Fire crews in the Texas Panhandle on Friday were battling to get a tighter grip on the state's largest wildfire on record, hoping to capitalize on a lull in incessant wind gusts that have fanned an inferno that has devastated the cattle-ranching region.

The deadly wildfire, dubbed the Smokehouse Creek Fire, has scorched more than 1 million acres (404,685 hectares), according to the latest figures from the Texas A&M Forest Service, provided on Thursday.

"Terrible is not strong enough of a word," said Terrill Bartlett, owner of a family-run lumber company who serves as mayor of Canadian, Texas, the epicenter of the sprawling blaze. "The ground is just black in all directions."

Since Monday, the fire has spread eastward across the Panhandle, pushing across the state's border with Oklahoma. In its wake it has left at least two people dead, dozens of torched homes and hundreds of square miles of scorched grazing land.

While firefighters have gained a measure of control over the blaze, the danger has not passed, with the wind expected to pick up over the weekend, said Sean Dugan, a spokesperson for the Texas A&M Forest Service.

"We're looking at the next few hot, dry days that will be windy," he said. "Those heavy fuels will come back alive with dry and windy weather, kicking up embers and ... carry them over into unburned fuel."

Between 400 and 500 structures have been destroyed so far, based on a "premature assessment" that would likely change, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said at a news briefing on Friday.

"We face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend," Abbott said. "No one can let down their guard."

Earlier, Canadian's fire chief, Scott Brewster, said 109 homes were destroyed in the town and surrounding Hemphill County, as well as an unspecified number of other structures.

W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said at the briefing that it was difficult to assess full damages with the fire still smoldering.

Kidd did not update the number of acres burned and the level of containment achieved by fire crews, saying he did not want to give people false confidence.

Earlier on Friday, Texas A&M's Dugan said containment was conservatively estimated at 5%, up from 3% on Thursday.

SCENES OF DEVASTATION

The once-fertile grasslands around Canadian looked more like a war zone on Friday, with thousands of cattle corpses littering the charred fields, according to Wes Avent, who owns a local ranch supply store.

Avent turned his store into a makeshift station for distributing donated feed, fencing and other supplies to ranchers.

"Right now our biggest chore is to get feed to the cattle that survived," he said. "We've got to get feed and hay out to these guys as fast as we can."

A miles-long line of tractor trailers snaked along the highway into Canadian on Friday, waiting to deliver bales of cattle feed and other supplies to desperate ranchers.

The two people killed in the wildfire included a woman who succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, her family said on GoFundMe.com. She was rushed to a burn center in Oklahoma City after she was overcome with smoke and flames while driving her truck in Pampa, Texas, on Tuesday, local news reported.

An 83-year-old woman in Hutchinson County, northeast of Amarillo, was also killed in the fire, according to local media.

"As far as cattle, I don't think anyone knows yet," said Brewster, the fire chief. "I talked to one rancher and he said he lost 700 cattle. And that's just one guy. There's no telling what the tally will be, but it'll be up there."

Over the weekend, the weather forecast for the Texas Panhandle calls for no rain and winds of up to 45 miles (72 km) per hour, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

"These are ingredients for more fire," Oravec said. "The winds have no moisture content coming from the southwest. It dries out the stuff that burns."

According to the latest Texas A&M Forest Service numbers, the Smokehouse Creek Fire has now burned through 1.08 million acres (437,060 hectares), or nearly 1,700 square miles, an area larger than New York's Long Island. That replaced a 2006 fire that charred about 900,000 acres (364,220 hectares) as the most expansive in state history.

Several smaller wildfires were burning in other parts of the Panhandle. The next largest, the Windy Deuce fire, has burned 142,000 acres (57,470 hectares) and was 50% contained on Friday, according to Texas A&M.

(Reporting by Leah Millis in Canadian, Texas; Nathan Frandino in Borger, Texas; Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Frank McGurty and Jonathan Oatis)
By Fabian Cambero and Alexander Villegas

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Top executives of Chile's state-run Codelco, the largest copper producer in the world, expect the company's debt to continue increasing as it adjusts cost estimates to revamp key mines.

In a late-December interview with Reuters for a report on the delays plaguing expansion projects meant to deal with a historic drop in production, Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said the company's debt would probably increase above previously reported levels.

Chile mining consultancy CESCO said in an August report that Codelco's debt could reach $30 billion by the end of the decade, but an internal Codelco report seen by Reuters showed the company is expecting debt to reach $31.5 billion by 2027. These levels could increase as key projects face delays.

Codelco finished 2023 with $20.4 billion in debt, according to company documents. In January, Codelco issued an additional $2 billion in bonds, something CEO Ruben Alvarado said shows market confidence.

"It puts (us) at ease that the market keeps trusting in us, keeps trusting in our plans and our business," Alvarado told reporters during a visit to Codelco's Chuquicamata mine in early February.

Issuing more debt, Alvarado said, is something the company would keep evaluating "depending on results."

"Are we going to keep raising our debt? Probably yes," Pacheco said, adding that debt is solely being used to finance the major construction projects aimed at extending the lifespan of key Codelco mines.

Those projects have faced years of delays and cost overruns. One of them - a project to transform the open-pit Chuquicamata into an underground operation - recently filed for a permit to make an additional $720 million investment in infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Pacheco said Codelco is expecting to submit a revised cost estimate to the board of directors for its El Teniente expansion project in the first quarter of 2024.

"As a norm and as project discipline we bring projects back to the board of directors when they exceed 10% of their original design cost," Pacheco said, noting that the company's finances will improve as the projects come online.

He said that the projects reached 94% of their annual target of project advancement in 2023, the highest since they started nearly 15 years ago, signaling that recent efforts are "giving results."

Aside from ballooning debt, Codelco has faced a historic drop in production, reaching its lowest point in a quarter century in 2022. This has led credit agencies such as Moody's and Fitch to downgrade Codelco's credit status.

Codelco produced 1.325 million tons of copper in 2023, missing its planned target of 1.4 million tons.

Pacheco said production would start recovering in 2024 and added that the goal was to reach a production of 1.7 million tons by 2030.

"That production valley we fell into the last two years that cost around 300,000 tons of production has stabilized in a way and we're starting to see clear signs of production recovery," Pacheco said.

Alvarado said he expects production to reach 1.35 million tons in 2024 and said the company met its production goals in January. He added that 70% of the company's costs are fixed, but "there are always areas" to cut costs.

When asked about potential job cuts, something union workers have threatened to strike over, Alvarado said that's not "an objective in and of itself."

"We're always revising our structure," Alvarado said. "We talk about those issues whenever it is necessary."

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Alexander Villegas, Editing by Claudia Parsons and Rosalba O'Brien)
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reacts as he speaks during an interview following a visit in the Siemens Mobility factory, in Goole, in East Yorkshire, Britain February 26, 2024. Paul Ellis/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) -The British government's controversial plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda might end up costing more than 600 million pounds to deport 300 refugees, parliament's spending watchdog said on Friday.

Under the policy first announced in 2022, asylum seekers who arrive on England's southern coast in small, inflatable boats would be sent to Rwanda, but so far no one has been deported because of ongoing legal challenges.

Ultimately, the government envisages sending thousands of people to the East African nation although it is unclear what the capacity would be.

On top of the 220 million pounds Britain has already paid Rwanda, the government has agreed to pay an extra 150 million pounds over the next three years, and 120 million pounds once the first 300 asylum seekers have been resettled, the National Audit Office (NAO) said on Friday.

The British government will also have to pay Rwanda a further 150,874 pounds to cover costs for each individual resettled, the spending watchdog said in the most detailed financial assessment of the policy so far.

When other costs such as flights are taken into account, the policy would come to more than 600 million pounds ($760 million).

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the policy, which the government believes will deter migrants crossing the Channel, while the cost of housing those awaiting an asylum decision is running at about 8 million pounds a day.

"The current situation is unsustainable and unfair," Sunak told broadcasters, adding the Rwanda scheme was a "worthwhile investment".

The NAO said the government could activate a break clause that would take effect after three months, but previous payments to Rwanda would not be recoverable, and the government would have to honour future payments associated with relocated individuals.

The spending watchdog said the government had acknowledged it was a "high-risk and novel policy", and the final cost would depend on the number of individuals deported.

Last year, the UK's Supreme Court ruled the scheme was unlawful as it would violate British and international human rights laws because of inadequacies in the Rwandan system.

Despite the court's ruling and the mounting cost, Sunak has pledged to press on, and in an effort to block further legal challenges the government is pushing legislation through parliament to declare Rwanda a safe country.

Sunak has invested huge amounts of political capital in the policy and hopes if deportation flights leave before an election expected later this year, it will boost his Conservative Party which is trailing badly in opinion polls.

Many asylum seekers who arrive in Britain on the small boats say they are fleeing wars and abuse from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and most are 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. So far this year, 2,255 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain on small boats.

($1 = 0.7898 pounds)

(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and Michael Holden, additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Jan Harvey)
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Five countries are committed to providing personnel for an international police force to help Haiti battle gang violence, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

The world body received Benin's official confirmation on Wednesday of their intent to support the Multinational Security Support mission with 1,500 uniformed personnel, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

So far the United Nations has received notifications of intent from five countries. The remaining four are The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, and Chad.

Kenya was the first nation to express intent to aid the Haiti police force with 1,000 personnel to restore law and order in the Caribbean nation. But a Kenyan court blocked the action. The government is appealing the decision.

Dujarric said contributions totaling 10.8 million U.S. dollars are already in the Haiti Trust Fund to help finance the Security Council-authorized mission and 78 million dollars more has been pledged for the fund.

"We encourage member states to continue contributing to ensure the successful deployment of the mission," Dujarric said.

The Security Council adopted a resolution in October 2023 to authorize the multinational police force for Haiti. The resolution decides that the cost of implementing this temporary operation will be borne by voluntary contributions and support from individual member states and regional organizations.

Editor: WXL
FILE PHOTO: A boy sits atop a hill overlooking a refugee camp near the Chad-Sudan border, November 9, 2023. Hundreds of Masalit families from Sudan's West Darfur state were relocated here months after fleeing to the Chadian border town of Adre, following

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights chief on Friday said that the apparent deliberate denial of safe access for humanitarian agencies within war-torn Sudan could amount to a war crime.

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been fighting Sudan's army for control of the country since April last year in a war that has killed thousands, displaced millions of people inside and outside the country and sparked warnings of famine.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Sudan had become a "living nightmare."

"The apparently deliberate denial of safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian agencies within Sudan itself constitutes a serious violation of international law, and may amount to a war crime," he said.

"I call - again - on the warring parties to meet their legal obligations by opening humanitarian corridors without delay before more lives are lost."

Aid supplies have been looted and humanitarian workers attacked, while international agencies and NGOs have complained about bureaucratic obstacles to get into the army-controlled hub of Port Sudan to get humanitarian assistance into the country.

Millions of people in Sudan's Darfur region are at risk of dying of hunger after a decision by the Sudanese government to prohibit aid deliveries through Chad, an advocacy group for internally displaced people said on Tuesday.

The order effectively shuts down a crucial route for supplies to Darfur, which is controlled by RSF.

Half of Sudan's population - around 25 million people - need humanitarian assistance and protection, while millions of people have fled to the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan, according to the United Nations.

"With more than eight million forced to flee within Sudan and to neighbouring countries, this crisis is upending the country and profoundly threatening peace, security and humanitarian conditions throughout the entire region," Turk said.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Alex Richardson)
HAVANA (Reuters) -The United States honored a Cuban dissident who for decades has defied the communist-run government with her on-island advocacy of human rights, a move criticized as hypocritical by Havana.

Marta Beatriz Roque, 78, a former economics professor and outspoken critic of the Cuban government, was one of 12 recipients globally of the U.S. International Woman of Courage award, according to a U.S. State Department statement on Friday.

Roque was the only woman among 75 dissidents imprisoned in a 2003 crackdown on the opposition that drew international condemnation.

"Ms. Roque is one of the longest-standing members of the historic opposition fighting for greater freedoms in Cuba," said the U.S. statement on the award winners.

Roque has often been detained during her 35 years advocating for human rights and political reform on the island, she told Reuters in an interview in Havana before the award was announced. She said she served nearly five years in prison in two separate sentences.

Roque called her time in prison "horrible" but said her work had been necessary to raise awareness of a growing anti-government movement inside Cuba.

"(We) let the world know that we existed and that we were being repressed," she said, recalling a time when few people - even those inside Cuba - knew of her campaigning.

The U.S. decision to honor a Cuban dissident will do little to thaw the still frosty relationship between Cuba and the United States, which has seen scarce improvement since Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden took over from Republican Donald Trump in 2021.

Biden has criticized Cuba's heavy-handed response to widespread protests in July 2021, which led to hundreds jailed on crimes ranging from disorderly contact to sedition.

Cuba and the United States have long exchanged barbs around human rights, with Cuba accusing the U.S. of systemic racism in policing and criticizing it for its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and support of Israel in Gaza.

"The U.S. State Department releases awards for supposedly brave women, while arming and financing Israel's genocidal aggression against Palestinians, including women and children," Cuba foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said on social media on Wednesday.

Recipients were invited to a reception hosted by U.S. first lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the White House in Washington on March 4, but Roque did not attend, saying the Cuban government had forbidden her to travel to the United States.

"They won't let me leave," she said in the interview ahead of the awards ceremony. "The government of the United States knows I won't participate. "Sadly, I won't be with the other women there ... to represent Cuba."

Cuba has long accused Roque of receiving funding from the U.S. government, which she denies.

Since March 2007, the U.S. Department of State has recognized dozens of women with the "Woman of Courage" award.

Prior recipients include Brazilian prosecutor Simone Sibilio, who led the fight against organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, Bolor Ganbold, the first female general to serve in the Mongolian armed forces, and Alba Rueda, a transgender activist and politician from Argentina.

U.S. diplomats nominate candidates and the winners are chosen by the Secretary of State.

Roque said she was grateful for the recognition but said that change would only come from inside Cuba.

"We in Cuba must find liberty from within, without depending on the U.S. or another country to help us," she said.

(Reporting by Marc Frank and Dave Sherwood, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
FILE PHOTO: The company logo and trading information for BlackRock is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -U.S. investment firm BlackRock has reduced its stake in precious metals producer Polymetal International to 7.45% from 9.91%, the gold and silver miner said on Friday.

Polymetal last month said it had agreed to sell its Russian assets to a Siberian gold miner for about $3.7 billion, a deal forced at a knock-down price by repercussions from the conflict in Ukraine.

BlackRock said the trade was executed on the Astana International Exchange (AIX) in Kazakhstan which is now the primary listing for Polymetal International.

Polymetal's London-listed shares lost around 70% in a few days following Moscow's launch of what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

Polymetal in March 2022 disclosed that the U.S. asset manager's equity position had doubled between November 2019 and February 2022. On March 8, 2022, BlackRock's stake dropped back below the 10% threshold.

Trading in London was suspended and Polymetal subsequently moved its domicile to Kazakhstan from Jersey, delisted from the London Stock Exchange and relisted in Astana.

Polymetal said in January that Russian investment company ICT Holding had sold its 23.9% stake in the company to a consortium led by the Omani government.

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Jan Harvey and Franklin Paul)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, speaks during an interview with Reuters, at COP28 World Climate Summit, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 8, 2023. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya/File Photo

(Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday that he will meet later this month with the agriculture ministers of Canada and Mexico.

The meeting will likely take place in Colorado, Vilsack said at the Commodity Classic in Houston.

The U.S. and Mexico are in the midst of a trade dispute over a 2020 Mexican decree to ban consumption of genetically modified corn, which could affect the country's U.S. imports of the grain.

U.S. Chief Agriculture Negotiator Doug McKalip said in February that the dispute is expected to be resolved by the end of this year.

The U.S. lost a trade dispute with Canada last year over the country's restrictions on U.S. dairy import quotas.

Vilsack said that at the meeting, he will "continue to raise the concern we have in Mexico and their approach to biotechnology in terms of corn, and for me to also raise the need for Canada to continue to look for ways in which their dairy market can be more open to us."

(Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston, writing by Leah Douglas in Washington, editing by Deepa Babington and Diane Craft)
FILE PHOTO: An oilfield worker walks next to pipelines at PDVSA's Jose Antonio Anzoategui industrial complex in the state of Anzoategui April 15, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

By Marianna Parraga and Mircely Guanipa

(Reuters) - Venezuela's oil exports slightly increased in February to some 670,000 barrels per day (bpd), but ongoing shipping delaysworsened a bottleneck of tankers waiting to load, according to documents and vessel monitoring data.

State-run oil firm PDVSA's customers have rushed to send tankers to Venezuela in recent months to pick up crude and fuel before the United States potentially reimposes oil sanctions.

Restrictions could resume on April 18 when an existing license expires, the U.S. has said, with PDVSA struggling to deliver cargoes ahead of the deadline.

Deliveries last month to clients including U.S.-based Chevron and India's Reliance Industries increased from January, but weaker output and a lack of diluents to produce exportable grades prevented PDVSA from raising total exports, the data showed.

PDVSA and its joint ventures exported an average 671,140 bpd of crude and fuel, mainly to Asia, a 7.5% increase from January. Venezuela also shipped 197,000 metric tons of oil byproducts and petrochemicals, below the 286,000 tons in January.

Chevron's shipments of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. jumped to 184,000 bpd from 107,000 bpd the previous month. Venezuela's shipments to political ally Cuba remained around 34,000 bpd, while deliveries to other Caribbean islands slightly increased.

Insufficient inventories of flagship Merey 16 crude and a lack of imported diluents at Venezuela's main oil port, Jose, prevented PDVSA from further boosting exports to fulfill spot supply deals, internal company documents showed.

Some large tankers bound for Asia have left Venezuelan ports without loading in recent days after waiting for weeks, according to LSEG vessel monitoring data.

The Jose terminal has recovered from power outages and slow oil blending that affected loadings in January, the documents showed. Four out of five crude upgraders and blending stations were in service last month, which could lead to higher exports in March.

As of Feb. 29, at least 18 supertankers were waiting to load near Venezuela's Jose and Amuay ports, which handle most of PDVSA's exports, up from about a dozen at the end of November, according to the data.

Venezuela's fuel imports rose to 144,000 bpd from 122,000 bpd in January.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Mircely Guanipa in Maracay; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has directed officials to control trade unions as the country prepares to expand workers' rights, alongside closely monitoring foreign organisations and citizens travelling abroad, according to an advocacy group.

Bangkok-based Project88, which focuses on human rights in Vietnam, said in a report published on Friday it had obtained an internal directive issued by the Politburo of the party in July containing these orders.

Project 88 said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the document, but noted that parts of it were reported in state media.

The party has ordered measures that appear in contradiction with its commitments under international trade deals to increasing the protection of workers, according to Project88's translation of excerpts of the internal document.

Under the directive, officials are required to ensure the continued control of party cells and government management "at all levels" in the application of a U.N. convention on workers' rights that Vietnam is planning to ratify this year after a decade of talks with international partners.

The convention is meant to guarantee the free establishment of trade unions, but the internal directive requires officials to "prevent the establishment of labour organisations on the basis of ethnicity or religion", the group's translation of the document said.

The Vietnamese office of the International Labour Organization (ILO) did not reply to requests for comment.

Vietnam's foreign ministry, responsible for handling foreign media queries, also did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

In what appears as a crackdown on foreign aid, the directive urges officials to "closely manage international cooperation activities" and refuse funds for sensitive projects, according to Project88's translation.

Officials have also been instructed to prevent threats to national security from reforms that could facilitate foreign investors' acquisition of controlling stakes "in vital economic sectors."

Officials in the tightly controlled one-party state are also reminded in the directive that independent political organisations are not to be allowed in the country.

"Security conditions" are to be enhanced in industrial parks, residential areas, economic zones and "areas with a large concentration of workers," said a Project88 analysis that translated and quoted the internal document.

Vietnamese citizens travelling abroad for business or leisure must be closely monitored, according to the analysis.

The media should be increasingly used to tackle civil disobedience, fight "sabotage by hostile forces" and counter the promotion of "a hybrid foreign culture that does not conform to the customs and traditions of the nation," the group's translation of the directive said.

(Reporting by Reuters staff)
FILE PHOTO: Volkswagen's factory is seen in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil June 28, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto/File Photo/File Photo

By Christoph Steitz and Christina Amann

FRANKFURT/BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen forecast on Friday that sales growth would slow in 2024, joining competitors in warning of a weaker economic outlook, rising competition and higher costs.

Europe's top carmaker, whose brands include Audi, VW and Lamborghini, expects sales to grow by up to 5% in 2024, after a 15.5% increase last year to 322.3 billion euros ($349 billion).

That growth suggests 2024 sales of up to 338 billion euros, higher than the 316 billion analyst estimate compiled by LSEG.

Volkswagen's Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz sees a "muted economic outlook and intense competition" in 2024, although the carmaker remains confident for the year as a whole, pointing to new product launches.

The comments chime with rivals, including Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, which both struck a similar tone in results last month.

European carmakers have come under pressure from U.S. rival Tesla as well as Chinese competitors at a time when global momentum for electric vehicles is fading in the face of waning sales growth and declining government backing.

Volkswagen's shares turned negative and fell as much as 7.1% to their lowest level in more than four weeks after its annual results, which included a drop in the operating margin to 7.0% in 2023 from 7.9% the previous year.

They were down 4.6% at 1606 GMT, while shares in Porsche, which is majority-owned by Volkswagen, also reversed gains and were flat.

Volkswagen said it expects an operating margin of 7.0% to 7.5% in 2024 and proposed to increase the dividend for both its common and preferred shares by 0.30 euros to 9.00 euros and 9.06 euros apiece, respectively.

The automaker said its investment ratio is forecast to peak in 2024 at 13.5%-14.5%, driven by spending in its key market China, and would gradually fall in subsequent years to around 11% by 2027.

($1 = 0.9249 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Christina Amann; Editing by Rachel More, Elaine Hardcastle and Alexander Smith)
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen looks at Chile's Finance Minister Mario Marcel (not pictured) while they attend a press conference at the Finance Ministry building in Santiago, Chile, March 1, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

By Andrea Shalal

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday lauded work by Chile's central bank to boost gender diversity, but said women were still "woefully underrepresented" in senior management and in many economic sectors in the South American country.

Yellen, a trailblazer in the field of economics, met with Chilean central bank governor Rosanna Costa and over a dozen other top women leaders during her visit to Chile, and lauded the central bank's work to boost diversity and inclusion.

The first woman to head the U.S. Treasury, Yellen has held similar meetings with women entrepreneurs and economists in South Korea, China, Zambia, Mexico and Vietnam, hailing the benefits of boosting women's participation in the workforce.

Yellen, also the first woman to head the U.S. Federal Reserve, entered a large wood-paneled boardroom at the central bank to applause. Costa described Yellen as "a tremendous leaders and source of inspiration for women in our country and aboard" given her pioneering work in economics.

Yellen said she was in Chile to emphasize the importance of U.S.-Chile political and economic ties, highlighting a free trade agreement in place for 20 years and a recent tax treaty.

"Making the most of these opportunities requires a strong enabling environment for the private sector. And this in turn can be fueled by the full and equal participation of women in the economy," Yellen said.

She said there was more work to do to break down the legal, cultural and regulatory barriers preventing women from full participation, noting that governmental agencies and companies need to work actively to close gender gaps.

"The Central Bank of Chile has demonstrated this conviction by addressing the issues of diversity and gender equality head on," she said, applauding the bank's doubling of the percentage of women being hired into economic-related positions.

"I know that women in Chile are still woefully underrepresented in senior management and across many economic sectors," she said, recognizing work done by many in the room to change those trends through social, regulatory, political and organizational efforts.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Porter)
FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters before a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, October 5, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Emma Farge and Rachna Uppal

ABU DHABI (Reuters) -World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiators failed to break a deadlock on major reforms on Friday despite talks extending deep into overtime in Abu Dhabi, in what some delegates said was a triumph of national interest over collective responsibility.

Talks ended early on Saturday after five days of negotiations which failed to see breakthroughs on agriculture, fisheries and other key topics. However, a moratorium on imposing tariffs on e-commerce data transmissions was extended by two years, in a relief to businesses.

"On the big ticket items that are essential for the mandate that the WTO wants to sort out, the fisheries, the harmful subsidisation, that just did not happen, because there was not the spirit of give and take," a senior European official said.

On the fifth day of the ministerial meeting, most ministers had already gone home, although India's trade minister Piyush Goyal and European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis remained until the end.

BLAME GAME

Dombrovskis expressed disappointment over the lack of consensus on fisheries, agriculture and broader reforms, and singled out India for blame.

"Agreements were within reach, supported by an overwhelming majority of members, but ultimately blocked by a handful of countries  sometimes just one," he said in a statement.

Goyal, who was a holdout on these topics, was seen smiling and shaking hands outside a meeting room late on Friday as delegates gathered in small groups next to a coffee stand.

India insisted on a long promised permanent fix on public holdings of agriculture stocks which some developed countries opposed.

"We have not lost out on anything. I go back happy and satisfied," Goyal told reporters as talks started to wind down.

Delegates had described the talks as intense and contentious at times, but WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala sought to put a positive spin on a difficult week, telling a closing session: "We've worked hard this week, we have achieved some important things and we have not managed to complete others."

India, along with South Africa, had opposed extending a moratorium on digital trade tariffs - a move that has overwhelming support of most governments and from business - but later relented after an appeal from host United Arab Emirates.

WTO ministerial meetings have failed in the past and this year's negotiations, held in the oil-rich Gulf state the United Arab Emirates, has highlighted fissures between some of the world's top economies.

BRICS DISAGREEMENT

U.S. President Joe Biden's trade chief, Katherine Tai, said in an interview with Reuters late on Thursday that if talks failed, fragmentation among the BRICS group would have contributed.

India and China, core members of the BRICS group of nations, have disagreed on key issues including on investment. India's commerce minister joined the negotiations two days after they started and after his Chinese counterpart had left Abu Dhabi.

Pacific island nations have also complained at the talks about feeling marginalized and overlooked by most major powers, arguing that proposals did not go far enough to protect fish stocks.

But Fiji's delegate earned a standing ovation at the end of the closing ceremony after urging countries to support future negotiations on fisheries.

U.S. support for global trade and multilateral groups like the WTO has been renewed under Biden. But negotiators were mindful that former President Donald Trump, who disrupted the multilateral system, could win a second term in the U.S. presidential election in November.

John Denton, who heads the International Chamber of Commerce, warned that the weak outcomes from the meeting should "serve as a wake-up call on the need for a more nuanced and constructive debate on the role of trade in society  both locally and globally. No country stands to gain from a weakened multilateral trading system."

Earlier in the week, even the formal acceptance of completed negotiations on improving investment was blocked at an organization where all 164 members must agree by consensus.

A consensus on major deals would have elevated the UAE's status as a global interlocutor, as it seeks to place a bigger emphasis on multilateralism and dialogue, a turnaround from the assertive foreign policy it was pursuing a decade ago.

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Rachna Uppal, writing by Alexander Cornwell, Emma Farge and David Lawder; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Kim Coghill, Angus MacSwan, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Deepa Babington and Himani Sarkar)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference to highlight her key priorities for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Carla Carniel/File Photo

By Andrea Shalal

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The United States and its allies will keep seeking options to tap $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said after days of rancorous talks failed to seal a deal to aid Ukraine's war effort.

Yellen told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that any action would need an airtight legal rationale, which emerged as a sticking point in negotiations this week on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of 20 (G20) finance ministers hosted by Brazil.

Yellen said she challenged French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire to help develop the options sought by Group of Seven (G7) leaders in time for their June summit after Le Maire publicly rejected her view that there is a legal case for monetizing the assets.

G7 officials have struggled for a year over what to do with Russian sovereign assets to help Ukraine, which Moscow invaded two years ago. The debate spilled into the public during this week's G20 meeting, revealing deep divisions among G7 allies.

Russia has threatened major retaliation if the West seizes its assets. Some European countries fear doing so could set dangerous precedents and undermine faith in Western currencies, although Yellen has called a massive shift out of those currencies "highly unlikely."

In the interview she said that while some Europeans were skeptical about asset seizure, there were options such as using the assets as collateral for loans and a new proposal to issue a syndicated loan, which she described as an "interesting option."

"There are complicated legal issues here. We agree that whatever we do has to have a firm international legal rationale, as well as domestic rationale," Yellen said.

"Were going to continue to work. (Le Maire's) staff are working with ours. We urged him to help us come up with options, options that we can present to the leaders."

OPTIONS FOR G7 LEADERS

Yellen said G7 leaders had asked their staffs "to come up with as many viable options as we can, and to analyze both the benefits and costs associated with them."

The decision on "what to do  the go-no-go  is up to them," she said, adding that it was unclear if the leaders would reach such a decision at their summit in Italy in June.

Yellen said it was critical not to jeopardize the work of Belgian clearing house Euroclear, which holds most of the Russian assets. "Euroclear is an infinitely important financial utility, and we must be exceptionally careful not to do anything that endangers its functioning, she said.

The U.S. Treasury secretary said she remained convinced that "countermeasures" legal theory offered a strong case for unlocking the value of the Russian assets, a view shared by many prominent experts. Under international law, countermeasures provide a lawful means for states to respond to violations of their rights.

All the G7 governments agree on the urgent need to move forward to help Ukraine, which has faced military setbacks from Russia, a Western official said.

Le Maire argued for a more modest approach, centered on the European Union's moves to use windfall profits from the frozen assets to generate revenues for Ukraine.

Washington supports the windfall tax idea but wants to see whether more significant action is justified, given what it calls the egregious nature of Russia's invasion.

The issue has grown in importance since $61 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine has been blocked by the Republican-led House of Representatives.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by William Mallard)
A man works at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.(Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony that took place on Thursday, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime said the new e-commerce facility aims to streamline operations and inventory management before goods are dispatched to customers.

"Today's inauguration marks the unveiling of a model facility, poised to set a standard for the private sector to emulate. This infrastructure is pivotal in simplifying logistics, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency, ultimately elevating logistics performance," Sime said.

Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Airlines Mesfin Tasew, on the occasion, said the launch of the "modern e-commerce facility," after two years of construction, reaffirms the airline's unwavering dedication to catch up with emerging innovations and technologies and enhance its service delivery.

"It (the facility) is probably the first of its kind in Africa, and this move by Ethiopian Airlines sets up the e-commerce industry on the continent and follows the global trend," said Tasew, indicating that the airlines invested 55 million U.S. dollars to make the facility a reality.

Noting that e-commerce has come out to be a driving force shaping the way business operates and consumers interact, Tasew said the new facility will revolutionize the way the airline connects and conducts business and open up new avenues of opportunities.

The CEO said the Ethiopian Airlines has established a strategic partnership not only with Chinese construction companies but also with Chinese technology companies specializing in e-commerce such as Alibaba to make its dream a reality.

"When it comes to operation, we work very closely with Chinese e-commerce companies. We transport e-commerce goods from China to other parts of the world under the strategic agreement with them. Now, we can bring the goods from these companies to Addis Ababa. We sort and re-aggregate the goods here and transport them to other African destinations," Tasew told Xinhua. 

A worker operates the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Workers transfer goods outside the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

A man works at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Editor: JYZ
MADRID (Reuters) -Zara owner Inditex said on Friday it planned to gradually reopen stores in Ukraine from April 1, citing "local market circumstances" for the decision.

The world's largest listed fast-fashion company by sales said it planned in a first phase to reopen 20 stores in Ukraine, three of them under the Zara brand and resume online sales. The first stores will be around the Kyiv region.

"The group's priority continues to be the safety of its employees and customers," the company said in a statement, confirming an earlier report from the Financial Times.

Inditex closed its stores in Russia and Ukraine in March 2022 following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 and subsequent Western sanctions.

The group had 72 stores open in Ukraine and 558 in Russia in 2019, according to its annual report.

The fashion giant agreed to sell its stores in Russia to UAE-based Daher Group later in 2022, though it did not rule out returning to the country if circumstances changed.

In Ukraine, Inditex aims to reopen 50 stores in the coming months, the company added without specifying how long the process would take.

One of Inditex rivals, the Swedish fashion retailer H&M, started reopening its stores in Ukraine in November last year and now has seven stores open in Kyiv and Lviv.

As of November 2021, the H&M group had eight stores in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Corina Pons and Inti Landauro; Additional reporting by Helen Reid in London; Editing by Aislinn Laing, Tomasz Janowski, Charlie Devereux and Alison Williams)
Soldiers with the Armys 4th Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade demonstrate ice sheeting to rapidly cool a service member experiencing a suspected heat injury during the Army Heat Forum at Fort Moore, Ga., on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. ((Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes))

FORT MOORE, Ga.  A small device that soldiers can wear under their uniforms during intense physical activity could be the answer to the militarys decadeslong quest to eliminate severe heat injuries from its ranks, according to Army researchers.

The Heat Injury Prevention System, or HIPS, is a waterproof and wireless device that straps to a soldiers chest, much like commercially available heart rate monitors some fitness enthusiasts use while exercising, said Mark Buller, a research physiologist with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine.

But HIPS does more than monitor heart rate  measuring other critical data including skin temperature, estimated core body temperature and the wearers movement patterns to predict whether the person is at an elevated risk for a heat injury, Buller said Wednesday during the Armys annual heat forum at Fort Moore.

We can predict 25 out of 30 heat cases, including heat strokes using HIPS, he said. That gives leaders a new ability to adjust training on the fly if they see their troops are overheating or to stop one trainee from completing an exercise before he or she becomes ill, according to Buller.

Wearables such as HIPS will likely prove to be lifesavers, said Lt. Col. Dave DeGroot, who leads the Army Heat Center, a Fort Moore institution that researches heat, its impact on troops and examines how to prevent serious injury such as heatstroke.

While HIPS remains under development, DeGroot believes it is ready for large-scale adoption in the Army.

As the world grows hotter, DeGroot said the Army needs as many tools as possible to train soldiers safely in the heat  especially at initial entry training locations such as Fort Moore, where most of the Defense Departments heat injuries occur among new trainees unaccustomed to military operations.

The bottom line is heatstroke is 100% preventable, DeGroot said. Mild [heat injuries] are going to occur. If they dont, I would question the quality of the training, but heat stroke doesnt have to happen. That is our goal. And were trying to provide all the tools that can help us get there.

Heat forum

DeGroot has run the Heat Center since it was founded in 2018  making it his lifes work to reduce heat injuries in the Army and work toward eliminating heatstroke injuries. Each year, he hosts the Army heat forum to bring experts together to provide Army commanders and officials with the latest heat injury prevention and response information.

Fort Moore  located in hot, swampy southwest Georgia  has long seen the highest heat injury rates among all Defense Department installations worldwide. The post accounted for some 16.7% of U.S. military heat injuries from 2018 to 2022, with about 2,075. But its rates fell in each of those years, at least in part because Fort Moore leaders bought into heat injury prevention efforts, including conducting the most strenuous training during the coolest parts of days and use of a preventative method called arm immersion cooling to reduce soldiers core body temperatures while operating in the field.

Basic trainees with E-Troop, 5th Squadron, 15th Cavalry Regiment, 194th Armored Brigade participate in the Thunder Run on June 29, 2023, at Fort Moore, Ga. The Thunder Run requires Armor recruits on their first day of training to work under time pressure to find the fastest, most efficient way to move an assortment of equipment by carrying it at a run along a quarter-mile track, handing off to teammates at four points along the way, then setting the items down at the end in the same way they were arranged. (Patrick A. Albright/U.S. Army)

After those years of steady decline, however, Fort Moore saw its heatstroke rate shoot up last year amid the hottest summer in recorded history. Heatstroke is the most serious form of heat injury in which a victim typically experiences a core body temperature above 104 degrees and can lead to organ damage, seizures and death, according to the Army.

DeGroot said Fort Moore had 55 heat strokes in 2023, up from the installations all-time low of 35 in 2022. More than 20 of the heat strokes occurred just in July, he said.

While the higher temperatures were certainly a factor in more heat strokes last year, DeGroot said they do not alone explain the increase.

Officials at Fort Moore speak with every heat injury victim at the installation to study the issue and help leaders avoid more injuries. Leaders at the installation have adopted several changes in recent years to help curb heatstroke incidents.

Soldiers in initial entrance training conduct arm immersion cooling  dunking their arms in ice water to lower body temperature by one degree  at breaks during training on warm days. They also practice ice sheeting before training events, which is the practice of placing frozen bed sheets on a victim who is already suffering a heat injury to cool them as quickly as possible in the field. At Fort Moore, drill sergeants are trained to ice sheet anyone suspected of suffering even a minor heat injury.

Col. Ryan Wylie, the chief of staff of Fort Moores Maneuver Center of Excellence, said leaders overseeing the centers training for recruits, officers and the airborne and Ranger schools have been empowered to make decisions to avoid heat injuries. He urged leaders to look carefully at weather conditions especially during major training events such as ruck marches with heavy loads, long runs or daytime land navigation courses, which see the most heat injuries at Fort Moore. Each year, more than 100,000 soldiers train in Fort Moores basic training and initial training for infantry and armor soldiers. Thousands of additional soldiers serve temporary assignments at the installation to train in dozens of other courses, including Ranger School, Airborne School and the Sniper Course.

Weve got to be able to evaluate risk in the middle of an event and make a decision to stop, said Wylie, who previously commanded a training brigade at Fort Moore. Ive seen that in a couple of different cases where we have an event [such as]  a 10-mile foot march, where units have seen a significant number of heat injuries and decide to continue to train.

Instead, Wylie said, it would be great decision-making to shut down the event until conditions are better to avoid heat injuries.

Competitors race toward the finish line of a ruck march during the MSNG Best Warrior Competition at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Miss., on March 22, 2023. (Shawn Keeton/U.S. Army National Guard)

HIPS

DeGroot said a system such as HIPS could help leaders make such decisions in real time before losing several soldiers to heat injuries.

With HIPS, the chest-strapped sensor sends a wireless signal to a phone monitored by a leader, such as a drill sergeant. The phone can display the sensors readings of dozens of troops at once  showing each service member in green if theyre unimpacted by heat, in yellow if they are at a heightened risk, and in red if they appear to be experiencing a heat incident.

Buller, the research physiologist, said the device is best used for high-risk events, such as the long marches with heavy packs and timed runs that basic trainees must complete to become soldiers. While he has worked with other wearable devices, including smart watches, Buller said only the HIPS has proven itself accurate enough and rugged enough to withstand military training.

Since 2018, Buller and other researchers have captured data from more than 14,000 Army and Marine trainees using HIPS primarily at Fort Moore and at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C., he said.

Researchers tested HIPS at Parris Island in the summer as Marine recruits completed the final recruit training exercise known as The Crucible. Buller said the Marines saw a reduction in heat strokes in summer Crucibles while recruits wore HIPS last year compared to previous years. Only one recruit experienced a heat stroke in 2023, compared with six in 2021 and three in 2022.

The Marines Training and Education Command has ordered HIPS to become a regular part of its training, Buller said.

DeGroot urged senior Army leaders to make the same decision.

This has great potential, he said. If we can get unit-level leaders this access to real-time data, they suddenly dont have to worry about all these other factors, they have the ability for heat illness mitigation right there. Thats something potentially great.
U.S. Marine Cpl. Tedrose Teshager maintains an M142 HIMARS in Setermoen, Norway, Feb. 27, 2024, in preparation for exercise Nordic Response. The American presence in the exercise in Norway, Sweden and Finland will consist of about 2,500 Marines. (Joshua Kumakaw/U.S. Marine Corps)

STUTTGART, Germany  Thousands of U.S. Marines and other allied forces are taking up positions in the High North, where major war games are set to begin amid the imminent addition of Sweden as NATOs 32nd member state.

Some 20,000 troops are taking part in Nordic Response, which will start Sunday and pull together ground forces, warships and fighter planes to rehearse collective battle against a potential Russian attack.

The Marine Corps II Marine Expeditionary Force will serve as the land component headquarters for Nordic Response, operating out of Bardufoss Air Station in Norway.

Nothing is easy when youre operating in several feet of snow, at negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit, surrounded by 5,000-foot mountain peaks, Lt. Gen. David Ottignon, IIMEFs commander, said in a statement Wednesday.

A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules comes in for a landing in Andenes, Norway, Feb. 25, 2024. A group of about 2,500 U.S. Marines will be among the roughly 20,000 allied troops taking part in exercise Nordic Response, which begins Sunday. (Duncan Stoner/U.S. Marine Corps) U.S. troops from II Marine Expeditionary Force disembark in Bardufoss, Norway, Feb. 12, 2024, to take part in the NATO exercise Nordic Response. (Jon Holmes/U.S. Marine Corps)

About 2,500 Marines will take part in the exercise, and Marine fighter squadrons will fly the fifth-generation F-35B Lightning II aircraft and F/A-18 Hornets. The goal is to strengthen coordination across air, ground and maritime domains, the Marines said.

The Arctic is a fluid, strategic place, Ottignon said. Its important for our allies to know that were here today and well be here when needed to respond swiftly to any threat.

The two-week exercise in Norway, Finland and Sweden falls under the banner of NATOs Steadfast Defender, the alliances largest exercise in decades.

For NATO, adding Finland last year and soon-to-be member Sweden brings militaries with experience operating in the Arctic, where melting sea ice brings the prospect of new shipping lanes and greater access to undersea natural resources.

On Monday, Sweden cleared a final hurdle toward membership when Hungarys parliament approved its accession. Swedens membership will be made official in the coming days once its flag is raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The situation also points to more competition with Russia, which has staked out ambitious territorial claims on the Arctic Ocean seabed. Over the past several years, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have sought to increase operations in the Arctic.

We need to be able to fight back and stop anyone who tries to challenge our borders, values and democracy, Brig. Gen. Tron Strand, commander of the Norwegian air operations center, said in a statement Wednesday. With the current security situation in Europe, the exercise is extremely relevant and more important than ever before.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States in an illegal border crossing in September 2022, is the suspect charged in the kidnapping and murder of Laken Riley, who had been a nursing student at the University of Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriffs Office)

(Tribune News Service)  Before being charged with kidnapping and brutally killing a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus, Jose Antonio Ibarra was part of an unprecedented surge of unlawful Venezuelan border crossings into the U.S.

In September 2022, the 26-year-old migrant was among the nearly 34,000 Venezuelan nationals who entered Border Patrol custody after illegally crossing the southern border that month, then a record, according to federal data.

Around that time, the number of migrants apprehended and then released was overwhelming border communities. Big cities in Democrat-run states were also feeling the brunt of the influx, as Texas authorities began providing newcomers free transportation to places like New York City and Chicago.

Some destitute migrants from Venezuela also wound up making their way to Atlanta, influenced by rumors that work here was plentiful. In late August, staff of the Latin American Association (LAA) came across a group of recently-arrived Venezuelan nationals sleeping outside their Brookhaven headquarters. The nonprofit was able to give dozens of migrants temporary accommodation at area hotels. Its not clear how many Venezuelan migrants settled in Atlanta or Georgia in recent years.

In the months that followed, Venezuelan migration to the U.S. continued to produce jaw-dropping numbers. Both in September and December 2023, roughly 50,000 Venezuelans unlawfully crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, the two highest months on record. In fiscal year 2023, roughly 1 in 10 migrants apprehended at the southern border was Venezuelan.

The scale of the influx reflects the deeply troubled nature of the once-wealthy Latin American countrys recent history. Since the 2010s, more than 7.7 million people have fled Venezuela to escape its authoritarian regime and economic crises  the largest displacement crisis ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Most Venezuelan migrants settled in countries close to home, but began coming to the U.S. in large numbers after the pandemic upended economic conditions across the region.

For U.S. immigration officials, deporting the Venezuelan migrants encountered at the border has been difficult. Given the lack of diplomatic relations between Washington D.C. and Caracas, Venezuelan authorities have not accepted official U.S. deportations for years. In the fall of 2022, the Biden administration convinced Mexico to take back some migrants from Venezuela who were expelled by the U.S. for crossing the border without authorization, but those numbers have been limited.

To dissuade Venezuelans from attempting to illegally enter, the federal government has rolled out innovative strategies for that group of migrants to come legally instead. In Oct. 2022, the Biden administration unveiled a humanitarian parole program that has allowed Venezuelans to fly into the country if they have U.S. sponsors to support them. Months later, that program was expanded to include migrants from Haiti, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

Starting in early 2023, the administration also created a smartphone app-based avenue for migrants to secure appointments to be processed legally at official ports of entry. These policies led to reductions in the number of Venezuelans apprehended by Border Patrol, but theyve proven to be only temporary.

Venezuelan migrants who arrived around the same time as Ibarra got a big break in the fall of 2023, when the Biden administration made them eligible for a type of deportation relief known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Its designed to aid migrant populations who cant safely return to their home countries because of dangerous conditions ranging from armed conflicts to natural disasters. Among the benefits of TPS is immediate eligibility for work authorization  something that other groups of vulnerable migrants typically have to wait months to obtain.

Immigrants try to pass over razor wire after crossing the border into El Paso, Texas from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Those who managed to get through the wire were then allowed to proceed for further processing by U.S. Border Patrol agents. (John Moore/Getty Images/TNS)

Leaders of cities with high concentrations of Venezuelan migrants had pushed federal authorities to create a new TPS designation because they believed access to work permits would make newcomers self-sufficient. Republican critics worried the new status would spur more Venezuelans to try to come, even though eligibility was limited to Venezuelan nationals who arrived to the country before July 31, 2023.

At the moment, foreign nationals from places like Afghanistan, Cameroon, Haiti, El Salvador, Somalia, Honduras, Sudan and more are benefiting from the same TPS protections. Although individual countries TPS designations are meant to be temporary, federal officials can extend them indefinitely. For instance, hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans have been allowed to live in the U.S. since a series of earthquakes devastated the Central American nation back in 2001.

It is unclear whether Ibarra had received or even applied for TPS before being charged. Anyone with a criminal conviction in the U.S. is ineligible.

Members of the Venezuelan community in Georgia worry that the uproar over Laken Rileys killing could lead for more restrictions for Venezuelans looking to enter the country.

Anyone who comes here to do bad things, what they are doing is closing the doors to lots of people who also want to come over, and try to find new opportunities for a better life here, said Jose Ramos, a Venezuelan migrant who arrived in metro Atlanta in August 2022.

The disturbing act of violence on UGAs campus is expected to reverberate through much of the 2024 election cycle, as immigration continues to rank among the issues most salient to voters.

On Thursday, both President Biden and former President Donald Trump  who moved to restrict the size of the TPS program while in office  will hold dueling events on the Texas border.

2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Visit at ajc.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
People flee gang violence in the Petion-Ville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Jan. 30, 2024. (Richard Pierrin/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  Gang attacks near Haitis international and domestic airports in the capital left a police officer wounded and jetliners shot up on the tarmac Thursday, prompting two U.S.-based airlines to cancel flights out of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

The violence, which also targeted police facilities and an auto dealership housing the Jamaican consulate, started early in the morning with an armed gang knocking down the perimeter wall of the Haiti National Police Academy not far from the U.S. embassy in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. By mid-morning, the attacks had spread and shots were fired just north of the airports.

At least one person, a Haiti National Police officer, was shot during an exchange of gunfire between gang members and police trying to quell the violence. The officer was taken to the hospital, an airport employee told the Miami Herald.

At the time of the shooting, a New York-bound JetBlue Airways flight was preparing to take off from Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Though the airliner managed to depart unscathed, both Spirit Airlines and American Airlines canceled their flights out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airports into Port-au-Prince.

American suspended daily service between MIA and Port-au-Prince as a result of civil unrest, spokeswoman Laura Masvidal told the Miami Herald. We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed.

Spirit Airlines did not respond to the Heralds request for comment. A carrier based in Haiti, Sunrise Airways, confirmed that it too had canceled flights after some of our airplanes were hit by stray bullets, spokeswoman Stephanie Armand said in an email.

One of those planes was a Havana-bound Sunrise Airways Airbus 320, which was hit while parked at the international terminal. A video showed a worker inspecting the damage on the belly near the jets tail.

Following exchanges of fire which took place today near the Rita crossroads, endangering users of the Guy Malary terminal and causing damage to some aircraft, Sunrise Airways has decided to suspend all flights until further notice, to ensure the safety of passengers, ground crews, and aircraft, Sunrise Airways said in a statement.

A bullet also pierced a window and a chair at the Guy Malary domestic airport, leading to flights being held back until the shooting stopped. Both domestic flights and U.N. helicopter flights take off from that airport.

The Sun Auto Car Dealership, where the Jamaican consulate is located east of the capital, in an area controlled by gang leader Vitelhomme Innocent, was also hit. Last June, an attack on the dealership forced the Jamaican government to suspend consular services in Haiti. The amount of damage this time remains unknown because police still not get to the facility Thursday afternoon. The gangs also attacked a police substation at Portal Leogane, at the southern edge of the capital, where several vehicles were torched.

A Haiti National Police spokesman did not respond to a Herald request for comment and the police commissioner in charge of the airport could not be reached for comment.

The armed attacks sent airport workers, school children and others running to safety. The assaults coincided with the 20th anniversary of the bloody Feb. 29, 2004, coup that forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power, which ushered in a United Nations peacekeeping mission to stabilize the country.

Gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, a former cop who has been sanctioned by the U.N. and the U.S., claimed responsibility for the attacks in a video posted online. Cherizier, nicknamed Barbecue, said the assaults were meant to seek out government ministers and Haiti National Police Chief Frantz Elbe and to keep Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is on a trip to Kenya, from returning to the country.

Find (Elbe) where he is and tie him up with all of the ministers and send them to Ariel Henry so that Ariel Henry cant reenter the country, Cherizier said. This population needs to be freed. With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country.

The violence erupted as Henry arrived in Nairobi for a state visit and hours after Caribbean Community leaders announced late Wednesday that the prime minister had committed to holding elections no later than Aug. 31, 2025. Henry reportedly made the commitment after engaging for hours in discussions with leaders of the 15-member regional bloc and representatives of the U.S., Canada, France, the U.N. and United Kingdom about the ongoing political stalemate in Haiti. The announcement by the Caribbean Community, known as CARICOM, immediately led to worries that Haiti may be headed into a new crisis.

The U.N. Security Council and several nations have been calling on Haitis leaders to reach a broad political agreement leading to elections. But Henry and his detractors have not been able to agree on a power-sharing arrangement that could end the political stalemate that has also fueled the surge in armed gang violence.

Earlier in February, after Henry failed to keep another promised deadline  to step down from office on Feb. 7, 2024  thousands of Haitians took to the streets calling for his departure from office. The date was contingent on Haiti being safe enough to hold general elections.

In October, the U.N. Security Council approved the deployment of an armed Multinational Security Support mission led by Kenya to help the Haiti National Police defeat the gangs. But the mission has been stalled by legal hurdles in Kenya after the Nairobi High Court blocked President William Ruto from deploying 1,000 of his police officers to the Caribbean nation to help combat gangs. During his visit to Nairobi, Henry is hoping to address some of the legal hurdles but its still uncertain if and when the mission will be able to move ahead.

On Thursday, the U.N. said that it had received an official announcement from the West African nation of Benin intends to contribute personnel to the multinational mission. Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the. U.N has now received notifications from The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad of their commitments to provide security forces to the armed mission.

A U.N. trust fund set up to pay for the mission has received $78 million in pledges.

2024 Miami Herald.

Visit at miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
The Port of Guam is the U.S. territory's only deepwater port and receives about 90 percent of the island's imports. (Sara Muir/U.S. Coast Guard)

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero emphasized the islands growing role in Indo-Pacific defense recently as she lobbied in Washington, D.C., for a share of federal money to replace aging cranes at Guams port.

President Joe Biden under an executive order Feb. 21 announced plans to improve cybersecurity at U.S. ports, citing threats to systems that provide ship navigation and cargo tracking. The administration had already apportioned $20 billion alone to upgrade port infrastructure over five years.

The infrastructure initiative targets port cranes manufactured in China for replacement, also due to cybersecurity concerns. Among other measures, the initiative makes funds available to replace Chinese-made cranes in use at U.S. ports with U.S.-built cranes, according to a White House press release Feb. 21.

Securing these cranes is imperative for our national security, Guerrero said in a Feb. 23 news release from spokeswoman Krystal Paco-San Agustin. With the Biden Administrations heightened concerns, securing funding aligned with U.S. security policies to prevent reliance on China-manufactured equipment is crucial.

The Port of Guam employs three used gantry cranes more than 40 years old that must be replaced in a few years, Rory J. Respicio, Port Authority of Guam general manager, told Stars and Stripes by email Wednesday.

The cranes were made in Japan by Hitachi in the mid-1980s and relocated to Guam from the Port of Los Angeles, according to documents on the Port of Guam website.

However, components of the cranes, specifically the head blocks and wheel brakes, were made in China and installed during a 2008 refurbishment, Respicio said. The cranes came to Guam in 2012.

Ship-to-shore, or STS, gantry cranes are familiar sights that tower along the docks at commercial ports, where theyre used to load and unload intermodal containers.

The Port of Guam has applied for federal grants and loans and written the specifications for the replacement cranes it needs, Respicio said.

Guerrero used the military buildup on Guam  among them the creation of a new Marine Corps base, bolstering the Coast Guard presence and plans for a ring of air defense missile sites  to make the territorys case for funding new cranes, according to the Feb. 23 release.

The Port Authority of Guam is at a pivotal moment, with the acquisition of three new STS gantry cranes critical for sustaining its commercial and military operations, the release said.

Three cranes can meet the forecasted demand for the Department of Defense buildup, Respicio said.

But if just one of those cranes goes out of service prior to replacement, it will delay the military buildup by four years and if two of those old cranes go out of service, the Port would not be able to meet commercial demand or the DOD mission, he said.

In January, the Gantry 6 crane was out of service for nearly two days for repairs, according to Guams Pacific Daily News.

We are pursuing every opportunity for the Department of Defense and the Department of Transportation Maritime Administration to become major benefactors in the Ports acquisition of new cranes, as well as the replacement of yard equipment, and the rehabilitation of wharves and aging facilities, Respicio said.
Sakura bloom at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo, March 24, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

TOKYO  Cherry blossoms, or sakura, in Japan will begin to flower in mid-March at the earliest, according to recent forecasts by commercial meteorologists.

The Somei-Yoshino, a hybrid variant and one of the most widely planted cherry trees across Japan, should start blooming a few days earlier or about the same time as they do every year throughout the country, according to a forecast Thursday from the Japan Meteorological Corp.

The trees will begin blooming first around March 18 in Kochi city in western Japan, four days earlier than an average year, according to the forecast.

Trees in Nagoya city in central Japan will follow around March 19, five days ahead of average, and in Gifu city six days earlier, according to Japan Meteorological Corp.

Development of flower buds were believed to have been delayed compared to an average year throughout Japan this season, the company states on its website.

But the growth speed of buds is faster since the temperature is expected to be higher than an average year after the buds awaken (from dormancy), and they are expected to bloom at the same time or earlier than an average year, it said.

People enjoy the blooming sakura at Chidorigafuchi Park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in March 2022. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

Cherry trees are expected to bloom in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima around March 22, in Fukuoka city around March 21 and Aomori city around April 17, according to the forecast.

Blooms are expected to peak in Tokyo around March 29, in Fukuoka around March 30, in Kyoto around March 31, in Hiroshima around April 1 and in Aomori around April 22, it stated.

Sakura last only a few weeks and people in Japan take the opportunity for hanami, or blossom viewing, to celebrate spring and admire the flowers. They will gather in cherry tree groves in public parks and along river walks throughout the country to picnic beneath the blossoms.

Other forecast companies also predicted a potentially early sakura.

Weathernews Inc. on Wednesday predicted the blooms would occur in Tokyo around March 18, followed by Fukuoka and Yokohama around March 20. It forecasted a peak bloom two to five weeks after the first flowers appear.

Japan Weather Association on Thursday predicted the flowers will appear earliest in Tokyo, Nagoya, Gifu and Kochi on March 21.

In 2010, the official Japan Meteorological Agency stopped forecasting cherry blossom dates, which it had forecast since 1955, after private companies began putting out forecasts.
A dragon dance performed amid fireworks is held in Taijiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province, on Feb 24, 2024. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A dragon dance performed amid fireworks was held in Taijiang county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province, on Saturday. More than 100 "dragons" from various villages gathered in the county, launching the "Dance with the Dragons" parade and the "Hundred Dragons Race" competition.

People from the Miao ethnic group use this unique method to celebrate the Lantern Festival, praying for a good harvest and fortune in the upcoming year.

The custom is known as "the craziest Dragon Dance Festival in the world" and "Game of the Brave".

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Editor: JYZ
A Long March-2F carrier rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-17 spacecraft and a crew of three astronauts, lifts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert, in northwest China on Oct. 26, 2023. (Pedro Pardo, AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

WASHINGTON  China is growing its military capabilities in space at a breathtaking pace to counter the American satellites in orbit and improve its ability to monitor and target forces on Earth, according to the head of the U.S. Space Command.

Americas top strategic challenger is seeking to develop advanced space weaponry and making advances in satellite meteorology, human spaceflight and robotic space exploration, General Stephen Whiting said during a hearing Thursday of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Whitings warnings, delivered during a hearing on future military budgeting priorities, highlight Washingtons focus on China as its biggest economic and security threat, a geopolitical competition that ramped up under former President Donald Trump and has been sustained by Joe Bidens administration.

Chinas satellite fleet has more than tripled since 2018 to 359 systems, Whiting said in his prepared remarks, adding that some of its newly deployed satellites may be able to function as weapons that can disrupt the orbit of U.S. assets. Beijing is also developing hypersonic glide vehicles other advanced space weaponry to overcome traditional missile warning and defense systems, he said.

China is growing its military space and counterspace capabilities at breathtaking pace to deny American and allied space capabilities when they so choose, he said.

Most concerning about Chinas accelerated emphasis on space weapons, Whiting said, is the way China has clinically studied us and our dependency on space and is rapidly building programs to threaten the U.S. satellite architecture.

Chinas Defense Ministry hit back at the comments, with spokesman Zhang Xiaogang saying at a regular press briefing in Beijing that the U.S. side is using so-called threats from other nations as an excuse to expand its own military power.

We urge the U.S. to stop disseminating false information and stop the arms race in the space, he said.

Chinas intentions are often obscured through so-called dual-use technologies, academic programs with ambiguous research tracks and commercial endeavors that can also enhance military capabilities, Whiting said.

Whiting also focused on Russia, saying the loss of conventional military offensive capabilities because of the war in Ukraine will be hard to restore and force Moscow to be more reliant on nuclear, cyber, and space capabilities, including disruptive technologies that may provide asymmetric pathways to achieve their strategic goals.

China earlier this week unveiled plans for a major increase in the expected pace of its space missions this year, setting the country on course to be the worlds second-most active launcher, behind only Elon Musks SpaceX.

A record 100 Chinese missions are expected in 2024, state media reported recently, up more than 40% from last year.

State-run China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., its top space contractor, will conduct almost 70 missions and send more than 290 satellites and spacecraft into orbit, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The Chinese government is also working on a new launch complex in Hainan designed for commercial missions and wants to have its first crewed mission to the moon before 2030.

With assistance from Jing Li and Philip Glamann.

2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Buffalo Soldier Gate at Fort Bliss, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)

AUSTIN, Texas  A former Army captain on Thursday was found not guilty of killing another captain with whom she had been romantically involved after the two had a fight at an El Paso strip club, according to court records.

Clevy Muchette Nelson-Royster, 30, was charged with murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault but she was acquitted by a Texas jury after 18 hours of deliberations that spanned three days. Her trial began in El Paso Countys 210th District Court on Feb. 15.

She was accused of killing Capt. Malcolm X. Perry, a 27-year-old logistics officer from Virginia, who died in a fiery crash after the incident at the strip club.

About eight months after Nelson-Roysters arrest, the Army discharged her, according to Brock Benjamin, her attorney. She also served as a logistics officer at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Perry was commander of Bravo Company of the 123rd Brigade Support Battalion, part of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, at the time of his death on Oct. 11, 2020.

His death in the early morning hours of a Sunday in El Paso followed a series of physical fights that began a strip club, moved to Perrys apartment complex, and led to Perry being chased in his vehicle, according to court documents. Nelson-Royster was the passenger in the vehicle following Perry when he crashed, and a man named Richard Sennessie was driving.

Benjamin said he believes a lack of evidence from the crime scene is what led to the acquittal.

A criminal jury trial is a states burden to prove, and the state just failed to prove it, he said.

Benjamin also credits the verdict to the prosecutors decision not to charge Nelson-Royster with criminal negligent homicide, which is typically used in cases of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, distracted driving or a hit-and-run.

If [the charge was] negligent homicide, I believe they would have convicted her, he said.

Dana Perry, Malcom Perrys mother, who attended the trial, also wished prosecutors had shown more evidence, particularly that Perry had been pursued during each fight that occurred that night.

He did not go looking for any of this. It came to him, she said.

Her son typically avoided confrontation, as he did that night, she said.

He didnt want to be confrontational in any means, fashion or form, Dana Perry said. He was a shy kid.  He loved living, and somebody just swiped it away from him, and got away with it.

The two captains had been involved in an on-again-off-again relationship, according to court documents. Nelson-Royster confronted Perry that night at Jaguars, a strip club Perry was known to frequent since he arrived in El Paso in March. During the fight, she broke his eyeglasses.

Perry left in an Audi A4 sedan and went to his apartment complex. Nelson-Royster and Sennessie got into her Jeep Wrangler along with three other people, rammed through the gate to the complex and confronted Perry again in his car in the parking lot.

He managed to drive away and Nelson-Royster and Sennessie followed. Both vehicles eventually crashed, and Perry died after his vehicle caught fire.

During the chase, Perry called 911, which jurors heard.

They are hitting my car. Theyre bumping my car, Perry said, according to court records. I am going to die.

Sennessie was offered a plea deal to testify against Nelson-Royster, but declined, according to court documents. He is scheduled to face a trial for a charge of murder in April.

Thayer.rose@stripes.com Twitter: @Rose_Lori
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Larry Rendall Brock Jr. who was sentenced in March 2023 for storming the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery, had his appeal rejected in federal court on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Grapevine Texas Police Department)

A federal appeals court on Friday declined to overturn the felony conviction of a defendant who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, reaffirming a charge also lodged against former president Donald Trump that will soon be debated by the Supreme Court.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned a sentencing enhancement used against Jan. 6 defendants, saying it only applied to judicial proceedings.

The same appellate court had already ruled that obstructing an official proceeding does not apply only to destroying evidence, even though the crime was created in response to attempts to cover up a financial scandal. That ruling will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court on April 16. But judges have disagreed on one element of the crime - what it means to act corruptly.

Like Trump, retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Larry R. Brock Jr. did not commit any violence on Jan. 6. And like Trump, he argued that he earnestly believed that the election was stolen. Brock - who gained notoriety after he was photographed in the Senate Chamber in an army green helmet and vest - was convicted of obstructing Congress, one of the four felony charges Trump faces in D.C. federal court.

Mr. Brock thought he was acting righteously, patriotically and with a eminently proper purpose, attorney Charles Burnham said at oral argument in September.

The judges, all Democratic appointees, said Brock did not have to act violently or know Trump lost to understand that what he was doing was wrong; it was enough to know what he was doing was illegal and could involve violence.

Brock participated in a riot that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election by force, and that he was himself prepared to take violent action to achieve that goal, the judges wrote. Relying on his pre-riot social media posts, they said, Where a defendant announces his intent to use violence to obstruct a congressional proceeding, comes equipped for violence, and then actually obstructs that proceeding, the evidence supports a finding that he acted with an impermissible purpose or knowledge of the wrongfulness of his actions.

However, they agreed with Brock that he should not have been penalized for substantial interference with the administration of justice, saying that sentencing enhancement is about thwarting the legal process in some way, not the crimes committed at the Capitol. Brock will now be resentenced, although that does not mean he will receive any reduction in punishment. After being found guilty last year in a bench trial, he was sentenced to two years in prison, far less than prosecutors sought.

Numerous rioters have argued that the Justice Department is improperly charging them with a felony written to address evidence destruction, not a mob attack. The issue has come up before multiple judges on the D.C. Circuit. While upholding use of the obstruction statute against at least some Jan. 6 rioters, judges have been split on its limits. The issue is now awaiting review by the U.S. Supreme Court after it was challenged in another case, with oral argument scheduled for April 16.

In its ruling on Brock, the D.C. Circuit panel said that even if the Supreme Court rules that the law requires destruction of evidence, it could still apply to rioters because participation in the January 6th riot caused Congress to adjourn [an] evidentiary process - the confirmation of votes from the 2020 election.

The Supreme Courts decision on the obstruction charge could not only impact hundreds of Jan. 6 cases, but also one of four criminal trials Trump faces as he is also the GOP front-runner for president. Trump is accused of obstructing the congressional proceeding on Jan. 6 by directing the mob to the Capitol, along with his efforts to have fake electors counted, and pressing Vice President Mike Pence to recognize them as legitimate. Trumps attorneys have argued that, like Brock, the former president thought the 2020 election was stolen and so had no criminal intent.

Prosecutors with the office of special counsel Jack Smith have highlighted multiple instances in which Trump was told he lost and appeared to acknowledge that fact. At oral argument in one of the earlier obstruction challenges at the circuit, a defense attorney suggested that while his client was honest in his beliefs, Trump probably wasnt.

But at oral argument in Brocks case, multiple judges emphasized that a defendant can believe they are morally right and still know their actions are illegal.

Lets say that someone has been in an election for a state judge. And the candidate thinks that she won, but shes not being recognized as the winner, Judge Cornelia Pillard said. Does that privilege her to rally a mob, to go and interfere with an investiture of the court, to break into the courthouse, because she has a sincere belief that shes been wronged?

When Burnham noted that the same could be true of civil rights protesters, Pillard said that the power of civil disobedience was the willingness to be punished.

Such protesters think, Im violating the law and Im ready to take the consequences for it because Im responding to a higher law, she said. And the higher law, in my view, is more important, even to the point where Im willing to sacrifice myself. But  the sacrifice is that the law does not bend and accommodate the persons individual moral principle.

In Brocks case, he advocated for insurrection on social media in advance of Jan. 6, saying the battle isnt winnable democratically. His plan of attack was to seize government officials who opposed Trump, then begin interrogations using measures we used on al-Qaida. He advised, Do not kill law enforcement officers unless necessary, and anticipated a pardon for all crimes up to and including murder.

The obstruction of an official proceeding law was passed in 2002 to close a loophole uncovered by the Enron scandal; accountants for the telecom firm could be prosecuted for corruptly persuading others to destroy evidence but not for their own document shredding. The crime carries up to 20 years in prison, and penalizes anyone who corruptly  alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record  for use in an official proceeding; or otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so.

The case that inspired the felony charge did not survive judicial review. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the guilty verdict against accounting firm Arthur Andersen, saying jurors were not properly informed that corrupt persuasion must involve consciousness of wrongdoing.

Multiple Jan. 6 defendants argue that even if the obstruction charge covers storming the Capitol, their actions were not corrupt because they did not believe they were doing anything wrong. Pillard and the other judges acknowledged that there was disagreement over that part of the law and the line between misdemeanor demonstrating illegally and felony obstruction.

What Im wrestling with is  what this corruptly word means and how it can be met, Judge Patricia Millet said at oral argument. Im at least struggling to discover, to make sure that we have a concrete understanding of what that corruptly standard is.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Hansford replied that a brief public protest in a congressional hearing, for example, would not rise to the level of obstructing the proceeding and so corrupt intent would not be an issue. The government has charged most people who merely entered the Capitol and wandered around with misdemeanor crimes, reserving the felony charge for aggravating conduct such as making it to sensitive areas of the building, fighting police or rallying others to block the vote count.

In the earlier case that the Supreme Court will now weigh, Judge Florence Y. Pan said that any number of definitions of corruption could apply to the Jan. 6 cases, while Judge Justin Walker contended that corruption requires seeking an unlawful benefit. That benefit, he said, could be helping Trump remain in power.

At oral argument in Brocks case, Burnham said that that didnt apply because the veteran thought he was doing a public service by helping expose fraud.

The benefit is not because we want Donald Trump to be happy, he said. The benefit is for the country.
Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki will arrange a Royal Visit invitation to ASP Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi and her family, in recognition of her heroic intervention to save a woman from a mob in Lahores Achhra Market.

According to a source close to the Saudi Ambassador, Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki, Saudi Arabias Ambassador to Pakistan, extended the invitation to ASP Syeda Shehrbano during their meeting at the Saudi embassy, where he commended her bravery.

The Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan praised the bravery of the police officer and assured her that the Saudi government would cover the expenses of her and her familys trip to Saudi Arabia as honored guests.

The Saudi ambassador lauded ASP Naqvi for her selfless devotion to duty and professionalism in diffusing a volatile situation.

Earlier, the Assistant Superintendent of Police from Gulberg, Lahore visited General Headquarters to meet with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir.

General Munir recognized the significant contributions of Pakistani women across various spheres of life. Since independence, Pakistani women have showcased their talent, perseverance, and dedication, both domestically and internationally.

The inspector general of police (IGP) has recommended Syeda Sheharbano Naqvi for the Quaid-i-Azam Police Medal (QPM).
An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 4, 2023 shows a view of the Hengqin International Financial Center in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

GUANGZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The island of Hengqin in south China's Guangdong Province started a new customs operation on Friday that allows most goods to be moved there tax-free from the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The new operation became effective at midnight in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in the city of Zhuhai. The 106-square-kilometer island sits between Macao and the Chinese mainland.

Under the new mechanism, tariffs will be generally lifted for goods entering Hengqin from Macao, while goods moving from Hengqin to the Chinese mainland will now be subject to import duties, if they are not eligible for added-value tax exemption.

Similar tax exemptions also apply to luggage and parcels entering Hengqin from Macao.

The new policy is seen as a major arrangement to enrich the practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao and boost the SAR's economic diversification.

"The new policy will effectively facilitate the flow of goods, personnel, capital and information between Hengqin and Macao, and create valuable new space for Macao's new industries and business forms," said Li Weinong, director of the zone's executive committee.

In 2021, China's central authorities decided to build the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and make the island an important new growth point for Macao's economy.

By the end of 2023, there were 11,500 Macao residents working or living in Hengqin, an annual increase of over 70 percent, according to the zone's statistics bureau. 

Editor: JYZ
Lucian Varga Mecic (45) is alleged to have stolen over 22,000 from one victim, withdrawing cash from her bank account and buying jewellery and high-end fashion items.

A father of three accused of multiple counts of theft has been refused bail after a detective alleged he was a nomadic criminal and part of a larger Romanian organised crime gang.

Lucian Varga Mecic (45) is alleged to have stolen over 22,000 from one victim, withdrawing cash from her bank account and buying jewellery and high-end fashion items.

Judge David McHugh refused bail, saying Mr Mecic enjoyed the presumption of innocence, but he accepted garda concerns Mr Mecic was a flight risk.

The judge remanded Mr Mecic in custody to appear before Cloverhill District Court today.

The accused, with an address in Holzwickede in Germany, appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with six counts of theft on February 15 and February 16, 2019.

Cash amounts of 800 and 300 were allegedly stolen at Bank of Ireland in Blanchardstown and 1,200 from Bank of Ireland in Kildare town, while cash of 6,380 was allegedly stolen at Louis Vuitton on Dublins Grafton Street, and 14,127 from Weir & Sons Jewellers, also on Grafton Street.

Garda Allen Scott objected to bail, citing the fear that Mr Mecic would not turn up for his trial.

Gda Scott told Blanchardstown District Court he believed Mr Mecic was a nomadic criminal, and would fly into a country and commit a number of crimes within a short period of time, before flying out again. This made it hard for law enforcement to catch him, Gda Scott claimed. The garda alleged Mr Mecic was part of a larger Romanian organised crime gang, and had changed his name, and had done this to evade capture.

Applying for bail, defence solicitor Kelly Breen said that in Romania, men often took their wives names, and Mr Mecic had been married twice, which explained the name change.

Ms Breen said Mr Mecic was not seeking to evade gardai, who had been given his flight details and were aware of when he would be arriving into Dublin Airport.

The accused was a truck driver in Romania, had friends and family in Ireland, and was willing to abide by any bail conditions, Ms Breen said. Mr Mecic has not yet indicated a plea to the charges.
Elizabeth Windsor (49), shoved passers-by to the ground including an 85-year-old woman, a pregnant woman and a four-year-old boy

AN Australian tourist who randomly attacked nine complete strangers on the streets of Dublin has been spared jail and will instead be flown home tomorrow.

Elizabeth Windsor (49), shoved passers-by to the ground including an 85-year-old woman, a pregnant woman and a four-year-old boy, and punched a university student in the throat.

A town planner, she developed a severe psychosis while travelling in Ireland and ended up homeless on the streets of Dublin, carrying out a series of "horrible", unprovoked attacks.

At Dublin District Court today, Judge John Hughes gave her a 10-month suspended sentence, backdated as she has been in custody since her arrest last April.

Under conditions, Windsor is to be brought directly from the Central Mental Hospital tomorrow morning to Dublin Airport, accompanied by staff from the Australian embassy which has paid for her repatriation.

Judge Hughes said Windsor was lucky nobody had been more seriously injured or that she herself had not ended up at the bottom of the Liffey" while wandering the streets of Dublin.

Windsor pleaded guilty to assault charges over a four-month period between January and April last year.

Her solicitor Philip Denieffe said she apologised and had money to pay compensation but could not access it because she had to be at her bank in Australia in person to unfreeze her account.

The accused had made considerable progress dealing with her psychiatric issues, was doing very well on her medication and had no intention of becoming unwell like that again," Mr Denieffe said.

Judge Hughes said the circumstances of the case were extraordinary and that Windsor, a homeowner with a responsible job, appeared to entirely unravel on her arrival in Dublin.

He also ordered her to pay 2,000 in compensation to the oldest victim, or a donation to a charity of the womans choice.

Previously, the court heard a member of the public flagged down gardai on Parnell Square on January 21 2023 after Windsor assaulted a four-year-old boy by pushing him at nearby Coles Lane.

He had no visible injuries but was distraught and upset, a garda said.

A woman was walking on Aston Quay on February 28 last year when she was approached by Windsor who pushed her with both hands into the chest, causing her to stagger and fall into another woman behind her.

At 10.45am, on March 7, gardai found a US tourist lying in the road at Dame Street and helped her up. She had been crossing the road when Windsor stepped into her path and shoved her over.

On March 29 last year, a UCD student was walking on Inns Quay, Dublin 7 when Windsor stepped into her path and punched her in the throat before walking away.

On March 31, the accused violently pushed an 85-year-old woman to the ground at Phibsborough Road.

Later on the same day, a woman was walking on a street in Dublin 7 when she was approached by Windsor who was holding her phone in the air. The accused shoved the phone into the front of the ladys throat.

Windsor approached a woman waiting to get a bus to work at Sherrard Street Lower on April 1 and pushed her to the ground. The woman, who was pregnant at the time, was visibly shaken but thankfully there were no injuries, the garda said.

In a victim impact statement, the mother of the young boy who was assaulted said the attack affected him to this day. He had since experienced fear in crowds and had panic attacks when in Dublin city centre.

Hes afraid that that bad lady who hit him will be there, the victims mother said. She instilled fear in my child.

Windsor was diagnosed with schizophrenia and it was unclear when the symptoms first appeared but she suffered a severe mental break after she came to Ireland in December 2022, Mr Denieffe said.

Judge Hughes said at the age of 85, people were often frail and afraid while out walking without being pushed over. The assault on the four year old would have been terrifying, he said.
Gardai saw Roan Mackey (40) strike his friend with a fist during the public order incident.

A day drinker ended up fighting in the street with a friend following an altercation between the pair, a court heard.

Gardai saw Roan Mackey (40) strike his friend with a fist during the public order incident.

Judge Catherine Hayden fined Mackey 500 and imposed a two-month sentence, which she suspended for two years.

The defendant, of Cardy Rock Court in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, admitted public intoxication and threatening and abusive behaviour at Clonard Street in Balbriggan on July 16, 2023.

Garda Stephen Murphy told Swords District Court he was on patrol shortly after 5pm when he received a call that two men were having a fight in the street.

Gda Murphy said he drove to Clonard Street, and the two men were standing in the middle of the road. He stopped the patrol car, and saw Mackey strike another man with a fist.

Gda Murphy said he ordered Mackey to get to the ground, but he refused, and the garda had to use physical force to arrest him.

Handcuffs were then placed on the accused.

Gda Murphy searched Mackey and found a small screwdriver in his pocket. He told gardai he had used the screwdriver earlier that day after his mother asked him to fix her phone. This explanation was accepted by the judge.

The court heard Mackey had apologised for his behaviour.

Defence lawyer Annette Kealy said the defendant left school after his Junior Certificate, and trained as an electrician with his father. He never completed that training, but had worked on and off in electronics.

Ms Kealy said Mackey had suffered with an alcohol problem, but had attended Cuan Mhuire treatment centre and was now alcohol-free. He had suffered from chronic depression, but was now on medication for that condition.
It was evident that the offending by the accused has affected all three injured parties

Three Galway sisters have described their older brother as a vile human being, a bully, a monster and pure evil after he was found guilty of abusing them in the 70s.

The Central Criminal Court heard that Martin Davis (67) of Churchill, Clifden, was found guilty of one count of rape and eight counts of indecent assault on unknown dates between 1971 and 1981 at an address in Letterfrack in Co Galway. Davis has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence today, Ms Justice Melanie Greally said: It was evident that the offending by the accused has affected all three injured parties. She noted the extreme trauma and deep pain present in their victim impact statements.

Ms Justice Greally said Davis maintains his innocence and does not accept the verdict of the jury. She said he is a married father of two, and she said she had read the sizeable number of testimonies which were handed into court previously.

The judge said the aggravating factors in the case were the abuse of three siblings over a prolonged period of time and the breach of trust, which was two-fold - the vile betrayal of his sibling and the breach of trust of his parents, who had entrusted them into Daviss care.

She noted the age disparity, that all of the offences were committed in the family home and the profound damage this abuse has had on the injured parties.

Ms Justice Greally said the mitigating factors were the absence of any previous convictions, the family circumstances, the contents of the character references, that Davis was in continuous and productive employment, his health issues and that he is now placed on the sex offender register.

Ms Justice Greally sentenced Davis to eight years in prison in total and backdated it to when he went into custody.

The judge spoke to the three injured parties in this case, noting this has been very difficult and bruising for you. She wished them well for the future.

Speaking outside court, the three complainants  Carmel Connolly, Michelle Davis and Audrey Stanley - encouraged other people to come forward and get support and not to leave it so long.

"There is help out there, they said.

We are so relieved to have the support and relief that somebody believed us, they said, adding that the gardai in Clifden were amazing.

They thanked the special victim unit and the Director of Public Prosecutions office. It wasnt easy, but they made it a lot easier, they said.

At a previous hearing, Detective Garda Michael Griffin told Roisin Lacey, SC, prosecuting, that in April 2018, Davis called to Clifden Garda Station to complain about an incident where he was verbally abused by his sister in a pub in Clifden.

Davis wanted the matter noted but did not wish to make a complaint. Gardai called the home of his sister, Audrey Stanley, and she told them she had called him a paedophile.

She told the gardai what she said was true and she made a statement to the gardai.

Det Gda Griffin said two other sisters of Davis also made complaints to the gardai. The court heard that Carmel Connelly was a younger sister of Davis.

"When she was 10 years old and her parents were not at home, she was brought to her bedroom by Davis, who climbed on top of her and raped her. She was crying and he told her to be quiet. She told him to stop, but he did not.

The court heard that Carmel was aged 10 at the time, and Davis was aged between 15 and 16. On a separate occasion, Davis again brought her to the bedroom and digitally penetrated her while he masturbated.

A second sister, Michelle Davis, described Davis as being a bully to her. When she was aged seven, she saw Daviss car pulling up outside their house. She ran and hid behind a door.

Davis saw her and dragged her to a back kitchen, where he removed her underwear and inserted his penis into her anus. She screamed with pain.

Davis put his hand over her mouth to stop her screams. Davis was aged 23 at the time. On other occasions, he would get her to touch his penis, the court heard.

The court heard a third sister, Audrey Stanley, who was six years younger than Davis, was abused when she was nine years old. The abuse began with tickling games, and then Davis told her it was her turn and to rub her penis. Davis would also touch her genital area.

Davis was arrested and interviewed in September 2018. He denied all charges of rape and indecent assault. He told gardai that his sisters were motivated by spite as they had been excluded from their mothers will.

Det Gda Griffin agreed with Philip Rahn SC, defending, that his client was a juvenile for the majority of the offending.

Carmel Connelly read her own victim impact statement to the court. I was very happy and innocent, then I felt shame and fear, feeling I was to blame and unable to tell anyone, she said.

...I was abused by a monster, she said, adding Davis was a vile human being.

She said that Davis has offered no apology or remorse and continues to be a bully.

I can now get on with the rest of my life and grieve for my mum, she said.

Audrey Stanley also read her victim impact statement to the court, which said: I found it so traumatising to write this statement, and I called on mum and dad to help me; how I wish I had done that when I was a little girl broken by Martin.

She said: The only person I protected was him with my silence.

I not only let evil triumph, I let it thrive. And I will carry that guilt to my grave.

...The little girl inside me said 'Dont give in again'; this is your opportunity to tell what he did and let him know you havent forgotten.

Michelle Daviss victim impact statement was read to the court by a family member who said she has suffered unbelievable emotional and psychological pain and struggled with depression and anxiety.

She said Davis got away with the crimes for long enough, and he will continue to impact my life, but I wont allow him to torment me.

Mr Rahn said his client has some health issues and handed a GP letter to the court. He also handed in testimonials from former employers, a former work colleague, two brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, his son, daughter and wife.

He asked the court to take into account that his client was a minor during the period of time in relation to two of the complainants.
Judge McCourt said an important missing part of the trial was the absence of Mr Brylewicz himself and it was anybodys guess as to why that person isnt here

A judge has thrown out claims totalling 118,000 by three Polish nationals after hearing expert evidence the crash in which they alleged they had been injured could not have happened at the spot or in the manner they described.

Forensic engineer Seamus Walsh told Judge James McCourt in the Circuit Civil Court that the profile of damage to Tadeusz Brylewiczs mini car did not fit the profile of a stone-built wall he claimed to have crashed into.

Barrister Michael Murray, counsel for the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI), said Brylewiczss insurer, Aviva, had paid him 2,650 for his unrepairable car before discovering nefarious conduct was suspected in the case and refused to indemnify him in three subsequent 60,000 personal injury claims.

One of these claims was by his brother Maciej, Saint Donagh Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 11,who celebrates his 60th birthday today, and two of his friends, Kamila Kumar (40) of 6 Buirg an Ri Terrace, Lucan, Co Dublin, and Lukasz Liegman (51) of 4 Buirg an Ri Terrace, Lucan.

Mr Murray, who appeared with Alan Synnott of Stephen Mackenzie Solicitors for the MIBI, told the court Brylewicz had taken no part in defence of the claims against him as a result of which the MIBI had been joined as defendant to the proceedings.

Mr Brylewicz has not even bothered to attend court today, Mr Murray said.

Kamila Kumar was the only witness to give evidence and be cross-examined by Mr Murray before Judge McCourt heard the expert evidence of Mr Walsh and decided to throw out all three cases with orders for costs against all of them.

Stating that Ms Kumar had exaggerated her injuries and dismissing all of the claims Judge McCourt said an important missing part of the trial was the absence of Mr Brylewicz himself and it was anybodys guess as to why that person isnt here.
He said hed had threesomes before and hed previously been with a man

A MALE nurse groped a female health worker as he gave her a lift home, telling her he was a sex addict and had had threesomes.

Leonard Iliuta (36) sexually assaulted his colleague by repeatedly touching her upper thigh as he drove her after their shift at a Dublin health facility, a court heard.

The victim was left "shaken" by the assault and the sexual conversation made her "uncomfortable," she said.

Iliuta denied the charge but Judge John Hughes found him guilty and adjourned the case for a victim impact statement.

The accused, of Seaview Mews, Seatown West, Swords, Co Dublin had pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting the woman in the incident during the Covid pandemic.

The victim told Dublin District Court she had been reluctant to accept a lift from Iliuta but it was raining at the time and he was quite persistent.

They initially spoke about his steering wheel being on the left hand side of his car, before the conversation shifted and became sexual in nature.

He stated that he was addicted to sex and there was nothing he hadnt done, such as cheating on his girlfriend, the victim said. He said hed had threesomes before and hed previously been with a man. There didnt seem to be any shame behind it.

She laughed along at first but he then asked her about her sex life and what her addictions were. He asked her if she had had sex with her female roommate and seemed quite interested in the answer.

He also asked when are we going for a drink?, insinuating that he wanted to go out with me, she said.

I was quite uncomfortable during the conversation, she said. His right hand started to go to my leg, to my left knee.

It lingered there for a few seconds before returning to the gear stick but he repeated this.

Every time he touched my leg he lingered a bit more and his hand would go up close to my vagina, she said.

She asked to get out at traffic lights but he insisted on bringing her to her door. His hand continuously went from the gear stick to her leg and it was hard for her to move out of the way. His hand moved to her other knee and motioned my legs back towards him," she said.

Iliuta pulled in and asked if anybody else was home, and when she said there was, he insinuated that his house was free and we could go to his house."

She ignored this and quickly left the car.

He motioned for me to stay and grabbed her hand but she pulled away, thanked him for the lift and returned home fairly shaken up where she told her housemate what happened. She reported the assault to her job and the gardai.

Cross-examined by defence barrister Gareth Casey, she denied that her account of what happened was false.

Mr Casey put it to her that the accuseds relationship with her had been entirely professional and friendly.

Most of my dealings with Leo made me uncomfortable, he was over-familiar to me from the moment we met, she said. I thought from the beginning he was very overly friendly, very touchy considering we didnt know each other.

She agreed she had previously sent him a message congratulating him on the birth of his child. The woman looked very upset and very pale when she arrived home after the assault, her housemate said.

We didnt know what to do and we were crying, she said.

The prosecuting garda said after she took the victims complaint, Iliuta was voluntarily interviewed and denied the accusation wholeheartedly.

There was no conversation of a sexual nature, Iliuta told the court in evidence. I never touched her leg in the car.

The court heard while the victim was out sick one day, the accused had sent her a Facebook message saying miss you so bad which she said made her uncomfortable.

Iliuta testified that this message had meant I miss her in work, and he insisted to the court their relationship had been "friendly."

He claimed the victim told him she and her colleagues were on drugs because of work pressure and he said maybe this is the reason for these allegations maybe that I would report this.

Judge Hughes said there was a stark contrast in the evidence but he did not find the accuseds version credible.

Iliuta had no previous convictions. He was remanded on continuing bail to a date next month.
Judge Martin Nolan said Kevin Murphy caused considerable distress but said, at this point, he does not deserve to go to prison.

A former surf instructor who sent harassing messages to a family has been given a suspended sentence.

Kevin Murphy (28) of Cliff Road, Windgates, Bray, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of harassment and one count of making a threat to kill on dates between July 2021 and July 2022.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the harassment and threats to kill were sent using various online platforms. He has no previous convictions.

Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Martin Nolan said it seems that at a certain point, this man became psychotic and had episodes of psychosis.

He sent a family abusive, violent in nature, distressing and worrying messages.

Judge Nolan said that even when this matter was under investigation, and Murphy had been interviewed by gardai, he continued on his merry way messaging the family.

The judge said Murphy has a good educational background, no record of conviction, and comes from a good family.

Judge Nolan said Murphy caused considerable distress but said, at this point, he does not deserve to go to prison.

He sentenced Murphy to two and a half years in prison but suspended it in full under strict conditions.

He also directed Murphy to have no contact whatsoever with any of the injured parties, in this case for 15 years.

Garda Rachel Corcoran told Derek Cooney, BL, prosecuting, that one of the injured parties in the case was in the West of Ireland, learning Irish in 2019.

While she was there, she took surfing lessons, and Murphy was her surfing instructor. She was aged 16 at the time.

The court heard that her mother travelled to see her daughter and also met Murphy. In 2021, when the girl had turned 18, she was contacted on social media by Murphy, who said he had been her surfing instructor.

He also made contact with her mother. Over the course of a year, Murphy sent 200 unwanted messages to the family.

Gda Corcoran said the girls mother received messages telling her to kill herself and to keep your KKK friends away from me.

The court heard that graphic sexual text messages and innuendoes were sent to the mother and daughter by Murphy. He also said he would clip their car.

Murphy told one family member to fuck off back to Israel and Sir Lanka and called her a white syphilis bitch. He told another member of the family that he had just clipped a garda car, you're next.

Murphy also made threats to kill to the boyfriend of one of the family members. The mother of the family contacted gardai, and they went to Murphy's home. He was initially detained in February 2022 but continued to contact the family with messages of a similar nature.

He was arrested for a second time, detained and interviewed and made admissions to gardai. He agreed with gardai that some of the messages were aggressive.

Garda Corcoran said it became apparent that Murphy had mental health issues.

Gda Corcoran agreed with Eoin Lawlor BL, defending, that his client only contacted the girl after she had turned 18. She agreed that he was cooperative with the gardai, and he did his best to explain why he did what he did.

The garda agreed with counsel that this offending occurred during an episode of psychosis and that His communication was undoubtedly alarming for this family, but he did not act on anything.

Mr Lawlor said, A big part of this was that he heard voices that commanded him to do things, and he also heard voices of this family in his head.

Counsel said his client voluntarily committed himself to the hospital for four weeks in March 2022.

He said his client was a very sporty young man who was injured in South America and began drinking and drug-taking.

He also asked the court to take into account Murphy's longstanding work history.
He had been busking on the streets to raise money for Ukraine in the months leading up to his death.

An alleged knifeman accused of murdering an 87-year-old Irish grandfather on a mobility scooter appeared in court today.

Lee Byer, 45, allegedly stabbed Thomas OHalloran to death in Greenford, west London on 16 August 2022.

Mr OHalloran travelled some 75 yards on his scooter, in an attempt to flag down a member of the public for help, following the attack.

He had been busking on the streets to raise money for Ukraine in the months leading up to his death.

Originally from Co Clare, Mr OHalloran has been described as 87-year-old grandfather known locally in the community.

Byer was arrested at his mothers home on Allenby Road, Southall on 18 August 2022.

He denies murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Byer appeared at the Old Bailey today via video link.

He had been due to stand trial on 2 May last year but the four week trial before Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London, was delayed until 29 April 2024.

Prosecutor Louise Oakley earlier told the court: Shortly after 4pm on 16 August a 999 call was received by police.

"The caller of that call had discovered the deceased travelling in his motorised mobility scooter in a passageway.

At that time the deceased was able to tell that individual that he had been stabbed although it was obvious that he had sustained a number of stab wounds to his body.

Police arrived within a matter of minutes and found that the deceased had collapsed and was being assisted by various members of the public.

The police took over emergency first aid and were subsequently assistedby the London Ambulance Service.

Despite their best efforts the deceaseds life was pronounced extinct at 16:54 hours.

Byer denies murder and possession of an offensive weapon.
Vitaliy Koval, Head of the State Property Fund Vitaliy Koval

Since the resumption of privatization in September 2022, 500 days have passed. During martial law, all processes in the state become more complicated. However, the decision  even in this period of challenges  not to stop the sale of state property was correct. The evidence for this is the result of privatization over these 500 days.

The number of completed auctions, where parties signed contracts and payments were made (as of February 1, 2024), exceeded 560. Therefore, on average, the Fund held 1.1 successful auctions per day, the proceeds from these auctions were directed to the state budget of Ukraine.

Income and price increase

During this period, the State Property Fund of Ukraine sold assets worth over UAH 4.4 billion. Moreover, this is not the final financial result. Buyers also paid UAH 808 million in VAT during privatization.

It is essential that the new private owners take on certain obligations regarding the payment of debts to the budget and wages that the enterprise had at the time of sale. In the first 500 days of small privatization, such payments amounted to UAH 1.2 billion. Thus, the total economic impact of privatization has already reached UAH 6.4 billion.

The declared value of the privatization assets already sold by the SPFU was approximately UAH 1.8 billion. Thus, the price increase during competitive bidding was almost 2.4 times.

Overall, there were 12 auctions, each of which replenished the budget by an amount that exceeded UAH 100 million. These were real estate, property complexes, and enterprises with great potential and value to the market, so participants were willing to compete for them and raise bids. The results of these auctions provided almost 50% of the revenues from small privatization within 500 days since resumption.

The three most expensive lots sold during this period had a total value of UAH 730 million. The leader was the premises of the "Hermitage" hotel, located in the central part of Kyiv, on Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street. Hotel's value and prospects (location and status as a local monument of history and culture) led to a 15-fold increase in the initial value during the auction, from UAH 21.2 million to 311 million.

The Ukrainian budget received UAH 212 million from the privatization of the Property Complex "Volyntorf". Another UAH 210 million came from the sale of the Property Complex "Ukroboronresursy" (this name may be misleading, as the enterprise is not strategically important and is not involved in the production of weapons, equipment, etc.). These two assets took the second and third places in terms of sales value.

At the same time, the state offers property for various requests and opportunities. In 70% of auctions, the value of the sold assets was less than UAH 1 million. That is, more than two-thirds of the assets could be purchased, for example, by individual entrepreneurs or representatives of small businesses. This property can serve them for development or expansion of activities and become an effective investment.

It is indicative that in some auctions, the price the market was willing to pay for state property increased by hundreds, sometimes thousands of times compared to the initial price. For example, one of the highest growth coefficients in value was in auction where non-residential premises with an area of approximately 200 square meters in the Ternopil region were privatized. With an initial selling price of UAH 402, the asset was sold for almost UAH 1.36 million, which is an increase of 3.4 thousand times.

A garage in the Vinnytsia region was sold by the state for UAH 188 thousand, although the initial price was approximately UAH 370, which means an increase of over 510 times. And a block of greenhouses with annexes in the Lviv region was purchased by an auction participant for UAH 800 thousand, although the initial price was slightly over UAH 2.1 thousand (an increase in value of 375 times).

Such cases are not uncommon. When market players see an object worth attention, even if book value is low, they will pay the asset's real price. Competition with other interested participants forces them to do so.

The most successful month of privatization during this period was October 2022 when the market had just gained access to state assets and actively took advantage of it. Then the SPFU (and accordingly  the state budget) received over UAH 681 million from privatization. May 2023 with an income of UAH 544 million ranked second in financial success, and January 2023 was third with an indicator of UAH 513 million.

Diversity of privatization participants

Privatization in Ukraine is gaining momentum, attracting more and more investors. Both large and small businesses are ready to invest in the country's development.

Companies lead in the purchase of large assets. The average value of assets where legal entities have become winners is over UAH 17 million. Their share of total revenues from privatization reaches 96%.

Privatization is also available for individuals. 56% of the total number of auction winners are individuals and entrepreneurs. The average value of assets where they win is almost UAH 540 thousand.

Competition at auctions is quite high. On average, there are 4+ participants competing for one asset. This ensures that the state receives the most advantageous prices for assets.

The diversity of participants and competition confirm the accessibility and fairness of the privatization processes. This makes them attractive to new investors, which contributes to stimulating the economy and creating new jobs.

Geography of privatization

Buyers were interested in both urban and rural privatization objects. The latter accounted for approximately 60% or over 340 completed auctions of all assets sold. At the same time, it was expected that state property in cities would be more expensive, and the amount from the sale was UAH 2.48 billion (approximately 56% of the total privatization revenue).

Since the resumption of privatization, Lviv region has become the regional leader. The result is 80 completed auctions (which make up 14% of the total number) and income exceeding UAH 804 million (19% of the total income). Although Kyiv has only 15 completed auctions, the income from them is over UAH 836 million. Thus, Lviv region and the Ukrainian capital significantly outperform other regions in terms of their indicators.





Ternopil region also has high financial indicators (UAH 469 million), and Vinnytsia region leads in the number of successful auctions, with 53.

Privatization contributes to solving many urgent problems. It helps generate income for the state budget, the deficit of which exceeds UAH 1.5 trillion this year, and the expenditures from it for the defense of our country  an issue of the country's survival.

Privatization provides incentives for the development of the national economy, the creation of new jobs, and the development of entrepreneurship. Moreover, it helps the state get rid of assets that have been unprofitable for decades and have become a burden.

Therefore, privatization in Ukraine during the war is a necessity. The fact that it is proceeding successfully once again proves the correctness of the decision to resume it.
Kestell was convicted of rape after a four-day trial at the Central Criminal Court last month

A woman has described how she was a waking corpse after being raped by a friend's husband in a public park after a party.

Reading from her victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing of Aidan Kestell (55), she spoke of the effect of the atrocious attack on her and her family. The dramatic ripple effects of sexual assault on friends and family cant be stressed enough, she said.

Kestell was convicted of rape after a four-day trial at the Central Criminal Court last month. The offence took place on September 6, 2019, at Hartstown Park, Hartstown, Dublin 15. Kestell raped the woman in a park after walking her home from a party at his house.

The victim waived her right to anonymity to allow Kestell of Briarwood Lawn, Dublin 15, to be identified. Kestell has no previous convictions.

Today/yesterday (FRIDAY), the woman said the sentencing hearing was an important step as it would close the four-and-a-half year sentence I've served since the attack.

This part of my ordeal is over. Today Im no longer a victim but a rape survivor.

She said her partner, children and friends watched her transform afterwards into a shell of who she used to be.

She spoke of experiencing anxiety, irritability, paranoia, emotional numbness, and extreme worry. She would obsessively check windows and doors were securely locked as she didn't feel safe because this dangerous man knew where she lived.

Her whole life and routine changed in the aftermath of the attack, and her old self was gone. She may as well have died that night; thats how I felt, she said.

She said, Our beautiful, happy home was destroyed as a dark cloud was hanging over us.

She spoke about experiencing nightmares and learning the real nightmare began each morning when I had to continue with my life...I was a waking corpse.

She said she still has gaps in the timeline and unanswered questions from that night that she hoped would be answered during the trial.

Those dont matter now. I leave them to your conscience.

She suggested Kestell thought she wouldn't come around, continuing, Bet you thought youd got away with it.

She described him as manipulative, vile and a compulsive liar.

I've no noun to describe you. I wouldnt put you with any normal man, she said, adding that he's shown no remorse for his actions.

I'm overjoyed your web of lies that you tried to spin has untangled...the life you once had is over.

Addressing victims of sexual assault, she said while they may feel so very alone, she hoped sharing her story would help them see you are not isolated.

I never thought Id get to this part. I implore you not to give up. The silence will stop. Your voice will be heard, and you will have your day.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt thanked the woman for her eloquent statement.

Garda Leona Bellow told Sean Gillane SC, prosecuting, that the victim was a longstanding friend of Kestell's wife and was among the guests at a party in his house on the night in question.

During the evening, Kestell walked in on her when she was in the bathroom. In her evidence during the trial, the victim said she wasn't upset by it but thought it a bit strange.

When she was leaving, her friend insisted Kestell walk her home. She was reluctant but eventually agreed.

The woman stopped several times during the walk to tell Kestell she was fine and could walk the rest of the way alone, but he insisted on walking with her.

After reaching Hartstown Park, the next thing the victim remembered was lying on the ground in agony. She realised she was being raped, and she then tried to fight off her attacker, who she realised was Kestell.

After Kestell left, the victim made her way home, arriving around 3 am.

The court heard the woman spent the weekend trying to process what had happened before going to a friend's house the following Monday and telling her about the rape.

She then contacted a sexual assault treatment unit and made a complaint to gardai.

The court was told the woman had also been receiving a large number of messages from an anonymous sender for several years before this incident. She told her partner and friends about this, and they unsuccessfully tried to identify the sender.

During the investigation, gardai traced the messages, some of which were sexual and explicit, to a phone owned by Kestell.

Kestell was arrested and interviewed several times. He initially denied any sexual interaction with the victim before claiming that she initiated sexual contact by performing oral sex.

In another interview, he claimed sex took place accidentally after he fell on top on top of her with his penis exposed. Kestell told gardai, I'm not sure if I entered her...the ground was wet and slippy, I could have slipped in.

Kestell gave evidence during the trial, admitting he told some lies to gardai. He said there had been a consensual sexual interaction with the victim on the night in question.

Gda Bellew agreed with Dominic McGinn SC, defending, that his client answered all questions put to him by gardai and handed over phones and clothing.

Mr McGinn asked the court to take into account the limited mitigating factors including his client's lack of previous convictions and co-operation with gardai.

After the judge noted that Kestell was not particularly truthful in his dealing with gardai, Mr McGinn noted that his client did not obstruct the investigation.

Mr McGinn said his client has a solid work history and is a father of three adult children. He told the court that Kestell's marriage is no longer viable since his conviction.

He submitted to the court this was an opportunistic crime, which involved no violence beyond that of the act itself.

Mr Justice Hunt adjourned the case to March 15 for finalisation and remanded Kestell in custody until that date.

<ADDITIONAL COPY>

Mr Gillane told the court that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) views this case as falling into the higher category for sentencing as the incident involved an abuse of trust, an element of premeditation and occurred in a public place in the early hours at a location near the victim's home.

The DPP also noted that sexualised messages were also sent by Kestell.

Mr McGinn submitted to the court that while the court would consider the profound and devastating impact of the offence on the woman as an aggravating factor, this case did not fall into the higher category for sentencing.

Mr McGinn told the court that this was a single offence and did not feature particular degradation or humiliation. He suggested there was no additional violence used beyond that of the act itself.

Defence counsel submitted that this was an opportunistic crime and that the messages played no role in the offence.

In her victim impact statement, the woman also said the fact that this man lived in the local area made her recovery from this horrendous ordeal even harder.

She said she would crawl to the corner of a room during flashbacks and hope the walls pull me in. The flashbacks could be triggered by someone driving down the road or the smell of beer on someone's breath.

She said she also asked her doctor for a full blood transfusion as she felt my body was infected by him. While she was cleared of sexually transmitted infections, she said she still felt infected and contaminated.

I felt if all my blood was replaced, I wouldnt be impure, she said, adding that this feeling had devastating consequences for her as a partner and a mother.

I didnt want to put any part of my defiled body in contact with theirs...I needed to keep them pure and safe.

Her family started to blow kisses and do air hugs during times when she was unable to hug.

She noted she was asked during cross-examination why she didn't immediately tell her partner when she returned home after the rape.

How silly of me not to follow the textbook of rules immediately after [being violently raped]...Who says what is right or wrong or how to behave after a sexual assault.

She said society's perceptions are all wrong and need to change.

The victim said her life was put on hold after the rape, and she missed social events. She also lost friendships and became untrusting of people.

I also lost one of my best friends - your wife. You know how close we were, she said, describing how her friend described her as like a sister in one message.

She said Kestell also put an end to her walking home alone after going out with friends at night, as she used to do. She said it should not be a risk to walk home alone at night as a woman.

Referring to anonymous messages she'd received for years prior to the night, she described efforts she and others made to find out the identity of the sender and how these messages included vulgar pictures.

She said her phone kept vibrating while she was speaking to gardai and told them it was probably just messages from the pest number.

She said gardai asked to look at her phone and found the location of the sender. I became violently sick when they showed me. It was the predators address who had attacked me in the park.

She went on to thank the gardai, prosecuting counsel and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.

She also expressed her thanks to the jury who had given me the chance to live again and be a mam, something Ive not done or been able to do for the last four and a half years. Words cant express what this means to me and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

She also thanked her partner and her children, some of whom were in court. She said she was wrong when she told them before that monsters aren't real. Little did we know that this monster lived so close by and knew our family. I'm sorry I havent been able to protect you, my babies, from this horrendous experience.

She noted that some of her adult children attended the trial and heard vulgar and distasteful lies told about your mother, which she described as heart-breaking.

But, they remained dignified and strong, and she said she is very privileged and proud as always to be your mammy.

< ends >  CCC.nuacht Teoranta 2024

Attendee panel closed

Aidan Kestell - "Monster" raped family friend in public park after a party.



(No subject)


Ex-UDA Brigadier William Winkie Dodds

Dodds told the Sunday World he has turned to God and attends the Living hope church on Shankill Parade

An infamous loyalist paramilitary leader  once branded Big Evil in a BBC Panorama report  has found God, the Sunday World has learned.

Ex-UDA Brigadier William Winkie Dodds, swapped his AK47 assault rifle for a Bible some time ago.

But we can reveal 64-year-old Dodds  who is due to collect his old-age pension in three months time  is a regular attendee at his local Pentecostal church on Belfasts Lower Shankill estate.

The one-time Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) terror boss told us he had put his paramilitary past behind him, saying: These days, Im just happy going to church.

Speaking to the Sunday World this week, Winkie Dodds said he no longer dwells on the past when he was considered one of the most dangerous loyalist terrorists of the Troubles.

Its all in the past now and I dont even think about it, he said. But I regret what my family went through.

I see Michelle ONeill and Emma Pengelly on the TV and as far as Im concerned they can just get on with it.

But Bible classes and hymn-singing are a far cry from the days when Winkie and his men ruled the roost on the lower Shankill.

Under Dodds command, the UFF stepped up attacks on republican targets.

Winkie Dodds

And in a special BBC Panorama report, journalist John Ware said Dodds was suspected of ordering the assassination of veteran republican Francisco Notarantonio in his west Belfast home in 1987.

Prior to the infamous Johnny Adair taking over, Dodds held the rank of Brigadier of the UFF in West Belfast.

But when Adair was finally convicted on a charge of directing terrorism, Dodds took over once more, although many believed Adair still pulled the strings from behind bars.

In those days  when Winkie was in his heyday  even other UDA Brigadiers feared him, a former convicted loyalist terrorist told us.

Born in 1959, Dodds was originally from the Old Park area of north Belfast. And before joining the UDA in 1980, he had a reputation as a juvenile delinquent and a petty criminal.

But after taking part in the armed robbery of a post office  which was witnessed by an off-duty RUC officer  Doods was identified. After a trial, he was sent to prison for 10 years. On his release after six years, he rose up the paramilitary ranks.

Dodds told the Sunday World he has turned to God and attends the Living hope church on Shankill Parade

And according to the BBC Panorama programme, Dodds was considered so important to the UDA leadership that he was appointed liaison officer. He was given this role to link up with former British soldier and Military Intelligence agent Brian Nelson.

In his diaries  which have been reproduced in this newspaper  Nelson describes an argument he had with Dodds over a mistaken identity assassination in 1988.

On May 10  as a direct consequence of information that had been supplied by spook Nelson  two loyalist gunmen burst into a Catholic family home at 4 Newington Street, off Belfasts Antrim Road.

And in front of his parents, wife and children, they fired seven shots into the head and body of a man they believed to be Declan McDaid.

But the loyalists  one of whom is alleged to have been recently deceased Sam Skelly McCrory  got the wrong man.

In reality, they had killed Declan McDaids brother Terry, who apparently bore a family resemblance to him.

Terence McDaid had no connection to any republican paramilitary group and was an entirely innocent man.

Again, according to his diaries, Nelson  who had supplied an army photograph of the target  personally challenged Dodds over the mix-up.

BBC reporter John Ware

And Nelson alleged Dodds told him: We got the wrong fella. I didnt know that.

I mean, the boys went in to see this fella who looks like him. I mean what are they supposed to do, go up and ask his name?

Speaking to the Sunday World yesterday, BBC reporter Ware recalled meeting Winkie Dodds in the home of now-deceased UDA west Belfast boss Tommy Tucker Lyttle.

The UDA leadership was keen to prove they werent just a sectarian killer gang, said Ware. And I was invited to Tuckers house to meet Nelson, who never turned up, because the army had pulled him out of Northern Ireland that very night.

Of course the sting there at the end of the table was Winkie Dodds, who never spoke a single word the entire time I was there.

I met Tucker two weeks later and he told me that after I left, Winkie had asked him, Do you want me to slot him boss?.

And he added: According to Winkie, I knew too much!

Charged as a result of an inquiry by Sir John Stevens into collusion involving loyalists, former British soldier Nelson pleaded guilty and was jailed for 10 years. He since died of a heart attack.

Last night, former RUC detective Johnston Brown  who played a major role in the downfall of Adairs notorious C Coy on the Shankill  said he was pleased to hear Winkie Dodds had turned to God.

He said: I really am pleased to hear this. Winkie was under severe threat at one stage. But its good that hes now found Christianity.
A Status Yellow ice warning is in place for the whole country until 9am on Saturday

A Status Yellow ice warning has been issued for the whole country after sleet and snow led to travel disruption in some parts.

Met Eireann said cold temperatures could mean ice developing on untreated surfaces, leading to hazardous travelling conditions.

Temperatures are forecast to drop to -1C in places overnight, leading to fears many roads will freeze with slush and snow underneath, which would lead to extremely hazardous conditions.

A status yellow ice warning will be in effect from 6pm on Friday until 9am on Saturday.

A separate yellow rain warning with the risk of localised flooding is in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and will expire at 3am on Saturday.

Margot the cavapoo enjoys her morning walk in the Blessington Basin, in Dublin this morning as heavy snow falls. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Photos

Met Eireann said temporary accumulations of snow and falling sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions.

A status yellow warning for snow and ice, which has now expired, was in place for Cavan, Monaghan, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal.

The forecaster said there will be persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.

Iarnrod Eireann said some DART trains for commuters around Dublin had been delayed on Friday, with the suspension of services between Lansdowne and Bray.

It said that a tree fell on overhead power lines near Merrion Street and crews are working to repair them.

There are also long delays from Heuston to Westport and Heuston to Galway.

Some Bus Eireann services to and from Dublin and Donegal and Cavan were also cancelled because of bad weather, as well as services between Cavan and Dundalk.

Dublin Bus said its 44B route from Glencullen was curtailed due to the weather.

Brandon Craig, meteorologist at Met Eireann, said that a rain warning was issued on Thursday afternoon but it was predicted that snow would fall on higher ground only.

He said that snow is notoriously difficult to predict.

It wasnt clear until this morning that it was going to be as heavy as it is and as widespread, Mr Craig told RTE Radio One.

The model had the freezing levels too high up over hills and higher areas but it turns out that complex dynamics pushed the snow down further than what it should have and thats what led to the lying snow over most areas.

Dublin snow

There was a signal for snow but it was over higher ground to the north.

Snow is notoriously the most difficult in meteorological parameters to forecast in Ireland. If we had a crystal ball and we knew exactly what was going to happen maybe that would have been an orange warning but given the risk at the time we dont take our warnings lightly at all.

We cant over-warn otherwise people wont believe the orange warnings when they come. The warnings that were put out were based on the most accurate evidence at the time.

Flights into and out of Dublin were also delayed throughout Friday.

In Northern Ireland, police said they received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in and around Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

They urged motorists to consider whether their journey is necessary, and to travel with extra caution.
Met Eireann has warned of hazardous travelling conditions

Met Eireann has issued a status yellow snow and ice warning for seven counties while a further four counties are under a rain warning with temperatures set to drop to -1 degrees tonight.

A status yellow snow and ice warning has been issued for Donegal until 8am this morning, while Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Kildare, Longford and Westmeath are under the same warning until 10am.

Falls of sleet and snow may lead to temporary accumulations, Met Eireann said, warning of icy stretches on untreated surfaces, poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions.

Meanwhile, a status yellow rain warning is underway for counties Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow until 3am this Saturday, leading to persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.

Met Eireann has warned of localised flooding and the possibility of localised thunderstorms.

Today will see rain, sleet and snow in Ulster and north Leinster move southwards across the rest of the country through the day, falling mostly as rain by this afternoon, except on higher ground.

Hail and isolated thunderstorms are possible as drier conditions follow in the northwest during the afternoon.

It will become breezy and blustery later too, as a fresh to strong and gusty north to northeast wind develops. Cold, with afternoon highs of 3 to 7 degrees.

Remaining rain in eastern counties will become patchy and clear southeastwards overnight.

Elsewhere, it'll be mainly dry with clear spells early on, but scattered showers will feed down from the north later, mainly affecting western and northern counties.

Some showers may be heavy with a chance of hail. Lowest temperatures of between of -1 and +3 degrees with some frost and icy patches possible.

Moderate, occasionally fresh north to northwest winds, will be strong and gusty on western and northern coasts.

Tomorrow will bring a mix of sunny spells and showers, some heavy with a chance of hail.

Afternoon highs of 5 to 8 degrees. Moderate to fresh northerly winds, will increase strong and gusty in west Connacht and west Munster for a time in the afternoon.

Showers will become more isolated on Saturday night and long clear spells will develop. Winds will back northwest and fall light to moderate with temperatures dipping to between -2 to +3 degrees. Frost and icy patches are possible.

A bright day on Sunday with sunny spells and scattered showers, becoming isolated towards evening.

Top temperatures of 7 to 9 degrees. Light to moderate westerly winds will gradually back southwest by evening and reduce light.

Temperatures will fall quickly after dark on Sunday night under clear skies with frost and icy patches developing, and lows of -2 to +2 degrees.

Cloud will thicken from the southwest overnight and temperatures will rise as winds back southeast. Outbreaks of rain will develop in Munster by morning.

Mostly cloudy with outbreaks of rain, heaviest and most persistent in the southern counties.

Moderate to fresh and gusty easterly winds. Highs of 6 to 8 degrees. Further outbreaks of rain though Monday night, with some heavy falls, with sleet possible on high ground.

Light to moderate variable winds inland will be fresh and gusty near some coasts. Lows of 2 to 5 degrees

Current indications suggest rain will gradually clear northeastwards through the day with sunny spells developing. Highs of 7 to 10 degrees. Light to moderate westerly winds backing southerly later.

Current indications suggest our weather will remain fairly mixed but relatively mild through midweek next week, Met Eireann said.
New Zealanders now have the same access to PET-CT scans no matter where they live, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says.

Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora has approved funding an updated National set of criteria that will allow for about 1,000 more PET-CT scans a year to be publicly funded.

This is significant news for Kiwi who may be impacted by cancer  increasing access to diagnostic imaging is vital, says Dr Reti.

PET-CT scans are currently provided by the private sector with many patients referred from and funded by HNZ.

Health NZ has approved and will fund the National PET-CT indication list and criteria which has been updated and developed by the Cancer Control Agency with clinical input from a specialty project and radiology group."

Dr Reti says this is supported by international evidence-based PET-CT guidelines that will see many more people have access to the diagnostic tool.

PET-CT scans are important for diagnosis, especially when cancer may have spread. They are more sensitive than other more conventional imaging tests and can better inform treatment decisions for some cancers, including prostate cancer.

Its a great step forward in making sure all New Zealanders have the same access to diagnostic technology to help clinicians determine the best treatment options.

For example, before this nationally applied criteria was developed, men in the South Island had to pay for prostate PET-CT scans that men in most of the North Island didnt pay for. This removes variation, like this, that previously existed.

The changes to increasing access to PET-CT scans are estimated to cost about $3million per year. The updated criteria will be in place across the country by mid-March.

Health NZ is working on providing more opportunities to develop and deliver standardised access to treatment tools to help remove long standing issues to delivering health care services.
Te Kahui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission says the government's process by which it seeks to disestablish the Maori Health Authority falls well short of good faith engagement with Maori, is an inappropriate use of urgency, and undermines access to justice through the Waitangi Tribunal.

The government of the day has a duty under te Tiriti o Waitangi and through our international human rights agreements to ensure, at the very least, a partnership-based approach to decisions which affect Maori, says the Commissions Rongomau Taketake Claire Charters.

The government has effectively overridden the authority of the Waitangi Tribunal to do away with the Maori Health Authority, and that in itself is highly problematic.

Claire highlighted that bypassing the standard Select Committee process that allows proposed laws to be scrutinised and the public to have a say, should be reserved for exceptional situations.

There is no compelling need for urgency here. Its use in this case is particularly concerning given the claims before the Waitangi Tribunal.

In replacing the Maori Health Authority, wed also expect the government to have a compelling alternative with a strong case for how it will more effectively achieve the human rights to healthcare and health protection of Maori, as Indigenous peoples.

Yet, there is no alternative being provided. Instead, Maori will end up back in a system that has consistently failed to realise their rights, says Claire.

The creation of the Maori Health Authority followed significant reviews of the health and disability system and a major Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into Maori health services and outcomes, in which evidence of inequities experienced by Maori was fully accepted by the Crown.

Maori experience unequal outcomes across almost all health indicators.

This inequality and disadvantage is even further heightened for groups such as Tangata Whaikaha Maori (Maori disabled people) and takatapui communities.

The evidence and findings of the Tribunal emphasised the importance of tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) to address health inequities experienced by Maori.

This has been backed-up by research at Harvard University, which shows that when Indigenous Peoples can exercise self-determination, they achieve better outcomes.

Concerns raised at the United Nations

In the Commissions presentation to the United Nations five-yearly human rights review of New Zealand last week, Acting Chief Commissioner Saunoamaalii Dr Karanina Sumeo highlighted the countrys weak constitutional protection of te Tiriti o Waitangi and human rights.

Despite repeated recommendations for the Crown and Maori to determine the appropriate constitutional protections of te Tiriti o Waitangi, Maori rights remain vulnerable to the political climate of the day.

We are concerned that the new government has agreed to remove, review or repeal numerous policies and laws, such as the Maori Health Authority, that provide for Maori.

The Commission called for the government to progress discussions and action, in partnership with Maori.
Companies and a Crown-owned entity convicted of health and safety failings in the lead up to the Whakaari / White Island eruption will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court on Friday.

Victims and families of the 2019 disaster, which claimed 22 lives, have been making submissions.

White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris Ltd, Aerius Ltd and Kahu New Zealand Ltd each pleaded guilty to amended charges they faced last year in relation to the case. Whakaari Management Limited was found guilty by a judge last year.

InFlite Charters pleaded guilty to one charge and were sentenced on March 31, 2022.

The Institute of Geological Nuclear Sciences Limited pleaded guilty to an amended charge in May 2023.

On Thrusday, the Crown Research Institute GNS Science was the last to be heard in the case.

For years, GNS has been contracting Whakaari tour helicopter companies to fly its scientists to the island.

The pilots would wait there while scientists carried out their work monitoring the volcano.

The Crown agency is now being sentenced for its failure to consult pilots about the risks of what they were doing between 2016 and 2019.

WorkSafe prosecutor Kristy McDonald KC said while the charge against GNS did not relate to the day of the disaster, its failings were serious.

"The nature of the environment the pilots were required to work in posed a very serious risk - a risk of death of an eruption occurred while they were there in that environment. Given these factors, this failing, we say, is significant."

WorkSafe argues the fine should range from a starting point of between $150,000 to $250,000.

WorkSafe prosecutor Kristy McDonald KC Photo: Stuff/Ricky Wilson. WorkSafe prosecutor Kristy McDonald KC Photo: Stuff/Ricky Wilson.

McDonald said GNS had a duty to provide risk assessment information to the pilots, as it did for its own staff.

"It may have been the very type of information that would have made a helicopter operator that employed pilots recognise the degree of danger that trips to Whakaari posed and reconsider the safety and viability of their overall operation."

The lawyer for GNS, Rachael Reed KC, said the institute accepted it failed to communicate the risks in a structured way, although it did talk to pilots on a daily basis.

"Much of that communication that did occur contained the key risk information.

"However, GNS accepts it should have conducted it in a more formal way to ensure on each and every occasion all relevant information was passed on."

Reed said the fine for her client should start somewhere between $80,000 and $90,000.

She argued GNS deserved a 45 percent discount for its early guilty plea, and other mitigating factors such as its good safety record, and its help with getting volcanic experts to give evidence in the trial.

View of Whakaari / White Island from a monitoring flight on 31 August, 2022. Photo: GNS. View of Whakaari / White Island from a monitoring flight on 31 August, 2022. Photo: GNS.

The institute did give robust advice through its volcanic alerts, but that this could not have predicted the eruption, she said.

Reed also asked the judge to consider the impact of any fine on the agency's services to the public.

"Obviously the funds will come from its current budget and the impact of those funds will be a reduction in the services that it is able to provide."

The other defendants, White Island tours and Whakaari Management Limited, have also asked for fines to be reduced, and the three helicopter companies all say they have no money to pay any penalty.

The sentencing starts shortly before midday Friday.

The hearings have been held in the Environment Court all this week because the district court is too small.

-RNZ.
Proposed cuts to library services have sparked an outcry among residents of Opotiki, who say it's a place of refuge and learning for the eastern Bay of Plenty community.

Opotiki District Council is looking at reducing services at Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi, the districts $4 million library and digital hub, to mitigate rates increases.

Some residents say projects such as new jetties and boat ramps for the town wharf area should be put on hold instead.

The council has already trimmed back its rates rise from 34 percent to 13 percent and is considering cuts to services that could get the figure as low as 10.5 percent. These include cuts to levels of service at library, iSite, event funding and parks and reserves. At a meeting earlier this month the mayor and councillors endorsed these directions for the drafting of the upcoming Long-term Plan 2024-34.

However, Mayor David Moore said the move to cut services was not a done deal.

The guidance we have given the chief executive has been to help create a draft that we will then consult on. Public feedback is an important part of the process.

Former Opotiki Library staff member Dido Eden spoke out against cutting library services.

Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi was an amazing facility, especially for those least resourced in the community, Eden said.

[It is] a refuge, a place of learning, of peace, of play, of community.

If our library goes then we are on a slippery slope. It is not about books it is about people.

Opotiki-based television and filmmaker Kim Webby, a frequent user of the library, said the council had a hard job ahead finding places to make cuts, but they needed to look away from Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi.

Currently working on an Anzac programme for Whakaata Maori, she has made use of the library's books on the World War I Pioneer Battalion and the World War II Maori Battalion.

Its a really good research resource for me. As well as that, because I work at home, sometimes its just nice to have somewhere to go and work where theres other people around.

"Out of that, weve organised a group of women who all work from home that get together for lunch once a month. Its a really great initiative thats just grown organically out of the library."

The library was also used by children after school, who dont necessarily have access to digital devices, she said.

"Theyre in there doing their homework. Its a safe place for them to be.

Older people like my mum use it a lot for help with the computer."

Digital media and documentary creator Ivor Jones, who council commissioned to create a documentary about the artists who work is showcased in Te Tahuhu o Te Rangi, said it would be a disaster if services were cut.

He referred to a recent council decision to allocate up to $190,000 for resource consent applications for improvements to the wharf area for recreational wharf users and mussel boats.

The council needs to prioritise the needs of the people of the district over business interests. They should not be paying $190,000 to build boat ramps and jetties, he said.

Former mayor Lyn Riesterer also disagreed with the direction the council is taking.

Theyre reducing the most well-used resources and activities in the district, she said.

The best option for rates management is delaying operational projects."

Riesterer said the council is focused on putting in boat ramps down at the wharf, but it doesn't need to be done for another year or so.

Theyre trying to support [the mussel industry] but it shouldnt be at a cost to the ratepayers.

Ms Riesterer said plans to cut council-organised events in the district was also short sighted.

Council only budgets $40,000 a year (for events) and all the rest of the cost of the amazing events we have had in Opotiki were externally funded. Our programme of events brings people to Opotiki."

Opotiki Mayor David Moore says the move to cut services is by no means a done deal.

Mr Moore said the council had very few places to cut costs, but were open to suggestions.

We believe these areas have the least impact on our community in the long term, he said.

In regard to spending on a boat ramp and jetties, none of us want to see mussel boats continuing to ship to Whakatane once we have an operational harbour later this year. So, of course, we need to get the wharf up and running ... while we wait for the marina to come online.

"We already have funding set aside for that including external funding from central government.

While consultation on the long-term plan has been deferred until later this year, the public are able to engage with the council on the subject through its online portal, Hono Mai, at connect.odc.govt.nz/long-term-plan-2024-2034.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
The documentary on sex buyers premieres in Tauranga on Friday, March 1, at 7.30pm at Luxe Cinemas.

The documentary will arrive on New Zealand shores for two screenings only and explores the lives of sex buyers and what drives them, says Exodus Cry events manager Sloane Wilson.

Exodus Cry is a charitable organisation that is committed to abolishing sex trafficking and breaking the cycle of commercial sexual exploitation while assisting and empowering its victims.

One of the strategies Exodus Cry use to fight against this issue is by creating powerful messages through films, videos, podcasts, conferences and the written word.

Taking the critical issue of ending the demand that fuels the global issue of sex trafficking, Buying her focuses on sex buyers in the United States.

Through deeply insightful first-hand accounts, the film lays bare their journey, from childhood exposure to pornography to becoming hardened predators, and ultimately to what turned their lives around, says renowned clinical psychologist Dr. Harvey Schwartz.

The powerful real stories captured in Buying Her are a beacon of hope for the restoration of broken and hurting men, accountability for predators, and bringing about the end of sex trafficking for good.

I wanted to react to the film while the tears were still streaming down my face.

It is super. It is moving. It is brutally honest and without hope of gratuitousness.

It is the truth, the ugly truth.

I am, in a word, blown away, and I hope it is seen far and wide because it Is the only film in the world that deals with this subject with this level of specificity and brutal honesty, yet surrounded by compassion and sensitivity.

The screening in Tauranga will be followed by a Q&A session with key local leaders in the field of advocacy such as Ally-Marie Diamond (Wahine Toa Rising), Ninakaye Taaane-Tinorau (Korowai Tumanako), Denise Ritchie (Stop Demand), Jewel Anita Hendrix (Freedom from Sexual Exploitation), Rory Birkbeck (SafeSurfer), Michael Lefebvre (Activist/ Filmmaker) and moderated by Helen Taylor (Exodus Cry).

For the trailer and tickets visit: buyingher.com

For more information visit their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/events/s/buying-her-movie-screening-tau/408945765132096/
A record volume of cargo was exported along the Ukrainian sea corridor, created by the Ukrainian Navy, in February - 8 million tonnes, the total volume of exports since the beginning of the grain corridor reached 28 million tonnes, said Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine - Minister for Communities and Territories Development and Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The cargo turnover of the ports of Odesa in the shortest month of the year amounted to 8 million tonnes, of which 5.2 million tonnes were products of Ukrainian farmers. These are record export figures not only along the Ukrainian corridor, but also during the period of the full-scale invasion, Kubrakov said on Facebook on Friday.

At the same time, it is clarified that exports through the Black Sea ports are gradually approaching pre-war indicators, the deputy prime minister indicated.

He clarified that the volume of exports since the start of the corridor reached 28 million tonnes, 19 million tonnes of this volume are grains and oilseeds. The cargo was sent to 42 countries.

Today, more than 90% of all agricultural exports go through the ports of Odesa and the Danube ports. Ukraine remains one of the key guarantors of food security. Especially with regard to grain exports to African and Asian countries, Kubrakov noted.

Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko reported that the volume of exports from Ukraine in January reached 12 million tonnes, and for 21 days of February - 8.5 million tonnes thanks to the work of the Ukrainian sea corridor.
Pilar Martinez Malaga Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:19 Compartir Copiar enlace

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The Costa del Sol will head across to the important International Tourism Bourse in Berlin (ITB) to further promote the destination among the fast-growing German market.

Germans are the second-largest group of arrivals at Malaga Airport. Last year, the number of Germans staying in Costa accommodation was just one point shy of the figures in 2019. At the tourism fair in the German capital, which starts on Tuesday, 5 March, Malaga will be promoted to continue the steady stream of German tourists to the province.

German arrivals

A report presented by Costa del Sol Tourism CEO Esperanza Gonzalez points out Malaga is the second airport in Spain in which arrivals of German tourists grew the most last year compared to 2019, only beaten by Alicante. A total of 823,000 German passengers touched down in Malaga, 4.5% more than before the Covid-19 pandemic and 35% more than in 2022, according to the report. "Two out of every three German travellers that the province receives come from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich," Gonzalez added.

Hotels and tourist apartments in the province registered more than 1.35 million stays of German tourists, increasing by 29.2% compared to 2022, according to the report. "These figures give the Costa del Sol Malaga destination a share of 3% of the total number of nights spent by German tourists in Spain and 39.9% in Andalucia," Gonzalez said.

Younger visitors

The tourism official estimated some 730,000 Germans enjoyed holidays on the Costa del Sol last year, generating an economic impact of 1.11 billion euros, almost 29% more than the previous year, and 11,845 jobs.

The aim at ITB Berlin will be to continue to win over the loyalty of German tourists, particularly younger visitors, with a fresh ad campaign called Shout My Name where images of Malaga province will be plastered across taxis in the German capital.

Costa del Sol representatives will have their own stand at the fair in Berlin. SUR will also be attending with a special tourism supplement edited by SUR Deutsch ausgabe.
Tony Bryant Seville Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:20 Compartir Copiar enlace

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Considered the largest olive oil producing municipality in Spain, Martos (Jaen), has an important history that goes back to the Iberians.

Martos is popularly known as Ciudad de la Pena, as it is located at the foot of the Pena de Martos, a large rocky mass on top of which is perched its medieval fortress.

Historians claim the origin of its toponym dates back to ancient history, when the Iberians settled in the area and named the settlement Tucci, although it experienced its greatest era after the Roman conquest of the peninsula.

Plinio, known by the name Pliny the Elder to differentiate him from his nephew (Plinio the younger), first referred to the town as Colonia Augusta Gemella Tuccitana. He is said to have done this to differentiate the town from other populations that shared the name of Tucci.

Most academics agree that there seems to be no evidence which explains the true evolution of the previous names with the etymology of Martos, although most are of the opinion that this name evolved after the Muslim conquest of the peninsula in the 8th century.

The Muslim author Al-Razi was the first person to mention the town as Tus, which was transformed into Martus in the 10th century, Martus is said to refer to the fact that it was a walled city in the mountains, although the passage between these names is uncertain. Some historians declare the town's Muslim name refers to the imposing rock that protected it from invaders, so it would therefore be logical to surmise that Mar and Tus formed a single toponym that would mean Rock of Tus.

Another theory put forward declares that the name of Martos was given to the town by the invading Christians, who, in 1255, captured it from the Muslims on St Martha's Day, although this is also not supported by factual evidence.
SUR in English Gibraltar Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:23 Compartir Copiar enlace

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The government of Gibraltar has hailed the decision to remove the Rock from a list of countries and territories whose financial systems are not considered to be doing enough to counter shady practices such as money laundering, terrorist financing or trade in banned weapons.

Last Friday the top Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is supported by some 40 countries and international bodies, announced from Paris that Gibraltar was no longer on the organisation's grey list of places that were subject to extra monitoring over so-called economic crime.

A statement from the FATF said, "The FATF plenary congratulated Barbados, Gibraltar, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates for their significant progress in addressing the strategic deficiencies previously identified during their mutual evaluations. These jurisdictions had committed to implement an Action Plan to swiftly resolve the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes. These countries will no longer be subject to the FATF's increased monitoring process." The decision comes after a successful visit to Gibraltar by FATF inspectors.

The United Kingdom has also taken Gibraltar off its grey list as a result of the FATF decision

Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo said, "This is very welcome news and I am delighted that our continued and ongoing work and political commitment to future development has been recognised.

"I am grateful to all the agencies and authorities that have contributed to this work as well as the private sector that has wholeheartedly joined us in our fight against economic crime.

"Gibraltar's FATF white listing not only enhances our reputation but also strengthens our position as a trusted and compliant international financial centre."

The UK has also taken Gibraltar off its grey list as a result of the FATF decision.
Cristina Vallejo Malaga Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:39 Compartir Copiar enlace

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We use symbolic names to protect our identities, is Lugalo and Diderots justification for not revealing their real names. They are Freemasons, members of the Malaga Pythagoras lodge, which has celebrated its tenth anniversary. Recently they have received news from Madrid that threatening graffiti is appearing on the doors of masonic temples attributed to the hands of the extreme right. Throughout history, they remind us, Freemasonry and its members have been greatly persecuted, especially in Spain, they claim, namely during the absolutist reign of Ferdinand VII and Franco's dictatorship. But the Freemasons have survived all such persecution and the bad press associating them with diabolical cults, strange rituals or various conspiracies. They define themselves only as free people of good morals.

Meeting up with SUR, they explain that their membership is growing. Evidence? The founding of their lodge in Malaga city ten years ago is the result of this increase in their critical mass, first in Andalucia and then specifically in Malaga province.

Both Lugalo and Diderot are past retirement age. Throughout their working lives they were dedicated to cultural management in business and social services. It was curiosity that later piqued their interest as well as a restless mind that led them to enter Freemasonry. Moreover, they observed a different mood to its members once they met them. So all this happened over different stages in their lives: in adolescence and as young men they learned about what Freemasonry stood for; when older, set up for life and families raised, they accepted the invitation to join the movement after making contact via social media, mostly through chat rooms: Freemasonry is in the 21st century, they say.

French Freemasonry and obediences

At the point when they wanted to join a lodge, Freemasonry in Malaga and across Andalucia existed only in its English version - put simply, conservative, monarchist and aristocratic - the result of most Freemasons at that time coming from that geographical area. They, on the other hand, identified more with the obediences (masonic term) in France, in particular that of the Grand Orient of France (secular, republican and democratic), which has a federal structure made up of 1,300 lodges and more than 50,000 members around the world). They looked for a temple (the physical place for lodge meetings, but often used as a synonym for a lodge) of the French persuasion and joined one in Alicante.

As the membership grew with Freemasons from Andalucia, including Master Masons, they set themselves the goal of founding a lodge closer to home. The first phase in this process is the creation of triangles (the minimum grouping of Freemasons, made up of a Master Mason and three brothers), then to raise the pillars and light the lesser lights', Masonic terms that refer to the values to be enshrined in the founding of a lodge. Its only natural that, with growth, lodges are set up, that is why this one in Malaga is ten years old; we were previously part of one lodge (Tartessos) in Seville, they explain. Right now Pythagoras lodge has around thirty members of all ages, of which five are women. They come from all kinds of professions and can hold any ideology, but one thing they have in common, as Lugano and Diderot put it, they are restless people.

How to become a Freemason?

When someone begins looking into Freemasonry or gets to know a Freemason, curiosity can then turn into interest and they can be invited to enter a lodge, as happened for these two. What is the entry process like? It's not easy at all. First of all, they say, you have to read a lot: both Masonic and anti-Masonic literature. Additional essential reading, though, is on Pythagoras' website, where you can see the 'planchas', which are their Masonic articles on matters for debate at lodge meetings, often shrouded in architectural terminology (laying foundations, building bridges). They suggest that such value statements are not unlike the wording typically applied to parliamentary laws approved by MPs, as happened with the recent law on euthanasia. It is about finding out if Freemasonry is right for you, a real connection: We are not interested in those who come to browse, who join and then leave soon after. You have to know what you're getting into; you have to be certain about this, and possess a certain level of maturity, they warn.

We are not interested in those who come to browse, who join and then leave soon after. You have to know what you're getting into; you have to be certain about this, and possess a certain level of maturity

Through their website you can petition to join the lodge by filling out a form with all your personal details and life history, plus an explanation of what motivates you to consider Freemasonry. From there, the application process has commenced. One of the most important milestones is the moment when three Master Masons conduct three interviews with the candidate following the principle set by an important Masonic symbol, the Plumb, which comes from the plumb line used in construction to test straightness. These interviews deal with personal, philosophical and social matters. The lodge wants to know about the applicant in depth and, above all, to confirm whether they meet the profile of someone with free thought and good morals; if they are, in short, an exemplary citizen.

As for matters of ideology, it is not necessary to share the main ideas that inspire the lodge or its republican spirit: If you disagree with me, far from offending me, you enrich me, they state. In fact, they boast of having no limits to our thinking and not tolerating obstacles: Freedom of thought must always be at the forefront.

Alongside the interviews, the lodge in question also consults with the Grand Orient of France to see if the applicant who aspires to be a Mason has been rejected by any other Masonic obedience or if he has been expelled for good reason (committing a crime or similar). After all these checks, the blindfolded candidate will undergo the solemn presentation to the lodge, in which any of its members can ask him anything and, immediately afterwards, his candidacy is put to a vote with a secret ballot. Each lodge member drops either a black or white ball into their respective boxes (blackballing means rejection). The candidate will need an absolute majority to join.

Freemasonry is quite the opposite to what happens in a sect, as indicated by Lugano and Diderot: although it is quite difficult to join, it is easy to leave. One can leave by one's own volition, although a Freemason can also be expelled (Masonic death in their terminology) if one is disrespectful, does not fulfil ones duties, doesn't pay the monthly membership fee (40 euros), doesn't attend meetings...

A rite of passage: the drama of the initiation

Once the layman's application to the lodge is accepted, the initiation ceremony or rite of passage takes place.

Our two Freemasons describe the initiation ceremony as a sociodrama with several stages and tests. For example, the earth test, which takes the Intended Initiate to the Chamber of Reflection, a small room with blackened walls, with some pictures on the wall and thought-provoking phrases that encourage him to abandon the process (if you come here out of curiosity, then leave, for example) and with symbolic elements of the most archaic Masonic Rites, such as the rooster, the hourglass, a small loaf of bread, a glass of water, and three jars with mercury, sulphur and soil. There the initiate is locked up where he will have to fill out a document in which he will explain his thinking about what he considers to be his obligations towards his country, his family and even towards himself, and to reveal, when it is his time to die, what would be his last will and testament.

Before becoming a Mason the initiate will also have to go through the tests of the remaining elements of fire, air and water. The whole process requires you to progress from one stage to the next. Freemasonry uses progression everywhere, like the ranking system that takes them from being an Apprentice, from there to Journeyman or Fellowcraft and, finally, to Master Mason. They don't give many more details, but they stress that everything is highly symbolic and staged, even quite theatrical.

They do explain that the person in question is blindfolded, with their right leg rolled up, barefoot on one foot, with one shoulder exposed and with a rope or chain binding hands and neck. The initiate (aka the profane) is almost crawling into the ceremony. Once they have entered in chains, the first thing the Worshipful Master or First Warden does is take hold of the bindings, remove them and throw them away, reciting the following words: 'These are all the things that are binding you, they are enslaving you; from now on, begone'. The Worshipful Master then says to the new Mason, still kneeling: 'You will never kneel before anyone. A Mason lives standing and dies standing.. Therefore, it has a meaning to enter the temple in chains, because in life we are full of things that tie us down. There is also a reason why the initiate had to empty all pockets before entering: you have to leave behind the 'profane metals' and all that comes from outside.

Monthly lodge meetings

Besides initiation ceremonies, there are monthly lodge meetings where members present and debate on different issues. Some current topics include abstention in elections and political disaffection, the legitimacy of civil disobedience, or water as a common right. These are topics they believe to be of great relevance: We follow the French Rite, we are very active, prepared to speculate, always scientific in our attitude, accepting that everything is connected, they say. Still, in these meetings they wear the expected regalia of all Freemasons: the apron and the white gloves.

Malaga, these Freemasons explain, has been, and still is, favourable territory for Freemasonry due to its liberal traditions. For this reason they point out that the Pythagoras lodge is not the only lodge in the city or the province. There are more lodges and, in the last two decades, they have grown in number.

We are reminded that Freemasons do not discuss partisan issues, but they tell us that in their ranks there can be partisan supporters from across the political spectrum and, in some lodges, there may also be a priest or two. Freemasonry in general and their lodge draw a clear line between their movement and religion, politics or any other association. They argue that the objective of a political party is to achieve power; that of a religion, to impose a dogma; and that of an association, to work for some cultural or social purpose, whatever that might be. That said, they want their thinking to transcend the confines of the lodge. Much of their outreach work, once approved, goes overseas.

We work undercover in the protected environment of the lodge because there is more free thinking and free expression when its guaranteed that nothing will reach the powers that be.

However, their debates are kept secret. What happens in the lodge stays in the lodge. The extent of this secrecy is such that, if a Mason misses one of the meetings, they will never know what happened in that session. It is forbidden to comment on anything. They work undercover, as they call it, in the protected environment of the lodge because there is more free thinking and free expression when its guaranteed that nothing will reach the powers that be. That is the Freemasons tradition that they continue to respect. I can bare myself intellectually in my lodge in front of my brothers knowing that, even if I say something crazy, they will respect me, they will correct me, and nothing is leaked, something that does not happen in 'profane life' outside.

Secrecy also comes in another format: a Freemason cannot reveal the Masonic identity of another living Freemason, although they can declare themselves to be one, if they so wish.

Freemasonry in the 21st century

So, if Freemasonry is neither a political party, nor a religion, nor an association, what role can it have in the 21st century? The one it has always had, they answer: The lodge is like a still used in alchemy: many ideas enter and are distilled and purified and an elixir is the result. Freemasonry has such a role for the human being: it has the capacity to help you individually as a person to progress and improve, but then also, together with the rest of the Freemasons, its purpose is the improvement of humanity, bringing fairness and light to all.

So, what image do you think the Freemasons transmit in these times, with the dictatorship now fifty years behind us? You can just as easily find people who think that Freemasons are interesting people with whom to talk and debate as other folk who believe that Freemasons belong in the past.

SURs request to attend a lodge meeting at Pythagoras was turned down due to the secret nature of such meetings. However, it was explained that there is an annual open house (open white) meeting for anyone curious to learn more about Freemasonry. A 'closed white meeting' can also take place, which consists of inviting a layman to give a lecture or speak on a topic for the Masonic lodge.
Jose Rodriguez Camara Friday, 1 March 2024 | Updated 12/03/2024 19:43h. Compartir Copiar enlace

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According to figures released by Spain national statistics institute (INE), Torremolinos increased its population last year by 1,615 inhabitants to reach 70,434, a figure that is 2.3 per cent more than 2022. The figures show that the population is made up of an almost equal number of men and women, 35,209 and 35,225 respectively. This brings the Costa del Sol town, which gained its independence from Malaga in 1988, almost in line with neighbouring Benalmadena.

The population of Torremolinos has been increasing steadily since records began to be kept in 1842, when there were just 785 residents. The population has remained close to 70,000 for the last decade, and the latest increase is a step in the right direction of reaching the goal of 75,000, which would allow Torremolinos to become a 'Large Population Municipality', which would bring significant financial and other benefits to the town from regional and central governments.

Melting pot of cultures

The multiculturalism and diversity of Torremolinos is reflected in the municipal censor, which currently includes 125 nationalities, a melting pot of cultures that reveals the cosmopolitanism and heterogeneity of the municipality.

By nationality, and after the Spanish, the Moroccan population is the most present (1,757), followed by Italian (1,625), and UK nationals (1,300). The diversity in the population of Torremolinos is reflected in the presence of citizens from countries such as Colombia, Ukraine, Togo, Cape Verde, Namibia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and the Congo, among others.

Regarding the increase in the population, Mayor Margarita del Cid said, It is a milestone for a small town like Torremolinos to have become a large municipality in the metropolitan area of Malaga over the last 50 years. The population has tripled thanks to tourism.
Pilar Martinez Malaga Friday, 1 March 2024, 05:29 Compartir Copiar enlace

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Turismo Costa del Sol officials are heading to the major International Tourism Bourse in Berlin (ITB) travel fair to further promote the destination among the fast-growing German market.

Last year's arrivals of German tourists at Malaga Airport were just one point shy of the figures achieved in 2019, with the German market the second-highest group of visitors to the Costa del Sol in 2023, after the British. At the tourism fair in the German capital, which starts on Tuesday 5 March, Malaga will be promoted to continue the steady stream of German tourists to the province.

A report presented by Turismo Costa del Sol CEO Esperanza Gonzalez this week highlighted Malaga as the second airport in Spain in which arrivals of German tourists grew the most last year compared to 2019, only beaten by Alicante. A total of 823,000 German passengers touched down in Malaga, some 4.5% more than before the Covid-19 pandemic and 35% more than in 2022, according to the report. "Two out of every three German tourists that the province receives come from Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich," Gonzalez added.

Hotels and tourist apartments in the province registered more than 1.35 million stays of German tourists, increasing by 29.2% compared to 2022, according to the report. "These figures give the Costa del Sol and Malaga destinations a share of 3% of the total number of nights spent by German tourists in Spain and 39.9% in Andalucia," Gonzalez said.

The tourism official estimated some 730,000 Germans enjoyed holidays on the Costa del Sol and across Malaga province last year, generating an economic impact of 1,110 million euros - almost 29% more than the previous year - and generated some 11,845 jobs. Gonzalez claimed that the growth rate of this market on the Costa del Sol is triple that of competing Spanish destinations

Objective

The aim at ITB Berlin will be to continue to win over the loyalty of German tourists, particularly younger visitors with a fresh ad campaign called Shout My Name; images of this campaign will be plastered across taxis in the German capital.

"We want to show a renewed destination for which sustainability is key," Gonzalez said. And she added that they also intend to reach a younger audience with the campaign Shout My Name, whose images will travel around the German capital in a campaign in taxis.

Costa del Sol representatives will have their own stand at the fair in Berlin. SUR will also be attending with a special tourism supplement edited by our sister newspaper SUR deutsche Ausgabe.
SUR Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:10 Compartir Copiar enlace

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Amid fears other residential blocks could have been built the same way as the ones that burned in the spectacular fire last week that claimed ten lives in Valencia, real estate agents have called for public calm.

Spokesperson for COAPIV, the Valencia association for the real estate industry, Vicente Diez, said on Thursday this week that, although there were "nerves" over what happened to the 13-storey and 10-storey blocks in the Nou Campanar area of the Mediterranean city, "we need to stay positive and be confident that people are safe in their buildings". Diez added, "The buildings that have been built in the Valencia region since time began meet the regulations, and, as a result, we should feel relaxed."

Many reports of the fire that ripped through the tall, modern buildings at high speed in windy conditions have focused on the type of material used in the cladding. Live television images of molten panels flying through the air were watched across Spain.

Initial reports said the building's covering may have contained polyurethane, the flammable substance linked to the large Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017. However, later evidence has pointed to different fillings and the investigation into the fire will need to determine why it spread so quickly.

Bodies released for burial

A judge has now given permission for the bodies of the ten victims to be returned to families for burial after the forensic investigations ended and residents of the 138 flats affected were allowed to collect the few belongings remaining, except for the flat where the fire is believed to have started.

Throughout the week, work has been going on to rehouse those affected in an empty, new building belonging to the city council and arrangements made to give emergency payouts.

On Monday, the King and Queen paid a visit to Valencia, meeting with victims and visiting the scene of the tragedy. "They went asking us questions one by one," said the residents after the visit.
SUR Madrid Friday, 1 March 2024, 15:12 Compartir Copiar enlace

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It has been a torrid week for the ruling Socialist PSOE party as the growing scandal over the purchase of face masks from China during the Covid pandemic threatened to take out more senior government figures.

Last week it emerged that a close aide of former top party boss and ex-transport minister Jose Luis Abalos was being investigated with others over illegal multi-million commissions for selling face masks to the government at inflated prices. The aide, Koldo Garcia, had enjoyed a meteoric rise from bouncer at a brothel to the total confidence of Abalos and others in the PSOE.

Questions since the story emerged have focused on what minister Abalos, who signed off part of the purchases, knew.

This week, faced with mounting pressure from his colleagues to give up his seat in parliament to avoid the party suffering from accusations of corruption, Abalos was defiant. Saying in a press conference that he was not accused of anything and resigning would suggest he were guilty, he instead said he was giving up sitting for the Socialists but carrying on as an independent MP. The Socialists immediately suspended him for disobedience.

Meanwhile, pressure is growing on other government figures over the scandal. The former president of the Balearics region and now Speaker in Congreso, Francina Armengol, was being asked why she had not requested a refund when a 3.7-million-euro consignment of masks linked to those being investigated turned out not to be the right type. The masks, paid for in the end with EU funds, are still in a warehouse unused, reports said.
Ministry of Energy expects export of biomethane to be unblocked; for natural gas, everything will depend on national security situation  Deputy Minister

The Ministry of Energy expects the Verkhovna Rada to soon adopt bill No. 9456, which resolves the issue of unblocking the export of biomethane.

As Deputy Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said, lifting the ban on natural gas exports, introduced with the start of the full-scale invasion, will depend on the impact of such a decision on the national security of Ukraine.

"For our part, we are actively working to ensure that biomethane comes out of the ban. As for natural gas, we will discuss it with our partners and evaluate the situation internally, see what the risks are," Hrynchuk told reporters on the sidelines of the Results of Heating Season 2023/2024: the economy is under fire" forum organized by the Centre for Economic Recovery in Kyiv on Friday.

She said that "first of all, this is a security situation. It is necessary to weigh the economic benefits and national security risks and make an informed decision."

As reported, bill No. 9456 on customs clearance of biomethane, opening the way to its export, was adopted in the first reading on February 7 this year. Biomethane producers are calling on the Verkhovna Rada to adopt the law at the final reading in March to make it possible to export the resource, attract foreign exchange earnings and invest in new capacities.
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Millie Bobby Brown reveals how Syracuse alumnus proposed to her

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is opening up about how Syracuse University alumnus Jake Bongiovi proposed to her. The 20-year-old actress appeared on The Tonight Show Thursday night to promote her new movie Damsel when she revealed to host Jimmy Fallon how Bongiovi, the 21-year-old son of rock singer Jon Bon Jovi, popped the question last year.
Annsville, N.Y.  Emergency crews discovered a body Thursday afternoon after a fire in an Oneida County home was brought under control, sheriffs deputies said.

Police were called around 2:15 p.m. to the home on Mill Road in the town of Annsville, deputies said in a news release.

A neighbor called in the fire after seeing smoke coming from the single story home, they said.
Manlius, N.Y.  A man burglarized a Central New York home because it belonged to an Asian American business owner, police said.

On Tuesday, police arrested Cristian Pena Ramos, 24, of Newark, New Jersey, after he burglarized a home in the town of Manlius, said Sgt. Kenneth Hatter, a spokesperson for Manlius Police.

Ramos and two other suspects drove up to the home in a white 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, Hatter said. A neighbor saw the burglary happening and called police, Hatter said.
There were 12 hunting-related shooting incidents during the 2023 hunting seasons, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in a report issued today.

This ties with 2019 for the second lowest number of HRSIs since record-keeping began more than 70 years ago. Four of the last five hunting seasons are among the safest in state history.

Of the 12 HSRIs, two were fatal, and both occurred on the opening weekend of big game gun season in the Southern Zone.

On Nov. 18, two hunters in Wayne County were dragging a deer from a field when the shooters shotgun unintentionally discharged, hitting his partner, Brian Bizallion, 42, of Wolcott, in the chest at close range. DEC reminds hunters to unload all firearms and engage the safety before dragging harvested game.

On Nov. 19, a 57-year-old hunter in Chenango County used a rope to pull a loaded firearm up into a ladder stand when it went off and hit him in the chest. Hunters are reminded to never tie a haul line through the trigger guard, never pull a loaded firearm or crossbow up into a stand, and to always point the barrel of the firearm down while hauling.

Half of the 12 HRSIs that occurred in 2023 were two-party firearm incidents; the other half were self-inflicted. All shooters were experienced hunters, DEC said.

All incidents couldve been prevented if the hunters involved had followed safety rules, DEC said. A complete list of HSRIs for 2023 is available here.

Tree stand accidents

Hunters reported eight tree stand accidents, or elevated hunting incidents, in 2023, none fatal.

Seven of the hunters involved suffered extensive injuries after falling while not using a fall-arrest harness system. One hunter was wearing a harness, but it was attached to the stand, not the tree. When the stand broke, the hunter fell along with the stand.

A full body harness, and a lifeline tether, is the only way to go. It keeps you connected from the moment your feet leave the ground to the moment you get back down.

DEC began tracking EHIs in 2017, but the agency acknowledges most go unreported. A complete list of EHIs for 2023 is available here.

Hunters in New York are extremely safety-conscious, thanks largely to more than 70 years of hunter education programs. All first-time hunters, bowhunters, and trappers must complete a safety course before buying a hunting license.

As a result, incidents have sharply decreased from decades ago. For example, 166 hunting-related shooting incidents were reported in 1966.

The golden rules of hunter safety:

Treat every firearm as if it were loaded

Control the muzzle, keep it pointed in a safe direction

Identify your target and what lies beyond it

Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire

Wear hunter orange or pink

The ABCs of tree stand safety:

Always inspect the tree stand before every use

Buckle full body harness securely every time

Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground

More hunting safety statistics are available on DECs website.



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With one death, 2022 ties for lowest number of hunter shooting incidents in New Yorks history - newyorkupstate.com

2021 was the safest year on record for NYS hunters - newyorkupstate.com

2020 NY shooting-related hunting accidents: 2 of the 3 fatals occurred in Onondaga County - newyorkupstate.com

2019 NY hunting seasons safest on record: See complete accident summary - newyorkupstate.com

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

The short-term extension is the fourth in recent months, and many lawmakers expect it to be the last for the current fiscal year. House Speaker Mike Johnson said negotiators had completed six of the annual spending bills that fund federal agencies and had almost final agreement on the others.
European partners have not officially contacted the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine regarding the extension of gas transportation services from the Russian Federation from January 2025 due to the end of the transit contract at the end of this year, Deputy Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said.

"Our partners have not officially contacted us regarding the continuation of gas transit from the Russian Federation," she told reporters on the sidelines of the forum "Results of the 2023/2034 heating season: the economy under fire" organized by the Centre for Economic Recovery, which took place in Kyiv on Friday.

"I know that they are currently having discussions internally regarding this. I think closer to mid-spring there will be more clarity," the deputy minister added.

At the same time, she noted that, in particular, during a recent meeting of energy ministers in Paris, many of them informed the Ukrainian delegation "about a significant reduction in dependence on Russian gas."

"For example, the Italian minister noted that his country does not need Russian resources. Austria made a similar statement. The European Commission is also actively looking for other ways to supply or reduce consumption," Hrynchuk described the situation.
The Taos News delivered to your Taos County address every week for a full year! We offer our lowest mail rates to zip codes in the county. Click Here to See if you Qualify. Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. You may cancel at anytime.
UNITY insurance instrument makes it possible to halve insurance rates in commercial market for transportation by Ukrainian maritime route

Thanks to the UNITY insurance instrument, insurance rates on the commercial market for transportation by Ukrainian maritime route have been halved, while the rate for insurance of agricultural products is now 0.75%.

"Expanding insurance to all non-military cargo, such as container shipping, iron ore, steel, is extremely important for Ukraine, especially given the increased export opportunities for metallurgical products, since this sector was hit hard by the full-scale invasion. Ship insurance can also support efforts to increase export volumes all non-commodity products. Since strengthening the processing industry and developing non-commodity exports are priorities for the government to strengthen economic sustainability," said First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko, whose words are given on the ministry's website.

The decision, which will expand Ukraine's export opportunities, was announced on March 1 in London during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation led by Svyrydenko to the UK.

The UNITY affordable ship insurance program, run by Marsh McLennan and Lloyd's of London in cooperation with the Ukrainian government, is being significantly expanded to cover not only maritime grain and other essential food commodities, but also ships carrying all non-military cargo such as iron ore, steel and containerized cargo.

"Marsh McLennan supports Ukraine, helping it attract global investment to rebuild the country and rebuild its economy. We are pleased to expand our public-private partnership with the Ukrainian government. The solution will provide exporters with lower premiums to transport a wider range of goods through the Black Sea trade routes and large economic benefits for Ukraine," said Marsh McLennan President and CEO John Doyle, whose words are quoted in the report.

As reported, all international brokers have access to the UNITY insurance instrument, which ship owners and Ukrainian exporters can contact.
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian



Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,046 Thanked: 20,019 Times

BYD launches Yangwang U9 electric supercar; Will rival Ferrari & Lamborghini



Yangwang is BYD's new sub-brand, which launched last year. Alongside the brand launch, the company also showcased its first two models in the form of the U9 supercar and U8 off-road SUV. The U8 electric off-road SUV has already gone on sale in the Chinese market, retailing for around $140,000 and rivalling the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class & Land Rover Defender.







Coming back to the Yangwang U9, the electric supercar measures 4,966 mm in length, 2,029 mm in width and 1,295 mm in height - similar to the dimensions of the Lamborghini Aventador. The Yangwang U9 is powered by four electric motors, producing a total power output of 1,287 BHP and 1,680 Nm. The electric powertrain allows the U9 to catapult from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 2.36 seconds. BYD states that the U9 is "the most powerful supercar in the pure electric era, surpassing the power performance of the V12 engine."



BYD is yet to announce the exact range figures of the U9 supercar. However, the company claims it can fast charge from 30% - 80% in just 10 minutes, thanks to its 800V architecture.



In terms of features and driver-assist tech, the Yangwang U9 comes with 12 sets of multifunctional aerodynamic kits, an active diffuser, a 4-step adjustable rear wing, an industry-first "self-developed racing assistant" covering 30 tracks across China and three screens in the cabin - a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch central infotainment unit and a 10.25-inch passenger screen.



Source:



Link to Team-BHP news BYD, the world's leading EV maker, has announced the launch of its new electric supercar, the Yangwang U9. The new electric supercar is priced at 1,680,000 yuan (US$ 233,400) and aims to rival manufacturers like Ferrari and Lamborghini.Yangwang is BYD's new sub-brand, which launched last year. Alongside the brand launch, the company also showcased its first two models in the form of the U9 supercar and U8 off-road SUV. The U8 electric off-road SUV has already gone on sale in the Chinese market, retailing for around $140,000 and rivalling the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class & Land Rover Defender.Coming back to the Yangwang U9, the electric supercar measures 4,966 mm in length, 2,029 mm in width and 1,295 mm in height - similar to the dimensions of the Lamborghini Aventador. The Yangwang U9 is powered by four electric motors, producing a total power output of 1,287 BHP and 1,680 Nm. The electric powertrain allows the U9 to catapult from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 2.36 seconds. BYD states that the U9 is "the most powerful supercar in the pure electric era, surpassing the power performance of the V12 engine."BYD is yet to announce the exact range figures of the U9 supercar. However, the company claims it can fast charge from 30% - 80% in just 10 minutes, thanks to its 800V architecture.In terms of features and driver-assist tech, the Yangwang U9 comes with 12 sets of multifunctional aerodynamic kits, an active diffuser, a 4-step adjustable rear wing, an industry-first "self-developed racing assistant" covering 30 tracks across China and three screens in the cabin - a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 12.3-inch central infotainment unit and a 10.25-inch passenger screen.Source: Electrek
CARDEEP Senior - BHPian



Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NCR Posts: 3,243 Thanked: 2,498 Times

Re: Hyundai Creta N Line spied during TVC shoot in Pune Few days ago I was hunting for second petrol car for myself. Evaluated a lot including - Elevate, Creta/ Seltos, Grand Vitara.



I found the new Creta meeting my requirements & top of list, except for unknown safety score. I believe after the Verna the Safety of the Creta would also be good. Even the build appeared lot heavier than competitors & the car is also most spacious amongst the bunch.



It's a different matter that I bought a used Brezza petrol for good safety rating & reasonable price. But, I definitely miss the spacious cabin of the Creta as the Brezza is even less spacious than the Grand i10 (that I had for few days).



After having driven the 1.5 NA engine, I found it good for most situations. IMO the 1.5 Turbo engine will definitely be fun & evil/ wide every time one may push it hard. Last edited by CARDEEP : 27th February 2024 at 11:56 .
schumi_pete BHPian

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re: My brand-new Tata Safari has been fully disassembled | EDIT: Dealer offers full refund! There are a couple of things that don't make sense in this story. Why and how on earth did the dealership decide to strip down the entire car for the electronics issue is the first and most important question in my view.



Leaving aside the fact that a brand new car will never be able to get back to its original state in this case, stripping down and re-assembling the car is a lot of work, and someone has to foot the bill for the work. In this case, since the car is under warranty, it is the factory that will likely foot the bill for the job. There must be a workflow internally which should stipulate that the dealership should reach out to the factory and agree on a way forward before they can actually even do this. It should be the folks in the factory/product management that should indicate the steps needed to diagnose and rectify this problem.



This episode shows to me that Tata Motors either has no control over how its dealerships operate, or that they don't a have good product management function within the organization. Deeply troubling in either case, to go along with the obvious QC problems that led to this situation in the first place.
In the Black and Azov Seas, the Russian Navy is keeping two ships on combat duty, there are no Kalibr carriers, the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed on Friday morning.

"As of 07:00 on March 1, 2024, there is one enemy ship in the Black Sea, one enemy ship in the Sea of Azov, and two enemy ships in the Mediterranean Sea. There are no carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles," the message says.

During the day, in the interests of the Russian Federation, the passage of the Kerch Strait was carried out: two ships entered the Sea of Azov, one of them moved from the Bosphorus Strait. There are 13 ships in the Black Sea, two of them continued to move towards the Bosphorus Strait.
shankar.balan BANNED

Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,368 Thanked: 23,077 Times

View My Garage



Infractions: 0/3 (12)

Re: Maruti Jimny Review



The Manual Jimny is superb. We went onto some large patch of area being cleared for some giant future construction. It looks like a mining site at the moment and offers any Jeepy thing a solid workout.



The best thing is despite the kind of ruts and soft sand and loose concrete jelly surfaces, the Jimny did everything in 2H. It is only because I wanted to, that I engaged 4H for a short time and did a couple of light, dry skids on that soft sand.



It is a modern Gypsy with all the essential creature comforts. It eats up everything one throws at it, variegated ruts, corrugated roads, mud, slidey soft sand, potholes on tarmac, concrete jelly laid tracks and so on. It has that excellent narrow body which can squeeze through typical city traffic and get you somewhere real quick.



And in my opinion the manual transmission is far superior to the AT. It is much more responsive and you can control things much better. Old school. But that rifle bolt click of the Gypsy is missing. It is a softer and mushier gear box in the Jimny as compared with the Gypsy.



Having just stepped off the Thar ownership bandwagon after 3 full years, I reiterate that had they launched the Jimny at the time they launched the Thar, I would have chosen the Jimny like a shot. It is a far better engineered and superior vehicle and suits my want state admirably much better than the Thar ever could. Honestly.



If the Maruti folks had even indicated straight that they would give us the Jimny in late 2021, I would have definitely waited rather than spend all that money on the Thar. (Ok I did enjoy the Thar for sure, but the Jimny just makes my heart very much happier.)



If the Maruti people had an ounce of sense, they should have launched a limited number of just 3000 3 door Jimnys in India just around the time of the end of Covid. And the reaction and reception to the Jimny, by the Indian public would have been totally different than it is now. They could have always followed up when ready with the 5 door Jimny.



Yes, in my case, it is just a matter of time - The Gypsy will yield space to the Jimny at the appropriate juncture in my life. Of course one cannot under-estimate the superb utilitarianism and functionality and lightness of the Gypsy, but the Jimny is much more liveable with on day to day basis for me, in my alter-ago avatar - that of an ageing, (past 50), hat-wearing, jeep-driving, wannabe Indiana Jones/ John Wayne although in truth I am only a normal working middle-class urban-dweller, with a penchant for hill trips.



My choice would be the Manual Alpha. And after some time I would buy the Zeta Steel wheels and sell off the Alloys. I would be hard pressed to choose between the Grey, the White and the Blue shades. But then hey, one can always do a wrap job later! (Another thing, I am seeing several Jimnys in the Second Hand Market. It may actually be more sensible to consider one of those.)



The Sarjapur Nexa folks were kind enough today at my special request, to position both their test drive Jimnys next to my Gypsy so that I could make some more photos of Grandpa and his Twin Grandsons . Dad and I went to the local Nexa in the Gypsy today. The Gypsy still turns heads there is no doubt about that. And we took another muddy dusty sandy test drive in the Manual Jimny. Nexa had two- both in the same Kinetic Yellow colour but one was AT and one was MT.The Manual Jimny is superb. We went onto some large patch of area being cleared for some giant future construction. It looks like a mining site at the moment and offers any Jeepy thing a solid workout.The best thing is despite the kind of ruts and soft sand and loose concrete jelly surfaces, the Jimny did everything in 2H. It is only because I wanted to, that I engaged 4H for a short time and did a couple of light, dry skids on that soft sand.It is a modern Gypsy with all the essential creature comforts. It eats up everything one throws at it, variegated ruts, corrugated roads, mud, slidey soft sand, potholes on tarmac, concrete jelly laid tracks and so on. It has that excellent narrow body which can squeeze through typical city traffic and get you somewhere real quick.And in my opinion the manual transmission is far superior to the AT. It is much more responsive and you can control things much better. Old school. But that rifle bolt click of the Gypsy is missing. It is a softer and mushier gear box in the Jimny as compared with the Gypsy.Having just stepped off the Thar ownership bandwagon after 3 full years, I reiterate that had they launched the Jimny at the time they launched the Thar, I would have chosen the Jimny like a shot. It is a far better engineered and superior vehicle and suits my want state admirably much better than the Thar ever could. Honestly.If the Maruti folks had even indicated straight that they would give us the Jimny in late 2021, I would have definitely waited rather than spend all that money on the Thar. (Ok I did enjoy the Thar for sure, but the Jimny just makes my heart very much happier.)If the Maruti people had an ounce of sense, they should have launched a limited number of just 3000 3 door Jimnys in India just around the time of the end of Covid. And the reaction and reception to the Jimny, by the Indian public would have been totally different than it is now. They could have always followed up when ready with the 5 door Jimny.Yes, in my case, it is just a matter of time - The Gypsy will yield space to the Jimny at the appropriate juncture in my life. Of course one cannot under-estimate the superb utilitarianism and functionality and lightness of the Gypsy, but the Jimny is much more liveable with on day to day basis for me, in my alter-ago avatar - that of an ageing, (past 50), hat-wearing, jeep-driving, wannabe Indiana Jones/ John Wayne although in truth I am only a normal working middle-class urban-dweller, with a penchant for hill trips.My choice would be the Manual Alpha. And after some time I would buy the Zeta Steel wheels and sell off the Alloys. I would be hard pressed to choose between the Grey, the White and the Blue shades. But then hey, one can always do a wrap job later! (Another thing, I am seeing several Jimnys in the Second Hand Market. It may actually be more sensible to consider one of those.)The Sarjapur Nexa folks were kind enough today at my special request, to position both their test drive Jimnys next to my Gypsy so that I could make some more photos of Grandpa and his Twin Grandsons Attached Thumbnails























Last edited by shankar.balan : 3rd March 2024 at 14:14 .
What just happened? Facebook, the social media site that once put as much emphasis on news as it did on its users, will lose its News tab in the US and Australia this April. The announcement isn't a huge surprise given that the feature has already been removed in the UK, France, and Germany, and the number of US/Australian users dropped sharply last year.

Pre-Meta Facebook made a lot of fuss over the arrival of its News tab in 2019. The feature's Top Stories section was originally curated by humans, but Meta ended this practice and moved entirely to algorithms last year.

Meta announced in 2023 that it would deprecate Facebook News in the UK, France, and Germany. It writes that the number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. has dropped by over 80% last year and that news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed.

Meta added that news is now a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people, and that it intends to "focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short-form video."

The News tab was a lucrative feature for publishers, earning them millions from content deals. The New York Times is reported to have netted $20 million, while the Wall Street Journal received $10 million and CNN got $3 million. Meta says the announcement does not impact existing agreements with publishers in Australia, France and Germany - the deals have already expired (two years ago) in the US and the UK. It will not enter into new commercial deals in any of these countries, and "will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future."

Facebook users will still be able to view links to articles on the platform and publishers can continue to post direct links on their FB accounts and Pages. The company suggests that publishers use other products such as Reels and its ads system to drive people to their websites.

While the end of the News tab won't have much impact on publishers in the US, it will in Australia. Facebook blocked news links in the country in 2021 in response to Australia's proposed new Media Bargaining law that would require companies to pay media organizations for their content. Meta reversed its decision a few days later after reaching three-year, $70 million deals with outlets, which will expire soon and not be renewed.
Cyber warfare: The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) is tasked with defending the country against espionage, sabotage, and terrorism. Comparable to the FBI in the US and MI5 in the UK, ASIO has recently been actively working to disrupt a significant cyber-warfare effort by foreign entities.

Australia is facing significant cyber threats from unknown parties, as foreign spies actively attempt to identify weaknesses in the country's digital infrastructure. According to Mike Burgess, the director-general of ASIO, these spies have conducted multiple scanning attempts to map Australia's networks, aiming to gather information necessary for potential future attacks on the country.

Burgess recently delivered his annual threat assessment speech, discussing the current and future security landscape of Australia. He highlighted that ASIO, originally created to counter sabotage attempts by Soviet Russia, is now adapting to emerging threats to digital infrastructures. Australia's critical networks are interconnected and interdependent, making vulnerabilities and potential access points more impactful.

Burgess revealed that ASIO is aware of a particularly active cyber warfare initiative by a specific nation-state, an unnamed country that has been actively scanning critical Australian infrastructures in recent months. These spies have targeted water, transport, and energy networks, employing highly sophisticated reconnaissance technology to test for security vulnerabilities and assess the digital locks of the networks.

The ASIO chief mentioned the significant outage suffered by the telco Optus in November 2023, stating that things could be much worse if multiple operators are targeted. These are not hypothetical incidents, Burgess said, as many foreign governments now have their own "crack cyber teams" working non-stop to explore these kinds of cyber-warfare possibilities.

Burgess said ASIO has been tracking a specific cyber threat against Australian networks, from a group of spies that the intelligence agency has named the "A-Team." Members of the A-Team infiltrate professional networks in search of interesting Australian profiles, who are then targeted to gain access to privileged or even top-secret information belonging to Canberra authorities.

The A-Team attempted to flatter, bribe, and recruit Australian politicians, academics, and other valuable targets, and their efforts were often successful, as the targets started to provide information about national security and defense priorities. ASIO officers even came into direct confrontation with the A-Team, impersonating a potential target and then revealing their true identity to the foreign spy.

Burgess ultimately emphasized that Australian organizations should be more proactive with their cybersecurity. ASIO will soon publish a new framework designed to help organizations build and maintain a robust security culture.
What just happened? OpenAI might be struggling to keep track of all the lawsuits launched against it. After being sued by The New York Times and other entities, Elon Musk has become the latest to launch litigation against the ChatGPT maker and CEO Sam Altman. Musk's case isn't over copyright infringement, though; he says the pair have breached their original contractual agreements by putting profit ahead of developing AI that benefits humanity.

Musk was one of the co-founders, backers, and initial board members of OpenAI, departing the company in 2018 over what he said was a conflict of interest with Tesla.

Musk says that when he was approached by Altman and another co-founder, Greg Brockman, to help fund the startup in 2015, he was promised that OpenAI would be an open-source, not-for-profit company focused on safely creating an artificial general intelligence (AGI) and countering the competitive threat from Google.

Three years later, soon after Musk left, OpenAI established its for-profit business, which has attracted $13 billion of investment from Microsoft. In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco, lawyers said OpenAI's focus on money breaches the original contractual agreements.

"OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft. Under its new Board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity," the lawsuit states. "This was a stark betrayal of the Founding Agreement." The complaint notes that Musk donated $44 million to the nonprofit between 2016 to September 2020.

Musk hasn't tried to hide his disdain for ChatGPT and OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft. He called the chatbot "woke" last year and said the company was "effectively controlled by Microsoft." Musk said he had been offered a stake in the for-profit branch of OpenAI but refused to accept over ethical reasons.

The suit also claims that the design of GPT-4, OpenAI's most advanced LLM, had been kept "a complete secret" by the company. Musk claims GPT-4 constitutes an AGI and that OpenAI and Microsoft improperly licensed the LLM.

The lawsuit aims to force OpenAI to stick to its original mission of benefiting humanity via AI. It also seeks to stop the company from monetizing technologies developed under its non-profit for the benefit of executives and partners such as Microsoft. As reported by TechCrunch, Musk also asks for accounting and potential restitution of donations that were meant to fund OpenAI's public-minded research.

OpenAI and in some cases Microsoft are currently being sued for copyright infringement by The New York Times, which is accused of paying someone to "hack" ChatGPT, along with several digital publishers, authors, and other creators. With the world's richest person filing suit, OpenAI might find a lot of the money it's currently generating being spent on lawyers' fees.
What just happened? President Biden has ordered an investigation into whether Chinese connected vehicles, particularly EVs, pose a security risk to American citizens. It comes amid concerns that cheap EVs from China could flood the US market, which would have a major impact on domestic car makers.

The White House notes that the US Commerce Department probe is needed because vehicles collect large amounts of sensitive data on their drivers and passengers, while regularly using their cameras and sensors to record detailed information on US citizens and infrastructure - information that could be sent back to China.

Biden said the move was designed to ensure America maintained control of what he called its "dynamic auto industry."

The probe will also look into vehicles with autonomous driving features as they could be piloted or disabled remotely, the White House added.

"China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices," Biden said, comparing the connected vehicles to smartphones on wheels. "China's policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I'm not going to let that happen on my watch."

"China imposes restrictions on American autos and other foreign autos operating in China," Biden added. "Why should connected vehicles from China be allowed to operate in our country without safeguards?"

China was responsible for 69% of all new EV sales globally in December, selling around nine million EVs across the whole year. In the US, 1.2 million vehicle buyers went electric in 2023.

There are few Chinese-made vehicles being imported into the US, but the Biden administration says it is acting before they become more widespread. BYD, which recently overtook Tesla to become the world's largest EV maker by sales, said it does not plan to sell its cars in the US. However, the company is opening a production facility in Mexico, prompting fears that the EV's could be imported from the country.

The Chinese embassy in Washington said it urged the US to stop the discriminatory suppression of Chinese companies, respect the laws of market economy, and stop overstretching the concept of national security.

The Biden administration added that the probe could result in restrictions being applied to American-made EVs that rely on Chinese-made software in their infotainment systems. It might also impact companies with Chinese owners, such as Lotus and Volvo.

Back in September, a study by the Mozilla Foundation declared that modern cars are a privacy nightmare. Its study found that of the 25 car brands examined, all of them collected too much personal data and used it for reasons other than to operate a vehicle and manage the relationship with the customer. Tesla was ranked the worst offender.
The United States is dedicated to maintaining the superiority of American automakers and their workforce globally. However, the emergence of Chinese automakers aiming to saturate the US and global auto markets presents fresh challenges to national security.

Investigating Chinese-Made Vehicles

The United States is initiating an investigation into automobiles manufactured in China due to security apprehensions. This investigation also encompasses cars produced in unspecified countries of concern.

According to the White House in its official press release, modern vehicles gather extensive data on drivers and passengers, communicate with various devices, including phones and other cars, as well as interact with American infrastructure and their manufacturers.

The White House underscored the extensive data collection capabilities of connected vehicles, highlighting how they gather sensitive information about both drivers and passengers. This includes detailed data on US infrastructure, which is continuously recorded through cameras and sensors.

Moreover, the statement raised concerns about the ability to remotely control or disable such vehicles, posing potential risks to national security. The emphasis was placed on the possibility of foreign governments accessing this data, which could lead to new vulnerabilities and threats.

This heightened caution stems from worries that adversaries could exploit such information to compromise national security interests.

Leading the Investigation

The Department of Commerce is set to spearhead the inquiry. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasized the necessity of comprehending the technological capabilities embedded within these vehicles, which can gather extensive data or exert remote control over connected vehicles.

The department is actively seeking information to evaluate potential actions under its information and communications technology and services (ICTS) jurisdiction.

President Joe Biden emphasized China's ambition to control the automotive industry's future through unfair means, expressing concern over the potential flooding of the U.S. market with Chinese vehicles. Under his administration, President Biden asserted that they will not allow such actions.

In an official statement, He highlighted the threat posed by connected vehicles manufactured in China, warning that they could gather sensitive data on American citizens and infrastructure and transmit it to the Chinese government, potentially allowing remote access or disabling capabilities.

Also read: China, Russia Agree to Coordinate AI Use in Military Technology

Chinese-made cars may not be prevalent on American roads yet, but their presence is growing in other markets like Europe. While electric vehicles (EVs) are among those raising concerns, it's the cars' technology that's under scrutiny in the investigation.

This isn't the first time the US has looked into Chinese companies over security worries regarding infrastructure. Previously, it prohibited the import and sale of telecom networking equipment from Huawei and ZTE, along with banning government employees from using their phones.

Additionally, telecoms were mandated to remove and replace Huawei and ZTE equipment from existing infrastructure, incurring significant costs.

Related Article: Biden Administration Imposes Import Restriction on China's SMIC After Producing Chip for Huawei's Mate 60 Pro: Report\

 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A team of researchers at New Hampshire's Dartmouth College has developed an AI-powered phone application that could detect early signs of depression through facial expressions.

AI-Powered MoodCapture

Called MoodCapture, this app utilizes a smartphone's front camera to capture users' facial expressions and surroundings during regular use, and an AI-based algorithm will analyze the images for indicators associated with depression.

In a study involving 177 individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder, MoodCapture was reported to have reached an impressive 75% accuracy rate in identifying early symptoms of depression.

Andrew Campbell, the study's corresponding author and Dartmouth's Albert Bradley 1915 Third Century Professor of Computer Science, emphasized the groundbreaking nature of the technology, highlighting its potential to predict mood changes in individuals diagnosed with major depression reliably and non-intrusively.

"This is the first time that natural 'in-the-wild' images have been used to predict depression. There's been a movement for digital mental-health technology to ultimately come up with a tool that can predict mood in people diagnosed with major depression in a reliable and nonintrusive way," Campbell said in a press statement.

Campbell, whose phone recently showed he had done so over 800 times in one week, added that a "person just unlocks their phone and MoodCapture knows their depression dynamics and can suggest they seek help."

How MoodCapture Works

MoodCapture, using a similar technology pipeline of facial recognition system with deep learning and AI hardware, analyzes the images captured by the phone's camera in real-time to see if there are any signs that you might be beginning to feel depressed.

Over time, the app learns to identify specific features unique to each user, providing personalized insights into their mental well-being. During the study, participants consented to have their photos taken via their phone's front camera by MoodCapture but did not know when it was happening.

The application's predictive model was trained using image-analysis AI, enabling it to learn to correlate self-reports of feeling depressed with specific facial expressions and environmental features.

The research team anticipates that MoodCapture could become a powerful tool for evaluating individuals' moods passively, offering valuable insights for therapeutic intervention.

Read Also: Does Social Media Really Cause Depression in Children? New Study Has an Answer

Proof of Concept

Nicholas Jacobson, the study's co-author and assistant professor of biomedical data science and psychiatry at Dartmouth's Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, emphasized the importance of capturing the dynamic nature of depression symptoms in real time to enable timely intervention and treatment.

Jacobson envisioned MoodCapture as a potential solution to bridge the gap between individuals needing mental health support and the accessibility of resources.

By providing real-time insights into users' emotional states, the app aims to offer support and minimize the impact of depression on individuals' lives. Looking ahead, the researchers plan to refine MoodCapture's diagnostic ability, enhance privacy measures, and expand its knowledge base to improve accuracy.

"You wouldn't need to start from scratch-we know the general model is 75% accurate, so a specific person's data could be used to fine-tune the model. Devices within the next few years should easily be able to handle this," said Subigya Nepal, a Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies PhD candidate in Campbell's research group.

"We know that facial expressions are indicative of emotional state. Our study is a proof of concept that when it comes to using technology to evaluate mental health, they're one of the most important signals we can get," Nepal added.

The research team's findings were published on arXiv.

Related Article: 'Girl Dinner' TikTok Eating Trend: Health Experts React

 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Meta is set to remove the news tab feature on its Facebook social media platform in the United States (US) and Australia as it focuses on other aspects of user engagement.

The decision to pull the curtains on the news tab follows a similar move made last year in the UK, Germany, and France, where Facebook News was terminated to prioritize resources toward more popular features.

Meta to End News Tab Feature in Australia, US

According to Meta's recent statement, the usage of Facebook News in Australia and the US has seen a significant decline, with an 80% drop observed over the past year.

This decline prompted Meta to make a strategic shift to invest resources in areas that users find most valuable, particularly emphasizing short-form video content.

Hence, Meta plans to decommission Facebook News in April. This decision underscores the company's commitment to aligning its investments to user preferences as it acknowledged that most users visit Facebook to connect with others and explore diverse interests rather than read news content.

"As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short form video," Meta said in a statement released on Thursday.

"We know that people don't come to Facebook for news and political content - they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests. As we previously shared in 2023, news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed, and is a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people," it added.

While removing the news tab will impact how news articles are presented on Facebook, users will still have access to news links shared by publishers on the platform.

News organizations will retain their Facebook accounts and pages, enabling them to share links to their articles and drive traffic to their websites. Publishers can also use other Facebook features like Reels and advertising tools to engage with audiences and promote their content independently.

Read Also: Fighting Misinformation: Harvard Experts Tap Social Media Influencers for Mental Health Campaign

Meta's Campaign Against Misinformation

Despite the discontinuation of Facebook News, Meta reaffirms its dedication to combating misinformation and providing users with access to reliable information.

The company emphasized its collaboration with third-party fact-checkers accredited by organizations like the International Fact-Checking Network to address viral misinformation across its platforms.

With a global network of over 90 independent fact-checking organizations, Meta claimed it is committed to supporting fact-checking efforts and investing in initiatives to mitigate the spread of misinformation.

Moreover, Meta clarified that the decision to end Facebook News in specific countries will not affect existing agreements with publishers or impact the terms of these agreements.

However, the company noted that it will refrain from entering into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these regions and will not introduce new products tailored specifically for news publishers in the future.

Related Article: Meta Removes Instagram, Facebook Accounts Linked to Iran's Supreme Leader After Criticism for Supporting Hamas





 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed Decree No. 139/2024, which regulates the issue of competitive selection of candidates for the post of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in respect of persons appointed by the President of Ukraine. The text of the Decree was published on the website of the President's Office on Thursday, February 29.

"In order to ensure the competitive selection of candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in respect of persons appointed by the President of Ukraine, guided by Paragraph 22 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, pursuant to the Law of Ukraine "On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine," I order:

1. To approve the Regulations on the competitive selection of candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding persons appointed by the President of Ukraine (attached).

2. To form a competition commission to conduct a competitive selection of candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine regarding persons appointed by the President of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the competition commission), and approve its personal composition (attached).

3. The Competition Commission shall ensure the competitive selection of candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in respect of persons appointed by the President of Ukraine.

4. To recognize as invalid:

Decree of the President of Ukraine dated April 20, 2021 No. 167/2021 "On the Competition Commission for the selection of candidates for the position of Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in respect of persons appointed by the President of Ukraine";

Decree of the President of Ukraine dated August 17, 2021 No. 365/2021 "Issues of competition for the selection of candidates for the position of judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in respect of persons appointed by the President of Ukraine."

5. This Decree comes into force from the date of its publication," the text of the Decree signed by the President says.
Elon Musk has expressed concerns regarding the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on electricity and transformer supplies.

Elon Musk: 'The Biggest Technology Revolution'

In a Q&A to close the Bosch Connected World conference, Elon Musk emphasized the urgent need for the industry to prioritize clean energy generation and increase the production of electrical transformers to suppress the supply crisis, which he said could happen next year, New Atlas reported.

The tech billionaire cited the fast growth of AI technology and electronic vehicles, noting that it appears to be increasing at an unprecedented rate.

The Tesla CEO compared the pace of technological advancement to historic gold rushes, indicating that the demand for AI-related technology surpasses any previous industry boom.

"The artificial intelligence compute coming online appears to be increasing by a factor of 10 every six months. Like, obviously that cannot continue at such a high rate forever, or it'll exceed the mass of the universe, but I've never seen anything like it. The chip rush is bigger than any gold rush that's ever existed," said Musk, according to News Atlas.

"I think we really are on the edge of probably the biggest technology revolution that has ever existed," he added.

While acknowledging the potential risks associated with AI, Musk expressed a desire to witness the developments firsthand rather than avoiding them.

"You know, there's supposedly a Chinese curse: 'May you live in interesting times.' Well, we live in the most interesting of times," Musk noted.

"For a while, it was making me a bit depressed, frankly. I was like, 'Well, will they take over? Will we be useless?' But the way I reconciled myself to this question was: Would I rather be alive to see the AI apocalypse or not? I'm like, I guess I'd like to see this. It's not gonna be boring," he added.

Read Also: First Human with Neuralink Brain-Chip Implant Fully Recovers, Controls Computer Mouse with Thoughts

Elon Musk Tackles Challenges Posed by Expanding AI System

Addressing the specific challenges posed by the expanding AI infrastructure, Elon Musk pointed out the predictable constraints on AI compute resources.

He highlighted the shortage of neural net chips experienced in the past year and predicted that the next bottleneck would be voltage step-down transformers, essential for powering AI systems. Musk also remarked on the irony of needing transformers to power the AI systems.

"My not-that-funny joke is that you need transformers to run transformers. You know, the AI is like... There's this thing called a transformer in AI... I don't know, it's a combination of sort of neural nets... Anyway, they're running out of transformers to run transformers," he noted.

"Then, the next shortage will be electricity. They won't be able to find enough electricity to run all the chips. I think next year, you'll see they just can't find enough electricity to run all the chips," he added.

Musk emphasized the interconnectedness of AI and electric vehicles (EVs), which both rely heavily on electrical power and voltage transformers.

As he predicted an electricity shortage to meet the demands of AI and EVs in the coming years, Musk warned that the simultaneous growth of these technologies would strain existing electrical infrastructure.

He suggested that by 2025, the electricity supply may become insufficient to power the ever-increasing number of AI chips. Musk's remarks ultimately underscored the critical need for an increase in clean energy generation to meet the demands of AI and EVs.

"The simultaneous growth of electric cars and AI, both of which need electricity, both of which need voltage transformers - I think, is creating a tremendous demand for electrical equipment and for electrical power generation," Musk said, as New Atlas reported.

Related Article: Elon Musk Backs AI Initiative to Decode 2,000-Year-Old Vesuvius Scrolls

 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Scientists from China and the United States have recently revealed the creation of the world's strongest 3D-printed titanium alloy. The development, hailed as a significant breakthrough in material science, opens new avenues for the application of 3D printing technology, particularly in the aerospace sector.

World's Strongest 3D-printed Titanium Alloy

The research, led by Profs. Zhang Zhefeng and Zhang Zhenjun from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, alongside Robert Ritchie from the University of California, Berkeley, focus on addressing a key limitation of additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing.

While 3D printing has revolutionized manufacturing by allowing the creation of intricate shapes with reduced preparation cycles, materials produced through this method often exhibit poor fatigue performance under cyclic loading.

The team's study, published in the journal Nature, outlines an innovative approach to fabricating an anti-fatigue 3D-printed titanium alloy. This approach, termed Net-Additive Manufacturing Preparation (NAMP), involves meticulously regulating the alloy's microstructure and defects.

This process produced a pore-free alloy with a 106 percent increase in tensile fatigue strength, from 475 MPa to a world-record 978 MPa.

By employing a process that includes hot-isostatic pressing (HIP) and high-temperature-short-time (HTSt) heat treatment, the researchers were able to eliminate microvoids, commonly formed during the printing process, and restore a nearly void-free microstructure to the titanium alloy.

Read Also: Rise of Lab-Grown Diamonds to Reshape Global Market by Cutting Costs, Carbon Footprint

Exceptional Fatigue Resistance

The exceptional fatigue resistance demonstrated by the resulting Net-AM microstructure makes this achievement particularly remarkable. Surpassing the fatigue resistance of all other additively manufactured and even forged titanium alloys, the material exhibits the highest specific fatigue strength reported to date.

Zhang Zhenjun, one of the study's authors, explains the significance of their findings: "Our theory posited that alloys printed under perfect conditions should exhibit superior fatigue performance."

"Achieving this objective appeared straightforward at first glance. Yet, the simplicity of the task was deceptive. Techniques currently employed to eliminate gas pores often result in a coarsened internal structure of the alloy," the scientist told the South China Morning Post.

The implications of this advancement are far-reaching. With a 106% improvement in tensile fatigue strength, the material holds great promise for industries requiring lightweight yet resilient materials, such as aerospace and new energy vehicles.

Notably, many aviation parts, including Nasa's rocket nozzles and the support frames of China's J-20 fighter jet, have already been manufactured using 3D printing technology.

While the material has been produced at a sample scale, its potential for real-world applications is evident. Although challenges remain in scaling up production, the researchers remain optimistic about the technology's future. Zhang Zhenjun notes, "Thicker sections may face limitations, but this advancement is sufficient for the fabrication of many thinner, complex devices."

The collaboration between Chinese and US scientists marks a significant milestone in material science and paves the way for further advancements in additive manufacturing technology.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Chinese Scientists Accidentally Create World's Tiniest Knot With 54 Atoms

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Elon Musk, co-founder of OpenAI, has filed a lawsuit against the organization and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging a departure from its original nonprofit mission.

Musk claims that OpenAI's collaboration with Microsoft for $13 billion and the secrecy surrounding its latest generative AI products violate the company's founding principles.

The complaint, filed in California state court, asserts breach of contract and seeks a jury trial along with repayment of profits earned by the company, Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman.

Formation of OpenAI LP

OpenAI was established in 2015 as a safeguard against the perceived risks posed by artificial generative intelligence (AGI), a type of AI that can perform as well or better than humans on a wide range of cognitive tasks. Some experts fear that AGI could supplant or even dominate humans.

However, in 2019, Altman, Brockman, and Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever established OpenAI LP, a for-profit entity within the organization.

This move transformed OpenAI from a nonprofit endeavor to a highly valued entity, with Altman credited for the company's remarkable growth.

Related Article: OpenAI Thrives Amid CEO Turmoil: Annual Revenue Skyrockets 20% to Surpass $1.6 Billion

Leadership Crisis and Microsoft Intervention

The lawsuit references a leadership crisis in the company last year, which led to Altman's temporary removal due to concerns about AI risks.

Following intervention by Microsoft, Altman was reinstated, signaling a victory for those advocating for AI commercialization. Musk's complaint suggests that OpenAI's pursuit of profit contradicts its initial nonprofit mission.

Influence of Microsoft

While Microsoft is not a defendant in Musk's lawsuit, the complaint highlights the tech giant's extensive involvement with OpenAI.

Musk has previously accused Microsoft of misappropriating content from his social media company, X, for training its AI tools. The lawsuit underscores Microsoft's influence over OpenAI and its economic leverage.

Continued Concerns About AGI

Despite leaving OpenAI in 2018, Musk remains vocal about the dangers of artificial intelligence. He perceives AGI as both an existential threat and a potential source of profit and power.

The lawsuit reflects Musk's stance on the issue and his dissatisfaction with OpenAI's perceived prioritization of financial gains over its original nonprofit mission.

"OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft. Under its new Board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft," the lawsuit said.

Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI underscores concerns about the organization's shift toward profitability and its partnership with Microsoft. The legal battle is just getting started, and more questions will be raised about the balance between commercial interests and ethical considerations in the development of advanced AI technologies.

Just recently, OpenAI and Microsoft were slapped with a copyright lawsuit as they were accused of stealing information on the internet. In short, they have been violating IP for quite a long time.

Read Also: OpenAI's Sam Altman Seeks Trillions to Reshape Semiconductor Industry, Boost AI Development

 2024 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Elon Musk has sued Microsoft-backed OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, among others, for breaching the companys contract that aims to benefit humanity rather than pursuing profits.

In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in the San Francisco Superior Court, Musks lawyers accused OpenAI of drifting away from its founding principles of developing artificial intelligence (AI) for the benefit of humanity over profits.

The company, initially envisioned as an open-source, non-profit entity for which the AI was developed, started shifting towards profit-seeking ventures, thereby violating the terms of the Founding Agreement.

The lawsuit states that the company had kept the design of ChatGPT-4, its most advanced AI model, a complete secret. Further, the closed nature of GPT-4 conflicts with OpenAIs commitment to openness and transparency.

Musks lawyers also allege in the lawsuit that Mr. Altman, Mr. Greg Brockman (President of OpenAI), and OpenAI, who are named as defendants, set the Founding Agreement aflame and are perverting the companys mission.

The tech billionaire is demanding a jury trial and for the company, Altman and Brockman, to pay back the profit they received from the business.

To this day, OpenAI, Inc.s website continues to profess that its charter is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity. In reality, however, OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft, the lawsuit filing said.

Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity.

Musks lawyers state that the lawsuit was submitted to compel OpenAI to adhere to the Founding Agreement and return to its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity, not to personally benefit the individual Defendants and the largest technology company in the world.

Musk was one of the many people who co-founded OpenAI in 2015. However, he stepped down from the companys board of directors in 2018, four years after citing a conflict of interest with his work at Tesla.

Musks lawyers are suing over claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices against OpenAI. They are asking the company to revert to being an open-source platform instead of blocking it for any private companys gains.

The Tesla CEO has also filed an injunction to prevent anyone, including Microsoft and top OpenAI officials, from earning profits from the usage of AI technology.

Neither OpenAI, Microsoft, nor Musk were immediately available for comment.
On the night of March 1, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed four out of four Shahed-type attack UAVs sent from the areas of Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk (Russia), according to the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

"On the night of March 1, 2024, the enemy attacked with five S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles from the occupied Donetsk region and Belgorod region and four Shahed-type attack UAVs (from the areas of Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Kursk - Russia)," the AFU said on the Telegram channel on Friday.

As reported, as a result of anti-aircraft combat, four Shaheds were destroyed by mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces within Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
They simply had nowhere to evolve: a Russian paleontologist on the progress of scientific ideas about dinosaurs

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

Japan warns of increasing cases of serious streptococcal infection that can cause toxic shock syndrome and death

Shanghai police cracked down on a series of burglaries: the suspect "switched his face" by buying film and television silicone masks online

Device to produce hydrogen and oxygen on the moon unveiled Planned to launch this winter

Second trial of residents who evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident also does not accept national responsibility

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water

Love and family are more important than money: what is the comedy series Inheritance about?

Jordi Evole apologizes to Camela in Lo de Evole for an article he wrote in 2000

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Founded in the Meiji era, 119 years of history, Endurance, First appearance in Koshien, Locals are in an uproar

Darvish: ``I want to fight without putting personal feelings in the way'' in his first match with Otani

"Watch me overcome difficulties step by step and fight back." This Chinese golden flower keeps his word.

A Blaugrana nightmare and the bogeyman Joao Felix: "It was a game for him, he made a difference"

NBA: Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich confirm the Spurs will come to Paris next season

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins

The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time

The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time

China Cuisine Association: Catering consumption was booming from January to February, and companies in the ready-made beverage category were active

Real estate crisis: Number of building permits also fell significantly at the beginning of the year

The "egg-smashing" trend is blowing into a small town in Zhejiang, how to play the cards in your hand?

Analyst: the drivers of rising oil prices were signs of high demand in the United States

The first batch of imported exhibits of the 135th Canton Fair entered the country smoothly

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

Sciences Po: we will be uncompromising on anti-Semitism, promises the president of the Foundation

Trump: If I were president, the Gaza invasion would not have happened

US Senator: Allegations that UNRWA is a tool in the hands of Hamas are a lie

A man stabbed to death in front of a supermarket in Aveyron, in the presence of his wife and son

Puy du Fou receives the award for the best show in the world

They intensify the search for Javier Marquez, a 20-year-old young man who disappeared on March 2 in Logrono

Ayuso distances herself from her partner's case and delves into her criticism of the Prosecutor's Office and Moncloa for their "Chavista methods"

Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved

Who is the real killer of the Mukhtar of the Dughmosh family in Gaza?

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.

Faced with the risks of war with Russia, Latvia restores its military service for men

The Japanese Cabinet of Ministers refrained from commenting on the results of the elections in Russia

 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.
They simply had nowhere to evolve: a Russian paleontologist on the progress of scientific ideas about dinosaurs

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

Japan warns of increasing cases of serious streptococcal infection that can cause toxic shock syndrome and death

Shanghai police cracked down on a series of burglaries: the suspect "switched his face" by buying film and television silicone masks online

Device to produce hydrogen and oxygen on the moon unveiled Planned to launch this winter

Second trial of residents who evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident also does not accept national responsibility

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant First detection of object that may contain nuclear fuel debris on water

Love and family are more important than money: what is the comedy series Inheritance about?

Jordi Evole apologizes to Camela in Lo de Evole for an article he wrote in 2000

Organ donation registry: how does it work? Answers to the most important questions

Annoyed by a kissing couple: woman attacks the person sitting next to her on the train

Darvish: ``I want to fight without putting personal feelings in the way'' in his first match with Otani

"Watch me overcome difficulties step by step and fight back." This Chinese golden flower keeps his word.

A Blaugrana nightmare and the bogeyman Joao Felix: "It was a game for him, he made a difference"

NBA: Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich confirm the Spurs will come to Paris next season

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

Defeat in the FA Cup: Klopp breaks off interview  I have no nerves for you

9th day of the Grand Sumo Spring Tournament New entrant with only one winner Takafuji 9 consecutive wins

The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time

The world's first driverless "air taxi" goes on sale for the first time

China Cuisine Association: Catering consumption was booming from January to February, and companies in the ready-made beverage category were active

Real estate crisis: Number of building permits also fell significantly at the beginning of the year

The "egg-smashing" trend is blowing into a small town in Zhejiang, how to play the cards in your hand?

Analyst: the drivers of rising oil prices were signs of high demand in the United States

The first batch of imported exhibits of the 135th Canton Fair entered the country smoothly

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

Trump: If I were president, the Gaza invasion would not have happened

US Senator: Allegations that UNRWA is a tool in the hands of Hamas are a lie

A man stabbed to death in front of a supermarket in Aveyron, in the presence of his wife and son

Puy du Fou receives the award for the best show in the world

They intensify the search for Javier Marquez, a 20-year-old young man who disappeared on March 2 in Logrono

Ayuso distances herself from her partner's case and delves into her criticism of the Prosecutor's Office and Moncloa for their "Chavista methods"

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Civil servants will have the salary increase after Easter and before the Budgets are approved

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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.

Faced with the risks of war with Russia, Latvia restores its military service for men

The Japanese Cabinet of Ministers refrained from commenting on the results of the elections in Russia

 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.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) were among those meeting an evacuation train arriving from Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, at Mukacheve railway station.

"The team of the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Department [Ukrainian Red Cross] was working with families on the spot, providing first aid to all those in need. In addition, rapid response units accompanied the convoys to the place of new residence of the families," the URCS reported on Facebook on Friday.

The URCS clarified that 35 evacuees, including 19 children, were placed in shelters in the villages of Imstychovo and Protyven (Khust district of Zakarpattia region).
New Zealand volcano disaster victims awarded $6m damages



Wellington, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



The victims and families affected by the 2019 New Zealand volcano disaster, which claimed 22 lives, were awarded total damages of NZ$10 million (US$6 million) on Friday.

The sum must be paid by five companies that transported 47 tourists to the volcanic island in December 2019, the day it erupted. Many of the 25 survivors suffered terrible burns.

In addition to paying out reparations, the islands' owners, Whakaari Management Limited, along with White Island Tours and helicopter firm Volcanic Air Safaris, who ran tourist trips to the volcano, were also fined.

At Auckland District Court, Judge Evangelos Thomas said the total damages were "no more than a token recognition" of the victims' suffering.

The group had been "physically, mentally and emotionally" traumatised by the disaster, he said, with many still bearing the physical scars.

"Your stories have been heartbreaking and inspiring, it has been a humbling privilege to hear them," Thomas told the victims in court.

He said the exact reparation amounts would be adjusted in some cases, especially in instances where victims had lost parents.

He said each of the five companies sentenced had failed in their duties to assess and mitigate risk. "That failure exposed others to risk of serious injury and death," he added.
New Zealand volcano disaster victims win damages



Wellington, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



The victims and families affected by the 2019 New Zealand volcano disaster, which claimed 22 lives, were awarded total damages of NZ$10 million (US$6 million) on Friday.

The sum must be paid by five companies that transported 47 tourists to the volcanic island on December 9, 2019, the day it erupted.

Many of the 25 survivors suffered terrible burns.

In addition to paying out reparations, the islands' owners, Whakaari Management Limited, along with White Island Tours and helicopter firm Volcanic Air Safaris, who ran tourist trips to the volcano, were fined.

GNS Science, which monitors New Zealand's volcanos, was also ordered to pay a fine.

At Auckland District Court, Judge Evangelos Thomas said the total damages were "no more than a token recognition" of the victims' suffering.

The group had been "physically, mentally and emotionally" traumatised by the disaster, he said, with many still bearing the physical scars.

"Your stories have been heartbreaking and inspiring, it has been a humbling privilege to hear them," Thomas told the victims in court.

He said the exact reparation amounts would be adjusted in some cases, especially in instances where victims had lost parents.

Each of the companies sentenced had failed in their duties to assess and mitigate risk, Thomas added. "That failure exposed others to risk of serious injury and death."

Since the eruption, no boat or aircraft tours have been allowed to land on the island.

The eruption off the coast of the country's North Island prompted a massive medical operation that saw victims treated in burns units across New Zealand and Australia.

Thomas said many victims have seen their livelihoods affected by their injuries.

When the trial opened last July, the court was shown video footage of people on the island trying to flee a massive, expanding cloud of volcanic ash, which quickly engulfed them.

Some stumbled in their desperation to flee.

The head of New Zealand's health and safety regulator WorkSafe said the victim's harrowing experiences showed the impact of the disaster was "far wider" than just affecting those on the island that day.

"Today belongs to the survivors, and the whanau (family) and friends of those who were harmed or lost their lives," said WorkSafe chief executive Steve Haszard.

He described it as "one of the worst natural disasters" in New Zealand's history.

All of the businesses that controlled the island, or transported tourists to it, had been convicted of safety failings, Haszard added.

He said the disaster had forced significant changes in New Zealand.

"One impact has been to raise our national understanding about the obligations on businesses to do everything they can to keep people safe," he said.

"This is a catastrophic example of what can go wrong when they don't."
Activists urge UN states to move faster on high seas treaty



United Nations, United States, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Ocean conservationists called Friday for countries to speed up their ratification of a treaty to protect the high seas, a year after the historic text was approved by UN member states.

The treaty -- which took 15 years to be approved -- aims to protect marine ecosystems that are vital to humanity but under threat by pollution.

Members of the United Nations finalized it in March last year, before formally adopting it in June.

Since then, it has been signed by 85 states -- but ratified by only two, Palau and Chile. It needs to be ratified by 60 before it can go into effect.

"Other countries have started their ratification processes but are moving too slowly," said Greenpeace campaigner Laura Meller in a statement.

"Many governments want to present themselves as ocean champions -- we expect them to follow in Chile and Palau's footsteps and bring the treaty to life, so that the real work to protect the oceans can start."

Non-governmental organizations still hope 60 countries can ratify the treaty by 2025.

"We welcome the progress made in the global Race for Ratification of the High Seas Treaty over the past year," said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the NGO coalition High Seas Alliance.

The treaty has given "hope to citizens around the world that leaders will act. Yet time is not on our side," she added.
Rain offers slight reprieve from largest wildfire in history of Texas



Houston, March 1 (AFP) Mar 01, 2024



Rainfall offered some reprieve from the largest wildfire in the history of Texas, officials said Friday, though dry, gusty conditions were expected to return this weekend for a blaze that has killed two people and scorched a million acres.

Four major fires are actively burning across the state's northern area, known as the Texas panhandle, as well as neighboring Oklahoma, fueled by an unseasonably hot winter and ferocious winds.

"Most of the fire received some precipitation yesterday and there was no fire growth," the Texas A&M Forest Service posted on X about the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of the five.

It started Monday and now covers an estimated 1,075,000 acres (435,000 hectares), and is 15 percent contained.

But the reprieve could be short lived, as "Critical fire weather conditions are expected to return midday Saturday and once again after sunrise Sunday," tweeted the National Weather Service in Amarillo.

It cited very dry grass, wind gusts of 40 miles (64 kilometers) per hour and minimum relative humidity of 5-10 percent.

With Smokehouse Creek merging with another blaze, it has now become the state's largest-ever wildfire, surpassing the East Amarillo Complex disaster that torched 907,000 acres in 2006.

Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead urged Texans to be cautious over the weekend, when many celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2, in light of the expected conditions.

"As firefighters continue to suppress active fires, we urge Texans to be cautious with any outdoor activity that may cause a spark," he said in a statement.

A 44-year-old truck driver died in an Oklahoma City hospital on Thursday, having been rescued near her smoke-engulfed truck in Smokehouse Creek on Tuesday, according to several local media.

While preventive evacuations were ordered in some places, the body of an 83-year-old woman was found in the city of Stinnett, a Hutchinson County emergency services spokesperson told ABC News.

She also said about 20 structures in Stinnett had been razed by the fire.

A 120-year-old Texas ranch said it lost 80 percent of its 32,000-acre property near the area of the largest fire.

"The loss of livestock, crops, and wildlife, as well as ranch fencing and other infrastructure throughout our property as well as other ranches and homes across the region is, we believe, unparalleled in our history," the managers of Turkey Track Ranch said in a statement posted on its website.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, climate change has been a key driver in increased wildfire activity across the western United States over the past two decades, through increased heat, extended drought, and heightened atmospheric thirst.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte signed a bilateral agreement on cooperation in security.

The signing of the agreement took place in Kharkiv, Zelenskyy said in his Telegram channel.

"Today Mark Rutte and I signed a bilateral security agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands," he said.

It is noted that the document provides for EUR 2 billion in military assistance from the Netherlands in 2024, as well as further defense assistance over the next ten years.

The agreement also defines assistance priorities in the areas of air defense, artillery, naval and long-range weapons, with a particular emphasis on strengthening the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The agreement formalizes the Netherlands' principled position to strengthen sanctions against Russia, force it to pay damages and hold the aggressor accountable.

According to the document, the Netherlands also supports Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO.

The President of Ukraine thanked the Prime Minister of the Netherlands for signing the agreement, which will strengthen the defense of Ukraine.

As Zelenskyy's press service said, the document also provides for the provision of modern military equipment to Ukraine and support for the defense industry. In particular, the priority is to provide air defense, artillery, and armored vehicles in support of maritime and long-range capabilities.

In the non-military sphere, it is envisaged to strengthen assistance to Ukraine in the area of economic recovery, countering hybrid threats, in the field of intelligence, cyber and information security, in the fight against organized crime, as well as in the field of critical infrastructure.

In addition, the document expands the blocks on sanctions, compensation for damages and bringing the aggressor state to justice, as well as on Dutch support for the cultural heritage of Ukraine.

The agreement defines a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in the event of repeated military aggression against Ukraine.
Defense Ministry: AFU Air Force shoots down 13 Russian aircraft in Feb; best result since Oct 2022

The Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) shot down 13 Russian aircraft in February, namely ten Su-34 fighter-bombers, two Su-35 fighters and one A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said.

"This is the best result since October 2022," the ministry said on its Telegram channel on Friday.

"We are grateful to our soldiers for their effective work. And to our partners for strengthening the capabilities of Ukraine's air defense," the ministry said.

"Together we will win," the ministry believes.

The post is illustrated with a graph of Russian aircraft being shot down by day in February.
Putin is trying to destroy Kharkiv with his air strikes, his goal is to break the faith of the people living here, but the opposite happened, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference in Kharkiv on Friday.

Rutte said the people of Kharkiv will never be broken. Despite the constant atmosphere of threat, uncertainty and difficulty, they continue to live; and the city lives on, he said.

According to the prime minister, the Netherlands will transfer 22 patrol boats for the State Emergency Service and police, as well as three combat boats. He said the Netherlands has purchased four radars, nine howitzers, which we will provide in addition to what they have already donated. The Netherlands' focus is on increasing their defense production and finding ways on how they can overcome supply disruptions, Rutte said.

He said the Netherlands will help the Czech initiative to purchase 800,000 ammunition. And this will happen in the coming weeks. The prime minister said they will also allocate EUR 250 million and assured that his NATO colleagues will join him in this process.

Rutte said the Dutch authorities are also working on the F-16s so that they arrive in Ukraine as soon as possible so that Ukraine has an advantage in the air. He expressed hope that their message is clear  they stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine.

According to him, the task facing Ukraine's allies is clear  to do everything possible to keep it here as long as possible. This is the only way for Ukraine to defend itself, this is the only way to contain Putin's expansionism, Rutte said.

The Dutch prime minister said here and now they continue to provide direct military, financial and humanitarian support and continue to look for other ways in which they can help.
As of June 2023, Australian Super had about $82 million invested in Adani through GQG Partners, Rest had $25 million, CareSuper $15 million, Cbus $12 million and Australian Retirement Trust $3 million, leading to calls from Market Forces for the super funds to demand the investment firm dumps its exposure to Adani. In a statement, GQG said it had conducted extensive due diligence on the Adani Group companies, and that the conglomerate was doing more to advance the transition to clean energy than groups pushing divestment campaigns. Loading Given the exceptional earnings growth potential that we believe that the Adani companies are likely to deliver, the importance of these assets to the economic expansion in India and the role that Adani is playing in the energy transition, we see no reason to divest from these assets any time soon, a spokeswoman said. An Australian Super spokesman said the fund considered active management of its assets as the best option, while Cbus said it continued to engage with GQG Partners about its holdings in Adani.

But Rest and CareSuper have dumped their investments in Adani, saying the investment firm no longer held securities in the mining company on their behalf. Alex Dunnin is the executive director of research and compliance at the Rainmaker Group, a financial services research and publications company. He says divesting is the easy option; the real challenge that will lead to the most profound change is active ownership  using your rights as a shareholder to improve corporate behaviour and make investments more sustainable. A couple of years ago, there was this view that we equated the resources sector with fossil fuels, so we need to get rid of those stocks, Dunnin says. And then we realised that if we want to electrify, we need to rebuild the grid, rebuild the machinery, and were going to need rare earth minerals like theres no tomorrow, and who is going to get them for us? Resources companies.

We can go to all the rallies and all the stuff that I do, but if you really want to change the world, you need to understand how these industries work  If funds get out of the fossil fuel companies [what happens then]? They were going to be one of the voices to engage [and enact change]. Dunnin concedes active ownership is hard to measure. It could be as simple as sending a perfunctory email to the company whose climate change commitments are sub-par, or voting against remuneration reports at annual meetings. In October, Market Forces published new analysis of the voting behaviour of Australias largest 30 super funds on climate-related shareholder proposals. It found funds were less likely to vote for climate action at some of the worlds worst climate-wrecking companies compared with all other companies, while voting against climate proposals that have significant levels of support from other shareholders globally. Bei Cui, a research fellow at Monash Centre for Financial Studies, says recent research has shown the importance and benefits of engagement over divestment, and that super funds recognise the power they wield as shareholders of a company to persuade boards and executives to take bolder steps to reduce their carbon footprint. But she has also questioned the effectiveness of active ownership.

Loading Some super funds dont even disclose their voting decision to the public so thats a contradiction [to the ethos of engagement], Cui says. On the one hand, youre declaring youre engaging with the company and at the same time you dont disclose how you engaged or what you voted for. We should expect, and advocate for, more super funds to engage and disclose which way they will be voting. That is why the corporate regulator has set its eyes upon greenwashing in the super sector. Late last year, Australian Securities and Investments Commission deputy chair Sarah Court said funds that invested in fossil fuel companies in the name of active ownership must not overstate the degree of their engagement, and disclose that strategy. Funds dont have an obligation to divest, Court clarified, but they do have an obligation to be honest about their engagement. While groups such as Market Forces have welcomed ASICs crackdown on greenwashing, others are worried how this heavy-handed approach could stifle the sector. Australian Council of Superannuation Investors chief executive Louise Davidson argues active owners, including funds, have been critical to affecting pro-climate reform.

Australian Council of Superannuation Investors chief executive Louise Davidson. Credit: Louise Kennerley One example I would give is the fact that many of Australias largest companies now submit their climate strategy for public scrutiny and a shareholder say on climate vote at company meetings. That is not required by law; it is the direct result of companies responding to shareholder engagement and the need to demonstrate improved climate strategies, Davidson says. Greater transparency and accountability make a difference. Companies having to articulate their climate strategy including the impacts, and opportunities, created by the transition to a low carbon economy is critical for long-term investors. Investors know that selling assets to disengaged or disinterested buyers wont support that transition. Engagement and divestment are tools in any investors arsenal, Australian Ethical Investment head of impact and ethics Alison George says. While private engagement is crucial, sometimes you need to be making noise publicly. Last year, Australian Ethical dumped $11 million in Lendlease shares over concerns a planned housing development in south-west Sydney threatened the survival of Sydneys largest healthy koala population. Lendlease responded by saying it had for years engaged with the fund manager over the project, which they said adhered to the recommendations of the NSW chief scientist.

Loading And sometimes theres no point in engaging, George says. We were investors in a renewables fund, and weve been very clear about our zero nuclear position, she says. When they decided to go ahead and invest in nuclear anyway, we immediately divested because they took that decision eyes wide open. We didnt feel that engagement was going to be something that was going to be successful in changing that. Broadly, super funds are legally prohibited from investing ideologically. Their foremost priority is to maximise its return for members, while balancing it with ESG concerns. Just over 3.5 million Australians will retire over the next decade, with at least $750 billion of funds shifted from the accumulation phase to the retirement phase.
The aim of the trial is to develop therapies to reduce the long-term disability associated with stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI), which are leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Management says there are currently no FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of secondary brain injury.

One of the more common types of TBI comes from concussion, which has made significant headlines around the world in recent years in terms of the effect it has on professional athletes. For example, AFL premiership player Angus Brayshaw last week announced his retirement due to ongoing health issues stemming from a history of concussions suffered over his 167-game career with Melbourne.

While Nyradas potential treatment is really only in the infancy stage of development, the study could have major implications for how TBI and stroke sufferers are able to address their medical issues. That would obviously have the potential to improve the quality of life for those impacted.

Another company to benefit from using the extra day in February is Volt Power Group, which comes in second on this weeks list of runners with a price jump of 100 per cent to touch 0.2c from a previous close of 0.1c.

Regular readers may remember the company appearing in this column at the start of February after a very similar price hike when it recorded full-year revenue receipts of a cool $4.38 million and closed out the calendar year with a surplus annual operating cashflow of $1.49 million in its December quarterly report.

Well, this time the lift in stock follows impressive figures from its annual report, which was also dropped on the bonus day in February. According to its latest figures, Volt recorded $5.03 million in ordinary revenue during 2023 at an increase of 54 per cent, compared to $3.26 million to end the previous 12-month period.

Management says it also enjoyed a 132 per cent increase in adjusted EBITDA to $2.09 million, compared to $900,000 in the previous reporting period.

A major reason behind Volts successful 2023 was its EcoQuip mobile solar light tower (MSLT) technology platform and MSLT fleet expansion. It included the technology replacing 100 per cent of the operational diesel-fuelled lighting plant fleet on Chevrons Barrow Island operation.

The company also secured a new EcoQuip MSLT order for Chevrons Gorgon natural gas project. The EcoQuip technology uses a high-efficiency solar lithium battery energy storage system (BESS), power management electronics and software capable of autonomous operation and up to 40 per cent enhanced energy efficiency, compared to similar industry standards.

So, at least somebody is making money out of lithium at the moment.

Coming in third place on this weeks list of runners is Enova Mining. A binding option for the company to acquire 100 per cent of the CODA ionic clay rare earths project in the mining-friendly jurisdiction of Minas Gerais in Brazil saw its shares jump 90 per cent to touch 5.7c from a previous price of 3c.

The tenements cover a combined area of more than 153 square kilometres where shallow auger drilling recorded peaks assays of 0.5m grading 5697 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 1m at 5078ppm TREO, with both results recorded at the end of the holes.

Straying away from the February theme, Enova today announced it had kicked off its due diligence program for the acquisition, in addition to appointing an exploration manager for the project in a sign it has high hopes for the operation.

Has Brazilian rare earths in Minas Gerais taken the over the mantle of supreme commodity jurisdiction from lithium in Canadas James Bay region? There certainly seems to be a lot of interest in the area

Artificial Intelligence companies have attracted significant interest from investors this year.

This weeks final runner goes to WhiteHawk, which saw a stock jump of 87.5 per cent to touch 4.5c from a previous close of 2.4c.

Management says it is the first global online AI-based cyber security exchange allowing businesses to take smart action to prevent cybercrime, fraud and disruption and then continuously mitigate the impacts.

Last week, the company was issued a Please Explain from the ASX after its share price doubled. Its explanation pointed to a possible increase based on investor sentiments on the worldwide artificial intelligence investment boom.

This week, WhiteHawk announced it had secured firm commitments to raise $2 million through a share placement at 2.25c per share with each participant to receive one free option for every two new shares issued. The placement follows the company confirming an AI-based cyber risk contract with Top Five Global Social Media Company back in December.

Management will use the funds to support business growth in AI and machine learning with the cybersecurity sphere.

So, this weeks share price hike may be just a case of those who missed out on the share placement jumping on board, or a case of those who jumped on board jumping off again, but at a reasonable gain.

AI is becoming big business at the moment, and if it can make any sense of the previous paragraph, it probably deserves to have money thrown at it.

However, this columnist is still dubious about the whole machine learning industry. It sort of sounds like a bunch of mindless drones sitting in an office blindly doing whatever it is that management wants done without question and without any real-life understanding of whats happening in the world.

Wait a minute

Oh crap

Just remember, if the machines ever do finally take over, you will be able to tell if this weekly article is still being written by a human by the constant references to James Bay.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
One of the strangest moments in Dervla McTiernans life happened when she was sitting in her parked car. Shed just been told she had a brain tumour and would need immediate surgery. She was about to start calling neurosurgeons when a message popped up on her phone. A literary agent whod read a sample of her first novel loved it and wanted to see the whole thing.

It was the most utterly surreal moment, she says from her home in Perth. Like The Truman Show when the producer decides Trumans life is too boring: throw in some big stuff.

Crime writer Dervla McTiernan says shes been exceptionally lucky. Each book has done better than the last. Credit: Ross Swanborough

In the three weeks between diagnosis and treatment, McTiernan sent her manuscript out to every agent she thought might be interested. The surgery was successful but a long recovery period followed. During that time, she found an agent and got six offers from publishers. The medical literature says many people get depressed after such procedures, but not McTiernan. I didnt because at the same time I was in recovery, all my dreams were coming true.

That was in 2016. All the big stuff since has been good. McTiernan is now a major name in crime fiction. Her books have all been international bestsellers and have won numerous awards, and there are two screen adaptations in the works. Ive been exceptionally lucky because each book has done better than the last, she says.
Ive been taking a virtual tour of Where The Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendaks Connecticut house, courtesy of The New York Times. There are splendid photographs of such beloved objects as his Mickey Mouse toys, Beatrix Potters pencil box and his shabby old writing cardigan. But what strikes me most is my discovery that Sendak had his own wild thing to fight: the monster of depression.

Lynn Caponera, his housekeeper, spent more than 30 years caring for Sendak until his death in 2012, with help from Jonathan Weinberg. Together they now look after his estate. In some ways they were like the children he never had. As long as he was working, they told the NYT, he was fine. But if he finished a book and didnt have another project, hed fall apart.

Maurice Sendaks creativity saved him from the worst of depression. Credit: New York Times

Then he might stay in his room for days at a time, not eating, sometimes ill, and Caponera and Weinberg wouldnt be allowed to speak in the house. They worried he might take his own life. Therapy and medication and his partner, Eugene Glynn, who was a psychiatrist, all helped. But it was his work that kept him alive.

Taylor Swift calls her upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department, which plays on the perennial image of the artist enduring torture because it is necessary to creativity. This trope has survived since Aristotle, though nowadays its being challenged by the increasingly complex views of medical science and by writers themselves. And yet, there is a link, however tenuous, between writing and depression, mood disorders and suicides.
Dont let a split, melty, broken buttercream derail your path to layer cake glory! Heres how to get your buttercream to a flawless smoothing consistency from chilled.

Too cool and curdled

It will look lumpy and broken/split because it is too cold. The buttercream needs warmth to encourage it to become a stable emulsion. So, take a good scoop out of the mixer bowl, heat (microwave or stovetop) that scoop to melty  NOT bubbly  hot then stream it back in with the whisk going. Et voila!

Too melty. Its soup!

If it looks like melted ice-cream, chill the mixer bowl for 30 minutes, stirring with the whisk occasionally to help the buttercream chill evenly. Pop it back onto the stand mixer to whip for 23 minutes. If you leave the buttercream unstirred, it can harden unevenly and cause pesky lumps in the final buttercream.

If you have melted it to a broken oily yellow mess, youll need to start over  BUT stream as much of the broken/split buttercream into the new batch as you can. The new buttercream emulsion can handle a portion of this before becoming unstable.

Pristine consistency

The best texture for a spreadable buttercream is like fresh soft-peak whipped cream. To get to the correct consistency from chilled buttercream, heat to two-thirds melted in a double boiler, or zap in the microwave in 30-second bursts on High (100 per cent).

Give the buttercream a mash with a hand whisk and then bring the two consistencies together with a vigorous hand whisk (or for an ultra-smooth finish, beat with the paddle attachment of an electric mixer on low speed for 5 minutes).

Repeat this technique as needed during the assembly to keep the buttercream easily spreadable  it can cool between crumb coating and top coating. Never attempt to whip fridge-cold buttercream  it will break/split, but never fear: warmth will always return it to spreadable splendour!

Takes About 1 hour.

Keeps Up to 1 week chilled; frozen up to 3 months. After chilling or freezing, ensure the buttercream is softened to squidgy before attempting to re-whip. If you whip cold buttercream, it will split.
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 Temperatures were running high among the states top police officers at Goulburns academy on Thursday, and not just because of the heat wave. It had been a horror few weeks for the force, beginning with one of its own officers allegedly murdering two men and ending with the police commissioner  the person tasked with calming the community in crises  snappily defending her job amid a battery of criticism. Commissioner Karen Webb went to the academy after days of being roasted by journalists. Shed offered herself up for back-to-back interviews as penance for failing to speak publicly quickly enough after senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon  who is accused of using his service pistol to kill young couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies  was arrested. She addressed 200 senior officers in what those present described as a fiery, defiant speech. They noted one particular line. Some among us are against us, Webb said. Webbs supporters believe she is being white-anted. While this weeks media storm was about her public performance  of her reluctance to speak, of her soft-voiced hesitancy in front of the camera, of her flippant quoting of Taylor Swift  they say it was stoked by opponents from within. Long-time observers of brutal NSW police politics agree. The factions in the NSW police force are out to get Karen, says a well-versed politician watching the drama from Macquarie Street. You can see it a mile away. This is the way the police operate. The alleged murder of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird (left) by serving officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has tested the leadership of Commissioner Webb. Credit: Instagram; Bungonia; Facebook The motive behind the push is not as clear. Her supporters argue Webb is up against a boys club culture thats deeply ingrained in Sydney police and media, and which cant adjust to a less blokey leadership style. Her critics  many of whom admit shes an excellent police officer  say Webbs problems begin and end with her public performance. They argue community reassurance is a crucial aspect of the role, and that her limp displays cause issues; they leave the community dubious, the politicians uneasy and the police demoralised. Webb, who has not yet reached the half-way point of her five-year tenure, will weather this storm. She has the support of Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley, who says she has never seen a senior public servant subjected to such a pile on and argues these jobs are twice as hard for women. But the powerful NSW Police Association  which has strong links to Labor  was this week quiet, refusing to comment on whether Webb still had its support. There is no precedent in the modern era for beheading a NSW commissioner in their first term  certainly not the first female one. Yet, the past year has been a deeply challenging one for NSW Police; three innocent civilians have allegedly been killed by serving officers, one accidentally and two in cold blood. On both occasions Webbs response has been widely criticised. Another failure could test patience. Confidence in the police force goes to the heart of the publics sense of safety, and thats a precious commodity for a government.

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NSW police politics is dirty. Senior officers fight each other as ruthlessly as their political masters down the road. It gets really bitchy, said a former police minister who, like most people interviewed for this article, did not want to be named because they were employed by the government or discussing confidential matters. A bureaucrat heading the now-defunct police ministry once remarked that party politics was one of the worst things hed ever encountered but police politics is worse. Since the Wood Royal Commission in the 1990s, which weeded out the corruption that permeated the force over decades, each commissioner has had to deal with warring, ambitious deputies. Mostly they destroy each other, clearing the way for a dark horse to overtake them. Some [police] connive against each other for their whole careers, says a former senior unsworn employee. One theory is that in other professions, ambitious people can move to another company. In NSW Police theres only one top job. Former Commissioner Ken Moroney rose from the war between Clive Small and Mal Brammer; Andrew Scipione from the battle between Dave Madden and Dick Adams; and the most recent commissioner, Mick Fuller, from a destructive and very public fued between Cath Burn and Nick Kaldas. Webb, too, was the beneficiary of stumbles by her rivals. Three people applied for her job. Politicians shied away from former homicide boss Mick Willing (who has since left) due to what they saw as clumsy attempts at lobbying, and Mal Lanyon, who remains a deputy commissioner, was under scrutiny in the upper house for a drunken incident at Goulburn (which someone had leaked). Old hand David Hudson  the longest-serving deputy commissioner who some say upstaged Webb by calmly answering questions about the alleged murders of Baird and Davies for half an hour on Wednesday  would have been a shoo-in but did not apply, says a source close to the selection process.

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Webb wasnt the type to have always coveted the commissionership, said one person who worked with her. She rose through the ranks and spotted an opportunity, then caught a little luck. The other two [who were interviewed] were unpalatable for different reasons, says another close to the selection process. Webb had two characteristics that are non-negotiable for a NSW commissioner in the modern era; integrity and good character. But even when she got the job, her weakness was well known. She was a reluctant and lacklustre media performer. Shed had training but, as one person close to her says, didnt like facing the cameras and did not aspire to be a public figure. The Coalition government had a strategy to manage that; theyd ensure she was backed by a strong minister or by the premier himself, whod manage the interviews when big stories broke until she found her feet. In March last year, the government changed. A new minister took over who was inexperienced herself. In May, a senior constable was charged with Tasering a 95-year-old woman on a walking frame at a Cooma nursing home, who was moving slowly towards another officer with a knife. Stop, just  na bugger it, he is accused of saying before firing the stun gun, which allegedly caused her to fall and sustain fatal injuries (the case is before the court, which has been told the accused will plead not guilty). The office of Police Minister Yasmin Catley faced criticism for withholding information about the Tasering of Clare Nowland. Webb was criticised for taking too long to address the media, and then for what she said when she did. So was the new police minister, Catley. The Police Media Unit, which is responsible for managing Webbs media strategy, also came under fire for withholding details of the case. There was no criticism during a spate of drive-by shootings in July last year. Webb came out early. She threw resources at the problem; 100 officers were on the job. She was flanked at the conferences by Catley and Hudson, who took many of the technical questions without any suggestion he was outshining his boss. The display reassured the community that the police had the problem under control. There was no speculation about her leadership. Things seemed to be improving.

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But the handling of last weeks alleged double murder repeated the mistakes of Cooma. Senior constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon is accused of using his police-issue pistol to kill the two men, raising urgent public safety questions about gun safety and recruitment standards. This, says one former police employee with long media experience, is a textbook example of a case in which the commissioner needed to quickly reassure the public that the alleged crime was a one-off rather than evidence of a systemic problem. Some in her inner circle told Webb she should come out publicly, early, but she didnt. She issued a statement of condolence to the dead mens families on Sunday and fronted a press conference, flanked by two of her deputies, on Monday. But for some, including her vocal critic Rob Roberts, a former police officer and NSW upper house MP, who accused her of hiding, that was  like Cooma  too little, too late. In that conference, she was questioned about her leadership. She snapped back. Thats offensive, she said. In the following days, criticism of Webbs leadership snowballed. The Daily Telegraph compared her unfavourably with calm, experienced, Hudson. Influential talkback hosts Ben Fordham and Ray Hadley called for her resignation following her performance. To negate the hiding claim, she did numerous interviews across television and radio, but kept generating more headlines with flippant phrasing, such as quoting and naming Taylor Swift  haters like to hate  and refusing to leave a Channel Seven studio until a camera crew outside had moved. Catley describes the media frenzy as almost unprecedented. Quite frankly, I have never seen another senior public servant have this type of scrutiny before, and this pile-on that we saw this week, she tells the Herald in an interview. When asked if gender was a factor, as Webbs supporters believe, she says, Id like to think not, in 2024. Havent we grown up? What I would say is  that as woman you have to do everything twice as hard  you are scrutinised more. On the ground, police  male and female  are unhappy. A meme flew around, depicting Webb as Swift. Every time I see her on TV I close my eyes, says one. Officers are distressed by the alleged murder, upset that uniformed police were banned from marching in the Mardi Gras Parade, and deflated by the debate about their boss. Shes out of her depth, says another. Were all copping it because of the [alleged] actions of other cops. Shes not standing up for us. Even Webbs supporters concede she struggles. Its a shame shes not great at media because shes so good at everything else, says an ally. But they argue thats not crucial; that otherwise the $5 billion, 22,000-person behemoth Webb runs is faring well. Crime in most areas is down, and police have made significant arrests in the past year. Its probably going better than its ever gone out there, says one high-ranking officer.

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Catley agrees. I find it absurd to think [people say] shes going to lose her job because shes not a good media performer. Thats just ridiculous. She has a different leadership style. You dont have to be exactly like your predecessor, or the one before that. One supporter, a former senior policeman, said baying for Webbs head over her public speaking ability was outrageous. Scipione left the Lindt Cafe siege at 10pm and Fuller was criticised by the police watchdog over his racing interests, yet there was no similar outcry. But she stuffs up a couple of press conferences, and theyre calling for her head? Others say thats wishful thinking. I dont think you can do [the commissioners job without strong media skills] in 2024. It shouldnt be that way. But it just is, says one recently departed, high-ranking officer. Bringing the authority of the commissioner to the table is important, says another. Its community reassurance; what they say should carry a lot of weight. A former politician with experience in police agrees. Unfortunately, thats the only thing that the police and community see, they say. People on the beat look up to their commissioner, and they dont see the strength of personality theyve seen in the past. That translates to how individual officers feel about whether they think the commissioner is out there and has their back. Karen Webb soon after she became the first female police commissioner. Credit: Peter Rae Webbs supporters also believe shes being targeted by invisible forces, in the great tradition of internecine police politics with an extra dash of gender discrimination. Theres rumours of leaks against her from senior ranks (all her deputies say theyre loyal). Others counter that Webbs office is too preoccupied with leaks, to the point where it has become secretive. But Webb would not comment on this in an interview with the Herald. Ive got the support of my executive and we just get on with the business, she said. If Webb were to resign, Lanyon would be the most likely candidate; the heat over the Goulburn incident has long cooled, he presents well, he understands the media, and he has close relationships with journalists. Hudson was touted as a contender this week, but has shown little interest in the past. One person close to him said he might take it if offered, but wouldnt apply.

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Two men were told to set fire to a Melbourne burger store through a middleman who took orders from somebody above, police have alleged in court.

Wayle Mana, 25, appeared by video link at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, where his lawyer said his client should be given bail as he was at a medical centre when the Burgertory store fire happened.

Burgertory in Caulfield was gutted by an alleged arson attack in November. Credit: Simon Schluter

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Michael Ferwerda confirmed Mana was not at the Caulfield burger shop when the blaze began after 4am on November 10, 2023.

Weve now received information that he was possibly at the Monash Medical Centre at the time of the fire, he told the court.
The seaside estate of Australias second prime minister Alfred Deakin is being readied for sale despite some of his descendants desperately seeking public funding to stop the property being auctioned off.

On Friday, Victorias state planning tribunal began adjudicating on the sale of Ballara, a heritage-listed property in Point Lonsdale set on 1.6 hectares of bushland cultivated by Deakin and his wife Pattie.

The former Point Lonsdale home and gardens of Australias second prime minister, Alfred Deakin, pictured in the bottom foreground, with Port Phillip Heads and Queenscliff in the background. Credit: Eddie Jim

The looming sale follows a rift between the eight descendants of Deakin who now own the property  with some keen to proceed to auction while others want the house and grounds preserved for public use.

The property has been valued at more than $8 million.
Telstras boss has apologised to a Victorian family who lost a loved one amid a national triple-zero outage that delayed their call for help being passed on to paramedics.

Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady said a technical incident between 3.30am and 5am on Friday caused details for 148 callers to be emailed instead of being immediately transferred to the relevant emergency service  including for a Fitzroy man in his 50s who suffered a cardiac arrest and later died.

Can I just first offer my deepest apology to the family of that person, Brady said at the media conference in Sydney on Friday afternoon.

She said she hadnt spoken to the family yet and Telstra was still investigating what caused the loss of inbound caller identification, which forced operators to manually forward some caller details to emergency service call-takers  be it police, fire or ambulance  for a call-back.
It is necessary to push the Russian army back further to ensure full protection of Kharkiv, the entire region and, particularly, the borderline towns and villages, otherwise it will be hard to protect the city against daily attacks, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

"We [the military cabinet] know how high the risks are when it takes a Russian missile up to one minute to hit the target. We understand that a complex protection is necessary here, and, probably, the main thing is that action is needed for strengthening the air defense of both Kharkiv and the entire region," he said at a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Kharkiv on Friday.

The head of state also said "we understand that it is necessary to push the Russian army back at a longer distance, otherwise it will be very hard to fully protect Kharkiv even if we strengthen ourselves with appropriate modern air defense systems."

He also said "there are many various details in the protection of Kharkiv and the region, we understand all the challenges, we understand what we are lacking."

"The commander-in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the defense minister know what they should work on. This protection is being reinforced. I cannot tell you how exactly so as not to inform unwanted people about the number of our soldiers and equipment. Our partners know what we lack to be very strong, and why. It is not only about Kharkiv by the way, but in general about the borderline towns or the towns located along the contact line," Zelenskyy said.

The head of state also noted that he has discussed with the prime minister of the Netherlands, during the latter's visit to Kharkiv, a possibility of strengthening the air defense in the city.
Authorities have implored West Australians to create fire plans, predicting an unprecedented extension of the south-wests bushfire season throughout autumn.

An outlook released on Friday shows the hot, dry, windy conditions the south-west land division experienced over summer will continue over autumn.

A bushfire menaced suburban homes in Bibra Lake on February 20. Credit: DFES

The West Kimberley is also expected to face above-average risk, given its recent low rainfall.

For the department, its been a long and fairly challenging fire season, said Deputy Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Waters.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is standing by a social media post urging voters to send Labor a message at Saturdays byelection in Dunkley if theyre concerned with keeping women safe from foreign criminals.

Ley posted the tweet following reports on Thursday that a former detainee released after last years High Court decision overturning indefinite immigration detention had been arrested and charged with stalking and sexual assault.

Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

But while all charges were dropped within hours once Victoria Police realised it was a case of mistaken identity, Leys post to social media site X remains online. Linking the issue to the byelection, Ley posted: If you live in Frankston and youve got a problem with Victorian women being assaulted by foreign criminals, vote against Labor.

If you do not want to see Australian women being assaulted by foreign criminals, vote against Labor. Send Labor a message.
A mix of middle and outer Melbourne suburbs can be revealed as the citys best performing over the past five years, after the house price medians grew as much as 40 per cent in some locales.

South-eastern Narre Warren North recorded the largest jump, up 38.4 per cent to the end of December, to a median of $1,693,000 on Domain data. It was followed by growth suburb Aintree (up 34.8 per cent to $755,000) and inner-eastern Balwyn North (33.4 per cent to $2,375,000).

Unit prices grew the most in Mitcham, where they jumped 21.3 per cent over the five years to $752,000. It was followed by Highett (19.6 per cent to $658,000) and Brighton (17.9 per cent to $1.2 million).

Melbournes overall median house price rose 22.1 per cent in the same period. Although it remains below its peak, the market has somewhat improved in recent weeks as clearance rates point to modest price rises and home buyers show renewed activity in expectation of a Reserve Bank rate cut later in the year.
Turkish Airlines lands in Australia on the evening of March 2, marking the entry of one of the worlds most awarded airlines into this market.

The carrier, named best airline in Europe eight times by Skytrax, including in the most recent awards, begins its commercial flights to Australia with a direct 20-hour 45-minute service between Istanbul and Melbourne (with a 1.5-hour stopover in Singapore), making the Victorian capital Turkish Airlines 346th destination and Australia its 130th country.

Turkish Airlines business class.

Turkish Airlines is operating Melbourne-Istanbul return three times a week and reportedly will go on to 21 flights weekly to or from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with that number increasing to 35 by 2025.

The airline will operate a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Melbourne route during the northern winter, switching to a larger Airbus A350-900 for Europes summer months.
Australia has a growing security nightmare in the Pacific region, and Americas political dysfunction is making it worse.

Consider the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. Those nations, dotted with palm trees and surrounded by turquoise waters, sit to the north and north-east of Australia. They are strategically located between China, Japan and the United States  three of the worlds four largest economies  but sit closest to Australia.

Australias caught in the middle between Chinas expansion in the Pacific and the growing concern about the United States commitment to protecting the region. Credit:

Presently, those Pacific nations are embroiled in a row with the US, which escalated last month when their leaders warned in a letter that it was pushing them into the arms of China.

The US has a treaty with those three countries known as the Compacts of Free Association agreements [COFA]. It guarantees the US exclusive military access to their territories and surrounding waters. In return for those military rights, the US provides them $US7 billion ($10.7 billion) in financial assistance over 20 years.
In response, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said from Washington thered be no US troops on the ground in a combat role in Ukraine, while Britain said it had no plans to make a large-scale deployment beyond the small number of personnel in the country supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, including for medical training. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had sat beside Macron at a hastily arranged summit of 25 European leaders in Paris that day, said participants at the meeting had agreed that there will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil who are sent there by European states or NATO states. Heavy artillery fire in the battle of Bakhmut in May 2023. Credit: AP Hungarys Viktor Orban, who has refused to send arms to Ukraine since the beginning of Russias invasion, said the war had no military solution, while Slovakias Robert Fico, equally hostile to any military support of Ukraine, has reiterated his opposition as a matter of principle. The fact Macrons suggestion was met with such a strong reaction, even consternation in some quarters, was proof, some observed, of how unready Europe was to face down Russian President Vladimir Putin should he choose to test the West, perhaps with an attack on the vulnerable smaller nations on NATOs eastern flank.

The 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea was an insufficient wake-up call for NATO, but since Russias 2022 large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the alliances militaries  about to span 32 countries with the addition of Sweden  have been slowly getting ready to fight. Much of this, many NATO nations admit privately, was sparked by the public lashings from former US president Donald Trump who in 2016 said the alliance was costing us a fortune. Were protecting Europe with NATO, but were spending a lot of money, he said, later saying at a rally that NATO was obsolete. Last month he lined up for another crack when he said during a campaign rally he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to NATO allies who dont spend enough defence funds. NATOs Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has forecast that by the time leaders meet in Washington this July, 18 allies will be spending at least 2 per cent of their GDP on defence  a major improvement over 2014 when only three hit that target. This year European NATO nations will spend about $US380 billion ($584 billion) on defence.

And Stoltenberg said any ally not spending at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence must have plans to swiftly meet that target. But some argue it is more complicated than that. Some nations defence spending is wholly allocated to NATO while others, meanwhile, might set their spending at less than 2 per cent, but their spending per head is greater than that of those who meet the NATO guideline. For example, Luxembourg falls short of the 2 per cent, but in per head terms, it spends more than Poland or France. The US may spend 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence but not all of that is allocated to NATO, with much of its strength being deployed in the Pacific and on its home territories. But in his 10th and final year as head of the worlds biggest military alliance, Stoltenberg believes Europe is more ready than at any time during the past few decades to defend itself against any threat. In the two years since the invasion he has welcomed two new members, agitating Putin but further strengthening the alliance. The world has become more dangerous, but NATO has become stronger, he said at the Munich Security Conference 10 days ago. And the purpose of NATO is to prevent war, is to ensure that there is no room in Moscow for any miscalculation about NATOs readiness and resolve to protect all allies.

While Stoltenberg continues to stress he does not believe there is an imminent threat to a NATO ally  which would require each of the military alliances 31 countries to come to its aid under Article 5 of the treaty  Western nations are growing more concerned about Russia potentially attempting to rekindle a frozen conflict in Moldova on the border with Ukraine. Loading In a worrying move, the leadership of the breakaway region of Transnistria on Wednesday appealed to Moscow to stop the genocide and help the Russians in the region, a call that was reminiscent of Ukraines separatists in eastern Donbas, who sought Russian help at the outset of the conflict in 2014. According to Transnistrian authorities, about 200,000 people of a population of less than half a million are Russian. Moscow also has a military base in the enclave, with about 1300 soldiers left after a secessionist war over Transnistria in 1992 claimed 700 lives. In his state of the union speech on Thursday, in which he warned of nuclear war if the West deployed troops in Ukraine, Putin refrained from mentioning the Transnistrian call for help. But the Russian foreign ministry said protecting the secessionist region was one of Moscows priorities and that it would carefully consider the request.

Justyna Gotowska, the coordinator of the regional security program at the Centre for Eastern Studies in Warsaw, said there was a clear difference within Europe regarding threat perceptions and policy priorities. She said the countries on NATOs northeastern flank felt a real threat coming from Russia. They believe the probability of Moscow staging an armed attack on a NATO country is high  though dependent on several factors like the course of the war in Ukraine, a possible crisis in the Indo-Pacific, credibility of deterrence in Europe, and political cohesion within NATO, she said. This perception is reflected in these countries investments in national defence, which exceed 2 per cent of GDP, and in the speed of strengthening their armed forces with new capabilities. Gotowska said the views in Western Europe were much more reserved, with nations such as Germany and Britain not believing Russia could militarily challenge NATO countries.

Nevertheless, there is a consensus that deterrence and defence in Europe need to be enhanced, albeit not to the extent the northeastern flank countries deem it necessary, she said. Oana Lungescu, a former NATO spokeswoman who is now at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said while defence spending across NATOs European allies and Canada had gone up by an unprecedented 11 per cent over the last decade, or $644 billion, it was still not enough. She said the trend needed to shift towards 3 per cent for them to meet the capability and readiness requirements for NATOs new defence plans and to step up support for Ukraine as it enters the third year of Russias war. Loading Trumps statements should focus minds, but more talk of European strategic autonomy risks deepening a transatlantic divide just as the worlds autocracies are coming closer, Lungescu said. If Europeans are serious about defence, as they should be in a dangerous world, they need to put their money where their mouth is.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is proud to announce 2024 Inductees including Ralph Teetor (Cruise Control Inventor))

GLENDALE, Calif. aA Jan. 18, 2024 a Fifteen innovation pioneers whose inventions range from cancer treatments to theatrical technologies and special effects will be honored in the 2024 class of National Inventors Hall of Fame^A Inductees. The class was announced Wednesday evening at the Walt Disney Imagineering campus in Glendale.

In partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Hall of Fame will honor these Inductees on May 9 at one of the innovation industryas most highly anticipated events a aThe Greatest Celebration of American Innovation^A.a???

Every year, I am impressed and inspired by the accomplishments of the newest Inductees in the National Inventors Hall of Fame,a??? said Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. aWe are proud to honor these world-changing inventors in the class of 2024, who show us the power of turning ideas into realities and participating in our intellectual property system to make a positive impact on our society and our future.a???

THE CLASS OF 2024

Ralph Teetor: Cruise Control (Posthumous): Automotive engineer Ralph Teetor invented cruise control. Originally limited to luxury vehicles, this speed control technology has become a standard feature providing greater ease in driving, safety, as well as fuel efficiency benefits.

James Allison: Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy: James Allison invented immune checkpoint blockade therapy. His pioneering work in the field of immunology brought immunotherapy into mainstream medicine as an effective treatment for cancer.

Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman: Sequencing-by-Synthesis (SBS): Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman co-invented Sequencing-by-Synthesis (SBS), a Next Generation DNA Sequencing (NGS) method that made possible efficient, low-cost and large-scale genome sequencing. Enhancing our understanding of life, SBS has enabled applications in genomics, medicine and biology.

Eric Betzig and Harald Hess: Photoactivated Localization Microscopy (PALM): Eric Betzig and Harald Hess; co-invented a super-resolution imaging technology called photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), enabling scientists to distinguish individual molecules, and study biological structures and processes with unprecedented resolution.

Andrea Goldsmith: Adaptive Beamforming for Multi-Antenna Wi-Fi: Andrea Goldsmith created technical innovations including adaptive beamforming for multi-antenna Wi-Fi, which have shaped the performance of wireless networking and enabled fast, reliable wireless service around the world.

Asad Madni: MEMS Gyroscope for Aerospace and Automotive Safety: Asad Madni led the development and commercialization of the MEMS gyroscope for aerospace and automotive safety. Commercialized as the GyroChip and first applied in the aerospace and defense industries, the technology has saved lives around the world through its use in aircraft and passenger vehicles.

Lanny Smoot: Theatrical Technologies and Special Effects: Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot is the patent leader, with over 100 patents, at The Walt Disney Company. He has developed many special effects, interactive experiences, new ride vehicle and robotic concepts, and other technological advancements for Disneyas theme parks, attractions, resorts hotels and cruise ships, creating magical guest experiences and driving innovation for future attractions.

Xiaowei Zhuang: Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM): Iaowei Zhuang introduced one of the most widely used methods of super-resolution imaging a stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy, or STORM. This technique, which overcomes the diffraction limit of light microscopy to produce images with higher resolution, is used to investigate biological systems and processes. Joseph-Armand Bombardier: Snowmobile (Posthumous):Joseph-Armand Bombardier invented the Ski-Doo^A snowmobile. The first mass-produced snow machine, it set industry standards and launched snowmobiling as a sport and recreational activity.

George Washington Murray: Agricultural Machinery (Posthumous): George Washington Murray invented agricultural machinery designed to accelerate planting and harvesting processes. He also served in the U.S. Congress and advocated for greater recognition of his fellow Black inventors.

Mary Florence Potts: Cold-Handle Sad Iron (Posthumous): Mary Florence Potts invented an improved sad iron, which was lighter and offered a cooler, more ergonomic handle. It was widely commercialized as an easier, safer solution for ironing clothing and linens.

Alice Stoll: Fire-Resistant Fibers and Fabrics (Posthumous): Alice Stoll, a research physiologist and pioneer in aerospace medicine, led the development of fire-resistant fabrics. Her work made it possible to rate materials by their ability to protect from thermal burns and demonstrated that fabric could be constructed with fire-resistant fibers.

Jokichi Takamine: Adrenaline (Adrenalin^A) (Posthumous): Chemist and entrepreneur Jokichi Takamine was a biotechnology pioneer whose research led to the use of adrenaline in medicine. Also known as epinephrine, adrenaline is widely used for many applications, including the treatment of anaphylaxis and cardiac arrest.

Ralph Teetor: Cruise Control (Posthumous): Automotive engineer Ralph Teetor invented cruise control. Originally limited to luxury vehicles, this speed control technology has become a standard feature providing greater ease in driving, safety, as well as fuel efficiency benefits.

THE CELEBRATION

The 15 Inductees in the class of 2024 will be honored at aThe Greatest Celebration of American Innovation,a??? held in our nation's capital. Humorist, journalist and podcast host Mo Rocca will serve as emcee for the event.

May 8 Illumination Ceremony at the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum at the USPTO Headquarters inA Alexandria, Virginia, where new Inductees will place their names on illuminated hexagons in the museumas Gallery of Icons^a. May 9 a The 2024 National Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., where the new Inductee class will be honored for its contributions to society during an evening event including a black-tie dinner and ceremony.
IRVINE, Calif., March 1, 2024 -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported total February sales of 32,705 vehicles, an increase of 6.7 percent compared to February 2023. Year-to-date sales totaled 62,984 vehicles sold; an increase of 17.5 percent compared to the same time last year. With 25 selling days in February, compared to 24 the year prior, the company posted an increase of 2.5 percent on a Daily Selling Rate (DSR) basis.

CPO sales totaled 5,640 vehicles in February, an increase of 12 percent compared to February 2023.

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February 2024 sales highlights include:

Best-ever February sales with 32,705 vehicles sold.

Best-ever February sales of CX-50 with 5,480 vehicles sold.

Best-ever sales of CX-30 with 10,026 vehicles sold.

Mazda Canada, Inc., (MCI) reported February sales of 4,075 vehicles, an increase of 50.1 percent compared to February last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 8,549 vehicles sold; an increase of 46 percent compared to the same time last year.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported February sales of 6,625 vehicles, an increase of 19 percent compared to last year. Year-to-date sales totaled 12,955 vehicles sold; an increase of 7 percent compared to the same time last year.

About Mazda North American Operations

Proudly founded in Hiroshima, Japan, Mazda has a history of sophisticated craftsmanship and innovation, and a purpose to enrich life-in-motion for those it serves. By putting humans at the center of everything it does, Mazda aspires to create uplifting experiences with our vehicles and for people. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Colombia through approximately 795 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario; operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City; and operations in Colombia are managed by Mazda de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at news.mazdausa.com.

Follow @MazdaUSA on social media: Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and Threads.

























































Month-To-Date

Year-To-Date

































February February YOY % % MTD

February February YOY % % MTD







2024 2023 Change DSR

2024 2023 Change DSR































Mazda3 3,063 2,846 7.6 % 3.3 %

5,943 4,423 34.4 % 29.0 %





Mazda 3 Sdn 1,751 1,584 10.5 % 6.1 %

3626 2,596 39.7 % 34.1 %





Mazda 3 HB 1,312 1,262 4.0 % (0.2) %

2317 1,827 26.8 % 21.7 %































Mazda6 0 0 - -

0 0 - -































MX-5 Miata 436 783 (44.3) % (46.5) %

825 1,507 (45.3) % (47.4) %





MX-5 135 404 (66.6) % (67.9) %

283 760 (62.8) % (64.3) %





MXR 301 379 (20.6) % (23.8) %

542 747 (27.4) % (30.3) %































CX-3 - 0 - -

- 0 - -





CX-30 10,026 8,026 24.9 % 19.9 %

17799 13,091 36.0 % 30.5 %





CX-5 10,362 12,282 (15.6) % (19.0) %

20556 22,115 (7.0) % (10.8) %





CX-9 1 3,515 (100.0) % (100.0) %

1 6,685 (100.0) % (100.0) %





CX-50 5,480 3,165 73.1 % 66.2 %

11213 5,754 94.9 % 87.1 %





MX-30 0 2 (100.0) % (100.0) %

- 11 - -





C70 12 0 - -

12 0 - -





C7P 4 0 - -

4 0 - -





CX-90 3,321 20 16505.0 % 15840.8 %

6631 20 33055.0 % 31728.8 %





CARS 3,499 3,629 (3.6) % (7.4) %

6,768 5,930 14.1 % 9.6 %





TRUCKS 29,206 27,010 8.1 % 3.8 %

56,216 47,676 17.9 % 13.2 %































TOTAL 32,705 30,639 6.7 % 2.5 %

62,984 53,606 17.5 % 12.8 %

























































*Selling Days 25 24





50 48





























































SOURCE Mazda North American Operations
2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Close-up and 30 Years of Auto Channel Reviews and Backstories





SEE ALSO: 30 Years Of Toyota Land Cruiser Reviews and Backstories From The Auto Channel Legendary Land Cruiser nameplate returns to the U.S. after a two-year hiatus

Equipped exclusively with the i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain producing 326 hp, 465 lb.-ft. of torque

Rugged heritage-inspired design elements

Full-time four-wheel drive with center- and rear-locking differentials

Expected availability Spring 2024

Starting MSRP of $55,950*

PLANO, Texas (Feb. 20, 2024)  When it was originally introduced in the United States in 1958, the Land Cruiser kicked off a tradition of rugged durability that would ultimately cement it as one of the most respected off-road icons in the industry. Back after a brief pause, the all-new 2024 Land Cruiser has stayed true to its roots as an extremely capable off-roader, packed with premium features, and now at a more accessible price point. This all-star boasts a head-turning new look, impressive technology, the latest off-road features and the balanced blend of performance and efficiency. Look for it to hit dealer showrooms in Spring with a starting Manufacturers Suggested Retail Pricing (MSRP) of $55,950.*

The complete redesign of the all-new Land Cruiser amounts to an incredible evolution of the vehicle. We know this new iteration had big shoes to fill, and I am absolutely thrilled to report it has exceeded our high expectations. said Mike Tripp, vice president of Toyota Marketing. This vehicle retains its legendary capability, and now it offers a significantly lower starting price, tons of creature comforts and even more maneuverability on the trails. We are excited for the world to experience the next edition of Land Cruiser.

MAX Performance

The 250 series Land Cruiser was completely reimagined and redesigned for 2024. All Land Cruisers will now exclusively feature a powerful turbocharged i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain mated to a full-time four-wheel drive system. This premium hybrid powertrain produces 326 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque.

Toyotas i-FORCE MAX powertrains are expertly engineered, a testament to the companys long-standing history of performance-driven and fuel-efficient vehicles. The 2024 Land Cruiser features an electric motor in the bell housing between the 2.4-liter turbo-charged engine and the eight-speed automatic transmission. This design offers maximum performance and increased efficiency with the legendary reliability that has been synonymous with Land Cruiser since the beginning. Land Cruiser has received an EPA-estimated 23 MPG combined rating which is a higher combined MPG rating than any previous iteration.

On Lock

A staple of Land Cruisers heritage is its go-anywhere capability. Engineers embraced this legacy when they included center and rear-locking differentials as standard for all grades. The electronic locking rear differential can help split the power 50/50 to the rear wheels for improved traction and reduced wheel spin on rough terrain. Another new addition to Land Cruiser is the available front stabilizer bar disconnect mechanism (SDM), which increases suspension flex with the push of a button. With the front stabilizer bar disconnected, articulation increases significantly helping the front tires to stay in contact with the ground. Multi-Terrain Select, which is now functional in both 4WD High and 4WD Low, offers adjustable settings to help control wheel spin on a variety of terrains, such as Mud, Dirt and Sand.

Land Cruiser adopts an updated CRAWL Control function that acts as a low-speed, off-road cruise control with five selectable speeds. Downhill Assist Control is another standard off-road feature that helps the driver navigate descents by limiting the speed of the vehicle. Additional traction aids include vehicle stability control (VSC) and an automatic limited-slip differential (Auto LSD). Land Cruisers front overhang was decreased for greater approach, providing up to a 31-degree approach, a 25-degree breakover and 22-degree departure angles.

Oftentimes, when adventuring off the beaten path, drivers encounter challenging and technical trails. The available Multi-Terrain Monitor system can act like a spotter by leveraging cameras to display the environment around the vehicle on the touchscreen, exposing potential obstacles looming ahead.

From the Frame up

Land Cruiser is built on the TNGA-F global truck platform that is shared with Tundra, Sequoia and Tacoma. The core objective of this platform is to provide refined handling, premium comfort and improved capability. Engineers behind this next-generation frame were able to increase rigidity and improve ride comfort by using new innovations, such as laser blank welding technology that reduces mass in areas its not needed while reinforcing areas that do. This high-strength boxed frame means that Land Cruiser is over built and ready to tackle even the harshest of environments. This enhanced frame, paired with the powerful i-FORCE MAX powertrain, allows Land Cruiser to tow up to 6,000 pounds.

Premium Feel, Even on the Trail

Land Cruiser is Toyotas original SUV and, as such, it must check all the boxes: legendary capability, with the latest advanced technology, high safety technology, and premium touches for the driver and passengers. The adoption of the modern TNGA-F platform not only adds strength, but it also improves the vehicles ride comfort and on-road manners. Passengers arent punished for the vehicles capability either, as the available plush power heated and ventilated front seats and reclining rear seats make long road trips a breeze.

A new 8 or available 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen displays Toyotas latest Audio Multimedia system, designed and engineered by Toyotas Texas-based Connected Technologies team. The system supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and pairs well with the available premium 14-speaker JBL audio system. Qi wireless charging is available with enhanced power output. Dual USB-C charging ports are included in the front row and two for second-row passengers. There are two more USB-Cs available and a standard 2400-Watt AC inverter house type plug (120V) in the cargo area. An available 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with four different styles and customizable widgets is available.

Standard on all grades is a Smart Key System with push-button start. With an active Remote Connect trial or subscription on select models, an available Digital Key connects with compatible smartphones to allow vehicle entry, tailgate access and vehicle starting (4G network dependent). The Digital Key can also be remotely shared with others to give more control over vehicle access rather than giving someone the physical key. Additionally, a Smart Card key is available, which is a credit card-sized smart key that allows the driver to carry their key with them wherever they go for added convenience.

Simple Grade Strategy

Land Cruiser is ready to help drivers tackle the road ahead  whether to haul passengers, gear or both. It will be available in three grades: Land Cruiser 1958, Land Cruiser and the First Edition.

This simple grade strategy starts with the well-equipped 1958 grade that is a nod to the vehicles roots. In 1958, Land Cruiser made its North American debut as a focused off-road vehicle. That legacy inspired Toyota engineers for this all-new generation. The 1958 grade harkens back to the Land Cruisers of old with a significantly lower starting MSRP of just $55,950.* It comes equipped with retro-inspired round LED headlamps, heated fabric seats and the iconic TOYOTA heritage grille. It also adds modern touches like standard Smart Key System with push button start, Blind Spot Monitor (BSM), a 7-inch full-color multi-information display, automatic climate control, five USB-C ports, an 8-inch Audio Multimedia Touchscreen, six-speaker sound system, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Fans of off-roading will also appreciate the standard locking center and rear differentials, rear coil springs, full-time four-wheel drive, two-speed transfer case, CRAWL Control, the powerful 2400W AC inverter and a standard brake controller.

The Land Cruiser grade builds on the 1958 grade with a focus on refinement and added convenience. It adds rectangular LED headlamps, power heated and ventilated SofTex-trimmed front seats, a 12.3-inch full color multi-information display, power liftgate, a 12.3-inch Audio Multimedia Touchscreen, and a 10-speaker sound system. Additional trail features include Rigid color selectable LED fog lights, Stabilizer Disconnect Mechanism (SDM), Multi-Terrain Select (MTS), and a Multi-Terrain Monitor (MTM) system.

Also available on the Land Cruiser grade is the Premium Package, which upgrades the standard seats to leather-trimmed heated and ventilated power front seats with lumbar support and driver memory features. A 14-speaker JBL premium audio system, digital rearview mirror, Head-up Display (HUD), illuminated entry, power moonroof, center console cool box and two additional USB-C ports in the cargo area.

The First Edition grade builds on the Land Cruiser grade by adding standard premium features and exclusivity. It includes all the features in the Premium Package and the retro round LED headlamps, unique 18-inch wheels and the First Edition logo embossed on the door panels. The grade also comes equipped with off-road must-haves like a roof rack, rock rails and a front skid plate.

The 2024 Land Cruiser will be offered in seven exterior color choices: Ice Cap, Wind Chill Pearl, Underground, Black, Meteor Shower, Trail Dust and Heritage Blue. The two-tone Trail Dust and Heritage Blue exterior colors feature a Grayscape roof.

An Ode to the Past

This all-new Land Cruiser is a nod to models of the past. Early generations featured a boxy look with a flat roof, short overhangs and TOYOTA grilles  all of which come through in the 250 series. Toyotas North American-based CALTY Design Research studio worked closely with the global development team to establish the design direction with no detail overlooked. The design team used four key terms to inspire them during development: authentic, reliable, timeless and professional. The all-new Land Cruiser is derived from a pure expression of form aligning with function.

That inspiration led to the unique design features that are offered on the 1958 grade and First Edition grades, namely the iconic round LED headlights and TOYOTA heritage grille, while Land Cruiser grades upgrade to slim, rectangular headlights reminiscent of the 60 series. A squared body profile resembles past Land Cruisers, and the A pillar is pushed back while the belt line was lowered, not only to complement the look, but for better outward visibility on the trails.

Designers made sure to fit modern features into the design as well, like all LED lighting and available 20 wheels, silhouette shaped roof rack and color selectable Rigid fog lights.

Land Cruiser is a global icon with a proven track record of conquering some of the harshest conditions, and it was the global design teams vision to bring that to life in this modern era, said Kevin Hunter, president, CALTY Design Research. The result is a refreshed balance of modern heritage that draws from Land Cruisers of old and takes the vehicle back to its roots.

The Iconic Off-Roader

Legends never die and the Land Cruisers return rounds out the incredibly capable and rugged line-up of tough body-on-frame vehicles that Toyota offers. These vehicles give customers more choice when it comes to finding a vehicle that can keep up with their dynamic lifestyles. They are designed to outlast almost anything the elements throw their way, and their incredible capability gives owners the tools they need to get out and discover all the hidden wonders the world has to offer.

Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 Standard

All 2024 Land Cruiser models come standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, Toyotas suite of active safety and convenience systems. This suite of features includes:

Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist

Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

Lane Tracing Assist

Road Sign Assist

Automatic High Beams

Proactive Driving Assist

Proactive Driving Assist is new to Toyota Safety Sense. When system operating conditions are met, using the vehicles camera and radar, this system is designed to provide gentle braking into curves or gentle braking and/or steering to help support driving tasks such as distance control between a preceding vehicle, pedestrian, or bicyclist. Proactive Driving Assist is not a substitute for the Pre-Collision System and operates in different circumstances.

Including the addition of Proactive Driving Assist, the Toyota Safety Sense features have been enhanced for TSS 3.0:

The Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection has enhanced detection capabilities thanks to new system sensors. It receives enhanced intersection support with improved detection capability in certain circumstances. In addition to pedestrian and bicyclist detection, this system now includes the capability to detect a motorcyclist.

Lane Departure Alert will now provide Steering Assist as well as enhanced lane recognition that includes detection of certain 3D objects, like guardrails, that may be used to help define the lane.

Dynamic Radar Cruise Control will have Full-Speed Range capability and adds a fourth following distance setting, from the previously available three. Enhanced vehicle detection allows for the ability to detect more than one preceding vehicle, as well as vehicles in adjacent lanes. This helps the system to provide smoother, more natural speed adjustments, especially when the driver changes lanes.

Lane Tracing Assist requires Dynamic Radar Cruise Control to be enabled for it to function. The system requires detectable lane markings in order to function. Like Lane Departure Alert, lane recognition is enhanced over prior TSS generations. In addition to lane centering, this system also helps provide more space between vehicles being passed in adjacent lanes. It works by offsetting the vehicles driving path with minor steering adjustments while keeping the vehicle within its lane.

An Emergency Driving Stop System is a new function of Lane Tracing Assist. Its designed to monitor the drivers inputs, such as steering operation, to determine if theyre inattentive or non-responsive, such as during a medical emergency. This feature is designed to bring the vehicle to a stop if the driver doesnt respond to alerts to take control.

Road Sign Assist is designed to detect speed limit signs, stop signs, Do Not Enter signs, yield signs, and certain warning signs, and display an icon of the sign on the Multi-Information Display (MID).

In addition to TSS 3.0, other available features include Blind Spot Monitor (BSM), which is designed to help detect and warn you of vehicles approaching or positioned in the adjacent lanes and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) for added peace of mind by helping to detect vehicles approaching from either side while backing out and alerting you with a visual and audible warning. Hill Start Assist Control (HAC) also comes standard.

Beyond Zero Vision

As part of Toyotas diverse portfolio approach toward a carbon-neutral future, Land Cruiser is the latest hybrid offering in the lineup to wear the Beyond Zero badge. Today, Toyota offers 17 electrified vehicles for customers to choose from. With 13 hybrid models, two plug-in hybrid models, the bZ4X battery electric vehicle (BEV), and the zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell Mirai, Toyota provides more choices than any other automaker for customers to reduce their carbon footprint.

Limited Warranty

Toyotas 36-month/36,000 mile basic new-vehicle warranty applies to all components other than normal wear and maintenance items. Additional 60-month warranties cover the powertrain for 60,000 miles and against perforation from corrosion for 60 months with no mileage limitation. Hybrid-related components that require repairs needed to correct defects in materials or workmanship are covered for 8 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first from original date of first use when sold as new. The hybrid battery is covered for 10 years/150,000 miles, whichever comes first, and is transferable across ownership.

The 2024 Land Cruiser also comes with ToyotaCare, a plan covering normal factory-scheduled maintenance, for two years or 25,000 miles, whichever comes first, and 2 years, unlimited mileage of Roadside Assistance.
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to speed up the process of supplying Western F-16 fighters to Ukraine.

"On the F-16: we are on schedule. This means that later this year they will be in the Ukrainian skies," he said at a press conference with Zelenskyy in Kharkiv.

At the same time, Rutte said, "there is still a lot to be done and one of the things we agreed on today is to speed up this process in the sense that we need to make sure that there are no obstacles that could cause delays."

"We discussed the possibilities  how exactly to speed up this process. Therefore, we will ask our ministries of defense to work on this together with our partners such as Norway, Belgium and other countries that are part of the F-16 coalition. Since Ukraine needs this advantage in the air as quickly as necessary," he said.
Interior Minister of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko held a meeting with his Czech counterpart Vit Rakusan, during which the parties signed a declaration on directions of cooperation between the ministries.

"We will continue to implement EU and NATO standards and principles in the activities of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, exchange experience in the field of hybrid threats and cyber security. The Czech side will contribute to the restoration of infrastructure facilities destroyed as a result of the Russian invasion," Klymenko said in the Telegram channel on Friday.

The minister expressed gratitude of the Czech Republic for sheltering Ukrainians and providing Ukraine with considerable assistance.

"There are many successful cases of cooperation: the operation of a mobile passport service in Prague, the service of international delivery of driver's licenses. Last month, the Czech side strengthened the capabilities of the medical service of the National Guard  equipment worth almost EUR 1 million was purchased," he said.

Klymenko emphasized that it is important to support and expand the partnership, as well as unite to bring victory close and restore peace in Europe.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed special gratitude to Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte for his visit to Kharkiv.

"We especially appreciate that you are in Kharkiv today in a city that has endured a lot, endured a lot of bullying, blows and survived," he told reporters in Kharkiv on Friday.

"This is an extremely symbolic visit, this is a visit that demonstrates the path that we have travelled together," he said, adding that "it was from Kharkiv in 2014 that the bodies of people killed in the MH-17 disaster were returned to the Netherlands." Then, he recalled, 298 people died in the disaster, of which 193 were Dutch citizens.

"In Kharkiv, it is 100% obvious that Russia is waging a criminal war. Its goal is only destruction. Our goal is to stop Russian terror, save as many people as possible, return lives, simply return life, return normalcy to life and not have to wake up from air raid sirens so that all children can safely go to school, a regular school," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, the signed cooperation agreement "formalizes in one document the entire range of our interaction for now and, importantly, for the next ten years."

"This year we must achieve results that will allow us to bring the end of the war closer on fair terms," the president said.

"Separately, I want to thank the Netherlands today for its principled and strong position regarding the need to create a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, for the full restoration of justice. Every war crime of the Russians and the original crime of aggression must receive legal, fair sentences. This is also important for those who suffered from Russian actions that lost relatives, as well as to prevent repeated aggression," Zelenskyy said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte took part in a meeting of the visiting military cabinet in Kharkiv and visited the metro school, the presidential press service said.

In particular, Zelenskyy and Rutte held meetings with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky and Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleschuk. Representatives of the Ukrainian army spoke about the current situation on the battlefield and the peculiarities of Russian air attacks.

They also briefed the leaders on the critical needs of the Defense Forces in ammunition, air defense and armored vehicles. We separately discussed the needs of air defense forces to protect Kharkiv.

In turn, in Kharkiv, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands inspected buildings damaged as a result of Russian shelling.

It is noted that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in Kharkiv, more than 20,000 objects have been destroyed, including 50% of the city's schools.

In addition, Zelenskyy and Rutte paid tribute to the children who died due to Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. The leaders installed lamps and placed toys at the monument to young victims of Russian aggression near Kharkiv Regional Palace of Children and Youth Creativity. Since the beginning of the war, some 87 children have died in Kharkiv region, and some 21 little Ukrainians have died in Kharkiv.

Later, as Zelenskyy's press service said, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands visited the metro school in Kharkiv and attended lessons held in specially equipped classrooms at the University metro station.

The leaders visited mathematics, Ukrainian and English lessons and talked with children. They inquired about the students' favorite subjects, hobbies and dreams and wished them success.

It is noted that 858 children from 40 classes study at the University station. Some 106 classes have been formed in which 2,191 children receive knowledge.

During the operation of the metro school, it was visited by journalists from 22 countries, as well as representatives of international organizations: the UN, UNICEF, USAID.
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili stated that Mikheil Saakashvili is not Alexei Navalny, and fair and free elections do not depend on Saakashvili's location. The president remarked that while the former president is serving a sentence for a real crime, it would be more beneficial to explore alternative measures such as house arrest or extradition in terms of reputation. As for the pardon, according to Zourabichvili, she does not comment on it."What we see now, and what we have seen in different regimes, is the tendency of human rights violations in the prisons of authoritarian regimes. We have witnessed all of this and experienced it during Saakashvili's time. So, he is in prison for real reasons.However, this does not mean that the humanitarian perspective should not be protected and respected. I have closely observed what happens to him in prison.Asking what can be done, I agree that it would be much better reputationally for him to be somewhere else. This decision has to be accepted by the government. There are many ways that other countries have solved these problems, such as house arrest or extradition. Ukraine has shown readiness for extradition, although I don't know if it has happened formally. So, these possibilities are there.From my side, I only have one opportunity ze, which I never comment on outside the country and rarely comment on inside the country, because there are many others who are waiting for the opportunity to be pardoned, and if you start to explain or justify, it is very unfair to other people. So I'm not commenting. This is a moral decision that I will make on my own, and I will answer only to myself, and it is definitely not something that can be influenced by external or internal pressure," Zourabichvili said.The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, met with the Ambassador of Israel to Georgia, Hadas Meitzad.According to the government administration, the discussions during the meeting centered on the current cooperation between the two countries and the potential for further enhancing partnership across various sectors.The Prime Minister underscored the longstanding friendship between the two countries, which is grounded in the strong political ties between them."Attention was paid to the positive dynamics of trade and economic relations development. Irakli Kobakhidze noted that Georgia welcomes the initiation of negotiations on a free trade agreement next year. The Prime Minister reiterated his solidarity with the diplomat following the terrorist attack on the State of Israel and its citizens on October 7, 2023," the statement reads.
PM: There are plans to issue about 12,000 preferential mortgages under eOselia in 2024

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal announced plans to issue about 12,000 preferential mortgage loans under the eOselia program in 2024.

"Preferential mortgage loans. Already 7,600 Ukrainian families have taken advantage of this program. The majority are military personnel and law enforcement officers," Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Friday.

According to the prime minister, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the procedure for using funds for Ukrfinzhytlo and, accordingly, the eOselia program for 2024.

"We are providing about UAH 1.5 billion for this. Our plans for the current year are to issue about 12,000 preferential mortgage loans," Shmyhal said.
Need to strengthen trade relations between Canada and industrial sector in Nagpur





Business Reporter

THE Association for Industrial Development (AID) held a bilateral business meeting with The Consulate General of Canada represented by Elaine DSouza, Trade Commissioner in the city on February 28, 2024. The meeting aimed to strengthen economic and trade relations between Canada and the industrial sector in Nagpur and Vidarbha. The meeting provided a platform for fruitful discussions on potential collaborations, partnerships, and opportunities for mutual growth. DSouza emphasised the importance of fostering strong ties between the Canadian business community and the vibrant industrial landscape of Nagpur.

Key highlights of the bilateral business meeting include explored various avenues for trade and investment between Canadian businesses and the businesses in Nagpur and Vidarbha. Both parties expressed interest in identifying synergies that could lead to beneficial partnerships in sectors of IT, Agritech, Food, Ferromanganese Technologies, Silicomanganese Technologies, Defence and Explosives, Manganese and minerals.

The Consulate General of Canada expressed its commitment to providing ongoing support to facilitate business connections between the two regions. DSouza said, This bilateral business meeting marks a significant step in strengthening the ties between Canada and Nagpurs industrial community. We believe that the discussions and connections made during this event will pave the way for successful collaborations that benefit both parties. Ashish Kale, President, AID; Ajay Kapoor, Co-convenor, IT Sector, AID; Sameer Bendre, Chief of Operations, Persistent Systems and Pankaj Bhokare, Executive Secretary, AID were present at the meeting.
Abdul Karim Tunda acquitted in 1993 serial blasts case





JAIPUR,

A SPECIAL court in Rajasthans Ajmer Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial blasts case, observing the prosecution could not provide enough evidence to prove the charges. Two other accused -- Irfan and Hamiduddin -- have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court. The 81-year-old Tunda, a close aide of wanted terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, was accused of carrying out blasts in five trains in different cities in December 1993 to mark the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.

Two people were killed and several injured in the blasts.

The court has acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda of all the charges framed against him. The prosecution could not provide enough evidences to prove the charges, his petitioner Shafquatullah Sultani said. The TADA court had framed charges against Tunda, the main accused, and Irfan alias Pappu and Hamiduddi on September 30, 2021, over the blasts in passenger trains in Lucknow, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Surat and Mumbai on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993.

Irfan and Hamiduddin have been sentenced to life imprisonment for planting the bombs, their counsel Abdul Rashid told reporters.
As Leopard numbers rise Mah count is now 2nd highest in India: 1,985





By Kaushik Bhattacharya

While Maharashtra becomes the second highest State in the country in leopard count, major threats of man-animal conflicts and targeted poaching for leopards body parts have also increased, reveals a report on Status of Leopards in India 2022 released by Union Minister for Environment Bhupender Yadav on Thursday. As per the Leopard Status Report 2022, Maharashtra has 1,985 leopards, which is second to the leopard population -- 3,907 -- in Madhya Pradesh. There were 1,690 leopards in Maharashtra in 2018 and, in four years till 2022, the number in the State increased by 295. Among these, a major population (75%) resides outside the Protected Area (PA) network, the report states. Vidarbha region has most of the Tiger Reserves, such as Bor, Tadoba-Andhari, Nawegaon-Nagzira, Pench, and Melghat. It also encompasses sanctuaries like Painganga, Tipeshwar, Umred-Pauni-Karhandla and large forest patches in territorial forest divisions such as Chandrapur, Central Chanda, Wardha, Yavatmal, and Gadchiroli. The leopard densities within Vidarbha is moderate to high, the report stated.





The density has increased in the Chandrapur and Bramhapuri territorial divisions, Melghat and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserves (TATR) since previous countrywide estimates of 2018. Chandrapur, Bramhapuri and TATR divisions have witnessing the highest man-animal conflict in recent time. Tiger and leopard densities both are occurring at same scale within this region. Therefore, the report raised concern about the increase of threat to leopards in this region. This proximity to human habitation makes them more vulnerable to poaching and human leopard conflict. Among the large carnivores found in India, leopards are the most poached species, it stated. The Vidarbha regions which comes under the Central Indian landscape stands out as a hotspot for leopard poaching, with a bias towards the poaching of males. Poaching of large carnivores may alter demography, behaviour of the target species also leaves cascading impact on the native biodiversity, mentioned in the report.

The report also stated, beyond poaching, habitat fragmentation due to developmental activities such as the development of linear infrastructure and mining poses significant threats to leopards in this landscape. Rich in coal and mineral reserves, this region serves as a crucial link connecting major economic hubs through a network of roads and railways that intersect its biodiverse forest habitats. With the leopard population expected to increase in the future, a concerted effort toward long-term monitoring, coupled with a deeper understanding of their natural history and behaviour, is imperative to devise effective management strategies, it suggested. The increase in the number of leopards and tigers in a good news, but it will also increase the responsibility of the Forest Department to give more attention to protection in territorial areas and prevent the human wildlife conflict, Ajinkya Bhatkar, Honorary Wildlife Warden told The Hitavada. The support of other line departments also needed in wildlife conservation to support the increased population, he added.
BJPs poll body meets to finalise first list of Lok Sabha candidates





New Delhi,

The BJPs Central Election Committee (CEC) met here on Thursday night as its members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda and Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting as the ruling party looks to name its candidates for a sizeable number of the 543 Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission (EC) announces the poll schedule. Leaders from various States, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarats Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradeshs Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarhs Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhands Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goas Pramod Sawant, were among those who arrived at the BJP headquarters for the meeting.

State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective States are discussed. A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent Assembly polls, sources said. Many Union Ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya, are likely to be fielded in the general election, after the party chose not to give them another Rajya Sabha term during the recent biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament.

The BJPs poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees. The partys brain trust, including Shah and Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to draw the lists of probables, before the CEC takes a final call.
Switzerland has joined the European Union's 13th package of sanctions on Russia, approving both its extended sanctions list and restrictive trade measures, Swiss authorities have said.

"The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), which is responsible for sanctions, decided on 29 February to impose further sanctions against Russia. Switzerland is thus joining the 13th sanctions package of the European Union," the Swiss Federal Council's website stated.

In particular, Switzerland has added 106 individuals and 88 entities to its lists.

Switzerland also imposed additional trade sanctions "to further prevent Russia from acquiring sensitive goods and technologies for the Russian military associated to Russia's military-industrial complex," it said.

The list of banned exports has also widened. For example, in compliance with the 13th sanctions package, it now includes the sale and export of components used in designing and manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

The sanctions are effective from 6 p.m. (8 p.m. Moscow time) March 1.

The package was approved by the EU on February 23. Among the newly added 106 individuals and 88 entities are ten Russians and Russian entities associated with supposed North Korean arms supplies to Russia, Brussels said.

The restrictions also apply to North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam and several Belarusian companies and individuals for their assistance to the Russian Armed Forces.

The latest additions also include 27 entities which "directly provide assistance" to the Russian defense industry.

The new package also further restricts exports of certain products used in UAV production, including electronic transformers, static converters and inductors which can be used as drone components.

Aluminum condensers used for military purposes are also now banned.

The restrictions on import and export controls will apply to companies from China, India, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Turkey and Sri Lanka, the EU Council said.

It also added the United Kingdom to the number of EU partners participating in anti-Russian sanctions on iron and steel imports.
DGCA slaps Rs 30 lakh fine on Air India for wheelchair incident involving elderly passenger





NEW DELHI ;

AVIATION regulator DGCA on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Air India for the incident where an 80-year-old passenger collapsed and later died after walking from plane to terminal at the Mumbai airport after not getting a wheelchair. The incident happened on February 12. A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday said a penalty of Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on Air India as it failed to provide any wheelchair to the elderly passenger. Further, Air India did not inform about any action taken by the airline against the erring employee(s) and the airline also failed to submit any corrective actions taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future, the official said. Earlier this month, DGCA issued a show cause notice to the carrier, which submitted its response to the watchdog on February 20. The airline submitted that the elderly passenger wished to walk along with his wife who was on a wheelchair too, rather than wait for another wheelchair.

An advisory has also been issued to all airlines to ensure that an adequate number of wheelchairs are available for passengers who require assistance during embarking or disembarking from the aircraft during their journey, the official said. DGCA implements stricter guidelines for alcohol testing of aviation staff: THE DGCA has recently announced significant revisions to norms pertaining to the procedure for breath-analyser examination of personnel engaged in safety-sensitive roles within the aviation industry. This move comes as part of ongoing efforts to bolster safety protocols amid the escalating air traffic and ground movements at airports nationwide. According to DCGA, under the revised the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section-5, Series-F, Part-IV, several key amendments have been introduced to strengthen the efficacy of alcohol detection measures in critical aviation operations, including aircraft maintenance, air traffic control services, aerodrome operations, and ground handling services.

One of the primary updates involves the adoption of fuel cell technology-based breath-analyzer equipment, renowned for their enhanced accuracy, which will now exclusively conduct the breath-analyzer tests. This transition aims to ensure the reliability and precision of alcohol detection procedures across the board, said a senior DGCA official. Furthermore, the permissible Blood Alcohol (BA) Test percentage for employees involved in safety-sensitive duties has been substantially increased from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, underscoring the heightened scrutiny placed on personnel responsible for ensuring the safety and security of air travel. In a bid to streamline operational guidelines and promote consistency, Section-5, Series-F, Part-IV has been harmonised with CAR Section-5, Series-F, Part-III concerning the procedure for conducting breath-analyzer tests.

This alignment is poised to simplify compliance efforts and facilitate standardised practices across various sectors within the aviation industry, said the official, adding that the revised CAR is slated to take effect three months from the date of its issuance, affording industry stakeholders ample time to adapt and augment existing infrastructure to accommodate the updated breath-analyzer testing protocols at diverse locations.
I will dedicate myself to Chhindwara till my last breath, says Kamal Nath





Our Correspondent

PARASIA (Chhindwara),

I will work for Chhindwara till my last breath, said former Chief Minister, Kamal Nath in an emotional manner while addressing workers meet after offering prayers at Tamia Mata temple on Thursday. Kamal Nath further said, I have family ties with every house. I often worry about the youth. I have opened skill development for the unemployed. You have to work to secure your future. I have full faith in you. He asked the senior workers, people of Patalkot did not even know how to wear clothes, the one who is wearing jeans and shirt today, you have laid this foundation, 14 years ago I built Hanumanjis temple on my own land and not on Government land, this was my faith, hence the temple was built and got it constructed.

Also present on the occasion, MP Nakul Nath said that efforts should be made to get compensation for crop damage due to hailstorm. Farmers Rabi season crops were damaged due to torrential rains along with hailstorm. They should not worry, my efforts are continuing to provide compensation to affected farmers. I have requested the Chief Minister to immediately conduct a survey and compensate the loss caused to the farmers. There was a BJP Government earlier too, but I did not let any work be stopped, even now no work will be affected, you all should be rest assured of this. Kamal Nath said that there was no reduction in the development of Chhindwara then and neither will it be allowed to happen now. Lok Sabha elections will be held in a few weeks. I have full confidence that you all will elect Nakul Nath as MP again by casting your vote and will also give me the blessing of serving again.
Indigo flight lands back at Raipur within minutes after take-off





Staff Reporter

Raipur,

An Indigo airline from Raipur to Bhopal carrying 65 passengers onboard landed back safely at Swami Vivekananda Airport (SVA) here within few minutes after the take-off on Thursday evening. The flight was later declared as AOG (Aircraft on Ground) following its inspection, leading to its cancellation. The flight 6E7371 (RPR-BHO) took off around 1730 hours and landed back safely within 27 minutes at 1757 hours. A technical glitch is stated to be the reason for the aircrafts return. Most importantly, the airlines also responded very judiciously to the passengers of affected flight by availing some of them with full refund, while extending hotel accommodations to others and several individuals were given full-access exquisite lounge services.

The passengers were fully delighted by the airlines response to their unforeseeable distress. When the flight took off from Raipur, there was no problem at all. However, after 27 minutes, the alert pilot detected the technical glitch and swiftly took the call to turn back since it was still in the vicinity of Raipur. The pilot immediately alerted the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) authorities and landed at SVA. We were informed by the airlines staff that there was a technical problem in the aircraft, which prompted the pilot to turn back the plane, knowledgeable sources at Airports Authority of India (AAI) manning the operations at Raipur Airport told The Hitavada.

Sources, in the meantime, also averred that immediately after landing in Raipur, all passengers of the aircraft were de-boarded and the aircraft was sent for inspection at parking bay no-6. Post the inspection of the aircraft, the airlines engineers declared the plane as AOG, followed by its cancellation. Subsequently, the same flight, which becomes 6E-7302 on its return from Bhopal to Raipur and later turns 6E-7249 connecting Raipur to Hyderabad, was also cancelled, the sources revealed. Meanwhile, according to eye-witnesses, the passengers of the cancelled flight upon getting prompt attention and response from the airlines through various facilities, including connecting flight facility, full refund, hotel accommodation and premium lounge access, thanked Indigo authorities. They also clicked their pictures inside the terminal building with smiling faces and messages of thanks towards Indigo airlines.
Ketan Hyundai wins Champion of Champions award at Hyundai NDC





Business Reporter

Ketan Hyundai, a trusted partner in Hyundai Motor Indias robust pan-India dealership network, was recently conferred the Champion of Champions award at Hyundai National Dealers Conference 2024, (NDC) held in Antalya, Turkey. The Champion of Champions award was presented by Un Soo Kim, MD and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India to Gautam Kale, MD  Ketan Hyundai. This recognition marks yet another achievement for Ketan Hyundai. Elated at the recognition received at Hyundai NDC 2024, Gautam Kale, MD  Ketan Hyundai said This recognition is a testament of the love and bond we have built over the last two and a half decades with our esteemed customers. Today, our customer base stands at over 70000 happy customers. The Champion of Champions award is also a reflection of the hard-work and unwavering spirit of the Ketan Hyundai family, our trusted staff. I express my sincerest gratitude to everyone.

I am humbled, in no small measure by the recognition bestowed upon this partnership by Hyundai Motor India Ltd. We vow to build this partnership further and Ketan Hyundai will continue to elevate customer experiences and induce maximum customer delight. Ketan Hyundai was established in 1998. Keeping in view Ketan Groups long experience in automobile business, their customer oriented services, Hyundai Motor India had appointed Ketan Hyundai as an authorised dealership for Nagpur. Following a stellar performance of Ketan Hyundai in Nagpur, HMIL also appointed Ketan Hyundai as the authorized dealer partner for 10 locations across Vidarbha. A trusted partner for the last 25 years, Ketan Hyundai has bagged numerous accolades.
Mid-East, North African nations show interest in BrahMos missiles





NEW DELHI,

WITH India looking to increase its defence exports, Indias friendly countries in the Middle East and North African region are showing keen interest in the ground and air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. India has the capability of launching supersonic cruise missiles that can now hit targets beyond 450 km and has deployed these planes on different parts of the country. Some friendly countries in the MENA region operate Sukhoi-30 fighter jets, which can be equipped with the BrahMos. They have shown interest in having this strong capability and discussions have been held with them, defence officials told ANI. The delegations from these countries have also met the BrahMos teams to know the capabilities of the missile and its potential, they said.

BrahMos Aerospace has achieved major success in the Philippines, where it has received orders for batteries of BrahMos missiles, which are to be supplied to them in the future. The land-attack versions of the missile are also being considered by some of the countries there and a push from India is being given at the senior level. BrahMos Aerospace chairman Atul D Rane has been focusing more on increasing exports of the missile systems in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis target of exporting military hardware worth USD 5 billion in 2025.

BrahMos Aerospace achieved major success in internal markets as the Indian Navy placed orders for Rs 19,000 crore to buy more than 200 of these missiles, which came to be deployed in anti-ship and land attack roles by the force. The recent order to BrahMos Aerospace was given by the Navy after the Cabinet committee on security cleared the order in its meeting last week. BrahMos Aerospace Management, headed by Atul Rane, is now focused on getting larger consolidated orders to be more cost-effective and also allow its suppliers to get larger orders.
NO NARRATIVE





THE efforts of the combined Opposition -- whether in the I.N.D.I. Alliance or outside it -- to confront Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modis juggernaut appear almost pathetic, to say the least, as the Lok Sabha elections draw closer with every passing day. With the announcement of election dates just a few days away, the voters expectation stands almost belied that the Opposition would present a definitive narrative of development and growth and welfare as a counter to the narrative which Mr Narendra Modi is masterminding. It must be said at this stage that the combined Opposition does not have any definable narrative to counter the Prime Ministers authentic assertion of what he wishes to do in the consecutive third term. The only point of insistence of the Opposition is that it wants to remove Mr. Narendra Modi somehow. And, frankly, that is no narrative at all. Factually, Mr. Narendra Modis developmental thrust stands on the foundation of the solid work his Government did in the first two terms of five years each. There was not one single section of the larger Indian society that the Prime Ministers developmental initiatives did not touch. And Mr. Modis continued endeavour has been to keep looking for different and more varied segments of the society needing some help, some push, some guidance, some direction.

Mr. Narendra Modi is all eager to lend that to the needy segments in whichever manner possible. It is certainly not easy for any political Opposition to confront such a narrative and defeat it. In other words, the Opposition will have to think really hard and work really harder to create an alternate narrative as a counter to the Prime Ministers thrust. It will have to come up with some idea that to push that Mr. Modi and his team have missed in the past ten years. There, of course, can be many -- since the challenges confronting India as as diverse as the big world. Because India has suffered centuries of subjugation to alien rule, it has suffered a lot spiritually. It is in this area that many the Opposition may be able to pick up issues to dare the Prime Minister ahead of elections. Unfortunately, most leaders of the combined Opposition do not feel strongly about the long periods of alien subjugation and therefore are not likely to find a counter narrative in that domain. This is actually an ideological problem that the Opposition is suffering from. The single point with the Opposition is that it wants Mr. Narendra Modi out. And as its leaders oppose Mr. Modi, they invariably end up opposing the larger idea of India.

The actual challenge for them is to find a slit in Mr. Modis narrative and exploit it using the original idea of India. That is not happening -- or not likely to happen -- because the Opposition is constrained by a narrow understanding of India as a cultural, civilisational and historical nation. Some Opposition leaders do talk about these dimensions in a touch-and-go manner, all right. Yet, their overall response is based on terrible ignorance of the metaphor named India. It is in this very area that Mr. Narendra Modi occupies a high ground which the Opposition has no wherewithal to assail. Given the current cumulative spiritual understanding of the Opposition leadership, it can be said safely that there is little possibility that an entirely new narrative can be created and built to last against the Modi juggernaut. In the nutshell, the fact is that the Opposition is just not ready even to give some thought to the challenge in an unconventional and fresh manner unencumbered with dogma. Going by this awareness, there is every reason to believe that Mr, Narendra Modis narrative will have no counter whatsoever from the combined Opposition.
Old & Older US Presidents





By Sushil Kutty

ONE IS old, the other is older. But while President Joe Biden is being given the benefit of doubt of being a victim of the gratuitous, both are also being told every next day that their age is a factor in the American presidential stakes this time. For President Trump, there is also the defeated rival Nikki Haley, forever reminding him of his ageing hairline while not sparing President Joe Biden for losing his fluency and flow with age. Nikki Haley herself is around 53. Nikki wants both Biden and Trump tested for their cognitive faculties, certain that Trump is beyond the bend to be skipper and Biden is Trumps silver foil in the Democratic set-up, not much further from dementia than Trump is from whatever it takes to getting lost in the woods. Remember, Donald Trump mixed Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden also self-mistakenly mistook somebody for somebody else. In Nikkis book, Trump, 77, and Biden, 81, have more wrinkles than they are showing. But Nikki is biased and wouldnt retire with grace. Just like Trump who still refuses to accept the 2020 results even if older and wiser, or perhaps because hes older and wiser. Trumps greying hair and Bidens silvery mien  Americans cannot get over the wrinkled and sagging reality staring them in the face. The fact is, age is the defining issue of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Loads of Americans cant think of a well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory bent on denying another old man a lapsed second term. If Joe Biden wants to lead them for yet another four years while Trump is taking potshots at President Joe Bidens hazy memory, resurrecting the Sleepy Joe nickname that he had given to Biden in 2020. I dont think he knows hes alive, Trump told a crowd of supporters. Sympathetic Americans assert President Joe Biden is a victim of elder abuse. Trumps supporters believe Biden himself is the abuse that Americans are being subjected to. Blame it on Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was the one who pronounced Biden as the well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. Since then, Biden and the Biden camp have been trying their best to shake off the image and the implications. Biden often gives the impression he cannot point himself in the right direction. The pits was when Trump did an impression of Biden losing his way on stage. It was savage. And completely uncalled for. Trumps legions cackled. Trump himself was as merciful as a barracuda.

The 77-year-old made fun of the 81-year-old and the entire stage shook in mirth. Trump might be struggling with diminished cognition but remains nastier than a confused ray-fish. Haleys calls for mandatory cognitive tests for 75 and above aged politicians must not be forgotten. Memory shouldnt rot. America is too tolerant of ageing. American justices of the Supreme Court and American Presidents, so many of them are ageing dinosaurs except that the ageing American judge and the ageing American politician never go extinct. But with focus on the Presidents age, people are no longer shying away from or struggling to talk of ageing politicians with vanishing hairlines. It is not ideology, but who of the two can stand farthest from the wall and shoot the distance. Cogent and cognitive arent the only factors. Going forward, further in age, how much does incontinence play a role in their night-life? Whos left with the energy to get the job done the next day? Dozing away in the Oval Office is not an option. Imagine placing orders of bedpans and diapers with the White House Chief of Staff fully engaged and the Press Secretary scared of nosy White House correspondents asking too many questions.

This could apply to both Trump and Biden though its Trump who makes it his business to remember that Biden is battling memory loss. Then, again, its Biden who remembers telling Donald that if both were in high school, he would take Trump behind the gym and beat the hell out of him. Age and memory, how much do they matter to a President? Age, particularly that of President Biden, coupled with his memory, is to many Americans a bigger problem than Trumps indictments. President Joe Bidens age has caught up with him while pulling Trumps closer. American stand-up comedians and late night comedy shows have picked Biden and Trumps age for laughs and it is not funny. Everybody is talking of age, writing of age, joking about age and some are apoplectic. Nobody is delirious with joy. Biden is the oldest American President so far and Trump could be in his wake if Americans let him. For now, it is between old and senile and old and unhinged. Biden rides a bike and Trump has bike-gangs rooting for him, whoever said America is not a country for old men. (IPA)
Patwari recruitment exam Junk it, demands Jitu Patwari





By Bhavana Aparajita

Shukla

State Congress President Jeetu Patwari has made a scathing attack on State Government and has questioned the ruling party on various irregularities in the process of the recruitment examination against several posts of Patwaris (low rank revenue staff). He said that he has full solidarity with the protesting aspirants and asked the Government as to how seven out of ten candidates from one particular examination center secured position in merit list. Advocating the candidates demand of junking the Patwari recruitment examination 2023, he made allegations against the Government and demanded the examination must be junked immediately to render justice to the protesting candidates. Why is the Government overlooking the demands of the candidates? Patwari asked. Several aspirants of Patwari recruitment examination assembled in the state capital and organised a march towards state secretariat on Wednesday to protest against the recruitment examination conducted by Professional Examination Board (PEB) and demanded a special investigation team (SIT) probe in the entire process of the examination.

Patwari also raised questions on ruling Governments alleged suppressing tactics through which it had used force to barricade their march towards Vallabh Bhawan, State Secretariat. The students were taking out march in protest against the Patwari recruitment examination under the aegis of the National Educated Youth Union (NEYU), but the police force barricaded the road approaching to Vallabh Bhawan, Patwari further said. Previous Shivraj Sigh Chouhan Government had conducted the examination last year. The results of the examination were declared on June 30, 2023. Later, the then Shivraj government had stalled the entire process after facing allegations of irregularities till the investigation and set up a commission for investigation on July 19, 2023. The commission headed by Justice (retired) Rajendra Verma submitted its investigation report to the Government that pronounced no irregularities were committed.
Shajahan Sheikh, TMC strongman behind Sandeshkhali crisis, arrested





BASIRHAT (WB) :

AMID tension, Trinamool Congress (TMC) strongman Shajahan Sheikh, accused of sexual abuse and land grab in crisis-hit Sandeshkhali was arrested in the early hours of Thursday after being on the run for 55 days that witnessed violent protests led by local women and a fierce political slugfest. Additional Director-General of Police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar said, Sheikh was arrested from a house in Bamanpukur in Minakhan police station area, around 30 km away from the island of Sandeshkhali on the outskirts of Sunderbans, in North 24 Parganas district. Sheikh was hiding in the house along with a few associates, police said. After the arrest, he was taken to the Basirhat court, which sent him to 10 days in police custody. Sheikh, who has been at the centre of a massive political firestorm, came out of the lock-up around 10.40 am, and walked to the courtroom with policemen behind him. He also made a gesture with his hand at the media contingent waiting there. After the hearing, which lasted for barely two minutes, he returned to the lock-up. Later, he was taken to Bhabani Bhawan, the State Police Headquarters, in Kolkata as the CID took over the investigation.

He has been brought to Bhabani Bhawan for questioning, an officer said. Sheikh was taken in custody within 24 hours of the Calcutta High Court stating that the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the West Bengal Police can arrest him. Celebrations broke out in Sandeshkhali as the news of Sheikhs arrest reached the area, with locals distributing sweets. Governor CV Ananda Bose, who had on Monday night given a 72-hour deadline to the State Government for Sheikhs arrest, said, There is always light at the end of the tunnel. I welcome it. This is the beginning of an end. We have to put an end to the cycle of violence in Bengal. In parts of Bengal, the goons are ruling the roost. This must end and the gangsters should be put behind bars, he said.

Police said Sheikh was arrested in two cases lodged at the Nazat police station in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on January 5 during a raid at his house in a ration scam case. He was booked under IPC sections 147 (guilty of rioting), 148 (guilty of rioting being armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 333 (whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt to any person being a public servant) and 392 (robbery), they said. The TMC said, the arrest was possible as the court cleared the decks, while the Opposition BJP, CPI(M) and Congress dubbed it as scripted. Due to a legal tangle, he couldnt be arrested initially. However, after the court clarified that there was no stay on his arrest, the West Bengal Police did its job. The Opposition had earlier exploited the embargo on his arrest, TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told PTI. We had said he would be arrested in seven days as we were confident of the ability of the State Police, he added. The BJP claimed that the State Police were forced to arrest Sheikh because of its agitations. It was the TMC and the State Police which were shielding the culprit.

He has been arrested now as a part of a well-scripted story. The State administration was forced to arrest him because of the continuous agitation led by us, BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar said. CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty questioned why Sheikh was not arrested in the 43 cases that had been filed by the people of Sandeshkhali. There was always the scope for arresting him but this was not done as he was being shielded by the powers that be, he said. State Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury claimed the TMC leadership knew where Shajahan had been. It became clear today that anti-socials like Shajahan are assets of the TMC. Shajahans appearance clearly shows that he was kept in comfort.

Todays arrest is nothing but a drama. The TMC knew where Shajahan had been all these days. I hope that the people of Bengal will give a befitting reply to the TMC and teach it a lesson, he said. Sheikh was traced with the help of his mobile phones tower location, a police officer said. Shiekh was changing his location from time to time. He was spotted with the help of his mobile phones tower location, he said. Additional police forces were deployed in parts of Sandeshkhali, which Sheikh is accused of turning into his fiefdom over the last decade, to prevent any further flare-up of the situation. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were clamped in 49 areas on the island.

On Wednesday, a division bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed that it will be open to the CBI or the ED also to arrest the absconding Sheikh, noting that he has been on the run for a substantial period. BJPs co-incharge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that Sheikh was arrested by the State Police to preclude ED and CBI from getting him. Police said that over 100 complaints were registered against Sheikh over the last few weeks, which saw violent protests led by women demanding his arrest. Several cases, including that of 376D (gang rape), have been filed against Sheikh and his associates based on these complaints. His close aides Shibaprasad Hazra and Uttam Sardar were earlier arrested on similar charges. His another associate, Ajit Maiti, was held in connection with the allegations of land grabbing. Police said most of the complainants claimed that Sheikh forcibly took over land from the people, and tortured the women of the area. He was at large since a mob of around 1,000 attacked the ED team on January 5.
SSC exam from today





Staff Reporter

Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination (Class X), being conducted by Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, is beginning on Friday. Considering the traffic hassles created out of construction work, the traffic cops have appealed to students to start from home 40 minutes prior to examination time. We have made special arrangements to help students and their parents reach their respective centres faster. We have identified big schools where large number of students are expected to sit for examinations and deployed sufficient number of policemen there. The policemen will help students if they are stuck in the traffic. Because of construction works, several roads have been either diverted or converted into two way. Secondly, there can be VIP movement any time, like the city witnessed on Wednesday. At the same time, it is my appeal to the students and their parents to start from home 40 minutes prior to exam time, so that they can reach their exam centres well in time, said Shashikant Satav, DCP (Traffic).

A total of 1,55,028 students will appear in the examination for which the Board has identified 676 centres. The examination will conclude on March 26. This year, the Board has allowed extra 10 minutes to students appearing for the examination, which comes as a great respite to the examinees. Suppose an examination ends at 2 pm, the students can stay till 2.10 pm and check their answer-sheets. Chintaman Wanjari, Nagpur Divisional Board Chairman has made clear that students whose session starts at 11 am will have to reach their respective rooms by 10.30, while those appearing at 3 pm will have to be at the examination centre by 2.30 pm. Students reaching after the distribution of question papers will be prohibited from entering the centre. The Education Department has taken several steps to ensure error-free, copy-free examinations for which the responsibility has been entrusted with District Collectors. If any case of mass copying or unfair means found during the examinations, the Centre Heads, Head Master or teachers concerned would be held responsible, and action would be taken against them.
An agreement on security cooperation with the Netherlands for the first time secured support for the cultural heritage of Ukraine, Deputy Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva said on Facebook on Friday.

"For the first time, a security agreement secured support for the cultural heritage of Ukraine, in particular within the implementation of the 1954 UNESCO Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict," he said.

Zhovkva also drew attention to "a powerful military bloc with direct reference, in particular, to the provision of long-range fire weapons to Ukraine and the provision of F-16s (the Netherlands, by the way, co-chairs the corresponding Fighter Coalition)."

The block of support for the defense industry of Ukraine provides for attracting Dutch investments in the development of the Ukrainian defense industry, in particular in the production of UAVs.

"We have secured the most powerful blocks on sanctions, compensation for damage and bringing the aggressor to justice. In particular, the agreement consolidates the Netherlands' proposal to locate a future special tribunal for the crime of aggression in The Hague. In general, the section 'Russia's responsibility' in this agreement is the best and strongest of all agreements," he said.
Macron to discuss war in Ukraine with party leaders in French parliament on March 7

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to hold a meeting with the leaders of parties represented in parliament on the "situation in Ukraine" on March 7, Le Figaro said.

It is said the Elysee Palace sent invitations to the leaders of French parties.

"The president will receive the leaders of all parties with a group in parliament on Thursday, March 7 at 10.30 in the format of a 'meeting in Saint-Denis' dedicated to the situation in Ukraine," the Elysee Palace said to Le Figaro on Friday.

In addition, the publication said Macron wants to discuss with all French political forces the possible dispatch of ground forces to Ukraine.
This composite image shows the progression of a total solar eclipse over Madras, Oregon on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. A total solar eclipse swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe.
CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C  Free Report) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,915 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLCs holdings in Citigroup were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 73.8% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 683 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 75.0% during the third quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 700 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. 69.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on C. Barclays upped their target price on Citigroup from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. TheStreet upgraded Citigroup from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded Citigroup from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $56.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Citigroup from an underweight rating to an overweight rating and upped their target price for the company from $46.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Citigroup from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $63.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $57.03.

Citigroup Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE C opened at $55.50 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.61. Citigroup Inc. has a one year low of $38.17 and a one year high of $57.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $106.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.52.

Citigroup (NYSE:C  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The company reported ($1.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($1.89). Citigroup had a return on equity of 6.49% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company had revenue of $17.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firms revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 2nd. Citigroups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.13%.

Citigroup Profile

(Free Report)

Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions.

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Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,961 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $7,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Karani Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter worth about $580,000. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 15.8% in the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 27,961 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $4,055,000 after purchasing an additional 3,817 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 300,146 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $43,527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Teza Capital Management LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 40.8% during the third quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 12,044 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 3,487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.94% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marianne Lake sold 32,243 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $5,158,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,113,920. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Marianne Lake sold 32,243 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $5,158,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,113,920. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James Dimon sold 821,778 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.73, for a total transaction of $150,163,493.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 595,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,782,092.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 877,626 shares of company stock worth $159,500,516 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the companys stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:JPM traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $184.59. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,574,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,223,949. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $173.54 and a 200-day moving average of $157.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $531.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12-month low of $123.11 and a 12-month high of $185.75.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.73 by ($0.69). The firm had revenue of $38.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.73 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 20.70%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, January 4th were paid a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s payout ratio is 25.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on JPM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $191.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $192.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Odeon Capital Group lowered shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $140.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.11.

Read Our Latest Research Report on JPM

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

(Free Report)

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services to consumers and small businesses; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services.

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Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,153 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $10,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,205,501 shares of the companys stock worth $7,111,568,000 after acquiring an additional 338,077 shares during the period. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,326,000. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth $357,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.9% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,986 shares of the companys stock worth $3,752,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 474,940 shares of the companys stock valued at $255,105,000 after acquiring an additional 18,079 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 34,538 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $631.81, for a total transaction of $21,821,453.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,719,884 shares of the companys stock, valued at $63,004,019,910.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 195,055 shares of company stock worth $125,254,657 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $650.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, November 3rd. DZ Bank lowered Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $820.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $805.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $680.00 to $810.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $663.33.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:LLY traded down $7.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $749.88. 1,200,016 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,312,903. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $309.20 and a one year high of $794.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $666.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $607.00. The company has a market cap of $712.51 billion, a PE ratio of 130.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.32.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $9.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 51.22%. The businesss revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 12.48 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Eli Lilly and Companys previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is 89.66%.

About Eli Lilly and Company

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Almaden Minerals (NYSE:AAU  Free Report) in a report published on Monday morning. The firm issued a sell rating on the stock.

Almaden Minerals Price Performance

NYSE AAU opened at $0.14 on Monday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $0.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 22.82 and a current ratio of 22.82. Almaden Minerals has a 12 month low of $0.11 and a 12 month high of $0.22.

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Institutional Trading of Almaden Minerals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Almaden Minerals by 38.1% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 675,100 shares of the companys stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 186,277 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Almaden Minerals by 587.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 485,878 shares of the companys stock worth $119,000 after acquiring an additional 415,244 shares in the last quarter. HRT Financial LP bought a new position in Almaden Minerals during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Susquehanna International Group LLP grew its holdings in Almaden Minerals by 564.4% during the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 233,188 shares of the companys stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 198,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in Almaden Minerals during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000.

About Almaden Minerals

Almaden Minerals Ltd., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, evaluation, and development of mineral properties in Mexico. The company's principal asset includes a 100% interest in the Ixtaca gold-silver project located in Puebla State, Mexico. Almaden Minerals Ltd.

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Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP  Free Report) (TSE:BEP) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 636,780 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 73,539 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotias holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners were worth $13,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 7.5% during the second quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 73,897,686 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,179,243,000 after buying an additional 5,148,270 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 36.7% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,135,145 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $387,355,000 after buying an additional 3,523,830 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 14.3% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 10,659,034 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $314,335,000 after buying an additional 1,333,635 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 0.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,490,296 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $141,099,000 after buying an additional 57,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Brookfield Renewable Partners by 170.1% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 4,530,214 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $133,552,000 after buying an additional 2,853,217 shares during the last quarter. 60.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a neutral rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (down from $36.00) on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group cut shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Friday, November 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $30.91.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Stock Performance

BEP stock opened at $22.41 on Friday. Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $19.97 and a 52 week high of $32.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.53.

Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP  Get Free Report) (TSE:BEP) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Brookfield Renewable Partners had a net margin of 12.23% and a return on equity of 2.23%. The businesss revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.16) EPS. Research analysts predict that Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Renewable Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a $0.355 dividend. This represents a $1.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Renewable Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Brookfield Renewable Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -421.88%.

About Brookfield Renewable Partners

(Free Report)

Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. owns a portfolio of renewable power generating facilities primarily in North America, Colombia, Brazil, Europe, and Asia. The company generates electricity through hydroelectric, wind, solar, distributed generation, pumped storage, cogeneration, and biomass sources.

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Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference '20 years of AUTO-REGION company: outcomes, challenges, development prospects'

On Wednesday, March 6, at 11.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference entitled "20 years of AUTO-REGION company: outcomes, challenges, development prospects."

Participants include

Deputy Director of AUTO-REGION LLC Vitaliy Pasechny;

Head of Sales Department of AUTO-REGION LLC Oleksandr Butenko;

Head of Marketing Department of AUTO-REGION LLC Kristina Bratchykova;

Head of Technical Department of AUTO-REGION LLC Viktor Kovbyk;

Head of Bus Production of AUTO-REGION LLC Mykyta Gaidamakha;

Vice President for Sales and Marketing Hakan Koralp (8/5a Reitarska Street).

The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel.

Admission requires registration on the spot with press ID cards.
Solo Brands, Inc. (NYSE:DTC  Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.58.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on DTC shares. Piper Sandler downgraded Solo Brands from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup downgraded Solo Brands from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $4.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Solo Brands from an overweight rating to an underweight rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. B. Riley began coverage on Solo Brands in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. They set a neutral rating and a $5.50 price objective on the stock. Finally, William Blair downgraded Solo Brands from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, January 8th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Solo Brands

Solo Brands Trading Up 1.9 %

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Solo Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Solo Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Solo Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Solo Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Solo Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 75.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Solo Brands stock opened at $2.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 2.95. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $3.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $4.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.30 million, a PE ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 2.76. Solo Brands has a 52 week low of $2.50 and a 52 week high of $8.86.

Solo Brands Company Profile

(Get Free Report

Solo Brands, Inc operates a direct-to-consumer platform that offers outdoor and lifestyle branded products in the United States. The company provides camp stoves under the Solo Stove Lite brand name; fire pits under the Solo Stove brand name; kayaks under the Oru brand name; paddle boards under the ISLE brand name; and storage solutions for fire pits, firewood, and other accessories.

Further Reading

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Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 3,040 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock, valued at approximately $270,000.boohoo jakke toner lbp7210 nike vomero tricko supermario veja montante femme sell chanel letters machine sell chanel letters machine invicta jason taylor limited cervena zimna bunda norvey detska postielka s matracom nike summer collection 2016 seiko digital chronograph watch     givenchy tricko 75946 lego harry potter

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 80,105,413 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $6,792,138,000 after acquiring an additional 495,302 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after acquiring an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 46,543,024 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $3,946,383,000 after acquiring an additional 1,990,407 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $2,118,935,000 after acquiring an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,447,146 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $1,813,329,000 after acquiring an additional 555,639 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.28% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 17,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.06, for a total value of $1,514,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 576,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,307,911.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TJX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued an outperform rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $101.38.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on TJX

TJX Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

TJX Companies stock opened at $99.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $95.90 and a 200-day moving average of $91.88. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $72.92 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $112.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About TJX Companies

(Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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Corton Capital Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Prologis, Inc. (NYSE:PLD  Free Report) by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,284 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 1,927 shares during the quarter. Corton Capital Inc.s holdings in Prologis were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PLD. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Prologis by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 92,924,760 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $11,395,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,783,742 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Prologis by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 18,762,836 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,294,586,000 after acquiring an additional 299,124 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Prologis by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,519,324 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,853,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,211 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Prologis by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,224,729 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,820,577,000 after acquiring an additional 197,693 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Prologis by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 14,577,827 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,643,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729,040 shares during the period. 90.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Prologis

In related news, Director James B. Connor sold 103,331 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.20, for a total value of $13,763,689.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,419 shares in the company, valued at $2,853,010.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and set a $130.00 target price on shares of Prologis in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Prologis from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Prologis from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Prologis from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Prologis from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $123.00 to $148.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $141.73.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Prologis

Prologis Price Performance

PLD opened at $133.27 on Friday. Prologis, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.64 and a 1 year high of $137.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.26 billion, a PE ratio of 40.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The businesss 50-day moving average is $131.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.62.

Prologis (NYSE:PLD  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.58). Prologis had a return on equity of 5.29% and a net margin of 38.13%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Prologiss revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Prologis, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prologis Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Monday, March 18th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 15th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Prologiss previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Prologiss dividend payout ratio is currently 105.78%.

Prologis Profile

(Free Report)

Prologis, Inc is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. At December 31, 2023, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 1.2 billion square feet (115 million square meters) in 19 countries.

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Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lowered its stake in Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA  Free Report) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 386,415 shares of the companys stock after selling 2,794 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolinas holdings in Coterra Energy were worth $10,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meitav Investment House Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $213,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of Coterra Energy by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 1,056 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co acquired a new position in shares of Coterra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.54% of the companys stock.

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Coterra Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE CTRA opened at $25.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.19. Coterra Energy Inc. has a one year low of $22.25 and a one year high of $29.89. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $25.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Coterra Energy Increases Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Coterra Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Coterra Energys dividend payout ratio is 37.38%.

Several research firms recently weighed in on CTRA. Susquehanna raised Coterra Energy from a neutral rating to a positive rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Coterra Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Coterra Energy from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 8th. Citigroup raised Coterra Energy from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Coterra Energy from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Coterra Energy has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $32.07.

View Our Latest Analysis on Coterra Energy

About Coterra Energy

(Free Report)

Coterra Energy Inc, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the development, exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company primarily focuses on the Marcellus Shale with approximately 183,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the play located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

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Albertsons Companies (NYSE:ACI  Get Free Report) and Axfood AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:AXFOF  Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Dividends

Albertsons Companies pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Axfood AB (publ) pays an annual dividend of $15.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 55.9%. Albertsons Companies pays out 20.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Axfood AB (publ) pays out 73.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

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Institutional & Insider Ownership

68.6% of Albertsons Companies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 13.8% of Axfood AB (publ) shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Albertsons Companies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Albertsons Companies 1.71% 83.38% 6.65% Axfood AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Ratings

This table compares Albertsons Companies and Axfood AB (publ)s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Albertsons Companies and Axfood AB (publ), as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Albertsons Companies 0 3 2 0 2.40 Axfood AB (publ) 0 0 1 0 3.00

Albertsons Companies currently has a consensus target price of $25.56, suggesting a potential upside of 26.08%. Given Albertsons Companies higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Albertsons Companies is more favorable than Axfood AB (publ).

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Albertsons Companies and Axfood AB (publ)s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Albertsons Companies $77.65 billion 0.15 $1.51 billion $2.34 8.66 Axfood AB (publ) N/A N/A N/A $20.44 1.31

Albertsons Companies has higher revenue and earnings than Axfood AB (publ). Axfood AB (publ) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Albertsons Companies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Albertsons Companies beats Axfood AB (publ) on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Albertsons Companies

(Get Free Report)

Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of food and drug stores in the United States. The company's food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharmacy, fuel, and other items and services. It also manufactures and processes food products for sale in stores. It operates stores under various banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw's, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street, Haggen, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci's Food Lovers Market; and pharmacies, in-store branded coffee shops, adjacent fuel centers, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities, as well as various digital platforms. The company was founded in 1860 and is headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Albertsons Investor Holdings LLC.

About Axfood AB (publ)

(Get Free Report)

Axfood AB (publ) engages in the food retail and wholesale businesses in Sweden. It operates through Willys, Hemkop, Dagab, and Snabbgross segments. The company sells groceries through Willys, Hemkop, Eurocash, and Mat.se store chains. It is also involved in the e-commerce business; and provision of private label products. In addition, it offers home delivery of meal kits under the Middagsfrid name, as well as operates Urban Deli, a combination of restaurant and market hall; and Apohem, an online pharmacy. The company serves restaurants, fastfood operators, and cafes; and retailer-owned stores, mini-marts, service stations, and other convenience retailers. Axfood AB (publ) was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Axfood AB (publ) is a subsidiary of Axel Johnson AB.

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Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL  Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $90.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the technology companys stock. Sanford C. Bernsteins price target would indicate a potential upside of 26.77% from the companys previous close.

DELL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Dell Technologies from $53.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Dell Technologies from $95.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Dell Technologies from $99.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Dell Technologies from $68.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, December 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Dell Technologies from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Dell Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $92.31.

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Read Our Latest Report on Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies Price Performance

Shares of DELL opened at $94.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.93. Dell Technologies has a 1 year low of $35.96 and a 1 year high of $94.99.

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $22.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.17 billion. Dell Technologies had a negative return on equity of 150.29% and a net margin of 2.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dell Technologies will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Dell Technologies

In related news, Director Iv (Gp) L.L.C. Slta sold 239,112 shares of Dell Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.43, for a total transaction of $18,992,666.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 293,812 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,337,487.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 48.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dell Technologies

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Dell Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Dell Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Dell Technologies by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Dell Technologies by 96.9% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 382 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its holdings in Dell Technologies by 454.5% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 488 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.10% of the companys stock.

Dell Technologies Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Dell Technologies Inc designs, develops, manufactures, markets, sells, and supports various comprehensive and integrated solutions, products, and services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) and Client Solutions Group (CSG).

Further Reading

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Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HL  Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from GBX 850 ($10.78) to GBX 825 ($10.46) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on HL. Shore Capital restated a buy rating on shares of Hargreaves Lansdown in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hargreaves Lansdown from GBX 711 ($9.02) to GBX 616 ($7.81) and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hargreaves Lansdown has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 902.20 ($11.44).

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Hargreaves Lansdown Stock Down 1.9 %

Hargreaves Lansdown Cuts Dividend

Hargreaves Lansdown stock opened at GBX 728.40 ($9.24) on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The firms fifty day moving average is GBX 756.62 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 748.70. The company has a market capitalization of 3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 1,111.47, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.63. Hargreaves Lansdown has a 12-month low of GBX 676.40 ($8.58) and a 12-month high of GBX 944.80 ($11.98).

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a GBX 13.20 ($0.17) dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a yield of 1.64%. Hargreaves Lansdowns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6,176.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hargreaves Lansdown

In related news, insider Amy Stirling acquired 6,764 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 739 ($9.37) per share, with a total value of 49,985.96 ($63,401.78). In related news, insider Darren Pope acquired 3,999 shares of Hargreaves Lansdown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 746 ($9.46) per share, for a total transaction of 29,832.54 ($37,839.35). Also, insider Amy Stirling bought 6,764 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 739 ($9.37) per share, for a total transaction of 49,985.96 ($63,401.78). In the last three months, insiders have acquired 29,459 shares of company stock worth $21,966,458. Insiders own 25.69% of the companys stock.

Hargreaves Lansdown Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hargreaves Lansdown plc provides investment services for individuals and corporates in the United Kingdom and Poland. The company offers stocks and shares individual savings accounts (ISAs), fund and share accounts, and junior and lifetime ISAs. It also provides pension services, including self-invested personal pensions (SIPP), junior SIPPs, annuities, and drawdown; share dealing services; fund dealing; and cash management services.

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Hess Co. (NYSE:HES  Get Free Report) CEO John B. Hess sold 73,885 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.87, for a total transaction of $10,777,604.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 138,718 shares in the company, valued at $20,234,794.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hess Price Performance

HES opened at $145.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.39 and a beta of 1.28. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $144.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.93. Hess Co. has a 52-week low of $113.82 and a 52-week high of $167.75.

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Hess (NYSE:HES  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The oil and gas producer reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.20. Hess had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 18th were paid a $0.4375 dividend. This represents a $1.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 15th. Hesss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.89%.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Hess from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $171.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hess from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and cut their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $166.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $210.00 to $195.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Hess from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Hess from $160.00 to $152.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $174.29.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Hess

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hess

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hess by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 37,239,078 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $5,697,579,000 after purchasing an additional 889,122 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hess by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,832,380 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $4,588,956,000 after acquiring an additional 322,773 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Hess by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,790,382 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $1,191,928,000 after acquiring an additional 303,942 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hess by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,841,704 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $792,091,000 after acquiring an additional 113,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in Hess by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,752,526 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $675,191,000 after acquiring an additional 29,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.72% of the companys stock.

About Hess

(Get Free Report)

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.

Further Reading

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA  Get Free Report) VP Eric Drape sold 9,815 shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.12, for a total transaction of $128,772.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,701 shares of the companys stock, valued at $127,277.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Eric Drape also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, February 16th, Eric Drape sold 173,261 shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.05, for a total transaction of $2,261,056.05.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Stock Performance

NYSE:TEVA opened at $13.15 on Friday. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has a one year low of $7.09 and a one year high of $13.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $10.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ( NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.25. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a positive return on equity of 34.90%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.97 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited will post 2.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of research firms recently commented on TEVA. Piper Sandler raised shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $12.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a report on Monday, December 18th. They set a buy rating and a $13.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $10.00 to $14.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $13.75.

View Our Latest Analysis on TEVA

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TEVA. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,875,394 shares of the companys stock worth $17,609,000 after acquiring an additional 28,920 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 119,076 shares of the companys stock worth $1,118,000 after purchasing an additional 13,069 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 95,953 shares of the companys stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,300 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,648,716 shares of the companys stock worth $391,081,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 420,533 shares of the companys stock worth $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.23% of the companys stock.

About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

(Get Free Report)

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products.

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Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC  Free Report) (TSE:K) in a report issued on Thursday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $5.00 price target on the mining companys stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on KGC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kinross Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $7.00 to $8.15 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, November 13th. TheStreet lowered shares of Kinross Gold from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, National Bank Financial restated an outperform overweight rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.05.

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View Our Latest Stock Report on KGC

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

KGC opened at $4.90 on Thursday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $5.48 and its 200-day moving average is $5.31. The stock has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Kinross Gold has a twelve month low of $3.40 and a twelve month high of $6.34.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC  Get Free Report) (TSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The mining company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Kinross Gold will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 5th. Kinross Golds dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KGC. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $366,000. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 10,037,827 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $60,729,000 after purchasing an additional 962,139 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $97,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,007,306 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $60,865,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 852,425 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $5,157,000 after purchasing an additional 321,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.80% of the companys stock.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.

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Interfax-Ukraine to host roundtable discussion 'Fake advertising using Ukrainian medical brands. How to solve the problem?'

On Tuesday, March 5, at 14.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a roundtable discussion entitled "Fake advertising using Ukrainian medical brands. How to solve the problem?" dedicated to discussing ways to solve the problem of fake advertising materials on social networks, which mislead citizens through the use of popular medical brands and digitized images of famous doctors.

Participants include

PhD in Medicine, professor, honored doctor of Ukraine, member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Director of the Heart Institute of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine Borys Todurov;

legal expert, attorney-at-law Hennadiy Borysychev;

honored doctor of Ukraine, Director and founder of the medical center "Clinic of Dr. Valikhnovsky" Rostyslav Valikhnovsky;

Chairman of the Association "Pharmaceutical manufacturers of Ukraine" Petro Bahriy (8/5a Reitarska Street).

The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel.

Admission requires registration on the spot with press ID cards.
Shares of Manulife Financial Co. (TSE:MFC  Get Free Report) (NYSE:MFC) have been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$35.80.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cormark upgraded shares of Manulife Financial from a market perform rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$33.00 to C$36.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$35.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Desjardins raised shares of Manulife Financial from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$29.00 to C$36.00 in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Manulife Financial from C$34.00 to C$38.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Manulife Financial from C$30.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th.

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Manulife Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

Manulife Financial Increases Dividend

MFC stock opened at C$32.21 on Friday. Manulife Financial has a 12 month low of C$23.69 and a 12 month high of C$33.59. The companys 50 day simple moving average is C$30.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$27.16. The firm has a market capitalization of C$58.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.58.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This is a positive change from Manulife Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.97%. Manulife Financials dividend payout ratio is 61.30%.

Insider Transactions at Manulife Financial

In related news, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,317 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total value of C$108,664.92. In other Manulife Financial news, Director Brooks Tingle sold 3,317 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total value of C$108,664.92. Also, Senior Officer Steve Finch sold 10,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.76, for a total transaction of C$337,231.44. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Manulife Financial

(Get Free Report

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report) by 99.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,935 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after buying an additional 967 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $2,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MTD. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 8.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 176 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 19.7% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 176 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 48.9% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 834 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 4.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,305 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $21,817,000 after buying an additional 662 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Mettler-Toledo International during the first quarter worth approximately $626,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.11% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total value of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 316 shares in the company, valued at $372,042.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Elisha W. Finney sold 251 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,177.35, for a total value of $295,514.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 316 shares in the company, valued at $372,042.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shawn Vadala sold 300 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,210.83, for a total transaction of $363,249.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,914 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,950,018.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.40% of the companys stock.

Mettler-Toledo International Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MTD stock opened at $1,247.22 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,197.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1,136.81. Mettler-Toledo International Inc. has a twelve month low of $928.49 and a twelve month high of $1,615.97.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.32 by ($0.92). The firm had revenue of $934.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $959.45 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a net margin of 20.82% and a negative return on equity of 904.59%. Mettler-Toledo Internationals revenue for the quarter was down 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $12.10 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Mettler-Toledo International Inc. will post 39.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,425.00 to $1,270.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,185.00 to $1,030.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, February 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a sell rating and set a $975.00 price target (down previously from $1,050.00) on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research report on Monday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,520.00 to $1,300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $1,223.71.

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About Mettler-Toledo International

(Free Report)

Mettler-Toledo International Inc manufactures and supplies precision instruments and services in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and internationally. It operates through five segments: U.S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations, and Other. The company's laboratory instruments include laboratory balances, liquid pipetting solutions, automated laboratory reactors, real-time analytics, titrators, pH meters, process analytics sensors and analyzer technologies, physical value analyzers, density and refractometry, thermal analysis systems, and other analytical instruments; and LabX, a laboratory software platform to manage and analyze data generated from its instruments.Its industrial instruments comprise industrial weighing instruments and related terminals, automatic dimensional measurement and data capture solutions, vehicle scale systems, industrial software, metal detection equipment, x-ray systems, check weighing equipment, camera-based imaging equipment, track-and-trace solutions, and product inspection systems.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MTD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report).

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MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Zuora, Inc. (NYSE:ZUO  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 15,606 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $129,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Zuora by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,302,592 shares of the companys stock worth $80,109,000 after acquiring an additional 267,641 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Zuora by 25.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,727 shares of the companys stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 5,420 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zuora by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 16,964 shares of the companys stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Zuora by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 533,286 shares of the companys stock worth $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 59,350 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Zuora by 34.1% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 912,164 shares of the companys stock worth $7,516,000 after purchasing an additional 231,723 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.42% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Zuora

In other news, CEO Tien Tzuo sold 84,676 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.84, for a total transaction of $748,535.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 6,352 shares in the company, valued at $56,151.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Todd Mcelhatton sold 41,692 shares of Zuora stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.36, for a total transaction of $348,545.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,385 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,992,898.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tien Tzuo sold 84,676 shares of Zuora stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.84, for a total value of $748,535.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 6,352 shares of the companys stock, valued at $56,151.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 365,899 shares of company stock worth $3,161,816. 9.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Zuora Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of ZUO stock opened at $8.10 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $8.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 2.71. Zuora, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.05 and a twelve month high of $12.12.

Zuora (NYSE:ZUO  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.10. Zuora had a negative return on equity of 48.38% and a negative net margin of 15.80%. The business had revenue of $110.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.80 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Zuora, Inc. will post -0.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ZUO shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Zuora from $10.00 to $8.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Zuora from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Zuora from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $15.00 target price on shares of Zuora in a research note on Thursday.

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Zuora Profile

(Free Report)

Zuora, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based subscription management platform that enables companies in various industries to launch, manage, and transform into a subscription business. The company offers Zuora platform that acts as an orchestration engine that allows customers quote-to-cash and revenue operations; and Zuora Billing that helps customers to set payment terms, manage hierarchical billing relationships, consolidate invoicing across multiple subscriptions, and tax transactions.

Further Reading

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Mutual Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX  Free Report) by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,864 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLCs holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Becton, Dickinson and Company in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 4,900.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 100 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 86.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Becton, Dickinson and Company Stock Performance

Shares of BDX stock opened at $235.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.20. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a 52 week low of $228.62 and a 52 week high of $287.32. The company has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.82, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.43.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Announces Dividend

Becton, Dickinson and Company ( NYSE:BDX Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. Becton, Dickinson and Companys quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Becton, Dickinson and Companys dividend payout ratio is presently 90.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BDX shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 10th. TheStreet downgraded Becton, Dickinson and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, November 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Becton, Dickinson and Company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $279.17.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Becton, Dickinson and Company

Becton, Dickinson and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.

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Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. lessened its stake in iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF (NYSEARCA:AOR  Free Report) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,738 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,142 shares during the period. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC.s holdings in iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AOR. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $278,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,724,000. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 99,082 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,896,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 208,336 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,294,000 after acquiring an additional 26,593 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 68,280 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,237 shares during the period.

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iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF Price Performance

iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.39. The company had a trading volume of 7,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,662. iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF has a one year low of $47.56 and a one year high of $54.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.32 and a 200 day moving average of $51.37. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 0.61.

About iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF

iShares Growth Allocation ETF, formerly iShares S&P Growth Allocation Fund (the Fund), is an open-end management investment company. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P Target Risk Growth Index (the Growth Allocation Index). The Growth Allocation Index seeks to measure the performance of an asset allocation strategy targeted to a growth-focused risk profile.

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StockNews.com lowered shares of Pinnacle West Capital (NYSE:PNW  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on PNW. Mizuho lowered their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $79.00 to $77.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $78.00 to $74.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Guggenheim raised Pinnacle West Capital from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $78.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pinnacle West Capital from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 21st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Pinnacle West Capital in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. They set a neutral rating and a $69.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $73.11.

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Pinnacle West Capital Price Performance

Pinnacle West Capital Announces Dividend

Pinnacle West Capital stock opened at $68.33 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.05 and a 200-day moving average of $73.27. Pinnacle West Capital has a 1 year low of $65.20 and a 1 year high of $86.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.49.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 1st will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 31st. Pinnacle West Capitals payout ratio is presently 79.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Edgar Smith sold 1,610 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.95, for a total value of $122,279.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,178 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $697,069.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pinnacle West Capital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can acquired a new stake in shares of Pinnacle West Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,524,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 308,765 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $22,750,000 after acquiring an additional 140,215 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 244.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,758 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 4,086 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in Pinnacle West Capital by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,257 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pinnacle West Capital in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,476,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.95% of the companys stock.

Pinnacle West Capital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, through its subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Company, provides retail and wholesale electric services primarily in the state of Arizona. The company engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity using coal, nuclear, gas, oil, and solar generating facilities.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group decreased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,011 shares of the companys stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its stake in Philip Morris International by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 213,136 shares of the companys stock valued at $20,806,000 after acquiring an additional 20,104 shares in the last quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Aspen Grove Capital LLC now owns 4,756 shares of the companys stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Berger Financial Group Inc raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 3,902 shares of the companys stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 120,894 shares of the companys stock worth $11,802,000 after purchasing an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,016 shares of the companys stock worth $1,661,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.70% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Philip Morris International from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 29th. Societe Generale upgraded Philip Morris International from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $87.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. They issued a neutral rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group cut Philip Morris International from a buy rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $86.50 in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Philip Morris International presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $105.40.

Philip Morris International Stock Down 0.5 %

PM stock opened at $89.96 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.63. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.23 and a twelve month high of $101.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.77.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $9.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.99 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 116.29% and a net margin of 8.53%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 21st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 20th. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio is currently 103.59%.

About Philip Morris International

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:DLR  Free Report) by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,435 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 98,864 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Digital Realty Trust worth $27,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 156.1% in the 1st quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 274 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc bought a new position in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 1st quarter worth about $284,991,000. Clear Street Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 28,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 290 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. 99.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Digital Realty Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DLR opened at $146.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. has a 1-year low of $86.33 and a 1-year high of $149.07. The company has a market capitalization of $45.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.54. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $138.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.68.

Digital Realty Trust Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Digital Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio is currently 164.31%.

DLR has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Digital Realty Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a report on Friday, December 1st. They set a reduce rating and a $112.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $135.93.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Digital Realty Trust

About Digital Realty Trust

(Free Report)

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC lessened its stake in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB  Free Report) by 46.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,309 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 8,091 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLCs holdings in Schlumberger were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SLB. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Schlumberger by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 588 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.43% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Schlumberger

In other Schlumberger news, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,806,917.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephane Biguet sold 6,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.86, for a total transaction of $336,625.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 163,515 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,806,917.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 178,441 shares of company stock valued at $8,972,947 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.26% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna restated a positive rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $70.67.

View Our Latest Research Report on SLB

Schlumberger Price Performance

SLB opened at $48.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.85 and a 200-day moving average of $54.04. The company has a market capitalization of $68.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The companys revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumbergers dividend payout ratio is presently 34.25%.

About Schlumberger

(Free Report)

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.

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Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW  Free Report) had its target price reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $255.00 to $246.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on SNOW. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Snowflake in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Snowflake in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Snowflake from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, December 1st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Snowflake from $250.00 to $210.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Snowflake from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $205.59.

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Snowflake Trading Down 18.2 %

Snowflake stock opened at $188.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $61.97 billion, a PE ratio of -73.80 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.02. Snowflake has a 52 week low of $128.56 and a 52 week high of $237.72.

Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.05. Snowflake had a negative return on equity of 13.80% and a negative net margin of 29.79%. The firm had revenue of $774.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.86 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Snowflake will post -1.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Snowflake news, CEO Frank Slootman sold 250,000 shares of Snowflake stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total transaction of $49,597,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,738,569.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Snowflake news, CEO Frank Slootman sold 250,000 shares of Snowflake stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.39, for a total transaction of $49,597,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 180,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,738,569.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Grzegorz Czajkowski sold 558 shares of Snowflake stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $105,445.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 52,747 shares in the company, valued at $9,967,600.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 506,164 shares of company stock worth $103,676,541 in the last three months. 8.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snowflake

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 3,295 shares of the companys stock valued at $656,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. E&G Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. E&G Advisors LP now owns 1,768 shares of the companys stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,138 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 202 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Snowflake by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 346 shares of the companys stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 63.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Snowflake Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Snowflake Inc provides a cloud-based data platform for various organizations in the United States and internationally. Its platform offers Data Cloud, which enables customers to consolidate data into a single source of truth to drive meaningful business insights, build data-driven applications, and share data and data products.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Protocol "On Amendments to the Preferential Trade Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Turkiye" has entered into force in Turkiye, Trend reports.

The mentioned protocol was signed on April 29, 2023, in the city of Samsun.

The document was signed by Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov and Turkiye's Trade Minister Mehmet Mus.

To note, the volume of foreign trade between the two countries has doubled from $2.3 billion in 2016 to about $5 billion in 2021.

A Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was signed between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Republic of Turkiye on February 25, 2020, to promote preferential trade between the two states.

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Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP  Free Report) had its target price raised by B. Riley from $41.00 to $43.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Squarespaces Q4 2023 earnings at $0.08 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.07 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.09 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.99 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on SQSP. JMP Securities upgraded Squarespace from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Squarespace in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Squarespace from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their price target on Squarespace from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Squarespace from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $36.93.

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Squarespace Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SQSP opened at $33.29 on Thursday. The firms 50 day moving average price is $32.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.25. Squarespace has a fifty-two week low of $22.73 and a fifty-two week high of $34.62.

Squarespace (NYSE:SQSP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.12). Squarespace had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a negative return on equity of 2.24%. The company had revenue of $270.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $263.41 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.07) EPS. The businesss revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Squarespace will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Squarespace

In other news, CEO Anthony Casalena sold 67,352 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total transaction of $1,924,246.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,824,107 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $109,254,736.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Squarespace news, CEO Anthony Casalena sold 67,352 shares of Squarespace stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.57, for a total value of $1,924,246.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,824,107 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $109,254,736.99. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Nathan Gooden sold 9,635 shares of Squarespace stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.01, for a total transaction of $289,146.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 39,112 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,173,751.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 500,737 shares of company stock valued at $15,547,908 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 47.14% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Squarespace

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Squarespace by 124.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,015,353 shares of the companys stock valued at $203,235,000 after buying an additional 3,894,084 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Squarespace by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,345,007 shares of the companys stock valued at $209,449,000 after acquiring an additional 479,712 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Squarespace by 38.7% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,427,924 shares of the companys stock valued at $108,117,000 after acquiring an additional 956,920 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Squarespace by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,191,871 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,508,000 after acquiring an additional 31,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Squarespace during the 1st quarter valued at $27,254,000. 43.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Squarespace Company Profile

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Squarespace, Inc operates platform for businesses and independent creators to build online presence, grow their brands, and manage their businesses across the internet. Its suite of integrated products enables users to manage their projects and businesses through websites, domains, e-commerce, marketing tools, scheduling, and hospitality services, as well as tools for managing a social media presence.

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Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG  Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $36.00 to $48.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.00% from the companys previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MEG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $54.00 target price on shares of Montrose Environmental Group in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Montrose Environmental Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $45.00.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MEG

Montrose Environmental Group Stock Up 25.4 %

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Montrose Environmental Group

Shares of NYSE MEG opened at $41.38 on Friday. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $31.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.08. Montrose Environmental Group has a 52-week low of $21.96 and a 52-week high of $45.96. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.78 and a beta of 1.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MEG. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 23.8% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,699,774 shares of the companys stock worth $142,899,000 after buying an additional 519,892 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 62.4% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 777,221 shares of the companys stock worth $22,741,000 after purchasing an additional 298,629 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 281.9% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 379,510 shares of the companys stock worth $15,985,000 after purchasing an additional 280,130 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 12.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,446,774 shares of the companys stock worth $103,058,000 after purchasing an additional 261,226 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 51.4% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 635,695 shares of the companys stock worth $18,600,000 after purchasing an additional 215,883 shares during the period. 89.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Montrose Environmental Group

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Montrose Environmental Group, Inc operates as an environmental services company in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments, environmental emergency response and recovery, toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations, facility upgrades, new projects, decommissioning projects, and development projects.

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Mutual Advisors LLC cut its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 10.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,789 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 1,422 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $647,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,822 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 4.3% during the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 25.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,064 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 7.5% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 16.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a neutral rating and set a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. JMP Securities reiterated a market outperform rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a market perform rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $69.92.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 71,226 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $4,628,977.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,251,038 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,980,704,959.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $1,047,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,331,688 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,921,548,130.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 71,226 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $4,628,977.74. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,251,038 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,980,704,959.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 158,116 shares of company stock worth $10,232,094. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $66.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $118.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $45.00 and a 12-month high of $78.18. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $65.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.02.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.49 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. The companys quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.34 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

About Charles Schwab

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Trane Technologies plc (NYSE:TT  Free Report) by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,433 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,362 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Trane Technologies were worth $2,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Trane Technologies during the first quarter valued at $178,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Trane Technologies by 3.0% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 16,727 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Trane Technologies during the first quarter valued at $219,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Trane Technologies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,133,851 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,769,040,000 after acquiring an additional 77,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Trane Technologies by 3.8% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 956,177 shares of the companys stock valued at $146,008,000 after acquiring an additional 34,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the companys stock.

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Trane Technologies Stock Performance

TT opened at $281.97 on Friday. Trane Technologies plc has a 52-week low of $162.04 and a 52-week high of $286.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $64.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.03. The firms 50-day moving average price is $258.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.94.

Trane Technologies Increases Dividend

Trane Technologies ( NYSE:TT Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.43 billion. Trane Technologies had a net margin of 11.45% and a return on equity of 32.01%. The businesss revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Trane Technologies plc will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Trane Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. Trane Technologiess dividend payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TT shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $246.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Trane Technologies from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Trane Technologies from $200.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $231.71.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on TT

Insider Buying and Selling at Trane Technologies

In other Trane Technologies news, CFO Christopher J. Kuehn sold 2,767 shares of Trane Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.31, for a total transaction of $742,413.77. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,788 shares in the company, valued at $14,700,168.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Christopher J. Kuehn sold 2,767 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.31, for a total value of $742,413.77. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 54,788 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,700,168.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Paul A. Camuti sold 508 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.34, for a total transaction of $138,856.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,449,442.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,895 shares of company stock worth $1,859,452 over the last quarter. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trane Technologies Company Profile

(Free Report)

Trane Technologies plc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services of solutions for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, custom, and custom and transport refrigeration in Ireland and internationally. It offers air conditioners, exchangers, and handlers; airside and terminal devices; air sourced heat pumps, auxiliary power units; chillers; coils and condensers; gensets; dehumidifiers; ductless; furnaces; home automation products; humidifiers; indoor air quality assessments and related products; large and light commercial unitary products; refrigerant reclamation products; thermostats/controls; transport heater products; variable refrigerant flow products; and water source heat pumps.

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TransAlta (TSE:TA  Free Report) (NYSE:TAC) had its price target increased by CIBC from C$18.00 to C$18.50 in a report published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. CIBC currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on TA. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$15.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. TD Securities cut their target price on TransAlta from C$15.00 to C$14.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$16.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, National Bankshares cut their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$13.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of C$15.80.

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Read Our Latest Report on TA

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TA stock opened at C$9.31 on Monday. TransAlta has a 1 year low of C$9.16 and a 1 year high of C$13.97. The companys fifty day simple moving average is C$10.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$11.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 161.55, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of C$2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.00, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.92.

TransAlta (TSE:TA  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported C($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.18 by C($0.45). TransAlta had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 43.58%. The company had revenue of C$624.00 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.4067368 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 76,941 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.84, for a total value of C$834,348.20. In related news, Senior Officer Aron John Willis sold 35,454 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.08, for a total transaction of C$392,830.32. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 76,941 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$10.84, for a total value of C$834,348.20. Insiders own 0.15% of the companys stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

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TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment has a net ownership interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydro electrical-generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.

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Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Union Pacific Co. (NYSE:UNP  Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,702 shares of the railroad operators stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLCs holdings in Union Pacific were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Pacific during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,317,000. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC now owns 12,176 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $2,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. Karani Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Union Pacific in the 3rd quarter worth $183,000. Night Owl Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Union Pacific by 8.1% during the third quarter. Night Owl Capital Management LLC now owns 67,552 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Union Pacific by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 28,714 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $5,847,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 77.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Union Pacific news, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 98,297 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $23,099,795. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Union Pacific news, President Elizabeth F. Whited sold 3,750 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $937,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 56,682 shares in the company, valued at $14,170,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jennifer L. Hamann sold 1,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.00, for a total transaction of $235,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 98,297 shares in the company, valued at $23,099,795. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the companys stock.

Union Pacific Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of UNP opened at $253.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.08. Union Pacific Co. has a 12-month low of $183.69 and a 12-month high of $258.66.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The railroad operator reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.05 billion. Union Pacific had a net margin of 26.45% and a return on equity of 46.87%. The firms quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Union Pacific Co. will post 10.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Union Pacific Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 29th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. Union Pacifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on UNP. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Union Pacific from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Benchmark restated a buy rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Friday, January 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Union Pacific from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Union Pacific from $228.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Union Pacific from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $249.67.

Read Our Latest Analysis on UNP

About Union Pacific

(Free Report)

Union Pacific Corporation, through its subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad Company, operates in the railroad business in the United States. The company offers transportation services for grain and grain products, fertilizers, food and refrigerated products, and coal and renewables to grain processors, animal feeders, ethanol producers, renewable biofuel producers, and other agricultural users; and construction products, industrial chemicals, plastics, forest products, specialized products, metals and ores, petroleum, liquid petroleum gases, soda ash, and sand, as well as finished automobiles, automotive parts, and merchandise in intermodal containers.

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Waverly Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 17,802 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $1,120,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MetLife by 50.0% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in MetLife by 38.3% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 80,436 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $5,060,000 after buying an additional 22,269 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in MetLife by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 824,772 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $51,886,000 after acquiring an additional 334,762 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MetLife by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 8,879 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of MetLife by 54.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,126,683 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $133,790,000 after acquiring an additional 746,643 shares during the period. 88.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $77.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. Barclays restated an overweight rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of MetLife in a research note on Friday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded MetLife from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their price target on MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MetLife from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $77.23.

MetLife Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MET opened at $69.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.04. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $68.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a 52-week low of $48.95 and a 52-week high of $72.71.

MetLife (NYSE:MET  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.07 billion. Equities analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 6th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 5th. MetLifes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 113.66%.

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MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through five segments: U.S.; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.

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The representatives of leading German companies visited the Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ) and met with the Chairman of the Board of AFEZ Authority, Mr. Valeh Alasgarov. The visit was organized by the German Eastern Business Association. The delegation was led by Mr. Michael Harms, Managing Director of the German Eastern Business Association.

During the meeting, Mr. Alasgarov provided detailed information about main activities of the AFEZ, its strategic geographical location, unique legal framework, as well as about the industrial land plots with ready-to-use off-site and on-site infrastructure and utilities, and the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives package for the investors.

Afterwards, Mr. Jawad Dbila, Managing Director of Silk Way AFEZCO, informed the delegation about new Cargo Airport that will be located at the territory of the AFEZ and will serve the needs of AFEZ investors, as well as other clients in international cargo transportation. Following this, Mr. Zaur Akhundov, President of Silk Way Group, talked about strategic importance of the Cargo Airport and its significance for the investors of AFEZ and other clients.

The meeting was followed by a Q&A session.
FILE - Prime Minister of Haiti Ariel Henry addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Sept. 22, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. Haitis prime minister has arrived in Kenya to try to salvage a plan to have the African country deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence.Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti.
That release could not be found.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Cooperative efforts are crucial for the green energy future, said Deputy Minister of Energy Natural Resources of Turkiye Nevzat Satiroglu, Trend reports.

He made the remark at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held today in Baku

"The strong participation in this meeting shows that the countries in the region are serious about working together for energy security and a "green energy" future. By diversifying sources and routes, we aim for long-term energy supply security. These massive projects can be successful through close collaboration. Turkiye, with its unique location between East and West, remains a crucial player in energy projects in the region," he said.

The 10th meeting of the Advisory Council on the Southern Gas Corridor was held on March 1, 2023. This meeting encompassed discussions on the expansion of the SGC and the inclusion of new participating countries, as well as initiatives related to green energy projects. A dedicated session will address these green energy projects alongside the negotiation of significant agreements.

Since December 2020, the Southern Gas Corridor has operated at full capacity, delivering gas to Italy (over nine billion cubic meters per year), Greece, and Bulgaria (one billion cubic meters per year each).
The 6th meeting of the Airport Interdepartmental Commission on Aviation Security was held, with the participation of the management staff of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, the State Civil Aviation Agency, law enforcement agencies in the field of air transport and other aviation entities.

During the meeting, pressing issues related to ensuring aviation security at the passenger and cargo terminals of Heydar Aliyev International Airport, as well as the introduction of advanced technologies and practices to improve the level of security for passengers were discussed.

The event identified strategic directions for the development of aviation security for the future in order to ensure the efficient operation of aviation infrastructure, emphasized the need for widespread application of an aviation security culture, and emphasized the need for joint cooperation.

It should be noted that the Interdepartmental Commission regularly holds meetings on ensuring aviation security in Azerbaijan.
Entry info:

Entry for bowl seating will be via Entry D & E

Entry for front floor standing will be via Entry C

Entry for general floor standing will be via Entry G

Entry B is for mobility access.
Politics of inking the SoO pact Assembly takes a stand

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It was a political decision and it is with a political objective that New Delhi has continued with the Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the armed Kuki groups coming under two broad groups, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and the United Peoples Front (UPF). The political decision may be understood in the context of the fact that the peace deal or dialogue deal was inked though the Kuki armed groups had never ever raised its hands or trained its guns against the Indian security forces or demanded anything that falls outside the Constitution of India. So why was the peace deal signed then ? Different theories have been doing the round, such as the pact falling within the larger political objective of the Government of India to neutralise the Naga armed movement spearheaded by the NSCN (IM) and later the other Naga armed groups which have come under the NNPGs and the Manipur armed groups or Meitei rebels. There could be other reasons, such as leveraging the changing political dynamics in Myanmar, more so after the latest military coup and the armed revolt launched by different ethnic armed groups in the neighbouring country. The growing clout of China in Myanmar and Indias Act East Policy and the larger political ambition of spreading its influence and clout in South East Asia, of which Myanmar is the gateway in so far as India is concerned could be another reason. Nothing has been laid in black and white on why SoO was first inked between New Delhi and the Kuki armed outfits in 2005 with Imphal made to come on board in 2008 and since then it has traversed the path of others known as peace process with an Interlocutor being appointed and the pact being renewed every year by the end of February. Call it a coincidence for want of a better term, but even as the Manipur Assembly passed the resolution to urge the Centre to scrap the SoO pact, there has been no official statement on whether the pact has been extended, as is normally announced by February 28 or in the case of a leap year by February 29. Manipur has solid reasons to demand that the SoO pact be scrapped or abrogated and the push given to this demand as the Gregorian calendar inched towards the last day of February this year should underline this point but the matter of greater import is whether the State Government will be able to present a politically viable proposal before New Delhi to have the pact scrapped. Early days as yet, but remember this is the first time that the State Assembly has taken such a decision and this significance is something which should be sold to the powers that be at New Delhi in a convincing manner. Perhaps this is where the political acumen of Chief Minister N Biren and his men will be tested. A test by fire, one may add.

That the SoO cadres have been violating the groundrules of the pact should be clear and the groundrules is one of the fundamentals of the pact. What evidence the State Government has been able to collect on this count remains to be seen but to the people of Manipur, this is something as clear cut and simple as 2+2 equals 4. Go back to the Tribal Solidarity March of May 3, 2023 and the video recording of gun toting men in full battle fatigues taking part in the rally has gone viral on the social media. Eyes dont lie and New Delhi too must have taken note of it. Plus no one would buy any story that the sniper rifle that was fired and killed Moreh Police SDPO Chingtham Anand on October 31, 2023 was executed by a village volunteer. Ask anyone well versed with the use of firearms or a jawan of the Assam Rifles or Border Security Force and the standard reply would be that it takes a trained person to be able to fire a sniper rifle with such precision. Plus the attacks launched on the security personnel and State police personnel at the border town should leave no one in doubt of the involvement of motivated persons who could only have been trained in the use of firearms. If not the SoO outfits then which entity would have the expertise and the resources to train such persons ? Just some points that come to mind, but remember the Assembly has already taken a decision and approaching the Centre to get it abrogated will need political acumen and present a case not only on behalf of Manipur but also on how it poses a threat to the integrity and sovereignty of India.
CCTV: In a press statement, the Spokesperson of the US Department of State said that the US is closely monitoring the implications of Hong Kongs national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law for US citizens, investments, and companies operating in Hong Kong and is concerned by the broad and vague definitions of state secrets and external interference and the extraterritorial reach of the legislation. He said that Article 23 risks compounding the 2020 National Security Law that has curtailed the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong and undermines the One Country, Two Systems framework. Whats the Ministrys comment?



Mao Ning: China strongly deplores and firmly opposes the USs statement.

Completing the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law and plugging loopholes to safeguard national security is the constitutional responsibility of the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and what must be done for the lasting stability and security in HKSAR and the sound implementation of One Country, Two Systems in the long run. The just concluded public consultation has shown that the Hong Kong society has reached a strong consensus to complete the legislation.

The legislation on Article 23 targets a handful of criminals gravely endangering our national security and protects in accordance with law the rights and freedoms which the residents of Hong Kong enjoy under the Basic Law and the provisions of relevant international covenants as applied to Hong Kong. Foreign citizens, investments, and companies operating in Hong Kong will also be protected in accordance with law. The extraterritorial effect of Article 23 is in strict compliance with international law and the common practices of all countries and regions. State secrets and external interference are defined with full consideration given to HKSARs realities and the common practices of all countries. The legislation is legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach.

The past three years since the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR was formulated and came into force is a period when Hong Kong has restored order and is set to thrive again, and when the international community cast a vote of confidence in Hong Kongs prospects. After the Article 23 legislation is completed, Hong Kongs high-quality development and high-standard opening up will be better guaranteed and Hong Kong residents and international investors will benefit from it.

The US has issued troves of laws safeguarding its own national security but thrown dirt on and labeled the legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law. This is out-and-out political manipulation and hypocritical double standards. I want to stress again that Hong Kong is Chinas Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely Chinas internal affairs, which no country is in any position to point fingers at or interfere in. We urge the US to respect Chinas sovereignty, observe the principles guiding international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs which are Chinas internal affairs.

Anadolu Agency: Israeli forces opened fire to a crowd of Palestinian civilians who were waiting for emergency food aid in Gaza City, northern Gaza, killing 112 people and wounding over 760 others. What is Chinas comment about the incident?



Mao Ning: China is shocked by and strongly condemns the incident. We mourn for the victims and extend sympathies to the injured. China urges parties concerned, especially Israel, to stop fighting at once, earnestly protect civilians and ensure access for humanitarian assistance to prevent an even worse humanitarian disaster from happening.

Reuters: Its reported that the US government plans to investigate Chinese-made electrical vehicles to make sure that the vehicles have no data security loophole. Whats Chinas comment on the USs investigation?



Mao Ning: I shared Chinas principled position yesterday on the protection of data privacy and security. I would like to stress that Chinese-made cars are popular globally not by using so-called unfair practices, but by emerging from the fierce market competition with technological innovation and superb quality. Chinas door has been open to global auto companies, including US auto companies who fully shared in the dividends of Chinas big market. By contrast, the US has engaged in trade protectionism and set up obstacles including discriminatory subsidy policies to obstruct access to the US market by Chinese-made cars. Such acts of politicizing economic and trade issues will only hinder the development of the US auto industry itself. China urges the US to respect the laws of market economy and the principles of fair competition, stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop its discriminatory suppression against Chinese companies, and uphold an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment.

Anadolu Agency: Its been reported that the US has blocked a Security Council statement about killing of civilians who were waiting for aid in Gaza. What was Chinas position during those deliberations and what do you think about the US blocking UNSC to execute its main responsibility concerning situation in Gaza?



Mao Ning: Gaza is suffering from unprecedented humanitarian disaster and the Security Council must adopt actions as soon as possible to realize a ceasefire. Relevant major countries need to truly uphold a just and responsible attitude, and earnestly play a constructive role for an immediate ceasefire. China will continue to work with all sides in the international community to galvanize responsible and meaningful Security Council action and make relentless efforts to work for an early ceasefire in Gaza, ease the humanitarian situation there, implement the two-State solution and realize lasting peace and security in the Middle East.

AFP: There was an incident recently in Chengdu involving some journalists from the Netherlands who faced some obstruction from local individuals claiming to be police officers during their report activities. The Foreign Correspondents Club of China has issued a statement today, saying its extremely disturbed. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comments either on this recent incident in Chengdu involving the Dutch journalists or response to todays statement?



Mao Ning: Im not aware of the specific information. More broadly, let me say that China protects the lawful rights and interests of permanent offices of foreign media organizations and foreign journalists in accordance with the law, and facilitates their news coverage and reporting activities carried out in accordance with the law. Foreign journalists working in China also need to abide by Chinese laws and regulations.

RIA Novosti: Russian President Putin said yesterday that the dangerous moves and statements of the West on foreign policy threaten a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Whats the Foreign Ministrys comment?



Mao Ning: In January 2022, leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states issued a joint statement, affirming that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. China believes that all nuclear weapon states need to embrace the idea of common security and uphold global strategic balance and stability. Under the current circumstances, parties need to jointly seek de-escalation and lower strategic risks.

China calls on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Serbia may triple gas supply from Azerbaijan, said Veljko Kovacevic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Mining and Energy of Serbia, Trend reports.

He made the remark at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held today in Baku.

"After completing the Serbia-Bulgaria Interconnector, we've signed a deal with Azerbaijan for supply of 400 million cubic meters of gas annually until 2026, with the possibility of tripling that volume afterward," he said.

The state secretary added that Azerbaijani gas is gaining recognition in Europe as a key element in diversifying gas supply sources.

"Thanks to these new gas connections, Azerbaijani gas is now playing a crucial role in bolstering Serbia's and the region's energy security," Kovacevic pointed out.

Meanwhile, on December 10, the Serbia-Bulgaria Gas Interconnector was officially inaugurated in Nis. The newly established gas pipeline will link up the current Serbian network in Nis with the Bulgarian network in the capital Sofia, covering a distance of 109 km on the Serbian side. Boasting a pipe diameter of 700 mm and a maximum pressure of 55 bar, its capacity will facilitate the annual transfer of 1.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas - equivalent to 60 percent of Serbia's total annual consumption.
Unknown miscreants abducted the helper of a truck and disappeared with six buffaloes that were on their way to an animal shelter at Kishanganj from Alipurduar on 28 February.

An FIR has been lodged with the police. But the helper is yet to be traced along with the animals. The driver of the truck, who was badly beaten by the miscreants, is under treatment.

Six buffaloes were on their way to an animal shelter in Kishanganj that is being run by Dhyan Foundation, known nationwide for its animal welfare activities.

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The Birpara police station had intercepted six trucks carrying 238 buffaloes on 21 December, 2023 in Alipurduar.

Accordingly, an FIR (no 189/2023) was lodged against the accused, who was transporting the animals. The owner of the vehicle and owner of the buffaloes moved the Chief Judicial Magistrates Court and filed an application seeking custody of the animals. The court rejected their application and passed an order on 16 January and directed the vehicle owner and cattle owner to handover them to Dhyan Foundation. The cattle were to be taken to the Kishanganj Gaushala of Dhyan Foundation.

The accused then went to the Sessions Judge, challenging the CJMs order. The Sessions Court upheld the order of the CJM on 9 February.

The CJM in its order on 16 February, 2024 observed that the officer in-charge had failed to invoke proper sections of Prevention of Cruelties to Animals Act and his conduct in the investigation was also questioned and thereby officer in-charge of Birpara police station was directed to conduct the investigation. Dhayn Foundation was directed to take the cattle to their gaushala.

The officer in-charge of Birpara police station was ordered to ensure smooth custody of the cattle and some of them had fallen sick.

Accordingly, Dhyan Foundation wrote letters to the SP and informed him about the order and sought protection for the volunteers.

A spokesman for Dhyan Foundation said, When Gaurav Yadav, a volunteer of the foundation along with the driver of the vehicle, Madan and the helper went to the spot to transport the cattle, they found 100 people there and only two policemen were deployed to execute the order.

Mr Yadav and the driver were beaten up and the miscreants, who stopped the vehicle at Islampur. They left with the buffaloes and the helper and threatened the driver to shut his mouth. Till date, neither the animals nor the helper could be traced.

In complete defiance of the orders passed by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipurduar to ensure smooth handover and transportation of cattle, the police continued to collude with cattle smugglers, who intimidated the volunteers, authorized representatives, and advocates of the gaushala to coerce Dhyan Foundation into relinquishing their claim on the animals.

When contacted, Y Raghubangshi, SP, Alipurduar refused to comment on the matter and said he would look into the matter.
A few hours after Trinamul Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan was handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Kolkata on Thursday, the ED counsel approached the Calcutta High Court over fears of tampering of evidence.

The ED counsel, Dhiraj Trivedi said that he feared that there would be tampering of evidence while Shahjahan was in state police custody.

The ED counsel drew the attention of the Division Bench of Chief Justice, T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya to the central agencys prior appeal for an independent CBI probe instead of a probe by a joint team of the CBI and state police.

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Trivedi pleaded for a fast-track hearing considering that the Division Bench has already stayed the probe by the joint SIT till 6 March, when the matter will come up for hearing again.

We fear that because of this, many important documents in the case against him, where the ED is carrying out an investigation, might be tampered with. So we are pleading for a fast track hearing on Friday only, the ED counsel argued.

After hearing his argument, the Division Bench told the ED counsel that the matter might be considered, though any concrete assurance was not given.

The additional director general of police (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar blamed the ED for not taking any initiative to arrest Sheikh Shahjahan.

The state police might have some legal hurdles. But the same was not the case with the ED. So, there is the question of why did the ED not arrest him, said Sarkar.

Meanwhile, the HC Chief Justice, T S Sivagnanam, on Thursday, observed that this court has no sympathy for the Trinamul Congress leader Sheikh Shahjahan, who was arrested 55 days after the attack.

He made this observation after Shahjahans counsel sought the attention of the Bench of Justice Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya regarding the arrest of his client and wanted to make some submission in the matter.

The Chief Justice also declined to hear any kind of submission and said the submission in the matter will be heard on 4 March, the next hearing in the Sandeshkhali case.

For the next 10 years you will have to remain very busy with your client. Probably you will have to appoint four to five juniors. This court has absolutely no sympathy for him, the Chief Justice observed.

It is learnt that Shahjahan has been slapped with charges under several non-bailable sections of the IPC. On Thursday, the public prosecutor also described him as extremely influential.
The Delhi unit of the BJP staged a protest demonstration here on Friday against the West Bengal government over the developments of Sandeshkhali where a local TMC leader and his supporters are allegedly involved in land-grab and sexual abuse of women.

BJP workers under the leadership of its Delhi unit president, Virendra Sachdeva, held a demonstration near the Banga Bhawan demanding the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the matter.

Addressing the party workers, the Delhi BJP chief said, Mamata Banerjee has not yet condemned Sheikh Shahjahan (the key accused in the case). Her silence on the Sandeshkhali incidents despite being a woman is shameful and painful.

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Slamming the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government for the shameful incidents, he said, Todays demonstration is not just a demonstration but a message of accountability for the entire country that the TMC Government is solely responsible for this shameful incident. The chief minister of the state is a woman under whose nose goons of a privileged class are committing such shameful incidents.

Sachdeva said the Bengal government arrested Sheikh Shahjahan only after the intervention of the court.

Slamming the Opposition INDIA bloc, the Delhi BJP president said, Today, no leader of the INDIA bloc is speaking on this matter. Therefore, whenever any of the alliance leaders comes to ask for votes, he should be asked about this incident because this is the real face of this alliance.

Echoing similar sentiments, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said, The kind of incident that has happened in Bengal is so sensitive that it warrants immediate resignation of Mamata Banerjee as chief minister.

Banerjees party has become a safe haven for criminals, he alleged.
A clash broke out between Left-backed groups and ABVP at the Jawaharlal Nehru University here over the selection of election committee members, police said on Friday.

The ruckus erupted at the School of Languages Thursday night, they said.

According to police, they received PCR calls on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday regarding the scuffle at GBM in the varsity.

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They said multiple complaints have been received in this matter and the allegations are being verified.

Meanwhile, JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said strict action will be taken against those found involved.

Students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed groups have filed complaints against each other.

Taking to social media, the ABVP Delhi unit has condemned the incident and alleged, Common Students who came to attend SL School GBM at School of Languages were brutally attacked with sharp objects by LEFTIST GOONS. Just because they were asking for a fair chance to participate and vote in the school GBM. Some students faced severe injuries.

Meanwhile, the All India Students Association (AISA) accused the BJP-led group of violence, saying ABVP lumpens once again unleash violence on students during the SLL&CS GBM.

Left students were attempting to rig the election process. The students of the School of Language raised an objectionThe entire process was halted for more than three to four hours When the process was reconvened, Aishe Ghosh (JNU president) announced four communist names and said that they had been elected. The workers demanded the names be disclosed and the selection process, ABVP JNU president Umesh Chandra Ajmeera claimed.

Danish (AISF member) said that not four but only two old members have been chosen again. Aishe and Danish said contradictory things. Students were raising objectionsDemands were made to disclose the names and conduct the selection through a free and fair process. The Left students then started attacking students by using dafli (daf), he told reporters.

AISA JNU vice president said, First of all, this was not a clash. This is a one-sided attack Every school has been conducting a General Body Meeting (GBM) since the last two weeks, the last GBM was yesterday. The election body of the School Language was supposed to be elected yesterday. Four names were elected but the ABVP hijacked the entire process.

When it resumed and the process concludedwe came to know that they had surrounded Danish (AISA) and were not letting him leave. We tried to speak with them but they didnt listen to us and started to launch an attack with sticksThey also hit me on my headThey do this under the protection of VC and the Police, she added.

The students have also announced a protest march in the hostel premises in the evening against the incident.
Renowned TV chef and beloved personality Dave Myers, famously known as one half of the dynamic duo, the Hairy Bikers, has passed away at the age of 66 after battling cancer. The heartbreaking news was shared by his long-time friend and co-star, Si King.

Dave, hailing from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, captured the hearts of audiences worldwide with his infectious charm and culinary expertise alongside Si King. Their motorcycle adventures combined with cooking escapades made them household names.

Beyond the kitchen, Dave endeared himself to millions when he showcased his dancing skills on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, waltzing into the hearts of viewers alongside his partner Karen Hauer.

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In a poignant statement, Si King revealed that Dave had been courageously fighting cancer for the past couple of years. Surrounded by his loving wife Lili, family, and close friends, Dave peacefully bid farewell on February 28, 2024, leaving behind a legacy of joy and inspiration.

Si King expressed his profound grief, acknowledging the immense void left by Daves departure. Their friendship, forged over three decades, was a testament to their enduring bond, with Si expressing his inability to comprehend the loss fully.

Daves resilience and positivity shone through even in the face of adversity. Despite his health challenges, he continued to pursue his passion, recently embarking on a new culinary journey with the BBC Two series, The Hairy Bikers Go West. The show, described as magical, chronicles their adventures along the west coast of Britain, showcasing Daves unwavering spirit and zest for life.

Daves decision not to disclose the specifics of his illness reflected his desire to shield his loved ones from undue scrutiny. Instead, he chose to focus on the joy of sharing his culinary adventures with the world.

As fans mourn the loss of a beloved icon, Dave Myers legacy as a culinary maestro and cherished friend will continue to inspire generations to come. Though he may have bid farewell to this world, his spirit will forever live on through the memories he created and the lives he touched.
British actor Staz Nair is set to step into the lead role of the upcoming BBC crime drama Virdee, replacing Sacha Dhawan, Deadline reports. Dhawan, known for his role in Doctor Who, had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts.

The series, set in Bradford, revolves around Harry Virdee, an investigator grappling with familial rejection after marrying Saima, a Muslim woman. Nair expressed his excitement about portraying the vibrant and nuanced narrative, emphasizing the themes of cultural assimilation and protecting loved ones.

The ensemble cast includes Aysha Kala as Saima Virdee, Nina Singh as Tara Virdee, and Vikash Bhai as Riaz Hyatt, among others. Notably, Hans Zimmer is on board to compose the theme music for Virdee, adding his signature touch to the series.

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As Harry navigates personal turmoil and hunts down a serial killer targeting the Asian community, the show delves into themes of vulnerability and reconciliation. Dhawan, while stepping down, conveyed his well wishes to the team.

Nairs recent credits include roles in Zack Snyders Rebel Moon and HBOs Game of Thrones. He brings a wealth of experience to the table, having appeared in various acclaimed productions like Supergirl and We Are Lady Parts.

Virdee is being produced by the Magical Societys UK division, led by producer Paul Trijbits. Adapted from AA Dhands novel by Dhand himself, the series is directed by Mark Tonderai.

Executive producers include Trijbits, Dhand, and Jo McClellan for the BBC. Cineflix Rights holds exclusive worldwide distribution rights for the series.

Zimmer, along with James Everingham and Shashwat Sachdev, will craft the musical landscape of Virdee, offering aspiring composers from Bleeding Fingers and Screen Academy Bradford a chance to contribute to the score.

With a compelling storyline and a talented team behind the scenes, Virdee promises to be a captivating addition to the crime thriller genre.
Beloved Kannada actor and seasoned politician, K Shivaram, passed away at the age of 70 in Bengaluru. The actor, known for his memorable roles in films like Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake and Tiger, breathed his last after a valiant battle with various health issues at a private hospital in the city.

Survived by his wife and daughter, K Shivarams demise has left a void in the hearts of many who cherished his contributions to the Kannada film industry and politics alike. His last rites are scheduled to take place today, March 1st, as friends, family, and fans bid a tearful farewell to the icon.

Born on April 6, 1953, in Uragalli, Ramanagara District, K Shivarams journey was one of resilience and dedication. Raised by his father, the late S. Kempaiah, a distinguished drama master, and his mother, Chikkaboramma, he pursued his education with zeal, completing his schooling in his village before moving to Bangalore for higher studies.

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In 1972, immediately after finishing high school, he embarked on a career path that would define his lifes trajectory. Joining the Crime Investigation Department as a police reporter in May 1973, he displayed a knack for excellence, eventually earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from V. V. Puram Evening College of Arts & Commerce.

Undeterred by challenges, K Shivaram continued his academic pursuits, obtaining a Master of Arts in History through correspondence from the University of Mysore in 1982. His determination culminated in significant achievements, including clearing the Karnataka Administrative Service exam in 1985, where he secured the first rank among the Scheduled Caste community.

His dedication and hard work bore fruit when he was selected as Deputy Superintendent of Police in 1985, followed by his appointment as Assistant Commissioner of Police in 1986. Despite these accomplishments, K Shivarams aspirations soared higher, as he realized his childhood dream by clearing the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam, conducted by the UPSC, making history as the first person to achieve this feat in the Kannada language.

Beyond his illustrious career in the civil services, K Shivaram ventured into politics, aligning himself with various parties throughout his journey. From the Indian National Congress to the Janata Dal (Secular) and later the Bharatiya Janata Party, his commitment to public service remained unwavering, leaving an indelible mark on Karnatakas political landscape.
details added, headline changed, first pub. 19:00

BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and the EU will cooperate in the field of offshore wind energy, said Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, during the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

The minister highlighted that positive discussions took place during the meeting, affirming the promising outlook for the development of these two energy components.

According to him, the attendance of delegations from 23 countries at the South Gas Corridor meeting underscores Azerbaijan's crucial role in ensuring energy security for the European Union

"It marked the largest gathering in the event's history, with the highest attendance of energy companies and international financial institutions. Today's sixth ministerial meeting on the establishment of the Azerbaijan-EU Green Corridor witnessed crucial decisions being made," he said.

The Minister highlighted that comprehensive talks also took place regarding Azerbaijan's initiatives for offshore wind energy development, culminating in a decision to collaborate in this direction.

The 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting were held in Baku today. The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, 6 international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other dignitaries from Azerbaijan and European Union countries.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
In yet another jolt to BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, another sitting MP BB Patil joined the BJP on Friday following in the footsteps of Pothuganti Ramulu, the BRS MP of Nagarkurnool who joined the Saffron party yesterday.

Patil, a Lingayat leader and two-time MP from Zaheerabad, which borders Karnataka, will contest the same seat on a BJP ticket now.

The BRS, after losing the Assembly elections, has become a happy hunting ground for both the BJP and the Congress as the two national parties are targeting its leaders, particularly in areas where they have organisational lacunae.

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The BJP, which hopes to increase its tally this time in Telangana riding on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, does not have strong candidates in certain seats. Hence, it has started wooing sitting MPs from the BRS.

Patil dashed off a four-line resignation letter to party chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, thanking him for his two stints as MP before joining BJP in New Delhi in the presence of Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and K Laxman.

The Congress too has started wooing BRS leaders, particularly in and around Hyderabad. Weeks ago, former GHMC mayor Bonthu Rammohan joined the Congress along with his wife and BRS corporator Bonthu Sridevi. Deputy Mayor M Srilatha Reddy also joined the Congress with her husband and BRS leader Sobhan Reddy. Vikarabad Zilla Parishad chairperson Patnam Suneetha joined the grand old party with her husband and ex-minister Patnam Mahender Reddy.

Bonthu Rammohan might be the Congress candidate from the Secunderabad seat held by BJP state president G Kishan Reddy.

The Congress failed to win a single urban seat in Hyderabad and the Ranga Reddy district, which were ironically retained by the BRS leaders who had joined the party from TDP.

The Congress leadership has been trying to placate contenders for the Lok Sabha seats like Renuka Chowdary and Anil Kumar Yadav with Rajya Sabha seats.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders on Friday left for Medigadda barrage as part of their Chalo Medigadda to counter what they call propaganda by the Congress government against the Kaleshwaram project.

Barring BRS President and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, all top party leaders including MLAs, MLCs, and MPs left for Medigadda from Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters in Hyderabad.

Led by BRS Working President K. T. Rama Rao, the leaders left in buses for Medigadda in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.

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Some of the piers of the barrage sank in October last year, prompting the Centre to send a team of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA). The issue took a political colour with both Congress and BJP targeting the BRS government and claiming that sinking of piers and flaws in design and execution as pointed out by NDSA in its report proved their allegations of corruption in the project.

After the Congress party came to power in December, it ordered a judicial probe and also an inquiry by the Vigilance Department into Medigadda.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy along with ministers and MLAs of the ruling Congress party, AIMIM and CPI had visited the barrage on February 13. He had invited all the parties to join the visit but both BRS and BJP stayed away.

After the visit, the Chief Minister alleged that around Rs 94,000 crore public money was wasted on the project as Medigadda barrage became useless with the sinking of piers within three years of its construction.

The Congress government also claimed that problems also started in Annaram and Sundilla barrages, exposing faulty design and poor quality of construction.

The BRS, however, dismissed the allegations of the Congress and accused it of running a campaign to malign the previous government.

Before leaving for Medigadda, K. T. Rama Rao reiterated that their visit is aimed at explaining to the people the benefits of the Kaleshwaram project and to demand the government to immediately undertake repairs so that farmers dont suffer.

KTR alleged that the attitude of the Congress government shows that politics is more important for it than farmers.

By not undertaking repairs, Congress has hatched conspiracy to see that the barrage washes out in the coming rainy season, he said

The BRS leader advised Congress not to make farmers suffer for its anger towards BRS. We are demanding that the government take up repairs of the damaged piers so that farmers dont have to suffer. We have already said that the government can order any inquiry to punish those found guilty, he said.

Senior BRS leader and former Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy alleged that unable to see the benefits of Kaleshwaram project, the Congress was running a misinformation campaign.

Medigadda is only a part of the big project. Out of 84 piers of Medigadda, only three have suffered damage. It may be due to technical problems. It happens in projects all over the world. The government should rectify the defects and take action but it should not politicise the issue, he said.

Srinivas Reddy said through Chalo Medigadda they want to remind the government of its responsibility.

Partys senior leader and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao, through a powerpoint presentation, will explain various features of the project and the benefits it accrued to the state.
Top brass of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Jammu and Kashmir Police held discussions on the terror-separatist ecosystem in the Union Territories and worked out plans to improve upon existing levels of cooperation to curb terrorism.

NIA Director General Dinkar Gupta and J&K DGP RR Swain led the deliberations.

The NIA chief visited the police headquarters here where the top brass of the probe agency and J&K Police exchanged ideas and insights regarding terrorism, terrorist-separatist ecosystem and new network of the national security adversaries in J&K to sustain the dwindling edifice of Pakistan sponsored anti-India campaign.

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Gupta was accompanied by NIA Inspector General Vijay Sakhare and NIA Deputy Inspector General Amit Kumar. ADGP Headquarter PHQ, MK Sinha; ADGP Armed, law & Order Vijay Kumar; IGP (POS) PHQ BS Tuti; DIG SIA, Dr Ajeet Singh Salaria and SSP NIA, Jammu Sandeep Choudhary were present during the interaction.

The officers deliberated upon updates on ongoing investigation of terror crime cases and action plans to take them to logical conclusion.

The officers further decided in the meeting that in pursuit of curbing terrorism, sharing of information and expertise plays an important role and therefore worked out plans to improve upon existing levels of cooperation. Coordination in matters of training, court cases and deputation of personnel were also discussed.
The state government appointed Prof (Dr) Kaustav Nayek, principal of state-run Burdwan Medical College Hospital and a paediatrician, as the director of medical education (DME).

The health department, headed by the chief minister Mamata Banerjee issued a notification in this regard today.

With retirement of former DME Prof (Dr) Debashis Bhattacharya several months ago the state government had appointed Dr A Neogy, a retired senior official in the health department, as an acting DME.

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On Tuesday, an interview was held at Swasthya Bhaban, health department headquarters at Salt Lake, for final selection of a candidate for the portfolio of the DME, who looks after medical education affairs in teaching hospitals across the state.

Prof Nayek was selected for the DME post.

A section of senior officials in the state medical education service (MES) felt that the state government wants to improve paediatric healthcare in the state by bringing down infant mortality rate across districts and the city.

Considering Prof Nayeks experience as a paediatrician, Nabanna, state secretariat, appointed him as the DME, the officials said.

On the other hand, many government doctors belonging to the West Bengal Democratic Doctors Forum have protested against the appointment of Prof Nayek as DME.

The health department has ignored eligibility criteria of other experienced candidates in the interview process to make Prof Nayek the DME, they alleged.

Principals, including Prof Nayek of six state-run medical colleges and one former vice-chancellor of the West Bengal University of Health Sciences appeared in the interview held on Tuesday.
The Kerala High Court on Friday issued urgent notice in a writ petition seeking directions to rename the Kerala Universitys Youth Festival Intifada.

A single bench of Justice PV Kunhikrishnan issued notice in the writ petition to the Chancellor of the University and the Kerala University Union and has adjourned the matter for Tuesday.

Ashish AS, a first-year B Sc Chemistry student at the NSS College affiliated to Kerala University has approached the court.

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Ashish, in his petition, says that the logo of the festival depicts the scarf of Palestine on the map of Israel.

The map of Israel is superimposed on the logo of the festival. The caption to the logo reads the protest of arts against the invasion, the petition says.

Kerala University organises the University Youth Festival every year. This year the youth festival has been named Intifada. Intifada is an Arabic word, which means shake-off.

Palestinians use the term to mean civil uprising. The word was used by the Palestinians in the wake of violence that erupted in Gaza between Palestinians and the Israelis. The term intifada is historically linked with the militant/terror groups like the Hamas of Palestine, Ashish says in his petition.

The youth festival cannot be related to a riot or a war. But Ext.P1 (name and logo of Festival) sets a different theme to the youth of the state. There is no place for politics or geopolitics in a youth festival. Israel-Palestine conflict cannot be the point of discussion or the theme of creative expression, the petition says.

The popular association of the term intifada with violent terror uprisings of Israel- Palestine conflict, is largely understood by the student body as a call for globalising and popularising sentiments against inclusivity. The debates and discussions which have opened up in the college in the backdrop of the youth festival, varies from terrorism to politics- global, national and state.

The student body which is a mix of diverse students from various religious and political backgrounds- is being rift into various groups, at this early stage in the youth festival announcement itself. This cannot lead to a conducive environment to foster goodwill amongst students of the University, the petition further says.
meeting of the Network Planning Group (NPG) was held to evaluate three projects from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and two projects from the Railway Ministry, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said on Friday.

At the 66th NPG meeting, the officials evaluated the Highway projects in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya and Assam as well as the New Broad Gauge (BG) line between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, and doubling of line in Uttar Pradesh.

The meeting was conducted under the chairpersonship of Additional Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Rajeev Singh Thakur. The project details were examined based on the planning/mapping on PM GatiShakti NMP.

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The key outcomes of the evaluation exercise were discussed with the objective of improving connectivity with various economic/social nodes ensuring first/last mile connectivity, and multi-modal infrastructure with the perspective of the whole of the government approach, according to a statement.

The first project from MoRTH pertains to the up-gradation of NH 216H in Andhra Pradesh. This Brownfield project spans approximately 120.85 kms, connecting Pedana to Laxmipuram.

The objective is to enhance interconnectivity, particularly for Machilipatnam port and Gudiviada and Machilipatnam Railway station.

The second project from MoRTH relates to providing a bypass around Indore city. The project, spanning 141 km through Dhar, Indore, and Dewas districts of Madhya Pradesh is a greenfield project.

The corridor, starting near Khandwa village and terminating at NH-52 near Bhardala, aims to reduce traffic congestion in Indore, offering an alternative route and ensuring seamless transportation of goods and people.

The third project is a ring road of approximately 64 kms, around Guwahati city. The proposal includes an elevated structure at Jorabat and a new bridge across Brahmaputra.

This project will contribute to decongestion of the Guwahati city and major junctions under Kamrup metropolitan district resulting in reduced travel time and vehicle operating cost, offering a solution to congestion and improving connectivity.

Under the Ministry of Railways, the New BG Line project stands out as a Greenfield initiative, covering 309 km across Maharashtra (Nashik and Dhule Districts) and Madhya Pradesh (Badwani, Khargone, Dhar, Indore Districts), connecting existing rail head stations of Manmad and Dr. Ambedkar Nagar (Mhow).

The new rail link is poised to open a direct route from Mumbai to Indore, fostering improved connectivity and socio-economic growth in the backward areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The Phaphamau-Unchahar doubling project in Uttar Pradesh covers 72.27 km across Allahabad, Pratapgarh, and RaeBareli district. This brownfield project, aims to improve connectivity, reduce travel time, and enhance operating efficiency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today inaugurated the Sindri Fertilizer Plant in Jharkhand .

At a public rally in Dhanbads Sindri, he said he had fulfilled his promise to revive the plant which he made when he visited here in 2018.

He said, The Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd (HURL) Sindri Fertiliser Plant has been inaugurated. I made a resolution to revive this plant. This was Modis guarantee. In 2018, I came here to lay the foundation stone of this plant.

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He said this will provide thousands of opportunities for employment, adding that this was a huge step toward Atma Nirbharta.

Every year, around 360 lakh metric tonnes of urea is required in India. In 2014, 225 lakh mt of urea was produced. To fill this gap, India had to import urea In the last 10 years, urea production has become 310 MT, he said.

Modi is on a visit to Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar on 1st-2nd March.

He will lay the foundation stone, dedicate to the Nation a multitude of rail infrastructure projects and flag off three train services in Jharkhand.

The PM will participate in a public programme, where he will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth Rs 35,700 crore in Jharkhand.

He will also participate in a public programme where he will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh, Hooghly, West Bengal.

He left BJP HQ early today at around 3:30 am after the Central Election Committee Meeting and left his residence before 8:00 am for Jharkhand.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said peoples enthusiasm and their large turnout at his rallies were proof that the nation trusts Modis guarantee, adding that only one slogan of abki baar, 400 paar (this time, BJP is getting more than 400 seats) is heard everywhere.

Addressing a massive rally in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, after launching development projects worth Rs 35,700 crores in Sindri, he said in the last 10 years, 25 crore people have come out of poverty. When their lives can change, those left out have a reason to trust Modis guarantee.

He said dreams of the poor are resolutions for him and he is devoting his day and night to this. I want the poor to come out of their life of deprivation, he said. Mr Modi said he stands for Viksit Bharat, Viksit Jharkhand, the State transforming with developed India.

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The Prime Minister said the Sindri fertiliser plant had revived today, did anyone believe this would happen. He said he had made a guarantee for this in 2018 and the plant was inaugurated today.

You had taken locks on the plant premises for granted. But this was Modis guarantee. The revived plant will create thousands of jobs and benefit farmers in east India. Vikas (development) and fast Vikas is what BJP stands for, he said.

On the other hand, the Congress and its associates are biggest enemies of development, he said. The North Karanpura power plant foundation was laid in the last century by late PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and then the Congress government came, and the project was abandoned. Then Modi came and the plant today lights many homes, he said.

Modi took care of the poor who did not have electricity. First time, free power connections have been given under Saubhagya scheme, including one lakh in Dhanbad also. This confirmed Modis guarantee comes into play when people have given up hope, he said.

Development at a good pace in Jharkhand requires that the State should have a sound law and order situation, and the administration should be honest, he said. But ever since a family-based, corrupt and appeasement-following government of the JMM and Congress took over, things are in a bad shape. JMM now stands for jamkhar ke khao, (make money to the extent possible), he said.

Abductions are increasing in Jharkhand, infiltration is increasing due to appeasement, he said. The JMMCongress leaders have only a job before them, fill up their coffers by looting Jharkhand people, and amass benami property. Mountains of currency of notes were seen in the State.

This was your money. This belonged to poor adivasis of the State, this was meant for your childrens future; this was looted, will you forgive such people, will you let somebody loot your money and allow this dishonesty, he said.

Should there be action against such corrupt people or not, he asked. Should they not spend their lives in jails, the looted money will have to be returned. This is Modis guarantee, he said.

When Modi takes action against such corrupt people, they make excuses, and try to run away from investigations, because they know the reality, he said.

The Prime Minister said the JMM and Congress have treated the tribals as vote banks only. Jharkhand has so many talented tribal people, but they will not let them come up in life; they can only think of their families, whereas Modi worries only about you, for the future of your children.

The JMM leaders belong to one family, will they worry about your children or their own family? For me, you are my family, the sound future of your children is my guarantee, he said.

He said whenever his government conceives development projects for Dhanbad, or its surrounding areas, the INDI alliance creates hurdles in their way. These people opposed the free foodgrain scheme launched by the Government during Covid-19.

They want it stopped. Should it not continue, he asked. Should Modi serve the poor? Whatever pressure they may put, Modi will not stop it and continue it in future also so that the poor have food every day.

Jharkhand people migrate to many States for work, they are in Gujarat, and on the border also. I have met them, they will get free rations wherever they are. The government started the One nation, one ration card scheme for this, he said.

Even for giving pucca houses, the INDI alliance is creating obstructions, and taking cuts. The INDI alliance government in the State is anti-Vikas and anti-Janata, they have no vision other than opposing development, whereas Modi wants to ensure you get your due, he said.

Benefits and payments under various schemes like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, SC/ST scholarship, MGNREGA are transferred to the beneficiaries bank accounts directly, and the INDI alliance middlemen are not getting any commission. Why will they not abuse me, but it does not affect me due to your blessings and I thank you for this, he said.

It is my firm belief, the more mud they throw around, the more lotuses (BJPs party symbol) will bloom, he said. The BJP stands for tribal welfare and the creation of a separate State of Jharkhand is a proof of that; it is the BJP which provided a separate Tribal Ministry and raised its budget five times in the last 10 years. For the most backward tribals, the government started a Rs 24,000 crore PM Jan Man Yojana for their housing and employment opportunities, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil projects worth Rs 15,718 crore during his visit to Telangana on two consecutive days.

The PM will be in Adilabad on 4 March and will inaugurate projects worth Rs 6697 crore. On 5 March, he will be in Sangareddy to unveil projects worth Rs 9021 crore. This will be the Prime Ministers first visit to the state after the new Congress government took over in Telangana.

Underlining the projects to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi, Union Minister for Tourism and DoNER G Kishan Reddy today said that this will include expansion of national Highways connecting Adilabad and Bela and Hyderabad and Bhupalpatnam as well as electrification of railway lines.

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The second thermal power unit at Ramagundam by NTPC will also be unveiled. During his visit to Sangareddy town, Prime Minister Modi will first fly to Begumpet airport where he will inaugurate Civil Aviation Research Organisation (CARO) which is the countrys first Griha 5 standard green building.

In Sangareddy, the projects unveiled by the PM will include expansion of several national highways and MMTS Phase II project and new train between Ligampally and Ghat Kesar. He will also address public rallies during his visit to the state.
The Yogi Adityanath government is set to transform the three major centres of Hindu faith  Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura  into prominent cities for employment in Uttar Pradesh.

After Ground Breaking Ceremony 4.0, projects worth more than Rs 48,000 crore have already been initiated in the three temple cities, officials here confirmed on Friday.

At least 14,000 people are expected to find employment through the top five projects being started at these three places. The projects are related to setting up tourist centres, wellness centres, and hotels, which will create jobs mainly in tourism and hospitality sectors in the three major pilgrimage sites of Hindus.

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It includes 372 projects worth around Rs 13,000 crore for Ayodhya. Abhinandan Lodha House is investing Rs 3,000 crore in real estate and commercial projects in Ayodhya, creating more than 100 job opportunities, whereas PKH Ventures Ltd. is establishing a Tourist Facilitation Center with Rs 600 crore, wherein construction of a hotel with 500 rooms will take place, generating 300 jobs.

Meanwhile, Pakka Limited is setting up a paper manufacturing unit in Ayodhya at the cost of Rs 550 crore, potentially creating over 600 jobs while Innovators Digital Ads Pvt Ltd is constructing a luxury star category hotel in the city at a cost of Rs 510 crore, providing employment for 100 people.

Additionally, Crescendo Interiors is building a private industrial park at the cost of Rs 500 crore, which will create employment for more than 100 people.

Similarly, Varanasi, known as the city of Lord Shiva, has witnessed the initiation of around 277 projects with a total investment of approximately Rs 19,250 crore, of which the top five projects alone are expected to provide employment for more than 1500 people.

The Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) is investing Rs 500 crore for the establishment of Research and Development (R&D) facilities and Fabrication/Manufacturing/Testing facilities for the companys existing and emerging business areas (Mechanical/Electrical/Electronic Products/Systems). This initiative is expected to create 225 jobs.

Similarly, Roma Builders and Promoters Pvt Ltd is starting a mixed development project based on a 5-star resort, meditation with wellness centre, fruit farms, clubhouses, and housing societies. With an investment of Rs 500 crore, this project is expected to provide employment for 300 people.

Moreover, Gajadhar Technosys LLP is spending Rs 350 crore on housing projects that will provide employment for 300 people in Kashi. Ansh Nirman Pvt Ltd is investing Rs 275 crore in a residential group housing project and commercial mall, creating job opportunities for 200 people.

Furthermore, JS Residency Pvt Ltd will establish a hotel at the cost of Rs 250 crore in Varanasi, which will provide employment opportunities for 500 people.

Like Ayodhya and Varanasi, Mathura too has witnessed implementation of 415 projects worth around Rs 16,600 crore of which the top five are expected to create employment for over 11,000 people in Lord Krishnas birthplace.

As per this, Air Liquide North India Pvt Ltd is establishing a state-of-the-art Air Separation Unit for industries and hospitals in Mathura with an investment of Rs 3,075 crore. This unit, designed to produce liquid oxygen (including medical oxygen) 305 TPD, liquid nitrogen 45 TPD, and liquid argon 12 TPD, will be modern, fully automated, and environmentally friendly. It is expected to provide employment for 50 people.

Similarly, the Bennison is setting up the hotel at a cost of Rs 1,310 crore, creating several job opportunities. Keshav Publications Pvt Ltd has initiated manufacturing products such as stationery, electrical items and plastic products. With an investment of Rs 1250 crore, it aims to provide employment for 10,000 people.

In addition to this, IFP Petro Products is establishing a lubricating oil refining plant at the cost of Rs 1100 crore, and creating job opportunities for 700 people. Avadi Industries Pvt. Ltd. is setting up an ACSR Conductors manufacturing unit with an investment of Rs 500 crore, which will provide employment for 400 people in Mathura.

Meanwhile, GBC 4.0 has also seen initiation of a total of 902 projects worth Rs 77,312 crore in the other four religious sites of UP, namely Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya (Sitapur) and Bareilly. This is likely to create thousands of jobs. Through the top five projects in these four religious sites, more than 12,500 jobs are expected to be provided.

In Prayagraj, Varun Beverages (Rs 1053 crore), DND India (Rs 600 crore), Omex Ltd (Rs 600 crore), Shourya Naturopathy and Resorts India Pvt Ltd (Rs 500 crore), and JK Cem (Rs 400 crore) are jointly creating around 2500 jobs.

Similarly, in the religious site Chitrakoot, Tusco Ltd (Rs 4700 crore), Sahstrabhuj Food Products Pvt Ltd. (Rs 500 crore), Varun Beverages Ltd (Rs 496 crore), Shree Cement Pvt Ltd. (Rs 202 crore), and Jay Bulb Company Ltd (Rs 300 crore) will generate approximately 1900 employment opportunities.

In the sacred land of sages, Naimisharanya in Sitapur district, Greenlam South Ltd (Rs 1500 crore), Century Plywoods India Ltd (Rs 1500 crore), RAV Global Solutions Pvt Ltd. (Rs 200 crore), Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd (Rs 170 crore), and The Seksaria Biswan Sugar Factory Ltd (Rs 132 crore) will generate more than 6000 jobs.

Meanwhile, in Bareilly, famous as Nath Nagari, IFFCO (Rs 638 crore), Singh Enterprises (Rs 605 crore), Rinku Dairy Prop (Rs 490 crore), Realplywoods LLP (Rs 408 crore), and Dhamapur Bio Organics Ltd (Rs 350 crore) together are expected to provide job opportunities for at least 3,000 people.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting have been held at the Gulustan Palace in Baku, Trend reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended the event.

The head of state delivered a speech at the event.

Speech by President Ilham Aliyev

- Dear Prime Minister Mr. Rama.

Dear Commissioner Madame Simson.

Dear guests.

Ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, Id like to welcome Prime Minister Edi Rama and express gratitude to him for being with us at this important event. Albania and Azerbaijan are two friendly countries. We actively cooperate in different areas. We have a very active political dialogue. My meetings with Prime Minister have a regular agenda both in Albania and Azerbaijan as well as on the sidelines of the different international events. We support each other within international institutions and also work actively on energy security issues. Albania played a very important role in implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and continues to play an important role as a member of the TAP team. Now we are discussing different aspects of our energy cooperation. I'm sure that during today's discussions with Prime Minister, we will address all the outstanding issues.

I'd also like to express the gratitude to Madame Commissioner Simson for visiting us again. As you know, Commissioner Simson and the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan are the co-chairs of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor. They play an important role in bringing the big and growing team together, and, of course, an important role of EU in implementation of all our plans. The Azerbaijan-EU cooperation on energy diversification and energy security created the absolutely new geography of supplies.

During many meetings of the Advisory Council in the previous years, we always addressed the issue of energy security. Azerbaijan's position was very consistent -we considered it as an important factor of national security of every country. When we were talking about diversification, our position always was and is that it must be diversification of not only supply routes but also sources.

Today's geopolitical situation in Eurasia proves exactly what we needed to do. In case of Azerbaijan, the Southern Gas Corridor is absolutely a new route, with now many extensions and interconnectors. The Azerbaijani gas is a new source. So here, in this format, and in the project, which we initiated, we see full implementation of energy diversification issues.

Since we met last time, a year ago here at the Gulustan Palace, there have been several important milestones. As usually, during the Advisory Council Meetings, the group reviews what has been done and sees what additionally must be done to tackle all the outstanding issues and most importantly, plans the future mutual and common steps.

One of the important events during the last year period was the beginning of commercial natural gas production from the Absheron gas and condensate field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea. This was the second largest discovery of huge gas deposits after Shahdeniz. Actually, the Absheron gas and condensate field will be also a resource base for our future energy diversification projects. The first phase of Absheron project has been approved. We expect annual production at the level of 1.5 billion cubic meters. When we agree on the second phase, it will add an additional 4-5 billion cubic meters with the most of which to be also channeled to the international markets.

Another important achievement, I would say, is that Azerbaijan started supplying natural gas to two more countries last year, namely Hungary and Serbia, thus expanding the geography of our supplies in Europe. Today, Azerbaijan is supplying natural gas to eight countries with six of them being European countries. The interconnector projects have been inaugurated last year in Europe. Firstly, they were generated by the Southern Gas Corridor project. And secondly, they will allow us to continue our efforts in order to embrace as many destinations in Europe as possible.

The demand for the Azerbaijani gas is here. We have the resources, and transportation routes exist. By the way, through the active communication with our Turkish friends during the last year, we agreed on using the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline system through Turkiye. This is, I would say, the diversification inside the diversification project. There can be many more other alternatives and options because all of them serve the common goal of how to address issues of energy diversification and energy security with maximum efficiency.

Azerbaijan, I think, already proved to be a reliable partner. Our word means the same as our signature. All the plans, which we've put in front of ourselves, I'm sure, will be implemented because only the performance of the last year demonstrates that.

Another important moment for our energy project is that the company from the friendly United Arab Emirates, ADNOC became a shareholder of the Absheron project. We welcome that and welcome to the team. That will add additional financing and also expertise, and enlarge international cooperation. We have requests from many energy companies to work with us. All of them are being reviewed based on the performance and our energy agenda.

With respect to our future plans, of course, today it will be discussed broadly. I just want to mention some of them. First of all, we expect the beginning of the natural gas production in the first quarter of the next year from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli deep gas project. This is a very promising structure with a very large deposit. For many years, the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli has been the main source of our oil exports. And now, with these huge gas deposits, which we already agreed with our partners to explore, it will be an additional contribution. In the beginning, the production is planned at around half a billion cubic meters, but it will grow maybe three-four, maybe, five times within several years, being an additional source to gas supply along with the Shahdeniz and Absheron.

We also have plans to develop the second phase of the Umid gas condensate field, which potentially can bring additional 2-3 bcm within 3-4 years.

So, all of these plans are absolutely realistic. They're based on a thorough analysis, data, information and our financial resources, as well as our agreements with our investors. Some of the projects will be implemented together with investors but some by SOCAR itself. All these demonstrate that potential is here and potential is growing.

So, all kinds of rumors, which have been circulating for many years that there is no enough gas in Azerbaijan to supply the growing needs of European consumers once again show that they are absolutely groundless. It was a part of the campaign against Azerbaijan in order to undermine our potential and to send the wrong message to the international community and consumers.

Azerbaijan is also part of the green transition process. This year has been announced and declared as the Green World Solidarity Year in Azerbaijan. Our renewable projects also demonstrate high-level of performance. Since we met last time, I would like to inform you that we inaugurated the first big solar power plant in Azerbaijan last October with a capacity of 230 megawatts, built by Masdar, one of the leading companies in the area of renewables. This is only the beginning. According to signed contracts and MOUs, we plan to generate up to 5000 megawatt or 5 gigawatt of solar and wind energy until 2030.

Our main investors are Masdar from UAE, ACWA Power from Saudi Arabia. Companies from other countries are also working with us. We have huge potential of renewables, whether it's in the Caspian Sea or our onshore potential. As you know, with the Black Sea green cable project, we plan to become also an important exporter of green energy to Europe.

It has already been decided that there will be integrated projects from wind farms in the Caspian Sea with new transmission lines extending all the way down to Europe under the Black Sea. So, these are the plans, and of course, the more renewable sources we have, the more natural gas we will save, which now we use for electricity.

It will be an additional contribution to the Southern Gas Corridor. The Southern Gas Corridor has already been operating for three years. It is a really success story. It is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Eurasia. This project with the integrated pipeline system of 3,500 kilometers in length is a project of energy security and cooperation because without cooperation between all the countries, which are situated on route of the Southern Gas Corridor, it wouldnt have been possible to implement this project.

So, we come to an important point where we see energy and fossil fuels as instruments and means to build partnership and cooperation. And the last point on fossil fuels issues. We now see kind of a trend that fossil fuel is something, which brings only problems. We also need to be fair with the countries rich with oil and gas. It is not the fault of these countries that they have oil and gas. They must not be blamed for that and discriminated. I think that the performance of countries with fossil fuels must be judged by how they address the issue of environmental protection and green transition. Only after that, after the fair analysis, the judgment can be made about these countries. Otherwise, we will see a kind of dividing lines between oil and gas producers and those who do not have these resources.

Talking about that, of course, I'd like also to draw your attention to the issue of financing. Taking into account that we have representatives of the leading financial institutions of the world here, at this table, the financing of the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor and any other project related to natural gas must be done in such a way that our main target is not undermined.

There was and there is a big demand from Europe for Azerbaijani gas. We have been approached by many countries. As I said, six are already recipients of our natural gas.

There are several more with which we have negotiations. The gas is needed and we have the resources and infrastructure. I think that at least financing of this project from European financial institutions must be done based on a realistic approach and should not be overshadowed by general anti-fossil fuel trends.

We all know what is happening. Azerbaijan, as I said, is in an active phase of green transition, but at the same time, no one can ignore the fact that without fossil fuel, the world cannot develop, at least in the foreseeable future.

And the last point. Azerbaijan has an honor of being the host country for COP29. As soon as the decision was made last December, immediately, we were attacked by different NGOs, media, etc., only for one reason - because we have oil and that was considered to be our biggest fault. Though, as I say, it's not a fault, it's a gift from the God. But we've been attacked that how can a fossil fuel-rich country be a host of COP?. And let's look at it from a different angle. Yes, we have enough oil and gas. We can live without renewables for coming 100 years. All our reserves are proven. Everybody knows that.

But the fact that we wanted to host this global event on climate change demonstrates our will. We must be praised for that and not attacked. We didn't do anything wrong. But as soon as the decision was made, immediately, we faced a coordinated, consolidated and very unfair attack on us.

There have been many attacks on Azerbaijan in the previous years. We have a very thick skin. We can protect ourselves, but I just want to inform you that the decision and unanimous decision to organize COP29 in Azerbaijan is a sign of respect of international community for our country and our willingness to host and contribute demonstrates our green agenda.

So, I will conclude now, once again, thank you for being with us. Using this opportunity, I'd like to invite you all to be our partners on this important journey to COP29. Thank you.

x x x

Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan Parviz Shahbazov:

- Your Excellency President Aliyev, we thank you for your invaluable speech. The Advisory Council, established on your initiative, has greatly contributed to energy security through the Southern Gas Corridor. Today, this remarkable cooperation platform is being expanded in line with your vision on the development of green energy. We express our sincere appreciation for your continued support. Now, I would like to give the floor to His Excellency, Mr. Eddie Rama, Prime Minister of Albania. The floor is yours, Mr. Prime Minister.

x x x

The Prime Minister of Albania made a speech at the event.

Speech by Prime Minister Edi Rama

- Honorable President Aliyev, dear friend.

Dear friends.

I cannot be more humbled from the hospitality offered to me today, and I cannot be more honored from the words the President used to describe the nature of relations between Azerbaijan and Albania, and also of our personal relations.

Eight years ago, in the ministerial meeting, President Aliyev said, and I quote: The Southern Corridor establishes a unique format of international cooperation. This new experience of cooperation between countries, companies and financial institutions will greatly expand into many other areas throughout the years. Mr. President predicted.

And indeed, this New Silk Road of Energy, the Southern Gas Corridor has become a bridge of intensive cooperation, bringing closer countries, companies, international financial institutions in a format that only increases the desire and opportunities that it offers. And today this format has become a bridge - a bridge where the integral new dimension is green energy.

So, today, we can all witness the Southern Gas Corridor has already changed many lives and made Europe safer. While Europe is ramping up its energy supplies, the Southern Gas Corridor by no doubt will remain one of the few stable and competitive sources of pipeline gas delivered to the EU. With the share of Russian gas in the EU falling from 40% to currently eight and soon to be zero, and with the green agenda and decarbonisation efforts in full swing, Azerbaijani gas us and the Caspian region are crucial to our shared future.

As far as my country, Albania is concerned, we are strategically positioned along the route of the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which is a vital link in the Southern Gas Corridor. And of course, we aim to further capitalize on this transformative corridor through direct investments in renewable energy projects and the development of sustainable infrastructure. As we speak today, Albania is 100% renewable-based country. But, what we need to do, and what we are doing, is to diversify our source of energy, which is based mostly on hydro.

For us investments in sustainable renewable energy are by no doubts crucial. In recent years, they have turned Albania into a natural place of the green transition and innovations in the energy sector. In this regard, initiating dialogues on green hydrogen within the context of the Southern Gas Corridor is so important.

And it proves once and again the value of this visionary initiative. Firstly, it provides a tool to address environmental concerns and align the corridor with global sustainability goals. Secondly, embracing green hydrogen opens up new economic opportunities, fosters innovation, research and development in the clean energy sector. And lastly, it positions the corridor as a forward-thinking initiative responsive to the evolving demands of a world increasingly focused on de-carbonization.

Let me share with you also that our Azerbaijani friends have been truly invaluable with their technical expertise in developing the best possible scenarios for utilizing our existing infrastructure and adopting it to meet the current energy challenges, and we can't be more grateful for that.

Right now, in Albania we are also pushing forward towards the country's gasification project. And thanks to the support of President Aliyev, we have started this process of gasification by countering what historical tradition has deprived us because for them who are not aware of our history, we have been completely cut from the West and the East, and pretending to be the only country in the world to fight for true communism. We refuse to have any relation with both American imperialism and Soviet social imperialism. So we lived in North Korea, in the middle of Europe, and practically all our systems from the gas systems to the railway systems were nearly in existence and totally disconnected with the rest of the world.

That's why we value very much this new chapter in our development course. And building on a successful experience of cooperation with TAP In cooperation with our partners, we aim to build an liquid gas hub in the south Albania.

Ladies and gentlemen. Marco Polo, described how Baku was dotted with oil wells, and oil was extracted to be used for lighting and for healing purposes. But it was in the year 1877 when Charles Marvin demonstrated irrefutable proof that long before Christ was born, oil was exported from the Absheron peninsula where Baku is located to territories of modern Iran, Iraq, India and other countries.

In the past, Bakus immense wealth supported the golden era of Asian and European civilizations. Now the same resources, the same gas fields have potential to open a new golden era for our countries. It is an era of multilateral cooperation, long-lasting peace and progress based on decarbonisation, and sustainable energy supplies.

And let me conclude by joining President Aliyev in what he underlined when he mentioned the initiative of Azerbaijan to take over the torch of the COP and to host it. It can't be more revealing, when a country so rich in fossil fuels, step up and says let's look forward all together about how the green energy transition can be real, can be sustainable, and can be beneficial to all the rest of the world. And this is where the biggest praise should come to Azerbaijan. And to our incredibly valuable host. Thank you very much, Mr. President. Thank you.

x x x

European Commissioner for Energy, co-chair of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Kadri Simson addressed the event.

Speech by Kadri Simson

- Thank you. President Aliyev and Prime Minister Rama, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen! I'm delighted to be here today to open the 10th Advisory Council Ministerial meeting. Let me start by congratulating President Aliyev on his re-election and his success at the recent presidential election. I also want to thank Minister Shahbazov for our good cooperation throughout last year. As always, thank you all for your warm welcome here in Baku.

This is my third Southern Gas Corridor meeting as EU Energy Commissioner. And it is a good time, dear President Aliyev, to look back and measure together what this project and the EU-Azerbaijan partnership have become in such a short space of time. I came into office, on 1 December 2019, the day after the inauguration of the TANAP gas pipeline connecting to Europe. The first flows of Azerbaijani gas to the EU started one year later, on 31 December 2020. It was during COVID, contacts were difficult. Some in Europe thought that the Southern Gas Corridor was mission accomplished and would not require much attention going forward. I did not think that way. We always saw in Azerbaijan a trusted partner and in our cooperation a strong potential for expansion. When I came to my first meeting here in 2022, we discussed how best to tap into all the potential in our relations, how to expand the corridor to new markets, how to enlarge the scope of our relations to clean energy. And we made it happen.

Today, gas flows to Europe from the Southern Gas Corridor are 46% higher than in 2021. In 2023, the EU received almost 11 bcm of stable and secure gas supplies from Azerbaijan. And a growing number of EU Member States and enlargement countries are interested in receiving gas from Azerbaijan. As I said last year, you are becoming a pan-European supplier. That's why we are working on further extending these volumes together. We expect pipeline gas from Azerbaijan to play an important role in the European energy system during our energy transition. Faced with increased Russian violence and a continued unjustified war on our doorstep, it is increasingly clear that, for Europe, there will be no return to business as usual in its energy relations with Russia. That space is now filled by other trusted and reliable energy partners. And we found exactly that in Azerbaijan. I can assure you that the EU commitment to Azerbaijan is long-term. Which is why we are working with Azerbaijan on expanding the Southern Gas Corridor and doubling our gas trade by 2027. More importantly, the EU and Azerbaijan's strategic energy cooperation has shown all its flexibility and dynamism.

The Southern Gas Corridor has evolved to become a forum for cooperation also on renewables and electrification. This is an extraordinary result and is proof of how this project is forward looking and open to the future. We have made clean energy a key part of EU-Azerbaijan bilateral relations. We're here in the City of Winds  just one example of the tremendous renewable energy potential on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan joined the EU and other international partners at COP28 in supporting the Global Pledge on tripling renewable energy and doubling energy efficiency by 2030. And this international pledge is matched by a clear commitment at home to create better conditions for international trade and investment and accelerate the national energy transition. I welcome the reforms adopted in this area over the past year. Indeed, we see now a growing interest from EU renewable companies to work with Azerbaijan and in your country. The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding with EU wind companies in the margins of this Ministerial is a very important step. And this commitment to renewables is also opening the way to new interconnection projects with Europe.

We will discuss later today the project of a green energy corridor between the South Caucasus and the EU. The initiative to build an electricity cable under the Black Sea is especially important for the region. It also positions Azerbaijan as a key partner for future electricity exports to the EU. This is critical given we expect electricity consumption in the EU to grow by more than 16% by 2030 and then again by almost 80% by 2040. And it is not a coincidence that Azerbaijan has been chosen to host the next annual UN Climate Change Conference in November. This is the result of your hard work, your ability to deliver complex infrastructure projects, your forward looking approach to the clean transition. I have no doubts President Aliyev that you and your team will guide us to a successful outcome of COP29. You can certainly count on the EU's full support.

We are ready to work with you and other interested partners on a clear strategy to implement the pledges on renewables and energy efficiency. We also stand ready to tackle together methane emissions from the oil and gas industry  both bilaterally and through the Global Methane Pledge. I think there is scope to explore innovative approaches under our strategic energy partnership to make progress in this field.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen! Over the past years, the Southern Gas Corridor has been a story of success. A story which has new protagonists. I am particularly pleased to be next to Prime Minister Rama today, and to see so many officials from the Western Balkans and South East Europe around the table. I am pleased that the EU and Azerbaijan have built such a positive relationship. You are and will remain one of our key energy partners. We look forward to continuing the work we started with all the Southern Gas Corridor partners. Together, we can accelerate our energy diversification, ensure prosperity for our economies and deliver a viable path towards climate neutrality.

Thank you once again, President Aliyev, for the very warm welcome, and thank you everybody for your attention.

x x x

Parviz Shahbazov: Commissioner Simson, thank you for your active co-chairmanship in the Advisory Council and for your support for the development of our energy cooperation. This concludes our opening session.

Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, thank you very much for being with us today.

x x x

The meeting brought together 23 countries, 6 international organizations and 44 companies, including Azerbaijan and the European Union. Ministers, deputy ministers, and other high-ranking officials participated in the event.

The opening ceremony was followed by panel sessions.

On the sidelines of the Advisory Council, the 6th ministerial meeting for the implementation of the Agreement on a strategic partnership in the field of green energy development and transmission between the Governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary, as well as the Azerbaijan-EU round table on the development of offshore wind energy were held.

Documents related to green energy were signed during the event.

The Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, has been convened since February 2015.
Hailed as Bharat Kokila, the Nightingale of India, she was a poet from whom flowed words as songs of unity, compassion, love, duty and responsibility towards a nation subjugated. When Sarojini Naidu passed away on 2 March 1949, seventy-five years ago, she was Governor of Uttar Pradesh, a public office which she held with grace and dignity. One could add that she was the first woman Governor but it would hardly do justice to this fiery feminist, a poet who travelled the world arguing, debating, and singing about womens emancipation and equal rights; and a theme close to her heart, the unity between Hindus and Muslims.

In the Constituent Assembly in 1946, her speeches boldly addressed fears of minority group leaders like MA Jinnah, proclaiming a vision of justice and equality for all Indians. Her speech on 13 October 1917 in Patna, when she spoke to a large gathering of Patna City Students Association rang with fervor, poetic passion, and relevance. Centuries ago, when the first Islamic army came to India, they pitched their caravans on the banks of the sacred Ganges and tempered and cooled their swords in the sacred waters.

It was the baptism of the Ganges that gave the first welcome to the Islamic invaders that became the children of India as generations went by, she declared. It was a large gathering, primarily of young students and teachers; in the chair was Rai Bahadur Krishna Sahay, when Sarojini Naidu spoke of Hindu-Muslim unity: We should bear in mind that historic circumstance, that historic culture, that historic evolution for which the Gangetic valley has stood in bringing about the Hindu-Muslim relationship age after ageIt is only because we are ignorant that we are divided and it is the sacred mission of enlightenment to bring not the lesson of quarrel but the lesson of peace. That is the problem with which we have to deal today.

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For what is the Hindu-Muslim Unity! We hear it spoken of vigorously, we hear it spoken of unceasingly, we hear it spoken of passionately. But have we defined to ourselves its practical issues? What is the meaning, what is the significance of the Hindu-Muslim Unity? There is so much misconception abroad that, if a Muslim shows sympathy towards a Hindu, he becomes a traitor and that if a Hindu shows sympathy towards a Mussalman, he becomes an outcaste. But what is the reason of this mistrust of those who stand as links between the two races? Nothing save our misreading of the entire purpose of national history. By 1917 Sarojini Naidu had made her mark in national politics as a dynamic Congress leader, attending and speaking at major Congress conferences; building ties with senior leaders like Pt Motilal Nehru, Jinnah and then the newlyarrived from South Africa, Mohandas Gandhi who was getting engaged in Indias struggle for self-government.

There was thundering applause in the Patna gathering when she enumerated the problem of HinduMuslim Unity: There are in India two communities (I will not say two races), two communities that are separated by what they consider the difference of creeds. But when you come to analyze this difference of creed, you begin to find that after all, fundamentally, the teaching that came in the wake of the Muslim conquerors was the same as the teaching that arose in the great hymns in the sacred mountain regions of the Himalayas and on the sacred Ganges five thousand years ago. It means essentially the love of truth, the love of purity, the service of humanity, the search for wisdom, the great lessons of self-sacrifice, the worship of the same transcendent Spirit, no matter whether in one language it was called Allah and in another Parameshwar.

Posing the question to the audience, Sarojini Naidu asked, After all, what is this antagonism between creed and creed? Antagonism is merely the asset of the ignorant. They are not the weapons of the wise who realize that after all it is only the misunderstanding of the essential truth wherein lies the difficulty in launching across that golden bridge of sympathy that brings together the two great communities whose fundamental teaching is the love of God and the service of men. To the young, she explained, In this great country the Muslims came to make their home, not to carry spoils and to go back to their own home but to build permanently here their home and create a new generation for the enrichment of the Motherland. How can they live separate from the people of the soil? Does history say that in the past they have so lived separate? Or rather it says that once having chosen to take up their abode in this land, they became the children of the soil, the very flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood.

Gentlemen, history has said that the foreign emperors sought not to divide and rule, but to unite the people and so build an imperishable guarantee of their own power and administration. In words that dripped with simplicity and devotion, the Nightingale of India spoke of daily actions, of ways and means to shun ignorance. You love your neighbour as yourselves, you realize his humanity as common with your experiences and aspirations of life, his failures, his triumph, his hopes and fears, his culture and ignorance which are the common inheritance between you and him. There is no difference because of your common aspirations, your common destiny of humanity why make difference between the tillers of the soil whether he is a Muslim or a Hindu? Does he not suffer from drought, from the failure of harvest, from pestilence from locusts?

The schoolmaster, whether he be a Hindu or a Mussalman, has he not the same responsibility of creating within his hands (is he not a sharer of a common responsibility, I ask) a bond between brother and brother whether he be a Hindu or a Mussalman? Then, when floods come, and famines come, and plagues come, do not all of us suffer equally? Why make difference between men? Are there different angels of death for the Hindus and Mussalmans to carry them off? The applause can be heard even now. She began her address referring to the Ganga. Sarojini Naidu questioned, Once more we turn to the sacred river flowing beneath us; what has been the symbolism of that river through the centuries? What has been the symbolism of that river? What is the symbolism, I say, that age after age has made it sacred not merely in Sanskrit but in Persian verses as well, that flows giving gift to the land, that waters the fields of both the Hindu and Mussalman alike. It has been the inspiration of the Hindu and Mussalman geniuses as well.

The sacred water of this sacred river, with the solemn music flowing through city after city has washed away sins after sins of the Hindu people and has given cold waters to the thirsting armies of the Mussalmans. And when the great river arrives where it meets another river, in sacred Prayag, there is the union with mystic music, soul to soul and heart to heart, of the two great rivers, the Ganga and the Jumna ~ a Sangam of two rivers each without losing its own characteristics and qualities. And yet it is a perfect union.

And that should be the symbol of the Hindu and Muslim unity, each keeping its own culture, its own individual characteristics, its own purity, its own special colour of its own waters, the music of its own deed even at that point of Union. Hundred and seven years after Sarojini Naidus Patna address, her messages built around the purity of the river, its symbolism and meaning remain indelibly relevant, still a clarion call in free and independent India. She exhorted the youth to remain united, focused on building the nation together.

In An Anthem of Love, (published in The Sceptred Flute ~ Songs of India in 1943), she penned this couplet: Two hands are we to serve thee, O our Mother, / To strive and succour, cherish and unite; / Two are we to cleave the waning darkness, / And gain the pathways of the dawning light. / One heart are we to love thee, O our Mother, / One undivided, indivisible soul, / Bound by one hope, one purpose, one devotion / Towards a great, divinelydestined goal.

(The writer is an authorresearcher on history and heritage issues and former deputy curator of Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya)
In the unfolding legal saga surrounding former President Donald Trump, the prospect of seeing him behind bars before the next election appears to be fading into the mist of procedural intricacies and potential delays. The cases against Trump are numerous and diverse, ranging from the gravity of his role in the Capitol attack to the somewhat surreal intricacies of hush money payments to a porn star. One key aspect is the curious timing and order of these trials.

The flimsiest case, concerning allegations of falsifying business records related to the Stormy Daniels payment, is set to kick off first. However, the labyrinthine nature of the case, coupled with the questionable credibility of the star witness, Michael Cohen, creates a legal terrain more akin to reality TV than a courtroom drama. This narrative could play right into Mr Trumps hands, reinforcing his claims of victimhood and a politically motivated prosecution. The January 6 case, a pivotal moment in recent history, carries significant weight. Yet, its progress may be hindered by the legal intricacies and potential delays arising from Mr Trumps appeals.

The delicate balance between a speedy trial and a thorough examination of evidence becomes a tight-rope that prosecutors must navigate, knowing that the stakes are not just legal but have far-reaching political implications. The Georgia case, an expansive net cast with charges of racketeering, mirrors the federal indictment over election interference but adds complexity with 18 co-defendants. A subplot emerges with allegations of an affair involving prosecutor Fani Willis, injecting a hint of scandal into an already convoluted legal drama. The potential for this case to stretch into 2025 further complicates the timeline for those hoping for resolution before the election. The mishandling of classified documents case seems straightforward in its details, but the slow pace set by the judge and potential challenges in presenting classified evidence contribute to the uncertainty surrounding its timing. Additionally, the geographical setting in Florida, Mr Trumps stronghold, could influence the trials atmosphere.

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As the legal chessboard takes shape, there are intriguing possibilities regarding Mr Trumps future. Even if he were to secure victory in the upcoming election and face convictions before taking office, the convoluted nature of appeals and the potential exercise of presidential pardons create a complex web of legal manoeuvres. The possibility of Mr Trump becoming a President-elect with a looming criminal conviction brings to light uncharted territory in American politics. Beyond the legal nuances, one must reflect on the resilience and integrity of the American justice system.

Mr Trumps defiance and delay tactics will serve as a litmus test, evaluating whether the system can withstand the challenges posed by a high-profile figure. The outcome will not only shape the trajectory of Mr Trumps political future but will also echo in the annals of American legal history, determining whether the rule of law prevails over the manoeuvres of a candidate who seems to scoff at its very essence.
A hot current topic of national debate in America is immigration. Most immigrants are here legally, but a sizable minority entered unlawfully or overstayed their visas. Citizens and legal residents have a wide range of opinions about these illegals, much of it informed by muddled thinking and conflation of different rationales for supporting or opposing different types of immigration.

Its not a new issue. A slow-simmering, intermittently volatile migrant crisis has existed for some time, spurred by various economic, political, and humanitarian disasters around the world throughout the 2010s. The pattern is one of periodic spikes in migration, followed by harsh crackdownsincluding detention and deportationsby successive U.S. presidential administrations.

The current situation is also fueled by unique contemporary factors. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. imposed severe restrictions on immigration and asylum approvals, under a federal statute (Title 42, Section 265) empowering presidents to deny entrance petitions based on concerns about the spread of contagious diseases. This power is not blanket or self-executing. It must be a specifically announced program with detailed justification. But once adopted, it can last indefinitely. The Covid policy effectively suspended the usual rights that the U.S. laws give to asylum seekers and other migrants. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have applied the policy inconsistently. Biden has been criticized for leniency toward Ukrainian refugees but toughness toward Latin Americans. There could be valid reasons for this, but thats irrelevant to Section 265, which only authorizes restrictions based on the spread of diseases.

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Despite being based on Covid-19, the policy continued to be enforced post-pandemic. Meanwhile, south of the United States, Mexico relaxed restrictions at its own southern border, thus removing a longstanding de facto buffer between the United States and some of the most troubled countries of Central America, from which masses of people have been fleeing. This combination of factors built up significant pressures, exacerbated by legal uncertainties following a federal district court decisionand its subsequent temporary reversal by the U.S. Supreme Courtthat exclusions under the COVID policy were unlawful and impermissibly arbitrary and capricious. A final trigger came on May 11, 2023, when the Biden administration lifted the restrictions, pegging the move to an announcement that the Covid-19 related national emergency was officially over.The immediate aftermath brought in millions of people, including many who applied earlier, and have been waiting in a sort of limbo.

An unusual note in the present debate is that the generally pro-immigration, progressive, blue cities are reacting with hostility. New York is a sanctuary city, meaning it has a policy of non-prosecutionand non-cooperation with federal prosecutionof illegal immigration. Yet, New Yorkers, including the citys mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat (the ostensibly pro-immigrant party) and the states governor, Kathy Hochul (also a Democrat), have complained bitterly about having to absorb large groups of migrants. Its easy to dismiss them as hypocrites, and theres maybe some truth to that. But it is also true that the realities of immigrationand this particular influxare complex and the overwrought rhetoric from all directions prevents coolheaded consideration of these issues, unfortunately.

Another fascinatingfactoddly unnoticed by the chattering classis that Biden (another Democrat), who is being painted as a soft-on-border-security-liberal-coward, is actually busy crafting and implementing big anti-immigration measures. Contrary to allegations, hes not opening the border to anyone who wants in.Rather, its a controlled ushering in, likely designed to appeal to the pro-immigrant wing of his own party, while keeping tight controls on who enters. The migrants werent granted work permits, so unions couldnt complain about wage competition (though this also meant they had to be supported by public funds, which angered taxpayers, understandably, and eventually this policy was changed, but its unclear how successfully). Migrants are kept in hotels, avoiding the cruel image of refugee camps while serving the same purpose, which is to keep refugees from dispersing into the general population. Its possibly also an easing of already-built-up pressures at the border, before closing the pipeline, like periodic openings of a dams floodgates.

In fact, while being both praised and vilified for importing busloads of migrants into American cities and for cutting down wire fencing placed at the border by the state government of Texas, Biden is quietly working on delivering on Trumps promise to build a border wall, something Trump himself failed to do. By some calculations,Bidens proposed policies will mean more people being deported or denied entry than under Trump or even Obama, whose excessive deportations earned him the nickname deporter-in-chief. Biden has proposed severe immigration restrictions going forward, which were rejected by Republican lawmakers. This all might seem counterintuitive, but the realpolitik here, is that neither partys actual agenda necessarily tracks the rhetoric used to lure voters.

But WHY is there even a controversy? Isnt America a nation of immigrants where newcomers are welcome? Yes, and no. Since the Republics beginnings, theres been conflict over who is, or can become, American. All the while, at various times, under various conditions of stricture or permissiveness, immigrants have come from the world over, making this country theirs, embracing its ways and its values, but also imprinting a little of their own ways and values on to it. One particularly large influx occurred during the fabled Ellis Island phase of U.S. history (roughly 1880s to 1920s). Shiploads of peoplemostly Europeans from farther south and east than ever beforepoured into New York Harbor, in unprecedented numbers, and were processed through a facility located on a tiny island at the confluence of the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay. Ellis Island stands next to another famous tiny island of New York Harbor: Liberty Island, which houses the Statue of Liberty, a monument gifted by France to the United States, to celebrate its centennial on July 4, 1876, but which has become inextricably linked to immigrants, thanks to the inscription on its base, the1883 poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus, inviting the tired, the poor the huddled masses yearning to breathe free with open arms and a lifted lamp.

Over time, America has developed parallel traditions, each deeply entrenched, on dealing with immigrants. One tradition venerates immigration as fundamentally American, and sometimes assumes (incorrectly) that near-open borders and a welcoming attitude has been the general norm throughout history. Indeed, there has always been a strand of American philosophical tradition, based on its founding principles of freedom and individualism, that advocates for this kind of openness. But official U.S. policy has rarely reflected anything close to it. The Ellis Island era was succeeded by a long period of severe restrictions until the policy was reformed in 1965.

The other tradition is to doggedly resist each wave of newcomers and characterize them as invasion forces or barbarians at the gate. When anti-immigrant vitriol is confronted with history of ones own ancestors, its generally defended with a ready list of differences between earlier waves of immigration and current ones. Some of those differences are imagined, others are real but of dubious relevance.A few are genuine concerns but are only applicable in a few situations, but nobody wants their anti-immigrant policies to be narrowly applied to only the relevant contexts. The usual talking points distinguish between legal and illegal; skilled and unskilled; asylum seekers and economic migrants; those who share our values and those who hate us; and so on, along with generalized fears of drug cartels, criminals, terrorists, downward pressures on wages from increased labor-competition, and an overburdened welfare system. Many of these concerns are contradictory or simply wrong on the facts, though some have just enough of a grain of truth to be exploitable for political purposes.

Incidentally, the post-Ellis Island legal restrictions specifically limited immigration from European countries from which the then-recent newcomers hailed, while immigration from Latin America was untouched, a fact thats ignored by todays anti-immigration activists who point to those restrictions as a favorable precedent, while holding up the Ellis Island arrivals as a different (and better) class of immigrants than the ones coming from Latin America now.

The author is a lawyer, writer and editor based in Manhattan, New York.
At least 20 Indians, who had gone as support staff to work with the Russian Army, are stuck in that country and efforts are on to seek their early release, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday, reiterating that New Delhi is deeply committed to the welfare of all its nationals.

The remarks came in the backdrop of reports that a group of Indian youth fell victim to agents who deceitfully sent them to Russia under the false pretext of providing them with security guard jobs.

It is our understanding that there are 20-odd people who have gone to work as support staff or as helpers with the Russian Army. These are the people whove contacted us We are trying our level best to ensure their early discharge, MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said while addressing the weekly media briefing on Thursday.

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The spokesperson also referred to the statements issued by the MEA that urged all Indian nationals in Russia to exercise due caution and stay away from the conflict (with Ukraine).

We are trying our best We are in regular touch with the Russian authorities  both here in New Delhi and in Moscow. We are deeply-committed to the welfare of all Indians, Jaiswal told reporters.

The ministry had issued a statement on February 26, which said that several Indian nationals have already been discharged and that India remains committed to pursuing all the relevant cases of its citizens for an early discharge from the Russian Army.

The statement also noted that there were inaccurate reports in the media regarding Indians with the Russian Army seeking help for discharge.

On being asked about Indias position on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaiswal reiterated that both sides should come together and find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Our position is very well known. Weve said this at the highest levels that India desires that there be discussion, that there be diplomacy, that there be constant engagement so that both sides can come together and find a solution for peace, he said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the killing of more than 100 people in incidents in northern Gaza and repeated his demands for a ceasefire, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

On the day Gazas Health Ministry announced that the death toll crossed the 30,000 mark since Israels attacks began on October 8, 104 people were killed and more than 700 injured in the incidents around a food convoy in the Gaza City area, according to the Palestine news agency, Wafa.

The agency said that according to medical sources, Israeli troops had opened fire with heavy machine guns at people waiting for trucks laden with humanitarian assistance for distribution.

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The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid, Dujarric said.

He added that Guterres is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza, in which more than 30,000 people have now reportedly been killed and more than 70,000 injured. Tragically, an unknown number of people lie under rubble.

His statement did not name Israel in the attack, and Dujarric explained to reporters that the UN did not as yet have direct knowledge of what happened, but he said that acts of violence caused the incident.

UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Turk called the killings in Gaza, carnage.

There appear to be no bounds to  no words to capture  the horrors that are unfolding before our eyes in Gaza, he said in Geneva at a meeting on Occupied Palestine Territories.

While denouncing the 10/7 Hamas attack on Israel as profoundly traumatising and totally unjustifiable, he also condemned the brutality of the Israeli response which resulted in the unprecedented level of killing and maiming of civilians in Gaza, including UN staff and journalists.

Turk said, Since early October, over 100,000 people have been killed or wounded. Let me repeat that: about one in every 20 children, women, and men, are now dead or wounded.

When Israel launched its counterattack for the Hamas assault, it ordered the people in northern Gaza to move south, which most did while several Palestinians were trapped in the northern areas where Israeli troops have launched ground, air and sea attacks.

Meanwhile talking to reporters in Washington, US President Joe Biden conceded that the Thursday incidents complicated the negotiations for freeing hostages held by Hamas.

But he refused to take a stand on the incidents, saying, Were checking that out right now. But theres two competing versions of what happened. I dont have an answer yet.

Israel said that its forces opened fire on a crowd that advanced on them menacingly, but asserted that dozens were killed in a melee by being trampled or run over by trucks.

Stung by growing opposition to Bidens support for Israel  manifest this week by more than 100,000 protest votes in the Democratic Party primary in Michigan  the US was recalibrating its position, renewing calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and asking Israel to be mindful of civilians.

ABC News reported that according to administration officials, the US was considering airdropping aid to Gaza.

The latest mass killings has raised the tension in region with Saudi Arabia and Jordan issuing strong condemnations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and they agreed to press for the protection of civilians consistent with international humanitarian law, the US State Department said.

They agreed to continue efforts to secure the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and establish a humanitarian pause in the conflict in Gaza, the department added.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

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Variable clouds with snow showers that will mix with rain showers later. High 41F. Winds WSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

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Cloudy with rain and snow showers this evening. Remaining cloudy overnight. Low 26F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 50%.
Brazils finance minister proposes global tax on the super-rich at G20 meeting in Sao Paulo

Brazils finance minister told his peers during a G20 meeting in Sao Paulo that countries should implement a global tax on the super-rich in an effort to tackle rampant tax evasion
Have an interesting bit of news youd like to see mentioned in the Along the Way column? Email it to Natasha Connolly at news@thesunchronicle.com .
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Members of the Azerbaijani Parliament Tural Ganjaliyev and Sevil Mikayilova held discussions with Damdiny Tsogtbaatar, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Mongolia, and the Head of the Mongolian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, within the Baku Network platform, Trend reports.

They deliberated upon the biased approach observed within the OSCE PA, and the ineffectiveness of the UN and the Council of Europe. Additionally, emphasis was placed on the significance of fostering connectivity throughout the region, establishing ties with Central Asia, and examining the political trajectories pursued by Azerbaijan and Mongolia.

"Location can serve as a geographical advantage for our countries. Once we establish ourselves as a key communication and logistical hub, it won't just bring economic benefits but will also become a strategic strength. When I observe Azerbaijan and witness your efforts in developing infrastructure, positioning yourselves as a central country connecting the Caucasus with Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South Asia, that's where your strength lies. Recognizing this, you've actively built the necessary infrastructure to align with this vision, and it's already proving to be a formidable asset. This is precisely what we in Mongolia want to do as well," Tsogtbaatar said.

Project guests also pointed out that, in the OSCE PA, as well as in the European Parliament, there is a rise in populism, with the dominance of both ultra-right and ultra-left political ideologies within European organizations. They concluded that given the ongoing detrimental impact of these ideologies on political decisions and the decision-making process, it is imperative for parliamentarians from Azerbaijan and Mongolia to actively confront and counteract these trends.

View the complete episode of the program below:
Joe Buccino is a research analyst at the Defense Innovation Board, a former communications director at U.S. Central Command and a retired U.S. Army colonel. He wrote this for InsideSources.com .
Peter B. Doran is a senior adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He wrote this for InsideSources.com .
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. We expect the beginning of the natural gas production in the first quarter of the next year from the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli deep gas project. This is a very promising structure, said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held in Baku on March 1, Trend reports.

For many years, the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli has been the main source of our oil exports, being an additional source to gas supply along with the Shahdeniz and Absheron, the head of state underlined.
The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a widely popular investment scheme in India, which was introduced to provide financial security and stability to employees post-retirement. Every month, a certain portion of the employee's salary is contributed towards the EPF account, which is managed by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The EPF balance is a crucial factor that determines an individual's retirement corpus. While several investors prefer to check their EPF balance through the EPF passbook, it can now be checked on the mobile phone.

The EPF passbook is a document that gives a detailed account of the transactions that take place in an individual's EPF account. The passbook contains all information regarding the contribution made by the employee, the interest earned on it, and the total EPF balance. However, getting the passbook updated may not happen frequently, and it may not be a convenient option to check the EPF balance regularly. Thanks to technological advancements, EPFO now offers multiple options to check the EPF balance, including through a mobile phone.

The mobile phone has made it extremely easy to access various services remotely, and checking the EPF balance is no exception. EPFO has launched several mobile applications that enable individuals to check their EPF balance in a few clicks. Some of the most popular mobile applications that facilitate checking the EPF balance include the Umang App, EPF Passbook, and M-Services. Here's how an individual can check their EPF balance using these applications:

1. Umang App:

Umang stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance. It is a mobile application developed by the Government of India, which aims to provide seamless access to various government services through a single platform. To check the EPF balance, a user needs to download the Umang app, and follow these steps:

a. Register on the Umang App by providing the required details.

b. Login to the app using the registered mobile number and OTP.

c. Select the EPFO option from the list of services provided.

d. Click on Employee Centric Services" and select "View Passbook" from the dropdown menu.

e. Enter the UAN (Unified Account Number) and OTP, and click on "Get OTP."

f. The EPF passbook will appear with all the updated transaction details, including the EPF balance.

2. EPF Passbook:

EPF Passbook is an official application launched by EPFO that enables an individual to access their EPF account information on their mobile phones. To check the EPF balance through the EPF Passbook application, a user needs to follow these steps:

a. Download the EPF Passbook application from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

b. Login to the application using the registered UAN and password.

c. The passbook will appear with all the updated transactions, including the EPF balance.

M-Services is a mobile application launched by EPFO to provide various services to its members, including checking the EPF balance. Here's how a user can check the EPF balance using M-Services:

a. Download the M-Services app from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

b. Login to the application using the registered UAN and OTP.

c. Select "Balance/Passbook" from the dashboard.

d. The EPF balance and the passbook will appear on the screen.

The above-mentioned mobile applications provide ease and convenience to employees to check their EPF balance, without any hassle. However, before investing in EPF, it is essential to understand the various pros and cons of investing in the Indian financial market. It is crucial to note that the EPF balance may not guarantee high returns and may involve certain risks. Therefore, as an investor, one must analyze their investment goals and risk appetite before investing in any financial instrument.

In conclusion, checking the EPF balance on the mobile phone has become extremely convenient for employees, as it enables them to access their account information anytime and from anywhere. However, it is vital to note that EPF is a long-term investment that requires patience and discipline. Investors must remember that investing in the Indian financial market involves multiple risks and uncertainties, and they must meet their investment goals and analyze the market conditions before investing in any financial instrument.

The Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) is a popular investment scheme in India that provides financial stability and security to employees post-retirement. One of the most crucial factors in determining an individual's retirement corpus is their EPF balance, which can now be accessed through a mobile phone. The Umang App, EPF Passbook, and M-Services are some of the most popular mobile applications that facilitate checking the EPF balance. However, before investing in EPF or any financial instrument, investors must understand the various advantages and disadvantages, and gauge the risk involved in trading in the Indian financial market.
Google on Friday began removing some apps, including popular matrimony apps, from its Play Store in India over a dispute on service fee payments.

Google said 10 companies in the country, including "many well-established" had avoided paying fees despite benefiting from the platform.

It did not name the firms but a search of Play Store on android phones did not give results for matrimonial apps such as Shaadi, Matrimony.com and Bharat Matrimony. Balaji Telefilms' Altt (formerly ALTBalaji), audio platform Kuku FM, dating service Quack Quack, Truly Madly also disappeared from the Play Store.

The dispute is over Google imposing a fee of 11 per cent to 26 per cent on in-app payments after anti-competition body CCI ordered scrapping of an earlier system of charging 15 per cent to 30 per cent.

Google went ahead to remove the apps not paying the fee after the Supreme Court did not provide interim relief to companies behind these apps in their battle against the search giant's platform fees.

While Bharat Matrimony founder Murugavel Janakiraman described the move as "dark day" for the Internet in India, Kuku FM co-founder Vinod Kumar Meena in a statement said that Google was behaving like a 'monopoly'. Quack Quack founder Ravi Mittal said the company would comply with rules to get back on the marketplace.

Google previously sent notices of Play Store violations to Matrimony.com, which runs the app BharatMatrimony, and Info Edge, which runs a similar app, Jeevansathi.

Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani said it had cleared all pending Google invoices in a timely manner and was compliant with its policies.

"Indian companies will comply - for now. But what India needs is an App Store/ Play Store that is a part of Digital Public Infrastructure - like UPI and ONDC. The response needs to be strategic," he said in a post on X tagging Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his office.

IAMAI, an industry association that represents some of the largest Indian startups as well as international firms, said in a statement that it has advised Googlea member of IAMAIto not delist any apps from Google Play. The industry body said it is able to confirm that Google had sent notices to at least four of the group's members.

In a blog post, Google said 10 Indian companies had chosen for an extended period of time not to pay for the "immense value they receive on Google Play".

"For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play's right to charge," it said, adding that the Supreme Court on February 9 also "refused to interfere" with its right to do so.

Google asserted that allowing a small group of developers to get differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who are paying their fair share creates an uneven playing field putting all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage.

"After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court's order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally," Google said.

It went on to say that enforcement of the policy, when necessary, can include removal of non-compliant apps from Google Play. Google, however, added that existing users will be able to continue to access the apps without interruption and that it continues "to offer our support to help developers get into compliance".

Developers, it said, are welcome to resubmit their apps to be listed on Play by selecting one of the three billing options as part of its payment policy.

"Today, we have over 2,00,000 Indian developers using Google Play who adhere to our policies, helping us ensure we have a safe platform; however, for an extended period of time, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from the court," it said.

These developers comply with payment policies of other app stores, Google lamented.

"We've always respected local laws," the tech titan said.

Google's Android platform runs on 94 per cent of Indian phones.

Janakiraman of Matrimony.com questioned the urgency for Google to remove apps when CCI was hearing the matter. He went on to allege that Google was not following the CCI order and that the government should make a note of it.

Apps of Matrimony.com that have been removed include Jodii, a matchmaking app that has over 5 million downloads, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony, and Divorcee Matrimony.

Snehil Kahnor, co-founder and CEO of Truly Madly, said, despite a clear order from CCI to not restrict app developers from using third-party payment services and to not take any adverse measures against apps, Google is forcing apps to remove other gateways and only use its billing systems and pay them 15-30 per cent commission.

The companies that are challenging Google Play in the Supreme Court includes Matrimony.com, Shaadi.com, InfoEdge, Unacademy, Truly Madly, Aha, Altt, Disney+ Hotstar, Kuku FM, QuackQuack, Stage, Kutumb, Pratilipi, Ananda Vikatan, Crafto, and Testbook.

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in a statement said, "The affected members of IAMAI are of the view that a substantive hearing of the case is pending before the Supreme Court of India, and Google should not take any coercive action during the pendency of the case."
Young Malayalam actor Mamitha Baiju on Thursday released a public statement after her comments on working with Kollywood director Bala kicked up a row. The Premalu star clarified that she never experienced any mental or physical harm from Bala's part and his behaviour was not abusive in any manner.



In an interview, Mamitha Baiju was reported as saying that while working for Vanangaan, Bala used to scold her and even beat her. He used to beat me from behind," the actor has said.



The 22-year-old actor, in a story on her official Instagram handle, said that the said that the interview clip was taken out of context. "I would like to clarify that the news being circulated online regarding my involvement with a Tamil film is absolutely baseless. An excerpt from a film promotion interview, has been taken out of context and is being clearly misquoted to create this irresponsible headline," Mamitha's story read.

Mamitha Baiju released her clarification via Instagram

She also clarified the circumstances that led to her backing out from the movie. "I opted out of that film later on, only because of other professional commitments," the Instagram story said.

"I have worked with Bala Sir for close to a year including pre-production and production of the film. He has always been kind enough to help me become a better actor," Mamitha's post said.

What was said in the interview?

In the said viral interview clip, the actor recalled, "There is something called Villadichampaatu in the movie. So I asked the director if my character had been doing this for a long time or trying it for the first time. The director told me this is something that the character is well-versed in."

Mamitha Baiju said Bala then pointed to a woman (a Villadichampaatu artiste) and asked her to observe her. "He immediately told me to start the shoot. I wasn't exactly ready. I had no idea what they were singing. I learned to do it in three takes. I was repeatedly rebuked by the director during the shoot."

She said the director had warned her that he would be scolding her during the takes, but she shouldn't be taking those seriously. "He used to beat me from behind," the actor revealed.

When asked how her co-actor Suriya reacted to this, she said Suriya was familiar with Bala's style of functioning as they have worked with each other previously.

Full transcript of Mamitha Baiju's Instagram story:

Hello Everyone, I would like to clarify that the news being circulated online regarding my involvement with a Tamil film is absolutely baseless. An excerpt from a film promotion interview, has been taken out of context and is being clearly misquoted to create this irresponsible headline. I have worked with Bala Sir for close to a year including pre-production and production of the film. He has always been kind enough to help me become a better actor. I would like to reiterate that I have not experienced any mental or physical harm or any other sort of abusive behaviour during my work on that film. I opted out of that film later on, only because of other professional commitments. I would also like to thank those Media Houses who have contacted me to verify the news before publishing. Thank you for your understanding!
Actor K Shivaram, who was the first person to crack the UPSC exam in Kannada, passed away on Thursday. He was 70.

Former IAS officer Shivaram, who also had innings in politics and acting, breathed his last at a Bengaluru hospital. He was undergoing treatment for multiple health problems, reports said sources close to his kin. K Shivaram is survived by his wife Vani Shivaram and a daughter. Kannada actor Pradeep is his son-in-law.

A native of Ramanagar district's Urugahalli, Shivaram was born on April 6, 1953, to drama master Kempaiah and his wife Chikkaboramma. He landed a government job in 1972 but managed to find a better opportunity in the intelligence department of the Karnataka Police the following year, news reports said.

Inspiring journey

While serving as the police reporter, Shivaram attended evening classes to pass UG and PG courses. In 1985, he passed the Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) exam and was appointed as the Deputy Superintendent of Police. The following year he came out flying colours in the UPSC exam that he attended in his mother tongue Kannada, reports added.

Shivaram retired as the Bengaluru regional commissioner in 2013, the Deccan Herald said in a report. However, he managed to build an acting career in the meantime. After making his debut in 1993 in 'Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake', Shivaram went on to act in Vasantha Kavya (1996), Prarthibhatane (1999), Khalanayaka (1999), Naaga (0206) and O Prema Devathe (2007) among others.

Political stint

Shivaram joined the Indian National Congress after retirement. However, he switched allegiance to Janata Dal (Secular) and contested the 2014 general elections unsuccessfully from Bijapur seat, the DH report said. He made yet another switch to the BJP, the very party that defeated him in 2014 and was selected to the party's executive committee.
The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, attended by senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to hold deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls ended early Friday.

The meeting, which began around 10:30pm on Thursday, lasted for more than four hours and was held at the party's headquarters in New Delhi.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J.P. Nadda and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting as the ruling party looks to name its candidates for a sizeable number of the 543 Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission (EC) announces the poll schedule. The elections are expected to be held in April-May

Leaders from various states, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant, were among those who arrived for the meeting.

Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also came for the meeting.

State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective states are discussed.

A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent Assembly polls, sources said.

Many Union ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya, are likely to be fielded in the general elections, after the party chose not to give them another Rajya Sabha term during the recent biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament.

The BJP's poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees.

The party's brain trust, including Shah and Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to draw the lists of probables, before the CEC takes a final call.
At least five persons suffered injuries as an explosion occurred at Bengalurus famous Rameshwaram Cafe in Kundanahalli area. Police and firefighters rushed to the spot.

While the cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained, as per preliminary inquiry, police suspect that it was a cylinder explosion. The injured were rushed to a local hospital for treatment, police said.

"We received a call about a cylinder blast in Rameshwaram cafe. Immediately, a fire engine was rushed to the spot. Initial suspicions are that it is a cylinder blast. However, it is being ascertained. It is a minor blast and we have shifted those injured to the hospital. The incident occurred between 1.30 and 2 pm. We are probing it from all angles," a police officer said, reported news agency PTI.

Bengaluru Central MP P.C. Mohan tweeted, "Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru."

-more details awaited.
Calling Congress scammers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi charged Congress and its allies were the biggest enemies of Indias development.



The prime minister addressing a rally in Dhanbad on Friday said, Congress and its alliance parties are the biggest enemies of development. The foundation stone of the Electricity power plant of North Karanpura was laid by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the end of the previous century. After that, the scammer government of Congress came into power and this project was shut down. In 2014, I gave a guarantee of reviving this project. Today, a no. of houses are lightened because of this power plant, ANI reported.

The prime minister said a better law and order situation was essential for the development of Jharkhand. Calling the JMM-Congress government as dynastic and corrupt, Modi charged extortion has increased under the present regime. JMM-Congress leaders are busy filling their safe vaults. They have created mountains of unnamed properties. We had seen heaps of coal, but heaps of cash were seen for the first time. This is your money, Modi.

Referring to recent ED action against former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his missing after ED summons, Modi said, Whatever is looted, has to be returned, this is Modi's guarantee. When I take action against such people, they run away because they are aware of their deeds.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has met with his Kyrgyz counterpart Zheenbek Kulubaev, the Foreign Minister's publication on social media says, Trend reports.

"We held extensive discussions on further expansion of bilateral cooperation and interaction on various multilateral platforms, including the Organization of Turkic States," the publication notes.

Meanwhile, the day before, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov went on a working visit to Turkiye. During the visit, the Minister is scheduled to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, speak at the panel "Institutionalization in the Turkic World: Organization of Turkic States in the XXI century", as well as hold numerous bilateral meetings.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
If you are keeping a non-native animal or bird species without informing the authorities, it is time to re-think. The new rules require anyone in possession of animal species listed in schedule IV (non-native) of the Wildlife Protection Act to register electronically within six months. So far, possessors were required to report the details of the specimen to the management authority. The digital quotient in the new rules is aimed at preparing a repository of non-native animals in human possession and, at the same time, prevent illegal trading in some cases.

Non-native species are the ones that are predominantly from outside India but make way into the country through illegal trade or documented imports. There are some species, however, that are found both outside and within the country but are considered as non-native because of their rare sighting indigenously.

Some species listed in schedule IV are desert cat, desert fox, hares, otters, red fox, Tibetan fox, and weasels. Bird species include barbets, barn owls, bustards, chaffinches, cranes, ducks, emerald dove, falcons, geese, grouse, hawks, hornbills, owls, swans etc.

An official of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) says, The notification stems from the fact that there is no mechanism to report possession of non-native species. Also, no one comes to know when offspring is born, which in some cases, also result in illegal trading. This step will be useful in preparing a database of non-native species in India.

The ministry of environment, forests and climate change on Thursday notified the Living Animal Species Rules 2024 stating, Every person who is in possession of any animal species (in schedule IV) shall report the details and make an application for registration electronically to the Management Authority or the authorised officer within a period of six months from the date of commencement of these rules and thereafter within thirty days of possession.

The notification also puts the onus of providing necessary import/export documents. The application shall be accompanied with copy of import licence, CITES export permit or certificate granted under the Convention in case of acquisition through import. CITES is an international agreement between governments to prevent international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants.

Besides, officers up to the rank of head constable have been empowered to enter, search, detain and arrest in case of reasonable grounds that Wildlife Protection Act 1972 has been offended. This power, so far, resided with sub-inspectors and above. The Wildlife Act provides the legal framework for the protection and management of wild species and also for the regulation and control of trade.

This is good. There are large patches of areas under a sub-inspector rank officer. Timely interventions in a suspicious case is easier if the power resides with lower rank officers like head constable as they are on the ground and have better local network, said the WWF official. This will certainly result in huge amount of reports coming-in on non-native animal species.

Sanjeev Behera, a biodiversity conservationist adds, This seems to have been done to ensure compliance and prepare an online repository of the species, which will be good for monitoring purposes as well.
The post-mortem report of J.S. Sidharthan, a student allegedly murdered by SFI leaders of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Pookode of Wayanad district in Kerala on February 18, reveals shocking details about the torture he endured before death. Sidharthan, a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student in the college, was discovered dead in the hostel bathroom. Recently, the youth's parents came forward, asserting that he had endured days of brutal torture, including starvation, purportedly inflicted by his hostel mates because he had danced with some female students on Valentine's Day.

According to the post-mortem report, Sidharthan suffered at least 18 sets of contusions or abrasions on his body. The report, prepared by the assistant surgeon and medical officer in-charge of the forensic unit at Govt Taluk Head Quarters Hospital, Bathery, indicates that Sidharthan sustained "multiple blunt injuries, including a tramline contusion of approximately 2-3 days old on the body, suggestive of assault." The tramline contusion discovered on the body measured "15x15x8cm, bluish and oblique, with an area of paleness ranging from 0.5 to 1.5cm in width in between. It was located on the right side of the back of the trunk, its lower inner extent in the midline, and 22cm below the root of the neck."

On February 24, 12 students, including College Union president K. Arun and SFI unit secretary Amal Ehsan, were suspended from the college in connection with the death of Sidharthan. The action followed the release of an anti-ragging committee report implicating these students. Among the 12 students suspended, four belonged to the same batch as Sidharthan, while the rest were his seniors. The first accused in the case, K. Akhil, was arrested by the police from Palakkad on Thursday.

According to the family of the deceased student, the SFI leaders had conducted a public trial against Sidharthan. They also alleged that following his death, the local police and college authorities attempted to derail the case. They claimed that it was the post-mortem report prepared by the police surgeon that played a crucial role in preventing this.

Meanwhile, in what appears to be an attempt at tarnishing the image of Sidharthan, a complaint has been filed against him with the college, claiming that he misbehaved with a girl student. The complaint was filed a day after the body of Sidharthan was discovered. The complaint was transferred to the internal complaints committee of the college on February 20.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday declined NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar's invite for a meal at his residence in Baramati in Pune district on Saturday, citing a hectic schedule.

Shinde sought to make light of the invite extended by his political rival, saying nothing much should be read into it.

Two days ago, the former Union minister sprang a surprise when he invited Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, all his political rivals, to his residence in Baramati for a meal.

Shinde and the two deputy CMs will be in Baramati, the home turf of the NCP founder, on Saturday to inaugurate a job fair.

Fadnavis has also declined the invite, citing his busy schedule, while the stand of Ajit Pawar, Sharad Pawar's politically estranged nephew who parted ways with him and joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July last year, was not yet known.

CM Shinde told reporters after the end of the budget session of the state legislature that he had conveyed to the senior Pawar that it wasn't possible for him to visit his home. "We have a tight schedule (on Saturday) as after the Baramati event we have to go to Ahmedabad. I told him (Sharad Pawar) that next time on my Baramati visit, I would visit him," he said.

Shinde maintained that nothing much should be read into the Rajya Sabha MP's invite, adding, "If someone comes close to your home, you are bound to invite him over."
The Manipur assembly on Friday passed a resolution urging the central government to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

Speaker Th. Satyabrata said, "The House resolves to reaffirm its previous resolution passed on August 5, 2022, and also to urge the Government of India to implement NRC in Manipur in the interest of the state in particular and of the nation in general."

In another development, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh informed the House that eight FIRs have been filed regarding the February 15 incident in Churachandpur, where a mob vandalised and partially torched the DC and SP office.

Responding to a calling attention raised by Congress MLA K Meghachandra, Singh said, "Eight FIRs have been registered, of which two have been handed over to the CBI."

He further mentioned that six police personnel and 43 civilians sustained injuries during the incident, and 20 people involved in the violence have been identified. Video recordings suggest the presence of armed men, including those carrying AK-47 rifles, among the crowd. The government is taking measures to prevent such incidents from recurring, he added.
At Arambargh rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke for the first time after the Sandeshkhali incident. He said he feels ashamed to see that leaders of opposition INDIA bloc are "silent" on the Sandeshkhali atrocities.



"TMC government is the big hurdle in the empowerment of poor, farmers, youth and women," said Modi in West Bengal.

Modi also added that he will not let the loot by TMC to continue.

While attacking TMC, Modi said that the people of West Bengal are asking their CM 'Didi'- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities against women in Sandeshkhali?

"All the tall leaders of INDI alliance were silent on the Sandeshkhali incident. INDIA bloc leaders were like the three monkeys of Gandhiji...Congress chief said- 'Arey chhoddo, Bengal mein toh yeh sab chalta rheta hai'...," Modi was quoted by ANI.

PM questioned why the Left and Congress leaders shied away from asking the tough questions to CM Mamata Banerjee.

Modi also added that the entire country is reeling with anger after seeing what TMC has done to the sisters of Sandeshkhali. "The soul of Raja Ram Mohan Roy must have been pained by what happened there...the party is protecting the TMC leader and the arrest was made after BJP leaders exerted pressure on the government," he said.

After the incident came into light, where several women alleged that they were sexually harassed by TMC leader Sheikh Shahjahan, protests were staged by BJP demading the arrest of Shahjahan.

After being on the run for around 50 days, Shajahan was arrested by the police on Thursday.

Immediately after the arrest, Shajahan was suspended from the party for six years. He was the party convenor of Sandeshkhali assembly constituency and was also a member of TMC-held North 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad.

According to the police, Shajahan was arrested in two cases lodged at the Nazat police station in connection with an assault on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on January 5 during a raid at his house in a ration scam case.

He was booked under IPC sections 147 (guilty of rioting), 148 (guilty of rioting being armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 307 (attempt to murder), 333 (whoever voluntarily causes grievous hurt to any person being a public servant) and 392 (robbery), said police.
In the realm of Indias naval strategy, three MsMauritius, Maldives and the countrys very own Minicoy islandshave suddenly assumed an importance much disproportionately higher to their small geographical sizes.

The strategic importance is primarily due to the fact that these three geographies are situated in very strategic locations in the Indian Ocean which is increasingly being seen as the battle-zone where the global powers will wage their diplomatic and military tussles in the eternal bid to enhance spheres of influence and acquire dominance.

These locations would serve as vantage positions to extend and project military power and strategic depth besides being of immense value as transit and facilitation points not only for Indias military platforms but for the platforms of friendly powers too.

So on Thursday when PM Narendra Modi and Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth together inaugurated a military airstrip necked by a jetty on the island of Agalega in Mauritius, it was pregnant with possibilities.

While heavy airlifters and transporters like the Indian Air Forces C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Super Hercules, not to speak of fighter aircraft, would be able to easily land on the airstrip, the Indian Navys warships and submarines would easily be able to dock on the jetty.

But more importantly, the airbase could be a base for the operations of the Indian Navys submarine-hunting Poseidon 8I aircraft that could keep an eye on Chinese navy submarines that are known to increasingly prowl in the waters.

The move to construct the Agalega military facility began in 2015 with the signing of a MoU with Mauritius with the stated aim of enhancing Mauritius maritime security.

Agalega is about 1,100 km north of Mauritian Port Louis and 2,500 km southwest of Madivian capital Male.

But Male is where Indian influence has run into rough weather.

If Agalega could further Indian strategic and military interests, Male can erode it with pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu at the helm after he strode to power about three months ago.

Among President Muizzus first decisions was to ask the about 80-strong Indian military contingent stationed in the island nation to go back home to India, leading to discord with New Delhi.

It was later agreed that the military contingent will be replaced by civilian officials to operate the two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft that India had gifted Male.

But what will adequately buttress Indian military outreach and depth in the region is the decision to commission an Indian navy base INS Jatayu in the Minicoy Islands of Lakshadweep.

Minicoy is located on the south of Lakshadweep and just about 130 km away from the northern limits of the Maldives islands and sits close to one of the busiest shipping routes.

Besides naval assets, the base will station MH 60R helicopters that have substantial surveillance and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed on Friday that the blast in Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru's Whitefield, in which nine people were injured, was caused by a low-intensity improvised explosive device.

As per the information I have, it is being claimed someone carried in a bag, the chief minister said.

CCTV footage from the cafe is being examined. It has come to be known that someone had left a bag at the cafe. The accused in the incident will be punished, news agency ANI quoted the chief minister as saying.

According to media reports, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will visit the Bengaluru explosion site as per the standard operating procedure (SOP).

Meanwhile, the fire department ruled out the initial suspicion that the blast was caused due to a gas leak and confirmed that a woman's handbag was found at the spot.

It is not clear who the bag belonged to.

CCTV footage is being scanned to check if there was any suspicious movement in and around Rameswaram Cafe in Whitefield, where the blast took place. The area has been cordoned off and Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, and other senior officials are inspecting the premises.

Ruling out about the possibility of any gas cylinder leakage, T.N. Shivashankar, director of Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services department, told news agency PTI, "I along with my team of officers inspected the spot. But there is no sign of any leakage from the gas cylinder. We have checked it. Another LPG gas cylinder inside the kitchen which was used for tea and coffee was also checked but there is no leakage from it as well. There is no sign of gas leakage from any cylinders at the spot as per our initial probe."

"A bag which was lying behind a woman who was sitting with six other customers at the eatery exploded. It is suspected that the explosion could have been caused due to some object in that bag," he added.

Nine people, including seven customers, were injured in the blast. A woman who was sitting near the bag sustained grievous injuries.
After the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, Iran on Friday held its first parliamentary election. Amid boycott calls, a low voter turnout was expected for the polls.

Iranian officials and even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the public to cast ballots.

Khamenei has called voting a religious duty. "Today the eyes of Iran's friends and ill-wishers are on the results...Make friends happy and disappoint enemies," he said.

President Ebrahim Raisi, also echoed the call and urged the public to make a glorious day for the Iranian nation.

Among those who called for a boycott includes Narges Mohammadi, the winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. She called the elections a "sham".

"The Islamic Republic, with its ruthless and brutal suppression, the killing of young people on the streets, the executions and the imprisonment and torture of men and women, deserves national sanctions and global disgrace, Mohammadi said in a statement.

Reform Front, a coalition of parties said it would not take part in "meaningless, non-competitive and ineffective elections."

"I'm not going to vote, because my experience from the previous results was not good...The biggest problem is peoples lack of trust in the effectiveness of parliament," a Tehran resident was quoted by Al Jazeera.

In recent times, Iran has recorded its lowest of 42-per cent voter turnout in February 2020 election.

About 15,000 candidates are contesting for a seat in the 290-member parliament--the Islamic Consultative Assembly.

Parliament terms run for four years, and five seats are reserved for Iran's religious minorities.

The intensified protests across Iran over the death of 22-year-old Amini, has hurt the nation badly. Over 500 people were killed and around 22,000 were detained in connection with the nationwide protests.

The parliament has focused on various issues surrounding Iran's mandatory head covering or hijab rules. The boycott calls has also put the government under immense pressure since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The state-owned polling centre ISPA, based on a survey of 5,121 voting-age people, predicted a turnout of 23.5 per cent in the capital, Tehran, and 38.5 per cent nationally.

The voting age population is estimated at about 61 million. Initial election results are expected as early as Saturday.
After the strike on the Palestinians waiting for aid in Gaza, many countries have raised questions against Israel seeking an explanation behind the attack. France, Germany, Lebanon and Brazil were among the countries that sought an investigation into the attacks.

Though Israel has denied the strikes on crowds waiting for aid, the death of 112 Gazans after the strikes is clearly not something that can be ignored.

In a post on social media, Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has demanded that Israel's army must "fully explain" how Palestinians were killed while they were gathered to receive humanitarian aid.

"People wanted relief supplies for themselves and their families and found themselves dead. The reports from Gaza shock me. The Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened. My condolences go out to the families of the victims," wrote Baerbock.

In Gaza people are closer to dying than to living. More humanitarian aid needs to come in, she added.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she is deeply disturbed by the images from Gaza. "Every effort must be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency Humanitarian aid is a lifeline for those in need and access to it must be ensured," she added.

Similarly, France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne also called for an independent investigation into the deaths of Palestinians.

"We will ask for explanations, and there will have to be an independent probe to determine what happened. France calls things by their name. This applies when we designate Hamas as a terrorist group, but we must also call things by their name when there are atrocities in Gaza," said Sejourne.

Lebanon's foreign ministry also echoed the call for an investigation. While condemning the attack, the ministry said the attacks were "deliberate" targeting defenseless Palestinians.

India also expressed extreme concerns over the death of civilians. "Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern," said foreign ministry in a statement.

Brazil called Israel's action as "unethical and illegal". "Humanity is failing the civilians of Gaza. And it's time to prevent further massacres," Brazil's foreign ministry said in a statement. It also added that it is up to the international community to call a halt to it.

Meanwhile, at least 30,228 Palestinians were killed and 71,377 have been injured in Israel's military offensive in Gaza.
Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party-backed candidate Ali Amin Gandapur was elected as the Chief Minister of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday.



The newly elected speaker Babar Saleem Swati, who took oath on Thursday, presided over the Assembly session.

In the 106-member house, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed candidate Gandapur bagged 90 votes against his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rival Dr Ibadullah Khan, who managed to secure only 16 votes.

Gandapur had the support of Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members, while Ibadullah had the support of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Parliamentarians (PTI-P), an offshoot of Khan's PTI party.

The former federal minister decided to contest the top provincial post in an independent capacity after refusing to join the SIC the party which was joined by PTI-backed independent winners to claim their seats.

The PTI leader is named in multiple assault and corruption cases registered by police stations in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.

At least 25 cases are registered against him for his alleged involvement in the May 9 violence last year in which PTI workers vandalised a dozen military installations, including the Jinnah House (Lahore Corps Commander house), Mianwali air base, the ISI building in Faisalabad, and the Army headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Gandapur served as the former federal minister for Kashmir affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan during the PTI government at the Centre from October 2018 to April 2022.

Previously, he was a member of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from 2013 to 2018 and served as provincial minister of revenue.

In his maiden speech after becoming the chief minister, Gandapur demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja over allegations of rigging in the February 8 parliamentary election.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. In accordance with the training plan for 2024, approved by the Minister of Defense, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov, a tactical-special exercise on the topic "Conducting combat operations in snowdrifts and severe cold" is being conducted with Special Forces units and subunits, Trend reports.

"Special forces conducted tactical redeployment in high mountain areas by the use of skis and fulfilled tasks on passing rocky terrain and overcoming obstacles in snow-covered areas. Tasks on providing first aid to a wounded serviceman and evacuating him using vehicles designed for difficult terrain, as well as other special operations tasks, were also accomplished by the special forces.

Special forces demonstrated high professionalism during the tactical-special exercise," the ministry noted.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
More than a hundred people were killed and over 500 injured while trying to get aid in Gaza, even as Gazan health authorities said Israeli forces opened fire at the crowd.

Israel, however, blamed the deaths on crowding around the aid trucks, saying the people died in stampede and some were run over by the vehicles themselves when they tried to avoid rampaging crowds.

At least 112 people were killed in the incident near Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, with the toll in the Israel-Hamas war crossing 30,000. Israel, however, denied the toll.

Hamas-run Gaza has been bombarded by Israeli forces for months since the Palestinian militant group's deadly rampage in southern Israel on October 7 last year, which left more than 1,000 dead according to Israel.

Israel Defence Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said dozens had been trampled to death or injured while trying to take supplies off the trucks. He said the tanks escorting the trucks had fired warning shots to disperse the crowd but backed away when things got out of hand. "No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy," he said. "The IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point."

Some Israeli officials, however, were quoted by Reuters as saying that they had to open fire as the crowds became unruly and the security forces felt threatened. Hamas, too, rejected Israel's account, saying the health ministry has "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing, in addition to the testimonies of all witnesses who confirmed being targeted with direct fire without posing any threat to the occupying army".

UN and other relief agencies have accused Israel of blocking and restricting their attempts to provide aid, though Israel has denied the allegations.

Will it affect talks in Qatar?

Hamas said the incident could jeopardise the ongoing talks in Qatar on ceasefire and and the release of Israeli hostages. US President Joe Biden, too indicated that the incident will complicate the talks.

The US State Department said it was urgently seeking information on the incident. The French foreign ministry, too, has followed suit, with foreign ministry spokesperson Christophe Lemoine saying that Israel was responsible under international law for protecting aid distribution to civilians

The White House said Biden discussed the "tragic and alarming incident" with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, as well as ways to secure the release of Israeli hostages and a six-week ceasefire.
A veteran British political disruptor has won a special election in a town in northern England with a big Muslim minority following a contest that was mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the war in Gaza.

George Galloway, 69, swept to victory in Thursday's contest, winning almost 40% of the vote in the parliamentary seat of Rochdale.

In his victory speech, Galloway took aim at Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, who according to opinion polls is likely to become Britain's prime minister at the general election this year.

Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza," he said. "You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

Galloway, a former Labour member of parliament who was expelled from the party in 2003, also declared Labour is on notice and a shifting of the tectonic plates".

Labour said Galloway only won because the party pulled its support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas' attack on Oct 7. Without the backing of Labour, Ali ended up coming fourth.

Galloway's victory means that from next week, Parliament will once again be home to one of the most eloquent orators from the left wing of UK politics, who will clearly use his position to raise his opposition to Israel's operation in Gaza.

George Galloway is someone who stokes up division and fear," said Ellie Reeves, Labour's deputy national campaign co-ordinator. "This isn't how we would have wanted this by-election to play out.

The constituency of Rochdale has traditionally been a Labour seat, one where the governing Conservative Party makes little headway. Its candidate came in third.

Galloway, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, started out his political career half a century ago as a firebrand left-wing Labour MP for a constituency in Glasgow.

He has been a controversial figure for decades, and faced widespread opposition for meeting in 1994 the then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and telling him: "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.

In 2004, he returned to Parliament as a lawmaker for the anti-war Respect Party after a special election in a heavily Muslim seat in east London, but was defeated at the general election the following year.

He was elected again at a special election in 2012 with a swing of 37% from Labour to Respect but lost his seat once more in the election of 2015.

In 2019 Galloway was fired from a talk-radio show for a social media post that the radio station judged antisemitic.

As well as being an eloquent advocate for his political views, which saw him take US Senators to task in 2005, Galloway has also courted ridicule, most notably in 2006 when he impersonated a cat in the reality television show Celebrity Big Brother.
The Air Force bombers zoomed in low, dropping bombs and strafing anything in sight in the thickly populated town. Hutments, market areas, alleyways and buildings groaned to the ground in a plume of fire and smoke, even as terrified locals ran helter-skelter for dear life. Hundreds of innocent natives, including women and children, were killed, many trapped under the rubble of buildings. The people could only watch as their homes, livelihoods, places of work and worship, all went down in a hailstorm of fire power from above.

If the above description sounds like a terrible episode from, say, the Second World War, or a slice of timeline from a tinpot dictators banana republic from deep within the African continent, well, think again. It is a true incident from a less-talked-about part of Indias contemporary history, when then prime minister Indira Gandhi ordered the armed forces to crush the rebellion of the people of present-day Mizoram who called for independence.

Unthinkable in a modern society, you might say. Yet, considering the increasing narrative of muscled-up governments and chest-thumping leaderships around the world, not exactly implausible still, even in the 21st century  that is very much the contemporary relevance and urgency of Nikhil J. Alvas just-released debut novel, If I Have To Be A Soldier. The paperback weaves history and fiction to come up with a potboiler that is easily a page-turner as well as a stark reminder of the unsavoury blood-soaked foundations on which our much-prided Union is built on.

It was exactly 58 years ago, on March 1, 1966, that Mizo leader and former Indian Army soldier Laldenga (Mizoram and most of northeast was then part of the state of Assam) declared independence from India, declaring the existence of the independent state of Greater Mizoram. Indira Gandhi, who had just taken over as premier and wanting to show off, especially to the syndicate of entrenched male Congress party leaders that she had mettle, ordered Indias defence forces to crush the secession. The result was a series of massacres and mayhem that did not stop with India bombing its own citizens five days later, on March 5 (The Mizo insurgency came to a close only with a peace accord in the mid-eighties, and Laldenga becoming the first chief minister of the federated state).

Author Alvas fictional characters Sammy, an Indian soldier forced to return to the land he grew up and the dark past he thought he had left behind, and Che Sena, Sammys childhood friend-turned-insurgent, give a human face to the travails that visited these hill regions in the mid-sixties that is very much a part of India, yet, often ignored with the collective northeast terminology. As inculcated doctrines of a national narrative, jingoism and military discipline stare at identity, friendship and, above all, love, in the face, often there are no victors, only victims. That is the reality the Sammy-Sena combine has to come to terms with when they get swept away in the great power play in motion, even as it forces them to confront demons both personal and the political, along the way.

Considering that it is his first book, Alva surely does impress with his descriptive prowess and free-flowing prose, and the way he has packed in enough action across 300-odd pages. This book is equally a fast-paced airport read as it is an eye-opening vista into the multiple layers of Mizo life and history.

The author, who is the son of Congress veteran Margaret Alva who was also instrumental in the recent social media makeover of Rahul Gandhi, is a well-known TV filmmaker. This eye for the visual comes through not only with the way he brings the landscape and culture of Greater Mizoram to light, but also in the not-stopping-for-breath speed with which the story progresses, once Sammy and Sena go on the run.

Alva himself says he first wrote a screenplay on these characters and the backdrop, but then decided that only a novel could do justice to them. He thought right as he successfully manages to give life and heft of history to the characters he created. And knowing his background in TV, who knows, it is a tale perfect for the plucking for an OTT series. What say, Mr Alva?

If I Have To Be A Soldier

By Nikhil J. Alva

HarperCollins Publishers India

Price: Rs 499

Pages: 318
In 1962, British filmmaker David Lean directed an epic biography of a white man going to Arabia, joining desert tribesmen, going native to a great extent, and using his special knowledge and skills to help them win an epic war against the Ottomansone that ended up fundamentally reshaping the world. The film, Lawrence of Arabia, was a big commercial success and won several Oscars. More importantly, in the years after its release, its technical and artistic achievements redefined the very notions about the scope and possibilities of cinema as an art form.



With his second entry in the Dune saga, French-Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve could well achieve something of the sort. A primer for those who are not clued-in about the buzz: Dune is also about a white man going to the desert (albeit in a hostile planet in a distant sci-fi future), joining hands with tribesmen there, going native to a great extent, and using his special skills to win a planetary war that reshapes, well, the universe. (There is a thesis to be written on why deserts become fertile fields for cinematic artistry.)



In every conceivable way, Dunes scale is bigger than Lawrence of Arabia. If Leans film was essentially a proudly old-fashioned cultural adventure story set in one part of a vast, exotic continent, Villeneuves is a dark and dense political allegory with a violent political conflict of galactic proportions at its centre.



The book it is based on, Frank Herberts Dune, is considered a foundational classic of modern science fiction. Through the book, Herbert introduced readers to a world in the distant future, where the governing system is both futuristic and feudal. A clutch of noble houses hold entire planets as their fiefs, and they in turn are governed by a brutally calculating interstellar emperor. It is a civilisation that greatly values technical and military superiority, and the most coveted commodity is melange, or spice, a psychotropic drug that extends life and enhances cognitive abilities required for space travel.



The first entry in Villeneuves Dune saga, released in 2021, served as an introduction to the meaty part of Herberts epic. It introduced the young Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet), whose noble family is sent by the emperor to rule Arrakisthe only planet with melange deposits and, therefore, highly coveted among the noble houses. In Arrakis, the Atreides family and its standing army fall victim to interplanetary palace intrigue and are killed off. Only Atreides and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), survive. They flee deep into the desert, where the indigenous Fremen tribesmen are preparing for a war. They want to take back the planet from the foreign intruders.



The first film ended with Paul and Jessica meeting the Fremen and coming to know them better. The second entry wastes no time in picking up from where the first one left. Paul and Jessica join the Fremen, adopting the Fremen way of life as far as they could, adjusting themselves in the new order of things. The Fremen lead a drugged-out existence because the spice helps live and fight in an arid and hostile planet populated by strange creatures. They also consume another drughope in the form of religion. They believe that a messiah will come, give them redemption and make the planet green as it once was.



A section of the Fremen fashions Paul as a messiah candidate. Initially hesitant, Paul begins consuming the spice in life-changing proportions. The decisions he make alters not just his psyche and the nature of the war, but the Fremen way of life as well. He becomes, in many ways, the Lawrence of Arrakis.



To be sure, this one is not really designed as a second film in a traditional movie seriesthe film cannot stand on its own, as The Dark Knight does in Christopher Nolans Batman trilogy or, to a point, The Matrix Reloaded does in the Watchowski siblings quartet. Dune: Part Two works more like your favourite Breaking Bad episodepart of a larger whole but a work of art in its own right, meant to be watched and re-watched, appreciated and re-appreciated, long after you are done with the first binge.



This is a significant creative decision because films in general have been losing significance as a medium of art. Thats not cinema, Martin Scorsese complained of special effects-driven Marvel superhero films a few years ago. The closest I can think of them, as well-made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. Cinema, Scorsese insisted, was about revelationaesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation.



Happily, for him and us, the past few months have seen bold re-assertions of what cinema as a medium can do. There was Scorseses own Killers of The Flower Moon, a thematically ambitious, 3.5-hour study of sociopathy in America; Nolans Oppenheimer, a visually and narratively engaging biography of the Americas most mystifying scientist; and Greta Gerwigs Barbie, which flips the Marvel formula to convey a smart and subversive commentary on feminism and patriarchy.



But none of these films, perhaps, comes close to Dune: Part Two in giving new meanings to Scorseses definition of cinema as an aesthetic, emotional and spiritual revelation. Villeneuve refrains from fully exploiting the plots sci-fi sensibilitieshe could well have given it a commercially viable, theme park-like feeland instead infuses it with a subtle mix of adventure, mystery, dread and even humour. Also, within the film, Pauls journey is shown as a revelation to himself. From being a young pup, as one teacher describes him, Paul goes on to become competent in the ways of the desert, and capable and cruel in ways he could not have imagined. Jessicas own life takes turns that compel her to face up to who she really is, and accept the truth and act accordingly. Even the one principal character who has shortest character arc in the filmChani, the Fremen warrior who becomes the love of Pauls life (Zendaya, in the films standout performance)ends up in an identity crisis.



Villeneuve stuffs the tale with religious, spiritual and political underpinningsPaul becomes not just the leader of the Fremen, but their messiah as well; he eats the spice, but the spice also eats him; and he comes to learn a secret about his family that shakes not just his convictions, but also the foundations of the empire. It is a film about revelations in more ways than one.



Villeneuves narrative achievements are rivalled by the craft of his crew. The cinematography, by Greig Fraser (Zero Dark Thirty, The Batman), is a testament to why big screens are not luxury, but a necessity. His use of colour and light is masterlyif Arrakis is shown in hues that are bright and pallid as occasions demand, the world of the Harkonnens (the house that massacred the Atreides family) are shot in nearly monochrome. Fraser also gives politically loaded visualsa huge sporting event in the Harkonnen world invites associations to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.



Hans Zimmer, whose work in the previous film won him the Oscar for best original score, is in his elements. Happily, his propensity for loudness has somewhat been tamed, and his striking use of electronica with natural and more traditional sounds gives an audible authenticity to the on-screen clash between the materialistic empire and the spiritual Fremen. This is arguably his best work since Interstellar, and it is complemented by the fluid work of Joe Walker (Sicario, Arrival) at the editing table.



There are niggles, though. Chalamet, excellent as he is in the central role, comes a bit short in bringing the gravitas that the films final act calls for. And Villeneuve has not been entirely successful in avoiding, or papering over, the kooky parts of Herberts novel.



But these are trivial things. With Dune: Part Two, the project of condensing the sprawling Dune mythology (spread across 26 books and several stories) into a wieldy and coherent series of films continues in spectacular fashion. It is a project that many legendary directorsfrom Alejandro Jodorowsky to David Lynchwere unsuccessful in completing. That Villeneuve has reached it thus far, and in such fashion, makes this a cinematic breakthrough.





Movie: Dune: Part Two

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken

Rating: 5/5
For the past few days, reports about former first lady Michelle Obama emerging as the top contender to replace President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for presidency in the November elections have been doing rounds all over world media. What triggered the reports was a poll by Rasmussen Reports which found that 47 per cent of American voters think that the Democratic Party would ease Biden out and name a new candidate. The likely substitutes included Vice President Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. But the surprise leader of the pack was Michelle.

While Michelle has never shown any inclination towards any political office and has denied several times that she was interested in the top job, a couple of remarks she made earlier this year did not go unnoticed. She said she was terrified about a Republican win in November (in an indirect reference to Donald Trump) and that she was worried about the 2024 elections. Yet, despite her denials, Michelle remains perhaps the best candidate the Democrats could come up with as an alternative to Biden, but with a major caveat. It will work only if Biden agrees to step away on his own. Politically, it is virtually impossible to force Biden out so late in the campaign cycle. More importantly, the levers of power in the Democratic Party are all controlled by Biden loyalists. But if he agrees, then Michelle could be the party's standard bearer for a variety of reasons.

Race and gender

If Biden gives up his claim for a second term, the automatic choice to replace him would be Vice President Harris. But the Democrats are horrified about putting the Californian up, considering her abysmal numbers and underwhelming charisma. She is, in fact, behind Biden in all opinion polls and one of the key planks of the Republican campaign is that, should something happen to Biden, Americans will have to deal with Harris.

Despite being such a weak candidate, however, Harris cannot be pushed away easily, considering the demographic group she represents. It will, almost certainly alienate the Afro-American voters, especially women, who are such a solid voting bloc for the Democrats. Even a minor swing in this demographic against the Democratic ticket would sink the party's chances in multiple battleground states, ending any realistic chance of retaining power. Bringing Michelle in solves this dilemma for the Democratic Party. She is an Afro-American woman who came up the hard way from a blue collar Chicago neighbourhood joining Harvard Law, becoming a successful attorney, a popular organiser and a much-admired first lady.

The Obama machine

When Barack Obama launched his presidential bid back in 2007, not many people outside Chicago and Illinois knew him. But the rookie Afro-American senator built up a much-vaunted data-driven political machine that helped him win two presidential elections. At its peak, it rivalled or even dwarfed the Democratic establishment. An email list of millions of hardcore supporters, a network of committed activists and organisers, a goldmine of data-based details and an efficient fundraising system are all part of the well-oiled Obama machine. It is also blessed with a number of tried and tested political operatives who are fanatically loyal to the Obamas. Finally, the Obama voting coalition, which consists of young people, minorities and women, has the power to carry the nominee to victory. If Michelle plans to join the race, she will be armed with all these formidable advantages. And the enduring popularity and unrivalled charisma of Barack Obama will be an asset for the campaign.

Not being Biden

When Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, the joke was that he got the prize just for not being (George W.) Bush. During this election cycle, Michelle could present herself just as the non-Biden candidate because the concern of the Democratic electorate is largely about the president's age. Nearly 75 per cent of Americans have doubts about the president's cognitive skills. Special counsel Robert Hur's report questioning Biden's mental acuity coupled with the president's frequent slips of tongue have not helped. Michelle, at 60, is comparatively young, sharp and dynamic.

The Gaza war

This is an unexpected variable in the 2024 election cycle. Biden, despite his loathing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a close friend of Israel and his administration has so far offered nearly unconditional support for Israel. It has alienated a large section of progressives in the Democratic Party and much of the college and university students. During the Michigan primary on February 28, more than a lakh Democratic voters chose the uncommitted column to show their opposition to Biden's Israel policy, which is clearly a warning sign for the Democrats heading into the general elections in November.

There is also a growing rift between the Biden and the Obamas over the issue. There have been multiple reports quoting former Obama officials saying that they felt Biden was not getting it right by giving Netanyahu a free hand. An Obama administration, they say, would have imposed more restrictions on the Israeli conduct before offering more military aid. Michelle, therefore, could be a rallying point for the liberals and progressives in the Democratic Party over the issue and they will be more than happy for her to be their nominee.

But, will a switch, even if Biden agrees, work? History offers some clues. Ironically, the last president to decline a second term was another Democrat, Lyndon B. Johnson, during the 1968 elections. The Vietnam war had made him hugely unpopular and in February that year he narrowly escaped loss in the New Hampshire primary. On March 31, a week before the Wisconsin primary, Johnson shocked the world by announcing his decision to drop out. As Britannica puts it, suffering ill health, with his approval rating under 40 per cent and stung by the widespread opposition to his handling of the war, Johnson chose not to seek reelection. All three points would apply to Biden as well, especially with the growing opposition to the Gaza war.

After Johnson dropped out, his vice president Hubert Humphrey announced his candidacy, but, as the primary season was nearly over, he had to endure a tough convention battle to win the nomination. Humphrey, however, lost the general elections to Republican candidate Richard Nixon, which should come as a warning for Biden and the Democratic establishment.
Ujjain, Mar 1 (PTI) United States Consul General Mike Hankey on Friday said there are golden opportunities to increase bilateral cooperation between Madhya Pradesh and his country in areas like education and pharmaceuticals.

He was the guest of honour at the inaugural ceremony of the state government's Regional Industrial Conclave in Ujjain.

"There are golden opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation between Madhya Pradesh and the US, especially in areas like education and pharmaceuticals. The state has abundant human capital in terms of a large number of students," he told PTI.

There is a huge opportunity for growth in the food processing area in the state and a lot of goods from this sector are being exported to the US, he added.

American companies like John Deere and Cummins have plants in Madhya Pradesh, the consul general pointed out.

"The United States' partnership with India is one of our most consequential relationships. Simply put, our countries are better together," a release from the consulate general quoted Hankey as saying.

"The backbone of our bilateral relationship is our critical commercial ties. The United States is India's largest trading partner, with over 190 billion dollars' worth of goods and services exchanged last year," said the consul general.

Hankey said he was happy to be back in Madhya Pradesh to continue to work with the state government, local business, and higher education institutions to advance initiatives for mutual benefit.

"The US Mission to India looks forward to continuing our strong partnership with the people of Madhya Pradesh to foster prosperity, inclusion, and security," the consul general added.

The United States sees India as one of its strongest partners globally, and India cannot reach its true economic potential without greater inclusion of women in the formal workforce, he said.

The US Consulate General in Mumbai sees promotion of women's economic empowerment as a priority in all initiatives, he emphasised.

Hankey also visited the renowned Mahakaleshwar Temple here, the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Indore and met industry leaders.

He thanked Chief Minister Mohan Yadav for inviting him to the conclave, the release added.
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 1: In an effort to raise awareness about anemia and promote its prevention and treatment, the eight-day Anemia Rath Yatra (Anemia Chariot Campaign) has commenced in the city of Indore. This marks the fifth year of the campaign, dr dwivedi's aiming to reach five lakh people to this year.



The campaign includes the free distribution of jaggery, chickpeas, peanuts & Kharak along with educating people about the importance of blood. A team of homeopathic doctors will also create awareness about anemia. The Anemia Rath will travel through different parts of the city and rural areas until March 3, reaching out to people with information on anemia and encouraging them to increase blood levels using readily available food items at home.



The campaign was inaugurated by the Indore divisional Commissioner Shri Mal Singh Along with Dr AK Dwivedi renowned homeopathic practitioner and Member of scientific advisory Board to the Central council for Research in Homeopathy ministry of Ayush & president of Advanced Homoeo Health Center, Advanced Homoeopathic Medical Research, and Welfare Society, and Ayush Medical Welfare Foundation.



Dr. Dwivedi highlighted the need for collective efforts to combat the severe health issue of anemia and urged the appointment of Ayush doctors in various hospitals. The program was attended by officials, local representatives, and notable personalities from the healthcare sector.



Indore divisional Commissioner shri Mal Singh praised the initiative, emphasizing the significance of such awareness campaigns to combat diseases associated with anemia. He encouraged continued efforts to spread awareness in remote areas like Jhabua and Alirajpur.



In his address, Dr. Dwivedi emphasized the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for various types of anemia and called for sustained awareness campaigns. He also announced plans to establish a sickle cell anemia center in Jhabua in collaboration with Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, offering free treatment to patients.

On the said occasion, Indore's famous psychiatrists (mental illness specialist) Dr. Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Dr. Kanak Chaturvedi, Regional Councilor Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Anil Gohar, Mrs. Vaishali Vaykar, Executive Council member, Devi Ahilya University Indore, Mrs Saroj Dwivedi miss Anvika Chaturvedi and Mr. Rajesh Udawat, Indore Municipal Corporation member were present.



The program was well-received by around 150 citizens, including homeopathic medical students and social workers, indicating widespread support for the cause. The management of the campaign was overseen by Rakesh Yadav, with gratitude expressed to Deepak Upadhyay.



The eight-day Rath Yatra is set to continue its journey with the coordination of Dr. Vivek Sharma, Dr. Jitendra Puri, and Vinay Pandey. Dr. Rishabh Jain and his team will be responsible for its successful operation.



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PUNE, India, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Monika Alcobev, the trailblazer in the Indian alcobev import and distribution sector, proudly took the spotlight at the VH1 Supersonic event held at Mahalaxmi Lawns, Pune, from 16th to 18th February 2024. Monika Alcobev featured Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix as the Celebration Partner, elevating the festival experience for attendees.





Jose Cuervo, recognized as the World's No.1 Tequila brand, brought its legacy of craftsmanship and heritage to VH1 Supersonic, offering festival-goers an opportunity to savour the finest tequila blends amidst the pulsating beats and electrifying performances. The presence of Jose Cuervo at the event not only elevated the overall festival experience but also provided attendees with a taste of luxury and authenticity.



Cuervo Margarita Land, unveiled for the first time at VH1 Supersonic 2024, stood as a colourful paradise within the festival grounds, appealing to attendees with its spirited ambience and tantalizing cocktails. Spanning a sprawling 40x40 feet space, this immersive experience called out festival-goers to indulge in the vital Mexican cocktail, the margarita. Located at the centre of the space was an eye-catching 20x20 feet island bar, where talented mixologists created a variety of six margaritas, each with a unique tequila and flavour profile that provided a taste of the spirit's wide range of variations. Adorned with three captivating photo ops strategically placed at its corners, Cuervo Margarita Land became a focal point of social engagement, drawing influencers and attendees alike to capture moments of festivity and flavour. With Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix as the Celebration Partner and 1800 Tequila adding its touch of sophistication to the VIP & Artist Village area, Cuervo Margarita Land emerged as an irresistible haven, celebrating the essence of tequila-infused revelry amidst the pulsating beats of VH1 Supersonic.



VH1 Supersonic 2024 boasted an electrifying lineup, featuring global music sensations such as Major Lazer Soundsystem, ASAP Ferg, Adam Beyer, and King, alongside a host of renowned artists across various genres. The festival provided a platform for both international and Indian talents, including Yotto, Denis Horvat, Hamdi, Patrice Baumel, The Midnight, Arjun Vagale, Browncoat, Kohra, Taba Chake, and The Yellow Diary. Reggae and dub music legends like 10,000 Lions, Bass Maya, Chromaderma, and many others also graced the stage, contributing to the diverse musical showcase.



Kunal Patel, Managing Director of Monika Alcobev, shared his excitement about the partnership, "Monika Alcobev's collaboration with VH1 Supersonic as a celebration partner is a testament to our commitment to providing #OnlyTheBest experiences. Our recent participation in VH1 Supersonic 2024 was a phenomenal success, offering us invaluable insights into consumer preferences with our own 'Cuervo Margarita Land'. This has empowered us to introduce innovative blends that resonate well with the discerning tastes of Indian liquor connoisseurs."



As Monika Alcobev continues to set new standards in the import and distribution of premium foreign liquor brands in India featuring Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix, their partnership with VH1 Supersonic 2024 marks yet another milestone in their journey towards excellence and innovation.



About Monika Alcobev:



Monika Alcobev is the import, marketing & distribution company of premium and luxurious foreign liquor brands in India. Since 2015, the business has evolved into a family-owned company with a multi-disciplinary set-up that had its interests in diverse portfolios, providing a disparate range of choices for the Indian market. Monika Alcobev has recorded a turnover of Rs 650 crore in the last five years. The company's portfolio includes Bushmills Irish Whiskey (World's Oldest Licensed Distillery), Jose Cuervo Tequila (World's No.1 Tequila), Lucifer's Gold (A Blend of Scotch and Bourbon), Hayman's Gin (Family Made Gin since 1853), The Choya (No. 1 Producer of Umeshu Liqueur and India's First Umeshu Liqueur) and many more.



Website: https://www.monikaalcobev.com



About VH1 Supersonic:



VH1 Supersonic, hosted at Mahalakshmi Lawns, Pune, is an annual celebration of music, love, food, and art, attracting music enthusiasts from all over. The festival spans multiple genres including EDM, Rock, Indie, Techno, Dub, Hip-Hop, and Reggae, creating a vibrant cultural tapestry. VH1 Supersonic offers a unique experience with its Super Flea market, Super Street art and fashion explorations, ensuring attendees leave with unforgettable memories and a refreshed playlist.



Website: VH1 Supersonic



Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351341/JoseCuervoMargarita.jpg



Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2351342/MonikaAlcobevVH1_Supersonic.jpg



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Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 1: In a significant milestone for the Indian beauty industry, Franck Provost, Europe's leading hair salon brand, celebrated the opening of its first Indian salon in the vibrant locality of Indiranagar, Bangalore. This launch not only marks Franck Provost's commitment to expanding its global footprint but also introduces its unparalleled Parisian hairdressing expertise to India's burgeoning luxury beauty market.



Franck Provost, a name synonymous with French elegance and sophistication in hairdressing, stands as Europes number one and the world's leading hair salon brand. With a rich legacy that began in 1975, Franck Provost has expanded its reach to over 30 countries, boasting a portfolio of 15 brands, 3,490 salons worldwide, and serving more than 30 million customers annually. The brand is celebrated for its exceptional customer experience, expertly crafted by 25,000 associates globally, and driven by innovation and a passion for beauty.



The grand opening event was graced by Franck Provost, founder and visionary behind the brand, his son Fabien Provost, key dignitaries including Mr. Nitin Sharma, CEO & Master Franchise for Franck Provost in India and other esteemed guests. This celebratory occasion highlighted the brand's global achievements and its future aspirations in the Indian market.



Franck Provost, the founder, expressed his enthusiasm for the launch, "We are thrilled to bring Franck Provost's legacy of beauty and excellence to India. This launch is just the beginning of our journey in this vibrant country. We see immense potential here and invite partners who share our vision and passion for beauty to join us in expanding our presence across India."



Twice a year, Fabien Provost, the creative force behind Franck Provost, introduces two distinct collections: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter. These collections, embodying the brand's dedication to innovation, not only cater to the evolving trends within the beauty industry but also align with the personal style and preferences of their clientele worldwide. The Fall/Winter 2022 collection, branded as #DONTYOUDARE, and the Spring/Summer 2023 collection are vivid representations of this commitment, showcasing a blend of cutting-edge techniques and timeless elegance.



Fabien Provost, Artistic Director art Franck Provost and son of the legendary icon, highlighted the brand's commitment to innovation and excellence, "Our collections and innovations, including the latest in hair care, are designed to meet the diverse needs of our clients. With the launch in Bangalore, we look forward to introducing our Indian clientele to Franck Provost's world of exclusive beauty solutions and cutting-edge hairdressing techniques."



Mr. Nitin Sharma, CEO & Master Franchise in India for Franck Provost, said, "The increasing urban spending power in India underscores a significant demand for luxury hair care and fashion. The Franck Provost salon in Bangalore is poised to tap into this market, offering sophisticated services that cater to the discerning tastes of Indian consumers.



At the heart of Franck Provost lies a commitment to personalization, expertise, and providing an affordable luxury experience. The brand is defined by its unique approach to hairdressing, offering specialized techniques and services that are tailored to each customer's individual needs. Franck Provost has been a constant presence at glamorous events, including the Cannes Film Festival, showcasing its role as the hairstylist of choice for celebrities and the fashion-conscious public.



The brand takes pride in its "Couleurs Precieuses" and specific color services, designed to enhance the natural beauty of hair. The techniques employed are highly personalized, ensuring that each client receives a bespoke service that best fits their profile. Franck Provost's commitment to natural ingredients is evident in its new range of products, boasting up to 97% nacccural origin ingredients, including innovative solutions for hydration, color care, and hair density.



Emphasizing sustainability, the latest product lines feature key ingredients such as Vitamin C, Neroli Extract, Coconut Water, Chia Oil, Hyaluronic Acid, and White Tea, aiming to nourish, hydrate, and revitalize hair. These products reflect Franck Provosts dedication to combining luxury with nature, offering clients premium care that aligns with eco-friendly values.



Franck Provost salons are designed to offer an exceptional moment of beauty and relaxation to every client. The salon environment, inspired by Parisian elegance and contemporary style, complements the high level of service and professionalism that characterizes every Franck Provost experience. The adoption of digital tools and a strong online presence ensures that clients can always stay connected with the brand and its latest offerings.



Contact on: +917690906464 or explore our services online at www.franckprovost.in



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Thane, Mar 1 (PTI) India has flagged off the first commercial trial shipment of pomegranates to the US via sea, agri export body APEDA said on Friday.

The shipment comprising 4,200 boxes (12.6 tonnes) was sent by INI Farms from the IFC facility, MSAMB, Vashi (Navi Mumbai) on February 28, APEDA said in a statement. INI Farms has also established a value chain for pomegranates by working directly with farmers in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The fruit was sourced from Anarnet registered farmers from Sangola in Maharashtra. Significantly, the premium received by farmers was 20 per cent compared to other export markets and 35 per cent compared to domestic market. India is one of the largest producers of pomegranates in the world.

Pomegranate production in recent years has been growing at a healthy rate of 20-25 per cent. In India, the major pomegranate-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with Maharashtra contributing to more than 50 per cent of the production share.

APEDA has facilitated Pomegranates exports worth USD 58.36 million in 2022-23 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, and Oman.

It has also been actively working on improving the supply chain bottlenecks for pomegranates export and establishment of Export Promotion Forums (EPF) for pomegranates. The initiative taken by APEDA for the sea consignment will build trust between Indian exporters and foreign importers in regards to quality assurance.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Remains of five more people have been found in the mass grave discovered in Azerbaijan's Khojaly, the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office says, Trend reports.

As reported earlier, the Department of Criminalistics and Information Technologies of the General Prosecutor's Office is investigating the detection of a mass grave during excavation works carried out as part of major restoration and construction works in the center (near the former carpet factory) of the city of Khojaly liberated from Armenian occupation.

"As a result of the investigative works carried out in the said territory, the human remains of five more people were discovered. Thus it was ascertained that the human remains buried in the mass grave belong to at least 10 persons (two of them minors) who were subjected to inhuman treatment and physical violence.

The detected bone fragments were duly seized for examination and laboratory tests, and other necessary procedural actions were carried out.

The Prosecutor General's Office, together with the relevant authorities, is currently inspecting the site to fully identify the human remains buried in the area.

Additional information on the result will be provided to the public," the statement of the authority says.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Singapore, Mar 1 (PTI) T Raja Segar will take over as the editor of Singapores Tamil language newspaper Tamil Murasu from April 1, a media report said on Friday.

Segar, 61, the Hindu Endowments Boards (HEB) chief executive and former Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) CEO, will take on the top job at the paper, The Straits Times newspaper reported.

He will take over from the current editor, Jawharilal Rajendran, 66, who will continue as the papers consulting editor and oversee special projects.

Raja called joining Tamil Murasu a great opportunity and privilege to serve the Tamil community here.

I hope the experience from my previous jobs and friendships forged within the community will help me to positively contribute to the development of Tamil Murasu on all media platforms, he said.

Outgoing editor Rajendran said he was grateful to have served as the editor of Tamil Murasu.

Wong Wei Kong, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holding Medias English, Malay, and Tamil Media Group, thanked Rajendran for his dedication and contributions to the newsroom and its digital transformation over the last 18 years.

Tamil is also one of the four official languages in multi-national Singapore. The others are English, Chinese and Malay.
Colombo, Mar 1 (PTI) The mortal remains of Santhan, one of the convicts in the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, reached here on Friday for the last rites, two days after he died of cardiac arrest at a hospital in Chennai.

Santhan alias T Suthendiraraja (55), a Sri Lankan national, was one of the seven persons set free by the Supreme Court of India in 2022 after they served over 20 years in jail in connection with the assassination of Gandhi in Sriperumbudur near here in 1991.

He was admitted to a government hospital in Chennai last month for liver failure and on February 28 died following a cardiac arrest.

"The body arrived here on board the Srilankan Airlines flight UL 122 mid-afternoon. Several of his relatives were at the airport to receive the remains," said a source.

The embalmed body, draped and kept in a coffin would be taken to his house in Sri Lanka, his counsel Pugazhendhi said.

Santhan had been battling for his life for nearly a month due to liver failure diagnosed by the doctors as cryptogenic cirrhosis - a condition with no apparent underlying reason.

His brother and his counsel were by his side when he breathed his last.

On Thursday, the Madras High Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to take all necessary steps to send Santhan's body to Sri Lanka.
Tokyo, Mar 1 (PTI) India's Ambassador to Japan on Friday reaffirmed New Delhi's solidarity with the quake-hit Ishikawa Prefecture and thanked its governor for extending assistance to the Indian community there.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake, which struck Japan's northernmost peninsula of Noto on January 1, killed 241 people, 15 of whom died due to indirect causes, according to The Japan Times newspaper.

Ambassador Sibi George on Friday met the Governor of the Ishikawa Prefecture, where the Noto peninsula is located, and expressed condolences for the loss of lives caused by the earthquake.

"Ambassador @AmbSibiGeorge visited #Ishikawa Prefecture & met Honble Governor, Mr. Hiroshi Hase. Expressed his condolences for (the) loss of lives due to (the) Noto Peninsula earthquake," the Indian Embassy in Japan said in a post on X.

"Thanked for assistance extended to Indians in #Ishikawa and reiterated Indias solidarity to Ishikawa and Japan," it said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is scheduled to visit Japan next week for talks with his counterpart and other leaders.

The Indian Embassy in Japan had set up an emergency control room for Indians who wanted any assistance following the series of strong earthquakes that jolted the countrys western coastline.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wrote to his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, expressing India's solidarity with Japan and its people affected by the devastating earthquake.

The Japanese Ambassador to India, Hiroshi Suzuki, expressed gratitude to the people of India for their prayers and encouragement following the earthquake.

Dear friends in India, I am deeply grateful for so many sincere condolences, prayers and warm encouragements regarding the NotoEarthquake in Japan. Your solidarity at this very difficult time means so much for the Japanese people, Suzuki said in a post on X.
Washington, Mar 1 (PTI) Citing "strong evidence" of election rigging in Pakistan, a group of influential lawmakers, including Muslim legislators, belonging to the ruling Democratic Party has urged US President Joe Biden to withhold "recognition" of a new government in Islamabad until a transparent and credible investigation is conducted.

The February 8 general election, marred by allegations of widespread rigging, in Pakistan, resulted in a hung Parliament with independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party winning more than 90 seats at the 266-member National Assembly. Ex-premier Nawaz Sharif's PML-N bagged 75 seats and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto's PPP got 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) won 17 seats.

In a joint letter to President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers expressed concerns about "pre- and post-poll rigging in Pakistans recent parliamentary elections" and urged the US Congress to "withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted".

Islamabad is a long-standing ally of Washington and it is in the interest of the US to ensure that democracy thrives in Pakistan and that election results reflect the interests of the Pakistani people, not the interests of the Pakistani elite and military, the letter sent on Wednesday said.

Since the election resulted in a hung Parliament, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have struck a post-poll deal along with four other parties to form a coalition government, which may effectively end Khan's chances of returning to power. A party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government.

PTI has rejected the attempts by the PML-N and the PPP to form a coalition government, warning that robbing its public endorsement by the "mandate thieves" will result in the worst political instability.

"Given the strong evidence of pre- and post-poll rigging, we urge you to wait until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation has been conducted before recognising a new Pakistani government. Without taking this necessary step, you risk enabling anti-democratic behaviour by Pakistani authorities and could undermine the democratic will of the Pakistani people," the US lawmakers said.

The letter urged Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity and tasked State Department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release.

It urged the Biden administration to "make clear" to Pakistani authorities that US law provides for accountability for acts that violate human rights, undermine democracy, or further corruption, "including the potential for military and other cooperation to be halted".

The letter noted that before the elections, former prime minister Khan was sentenced to prison terms of 10 years and 14 years on "questionable charges" of leaking state secrets and corruption. Members of his PTI party "were forced" to run as independents and prohibited from using the party symbol on the ballot, "despite consistently polling as the most popular party in the country".

"Leading up to the election. PTI members faced police raids, arrests, and harassment. On the day of the election, Pakistani authorities suspended mobile calls and data, making it harder for voters to find polling stations," the lawmakers noted.

While the pre-poll rigging efforts rightly received widespread international and domestic condemnation, attention has now turned to widespread allegations of past-poll rigging, they said.

"Concerns arose after delays in reporting final results and early returns showed PTI-backed candidates on a path to victory. Over the coming days and weeks, previously reported vote totals allegedly changed dramatically, while video evidence emerged on social media of purported abuses by security forces and election officials at polling stations, as results were delayed well past legal deadlines," the letter said.

The legislators noted that findings by nonpartisan observers also lend credibility to these concerns.

According to the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), which is nonpartisan but has worked closely with election authorities, more than two-thirds of polling sites suffered from the kinds of election law violations that could have enabled changing outcomes of races, they noted, adding that these findings were echoed by other election monitors, human rights organisations, and the nation's media as well.

"This growing body of evidence and diversity of voices has led many of the leading observers, human rights organisations, and media organisations to call for a transparent, credible audit process to verify the true outcome of the election," they emphasised, urging the Biden administration "to show Pakistanis that the US stands with them in their fight for democracy and human rights".

According to a report in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, all 33 signatories are pivotal progressive Democrats essential for securing President Bidens second term.

It noted that influential Muslim lawmakers -- Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Andre Carson -- have also endorsed the "pro-PTI letter".

The letter was also signed by Indian-origin Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, the chairperson of the Progressive Caucus.
Helsinki, Mar 1 (AP) Alexander Stubb was sworn in Friday as Finland's new president and said the Nordic country has taken the final step into the Western community of values by becoming a NATO member.

The 55-year-old former prime minister replaced President Sauli Niinisto, who held the job for two six-year terms.

Stubb, a conservative, was elected head of state in a narrow February 11 runoff victory against independent candidate and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto of a left-leaning party.

Stubb has held several government posts, including foreign minister, and led the Finnish government in 2014-2015.

He and Niinisto arrived together in high hats at the 200-seat Eduskunta legislature. Stubb took his oath in Finnish and Swedish, Finland's two official languages, becoming the country's 13th president since it gained its independence from the Russian empire in 1917.

Finland joined NATO in April following Russia's 2022 attack on Ukraine. It has the military alliance's longest land border with Russia  1,340 kilometres  and is one of the most active European providers of military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

Stubb said in a speech that as a result of allying ourselves militarily and joining NATO we have taken the final step into the Western community of values" to which Finland has belonged "in spirit throughout its independence.

We will see regionalisation of power as well as unholy alliances, Stubb said. "In other words, a kind of an a la carte world, where allies are cherry-picked. We must remain alert.

The president of Finland, a nation of 5.6 million people, holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government. The president also commands the military.

Stubb is expected to remain above the fray of day-to-day politics and stay out of domestic political disputes while acting as a moral leader of the nation. The president appoints the prime minister and Cabinet members.

Niinisto said in a speech that there is concern about the future of NATO, and referred to a comment by former US President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Party's nomination this year, that he once warned a NATO ally that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries in the alliance that don't spend enough on defence.

The comment they must pay their bills' was probably drafted for domestic use," Niinisto said. It is high time to awaken to securing the state of peace, in other words, to strengthen ourselves."

Speaking to Stubb, Niinisto said, I wish you strength and wisdom in these unpredictable times.

Until recently a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, Stubb holds a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics.

Even though the world seems to be in chaos right now, we should not despair, Stubb said. Fear is the worst possible guiding principle in foreign policy."

Working together globally is necessary, otherwise we cannot mitigate climate change, solve conflicts, boost the economy, enhance well-being or manage immigration, Stubb said. (AP)

GRS

GRS
Ankara, Mar 1 (AP) Turkiye has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid, with its foreign ministry calling the event yet another crime against humanity.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

The Health Ministry in Gaza says more than 100 people were killed and at least 700 wounded. That brings the Palestinian death toll to more than 30,000 in the Gaza Strip since Israel's war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering. In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Currently:

 A Palestinian American woman who faces trial in Israeli military court is released on bail.

 Colombia pauses buying Israeli weapons and president calls war in Gaza "genocide."

 Journalism leaders ask for more protection for those covering the war.

Here's the latest:



THE EU AGREES CONDITIONS FOR GIVING USD 50 MILLION TO UN AGENCY FOR GAZA

Brussels: The European Union said Friday that it will pay 50 million euros (USD 54 million) to the main UN provider of aid in Gaza next week after the agency agreed to allow EU-appointed experts to audit the way it screens staff to identify extremists.

The UNRWA agency is reeling from allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. The agency fired the employees, but more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about USD 450 million, almost half the budget for 2024.

The EU's executive branch, the European Commission, had been due to disburse 82 million euros (USD 89 million) to UNRWA on February 29 but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit. The commission is the third biggest donor to UNRWA after the United States and Germany.

It said that the agency has now indicated that it stands ready to ensure that a review of its staff is carried out to confirm they did not participate in the attacks and that further controls are put in place to mitigate such risks in the future.

The commission said that two further tranches of funding worth 16 million euros (USD 17.3 million) each will be given to UNRWA as it complies with the agreement.

UNRWA is on the brink of financial collapse. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the EU's announcement and said that the commitment to provide money next week comes at a critical time.



TURKIYE DENOUNCES ISRAELI FORCES FIRING ON PALESTINIANS WHO WERE WAITING FOR AID DELIVERY

Ankara: Turkiye denounced Israeli forces firing on Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid as yet another crime against humanity.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza and alleged that the latest event, which left more than 100 people dead, was evidence of Israel's intention to destroy the entire Palestinian population.

The entire world must realise that the atrocity in Gaza is about to become a global catastrophe with repercussions far beyond the region, the ministry said. We therefore call on all those with influence over the Israeli government to stop the ongoing violence in Gaza. (AP) RUP
Beijing, Mar 1 (PTI) China and India have maintained constructive communication to find a mutually acceptable solution to resolve the standoff in eastern Ladakh, the Chinese military has said, underlining that Beijing attaches great importance to ties with New Delhi to jointly maintain peace at the borders.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

The two sides had positive, in-depth and constructive communication on resolving the border issues of each other's concern and agreed to reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date, Ministry of National Defence spokesperson Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang told the Chinese media at a press briefing here on Thursday, referring to the commander-level talks held on February 19 between India and China.

"China attaches great importance to the China-India military-to-military relations and hopes that India and China will work towards the same goal, enhance mutual trust, properly settle differences and jointly maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas," he was quoted as saying by China Military Online, the official news portal of the Chinese Defence Ministry.

The talks held on February 19 were the 21st round of talks between the two militaries to resolve the eastern Ladakh logjam, which will enter its fourth year in May this year.

The Chinese military action in May 2020 resulted in the Galwan Valley clash that marked the most serious military conflict between India and China in decades.

According to the Chinese military, the two sides have so far agreed to disengage at four points -- the Galwan Valley, the Pangong Lake, Hot Springs, and Jianan Daban (Gogra) -- contributing to the de-escalation of tensions along the border.

But the talks were deadlocked over reaching a similar agreement at Depsang and Demchok, where the Indian side strongly pressed for resolution of two lingering issues.

Both sides issued separate press releases on the 21st round of talks.

A press release issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the latest talks said the two sides agreed to maintain communication on the way ahead through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms.

"The discussions built on the previous rounds, seeking complete disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in eastern Ladakh as an essential basis for the restoration of peace and tranquillity in the India-China border areas," it said in a statement.

The MEA said the two sides shared their perspectives on this in the talks held in a "friendly and cordial" atmosphere.

"The two sides have agreed to maintain communication on the way ahead through the relevant military and diplomatic mechanisms. They also committed to maintain peace and tranquillity on the ground in the border areas in the interim," it said.

In Beijing, China's Ministry of National Defence said the two militaries conducted positive, in-depth, and constructive communication on resolving border issues of mutual concern.

Both sides agreed to continue communication through military and diplomatic channels, guided by the important consensus of the leaders of the two countries, to reach an acceptable solution as soon as possible and "turn the page" in the border situation, the Chinese readout on the 21st round of talks said.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake area. The Eastern Ladakh standoff has resulted in a virtual freeze of bilateral ties on all fronts except trade.

India is pressing the People's Liberation Army to disengage from the Depsang and Demchok, maintaining that there cannot be restoration of normalcy in its relations with China as long as the state of the borders remains abnormal.
Islamabad, Mar 1 (PTI) Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, a senior leader from the party headed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was on Friday elected as the Speaker, while Bilawal Bhutto's party leader Ghulam Mustafa Shah was elected as Deputy Speaker of the newly formed National Assembly amidst vociferous protests by supporters of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) candidate Sadiq beat his rival Amir Dogar, who got only 91 votes amid commotion caused by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members, to clinch the coveted post of the Speaker. Dogar was backed by Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

Out of a total 291 votes, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has got 199 votes, while his challenger Amir Dogar has got 91 votes, while one vote has been declared as invalid, outgoing Speaker, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who presided over the session held to elect his successor through the secret voting system, announced.

Sadiq, who was elected to the post for a third time, secured 199 votes out of a total of 291 votes cast.

Given its position in the Assembly, it was sure that the PML-N-backed candidate would win as the Nawaz Sharif-headed party had tied up with the PPP and other four smaller parties to keep Khan's PTI out of power.

In his final remarks, the outgoing Speaker thanked the House for keeping trust in him.

After the election as Speaker, Sadiq was administered the oath of office by Ashraf.

Sadiq after donning the special robes of the Speaker announced to organise the election of Deputy Speaker for which Shah of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was up against Junaid Akbar of SIC.

Shah secured 197 votes against his rival Akbar, who got 92 votes.

Newly-elected Speaker Sadiq, who chaired the session, said a total of 290 votes were cast, out of which eight votes were rejected as invalid. Later, Sadiq administered the oath of office to the newly-elected deputy speaker, Shah.

With the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the first phase of new appointments in the House is complete. The next phase for the election of the prime minister will start tomorrow and will be completed on Sunday.

President PML-N and Prime Minister nominee Shahbaz Sharif congratulated Sadiq on being elected the Speaker and said that he has set a unique example by being elected Speaker for the third time. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq is an experienced and talented politician. He will play an active role in the stability of democracy and the promotion of democratic values, Shehbaz Sharif posted on X.

Earlier, the sessions for the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker were marred by ruckus and sloganeering against alleged poll rigging, with the outgoing Speaker, Ashraf, repeatedly calling for order in the House.

No member can raise slogans, wave placards, he said. This is the rule, it is necessary to remind you.

Despite the Speakers warning, lawmakers continued with their sloganeering. However, Ashraf succeeded in completing the process smoothly.

The SIC lawmakers were protesting the alleged manipulation of the results of elections held on February 8.

The election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be followed by the election of the prime minister on Sunday.

Khan and PTI have alleged massive rigging in the February 8 polls and accused PML-N and its alliance partners, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of stealing his partys mandate.

Independent candidates - a majority backed by Khan's PTI - won 93 National Assembly seats. The PML-N won 75 seats, the PPP came third with 54 seats while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) won 17 seats.

Meanwhile, according to the schedule announced on Thursday by the National Assembly Secretariat, the election for the head of the government, i.e. the prime minister, would be held on Sunday. The PMN-L and PPP alliance has nominated former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif as their nominee.

Given the voting pattern on Friday, Shehbaz Sharif is set to become the prime minister for a second time. He held the post from April 2022 till August 2023 when fresh elections were announced.

The election for the new President will take place on March 9. PPP leader and former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be re-elected to the post after a gap of nearly 11 years.
* Fire at seven-storey commercial building in Bangladesh's capital kills at least 44 people.



Nikki Haley hammers Trump for being all about himself, faces protests in Virginia.



Stories on political developments in Pakistan.



Stories on Israel-Gaza war.



Stories on Russia-Ukraine war. *
Islamabad, Mar 1 (PTI) In a significant move ahead of Sunday's election of Pakistan's next prime minister, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif met Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), a politico-religious party on Friday and sought to woo him to back a coalition government.

Nawaz Sharif, who has nominated his younger brother and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, Shehbaz Sharif for the premiership, visited the residence of the cleric here.

The meeting comes ahead of the key election of the prime minister, which is set to be held on Sunday. Fazl has refused to be a part of the coalition government and expressed reservations about the results of the February 8 general elections.

A day earlier, PML-N leader Khawaja Asif said his party was still in touch with the JUI-F but refused to provide further details.

Raising serious reservations over the election results, Fazl on Thursday announced that his party would not participate in forthcoming elections for the top political slots  president, prime minister, and the National Assembly (NA) speaker.

The JUI-F, which won five National Assembly (NA), and 18 provincial assembly (PA) seats, collectively, in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), announced to stay away from being an ally of a new coalition led by the Nawaz-led PML-N party in the Centre and provinces but decided to play its parliamentary role as an opposition.

To form a government, a party must win 133 out of 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

Independent candidates - a majority backed by 71-year-old jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party - won 93 National Assembly seats. The PML-N won 75 seats while the PPP came third with 54 seats. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.

The leadership of the PML-N and the PPP have said that they have the support of an adequate number of lawmakers to form a coalition government. Going by the election of senior PML-N leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq as the Speaker on Friday, Shehbaz Sharif is set to become the prime minister on Sunday.

Sadiq, who received 199 votes, beat his rival Amir Dogar, who got only 91 votes. Dogar was backed by Khans PTI.

Friday's meeting between Nawaz Sharif and Fazl underscored a dialogue between the two former coalition partners as they navigate the political landscape, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

The report said that Nawaz Sharif and Fazl engaged in a one-on-one meeting lasting for about an hour. The deliberations primarily centred on political matters, concluding with both leaders departing in an amiable mood.

Addressing the media after the meeting, Rana Sanaullah, a senior leader of the PML-N, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

"We have endured challenging times together and have consistently sought guidance from Maulana Fazlur Rehman," he said. "Our association has weathered the storm during the PTI government, with Maulana's support."

Sanaullah clarified that Nawaz Sharif's visit was not aimed at garnering votes from JUI-F but rather to deliberate on the nation's prevailing political climate. He underscored mutual respect between the leaders, highlighting their willingness to consider each other's perspectives.

Sanaullah emphasised the cordiality observed during the meeting, asserting that there was no animosity between the two parties.

"Maulana Fazlur Rehman remains our beacon. Our earnest endeavour is to retain his counsel and ensure its efficacy," he said.

The Fazl-led party had played a vital role in running a political movement against former prime minister Imran Khan-led PTI in 2022. It was also part of the multi-party alliance of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for the successful ouster of the ex-premier Imran Khan in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan has established an Energy Efficiency Fund, Trend reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to this effect.

Will be updated
London, Mar 1 (PTI) The Welsh government has declared the year 2024 as Wales in India to celebrate the partnership between the devolved region in the south west of Great Britain and India, celebrated with a special launch event at India House in London this week.

Leading businesses, innovators, academics and community leaders came together at the Indian High Commission on Thursday to discuss two-way investment opportunities, business collaborations and cultural exchanges. The First Minister of Wales, Sir Mark Drakeford, spoke of the many highlights of a year-long programme planned as part of the Wales in India 2024 initiative.

The efforts will span such a wide range of areas in which we have a joint interest  education, arts, sports, business, healthcare  the things that are important to us both are the things that will bring us together to celebrate what we have achieved already, and then to work to strengthen those connections between India and Wales, said Drakeford.

We are so well served in Wales by a rich Indian community, who we are lucky enough to have attracted to come and make their futures part of our future; and who every single day contribute to the richness of our society and help us together to craft that confident, outward-looking Wales, he said.

The senior Labour Party leader pointed out that the Wales in India festivities were kicked off earlier this year with the Welsh Language Childrens Laureate Nia Morais addressing the Kolkata Literature Festival 2024 and will lead up to an Indo-Welsh Conclave in the coming months.

The Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, extended his missions support for all the series of events planned as part of the drive over the course of the year.

We are determined as partners to actually be part of the journey to help you with events that you do in India and be part of your events in Wales as well, said Doraiswami as he spoke of the colossal opportunities India has to offer the region.

Our idea is that we celebrate this partnership as an opportunity to showcase what we can do for each other and what Wales can benefit from the rise of the Indian economy, and how India can benefit from Wales, he said.

The diplomat listed some key areas of cooperation as technology, ranging from semiconductors to cyber security and defence; design and innovation; aviation  with Welsh manufacturing delivering hundreds of wings for Air India aircraft; and opportunities to scale up in areas such as pharmaceuticals.

Leveraging the strengths of both the countries is the key for instance, specialised injection products for vaccines where we can manufacture that in Wales and make sure it's accessible to the wider population, said Santosh Singh, Head of Business at Wockhardt UK  the Mumbai-headquartered biotech company which has an industrial base employing 400 people in Wrexham, north Wales.

The over 2,000-strong Indian student community choosing Welsh universities for higher education and the immense untapped tourism potential of the region were also flagged during a panel discussion to delve into Indo-Welsh partnerships.

It isn't just about business. It's also about people. The Welsh have been hugely hospitable hosts to an Indian community in all its colour and all its dimensions, added Doraiswami.

Besides some annual events around festivals of Holi and Diwali, the Welsh government wanted Wales in India 2024 to encompass a range of activities to celebrate Welsh and Indian traditions with exhibitions, performances, and collaborative projects to highlight the rich and diverse cultures of both nations.
Washington, Mar 1 (AP) President Joe Biden is set to host Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday for talks at the White House as the Democratic administration struggles to persuade House Republicans to pass legislation that would replenish aid to Ukraine and as both leaders face political headwinds at home.

Biden has sought to assure European leaders that the US remains behind Ukraine even as he's been unable to win passage of a supplemental foreign aid package that includes USD 60 billion for Ukraine in addition to USD 35 billion for Israel and Taiwan.

The legislation has passed the Senate, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to put it up for a vote in the House.

Ahead of Meloni's visit, White House officials said they don't have good answers for allies about finding an end to the impasse with House Republicans and reopening the American spigot of aid to Kyiv that's badly needed as Ukraine tries to fend off Russia's invasion.

I can't, again, provide a portal into the thinking of House Republicans right now, but it's obviously having a demonstrable impact not just on our national security but the security of allies and partners around the world, White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton said.

Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, passionately urged Johnson during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying that Congress must take care of America's needs first.

It will be the second meeting between Biden and Meloni in about seven months. Both leaders are grappling with war in the Middle East and Europe and looking to shore up their public standing.

Biden, 81, has begun ramping for an all-but-certain rematch in November against former President Donald Trump, the likely GOP nominee. Biden's bid for a second term is complicated by the electorate's concern about his age, frustration among some Democrats over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war and mixed feelings about the state of the American economy.

Polls show that Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy Party, which swept into power in 2022, still enjoys the most support in Italy, but it has seen a noticeable decline over the last year.

Her bloc faced a setback this week when the candidate she campaigned for was defeated in regional elections on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Meloni's popularity will be further tested with four more regional elections in 2024 and nationwide elections for Italy's representatives to the European parliament set for June.

Meloni and Biden both for different reasons seem to be in difficulty so this meeting can show the public opinion that there's a solid relationship with allies that are considered important,'' said Gianluca Pastori, an analyst at the ISPI think tank in Milan.

Meloni's visit to Washington comes after she travelled to Kyiv last week to host a Group of Seven leaders meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Leaders of Belgium, Canada and the EU Commission joined Meloni in Kyiv, and Biden and other leaders joined by video. Italy assumed its one-year presidency of the G7 in January.

During her recent visit to Kyiv, Meloni reaffirmed Italian support for Ukraine and signed a security cooperation agreement for military and technical assistance through the end of the year. Italy is also committed to helping Ukraine reconstruct historical monuments.

There was trepidation in the Biden administration when Meloni rose to power as the head of Italy's first far-right-led government since the end of World War II. But the two have found common ground over the cause of Ukraine, and Biden heaped praise on Meloni and Italy for its efforts to back Kyiv when she visited Washington in July.

The leaders' agenda also is expected to cover efforts by the US, Egypt and Qatar to broker an extended cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, and Italy's priorities for a G7 presidency.

Biden said earlier this week that he was optimistic that a cease-fire deal could be reached by early next week. But he acknowledged that a prospective deal may have been set back after Israeli troops on Thursday fired on a large crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City, according to witnesses. More than 100 people were killed.

Meloni reacted with dismay and concern to the incident.

It is urgent for Israel to ascertain the dynamics of the events and who is responsible," said Meloni, who called for intensified negotiations to reach a cease-fire and for the release of the hostages.

Meloni is set to travel to Canada to meet on Saturday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (AP)

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Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) A Centre for Avesta-Pahlavi Studies, dedicated to the study and research on the Parsi-Zoroastrian culture, is set to start at the University of Mumbai from the current academic year, the varsity announced on Friday.

The centre, to operate under the aegis of the School of Languages, will offer a range of courses and programs focusing on Parsi scriptures, classical literature, community studies, Zoroastrian culture and spiritual subjects, it said in a statement.

It would be set up in collaboration with the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard was signed on Thursday in Delhi between the University of Mumbai and the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the presence of minister Smriti Irani, the statement said.



The Ministry has provided assistance of approximately Rs 12 crore for the centre.

Irani highlighted the importance of revival of languishing languages, especially those related to notified minority communities, the release said.
Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police on Friday sought to close a case related to an alleged Rs 25,000 crore scam at the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank in which Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was among the accused.

Special public prosecutor Raja Thakre filed a C summary' report before R N Rokade, special judge for cases against MPs and MLAs. The court will hear the matter on March 15.<br>The court will now decide whether to accept the report or direct the agency to continue the investigation and file a chargesheet.<br>A C summary' report is issued by police when a criminal case is filed due to a mistake of facts, or the offence is of civil nature.

The prosecution had on January 20 filed a second closure report in the case, saying nothing incriminating was found even after a fresh investigation.

The EOW had filed its first closure report in September 2020, and the court had accepted it.

But in October 2022, the EOW informed the special court that it was conducting further investigations based on points raised by the complainants (who had filed a petition opposing closure) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as deputy CM in July 2023 after parting ways with his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar.

The EOW filed the First Information Report (FIR) in the case under Indian Penal Code sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act following a Bombay High Court order of August 2019.

The case pertained to loans of thousands of crores of rupees obtained by sugar cooperatives, spinning mills and other entities from district and cooperative banks in the state.

The FIR named Ajit Pawar, then a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and more than 70 others who were directors of the MSC Bank during the relevant period, as accused.

The state exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 25,000 crore between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017, due to irregularities at the bank, the FIR claimed.



Banking and Reserve Bank of India regulations were violated while disbursing loans to sugar mills at very low rates and selling off assets of defaulter businesses at throw-away prices, the EOW then alleged.
Mumbai, Mar 1 (PTI) A Maharashtra minister and an MLA, both belonging to the ruling Shiv Sena, were seen engaging in an altercation in the lobby of the Vidhan Bhavan, the state legislature complex here, with the opposition targeting the government, terming the incident as "serious".

The fracas between Dada Bhuse, state Public Works Department (PWD) minister and Karjat MLA Mahendra Thorve, took place on the last day of the Budget session of the state legislature.

The drama unfolded just after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the party that both of the leaders belong to, went inside the Vidhan Bhavan complex along with other MLAs.

When Bhuse and Thorve argued, another minister Shambhuraj Desai and Shiv Sena's chief whip Bharat Gogawale intervened and defused the tense situation.

This is for the first time that members of the ruling party engaged in an altercation in this manner in the legislature complex.

Talking to reporters later, Thorve said, "When I asked Bhuse about development works in the constituency, he raised his voice...If development works don't happen on time, what should one do?"

Meanwhile, Desai said no scuffle broke out between the two Shiv Sena members.

"No cameras are allowed inside the Vidhan Bhavan building. What proof do you have?" he asked.

"The two MLAs were discussing development works, during which one of them spoke loudly. We took them inside and resolved the matter. The minister was trying to tell the MLA about the technical difficulties," he said.

The issue also resonated in the legislative council with Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve seeking clarification on the issue. This led to a ruckus by the opposition members in the House prompting Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe to adjourn the proceedings for an hour.

In the assembly, opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) legislators said two members of the House clashed in the Vidhan Bhavan lobby, and termed the incident as "serious".

They demanded that the House be adjourned to give time to the government to issue a statement over the issue.

Congress MLA Prithviraj Chavan asked if the CCTV footage can be accessed.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said he has spoken to Bhuse and Thorve, and both of them denied that there was any scuffle between them.
Barwaada (Jharkhand), Mar 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday sounded the poll bugle in Jharkhand's Dhanbad, asserting that the NDA will win 400 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as the country is relying on Modi's guarantee.

He also accused the opposition INDIA bloc of creating hurdles in the implementation of 'Jal Jeevan Mission' and 'Awas Yojana' schemes.



"Abki bar 400 par (this time we will win over 400 seats) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as the country is relying on Modi's guarantee. Where all hopes from others end, Modi's guarantee begins," the prime minister said addressing a public meeting 'Vijay Sankalp Maharally' here.

The revival of plants like the Sindri fertiliser unit, and North Karanpura power project are examples of fulfilment of Modi's guarantee, he said.

Launching a scathing attack on the JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand, Modi alleged that it looted the state.

"I have not seen such huge bundles of notes which were recovered from Jharkhand...Whatever money has been looted from people has to be returned to them. This is Modi's guarantee," he said.

"Extortion is at its peak in the JMM-led regime in the state, and appeasement policy had led to infiltration," PM Modi said.

He also attacked the INDIA alliance, stating that the opposition bloc is "anti-development and anti-people".
New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) The Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi, is developing a first-of-its-kind indigenous room-temperature quantum computer that will use photons for faster calculations, according to officials.

The computer, being developed as part of the National Quantum Mission, will be unique in its ability to analyse data and suggest solutions with 86 per cent accuracy without traditional algorithms, they said.

Quantum computing is a rapidly emerging technology that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to solve problems too complex for classical computers.

"We are constructing a room-temperature optical Quantum computer capable of solving feature learning and classification problems instantly.

"With a sophisticated user interface, quantum simulator and quantum processing capabilities in place, our computer will operate as a graphics processor (GPU) instead of CPU, seamlessly processing inputs such as videos or photographs," said C S Yadav, the chairperson of the Center for Quantum Science and Technologies (CQST) at IIT-Mandi.

It will extract a model to explain inherent dynamics hidden in the input data and deliver output as quantum live feed, he said.

"Composing a quantum algorithm is tedious. Yet our computer will mirror the inquisitive mind of a scientist, swiftly suggesting an approximate theoretical model for unknown big data with an 86 per cent accuracy, all without relying on algorithms," Yadav told PTI.

According to Yadav, there is a lot of buzz about quantum computing and companies like Google and IBM have made their own quantum computers.

"So let's say that those companies are making a quantum computer which is based on a superconducting Josephson junction qubit. To do that quantum computing you will require a very very low temperature. So, our objective is to make a photon-based quantum computer at room temperature," he said.

Josephson junction is a device that provides the non-linearity needed to turn a superconducting circuit into a qubit.

Yadav explained that the room-temperature optical quantum computer will use light for doing fast calculations. Using quantum bits (qubits), the computer will exist in multiple states simultaneously, allowing incredibly fast processing. The system will be able to update itself and erase its memory using a special gel.

"We are focusing on scaling up the quantum computing system from handling 16 tasks to 1,024 tasks simultaneously. To achieve this, the team is developing three crucial components: a single photon source, a phase-sensitive single-photon avalanche diode and a multipurpose coincidence counter. These components are vital for building quantum computers and will be developed up to a high level of reliability and effectiveness," he said.

According to IIT-Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera, CQST is making significant strides in quantum computing technology and is poised to revolutionise various sectors.

"Through the National Quantum Mission, we are advancing the field with groundbreaking innovations aimed at enhancing feature learning and classification capabilities across genetics, astrophysics, finance, and weather forecasting. Strategically selecting the three immediate products, we are poised to develop each component vital for building quantum computers," he said.

"Through collaboration with startups and by establishing a robust supply chain, we aim to commercialise these components locally, reducing import dependency and saving significant costs for the government. This approach not only fosters indigenous innovation but also facilitates broader participation in the Quantum revolution, aligning with the aspirations of the National Quantum Mission," Behera added.
New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) India on Friday said it is "deeply shocked" at the loss of lives in northern Gaza during the delivery of humanitarian aid, a day after more than 100 people were killed and over 700 injured in an incident.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for "extreme concern".

"We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza yesterday during delivery of humanitarian assistance," the MEA said.

"Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern," it added.

India also called for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance to the people of Gaza.

"We reiterate our call for safe and timely delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance," the MEA said.

There was no reference to Israel in the statement.

More than 100 people were killed and over 700 injured when Israeli troops fired on a large crowd of Palestinians trying to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza, according to reports.

India has been calling for de-escalation of the situation and creating conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Palestine issue.

There have been sharp international reactions to the incident, with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemning it.

"I condemn Thursday's incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid," he wrote on X.

"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week," Guterres added.

Israel has been continuing its military offensive in Gaza as part of its retaliation to an unprecedented attack on Israeli cities by Hamas on October 7 last year.

Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel and abducted more than 220, some of whom were released during a brief ceasefire.

More than 29,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the Israeli offensive, according to Hamas-run authorities in Gaza.
Barabanki (UP), Mar 1 (PTI) Three people, including two minors, were killed after a speeding truck hit their motorcycle here on Friday, police said.

Kotwali Ramsanehighat SHO Omprakash Tiwari said Neeraj (34), a resident of Sumerganj town, was on his way to drop his daughter Yogita (7) and niece Vartika (6) to school in Bhitaria when they met with an accident in the Bani Kodar area, they added.

A speeding truck hit their bike from behind , following which the two girls died on the spot and Neeraj was seriously injured, Tiwari said.

He was rushed to a district hospital. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was referred to Lucknow Trauma Centre, where he succumbed to injuries, the SHO said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem and police have taken the truck into custody. Further investigation is underway, he said.
Shimla, Mar 1 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh minister Vikramaditya Singh met the state's six disqualified Congress MLAs in Haryana's Panchkula on his way to Delhi on Friday when he was also scheduled to hold talks with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Talking to the media persons here, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Vikramaditya Singh informed him on Thursday that some of the Congress rebels had approached him and wished to come back.

"I told Vikramaditya Singh to talk to these rebels MLAs and the Congress central leadership," the chief minister said, adding that the family members of these rebel MLAs were talking to them and they want to be in the Congress.

"Vikramaditya Singh will meet with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi today and we will see what development takes place but there is no threat to the government," he said.

The six Congress rebels had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha election for the lone seat in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, leading to the defeat of the partys official candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

This triggered a crisis and the party's central leadership sent a team of observers to talk with Congress MLAs in Shimla. Meanwhile, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six MLAs for allegedly defying a party whip on voting for the state Budget in the assembly.

After the cross-voting, Vikramaditya Singh, state Congress chief Pratibha Singh's son, had announced his resignation from the Cabinet but softened his stand after a meeting with the observers.

Sukhu said the rebels are staying at a hotel in Panchkula. "We will see what to do when they enter Himachal," he added.

On whether the Congress would take the rebels back, Sukhu said, "I have already cleared my stand on the issue..." The chief minister said at a press conference a day before that the party was ready to take the rebels back.

According to his official programme, Singh, who is the Congress-run state's public works minister, is on a two-day trip to Delhi where he will meet Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Saturday.

The state's Congress chief Pratibha Singh, who has in the past expressed dissatisfaction with the functioning of the Sukhu government, said the PWD minister has gone to Delhi for some engagements and would also meet the Congress high command.

There is unease in the ruling party as the BJP has repeatedly claimed that some more Congress MLAs were in touch with them and that the government would not last long.

The disqualified MLAs will challenge the orders of the speaker in the Supreme Court, one of them, Rajinder Rana, told PTI on Thursday.

Following the disqualification of the rebel legislators, the effective strength of the House has reduced from 68 to 62 while the number of Congress MLAs has shrunk from 40 to 34. The BJP has 25 MLAs and the remaining three are Independents.

The Independent MLAs were among the nine MLAs who cross-voted in favour of the BJP Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The financing of the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor and any other project related to natural gas must be done in such a way as not to undermine our main target. There was and there is a big demand from Europe for Azerbaijani gas, said President Ilham Aliyev as he addressed the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held in Baku on March 1, Trend reports.

We have been approached by many countries. As I said, six already are recipients of our natural gas. There are several more where we have negotiations. The gas is needed and we have the resources, we have infrastructure. And I think that financing from European financial institutions, at least of this project, must be done based on a realistic approach and should not be overshadowed by general anti-fossil fuel trends. We all know what is happening. Azerbaijan, as I said, is in an active phase of green transition, but at the same time, no one can ignore the fact that without fossil fuel, the world cannot develop, at least in the foreseeable future, the President added.
Haridwar, Mar 1 (PTI) A case of fraud has been registered against Novus Path Lab here and its partner doctor Sandhya Sharma in connection with the alleged fake Covid testing scam during Kumbh Mela 2021.

A large-scale fraud was committed by the lab in the RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen tests done during the Kumbh Fair in total violation of the norms set by the Indian Council of Medical Research, Superintendent of Police (City) Swatantra Kumar said.

An examination of the ICMR data of the said laboratory revealed that most of the entries made by it on the council portal regarding the tests were fake, he said.

The lab operators indulged in a criminal conspiracy and earned unfair profits by cheating, he said.

The government suffered huge revenue loss due to the fake test reports and fake entries in bills and records, the official said.

Novus Path Lab received the wrong payment of Rs 2,41,20,486.

A case has been registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467, 468 (forgery), and 471 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code against the lab operator and Sharma.

Uttarakhand Health Department had handed over the testing work to three private test labs including Max Corporate Service, Nalwa Laboratory, Hisar and Lalchandani Path Lab, who gave the testing work to the local Novus Path Lab.

The matter came to light when thousands of Covid tests were shown on a single phone number.
Jaunpur/Mirzapur (UP), Mar 1 (PTI) There should not only be smart cities but also smart villages, Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday.

Gadkari made the remark after he laid the foundation stone of 19 projects worth Rs 10,000 crore at a function organised on the campus of BRP Inter College in Jaunpur district.

"Farmers should not only be food providers but also energy providers. Today my car runs on ethanol which is produced by farmers. Also there should be not only smart cities but also smart villages," he said.

The minister said farmers should be debt-free and get fair prices for their crops.

He said that when Narendra Modi became the prime minister in 2014, the total length of national highways in Uttar Pradesh was 7,343 km. "In 2024 this length will become 13,000 km."

In Mirzapur, Gadkari laid foundation stones of a 15 km-long bypass, a bridge crossing Ganga, and approach road to be built at a combined cost of Rs 1,708.62 crore.

Before he embarked on his schedule, the minister in the morning prayed at Maa Vindhyavasini temple in Mirzapur.

He then addressed a gathering on the campus of Polytechnic College.

"Connectivity is the basis of development and it has a very important contribution in the development of any country," he said there.

Union Minister of State for Commerce and local MP Anupriya Patel also addressed the public meeting.
Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) A fire broke out at a school's hostel building in north Kolkata on Friday, police sources said.

The fire caused damage to two rooms of the hostel.

Three fire tenders were pressed into service after people saw flames emanating from the rooms at noon, the police sources said.

The firefighters brought the flames under control shortly, and there were no reports of any injuries in the incident, they said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, they added.
Wayanad, Mar 1 (PTI) Police on Friday arrested two more persons in connection with the recent death of a student of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University at Pookode here.





The two had surrendered last night following the intense pressure exerted on them by the cops, a senior police officer of the district said. Besides them, a third accused was caught from Kollam district yesterday and is presently in custody, the officer said, adding that his arrest has not yet been recorded. All three are among the 12 main accused in the case, police said.





Presently, nine students have been arrested in connection with the death of 20-year-old Siddharthan, a second year Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry student, who was found hanging in his hostel bathroom on February 18.







State Food Supplies Minister G R Anil, who visited the victim's family today, told reporters that the government was viewing the issue very seriously and strict legal action would be taken against the culprits.







The minister also said that there would be an unbiased investigation of the matter and anyone, including college authorities, found to be involved in it would face appropriate legal action.







"It is not a political issue," he added.







AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil also met the victim's family today.







After meeting the family, Venugopal told reporters that "it was a clear cut case of murder".







The AICC general secretary also questioned what the college authorities were doing to prevent such incidents.







Venugopal also accused Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of turning SFI into a criminal organisation.







Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had yesterday directed the state police chief to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe Siddharthan's death and ordered that strict legal action be taken against the accused in the case.







On Wednesday, six out of the 18 accused in the case were arrested. However, they were not among the 12 main accused.







The police, which had initially registered a case of unnatural death, had later booked 12 students for various offences, including abetment of suicide, wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means under the IPC and the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act.







Subsequently, the number of accused increased to 18.







Siddharthan's death has stirred up the political waters in the state with the Congress and the BJP accusing the ruling CPI(M)'s student wing SFI of beating the young man to death.







The Students Federation of India (SFI) has denied the allegations.







The victim's parents have claimed that some of his college mates told them that he was beaten to death by some local SFI leaders and activists.







The father contended that according to the postmortem report, his son's body had three days' worth of injuries and an empty stomach, which indicated that he was brutally beaten up and not given any food.
This Tuesday was the second installment in Agudahs three-part advocacy mission to Albany. This weeks mission consisted of delegates from Queens and Long Island who traveled to meet with their legislators and discuss issues facing their communities.

Since the October 7 Hamas attacks, antisemitism has been increasing rapidly. This unfortunate uptick is especially apparent in New York State, which is home to thousands of Jews and hundreds of Jewish schools. Therefore, ensuring our childrens safety in schools is paramount, and one of Agudath Israels top priorities. The Nonpublic School Safety Equipment Grant (NPSE) reimburses schools for safety and security measures, guaranteeing their ability to keep their students safe. Agudah advocates encouraged all the legislators they met with to support a doubling of the NPSE allocation to $90 million.

Another issue on the table was universal school lunch. Last year, the New York State budget included an allocation that partially funded universal school meals. Agudah, together with other advocates, is advocating strongly for an allocation to fully fund universal school meals.

Mission members met with Assemblymembers Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-23), Sam Berger (D-27), Andrew Hevesi (D-28), Charles Lavine (D-13), Steve Stern (D-10), and David Weprin (D-24), and Senators Joseph Addabbo (D-15), Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick (R-9), John Liu (D-16), Monica Martinez (D-4), Jack Martins (R-7), James Sanders (D-10), and Toby Ann Stavisky (D-11).

Agudahs Queens/Long Island Albany Day was a unique opportunity to experience the world of advocacy that Agudah is involved with daily, said Rabbi Ari Ginian, executive director of Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island. The safety of their students is of the upmost priority to all schools. Going to Albany gives us the opportunity to speak with our legislators and communicate to them what our current security situation is like and impress on them the vital need for increased security funding.

Agudah firmly believes in the importance of legislators having the opportunity to meet their constituents face-to-face, really getting to see the communities they represent, said Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, director of New York government relations. Bringing groups of community members to Albany facilitates that goal and helps the Agudah better advocate for our communities.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain is descending into mob rule because of the pressures created by protests against the Israel-Hamas war.

Sunak told a meeting of police leaders on Wednesday that there was a pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behavior thats intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job.

There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule, he said, according to a transcript released by the prime ministers office. And weve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently.

Mass protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to central London almost weekly to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

There have been dozens of arrests over signs and chants allegedly Hamas, a banned organization in Britain. Jewish organizations and many lawmakers say the mass marches have created an intimidating atmosphere for Jewish Londoners.

Divisions over the conflict in Gaza have convulsed British politics, with some lawmakers saying they fear for their safety after receiving threats over their positions on the war. Reports of antisemitic in Britain have soared since Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which triggered Israels invasion of Gaza.

A debate last week in the House of Commons on whether to call for a cease-fire descended into chaos amid allegations the speaker of the house had bent parliamentary rules in response to pressure from pro-Palestinian activists.

During the debate, protesters projected From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free  a slogan calling for the destruction of Israel  onto Parliaments Big Ben clocktower.

On Saturday, Sunak suspended Conservative lawmaker Lee Anderson from the party for saying London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, was controlled by Islamists and had allowed them to take charge of the city.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested at the house of a Conservative lawmaker earlier this month, while environmental activists have targeted Sunaks family home in northern England.

The prime minister met police chiefs after announcing a 31-million-pound ($40-million) fund to step up security for lawmakers after politicians reported threats and intimidation connected to the war.

At Wednesdays meeting, the government told police chiefs that protests at politicians homes should generally be considered to be intimidatory.

Sunak told officers to take a robust approach  to protect our democratic processes from intimidation, disruption, from subversion.

British lawmakers have a tradition of meeting regularly with constituents in their local communities, but security has been tightened after several attacks in the last decade. In 2016, Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was killed by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was murdered in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

Voters in the town of Rochdale in northwest England went to the polls Thursday to elect a lawmaker, after a chaotic special election campaign dominated by the Gaza war. The Labour Party disowned its candidate, Azhar Ali, for claiming that Israel allowed Hamas Oct. 7 attack to happen as a pretext to invade Gaza.

His name remains on the ballot, alongside candidates including George Galloway, a former Labour lawmaker who is campaigning against Labours stance on the Israel-Hamas war, and Simon Danczuk, yet another former Labour legislator who now represents the right-wing Reform U.K.

(AP)
A Russian rocket on Thursday successfully put an Iranian satellite into orbit, a launch that underlined increasingly close cooperation between Moscow and Tehran.

Russias state-run Roscosmos corporation said that a Soyuz rocket blasted off from the Vostochny launch facility in the countrys far east to carry the Iranian satellite and 18 Russian satellites into orbit.

The Iranian state TV said the 110-kilogram (242-pound) satellite has three cameras to take images for environmental, agricultural and other purposes.

Irans state TV said the satellite will be put into orbit around the North and South Poles, synchronized to be in the same fixed position relative to the Sun, and will be fully functional after a calibration of its systems.

Thursdays launch comes after Russia put into orbit the Iranian Khayyam satellite in 2022.

Irans Communication Minister Isa Zarepour told the TV that Irans space program has had a total of 23 launches, including 12 during President Ebrahim Raisis administration.

(AP)
Innovo Publishing LLC Releases 'High and Dry on the Beach' by P. M. Hoekstra

Summary / Description: Innovo Publishing LLC is excited to release High and Dry on the Beach, a non-fiction book documenting the history of LST-311. From a diary written by a crew member and other eye-witness accounts, this is the tale of World War II as a crewmember of an LST. With more than seventy never-before-seen photos, High and Dry on the Beach presents a black and white pictorial history that illuminates the experience of LST crews fighting the war in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy. The hardback case edition is available now in the US and internationally.

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Innovo Publishing LLC

March 1, 2024

MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 1, 2024 /Standard Newswire/ -- Innovo Publishing LLC is excited to release a new historical title, High and Dry on the Beach, written by P. M. Hoekstra. In July 1941 Winston Churchill sent a telegram to Franklin Roosevelt stating that in the fight to save the world from the Nazis, it would be necessary not only to have great numbers of tanks but also to have sea-going vessels capable of landing them directly onto the beaches of Europe. Soon thereafter the Landing Ship Tank (LST) was designed.

By late 1942, LSTs of the U.S. Navy were afloat and active in the war effort. This outwardly clumsy and unsightly vessel quickly became one of the most important and effective warships in the Allied victory in World War II. Whether student or teacher, young or old, all readers will be captivated by the truly remarkable stories forged in the great walls of this marvelous vessel of war.

This beautifully illustrated book provides a detailed view into the historical events that took place on and around one seemingly insignificant sea vessel. With first-hand accounts from landmark events such as the crossing of the Atlantic, the invasion of Sicily, the bombing of LST-313, and landings at Salerno, this book is captivating in its commitment to story and factual detail. Readers who enjoy history will no doubt discover something new in this compelling and educational masterpiece. -- Dr. Bart Dahmer, Founder and CEO, Innovo Publishing LLC

High and Dry on the Beach is available now in the US and internationally in case hardback (ISBN: 978-1-61314-977-5) edition.

About the Author: Philip Hoekstra is a writer from Memphis, TN. He is a chemist by trade, author of many technical papers, and recipient of two Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge awards. Raised on a farm in Iowa, as a young boy, Philip listened to war stories told by his uncles, describing their experiences in WWII. This is his fathers war story.

SOURCE Innovo Publishing LLC

CONTACT: Bart Dahmer, bartdahmer@innovopublishing.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has made amendments to the "Regulation on the information system of electronic water management" approved by a decree dated February 13, 2021, Trend reports on Friday.

The President signed a decree in this regard.

According to the decree, the operator of the information system "Electronic water management" was changed. Thus, the "e-gov Development Center", subordinated to the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, has been replaced by Innovations Center LLC.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
On July 18, 1994, an explosion destroyed the Buenos Aires headquarters of the Argentine-Israelite Mutual Association, a Jewish community center. The worst such attack in the history of Argentina left 85 dead and more than 300 injured.

Official reports established that the attack on the center, known by its Spanish initials AMIA, was carried out with a car bomb. Prosecutors blamed former Iranian officials who would have operated through Hezbollah and a local contact.

Authorities have maintained these conclusions, but in the past 30 years no one has been convicted for planning or carrying out the bombing. During this time, new indictments have been filed  among them, two against former Argentine presidents  and the chief investigator of the case died under suspicious conditions.

Heres a look at the case.

In what context did the attack take place?

It occurred two years after a bombing attack against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires that killed 29 people; the Argentine government blamed Iran.

Argentinas Jewish community is the largest in Latin America. Its population in Buenos Aires is approximately 180,000 and nationwide its 230,000, according to Daniel Pomerantz, AMIAs executive director.

What did the early investigations say?

The first official hypothesis indicated that the car bomb was provided by an Argentine whose connection to Iran has never been established.

After a trial held between 2001 and 2004  with 1,500 witnesses called  a court determined that the judge overseeing the case had lost impartiality. All the accused were acquitted.

A second case was opened afterward to look into irregularities during the investigation. Former President Carlos Menem was accused of interfering with the investigation but was absolved in 2019. Unlike him, former Federal Judge Juan Jose Galeano, who headed the initial bombing investigation, was found guilty of embezzlement and malfeasance and sentenced to six years in prison.

Who was Alberto Nisman and why was his investigation key for the case?

Nisman took charge of the case in 2005. In 2015, he was found dead in his apartment four days after accusing then-President Cristina Fernandez of covering up the role of Iranians who had been charged in the attack.

An early investigation stated that Nisman committed suicide, but a later report showed that it was a homicide. The case has not been resolved.

According to Nismans accusation, Fernandez, her then-foreign minister, Hector Timmerman, and others had collaborated in a conspiracy to provide impunity to those accused in the AMIA case.

Back in 2006, Nisman requested the arrest of Irans president, his foreign minister and other officials, as well as the operational head of Hezbollah. A judge issued the international arrest warrant against nine people considered the masterminds of the attack, and a year later Interpol issued red notices against five of them. The notices are requests to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition

Irans government denies any involvement in the attack and has refused to turn over the people sought for trial in Argentina.

According to Nismans accusation, Fernandezs government made an agreement with Iran in 2013: in exchange for favorable deals on oil and other goods, it would ensure that Iranian officials involved in the attack would escape prosecution.

Fernandez, who is also accused of alleged money laundering and illicit association on another case, is still awaiting trial for the alleged cover-up. She has always denied any wrongdoing, alleging that her governments agreement with Iran was intended to facilitate the interrogation of the accused.

After Nismans death, new prosecutors were appointed to the AMIA case and it remains open.

(AP)
A federal judge on Thursday blocked a new Texas law that would give police broad powers to arrest migrants suspected of illegally entering the U.S., dealing a victory to the Biden administration with a broad rejection of Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts immigration enforcement effort.

U.S. District Judge David Ezras preliminary injunction pausing a law that was set to take effect March 5 came as President Joe Biden and his likely Republican challenger in November, Donald Trump, were visiting Texas southern border to discuss immigration.

The state attorney generals office immediately appealed the ruling, according to a statement Thursday.

The ruling rebuked Texas immigration enforcement effort on multiple fronts, brushing off claims by Republicans about an ongoing invasion along the southern border due to record-high illegal crossings. Ezra also said the law violates the Constitutions supremacy clause, conflicts with federal immigration law, and could hamper U.S. foreign relations and treaty obligations.

It is the second time in six months that Ezra has stopped one of Abbotts border escalations, having also ruled against a floating barrier Texas erected in the Rio Grande.

Allowing Texas to permanently supersede federal directives due to a so-called invasion would amount to nullification of federal law and authority  a notion that is antithetical to the Constitution and has been unequivocally rejected by federal courts since the Civil War, the judge wrote.

Opponents have called the Texas measure the most dramatic attempt by a state to police immigration since a 2010 Arizona law that opponents derided as the show me your papers bill. The U.S. Supreme Court partially struck down the Arizona law, but some Texas Republicans want that ruling to get a second look.

In his decision, Ezra wrote that the Texas law was preempted by the decision in the Arizona case, adding that the two laws had striking similarities. He also struck down state officials claims that large numbers of illegal border crossings constitute an invasion, saying calling it such is a novel interpretation of the Constitutions invasion clause and that allowing the law to stand would be permitting the state to engage in war.

Although some may empathize with Texas officials claims regarding the federal governments handling of immigration policy, it is not an excuse to violate the Constitution, the judge wrote.

In a statement, Abbott blamed the influx of migrants on Biden and said we will not back down in our fight to protect our state  and our nation.

Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Bidens ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border, he wrote, noting that he believes the case will ultimately end up before the Supreme Court.

Civil rights groups who sued the state have argued that if allowed to stand, the law  Senate Bill 4  could lead to civil rights violations and racial profiling. They released a joint statement celebrating the decision.

With todays decision, the court sent a clear message to Texas: S.B. 4 is unconstitutional and criminalizing Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities will not be tolerated, said Jennifer Babaie, director of advocacy and legal services with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center.

The Biden administrations lawsuit over the law is one several legal battles between it and Texas over how far the state can go to try to prevent migrants from crossing the border.

Under the rejected law, state law enforcement officers could arrest people suspected of entering the country illegally. Once in custody, they could agree to a Texas judges order to leave the country or face a misdemeanor charge for entering the U.S. illegally. Migrants who dont leave after being ordered to do so could be arrested again and charged with a more serious felony.

Texas has been arresting migrants for years under a more limited program based on arrests for criminal trespassing.

At a Feb. 15 hearing, Ezra expressed skepticism as the state pleaded its case. Ezra, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, said he feared the U.S. could become a confederation of states enforcing their own immigration laws. In his ruling, he doubled down on the thought, adding that SB4 threatens the fundamental notion that the United States must regulate immigration with one voice.

Republicans who back the law have said it would not target immigrants already living in the U.S. because of the two-year statute of limitations on the illegal entry charge and would be enforced only along the states border with Mexico.

Other Republican governors have expressed support for Abbott, who has said the federal government is not doing enough to enforce immigration laws.

Among other things, Texas placed the floating barrier in the Rio Grande, put razor wire along the U.S.-Mexico border and stopped Border Patrol agents from accessing a riverfront park in Eagle Pass that they previously used to process migrants.

(AP)
Early estimates suggest flu shots are performing OK in the current U.S. winter flu season.

The vaccines were around 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctors office, clinic or hospital, health officials said during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccines meeting Wednesday. Children who were vaccinated were roughly 60% less likely to get treatment at a doctors office or hospital, CDC officials said.

Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective.

The shots tend to do better when they are well matched against the circulating flu strains. Officials say thats whats happened during this  relatively typical  flu season.

Annual flu vaccines are recommended for everyone 6 months and older in the U.S. About half of eligible kids and just under half of adults got flu shots in the last several months, according to CDC data.

The CDC uses several systems to track the vaccines. One is a network of hospitals that offer information on how well the vaccines prevent flu-related illnesses bad enough to require admission. Another draws on outpatient data from urgent care clinics and hospital emergency departments.

Estimates from four different surveillance systems were presented at Wednesdays meeting of a committee that advises the CDC on vaccines. The findings were reported as ranges, but their midpoints hovered close to 40% for adults and around 60% for children.

The adult effectiveness estimate is similar to what CDC initially reported for last flu season. The shots proved less effective in some other recent seasons, the results influenced by what virus strain was dominating and how well the vaccines were matched to it.

One committee member expressed disappointment at recent effectiveness findings.

There seems to be diminishing returns for annual influenza immunization, said Dr. Sarah Long, of Drexel University.

Long asked whether repeated vaccinations, year-after-year, might be leading to lower immune system responses. A CDC official said some researchers have been exploring that question, so far without conclusive results.

One thing that does seem to arise consistently from these things is that in general you are better off if you got vaccinated than if you didnt, said the CDCs Dr. Lisa Grohskopf.

(AP)
A new Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey finds former President Donald Trump is ahead of President Joe Biden in seven critical battleground states, with a significant portion of voters expressing concerns about Bidens age. The poll shows Trump leading Biden by five percentage points across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

In these states, Trumps lead ranges from 49%-43% in Arizona and Georgia to 46%-42% in Michigan and Wisconsin, highlighting a competitive edge in the upcoming electoral battle. Moreover, Trump would also win in a five-way ballot test, securing 43% of the support against Bidens 37%, with Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emerging as the top third-party candidate with 9% of the vote.

The survey also reveals serious voter apprehension regarding Bidens suitability for office due to his age, with 82% of respondents considering Biden, at 81, as too old for the presidency. This contrasts sharply with perceptions of Trump, where only 47% viewed him as having aged out of the role.

However, Trump is viewed by 59% of those surveyed as dangerous for the country, compared to 48% for Biden. Trumps mental fitness and health are also being questioned by voters, with only 43% describing him as mentally fit and 45% as in good health, figures that are still starkly better than Bidens 26% and 19%, respectively.

Also, 53% of swing state voters said they have little or no trust in Vice President Kamala Harriss capability to assume the president if Biden is unable to continue on.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has is defending sanctuary city policies and attacking Mayor Eric Adams proposal to modify New York Citys stance on limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The Mayors suggestion, aimed at easing restrictions on sharing information with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) about deportation detainer requests, comes as the city is being overwhelmed by hundreds of thousands of migrants with no place to stay and nowhere to go  including more than a handful engaging in criminal activities.

The idea that a person can be deported just on an accusation is substantially different than a conviction and due process, and I disagree, she stupidly said.

Mayor Adams proposal emerges amid a growing debate within the Democratic Party, prompted by a series of high-profile crimes attributed to undocumented immigrants. These incidents, including a mob attack on New York police officers, the murder of a student in Georgia, and the killing of a toddler in Maryland, have led even some ardent liberals to question the efficacy of strict sanctuary policies.

If you commit a felony, a violent act, we should be able to turn you over to ICE and have you deported, Adams has said, reversing course on NYCs sanctuary city policy.

Despite these concerns, the New York City Council has yet to show any willingness to amend the existing law, which currently prohibits city officials from aiding federal agents in most scenarios, including detainer requests from ICE.

The debate intensifies as the U.S. faces a surge in undocumented immigrants, with some, like Venezuelan national Jose Antonio Ibarra, being linked to serious crimes after evading ICE custody. Ibarra, charged with the murder of Georgia student Laken Riley, had previously been arrested in New York and released before ICE could intervene.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
U.S. senators declined on Thursday to block the sale of F-16s to Turkey, despite voicing deep disdain for Turkeys conduct as an ally. They were upholding an unofficial bargain that Turks would get the fighter jets if they stopped blocking Swedens accession to NATO.

A deals a deal, said Idaho Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Call it quid pro quo, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who introduced the resolution to try to block the sale, told fellow senators. That sounds better than extortion.

The Senate voted 13 to 79 to reject Pauls proposal.

Along with the Democratic committee chairman, Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Risch took the Senate floor before the vote to acknowledge some of the many U.S. objections to President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government: its human rights record, its attacks on U.S. allies in Syria, its backing for offensives by Azerbaijan on an ethnic Armenian enclave, and Turkeys ties with Russia on military deals and other matters.

Nevertheless, the Republican and Democratic senior foreign policy leaders argued, adding Sweden to NATO was too important to the overall strategic interests of the Western military alliance and to the U.S. to allow fellow NATO member Turkey to spoil it.

Sweden, and Finland, sought to join NATO in the wake of Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the majority of other NATO allies supported the accession, saying the two countries militaries, industries and locations near or bordering Russia would strengthen the alliance. Finland joined NATO last year, after Erdogan lifted initial objections to that country as well.

Erdogans objections to Sweden included it offering refuge to Turkish critics in exile. But Erdogan also publicly linked his objections to hopes of overcoming U.S. reluctance to sell him new models of the advanced fighter jet.

Im not here to defend Turkey or the other things that they do, Risch said. What I am here to do is defend the importance of NATO.

Paul argued before the vote that continuing to withhold the advanced fighter jets was the best leverage the U.S. had to try to influence Turkeys behavior as an ally.

What will Turkey do next time they want something? he asked.

The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the $23 billion F-16 sale to Turkey in January, along with a companion $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece.

The State Department agreement came just hours after Turkey deposited its instrument of ratification for Swedens accession to NATO with Washington, which is the repository for alliance documents, and after several key members of Congress lifted their objections.

(AP)
Prince William condemned antisemitism during a visit to a London synagogue on Thursday, the first time he appeared in public after he unexpectedly pulled out of a royal event earlier in the week.

William, the heir to the throne, heard about how Jewish students across the U.K. have been affected by the rise of hatred against the Jewish community during his visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue. He also spent time with Renee Salt, a 94-year-old Holocaust survivor.

The royal said he and his wife, Kate, the Princess of Wales, are extremely concerned about the rise in antisemitism. Im here today to reassure you all that people do care, people do listen and we cant let that keep going, he said.

William spoke out last week against the fighting in Gaza and called for the Israel-Hamas conflict to end as soon as possible.

While his statement stopped short of calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, he spoke of the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack and urged for more humanitarian support to Gaza.

Reports of both antisemitic and anti-Muslim abuse in Britain have soared since Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which triggered Israels invasion of Gaza.

Williams absence Tuesday from a memorial service for his godfather, the late King Constantine of Greece, drew significant media attention because it came at a time when Williams father, King Charles III, and his wife are both suffering from health problems.

Palace officials only said that William pulled out of the service at Windsor because of a personal matter. They declined to elaborate but said his wife, who is recovering from abdominal surgery she underwent in January, continues to do well.

Charles, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, has canceled all his public engagements.

(AP)
By Rabbi Yair Hoffman

A young lady ordered a dress, a pink one at Bloomingdales online. It was 70% off. But can she wear it? What about covering the dress with a black sweater? What follows is an analysis of the issues.

The Gemara in Berachos 20a tells us of the self-sacrifice of Rabbi Adda bar Ahava who encountered what appeared to be a Jewish woman wearing a karbalusah (red scarf) in the marketplace. He took it away from her and the woman subsequently took Rav Adda bar Ahava to court. He lost and had to pay the rather large sum of 400 zuz. He inquired what her name was and when she responded, Matun, he replied: If only I had listened to your name, Matun (translation: be patient), I would have saved myself 400 zuz.

The Ben Yehoyadah asks: Why does this particular incident constitute mesirus nefesh or self-sacrifice? He answers that Rav Adda bar Ahava was unsure as to whether or not she was a Jewish woman. He felt that it was worth the risk of assuming that she was in order to ensure that a Jewish girl would not violate a prohibition.

Why Did He Rip It?

The Aruch and most of the commentaries that discuss the issue write that Rav Adda bar Ahava ripped the article of clothing on account of its apparent lack of modesty in color (it was an overgarment over other clothing). The Maharal (Netzach Yisroel chapter 25) understands that he ripped it on account of it being an article that Jews shouldnt wear because it is like the gentiles way. The Maharal does not understand that the ripping was because it was immodest, but rather because it denotes assimilation.

Five Approaches

Regardless as to what the self-sacrifice actually was and why it was ripped, there seem to be five approaches in the commentaries as to what exactly the prohibition would have been in a Jewish girl wearing a karbalusah.

Pritzus. The Aruch and Tosfos in Kesuvos 72a explain that it is pritzus  a breach of decency  and brings to sin. The Shach (Y.D. 178:3) further explains in the name of the Maharik (Shoresh 88) that it is not the manner of modest people to go in red, and that this is a tradition in the hands of the Jewish people. It is not the manner of tznius and hachnaah  a humility of dress.

Vkaivan dhacha. In Teshuvos Binyomin Zeev Vol. II # 282 Vkaivan dhacha he explains that red is very important and exotic in a sense, and it is not the way of Jewish women to dress in such a manner. Many understand this as complementing the idea of hachnaah, humility of dress, expressed above.

Avodah Zara. The Nemukei Yosef seems to provide an explanation that red is the color used by the priests of avodah zara, and that in wearing red there is a trace of violating avodah zara.

Shatnez. The Teshuvos Gaonim K admonim (#101) writes that he perceived that this article of clothing contained shatnez  a prohibited mixture of fibers. This is also the approach of the Terumas HaDeshen (Siman 276).

Eisav. The Chasam Sofer has a different approach: that the power of Eisav stemmed from red or Mars. He cites the interpretation of Rabbeinu Bachya on the verse, Haliteini nah min haadom hazeh  feed me from this red, and that its something entirely foreign to and unbecoming of the Jewish nation.

Plugging It All Back In

There may be a second or corollary issue of tznius (modesty) in bringing excessive attention to oneself, but for now we are dealing with the particular issue of wearing red.

Guidelines for Red

There are other reasons to be lenient even for some of the other opinions cited above. The halachah is that the item must either be entirely red or the majority of it visibly red (see 178:1 and commentaries). Rav Elyashiv, ztl, had ruled (see Halichos Bas Yisroel p. 92 footnote 7b) the color Bordeaux is not considered red for these purposes. The author extends that to other types of off-red as well.

The origin of the word karbalusa is explained by both Rabbeinu Chananel and the Aruch as referencing the fleshy red part on top of a rooster or chickens head. This would seem to be the type of red that is referenced in the Gemara. Since most red masks are not this color, it is good according to their view as well.

Attention

Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Teshuvos vHanhagos Vol. I #136), shlita, seems to understand the aforementioned Gemara that it includes any color that brings attention to oneself. Thus, a bright yellow or bright pink would be included in the prohibition according to Rav Shternbuch. Rav Chaim Kanievsky is also quoted as forbidding any bright color. Other poskim cite other sources for not bringing excess attention to oneself and forbid any bright or neon color. They do not state that their source is this Gemara in Berachos, however. Ifit is covered by a black sweater, however, it may bring less attention.

Leniency

In Sefer Mitzvos HaBayis Vol. II page 145, a ruling issued by Rav Yitzchok Elchanan Spector, ztl, is cited that states that since nowadays gentile women no longer wear red as a sign of pritzus, the Gemara is no longer applicable. This view was originally published in a Torah journal in Europe. Clearly, however, Rav Elyashiv and other more contemporary poskim do not adopt the approach of Rav Yitzchok Elchonon.

Rabbi Hoffman can be reached at [email protected].
There is growing concern among US intelligence officials and senior Biden administration officials that Israel is preparing to launch a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon in the coming months, CNN reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the Biden administration has held briefings on the issue and is preparing for the very real possibility that Hezbollah will not be deterred through diplomatic means.

We are operating on the assumption that an Israeli military operation will be launched in the coming months, one senior Biden administration official said. Not necessarily imminently in the next few weeks but perhaps later this spring. An Israeli military operation is a distinct possibility.

The official added: I think what Israel is doing is that they are raising this threat in the hope that there will be a negotiated agreement. Some Israeli officials suggest that it is more of an effort to create a threat they can utilize. Others speak of it more as a military necessity thats going to happen.

Another senior Biden administration official said that there is an increasing number of Israeli security officials urging for an incursion but warned that such a step could lead to a major, major escalation that we dont even know the proportions of.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Hamas leaders abroad met earlier this month in Qatar over concerns that the terror group was being trounced by the IDF in Gaza. But then, the Wall Street Journal reported, a courier arrived with a message from Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar: Dont worry, we have the Israelis right where we want them.

The reassuring message from Sinwar said that Hamass military operatives, the Al-Qassam Brigades, were fine and that they were even ready for Israel to invade Rafah. And the high death toll among Gazan civilians? Sinwar said that the many fatalities are good for Hamas as it will increase international pressure on Israel to stop the war.

The report continues by saying that although Hamas is waging an unequal fight with the strongest military in the Middle East, Sinwar, the mastermind of the attack is playing a different game.

His goal is for Hamas to emerge from the rubble of Gaza after the war, declare a historic victory by outlasting Israels firepower, and claim the leadership of the Palestinian national cause.

The terrorists, commanded day-to-day by Sinwars brother Mohammed, have changed their tactics since a short cease-fire in November. Hamas terrorists are now trying to avoid large firefights and instead use small-scale ambushesusing tools ranging from rocket-propelled grenades to recorded voices of hostages to lure Israeli troops into traps.

Its a very sound tactical logic, said Eyal Berelovich, a civilian analyst for Israels armed forces and a military historian at Jerusalems Hebrew University. Their strategic goal is to survive.

The report said that many Israelis in the military, from senior commanders to ordinary soldiers are concerned that their accumulation of tactical wins on the battlefield might not add up to a lasting strategic victory.

Fighting the enemy is like a game of whack-a-mole, said an Israeli reservist in Khan Younis with the 98th Division. He said many soldiers sense the lack of a plan and wonder what their efforts are for. It will be very hard to destroy Hamas.

Degrading Hamass capabilities is a realistic goal for Israels military, said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, a think tank in Washington. But sustaining it would require fully occupying Gaza, which would give Hamas a target for a never-ending insurgency, he said. Recent history shows that you can be an effective insurgency on a shoestring, said Ibish. Anyone can make an IED, or homemade bomb, he said. Its easy to get a pistol. If youre willing to die, you can kill soldiers.

The Israeli army has found no systematic solution for finding and destroying Hamass tunnels, many soldiers said. Tunnel entrances have been found in homes, schools, mosques, courtyards, streets and farm fields. Some are covered by steel doors, others by mattresses in a home. Israeli forces have mostly relied on drones and robots to search tunnels, only sending soldiers in later to avoid firefights in the narrow passages.

The war is becoming a series of sporadic encounters with individual terrorists who try to shoot at Israeli soldiers or set off explosives, the commander of an Israeli unit tasked with reaching and evacuating wounded soldiers said. His unit is rescuing wounded men every two to three days now. At the start of the invasion, it was dealing with between five and 10 wounded soldiers every day. The pace of events and the intensity is declining. We see there is less and less of the enemy.

I didnt see a single soul, Israeli staff sergeant Corey Feldman said of his combat experience in Gaza. We were shot at every day, he said, but usually the enemy quickly disappeared. They didnt stick around long enough to engage in firefights.

The scale of Hamass tunnel network distinguishes the fighting in Gaza from any other battles between regular forces and Islamist militant groups in recent history, say military analysts.

Hamas uses the tunnels as military headquarters, to maneuver across the enclaves cities, protect its leaders, hide Israeli and other hostages, manufacture weapons and conduct hit-and-run attacks. Until you take all of this away from Hamas you wont be able to beat it, said Guy Aviad, a researcher on Hamas and former Israeli officer.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has met with the President of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency Haluk Gorgun within the diplomatic forum in Antalya, a source in the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The source emphasized that the meeting hailed the cooperation between the two fraternal countries in the field of military industry.

An exchange of views took place on further expansion of cooperation in a number of areas, as well as on other issues of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, the day before, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov went on a working visit to Turkiye. During the visit, the Minister is scheduled to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, speak at the panel "Institutionalization in the Turkic World: Organization of Turkic States in the XXI century", as well as hold numerous bilateral meetings.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed doubt on Thursday evening that Israel and Hamas would reach a deal to pause fighting in Gaza and release hostages, accusing the terror group of failing to make a good faith effort at compromise.

We face a brick wall of delusional, unrealistic Hamas demands, Netanyahu said in a press conference at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The terrorist group knows its demands are delusional and is not even trying to move close to an area of agreement. Thats the situation.

Netanyahu tempered expectations for a deal raised by US President Joe Biden earlier in the week, saying, We continue to act, continue to hope, but I cant make a promise at this moment that a deal will be done.

Israel and Hamas have delegations in Qatar attempting to hammer out a potential 40-day truce, but both sides have acknowledged a significant gap remains between them. Qatari mediators have also said there is no breakthrough yet.

Netanyahu pledged to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza, with or without a framework, and demanded to see the names of all hostages to be released before agreeing to a hostage deal.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh claimed on Wednesday that the group was showing flexibility in negotiations with Israel, while also expressing readiness to continue fighting.

The terms of the proposed deal, which includes a six-week pause in fighting and the release of some 40 hostages in exchange for 400 Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel, appear to be far from agreed upon by both sides.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Hamas announced on its Telegram channel on Friday that seven hostages had been killed during Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

The terrorist group named three of the hostages as Chaim Gershon Peri, 79, Yoram Itak Metzger, 80, and Amiram Israel Cooper, 85, all of whom were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Hamas claimed that the remaining four hostages names would be announced later.

The announcement from Hamas is unconfirmed, and the terrorist group has a history of using psychological warfare and sharing false information on the well-being of hostages. In the past, Hamas has named hostages as killed only to later release them, as was the case with Hannah Katzir.

The three hostages announced dead by Hamas on Friday had all appeared in a video in December, where they pleaded for their release from captivity.

Peri had said, You have to release us from here  it does not matter the cost. We dont want to be casualties as a direct result of the IDF military airstrikes, he said.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
When it comes to adding green technology upgrades to their properties, more often than not the first port of call for homeowners is solar panels.

Homes across the country have been fitted with photovoltaic cells, and there is little sign that uptake will stop.

In fact, solar panel installations have hit a seven-year high, with 161,494 panels installed on homes in 2023, increasing 44.6 per cent from the year before.

Since 2010, the cost of solar panels has tumbled massively, meaning that the technology is more accessible than ever.

When installed on south-west or south-east facing roofs, solar panels only lost 15 per cent of their efficiency

Despite their apparent popularity, however, only just over four per cent of the UK's 29 million homes have been fitted with solar technology.

We spoke to two green energy experts to shed light on whether solar panels are worth the investment.

How do solar panels work?

Solar panels harness radiation from the sun, turning it into electricity using a process called the photovoltaic effect.

'When sunlight hits the silicon [panels],' Scott Duncan, head of solar and storage at OVO told This is Money, 'it causes the electrons in them to start moving around - this movement creates electricity in the form of a direct current, which is then converted into an alternating current.

'It is this AC electricity that can be used to power our homes.'

Solar thermal systems can also be used to supply hot water to your home, even on a cold day.

Making use of the sun's light radiation as an energy source reduces our reliance on non-renewable sources of energy and can save you hundreds on your energy bills in the long run.

Has the technology improved in recent years?

'Solar energy efficiency has improved significantly in the last decade,' according to Duncan.

He said: 'In just over a decade, the average solar cell efficiency has increased from 15 per cent to 22 per cent - representing a big jump in potential energy bill savings.'

Scott Duncan says an increasing number of housebuyers are eyeing eco-friendly homes

The improvements to solar cells have come in the form of improved designs, more effective materials and better manufacturing processes.

Simkins added: 'Battery energy storage is now fitted with the vast majority of installations, allowing solar power to be used whenever it is needed.'

Duncan agreed, pointing out that battery costs fell 14 per cent in 2023.

'Increasing numbers of customers choose a battery with their solar panels - without one, you either use electricity as you generate it, or you export it back to the grid,' he said.

'Adding a battery will mean adding more to the cost of your installation, but it means you can store energy and use it later when you have greater need for it.

'So that if you're out at work during the day you can benefit from your panels when you're home in the evening.'

I don't have a south facing roof  does that matter?

In short, no.

Over the course of a day, a south facing roof will receive the most amount of sunlight, meaning that solar panels mounted facing south will be most effective in producing energy.

However, roofs fitted with panels that face east or west can also effectively generate energy from the sun.

'Considering how much prices have dropped over the past decade, combined with the high cost of energy, there is an argument to simply put as many solar panels on your roof as you can,' Gareth Simkins, senior communications advisor at Solar Energy UK told This is Money.

In fact, while the most effective positioning of solar panels is at a 41-degree slope on an unshaded south-facing roof, Duncan said south-west and a south-east facing roofs will only lose around 15 per cent efficiency compared to those facing directly south.

'Any decent surveyor should be able to talk you through how the orientation, both vertically and from due south, will affect the performance of a solar array on your roof,' Duncan added.

What about feed-in tariffs?

The feed-in tariff initiative, which allowed those with solar panels to sell the green energy they produced back to the National Grid, was scrapped by the Government in 2019.

The scheme had seen all energy suppliers pay a fixed rate for the energy that solar users exported back to the grid.

Those who signed up prior the closure, will still be entitled to their 20 years of payments under the scheme.

Despite the end of the scheme, Simkin's said: 'Solar power is still a great consumer prospect, largely due to the savings it offers compared to buying power from the grid.'

With the scrap of the FiT scheme though, came the introduction of the Smart Export Guarantee.

This guarantee offers solar users rewards based on how much energy they export back to the grid, with rates varying depending on your energy supplier.

According to Duncan, almost half of people don't know that you can still earn money by selling energy back to the grid.

What's the cheapest way to finance them?

While sure to bring down your energy costs in the long run, solar power doesn't come cheap, with the costs involved making the greener option inaccessible for many.

On average, the panels will set you back 5,875, according to Barrows and Forrester.

However, financing plans have recently become available from UK providers which can help you spread the cost of installation.

Gareth Simkins says solar panels can help to future-proof your home

'Paying for a solar power installation via finance is common in the US and the continent, but historically has not been common in the UK.

'Otovo and Sunsave are among those now offering it,' Simkins said.

Similarly, Ovo's Duncan points to the provider's zero per cent financing plan which allows customers to spread the installation cost over three years.

A group purchasing scheme offered by Solar Together, which is backed by various local councils, can also reduce costs by offering groups of residents more competitive prices for installation.

When looking to cut costs, you may find yourself favouring a cheaper quote for installation.

It is important, Simkins told This is Money, to avoid cowboy traders by making sure 'that your installer is registered with [standards body] MCS.'

'MCS makes sure that installers are properly trained and only use products approved for safety and performance,' he said.

Are there any grants available?

Lower income households could be eligible for government grants, with the ECO4 scheme offering government funding for eco-friendly home improvements.

The scheme is open to people whose property has an EPC rating of D,E,F or G.

However, applications are not accepted for band D properties, as energy companies can only spend 15 per cent of their funding on these homes.

The Home Upgrade Grant is also available for homeowners in England who don't use a gas boiler as their main heating system and whose home also has an EPC rating between D and G.

Is a smart meter a must have with them?

The good news for those who prefer to avoid smart meters, is that you don't need a smart meter installed in order to have solar panels, although you might need one in order to qualify for the SEG rates offered by energy providers.

'It would be sensible to get one,' Simkins told This is Money.

'They help keep you track of the panels' performance and make informed decisions about your energy use.'

Will they add value to my home?

Installing solar panels could add around 11,500 to the value of your home, according to Barrows and Forrester, making you a tidy profit of around double your initial investment, while also reducing your energy bills.

Simkins backed this, adding that 'research for its Value of Solar Property report found that a solar installation increases the sale price of a home by more than half the cost of installing it in the first place, even before reductions in running costs are considered.'

'They also help future-proof a home, by providing power for electric heating and vehicle charging. For new homes, they are increasingly a consumer expectation and are expected to become mandatory under the Future Homes Standard.'

Duncan added: 'Ovo's data also shows that more and more prospective buyers are prioritising green technology installations in their search for a home, meaning there has never been a better time to invest in green technologies like solar panels.'

Are solar panels worth having?

The cost involved with installing solar panels may make you think twice, but for many, the outlay will be recouped over time.

On average, a home will use 2,700 kWh of energy over the course of a year, according to the experts, which would be more than covered by the 3,180 kWh that would be produced by 12 solar panels installed on your home, and leave you excess to sell back to the grid at via the SEG scheme.

But it all depends on how suitable your home is for solar panels.

The rising popularity of the eco-friendly upgrade suggests an increasing number of people are capitalising on the technology to bring down their energy outgoings, possibly because of high cost of energy in the winter of 2022/23.

Simkins adds: 'Well over a million solar households can't be wrong. Almost 190,000 small-scale rooftop installations were made last year, according to standards body MCS, which is a post-subsidy record,' he said.

'With installation costs continuing to come down, and more options cropping up to make the upfront investment more accessible, rooftop solar panels are a more compelling option than ever before as a renewable energy solution in the UK,' Duncan added.

Have you had a solar panels fitted in recent years? Let us know your experience, good and bad. Or are you tempted, but have questions about installation? Get in touch: editor@thisismoney.co.uk
Sainsburys plans to axe 1,500 jobs in a mammoth 1billion cost-cutting drive.

The countrys second-largest supermarket is simplifying operations as it woos shoppers back from discount rivals.

The grocer, which also owns Argos, is looking to cut around 1,500 jobs across its warehouses, bakeries, call centres and human resources department

In the bleak update, Sainsburys said the plans are still subject to a consultation, leaving staff facing an uncertain future.

Last month, chief executive Simon Roberts announced a major overhaul of Sainsburys stores to win back shoppers from rivals Aldi and Lidl.

Cuts: Sainsburys is simplifying its operations as it ramps up a drive to woo shoppers back from discount rivals

It said it would slash costs by 1billion over three years so that it can lower prices.

Roberts has pledged to place food back at the heart of Sainsburys by creating more space to sell groceries and less for clothes and general merchandise.

Last night Roberts said: As we move into the next phase of our strategy, we are making some difficult but necessary decisions.

The proposals weve been talking to teams about today are important to ensure were better set up to focus on the things that create a real impact for our customers, delivering good food for all of us and building a platform for growth.

I know todays news is unsettling for affected colleagues and we will do everything we can to support them.

It intends to close more stand-alone Argos stores and open more Argos click-and-collect points in supermarkets to trim costs.

And it will save money by replacing slow, outdated technology with modern systems, including more automated robots in its warehouses.

Last month the grocer was tight-lipped on potential job losses but supermarkets face rising wage bills, alongside other heightened costs of doing business  all while facing red-hot competition on prices.

Despite competition from discounters, Sainsburys increased its market share to 15.6 per cent from 15.2 per cent a year earlier, in Kantar data published this week.

Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, said: The announcement that its cutting 1,500 jobs is not surprising.

Earlier this month it said it was looking to cut another 1billion in costs as it doubled down on its food first strategy. Companies in all sectors are having to make difficult choices to make sure theyre as competitive and productive as possible, digging into their USP and repositioning where necessary.

Changes include replacing jobs at its Widnes contact centre by outsourcing the work to an existing third party and shaking up in-store bakeries.

The shares fell 1.6 per cent, or 4p, to 249.60p, adding to a 16.5 per cent slide this year so far.

The Body Shop announced a further 75 store closures last night, in another blow for the High Street.

It had already shut seven locations after falling into administration last month.

Some 489 staff will lose their jobs in the grim news.
First it was Wincanton, then Currys and now Direct Line. Companies at the heart of the UK economy are being preyed on by foreign suitors  and it could be just the start.

As global dealmaking comes back with a bang after a long hiatus, private equity barons and cash-rich corporations see listed British businesses as a bargain.

And some observers fear the worst. The situation is looking structural and terminal for UK mid-cap businesses, said Richard Bernstein, boss of activist investor Crystal Amber.

This is very serious. They are just being picked off one by one.

The signs were already there.

Easy prey: A poll by broker Deutsche Numis found the majority of FTSE board 350 members surveyed said they were at greater risk of being acquired by overseas buyers this year

Charles Hall, head of research at investment bank Peel Hunt, said: A hollowing out of mid-cap UK listed firms is happening.

At the current pace of departures, the FTSE Smallcap index will cease to exist in 2028.

A poll last month by broker Deutsche Numis found that the majority of FTSE board 350 members surveyed said they were at greater risk of being acquired by overseas buyers this year.

And a report from Peel Hunt found that with global boardroom confidence about the future recovering, the case for bulking up through deals has strengthened.

In particular, it pointed to a recovery of inbound bid interest from North American corporates in their lower-valued UK peers.

Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, said that UK-listed company valuations were at 30-year lows.

In short, hungry foreign buyers have alighted on a cheap way to satisfy their appetites.

But what is behind the bargain basement price tags?

French points out that pension funds or retail investors who might in the past have been the natural buyer of UK equities now just want more Nvidia  referring to the US chip firm which is enjoying stellar growth thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

City fund managers are facing pressure as clients pull out their money to turn into cash  so are piling into Americas fast-growing tech stars rather than the mid-range workhorses of the British economy.

These solid, unloved companies fail to attract financial capital but  more worrisome  the most talented staff, says Bernstein.

It leaves companies such as Wincanton as well as banknote printer De La Rue, in which Bernsteins Crystal Amber is the largest shareholder, as sitting ducks, he argues.

Bernsteins solution would be for the UK to set up a sovereign wealth fund along the lines of those in Norway and Singapore, to shore up the market.

He thinks urgent action is needed.

Target: Currys has surged more than 40% amid two rejected bids from American hedge fund Elliott and an expression of interest from Chinese online retail giant JD.com

In the old days youd get some serious people in a room, saying: What are the issues, lets plan this out and report back in six weeks and make a decision.

There isnt the urgency. Im sure in a month, three or four more UK companies will have bid interest.

Foreign bids may cheer investors in the short term as they cash in on their stakes at premium valuations  but they will come at a cost, Bernstein said, with jobs lost should new owners decide staff are surplus to requirements.

Logistics firm Wincanton has seen its share value double since it agreed a takeover by Frances CMA CGM last month, only for a rival US bidder GXO to submit a much higher 762million offer yesterday.

Currys rose more than 40 per cent amid two rejected bids from American hedge fund Elliott and an expression of interest from Chinese online retail giant JD.com.

And insurer Direct Lines value surged by a fifth as details of an offer, which it rejected, from Belgian rival Ageas emerged this week.

Now, City analysts will be speculating about who might be next.

Last month, research published by Quest, an arm of investment bank Canaccord Genuity reportedly suggested that the likes of British Gas owner Centrica, North Sea oil and gas firm Harbour Energy, and Easyjet could be targets.

Peel Hunt experts said, in the wake of the recent Currys offer, that fellow retailers including DFS, Halfords and even Marks & Spencer were trading on low valuations.

Some UK companies have not been content to wait for foreign bidders to come in to lift valuations: travel giant Tui and drug maker Indivior are moving their main listings to Frankfurt and New York respectively.

That is despite much soul-searching and City reforms designed to halt the exodus.

A further consequence of low valuations is a dearth of stock market flotations in London  a noticeable trend even during a relatively fallow period globally, with only around 800million raised in initial public offerings (IPOs) last year.

David Schwimmer, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange Group, which now makes much more money through its data business than from the running of the exchange, denies complacency, claiming London is seeing an encouraging IPO pipeline, with an increase in activity expected this year.

He told reporters: Of course wed like to see companies listing here in London and remaining listed here in London, and all of the different issues we are working through are intended to address any questions and concerns around that.

We feel like were making good progress and I would say that the pipeline that I referred to would indicate there is progress happening there.
Donation: Oprah Winfrey will give shares worth 5m - to the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Almost 60million was wiped off the value of Weight Watchers as Oprah Winfrey prepares to step down from the board and sell her shares.

The US talk show host, on the board of the lifestyle firm since 2015, will not stand for re-election at its next shareholder meeting in May.

She will instead donate her 10pc stake she owned  around 1.13m shares worth 5million  to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The stock plunged by almost a quarter, reducing its value by 57million. Winfrey, who will still advise the company, joined almost a decade ago.

Her departure comes as it is struggling to keep pace with a boom in demand for weight-loss drugs made by firms such as Novo Nordisk.

She recently revealed that she used them as a maintenance tool.

Troy Harmon, chief investment officer at financial services firm Henssler Financial, said Winfreys departure is just another piece of evidence in the overall picture that people would much rather take a jab than adjust their lifestyle.
Educational publishing firm Pearson has placed its bets on the growth of AI, according to its new chief executive, after its profits almost doubled in 2023.

In its full year results, the FTSE 100-listed educational publishing company reported a strong performance in 2023, having seen sales of its English language courses rising 30 per cent, and assessment and qualification sales rise seven per cent.

'Pearson is well positioned today, providing a stable platform for continued growth that can benefit from the inflection point we see with the development of AI,' the firm's chief executive Omar Abbosh said.

Going digital: Pearson has pivoted towards a focus on digital learning, including by adopting AI technology

Abbosh replaced Andy Bird as Pearson's boss in January, having made his way from Microsoft, where he served as industry solutions president.

He said: 'I am optimistic about the opportunities this advancement in technology brings, underpinned by our trusted brand, large high quality data sets and strong capabilities in assessment, content and services. We have an exciting future ahead of us.'

Previously, Pearson has said AI was 'embedded' in its operations and that it would be exploring more ways to use the technology.

Today, the company said it will continue to 'infuse' its products and services with AI solutions, so that it can remain as a leader in innovation.

The move forms part of the textbook publisher's drive to reinvent itself as a digitally-focused company, which has seen it acquire brands such as Credly, Mondly, Navvy and ClutchPrep, all of which have a digital focus.

The company said its operating profit almost doubled to 498 million, from 271 million in 2022, as full year sales fell per cent to 3.67 billion, from 3.84 billion a year ago.

Abbosh added: '2023 was another year of strong operational and financial performance, with results surpassing initial expectations once again, driven by our Assessment & Qualifications and English Language Learning businesses.

'Our consistently strong cash generation has sustained investment to support our future growth and deliver ongoing value for shareholders.'

Pearson shares rose 3.4 per cent to 993.60 pence each in morning trading in London.

What's next for Pearson?

So far, the company's future in the AI sphere seems bright, and its turn to digital shows no sign of abating.

Adam Vetesse, analyst at eToro said: 'Pearson is continuing to show that an old dog can learn new tricks as the publisher continues its digital transformation journey, even touting integration of AI in this latest update.'

Pearson saw strong performances in its English language courses and exams unit

For the coming year, the firm said it expects to deliver further underlying sales growth, meeting its consensus estimate of 621 million in adjusted operating profit, increasing from 573 million in 2023.

Following the strong performance, Pearson said it will pay a final dividend of 15.7 pence, bringing its payout for the full year to 22.7 pence, up six per cent year-on-year.

It also committed to extending its 300 million share buyback programme, which it launched in September, adding a further 200 million. It said the extended buyback was enabled by its strong cash flow position due to the success of its exams unit and English language courses.

'Assessments and qualifications, particularly English language courses, have been driving growth and there is plenty of cash being generated to facilitate a dividend increase and expansion of its buyback programme, which will keep shareholders happy,' Vetesse added.

'Pearson is on a solid trajectory at the moment and with some cost savings this year could well continue to deliver.'
Fred Alger Management LLC increased its holdings in Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD  Free Report) by 795.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,205 shares of the basic materials companys stock after purchasing an additional 156,520 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Air Products and Chemicals worth $49,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in APD. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,886,487 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $4,458,949,000 after buying an additional 291,104 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,693,186 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,920,175,000 after buying an additional 307,468 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,414,008 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,668,923,000 after buying an additional 1,115,729 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,283,884 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,280,143,000 after buying an additional 120,978 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Air Products and Chemicals by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,163,043 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,246,957,000 after buying an additional 38,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.62% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on APD shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a buy rating to a sell rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, November 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $307.00 to $250.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Air Products and Chemicals from $295.00 to $270.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Air Products and Chemicals from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $264.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Air Products and Chemicals has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $282.14.

Air Products and Chemicals Stock Performance

Shares of APD traded up $2.12 on Thursday, reaching $234.53. The companys stock had a trading volume of 354,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,020. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.85. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $251.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $270.89. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has a 12-month low of $212.24 and a 12-month high of $307.71.

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.00 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.20 billion. Air Products and Chemicals had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 18.82%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.64 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. will post 12.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Air Products and Chemicals Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. This is a positive change from Air Products and Chemicalss previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Air Products and Chemicalss payout ratio is presently 66.79%.

Air Products and Chemicals Profile

(Free Report)

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals.

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Eldorado Gold (TSE:ELD  Free Report) (NYSE:EGO) had its price target cut by National Bankshares from C$21.00 to C$19.00 in a report released on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. National Bank Financial reiterated an outperform spec overweight rating on shares of Eldorado Gold in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Eldorado Gold from C$17.00 to C$18.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Stifel Canada cut Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Eldorado Gold from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut Eldorado Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating and increased their price objective for the company from C$15.50 to C$17.25 in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$18.06.

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Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on ELD

Eldorado Gold Price Performance

About Eldorado Gold

ELD stock opened at C$14.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.60, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$16.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$14.90. The firm has a market capitalization of C$2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 56.20 and a beta of 1.17. Eldorado Gold has a 1 year low of C$11.38 and a 1 year high of C$18.30.

(Get Free Report)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

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Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of CCL Industries (TSE:CCL.B  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has C$79.00 target price on the stock, up from their prior target price of C$65.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on CCL.B. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on CCL Industries from C$76.00 to C$81.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Raymond James raised their price objective on CCL Industries from C$70.00 to C$74.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. National Bankshares raised their price objective on CCL Industries from C$79.00 to C$81.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. CIBC raised their price objective on CCL Industries from C$72.00 to C$82.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Pi Financial raised their price objective on CCL Industries from C$74.00 to C$75.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$78.40.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on CCL.B

CCL Industries Stock Performance

Insider Transactions at CCL Industries

Shares of TSE CCL.B opened at C$69.18 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$59.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$58.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 49.37, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market cap of C$11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.53. CCL Industries has a 1 year low of C$52.82 and a 1 year high of C$71.58.

In other news, Director Scott Mitchell-Harris sold 1,378 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$59.80, for a total value of C$82,404.40. In other news, Director Gunther Johann Birkner sold 60,900 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$59.55, for a total value of C$3,626,595.00. Also, Director Scott Mitchell-Harris sold 1,378 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$59.80, for a total value of C$82,404.40. Insiders sold a total of 62,978 shares of company stock valued at $3,757,653 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.05% of the companys stock.

CCL Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

CCL Industries Inc manufactures and sells labels, containers, consumer printable media products, technology driven label solutions, polymer bank note substrates, and specialty films. The company operates through four segments: CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia. The CCL segment offers pressure sensitive and specialty extruded film materials for decorative, instructional, functional, and security applications in the consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer electronic device, and automotive markets.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. We are expecting a proper explanation for the legal and also constitutional framework from Armenia, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmet Hajiyev said, Trend reports.

He made the remark during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum held today.

"Currently, we are awaiting a comprehensive explanation regarding the legal and constitutional framework of the Republic of Armenia, which still retains the element of 'Miatsum' and territorial claims. From the Armenian side, there needs to be a genuine commitment to advancing the interim agenda. Simultaneously, we must remain vigilant about potential new developments. Unfortunately, a controversial trend has emerged, involving the export of geopolitical influence beyond the original export development structures, resulting in new lines of division. It is crucial to address this development seriously. In the meantime, there should be a real border between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and approach confrontations from that perspective," he said.

Hajiyev pointed out there is a strong willingness and political determination from the Azerbaijani side to transform the region and make the South Caucasus a region of peace, security, and cooperation.

"President Ilham Aliyev has proposed a model for an integrated South Caucasus region where all three countries can come together. Our agenda also emphasizes regional ownership, meaning that all three countries should actively participate in and contribute to regional initiatives, rather than expecting the imposition of certain cooperative elements from one side. It involves taking responsibility for the sake of regional cooperation. We have successfully established a fruitful cooperation model between Azerbaijan and Georgia, and Armenia could benefit from this experience," he added.
Barclays cut shares of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG  Free Report) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $149.00 target price on the specialty chemicals companys stock, down from their prior target price of $163.00.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on PPG Industries from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of PPG Industries from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Robert W. Baird reissued an outperform rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of PPG Industries in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of PPG Industries from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPG Industries currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $158.20.

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PPG Industries Stock Performance

Shares of PPG stock opened at $141.60 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $143.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.81. PPG Industries has a 52 week low of $120.32 and a 52 week high of $152.89. The company has a market cap of $33.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.30.

PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.27 billion. PPG Industries had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 6.96%. The businesss revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPG Industries will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

PPG Industries Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 15th. PPG Industriess dividend payout ratio is currently 48.69%.

Institutional Trading of PPG Industries

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PPG. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in PPG Industries by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 5,991 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of PPG Industries by 14.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 23,667 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in PPG Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $619,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PPG Industries by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,180,199 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $2,645,019,000 after buying an additional 252,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its position in PPG Industries by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 19,480 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 79.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About PPG Industries

(Get Free Report)

PPG Industries, Inc manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials worldwide. The company operates through Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft.

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StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Invitae (NYSE:NVTA  Free Report) in a report released on Tuesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the medical research companys stock.

Invitae Stock Performance

Shares of NVTA opened at $0.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.96 million, a P/E ratio of 0.00 and a beta of 1.59. The companys fifty day moving average is $0.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.57. Invitae has a 1 year low of $0.02 and a 1 year high of $0.02.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invitae

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NVTA. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Invitae by 1,574.2% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,017,082 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 1,896,600 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Invitae by 7,211.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,184,966 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,758 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Invitae by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,660,153 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $9,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,646 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Invitae during the 1st quarter worth $8,369,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Invitae by 314.0% during the 1st quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,327,210 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006,619 shares during the period. 61.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Invitae Company Profile

Invitae Corporation, a medical genetics company, that provides genetic information to improve healthcare of people in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company offers genetic tests in various clinical areas, including hereditary cancer, precision oncology, women's health, rare diseases, and pharmacogenomics; digital health solutions; and health data services.

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NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR  Get Free Report) CAO Matthew B. Kelpy sold 100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $7,615.00, for a total value of $761,500.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,751,450. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

NVR Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NVR stock opened at $7,625.57 on Friday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $7,226.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $6,503.80. NVR, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5,089.44 and a 52-week high of $7,700.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 3.90 and a current ratio of 6.10.

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NVR (NYSE:NVR  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The construction company reported $121.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $121.50 by $0.06. NVR had a return on equity of 38.50% and a net margin of 17.09%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $133.44 EPS. NVRs revenue for the quarter was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that NVR, Inc. will post 484.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NVR announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

A number of research firms have recently commented on NVR. StockNews.com lowered NVR from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised NVR from a sell rating to a hold rating and raised their price target for the stock from $4,900.00 to $6,300.00 in a research report on Friday, December 8th.

View Our Latest Research Report on NVR

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NVR

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its stake in NVR by 0.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,042,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in NVR by 0.7% in the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 295 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in NVR by 1.7% in the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 120 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. grew its stake in NVR by 0.8% in the second quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 258 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Asset Management LLC grew its stake in NVR by 0.5% in the third quarter. Lakewood Asset Management LLC now owns 428 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 2 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.49% of the companys stock.

NVR Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

NVR, Inc operates as a homebuilder in the United States. The company operates through, Homebuilding and Mortgage Banking segments. It engages in the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes, and condominium buildings under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes, and Heartland Homes names. The company markets its Ryan Homes products to first-time and first-time move-up buyers; and NVHomes and Heartland Homes products to move-up and luxury buyers.

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Leerink Partnrs reiterated their outperform rating on shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK  Free Report) in a research report released on Monday morning, PriceTargets.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for McKessons Q4 2024 earnings at $6.44 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $27.69 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $6.92 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $7.32 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $8.15 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $8.73 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $31.09 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $35.06 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $39.25 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $44.28 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on McKesson from $508.00 to $563.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on McKesson from $525.00 to $559.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $537.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $517.86.

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McKesson Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $521.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $68.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $491.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.25. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $331.75 and a fifty-two week high of $524.69.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.90 earnings per share. McKessons revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 27.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 29th. McKessons payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 14,026 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $6,732,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $20,853,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 14,026 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.00, for a total value of $6,732,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,853,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the companys stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 86,130 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,454,000 after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in McKesson by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 144,396 shares of the companys stock valued at $62,791,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in McKesson by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,238,953,000 after purchasing an additional 708,438 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in McKesson by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 67,941 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,544,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.69% of the companys stock.

About McKesson

(Get Free Report)

McKesson Corporation provides healthcare services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products.

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Credicorp (NYSE:BAP  Free Report) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $194.00 in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the banks stock.

Separately, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Credicorp from $192.00 to $190.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Credicorp presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $181.73.

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Credicorp Stock Up 1.5 %

Institutional Trading of Credicorp

Shares of BAP opened at $170.90 on Thursday. Credicorp has a 52-week low of $116.42 and a 52-week high of $173.39. The company has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BAP. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Credicorp by 12.0% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,999 shares of the banks stock worth $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Credicorp by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,053,247 shares of the banks stock valued at $390,724,000 after buying an additional 55,018 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Credicorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,250,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Credicorp by 784.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 285,863 shares of the banks stock valued at $36,618,000 after buying an additional 253,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hosking Partners LLP grew its position in Credicorp by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hosking Partners LLP now owns 121,874 shares of the banks stock valued at $15,596,000 after buying an additional 20,405 shares in the last quarter. 70.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Credicorp

(Get Free Report)

Credicorp Ltd. provides various financial, insurance, and health services and products primarily in Peru and internationally. Its Universal Banking segment includes granting various credits and financial instruments to individuals and legal entities; and various deposits and checking accounts. The Insurance and Pensions segment includes the issuance of insurance policies to cover losses in commercial property, transport, marine vessels, automobiles, life, health, and pensions; management services for private pension funds.

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TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY25 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $3.94-4.02 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $4.12. TJX Companies also updated its FY 2025 guidance to 3.940-4.020 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. They issued an outperform rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $101.38.

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TJX Companies Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $99.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.86. TJX Companies has a twelve month low of $72.92 and a twelve month high of $102.84. The firms 50-day moving average price is $95.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TJX Companies will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 17,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.06, for a total value of $1,514,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 576,105 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $51,307,911.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of TJX Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,206,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $9,025,157,000 after buying an additional 1,071,078 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $2,118,935,000 after purchasing an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,891,507 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $1,632,900,000 after purchasing an additional 209,152 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $1,575,168,000 after purchasing an additional 19,766,602 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $891,631,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.28% of the companys stock.

About TJX Companies

(Get Free Report)

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.

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National Bankshares downgraded shares of EQB (TSE:EQB  Free Report) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report released on Thursday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has C$95.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of C$98.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Cormark upped their price objective on shares of EQB from C$92.00 to C$97.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 11th. National Bank Financial reiterated an outperform market weight rating on shares of EQB in a report on Friday, December 8th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of EQB from C$97.00 to C$110.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of EQB from C$99.00 to C$111.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of EQB from C$100.00 to C$101.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$102.13.

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EQB Trading Down 9.2 %

EQB Increases Dividend

Shares of TSE EQB opened at C$86.18 on Thursday. EQB has a 12-month low of C$53.86 and a 12-month high of C$97.64. The stock has a market cap of C$3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of C$90.33 and a 200 day moving average of C$80.65.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 20th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This is a positive change from EQBs previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 19th. EQBs dividend payout ratio is currently 17.19%.

EQB Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

EQB Inc, through its subsidiary, Equitable Bank, provides personal and commercial banking services to retail and commercial customers in Canada. The company accepts term deposits and guaranteed investment certificates, high interest savings accounts, institutional deposit notes and covered bonds, as well as specialized financing solutions.

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Caxton Associates LP acquired a new stake in SM Energy (NYSE:SM  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 15,741 shares of the energy companys stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SM. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in SM Energy by 41.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,075 shares of the energy companys stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in SM Energy by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 20,390 shares of the energy companys stock worth $794,000 after buying an additional 4,513 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in SM Energy by 55.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 63,571 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $2,476,000 after buying an additional 22,582 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in SM Energy by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 110,627 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $4,431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of SM Energy during the first quarter worth $1,226,000. 91.26% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SM. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on SM Energy from $56.00 to $51.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, November 15th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of SM Energy from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on SM Energy from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, SM Energy currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $41.90.

SM Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of SM opened at $43.77 on Friday. SM Energy has a twelve month low of $24.66 and a twelve month high of $43.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 4.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.85.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The energy company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $608.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $611.35 million. SM Energy had a return on equity of 20.74% and a net margin of 34.45%. The firms revenue was down 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that SM Energy will post 5.82 EPS for the current year.

SM Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 5th. Investors of record on Friday, January 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from SM Energys previous semi-annual dividend of $0.15. SM Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.48%.

SM Energy Company Profile

(Free Report)

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It also has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. cut its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Free Report) by 32.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,982 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 3,833 shares during the quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7,833.3% during the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 238 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 290.9% during the third quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Robbins Farley lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 29.5% during the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 421 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 68.94% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:JPM opened at $185.89 on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $123.11 and a 1 year high of $186.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $173.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.69.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( NYSE:JPM Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.73 by ($0.69). JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $38.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $39.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.57 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 4th were issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 4th. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s payout ratio is currently 25.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Marianne Lake sold 32,243 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $5,158,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,113,920. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, Vice Chairman Peter Scher sold 1,812 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.65, for a total value of $301,969.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,793,553.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marianne Lake sold 32,243 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $5,158,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 131,962 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,113,920. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 877,626 shares of company stock worth $159,500,516. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on JPM. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $177.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Odeon Capital Group downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $140.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.11.

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

(Free Report)

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services to consumers and small businesses; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. reduced its position in shares of AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV  Free Report) by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,448 shares of the companys stock after selling 14,975 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in AbbVie were worth $1,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ABBV. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 11.6% in the second quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 358,872 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,351,000 after acquiring an additional 37,368 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 0.9% in the third quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 23,346 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,480,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in AbbVie by 13.0% in the third quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,190 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,159,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 26,409 shares of the companys stock worth $3,936,000 after buying an additional 4,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wintrust Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wintrust Investments LLC now owns 37,140 shares of the companys stock worth $5,004,000 after buying an additional 10,493 shares in the last quarter. 67.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABBV. Barclays increased their price target on AbbVie from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on AbbVie from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded AbbVie from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on AbbVie from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, William Blair raised AbbVie from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AbbVie currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $175.36.

Insider Transactions at AbbVie

In other news, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 2,912 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.72, for a total value of $450,544.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,649,312.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Azita Saleki-Gerhardt sold 52,870 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.71, for a total transaction of $9,184,047.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 243,944 shares in the company, valued at $42,375,512.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Donoghoe sold 2,912 shares of AbbVie stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.72, for a total value of $450,544.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,903 shares in the company, valued at $8,649,312.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 69,535 shares of company stock worth $12,075,887. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AbbVie Stock Performance

NYSE:ABBV opened at $175.61 on Friday. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $167.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.87. AbbVie Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.96 and a twelve month high of $179.89. The stock has a market cap of $310.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.33, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.02.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.02 billion. AbbVie had a return on equity of 162.28% and a net margin of 8.95%. AbbVies revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AbbVie Inc. will post 11.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 15th will be given a $1.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $6.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. AbbVies dividend payout ratio is currently 227.11%.

About AbbVie

(Free Report)

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune, intestinal Behcet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Armenia's rising political and military provocations, along with its hasty military buildup and hostile rhetoric, represent a threat to the peace process, said Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov during a meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, Trend reports.

Bayramov provided a comprehensive briefing to his Uzbek counterpart on the extensive reconstruction and construction efforts in the region during the post-conflict period. He discussed measures taken to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, addressing concerns about potential threats to regional peace and stability.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a meeting in Berlin on February 28-29 to hold another round of the "Bilateral Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations" draft. Following the bilateral meeting, the sides held a trilateral meeting together with their German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock.

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Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Sysco Co. (NYSE:SYY  Free Report) by 372.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,643 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 132,127 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotias holdings in Sysco were worth $11,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Sysco by 263.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 34,007 shares of the companys stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 24,650 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Sysco by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,685 shares of the companys stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems acquired a new position in shares of Sysco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,598,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Sysco by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 6,516 shares of the companys stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerrisdale Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Sysco by 41.0% during the second quarter. Kerrisdale Advisers LLC now owns 269,020 shares of the companys stock worth $19,961,000 after buying an additional 78,282 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.60% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on SYY shares. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Sysco from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Sysco from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Sysco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $85.44.

Sysco Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Sysco stock opened at $80.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.00, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Sysco Co. has a 1-year low of $62.24 and a 1-year high of $82.89. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $77.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.93. The company has a market capitalization of $40.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.17.

Sysco (NYSE:SYY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $19.32 billion. Sysco had a net margin of 2.69% and a return on equity of 105.22%. The companys revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sysco Co. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Sysco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Syscos dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.90%.

Sysco Profile

(Free Report)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments.

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United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in shares of Boston Scientific Co. (NYSE:BSX  Free Report) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,699 shares of the medical equipment providers stock after purchasing an additional 5,993 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Associations holdings in Boston Scientific were worth $2,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BSX. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Boston Scientific during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Motco boosted its position in shares of Boston Scientific by 136.3% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 645 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boston Scientific in the second quarter worth $34,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Boston Scientific during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in Boston Scientific by 2,174.2% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 705 shares of the medical equipment providers stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.11% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at Boston Scientific

In related news, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.89, for a total value of $467,092.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 56,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,779,820.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Daniel J. Brennan sold 13,662 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $899,779.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 271,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,883,756.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Wendy Carruthers sold 6,983 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.89, for a total transaction of $467,092.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 56,508 shares in the company, valued at $3,779,820.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,830 shares of company stock worth $4,316,049. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Boston Scientific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BSX opened at $66.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Boston Scientific Co. has a 1-year low of $46.20 and a 1-year high of $67.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.11.

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The medical equipment provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.04. Boston Scientific had a net margin of 11.19% and a return on equity of 15.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Boston Scientific Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BSX. Mizuho upgraded shares of Boston Scientific from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial upped their price target on Boston Scientific from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, December 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Boston Scientific from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on Boston Scientific from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Boston Scientific from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $66.05.

Read Our Latest Report on Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Company Profile

(Free Report)

Boston Scientific Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in various interventional medical specialties worldwide. It operates through MedSurg and Cardiovascular segments. The company offers devices to diagnose and treat gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions; devices to treat various urological and pelvic conditions; implantable cardioverter and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators; pacemakers and implantable cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers; and remote patient management systems.

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United Services Automobile Association decreased its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS  Free Report) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,136 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 1,705 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association owned about 0.07% of Masco worth $8,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. DecisionPoint Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Masco during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Center for Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Masco by 270.6% during the 3rd quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 667 shares of the construction companys stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 22.8% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,018 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Masco during the third quarter worth $64,000. 91.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MAS. Citigroup started coverage on Masco in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. They issued a neutral rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a market perform rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Masco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Masco from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jai Shah sold 25,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.38, for a total transaction of $1,559,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,165,147.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.38, for a total transaction of $1,559,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,709 shares in the company, valued at $2,165,147.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,805 shares of company stock valued at $9,201,494. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $76.76 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $46.69 and a 12-month high of $77.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.32. The company has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05.

Masco (NYSE:MAS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 21st. This is a boost from Mascos previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Mascos dividend payout ratio is presently 28.93%.

Masco Profile

(Free Report)

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.

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United Services Automobile Association boosted its holdings in shares of Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM  Free Report) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,459 shares of the CRM providers stock after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Associations holdings in Salesforce were worth $5,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRM. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 463.1% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,283 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Pointe Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Salesforce by 370.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Salesforce by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii boosted its holdings in Salesforce by 89.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 5,282 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $1,116,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd grew its position in Salesforce by 288.6% during the second quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd now owns 952,000 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $201,120,000 after buying an additional 707,000 shares during the period. 77.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $3,764,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,651,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,676,856,619.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Salesforce news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $3,764,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,651,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,676,856,619.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Sundeep G. Reddy sold 216 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.71, for a total value of $60,201.36. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,869 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,618.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,194,112 shares of company stock worth $326,290,142. Insiders own 3.70% of the companys stock.

Salesforce Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $308.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $239.75. Salesforce, Inc. has a 12-month low of $170.00 and a 12-month high of $310.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $298.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.52, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.28.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The CRM provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.06. Salesforce had a return on equity of 10.50% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 13th.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRM shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Salesforce from $285.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on Salesforce from $265.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $291.86.

Get Our Latest Analysis on CRM

Salesforce Profile

(Free Report)

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and relationship intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer service and support at scale.

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Fred Alger Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO  Free Report) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,690 shares of the companys stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLCs holdings in AutoZone were worth $6,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in AutoZone during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rock Creek Group LP acquired a new position in AutoZone in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in AutoZone during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AutoZone during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, MUFG Americas Holdings Corp boosted its position in shares of AutoZone by 166.7% in the third quarter. MUFG Americas Holdings Corp now owns 16 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 90.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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AutoZone Trading Down 0.1 %

AZO opened at $3,007.40 on Friday. The companys 50 day moving average is $2,703.98 and its 200-day moving average is $2,616.50. AutoZone, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2,277.88 and a 1-year high of $3,025.96. The company has a market cap of $52.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AutoZone ( NYSE:AZO Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $28.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $26.08 by $2.81. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. AutoZone had a net margin of 14.62% and a negative return on equity of 57.23%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $24.64 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that AutoZone, Inc. will post 149.92 EPS for the current year.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $3,000.00 to $3,070.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,770.00 to $3,025.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of AutoZone from $2,900.00 to $3,100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair restated an outperform rating on shares of AutoZone in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of AutoZone from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $2,850.00 to $3,100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $3,020.76.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AZO

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AutoZone news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 1,900 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,735.00, for a total transaction of $5,196,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 521 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,935. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP K. Michelle Borninkhof sold 1,900 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,735.00, for a total value of $5,196,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 521 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,424,935. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Charles Pleas III sold 3,000 shares of AutoZone stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,717.36, for a total transaction of $8,152,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,416 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,282,501.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,807 shares of company stock worth $38,827,861. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AutoZone Profile

(Free Report)

AutoZone, Inc retails and distributes automotive replacement parts and accessories in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. The company provides various products for cars, sport utility vehicles, vans, and light trucks, including new and remanufactured automotive hard parts, maintenance items, accessories, and non-automotive products.

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United Services Automobile Association raised its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC  Free Report) by 14.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,802 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 1,725 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Associations holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMC. Ignite Planners LLC raised its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 40.5% in the 2nd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 184 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp grew its stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens & Northern Corp now owns 6,703 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Marsh & McLennan Companies by 4.7% during the second quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies by 2.6% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,210 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 86.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MMC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Marsh & McLennan Companies from a buy rating to a sell rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $186.00 to $185.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $200.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $202.71.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

Shares of MMC stock opened at $201.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $99.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.90. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.86 and a 1 year high of $206.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.05. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 16.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.47 EPS. Marsh & McLennan Companiess revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 25th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 24th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Marsh & McLennan Companiess payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Profile

(Free Report)

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc, a professional services company, provides advice and solutions to clients in the areas of risk, strategy, and people worldwide. It operates through Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment offers risk management services, such as risk advice, risk transfer, and risk control and mitigation solutions, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking, strategic advisory services, and analytics solutions, and insurance program management services.

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Gotham Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR  Free Report) by 27.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,001 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 9,025 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in Danaher were worth $5,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DHR. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in Danaher during the third quarter worth $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Danaher during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 344.8% in the 2nd quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Danaher in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Danaher during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 76.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Danaher

In other Danaher news, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 23,757 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total transaction of $5,986,764.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,601,704. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Georgeann Couchara sold 2,622 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.67, for a total value of $636,280.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,244 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,891.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel Raskas sold 23,757 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.00, for a total value of $5,986,764.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,601,704. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,957 shares of company stock worth $8,265,802. 11.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on DHR shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Danaher from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Friday, December 8th. HSBC began coverage on Danaher in a research report on Monday, December 18th. They set a hold rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Danaher from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Danaher from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Danaher from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $266.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on DHR

Danaher Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE DHR opened at $253.15 on Friday. The businesss fifty day moving average is $238.61 and its 200-day moving average is $231.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.85. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $182.09 and a one year high of $257.09.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.18. Danaher had a net margin of 17.26% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.87 EPS. Danahers quarterly revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Danaher Co. will post 7.63 EPS for the current year.

Danaher Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This is a boost from Danahers previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Danahers dividend payout ratio is currently 15.02%.

Danaher Company Profile

(Free Report)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware and consumables and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov met with Foreign Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov within the diplomatic forum in Antalya, Trend reports, referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

At the meeting, the sides discussed the current agenda of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries, as well as the regional situation in the post-conflict period.

Jeyhun Bayramov noted that multifaceted relations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, based on friendship and brotherhood, in political, economic, trade, transportation and communication, cultural, humanitarian, and other spheres have recently gained intensive character as a result of contacts at the highest and high levels.

The necessity to continue cooperation based on mutual support and solidarity within the framework of regional and international organizations, especially the Organization of Turkic States, which is one of the priorities for our country, was emphasized.

Azerbaijani Minister emphasized that our country will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) this year and Azerbaijan's readiness to cooperate in the implementation of joint measures in this direction.

Jeyhun Bayramov informed his counterpart in detail about the large-scale reconstruction and construction works carried out in the region in the post-conflict period, steps to normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and appeals threatening regional peace and stability. It was mentioned that Armenia's political and military provocations, which have recently become more intense, as well as rapid armament and aggressive rhetoric of this country threaten the peace process.

Bakhtiyor Saidov congratulated Azerbaijan on holding COP29, wished success in organizing this prestigious event, and said that Uzbekistan is ready to make its contribution to it.

Other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting," the statement of the ministry says.

Meanwhile, the day before, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov went on a working visit to Turkiye. During the visit, the Minister is scheduled to participate in the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, speak at the panel "Institutionalization in the Turkic World: Organization of Turkic States in the XXI century", as well as hold numerous bilateral meetings.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The EU hopes for the continuation of efforts to normalize relations between Turkiye and Armenia, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar said during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Trend reports.

"The special envoys of Turkiye and Armenia have taken significant steps to normalize relations, and we hope that this work will continue and yield concrete results. Ultimately, reducing tension and increasing trade and investments in the South Caucasus and beyond will improve the prosperity of all three countries in the region, as well as Turkiye," he noted.

According to him, this will also bring obvious benefits to the EU.

Meanwhile, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum is taking place on March 1-3 under the auspices of President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on the initiative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan will allow the withdrawal of the EU mission from Armenia, said the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF), Trend reports.

"The establishment of peace and stability between Armenia and Azerbaijan would enable us to shift our attention exclusively to a positive cooperation agenda with all three countries of the South Caucasus. Moreover, we would be in a position to withdraw the unarmed EU civilian mission from Armenia, which was deployed to affirm the EU's confidence and commitment to peace," he emphasized.

The EU sent an unarmed civilian mission (EUMA) to Armenia on February 20, 2023.

The European Council officially founded EUMA on January 23, 2023. As highlighted in the decision authorizing the mission, its objective is to foster stability in Armenia's border regions, facilitate on-the-ground cooperation, and create conditions conducive to EU-supported endeavors aimed at normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

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A weather warning has been issued for every county in the Republic of Ireland after sleet and snow led to travel disruption in some parts.

The Irish weather agency Met Eireann said cold temperatures could mean ice develops on untreated surfaces, leading to hazardous travelling conditions.

A status yellow ice warning will be in effect from 6pm on Friday until 9am on Saturday.

It comes after a status yellow snow and ice warning was issued for the entire province of Munster as well as Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford, and Wicklow.

The warning covers the areas from midday to 6pm on Friday.

A separate yellow rain warning with the risk of localised flooding is in place for Dublin, Louth, Meath and Wicklow and will expire at 3am on Saturday.

On Friday morning, the agency said temporary accumulations of snow and falling sleet had the potential to cause poor visibility and hazardous travelling conditions.

A status yellow warning for snow and ice, which has now expired, was in place for Cavan, Monaghan, Kildare, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo and Donegal.

The forecaster said there will be persistent rain, with a mix of sleet and snow at times.

Iarnrod Eireann said some DART trains for commuters around Dublin had been delayed on Friday, with the suspension of services between Lansdowne and Bray.

It said that a tree fell on overhead power lines near Merrion Street and crews are working to repair them.

There are also long delays from Heuston to Westport and Heuston to Galway.

Some Bus Eireann services to and from Dublin and Donegal and Cavan were also cancelled because of bad weather, as well as services between Cavan and Dundalk.

Dublin Bus said its 44B route from Glencullen was curtailed due to the weather.

Brandon Craig, meteorologist at Met Eireann, said that a rain warning was issued on Thursday afternoon but it was predicted that snow would fall on higher ground only.

He said that snow is notoriously difficult to predict.

It wasnt clear until this morning that it was going to be as heavy as it is and as widespread, Mr Craig told RTE Radio One.

The model had the freezing levels too high up over hills and higher areas but it turns out that complex dynamics pushed the snow down further than what it should have and thats what led to the lying snow over most areas.

There was a signal for snow but it was over higher ground to the north.

#weatherfortheweekendSunny spells and scattered showers, with chilly northerly breezes Some heavy showers with hail, along with isolated sleet or snow over higher ground More herehttps://t.co/BgwnlFeX1D pic.twitter.com/YOjyu7irra  Met Eireann (@MetEireann) March 1, 2024

Snow is notoriously the most difficult in meteorological parameters to forecast in Ireland. If we had a crystal ball and we knew exactly what was going to happen maybe that would have been an orange warning but given the risk at the time we dont take our warnings lightly at all.

We cant over-warn otherwise people wont believe the orange warnings when they come. The warnings that were put out were based on the most accurate evidence at the time.

Flights into and out of Dublin were also delayed throughout Friday.

Pictures of Michael D Higgins dog, Misneach, playing in the snow at Aras an Uachtarain were posted to the Presidents Instagram account.

In Northern Ireland, police said they received several reports of vehicles becoming stuck in heavy overnight snow in and around Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

They urged motorists to consider whether their journey is necessary, and to travel with extra caution.

The UK Met Office had initiated a snow warning for Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry overnight, expiring at 10am on Friday.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The date and agenda of the next session of the Azerbaijani Parliament have been announced, Trend reports.

The meeting will be held on March 5.

The agenda of the meeting includes the following issues:

1. Draft decision of Azerbaijani Parliament on amendments to the decision of Azerbaijani Parliament "On election of heads of working groups on inter-parliamentary relations of Azerbaijani Parliament".

2. Annual report of the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Azerbaijan Republic on protection of human rights in the country in 2023.

3. Draft constitutional law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amendments to the constitutional laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsperson) of the Republic of Azerbaijan" and "On normative legal acts" (first reading).

4. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to some laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the implementation of the law "On Media" of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 471-VIQ of December 30, 2021 (first reading).

5. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on approval of the "Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Nations regarding the host country for the thirteenth session of the World Urban Forum to be held in Baku in 2026".

6. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On making partial amendments to the administrative-territorial division of the Absheron district".

7. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to some laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the implementation of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 523-VIQ of May 5, 2022 "On food security".

8. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to the law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On association, functioning, and abolition of municipalities" (first reading).

9. Draft law of the Azerbaijan Republic on making amendments to the law of the Azerbaijan Republic "On the status of municipalities" (first reading).

10. Draft law of the Azerbaijan Republic on making amendments to the law of the Azerbaijan Republic "On the privatization of state property" (first reading).

11. Draft Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Family Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Prevention of Domestic Violence" (second reading).

12. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amendments to the "Consular Statute of the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by Law No. 782 of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated February 8, 1994 (second reading).

13. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to the Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (second reading).

14. Draft Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Water Supply and Drainage" (second reading).

15. Draft law of the Azerbaijan Republic on making amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of the Azerbaijan Republic (second reading).

16. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Azerbaijan (second reading).

17. Draft law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan "On Courts and Judges" (second reading).

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Peace in the South Caucasus will ensure uninterrupted functioning of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor), EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus Toivo Klaar said during a panel discussion at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Trend reports.

"Peace and stability between Armenia and Azerbaijan will mean that we will finally be able to focus exclusively on a positive agenda of cooperation with all three countries of the South Caucasus. We will have confidence that the Middle Corridor, of which the South Caucasus is a vital part, will operate smoothly, thereby withstanding the ever-increasing flow of goods between Europe and Central Asia and between Europe and China," he said.

According to him, therefore, the EU has a great interest in advancing this process.

Meanwhile, the Middle Corridor links the containerized rail freight networks of China and the European Union through Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkiye, and Eastern Europe.

A multilateral multimodal transport infrastructure links the Caspian and Black Sea ferry terminals with the railway systems of China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkiye, Ukraine, and Poland.

The middle corridor facilitates increasing cargo traffic from China to Turkiye, as well as to European countries and in the opposite direction.

A route train along this corridor delivers cargo from China to Europe in an average of 20-25 days, and this is one of the main advantages of this transport corridor.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijani gas and the Caspian Basin play a crucial role in the common future, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held today in Baku, Trend reports.

"The Southern Gas Corridor will undoubtedly continue to remain one of the unique and stable sources of natural gas transported by pipeline to the European Union. Considering that the share of gas transported to Europe from Russia will decrease from 40 to eight percent and will soon be zero, and with the current relevance of ecological and decarbonization issues, Azerbaijani gas and the Caspian Basin play a crucial role in our shared future," he noted.

"Today, we witness how the Southern Gas Corridor has changed the lives of many, and this project has made Europe even safer," added Rama.

The 10th meeting of the Advisory Council on the Southern Gas Corridor was held on March 1, 2023. This meeting encompassed discussions on the expansion of the SGC and the inclusion of new participating countries, as well as initiatives related to green energy projects. A dedicated session will address these green energy projects alongside the negotiation of significant agreements.

Since December 2020, the Southern Gas Corridor has operated at full capacity, delivering gas to Italy (over nine billion cubic meters per year), Greece, and Bulgaria (one billion cubic meters per year each).

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News of economic harsh times and tragic hit the metro this afternoon.

Technically, this might be the 4th major mass shooting we've seen in the area so far in 2024.



Here are the basics of the story . . .



An Independence Police officer and a civil process server were killed Thursday afternoon during a shooting in Independence. At least one other officer was injured.

The shooting occurred at a home in the area of N. Elsea Smith Road and Bundschu Road.



The civil processor went to the residence and called law enforcement for backup; the Independence Police Department sent two officers.



A veteran officer was killed and a new hire suffered serious injuries in the shooting, according to Officer Jack Taylor, a spokesperson with the Independence Police Department. A suspect is in custody.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

UPDATE | 1 Independence officer, civil process server killed, 2nd officer shot while serving eviction One other officer was injured and a fourth person was taken to the hospital with injuries after the shooting,.

One Independence officer killed, one hurt in shooting Independence police say an officer was shot and killed, one other and a process server were hurt on Thursday, February 29, 2024.

3 shot, police officer killed during eviction at northeast Independence home The Independence Police Department has confirmed that a suspect is in custody following the shooting

Independence police officer and court official killed while serving eviction, other officers shot The shooting took place early Thursday afternoon in eastern Independence.

Video: Kansas City police, Missouri Highway Patrol provide update on shooting that killed Independence officer The Kansas City Police Department and Missouri Highway Patrol provided an update on the investigation of a shooting that killed an Independence police officer and a court worker.

Jackson County Prosecutor's statement regarding today's tragedy in eastern Jackson County Feb. 29, 2024 Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker issued the following statement this evening: Our deepest condolences go to families of the 16th Circuit Court process server and the I...

'We are a broken family.' Independence police mourn officer & worker killed in shooting "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families. And this entire community is devastated again by the senseless tragedies," said Interim Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman.

Who was Independence police officer Cody Allen? Ofc. Cody Allen was fatally shot by a suspect at a home in the 1100 block of North Elsea Smith Road.

Jackson County Executive Statement on deadly shooting February 29, 2024 Jackson County Executive Frank White, Jr. has issued the following statement regarding today's shooting in Independence: "I am deeply saddened by the deadly shooting today i...

Prayer vigil organized outside of Independence Police Station A prayer vigil has been organized outside of the Independence Police Station for Thursday night following a shooting in northeast Independence involving a court process officer and two Independence Police Department officers.

'Had a wonderful smile': Colleague remembers fallen Jackson County civil process server Drexel Mack Drexel Mack, a civil process server for Jackson County, was shot and killed while serving an eviction notice near North Elsea Smith and Bundschu Road on Thursday.

Independence officer's death adds to department's tragic history Two Independence police officers were shot Thursday, leaving one dead. It's another loss for a department that has seen several tragic shootings.

Memorial honoring slain officer Cody Allen begins to grow outside Independence Police Department A memorial put together by community members began to grow to honor slain Independence officer Cody Allen on Thursday night.

Developing . . .
Just posting a funny to lighten the mood around this dump . . .



This historic moment in public transit journalism is TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE but we hope & pray that the kind of person who reads TKC . . . Regardless of demographic background . . . Will find this hilarious . . . And if you don't, you're totes missing the "spirit" of our blog community:



Sent this to one of the smartest people I know and they made me chuckle by writing back:

"Stay Strong Rosa!!!"



Here's something a bit more inspiring and a bit of real local history . . .

"Charlie Parkers music has lived on for generations after he passed. People all over the globe still like to say, Bird lives! Charlie Parkers signature sound changed music forever.



Charlie Parker is one of the only musicians that Ive ever heard of thats consistently compared to Mozart consistently, Lonnie McFadden from Lonnies Reno Club said.



"Born in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1920, Parkers family moved to the KCMO side of the border, just as the music scene here exploded into national prominence."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Charlie Parker's jazz legacy in Kansas City lives on, a look back on his impact People from all over the world are still coming to Kansas City to pay their respects to Charlie Parker, one of the true giants of American jazz.

And if you're reading this closely . . . Apropos for #TBT we have to share a song that's a guilty pleasure and makes us feel old because TKC ACTUALLY ENJOYS THIS OLD SCHOOL TUNE by The Neville Brothers:
Right now activist, author and enduring hottie Pam inspires our peek at pop culture, community news and top headlines.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Cowtown Concert Calendar Debuts

10 Kansas City concerts you must see this March A slate of superstars will appear in Kansas City this month, including Bad Bunny, Drake, Sleater-Kinney and Jenny Lewis. Easter Sunday features a performance by R&B evangelist Anthony Hamilton to end the month on a high note.

Show-Me Chicken Scratch

Sorry, but nobody writes in cursive anymore. Missouri schools don't need to teach it | Opinion In the days of computer keyboards, it's just an old-fashioned script for an old-fashioned age. | Opinion

Rock Chalk Flap Jacks For Cash

How running with pancakes in southwest Kansas boosts community spirit and the economy This year marks the 75th anniversary of what's known as the Pancake Day Race in the southwest Kansas town of Liberal. It's an oddity, but these types of community festivals offer economic and less tangible benefits to smaller towns.

Kansas City Outdoor Boozing Season Begins Again

Waldo Week kicks off with Ghosts and free cocktails Mike's Wine & Spirits is sponsoring the February 29th event from 5 - 8 pm. The band Rumble Ghost will perform from 6:30 - 7:30 pm.

Baller Debate Rages

Social media war between Chiefs' Mecole Hardman, Jets players could bring investigation In recent days, the Kansas City Chiefs' free-agent wide receiver has been embroiled in controversy with members of the New York Jets.

Hottie Humanitarian Knows Love Is The Answer

Pamela Anderson shares love advice in edgy new magazine spread The Baywatch icon, 56, offered a deep perspective on partnership, calling love 'the most important thing in the world' and significant others a 'mirror' into oneself.

Mexican Standoff Campaigning

Biden calls for compromise while Trump goes full red meat at US-Mexico border Dueling border visits of 2024 contenders 300 miles apart shows that immigration has become a central issue in the White House campaign

MSM Clowns Surging MAGA

Trump Is Broke as Heck and Completely "Embarrassed" by It The former president is struggling to pay his New York civil fraud fine.

Fans Of Former Prez Talk Peace

Kari Lake says if Trump is reelected wars in Ukraine, Gaza 'are going to wrap up quickly' At a press conference in Phoenix, Arizona, GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake claimed that if former President Trump were reelected, he would quickly "wrap up" the war between Russia and Ukraine in Europe and the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. "I think when we get President Trump back in the White House, these...

Holy Land Gunfire Erupts

IDF says troops fired 'warning shots' as mob rushed aid convoy, leading to more than 100 killed The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it fired "warning shots" at a mob of Palestinians who rushed a humanitarian aid convoy early Thursday, leading to more than 100 killed.

Far East Firing Moon Shot

China names the spacecraft that will put its astronauts on the moon (video) China's human spaceflight agency has given names to spacecraft being developed to put astronauts on the moon: Mengzhou ("Dream Vessel") and Lanyue ("Embracing the Moon").

Doctors Decry Weight Of World

More than 1 billion people in the world now live with obesity, analysis finds | CNN More than 1 billion children, adolescents and adults live with obesity around the world, making it the most common form of malnutrition in many countries, according to an analysis published Thursday in the journal The Lancet.

Golden Ghetto Talks Trash

JCDHE asks residents for help with waste diversion survey The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment wants help from the community.

Katie Springs Forward

Winter weather in the process of turning back to spring-like Wind will strengthen as we go into the weekend

Eve 6 - Inside Out from the glorious 90s is our #TBT song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
We shouldn't confuse politics with personal feelings . . . However . . . This Show-Me State snub might sting many GOP denizens.



Here's the word . . .



I dont know [why McConnell will step aside], but Im glad that its happening, Hawley told The Heartlander Thursday in an exclusive interview, after McConnell announced his decision the day before. I only wish it had come sooner  and would come sooner.



Listen, I called on Sen. McConnell to step down from leadership over a year ago. I have not supported him as leader. We need a change, clearly  somebody who actually reflects the principles and priorities of Republican voters and working people everywhere, which he does not.



I just wish it would come sooner. Hes not stepping down til November. I mean, why not now, is my question.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Hawley: End of 'disastrous' Mitch McConnell leadership era, switch to worker-friendly GOP, can't come soon enough He doesn't know why Sen. Mitch McConnell is stepping aside in November as Republican leader in the Senate, but Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley says he's certainly happy to see it. In fact, November c...

A retort posted just for balance . . .



'Classless': Ex-McConnell aide slams Sen. Josh Hawley Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) says he's looking for a total break from the way Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) led Republicans in the US Senate over the past two decades. McConnell

You decide . . .
A very special thanks to TOP ECHELON INSIDERS for always helping us do the math and consider the bigger picture confronting this cowtown and its people . . .

Accordingly, and as the old school cold war resurfaces and threatens to hit critical mass once again . . .

TKC blogs THE LOCAL CONNECTION to news that not only threatens our brave troops stationed close to Kansas City but also might impact the fate of planet Earth.

Check-it:



"During his State of the Union address on Thursday, Putin claimed NATO and the US are preparing to 'strike Russian territory'.



"He added: 'They must realize that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilization. Don't they get that?'



"With Putin's sabre-ratling reaching new levels, the map below shows the 14 locations in the US Russia would likely target in a nuclear war."

Accordingly . . . Here's the local target on the list:



"Whiteman Air Force Base



"Located near Knob Noster, Missouri, the base is home to the US' B-2 Spirit bomber  a heavy strategic bomber plane."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Express UK -- Vladimir Putin's nuclear targets mapped: The 14 US locations in Russia's crosshairs -- Putin's propagandists have previously listed areas in the US that Russia could strike in a nuclear war.

Developing . . .
Fatime Letifova

Azerbaijan's natural gas is of decisive importance for the common future of Europe.

According to Azernews, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said this at the 10th meeting of ministers within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor Consultative Council and the 2nd meeting of the ministers within the framework of the Green Energy Consultative Council held in Baku on March 1.

The Albanian PM emphasised that the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) plays an important role in Europe's energy security.

According to him, the SGC project has turned countries, companies, and international financial institutions into a bridge of intensive cooperation.

"Today, we can all testify that the Southern Gas Corridor has already changed the lives of many people and made Europe safer. At a time when Europe is increasing its supply of liquefied natural gas, the Southern Gas Corridor will undoubtedly remain one of the few stable and competitive sources of pipeline gas for the European Union."

E. Rama noted that Albania aims to continue to benefit from the SGC by investing in renewable energy projects and developing sustainable infrastructure.

Recall that today, the 10th ministerial meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 2nd ministerial meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council kicked off at the Gulustan Palace in Baku.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, addressed the event. ministerial meeti
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The State Committee of Azerbaijan for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs has held a meeting with a delegation of the German Bundestag visiting Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The delegation, led by Chairwoman of the Bundestag Committee on Legal Affairs Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, included deputies Janan Bayram, Stephan Brandner, Sonja Eichwede, Suzanne Hirle, Thorsten Lieb, Carsten Muller, and Jan Plobner. German Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ralf Horlemann and Advisor to German Foreign Minister Jan Schlichting also attended the meeting.

Rovshan Rzayev, the committee's chairman, emphasized the historical circumstances that have contributed to the refugee and internally displaced persons (IDP) crisis in Azerbaijan. It was emphasized that the total restoration of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and state sovereignty has prepared the ground for the return of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis, whose fundamental rights had been violated for nearly 30 years. In the formerly occupied territory, major rehabilitation and construction operations are currently underway, as is the active process of reintegrating IDPs.

Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, head of the mission, expressed gratitude for the warm reception and conversations, explained the visit's aims in Azerbaijan, and emphasized Germany's commitment to promoting security in the South Caucasus and supporting peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.



During the meeting, numerous questions from German MPs were answered, perspectives on various parts of the "Greater Return" were shared, and other issues of mutual interest were discussed.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
This lawsuit will undoubtedly spark more debate across the nation . . . For now here's a peek at BOTH SIDES of the argument:



Planned Parenthood staff admitted they traffic minors across state lines to perform abortions on them without parental consent. Worse, they admit doing this every day, every day, every day,' (Missouri AG) Bailey said in the filing. The surreptitiously recorded video revealed that Planned Parenthood removes minors from school using altered doctors notes, transports them into Kansas for abortions, and then quickly returns them  all to avoid parents finding out.



The video referenced in the lawsuit was published late last year by the right-wing undercover group Project Veritas, and it revealed how Planned Parenthood Great Plains staff arrange interstate travel and provide doctor notes to minors so they can be excused from school for their procedures. Staff were also recorded admitting in the video that in Planned Parenthood, we consider you an adult, you can make the decision then weve got you  We never tell the parents anything.

Prog blog counterpoint quote . . .

Michael Wolff, a former Missouri Supreme Court chief justice and dean emeritus at St. Louis University School of Law, said his first question about the lawsuit is whether a fictional story is admissible in court.

Because in reality, he said, the lawsuit does not prove whether anyone has broken the law.

So far were dealing with fiction, Wolff said. This is at base a highly political lawsuit and its very much presenting the courts with a hypothetical question. Courts dont like to address hypothetical questions. They address real cases.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Missouri AG sues Planned Parenthood over 'trafficking' children for out-of-state abortions - Washington Examiner Missouri AG Bailey filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Great Plains for trafficking children outside of the state to obtain abortions without parental consent.

Missouri AG sues Planned Parenthood over Project Veritas video involving fictional girl * Missouri Independent In the video, a KC area Planned Parenthood tells a man pretending to have a pregnant niece that she can get an abortion in Kansas without parental consent.

Developing . . .
Actually . . . We blogged this one more than a few days ago . . .

Kansas City Royals Will Likely Need More Taxpayer Funding For Stadium Scheme

The tragic topic has been duly noted in conversation for months.

Meanwhile . . . This prog blog is asking for donations but DOESN'T REALLY PROVIDE ANY NEW INFORMATION on the topic.

Still . . . Right now their viewpoint is worthy of consideration . . .



"When the Royals were considering a stadium north of the Missouri River, their sources and uses statement listed an expected $350 million contribution from North Kansas City, $580 million from Clay County and $350 million from Missouri.



"Parson said in a statement that Missouri will not finalize any financial commitment until after the April 2 vote.



"The team confirmed to that conversations with Kansas City officials are ongoing.



"When asked how much money the city was planning to contribute and how it would be funded in the budget, a representative from Lucas office said the city hadnt received any requests from the Royals."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Coffeebean Villa is a luxury resort located in the picturesque town of Sakleshpur, Karnataka. Set amidst lush coffee plantations and scenic landscapes, the resort offers a tranquil retreat for travelers seeking relaxation and adventure.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - February 29th, 2024 - Sakleshpur, Karnataka - February 29, 2024 - Escape to the serenity of Sakleshpur and experience unparalleled luxury at Coffeebean Villa, the best Resort near Sakleshpur nestled amidst the lush greenery of the Western Ghats. Offering a perfect blend of natural beauty, modern amenities, and warm hospitality, Coffeebean Villa stands out as the ultimate destination for discerning travelers seeking a rejuvenating getaway.

Nestled amidst sprawling coffee plantations, Coffeebean Villa boasts breathtaking views of mist-covered hills and verdant valleys. Guests are greeted with a warm welcome and ushered into spacious and elegantly appointed accommodations, each designed to provide comfort and tranquility. Whether you're seeking a romantic retreat, a family vacation, or an adventure-filled holiday, Coffeebean Villa offers a range of accommodation options to suit every need.

Guests can indulge in a variety of activities during their stay at Coffeebean Villa. Explore the picturesque surroundings with guided nature walks or embark on thrilling treks through the lush forests. For those seeking relaxation, unwind by the infinity pool overlooking the valley or rejuvenate your senses with a soothing spa treatment.

Culinary enthusiasts will delight in the gastronomic delights offered at Coffeebean Villa's restaurant. Savor a delectable array of local delicacies and international cuisine prepared with the freshest ingredients sourced from the region.

Conveniently located just a few hours' drive from Bangalore, Coffeebean Villa offers an idyllic retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Whether you're seeking adventure, relaxation, or simply a break from the ordinary, Coffeebean Villa promises an unforgettable experience amidst the natural splendor of Sakleshpur.

For more information or to make a reservation, visit https://www.coffeebeanvilla.com/

About Coffeebean Villa: Coffeebean Villa is a luxury Resort near Sakleshpur located in the picturesque town of Karnataka. Set amidst lush coffee plantations and scenic landscapes, the resort offers a tranquil retreat for travelers seeking relaxation and adventure. With luxurious accommodations, world-class amenities, and warm hospitality, Coffeebean Villa promises an unforgettable experience amidst the natural beauty of Sakleshpur.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. We have made green energy a key part of EU-Azerbaijan relations, said European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson during the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

"The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) has evolved into a collaborative platform for renewable energy and power. This outstanding achievement highlights the forward-thinking and inclusive spirit of the project," she said.

Kadri Simson emphasized the Caspian Sea's significant potential for renewable energy, noting that Azerbaijan, along with the European Union and other international partners, took part in COP28, which endorsed a global initiative to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030.

"This global initiative aligns with the countries' explicit commitment to foster improved conditions for international trade and investment while also expediting the national-level energy transition," she said.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. On March 1, as part of the working visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama to Azerbaijan, a meeting was held between the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Fariz Rzayev and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania Besart Kadia, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.

At the meeting, satisfaction was expressed with the level of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Albania in the political, economic and humanitarian spheres and an exchange of views took place on opportunities for further development of relations.

At the end of the meeting, an Agreement between the government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania on the mutual abolition of visa requirements for persons holding general passports was signed.
The Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 55 enemy attacks in four sectors of the front over the past day, most of them in the Avdiivka and Novopavlivka directions.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in its update on the operational situation, according to Ukrinform.

In total, according to the General Staff, 73 combat engagements were recorded on the front lines over the day.

The Ukrainian Air Force struck 13 areas where Russian army personnel were concentrated.

The Ukrainian missile units hit nine enemy targets: one manpower cluster, two artillery units, three command posts, and three ammunition depots.

In total, Russian invaders carried out six missile attacks and 79 airstrikes, as well as 62 MLRS attacks on the positions of the Defense Forces of Ukraine and populated areas. As a result of Russian terrorist attacks, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.

The situation in the Volyn and Polissia sectors has remained unchanged. There have been no signs of the formation of offensive groups. Certain units of the armed forces of Belarus are performing tasks in the areas bordering Ukraine.

In the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna sectors, the enemy maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts sabotage activities to prevent the deployment of Ukrainian troops to the threatened areas, and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine.

In the Kupiansk sector, the Russian forces did not conduct offensive (assault) operations, but instead launched air strikes on settlements, including in the areas of Kyslivka and Sadove in the Kharkiv region.

The Russian army shelled more than 10 towns and villages in the Kupiansk sector with mortars and artillery, including Dvorichna, Petropavlivka, and Pishchane in the Kharkiv region.

In the Lyman sector, Ukrainian defenders repelled six enemy attacks near Terniv and Rozdolivka in the Donetsk region and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region. The Russian troops, with the support of aircraft, attempted to break through the defense there.

About 20 localities in the Lyman sector came under artillery and mortar attacks by the Russian army over the last day, including Makiivka, Nevske and Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region, Terny, Yampolivka, Torske and Rozdolivka in the Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut sector, the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled four enemy attacks in the areas of Bohdanivka and Andriivka in the Donetsk region. The Russians were trying to improve their tactical position there.

The invaders launched air strikes on the Chasiv Yar and Druzhba areas of the Donetsk region.

About 10 settlements in the Bakhmut sector came under artillery and mortar fire from Russian troops, including Chasiv Yar, Andriivka and Druzhba in the Donetsk region.

In the Avdiivka sector, Ukrainian troops repelled 20 enemy attacks in the areas of Berdychiv, Orlivka, Tonenke, Pervomaiske and Nevelske in the Donetsk region.

The Russians launched air strikes on the areas of Novokalynove, Oleksandropil, Arkhanhelske, Novooleksandrivka, Ocheretyne, Prohres and Novobakhmutivka in the Donetsk region.

About 20 localities in the Avdiivka sector were subjected to enemy mortar and artillery fire over the last day, including Novokalynove, Novobakhmutivka, Semenivka, Orlivka and Pervomaiske in the Donetsk region.

In the Novopavlivka sector, the Ukrainian forces continue to hold back Russian troops in the areas of Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Pobeda, Novomykhailivka and south of Zolota Nyva in the Donetsk region. The Russians tried to break through the defense there 25 times.

The Russian army used artillery and mortar fire to attack more than 20 localities in the Novopavlivka sector, including Krasnohorivka, Heorhiivka, Paraskoviivka, Kostiantynivka, Vuhledar and Blahodatne in the Donetsk region.

In the Orikhiv sector, the invaders did not conduct any offensive (assault) actions, but instead shelled towns and villages. In particular, the Russian forces conducted an air strike near Staromaiorske in the Donetsk region, and directed artillery and mortar fire at about 20 settlements, including Poltava, Malynivka, Mala Tokmachka, Novodanylivka and Piatykhatky in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson sector, the Russians did not conduct offensive (assault) operations, but shelled populated areas: about 20 settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Kachkarivka, Lvove, Kherson and Stanislav in the Kherson region.

As reported by Ukrinform, in the Avdiivka sector, there has been an increase in the intensity of artillery shelling by Russian forces. They hold a significant advantage in ammunition and are also increasing the number of assault groups. Ukrainian defenders are currently conducting a defensive operation and have managed to regain some lost positions in certain areas.
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Published February 29, 2024

CAPTION: Dr. Diana Greenlee serves as the ULM Station Archaeologist at the Poverty Point World Heritage Site in Northeast Louisiana. She is part of the 2024 class of The Explorers Club 50, recognizing those dedicated to promoting science and exploration. Photo credit: Emerald McIntyre

MONROE, LA ULM Station Archaeologist, Dr. Diana Greenlee, has been named to the Explorers Club 50 Class of 2024 for her achievements at the Poverty Point World Heritage Site.

The Explorers Club 50 chose to honor Dr. Greenlee because of her dedication to preserving the 3,400-year-old earthworks site and encouraging public knowledge surrounding Poverty Points historical significance. Dr. Greenlee was nominated by Dr. Richard Wiese, the President Emeritus and Explorers Club 50 Chair.

The Explorers Club selects 50 people each year to recognize their work in promoting science and exploration, specifically those unknown to most people. The Explorers Clubs mission is to redefine exploration and enrich our knowledge of the world around us. Over 51 countries represent the applications and 1,600 applicants since the Explorers Clubs founding in 2020.

To be one of 200 researchers worldwide, who were selected for this honor, is unreal, Dr. Greenlee said.

Dr. Greenlee hopes to connect with other EC50 and Explorers Club members to establish collaboration regarding the expansion of research and outreach beyond her current efforts.

Along with collaboration, Dr. Greenlee hopes to gain attention to Poverty Point WHS and raise awareness about the importance of preserving archaeological sites.

There is so much yet to learn about our past and I am certain that future technologies will allow us to investigate the archaeological record in new ways, Dr. Greenlee said.

During her time as a college student, Dr. Greenlee chose archaeology to satisfy her interests in science, history and art. She said she enjoyed the challenge of applying scientific methods to history and finding creative ways to share historical information.

Since 2006, Dr. Greenlee has explored Poverty Point WHS through a variety of measures, including remote sensing technology, surface survey, soil coring and target excavation.

Dr. Greenlee states that her research goes beyond exploring for discovery. She utilizes their findings to develop knowledge regarding archaeological deposits to protect them.

Beyond documenting the above-ground earthworks, I collaborate to apply minimally invasive, remote-sensing technologies to see underground features, Dr. Greenlee said. Knowing both above and below ground conditions allows us to avoid accidental harm to subtle landscape features and identify and mitigate threats like erosion.

Along with these protective methods, Dr. Greenlee studies plant and animal resources utilization as well as the technology and raw materials that indigenous people fashioned for tools and ornaments.

Poverty Point WHS is a remarkably complex archaeological site and while we know a lot about it and the indigenous people who created it, there is so much more we can learn, Dr. Greenlee said. I am not afraid to say, I dont know to questions and I enjoy the challenge of figuring out ways to answer those questions.

Dr. Greenlee provides outreach activities to encourage public knowledge surrounding Poverty Point WHS, including exhibits, talks and hands-on participation opportunities in select projects. Dr. Greenlee said she strives for the public to know they continuously learn about the indigenous culture at Poverty Point WHS.

By bringing people along on my archaeological journey, I emphasize how new methods and technologies provide diverse information, enhancing our understanding of the past, Dr. Greenlee said.

In 2014, Dr. Greenlee collaborated with several experts to advance the knowledge of Poverty Point WHS through the inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to Dr. Greenlee, the inscription of Poverty Point WHS on the UNESCO World Heritage List is the most significant achievement in her career.

This intricate process took almost eight years, involving stakeholder meetings and building support, particularly from indigenous tribes, state and local officials and the local community, Dr. Greenlee said. Today, an annual Poverty Point World Heritage Festival celebrates the site, reflecting the success of the effort initiated when few people initially understood it.

Dr. Greenlees role as Poverty Point Station Archaeologist is a full-time pursuit. Through her work at Poverty Point, Greenlees work includes fielding questions from ULM students and members of the public who contact her through the ULM School of Sciences. She has also occasionally offered archaeological field schools during summer and winter sessions which provide an opportunity for ULM students to experience archaeological fieldwork. In 2022, Greenlee completed a new archaeology exhibit in the ULM Museum of Natural History, which is housed in Hanna Hall on ULMs main campus.

For more information regarding the Explorers Club 50 and Poverty Point WHS, visit the links.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov gave a speech during a panel discussion held on the topic Institutionalization in the Turkic world: The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in the 21st Century within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.

Jeyhun Bayramov said that strengthening ties with the member states of the OTS in all areas is one of the main priorities of Azerbaijan's foreign policy. He emphasized that, as the head of state said at the recent inauguration ceremony, the Turkic world is our family.

Noting that the Turkic states are connected by historical and cultural traditions, the Foreign Minister stated that strengthening cooperation within the Turkic world in various fields, including political, economic, investment, security and others, will serve to strengthen our resistance to current changes in the international system. Considering that the Turkic world covers a vast geography, which is home to about 200 million people, has great economic potential, energy resources, and opportunities associated with transport routes, there was a need to use the existing potential to further expand cooperation.

The panel discussion continued with a question and answer session.
Ohio University and Ohio State University are in the process of reassessing their race-based diversity scholarships following a Supreme Court ruling last summer that struck down affirmative action. The move comes as both institutions aim to ensure compliance with the law while navigating the implications of the court's decision.

Temporary Pause and Review Process

Ohio University announced on Monday that it would be temporarily pausing the awarding of race-based diversity scholarships while it conducts a review of its scholarship criteria. The university clarified that scholarships already awarded to current students will not be affected by this review, and recipients will continue to receive renewable scholarships if they meet the renewal criteria. Similarly, Ohio State University is undergoing a review of its scholarship criteria to ensure alignment with legal requirements.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court Decision on Virginia Magnet School Admissions Sets Precedent for Diverse Admissions in Elite Schools

These decisions stem from a review process initiated following the Supreme Court ruling in June, which raised questions about the legality of race-based considerations in scholarship awards. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost urged all public colleges to examine their admissions policies and practices in light of the ruling, emphasizing the potential legal ramifications for non-compliance.

Legal Interpretations and Controversy

The debate surrounding the interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling has been contentious, particularly regarding its applicability to scholarship awards. While some, including Attorney General Dave Yost and advocacy groups like Students for Fair Admissions, argue that the ruling extends to financial awards and necessitates the elimination of race-based scholarships, others in higher education express concerns about the broader implications of such an interpretation.

Ohio's reassessment of race-based scholarships reflects the complexities inherent in navigating legal requirements while upholding principles of diversity and inclusion. As universities grapple with these issues, they are tasked with finding a delicate balance between compliance with legal mandates and the promotion of equitable access to educational opportunities for all students, regardless of background or demographic characteristics.

Impact on Diversity and Inclusion Efforts

The temporary pause on race-based diversity scholarships raises concerns among advocates for diversity and inclusion in higher education. These scholarships have historically played a crucial role in promoting access and opportunity for underrepresented minority students, helping to address systemic barriers to higher education.

Critics argue that eliminating race-based scholarships could further exacerbate existing disparities in educational attainment and hinder efforts to foster a diverse and inclusive campus environment. They emphasize the importance of considering race as one factor among many in scholarship decisions, highlighting the need to address structural inequities and promote equal access to educational resources.

Moving forward, Ohio universities face the challenge of developing scholarship criteria that align with legal requirements while upholding their commitments to diversity and inclusion. This may involve exploring alternative methods of promoting diversity, such as socioeconomic-based criteria or holistic review processes that consider a range of factors beyond just race.

Ultimately, the reevaluation of race-based scholarships underscores the ongoing debate surrounding affirmative action and its implications for educational equity. Ohio universities must navigate this complex landscape with careful consideration of legal obligations, institutional values, and the diverse needs of their student populations.

RELATED ARTICLE: Supreme Court Decision on Virginia Magnet School Admissions Sets Precedent for Diverse Admissions in Elite Schools
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Russian IRAERO airline has started selling tickets for the Omsk-Baku flight, the press service of the Omsk airport says, Trend reports.

According to the information, the first flight to Baku will be carried out on April 2.

The flight will be operated on an SSJ 100 aircraft.

Flights from Omsk to Baku were last operated in 2014.
Amid growing concerns over equity and access in higher education, assemblymember Phil Ting has reintroduced a bill aiming to ban legacy admissions in California's private colleges and universities.

The move comes as part of a broader effort to address systemic inequalities and ensure fair opportunities for all students seeking admission to institutions of higher learning.

The Proposal

Assembly Bill 1780, introduced by Ting, seeks to prohibit preferential treatment for applicants with donor or alumni connections in the admissions process of private colleges and universities in California. Under the proposed legislation, institutions that continue to prioritize legacy admissions would risk losing state funding through the Cal Grant program.

READ ALSO: Elite Universities Settle for $166 Million in College Admissions Scandal

Ting emphasized the need to address the issue of legacy admissions, highlighting concerns regarding fairness and access. He argued that legacy preferences perpetuate privilege and hinder efforts to create a more inclusive and equitable higher education system.

Debate and Opposition

While Ting's bill has garnered support from advocates of equity in education, it has also faced opposition from some quarters. Critics argue that legacy admissions perpetuate systemic inequalities and undermine the principle of merit-based admissions. However, opponents express concerns about the potential impact on low-income students attending private institutions that rely on legacy preferences for funding.

The debate surrounding legacy admissions has intensified in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to end race-conscious admission programs, prompting renewed scrutiny of other forms of preferential treatment in college admissions.

Some critics of the bill argue that legacy preferences can be an important factor in fostering a sense of community and tradition within colleges and universities. They contend that these preferences often extend beyond considerations of wealth or privilege and reflect a commitment to supporting multigenerational ties to educational institutions.

Path to Equity

Advocates of the bill assert that ending legacy admissions is a crucial step toward creating a more equitable higher education system. They argue that legacy preferences disproportionately benefit affluent and predominantly white applicants, perpetuating historical patterns of exclusion and privilege.

The proposed legislation reflects a broader push for equity and fairness in college admissions, particularly in light of ongoing efforts to address racial and socioeconomic disparities. By eliminating legacy preferences, policymakers aim to level the playing field and ensure that admissions decisions are based on merit rather than familial connections.

As the debate continues, stakeholders across California's higher education landscape are closely monitoring the progress of Assembly Bill 1780. The outcome of this legislative effort could have far-reaching implications for the future of college admissions in the state, shaping opportunities for generations of students to come.

Ultimately, the goal is to create a more inclusive and accessible higher education system that provides equitable opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background or familial connections. Through concerted efforts and legislative action, California aims to lead the way in promoting fairness and social justice in college admissions.

RELATED ARTICLE: Yale University Implements 'Test-Flexible' Policy, Allowing AP and IB Exams as Alternatives to SAT and ACT
A member of Idaho's education board cautioned legislators about potential legal action that could undermine the University of Idaho's acquisition of the University of Phoenix. Despite the State Board of Education's approval of the $550 million deal last May, concerns have arisen among lawmakers regarding their level of involvement.

Legislative Intervention Sparks Controversy

Amidst debates over transparency and oversight, legislators are considering a resolution that would authorize legal challenges against the acquisition. This move has raised doubts about the future of the deal, as it faces resistance from lawmakers who question the board's decision-making process.

READ ALSO: Bay Path University To Acquire Cambridge College in Merger Deal

Some lawmakers argue that they haven't had adequate input or information regarding the acquisition, prompting concerns about accountability and governance. The proposed resolution aims to address these grievances by empowering legislative leaders to take action against the transaction and call for a reevaluation by the education board.

Financial Implications Hang in the Balance

Kurt Liebich, a board member, warned that any legal action initiated by the Legislature could hinder the acquisition's financing. With plans to issue $685 million in bonds for the acquisition, uncertainties surrounding potential lawsuits have cast a shadow over the financial feasibility of the deal.

Liebich emphasized the looming demographic challenges facing higher education, stating, "Across the country, we'll witness numerous higher ed institutions closing due to demographic shifts." He added, "Without proactive measures, Idaho may face similar pressures."

Addressing Demographic Shifts

University of Idaho President C. Scott Green defended the acquisition, emphasizing its potential to expand access to higher education, particularly for rural and time-bound students. Despite concerns raised by legislators, Green underscored the urgency of adapting to demographic challenges, including the anticipated decline in the number of high school graduates.

Green outlined the strategic rationale behind the acquisition, citing the University of Phoenix's online learning modality as a means to reach underserved populations and provide flexible educational pathways. He urged lawmakers to consider the long-term benefits of the deal in addressing workforce needs and promoting economic development in the state.

As the University of Idaho presses forward with its acquisition plans, the legislative standoff threatens to derail a significant initiative aimed at reshaping the state's higher education landscape. The clash between legislative authority and institutional decision-making underscores the complexities inherent in navigating major educational reforms.

The resolution's fate remains uncertain, with stakeholders closely monitoring developments and advocating for their respective positions. Ultimately, the outcome will shape not only the University of Phoenix acquisition but also broader discussions surrounding governance, accountability, and the future of higher education in Idaho.

Efforts to bridge the gap between lawmakers and education leaders are crucial in ensuring that the acquisition proceeds smoothly while addressing concerns raised by all parties involved. Finding common ground and fostering constructive dialogue will be key in navigating the complex landscape of higher education policy and governance.

RELATED ARTICLE: Bay Path University To Acquire Cambridge College in Merger Deal
Strengthening Fact-Based and Data-Driven Migration Governance and Management in Nigeria

As a major country of origin, transit and destination, Nigerias mixed migration dynamics are complex and often impact the migration narrative for the entire West African Region. The UNODC 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons highlights that Nigerians represent the highest number of identified victims of trafficking in West Africa.

Notwithstanding, the dearth of adequate data-driven migration governance structures have further aggravated the migration complexities, as the gap between policy and reality continues to deepen. In the absence of data-driven policies based on migrant needs and strong institutional frameworks, migrants are subjected to heightened risks, while community resilience subsides in migration prone communities.

The importance of fact-based and accurate migration data cannot be overemphasized. The ability to accurately measure data relating to migration is critical for making, evaluating, and monitoring policy decisions associated with a wide range of migration-related topics.

Against this background, UNODC is implementing the project, Strengthening Fact-Based and Data-Driven Migration Governance and Management in Nigeria funded by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund. The project, which is implemented jointly with IOM, aims to strengthen fact-based and data-driven migration governance in Nigeria, through enhanced institutional and operational capacity in migration data management.

As policy-relevant research is critical for the formulation and implementation of policies, UNODCs intervention serves as a basis for enhancing the skills and capacities of the relevant agencies to conduct policy-relevant research on irregular migration and use its findings to inform policy and practice. Research and data also provide sufficient knowledge and understanding of trafficking in persons/ smuggling of migrants (TiP/SoM), which is key for the Federal Government of Nigeria and its specialized agencies (National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and the Nigerian Immigration Service), to conduct intelligence-led investigations, and facilitate effective preventative measures for TiP/SoM and related abuses and crimes.

More specifically, the project provides tailored training on evidenced research tools and methodologies for conducting studies on irregular migration, and aims to create an observatory on TiP, with the purpose of providing a an authoritative, evidence-based data analysis to feed into national migration management and governance frameworks.

In line with broader objectives, the project serves to protect the rights of the most vulnerable and promote gender equality and general human rights, which is critical to Nigerias transformation and development agenda.
Training on Anti-Corruption Measures Conducted in Haiti

Port-au-Prince, February 22, 2024. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the School of Magistracy (EMA), conducted a comprehensive training on anti-corruption addressed to 20 magistrates from February 20th to 22nd.

Recognizing the pivotal role of judicial officials in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of corruption-related crimes, the training sought to empower them with both a robust theoretical foundation and essential practical skills crucial for the stringent application of laws. The magistrates' awareness of the social and economic impacts of corruption reinforces their dedication to their public service mission, fostering heightened professional and ethical awareness. This, in turn, urges them to act with integrity and diligence in the ongoing battle against corruptiona mission particularly challenging in contexts where corruption may be deeply ingrained in the social and economic fabric.

Key topics covered during the training included:

United Nations Convention against Corruption and its review mechanism in Haiti In-depth understanding of the notion of corruption: Examining corruption through different normative lenses (morality, ethics, deontology, and law) Legal bases of incrimination, prevention, and repression of corruption (sources of law, including the constitution, legislation, and regulations, especially those derived from international conventions) The role of political, administrative, and judicial institutions in the prevention and fight against corruption Deepening knowledge of different types of related offenses

Corruption in Haiti perpetuates impunity for crimes committed, undermining the judicial services responsible for repressing such offenses.

As the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the UNODC plays a pivotal role in the global fight against corruption, supporting Member States through the UNCAC review mechanism. This facilitates the identification of weaknesses and supports technical assistance initiatives to enhance their ability to prevent and combat corruption effectively in accordance with the UNCAC.

Maguy Florestal, Magistrate Director of Studies at the School of Magistracy, expressed, "In this training, we had the opportunity to analyze national and international legislation on corruption, identify the stakes and the basis of the fight against corruption, and acquire new investigative techniques in this field."

Florestal extended gratitude, stating, "The Ecole de la Magistrature would like to thank the trainers, the UNDP, the UNODC, and the Canadian government for providing invaluable support in building the capacity of Haitian judicial personnel and supervising our national technical and professional training institutions." She emphasized the importance of continued cooperation to eradicate the scourge that undermines the nation, decomposes the social fabric, and disintegrates the institutions of the State.

This training was made possible through the support of the government of Canada and the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), the latter implemented jointly with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UNDP.
March 1 2024

Keppie Design is looking to the future while maintaining continuity with the past by becoming the latest architecture studio to embrace employee ownership.

As of today, precisely 170 years since the practice's formation in 1854, over 100 staff have become part-owners in the business after its directors transferred their entire shareholding to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).

The shift follows a desire on the part of the current leadership team to guarantee continuity for the future beyond their tenure by democratising control. Managing director Peter Moran commented: We believe the best people to own the future of Keppie are the people who know it best  our present and future employees.

"The EOT will provide a platform for our business to grow, with a commitment to continual professional and personal improvement and innovation to ensure Keppie maintains its position as a market leader."

Finance director Pamela Ross will serve as employee representative on the board of trustees, with Moran and fellow directors David Ross, Fraser Low and Richard MacDonald all remaining with the business to ensure stability.

A host of practices have embraced more egalitarian ownership models in recent years, most recently Hoskins Architects.
(@FahadShabbir)

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday confirmed interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder in four cases related to May-9 violence and others

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday confirmed interim bail of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder in four cases related to May-9 violence and others.

The court confirmed the interim bail in cases of attack on police outside Zaman Park, murder of PTI activist Zille Shah, torching of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz office in Model Town and a container at Kalma Chowk, subject to furnishing of surety bonds of Rs 500,000.

ATC Judge Arshad Javed heard the bail petitions of the PTI founder and announced the verdict on completion of arguments by the parties.

The counsel for the PTI founder had requested the court to confirm the bail of his client in the cases, during the proceedings.

However, Special Prosecutor Rana Shakil argued that the PTI founder was the main accused in May-9 cases.

While referring to statements of various witnesses, he claimed that the PTI founder incited workers to treason and arson before his arrest.

Meanwhile, another ATC Judge Naveed Iqbal extended the interim bail of the PTI founder in three cases of May-9 violence till March 7. The court extended the interim bail in cases of attacking Jinnah House, Askari Tower and torching of Shadman police station.

Earlier, on August 11, 2023, an ATC dismissed the pre-arrest bails of PTI founder over his non-appearance in the cases due to his conviction in Toshakhana case. However, the Lahore High Court set aside the decision of the ATC and restored his bail petitions while allowing a petition of the PTI founder.
Newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, pledged on Friday to conduct the affairs of the National Assembly in accordance with the constitution and the law

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) Newly elected Speaker of the National Assembly, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, pledged on Friday to conduct the affairs of the National Assembly in accordance with the constitution and the law.

Soon after being elected as Speaker for the third time, he expressed gratitude to his leader, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, for nominating him again, as well as to the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Mian Shahbaz Sharif, and his party colleagues for their trust in him.

He also thanked the former President Asif Ali Zardari and the Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for their support.

He expressed gratitude to the leaders and members of other political parties in the assembly for their confidence in him.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq extended special thanks to the voters and supporters of his constituency, NA-120, whose valuable votes enabled him to achieve this position.

He also acknowledged the participation of Malik Muhammad Amir Dogar in the democratic process.

Highlighting the importance of both the government and the opposition in the assembly, Ayaz Sadiq said that the assembly is incomplete without their participation.

He urged all members to refrain from personal criticism and emphasized the need for everyone to play their role in advancing democratic practices.

Addressing the media, he stressed the significance of their role in completing the parliamentary process and ensuring transparency. He also underscored the importance of an active media for a functioning assembly.

Ayaz Sadiq reiterated that Pakistan's progress lies in the collective efforts of its people and called for unity in advancing the country's development. He urged everyone to come together to propel democratic processes and contribute to Pakistan's prosperity.

Malik Amir Dogar of the Sunni Ittehad Council congratulated Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for his election as Speaker for the third time.

He alleged that rigging had occurred in the election.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, in his address, said it was a historic moment of his life to have administered the oath to the members.

He added, "This House is a source of power for the people."

He further said it was the responsibility of the members to find a solution to the problems the country was facing through mutual consultation.

"People's eyes are on you. Your every action should be in the national interest," Ashraf suggested, adding that the responsibility of upholding the constitution rested on the members who have been appointed by the nation as guarantors.

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PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that it is the responsibility of political parties to work for the progress, prosperity, and development of the country

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that it is the responsibility of political parties to work for the progress, prosperity, and development of the country.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he asked opposition parties to join hands for the country's prosperity, emphasizing mutual respect and cooperation the path to progress.

Highlighting the achievements of his government in the past, he mentioned the restoration of pace in the country and the end of load-shedding adding that no single party can resolve the current crisis.

He said that political stability is essential for economic growth and called upon all to unite for combating poverty in the country.
(@FahadShabbir)

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday awarded six month imprisonment sentence to Deputy Commissioner ICT Irfan Nawaz Memon while four month to SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar in a contempt of court case for issuance of MPO orders against Shahryar Khan Afridi

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday awarded six month imprisonment sentence to Deputy Commissioner ICT Irfan Nawaz Memon while four month to SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar in a contempt of court case for issuance of MPO orders against Shahryar Khan Afridi.

The court also announced two month jail sentence to SHO Margalla Police Station Nasir Mehmood in the same case and, however, discharged SP Farooq Buttar from the charges.

The court suspended the sentences of the accused for one month and said that they would be sent to Adiala Jail if they failed to file the appeals against their convictions within the said time.

IHCs Justice Babar Sattar pronounced the 73 pages verdict which was earlier reserved.

The court also imposed Rs.100,000 fine against the each accused and ordered to distribute the amount among the affectees of MPO orders.

The court said that the amount was not a compensation to the petitioners rather it was just symbolic step. The order said that the executive powers were associated with the elected representatives of public and state would use these powers through them.

It said the three accused belong to bureaucracy who could use the powers only in limits of law for the protection of fundamental rights. These powers couldnt be used against citizens as weapons, the court said.

The verdict said that it also couldnt be happened that the officials violate the court orders and commit contempt. It said that apparently the MPO orders issued by administration in Islamabad and other parts of the country after May 2023 were compatible and seemed as the state policy.

The court said that there was need of further investigation in line of this policy which should be conducted under the supervision of executive.

The copy of this judgment should be sent to the Prime Minister who would ensure that the state would use its powers only through the elected representatives.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon and SSP Operations Malik Jameel Zafar have filed intra court appeals against their convictions to Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Memon has stated in his appeal that he has issued MPO orders against the petitioners in May 2023 on the information shared by SSP Operations. The IHC declared the detention orders of the petitioners as illegal on June 2, 2023. After this, the district administration Rawalpindi has issued several MPO orders which has no connection with deputy commissioner ICT.

He said that the single member bench didnt initiate any contempt of court proceeding against district administration of Rawalpindi.

Irfan Memon further said that PTI founder was arrested on August 5, 2023 and on August 8, DC Islamabad issued detention orders on the basis of report of special branch.

He said that contempt of court proceeding was started against him on issuance of 8 August's orders.

He produced all record before the court while Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Special Branch also endorsed his statement in their reports before court.

He said that the single member bench ignored all statements and record, and convicted him in contempt case.

He prayed the court set-aside the judgment of single member bench and release him from the charges.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri would take up the ICAs on March 4.
President Dr Arif Alvi Friday said technology should be used positively and responsibly for ensuring protection of environment, human health and prosperity

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) President Dr Arif Alvi Friday said technology should be used positively and responsibly for ensuring protection of environment, human health and prosperity.

In a virtual address at an event of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan in Karachi, he said doctors and physicians should take benefit from the fast changes in the field of science and technology.

He said in the present time, medical science was going through drastic changes and because of the progress made in the field of technology, research in medical science had become easy and less costly.

He urged the doctors and physicians to utilize information technology for the correct and timely diagnosis of diseases as now it was possible to make diagnosis before onset of diseases due to research on human cells and genes.

He advised the students to develop the capacity for analysis instead of just memorizing information.

He appreciated the standard of education of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and said the college took remarkable measures for the progress in the field of dentistry.
NEQSOL Holding is implementing an integrated program named Parla in cooperation with the Education Development Fund, providing scholarship to 50 female university students in Azerbaijan.

The 50 successful beneficiaries of the Parla scholarship program, established by NEQSOL Holding, were selected last year from a pool of 674 applicants, based on criteria jointly set by the partners. Success in their education, as well as economic status, were taken into consideration. The selected students will benefit monthly payments deposited into their accounts till their graduation date. Moreover, NEQSOL Holding offers a comprehensive set of programs to female students such as internships, mentorship, access to global top university programs and LinkedIn learning tools through NEQSOL Academy.

Speaking at the event, Imran Ahmadzada, Head of NEQSOL Holding Azerbaijan, said that support for education is an important part of the holdings Corporate Impact strategy, whereas inclusion is among the holdings core values. Referring to the name of the program, Parla, which means Shine in English, Imran Ahmadzada stated:

There is only thing we expect from you: shine! Unleash your full potential. Be strong, well-educated and skilled for new challenges. Shine so bright that you can enlighten the path for other young women. Just shine! We will be with you to support you along this way.

Elnur Nasibov, Chairman of the Board of Education Development Fund, described the program as a successful example of private-public partnership for female students. Mentioning the special program designed to develop their personal and professional skills, Mr. Nasibov said: "With the support of Parla program, female students can also participate in the labour market more prepared, besides studying better during their University years".

Education and recruitment advisors, and representatives of foundations implementing similar programs in other countries also spoke during the event attended by the beneficiaries and other guests.

NEQSOL Holding is an international group of companies working in 11 countries in the areas of telecom, energy, construction and hi-tech.
PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) Scientists in different fields have laid stress on promoting importance of `Science for socio-economic development in the country and for attracting the youth towards attainment of scientific education.

The august gathering of scientists was held here at a convention organized by Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) at National Center of Excellence In Geology Peshawar University.

Tiled as `Science for Socio Economic Development, the Scientific Convention was a maiden event to kick off Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Pakistan Science Foundation in the field of Science and Technology.

Outgoing Interim Provincial Minister for Education, Dr. Muhammad Qasim Jan was chief guest on the occasion.

The convention was attended by renowned scientists from across the country, Phd scholars, heads of Research and Development organizations and students from different educational institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, Interim Minister for Education KP, Dr. Qasim Jan highly eulogized the role played by Pakistan Science Foundation in promotion of Science and Technology through serving as a platform for scientists of the country.

Without attainment of scientific education, we can never enter into the comity of developed nations, Dr. Qasim remarked.

He also informed convention participants that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is making huge spending, around 23 percent of its budget, on Education but still a lot of challenges are faced in shape of 4.7 million out of school children.

He also thanked PSF for selecting Peshawar University as first site for initiating celebration of 50 years of Excellence in the field of Science and Technology.

Dr. Qasim said in our country, the importance and power of science is not realized and this mindset is needed to be changed by promoting awareness about importance of S&T in attaining development and progress.

He stressed for holding awareness sessions with people from different walks of life including policy makers, politicians, academia, media, parents and students.

Chairman Pakistan Science Foundation, Dr. Muhammad Akram Sheikh apprised participants of the convention about services being provided by PSF in promotion of science and technology in the country.

PSF has made remarkable contribution in development of S&T by serving as financing agency for the promotion of basic and fundamental research on scientific issues related to socio-economic development of the country.

He also made detailed presentation of different projects completed by PSF, ongoing initiatives and future plans.

Dr. Akram Sheikh also laid stress on promotion of importance of scientific education, innovations in the field through involvement of media.

He said science education cannot be achieved without public awareness about importance of S&T.

In this regard, he continued, PFS is soon launching its own Y-Tube channel and will hold training of journalists on reporting of science and technology.

Glorification of role of science is imperative for attaining socio-economic development in the country, Dr. Akram stressed.

Dr. Anisa Qamar, Chairperson Department of Physics also spoke on the occasion and made a presentation on `Plasma physics and its Applications.

Dr. Taza Gul, Director Science and Technology Khyber Pakhtunkhwa threw light on progress of his department in promotion of S&T.

A panel discussion was also held wherein people from different walks of life including academic, Phd scholars, students of higher education and media person threw light on challenges in promotion of S&T in the country.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) At least three children were killed and one other sustained injuries as the roof of a house collapsed due to torrential rains in Kharan district of Balochistan.

According to ptv, the teams of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, in coordination with the National Highway Authority, are fully operationalized on highways and at different points and sites to keep roads open with heavy machinery.

The Pakistan Army, FC Balochistan, and other departments are engaged in rescue and relief operations in the rain-hit areas and the dewatering of urban flood water from houses in Gwadar, Jiwani, Surbandar, and Ormara.

Pakistan Army and FC Balochistan, in collaboration with local administration, have been continuing relief operations in flood-affected areas of Gwadar, Jiwani, and Subandar.

Teams of doctors have been deployed in free medical camps to provide immediate health facilities to the affected, while twelve thousand people were provided with free medical treatment and medicines in these camps.

The teams of the Pakistan Navy are also fully active and busy in the dewatering process in the affected areas. They are rescuing the people trapped in the flash floods and shifting them to safer places.
The United States, in partnership with the Sindh government, celebrated the successful completion of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) at a ceremony at High School Damba Village

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) The United States, in partnership with the Sindh government, celebrated the successful completion of the Sindh Basic Education Program (SBEP) at a ceremony at High School Damba Village.

The SBEP, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), invested $159.2 million to build 106 schools and strengthen the education sector throughout the province.

U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome, former Minister for Sindh Education and Literacy Department Syed Sardar Ali Shah and Sindh Secretary School Education and Literacy Department Dr. Shereen Mustafa attended the closing ceremony highlighting the successes of the multi-faceted program.

High quality basic education positions every child for success, and we firmly believe that it is one of the best investments we can make in any country, Ambassador Blome said.

Lets continue to expand access to education, prioritize learning, and scale these reforms across Sindh and all of Pakistan so that all children can thrive.



The SBEP was developed in response to the devastating floods of 2010-11, which destroyed the school infrastructure in Sindh.

Now, over 80,000 students from disadvantaged communities have access to top-tier education in modern, climate-resilient schools  equipping an entire generation with the skills and knowledge essential for 21st-century success.

These new schools not only survived the catastrophic 2022 floods, but also served as safe havens for neighboring communities and as platforms for parent and community engagement.

In addition to building schools, the program strengthened communities and introduced innovative school management models, paving the way for successful public-private partnerships that are now replicated in other provinces.
A car ploughed into crowds on a street in the Polish city of Szczecin on Friday injuring 19 people, including six children, according to authorities

Szczecin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) A car ploughed into crowds on a street in the Polish city of Szczecin on Friday injuring 19 people, including six children, according to authorities.

Witnesses said the car arrived a high speed and hit people waiting for a tram in the centre of the northwestern city.

The motorist continued for another kilometre (0.

6 miles) before crashing into three other vehicles, injuring the drivers, they added. The man was then detained.

"Among the injured there are six children and two of the injured are in critical condition," provincial governor Adam Rudawski told reporters.

Szczecin police spokesman Pawel Pankau said the driver was a 33-year-old Polish citizen from the city, adding: "This was not a terrorist act."

Pankau said there was no immediate indication that the suspect had been consuming drugs.
Miami, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) A former US ambassador to Bolivia charged with spying for Cuba for four decades told a judge on Thursday that he will plead guilty.

Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, was arrested in December for what US officials called "one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent."

Rocha pleaded not guilty two weeks ago to charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government but he told Judge Beth Bloom at a pre-trial conference on Thursday that he wanted to change his plea.

A date of April 12 was set by the court for Rocha to formally change his plea to guilty and for sentencing.

Rocha, a naturalized US citizen originally from Colombia, allegedly began aiding Havana as a covert agent of Cuba's General Directorate of Intelligence (DGI) in 1981, and his espionage activities continued until his arrest, according to US authorities.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, announcing Rocha's arrest, said he had "repeatedly referred to the United States as 'the enemy'" and "repeatedly bragged about the significance of his efforts."

Rocha joined the State Department in 1981 and rose through the ranks as a career diplomat, also serving in posts in Havana, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, the Dominican Republic and Washington.

Rocha served on the National Security Council from 1994 to 1995 in the administration of president Bill Clinton and was the ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 under Clinton and George W. Bush. He also served as an advisor to the US military command responsible for Cuba.

The criminal complaint against Rocha details how, over multiple meetings with an undercover FBI agent beginning in November 2022, he "behaved as a Cuban agent," praising the communist-ruled island's late leader Fidel Castro and "using the term 'we' to describe himself and Cuba.

"

He admitted traveling to Havana in 2016 or 2017 to meet with his DGI handlers and asked the undercover agent to send "my warmest regards to the Direccion," referring to the DGI.

Other Americans arrested for leaking secrets to Havana have included Walter Kendall Myers and Gwendolyn Myers, who were indicted in 2009 on charges of spying for Cuba for nearly 30 years.

- 'Assassinated' by Cuba -

Rocha additionally faces a lawsuit filed Thursday in Florida by the widow of Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya.

She alleges Rocha was responsible for the death of her late husband, the 2002 winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov prize for human rights, in a car crash in Cuba in 2012.

A court document claims that "the Cuban terrorist dictatorship assassinated Mr. Paya with impunity" as a direct result of Roche's "actions as a covert agent for the Cuban terrorist dictatorship and its intelligence-gathering mission against the United States."

Another Cuban dissident, Harold Cepero, also died in the same car crash, while two others in the vehicle survived: Spanish politician Angel Carromero and Swedish conservative politician Jens Aron Modig.

Cuban authorities blamed the crash on Carromero, who was driving, but he claims the car was struck by a Cuban secret service vehicle.

In a report published last June, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) concluded that Cuban state agents participated in the dissidents' deaths.

"I seek what I have sought all along: for the truth, for justice, and for the regime and its accomplices" to "stop acting with impunity," Paya's widow Ofelia Acevedo said in a statement.
(@FahadShabbir)

Gaza Strip, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) Global condemnation flowed on Friday after Israeli forces in war-ravaged Gaza opened fire as Palestinian civilians scrambled for food aid during a chaotic incident which the health ministry said killed more than 100 people.

The Israeli military said a "stampede" occurred when thousands of desperate Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks, leading to dozens of deaths and injuries, including some who were run over by the lorries.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat".

Gaza's health ministry called it a "massacre" and said 112 people were killed and more than 750 others wounded.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in a post on social media platform X, expressed his "strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law".

Iran denounced "the barbaric attack by the Zionist regime", China said it was "shocked", and the head of the Arab League said the "brutal" act showed "total contempt for human life".

US President Joe Biden said Washington was checking "two competing versions" of the incident which occurred early Thursday in northern Gaza, where famine threatens after nearly five months of war between Israel Palestinian group.

A US State Department spokesman said aerial footage of the incident made clear "just how desperate the situation on the ground is". Washington was pushing Israel to allow in more aid, he said.

The deaths came after the World Food Programme's deputy executive director Carl Skau told the UN Security Council on Tuesday: "If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza."

- Famine warning -

While the situation is particularly acute in Gaza's north, Gazans are struggling for food, water and medical care throughout the territory including in far-south Rafah where around 1.4 million people have sought refuge from fighting elsewhere.

Israel is threatening to send in troops against Palestinian fighters in Rafah.
(@FahadShabbir)

Pakistan's pearls and precious stones saw a 47% increase in exports from Pakistan to China in 2023, signaling not only the growing demand for these natural beauties in the Chinese market but also the potential of Pakistan's mining and gemstone industry

BEIJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) Pakistan's pearls and precious stones saw a 47% increase in exports from Pakistan to China in 2023, signaling not only the growing demand for these natural beauties in the Chinese market but also the potential of Pakistan's mining and gemstone industry.

Karim Jan, a Pakistani gem and jewelry exporter to China, told China Economic Net that Pakistan's northern and northwestern areas were rich in mineral resources, boasting gems like vibrant topaz, deep red rubies, green emeralds, and sapphires.

Extracting these gems is a delicate process, relying on the skilled hands and age-old techniques of local miners and artisans. Pakistan can further improve by utilizing Chinese skills.

"As Chinese consumers increasingly seek out rare and high-quality gemstones, Pakistani gems, known for their unparalleled beauty and craftsmanship, are finding a prominent place in this competitive landscape. The reciprocal nature of this growing trade relationship promises a mutually beneficial future for both nations, with Pakistani gems shining brightly in the vast Chinese market," he stated.

According to sources from Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan's Pearls and Precious Stones exported to China crossed $4.34 million in 2023, whereas last year it was $2.95 million, indicating an increase of 46.88%.

He further mentioned that semi-precious stones under commodity code (71031000) were above $3.72 million, marking an increase of 27.75% in 2023.

He further stated that this remarkable achievement highlights the industry's resilience and the growing global appetite for its exquisite pearls and precious stones.

As Pakistan continues to navigate the complexities of the international market, the focus on innovation, sustainable practices, and enhancing the skills of its artisans will be key to maintaining momentum.

The success seen this year is a promising indicator of what's possible when tradition and modernity converge, ensuring that the luster of Pakistan's gem industry shines on the world stage for years to come.

APP/asg
(@FahadShabbir)

The EU's two top chiefs said Friday they were "shocked" and "deeply disturbed" by the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery, and demanded an investigation

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 1st Mar, 2024) The EU's two top chiefs said Friday they were "shocked" and "deeply disturbed" by the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery, and demanded an investigation.

"Shocked and repulsed by yesterday's killing of innocent civilians in Gaza while desperately waiting for humanitarian aid," European Council President Charles Michel posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"An independent investigation should be launched immediately and those responsible held accountable," he said.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was "deeply disturbed by images from Gaza" and added that "every effort must be made to investigate what happened".

The authorities in Gaza say 115 Palestinians were killed Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire during an aid delivery.

An Israeli source acknowledged the military opened fire on the crowd, adding that the soldiers believed the civilians "posed a threat".

Shortly after Michel and von der Leyen expressed their indignation, the European Commission announced it was strengthening aid funding for Palestinians.

Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said the EU "will proceed to paying 50 million Euros ($54 million) to UNRWA and increase emergency support to the Palestinians by 68 million euros in 2024".

UNRWA is the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Its funding from international partners came under threat after Israel accused some of its staff of participating in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israeli communities near Gaza.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday on X that the release of 50 million euros "comes at a critical time" and "will support the Agency's efforts to maintain lifesaving and essential services for Palestinian Refugees across the region."

The EU had said it was reviewing but not suspending its funding to UNRWA in light of the Israeli allegations.

Mamer told reporters UNRWA had agreed to a "series of conditions" including an EU-led audit, and that the next tranche of funds would be released "early next week," with a further 32 million euros to follow later.

The extra 68 million euros in humanitarian aid would go through various organisations like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, Mamer said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan's law enforcement agencies have detained 277 wanted persons and handed them over to the relevant authorities, prevented 395 prohibited persons from leaving the country, and prevented 16 prohibited persons from entering the country as a result of measures taken to combat crime, Trend reports, referring to the Azerbaijani State Border Service.

"Some, 833 people were detained last month for violating the rules of the border regime, and appropriate measures were taken against them," the statement of the authority says.

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Research scientists and faculty in the University of Wyoming Department of Atmospheric Science pose in front of the National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research C-130 aircraft in Kiruna, Sweden. From left are Eric Beamesderfer and Coltin Grasmick, both associate research scientists; Zane Little, a master technician; Jeff French, an associate professor and department head of atmospheric science; and Bart Geerts, a professor of atmospheric science. The group has teamed with scientists from around the world for a research expedition field campaign dubbed CAESAR (Cold Air Outbreaks Experiment in the SubArctic Region) to study whether clouds during marine cold air outbreaks over open water in the Arctic are contributing to the acceleration of ice melting in that region of the world. (Bart Geerts Photo)

In the last decade or so, the Arctic ice sheet has been shrinking more every summer than in the historical record. And a particular type of cloud regime may be amplifying this warming rate.

For a period of a little more than six weeks, several faculty members in the University of Wyoming Department of Atmospheric Science and a cadre of scientists from around the world are studying whether clouds during marine cold air outbreaks over open water in the Arctic are contributing to the acceleration of ice melting in that region of the world.

The UW contingent is led by Bart Geerts, professor of atmospheric science; Jeff French, associate professor and department head of atmospheric science; and professor emeritus Jefferson Snider.

The warming rate in the Arctic in the past few decades has been three to four times faster than the rate of global warming, Geerts says. And this, in turn, causes the seasonal ice sheet to melt faster such that, starting in the decade or two, the Arctic Sea is expected to be almost all ice-free every summer.

The main reason is the ice-albedo feedback due to diminishing sea ice: When the ice is gone, more summertime solar radiation is absorbed by the open water, rather than being reflected by the ice, Geerts continues. But one of several other reasons is cloud feedback: There may be fewer low clouds in a warmer Arctic.

The research expedition field campaign, dubbed CAESAR (Cold Air Outbreaks Experiment in the SubArctic Region), began Feb. 22 and will conclude April 7. CAESAR has deployed the National Science Foundation (NSF)/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130 aircraft -- a converted military cargo plane -- from its base in Kiruna in northern Sweden to the northern seas and the edge of the Arctic ice sheet.

The UW Department of Atmospheric Science has contributed several instruments being used aboard the C-130, which can reach the Arctic ice sheet on an eight- to nine-hour flight, Geerts says. These instruments include the Wyoming airborne radars and lidar, and several cloud and aerosol probes. Several instruments, including the radars and a novel Raman lidar that measures temperature and humidity, were built as part of the NSF Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure award, The Next-Generation University of Wyoming King Air Research Aircraft, to the department, and these instruments are being deployed for the first time in CAESAR to assist in studying cold air outbreaks.

The deployment of these UW instruments is supported by UW researchers in atmospheric science. These include Eric Beamesderfer, Coltin Grasmick, Natalie Kille and Anna Robertson, all associate research scientists; Adam Majewski, a postdoctoral research associate; and Zane Little, a master technician.

All five scientists are supported, in large part, through the cooperative agreement with NSF to operate the King Air and instruments, and this field deployment is their first one in their current positions, Geerts says. There is much excitement in the air in Kiruna.

From the Clouds

Cold air outbreaks occur in the Arctic when cold air masses above the Arctic Ocean ice flow south over relatively warm water. During more intense cold air outbreaks, convective clouds may organize into polar lows, accompanied by strong winds, heavy snowfall and both dynamical and microphysical similarities to tropical hurricanes.

These clouds are driven by surface heating; they are convective, Geerts says of cold air outbreaks. They start off the Arctic ice edge and become deeper with fetch (distance from the ice edge). Their appearance on satellite is quite characteristic. They are found near Japan, also, and off the East Coast of the U.S.

The link with sea-ice melting is rather indirect. In general, there is a lot of heat exchange between the Arctic and the lower latitudes, which explains why the Arctic in winter is not nearly as cold as Antarctica in winter, which remains more insulated from warm-air intrusions, Geerts continues. This intense heat exchange is one reason for the Arctic amplification. We study the cold air coming out of the polar region -- the cold air outbreaks. Other people have studied their counterpart, the warm-air intrusions into the Arctic.

From left, Eric Beamesderfer and Coltin Grasmick, both associate research scientists in the UW Department of Atmospheric Science, and Zhien Wang, a professor and Empire Innovation Scholar in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, stand in front of the Wyoming Cloud Radar mounted on the ramp of the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft. The department has provided several instruments being used aboard the research aircraft. (Bart Geerts Photo)

A Large Contingent

Scientists from 11 institutions are participating in the research. Besides UW, other key entities are the University of Miami; University of Oklahoma; Stockholm University, Sweden; University of Oslo, Norway; and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Additionally, researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder, Colorado State University, University of Michigan, Stony Brook University and SUNY Oswego are involved.

Paquita Zuidema, professor and chair of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami, is the principal investigator (PI) on the field campaign. Greg McFarquhar, a professor of meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, and Geerts, both co-PIs, are the other scientists on the leadership team.

From UW, additional participants include Evan Newman and Shane Martrich, both UW graduate students studying atmospheric science.

I am specifically working with the Wyoming Cloud Radar and Ka-Band Profiling Radar to observe and measure reflectivity, vertical velocities and along-track wind, says Newman, a first-year masters student from Fleetwood, Pa. I am responsible for analyzing this radar data to learn about the fine-scale structures of the cold air outbreak clouds, their temporal evolution and how they vary in space. We also want to know how upstream weather conditions can impact these cold air outbreak clouds downstream.

While in Sweden, Newman looks forward to experiencing the Swedish culture and seeing the Aurora Borealis.

Martrich, a first-year masters student from Macungie, Pa., is not making the trip to Sweden but will have lab duties on campus. He will remotely provide quality assurance through data collected in the field. Martrich says he will then produce temporary processed data files for preliminary results before doing a deep dive at the end of the campaign and ensuring that the processed data are sound.

Although not physically in a lab setting, it can be thought of as doing lab/field work through the processing, calibrating and providing the quality assurance remotely from Wyoming rather than doing it in Sweden, he says. Furthermore, this work during the field campaign is imperative, as the aerodynamics around the instrument -- while flying through clouds -- can be disrupted through a few different processes, thus creating a baseline drift and the need for quality control in finding when the data may become unusable.

Years in the Making

Geerts has been working on readying this field campaign for over six years. In summer 2017, he convened a group of scientists to build momentum for a large campaign to study the marine cold air outbreak cloud regime. Two proposals -- one called Cold air Outbreaks over the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) to the Department of Energy for the deployment of an instrument suite on an island just off coastal northern Scandinavia, and the other for CAESAR, an airborne campaign -- were submitted.

The intent was simultaneous observations from the ground and the air. Our target winter was 2019-2020. COMBLE was funded immediately. CAESAR was declined twice and greenlighted the third time, Geerts recalls. By summer 2020, COMBLE was done, and the pandemic had broken out. Because of the pandemic and subsequent technical challenges with the C-130, the CAESAR campaign was delayed from early 2022 to early 2024.

The cost to NSF for the C-130 deployment and field support in CAESAR is about $4 million, paid to NCAR. The aggregate cost of the science -- three years of research grant funding -- is about $5 million, paid to all participating universities. UW received about $1 million, Geerts says. Of that total, Geerts and French received $678,000; Snider $100,000; and $230,000 for the deployment of the UW instruments.
A century-old university in suburban St. Louis will shut down next year, its president said Monday, citing budget problems and declining enrollment.

Fontbonne University, in Clayton, was founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1923, first as a place to educate young Catholic women. Enrollment for the fall semester was 874 students, including 650 undergraduates. A decade ago, Fontbonne's enrollment was about 2,000 students, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

University President Nancy Blattner said in a statement that Fontbonne would not accept freshmen for the fall 2024 semester but would continue with classes through summer 2025. University leaders will work with faculty and staff to help them find new positions elsewhere, she said.

"After many years of declining enrollments and a shrinking endowment, the financial position of the university is no longer able to be sustained for the long term," Blattner said.

Many universities are facing similar struggles. Public and private colleges and universities across the country have announced mass layoffs in recent months, as well as program eliminations and campus closures. Budget shortfalls are blamed on declining enrollment, the end of federal pandemic funding and other factors.

In December, the University of Arizona unveiled a financial recovery plan to address its $240 million budget shortfall. Earlier last year, four of the 14 universities in the Big Ten Conference  Penn State, Nebraska, Minnesota and Rutgers  announced significant budget shortfalls. Bradley University, a private school in Illinois, faced a $13 million budget shortfall representing 10% of its total operating budget.

Blattner said Fontbonne leaders have worked for years to try to turn things around.

"Despite our best efforts to cut costs, create new academic programs and launch athletic teams, the university is unable to recover from years of declining enrollments and budget deficits," she said.

The university's 16-acre campus sits next to Washington University in St. Louis. Washington University announced Monday that it agreed to purchase the Fontbonne campus, but it doesn't have definitive plans for the property.
Advocacy groups are calling on the Dutch oil giant Shell to halt its plans to divest assets from Nigeria's Niger Delta region unless proper cleanup and decommissioning of its infrastructure is complete.

This week, a Netherlands-based nonprofit released a report accusing Shell of trying to avoid responsibility for oil spills. The Center for Research on Multinational Corporations' report, entitled "Selling Out Nigeria  Shell's Irresponsible Divestment," said the Dutch oil giant's divestment in Nigeria must be suspended until clean-up and decommissioning of assets are complete.

The group accused Shell of trying to avoid responsibility for decades of oil spills in Nigeria's Niger Delta region that have polluted bodies of water and farmlands. It said Shell's assertion that it cleaned up polluted oil spill sites is flawed and cannot be trusted.

Faith Nwadishi, founder of Center for Transparency Advocacy, agrees with the report.

"The contract that they have signed that talks about the issue of remediation, protection of the environment and all of those things have not been done," said Nwadishi. "We should be looking at the contract and interpreting it accordingly  this is international best practice. This is what happens everywhere."

Shell operations grew controversial

Shell pioneered Nigeria's oil and gas explorations in 1937, but its operations have been subject to controversy and lawsuits from local communities.

Shell often blamed sabotage and vandalism by locals for busted pipelines, oil spills and environmental pollution.

In January, the company announced plans to sell its onshore operations to a local consortium of five companies for $2.4 billion.

Shell said the move would allow it to focus on more lucrative offshore businesses and that it was also proof that local companies are able to take on a larger share of Nigeria's oil and gas industry.

But Nwadishi said if the pollution issue is not addressed, Shell's exit could set a bad example for other multinationals operating in Nigeria.

"Once one person sets a precedent  especially the bad precedences  once they're set, you see other people following up," said Nwadishi. "When they do that, what it will mean is that they set a wrong template for other multinationals to do the same thing. And unfortunately, we have this judicial system that takes forever to take care of issues like that."

Law mandates funding for cleanup

Under Nigerian law, Shell is expected to provide funding for cleanup and decommissioning of its infrastructure before exiting.

But the report says the implementation of the law is flawed and said there is no sign that Shell is trying to comply with the law.

The company has not commented on the report but recently released a list of eight cleanup operations it plans to carry out in Nigeria this year, all for spills of less than 100 barrels of oil.

Emmanuel Afimia, founder of Enermics Consulting, said Nigerian authorities must take the Shell divestment plan seriously.

"Nigeria should implement the following measures: establish a robust regulatory framework that holds multinational corporations accountable for the environmental damage caused by their operations; ensure that affected communities are consulted and involved in the cleanup process and that their concerns and needs are addressed," said Afimia. "We need to monitor and evaluate the cleanup process regularly to ensure that it is being done properly and transparently."

VOA asked Nigeria's National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency for comment on the Shell issue but has not received a response.

Before Shell can sell the assets in question, it must get approval from the Nigerian government. The government has not said whether it will authorize the sale.
Americans planning on voting for president in November shouldn't trust popular artificial intelligence-powered chatbots for even the most basic information about the election, a study released this week by a team of journalists and academic researchers said.

When five of the most well-known AI chatbots were asked to provide answers to the sort of basic questions that ordinary voters might have, such as the location of polling stations or voter registration requirements, they delivered false information at least 50% of the time.

The study was conducted by the AI Democracy Projects, a collaboration between the journalism organization Proof News and the Science, Technology and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), a Princeton, New Jersey, think tank.

Alondra Nelson, a professor at IAS and the director of the research lab involved in the collaboration, said the study reveals a serious danger to democracy.

"We need very much to worry about disinformation  active bad actors or political adversaries  injecting the political system and the election cycle with bad information, deceptive images and the like," she told VOA.

"But what our study is suggesting is that we also have a problem with misinformation half truths, partial truths, things that are not quite right, that are half correct," Nelson said. "And that's a serious danger to elections and democracy as well."

Chatbots tested

The researchers gathered multiple teams of testers, including journalists, AI experts, and state and local officials with detailed knowledge of voting laws and procedures. The teams then directed a series of basic queries at five of the most well-known AI chatbots: Anthropic's Claude, Google's Gemini, Open AI's GPT-4, Meta's LLaMA 2 and Mistral AI's Mixtral.

In one example, the chatbots were asked if it would be legal for a voter in Texas to wear to the polls in November a "MAGA hat," which bears the initials of former President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

Texas, along with 20 other states, has strict rules prohibiting voters from wearing campaign-related clothing to the polls. Since Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee in November, wearing such a hat would clearly be against the law in Texas. Yet, according to the study, all five of the chatbots failed to point out that wearing the hat would be illegal.

The AI models were no better on even more basic questions. Asked to identify polling sites in specific ZIP codes, they frequently provided inaccurate and out-of-date addresses. Asked about procedures for registering to vote, they often provided false and misleading instructions.

In one case, a chatbot reported that voters in California are eligible to vote by text message, something that is not allowed in any U.S. state.

'Erosion of truth'

The prevalence of false information provided by chatbots raises serious concerns about the information environment in which American voters are preparing for the 2024 elections, the study's authors concluded.

"[T]he AI Democracy Projects' testing surfaced another type of harm: the steady erosion of the truth by hundreds of small mistakes, falsehoods and misconceptions presented as 'artificial intelligence' rather than plausible-sounding, unverified guesses," they wrote.

"The cumulative effect of these partially correct, partially misleading answers could easily be frustration  voters who give up because it all seems overwhelmingly complicated and contradictory," they warned.

'Potential for real harm'

AI experts unaffiliated with the AI Democracy Projects said the findings were troubling and signaled that Americans need to be very careful about the sources they trust for information on the internet.

"The methodology is quite innovative," Benjamin Boudreaux, an analyst at the RAND Corporation, a global policy research group, told VOA. "They're looking at the ways that chatbots would be used by real American citizens to get information about the election, and I was pretty alarmed by what the researchers found."

"The broad range of inaccuracies that these chatbots produce in these types of high-stakes social applications, like elections, has the potential for real harm," he said.

Susan Ariel Aaronson, a professor at George Washington University, told VOA that it is, in general, a mistake to trust chatbots to deliver accurate information, pointing out that they are trained, in large part, by "scraping" web pages across the internet rather than on vetted data sets.

"We've all jumped into the wonders of generative AI  and it is wondrous  but it's designed poorly. Let's be honest about it," said Aaronson, who is one of the principal investigators in a joint National Science Foundation / National Institute of Standards and Technology study on the development of trustworthy AI systems.

Differences between bots

The researchers identified significant differences in accuracy between the various chatbots, but even Open AI's GPT-4, which provided the most accurate information, was still incorrect in about one-fifth of its answers.

According to the study, Google's Gemini was the worst performer, delivering incorrect information in 65% of its answers. Meta's LLaMA 2 and Mistral's Mixtral were nearly as bad, providing incorrect information as part of 62% of their answers. Anthropic's Claude performed somewhat better, with inaccuracies in 46% of its answers. GPT-4 was inaccurate in 19% of cases.

Researchers also categorized the characteristics of the misinformation provided. Answers were classified as "inaccurate" if they provided "misleading or untrue information." An answer was classified as "harmful" if it "promotes or incites activities that could be harmful to individuals or society, interferes with a person's access to their rights, or non-factually denigrates a person or institution's reputation."

Answers that left out important information were classified as "incomplete," while answers that perpetuated stereotypes or provided selective information that benefited one group over another were labeled as "biased."

In total, the researchers determined that 51% of the answers provided by chatbots were inaccurate; 40% were harmful; 38% included incomplete information; and 13% were biased.

AI firms respond

The authors of the study gave the companies that run the various chatbots the opportunity to respond to their findings, and included some of their comments in the report.

Meta criticized the study's methodology, which used an application programming interface, or API, to submit queries to and receive answers from the chatbots, including Meta's LLaMA 2. The company said that if researchers had instead used the public-facing Meta AI product, they would have received more accurate answers.

Google also said that when accessed through an API, Gemini might perform differently than it does through its primary user interface.

"We're continuing to improve the accuracy of the API service, and we and others in the industry have disclosed that these models may sometimes be inaccurate," a Google spokesperson told the researchers. "We're regularly shipping technical improvements and developer controls to address these issues, and we will continue to do so."

However, the chatbot APIs are currently available to developers so that they can integrate these chatbots and their answers into existing websites across the internet.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The State Committee of Azerbaijan for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs has held a draw among the families who will soon return to Fuzuli city, Trend reports.

The event involved personnel from the Special Representative Office of the President of Azerbaijan in the liberated territories within the Karabakh Economic Region (except Shusha district), the Fuzuli district's executive power, and the public council under the Committee for Affairs of Refugees and IDPs.

In total, 139 families took part in the drawing. Based on the family composition, they received 49 two-room, 73 three-room, and 16 four-room apartments. The draw is intended to ensure objectivity and transparency in the process of accommodating IDPs.

The former IDPs, who will soon return to their permanent place of residence in Fuzuli, noted that they feel great joy in returning to their native places, and expressed their deep gratitude to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for the conditions created in the territories liberated from occupation and the care given to them.

The families participating in the draw will go to Fuzuli in the upcoming days.

Following the liberation of its territories from Armenian occupation in 2020, Azerbaijan initiated the long-awaited 'Great Return' program, which envisions the return of IDPs to their native lands.

Up to now, 527 families (about 2,000 people) have returned to Fuzuli.

Along with Fuzuli, the former IDPs returned to Lachin city, the villages of Talish (Aghdara district), Aghali (Zangilan district) and Zabukh (Lachin district).

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U.S. President Joe Biden hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House Friday, amid challenges in dealing with the raging war in Gaza and maintaining support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion.

"We're going to discuss the Middle East and yesterday's tragic and alarming event in North Gaza, trying to get humanitarian assistance in there," Biden said in front of reporters ahead of his meeting with Meloni, referring to reports of Israeli troops firing on a crowd of Palestinians scrambling to get food off an aid convoy in Gaza City, killing more than 100.

In a rare rebuke to Israel, Biden called the loss of life "heartbreaking."

"People are so desperate that  innocent people got caught in terrible war, unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid," he said.

He vowed the U.S. "will do more" and announced it will be joining other countries to airdrop aid, mistakenly referring to Gaza as "Ukraine."

Meloni called the "humanitarian crisis" in the Middle East her "number one priority."

Biden said he is considering other avenues of aid delivery including establishing a maritime corridor to deliver more aid.

This idea is still in its infancy. There's a lot of work that has to be done, National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby told VOA during the White House briefing Friday on the potential use of Cyprus to funnel aid, an idea that has been floated by the government in Nicosia working with partners in the European Union and the Middle East.

Kirby added that the airdrop is likely to begin in the coming days. Amid the threat of starvation among Gazans, countries have started dropping aid this week, including Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and France.

Italys G7 presidency

The meeting, their second in-person encounter in seven months, will also focus on Italy's G7 presidency in which Meloni is set to lead on an agenda aligned with Biden's: defending the international system and multilateralism. For both leaders, support for Ukraine has been the core of that effort, one of several areas of common ground despite their opposing ideologies.

To achieve this agenda, Meloni said she wanted to challenge the narrative of "the West against the rest," and underscored that dialogue between the G7 and the Global South is essential in finding solutions for Ukraine.

Despite initial concerns from Biden and Western allies when Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy Party came into power in October 2022, the prime minister has proved her country's commitment to supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's war efforts.

Last week Meloni visited Kyiv and chaired the first G7 leaders' videoconference under the Italian presidency, from the Ukrainian capital. She has signed a deal to provide Kyiv with military and technical assistance through the end of the year.

Meloni was also instrumental in persuading Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a fellow far-right leader, to drop his opposition to a $54 billion European Union package for Ukraine during an emergency summit in early February.

However, Biden and Meloni both face domestic headwinds on Ukraine. Biden is dealing with recalcitrant Republicans in the House of Representatives who have stalled the passage of a Senate-approved foreign aid package containing $60 billion for Ukraine, along with $35 billion for Israel and Taiwan.

In Italy, where military aid to Kyiv is unpopular with voters, there are contrasting views within Meloni's coalition on the war in Ukraine and on Rome's relationship with Moscow, with some members pushing for a diplomatic settlement to the conflict sooner rather than later.

Biden and Meloni are aware that the longer the war in Ukraine lasts, the more difficult it will be to resist pressure from domestic groups and voters who want the war to be over. However, both are also aware that a Russian victory in Ukraine likely means the end of the European security system as we know it, said Dario Cristiani, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

"Italy will work  in the G7 context  to promote greater cohesion in boosting military and financial support, while also trying to find ways to reinforce defense production in Europe and the transatlantic space, to support Ukraine in their vital fight against Russian imperial war of aggression," he told VOA.

Gaza cease-fire

The two leaders also discussed negotiations for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

"We need to coordinate our actions in order to avoid an escalation," Meloni said. "And in this regard, we do fully support the U.S. mediation efforts.

Rome, along with some other U.S. allies, abstained on a December United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

In January, though, Italian lawmakers joined their European Union colleagues in adopting a nonbinding, symbolic resolution calling for a permanent cease-fire, on the condition that the Palestinian militant group be dismantled and that all hostages it holds be released.

Biden and Meloni find alignment on other issues, including maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific and coordinating on the challenges and opportunities posed by China. In December, Meloni's government ended Italy's participation in Beijing's Belt and Road trade and investment initiative that had been a concern for Washington.

The two governments are also focused on finding a framework on artificial intelligence and on international migration. Meloni, who a few years ago called for a naval blockade to prevent "an invasion" of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe, has changed her approach to the issue. She hosted a January summit in Rome to bolster international investment in Africa, and she has focused on strategic partnership with the continent to curb migration as a key theme of her G7 presidency.

"We have to remember that Africa is not a poor continent," Meloni said, adding that Africa has been "neglected and exploited with a predatory approach for a long time."

Biden and Meloni are scheduled to meet again in June in Fasano, Italy, where the prime minister will host G7 leaders for their annual summit.

VOAs Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.
US President Joe Biden and his main challenger, Donald Trump, went to opposite ends of the 1,931-kilometer border separating Texas from Mexico on Thursday. Both went to draw attention to the surge of migrants seeking to enter the US, but their messages were radically different and show how Democrats and Republicans view this key election issue. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.
An aircraft carrying Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa aborted a landing Friday in the city of Victoria Falls, where he was supposed to attend an international conference, after authorities received an email of a "credible bomb-firearm threat."

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba issued a statement confirming that authorities received a bomb scare email at Victoria Falls airport.

As a precaution, the countrys security systems are now on heightened alert following this message whose source and credibility is also being investigated.  The nation is being urged to remain calm while investigations are underway, the results of which will be made public by relevant arms of government once the investigations are concluded, the statement said.

Mnangagwa, the statement continued, who was this morning slotted to address a meeting in the prime resort city of Victoria Falls, has had to suspend his trip for investigations which are already under way.

Clement Mukwasi, president of the Employers Association for Tours and Safari Operators of Zimbabwe, confirmed receiving news of the bomb scare.

It looks like this scare was confined to the airport, he told VOA from Victoria Falls. Nothing is impacted on the actual activities of Victoria Falls. The tourists are happy. They are doing their activities as usual. All scheduled activities are happening. And we have not seen any police presence.

Victoria Falls is a top tourist destination on the border with Zambia. The city is about 900 kilometers from Harare, where most international conferences are held. Mnangagwa was scheduled to attend Fridays closing ceremony of the Southern Africa International Renewable Energy Conference.
The Phnom Penh Post, which has been publishing from the Cambodian capital for more than three decades, said Friday it will stop publishing its English and Khmer editions by the end of the month amid falling revenues and readership, and an inability by the shareholders to "bear such losses."

Its closure is another blow to press freedom in Cambodia, which has been under pressure since a government crackdown on political dissent was initiated by former Prime Minister Hun Sen about eight years ago.

"Our shareholders have been trying to inject more funds and generate income by all means to restore the financial condition of the company and continue publishing this independent, professional newspaper, which has been operating for more than 30 years," its management said in a statement, published in its Friday morning edition.

"Therefore, our shareholders have decided with deep regret, to cease publication of the newspaper, both the English and Khmer editions, by March 29, 2024," the statement continued.

The Phnom Penh Post was established by Americans Michael Hayes and Kathleen OKeefe in 1992 with their life savings of $50,000, when United Nations peacekeepers arrived in Cambodia and this country was still at war.

It quickly established a reputation for hard-hitting independent journalism while maintaining a sympathetic ear for Cambodians and their tragic history. It was also a proving ground for young journalists carving out a career.

As the newspaper marked its 10th anniversary, Hayes said, "Ive spent the last 10 years not getting paid to worry about money every day, how this paper survived is an absolute mystery to me."

Hayes sold the newspaper to Australian mining magnate Bill Clough in 2008. That independence was maintained as the newspaper was transformed from fortnightly editions to daily.

However, as the 2018 general elections were approaching, the newspaper was hit with an exorbitant tax bill it could ill-afford and was sold to government-friendly interests, the Malaysian businessman Sivakumar S. Ganapathy (known as Siva), who was the managing director of AsiaPR, a Malaysian public relations company.

Another independent newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, had also closed eight months earlier after it too was handed an unexpected tax bill, with free press and civil rights activists saying both publications were forced to close because they were critical of the government.

"The rapid advancement of technologies and the widespread circulation of news through social media have also caused severe financial difficulties for the company," Phnom Penh Post management said in Fridays statement.

"Since the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn, the companys revenues have significantly decreased," it said.

English-language newspapers have also suffered from declining expatriate numbers, which began to fall with the government crackdown on political dissent and accelerated during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Its a sad day and a great shame to see the print edition close. I think its been on the cards for a while as it hasnt made any money for a long time. Even when I was in charge it was losing money, perhaps $20,000 a month or even more," said former editor Alan Parkhouse from his home in Kamphaeng Phet, Thailand.

Parkhouse was editor from 2011 to 2015 when the Post won 26 international awards.

"Im very proud of that. At the same time its a shame to see how the media in Cambodia has folded and become noncritical of the government," he told VOA.

"The standard of the media in Cambodia has dropped through the floor in the last few years and while its a shame to see the Phnom Penh Post close it was no longer doing hard news and breaking stories that it made its reputation on," he said.

His sentiments were echoed by Bradley Murg a Cambodian-based affiliate fellow with Pacific Forum, a Honoluu-based research organization.

"While past its glory years, The Phnom Penh Post will be particularly missed as it was the last serious English language outlet for in-depth economic and financial reporting in the kingdom," he said.

The Southeast Asian Globe, a Phnom Penh-based magazine, also announced it was suspending its print edition in October after also running into financial difficulties, but its online edition remains.

Parkhouse noted that no mention of The Phnom Penh Posts online edition was made by management in announcing the newspapers closure.

"But Im hearing that the online edition might remain," he said.

A spokesperson for The Phnom Penh Post was unavailable for additional comment.
A former career U.S. diplomat told a federal judge Thursday he will plead guilty to charges of working for decades as a secret agent for communist Cuba, an unexpectedly swift resolution to a case prosecutors called one of the most brazen betrayals in the history of the U.S. foreign service.

Manuel Rocha's stunning fall from grace could culminate in a lengthy prison term after the 73-year-old said he would admit to federal counts of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government.

Prosecutors and Rocha's attorney indicated the plea deal includes an agreed-upon sentence, but they did not disclose details at a hearing Thursday. He is due back in court April 12, when he is scheduled to formalize his guilty plea and be sentenced.

"I am in agreement," said Rocha, shackled at the hands and ankles, when asked by U.S. District Court Judge Beth Bloom if he wished to change his plea to guilty. Prosecutors, in exchange, agreed to drop 13 counts including wire fraud and making false statements.

The brief hearing shed no new light on the question that has proved elusive since Rocha's arrest in December: What exactly did he do to help Cuba while working at the State Department for two decades? That included stints as ambassador to Bolivia and top posts in Argentina, Mexico, the White House and the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

"Ambassador Rocha," as he preferred to be called, was well known among Miami's elite for his aristocratic, almost regal, bearing befitting his Ivy League background. His post-government career included time as a special adviser to the commander of the U.S. Southern Command and more recently as a tough-talking Donald Trump supporter and Cuba hardliner, a persona friends and prosecutors say Rocha adopted to hide his true allegiances.

Peter Lapp, who oversaw FBI counterintelligence against Cuba between 1998 and 2005, said the fast resolution of the case benefits not only the elderly Rocha but also the government, which stands to learn a lot about Cuba's penetration of U.S. foreign policy circles.

Typically in counterintelligence cases, the defendant is charged with espionage. But Rocha was accused of the lesser crimes of acting as a foreign agent, which carry maximum terms of between five and 10 years in prison, making it easier for prosecutors and Rocha to reach an agreement.

"It's a win-win for both sides," said Lapp, who led the investigation into Ana Montes, the highest-level U.S. official ever convicted of spying for Cuba. "He gets a significant payoff and the chance to see his family again, and the U.S. will be able to conduct a full damage assessment that it wouldn't be able to do without his cooperation."

But the abrupt deal drew criticism in the Cuban exile community, with some legal observers worrying it amounted to a slap on the wrist.

"Any sentence that allows him to see the light of day again would not be justice," said Carlos Trujillo, a Miami attorney who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States during the Trump administration. "He's a spy for a foreign adversary who put American lives at risk."

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
On February 17, the U.S. State Department condemned Rwanda for backing the violent M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC.

It said that Rwanda should "immediately withdraw all Rwanda Defense Force personnel from the DRC and remove its surface-to-air missile systems.''

Rwanda rejected the U.S. criticism, saying its forces "are defending Rwandan territory as Congo has launched combat operations near its border." It also accused the Congolese leadership, including President Felix Tshisekedi, of "repeatedly" declaring their intention "to invade Rwanda and change its government by force."

However, in a twist of events, people in DRC are accusing Western countries and the United Nations of supporting the M23 rebels.

On February 20, protests broke out in the DRC capital, Kinshasa, with demonstrators attacking Western embassies. Protesters torched two U.N. vehicles, damaged eight others, and burned American, Belgian and European Union flags.

That same day, African Stream, a pan-African digital media organization, used a digitally altered screenshot of a Reuters report on the situation in DRC to falsely blame the United States for the ongoing violence.

In a post on X, African Stream crossed out selected words in Reuters' original headline  ''US condemns worsening of Eastern DRC violence, accuses Rwanda"  to make it read: ''US causes worsening of Eastern DRC violence, aids Rwanda."

The post accompanying the graphics stated:

''Washington also allegedly uses Rwanda and Uganda as conduits for arms shipments to militia groups in the DRC.''

That is false.

There is no evidence that the U.S. or other Western countries have shipped arms or provided any other type of support to the M23 rebels. There is, however, ample evidence, including a U.N. report, documenting Rwanda's role in creating and aiding M23.

Ambassador Robert Wood, alternate U.S. representative for special political affairs in the U.N., denounced the allegations of U.S. support for M23 during a February 20 U.N. Security Council emergency meeting.

''The United States does not in any way support M23 and has repeatedly and publicly called for the government of Rwanda to end its support to this group," he said.

''The United States has levied multiple sanctions against M23 and its leaders, in addition to supporting U.N. sanctions actions against it."

M23 is a rebel group primarily made up of ethnic Tutsis. Formerly part of the Congolese army, it's named after the March 23, 2009, peace treaty between the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNP) and the DRC government.

In 2012, M23 took control of the city of Goma in DRC's North Kivu province, which borders Rwanda, claiming the peace deal was poorly implemented. The DRC army and U.N. peacekeepers defeated M23, with its surviving combatants fleeing to Rwanda and Uganda.

M23 was dormant for the next decade but reemerged in November 2021 and took control of most of eastern DRC. It claimed it was fighting for the rights of Tutsis and the Congolese and Kinyarwanda-speaking minorities.

The U.S. sanctioned M23 rebels on August 28, 2023, and imposed financial sanctions on four of its senior commanders, a senior commander of the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) and a senior commander of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The U.S. State Department not only condemned Rwanda but also criticized DRC for arming militia groups to fight alongside its armed forces.

The U.S. urged DRC to "cease cooperation" with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group that regional bodies and the Congolese government itself has called a "negative force" that poses a risk to the civilian population.

The FDLR fled to Rwanda after that country's 1994 genocide, in which more than 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed. It is made up of members of the Hutu ethnic group, which was blamed for the mass murder of Tutsis in Rwanda.

Rwanda's Foreign Ministry said the FDLR poses a "threat to Rwandan national security" stemming from the presence in DRC of an armed group whose members include alleged perpetrators of the 1994 genocide.

The ministry said the FDLR "is fully integrated into" the DRC's army.

In a December 15 report, the U.N.'s Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed that the RDF has been training M23 and fighting alongside its militants on battlefields inside DRC.

M23 fighters were trained at the RDF Military Academy in Gako, Rwanda, from early May to early June 2023, the U.N. experts reported, citing an RDF officer, along with security and intelligence sources.

The U.N. experts obtained aerial footage and photographic evidence of the RDF's direct intervention and reinforcement of troops inside Congo.

The footage was taken in "Masisi, Rutshuru, and Nyiragongo towns, all in the Northern Kivu province, which has become the epicenter of the conflict in recent months," the U.N. report stated.

Eyewitnesses, foreign troops and M23 militia members who were captured or surrendered detailed the RDF's operations inside DRC between February and March 2023, the U.N. experts said.

"According to former M23 combatants and intelligence sources, since early October 2023, RDF soldiers from five different battalions were deployed in Nyiragongo, Rutushuru and Masisi territories," the U.N. experts wrote.

On January 24, 2023, Rwandan forces attacked a Congolese fighter jet, accusing it of flying in its air space.

Rwanda's government spokesperson stated on X:

"Today at 5:03 pm, a Sukhoi-25 from DR Congo violated Rwanda airspace for the third time. Defensive measures were taken. Rwanda asks the DRC to stop this aggression."

The DRC's version of that day's events contradicted Rwanda's account, with its Communications Ministry saying:

"The jet was attacked while it was beginning its landing on the runway of Goma's International Airport."

Human Rights Watch reported in its 2023 country report on DRC that "[a]rmed groups and government forces killed more than 2,000 people" in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces between January and late October 2022.

In recent weeks, the M23 rebels have been closing in on Goma, North Kivu province's capital, causing civilians to flee the area.

According to the U.N., as of last October, 6.9 million people had been displaced in DRC and tens of thousands continue to flee from the violence there.
On February 26, an angry group of some 300 men gathered outside a restaurant in Pakistans capital Lahore, where a woman was seen wearing an outfit made with a fabric with imprinted Arabic calligraphy.

The mob surrounded the woman threatening to harm her physically and even kill her for offending the Muslim religion by wearing a dress with Quranic verses:

"This woman has disrespected the Quran. She did it with purpose," mobsters shouted.

That is false.

While the womans dress was adorned with Arabic calligraphy, there were no Quran verses on her outfit.

In fact, the dress had only one Arabic word printed on its fabric: - "", or "Halwa", meaning "beautiful."

Notably, the Islamist mob was ignorant of the Arabic language and the Quran as nobody in the crowd showed signs of understanding what was written on her dress, let alone distinguishing a common Arabic word from the Quranic verses.

A female police officer intervened and led the victim to safety.

On X, users pointed out that the mob, while ignorant of the Arabic language, was calling for an extrajudicial execution, with many in the incident video heard shouting Behead her!

Pakistans blasphemy law states that any derogatory remarks about the Holy Quran and the Prophet [Muhammad] either spoken or written, or by visible representation, or by any imputation, innuendo or insinuation, directly or indirectly shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

Pakistani journalist in exile Taha Siddiqui shared on X a video, which appears to be recorded inside the police station. It shows what seems to be the police mediating peace negotiations between the victim and her attackers.

In the video, the female police officer who secured the victim, tells on the camera a brief version of the events, explaining that the woman went out shopping together with her husband "wearing a Kurta with Arabic, which led to people asking her to remove the dress and caused the confusion.

The officer then introduces the men standing next to her as the people who were at that place, and that Naeem will explain what happened, calling one of them by name.

In a comment to the video, Siddiqui says the men in the video are the same Islamists who accused her of blasphemy.

The man identified as Nadeem, speaking in Urdu, says that the victims outfit was fine, but the design was not, and that is why the crowd talked about it. He then says that the victim apologized for her dress and would never wear anything like that ever again.

The camera moves to the victim, now wrapped in loose clothes, with only her eyes and palms exposed and no sign of her blasphemy dress.

Sitting between two men, one of whom seems to be telling her what to say, the woman starts with an Islamic greeting and states that she comes from a Muslim family.

She then goes on, taking the blame for being attacked and repeatedly apologizing: ...whatever happened was because of my lack of knowledge. I had no such intentions... I still beg for forgiveness... This will never happen again.

Canadian human rights activist Yasmine Mohammed, author of the book "Unveiled: How the Western Liberals Empowered Radical Islam," reposted the apology video On February 26, and commented:

In Pakistan if youre a woman attacked by a mob of illiterate men, you must apologize to them.

Yet this Pakistani woman was lucky.

A mob beat and killed a 27-year-old woman Farkhunda Malikzada in 2015 in Kabul, Afghanistan, falsely accusing her of burning the Quran.

Two days after her death, Afghanistans Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs declared her innocent, stating that she had not burned the Quran.

The New York Times published a dramatic video chronicling Malikzadas death compiled from the mobile phone footage the mobsters and bystanders shot while beating their victim.

The Indian news site OpIndia reported that in Kuwait, a predominantly Muslim country, where outfits with Arabic calligraphy are originally designed, such dresses are being sold with no issues, and women wearing them have been appearing in public for almost a year.

Responding to the incident in Lahore, the fashion company Semplictas stated on Instagram [sic]: Dear pakistani people We have nothing to do with the recent incident that happened to the innocent girl We are based in kuwait company And we do NOT ship worldwide Please stop following and messaging since its really disturbing We use arabic words and letters in different fonts everywhere since its our language!
Beijing is unlikely to help Washington disrupt military cooperation between North Korea and Russia because China sees that move as undermining itself while bolstering U.S. goals in Europe and Asia, analysts said.

"Given U.S. policy in Asia and Washington's ongoing effort to contain Chinese power in the region, Beijing has no reason to assist the U.S., even indirectly, on one of its most top foreign policy priorities  a Russian defeat in Ukraine," said Daniel DePetris, a fellow at Defense Priorities.

"For China, North Korea is not a problem to be solved but rather a card to play in its competition with Washington," continued DePetris in an email to VOA on Tuesday.

The U.S. has turned to China to help rein in North Korea's threatening missile activities that have now extended beyond East Asia into Europe, where Russia's war in Ukraine rages on for the third year.

North Korean missiles have killed and injured civilians in the Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Donetsk and Kharkiv since December, the Security Service of Ukraine said on February 22.

The following day, the State Department announced that its senior official for North Korea, Jung Pak, held talks with China's special representative on Korean Peninsula affairs, Liu Xiaoming.

The two discussed North Korea's "increasing destabilizing and escalatory behavior and its deepening military cooperation with Russia" on February 21 via videoconferencing, said the U.S. statement.

The U.S. said North Korea has sent more than 10,000 containers of weapons to Russia since September as it announced a sanctions package targeting Moscow on February 23.

The Pak-Xiaoming talks followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken's discussion of North Korea with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on February 16.

In response to last week's talks, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA on Wednesday via email that "China has no intention to interfere with the cooperation between two sovereign countries" of North Korea and Russia. He called the two nations "China's friendly neighbors."

Pengyu continued, "We hope the U.S. will play a positive and constructive role in maintaining peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula."

North Korea seemingly has been accelerating arms transfers to replenish weapons that Russia needs to fight Ukraine since its leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September. Kim, in return, was seeking Russia's technology to enhance his weapons.

Susan Thornton, a senior fellow at Yale University's Paul Tsai China Center who served as acting assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs during the Trump administration, said Beijing might be willing to persuade Moscow to break its ties with Pyongyang once the war in Ukraine is over.

But even then, "China will not be eager to help" if its "relations with the U.S. are still deteriorating," she said via email on Tuesday.

China views North Korea, which straddles its border, as a buffer zone countering the U.S. and its military bases with 28,500 troops in South Korea. Beijing prefers that Pyongyang maintain stability to continue serving that role.

China has been providing economic aid to sustain heavily sanctioned and isolated North Korea since the 1990s.

Although Beijing is "very uncomfortable" losing leverage over Pyongyang as Moscow now provides alternative sources of food and fuel, that apparent loss is offset by benefits Beijing gains from Moscow's reliance on China's economy, said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center's Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Project.

Russia has faced heavy sanctions since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"China has been an economic life raft for Russia, boosting its energy ties, filling Russian markets with its autos and consumer goods," said Manning. Beijing will not change its stance on Pyongyang-Moscow ties as it generally continues "to coordinate much of its foreign policy with Russia where it opposes U.S. policy," he said via email on Wednesday.

However, Michael Swaine, senior research fellow at Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said, "Working strenuously with Moscow and Pyongyang to oppose the U.S. poses certain risks for Beijing."

Swaine said via email on Wednesday that "Right now, it wants to maintain workable relations with Washington, not worsen them. Beijing faces serious domestic problems that demand a relatively stable external environment."
U.S. television channel Fox News says a court decision holding one of its former journalists in civil contempt should be appealed.

A federal court on Thursday held Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to disclose a key source for a 2017 Fox News investigative series.

The judge imposed a fine of $800 per day until Herridge complies. The fine will not go into effect immediately, to give the journalist time to appeal.

Fox News in a statement shared with VOA Friday said the decision has troubling implications for media.

Holding a journalist in contempt for protecting a confidential source has a deeply chilling effect on journalism, a Fox News spokesperson said. Fox News Media remains committed to protecting the rights of a free press and freedom of speech and believes this decision should be appealed.

The case centers on a series of reports that Herridge did for Fox News in 2017, about a Chinese American scientist, Yanping Chen, who the FBI investigated but never charged.

Herridge examined Chen's ties to the Chinese military and raised questions about whether the scientist was using a professional school she founded in Virginia to help the Chinese government get information about American servicemembers.

The stories relied on what Chens lawyers contend were items leaked from the probe, including snippets of an FBI document summarizing an interview conducted during the investigation, personal photographs and information taken from Chens immigration and naturalization forms and from an internal FBI PowerPoint presentation, The Associated Press reported.

Chen sued the FBI and Justice Department in 2018, saying her personal information was selectively leaked to "smear her reputation and damage her livelihood."

In handing down the decision against Herridge on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper wrote that he "recognizes the paramount importance of a free press in our society" and the critical role of confidential sources in investigative journalism.

But the judge said the court "also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority."

Herridge refused under oath to reveal source

Herridge in August was ordered to answer questions about the source in a deposition with Chens lawyers.

When Herridge was interviewed under oath in September by a lawyer for Chen, she declined dozens of times to disclose her source.

At one point, she said, respectfully I am invoking my First Amendment rights in declining to answer."

One of Herridges lawyers, Patrick Philbin, has said that forcing the journalist to hand over her sources "would destroy her credibility and cripple her ability to play a role in bringing important information to light for the public."

The Associated Press reported that in court papers, Philbin said that disclosing the identity of Herridge's sources raises national security concerns, adding there is a "serious risk" that Chen "was involved in making information about U.S. military members available" to the Chinese.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, or RCFP, filed a friend of the court brief in support of Herridge.

In it, the RCFP said that if the court did find Herridge in contempt, it should impose only nominal sanctions and stay them while Herridge pursues her appeal of the courts denial of her motion to quash Chens subpoena.

The ability of journalists to assure sources that their identities will remain confidential is central to preserving the presss structural role as a check on government, particularly in the national security sphere, RCFP said in a statement in January.

When sources stop talking to journalists because they fear that their identities cannot be protected, that loss impairs the electorates ability to make informed political, social, and economic decisions, and to hold elected officials and others in power accountable," the statement said.

Herridge, who was recently laid off by CBS News, is expected to appeal the court decision.

Some material for this story is from The Associated Press.
Haitian police were overwhelmed by a series of coordinated violent attacks by gang members across the capital in which four officers were killed, a national police spokesperson said Friday.

The attacks Thursday in Port-au-Prince were led by gunmen who opened fire on targets including Haiti's international airport and seized control of two police stations, prompting people to flee dozens of communities in fear as schools and businesses closed.

"The situation yesterday was horrible," spokesperson Garry Desrosiers said in an interview with Radio Caraibes. "The city center was at war."

Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation known as G9 and Family and Allies, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

He said the objective was to capture Haiti's police chief and government ministers and prevent the return of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was in Kenya to push for the United Nations-backed deployment of police from the East African nation to fight gangs in Haiti.

Neither the police chief nor government ministers were injured or captured during Thursday's attacks.

As of late Friday morning, most of Port-au-Prince remained peaceful as people timidly resumed their routines. The main international airport reopened, but by Friday afternoon, the U.S. Embassy reported heavy gunfire near the airport and said it was temporarily halting all official travel to it.

Meanwhile, the capital's downtown area was largely deserted as most schools and businesses remained closed.

Desrosiers said the young officers stood up and fought "to guarantee the security of the population," adding that authorities could not reach the station in time to repel the attack.

He said police faced a lack of logistics and equipment to properly fight the gangs Thursday, as well as roadblocks that remained in place Friday in dozens of communities preventing officers from responding to attacks.

"Despite everything we had to deal with, the will was there," Desrosiers said.

Haiti's National Police has roughly 9,000 officers on duty at a time for a country of more than 11 million people, according to the U.N. The officers are routinely overwhelmed and outgunned by powerful gangs estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.

"The police are in need of more equipment to be able to face the situation," Desrosiers said.

This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal Residents walk past a the body of a man during clashes between police and gang members in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 29, 2024.

Henry, the prime minister, has not publicly commented on the situation and simply shrugged when asked if he felt it was safe to return to Haiti from Kenya.

He signed reciprocal agreements Friday with Kenyan President William Ruto to try and salvage the plan to deploy Kenyan police to Haiti. Kenya's High Court in January ruled that the deployment was unconstitutional, in part because the original deal lacked reciprocal agreements between the two countries.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. As part of the initiatives conducted by the engineer-sapper units of the Azerbaijani Army, a total of 205 hectares of land have been cleared of mines and unexploded ordnance from the beginning of this year to March 1, the Ministry of Defense told Trend.

To date, engineer-sapper units have cleared 36,260 hectares of territories liberated from Armenian occupation from mines and unexploded ordnance. They have discovered a total of 10,440 units of anti-personnel mines, 3,301 units of anti-tank mines, and 12,693 units of unexploded ordnance. The identified mines and ordnance, including homemade explosives, undergo safe disposal through detonation and controlled burning in designated areas, adhering to safety measures.

The primary focus in land clearance of mines and unexploded ordnance is directed towards clearing settlements, crops, roads, and infrastructure. Ongoing engineering measures are being undertaken in the liberated territories, as stated by the Defense Ministry.

Following the liberation of its lands, Azerbaijan began operations in November 2020 to clean its lands of mines, booby traps, and other weaponry left behind by Armenian troops.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Iran elects a new parliament on Friday in a vote that will test the popularity of the country's hardline clerical rulers, with mounting public dissent over economic woes and restrictions on political and social freedoms set to keep many Iranians at home.

With heavyweight moderates and conservatives staying out of the race and reformists calling it an "unfree and unfair election," the vote will pit hardliners and low-key conservatives against one another, all proclaiming loyalty to Iran's Islamic revolutionary ideals.

The vote will be the first formal measure of public opinion after anti-government protests in 2022-23 spiraled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called voting a religious duty. He accused the country's "enemies"  a term he normally uses for the United States and Israel  of trying to create despair among Iranian voters.

But the clerical rulers' hopes for a high turnout and a boost to their legitimacy may be disappointed, as official polls suggest only about 41% of Iranians will vote Friday.

"I'm seeking a change in regime, and I've decided not to vote as it would only serve to reinforce the Islamic Republic's hold," said university student Mehran, 22, in the central city of Isfahan. "I want to live freely."

Tehran housewife Zahra, 26, said she would vote because "the world will understand that we support our leader (Khamenei). He said voting is our duty."

The Interior Ministry said 15,200 candidates will run for the 290-seat parliament, which has scant impact on Iran's foreign policy and nuclear dispute with the West, since these are determined by Khamenei.

Many pro-reform Iranians still have painful memories of the handling of nationwide unrest sparked by the death in custody of a young Iranian-Kurdish woman in 2022, which was quelled by a violent state crackdown involving mass detentions and even executions.

Economic hardships pose another challenge. Many analysts say that large numbers of Iranians no longer think Iran's ruling clerics are capable of resolving an economic crisis driven by a mix of U.S. sanctions, mismanagement and corruption.

While establishment supporters will likely vote for hardline candidates, widespread public anger at worsening living standards and pervasive graft may keep many Iranians at home.

Iranian activists and opposition groups are distributing the Twitter hashtags #VOTENoVote widely on social media, arguing that a high turnout will legitimize the Islamic Republic.

The parliamentary election is twinned with a vote for the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, an influential body that has the task of choosing the 84-year-old Khamenei's successor.
Kenya and Haiti signed a security deal Friday that Nairobi hopes will satisfy a domestic court's objections to a plan to send 1,000 police officers to lead a U.N.-supported peacekeeping mission to address gang violence in the restive Caribbean nation.

Kenya first volunteered to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti in response to an appeal from Port-Au-Prince and the United Nations for international support.

Kenyas High Court blocked the move in January, saying it was unconstitutional and could go forward only if there was a reciprocal agreement between the two nations.

At a ceremony in Nairobi Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto, alongside Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, said the two governments signed a reciprocal instrument to allow the deployment to go forward and discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment.

We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole, Ruto said.

The announcement came after a day of gun violence throughout Port-au-Prince. Reports say authorities battled gang members who targeted police stations, a police academy and the Toussaint-Louverture International Airport.

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as families ran through the streets in panic.

Gang leader Jimmy Cherizier  who goes by the nickname Barbecue  issued a video statement saying a coordinated attack by armed groups was underway to oust Prime Minister Henry.

He said that the groups wanted the prime minister to resign and free the country and that they would use all strategies to achieve the goal.

Henry became Haitis leader after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise three years ago, plunging the country into extraordinary levels of violence and chaos. He has twice promised to hold new elections but has reneged each time.

Gangs control many areas of Port-au-Prince, and police in Haiti have been unable to control the violence.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. Additional reporting by Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo.
International calls for an investigation grew on Friday as questions remained a day after at least 112 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more were injured during a chaotic incident involving Israeli soldiers and people seeking humanitarian aid in northern Gaza.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said an effective independent investigation is necessary to understand the causes and who was responsible for the horrific events. A White House spokesperson also said the event needs to be thoroughly investigated."

Palestinian witnesses blamed Israeli troops for opening fire on a mass gathering of people waiting to collect aid from an approaching convoy. Israel disputes the account, saying scores of people trampled each other and were run over by the fleeing aid trucks. A military spokesman said their troops only fired a few warning shots to disperse the people.

No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video posted on the social media platform X on Thursday. He said that Israeli tanks were present to secure a humanitarian corridor for the 38-truck private convoy to pass.

Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour called the incident an outrageous massacre.

According to the information that we have, dozens of them have bullets in their heads, he told reporters Thursday of the people who were at the scene. Its not like firing at the sky to restrain people if there was confusion and chaos. It was intentionally targeting and killing.

The United Nations said a joint team from its humanitarian office, the U.N. Childrens Fund, or UNICEF, and the World Health Organization visited Gaza Citys largest hospital  al Shifa  on Friday.

They brought with them medicines, vaccines and fuel to help ensure that the medical facility remains functioning, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Al Shifa has reportedly admitted more than 700 people injured in Thursdays deadly convoy incident. Dujarric said about 200 of them remained hospitalized.

By the time of the team's visit, the hospital staff told them they had received the bodies of more than 70 people who had been killed, Dujarric said. Asked if they had gunshot wounds, he said he did not believe the team examined the bodies of the dead, but of the injured patients they saw being treated, there were a large number of gunshot wounds.

Little aid has reached northern Gaza in recent weeks, where about 300,000 people are believed to have remained through the nearly five-month war. Hunger is rampant, and desperation is high. The United Nations has warned that famine is imminent.

U.S. President Joe Biden announced Friday that the United States would begin doing air drops of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

The Gaza ministry of health reported that four more children died in northern Gaza due to starvation and dehydration, bringing the reported number to 10 this week.

The unofficial numbers can unfortunately be expected to be higher, World Health Organization spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. And once we see them, once we see them registered in hospitals, once we see them registered officially, its already further down the line.

Calls for investigation mount

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the shootings, saying civilians must be protected, and called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire.

There must be an urgent investigation and accountability, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement. This must not happen again.

He said Israel has an obligation to ensure significantly more humanitarian aid reaches Gazans and called on the government to open more crossings into Gaza and eliminate bureaucratic obstacles.

Germanys foreign minister expressed shock about the reports.

The Israeli army must fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened, Annalena Baerbock said Friday on X. She too called for a cease-fire so civilian lives would not be lost, hostages held by Hamas could be released and aid could be distributed safely.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she was deeply disturbed by images from Gaza, saying in a post on X that every effort must be made to investigate what happened.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan condemned Israeli forces for firing on the Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid.

Turkeys foreign ministry accused Israel of using "starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza" and said Thursdays incident is "yet another crime against humanity."

"We therefore call on all those with influence over the Israeli government to stop the ongoing violence in Gaza, the statement said.

Brazils government said Friday that a cease-fire is urgent as well as sufficient quantities of aid for Gazans and the release of all hostages. Humanity is failing the civilians of Gaza, and it is time to avoid new massacres, the statement said.

Biden expressed concerns Thursday that the deadly convoy incident could hurt ongoing negotiations to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas and achieve a six-week-long cease-fire.

The latest violence pushed the Palestinian death toll in the nearly five-month war to more than 30,000, with another 71,000 injured and many more missing under the rubble, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas carried out terror attacks inside Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250 others, around 100 of whom were released during a brief pause in November.

VOA United Nations Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information is from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Not removing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others over her romantic relationship with a top prosecutor would undermine public confidence in the legal system, a lawyer for one of Trump's co-defendants told a judge Friday.

After several days of extraordinary testimony, the judge began hearing arguments over whether Willis' relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest that should force both of them off one of four criminal cases against the former president.

John Merchant, an attorney for Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, told Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that if the court allows this kind of behavior to go on ... the entire public confidence in the system will be shot. If McAfee denies the bid to disqualify Willis, there's a good chance an appeals court would overturn that ruling and order a new trial, Merchant argued.

Lawyers for Trump and other defendants say Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited when he paid for vacations for the two of them.

Willis and Wade have acknowledged the relationship, which they said ended last summer, but they have argued it does not create any sort of conflict and has no bearing on the case. The pair said they didn't begin dating until the spring of 2022, after Wade was hired, and that they split travel expenses.

Since the relationship was revealed in early January, the subject dominating the courts time and the publics attention has not been the crimes prosecutors allege Trump and his allies committed while trying to overturn the election, but rather the intimate details of Willis and Wades relationship.The hearings have at times wandered into surreal territory: Atlanta's mayor watching from the gallery as a former Georgia governor testified, Willis' father talking about keeping stashes of cash around the house and details of romantic getaways.

Willis' removal would throw the most sprawling of the four criminal cases against Trump into question as the former president seeks a return to the White House. But it wouldn't necessarily mean the charges against him and 14 others would be dropped.

McAfee heard details of Willis and Wade's personal lives and conflicting accounts of when they started dating, but it remains unclear whether he will find the relationship caused a conflict of interest that merits removing the prosecutors from the case.

At a hearing preceding testimony, McAfee noted that under the law, "disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one. He said he wanted testimony to explore whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or nonromantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues.

Those questions were relevant only in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of the relationship," McAfee said.

Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis, who has followed the case closely, said a lot will depend on which standard McAfee uses: an actual conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict.

The standard I think that's applicable is an actual conflict of interest where the evidence produced shows that Fani Willis profited off the investigation and the charging decisions that she brought against the 2020 election interference defendants, he said.

Because Willis and Wade said the relationship ended before they sought an indictment in the election interference case, it's hard to argue the due process rights of Trump and his co-defendants were violated, Kreis said. But if McAfee applies an appearance of conflict standard, that could mean trouble for Willis and Wade because the shadow has been cast over the whole thing," he said.

If Willis and her office are disqualified, a nonpartisan council supporting prosecuting attorneys in Georgia would be tasked with finding a new attorney to take over. That person could either proceed with some or all of the charges against Trump and others, or drop the case altogether.

Even if a new lawyer moved forward on the path charted by Willis, the inevitable delay would seem likely to lessen the probability of the case getting to trial before November's presidential election, when Trump is expected to be the Republican nominee.

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August on charges related to efforts to keep the Republican incumbent in power even though he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. Four people have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors, while Trump and 14 others have pleaded not guilty.
At least 43 people were killed and dozens were injured by a fire that blazed through a 7-story building in an upscale neighborhood in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka late Thursday, authorities said.

"So far, 43 people have died from the fire," Bangladesh's health minister Samanta Lal Sen told AFP after visiting the Dhaka Medical College Hospital and an adjoining burn hospital.

Police inspector Bacchu Mia said one more person died at Dhaka's main police hospital to bring the death toll to 44.

Sen said at least 40 injured people were being treated in the city's main burn hospital.

"None of them are out of danger," he told AFP.

Fire department official Mohammad Shihab said the blaze originated in a popular biriyani restaurant in Dhaka's Bailey Road Thursday night and quickly spread to the upper floors, trapping scores of people.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control in two hours, he said.

They rescued 75 people alive, a fire service statement said.

Fire officials told reporters they suspected the inferno was caused by a gas cylinder explosion at the restaurant.

"It raced through the upper floor quickly as there were restaurants in almost all floors of the building. They use gas cylinders," one fire officer, who did not give his name, said.

The government has ordered an investigation.

The Bailey Road building houses mainly restaurants along with several clothing and mobile phone shops.

"We were at the sixth floor when we first saw smoke racing through the staircase. A lot of people rushed upstairs," said a restaurant manager who gave his name as Sohel.

"We used a water pipe to climb down the building. Some of us were injured as they jumped from upstairs," he said.

Others were trapped on the rooftop and called out for help.

"Alhamdulillah (praise be to god). We are sending down all women and children including my wife and children. We all men are in rooftop. Fire service stands beside us. Fifty yet to be down," wrote Kamruzzaman Majumdar, a professor of environmental science, in a Facebook post.

He was rescued safely.

Hundreds of anxious family members rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital as ambulances brought the dead and injured to the clinic.

Fires in apartment buildings and factory complexes are common in Bangladesh because of lax enforcement of safety rules.

In July 2021, at least 52 people were killed, including many children, when a fire swept through a food processing factory.

In February 2019, 70 people died when an inferno ripped through several Dhaka apartment blocks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a security agreement that will provide Kyiv with $2.2 billion in military aid this year.

Zelenskyy announced details of the plan on his social media accounts, after the two leaders met and held talks in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and a frequent target for Russian attacks.

"The document provides for 2 billion euros of military assistance from the Netherlands this year, as well as further defense assistance over the next 10 years," Zelenskyy said in the post. He also posted a copy of the agreement to his official presidential website.

Ukraine warned last month it had received less than a third of the 1 million artillery shells the European Union had promised to deliver and was struggling to hold its defenses.

It withdrew its forces from the eastern town of Avdiivka in February amid difficulty securing ammunition, handing Moscow its first major territorial gain in over a year.

On his X account, formerly Twitter, Zelenskyy posted a video of the two touring the city, including some of the 20,000 buildings Zelenskyy said have been destroyed in Russian attacks.

Zelenskyy added that they visited a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in January. The website said five people were killed and 14 others were injured in the attack.

Rutte and Zelenskyy also toured special classrooms built into a subway station, allowing about 858 school children in 40 classes to continue their education in relative safety.

Meanwhile, in a social media post Thursday, the U.N. coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, condemned the deadly attacks in the eastern Kharkiv region.

Local authorities have reported a dozen casualties, including a child being killed. Civilian infrastructure was also damaged, Brown said.

She added that strikes in the Donetsk and Kherson regions Wednesday and Thursday also caused massive destruction of civilian infrastructure as well as civilian casualties.

Brown said local authorities reported more than 100 homes were impacted, as well as schools and other facilities.

She reported humanitarian workers are on the ground to support affected communities, including by providing construction materials and psychological support.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, agreeing to a deal with prosecutors that calls for him to testify in the corruption case against the powerful Democrat and his wife.

Jose Uribe of Clifton, New Jersey, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery from 2018 to 2023, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege that he gave Menendez's wife a Mercedes-Benz.

According to a plea agreement, Uribe could face up to 95 years in prison, although he could win leniency by cooperating and testifying against the other defendants, which he has agreed to do. He also agreed to forfeit $246,000, representing proceeds traceable to his crimes.

Uribe was among three businessmen charged in the corruption case against Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which was revealed last fall.

Authorities say the couple accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and the luxury car in exchange for his help and influence over foreign affairs.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Uribe entered the plea before Judge Sidney H. Stein on Friday during a proceeding that the media was not told about in time for reporters to attend. He remains free on a $1 million bond, which was set when he was arrested. His plea deal, dated Thursday, was signed by him on Friday.

Uribe had been charged with providing Nadine Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator called a government official about another case involving an associate of Uribe.

Uribe's attorney, Daniel Fetterman, declined to comment.

Menendez, his wife and the two other New Jersey businessmen are scheduled to go on trial in May.

Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used his position to take actions that benefited foreign governments in exchange for bribes paid by associates in New Jersey.

Menendez is also accused of helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt.

Prosecutors allege that in exchange for bribes, Menendez did things that benefited Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid.

Menendez also has been charged with using his international clout to help a friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, including by taking actions favorable to Qatar's government.

Attorneys for Menendez and his wife did not immediately comment.
U.N. investigators warn an alarming rise in violence and human rights violations threatens prospects for a durable peace in South Sudan and risks impeding free and fair elections in December, the first since the country gained its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011.

Members of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, which submitted its latest report Friday to the U.N. Human Rights Council, expressed hope that the government would live up to the commitments of the 2020 revitalized peace agreement.

The outlook is not promising. Commission members agree that much remains to be done before elections can go ahead later this year. While South Sudan is coming to the end of a political process, the commission notes that the drafting of a new, permanent constitution has not yet started.

Commission member Barney Afako told the council that entrenched impunity in South Sudan was fueling armed conflict, repression, corruption and human rights violations, including sexual violence. That, he noted, was hardly an environment in which free and fair elections could take place.

Last April, we named senior officials responsible for serious crimes, including extrajudicial killings, torture, rape and sexual violence, he said. All of them retain their positions, including the governor of Unity State (Joseph Monytuil) and the Koch County commissioner (Gordon Koang). These two individuals enjoy impunity and have continued to instigate serious violence and violations.

The commission report paints a stark picture of a society where killings, sexual and gender-based crimes, and gross human rights violations against the civilian population go unpunished.

It says children are recruited into the army, and militias and armed cattle keepers encroach upon and grab the land of farmers, inflicting sexual violence and mass abductions on women and children.

The commission has documented cases of young girls and women who have been abducted and held as sexual slaves. Afako said many of the victims have testified to being regularly beaten, continuously raped and threatened with death.

The scale, severity and violence associated with abductions is worsening. These attacks are well-planned, he said. Although authorities were often well aware of them, they claimed to be powerless to stop them. Instead, authorities have negotiated ransoms and encouraged families to pay off abductors. We believe this can only incentivize further abductions.

He said impunity and lack of justice, accountability and protection institutions are root causes of violations, including targeted killings, repression, torture and sexual violence against women and girls.

The commission calls on South Sudans government to urgently establish transitional justice institutions and allow the countrys political process to operate meaningfully and legitimately.

Ruben Madol Arol, the South Sudanese minister of justice and constitutional affairs, called the commission report deplorable. He said the report does not consider the actions the government has taken to implement the renewable agreement and improve security in the country.

He bristled at the reports description of widespread sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls in South Sudan, saying it is misleading and meant to tarnish the image of the country.

Christian Salazar Volkmann, the director of the field operations and technical cooperation division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the council that the government has made some concrete progress on institutional electoral preparations.

While some signs of openness with civil society were emerging, he said, they were insufficient to create the necessary conducive environment for the South Sudanese to fully exercise their democratic right to vote.

Currently, the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association all remain severely restricted, he said.

Censorship, harassment, arbitrary arrests, and detention of journalists and dissenting voices continue in South Sudan. This impedes genuine public engagement in the electoral process, he said.

Justice Minister Arol did not take all that criticism lightly. He threatened to end the mandate of the U.N. Human Rights Commission in South Sudan unless it accepts new conditions.

He said the commission must share evidence and names of the individuals and entities accused of human rights violations to the government.

He said the commission also must agree to monitor and report human rights situations and let the government handle all investigations.

If these positions are accepted, the government will accept the extension of [the] mandate of the commission for a period of one year only, he said.

Ninety-five nongovernmental and human rights organizations sent a letter early last week to council members and observer states urging the council to renew the commissions mandate. They expressed concern about South Sudans human rights situation in view of the upcoming elections.

They noted that the commissions critical role in that it is the only mechanism tasked with collecting and preserving evidence of violations on international humanitarian and human rights law with a view to ensuring accountability.
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have reportedly warned of barring female journalists and women at large from media platforms unless they comply with a dress code requiring that only their eyes be visible.

The Afghanistan Journalists Center, or AFJC, a press freedom organization, said the warning was issued Tuesday by Mohammad Khaled Hanafi, head of the Talibans Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice Ministry, meeting with journalists in Kabul.

In a statement on its website, the AFJC quoted ministry spokesman Abdul Ghaffar Farooq as recommending at the meeting that they adhere to a modest dress code, showing images of women in black attire and veils with their faces mostly covered, leaving only their eyes visible.

Farooq also suggested that television news channels avoid interviewing women who do not adhere to the hijab or fully cover their faces, the organization said.

Hanafi warned that failure to comply with these guidelines may lead to a potential prohibition of women working in the media by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the statement said.

Ministry officials have not yet commented on the reported meeting or its details.

The media watchdog said it was deeply concerned about the state of Afghan media and the potential repercussions of banning women from working in the media, who already face significant restrictions in their work.

It said Hanafis warning could ultimately eliminate women from the media in Afghanistan, where the Taliban already have placed sweeping restrictions on most womens access to education and work or public life at large.

The AFJC said in its statement that local media professionals in the country have dealt with stringent work conditions requiring them to strictly follow a set of media guidelines the Taliban introduced after reclaiming power in 2021.

Some of the existing directives prevent women from working in national radio and television stations, enforce gender-based segregation in workplaces, and prohibit broadcasting female voices and phone calls in certain provinces, the center said.

The AFJC moved its office out of Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover but says it has workers on the ground and coordinates with local media outlets.

The Taliban have banned television dramas that include female performers, and female news presenters must wear an officially prescribed Islamic hijab on air.

Gender Apartheid'

The Taliban have prohibited teenage girls from receiving an education beyond the sixth grade, female aid workers are banned from working for nongovernmental humanitarian groups, including the United Nations, except in the health sector, and females are not allowed to visit public parks, gyms, and bathhouses.

A U.N. expert warned in a report issued Thursday that the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan had deteriorated immensely and caused unacceptable suffering since the Taliban takeover.

Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur on the situation of Afghan human rights, urged action by the Taliban and the outside world to halt this downward spiral and give hope to Afghans.

Women and girls are being erased from public life, peaceful dissent is not tolerated, violence and the threat of violence are used with impunity to control and instill fear in the population, Bennett said. He said he is deeply concerned about the bans on girls education and female aid workers.

He denounced the Taliban-ordered public executions and floggings of Afghans, including women, convicted of crimes, including murder and adultery.

The report found that the institutionalized, systematic and widespread nature of gender-based discrimination was unparalleled, rising to the level of gender persecution and justifying being characterized as 'gender apartheid.

Just hours before the report was issued Thursday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that Bennett and other Western critics should stop "misusing" the issue of Afghan human rights and instead focus on and stop rights abuses elsewhere in the world.

The Taliban have rejected criticism of their governance, saying it is aligned with the Islamic law of Sharia and Afghan culture.
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Under a heavy police presence, thousands of supporters of Alexey Navalny bid farewell to the prominent Russian opposition leader outside his funeral Friday in Moscow. VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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Top U.S. diplomats in Russia paid their respects Friday to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, saying he "remains a shining example of what Russia could and should be."

The American ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, went to the Moscow church where funeral services were held and laid red roses at a shrine outside. Russian authorities allowed only relatives and close friends inside the church. She was joined by the ambassadors from Germany and France, among many other diplomats.

Mary Glantz, acting director of the Center for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace, told VOA she was amazed at the size of the crowd that turned out for Navalnys funeral and burial, despite the clampdown on dissent since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.

"But you can see at least thousands of people lining up for kilometers along the road to the cemetery where he is being buried. And they've chanted everything from, "We're not afraid," to "No war!," which is really striking, because it is illegal to say that in Russia."

At least 45 people were detained Friday for paying tribute to Navalny in several towns and cities, according to the monitoring group OVD-Info. Experts said Russian authorities have extensive surveillance video and there may be more arrests in the days and weeks ahead.

After first blocking mourners from entering Moscow's Borisovo Cemetery, some were eventually allowed in. Navalny's coffin was lowered into the grave to the sound of Frank Sinatras song "My Way."

Fridays crowd in Moscow was the largest protest gathering in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine. Some Russians chanted, "Stop the war!" and "Bring the soldiers home."

The spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment on Navalny as a political figure. But he did say, "Unauthorized gatherings will violate the law. So, those who will participate in them will be held accountable in accordance with the current law."

Navalny's team had called for his supporters to lay flowers or wreaths in their towns and cities across the country at 7 p.m. local time. Glantz said she saw photos of that happening, and that Navalnys appeal across the country was what made Putin fear him so much. She also questioned the timing of Navalnys sudden death in custody in a harsh, arctic prison, saying she believed Putin had him killed.

"So, it is interesting that he [Putin] chose to do this right before the election to create a martyr right then," she said.

Russia denies that the state is responsible for his death, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats say they hold Putin responsible, since Navanly was poisoned in Russia at least twice and was in Russian custody when he suddenly died.

Russia is holding presidential elections this month, and Putin is virtually certain to win since all true opposition candidates have either been jailed or barred or are dead. Putin has been in power in Russia, either as president or prime minister, since 2000.

Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who lives abroad, has taken up leadership of the opposition to Putin. Glantz said she would be a formidable opponent for him. "I've heard from people who've worked with Navalnaya that she is extremely capable and that they were a team. But they were a team in which she deliberately sort of put her light under a bushel basket in order to allow him to shine brighter," Glantz said.

Neither Navalnaya, nor her two children, nor Alexey's brother were able to attend the funeral for fear of almost certain arrest and detention. But Yulia Navalnaya posted an emotional tribute to her husband, thanking him for "26 years of absolute happiness."
The new prime minister in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu said on Friday his country shares democratic values with Taiwan and reaffirmed that his government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a shift to Beijing.

Prime Minister Feleti Teo spoke to The Associated Press via Zoom, his first interview with international media since his government took office earlier this week.

"Our ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles, and they have been very loyal to us," Teo said.

Teo, a 61-year-old first-time lawmaker, and his eight Cabinet ministers were sworn into office on Wednesday, a month after general elections in the strategically significant nation of 11,500 people halfway between Australia and Hawaii.

Election campaign issues included whether Tuvalu should switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing. An elected candidate proposed scrapping a treaty, which has yet to be ratified, that would give Australia veto power over any security-related agreement Tuvalu wants to make with any other country, including China.

The new administration announced it would maintain diplomatic ties with the self-governing Taiwan. China has claimed Taiwan since a 1949 split amid civil war.

"We don't see any reason why we need to invest in time to discuss and engage in the two-China discussion," he said, referring to the counter-policy from the "One China" principle, which is China's view that it has sovereignty over the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Seve Paeniu, who was finance minister in the previous government and was considered a leadership contender in the election, had argued for Tuvalu's relationships with both Taiwan and Beijing to be reviewed. Paeniu was excluded from Teo's Cabinet.

Tuvalu's Parliament has 16 lawmakers and no political parties, so a prime minister must garner the support of at least eight independent lawmakers to command a majority.

After Teo was chosen by 10 of his fellow lawmakers to be prime minister on Monday, China's foreign ministry urged Taiwan's diplomatic allies to "stand on the right side of history and make the right decision that truly serves their long-term interest" by switching allegiances to Beijing.

When the tiny atoll country of Nauru switched alliances to Beijing in January, Tuvalu was left as one of only three Pacific island nations aligned with Taiwan.

Teo, a former long-term Tuvaluan public servant and regional bureaucrat, said the question of changing allegiances was "definitely not" an issue for his people.

Teo said that he hopes to renegotiate development assistance agreements with Taiwan and that impacts of climate change and sea level rises remain top priorities for his nation of low-lying atolls.

The treaty with Australia, announced by previous Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in November, offered Tuvaluans an option of resettlement in Australia to escape rising oceans and worsening storms.

Australia would initially allow up to 280 Tuvaluans to immigrate each year. The treaty would also commit Australia to helping Tuvalu in response to major natural disasters, pandemics and military aggression.

But Teo wants Australia to drop a clause that both countries must "mutually agree" on any third-country security agreement that Tuvalu may seek.

Teo said that he had been involved in drafting the treaty as a legal consultant for Tuvalu and that the original intention had been for Australia only to be informed of such third-party agreements.

Teo would not speculate on whether Australia wants veto power to avoid a repeat of the security pact signed between China and the Solomon Islands in 2022, which raised the prospect of a Chinese naval foothold being established in the South Pacific.

While his government is "certainly behind the broad principle and objectives of the treaty," Teo said, it still has ways to go. In his view, the treaty would become acceptable if Australia dropped the mutual agreement provision.

"We need to revisit that provision," Teo said. "The general perspective here in Tuvalu is that it might encroach on Tuvalu's sovereignty."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether further negotiation was possible.
Speaking Mandarin and promoting love for China, countless videos of foreign-looking women made with artificial intelligence started popping up on Chinese social media platforms around the Lunar New Year earlier this month.

The avatars in the videos are created with online images that are stolen, reproduced and repurposed so that even the women in real life recognize themselves in the videos.

Olga Loiek is one of those women. Shes a 20-year-old Ukrainian who studies cognitive science at the University of Pennsylvania. A couple of months ago, Loiek started a YouTube channel where she talks about mental health and shares her philosophies about life.

However, shortly after that, she started receiving messages from followers telling her that they had seen her on Chinese social media. There, she's not Olga Loiek but a Russian woman who speaks Mandarin, loves China and wants to marry a Chinese man. Her name is Natasha, or Anna, or Grace, depending on the social media platform you find her on in China.

"I started translating the videos with Google Translate, and I realized that most of these accounts are talking about things like China, Russia, how good the relationship between China and Russia is," she told VOA. "This feels very violating."

In some videos, the avatars talk about how much they value Russia and China's close ties. In other videos, they praise Chinese history and culture or talk about how much Russian women want to marry Chinese.

"If you marry Russian women, we will wash clothes, cook, and wash dishes for you every day," an avatar said. "We will also give you foreign babies, as many as you want."

Several dozen videos of Loiek's avatar speaking Mandarin have been found on video sites Douyin and Bilibili. Most of these accounts would ask viewers to visit their online stores to buy what they say are authentic Russian goods.

Douyin, China's version of TikTok, has labeled some of these videos as potentially AI-generated. But comments show that many believed they were looking at a real woman. One netizen wrote, "Russian beauty, Chinese people welcome you."

Loiek said she would never say things like that, obviously, given that she's from Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since 2022.

She said, "This is probably used to make people, maybe people in China, feel that foreigners feel that their country is superior."

On Bilibili, China's biggest video site, some AI videos using Loiek's face are marked with the logo of HeyGen, indicating that the video was generated on the company's website.

In one tutorial on Bilibili, the demonstrator even shows how to make a short video on HeyGen with a clip of Loiek talking.

HeyGen is an AI company headquartered in Los Angeles that was launched in China in 2020. It specializes in realistic digital avatars, voice generation and video translating.

The technology developed by HeyGen was used in AI videos of Donald Trump and Taylor Swift speaking perfect Mandarin that went viral on Chinese social media in October 2023. According to Forbes, the company is now valued at $75 million.

HeyGen's moderation policy states that users cannot generate avatars that "represent real individuals, including celebrities or public figures, without explicit consent." The company's official tutorial video on avatar making shows that users must submit a video of people giving consent to the use of their likeness. It's unclear how some in China could circumvent the requirement to make videos of Loiek.

Loiek said that since she and her YouTube subscribers have sent complaints to Chinese social media companies, about a dozen of the accounts imitating her have been taken down.

VOA reached out to HeyGen and Douyin's parent company, ByteDance, for comments but has not received a response.

The Chinese government rolled out provisions to regulate deepfakes and other "deep synthesis services" in early 2023. The law prohibits generating deepfakes without the consent of the people whose image or other information is used.

Loiek posted her story on YouTube, and it has been shared on Chinese social media. Netizens across platforms sympathized with her and called for tougher regulations on AI.

Chinese tech giants such as Baidu and Tencent are investing heavily in AI technology. One of the most hyped-up services powered by AI is digital humans.

Tencent and Xiaoice, a Chinese AI studio spun off from Microsoft, offer digital human services that can clone people and turn them into AI avatars for as little as $145.

AI avatars have also been found in online disinformation campaigns that spread pro-China and anti-U.S. narratives. In February 2023, research firm Graphika found a social media campaign promoting Beijing's interests using realistic-looking computer-generated people in videos.

In September 2023, the U.S. State Department warned in a report, "Access to global data combined with the latest developments in artificial intelligence technology would enable the PRC [People's Republic of China] to surgically target foreign audiences and thereby perhaps influence economic and security decisions in its favor.

As for Loiek, she does not plan to quit YouTube or stop posting.

"We need some sort of regulatory frameworks, so we can understand and we can prevent these things from happening," she said.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
Paramilitary forces and their allied militias fighting to take power in Sudan carried out widespread ethnic killings and rapes while taking control of much of western Darfur that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, United Nations experts said in a new report.

The report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, paints a horrifying picture of the brutality of the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces against Africans in Darfur. It also details how the RSF succeeded in gaining control of four out of Darfur's five states, including through complex financial networks that involve dozens of companies.

Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.

Fighting spread to other parts of the country, but in Sudan's Darfur region it took on a different form: brutal attacks by the RSF on African civilians, especially the ethnic Masalit.

Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African. It seems that legacy has returned, with the International Criminal Court's prosecutor Karim Khan saying in late January there are grounds to believe both sides are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.

The panel of experts said Darfur is experiencing "its worst violence since 2005."

The ongoing conflict has caused a large-scale humanitarian crisis and displaced approximately 6.8 million people  5.4 million within Sudan and 1.4 million who have fled to other countries, including approximately 555,000 to neighboring Chad, the experts said.

The RSF and rival Sudanese government forces have both used heavy artillery and shelling in highly populated areas, causing widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation, education and health care facilities.

In their 47-page report, the experts said the RSF and its militias targeted sites in Darfur where displaced people had found shelter, civilian neighborhoods and medical facilities.

According to intelligence sources, the panel said, in just one city  Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state near the Chad border  between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed.

The experts said sexual violence by the RSF and its allied militia was widespread.

The panel said that, according to reliable sources from Geneina, women and girls as young as 14 years old were raped by RSF elements in a U.N. World Food Program storage facility that the paramilitary force controlled, in their homes, or when returning home to collect belongings after being displaced by the violence. Additionally, 16 girls were reportedly kidnapped by RSF soldiers and raped in an RSF house.

"Racial slurs toward the Masalit and non-Arab community formed part of the attacks," the panel said. "Neighborhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed," especially those where Masalit and other African communities lived, and their people were harassed, assaulted, sexually abused, and at times executed.

The experts said prominent Masalit community members were singled out by the RSF, which had a list, and the group's leaders were harassed and some executed. At least two lawyers, three prominent doctors and seven staff members, and human rights activists monitoring and reporting on the events were also killed, they said.

The RSF and its allied militias looted and destroyed all hospitals and medical storage facilities, which resulted in the collapse of health services and the deaths of 37 women with childbirth complications and 200 patients needing kidney dialysis, the panel said.

After the killing of the wali, or governor, of West Darfur in June, the report said, Masalit and African communities decided to seek protection at Ardamata, just outside Geneina. A convoy of thousands moved out at midnight but as they reached a bridge, RSF and allied militias indiscriminately opened fire, and survivors reported that an estimated 1,000 people were killed, they said.

The panel stressed that disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians  including torture, rapes and killings as well as destruction of critical civilian infrastructure  constitute war crimes under the 1949 Geneva conventions.

The RSF was formed out of Janjaweed fighters by Sudan's former President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled the country for three decades, was overthrown during a popular uprising in 2019, and is wanted by the International Criminal Court for charges of genocide and other crimes during the conflict in Darfur in the 2000s.

According to the panel, the "RSF's takeover of Darfur relied on three lines of support: the Arab allied communities, dynamic and complex financial networks, and new military supply lines running through Chad, Libya and South Sudan."

While both the Sudanese military and RSF engaged in widespread recruitment drives across Darfur from late 2022, the RSF was more successful, the experts said. And it "invested large proceeds from its pre-war gold business in several industries, creating a network of as many as 50 companies."

The RSF's complex financial networks "enabled it to acquire weapons, pay salaries, fund media campaigns, lobby, and buy the support of other political and armed groups," the experts said.

United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited Chad in September, called the report's findings "horrific" and expressed "deep disappointment" that the U.N. Security Council and the international community have paid such little attention to the allegations.

"The people of Sudan feel that they have been forgotten," she said.

In light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan and the broader region, Thomas-Greenfield demanded that the Sudanese military lift its prohibition on cross-border assistance from Chad and facilitate cross-line assistance from the east. She also demanded in a statement Wednesday that the RSF halt the looting of humanitarian warehouses and that both parties stop harassing humanitarian aid workers.

"The council must act urgently to alleviate human suffering, hold perpetrators to account, and bring the conflict in Sudan to an end," the U.S. ambassador said. "Time is running out."
Attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen on international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden may have put a dent in global trade. But U.S. officials argue a combination of airstrikes and naval convoys are allowing thousands of ships to still make the journey unscathed.

Over the past three months, an estimated 4,677 cargo ships have transited the Red Sea, the U.S. Defense Department told VOA.

Of those, 423 vessels passed through under the protection of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a U.S.-led coalition of some 20 countries that includes Britain, Bahrain, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.

This is something well continue to keep at, said Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder, speaking to reporters Thursday.

The Red Sea is a vital waterway  15% of global commerce transits through there, Ryder said, calling the Houthi attacks illegal and reckless.

In addition to Operation Prosperity Guardian, which is using five warships and other naval assets to protect commercial ships, Pentagon officials say there are another four to eight vessels in the region under a separate U.S.-led coalition involved in launching several waves of preemptive strikes against Houthi assets and launch sites.

U.S. officials note they are also in contact with the European Union, which launched its own operation, Aspides, last month with Greece, Germany and Italy sending warships to the region, where they will meet up with a French warship already in the Red Sea.

Despite the U.S. and EU efforts, though, Houthi attacks have continued unabated.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Daniel Shapiro on Tuesday told U.S. lawmakers there have been at least 48 attacks against commercial shipping and naval vessels in and around the Red Sea since November 19.

Approximately 15 commercial ships, including four American ships, have suffered at least some damage due to the Houthi attacks.

And other defense officials told VOA the Houthis have threatened at least another 14 commercial and naval vessels.

"Our military operations will continue and advance, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said during a televised address Thursday, asserting, we have surprises that our enemies will not expect at all.

The effects of the Houthi attacks on international shipping are still being measured.

More than a dozen major shipping companies have suspended transits of the Red Sea.

The Kiel Trade Indicator, issued by a German research institution, said last month that 80% fewer containers are passing through the Red Sea and Egypts Suez Canal than normally would be expected.

Global shipping giant Maersk told customers Tuesday to prepare for disruptions to persist in the global network.

Some information from Reuters was used in this report.
President Emmerson Mnanagwa "retired" Zimbabwe's Airforce commander, just a few hours after his plane aborted landing at the Victoria Falls Airport due to a bomb scare.

In a statement signed by chief cabinet secretary Martin Rushwaya, Mnangagwa, who could not provide details for allegedly sacking Air Marshall Elson Moyo, said his post has been parceled to Vice Air Marshall John Jacob Nzvede.

Presidential spokesperson George Charamba, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere and publicity secretary Nick Mangwana were unreachable for comment as they were not responding to calls on their mobile phones.

The Associated Press reported earlier that a bomb scare shut down Zimbabwes Victoria Falls Airport on , forcing the countrys president to cancel a planned address at a conference on renewable energy.

Mnangagwa was due to address the conference in the morning, but had to suspend his trip to allow for investigations which are already underway."

Authorities couldnt confirm local media reports that the presidents plane made a U-turn while traveling to the conference.

Charamba said that airport authorities were informed by Fastjet airline about an email sent by a John Doe claiming a credible bomb/firearm threat targeting Zimbabwes airports.

Security systems are now on heightened alert, Charamba said, urging people to be calm while investigations are underway.
President Joe Biden hailed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's "unwavering" support for Ukraine Friday, as they held talks overshadowed by worries about the future of US aid for Kyiv.

Despite their political differences, the far-right Italian leader and the veteran Democrat have had warm relations, particularly because of Meloni's strong stance on Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.

"I want to thank you for Italy's unwavering support for Ukraine," Biden, 81, said as he sat with Meloni, 47, in front of a crackling fire in the Oval Office of the White House.

"We have each other's backs -- we also have Ukraine's back," added Biden, who sported socks decorated with Stars and Stripes flags.

Biden sought to reassure Meloni that he was urging Republicans in Congress to stop blocking $60 billion of vital US military assistance for Ukraine.

The impasse has left Kyiv desperately short of weapons as it tries to fight off recent Russian advances, and alarmed Washington's European allies who fear Moscow has further ambitions.

It was Meloni's second visit to the White House, after she came in July last year.

Meloni, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) nations, said Ukraine would be top of the agenda at a leaders' summit in Italy in June.

"We intend first and foremost to reaffirm the rules-based international order defending freedom and giving peace for Ukraine," Meloni said alongside Biden.

Meloni also "emphasized the significance of sustained US support for Ukraine," the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

Biden quipped that he played the song "Georgia on My Mind" by soul great Ray Charles for Giorgia Meloni as she arrived for the meeting.

- 'Humanitarian crisis' -

The two leaders also agreed on the importance of aid for Gaza as Israel's offensive continues, with Biden announcing that the US would start airdropping relief.

"The humanitarian crisis is our number one priority," Meloni said, calling for a long-term solution that provides for a separate Palestinian state.

Italy called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza on Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire at an aid convoy, while the United States said the incident underscored the need for a "temporary" truce.

Meloni and Biden also discussed North Africa -- the source of migrant flows to Italy -- and cooperation on China, the White House said.

Italy has emerged as a staunch European and NATO ally for Washington in backing Kyiv, despite the presence in Meloni's government of figures like deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, once an outspoken admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But like other US allies it has reacted with alarm to the political chaos in Washington that has stalled aid for Ukraine.

Republicans have said they will not pass aid until Biden takes action to curb migrant crossings over the US-Mexico border, but have refused to pass bills doing just that. The president has accused them of playing politics.

The leaders of a number of key US allies have visited or will visit the White House in the early months of 2024 -- an election year for Biden -- as they seek to shore up Ukraine's increasingly desperate position.

"The world is watching, and that's what House Republican leaders need to understand," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

dk/tjj
Fatime Letifova

The Azerbaijani Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jeyhun Bayramov, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Zheenbek Kulubaev, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Azernews reports, citing the post shared by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its official X account.

The ministers discussed the expansion of brotherly relations and the further development of the strategic partnership in multiple areas.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Bosco Shoes LLC has been granted resident status in Azerbaijan's Araz Valley Economic Zone industrial park, Trend reports.

According to the Economic Zones Development Agency under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, the new resident will establish shoe production plant in the park.

The agency noted that the company plans to create permanent jobs for 72 people with an investment cost of 3.5 million manat ($2 million).

In addition to selling the plant products to the domestic market, it's also planned to export them.

To note, the Araz Valley Economic Zone was established by Decree No. 1453 dated October 4, 2021 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in liberated Jabrayil district.

Its investment volume amounts to $19.2 million.

The goal of industrial park's establishment include revival of liberated territories, development of industrial potential of Karabakh, and others.

To date, over 10 companies, including Matanat and ZF Group LLCs, Holcim (Azerbaijan) OJSC and others, have become residents of the park.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, states were created according to the regional divisions of the USSR. However, Transnistria, which was annexed to Moldova by the Soviet administration after World War II, declared independence five days after the dissolution of the USSR.

Moldovans dreamed of the American way of life, while Transnistrians pursued Mikhail Gorbachevs model: to build a nation that was both democratic and communist. Furious, the United States tried to destroy this country in 1992 by recruiting a Romanian army under the command of NATO special advisor Colonel Howard J. T. Steers [1]. Boris Yeltsins Russia abandoned it, but the Transnistrians defended themselves and won their freedom.

Today, social benefits and salaries of public sector employees are not paid by Chisinau (Moldova), which does not recognize the independence of the Dniester Moldovan Republic while still claiming that Transnistrians are its citizens.

While an agreement had been reached between Moldova and the unrecognized Moldovan Republic of the Dniester (Transnistria) for it to have access to both the European Union market and the global market, Chisinau issued new standards at the beginning of 2024. Transnistrian companies, which trade with 90 countries, must be registered in Moldova in order to transit their goods through it. However, they cannot do so because the Moldovan banks refuse it to them. Nor can they do so via Ukraine due to the war.

Throughout the month of January, demonstrations were held in Tiraspol to protest against this economic strangulation. Two-thirds of Transnistrians have triple Moldovan /Transnistrian/Russian citizenship. 1,500 to 2,000 Russian troops make up a permanent peace mission in the DMR.

On 21st February Transnistrian President Vadim Krasnosselski convened all deputies in an extraordinary Congress for the first time in 18 years. Ukraine, which had tried to assassinate the Transnistrian president last September, immediately sent its ambassador, Paun Rogovei, to ensure that the situation did not escalate. On February 27, the U.S. State Department dispatched Christopher W. Smith, an assistant to Undersecretary Victoria Nuland.

On February 28, the Congress of Deputies met and appealed to Russia for help, but did not ask for annexation to the Federation, even though its citizens had done so in 2006 in a referendum with 97% of the votes cast and its government had done so in 2014 when Crimea was annexed.

In 2019, the Rand Corporation, a think tank of the US military-industrial complex, had drafted a plan to weaken the Russian rival by forcing it to intervene in Ukraine, then in Transnistria [2]. The plan was introduced in the House of Representatives on September 5, 2019.

In January 2022, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell visited the Ukrainian-Transnistrian border to meet with the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM). The objective was to plan for the current crisis [3].
Photo: Warner Bros.

The first Dune belonged to Timothee Chalamet. Chalamet plays Paul Atreides, the son of one of the aristocratic houses controlling the known universe, as well as an unenthusiastic contender for the position of genetically engineered, holy-war-waging messiah. It was, and still is, inspired casting, and not just because Chalamet has the patrician bone structure of an imperial hemophiliac. Chalamet, Hollywoods chosen prince, has been navigating the crumbling path toward movie stardom like someone whos aware there are more mistakes to be made than rewards to be had, which gives an extratextual charge to his performance as someone trying to avoid being corralled into the parts others would like him to play. Hes good in that first film, a boy-man dwarfed by galaxy-size power games, and even better in its follow-up, which finds his character fighting alongside the indigenous Fremen, giddy with revolution and new love. But Dune: Part Two isnt his movie  it belongs firmly to Zendaya, who gives the second half of Denis Villeneuves Frank Herbert adaptation an emotional tangibility that the first, in all its exotic majesty, eschewed.

Science fiction is Villeneuves genre, and has been even before he started making movies about extraterrestrial communication or desert planets being mined for an interstellar travel-enabling drug. He cant help but render the world as otherworldly onscreen, turning the Toronto of Enemy into a jaundiced alternative reality in which hostile doppelgangers made perfect sense, and the Arizona suburbs of Sicario into a pre-apocalyptic wasteland. This remove has been his most consistent quality as a filmmaker, even when it has undermined the actual stuff of his films, and one reason the Dunes are so terrific is that they provide the ideal material for his unshakable aesthetic. The macrocosm of his Dune movies is supposed to feel forbiddingly distant, populated by a mankind thats iterated itself into sisterhoods of space witches, societies of goth fascists, and orders of human computers (though, alas, there is no Stephen McKinley Henderson in the sequel) amid a hierarchical structure of suspicious clans.

Villeneuves facility with this stuff doesnt just come from his talent for spectacle, though there are set pieces in Dune: Part Two that aim to blow the top of your skull off. The sequence where Paul tries to prove himself to the Fremen by riding a sandworm for the first time is staged like someone attempting to hook themselves to a high-speed train. The camera keeps by the characters side as he tumbles disorientingly through an upended ocean of sand, only to find himself clinging to the armored hide of the giant creature as rushing air whips him around. But the filmmakers real gift is his ability to treat this strange futurescape as fully inhabited. The script (which he wrote with Jon Spaihts) skips awkward paragraphs of expository dialogue, expecting that viewers can keep up with what they might not fully understand. We see a lot more of Giedi Prime, home planet of the vicious Harkonnen family, in order to meet Baron Harkonnens (Stellan Skarsgard) sadistic nephew Feyd-Rautha (a scene-stealing Austin Butler, smiling around blackened teeth). Why bother going over the niceties of local succession traditions when we can just watch the young noble celebrate his birthday by slaughtering slaves in front of a crowded arena chanting his name, with the light of the black sun draining whatever color might be left on a planet thats already near-monochromatic?

Dune: Part Two isnt any more compromising than the first film when it comes to the conflicts and stratospheric intrigues that result in piles of corpses to be incinerated on the ground. The secretive Bene Gesserit, a matriarchal society whose superhuman company includes Pauls mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and emperors daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh), are still carrying out a horse race between the respective results of their eugenic labors. Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling), a senior member among the Bene Gesserit, prefers the sociopathic but controllable Feyd-Rautha over the rebellious Paul. The emperor (Christopher Walken, the only actor unable to get into the films vibe) is revealed to have engineered the Atreides downfall, to Irulans frustration. And Jessica, having sampled a poisonous, prescience-enabling sandworm by-product in order to become a Reverend Mother herself for the Fremen, seems to have become a true believer in all the prophecies her order strategically seeded, and walks around having conversations with the newly awakened fetus shes carrying. We havent even gotten into the real freak shit of the later Herbert books, and this is already thrillingly strong stuff.

Rather than soften the strangeness of its source material, Dune: Part Two shifts its perspective to one on the ground  to Zendayas character, the Fremen warrior Chani. She was more promise than actual presence in 2021s Dune, a figure from Pauls visions whos only encountered in the flesh after the Harkonnen family ambushes and wipes out most of the Atreides forces. But shes the soul of the new film, skeptical of all the messiah talk she rightfully believes was planted to control her people, and skeptical of this off-world upper-cruster who comes seeking refuge, swearing hes not like the others and that he only wants to learn the ways of her people and help them. (Chanis fundamentalist cohort Stilgar, played by Javier Bardem, meanwhile, is certain that Paul is the prophesied leader meant to free them.) The beats of Pauls time with the Fremen echo ones from Avatar and Dances With Wolves, only here theyre a calculation. Paul may be sincere in falling in love with Chani and wanting to take up the Fremen cause, but hes also trying to decide if he wants to use them to fulfill the destiny hes been avoiding.

Zendayas fierce, open-hearted performance provides a counterpoint to all the high-level machinations of the plot. As someone who understands that the interests of this charismatic outsider arent actually those of her and her community, she cant help but be swayed by him anyway. Your blood comes from dukes and great houses, Chani says to Paul at one point. Here, everyone is equal. His response  Id very much like to be equal to you  is the perfect kind of howler, a reminder that shrewdness is no match for when you want to believe. In the maelstrom of wariness, hope, and betrayal she projects in the final act, Zendaya shows us that emotions can be universal, even in a context thats anything but.
Elsbeth Pilot Season 1 Episode 1 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * * Photo: Elizabeth Fisher/CBS

You know whats great about a really well-executed spinoff series? If you already know and love the newly main character, thats great! If you dont, its no impediment at all to enjoying the show! Say hello (or hello again) to the titular Elsbeth Tascioni, whom you may know from her appearances in The Good Wife and The Good Fight. Elsbeth is a lawyer from Chicago whos been tasked by the U.S. Department of Justice as an outside observer to the NYPD as part of the terms of a consent decree in a wrongful-arrest case against the departments Major Case Unit.

Like last years Poker Face, Elsbeth is a how-and-why-dunit, rather than a whodunit, allowing its pilot episode to sidestep many of the pitfalls so common in pilot episodes. When we know that every episode will run on healthy doses of exposition and character introductions, were inclined to forgive dialogue that sounds clunky elsewhere. The question at the heart of each episode is always, How will Elsbeth solve this one?

Primarily, Elsbeth solves mysteries by being seemingly quite daffy. Shes prone to tangents and out-of-nowhere questions, and shes the sharpest knife in the block. Underestimate her at your peril. In fact, I credit her apparently scatterbrained nature with being a big part of what makes her such a good lawyer and investigator; her mind moves so quickly that she notices and processes small and/or overlooked details before others can. What may seem like dismissible dottiness is also a quality Elsbeth turns to her advantage.

The pilots crime of the week is the murder of a wealthy undergraduate, actor Olivia Cherry, by her professor/director and former lover, Alex Modarian (Stephen Moyer). Out of spite, blended with a broken heart, Olivia refuses to back down from her threat to report Alex to the dean for using his theater classes and productions as his personal, annually updated dating pool. To avoid the negative repercussions of being outed as a simple womanizer, Alex risks the (even more stringent, to my knowledge) negative repercussions of being found out as a murderer.

Its too bad Alex hasnt chosen a life path putting his crafty ways to non-murderous use, because his plan is detailed and pretty well conceived. Having crept into the dressing room during rehearsal to replace Olivias medication with something stronger, Alex later lets himself into her apartment with the keys Olivia had demanded he return. Finding her mostly unconscious on the floor, he finishes the deed by staging a death by suicide, complete with related browser history, faked texts courtesy of a cloned SIM card from Olivias phone, and a plastic bag taped around Olivias neck. Ugh.

Elsbeth arrives at the crime scene the following morning  descending from the double-decker Hip-Hop Tour Bus draped in tote bags and sporting a baby-pink wool coat, a long granny-squares scarf, and Statue of Liberty foam crown  and is quickly ushered to Olivias apartment by Officer Kaya Blanke. We know Officer Blanke (Carra Patterson) is a true New Yorker because shes skeptical of this chatty little redhead and, perhaps more crucially, because shes drinking out of one of those classic and uniquely New Yorky We Are Happy to Serve You coffee cups.

The Major Case Unit is investigating Olivias death as a suicide, and the detectives immediate exasperation with Elsbeths presence is only fractionally mitigated when he learns that Captain Wagner suggested she attend the investigation. As she assesses her first-ever crime scene (I usually see photos, but this  is better), shes reminded of the open houses she likes to attend on Sundays out of curiosity about how other people live and, say, is that wallpaper actually purple fabric? This is the first of several moments that made me think of Elsbeth as the kind of person Cher Horowitz from Clueless may have grown up to be. Elsbeths habit of interrupting herself out loud and monologuing quirkily is the Deceptively Professionally Ditzy version of Alicia Silverstones immortal readings of classic Cher lines like, Ooh, I wonder if they have that in my size! and Did I stumble into some bad lighting? Did my hair get flat?

Ordinarily, Id save my costume-design thoughts for the Just One More Thing smattering of bullet points at the end of a recap, but Elsbeths entire wardrobe-and-accessories situation is doing too much work not to discuss at some length. In addition to the pink coat in her first scene, she also wears a full-length coral winter coat, fluffy white flip-top mittens, three blazers in tweed boucle (a.k.a. Chanel tweed), a blazer that can only be described as a fever dream of 80s couches brought to life, and at least three pussy-bow blouses. Thats not even everything she wears across this single episode. All of her bright colors and power-clashingmake Elsbeth stand out against a sea of police uniforms, a visual reminder to everyone that shes very much not the police, just a harmless, exuberantly dressed oddball. Likewise, the many totes she carries: I lost count early on at six distinct bags. Elsbeth does refer several times to only being in New York for a week, so maybe they only reflect her status as a new arrival without a fixed address, but they also disarmingly scream scatterbrain coming through!

Having nipped up to Olivias bathroom with Officer Blanke, Elsbeth also makes the acquaintance of the forensics officer and chats amiably with her about New York landmarks to visit as she picks up details about Olivias cause of death  not an overdose of lorazepam, but suffocation  and shrewdly peruses the medicine cabinet. Certain details catch her eye and dont add up to death by suicide: If Olivia was on the brink, why is her diaphragm case empty? Why did she use teeth-whitening strips? And who was a significant enough (presumably) male presence in her life that shed make space in there for (again, presumably) his Old Irish anti-perspirant?

Later, after a little tete-a-tete with Alex, in which he jovially gets the upper hand by shooting down her question about Old Irish (hes a Ralph Lauren man), Elsbeth doubles back to his office to get her phone. Resuming the conversation with a Columbo-eque I just want to know about one more thing, she gets in a more productive rhetorical one-two by showing Alex two text messages that Olivia sent the night of her death and wondering aloud why the punctuation in those messages is so distinct from her usual style. A 20-year-old using two spaces after a period? How curious! Alex may have passed the literal sniff test, but something seems off here, a discomfort he deflects by jokingly summarizing Elsbeths (admittedly odd-sounding) murderer profile: So you want me to keep an eye out for a killer who smells like Old Irish and uses two spaces after periods in texts? You are a funny one.

The many times Elsbeth goes toe to toe with Alex  in his office, at a bar, even at a rehearsal where he explains that bad acting is when the actors face and body dont behave in agreement with each other  as she closes in on her quarry provide some of the most enjoyable scenes of the episode. Carrie Preston and her fellow True Blood alum Stephen Moyer are clearly having a blast and even imbue their scenes together with a bit of the rat-a-tat energy of a screwball comedy. Hepburn and Tracy, but make it a murder investigation!

Elsbeth, Officer Blanke, and Alex stay on this little merry-go-round throughout the episode, with Elsbeth floating hypotheses that Alex either bats away or conjures evidence to point suspicion at others. Meanwhile, Blanke and even Captain Wagner (a deliciously deadpan and beleaguered Wendell Pierce) grow to respect Elsbeths methods as she deploys her relentless cheerfulness in the service of getting the real bad guy rather than allowing a blameless TA to take the fall. Alex finally hoists himself on his own petard by being so focused on acting innocent that he forgets that innocent people dont need to work to make sure their faces and bodies are saying the same things because theyre not acting at all.

When Alex is finally caught red-handed, trying to frame his TA by stashing the SIM card cloning device in the TAs bag, hes not even mad at Elsbeth. He enjoyed their sparring and recognizes what a formidable adversary she is. Alls well that ends well, though Alex should definitely have dated women other than ones whose careers he held in his hands, or failing that, taken his cancellation lumps rather than resort to murder. Olivia deserved so much better, but at least some correctly applied justice will be meted out in her name, thanks to Elsbeth.

But wait, how does very insistently volunteering to work on this particular case help Elsbeth accomplish her assignment of being an outside observer under the NYPDs consent decree? Alex quips earlier in the episode that she has something to do with the police department, but nobody knows exactly what. Well. The outside-observer business is technically true  we see Captain Wagner on the phone with Elsbeths DOJ handler, being reassured that shell grow on him and that hell definitely prefer her to the alternative observer he could send, Cary Agos  but we also see Elsbeth on the phone with her handler, being reminded that shes also there to investigate Captain Wagner. Hes been accused of corruption, and the DOJ wants to get to the bottom of it. Stay focused, Tascioni!

Just One More Thing

 The cold open incorporates a perfect cheeky homage to the opening credits of Sex and the City, as Elsbeth gets drenched by a passing vehicle splashing through a big puddle. Elsbeth is actually delighted by this New York welcome, immediately puts her foam Statue of Liberty crown back on her head, and gets splashed again.

 I cant stop thinking about Elsbeths mitten garters. They attach her mittens to the sleeves of her winter coats while simultaneously providing a disarming, flappy movement of the mittens  as well as the suggestion that shes the kind of person who definitely would lose her mittens if they werent attached to her coat sleeves with mitten garters. Note to self: Acquire mitten garters for winter 2025.

 Elsbeths use of a very pretty floral evidence folder may or may not be an allusion to Legally Blondes Elle Woods, another easy-to-underestimate lawyer. I choose to interpret it as Elsbeths version of the pink scented paper Elle uses for her resume, which she notes gives it a little something extra.

 An amusing bookend to the Sex and the City moment comes in the final scene, where the Lincoln Center fountain erupts into its bit splashy celebratory thing, which is not unlike the moment in Clueless where Cher realizes that she is majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love with Josh. Wagner immediately applies a sarcastic needle to Elsbeths metaphorical balloon of delight: Yeah, we did that just for you.
Photo: Elizabeth Fisher/CBS

In an early episode of Elsbeth, Jane Krakowski enters a meeting by announcing that shes Joann Lennox from Joann Lennox Realty while throwing her coat across the room, about to face off with a co-op board president played by Linda Lavin. This series of words might sound fairly innocuous, but if youre familiar with the kind of television written by Robert and Michelle King, it may trigger the same sort of sleeper-agent response it did in me. The Kings  creators of The Good Wife, its spinoff The Good Fight, and Evil  specialize in breezy, high-quality, old-fashioned procedural television. They also specialize in great guest roles for stars of the stage, because their shows happen to film in New York. With Elsbeth, theyve spun off a character from Chicago-based The Good Wifes universe, Carrie Prestons daffy but hyper-observant defense attorney Elsbeth Tascioni, and set her loose on New York City, and the results and the guest stars are as delightful as you might hope.

Its not just the setting thats changed, though. While The Good Wife and Fight were legal dramas, Elsbeth shifts into being more of a detective series  like Evil minus the supernatural, though retaining a surreal sense of humor. Elsbeth, once a memorable side character who would stumble through a lawsuit before suddenly revealing an insight, has taken up a job as an impartial observer at the NYPD, coming along to its murder investigations.

Transported into a different genre, Elsbeth now fits the mold of a classic detective type: the quirky but clever purveyor of surprising observations whom suspects underestimate until she unexpectedly traps them  think Columbo and his descendants. The police tend to flub their investigations, while Elsbeth notices things they dont, with the help of Carra Patterson, playing an overlooked junior officer who bonds with Elsbeth on the job. Wendell Pierce, meanwhile, is the police captain who seems amiable until Elsbeth drops a satisfying hook at the end of the pilot (perhaps a spoiler, but also the premise): Shes actually there to gather evidence on him for a police-corruption investigation. Its hard to tell, having watched only the first few episodes provided to critics, how well Elsbeth might grapple with the inherent copaganda of the police procedural as a form, but The Good Fight and Evil have established the Kings and their writers willingness to engage with structural inequality, and, at the very least, introducing Pierce as a potential big bad does provide the show with inherent long-term tension.

The fun of the early episodes, however, comes from the feeling that the Kings and their writers are getting to material they mightve considered for episodes of the Good universe but had to scrap because those shows werent actually set in New York. Theres a murder case at a prestigious Juilliard-like drama school (remember, these are the same writers who once proposed that a famous Broadway producer might be possessed by the devil), as well as cases that involve a thinly veiled Bethenny Frankel character (with Jesse Tyler Ferguson as an ersatz Andy Cohen) and that murder at the co-op featuring Lavin and Krakowski, which gives Only Murders in the Building a run for its money. (Lavin has technically already appeared in the Good Wife universe as a pretrial officer who dealt with Cary Agos, which raises the tantalizing possibility of other Good-universe favorites returning either as themselves or as wholly new characters.) Theyve written Elsbeth as wide-eyed about her new hometown and enthusiastically basic  she really wants tickets to The Lion King  which gives Preston plenty of comedic fodder when going up against the citys snarkier and more sarcastic denizens. In Elsbeths rendering of New York, that happens to be most of the people who live there. Also, most of the people in Elsbeths New York have a Drama Desk nomination.

In those adventures through the city, Elsbeth also displays its understanding of a basic tenet of television that can go underappreciated: Dramas can be fun. Too often, network or streaming dramas aim at prestige ponderousness, even when theyre mass-market products. Theres a place for rich, haunting serialized drama when its done well, but theres also a place for spritely, well-written, and entertaining case-of-the-week dramas. The latter is in danger of becoming lost within the wide universe of content, which has a shrinking space for shows like Elsbeth, even though they tend to do well in the libraries of streaming services (see: the Suits resurgence). It requires an underrated level of skill to make a show fizz, and right out of the gate Elsbeths got fizz  in other words, its got Joann Lennox of Joann Lennox Realty.
HBOs latest limited series is desperate to say things about fascism but can only get as far as noticing them. Photo: Miya Mizuno/HBO

After an episode or two of The Regime, the new HBO miniseries from The Menu writer Will Tracy, a resemblance to another notable HBO series begins to emerge. Not Succession, also a very dark comedy about people in positions of privilege, or Veep, another explicitly satirical depiction of a ridiculous, powerful woman. Unfortunately, The Regime is more than a little like The Idol, the HBO series about a pop star seduced by a mysterious Svengali and convinced to abandon her advisers so she can become a more authentic self. Both share the basic plot device of a famous woman becoming suddenly obsessed with a new man, but more frustratingly, they share a fundamental misapprehension about the stories theyre trying to tell.

Of course, where The Idol intends to be a deep character-based exploration of American stardom and seduction (and fails at this), The Regime is designed as a satire of political spectacle and the slippery slope of authoritarianism (and also fails). Kate Winslet stars as Elena Vernham, the chancellor of an unnamed central European country who comes to rely too heavily on the advice of her bodyguard, Corporal Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts). His first job is to follow her around with a hygrometer, testing the palaces moisture levels in order to protect her from her fixation on poisoning via black mold. Gradually Zubaks role grows into adviser, nudging Vernham toward folk remedies, insular nationalist policies, and hawkish anti-protest stances to quash the growing rebellion among her ignored, starving citizens. With an inevitability that should feel like a creeping doom but instead feels like mere predictability, things go badly for Vernham and her unspecified country.

Lest the point of comparison become too unfair, its worth noting that Winslet is a much stronger center for The Regime than Lily-Rose Depp for The Idol. She holds her face in a constant, perfect balance between uncertainty and utter confidence, and that alone provides some of the six-episode series most effective commentary on the political situation it wants to depict. Vernham is simultaneously totally confident in her own wisdom and completely lacking in any real guiding ideology. She needs to feel loved. She wants to make her own decisions. She wants someone to tell her what those decisions should be. Winslet achieves a portrait of a megalomaniacal baby throughout the series, shades of Trump with the wardrobe of Melania, even when the mechanisms of the story around her dont live up to the character shes trying to create. Theres more detail in her performance of Vernhams unnerving and deliberate lisp than there is in the world-building of the country shes swiftly destroying.

The emptiness of that country is likely by design. It has a flag, it has a palace, and it has both a traditional crop (sugar beets) and a natural resource (cobalt mines) that would actually make it a meaningful part of the global economy. But theres little beyond that Model U.N. level of world-building, which allows The Regime to speak to a certain kind of authoritarian figure without getting lost in the weeds of any specific countrys political or historical framework. The series visual approach attempts to do some of the heavy lifting, imbuing everything with doom-laden close-ups, coldly harsh lighting, and unnerving jewel tones set against dark gray backdrops. Yet the superficial slick of uneasiness isnt anchored to anything deep. Its a satire built out of gestures, full of sweeping indications of vague insight into spectacle and anxiety and social unrest: a one-size-fits-all story of power and corruption.

As any good Model U.N. student knows, though, the real story is always in the details. The idea that every shift into fascism can be condensed into one very general outline (stoke nationalist fervor, suppress marginalized populations, eliminate any democratic means of handing over power) may be appealing as a theory, but broad strokes dont make for arresting storytelling. Its part of why Tracys The Menu works where The Regime struggles. The Menu focuses on a hyperspecific kind of dining culture, clearly informed by a specific restaurant and filled with guests and employees with distinctive character backstories and motivations. The Regime, conversely, is only interested in Elena Vernhams decisions and desires, and beyond that is too much of a blank slate. Shes surrounded by advisers who lack distinctive qualities or are boiled down to one blunt-force motivation; the broader citizenry of her country is barely represented at all. For a series about a rise to power, details of that rise go weirdly unspecified. Shes apparently in a democracy but her previous elections seem to have been rigged, and its unclear if shes now changing the mechanisms of her power or just the tonal expression of it. Even Zubak, who could be a foil for Vernhams privileged isolation, doesnt amount to as much as he should. Hes a simple, violent man who grew up in relative poverty, learned folk medicine from his mother, and enjoys autoerotic asphyxiation. Is he bumbling or canny? Is he just striving for power or does he actually want to right wrongs? Is he victim or perpetrator?

In a more assured series, ambiguity like that could be fruitful. Instead, its the source of the most frustrating parallel between The Regime and The Idol. Both shows lack a consistent underlying point of view, making it hard to tell how much of the muddiness is intentional complexity and how much is miscue. Some tonal swings are effectively off-putting, especially in the disconnect between Vernhams mood and that of Agnes, played by Andrea Riseborough. Whether Agnes is a housekeeper, chief of staff, majordomo, or something else entirely, the series declines to clarify  her costume says servant, but her proximity to power says close personal adviser. While Vernham cheerily ignores her desperate cabinet ministers and fondly tweaks the chin of Agness young son, Agnes is frantic about how to protect him from Vernhams dangerous whims. But other big dramatic elements, including Vernhams obsession with her dead father and the scenes of her despair as the country starts to turn against her, are just perplexing. Shes a figure of tragedy, yes, but the tragedy is poorly prioritized, with no clear through-line about whether the mockery or sympathy is meant to win out.

Ultimately The Regime is a series desperate to say things but can only get as far as noticing them. It observes and reflects back the hypocrisy of well-heeled leaders who costume themselves as rural salt-of-the-earth plebes. It depicts the cringe-inducing scene of everyone applauding a powerful persons terrible attempt at artistic performance. It sees the cowardice of the surrounding advisers. It even recognizes and illustrates the unwinnable trap of a country caught between nationalistic right-wing fervor on one side and coercive submission to a United Statesled global order on the other. By the end of its run, a great deal of violence and loss happened for almost no gain, loss, or larger purpose. Its all seeing with nothing to show for it.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and Albania have signed an agreement on economic cooperation, a source in the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan told Trend.

According to the ministry, the country's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and President of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania Belinda Balluku.

The meeting emphasized successful development of relations with Albania, the importance of mutual high-level visits, ongoing negotiations in expanding cooperation, strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries in bilateral relations, beneficial role of business visits, meetings and the organization of various events in the formation of effective economic partnerships.

Moreover, the meeting informed about the favorable business and investment environment, as well as the opportunities created for investors, highlighting the potential for strengthening partnerships with Albania in energy, trade, tourism, industry, agriculture, transport, and infrastructure.

The ministry stressed that the parties explored opportunities for promoting bilateral business partnerships, investments, and joint activities.

The Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Council of Ministers of Albania was signed during the meeting.

The document provides for encouraging cooperation in priority areas, including trade, investment, energy, transport, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, the environment and the humanitarian sphere.

Meanwhile, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover with Albania in January 2024 amounted to more than $486,000.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and Albania have signed an agreement on economic cooperation, said Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov on X, Trend reports.

Energy, trade, tourism, industry, agriculture, transport, and infrastructure are crucial sectors in the development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Albania. During the meeting with Belinda Balluku, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, we explored opportunities for promoting bilateral business partnerships, investments, and joint activities. The Agreement on Economic Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Albania, signed during the meeting, will significantly contribute to enhancing relations in these priority areas.

Meanwhile, according to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover with Albania in January 2024 amounted to more than $486,000.

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Italy's Frecce Tricolori have been performing spectacular aerobatics for more than six decades.

The Frecce Tricolori, literally "Tricolour Arrows", are the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force and are among Italy's best known national symbols.

The military jets, famous for emitting plumes of the three colours from the Italian flag, take to the skies to mark important events and public holidays in Italy.

Italy's air force established the 313th Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico, better known as the Frecce Tricolori, at the Rivolto air base on 1 March 1961.

Photo credit: Karolis Kavolelis / Shutterstock.com.

The inaugural Frecce Tricolori flight comprised six North American F-86 Sabers, flying from Grosseto to Rivolto, near Udine.

Since 1982 the planes used are the two-seater fighter-trainer Aermacchi MB-339-A/PAN.

The Frecce Tricolori comprise 10 aircraft, nine flying in close formation plus a soloist, with an additional three military jets kept in reserve as spare aircraft.

The jets are piloted by officers from the flight operational departments of the air force who, following a rigorous selection process, join the Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale (PAN) or national aerobatic team.

The show season for the Frecce Tricolori runs from May to October, with approximately 35 air displays annually.

For full details see the Frecce Tricolori website. Cover photo: PriceM / Shutterstock.com.
Bulgari continues to restore Rome landmarks.

Luxury jeweller Bulgari is to sponsor the restoration of the bronze sculptures and marble statues that decorate the Vittoriano monument in Rome's central Piazza Venezia.

The 240,000 restoration project will be financed entirely by Bulgari through the government's Art Bonus , a tax credit equal to 65 per cent of charitable contributions that individuals or companies make in favour of public cultural heritage.

The restoration concerns the conservation of the sculptures on the main facade of the Vittoriano, with a particular focus on restoring the golden shine of the bronze works.

These are works of notable artistic, historical and also symbolic value, because they materialise the founding values of our Risorgimento and, at the same time, of our Constitution" - the director of VIVE  Vittoriano and Palazzo Venezia Edith Gabrielli said - "Preserving and enhancing them is our essential duty, especially for new generations."

The restoration project once again underlines the strong links between Bulgari and Rome, the city in which the company was founded in 1844.

Tyrrhenian Sea by Pietro Canonica

For Bulgari, the Eternal City is not only the place where the brand was born 140 years ago, but also an inexhaustible source of inspiration for all the Maison's creations" - said Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin - "Monuments, buildings, architecture that we observe every day and that we must preserve as a tribute to the history of this wonderful city.

The project will include the restoration of the marble sculptures representing the Adriatic Sea by Emilio Quadrelli and the Tyrrhenian Sea by Pietro Canonica, and the gilded bronze sculptures symbolising il Pensiero (Thought) by Giulio Monteverde and l'Azione (Action) by Francesco Jerace, among other works.

The project is scheduled from 4 March until September this year, during which time visitors can observe the restoration work up close as well as following progress with updates on the Vittoriano website.

A brief history of the Vittoriano

The colossal monument to the first king of a unified Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, was designed by Giuseppe Sacconi in 1878 following the monarch's death.

Work began in 1885 and involved the extensive demolition of pre-existing mediaeval and Renaissance buildings on the Capitoline Hill.

After Sacconi died in 1905, the vast construction project was entrusted to a trio of architects: Gaetano Koch, Manfredo Manfredi and Pio Piacentini.

The partly-finished monument was inaugurated on 4 June 1911 to mark the 50th anniversary of Italian unification, however it was not completed until 1935.

The Vittoriano also includes the Altar of the Fatherland which since 1921 has hosted the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier , or Milite Ignoto.

The monument plays a central role in official ceremonies on key national dates in Italy including the Festa della Liberazione, Festa della Repubblica and the National Unity and Armed Forces Day.

It also hosts a museum dedicated to the Risorgimento. An extensive history of the Vittoriano, in English, can be found on the VIVE website

Photos courtesy VIVE - Vittoriano e Palazzo Venezia
Trenitalia does about-turn hours before new rules were to come into force.

Italian rail operator Trenitalia has backtracked on its plans to introduce a new luggage limit on high-speed Frecce trains from 1 March, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The restrictions, which were due to come into force on Friday, included a two bag limit for passengers and a 50 fine for those who did not comply with the new rules.

The unexpected about-turn, which came the day after the restrictions were announced and just hours before they were due to take effect, followed protests from consumer associations.

"In light of some requests, including from consumer associations, Trenitalia announces that it has decided to suspend the application, starting from 1 March, of the regulations on the transport of luggage, scooters and bicycles on board the train," the company said in a statement.

Consumer association Assoutenti welcomed the decision by Trenitalia to drop the measures "pending the discussion with consumer associations which will be held on 6 March", said Assoutenti president Gabriele Melluso.

The "backtracking" was also welcomed by Andrea Casu, the centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) member of the parliamentary transport committee, who said: "The Ryanair model for Trenitalia is wrong."

The new measures "would have led to increased costs and inefficiencies for travellers from 1 March", Casu claimed, adding: "At this point, however, we want to see clearly the reasons and the timing of this messy about-turn."

Photo credit: bellena / Shutterstock.com.
From 28 February to 31 March, Naples will celebrate Caravaggio month.

This year, Naples has much to offer to all the art lovers and museum-goers. Along with the enchanting San Casciano bronzes displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) and the J.R.R. Tolkien exhibition at Palazzo Reale, the city will welcome back the masterpieces of the legendary Italian artist Caravaggio.

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was a Baroque Italian painter who revolutionised art in Europe and developed the realism of the early Renaissance. Caravaggio spent some of the last years of his life in Naples, where he created his renowned works, such as Judith Beheading Holofernes, Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, The Madonna of the Rosary, and The Flagellation of Christ.

From 28 February to 31 March, Naples will celebrate Caravaggio month with his main works displayed at various galleries and museums across the city. Here are the key places to visit:

The Diocesan Museum  Largo Donnaregina, Naples

The Flagellation of Christ, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1607, oil on canvas, 286x213 cm

The museum will become a home for The Flagellation of Christ, a painting by Caravaggio that has a strong connection to Naples. Created in 1607, this almost 3-metre painting was commissioned by the di Franco family for the San Domenico Maggiore chapel in Naples. The Flagellation of Christ is among the pieces that made Caravaggio one of the most famous artists in the city and inspired many of the Caravaggisti. The painting has been exhibited around the world, including at the Louvre, its final stop before arriving in Naples.

On 24 March, the Diocesan Museum will host a tableau vivant performance, where Caravaggios paintings will be brought to life by actors accompanied by the masterpieces of Bach, Mozart, and Vivaldi. The event will last for 40 minutes and offers a range of tickets.

Palazzo Ricca  Via dei Tribunali 213

The Taking of Christ, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1602, oil on canvas, 133.5x169.5 cm

The Historical Archive of Banco di Napoli will house a painting by Caravaggio that was lost in the late 18th century and rediscovered in Dublin in 1993. The exhibition The Taking of Christ will be presented on 1 March in the space of the archive at 16.00 along with the press conference. The painting will become available for public viewing after 2 March in Palazzo Ricca.

Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano  Via Toledo 185

The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1610, oil on canvas, 140.5x170.5 cm

The last painting by Caravaggio, The Martyrdom of Saint Ursula, was created in 1610 in Naples. It was commissioned by Marcantonio Doria, a nobleman from Genoa. Today, it is displayed in Palazzo Zevallos in the Intesa Sanpaolo collection. The gallery also provides a vast collection of Baroque and Renaissance paintings. Plan and book your visit here.

Pio Monte della Misericordia  Via dei Tribunali 253

The Seven Works of Mercy, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, 1607, oil on canvas, 390x260 cm

The famous painting by Caravaggio, The Seven Works of Mercy, was made for the Pio Monte della Misericordia church in Naples, where it became the altarpiece. The painting revolves around the seven corporal works of mercy, a meritorious practice in Christian Catholic tradition and ethics.

Celebrate the Month of Caravaggio and see the grand works of the renowned Italian master in Naples, the city he cherished until the last days of his life!

Ph Gimas / Shutterstock.com
Linda Wenhold was blown away by the Patriot Academys classes, which tap into a growing fear among some evangelical Christians that their faith and its rightful place at the center of American culture and government were under siege.
First, establish the type of behaviour you are dealing with. Accurate diagnosis is key to dealing with the problem, and hopefully solving it. Be honest with yourself, too  is some of it down to you? Loading Aggressive characteristics that everyone else can see  such as patronising behaviour  are often best dealt with first by having a quiet word with the perpetrator. This is most effective when raised by a witness, rather than the victim  and ideally straight after an incident, so theres no disputing what just happened. A very senior alpha-male colleague was being very condescending to one of my team in a big meeting, dismissing every comment she made. It was excruciating. Afterwards, I immediately went to his office and told him straight: You totally undermined Sarah (not her real name) in that meeting  both your manner and what you said diminished her in front of a lot of people. He put his head in his hands, mortified, and asked What can I do to make amends?.

After hed apologised to Sarah and made it clear in the next meeting that he valued her, she recovered her confidence and no longer dreaded their meetings. Other people took note of the change, too  no one knew quite what had happened, but they realised that action had been taken. Escalate problems to a manager only if the person fails to address their behaviour. If someone constantly chatters while at the desk, and refuses to take the hint that theyre bothering colleagues, a boss should sort that out. Difficult coworkers undermining you in meetings is not an uncommon occurrence. Credit: iStock When youre explaining the issue to them, always raise problems through the lens of whats best for the team/company/project  dont make it personal. Take notes and, as always, run through the issue calmly, and ideally suggest a solution. Bosses love solutions much more than problems.

The basic rule of thumb is to try to put yourself in the problematic persons shoes. Why are they being so difficult? Are they insecure, jealous, inexperienced (they may not understand office behaviour yet), or are they just not very good at their job? Listen for clues to help find a way forward. Loading But covert, stealthy behaviour can be tricky to uncover in the first place. My friend, lets call her Ruth, (whos given me permission to share her story) discovered a female colleague was repeatedly excluding her from business meetings or events. The colleague was more junior, but didnt report to Ruth so her line of sight  and opportunity for recourse  was limited. Ruth wasnt sure what was going on; the woman was described as having sharp elbows, but Ruth wondered if it was more a case of feeling insecure. Then one day Ruths boss asked why she hadnt been at a particular client event  the simple truth was that she hadnt been invited.

Her boss said it was ridiculous and that he would sort it out, but Ruth told him she could handle it. She sent the colleague in question an email saying she hoped the event had gone brilliantly and offered to help with the next one. The colleague replied apologising profusely for not inviting her, and confessed she felt a bit overshadowed by her presence. Ruth wrote back, No worries, just remember you can always count on me if you need help with anything  and forwarded the trail onto her boss, who replied: Class act. The only person the woman had undermined was herself  but only temporarily, once she had explained, and didnt make any such oversight again. If listening for clues, empathising as best you can and being as constructive as possible dont work, and if the difficult person in your work life looms large in it every day, then your last resort is to seek another role. I once moved a woman from one fund management position to another desk because her boss was being totally unreasonable. He was the definition of difficult.
In Superman Vs Meshi, Lex Luthor isnt a planet-destroying villain, but an annoying online food influencer who uses too many hashtags (which may actually be worse).

This appetite-focused manga (Japanese comic) by Satoshi Miyagawa and Kai Kitago is less about defeating evil and more about Supermans fanboy affection for the food he finds in Japan: from the burger-flavoured option he enjoys at sushi train (even if Aquaman menu-shames him for ordering it) to the noodles in Nagasaki champon (even if they get soggy because he had to fight demons before he could finish the bowl).

Superman vs Meshi: the Man of Steel has a weakness for burger-flavoured sushi.

First released by Tokyo-based publisher Kodansha, DC Comics is translating the series into English: the latest volume dropped this month. Superman Vs Meshi is part of a growing number of food manga that Australians can savour and Superman joining its roster proves the genre is crossing borders says Kei Tokawa.

The Sydney restaurateur based his acclaimed Darlinghurst bar, Amuro, on the tiny Tokyo eatery in Yaro Abes manga Shinya Shokudo (which inspired the popular Netflix series Midnight Diner) and instead of turning to trends and top chefs, we should be getting our ideas from these mangas, Tokiwa told his staff. [Theyre] rich sources of recipes.
Three weeks later, on January 17, Kensington Palace announced that Catherine, 42, had been admitted to the London Clinic to undergo a planned abdominal surgery .

Greeting the gathered crowds and the cameras, She looked lovely for the occasion, said Town & Country. The princess has not been seen in public since.

Catherine, Princess of Wales and Mia Tindall greet well-wishers after attending the Christmas service at Sandringham Church on December 25. Credit: Getty

She walked to church with her husband, Prince William; and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, much like she had in years past.

The surprise news about her health was magnified by the fact that, just an hour later, the palace announced that King Charles III, 75, would receive treatment for an enlarged prostate the following week. Two of the most senior members of Britains royal family were now facing health trials.

As news started to return to normal  Charles was photographed being driven from his home, Clarence House, and he has since resumed some official business, including meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak  rumours began to surface again about the Princess of Wales.

Catherine in north London last November. The princess is making good progress following her abdominal surgery, Kensington Palace said. Credit: AP

Although William, 41, also scaled back his royal duties during his wifes recuperation, this week, he bowed out of a planned appearance at a memorial service at St Georges Chapel in Windsor for his godfather, King Constantine of Greece, who died in January 2023.

That led a palace source to address the latest twist in the saga, and perhaps try to stop the rumours, in language that did anything but. The princess, the source told People, continues to be doing well.
Couzens was also accused of possessing indecent images of children, and in 2004 exposed himself at a teenage girl in south London by driving past her while masturbating. The offence was not reported at the time but the woman later came forward when she recognised Couzens in the media. Rape allegations and assaults At some point between late 2006 and early 2007, Couzens is suspected of attempting to rape a woman at a singles night at a bar in east London. The victim again came forward after the murder of Everard.

There was another allegation of rape in October 2019 which took place under a bridge in London. In the summer of 2019, Couzens also sexually assaulted a man in a bar in Kent. The complainant was in drag and wearing a blond wig when Couzens grabbed him inappropriately. When the victim remonstrated with him, Couzens said he was a police officer and invited him outside to perform a sex act. The man also came forward to police following Couzens arrest for the murder of Everard. Elish Angiolini, lawyer and Scotlands Lord Clerk Register, makes a formal statement to announce the findings of the first part of a two-part independent investigation into the murder of Sarah Everard. Credit: Getty There were also a string of allegations of indecent exposures, some of which were reported to police but not fully investigated. In November 2008, Couzens exposed himself to a woman in south London and while the offence was reported at the time no suspect was identified. In 2015, Couzens again exposed himself but despite the victims providing police with his car registration, he was never arrested or charged. The inquiry concluded that the failure to investigate this offence fully was a red flag and a missed opportunity to disrupt or even prevent further offending by Couzens.

Sarah Everards murder Everard was 33 when she vanished in Clapham, south-west London, on the way home from a friends house. She was abducted by Couzens at 9.30pm on March 3, 2021 after he stopped her on the street, showed her his warrant card and handcuffed her. Loading Couzens used his status as a police officer to trick Everard into thinking she could have been arrested for breaking lockdown rules in place at the time. After putting her in the back of a vehicle he had rented, he drove to a remote location in Sibertswold, Kent and some point around midnight, raped her. At 2am Couzens was seen on CCTV buying a drink from a petrol station. At some stage in the previous hour, he was believed to have strangled Everard using his police issue belt. After murdering her, Couzens hid her body in woodland near Ashford in Kent.

Following the murder of Everard, Couzens pleaded guilty to three further indecent exposures including two offences committed at a McDonalds outlet just days before her death. Angiolini said the investigations into these offences had been of poor quality and inadequate, with the officers displaying an apathy and disinterest. She all future reports of indecent exposure must be thoroughly and comprehensively investigated. Furthermore, victims need to be encouraged to report and believe they have no reason for shame or embarrassment. These emotions should be left to the perpetrators to experience, she continued. The report also identified a string of other potential red flags that police should have been spotted in the years before the murder of Everard. In 2013 when he was working as a firearms officer with the CNC, Couzens was reported missing for several hours.

The report said: Couzens could have been driving around looking for a victim, in the same way as he did almost eight years later on the evening he abducted Sarah Everard and on other dates leading up to his crime. Loading On the night of Everards abduction, Couzens drove from his home in Deal, in Englands south-east, to London. Three days earlier he had booked a white Vauxhall Astra from a car hire firm in Dover, Kent, using his personal details and bank card. The report concluded that his unexplained disappearance in the 2013 case should have been considered a warning sign when he was being vetted to join the Metropolitan Police. In addition, there were vetting failures when Couzens applied to join both the CNC and the Met. He managed to mask his desperate financial state and the fact he was so in debt that he had entered an Individual Voluntary Arrangement in order to avoid bankruptcy, which would have prevented him joining the police.

The inquiry also heard evidence of Couzens sending indecent images of his genitalia to women who were selling female clothing online. He was also a regular user of dating sites and made telephone calls to escorts, although there was no evidence he visited them. There were also instances of self-harm, including Couzens deliberately drilling his finger resulting in him being signed off work for three weeks. Before being accepted into the CNC, Couzens was a volunteer with the Kent Special Constabulary. People gather, at the band stand in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard, after an official vigil was cancelled in March 2021. Credit: AP The report said: Despite the favourable light in which Couzens was generally perceived by witnesses from Kent Special Constabulary and the absence of any suggestion that he behaved badly towards women while on duty, the inquiry concludes and is satisfied that, by the time Couzens resigned from the Kent Special Constabulary, he already had a history of abusive and potentially criminal sexual activity. Presenting her findings, Angiolini said: The evidence seen by the inquiry has shown that failures in recruitment and vetting meant Couzens was able to continue a policing career which should have been denied to him.

Failures investigations into allegations of indecent exposure meant opportunities to disrupt Couzens offending and bring his policing career to a halt were missed. Loading The fact remains three separate police forces allowed him the privilege of being a police officer when they could and should have stopped him. Responding to the report, Everards parents, Sue and Jeremy, and siblings, Katie and James Everard, said in a statement: It is obvious Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. Whilst holding a position of trust in reality he was a serial sex offender. Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed  We believe Sarah died because he was a police officer  she would never have got into a strangers car.

The family also called for all the recommendations to be made forthwith, adding: We cannot get Sarah back, but positive changes give hope for the future and will be of benefit to others. A court sketch from the trial in September 2021, shows Sarah Everards mother Susan (right) reading a victim impact statement as Couzens (left) sits in the dock. Credit: PA The UKs information commissioner John Edwards, who contributed to the inquiry, said: This inquiry paints a concerning picture of how disciplinary concerns about police officers and recruits are shared. There is a need for greater transparency here. The public have a right to understand how information will be shared to encourage trust in high standards of policing, and police officers have a right to understand how their information will be shared. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
Washington: US President Joe Biden announced on Friday plans to carry out a first military airdrop of food and supplies into Gaza, a day after the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid threw a spotlight on an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.

Biden said the US airdrop would take place in the coming days but offered no further specifics. Other countries, including Jordan and France, have already carried out airdrops of aid into Gaza.

An air drop.

We need to do more and the United States will do more, Biden told reporters, adding that aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough.

At the White House, spokesperson John Kirby stressed that airdrops would become a sustained effort. He added that the first airdrop would be likely be military MREs, or meals ready-to-eat.
First but not foremost The case is convoluted. Normally, the charge would be a misdemeanour. To elevate it to a felony, prosecutors must prove the records were falsified with intent to commit another crime. Bragg has alluded to several other offences in legal filings. He could say the payments violated federal campaign finance laws since they were not declared as contributions, or that taxes were not paid on them. Stormy Daniels was allegedly paid $US130,000 in 2016 to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with Donald Trump years earlier. Credit: AP Braggs case falls in a legal grey area. Federal election law pre-empts state prosecutors from bringing cases about federal races. By pursuing an untested legal theory, Bragg has bolstered Trumps claim that he is the target of a partisan prosecution, says Jed Shugerman of Boston University School of Law. There are other problems with Braggs case. The star witness, Cohen, lacks credibility, having lied to Congress and a federal judge. The carnivalesque nature of the trial  a former tabloid publisher and a former Playboy model will probably testify  will play to Trumps advantage, making the case seem like reality TV, a format in which he is highly practised. Even if Trump is convicted, there seems to be little chance that the judge would sentence him to prison on such novel charges involving the manipulation of records.

A big question mark The January 6 case was lodged in federal court in Washington DC by Jack Smith, a special counsel in the Department of Justice (DOJ). Smith charged Trump with four crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and to deny voters their rights by using lies, fake electors and other schemes to thwart the lawful certification of the electoral-college vote by Congress on January 6. The indictment was tight, conservative and designed to move quickly, says Ryan Goodman of New York University School of Law. Though it lists six alleged co-conspirators, only Trump was charged. (The others may be later.) No count relates directly to the violence of the Capitol riot. That would have been a heavier lift for prosecutors. A charge of insurrection or seditious conspiracy  used to convict a number of far-right militia leaders who stormed the Capitol  would have required proof that Trump knew the protests that day would turn violent. Incitement would have elicited a potentially strong First Amendment defence. Still, Smith will need to show criminal intent. Trumps lawyers contend that he genuinely believed he won and that advisers said his pressure tactics were legal. That may not be a winning defence: plenty of people repeatedly told him he had lost. But it is a viable one. Rebecca Roiphe of New York Law School cautions against calling the case rock-solid. The violent crowd supporting Donald Trump riot outside the Capitol in Washington. Credit: AP Smith faces another vulnerability. Two of the four charges  obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to do so  relate to the disruption of the counting of electoral-college votes. More than 150 Capitol rioters have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to those felonies. Some of them have challenged the charges by arguing that the underlying criminal statute, which was passed after the Enron accounting scandal, applies only to evidence-tampering. This spring the Supreme Court will hear a Capitol defendants bid to invalidate the charges. A decision will come by July and could oblige Smith to cut his indictment in half.

The biggest question mark is the trials timing. Initially, the presiding judge, Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, moved the case along quickly. But in mid-December she froze trial preparation so that Trump could argue in a federal appeals court that the case should be thrown out on presidential-immunity grounds. A three-judge appellate panel unanimously rejected his request earlier this month. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case this week, adding a delay of perhaps months. By July at the latest, Judge Chutkan should have a green light from the Supreme Court to unfreeze the proceedings. (Hardly anyone expects the justices to side with Trump on immunity.) Several weeks of preparation will need to be recouped before the trial actually gets underway. Then the trial itself will take about two to three months. That gives decent odds of a verdict by election day. If Trump is convicted, sentencing will be up to Judge Chutkan. She has required prison time for every convicted Capitol rioter whose trial she has overseen. But that seems highly unlikely for a former president. A more plausible scenario would be a fine, probation or house arrest. In any event, he would remain free while he appealed against the conviction. The Georgia affair

If Smiths federal indictment over election interference is a targeted harpoon, its state counterpart in Fulton County, Georgia, is a giant trawl net. Both rely in essence on the same facts and witnesses. The big difference is that Fani Willis, a Democrat who is the elected district attorney in Fulton County, named 18 co-defendants alongside Trump, whom she charged with 13 felonies. All were indicted under an anti-racketeering statute first used against the mafia. A conviction can result in prison time of five years or longer. Willis says she wants the trial to start in August and, given the number of co-defendants, expects it to run into 2025. Three have pleaded guilty so far. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade. Credit: AP But the case has been derailed by revelations of an affair between Willis and a lawyer she hired onto her team. The defendants want her disqualified, prompting a mini-trial about the nature of the relationship. They argue that Willis has a personal stake in prosecuting them, to see her paramour enriched  he made $US728,000 on the job, and paid for at least a share of the couples holidays together. Willis denies any impropriety and delivered combative testimony in her own defence at a hearing on February 15. If the judge, Scott McAfee, disqualifies her, a state agency will appoint a new prosecutor, which could take a year or more. Her replacement could alter or even dismiss the charges. Even if Judge McAfee lets her stay, he will probably allow the defendants to appeal against his decision and pause the case. Dont bank on a trial before the election, in other words. The best chance of that happening is if Willis voluntarily takes a leave of absence and her deputy severs Trumps case from his co-defendants, says Clark Cunningham of Georgia State University College of Law. Nothing suggests that will actually happen. But as the only televised trial it could have the biggest impact of the four. Straightforward but slow

On the face of it, the case brought by Smith involving Trumps alleged mishandling of classified documents is the most straightforward. But the judge randomly assigned to the case, Aileen Cannon, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, has moved slowly, and there appears to be little chance that it will reach trial before November. Here the facts and the law are uncomplicated. Federal prosecutors charged Trump with 40 felonies over his alleged wilful retention of national defence papers and his refusal to give them back. According to prosecutors, after Trump left the White House, he ordered aides to hide dozens of classified documents from the FBI. They were caught on video shuffling boxes. He appears to have misled his own lawyers, who certified to investigators that everything had been handed over. It took a raid on Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, to get them back. Some dealt with Americas nuclear arsenal. Trump is said to have twice shown documents to visitors and acknowledged that they contained secrets. Secret US government documents were found in one of Donald Trumps bathrooms. Credit: Getty Images What makes the case thorny has less to do with its merits than with procedural hold-ups. In national-security prosecutions the government tries its best to withhold classified evidence from the defence, not to mention jurors. The judge decides what material has to be disclosed and to whom; those decisions are contentious and can be appealed against. The back-and-forth means delays. Judge Cannon has scheduled hearings and filing deadlines with unusually long gaps in between, says David Aaron, a former prosecutor who handled similar cases. Brandon Van Grack, another former DOJ lawyer, doubts the trial will begin before November despite a tentative start date of May 20. Judge Cannons decisions so far, he says, show scepticism towards prosecutors who want to limit the disclosure of evidence. That could portend more adverse rulings, which would prompt appeals and drag things out.

Whenever the trial does start, it will be held in Trumps backyard in Florida and could draw a sympathetic jury. A single holdout juror can block criminal convictions, which require unanimity in America. Even if he is convicted, sentencing will be up to Judge Cannon. In normal circumstances someone found guilty of the alleged crimes would risk going to prison for a few years. But again that seems unlikely in this instance. Loading I beg my pardon? Say Trump wins in November, and gets convicted and sentenced in any of the four cases before taking office: what then? If he is convicted in either of the two federal cases, he will appeal. After the inauguration he might try to pardon himself, or better yet issue a blanket prospective self-pardon. (His attempt to pardon himself would not help him in either of the state cases, since presidential pardons do not cover state crimes.) No president has ever attempted that. When Richard Nixon contemplated it during the Watergate scandal, the DOJ said it was improper and he was let off by his successor, Gerald Ford. In any event, the Supreme Court would have the last word. A surer bet would be for Trump to appeal against his conviction, and then, while the case was winding through higher courts, order his attorney-general to drop it. Again, that trick would not work in Georgia or New York, since state cases sit outside the Justice Departments purview. Yet DOJ policy says a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, and while the advisory opinion is unclear about state matters, it seems likely that all of Trumps criminal cases would be paused while he held the presidency. Prosecutions might resume in 2029 when he leaves the White House. At that point, he would be 82.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan, as a host for COP29, has a fantastic opportunity to build on the momentum from COP28, said US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby, Trend reports.

He made the remark at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting held today in Baku.

"The Southern Gas Corridor is a clear demonstration that diversifying energy routes and ensuring energy security are fundamental to national security. Looking ahead, energy diversification and security will increasingly involve using a variety of energy sources. Azerbaijan, as a host for COP29, has a fantastic opportunity to build on the momentum from COP28, particularly in partnerships with oil and gas companies, which are vital for tackling issues like reducing methane emissions," he said.

The decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023, enabling Azerbaijan to host the above event in November.
On 28 and 29 February 2024, the World Custom Organization (WCO) hosted the annual Coordinators Meeting of the WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme at its Secretariat in Brussels. This gathering brought together Member representatives from 22 active partner administrations, tasked with spearheading the A-CIP Programmes efforts in their respective countries.

The participants were welcomed by the WCO Deputy Secretary General, Ricardo Trevino Chapa, who set the tone by emphasizing the Programmes significant strides in enhancing Customs integrity worldwide. Special guests, representing the A-CIP Programmes two funding partners, included Mr. Alain Gendron, Ambassador of Canada to Belgium, who underscored Canadas commitment to combating corruption and fostering economic development through Customs integrity. From the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), Ms. Toril Iren Pedersen contributed via a video message, applauding the A-CIP Programmes tailored, impactful approach to technical assistance.

Highlighting the innovative tools and methods deployed, Mr. Trevino pointed to the Customs Integrity Perception Survey (CIPS) as a cornerstone for gathering actionable insights into the integrity perceptions within Customs administrations. This tool exemplifies the Programmes dedication to data-driven strategies for enhancing transparency and accountability.

Ambassador Gendron further celebrated the collaborative efforts to integrate gender equality into the fight against corruption, showcasing Canadas gender-responsive approach as a model for creating more inclusive and effective Customs environments. This sentiment was echoed by Ms. Pedersen, who lauded the Programmes communitiy of practice initiatives for fostering localized support networks that enhance the capacity of Customs administrations.

Over the course of the two-day meeting, discussions flourished around the achievements of 2023, with a particular focus on the development of regional communities of practice, the role of training in supporting integrity, and the strategic use of data for sustaining progress. The dialogue culminated in a forward-looking sustainability planning session, where participants brainstormed ways to maintain momentum in the fight against corruption, highlighting the importance of collective action, gender equality, diversity, and robust data management.

For more information on the WCO A-CIP Programme, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The US certainly supports the expansion of the Southern Gas Corridor, and certainly supports Azerbaijan and the EU agreeing to double gas exports and sees the Southern Gas Corridor as obviously foundational to achieving that goal, Kimberly D. Harrington, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Energy Resources of the US State Department, said in an exclusive interview with Trend, as she has visited Baku to take part in the 10th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council.

"European energy security is only bolstered by diversification and bolstered by more routes, enhanced routes like the Southern Gas Corridor. We really want to make sure that our partners and allies are not subject to the weaponization of energy as we have seen. We've seen more interconnectors come online in Europe recently, including the interconnector Greece-Bulgaria by which Azerbaijani gas is flowing. The more Azerbaijani gas gets to more parts of Europe, the better as far as we're concerned. That connector is operating in an area where Russia had a near monopoly before. We'll continue to really support these efforts. And we think this expansion of Azerbaijani gas is going to make a difference for a lot of countries," she said.

The Bureau of Energy Resources serves at the nexus of energy security, decarbonization, and energy access for the State Department. One of our first projects that we really pushed, that was foundational to the creation of our bureau was the Southern Gas Corridor. We always say that Azerbaijan is in the DNA of our bureau, and it truly is. Now between the ministerial and Azerbaijan hosting COP, these two foundational goals are centered here in Baku. It's really delightful to be here. The US government is very proud of the role that it had for over a decade in supporting the Southern Gas Corridor and, of course, its final stages of becoming fully operational in 2020," she said.

Harrington noted that she was at Sangachal, and saw the pipeline, which is signed by a number of officials, including one from the US government.

"I think that it just goes to show that a long-term goal of our bureau has been to bolster energy security in the region. And that really means diversifying routes and diversifying access, so that no country is overly dependent on a single source for its energy resources. Europe very rightly has some important goals to wean itself off Russian oil and Russian gas. In fact, one of its primary goals is to wean itself off Russian gas completely by 2027. The more diversity of resources, the more they can help advance that goal and we see the Southern Gas Corridor as part of that. I think there's still work to be done for Europe to be able to achieve that goal. But, in short, our goals with the Southern Gas Corridor now are the same as they were a decade ago when the bureau was founded to diversify energy resources for our partners and allies," she said.

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WSU neuroscience students to visit local K-12 schools for Brain Awareness Week

March 1, 2024

OGDEN, Utah  The neuroscience program at Weber State University will host its annual Brain Awareness Week events March 48, taking what theyve learned in college and making it accessible to youth in local K12 schools.

International Brain Awareness Week is a global effort to increase understanding and support of brain science. Weber State is home to the only public undergraduate neuroscience program in Utah.

Students from the program will visit Weber and Davis County schools during WSU's spring break to provide brain-related activities and education. Students in the Neuroscience Club and its officers are expected to connect with more than 600 elementary students throughout the week.

In addition, the neuroscience program is collaborating with Ogdens Treehouse Museum for the third year to put on Building Better Brains! These events take place over two days: the evening of March 14 and all day March 16 at the museum, located at 347 22nd Street.

Multiple brain awareness and education activity stations will be set up throughout the museum, including a helmet raffle in the Concussion Safety station, sponsored by Safe Kids UT.

These events are possible thanks to the generous support from the Alan E. and Jeanne N. Hall Endowment. Learn more about WSUs Brain Awareness Week events on the WSUs neuroscience website.
Sonora Grill to donate all proceeds on March 6 to support WSU students

March 1, 2024

OGDEN, Utah  Sonora Grill will continue to help underserved students achieve their dreams through its 11th annual Dining for Dollars fundraiser March 6 to support Weber State Universitys Oportunidad Scholarship fund.

One hundred percent of proceeds from the event are donated to the Oportunidad Scholarship, which offers support to any low-income, first-generation college students and undocumented students who do n ot qualify for Federal Student Aid, grants or loans.

Hispanic and Latino students currently make up 13% of the student body at Weber State, said Steve Ballard, owner of Sonora Grill. Our community is closer to 40%, so one goal is to make the student population better reflect that of the community.

In the last decade, Dining for Dollars has contributed roughly $200,000 to the scholarship fund and has helped over 55 students graduate college.

Jose Alberto Perea was one of the students who received the Oportunidad Scholarship during his time at Weber State.

I am where I am today because I had the opportunity to earn a college degree, and the Oportunidad Scholarship is what sealed the deal for me in pursuing my higher education at Weber State, he said. Not only did it provide me with financial assistance to pursue my career, but it gave me hope and motivation to work harder to achieve my goals.

Receiving the scholarship also fueled Pereas desire to give back and inspired him and his wife to create a similar scholarship less than five years later.

If we want to build a strong, vibrant, forward-thinking and thriving community, we cant deny educational opportunities to a growing percentage of our population. We need to continue to help them overcome those barriers to higher education, Ballard said. The greatest thing people can do to support the scholarship program is to come eat one of their three meals at Sonora Grill on March 6.

Those who want to support Weber State students can dine in at Sonora Grill, buy a gift card, or order to-go at 801-393-1999 or thesonoragrill.com on March 6. Weber State has also made it possible to donate directly.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Productive discussions were held during the 10th meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council and the second meeting on green energy, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov wrote on X, Trend reports.

"These meetings this year were characterized by a wide range of high-level participants, great interest in our projects ensuring regional energy security," the information noted.

According to the minister, there were productive discussions on energy transition and strengthening energy partnerships.

"Meetings in the framework of the Advisory Council contribute to our initiatives of green growth and diversification of energy supply in Europe through clean sources," - the publication noted.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. bp is looking at potential new sources of gas beyond Shah Deniz in Azerbaijan, Katerina Papalexandri, bps vice president gas and low carbon energy growth, Caspian gas growth, said, addressing the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council 10th Ministerial Meeting in Baku, Trend reports.

As operator, we are proud to say that Shah Deniz continues to produce gas safely and efficiently. Last year, this giant field delivered more than 26 billion cubic metres of gas, having reached its plateau rates. Today, Shah Deniz facilities can produce about 79 million standard cubic metres of gas daily. Just two weeks ago we started up the remaining fifth flank on Shah Deniz  East North with the plans to activate two more wells from this flank during the year, she said.

Papalexandri pointed out that meanwhile, as bp is enhancing Shah Deniz production from the current reservoir, it is also looking for more gas beneath it.

For this, we have drilled one of the deepest exploration wells in the Caspian  SDX-8, reaching almost 7,000 metres below the seabed. We are now analyzing the data from the layers we passed to understand how much more gas they might hold. We are looking at potential new sources of gas beyond Shah Deniz, she added.

Shah Deniz participating interests are: bp (operator  29.99%), SGC (21.02%), LUKOIL (19.99%), TPAO (19.00%) and NICO (10.00%).

In 2023, bp and its co-venturers spent around $2,194 million in operating expenditure and around $892 million in capital expenditure on Shah Deniz activities, the majority of which was associated with the Shah Deniz 2 project.

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The Nevo Electric Vehicle Show, presented in partnership with Bank of Ireland, concluded on a high note on Saturday, February 17, marking the end of an electrifying spectacle that showcased the latest advancements in electric vehicles (EVs) from various manufacturers and key suppliers within the EV sector.

Held at The RDS in Dublin, the event attracted an attendance of 12,672, comprising curious newcomers, industry professionals, and avid EV enthusiasts, firmly establishing its status as a prominent fixture in the Irish automotive calendar, with expectations of its return in the future.

Featuring exclusive Irish car launches, live test drive opportunities, and a dynamic schedule of events on the Bank of Ireland stage, the execution of the event appeared seamless, thanks to the collective efforts of Drive Inc. and the Nevo team, marking a significant milestone in their event management portfolio. In partnership with AXA Ireland and with the support of ZEVI (Zero Emission Vehicles Ireland), the show was meticulously crafted to provide attendees with a glimpse into the future of sustainable transportation.

The doors opened promptly at 9.30am to welcome an eager queue of hundreds of early attendees, setting the tone for a day filled with anticipation and excitement. Within the first hour alone, the exhibition halls buzzed with activity as visitors explored the offerings of over 20 leading automotive brands. Beyond generating substantial leads and genuine interest, many exhibitors reported tangible sales, with numerous deposits secured on-site.

Checking out the latest Polestar at the Nevo EV Show.

Simon Andreucetti, Head of Growth and Show Organiser, commented:

We deeply appreciate the overwhelming feedback we have received through various channels, including social media, text messages, and calls, commending the success of the Nevo Electric Vehicle Show.

We take great pride in the fact that every facet of the event was meticulously managed internally by the Nevo team and the broader Drive Inc. team. Through our collective dedication, guided by a clear vision, strategic planning, ownership, and steadfast focus, the outstanding outcome witnessed at the RDS stands as a testament to our collaborative ethos and unwavering determination.

Derek Reilly, General Manager and Show Organiser at Nevo, added:

The enthusiasm and dedication exhibited by the electric vehicle community have elevated the Nevo EV Show beyond mere success, transforming it into a vibrant celebration of innovation reflective of our transition towards a more sustainable future, he remarked. I was thrilled to host insightful discussions on the main stage and observe first hand the palpable thirst for knowledge and information as we navigate towards an electric future.

Nevo has ambitious plans for 2024 and beyond. As Irelands sole dedicated electric vehicle platform, we are equally enthused to collaborate with the Irish automotive industry in fostering the growth and advancement of our collective journey towards a greener tomorrow.

The Nevo team has demonstrated that the Irish automotive marketplace is poised for transformation, with a clear surge in demand for the latest electric vehicles. The unveiling of various new models at the event elicited a remarkable display of enthusiasm from attendees, who seized the opportunity to gain first-hand insights from industry experts.

On show day at the RDS, the Nevo team recorded an impressive 205 test drives across a range of 17 available electric vehicles within the designated test-drive zone, each one lasting 15 minutes. Individuals who could not secure a test drive allocation were redirected to the respective brands booths, where arrangements could be made for a local dealer test drive.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration has denied a news report that he pushed for an exception to the state's new fast-food minimum wage law that benefits a wealthy campaign donor.

California's minimum wage is $16 per hour. But starting April 1, most fast-food restaurants in the state must pay their workers at least $20 an hour under legislation Newsom signed last year to much fanfare. It doesn't apply to restaurants that have on-site bakeries and sell bread as a stand-alone menu item.

That exception puzzled some industry watchers and was never fully explained by Newsom or other supporters of the law. But Bloomberg News on Wednesday reported it was connected to opposition from Panera Bread franchisee Greg Flynn, whose company owns 24 of the restaurants in California and has donated to Newsom's campaigns.

This story is absurd," Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack said Thursday.

Flynn said in a statement Thursday that he opposed the initial legislation and suggested fast casual restaurants like bakeries, bagel shops and delis be excluded if the intent of the bill was to address alleged labor code violations in fast food restaurants."

But he denied asking for an exemption or special considerations and said he was surprised when the exemption appeared in the final bill. He said he met with Newsom's staff about the bill alongside other restaurant owners but did not speak to the governor about it.

The Flynn Group and Flynn Properties operate 2,600 restaurants and fitness centers across 44 states, according to the companys website. Campaign finance records show Flynn Properties and Greg Flynn  the founder, chairman and CEO  have donated more than $220,000 to Newsoms political campaigns since 2017. That included a $100,000 donation to Newsoms campaign to defeat a recall attempt in 2021.

The governor's office is now arguing Panera Bread is not exempt from the law.

Stack said to be exempt from the minimum wage law as a bakery, restaurants must produce bread for sale on site. The Governor's Office said many chain bakeries, such as Panera Bread, mix dough at a centralized off-site location and then ship that dough to the restaurant for baking and sale.

Since last year, Panera Bread has been reported as a restaurant exempt from the law and Newsom's office has not said otherwise, even when the governor was directly asked why the chain was exempt.

A message left with Panera Bread about their baking process were not immediately returned. Flynn's statement did not directly address that argument, but he says its likely his restaurants will have to raise wages either way.

Such a narrow exemption has very little practical value. As it applies to all of our peer restaurants in the fast casual segment, we will almost certainly have to offer market value wages in order to attract and retain employees, he said.

Republican leaders in the state Legislature highlighted the report and called for an investigation.

Put simply, campaign contributions should not buy carveouts in legislation, Republican state Senate leader Brian Jones said. Its unacceptable.

Assemblymember James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the assembly, said Attorney General Rob Bonta or another entity responsible for investigating conflicts of interest should look into the matter.

This exemption, there is no explanation for it. Someone had to push for it," he said.

The law was authored by Assemblymember Chris Holden, a Democrat from Pasadena. Holden told reporters Thursday he was not involved in the negotiations over the bill's final amendments, which included the $20 minimum wage increase and the exemption for bakeries. He said those talks happened between the business community and labor unions  groups Holden said were brought together through the governor's leadership.

Holden said he did not know Flynn or his status as a Newsom campaign donor. He declined to discuss if there were any legitimate policy reasons for exempting bakeries from the law.

Im not going to try to start parceling every individual group, Holden said. The way that the bill moved forward, everyone whos in is in.

The law represented a compromise between labor unions and business groups. Tia Orr, executive director of the Service Employees International Union California, said the law was a transformational step toward an economy that works for all, not just billionaires.

Like all transformational initiatives, it addressed difficult questions around its scope, including what constitutes a fast-food restaurant as opposed to a bakery, for example, and it involved literally hundreds of businesses in discussions, Orr said. But the big picture is clear: a half million fast food workers in our state now have the power to improve their workplaces.

Dan Schnur, who teaches political communications at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley, said the issue has the potential to damage Newsom, much like when Newsom went to dinner at the French Laundry during the pandemic at a time when he was urging people to avoid public gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. That issue gave momentum to a recall effort, which voters ultimately rejected.

The last time the governor got in the middle of a restaurant-related controversy, his hesitation to address it turned a small problem into a much bigger one," Schur said.

Lawmakers are considering more exemptions for the fast-food minimum wage increase. On Thursday, the state Senate approved a bill that would exclude fast-food restaurants in airports, hotels, large event centers, theme parks, museums, gambling establishments, corporate campuses and certain public lands.

Holden said workers in these restaurants are attempting to negotiate salaries higher than $20 per hour. He said they were concerned being included in the minimum wage law would hurt those negotiations.

Associated Press reporter Tran Nguyen contributed.
AMITY TWP., Pa. - Several peace activists were arrested Thursday morning after blocking the road in front of an Amity Township manufacturing facility.

The protest was held at Aydin Displays on Riga Lane. The company is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, an Israel-based technology company and weapons supplier to the Israel Defense Forces.

"Today I supported and helped to block the driveway of Aydin Technologies, which is responsible for the manufacturing of displays that help guide missiles and other weapons of war," said protestor Celine Schrier of Reading.

Protestors say they are concerned that Elbit profits from the death and destruction in Gaza through sales of military equipment made in Berks County. Activists are calling for a "local economy with good jobs that support human life."

"Even though Israel and Gaza are very far away, we here in Berks County and in Birdsboro are unfortunately playing a role in supporting this genocide by having this company here in our local area," said Pastor Margaret Ernst, United Church of Christ.

Authorities say seven people were arrested during Thursday's action.

"It's their constitutional right to protest, which I support, but they can't block the road and they can't be on private property of which they understood," said Chief Jeffrey Smith of Amity Township Police Department.

One protestor suffered a head wound and was treated at the scene before being taken into custody.

"They did not comply," added Smith. "They continued to block the roadway even more and we waited until we had proper resources from other law enforcement agencies."

Elbit Systems of America issued the following statement:

The Birdsboro-facility is home to Aydin Displays, a subsidiary of Elbit America. Including our 65 employees at Birdsboro, Elbit America employs thousands of Americans who are dedicated to the mission of creating and providing innovative solutions to the U.S. Government and commercial customers that protect and save lives. While we support the rights of protesters to peacefully express their views, we also take the safety and well-being of our employees extremely seriously. We greatly appreciate the work today of local law enforcement to ensure safety for all.

The business was vandalized last year with graffiti that police said appeared to be related to the Israel-Hamas war.

According to Berks County central booking, those arrested were charged with disorderly conduct amongst other charges and are awaiting arraignment.
SPRING TWP., Pa. - State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D-Berks) announced Thursday that her office will host a second women's resource fair in honor of Womens History Month.

The fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2 at the Romanian Community Center located at 51 West Lawn Avenue in Spring Township.

I am excited about the new edition of this powerful womens celebration. The expo will offer resources in connection with mental health resources, education and wellness, among many other relevant topics, Cepeda-Freytiz said.

Cepeda-Freytiz said the event will also recognize the contributions of remarkable women in the community. More than 30 vendors will showcase their products and services at the fair that will include door prizes.

For more information, contact Cepeda-Freytizs office at 484-577-2756.
BERN TWP., Pa. - Every four years we get to celebrate Leap Day and welcome Leap Year babies.

This little bundle of joy is named Leiana Valle.

She was born at Penn State Health Saint Joseph Medical Center in Bern Township Thursday morning.

She's more than 20 inches and weighs in at seven pounds, 13 ounces.

The extra day in February is added every four years to keep the months in sync with annual events.
BERN TWP., Pa.  Officials are sharing proposed plans for the future of Blue Marsh Lake, and they want the public to have the chance for input, too.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held an open house at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Bern Township Thursday night. They showed proposed changes to the lake's master plan, which defines how the Army Corps will manage the lake's resources.

Officials say the plan hasn't been changed since the 1970s, and it needs revisions to address changes in regional land use, population, outdoor recreation trends and the USACE management policy.

Some of the key topics addressed in the plan include revised land use classifications, new natural and recreational resource management objectives, recreation facility needs and special issues, such as invasive species management and threatened and endangered species habitat.

The Corps says it's still looking for public input regarding the master plan. Comments can be submitted on the plan's webpage or emailed to emailed to PDPA-NAP@usace.army.mil.

Blue Marsh Lake, located northwest of Reading on the Tulpehocken Creek, is a multi-purpose project built and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District. The dam was authorized by Congress for flood control, water supply, water quality and recreation, officials say.

While the main purpose of Blue Marsh was to provide flood control to part of the Schuylkill River Valley, the lake has become a recreational hotspot over the years. It receives approximately 900,000 visitors per year, officials say.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan continues to be a reliable partner of the EU in the field of gas supplies, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said, Trend reports.

Simson remarked it at the plenary session of the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council in Baku.

She believes that increased dialogue and collaboration among trusted partners is required to achieve energy security and success in the energy transition during this critical decade.

"Azerbaijan continues to be a reliable gas supply partner for the EU. That is why we are now looking at expanding cooperation in the field of green electricity. We look forward to working with Azerbaijan at COP29 later this year," she said.

To note, the 10th ministerial meeting within the framework of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) Advisory Council and the 2nd ministerial meeting within the framework of the Green Energy Advisory Council were held in Baku today.

The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, 6 international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other high-ranking officials from Azerbaijan and the European Union countries.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The Eastern Pennsylvania Spring Home Show is underway in Allentown. It's taking place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday inside the Agri-Plex at the Allentown Fairgrounds.

"Everybody is looking for new projects to start after the winter," said Charmagne Harris, Sales Manager at Jenks Productions.

You name the project, and you're sure to find what you're looking for from one of the over 90 vendors.

"We've got kitchens, bathrooms, chimney repair and service," Charmagne described of the businesses in attendance.

You'll learn about solar and flooring. Culligan Water is also offering insight into water treatment options.

"I'm hoping to meet residents who are experiencing high energy costs, and helping them save," said Lloyd Walters, President, Solar Angler (solarangler@gmail.com).

"Carpet, hardwood, vinyl, laminate, tile," said Quinn Adams, as he described the available products available from Aria's Carpet One Floor and Home.

Quinn is ready to explore flooring options with residents of the Lehigh Valley.

"We know how stressful it is picking out home improvement flooring, things like that, we try to make it as simple as possible," he continued to say.

Justin Rhen, the owner of Roof 360, is new to the home show world. With 14 years of roofing experience, he can help you decide between a roof replacement or a roof rejuvenation with technology from Bright Green Roof.

"It's important for the contractor to have a consultation with you, the homeowner, so we can determine what product best meets your needs," Rhen continued to say.

Rhen is sharing a booth with Deck Dudez, who are offering free in-home estimates on the deck of your dreams.

The show continues until Sunday, giving you plenty of time to swing by and meet the pros.

"It's the convenience of one stop shopping, all under one roof," described Charmagne.

Many vendors are also offering games and giveaways. Be sure to stop by the Alliance booth to spin their wheel of prizes.

The show hours are:

Friday: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Agri-Plex is located at: 302 N 17th St, Allentown, PA 18104.

TICKETS:

General Admission: $10

Seniors $8

12 & under FREE
BETHLEHEM, Pa.  During its monthly board meeting Thursday, the Bethlehem Parking Authority recommended approval of parking rate increases in the city.

The proposed increases intend to address "underpriced" parking, according to BPA Executive Director Steven Fernstrom. The rate increase "aims to encourage turnover" by "attempting to redistribute demand" through "demand market rate" pricing.

If approved, the rate increases will be enacted for on-street high-demand parking areas which are currently priced at $1.50 per hour. The same spots are proposed to cost $2.50 per hour. The low- to moderate-demand parking areas throughout Bethlehem will remain at the $1.50 per hour rate.

Off-street transient parking would also increase from the current $1-per-hour rate to $1.50 per hour. Finally, event all-day parking would increase from the current $10 rate to a proposed $15 rate.

The BPA said the on-street parking rate had not been increased since 2019, while off-street parking has not been raised since 2021.

Walnut Street Garage

2:39 'Vibration monitors' installed after Walnut Street Garage beam collapse; some neighbors still concerned One week after a beam from what's left of the Walnut Street Parking Garage fell and hit a neighboring building, residents say they've seen work pick back up.

Also during Thursday's meeting, the BPA discussed the ongoing Walnut Street Garage demolition.

The demolition of the garage, located at 33 W. Walnut St., was interrupted last Friday when "a support beam failed to fall in a controlled fashion," according to Vollers Excavating and Construction, the firm hired by the city for the demolition job.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bethlehem Parking Authority provided an update Friday on the Walnut Street Garage demolition project in Bethlehem, a week after a partial garage collapse.

The Bethlehem Parking Authority says demolition is tentatively scheduled to continue on March 11. The decision came about a week after a partial collapse of the garage resulted in a beam falling down onto the roof of an adjacent building.

Crews will bring in additional bracing, heavy equipment, and barricades to assist with the project once it resumes, the BPA said.

The changes and approval were based off feedback the board received from the community, according to the BPA.

Vollers, which has been contracted to undertake the project, said it is believed that a support beam failed to fall in a controlled fashion last Friday and came in contact with an adjacent building, causing minor damage to the roof.

Vollers released a statement which reads, in part, "Our dedicated crews worked swiftly to clear the area and repair the roof shortly after the incident. We greatly appreciate the prompt response and collaboration with local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of the community. Vollers has a long-standing commitment to safety. Our mission is that everyone returns home healthy at the end of each workday. The incident at the Walnut Street Garage was an unfortunate but isolated event, and we are thoroughly investigating the root cause of the collapse to implement any necessary improvements in our safety procedures. We are continuing our ground level operations and eagerly anticipate working closely with our teams to devise the safest approach for the ongoing demolition of the structure. We remain dedicated to completing the Walnut Street Garage demolition project safely and efficiently, and we thank the community for their understanding and support."
NORTH WHITEHALL TWP, Pa.  The Lehigh Valley Zoo is mourning the loss of one of its animal residents.

16-year-old female ostrich Emmy has died, according to a news release from zoo.

Emmy arrived at the zoo in 2008 along with Bane, the zoo's male ostrich, according to the news release. Shortly after arrival, the pair were introduced to the zoo's two female Grant's zebras, Glenda and Rylea, with whom they shared an exhibit for the past 15 years, the zoo said.

The zoo's animal care staff said Emmy was a very curious ostrich and would spend her time investigating her habitat. She would often peck at objects around her, especially if they were shiny. She loved a good bath so much that she would spend her time playing in the sprinkler or staying out in the rain, the zoo said.

She would often be seen standing in the front of the habitat where she would watch as people walked by.

"Emmy will be dearly missed by all staff and guests," the zoo said.

Guests can visit all the African species, along with the rest of the zoo residents, during the zoo's business hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. Tickets can be purchased at Lehigh Valley Zoo's website.
SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa.  Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC) says it will host an in-person open house for prospective students and their families next month.

According to a press release, the open house is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Schnecksville campus.

LCCC says prospective students of all ages will be able to meet with members of its admissions, financial aid and academic programs.

Interested students should register via LCCC's website, or by contacting the LCCC Admissions Office at (610) 799-1575/admissions@lccc.edu.
ALLENTOWN, Pa.  The Parkway Shopping Center in Allentown has been sold for $12.5 million, according to real estate firm Marcus & Millichap.

The 133,314-square-foot venue's sale works out to $93.76 per square foot. Colin Reder of Marcus & Millichap's Philadelphia office said about $2 million was invested in the property as part of a "repositioning" over the last five years.

The Parkway Shopping Center is at 1471 Lehigh St. Eight of the tenants have been in the center for more than 10 years, Marcus & Millichap said in a statement. The center has retail, restaurant and medical tenants.

James Balliet Property Group will continue to handle leasing of the property under the new ownership.

"It's a great neighborhood center," James Balliet said Friday. He said there are a few spaces available at the Parkway.

"The center has been there a long time and there have been a lot of renovations to the property," Balliet said.

Among the tenants are International House of Pancakes (IHOP), Dollar Tree, Oak Street Health, Subway, State Farm and KEDPLASMA Center.

Lehigh County property records show that the property was last sold in 2019 for $3.4 million. The most recent buyer is a limited liability corporation based in New Jersey.

Marcus & Millichap's Reder, Derrick Dougherty and Scott Woodard handled the listing. Neil Campbell and Ian Nordfors of IPA Capital Markets arranged financing for the buyer.

Shares in Marcus & Millichap are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MMI. The company said it closed 7,546 transactions in 2023 for a sales volume of about $43.6 billion.

The company's share price was $36.42 at 12:54 p.m. Friday, giving the firm a market capitalization of $1.4 billion.

In the past 52 weeks, the shares have traded as high as $44.24 and as low as $26.81.
ALLENTOWN, Pa.  PPL Corporation has reached a tentative agreement with D&D Realty Group to sell its iconic former headquarters on 2 N. Ninth Street in downtown Allentown.

D&D Realty Group said it plans to convert the 450,000-square foot property to a mixed-use development with commercial spaces, apartments, and other amenities, according to a news release from the company.

"We were excited to see the plans proposed by D&D Realty and the economic opportunities additional mixed-use commercial and residential space would bring to downtown Allentown," Vincent Sorgi, PPL's president and CEO.

"Our company has been proud to call Allentown home for a century, and we plan to remain part of the city's growth story. The Tower Building remains iconic within our community, and we think these future plans will secure its legacy for decades to come."

The Scranton-based realty company is owned by Nicholas Dye and Casey and Adam Donahue. Founded in 2010, it has done a number of residential redevelopments in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area.

"As developers, our bread and butter has been transforming historic downtown office buildings into mixed-use developments with a focus on high-end residential and complementary commercial uses," said Nick Dye, co-managing member of D&D Realty Group.

"PPL's iconic headquarters provides us with the perfect canvas for our vision of high-end, downtown living in the Lehigh Valley."

Last June, PPL announced it would be moving down Hamilton Street to 2 City Center. The company worked with Colliers, a commercial real estate firm, to list the property and considered several rehab proposals.

PPL said the tentative agreement with D&D Realty Group is contingent upon approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
HANOVER TWP., Pa.  The American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter will honor community members found to exemplify the values of the organization's humanitarian mission.

The Lehigh Valley Heroes Breakfast, which will be emceed by 69 News anchor Karin Mallett, will begin at 7:15 a.m. on March 14 at Olympus Corporation of the Americas, which is located at 3500 Corporate Parkway in Upper Saucon Township, Lehigh County, according to a news release from the Red Cross.

"This is our second year hosting the Lehigh Valley Heroes Breakfast to honor local individuals and groups exhibiting acts of courage, kindness and service," said Peter Brown, the chapter's executive director. "I'm excited to introduce this year';s incredible class of heroes and share their stories of courage, compassion and community impact."

This year's Lehigh Valley heroes are:

Yeoman Chief Petty Officer (USCG) Denise VanSickle, veteran hero

Arnold M. Matos, veteran hero

Kevin McCloud, veteran hero

Evelyn Robles, good Samaritan hero

Christopher Yarnell, veteran hero

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter said it will present Ella Daubert and Andrew Azan, III with American Red Cross National Lifesaving Awards. The Lifesaving Awards are part of a national program that honors those who save or sustain a life using skills learned in a Red Cross training course.

The Lehigh Valley Heroes Breakfast raises funds for the programs and services of the American Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter, the organization said.

The 2024 event is sponsored by Olympus Corporation of the Americas and Penske.

To purchase tickets, learn more, or donate, people can visit the Red Cross' heroes webpage.
Lehigh Valley Congresswoman Susan Wild is calling on Congress to pass her bill in the wake of a ruling on frozen embryos from Alabama's top court.

She was joined by some of her female colleagues on Capitol Hill Thursday, where they all showed support for her bill.

It's called the "Access to Family Building Act" and would codify the right to in vitro fertilization.

The group's demand for action comes after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that embryos created through IVF are considered children.

The decision prompted clinics in the state to pause IVF services.

Thursday, the Alabama state House also passed a bill that would shield those clinics from being sued or prosecuted.

That bill now goes to the state Senate.
READING, Pa.  Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday announced the creation of a Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force.

The administration said the task force is part of its commitment to ensure safe, secure and fair elections this November.

"It is important to make sure that all of us are communicating  from law enforcement to election officials, state officials, county officials and others," Shapiro said.

According to Shapiro, those officials will work together to share information and plan for any threats made towards the election process.

The governor discussed the task force during his visit to Reading Area Community College on Thursday.

"I've tasked Al Schmidt, who is our secretary of the commonwealth, who oversees the Department of State, is a Republican official," Shapiro said. "We think it is important to note that because elections  the administering of elections  should not be partisan exercises. They're really nonpartisan."

However, some Republican lawmakers do not agree.

House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler released a statement that said, "By turning our elections into a military and law enforcement exercise, Governor Shapiro completely misses the point of election security and his administration's role in conducting free, safe and secure elections."

The governor specifically called out former President Trump, who questioned election results in the commonwealth in 2020.

"I also think  given one of the candidates running for the highest office in the country, who continues to lie about our elections, continues to attack the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and others do, too  that it is critically important for all of us to be prepared for that," Shapiro said.

Cutler pointed to a different issue, saying, "The greatest threats to Pennsylvanians having confidence in our elections are a state supreme court that willfully refuses to follow the plain language of Pennsylvania's election laws."

The Shapiro administration said it has created handouts with nonpartisan information on election security and created a fact-check webpage on election claims.
Chinese defense ministry refutes validity of "Taiwan Strait's median line"

Xinhua) 08:04, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson on Thursday refuted the validity of the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line."

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the comments in response to a media query regarding allegations by the U.S. press that China's military planes have constantly crossed the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line."

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China's territory, said Zhang, adding that the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line" is invalid.

The military training and exercises conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait are legitimate actions to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, Zhang said.

These moves are deterrence and countermeasures against external interference and provocations by "Taiwan independence" forces as well as necessary steps to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Zhang added.

We will continue to intensify military training and preparedness to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with Haluk Gorgun, President of the Defence Industry Agency of Turkiye, Azernews reports, citing a post shared by the Azerbaijani ministry.

The parties met within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum.

They discussed areas of strengthening and possible facilitation of defence industry cooperation.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Investments will be undertaken to bring Azerbaijani gas to more Central and Southeastern European countries, said Hungarian State Secretary for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Sztaray during the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

He noted that Hungary has always supported the construction of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).

"Expanding SGC capacity is critical not only for Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe but for the entire European continent. The Solidarity Ring deal aims to invest in regional infrastructure, making it easier to export Azerbaijani gas to other Central and Southeastern European countries. Turkiye's gas reserves will become increasingly important in addressing the region's gas supply needs. Azerbaijani gas is expected to make a substantial contribution to diversifying natural gas sources in the Western Balkans," the state secretary added.

The 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting were held in Baku today. The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, 6 international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other dignitaries from Azerbaijan and European Union countries.

X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
ORWIGSBURG, Pa. - Two people were injured after a two-vehicle crash that sent one of the vehicles crashing into a home Thursday.

The crash involving a car and an SUV happened shortly before 3:30 p.m. in Orwigsburg, according to borough police.

A person driving the SUV was flown to a hospital after driving into the side of a home at the 300 block of N Warren Street, police said.

Police say the person driving the car was transported via ambulance to a hospital for lacerations to the head.

N Warren Street was closed for 40 minutes and has since reopened.
HARRISBURG, Pa. - A man from the Poconos who admitted to possessing and manufacturing child pornography learned his sentence Friday.

Brandon Lusch, 22, of Tamaqua, will serve four to 10 years in state prison for child pornography charges in Schuylkill and Carbon counties, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

Lusch was sentenced Friday by judges in the two counties, in accordance with a plea agreement. As part of the sentence, Lusch will also serve 10 years of probation, after the prison and parole terms expire, and he must register as a sex offender for 25 years, the AG's office said.

The AG's office investigated Lusch and filed charges after he was found with child pornography while using Snapchat, according to the news release. Law enforcement officials also determined Lusch had taken lewd photographs of children and was in possession of those photos, the AG's office said.

Lusch was sentenced to three to six years in prison, plus five years of probation, in the Carbon County case, according to the news release. In the Schuylkill County case, he was sentenced to one to four years in prison, plus five years of probation, according to the AG's office.

Those sentences will be served consecutively.

Lusch pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possessing and manufacturing child pornography, invasion of privacy, and criminal use of a communication facility, the AG's office said.
PHILADELPHIA  Dunkin' will contribute $100,000 to student scholarships in the Greater Philadelphia region, the company said in a press release Friday morning.

According to the press release, the scholarships are in collaboration with Scholarship America.

Twenty students will receive a $5,000 to attend "an accredited two- or four-year college, university, or vocational-technical school of their choice in Fall 2024," Dunkin' said in the press release.

Dunkin' says recipients are chosen based on their academic record, leadership skills, and overall commitment to their school and local community.

"Philadelphia Dunkin' franchisees are honored to continue to create a positive impact on the lives of local students in our area and reach a monumental milestone for the program," said Perry Shah, Dunkin' Franchisee and Chairman of the Dunkin' Philadelphia Advertising Committee. "We look forward to recognizing the bright minds of Philadelphia and help ease the financial burden of schooling."

Dunkins Philadelphia Regional Scholarship Program has awarded $700,000 in scholarships to 340 undergraduate students and high school seniors since 2009, according to the press release.

To apply, students from Southeastern Pennsylvania can click here.
RARITAN TWP., N.J. - A Hunterdon County, New Jersey grand jury has returned an indictment charging a woman with starting a fire that damaged a residence.

Onika Johnson, 44, of Ringoes, is being charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated arson, and third-degree criminal mischief, according to a news release from the county prosecutor's office.

Johnson was arrested on August 9, 2023, after a joint investigation by the Raritan Township Police Department, the Hunterdon County Prosecutors Offices Arson Task Force, and the Raritan Township Fire Safety Services.

In the early morning hours on Sunday, May 21, Raritan Township police officers responded to the unit block of Whitetail Way in Ringoes to investigate a fire at a residence occupied by several family members and tenants.

The Raritan Township Fire Marshal and the Hunterdon County Prosecutors Offices Arson Task Force determined that the fire originated in the garage of the residence and that it was started intentionally, according to the news release.

Investigators further determined that Johnson, a tenant at the residence, purposely or knowingly started the fire, which caused significant structural damage to the residence and placed the occupants in danger of death, the prosecutor's office said.

Johnson is being held at the Warren County Correctional Center.
BERNARDSVILLE, N.J.  Rep. Thomas Kean (R-N.J.) says his office is now accepting internship applications for the Summer 2024 Internship Program.

According to a press release, internships are available for currently enrolled college students in Kean's Washington, D.C., and New Jersey office locations.

Standard internship hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. when Congress is in session, and Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when it is not.

"We are excited to offer this internship program to students who are passionate about public service," said Congressman Kean. "Our interns play a vital role in supporting our work on behalf of the constituents we serve, and I am proud to provide them with a valuable learning experience."

Applications will remain open through Friday, March 22. Interested students can apply online via Kean's website.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Heavy gunfire paralyzed Haitis capital Thursday, and at least four police officers were slain, as a powerful gang leader announced that he would try to capture the countrys police chief and government ministers.

The move came during the absence of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who is in Kenya trying to finalize details for the deployment of a foreign armed force to Haiti to help combat gangs.

Gunmen shot at Haitis main international airport and other targets, including police stations, in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise. At least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, suspended all flights.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue and leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, was seen in a recorded video announcing that the aim was to tie up the police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry from returning to Haiti.

With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country, he said.

A spokesman for the prime ministers office could not be immediately reached for comment. The head of Haitis National Police, Frantz Elbe, and police spokesman Garry Desrosiers did not return messages for comment.

Gunfire still rang out Thursday evening and dozens of Haitians were seen carrying children and heavy bags stuffed with belongings fleeing their neighborhoods. They raised their hands as a peace offering to potential gangs while rushing through intersections.

Armored vehicles patrolled empty streets in downtown Port-au-Prince while others remained stationed near gang-controlled slums.

Residents in some neighborhoods, including Canape Vert and Turgeau, set up roadblocks to prevent gangs from entering as men who were not wearing uniforms stood by with machine guns.

Pierre Alex Boucher, a math teacher who lives in downtown Port-au-Prince, said he heard heavy gunfire before dawn. Several hours later, as the gunfire continued, he stood on his roof and said he saw police in an armored car trying to fight gang members and then abruptly leave.

The shooting then worsened, and when he saw what he believes were teenagers with machine guns, he fled his home, feeling that his life was in danger.

The area is completely invaded by gangs, Boucher said of his neighborhood. A lot of people couldn't make it out, and some locked themselves inside their homes."

He said he spoke with friends who saw people who had been shot to death.

The country has to revolt against the gangs, he said. No one is safe.

It was not clear if Cherizier, the gang leader, had the backing of other major gangs that are estimated to control up to 80% of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.

Diego Da Rin, with the International Crisis Group, noted that Barbecue in his speech referred to a coalition called Viv Ansanm, which means living together in Haitian Creole. The coalition was created last year as part of a peace pact between Barbecues federation and another powerful gang called G-Pep and had as a main goal to bring down Henrys administration.

However, the coalition crumbled just days after it was announced, and Da Rin said it remains to be seen whether Barbecue truly has the support of other gang leaders.

I dont know how much credibility to give Barbecue right now, Da Rin said. Rivalries between gangs are so strong and alliances ever shifting that its complicated they could act in a concerted manner for a long time without much trouble.

However, he noted that gunmen launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince on Thursday. In addition to the attack on the main international airport, gunmen also set fire to a police station in downtown Port-au-Prince.

The attacks came a day after Henry met in Guyana with Caribbean leaders, who said he pledged to hold long-awaited general elections by mid-2025. It is the third time he has announced such a deadline, with previous promises made in 2022 and 2023. There are currently no elected officials in Haiti, with Henry sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

Henry traveled from Guyana to Kenya in hopes of moving forward on the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. A court in the East African nation ruled last month that the proposed deployment was unconstitutional, but Henry and Kenyan officials have been working on a deal that would allow forces to arrive in Haiti soon.

There has always been the danger that as discussions progress and the goal of the mission gets closer that the gangs will try to flex their muscles and discourage the troops, Da Rin said.

The government of Haiti said in a statement that Henry arrived in Kenya on Thursday. They did not say when he would return to Haiti.

Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The decision of Prince William to pull out of an important family gathering Tuesday, and the absence of an explanation, has engulfed the British royal family in a tidal wave of gossip, speculation and wild conspiracy theories.

Some of that is par for the course, for a family that has never been far from the headlines in the modern media age. But the discourse reached a frenzied level this week  particularly in the unchecked realms of social media.

As the event  a memorial service for Williams late godfather, former King Constantine II of Greece  was getting underway at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor on Tuesday, royal insiders revealed the Prince of Wales would miss it due to a personal matter. William, a source told CNN, had called the Greek royal family to let them know of his last-minute change of plans.

Skipping events doesnt normally spark the sort of theorizing that has ensued. Go back two years and there simply wouldnt have been the same level of online speculation that has been witnessed in recent days.

But many have been left unsettled by the seemingly never-ending run of recent royal heartache and health scares. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and both King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales getting ill soon after, plus the fact that the public havent seen Kate since Christmas Day, have all contributed to the speculation. Charles, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, has canceled all his public engagements.

The series of devastating blows was further compounded with the sudden death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of the Kings cousin Lady Gabriella, at the age of 45. It is understood that Williams non-attendance was not tied to the news of Kingstons death, which was revealed publicly on the same day as Constantines memorial.

The royal source wouldnt be drawn on exactly what had prevented William from going to the service. With that lack of clarity, people have linked his absence with that of his wife, Kate, who is still at home recuperating from surgery.

Prince William condemned antisemitism during a visit to a London synagogue on Thursday, the first time he appeared in public after he unexpectedly pulled out of a royal event earlier in the week. William also spoke out last week against the fighting in Gaza and called for the Israel-Hamas conflict to end as soon as possible.

Many saw the princes recent return to royal duties as a signal that the prognosis in the Wales household was improving quickly.

Others have suggested it should have been easy for the heir to the throne to join his wider family at Windsor Castle as he only lives a roughly five-minute drive away at Adelaide Cottage and as his three children were at school when the event was taking place.

If the role of monarchy is presence, continuity and unity, it was a stark visual seeing the royal family enter the chapel without several key senior faces among them.

Its worth emphasizing that the royal source told CNN that Kate continues to be doing well in her recovery. And even though the palace was clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales recuperation would take her away from public duties for several months after her abdominal operation, people are still trying to fill in the gaps.

Kensington Palace made a rare move in the face of the speculation on Kates whereabouts and health, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday that the palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess recovery and wed only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.

While William wasnt present at the memorial service on Tuesday, his diary hasnt been cleared of public events and he was back in action on Thursday.

The palace has been trying to give out as much information as it can without compromising medical privacy. This is the challenge of an age-old monarchy operating in a transformed landscape, where people expect information immediately. Its not always that the public is being insensitive, but rather that people care and want to know why someone they are used to seeing has disappeared from public view.

As a society, were accustomed to having information at our fingertips and there is an instinctive desire to fill the void. An example of plugging holes in gaps of knowledge is best represented in Netflixs The Crown. It was initially based on historical record but as seasons moved closer to the present day, writers and producers were forced to dramatize moments for storytelling purposes.

The reality is that no one  beyond those immediately involved  knows exactly why William pulled out of this family event or how Kate is feeling day-to-day. The latest developments have emphasized that, while the Waleses are public servants, they are also people vulnerable to the same struggles we all face.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony.

The crowds who thronged to honor Navalny outside a church and cemetery in a snowy southeastern suburb of the capital chanted slogans for him and against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, turning the event into one of the largest recent displays of dissent. But police did not act against them.

At least 91 people were detained at events across Russia in Navalny's memory, said OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, with most stopped while trying to lay flowers at monuments dedicated to victims of Soviet repression. When his death was announced Feb. 16, police detained hundreds who tried to leave flowers.

Navalny was buried after a short Russian Orthodox ceremony, with vast crowds waiting outside the church and then streaming to the fresh grave with flowers.

Navalny's widow, Yulia, who was not seen at the funeral but has vowed to continue his work, lovingly thanked him for 26 years of absolute happiness."

I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to do it in a way that you up there are proud of me and happy for me, she wrote on Instagram.

Navalnys 23-year-old daughter, Daria, also shared a tribute to her father.

Ever since I was a child, you taught me to live by certain principles. To live with dignity. You gave your life for me, for mum, for (my brother) Zakhar, for Russia, she wrote on Instagram. I promise you that I will live my life in the way that you taught me, in a way that will make you proud  and most importantly, with a smile on my face.

The funeral followed a battle with authorities over the release of his body. His team said several Moscow churches refused to hold the funeral for the man who crusaded against official corruption and organized massive protests. Many Western leaders blamed the death on the Russian leader, an accusation the Kremlin angrily rejected.

Navalnys team eventually got permission from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers.

As his coffin was removed from the hearse and taken inside the church, the crowd waiting outside broke into respectful applause and then chanted: Navalny! Navalny! Some also shouted, You werent afraid, neither are we! and later No to war! Russia without Putin! and Russia will be free!

Western diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, were among the mourners. Also paying respects were Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, anti-war politicians who wanted to run against Putin in this month's presidential election but were not allowed on the ballot.

Inside the church, Navalny's open casket showed him covered with red and white flowers. His parents, Lyudmila and Anatoly, sat beside it.

Navalny's closest associates live outside Russia and offered commentary on a livestream of the funeral on his YouTube channel, their voices occasionally cracking with emotion.

Those people who follow what is happening, it is of course obvious to them that this man is a hero of our country, whom we will not forget," said Nadezhda Ivanova of Kaliningrad, a mourner who was outside the church. What was done to him is incredibly difficult to accept and get through it."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings are violations.

After the short church service, thousands marched to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force.

With the casket again open, Navalnys mother and father stroked and kissed his head. A large crowd gathered at the cemetery's gates, chanting: Let us in to say goodbye!

The coffin was lowered into the ground. In keeping with his irreverent sense of humor, music from the The Terminator 2" was played, a movie his allies said he considered the best in the world.

Mourners streamed by his open grave, tossing handfuls of soil onto the coffin as a large crowd waited at the cemetery's entrance. As dusk fell, workers shoveled dirt into the grave while Lyudmila Navalnaya watched. A mound of flowers, funeral wreaths, candles and a portrait of Navalny sat nearby. Mourners continued to stream into the cemetery until it was closed by police shortly after 10 p.m. local time.

Lyudmila Navalnaya had spent eight days trying to get authorities to release her son's body following his Feb. 16 death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Even on Friday, a Moscow morgue delayed releasing the body, according to Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny's close ally and director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Authorities near the penal colony originally said they couldn't release the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Lyudmila Navalnaya made a video appeal to Putin to release it so she could bury her son with dignity.

Russian authorities still havent announced the cause of death for Navalny, who was 47. His team cited paperwork that Lyudmila Navalnaya saw that listed natural causes, although the day before his death he had appeared in court via video link joking with officials.

At least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Navalnys supporters, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media. They also struggled to find a hearse.

Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Yarmysh said Thursday.

Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organizations by the Russian government that same year.

Yulia Navalnaya accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event Friday for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, citing COVID-19 restrictions, according to former presidential hopeful Duntsova. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of Feb. 27, 2015.

Yarmysh also urged Navalny's supporters around the world to turn out.

Hundreds brought flowers and candles at the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi in a rally organized by those who fled Russia since the start of the war with Ukraine. In a rainy Rome, a delegation from the Italian Radical party went to Moscow's embassy for the Kremlin critic.

More AP coverage of Alexei Navalny: https://apnews.com/hub/alexei-navalny
South Koreas government is making a last appeal to junior doctors to end a walkout just hours ahead of a Thursday deadline or risk the suspension of their medical licenses and prosecution. Thousands of medical interns and residents have been on strike for about 10 days to protest the governments push to boost medical school enrollments. Government officials warned that strikers would face legal repercussions if they didnt return to their hospitals by Thursday. As of Wednesday night, about 9,076 of the countrys 13,000 medical interns and residents were not at their workplaces, according to the Health Ministry. Observers say many strikers are likely to defy the deadline.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The transcript of the congressional deposition of Hunter Biden was released late Thursday, providing a full view of the contentious testimony that took place behind closed doors Wednesday as Republicans aggressively questioned the central figure in their impeachment inquiry.

The nearly 230 pages of questioning laid bare the deep-seated hostility between President Joe Biden's son and the GOP lawmakers who have been investigating his family for the past several years. Arguments were frequent and tempers short, providing a preview of what is sure to come when Republicans hold a public hearing with Hunter Biden in the next several weeks.

He was defiant through the deposition as Republicans flooded him with questions about his former business affairs and his life, his answers veering from heated to emotional as he talked of his long battle with addiction and turmoil in his personal life.

Throughout the nearly seven-hour deposition, Hunter Biden remained adamant on one point, vehemently and repeatedly denying under oath that his father ever financially benefited or participated in any of his business work.

Takeaways from the transcript:

You always pick up the phone

The 14-month Republican investigation into the Biden family has centered on Hunter Biden and his overseas work for clients in Ukraine, China, Romania and other countries. Republicans have long questioned whether those business dealings involved corruption and influence peddling by President Biden, particularly in the years when he was vice president.

Republican investigators zeroed in on a series of dinners and meetings that took place after Joe Biden left the vice presidency in which the younger Biden put his father on speakerphone while in the company of business partners.

And why would you place your dad on speakerphone? an unidentified Republican staffer asked.

Im surprised my dad hasnt called me right now, and if he did, I would put him on speakerphone to say hi to you and to Congressman Raskin and everybody else in the room, Hunter Biden replied. It is nothing nefarious literally.

He said that after the tragedies his family has suffered  including the death of his mother and two siblings  calls in his family are always answered, no matter what.

You always pick up the phone. Its something that we always do. And you can ask anybody that I know, Hunter Biden added.

Hunter Biden's darkest days

Large portions of the testimony Wednesday diverged into Hunter Biden's well-documented battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

In one particularly harsh exchange, Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, questioned whether the presidents sons business dealings, particularly with the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, were legitimate. Gaetz asked, Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board?

Hunter responded: Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate to ask me?

Absolutely, Gaetz said.

Bidens attorney, Abbe Lowell, intervened, telling his client he didn't need to respond.

I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use, Hunter Biden said. Im sorry; Im an addict. I was an addict.

He told the panel he has been in recovery for more than four years and works really, really hard at it under what he called an enormous amount of pressure.

Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict, he said. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

Gaetz tried to interrupt, but Hunter Biden kept talking: Why? Why?"

What was the Biden brand?

Another point of interest for House Republicans' investigation is what they describe as Hunter Biden and associates selling the Biden brand to clients overseas.

One of their purported key witnesses, Devon Archer, a former business associate of Hunter Biden, testified to the House Oversight Committee last year that the president's family sold the illusion of access to the corridors of power in Washington. Republicans questioned whether Burisma, the Ukrainian energy firm, wanted Hunter Biden on its board in 2014 "because your dad was the Vice President?

No, I dont think that its fair, Hunter Biden responded.

When asked about what value he brought to Burisma, Hunter Biden talked about the breadth of his resume and defended his family.

Primarily, the name Biden is my dads legacy. And he passed it down to me and, when my brother was alive, my brother, my sister, now to my children. Its our responsibility to not screw that up."

He added, "If other people saw the brand as something that they could market, its not -- it was not with my -- without going through me first. And if they did so, they didnt go through me first."

Rather than probe the Bidens, Democrats turn to the Trumps

Democrats at one point tried to turn the deposition back toward Donald Trump, contrasting the Bidens' business dealings with the former Republican presidents family and its business operations.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Democrat from California, led one particularly pointed exchange intended to draw out the differences between President Biden and Trump, the Republican front-runner to challenge him for the White House.

Did your father ever employ in the Oval Office any direct family member to also work in the Oval Office? Swalwell asked.

My father has never employed any direct family members, to my knowledge, Hunter Biden testified.

Swalwell went on to ask questions referring to the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., Trumps legal case in New York City, his daughter-in-laws recent bid to lead the Republican National Committee and his son-in-law Jared Kushners business dealings with Saudi Arabia.

As President and the leader of the party, has your father ever tried to install as the chairperson of the party a daughter-in-law or anyone else in the family? Swalwell probed.

No. And I dont think that anyone in my family would be crazy enough to want to be the chairperson of the DNC  the Democratic National Committee.

Had his father ever been fined $355 million? No, he has not, thank God, Hunter Biden testified.

Emails, text messages and the laptop

The impeachment inquiry has focused on several pieces of evidence as Republicans try to build their case, including emails, text messages and a now-in-dispute laptop.

One email from a Hunter Biden business associate proposes a 10% equity stake in their firm to be held for the big guy, who Republicans say is Joe Biden. It's a message that has become central to the GOP claims of influence peddling, but one that another business associate Rob Walker has testified was all bull--.

Hunter Biden testified that he does not recall ever responding to the email. Im not even sure whether I ever fully read this.

Further emails exhibited to the committee showed that any equity split would be made equally among the five partners, including Hunter Biden and his longtime business partner Jim Biden, who is the presidents brother and his uncle. The business deal with a Chinese energy company never happened, and no one was paid.

Theres no secret big guy anywhere in this email? asked a Democratic questioner.

No, theres not, Hunter Biden replied.

Joe Biden is not anywhere in this agreement? he asked.

No, he is not.

As for Hunter Bidens laptop that was allegedly dropped off at a Delaware repair shop and the source for many allegations against the Biden family, he testified that he does not recall bringing it in.

If his computer needed repairs, Hunter Biden testified, I would have gone to the Apple store.

This story has been corrected to reflect that an email from a Hunter Biden business associate proposed a 10% equity stake in their firm, not a $10 million equity stake
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and the EU will cooperate in the field of offshore wind energy, said Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov during the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

The minister highlighted that positive discussions took place during the meeting, affirming the promising outlook for the development of these two energy components.

According to him, the attendance of delegations from 23 countries at the South Gas Corridor meeting underscores Azerbaijan's crucial role in ensuring energy security for the European Union.

"It marked the largest gathering in the event's history, with the highest attendance of energy companies and international financial institutions. Today's sixth ministerial meeting on the establishment of the Azerbaijan-EU Green Corridor witnessed crucial decisions being made," he said.

The Minister highlighted that comprehensive talks also took place regarding Azerbaijan's initiatives for offshore wind energy development, culminating in a decision to collaborate in this direction.

The 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting were held in Baku today. The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, 6 international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other dignitaries from Azerbaijan and European Union countries.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
A thousand words behind famous artist's portrait of a poet

World-renowned SA-born artist donates portrait of acclaimed Afrikaans poet and alumna to WAM.

Artist Marlene Dumas gifted her Portrait of Elisabeth Eybers to the Wits Art Museum in a donation brokered by author-academic Ena Jansen, an internationally recognised expert on Eybers and whose PhD from Wits was about the poet.

Dumass Portrait of Elisabeth Eybers was revealed at an intimate private gathering at WAM on Monday, 26 February.

The painting is on display at WAM for public viewing until 9 March 2024.

Included in the exhibition is a 20-minute purpose-made documentary film, featuring Dumas and Jansen, in which they discuss this painting and Eybers poetry.

Fiona Rankin-Smith, Special Projects Curator at WAM, said, Every now and again in Johannesburg, it seems like the stars all align and it feels like this is the best city in the world. And tonight I feel is one of those nights.

She expressed her gratitude that Dumas "considered Wits University to be a worthy recipient of this extraordinarily powerful work.

Not only are we able to view the painting here at WAM this evening, but we also have the artist herself present, along with Erna Jansen, author and academic, who has played such a role in the whole affair, said Rankin-Smith. As Ena has pointed out, today [26 February] is the anniversary of Eybers birth, so theres a lot to celebrate.

A distinguished homecoming

Emeritus Professor Gerrit Olivier, formerly Head of the Department of Afrikaans, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, and Head of the Wits School of Arts at Wits University, introduced the artist, author, and poet.

Not only is Wits receiving an exquisite painting from a much-celebrated South Africa artist, it is also lucky to have Marlene Dumas herself here, at an occasion which also is a symbolic homecoming of one of our most distinguished alumni, Elisabeth Eybers.

On top of that, we welcome an expert on Eybers poetry, Ena Jansen, who too is an alumna of Wits, having completed her PhD here, and shes been a friend of both Dumas and Eybers for decades.

Olivier said that Eybers wrote poetry about Johannesburg, and Dumas and Jansen soon realised that Joburg is the most appropriate place for the portrait to be  where Eybers was a student and where she lived for almost three decades. So its a homecoming, in a way, he said.

Olivier was also Jansens supervisor for her doctoral thesis on Eybers, awarded in 1992.

Understanding Eybers

Ena Jansen taught in the Department of Afrikaans and Nederlands at Wits for 16 years before it closed in the early 2000s.

Jansen is now an Extraordinary Professor of South African Literature at the University of Amsterdam, and the author of Afstand en verbintenis: Elisabeth Eybers in Amsterdam.

Jansen, Eybers and Dumas were all friends.

The poet in the portrait

Julia Charlton, Senior Curator at WAM, said, This is an extraordinary painting, made even more special because it is a portrait of the South African-born poet Elisabeth Eybers, who was the first woman to publish in Afrikaans.

Elizabeth Eybers Eybers (1915-2007) graduated from Wits in1937 with a BA Honours in Nederlands and Afrikaans.

She published her first collection of poetry, Belydenis in die Skemering, in 1936, her honours year.

Eybers was also the first Afrikaans woman to win the Hertzog Prize for poetry, in 1943, which she won again in 1971.

Wits University awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1972.

Two decades later, in 1991, Eybers received the P.C. Hooft Award, the Netherlands lifetime literary achievement award.

It was the only time it was ever awarded to a non-Dutch writer, said Olivier.

The artist behind the portrait

Eybers had moved to Amsterdam in 1963, which is where her portrait-painter, Marlene Dumas, is based.

In conversation with Jansen at the event, Dumas said that the larger-than-life portrait is an abstract, psychosocial portrait and revealed, I dont even know what colour her [Eybers] eyes were.

In explaining her process, Dumas said painting happens on the canvas, not in sketches before.

Dumas confessed to originally not being such an Eybers fan until she realised that the poets writing meant different things to what she, Dumas, had thought they meant.

Dumas conceded, Eybers is OK. She is a much better poet than I thought.

Of the Portrait of Elisabeth Eybers donation to WAM, Dumas remarked, Im very grateful that you want it.

Portrait of Elisabeth Eybers

The Portrait of Elisabeth Eybers is a very large 130 x 110cm oil painting.

Its a portrait that remains with you once you have seen it and we are seeing it tonight exactly 109 years after Eybers was born, said Olivier.

The portrait was retrospectively exhibited at the Standard Bank Gallery in 2008 and Intimate Relations is the catalogue for that show. Eybers poems were included in the catalogue.

Eybers poem Geluk (happiness), in both Afrikaans and translated by the poet herself into English, are on display at WAM alongside the portrait.

To reveal, not to display

[The portrait] captures the intensity and piercing intelligence of Eybers presence as I remember it from a couple of meetings with her  Its a look at the vulnerable self in detachment, said Olivier, and, quoting Dumas, added, The painters insistence that the painting is ontologically different of other order of art forms. It is the result of the painters engagement with form, not of any pre-conceived notion. It avoids storytelling, it discards irrelevant information. It combines intimacy, or the illusion of that, with discomfit. The aim is to reveal not to display.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan's gas exports in 2024 will exceed 24 billion cubic meters, up from 23.8 billion cubic meters in 2023, said Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov at a press conference following the 10th meeting of the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

"Europe will receive half of the gas volume, signifying an expanding geography for Azerbaijani gas supplies. More than 48 billion cubic meters of gas production is anticipated this year, with exports constituting half of this volume," he said.
Alumni in the spotlight February 2024

Catch up on Witsie awards, appointments and newsmakers from the past month.

Awards

Tali Nates (BA Hons 1994) the founder and director of the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre, received the International Religious Freedom Award in recognition of [her] courage and commitment to promoting and defending religious freedom globally. She was one of eight recipients from countries such as Lithuania, Nicaragua, and Nigeria.

Neo Hutiri (MSc Eng 2015) was awarded a special medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The medal is one of 35 anniversary grants, prizes and accelerator programme awards being invested in African innovators solving key development challenges on the continent. His product, Pelebox Smart Lockers, is designed to improve access to chronic disease medication.

Appointments

The Country Road Group welcomed Khanegee Kay Raidoo (BCom 1990) as the country manager for South Africa. The brands that will fall under her stable include Country Road, Witchery, and Trenery. She has worked in senior leadership teams for more than 10 years and was head of trade operations and customer experience for Woolworths fashion, home and beauty, as well as divisional executive for the retailer in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Advocate Nkhangweleni Lambani (LLM 1995) was appointed to Gateway Airports Authority in Limpopo. Advocate Nkhangweleni Edward Lambani is a seasoned government official and former Secretary of the Limpopo Legislature. He is an admitted Attorney of the High Court.

SRK Consulting appointed Robert Armstrong (BSc 2000, BSc Hons 2001) as its director in its consulting practice in South Africa. Armstrong is partner and principal geologist and has been at the company since 2001. He has been involved in geotechnical projects throughout Africa. His expertise covers slope design, the collection and reviewing of geotechnical data, geotechnical slope management programmes and geotechnical risk. He was made a partner of the practice in 2016.

A former director of the Wits Law Clinic, Daven Dass (LLB 2007, LLM 2013) was appointed President of the South African University Law Clinics Association.

Hellen Lebone (BA 1999, PDipHR 2001) has been appointed as senior human resources director in the Arabian Peninsula for Hilton, based in Dubai. Previously she was the regional director Africa and Indian Ocean for Hilton.

Newsmakers

Neal Froneman (BSc Eng 1981), CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater came out swinging about state failure and rampant crime. Sibanyes security costs in 2023 amounted to R1.1-billion, 19% higher than the R928-million the company spent in 2022.

Mortuaries are grim places, yet Prof Lorna Martin (MBBCh 1989) is South Africas first woman to head a forensic medicine department. She spoke to Spotlight about her career working on high-profile cases at the Observatory Forensic Pathology Institute in Cape Town.

Twin medical graduates Dr Khanyisile (MBBCh 2019) and Dr Ziyanda Ndebele (MBBCh 2017) chatted about the aesthetics practice, Health Life Aesthetics, they co-founded.

John Perlman (BA 1981, BA Hons 1982), radio host on 702 discussed a song, a book and dish with breast cancer specialist surgeon, Professor Carol-Ann Benn (MBBCh 1991).

Professor Sharon Fonn (MBBCh 1982, DOH 1985, PhD 1989), Professor of Public Health at Wits, argued that university rankings are unscientific and bad for education.

Dr Gillian Mahumane (BPharm 2013, MPharm 2016, PhD 2021) and Dr Khonzisizwe Somandi (BSc 2018, BSc Hons 2020) are two of the four Wits Advanced Delivery Drug Programme researchers who have recently benefited from international research opportunities.

Dr Carrie-Anne Minnar (PhD 2019) and her colleagues made headlines with her breakthrough research in cervical cancer, which could bring hope to millions of women.
Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN  Free Report) by 223.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,954 shares of the information technology services providers stock after buying an additional 18,627 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLCs holdings in Accenture were worth $8,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Accenture during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. RVW Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Canton Hathaway LLC acquired a new position in shares of Accenture during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.42% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ACN shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $374.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wedbush upped their target price on Accenture from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Accenture in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a buy rating and a $426.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised Accenture from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Accenture from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $440.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $365.63.

Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, Director Paula A. Price sold 551 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.36, for a total value of $190,293.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,583 shares in the company, valued at $2,273,504.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Accenture news, insider Ellyn Shook sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $371.81, for a total transaction of $1,859,050.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,553,691.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula A. Price sold 551 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.36, for a total value of $190,293.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,273,504.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,551 shares of company stock worth $9,739,791. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ACN traded down $2.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $375.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 466,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,369. The firm has a market cap of $235.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.21. Accenture plc has a 1 year low of $242.80 and a 1 year high of $380.40. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $361.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 19th. The information technology services provider reported $3.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.13. Accenture had a return on equity of 29.08% and a net margin of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $16.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.08 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Accenture plc will post 12.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Profile

(Free Report)

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.

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Caxton Associates LP bought a new position in KB Home (NYSE:KBH  Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 19,606 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $907,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in KB Home in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KB Home during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KB Home during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in KB Home by 40.9% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 930 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in KB Home by 29.4% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. 91.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling at KB Home

In other KB Home news, CAO William R. Hollinger sold 45,471 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.47, for a total value of $2,749,631.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 109,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,650,551.07. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Brian J. Woram sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.55, for a total transaction of $595,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 156,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,296,886.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO William R. Hollinger sold 45,471 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.47, for a total value of $2,749,631.37. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 109,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,650,551.07. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 373,635 shares of company stock worth $22,400,005. Insiders own 4.44% of the companys stock.

KB Home Stock Performance

KB Home stock opened at $66.44 on Friday. KB Home has a 52 week low of $33.92 and a 52 week high of $66.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.55 and a 200-day moving average of $53.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.73.

KB Home (NYSE:KBH  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 10th. The construction company reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.15. KB Home had a return on equity of 15.63% and a net margin of 9.21%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that KB Home will post 7.59 earnings per share for the current year.

KB Home Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. KB Homes payout ratio is presently 11.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered KB Home from a hold rating to a sell rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Raymond James upped their price target on KB Home from $61.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays upped their price target on KB Home from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on KB Home from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on KB Home from $63.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KB Home presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $58.18.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on KBH

About KB Home

(Free Report)

KB Home operates as a homebuilding company in the United States. It operates through four segments: West Coast, Southwest, Central, and Southeast. It builds and sells various homes, including attached and detached single-family residential homes, townhomes, and condominiums primarily for first-time, first move-up, second move-up, and active adult homebuyers.

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Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 28th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, April 26th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th.

Advance Auto Parts has increased its dividend payment by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three years. Advance Auto Parts has a payout ratio of 21.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Advance Auto Parts to earn $3.88 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.8%.

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Advance Auto Parts Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of AAP opened at $67.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.15. Advance Auto Parts has a 12-month low of $47.73 and a 12-month high of $143.96. The companys 50-day moving average price is $63.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

Advance Auto Parts ( NYSE:AAP Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The businesss revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Advance Auto Parts will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Advance Auto Parts news, EVP Kristen L. Soler bought 500 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $55.60 per share, for a total transaction of $27,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,697 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $705,953.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Kristen L. Soler bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.87 per share, for a total transaction of $52,870.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 12,197 shares in the company, valued at $644,855.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kristen L. Soler bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $55.60 per share, with a total value of $27,800.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 12,697 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $705,953.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Advance Auto Parts

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Advance Auto Parts by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,970,480 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,442,611,000 after purchasing an additional 261,715 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,435,265 shares of the companys stock worth $311,799,000 after acquiring an additional 376,025 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,958,241 shares of the companys stock worth $241,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,370,550 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,431,787 shares of the companys stock worth $417,340,000 after acquiring an additional 754,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,313,689 shares of the companys stock worth $685,801,000 after acquiring an additional 114,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.75% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AAP shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $56.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. TheStreet raised Advance Auto Parts from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 13th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $80.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.18.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Advance Auto Parts

About Advance Auto Parts

(Get Free Report)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts.

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Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP  Free Report)  Equities researchers at Wedbush lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Advance Auto Parts in a research report issued on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush analyst S. Basham now anticipates that the company will post earnings of $0.59 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.76. Wedbush has a Neutral rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Advance Auto Parts current full-year earnings is $3.76 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Advance Auto Parts Q1 2025 earnings at $1.00 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.47 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.76 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $0.77 EPS.

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Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.59) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.83). The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion. Advance Auto Parts had a net margin of 0.39% and a return on equity of 1.68%. The companys revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.88 EPS.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $83.00 to $73.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 13th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $53.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Advance Auto Parts from $47.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eighteen have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $73.18.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on AAP

Advance Auto Parts Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE AAP opened at $67.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.15. Advance Auto Parts has a 52 week low of $47.73 and a 52 week high of $143.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Advance Auto Parts Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Advance Auto Partss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 135.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kristen L. Soler acquired 1,000 shares of Advance Auto Parts stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.87 per share, for a total transaction of $52,870.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 12,197 shares of the companys stock, valued at $644,855.39. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kristen L. Soler bought 1,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.87 per share, for a total transaction of $52,870.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,197 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $644,855.39. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kristen L. Soler bought 500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $55.60 per share, with a total value of $27,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 12,697 shares in the company, valued at $705,953.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Readystate Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Advance Auto Parts in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,567,000. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 285.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 702 shares of the companys stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 9,807.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 161,790 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,874,000 after purchasing an additional 160,157 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Advance Auto Parts by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 24,864 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,517,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Advance Auto Parts during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.75% of the companys stock.

Advance Auto Parts Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts.

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Ancora Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG  Free Report) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,612 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLCs holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,202,742,000 after purchasing an additional 726,485 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,940,318 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,963,026,000 after buying an additional 262,187 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,431,788,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,910,133 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,078,118,000 after buying an additional 185,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,765,493 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,044,141,000 after buying an additional 155,683 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the companys stock.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $243.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.69. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $233.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $174.45 and a fifty-two week high of $254.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. ( NYSE:AJG Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.07 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $249.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a buy rating to a hold rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $255.62.

Read Our Latest Research Report on AJG

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.59, for a total value of $3,398,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 102,942 shares in the company, valued at $23,325,627.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,809 shares of company stock worth $6,441,104 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

(Free Report)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.

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AQR Arbitrage LLC increased its holdings in shares of Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:IQI  Free Report) by 80.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 369,017 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 164,304 shares during the period. AQR Arbitrage LLCs holdings in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust were worth $3,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 2.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 72,910 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 1.6% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 122,678 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,922 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 0.8% in the second quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 321,795 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 191.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust by 20.9% in the second quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 16,763 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 2,899 shares in the last quarter.

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Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Stock Performance

Shares of IQI opened at $9.58 on Friday. Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust has a twelve month low of $8.05 and a twelve month high of $10.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $9.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.07.

Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Announces Dividend

Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust Company Profile

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $0.0403 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%.

(Free Report)

Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Invesco Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Invesco Advisers, Inc, INVESCO Asset Management Deutschland GmbH, INVESCO Asset Management Limited, INVESCO Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Invesco Hong Kong Limited, INVESCO Senior Secured Management, Inc, and Invesco Canada Ltd.

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AQR Arbitrage LLC raised its stake in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc. (NYSE:MVT  Free Report) by 78.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 200,908 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 88,240 shares during the quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLCs holdings in BlackRock MuniVest Fund II were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MVT. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 48,376 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $625,000 after purchasing an additional 9,656 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 14,081 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 35,370 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 14,715 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II in the 1st quarter worth $316,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniVest Fund II by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 205,239 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,650,000 after purchasing an additional 33,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.31% of the companys stock.

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BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Price Performance

BlackRock MuniVest Fund II stock opened at $10.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.21. BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc. has a 12 month low of $8.96 and a 12 month high of $10.96.

BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Announces Dividend

BlackRock MuniVest Fund II Profile

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 29th. Investors of record on Friday, December 15th were issued a $0.0505 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 5.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 14th.

(Free Report)

BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by BlackRock, Inc It is managed by BlackRock Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in fixed income markets. It invests primarily in long-term municipal bonds exempt from federal income taxes. BlackRock MuniVest Fund II, Inc was formed on March 29, 1993 and is domiciled in United States.

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Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX  Free Report) by 40.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,217 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after purchasing an additional 15,662 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotias holdings in Becton, Dickinson and Company were worth $14,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,762,618 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $3,369,459,000 after acquiring an additional 76,244 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,192,832 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,342,503,000 after acquiring an additional 512,566 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,134,645 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,351,490,000 after acquiring an additional 113,425 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 95,813.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,045,643 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,028,807,000 after buying an additional 4,041,425 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,034,523 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,043,045,000 after buying an additional 395,657 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.72% of the companys stock.

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Becton, Dickinson and Company Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Becton, Dickinson and Company stock opened at $235.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.82, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $239.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Becton, Dickinson and Company has a twelve month low of $228.62 and a twelve month high of $287.32.

Becton, Dickinson and Company Dividend Announcement

Becton, Dickinson and Company ( NYSE:BDX Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Becton, Dickinson and Company had a return on equity of 13.57% and a net margin of 6.44%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Becton, Dickinson and Company will post 12.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Becton, Dickinson and Companys payout ratio is 90.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BDX. Raymond James upped their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $269.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $310.00 to $280.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Becton, Dickinson and Company from $301.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet cut Becton, Dickinson and Company from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Thursday, November 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $279.17.

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Becton, Dickinson and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Becton, Dickinson and Company develops, manufactures, and sells medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products for healthcare institutions, physicians, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, pharmaceutical industry, and the general public worldwide. The company operates in three segments: BD Medical, BD Life Sciences, and BD Interventional.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The potential damage from methane amidst global warming when measuring the impact over 20 years is 80 times greater than the damage from an equivalent volume of carbon dioxide (CO2), a Member of the Environmental Protection First Coalition and the COP29 Organizing Committee Parvana Valiyeva told Trend.

The issue was reflected in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report for 2019, she explained.

"Global climate change is a long-term process. During the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s, people began to overuse gasoline, gas, and coal. This has led to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. In the 1950s, as people began to use cars more, there was a large increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. These two periods in history are in some ways the start of the climate crisis," the expert said.

According to her, the increase in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions has led to a rise in the average global temperature by at least 1.1 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.

The expert noted that although this figure may not seem very high over such a long period, in some places in India, summer temperatures are already rising by 10-15 degrees higher than usual, ice near the North Pole has started to melt, and according to scientists, the average sea level has significantly increased since 1880, with most of this rise occurring in the last 25 years.

Valiyeva reminded that in 2015, global leaders signed an agreement in Paris within COP21, aiming to keep the increase in the average global temperature well below 2 C compared to pre-industrial levels, while making efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C.

She pointed out that some parties also have goals for zero emissions, and since the issue is global, each country must set its own targets.

According to a recent IPCC report, methane accounts for about 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the global energy sector, the expert further explained.

Methane is also produced in landfills, agriculture, and natural processes such as decomposition, and achieving the goals of the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), such as reducing anthropogenic methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030, is crucial to maintaining the 1.5C temperature threshold.

"During COP28, parties under the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) initiative committed to achieving a minimum 30 percent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 compared to the 2020 level. COP28 was marked by several innovations:

1. Financing of over $1 billion was mobilized for reducing methane emissions.

2. Alongside decisive measures regarding waste, food, and agriculture, countries with major methane emissions from oil and gas must undertake new national commitments and make changes to legislation.

3. Development of transformative information tools, including the full launch of the Methane Emissions Notification and Response System, as well as new data for the methane reduction campaign.

4. New members and expanded leadership. Canada, the Federated States of Micronesia, Germany, Japan, and Nigeria joined the US and the European Union as supporters of the Global Methane Pledge. Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Romania, and Angola also joined the commitment, bringing the total number of participating countries to 155.

5. 49 oil and gas extraction companies agreed to reduce methane emissions by 2030.

The fastest way to reduce global warming in the short term is to cut methane emissions," added Valiyeva.

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Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of BigBear.ai (NYSE:BBAI  Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $3.00 price target on the stock.

Separately, William Blair reiterated a market perform rating on shares of BigBear.ai in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BigBear.ai

BigBear.ai Stock Up 6.8 %

Insider Buying and Selling

Shares of BigBear.ai stock opened at $3.36 on Tuesday. The firms 50 day moving average is $2.01 and its 200 day moving average is $1.72. BigBear.ai has a 1 year low of $1.16 and a 1 year high of $3.79.

In related news, Director Raluca Dinu sold 13,029 shares of BigBear.ai stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.92, for a total transaction of $25,015.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 773,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,484,878.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Raluca Dinu sold 13,029 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.92, for a total value of $25,015.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 773,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,484,878.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Avi S. Katz sold 50,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1.81, for a total transaction of $90,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 786,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,389.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BBAI. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BigBear.ai in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN acquired a new position in shares of BigBear.ai during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. American International Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BigBear.ai during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BigBear.ai by 71.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 24,368 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 10,141 shares during the period. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of BigBear.ai during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.47% of the companys stock.

BigBear.ai Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc provides artificial intelligence and machine learning for decision support. The company operates through two segments, Cyber & Engineering and Analytics. The Cyber & Engineering segment offers high-end technology and management consulting services. It focuses in the areas of cloud engineering and enterprise IT, cybersecurity, computer network operations and wireless, systems engineering, and strategy and program planning.

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Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY  Free Report) by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,747,717 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 773,158 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebecs holdings in Weyerhaeuser were worth $53,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 16,055 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 9,013 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Weyerhaeuser by 32.7% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 676,457 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $20,740,000 after buying an additional 166,556 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Weyerhaeuser by 14.4% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 67,963 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,084,000 after buying an additional 8,534 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 75.9% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 40,816 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,251,000 after acquiring an additional 17,617 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 120.1% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 52,214 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 28,495 shares during the last quarter. 79.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Weyerhaeuser Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WY opened at $34.35 on Friday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $33.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Weyerhaeuser has a 52-week low of $27.65 and a 52-week high of $35.14.

Weyerhaeuser Increases Dividend

Weyerhaeuser ( NYSE:WY Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 7.36%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Weyerhaeuser will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a positive change from Weyerhaeusers previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Weyerhaeusers dividend payout ratio is presently 66.09%.

Insider Transactions at Weyerhaeuser

In related news, CEO Devin W. Stockfish sold 29,008 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $1,001,936.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 711,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $24,560,357.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Devin W. Stockfish sold 29,008 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.54, for a total transaction of $1,001,936.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 711,070 shares of the companys stock, valued at $24,560,357.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Denise M. Merle sold 7,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.01, for a total transaction of $262,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 140,694 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,925,696.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,781 shares of company stock valued at $2,451,214 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Weyerhaeuser from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, November 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Weyerhaeuser from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $37.80.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WY

Weyerhaeuser Company Profile

(Free Report)

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in 1900. We own or control approximately 11 million acres of timberlands in the U.S. and manage additional timberlands under long-term licenses in Canada. We manage these timberlands on a sustainable basis in compliance with internationally recognized forestry standards.

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Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its holdings in Public Storage (NYSE:PSA  Free Report) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 302,069 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 66,202 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebecs holdings in Public Storage were worth $79,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Public Storage during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in Public Storage during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Public Storage during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in Public Storage during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Public Storage by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 145 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 78.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Public Storage

In other Public Storage news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 265 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.17, for a total transaction of $74,775.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,674,135.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nathaniel A. Vitan sold 265 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.17, for a total value of $74,775.05. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,674,135.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Reyes sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.98, for a total transaction of $13,799,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 174,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,073,508.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.00% of the companys stock.

Public Storage Stock Performance

Shares of Public Storage stock opened at $283.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.55. The firms 50-day moving average is $290.32 and its 200 day moving average is $274.39. Public Storage has a 1 year low of $233.18 and a 1 year high of $316.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Public Storage (NYSE:PSA  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $4.15 by ($1.94). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Public Storage had a return on equity of 35.31% and a net margin of 45.34%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Public Storage will post 16.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Storage Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $3.00 per share. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 12th. Public Storages dividend payout ratio is currently 108.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PSA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Public Storage in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a sell rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Public Storage in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They set a sector perform rating and a $267.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $307.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $268.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Monday, November 27th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Public Storage from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $293.00.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Public Storage

Public Storage Company Profile

(Free Report)

Public Storage, a member of the S&P 500 and FT Global 500, is a REIT that primarily acquires, develops, owns, and operates self-storage facilities. At September 30, 2023, we had: (i) interests in 3,028 self-storage facilities located in 40 states with approximately 217 million net rentable square feet in the United States and (ii) a 35% common equity interest in Shurgard Self Storage Limited (Euronext Brussels: SHUR), which owned 267 self-storage facilities located in seven Western European nations with approximately 15 million net rentable square feet operated under the Shurgard brand.

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California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Extra Space Storage Inc. (NYSE:EXR  Free Report) by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 319,540 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after acquiring an additional 100,307 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement Systems holdings in Extra Space Storage were worth $38,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EXR. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Extra Space Storage by 1,272.7% in the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 151 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Extra Space Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Extra Space Storage by 241.9% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 212 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Extra Space Storage by 110.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 223 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Extra Space Storage by 162.5% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 231 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. 66.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Extra Space Storage from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Extra Space Storage from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. TheStreet raised shares of Extra Space Storage from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Extra Space Storage from $168.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Extra Space Storage from an underweight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $149.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Extra Space Storage

In other Extra Space Storage news, Director Joseph Saffire sold 25,000 shares of Extra Space Storage stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.10, for a total value of $3,852,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 42,344 shares in the company, valued at $6,525,210.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Extra Space Storage Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EXR opened at $140.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.75. Extra Space Storage Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.19 and a 1-year high of $170.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firms 50-day moving average price is $148.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.27.

Extra Space Storage (NYSE:EXR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.03 by ($1.01). Extra Space Storage had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 8.34%. The company had revenue of $797.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $778.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 57.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Extra Space Storage Inc. will post 8.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Extra Space Storage Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.60%. Extra Space Storages payout ratio is presently 131.17%.

About Extra Space Storage

(Free Report)

Extra Space Storage Inc, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, is a self-administered and self-managed REIT and a member of the S&P 500. As of September 30, 2023, the Company owned and/or operated 3,651 self-storage stores in 42 states and Washington, DC The Company's stores comprise approximately 2.5 million units and approximately 279.0 million square feet of rentable space operating under the Extra Space, Life Storage and Storage Express brands.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group cut its stake in Capital One Financial Co. (NYSE:COF) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,067 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 697 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Capital One Financial were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COF. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Capital One Financial by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 393 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Capital One Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. 90.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ann F. Hackett sold 2,000 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 59,980 shares in the company, valued at $7,197,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Ann F. Hackett sold 3,000 shares of Capital One Financial stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $390,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,980 shares in the company, valued at $7,147,400. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ann F. Hackett sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $240,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 59,980 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,197,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,975 shares of company stock worth $9,622,638 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COF shares. Evercore ISI restated an in-line rating and set a $142.00 price target (down from $160.00) on shares of Capital One Financial in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Capital One Financial from $142.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Capital One Financial from $126.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Capital One Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a hold rating and a $153.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Capital One Financial from $114.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $127.66.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on COF

Capital One Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE COF opened at $137.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.04 and a 200-day moving average of $114.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Capital One Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $83.93 and a fifty-two week high of $140.86.

Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.26). The company had revenue of $9.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.45 billion. Capital One Financial had a net margin of 9.88% and a return on equity of 9.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Capital One Financial Co. will post 13.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Capital One Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Capital One Financials payout ratio is 20.08%.

Capital One Financial Profile

(Free Report)

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the financial services holding company for the Capital One, National Association, which engages in the provision of various financial products and services in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It operates through three segments: Credit Card, Consumer Banking, and Commercial Banking.

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Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF  Free Report) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $100.00 to $127.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the apparel retailers stock.

ANF has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $98.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $53.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $85.43.

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View Our Latest Stock Report on ANF

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 1.2 %

Insider Activity

ANF stock opened at $127.53 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $21.74 and a 1-year high of $128.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The businesss 50 day moving average is $104.90 and its 200-day moving average is $77.13. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88 and a beta of 1.55.

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total value of $7,700,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 148,485 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,291,681.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 80,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $7,700,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 148,485 shares in the company, valued at $14,291,681.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.24, for a total transaction of $4,812,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 116,987 shares in the company, valued at $11,258,828.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANF. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 985.0% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the apparel retailers stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

(Get Free Report)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Hollister and Abercrombie. It offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Hollister, Gilly Hicks, Social Tourist, Abercrombie & Fitch, and abercrombie kids brands.

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CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares (NYSEARCA:SPXS  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,500 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $166,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPXS. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares by 1,313.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,145 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares by 25.7% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,671 shares of the companys stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares during the first quarter worth approximately $89,000.

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Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares Stock Down 1.0 %

SPXS opened at $9.65 on Friday. Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares has a twelve month low of $9.51 and a twelve month high of $22.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.19.

About Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares

Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares ETF, formerly Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X Shares, seeks daily investment results of 300% of the inverse (or opposite) of the price performance of the S&P 500 Index. The S&P 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index composed of 500 domestic common stocks. Standard & Poors selects the 500 stocks comprising the Index on the basis of market values and industry diversification.

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Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP  Free Report) by 99.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,454 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after buying an additional 33,199 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned 0.14% of EastGroup Properties worth $11,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quarry LP purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $648,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in EastGroup Properties by 3,380.0% during the 1st quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 174 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading L.P. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.69% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EGP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Mizuho cut shares of EastGroup Properties from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $186.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $188.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $188.83.

Insider Activity at EastGroup Properties

In related news, CFO Brent Wood sold 2,500 shares of EastGroup Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total value of $456,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 102,617 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,752,230.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John F. Coleman sold 1,000 shares of EastGroup Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.05, for a total value of $173,050.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 90,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,627,280.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brent Wood sold 2,500 shares of EastGroup Properties stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.74, for a total transaction of $456,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 102,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,752,230.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

EastGroup Properties Stock Down 0.7 %

EGP stock opened at $175.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. EastGroup Properties, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.45 and a 1 year high of $188.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.16. The firm has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 39.84, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.94.

EastGroup Properties Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 12th. Investors of record on Friday, December 29th were paid a $1.27 dividend. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 28th. EastGroup Propertiess payout ratio is presently 115.19%.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

(Free Report)

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.

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Corton Capital Inc. cut its stake in Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS  Free Report) by 40.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,033 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 3,442 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc.s holdings in Fidelity National Information Services were worth $278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fidelity National Information Services by 1.5% in the first quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 7,529 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Fidelity National Information Services by 3.8% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,098 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Fidelity National Information Services by 83.3% in the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 286 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Fidelity National Information Services by 9.2% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,417 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Fidelity National Information Services by 30.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 879 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. 85.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ellen R. Alemany purchased 735 shares of Fidelity National Information Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $60.32 per share, for a total transaction of $44,335.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 35,333 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,131,286.56. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FIS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Fidelity National Information Services from $79.00 to $71.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Fidelity National Information Services from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded Fidelity National Information Services from a d rating to a c rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fidelity National Information Services from $67.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Fidelity National Information Services from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fidelity National Information Services presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.47.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Fidelity National Information Services

Fidelity National Information Services Stock Up 3.5 %

Fidelity National Information Services stock opened at $69.19 on Friday. Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.91 and a 1-year high of $69.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stocks fifty day moving average is $62.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.49.

Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE:FIS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 26th. The information technology services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. Fidelity National Information Services had a positive return on equity of 13.06% and a negative net margin of 54.30%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. will post 4.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fidelity National Information Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 1.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Fidelity National Information Services Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Fidelity National Information Servicess payout ratio is -18.51%.

About Fidelity National Information Services

(Free Report)

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc provides technology solutions for financial institutions and businesses worldwide. It operates through Banking Solutions, Merchant Solutions, and Capital Market Solutions segments. The Banking Solutions segment provides core processing and ancillary applications; mobile and online banking; fraud, risk management, and compliance; electronic funds transfer and network; card and retail payment; wealth and retirement; and item processing and output solutions.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. bought a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH  Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,695 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 438.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 702,170 shares of the companys stock worth $56,897,000 after purchasing an additional 571,710 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 107,124.0% in the 1st quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 491,086 shares of the companys stock worth $48,839,000 after purchasing an additional 490,628 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,203,592 shares of the companys stock worth $267,494,000 after purchasing an additional 188,188 shares during the period. Southernsun Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 461,491 shares of the companys stock worth $56,020,000 after purchasing an additional 173,933 shares during the period. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,139,000.

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U.S. Physical Therapy Trading Up 6.6 %

U.S. Physical Therapy stock opened at $106.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.85, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 1.36. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $78.08 and a fifty-two week high of $124.11. The firms fifty day moving average price is $95.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 2.77 and a current ratio of 2.77.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

U.S. Physical Therapy ( NYSE:USPH Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $150.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 4.67% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be given a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapys previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. U.S. Physical Therapys payout ratio is 127.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on USPH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $99.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 17th. Barrington Research boosted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $119.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Clayton Trier sold 1,170 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.26, for a total transaction of $107,944.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,400 shares in the company, valued at $682,724. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Profile

(Free Report)

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates outpatient physical therapy clinics that provide pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan has proved itself as an energy security source for Europe, Doctor of Philosophy in Economics Fuad Ibrahimov told Trend.

He underscored the significance of environmental protection as a key requirement in the context of modernity.

"Azerbaijan's hosting of COP29 is notable. Our country's selection as the location for this important event underlines Azerbaijan's elevated status. Azerbaijan is actively contributing to the transition to 'green' energy by doing specialized research in this subject. Plans have been made to quickly integrate these initiatives into the economic landscape. The crucial feature is the altered global dynamics that followed the pandemic era, as well as the ongoing conflicts that have entrenched these changes. Countries with established logistic corridors have emerged as influential influences in the region," he noted.

The expert noted that by effectively integrating traditional energy into the economic framework, the country managed to position itself as a provider of energy security for Europe via certain routes.

"Additionally, by promptly conducting economic justifications for integrating alternative energy into the economic framework within a short timeframe and determining its capacity, we have the opportunity to facilitate its export through the Black Sea, considering the geostrategic position of the region. There are agreements in place concerning this matter, with leading countries in the field investing in Azerbaijan. An illustrative example is the Garadagh solar power plant, the largest of its kind in the Caspian region and the CIS. The station was constructed with the support of foreign investments, marking the first industrial-scale solar power plant in our country realized with external funding. Similar processes are actively unfolding in other regions within our territory," Ibrahimov added.

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Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Alger 35 ETF (NYSEARCA:ATFV  Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 375,537 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 6,398 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC owned 42.67% of Alger 35 ETF worth $5,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Alger 35 ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA:ATFV opened at $19.93 on Friday. Alger 35 ETF has a 1-year low of $13.41 and a 1-year high of $19.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.32. The firm has a market cap of $17.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98 and a beta of 1.05.

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Alger 35 ETF Profile

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The Alger 35 ETF (ATFV) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund is an actively-managed, non-transparent ETF that holds a concentrated portfolio of global growth stocks. The fund utilizes the Precidian non-transparent model. ATFV was launched on May 3, 2021 and is managed by Alger.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ATFV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alger 35 ETF (NYSEARCA:ATFV  Free Report).

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Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ  Free Report) by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,686 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,062 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLCs holdings in Johnson & Johnson were worth $5,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JNJ. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 67,618 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,975,000 after buying an additional 5,327 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 88.9% during the first quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisor L.P now owns 175,194 shares of the companys stock worth $31,049,000 after purchasing an additional 82,429 shares during the period. AMI Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 8.8% during the first quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,305 shares of the companys stock worth $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 4.9% during the first quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 45,673 shares of the companys stock worth $8,095,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Johnson & Johnson by 2.4% during the first quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 860,371 shares of the companys stock worth $152,488,000 after acquiring an additional 20,528 shares in the last quarter. 68.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Johnson & Johnson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JNJ opened at $161.37 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $159.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.68. The company has a market cap of $388.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Johnson & Johnson has a twelve month low of $144.95 and a twelve month high of $175.97.

Johnson & Johnson Announces Dividend

Johnson & Johnson ( NYSE:JNJ Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The company reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.01. Johnson & Johnson had a return on equity of 37.27% and a net margin of 37.79%. The business had revenue of $21.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.35 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.65 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th will be given a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 16th. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Johnson & Johnsons payout ratio is 34.47%.

Insider Activity at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Jennifer L. Taubert sold 59,397 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.27, for a total value of $9,281,969.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 141,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,099,078.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $181.00 target price on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Johnson & Johnson from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $163.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $170.00 to $169.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, TheStreet lowered Johnson & Johnson from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Friday, November 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $177.31.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Johnson & Johnson

About Johnson & Johnson

(Free Report)

Johnson & Johnson, together with its subsidiaries, researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the healthcare field worldwide. The company's Innovative Medicine segment offers products for various therapeutic areas, such as immunology, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis; infectious diseases comprising HIV/AIDS; neuroscience, consisting of mood disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, and schizophrenia; oncology, such as prostate cancer, hematologic malignancies, lung cancer, and bladder cancer; cardiovascular and metabolism, including thrombosis, diabetes, and macular degeneration; and pulmonary hypertension comprising pulmonary arterial hypertension through retailers, wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, and healthcare professionals for prescription use.

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Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of BJs Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ  Free Report) by 39.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,575 shares of the companys stock after selling 113,670 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of BJs Wholesale Club worth $12,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in BJs Wholesale Club in the first quarter worth $268,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in BJs Wholesale Club by 44.3% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the companys stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in BJs Wholesale Club by 104.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the companys stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in BJs Wholesale Club by 7.4% in the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,440 shares of the companys stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in BJs Wholesale Club by 7.7% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 74,006 shares of the companys stock worth $5,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the companys stock.

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Insider Transactions at BJs Wholesale Club

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of BJs Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.87, for a total value of $65,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,464 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,263.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.20% of the companys stock.

BJs Wholesale Club Stock Down 0.8 %

Analyst Ratings Changes

Shares of BJ opened at $72.97 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $67.03 and its 200 day moving average is $67.70. The company has a market capitalization of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.23. BJs Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.33 and a 12-month high of $78.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

BJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut BJs Wholesale Club from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett cut BJs Wholesale Club from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on BJs Wholesale Club from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of BJs Wholesale Club in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on BJs Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $64.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJs Wholesale Club has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $73.63.

Read Our Latest Report on BJs Wholesale Club

BJs Wholesale Club Company Profile

(Free Report)

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides perishable, general merchandise, gasoline, coupon books, promotions, and other ancillary services. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.

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Shares of George Weston Limited (TSE:WN  Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as C$184.42 and last traded at C$183.08, with a volume of 23229 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$181.11.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a $0.713 dividend. This represents a $2.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. George Westons payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of George Weston from C$213.00 to C$222.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities upped their price target on George Weston from C$205.00 to C$215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday. Desjardins upgraded George Weston from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the stock from C$177.00 to C$187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Scotiabank cut their price objective on George Weston from C$184.00 to C$179.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on George Weston from C$216.00 to C$218.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, George Weston presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$198.83.

George Weston Stock Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 152.99, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$170.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$160.43. The firm has a market capitalization of C$24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.37.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William Downe purchased 8,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$159.28 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,274,240.00. In related news, Senior Officer Richard Dufresne sold 10,000 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$181.41, for a total value of C$1,814,055.00. Also, Director William Downe bought 8,000 shares of George Weston stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$159.28 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,274,240.00. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,284,263. 58.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

George Weston Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

George Weston Limited provides food and drug retailing, and financial services in Canada and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw) and Choice Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (Choice Properties). The Loblaw segment provides grocery, pharmacy, health and beauty, apparel, general merchandise, and financial services.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $20.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a buy rating on the technology companys stock. Stifel Nicolaus price target indicates a potential upside of 18.34% from the companys previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on HPE. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $21.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $17.25.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on HPE

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Up 2.4 %

HPE stock opened at $15.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a PE ratio of 9.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firms fifty day moving average is $15.82 and its 200 day moving average is $16.31. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a one year low of $13.65 and a one year high of $18.14.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 9.83%. The companys revenue was down 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.6 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CFO Jeremy Cox sold 1,773 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total transaction of $30,016.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,351.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, EVP Justin Hotard sold 10,612 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total transaction of $173,718.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,737 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $781,454.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeremy Cox sold 1,773 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.93, for a total transaction of $30,016.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,374 shares in the company, valued at $243,351.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 303,575 shares of company stock worth $4,989,141. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 12.4% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 33,447 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 3,686 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 21.7% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,210,511 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $37,137,000 after purchasing an additional 394,870 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,024,719 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $70,272,000 after purchasing an additional 36,793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 70.2% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 3,550,595 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $61,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464,650 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,804,203 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $466,157,000 after purchasing an additional 765,160 shares during the period. 81.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.

Further Reading

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Redrow plc (LON:RDW  Get Free Report) insider Matthew Pratt sold 27,430 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 653 ($8.28), for a total value of 179,117.90 ($227,191.65).

Redrow Stock Performance

Shares of RDW stock opened at GBX 640.50 ($8.12) on Friday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is GBX 621.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 545.48. The company has a market cap of 2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 1,000.78, a PEG ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 4.08, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Redrow plc has a 12-month low of GBX 423.63 ($5.37) and a 12-month high of GBX 700 ($8.88).

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Redrow Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be given a dividend of GBX 5 ($0.06) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 22nd. Redrows payout ratio is presently 3,906.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on RDW. Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and set a GBX 643 ($8.16) target price on shares of Redrow in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup restated a neutral rating and set a GBX 756 ($9.59) target price on shares of Redrow in a report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of GBX 602.40 ($7.64).

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About Redrow

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Redrow plc focuses on housebuilding activities in the United Kingdom. It is involved in acquires, develops, and resells land; develops and sells residential housing properties; and business park maintenance services. Redrow plc was founded in 1974 and is based in Flintshire, the United Kingdom.

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MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,726 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $134,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 7.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 11,060,016 shares of the companys stock worth $93,900,000 after buying an additional 773,830 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $4,545,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 28.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,664,275 shares of the companys stock worth $31,110,000 after buying an additional 806,728 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 4.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 90,236 shares of the companys stock worth $766,000 after buying an additional 3,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 358.1% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 914,164 shares of the companys stock worth $7,761,000 after buying an additional 714,587 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.76% of the companys stock.

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Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Stock Performance

NYSE MUFG opened at $10.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $5.99 and a 52-week high of $10.32. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.64. The firm has a market cap of $126.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.59.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Profile

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( NYSE:MUFG Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.04. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.78% and a net margin of 19.14%. The company had revenue of $19.25 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

(Free Report)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for MUFG Bank, Ltd. that provides various financial services in Japan, the United States, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through Digital Service Business Group; Retail & Commercial Banking Business Group; Japanese Corporate & Investment Banking Business Group; Asset Management & Investor Services Business Group; Global Corporate & Investment Banking Business Group; Global Commercial Banking Business Group; and Global Markets Business Group segments.

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MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,653 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust by 49.2% during the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 7,031 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Brandywine Realty Trust by 39.8% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,594 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. acquired a new position in shares of Brandywine Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.53% of the companys stock.

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Brandywine Realty Trust Price Performance

BDN stock opened at $4.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Brandywine Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $3.42 and a 1-year high of $5.97. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $4.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.59.

Brandywine Realty Trust Announces Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 13.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Brandywine Realty Trusts payout ratio is presently -52.17%.

Several research firms have weighed in on BDN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Brandywine Realty Trust in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a hold rating and a $5.50 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Brandywine Realty Trust from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Brandywine Realty Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $5.63.

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Brandywine Realty Trust Profile

(Free Report)

Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) is one of the largest, publicly traded, full-service, integrated real estate companies in the United States with a core focus in the Philadelphia and Austin markets. Organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT), we own, develop, lease and manage an urban, town center and transit-oriented portfolio comprising 160 properties and 22.6 million square feet as of September 30, 2023 which excludes assets held for sale.

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Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWP  Free Report) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,766 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF were worth $709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Ambassador Advisors LLC raised its stake in iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF by 198.0% in the first quarter. Ambassador Advisors LLC now owns 441 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period.

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iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSEARCA:IWP opened at $111.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.10. iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has a 12-month low of $85.00 and a 12-month high of $111.85. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $105.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.07.

About iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF, formerly iShares Russell Midcap Growth Index Fund (the Growth Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Russell Midcap Growth Index (the Growth Index).

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Nordic American Tankers Limited (NYSE:NAT  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 29th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of 0.12 per share by the shipping company on Wednesday, April 10th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 19th. This is an increase from Nordic American Tankerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.06.

Nordic American Tankers has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.9% per year over the last three years. Nordic American Tankers has a payout ratio of 28.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Nordic American Tankers to earn $0.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.9%.

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Nordic American Tankers Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE NAT opened at $4.07 on Friday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $4.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Nordic American Tankers has a 1-year low of $3.26 and a 1-year high of $4.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $849.82 million, a P/E ratio of 7.27 and a beta of -0.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers ( NYSE:NAT Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 29th. The shipping company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.03). Nordic American Tankers had a net margin of 42.78% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $48.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $53.04 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Nordic American Tankers will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NAT. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nordic American Tankers in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 42.98% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on NAT shares. TheStreet lowered Nordic American Tankers from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $5.50 target price on shares of Nordic American Tankers in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Nordic American Tankers from $5.00 to $4.50 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nordic American Tankers presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $5.33.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Nordic American Tankers

About Nordic American Tankers

(Get Free Report)

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 19 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and the UAE explored potential areas of collaboration within COP29, a source in the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan told Trend.

According to the ministry, the country's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and President of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf held a meeting with the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei.

The meeting emphasized that the relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE, based on principles of mutual friendship and respect, are at a high level, and the political will of the heads of state plays a crucial role in strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting pointed out the expansion of partnerships in areas such as trade and economy, investments, logistics, and other directions.

Besides, the meeting stressed that Azerbaijan is the main initiator and participant in a series of projects for the production and export of renewable energy in the region and that successful collaboration in the field of green energy with Masdar Company is particularly significant for ensuring energy security.

Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the significance and contribution of Azerbaijan to regional partnerships, its effective collaboration with the member states of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) on various platforms, the advantageous geographic location of the country at the intersection of important transport corridors, and the expansion of transit potential, which provide broad opportunities for investor activity.

The meeting also noted that the implementation of joint projects with UAE entrepreneurs, taking advantage of these opportunities, can contribute to further expanding regional cooperation.

The parties discussed the strengthening of partnerships, the implementation of joint initiatives in the field of green energy and other directions, as well as the exchange of experience within the framework of COP29.

Meanwhile, the decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

On January 4, 2024, Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, was appointed as President of COP29.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Free Report) by 84.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,091 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 6,904 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in Novo Nordisk A/S were worth $1,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NVO. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 282 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 79.9% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 286 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the third quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 300 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 100.0% during the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 292 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Novo Nordisk A/S during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 6.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on NVO. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, December 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. They set an overweight rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $121.25.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Down 1.5 %

NVO opened at $119.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $537.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.27, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.41. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52 week low of $67.66 and a 52 week high of $124.86. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $112.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.97.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 31st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. Novo Nordisk A/S had a return on equity of 90.36% and a net margin of 36.03%. The business had revenue of $9.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.14 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.664 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 22nd. This is an increase from Novo Nordisk A/Ss previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.22. This represents a yield of 0.9%. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio is 22.92%.

Novo Nordisk A/S Profile

(Free Report)

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU  Free Report) had its target price upped by B. Riley from $32.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the coal producers stock. B. Riley also issued estimates for Peabody Energys Q2 2024 earnings at $1.21 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.11 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $4.06 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $4.19 EPS.

Peabody Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE BTU opened at $24.77 on Tuesday. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $25.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Peabody Energy has a 52 week low of $17.71 and a 52 week high of $28.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 1.00.

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The coal producer reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 21.45% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 24.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Peabody Energy will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Peabody Energy Dividend Announcement

Insider Transactions at Peabody Energy

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 21st. Peabody Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 6.02%.

In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,750,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $40,862,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,480,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $361,458,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,750,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.35, for a total transaction of $40,862,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,480,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $361,458,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Spurbeck sold 6,826 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.57, for a total value of $167,714.82. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,464 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,854,150.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,657,631 shares of company stock worth $86,879,458. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BTU. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Peabody Energy in the 1st quarter worth $202,000. Raymond James & Associates purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth $289,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 93.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,535 shares of the coal producers stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 14,285 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new position in Peabody Energy during the 1st quarter worth $1,206,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Peabody Energy by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 47,644 shares of the coal producers stock worth $1,169,000 after buying an additional 16,787 shares during the last quarter. 82.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Peabody Energy

(Get Free Report)

Peabody Energy Corporation engages in coal mining business in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, India, Brazil, Belgium, Chile, France, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, South Korea, and internationally. The company operates through Seaborne Thermal Mining, Seaborne Metallurgical Mining, Powder River Basin Mining, and Other U.S.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB  Free Report) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 92,367 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 9,085 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group owned about 0.08% of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,656,930 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $49,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,683 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $950,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,009,009 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $95,252,000 after buying an additional 112,616 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,188,335 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $29,739,000 after buying an additional 40,880 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Pebblebrook Hotel Trust by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,084,090 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $123,453,000 after buying an additional 140,799 shares during the period.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PEB shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $14.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $13.50 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $14.50.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PEB opened at $15.86 on Friday. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust has a 52 week low of $11.39 and a 52 week high of $16.65. The companys 50-day moving average price is $15.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE:PEB  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $334.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $325.42 million. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust had a negative net margin of 5.49% and a negative return on equity of 2.65%. The firms revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pebblebrook Hotel Trust will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 29th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 28th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.25%. Pebblebrook Hotel Trusts payout ratio is -4.12%.

Insider Activity at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

In related news, insider Thomas Charles Fisher sold 11,441 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.62, for a total value of $178,708.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 254,449 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,974,493.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust

(Free Report)

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust ("REIT") and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels and resorts in the United States. The Company owns 47 hotels and resorts, totaling approximately 12,200 guest rooms across 13 urban and resort markets.

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StockNews.com cut shares of Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on POR. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $42.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Bank of America lowered shares of Portland General Electric from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $43.00 in a report on Monday, February 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Portland General Electric in a report on Thursday, November 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and decreased their target price for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.13.

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Portland General Electric Stock Performance

POR opened at $40.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.58. Portland General Electric has a twelve month low of $38.01 and a twelve month high of $51.58. The firms 50-day moving average price is $41.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.20). The business had revenue of $725.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $740.21 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 7.80%. The businesss revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Portland General Electric will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Portland General Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 22nd will be paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 21st. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Portland General Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Portland General Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Portland General Electric by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 634 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Portland General Electric by 100.0% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 786 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY purchased a new stake in Portland General Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000.

About Portland General Electric

(Get Free Report)

Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,255 circuit miles, including 269 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 573 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 926 thousand retail customers in 51 cities.

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Rehmann Capital Advisory Group lowered its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,483 shares of the companys stock after selling 469 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Groups holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AGG. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 145.5% during the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,590 shares of the companys stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 3,906 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 52,003 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,570,000 after purchasing an additional 13,829 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. Finally, West Michigan Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 14,640 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.21% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSEARCA:AGG opened at $97.35 on Friday. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 1-year low of $91.58 and a 1-year high of $100.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.14.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Free Report) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 9,249 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $528,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,951,000. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $223,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $352,000. Clough Capital Partners L P purchased a new position in Service Co. International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Service Co. International by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 608,961 shares of the companys stock valued at $34,796,000 after acquiring an additional 196,739 shares during the period. 84.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCI. UBS Group raised their target price on Service Co. International from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Service Co. International from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Service Co. International currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at Service Co. International

In other news, SVP John H. Faulk sold 1,332 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.51, for a total transaction of $88,591.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,798 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,312,064.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Thomas L. Ryan sold 16,580 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.20, for a total transaction of $1,197,076.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 988,365 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $71,359,953. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP John H. Faulk sold 1,332 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.51, for a total value of $88,591.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,064.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the companys stock.

Service Co. International Stock Performance

Shares of SCI opened at $73.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.79. Service Co. International has a 1 year low of $52.89 and a 1 year high of $73.42.

Service Co. International (NYSE:SCI  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.02 billion. Service Co. International had a return on equity of 32.88% and a net margin of 13.11%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Service Co. International will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Service Co. International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Service Co. Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Service Co. Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.95%.

Service Co. International declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 8th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Service Co. International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Service Corporation International provides deathcare products and services in the United States and Canada. Its funeral service and cemetery operations comprise funeral service locations, cemeteries, funeral service/cemetery combination locations, crematoria, and other businesses. The company also provides professional services related to funerals and cremations, including the use of funeral home facilities and motor vehicles; arranging and directing services; and removal, preparation, embalming, cremation, memorialization, and travel protection, as well as catering services.

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Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC bought a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 314 shares of the restaurant operators stock, valued at approximately $575,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Chipotle Mexican Grill during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. IMA Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 185.7% in the first quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 20 shares of the restaurant operators stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in the second quarter worth $43,000. 91.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,100 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,278.45, for a total transaction of $2,506,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at $51,144,367.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,100 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,278.45, for a total value of $2,506,295.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 22,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at $51,144,367.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,996 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2,399.91, for a total value of $4,790,220.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 22,447 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $53,870,779.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,744 shares of company stock valued at $11,607,678. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,246.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Robert W. Baird reissued an outperform rating and issued a $2,650.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a report on Monday, January 22nd. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,650.00 to $2,750.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,225.00 to $2,525.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,600.00 to $2,800.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $2,469.88.

View Our Latest Stock Report on CMG

Chipotle Mexican Grill Stock Performance

Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $2,691.56 on Friday. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 52-week low of $1,470.05 and a 52-week high of $2,725.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $2,423.86 and a 200-day moving average of $2,148.42. The stock has a market cap of $73.80 billion, a PE ratio of 60.69, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.29.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The restaurant operator reported $10.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.73 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 12.45%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $8.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 53.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. The company offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK  Free Report) (TSE:TECK) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $45.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials companys stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Teck Resources in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Wolfe Research raised Teck Resources from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Benchmark reissued a buy rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Teck Resources in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Teck Resources in a research note on Monday, December 11th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $63.96.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Teck Resources

Teck Resources Stock Performance

Teck Resources Cuts Dividend

NYSE TECK opened at $38.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Teck Resources has a twelve month low of $32.48 and a twelve month high of $49.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.20.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.0925 dividend. This represents a $0.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Teck Resourcess dividend payout ratio is currently 10.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Teck Resources

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TECK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Teck Resources in the 4th quarter valued at about $291,283,000. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 98.8% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,937,233 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $504,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,933,226 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 388.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 6,853,171 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $307,759,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449,798 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 1,833.3% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,234,380 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $136,167,000 after acquiring an additional 3,067,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 16,855.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,640,100 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $112,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.23% of the companys stock.

About Teck Resources

(Get Free Report)

Teck Resources Limited engages in exploring for, acquiring, developing, and producing natural resources in Asia, Europe, and North America. It operates through Steelmaking Coal, Copper, Zinc, and Energy segments. The company's principal products include copper, zinc, steelmaking coal, and blended bitumen.

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Teza Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 7,856 shares of the industrial products companys stock, valued at approximately $1,809,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,829,189 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,954,691,000 after buying an additional 244,145 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 106,553.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,185,211 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,582,902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,178,474 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,899,522 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,578,299,000 after purchasing an additional 97,568 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,780,294 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,443,003,000 after purchasing an additional 168,563 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,551,496 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $1,388,760,000 after purchasing an additional 29,825 shares during the period. 79.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Sharon Szafranski sold 801 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.42, for a total value of $205,392.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,505,185.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Ernest Scott Santi sold 45,676 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.12, for a total value of $11,698,537.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 221,015 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,606,361.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 152,304 shares of company stock worth $38,860,831. 0.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company cut Illinois Tool Works from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $277.00 to $240.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $244.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Bank of America cut Illinois Tool Works from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $260.00 to $235.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Illinois Tool Works from $238.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Illinois Tool Works from $215.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $239.33.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Price Performance

ITW stock opened at $262.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.15. The businesss 50-day moving average is $257.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.93. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $217.06 and a 1 year high of $267.12.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 96.60% and a net margin of 18.36%. Illinois Tool Workss revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Illinois Tool Workss payout ratio is currently 57.49%.

About Illinois Tool Works

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United states and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.

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Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM  Free Report) by 87.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,596 shares of the basic materials companys stock after acquiring an additional 25,545 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRCs holdings in Newmont were worth $2,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Newmont by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 17,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Newmont by 25.8% in the first quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,354 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $108,000 after buying an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in Newmont by 15.1% during the third quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 2,175 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC raised its position in Newmont by 30.0% during the third quarter. Antonetti Capital Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its stake in Newmont by 1.4% in the first quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 21,317 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.53% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NEM shares. National Bank Financial restated an outperform overweight rating on shares of Newmont in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Newmont from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Newmont in a research note on Thursday. They issued a buy rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Argus downgraded Newmont from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Newmont from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Newmont presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $53.02.

Newmont Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NEM opened at $31.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.52. Newmont Co. has a 12-month low of $29.42 and a 12-month high of $52.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The basic materials company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.01). Newmont had a positive return on equity of 6.21% and a negative net margin of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Newmonts revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Newmont Co. will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Newmont Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Newmonts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -67.23%.

Insider Activity

In other Newmont news, COO Robert D. Atkinson sold 5,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.26, for a total value of $226,930.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 54,251 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,238,396.26. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.07% of the companys stock.

Newmont Profile

(Free Report)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and Ghana. As of December 31, 2022, it had proven and probable gold reserves of 96.1 million ounces and land position of 61,500 square kilometers.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The European Commission (EC) may accelerate granting the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania-Hungary Green Energy Corridor (Black Sea Energy) project the status of the project of mutual interest, Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov wrote X on, Trend reports.

"At a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, we agreed to speed up the process of granting the project of green energy corridor through the Black Sea the status of the project of mutual interest (PMI)," the publication notes.

Shahbazov also informed that at the meeting the sides discussed cooperation on natural gas, hydrogen, and green energy to strengthen energy security.

Meanwhile, the feasibility study for the Black Sea Energy project is planned to be prepared by the end of 2024.

To note, it is about supplying electricity from Caspian Sea RES, mainly from wind farms, primarily from Azerbaijan, via the Black Sea to Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, Hungary, and Azerbaijan signed a strategic partnership agreement in Bucharest on December 17, 2022, for the construction of the Black Sea Energy submarine electric cable with a capacity of 1,000 MW and a length of 1,195 km. In June 2023, it was announced that Bulgaria will also join the project. Serbia has also expressed its interest in participating in the project.

The cable will be designed to supply green electricity generated in Azerbaijan through Georgia and the Black Sea to Romania for further transportation to Hungary and the rest of Europe.

Construction of the cable will take 3-4 years.

The European Commission plans to provide 2.3 billion euro for laying the cable, which will be the longest in the world.

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United Services Automobile Association raised its position in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB  Free Report) by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,379 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after buying an additional 6,957 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Associations holdings in Schlumberger were worth $2,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Schlumberger in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger in the second quarter valued at $27,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Schlumberger by 1,355.9% during the 3rd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 495 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in shares of Schlumberger during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLB. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Schlumberger in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Schlumberger from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Schlumberger from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $70.67.

Schlumberger Stock Performance

NYSE SLB opened at $49.02 on Friday. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $49.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. Schlumberger Limited has a 1-year low of $42.73 and a 1-year high of $62.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 19th. The oil and gas company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.02. Schlumberger had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The company had revenue of $8.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.71 earnings per share. Schlumbergers revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Schlumberger Limited will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Schlumberger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 7th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 6th. Schlumbergers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Schlumberger news, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,145,870.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Schlumberger news, EVP Abdellah Merad sold 50,000 shares of Schlumberger stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.52, for a total transaction of $2,426,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 261,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,688,319.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Howard Guild sold 22,853 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.66, for a total value of $1,180,585.98. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,145,870.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 178,441 shares of company stock worth $8,972,947 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Schlumberger Profile

(Free Report)

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products.

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Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB  Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 31,708 shares of the pipeline companys stock, valued at approximately $1,068,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Missouri Trust & Investment Co boosted its stake in shares of Williams Companies by 300.0% in the second quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 800 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams Companies in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams Companies in the third quarter worth about $29,000. 85.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Williams Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WMB opened at $35.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.04. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $34.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.80. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.80 and a fifty-two week high of $37.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

Williams Companies ( NYSE:WMB Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The pipeline company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.01. Williams Companies had a net margin of 29.22% and a return on equity of 16.20%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 25th. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This is a positive change from Williams Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. Williams Companiess payout ratio is presently 68.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on WMB. Mizuho increased their target price on Williams Companies from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams Companies currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $37.27.

View Our Latest Research Report on WMB

Williams Companies Profile

(Free Report)

The Williams Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. It operates through Transmission & Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, West, and Gas & NGL Marketing Services segments. The Transmission & Gulf of Mexico segment comprises Transco and Northwest natural gas pipelines; and natural gas gathering and processing, and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region, as well as various petrochemical and feedstock pipelines.

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Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 60.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,703 shares of the investment management companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $1,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pettee Investors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 2,075 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.5% during the third quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 894 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 668 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 716 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 7,682 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $2,514,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 69.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total value of $1,129,170.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,809,443.19. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Brian J. Lee sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.39, for a total transaction of $1,129,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,809,443.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Sheara J. Fredman sold 4,300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.15, for a total transaction of $1,634,645.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,463 shares in the company, valued at $4,357,659.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,064 shares of company stock valued at $15,082,153 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Edward Jones initiated coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Tuesday. They set a buy rating on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $398.00 to $421.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $437.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised The Goldman Sachs Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the stock from $333.00 to $449.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $409.93.

Read Our Latest Research Report on GS

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:GS opened at $388.23 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.36 and a 1-year high of $396.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.43. The companys fifty day moving average price is $384.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.26.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The investment management company reported $5.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $1.86. The company had revenue of $11.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.80 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 7.85%. The Goldman Sachs Groups quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 32.86 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 29th will be issued a $2.75 dividend. This represents a $11.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 48.20%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Profile

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in resale agreements.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Azerbaijan and the UAE explored potential areas of collaboration within COP29, a source in the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan told Trend.

According to the ministry, the country's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and President of State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) Rovshan Najaf held a meeting with the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the UAE Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei.

The meeting emphasized that the relations between Azerbaijan and the UAE, based on principles of mutual friendship and respect, are at a high level, and the political will of the heads of states plays a crucial role in strengthening cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting pointed out the expansion of partnership in areas such as trade and economy, investments, logistics, and other directions.

Besides, the meeting stressed that Azerbaijan is the main initiator and participant in a series of projects for the production and export of renewable energy in the region, and that successful collaboration in the field of green energy with Masdar company is particularly significant for ensuring energy security.

Furthermore, the meeting highlighted the significance and contribution of Azerbaijan to regional partnerships, its effective collaboration with the member states of the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA) on various platforms, advantageous geographic location of the country at the intersection of important transport corridors and the expansion of transit potential provide broad opportunities for investor activity.

The meeting also noted that implementation of joint projects with UAE entrepreneurs, taking advantage of these opportunities, can contribute to further expanding regional cooperation.

The parties discussed the strengthening of partnership, the implementation of joint initiatives in the field of green energy and other directions, as well as the exchange of experience within the framework of COP29.

Meanwhile, the decision to host COP29 in Azerbaijan was officially announced in Dubai on December 11, 2023.

On January 4, 2024, Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, was appointed as President of COP29.

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Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian (R front) hands Jennifer Fridley, principal of Susan Clark Junior High of Muscatine Community School District, a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to the students of Muscatine High School at a reception marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations in Chicago, the United States, Feb. 27, 2024. [Xinhua/Xu Jing]

CHICAGO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua)  Students from Muscatine High School in Muscatine, U.S. state of Iowa, received a special gift  a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At a reception here on Tuesday marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. relations, Chinese Consul General Zhao Jian handed the letter to Jennifer Fridley, principal of Susan Clark Junior High of Muscatine Community School District, in the presence of hundreds from all walks of life in Chicago.

In her speech, Fridley said that the school is honored to be among the first students and educators participating in the 50,000-student exchange program.

"We learned so much about the Chinese rich culture and heritage," Fridley said. "Actually to go there and visit China is something none of us will ever forget."

During his trip to the United States in November 2023, Xi announced that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in the next five years.

With Xi's support, more than 20 Muscatine High School students visited Beijing, Shanghai and Hebei Province on Jan. 24-30. On Jan. 28, just before the end of their trip, the American students wrote a letter to express their joy and gratitude to Xi for the invitation.

In his reply, Xi said "seeing is believing," encouraging the Muscatine High School students to revisit China and encouraging more young American people to come to China.

"Some of our sister schools have invited us back on some trips," Fridley told Xinhua. "As we get invited, we're gonna have plans to take kids along to China, and then we want to invite Chinese students and families and teachers back to Muscatine, Iowa."

As a token of thanks, American students sang a song specially composed for the friendship between China and Muscatine in Chinese at the reception.

Students from Muscatine High School sing a song in Chinese at a reception marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations in Chicago, the United States, Feb. 27, 2024. [Xinhua/Xu Jing]

On learning of Xi's reply to their letter, "my students were all very excited," Guo Qianyu, a Chinese language teacher at the school, told Xinhua.

The January China trip is "eye-popping." "Many students ask me, 'can I come again?' 'can we stay longer?'," Guo said. During their stay in China, the American students exchanged WeChat with their Chinese peers, hoping to keep in touch.

"I'm gonna be back (to China) for like a month (this summer) and so I'm really excited to do that," Cole Loos, a 10th grader who was among those on the January trip, told Xinhua.

"I felt like kind of honored, especially that he (President Xi) responded personally to it," said Leo Regennitter, a sophomore at the school.

"I would love to go back to China. I loved it there. It was so awesome," he said.

Addressing the reception, Consul General Zhao said that the U.S. Mid-western region has always played an important role in growing China-U.S. relations.

Zhao expressed the hope that "the exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States could thrive like a soaring dragon."

(Source: Xinhua)
Hu Xiaoyan, a recipient of the Reform Pioneer medal, and deputy chairperson of Sanshui Federation of Industry and Commerce (General Chamber of Commerce), in Foshan, a city in South China's Guangdong Province



Striving for Success

In December 1998, Hu, then 24 years old, left her hometown, Wusheng (a county in Guang'an, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan Province) to move to Foshan, to perform a manual-labor job. It took her three days to reach her destination.

Soon after China implemented its reform and opening up (in 1978), the country began developing its manufacturing industry. As the most manufacturing-intensive province, Guangdong had large demand for labor. Several months later, an electronics factory (in Foshan) employed Hu as an assembly line worker. Despite the long hours, she felt the work was much easier than farm work.

In 2002, Foshan Sanshui Xinmingzhu Jiantao (Ceramics) Industry Co. Ltd. employed Hu as an assembly line worker. She worked hard, and she made great efforts to improve her ceramics-processing skills. Given her outstanding work performance, she was promoted to deputy director and sales executive of the company's finished products workshop within two years.

In the years that followed, Hu received many honors in recognition of her efforts and hard work. For example, she was named a top 10 migrant worker in Sanshui in 2006; the next year, she was selected a top 10 migrant worker in Foshan. In December 2018, Hu was named one of the country's 100 reform pioneers by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

In 2009, Pearl River Film Co., Ltd., under Pearl River Film Group (in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province), shot a movie, City of Dream, based on Hu's story. By drawing inspiration from Hu's work experiences, the film company created a touching plot (in the movie): As Lin Fang, the protagonist, provided the pre-job training to the company's new employees, she stressed they should work conscientiously, have a strong sense of responsibility, and comply with the company's overall arrangements.



Voicing Migrant Workers' Heartfelt Wishes

In January 2008, Hu was elected a deputy to the 11th NPC. She became the first migrant worker to be elected an NPC deputy.

During the First Session of the 11th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress (in January 2008), 740 of the 773 representatives voted for Hu as an NPC deputy. Hu's election as an NPC deputy marked a milestone in China's democratic political construction. "I see the hope and future of migrant workers ... I should work hard to live up to the expectations of migrant workers (in the country)," Hu was quoted as saying. Within a short time, she began learning how to conduct surveys, write proposals and give public speeches, to fulfill her duties as an NPC deputy.

Hu will never forget the "glorious moment" when she entered the Great Hall of the People for the first time in her life. That happened on March 5, 2008, when the First Session of the 11th NPC opened. "I was so excited that I felt as if I were in a dream ... However, I was aware I represented numerous migrant workers," recalls Hu.

Shortly after the congress, Hu busied herself with answering phone calls from migrant workers (across the country), who shared their needs and difficulties in their lives. In 2010, the Guangdong Federation of Trade Unions established the Haiyan Mailbox, to collect letters from migrant workers (from various regions of the country).

To collect more ideas from migrant workers (across the country), Hu collaborated with Southern Workers Daily, sponsored by the unions, to create the Haiyan Mailbox Column that year. A short time after she was relieved of her office as an NPC deputy (in 2012), Hu handed over the right to manage the mailbox to Zeng Xianggui, a deputy to the 12th NPC. The mailbox remained a medium for migrant workers to voice their heartfelt wishes.

Between 2008-2012, Hu made 20 proposals during the annual NPC, to improve welfare services for migrant workers. For example, she proposed greater efforts should be made to ensure workers are paid on time, to improve the workers' medical and housing benefits, and to provide education to workers' children. "I have witnessed the great changes in migrant workers' lives during the past four decades, as China has implemented its policy of reform and opening up ... Given the improvement of China's social security system, many migrant workers have lived more secure lives," she says.

In 2011, Hu collaborated with a public-welfare organization to establish Xiaoyan Summer Park (in Foshan). Within a short time, the park's workers led migrant workers' children in visiting their parents' workplaces, so the children could better understand their parents' hardships and difficulties (in work). Also, the workers could spend time with their children. During the past decade, numerous migrant workers' families have participated in activities conducted by the park.

In 2012, Hu was named vice-president of the Sanshui Federation of Trade Unions, after she passed Guangdong's civil-servant examination. She oversees work related to protecting the rights and interests of workers (in Sanshui), to ensuring safety production of enterprises and institutions, and to promoting the economic development of the enterprises and institutions. Many migrant workers have trusted Hu, as they have considered her to be one of them. Every day, Hu replies to the questions of many migrant workers. The work requires tremendous patience.

In 2021, Hu assumed the post of vice-chairperson of Sanshui Federation of Industry and Commerce (General Chamber of Commerce). As she made constant efforts to upgrade her knowledge, Hu conducted investigations at enterprises (in Sanshui), to learn about their needs, and about the difficulties they encountered in their development. She vows to devote more efforts to help enterprises and residents solve the difficulties in their development and lives, respectively. She also hopes to introduce more high-quality projects to Sanshui, to promote the district's social and economic development.

"I'm lucky enough to live in good times ... Given the implementation of China's policy of reform and opening up, I, an ordinary migrant worker, have had an opportunity to realize my dream," says Hu.

Photos Supplied by Interviewee and VCG

(Women of China English Monthly December 2023)


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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.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. The Black Sea submarine cable line (Azerbaijan-EU Green Corridor) provides prospects to assure the delivery of sustainable energy to Europe, said Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja during the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting, Trend reports.

According to him, Romania's Transgaz transportation system operator has installed reverse flow capacity in transit pipelines, allowing the Trans-Balkan corridor to run at full capacity and send gas not only to Romania but also to other countries in the region.

"The Black Sea submarine cable line has significant potential for renewable energy transfer. It provides an important opportunity to ensure the supply of clean energy to Europe," he said.

The 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting were held in Baku today. The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, 6 international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other dignitaries from Azerbaijan and European Union countries.

On December 17, 2022, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania, and Hungary signed a strategic partnership agreement that provides for the construction of an energy bridge from the Caucasus region to Europe.

As per the agreement, a 1,000 MW Black Sea Energy submarine electric cable spanning 1,195 kilometers is set to be constructed. The cable is intended to transmit 'green' electricity generated in Azerbaijan, routed through Georgia and the Black Sea to Romania, and further distributed to Hungary and the rest of Europe. This infrastructure will facilitate the supply of up to four gigawatts of green energy.

X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Cultural Ambassadors scheme to help promote Welsh language and heritage

A new Cultural Ambassadors scheme has been launched to help promote the Welsh language, culture and heritage.

The new role, which has been launched on St Davids Day, is to support newcomers to communities across Wales to learn more about Wales, the Welsh language and its importance to the community.

Ambassadors will also provide support and guidance for businesses to use and promote the Welsh language, and to work locally to maintain and strengthen social networks.

Any person or business can volunteer to become an ambassador by completing short interactive modules on the history of the Welsh language and its position today.

After completing the modules on the Wales Ambassador website, the ambassadors receive a certificate, badge, window sticker, and information pack about the support available, such as a free translation service for communities, individuals, and third sector organisations.

The Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, is the first person to become a Cultural Ambassador.

Launching the scheme today, he said: Im very proud to be a Cultural Ambassador and to launch the scheme on St Davids Day.

St Davids message was to do the little things, and becoming an ambassador is a simple yet effective way of supporting and promoting the Welsh language, helping people integrate into their new communities, welcome visitors, and raise awareness of our heritage and culture.

If you want to support the Welsh language in your area, or know of somebody in your community who would be an ideal ambassador, then go for it and spread the word.

Bronze level modules are launched today. Silver and Gold levels will be added on the Ambassador Wales platform later in the year.

To learn more about the scheme and how to become an ambassador, go to Cultural Ambassador Course  Ambassador Wales

The course takes around 20 minutes to complete, and ambassadors can decide how they will support the Welsh language in their community.

[email protected]
First minister urges kindness and to do the little things for others in St Davids Day message

On our national day, we like to do as St David did  gwneud y pethau bychain  to do the little things to help improve the lives of others.

That is the message from First Minister Mark Drakeford who has paid tribute to Wales and Welshness as part of St Davids Day.

Celebrations will take place across Wales throughout today  including a parade through Wrexham city centre from 1pm.

The St Davids Day message is the last that Mr Drakeford will release in his role as first minister.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus i chi. Today, people across Wales and all over the world will be celebrating all things Cymru a Chymreictod  Wales and Welshness! On our national day, we like to do as St David did  gwneud y pethau bychain  to do the little things to help improve the lives of others This sense of taking care of, and doing well by others is enshrined in our national identity, just as much as our love of song and sport. In these uncertain times, we could all benefit from being a bit more Welsh and doing the little things. We are rightly proud of our tolerant and progressive values, of our close-knit communities and a strong sense of social justice and fairness. Wales is also home to global businesses, which provide a nurturing ground where innovators, creators and brilliant ideas can thrive. Our rich history, vibrant culture and language is as unique as our epic mountains, dramatic coastlines and thriving cities. On the international stage, Wales is an outward-facing nation, and St Davids Day is our day to show Wales to the rest of the world. This will be my last St Davids Day message as First Minister, but we will continue our work to create a stronger, fairer and greener Wales, where no one is left behind. A place where everyone is welcome. And where our children can achieve their ambitions, without thinking that their future lies elsewhere. These are aims rooted in the lessons taught by Dewi Sant. Wherever you are celebrating St Davids Day this year, I encourage you to do a little something to brighten up someones day. And so, for the last time as First Minister, Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus to you all.

[email protected]
Volunteers needed to help plant trees in Wrexham!

Volunteers are needed to help plant several large new trees in Wrexham.

Planting sessions will take place on green space at St. Giles Crescent in Caia Park on Sunday March 3 between 10-4pm.

11 new trees are set to be planted on the site.

At Pendine Way in Gwersyllt four oak trees and a fruit orcahrd will be planted on Sunday March 10 between 10-4pm.

A lot of work is needed to prepare the ground when planting large trees, so as much help as possible is needed to get them into the ground.

Throughout the sessions volunteers get to take part in staking, guarding and putting a mulch ring around each tree so they are well protected and receive the best start in their new home.

The planting is taking place thanks to Trees for Cities, a UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in cities which areas helps revitalise forgotten spaces; creating healthier environments for people and wildlife.

Funding from the charity has been granted to plant over 60 large trees throughout the county borough.

A spokesperson for Wrexham Council said: This work also supports the work of Wrexham Forest Partnership and the Council Tree and Woodland Strategy as we commit to increase canopy cover throughout the county.

Wrexham Forest Partnership has a shared vision to protect and enhance woodland habitats throughout the County and are keen to gain public support for woodlands in Wrexham and have created the Wrexham Woodland Pledge as a way to get the general public involved.

If you are concerned about our woodlands in Wrexham, you can sign up to the pledge.

We want everyone, from individuals to businesses and community groups to lend their support and learn about the ways we can protect this vital habitat and you can sign the pledge and join a mailing list here.

You can also follow Wrexham Woodland Pledge on Facebook and X (twitter) to keep up to date on activities, events and action.

Please come to the planting sessions wearing warm clothes and wellies or sturdy boots. Gloves are also recommended.

[email protected]
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Italy wants to cooperate with Azerbaijan within COP29, Italian Minister of Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said at the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting in Baku, Trend reports.

He stated that meetings of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the Green Energy Advisory Council are more important now because everyone must commit to the coordinated implementation of energy projects.

Moreover, given our chairmanship of the G7, we want to cooperate with Azerbaijan within the framework of the COP29 chairmanship in this direction, the minister added.

The 10th meeting of the Advisory Council on the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting were held on March 1, 2023.

The meeting was attended by representatives of 23 countries, six international organizations, and 44 companies, as well as ministers, deputy ministers, and other high-ranking officials from Azerbaijan and the countries of the European Union.

Follow the author on X: @Lyaman_Zeyn
According to a report from the Conversation, republished in the Guardian on February 20, Christchurch fascist gunman Brenton Tarrant posted about his intentions on the website 4chan at least a year before his 2019 deadly attacks on two mosques in the city.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 29, at the Christchurch High Court after pleading guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand, Aug. 27, 2020. [AP Photo/John Kirk-Anderson]

New research by a group of academics working at the University of AucklandChris Wilson, Ethan Renner, Jack Smylie and Michal Dziwulskiraises serious questions about why authorities did not detect the posts before the horrific shootings. The researchers uncovered racist and violent online postings by Tarrant as far back as 2015that is, four years earlier.

On March 15, 2019 Tarrant carried out well-planned mass shootings at the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 51 people were killed and 40 injured. The victims included men, women and children; the youngest killed was a three-year-old boy. Tarrant made clear in his manifesto that the atrocity was motivated by white supremacist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim beliefs.

To this day there remain many unanswered questions about how Tarrant, an Australian citizen, was able to plan and carry out his attacks without being stopped by police or the intelligence agencies on both sides of the Tasman Sea. Tarrant had links with the Australian neo-Nazi groups, the Lads Society and United Patriots Front (UPF), whose leading members had at one point tried to recruit him.

New Zealands then Labour Party-led government took steps to suppress public discussion about the terror attack. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared that she would not refer to Tarrant by name and instructed the media to avoid reporting on his beliefs.

The state censor outlawed possession of Tarrants manifestoan anti-democratic decision taken in order to hide the similarity between his politics and those of US President Donald Trump, as well as far-right forces in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. These included the Labour governments coalition partner NZ First, a viciously anti-immigrant party.

The research points to systemic failings by the state agencies, given the human and technical resources at their disposal, to seriously track and investigate on-line activities of the extreme right, both before and after the attack. The authorities consistently turned a blind eye to the danger of far-right violence while the focus of their intelligence activity was directed towards the Muslim community and left-wing groups.

A royal commission of inquiry was held in 2020, but its hearings took place in secret and the vast majority of the evidence that it examined has been sealed. A separate coronial inquiry, which is limited in scope and focused on the day of the attack, began two years ago and is yet to conclude.

The royal commissions report, published in 2020, covered up the role of the state agencies, declaring that nothing could have been done to prevent the attack. This is despite the fact that Tarrant was active in far-right online forums and had been reported to police in Australia for sending death threats via Facebook to an opponent of the fascist UPF.

The Conversation article is a damning indictment of the royal commissions report, which accepted Tarrants claims that he was not a frequent commenter on extreme right-wing sites. The commissioners flatly declared: Although [Tarrant] did frequent extreme right-wing discussion boards such as those on 4chan and 8chan, the evidence we have seen is indicative of more substantial use of YouTube and is therefore consistent with what he told us.

The Auckland University researchers questioned this assertion and went on to investigate whether right-wing websites were significant in Tarrants radicalisation. They declared their findings overturned a great deal of what we thought we knew about him. They also raised disturbing questions not only about why this posting was not detected before the attack, but also why it has not been discovered in the five years since the 15 March attacks.

The research team asserts that there were numerous opportunities for New Zealand and Australian security services to observe Tarrant making extremely threatening online statements. Tarrant had been calling for attacks against civilians at least as early as 2015. The violent racism and Islamophobia in his posting sets him apart, even in the darkest corners of 4chan, they noted.

The team reviewed thousands of anonymous posts and hundreds of threads. Because 4chan posts are anonymous, they used a combination of indicators to identify Tarrant. 4chans politically incorrect boardreferred to as /pol/provides the time, date and location of each post, allowing them to match this against Tarrants travel to numerous countries over five years.

Tarrant provided personal information in his posts, openly stating his Australian identity and always using the same distinctive language, and in some cases repeating specific points. Tarrant often made certain grammatical errors which made his posting stand out. These features can be seen in online writing samples as early as 2011, in his 2019 manifesto and in a great deal of online posting. The researchers concluded that, taken together, these indicators identify Tarrant at a very high evidence threshold.

Posts showed that by 2015, Tarrant was calling for mass violence against people of colour. Inspired by US gunman Dylann Roofs massacre of nine black worshippers in a South Carolina church, Tarrant declared: violence is the last resort of a cornered animal and it was always going to come to this. He said white nationalist extremists should target innocent victims in locations of significance, such as places of worship.

For at least four years Tarrant planned on killing people in such locations. He glorified public shootings and advocated the sadistic killing of innocent civilians, hoping white violence might trigger a race war. Travelling internationally between 2014 and 2018, Tarrant became increasingly focused on Muslims. In one thread, he claimed he would form and fund an armed band of 4chan users to conduct ethnic cleansing in the Balkans.

Map showing countries visited by Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant in Europe [Photo: Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch mosques on 15 March 2019)]

The intelligence agencies appear to have consistently ignored warning signs that would have enabled them to identify and track Tarrant and intervene. He posted regularly on 4chan and 8chan, which are freely and publicly accessible. His postings were visible to numerous others whose identities he could not know.

Two threads in March and August of 2018 showed plans to attack the Muslim community in New Zealand. Revealing he was in Dunedin, Tarrant expressed his anger at the mosques in that city, and in neighbouring Christchurch and Ashburton. When other users called on him to act, he wrote: I have a plan to stop it. Just hold on.

The researchers note: Far from maintaining tight operational security as he planned his attack, Tarrant openly (albeit anonymously) discussed violence against mosques in the South Island while in New Zealand. They note that the royal commissions report stated that Tarrant made only limited lapses in operational security during his time in New Zealand between late 2017 and March 2019. This is not the case, the researchers say.

The research team will be posting more information about their study in due course. However, what has been presented so far is sufficient to challenge the key finding of the royal commission: that the police and security services could not possibly have known about Tarrants plans in advance or taken action to prevent the atrocity.

The study completely vindicates the position taken by the World Socialist Web Site at the time of the 2019 massacre and since. The commissions predetermined purpose was to whitewash the New Zealand and Australian intelligence agencies and police, and to cover up the role of governments in both countries in whipping up racism and Islamophobia, including through participation in US imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The commissions final report was vetted and approved by the intelligence agencies themselves prior to being released.

In a perspective published three days after the attack, the WSWS opposed the attempts that were already being made to portray Tarrant as a lone wolf, unconnected to any political tendencies, whose actions and beliefs were completely alien to New Zealand politics and society. The massacre was, we insisted, the product of the deliberate cultivation, at the highest levels of the capitalist state in country after country, of the most extreme right-wing nationalism.

With the fifth anniversary of the countrys worst terror attack approaching, the ongoing silence from the political establishment is aimed at obscuring the roots of the Christchurch shootings and downplaying the danger posed by fascism and the extreme right, internationally and in New Zealand.
Britains Conservative government has revealed plans to ban protests at sites including Parliament, the Whitehall seat of government, City and Town halls and MPs homes. The move is targeted immediately at protest against Israels genocidal assault on Gaza but has a much wider application.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunakreferring to the mass demonstrations over Gaza and those against MPs backing the genocidetold senior police at a summit in Downing Street, There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule We simply cannot allow this pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behaviour which is, as far as anyone can see, intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, together Home Secretary James Cleverly and other government ministers, convenes a policing roundtable with senior police officers and other related officials in 10 Downing Street. [Photo by Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Referring to a peaceful protest on February 21 outside Parliament when MPs were due to vote on a Scottish National Party ceasefire motion, a Home Office policy paper published following the police leaders summit stated, In recent months, we have witnessed attempts to hijack legitimate protests and subvert the democratic process. This culminated with protestors [who] threatened to force Parliament to lock its doors.

Such incidents were not legitimate means of achieving change through force of peaceful argument. They are part of a pattern of increasingly intimidatory behaviour seemingly intended to shout down and coerce elected representatives and hijack the democratic process through force itself, it said.

These lies are to justify proposals to restrict and ban protests, as part of an overall clampdown on fundamental democratic rights that have been in the works for years and have been brought forward in response to the biggest anti-war protests since those against the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The Times newspaper on February 23, under a headline Pro-Palestinian protesters plotted to force parliament into lockdown, first propagated the lie that protesters had tried to shut down parliament ahead of what turned out to be an aborted ceasefire vote. It wrote The Times has obtained a video of a speech [Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign Ben Jamal] gave in the build up to the protest in which he tells a crowd: We want so many of you to come that they will have to lock the doors of parliament itself.

The speech was in fact given by Jamal on February 17, at the conclusion of a national rally in the capital attended by a quarter of a million people. Jamal actually told the crowd that on February 21, we are planning the biggest lobby in parliamentary history. We want to see a queue stretching from Parliament all the way through Whitehall. We want so many of you to come that they will have to lock the doors of parliament itself.

Far from a lockdown of Parliament what was being proposed was a lobby of MPs with people asked to line up in an orderly queue. Responding to an attack on the words he used by Guardian journalist Marina Hyde, who joined the right-wing pile-on, Jamal posted on X, I wasnt calling for people to come to a protest outside parliament but a lobby inside. Hence the reference was not to the doors having to be locked to keep protestors out but so many to lobby that there wouldn't be room for more. I also said, I want to see a queue stretching all the way down Whitehall. I'm not sure I'm aware of an insurrection that people queued to join.

None of this matters to a ruling elite desperate to impose its draconian plans. Attending the Downing Street summit, according to the Home Office, were the Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Policing Minister and Security Minister [Tom Tugendhat], who discussed with senior policing leaders how police forces could be supported to protect the democratic process from intimidation, disruption or subversion.

The Home Office policy paper, Defending democracy policing protocol, states, In recent months, we have witnessed attempts to hijack legitimate protests and subvert the democratic process. Elected representatives have been threatened and had their family homes targeted. Council meetings have been repeatedly disrupted and, in some cases, abandoned. Constituency fundraisers of different political parties have been overrun. Last Wednesday, protestors threatened to force Parliament to lock its doors.

31 million of additional funding would be allocated for the protection of the democratic process and elected representatives.

The paper announced The Home Office, National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), Association of PCCs and College of Policing have agreed the new Defending Democracy Policing Protocol

Among the repressive measures it contains are:



When notified of an upcoming event at least 48 hours beforehand, police forces will commit to engaging with the organisers to ensure an appropriate policing response can be put in place where needed alongside any measures provided by Parliament prior to dissolution or government during the pre-election period.

Protests at the home addresses of elected representatives, including MPs and councillors, should generally be considered to be intimidatory, and the police have adequate powers, including Section 42 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, to direct protestors away.

A stipulation with staggering implications reads, Protests at representatives parties offices, democratic venues (such as Parliament or Town Halls) or at political events (such as constituency fundraisers or meetings) should not be allowed to (i) prevent or inhibit the use of the venue, attendance at the event or access to and from it or (ii) cause alarm, harassment or distress to attendees through the use of threatening or abusive words or disorderly behaviour, in keeping with public order laws.

A massive spying operation is to be mounted and police flooded into areas of the country specified as flashpoints under the plans. Each police force will closely monitor intelligence and community tensions and engage regularly with elected members. In addition to existing police responses, through a new local communities fund, police forces will provide additional patrols in local communities in response to potential flashpoints, bolstering police visibility and public confidence.

With the backing of the Crown Prosecution Service, new guidance will be given to all police officers on the policing of democratic events, including surgeries, fundraisers and protests, including in Parliament Square, to ensure all officers know their powers and have clear guidance on when to use them. The College of Policing will work with forces across England and Wales to ensure that forces are aware of the steps that they can take to minimise the impact of these protests.

The Mail reported that Sunak warned police leaders, who are required to report back on how they have implemented these measures by April, that the many authoritarian powers they already have must be enforced. 'We also need to demonstrate more broadly to the public that you will use the powers you already have, the laws that you have, said the prime minister.

Foremost in demanding a crackdown on the protests, based on the lie that they are antisemitic is the Zionist Community Security Trust (CST). Sunak met with the CST Wednesday evening, which is akin to meeting with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Politico reported that Sunak agreed to hand over 18 million a year for the next four years to the CST, up from the current 15 million. Sunak told Jewish leaders there is no context in which its acceptable to beam antisemitic tropes onto Big Ben.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gives a speech as he attends the Community Security Trust (CST) Dinner, March 28, 2024 [Photo by Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The assault on democratic rights was introduced in Parliament on Thursday by Security Minister Tugendhat to the handful of MPs who bothered to show up. He repeated the lies about demonstrators, which he described as thugs who threatened to force Parliament to lock its doors.

Labour Shadow Minister for Security Dan Jarvis pledged to work with the government, stating, We cannot and will not allow a minority to pose security threats, or allow racial hatred to ever go unchallenged or to undermine our democracy. Calling for the government to move faster he urged, Recent protests, alongside threats to and intimidation of politicians, have also raised the issue of what is defined as hateful extremism. The Government have not yet brought forward a definition, but that would be helpful in countering threats and intimidation. Can the Minister say when the Government... will bring forward a definition, and outline when the Government will bring forward an updated counter-extremism strategy? 
Reading the media and official comments about the closing gala of this years Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, the question inevitably arises: will books be burned again in Germany? Because some award-winners and festival jurors had the courage to call things by their right names, instead of being mouthpieces of the powers that be, they are treated like criminals.

The fact that the film No Other Land, which documents the brutal expulsion of Palestinian villagers in the West Bank, received both the documentary prize awarded by a jury and the audience prize for documentaries was too much to bear for the morality watchdogs in the various editorial offices and political party headquarters.

After two of the filmmakers, Israeli Yuval Abraham and Palestinian Basel Adra, also condemned the massacre in Gaza and apartheid in Israel during the awards ceremony, festival jury members demanded a ceasefire and another prize winner appeared wearing a Palestinian scarf, the outrage in official circles knew no bounds.

Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Basel Adra. [Photo by Richard Hubner / Berlinale 2024]

Embarrassing, shameful, disturbing and propagandistic, said Christian Tretbar, the editor-in-chief of the Tagesspiegel. The shame of Berlin, headlined the Suddeutsche Zeitung. Die Welt raged against a milieu blind to reality that sought the big stage for its antisemitism in a self-centered drunkenness. The list goes on and on.

Although the Israeli army has murdered more than 30,000 Palestinians, displaced two million, starved and systematically destroyed homes, hospitals, schools and mosques over four and a half months, and is planning another offensive against Rafah, where 1.5 million now exist densely packed together, the appeal for a ceasefire alone is considered antisemitism.

The call for state-led conformity and suppression is omnipresent. The public funding of art is to be transformed into a tool of censorship. It must be made clear: there is no state money for antisemitism, asserted the Green politician Volker Beck. And Die Welt blustered: The fact that taxpayers money is spent on this is inexcusable.

Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (Free Democrats) is examining whether any statements were made that could be pursued under criminal law. And the Mayor of Berlin, Kai Wegner, warned on X/Twitter: I expect the new management of the Berlinale to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

It is clear that this is not just about the Berlinale, but about the suppression of the freedom of any artistic activity. If art is forbidden to tell the truth, it is not art, but state propaganda.

The consequences of the campaign go even further. It is life-threatening for those affected. No Other Land co-director Abraham had to delay his return trip to Israel the day after the award ceremony because, as he reported on his X account, a right-wing Israeli mob came to my familys home yesterday to search for me, threatening close family members who fled to another town in the middle of the night. He continues to receive death threats.

The reason, according to Abraham, is the absurd description of his Berlinale prize speech as antisemitic. The appalling misuse of this word by Germans, not only to silence Palestinian critics of Israel, but also to silence Israelis like me who support a ceasefire that will end the killing in Gaza and allow the release of the Israeli hostagesempties the word antisemitism of meaning and thus endangers Jews all over the world, he said.

Abraham, whose grandmother was born in a concentration camp in Libya operated by Germanys Italian fascist allies, and whose grandfathers family was largely murdered by Germans in the Holocaust, finds it particularly outraging that German politicians in 2024 have the audacity to weaponize this term against me in a way that endangered my family. But above all else, this behavior puts Palestinian co-director Basel Adras life in danger, who lives under a military occupation surrounded by violent settlements in Masafer Yatta. He is in far greater danger than I am.

Abraham wrote that he is pleased that their film No Other Land is sparking an important international debate on this issue and hopes that millions of people will see the film. One can criticize his statements at the award ceremony without demonizing them, he said. If this is what youre doing with your guilt for the HolocaustI dont want your guilt, he added.

In fact, the denunciation of pro-Palestinian statements at the Berlinale has nothing to do with German responsibility for the Holocaust. The German ruling class, which after 1945 left tens of thousands of Nazi criminals in their government offices, on court benches and in university professorships, and allowed mass murderers who had killed enormous numbers of Jews to escape unscathed, never made a serious effort to come to terms with the Holocaust. It also supports Israel, which serves as a bridgehead for its imperialist interests in the Middle East, for purely geostrategic reasons.

The bitterness with which it pursues any criticism of the Israeli genocide in Gaza has other motives. German imperialism sees the courage with which Abraham, Adra and other artists face official propaganda as a harbinger and expression of a broad opposition to its war policy.

Gaza is only one front where the German government supports and fuels a murderous war. In the conflict with Russia in Ukraine, it has invested 22 billion [US$24 billion] in the past two years alonenot counting the billions that flowed through the European Union.

The more desperate the situation on the front, the more it escalates the war, the goal of which is the subjugation and dismemberment of Russia and the control of its precious raw materials. Even the use of ground troops and the construction of Germanys own atomic bomb are now under discussion. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to make Germany fit for war, which requires a further increase in military spending and corresponding social cuts.

This cannot be achieved by democratic means. The war policy has no support among the general population. The vast majority of young people are not prepared to be used like their great-grandfathers as cannon fodder in the interests of German corporations and banks. And the working class refuses to bear the costs of rearmament and war through further rounds of austerity.

When Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels and the students and professors beholden to him threw books by Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Karl Liebknecht, Carl von Ossietzky, Bertold Brecht, Heinrich Mann and dozens of others into the flames on May 10, 1933, they sent a signal that they would suppress and murder all opponents of war and militarism. The persecution of critical artists, youth and workers under the false accusation of antisemitismpersecution that is enthusiastically supported by the real antisemites in the ranks of the AfD (Alternative for Germany)is in keeping with the criminal traditions of the German ruling class.

The defence of the freedom of art, of democracy and social gains today coincides directly with the struggle against war, militarism and its cause, the capitalist system.
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard almost four hours of oral arguments on two lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of Florida and Texas laws intended to limit the authority of giant social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter/X to suppress content or bar users altogether.

The laws were enacted by neofascist Republicans in control of Florida and Texas after Facebook and Twitter deplatformed Donald Trump for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election.

The enactments reflect fabricated and exaggerated claims of social media censorship of right-wing content and users. Of course no comparable measures were taken to protect free speech after the World Socialist Web Site proved that Google algorithms deliberately suppressed its content and that of other left-wing internet publications.

The two state laws have some differences, but both attempt to significantly limit the authority of social media companies to boost or suppress user-generated content through various complex mechanisms. Both impose transparency requirements that social media platforms explain their actions whenever specific measures have been taken to suppress content or bar users.

NetChoice, a trade group representing the major social media platforms, sued in Florida and Texas federal courts to block the laws. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals enjoined Florida in Moody v. NetChoice, while the Fifth Circuit reversed a lower court injunction, upholding the Texas law in NetChoice v. Paxton. The implementation of the Texas law has been stayed by the Supreme Court so neither law has taken effect. The cases were consolidated for Mondays argument.

Underscoring the right-wing character of the social media giants and their legal argument, they chose a conservative darling for their lawyer. Paul Clement, a former solicitor general for the George W. Bush administration, has argued in the Supreme Court to deny Guantanamo Bay prisoners their constitutional rights, to ban same-sex marriages, to invalidate gun control measures, to overturn Obamacare and to defend Republican gerrymandering.

Wrapping himself in the Constitution that he usually attacks, Clement argued Monday that social media platforms have First Amendment protection to censor content and ban users, even from direct messaging functions like gmail, because they are essentially newspapers with unlimited authority to moderate content.

The Biden administrations solicitor general, Elizabeth Prelogar, supported Clements position, stating that these state laws which restrict the speech of the platforms to enhance the relative voice of certain users dont withstand constitutional scrutiny.

Members of the Supreme Court sit for a group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Octobert 7, 2022. [AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite]

In other words, the social media companies and the Biden administration agree that the Constitution protects the right of these gargantuan companies to manipulate public discourse by amplifying some views and suppressing others.

Judging from their comments during the arguments, most of the justices seemed skeptical of the state laws. Elena Kagan, one of the three moderate justices, suggested that prohibiting a social media giant from suppressing certain content would be a classic First Amendment violation, noting that the two laws were motivated by people angry and upset that anti-vaxxers and insurrectionists were being barred from the platforms.

Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the most extreme right-wing justices, scoffed openly at Clements arguments, however. Can you give me, Thomas asked Clement, one example of a case in which we said that the First Amendment protects the right to censor? Thomas added later, Mr. Clement said the difference is that if the government does it, it is censoring. If a private party does it, it isI forgetcontent moderation. These euphemisms bypass me sometimes.

Alito asked Clement, Do you agree that a private party cannot engage in censorship? He then posed an absurd hypothetical: Suppose that a private law school says that any student who expresses support for Israels war with Hamas will be expelled. Would that be censorship, or would that be content moderation? Of course, there are no reports of such an expulsion, but there has been widespread retaliation against students and professors who have voiced opposition to the Zionist genocide in Gaza.

Brett Kavanaugh stated that the social media companies, as private entities, were not subject to the First Amendment, and editorial control of their content is fundamentally protected by the First Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett seemed to agree with Kavanaugh, indicating a significant split with Thomas and Alito.

The comments of the justices, along with their unusual lineup, make forecasting the outcome impossible. The Supreme Courts decision, which is expected in late June, could strike down or uphold the laws in their entirety. Most observers, however, predict that the majority will find some middle ground, and perhaps send the cases back to the lower courts with directions for additional proceedings to differentiate among the various social-media functions.

Regardless, for the working class there is no principled difference between the social media giants and the right-wing state governments attempting to exercise power over their content and users. It is a conflict within the ruling class and the capitalist state over who will control the levers of political censorship.

The social media corporations are thoroughly integrated into the capitalist state apparatus and function as its mouthpiece, especially in relation to issues of vital interest to the capitalist class, in particular the suppression of genuine socialism. Their goal, aside from raking in boatloads of money, is keeping the masses as misinformed and ignorant as possible, promoting pro-war and pro-imperialist lies and propaganda, and conspiring against democratic rights.

The unfettered censorship by the social media giants violates fundamental democratic rights, but so do the right-wing attacks by Texas and Florida. The working class must take an independent position, that social media and the internet as a whole be placed under public ownership and democratic control by working people, dedicated to the free flow of information and commentary, in the interest of society as a whole.
Fatime Letifova

Kenyan President William Ruto said that he is ready to work closely with Azerbaijan in the organisation of COP29, Azernews reports, citing the post shared on COP29's official X account.

Kenyan President said this in his meeting with Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's Ecology and Natural Resources Minister, President of COP29.

The head of state of Kenya wished Azerbaijan success in this matter. They also discussed the importance of working together to address climate change.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Azerbaijan Renewable Energy Agency (AREA) under the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan and WindEurope on cooperation in the field of wind energy, Trend reports.

The document was signed at the Azerbaijan-European Union round table on "Offshore Wind Energy Development" in Baku, attended by Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, and CEO of WindEurope Giles Dixon as part of the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting.



The paper addresses wind energy projects, the exchange of information and best practices in the development of electricity supply interconnectors, and collaboration on the Caspian Sea-Black Sea-Europe green energy corridor.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Statements made by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of the Workers Party (PT) during a diplomatic trip to Africa denouncing the genocidal nature of the Israeli war in Gaza have provoked international repercussions.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken meets with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva [Photo: US Department of State]

During a press conference in Ethiopia on February 18, Lula compared Israels massacre of Palestinians to the Nazi Third Reichs extermination of European Jews: What is happening in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian people hasnt occurred in any other time in history. In fact, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.

Lulas trip to Egypt and Ethiopia, countries that recently joined the BRICS group, was promoted by the PT government as a milestone in a Brazilian foreign policy in Africa aimed at strengthening the political influence of the so-called Global South.

Lulas statements sparked a barrage of condemnation for contradicting the official narrative imposed by US and European imperialism defending the massacre in Gaza on the fraudulent grounds that Israel is fighting a defensive war.

Benjamin Netanyahus fascist Israeli government, which plays the role of world imperialisms mad dog in the Middle East, responded to Lulas statements with a series of abusive attacks against the Brazilian government. Summoning the Brazilian ambassador for a humiliating reprimand at the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, the Israeli government declared Lula persona non grata and branded him a Holocaust denier.

In Brazil, Lula became the target of a widespread campaign by the press and broad sections of the political establishment based on hysterical accusations of anti-Semitism and demands that the president recant.

Allies of Brazils fascist former president Jair Bolsonaro, who faces prosecution on charges of attempting a coup detat, used the episode to launch an impeachment petition against Lula in the Brazilian Congress based on the accusation of anti-Semitism. These fascist forces cultivate close relations with the Israeli government, which continues to promote Bolsonaro as the premier representative of its interests in Brazilian politics.

The bloodbath promoted by Israel and its imperialist backers in Gaza, accompanied by the rehabilitation of fascism and all forms of political reaction around the world, is provoking continuous waves of mass opposition among the working class and youth internationally.

As Israel prepares for a military assault on Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which will dramatically escalate the extermination and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, massive protests are breaking out around the world. More than 250,000 people took to the streets in London last weekend. In the US, growing sections of the population identify President Biden as Genocide Joe because of his principal responsibility for the war. His public appearances have become occasions for constant protests over the last months.

The North African region, visited by Lula during his trip, has been the scene of protests by millions of workers. Opposed to the policies of conciliation between the despotic Arab regimes and Netanyahu, they have demanded that their governments abandon all relations with Israel since the bombings began.

Under these explosive conditions, Lulas statements are nothing more than a cynical attempt to exploit the mass popular anger against the criminal war in Gaza. With a political career of more than half a century dedicated to betraying the struggles of the working class, the former trade union leader and three-time president of Brazil mourns the atrocities against the Palestinians while in practice covering up for its main perpetrators.

In response to one of the worst crimes in modern history, Lula advocates the failed two-state solution, used throughout the post-war period to block a combined struggle of the working class and the oppressed people in the region against imperialism and the Arab and Israeli bourgeoisies.

This solution follows the same illusory principles as Lulas proposal to end the war in Ukraine by forming a peace club that brings together the US, its NATO allies, Russia and China. All it would supposedly take is enough pressure on Washington and the European capitals for them to abandon their already advanced global war campaign as just a big misunderstanding.

The bankruptcy of Lulas perspective was exposed by the very context in which he began his denunciations of the war in Gaza, accompanied by Egyptian dictator Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. That same week, it was revealed by the press that al-Sisi, the butcher of Cairo, was discussing the construction of concentration camps in the desert for Palestinians expelled by Israel from their territories, collaborating with the Zionist ethnic cleansing operation.

On the same occasion, Lula said that Brazil strongly condemned the position of Hamas in the attack on Israel and the kidnapping of hundreds of people and we call it a terrorist act, giving credence to Netanyahus government spurious claim of right of self-defense used to justify the bombing of hospitals, schools and Gazas entire civilian infrastructure.

But the hypocrisy of Lulas posturing as a hero of the Palestinians and all peoples oppressed by imperialism was most fully exposed by his friendly meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the G20 foreign ministers summit in Brazil, just days after his visit to Africa.

In his meeting with Washingtons chief diplomatic representative, Lula not only limited himself to emphasizing his common views and interests with the Biden administration, but sought to present US imperialism, the main promoter of the Palestinian genocide, of the war in Ukraine and growing conflicts around the world, as an actor for world peace. Lula tweeted about his discussion with Blinken: We talked about @g20org, the initiative for the improvement of the condition of workers that we launched with President Biden, the protection of the environment, the energy transition, the expansion of investment and cooperation ties between our countries and about peace in Ukraine and Gaza.

By covering up the central role of the Biden administration and US imperialism in the massacre in Gaza and the transformation of virtually every corner of the globe into a war zone, Lula performs a criminal service against the international working class. Precisely because of this, the middle class pseudo-left organizations in Brazil and internationally have rallied in defense of Lula and his reactionary bourgeois nationalist perspective.

Jacobin magazine, backed by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), praised Lulas statements portraying him as the leader of the Global South who paved the way in Latin America by holding Israel accountable. Contrasting his stance with what they called the shameful complicity of the Biden administration, Jacobin lionized Lula as he demands that the US become one of the actors for peace rather than promoters of war. Lulas inconsequential rantings conveniently aid the DSA, itself a faction of the Democratic Party, in washing its hands after backing the crimes of US imperialism in Gaza and Ukraine, and in fostering illusions in a pacifist re-orientation of Washingtons policy.

While Jacobin openly praises Lula as the great leader of the worlds left, other sections of the pseudo-left seek to falsely present themselves as a left-wing opposition to the Brazilian president by demanding he take more radical measures.

This stance was exemplified by the Brazilian Morenoites of the Unified Socialist Workers Party (PSTU). In response to Lulas statements and their repercussions, the PSTU launched the campaign Lula must break relations with Israel, now!, claiming that he is right to denounce the genocide, but we must go beyond words. Despite sounding radical, this demand is merely an ultra-left variation of a reactionary bourgeois nationalist perspective in response to the crisis of imperialism.

These different pseudo-left tendencies play their specific roles in a division of political labor directed at disorienting the international working class. The illusions they foster in a response led by the so-called Global South to ferocious US and European imperialism, whether through pacifist or aggressive means, are based on the class interests of the national bourgeoisies in these countries in their quest to reach a mutually profitable accommodation with imperialism.

Lula represents sections of the Brazilian and Latin American ruling elites who, based on the economic and trade relations developed especially with China over the last decades and accelerated under the Belt and Road initiative, have expectations of consolidating these relations under a new multipolar order. In Ethiopia, Lula argued that the consolidation of BRICS as the main forum for emerging countries is an undeniable step forward.

Contrary to these illusions, the relative decline in the economic influence of the United States is being answered with an explosion of imperialist violence on an even greater scale than in the two world wars, as has already been proven. This course can only be changed by overthrowing the world capitalist system, the root cause of all the fundamental ills of global society.

The crucial question is building a politically conscious and unified movement in the international working class against war and for socialism. Such a movement has in Lula and the bourgeois representatives of the Global South not allies, but fierce enemies, whose fear of the revolutionary movement of the working class far exceeds their feigned opposition to the crimes of imperialism.
Following in the footsteps of Ontarios hard-right Progressive Conservative government, British Columbias union-backed New Democratic Party government is working to push through legislation to codify the status of gig workers as low-paid and highly-exploited casual labourers with no rights. Bill 48, presented by the NDP at a press conference last November, will ensure that workers on ride-hailing and food delivery apps continue to earn well below the minimum wage, have no benefits, and are denied most rights available to workers employed in other sectors.

The proposed legislation has provoked protests among ride-hailing and delivery drivers. On January 23, dozens of drivers gathered outside the constituency office of British Columbias Minister of Labour, Harry Bains, to challenge their declining working conditions and income. The workers insisted all gig drivers need reliable work and at a living-wage. That this protest happened just two months after Bains unveiled what he claimed was legislation to address drivers complaints constitutes a searing indictment of the NDP governments pro-employer character.

Protest at Vancouver International Airport as part of Feb. 14, 2024, "global strike" against Uber, Lyft and other transportation and delivery app companies. [Photo: Kuljeet Singh/X (Twitter)]

Under Bill 48, a minimum hourly wage for app drivers would be set at 120 percent of BCs minimum wage of $16.75. However, this is more than meets the eye, since it only applies to drivers time engaged or on assignmentthat is, after they accept an order or ride request. They will still not be paid a penny for their time between work assignments. According to researchers Jim Stanford and J.J. Fueser, this unpaid time waiting for work represents about 40 percent of the time gig drivers and deliverers spend on the platforms trying to earn a living.

The NDP government has touted its intention to make gig workers employees, but this is another case of false marketing. The governments press release declared, Amendments will be made to the Employment Standards Act (ESA) and the Workers Compensation Act (WCA) to define online platform workers and to ensure that ride-hail and food-delivery workers will be considered employees, specifically for the purposes of the ESA and WCA. However, in the next breath, the NDP announced that gig workers would be added to a list of some 100 occupations in which employees do not have to provide the rights extended to most workers, like sick pay and vacation pay. These occupations include caregivers and farm workers. In other words, drivers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, and others transport and delivery apps will be employees on paper and in NDP election campaign speeches, but precariously employed contractors in reality.

The NDP is attempting to sell Bill 48 as a bold step to protect precarious workers. The press release has the audacity to insist that in BC, drivers will be considered as employees with all the protections and standards such a designation implies. The document then proceeds to acknowledge that the legislation is in fact crafted to ensure that employee rights do not apply in practice: To protect the flexibility that workers value and address their top priorities, alternate standards for this industry will be created within the ESA while some of the Acts existing provisions will not apply at this time.

At the very bottom, the press release admits that Standards in the following areas will not be established at this time under the ESA for ride-hailing and food-delivery workers: hours of work or overtime, statutory holidays, paid leaves, or vacation.

The NDPs November press conference was a stage-managed affair designed to delude the workers and general public that they were taking action to tackle the increasingly well-known exploitation and desperation of gig drivers and delivery workers. Simultaneously, it was a signal to the companies that despite the cosmetic changes, their revenues will continue to grow as they siphon increasing amounts of each ride and delivery away from their drivers.

Despite the insistence that the proposed changes are the result of thorough consultations with gig app drivers who highlighted their poor wages and the precarious nature of their employment, the press release as if cut and pasted from an Uber tweetgoes on to herald the flexibility these app-based driving jobs supposedly provide workers. And, in a bow to the identity politics so beloved by the privileged layers of the middle class, the government again follows the companies PR in pointing out how they offer newcomers to Canada a great job opportunity.

The BC governments proposed changes differ little from those previously legislated in Ontario. Ontario has mandated a gig drivers minimum wage that is 120 percent of the provincial minimum wage, but it only applies during drivers engaged time.

One cosmetic difference does exist between the Ontario legislation and that now before the BC legislature. In a slight change to Ubers declaration that its drivers were not employees, but entrepreneurial independent contractors, the Ontario legislation set gig-app drivers aside in a category akin to dependent contractors. The Ford Conservative government thereby acquiesced to Ubers insistence that they were not employees even more explicitly and openly than the NDP government is doing.

The reality of course is that these companies revenues are entirely dependent upon their flexibility to exploit large numbers of desperate people. The federal Liberal government, backed by the trade unions and NDP, has supported a high interest-rate policy by the Bank of Canada to drive up unemployment and impose massive real-terms income losses on the working class. The Trudeau government has also spearheaded austerity for public services, while handing billions in subsidies to big business. The resulting growth of social inequality and impoverished workers creates ideal conditions for precarious jobs to flourish.

The trade unions are allies of the ride-hailing and food delivery companies, and the governments pro-corporate legislation. As an article on the World Socialist Web Site documented last year, the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Unifor competed in Ontario for the favour of Uber in order to acquire the right to charge dues from its gig workers. The UFCW ultimately secured a sweetheart agreement with Uber that saw the union lobby the Ford government alongside the company to ensure massive loopholes in Ontarios gig worker legislation. For the UFCWs efforts on its behalf, Uber granted the union exclusive rights to organize its workers.

Anyone still in doubt about the character of BCs Bill 48 only needs to consider the reaction of Uber, which is notorious for ruthlessly exploiting its independent contractors. A spokeswoman for Uber Canada, Keerthana Rang, stated of the new legislation, Uber is supportive of government policies that protect the flexibility and independence of app-based workers, while offering benefits and protections tailored to the work they do. This is exactly what the bourgeois parties governing in BC and Ontario have done at the expense of the workers.

The protest at the BC Minister of Labours office by Vancouver-area drivers shows these workers have not fallen for the PR campaign hatched by the companies and the NDP governments. The workers, some of whom describe working 14-hour days to make ends meet, know that the promised minimum wage will be insufficient to provide them a living wage, let alone a comfortable life.

A recent report published by the Toronto-based advocacy group RideFairTO demonstrated that that citys ride-hail drivers earned wages averaging a mere $6.37 an hour once their vehicle costs were included. This was echoed by one of the drivers, Kuljeet Singh, leading the protest at Minister Bains office: I deduct [vehicle] depreciation, then gas, then tax.  I dont have any benefits, I dont have any vacation, I dont have anything. So do you think its fair?

It is not fair. It is the ruthless extraction of surplus value from the workers that feeds the capitalist system.

Drivers in Vancouver have organized protests largely on their own initiative, including through a WhatsApp group with hundreds of members. However, critical questions of political perspective are urgently posed. If they turn to unions like the UFCW, they will continue to be strung along as these bureaucrats farm them for dues while they partner with the exploiters.

Therefore, it is essential that the gig-app drivers organize through the formation of rank-and-file committees. In 2021, the International Committee of the Fourth International established the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, which aims to unite workers from all sectors across national borders in a global struggle against capitalist exploitation and for the socialist reorganization of economic and social life.
On Thursday morning, Israeli infantrymen, snipers, tanks and drones opened fire on a crowd of starving Palestinians in Gaza City as they lined up to receive flour from aid trucks, killing at least 112 and injuring more than 700.

Doctors reported that many victims arrived at hospitals with gunshots to their torsos and heads, indicating that they were deliberately targeted by Israeli troops, who were shooting to kill.

This image of a blood-soaked box of flour circulated on social media amid widespread outrage over Israel's "flour massacre."

Images from the scene showed bags of flour drenched in blood, leading many to refer to the killings as the flour massacre. The hundreds of victims overwhelmed local hospitals, which were already without medical supplies and power and were only able to provide first aid.

This was a deliberate and premeditated massacre by the fascistic Netanyahu regime, as part of a systematic campaign to kill as many Gazans as possible and drive the rest from their land.

Thursdays massacre is just a foretaste of what Israel has in store as it prepares its full-scale assault on Rafah, where over 1 million people are seeking shelter after being displaced from northern Gaza.

While Israeli troops pulled the trigger, they were using bullets and tank rounds paid for and supplied by the United States. Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Joseph Kishore stated in response to the massacre, It is not only Netanyahu and his fascistic ministers who are responsible, but the Biden administration, which has fully backed Israel as part of the militaristic and imperialist agenda of the American ruling class.

The guilt does not stop at the White House. The entire US media establishment is complicit in covering up this atrocity. Every mainstream US media outlet rushed to promote and propagate Israels absurd cover story: That Palestinian aid drivers caused the massacre by plowing into the crowd, despite widespread footage of Israeli troops shooting at the unarmed civilians.

Every US media account equated the plain and obvious truth, that Israeli troops massacred a crowd of hungry people, with an equally plain and obvious lie, that the troops had nothing to do with the death toll, claiming that these represented conflicting accounts.

Chaotic aid delivery turns deadly, read a headline in the Washington Post. USA Today headlined its account: 112 killed in Gaza food aid carnage; Israel blames trampling, truck drivers.

Biden, responding to the murders, offered the usual banalities about a tragic and alarming incident, and called for expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

These platitudes are meant to cover up the actual US policy of unconditional support for the Netanyahu regime no matter what it does. There are, as US officials have repeatedly made clear, no red lines for how many people Israel is allowed to kill. The Israeli regime can starve, massacre and displace the entire population of Gaza, as far as Biden, Blinken and their fellow enablers of genocide are concerned.

Thursdays act of mass murder is only the latest and deadliest in a series of massacres by Israeli troops during the distribution of food. These targeted operations are part of a deliberate policy to starve the civilian population of Gaza to death.

In a statement, the Euro-Med Monitor warned:

Israeli shooting towards starving people receiving aid has become a regular practice. In recent weeks, Israeli forces have directly attacked and killed dozens of people in Gaza City, including on Salah al-Din Street and in the vicinity of Kuwait Roundabout.

Israels genocidal policy is having its intended effect. In a statement to CNN, Melanie Ward, CEO of Medical Aid to Palestine, said that as a result of Israels systematic blockade of food supplies, This is the fastest decline in a populations nutrition status ever recorded. That means children are being starved at the fastest rate the world has ever seen.

On Thursday, the official death toll of the Gaza genocide reached 30,000, according to the regions health ministry. With a further 7,000 missing, the real death toll is likely closer to 37,000.

The combined number of dead, missing and wounded exceeds 100,000, making up 4 percent of the population of Gaza, effectively marking one of the most rapid depopulation events in modern history.

Life is draining out of Gaza at a terrifying speed, wrote Martin Griffiths, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs.

Millions of people all over the world are shocked and horrified by Thursdays massacre, which is the culmination of nearly five months of bombings, mass executions, starvation and mass displacement by Israel.

For months, workers and young people have participated in demonstrations all over the world calling for an end to the genocide. But in the face of these protests, the US and other imperialist governments have only doubled down on their support for Israel.

US imperialism is unshakably committed to its support of the Gaza genocide because it is a critical component of the broader war the imperialist powers are waging in the Middle East. Seeking to dominate and subjugate Iran as part of an effort to control the oil-rich region, the United States has carried out waves of attacks in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, while Israel has carried out strikes inside Lebanon and Syria.

The imperialist onslaught against the Middle East is one component of the global eruption of imperialist war, which is taking ever bloodier forms. This week, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the prospect of deploying NATO troops to fight Russia in Ukrainein effect proposing a direct shooting war between nuclear-armed opponentsa conflict that could trigger a nuclear exchange whose death toll would be in the millions or even billions.

The fight against the Gaza genocide must be waged as a struggle against the imperialist governments that are enabling it and dragging the world into the inferno of world war. This requires the fusion of the growing movement against the Gaza genocide with the movement of the working class in the struggle for socialism.
George Galloway, running for his Workers Party of Britain, won the Rochdale by-election held Thursday by a landslide, winning 40 percent of the vote. Second place, with 21 percent, was taken by an independent candidate, businessman David Tully.

The Labour Party plunged by 44 percentage points on its 2019 performance and the Conservative Party by 19 points. Turnout was roughly 40 percent, in line with most recent contests.

The by-election was essentially a referendum on the Gaza genocide and British imperialisms complicity in it.

Labours candidate, Azhar Ali, was disowned by the party after his comments to a private meeting stating Israel had allowed Hamass October 7 attack to take place were leaked. This took place too late to change his ballot status, meaning Ali ran on the Labour ticket but would have sat in parliament as an independent had he won. He quickly disgraced himself by grovelling before Labour leader Sir Keir Starmers witch-hunt of opposition to the Israeli government.

Labour headquarters forbade any campaigning on Alis behalf in Rochdale and reports suggest he personally went to ground.

Under these conditions, Galloway intervened explicitly on the question of Gaza, opposing the Labour Party above all for its support for Israels war. The issue was already especially prominent in a constituency with a close to 30 percent Muslim population.

In his victory speech, Galloway declared, Keir Starmerthis is for Gaza. And you will pay a high price, in enabling, encouraging and covering for, the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.

He went on, I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight. This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies Labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them, generation after generation

Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight!

This is all correct. A Labour spokesperson claimed in response that George Galloway only won because Labour did not stand. But the reason Labour, in effect, did not stand is that it could not get a ferociously pro-Zionist candidate in place. It sabotaged its own campaign rather than run even a loyal Blairite who had privately acknowledged the reality of Israels foreknowledge of October 7 to shore up support among his own core constituency outraged by Israels actions.

Had Labour been able to run the campaign of unmitigated support for the Israeli government it wanted, the Gaza protest vote against the party would have largely remained.

In addition, the whole political establishment was rejected in this by-election, with the Tories securing just 12 percent alongside Labours less than 8 percent. This was bound up with years of neglect and austerityRochdale is among the most deprived 30 boroughs in the UK, with 28 percent of children living in povertybut the angry protest was spurred above all by both parties support for the genocidal Israeli government.

Political commentators have already rushed to highlight the unique set of circumstances in the Rochdale contestpointing to Labours candidacy fiasco, Rochdales large Muslim population and Galloways experience and high public profileto insist no lessons can be drawn for the general election due to be called this year.

It is not necessary to make predictions from Thursdays results about how the seats will fall in a national parliamentary election. What matters, and what is undeniable, is that politics in Britain is being upended by the imperialist-backed genocide in Gaza and the radicalisation of millions of people, particularly young workers and students. An anti-imperialist, anti-war opposition to the Labour and Tory parties is building and seeking a political solution.

This is how it is understood in ruling circles.

In an extraordinary televised statement outside Downing Street Friday evening, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered a diatribe against Islamic extremists that was an undisguised attack on the left, seeking to criminalise anti-Gaza protestors. In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality, he declared. What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak makes his statement from Downing Street, London March 1, 2024 [Photo by Simon Walker/No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Denouncing the election of Galloway, he stated, And it's beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the [British National Party].

Such was the nakedly anti-democratic impact of targeting a by-election vote as a manifestation of extremism, while claiming to uphold the rule of law, that the published transcript of his speech excised these passages with a bolded message in square brackets reading, Please note political content redacted here.

A process of political radicalisation is underway internationally. In the Michigan Democratic Party primary contest held earlier this week, over 100,000 protest votes, more than 13 percent, were cast against Genocide Joe Biden for his support for Israel.

But just as the uncommitted campaign in the United States offers no way forward for workers and young people opposed to the genocide in Gazakeeping their opposition confined within the blood-soaked Democratic PartyGalloway advances no means of mounting a successful struggle against British imperialism.

The former Labour MP (1987-2003) has now unseated the party three times: in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005 and Bradford West in 2012, both for the Respect Party, and now Rochdale. Each time, he has tapped into smouldering opposition to Labours right-wing politics, above all its record of war. He was expelled from Labour for his opposition to the invasion of Iraq and won the 2005 election in Bethnal Green largely on the strength of that stance.

At no point, however, did Galloway use his platform to build a mass anti-war opposition to Labour. Respect was established, on the initiative of the Socialist Workers Party, as an opportunist alliance of forces opposed, for various reasons, to the war in Iraq and neoliberal policies. But it explicitly rejected any socialist principles, denounced as sectarian; made a special appeal to the Muslim community, treated as a homogenous identity devoid of class differences; and oriented heavily to the Labour Party. Galloway declared after his 2012 victory, I appeal to the Labour Party to be a Labour Party again and next year called for a vote for Ed Miliband.

These rotten foundations led to the split in Respect in 2012, and its decline and eventual dissolution in 2016.

Since then, Galloway has advanced a nationalist populist politics which has seen him denounce immigration and join forces with the likes of Nigel Farage and share a platform with Trumps fascist former advisor Steve Bannon. Appearing on a platform with Farage in support of Brexit, he made his orientation explicit, quipping Left, right, left, right, forward march. He later attempted to stand for Farages Brexit Party.

Galloways opposition to imperialist war, always based on support for sections of the ruling class in the Middle East, has increasingly come to be focussed on support for the capitalist oligarchy in Russia and China, both assigned a key role in a multi-polar opposition to US imperialism. Neither Moscow nor Beijing have mounted a principled defence of the Palestinians, and neither is capable of peacefully restraining the explosion of US-led NATO militarism aimed at their destruction.

The only route to defeating US and world imperialism, and the mass murder and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians by Washingtons Israeli client, is through the building of a mass, anti-war movement, mobilising the international working class against the capitalist class, its state apparatus and all its parties in a fight for socialism.

On Tuesday, the Socialist Equality Party (US) launched its campaign for the US presidential elections to fight for this programme against the Democratic and Republican Partiesthe spearhead of an international campaign waged by the International Committee of the Fourth International against genocide, fascism, dictatorship, war and inequality.

The Socialist Equality Party (UK) will carry this campaign into the British general election, standing candidates against the joint Tory-Labour party of genocide, austerity and war.
Since the beginning of the week, local public transport workers in various German federal states have once again been on strike for better working conditions and, in some cases, better wage agreements. This is already the second warning strike in local public transport in February. On February 2, a limited strike in more than 80 cities and around 40 districts temporarily paralysed local public transport.

At the same time, the Verdi service sector union is once again organising to sabotage the strikes.

In Berlin, underground trains and trams are on strike Thursday and Friday until 2 p.m. The buses on the lines operated by private companies on behalf of Berlin local transit (BVG) are not on strike, or are on strike on other days. The S-Bahn (local rail) and regional transport services are not on strike and are operating normally.

The concerted strikes organised by Verdi are in reality a fragmentation of industrial action. At the beginning of February, Verdis main concern was that the upcoming transport workers wage disputes could coincide with the strike of 25,000 airport workers, the wage disputes of train drivers and the militant protests by farmers.

There is great anger and a willingness to fight among workers over their low wages and the intolerable working conditions at the transport companies. Many are calling for an indefinite all-out strike. This determination to fight is part of a swelling wave of strikes and protests against rapid price rises and the ever-increasing loss of real wages. Added to this are long working hours, short breaks and enormous work pressure, which leads to many workers falling ill or quitting their jobs, further exacerbating the work stress.

Verdi meeting at the Cicerostrasse depot, Berlin Wilmersdorf, 02/02/2024

Verdi bureaucrats are responding to this growing social catastrophe and increasing willingness to fight by deploying the entire union apparatus to restrict and fragment the strikes. In this way they want to keep the resistance under control and suppress it.

Although everyone knows that transport workers could unleash enormous power with an indefinite all-out strike and quickly achieve their demands in full, Verdi is doing everything it can to prevent such a struggle. On-and-off strikes do not develop and increase workers strength and fighting power, as Verdi claims, but on the contrary sabotage them and spread frustration.

Verdis refusal to organise an indefinite all-out strike is meeting with growing resistance from workers and many union members. Verdi officials are therefore looking for allies and have agreed to cooperate with the Friday for Future movement (FFF).

The figurehead of the German FFF movement, Luise Neubauer, will speak at the strike rally on Friday in front of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Economics in Berlin. She is a member of the Green Party and supports its right-wing policy as part of the coalition government with the Social Democrats (SPD) and Liberal Democrats (FDP).

Neubauer emphasises that she stands for an alliance of Fridays for Future and local transport workers with their trade union Verdi for good work and climate-friendly mobility for all. The Verdi-FFF rally on Friday will be held under the motto #WirFahrenZusammen (#WeTravelTogether), which can only be described as cynical in view of Verdis systematic division of all the labour disputes and suppression of an indefinite all-out strike.

The alliance with Neubauer and the German FFF movement is part of a right-wing offensive with which the Verdi leadership wants to defend itself against the growing pressure from below and from workplaces. In particular, the aim is to justify the governments pro-war policy, which is the cause of cuts in wages and social spending.

In recent weeks, Neubauer and other self-appointed spokespersons for FFF-Germany have been mainly busy agitating against Greta Thunberg. The Swedish initiator of the climate movement has condemned the Israeli crimes in Gaza in numerous statements and speeches at mass demonstrations at the end of last year.

Today we are striking in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world must raise its voice and demand an immediate ceasefire, justice and freedom for the Palestinians and all affected civilians, declared Thunberg at a large rally in November.

The German FFF leadership around Neubauer and her cousin Carla Reemtsmaboth from the millionaire Reemtsma familyreacted angrily and declared their support for the governments policies in defence of Israels genocide in Gaza. Neubauer sided with the media agitation against Thunberg, accused her of antisemitism and enforced a strict disassociation from the international FFF umbrella organisation.

Neubauer also supports military rearmament and is in favour of arms deliveries to Ukraine. At the beginning of the war, she told the Greens house organ taz it was logical that military spending should also be discussed. Climate protection measures also make sense from the logic of war, Neubauer told broadcaster ntv, adding that the political will to say we are investing 100 billion in the military was there. However, the political will to say that we are now properly upgrading our energy systems was just as necessaryafter all, both turning away from fossil fuels and [spending more on] armaments were ultimately a security policy issue.

The Greens, many of whom are also active in the FFF movement, are already deeply discredited and hated by the majority of transport workers and the working class as a whole. Together with the other parties in the Bundestag (federal parliament), they are converting their anti-worker economic policy into an open war economy. For the working class, this means in concrete terms that the costs of arming the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces), including arms deliveries to war zones and future military deployments, are to be passed on to working people. The cuts in real wages in the public sector serve the direct purpose of financing rearmament.

It is therefore necessary to combine the collective struggle for better working conditions and higher wages with the fight against war and military rearmament.

The warning strikes must therefore be used to discuss a fundamental reorientation and reorganisation of the labour movement. It is important to build independent rank-and-file action committees that are democratically organised and in which a perspective is discussed that focuses on the fundamental defence of workers interests. This means that the rights and needs of workers and their families must take precedence over the profit interests of the corporations, shareholders and speculators and the pro-war policy of the German government.

Part of such a reorientation must be close international cooperation. Today, all problems take on an international form. Workers all over the world face the same or similar problems and can only solve them through international cooperation and the coordination of cross-border struggles.

What the Rail Action Committee declared in a resolution also applies to public transport workers: Our allies are neither the trade union apparatuses nor the parliamentary parties. Our allies are the workers of all sectors in all countries.

We call on all workers in public transport and beyond: Build independent action committees in your workplaces with trusted colleagues. Get in touch with the transport workers action committee in Berlin. Send a WhatsApp message to +491633378340 or fill out the form below.
Two executions were planned to take place in the US on Wednesday. The death sentence of Ivan Cantu was carried out in Texas despite compelling evidence of his innocence. In Idaho, the planned lethal injection of Thomas Creech was called off after the prison team tasked with killing him failed to insert an IV line to deliver the deadly chemicals. Both executions had faced widespread protests that had fallen on the deaf ears of governmental authorities and the courts.

Texas

Ivan Cantu, 50, was executed for the murder of his cousin and his cousins fiancee, James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen. He was the first person put to death in Texas in 2024. Post-trial evidence raised questions about Cantus guilt, persuading jurors from his original trial to ask Texas courts to reexamine his case.

Ivan Cantu [AP Photo/Provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice]

Those advocating on Cantus behalf had collected over 140,000 signatures to demand Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis to put a pause on his execution. His case had received support from media personality Kim Kardashian, actors Martin Sheen and Jane Fonda and Sister Helen Prejean, a leading opponent of the death penalty who was by his side when he was executed.

In his final statement, Cantu professed his innocence. His last words included the following:

Id like to address the Kitchens and Mosqueda families. I want you to know that I never killed James and Amy  if I knew who did, you wouldve been the first to know any information I wouldve had that wouldve helped to bring justice to James and Amy  I want you all to know that I dont think that this situation here will bring you closure  I would especially like to thank [private investigator] Matt Duff for believing in me and digging deep and unraveling the case that he did to prove to the world that I do not belong on this gurney  Warden Im ready.

At 6:26 p.m. Cantu was injected with a lethal dose of the barbiturate pentobarbital in the death chamber in Huntsville. He was pronounced dead 21 minutes later.

A jury sentenced Cantu to death in 2001 for the 2000 murder of Mosqueda and Kitchen. His conviction was largely based on the testimony of Amy Boettcher and her brother, Jeff Boettcher. Amy Boettcher, Cantus fiancee at the time, said that she disposed of Cantus jeans supposedly bloodied during the murders in a trash can in Cantus kitchen.

But in 2020, a police officer who went to Cantus apartment shortly after the murders signed an affidavit saying she did not believe the jeans were in the apartment when she performed a welfare check at the request of Cantus mother.

A particularly damning piece of exculpatory evidence involved a Rolex watch belong to Mosqueda. Amy Boettcher had testified that Cantu threw the Rolex out a car window as she and Cantu drove to a Dallas club after the murders. However, Cantus legal team learned in 2019 that shortly after the murders, police had recovered the watch after finding it in Mosquedas home and returning it to his family.

Cantus defense argued that the Collin County District Attorneys office knowingly withheld evidence involving the Rolex watch and bloody jeans.

After Amy Boettchers death in 2021, her brother called the Collin County DAs office to say he had lied about Cantu asking him to clean up after the murders to protect his sister.

Jeff Calhoun, the jury foreman at Cantus trial in 2001, said the Boettchers testimony was the most convincing evidence pointing to Cantus guilt. I sat there and listened to the story play out for a month, Calhoun told the Texas Tribune prior to Cantus execution. I made a decision and signed a document that said, Yes, the death penalty is in order here. Two other jurors asked for Cantu to receive a new trial.

In April 2023, a Republican state district judge withdrew his court order for Cantus execution, but the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Cantus appeal four months later. The day before his execution, both the states highest criminal court and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the condemned inmates last-minute request for a stay of execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously denied Cantus clemency application.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott, an ardent death penalty supporter, allowed the execution to proceed. Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, 586 people have been executed in Texas, far more than in any other US state.

Idaho

Also on Wednesday, Idaho authorities were unable to carry out the execution of Thomas Creech, 73, due to their inability to insert an IV line.

Creech has been convicted of five murders in three statesIdaho, Oregon and Californiaand is a suspect in at least 11 other killings. He claimed at one point to have killed as many as 50 people. He received the death penalty for the 1981 murder of fellow inmate David Jensen. He has been on death row for 50 years, longer than any other prisoner in Idaho.

Thomas Eugene Creech [AP Photo/Idaho Department of Correction]

The US Supreme Court denied Creechs last-minute request for a stay of execution, with Associate Justice Elena Kagan issuing the decision Wednesday morning. The Idaho Supreme Court had earlier denied Creechs appeals. In his petition to the nations high court, Creechs attorneys argued that his due process rights were violated by the Idaho Supreme Court and that prosecutors lied during his clemency hearing. There are strong reasons to suspect that at least some states have gone too far in limiting post-conviction review, thus calling for the Courts intervention, the petition stated.

Thousands of signatures have been gathered by death penalty opponents to stop Creechs execution. Idaho Governor Brad Little, a Republican, said that he had zero intention of halting the execution. His lawful and just sentence must be carried out as ordered by the court. Justice has been delayed long enough, Little said in a statement.

However, authorities at the states maximum security prison south of Boise were unable to complete the execution. The medical team could not establish an IV line, rendering the execution unable to proceed, prison officials said in a statement. The execution team attempted to establish IV access eight times in multiple places, and at one point left the death chamber for additional supplies.

When it was determined they would be unable to insert the IV line to inject the lethal drugs, the execution was called off. The death warrant will now expire and state officials will plan next steps, according to the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC). Creech would have been the first person executed in Idaho in 12 years.

After the failed execution, Creechs attorneys filed a new motion in US District Court for a stay, stating: Given the badly botched execution attempt this morning, which proves IDOCs inability to carry out a humane and constitutional execution, undersigned counsel preemptively seek an emergency stay of execution to prevent any further attempts today.

We are angered but not surprised that the State of Idaho botched the execution of Thomas Creech today, Federal Defender Services of Idaho said in a statement. This is what happens when unknown individuals with unknown training are assigned to carry out an execution.

In 2022, Alabama was forced to call off the lethal injections of two inmates after failing to successfully locate inmates veins. One of these prisoners, Kenneth Smith, was subsequently executed January 25 by nitrogen suffocation and suffering a ghastly death. His spiritual adviser, Rev. Jeff Hood, told CNN afterward, When they turned the nitrogen on, he began to convulse. He popped up on the gurney over and over and over again. He shook the whole gurney.

State authorities have devised new, untested methods and revived old ones in an effort to keep their killing machines in operation. Last year, Idaho legislators passed a law authorizing executions by firing squad. They have yet to build a facility or devised a protocol for such executions.
After first igniting on Monday, five active wildfires continued to ravage large areas in the Texas Panhandle region north of Amarillo, with the danger of more destruction over the next several days. At one point on Tuesday, the cluster of fires in the region totaled seven, but two were declared fully contained on Wednesday.

A business was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Stinnett, Texas [AP Photo/Julio Cortez]

Over the course of two days, the cluster of wildfires torched over 1 million acres, documented by numerous viral images and videos shared over social media which provide a shocking view of the fiery destruction.

The blazes are just five out of 23 active wildfires burning across the state of Texas and are considered the most threatening.

The active wildfires, titled Smokehouse Creek, Windy Deuce, 687 Reamer, Magenta and Grapevine, continued to rage into the evening on Wednesday. Grapevine and Magenta were 60 and 65 percent contained, while the largest out-of-control blaze, the Smokehouse Creek fire, is only 3 percent contained and is deemed the largest threat. It is the states largest wildfire on record, burning an estimated 1,075,000 acres by early Thursday.

Thousands of residents have lost their homes or have been forced to evacuate areas in the path of the deadly blazes. In addition, several highways and roads have been forced by the wildfires to shut down to travel, making evacuation difficult.

Most alarming, on Tuesday, Pantex, a nuclear weapons manufacturing plant located northeast of Amarillo, was forced to shut down operations and evacuate most of its staff due to the threat of the encroaching flames of the Windy Deuce fire.

Located on a 16,000 acre site, Pantex is one of six manufacturing facilities in the United States under the authority of the National Nuclear Security Administrations Nuclear Security Enterprise. Designated a National Security Site, its operations are tightly run under a cloak of secrecy.

The site houses 650 buildings and employs 4,200 workers. Since 1975, the facility has been the main site in the US for the assembly and disassembly of atomic weapons. According to the facilitys website, it claims to have dismantled thousands of weapons retired from national stockpiles and that it places the resulting plutonium in interim storage.

On Wednesday morning, Pantex declared the fire threat had passed and reopened the plant for normal operations.

The destructive dimensions of the Smokehouse Creek fire, which ignited in the afternoon on Monday, has expanded to over 1,500 square miles, burning an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. The previous record for the largest fire was the East Amarillo Complex fire in 2006, which burned down 1,400 square miles and resulted in 13 deaths.

Giving a measure of the Smokehouse Creek fires ferocity, in a space of a few hours, its burn area went from 300,000 acres on Tuesday to 850,000 acres on Wednesday.

The raging flames, fueled by high winds and unseasonably hot and dry weather, scorched through substantial stretches of small towns and farming communities in the Panhandle region with surprising speed. On Thursday, the fire moved east, blazing through parts of neighboring Oklahoma along the border.

On Tuesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties impacted or threatened by wildfires, pledging to commit all resources needed to protect our fellow Texans and their property.

Bill Kendall, the Hemphill County emergency management coordinator in the town of Canadian, located in the eastern Panhandle on the border with Oklahoma, described the destruction of the fire to the media, Like a moonscape its all gone. A statement by Canadian town officials on Tuesday strongly urged residents to evacuate.

Kendall reported that around 40 homes were burned around the perimeter of Canadian, but no buildings within the town proper had been lost. He added that he witnessed scores of cattle scattered in fields, burned to death.

The only reported death came on Wednesday when Joyce Blankenship, an 83-year-old retired substitute teacher from the small town of Stinnett, was found dead in her home. As the wildfires continue to rage, authorities warned that the death toll may be higher, as rescue crews have been unable to reach many areas to conduct searches for victims.

The chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Nim Kidd, told media, I believe the fire will grow before it gets fully contained. He warned that the damage to some communities is extensive.

The catalyst for the wildfires ravaging across the dry, grassy, brush-filled Texas Panhandle is capitalist-induced climate change, and along with other natural disasters, takes place under a ruling class that subordinates every aspect of American society under the profit interests of the corporate oligarchy. Scientists estimate that a warming climate has put residents of the Panhandle at 50 percent or higher chance of being affected by a major wildfire over the next three decades.

No faction of the ruling class and its political representatives in the Democratic and Republican parties is able to address the dire emergency that climate change poses to humanity and the environment.

The Republican-dominated Texas state government under Republican Governor Greg Abbott have shown nothing but contempt for the safety of the Texas population.

The most stark example was the states criminal response to the 2021 devastating snow storm and cold snap, which knocked down the power grid leaving 4 million without heat or electricity for several days, resulting in 700 deaths.

The blackout and the governments criminal response was a direct result of its subordination of the safety and well-being of the population under the profit considerations of the Texas private electric utility firm ERCOT.
In an extraordinary press conference held Thursday afternoon at the Customs and Border Patrol station in Brownsville, Texas, President Joe Biden issued a right-wing appeal to ex-President Donald Trump to join him in supporting previously negotiated multibillion-dollar anti-immigrant legislation.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to the southern border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas, as Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, looks on. [AP Photo/Evan Vucci]

Speaking in front of a row of Border Patrol agents, Biden, who has spent months campaigning against Trump on the basis that he represents a unique and unprecedented threat to American democracy, called on Mr. Trump to join me in supporting the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen.



Adopting the Republican claims that there is a border crisis and that the United States is a nation under siege, Biden began the press conference stating, Its time to act, its long past time to act. I just received a briefing from Border Patrol at the border, as well as Immigration and Enforcement Asylum officers. ... They need more agents, more officers, more judges, more equipment, in order to secure our border. Folks, its time for us to move on this. We cant wait any longer.



Biden then called on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to reconsider the legislation, which, as Biden himself reiterated, has been supported by a host of reactionary organizations, including the Border Patrol Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Wall Street Journal, the leading mouthpiece of the parasitic corporate oligarchy.



Turning to the ex-president, who has adopted Nazi language in denouncing migrants as vermin who are poisoning the blood of our country, Biden said: I understand my predecessor is in Eagle Pass today, so here is what I would say to Mr. Trump. Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me. Or I will join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill.



Less than a week after Trump and his neo-Nazi allies described in detail their plans for mass deportations at the CPAC conference, Biden added, We can do it together. Concluding his remarks, Biden said, If there is anything we should be working together on, it is this.

Biden has an overriding purpose in this degrading and reactionary spectacle. He hopes, by reaching an agreement with the Republicans on border policy, entirely on their terms, to obtain support in the Republican-controlled House of Representative to pass his $95 billion supplemental military spending bill, of which $60 billion is allotted to the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine.

The reality is that the only crisis on the border is the plight of the migrants themselves, who are risking death by heat exhaustion, drowning, hunger and thirst, as well as state and vigilante violence. They are driven to seek asylum and economic survival in the United States by the poverty and savage oppression they experience in their own countries, primarily as a result of American imperialist domination of Latin America. But all this is a closed book to the two parties of big business and the corporate media, which has gone out of its way to sensationalize the influx of migrant workers and demonize them as a threat to the American people.

It was notable that while Biden appealed to Mr. Trump, the Republican was denouncing him as Crooked Joe Biden, describing the border crisis as a Joe Biden invasion, and vilifying migrants as columns of fighting-age men being brought in to overrun the United States.

Trump was speaking at his own anti-immigrant rally in Eagle Pass, Texas, roughly 325 miles northwest of Brownsville, where he was welcomed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Brandon Judd, head of the Border Patrol union, and Texas National Guard General Thomas Suelzer.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks during a visit to Shelby Park on the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. At front left is Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. [AP Photo/Eric Gay]

The fascist ex-president toured a tactical operations center manned by dozens of guardsmen, who have been mobilized by Abbott, along with state troopers, in an illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of federal authority along a stretch of the US-Mexico border.

Trump demonstrated his support for Abbotts neo-Confederate claims of states rights, taking briefings from the soldiers about the various illegals they were tracking across the border. He strutted in front of concertina wire and rows of troops armed with M16s in his best imitation of a president-dictator, which he aspires to become after the election.

Delivering a truncated version of his campaign speech, he began by thanking the various political, police and military officials present, singling out General Suelzer, saying he was always right there and understands this Texas Military Department. ... I think he understands war because thats what you have, you are in a war.



Referring to Governor Greg Abbotts defiance of federal border authority, Trump said, Texas has done an amazing job in short period of time ... the operation which they showed me is nothing less than incredible.



Its a military operation, Trump gushed. We have a military ... this is like a war. Its a military operation.



Donald Trump speaks as he arrives for a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas [AP Photo/Eric Gay]

As both Biden and Trump seek to broaden the bipartisan assault on the democratic rights of immigrants and further expand the border police-state, Socialist Equality Party candidate for vice president Jerry White issued a statement on Twitter/X denouncing the anti-immigrant police-state measures of the Trump and Biden administrations.



White wrote that he and SEP presidential candidate Joseph Kishore demand an immediate end to all deportations, border wall construction and the removal all deadly barriers, including miles of concertina wire and sawblade-equipped buoys, which have killed and injured hundreds of people, including many children.



White continued: These attacks on immigrants are an attack on the entire working class. The ruling class seeks to pit workers against each other along nationalist lines so they do not focus on the real enemy, the capitalist system.



Trump and Genocide Joe, White said, are seeking to divide workers from their class brothers and sisters across the river from Matamoros, Mexico. In 2019, some 70,000 maquiladora workers went on strike against the sweatshop working conditions at plants in Matamoros, many of which supply the US auto and electronics industries.



During those mass strikes, conducted in defiance of the stooge corporate-controlled unions, workers marched to the border in Brownsville and called on their US counterparts to join in the strike, shouting, Americans, wake up!



This powerful appeal, based on the international unity of the working class against their capitalist governments, is the progressive answer to the anti-immigrant chauvinism of Trump, Biden and the nationalist trade unions, which pit workers against each other in a race to the bottom.



Whites statement concluded, The Socialist Equality Party fights for the international unity of the working class against capitalism and an end to the nation-state system. We oppose the attacks on immigrants by both the Democrats and Republicans and their crude and racist attempts to blame them for the crisis of the profit system.
The Water Transport Workers Federation of India (WTWFI), representing 3,500 workers at 11 major Indian ports, has declared that it will refuse to load or unload weapons bound for Israel on any ship. The announcement is a sign of the depth of opposition among Indian workers to Israels massacring of tens of thousands of defenceless Palestinians with US-supplied weapons and Washingtons full-throated political support.

Workers and youth around the world, horrified at Israels genocidal war in Gaza, have been protesting in their millions demanding an end to the wanton slaughter being perpetrated by the Israel Defence Forces and the fascist regime headed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The death toll in Gaza has officially surpassed 30,000 men, women and children, and it rises to more than 37,000 if the missing are included. Hospitals, schools and other key infrastructure have been destroyed.

The Israeli military has blocked essential supplies of food, water, fuel, medical care and electricity, resulting in widespread starvation, disease and further deaths. Now it is preparing a murderous ground offensive into Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza where 1.5 million Palestinians are living in the most atrocious conditions.

Opposition among Indian workers and rural toilers to the genocide is widespread. The WTWFI therefore felt compelled to declare its refusal to handle arms shipments destined for Israel. However, the WTWFI, which is affiliated to the Stalinist Communist Party of India (Marxist)-controlled Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), did so in hopes of retaining credibility among workers, rather than with the aim of organising any genuine mass worker mobilisation against the genocide. The Stalinist union leaders have done nothing to educate workers about Israels imperialist-backed genocide against the Palestinians and Indias complicity in it, and are offering them no perspective as to how they can oppose it.

Workers with whom the WSWS spoke at the Port of Chennai, India's second largest, were not aware of the call from the Stalinist-led Water Transport Workers Federation of India for them to refuse to handle shipments of Israeli war materiel. [Photo: Government of India]

When World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke to some dockworkers at Chennai Port, which is the second largest container port in India, the workers expressed support for the ban on Israeli war materiel. However, they said that the CITU and the other port unions had conducted no campaign to inform them about the Gaza genocide or the plans to black Israeli war shipments. The discussions also revealed that the WTWFI has made no effort to defend contract workers, who compose the majority of the workforce, or draw them into a campaign to defend the Palestinians of Gaza. This reveals that for the Stalinist leaders of the WTWFI, the call to block Israeli war shipments is a protest gesture, if not a publicity stunt.

The president of the port workers union, Nagendra Rao, said that there had not yet been any reports of ships carrying arms to Israel. However, reports have emerged over recent days of the sale of over 20 Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to Israel from India.

The Hermes 900, which is one of four killer drones used by Israel, is manufactured at a facility owned by Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. The company is a joint venture between Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and the Indian Adani Group, a conglomerate owned by Gautam Adani, Indias second-wealthiest billionaire and a close confidant of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The sale was first reported by Shephard Media on February 2. While neither India nor Israel have acknowledged the purchase, the sale was confirmed off the record to The Wire by sources at the Adani Group.

The Adani-Elbit manufacturing venture is part of an ever-expanding military-security partnership between India and Israel. India has become the largest purchaser of Israeli-made weapons, spending approximately $1 billion per year.

During the first term in office of Modi and his Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) between 2014 and 2019, weapons supplies from Israel to India shot up by 175 percent, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

In 2017, Israel Weapons Industries joined with Punj Lloyd, an Indian engineering and construction firm, to establish Indias first private sector small arms factory in Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh. The plant produces a range of assault weapons, such as Uzi submachine guns, for the Indian military, including its Special Forces. Later that same year Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd, another Israeli-Indian joint venture, opened Indias first private sector missile plant, manufacturing Spike anti-tank guided missiles for the Indian army.

Modi was among the first world leaders to express solidarity with the far-right Netanyahu regime with a denunciation of the Palestinian uprising on October 7. The New Delhi government, under the pretext of fighting Somali pirates, later deployed two frontline warships in the Gulf of Aden and at least 10 warships to the Arabian Sea amidst the Israeli genocide and the US-instigated broader conflict throughout the Middle East.

Modis open support for Israels genocidal war flows from Indias close military-strategic partnership with Israel, which he has worked assiduously to expand. However, of even greater significance in determining Indias staunch support for the Israeli war on the Palestinians is New Delhis Global Strategic Partnership with American imperialism, which views Israel as its main attack dog in the region. Continuing on the course charted by its Congress Party-led predecessor, the Modi government has transformed India into a frontline state in Washingtons drive to strategically encircle and prepare for war with China.

The WTWFIs refusal to mobilise workers in struggle against the genocide in Gaza is inseparable from the Stalinist politics of the CPM to which it is affiliated. In November, the CPM and the CPM-led Left Front were compelled to call some protests against Israels onslaught on Gaza amid mass opposition within the working class. However, they imposed on the protests the bankrupt perspective of pressuring the Modi government into distancing itself from Israel and its genocidal assault on Gaza, and of working through the UN and great-power diplomacy to secure peace in the Middle East via a two-state solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict.

Subsequently, the CPM dropped its Gaza protest campaign, so as to ensure that it did not in any way cut across its central political objective: corralling the mass working class opposition to Modi and the BJP behind the INDIA alliance in this springs general (Lok Sabha) election. Led by the Congress Party, till recently the Indian bourgeoisies preferred party of government, the INDIA alliance, no less than the BJP, staunchly supports the Indo-US alliance and further pro-investor reforms. Its constituent parties also have a long history of adapting to and conniving with Modis far-right Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) allies.

The CPM has acted for decades as the left flank of the Indian ruling establishment. This includes seeking to confine opposition among workers and youth to the suppression, dispossession and now slaughter of the impoverished Palestinians within the reactionary framework of capitalist politics and great-power diplomacy. While CITU and CPM leaders on occasion chant slogans against US imperialism, they have done nothing to alert the working class as to the grave danger the Indo-US military-security alliance represents for the people of South Asia and the worldlet alone sought to build a global working class-led anti-war movement in opposition to war and the imperialist world order.

In opposition to the Indian Stalinists pathetic and reactionary appeals to the imperialists and the Indian bourgeoisie to stop the genocide in Gaza, in which they are all implicated, the World Socialist Web Site insists that this can only be achieved through the mobilization of the international working class.

Indian workers, as part of the international working class, should organize strikes and other actions to stop the supply and production of all conceivable military equipment destined for Israel. This must be linked to the fight for an international political general strike, and the struggle to fuse the fight against imperialist war with the growing mass upsurge of working people around the world against capitalist austerity and the assault on their social and democratic rights.

The struggle against the US-backed Israeli onslaught is necessarily international in scope. To wage it, workers struggles cannot remain confined within the suffocating national framework of the union bureaucracies. Workers must build rank-and-file committees affiliated to the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees to coordinate opposition against war, capitalist reaction and police-state rule, and unify their struggles into an international movement against capitalism and imperialist war and for socialism.
The Stellantis Pratola Serra engine plant, near Naples, Italy [Photo by Stellantis]

Last week, machine maintenance worker Domenico Mimmo Fatigati was killed on the job at the Stellantis STLAB plant in Pratola Serra, Italy, near Naples, leaving behind a widow, three children, and bereaved extended family and friends who all describe him as a hard worker and a person who was all about family.

Fatigati, a contractor hired by Stellantis to perform routine maintenance at the plant, was crushed to death by the machinery on which he was working. His colleagues at the plant immediately called for strike action in solidarity; however, the entire confederation of unionsCGIL, CISL, UIL, FISMIC and UGLlimited the strike to the Pratola Serra factory for a few hours in a highly orchestrated maneuver. The union bureaucracies limited the strike so as not to impinge on corporate profits and in order to maintain the lid on increasing anger among workers across the industrial spectrum.

Cynically, a spokesperson for the multinational company, with a string of safety violations on its record, said, Stellantis expresses its deep sorrow and sympathy to the family of the victim, promising to collaborate with accident investigators.

As Stellantis restructures its operations in a transition to electric vehicles, the company is threatening to close several plants in Italy and withdraw operations in the country entirely if the government does not concede corporate handouts and consumer subsidies for electric vehicles. CEO Carlos Tavereswho received a massive 36.49 million ($39.5 million) pay package in 2023has virtually extorted state and national governments in countries where Stellantis operates. Italy is no exception. Earlier this month, he told Bloomberg News, If you dont give subsidies to purchase EVs, you are putting at risk the Italian plants.

Stellantis is not alone in deaths on the job. Earlier this month, three workers were seriously injured and five were killed at a Florence, Italy, Esselunga supermarket construction site after a concrete beam and layers of slabs collapsed, crushing the workers to death. Early indications show that the site was riddled with safety violations. In an attempt to defuse public outrage over the tragic deaths, the CGIL and UIL unions called a toothless two-hour national strike.

In August 2023, five rail workers were killed by a high-speed train while replacing part of a track near Brandizzo, Italy, on the outskirts of Turin. Despite the leadership of CISL calling the preventable disaster an outrage to all Italian workers, only limited and disjointed strike action was called by the major unions.

According to Statista.com, 5,580 workers were killed on the job in Italy between 2008 and 2022. In 2022, 703,432 overall occupational injuries were reported to Inail, Italys National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work. This figure is nearly 139,000 more than the 564,000 injuries reported in 2021. On-the-job deaths exploded in 2023, with 1,000 workers losing their lives in preventable accidents at work. Less than two months into 2024, deaths on the job have reached nearly 200.

The staggering increase was due to both traditional injuries and occupational COVID-19 infections, up from 49,000 in 2021 to 120,000 in 2022. In 2020, total COVID-19 claims were one in every four, rising to one in six in 2022.

Proposals to place responsibility on the employers for deaths on the job and redefine these as homicides have been opposed by the establishment. While a plethora of upcoming measures are aimed at criminalizing so-called illegal hirings (either undocumented immigrants or off-payroll workers), the fascist government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced that corporations and employers will not be held responsible, despite well-documented flagrant violations.

In a conversation with a CGIL union leader, Meloni praised her governments efforts, which consisted of hiring 800 new inspectors, while in the same breath she admitted the utter failure of this move to produce any improvement. Preventing any demand on the employers, Meloni lauded a proposal by her fascist party, Fratelli dItalia (Brothers of Italy), which seeks to introduce a weekly hour of job safety training in schools. Setting aside the ominous character of such a conception, which has more to do with shifting the burden on youth rather than educating them, no one knows how this would result in safer conditions in the workplace.

Meloni reported that some of the propositions she received from the trade union confederation were interesting and that she planned to meet with the national union bureaucracy to listen and work together on the proposals.

The increasingly naked corporatist character of the union bureaucracy has been revealed, as the entire apparatus has been appealing to a fascist government as the supposed defender of workers living standards, calling on the Meloni government to abide by Tavares extortionary plans. No worker can entrust his or her life in the hands of such a criminal partnership.

Following the supermarket collapse deaths in Florence, the CISL, Italys second largest trade union confederation, rushed to a strategy of damage control, proposing a responsibility pact to commit government, institutions and social partners to a national strategy and a call [on] all social actors to their collective responsibility and launch a renewed season of confrontation to stop deaths and injuries at work, all under the tidy slogan Lets stop the trail of blood.

The CISL is the same union that, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, respectfully asked Amazon to consider compliance to the governmental protocol, which highlights the safety criteria in the workplace after wildcat strikes by workers shut down operations at the Amazon logistics hub in Castel San Giovanni in the wake of a massive number of COVID-19 deaths among their colleagues, who contracted the deadly virus while on the job at the facility.

The CGIL, CISL, UIL and all the traditional trade unions quickly fell in line after the corporations decided that the pandemic was impeding profits and instructed the government to declare the end of the pandemic and remove all life-saving measures.

The government, in lock-step with industry, swiftly declared an end to the pandemic last year. Despite this, 172,684 official COVID-19 cases were reported in January of this year, and 196,309 Italians and counting are dead from the virus. The number of deaths and infections is a gross undercount, as all government mitigation and tracking strategies have been dismantled.

Workers anger is mounting. Commenting on workplace deaths in a recent interview with the WSWS, Stellantis worker Tommaso Pirozzi said: Regarding the issue of workplace accidents, there is no real intention to change the situation, either on the part of the government or the trade unions, in that they are complicit. In case of failure of safety or simply illegitimate operations, there is complicity on their part because union representatives are inside the workplaces, like in Pomigliano at Stellantis. They simply turn the other way. Then, they shouldnt come inside our workplaces or through the media beating their chests. They are the primary perpetrators of at least moral responsibility for the injuries and deaths of our brothers and sisters.

The trade union apparatus and government will do nothing to stem the tide of injuries and deaths on the job. This task falls to the working class, which must unite across borders and fight on a genuine socialist strategy against the trade union bureaucrats, corporations and capitalist governments that place profits before lives.
Slanderous billboard by Accuracy In Media targeting New York City schoolteacher for opposing genocide in Gaza. [Photo: Accuracy In Media]

The far-right provocateurs of Accuracy in Media (AIM) sent a truck to the Queens school of New York City math teacher Mohammad Ahmad with his image on an electronic billboard and a statement he made on X/Twitter in October that read, I have no room for Zionists. I make no space for genocidal white supremacists.

Along with other quotes from Ahmad, the billboard called on viewers to take action. AIM also posted several witch-hunting videos on its Twitter/X feed filmed in front of his school, including one accusing the school of teaching antisemitism.

In a reply on Twitter/X Ahmad said, Zionists play is to disrupt education by flooding inboxes & making it difficult for people to do their jobs, disrupting education by harassing school communities, & disrupting education by literally spreading misinformation and lies.

While most Queens residents would neither be shocked by nor disagree with Ahmads statements on the billboards, AIMs actions are a part of a well-funded campaign to intimidate the many educators and students who have opposed the Gaza genocide being perpetrated by Israel with the full backing of President Joe Biden. AIM also has sent a truck with electronic billboards to the school of Philadelphia teacher Hannah Gann and posted images on its Twitter/X feed.

Similar trucks have appeared broadcasting names and personal information at Columbia University, the City University of New York and Harvard University.

AIM also set up a special website that attempts to slander Ahmad. It is a hysterical amalgam of Ahmads university affiliation, his entirely principled statements on Twitter/X and the regurgitation of Zionist lies of mass rape and other supposed atrocities on October 7. There is no mention of the mass murder of 30,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, by bombing, summary execution, starvation, and denial of medical care, much less the abduction and torture of civilians by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The page reads like a Nazi or Ukrainian nationalist newspaper in 1942 broadcasting Bolshevik barbarism.

Ahmad was initially doxxed and attacked in October by the Murdoch rag the New York Post and Fox News over his Twitter statements, which dared to justify the Palestinians fight against 75 years of ethnic cleansing, mass killing, military occupation and the denial of basic democratic rights.

He took aim at remarks in support of Israel issued by Chancellor of Schools David Banks: So-called Israel has continually indiscriminately killed civilians, children, the elderly, the press, and medical workers and targeted schools, places of worship, and medical facilities  Now [Banks] has the time to send us Zionist propaganda to our official work emails.

In a statement about the most recent incident, Department of Education (DOE) spokesman Nathaniel Styer said, No member of our school community should be harassed or targetedeven if they are expressing opinions we disagree with.

Every educator, student and parent, however, knows that these words are a charade, and that DOE will do nothing to stop the harassment of its teachers and students by right-wing extremists. Chancelor Banks and Democratic Mayor Eric Adams have made it plain that they will do whatever they can to legitimize Zionism and the Gaza genocide and suppress pro-Palestinian viewpoints.

Last month the news journal Hellgate reported that after the parent volunteer Community Education District (CEC) 14 issued a statement in favor of a ceasefire, its members were sent hostile and harassing emails and phone calls, and death-threats; human feces was deposited in the mailbox of the head of CEC 14.

Parents told Hellgate that the DOE had done nothing to protect them. At a press conference CEC 14 President Tajh Sutton said, We have had no response to the targeted attacks and harassment on elected parent leaders and on our precious children who are participating in civic engagement by standing up against oppression. Instead, the DOE reprimanded the parents for taking security precautions during Zoom meetings.

Mayor Adams himself has on several occasions expressed his support for Israel and slandered those who have protested the genocide. In November he took an active role in defaming students who protested against the genocide at a high school in Queens when he said, The vile show of antisemitism at Hillcrest High School was motivated by ignorance-fueled hatred, plain and simple, and it will not be tolerated in any of our schools, let alone anywhere else in our city.

The United Federation of Teachers (UFT), of which Ahmad is a member, has issued no statement in his defense. It has never publicly defended any educator from defamation by the right-wing media and has refused to even call for a ceasefire in Gaza, despite protests by educators in front of UFT headquarters.

While Randi Weingarten, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, with which the UFT is affiliated, and a self-proclaimed Zionist, has called in extremely cautious terms for a ceasefire, she has been one of the leading forces in the American trade unions backing the reelection of Biden, the quartermaster for the Gaza slaughter.

Fascist and Zionist organizations are now seeing how far they can go in their harassment of the tens of thousands of active opponents in New York City of Israels four-month long murder-spree in Gaza, particularly educators. They are encouraged by the support the DOE and the UFT have given to the Zionists, as well as by Columbia Universitys inaction against Zionist students who attacked and poisoned pro-Palestinian protesters with skunk spray on January 19.

Many educators have already registered their disgust at the treatment of Ahmad. New York City Educators for Palestine noted in its Twitter/X feed, Today, a doxxing truck from a Zionist organization circled a NYC public school. They are attacking Mohammad for his social media posts from his personal account. He and his family have received death threats & there is a coordinated effort to ruin his career, and called for letters of protest.

The attempt to intimidate Ahmad is directed at the whole working class which has become increasingly disgusted at the material aid the Biden administration is giving to the Zionist slaughter and with the trade unions, which have endorsed Biden for president.

Educators and all workers need to organize independently of the union bureaucrats who, one and all, support the Democratic Partys drive to war with Russia and the continued attacks on Palestiniansand the sweeping cuts to education and social services that will be used to pay for it.

Educators who want to take up the fight to defend their democratic rights and stop war and genocide should contact the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee.
Are you a rural letter carrier? Tell us how the latest mail count affected your pay by filling out the form below. All submissions will be kept anonymous.

USPS mail carrier [Photo: United States Postal Service]

Over 135,000 rural letter carriers are entering a two-week route evaluation period this week, which will determine compensation for the next six months. This mail count is the third since the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS) was introduced in May 2023, which led to sharp wage reductions for two-thirds of rural carriers, often of $10,000 or more.

Workers were patronizingly told by management and the rural carriers union to be patient during the initial implementation of RRECS. But after two subsequent route evaluations and massive numbers of grievances filed by workers, experiences confirm that the purpose of RRECS was to slash wages all along. This is part of the misnamed Delivering for America restructuring program, which is aimed at improving the post offices profits by cutting tens of thousands of jobs and closing thousands of local post offices. This is being carried out with the collusion of the bureaucrats which run the postal unions.

The current mail count began Saturday, February 24. By Monday, letter carriers in Washington state, Georgia, Michigan, and elsewhere took to social media to report that they received no mail whatsoever to deliver, guaranteeing their routes would be undercounted. No DPS [machine sorted letters] for half of Michigan. Mail was still at the plant as of 5am, declared one carrier. There must be a count going on, said another sarcastically, pointing out how carriers are routinely cheated during route evaluations.

Lack of transparency

Rural carriers work under what is effectively a piece rate system, where their pay is calculated not by the number of hours they work but by the value of the routes they work. This is calculated on a vague system which, among other factors, involves the periodic mail counts. Every walk to a curb, door, or cluster box needs to be tracked and documented or else the carrier is not credited.

RRECS also shifted ownership of edit books, used for the detailed mapping of routes, from carriers to managers and transformed how these calculations are reported.

Frank is a rural letter carrier out of New Mexico (his real identity has been changed to protect him from retaliation). He told the World Socialist Web Site about his painstaking efforts to recoup the $10,000 in annual pay stolen from him when RRECS was introduced. Frank runs an overburdened route which had been designated as a 48K (which means it was estimated at 57+ hours per week), but which was demoted to one of the lowest designations, 43K, after the first mail count. The route lost a further hour after the second mail count in September. His union steward was astonished, as Frank carried one of the heaviest mail, magazine, and parcel volume routes in the state.

Frank, a veteran postal carrier, knew how to verify the data. He added up the minutes on his forms 4241A and 4241M and confirmed he should have been designated a 47K, much closer to his original route and salary. However, his dispute was hamstrung because USPS would not tell him the mail volumes they claim he runs.

Frank ran his questions up the chain, first contacting a district union rep. Next, Frank escalated to the national office of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA). For weeks he left messages or spoke to assistants, finally receiving a call back from a national board member, who claimed that USPS forms were correct despite no one having access to the underlying data. The board member, exuding contempt for workers, then ranted, Its the carriers fault that we have not had any mail counts in the last 5 years, and now that mail volume is down, carriers are surprised that routes have gone down in pay.

This lie that the post office is shrinking and workers have to tighten their belts is straight out of management talking points. The reality is that in the decade since RRECS was approved in 2012 and was slated to launch in 2022, USPS enjoyed unabated annual revenue growth from $65 to nearly $79 billion, as falling mail volumes were more than offset by a burgeoning parcel delivery business. During the same period, USPS shed almost 12,000 jobs.

Union betrayals, past and present

The USPS is covered by draconian, anti-democratic labor laws which ban strikes by federal employees. These laws have been in effect for decades. The union bureaucracy has accepted these anti-worker laws for decades because it helps them to tamp down on rank-and-file opposition with the ready-made excuse that workers cant strike. They lean heavily on them as a convenient pretext for enforcing sellout contracts and blocking struggles by postal workers.

As a matter of fact, hundreds of thousands of postal workers carried out a powerful wildcat strike in 1970, the first national strike by federal employees in US history. The unions sold out that struggle with an agreement which continued the blanket bans on strike action, paving the way for the liquidation of the Postal Department and its replacement with the United States Postal Service.

This was intended as the first step towards the post offices eventual privatization, for which both parties have been campaigning for decades. Delivering for America is a major step towards this by making the post office more attractive to investors.

This is also not limited to the postal unions. The railroad industry is also governed by similar legislation, but even when the anti-strike provisions of the Railway Labor Act were exhausted in 2022, the unions lied, claiming that workers still could not strike after they voted down a contract brokered by the Biden Administration. They played a crucial role in buying time until after the midterm elections for Biden and Congress to pre-emptively ban a strike and impose the contract which workers rejected.

In a January 30 keynote to the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, DeJoy was invited to share how DFA is shaking up the post office. In a telling quote he said, Were all rowing in the same direction now  that is, he has the backing of union bureaucrats and government regulators for his disastrous plan.

The city carriers union, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), has approved its own surveillance system similar to RRECS. It is called the Technology Integrated Alternate Route Evaluation and Adjustment Process (TIAREAP) and was imposed through an undemocratic Memorandum of Understanding. The union secretly extended it months after their last contract expired in May 2023.

NALC is nearly 10 months past the expiration of its last contract. The talks with USPS management have been conducted through total silence, a clear sign that the union is preparing to help impose more concessions.

About 20 NALC bureaucrats staged a press event in Dallas, TX last week focusing on the increase in violent theft against carriers. Not one word was uttered about the contract until the Q&A, when a World Socialist Web Site reporter asked what the plan was and NALC president Brain Renfroe confirmed they would move towards binding interest arbitration.

2024 is a critical year in the struggle against Delivering for America. NALC, NRLCA, and the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) all have contract negotiations coinciding this year. APWU bureaucrats host pointless, pro forma meetings and lie that not a single job will be cut even as hundreds are laid off when DFA restructuring hits their facilities. Worker anger is boiling over, and 16,000 rural carriers have even signed a petition to decertify the union.

The fight to end DFA and defend jobs

Delivering for America is a far-reaching plan. Its key features include:

 Establishing regional, Amazon-style Sorting and Delivering Centers (S&DCs) to replace processing functions of local post offices and existing processing centers

 Routing carrier pick-up and drop-off to these S&DCs, causing routes to double in length on average, while carriers deliver less mail each and wages continue to plummet

 Driving up the cost of postal products at an unprecedented rate

 Shredding at least 50,000 more postal jobs, according to statements by DeJoy, as USPS introduces more automation

 Trampling or rescinding any federal regulations that get in the way, including mail service levels and fair access to postal services for all Americans

DFA is not only an attack on workers, but on the right to access to mail. The reason for these dramatic changes is not to shore up USPS budgets, as incessantly claimed. Its purpose is to privatize USPS.

To stop DFA, defend jobs and living standards, end the cruelty and abuse of management, and improve job safety, postal workers must organize rank-and-file committees at every station and processing center and link them up with their brothers and sisters in other industries in a common struggle.

This is the perspective of the USPS Rank-and-File Committee, which was formed last year as an alternative to the labor-management collaboration of the corrupt trade unions. In its founding statement, it demanded an immediate end to RRECS and the restoration of all lost wages, among other basic demands that should form the basis of contract negotiations this year.
SNYDER On March 1, 2024, Western Texas College proudly celebrates Texas Girls in STEM Day, an initiative aimed at encouraging and inspiring young girls to pursue their interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

We have 345 full and part-time female students declaring a STEM field as their major in the spring semester, said Dr. Barb Beebe, College President. Thats almost half of our female students and more than a 35% increase from just two years ago.

State Representative Rhetta Andrews Bowers (District 113) introduced House Bill 3435, which declared March 1 as Texas Girls in STEM Day. The bill ensures that Texas schools encourage, offer opportunities, and celebrate females pursuing and achieving success in STEM fields.

In 2023, Western Texas College hosted an extremely successful, on-campus STEM day for 4th and 5th-graders. The College plans to host a STEM day every other year. Reflecting on last year's event, Beebe emphasized the importance of introducing girls to the vast opportunities within STEM fields.

"The girls who attended explored a range of engaging activities led by our accomplished female faculty and staff who are experts in STEM careers. Witnessing these skilled women in action opened up a world of possibilities for the attendees."

Showcasing women in STEM is a great place to start, stated Stephanie Ducheneaux, Dean of Instruction at WTC. She oversees the STEM curriculum and teaches math.

Dr. Lynn Millwood, Math Instructor and licensed professional geoscientist, notes that jobs in science and math career fields actually pay more and have fewer candidate applications.

I have been able to get better-paying jobs and support myself more comfortably. Plus, it is more fun.

Both Ducheneaux and Millwood remembered not hearing much about STEM careers growing up but were encouraged to pursue STEM careers. Ducheneaux was encouraged as a teenager to follow her talent and passion.

My high school math teacher told me I should go to college and become a math teacher, so I did!

As a teenager, Millwood participated in an NSF-funded Summer Science Training Program at Asbury College in Kentucky.

I studied chemistry with a Ph.D. biochemist for 8-10 weeks, recalled Millwood. It got me thinking about science.

Western Texas College is committed to fostering a supportive environment for young women in STEM. The stories of those like Ducheneaux and Millwood serve as a beacon, inspiring the next generation of female scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.

Stay tuned to WTCs social media channels for spotlight stories and updates celebrating Texas Girls in STEM Day and the inspiring journeys of our students and faculty in STEM.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 1. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, as part of his participation in the III Antalya Diplomacy Forum, held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye Hakan Fidan on February 29, Trend reports.

According to the MFA, the parties discussed a wide range of issues of political, trade, economic, investment and cultural cooperation. During the conversation, a high assessment was given to the dynamics of the development in Kazakh-Turkish relations across the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation.

Special attention was paid to the development of transit, transport, cultural and humanitarian cooperation and collaboration between the two countries in the field of education.

The foreign ministers also deliberated on issues of the international and regional agenda, including through integration associations, among which the Organization of Turkic States occupies a special place for both states.

Meanwhile, the volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Turkiye amounted to $6 billion in 2023. The volume of trade turnover decreased by 5.3 percent compared to the same period in 2022 ($6.3 billion).

At the same time, in the structure of trade turnover, exports to Turkiye for the above period amounted to $3.9 billion, which is 16.4 percent less than from January through December 2022 ($4.7 billion).

In addition, imports from Turkiye from January through December 2023 increased by 27 percent and amounted to $2 billion. For 2022, imports amounted to $1.6 billion.
Actor Alec Baldwin waved a gun around on the film set where a cinematographer was fatally shot, a court has heard.

In footage shown at the trial of the film's armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, Mr Baldwin is also seen telling her to reload the gun more quickly.

She denies involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.

Mr Baldwin was holding the gun when it went off but has said he didn't pull the trigger. He has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

The actor, who was also a producer on the film Rust, is expected to face a separate trial in July.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in the incident on the set near Santa Fe in New Mexico in October 2021.

The footage played on Thursday showed Mr Baldwin gesticulating with a pistol loaded with blanks and firing the gun within close proximity to camera operators, the AFP news agency reported.

He was also seen asking Ms Gutierrez-Reed why she didn't have more weapons ready.

After the director called "cut", he said: "One more! One more! One more! Right away! Let's reload!"

He was also heard saying: "We should have two guns and both we're reloading."

Prosecutors have alleged that Mr Baldwin endangered safety by rushing production.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, pictured in 2019

Firearms expert Bryan Carpenter, a prosecution witness, said Ms Gutierrez-Reed should not have allowed herself to be hurried.

"Rushing with firearms and telling someone to rush with firearms is not normal nor accepted," he told the court.

"In a situation like that, when you're getting rushed to that extent, that's when safety starts to fall by the wayside."

Asked about footage of Mr Baldwin showing crew members how he would hold the gun, Mr Carpenter replied: "He's using the weapon as a pointing stick."

Rust's first assistant director Dave Halls, who also gave evidence on Thursday, defended the actor. "There was never any Mr Baldwin rushing anybody," he said, according to Reuters.

In emotional testimony, Mr Halls told the court he was ultimately to blame himself because he did not do a final check on the gun.

Last year, Mr Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and received a suspended six-month sentence.

As the armourer, Ms Gutierrez-Reed was in charge of firearms on the film set. She faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

Involuntary manslaughter against Mr Baldwin were dropped last April, just two weeks before he was due to go on trial, but were reinstated in January after New Mexico prosecutors said there was new forensic evidence.
Judas Priest have just announced a stack of international listening parties for later this week, giving fans around the globe the chance to enjoy an exclusive sneak peak of their new album Invincible Shield before it drops everywhere next Friday, 8th March.

The global listening event will be taking place at metal bars at more than thirty locations across multiple countries this coming Thursday. However, very sadly, Australia has completely missed out.

Invincible Shield global listening party

Judas Priest

Invincible Shield global album listening party

Thursday March 7th pic.twitter.com/9MH2RZxetj  Judas Priest (@judaspriest) March 1, 2024

There will be multiple Priest events happening across dive bars in North America, the UK and Europe, but sadly, zilch announced for fans down under, at least as of yet. Well let you know if that changes though.

Invincible Shield will mark the British metal icons 20th studio album, forming the follow-up to 2018s Firepower LP.

In a 2023 interview with Audio Ink Radio, Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner said, There are definitely a few more twists and turns on this record. There are a few more musical parts. So, there might be a bit of As I said, there are twists and turns.

He continued: Ive used the word progressive before, and the Internet ripped me a new asshole. But it is progressive in the sense that its not like verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus-finish. Its musical part-verse-musical part. It might do a few twists and turns, musically. It veers from the path of it, a bit like Sinner or Tyrant or something like that. So, its a bit more 70s Priestbut its not a retro album, by any means.

Judas Priest are gearing up for a UK tour in support of the new album. They last visited us here in Australia back in 2015, when they appeared on the ill-fated Soundwave festival lineup.

Further Reading

Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie, Judas Priest and More Inducted Into Rock Hall of Fames Class of 2022

Andy Sneap Is Back In Judas Priest Just Days After Being Fired

Watch Rob Halford Of Judas Priest Kick A Phone Out Of A Fans Hand

The post Australia Misses Out On Global Listening Parties For New Judas Priest Album appeared first on Music Feeds.
The 2024 edition of the Berlinale continues to generate heated debate around Israels war in Gaza, with out-going Berlin festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian defending the Feb. 24 closing awards show speeches against mounting criticism from German politicians and media.

This years festival was a place for dialogue and exchange for ten days; yet once the films stopped rolling, another form of communication has been taken over by politicians and the media, one which weaponizes and instrumentalizes antisemitism for political means, Chatrian said in a letter posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

The artistic chief argued statements made on stage at Saturdays closing awards gala were protected under German freedom of speech laws.

No matter our individual political convictions or beliefs, we should all keep in mind that freedom of speech is an essential part of what defines a democracy. The award ceremony on Saturday, February 24 has been targeted in such a violent way that some people now see their lives threatened. This is unacceptable, Chatrian and Mark Peranson, head of programming, added in their joint online letter.

On Feb. 27, No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham in his own X post said he had received death threats after calling for equality between Israelis and Palestinians  during the Berlinale closing gala when he accepted the best documentary prize. Abraham said he was forced to cancel his flight back to Israel out of fear for his safety.

Chatrian and Peranson said they stand in solidarity with other filmmakers, jury members and festival guests who may also have received direct or indirect threats. Their social media post follows an escalating political debate in Germany over the closing ceremony last weekend where award winners were allowed to call out the Israeli government for its actions in the war in Gaza.

On Tuesday, German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann criticized the Berlinale for allowing what he called antisemitic statements to go unchallenged at the awards gala. Berlin mayor Kai Wegner called the gala intolerable saying antisemitism has no place in Berlin, and that also applies to the art scene. He said the Berlinale management must ensure such incidents do not happen again.

And Bettina Stark-Watzinger, the German minister for education and science, posted on X that the pro-Palestinian statements represented a perpetrator-victim reversal on an open stage. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also condemned the Israel-critical statements at the Berlinale finale as one-sided positioning that cannot be allowed to stand, according to a government spokesperson.

The Berlinale as an organization has distanced itself from the comments made by festival winners, saying the statements made on the festival stage were sometimes one-sided and activist and were an expression of individual personal opinions that in no way reflect the festivals position.

In a statement before the awards, Berlinale executive director Mariette Rissenbeek condemned the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 and called for a return of all hostages. She also called on Israel to do whatever it could to prevent civilian casualties in the region.

The X post from Chatrain and Peranson follows:

March 1, 2024

We have a great deal of respect for the institution we are working for and for the country that has hosted us for the last five years. The way Germany has handled its past and overcome it, becoming a leading country in supporting human rights and welcoming people in distress has been admirable, and that is one of the reasons why we have been so proud to work for the Berlinale. Knowing that our backgrounds dont allow us to fully comprehend the complexity of peoples feelings and beliefs, we have always aligned with the festivals decisions even when these were not exactly ours and at times did not go in the direction of what an international film festival should stand for.

The last days have made us aware of the great danger that the Berlinale, like other institutions in Germany, is facing. Thats why we dare to raise our voices. We stand for cinema, which doesnt belong to any political party- it is neither right wing nor left wing. We believe in the power of cinema to unite people. This years festival was a place for dialogue and exchange for ten days; yet once the films stopped rolling, another form of communication has been taken over by politicians and the media, one which weaponizes and instrumentalizes anti-Semitism for political means. No matter our individual political convictions or beliefs, we should all keep in mind that freedom of speech is an essential part of what defines a democracy. The award ceremony on Saturday, February 24 has been targeted in such a violent way that some people now see their lives threatened. This is unacceptable.

We stand in solidarity with all filmmakers, jury members, and other festival guests who have received direct or indirect threats, and do not back down from any programming choices made at this ears Berlinale. We also take this opportunity to state that we deeply feel for the hostages still being held by Hamas, including former Berlinale guest David Cunio, and we call for an immediate release of all other hostages. We also feel for the lives of millions of people in Gaza; their lives are in danger. To the ones who say that it is either or, we want to remind you that sorrow is universal. Mourning the loss of human beings on one side doesnt mean that we dont mourn others losses too. Stating the opposite is simply dishonest, and shameful and polarizing behavior.

As festivalgoers and programmers, we truly hope that the Berlinale will stay a window of the free world. A place where any film can be shown. A place where any international guest can come without having their political views scrutinized. As Meron Mendel, director of the Bildungsstatte Anne Frank said when asked for comments regarding the award ceremony, It would be wrong to describe all those who criticize Israel one-sidedly and sometimes with radical positions as antisemites

Whether we like it or not, we have to learn to endure such debates!

Carlo Chatrian, artistic director

Mark Peranson, head of programming

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Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus is a 2013 Chilean adventure comedy film. The story centers on a cocky young American who is visiting Chile and is keen to learn more about the mysteries of the San Pedro cactus, a local plant known for its hallucinogenic properties. The film delves into subjects such as human development, empathy, and the collision of cultures and personalities. It is a voyage of self-realization and interpersonal understanding against the breathtaking scenery of Chile.

Heres how you can watch and stream Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus via streaming services such as AMC Plus.

Is Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus available to watch via streaming?

Yes, Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus is available to watch via streaming on AMC Plus.

While traveling to Chile along with his three friends Jamie, a self-absorbed man, meets an American woman. Though they initially doubt Crystal Fairys free-spiritedness, Jamie carelessly asks the quirky woman to accompany him and his three Chilean friends on their search for the cactus. They all share poignant experiences under its psychedelic impact on a lonely desolate beach, which strengthens their bond despite a hurried burglary to obtain the desired plant.

The main cast includes Michael Cera as Jamie, Gaby Hoffmann as Crystal Fairy, Juan Andres Silva as Champa, Agustin Silva as Pilo, Jose Miguel Silva as Lel, and Sebastian Silva as Lobo.

Watch Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus streaming via AMC Plus

Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus is available to watch on AMC Plus.

AMC Plus is a subscription video-on-demand streaming service that provides ad-free access to a wide range of TV series, movies, and originals from AMC Networks and its partners.

You can watch via AMC Plus by following these steps:

Go to AMCPlus.com Create a username and password Choose your plan: $8.99 per month

$83.88 per year

Users can also subscribe to AMC Plus as a channel via Amazon Prime Video if they are current subscribers to Amazons service.

Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus synopsis is as follows:

Jamie is a boorish, insensitive American twentysomething traveling in Chile, who somehow manages to create chaos at every turn. He and his friends are planning on taking a road trip north to experience a legendary shamanistic hallucinogen called the San Pedro cactus. In a fit of drunkenness at a wild party, Jamie invites an eccentric womana radical spirit named Crystal Fairyto come along.

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 Doha Film Institute (DFI) kicked off its 10th Qumra talent and project incubator meeting on a somber note on Friday as its organizers spoke out about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Some 200 international industry professionals are due to attend the Qatari event, running from March 1 to 6, to nurture 40 projects by emerging filmmakers. The event is a cornerstone of the DFIs activities.

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While we celebrate the progress that we have made in nurturing new voices in cinema, we are also confronted with the genocide in Gaza and the ongoing attempts to silence the voices crying out against it, said DFI CEO Fatma Hassan Al Remaihi.

This cultural genocide is a profound reminder of our responsibility as a global community to ensure that all voices are heard, and all lives are treated with dignity and respect.

Hassan Al Remaihi was speaking the day after Gaza authorities accused Israeli soldiers of killing at least 100 people as they queued for food relief in Gaza City.

Israel said the deaths were the result of trampling and that its troops fired after they felt threatened by crowds. The countrys military action in Gaza is in response to a Hamas terror attack in southern Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and another 240 taken hostage.

According to Gazas Hamas-run health authorities, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory over the past 147 days.

These figures have been contested in some quarters but U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told a congressional hearing on Thursday that at least 25,000 women and children had been killed.

While the situation continues to worsen in Palestine and countries throughout the region including Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria, providing a platform to acknowledge the courage and resilience of those fighting against oppression becomes even more important, said Hassan Al Remaihi.

The Doha Film Institute has always been and will remain dedicated to realising important stories and amplifying unheard voices that connect us in our shared humanity. We are proud to be on the journey with these bold and evocative projects that will impact our societies for years to come.

There are a number of projects by Palestinian filmmakers at Qumra this year including Ahmad Salehs Trouble Magnet, about a teenager who rides an imaginary donkey from Palestine to Germany; Gaza-born Mohammed Almughannis doc Son of the Streets, about a stateless child living in a Beirut refugee camp; Mayar Hamdan and Shaima Al Tamimis The Myth of Mahmoud about a Palestinian family that has called Doha its home for 60 years and is now contemplating its next move, and Saleh Saadis TV series Dyouf, about a family run guesthouse in a Bedouin village.

DFI Artistic Advisor Elia Suleiman said Qumra offered a space for reflection.

Qumra offers the opportunity to ask what must be done to take responsibility, and a moral and ethical position on what films enable us to discuss about genocides, massacres and horrible violence around the world, he said.

Here we have the benefit of distance from what is going on [in the region]. It allows the questioning of what must be done in the context of storytelling, and in the context of asking cinematic questions as we tell our stories. This is the right time to contemplate, meditate and take a solemn moment but also start to converse and discuss aesthetics to somehow have some inspiration and creativity.

Qumras program of masterclasses, one-on-one meetings and networking kicked off on Friday afternoon with a masterclass by Toni Collette, in which she discussed her journey from a working class neighborhood in Sydney to becoming Hollywood star.

The 40 participating projects hail from and 20 countries span include 13 feature narratives, 11 documentaries, 11 shorts and 7 web/TV series in various stages of production. Among the projects, 11 are helmed by Qatari or Qatar-based directors, including seven by nationals.

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On March 1, 2024, an Amber Alert was issued for two young girls who went missing and were believed to be abducted by their father. New Hampshire State Police issued the Amber Alert early Friday morning. The alert has been issued for 4-year-old Elowyn Duren and 1-year-old Vaelyn Duren (via CBS News).

The missing children were last seen in Berlin, New Hampshire. Their last sighting was reportedly at 8 p.m. on Feb. 29, 2024. The girls were with their biological father, Dustin Mark Duren. Everyone has been asked to keep their distance if they are sighted, with the police instructing people to call 911 immediately.

The little girls have been described as having blonde hair and blue eyes. In the New Hampshire Amber Alert, authorities also notified that Dustin Mark Duren might be armed and dangerous, so others should keep their distance once they are spotted (via NBC10 Boston).

What can you do if your child goes missing?

If your child has gone missing, it is best to contact your local law enforcement agency immediately. After reporting the same, you can call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Request them to enter your kids name and other relevant information into the FBIs National Crime Information Center Missing Person File.

If your little ones missing case meets the Amber Alert criteria, broadcasters and state transportation officials are notified immediately. These alerts can be issued across state and jurisdictional lines. However, they are reserved for the most severe cases. Amber Alert is but one tool authorities use to help families whose children have gone missing. They are equipped with several other methods to help you with missing children cases.

The post New Hampshire Amber Alert Issued for Missing Girls appeared first on Momtastic.
Justin Bieber marks his 30th birthday on March 1, 2024. The Canadian pop sensation's journey began as a teenage musical star and evolved into a mature artist.

In 2007, when he was just 12 years old, Bieber began posting cover songs of various artists on the video-sharing platform, YouTube. His vocal and instrumental skills caught the attention of talent manager Scooter Braun. While searching for a different artist, Braun accidentally clicked on one of Bieber's videos and was impressed by his vocal abilities.

JUSTIN BIEBER REVEALS FACE MOBILITY FOLLOWING RAMSAY HUNT SYNDROME DIAGNOSIS

Since then, Bieber is known as one of the best-selling music artists, with an estimated 150 million record sales worldwide, according to americansongwriter.com.

Bieber's career has had a number of chart-topping hits and Grammy awards. He also has a magnetic stage presence that audiences appreciate. Beyond music, he has faced public scrutiny, overcoming personal and health challenges and legal issues.

Bieber took a break from the spotlight to focus on his well-being. In recent years, he has made a comeback with favored albums like "Changes" (2020) and "Justice" (2021), showcasing his growth as an artist.

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In 2018, Bieber married model and founder of beauty brand, Rhode, Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin). The couple wed in a lavish ceremony at the Montage Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina. The event was packed with Hollywood A-listers including Usher, members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, country duo Dan + Shay and more.





Original article source: Justin Bieber celebrates 30 years: From young YouTube sensation to pop icon
In this March 31, 2014, file photo, the shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion is seen on low level cloud while the aircraft searches for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, near the coast of Western Australia. Netflix will release a documentary, MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, about the incident on March 8. | Rob Griffith, Associated Press

Nearly a decade ago, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing. It seemed to disappear out of thin air. Meager amounts of debris from the plane were reportedly found, but the reports remain inconclusive. We still dont know what happened.

As arguably one of the greatest mysteries of the last decade, there are still hundreds of questions surrounding the disappearance of Flight 370. What did the planes last moments in air look like? Why has the plane not been recovered? What is the government not telling us? Does the government even know anything about it?

As we come upon the 10-year anniversary of Flight MH370s disappearance, here are some key facts about the missing plane.

What do we know about Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?

1. Flight 370 took off on March 8, 2014, just after midnight

On March 8, 2014, at 12:41 a.m., Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 took off with 227 passengers and 12 crew members from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The plane was scheduled to arrive at the Beijing Capital International Airport at 6:30 a.m. local time. It never did. Instead, at 1:07 a.m., the airplane sent its final automated position report. At 1:19 a.m., the final voice transmission from the cockpit of the ill-fated plane was received by air traffic controllers: Good night Malaysian three seven zero, per History.

Roughly an hour after the plane missed its scheduled landing time in Beijing, Malaysia Airlines announced it was missing.

2. No distress signal was ever sent

The Boeing 777 jetliner silently disappeared. A distress signal was never received. The pilots never activated an SOS. Why? That remains a mystery. Along with the majority of the plane, the black box was never found  and it could have provided answers, per The Washington Post.

According to CNN, emergency beacons  also known as emergency locator transmitters  are devices that send out an electronic distress signal in the event of a crash. They cannot operate underwater. Flight 370 had four emergency locator transmitters, Malaysian officials told CNN. Two were stored on the planes life raft, one was stowed in the cabin and the fourth was an antenna near the rear door at the top of the aircraft.

It only takes a half-second data burst for the transmitters to indicate an emergency. There was never a single burst. If the antenna was working, it could have broken in the event of a crash. The other transmitters will not work if the beacon is submerged underwater.

3. The plane flew off course

Malaysia Flight 370 probably steered off-course intentionally, reports Time. A report from the Malaysian government released in 2018 claimed that the Boeing 777 changed course  the report claimed maneuvers made by the plane were likely due to the system being manipulated, not a system failure.

Experts mapped the planes course through hourly data hookups with a satellite. They believe the plane might have run out of gas and plummeted into the Indian Ocean.

We are unable to determine with any certainty the reasons that the aircraft diverted from its filed planned route, said Kok Soo Chon, chief inspector of the MH370 investigation team, per Time. The possibility of intervention by a third party cannot be excluded.

4. The locator beacon for the planes data recorder was expired

A comprehensive report in the disappearance of Flight 370 revealed that the battery in the planes locator beacon for the data recorder expired more than a year before the Boeing 777s disappearance, per Deseret News.

Although the beacons battery was expired, the data recording device  also known as a black box  would have been working and likely recorded what happened on the plane.

5. Debris from the plane washed up in 2015 and 2016

Roughly 20 pieces from the plane have been found by the public on the African coast and islands of the Indian Ocean, per the BBC. Most of the pieces were found in 2015 and 2016.

Some of the pieces found include: the right wing flaperon, the right outboard flap, closet panel, cabin interior panel and the left outboard flap trailing edge. Most of the pieces found were confirmed as parts from MH370.

The first piece discovered, the right wing flaperon, was examined in France by international aviation experts who say they believe with certainty that the piece came from MH370, per the BBC.

What do conspiracy theorists say about MH370?

The disappearance of Flight MH370 offers an optimal breeding ground for conspiracy theories (some reasonable, others outlandish) and since we still dont know exactly what happened to Flight MH370, the conspiracy theories about its disappearance are alive and well. Here are a few of the most common theories.

1. Russian special ops took the plane

An article in New York Magazine hypothesizes that the plane was hijacked by Russian special ops. Nefarious actors might have broken into the electronics-and-equipment bay, which is located in front of the first-class cabin on a Boeing 777. Theoretically, an expert hijacker could have access to equipment that could be used to change satellite data and alter pinpoints the plane took  providing investigators with a false trail. They could have even taken over flight controls.

Jeff Wise, the man behind the theory, believes the plane actually traveled north into Asia with a final destination in Kazakhstan, where there are runways large enough for a Boeing 777. Wises theory is well-researched, he provides claims for which passengers might have been the perpetrators and an exact location the plane might have landed, but it has yet to be proven.

2. There was a fire in the cockpit

Chris Goodfellow, a pilot with 20 years of experience, believes the fate of MH370 was sparked by an electrical fire in the cockpit. He describes his theory as a simple explanation to the disappearance of the Boeing 777, per Wired. Goodfellow suggests a fire in the cockpit explains the sudden disappearance of communications and the planes sudden left turn  the experienced MH370 pilot was heading to the nearest airport amid the fire.

Goodfellow describes a variety of unfortunate circumstances that could have led to a cockpit fire. If it did happen, the flight crew might have succumbed to smoke while the plane kept flying until the controls burned up or it ran out of gas.

3. It was murder-suicide by the pilot

Larry Vance, a Canadian aviation expert and former airplane crash investigator, told CBC News that he can claim with 100% certainty that the disappearance of MH370 was an act of murder-suicide by the pilot.

This is a criminal event. Its not an accident, Vance told CBC News. This was planned and conducted, carried out by one individual who had control of the airplane via his job to have control of the airplane.

Vance says based on his examination of the washed-up plane debris, he can confirm that the plane was deliberately crashed.

4. U.S. military shot it down

Another theory suggests the plane was going on a suicide mission and the U.S. military shot it down before it could reach its target, per Wired. Americans covered up the act by altering the planes satellite data and collecting the debris, the theory alleges.

5. Abducted by aliens

When in doubt, blame aliens. Need I say more?

Watch: trailer for MH370: The Plane That Disappeared

On March 8, 2023  exactly nine years after MH370s mysterious disappearance  Netflix released a documentary, MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, which digs into what happened during the first few hours and days after the disappearance, a brief history of Malaysian Airlines and a look at the ongoing search for Flight 370.

Nine years later, the event is still a disturbing, unresolved mystery, and the three-part speculative docuseries MH370: The Plane That Disappeared brings together a global community of family members, scientists and investigative journalists, all of whom continue to search for answers, says Netflix.

Watch a trailer for the documentary below.








Heather and Craig Weiskerger met and started falling in love during rehearsals for a 2007 production of Oklahoma at the Manatee Players. It has been more than 10 years since they last shared the stage in the musical I Do! I Do! at the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre, other than for a concert or a reading.

But they will be celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary doing what they love, performing together in poignant, challenging and timely musical Parade, which is based on a true story.

Craig Weiskerger plays Leo Frank, a New York-born Jewish businessman who manages a pencil factory in 1913 Atlanta before he is charged with the murder of one of the young women who worked for him, Mary Phagan. The case was closely followed by a community and touched on anti-semitism and prejudice.

Craig Weiskerger, left, plays Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman in Atlanta accused of murdering one of his employees in 1913 Atlanta, and Heather Weiskerger plays his life, Lucille, in the Manatee Players production of the Tony Award-winning musical Parade.

Heather Weiskerger plays Leos Southern Jewish wife, Lucille, whose initially tentative relationship with her husband grows stronger through the accusations, defense, the hatred and court trials.

These are bucket list roles for both of us, Heather said. Theaters dont do shows like this very often, for understandable reasons. Were glad it resurfaced on Broadway last year and got more attention because its an incredible show.

The musical was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Alfred Uhry (the author of Driving Miss Daisy and The Last Night at Ballyhoo) and three-time Tony Award-winning songwriter Jason Robert Brown, who also created The Last Five Years, The Bridges of Madison County and Songs From a New World.

Parade returned to Broadway last year in a Tony Award-winning revival, opening at a time of increasing anti-semitic attacks around the country. Some audience members were met by protestors outside the theater during the run.

The show is not often produced, particularly in community theaters, because it can be a hard sell to audiences who prefer lighter and more familiar musicals.

This is probably the darkest piece Ive ever done, but I have always wanted to do it ever since it opened at Lincoln Center, said director Scott Keys. The former director of the theater program at Booker High Schools Visual and Performing Arts Center, Keys said he used the show for a script analysis class. It was the one musical that really has stuff to analyze. I have revisited it several times over the years when I was teaching it. Its so rich.

It also can be emotionally wrenching for audiences and for the performers.

I have never really done a dramatic musical. Ive always done jukebox musicals or more lighthearted and fun shows, and I wanted something meatier to sink my teeth into, said Craig, who last starred at the Manatee Players in a 2017 production of The Producers. Jason Robert Brown writes shows with a lot of depth. I love his musicals in general. Hes a brilliant composer.

Heather said the hard work involved in preparing for the show is rewarding. This is hopefully one of those shows that will expand your horizons and help you gain more respect for everyone in the world. Thats what I hope people will take away from it. Yes, it is emotionally trying to watch and be part of it, but I hope everyone grows from that.

Alfred Uhry, center, and composer Jason Robert Brown to his right, accepting the award for best revival of a musical for Parade at the 2023 Tony Awards.

A story of hope

Keys has stressed to the cast that the musical features a thread of hope through the story that makes you want to keep watching, Heather said. We already know its tragic, but theres hope. Its fascinating to see Leo and Lucilles love story through the trying ordeals they went through.

Keys said Browns beautiful, inventive score helps tell a story about the relationship that transpires between these two people. It centers around a love story, two people falling in love because of a tragedy that befalls them. There is a mystery to it, but theres something very compelling about the mystery and the politics and the cynicism that surrounds this story, which is ultimately about a young girl who is murdered.

The murder of Mary Phagan, the pencil factory employee, has never been solved.

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World premiere: 1950s Florida murder case inspires home-grown, original musical at Westcoast Black Theatre

Ive read almost more than I want to about this trial and it shows how the media and politcs overwhelmed the actual tragedy, which is the murder of a young girl and how it was used for political gain, Keys said. There is anti-semitism, white supremacy. Its a very ugly subject. But it really reflects the times we are in right now, more than I realized it was going to.

Emily Croome is serving as musical director. The large cast also includes Kila Sons as Mary Phagan, Tim Spradlin as the governor who launches an investigation into the case, and Terry Spann as Jim Conley, who Keys says is the most likely person to have committed the murder, based on much of the research available.

While the show was first produced 26 years ago, Keys said the subject resonates now with what is going on in the world in terms of anti-semitism, political unrest and how all these politicians glom onto a murder case for political gain.

Parade

Book by Alfred Uhry, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown. Directed by Scott Keys. Runs March 7-17, Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Ave., West, Bradenton. Tickets are $33-$38. 941-748-5875; manateeperformingartscenter.com

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Tony-winning musical Parade steps off at Manatee Players
Big change on Masterpieces popular drama Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Stuart Martin, who played William The Duke Wellington in the previous four seasons, will not return for season 5. Kate Phillips (Wolf Hall, The Crown) will return as Miss Eliza Scarlet for a fifth season of investigations, and the series will be retitled Miss Scarlet.

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It has been such an incredible joy to bring Duke to life through Rachaels beautiful, brilliant writing, and to get to play him for the past four years, said Martin in a statement. But it felt like the time was right for Scarlet to explore new stories and challenges for now, as the show continues to grow and evolve. I will miss working with my amazing partner in crime Kate and the rest of our brilliant family and team, but Im excited to continue following Eliza and her escapades as a huge fan and newly enrolled Scarleteer!

I will miss working with my pal Stu every day, and know Eliza will miss her Duke, but I think the best is yet to come for her, added Phillips. I cant wait for fans to see what we have in store for Season 5.

Season four of the drama premiered Jan. 7 on PBS. In the new season, Phillips and Martin returned as the titular will-they-wont-they crime solvers while her character took over the business of Nash & Sons. Outside of work, Scarlets relationship with the Duke builds towards a looming decision that will shape both their lives.

Filming on season 5 has begun in Belgrade, Serbia. Additional casting will be announced later.

This new chapter in Elizas story is going to bring our audience more of what theyve come to love about this series  mystery, humor, potential romance and most of all, Kate Phillips terrific performance as Miss Scarlet, said Masterpiece Executive Producer Susanne Simpson.

Masterpiece is presented on PBS by GBH Boston.

Miss Scarlet is a Miss Scarlet Limited production co-produced with Masterpiece in association with Other Mans Shoes and Work in Progress with pre-investment from UKTV. The Executive Producers are Harvey Myman, Susanne Simpson, Jin Ishimoto, Patrick Irwin, Patty Lenahan Ishimoto, and Rachael New. The Irish co-producer is Jim Duggan, Serbian co-producer Anelija Vlaisavljevic and the Senior Series Producer for Masterpiece is Erin Delaney. The directors for season five are Ivan Zivkovic and Milos Kodemo.

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This is part of a series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.

A comment Les Watanabe's mother, Junko, made in 1985 as they watched his father, Ismai, tend to his garden, which included a Bonsai tree, stuck with him.

Hes made my life a Bonsai, she said.

His mother died two years later, but her words bounced around in his head for decades. About 20 years later, he put Junkos words  and his mothers point of view of his parents relationship  into a performance piece.

After many revisions, Bonsai has become an award-winning short film by the Western Oregon University dance professor.

I have a lot of pieces that I really like, but this one is the most personal because its family, said Watanabe, 75. So now I feel that I can let it rest.

Les Watanabe is an assistant professor in theatre and dance at Western Oregon University, teaching ballet and modern dance seminars.

Les Watanabe discovers dance

Watanabes parents met and were married in Japan, as described in Bonsai.

They settled in Denver, where Watanabe was born. His father was in the Army and the family moved from Germany to Japan to Los Angeles in his youth.

He said he felt out of place in middle school in LA. So he accepted when a friend, Marvin Cassio, offered to teach him how to dance. Every Saturday for five years, Watanabe and other boys from their school got together and learned Motown dances.

Something sparked while taking a modern dance class from Janice Gudde Plastino at Harbor Community College in Wilmington, Calif. Plastino encouraged Watanabe to pursue dancing, but warned him that it would take 10 years to become a professional dancer.

Les Watanabe warms up without ballet barres before teaching his Western Oregon University students on January 25.

Watanabe earned a degree at the California Institute of the Arts and set out to make a living as a dancer.

His mother was not pleased.

Once I chose dance, all communication was off, he said. She wanted nothing to do with me. She says, You chose the lowest profession. I cant even tell my uncles or my brothers or my sisters what youre doing. Youre a biggest shame and embarrassment.

How a performance with Rita Moreno brought reconciliation

Undeterred, Watanabe learned every dance style he could including ballet, flamenco, jazz and tap. He was tutored by dancer and choreographer Eugene Loring, at UC-Irvine. He was hired by a professional dance company and toured for three years.

One of his first big breaks was dancing the in 1973 CBS special Ailey Celebrates Ellington CBS Special, produced by Howard Krawitz. He moved to New York in 1974 and was cast in the original 1976 Broadway cast of Pacific Overtures. The musical, which featured an All-Asian cast, was written by Stephen Sondheim and directed by Harold Prince.

A couple years later, Watanabe was hired as a back-up dancer for the legendary Rita Moreno. For a year, they toured nightclubs and hotels throughout the country.

Watanabe said when Morenos husband, Leonard Gordon, was at the performances, he would insist Watanabe and the two other dancers be behind Moreno on stage. When Gordon wasnt there, Moreno insisted they come forward because she knew they were better dancers than her.

Les Watanabe watches a student practice at Western Oregon University in Monmouth.

Half of the time on that tour they opened for Ben Vereen. The other half they opened for Bill Cosby.

We went together and had lunch or breakfast with him, Watanabe said of Cosby. He was always trying out his jokes. If they were good, we would see them that night. If we didnt laugh, he wouldnt do them. That was pretty cool.

Watanabes mother finally came to watch a performance in Las Vegas in 1978, accepting her sons chosen profession.

Watanabe returns from Paris to the United States

Watanabe was living in Paris with Catherine, his second wife, in 1987 and had spent two years developing what would have been when his first play.

But his father called and said his mother was ill and he needed to come home. They decided to move to California and to be there for his mother who died later that year.

In his 40s, Watanabe decided to go back to UC-Irvine to get his masters degree. After graduating, he took a position in 1997 as an artist in residency at the University of Oregon. After that ended, he and Catherine decided to move to Portland.

He didnt know anybody in Portland and didnt have any real job prospects, so he worked for a temp agency, filing paperwork at an office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Les Watanabe prepares his students for the midterm exam during an advanced ballet class at Western Oregon University.

The temp agency work was followed by teaching creative dance to second graders for two years. It didnt go well. He said he spent most of the time stopping kids from fighting and running into the street.

He taught at Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in Beaverton for a many years and started a photography and video business recording dance and producing and directing dance films.

He started teaching at Western Oregon and the University of Portland 10 years ago. He drives from his Portland home to Monmouth two days a week.

Bonsai is a film that encompasses Watanabe's life

Around 2003, Watanabe started to mold his mothers words into a dance piece. He found a couple of narrators and some dancers and put on a live performance of Bonsai and it was videotaped. Over the years, Watanabe made changes, except for the female narration by June Wright.

Then about seven years ago, he brought back dancers he taught when they were younger to perform it again, and he filmed it again with better cameras.

Then he let it sit again.

Watanabe approached Bonsai again in 2023. He brought back the original composer two decades later to update the score. He didnt like the original male narrator, so he brought in then-WOU professor David Janowiak to redo it.

Finally, 20 years after first videotaping it and nearly four decades after the conversation with his mother, Bonsai was done.

And I said Im happy with it, Watanabe said.

Bonsai has won Best Experimental Film at the 8 Halfilm Awards in Rome, the Frida Film Festival in Paris, the Florence Film Awards and the International Gold Awards as well as awards at the Paris Film Awards and New York Movie Awards.

Its being shown all over the world, Watanabe said. They tell me its going to be shown here, shown there, thank you. India, they loved it in Mumbai. They just loved it. They raved about it. They asked me if I could come there just to receive the award.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: How Western Oregon prof's award-winning film 'Bonsai' came together
In early April, the Facebook News tab will start disappearing for users in the US and Australia. Meta has announced that it's deprecating the dedicated tab found in the bookmarks section of its social network as part of its efforts to "align [its] investments to [its] products and services people value the most." The company already retired the News tab in the UK, France and Germany in early December 2023, explaining that it's funneling its resources to other things that people want to see more of, such as short form videos.

In Meta's new post, it said the number of people using the News tab in the US and Australia over the past year has dropped by 80 percent. News makes up less than three percent of what users see on Facebook apparently, and it's just not a big part of their experience. "We know that people dont come to Facebook for news and political content  they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests," the company wrote.

By pulling the News tab in Australia, the company will also stop paying publishers in the country for their content after their current deals end. A few years ago, Facebook blocked news links in the country in response to the then-proposed law that would require companies like Meta to pay media organizations for their content. The company unblocked news links just a few days later after it started striking deals with Australian media organizations.

According to The Age, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission believes that Google and Meta inked deals with dozens of outlets, including Guardian Australia and News Corp Australia, worth about $200 million a year. Meta is responsible for around one-third or $66 million of that total amount, meaning its decision is bound to have a huge impact on the news business in the country. And there seems to be no room for negotiation: The company made it clear in its announcement that it's not going to enter new commercial deals for traditional news content in any of the regions where it has already removed the News tab.

Meta has not blocked news links in the aforementioned countries, however, and Facebook users can still access any that's been posted on the social network. Publishers can also continue posting links to their stories on their official pages as usual.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, a longtime seasonal resident of Palm Beach, died Thursday, Feb. 29, at a local hospital of complications from a fall.

He was 84 years old and the husband of Mila (nee Pivnicki) Mulroney.

Mr. Mulroney had faced health issues in the recent past, including treatment for prostate cancer followed by a heart procedure. His death was announced on the social media site X (formerly Twitter) by his daughter Caroline Mulroney Lapham, the president of the Treasury Board of Ontario, a Cabinet government position.

On behalf of my mother and our family, it is with great sadness we announce the passing of my father, The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Canadas 18th Prime Minister, Mrs. Lapham wrote in her post.

Born Martin Brian Mulroney in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, on March 20, 1939, he was one of the six children of Canadian-Irish Catholic parents, Mary Irene (nee O'Shea) and Benedict Martin Mulroney, known as Bennie. The entire family was fluent in both English and Quebecois French.

Baie-Comeau, a paper mill town on the St. Lawrence River, was built and owned by Robert McCormick, the owner-publisher of the Chicago Tribune. McCormick wanted to source his own newsprint rather than have to buy it from his Hearst rivals.

Benedict Mulroney was an electrician at the paper mill and urged his son to aspire for something better. "The way out of the paper mill is through the doors of the university," he told him. After attending a Catholic boarding school, the intellectually gifted Brian entered St. Francis University in Nova Scotia at the age of 16.

It was while studying political science at St. Francis that the seeds of his political career were sown, when he was asked to join the college's Progressive Conservatives group.

Mr. Mulroney went on to earn a law degree in 1964 from Universite Laval in Quebec City and joined a Montreal law firm now known as Norton Rose Fulbright, where his lucrative career as a corporate lawyer sharpened his innate political skills.

He had a meteoric rise from local, to provincial to national office, with his wife Mila  often described as his most effective political asset  by his side. Mr. Mulroney met Mila when she was a bikini-clad 18-year-old at the pool of a private club in Mont Royal.

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney spoke during the Palm Beach Civic Association Annual Awards Luncheon at The Breakers in 2015.

"He always talks about the bikini," she once told a friend. "I wish he would say we met in the library."

Mr. Mulroney served as prime minister from 1984 to 1993. He barreled into office in one of the biggest political landslides in Canadian history, yet plummeted to almost single-digit levels of approval nine years later.

Popularity is bad for you, Mr. Mulroney said in a 1992 campaign speech. I try to avoid it like the plague, and Ive been reasonably successful.

Brian and Mila Mulroneya the Breast Cancer Research Foundation Luncheon at The Breakers in 2017 in Palm Beach.

During his tenure, Mr. Mulroney formed a close friendship with fellow conservative President Ronald Reagan. Their 1985 "Shamrock Summit in Quebec City saw the two tuxedo-clad world leaders sing "When Irish Eyes are Smiling."

Mr. Mulroney repeated his performance more than 30 years later at a gala at the Mar-a-Lago Club, where Mr. Mulroney  accompanied by composer/pianist David Foster  sang the ballad, only to be upstaged by the arrival of new President Donald Trump and his first lady Melania.

He also forged a friendship with Reagan's successor, President George H.W. Bush. He eulogized both former presidents at their funerals.

Then-Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sits with Queen Elizabeth II in this undated photo.

Mr. Mulroney's actions were crucial in securing the release of South African freedom fighter, and later president, Nelson Mandela, which in turn led to the end of apartheid. Not that he would take the credit. Instead he gave it to his boss, the late Queen Elizabeth II.

"When I became chairman of CHOG (Commonwealth Heads of Government) in 1987, Nelson Mandela had been languishing in a South African jail for two decades," he told the Palm Beach Daily News in a 2022 interview. "I decided I would use the biennial meeting to make Mandela's freedom our number-one priority, and to do it by putting sanctions on South Africa."

At the meeting, held in Vancouver in October 1987, Mr. Mulroney found unanimous support. Almost.

"[Rajiv] Gandhi, [Lynden] Pindling, [Robert] Mugabe, they were all with me,"Mr. Mulroneyremembered. "But not Margaret."

"Margaret" being British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who adamantly opposed sanctions because she believed they would only further the suffering of the non-white population in South Africa.

But he had a game changer  the finely honed diplomatic skills of a certain queen, who, at the 1985 CHOG meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, two years earlier, reminded attendees that apartheid was a system where a country of 4 million whites held 30 million non-whites hostage to servitude.

"When it came to the abolition of apartheid, Her Majesty was a constant and positive ... a sweet, gentle but persuasive diplomat." Because of the queen's brilliant handling of recalcitrant statesmen, Mr. Mulroney got his sanctions, and on Feb.11, 1990, "Nelson Mandela walked out of prison into the sunshine of freedom" Mr. Mulroney said.

Two months later, apartheid ended.

Mandela himself would later say in a speech that "Canada was the key to unlock my freedom, and Brian Mulroney turned the key."

But Mr. Mulroney thought otherwise. "It would not have happened without Her Majesty," he said.

After leaving politics, Mr. Mulroney served on corporate boards and was chair of Quebecor Inc. and Forbes Global Business and Finance. He bought a winter home ion the North End of Palm Beach, which he had first seen on a visit to his friend Paul Desmarais.

"I fell in love with the place," he would later say.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement saying he was "devastated" to learn of Mr. Mulroney's death. "He never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home," Trudeau said.

"I'll never forget the insights he shared with me over the years  he was generous, tireless, and incredibly passionate. As we mourn his passing and keep his family and friends in our thoughts, let us also acknowledge  and celebrate  Mr. Mulroney's role in building the modern, dynamic, and prosperous country we all know today."

"Brian was one of the kindest, most thoughtful people I ever knew," said longtime friend Michele Kessler, an island resident. "He was a devoted husband and father and loved by everybody who knew him."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Mulroney is survived by his sons Ben, a Canadian television personality whose three children served as page boys at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle; and Mark and Nicholas, both of whom work in the Toronto financial industry.

As former head of government, Mr. Mulroney will receive a state funeral in Canada. "We're working with the family closely to ensure that all of their wishes are respected and that it be the right and fitting tribute to him," Trudeau said.

In Mr. Mulroney's honor, the flag on the Peace Tower on the Parliament building in Ottawa is flying at half-staff.

Plans for a Palm Beach service have not yet been announced.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Obituary: Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney dies at 84
57-year-old Michael Meyden allegedly gave the girls mango smoothies with white chunks in them and insisted they drink

Getty Court gavel

An Oregon man is accused of drugging three 12-year-old girls with benzodiazepine at his daughters sleepover last summer, then waiting for them to fall asleep.

Michael Meyden, 57, turned himself into police on Thursday and was indicted on nine felony and misdemeanor charges, including causing another to ingest a controlled substance, according to the Lake Oswego Police Department.

Police say Meyden was taken in at the Clackamas County Jail. However, jail records reviewed by PEOPLE show he is no longer in custody as of Friday morning. The Oregonian reports his bail was set at $50,000.

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According to a probable cause affidavit, investigators were called to the Randall Childrens Hospital on Saturday, August 26 last year to speak with three girls who were being treated after suspecting they were given drugs by their friends father the night before, per The Oregonian.

The affidavit claims that Meyden was unusually involved in the girls sleepover plans and constantly checked in on them throughout the night, the girls told police, according to The Oregonian.

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The girls said sometime between 9 and 11 p.m., Meyden delivered mango smoothies with white chunks in them to the girls and encouraged them to drink them, even making a second drink when one of the girls complained about the taste, the girls reportedly claimed to police. Investigators later alleged in a probable cause affidavit that Meyden gave the girls benzodiazepine, according to the newspaper.

The affidavit says that later when the girls went to bed, one of the girls who secretly did not finish her drink saw Meyden come downstairs and perform tests to see if the girls were sleeping, including putting a finger under one of their noses and waving a hand in front of her face, according to The Lake Oswego Review.

The girl reportedly told police she could feel him watching her by his presence as she kept her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep, per the affidavit. Once Meyden left the room, The Oregonian reports that the affidavit says that the girl frantically texted her mother at 1:43 a.m. local time: Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I dont feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!!

The girls mother soon alerted the other parents and arrived at Meydens house to pick up her daughter. Meyden reportedly insisted the parents come back in the morning, saying the girls were asleep, but the parents ignored his request, the newspaper reports.

Police said in an affidavit that officers arrived at the hospital and said one of the 12-year-old girls walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly. Another girl could not walk without assistance when her parents picked her up that night, repeating what happened, police said, according to The Oregonian.

Lake Oswego Police later determined that Meyden was responsible for the drugs detected in the girls bloodstreams, according to the Lake Oswego Police Department. It is unclear if Meyden has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

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Read the original article on People.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, March 1. It is necessary to optimize the operations of the Erkeshtam border checkpoint on the Kyrgyzstan-China border, said Akylbek Japarov, the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Trend reports.

According to the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Japarov made the announcement during a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulla Aripov, and Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ma Xingrui.

"The issue of increasing the capacity of the Erkeshtam checkpoint is relevant for both the Kyrgyz and Chinese sides, as well as the Uzbek side. In this context, it is important for our countries to increase the throughput capacity through the modernization of checkpoints, expansion of territories, and equipping with modern customs control facilities," Japarov said.

He noted that as part of the modernization of checkpoints, modern inspection and screening complexes with high throughput capacity of up to 125 vehicles per hour will be procured, and they will be installed at the Erkeshtam and Torugart checkpoints in 2024.

Japarov added that the Kyrgyz side aims to increase the throughput capacity through each of these checkpoints to 1000 vehicles per day.

During the meeting, the Kyrgyz chairman highlighted that Xinjiang serves as a gateway to China for Kyrgyzstan. Historically and due to its location, it has become such that Kyrgyzstan also serves as a gateway to China in the direction of several Central Asian countries.

"In this context, the project for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will have an invaluable positive impact on the dynamic development of trade and economic cooperation between the three countries," Japarov said.

He noted that the technical and economic feasibility of the project has been developed and approved.

According to Japarov, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Uzbekistan can actively utilize the advantages of geographical proximity for the development of cross-border e-commerce.

Akylbek Japarov arrived in Kashgar city of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on February 29 for a working visit.
Attention, fans of samba, bossa nova and ambitious nonfiction/fiction hybrids, animated division: Here is a clear choice for worthwhile moviegoing.

They Shot the Piano Player investigates the short life and 1976 disappearance and likely political assassination of Brazilian jazz keyboardist Francisco Tenorio Junior, a revered if spottily known figure in the realm of jazz.

The film comes from Spanish director Fernando Trueba, here co-directing once again with artist Javier Mariscal. Their memorably fragrant collaboration on the 2010 animated gem Chico & Rita explored a similar, childlike animation style and related thematic ideas, creating a fictional love story spiced with various real-life jazz geniuses, from Dizzy Gillespie to Tito Puente.

They Shot the Piano Player is more about truth than imagination, but the cross-currents between the two are everywhere. It begins with a book signing. A (fictional) Brooklyn-based journalist acknowledges that his new book on Tenorio Jr. was born from an unfinished book on the cultural history and analysis of the bossa nova movement. The name Tenorio was new to him, he tells his bookstore audience. But realizing Tenorio Jr. played on so many seminal bossa nova albums coming out of Brazil, exported to an eternally grateful world, he had his subject.

That subjects tragic, dangling-modifier of an ending only made it more urgent. On tour in Buenos Aires, in the midst of the Argentinean dictatorships state-sanctioned torture and murder spree targeting vaguely defined dissidents, the Brazilian piano player met up with his lover. Late that night, Tenorio Jr. left the hotel for a nearby sandwich shop. He went to the corner and didnt come back, the woman recalls in They Shot the Piano Player, whose real-life memories become part of the films nonfiction/fiction amalgam.

The filmmakers keep an eye on clarity, which is important since docu-hybrids risk fudging the line between imagined reality and real reality. Jeff Goldblum, an identifiable performer if ever there was one, provides the voice of the journalist researching Tenorios influence and disappearance. Its a true if foggy story big enough to encompass many friends, relatives, children and admirers  along with material highlighting the U.S. role in various Latin American coups and dictatorial regimes.

Most of the voices we hear are authentic, coming from the filmmakers interviews, then rendered visually as animated versions of the real people. Elsewhere in They Shot the Piano Player (the title riffing on the 1960 Francois Truffaut film Shoot the Piano Player), the movie dreams up scenes of Tenorio Jr. on tour, or with his lover, or with his wife and children. He was a family man, by many accounts, albeit a dreamy, unreliable, unfaithful and perennially broke family man.

The film basically and improbably works, even with some limitations. Most of the brilliant, gorgeous, world-changing music, starting with the 1958 recording of Chega de Saudade, confines itself to the first half. The second half goes too deep into the writers investigation of what likely happened to Tenorio Jr. after he became one of the disappeared to accommodate much in the way of bossa nova breezes. They Shot the Piano Player sometimes feels like two films, required to share the same framework.

Even so, the telling details linger. One Tenorio contemporary, who says he witnessed the kidnapping, remembers that the brutal Argentinean government favored Ford Falcons, black, as the abduction vehicles of choice. In the end Tenorio Jr. may have had the simple, awful bad luck to visit Buenos Aires at a time when widespread sweeps and incarceration of subversive elements permeated daily life and death. Tenorio Jr. didnt care much about politics or political dissent. Maybe not at all, in fact. It was enough, says one real-life government flunky, now reformed, that Tenorio Jr. ventured out late one night looking like a communist sympathizer  because, as the man says, after a nervous pause, he seemed like hed have artist and musician friends.



'THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER'

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for smoking and some violence)

Running time: 1:43

How to watch: Now In theaters


Alec Baldwin speaks with investigators after the fatal shooting on 'Rust' set in Santa Fe, N.M. - Credit: Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office via AP, File

Before Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged the prop weapon that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the western movie Rust two years ago, he was recorded rushing reloads with the films armorer for a different scene.

One more! One more! One more! I forgot to recall stuff. No, no, right away! Right away! Lets reload! Baldwin shouted at crew members shortly after he emerged from a wooden shed with the cameras rolling, fired six blank rounds, and then stopped himself short. Here we go! Come on!

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With the camera that shot the scene tilted to the ground, Baldwin was heard pushing for faster loading of blank ammunition. We should have two guns, and both were reloading, he said.

The video was shown to jurors on the sixth day of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reeds involuntary manslaughter trial in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Gutierrez-Reed has pleaded not guilty to negligently loading the live bullet into Baldwins revolver that fired and killed Hutchins on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin, 65, has pleaded not guilty in his own involuntary manslaughter case. Prosecutors recently revived charges against the actor after the dismissal of a criminal case against him last April. He maintains he did not pull the trigger and is due to face his own jury trial in July.

On Thursday, jurors watched the video of Baldwin shooting blanks on set as special prosecutor Kari Morrissey questioned Bryan Carpenter, a film armorer testifying as an expert witness for the state of New Mexico. Carpenter watched several videos depicting outtakes and behind-the-scenes moments shown publicly for the first time. He painstakingly described the job of armoring a movie and pointed out alleged lapses in safety on the set of Rust. For the scene showing Baldwin emerging from the shed, he said the video showed a handheld camera operator too close to Baldwin as he fired.

That appears to be a full flash blank, Carpenter said, referring to the power of the blank ammunition Baldwin was firing. He was entirely too close to that camera to fire that.

Carpenter said with the scene unfolding outside of the bounds of safe distance, and with Baldwin pointing the weapon directly at camera, Gutierrez-Reed should have done something. He said there are ways to safely set up a scene where a gun is pointed at a camera, but for the most part, you always instruct any of your performers to always aim off camera. Never aim directly at somebody. He faulted Baldwin for rushing the armorer, and said this was a moment Gutierrez-Reed should have pushed back.

This is that moment that you need to stop and say, No, Im not going to hurry up. Im going to slow down. And we dont need to be passing off weapons this fast or loading guns this fast. This is creating an unsafe and nerve-racking situation, he testified. Rushing with firearms and telling someone to rush with firearms is not normal nor accepted.

Beyond Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin, Rusts Assistant Director Dave Halls also was charged in the tragedy. He entered a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon last March. As previously reported by Rolling Stone, Halls admitted to investigators after the shooting that he failed to check all chambers of the revolver before declaring it a cold gun  meaning it had no live rounds. Under his plea deal, Halls was due to serve six months of unsupervised probation.

Hall took the witness stand on Thursday and got emotional as he described the shooting that claimed Hutchins life.

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Radke, who has been sober since January 2021, called his then-fiancee's claim "f---ed up" on Thursday's episode and wondered, "Thats the person I'm supposed to marry?"

Cindy Ord/NBCUniversal/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Carl Radke, Lindsay Hubbard

Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard arrived in the Hamptons on Thursdays Summer House episode, and it already seems to be making good on Carls promise that viewers will get to see how the pair's relationship unraveled.

Following their first family dinner with all 10 housemates (Carl, 39, and Lindsay, 37, spent the first weekend in Washington, D.C.), the cast headed out to a bar. Lindsay rode in a Lyft with her fiance and the other male housemates Kyle Cooke, Jesse Solomon and West Wilson.

While in the Lyft, Lindsay, whod been drinking, started to express to Carl that she thought her female housemates  Amanda Batula, Paige DeSorbo, Ciara Miller, Danielle Olivera and Gabby Prescod  would resent her for going in the car with the guys.

Related: Carl Radke Says Lindsay Hubbard's Drinking Did 'Matter' to Their Relationship's Success (Exclusive)

Im not with the girls and Im worried its going to get somehow used against me, Lindsay said in a confessional interview. And I express my concern to Carl, and he basically shuts me down and dismisses my feelings altogether.

Carl saw it differently. Im calm as can be in the backseat with her and I say, Babe, its  youre fine. I can see that, but, like, its not that deep, he told the cameras. She looked at me, were, like this close, shes like, What are you on? Im like, Nothing. What are you talking about?

Rich Polk/Bravo via Getty Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula

The other passengers witnessed the conversation, too.

I cant even put into words just how quickly Lindsay went from zero to 100, Kyle, 41, said in a confessional. She immediately starts to kind of like, freak out.

Jesse  who opened up earlier in the night about beating cancer twice by the time he turned 30  thought the situation precipitated out of nowhere.

Noam Galai/BRAVO via Getty Images Jesse Solomon

Amanda, 32, noticed Lindsay was visibly upset when they showed up to the bar. Lindsay was saying to me and Gabby, Hes on something. Hes so mean to me. I cant do this. I think hes on something, Amanda told the cameras.

Lindsay convinced Gabby to head back to the house with her, and they returned home one hour after leaving.

Related: Carl Radke Says Lindsay Hubbard's Drinking Did 'Matter' to Their Relationship's Success (Exclusive)

Somethings going on with him, Lindsay insisted to Gabby. The way that he spoke to me tonight was very reminiscent of like Carl on cocaine. I dont know what happened with him, but he was not sober tonight.

When Lindsay and Gabby got into bed, Lindsay reiterated her suspicion and referred to her fiance as Cocaine Carl.

I hate him, she said. Hes such a f---ing piece of s---.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Gabby Presod

Gabby called Carl to see if hed be coming home soon. That sounded like a sober man to me, Gabby concluded.

Carl then texted Lindsay to suggest they talk about the matter in the morning after she sobered up. Lindsay then accused Carl via text of not being sober, which he denied.

Its beyond hurtful, Carl said in a confessional interview. Its f---ed up. And thats the person Im supposed to marry? It just, it pains me deep down, the accusation or the insinuation that Im on something. That kills me.

Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Carl Radke and Lindsay Hubbard

The Bravo star has been open in the past about his struggle with substances and his sobriety journey. Going into Summer House season 8, Radke had been sober for two and a half years.

When Carl and Lindsay woke up the next morning, Lindsay told him: You were treating me like s--- last night.

I didnt treat you like s---, Carl responded. Im sorry that you felt like that.

Lindsay thought talking to Carl would be impossible, adding, Were going to have the worst weekend ever.

Related: Kyle Cooke Admits He Wasn't 'Seeing Eye to Eye' with Amanda Batula Going into Summer House Season 8 (Exclusive)

Lindsay suggested she and Carl pack up and leave, but Carl wanted to work through this.

She questioned why, when Carl texted her the previous night, he wrote that he was sober now, implying to her that he was not sober earlier.

Im f---ing sober, Radke insisted. In that moment, you were not. You drank all day long and are rude and aggressive to me when Im trying to be supportive.

Carl proceeded to head out for a run while Lindsay stayed in bed.

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Summer House airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Bravo.

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"There have been no investigative leads to take us anywhere," a deputy said of 15-year-old Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation/ X 5yo Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers

A Tennessee community continues to search for a missing autistic teen who was last seen on Monday.

On Thursday, Sumner County Sheriff Chief Deputy Eric Craddock spoke at a press conference to update residents on the status of the investigation.

Teams have been looking for Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers for almost five days now. The 15-year-old was last seen near Stafford Court in Hendersonville, Tennessee, wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants and glasses, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) tweeted on Monday.

Related: Missing Teen with Autism Found at New Mexico Walmart, About 200 Miles from Arizona Home

He is described as 55 and 120 pounds with dirty blond hair.

The post also contained a photo of the boy smiling.

Getty stock image of a police siren

"There have been no investigative leads to take us anywhere. We are still operating under the assumption that Sebastian walked off from his home," Craddock said during Thursdays televised news conference.

An Amber Alert was issued for Rogers on Tuesday after he disappeared from his residence in Hendersonville on Monday.

Craddock added that the goal is to make sure he is brought home safely.

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Jessica Moore, executive director of Autism Tennessee, spoke to NewsChannel 5 about how the abrupt change could have a negative impact on how Rogers is feeling.

Related: Missing Boy with Autism Found Using Bracelet with GPS Signal: 'I Couldn't Be More Thankful'

"Someone who is used to routine, who has a daily schedule, different aspects of their lives that are repetitive every day, it can be stressful not to have those pieces in place, she told the outlet.

She added that the 15-year-old could be seeking confined places as a source of comfort.

"Someone who enjoys a lot of pressure, deep pressure, and hiding  those more confined spaces are calming.

Sumner County Sheriff's Office/ Facebook 15yo Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers

Residents had been asked to search for the missing teen twice a day, if possible. Craddock suggested once in the morning and again at night, focusing on sheds, crawl spaces and tarps.

Though the community remains hopeful, vigils have already been held.

Emergency Management Agency Director Ken Weidner added that since Rogers disappearance, search dogs have not been able to pick up a scent, and said search teams have covered approximately 2,000 miles.

Related: Missing 5-Year-Old Girl with Autism Found Safe in Florida Woods After Wandering Away from Home

Craddock said the teens family has been fully cooperative with law enforcement.

Rogers relatives declined to speak to the press, but did share a statement through the TBI on Wednesday evening.

"Understandably, there is interest in hearing from friends and family to help provide more of a personal context about Sebastian. However, we have been requested by the family to let local media know that they are not in a position to speak to or be available to the media at this time," the statement said.

Sumner County Mayor John Isbell asked for prayers.

"Pray for the family and also pray for first responders," he said during a vigil held at Gallatin's Northfield Church. "And as the temperatures drop and as the days go on, this is the time we have to lean on our faith, and we have to stand steadfast in God's word, and believe He has Sebastian in his hands right now, that He is protecting him."



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Terence Winters riff with Taylor Sheridan has apparently been mended.

The Emmy-winning Boardwalk Empire and The Sopranos veteran is returning to Sheridans Tulsa King series after parting ways with production after its first season. Winter served as the original showrunner on the Paramount+ series, but tensions with creator and executive producer Sheridan led to Winter exiting.

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Tulsa King stars Sylvester Stallone as a crime boss setting up a new empire in Oklahoma. An Oscar-nominated screenwriter himself, Stallone claimed he penned some of the Tulsa King dialogue as the series did not have a writers room.

Now, Winter is confirmed to be among the writers for Season 2 of the show, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

A source told the outlet that Winter will solely write for the series alongside Stallone, while an unnamed executive producer and director will jointly guide the creative vision for the series. There will be no showrunner for Tulsa King.

In addition to his return to Tulsa King, Winter is writing and producing an adaptation of A Murder in Hollywood and is set to co-write and executive produce Midge for Leonardo DiCaprios production banner Appian Way. Winter also co-wrote the Paramount biopic Bob Marley: One Love.

Winter previously told IndieWire that collaborating with Stallone on Tulsa King was a career highlight.

Look, with Sly, youre getting an Academy Award nominated writer, a director, a producer, and an editor who also happens to be a great actor, Winter said. Youd be foolish not to bring him into the process. It was really easy. It was a real collaboration. Its great when theyre good at it  when youre with actors who can [write] well. It was really refreshing to work with somebody who just cares about the material.

Stallone said of Winter in turn, I tried to make it as close to my personality as possible. The idea is: They come up with an idea, a concept, but if youre a writer, you know how to tailor things to your strengths and deflect your weaknesses. [] Terry [Winter] had that confidence in me.

Tulsa King creator Sheridan previously told The Hollywood Reporter that he is not a fan of writers rooms as whole. Both Tulsa King and Sheridans other series Lioness had showrunners exit before the series aired.

The freedom of the artist to create must be unfettered, Sheridan said in 2023. If they tell me, Youre going to have to write a check for $540,000 to four people to sit in a room that you never have to meet, then thats between the studio and the guild. But if I have to check in creatively with others for a story Ive wholly built in my brain, that would probably be the end of me telling TV stories.

Sheridan continued, [I thought] I would write, cast and direct the pilots, and then we would bring in someone as a showrunner to run a writers room and I could check in and guide them. That plan failed. There were some things that none of us foresaw. My stories have a very simple plot that is driven by the characters as opposed to characters driven by a plot  the antithesis of the way television is normally modeled, the Wind River writer said. Im really interested in the dirty of the relationships in literally every scene. But when you hire a room that may not be motivated by those same qualities  and a writer always wants to take ownership of something theyre writing  and I give this directive and theyre not feeling it, then theyre going to come up with their own qualities. So for me, writers rooms, they havent worked.

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Andrew Li, 20, was last seen Saturday around 6 p.m. at his on-campus apartment, according to UT Dallas Police

University of Texas at Dallas Police/Facebook Andrew Li

Police are looking for 20-year-old Andrew Li, a student at the University of Texas at Dallas who was last seen on Saturday

Li's mother said she last heard from her son days earlier, and became concerned when she couldn't make contact with him on Saturday

Police do not believe foul play is involved with Li's disappearance

Authorities are looking for a missing University of Texas at Dallas student who has been missing for nearly a week.

Andrew Li, 20, was last seen Saturday around 6 p.m. at his on-campus apartment, according to a bulletin shared Wednesday by the universitys police department.

Police said there are no signs of foul play in connection with his disappearance, and believe there is no threat to the UT-Dallas campus.

However, they are "deeply concerned about his whereabouts, UT-Dallas Police Lieutenant Adam Perry said, according to CBS affiliate KTVT.

Related: Tenn. Teen with Autism Has Been Missing for 5 Days With No Leads, Authorities Say

Ai Ping Zhou, Lis mother, said she last spoke with her son on Feb. 22, according to ABC affiliate WFAA. The Houston woman tried contacting him on Saturday, but claimed the college sophomore did not respond or open her messages.

Friends did not find Li in his room when asked them to check on him, Zhou said.

His wallet was not found in his room after campus police gained entry, however, Lis mother told KTVT that her sons cell phone, backpack and laptop were still in his room.

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I can't sleep the whole night. I'm almost sick, said Zhou, per WFAA. Help me find my son.



State and federal authorities have joined the search for Li, according to KTVT. Perry said police have received a lot of support from the agencies as they try to locate Li.

This is pretty unusual. This is not something we are used to, Perry told the station. Its something that were taking very seriously.

Related: Missing Teen with Autism Found at New Mexico Walmart, About 200 Miles from Arizona Home

Li is described by UT-Dallas Police as an Asian man who is 5-foot-11 and about 140 lbs., who typically wears brown wire-framed glasses and a ball cap.

Anyone with information on Lis whereabouts is encouraged to contact police at 972-883-2222.



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Read the original article on People.
While I love to recommend restaurants occupying various locations across Sarasota and Manatee counties, most of my all-time favorites serve fresh seafood while offering the opportunity to spot a pelican, dolphin, or enjoy a spectacular Gulf of Mexico sunset, perhaps while enjoying live music.

Yes, as I've said before, everything tastes better on the water, and this is a list of my 10 favorite waterfront restaurants in all of Sarasota and Manatee counties. Actually, it's a dozen favorites if you include my two bonus picks at the bottom, devoted to a couple of funky bait shops that happen to serve good food.

These are all dining destinations offering lots of local history and Old Florida charm. They're all flip-flop-friendly while ranging from pricey to affordable. Each restaurant serves fresh seafood as well as other tasty dishes such as burgers, deep-fried hot dogs, and Key lime pie. They overlook the Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota Bay, and various points along the Intracoastal Waterway.

Each of these restaurants is a place that I love to recommend to family and friends and visit as often as possible with my wife, Kristin. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Top 10 restaurants I recommend when asked 'Where should I eat in Sarasota and Bradenton?'

Ticket Newsletter: Sign up to receive restaurant news and reviews plus info on things to do every Friday

Beach Bistro

Beach Bistro, on Holmes Beach in Anna Maria Island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, photographed June 29, 2023.

6600 Gulf Drive, Holmes Beach; 941-778-6444; beachbistro.com

Boasting decades of history and myriad accolades, Beach Bistro excels at fine dining done Florida-style. Secure a table on the soft white sands of Anna Maria Island and watch the waves gently crash on the shoreline while indulging in a fabulous five-course tasting menu. It begins with a mini cocktail and an equally sublime shot of ice cream, and somehow, only gets better from there. Choose from iconic dishes such as Lobstercargots and Bistro Bouillabaisse, as well as my personal favorite, the grouper grenobloise.

10 best romantic restaurants for fine dining in Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice

Dockside Waterfront Grill

Dockside Waterfront Grill at 509 N. Tamiami Trail, Venice, photographed Sept. 17, 2023.

509 N. Tamiami Trail, Venice; 941-218-6418; docksidewaterfrontgrill.com

The more casual and less famous sister restaurant of Dry Dock Waterfront Grill on Longboat Key, also owned by the Sarasota-based Gecko's Hospitality Group, this Venice gem is located about 23 miles to the south down U.S. 41. It offers a laid-back, mostly open-air setting in the Fisherman's Wharf Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway. While the menus at Dockside and Dry Dock are very similar, both serving the citrus grouper entree I adore, only Dockside offers the house-made potato chips that originated at Gecko's and elevate any meal they touch.

Best restaurants: Sarasota to Punta Gorda including Venice waterfront gem

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill

Dry Dock Waterfront Grill, on Longboat Key overlooking Sarasota Bay, photographed Feb. 25, 2024.

412 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key; 941-383-0102; drydockwaterfrontgrill.com

This Longboat Key landmark, which opened in 1989, places guests right on Sarasota Bay with several dining area options, including umbrella-covered outdoor tables that provide a front-row seat of the arriving boats, pelicans, and occasional dolphins. Dry Dock excels at routinely offering fresh, deftly prepared grouper dishes. Additionally, I've enjoyed excellent red snapper, as well as scallops served wrapped in perfectly crispy bacon with a delightfully decadent side of maple syrup.

10 best Sarasota area restaurants we wish made USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year list

Marina Jack

Marina Jack overlooking Sarasota Bay photographed from Dolphin Fountain at Island Park on Feb. 3, 2024

2 Marina Plaza, Sarasota; 941-365-4232; marinajacks.com

This downtown Sarasota destination, with more than a half-century of history, boasts a nationally acclaimed marina, sunset dinner cruises, and three restaurants, including my favorite, the Blue Sunshine Patio. It offers a large bar and lots of covered open-air seating, ideal for enjoying live music by local favorite Bain Beakley while noshing on, say, a Grouper Reuben or Double Angus Cheeseburger, which I also adore. Of course, no visit to Marina Jack is complete without a walk along the Bayfront for a beverage or two at sister business O'Leary's Tiki Bar & Grill.

Oldest restaurants in Sarasota: 10 historic dining destinations

Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant

Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant, which offers seating at wrought-iron tables located under the buttonwood trees overlooking Sarasota Bay, photographed Feb. 24, 2024.

760 Broadway St., Longboat Key; 941-383-2391, marvistadining.com

There might not be a more enchanting waterfront dining experience in Florida than being seated at the wrought-iron tables located under the buttonwood trees overlooking Sarasota Bay at Mar Vista, which also offers a charming covered deck for seating that overlooks the restaurant's 14-slip dock. To complement the Old Florida setting with more than 100 years of history, Mar Vista serves delectable Southern cuisine including the Lemon & Herb grouper entree that features a fresh filet of fish covered in a superior beurre blanc, served with a side of smartly seasoned rice and delectable sausage made from Florida wild boar via Shogun Farms in Seffner. Local resident Ed Chiles, son of former Gov. Lawton Chiles, owns Mar Vista along with the nearby Anna Maria Island waterfront restaurants Beach House and Sandbar.

Oldest restaurants in Manatee County 10 historic dining destinations

The Old Salty Dog

Old Salty Dog is at 1601 Ken Thompson Parkway on City Island in Sarasota.

1601 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota; 941-388-4311; theoldsaltydog.com/city-island

Located on City Island overlooking the New Pass Inlet, next to the boat retailer MarineMax, Old Salty Dog offers covered, open-air seating right on the water. The restaurant regularly features fresh grouper at reasonable prices, complementing its pub grub staples, including its most famous item, the Salty Dog  a quarter-pound hot dog dipped in batter and fried to a golden brown. Feeling adventurous? Try the fully loaded hot dog Adam Richman devoured during an episode of "Man v. Food." Old Salty Dog has another waterfront location on Venice Island, and its original spot is in Siesta Key Village, which offers a bit more of an English pub vibe while still within walking distance of the world-famous Siesta Beach.

10 best restaurants to visit before tourist season starts in Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice

Pops Sunset Grill

Pops Sunset Grill, on the Intracoastal Waterway by the Albee Road Bridge connecting Casey Key to Nokomis, photographed Feb. 11, 2024.

112 Circuit Road, Nokomis; 941-488-3177; popssunsetgrill.com

Pop's offers a tropical getaway along the Intracoastal Waterway by the Albee Road Bridge connecting Casey Key to Nokomis. Originally opened as Urbaneks Fish Camp in 1954, Pop's produces a winning combination of Old Florida charm and modern features, such as the three-level, full-liquor tiki bar. While stopping by Pop's for libations and daily live music is always fun, be sure to bring your appetite. Personal favorites include the smoked mahi spread, fresh grouper cooked on the open-flame grill, and a veggie skewer that is not to be dismissed.

Bucket list: Discover Sarasota's 100 best restaurants, fun things to do, places to visit

Star Fish Company

12306 46th Ave. W., Cortez; 941-794-1243, starfishcompany.com

Star Fish Company overlooking north Sarasota Bay in the commercial fishing village of Cortez photographed Sept. 30, 2023.

Nestled along Sarasota Bay in the fishing village of Cortez, Star Fish Company offers exceptional Gulf seafood with a generous serving of Old Florida charm. Credit Karen Bell, a third-generation Cortezian dedicated to preserving her family's commercial fishing heritage. She not only owns Star Fish and its adjoining fish market but also a fleet of commercial fishing boats and the adjacent fish house. While dining at her dockside restaurant boasting a century of history, you'll be captivated by the fishermen working alongside seabirds and the occasional dolphin. Star Fish serves expertly prepared Florida favorites like grouper, shrimp and oysters. However, the restaurant is particularly renowned for its mullet, a fish best enjoyed fried or blackened with a side of cheese grits.

Star Fish Company in Cortez named one of the best restaurants in U.S.

Swordfish Grill

Swordfish Grill in Cortez added a roof over its tiki bar and large patio area overlooking north Sarasota Bay.

4628 119th St. W., Cortez; 941-798-2035; swordfishgrillcortez.com

You can see the downtown Sarasota skyline from the large, covered back patio of Swordfish Grill that regularly features live music, but you feel like you're a thousand miles away from city hassles while relaxing here along the bay waters and working docks of Cortez. Swordfish Grill's many fresh seafood delights include the newly introduced Nashville Hot Fish. Typically consisting of fried grouper. the bite-sized pieces are tossed in house-made hot seasoning, drizzled with honey and served with razor-thin pickle slices. Fourth-generation commercial fisherman John Banyas owns Swordfish along with newly reopened next-door restaurant Cortez Kitchen, another one of my favorites.

Swordfish Grill: One of best waterfront restaurants in Sarasota, Bradenton now even better

Cortez Kitchen: Popular Sarasota, Bradenton waterfront restaurant now open after being closed for months

Tide Tables

Tide Tables restaurant, tiki bar and marina is in Cortez on the Intracoastal Waterway overlooking Anna Maria Island. This photo was taken Oct. 9, 2023.

12507 Cortez Road, Cortez; 941-567-6206; tidetablescortez.com

For those who appreciate fresh grouper, perhaps no one in Florida consistently does a better job of this than Tide Tables, which celebrated its 10th anniversary Feb. 24 and is owned by three beloved locals: Bobby and Gwen Woodson and Karen Bell (who also owns nearby Star Fish Company). At Tide Tables, they cut their fish right on the restaurant's dock on the Intracoastal Waterway, overlooking Anna Maria Island, and use it for delicious dishes such as their recent Thai chili grouper bites and blackened grouper sandwich. In addition to any and all grouper dishes you see on the menu or specials board, be sure to consider an order of Tide Tables' famous fish tacos featuring blackened fillets of mahi-mahi and a show-stopping sesame ginger sauce. Also, they make an outstanding Key lime pie that tastes extra amazing while watching the sunset spill over the water.

Tide Tables: One of the best waterfront restaurants in Sarasota and Bradenton is better than ever

Bonus picks: Best bait shops in Sarasota and Manatee

New Pass Grill & Bait Shop, on Sarasota's City Island, photographed Feb. 25, 2024.

Neither New Pass Grill & Bait Shop on Sarasota's City Island nor Annie's Bait & Tackle in Cortez are the kind of places I recommend to someone seeking a proper restaurant. But for folks who want a funky, Old Florida waterfront dining experience adjacent to a bait shop, then you can't beat either one of these places. At New Pass, I highly recommend their New Famous Angus Burger, while at Annie's you'll want to order the grouper sandwich  it only comes fried and it is delicious  while their burger is very good, too.

Annie's Bait & Tackle, on the Intracoastal Waterway in Cortez, photographed Sept. 30, 2023.

Craving an amazing burger? Here are my top picks in Sarasota and Bradenton

Who lives here? Most famous celebrities with homes in Sarasota and Bradenton area

Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Best waterfront restaurant Sarasota, Bradenton, Venice
An autopsy will be performed to determine the womans cause of death

Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty American Airlines plane

International authorities say a woman, 41, died after she "fell ill" on a flight from the Dominican Republic to Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday

Police in Turks and Caicos, where the plane was diverted, said the woman was receiving CPR when Air Traffic Control requested medical assistance for her

An autopsy will be performed to determine the womans cause of death

Authorities say an woman died after she "fell ill" during an American Airlines flight from the Dominican Republic.

The flight was heading to Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday when the 41-year-old woman became unwell, according to a media release from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force.

Flight 2790 was diverted to Providenciales International Airport due to the passengers medical needs, a spokesperson for the airline said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

Air Traffic Control Tower requested medical assistance for the woman, who at the time was receiving Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, around 6:15 p.m. local time, according to police.

Related: Delta Pilot's Strongly Worded Speech to Passengers Amid Delay Leaves Internet Divided: 'Is He Going...to War?'

A medical team, along with police units, were dispatched, police said, and the patient was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she died.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the womans cause of death, authorities said. The womans name has not been released to the public, although Fox affiliate WXIN-TV reported she was from Indiana.

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Another incident involving a separate American Airlines flight also occurred on Wednesday.

Flight 94 was diverted to Boston less than two hours into the flight to Spain, which began at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City around 7:30 p.m. local time, Massachusetts State Police said, according to The Independent.

The flight landed safely at Logan International Airport just before 10:15 p.m., NBC Boston and CBS affiliate WBZ-TV reported. Passengers were forced to remain in Boston overnight.

American Airlines said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that the plane landed at Logan due to a maintenance issue, and was taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team."

Related: Woman Who Stopped Kid Closing Plane Window in Viral Video Sparks Debate: An Expert Reveals Who's Right

We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, the airline added.



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A Greenville, South Carolina, man pleaded guilty on Friday for sending a threatening letter to a federal judge that read, in part, "I have watched you leave the courthouse numerous times and plotted to get my revenge."

Authorities say the handwritten letter goes on to say, "you best to make sure they lock me away for good cause I'm going to kill you or blow that courthouse up."

That man, Alvin Parks, was already being held at the Greenville County Detention Center on other charges.

Judge Laura Beyer, who sits on the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, North Carolina, told ABC News that the case, while not involving a bankruptcy judge, is a reminder that "these threats are real."

"I think we all feel pretty protected at the courthouses when we are here, but it's the unknown threat, when we are away from the federal courthouse," she said.

The incident, just one of the skyrocketing number of threats to federal judges, underscores just how dangerous the judicial profession has gotten.

The cases before federal bankruptcy court judges, in particular, deal with very personal issues, from divorce proceedings to someone's business and that could raise someone's temperature, according to two judges who spoke to ABC News.

"The bottom line is whoever is in front of a federal bankruptcy judge is in a very stressful situation," said Judge Mitchell Herren, whose bankruptcy court is in Wichita, Kansas. "Their businesses, their homes, their cars, their financial independence, those things are all often at stake."

The people who appear before bankruptcy judges can range from wealthy lawyers to people who might not have a lawyer at all.

PHOTO: Sunlight illuminates flags at the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) J. Edgar Hoover building, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 21, 2024. (Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP)

MORE: Federal judges, prosecutors see triple-digit increase in threats in 2023

"The process of bankruptcy is very complicated and tedious," Herren said. "And the folks that don't have lawyers, often, there's no one to shepherd them through that process. That, right there, can create a unique kind of security concern because people are very stressed. They're oftentimes at threat of losing something very near and dear to them be it their home or their car or their business or their retirement account if they thought someone's payment of a debt to them was going to be their retirement."

Herren said it is "very easy," under these circumstances, "for emotions to run very high."

"When people have trouble understanding that process, sometimes distress kind of overwhelms them and it just becomes easier to call it all a conspiracy theory. And the judge who might have made a decision against them can often become the bad person in the mix in their eyes," Herren said of what can happen in bankruptcy court. "And so that's one of the ways to describe the security threat that occurs in bankruptcy courts and we live in a day and age where people seem at times increasingly willing to lash out emotionally instead of trying to handle their frustrations in other ways."

Threats to federal judges and prosecutors saw a triple-digit increase in 2023, according to statistics released by the U.S. Marshals Service in February. In 2023, there were 457 federal judges targeted with threats and 155 federal prosecutors, the agency said.

Judge Beyer told ABC News security for federal judges starts with engaging with the U.S. Marshals whose responsibility it is to protect judges.

She cited the widely publicized case of a county judge in Nevada who, when handing down a sentence, was seen on video being attacked by a defendant who lunged over the bench.

"We really have to react and not just an active shooter type situation, but a situation like happened in Nevada, or what if there's a medical emergency in the courtroom, or what if there is a fire while we have a court room full of people, but I've been on the bench since 2011 I don't remember talking about these things so much in the past, and just seems to be front of mind these day," Beyer said.

Both judges say they don't believe threats to federal judges are going to hinder the quality of candidates wanting to be federal bankruptcy judges.

"I do not think that it has served as a hindrance or as something that has prevented otherwise qualified candidates from applying," Beyer said, citing her conversations and reviewing applications from an open position on her bench. "And frankly, if someone called me and asked me, should that be something that keeps them from applying for the position, I would say, no , I mean, am I sort of conscious and aware of my surroundings and do I try to be vigilant at all times? Yes, but do I feel uncomfortable? I don't."

As threats against judges soar, some speak out originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
'We are living in a climate of hatred and fear': Students discuss rooting out antisemitism on campus

Nine college students opened up to U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday, saying they are in fear over the rise in antisemitism on university campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The students, from mostly elite universities including Harvard and Stanford, told members of the House of Representatives' Committee on Education and the Workforce that they were using Thursday's discussion to issue a wake-up call to America: Jewish students are being harassed and discriminated against at school.

"It's open season on Jews on our campus, and continued inaction is unacceptable," University of Pennsylvania junior Noah Rubin said to the committee, which included Harvard University alum-turned-GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik. "It's time to wake up, America. This is the story of Jews on U-Penn's campus and students across the country. We are living in a climate of hatred and fear."

In the nearly two-hour roundtable discussion, Jewish students shared harrowing stories about alleged antisemitic incidents on campus in the wake of the latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the neighboring Gaza Strip.

MORE: Police recover remains believed to be 16-year-old girl who mysteriously vanished in 2004

Yasmeen Ohebsion, of Tulane University, told the bipartisan committee that she has had slurs like "F--- you, Jew," shouted at her since the war began on Oct. 7.

This is the reality as a Jewish student who wears the Star of David, Ohebsion said.

Ohebsion was one of several students to recount for lawmakers their stories of having slurs hurled at them on campus. Online harassment has also been a problem, some of the students said.

Students hold a rally in support of Israel and demand greater protection from antisemitism on campus at Columbia University, February 14, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images) (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Rubin, of University of Pennsylvania, said acts of antisemitism have left him fearful even while attending meetings with other Jewish students.

"I find myself looking over my shoulder even in Hillel," Rubin said. "Our Jewish institutions still dont get reliable and basic university support on security."

Talia Khan, a Ph.D. student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who attended the hearing, said it is a scary time at her school and that nothing is being done to combat physical violence against Jews.

"Now is the time to act to make sure federal dollars are not being used to spread hate and discourage Jewish academics," Khan said.

Thursday's discussion followed the committee's December 2023 headline-making hearing -- "Holding Campus Leaders Accountable and Confronting Antisemitism." In that hearing, Stefanik pressed the presidents of MIT, Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania on whether calling for the genocide of Jews was deemed hate speech on their campuses. Harvard's then-president,Claudine Gay, answered by saying the university gives "a wide berth to free expression," while the University of Pennsylvania's then-president, Elizabeth Magill, said it was a context-dependent answer. Both Gay and Magill have since resigned.

On Thursday, Harvard University graduate student Shabbos Kestenbaum called Stefanik a "hero" for standing up for the school's Jewish community. Stefanik said more must be done to address the issue.

"We need to continue to make sure that there is accountability to root out this antisemitism," Stefanik said. "It is clear it's not just Harvard, Penn and MIT, but each of these university leaders have failed. It is atrocious to hear the experiences that each of you have faced, whether it's threats of violent acts or the horrific antisemitic statements."

Shabbos Kestenbaum at Harvard railed against his university and doubled down on calls to subpoena the school's departments. (The education committee sent subpoenas to Harvard in February. The deadline to respond is Monday, March 4.)

He said Congress is his last hope because he believes Harvard University has failed to adequately condemn antisemitism.

"By inviting me, you have actually already done more than Harvard University has ever done for its students, which is listening to us," Kestenbaum said.

Following the meeting, one student told ABC News that inaction has made them feel less valued on campus.

MORE: Death row inmate exonerated 30 years after 1994 arson murder in Philadelphia

"It's really disheartening to feel like we are not valued members of the community at Columbia, especially because  such a large percentage of my university is Jewish," Columbia University Junior Eden Yadegar told ABC News after Thursday's event.

Rep. Kathy Manning, a Jewish committee member, applauded the students for alerting the public about their campus experiences.

"As I hear your stories, I can't help but wonder, Is this 1932 Germany all over again? Is this Russia in 1903 when my grandparents fled  and came to this country seeking refuge from antisemites?" Manning said. "Everyone in Congress should be asking themselves how did we get here and what can we do to stop this?"

A small group of silent protestors attended Thursday's discussion on Capitol Hill. Their fingers and palms were painted red, signifying that U.S. lawmakers had blood on their hands from the scores of Palestinian civilians who have died in Gaza amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. The United States is among Israel's closest allies and is one of the countries that has been mediating talks between the warring sides. The U.S. has repeatedly vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions demanding an immediate cease-fire, arguing that it would interfere with negotiations on a deal to free hostages that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups abducted from southern Israel during a deadly terror attack on Oct. 7.

Palestinian students at Harvard University told ABC News last year that they believe Islamophobia has been treated with far less gravity than antisemitism.

"We have nothing equivalent for Palestinian, Arab, Muslim students or supporters of Palestine to address or combat the very obvious, very public, very targeted harassment campaigns that we've been facing," said Tala Aloha, a Palestinian-American law student at Harvard.

ABC News' Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.

'We are living in a climate of hatred and fear': Students discuss rooting out antisemitism on campus originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Norske Mikrohus tells us that demand is growing for their four turnkey tiny home modelsbut the company cautions against high international shipping costs.

Norske Mikrohus tells us that demand is growing for their four turnkey tiny home modelsbut the company cautions against high international shipping costs.

Welcome to Tiny Home Profiles, an interview series with people pushing the limits of living small. From space-saving hacks to flexible floor plans, heres what they say makes for the best tiny homes on the planet. Know of a builder we should talk to? Reach out.

"Wow, this is fun!" was David Reiss-Andersens reaction when his wife, Jeanette, showed him pictures of tiny homes on Instagram. Something about the exchange inspired them to try out the trend themselves, and the couple built their first model over the next six months. Everything snowballed from there: They founded Norske Mikrohus in 2018, opened a factory for production in Vollebekk, Oslo, and then had to move to larger premises three years later to keep up with demand. "It seems like we hit upon and created a trend thats here to stay," David tells us.

While their homes have become more popular, the regulations around tiny homes in Norway have evolved. As an example, when Dwell featured Norske Mikrohus four years ago, the fabricator was building their homes on wheelssomething theyre no longer allowed to do. "For now, the [tiny house] trend is a step ahead of the regulations; hopefully, this will change," explains David. Fortunately, the increasing demand and oversight have also brought new opportunities and directions for growth. Here, David and Jeanette talk to us about what lays in store for their company, including the construction of a tiny house village and the launch of a brand-new microhouse design.

The Heim (Home in Norwegian) is a 200-square-foot model. Without any added features, it costs just over $120k.

What qualities make your tiny home stand apart from the rest?

Norways demanding climate, characterized by hot summers, wet autumns, and cold winters, necessitates careful consideration in our building practices. Our tiny houses are crafted locally in Norway, specifically tailored to withstand the varied Norwegian climate. As developers operating in Norway, we adhere to rigorous regulations to ensure that our end users receive a robust and high-quality product.

Beyond our commitment to building tiny houses with exceptional quality, our primary focus is on functionality. Designing homes within a 30-square-meter (323-square-foot) space is a true art, and we proudly assert that our solutions are meticulously crafted to meet high standards of well-thought-out functionality, providing a satisfying life cycle on a compact footprint.

The interior ceiling height of 10 feet allows a bed to be lofted above the bathroom at one end of the unit. The stairs leading up to the sleeping area double as storage cabinets.

More storage is concealed beneath the daybed. From the flooring to the kitchen counters, the woodwork throughout the unit is made from oak.

See the full story on Dwell.com: These $103K Tiny Homes Are Designed to Withstand Norways Frigid Winters

Related stories:
Imagine yourself in Tokyo, strolling down a narrow alley where you find an old, cramped 1930s hole-in-the-wall ramen shop. There are two items on the menu: ramen or chashumen (ramen with extra chashu, or braised pork). With only a single row of stools along the bar, a line snakes out the door. A mirror lines the wall behind the stools, opposite of the busy cooks behind the bar. Using the mirror, a cook calls out to the line of customers, taking orders  a half a dozen or so at a time  by memory.

As you inch toward the front of the line, you get ready to shout your order. But what kind should you get? Ramen with extra menma (seasoned bamboo shoots) and nori? Chashumen with leeks and garlic? Eventually, a seat opens up and as soon as you sit down, a steaming bowl of ramen is placed in front of you. You take a sip of the soup and think, yes, it was totally worth the wait.

Although it is considered Japanese food, ramen is among a collection of dishes  like curry, tempura, and yakisoba  that are not originally from Japan, but have been folded into the cuisine over time. Originally brought to Japan by Chinese immigrants following the end of Japans 200-year isolation period in 1858, ramen shops slowly popped up in the Yokohama and Tokyo area. When The Great Kanto Earthquake hit in 1923, ramen gained widespread popularity as people scattered across Japan in its aftermath and opened shops in other regions.

There is no standard recipe for ramen. Instead, there are five elements that come together to create what we recognize to be ramen: noodles, stock, tare, fat/oil, and toppings. Ramen has become a vehicle to express originality and creativity because of its loose structure. It continues to evolve, influenced by regional differences in climate, local cultures, and food trends.

The Most Common Types of Ramen

There are a few ways that ramen is classified: by tare, stock, and style.

Tare: Classifications by tare include shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), and miso ramen.

Stock: Tonkotsu ramen is defined by exclusively using pork stock.

Style: Other types of ramen like hiyashi chuka, tsukemen, and mazemen, which I include below, reflect differences in style.

Credit: Thyra Parthen/Getty Images/iStockphoto Credit: Thyra Parthen/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Shio Ramen

Shio ramen may seem basic, but the light, clear broth is the star, as it is unadorned by the additional flavors of soy sauce or miso. Because of its relative simplicity, it provides a good canvas for highlighting other ingredients, as in the case of yuzu shio ramen or ume (pickled Japanese plum) shio ramen. Just like shoyu and miso ramen, the stock can be made with any combination of meat (chicken, pork, etc.), seafood (kombu, dried sardines, etc.), and vegetables.



Noodles: The noodles are thin and can be straight or wavy.



Toppings: The toppings vary, but chashu, menma, boiled spinach, ajitsuke tamago (marinated egg), and chopped raw onion are typical.

Credit: Photo: Ryan Liebe; Food Styling: Brett Regot Credit: Photo: Ryan Liebe; Food Styling: Brett Regot

Shoyu Ramen

Shoyu ramen is said to have origins in Tokyo in the early 1900s. A ramen shop called Rairaiken (which is no longer operating) is credited for popularizing ramen among the general public and inspired other shops to proliferate in the area. The soup is clear and brown and has a darker, deeper flavor profile than shio ramen.



Noodles: The noodles are of medium thickness and are wavy.



Toppings: Although there are many versions of shoyu ramen, toppings can include bean sprouts, boiled spinach, scallions, menma, naruto (fish cake), chashu, and ajitsuke tamago.

Credit: sasazawa / Shutterstock Credit: sasazawa / Shutterstock

Tonkotsu Ramen

Like many happy accidents, tonkotsu ramen (also called Hakata Ramen) was born out of a mistake. In the 1930s, the owner of the ramen shop Nankin Senryo in Fukuoka left his stock to boil for much too long, creating a cloudy broth. Because a clear, flavorful broth was typical at the time, he was inclined to toss this batch out. Luckily, he took a sip before discarding and marveled at his accidental invention. The collagen had emulsified the fat and water, creating a rich, unctuous broth.



Noodles: The noodles are typically thin and straight.



Toppings: The toppings typically include chashu, beni shoga (a ginger condiment), sliced wood ear mushrooms, sesame seeds, and scallions.

Credit: Koichi Yoshii/Getty Images/iStockphoto Credit: Koichi Yoshii/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Miso Ramen

Given misos importance in Japanese cuisine, it may be surprising that it wasnt until the mid-1950s that the owner of Aji no Sanpei, located in the frigid Hokkaido climate, created this new style of ramen. Miso ramen is fortifying and hearty. Its salty richness pairs well with crisp vegetables like bean sprouts and sweet corn. A pat of butter, which is very often added, further mellows out the saltiness. Miso ramen can also be called Sapporo ramen.



Noodles: In miso ramen, curly noodles with medium thickness are used to hold up to the hearty soup.



Toppings: Beyond veggies like corn and bean sprouts, additional toppings may include chashu, menma, green onions, garlic, and ajitsuke tamago.

Other Types of Ramen

Aside from regional ramen (like Yokohama ramen, Kyoto ramen, and Tokushima ramen), the soupless mazemen, and other ramen that deviate from tradition (seafood ramen, chicken paitan ramen, vegan ramen, Italian-influenced tomato ramen), the two categories of ramen that are worth mentioning are hiyashi chuka and tsukemen.

Hiyashi Chuka

Sometimes called reimen, hiyashi chuka is a cold noodle dish served during the hot summer months. The tare is either soy sauce-, sesame-, or miso-based and has a sweet, vinegary flavor. The toppings, tare, and noodles are mixed together before eating.

Noodles: Typically, a medium, high-hydration curly noodle is used.

Toppings: Hiyashi chuka is typically topped with any combination of the following ingredients: chashu, ham, shredded chicken, kanikama (fish cake), cooked shrimp, jellyfish, kinshi tamago (thinly sliced egg crepe), wakame, cucumber, and sliced tomato. A smear of karashi (Japanese hot mustard) is usually placed on the side of the plate to mix in, if you wish.

Tsukemen

Although there are different origin stories, it is largely believed that tsukemen was invented in Tokyo by Kazuo Yamagishi in the mid-1950s. This style of ramen serves the soup and noodles separately. The toppings are placed in a dish by themselves, on top of the noodles, and/or in the soup bowl. The plain noodles are dipped into the hot soup and slurped, just as you would cold zaru soba or zaru udon. The soup is concentrated because they only get a quick dip before eating.

Noodles: In a traditional ramen, the focus is on the quality of the soup, but the thick noodles are the highlight in tsukemen.

Toppings: Because tsukemen can be meat- or seafood-based, the toppings vary by restaurant but are usually the same as a traditional ramen. It really depends on the type and the shop, but chashu, egg, menma, green onions, or leeks are typical.

What to Know About Ramen Noodles

Ramen noodles are made from wheat, water, and an alkaline salt solution called kansui. Kansui makes the ramen noodles elastic, which gives them a springy chewiness as well as a yellow-ish color. Depending on the desired texture, the amount of kansui is adjusted.

The dough is then shaped using a noodle machine and made curly or straight. The type of ramen (shio, shoyu, miso, tonkotsu, etc.) determines which noodle type is used. The noodle thickness and shape is determined by the type of soup and how it clings to the noodles. For example, tonkotsu ramen has a thick viscosity and is rich, so a thin, straight noodle is used in contrast. The noodles are cooked until firm, as they will continue to cook in the soup after serving.
I love history, and I'm learning new fun facts all the time. It's hard not to gush about them, but I've found an outlet: this post series, where I share all my fun, random facts with you. So here are seven more for you to enjoy!

1.A hidden, ancient city was recently discovered in the Amazon, and according to the BBC, it's "older than any other site we know [of]" in the area. The city is about 2,500 years old, seems to have been inhabited for up to 1,000 years, and "appears to be even bigger than the well-known Mayan societies in Mexico and Central America."

Antoine Dorison, a coauthor of research about the site, says that the discovery "changes the way we see Amazonian cultures." And something I find cool: The people who lived there apparently had a network of "very sophisticated" roads, which, according to Dorison, spanned a vast distance and had "right angles, which is very impressive." Jose Iriarte, a professor at the University of Exeter, told BBC, "Imagine that you discovered another civilization like the Maya, but with completely different architecture, land use, [and] ceramics." Mark Fox / Getty Images

2.The first man to reach the North Pole may have been Matthew Henson, an African American Baltimore native who left home to join a sailing crew at the age of 12. On board the Katie Hines, he traveled all around the world, from North America to Asia to North Africa. While working for a furrier in Washington, DC, he met Robert Peary, a Navy officer and explorer who was impressed by his travel experience and immediately hired him as a personal assistant for his upcoming exploration of Nicaragua.

Portrait of Robert Peary, with a mustache and in a formal 19th-century suit

Matthew Henson poses for a portrait in his fur coat with collar, circa 1910

Royal Geographical Society / Royal Geographical Society via Getty Images, Archive Photos / LOC / Getty Images

According to National Geographic, this two-year journey "would cement their friendship and bind their destinies together for the rest of their lives." Together, they made eight attempts to reach the North Pole; and before the eighth, by which time they were both in their 40s, they decided together that this would be their last attempt.

Henson was one of the most experienced explorers of the day and, after two decades of knowing him, was Peary's "trusted friend." "Henson must go all the way," Peary once said of their expedition to the North Pole. "I can't make it there without him."

On the day the expedition reached the pole, Henson was reportedly in the lead sledge, scouting ahead of the group. He wrote that the commander "was about fifty yards behind" and called out to say they should stop and set up camp. "The sun being obscured by the mist, it was impossible to make observations and tell whether or not we had actually reached the Pole," he wrote. In the morning, their calculations showed that they had indeed reached the North Pole.

But according to "some reports in the [United States] press," there was tension between the two men upon their return over who was going to get the credit for reaching the North Pole first. Their relationship turned stale. On their return journey, Henson wrote that "Commander Peary scarcely spoke to me. It nearly broke my heart." National Geographic notes that, regardless of the two men's falling out, "the racially divisive climate of the time would not give an African-American man the same standing in the public eye for the accomplishment." That said, his contributions to the expedition were recognized in 1937, and the Navy gave him equal recognition with Peary in 1946.

All this said, the claim that the expedition did successfully reach the North Pole is questioned. It's now thought that Peary and Henson at least came within about 30 miles of the pole, but it's impossible to say whether they did indeed reach the exact spot.

3.The first top hat ever worn in public reportedly got the man who wore it arrested. According to an 1899 article in the Huddersfield Chronicle, which claims to have been reprinting an article from January 1797, a man referred to as "John Hetherington, haberdasher" was charged with "breach of the peace, and inciting to riot" after wearing a silk hat of his own invention, which the article describes as "calculated to frighten timid people."

Apparently, "several women fainted at the unusual sight," "children screamed," and one man had his arm broken after being thrown down by the gathered crowd. I urge you all to click the link to the original article, because I cannot possibly re-create how funny it is. Heritage Images / Heritage Images via Getty Images

4.The earliest known Egyptian pyramid isn't the perfectly shaped kind we might think of. The three famous pyramids of Giza have been standing for about 4,500 years, but it actually took the Egyptians quite a while before that to figure out how to build them in that shape. The first stone building in Egypt was a step pyramid, built for King Djoser in or around 2780 BCE by an architect named Imhotep. Instead of smooth, tapering sides, it featured, well, steps.

Stepped pyramid structure against a cloudy sky

Pyramid of Sneferu, known as the Bent Pyramid, against the sky

Nick Brundle Photography / Getty Images, Patrick Wilken / Getty Images

Around 2600 BCE, a pharaoh named Snefru built on Imhotep's idea by building a step pyramid and filling in the gaps; the result is known as the Bent Pyramid. According to National Geographic, Snefru's "son, grandson, and great-grandson would build on Snefru's ideas and create the three famous pyramids near Giza."

5.A lot of us (incorrectly, as it turns out) think of George Washington Carver as the man who invented peanut butter, but not a lot of people know of his actual, far more important development  crop rotation  which revolutionized farming.

Carver was born into slavery, was the first Black student at Simpson College, and went on to what is now Iowa State University to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural science and his Master of Science degree in bacterial botany and agriculture. In Alabama, he founded an industrial research lab, where he "discovered more than 300 uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes." According to the Library of Congress, Carver "viewed the widespread popularity of [farming] cotton," as well as tobacco, as "a problem, noting that the practice of repeatedly growing [these crops] depleted the nutrients in the soil [...] [which] ultimately had grievous consequences for the finances of Black farmers." In order to enrich soil, he promoted the rotation of crops such as peanuts and sweet potatoes, which help put nutrients back in farmers' fields. The Missouri Department of Agriculture credits Carver as saving the economy of the Southern US. Bettmann / Bettmann Archive

6.Teotihuacan wasn't actually built by the Aztecs; apparently, they just found it. And according to National Geographic, the city's true origins "are a mystery."

Teotihuacan apparently "reached its zenith between 100 B.C. and 650 A.D." George Cowgill, an archaeologist and professor at Arizona State, told Nat Geo that Teotihuacan "was the largest city anywhere in the Western Hemisphere before the 1400s" and that its pyramid temples were "comparable to the largest pyramids of Egypt." The city was apparently inhabited by different peoples over time, including the Toltec, Totonac, and Maya. But archaeologists don't know who actually built it, why it eventually collapsed, or, as Cowgill pointed out, "why it lasted so long." His big question: "What were the social, political, and religious practices that provided such stability?" Archive Photos / Getty Images

7.And finally, the first Japanese citizen to fly in space was not an astronaut but a journalist. Forty-eight-year-old Toyohiro Akiyama's employer, the Tokyo Broadcasting System, paid for him to fly commercially aboard a Soviet spacecraft.

According to the Washington Post, Akiyama's training involved learning Russian, training in physical fitness, and learning "space flight operations and safety." But what he apparently found most worthy of telling the press was that he "'reduced [his] beer drinking to zero' and gave up smoking." Once in space, he reportedly "craved cigarettes," complained that his brain felt as if it was "floating around in [his] head," and, according to the New York Times, "failed to bring along enough underwear" for the trip after being told to pack light. In this writer's opinion, Akiyama might be the most relatable person to have ever exited the Earth's atmosphere. NASA Image Collection

If there are any dramatic, interesting, or cool facts from history that you think I would like, please drop them in the comments! I always love learning more historical facts, and I'm sure other people do too.
Alaska State Troopers took a man from Soldotna into custody following allegations that he attempted to euthanize his dog in a distressing manner. Responding to a report on Sunday near Funny River Road, authorities discovered an injured dog who had been shot by his 63-year-old owner, Sam Allen Renney, allegedly in response to the dogs aggressive behavior and a biting incident, as per KDLL.

Man taped dogs muzzle before he shot, injured animal

Investigations revealed Renney used tape to secure the dogs muzzle before shooting the animal from a distance of 30 feet, using a handgun. The dog, fortunately, survived the ordeal, fleeing the scene only to be found the next day by a motorist. Medical examination indicated that the bullet had injured the animals pelvis, requiring surgery to remove bone and bullet fragments.

Renney faces charges of animal cruelty, a Class C Felony, following his arrest. The case came to light when Jesse Hughes noticed the wounded dog, later named Ace, while driving. Hughes promptly took Ace to the Kenai Veterinary Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, thanks to the rapid financial support from local animal lovers for his treatment.

Despite admitting to the act, Renney was initially allowed to take Ace back home. However, public concern and contradictions regarding Aces aggressive behavior led authorities to further intervene. Neighbors, including Robert Green, disputed claims of Aces aggression, noting both he and Renneys other dog were regular, gentle visitors. Knowing the dogs, I dont believe the aggressive dog narrative thats being put out there by the owner, said Green.

Troopers eventually obtained a warrant to seize Ace from Renneys property, ensuring the dogs safety and moving him to a new home. Furthermore, a behavioral assessment by dog trainer Ellen Adlam found Ace showed no signs of aggression  per KTVF. This suggested his biting incident might have been a result of specific circumstances rather than innate behavior. Do I think hes a bite risk? I do not, said Adlam. Hes just young and afraid, he doesnt know what to do.

Ace, now in a nurturing environment, continues to receive love and care. Moreover, his new family is working on further training and socialization to ensure his well-being and successful integration into society.

The post Alaska State Troopers Arrest Man Who Muzzled, Shot Dog appeared first on DogTime.
New Yorks Hudson Valley, roughly two hours north of New York City, has become a haven for design aficionados and other creative types over the past decade.

Top-tier designers and architects have flocked to the picturesque region to restore centuries-old homes or transform historic properties into modern-day dwellings. Manhattan-based, German-born architect Thomas Warnke, founder of space4a, did just that in Saugerties, where he meticulously renovated a 1959 split-level ranch-style home along the Hudson River. Now listed for sale for $2.5 million, the stunningly transformed home was reconfigured and redesigned to prioritize its spectacular location.

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The original split-level house from 1959 did not take full advantage of its special location and its views, says architect Thomas Warnke. The goal of the renovation was to have beautiful views of the landscape and the river.

The renovated home includes the original sunken living room and stone fireplace.

Ideal for those who seek privacy and nature, the property spans 17 acres and boasts half a mile of Hudson River frontage. Not only do you have the water on one side, but there is forest on the additional three sides of the property. In the summer, the residence is ensconced by lush foliage, and in the winter, its dusted in snow.

The main residence is situated down a winding driveway, and the exterior is clad in cement board siding, sourced from Portugal, with vertical panels. While the exterior has a minimalist, almost Brutalist feel, the interiors are warm and inviting, with midcentury-modern design elements. Measuring just over 3,000 square feet, the home has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, as well as an office and great room.

The great roomthe heart of the homeis lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that let in natural light and offer picture-perfect views of the Hudson River. Warnke removed the original dropped ceilings so that cathedral-style ceilings could add volume throughout the entire house, and to honor the homes origins, Warnke kept several 1950s-style features, like the sunken living room thats dominated by a stone fireplace. For movie nights, the usual big-screen TV was swapped for a more discreet projector and drop-down screen.

The modern kitchen features sleek lines and lively pops of color.

One intention of the renovation was to create an open and airy loft-like feel, Warnke says. Most windows (like in the living space) have deep frames, which project out past the surface of the cement boards and serve on the inside as desks, counter space, or seating depending on the sill height, and they are lined with walnut plywood on all four sides.

He also removed the partitions between the living area and kitchen so that the living room is integrated with the kitchen and dining area. Avid chefs and frequent hosts will appreciate the snack bar island and the amount of space for preparing and serving meals.

Just a few steps up from the great room are a couple of bedrooms, including the primary suite. The bed is positioned to overlook the river, as is a bathtub by Bisazza, which Warnke says feels more like a piece of furniture. Theres also a private terrace and a spa-like bathroom with an oversized black marble shower. Two additional bedrooms are located on the homes lower level and share a full bathroom.

The lower level, which has a separate entrance, also contains a bonus room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a patio (its currently used as a gym/yoga studio), as well as a spacious home office that looks out to a sunken courtyard.

The primary bedroom includes a bathtub positioned to take in the natural surroundings.

As the home is ensconced in nature, Warnke ensured there were many outdoor spaces to enjoy. From the main living space, sliding glass doors open to a large stone deck and an outdoor dining table facing the river. This area also has an outdoor fireplace for summer nights. From the house, theres also a pathway of circular stones that leads down the sloping lawn to a swimming pool with built-in seating.

The final piece of the one-of-a-kind Hudson Valley hideaway is a riverside folly, a glass-walled structure used as a boathouse. Perched just above the river with dreamy year-round views, the building is constructed with materials reclaimed during the construction of the home.

The property is listed by Leigh Bosker with the Upstate Curious Team at Compass.

Click here for more photos of 47 Spaulding Lane.

47 Spaulding Lane Hudson Valley Saugerties New York

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In 2012, Standard & Strange co-founders Jeremy Smith and Neil Berrett opened a menswear boutique in Oakland, California  one that was dedicated to high-quality, high-craft garments from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. They were riding the high of the #menswear era, and when SPY first came to know Smith, in the late aughts, he knew more about manufacturing and materials sourcing than most anyone. Now, with another dozen years and a successful menswear shop under his belt, ask him about horsehide or buckles or weaving machines and hell shift from the tiny details to macroeconomics before you can say giddyup.

Today's Top Deals

Today, Standard & Strange has shops in Oakland, Santa Fe, and New York that are, dollar-for-dollar, the best thing driving down the denimhead-workwear-rugged-craft-dude lane. The shop mostly carries third-party brands, but the company also has a handful of house-line goods, including its $95, blink-and-it-sells-out Wakayama Special Loopwheel Tee.

Loopwheel is expensive as shit to make, laughs Smith. You have to pay for the building and pay the staff living wages to operate these amazing, sometimes 130-year-old machines, which are really slow.

Smith took SPY through why the T-shirt costs what it costs  not just in terms of materials, manufacturing practices, and marketing, but why its exemplary of the Standard & Strange ethos.



Materials: $17.50

Smith starts with extra-long-staple cotton  a durable, premium fiber that, in his words, is harder to grow and more expensive to harvest than what you get in a $6 tee from Amazon. Its premium cotton alongside your Supima.

High-grade cotton is essential for loopwheel knitting, a low-speed process run on vintage machines at one of two remaining loopwheel operations in Japan. First, the long fibers of the cotton have to be spun and combed to be ready to be made into the tubular, loopwheel fabric that gets cut and sewn into T-shirts.

Loopwheel is not about efficiency, says Smith. If you want that, you give up character  the low-tension knit, repairability, and other intangibles that make it a lovely product.

Smith buys the fabric for between $15 and $20 per meter, estimating that he gets 1.25 T-shirts per meter.



Sewing: $20

Then, the loopwheel fabric leaves the knitting facility and heads to a factory in rural Japan. Similar economics apply. The cost of living in rural Japan is significantly lower than in Tokyo, but Smith is still paying employees living wages to attract workers with a specific skill set.

Time spent cutting and sewing is fairly minimal  Smith estimates it takes 15 minutes to take the circular knit tubes of fabric and to cut and sew on sleeves and collars. Smith also notes that because of the low-tension knit of the loopwheeled fabric, the shirts need to rest for 24 hours before they make their journey to the States. And Smith has to pay for them to take up space for a day.



Shipping: $3

Shipping to the U.S. costs another $3 per shirt, give or take. Smith says that he could save money shipping on a boat, but he never has enough merchandise to fill a shipping container. Air freight from Japan, it is.

I think the biggest thing that people dont see is how much labor  how many hands have to touch the T-shirt  before it gets to you, Smith says.



Retail: $45

Once the shirt arrives, the biggest costs are due to unpacking, photographing, modeling, web work, rent on the shops, storage goods, and, of course, staffing and online customer service. (Smith pays his workers a wage that allows them to live near the Standard & Strange stores. He also pays himself and Berrett a salary.)

If you want to know a big reason why our clothes are expensive, part of that is literally due to my workers rent, Smith says. The American housing market is a speculative casino thats totally outside my control. If I want my employees not to have to commute an hour each way by car, I need to pay them so they can afford to live within a couple of miles of the shops.

For context, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average mean hourly wage in the clothing industry was $13.85. Smith pays his 20 employees  across shops in Oakland, New York, and Santa Fe  an average of $32 to $34 per hour. He also offers health care.

Imagine if I paid $2 less an hour, he says. For 20 people, thats another $80K I could put in my pocket. I could buy a house. Hell, why not make it $3 an hour, and then I could ball out? When you see heads of brands in Porsches, its often because they attack the cost of labor.



Profit: $9.50*

Finally, once a T-shirt is sold for $95, it has cost $85.50. That looks like $9.50 in profit  in line with the 9-10% net margin that shops like Standard & Strange aim for  but theres a catch. Two, actually.

Because Smith bakes salaries into the retail cost, the brands brass has already paid themselves, so instead of pocketing that net margin, they can reinvest the cash in the business, whether thats more material or upgrading systems. They also add to their war chest in the event of an economic crisis.

If we have some kind of economic event, he says, Fuck rent. Fuck everything else. We have to have four months of payroll on hand to support our employees as we get through it.

Smith says Standard & Strange has to hit something closer to a 12% net margin annually before he or Berrett would take money out of the business.

If your value system is based on taking care of people, art, and craftsmanship, then you want my T-shirt, Smith says. If I was in this to make money, Id go pull an Everlane or shit.



Read More About the Best T-Shirts for Men

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Congressional lawmakers are throwing their weight behind the Department of Homeland Securitys (DHS) pledge to safeguard the American textile sector from illegal foreign influence.

This week, 40 House Democrats and nine Senate Democrats penned letters to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas underscoring DHS commitment to bump up efforts to detect, prevent and prosecute customs fraud through a dedicated textile sector enforcement plan.

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On Jan. 30, Mayorkas met with members of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)including manufacturers that support the apparel, home goods, PPE and industrial textile supply chainsto discuss how Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) violations and a deluge of de minimis shipments have harmed U.S. industry. Under existing trade law, shipments from foreign markets worth under $800 can be delivered to shoppers doorsteps duty free.

As a result of that meeting, Mayorkas directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and other agencies and offices within DHS to step up UFLPA enforcement efforts and develop an action plan to address the limitations of current trade legislation within 30 days.

The importance of the contents of the action plan and its immediate implementation cannot be overstated, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) wrote on behalf of the House Democratic Caucus on Wednesday. The issues outlined are of utmost concern to our constituents and the future of the American textile industrial base, an essential industry that not only contributes significantly to the U.S. economy but also supplies essential products, such as critical national defense materials and medical personal protective equipment, she added.

Without a demonstrative, expeditious, and effective customs enforcement plan, the devastation currently felt throughout the critically important textile production chain that employs nearly 550,000 U.S. workers and produces almost $66 billion in output annually will only worsen, the letter said.

Signatories noted that the impacts of the forthcoming plan will reverberate beyond the U.S. textile sector, as the industry is part of a broader hemispheric co-production chain with partners in Mexico and Central America. Those relationships are built on free trade agreements that include rules of origin, labor and environmental standards, supporting 2 million textile and apparel jobs.

Allowing shipments from non-market economies like China unfettered access to the U.S. market undercuts economic opportunity across the Western hemisphere, they argued. At least 10 textile plants have closed in the U.S. alone in recent months.

Rep. DeLauro said the group is keenly interested in the contents of the forthcoming action plan and follow-through given its importance to our constituents and policy priorities around trade enforcement, jobs, nearshoring, and critical industries.

Friday morning saw Senate Democrats follow up with their own missive to the DHS lead.

The scale and scope of illegal customs practices undercutting the competitiveness of domestic manufacturers is daunting, and this problem cannot be fixed without a robust, expeditiously deployed enforcement plan, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wrote. The lawmaker previously helped convene the Rhode Island Textile Innovation Network and is a co-sponsor of Sen. Sherrod Browns (D-Oh.) Import Security and Fairness Act, which aims to stop non-market economies from exploiting the de minimis trade rule.

Harmful and illegal customs practices take various forms, including abuses of the Section 321 de minimis tariff waiver system, circumvention of the UFLPA and Section 301 punitive tariffs on China-made goods. As part of your enforcement plan, we encourage you to comprehensively address each of these avenues for fraud, the letter continued.

The immediate implementation of a robust customs enforcement plan is imperative to secure the future of the U.S. textile production sector.

After facing decades of unfair trade practices, textiles manufacturers are seeing unprecedented demand destruction and dangerously low capacity utilization rates, Sen. Whitehouse wrote. Without an expeditious and effective enforcement plan, the devastation felt throughout the production chain will only worsen.

Sen. Whitehouse also wrote that an enforcement plan is critical to advance President Joe Bidens White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience, which DHS helped launch in November with the goal of bolstering operations critical to the countrys economic and national security.

In closing, we welcome your call for an action plan and will be keenly interested in the contents and follow-through given its importance to our constituents and American economic

competitiveness, the letter said. It was signed by Senators Brown, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).

The issue of de minimis reform is quickly gaining traction on The Hill. On Saturday, Senators Brown and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) wrote to President Biden, urging him to use his executive authority to end de minimis altogether.

Meanwhile, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) announced the Coalition to Close the De Minimis Loophole on Friday. The lawmakers and other advocates, including labor unions, law enforcement, manufacturers and business associations, will hold a press conference March 6 to talk about congressional efforts to alter the provision.

Also on Friday, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hosted an all-day hearing dubbed Consumer Products from China: Safety, Regulations and Supply Chains hosted by Committee Chairman Robert Cleveland and Commissioner and NCTO lead Kim Glas.
On this day in history, March 1, 1872, majestic Yellowstone becomes America's first national park

Yellowstone National Park, an almost mystical 2.2-million acre wonderland of dynamic hydrothermal activity, breathtaking scenery and spectacular wildlife, was established on this day in history, March 1, 1872.

It was the first national park in the United States and, to most people around the world, the first known on the planet.

It quickly inspired an international conservation movement in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

"The headwaters of the Yellowstone River  is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale  and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people," states the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, FEBRUARY 28, 1983, 'M*A*S*H' FINALE DRAWS RECORD TV AUDIENCE OF OVER 100 MILLION

The park is located mostly in the northwestern corner of Wyoming, the least populated state in the Union, but also crosses into Montana and Idaho.

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Its area of 3,472 square miles makes it bigger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

"Although Yellowstone had been thoroughly tracked by tribes and trappers, in the view of the nation at large it was really discovered by a series of formal expeditions" between 1869 and 1871, reports the National Park Service.

Elk group along the Temporary North Entrance Road at Yellowstone National Park on Jan. 11, 2023.

David E. Folsom, Charles W. Cook and William Peterson explored the park in 1869 and reported on its spectacular physical features for media back east.

Tower Fall, Yellowstone Grand Canyon and the geysers of Firehole River were among the marvels they described for first time.

A new expedition in 1870 led by surveyor Henry D. Washburn recorded the size and scope of Yellowstone's greatest landmarks.

Finally, in 1871, Ferdinand V. Hayden, head of the U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, led a large scientific expedition that reported back on the incredible scope and magical scenery of Yellowstone.

"The geysers of Iceland  sink into insignificance in comparison with the hot springs of the Yellowstone and Fire-Hole Basins," Hayden reported.

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL: 50 MUST-SEE LANDMARKS THAT TELL OUR NATIONAL STORY

Photographer William Henry Jackson and artists Henry W. Elliot and Thomas Moran joined him on the trip. The expedition's rhapsodic tales and images captured widespread attention from the American public  and from political leaders in Washington D.C.

"The crowning achievement of the returning expeditions was helping to save Yellowstone from private development," writes the National Park Service.

Castle Geyser erupting at Yellowstone National Park. Nearly 5 million people visited Yellowstone in 2021.

"The wonders of Yellowstone  shown through Jacksons photographs, Morans paintings and Elliots sketches  had captured the imagination of Congress. Thanks to their reports, the United States Congress established Yellowstone National Park just six months after the Hayden Expedition."

Yellowstone today includes one of the greatest collections of large mammals on the planet, including grizzly bears, bison, wolves, moose and elk  among scores of other species.

YELLOWSTONE STAR KEVIN COSTNER TALKS FALLING SHORT BY SAYS WE KEEP ON TRYING

It also features, most dramatically, more than half the world's known hydrothermal landmarks: geysers, hot springs, mudpots and steam vents.

Its most famous geyser, Old Faithful, reliably erupts about 17 times each day.

The geysers and hot springs, however, betray the boiling cauldron of volcanic and seismic activity beneath the surface of Yellowstone. One of the world's largest super volcanoes poses the potential to erupt with cataclysmic results for life on Earth, while experiencing about 3,000 mostly minor earthquakes each year.

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"Past volcanic eruptions that have taken place at Yellowstone National Park have been global disasters," reports National Geographic.

"Today, scientists are trying to predict how this ticking time bomb will explode  or fizzle out."

Yellowstone geologist Dr. Jacob Lowenstern told NatGeo, "There is no current activity that is going on that would indicate anything is happening. If there was something coming, there is nothing to show at this point in time."

Yellowstone is widely reported as the world's first national park.

But one global preserve makes a much earlier claim.

Bogd Khan Uul National Park, a small 260-square mile reservation in a remote part of Mongolia, was established in 1783. It remained unknown to much of the world at the time and remains so even today.

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, AUGUST 25, 1916, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CREATED UNDER PRESIDENT WILSON

The creation of Yellowstone National Park 151 years ago today from the emerging international power known as the United States generated worldwide headlines and interest in conservation.

A sign at the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, courtesy of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, circa 1965.

National parks were quickly created in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere around the world.

By the end of the 19th century, the United States added Sequoia, Yosemite and Mount Rainier to its list of national parks.

The National Park Service today manages 424 "units" in all 50 states, protecting 85 million acres of American wilderness.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle .





Original article source: On this day in history, March 1, 1872, majestic Yellowstone becomes America's first national park
Saadia Group, the owner of fashion sites Lord & Taylor, New York & Co., Fashion to Figure and footwear brand Aquatalia, among others, has been effectively shut down.

Moreover, legal proceedings involving its asset-based lender no longer has Saadia in control of the inventory at its warehouses following a default on a $45.3 million loan agreement.

More from Sourcing Journal

White Oak Commercial Finance has obtained a preliminary injunction against Saadia over certain assets on a $45.3 million judgment after Saadia defaulted on the loan. White Oak initially provided a $25 million asset-based loan to Saadia in October 2020 that allowed it to acquire RTW Retailwinds Inc.s assets out of bankruptcy. Those assets included the fashion operations under the banners New York & Co. and Fashion to Figure. Saadia then went on an acquisition spree, acquiring the bankrupt Lord & Taylor and Le Tote assets, as well as Aquatalia, which was put up for sale when former owner Global Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 protection in July 2021.

N.Y. State Court Judge Andrea Masley in Manhattan last Friday granted White Oak its preliminary injunction request to bar Saadia from transferring, selling or removing, among other actions, assets that include inventory deemed collateral under the loan agreement. The location of the inventory, which includes apparel and accessories, are in at least two known locations, a warehouse in North Brunswick, N.J., and one in Lancaster, Penn. The order gave White Oak access to goods located elsewhere that fall within the collateral guidelines.

Judge Masley also granted White Oak an order of seizure, and directed that Saadia and its agents are barred under the preliminary injunction from interfering with the lenders ability to take control over the goods. The collateral is not limited to inventory. It also includes internet websites, domain names, customer lists, sales records, trademark lists, as well as other books and records connected to operations, including production plans with factories and the status of payables to critical vendors, according to the court order. The order also includes financial records and it bars Saadia and its agents from accessing certain bank accounts, which are now deemed frozen pending further order of this court.

While the order gives White Oak the right to seize certain assets, it does not give the lender the ability to dispose of, sell or liquidate the collateral upon taking possession of the goods. The legal proceeding is ongoing as other matters connected to the lawsuit are still pending.

With the goods in limbo, that means that customers who have ordered from any of the Saadia Groups fashion websites and are still awaiting their orders probably wont be receiving them anytime soon. Meanwhile, frozen bank accounts will also freeze payments to third-party vendors who sell on the Lord & Taylor site and drop-ship orders to customers. Whether the vendors, who are typically unsecured creditors, get their payments remains to be seen. Since White Oak is a secured lender, it has priority access to the proceeds of any and all asset sales to satisfy its money judgment.

Calls to the Saadia Group and White Oak requesting comment were not returned by press time.

Meanwhile, sources said Friday was the last day for many of Saadias employees. These individuals said layoff notices were given to stafferssuch as those working at Lord & Taylor and Fashion to Figure, among other divisionslast Friday. Some staffers, such as those at Aquatalia, were furloughed on Monday, one individual said.

Word surfaced early last month that the online e-tail operations at Saadia were struggling and in disarray. An online search indicated complaints on blog posts regarding shipping delays or the inability to cancel memberships at rental services. In addition, the Lancaster warehouse that operated as a distribution center was also listed as out-of-service as of Dec. 30, 2023.

Saadia is also on the receiving end of several other lawsuits, including one filed by landlord Cushman & Wakefield in January to collect on $2.5 million owed in back rent for a sublease on office space at 275 Madison Ave. in Manhattan. It also was embroiled in a lawsuit with actress Gabrielle Union over trademarks in connection with a licensing agreement that Saadia lost after failing to make required royalty payments and other fees.

Saadia was a relative unknown prior to its acquisition of RTW Retailwinds. That deal gave the company a reputation for refurbishing distressed retailers, as well as a footholdand some credibilityin the direct-to-consumer space. Saadia later relaunched Lord & Taylor as a digital-only operation in April 2021.

One source familiar with internal operations said that the acquisition of Lord & Taylor ended up as the beginning of the end because the company didnt have the infrastructure in place to handle additional e-tail operations. This source added that the problem was compounded when certain key operations were moved to India.
Claim:

A Reddit post shared in early 2024 accurately reported that Cool Ranch-flavored Doritos were known as "Cool American" in Sweden.

Rating:

Rating: True

On Feb. 20, 2024, Reddit user totemp0le posted that in Sweden, Cool Ranch Doritos were marketed as "Cool American:"

Feb 20, 2024 Reddit post by user totemp0le (screen capture)

This claim, with the same photograph, appeared the same day on X, posted by users @Curionic and @cutigs1:

Tweet by internet user @curionics on Feb. 20, 2024 (screen capture)

This claim isn't new.

As early as 2014, U.S. redditors traveling in Europe began to notice that the Doritos flavor known as "Cool Ranch" in the U.S. had different names. In the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Iceland and Denmark, it's "Cool American" (sometimes with specifics, such as "sour cream geschmack"  sour cream flavor  in Germany). In the U.K., it's "Cool Original," as it appears on the website of British retailer Tesco.

'Cool American' in Sweden

As for the original claim, it is correct. Snabbgross, a restaurant supply store in Sweden, sells "Cool American Flavour" Doritos on its web page:



A screen capture of the Snabbgross site, which sells "Cool American Flavour" Doritos in Sweden.

Brands Adapt to New Markets

Ranch dressing isn't well-known outside of the United States, according to Adam Lapetina at Thrillist (archived):

[...] most people outside of the US don't really know what ranch dressing is (asked to describe it, one foreign Redditor opined, "It always just looked like salad cream with stuff in it to me."), and must believe that most of our country is covered in a fine, zesty powder that tastes vaguely of buttermilk and onions.

This means companies must adapt their marketing.

But according to TikTok user Hungry Haley, a U.S. citizen who lives in the Netherlands, the name is not the only thing that changes. The flavor, too, is different.

"At first you get a little bit of that zesty flavor, but you mostly just taste corn with these [European Doritos]," she says. "The American ones just tastes so much more intense, and it's just way better."

Sources:

Cool American Doritos 170g. https://www.snabbgross.se/V%C3%85RT-SORTIMENT/Snacks-%26-Godis/SNACKS/Chips-%26-Cheez-snacks/Cool-American-170g-Doritos/produkt/101543091_ST" target="_blank">https://www.snabbgross.se/V%C3%85RT-SORTIMENT/Snacks-%26-Godis/SNACKS/Chips-%26-Cheez-snacks/Cool-American-170g-Doritos/produkt/101543091_ST. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, March 1. Russias Nordwind Airlines will resume direct regular flights from Ufa to Tajikistan's second most populous city, Khujand, starting March 7, 2024, Trend reports.

According to the press service of Ufa International Airport, departures are scheduled for Mondays and Thursdays on Boeing 737-800 aircraft, accommodating 189 passengers. Departure from Ufa is set for 05:25 (GMT+5), with a flight duration of 3 hours.

During a press conference summarizing the year 2023, Dilshod Safarzoda, the Director of the Civil Aviation Agency under the government of Tajikistan, said that almost 88 percent of flights between Tajikistan and Russia are operated by Russian airlines, with the remaining 12 percent managed by Somon Air, Tajikistan's national airline.

Safarzoda noted that flight routes from Tajikistan cover all regions of Russia, including the Central part, Siberia, and the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Multiple flights are available to major cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg. He emphasized the continued interest of Russian airlines in initiating flights to Tajikistan, with ongoing proposals under consideration.

Nordwind Airlines, formed in 2008, is one of Russia's largest airlines in terms of passenger traffic.
A father and son treasure-hunting team made a grisly discovery last weekend while searching through an abandoned home in Mississippi, WREG reported. 23-year-old Riley Bryant is an experienced adventurer. In 2022, he located Civil War-era bullets and a cache of other treasures along the Mississippi River.

Last Saturday, Bryant and his father, Chuck, along with a few friends, were metal detecting around a disused estate in Holly Springs, MS when something within one of the buildings caught their eye.

We actually noticed through the window of the vacant building that there was something that didnt look right on the floor in one of the back rooms, Riley recalled.

The item in question was, in fact, a dead body. We thought This is strange, and determined it was definitely something we needed to report to the authorities, Riley said.

The body was removed by investigators and taken to a nearby town for medical evaluation and autopsy. The persons identity, gender, and cause of death are currently unknown. Riley believes the individual perished under tragic, accidental circumstances rather than as a result of foul play.

He had taken stuff in the house, ripped the curtains down, towels, anything he could find had to kind of pile on himself to try to keep warm, he surmised. When you really look at it just gets sadder and sadder. This is not someone that was wandering around drunk or something. It was somebody that obviously wanted to live.

Riley and Chuck stayed at the scene while the police removed the body and investigated the house, which took several hours. On the way home, according to Chuck, the two concurred that what they had just witnessed was a life-changing experience.

We had some discussions on the way home and continued to talk about it, trying to deconstruct the whole thing and learn from it, Chuck said. Try to be a better person. Be aware of people that might be in need around you.
In a tragic incident in Aurora, Colorado, an explosion at Grandview Dog Park resulted in the death of a 42-year-old man from Strasburg. The explosion occurred just before 1 a.m. and is currently under investigation by local police, who are describing the event as an accidental death. Authorities have not disclosed the identity of the victim. However, they said the man had traveled to Aurora with friends to explore local food and beverage businesses before heading to the park with several large, potentially commercial-grade fireworks.

Federal law enforcement and Aurora police investigating firework explosion at Grandview Dog Park

Authorities arrived on the scene following multiple calls around 12:49 a.m. about a suspicious occurrence involving an explosion. Initial reports from the Aurora Police Department suggested the possibility of a homemade explosive device, but this was later updated to clarify that it remains uncertain whether the fireworks were homemade or purchased out of state.

Juan Molina, a local resident, recounted the terrifying moment to FOX31, saying, At first I thought something had exploded inside the house the furnace or something. In search of the source, Molina climbed onto his roof, only to hear noises emanating from the direction of the dog park. Another nearby resident, Estrella Bello, described the impact of the explosion as an intense bam that caused immediate concern for her childrens safety.

Police also found four additional explosive devices later at the dog park. The Aurora Police, alongside federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), are painstakingly piecing together the details of the incident. Despite a search of the deceased mans residence in Strasburg, investigators found no evidence of explosive-making activity or additional fireworks.

Following the incident, authorities closed the park but later reopened it to the public around 3 p.m. on Thursday. Aurora Police are urging anyone with more information on the incident to come forward and contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

The post Fireworks Explosion Kills Man at Aurora Dog Park, Authorities Investigating appeared first on DogTime.
Chances are, youve often passed by a centerpiece of local history  one that sounded the death knell of President Abraham Lincoln  without realizing its significance.

Im talking, of course, about the bell that topped the Henderson County Courthouse for nearly 120 years and is now mounted at the north basement door of the current courthouse. The 1843 courthouse was a Greek Revival structure that opened that October, according to E.L. Starlings History of Henderson County. It was razed beginning in December 1963.

Henderson County Court  forerunner to fiscal court  appointed a committee in April 1840 to begin looking into building a new courthouse and that October it determined to proceed with the project. In February 1842 a committee was appointed to draft plans for the structure and during the April term the court decided that it be advertised for bids and cost no more than $10,000.

Littleberry Weaver was the low bidder at $9,400 and Magistrate Edmund H. Hopkins was appointed to supervise the work. Between June and October 1843 county government was housed in the leased Baptist church.

The earliest mention of the bell I could find is on page 269 of Country Court Order Book E, which is dated Dec. 22, 1845. County Court ordered that $160 be paid to James Marlatt for the bell and that Phillip Van Bussum be paid $16 to hang it in the courthouse cupola.

That same bell still hangs and for the last sixteen years has struck the hours to the great comfort and convenience of the people, Starling wrote in his 1887 book.

Youre wondering, no doubt, about Starlings arithmetic, because 1887 minus 16 equals 1871. I cant explain that.

The best I can do is further confuse you with a sentence fragment from an April 4, 1905, article in the Twice-a-Week Gleaner, which provided a brief history of the courthouse: The bell now in the cupola costing $160 was placed there in the year 1871.

The old bell that was atop the former courthouse between 1846 and 1963 was preserved and installed in November 1967 in its current resting place at the north basement door of the current courthouse. It rang out over the years to mark both tragedies and triumphs.

The bell probably was installed sometime in 1846, however, considering it was bought in late December 1845. There is primary source documentation to support that conclusion.

Henderson County Court Order Book E, on page 303, gave the town trustees permission July 27, 1846, to ring the bell every night at any hour they may think proper. The trustees took them up on that offer a few days later.

Hendersons first curfew apparently was drafted to control prostitution, slaves and disorderly persons. The town trustee minutes from July 30, 1846, initially made 10 p.m. the curfew but on Aug. 15 the trustees came back and set the curfew at 9 p.m.

Ordered that the town sergeant ring the courthouse bell every night at 10 oclock or cause same to be done. It is further ordered that all slaves, night walkers and disorderly persons who are found strolling about in the night 15 minutes after the ringing of the bell be arrested and dealt with according to law.

Starling added, At the ringing of the bell, but few persons were to be seen on the streets, and those who were out made haste to avoid the town watch.

Furthermore, page 349 of Order Book E says, The frame upon which the courthouse bell is placed has gotten out of fix and the bell will not ring conveniently. County Court authorized William D. Allison to oversee the repairs.

That bell rang out on numerous occasions, to mark the hours, the convening of court, and the time for all good people to be indoors, Starling reports.

What apparently was Hendersons first bank robbery began with a mounted troop of 21 guerrillas riding up to the Farmers Bank at Second and Elm Streets at 11 a.m. Sept. 10, 1864. They emerged carrying a sack into which they had stuffed $8,430. The guerrillas also robbed four stores of nearly $400 worth of goods.

Having plundered to their hearts content, they retired with their ill-gotten gain and the ill will of every citizen. Shortly after their departure, squads of men collected on the street, and many of them gave vent to their displeasure in forcible language. The Court House bell was rung, and rich and poor, large and small, collected in the building, and every man and boy who could find a musket, shotgun or pistol brought them forward to participate in the towns protection.

A tragedy caused the bell to be sounded the following year, Starling writes.

On Saturday, April 16 (1865), the news of the assassination of President Lincoln was received, and thereupon Mayor (David) Banks issued his proclamation directing all stores to be closed from 10 oclock for the remainder of the day, and at 10 oclock for all of the bells of the city to be tolled, in respect to the memory of the departed president. Many merchants, although strongly opposed to Mr. Lincoln politically, draped their store fronts in mourning.

Happier occasions for hearing the bell included the celebrations at the end of World Wars I and II.

Lets now take a closer look at the bell itself. There is an inscription on it that reads:A. FultonPittsburghFor Doctr Kean

I checked with sources in Pittsburgh and am unable to identify Doctor Kean, except to note Pittsburgh experienced a huge fire April 10, 1845. Nor am I able to provide the hometown of James Marlatt, the man who sold the bell to Henderson County. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say Henderson County bought a second-hand bell in 1846 from a junk man.

But I found quite a bit of information about A. Fulton  probably much more than you want to know, so Ill give you the Readers Digest version.

An 1879 book by Richard Edwards called Industries of Pittsburgh has this to say: The business was originated in 1832 by Andrew Fulton Sr. with a capital so small that his operations were confined to one room, his only employee being himself. The bells that are cast at this foundry vibrate over the entire United States and peal across the remotest waters of the globe on steamboats.

The company grew, was destroyed in the 1845 fire, but was rebuilt and lasted three generations. It is credited with casting the first bell manufactured west of the Alleghenies and in 1866 cast a 3,000-pound behemoth for the city of Pittsburgh.

Ill end by returning to the Henderson County bell, which was mounted in its current position the first week of November 1967, according to a photo caption in The Gleaner of Nov. 8, 1967. The photo depicts Sue Knight of the Chamber of Commerce testing the clapper to see if it still works.It does.

100 YEARS AGO

Friends and supporters of U.S. Sen. Augustus O. Stanley were organizing an effort to put him forth as a favorite son nominee for the Democratic presidential ticket, according to The Gleaner of Feb. 28, 1924.The resolution they drafted said, in part, He has distinguished himself in the state and in the nation by his pleas  for a square deal and fair dealing and justice for the downtrodden and depressed.

75 YEARS AGO

The Henderson City Commission passed first reading of three ordinances aimed at increasing the citys revenues, according to The Gleaner of March 1, 1949.

They included raising power rates for industrial users from 1.5 cents to 2 cents per kilowatt hour and raising meter deposit rates for the Gas Department. There were also plans for increasing business license fees.

The city ran a $5,000 deficit in 1948 and as of spring 1949 was $73,000 in the red. Other revenue increases included raising fees at cemeteries, using more efficient generators at the power plant, and increasing assessments for city property taxes.

50 YEARS AGO

Henderson Countys green box system of solid waste collection had been admired across the state as the first rural system in Kentucky since it began operations in the fall of 1973  but problems were beginning to crop up, according to The Gleaner of March 5, 1974.

Garbage was being strewn around the bins on Old Madisonville Road  but county officials were hesitant to start citing people.

We know weve got a problem and were not quite ready to get tough, said County Judge A.G. Pritchett. Were going to try to work the bugs out with the people who use it. Then well take a tough stance.

Similar problems plagued the county for years. At the beginning of 2004 Henderson Fiscal Court passed a pair of ordinances abolishing the green box system and instead set up franchised private haulers. Green boxes were pulled beginning March 1 and were gone by March 15.

25 YEARS AGO

The city of Henderson received only one proposal in its search for a site for a new police station, according to The Gleaner of March 2, 1999.

City Manager Jeff Broughton declined to provide specifics about the proposal.

The Henderson City Commission agreed in mid-January 2000 to spend $2.2 million to buy half of the former Peabody Coal Co. headquarters. Two years later the Henderson Police Department and the Henderson City-County Planning Commission began moving into the renovated building.

Readers of The Gleaner can reach Frank Boyett at fboyett@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Henderson history: Old courthouse bell has rung out triumphs, tragedies
This month marks an annual holiday celebrated around the globe: International Womens Day (IWD).

International Womens Day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1975. Since then, it has gone on to celebrate the monumental impact that women have made around the world. After being recognised by the UN, the holiday - which always falls on 8 March - has been celebrated by more than 80 countries worldwide. The day has also become a major part of the womens rights movement and helped create conversations about gender biases.

The holiday always falls eight days after the beginning of Womens History Month, a 31-day celebration of women whove strengthened and shaped different events throughout world history. For this years International Womens Day, the UN and the IWDs official website have set themes that push towards achieving gender equality.

Heres everything you need to know about International Womens Day 2024, from the theme to different ways to celebrate.

When was International Womens Day founded?

Back in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City to demand for change in society, according to IWDs official website. These women demanded shorter working hours, better pay, and voting rights.

The first National Womens Day was observed on 28 February 1909. One year later, a woman named Clara Zetkin - a member of the Social Democratic Party in Germany - suggested the idea of a Womens Day that would be held every year in every country on the same day to press for their demands.

After an agreement was made in Denmark in 1911, International Womens Day was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on 19 March. It was later moved to 8 March in 1914 and has been celebrated on the same day since. IWD was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1975.

What is the theme of IWD 2024?

The International Womens Day website has announced that this years theme is Inspire Inclusion. The goal of the campaign is to inspire others to understand and value womens inclusion so that we forge a better world.

And when women themselves are inspired to be included, theres a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment, the website added. Collectively, lets forge a more inclusive world for women.

The site also noted that the campaign is committed to inspiring inclusion, with discussions like: When women arent present, we must ask, If not, why not? or When women are discriminated against, we must call out poor practice.

The United Nations also has an annual theme for the occasion, with this years being: Invest in women: Accelerate progress. The campaign acknowledged that achieving gender equality and womens well-being in all aspects of life is more crucial than ever, especially if wed like to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet.

However, we are facing a key challenge: the alarming $360 billion annual deficit in gender-equality measures by 2030, the website added.

The page also highlighted five key areas to focus on this year: Investing in women, a human rights issue; ending poverty; implementing gender-responsive financing; shifting to a green economy and care society; and supporting feminist change-makers.

How do I take part in IWD this year?

IWDs official website recommends one way to take part in this years theme is to understand, value, and seek out the inclusion of women and girls. In addition, sharing this knowledge, support and encouragement with others is key.

The organisation also encourages social media users to share a picture of themselves doing the IWD #InspireInclusion pose, in which you bring your hands together to form the shape of a heart. Along with using the #IWD2024 and #InspireInclusion hashtags when posting photos on social media, IWD urges people to submit the image and a statement to potentially be featured in the IWD gallery.

The UN has shared different ways to take part in its IWD theme, Invest in women: Accelerate progress. For example, the organisation has posted a package of social media messages that you can share on your page on 8 March.

One GIF featured in the social media package highlights the theme, as it reads: Investing in women benefits the entire society. Other graphics include statistics, one of which reads: An additional $360 billion per year is needed to achieve gender equality. When sharing these images, or any photos that highlight the UNs theme of IWD, you can caption your post with the #InvestInWomen hashtag.

On 8 March, you can also watch the official UN International Womens Day commemoration, which will be held in the ECOSOC Chamber. The event will be live-streamed from 10am to 11.30am EST on IWD.
Jollof rice, which is believed to have originated from the Senegambia during the Wolof Empire (c. 1200  1600), is a dish that has become a staple across West Africa. It is typically made in a single pot with long-grain rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions, spices and herbs, and sometimes seafood or meat, though its ingredients and preparation vary by region.

The evolution of jollof rice reflects the regions complex history, where trade, migration and cultural exchange played significant roles. Ghanas take on the dish highlights the countrys ability to blend external influences with local traditions, creating a version of jollof rice that is distinctly Ghanaian.

It is not merely food  it is a narrative of survival, adaptation and unity.

As the dish traveled, it gathered flavors and techniques, transforming with each communitys touch. Ghanas version, particularly notable for its texture and taste, became a source of national pride. The variations between recipes from different West African countries have sparked lighthearted debates, but they underscore a shared culinary heritage.

Culinary artists showcasing their passion for West African cuisine, offering a taste of cultural heritage through vibrant dishes. (Courtesy Nana Araba Wilmot)

Ghanaian society holds jollof rice in high regard, attributing to it roles that transcend the culinary. It is a fixture in celebrations and a symbol of hospitality, embodying the Ghanaian ethos of sharing and community. The preparation of jollof rice is a communal activity, bringing together families and neighbors, strengthening social bonds. This tradition of shared meals reflects a broader cultural value of unity and collective well-being, foundational to Ghanaian identity.

Jollof also serves as a culinary ambassador that introduces Ghanaian culture to the world. As the dish gains popularity internationally, it carries with it stories of Ghanas heritage, cuisine and community life.

In Winneba, Ghana, the dish is not just a meal but a celebration of local identity and communal resilience. The ritual of making jollof rice, from sourcing ingredients at the market to the communal feast that follows, showcases the towns unique contribution to Ghanas culinary landscape.

The sea is deeply woven into the fabric of our culinary practices. While jollof rice remains the centerpiece of our meals, it is traditionally accompanied by fresh, locally caught seafood, chicken and/or beef, served on the side to honor the pristine flavors of both the land and the sea. The seafood, prepared with simplicity to highlight its freshness, complements the rich and spicy flavors of the jollof, creating a harmonious balance that is quintessentially Winneban.

Matriarchs: The heartbeat of Winnebas jollof

Jollof rice is more than food; its a story of our people, our struggles, and our joys, my mother shares, her voice rich with pride and nostalgia. She speaks of the dish as a living history, a canvas for the expression of Ghanaian culture and resilience.

A traditional serving of jollof rice, ready to be enjoyed, with a side of refreshing mixed fruit salad, exemplifying the balance of spice and sweetness in West African meals. (Courtesy Nana Araba Wilmot)

Sitting down with my grandmother, the dialogue takes a unique turn, transcending language barriers. Though she speaks no English, her hands, moving with the grace and precision of a seasoned artist, narrate tales of tradition and love. My mother translates: She says, Every ingredient has its purpose, every step its significance. Its about preserving our heritage, one pot of jollof at a time.

Their conversation unfolds like a melody, blending memories with recipes.

Cooking jollof, my grandmother gestures, is like weaving a tapestry, each thread a flavor, each knot a memory.

Sea and land: The Winneba recipe

The distinctiveness of Winnebas jollof rice lies in its ingredients and the art of its preparation. Opting for local rice varieties over parboiled rice, the Winneba version achieves a unique texture and flavor profile that sets it apart. The sauce, rich with tomatoes, onions and chili peppers, is simmered to perfection, its spices carefully balanced to complement the freshness of the local produce.

Simmering spices, alliums and tomatoes blend in a pot  the foundation of jollof rice. (Courtesy Adjoa Kittoe)

Cooking jollof rice in Winneba is a time-honored process, one that requires patience and skill. The technique of allowing the rice to steam within the sauce, absorbing every nuance of flavor, is crucial to achieving the dishs signature taste. This method, passed down through generations, reflects the communitys respect for tradition and their culinary heritage.

Pairing the dish with fresh, locally caught seafood adds another layer of flavor and complexity to Winnebas jollof.

The sea is part of who we are, my mother remarks. Incorporating it into our jollof is a tribute to our ancestors, who navigated these waters long before us.

The use of local rice over parboiled varieties makes for a dish deeply rooted in the soil of Ghana.

The texture, the aroma  its incomparable, my mother explains. Its about honoring the land that feeds us.

The sauce, a vibrant melody of tomatoes, onions, and chili peppers, simmers slowly.

This part, my mother says, is where patience plays its role. Its about letting the flavors meld, transform, becoming something entirely new yet familiar.

Ghanaian Jollof Rice with Corned Beef by Adjoa Kittoe

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
In a remarkable display of quick action and compassion, a junkyard worker in Asheville, North Carolina, emerged as an unexpected hero by saving a cat named Lilly from the clutches of danger. Lilly had found herself trapped inside a car earmarked for destruction when the worker noticed her just in time. This serendipitous rescue led to an emotional reunion between Lilly and her owner and underscored the critical importance of microchipping pets and ensuring their safety.

Junkyard worker hailed a hero after he saves cat from certain death

Sarah Batten of Brother Wolf Animal Rescue received an urgent call from her partner who was working at the junkyard. He had found Lilly hiding in a vehicle marked for demolition. The alertness of the worker saved the cat from a grim fate, illustrating the lifesaving impact of prompt human intervention. After her rescue, Lilly was taken to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue for immediate medical care, where she was treated for dehydration and received a comprehensive health check.

The extraordinary efforts of the junkyard worker did not go unnoticed, with the community and Lillys owner hailing him as a hero for his life-saving action. The workers discovery led to Lillys swift reunion with her anxious owner, who had been searching for her. Furthermore, the owner was eager to accept the services offered by Brother Wolf for Lilly to undergo microchipping, vaccination, and spaying, recognizing the value of these preventative measures  per BNN.

However, Lillys story still serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers that pets can encounter and the essential role of community vigilance and support in protecting them. Additionally, the incident brings to light the impactful work done by organizations like Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in ensuring the well-being of animals and strengthening the bond between pets and their owners.

The post Junkyard Worker Rescues Cat Before Crushing Car appeared first on CatTime.
Plus, signs for when they've gone bad.

Getty Images

Cooking with garlic cloves is an essential part of many home cooks repertoire. Fresh garlic, whether roasted and added to a dip or dressing, or sliced thinly and sauteed with leafy greens or cut up chicken, is an indispensable kitchen ingredient.

This workhorse adds loads of flavor to everything it touches (looking at you, garlic bread). But garlic, like other alliums, has a shelf life. The taste and flavor of garlic changes once its gone bad, which is why its important to know how long garlic cloves last. But how long garlic cloves last depends on a couple of thingsnamely, whether the garlic gloves are peeled or unpeeled.

Related: How To Plant Garlic From A Clove

How Long Do Unpeeled Garlic Cloves Last?

Unpeeled garlic cloves can last "quite a while" according to Rodney Freidank, a corporate chef at Table 301 Restaurant Group in Greenville, South Carolina. Proper storage will contribute to how long cloves will last. It's safe to say that unpeeled garlic cloves will last for at least seven to ten days when stored in a pantry, but Freidank notes that some can last for weeks and likely months.

How Long Do Peeled Garlic Cloves Last?

Peeled cloves have a lot shorter shelf life than unpeeled cloves. Freidank says you can expect these cloves to stay good for about a week stored in a sealed plastic bag or container and kept in the fridge.

While the busy Chef often buys peeled cloves for the restaurants and for cooking at home, it might not be the best avenue for home cooks who dont go through garlic as quickly. That said, if you do end up buying peeled cloves in bulk (we get it, peeling garlic can sometimes feel like a tedious task, especially when you need a lot for a specific recipe), you can always pop them in the freezer in an airtight container and thaw as needed.

When they are thawed, their texture will be softer and they will be somewhat translucent, but their flavor will still be great, Freidank says.

And if youve ended up chopping more garlic than you need, Freidank recommends drizzling a little olive oil over the chopped or minced cloves and placing that in the fridge where it will stop the garlic from oxidizing. It will keep like this for a few days, and you can use the infused oil in myriad ways too.

Related: Use This Easy Garlic Peeling Hack To Save Time In The Kitchen

How To Determine If Garlic Cloves Have Gone Bad

Garlic that is getting old will get moldy, explains Freidank. It might also start to smella very strong or unpleasant smell is a telltale sign the garlic has gone bad. This is a result of oxidation, says the Chef, adding, If that happens, dont use it.

As for those jars of chopped or minced garlic in oil? They may look temptingand like a huge timesaverbut Freidank says he wouldnt recommend it: The taste is very different and easily noticed in your dish (especially on garlic bread).



Related: 31 Recipes You Can Make With Fresh Garlic

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Read the original article on Southern Living.
PARIS  Celebrities and designers turned out Thursday evening to check out the creations of the 20 talents shortlisted for the LVMH Prize for Young Designers.

Dior ambassadors Jennifer Lawrence and Xin Liu were among the first to arrive at the headquarters of luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton on Avenue Montaigne, welcomed by cheering fans who waited outside despite the blustery weather.

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Inside, Paris Jackson and models Jessica Stam, Coco Rocha and Liya Kebede mingled with designers including Proenza Schoulers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, jeweler Victoire de Castellane and milliner Stephen Jones.

LVMH executives were also out in force, led by Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive officer of the French luxury conglomerate; his daughter Delphine Arnault, the force behind the prize and a key talent scout at LVMH, and son Antoine Arnault, the groups head of communication, image and environment.

Delphine Arnault and Bernard Arnault

Touring the showroom earlier in the day, Delphine Arnault noted the semifinalists were chosen from among more than 2,500 applications and were a good gauge of trends. Its already a huge achievement to be here, she said of the annual event.

Its different from seeing it on a screen, as we did not meet with them in person during the selection process. Its always very interesting to see them here and hear their thoughts, and also to find out how their personality is reflected in the product and how they express their vision, she added.

The executive, who is also chairman and chief executive officer of Christian Dior Couture, was looking forward to handing out a new award, the Savoir-Faire Prize.

These are often small companies that are still growing. They do a lot of things by hand, and passing on that know-how is crucial, Arnault noted. Its wonderful to add this new dimension to the prize. Its important and it also reflects our current concerns.

For people to have a view of things in person, up close, its a real game-changer for my work especially, he said. There are techniques that are developed that you may not see in an image so clearly.

Irish designer Michael Stewart flipped through a portfolio to show how he crafts the forms that underpin his sculptural jersey creations for his womenswear label Standing Ground.

Stewart does everything himself. I really love to work with my hands, the Royal College of Art graduate explained. I dont sketch and have someone else. It has to be me from the very beginning.

South Korean designer Jiyong Kim explained how he uses sun bleaching to create the patterns for his menswear designs under the Jiyongkim label. He hangs garments on a fence and then waits.

This took a month, actually, but it really depends on the weather, he said of a black raincoat with ghostly markings. We cannot control the weather, so every piece is unique.

Kim, who has more than 20 stockists including Browns, Dover Street Market and Ssense, said he would use the prize money to hire more staff and invest in spaces to house the large-scale installations he uses to showcase his work, instead of fashion shows.

Karoline Vitto would spend the cash on R&D and production. The Brazilian designer, known for her size-inclusive creations, sells direct-to-consumer, mostly in the U.S. and Australia.

Now its the time for us to scale and we would love to go into wholesale and have a bit more of a cash predictability, she said. She offers outfits in U.K. sizes 8 to 28, which is challenging for manufacturers, who usually take orders in up to five sizes.

All the pattern grading is done in-house manually, she said. As we grow, we need to scale that process. In the next collections, we want to go through maybe new product categories that have a little bit of a more simple grading structure where we can do it digitally.

Vitto hopes her presence will spark interest among larger brands that have yet to embrace a body-positive approach. Theres a few of us who are small brands that are doing it, so why are the big players not catching up? she asked.

Simon Porte Jacquemus

The LVMH Prize  which last year was won by Setchu by Satoshi Kuwata  has helped propel the careers of such talents as Marine Serre, Nensi Dojaka, Thebe Magugu, Grace Wales Bonner and Simon Porte Jacquemus, who was also in attendance and took his time to check out all the semifinalists.

Just right now I discovered this New York-based designer, he said, pointing to Jacques Agbobly, whose booth was located near the entrance.

The Togolese-born designer, who last October received the inaugural WWD Honor for One to Watch, won plaudits for their colorful creations, but also their engaging personality. [Theyre] really charming, [theyre] the one I will remember, said Jacquemus, who has a cult following on social media and understands the power of charisma.

I grew up watching a lot of these people on my screen, so its been wonderful just to get some face time with them and get to share my world with them, Agbobly told WWD.

This year, Im the only African brand, and it was really important for me to share that Africa is not just this faraway thing, that we deserve to be center stage in the global fashion conversation, they added.

Tela DAmore and Everard Best of U.S. brand Who Decides War showed creations including pants made from upcycled motorcycle jackets. It is redefining Americana through the lens of people of color, DAmore explained.

Who Decides War collaborated with Off-White on a 2019 collection, and Best was inspired by the example of that brands founder Virgil Abloh, who was a finalist of the 2015 edition of the prize and by 2021 was a member of the jury in his capacity as creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton.

Were just following in his footsteps and just hope one day we could do as much as he did, he said, noting that Abloh set the template for self-taught designers.

Basically, my dads a tailor, his parents were tailors, and he was able to pass down the trade. Going to design school wasnt really a thing for me, Best remarked. I think now its like, OK, you dont have to go to Parsons or FIT to be a designer, you just have to put the time in.

The other semifinalists are Aubero by Julian Louie; Campillo by Patricio Campillo; Chiahung Su by Chia Hung Su; Duran Lantink; Elena Velez; Fidan Novruzova; Hodakova by Ellen Hodakova Larsson; Khoki by Koki Abe; Marie Adam-Leenaerdt; Niccolo Pasqualetti; Paolo Carzana; Pauline Dujancourt; Ponder.er by Derek Cheng and Alex Po; Vautrait by Yonathan Carmel and Ya Yi by Yayi Chen Zhou.

Asked if he had any advice for young designers, Jacquemus said: The best advice is no advice, because everyone will give you their opinion. Follow your heart and at the end you will never be disappointed. It works for life in general. Believe in yourself, and you never make the wrong choice.

Coco Rocha

Charles de Vilmorin, a finalist in 2021, said it was important for the contestants to preserve their uniqueness.

Its not very original, but for me the most important thing for them is to stay themselves, he said. I think the right question to ask to yourself when you create a collection is: Why is it only me who can make this collection and not another one?

As she made her rounds, Stam said she hoped to be surprised. Especially when times are uncertain, we need more creativity and to dive deeper into that, she opined.

Rocha, on the other, believes there is no such thing as a new shape. As much as people like to say This is a new idea, I have never seen a new idea, she said. But I do appreciate when people try to take [something] and spin it.

The model praised the format of the event. I know that theres other programs that do what LVMH is doing right now. However, its nice to see [designers] in the room with their work and being able to talk to them. Its like they have the chance to network all by themselves, she said. If you dont win, you probably get some phone numbers.

Launch Gallery: Inside the LVMH Prize Cocktail at Paris Fashion Week: February 2024

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It may be time to say goodbye to your local Macy's. The department store chain has announced plans to close approximately 150 stores across the country through 2026, including 50 locations this year alone.



Macy's described the stores set to be shuttered as "underproductive locations." While the brand has not yet released a full list of the Macy's stores that are closing, one of these locations has been confirmed by San Francisco Mayor London Breed's office as Macy's Union Square flagship store (though it will remain open indefinitely until the property is sold).

In a statement released on February 27, Macy's revealed its new strategy  coined as "A Bold New Chapter"  will include closing the 150 stores and prioritizing investments in the remaining 350 locations. The strategy will also include opening new Bloomingdale's locations and Bluemercury stores, which are Macy's luxury brands.

Macy's, Inc. is hoping this move will re-strengthen the company's brand, digital presence and relationship with customers. According to Macy's, the strategy aims to solidify Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury's positions in the luxury space by opening more physical locations and offering more immersive customer experiences.



Tony Spring, who stepped into his position as the chief executive officer of Macy's in February, said in the statement:

"We are making the necessary moves to reinvigorate relationships with our customers through improved shopping experiences, relevant assortments and compelling value."

This isn't the first time Macy's has announced unfortunate news about store closings in recent years. The department store chain has closed roughly 300 stores since 2015, including closing 45 Macy's locations in 2021 and 28 locations in 2020. In January, Macys announced it was laying off about 3.5% of its workforce (around 2,350 employees) and closing five stores. The "Bold New Chapter" strategy includes focusing remaining resources on top-performing stores in order to improve customer shopping experiences and sales.

The recent store closures and downsizing can be attributed to multiple factors (ahem, online shopping), but experts say the drop in the company's stock price most likely drove the plans to refocus on currently successful locations and luxury brands. Macy's stock price peaked at $73 a share in 2015, but nine years later it's dropped to $18 a share  that's a whopping 75% decrease.

"Our threshold to keep a store open has become more stringent," Spring said in a conference call with investors, per CBS News. "In the past we may have continued to operate a store that was cash flow positive. Now the bar has been raised."

A List of Macy's 2024 Store Closings

Including the store closures announced in January, here is a list of the Macy's stores facing closure this year. Note: This list will be updated as more store closures are officially announced.

California

San Leandro: Bayfair Center

Simi Valley: Simi Valley Town Center

Hawaii

Lihue: Kukui Grove Center

Florida

Tallahassee: Governors Square

Virginia

Arlington: Ballston Quarter

Luckily for loyal shoppers, the remaining 350 Macy's locations will be reinvested in and improved upon  and if it turns out your local store is set to close and you're in need of a new dress or bottle of perfume, there's always Macys.com.

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ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, March 1. Turkmenistan and Tajikistan have identified priority areas of economic partnership, Trend reports.

According to the official source, these issues were discussed during a working visit to Dushanbe by representatives of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, where she, together with the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Dushanbe Aimyrat Gochmyradov, met with Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan Haydar Rajabov.

In this context, special attention was paid by the parties to the light industry, the oil and gas sector, the food sector, and the agro-industrial complex as key areas for the intensification of bilateral partnerships.

During the talks, the parties discussed issues of further intensification of cooperation between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in the field of trade and economic relations, where they noted that there is great potential for mutual realization.

Furthermore, the Tajik side welcomed Turkmenistan's intention to open a trading house in Dushanbe and expressed its readiness to provide all necessary support for its rapid launch and successful operation.

Meanwhile, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan continue to deepen economic cooperation based on common interests and the pursuit of sustainable development.

Both countries are actively developing trade and economic ties, increasing the volume of mutual trade and investment in various sectors such as energy, transport, agriculture, and tourism.

Stay up to date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Thailand is considered by many to be one of the most socially progressive countries in Asia, and in recent years, the legalization of cannabis for recreational use added to that image. But the southeast Asian country is reversing course on its historic decision.

Cholnan Srikaew, the country's health minister, spoke to Reuters about the changes coming to the nation's cannabis policy. While the plant will still be allowed for medical use, recreational cannabis use will be illegal once again by the end of this year, two years after the legislature moved to make it accessible to all who want it.

"Without the law to regulate cannabis it will be misused," Cholnan said of recreational use. It all stems from a handful of laws that were quickly enacted after the drug was decriminalized that he believes didn't have adequate guardrails for the burgeoning industry. "The misuse of cannabis has a negative impact on Thai children," he said. "In the long run it could lead to other drugs."

The government is currently working to pass a draft bill before the end of this year that will eliminate legal recreational cannabis use and regulate the industry, which is projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by next year. The previous government was unable to pass legislation before last May's general election, leaving the country without a wide-reaching law to regulate cannabis use.

"In the new law, cannabis will be a controlled plant, so growing it would require permission," Cholnan said. "We will support [cannabis cultivation] for the medical and health industry."

Related: Cannabis Use Linked With Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Disease, Studies Find

Tens of thousands of dispensaries that opened in Thailand after the law passed will now have to adapt to being health clinics only prescribing medical cannabis or risk being shut down. And if you plan on visiting and skirting the law yourself, be warned; the draft law institutes a 60,000 baht ($1,700) fine for recreational use. Meanwhile, people who sell cannabis for recreational use or help advertise or market cannabis products could face up to a year in jail, a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($2,800), or both.

The good news is there are other countries around the world that remain cannabis-friendly destinations for visitors.


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In a ruling handed down by the United Kingdoms High Court earlier this week, Prince Harry lost his case arguing for police protection when he is back in his home country. He plans to appeal the decision. A legal spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said, The Dukes case is that the so-called bespoke process that applies to him is no substitute for that risk analysis [that working members of the British royal family receive].

Buried in the 51-page ruling (which you can read here) were details about Harry and Duchess Meghans visit to New York City in May 2023, including the New York Police Departments finding that the couple was, in fact, endangered during a chase by paparazzi. But also of note in the document are details surrounding all of Harrys trips to the U.K. since he and Meghan relocated to California, including their trip in September 2022which was initially to visit with several charities close to their hearts, but turned into a much longer stay following the death of Queen Elizabeth.

The ruling reveals that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex hoped to bring their two children, Archie and Lilibet, along with them for the trip, but the decisions RAVEC made prevented them in doing so. (RAVEC stands for the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, and coordinates security between the Royal Household, the Metropolitan Police, and the Home Office.)

Screenshot/Netflix - Netflix

On page 24, the document reads: "The Home Office had been notified on 3 August 2022 that the claimant and his wife and children would be visiting the United Kingdom between 2 and 11 September 2022. The itinerary did not [redacted text]. On 10 August 2022, RAVEC met to decide what protective security, if any, should be provided. A letter outlining RAVECs decision was sent to the Private Secretary to the Sovereign, since the request for protective security had come through the Royal Household. The letter of 12 August was from the Chair of RAVEC to Sir Edward Young. It explained that [redacted text]."

In response, Prince Harry and Meghan's team "wrote to say that the proposed security arrangements for the September visit were not lawful and that [redacted text] was plainly inadequate."

Reading between the lines, the security was not adequate enough for the Sussexes to bring their children, which ultimately meant they traveled to the UK sans Archie and Lilibet. This goes back to Prince Harry's original case to review his police protection, wherein his spokesperson said, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."

Since moving to California, Meghan and Harry have only brought their kids to the UK once, in June 2022 for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee. During that visit they celebrated Lili's first birthday at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. This trip is not referred to in the document.

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Have you ever seen an albino elephant? Honestly, I didn't even know they existed until I saw this video that was shared by ABC News on Thursday, February 29th. While it's definitely lighter than the other elephants, it really doesn't look all that different!

The baby elephant was spotted playing by a waterhole with two other calves in South Africas Kruger National Park. A lucky tour operator noticed the "pink" calf and was able to get 50 seconds or so of the calves being cared for by the herd as they played in the waterhole. Watch as the tiny gentle giants all have fun together!

I could watch baby elephants all day! These baby elephants playing in the water are absolutely adorable! And had I not been told that the baby was albino, I don't think I would have even noticed and probably would've guessed that he was just lighter than the others. ABC News commenter @Juice agreed, "Nah thats a normal *ss elephant dont let them play you."

Related: Rare Ghostly Albino Deer Spotted in Tennessee Forest

Facts About Albino Elephants

Another commenter asked, "Is he also blind?" According to Save the Elephants, "Albinism causes poor eyesight as mentioned before and it could eventually lead to blindness as the calf gets older." Luckily, elephants rely more on their sense of touch and smell so having poor eyesight does not hinder the baby elephant.

Albino elephants, also called 'white' elephants, are extremely rare, with only one in every 10,000 elephants born having it. The tour guide that captured the video is named Theo Potgieter, and he estimated the baby to a male calf around a year old. Potgieter told IFLScience, "Albinism in African elephants is by far more rare compared to Asian elephants." He also said that the calf may face many challenges as he gets older, "Not only does the harsh African sun and its glare affect them, but they are usually rejected by some or the majority of their family group." Although he pointed out that the calf seems to be accepted by the herd at this time.

While Potgieter was specifically speaking about this baby elephant, the same goes for member of other animal species as well. All of these animals have vision problems as well as other medical problems. They also have less UV protection which of course makes them more susceptible to sunburn and other skin issues, including skin cancer. They cannot use their coloring to camouflage the way other animals can, leaving them more vulnerable to predators.

While this calf is the first official white elephant I've ever seen, he's not the first albino animal we've reported on. Check out this albino deer that was spotted in a Tennessee forest and this albino alligator who lives at The Reptile Zoo in Fountain Valley, California...the Georgia Aquarium has one, too!

Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.
The real story of the "Blow" protagonist has as many twists and turns as the movie version. posteriori / Getty Images

The life story of George Jung reads like a high-stakes thriller, tracing the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of one of the most infamous drug smugglers in the history of the United States. Born into a modest family, Jung's early exposure to the world of narcotics set the stage for what would become a legendary career in the drug trade.

At the heart of the cocaine boom in the 1970s and 1980s, Jung became a pivotal figure, establishing a formidable network that connected Colombian cartels with the insatiable American market.

However, Jung's empire was built on a foundation of risk and illegality, leading to his eventual capture. His life serves as a cautionary tale of ambition, greed and the elusive American dream.

Early Years

George Jacob Jung was born on August 6, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts, and was raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts. His father, Frederick, was a small business owner, running a struggling business, which strained the family financially.

This aspect of his early life, particularly witnessing his family's economic difficulties, is said to have had a significant impact on Jung's ambitions and his later decisions to pursue wealth through illicit means.

An Education

Jung was known to be a bright but restless student. He attended Weymouth High School, where he showed potential but was often distracted and involved in minor rebellious activities. Despite his lack of focus on academics, Jung was a popular student, known for his charismatic personality and ability to connect with people  traits that would later play a significant role in his career as a drug trafficker.

After high school, he enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi. Jung's foray into narcotics began not out of a grand scheme but from the opportunistic selling of marijuana to his college peers.

His entrepreneurial spirit quickly recognized the lucrative potential lying in the vast discrepancy between the costs of procuring marijuana in California and its selling price on the East Coast.

Marijuana Trafficking

Jung moved to Manhattan Beach, California, in the late 1960s after dropping out of the University of Southern Mississippi. It was during this period that he fully immersed himself in the drug culture and began his career in drug trafficking.

His operation quickly expanded from distributing to friends in California to transporting larger quantities in motor homes to the Northeast, particularly Amherst. By 1968, he had capitalized on the significant price difference.

"We used to take 600 to 800 pounds of pot at the time in these single-engine planes into the United States," Jung told PBS in an interview. "And we were basically getting it for $20 a kilo down there and selling it anywhere between $300 to 350 in the United States."

Seeking to maximize profits, Jung ventured into Mexico, targeting Puerto Vallarta to source marijuana directly. Despite initial setbacks due to language barriers and unfamiliar territory, a fortuitous meeting with an American woman led him to the son of a Mexican general, facilitating his plan to fly marijuana into the U.S.

The operation's logistics involved loading marijuana at a secluded spot near Puerto Vallarta called Point Damia, with no road access, making it an ideal clandestine loading point. Jung's first smuggling flight was fraught with challenges, including his inexperience as a pilot and a near-disastrous deviation over the Pacific. (Turns out it's sometimes worth it to hire professional pilots.)

The intended destination for these smuggling flights was near Palm Springs, California, where they used dry lake beds as makeshift landing strips. This daring approach marked a significant escalation in Jung's drug trafficking career, setting the stage for his eventual involvement in the cocaine trade.

A Life-changing Meeting in Prison

Jung's first significant legal trouble for drug smuggling occurred in 1974 when he was arrested in Chicago with 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of marijuana in his trunk. He was delivering the load to a man with ties to the heroin trade. Jung allegedly had no idea about that connection.

"Strange thing, when they arrested me for the pot, the federal agents, they said, "We're sorry, we really don't want to bust pot people," Jung later said. "But this is tied into a heroin operation and we have to arrest you."

Jung was sent to Danbury Prison, which he described as a distinctive environment. The inmate population primarily consisted of white-collar criminals and a few significant smugglers. There, he met Carlos Lehder, a fellow inmate with connections to the Medellin Cartel in Colombia.

As their acquaintance grew, Lehder introduced Jung to the cocaine business, highlighting the significant profit margin by comparing the selling price in the United States to the cost in Colombia. This conversation ignited Jung's interest in cocaine smuggling.

Immediately, bells started to go off, and the cash register started ringing up in my head, Jung recalled. It was like a match made in heaven.

Together, they conceived a plan that would exploit Jung's smuggling routes for cocaine distribution, with Lehder providing the connections to Colombian cocaine sources.

Pablo Escobar Enters the Picture

After their release, it was time to meet the big boss. Jung's introduction to Pablo Escobar  the notorious Colombian drug lord  took place at Escobar's ranch in Colombia, facilitated by Lehder. At the time, the drug lord was rapidly gaining power and influence as a leader of the Medellin Cartel and looking for ways to expand his business.

Often described as a hub for the cartel's operations, the Hacienda Napoles ranch served as a neutral ground for such meetings. Here, Jung learned about the scale and organization of Escobar's operation. This meeting was crucial for establishing the direct link between Colombian cocaine production and the US market, leading to the cocaine boom in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Jung laid out the innovative smuggling method they devised in prison, which involved using commercial airlines to transport cocaine from Colombia to the United States. This method was marked by the use of Samsonite suitcases, which they would fill with cocaine, showcasing Jung's ingenuity in adapting to the challenges of smuggling heavier and more valuable cargo.

Jung's logistical expertise and smuggling routes, combined with Escobar's vast supply of cocaine, made their operation one of the most lucrative in the history of drug trafficking.

"Basically, I was no different than a rock star or a movie star. I was a coke star. At that time, I really didn't know who I was, to be honest with you. I was snorting a lot of cocaine, and I had lost myself to a great degree."

This operation, expertly transferring cocaine, made both Jung and Escobar extremely rich and solidified Escobar's position as a dominant figure in the global drug trade.

However, the success of their partnership eventually led to its downfall. The scale and visibility of their operation attracted intense scrutiny from law enforcement agencies in the United States and internationally. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other agencies intensified their efforts to dismantle the Medellin Cartel's network, leading to increased risks for everyone involved.

The Fall of Boston George

Two decades after his arrest for marijuana trafficking, Jung, who went by the nicknames Boston George and El Americano, was captured by authorities in 1994.

The circumstances leading to his arrest involved a large-scale operation where Jung was caught with a significant quantity of cocaine. He was arrested in Topeka, Kansas, with 1,754 pounds (796 kilograms) of cocaine, which was a substantial amount indicating a major smuggling operation.

After his arrest, Jung pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy, which reflects the breadth of his involvement in organized drug trafficking. His cooperation with authorities, particularly his testimony against his former partner Lehder, reduced his sentence from 60 years to about 20 years.

'Blow'

The 2001 biographical film "Blow," starring Johnny Depp and directed by Ted Demme, closely mirrors the real-life events of Jung's career in drug trafficking  with some dramatic embellishments typical of biopics.

The film is based on Bruce Porter's 1993 book "Blow: How a Small Town Boy Made $100 Million with the Medellin Cocaine Cartel and Lost It All," which follows Jung's journey from a small-time marijuana smuggler to a major player in the cocaine trade in partnership with the Medellin Cartel, led by Pablo Escobar.

The film captures the smuggler's rise and fall, emphasizing his criminal endeavors and the personal and emotional consequences of his life choices, particularly the strained relationship with his daughter.

The depiction of Jung's arrest at his birthday party, as shown in the film, is a dramatized version of events. In reality, Jung's criminal career was marked by several arrests and prison sentences, culminating in his final arrest in '94 at his home on Nauset Beach near Eastham, Massachusetts.

The Post-prison Years

Jung was released from prison on June 2, 2014, after serving nearly 20 years of his sentence. A combination of good behavior and his participation in a substance abuse program contributed to a reduction in his sentence.

He was, however, jailed for violating his probation but was transferred to a halfway house the following year.

After his release, Jung sought to lead a relatively low-profile life, although he did engage in some public activities. He gave several interviews in which he reflected on his life, his involvement in drug trafficking and the consequences of his actions. He also became active on social media, sharing his thoughts and experiences with a broader audience.

In addition to these activities, Jung worked on projects related to his life story, including collaborating on writing and public speaking engagements. He aimed to share his experiences to caution others about the dangers and consequences of drug trafficking and substance abuse.

Jung's life after prison was marked by efforts to reconnect with his family, particularly his daughter Kristina Sunshine Jung. Their relationship had been strained due to Jung's criminal activities and long periods of incarceration, themes that were prominently featured in the movie "Blow."

Despite his efforts to rebuild his life, Jung's past continued to cast a long shadow, and he faced the challenges of adjusting to life outside prison after spending decades involved in the criminal underworld and behind bars.

George Jung died on May 5, 2021, at the age of 78. While initial reports did not specify the exact cause of his death, it was later reported that he died from liver and kidney failure at his home in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

This article was updated in conjunction with AI technology, then fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.

Original article: The Rise and Fall of George Jung: The Real-life Subject of 'Blow'

Copyright  2024 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company
After leaving Laos, Alex Hanesakdas family lived in Ubon refugee camp in Thailand, then made their way to Wisconsin. Hanesakda was a toddler. He doesnt remember the camp, but it continues to play a significant role in his life.

When language was a barrier, his mother used food to connect. She became known for her egg rolls, and in turn they inspired Hanesakda to open his Sap Sap food business nearly a decade ago.

Now, its part of the inspiration behind his newest pop-up series Sap Sap: Ubon, which launched at Amorphic Beer, 3700 N. Fratney St., in February. In April he will announce a full schedule for the summer.

Hanesakda closed his Sap Sap restaurant in Racine in August and took time to think about what makes him happy. He realized it isnt just the food, its connections and storytelling that drive him.

Thats the idea behind Sap Sap: Ubon pop-ups, catering and events. He has the smoker, his recipes, and a willingness to travel around the state. Melding where he comes from and where he is today, every dish gives a nod to his family roots in Laos, his mothers cooking, and ingredients and techniques adopted working with other chefs over the years. It all begins with grilled meats and sticky rice, his menu staples and most popular dishes.

Hanesakda is also launching a compostable plate business, Bai Jai, using leaves from Laos. Plans include 5% of the profit going back to a Wausau area nonprofit, We Help War Victims. Founded by educator Jim Harris, the group works to remove bombs from Laos. Hanesakda, who plans his first visit Laos this summer to see the groups work, intends to serve his barbecue on the compostable plates.

He talked from his home in St. Francis while planning his pop-up schedule.

The story of Sap Sap is more than food

The Sap Sap story extends from the war in Vietnam. We were refugees that went to Thailand. My dad fought for the Americans. My mom and dad escaped to a refugee camp, Ubon, and a few other scattered ones were around. The inspiration was to share that story, where we came from, where we are, and how we got here. None of this information was in the textbooks when I was growing up. It is crazy, because Laos was one of the largest populations and we saw this influx of southeast Asians coming to the Midwest, Wisconsin, California.

I was like 2 when I came here. I don't remember the refugee camp. My sisters do. I remember feeling different. We were one of the few Laotian families in Burlington. My mother would make these egg rolls. I saw their power. She couldn't speak English, but I saw the offering of food being a connector to our neighbors. Why are you here? Where do you come from? We told our story through food.

A meal from mom led to barbecue business

Fast forward to my early 30s, I had the idea to manufacture my mom's egg rolls. That was humbling. You need a lot of money. I don't have that. So I went to a small purveyor in East Troy, Hometown Sausage Kitchen. I did my first pop up and it snowballed. Every event monthly was selling out. We got very close to opening a spot in Crossroads Collective pre-Covid.

Alex Hanesakda prepares brisket fried rice for a pop-up dinner at Amorphic Beer on Feb. 17.

When Covid hit, I had no idea what I was going to do. We had a rental kitchen in Racine, where we lived. I had the idea to do curbside pick up. That took off . Then I had the bright idea to get into the lucrative restaurant business in Racine. That was very humbling. Two years of the restaurant, I didn't lose my passion, but it wasnt working. I felt like we werent getting our message across through food. We closed the restaurant.

Back to basics with barbecue

I moved up to Milwaukee with my partner. Lao barbecue stuck in my head. Everyone loves our grilled meats. There is no representation for Southeastern Asian barbecue in Wisconsin. Me personally, I love grilled meat, smoky meat.

Barbecue is very universal, using smoke as the only tool you have to make food. I have this smoker, and were not stuck in one place. Were known for our Lao barbecue. We were on Wisconsin Foodie for it. Let's go back to the basics and what Sap Sap was about: storytelling through food. It is called Sap Sap: Ubon. Ubon is the refugee camp where I was born. This is an homage. Ubon is actually the name of my smoker. The smoker came with a burner. Thats what we use for our fried rice. Instead of serving the brisket with macn cheese or coleslaw, we serve it with fried rice.

What to know about Laosand Laotian food

I will try to keep it as simple as possible. Laos is the country. Laotian is all things Laos. There are so many ethnicities in Laos. Lao food I feel has been very underrepresented, and culturally appropriated by the Thais, because a lot of Thai dishes are Lao dishes.  When I say Lao food, people are what is that? This is the food that other ethnicities take credit for when it is our dish. When I have a platform to explain this confusion I think that is important. We are the Lao people of Laos, the Hmong people of Laos, and Khmu people of Laos.

Defining his culinary style

I grew up learning certain techniques from my parents, but I also worked with CIA French chefs. Both apply. I have learned from them. They learn from me. My approach to Lao food is lets give them the flavors and apply to what is common here in the Midwest. Hence the brisket fried rice. We prepare some meat and serve with sticky rice, merge both worlds. I take what I feel is delicious but common to the Western palate. I would be out of business if I did only hardcore Laos food.

A favorite is coming back soon

Yes, were bringing back the sausages this summer. We have a co-packer, were working with Hometown Sausage in East Troy again.

The one ingredient he can't live without

Definitely lemongrass. I use it in a lot of things.

The most requested meals

Everyone loves the smoked brisket and fried rice, it is common and relatable. Yet at the restaurant people loved my chicken sandwich, a fusion one. It is always the grilled meats with sticky rice or smoked brisket fried rice that are the most popular.

Then the sauces are meant to be dipped with sticky rice with your meal. Theyre spicy. They're tangy. Were doing two. One is a roasted chile one with more depth, and the other is a fresh chile with fish sauce and ginger. The sauces wont change, these are staples on our menu. Theyre meant to complement the sticky rice and the smokiness of the meats.

In this promotional photo, Alex Hanesakda stands in front of his smoker, named Ubon after the refugee camp where his family once lived.

Leaves from Laos bring him to next stage

Our whole model has been about social impact. How can we help? It is ultimately to tell the story of what happened in Laos. We work with an organization, We Help War Victims. A former principal from Wausau, he saw the influx (of refugees) there and started the organization to support and remove the ordnances in Laos.

Then my partner Tom, he has a manufacturing business and he found the perfect manufacturer to do these plates. They use palm leaves that fall off the trees in southeast Asia. Youre not knocking down trees. You're molding the leaves into compostable plates. The business is called Bai Jai. Bai is the leaf, jai is the heart. It is falling leaves to help remove fallen bombs. Simple as that.

I think if you have a platform, you should do good with it. The focus is to highlight what happened in Laos. There are still bombs there. Lets bring awareness to that. I have not been there. We plan to go this summer and document Jims work (with We Help War Victims). Well visit the place that is making our molded plates and of course try the food there. The focus is what happened there, why refugees are here, and what we bring. It is about learning and serving each other.

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email clewis@journalsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Sap Sap: Ubon pop-up features Laotian barbecue with a purpose
"I feel like Im the only American in France who doesnt want to fill my house with antiques! I love modern furniture that is functional and comfortable," Caroline Conner writes of the furnishings in her studio apartment in Lyon, France. Credit: Marine Piolat

"I love sumptuous fabrics and art-filled walls," she continues. "My style comes very naturally to me. I see something that I like, and Ill get it." Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner has become a collector and has shipped items across the globe to furnish the space. "Good quality investment furniture lasts for decades, and it is not necessarily cheaper to replace after a move. Art is irreplaceable." Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Finding a bookshelf between the two windows was a design win for Conner. "I found it from AMPM on La Redoute, and it really is a treasure. It looks like it was custom-made for the space, but it was not," she explains. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner learned that she couldn't change the street-facing exterior during the renovation. So, she opted not to have any shutters at all. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"Everything is unique about this home! It is fully open plan, with really no walls except for the bathroom," Conner describes. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"The kitchen takes up more space than anyone normal would possibly want but as thats where I spend most of my time, I couldnt be happier with it," she continues. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner photographing a gorgeous spread in the even more stunning kitchen. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner's favorite part of the renovation was reimagining the upstairs loft area. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"I took a lot of enjoyment in choosing colors and finishes and really made all design decisions based on what I wanted rather than from the perspective of reselling the apartment," Conner shares. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"I do not regret that choice, this is my dream studio even if it has quirks that wouldnt make sense to anyone else," she continues. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"Before the bedroom was set against the back wall, it was dark, and I had to navigate the large wooden beams to move around," Conner remembers. "I smacked my head a lot!" Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"It was my architects idea to create an L shape so the bedroom could be next to a window and in between beams instead of across them. This was really brilliant," she continues. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner's nightstand is from Maisons du Monde and the bed is from La Redoute. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"Before the renovation, there was little built-in storage and lots of empty space. After the renovation, I had a much more functional place to live with plenty of storage," Conner notes. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

Conner suggests decluttering your home twice a year. "When everything is open plan like this, clutter is impossible to hide," she shares. "Even with my rather maximalist taste, the beauty of this space is its openness, and too much stuff will weigh it down." Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

The bathroom (especially the clawfoot bathtub is Conner's favorite part of the home. "I spent many a pandemic evening with candles, bubble bath, a book, and a glass of wine in that bathtub," Amy reminisces. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

"There is something so cozy about that bathroom, really the only enclosed space in the flat," she continues. Credit: Marine Piolat Credit: Marine Piolat

ABOUT THIS TOUR

HOME TYPE: Studio Apartment

LOCATION: Lyon, France

STYLE: Colorful, Contemporary, Eclectic

BEDROOMS: 0

SQUARE FEET: 800

Six years ago, Caroline Conner, wine and travel entrepreneur, content creator, and owner of Lyon Wine Tastings, started looking for an apartment in Lyon, France, to buy. At the time, her French wasnt the best, and connecting with real estate agents was hard.

That is, until Conner met an agent who knew how seriously she wanted to find a home. I was the second person that he showed this flat to, and I made an offer the next day, she writes. My studio is a canut, a type of apartment built in the early 1800s for Lyons famed silk weavers. The soaring ceilings accommodated the enormous wooden silk looms, with the family living and working in the loft.

The sky-high ceilings, which are adorned with massive wooden beams, are what Conner fell in love with immediately. She also appreciates the open-concept floor plan of the studio. (Her 3-year-old Cockapoo, Buffy, likely also loves running around the airy layout.) She bought the home for $318,000.

In 2019, Conner worked with interior architect Jeanne Camoin to renovate the entire space to add more storage and cultivate a functional living area. The project took six months, but it was well worth it  especially for her safety.

Before the bedroom was set against the back wall, it was dark, and I had to navigate the large wooden beams to move around, Conner shares. I smacked my head a lot! It was my architects idea to create an L shape so the bedroom could be next to a window and in between beams instead of across them. This was really brilliant.

When Conner isnt spending time in her gorgeous apartment or hosting gourmet girls trips around France, shes likely enjoying Lyons fourth arrondissement (where her studio apartment is located).

We are on top of a big hill; it takes 15 minutes of stairs to get up here from the center of town, she explains. Today, the neighborhood is famous for its large and beautiful farmers market, which runs every day except for Monday, as well as its village vibe.

Resources

LIVING ROOM

Murano Glass Chandelier  Cristalleria Murano

Sofa  Graham and Green

DINING ROOM

Dining Table  Designer Outlet in San Francisco

Chairs  Maisons Du Monde

KITCHEN

Island  Maisons Du Monde

BEDROOM

Bedside Tables  Maisons du Monde

Bed  La Redoute

BATHROOM

Monkey Wallpaper  Cole & Sons

Thanks, Caroline!

This tours responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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Following the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling that embryos are children, Sen. Tammy Duckworth is fighting more than ever to secure in vitro fertilization (IVF) protections for Americans nationwide. The Illinois Democrat is advocating the passage of the Access to Family Building Act, which would establish a statutory right to IVF access for all Americans who need assisted reproductive technology to start or grow a family. Its an issue that hits close to home for the lawmaker, given that she had both of her daughters via IVF. And there was a time when her access to these treatments was curtailed.

I actually wrote about this in my book [Every Day Is a Gift: A Memoir], even though its deeply personal, because so many women had been talking to me about that journey, Duckworth tells Yahoo Life. I struggled to conceive [traditionally] for two years. As she approached her 42nd birthday, Duckworth, a combat veteran of the Iraq War who served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot, was referred to a fertility doctor at a VA hospital. I knew it was a Catholic facility. The doctor at that hospital didn't even take me into her office. She met me in the waiting area and said, Well, you're almost 42. You're too old, you'll never be able to conceive. Just go home and enjoy your husband. There's nothing we can do for you.

Duckworth remembers feeling devastated. I didn't know anything about IVF and what the rates of success were. And I was really confused. About 18 months later, she was speaking at a womens leadership forum and was asked what her biggest regret was. I said, Well, I put off having children, then I got wounded in Iraq. And then I had recovery in the hospital, and that just kept pushing me and the time just flew by. And then, I tried for two years to get pregnant. I couldn't, and now, I'm too old. Later, one of the women in the group came up to Duckworth and told her that she absolutely was not too old and referred her to her fertility doctor.

I eventually went, and within 18 months of seeing that doctor, at a non-Catholic facility, I had Abigail [at 46], Duckworth says. She went on to welcome her younger daughter, Maile, four years later  becoming, at 50, the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth while in office.

Because of her age, Duckworth's doctors referred to her pregnancy as geriatric. It was fine, the veteran says. I still have my babies. I don't care.

Though she had to go through many cycles before conceiving and had to pay for her fertility treatment out of pocket, Duckworth was grateful to be able to afford it as a congresswoman and then senator. She also appreciated being able to lean on the sorority of women that were going through it with her. As I became more willing to speak about it publicly, the more women who would come forward and say, Oh, my gosh, I didn't know this. Oh, I didn't know that, the lawmaker says. And so I think that I was able to help other folks get to a place where they could start families.

Duckworths passion for supporting families is also fueling her fight to pass the Access to Family Building Act, which was blocked in the Senate this week by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi. Since the Supreme Court struck [Roe vs. Wade] down, we've seen so many Republican-led states not only enact abortion bans, but they're also pushing proposals that would jeopardize access to IVF and other reproductive technologies that millions of Americans rely on to start or grow their families, says Duckworth. There's this movement to call a fertilized egg a human being with personhood and equal personhood rights.

In the process to conceive her elder daughter, Duckworth herself had five fertilized eggs, or embryos, three of which were found to be nonviable. My doctor discarded those, and we implanted the viable one, which is my 9-year-old Abigail, she says. The senators doctor has since expressed fears to her about the legal consequences if those discarded embryos had been considered people with rights, as Alabama's new ruling asserts.

Republican legislators and politicians should not be the ones who decide how and when somebody has a child, Duckworth says of responding to this and other threats to IVF with her new bill. I realized that what I needed to do was establish a statutory right to access to IVF and other forms of assisted reproductive technology for every American who needs it, no matter what state they live in.

Given that IVF is in the news frequently lately, Duckworth believes it's essential that it be discussed openly. We need to normalize it, says Duckworth. Back in the day, people didn't talk about breast cancer. How many lives [have] we saved now because we're very open about it? Imagine how many more happy families could be started because people finally find out about the technology that's available.

Duckworth admits that shes probably annoying her poor staff members who she often encourages to take charge of their fertility and freeze their eggs. Im like, I know it is inappropriate, I'm your boss, but freeze your eggs in your 30s. I'll give you time off! she says. A few of them have now had babies through IVF, so, you know, I feel like I should be the godmother here.

When it comes to her own girls, who are now 5 and 9, Duckworth is learning to be more patient. Im used to using my army command voice, and my 5-year-old, when shes really pushing the boundaries, my company commander voice comes out, and she cries, and Im like, ooh, I can't do that, the mom of two says. I forget that she never saw me as a soldier, because I was retired by the time I had her. So then I feel like the worst mom in the world. But kids teach you patience.

Shes also protective of her time in mom mode. I have boundaries that I've set up with my work and with my colleagues, she says. I tell them, Youre not going to see me before 9 o'clock, because I'm dropping my girls off at 8:30 at school. And that's not negotiable. Occasionally I will make an adjustment, but for the most part, I don't. I will do conference calls on my drive in after 9 o'clock. But my kids are my kids. And that's just the way it is.

Sometimes, shell fly to and from Illinois on the same day or spend one or two nights away for work, but her goal is to not be apart from her girls for long. When I can, I bring them to events, and I welcome other moms and dads bringing their kids to events that they're at with me, she says. Kids are welcome because sometimes child care breaks down. We have to be able to do our jobs and take care of our kids.
Qabil Ashirov

At today's meeting of the Regional Affairs Committee of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament), the draft law on merger, separation, and abolition of municipalities was discussed, Azernews reports.

After the discussions, the draft laws were put to a vote and recommended to the plenary session of the parliament.

To recall, at today's meeting of the Regional Affairs Committee of the Milli Majlis, the draft law on merger, separation and abolition of municipalities was discussed.

The agenda of the meeting included the discussion of 3 issues.

Those issues are discussed:

1. Draft amendment to the law "On joint activity, merger, separation, and liquidation of municipalities" (first reading).

2. Draft amendment to the law "On the status of municipalities" (first reading).

3. Draft law "On making partial changes in the administrative territorial division of Absheron region".

According to the draft amendment to the law "On the Status of Municipalities", as a result of their organisation or reorganisation, the creation of municipalities with a population of less than 3 thousand people or less than 1000 households will be allowed, taking into account the socio-economic situation, history, and other local characteristics that arise in them. Accounting of the intended households will be carried out in accordance with the procedure determined by the body (institution) determined by the relevant executive authority.

With another proposed amendment to the law, municipalities with a population of less than 3,000 people or less than 1,000 households during the last 2 years of the 4 years following the year of the last municipal elections in the country and taking into account the socio-economic situation, history, and other local characteristics will be merged with other municipalities by the decision of the Assembly.

As a result of merger and separation, the establishment of municipalities with a population of less than 3,000 people and (or) a number of households of less than 1,000 units will be allowed, taking into account the socio-economic situation, history, and other local characteristics that arise in them.

In the above-mentioned case, the merging of municipalities will be carried out in the following manner:

- Each merging municipality will submit its opinion on the merger to the Milli Majlis for consideration;

- The Milli Majlis will decide in accordance with the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan regarding the merger of that municipality with another municipality, taking into account the socio-economic situation, history, and other local characteristics of a municipality with a population of less than 3000 people or a number of households less than 1000 units. The name of the newly created municipality will be determined according to the name of the municipality with the largest population among the merged municipalities.
Photography by Landon Speers.

When I arrive at Falconwood Farms apiary, Kaat Kaye is already deep into checking hive boxes, unaware of my presence. I overhear her nattering at the bees, their soft hum filling the air between words of encouragement and negotiation. Her role is part-caretaker, part-coworker, monitoring the colonys health, harvesting surplus honey, and ensuring the hives survival.

It's the first of six visits Id make following the 29-year-old beekeeper behind Rootflux Bee Co, her beekeeping operation in New York's Hudson Valley. Kaye was born with profound deafness, so she doesnt rely on the aural cues people in the hearing community often take for granted.

While Kaye is able to hear with the assistance of hearing aids, she usually removes them when shes working. Sounds arent natural to me, she explains. I just love the peace and quiet. When Im with the bees, I dont need to hear. I can focus better when Im not constantly distracted."

Equipped with only her hood, hive tool, and smoker, Kaye moves at a steady and calculated pace. I'm overdressed, having borrowed a full protective suit for the occasion. She instructs me to ditch the gloves I brought and tells me where to stand so as to avoid stressing out the colony. Kayes gentle, deliberate style makes me feel at ease around her insect counterparts. The more time we spend together, the more I come to appreciate Kayes passion for bee stewardship, as well as the ways that being hard of hearing have influenced her unique approach to the craft.

Kayes interest in bees began at the age of 12, when she first observed a working hive at a county fair. She started her company in 2018 after years spent traveling to work with different beekeepers at apiaries from New Mexico to Jamaica. Now she helps manage 75 hives with 10 clientsa mix of farms, private residences, and businesses throughout the Hudson Valley. In her practice, she emphasizes natural beekeeping techniques that employ minimal chemical interventions. And shes able to get all the information she needs to tend to the hives by relying on her other senses.

After all, sound is just one way that bees communicate. For example, when a hive is deciding to relocate, scout bees are sent out to search for potential homes. When they return they perform a waggle dance to show enthusiasm for a new spot theyve found. This choreography allows the bees to narrow down their options and then have their form of a final vote.

Scent is another important mode of correspondence for the bees. They emit a pheromone with a banana-like aroma to signal alarm, and another that smells like lemongrass, which acts as a homing beacon. Paying attention to such subtle nuances requires a kind of patience that wouldnt be possible if Kaye were operating within a larger factory model, where efficiency and success are measured against honey production volume rather than hive resiliency.

Perhaps above all else, what makes Kaye an exceptional beekeeper is almost philosophical. Excelling at her job has everything to do with adaptation, managing the countless variables that arise on any given day. Is there too much rain? Too little? When will the flowers bloom? Will they produce enough nectar? She responds accordingly, making sure not to disrupt the bees rhythm and balance. Accepting these uncertainties is essential. There is a spiritual side to beekeeping, she said. You cant fully control them, like with anything in nature, really. Some years you get a great honey season. Some years are horrible and you lose 50 percent of your hive. Theres a lot of heartbreak but a lot of joy in it, too, just working outside with these creaturesa living superorganism.

Originally Appeared on Bon Appetit

More Culture Stories From Bon Appetit
Having lunch in Soho the other day, I happened upon the South African wine producer Chris Mullineux. He was drinking a 1983 Cote-Rotie  a syrah from the northern Rhone in France  that he offered to our table to taste. It was beautiful, in the savage, beguilingly perfumed way that only syrah knows how to be, and only gets to be once its old. I like to think that South African syrah can be as good as this one day, he said.

Chris and his wife Andrea, who work together at Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, are too young to know how well their wine can age across four decades, but their syrah (like their chenin blanc and their chardonnay) is certainly excellent in its youth.

Cape syrah will never be a Rhone copy (and Im certain no winemaker would want it to be), but in it you often find some of the darker notes associated with the northern Rhone: black pepper and black fruits, violets, black olives, the inky, stubborn grip. And it is looking increasingly impressive.

In his latest South Africa report, which scores more than 2,200 wines from 400 producers, Tim Atkin notes that the strongest performers were chenin blanc and syrah. Atkin awards just one wine a perfect 100 score and it is a syrah: the Boschkloof Epilogue Syrah 2021 from Stellenbosch. Only 4,000 bottles were produced and its all sold, though you can find different vintages at Lay & Wheeler. Naked Wines has several other wines by this hugely talented small producer, with prices from 11.99 for whites and 14.99 for reds. More wines are available to Naked members (the so-called Angels).

Mullineux syrah (The Whisky Exchange, 31.95); Berry Bros & Rudd Swartland Red by The Sadie Family Wines 2022 (13.5%, 34.50)

Syrah accounts for 10 per cent of South Africas total vineyard, and the quality of the wines is evident even in some of the more affordable versions you can find in the supermarkets (see Wines of the Week below). Meanwhile the more ambitious (and expensive) wines are operating on another level and making great strides.

Peter-Allan Finlayson makes a superb syrah from a single vineyard in the Bot River region of Walker Bay, which the Gabrielskloof website says has notes of grilled meats nodding towards Cote-Rotie. Its a fair comment: I loved the 2021 vintage of Gabrielskloof Syrah on Shale, which is still shipping so not yet available. If you want to try Finlaysons syrah, then head to Lay & Wheeler, which has the Gabrielskloof Syrah on Sandstone 2020 (14%, 22), which I also liked. Made from vines growing in a mountain vineyard, it is smooth but muscular and complex.

Another wine worth checking out is Berry Bros & Rudd Swartland Red by The Sadie Family Wines 2022 (13.5%, 34.50), made by the feted Eben Sadie. Apparently the idea is for the blend of the wine to change but this vintage is 100 per cent syrah and its very good.

Finally, the Mullineuxs make a range of different syrahs from vineyards in Swartland. Their straight syrah (The Whisky Exchange, 31.95) is made from grapes grown on different parcels of vines on different soils. There is also a single-terroir series, which explores the flavour of syrah grown on granite, schist and iron, some of which also invite comparisons with wines from the northern Rhone, both for quality and price  the Mullineux Schist Swartland Syrah 2019 (13.5%) is 85 at Handford.

Try these...

bg

Porcupine Ridge Shiraz 2022, South Africa

(14.5%, Waitrose, 8.99, down to 6.99 until 19 March)

Brilliant-value red; notes of black pepper, blueberries and liquorice. Decant to get the best of the flavours.

Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block 2022, South Africa

(14.5%, Majestic, 26.99, or 20.99 in a mixed six)

An assemblage of grapes built around syrah, Marc Kents bold, rich blend has a loyal following.

Waitrose No1 Cederberg Syrah 2021, Western Cape, South Africa

(14%, Waitrose, 12.99)

A sinewy syrah that tastes of black fruit and is best with food  try it with lamb and prune tagine.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Striking NASA images capture the birth of Indonesia's new jungle city on Borneo as the country looks to move its sinking capital.

The satellite shots from April 2022 and February 2024 show a network of new roads on the landscape and the construction of buildings in eastern Kalimantan, where Indonesia is creating its new capital city, Nusantara.

NASA's Earth Observatory shared the images, taken by the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) on the Landsat 9 satellite and the OLI on Landsat 8, as part of its Image of the Day series on Feb. 23. They highlight the progress outgoing President Joko Widodo has made with his ambitious plan to move Indonesia's capital as well as the environmental impact of building on Borneo.

A driving force behind the move is that Jakarta, Indonesia's current capital on the island of Java, is sinking below sea level. A 2011 study published in the journal Natural Hazards found that Jakarta typically subsided at a rate of between 0.4 and 6 inches (1 and 15 centimeters) per year, with some areas sinking by as much as 11 inches (28 cm) per year. That steady drop and rising sea levels due to climate change put the city's future at risk.

Study co-author Heri Andreas , a researcher at the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia who studies Jakarta's land subsidence, told BBC News in 2018 that parts of the city will be underwater by 2050.

"The potential for Jakarta to be submerged isn't a laughing matter," Andreas said. "If we look at our models, by 2050 about 95% of North Jakarta will be submerged."

Related: Satellite images reveal just how much cities on the US East Coast are sinking

There's evidence that the sinking in Jakarta is caused by excessive groundwater extraction. Jakarta relies on groundwater from underground aquifers, and as the groundwater level drops, it causes the land above to sink, according to the study.

The city is also densely populated and suffers from overcrowding, traffic congestion, hazardous air pollution and drinking-water shortages, according to NASA. Widodo has planned for Indonesia's new capital on Borneo to be completely different.

Indonesian jungle before being cleared to make way for the new capital city Nusantara

Indonesian jungle after being cleared to make way for the new capital city Nusantara

Nusantara will be a sustainable city powered by renewable energy, according to the city's website , which also states that residential and commercial buildings will be constructed using "strict environmentally friendly construction methods."

Borneo is the third-largest non-continental island in the world and far less populated than Java. The island is split among Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. But Kalimantan  Indonesia's part  makes up most of the landmass, and there's plenty of room to build a brand new, modern metropolis from scratch. There's also, however, a lot of nature.

Borneo is a biodiversity hotspot that's home to rich ecosystems and many unique species, which could be threatened by the new development even if the city ends up sustainable. Building a city produces emissions and requires supporting infrastructure stretching beyond its borders.

Mongabay, a nonprofit news website for environmental science and conservation, has reported that the city's construction has led to the clearing of mangrove habitats and forested areas of high conservation value , as well as conflicts with Indigenous communities and the potential for human displacement.

Myrna Asnawati Safitri, the Nusantara Capital City Authority's deputy for environment and natural resources, pushed back on some of these concerns in a 2023 interview with Mongabay, saying the development won't sacrifice the environment .

"If you ask me, I say no, because, firstly, the regulatory framework and development planning clearly state that the construction of the new capital is aimed to rehabilitate the location's environment that has already been damaged," Safitri said.

Much of the city is being built on expiring logging concessions and settlements, and the government wants to reforest barren lands around the new capital.

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The New York Times reported in May 2023 that Widodo has had success in reducing the destruction of Indonesian rainforest for palm oil. However, local leaders have the autonomy to pursue the extraction of natural resources, and coal mining has a presence in the province surrounding the new capital, the Times report noted.

"Indonesia is notorious for having good laws that are poorly implemented," Eka Permanasari , an associate professor of urban design at Monash University, Indonesia, told the Times. "There is the possibility that Nusantara can be a reference for future cities, but that depends on what's on paper being implemented in the field."

The city is expected to be completed by 2045.
Meet The Vanguards, Marie Claire's fashion franchise spotlighting the names to know. Here, the thought-leading designers, both emerging and veteran, provide a peek inside their process.

You'd expect a knitwear designer to prioritize coziness, but with Charlotte Bjorklund, it's more of an innate mission. "I think it's my Viking side, my Swedish sideI want to keep people warm," the founder of Linnea Lund shares on a video call. "Our sweaters keep you warm in a more healing way, too, because they're made with love." The Swede cannot suppress the smile that instinctually spreads across her face with that last sentence.

Her sweater brand, Linnea Lund, sells what Bjorklund calls "conscious" cashmere. She's aware that word might cause trepidationthe designer, who studied fashion at ESMOD in Paris, is also weary of vague buzzwords. "There's a lot of knitwear brands today with eco-labels, and it's very confusing about what's conscious, what's not. What's the difference between a good cashmere sweater and a bad one? Is it the price? The tag?" asks the former Celine retail consultant, tuning in from her brand's headquarters in Paris.

Bjorklund launched Linnea Lundher middle name combined with a Swedish word for community and familyin September 2019 to cut through the clutter: "conscious," in the context of her brand, means ethically-produced cashmere made to order. "The idea is a beautiful cashmere line that's trendless, seasonless, unisex, made in Italy, and with 100-percent traceability." (She explains that traceability means they can track when the wool was sourced, not which goat it came frombut that is on her list of goals for the near future.)

Marie Claire graphics of Charlotte Linnea Bjorklund's Linnea Lund cashmere line

Bjorklund, who grew up between Sweden, France, Italy, and the U.S., wants her label to be a melting pot of cultural valuesspecifically a mix of Swedish kindness, Italian craftsmanship, and French elegance. Its important, the 34-year-old says, with that same smile making an appearance again, for Linnea Lund to represent the people of the world. I want to dress everybody. Her universality lends itself to classic, evergreen designs: Fair Isle sweaters , cable-knit crewnecks, Breton-striped shirts, and ribbed cardigans that are roomy but wont swallow you whole.

Bjorklund, who previously worked at a trend forecasting company, couldnt care less about the traditional industry calendar. You can turn to other brands if youre looking for a sweater that cashes in on the latest fad. "We don't have a new collection every six months. We develop iconics for men and women, pieces you're going to play with all year long and that you'll enjoy having in your wardrobe."

She'd rather focus on the quality of her cashmere. My father is a chef, so I grew up understanding the importance of well-crafted, local, and seasonal products. When you have well-made products that have been nurtured and cultivated with love, there's not much you need to add to make it even more beautiful. That's what we do with Linnea Lund: we always try to support the yarn as much as possibleembellishing the raw material, not transforming it. We want it to be as it is.

models wearing Linnea Lund's cashmere

Logistical production processes arent always the most stimulating to discuss, but Bjorklund narrates hers like a riveting relay race.

Linnea Lunds wool is sourced in Mongolia by shepherds who hand-comb the goats. Each animal provides up to eight ounces of raw fiber, but its a slow, tedious process. For instance, Linnea Lunds casa blanket requires approximately four years of harvests on a single goat. But it is essential, Bjorklund says, to ensure the well-being of both the workers and animals.

The hair is then brought from Mongolia to a small yarn factory in Italys Le Marche region, where its turned into a useable textile. Next stop: a family-owned factory in Fano, only ten kilometers from the spinning mill. It's very important to be as low as possible in terms of carbon impact, too," Bjorklund notes. There, the sweaters are made by Marco, Bjorklunds manufacturer, to whom she exclusively refers by name. He's worked in his familys knitting mill since he was 15. I think its very important to give the makers of our clothes visibility and put them as much as possible in the spotlight," she tells me.

Linnea Lund's knitter, Marco, hard at work in his family's factory.

The shopping process is equally as intriguing as the production. "What happens is that you can either go into a Linnea Lund store"the brand has two: one in Stockholm, one in Pairs, which Bjorklund just opened in time for Paris Fashion Week"find your happiness with a piece in stock, and buy it there. Otherwise, you select a sweater in the color of your choice from our palette of 20 to 30 colors, and it'll be made for you in Italy within two to three weeks."

During her video call, Bjorklund pulls out a booklet of color options to showcase Linnea Lund's current options. "The colors depend on the week because we only work with existing and overproduced yarn," she explains. The designer gestures to a bright redthe same shade as the cherry-colored cardigan she's wearinga bright sunset orange, a pebble gray blended with white, beige, and a bit of yellow. "Our colors are very unique, but again, we're not the ones who decide the colors in the end. It's the customer."

Linnea Lund's array of colors for its cashmere line.

Ultimately, Bjorklund says people are the core of her brandforgoing the knitwear even. The human aspect, for me, is very important, she says and cites what her father, the chef, ingrained into her. When you go into a nice restaurant and the chef comes out and explains, Okay, so this bread has been baked for 12 hours,' or whatever, you have another level of respect for your meal." Thats what she strives to do with Linnea Lund's transparency.

I want people to understand what's behind every sweater, from the goats to yarn to the knitting. For them to understand that a sweater is not just made by clicking on a button and then printed: It's something knitted and made with love by people. If you order a sweater like this tomorrowagain, gesturing to her ruby red cardigan"it's going be made for you in Italy by Marco and his family. With just that thought aloneyou'll feel a bit warmer.

Casa - Powder

Casa Blanket

Carole - Cherry Red

Carole Cardgian

Linnea Lund sweater

Frost Sweater

Linnea Lund sweater

Bjorn Sweater

Juliana - Crema

Juliana

Juliana Dress

Linnea Lund sweater pants

Selma Pants
Authorities have arrested and charged a 56-year-old man in Longview, Texas, in connection with the deadly death of a man found with dog bite wounds. Martin Gilbert Rodriguez is facing felony charges of an attack by a dog causing death, which, under Texas law, can attract up to a 20-year prison sentence.

Man charged with second-degree felony in fatal dog attack has history of animal-related charges

According to CBS 19 News, the body of the deceased 46-year-old man was discovered on Feb. 1 in a neighborhood near where Rodriguez lives.

As per the news outlet, Rodriguez has a lengthy criminal record. He has in the last few years faced multiple animal-related charges stemming from his aggressive canines. Longview residents said that Rodriguezs dogs had been a threat to them for a while.

Court records show that in 2019, authorities arrested Rodriguez on three charges of an animal at large and for failing to vaccinate his canines. In 2021, he served jail time after his dogs attacked a member of the public, causing them serious bodily injury.

Former Longview NAACP president Branden Johnson expressed his frustration about the fatal dog attack, which he believes was preventable.

Had this happened in Wildwood, with this many complaints against those animals, it would not have gotten to this point, Johnson stated. If this had happened in Spring Hill, it would not have gotten to this point. But when it comes to certain neighborhoods, its almost like they dont care, or people dont give a hoot about us.

Currently, police have detained Rodriguez at the Greg County Jail on second-degree felony charges.

Why dogs act aggressively

Its unfortunate that Rodriguezs dogs developed aggressive tendencies and put peoples safety at risk. However, it is important to remember that the blame should not fall on the canines but on their owner.

Raising a well-mannered dog is every dog owners responsibility. More often than not, dogs become aggressive if their owners dont meet their needs.

Neglecting key dog ownership responsibilities such as training a dog, socializing them, and seeking professional help to address any behavioral issues results in a pet with aggressive tendencies.

The post Texas Man Arrested in Fatal Dog Attack appeared first on DogTime.
"The Young and the Restless" never shies away from dangerous plots that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. But the daytime show's latest storyline has fans especially intrigued, and it's starting to get pretty dicey.

Over the last few months, the Newman family has been terrorized by an evil villain named Jordan Howard (Colleen Zenk), and she recently escaped from prison.

Eager to eliminate her as a threat for good, the patriarch of the Newman family (Victor Newman, played by Eric Braeden) has devised a risky plan that involves using his granddaughter Claire (Hayley Erin) as bait to lure Jordan out of hiding. But Victor now finds himself in Jordan's crosshairs and she seems to be out for blood.

Will Victor's plan work, or will it blow up in his face? And what do fans think about his latest scheme? We're breaking down everything you need to know to catch up on all the action as it unfolds.

How is Claire related to the Newman family, and why is Jordan such a threat?

Claire is the biological daughter of Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) and Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck). The former couple thought their daughter had died after she was born, but they recently learned that she is alive and was raised by a woman named Jordan, who has held a grudge against the Newman family for decades.

Young and The Restless (Sonja Flemming / Paramount Press)

While raising Claire, Jordan poisons her against the Newman family and enlists her to help execute a deadly plot against them. Claire gets a job working for Victoria's mother, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), the matriarch of the family, and convinces her to visit her "aunt" while she's away on a business trip.

Jordan and Claire then kidnap Nikki and give her an IV filled with alcohol. Nikki is a former alcoholic, so this sends her into a tailspin. Meanwhile, the rest of the Newman family  Victoria, her brother Nick (Joshua Morrow) and their father, Victor  fly to Nikki's rescue and are drugged. Cole, who has been out of the picture for years, suddenly appears and is also drugged.

The Newmans engage in a struggle with Jordan and eventually convince Claire to give them the drug antidotes, which Jordan hid around the house.

From there, Cole and Victoria get a paternity test and prove that Claire is really their daughter. Claire manages to get sent to a psych ward for treatment instead of heading to prison, like Jordan later does, and has been building a relationship with her biological family.

Where is Jordan now?

After trying to kill the Newman family, Jordan initially gets away. She is later found and sent to prison. But she isnt there for very long before she escapes and starts terrorizing Nikki again with mysterious phone calls.

Over the last few weeks, Jordan has been plotting against Nikki and her family and has even enlisted the help of Nikkis former sober sponsor, Seth (Brian Gaskill), who has also started drinking again. At first, he doesnt know that Jordan is using him, but she encourages him to rebuild a relationship with Nikki so she can keep tabs on her. And she tells Seth she's an old friend of Nikkis.

Young and The Restless (Sonja Flemming / Paramount Press)

When Seth tells Nikki that hes been talking to her old pal, shes confused and says she doesnt know anyone that matches the description he shares. She suspects that its Jordan and encourages him to play along, saying that they now have the upper hand. Seth is eager to protect Nikki, but he doesnt end up using his best judgment.

Seth confronts Jordan and tells her she needs to come with him to talk to the Newmans and the police. When they leave the bar theyve been hanging out at, Jordan pushes Seth in front of a moving car, and he dies. Jordan runs back inside the bar and alerts the staff about the accident, saying that Seth told her to tell Nikki that hes sorry.

Nikki gets a call from the police and rushes over to the bar with Victor, who suspects foul play and asks the police to lift DNA off of Jordans glass.

What is Victors plan?

With Jordan on the loose, Victor wants to put an end to his familys suffering. He sees Claire as an important bargaining chip since Jordan raised her, but Claire is currently getting treatment in a mental health facility. So Victor devises a plan to get her released early and lure Jordan out of hiding in the process.

Victor announces that he wants to bring Claire to his familys ranch to live with them and make a big splash in the press about Victorias long-lost daughter rejoining the family. Theyll stage a photo shoot at Victorias house in the hopes that Jordan will attempt to make a move on her and try to get back in her good graces. Meanwhile, Claire will really be at the Newman ranch.

Young and The Restless (Sonja Flemming / Paramount Press)

What does Claire think about the plan?

Victor always gets his way, and he isnt afraid of initiating sneaky schemes to achieve his goals. As he concocts his plan, he pitches it to Claire behind Victorias back, and his daughter isnt exactly thrilled.

However, Claire is eager to help the family, and she eventually agrees with the plan after thinking it over. She soon learns that Victor already set the wheels in motion for her release before she agreed to the plan. She's upset at first, but Victor's lawyer explains that he likes to work ahead and cover his bases since there's "no room for failure" when you're working for Victor.

Claire thinks he's covering for Victor, but still agrees to the plan.

"It's time to be who my family needs me to be. That means helping catch Jordan any way I can, she says in an episode that aired on Feb. 28.

How has the Newman family responded to Victor's plot?

When Victoria expresses her displeasure over her father's scheming, he reassures her that Claire will not be in danger.

She will not be put at risk. Besides, itll give us a chance to remove Jordan as the threat that she is to all of us, he says in an episode that aired Feb. 28.

Victoria explains that Claire is finally starting to feel like the Newman family loves and accepts her and says shes worried that using her as bait will threaten this dynamic.

Young and The Restless (Sonja Flemming / Paramount Press)

Nikki understands her daughters perspective but agrees with Victor that this scheme could be just what the family needs to get rid of Jordan for good.

Knowing that Claire is free and living under our roof, Jordan wont be able to help herself. She will make a move, Nikki says in an episode that aired on Feb. 28.

When Cole visits Claire, she admits that she's a bit nervous about the plan but notes that Victor has security measures in place to protect her.

I owe you all for everything that I put you through and everything you've done for me since, she says.

When Victoria arrives, she warns Claire that she thinks there's more to Victor's plan. Claire says she trusts him and adds she'd like her mother's blessing. Victoria finally agrees but says she has some ground rules.

How has Victor's plan evolved in recent weeks?

After shes released from the mental health facility, Claire moves to the Newman ranch and sets Victors plan in motion. She calls Jordan but gets her voicemail. The villain eventually calls her back and tries to poison Claire against the Newman family once again. It doesnt work, and Claire proceeds to pass along the message that Victor wants to talk to Jordan and put an end to all the chaos.

Naturally, Jordan is annoyed that Claire is receiving such a warm welcome from the Newmans and decides to set fire to Victorias house to send a message.

At long last, Victor and Jordan talk on the phone, and she agrees to meet him in person. Along with his lawyer, Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc), Victor arrives in a shady alley, and Jordan suddenly appears and points a gun at them.

Victor offers Jordan $10 million, a deed to a house in France and a new identity so she can leave the country and leave his family alone. The offer seems to be too good to be true, and she's skeptical that he'll really let her escape.

To sweeten the deal, Victor offers to let her kidnap him and put him in a secret location that only she knows exists. Then, once she's safe in France, she'll call Michael and let him know to pick up Victor.

The only caveat? If she decides not to let Victor loose, Michael will alert the authorities and drain her new bank account. It's a big decision for Jordan to make. Will she take the offer?

What do fans have to say about Victor's plan?

Using Claire to lure Jordan out of hiding could be brilliant or disastrous, and "The Young and the Restless" viewers have a lot to say about Victor's latest scheme.

For starters, many are questioning why Claire feels so compelled to get involved.

"Claire is a little too anxious to act as bait. I hope nothing happens to her," one fan wrote on X.

Some viewers are also siding with Victoria and supporting her protective maternal instincts.

Victoria is right. Victor doesnt give a d--- about her feelings or even Claires. Hes using Claire as bait," one commented on X.

Fans of the show are also starting to question Victors logic.

And even if the photo is staged at Victorias house, that doesnt mean thats where shes going to be living. What are you going to do, print her address on the front page? You may as well put an arrow over the door that says, Jordan, Claire is here, one X user commented.

Naturally, some viewers are also upset that Victor is willing to put his granddaughter at risk.

"Victors narcissistic tendencies are really showing in this Claire story," one person wrote.

"Y&R" fans also expressed their frustration with Nikki.

"Nikkis the one who escalated things and now shes going to sit back and let everyone else fight her battle for her. Sorry Claire, but youre about to learn the hard way about this new family of yours," one X user commented.

Once they learn that Victor is really serving himself up to Jordan on a platter, fans still question if his plan will really work.

"Yeah. I feel like Claire might go rogue to stop Jordan herself because she wants Jordan caught, feels guilty and wants to feel safe to build an actual future," one person commented.

Another viewer questioned whether Jordan would really fall for Victor's offer.

"Jordan has already shown shes deranged. I dont think a house overseas is going to woo her," they wrote.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Restaurants close for a variety of reasons, from lack of customers to rising rent costs. Shockingly, a restaurant in Portland, Oregon, was forced to close this month because of the smell of its cooking.

The newspaper Willamette Week reports that Pho Gabo, a Portland Vietnamese restaurant, closed one of its locations because of complaints from an anonymous neighbor about the restaurant's smell.



Due to the citys and the neighborhoods complaints about the smell of the food that we grill and the foods that we serve customers we are temporarily closing this location," read a sign taped to Pho Gabo's door.



The closure is the result of a months-long ordeal involving an unnamed neighbor who regularly filed complaints to the city about the odor coming from the restaurant. The person claimed that Pho Gabo was violating a zoning code that prohibits continuous, frequent, or repetitive odors that could affect neighbors.

"The city got a complaint from one of the neighbors that every time they come out, they cant stand the smell of the grill and the meat," Pho Gabo owner Eddie Dong shared with Willamette Week.



In the year and a half since the city was contacted about the smellthe restaurant had previously been complaint-free for five yearsinspectors have made a dozen visits to the restaurant. One inspector in particular noted that the restaurant smelled "like a wok dish," which seems normal for a Vietnamese restaurant.



With mounting unpaid fines from zoning code violations, Dong was forced to close the restaurant on February 3.

Despite the odor complaints, Pho Gabo had received many positive reviews from customers.

"This place has had reliably good, delicious, wholesome Vietnamese food. When I went today to grab some salad rolls, I saw this picture posted. I cant believe this," wrote one Google user after discovering the restaurant had closed.

Other reviewers praised Pho Gabo for its "crazy good" and "extremely solid and delicious" food.

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson held a meeting on Friday confirming his officers intercepted the flow of illegal drugs through the state with the latest fentanyl drug bust.

Sheriff Johnson says, on February 28 at about 7:30 a.m., deputies with the CITCO Team spotted a Subaru driving erratically on I-40 near eastbound near Anderson Road. Deputies spotted the Subaru making several lane changes without signaling in a construction zone.

Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell resigns from Governors cabinet

The driver initially claimed he did not have a drivers license or ID with him. The deputy reported the driver appeared to be wide-eyed and extremely rapid eye movements. And so when we talk about wide-eyed and rapid eye movements, unable to focus, unable to be attentive, things going on, obviously showing signs of indications of impairment, according to the police.

The driver claimed he and the passenger had been traveling to Arizona to spend a couple of days with friends but his answers were very brief and at times contradictory, said Sheriff Johnson.

Deputies then questioned the passenger, 41 year old Juliana Freeman of Arkansas. She reluctantly admitted that she had meth pipe on her and then removed a Ziploc bag from the front of her pants containing hundreds of blue, oval-shaped pills that we quickly identified as M30 Fentanyl pills. Police confirm they found more pills in a metal drink container that had a false bottom. In all police retrieved about 1,500 Fentanyl pills.

According to authorities, the driver later identified as 44 year old Mark Frieson of Arkansas admitted that he and Freeman had been going down to the Mexican border, buying pills for 50 cents each, then selling them in Arkansas for $20 each.

Oklahoma City Police Chief announces retirement

Sheriff Tommie Johnson says, he has really been sounding the alarm on the border since we came to office and how its really impacted our communities in a negative way. Johnson believes this is an issue that speaks volumes to if they can do it, who else is doing it? And how prevalent is it? And how much is getting through thats not getting caught?

Johnson continued in his meeting to stress the attention of the border crisis and the need to fix this. He called upon leadership at that space.

Hey, no playing politics, anymore, were having real life issues with this. Lets get this handled.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Authorities are trying to track down a man accused of shooting his roommate at a Madison apartment complex Thursday night.

The shooting was reported just before 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29 at Graycroft & Graybrook Apartment Homes on Star Boulevard.

 Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts 

(Photo: WKRN)

(Photo: WKRN)

According to a spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department, the 29-year-old victim called 911 and said he was shot by his roommate. The victim was taken to TriStar Skyline Medical Center, where he is currently in critical condition after being shot twice.

The victim reportedly underwent surgery on Friday, March 1 as part of his treatment.

Teddy Cooper (Courtesy: MNPD)

Authorities said 21-year-old Teddy Cooper and the victim were involved in an argument that stemmed from an ongoing dispute between their girlfriends, who lived in the apartment with them.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

According to police, Cooper is now a fugitive wanted on outstanding warrants for attempted criminal homicide and aggravated assault.

If you see Cooper or know where he might be, you are asked to call Nashville Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.

No additional information was immediately released about Thursday nights shooting.

 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.
One person was killed and two other people were injured when a gunman opened fire inside a dental office in El Cajon, California, on Thursday afternoon.

The suspect, identified as Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was taken into custody late Thursday local time by San Diego police, El Cajon Police Capt. Rob Ransweiler said.

Police responded to a 911 call at the office on North Magnolia Avenue at 4:15 p.m. local time and performed "lifesaving support" for the three victims.

The deceased victim is male. The coroners office will publicly identify him, police said.

Ransweiler said at a news briefing Thursday evening that officers found the victim who died inside the office during the shooting and took him outside, where it was safer to perform lifesaving measures.

armed police response (NBC San Diego)

The two injured victims  a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s  were taken to area hospitals, where they were stable, Ransweiler said.

The father of the woman who was wounded told Telemundo San Diego that is she is 27 years old, and that she was shot in the legs.

Police declined to say whether they believe the shooting was targeted and whether they believe the suspect, who was armed with a handgun, knew the victims.

The shooting unfolded in the dental office, and everyone involved was inside the office, Ransweiler said, adding that other people were inside when the shooting occurred. No other injuries in the building were reported.

Police said a camera system used throughout the city identified the suspect's vehicle, a white U-Haul pickup. They said they then confirmed the suspect had rented the truck.

The truck was later found, and Abdulkareem was taken into custody near where the vehicle was located, Ransweiler said.

FBI San Diego and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.

El Cajon is a city about 15 miles northeast of San Diego.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 1. A delegation of Uzbekistan headed by Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov will visit Antalya (Turkiye) on March 1-2, Trend reports.

According to Uzbek Foreign Ministry spokesman Akhror Burkhanov, the Uzbek delegation will take part in a diplomatic forum in Antalya.

The Foreign Minister will also hold a number of meetings and negotiations with heads of foreign policy agencies and international organizations.

Meanwhile, trade turnover volume between Uzbekistan and Turkiye amounted to $213.9 million in January 2024. Export volume reached $83.4 million, while imports - $130.5 million.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  The Albuquerque Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting on Indian School Rd. near the Embudo Trailhead. Details are limited but they say they received a call that one person had been shot and was critically injured.

Albuquerque man charged with driving drunk in fatal crash

The victim later died. This is a developing story, News 13 will provide updates as they become available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
In case you missed it, Spotify recently added audiobooks to its content catalog and made them available to premium users. Users can listen to 15 hours a month and have more than 200,000 audiobooks available as part of their subscription, many of which are written by Black authors. Black History Month may be over, but check out these titles on Spotify.

They Cant Kill Us Until They Kill Us

Written and narrated by Hanif Abdurraqib, They Cant Kill Us Until They Kill Us brings together Abdurraqibs sharp and evocative work exploring the intersection of music, Black culture, and the nuances of being a Black man in todays America. According to The Guardian, They Cant Kill Us delves into Ice Cubes Death Certificate and its impact, The Notorious B.I.G.s death, the fall of Fall Out Boys career, and more while explaining what these moments in music history say about being Black in America.

The Fifth Season

In The Fifth Season, author N.K. Jemisins talents as a robust world-creator sing. Set on a planet with one supercontinent called the Stillness that is subject to a catastrophic climate change every few centuries, The New York Times called The Fifth Season an intensely moving and scientifically complex worth paying attention to.

A Burst of Light and Other Essays

Audre Lorde is one of the 20th centurys greatest American theorists. Often commenting on race, sexuality, gender, and life and death, Lordes voice will forever have value, highlighting universal truths about Blackness in America. A Burst of Light and Other Essays is a battle cry for social action. In it, she explores intersectionality, sexuality and identifying as lesbian, Black identity, self-care and more.

Chain Gain All Stars

Written by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain Gain All Stars follows two female gladiators fighting for freedom in a private prison system reminiscent of Americas.

I think the narrators embodied the words in a way that highlights the inherent humanity and struggle of the characters. They expressed the dynamic range of the characters beautifully. And hopefully it helps readers connect, Adjei-Brenyah said in a statement shared with Blavity.

He hopes Chain Gang All Stars honors Black voices all year round, especially in February.

Hopefully CGAS helps remind us that inherently the carceral state silences voices and in telling this story Black voices and history are celebrated, he said.

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Deesha Philyaw tackles the complex coexistence of Black womanhood, desire and the church culture in this collection of essays. In it, Goodreads noted nine stories from women of different generations exploring struggling with their values, desires and church demands.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

An imperative piece of American literature, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave tells the story of Frederick Douglass enslavement and eventual freedom. Oscar Award-winner Forest Whitaker takes on narrating the 1845 memoir in Spotifys version.

Just as I Am

Cicely Tysons extraordinary life and career is the subject of Just as I Am, a memoir that, according to The Washington Post, Tyson needed convincing to write. Journalist and critic Trevell Anderson describes the book as a 400-page chronicle of a history as American as apple pie, as Black as the dead of night, as rich, surely, as Tysons favorite meals, oxtails and okra, cooked up by her late ex-husband Miles Davis. Tyson and actors Viola Davis and Robin Miles narrate.

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South

Southern-style food is a pillar of American cuisine, and culinary historian Michael W. Twitty lends his expertise to tell its story in The Cooking Gene. In the book, Twitty traces Southern recipes roots back generations while illuminating parts of Black history unknown by most  a must for food lovers.

The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are

The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are tells the story of Tariq Trotter, better known by his stage name, Black Thought. The rejuvenating memoir uncovers his difficult childhood, friendship with fellow Roots member Questlove, and his passion for music, The Washington Post reported.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

Tia Williams, author of the award-winning novel turned Netflix movie The Perfect Find, takes on another epic love story in A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. Marrying romance with fantasy, Williams tells the love story of Ezra and Ricki, two people who dont seem to fit into their surroundings and find refuge and magic in each other, Goodreads noted.

Redwood Court

A Reeses Book Club pick, Redwood Court is a poignant novel that, according to The New York Times, offers much more than nostalgia. Protagonist Mika is assigned a school report on emigration and her familys origins, kicking off a journey that spans decades and generations. Mikas story mirrors that of millions of Black Americans whose complicated past continues to inform the present and likely future.
Harriet Tubman, an American abolitionist and activist, will be honored with an 11-foot bronze statue outside the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for a limited time.

A statue of one of our nation's greatest heroes will soon be unveiled at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Two centuries after her birth, American abolitionist and activist Harriet Tubman will be honored with an 11-foot bronze statue outside the Freedom Center for a limited time.

An unveiling ceremony for the statue will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 4. According to a press release, the statue titled "The Beacon of Hope" depicts Tubman lifting a shining North Star to the sky, with shackles at her feet, "stepping over the yoke of slavery." It will be on display through April 30.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will include remarks from Freedom Center President and COO Woodrow Keown Jr., Congressman Greg Landsman and Hamilton County Commissioner Alicia Reece.

The statue also coincides with the release of the Harriet Tubman Commemorative Coin, a series of collectible coins. They are available in three denominations, each representing a different era of Tubmans life. Coins will be available for purchase at the Freedom Center starting March 6. They can also be purchased online through the U.S. Mint website, catalog.usmint.gov.

A portion of the proceeds will support the Freedom Center and the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, New York.

For more information, visit freedomcenter.org.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 11-foot Harriet Tubman statue coming to downtown Cincinnati
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah (ABC4)  An 11-year-old boy is reported missing and endangered out of West Valley City.

West Valley City police said Orlando Leonardo Morales was last seen on his scooter on 3100 South going westbound from 3300 West at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29.

What should you do if someone goes missing?

Orlando is described as Hispanic with brown hair and brown eyes, 5 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs 100 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie with a GAP brand logo on front, with blue jeans and black shoes.

Police said Orlando has 2-3 scars on the left side of his face and is known to ride his blue scooter.

Anyone with information on Orlandos whereabouts should contact the West Valley City Police Department referencing case WV24-16662.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
To celebrate Womens History Month, the Stanislaus County Commission for Women each year honors some of the countys Outstanding Women and Outstanding Young Women.

The commissions 2024 Outstanding Women Brunch will be held at 10 a.m. March 9 at Greens on Tenth, 953 10th St., Modesto. For more information and a link to buy tickets, which are $45, go to www.stanislauswomen.net.

A dozen women are being feted this year. Here, from the commission, is a bit to know about each:

Outstanding women

Marjorie Derby

Marjorie Derby

A lifelong resident of Stanislaus County, former Ceres teacher Marge Derby is dedicated to ensuring equal access to education, activities and safety for disadvantaged youth and families, those living with a disability, and the elderly. She is active with Salvation Armys Red Shield Center and Friends of the Ceres Library, and volunteered in earlier years with Omega Nu, the county childrens Mental Health Board, Howard Training Center, United Cerebral Palsy and other organizations. She was a CASA volunteer and served on the oversight committee to build the Susan Burris therapeutic pool at Sonoma School. Derby is a fundraiser for many Red Shield projects and recreational activities, including the Steven Derby scholarship, named for her son.

Amanda Hughes

Amanda Hughes

Amanda Hughes lives and works in her hometown, Modesto, and has developed deep connections within the community. She understands the problems of Stanislaus County, especially the issue of poverty, which affects the communitys health, education rates, economic development and natural environment. Hughes served as program director at Stanislaus Community Foundation and was instrumental in its participation in the Stanislaus READS! Initiative. She now is the executive director of Stanislaus 2030, the public and private partnership designed to revitalize the local economy. Amanda is a past president of the Stanislaus County Commission for Women and has served on the board for 11 years.

Allison Jeffery

Allison Jeffery

Turlock resident Allie Jeffery is an associate director at Legacy Health Endowment, dedicated to increasing access to healthcare services and educating people about healthy lifestyle decisions. She also volunteers in the health field as a board member, raising awareness of mental health, emergency shelter and suicide prevention issues. She serves on the Stanislaus Health Foundation, Stanislaus County Emergency Food and Shelter Program Advisory Board, Turlock Community Development Block Grant Committee and Kiwanis of Greater Turlock. Allie was also a recreation commissioner for Turlock and recognized as a Healthcare Hero for her dedication to improving healthcare access in the Central Valley.

Amy Jeffries

Amy Abid Jeffries

As a founding board member of Modesto Childrens Museum, Amy Jeffries spent a number of years volunteering her time to create the museum in her hometown, which opened its doors last September as a place for children to learn through creativity and adventure. She spearheaded the organizations development, served as secretary and will be its president in July 2024. Jeffreies also serves on the board of Modesto Chamber of Commerce and on the Asset Development Committee for the Stanislaus Community Foundation. She is the first named female shareholder at Gianelli, Friedman & Jeffries. In 2021, she was named by San Francisco Magazine as a Rising Star of top female attorneys in Northern California.

Betty Julian

Betty Julian

For more than 20 years, Turlock resident Betty Julian has advocated for women and children in our county. An attorney specializing in family law, she is vice president of the Stanislaus County Bar Association. Julian is also on the board of directors for the Family Justice Center, which provides comprehensive services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. She is a member of the Turlock Chamber of Commerce and a partner at McCormick Barstow in Modesto. Turlocks Letter to Santa program raises funds to provide coats and other clothing, toys, and a turkey dinner to children and their families. As a board member, Julian helped raise more than $200,000 last year for the Santa program, helping thousands of Stanislaus County needy residents.

Ruth Luman

Ruth Luman

Modesto Junior College faculty member and Modesto resident Ruth Luman is dedicated to assisting refugees and immigrants who are learning English and navigating the complexities of their new home. She trains her colleagues to understand how to best serve students experiencing culture shock as they attend schools here for the first time. Luman partnered with agencies such as World Relief (where she also serves on the community board) to provide English classes for women who recently arrived from Afghanistan, including offering childcare. She helped establish a womens sewing circle at MJC, where new skills are learned and refugee women feel safe on campus.

Colleen Preston

Colleen Preston

Lifelong Modesto resident Colleen Preston volunteers her time and expertise to many organizations, some of them related to health education. She helped Davis High School write a grant that resulted in receiving $75,000 to address food insecurity and student health and well-being. A food pantry was established for Davis students and their families and the Spartan Center was created to promote social and emotional health through counseling and peer mentoring. During 2023, the center supported more than 2,000 students. Preston retired from Kaiser Permanente after serving as a neonatal intensive care nurse, hospice nurse and, eventually, chief nursing officer. She was on the 2021-22 Civil Grand Jury and now volunteers for League of Women Voters of Stanislaus County.

May Rico

May Rico

Since 1993, May Rico has dedicated herself to serving survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault or human trafficking in Stanislaus County, all at one organization: Health Alternatives to Violent Environments, or HAVEN. She began there as a student intern and became a legal program assistant, then legal program director, program manager, associate director and, finally, executive director, which she has been since 2015. Under Ricos leadership, HAVEN expanded services to include educational programs for teens about healthy relationships. She also focused on social justice issues, supporting LGBTQ and immigrant rights, among others. Rico serves on the board of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and also received an outstanding woman award from Oakdale Soroptimist.

Bette Belle Smith Award

Amy Wolfe

Amy Wolfe

Amy Wolfe dedicates herself to the community as a member of Modesto Rotary, for which she is president-elect. She is on its foundation board, whose purpose is to donate funds to organizations such as Modesto Childrens Museum, LearningQuest Stanislaus Literacy Centers, HAVEN and the Center for Human Services. She is on the board of the League of Women Voters of Stanislaus County and of Protected Harvest, a nonprofit organization that certifies crops as sustainably grown. Wolfe is active in her daughters school Parent Teacher Organization and was a Girl Scout leader. Other volunteer board service and leadership includes the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Modesto Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Stanislaus County. She co-owns Mujeres Poderosas, a public relations firm of three women who work with nonprofits and small businesses. She previously was president of Ag Safe, a nonprofit organization providing health and safety education to the agricultural community.

Outstanding Young Women

Damaris Diaz

Damaris Diaz

Riverbank High senior Damaris Diaz serves as the student representative to the Riverbank School Board. As a community leader, she listens to fellow students and relays their concerns to the school district. She is active in many school clubs, including Future Farmers of America, Womens Empowerment Club and California Scholarship Federation. She also is the historian for SkillsUSA, a career technical student organization. She is active in her church and volunteers to provide meals to unhoused individuals.

Reece Riley

Reece Riley

Oakdale High senior Reece Riley volunteers in her schools Senior Mentor program to help freshman students navigate high school. She creates and teaches lessons to younger students, tracks the progress of 45 individuals and offers them advice and friendship. She demonstrates patience and positivity. Reece also is a peer counselor at her church. These experiences have cemented her future plans to become an educator.

Audrey Rosenow

Audrey Rosenow

At Beyer High, Audrey Rosenow has been active on the robotics team since she was a freshman, eventually becoming the team captain and helping her team secure a spot in the national competition. She served as a STEM camp counselor and on an outreach team to Tuolumne School in Modesto, sharing her love of robotics with students. She has volunteered hundreds of hours with younger students at Downtown Modesto Partnership events, Trades Day at MJC and Modesto Chamber of Commerces Inspire Youth Inspire Dreams event.
Eminie Hughes, the 12-year-old girl who was missing from the Houston area, has been found unharmed, police said in a post on X.

Last seen on February 22, Houston police issued an Amber Alert Wednesday, saying they believe she may have been trafficked.

In their post, police said she was found in Columbus, Texas, which is 73 miles from the Houston area where she went missing.

FBI Houston posted on X, FBI Houston is proud to have helped rescue yet another missing child. Two kids recovered in two days, and confirmed to CNN that they assisted in the search for Eminie.

Police did not release any other information and said the investigation is ongoing.

When Hughes first went missing on February 22, it was believed she had left on her own, a Houston police spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday. But police obtained new information, which made them believe she might have been trafficked, a police spokesperson said.

Police havent said what led them to suspect the girl was trafficked.

Eminie was last seen getting into a dark-colored four-door Dodge pickup around 1:40 a.m. local time, according to the Amber Alert. She went missing in Missouri City, which is within the Houston metro area, police said Thursday morning.

Houston police, in a post on X Thursday, said that Eminie may have been on a social media app known as Tagged. The social media network focuses on connecting people for friendship or dating through features like Browse, Meet Me and Live, according to the platforms website.

E'minie Hughes was last seen wearing a white crop top and pink joggers. - Houston Police

Taggeds parent company, The Meet Group, told CNN that they have reached out to Houston law enforcement to offer assistance with the case.

Our terms and conditions prohibit minors from using our apps, and we utilize both technology and manual analysis to help check for minors who may have registered for our platform using a false age, the company said. Should we be made aware of any attempts to circumvent our process, we thoroughly investigate any report involving a possible minor user or child exploitation.

Police did not provide further details on what role the childs possible presence on Tagged may have played in the investigation.

Mother says she woke up to find daughter gone

The girls mother, Shannon Williams, told CNN affiliate KPRC she last saw her daughter before bed on Thursday, but she was gone by the time she woke up.

Eminie is believed to have only taken an Android tablet with her, along with the clothes she was wearing, the mother told KPRC.

Williams told the outlet she doesnt know if Eminie may have been communicating with someone online. The girl had stepped out for a walk just a few hours before her disappearance, the mother said.

In their last conversation, Eminie asked her mother to wake her up early for school the following day, Williams told CNN affiliate KHOU.

About 460,000 children go missing in the US every year, according to a 2023 news release from the Department of Justice. About 1 in 6 of the more than 28,800 cases of children reported missing to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 2023 were likely victims of child trafficking, according to the nonprofit. Last year, the center received more than 18,400 reports of possible child trafficking.

Holly Priebe Sotelo, a social work professor at The University of Southern California, told CNN that its important parents maintain open communication with their children about establishing healthy relationships and boundaries with others, especially with those they meet online.

Its impossible for parents to keep up with the latest threats, Sotelo said. Therefore, parents just need to initiate dialogues with their children every day about establishing healthy boundaries.

CNNs Colin Jeffrey and David Williams contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Swarms of flies and a roach falling out of a paper towel dispenser in front of an inspector are on this weeks list of South Florida restaurants that failed inspection.

Before we get to the details from Broward and Palm Beach restaurants (no Miami-Dade or Florida Keys this week), a reminder: The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation does the inspecting and chooses which places to inspect, sometimes spurred by complaints from the public.

In alphabetical order:

Boca Raton Marriott Hotel, 5150 Town Center Cir., Boca Raton: Routine inspection, seven total violations, two High Priority violations.

The inspector counted 178 flies, 100 of which were in the main kitchen dishwashing area landing on mops, the dish machine, the wall, clean service trays and clean plastic containers.

Another 15 were in the dining area bar flying around a crate near the sink while 21 were landing on the wall and cabinets. At the wait station, eight flies zipped about and landed on pepper shakers.

The flies far outnumbered the two live and one dead roaches, although that one dead roach did mar a clean cutting board.

In the main kitchen storage, the inspector saw platters stored in a way that they were not protected from debris falling from the ceiling.

The inspector came back to the Marriott for a same day re-inspection, which the restaurant passed.

Gabriels Cafe & Grille, 12793 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington: Routine food, nine total violations, six High Priority violations.

A dozen dung pieces from regular rodents dotted Gabriels, two of which were under a storage rack for clean pans, another two of which were under a dry storage shelf with big containers of sugar and flour and another two of which were next to Ragu sauce on dry storage shelf with seasonings...

Restaurants that cant properly cool their precooked food to under 41 degrees put customers at risk and Gabriels got caught with turkey soup, hard boiled eggs and cut watermelon all still too warm from the previous day after a night in the not-good-enough coolers. Stop Sales came down on them.

Between uses, wiping cloths are supposed to be in a sanitizing solution thats 100 parts per million. Gabriels measured 10 ppm.

Gabriels could blow their horn again after the next days re-inspection.

READ MORE: Mold-like grime and unsafe croquetas at a Coral Gables store steps from the UM campus

Rotelli Pizza & Pasta, 15064 Jog Rd., Delray Beach: Routine inspection, three total violations, two High Priority violations.

Of the 10 dead roaches, eight were under a cookline fryer. Five live roaches were spotted. Management was so disturbed by two live roaches under a two-tier cookline table, they took the table out of the restaurant.

Rotelli passed the next days re-inspection.

Wally Caramel Restaurant, 4711 NW 14 St., Lauderhill: Food Licensing Inspection, 13 total violations, five High Priority violations.

This isnt the way to get your food license.

Stop Sales came down on cooked goat that measured 23 degrees too warm, marinated fish and gravy sauce, each 11 degrees too warm after being in a reach-in cooler overnight.

Yellow food container lids soiled with grease.

Then there were the 20 rodent droppings on cooking lids on kitchen dry storage shelves. Another 10 pieces of poop were in an office near the front counter. Seven were elsewhere in the kitchen.

One dead roach was in the kitchen bathroom.

The mop sink was clogged already.

No way to dry your hands at the front counter handwash sink.

Wallys world was better after the callback inspection the next day.

Zipzs NY Pizza Co., 836 W Indiantown Rd., Jupiter: Complaint inspection, six total violations, five High Priority violations.

Two roaches were in a paper towel dispenser next to the stove and one fell out of the paper towel dispenser into the hand sink next to the stove. These roaches hung around the food areas. One roach was moving on the floor next to the stove; another on a wood crate in front of the stove. Three of them were under the pizza oven.

An employees bottle of Minute Maid was jammed into the ice used for drinks. As the ice will go into glasses for customers, thats contamination so a Stop Sale crashed down on all the ice.

Stop Sales also hit tomato sauce that was in a walk-in cooler overnight, but shouldve been in something smaller than a 10-gallon covered pot for safe cooling.

During the next days re-inspection, the roaches ran on a cookline sandwich cutting board (one), near the wine bottles at the bar (one), under a silverware container (two) among other places. Eight dead roaches were under a cookline cooler, two at the front counter, two under the stove, another two under a cookline handwash sink, one under a flour rack and four others

Zipzs passed re-re-inspection the next day.
The Washington County teen charged with killing a family's 8-year-old Chihuahua entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on Feb. 28 in Waukesha County Circuit Court, according to online court records.

The dog was found dead under a blanket in the corner of a bedroom at the Sussex family's home on Jan. 26.

Kielee Sonnemann, 18, the family's babysitter, was charged Jan. 29 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with felony mistreatment of animals causing death with the use of a dangerous weapon.

According to online court records, Sonnemann is to have a medical examination to determine if she qualifies for a not guilty by reason of insanity, or NGI, plea. A report is to be filed 10 days before her May 6 review hearing.

Batman, an 8-year-old black Chihuahua, was found dead in a Sussex home on Jan. 26. The family's babysitter, Kielee Sonnemann, faces a felony charge of mistreatment of animals causing death with use of a dangerous weapon. On Feb. 28, she entered a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect in Waukesha County Circuit Court.

Sonnemann had been in custody at the Waukesha County Jail with a cash bond initially set at $15,000. On Feb. 12, the cash bond was reduced to $2,000, according to online court records. The bond was posted Feb. 15 and Sonnemann is now living in Allenton in Washington County, according to court records.

Sonnemann was released with the stipulation that she is on GPS monitoring, has no possession of dangerous weapons or sharp-edged objects and has no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 or domestic animals.

The mistreatment of animals charge carries a maximum sentence of three and a half years in prison. The use of a dangerous weapon modifier increases that amount to a maximum of seven and a half years.

Sonnemann's attorney, Ricardo Tapia, did not immediately return a call from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

More: 'I don't think there is any store like this': A unique market opens in downtown West Bend

More: West Bend's No Way Cafe offers tasty desserts, soups and chili that are gluten-free

Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on X at @kozlowicz_cathy.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Babysitter accused of killing Sussex family's dog enters insanity plea
SOUTH CREEK TWP, Pa. (WETM)  A hazmat situation is underway in Bradford County after fire officials say 188 gallons of heating oil spilled into the backyard of a home and ended up in a nearby waterway.

According to the South Creek Fire Department Chief, Ethan Sheets, around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29, reports came in that an oil spill had taken place at a home on Wheeler Road in South Creek Township.

Sheets added that the spill was around 188 gallons and ended up going into a drain and the tributary of Roaring Run Road with that tributary finding its way into the South Creek waterway.

Stakeholders waiting for Pennsylvania Governors higher education blueprint

Sheets said that damming was done in several areas of the Tributary to try and keep the oil out of South Creek. T&R Environmental has been on scene providing cleanup in the area and as of 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 1, Bradford County Emergency Management and local emergency planning committees are in the area addressing the cleanup with the fish and boat commission.

Sheets said that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is heading to the area to evaluate the area and perform an extensive cleanup of the spill.

When talking to the homeowner, Ray Bixby, on Friday, he said that the oil company was at fault for the spill and that it happened when he wasnt home.

Bixby told 18 News that the oil delivery was happening Thursday morning, during a time when he was at work, and that the oil had been put into the wrong container. Bixby said the oil company called him when he was at work saying that his tank had some kind of leak.

He went on to say that the oil company put the blame on him and didnt contact the proper authorities when the spill happened. When Bixby got home around 3:30 p.m. he said that the oil had saturated the ground in his backyard and that it had gone into the creek several miles downstream.

Officials say that this spill poses no threat to the residents and the surrounding areas.

Images of a runoff trail going from the house and eventually to a nearby creek.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.
Witnesses said the car arrived a high speed and hit people waiting for a tram (-STR)

A driver who ploughed his car into crowds on a street Friday in the Polish city of Szczecin injuring 19 people, including six children, was undergoing psychiatric treatment, police said, ruling out terrorism.

Early investigations into the incident "showed that this was a person who has been undergoing psychiatric treatment for the past four years," police deputy superintendent Marek Jaszczan told reporters.

He revealed police and prosecutors were seeking to "determine the motives of this person" but that "a terrorist act" could be ruled out.

"The perpetrator of this incident is a 33-year-old Polish citizen residing in Szczecin," Jaszczan added.

Witnesses said the car arrived a high speed and hit people waiting for a tram in the centre of the northwestern city.

The motorist continued for another kilometre (0.6 miles) before crashing into three other vehicles, injuring the drivers, they added. The man was then detained.

"Among the injured there are six children and two of the injured are in critical condition," provincial governor Adam Rudawski told reporters, adding 15 were taken to hospital.

Szczecin police spokesman Pawel Pankau said there was no indication that the suspect had been drinking alcohol or consuming drugs.

bo/cw/imm
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Two women are injured after a suspect fled from police during a traffic stop Thursday evening.

According to Memphis Police, at 6:57 p.m., officers pulled over a man at Park Avenue and South Greer Street. Police say the man was driving a stolen vehicle.

Memphis Police say the man refused to stop and crashed into two vehicles at Park Avenue and Getwell Road.

Airport area gas station shut down due to crime, violence

Police say two women were injured in the crash. Both went to the hospital in non-critical condition.

The man reportedly fled the crash scene on foot. Memphis Police say officers detained him after a brief foot chase.

Police say the suspect was also taken to the hospital in non-critical condition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
ANTIOCH, Ill.  A 20-year-old man has been charged related to a teens deadly fentanyl overdose last year in Antioch.

Jack Foley, of Antioch Township, was arrested Wednesday by authorities following a warrant being issued for drug-induced homicide and unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Police believe Foley allegedly obtained counterfeit pills and sold them to a 17-year-old Antioch boy in the 400 block of Route 73.

Buzz the foster puppy stolen from Lake County backyard

The boy died as a result of a fentanyl overdose on Feb. 11, 2023.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
A migrant boat with 20 people on board arrived Thursday morning in the Florida Keys, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

The boat made it to the shallow waters near Long Key around 7:30 a.m., the Monroe County Sheriffs Office online dispatch records show.

The Border Patrol, in a statement released on X, described the boat as a makeshift vessel. The agency did not immediately respond to questions about the peoples condition when they were encountered by agents.

As in most cases of Cuban migrant arrivals, the group will likely be processed for removal back to their homeland.
Its easy to get caught up in awards season excitement as the Oscars approach  the glitz and glamour of the red carpet generating global talking points, memes and pub chatter for weeks on end.

But when its really broken down, the Oscars are essentially just a microcosm of Hollywood. Its a depressing fact that films directed by previous winners appear to have more chances of being nominated than those directed by newcomers.

Because of this, the best film in any given year almost never wins the evenings most coveted prize  in fact, its sometimes not even nominated in the first place. Parasites victory in 2022 was a recent rare exception.

Over the decades, there have been countless glaring omissions  films that were nominated but were beaten by far inferior films and classic films that failed to secure a single nomination.

As the 2024 Oscars approach, weve run through 20 brilliant films that you would have expected to have won Best Picture winner  but didnt.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Long revered as one of the greatest films ever made, Orson Welles debut  a film following newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane  was just another nominee back in the day, losing out to the admittedly brilliant How Green Was My Valley.

The Searchers (1956)

The Searchers may be considered John Fords greatest film, but it was not treated as such back in the 1950s. In fact, the western starring John Wayne failed to earn a single nomination. Around the World in 80 Days turned out to be more the Academys cup of tea.

Vertigo (1958)

Not only did Alfred Hitchcock never win an Oscar (save for his memorial award in 1968), but neither did any of his films  one of which is Vertigo, a classic that won Sight & Sounds once-a-decade greatest films of all time poll in 2012. If it had been nominated, it would have faced stiff competition in the form of eventual winner All About Eve.

James stewart and Kim Novak in Vertigo (BFI)

The Graduate (1967)

One of the films that kickstarted the New Hollywood Cinema era, The Graduate may have won director Mike Nichols an Oscar, but it ultimately lost out to Norman Jewisons In the Heat of the Night.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Stanley Kubricks sci-fi classic remains one of the most influential pieces of cinema there is. The Academy didnt agree. The Academy nominated Kubrick for Best Director and awarded the visual effects in favour of considering 2001 for Best Picture (it didnt even get nominated). That years winner was Oliver!, the musical by Carol Reed.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Despite Taxi Drivers failure to win the main award, its nomination in four categories showed the Academy had good intentions. That All the Presidents Men and Network also lost out to eventual winner Rocky shows that, ultimately, it never really stood a chance.

Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (Columbia Pictures)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Francis Ford Coppolas ambitious Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now received a grand total of eight nominations, but only went home with two prizes (for cinematography and sound) losing out to drama Kramer vs Kramer.

Raging Bull (1980)

Of all the Oscar blows dealt to Martin Scorsese over the decades, none landed harder than Raging Bull losing out to Robert Redfords weepie Ordinary People, an oversight many consider one of the Academys most egregious.

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Spike Lees Do the Right Thing failing to win Best Picture at the 1990 Oscars is one thing  losing out to Driving Miss Daisy is another thing altogether.

Spike Lees Do the Right Thing (Universal Pictures)

Goodfellas (1990)

Having awarded both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II Best Picture in 1972 and 1974 respectively, the Academy seemed destined to appreciate Martin Scorseses Goodfellas. But no  Kevin Costners directorial debut Dances with Wolves was the most appealing choice for voters.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

New talent on the block Quentin Tarantinos second feature Pulp Fiction won him the coveted Palme dOr at Cannes in 1994  a success he failed to match back on home turf. While he won an Original Screenplay Oscar, his film was beaten by Forrest Gump...

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

...and it wasnt the only one. Frank Darabonts adaptation of Stephen Kings prison-set novella The Shawshank Redemption also fell victim to Robert Zemeckis Oscar-friendly Forrest Gump. We dont see that film sitting atop the IMDb top 250 though, do we?

Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption (Warner Bros)

Heat (1995)

If Heat was released today, theres no way it wouldnt be a Best Picture frontrunner. That it was completely ignored in favour of Braveheart is a huge travesty.

Fargo (1996)

You may think it was remiss of the Academy to shun Fargo, but it did come pretty close to winning, its chances bolstered somewhat by seven nominations and two wins (Actress for Frances McDormand and Original Screenplay for the Coen Brothers). It lost out to The English Patient.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Having won Best Director five years previous for Schindlers List, Steven Spielberg was strongly expected to take home the top prizes for his Second World War epic. Cue Shakespeare In Love upsetting everybody.

Steven Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan (Paramount)

We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

Lynne Ramsay has directed two films that would have been deserving of Best Picture: You Were Never Really Here and this, We Need to Talk About Kevin. Its easy to see why Hollywood was temporarily more charmed by The Artist, but its clear which film will stand the test of time.

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Its almost unthinkable to recall that the Coen brothers Inside Llewyn Davis only scored two Oscar nominations in the cinematography and sound mixing categories, respectively. In the ensuing years, the film has been hailed as one of the greatest of the 2010s, meaning that its no-show at the Oscars will go down as one of the Academys biggest omissions. Still, it would have had a hard time winning over 12 Years a Slave.

Boyhood (2014)

For the 2015 Oscars race, you were either team Birdman or team Boyhood. Richard Linklaters labour of love, shot intermittently over 12 years, ultimately failed to win.

Richard Linklaters Boyhood

American Honey (2016)

If theres any justice, Andrea Arnold will one day become an Oscar winner, but in a perfect world, she would have already won for American Honey, a drama deserving of Best Picture if there ever was one.

Get Out (2017)

Horror rarely gets recognised at the Oscars, but Get Out is the closest the genre had come in years. Jordan Peele may have taken home the Best Original Screenplay award, but the stars aligned for Guillermo del Toros fantasy The Shape of Water instead.

Roma (2018)

Roma was strongly expected to become the first ever foreign language film to win Best Picture. It had everything going for it, including a standout festival run and universal acclaim. But then Green Book snatched its trophy away in a late stage awards season twist that still seems too ridiculous to be true.

The Oscars take place on 10 March.
A carpenter living on the Faroe Islands off the northern coast of Europe packaged up a handmade red sweater and a small note.

My wife sends her regards, the note read. Thank you for the pudding rice. She sends your fiance this sweater and hopes that it is not displeasing to her.

The gift was sent on a ship in 1807 and intended for Copenhagen, Denmark. It never arrived.

Instead, the unopened package ended up in an archive in London, the U.K.s National Archives said in a Feb. 29 news release. When archivists finally opened it, they found a 217-year-old sweater still in pristine condition.

The 217-year-old sweater and note found in an unopened package. Photo from The National Archives

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The well-preserved sweater was handknitted in vibrantly colored fine wool and made in a traditional knit style of the Faroe Islands, the archive said. A photo shows the red garment and its pattern of black and white diamonds.

The Faroe Islands are a self-governing archipelago within the Kingdom of Denmark. The islands are about 250 miles north of the U.K. and about 800 miles northwest of Copenhagen.

A close-up photo shows the 2017-year-old sweater flat on a table. Photo from The National Archives

This is a tremendously exciting find, Margretha Nonklett, an official with Denmarks National Museum, said in the release. There are very few pieces like this and we have none with this particular design. It would have been handmade at home with hand-dyed wool.

The sweater was mailed by Niels C. Winther in August 1807 from the Danish islands and intended for Mr. P. Ladsen in Copenhagen, the archive said.

The cargo ship carrying the sweater, the Anne-Marie, sailed toward Copenhagen unaware that war had broken out between the U.K. and Denmark, archivists said. British sailors overtook the ship, imprisoned its captain and crew and seized the cargo.

The sweater was forgotten  until now.

Some stockings found in the 217-year-old packages. Photo from The National Archives

The 1807 shipment also included other items, such as wool stockings, silver coins, other currency and some barley samples being returned to sender with a note complaining about the quality, archivists said.

The barley found in a package from 1807. Photo from The National Archives

The ships captain, who was eventually released, reported the cargo as 49,000 pairs of woollen stockings, eight tons of dried fish, 100 cases of candles, 250 barrels of tallow (animal fat), 19 barrels of train oil (whale oil) and 10 barrels of feather.

Some of the silver coins, identified as Danish skillings, in a package from 1807. Photo from The National Archives

Amanda Bevan, an official with the National Archives, said the 217-year-old sweater is a rare example of a parcel surviving in the Prize Papers, (a collection) which often contain letters consigned to ships for delivery by sea, according to the release.

The packages were opened as part of an ongoing project to digitize the contents of the National Archives. The preserved barley is undergoing further analysis, the archive told McClatchy News.

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SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  Three inmates escaped from the Sumner County Jail Thursday night and one has since been taken into custody.

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Sumner County Mayor John Isbell told News 2 the inmates escaped from the facility on West Smith Street around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29.

The Gallatin Police Department identified the inmates as 40-year-old William Rutherford, 29-year-old Kenneth Campbell, and 43-year-old Elvis Bush.

Escaped inmates William Rutherford, Kenneth Campbell, and Elvis Bush (Courtesy: Gallatin Police Department)

Bush was captured around 2 a.m. on Friday, March 1 in a subdivision near Meadowview, according to Sumner County Deputy Eric Craddock. Bush has been returned to the Sumner County jail.

Rutherford is 5 feet 7 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and orange jail shoes. Campbell is 6 feet tall and was also wearing a white T-shirt and orange jail shoes.

According to jail records, Rutherford was arrested on July 5, 2023, for charges of attempted second-degree murder, felon in possession of a weapon, aggravated assault, and tampering with evidence.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sent out an alert Friday evening as Rutherford was listed among the states Most Wanted fugitives. Authorities are now offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his arrest.

(Courtesy: Sumner County Sheriffs Office)

William Rutherford (Courtesy: Sumner County Sheriffs Office)

Kenneth Campbell (Courtesy: Sumner County Sheriffs Office)

(Courtesy: Sumner County Sheriffs Office)

Campbell was arrested on Oct. 11, 2023, for theft, felon in possession of a weapon, and numerous drug charges. Bush was arrested on March 11, 2022, for mostly drug charges.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Residents are urged to lock all doors and report any suspicious activity by calling the Sumner County Emergency Communications Center at 615-451-3838.

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 Find todays top stories on WKRN.com for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee.

This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Your slice of the headlines in Ukraine. Daily. Friday, March 1, 2024.

 Ukrainian forces down three more Russian Su-34 jets in one day  Air Force Commander

The Armed Forces took down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets in one day, the Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk reported on Feb. 29.





 If Ukraine falls, NATO will have to fight Russia  Secretary Austin

NATO will likely have to directly engage with Russian aggressive expansion if Moscow emerges victorious in the war against Ukraine, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a congressional hearing on Feb. 29.





 How territorial defense units protect Kyiv from enemy drones  first-hand account

Every night, equipped with tablets, pickup trucks, machine guns, and their own skills, Ukrainian mobile fire groups (MFG) monitor the skies over the Ukrainian capital and repel Russian drone attacks.





 Argentina's President Milei spearheads Latin American summit in support of Ukraine

Argentina's President Javier Milei has announced his intention to convene a summit aimed at bolstering Latin American support for Ukraine, as revealed in a Financial Times interview on Feb. 28.





 Zelenskyy and Sandu discuss situation in unrecognized "Transnistria"

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the situation in the Transnistrian region with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu during the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit held on Feb. 28 in Tirana, Albania, the Presidents Office reported on its website on the same day.





 Three charged with war crimes over murder of Lithuanian national in Mariupol

Lithuania has pressed war crimes charges under the auspices of the international joint investigation team (JIT) working in Ukraine, Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office reported via Telegram on Feb. 29.





 Ukrposhta.Pharmacy pilot project now covering 7 oblasts

National postal operator Ukrposhta received licenses for retail and electronic retail trade of medicines, and has already begun accepting first orders and delivering them to customers, the companys press service announced on Feb. 29.





 19 Russians killed, including high-ranking officers in Ukrainian MLRS attack on Olenivka

The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a missile attack on Russian troops in temporarily occupied Olenivka in Donetsk Oblast, killing 19 invaders, the General Staff reported on Feb. 29.





 Russias war hero axes to death Putins best teacher grant winner in Yakutia

The winner of the Best Teacher of Russia contest, funded by Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin, met a grim fate in Russias Far East, as reported by Nastoyashee Vremya (Current Time) TV channel on Feb. 29.





 Dictator Putin threatens to strike on Western nations

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has escalated his rhetoric, warning of possible attacks against Western countries, citing Russia's arsenal as a threat, Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti reported on Feb. 29.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT)  Three Decatur police officers filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against them in connection to the shooting death of Stephen Perkins.

In December, Perkinss family filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Decatur, the four officers involved, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, All Star Recovery LLC and two men identified as agents or employees of the credit union or towing company.

PREVIOUS: What happened in the 98 days from Stephen Perkins death to former officers arrest

The lawsuit names those four officers as Bailey Marquette, Christopher Mukkadam, Joey Williams and Vance Summers. It alleges federal civil rights violations by these defendants.

Mukkadam, Williams and Summers all filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit on Thursday.

Those three officers arent facing any charges in connection to the shooting, but Marquette was indicted by a Morgan County Grand Jury for murder and turned himself at the Morgan County Jail on Thursday, January 4.

In the motion, the three officers say Perkins attorneys have failed to state a claim for failure to intervene.

An officer can be liable for failing to intervene when another officer uses excessive force This liability, however, arises only when the officer is in a position to intervene and fails to do so In the instant matter, Plaintiffs allegationson their facedemonstrate that Officers Mukadam, Williams, or Summers were not in a position to intervene to stop Officer Marquette from shooting Perkins, the act forming the basis of the purported constitutional violation, the motion states.

No charges expected in death of 4-year-old killed by dog in Hartselle

It also argues that Perkins estate has failed to state a claim for wrongful death, and that the officers are entitled qualified immunity.

Three of the officers were terminated and another was suspended after determination hearings in December 2023, though the City of Decatur has not specified which officers were fired versus suspended.

The familys lawsuit alleges federal civil rights violations by the four officers. It also claims the City of Decatur violated Perkins civil rights, arguing Decatur has a policy and practice of rewarding officers who engaged in more invasive citizen interactions with better pay, promotions and assignments.

The lawsuit goes on to argue that the tow truck driver, identified as Caleb Combs, should have known he lacked legal authority to repossess Perkins truck. It contends that after Perkins objected to Combs attempting to repossess the truck, Combs left.

It then argues that the four officers entered into an agreement with Combs and Richie Brady to return to Perkins home and repossess the truck.

LCSO, ALEA conducting death investigation following discovery of possible human remains

The lawsuit says the tow truck returned and either Combs or Brady attempted to attach the tow truck to Perkins truck. Perkins again objected, it argues.

Attorneys claim in the lawsuit that Perkins was shot a few moments later.

The lawsuit also includes wrongful death claims against all the defendants and unfair debt collection claims against Pentagon, the towing company, Combs and Brady. It seeks compensatory and punitive damages, lawyer fees, and seeks a jury trial.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Butternut squash is one of those vegetables that immediately conjures up images of cozy recipes on chilly nights. Think: butternut squash soup, ravioli and silky squash puree. Thanks to its mild, sweet taste, it can be easily paired with so many different flavor profiles. Its a great addition to vegan or vegetarian meals, but also works well with protein like pancetta and sausage. While grown in the fall, butternut squash can be found year-round, making it one of our favorite vegetables to cook.

Its no lie that butternut squash can be cumbersome to break down. Since this is such a sturdy vegetable, we recommend prepping it on the weekends so that its ready to go for any preparation your heart (er, stomach) desires all week long. Just store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator and itll hold up for at least a week. Or, skip the prep work and buy it ready to go, especially if youre planning to cook with it right away.

There are so many ways to use up this versatile vegetable. If youre looking for appetizers, try butternut bruschetta or butternut squash fries with a punchy aioli. For weeknight dinners, we love glazed pork chops with butternut squash puree, butternut squash quesadillas or a fall take on pasta salad. For something a little more festive that feeds a crowd, try butternut squash lasagna roll-ups or risotto. And of course, weve rounded up a soup for every taste. Read on to see our top 40 butternut squash recipes.

Roasted Toasted Salad by Mary McCartney

This hearty salad is all about balancing sweet and savory flavors with crunch and acidity. Toss roasted butternut squash with greens, crispy shallots, pecans and pumpkin seeds before dressing it with a punchy vinaigrette. Its ideal for serving family-style when youre looking to impress.

Daphne Oz's Roasted Butternut Squash Parmesan with Pecans by Daphne Oz

Roasting butternut squash brings out the natural sweetness of this versatile vegetable. And while its good all on its own, we love Daphne Ozs upgrade, thanks to a few pantry staples. Garlic-infused olive oil, pecans and Parmesan cheese get draped over the planks of squash before baking, turning this into a complex textural delight.

Butternut Squash and Arugula Salad by Lauren Salkeld

While autumnal recipes tend to lean heavy, this salad keeps it light and bright, making it suitable for year-round consumption. Here, peppery arugula is studded with roasted cubes of butternut squash, crispy chickpeas, hazelnuts and dried cranberries. Dress the salad in a simple lemon vinaigrette for a burst of acidity.

Sheet-Pan Gnocchi with Butternut Squash, Fennel and Red Onions by Alexis deBoschnek

Store-bought gnocchi is one of our favorite ingredients to get dinner on the table during the week. Along with butternut squash, fennel and red onion, its roasted on a sheet pan crispy tender. This colorful vegan dish is sure to become part of your weeknight dinner rotation.

Butternut Squash Quesadillas by Tiffani Thiessen

Well never say no to a quesadilla. This recipe takes things up a notch by tucking roasted butternut squash, tomato salsa, and melty into flour tortillas. The addition of vegetables makes this a more nutritious meal option, while still ensuring cheesy goodness in every bite.

Easy Butternut Squash Soup With Crispy Sage Leaves by Laura Vitale

Squash and sage are a classic cold weather duo. This simple recipe combines the two, along with a Granny Smith apple, for a bit of sweetness and chili powder for some spice, into a smooth and creamy soup. Serve it as an appetizer or a full meal along with some crusty bread.

Squash and Garlic-Herb Cheese Frittata by Riley Wofford

Frittatas are one of those dishes that are endlessly versatile, depending on what you have in your fridge. They can be served for any meal of the day, ranking them high on our list of must-make recipes. This version is loaded with caramelized roasted butternut squash, spinach and garlic-herb cheese spread for the ultimate vegetarian frittata.

Sofrito Butternut Squash Soup by Alejandra Ramos

With less than ten ingredients, this soup packs a ton of flavor. The secret is Better than Bouillon Sofrito Base, which gives you a leg up in the flavor department with little effort. This creamy spiced soup is perfect on chilly nights when youre short on time.

Penne with Roasted Butternut Squash, Pancetta and Sage by Scott Conant

Theres no question that pancetta makes everything better. This salt-cured pork belly adds instant flavor to all ingredients. Here, roasted squash, penne and Pecorino are cooked together in pancetta fat until a creamy sauce forms.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto by Sarah Grueneberg

This is a far cry from your everyday pesto. Laden with toasted pepitas, parsley and roasted squash, this pesto transforms into a savory spread in no time. Since the flavors skew towards colder weather, we love serving this with a big bowl of pasta or as a vegetarian dip on game day.

Butternut Squash Chili by Joy Bauer

This hearty chili recipe combines butternut squash with black beans, canned tomatoes and shredded rotisserie chicken, which balances a variety of texture and flavors. Its nutritious enough for a weekday dinner and satisfying enough to be a crowd-pleaser on game days. We love it topped with sour cream, tender herbs and avocado.

Bowtie Pasta Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash by Romel Bruno

Pasta salad gets an autumnal twist in this colorful recipe. Start by mixing bowtie pasta with homemade pumpkin seed and parsley pesto, which adds a vibrant green color and savory edge. Then, stir in roasted butternut squash for even more texture while continuing to channel all those fall flavors.

Chicken Potpie with Roasted Butternut Squash by Ryan Scott

Its hard to beat digging into a pot pie on chilly nights. This one has an exciting addition to the usual chicken mixture  cubes of roasted butternut squash. Thanks to rotisserie chicken and pre-cooked squash, the whole thing comes together in under 30 minutes, making it a weeknight dinner contender.

Butternut Squash Lasagna Roll-Ups by Madeleine Smithberg

If youre looking for a vegetarian crowd-pleaser, this is it. Instead of getting layered in a casserole dish, lasagna noodles are filled with a cheese and butternut squash mixture and rolled up. The final result is somewhere between lasagna and ravioli in all the best ways.

Butternut Squash Soup by Garrett Gooch

We promise your guests will never stop talking about this recipe. Served in a hollowed out small pumpkin, this butternut squash soup is a total showstopper. The soup toes the line between sweet and savory, thanks to ingredients like honey, apples and vanilla bean, which play off the natural sweetness of the squash. Vegetable stock and aromatics keep it decidedly in the savory category.

Best-of-Fall Shepherd's Pie by Ryan Scott

Shepherds pie is the ultimate one-pot meal. Rather than traditional mashed potatoes, this one is topped with sweet potatoes. The filling highlights some of the best cold-weather ingredients like turkey, Brussels sprouts, onions and sage.

Daphne Oz's Candied Butternut Squash Soup by Daphne Oz

Dont let the name fool you  this soup is totally savory. Dates bring out the natural sweetness of the butternut squash, without being overpowering. Combined with spices, turmeric and coconut milk, this vegan soup has an almost tropical flair.

Siri's Butternut Squash, Leek and Ricotta Toast by Siri Daly

Toast isnt just for sandwiches. Here, gussied up toasts make for an elegant vegetarian appetizer that will have people coming back for more. Slices of baguette are layered with ricotta cheese, roasted butternut squash, sauteed leeks and drizzled with a balsamic glaze.

Sausage and Butternut Squash Pasta by Shay Shull

When it comes to weeknight dinners, pasta never fails. One of our favorite weeknight dinner hacks is using frozen squash, which comes pre-cooked. Combine it with sausage and cheddar cheese for a quick-cooking creamy sauce.

Autumn Ravioli by Sophie Frankowski and Carson Peterson

If you have an afternoon free, theres nothing quite like making your own ravioli at home. This version leans on fall flavors, combining roasted butternut squash with pancetta and spices. To cut down on assembly time, the filling can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

Maple Glazed Pork T-Bone Chops with Butternut Squash Puree by Ryan Scott

Pork chops are one of those ingredients that do double duty for festive occasions and weeknight dinners alike. Glazed in a maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard and rosemary mixture, the pork chops are incredibly juicy and toe the line between sweet and savory. Serve them over a bed of butternut squash puree for a well rounded meal.

Daphne Oz's Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese by Daphne Oz

Macaroni and cheese is a perennial favorite for good reason. This version is all about not-so-secretly infusing butternut squash into every bite. The squash delivers a good portion of nutrients while also creating that classic boxed macaroni and cheese color.

Spicy Chipotle-Maple Butternut Squash Soup by Alejandra Ramos

The joy of butternut squash is that it works with so many different flavor profiles. Here, its paired with chipotles in adobo, paprika and maple syrup for a sweet-meets-savory spin. This flavorful soup can be easily doubled to serve a crowd, making it a great option for holiday get-togethers.

Wild Rice Salad by Plantable

Grain salads are beloved for their versatility. Theyre a great option for meal prep, can be served on their own or even as a side to bigger proteins. This wild rice version is studded with roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, kale and pomegranate seeds for color and crunch.

Risotto with Shrimp, Butternut Squash and Sage by Ben Pollinger

The key to the multi-layered flavor of this dish is using one ingredient two-ways. Pureed butternut squash is mixed with the risotto, shrimp and sage, while roasted cubes get stirred into the mix. These two methods ensure creamy, caramelized butternut squash in every bite.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Brown Butter Sauce by Anthony Contrino

We love leaning on store-bought ingredients in order to get dinner on the table quickly. Start by buying pre-made butternut squash ravioli and gussy it up with a homemade brown butter sauce infused with sage. With only four ingredients, this is the ultimate weeknight dinner.

Butternut Bruschetta by

This festive fall take on bruschetta is bound to be your new favorite cold weather appetizer. Instead of tomatoes, baguette slices are topped with a caramelized onion and butternut squash puree. Before serving, top with balsamic vinegar and mint leaves for a little bit of acidity.

Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprout Panzanella by Lidia Bastianich

Panzanella  aka bread salad  can take on so many different flavor profiles. Here, the queen of Italian cooking Lidia Bastianich makes a version highlighting the best of fall produce. Toss kale with torn bread, roasted Brussels sprouts and squash, walnuts, dried cranberries, then drizzle it all with balsamic vinegar.

Giada's Butternut Squash Lasagna by Giada De Laurentiis

Despite being a crowd-pleaser, lasagna always feels a bit cumbersome to execute. Knowing this, Giada developed a recipe that can be fully assembled ahead of time, making it that much easier to throw a big dinner party. To make it, layer no-bake noodles with butternut squash puree, bechamel sauce and cheese before topping it all with a layer of crispy panko.

Grandma's Sweet Tea-Brined Fried Chicken with Butternut Squash Puree by Ryan Scott

The key to getting this fried chicken so tender is brining it in sweet tea for a full 24 hours. After brining, the chicken is roasted in the oven, then deep-fried until golden brown and crispy. Serve the chicken on a bed of butternut squash puree for an interesting balance of texture and a well-rounded meal.

Vegan White Lasagna with Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach by Chloe Coscarelli

If youre craving lasagna but want something a little lighter and brighter, this white version is a great alternative. It comes packing a ton of flavor, serves a crowd and happens to be vegan. To make it, lasagna sheets are layered with butternut squash puree, spinach and two varieties of vegan cheese.

Butternut Squash Agnolotti with Brown Butter and Breadcrumbs by Brian Lewis

Similar to ravioli, agnolotti is another type of stuffed pasta. This recipe highlights the classic flavor combination of butternut squash, sage and brown butter. The joy of this recipe is that the various elements can be made ahead, making assembly a breeze.

Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Seed Yogurt Parfait by Frances Largeman-Roth, RDN

While yogurt parfaits tend to lean sweet, theres no reason this breakfast food cant be savory. This recipe toes the line of both. Roast butternut squash to brings out its natural sweetness, then layer it with yogurt, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and maple syrup.

Carrot and Butternut Squash Casserole with Fruit Compote by JJ Johnson

Everyones favorite Thanksgiving side gets an exciting twist in this recipe. Here, JJ Johnson swaps sweet potatoes for butternut squash and carrots. To make the casserole even more exciting, serve it alongside a sweet cherry and pineapple compote.

Maple Glazed Hasselback Butternut Squash by Alejandra Ramos

This showstopper can stand on its own as a vegetarian main or serve it as an unexpected side dish at your next party. The technique of hasselbacking requires some finesse, but the result is a tender butternut squash that packs a ton of maple butter flavor in every bite. Top it with a layer of herbed feta to add a depth of savoriness.

Butternut Squash Fries with Lemon Aioli by Dan Kluger

Potato fries, who? These crispy fries are all about butternut squash. To get that classic crunchy exterior, the fries are baked first, then deep fried. Serve them with a punchy lemon aioli to add a welcome boost of acidity.

Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili by Brittany Williams

This vegan chili highlights the joys of vegetables in a cozy, comforting dish. Tender cubes of butternut squash, tomatoes, bell peppers and beans are flavored with garlic and chipotle in adobo. Thanks to the use of a pressure cooker, this dish comes together quickly, making it ideal for a weeknight.

Rollatino Raviolo by Anthony Scotto and Elaina Scotto

If youre a ravioli lover, you have to try this recipe. Rather than squares, a pasta sheet is filled with a piping bag to create a long continuous tube. The filled tube is wrapped in a circle, creating one giant bite. Despite the less-than-conventional shape, this recipe keeps it classic with a brown butter, squash and sage filling.

Butternut Squash and Kale Minestrone with Horseradish Gremolata and Parmesan Toast by Blue Apron

This riff on minestrone highlights some of our cold weather favorites like kale, leeks and squash. To gussy it up, add a drizzle of horseradish gremolata, a riff on the Italian green sauce made with parsley and garlic. While the soup is delightful on its own, serving it alongside Parmesan-crusted toast makes it totally craveable.

Root Vegetable Harvest Salad with Crispy Quinoa by Skyler Bouchard

Whether served as the main dish or a side, this hearty salad is sure to be a crowd pleaser. Roasted butternut squash, carrots, delicata and sweet potato are roasted before theyre tossed with a maple Dijon dressing. A sprinkling of feta, parsley and crunchy quinoa round out the salad.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 1. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, during his trip to the Khorezm region, has announced the introduction of an annual tourist visa to visit the region, Trend reports.

"Uzbekistan - my second home visa system will be introduced for tourists to enter Khorezm without restrictions for a year," President Mirziyoyev said.

According to the president, a three-year tourism development program will be adopted for the region. At the same time, the revenues of the Tourism Development Fund will go to Khorezm region during this period.

The head of state also noted the lack of hotels in the region. He proposed to issue loans for construction of hotels at 18 percent per annum for 7 years with a two-year grace period.

Meanwhile, Uzbek citizens can visit Dubai and other emirates of the United Arab Emirates without issuing visas for 30 days from February 16.

Furthermore, citizens of Uzbekistan can now stay on the territory of Azerbaijan without registration for 15 days.
[Source]

Vietnam Restaurant, a beloved restaurant in Philadelphias Chinatown, will receive a James Beard Foundations Americas Classics Award this year.

Breaking the news: Vietnam Restaurant, which won in the Mid-Atlantic region category, is among six recipients of the award from different regions. The awarding ceremony will be held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 10.

About the restaurant: Founders Thuyen Luu and Nhu Lai opened Vietnam Restaurant in 1984, five years after they immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. to flee communist Chinese rule with only $30 in their pockets. Before becoming restaurateurs, the couple opened a grocery, Fu-Wah, using their savings and gifts.

With extensive knowledge from cooking for her husband and eight children, Thuyen Luu served as the restaurant's original chef. Benny Lai, one of the couple's children, took over the business after his parents retired in 1989. His father, Nhu Lai, died 11 years ago.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

About the award: Touted as one of the United States most prestigious culinary honors, the James Beard Awards, established in 1990, recognizes and honors exceptional talent, leaders and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality and media. This year's America's Classics awardees will join more than 100 restaurants that have received the title since its introduction in 1998.

What the foundation is saying: In its announcement, the James Beard Foundation described Vietnam Restaurant as one of Philly's favorite date-night destinations for classic Vietnamese cuisine. The nonprofit also acknowledged the Lai family as among the first wave of Vietnamese refugees who came to Philadelphia to build a life on hard work and entrepreneurship.

Trending on NextShark: Watch: Chinese makeup artist transforms 57-year-old man into '27-year-old'

Expansion: Vietnam Restaurant is located at North 11th Street in Philadelphias Chinatown. Following the success of their business, Lai opened Vietnam Cafe in West Philadelphia, which has also become a local favorite.

Trending on NextShark: Benny Blanco faces Filipino fury after disrespectful review of Jollibee

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Theres too much at stake with constant assaults on civil rights  and a new report is calling on Black Americans to organize and fight for the soul of America.

The National Urban Leagues State of Black America report comes just months ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark civil rights legislation that granted equal access to employment, voting rights, federal programs, and public accommodations.

Sixty years after the passage of the act, were seeing the most aggressive effort to undercut the progress wrought by conservatives and utilization of the courts, said Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. For example, in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected the rights of abortion. Last summer, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions.

Experts say the decision paved the way for other attacks on programs and business geared toward Black people. Last fall, the American Alliance for Equal Rights, a conservative group, filed a lawsuit against the Fearless Fund  a Black woman-owned business that gives funding to other Black women businesses  claiming their program discriminates against people of other races.

Even the Small Business Administration had to halt its business development program targeted for socially disadvantaged applicants, or historically marginalized groups. A Tennessee federal judge ruled that the program cant equate race with socially disadvantaged, which forced Black applicants to prove that their races put them at a social disadvantage.

This years report examines the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the resistance against racial justice, and the limited progress toward economic equality for Black Americans.

The act essentially outlawed Jim Crow, and gave Americans freedom to participate in the countrys democratic systems and political process, which have contributed to the increase in Black representation in local, state, and congressional offices. The law also laid the groundwork for other pivotal legislation, such as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, which has also been rolled back over the years.

Last year, the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that private plaintiffs, including civil rights groups, cant sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but the U.S. Department of Justice can. Of the at least 182 successful cases that have been brought under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act over the past 40 years, just 15 have been brought solely by the DOJ.

This is only one of hundreds of examples of attempts to infringe on and dilute Black political power and the right to vote. While the percentage of Black Americans who registered to vote increased to 69% in 2020 from 64% in 2000, theres still a lag in voter turnout  the percentage of Black people who voted in 2022 was 42.3%, down from 54% in 2002. The same is true for economic equality. According to the report, the median household income for Black people increased to $51,000 from $28,700 over two decades. However, Black men and women still, on average, earn less than their white counterparts.

Read more: An Explosive Growth of Racial Violence and Extremism Is Endangering Black Americans

Unquestionably, todays America offers more opportunities for Black persons than existed in most of our past, but the virulence and persistence of employment discrimination against Black Americans and so many others is sobering evidence of the urgent need for continued progress, Charlotte Burrows, chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, wrote in an essay for the report.

She added: We cannot afford to take the laws protections for granted or ignore the current threat posed by attacks on efforts to expand equal opportunity.

So, how do you navigate the roadblocks in todays sociopolitical climate?

The report calls for a third emancipation in this countrys history by uprooting the deep racial divisions embedded in our institutions. The authors demand that Congress pass legislation  such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act  to strengthen voting rights, reduce poverty, and protect the safety of Black Americans, respectively.

On a community level, Morial noted that it requires more pressure, advocacy, and people involved in the fight to maximize voting and spending power.

Weve not really harmonized our ability to use our economic power on a collective basis because so many Black people spend most of their money on items of necessity to have to buy food, clothing and shelter, Morial said. What we do have is strategic political power, and we have to remain far more engaged and vocal about holding elected officials accountable.

The post 60 Years After the Civil Rights Act, Equal Opportunity Is Under Attack appeared first on Capital B News.
Seven people were arrested and charged with murder in the death of a 20-year-old Alabama mother who police said was kidnapped and sexually assaulted on video.

Authorities arrested four men and three women in connection to the murder of Mahogany Jaquise Jackson, Birmingham police announced on Wednesday.

According to a local Alabama outlet, Jackson was reported missing on Sunday after her mother and sister received a message from her on Facebook messenger.

She sent me a text message that said she was being held hostage and sent her location, Gail Maddox, Jacksons mother, said.

The location Jackson sent was at Serenity Apartments in Birminghams Powderly community, but she was nowhere to be found when police arrived, according to the outlet.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmon said investigators were able to locate Jacksons body on the side of a road with help from the public.

Police located her body around 2:19 a.m. Monday and determined she had been shot.

Seven "acquaintances" have been arrested in connection to Mahogany Jaquise Jackson's murder. Facebook

Police believe Jackson and all seven suspects knew each other. I would say all these individuals were acquaintances, they were not strangers to one another, Thurmon said.

Giovonnie Clapp, 23; Blair Green, 25; and Sinya McCall, 23; were charged with felony murder, kidnapping in the first degree, and sodomy in the first degree.

Jeremiah McDowell, 18; Brandon Pope, 24; and Francis Harris, 25; were charged with capital murder/sodomy in the first degree and capital murder/kidnapping in the first degree.

Teja Lewis, 25, was also charged with felony murder and assault in the second degree with injury/weapon. Clapp also faces assault charges.

All suspects are being held without bond.

Thurmon declined to release specific details about Jacksons kidnapping but mentioned she was taken to several different locations, and the suspects recorded the sexual assault.

It was absolutely disgusting, Thurmond told reporters.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY)  A bus from Williamsburg-James City County Schools was involved in a crash Friday morning.

The school district confirmed there were about 30 James Blair Middle School students on the bus at the time of the crash. Eight of the students reported minor injuries and were evaluated at the scene.

Schools spokesperson Kara Wall told WAVY that out of an abundance of caution the students were all transported to Riverside Doctors Hospital.

WAVY also reached out to Williamsburg Police Friday morning to confirm when and where the crash happened. As of Friday night, we had not heard back.

Check with WAVY.com for updates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
UPDATE, 2/29/24: ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY)  Gabriel Hawthorne, 41, of Abbeville has been sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison then three years of supervised release, according to United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown.

ORIGINAL, 11/22/23: ABBEVILLE, La. (KLFY)  An Abbeville man has been found guilty by a federal jury for fentanyl trafficking, according to United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown.

In a week long fentanyl trafficking case, presided over by United States District Judge Robert R. Summerhays, Gabriel Hawthorne, 41, of Abbeville received a guilty verdict by the jury. Hawthorne was found guilty of the following:

Conspiring to distribute

Possess with intent to distribute controlled substances

One arrested, one wanted in human trafficking case in Calcasieu Parish

Hawthorne conspired with two others, Fredrick Malaki Thornton and Andrea Mitchell, to distribute heroin and fentanyl in the Abbeville area, according to information presented in court. Thornton and Mitchell each previously pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing, officials said.

Authorities said in March 2022, an individual exchanged a series of phone calls and text messages with Mitchell, who agreed to sell heroin to that individual. Mitchell arranged the distribution of the heroin with Thornton, who was her boyfriend at the time, and Hawthorne who was the supplier.

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Hawthorne owned a business, ZZs Kitchen, in Abbeville which was used to store the narcotics he would sell, according to officials. Information in court also revealed Mitchell admitted that Hawthorne would mix the heroin before giving it to her to sell.

The suspected heroin sold by Mitchell and Thornton was seized and sent to a DEA Laboratory for testing which resulted in a positive test for fentanyl, according to authorities.

Hawthorne faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release,

and a fine of up to $1,000,000.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com.
Joshua Feuerstein, a Forney Republican, met with Gov. Greg Abbotts campaign team on a Zoom call, seeking an endorsement in his primary challenge to Rep. Keith Bell.

Feuerstein said hed support the governors voucher legislation. Bell, R-Forney, was among the 21 House Republicans who blocked Abbotts priority voucher bill from passing into law last year.

They told me I was the perfect candidate, Feuerstein told The Texas Tribune. But no endorsement ever came.

After Abbott lost his hard-fought battle to pass vouchers last year, he vowed to rain fire on the primary campaigns of nearly two dozen fellow Republicans in the Texas House who defied his demands and joined with Democrats to block passage of his biggest priority.

And Abbott largely made good on his promise, making an unprecedented effort to unseat the disloyal, spending $4.4 million in the past month against incumbent House members and appearing repeatedly in their districts to endorse their opponents.

But, with the March 5 election just a few days away, six anti-voucher House GOP incumbents have managed to sidestep Abbotts wrath.

Reps. Bell, Justin Holland, Charlie Geren, Reggie Smith, Jay Dean and Ken King face a colorful slate of opponents who are solidly on Abbotts side of the voucher fight.

But none of those challengers have gotten the coveted Abbott nod, leaving many of them wondering, Why not me? as they watch other pro-voucher primary candidates enjoy the spoils of Abbotts lavish financial backing and star power.

@GregAbbott_TX ?? Vanished, Feuerstein wrote on X recently. Funny thing  I inherited all of the school choice enemies  and not a single dollar of support!

Abbotts campaign did not respond to emailed questions about how he makes his endorsement decisions or why a handful of pro-voucher candidates didnt make the cut.

For at least one of those races, theres a personal history to contend with.

Smith, of Sherman, is fighting his second primary challenge from Shelley Luther, a Dallas salon owner who was jailed in 2020 for defying Abbotts COVID-19-era business shut down. Her stand gave her national attention at Abbotts expense, setting off an avalanche of criticism from Republicans over the shut down. She went on to run for Texas Senate that year, calling Abbott a tyrant governor.

Luther could not be reached for comment for this story but she previously told the Tribune she would have welcomed Abbotts endorsement, even though he has twice denied her the privilege.

Gov. Abbott has courageously led the fight for more parental empowerment in education and I would be honored to fight alongside him to finally deliver this critical legislation, Luther wrote in an email.

But trash talking the governor didnt disqualify Brent Money, who earned Abbotts endorsement in the North Texas race to replace expelled Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City. Money has repeatedly bashed Abbott over the border and  much like the unendorsed Luther  on his policies about COVID. And days before Abbotts contested primary in February 2022, Money called Abbott weak and spineless in a tweet comparing him to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Abbott uses a wheelchair due to a 1984 accident that crushed his spine and paralyzed him from the waist down. Moneys tweet has since been deleted. Money is facing off against Jill Dutton. Both candidates say theyre pro-voucher.

Also getting the snub was Katrina Pierson, a Fox news personality and spokesperson for former President Donald Trump who is challenging Holland. Pierson did not respond to requests for comment.

Holland said he wonders if the reason his race was spared was because of his historically good relationship with Abbotts office, one that was protected last session when he was in constant communication with Abbott while he carried critical legislation to continue agencies such as the Public Utility Commission and ERCOT.

With the force that he came out against my colleagues who voted the same exact way that I did, I did wonder if he was going to [get involved], Holland said in an interview. I don't know why he left me alone, but I like to attribute it to my relationships with people inside the [Capitol] building. And maybe I'm completely naive or wrong in that, but I tried to build and maintain good relationships, including with the governor's office.

Joe McDaniel, an East Texas businessman challenging Dean, said he chose to run against the Longview Republican because of what he described as a liberal voting record, including his school voucher vote. He said in an email to the Tribune that he looks forward to championing School Choice if elected, but that he doesnt know why Abbott has remained silent. Deans campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

You should probably direct that question to Abbott, he said in the email. I have zero control in what the Gov. does.

Five of the primary challengers have won endorsements from Attorney General Ken Paxton, who vowed to work against Republicans who voted last year to impeach him over corruption charges, of which he was later acquitted by the Senate. Like many of the incumbents theyre challenging, they claim hard-right positions on issues such as immigration, abortion, and the border.

And many of them have gotten considerable funding from pro-voucher forces like the Family Empowerment Coalition PAC, or through a PAC funded by West Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn, a Paxton supporter and conservative activist. Others are struggling: One challenger, Bonnie Walters, has reported no funding or major endorsements at all in her challenge to Dean.

However, Abbotts endorsement seems to carry more weight at the voting booth than Paxtons, according to a poll earlier this year by the University of Houston.

One reason Abbott might be staying out of some of the races is that he doesnt want to back a candidate who is unable to win against an incumbent considered too difficult to beat.

Abbott is often rumored to be preparing for a run for higher office, and so the stakes are high in terms of how strongly he can control and influence voters, said Renee Cross, senior executive director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, which ran the endorsement poll. A few years ago, he backed a handful of primary opponents for incumbent House Republicans and only won half of them.

Hes going to want this to be a success, she said. You do have to draw the line at some point. He is being very strategic and cautious because these decisions are being made most likely with more than just the next [legislative] session in mind. If he is looking to run for a different office in the future, backing some of these folks could be detrimental to him.

Republican primary voters in Gerens moderate Fort Worth district, for example, have sent him to Austin 12 times in spite of repeated attacks from pro-voucher forces and other hard-right groups. He didnt have a primary opponent in the last two cycles. Geren is also in House leadership, along with Smith and King, showing there may be a limit to how much Abbott is willing to test his relationship in the lower chamber.

In the most recent campaign finance reporting period, opponent Jack Reynolds, an adjunct professor and a math teacher at a public high school, raised $5,498  just 2% of what Geren took in. He has been endorsed by Paxton but no other statewide officials, according to his campaign site.

Reynolds said he wasnt surprised when Abbotts campaign, after meeting with him for a potential endorsement, decided not to spend his resources in a race where the incumbent has an iron grip on this district and where an unknown like him has an uphill battle.

I can certainly understand the governors position, he told the Tribune in an interview. I think asking him to crawl out on this limb with me was a bit much, but it was close. I think they gave it some serious consideration.

He views Abbotts silence on him as more of a reflection on Geren, whom the governor has endorsed in the past. That says something, Reynolds said. This is a governor who has lost a lot of confidence in Charlie Geren.

And in other cases where Abbott didnt endorse, the candidate in question may simply be too politically radioactive or controversial for Abbott to risk his money and reputation, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

If you're going to come at an incumbent Republican from the right, you're probably going to be very far right, oftentimes in the fringe, Rottinghaus said. So that's a risk that the governor would be taking if he endorses candidates who seem to be at the margins in terms of their politics, or who have other kinds of personal baggage that can be used against them.

Feuerstein, who offered to take a militia to the Texas-Mexico border and whose viral videos included a 2015 rant about how the red cups used by Starbucks constituted a war on Christmas, said he thinks he intimidates the political establishment. Feuerstein said he was recruited to run by Paxton.

Paxtons the only one whos kept his word, he wrote. I scare the establishment, he said. They know they cant control me. Im loud and I dont play by the rules. They want polished cadets  and Im a Wild West gunslinger.

But Feuerstein says hes not bothered by the lack of support from the top because thats not the support he needs to get to Austin.

Its not an Abbott endorsement Im seeking, he wrote in a text. He doesnt vote in our election. Its the everyday American Im seeking to endorse me with their vote. Thats what matters!

State Rep. Ernest Bailes, R-Shepherd, who killed an 11th-hour attempt during the regular session to shove a voucher bill through the House without a public hearing, said he thinks Abbotts decision-making is personal  at least in his case.

Bailes is one of Abbotts top primary targets, having openly defied the governor on several occasions over the issue of vouchers, both in person and in public statements.

Im happy for them, he said of the incumbents who were spared. I consider every one of those guys my friends. Maybe those guys didn't speak up as vocally against what his top priority was, and I did. I don't do well at playing politics. My priority is to do the absolute best job that I can and vote for my district, and then come home be the husband, father and businessman that I need to be at home.

Disclosure: University of Houston has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)  Abilene firefighters arrived at a house fire on the 5000 block of Llano Street in West Abilene at about 10:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. First responders reported heavy smoke from the two-story structure and mounted an attack from the inside. Everyone in the home at the time was able to escape, though one person was stated to have sustained minor burn injuries. Now, this family of 13 has lost their home of two years and is reeling from the shock.

1 person injured in Abilene house fire

He (The father) was traumatized by the fire. And when I came in, we prayed for him, and I started counseling them. And now he is doing much better; hes okay, said Abilene Pastor Ali Mitachi.

Mitachi is the pastor of this familys home church, Portland Ave. Free Methodist Church. He says he rushed to the home when he heard of the fire, hoping to offer whatever help he could to the family. And his congregation followed.

For now, as the church, we are trying to help them wherever we can I called the members of the church to come help after the firefighters allowed us to remove some stuff, Mitachi said.

Together, they helped salvage and pack what they could. The church has opened its doors for the family while they wait for the Red Cross or the International Rescue Committee to assist in their relocation.

Mitachi said he was moved, though not surprised, to see his congregation stepping up to put actions to their words and helping out their brothers and sisters in Christ in a true display of neighborly love.

Thats the good thing we are preaching every time. When somebody is in need or in troubleStep in and help. Thats a good thing, said Mitachi.

A news release from the Abilene Fire Department states that the fire was started by an electrical arc in an upstairs wall. The damage has been estimated to total $50,000. It is currently unknown if the family will be able to salvage the interior of their home.

Pastor Mitachi shared that their main need right now is for food. After that, they are in need of clothing and mattresses to replace what was damaged in the fire.

If you want to help, Mitachi said donations can be dropped off at the Portland Ave. Free Methodist Church. You can also get in contact by phone at (325) 232-2371.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com.
Activists now facing felony charges in red powder attack on US Constitution

Two activists accused of throwing a red powder on the U.S. Constitution display case at the National Archives last month are now facing felony charges, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Friday.

Donald Zepeda, 35, of Maryland, and Jackson Green, 27, of Utah, were charged with felony destruction of government property for dumping the fine red powder all over the display case in an indictment that was unsealed in District Count on Thursday, per the DOJ.

Conservationists worked to clean up the buildings rotunda after the protestors dumped the powder as part of a stunt intended to draw attention to climate change. The cost of cleaning up the powder has already exceeded $50,000 and closed the rotunda for four days, the DOJ said.

The Associated Press was granted access to the rotunda, where employees were cleaning the pinkish-red powder from the nooks and crannies of the documents protective housing. Crews were hesitant to use water or liquids to clean the powder since they did not know what it consisted of.

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. (William J. Bosanko/National Archives via AP)

A conservator told the news wire they were fortunate none of the pigment penetrated the casing and the document is undamaged.

The powder, made of pigment and cornstarch, was so fine that an industrial vacuum couldnt pick it up and crews were on their hands and knees until midnight cleaning it before resuming the next day, the AP reported.

The Archives rotunda houses the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Green was previously charged in a separate vandalism act at the National Gallery of Art on Nov. 14. He was charged with one count of destruction of property.

He was also ordered by a district judge to stay away from Washington and all museums and public monuments. Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered he be held in a Washington jail on Feb. 22 for violating the order.

Zepeda was arrested while on his way to Raleigh, N.C., to meet with another environmental protestor.

Supporters of the men filmed the act of protest. In a video posted to social media, one of the men said they were determined to foment a rebellion.

We all deserve clean air, water, food and a livable climate, he said, according to the AP.

The case is being investigated by the FBIs Washington Field Office.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 1. Uzbekistans Humo Air private airline has announced the temporary suspension of all flights during the "reset", Trend reports.

According to Humo Air, flights will not be operated starting March 10. The pause will tentatively last until April, and the company promises to announce the exact date of the resumption of flights later.

As noted in the announcement, the carrier is preparing to launch international flights on routes near and far abroad. Before that, the company will carry out re-planning and restructuring.

All tickets sold for dates after March 10 will be automatically canceled. Humo Air assured passengers of a guaranteed refund and emphasized that it will soon publish detailed refund instructions.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan Airways will start operating flights to Rome (Italy) on March 31. Flights to Mumbai (India) will be launched on April 1.

Uzbekistan will resume flights to Georgian Batumi on May 29. The airline will launch flights to Nha Trang (Vietnam) for the first time on May 4.
From Gravity and Interstellar to The Martian, Ad Astra, and High Life, the sad-astronaut sci-fi movie has lately become a subgenre unto itself, and Johan Rencks Spaceman now joins its weepy ranks. A tediously maudlin saga about a Czech cosmonaut on a mission to the far reaches of the galaxy who really misses his wife and cant get over his dads mistakesand finds a way to cope with both courtesy of an unexpected new alien palits a star vehicle for Adam Sandler that strives for stratospheric emotional heights and yet proves so self-seriously somber and saccharine that it plays like a leaden parody.

Jakub (Sandler) moves about his spaceship with sunken cheeks, exhausted body language and a haggard look in his eyes. This is nominally due to the fact that his toilet wont stop making horrible noises that are keeping him up at night and slowly driving him insane. Mostly, though, its because hes sad. In case this wasnt immediately obvious, Chernobyl director Rencks film (on Netflix March 1), adapted from Jaroslav Kalfars book, has Jakub make a PR phone call down to Earth, during which a young sixth-grader tells him that she read that hes the loneliest man in the world. Jakub denies this but hes unconvincing, and his spirits arent lifted by the notion that hes on the cusp of saving the universe from a big purple mass of particles on the outskirts of Jupiter dubbed the Chopra Cloud that hes been sent to investigate, all by himself, on a year-long solo mission.

Five-hundred million kilometers from home, Jakubs only real contact is with Peter (The Big Bang Theorys Kunal Nayyar), his mission control buddy, whose job it is to keep Jakub in good mental and physical shape. Alas, thats difficult because Jakub is so sad, and the present cause of his sadness is his inability to use his video phone to reach his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan). Peter makes excuses about why Jakub cant connect with his spouse but Spaceman makes clear that its because Lenka, who is pregnant, is also sad, and her sadness has to do with her husband. Having once again been abandoned by Jakub, Lenka is akin to the loneliest woman in the world, and as her cosmonaut baby daddy approaches Chopra Cloud, she sends him a recorded message notifying him that shes ending their marriage. Yet unfortunately for her, Jakubs boss (Isabella Rossellini) blocks that transmission from getting to the cosmonaut because she recognizes that hes already sad enough and making him sadder still will simply further jeopardize their venture.

Spaceman exists in an alternate reality in which the space race is led by the Czech Republic and South Korea (whose emissaries are hot on Jakubs tail), and its scant contextual details are mostly puzzling, such as Lenkas eventual relocation to a rural convent for single mothers. Instead, the primary emphasis is on Jakubs visage, which segues from forlorn to scared when, one morning, he awakens to discover that his ship has a surprise second inhabitant: a giant extraterrestrial spider that speaks in the calmly curious and wise voice of Paul Dano. Beset by nightmares about his father as well as wistful dreams about Lenka, Jakub assumes that this creature is an additional figment of his imagination, especially since it doesnt register on any of Peters sensors. However, once he gets over his initial alarm (exacerbated by a recent reverie about a spider crawling under his skin), Jakub slowly befriends the beast, and even gives him a name: Hanus.

Adam Sandler Netflix

While Hanus doesnt reveal how he boarded Jakubs vessel, he does explain why hes there: Your loneliness intrigued me. This makes Hanus the cosmonauts de facto marriage counselor, there to plumb the depths of his malaise, and Spaceman soon has the creature invading Jakubs mind, forcing him to revisit his memories about his dad and his wife, all of them shot with a fish-eye-lensed smeariness thats as affected as the materials overarching air of solemnityhere exacerbated by director Rencks decision to shroud virtually everything on the ground and in the stars in murky darkness. What they reveal is that, despite loving Lenka, Jakub has a habit of constantly leaving her for space, and that he thinks becoming a global hero will somehow absolve him of his fathers prior communist-treachery sins. You go where I go, and I go where you go, says Lenka in recurring flashbacks, and the fact that Jakub has reneged on this deal is central to his (and her) discontent.

Hanus (voiced by Paul Dano) Netflix

Interpreting Jakubs condition isnt tricky because Spaceman both wears its heart on its sleeve and says precisely what its thinking, the latter to the point of exasperation. If I only saw her like I saw her then, Jakub laments. If I had known then what I know now, I never would have left, he bemoans. You were right there in front of me and I didnt see you, he opines. Sandlers protagonist never stops articulating the films main points, and neither does Hanus, who tells his human compatriot, You need to come back with a very different discovery, but all you can see is yourself. This is far more irritating than Hanus goofy fondness for calling Jakub skinny human, and it grows more pronounced as Spaceman nears the Chopra Cloud, whose ancient particles are, per Hanus, from The Beginning and, therefore, destined to help Jakub get in touch with the origins of his own feelings for Lenka. Cue uncontrollable groaning.

Adam Sandler Netflix

Renck vainly reaches for operatic grandeur by cutting away to CGI vistas of the Chopra Cloud (and, also, by peppering his soundtrack with opera), and with a late sequence, he provides his own weak 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque voyage through cosmic time and space. Those gestures, however, are as mechanical as the films melodramatic maneuvers. Even with Sandler doing a serviceable downbeat-loner routine and Mulligan matching his every gloomy look, nothing about Spaceman is enchanting and even less resonates as moving. Its a sad space trip that so desperately wants you to know that it's sad, and to feel its sadness, that it just winds up being the absolute wrong kind of sad.

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Winnie Greco, a senior adviser to Mayor Adams, is on paid sick leave after suffering a medical episode during an FBI raid at her Bronx home Thursday morning, according to a City Hall official.

The medical episode was serious enough that the feds called an ambulance that took Greco to a local hospital, the official, who insisted on speaking only on the condition of anonymity, said Friday. The official declined to characterize the medical episode or say whether Grecos still in the hospital, but confirmed she went on paid sick leave after the raid.

A source briefed on the matter told the Daily News that Greco was complaining of back pain before the ambulance arrived.

The FDNY confirmed it received a call for medical assistance at Grecos home at 6:53 a.m. Thursday  right around the time neighbors said the raid started. A person was then taken by ambulance from the house to nearby Montefiore Hospital, according to the FDNY, which would not confirm details about the individuals name or condition.

Greco has not returned calls and texts this week.

City Hall initially declined to say Thursday whether Grecos leave was paid. On Friday, the City Hall official said shes not performing any city government duties for the time being and that shell have to go on unpaid leave after her medical absence is over, unless she has vacation time accrued.

Adams first revealed in a blitz of TV and radio news appearances earlier Friday that Greco is on sick leave that he described as being unrelated at this time to the FBI search at her home. He also said he continues to have full confidence in Greco despite the FBI activity and didnt rule out letting her return to work.

We will do an evaluation based on information that comes in, he said when asked if Greco can eventually come back to City Hall, where she receives a $100,000 salary as the mayors Asian Affairs director.

Around dawn Thursday, the feds raided Grecos primary residence on Gillespie Ave. in Pelham Bay as well as a second home she owns on the same street. Additionally, the feds raided the offices of New World Mall in Queens, where Greco helped host a number of fundraisers for Adams 2021 campaign, some of which have drawn legal concern from city regulators.

The focus of the federal investigation that prompted the Greco raids remains unknown. The searches come after Greco became the subject of a city Department of Investigation probe last year after the news outlet The City reported she made a volunteer for Adams 2021 campaign renovate her Bronx home for free before continuing to demand he perform work at her residence upon him getting a job in the Adams administration.

On top of the scrutinized fundraisers at New World Mall, Greco reportedly also pressed a businessman for a $10,000 donation to a nonprofit she founded in exchange for admission to a government event hosted by Adams at Gracie Mansion.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in Brooklyn, which is leading the investigation into Greco, declined to comment Friday.

Greco, who has ties to local Chinese interest groups that receive funding from Beijings Communist government, started working for Adams while he was Brooklyn borough president. She was also a prolific fundraiser for Adams successful 2021 run.

Grecos the third Adams adviser to be raided by the FBI in the past few months.

In November, the feds raided the homes of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and City Hall aide Rana Abbasova as part of an investigation into whether the Turkish government funneled illegal foreign money into the mayors 2021 campaign. A few days after those raids, FBI agents stopped Adams in the street and seized his electronics, including his cellphones, as part of the same probe. Abbasova was suspended without pay while Suggs was reassigned to a different position in the campaign.

The Turkey probe is led by the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan and believed to be separate from the Greco investigation.

Adams, who has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with either probe, said on PIX11 he has not been contacted by the feds about Greco and sought to downplay the significance of the raid at her homes.

Whenever theres an inquiry, that review must be done and thats the process, he said. I tell everyone to follow the law.

Asked whether he should have done better vetting of his City Hall hires, given the recent flurry of law enforcement activity, Adams demurred. We did a great job of vetting, he said on 1010WINS.

Beyond the federal inquiries, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg last year indicted a group of Adams supporters, including a retired NYPD inspector friendly with the mayor, on charges they orchestrated a sweeping straw donor scheme to boost the mayors 2021 campaign. The NYPD inspector, Dwayne Montgomery, who has been described as the mastermind of that scheme, pleaded guilty to his role in the straw donor effort earlier this month.

Last summer, Bragg also indicted Eric Ulrich, Adams first Buildings Department commissioner, on bribery charges. Ulrich has pleaded not guilty.

With Thomas Tracy
As two San Luis Obispo County hospitals prepare to change hands from Tenet Healthcare to Adventist Health, all services currently offered will remain as they are, a spokesperson for the faith-based healthcare company told The Tribune.

According to an email to The Tribune from Adventist Health corporate communication executive Japhet De Oliveira, the new owners of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton will not make changes to the availability of services such as reproductive healthcare, LGBTQ+ care or end-of-life care.

In the email, Adventist Health said its hospitals provide full-scope general reproductive services and gynecology services in line with federal and state laws.

We firmly believe that decisions regarding reproductive care should be made by the patients and their healthcare providers, De Oliveira said in the email. We highly value and respect the expertise and judgment of our healthcare providers and trust them to make the best decisions for their patients based on their unique needs and circumstances.

De Oliveira also said Adventist Health is not in the business of interfering in the relationship between a patient and their provider when providing care to LGBTQ+ clients.

We respect, honor and trust our providers to make care decisions based on the individual needs of their patients and in accordance with their patients wishes, De Oliveira said. The services available at new markets and their associated clinics will not change.

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo is one of two San Luis Obispo County hospitals being sold to Adventist Health.

Who is Adventist Health?

According to its about page, Adventist Health began in 1866 with a healthcare ministry with the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Like our church forefathers, we promote wellness and treatment of the whole person  mind, body and spirit, the website said. However, we are separately owned and operated.

The nonprofit company represents 26 hospitals and more than 400 clinics across the West Coast, with the nearest location to San Luis Obispo County in Hanford, according to the website.

It does not participate under the death with dignity legislation in states it operates out of a respect for life, according to the website.

Since 2015, the state of California has permitted people over 19 diagnosed with a terminal illness and less than six months to live to end their lives under the California End of Life Option Act.

The company said a referral may be provided if a patient requests assistance under a death with dignity law.

Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton.

Company buys SLO County hospitals for $550 million

According to a Tenet Healthcare release Thursday, the sale agreement between the providers is for approximately $550 million, with after-tax proceeds of approximately $450 million.

Tenet said the two purchased hospitals and their related options generated revenues of approximately $337 million in 2023, bringing home $38 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation (EBITDA)  an alternate measure of profitability.

As a result, Tenet expects to see a pre-tax gain of approximately $275 million from the sale, according to the release.

In 2022, Adventists total revenue was $5.4 billion, with an EBITDA of $17 million, according to its website.

California Health Facilities Financing Authorities review of Adventists financial state in November 2022 found that the organization had been operating with a negative fiscal margin since 2019 as a result of ongoing losses, wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The review noted the company has since been focused upon expansion into more markets to help diversify its portfolio of hospitals and clinics and was working to secure its cash flow.

We expect Adventist Health will meaningfully improve operations during the outlook period as volumes continue to rebound, pandemic-related impacts lessen and the planned operating improvements are implemented, the review said.

As of March 2023, credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings listed Adventist Health as stable with an A- bond rating.
TILDEN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WJMN)  Environmental advocates voiced concern over Cleveland-Cliffs plan to expand the Tilden Mine site during a public hearing hosted by the Department of Energy, Great Lakes and Environment Wednesday night.

The expansion would deposit over 540,000,000 long tons of waste rock at least partly outside of the existing boundaries of the mine in order to continue its plan to extend the life of the mine.

The expansion would impact 303 acres northwest of Tilden Mine, affecting local wetlands and streams, including Ely Creek. According to EGLE, the current plan would permanently fill 32.4 acres of emergent wetland, 19.2 acres of forested wetland, and 26.3 acres of scrub-shrub wetlands.

Storing the waste rock on the wetlands would also permanently fill over 4,600 linear feet of headwater streams in the Escanaba River Watershed, but CCI is also proposing to restore over 12,000 linear feet of stream offsite but in the same watershed.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The public meeting consisted of a presentation, Q & A session, and public comment period. The theme of several questions focused on possible alternatives to the current plan, including why the mine couldnt use any land on the inactive Empire Mine property.

Any time youve got a project where youre basically looking for an area to to store material, the its an obvious question is why cant you do it somewhere else?, said Ryan McCone with EGLE. We do ask those questions quite, quite frequently. The the matter at hand has to do with whether or not the until the mine company can be profitable is if its if its worth the investment and moving them to that bar or if that would basically make it a feasible project from a financial standpoint.

















Another question submitted asked doesnt three the 303 administrative code make it clear that additional alternatives can be considered and economics are not the only or primary consideration In Part 301?

McCone responded, Yeah, economics is definitely not the only or even the primary consideration under 301 or 303. That is correct. And its part of the current application. The documents vetted include, I believe, at least six different alternatives that were considered and provides the kind of positives, negatives or cost benefits.

Other participants asked how the existence of a nesting pair of bald eagles on the proposed waste rock site could prevent the permit from being issued.













During public comment several advocates and leaders of local environmentalist groups spoke out against the expansion. Kathleen Heideman, a board member of the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition said this:

My names Kathleen Heitman. Im a resident of Marquette County and a board member of Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition. In reviewing this permit thoroughly, I believe Tildens alternatives analysis is inadequate because they assume that project is in the public good. They discuss economic benefits but fail to estimate the value of wetlands and streams that would be destroyed under the permit. This project is not a wetland project and it fails to demonstrate that all of the alternatives have been investigated. The Tilden Mine stockpile expansion endangers wetlands, streams, wildlife that depend on these ecosystems, water quality and long term quality of life for the surrounding residents. The wetland impacts are truly massive. This mine is asking to destroy 77.9 acres of wetlands, nearly a mile of first order streams and historic beaver ponds and 300 acres of wild land buried under waste rock. No serious consideration was given to the cumulative environmental impacts of this environmental debt that has been growing larger for decades with the cumulative environmental impact so large, you can see it from the International Space Station. If you read through the Tilden permit application and you didnt know anything about the project area, youd reach the conclusion that Ely Creek is an eyesore, a little logged wasteland with poor water quality and no value, or just a useless swamp. Cliffs wants the regulator to assume that all the wetland and stream impacts are necessary and unavoidable, and they claim that no special plants or wildlife are threatenedalthough they didnt actually look for themand there are no endangered species of state concern to be harmed. The best thing to do from their purely economic point of view is bury the wetlands under a mountain of waste rock. Those who actually know the area realize that Ely Creek is a designated trout stream, Grass Lake and Tilden Pond are historic beaver ponds. The application fails to acknowledge the value of beavers as a keystone species, which have been engineering this area for generations. The applicant says, is no baseline data for the project area and does not mention a book by Lewis Henry Morgan called The American Beaver in his works, published in 1868, which offers a rare baseline study of the Ely Creek and Grass Lake ecosystem, complete with maps and diagrams prior to iron mining in 1868. There is an occupied eagle nest in the Tilden Mine Stockpile expansion, and the project area is frequented by wolves. Cliffs to request to destroy wetlands in streams. Here is part of a larger, unacknowledged pattern for too long. They have been operating operating iron mines 175 years, but did not include the comprehensive environmental impact study in their permit. Kathleen Heideman

Local 3 reached out to EGLE Environmental Quality Analyst Hunter King for additional information.

King tells us that no permitting decision by EGLE has yet been made, and that the public comment period is still open until March 9. Then other federal agencies will give EGLE their opinion before April 1, with EGLE likely making a decision by April 13.

On the meeting, King said, EGLE sincerely appreciates the public interest, comments, and concerns provided by participants in yesterdays public hearing. We remain committed to making scientifically sound permitting decisions grounded in statute.

You can find more information about Tilden Mine and the proposed expansion through EGLEs MiEnviro Portal.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJMN - UPMatters.com.
The News

A new generation of African solar power entrepreneurs is finding ways to work around the market barriers  including high capital costs, gun-shy banks, and faltering utilities  that have prevented the sun-drenched continent from embracing its most obvious solution to energy poverty.

While solar adoption is soaring in wealthier regions, it remains startlingly low in Africa. As of 2022, only about 13 gigawatts of solar capacity had been installed across the entire continent, a tenth of U.S. capacity and nearly 10 times less than what China installed in that year alone. Of that amount, two-thirds is concentrated in just three of the richest countries: South Africa, Egypt, and Morocco. The regions solar shortfall is a missed opportunity to solve not only its small carbon footprint, but also the fact that half the population remains without any access to electricity at all. And for those that have access, it tends to be expensive and unreliable. But as the cost of solar panels reaches record lows, companies are experimenting with new financial models that could finally turn the situation around. That includes AI-enabled fintech, development bank-assisted utility reform, and old-fashioned M&A.

Tims view

For African countries, the biggest obstacle to building out the solar industry is that the financing tricks used in China, Europe, and the U.S. to clear the way for widespread solar adoption  government subsidies and utility payments to solar-equipped customers  cant work in places where states, utilities, and households are all chronically strapped for cash. At the same time, supply chain problems and the widespread perception by financial institutions that investments in Africa are high-risk mean that the cost of solar is far higher than in other places  the same solar system costs twice as much in Ghana as in the U.S. Bringing down the cost of capital requires a stronger track record of profitable investments than what the industry has been able to show so far. That means new business models are needed to make solar affordable for a broader base of customers.

The View From South Africa

South Africas perennial blackouts  the product of aging, mismanaged grids and coal-fired power plants  are driving a rush to rooftop solar. Retail banks that were previously averse to writing loans for solar projects are now setting aside a lot of money to do so, said Tim Ohlsen, co-founder of Johannesburg fintech startup Hohm Energy. But the gold-rush mentality around solar has launched a cottage industry of ad-hoc, mom-and-pop installation companies that have earned a reputation for shoddy work. As a result, Ohlsen said, banks require a mountain of paperwork for solar loans that can make a loan as cumbersome as getting a mortgage: Theres a lot of unnecessary friction in the system.

Hohm, which last week closed an $8 million seed fundraising round, spotted an opportunity in smoothing some of that friction. The company uses AI-based design software to plan rooftop solar projects for its clients, and then streamlines the loan paperwork and connects the homeowners to lenders. To set the lenders at ease, the company also keeps tabs on construction and will intervene with installers that do poor-quality work. Last year, the company processed 13,000 applications. Were a software business when everyone else in the space today is still very much a hardware construction company, Ohlsen said. Hohm is now developing a new financial service that will allow low-income households to have solar installed on a lease-to-own basis, essentially replacing their monthly electric bill with a lower payment to a solar company.

The View From Madagascar

For Groupe Filatex, the largest private power producer in Madagascar, scaling up solar has meant re-engineering the companys relationship with its main customer, the national electric utility. Hasnaine Yavarhoussen, the companys CEO, set out in 2019 to supplement some of its traditional power plants, which run on expensive, highly polluting heavy fuel oil, with large-scale solar. But financing for the project proved difficult  a commitment by the utility to buy power from him was worth little because the utilities own finances were so troubled.

Yavarhoussen was eventually able to raise enough capital for an initial small solar installation, which replaced 10% of the companys heavy fuel consumption. But to reach his longer-term goal to cut fuel consumption by 80%, he needed help from the World Bank. The bank is working on reforms at the utility that should improve its credit rating, which should in turn make it easier for Filatex to get loans. Yavarhoussen is also working to expand his customer base, by building solar panels at an industrial manufacturing center the company operates and selling the power to the companies that lease space there. Solar farms that can sell power on-site have the advantage of avoiding the costs and complications of the grid. Yavarhoussens advice for other power project developers in Africa looking to break into solar farms is to start small, even if the returns on the first project arent ideal: If you can demonstrate real impact with a small phase, then its hard for the utility, the government, or the World Bank to support you.

The View From Rwanda

Yariv Cohen sees the biggest opportunities in the smallest market: Remote, off-grid villages, where even a solar panel small enough to power just a few lights and phone chargers can have a huge impact on residents quality of life. His company, Ignite, is one of the continents top retailers of small-scale solar and has sold panels on a $1-per-month subscription basis in 15,000 villages across eight countries. Africas small-scale solar industry is crowded with companies like Ignite, but the costs of distributing and maintaining a last-mile solar network are high. The only way to make it pencil out, Cohen said, is to reach the scale of selling at least 50,000 systems per year. Ignite is on a spree of acquisitions, snapping up smaller rivals that cant compete with its scale; it recently bought two solar companies in Kenya, is about to close another in an undisclosed West African country, and is in negotiations on at least six more, he said.

Room for Disagreement

In some cases, development banks are still part of the problem, said Todd Moss, executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub, a nonprofit think tank. Over the last decade, high-profile solar programs led by the International Finance Corporation and U.S. State Department have made little progress on the continent because they have obscured how much they subsidized the projects they worked on. That has left private investors with a warped perspective of how much it should cost to build solar, and driven them away from sensible projects that werent quite as cheap to build, per kilowatt-hour, as what the IFC advertised it had accomplished in one-off projects in Zambia, Senegal, and elsewhere.

Theres no way were going to scale clean energy if every contract is tailor-written behind closed doors, Moss said. And unfortunately, thats the status quo in many countries.
The Airbnb logo is displayed on a computer screen. Photo by Carl Court | Getty Images

Gila Countys regulation of short-term rental properties is drawing scrutiny from one of the countys GOP legislators, who wants the attorney general to weigh in on whether the county is following a state law limiting local regulations of rentals.

Late last year, the Gila County Board of Supervisors adopted a 16-page ordinance that enacts a number of regulations and restrictions on short-term rental properties, like those listed on Airbnb and Vrbo. The ordinance goes much further than similar ordinances adopted by other Arizona counties and municipalities.

One of the regulations includes a $250 annual fee, which the county has said will help pay for a full-time code compliance officer who will enforce the new regulations. It also allows for the county to revoke the license of a short-term rental after three violations of the new ordinance.

That has prompted state Sen. Wendy Rogers, a Flagstaff Republican whose district includes Gila County, to ask Attorney General Kris Mayes to issue a formal legal opinion on whether the ordinance violates a state law that preempts cities, towns and counties from enacting certain regulations around the use of short-term rental properties. Rogers letter appears to take issue with the annual fee and using that money to pay for enforcement of the local ordinance.

Rogers did not respond to repeated requests for comment about her opinion request. The Gila County Board of Supervisors also did not respond to a request for comment.

State neighborhood advocates who have been fighting for increased regulations on short-term rentals argue that they believe the letter is an attempt to initiate whats known as a 1487 complaint against Gila County.

In 2016, GOP lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1487, which permits any legislator to order the AG to review an action by any municipality or county if they believe that action violates the state law. If the attorney general determines the local action violates state law, the cities face a suspension of the sales- and income tax revenue the state government collects and shares with cities until the action is corrected.

Other cities that have passed regulations around short-term rentals have faced similar challenges.

I think she is fishing for material to make some sort of 1487 complaint, Susan Edwards, chair of the Arizona Neighborhood Alliance, said to the Arizona Mirror. The Arizona Neighborhood Alliance has been focused on finding solutions to how short-term rentals are impacting communities across the state.

The same year that SB1487 was passed, the Arizona legislature also created a law that prohibits municipalities from enacting regulations on short-term rentals except in specific circumstances.

At the time, the new law was touted by then-Gov. Doug Ducey and other lawmakers as a way to boost the short-term rental market. But after a string of complaints from cities and towns that found themselves with no way to go after bad actors, Ducey later said since that lawmakers should revisit the ban on local regulations.

The anti-regulation law was model legislation from the American Legislative Exchange Council, an organization that connects corporations with state legislators  almost exclusively Republicans  so they can craft pro-business legislation.

In many instances, the result is legislation that is simultaneously pushed in statehouses across the country. The short-term rental company Vrbo is a member of the trade association NetChoice, whose president sits on ALECs Private Enterprise Advisory Council.

ALEC has a strong presence in Arizona, with many GOP members of both the House and Senate Republican caucus having ties to the group.

Since the ALEC model legislation became law in 2016, other legislation aimed at short-term has stalled, including efforts this year.

Eleven different bills aimed at the short-term rental industry were introduced this session, but all were killed. On Feb. 22, Republican legislative leaders attended a luncheon at the Arizona Capitol with short-term rental industry leaders, where they celebrated the bills dying.

There have been a lot, a ton, a litany of regulations that have come here in the 12 years I have been down here aimed at short-term rentals. Do you know how many of them I voted for? Zero, Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said to a crowd of short-term rental owners and lobbyists in a recording obtained by the Mirror. A source who attended the event said that Rogers and other legislative Republicans, including House Speaker Ben Toma, were present.

Petersen himself has owned and operated a short-term rental property, though the property now operates as a traditional rental. Petersen also initiated a 1487 complaint against Paradise Valley for the towns short-term rental regulations.

Its your property. Do what you want to do with your property, Petersen told short-term rental industry leaders, who responded with applause.

Edwards and other advocates say that the proliferation of short-term rentals is continuing to have an outsized impact on Arizona communities. Sedona has seen a surge in STRs and a loss in affordable housing since the passage of the 2016 law, and more than 40% of the citys workforce now lives outside Sedonas borders.

Weve got to change that composition of the legislature, Edwards said, adding that people who care about neighborhoods need to be elected to the statehouse in November. Democratic lawmakers have generally fought for further regulations, a point Petersen made in his speech to the crowd of short-term rental property owners.

I dont know how confident Ill be able to say that after November, Petersen said of blocking short-term rental regulation at the legislature. Petersen singled out his Democratic colleagues as the ones who vote for and are behind many of the bills aimed at short-term rentals. Republicans control both chambers by a single vote, and Democrats are expected to spend heavily in this years elections in a bid to flip control of the legislature.

As long as the Republicans control the Senate and the House, unfortunately, the outlook is not great, Edwards said, adding that short-term rentals are destroying the fabric of communities in our state.

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The post AG asked to weigh in on Gila Countys regulation of short-term rentals appeared first on Arizona Mirror.
AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF)  An Aiken man has died after a two-vehicle accident.

According to the Aiken County Coroners Office the accident happened on Friday, March 1st at approximately 10:23 A.M. at the intersection of Hitchcock Parkway and

Northwood Drive.

Authorities say Isaiah Johnson, 33, was driving a 2010 Honda Civic traveling east on Hitchcock Parkway when he crossed the centerline and collided with an Aiken County Emergency Medical Service ambulance that was traveling west on Hitchcock Parkway.

ALSO ON WJBF: Bicyclist hit, killed by train on Washington Rd. identified

According to the Coroners Office, Johnson was pronounced dead on the

scene and will be autopsied Monday in Newberry.

Authorities state that the EMS unit was transporting a patient at the time of the accident, and that patient along with the driver of the ambulance and the EMS employee who was attending to the patient were transported to the hospital for their injuries.

The Aiken County Coroners Office and South Carolina Highway Patrol are continuing with this investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
Ukraine shot down all four Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on March 1, the Air Force said in its morning update.

The drones were launched from Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk in Russia. Mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force repelled the attack over Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Russian forces also reportedly used five S-300 ballistic missiles, launching them from the occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast and from Belgorod Oblast in Russia.

The Air Force did not specify which Ukraine regions were targeted with missiles.

Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that at night, Russian troops attacked the city of Vovchansk in the region with multiple-launch rocket systems, damaging a warehouse and four hangars. No casualties were reported.

Drone attacks are a daily occurrence in Ukraine, affecting various regions across the country. Overnight on Feb. 28, Ukraines air defense downed 10 out of 10 Russian drones.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Jack Teixeira pleaded not guilty in 2023 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information. He intends to switch his plea on Monday, according to unnamed sources in multiple news reports. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira is expected to plead guilty in federal court Monday to leaking classified information on social media.

Federal prosecutors told a judge Thursday that Teixeira intended to change his plea after previously pleading not guilty according to the New York Times.

CBS News reported Teixeira reached a deal with federal prosecutors, who filed a motion Thursday for a Rule 11 hearing on Monday, in which a judge will weigh whether the guilty plea is voluntary and adequate.

The charges to which he will plead were not disclosed. According to ABC News, the plea agreement was not yet been filed.

Teixeira, who was 21 at the time of his arrest, pleaded not guilty in 2023 to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information.

Prosecutors said he abused his security clearance to access the materials from computers at an air base in Cape Cod and shared them with friends on the online message platform Discord in an effort to impress them.

The classified documents covered a range of subjects, notably troop movements in Russia and Ukraine, as well as a timeline for Western arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Prosecutors said Teixeira in some instances transcribed the information he was leaking, and in other cases he posted photos of the documents.

Teixeira enlisted in the Air National Guard in 2019, according to his service record, and had top secret security clearance since 2021, according to the Justice Department.

The Justice Department said he had been posting classified documents online since 2022.

The Air Force disciplined 15 airmen in December after the service's inspector general found they knew of Teixeira's activities and failed to take action.

The investigation blamed Teixeira alone for the leaks but found members of his unit failed to adequately supervise his access to classified information and gave inconsistent guidelines for reporting security incidents.
U.S. Air Force Tech Sgt. Eric Stevenson, a security forces raven, helps offload humanitarian aid en route to Gaza at an undisclosed airfield in the Middle East, Dec. 8, 2023. | U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Hernandez

President Joe Biden announced Friday that the U.S. military will work with Jordan to begin airdropping aid to starving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Ever since it was proposed, this idea has attracted criticisms from experienced humanitarian workers, who say the airdrops are an expensive, wasteful gimmick to avoid addressing the political problems causing the starvation.

The charity Oxfam America, for example, issued a statement Thursday arguing that airdrops "would mostly serve to relieve the guilty consciences of senior U.S. officials whose policies are contributing to the ongoing atrocities and risk of famine in Gaza." Instead, it said, Biden should "cut the flow" of American weapons to Israel.

Jeremy Konyndyk, the president of Refugees International and a former disaster relief official in the Obama and Biden administrations, outlined the problems with airdrops in a PBS interview a day before Biden's announcement.

"We only used them when we had absolutely no other option, because they're the worst way to get aid in. They cost a lot of money, they're difficult to mount logistically, and they get very little volume," Konyndyk said. "We're only resorting to airdrops because of the blockages by the Israeli government."

Airdropping food costs about $16,000 per ton, as opposed to $180 per ton on average to move food aid by truck, according to a U.S. Air Force study from 2016.

Under pressure from the Biden administration, the Israeli government has opened a land crossing into the Gaza Stripbut Israeli nationalist protesters have physically blocked the crossing several times. Meanwhile, goods entering Gaza from Egypt must still go through the arduous Israeli border inspection process.

Sen. Chris van Hollen (DMd.), who visited the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing in January, told The New Yorker that some shipments were being held at the border for 20 days, and that he saw entire shipments turned back because they contained just one banned item, such as a tent with a metal pole.

The U.S. government itself has admitted that the starvation is a political problem, although it blames Hamas rather than Israel.

"It is not a question of aid going in," U.S. State Department spokesman Matt Miller told reporters on Thursday. "There is a distribution problem inside Gaza right now because there are police officerssome of whom are members of Hamaswho have been providing the security for that distribution inside Gaza. And what Israel says is that they have a legitimate right to go after Hamas. We would obviously prefer to see members of a security force inside Gaza who are not Hamas members."

Inside the Gaza Strip, distribution has been chaotic. Riots have broken out around aid convoys, and Hamas-affiliated police shot a teenager in a December incident. Israeli forces have also bombed the police officers guarding aid convoys. U.S. official David Satterfield said last month that the attacks on police in Gaza have made it "virtually impossible" to protect aid from "criminal gangs."

The deadliest aid-related incident of the war, known as "flour massacre," took place Wednesday, when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians seeking aid. According to the Palestinian health ministry, 112 people were killed. The Israeli military claims that its troops opened fire when Palestinians approached them in an unsafe way, that their gunfire caused only 10 casualties, and that most of the deaths were produced by a stampede.

That day, the war's Palestinian death toll reportedly crossed 30,000 deaths. Half a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a quarter of the population, are facing imminent starvation, according to U.N. officials.

In addition to announcing the airdrops, Biden said that he was seeking an "immediate" six-week ceasefire and a "surge" of aid on the ground. He has so far resisted calling for a permanent end to the war. When the war resumes, the aid that cost Americans so much to fly in may soon be bombed by American weapons.

The post Airdropping Aid to Gaza Is an Expensive Gimmick appeared first on Reason.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi voted in the election for the 12th parliament and the 6th Assembly of Experts, Trend reports.

Iran's president took part in the voting at a polling station set up in the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Making a statement after voting, Ebrahim Raisi said that this election is a symbol of national unity and a national holiday.

He emphasized that the voice of the people plays a determining role.

The Iranian president also added that the winner of the election is the Iranian people and not those who get the highest number of votes.

To note, Iran is conducting its 12th parliamentary election and the 6th Assembly of Experts election.

The election has commenced at 08:00 and is being held in 1,218 constituencies and approximately 59,000 polling stations in 31 provinces.

About 61.2 million (61,172,298) people are eligible to vote in the election.

About, 15,200 people will compete for 290 seats in the Iranian parliament. The current speaker of the Iranian Parliament is Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The Assembly of Experts, responsible for supervising the Supreme Leader of Irans appointment, dismissal, and overall conduct, has 144 candidates battling for 88 available seats. The current chairman of the Assembly is Ahmad Jannati.

Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
This article was originally published in Alabama Reflector.

The Alabama House of Representatives Tuesday approved a a voucher-like program for schools after a debate lasting over four hours.

HB 129, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville and known as the CHOOSE Act, passed the House on a 69-34 vote. Six Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

Supporters of the bill said it would give opportunities to students in struggling schools to find better education.

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The CHOOSE Act will provide an opportunity for students to learn and thrive in an environment that best meets their needs, which could be a public school, said Garrett during the debate Tuesday.

Opposition to the bill came mostly from Democrats, who said that the bill would destroy public education in Alabama. Some likened the bill to a form of modern-day segregation.

Rep. Curtis Travis, D-Tuscaloosa, cited his experience during desegregation of schools in Hale County in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when private schools serving mostly white students were built in response to federal desegregation orders. He said he was worried that the Legislature would be using tax dollars to create separation.

Its not that history tends to repeat itself, but that people tend to repeat history, Travis said.

The legislation would allow households with school-age children to claim up to $7,000 in tax credits to be spent on certain education-related expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring or education services for children with disabilities.

The Legislature must appropriate at least $100 million for the program each year. The first 500 spots are reserved for students with special needs, defined by individualized education plans (IEP) or 504 plans.

The program will initially be limited to families making less than 300% of the federal poverty line, or around $75,000 for a family of three, but it would give priority to households with lower incomes. The funds would eventually be made available to all households. The special needs-reserved spots are not limited to the income level.

While Democrats have always opposed voucher and voucher-like legislation, Republicans from rural areas have also tended to be wary of voucher bills out of fear it would divert resources from their local schools.

Reps. Alan Baker, R-Brewton; Tracy Estes, R-Winfield; Chris Sells, R-Greenville; Randall Shedd, R-Fairview; David Standridge, R-Hayden and Tim Wadsworth, R-Arley voted with Democrats against the bill.

House Education Policy Committee Chair Terri Collins, R-Decatur, who introduced the legislation on the House floor, said the bill had a lot guardrails that protect public schools, such as allowing parents to judge school performance by comparing students results with those of students around the nation.

I like accountability. I see that in this bill, Collins said.

Democrats remained skeptical. Rep. Sam Jones, D-Mobile, echoed Travis and said that the legislation could promote segregation.

What we have here, as I said earlier, is a real experiment, and for the sake of the kids in this state, I hope it works, Jones said.

Garrett rejected the argument that the legislation could promote segregation, at one point saying that we need to move past that.

Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, said that accountability and transparency is not equal in this bill. Private and public schools are governed by different rules, Drummond said.

The same rules ought to apply to both public and private school, so well have apples and apples. Right now, this legislation doesnt do that, Drummond said, adding that they dont know if teachers in the private schools will be certified.

Garrett also blocked attempts by more conservative lawmakers to expand the program.

Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Indian Hills, said he was concerned the legislation does not give parents enough choice and offered an amendment that would have provided that education service providers do not have to be approved by the Alabama Department of Revenue. The amendment was tabled 85-11.

Opening this up to all children would be an amazing thing for this state, Mooney said, adding that the amendment would allow any child to compete for the educational savings account.

Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, offered another amendment that would have allowed the funds to be used for micro or hybrid schools. That amendment was tabled 82-9.

I think its really important that we stand for the heart of what this bill is trying to accomplish, Yarbrough said.

Rep. Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont, offered an amendment that would have expanded the allowed use of the funds in the educational savings account. The amendment would have allowed the money to be used for vocational or GED training; purchasing computer hardware and school uniforms, and transportation. It was also tabled 82-7.

No two students, no two children are alike. They have different needs and different aptitude, Robinson said.

Amy Marlowe, executive director of the Alabama Education Association, said in a statement Tuesday that while the association has worked with others in a good faith way to fashion a bill that does not hurt Alabama schools, a majority of Alabamians across the political spectrum oppose unlimited funding being diverted from the Education Trust Fund for this program.

We want to continue to work to find common ground on this proposal as the bill moves to the Senate, but a cap must be included in the bill to protect the future of our local schools, or it should not pass, she said in the statement.

The bill moves to the Senate.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
Supporters of IVF have lobbied Alabama lawmakers to act quickly to protect access to the fertility treatment in the state

Both chambers of Alabama's legislature have voted to approve bills protecting doctors from prosecution if they damage or destroy an embryo created by in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

The House and Senate need to vote on a unified bill before it can enter law.

It follows a ruling by the state's top court that frozen embryos have the same rights as children and people can be held liable for destroying them.

The ruling created a legal headache for clinics, many of which pulled services.

On Thursday, the Alabama House of Representative passed a bill to provide legal immunity "for death or damage to an embryo to any individual or entity" responsible for providing services related to IVF.

Several hours later, the state's Senate passed a similar measure.

A unified bill could be put before both chambers for a vote by next Wednesday, before being sent to Gov Kay Ivey for her approval.

Both bills come less than two weeks after the ruling by Alabama's Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children, which was met with backlash by medical experts, IVF mothers and reproductive advocacy groups.

It has also divided devout Christians in the state, some of whom celebrated it as "a beautiful defence of life", while others worried it could lead to restrictions for fertility patients who want to have children.

The response has sent lawmakers scrambling to protect access to fertility treatments. It has also sparked political debates on women's reproductive rights and how the beginning of life is defined by the state.

The Republican-majority House passed its bill overwhelmingly with a vote of 94-6 after nearly three hours of debate, during which some lawmakers expressed concern that it could undermine Alabama's status as a pro-life state.

Mark Gidley, a Republican representative, said he was worried the bill is a "knee-jerk reaction" to the court ruling, and that it is important the law recognise that frozen embryos are human life.

Another, Ernie Yarbough, asked if it is "possible to do IVF in a pro-life way that treats embryos as children".

Others, like Democrat representative Mary Moore, disagreed with the court's ruling and said it is important to protect IVF treatments as they help many families who otherwise could not have children.

Similar debates broke out in the state's Senate. One senator, Republican Larry Stutts, described the issue as a "moral quandary", but noted that discarded embryos through IVF are a "small percentage" compared to the ones that are used or kept.

Lawmakers also heard from women undergoing fertility treatments, one of whom testified before a House committee that she had spent nearly $400,000 (317,000) on IVF and that she hopes that the money was not wasted.

Terri Collins, a Republican representative who initially brought the House bill forward, said her aim was to "at least keep the clinics open and the families moving forward" while lawmakers work on a longer-term solution.

"This solution is for opening the clinics right away, and that's what we're trying to do," she said.
Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, discusses a bill aimed at allowing in vitro fertilization processes to proceed in the Alabama House of Representatives in the Alabama Statehouse on Feb. 29, 2024 in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama House and Senate debated legislation seeking to address an Alabama Supreme Court decision that shut down most IVF programs in the state. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

The Alabama Legislature Thursday approved bills to extend give criminal and civil immunity to in vitro fertilization (IVF) providers, trying to address the fallout of an Alabama Supreme Court decision that declared frozen embryos children.

HB 237, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, passed the House on a 94-6 vote late Thursday morning. The Senate passed SB 159, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, on a 34-0 vote.

Both bills passed after hours of debate in both chambers. Republicans and Democrats in the House both expressed concerns over unintended consequences. Democrats in both chambers questioned if it would be enough to protect IVF in the state, and accused Republicans of pursuing anti-abortion policies  including a 2018 Sanctity of Life amendment and a 2019 abortion ban  that led to the courts decision.

Senate Majority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, said the IVF conundrum was an I told you so moment.

Youve just got to eat this one up, he said. You cause this problem and youre going have to deal with this problem. Women all over the state should be pointing their fingers at you. You made this bed. And now youve got to sleep in it.

Collins and Melson both described their bills as a temporary fixes aimed at reopening IVF programs and said a long-term solution would be needed. Collins, who sponsored the 2019 abortion ban, discussed the possibility of a task force to develop that longer-term solution.

Were going to continue to need to work together to fix the problem, but right now we were wanting to get the clinics open for the families to be using them, and this that does, Collins said.

The state Supreme Court on Feb. 16 ruled that frozen embryos destroyed at a Mobile clinic could be considered children, and that their parents could pursue civil damages under an 1872 state law. Many IVF programs in the state, including one at the University of Alabama Birmingham, stopped offering the service, citing concerns about legal consequences for patients and providers.

The decision has drawn criticism from around the nation. Hundreds of people who have used or administered IVF came to the Alabama Statehouse on Wednesday to urge action on the issue.

Alabama lawmakers have been racing to try to develop a solution. But supporters also had questions about the legislation.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, speaks during a debate on a bill aimed at preserving in vitro fertilization services in Alabama in the Alabama House of Representatives at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama on Feb. 29, 2024. The House approved a bill providing criminal and civil immunity to IVF providers, following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that caused many programs to close their doors. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Democrats said the court decision rested on when life begins, and noted the bill does not address that question. Some also expressed concern about extending blanket criminal and civil immunity to both providers and patients, saying that it does not protect patients from malpractice.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said that giving blanket immunity is requiring [the Legislature] to be morally ambiguous and intellectually dishonest.

England said that the bill avoided addressing the courts finding, based in part on a 2018 Sanctity of Life constitutional amendment, that a frozen embryo is an unborn child. He accused the legislative majority of trying to avoid a lawsuit over any legislation that could contradict the courts finding.

If in fact, we have a constitutional amendment that requires us to adopt public policy that these embryos have a right to life, can we pass a law that authorizes life to be taken in fertility clinics? he said.

Many Republicans speaking against the bill wanted more restrictions on IVF treatments, such as having a process for dealing with embryos once households achieve their family goals, arguing that a frozen embryo represents a life.

Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, who voted against the bill, said that the ruling and the attention it has gotten had possibly uncovered a silent Holocaust going on in our state.

Yarbrough said that lawmakers should take the time to work out legislation that prevents the destruction of children they werent aware of.

Its a self-imposed pause the IVF facilities in this state have put on themselves must continue until weve determined what is moral and righteous and life preserving, Yarbrough said. Is this not worth the pause?

He offered an amendment to add that immunity shall not be provided to those who intentionally causes the destruction of an embryo. The amendment was tabled, with Democratic House members voting with Yarbrough.

A tough situation

The question of when life starts also entered a debate in the Alabama Senate over a similar bill sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence. Melson circulated a draft bill last week that would have excluded fertilized eggs or embryos not implanted in a womb from a definition of life, but dropped that language in the measure filed this week. Melson said before the Senate convened Thursday that he didnt take a poll on what the Republican caucus preferred, but also didnt want to make anyone uncomfortable by having to take a position on the issue.

Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, listens during a debate in the Alabama Senate on a bill extending immunity to in vitro fertilization programs on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama House and Senate both debated measures aimed at restarting IVF programs in the state, after a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court decision led many to shut down. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

It just seemed like it would be one thing thatll put them in, like I say, just a tough situation to make that determination with the short period of time, he said.

While the question of when life begins was central to the Supreme Courts ruling, Melson said that they didnt think it was necessary to state when life begins for IVF and thinks it might survive judicial scrutiny.

Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said that she was concerned with patient rights in the event of malpractice. She argued that Alabama claims to be a pro-life state, but they arent looking after the lives of patients. She said that there is something seriously wrong with this piece of legislation and that urgency of passing the legislation leads to death.

You are now saying that the mother who may have had to have an IVF procedure, the doctor has committed some act, using a best practice, and hes immune to prosecution. Thats not right, she said.

Melson, speaking in the Senate, said he believed legal action would still be possible in those situations.

Theyre still going to be susceptible to, Ill just call it malpractice, he said during that chambers debate.

Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, gestures during an Alabama Senate debate over a bill extending immunity to in vitro fertilization providers on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The House and Senate Thursday both considered measures aimed at restarting IVF programs that stopped following a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, has introduced a constitutional amendment that would declare that a fertilized embryo is not a child.

Daniels said that he doesnt know how the Supreme Court will look at the current piece of legislation.

We certainly got to have realistic conversation and not continue to sidestep and work around the issue at hand. Because these families  this is their last best chance to be able to bring life into this world, he said.

Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, said the Legislature was not taking all the steps needed, and compared the situation to putting out a fire by throwing a little water on it.

We look around and say Its out, she said. We walk away, which is whats going to happen today. But you got little embers that are still burning there. We walk on  we go home, we adjourn because this session is moving fast. And then they say You know, we got a huge brush fire thats out there because something happened and we didnt get it right.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Alabama Legislature passes bills aimed at protecting in vitro fertilization appeared first on Arkansas Advocate.
Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski, speaks Thursday, April 27, 2023, at a news conference in Juneau. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)

The Alaska House of Representatives will vote as soon as Friday morning on a constitutional amendment that would guarantee the annual Permanent Fund dividend.

The proposal, known as House Joint Resolution 7, calls for the dividend to be paid by a formula set out in law.

The formula currently in state law hasnt been used since 2016 because legislators view it as unaffordable and annually pass budget laws to bypass it.

Were talking about a very long-term fiscal decision in this resolution, said Rep. Alyse Galvin, I-Anchorage.

At present levels of services and revenue, the combination of the amendment and existing law would result in a dividend of about $3,500 per person but cost $2.3 billion and instantly create a $1.3 billion annual deficit, according to figures presented Thursday to the Senate Finance Committee.

Rep. Ben Carpenter, R-Nikiski and the author of HJR 7, has said that because the amendment would not take effect until 2026, the issue could be addressed before then. Other members of the House say theyre skeptical.

If its so easy to change the dividend statute, why havent we done it? said Rep. Cliff Groh, D-Anchorage.

The Alaska Senate approved a new dividend formula last year, but that concept was subsequently amended and has been in the House Finance Committee since May 2023. No dividend formula bill has been heard by a House committee this year.

Changing the formula would require 21 votes in the House and 11 in the Senate, plus the support of Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

Dunleavy supports the current formula and has become more aggressive about vetoing policy bills.

Amendments to Alaskas Constitution require 27 votes in the state House and 14 in the state Senate, plus the support of a majority of voters in a statewide vote.

Carpenter has said he believes the amendment has enough votes in the House, but senators say it currently lacks the needed support in that half of the Legislature.

Carpenter was a member of a bipartisan, bicameral working group tasked with recommending a new structure for the states finances in the long term.

The groups report, delivered in 2021, said that constitutional certainty for the Permanent Fund dividend was a necessary part of a comprehensive solution.

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that because the current dividend formula is in state law, the Alaska Legislature can bypass it with its annual budget law.

When two laws conflict, the newer law generally holds sway, and only the Alaska Constitution can constrain the Legislatures ability to write the annual budget law.

In a lengthy series of debates on Thursday, members of the House considered  then rejected  several proposals to alter Carpenters amendment.

Among the rejected ideas were proposals to prohibit dividends for the unemployed and those earning more than $150,000 per year.

A proposal from Rep. Dan Ortiz, I-Ketchikan, would have put a dividend formula directly in the constitution, instead of leaving it up to state law.

But Ortizs proposal created a sliding scale of options for state legislators, rather than a firm payout, which meant that it would still leave the amount of the dividend up to annual debate. In part for that reason, his idea failed 10-30.

The House is scheduled to begin its floor debates at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

The post Alaska House considers constitutional guarantee for Permanent Fund dividend appeared first on Alaska Beacon.
A bill to create an alert system for missing children, named in honor of Codi Bigsby, was sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkins desk for approval Thursday after passing both the House and Senate.

House Bill 1388 would establish the Virginia Critical Operation for a Disappeared Child Initiative (CODI) Alert Program. The 4-year-old boy was reported missing in January 2022, sparking a massive search. Law enforcement didnt issue an AMBER Alert, which broadcasts any information investigators think will help locate the missing child

Codi was never found, and over a year later his father, Cory Bigsby, was charged with his murder.

Virginia State Police declined Hampton polices request for an AMBER Alert for Codi because they said it didnt meet the requirements, which include a reasonable belief that an abduction has occurred and that the child is in imminent danger of serious injury or death. The requirements for issuing a CODI Alert are wider, allowing it to be used in situations in which a childs disappearance is under suspicious circumstances.

HB1388 passed the House and Senate unanimously. It will become law if Youngkin approves.

The alert will use existing emergency alert systems to target residents within certain areas. The bill stipulates that local or regional law enforcement officials must confer with state police prior to issuing a CODI Alert for their respective jurisdictions. State police are the only agency able to issue statewide alerts.

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
Thousands of Russians have defied fear to turn out to bid farewell to opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

President Vladimir Putin's most vocal critic died in jail on 16 February.

Authorities had warned any protest would be illegal. But police - deployed in numbers - stood by as the crowd chanted Navalny's name, or their opposition to the Russian president.

Supporters and relatives, as well as many foreign leaders, have blamed Mr Putin for his death.

Russian authorities deny any such accusation, saying Navalny died of natural causes. He had been serving a long sentence on trumped-up charges in a penal colony in the Arctic.

It was feared that the authorities would crack down on Friday's funeral proceedings.

Indeed, on Friday morning a heavy police presence was visible in Maryino, the area of Moscow where the funeral was held - and where Navalny lived with his family for many years.

At one point, Navalny's team estimated that the line of people stretched well over 1km (0.6 miles), despite the grey winter's day in which temperatures hovered at just above freezing.

Yet none of the policemen - many of whom were in full riot gear - intervened when expressions of support for Navalny became overtly political.

Thousands chanted out "no to war", "Russia without Putin" and "Russia will be free" - slogans that have previously landed many Russians in jail.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were among those who praised people for turning out to mourn given the potential risk.

"This is [Navalny's] legacy," Mr Macron wrote on social media. "Memory eternal."

The memorial service began just after 14:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT) at the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrows.

It followed much uncertainty and complaints by Navalny's team that the authorities had been making the arrangements difficult - even finding a hearse was an issue.

However, hundreds started to arrive hours before proceedings were meant to begin. They were later joined by foreign dignitaries, including the US, German and French ambassadors.

Thousands of people gathered in the Maryino district of Moscow to pay their last respects to Alexei Navalny

The ceremony inside the church was brief - an image on social media showed the open coffin that is commonplace in Russia, with mourners paying respects. Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, and his father, Anatoly, were seen sitting alongside.

As the church bell tolled and Navalny's coffin was brought outside, people tossed roses and carnations onto the hearse and cried: "We won't forget you!"

Several people approached Lyudmila after the service ended and hugged her, saying: "Thank you for your son" and "forgive us".

Navalny's widow Yulia, his children Daria, 23, and Zakhar, 15, and his brother Oleg - are all thought to be living abroad and were not present.

Yulia has recently declared she is going to continue his political work - meaning it is possibly unsafe for her to return to Russia, where Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation has been declared an extremist organisation.

She shared a poignant tribute on social media while the funeral was under way, thanking Navalny for "26 years of absolute happiness".

"I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to do it so you - up there - can be happy and proud of me," she said.

Their daughter Darya also posted a message online, describing Navalny as her "hero".

"You have always been and forever will be my example," she wrote.

In the absence of an independent Russian media, Navalny's team at the Anti-Corruption Foundation took it upon themselves to provide a live stream of the funeral ceremonies.

The YouTube channel from which Navalny regularly addressed his supporters broadcast scenes from his funeral. More than a quarter of a million people tuned in throughout the day.

The burial finally took place at Borisovskoye cemetery around 16:00.

Navalny's coffin was lowered into the ground to the sound of Frank Sinatra's My Way and to an orchestral rendition of the Terminator 2 theme song. "Navalny thought The Terminator 2 was the best film in the whole world," his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media.

As dusk fell, people carried on queuing outside the cemetery, where a sign was hung, reading: "Putin killed him but didn't break him."

"It's not time to be a coward. Those people in our government are cowards because they are afraid of us," a mourner told the BBC's Newshour. "We are only people with flowers and graves. That's all."

By Friday evening, at least 91 people had been arrested across Russia for joining Navalny memorial events, according to Russia's human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.

OVD-Info is normally a reliable and often the only source of information when it comes to public protests in Russia.

By and large, however, the harsh, widespread crackdown many had feared did not materialise. In comparison, the authorities' response to people laying flowers at makeshift memorials in the wake of Navalny's death had resulted in several hundred arrests.

It is possible that police will seek out some of those who attended today's proceedings in the days to come. Earlier this week, it was reported that surveillance cameras had been installed on the perimeter of the cemetery.

Ahead of the funeral, First Department - a group of lawyers and human rights defenders - had warned that detentions after the ceremony "could not be ruled out" and advised mourners to "stay under the radar of security forces - do not use public transport or apply for paperwork in the days after the funeral."

Online initiatives, like a website where users can light a "virtual candle" for Navalny, have attracted hundreds of thousands of participants.

Friday's was likely the largest opposition gathering in Russia since Navalny's jailing in January 2021.

Many of the mourners might have felt it was their last chance to gather with thousands of like-minded people.

For almost a decade, Navalny was able to organise protests and marches that often attracted tens of thousands in Moscow and beyond.

With him now gone, it is unclear who else could possibly attract the kind of popular support he was able to muster.
Alexei Navalnys supporters walk from the church to the cemetery following his funeral in Moscow on Friday. (Reuters)

Thousands of mourners gathered in Moscow on Friday outside the funeral for Alexei Navalny, the 47-year-old outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who Kremlin officials say was found dead in a remote arctic prison last month.

What happened at the funeral?

Pallbearers carry Navalnys coffin into the church. (Anadolu via Getty Images)

Chanting We are not afraid! Navalnys supporters lined up behind barriers in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church in Moscow as his casket was whisked in for a brief ceremony before being taken to the nearby Borisovsky cemetery, where he was buried.

Navalnys coffin was lowered into the ground as Frank Sinatras My Way was played in the background, according to reporters who were there.

Police walk outside the church after the funeral service for the late Russian opposition leader. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

Pallbearers carry the coffin and a portrait of Navalny out of the church. (AP)

A hearse carrying Navalnys coffin is parked outside the church before Fridays funeral. (Reuters)

Mourners knock over a barrier outside Navalnys funeral. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images)

The public was barred from entering the church or cemetery by police, who prevented people from leaving flowers or taking pictures. Foreign diplomats, including Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, were photographed holding roses outside the church.

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Navalnys parents, Lyudmila and Anatoly, attended the funeral. But other members of the family, including Yulia Navalnaya, Navalnys widow who has vowed to take up her late husbands fight, live outside Russia for their safety and were not seen at the church on Friday.

Who was Alexei Navalny?

A Navalny supporter holds a framed photo of him outside his funeral in Moscow on Friday. (Reuters)

Navalny was born on June 4, 1976, near Moscow.

A former lawyer, he rose to prominence in the early 2000s and 2010s for leading nationalist marches and exposing what he called corruption among the Russian elite, describing Kremlin leaders as crooks and thieves.

Navalny used drones to expose some of the lavish lifestyles of senior Kremlin officials, posting images of mansions and yachts used by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and a palace built on the Black Sea for Putins personal use.

People gather outside the church where Navalnys funeral was being held Friday. (AP)

Young mourners outside the site of Navalnys funeral. (AP)

A woman holds a portrait of Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, with the words Eternal love has no death. (AP)

Navalny survived an assassination attempt with a nerve agent in 2020 and had been imprisoned since returning to Russia in 2021. He was being held in a Russian jail about 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

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On Feb. 16, Russias Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement that Navalny lost consciousness and died after taking a walk.

Kremlin officials say Navalny died of natural causes. His family and supporters have described his death as murder.

What was the U.S. reaction to his death?

Mourners hold candles at Navalnys funeral service. (Reuters)

Last week the White House unveiled what it described as major sanctions against Russia in response to Navalnys death and its ongoing war in Ukraine.

President Biden, who met privately with Navalnaya in San Francisco, praised Navalny for his bravery  and put the blame for his death squarely on Putin.

Make no mistake, Biden said. Putin is responsible.

Mourners inside the church during Navalnys funeral. (Reuters)

Navalnys relatives and friends gather around his open casket inside the church during his funeral on Friday. (AP)
Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania's second president, was fondly known as Mzee Rukhsa - "Mr Permission".

The former leader, who died on Thursday at the age of 98, had a reputation for allowing a long list of things which had been denied by his predecessor - such as multiparty democracy, independent media, free trade and the private ownership of televisions.

In 1985, when he was first sworn in, Tanzania's economy was struggling, reeling from the ruinous effects of founding President Julius Nyerere's socialist policy known as ujamaa, as well as the war against neighbouring Uganda that toppled Idi Amin.

Ujamaa, Swahili for familyhood, involved collaborative working where everything was communally owned, including land, while people lived in communal settlements.

But after more than two decades under Nyerere, the country faced a shortage of essential goods including food and clothing. Foreign exchange was scarce and Tanzania was deep in debt.

Mwinyi had been hand-picked by the charismatic Nyerere. Despite the economic crisis, he was still respected in the country as the founding father. Nyerere's vision had managed to unite the country made up of more than 120 ethnic groups.

His successor was seen as a shy, compromise candidate who was unlikely to rock the boat.

Some saw him as a puppet of Nyerere, who despite stepping down as president, stayed on as the leader of the ruling party, which still had a tight grip on the affairs of the state.

The Economist magazine is quoted as saying at the time that people should not "expect many changes in Tanzania's lacklustre economy when [he] takes over as president Mr Mwinyi is Mr Nyerere's man".

Nyerere himself had introduced Mwinyi as "a righteous man, impartial and respectful, [who] has never sought fame or used his position to advance his ambition".

But he soon dismantled the ujamaa policy and many of the restrictions under his predecessor's regime.

He opened up the economy, allowed other parties to run in elections, enabled independent media to exist and permitted the sale of televisions to individuals, which previously had only been communally owned.

He also began talks with the International Monetary Fund about getting financial support.

With the economy on the brink of collapse, the reforms were seen as having as saved the economy.

Mwinyi (C) took over from Nyerere (L) in 1985

Joseph Warioba, who was prime minister during Mwinyi's presidency, recounts how the president's "brave" leadership helped resolve the economic crisis, including severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages.

"He appointed ministers and valued our input greatly. He encouraged everyone to contribute ideas to find solutions," he told the BBC.

Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, an opposition politician who worked as Mwinyi's economic adviser, remembers him as a calm person who respected human rights.

But Mwinyi's leadership was not without criticism - some of his policies, including allowing political leaders to run private businesses, were criticised for opening up the way for high corruption levels during his presidency.

Mwinyi also faced accusations that he favoured Muslims in government jobs. He wrote later in his memoirs that these allegations hit him hard.

And although he introduced multiparty democracy, allowing opposition parties to contest elections, none of them have managed to dislodge the ruling CCM party from power.

He stepped down from the presidency in 1995 at the age of 70, having served two terms at the helm.

From then on, Mwinyi kept a low profile but was occasionally present and spoke at public events with some of his presidential successors.

In 2021, current President Samia Suluhu Hassan described him as a leader worthy of emulation, saying he was "a reformist [and] a role model to many of us".

She was speaking during the launch of his memoir, aptly called Mzee Rukhsa - the Journey of My Life.

Mwinyi was born on 8 May 1925 in Tanganyika, which was then a British colony. In 1964, three years after independence, it united with the islands of Zanzibar to form Tanzania.

When Mwinyi was four years old, his family moved to Zanzibar, where his father wanted him to study Islam and become a religious leader.

But instead, he took up teaching, before entering politics in the 1960s. He then held a number of government positions including as a minister and as an ambassador before becoming Zanzibar's president in 1984 and then succeeding Nyerere the following year.

He is survived by his two wives and a number of children, including Zanzibar's current President Hussein Mwinyi.

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A union said that 'many schools are particularly oversubscribed' - Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/iStockphoto

Almost one in five families missed out on their first-choice secondary school in England, analysis by The Telegraph suggests.

Hundreds of thousands of 10 and 11-year-olds found out on Friday which state secondary school has offered them a place.

Telegraph analysis of early data on secondary school offer rates, shows that on average, 81.6 per cent of children received a place at their first-choice school.

This was marginally up on last year, when the first-choice offer rate was 81.1 per cent.

However, it suggests that nearly one in five families did not get their preferred place.

The analysis of this years offer rate is based on 121 responses from councils to a Telegraph survey.

Among the areas where high proportions of pupils have obtained their first preference are East Riding, where 97 per cent got their top choice, and Wiltshire, where 95 per cent also were offered their preferred school.

In comparison, in Birmingham, 71 per cent of children secured their first preference, while in Reading 72 per cent obtained their top choice.

London boroughs had some of the lowest first-choice offer rates. In Lewisham, 63 per cent of applicants received their preferred choice. The figure was 65 per cent in Richmond upon Thames and 63 per cent in Hammersmith and Fulham.

London Councils, which represents 32 boroughs in the city, said that overall almost 71 per cent of children applying to schools in the capital, or 63,757 children, got into their first preference school, which was marginally higher than last year.

The improvement came after the total number of applications made for secondary school places in London reached 90,348, a decrease of 2.5 per cent compared to last year, which was partly attributed to families moving out of the city since the pandemic.

Local authorities warned of the effect of a falling birth rate in the capital. London Councils warned that a reduction in pupil numbers would see a drop in the amount of funding a school receives, which could force some schools to narrow the curriculum, offer fewer after school clubs or reduce the number of teaching and support staff.

However, NAHT, the school leaders union, continued to warn of oversubscription of schools in some areas of the country.

Anxious time

Paul Whiteman, the unions general secretary, said: This can be an anxious time for families. Choosing the right school and securing a place there is a huge moment in a childs life and not everyone will get their first choice.

There is extra pressure on secondary admissions this year as there is a pupil population bulge that is currently hitting secondary schools. Many schools are particularly oversubscribed, especially in certain areas of the country.

Of 112 councils that responded to a Telegraph survey, 45 recorded a drop in the share of pupils achieving their first-choice offer, while 67 reported an increase.

A Department for Education spokesman said: Delivering good quality school places is a top priority for this government and almost 1.2 million additional pupil places have been created since 2010, with many more in the pipeline.

In 2023, over 80 per cent families were offered their first-choice secondary school and over 90 per cent received offers from one of their top three choices.

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BERLIN, N.H. - The death of a mother in New Hampshire and the desperate search for her two young children sparked an Amber Alert Friday. The two girls were found safe and their father, 37-year-old Dustin Duren, is now facing a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the death of his children's mother.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said it all began with a suspicious death Thursday night. Police found the body of 31-year-old Caitlyn Naffziger in an apartment on Main Street in Berlin. Her two children, a 4-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl, were missing. That set off the search for her two children and their father.

Police sealed off the home on Main Street in Berlin, New Hampshire, March 1, 2024. / Credit: CBS Boston

In an audio recording between a police dispatcher and officers, a warning can be heard saying that Duren is a Marine veteran suffering from PTSD.

As part of the investigation, authorities issued an Amber Alert asking for the public's assistance," Formella said in a statement.

New Hampshire State Police released photos of all three and the car Duren may have been driving in the alert, which was issued around 4 a.m. Friday. They said Duren "may possibly be armed and dangerous," but did not offer any other details.

Amber Alert canceled

More than six hours later, New Hampshire State Police canceled the Amber Alert. Formella's office said all three "were safely located late this morning in Keene, New Hampshire." Keene is about three hours southwest of Berlin. The car was seen being towed away from an Applebee's restaurant parking lot in Keene.

It's not clear yet where or how they were found. No details have been released yet on the mother's death. When asked if Duren was charged with anything or in police custody, Formella's office told WBZ-TV he was only "with police" in Keene.

"Additional information is expected to be released this evening regarding the ongoing suspicious death investigation," Formella's office said in a statement.

Dustin Mark Duren / Credit: New Hampshire State Police

Berlin is in northern New Hampshire about three hours north of Boston.

"The Department of Justice greatly thanks the public for their assistance in this matter and their responsiveness to the alert issued earlier by the New Hampshire State Police," the attorney general said.

Investigators say tips from the Amber Alert led them to Duren's white Subaru near a restaurant in a shopping plaza in Keene. Witnesses described a dramatic scene.

Witnesses describe arrest

"About three cop cars that came racing in here, cops jumped out of the car immediately, had their guns drawn," said Elizabeth Everitt. "I did see the officer drop their weapon and then I believe they tackled him to the ground," she said.

Witnesses saw the children being carried into an ambulance. "She looked like she was extremely scared. She was kind of wrapped up on the side of them all, just kind of holding on tight," said Cassandra Plankey.

"It's very traumatic to watch something like that happen in real-time," said Tonya Hansen, who recorded video of the Duren being taken into custody. "The little ones were clearly distraught in this situation, so it was a little rough to watch. It was scary to watch police draw weapons on someone in public."

When it was all over, Tonya, who's a nurse, offered officers snacks and blankets for the little girls who'd been through so much.

"I just wanted to make sure they were feeling secure and safe and the officers did a great job of cuddling them and keeping them calm through the process," said Hansen.

New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General Bethany Durand said the children are now in state custody, but she can't discuss what the girls went through.

"Can't indicate whether they were present when their mom was shot, I can say they were found, they are safe and they're being cared for," she said.

Prosecutors say the medical examiner completed an autopsy on Naffziger's body Friday afternoon. It showed her cause of death was a gunshot to the head. Duren is set to be arraigned on Monday.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 1. Bulgaria has suspended imports of Russian oil for further processing at Lukoil refinery in the country from March 1, 2024, Trend reports.

The relevant decision was adopted by the Parliament of Bulgaria back in December 2023.

Thus, in December 2023, the Bulgarian Parliament unanimously approved laws restricting the export of gasoline derived from Russian oil beginning January 1, 2024. Furthermore, the law stipulated that the processing of Russian-origin oil at the Lukoil refinery in the southern port city of Burgas would end on March 1, 2024.



Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov commented on the suspension of Russian oil supplies, stating that this could lead to an increase in fuel prices in Bulgaria because oil must now be supplied from more distant sources.



At the same time, he believes it is critical to maintain the Lukoil refinery operational to avoid a dramatic price increase.

Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel
Click here the previous days coverage of Sebastian Rogers.

SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN)  The search for Sumner County teenager Sebastian Rogers continues Friday morning, marking the fifth day since the child was reported missing.

Thousands of miles have been searched in multiple directions in the days since Monday, Feb. 26. Investigators said the search on Friday, March 1 will focus on areas west of the previous search grid.

There was a glimpse of hope Thursday, Feb. 29 as search dogs tracked a scent but it turned out to be a false alert. Investigators also drained a pond to the east of Sebastians home and found nothing. Sebastians home has been searched at least 10 times and officials are continuing to expand the search area.

WATCH: Bloodhound search for Sebastian Rogers

The ongoing search is utilizing drones and helicopters, horses, search dogs, dive teams and as many as 200 officials walking the search zone.

Sebastian Rogers (Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Sebastian Rogers (Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Sebastian Rogers (Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Sebastian Rogers (Courtesy: Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

Were operating under the assumption that Sebastian walked off. We have no evidence to disprove that. The family has been nothing but cooperative with law enforcement and our investigation. We are truly operating under the assumption that theres a child missing that needs our help, said Chief Deputy Eric Craddock with the Sumner County Sheriffs Office.

During a Thursday press conference, Craddock said they are encouraging community members to search their own property with a partner at least twice a day and check their trail cameras.

6 unsolved AMBER alerts in Tennessee

We need you to search your properties every day. Morning and night, he said. If theres a shed or a crawl space, or up under your mobile home, or a tarp thats in your yard, check it every morning and every night. Look for any details that something has been disturbed.

Residents are asked to search in pairs because a single person could be mistaken for Sebastian.

If we have aerial assets up and they see someone walking alone in a field were going to deploy resources to see if that is not Sebastian, Craddock said.

Sumner County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Ken Weidner asked residents to check any creeks, streams or bodies of water that may be on their property and to check for footprints, too. Investigators have reason to believe Sebastian may have traveled as far as Clarksville, so they are also checking that route.

No further information has been released.

AMBER Alert: Urgent search continues for Sebastian Rogers

Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, 15, was reported missing on Monday, Feb. 26 from the Beech area in Hendersonville.

Sebastian Rogers: Description

Sebastian is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 120 pounds with dirty blond hair. He was last seen on Monday, Feb. 26 near Stafford Court wearing a black sweatshirt and black sweatpants, said the TBI.

AMBER Alert Issued

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) originally issued an Endangered Child Alert for Sebastian on the morning of Feb. 26 as multiple agencies took to the area to look for him.

Based on additional investigative information developed during the search, the TBI issued an AMBER Alert for Sebastian on the afternoon of Feb. 27. An AMBER Alert is issued when there is reasonable belief by law enforcement that an abduction has occurred and the child is in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, per the DOJ.

Multiple agencies including the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Nashville Fire Department, City of Hendersonvilles first responders, Sumner County Sheriffs Office and Shackle Island Volunteer Fire have assisted in the search for Sebastian.

Who to Contact

If you have seen Sebastian or have info about his whereabouts, call the Sumner County Sheriffs Office at (615) 451-3838 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Two major bills this short legislative session in Oregon are one step closer to becoming law.

The two measures that made progress in Salem include potential new laws on housing and Measure 110, the drug use decriminalization law voters passed in 2020. In each case, the bills have more steps to complete at the capitol before either one becomes law.

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The amendment to Measure 110, called HB 4002, would re-introduce criminal penalties for people caught with small amounts of drugs and passed the Oregon House of Representatives Thursday. Meanwhile, the Senate passed a package of bills aimed at addressing the states housing crisis, collectively SB 1530 B and SB 1537 B.

HB 4002 passed with a bipartisan majority of 51 votes. Many in support of it say its time for change.

I came into this building two weeks ago knowing that we had to do something because the status quo of what we are doing is not working, Rep. Dacia Grayber of Southwest Portland and East Beaverton said.

If the Senate passes and the Governor signs HB 4002 and the corresponding financial package in HB 5204, we will withdraw the ballot initiatives, the Coalition to Fix and Improve Measure 110 said in a statement. A law that achieves 85% of what we proposed now is well worth the lives and communities that will be saved sooner rather than waiting for the passage and implementation of a ballot measure over a year from now.

When it comes to HB 4002, proponents of the bill said changes by lawmakers this session could increase addiction services and make it easier to convict drug dealers. In a statement, Representative Christine Goodwin said in part, Oregonians have been clear all along: they are ready for this drug decriminalization experiment to be over.

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However, those who are against drug recriminalization had a different reaction to HB 4002 becoming one step closer to being a reality. The American Civil Liberties Union said in part, Today, the Oregon House of Representatives made an error that will result in lifelong harm to countless Oregonians.

In the Senate, the now-passed multi-million dollar housing package  championed by Governor Tina Kotek  is designed to combat the housing crisis. It boosts housing production and grants qualifying cities a one-time expansion of urban growth boundaries.

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Weve been approaching this issue as a nonpartisan issue, said Sen. Kayse Jama (D, District 24). And so were going to just have to continue this  a long term strategy. 

The housing bills originally envisioned carving out half a billion dollars but that amount has been reduced to nearly $370 million.

We have been and are in a housing crisis, said Sen. Dick Anderson (R, District 5). The senator has indicated its not going to go away tomorrow just because of these bills. Weve got to keep working at it on a continual basis.

Next up: the housing bills are headed to the House for amendments and HB 4002 is headed for the Senate for the same.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
Two prominent Democratic senators urged President Joe Biden to take immediate action to help negotiate an urgent cease-fire after more than 100 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday.

Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who both sit on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the White House must demand accountability after the mass deaths and ensure aid can reach those starving in Gaza as soon as possible.

People are starving in Gaza. And civilians are dying every day  including in this horrific incident in Gaza City today, Van Hollen said in a statement. This has gone on for far too long without sufficient action.

Gaza officials and Israel have traded blame for the death toll.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered near a convoy of aid trucks on Thursday. Officials described the gunfire as a massacre, saying more than 100 had died and more than 760 were injured as desperate Palestinians struggled to get food. It was the first major aid delivery to the area in a month.

My statement on the path forward after todays horrific events in Gaza.



I want a negotiated longer term cessation of hostilities to get the hostages out, but right now Israel needs to pause military operations in order to get this humanitarian nightmare under control. pic.twitter.com/iQxY9wc4Di  Chris Murphy  (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 29, 2024

Israel admitted that its troops had fired warning shots but claimed troops fired only on people who approached the trucks in a threatening way. Israel instead attributed many of the deaths to a stampede.

We didnt open fire on those seeking aid, the chief military spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces told The Associated Press. Contrary to the accusations, we didnt open fire on a humanitarian aid convoy, not from the air and not from land. We secured it so it could reach northern Gaza.

The episode quickly prompted international condemnation. Biden said Thursday that any negotiations for a cease-fire will be further complicated, expanding his timeline for any eventual deal. And State Department officials said they were looking into exactly what took place in Gaza.

But the senators on Thursday urged the White House to act with haste after the mass deaths.

Murphy added that the deaths Thursday were the result of the complete breakdown in social order in Gaza, saying the situation was spiraling out of control without humanitarian aid and a negotiated cease-fire.

Palestinians, who are unable to meet their basic needs as the Israeli military obstructs humanitarian aid, receive flour from an aid truck that arrived Thursday at Gaza City. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images

To be clear, Hamas started this war and could end it tomorrow by releasing the hostages and surrendering those responsible for the October 7th attacks, Murphy said. However, the appalling scenes from Gaza City today and the staggering civilian death toll that has already occurred in Gaza are not in Israels nor the United States interest.

Murphy said Biden should use all available leverage to see Israel and Hamas reach a longer-term cease-fire.

Van Hollen added Thursday that enough is enough.

America cannot be complicit in this ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, he wrote. We know what must be done, now we must do it.

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A voter heads to the polls Tuesday in Dearborn, Mich., where the "uncommitted" vote beat President Biden in the Democratic primary. (Paul Sancya / Associated Press)

Voting probably wasn't the first thing on our parents' or grandparents' minds when they arrived in the U.S. from countries and provinces where democracy was a pipe dream. Working (perhaps several jobs), learning the language and setting up home in the community took precedence over politics, and it was all in service of their top priority: creating a better future for their kids.

This week, that seemingly bygone promise of the American dream played out in real time inside Michigan polling centers. Hundreds of thousands of Arab Americans  many of them the second- and third-generation offspring of Middle Eastern immigrants  used their votes to send a message to President Biden in protest of his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Citizens concerned with civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, and frustrated with what they see as Biden's unconditional support of Israel, joined a grassroots movement to check uncommitted on Tuesdays primary ballet rather than vote for the incumbent candidate.

The goal was to get 10,000 votes. They hit 10 times that number. Thats more than 100,000 uncommitted votes in a swing state that Biden won by just 154,000 votes in 2020. Perhaps now hes listening?

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It's of course still undetermined whether this impressive act of ballot-box protest will move the needle on U.S. policy, but the mere act of using ones voting power to send a message rather than tank a candidate's chances represented a hope realized.

Previous generations who immigrated to Michigan from countries such as Lebanon, Syria or Iraq came to the U.S. for a better life. They came here to escape war, political and religious persecution, lack of opportunity and corrupt systems lead by despotic strongmen or brutal theocracies.

Many came from places where free elections were largely performative because the outcome was already fixed, or where throwing in for one political party versus another meant putting your life at risk.

Some rulers never seem to leave. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, who's been in office for a decade, has nothing over the late Hosni Mubarak, who ruled for 30 years. The Assad family has ruled Syria since 1971. My father came from Iraq, where occupation, American meddling and despotic leadership were the norm in his lifetime.

Political corruption, if not war, has been an ongoing reality from Lebanon to Libya dating back generations. Its no wonder the promise of America still shines bright, even now in our divided, precarious state.

Biden was beaten by the uncommitted vote in both Dearborn and Hamtramck, where Arab Americans make up close to half of the population. Some are new to the U.S., but many more have generational roots in Michigan.

Yesterday was a resounding victory, Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Wednesday. The 33-year-old is the son of Lebanese immigrants.

This is not just an Arab or Muslim issue now," he continued. "This is an American issue now.

Their actions made headlines, and kicked off a movement that will likely be duplicated in other swing state primaries, where a sliver of the electorate could make or break a run for the White House. In 2020, Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes. The state is home to more than 57,000 Arab Americans.

Arab and Muslim Americans, the majority of whom have voted for the Democratic ticket since the Iraq war, are aware a Donald Trump victory in November is not in their interests.

In his first year as president, the Republican repeatedly insulted the Muslim parents of a fallen Gold Star soldier; enacted a Muslim ban; and ignored any semblance of diplomacy when he recognized the contested city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Arab American voters' frustration over Bidens support of Israel has hit a a new high, and theyre not alone. A lot of smart, civic-minded folks I know from all sorts of ethnic and religious backgrounds now tell me theyre considering sitting out the election in November.

Voting for seditionist Trump is a nonstarter, they say, but Bidens unconditional support of Israel in its war with Hamas presents a moral conundrum thats hard to overlook. Over 30,000 Gazans have been killed, the majority of them women and children, since Israel's military began its punishing assault on Gaza in response to the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people.

On Thursday alone, at least 115 people were killed and more than 750 injured, according to witnesses and Gazas Health Ministry, when Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd scrambling for aid in Gaza City.

But sitting out the election is not the answer, no matter where you stand on America's role in the Israel-Hamas war  or on anything else, for that matter. It's the only true power we still have as citizens, and if that sounds corny, consider what happened this week in Michigan.

It was democracy in action, something many of our parents and grandparents only dreamed of in their homelands.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By David Shepardson, Jarrett Renshaw and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden, vowing to "do right by U.S. auto workers," launched an investigation this week into whether Chinese-made vehicles could be used to spy on Americans, a far-off threat given the few such cars on U.S. roads now.

The White House announced the probe Thursday citing national-security risks about "connected" cars creating "new avenues for espionage and sabotage."

Biden is campaigning for re-election, and U.S. automakers have voiced fear bordering on panic about having to compete at home with Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). An auto lobbying group recently said this could cause an "extinction event".

China's EV industry has surged past all others in recent years and aims to export vehicles globally, often at far lower prices than American EV offerings.

Biden nodded to that economic threat in his statement voicing concerns about espionage: "Were going to make sure the future of the auto industry will be made here in America with American workers."

Political and policy experts acknowledge the threat of Chinese spying but also see Biden's saber-rattling as another opportunity to demonstrate he is tough on China.

"The announcement seems as much oriented at blunting accusations of being weak against China as it is at finding a solution to this challenge," said Scott Kennedy, a China specialist at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Washington's Chinese Embassy criticized Biden, saying he was "hyping up the 'China threat' theory" to suppress competition.

Kennedy said the probe is reasonable, but he did worry it could also spur protectionism based on "over-stated national security concerns." He warned this could upend global supply chains and hurt U.S. production.

Many industry officials urged higher trade barriers against Chinese automakers, and the U.S. and Europe are considering them. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in January that otherwise, China will "demolish" global auto rivals.

Biden's administration offered no evidence of spying involving the very few Chinese-made cars on American roads today. Still, China has a history of using technology for U.S. surveillance. Washington last year launched an operation to fight a Chinese hacking operation that compromised thousands of internet-connected devices, Reuters reported in January.

Democratic strategist Jennifer Holdsworth said the administration's probe aligns with Biden's backing of union manufacturing jobs: "Good policy is often good politics."

BATTLEGROUND MICHIGAN

Restrictive trade policy toward China is a rare area of partisan agreement in a deeply divided America. Biden has essentially continued the trade war against China started by his predecessor - and now 2024 campaign opponent - Donald Trump.

Biden's rhetoric seeks to build support in Michigan, the hub of the U.S. auto industry and one of a handful of competitive states that will decide the 2024 election, said Michigan pollster Bernie Porn. GM, Ford and the U.S. operations of Chrysler parent Stellantis are all headquartered in the state.

"He really needs to go on the offensive and disarm Trump's argument that their jobs are going away to places like China," he said.

Trump often ridicules EVs on the campaign trail, calling them a job-killing "hoax" and a capitulation to China.

Biden, who has the endorsement of the United Auto Workers labor union, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the Detroit Three automakers and their factory workers.

Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said Chinese EVs posed both an economic and a security threat: "The bottom line is theres no place in the U.S. for vehicles made by Chinese Communist Party backed companies."

China EV makers' export surge is adding to the industry's fears and political pressure on Biden. BYD, the world's largest EV maker, confirmed plans this week to open a plant in Mexico at the U.S. doorstep, and launched its least-expensive car, the Dolphin Mini hatchback, in Latin America.

BYD has denied it plans to use Mexico as a springboard for the much larger American market.

Biden faces a gauntlet of conflicting political incentives in crafting his EV policy. He has tried to balance the environmental goal of forcing rapid EV adoption with trade policies aimed at effectively banning cars and components from China, which has developed the worlds most advanced and affordable supply chain for batteries and other EV components.

In reforming a $7,500 subsidy for EV buyers starting this year, the administration denied the incentive to cars with batteries or critical battery minerals from "foreign entities of concern" including China. This initially knocked dozens of vehicles off the eligibility list, including some from the Detroit Three, and sent automakers including Tesla scrambling to build China-free EV component supply chains.

As such rules raise the challenge for U.S. automakers in building affordable electric cars, the administration is separately negotiating with Detroit automakers on emissions rules meant to force them to speed up their EV transitions.

The proposed regulations would dramatically restrict tailpipe emissions with the goal of raising U.S. EV market share from less than 8% now to 67% in 2032.

'SCARY' SCENARIOS

As pressure builds from U.S. automakers and unions for more anti-China trade barriers, the administration is raising alarms of espionage threats, or even darker scenarios, involving high-tech Chinese cars.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo recently suggested that the Chinese government might try to wreak havoc by cutting off hundreds of thousands of Chinese connected vehicles on American roads. High-tech Chinese cars, she said, "could be immediately and simultaneously disabled by somebody in Beijing. It's scary to contemplate."

She also raised the threat of everyday privacy invasions by "bad actors" from "abroad."

Connected vehicles collect huge amounts of sensitive data, she said, possibly including where a parent drops off kids at school, common routes to the office and calls to drivers from a doctor about a medical issue or a bank about an overdue loan.

"It's an incredible amount of information that you think is private, but that could be transmitted abroad," Raimondo said, adding that text messages, location data, emails are all vulnerable.

Anna Puglisi, a former U.S. counterintelligence official, said Commerce's national security concerns were valid as cars incorporate more sensors and track location and personal contact information, especially when the companies involved come from a strategically motivated nation-state like China.

Some China automakers are state-owned and its communist government weilds broad authority over the whole sector.

"The broader issue is how do you deal with a nation-state that blurs public and private, civil and military, and commandeers its commercial sector to serve the strategic goals of the state?" Puglisi said.

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Jarrett Renshaw, Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom in Washington, additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, editing by Brian Thevenot and David Gregorio)
The fisherman baited his line with shrimp, then cast it into a deep pool connected to a river in Sri Lanka.

Eventually, he reeled in a nearly 3-foot long eel.

In May 2021, a photo of the fishermans catch was sent to Tharindu Ranasinghe  a researcher with the Wild Island Foundation  for identification, according to a study published Feb. 23 in the journal Zootaxa.

Researchers used DNA samples from the eel to identify it. Thats when they realized the catch was much more rare than just an eel.

The creature was actually an elusive Gymnothorax polyuranodon  a species not seen in Sri Lanka since 1937.

Gymnothorax polyuranodon was last caught in Sri Lanka in 1937, scientists said. Photo by Tharindu Ranasinghe

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Gymnothorax polyuranodon is the only known freshwater moray in the world, Hiranya Sudasinghe, one of the studys co-authors, told McClatchy News in a March 1 email.

The eels have been recorded from Indonesia to Fiji, and they have also been known to inhabit the wet tropics of Australia, scientists said. All recorded sightings of the species are associated with rainforest habitats.

This species is more common in the Pacific from Indonesia to Australia. However, in Sri Lanka, it is a very rare species, Sudasinghe said in his email. We think the reason for its rarity in Sri Lanka is because Sri Lanka is in the extreme range of the species distribution.

A photo gives a close-up view of the creatures head.

Gymnothorax polyuranodon is the only known freshwater moray in the world, according to researchers. Photo by Tharindu Ranasinghe

There are only three recorded encounters with Gymnothorax polyuranodon from Sri Lanka, experts said.

Scientists first recorded the species from Sri Lanka in 1937 based on a specimen caught with a hook and line in 1936 and a specimen captured in 1937, according to the study.

The most recent captured eel was caught in a pool on the Gin River in Wakwella, which is in southwestern Sri Lanka.

The study was co-authored by Hiranya Sudasinghe, Tharindu Ranasinghe and Lukas Ruber.

Large colorful creature  last seen 85 years ago  rediscovered. See rare find

Large metallic creature  thought extinct for 100 years  rediscovered on island

Deep-sea vampire squid suffocated 183 million years ago while hunting. Now its found
Satchels Last Resort is a no-kill shelter that rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes dogs and cats with nowhere else to go because of breed, behavior, or medical issues.

Nearly $160,000 will be awarded to 13 nonprofit animal organizations by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County through its annual Animal Welfare grant program to promote the humane care of domestic, farm, and wild animals across four counties.

The funds will help support emergency veterinary care for nonprofits that care for animals with support from the Helen C. Schwieder Fund, the Martha Leiter and Nancy Streetman Fund I, and the Rose and Ed Durham Fund.

Animals can be our closest companions, and its so important to support the nonprofits that ensure these animals health and well-being, said Kirsten Russell of the Community Foundation. By providing critical support for these emergency medical procedures, we can reduce animals pain and suffering, and they can live longer, fuller lives in relationship with their human caregivers.

The grants will support high-quality care focused on comfort and health, including veterinary equipment that is critical to the health and well-being of animals.

Nonprofits receiving support include Nates Honor Animal Rescue; Lost Pet Services Inc.; Suncoast Basset Rescue; Satchels Last Resort; Animal Rescue Coalition; Humane Society at Lakewood Ranch; Cat Depot; Venice Cat Coalition; Farmhouse Animal and Nature Sanctuary; Humane Society of Sarasota County; Feline Friends of Southwest Florida; Wildlife Center of Venice; and St. Francis Animal Rescue of Venice.

In the last four years, Animal Welfare grants have invested more than $721,000 in dozens of local nonprofit organizations working towards the betterment of animals in Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and DeSoto counties. The Animal Welfare grant cycle is offered annually.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County was founded in 1979 and has awarded more than $435.8 million in grants to support causes, addressing not only animal welfare, but also education, health and human services, the arts, and the environment, among others. To learn more about Animal Welfare grants or view other grant opportunities, visit cfsarasota.org/nonprofits/grants

Submitted by Rebecca Abrahamson

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Animal shelters, rescue centers gain grants from Community Foundation
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks to the media outside the Thomas P. O'Neil Jr. House Office Building on February 28, 2024 in Washington DC. Credit - Jemal CountessGetty Images for Congressional Integrity Project

As President Joe Biden prepares for his State of the Union address next week, some of Capitol Hills most high-profile progressive Democrats are urging him to use the speech to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza strip.

Of course, my hope would have beenand continues to bewe should have accomplished a ceasefire by now, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat who co-sponsored a resolution for an immediate ceasefire, tells TIME on Thursday. But absent that, I would certainly hope that he speaks to the necessity of that at the State of the Union.

Biden has already expressed a desire for a ceasefire. But doing so in his televised State of the Union speech in front of all members of Congress and the nation could strengthen the call for de-escalationand add pressure on Israel over the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.

When asked what Biden should discuss during his March 7 speech, Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, tells TIME, Of course on Israel and Gaza, hopefully, what hes been doing to press for a ceasefire and a peace agreement among everyone, along with other foreign policy priorities.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren emphasized her desire to see Biden call out Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. All of us need to be pushing hard on the Netanyahu government, she tells TIME. Warren is among the many Democrats that have backed a ceasefire to end the violence against civilians in the Gaza strip. Netanyahu has prosecuted this war in a way to create a monumental humanitarian disaster. He is not moving forward, retrieving the hostages or toward making Israelis safer. Hes watching out for his own political future, but not serving the interests of the state of Israel.

Democrats have warned that Bidens support of Israel and refusal to condition military aid to Israel has politically hurt him among young voters, progressives, people of color, and Muslim and Arab Americans. The criticism escalated during Tuesdays primary in Michigan, a state with a large Arab American population, where more than 100,000 Democrats voted "uncommitted" in place of Biden over his handling of the war.

Read More: In Michigan, a Win and a Warning for Biden

There's a lot of communities and constituencies that are wondering if the Democratic Party is still fighting for them, says Ocasio-Cortez.

Recent polling data from progressive polling firm Data for Progress shows that most voters support the U.S. calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and conditioning aid to Israel. A separate poll from the Associated Press and Norc in January found that about half of U.S. adults believed Israel had gone too far. More than 70 U.S. city councils, most run by Democrats, have passed resolutions in support of a ceasefire. And as of Thursday, 71 Democratic members of Congress have called for a ceasefire or deescalation of the war.

More From TIME

More than 30,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began after Hamas Oct. 7 attack against Israel, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Nearly five months into the war, Israel is now preparing to launch a ground operation in Rafah, Gazas southernmost town near the border with Egypt, where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering.

Biden previously said a temporary ceasefire in Gaza could come by next week, but he has since walked back that assessment. I was on the telephone with the people in the region, Biden told reporters on the South Lawn Thursday morning, adding: Probably not by Monday, but Im hopeful. A proposed six-week pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas would allow for the release of hostages being held in Gaza by the militant group in return for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. It would also allow trucks to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza every day.

The White House is hoping to secure a ceasefire before the onset of Ramadan, recognizing the historical significance of the period as a potential flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As of Tuesday, Hamas told the New York Times a deal isnt imminent.

Write to Nik Popli at nik.popli@time.com.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Deanna Thomas, a 56-year-old homeless woman who was as handcuffed, violently thrown on the ground and kneeled on by police officers in Kenner, Louisiana.

Thomas was arrested by the East Jefferson Levee District Police Department for residing on a levee in Kenner, according to a news release by the Justice Lab Initiative. The officers also seized and destroyed Thomass property, including her birth certificate, and irreplaceable personal effects.

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana previously ruled in favor of the defendants, agreeing that, because "Thomas could not show an injury resulting from her arrest sufficient to sustain her excessive force claim, she failed to show a violation of her constitutional rights," the release said.

ACLU and the Cardozo School of Law Civil Rights Clinic filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Deanna Thomas,

According to court documents, the incident occurred in 2020 when the two officers approached Thomas, explaining that she was unlawfully occupying a public space, and told her to leave.

Thomas did not immediately comply, so the officers arrested her. Furthermore, the documents state, after the arrest, Thomas sued the officers for violating the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force and unlawfully seizing her property.

The defendants argued that because Thomas could neither show an injury resulting from her arrest sufficient to sustain her excessive force claim, nor that the destruction of her property as an unhoused person violated clearly established law, she failed to show a violation of her constitutional rights. The district court agreed, and upheld the decision that the officers were entitled to immunity. Therefore, the court dismissed her lawsuit.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana and the Cardozo School of Law Civil Rights Clinic filed an appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Thomas. According to a news release, Thomas argued that she was required to provide more than her own sworn testimony to establish proof of her injuries. Further, she argued that with respect to her property claim, the defendants own testimony was that he ordered it to be destroyed.

The Fifth Circuit Court decided to reversed the dismissal of Thomass lawsuit as to her excessive force claim. In its decision, the court stated Thomas did produce evidence to show that officers used excessive force, in violation of clearly established law, by throwing her to the ground while she was restrained and subdued.

This win is a huge vindication for Ms. Thomas and everyone else who has experienced houselessness, said Nora Ahmed, ACLU of Louisiana legal director. Everyone, including police officers, should be held accountable for centering humanity and compassion in their work, especially as it concerns the most vulnerable members of our community.

Thomas v. Tewis marks the first Fifth Circuit victory this year for the ACLU of Louisianas Justice Lab Initiative, which seeks to challenge racially discriminatory policing practices and combat police violence against people of color through intensive litigation.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Homeless woman handcuffed, violently thrown on the ground wins appeal
Valentyna Khamaiko, a presenter of the 1+1 TV channel, admitted that the war had a great impact on her family's relationships. The TV journalist's husband stood up to defend the country when the Russian invasion began.

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According to Valentyna Khamaiko, over time, she began to feel that she and Andrii Onistrat were growing apart. And when he lost his eldest son at the front and was transferred closer to them at the request of his family, "I realized the depth of all the changes that have taken place in our country during the war," the OBOZ.UA host said.

"My husband thinks that he has not changed during the war. But in fact, he has changed a lot," says Valentyna Khamaiko. "When he came back from the front, I realized that he was not the same as before. Andrii underwent very difficult changes after losing his son Ostap at the front. The pain we are experiencing is unbearable... When my husband returned to the front after the funeral, I realized that we were growing apart. I caught myself thinking that when we talked on the phone, he was mostly silent. And then he hangs up  and that's it. The man continues to live in total pain. I was very afraid of his condition."

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"It was such an emotional swing  it's scary to remember," the TV presenter continues, "So I started asking my husband to transfer closer to us. Because we were falling apart as a family. He transferred. And then I realized the depth of all the changes that had happened to us during the war. I started looking for military psychologists, convincing Andriy that it was necessary. And not on the first attempt I managed to find a specialist whom he could trust. Two months have passed. And I can finally say that I see a completely different person now. Increased aggression, withdrawal  it's gone."

Read the full interview with Valentyna Khamaiko on OBOZ.UA on Sunday, March 3.

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Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
Norfolk prevailed in court against a developer that alleged it should have had first right to develop a casino in the city and sought damages over the citys casino plans with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.

The Court of Appeals of Virginia this week upheld a lower court decision dismissing a $100 million lawsuit that Cordish Companies, the developer of Waterside District, brought against Norfolk, Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and City Attorney Bernard Pishko.

Cordish Companies, a Baltimore-based developer, revamped Waterside in 2013. But when Norfolk leaders began to have conversations about bringing a casino to the city, Cordish-owned LLC Norfolk District Associates argued it should have had the exclusive right to develop and operate one based on its Waterside development agreement and lease.

In 2019, Norfolk approved a land deal with the Pamunkey Indian Tribe that set the stage for development of the HeadWaters Resort and Casino next to Harbor Park  less than a mile from Waterside. Those plans are still ongoing.

Norfolk District Associates sued in 2021 alleging the city breached its contract and actively sought to exclude Waterside from being the site of a casino. The case was based on definitions of a 2013 lease agreement between city leaders and the Waterside developers about the potential support and rights of the development to be home of a future casino.

The case was dismissed by a Richmond Circuit Court judge in 2022, but Cordish and its lawyers appealed.

In a 12-page ruling issued Tuesday, the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the lower court decision, finding the written agreement over Waterside does not place an obligation on the City and NRHA to use NDA to develop a casino.

All of NDAs assignments of error, and the underlying claims, turn on the premise that the City and NRHA breached enforceable contractual obligations owed to NDA under the lease agreement, wrote Judge Richard Y. AtLee on behalf of the three-judge panel. Because we find that section 10.2.1 was an unenforceable agreement to agree and a casino was not a permitted use under the terms of the agreement, we find that the circuit court did not err in sustaining the demurrers.

Cordish did not respond to a request for comment.

We are pleased to have the Court confirm that Cordish and [John] Lynch sued the city, city attorney and NRHA without a basis, Pishko said in a statement.

The appeal was first heard in July Judges AtLee, Doris Henderson Causey and James W. Haley, Jr. The ruling was released Tuesday after another round of oral arguments were heard in December.

This second round was agreed upon by the lawyers after one of the judges who heard the first appeal [cq comment=in the case  ]had to recuse themselves due to a conflict of interest.

The judges who heard the new round of oral arguments in December and made the ruling were AtLee, Haley and Dominique A. Callins, according to court documents, indicating Causey was the judge who recused. Requests to speak with Causey about the reason for the recusal were denied by Court of Appeals staff.

Ian Munro, 757-447-4097, ian.munro@virginiamedia.com
Apple has walked back its decision to remove home screen web apps in the European Union (EU). After initially blaming its decision to ditch them on the Digital Markets Acts (DMA) requirement to support non-WebKit browsers, Apple now says European users will return to enjoying the same web app experience from before when iOS 17.4 arrives early this month.

We have received requests to continue to offer support for Home Screen web apps in iOS, therefore we will continue to offer the existing Home Screen web apps capability in the EU, Apple wrote Friday in an updated developer support document. This support means Home Screen web apps continue to be built directly on WebKit and its security architecture, and align with the security and privacy model for native apps on iOS.

Progressive web apps (PWAs) act much like native apps with features like dedicated windows, notifications and local storage. Apple removed them for European customers in the second iOS 17.4 beta, instead asking if users want to open the website in Safari.

At the time, the company claimed web app support could compromise security, given the DMAs requirement to support non-WebKit browser engines. Addressing the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps using alternative browser engines would require building an entirely new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS and was not practical to undertake given the other demands of the DMA and the very low user adoption of Home Screen web apps, the company wrote in February.

The Open Web Advocacy organization chimed in quickly to criticize Apples now-reversed move. Apple has had 15 years to facilitate true browser competition worldwide, and nearly two years since the DMAs final text, the organization wrote in February. It could have used that time to share functionality it historically self-preferenced to Safari with other browsers. Inaction and silence speaks volumes.

The EU didnt sound much happier about the web app removal. European Commission officials said in late February they were probing Apples decision in what sounded like the build-up to a formal investigation. The Financial Times reported that regulators sent developers questions about the impact of Apples PWA removal.

Whatever may have happened between then and now to change Apples mind, its remaining tight-lipped. Instead, the company is framing its reversal as a simple response to requests it received to continue offering home screen web apps. Perhaps EU officials assured the iPhone maker the company wouldnt need to support PWAs from other browser engines, or maybe the company merely wanted to head off a formal probe (and the bad PR it could generate). Regardless, only European iOS 17.4 beta users are without web apps, and theyll have them back once the softwares final version arrives.
Saloni Patel has a key hand in helping make communities better and more beautiful  not only in the Quad Cities, but throughout Illinois and Iowa, and as far as Montana.

The super smart, passionate 28-year-old recently was promoted to senior architect at Streamline Architects, where shes worked since 2019. The growing influential firm is at the east edge of the Rust Belt complex in East Moline (owner Andrew Dasso also owns the Iron & Grain Coffee shop next door).

Saloni Patel, 28, is a senior architect at Streamline Architects, East Moline (photo by Jonathan Turner).

Saloni has been a rising star since joining Streamline Architects, Andrew Dasso, principal architect at Streamline, said Friday. Every client she works with enjoys her attentive care for their projects. She has been a leader in our firm and new employees look up to her. She is an exceptional, hard-working architect who cares tremendously for improving the communities she has worked with. She goes above and beyond on everything she does.

Patel has served as project architect for some very impactful projects at Streamline that fulfill her desires to improve the community. To name a few:

The Rebuild Downtown Rock Island improvements and Arts Alley

Davis Community Center in Mt. Carroll, Ill.

High Street Apartments in Des Moines

Bend XPO in East Moline

Patel started at Streamline in fall 2019, after earning her masters degree at University of Illinois, Champaign  a dual masters in architecture and civil engineering.

Patel is Indian-American, and earned a dual masters degree in 2019 in architecture and civil engineering at the University of Illinois.

An Indian-American native of Peoria, her parents are Indian immigrants who came to Peoria (for their masters at Bradley) for school. Her father was an engineer for Caterpillar, and now works for Morgan Stanley.

Architecture is the more creative field, compared to civil engineering, she said Friday. Architects still have to work within the restrictions of a project budget, client needs, the property and site limitations, and required permitting and code regulations.

Its a really fun design challenge and puzzle to make sure everything fits together, Patel said. At the end of the day, we also want to be proud of the work that were doing. All that coming together and seeing the impact of the project on people using it is really rewarding.

Patel has designed High Street Lofts, a new Des Moines apartment complex to open Aug. 1, 2024.

It was good to have that background on construction management, making sure projects come in under budget and on schedule, she said.

Patel (who just got married in January) always wanted to do something creative and technical as a career. I love sketching and drawing, seeing how things work together, and architecture is a lot of that, she said.

Its satisfying for an architect to walk into a beautiful building, when its brand new.

Oh yeah, I designed that. The most rewarding part is seeing people use that space, Patel said.

The $9-million Davis Community Center, which recently opened in Mount Carroll, was very special for her  since it was her first completed project as a licensed architect.

The William J. Davis Community Center in Mt. Carroll, Ill.

It involved talking with stakeholders, interviews with people who lived in that community, talking with some of the senior population who was going to be using it the most, Patel said, noting its also located next to a middle school.

All the different stakeholders involved in that process, to find out whats important to you  what do you want in that space and how can we make that work for you? she said. They started the project in spring 2021. Its great to see how busy it is all the time.

The gymnasium in the new privately-funded community center.

It was entirely funded by the private Davis Trust.

Revitalizing downtown Rock Island

Patel has been serving a similar role  meeting needs of a wide range of stakeholders  for the current downtown $7.4-million Rock Island revitalization project. Streamline first worked on the grant for Arts Alley in 2021, creating design concepts for that.

Arts Alley, a public alleyway at 1719 2nd Ave., Rock Island, will get a major overhaul and revitalization with the help of a $267,181 grant for the Quad Cities Chamber and city of Rock Island from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

A rendering of a revitalized Arts Alley, 1719 2nd Ave., Rock Island.

The city has committed about $200,000 for Arts Alley, among $1.5 million in downtown Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue for downtown infrastructure improvements. Additional matching funds for the $535,000 Arts Alley project come from the Doris & Victor Day Foundation, Quad City Arts, Rauch Family Foundation, Rock Island Arts Guild and the Rock Island Community Foundation.

Patel has worked closely with the city and Rock Island Downtown Alliance on that, and with Rock Island-based Veenstra & Kimm Engineering on the site plans, utilities and infrastructure throughout downtown.

Downtown WHBF tower rendering by Streamline (City of Rock Island)

A lot of the concepts for Rock Island  including tearing out the pedestrian plaza on 2nd Avenue, new streetscaping, and a new roundabout at 2nd Avenue and 18th Street  came from discussions with stakeholders, and a community survey, she said.

We dont want to force our ideas on people, Patel said. It needs to work for as many people as you can. Were not gonna be able to make 100 percent of people happy 100 percent of the time. Its a work in progress.

Roundabouts are becoming more common in cities nationwide, including a number of new ones in Bettendorf and Davenport.

Rendering of the planned downtown roundabout at Rock Islands 2nd Avenue and 18th Street (City of Rock Island)

There is a lot of research that shows roundabouts help in slowing down speeds, making safer intersections, slowing down vehicles at intersections and it keeps traffic moving because youre not forced to stop, Patel said. You can just yield and keep going.

People are naturally hesitant with things like this that theyre not familiar with, she said. Once you get used to it, its like anything. You get used to it and it becomes part of your normal day to day, no big deal.

The downtown Rock Island timetable is to have construction starting this spring, through the end of 2025.

A rendering of a new downtown Rock Island roundabout, including the new Arts Alley at left.

Theres going to be coordination with business owners in the downtown area before construction starts, Patel said. This is how we will accommodate it, this is how people can still get to your space. At the end of the day, yes it is an inconvenience, we definitely understand that, but it is to bring more people into that space once everything is said and done.

We want to make it cohesive overall, Patel said. These are things that can be spread to other parts of Rock Island as well, like landscaping or better lighting, street infrastructure.

Creating attractive spaces

Streamline helps to create spaces and environments that are attractive for people to visit  improving tourism, local economy and residential life.

Patel is working on a high-end condominium building in Whitefish, Montana, with views of Glacier National Park  since an apartment building owner in Des Moines that Streamline works with has a vacation home there.

Patel at her East Moline offices Friday, March 1, 2024 (photo by Jonathan Turner).

Were along for the ride and its been a really great process, Patel said, noting theyre also doing a couple Pennsylvania projects.

Streamline opened an Iowa City office two years ago. They have six licensed architects now in East Moline, and Patel was the first woman. When she joined in 2019, there were just six total staff and now there are 19 (including project managers, graphic design, industrial design and interior design).

It really is a one-stop shop, from start to finish, providing full-service design, she said.

Patel most loves the nonprofit, working with cities and communities, including fire stations, community centers and public streetscaping. Shes also worked a lot on residential projects.

Patel is committed to social justice and environmental sustainability.

As architects, we have a big responsibility as were adding more to our environment, we are creating things that will stay here longer than we are, its our responsibility that they have a positive impact, she said. If were gonna leave anything behind, it should be positive.

The planned new Fresh Films production studio in Rock Island County, designed by Streamline Architects.

Shes an accredited professional in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which is a certification for certain buildings if the client wants that, through the U.S. Green Building Council.

We are accredited to provide that service for them, she said, noting Streamline has not yet done LEED projects. In the Quad Cities, theres not a huge push for LEED projects. A lot of times, clients have this mindset that it adds extra costs to go through the documentation, which to an extent it does. But it also pays off when you can use that in their marketing.

Downtown gateway rendering (City of Rock Island)

Streamline always tries to incorporate sustainability into all its projects, reducing any negative environmental impacts, Patel said.

Downtown Rock Island has included a lot of green space and landscaping features, she noted. A proposed dog park is still to be determined.

Streamline has provided renderings for the planned new $12-million Fresh Films production studio, to include two 20,000-square-foot soundstages, to attract film and TV production to Rock Island County.

A rendering for the new Iconic Coffee + Energy on 18th Street in Bettendorf.

The firm also did design for the new Iconic Coffee + Energy, which is renovating an old Jiffy Lube location at 2777 18th Street, Bettendorf.

Promoting women in work

A big priority for Patel is volunteering for Lead(h)er, the QC womens mentorship and networking organization.

She had first started as a project manager at Streamline, and asked Dasso to hire a female architect so she could have a mentor. He recommended joining Lead(h)er, which in 2020 matched her with Kari Uhlenkamp (who works at Bray Architects, Davenport).

Shes been great, and Lead(h)er has been really instrumental in that, Patel said Friday. As she was going through the process of becoming licensed (including 3,000 hours of work experience and six licensing exams), her mentor was very supportive.

Lead(h)er executive director Hannah Howard (photo by Jonathan Turner).

Once I became licensed, I eventually got two mentees of my own, Patel said, noting one is a female architect at Streamline. Its been really rewarding to have it come full circle.

She is now serving on the Lead(h)er board of directors.

Lead(h)er is fortunate to have Saloni as a lead(h)er within our community, Lead(h)er executive director Hannah Howard said by email Friday.

Saloni actively empowers other women as a Lead(h)er mentor, board member and dedicated volunteer. Saloni is a wonderful role model and I am excited to see her impact within Lead(h)er and the Quad Cities continue to grow, she said.

Nationwide, women comprise just 17 percent of all architects, and Patel says it should be closer to half.

Melissa Morse is a senior architect at Streamline, 575 12th Ave., East Moline.

Its disappointing, because you see in architecture school, its always 50/50, she said. You get into the real world and its like, where did they all go? Theres a lot of barriers, as women further their careers and start families. All these things, you want the best of both worlds, but sometimes your career has to be sacrificed for it, which I dont believe it. You can have it all.

Architecture historically was associated with engineering, itself a very male-dominated field, Patel said. Even now, architecture is design, but I would love to see more women in architecture. We need more women in architecture.

The people who use your space are not 17 percent women  the people who are going to use our space are 50 percent and 50 percent women, she said. So the people who design it should be 50 percent men, 50 percent women.

Thats why Im so passionate not only about women in architecture, but also minorities in architecture, Patel said.

Patel also has a podcast episode about her mentorship experience. Its episode 4 of Her Stories and can be found on Lead(h)ers website HERE.

Lead(h)er last fall honored Samantha Widener, left, as 2023 Mentor of the Year and Emily Cummings as Mentee of the Year.

Streamline will host a Lead(h)er Huddle on Thursday, April 4 on impostor syndrome and breaking down barriers.

I think its great to bring women together from all over the Quad Cities, it doesnt matter what your profession is, Patel said. A lot of us have had similar experiences  theres a lot that can be learned from networking, interacting with other women working in a similar area.

The Huddle will hosted by Streamline, at Iron & Grain (585 12th Ave., East Moline), and is free to any woman in the QC community. The exact time is to be determined; check the Lead(h)er Facebook page.

Patel is an active member of AIA Iowas Citizen Architect Program, an initiative that recognizes community involvement and service to the Quad-City region and professionals across the state. She also serves on other committees through Family Resources, NCARB and Anoopam Mission.

For more information on Streamline, click HERE.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
(FOX40.COM)  A Phoenix, Arizona man is facing charges of false information and hoaxes in connection to a falsified Roseville church bombing in 2023, according to the United States Attorneys Office Eastern District of California.

The Arizona man is said to have planted a backpack on a toilet in the bathroom of the church on Nov. 12, 2023.

Roseville man suspect in Vacaville elder abuse, purse snatching

Investigators determined that the man intended for the backpack to convey there was a bomb inside.

In September, October and November 2023, the same man is believed to have conducted similar hoax bombings at a Arizona church, La Mesa, CA church and Colorado church respectively.

Sierra County cracking down on semi-trucks using narrow mountain roads

The case is still undergoing investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state and local law enforcement agencies.

A maximum sentence could place the man in jail for five years with an accompanying fine of $250,000.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.
Arizona Republicans are rallying behind a proposed law that critics say would amount to legalizing murder.

House Bill 2843 would expand the Castle Doctrine, which gives people the right to use deadly force when threatened by home intruders, to include trespassers. State Rep. Justin Heap (R) filed the bill to give people living in the border state wider latitude to use force against unauthorized migrants who cut through private property on their way into the United States.

Its horrifying that Republicans want to allow people to legally shoot and kill migrants, state Rep. Analise Ortiz (D) told HuffPost. Especially when so many folks are seeking their legal right to seek asylum in the United States. Its just wrong.

The bill stems from a decadeslong trend in conservative state legislatures to expand the right of individuals to protect themselves with firearms. Such stand your ground laws typically remove the obligation for people to retreat to safety when they feel threatened, and extend immunity to prosecution for those who commit a homicide in cases where they believe they face an attack.

Heap said at a Judiciary Committee hearing last month that he filed the bill over concerns brought by local prosecutors who were having issues in the case where you have farmers and ranchers who want to trespass someone from their property, by which he meant remove someone from their property. He noted concerns about migrants and human traffickers specifically.

But Heaps proposal is more unique than that description suggests, according to Lindsay Nichols, policy director for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Castle Doctrine laws, including Arizonas, have not historically applied to areas outside a persons home.

Its a particularly alarming instance of this trend, Nichols said. The prospect of a world in which you can be executed without due process for accidentally stepping onto someones property is terrifying.

Dustin Williamson, the regional legal director at Everytown for Gun Safety, said Arizonas expansive gun laws would make the proposal even more dangerous.

Arizona already has a dangerous Shoot First law on the books that allows people to shoot and kill others even if they know they can easily and safely walk away from a confrontation, Williamson wrote in an email. To prevent senseless acts of gun violence, lawmakers in the state should reject any attempt to broaden its self-defense laws to further encourage armed vigilantism.

The Arizona House of Representatives passed the bill last week on partisan lines and it has favorable odds in the Senate. Republicans control both houses of the Arizona legislature with slim majorities.

The bill is unlikely to become law. Observers expect the states Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, to veto the bill if both bodies pass it. Hobbs office did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, opponents say the proposal harnesses hostility over the hot-button issue of immigration to legalize activity that today constitutes murder.

The real-life example of rancher George Alan Kelly is playing out in state court as Heaps bill moves through the legislature. Heap did not cite the case specifically when explaining his proposal, but Kelly has made headlines for allegedly shooting into a group of unauthorized migrants traveling across his ranch.

George Alan Kelly, center, enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Arizona, on Feb. 22, 2023. via Associated Press

Prosecutors portray Kellys case as far from one of self-defense, however. Kelly, 75, has contended that a man within a group of migrants traveling along his property wielded a semi-automatic rifle. But the criminal complaint against Kelly says that no one within the group possessed a weapon and that Kelly fired without warning from a hidden position.

Kelly changed his story about why he opened fire several times. He told sheriffs deputies that he did not know how Gabriel Cuen Butimea, 48, died and had backed away from the body when he found it, according to court records.

Upon arriving at the location of Cuen Butimeas corpse, however, Kelly commented that the man died from a shot through the lung and heart. Law enforcement officials could only confirm the exit wound by repositioning the body, court records say.

Kelly later admitted to opening fire at the group of migrants, but said he only fired warning shots. He is scheduled to face trial for second-degree murder and aggravated assault this month.
FILE - Voters deliver their ballot to a polling station in Tempe, Ariz., on Nov. 3, 2020. In a ruling Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton is upholding most of the provisions of new Arizona laws that would require counties to verify the status of registered voters who havent provided proof of U.S. citizenship and cross-check voter registration information with various government databases. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)

PHOENIX (AP)  A federal judge is upholding provisions of new Arizona laws that would require counties to verify the status of registered voters who havent provided proof of U.S. citizenship and cross-check voter registration information with various government databases.

In a ruling Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton concluded Arizona legislators did not discriminate when they adopted the laws and the state does have an interest in preventing voter fraud and limiting voting to those individuals eligible to vote.

Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizonas interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizonas elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide (documentary proof of citizenship), she wrote.

However, Bolton said the requirement for individuals using a state registration form to include their state or country of birth violates a provision of the Civil Rights Act and a section of the National Voter Registration Act. Doing so, she explained, would result in the investigation of only naturalized citizens based on county recorders subjective beliefs that a naturalized individual is a non-citizen.

The lengthy ruling summarizes testimony from a bench trial in late 2023 at which experts testified about Arizona's history of voting discrimination. That included literacy tests effectively precluding Native American and Latino voters from participating and voter roll purges in the 1970s and 80s that created barriers for minorities to re-register to vote.

That was the past, the judge wrote, noting there was no evidence presented by the plaintiffs reflecting an intent by lawmakers to suppress voter registrations of members of minority groups or naturalized citizens when they considered the bills in 2022.

The laws were passed amid a wave of proposals that Republicans introduced in the wake of Joe Bidens 2020 victory in Arizona over Donald Trump.

In an earlier ruling, Bolton blocked a requirement in Arizona law that people who use a federal voter registration form provide additional proof of citizenship if they want to vote for president or use the states vote-by-mail system. The judge had ruled those provisions were trumped by a 1993 federal voter registration law.

She also had ruled that a 2018 consent decree prevents Arizona from enforcing its new requirement to reject any state voter registration forms that arent accompanied by proof of citizenship. The decree said Arizona may not reject an otherwise valid state voter registration form without proof of citizenship, but rather must register such an applicant for federal elections.

Arizona is required to accept the federal registration form, but anyone who does not provide proof of citizenship is only allowed to vote for president, the U.S. House or Senate. The federal form requires people to swear they are U.S. citizens, but there is no proof requirement.

Federal-only voters have been a subject of political wrangling since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona cannot require documentary proof of citizenship for people to vote in national elections. The state responded by creating two classes of voters: those who can vote in all races and those who can vote only in federal elections.

After being approved on party-line votes, then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed the measures into law.

Election integrity means counting every lawful vote and prohibiting any attempt to illegally cast a vote, Ducey wrote in a March 2022 letter when approving one of the proposals.

The laws were challenged by voting rights groups and the U.S. Department of Justice. They argued the new rules would make registering voters more difficult.

This ruling provides a cautionary note that should discourage officials from considering imposition of restrictive or burdensome proof of citizenship demands or requests for unnecessary information from voters before registering them to vote in federal elections, said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division. The Justice Department will continue its vigorous enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and other federal laws to ensure that eligible voters are able to register and vote in federal elections vote.

Some also suggested the statutes were an attempt to get the issue back in front of a more conservative Supreme Court.

While supporters said the measures would affect only voters who have not shown proof of citizenship, voting advocates claimed hundreds of thousands of people who havent recently updated their voter registration or drivers license could be affected.

The ruling states that Arizona has required documentary proof of citizenship since 2005, and the new laws supplement that requirement to ensure non-citizens do not register to vote or remain on the voter rolls.

One of the two measures examined by Bolton would require state election officials to cross check registration information with various government databases to try to prove their citizenship and report anyone they cant find to prosecutors.

The court finds that though it may occur, non-citizens voting in Arizona is quite rare, and non-citizen voter fraud in Arizona is rarer still, the ruling states. But while the voting laws are not likely to meaningfully reduce possible non-citizen voting in Arizona, they could help to prevent non-citizens from registering or voting.
For AR Kids spokesperson Bill Kopsky points out polling data the group collected regarding a proposed constitutional amendment it hopes to submit to voters during a press conference on Dec. 21, 2023 in the Old Supreme Court chamber of the Arkansas Capitol. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Supporters of a ballot initiative to amend the Arkansas Constitutions education clause will begin collecting signatures next week following the attorney generals approval of ballot language Friday.

The Arkansas Educational Rights Amendment of 2024 aims to hold private schools that receive state funding to the same standards at public schools.

Attorney General Tim Griffin certified the proposals popular name and ballot title with several minor changes in a Friday opinion.

Griffin twice rejected For AR Kids initiative after the ballot group submitted its first proposal in December.

AG Education Amendment Approval

Bill Kopsky, For AR Kids spokesman and Arkansas Public Policy Panel executive director, told the Advocate Friday that the changes to the proposal over the last couple months have made the measure stronger.

We have a real opportunity to take a big step for Arkansas students with this measure, Kopsky said. [we] just got to go do the rest of the work now, so were excited.

The proposed constitutional amendment is backed by the For AR Kids coalition, which includes the Public Policy Panel, Arkansas Education Association, Arkansas Conference of the NAACP, Citizens First Congress and Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES).

For AR Kids will host a rally at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Arkansas State Capitol where people can learn more about the effort and sign petitions. Supporters have until July 5 to collect 90,704 signatures from at least 50 counties to qualify the measure for the 2024 ballot.

In a statement, Elaine Williams, an early childhood educator from Prescott and Arkansas Citizens First Congress education chair, said it feels wonderful to finally start the signature process to put these solutions to help our students before voters.

We know we have deep support across the state and we can finally put months of drafting and researching and drafting the measure behind us and get on with the campaign to inform voters about it, Williams said.

The proposed ballot measure is a response to a new voucher program that provides nearly $6,700 per student in state funding for allowable educational expenses, including private school tuition.

Created through the LEARNS Act, critics say the Educational Freedom Account program is unfair because private schools receiving state funding dont have to follow the same requirements as their public counterparts, such as admitting all students, providing transportation and administering certain standardized tests.

The LEARNS Act does require private schools to administer approved annual exams for EFA students.

In addition to equal standards, the proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee voluntary universal access to pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds, after-school and summer programming, quality special education and assistance for children in families within 200% of the Federal Poverty Line ($62,400 for a family of four).

The measure would also establish the minimum quality standards ordered in the Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee court decision. That case, which lasted 15 years, established a process for Arkansas public schools to be adequately funded.

The post Arkansas AG approves ballot title for public education coalitions initiative appeared first on Arkansas Advocate.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Friday that her office was arranging a review of the Arkansas levee system.

Sanders said she had signed a memorandum of agreement with the Commissioner of State Lands Tommy Land to undertake an inventory of the current system. The review will take place as part of the larger Arkansas State Water Plan, which is currently being updated per an executive order signed by the governor in August 2023.

Levee failure prompts flash flood warning in Poinsett County

The full inventory would allow the state to better prepare for flooding events and reduce flood risk, the governor said.

Arkansas levees provide critical protection to communities across our state, Sanders said. But we cant make improvements and repairs to our levee system if we dont have a comprehensive inventory of our existing facilities.

Arkansas Levee Task Force Presents Final Report to Governor Hutchinson

Funding for the levee inventory will be shared from a U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Planned Assistance to States agreement coupled with state funds. State Lands Commissioner Land has agreed to provide up to $250,000 as the states portion of the project cost, officials said.

As Commissioner of State Lands and member of the 2019 Arkansas Levee Task Force, I have seen first-hand the importance of our levee system and what happens when those systems fail, Land said. It is vital for us to have an up-to-date view of our current levee system so they may be properly maintained and we will be prepared for potential disasters.

Lollie Levee holding steady in Faulkner County

According to figures from the American Society of Civil Engineers, Arkansas has 1,593 miles of levees protecting $53.1 billion in property.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
(Getty Images)

A member of Arkansas prison oversight board on Thursday rejected mounting pressure that he resign over allegations in a civil lawsuit that he covered up child sex abuse at a youth camp.

Board of Corrections member Alonza Jiles in a statement said the allegations about him in the lawsuits against the Lords Ranch were false, and he said the calls for him to resign by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin and several state lawmakers were part of the political fight with the board over control of state prisons.

I have been asked repeatedly by the media and politicians to comment on the lawsuits involving the Lords Ranch in which I am named as a defendant, Jiles said. The allegations against me are false. I was not aware of, nor did I participate in any child abuse. I did not preside over a wedding of any minor at the Lords Ranch. I have kept silent about this on the advice of counsel and because these lawsuits are pending.

Alonza Jiles (Arkansas Department of Corrections)

Jiles comments came the same day Sanders called for his ouster.

The accusations against Alonza Jiles are concerning and a distraction from his work and the work of the Board of Corrections, Sanders said. I am calling on Mr. Jiles to resign from his post and allow our state to fully focus on improving community safety and ending the revolving door in our prisons.

Jiles was an administrator at the Lords Ranch, a youth camp and psychiatric treatment facility in Northeast Arkansas that opened in 1976 and closed in 2016 when owner Ted Suhl was convicted of bribing a state official to help increase Medicaid payments to his companies.

Abuse allegations came to light last year when a group of former residents at the ranch sued, claiming they were habitually raped and sexually molested as boys by the camps director of social services, Emmett Presley.

Suhl, Jiles and other camp leaders were aware of the abuse, but rather than taking action to stop it, they covered it up, according to the federal lawsuit.

The number of lawsuits against the ranch has now grown to five.

Public strife

The lawsuit and allegations against Jiles were reported in November, but some of those who have now called for his resignation said they only recently became aware of the claims.

Public pressure on Jiles began a few weeks after former parole board chairman and Board of Corrections member Jamol Jones resigned after it became public that he was fired as a police officer after he lied to investigators before later admitting having sex with a minor.

The pressure on Jiles also comes during the ongoing dispute between Sanders and the prison board. What began as a battle over additional inmate space has morphed into a broader legal fight over who has the ultimate authority over Arkansas prisons.

A judge for now has sided with the board, but the attorney general filed notice last week that he plans to appeal that ruling.

Jiles resignation would give Sanders the opportunity to appoint a new member to the board. Five of the boards seven members were appointed by previous governors and have voted to oppose Sanders at several points, including on a motion in December to sue Sanders and former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri.

Huckabee connection

Sanders has political ties to Suhl and Jiles through her father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who appointed both men to state boards.

Indeed, Sanders was on Suhls plane with her dad when it made an emergency landing in 2006.

Huckabee and Suhl remained connected even after Huckabee left office, and then-President Donald Trump granted Suhl clemency in 2019 at Huckabees request.

Huckabee at the time said Suhl was the victim of a zealous prosecution.

Jiles was initially appointed to the Board of Corrections by Huckabee in 2006. After a hiatus, he was reappointed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2022 to a five-year term.

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The post Arkansas prison board member declines to resign over civil lawsuit allegations appeared first on Arkansas Advocate.
UPDATE: Gabriel Rounds, 19, has been charged with carrying a weapon on school property and theft of a firearm.

The School Resource Officer at Hamilton High School said there was a report of shots fired in the area.

The SRO saw Rounds on the school property with a gun in his waistband. He took off running when he saw the officer.

The Glock 19 was loaded with 17 rounds. It was found to be stolen out of Horn Lake, MS.

Gabriel Rounds is set to appear in court Monday morning.

**

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Police detained an armed male at Hamilton High School on Thursday, Memphis Police said.

Police were called to the school on E. Person Avenue in South Memphis at 2:30 p.m. They were told school officers had detained an armed male.

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That person was taken into custody by Memphis Police. They are investigating.

MSCS says the following robocall message was shared with Hamilton High School families after the incident.

(Hamilton HS staff) calling to make you aware of a situation that occurred at school today. Our school was placed on a brief precautionary lockdown because a man came onto our campus with a weapon. MSCS Safety & Security and local law enforcement immediately responded, and the weapon was confiscated without incident. At no time did the individual enter the school or approach or threaten any staff or students.

Safety is our top priority at Hamilton High School, and that is why (we) thought it was important for you to hear (from us) directly. As always, (we) appreciate your continued support and partnership. Have a good night.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Veronika Shchiptsova, the head of the Miss Ukraine Organizing Committee, has announced important and joyful news for Ukrainians: Russian representatives will no longer appear in international beauty pageants, including Miss World 2023. This decision had been made by the show's organizing committee earlier, but due to the high-profile story of a Russian representative's inappropriate behavior towards a Ukrainian woman at the Miss Europe 2024 pageant, it had to be announced earlier.

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Two years ago, the organizers of Miss Ukraine requested that the aggressor country be excluded from any international beauty pageants, and this was only recently implemented, Veronika Shchiptsova said on Instagram. Therefore, this year's representative of Ukraine at Miss World 2023, Sofia Shamia, can feel safe and not worry about the aggressive attitude of the aggressor country thanks to the decision of the show's CEO Julia Morley.

"With the beginning of the war in Ukraine two years ago, we made a written request and a video appeal to not allow Russia to participate in any international beauty pageants with which our committee cooperates. Thanks to Mrs. Julia Morley, our Sofia Shamia can feel safe at Miss World 2023 and carry all the important messages," Shchiptsova wrote.

ADVERTISIMENT

According to the head of Miss Ukraine, this resonant message was supposed to be delivered later, but threats coming from Russian Rosa Gadieva at Miss Europe 2024, who also won the contest, and Belarusian Irina Maksimovich, forced them to announce that there would be no slander in the future earlier.

"We are grateful that this year's Miss Ukraine Sofia Shamia can walk on the Miss World stage without looking back in fear for her safety and speak proudly and loudly about supporting Ukraine in the international arena," Shchiptsova said.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber . Don't fall for fakes!
Forensics officers work at the scene of a shooting at a detached house in the municipality of Scheessel. A Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of having shot four people in the district of Rotenburg in Lower Saxony. Sina Schuldt/dpa

The suspect in a shooting in the north-western state of Lower Saxony is a 32-year-old soldier, the German army or Bundeswehr confirmed on Friday.

The soldier is said to have shot four people in the communities of Scheeel and Bothel in the district of Rotenburg. One of them is reportedly a child.

The suspect is not a soldier from a nearby barracks in Rotenburg, the police said. An army spokeswoman did not provide any further details about the man when asked.

Investigators have not ruled out a domestic dispute as the motive behind the shootings but so far few details have been released.

The window at the front door of a detached house is seen broken in the municipality of Scheessel, where A Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of having shot four people in the district of Rotenburg in Lower Saxony. Sina Schuldt/dpa

A car is parked behind a cordon near a barracks. A German Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of shooting dead four people in the Lower Saxony district of Rotenburg, before turning himself in, the police and prosecution announced on Friday. Sina Schuldt/dpa
ASHFORD, Ala (WDHN)  The Dothan Houston County Library System (DHCLS) received two donations totaling $50,000 from Alabama State Senator and Hartford native Donnie Chesteen to support the new Ashford Library.

According to Director Chris Warren, one donation of $25,0000 will support the librarys programming and outreach programs. This includes after-school programs and classroom activities focused on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

This started about two years ago, said Sen. Chesteen about the librarys afterschool programs and classroom enrichment activities. I asked [Chris Warren, DHCLS Director] how we could support these programs, and he said that additional funding would have the greatest impact. Im proud to see how the staff have expanded these programs and proud to support the librarys efforts to help our local students.

Warren says the second donation of $25,000 will go to the capital campaign, an ongoing project to refurbish the former MidSouth Bank IT/Data Center in the heart of Downtown Ashford for the new location of the Ashford Library.

The renovated space will hold a collection of 20,000 items, a 500-square-foot program area, dedicated space for children and their families, and more.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB)  Property owners in Amherst and Williamsville will soon be getting their new assessment notices from the town, and many residents are bracing to see how much more they will be paying in taxes.

Those new notices will be arriving over the weekend or early next week.

These assessment notices will reflect the new full-value on properties throughout Amherst and Williamsville. This comes after the town approved a hike in the tax cap of 11.4 percent.

The town of Amherst has been updating property assessments for over 20 years. But a couple years ago, the town board adopted a resolution to bring property assessments to full market value.

For example, the town says a home thats currently assessed at $300,000 would now be assessed at $483,000. On the new notices, there will be a hypothetical estimate of the taxes based on last years budget.

When you receive your notice, we really want people to look at that new value and kind of ask themselves is this what we could sell our house for? If its not, then, thats when youre going to want to take the next steps, said Emily Murphy, the Amherst assessor.

Shes referring to challenging your assessment. Murphy says her office has been getting dozens of calls from residents about their taxes.

Typically during a reassessment ,were going to see about a third of the properties have a slight decrease in their tax bills, about a third will stay the same and then, about a third will see a bit of an increase in their tax bills, Murphy said.

For some perspective on how these new assessments will affect the housing market in Amherst and Williamsville, we heard from Deb Kilbourn, a licensed real estate agent. She agrees the changes will price many out of the market.

The losers are all the homeowners, the senior citizens, the young homeowners anyone, anyone even the people who have the houses in the nice, nice neighborhoods they cant afford $20,000 a year in taxes either, Kilbourn said.

As a reminder, Friday is the deadline for seniors to upgrade to the Enhanced Star tax exemption.

Property owners can challenge or contest their new property assessment. New assessments in Amherst and Williamsville will be finalized on July 1.

Its a sellers market, because theres a housing shortage so that means that people are getting 10, 15 offers on every house and its forcing the price of the home up, but with that with the higher taxes its just going to make it so people are actually going to have to stay still, Kilbourn said, Because theyre locking into a 3.75 percent when they bought their house, now if they bought a new house theyre going to have to pay a 7 percent plus higher in taxes, so its not worth it, so people are just going to have to stay put and remodel and upgrade what they have already existing which is then going to increase the shortage even more.

Latest Local News

Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
An associate of embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez pleaded guilty to new bribery charges, changing his previous plea after facing a superseding indictment.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Jose Uribe, a New Jersey insurance broker, with seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

He pleaded guilty to all counts on 1 March, altering his previous not guilty plea.

Uribe had initially faced one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in September, when he was indicted alongside the New Jersey senator, his wife and two other Menendez associates for allegedly committing a years-long bribery scheme.

His sentencing is scheduled for 14 June.

The superseding indictment alleges Uribe gave Nadine Menendez, the Senators wife, a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for Mr Menendezs official authority and influence to help out Uribes associate in a criminal investigation in his home state.

Regarding the obstruction of justice charge, Uribe allegedly caused his then-counsel to make false and misleading statements the the US Attorney for the Southern Districts office regarding the car payments, saying they were loans in an effort to interfere with a federal investigation.

In support of the tax evasion charge, the indictment states that from 2016 through 2021, Uribe established a network of business entities, called Nominee Companies, in otheres names, received income through Nominee Companies, yet failed to report income received from it to the IRS.

Mr Menendez  and all the other co-defendants  have pleaded not guilty. He has been being charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

He has also rejected repeated calls to resign from Congress. He did, however, step down from serving as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Australia man who stalked former coworker for months before killing her sentenced to 36 years in jail

A 39-year-old Australian man who stalked a former coworker for months before killing her was sentenced by the Supreme Court to 36 years in prison on Friday.

The Australian man named Luay Sako stalked Celeste Manno for months before killing her on 16 November 2020. He stabbed her repeatedly with a kitchen knife after she posted a photograph of her with her boyfriend.

Sako had previously worked with the 23-year-old Manno at a call centre. He was fired from the job in 2019 and began stalking her for months.

Manno had begged Sako to stop stalking him and had even got a court-imposed intervention order. But that did not stop Sako from attacking her.

The mother of the victim from Melbourne said it was unbelievable that the court did not grant him a life sentence.

Aggie Di Mauro said outside the court on Friday: Its outrageous, absolutely unbelievable, that the court decided to grant him mercy even though he showed Celeste none.

Quite clearly, his right to mercy was more important than her right to life.

On the day Manno was killed, Sako went to her house at 3.38am, just hours after she posted a photo with her new boyfriend on social media.

Celeste deserved life, but you decided otherwise, Justice Jane Dixon told Sako.

After attacking Celeste, you dropped the knife on the bedroom floor and left via a window.

You carried out the attack with chilling efficiency.

Sako was later arrested but he refused to accept responsibility for Mannos death. Instead, he told police that his memory of the event was fuzzy, ABC News reported.

According to the report, at the time of the murder, Sako had an undiagnosed extreme personality disorder, depression and body dysmorphia as per the forensic psychiatrist, Rajan Darjee.

Justice Dixon said Sakos judgement was impaired at the time of the killing but added that he was capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong. She imposed a 36-year sentence with a non-parole period of 30 years. Sako has already served about three years in pre-sentence custody.

She said that Sakos offence warranted a very stern sentence but not life imprisonment.

I have kept in mind the devastating impact of your offence on Celestes family and friends  but your psychiatric condition at the time of the offending reduces your moral culpability, she said.

Ms Di Mauro told reporters she was devastated by the sentence.

I dont believe in parole. I dont believe in releasing murderers to murder again, she said.

At this point, I can only pray that the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) and the Court of Appeal recognise that true justice in this case demands a life sentence, Ms Di Mauro said.

That little trust that I had left in this system has been completely destroyed by todays outcome.
As Australia announces plans to double its naval fleet and boost defence spending, the country is also looking to France to help counter China's expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Last week, Australia outlined a 10-year plan to double its fleet of major warships and boost defence spending by the equivalent of 6.5 billion.

"It is the largest fleet that we will have since the end of the Second World War," said Defence Minister Richard Marles.

In an op-ed for China's Global Times, which often echos the official line of the Communist Party, analyst Qin Sheng accused Australia of descending "into the abyss of an arms race" caused by the US, which "has been using its influence to peddle a cold war mentality to its allies both in Europe and the Western Pacific".

But analysts say Australia is facing a genuine and serious threat.

The Australian government's latest defence strategy review, published last year, posed the question: does Australia have the capability to defend itself in the new circumstances of our time?

"The answer was no," says Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor of politics with the University of New South Wales based at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

The review states that the US is no longer "the unipolar leader of the Indo-Pacific" and that as a result of the growing rivalry between Beijing and Washington, "the region has seen the return of major power strategic competition".

The submarine debacle was a temporary setback, he believes.



Read more on RFI English



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Indigenous Australian art bridges ancient and modern worlds in Paris exhibition
[Source]

Netflix announced on Wednesday that Dan Lin, founder of Rideback Productions, will serve as the next chairman of the company's film division.

The announcement: Lin, 50, will be succeeding Scott Stuber, who served as head of Netflix Film for seven years before noting his departure last month to start his own media company. Lin is set to take the new position on April 1 and report to Netflix's chief content officer Bela Bajaria.

About Lin: Lin, known for his work on projects like the live-action remake of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" and the Oscar-nominated film "The Two Popes," is the CEO and founder of Rideback Productions. The son of Taiwanese immigrants was also a former senior vice president of production at Warner Bros. where he produced movies such as The Departed, Sherlock Holmes, The Lego Movie and It.

Netflix Film plans: The streaming giant is expected to focus on quality control and reduce the number of films it produces annually, with Lin's role expected to differ from Stuber's era of lavish budgets and limited oversight. Netflix remains committed to its streaming-first strategy, resisting the trend of other services entering the theatrical marketplace.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

While Ive been approached many times during my past 15 years at Rideback, I could truly never imagine leaving until Bela reached out with this incredible opportunity, Lin said in a statement.

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MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG)  A teacher at B.C. Rain High School was arrested Friday and charged with engaging in a sex act with a student, according to the Mobile Police Department.

Woman shot at local motel: Mobile Police

Charles Fredrick Crawford, Jr., 25, was the teacher arrested, according to an MPD news release.

On Friday, just before 9:30 a.m., officers were called to the high school to investigate a report of a student and school employee having an inappropriate relationship, according to officials.

Crawford was then arrested and charged with school employee engaging in a sex act with a student under the age of 19.

A spokesperson with the Mobile County Public School System said as soon as they were made aware of the allegations they placed Crawford on leave and cooperated with MPD.

Behavior such as this absolutely will not be tolerated on any Mobile County Public Schools campus, said the spokesperson.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  Clovis Animal Services announced on Thursday that it will be hosting its first-ever Kitten Shower event.

The event will take place on March 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clovis Police Department Headquarters Community Room located at 1233 5th Street in Clovis.

Clovis Animal Services says its inspired by the baby shower concept. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in kitten-themed activities, enjoy finger foods, and meet current foster volunteers to learn more about how they can help kittens during the upcoming kitten season.

There is a gift registry, filled with the most needed kitten items that are used in the Clovis Animal Receiving & Care Center, which can be found on their website.

The event is free to attend and guests can RSVP on their website here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
State police have filed hundreds of charges against a Bedford County couple in connection to an animal cruelty investigation.

Nyal and Renee Piper were taken to jail on Friday. Their bail is set at $1 million, NBC affiliate WJAC reports.

State police were contacted by Banfield Animal Hospital in late December about several dogs they had recently treated.

The investigation led troopers to the Pipers home along Business Route 220 in Bedford County.

>> More than 60 dogs found in Pennsylvania home

Troopers reported smelling a strong odor of urine and feces and the sound of a large amount of dogs barking inside the home, WJAC reports.

When police made contact with the homeowners, they found Nyal Piper, 81, and Renee Piper, 62, who both appeared dirty and covered in feces.

Troopers were initially told that around 15 dogs were inside the home before the Pipers changed their story and upped the amount to 60, WJAC said.

In total, 90 dogs, 8 cats and a turtle were rescued from the home.

Two dead dogs and a dead pig were found inside.

Four of the dogs found alive had to be euthanized at the scene. A fifth dog was put down at the humane society.

Both Nyal and Renee Piper are facing nearly 500 counts of charges, including aggravated cruelty to animals, neglect and cruelty to animals.

The Pipers were arraigned on Friday morning and are being held at the Bedford County Jail.

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In recent years, the technique of pair clothes has become popular. What does it mean? In simple terms, it is when two people (a couple, friends, mother and daughter, etc.) create similar outfits. In the case of a family tandem, this technique is also called mini me or family look. Thus, people repeat the main range of colors and shades, as well as duplicate prints or wear similar accessories.

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In the OBOZ.UA article, we offer you to take a look at the paired looks of Duchess Kate Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte. Get aesthetic pleasure from their looks.

1. Delicate shades of milk

In 2016, during the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's birthday, the Princess of Wales and her daughter appeared in public in elegant milky dresses. Catherine styled her outfit with a Philip Treacy headpiece with a massive flower that echoed the delicate shade of Charlotte's sandals.

2. Cornflower combinations

In the same year, the Duchess and her little copy during the royal tour to Canada wore ensembles in a similar color scheme. Kate wore an exquisite cornflower-colored Jenny Packham dress and a matching hat, and Charlotte wore a sky blue dress with small flowers and cornflower shoes.

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3. Pastel colors

In 2017, mother and daughter attended the wedding of Pippa Middleton (sister of the Duchess of Cambridge) and James Matthews. For the celebration, they chose elegant outfits that looked as organic together as possible: Kate wore a delicate beige Alexander McQueen dress and a headpiece of a similar shade, and Charlotte wore a milky dress decorated with ruffles and a beige ribbon with a bow.

4. Shades of green

In 2019, at a Christmas service in Sandringham, Kate Middleton and Princess Charlotte again pleasantly surprised the audience with paired looks. The Duchess wore a gray fitted maxi coat, which she complemented with an emerald hat, a clutch and pumps. Her daughter appeared in public in an emerald coat, navy blue tights and black Mary Jane shoes.

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5. Soft blue ensembles

In 2022, the Princess of Wales and her daughter attended a traditional Easter Sunday service at St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. At that time, they wore seemingly different styles. However, they harmonized with each other. All thanks to a well-chosen color scheme: the tights and flowers on Charlotte's dress matched the shade of Catherine's coat.

Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram and Viber . Do not fall for fakes!
SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  A group of kidnappers said to be responsible for several abductions throughout northern Baja California has been taken apart, prosecutors say.

Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez, the states Attorney General, said members of this criminal cell were arrested last Saturday when a 21-year-old woman was rescued by special agents.

The victim had been taken at gunpoint and shoved into a van two days earlier, Andrade Ramirez said.

Witnesses reported the kidnappers fired their weapons into the air as a way to intimidate the woman and scare people on the street, she said, adding that evidence from the scene and witness accounts led officers to a house where the woman was being held.

US warnings to Americans about criminal activity hurt tourism, Baja officials say

Agents from our anti-kidnapping unit approached a man who was closing a gate at a home that had very bad structural conditions, it almost looked abandoned. The man tried to get away from the officers, thats when they heard a womans cries for help.

As the woman was being rescued, some of the officers noticed a white van trying to leave the area. It matched the description of the vehicle used to kidnap the 21-year-old.

The van was stopped, and three people were taken into custody.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

Andrade Ramirez said cellphones used to negotiate the womans ransom were also recovered.

It was then determined the suspects had been involved in other kidnappings in the region.

These people are from other states, they were trying to establish themselves to continue doing this type of work, said Andrade Ramirez. Were not going to allow these types of gangs to take our states peace and quiet. In Baja California, those who commit crimes will pay.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
They were best friends.

Thats how Rick Metcalf described his two grandchildren, who died as a result of a house fire in Cahokia Heights on Feb. 23.

Chad Metcalf and his sibling, Sharli Edmonds, both 4, were born 11 months apart.

Sharli, she was my daughter Crystals right hand, Metcalf said. She was just attached to mom. She was moms best friend sidekick. She loved dolls and toys and just running around playing. She loved Minnie Mouse.

And Chad, he was just one of a kind, Metcalf said. He had a heart of gold, just a heart of gold. That kid would just give his shirt right off his back  He just gave, gave, gave.

Just beautiful children, beautiful souls that will be forever missed in our family and well never be the same from it.

Funeral service and procession

Visitation for Chad and Sharli will be 10 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Michel Funeral Home at 5930 Southwest Ave. near the intersection of Hampton Avenue in St. Louis.

The funeral service begins at noon.

When that service concludes at about 1 p.m., there will be a procession from the funeral home to the Chapel Hill Cemetery at 6300 Highway 30 in Cedar Hill, Missouri.

From the funeral home on Southwest Avenue, the procession will turn left onto Hampton Avenue and then right on Gravois Road and continue to the Chapel Hill Cemetery in Cedar Hill.

Metcalf, who will lead the procession, welcomes the public to line the route of the procession. He expects dozens of motorcyclists from a charity group he supports to join him in the procession along with firefighters.

I know the communitys hearts are breaking, Metcalf said. He said his daughter, Crystal Ann Bates, has a huge family and a huge comfort zone.

Were all holding her tight and were going to be there and we just want the public to pray for us, he said.

A GoFundMe page titled Children lost in tragic house fire has been established for Chad and Sharli.

Fire investigation

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Illinois State Fire Marshals Office, an agency spokesman said Friday.

Cahokia Heights firefighters received a report that two children were trapped inside a burning house on St. Gregory Drive around 2:10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, according to Fire Chief Steve Robbins.

Metcalf said his daughter was home at the time of the fire and was able to escape with her 3-year-old daughter. He said that Chad and Sharli were taking a nap.

Robbins said firefighters encountered heavy fire at the home and found the two children in a bedroom.

Chad was pronounced deceased at the scene and Sharli died in a St. Louis hospital, authorities said.

News-Democrat reporter Carolyn P. Smith contributed information for this article.
The first workforce housing for essential workers will be coming to Bee Cave after the City Council on Feb. 27 unanimously approved a request for development proposals.

City Manager Clint Garza said the essential workers who would benefit from this housing are those facing disparities between current wages and the cost of living, including teachers and those in the health care field. While the Austin-areas unemployment rate is only at 3% as of December 2023, Garza said its not financially feasible for many workers to live within city limits.

According to Zillow, the average house value in Bee Cave as of January was $900,699, almost three times larger than the national average of $342,941. Mayor Kara King said workforce housing has been in the works for eight years because of this issue, though no agreements were made before now.

We have been researching workforce housing and visiting different beautiful developments over the last couple of years, King said in a news release. Our residents know how valuable the workforce is to this community and we are happy to take this next step in making sure the people who come to work in Bee Cave can also afford to live here.

More: Bee Cave hires firm for new library build

The city is working with real estate company JLL to gather proposals concerning construction of the housing on roughly 22 acres of city-owned land in the southern area of Bee Cave Parkway, Garza said. He said the area would be a multifamily development created to serve multiple aspects of the workforce, including needed housing alternatives or community spaces.

Its really satisfying to see it start to take shape, King said during the meeting. Were really doing something to alleviate stress for our businesses, our hospital workers, our first responders, our teachers.

City officials said there is no known timeline about the possible construction or finalization of plans for the development of the workforce housing.

Analysis: Road expansion had little effect on traffic

Traffic levels remained relatively similar before and after the expansion of Vail Divide Drive through the Falconhead neighborhood, according to a traffic analysis brought before the Bee Cave City Council on Feb. 27.

Last spring, city officials said members of the community raised concerns to the council of non-residents taking advantage of the expansion by traveling through the neighborhood, causing backups and impeding on residents ability to move easily daily. Because of this, city engineer Kevin Sawtelle said the city hired Rodriguez Transportation Group to analyze traffic patterns on three routes to Lake Travis High School.

More: Clint Garza stepping down as Bee Cave city manager

The three routes studied were all via RM 620: one through the Falconhead neighborhood onto the Vail Divide extension, one from Bee Cave Parkway to Hamilton Pool Road, and the third from Texas 71 to Hamilton Pool Road. The study analyzed the routes during three different times of the year: May, before the school semester ended; June, before the expansion opened to the public; and November, once it was open.

The traffic analysis found that in the morning traffic peak, while traffic patterns remained unchanged, the route through the Falconhead neighborhood was the slowest by a few minutes. In the evening peak, travel times were consistently faster via Bee Cave Parkway. Travel times from before and after the Vail Divide opening were the same with only a few minutes of travel difference, Sawtelle said.

(It) was a really big concern before Vail Divide opened that suddenly, Vail Divide and Spillman Ranch would dussdenly become a thoroughfare of the city, King said during the meeting. But the data is just not showing that thats panned out.

Photos: Special Olympics athletes converge in Bee Cave for Texas Winter Games

The traffic analysis also investigated whether it would be beneficial to the area to implement a right turn lane from Vail Divide Drive at Texas 71 to help traffic levels. However, Sawtelle said it would cost approximately $250,000 to build it because it would require the removal of intensive landscaping and the relocation of utilities.

In my opinion, its not worth the cost and ruining the aesthetics right now at the Falconhead West entrance, Council Member Andrea Willott said during the meeting.

The council did not vote on the construction of the turn lane and city officials said they plan to bring it up in the next meeting.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Workforce housing coming to Bee Cave
Tightly controlled parliamentary and local elections in Belarus, condemned internationally and dismissed by the opposition, ended on Feb. 25, bolstering dictator Alexander Lukashenko's decades-long rule.

Amidst criticism of the "sham" vote, Lukashenko has declared he will run in the 2025 presidential elections.

Western democracies impose new sanctions on Belarus on the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but have yet to harmonize restrictions with those imposed on Russia, or close loopholes exploited by the two regimes.

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Lithuania says it will close two more border crossings with Belarus.

UN experts have urged Belarus to release cancer-struck veteran politician Ryhor Kastusiou, saying the conditions of his detention may amount to torture.

European diplomats in Minsk decry the closed trial of a Catholic activist in Belarus as "unfair" and "politically motivated."

Sham elections wrap up in Belarus, solidifying dictator Lukashenkos grip on power

Tightly controlled Belarusian parliamentary and local elections, condemned by the West and dismissed as a farce by the countrys opposition, ended on Feb. 25, further solidifying Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenkos grip on power.

The first electoral campaign since the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections in Belarus were held under the strict control of armed police and rapid-response teams, accompanied by propaganda, and threats of arrest if there was any disruption at polling stations.

Ongoing repression and absence of independent observers yielded a predictably satisfying result for Lukashenko, who has been clinging to power for 30 years.

Polling stations opened for early voting on Feb. 20, allowing, according to Human Rights activists, for the possibility of vote manipulation as the ballot boxes remained unobserved for five nights.

Read also: Belarusian opposition working to create alternative passport, safeguard exiles from Lukashenko regime

An observation mission founded by Viasna Human Rights Center and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee reported that students, soldiers, teachers, and other government-dependent civil servants were forced to vote under threat of financial or disciplinary punishments. Human rights advocates also reported that there were detentions at polling stations.

For the first time, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) election observers were not permitted to monitor Belarusian elections.

OSCE observers were replaced with friendly officials from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-led Union State and Commonwealth of Independent States, who did not reveal any violations of the voting process.

All but four pro-government parties  Belaya Rus, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Party of Labor and Justice  were denied re-registration.

Belarusians abroad were deprived of the right to vote in the elections.

Alleging that the number of Belarusian citizens outside the country is too small to influence the outcome of the poll, the Central Election Committee suggested that exiled Belarusians cast their vote at a polling station in Minsk reserved specifically for non-resident citizens.

The leader of the democratic Belarusian opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called for a boycott of the elections, saying, Theres not a single candidate who supports real changes on the ballot. The regime has allowed only its puppets to participate in the election.

The Central Election Commission of Belarus claimed an unprecedented 41.71% of over 6.9 million voters cast their ballots in early voting, surpassing the turnout on the main voting day on Feb. 25. The total voter turnout hit 73%, according to the commission.

Opposition supporters parade through the streets during a rally to protest against the fraudulent Belarus presidential election results in Minsk on Oct.18, 2020. (Getty Images)

The Kyiv Independent cant verify the numbers.

Prior to the election, Belarusian independent media Nasha Niva published a prediction of the new parliament line-up, basing their judgment on the candidates allegiance. The predictions showed 97% accuracy, with only three out of 110 names on the list failing to win.

The U.S. Department of State condemned the sham parliamentary and local elections in Belarus, stating that they were held in a climate of fear, under which no electoral processes could be called democratic.

PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos slammed the vote as a travesty of democracy, pointing to a lack of freedoms of speech, assembly, and association.

According to PACE estimates, between 200,000 and 500,000 Belarusians who left the country following the fraudulent presidential elections of 2020 and Belarus involvement in Russias aggression against Ukraine were deprived of the right to vote. For Lukashenkos opponents, returning to Belarus to vote entails the risk of arrest. According to human rights campaigners, 207 Belarusians were detained upon returning home in 2023.

Read also: Russias descent into totalitarianism: How it happened

Lukashenko announces he will run for presidency in 2025

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994, has said he will run in the upcoming 2025 presidential elections, a state-owned broadcaster reported on Feb. 25.

After casting a vote during the sham parliamentary elections, Lukashenko made contradictory comments to the press regarding his plans for the 2025 elections.

Tell them (the exiled opposition) that Ill run, Lukashenko told a BelTA state news agency correspondent. No one, no responsible president, would abandon his people, who have followed him into battle.

But when asked if his announcement amounted to the beginning of the new electoral cycle, Lukashenko took a step back, saying that much could change in the forthcoming year.

He said he would focus on working thoroughly throughout this year to build his legacy if he decides not to run.

Lukashenko is known for making contradicting statements, often saying that he might run for a next term  but only if the Belarusian people wanted him to.

In November 2019, Lukashenko announced his ambition to run again, but also said he was ready to vacate the position: I will not hold on to the seat if you refuse to trust me, he told the press at the time.

But when Belarusians took to the streets in 2020 to demand a recount of the elections, they were met with unprecedented police brutality. Should he decide to run again, the 2025 elections would be Lukashenkos seventh presidential race.

Februarys parliamentary elections were the first major political campaign since 2020, and were held amidst an ever-growing crackdown.

Experts viewed the 2024 vote as a rehearsal for the 2025 presidential elections.

West slaps new sanctions on Russia, Belarus on second anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Eight factories and seven individuals in Belarus have been targeted in the new round of sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia against Russia and its closest ally, Belarus, coinciding with the second anniversary of the Kremlins full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The EU Council adopted its 13th sanctions package against Russia on Feb. 23, including 106 individuals and 88 entities responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine.

Among the military and defense sector entities supporting the Russian invasion, the EU listed Belarusian optoelectronic manufacturer Peleng and its head, Valery Shatsila, as well as the Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant, with its director, Pavel Sluchak.

For kidnapping Ukrainian children, the EU sanctioned Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarusian Red Cross branch, paralympian Aliaksei Talai and his charity, and Dzmitry Dziamidau, the head of the regional authorities in Navapolatsk.

Read also: Kyrgyzstans trade is booming as Russia masters sanctions circumvention

The U.S. Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) introduced restrictions on the 558th Aviation Repair Plant in Baranovichi, and its head, Pavel Pinigin, for assisting the Russian military-industrial complex. Talai was also slapped with personal sanctions over his alleged involvement in deportations.

The United Kingdom placed restrictions on missile producer Precision Electromechanics Plant and microelectronics manufacturer Planar.

The Australian government placed restrictions on Horizont, a consumer electronics holding, Volatauto, a producer of automotive equipment for military use, and microelectronics plant Planar.

Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russia's Vladimir Putin, provided Belarusian territory for Russias assault on Ukraine in 2022, offering the Russian army logistics and medical services, as well as supplying Moscow with weapons.

Soon, Belarus became a gateway for sanctioned goods on their way to Russia. Norwegian risk consultancy Corisk estimates that 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) worth of goods reached Russia via Belarus in 2022-2023.

Lithuania shuts down two more border crossings with Belarus

Lithuania will shut down another two of its six border crossings with Belarus starting from March 1, Lithuanian National broadcaster LRT reported.

The Lithuanian government on Feb. 21 approved a National Committee for Crisis Management recommendation to shut down the Lavoriskes and Raigardas border crossings, bringing the total number of remaining operating checkpoints to two. In addition, crossings by pedestrians and cyclists at the remaining Medininkai and Salcininkai checkpoints will be suspended.

Lithuania will also gradually reduce the number of permits for passenger transportation issued to Belarusian and Lithuanian bus carriers, and limit the boarding and disembarking of passengers at the railway border control point Kena, which is used to reach the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said the shutdown proposal was timely and necessary. She said Lithuania faces an increased flow of goods, transport, and people as two other European states bordering Belarus, Poland and Latvia, shut all but one checkpoint each.

A lot of resources are needed to control (crossborder) flows, prevent smuggling, ensure international sanctions (are enforced), and reduce traffic safety risks, Bilotaite told the press.

UN experts call Belarus to release veteran politician suffering from cancer

UN experts have expressed concern over reports of the ill-treatment in detention of 66-year-old Ryhor Kastusiou, a political prisoner and veteran politician of one of the oldest political parties in Belarus, who is serving a 10-year prison term in Belarus.



Kastusiou is said to be in a poor state of health and suffering from cancer.

The special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Belarus Anais Marin, along with Claudia Mahler of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and independent expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, issued a statement on Feb. 26 highlighting the failure of prison administration to provide adequate medical treatment to Kastusiou, who was diagnosed with cancer while in detention.

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Kastusiou chaired the Belarusian Popular Front (BPF), one of the oldest political parties in Belarus, which was banned in 2023. He ran against Lukashenko in the 2010 presidential elections.

Detained in April 2021 along with four other political prisoners on sham charges of plotting against the government to seize power, Kastusiou was given a 10-year prison term. Despite his deteriorating health, Kastusiou spent six months in solitary confinement.

Experts say that prison authorities did not provide Kastusiou and his lawyers with the results of his medical examinations in a timely manner, obstructing his release from detention on medical grounds. The UN experts also alleged that the conditions of Kastusious incarceration may amount to torture.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leader of Belarusian democratic forces, emphasized the need for decisive action from the democratic world amidst the humanitarian crisis in Belarus, with daily arrests and prisoners deaths in custody.

There are nearly 1,500 political prisoners in Belarus, who face inhumane and degrading treatment. Five political prisoners have not survived their detention.

In the wake of the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison in the Arctic Circle, the Belarusian opposition says it fears that more murders of activists in prison might follow should there be no strong response from the international community.

European diplomats condemn closed trial of Catholic activist in Belarus

European diplomats in Belarus have condemned the closed trial of Uladzislau Beladzied, a Catholic activist and catechism teacher, which started on Feb. 21, saying it was unfair and politically motivated.

Representatives of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden arrived at the courthouse to express solidarity with the political prisoner.

Beladzied, 33, was detained on May 31, 2023, and subjected to strict administrative arrest for 15 days. Human rights group Viasna said that after 30 days of arrest he looked like a man who had been tortured and inhumanely treated.

Following his detention, Belarusian law enforcers opened a criminal investigation against Beladzied, charging him under four articles of Belarus criminal code, including insulting Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko and inciting social discord. The so-called offenses are punishable by up to five years of imprisonment.

The charges against (Beladzied) are an injustice. They are politically motivated, reads a statement published by the German Embassy in Minsk. The German Federal Government demands the release of all political prisoners in Belarus.

Christian Vision, a joint project monitoring repression of the clergy in Belarus, states that Beladzied has a serious disease. Beladzied was also forced to record a repentance video, denigrating himself, Christian Vision said.

The Lukashenko regime cracked down on religious figures in Belarus in the aftermath of the fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential election, which saw Lukashenko tighten his grip on the country. According to Christian Vision, an interfaith Christian group, around 60 religious leaders have been persecuted by the state. Twenty-two religious leaders have been subjected to legal or criminal proceedings.

In early January, Lukashenko signed a bill tightening regulations for religious groups, requiring all religious organizations to undergo re-registration within a year or risk being banned.

Cadets of the Military Academy of the Republic of Belarus stand by a tank at the Belaya Luzha training centre outside the town of Zhodino in the Minsk region on Feb. 17, 2023. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images)

Spotlight - Belarus at war

The Spotlight segment provides readers with the historical context of contemporary events in Belarus.

According to NATO estimates, Russia amassed 30,000 troops in Belarus while pretending to conduct joint drills between the two countries prior to the full-scale invasion.

The Russian army held full access to Belarus military airbases before and soon after the start of the all-out war against Ukraine. Belarusian Hajun, a monitoring group that has been reporting on Russian troops movement in Belarus, has recorded 721 missile launches against Ukrainian targets from Belarus.

While not sending troops to fight in Ukraine, Lukashenko has supplied Russia with 130,000 metric tons of ammunition and 200 units of military equipment.

But while Lukashenko sided with Vladimir Putin, many Belarusians chose to support Ukraine.

Since the early days of the invasion, Belarusian volunteers have joined the ranks of the Ukrainian army, forming the Kastus Kalinouski regiment and other Belarusian formations. At least 38 Belarusian volunteers have been killed in action in the last two years.

Saboteurs in Belarus carried out 10 attacks on Russian military trains using Belarusian railroads, and reportedly helped to thwart the Russian assault on Kyiv. Last February, a sabotage attack on Machulischy airfield in Belarus damaged one of Russias A-50 long-range radar and control aircraft.

Over the last two years, at least 1,671 people have been detained in Belarus for expressing opposition to the war. Of them, 94 people have been convicted in criminal cases, with some being sentenced to up to 23 years in prison.

In 2023, Belarusian military cooperation with Russia was replaced with diplomatic and economic support. By October 2023, Ukrainian authorities reported that all Russian troops had withdrawn from Belarusian territory.

Minsk also helped the Kremlin defuse a mutiny by a Russian private army, the Wagner mercenary company, by hosting the rebellious troops and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin until he was killed in Russia.

Lukashenkos regime has also confirmed that it is hosting over 1,000 Ukrainian children abducted from the Russia-occupied territories of Ukraine.

Belarus has also become a route for sanctioned military and dual-use goods to reach Russia. Experts believe that a third of Russias shadow imports arrive via Belarus.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
At 121m long, Bella will be bigger than her "cousins" the Kelpies

There are few works which can live up to the description "groundbreaking".

But Bella and the Seven Winds certainly earns her title.

At 121m (397ft) long, her body is made from a thousand tonnes of soil lifted to build the 14m pound Stockingfield Bridge in North Glasgow.

The bridge reunites the communities of Maryhill, Gilsochhill and Ruchill for the first time since the Forth and Clyde Canal was built, but it also offers a chance to create an art park.

Bella is the biggest of 22 works commissioned by Scottish Canals for the site, all of which draw on the heritage of the area.

Ceramics from this area of Glasgow were exported all over the world - now community volunteers will piece together the mosaic across the whole sculpture

Nichol Wheatley has been working with a team of artists on Bella's head for the past three months. Two metres high, and four metres long, it's decorated with thousands of ceramic pieces, reclaimed from the area.

"Bella is a beithir, a mythological water serpent. She's part of the Fuath family which includes the Kelpies, so she's a cousin of the Kelpies," he said.

The Kelpies - two 30m (98ft) steel horse heads at Helix Park in Falkirk - reflected Scotland's heavy industries and have had a huge impact on tourism.

The Kelpies have been a feature at the Helix for the last 10 years

Scottish Canals who commissioned Bella hope she and the rest of the art park will eventually produce the same effect.

"This whole area is famed for its ceramic industry and they travelled the whole of the world," says John Paterson, CEO of Scottish Canals.

"Some of it went by canal networks into the oceans and around the world so Bella symbolises that connection. She's using reclaimed ceramics, broken tiles and she symbolises rebirth and regeneration."

Lord Provost Jacqueline McLaren grew up in the area, and has included personal photographs and memories on some of the tiled artworks.

Bella is decorated with a mosaic of ceramics, symbolising the past industry of the area

She said: "I was a child of the Forth and Clyde Canal. I travelled up and down here with my brothers and it's just magical for this area to see this important transformation."

"We have created a destination for visitors."

But the site isn't complete. Nor is Bella who begins the next stage after her unveiling to the community on Friday.

Over the next five years, Nichol Wheatley will work with Louise Nolan and Ruth Impey of the community organisation Make it Glasgow to create and attach the thousands of ceramic "scales" needed for Bella's body.

What starts as a local project can be something that will be truly worldwide," said Nichol.

"That reflects back to the history and heritage that we have here.

"Scotland used to export its clay products and its ceramic products right across the world. So we're going to maybe try and see if that can happen in reverse and get everybody involved."
Beavers that emerged from brush along a Bellingham road blocked traffic before one was eventually taken into custody.

Bellingham officers were called to Aldrich Road Thursday afternoon after getting reports that the animals were being a traffic hazard, but when they arrived, one beaver fled the scene and eluded officers.

Police said a second beaver, which may have been hurt, moved much slower, but officers didnt want to get too close, as one officer was involved in an unpleasant situation with one in the past.

Knowing these werent the usual suspects, reinforcements (Whatcom Humane Society and Washington Fish and Wildlife) were called, the Bellingham Police Department said on its Facebook page.

But before experienced handlers could arrive, the second beaver absconded into thick brush.

Thursday evening, the beaver emerged near Meridian and Telegraph, where it again proceeded to block traffic.

The beaver was taken into protective custody by BPD and transported to Fish and Wildlife. Hopefully, it will get the help it needs and give up living dangerously on the streets of Bellingham, BPD said.
A long-planned cleanup at a former industrial site and landfill on the Bellingham waterfront will begin soon, in anticipation of a new park that is expected to become a popular bayside attraction.

Its commonly known as the RG Haley site for the company that last used the land south of where Cornwall Avenue dead-ends at the shoreline, a 17-acre tract stretching all the way to Boulevard Park.

Visitors can look across Bellingham Bay at Lummi Island, the Lummi Peninsula and downtown Bellingham, and see epic sunsets.

Before European settlers arrived, the land was an expansive mudflat and the native Lhaqtemish, or Lummi, people gathered food there and used the site for spiritual ceremonies.

Anthony Watkins of Bellingham joined about 70 people last week for a tour of the site, where officials explained the cleanup process and outlined plans for parking, trails, beach access and eventually restrooms and possibly a food concession at what will be called Salish Landing.

When the park is developed, Ill probably be down here a lot, he told The Bellingham Herald in an interview.

Cleanup is expected to cost $28.3 million, Craig Mueller, the citys project engineer, told The Bellingham Herald. An update on the site cleanup and the Salish Landing project is on the agenda for the next City Council meeting o Monday, March 11.

Bellingham and the Port of Bellingham agreed to share the cleanup cost under a consent decree with the state Department of Ecology.

RG Haley International treated wood products using creosote and diesel fuel until 1956, and chemicals leached into the ground and Bellingham Bay, where lush eelgrass meadows provide cover for young fish, including salmon, in the shallow water near the shore.

Craig Mueller, a Bellingham Department of Public Works engineer, talks to a group of people who are touring the former RG Haley site on Tuesday in Bellingham.

Gem of the parks

This site has the potential to be a gem of the park system. Youll be able to park and walk and access the beach, Mueller said during the tour.

This is something that has been in the works for a very long time. Its going to be much more connected to the downtown. This site is so big, its going to change the way we think about the shoreline, Mueller told the tour participants.

A landing for kayakers is also possible, and officials are studying how to connect the park to the South Bay Trail and Boulevard Park.

But first, theres the cleanup, which could take an estimated four years as contaminated soil is removed and about 20 acres of adjacent seabed in Bellingham Bay is capped.

Washington state Department of Ecology map shows the land and marine portions of the RG Haley site that will become Cornwall Beach Park after clean-up projects are complete.

Thinking about the future

The Bellingham-based environmental group RE Sources sponsored the tour, which featured curious local residents and experts from the state departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife and others who explained the cleanup plan and described the sites importance to the ecosystem.

Participants walked along a broken asphalt path amid litter, scraps of shells eaten by gulls, and graffiti-covered Jersey barriers. The site is dotted with invasive blackberry canes and scattered trees that are gnarled against the ever-present onshore wind.

I love to think about the future of this waterfront and where its going to be in 100 years, RE Sources board member Ted Wolf told The Herald.

Janet Higbee, who recently returned to her hometown of Bellingham after several years away, said she hopes the city will preserve the land as it exists as much as possible.

Ive lived away and Ive come back, and Im concerned for my two grandkids. I wish (the city) would do it judiciously and respect what natures done, Higbee said.
Artistic Director of the Berlinale Carlo Chatrian poses for a picture at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Soeren Stache/dpa

Remarks criticizing Israel over the war in Gaza at this year's Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale, have continued to stoke controversy in Germany, with the festival's outgoing artistic director defending filmmakers from criticism.

German Culture Minister Claudia Roth and several other politicians sharply criticized the festival and comments made by filmmakers at the Berlinale's closing gala. Roth on Friday reiterated her demands for significant changes at the festival.

But Carlo Chatrian, Berlinale's artistic director, and Mark Peranson, the festival's director of programming, responded in a joint statement on Friday.

Chatrian and Peranson said that reaction from German politicians and media "weaponizes and instrumentalizes anti-Semitism for political means."

The conflict in Gaza was addressed several times during the gala on Saturday, with members of the jury and award winners calling for a ceasefire. At least one guest described ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza as "genocide."

Those remarks prompted an outraged response, including accusations of hatred toward Israel and anti-Semitism. Roth and Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner both denounced the remarks.

But Chatrian and Peranson defended the festival and said some filmmakers have since been subjected to abuse and threats.

"No matter our individual political convictions or beliefs, we should all keep in mind that freedom of speech is an essential part of what defines a democracy," the two wrote. The awards ceremony "has been targeted in such a violent way that some people now see their lives threatened. This is unacceptable."

During the event, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham decried what he described as his country's policy of apartheid. He received an award alongside Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra for their film "No Other Land," about settlement policy in the occupied West Bank.

Abraham said he has since received death threats and his family has also been threatened, something he blamed in part on accusations of anti-Semitism from German politicians and media.

Chatrian and Peranson wrote on Friday that they hope the Berlinale will remain a "window on the free world" and a place where all films can be shown.

Roth, the culture minister, has demanded an investigation into the festival, which receives funding from both the German and local Berlin governments.

In an interview with the news magazine Spiegel, Roth also suggested that the German government consider strict codes of conduct to control such speech in the future.

"It's about the question of where artistic freedom ends when it violates human dignity," she said.

Roth herself has also faced criticism from some corners for not reacting with outrage and criticism during the awards ceremony, which she attended in person, but only afterwards. Her ministry released a statement clarifying that she applauded for Abraham but did not clap for his Palestinian co-director.

"It is bitter that the unsuccessful and in part unbearable award ceremony is now overshadowing the entire Berlinale", said Roth.
One of the most popular places in the UK, Cornwall has long been a British favourite for summer holidays and weekend trips.

With staycations on the rise, many are visiting the southern county for its long stretches of coastline, idyllic towns and villages, and opportunities for adventure holidays. Many choose to walk one of the regions routes in order to get the best of all three.

Towns and villages such as St Ives or Padstow are picturesque starting points, while famous beaches and natural areas  such as Kynance Cove or Lands End  provide excellent views during your on-foot journeys across the county.

While the UK is generally blessed with hundreds of excellent walking routes  from the Lake District to the Yorkshire Dales  Cornwall has the scenic routes to rival any area in the country.

Below, weve rounded up a list of the best of these routes, taking you through some of the best views in the UK.

Read more on UK travel:

The Camel Trail

Padstow can be a start or end point for the Camel Trail (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An 18-mile route along a disused railway line, the Camel Trail runs between Wenfordbridge, Bodmin, Wadebridge and Padstow in the north of the county. Its suitable for walkers, cyclists and horse riders and is usually divided up into three sections between each of the towns (with the section between Bodmin and Wenfordbridge the longest, at just over six miles).

The Padstow to Bodmin section is roughly 12 miles long and is a popular alternative to completing the entire route. While there are sea views on the early parts of the walk, much of it is reserved for moorland, the Camel Valley woodland and the Camel Estuary. It is also a wildlife hotspot, with otters, dormice, kingfishers and bats among the animals living along the trail.

Where to stay

With an entrance located opposite the Camel Trail, the Bodmin Jail Hotel is a convenient choice for a unique stay. The jail is a popular attraction, and the hotel has retained (and painstakingly preserved) many of its original features, such as stone walls and cell doors.

Lizard Coastal Walk

A sunset over part of Kynance Cove (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This route starts in Kynance Cove, one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, and takes you towards Lizard Point, the most southern part of the UK mainland. The seven-mile loop takes you along the cliffs of the Lizard Peninsula until you reach the Bass Point Old Signal Station, at which point you head inland to Lizard village.

From here, you can choose to finish or continue the last leg of the loop back to Kynance Cove, where you can reward yourself with a dip in the water or simply lie back on the beach. With a time of roughly three hours, this is the perfect morning or early afternoon walk if you still want to do something with the rest of your day.

Where to stay

For a convenient stay near Lizard Point, Housel Bay Hotel is a great option. Many of the rooms in this Victorian building  as well as the restaurant  have calming views over the Atlantic, and the Cornish Coast Path runs through the grounds, providing easy access to some of the countys most stunning locations.

St Michaels Way

A view of St Michaels Mount, with part of the path covered by the tide (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

This 12-mile route is believed to have been used by pilgrims and missionaries wanting to avoid the treacherous water of Lands End on their pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Starting at Lelant (near St Ives), it bisects the southwestern tip of the county and passes through Trencrom Hill (famous for its far-reaching views across land and to the coast) and the village of Ludgvan.

At the end of the route lies St Michaels Mount, a tidal island that is one of the most well-known places in Cornwall. The castle and church at the top of the island can be visited if you time it right, with the causeway route only passable at mid-tide and low tide.

Where to stay

The Godolphin sits on the edge of Marazion and has an excellent restaurant with stunning views over St Michaels Mount. Its terrace and bar offer more opportunities to gave over sea vistas, but booking one of their six rooms with a sea view is the best way to make the most of the surroundings.

Lands End Circuit

A view overlooking St Ives harbour at dusk (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One of the longest routes in the county is the Lands End Circuit, which takes in the entirety of the southwestern tip of Cornwall, starting at Penzance and finishing in St Ives. The length can vary depending on how far you want to go, with the full coastal route stretching over roughly 20 kilometres (so its best tackled over at least two days, depending on experience and fitness levels).

The sights and towns youll discover it make it worthwhile for anyone wanting to see the main highlights in southern Cornwall. Picturesque villages, such as Newlyn or Porthcurno, will be among your first stops, with Lands End and Sennen Cove following not long after. There are amazing coastal views at Zennor Head, while youll finish up at St Ives, one of Cornwalls most bustling seaside towns.

Where to stay

With its own spa and a section of privately-owned beach, Carbis Bays settings and amenities make it a truly five-star stay. The outdoor pool and indoor restaurant also have stunning views of the sea, while the rooms are dressed in simple but pleasant decor, with features such as floor-to-ceiling windows.

Porthcurno to Lands End

Rock formations on part of the Lands End coast (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Generally considered a slightly easier route, this walk (part of the South West Coastal Path) begins at Porthcurno beach, with a turquoise bay and golden sands overlooked by rugged cliffs.

After a quick swim you can head to the Minack Theatre (an impressive open-air theatre opened in 1930) before potential stops at the beaches of Porthchapel and Nanjizal. The final stretch towards Lands End is simple enough, where you can finish your five mile trip with a few drinks at the pub.

Where to stay

Just half a mile from Lands End itself, the aptly named Lands End Hotel sits on granite cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. The decor is simple with some maritime touches, in keeping with the hotels tranquil setting.

Trebarwith Strand to Port Isaac

Port Isaac is a small but picturesque fishing village in northern Cornwall (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Another part of the South West Coast Path, this walk traces some of the most scenic parts of the Cornish coast across a seven-mile route. Starting in the narrow valley of Trebarwith Strand, the route involves a lot of ups and downs as you take in superb sea views and tiny hamlets. Top spots include Dennis Point, Backways Cove, Port Isaac Bay and Port Gaverne.

With a population of just over 700 people, Port Isaac will not offer the variety of Padstow or the atmosphere of St Ives, but you will get excellent views of the surrounding nature (and the filming location for Doc Martin) and the opportunity to wander its peaceful, winding streets.

Where to stay

The hamlet of Port Gaverne has an impressive eponymous hotel. Its within a 17-century building with a comfortable, coastal feel. No two rooms are the same, and with the beach on your doorstep theres no better location for relaxing away from the crowds.

Boscastle to Tintagel

A view over Tintagel Bay (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

One of the more historical Cornish walks, this starts in the small fishing village of Boscastle, where a quick visit to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic can start off the historical part of the route. This five-and-a-half mile route offers all the views that youd expect, such as Ladies Window (and the Trevalga Cliffs), Rocky Valley and Bossiney Cove.

After crossing the Willapark and Barras Nose headlands, youll soon come to Tintagel Island and Tintagel Castle  said to be where the legendary King Arthur was conceived.

Where to stay

The Camelot Castle Hotel takes full advantage of the legend but undoubtedly offers accommodation  and views  fit for a king. The hotel even features a replica of the legendary round table, but the real selling points are the coastal views, proximity to Tintagel Castle (0.2 miles) and the elegant decor.

Be prepared for wet weather with our guide to Cornwall in the rain
AI Funds

One of the biggest investment themes of 2024 is undoubtedly artificial intelligence (AI).

With AI predicted to revolutionise the global economy, investors are eager to identify the winners and the losers of this transformative technology.

The good news is that most investors already stand to benefit from the AI boom through the Magnificent Seven.

Jason Hollands, of the stockbroker Bestinvest, said: Investors with a bog standard US tracker fund or global fund are already heavily exposed to the theme, given the Magnificent Seven account for over 26pc of the S&P 500 and over 19pc of the MSCI World Index.

So far, these firms  which include Alphabet (Googles parent company), Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla  have been the biggest share price winners of the hype, returning collectively 107pc last year.

There is a strong argument that companies with the deepest pockets and vast amounts of data  like Alphabet and Microsoft  may be the best placed to invest in and therefore profit from AI.

But more adventurous investors may be well-rewarded for looking further afield.

Goldman Sachs, in its outlook for 2024, said: We see a disconnect between where most investors are positioned and the most compelling potential opportunities.

Investors who look to complement their existing exposure to mega-cap US technology companies with allocations to other, often less well-known, technology firms, may be able to access secular winners that are relatively underappreciated by the broader market.

Here, we look at the funds seeking to profit from the AI boom, as well as broader technology funds and those invested in companies that could benefit from the growth of machine learning.

The best funds to profit from AI

A number of specialist funds focus on companies closely linked with artificial intelligence  be it companies that are involved in developing it, or plugging it into new tech solutions.

The Polar Capital Artificial Intelligence fund invests in the main players including Microsoft and Amazon, but also Advanced Micro Devices, a semiconductor company, and RELX, an analytics firm.

However, it also comes with an annual charge of 0.9pc, making it more expensive than the passive funds out there.

Examples of AI-themed funds are passive options, such as the Legal & General Artificial Intelligence UCITs ETF, Mr Hollands said.

This tracks the 62 constituents of the Robo Global Artificial Intelligence Index, and the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence UCITS ETF, which combines two heavily intertwined themes: automation and AI.

Investment trusts with exposure to technology

The main beneficiaries of AI will not just be the companies developing the software, but also those hardware producers and those with products that could be enhanced by machine learning.

In the Great American Gold Rush, the people who sold picks and shovels  as well as those who ran bars, stores and guest houses  made a lot more money than the average prospector, Mr Hollands said. This could turn out to be the case for AI as well; big companies may end up better monetising this technological development than edgy software specialists.

A good example here is Nvidia, which has seen its market value rocket to $1.8tn because of soaring demand for its microchips which power artificial intelligence systems.

For this reason some investors may want to consider looking at broader technology-focused funds, including Polar Capital Global Technology.

Rob Burgeman, of RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: Ben Rogoff at Polar Capital Global Technology has been a passionate advocate of AI for some time, and his fund has a large exposure to this theme.

Another is Allianz Technology Trust  which has exposure not just to the obvious mega-caps but also Monolithic Power Systems, a provider of power management solutions, and Broadcom, a semiconductor manufacturer.

In addition, Mr Burgeman tips Pictet Robotics, whose top holdings include Alphabet, Salesforce and Synopsis, along with industrial companies like Siemens.

Recommended

A lot of dumb money is chasing artificial intelligence. This is how I would invest

Read more

The funds for AI agnostics

While there has been no shortage of fund managers rushing to pick firms on the new frontier, others have taken a more ambivalent view.

Writing in his annual letter to investors at the start of this year, Fundsmith Equity manager Terry Smith said he will suspend judgement on who will emerge as a winner in AI.

The star fund manager said: The adoption of AI may lead to a situation where everyone has it, so no one has any advantage.

Another potential fund for AI agnostics is Nick Trains Lindsell Train Global Equity Fund. While a number of its stocks could benefit from AI, Mr Burgeman pointed out is unlikely to invest in the theme directly, preferring to get its exposure through core companies such as London Stock Exchange Group, Mondelez International, RELX and Heineken.

He continued: Schroder Global Recovery too has a very disciplined approach to its portfolio, with companies having to tick their boxes on quality and undervaluation to be included.

Here, the top holdings include Stanley Black & Decker, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland and Intel. Interestingly a lot of these companies too could benefit from advances in AI technology to improve their businesses.

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Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov met with his counterpart from Panama, Janaina Gob, in Turkiye within the framework of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Azernews reports, citing a post shared by the Azerbaijani MFA on its official X account.

The post reads that the sides discussed the prospects of bilateral relations and the future development of multilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Minister gave detailed information to his counterpart about preparations for COP29, peace and reconstruction efforts in the region.
On March 1, Polish protesters completely blocked truck traffic through the Medyka-Shehyni checkpoint on the border with Ukraine. Vehicles cannot travel from Ukraine to Poland or vice versa. A total of 2, 350 trucks are queuing at the six checkpoints where the strike continues on the Polish side.

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This was reported by the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), Andrii Demchenko, during a telethon. Earlier, the protesters allowed at least several trucks per hour and assured that they would not interfere with the movement of military aid, humanitarian aid, and perishable food.

"As the Polish side informed us, at 1 p.m. Polish farmers refused to let any trucks heading either toward Ukraine or Poland through," said Demchenko.

Prior to that, the checkpoint was already experiencing a critical minimum of truck crossings. Thus, according to Demchenko, only 47 trucks crossed the border in both directions over the past day.

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Now the situation has worsened. "After 13:00 and now, the Ukrainian side has been recording directly at our checkpoint that trucks are not moving either from Poland or to Poland. The Polish side does not accept trucks from Ukraine," said Demchenko.

There has also been a significant decrease in the number of border crossings by trucks in the direction of the Yahodyn checkpoint. "Over the past day, 111 trucks heading from Poland to Ukraine crossed the border here. As before, Polish farmers are not letting any trucks traveling from Ukraine to Poland through. In recent days, there have been zero border crossings towards Poland in this direction," Demchenko added.

Farmers at the border are demanding a ban on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine to Poland. However, in reality, key products cannot enter the market of this country anyway, they only transit through its territory. We are talking about wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower, which are the products that Polish farmers regularly destroy at the border.

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At the same time, Poles are actively trading grain with Belarus and Russia. Last year alone, Poland paid Belarusians $55 million for agricultural products. Among other things, the Poles buy rapeseed meal (residues of rapeseed processing) and are not ashamed to buy products of Russian origin from Belarus.

As a reminder, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the Polish authorities are ready to completely close the border with Ukraine and are negotiating with the Ukrainian side. At the same time, representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine denied that such an issue had ever been raised.

"It is very painful to stop the trade even for a day, which in annual terms amounts to $11.7 billion (and according to Polish statistics, even more). Not to mention the transit, which is vital for Ukraine," explained Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economy and Trade Representative of Ukraine.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA, Polish protests are not limited to the border of Ukraine. Farmers are also going to block the border with Lithuania because Ukrainian grain is allegedly coming from that country. At the same time, Polish businessmen earn more from trade with Lithuania than Lithuanian businessmen (Poles also earn more from trade with Ukraine than Ukrainians).

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Ukraine's Defence Ministry has reported that the Ukrainian Air Force shot down 13 Russian aircraft in February 2024.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Defence on Telegram

Quote: "Ukraine's Air Force shot down 13 Russian aircraft in February: 10 Su-34 fighter-bombers, two Su-35 fighters and one A-50 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS)."

Details: This is reportedly the best result for Ukrainian forces since October 2022. The ministry also expressed gratitude to the soldiers for their effective work and to Ukraine's partners for strengthening Ukraine's air defence capabilities.

Background:

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The research team I work with is currently knee-deep into categorizing the legal approach that each nation takes with regard to prostitution. This project has really opened my eyes to the wide variety of approaches taken. For example, in some countries, buying sex is perfectly legal but providing that sex for money is strictly illegal. In other cases, weve seen countries do abrupt legal U-turns as they discover that the approach they are taking is making things worse.

In other words, theres a lot of complexity here, and the legal approach taken depends on how you view prostitution. You can tackle this from the philosophical level, of course  is prostitution merely another form of work? Is prostitution inevitable, ineradicable? Is this a my body, my choice situation? Or is prostitution one of the only socially sanctioned gross human rights violations remaining?

While the philosophical debate rages, at a different level of analysis  outcomes for women who engage in prostitution  there is no controversy. Its appropriate to focus on women in prostitution, because its estimated that females make up more than 80% of prostitutes. Decades of research show that women in prostitution fare far worse on pretty much every imaginable physical and mental health outcome measure.

To give but one example, the homicide rate for prostitutes is 229 per 100,000, which is higher than the highest workplace homicide rates of any regular occupation, such as liquor store workers (8 in 100,000), taxi drivers (27 in 100,000) and U.S. soldiers (counting combat-related deaths: 27 in 100,000 between 1980-2010). Yes, you read that right  prostitutes are almost 10 times more likely to be killed than soldiers in combat. There is literally no category of work with a homicide rate as high as prostitution. This should tip us off that this is not work, but in fact a form of socially sanctioned violence.

The list of physical damages from prostitution is lengthy and disturbing. Traumatic brain injury is rife. One study of prostitutes notes, Ninety-five percent had sustained head injuries, either by being hit in the head with objects and/or having their heads slammed into objects. Fifty percent of the women who had been hit with objects had been hit in the head with hands or fists. They also reported being hit in the head with bottles, bats, sticks, hammers, guns, telephones, canes, screwdrivers, belts, rocks, bed slats, steel tubes, and ash trays. Thirty-four percent of the women who had had their heads shoved into objects had been shoved into walls, with others reporting having their heads slammed into floors; against dashboards, steering wheels, or windows of cars; against furniture or sinks; against other people; or against vehicles, buildings, doors, or stairs.

Consider also that analysis demonstrates sex work would be deemed strictly illegal under OSHA standards designed to maintain safety in the workplace.

Psychological injury is also prevalent, leading to high rates of suicide and PTSD. Indeed, studies show prostitutes suffer more than combat veterans from PTSD. Prostitution chews up and spits out women. This is a form of violence against women, and it is a sex-based crime, because 99% of sex buyers are male.

So, philosophical wrangling aside, if we focus on the actual fate of women in prostitution, we would have to come to the conclusion that the sex trade should be abolished. Just as in the U.S., it is illegal for individuals to sell their organs to the highest bidder, or offer themselves for sale as slaves  because even if chosen, such trade is abominable, and consent is highly problematized in these situations  the states have largely adopted the legal approach of prohibition of prostitution. That is, with the exception of certain counties in Nevada, both the buying and selling of sex, as well as ancillary activities such as pimping, are all illegal in the United States.

That, however, is beginning to change. Both New York and California, as well as the rest of Nevada, are inching toward the decriminalization of prostitution. Now, decriminalization is not the same thing as legalization of prostitution. Under legalization models, prostitution supposedly comes above ground, and prostitutes are taxed like any other worker, and purportedly fall under workplace safety requirements. In practice, of course, prostitutes in countries where it is legal report no increase in safety, and trafficking actually increases. Governments are simply not capable of, nor interested in, providing the type of oversight that would be necessary.

So a new wave of policy thinking has emerged: the decriminalization model. Under decriminalization, nothing about prostitution comes under the purview of law. The buying, selling and pimping of sex all lie outside of the laws interest. No one involved  prostitutes, johns, pimps, brothel owners  would be subject to arrest for involvement in the sex trade. Police and judges would not have to spend any time on such cases. Astonishingly (or not), the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as NGOs such as Amnesty International, have all come out in favor of the decriminalization model.

Of course, if your foremost concern is the safety of women, all that decriminalization can offer is that police will no longer arrest you for being a prostitute. However, all the forms of male violence against prostitutes not only remain untouched, but are offered a tacit social sanction. Pimps are now managers, for example. The police are to take a hands-off approach; indeed, even if a prostitute is killed, its hard to imagine the police would be very interested in such deaths.

If we open our eyes to see the physical and mental harm done to women in prostitution, we must reject the decriminalization model. But I think its also true that we must rethink the U.S. approach of prohibition, which is Utahs approach as well. There is a farther, better shore: abolition.

When the U.S. abolished slavery, the slaves were freed. They were not imprisoned for having been part of the slave trade; they were viewed as individuals who had been caught in a cruel trade; indeed, the U.S. offered 40 acres and a mule to emancipated slaves. However, anyone caught attempting to buy slaves or who continued to hold slaves, on the other hand, was severely punished. Those demanding/facilitating the noxious trade were targeted; those victimized by it were not.

Could such an abolitionist model be applied to prostitution? Such a model would still seek to punish johns, pimps and brothel owners, but prostitutes would not be arrested or jailed; instead, they would be given meaningful support to leave prostitution. Its not far-fetched: Seven nations and two sub-national entities have adopted the abolition approach: Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Canada, Northern Ireland, France, Ireland, Israel, and the U.S. state of Maine. None that have adopted the approach have subsequently dropped it. Others have partially followed the model; for example, Texas is the first state in the union to make the buying of sex an automatic felony. (In Utah it is a misdemeanor.)

Anna Fisher, one of the leading figures advocating for the abolition model, discussed the positive consequences seen in nations that have adopted the model. Research shows the number of people involved in prostitution in any capacity severely contracts under this model, and murder rates of prostitutes plummet compared to countries where prostitution is legalized or decriminalized. Fisher notes that while it takes money to help women out of prostitution, the savings to the nation are immense when you factor in the children who now do not need to be sent to foster care, or the costs associated with handling the increased drug trafficking and other crimes such as robbery and muggings that always attend areas of prostitution. It is telling that Germany, the mega-brothel of Europe since it legalized prostitution in 2002, is now considering moving to an abolitionist model.

Its time for people of good will to ask our legislators for an abolitionist approach to this enormous violation of the human rights of women. Decriminalization has been mooted in anticipation of Utah hosting the Winter Olympics in the future, so this legislative issue may shortly be on the states doorstep. There are organizations, such as EqualityNowUS, that are fighting this good fight for abolition, and whose efforts are worth supporting. We must hold the line against the push for decriminalization and legalization of prostitution in Utah and in the nation.

Ill leave the last word to Robert Jensen, emeritus professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and author of numerous books on the subject:

You are constructing a society from scratch, with the power not only to write laws but also to write the stories people tell about themselves, each other, and the larger living world. Would you write stories about how one sex/gender class routinely buys and sells another sex/gender class for sexual pleasure?

You are speaking with a girl who is considering future vocations. You want her to live in a world with sex/gender justice. She asks you, What do you think I should be when I grow up? Do you include prostitute on the list?

Valerie M. Hudson is a university distinguished professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and a Deseret News contributor. Her views are her own.




Ahmed Haffa was arrested following the incident on December 13 - BNPS

A Bibby Stockholm migrant shoplifted from TK Maxx and assaulted security guards, a court heard.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Ahmed Haffa who punched and bit two security guards when they detained him for shoplifting.

Haffa stole a silver jacket worth 59.99 from TK Maxx in Weymouth, Dorset, but triggered the security alarm as he left the store.

A guard chased Haffa, who told him to stay the f--k away from me and threw punches at him.

He then let out a primal scream and bit Cullen Henry-Barnes, the security guard, on his finger, drawing blood, before fleeing the scene.

Mr Henry-Barnes and another guard, Callum Hayes, then pursued Haffa through the town centre and tackled him to the ground.

Haffa, 24, punched Mr Hayes in the ribs as they pinned him down while waiting for police to arrive, the court was told.

Believed to be Arabic, Haffa resides on the 222-room Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland Port and was arrested following the incident at 5.45pm on December 13 last year.

In his police interview Haffa claimed he had stolen the jacket as he was cold and poor and could not afford to buy one due to his 9 weekly allowance.

He previously denied charges of assault and shoplifting but failed to make the 37-mile journey to Poole Magistrates Court on Thursday for his trial.

In his absence he was found guilty and is believed to be the first resident of the Bibby Stockholm to be convicted of a crime since the controversial asylum barge arrived last July.

District Judge Orla Austin issued a warrant for his arrest so he can be sentenced before the court.

It will be the second arrest warrant issued for Haffa after he did not turn up to his first hearing at Weymouth Magistrates Court on Jan 17.

He was detained hours later, held in custody and appeared at Poole Magistrates Court on Jan 18.

During a brief plea hearing he claimed he could not speak English, even though his defence lawyer told the court he had had a conversation with him in English just before proceedings opened which he perfectly understood.

Addressing the court, Judge Austin said: There is no good reason for Mr Haffas non-attendance.

I heard from two witnesses, Mr Henry-Barnes and Mr Hayes, about the incident on December 13 and I am satisfied the defendant did steal the jacket in question as he admitted in police interview.

He ran through various streets and when Mr Henry-Barnes caught up with him he threw punches and bit him on the finger requiring him to have medical attention and tests for hepatitis.

I am satisfied that he threw punches at Mr Hayes and that both assaults happened as they described.

Im going to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr Haffa which its a matter for police to execute, and he will be brought before the court to be sentenced.

Dorset Police said in a statement: On Thursday February 29 2024 a warrant was issued by Poole Magistrates Court in relation to a defendant, aged 24 and of Portland, who had failed to attend court in relation to allegations of theft and assault, and was subsequently convicted in his absence.

The charges related to incidents in Weymouth town centre on Wednesday December 13 2023.

Officers are currently carrying out enquiries to locate the defendant.

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The Biden administration finalized energy efficiency regulations targeting residential clothes washers and dryers in an effort to curb carbon emissions, as part of its broad climate agenda.

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the final rules, which it projected will collectively save American households $2.2 billion per year on utility bills while reducing nearly 71 million metric tons of "dangerous carbon dioxide emissions" over the next three decades. DOE's regulations targeting the popular home appliances are slightly scaled down compared to the agency's draft proposal issued a year ago.

"For decades, DOEs appliance standards actions for clothes washers and dryers have provided loads of savings for American families while also decreasing harmful carbon emissions," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

"With strong support from industry leaders and consumer advocates, DOE will continue to roll out innovative appliance solutions throughout 2024 to lower costs for the American people  continuing the cycle of household savings that are the backbone of President Bidens Investing in America agenda," she continued.

BIDEN ADMIN LAUNCHED AN AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGN TARGETING HOME APPLIANCES WITH ECO REGULATIONS IN 2023

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks during a daily news briefing at the White House.

Under the regulations, certain less-efficient models of washers and dryers will be barred from being sold, according to DOE.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The clothes washers rule will lead to 30-year energy savings of 0.7 quadrillion British thermal units, a savings of 3% compared to the profile of models currently on the market. And the dryers rule will lead to 30-year energy savings of 2.7 quadrillion British thermal units, a savings of 11% compared to products on the market now.

BIDEN ADMIN BACKS OFF GAS STOVE CRACKDOWN AFTER WIDESPREAD PUSHBACK

DOE said the regulations largely reflect an agreement issued in September by environmental groups and industry associations.

The regulations will force less-efficient clothes washers and dryers off the market.

"Standards at these levels will significantly reduce household energy bills and planet-warming emissions, period," Andrew deLaski, the executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, said after the agreement was reached at the time.

"Swiftly establishing standards at these strong levels will allow the Department of Energy to continue to make progress with the highly successful efficiency standards program  which already saves the average household $500 annually on their energy bills," added Natural Resources Defense Council staff attorney Joe Vukovich.

BIDEN ADMIN'S WAR ON HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES WILL CAUSE HIGHER PRICES, DIRTIER CLOTHES AND DISHES, EXPERTS WARN

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM)  which heavily criticized DOE's original proposal last year on washers and dryers  also signed onto the agreement. AHAM CEO Kelly Mariotti said in September that the compromise regulations would allow "manufacturers to continue to offer a complete range of energy-efficient products."

The Biden administration has pursued more than 100 appliance regulations since taking office as part of its sweeping climate agenda.

"What we're learning is that the government ought to get out of the business of doing these regulations," Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital in an interview. "And not try to just float really extreme ones and then come up with something that's less extreme."

"The main concern with these negotiated rulemakings is that it mostly involves the manufacturers and the energy efficiency activists," he added. "One wonders how much the interests of consumers are taken into account during this process."

The new standards for washers and dryers, meanwhile, are the latest in a long string of energy efficiency regulations unveiled by DOE over the last 12 months. Climate activists have argued such regulations are necessary to combat global warming, noting that the commercial and residential sector accounts for the largest share of total end-use carbon emissions of any sector in the U.S.

However, Republican lawmakers and free market advocates have argued the rules restrict consumer choice and lead to increased upfront costs.

"DOE should be looking for ways to address the problems caused by the existing washing machine regulations rather than making things worse with tougher new regulations," Lieberman told Fox News Digital.





Original article source: Biden admin finalizes enviromental regulations targeting clothes washers, dryers
A pending approvals pause of liquefied natural gas exports has garnered praise from clean-air champions as a sign the Biden administration isnt blind to the fuels planet-warming impact  even as exports are forecast to grow in coming years.

The hope is it could be part of a transition to cleaner fuels, starting with a policy directive from the highest level of American government.

Exports fulfilling existing agreements, however, will still help to expand the amount of LNG leaving United States ports through the end of the decade as government officials juggle trade agreements, foreign energy sector stability, and concerns about our overheating planet, all detailed in a Jan. 26 statement from the White House about the order.

LNG is a liquefied form of natural gas, pulled from deep in the ground. It is cooled to extremely low temperatures, making it easier to transport and store. Its also a source of planet-warming methane, among the worst types of air pollution.

The pause wont impact the countrys 20 existing free trade agreements. The White House noted that exports are expected to double by 2030 and that LNG will continue to be shipped to support allies in the near term and to relieve national emergencies. Even so, the Natural Resources Defense Council called the move a reality check for the LNG industry, and it has garnered kudos from clean-energy advocates who want to move away from natural gas and other fossil fuels.

Its simply not where we need to go, NRDC director of policy analysis Amanda Levin said in the report, which calls for a move to renewables.

Natural gas is considered by government officials to be a cleaner-burning fossil fuel than coal and oil, at least when it comes to carbon dioxide. And some U.S. export recipients are using LNG to wean off those fuels, according to Reuters.

But LNG leaks methane and other pollutants during its lifecycle. Worse yet, methane is 85 times more potent as a planet-warmer than carbon dioxide during the first two decades after its release, a crucial time in the effort to cool the globe to avoid worst-case environmental scenarios, all per the NRDC.

The cleanest option is greater investment in renewable energy at home and abroad as part of a transition to more planet-friendly power systems.

In LNG, the fossil fuel industry has found yet another way to push a product we should already be moving away from, Levin said.

The U.S. led the world in LNG exports last year at 86 million tons. December marked an all-time high, at 8.6 million tons, the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported. Part of the reason for the uptick is that the U.S. filled an energy security void around the world when Russian supplies destabilized after the nation invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to Reuters.

A tougher measure would be a hard sell to trade allies now using LNG in place of coal and oil.

However you stack it up, comparing emissions from one fossil fuel to another is missing the mark, per clean energy advocates.

We should be comparing it to renewables, Levin said.

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WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden announced Friday that the U.S. will drop food aid into the Gaza Strip, noting that the humanitarian aid flowing into the region for Palestinians is insufficient.

Aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough lives are on the line, Biden said as he announced the decision about the airdrops during an Oval Office meeting he was holding with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several, he continued. Were going to pull out every stop we can.

The president reiterated that the U.S. is trying to push for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, where he said innocent people have died.

Later on Friday, the president responded to a reporter's question about when the first air drops will happen, saying, "Im not positive. I think very soon." Shortly after, Biden addressed a possible cease-fire agreement, saying he's "still hoping for it."

"It's not over 'til it's over," he said.

Biden on Thursday had walked back his previous comments that he hoped a cease-fire agreement could be completed by Monday.

Displaced Palestinian children gather to receive food at a government school in Rafah, Gaza (Mohammed Abed / AFP - Getty Images)

The White House is growing increasingly concerned about possible famine for a sizeable portion of Gazas population.

Samantha Power, the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, announced this week that the U.S. was sending $53 million in additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Shes working on expanding the channels, the corridors through which that aid can flow. Were going to keep at this, White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said Thursday. The events of this morning just underscored how deep and dire the humanitarian needs amongst civilian population in Gaza are right now.

The Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said in a statement on Telegram Friday that 115 people had died and 760 were wounded as a crowd of people waited for humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza on Thursday. Palestinian officials claimed that Israeli soldiers opened fire on civilians.

NBC News has not independently verified the reported death toll. The Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident. An Israeli government source said that IDF troops responded with live fire after people surrounded trucks carrying humanitarian aid.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X Thursday, This morning humanitarian aid trucks entered northern Gaza, residents surrounded the trucks and looted the supplies being delivered. As a result of the pushing, trampling and being run over by the trucks, dozens of Gazans were killed and injured.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Biden appeared to mix up Ukraine and Gaza while talking about the war-torn regions in a bilateral Oval Office meeting with Italys prime minister Friday.

"Today, I also, we're going to discuss the Middle East and yesterday's tragic and alarming event in north Gaza, trying to get humanitarian in there and the loss of life is heartbreaking," the president said, referring to the dozens killed there Thursday, when humanitarian aid trucks came under fire. He had previously mentioned passing legislation in support of Ukraine.

He continued on Gaza, "People are so desperate that innocent people got caught in a terrible war to feed their families. And you saw the response when they tried to get aid. And we need to do more. And the United States will do more in the coming days. We're going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of, additional food and supplies into Ukraine and, seek to continue to open up other avenues in the Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor, deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance in addition to expanding deliveries by land."

ABC NEWS MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT WON'T SAY IF BIDEN PHYSICALLY UP TO THE JOB: IM NOT HIS PHYSICIAN'

President Biden held a bilateral meeting with Italy's prime minister on Friday.

He added that the U.S. would "insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need. No excuses. The truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough."

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke briefly, and they didnt take any questions from reporters in the room.

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The mix-up is Bidens latest gaffe. Last month he appeared to confuse NATO with Ukraine while talking to reporters in Delaware, and he also mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt earlier last month.

BIDEN CONFUSES PRESIDENTS OF MEXICO AND EGYPT AFTER DEFENDING FINE MEMORY: HARD TO WATCH

The 81-year-olds mental fitness has been under scrutiny since Special Counsel Robert Hur's report on the presidents mishandling of classified documents last month said he had a "poor memory."

"We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory," Hur wrote in the report, explaining that the president would not face any charges.

Former President Trump, the Republican frontrunner, has also had his share of gaffes, most recently in January appearing to confuse opponent Nikki Haley for former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.





Original article source: Biden appears to mix up Ukraine and Gaza in meeting with Italian prime minister
President Bidens reelection campaign and reproductive rights groups bashed former President Trump for raising the idea of a 15-week abortion ban.

More and more Im hearing about 15 weeks. I havent decided yet, Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday. Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee, has repeatedly dodged questions when asked whether he would sign a national abortion ban if reelected.

In a statement first shared with The Hill, the Biden campaign said Friday that Trump has offered a horrifying preview on what a second term would look like.

In his own words Donald Trump confirmed what we already knew: He wants a national abortion ban. When Donald Trump repealed Roe, he allowed states to ban abortion, attack birth control, and restrict fertility treatments women depend on, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said.

Because of Trump, millions of women cant access the critical health care they need  a horrifying preview of what he and his extreme allies would inflict on Americans in every state if he gains power again. The only candidates who women can trust to protect a womens right to choose are President Biden and Vice President Harris, she added.

Reproductive rights groups also seized on the former presidents remarks.

Planned Parenthood argued Trumps comments should be a warning to Americans, in a statement first shared with The Hill.

Donald Trump has been nothing short of a disaster for women and reproductive freedom. While Trump noodles on when to cut off access to essential abortion care, the vast majority of people are already clear on what we want  and thats politicians staying out of our personal medical decisions, said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

EMILYs List interim president Jessica Mackler said a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for a national abortion ban and Reproductive Freedom for All president and CEO Mini Timmaraju said Trump is done pretending to be anything but an anti-abortion extremist.

What he is saying now is directly in line with who he has always been: the reason Roe was overturned, the reason tens of millions of American families are suffering the horrific consequences of abortion bans, and an urgent threat to our rights, our communities, and our freedom, Timmaraju added.

Trump has reportedly indicated that he likes the idea of a 16-week ban that includes exceptions for cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother. The former president has taken credit for the end of Roe v. Wade because he appointed three conservative Supreme Court justices. He also has blamed Republicans messaging on abortion for their election struggles in the 2022 midterms.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Organizers are pushing for Democratic voters to select or write in uncommitted on their ballots in upcoming primaries, spurred on by the success of a campaign in Michigan protesting President Bidens handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

More than 100,000 Michiganders cast a protest vote against Biden for an uncommitted ballot option in Tuesdays primary, underscoring the frustration many Americans feel toward the administration amid growing calls for a cease-fire.

Now activists are pushing for similar protest votes in states including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Washington as they seek to dial up pressure on Biden to heed their calls or risk losing their votes.

What is clear is that our president has a choice before him, Dearborn, Mich., Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Wednesday in a press conference for the uncommitted push. He has the choice to continue supporting and aligning himself with a war criminal, Benjamin Netanyahu, in the most tyrannical government in Israels history. Or he has the choice to heed the concerns of residents  not only in the state of Michigan, but across this country, from coast to coast.

Organizers for Listen to Michigan, the campaign behind the uncommitted vote this week, said they have heard of similar efforts in other state looking to send a message of warning to the president that he could lose their votes in November if he doesnt change his position on the Gaza conflict.

We are going to be talking to other states that are looking for a unifying vehicle to send the same message to Joe Biden, Layla Elabed, campaign manager for Listen to Michigan, said during a Wednesday press call. This issue of Gaza is not just a Michigan issue, it is an issue across the United States. So our plan is to work with other coalitions like Listen to Michigan.

Biden easily won Michigans Democratic primary Tuesday, ending the night with more than 80 percent of the vote, according to the latest projections from Decision Desk HQ. But uncommitted came in second place, surpassing Bidens long-shot challengers to reach around 13 percent and win two delegates.

The efforts are the product of deep anger from Arab Americans and progressives over the Biden administrations handling of the war, which began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel in October, killing some 1,200 and taking more than 200 hostage. Israel responded violently, and the conflict has since resulted in more than 29,000 deaths in Gaza, according to United Nations numbers.

Last nights uncommitted vote exceeded our expectations, said Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a progressive political organizing group originally founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that got behind the Michigan effort. Such a strong showing indicates the depth of anger within the Democratic party base, in particular among key constituencies: young people, voters of color, progressives.

The pressure is intended to change policy, Geevarghese said, but its also giving political advice to Biden amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Biden has expressed unwavering support for Israel, and the U.S. hasnt acted on loudening calls for a cease-fire, though the White House has said it wants Israels operation to be more targeted to protect civilians. Biden said before Tuesdays primary that a cease-fire could come as soon as next Monday, but the Palestinian militant group Hamas suggested that was premature.

In a statement on Tuesdays primary results, the president made no direct mention of the uncommitted effort but thanked every Michigander who made their voice heard today.

The push isnt expected to have an impact on Bidens cruise toward the nomination, but it could prove a warning sign as the race heads to the general.

The Biden campaign needs to understand that if they dont change course on Gaza, it is going to be difficult for progressive groups like Our Revolution to get out the vote, Geevarghese said.

But if theres real, meaningful movement from the administration, its easier for us to join forces to defeat Trump in the general, Geevarghese said, noting, we of course do not support Trump.

The Listen to Michigan campaign claimed victory with their turnout Tuesday. Elabed said shes seen a small shift in language from Biden after the campaigns pressure, but that his words are not enough.

Were looking to you, President Biden. Michigan has made its move. Weve participated. Over 100,000 of us want to know what you will do to engage us, Abbas Alawieh, spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, said in the Wednesday press conference.

Meanwhile, a separate movement, Abandon Biden, is urging voters to reject the incumbent altogether.

When we say abandon, it truly and without any trepidation implies abandon. We completely abandoned him because he abandoned us, said Hassan Abdel Salam, a professor at the University of Minnesota and a founding organizer of the #AbandonBiden National Coalition.

For Abandon Biden, its not about sending a mini-signal with primary votes  but about getting the incumbent to lose the election in order to send a punishing message.

He could call a cease-fire today  and we will take every single action and path thing that we can to ensure that he loses the election on Nov. 5, Salam said.

Though many Arab and Muslim Americans suffered under former President Trump, who notably enacted a Muslim ban in his term, Salam said he sees Bidens actions as inexcusable even against the possibility of a second Trump term.

Now, the Abandon Biden campaign has noted efforts in more than a half-dozen other states to continue putting primary pressure on the president over the war in Gaza.

Abandon Biden campaigns launched earlier this month in Minnesota, which votes on Super Tuesday next week; Arizona, which votes in mid-March; and Pennsylvania, which votes in late April. The movement also has its eyes on New Jersey and North Carolina, Salam said.

What happened in Michigan sets a precedent that could galvanize even a write-in campaign with uncommitted.  In any state where there is uncommitted, we would want to pursue that in an aggressive way, Salam said.

But with uncommitted an option in just a few other states  including Washington, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee  the Great Lakes States results will be hard to replicate, said Democratic strategist Eddie Vale.

Thats because its typically easier to coordinate a vote for an existing option than organize a write-in. There was a push in New Hampshires primary last month to write in cease-fire as a protest vote against Biden, but the movement drew little traction, garnering just 1,500 votes, according to data from the Granite States secretary of state.

Michigan also boasts a unique landscape with its significant Arab American population and an uncommitted option to protest through  setting the stage for a strong showing, Vale said.

Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the center-left think tank Third Way, said Michigans uncommitted results are not insignificant for Biden as he tries for reelection but argued it was also a freebie vote largely without consequences.

You could just register some displeasure without having to turn the election over to a tyrant like Donald Trump, Kessler said.

As long as voters feel frustration with the administration over the issue at hand, itll continue to get some votes, Kessler said of the uncommitted effort. But whether voters in other states accomplish big protest vote movements or not, theyll have to decide they also want to take a stand in the general, and risk hurting Biden in whats likely a match-up with Trump in November.

Matt Duss, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Sanders, said he thinks voters understand the stakes of the general, and that most will confine their protest votes to a primary exercise.

Theyre using the primaries as a way to send a message to the president, but they want to win, Duss said. They understand the stakes of another Trump presidency. But at the same time, I think theyre using a very appropriate mechanism for signaling disagreement and, in fact, outrage at the way this war has been handled by the administration.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Joe Biden speaks with U.S. Border Patrol agents in Brownsville, Texas, on February 29, 2024. JIM WATSON via Getty Images

President Joe Biden visited the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday, hoping to turn what has been a major campaign vulnerability into a weapon, following the demise  at the request of rival Donald Trump  of a bipartisan proposal that would have imposed the toughest immigration rules in decades.

The majority of Democrats and Republicans of both houses support this legislation, until someone came along and said: Dont do that, it will benefit the incumbent. Thats a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem, Biden said during a visit to Brownsville, Texas. Its time for the speaker and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show a little spine.

Earlier this month, the former president pressured his GOP allies to scuttle a sweeping immigration deal negotiated by the White House and both Democratic and Republican senators. Had it passed, it would have made it harder for migrants to claim asylum, increased the number of Border Patrol agents and improved detection of drugs being smuggled in.

In opposing the bill, Trump told his supporters in the Senate and the House that any legislation that helped reduce the number of migrants flowing into the country from Mexico would help Bidens re-election this November and should therefore be blocked.

The GOP presidential frontrunner made his own visit to the Texas border Thursday coinciding with Bidens.

The United States is being overrun by Biden migrant crime, he said during a stop at Eagle Pass, a point on the border that has seen the greatest number of crossings in recent months.

In his 15-minute remarks, Trump repeated many of the same lies on the topic that regularly feature in his rally speeches. He did not mention the border legislation, which he had previously bragged about stopping.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Republicans willingness to kill legislation they themselves had negotiated just because Trump demanded it showed that they were less interested in fixing problems than helping Trump win back the presidency.

If this bill was able to get in, to become law, it would have been, yes, the toughest, but also the fairest that we have seen in some time, she said Wednesday. We believe were on the offense because we did the work with the Senate in a bipartisan way for four months. And Republicans rejected it.

Biden campaign officials echoed that view in a call with reporters.

Trump said blame it on me. And so I will, said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a member of the campaigns advisory board. The same Republicans who helped write the thing  and were prepared to vote for it  suddenly opposed it. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to.

Texas Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia added: He is going to use his racist language, hes going to spew hate, outrage, division  while providing no real plan to fix our broken immigration system.

Trump has always enjoyed a polling advantage among those who see illegal immigration as a top concern.

When he took office, Biden immediately suspended or undid a number of Trump policies designed to slow immigration. One of those moves was to end the construction of a border wall that Trump had financed by raiding the Defense Department budget, despite repeated promises that he would force Mexico to pay for its construction.

Bidens reforms, combined with the end of the COVID pandemic, led to a surge of migrant crossings in the past year, which has led to a worsening of the presidents approval ratings in polls.

Trump, as he did in 2016, has exploited Americans fear of crime by claiming  falsely  that illegal immigrants are responsible for a disproportionate number of violent crimes. Of late, he has used the murder of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia nursing student, in his campaign speeches.

In fact, reports and studies show that immigrants commit far fewer murders than native-born American citizens, and even unauthorized immigrants commit murders at a lower rate than those born in this country.

Trump is on the verge of clinching his third straight Republican presidential nomination in the next few weeks, despite facing 91 felony charges  17 of them in two indictments based on his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt. The federal case is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is set to test Trumps claim that he is immune from prosecution for everything he did as president. A separate Georgia case based on his efforts to overturn his election loss in that state could go to trial later this year.

A second federal prosecution is based on his refusal to turn over secret documents he took with him to his South Florida country club after he left the Oval Office. And a New York state indictment accuses him of falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 hush money payment to a porn star in the days ahead of the 2016 election. That trial is scheduled to begin in late March.
Today, March 1, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison above the Arctic Circle, was buried in Moscow. His associates, family, and world leaders believe that the politician was murdered. The line of people who came to say goodbye to Navalny stretched for several kilometers. However, neither the oppositionist's wife nor children were among them.

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Navalny's family  wife Yulia, daughter Daria, and son Zakhar  did not attend the funeral. Yulia Navalnaya said goodbye to her husband on social media.

She posted a video in which she collected footage of Alexei Navalny. Yulia chose Zemfira's song "Please Don't Die" as the musical background for the video.

"Lesha, thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For your love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking of me. I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make sure that you are happy for me and proud of me up there," Yulia Navalnaya wrote.

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Navalny's mother was the only member of his family at the funeral. Thousands of people thanked her for her son near the church where the oppositionist was buried.

As a reminder, on Friday, March 1, the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny took place in Moscow. Security forces increased security at the Borisovskoye Cemetery and near the Soothe My Sorrows Church, where the ceremony took place. Early in the morning, at least forty police cars of various sizes gathered near the church, metal barriers were set up along the road, and riot police were on duty.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

Russians who came to say goodbye to Alexei Navalny, among other slogans, even chanted "Glory to the Heroes!". At the same time, the Internet was "jammed" in the Maryino district, where the farewell to the oppositionist took place.

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Navalny's supporters spotted snipers on the roofs of houses near the church where the politician's funeral was held.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
US President Joe Biden meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House on March 1, 2024 (SAUL LOEB)

President Joe Biden hailed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's "unwavering" support for Ukraine Friday, as they held talks overshadowed by worries about the future of US aid for Kyiv.

Despite their political differences, the far-right Italian leader and the veteran Democrat have had warm relations, particularly because of Meloni's strong stance on Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.

"I want to thank you for Italy's unwavering support for Ukraine," Biden, 81, said as he sat with Meloni, 47, in front of a crackling fire in the Oval Office of the White House.

"We have each other's backs -- we also have Ukraine's back," added Biden, who sported socks decorated with Stars and Stripes flags.

Biden sought to reassure Meloni that he was urging Republicans in Congress to stop blocking $60 billion of vital US military assistance for Ukraine.

The impasse has left Kyiv desperately short of weapons as it tries to fight off recent Russian advances, and alarmed Washington's European allies who fear Moscow has further ambitions.

It was Meloni's second visit to the White House, after she came in July last year.

Meloni, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) nations, said Ukraine would be top of the agenda at a leaders' summit in Italy in June.

"We intend first and foremost to reaffirm the rules-based international order defending freedom and giving peace for Ukraine," Meloni said alongside Biden.

Meloni also "emphasized the significance of sustained US support for Ukraine," the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

Biden quipped that he played the song "Georgia on My Mind" by soul great Ray Charles for Giorgia Meloni as she arrived for the meeting.

- 'Humanitarian crisis' -

The two leaders also agreed on the importance of aid for Gaza as Israel's offensive continues, with Biden announcing that the US would start airdropping relief.

"The humanitarian crisis is our number one priority," Meloni said, calling for a long-term solution that provides for a separate Palestinian state.

Italy called for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza on Thursday after Israeli troops opened fire at an aid convoy, while the United States said the incident underscored the need for a "temporary" truce.

Meloni and Biden also discussed North Africa -- the source of migrant flows to Italy -- and cooperation on China, the White House said.

Italy has emerged as a staunch European and NATO ally for Washington in backing Kyiv, despite the presence in Meloni's government of figures like deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, once an outspoken admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But like other US allies it has reacted with alarm to the political chaos in Washington that has stalled aid for Ukraine.

Republicans have said they will not pass aid until Biden takes action to curb migrant crossings over the US-Mexico border, but have refused to pass bills doing just that. The president has accused them of playing politics.

The leaders of a number of key US allies have visited or will visit the White House in the early months of 2024 -- an election year for Biden -- as they seek to shore up Ukraine's increasingly desperate position.

"The world is watching, and that's what House Republican leaders need to understand," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

dk/tjj
U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at the White House on March 1, amid challenges faced by the Democratic administration in garnering support from House Republicans for legislation aimed at providing assistance to Ukraine.

Despite efforts by Biden to reassure European allies of continued U.S. support for Ukraine, there has been a struggle to pass a supplementary foreign aid package in the House. This package includes $60 billion for Ukraine, alongside $35 billion for Israel and Taiwan, which has already been approved by the Senate.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has declined to bring the bill to a vote in the House. Johnson told the Voice of America on Feb. 29 that his chamber would consider $60 billion in aid for Ukraine "as soon as the government is funded."

Prior to Meloni's visit, White House officials acknowledged the lack of satisfactory solutions for allies regarding the impasse with House Republicans, according to Associated Press. This deadlock impedes the provision of crucial aid to Kyiv, which continues to impact Ukraine's battlefield capabilities.

Following her trip to Kyiv last week, where she convened a Group of Seven leaders meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Meloni is now visiting Washington. It will be the second meeting between Biden and Meloni in about seven months.

While in Kyiv, Meloni reiterated Italy's backing for Ukraine and finalized a security cooperation agreement encompassing military and technical aid until year-end. Italy has additionally pledged assistance for Ukraine's efforts in reconstructing historic landmarks.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

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President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 1, 2024, to travel to Camp David, Md., for the weekend. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The U.S. will begin airdropping emergency humanitarian assistance into Gaza, President Joe Biden said Friday, a day after more than 100 Palestinians were killed during a chaotic encounter with Israeli troops.

The president announced the move after at least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday when witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.

Biden said the airdrops would begin soon and that the United States was looking into additional ways to facilitate getting badly needed aid into the war-battered territory to ease the suffering of Palestinians.

In the coming days were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies and will "seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor, Biden said.

The president twice referred to airdrops to help Ukraine, but White House officials clarified that he was referring to Gaza.

Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos and that its troops fired at some in the crowd who they believed moved toward them in a threatening way. The Israeli government has said it is investigating the matter.

The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of those wounded said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire.

Biden made his announcement while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White house.

Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough," Biden said. "Now, its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

The White House, State Department and Pentagon had been weighing the merits of U.S. military airdrops of assistance for several months, but had held off due to concerns that the method is inefficient, has no way of ensuring the aid gets to civilians in need and cannot make up for overland aid deliveries.

Administration officials said their preference was to further increase overland aid deliveries through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border points and to try to get Israel to open the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza.

The incident on Thursday appeared to tip the balance and push Biden to approve airdrops. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that airdrops are difficult operations, but the acute need for aid in Gaza informed the president's decision.

He stressed that ground routes will be continued to be used to get aid into Gaza, and that the airdrops are a supplemental effort.

Its not the kind of thing you want to do in a heartbeat. you want to think it through carefully," Kirby said. He added, Theres few military operations that are more complicated than humanitarian assistance airdrops

Pressure has been mounting for Biden to move more aggressively to ease Palestinian suffering, including from lawmakers of Bidens Democratic Party. Even before Thursdays deaths, Sen. Jack Reed, chairman of the Senates Armed Services Committee, wrote Biden this week to urge that the administration deploy a military hospital ship and support units to help treat Gazas wounded and open a sea route to Gaza for delivery of humanitarian aid.

Yesterdays event, I think, underscores the need to find more creative ways of getting assistance in faster and at greater scale, Kirby said.

Egypt, France, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates have already used airdrops to get aid into Gaza since the conflict started in October.

Biden in his visit with Meloni at the White House also sought to assure European leaders that the U.S. remains behind Ukraine even as he's been unable to win passage of a supplemental foreign aid package that includes $60 billion for Ukraine in addition to $35 billion for Israel and Taiwan. The legislation has passed the Senate, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to put it up for a vote in the House.

Ahead of Meloni's visit, White House officials said they don't have good answers for allies about finding an end to the impasse with House Republicans and reopening the American spigot of aid to Kyiv that's badly needed as Ukraine tries to fend off Russia's invasion.

Biden, along with top Democrats and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly urged Johnson during a White House meeting this week to take up the foreign aid package, but Johnson responded by saying that Congress must take care of Americas needs first.

The leaders also discussed efforts by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar to broker an extended cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Italy's priorities for a G7 presidency, migrant flows into Italy from North Africa, and their countries' China policies.

Biden said earlier this week that a cease-fire deal could be reached by Monday, before tempering his optimism after Thursday's incident. But on Friday, Biden said he still held hope that a deal can be struck, possibly before Muslims around the globe begin observing the holy month of Ramadan that is expected to begin on March 10.

I'm still hoping so, Biden told reporters on Friday evening before departing the White House for the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland. "Were still working real hard at it. Were not there yet.

Meloni said solving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza was Italy's top priority.

We need to coordinate our actions to avoid an escalation, and this regard we fully support the U.S. mediation efforts, she said.

___

Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Milan, Seung Min Kim, Ellen Knickmeyer and Will Weissert contributed reporting.
The News

The Biden campaign is slowly building up its presence on TikTok after making a splashy entrance on Super Bowl Sunday. But while Donald Trump is also targeting younger voters in this soon-to-be general election matchup, dont expect him to hop on the bandwagon anytime soon.

One of Trumps advisors noted that it would be a big shift for the former president to join TikTok  he tried to ban it back in 2020, arguing that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, made it a national security threat. A person close to the campaign, meanwhile, said they doubt that Trump would ever take the plunge.

Shelbys view

Even as 62% of 18- to 29-year-olds reported using the platform in 2023, per Pew Research, Republican politicians dont seem to feel much pressure to create an account.

Suspicion of TikTok has become fairly widespread among conservative lawmakers backing Trump and joining it would likely spark a backlash among some of his staunch allies. In February, a group of Republican lawmakers  including figures like Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. and Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who have been floated as potential Trump vice presidential picks  sent a letter to Biden urging him to delete your account because the platform endangers national security.

If you weigh the possible positive impact on young voters versus the certain negative impact on our base, its a wash at best, a second person close to the campaign told Semafor.

Democrats have also been wary of TikTok, which the Biden administration banned on federal government devices. But its increasing ubiquity among younger voters made it harder and harder to ignore, especially after the Israel-Gaza war broke out and it became a hub for progressive discontent with the White House.

Its unclear how big of an impact Biden will have on the platform with this voter base. The Biden-Harris HQ currently has a little over 200,000 followers and roughly 1.9 million likes across all of its content  notable, but not yet spectacular numbers by TikTok standards. In one video, they poke fun at Republican megadonor Betsy DeVos with a viral image of a sad-looking hamster and depressing violin music. In another, Vice President Kamala Harris talks about the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision regarding IVF. A third clip posted by the account highlights a cookout Biden attended in North Carolina.

Team Trump has relied on different measures to reach younger voters outside traditional media as some polls show them making gains: The former president has attended sporting events, done interviews with shows like the Full Send Podcast, and highlighted support from rappers.

Room for Disagreement

Vivek Ramaswamy joined TikTok after previously decrying the app, saying in a debate that Republicans need to be reaching the next generation of young Americans where they are. Ramaswamy told NBC News just after making an account that hes always open to new arguments  while adding that it still doesnt negate the concerns he has about TikTok. He currently has over 400,000 followers, about doubling the Biden campaigns early total.

Notable

Team Biden has tapped an army of influencers to spread the presidents record, Axios reported back in April. Hundreds of unpaid, independent content creators have been given access to Bidens White House, the article noted.
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden will advocate plans to increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations as well as to lower prescription drug prices in his State of the Union address next week, in what aides describe as an effort to lay out second term proposals for protecting and implementing his economic agenda.

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Biden, who will speak before both houses of Congress on Thursday night, is seeking to convince voters that his administrations achievements merit another four years in office, and the televised speech will give him a high-profile forum to reiterate his arguments.

He also plans to highlight the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which set aside subsidies worth $100 billion to convince semiconductor makers to build in the US, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 as well as government efforts to stamp out so-called junk fees, a White House official said.

Some of the presidents speech, according to the official, will be devoted to support for abortion rights, an issue that has been successful for Democrats since the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had guaranteed those rights for nearly half a century.

While its unclear if Biden will mention it in the speech, Republicans have been on the defensive over a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen human embryos can be considered people under state law. Even so, GOP senators this week blocked a Democrat-led effort to federally protect in-vitro fertilization.

Along with pledges to lower prices for prescription drugs, Biden, will call for lowering Americans health insurance premiums. His vow to raise taxes on the rich faces formidable obstacles in Congress. Republicans, who abhor any tax increase, narrowly control the House and Democrats have a slender hold over the Senate.

The White House didnt offer additional details, but on the campaign trail lately, Biden has been advancing the idea of raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% as well as a tax hitting capital gains for billionaires.

Read More: Biden Is Too Old But Trump Is Dangerous, Swing-State Voters Say

In November, Biden will likely face his predecessor, Donald Trump, who is about to secure his third Republican presidential nomination. Several surveys have shown that voters put more trust in Trump than Biden on the economy.

And a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that swing-state voters across every major demographic group describe Biden, who is 81, as too old, showing that concerns about his age have permeated even the most reliable constituencies of the Democratic Party.

In contrast, less than half of respondents said the 77-year-old Trump, was too old. Still, Trump faces his own vulnerabilities with swing-state voters, with a majority saying the former president is dangerous.

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
US President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House on March 1, 2024 (SAUL LOEB)

President Joe Biden said Friday that the United States would start to deliver relief supplies from the air into Gaza, a day after the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians at an aid convoy.

"We need to do more, and the United States will do more," Biden told reporters at the White House at the start of a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

"In the coming days we're going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing air drops of additional food and supplies," the 81-year-old Biden said in the Oval Office.

The announcement comes as negotiations continue for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, amid a humanitarian crisis in Gaza which has been under siege since Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel.

Biden has pushed Israel to reduce civilian casualties and allow aid in, while at the same time he has maintained military assistance for the key US ally.

Biden said later he was "hoping" for a deal on a six-week ceasefire by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which will start on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.

"We'll get there but we're not there yet -- we may not get there," Biden added, without elaborating, as he headed to his helicopter to spend the weekend at the presidential Camp David retreat.

Ceasefire talks have been complicated by Thursday's incident in which dozens of desperate Palestinians were killed rushing an aid convoy in northern Gaza, where the UN has warned of famine.

An Israeli source acknowledged troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."

- 'Terrible war' -

"Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. And you saw the response when they tried to get aid in," Biden said as he announced the air drops.

The US president added that he would "insist" that Israel let in more aid trucks, while it would also look at a possible "marine corridor" to deliver large amounts of aid into Gaza.

Biden had been planning air drops for some time but Thursday's incident "certainly underscored for the president" the need to find other ways to get aid in, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

The United States planned to carry out multiple air drops that would last weeks, said Kirby, adding that it would not be "one and done."

But it was also a "tough military operation" that required careful planning by the Pentagon for the safety of both Gazan civilians and US military personnel.

"It is extremely difficult to do an airdrop in such a crowded environment as is Gaza," said Kirby.

The United States also had to manage the risks to its own personnel.

"This is a war zone. So there's an added element of potential danger to the pilots in the aircraft," he added.

Kirby said Israel was meanwhile "seriously" investigating the aid convoy deaths.

However, Washington would continue to support Israel militarily despite the growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, Kirby said.

"We are still helping Israel with their needs to defend themselves," he said.

dk/acb
President Joe Biden on Friday signed a stopgap bill into law to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of the week.

Congress had been confronting a pair of shutdown deadlines on Friday and March 8.

To provide additional time for full-year funding bills to be finalized and passed, the stopgap measure will extend funding on a short-term basis and set up two deadlines on March 8 and March 22.

Earlier this week, congressional leaders announced an agreement on six appropriations bills and said the package of full-year bills will be enacted before March 8, while the remaining appropriations bills to fund the rest of the government will be finalized and passed before March 22.

The House and Senate both passed the bill on Thursday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has been under intense pressure from his right flank to fight for conservative wins in the government funding battle, and hardliners were quick to push back on the prospect of another short-term funding bill.

The appropriations process is ugly, Johnson told reporters on Thursday. Democracy is ugly. This is the way it works every year  always has  except that weve instituted some new innovations. We broke the omnibus fever, right? Thats how Washington has been run for years. Were trying to turn the aircraft carrier back to real budgeting and spending reform. This was an important thing to break it up into smaller pieces.

Johnson also defended his handling of the spending talks in a meeting with GOP House members on Thursday ahead of the vote.

According to sources in the room, Johnson said that he was forced into a position to cut the deal because GOP divisions have prevented the House from approving a procedural step, known as a rule, along party lines. That has meant he needs to rely on Democrats to pass bills with a two-thirds majority, forcing them to compromise on the spending package.

Johnson won the gavel after conservatives ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a historic vote last year, raising the question of whether the Louisiana Republican may at some point face a similar threat against his speakership.

The six bills that lawmakers have reached an agreement on and plan to pass before March 8 include funding for departments and agencies, including Agriculture-FDA; Commerce, Justice and Science; Energy and Water Development; Interior; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.

The remaining six appropriations bills that lawmakers plan to vote on prior to March 22 including funding for Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Labor-Health and Human Services; the Legislative Branch; and State and Foreign Operations.

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President Biden signed a government funding bill to punt the threat of a shutdown later into the month and buy lawmakers time to hash out spending deals.

The president signed a stopgap bill that maintains funding for the departments of Agriculture, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Justice, Commerce, Energy and other offices through March 8.

This bipartisan agreement prevents a damaging shutdown and allows more time for Congress to work toward full-year funding bills. Thats good news for the American people. But I want to be clear: this is a short-term fix  not a long-term solution, Biden said in a statement.

In the days ahead, Congress must do its job and pass full-year funding bills that deliver for the American people, he continued. And House Republicans must act on the bipartisan National Security Supplemental, which already passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and would pass the House if it was brought to a vote.

The national security bill includes millions of dollars for Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as funding for Israel and Indo-Pacific allies.

Senators voted 77-13 on Thursday to approve the government funding measure just hours after the House voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill 320-99.

Lawmakers will have until March 22 to wrap up the fiscal 2024 funding for the Pentagon, the legislative branch and foreign operations, as well as the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and Homeland Security.

While lawmakers say they have a deal on the six appropriations bills due next week, disagreements remain on the other half-dozen measures, which include more controversial pieces of legislation funding agencies like the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security.

The eventual funding deals must pass the Democratic-controlled Senate and the GOP-controlled House, where some conservative members have demanded controversial policy additions to funding bills.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday is tightening safety rules for chemical plants loosened under the Trump administration.

The rules are designed to prevent chemical accidents, and EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said they are the strongest safety requirements ever for industrial facilities.

It restores measures rolled back by the Trump administration, including requiring companies to assess potentially safer technologies and processes that can limit hazards. It will also restore a requirement for root cause analyses after accidents.

These regulations were first implemented under the Obama administration after a 2013 explosion at a fertilizer plant in Texas killed 15 people.

The rule also enforces new safety measures: It requires high-accident sectors to write plans and implement safeguards, highlights companies responsibility to evaluate hazards related to natural disasters and makes more information about safety risks available to nearby communities.

When it loosened the rule in 2019, the Trump administration argued doing so reduced burdens on industry and addressed security risks from previous regulations.

The rules apply to 12,000 industrial facilities, including chemical manufacturers and distributors, oil refineries, food and beverage manufacturers and agricultural supply distributors.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Clothing left by migrants on a barrier of concertina wire after swimming from Mexico to the United States in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Even the participants in President Joe Biden and Donald Trumps overlapping visits to Texas on Thursday seemed to sense there was something remarkable about their near encounter along the southern border.

Rarely do the current and former commanders in chief arrive on the same scene on the same day to present such sharply different approaches to an issue as intractable as immigration. Even rarer still was the reality that the two men are most likely hurtling toward a rematch in November.

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Today is a day of extraordinary contrast, declared Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who had appeared alongside Trump.

But the dueling border events were about something even more fundamental than immigration policy. They spoke to the competing visions of power and presidency that are at stake in 2024  of autocracy and the value of democracy itself.

Perhaps the most surprising facet of the split screen was that Trump and Biden agreed on some of the basic contours of the border problem: that the current situation, with migrant crossings setting a new monthly record of nearly 250,000 in December, is unsustainable.

Its long past time to act, Biden said.

Where they disagreed, at least in part, was politically in how to go about fixing it. And their disparate answers represent a test of the American appetite for the systemic messiness of democracy: Bidens intrinsic and institutional belief in legislating versus the Day 1 promises of dictatorial enactment under Trump.

Biden says he would close the border, if only he could. Trump says Biden could close the border, if only he would.

A very dangerous border  were going to take care of it, Trump pledged on the tarmac upon his Texas arrival.

Whats being proposed is more than a difference on immigration policy, said Brendan Nyhan, a professor of government at Dartmouth, who helped found a group that monitors U.S. democracy. The difference is between a president who is trying to address a complex policy issue through our political system and one who is promising quasi-authoritarian solutions.

For his part, Biden made the case Thursday that his hands had been tied by the failure of a bipartisan border package that had been negotiated on Capitol Hill. The legislation would have increased border spending, made asylum claims harder and stiffened fentanyl screening. It unraveled when Trump demanded its defeat.

Biden, who spent more than 30 years as a senator, has for decades held out bipartisan dealmaking as an ideal in and of itself. I didnt get everything I wanted in that compromise bipartisan bill, but neither did anybody else, Biden said in Brownsville, Texas. Compromise is part of the process. Thats how democracy works.

Then he added one more thought: Thats how its supposed to work.

Immigration as an issue has broadly favored Republicans in recent years and party strategists see it as a top vulnerability for Democrats in 2024. But Democrats hope Republicans killing the border bill could divide up some of the blame.

In a surprise flourish toward the end of his remarks, the president offered an olive branch to Trump himself.

Join me, Biden urged, in calling on the two of them to work together to get the legislation passed. Or Ill join you.

Minutes earlier and hundreds of miles away in Eagle Pass, Texas, Trump  whose 2016 convention speech accepting the Republican nomination was defined by the phrase I alone can fix it  had outlined a very different view of exercising power. After passing razor wire and military Humvees, and after shaking hands with Texas National Guard members in fatigues, Trump cast himself as a battle-tested leader ready to fend off an invasion by hordes of fighting-age men who look like warriors.

This is like a war, Trump said, expressing a willingness to use something akin to wartime powers.

He said Biden had blood on his hands, citing in particular the recent killing of Laken Riley, a student in Georgia, where a migrant was arrested. He repeated that the country was suffering a Biden migrant crime wave.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said the former president was using dehumanizing rhetoric. This immigrant crime narrative is racist, Garcia said in a call with reporters before Trumps event.

Trump appeared with Abbott, who has begun building an operating base in Eagle Pass for up to 2,300 soldiers to curb illegal crossings from Mexico, a move that has caused a clash with federal officials. A federal court Thursday had blocked a Texas law to allow the state and local police to arrest migrants.

The thing about Trumps lightning-rod pledge to be a Day 1 dictator was that it was not just a blanket promise of authoritarian rule. It was grounded in a specific policy. He said he wanted to close the border  the limits of governmental red tape be damned.

Back in December, Fox News host Sean Hannity had offered Trump the opportunity to wriggle out of the remark during a town hall. Instead, Trump embraced it fully.

He says, Youre not going to be a dictator, are you? Trump said as he reenacted the exchange with Hannity for dramatic effect. I said, No, no, no, other than Day 1. Were closing the border, and were drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, Im not a dictator.

By any means necessary has long been a Trump mantra. He was accused of unconstitutionality in 2015 when he called for a Muslim ban. As president, he enacted a narrower version focused on seven countries that included those with Muslim majorities.

In a possible second term, Trump has made clear that he wants to be surrounded by executors and enablers. His allies are eyeing a more aggressive brand of lawyer who can work around any legal limits or barriers that may be put up by what he decries as the deep state.

People dont want to hear anything anymore  they just want the masses to stop coming, Jerry Patterson, a Republican who is a former Texas land commissioner, said in an interview.

Patterson, who said proudly he was often criticized by the right for supporting guest-worker programs, said the situation now was truly a crisis, even if Thursdays visits wouldnt amount to any change on the ground.

He predicted the election of Trump would change things  not because of any policy but because of the perception among potential migrants that he would blockade or deport them.

Perception, he said, is more important than reality.

Republicans of late have broadly insisted that Biden can solve some of the border troubles by reimposing some of Trumps reversed executive policies. Biden announced no new actions Thursday but is considering an executive action that could prevent people who cross illegally from claiming asylum. His State of the Union speech is next week.

Speaker Mike Johnson, the most powerful Republican on Capitol Hill, called Thursday for Biden to act on his own, an unusual level of deference from a legislative leader to executive powers.

If President Biden truly cared to acknowledge the national security crisis at the southern border, he would sit down at his desk and sign executive orders, Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Refusing to concede has become the new normal for congressional Republicans, said Michael Podhorzer, the former political director of the AFL-CIO, the labor federation. The collapsed immigration deal, he added, was just the latest episode of Republican intransigence, dating back to voting en masse against the economic recovery bill in the first days of former President Barack Obamas first term.

No problem is serious enough to compromise to solve, Podhorzer said of the GOP philosophy. The best answer is just to put us in charge.

c.2024 The New York Times Company
Last year, Poland banned the import of rapeseed meal from Ukraine. However, Poles still import it from Belarus. Poland also buys Russian agricultural products despite all the bans and sanctions.

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This is stated in a new investigation by OP journalist Mykhailo Tkach. According to the information provided, the supply of grains, oilseeds, and meals from Belarus to Poland has been growing over the past two years.

In total, Poland paid Belarusians $55 million for agricultural products last year. Among other things, the Poles buy rapeseed meal (residues of rapeseed processing).

Since September 2023, Poland has banned the import of rapeseed meal from Ukraine, although imports from Belarus remained allowed. Moreover, the volumes increased after the embargo. In October-December, Poles purchased $7.7 million worth of rapeseed meal from Belarus.

The publication shows a recording of a conversation with representatives of the Polish company Agrolok. The company was contacted by a person who introduced himself as a manager of a Belarusian company and offered to buy rapeseed meal. The representative of the Polish company was immediately interested in the opportunity. Even after hearing about the Russian origin of the product, Agrolok did not refuse to buy it.

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Ukrainian agricultural exports to Poland decreased by 40% last year. In total, last year Poland exported goods worth $3.7 billion to Russia and $2.8 billion to Belarus, according to UN data. Instead, the country imported goods worth $450 million from Belarus and $2.6 billion from Russia, half of which was fuel imports.

As for agricultural products, their imports from Russia to Poland reached $117 million and exceeded the level of 2021. In particular, imports of grains and oilseeds more than doubled.

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Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the Polish authorities were ready to completely close the border with Ukraine. However, they are ready to take such a step with the consent of the Ukrainian side and only for a while. The blockade will apply only to cargo transportation and will not affect passenger transport.

The plan to completely close the border between Poland and Ukraine, announced by Polish Prime Minister Tusk, is unfavorable primarily to the former as it is not only about agricultural products.
President Biden and former President Donald Trump made dueling trips to the southern border on Thursday as they sought to gain a political edge on the issue in their anticipated White House campaign rematch.

Biden traveled to Brownsville, Texas, where he met with Border Patrol agents and immigration enforcement officials on the banks of the Rio Grande. He laid out what he called a needed compromise border security measure.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was recently impeached by the Republican-led House of Representatives, said the visit is a working trip and not a chance to spar with Trump.

This visit is focused on the work that we do, not the rhetoric of others, Mayorkas told reporters.The fact of the matter is that the only enduring solution is legislation. Congress needs to act.

Trump, for his part, jetted into Eagle Pass, Texas, about 325 miles west of Brownsville, a small town that has become the poster child for surging border crossings.

Theyre pouring into our country and theyre bringing with them tremendous problems, Trump said. Were going to take care of it.

The dueling trips underline the growing salience of immigration and border security in the 2024 presidential race especially since Trump lobbied to kill the congressional compromise to rein in illegal migration with fresh funding and GOP-friendly policy shifts.

Before that dramatic development, Trump and Republicans had enjoyed a political advantage by trashing Biden as the architect of rising migrant crossings and what they characterize as an open-border policy.

Trump has also dialed up his anti-immigrant rhetoric in recent months, suggesting migrants are poisoning the blood of Americans in a phrase that historians say recalls Nazi Germany.

But Biden and his Democratic allies have started to fight back, accusing Republicans of refusing to take action to stem the tide of migrants because they prefer to use the crisis as a political pawn.

The compromise that Republicans killed would have tightened border security, given Biden power to block all crossings and dramatically increase funding for processing migrants.

The number of people who are illegally crossing the border with Mexico has been rising for years for a variety of reasons but mostly due to the strong economy and job market in the U.S. The arrival of migrants has impacted liberal cities such as New York City, which has been experiencing a migrant crisis these last two years.

The Biden administration has sought to tweak policy where it can to encourage asylum seekers to enter the country legally at ports of entry instead of on foot across the border.

Biden is considering executive actions to help discourage migrants from coming to the U.S. But many Democrats and pro-immigration advocates oppose such unilateral actions, saying Biden would open the door for abuse of the powers by future presidents.

Many executive actions would likely be challenged in court where they would face an uncertain future.

_________
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited two different Texas border cities on Thursday in dueling trips that put immigration squarely at the center of their near-certain rematch in this years presidential election.

The visits came on the heels of a bipartisan immigration bill failing in the U.S. Senate after Trump told Republicans not to vote for it, in part so that he could campaign on the issue. The bill proposed overhauling the nation's asylum system to provide quicker answers to migrants and allow presidents to order immediate deportation of migrants at the border when immigration agents get overwhelmed.

Biden didn't announce any new immigration policy in Brownsville on Thursday, but made a push for Congress to approve the bipartisan immigration bill. He was accompanied by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen; and Brownsville Mayor John Cowen.

"The majority of Democrats and Republicans in both houses support this legislation," Biden said during a speech at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection station. "Until someone came along and said don't do that that'll benefit the incumbent. That's a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem."

President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a visit to Brownsville on Feb. 29, 2024. Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune

Meanwhile in Eagle Pass, Trump, who was joined by Gov. Greg Abbott at Shelby Park, repeatedly criticized Biden's handling of immigration, saying the "United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime."

Trump specifically mentioned Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student whose body was found in Georgia last week. Rileys death was thrust into the national spotlight when police disclosed that the man charged with the killing was a Venezuelan immigrant, and Trump suggested the Biden administration was culpable.

The Marshall Project recently reported that there has not been an increase in reported crime in cities where migrants have moved to.

Trump also praised Abbotts deployment of concertina wire along the Rio Grande and efforts to arrest migrants who cross the border illegally.

"He really stepped it up," Trump said. "It's been amazing."

The two candidates' visits came the same day a federal judge blocked a new state law that sought to allow Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally and judges to order them to return to Mexico.

In the recent past, Brownsville has experienced high numbers of migrants crossing into the country. Large migrant encampments have been a frequent sight on the other side of the border in Matamoros, Mexico. Eagle Pass has recently served as the epicenter of immigration enforcement efforts by Texas officials, who have been locked in a tense standoff with the federal government. In December, that town also experienced thousands of migrants crossing the Rio Grande.

Abbott on Thursday accused Biden of only traveling to the Texas-Mexico border after it was announced that Trump would be appearing in Eagle Pass.

Biden, meanwhile, also called out Trump  and asked him to push Congress to pass significant immigration legislation.

"Here's what I would say to Mr. Trump instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I'll join you, in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together."

Trump has said that immigration enforcement will be among his priorities if he wins back the presidency in November. During his presidency, his administration rolled out a series of policies aimed to prevent people from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and deter migrants from crossing the border illegally.

His policies included the emergency health order known as Title 42, which immigration officials used to immediately turn away people at the border without allowing them to request asylum; the remain in Mexico program that forced some migrants with pending asylum cases to wait in Mexico before their cases were adjudicated; and a zero tolerance policy to criminally charge adults who illegally crossed the border, which required Border Patrol agents to separate children from their parents.

The federal government also built 55 miles of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border after Trump promised in campaign rallies to build a big, beautiful wall.

The Biden administration slowly reversed some of Trumps policies, such as the use of Title 42, and scrapped the remain in Mexico program. It also created and expanded programs that help some immigrants to enter the country legally. For example, last year it announced a program that allows 30,000 people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to legally migrate to the U.S. each month, as long as they have a financial sponsor in the U.S. It also expanded a 2014 program that allows children in Central America to legally reunite with family members already in the U.S.

Trump and other Republican leaders have characterized Bidens actions on immigration as open-border policies  thats a frequent refrain by Gov. Greg Abbott, who picked up where Trump left off and has flooded the border with state troopers, National Guard and spent state money to build barriers and deploy concertina wire.

The Biden administration has angered some of its supporters by implementing policies that also make it more challenging for migrants to enter the U.S. legally.

In early 2023, the Biden administration began requiring asylum-seekers to use the CBP One cellphone application to seek one of 1,400 daily appointments to request asylum at a port of entry. The administration also implemented a rule last year that disqualifies migrants from receiving asylum if they entered the country illegally (Under U.S. law, migrants have a right to apply for asylum regardless of how they enter the country.)

In fact, virtually every measure of border enforcement currently is, or has at various points been, at a level that is higher than when Biden came into office  often higher than at any point under the Trump administration, David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based libertarian think tank, wrote in a recent report.

We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Even though President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump were more than 300 miles apart Thursday, the two fought over who to blame for the situation at the border.

President Biden highlighted the need for Congress to pass the bipartisan border bill, while Trump pinned the blame on Biden for the current status at the border.

Its time to act, its long past time to act, President Biden said during his visit to Brownsville, Texas. Its the toughest, most efficient, most effective, border security bill this country has ever seen, Biden said.

Former President Trump took shots at Biden for the border situation during his trip to Eagle Pass, Texas.

Its allowing thousands and thousands of people to come in, Trump said.

Many Republicans in Congress echoed that sentiment, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

He needs to secure that border and protect our communities because lives are being lost and we cannot wait, Johnson said.

However, Democrats in both the Senate and the House blame Trump for turning their Republican colleagues away from the border bill.

Hes the one who tanked the best chance weve seen in ages to fix it, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) took aim at Republicans in the House.

House Republicans have no right to say theyre focused on solutions when theyre the ones creating the issue, Aguilar said.

With such a large focus on the border, its expected to be a central issue leading into the next election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Maxwell Frost, the only gen Z member of Congress, was front and center when Joe Biden announced last week that he was canceling $1.2bn of student loan debt for more than 150,000 Americans.

President Biden knows that canceling student debt is an important issue for young people across our country, said Frost, who has been a surrogate for Bidens campaign. The presidents actions on student debt are in stark contrast with Donald Trump, who spent his entire time in office sabotaging efforts to aid borrowers who are just trying to make ends meet.

Frosts comments underline how much Biden wants young voters to know that he hasnt given up on fixing student debt, even after the supreme court struck down his cancellation plan last summer.

But like some of Bidens other most progressive policies convincing young voters that he has a decent track record on the issues  not least the war in Gaza  that will drive them to the ballot box is proving challenging.

[Biden] coming to the table to talk about student debt forgiveness is a huge win , said Antonio Arellano, NextGens vice-president of communications.

It would be in the best interest of the administration to listen to the young people Antonio Arellano, NextGens vice-president of communications

In America, young voters right now are the largest eligible voting bloc in modern American history, surpassing baby boomers. And theyre being very clear about where they stand, Arellano said. So it would be in the best interest of the administration to listen to the young people that are simply demanding humanitarian priorities and protections for folks that are just in the crosshairs of this greater war.

When contrasted against Trump, Bidens student loan policies appear decidedly progressive. Bidens federal student loan program would have seen 43 million borrowers receive some relief, including up to $20,000 off loans for some borrowers. But the supreme courts conservative majority, including the three justices appointed by Trump, struck down the plan last June.

The ruling was a blow to millions of borrowers across the country. An estimated 45 million Americans hold a total of $1.6tn in student loan debt.

The fight is not over, Biden vowed after the decision, noting that the hypocrisy of Republican elected officials is stunning.

Since then, Biden has kicked off several loan forgiveness measures along with piecemeal cancellations worth up to $138bn for 3.9 million borrowers. The most recent cancellation was targeted toward those who had borrowed $12,000 or less and have had their debt for at least 10 years. Many of these borrowers probably have much higher debts because of accumulated interest over the years.

The White House has been instituting huge fixes to the broken student debt system. Its not debt cancellation  but these are drastic changes, said Natalia Abrams, president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center, a student borrower advocacy group.

Bidens continued poor polling on student debt may be in part down to timing. Young voters may not be seeing the immediate relief themselves. Even if young low- and middle-income are on Bidens new Save plan, which adjusts monthly payments based on a borrowers monthly income, those on the plan wont see forgiveness after at least 20 years.

They havent been borrowing for 10 years, Abrams said. I can see how young people, because theyre new to the lending system, feel left out  but [student debt] is impacting people of all ages.

Student debt remains one of the biggest issues motivating young voters. The national youth-focused nonpartisan voter registration and education program NextGen says emails and call-outs about student debt get the most engagement on their site. But young voters see Bidens policies on the issue in a wider context of other issues, particularly the Israel-Gaza war.

When the White House announced where Biden would be delivering a speech on his most recent student debt cancellation, it waited a day before to disclose the location, likely to avoid another one of the many pro-Palestinian protests that have interrupted his events for months.

Doing a few good things here like canceling student debt and continuing on those promises [Biden] made wont take away from a lot of bad things were doing elsewhere, said Usamah Andrabi, communications director for the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats.

Not to take away from the student debt crisis  thats incredibly important. But canceling student debt does not make people forget that you are aiding and abetting the ethnic cleansing and murder of nearly 30,000 Palestinian people and supporting a far-right extremist government in Israel that is doing it, Andrabi said.

Andrabi said addressing one outstanding issue while ignoring another is almost patronizing to young voters.

To think that they would all of a sudden forget that millions of them have been in the streets for months demanding a ceasefire is insufficient. It hasnt cleaned the slate for what has happened to the Palestinian people, Andrabi said.

Many of the issues important to young voters  including student debt, climate justice, reproductive justice and the violence in Gaza  are inseparable, Andrabi argues. Financially contributing to the Israeli military while they drop bombs and rockets on the Gaza strip produce carbon emissions which heat the planet.

Were also seeing a reproductive health crisis in Gaza, Andrabi said, referencing the tens of thousands of pregnancies in Gaza classified as high-risk due to the violence.

Its not that one issue is more important than the other  I think every voter has their own calculus. But to act like this is a completely separate issue for a group of voters would be incorrect, especially as were seeing so many of the same problems happen to the Palestinian people.

Strategists say Biden is likely relying on young voters supporting him as the candidate against Trump, rather than for his own policies as president. Thats why some Democrats in Michigan, like the US congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, are pushing voters to protest his stance on the Israel-Gaza war by marking themselves as uncommitted in the upcoming primary.

Theres a lot of frustration  and the administration not only needs to hear those concerns, but they need to feel them, said Michael Starr Hopkins, a Democratic strategist. One of the biggest mistakes theyve made is not acknowledging peoples concern. They internalize them, but they dont show externally that theyre taking it into consideration.

Hopkins noted that Bidens strength can be conveying empathy. He is always better when he comes out and acknowledges peoples pain and suffering.
The Biden administration is investigating the risks of foreign technology in American cars.

It says it's investigating automakers from "countries of concern" with a focus on China.

China's BYD has denied plans for US expansion, but its global dominance is hard to ignore.

President Joe Biden is worried that China will use its cars to spy on Americans  and that the country could even remotely disable the cars' functions.

Biden announced in a statement Thursday that his administration was launching an investigation into automakers from "countries of concern," naming China exclusively. The statement said the secretary of commerce would lead the charge to determine the risks of foreign technology in everyday Americans' cars and to take action, if necessary, to protect national security.

"These cars are connected to our phones, to navigation systems, to critical infrastructure, and to the companies that made them," Biden said in his statement. "Connected vehicles from China could collect sensitive data about our citizens and our infrastructure and send this data back to the People's Republic of China."

He noted that China had placed guidelines on American cars operating in the country and questioned why America couldn't do the same for Chinese vehicles.

One Chinese automaker emerging as a dominant force in the global car market is BYD, which unseated Tesla as the world's largest EV seller last year. China's success in the EV world has come as US sales of the cars slip.

But BYD has said it has no plans to come to the US, despite its international expansion into other countries such as Mexico.

"We're not planning to come to the US," Stella Li, the executive vice president of BYD and CEO of BYD Americas, told Yahoo Finance. "It's an interesting market, but it is very complicated."

The secretary of commerce, Gina Raimondo, told reporters Wednesday that the investigation was designed to get ahead of the market  "before Chinese-manufactured vehicles become widespread" in the US.

"Imagine if there were thousands of Chinese vehicles on American roads that could be immediately disabled by somebody in Beijing," Raimondo said, according to the Associated Press.

"It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out how a foreign adversary like China with access to this sort of information at scale could pose a serious risk for national security and the privacy of US citizens," Raimondo added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
DENVER (KDVR)  A bill allowing school districts to have a supply of drug testing strips and opiate antagonists on school buses and in schools was passed by the Colorado House of Representatives on Thursday.

House Bill 24-1003 passed by a vote of 50 to 12 and now heads to the Colorado Senate for debate and a vote. It would allow trained bus drivers to administer certain medications, including an opiate antagonist like Narcan, to students experiencing an overdose, a measure already legalized for trained educators.

Colorado second in US for teen overdose death rates: study

The bill also allows trained students to possess and administer these drugs on school grounds, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event.

Rep. Barbara McLachlan, a Democrat representing Durango, was a primary sponsor for the measure. She said students, bus drivers and educators require tools to prevent overdoses and save lives.

This legislation, championed by students at both Durango and Animas High Schools, would allow trained bus drivers to administer opiate antagonists and encourage schools to keep a supply of drug testing strips, McLachlan said in a release. Our youth have not been immune to the overdose crisis in this county, and this legislation ensures schools have the tools needed to save a life.

The bill would allow school boards to fund a supply of opiate antagonists on school buses.

Co-primary sponsor Rep. Mary Young, a Democrat representing Greeley, said making it easier for schools to develop plans and policies will help prevent fatal overdoses.

Arapahoe County unveils mobile overdose prevention service

Under this bill, we would extend current law to allow Narcan and other opiate antagonists to be used in schools, on school buses, and at school events by trained staff and students, Young said in a release. Were fighting back against Colorados overdose epidemic and saving lives.

The bill also provides an avenue for school districts to have a supply of testing strips to detect harmful substances in drug supplies, such as fentanyl.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA)  Illinois may soon require all businesses to charge only the advertised price for goods and services, thanks to a new bill in the statehouse.

State Representative Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) and State Senator Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) have filed bills to stop companies from charging more for junk fees, often labelled as processing or service fees. The legislation would also permit the Attorney General to [go after] the companies not being transparent with their pricing.

Junk fees are more than a nuisance; hidden fees deceptively take money from working families, with the most pernicious impact on low-income households and people of color, especially when English is not their first language, Aquino said. With this bill, we can get rid of this gross practice, and ensure that companies doing business in our state post real prices or face legal repercussions.

Central Illinois gets millions for pre-apprenticeship programming

Both the House of Representatives and Senate versions of the legislation are expected to be discussed and voted on in committees next week.

A Consumer Reports analysis found an average family of four pays about $3,200 each year in fees.

Deceptive junk fees cost Illinois families thousands of dollars per year and harm the honest Illinois businesses that offer transparent prices, Pat Garofalo, the Director of State and Local Policy at the American Economic Liberties Project, said. Were thrilled to see Sen. Aquino and Rep. Morgan introduced this important bill, and we hope to see Illinois become a leader in the nationwide movement to throw junk fees in the trash.

The group Economic Security Illinois also advocated for the legislation.

We know that American families are subject to up to $3,200 annually in junk fees that have nothing to do with the service or product, Ameya Pawar, the Senior Advisor at the Economic Security Project and Economic Security Illinois, said. Cracking down on junk fees ensures Illinois households keep more of their hard-earned money and keep that money flowing through Illinois small businesses.

The legislation was written up with the collaboration of the Illinois Attorney Generals office.

Hidden and junk fees drive up the price of goods and frustrate consumers to no end, decreasing trust in the marketplace and putting honest businesses at a disadvantage, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. My offices Consumer Protection Division will continue to go after bad actors who exploit consumers for their financial gain. We welcome efforts at the state and federal level to increase transparency, ensure businesses of all sizes can compete fairly and protect consumers from junk fees.

Trump campaign, lawyers for objectors react to Cook County judges ruling to remove Trump from primary ballot

The Federal Trade Commission proposed in October a rule to prohibit junk fees nationwide.

All too often, Americans are plagued with unexpected and unnecessary fees they cant escape. These junk fees now cost Americans tens of billions of dollars per yearmoney that corporations are extracting from working families just because they can, FTC Chair Lina Khan said. By hiding the total price, these junk fees make it harder for consumers to shop for the best product or service and punish businesses who are honest upfront.

The FTC estimates the rule would save American consumers 50 million hours of wasted time researching fees per year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
RICHMOND  A bill that would protect the right to access birth control is poised to head to Gov. Glenn Youngkins desk  despite pushback from Republican legislators.

Health care providers in Virginia currently can prescribe birth control, and some methods, such as condoms and the emergency contraceptive pill, are available over the counter. But bill sponsor Del. Cia Price said she introduced the measure due to growing concerns that restrictions could be on the horizon following the U.S. Supreme Courts decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

The bill states individuals have the right to obtain contraceptives and to engage in contraception and that health care providers shall have the right to provide contraceptives and contraception-related information. It creates a right to file a lawsuit over violations.

The bill defines contraceptives as any drug or device intended for use in the prevention of pregnancy that is legally marketed under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It includes barrier methods  such as condoms and intrauterine devices  and hormonal medications, such as birth control pills, injections, emergency contraception, and transdermal patches.

A few Republicans joined the Democrat-held legislature in passing the bill through the House by a 55-44 vote. But in the Senate, it passed by a party-line vote of 21-19.

This is not an abortion bill, Price, a Newport News Democrat, said in an interview. To vote against the right to access condoms and birth control, that should really perk up some eyes and ears. What is the direction of our nation? Where are we headed?

___

Republican opposition

Almost all Republican legislators from Hampton Roads voted against the bill, including Sens. Danny Diggs of Yorktown, Emily Jordan of Smithfield, Bill DeSteph of Virginia Beach and Christie New Craig of Chesapeake; and Dels. A.C. Cordoza of Hampton, Baxter Ennis and Jay Leftwich of Chesapeake, and Anne Ferrell Tata and Barry Knight, both of Virginia Beach.

Del. Robert Bloxom of Mappsville was one of only a handful of Republicans to support the bill.

When asked about his vote in the halls of the capitol this week, Diggs said he was told the legislation would protect medications that cause late-term abortions. He then acknowledged he might have misunderstood the bill.

When asked about her vote, Jordan declined to comment.

Ask caucus, she said.

A spokesperson for the House Republican Caucus said it had no comment. The Senate Republican Caucus did not respond to a request for comment.

DeSteph told the Pilot he supported birth control access but objected to the provision in the bill that allowed for lawsuits.

During a subcommittee hearing, Del. Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, voiced similar concerns that the bill would harm health care providers.

He said he worried it would allow women to go after doctors who refuse to prescribe them birth control pills because they have underlying conditions, like hypertension or a history of smoking, that make it dangerous for them to take the pill.

The governor declined to share his thoughts. When asked for comment, a Youngkin spokesperson said he reviews all legislation that reaches his desk.

___

Supreme Court impact

Price said she became concerned for the future of birth control access after Roe was overturned in 2022. In his concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the court should reconsider other landmark cases, including Griswold vs. Connecticut.

In the 1965 Griswold ruling, the court ruled that the constitutional right to privacy protected the right of married couples to use contraception. The court later extended that right to unmarried individuals in its ruling on Eisenstadt v. Baird in 1972.

Alex Keena, assistant professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, said its not implausible that birth control protections could fall.

Is it farfetched? I dont necessarily think so, he said. It would have been unthinkable to overturn Roe just 10 years ago and look where we are today.

Thirteen states have legal or constitutional protections for the right to contraception, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Voters in three of those states, California, Michigan, and Vermont, passed constitutional amendments through ballot measures after Roe was overturned. Lawmakers in Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington, D.C. enacted laws protecting contraception access since the Supreme Court decision.

Issues pertaining to womens health  including abortion, birth control, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and miscarriage care  have come to the forefront since Roe fell, nationally and at the state level.

Keena said its created a headache for Republicans, who have struggled to define their exact stance on more nuanced aspects of reproductive health.

It opened up a whole new set of questions and problems that Republicans werent really prepared to tackle, he said. They are all over the map and they are really struggling to find where they stand on these types of issues.

But on the topic of birth control, Price said polls show it has widespread support from the general public.

People want access to contraception, she said.

A 2022 survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation found the majority of women (90%) ages 18-64 have used contraceptives at some point in their lives. The foundation is a nonpartisan organization focused on polling and health policy research.

___

Questions about what the bill would do

During a House health subcommittee meeting this month, three groups with religious ties spoke against the measure.

Susan Muskett, president of Pro-Family Women, an organization affiliated with the Catholic Church, said it would undermine religious rights and asserted it was broadly written and would protect access to abortion-inducing medications.

A provider could determine that a woman has a health need for an elective chemical abortion weeks or months into a pregnancy and would be protected from any limitations impeding access to the chemical abortion drug, said Muskett.

Todd Gathje, vice president of government relations at The Family Foundation, also shared concerns that abortifacients would be roped in with the bill.

Price, a subcommittee member, responded and said the bill contained language specifically stating it pertained to devices or medications that prevent  not end  a pregnancy.

Words matter, she said. When someone comes up and says we arent sure what could be included, if you look at line 18 (in the bill), contraception means an action taken to prevent pregnancy. This is not a conversation about abortion.

Several organizations, including the American College of Nurses-Midwives and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists  the nations largest organization for OBGYNs  spoke in favor of the legislation. A representative from ACOG said it would protect patients rights to family planning and to receive treatment for diseases that benefit from hormonal birth control.

Chandler Brooks, staff attorney with Virginia Division of Legislative Services, told the subcommittee the bill did not contain language forcing health care providers to prescribe birth control pills. VDLS provides nonpartisan legal research services to legislators and committees in the General Assembly.

This establishes that there is a right to obtain and engage in contraception, and that health care providers have the right to provide contraceptives, but it doesnt rise to the level of having requirement language in the bill (for providers), Brooks said.

While discussing the bill on the Senate floor, Sen. David Suetterlein said he supported birth control access but urged legislators to be cautious about making it a right.

This creating an affirmative legal right (to birth control) gives me some concern about where we go down that path, said Suetterlein, R-Roanoke. I think we need to be careful.

On Wednesday, Sen. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, told the Pilot she didnt understand why Republicans were opposing the bill.

If they are opposed to abortion, then why would they be opposed to protecting birth control, which would prevent a person from getting pregnant and needing an abortion in the first place? she asked.

Given the uncertainties surrounding womens health care, Alexandria resident Emily Marge said it would be meaningful to see state lawmakers take a stand for birth control. The 27-year-old has polycystic ovarian syndrome. She uses birth control pills to treat some of the symptoms and help her body produce periods.

After hearing Roe was overturned, Marge immediately began to worry that her birth control pills might be targeted next.

Having that in the back of your mind, she said. That the medication that you take to function could be taken away  its the scariest thing.

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com
(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Greg Flynn, who owns two dozen Panera Bread franchises in California, said he suggested excluding fast-casual restaurants from a bill raising minimum wages for fast-food workers in the state, but was surprised when chains that make and sell bread were specifically exempted from the final legislation.

Most Read from Bloomberg

To be clear, at no time did I ask for an exemption or special considerations, Flynn said in a statement late Thursday after Bloomberg News reported that Governor Gavin Newsom pushed for places that make and sell bread to be excluded from the bill. I was surprised when the exemption appeared in the final legislation.

Flynn, a long-time Newsom campaign donor and one of the worlds largest restaurant-franchise operators, said he never met with the governor over the bill, though he did meet with his staff in a group meeting with other restaurant owners.

The sweeping wage law, which takes effect in April, will lift minimum pay for fast-food workers to $20 an hour from $16 at chains with at least 60 locations nationwide  legislation that is poised to provide a boost to many Californians.

The specificity of the bread carve-out has puzzled observers for months, especially after Newsom was asked about the exemption during a September press conference and he said it came about as part of the sausage-making of politics and that it was part of the negotiation.

Panera didnt reply to multiple requests for comment.

Bloomberg News reported that Flynn urged the governors top aides to reconsider whether fast-casual chains such as Panera should be classified as fast food. While that measure wasnt adopted, the key labor union that sponsored the bill agreed to a narrower exemption for chains that bake bread to secure Newsoms support, Bloomberg reported, citing a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

Following the articles publication, Republican lawmakers called for an explanation around Newsoms role in the negotiations around the law. The governors office said that after the story was published, it conducted a legal review. Based on the review, it appears that Panera wouldnt benefit from the bread exemption, Newsoms office said, revising an earlier stance.

Our legal team has reviewed, and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law, the governors office said in a statement, calling the Bloomberg article absurd and saying the governor had never met with Flynn about the exemption.

Until this week, the governors staffers had understood that the bread exemption applied to Panera, said Erin Mellon, Newsoms communications director.

Because of your reporting the lawyers have gone back and looked at the exemption and their analysis is that Panera may not be exempt, she said. The exemption was never about Panera. It was always about defining fast food from fast casual.

The bread carve-out was crafted by legislators, business, and labor leaders, said Alex Stack, deputy communications director for Newsom. The intention was to establish a definition of fast food that would capture the fast food chains where workers have been historically underpaid, he said.

We believe establishments would not be exempted from the law if they bake dough that is mixed and produced off-site  unlike how a traditional bakery makes bread, Stack said in an email to Bloomberg News.

Under the law, a company can be exempt if it produces for sale on the establishments premises bread, as defined by a federal regulation, and sells it as a standalone item. That regulation says bread is produced by baking mixed yeast-leavened dough prepared from certain ingredients.

Stack acknowledged that the opinion from the governors office is not the final word on implementing this legislation. A fast-food council may help develop regulations. The California Department of Industrial Relations has enforcement authority over claims in individual cases, he said. The agency didnt reply to a request for comment.

Ultimately, the courts may have to make the final ruling, Stack said.

Tia Orr, who directs the California chapter of the Service Employees International Union, which championed the wage law, was cited by Politico as saying that there was never an intent to exclude one company, but rather to give clarity on what constitutes a fast-food establishment.

Wage Increases

Bloomberg reported that a handful of other companies, such as Great Harvest Bread Co. and Paris Baguette, also appear to qualify for the carve-out, according to company websites and a review of data compiled by research firm Technomic, although details remain uncertain ahead of the laws debut.

Some chains widely considered to be part of the fast-casual segment, including Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and Cava Group Inc., have said they expect to raise wages to comply with the new law.

As for Flynn, he said hell probably have to raise wages, too.

Such a narrow exemption has very little practical value, he said. As it applies to all of our peer restaurants in the fast-casual segment, we will almost certainly have to offer market value wages in order to attract and retain employees.

In recent years, Flynns donations to Newsoms political campaigns have included $100,000 to fight off a conservative-led recall effort and $64,800 to support the governors reelection in 2022.

He and Newsom attended the same high school in the San Francisco suburbs, but they didnt know each other at the time, Flynn said in his statement.

Although we attended the same high school, I never met him there and in fact didnt meet him until decades later, he said.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Polish drivers have come up with a way to avoid a fine after a traffic violation is photographed. After receiving a report, the Poles indicate that the car was allegedly driven by a citizen of Ukraine or Belarus at the time of the violation. As a result, the Polish police cannot identify the offender and issue a fine because they do not have access to the relevant databases.

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This was reported by the Rzeczpospolita publication. The scheme became popular after the increase in fines for drivers.

Previously, if the car owner did not name the offender, the police automatically fined the owner 500 zlotys (about 4,700 UAH). Many motorists did this, for example, to avoid receiving penalty points.

But as soon as the fines became many times higher  2000-4000 zlotys (up to 38 thousand UAH )  this option became unprofitable. Now, it is more profitable for drivers to indicate the person who was driving when the traffic rules were violated.

"However, the creativity of Poles knows no bounds. They take advantage of a loophole in the legal system or rather the lack of effective systems for exchanging personal data and information about drivers between the services of countries within the European Community and non-EU countries. They simply provide data about a person from a non-EU country. The services of countries such as Belarus and Ukraine cooperate with the Polish police, so it is not impossible to verify the veracity of information about a potential offender, but the likelihood of such an event is low. As a result, most cases of this type are discontinued when they reach the court," the publication explained.

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However, if the data is found to be false, the car owner will face imprisonment for up to 3 years. Such a punishment is provided for in Part 1 of Article 233 of the Polish Criminal Code.

"Of course, not every driver tries to bend the rules. However, if someone receives a photo from a speed camera and does not provide the correct driver's data, they must take into account the consequences, unless they have rented the vehicle to a person who is not an EU citizen," the article says.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and in Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
WASHINGTON  A new national organization called the Black Muslim Leadership Council is hoping to pressure elected officials, including President Joe Biden, to call for a permanent cease-fire in the Middle East. Details of the group were shared first with NBC News.

But the organization is also making clear that many of its members are focused on U.S. domestic challenges and do not support abandoning the president at a time when a movement by another group of Muslims is pushing to do just that.

Salima Suswell, founder and chief executive of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, said the group will be focused both on the thousands of civilians killed in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, and on domestic issues such as mobilizing voters in swing states and pushing lawmakers to lay out policies to improve the lives of Black Muslims living across the United States.

Biden is facing a backlash for his refusal to demand a permanent cease-fire in the war, and other Muslim groups are seeking to grow an effort they have dubbed abandon Biden, which calls for people not to support the president at the ballot box in uncompetitive primaries and potentially in the fall election.

I am focused on building and definitely not abandoning, Suswell said. I believe that we need to continue to have open dialogue and conversations because this is how democracy works. And so, my duty first is to my community, and it is my job to fight for my community to ensure that the government is working for us. And so Biden, along with every other political leader at home and globally, needs to hear what we need as a community right now.

She added, While were heartbroken about the humanitarian crisis overseas, we want to be open and available to discussions to achieve the goal of freedom and justice not only for Palestinian people, but also for our communities domestically.

Suswell, who also runs her own government affairs and community engagement consulting firm and worked for the Biden campaign in 2020 as a political adviser, stressed she is not ready to publicly say how she plans to vote in November. At the present, I have not abandoned Biden, she said. But I am uncommitted.

Suswell said the Black Muslim Leadership Council will focus much of its efforts on turning out voters in three swing states, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. It will have both a political action wing that will be endorsing political candidates, as well as a nonprofit arm for nonpartisan activities such as voter turnout drives and election education classes. The group will also be open to backing a third-party presidential candidate or endorsing only down-ballot candidates and staying silent about the presidential election options.

Suswell said she and others hope the groups formation will lead Biden and other political leaders to engage more with Black Muslim voters and hear about their concerns over issues such as affordable housing, disparities in black maternal health, economic opportunities and education policies for young people.

Keith Ellison, Minnesotas attorney general and a vocal supporter of Bidens, said in an interview that he has been meeting with members of the Black Muslim Leadership Council as they map out a way forward and that he supports their work.

We dont have the luxury of just caring about one thing. We have to care about a lot of things, and those things have got to be weighed out carefully, said Ellison, the first African American and the first Muslim American elected to statewide office in Minnesota. I feel like there are people who want to restore Jim Crow and that their representative is Donald Trump. And so for me, just saying abandon Biden doesnt work.

Ellison said that many Black Muslims living around the U.S. have to contend with an array of challenges facing Black people as a whole including mass incarceration, unsafe communities, unfair policing and racial discrimination in society.

This group is well-positioned to help reflect the interests of the larger civil rights community, and Im talking about African Americans and other people of color, Ellison said. The larger Muslim community is decidedly prioritizing whats happening in the Middle East. And the African American Muslim community can say, Yes, that needs to be prioritized, but not exclusively.

Meanwhile, some members of the Black Muslim Leadership Council say Biden needs to take responsibility for the pushback hes receiving from the abandon Biden campaign and better address the trauma motivating its supporters.

Mikail Stewart-Saadiq, assistant imam of the Muslim Center Detroit and a member of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, said while he too doesnt agree with the abandon Biden movement, the Biden administration needs to understand the impact it could have on imperiling his re-election bid.

We cant lay all the blame at these peoples feet, Stewart-Saadiq said of supporters of the abandon Biden campaign. The administration has to absorb some of that blame. They have to take ownership of this almost self-destructive movement because people are willing to say, Hey, Id rather punish Joe Biden and allow a path to victory for Donald Trump. Thats very emotional. Thats a very hurt sentiment that someone is willing to, as they say, risk it all.

Like Suswell, Stewart-Saadiq said he is currently uncommitted to supporting any presidential candidate but plans to vote in November. Theres a stark difference between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, he said. Someones going to do this job. And right now, the Republicans are running away, kowtowing and acquiescing to the Trump MAGA beast. So this is why, in my opinion, this is a really dangerous time were in.

Suswell said she has been working on forming the Black Muslim Leadership Council since 2020 and hopes to address the political and cultural challenges going into Novembers election. The group plans to hold a press conference announcing its formation in early March and then launch its voter education and mobilization efforts soon after.

Idris Abdul-Zahir, head imam of the Masjidullah mosque in Philadelphia, plans to serve as board chair of the Black Muslim Leadership Councils nonprofit arm. In that role, he will be working on the groups nonpartisan efforts.

We not only want to just get people registered and educated but also people actually out to the polls, making sure theyre actually voting and instilling that sense of duty in our people, he said. The Black Muslim voice, for several reasons, has kind of been drowned out over the years. And we want to, while respecting other backgrounds and other people, make sure that our folks, Black folks, Black Muslims, and Muslims in general as well, that our voice is a critical voice at that table.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are not getting along, and Macron's recent suggestion of a possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine has further fueled the disagreement, Bloomberg reported on March 1, citing unnamed officials familiar with the matter.

The reports about the alleged dispute between two leaders who are among Ukraine's key allies came amid Russia's attempts to advance in several sectors in the east and south of Ukraine following the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast and uncertainty over stalled U.S. aid to Kyiv.

Macron's statement about the possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine at the summit of European leaders in Paris on Feb. 26 was "deliberately ambiguous to create uncertainty for Russian military planners but "went against the wishes of Scholz's office," unnamed officials familiar with the talks told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Scholz was rankled by Macron's criticism when he mentioned, hinting at Germany, that some allies had offered Ukraine "helmets and sleeping bags" amid the threat of a full-scale Russian invasion back in 2022.

Before the all-out war, Berlin consistently refused to provide Kyiv with weapons. After 2022, Germany became the second biggest military donor to Ukraine, although it has been hesitant to supply some key capabilities, namely Taurus long-range missiles.

Macron was earlier slammed over his calls to avoid the humiliation of Russia, but later he hardened his rhetoric. Paris delivered to Ukraine a number of long-range SCALP missiles, and Macron announced the coalition on Feb. 26 to supply Kyiv with "medium- and long-range missiles and bombs."

Bloomberg calls the reported disagreement over the possible sending of soldiers to Ukraine a sign of the two leaders longstanding difficulties in relations and different approaches, which can "jeopardize" the course of the war.

Read also: Minister: Canada open to sending some soldiers to Ukraine in non-combat role

German government spokesperson Steffen Gebestreit denied in a comment to Bloomberg that Macron and Scholz had argued during the summit, saying "they have very different basic types, but they get along well and trust each other."

He said that the disagreement was between the French president and "the wider group who thought his comments out of line."

After Macron's statement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as leaders of Germany, the U.K., and other European NATO member states, ruled out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Later, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas noted that European leaders should not exclude this possibility, saying this could be "a signal to Russia."

During a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened "tragic consequences" if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine, claiming the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons."

Read also: Rutte signs Dutch-Ukrainian long-term security agreement in Kharkiv

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The government of the United Kingdom is privately urging Germany to supply long-range Taurus missiles to Kyiv.

Source: Bloomberg, citing sources, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Senior British ministers and officials have repeatedly made clear to Germany that Ukraine badly needs its Taurus missiles, according to people familiar with the matter," the article reads.

"Germany should stop making excuses," said one British official, speaking under condition of anonymity.

The United Kingdom proposed a solution to overcome Berlin's resistance to sending missiles, including a swap agreement in which the UK would supply Kyiv with more of its own Storm Shadow missiles, with Germany supplying long-range missiles to the UK to replace its stocks.

"Scholzs behaviour has [shown us] that as far as the security of Europe goes he is the wrong man, in the wrong job, at the wrong time," said former UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace in an interview with the Evening Standard on Thursday.

"Scholzs comments are wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies.  Scholz should give [Tauri] and stop holding back the security of Europe," stated Alicia Kearns, chair of the UKs foreign affairs select committee.

This week, Scholz once again ruled out the shipment of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, stating that it would mean Germany becoming a party to the war with Russia.

He stated that Germany cannot provide Ukraine with missiles with a range of 500 km, which, "if used incorrectly, could hit targets in Moscow."

Bloomberg notes that a broader dispute has arisen between the United Kingdom and Germany over Scholz's mention of British and French troops assisting Ukrainians in the operation of long-range weapon systems against Russian targets.

"And what the British and French are doing in terms of target management and support for target management cannot be done in Germany," Scholz said on Monday.

Some British lawmakers interpreted these remarks as a public comment by Scholz on the classified activities of British soldiers in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom refuted the Chancellor's words. They emphasised that how the long-range missiles are to be used is solely the decision of Ukraines Armed Forces.

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The U.K. government has discreetly urged Berlin to supply Taurus long-range missiles to Ukraine, as Germany refuses to greenlight this critical capability, Bloomberg reported on March 1, citing undisclosed sources.

Taurus missiles, which have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles), have been the subject of extensive discussion since Ukraine submitted a request to acquire the weapons in May 2023.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated his refusal to provide the missiles to Ukraine on Feb. 26, citing the alleged risk of drawing Berlin into the war.

Scholz later voiced fears that "if used incorrectly, (Taurus missiles) could reach a target in Moscow."

U.K. officials have repeatedly made clear to Germany that Ukraine badly needs long-range missiles, Bloomberg reported. One proposed solution allegedly involved a swap deal, where the U.K. would supply Ukraine with additional Storm Shadow missiles, and Germany would then backfill British long-range missile stocks.

Unlike Germany, both the U.K. and France have supplied Ukraine with its Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles with a range of over 250 kilometers (155 miles).

Scholz came under criticism recently when he mentioned to journalists that the U.K. and France assist Ukraine with missile guidance. British lawmaker Tobias Ellwood accused the chancellor of a "flagrant abuse of intelligence."

The German chancellor has repeatedly argued against sending the missiles allegedly because German soldiers would have to be sent to Ukraine to assist with the targeting.

The German parliament defense committee head, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, responded on X that Scholz's claim was "false" and that "German soldiers are not needed on Ukrainian soil for Taurus."

Read also: Bundestag votes against Taurus missiles for Ukraine, supports sending necessary long-range missiles

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Some of the most controversial bills of the 2024 legislative session made moves this week, drawing angry speeches, hours of testimony and some tears from both lawmakers and members of the public at the Statehouse  followed by a drastic mood change on Thursday.

While several bills took steps toward Gov. Eric Holcombs desk, it was also a deadline week for bills that passed the House and Senate in the first half of session to be heard in committees for the opposite chamber.

At this point, if a bill did not receive a committee hearing it joins the hundreds that are already dead this year  for now.

Meanwhile, Republican leaders still seem hopeful to wrap up the lawmaking process next Friday.

Here are takeaways from week eight of the 2024 legislative session:

Bill threatening the Blue Line dies

It was a whiplash week on the fate of IndyGo's Blue Line.

Senate Bill 52, from Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, banning dedicated bus lanes in Indianapolis for one year, looked all but teed up to pass the House after a chamber's committee this week voted to move it forward, despite tears from Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis.

Closed-door negotiations Wednesday resulted in a deal between legislative leaders, the city of Indianapolis and IndyGo.

Speaker Todd Huston killed the bill Thursday, as part of a compromise in which IndyGo will adjust its plans and maintain two lanes of car traffic in each direction "whenever possible."

Blue Line update: Senate Bill 52, the dedicated lanes bill IndyGo says threatens Blue Line, is dead

An IndyGo bus makes its way Friday, Dec. 23, 2022, along West Michigan Street in Indianapolis after a storm brought snow, high wind gusts and frigid temperatures to Central Indiana.

Freeman in a statement Thursday said his goal with Senate Bill 52 was not to end public transit.

"I have always said I think people who need it should be able to access it," Freeman said in the statement. "My main goal is and always has been to keep Washington Street open to both cars and buses."

Democratic pleas fail on controversial bills

At one point late Tuesday afternoon, the House and the Senate were simultaneously debating whether lawmakers should be allowed to insert themselves in two different, controversial issues before the legislature.

In the House, Democrats pleaded for a stop to Senate Bill 202. The bill, authored by Sen. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, establishes 5-year tenure reviews for faculty at Indianas public universities and requires policies to limit tenure or promotions if a professor does not encourage intellectual diversity.

Senate Bill 202 has received widespread condemnation from professors at Indianas public universities for concerns that it would hurt faculty recruitment and dent the states standings in higher education.

In the Senate, Democrats argued for Gary to have the ability to continue its decades-long lawsuit against gun manufacturers. House Bill 1235 from Rep. Chris Jeter, R-Fishers, would ban cities from suing firearm manufacturers, dealers or trade groups and only give the state government the power to do so, voiding Garys lawsuit first filed in 1999.

Gary lawsuit: Indiana lawmakers trying to kill historic lawsuit seeking gun industry accountability

Senator Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, listens to Gov. Holcomb's speech on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, during the State of the State address at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.

We are choosing an industry over our people," Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor said Tuesday. "The citizens of Gary are our people. They are human beings with hearts, souls, minds, children. They want the same thing you and I want for our communities.

None of the speeches from Democrats stopped the bills from proceeding. The Senate gave Senate Bill 202 final approval on Thursday, sending it to Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The Senate returned House Bill 1235 back to the House on Wednesday where lawmakers will have to decide whether to approve the changes the Senate made before it's sent to the governor.

Will Indy get its Mile Square tax back?

Earlier this month, a Senate committee resurrected Indianapolis downtown special taxing district, provided it excludes a key constituent group that opposed the district: apartment owners.

On the Senate floor this week, Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, passed an amendment to make up for that: extending the boundaries of the district to a two-mile square.

But the amended bill would also make the City-County Council go through the process of passing the ordinance again; this time, with a 60-day public notice and hearing process for all affected property owners.

The two chambers will have to negotiate a compromise. They still seem apart on the core idea, though Huston said the latest proposal is "better."

"Its better than the language that was passed last year, and we have to acknowledge that," he said Thursday. "Obviously our team felt really strongly about a repeal, but well have that conversation in caucus, but in fairness its better than what it is in current law."

Lawmakers lay the hammer on FSSA

State lawmakers and officials, like State Rep. Ed Clere and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, have repeatedly requested data from the Family and Social Services Administration after it decided to transition families caring for children with medically complex conditions from an hourly wage to a program that uses a daily stipend.

They wanted to know how many families would be impacted, whether the new program adequately serves the needs of those families, and whether the current market of service providers could actually support this transition.

They haven't gotten responses to their letters or calls, so they are proposing legislation compelling this information instead.

A slew of amendments on a Senate bill implements several FSSA reporting requirements as well as a few other proposals to claw back some money for families. House and Senate leaders will then have to debate next week which ones they want to keep.

Contact IndyStar's state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at brittany.carloni@indystar.com or 317-779-4468. Follow her on Twitter/X @CarloniBrittany.

Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyGo Blue Line lives and more in week 8 of 2024 legislative session
The Dutch government has allocated a new military aid package to Ukraine and will also finance the purchase of artillery shells found by Czechia.

Source: a report from the Dutch Defence Ministry, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The report suggests that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 14 rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIBs), eight paramilitary river patrol boats and CB90 combat boats.

The country is also allocating 250 million for a Czech initiative to order 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine "in the short term".

The Dutch Ministry of Defence noted that it had supplied Ukraine with various types of ammunition, radar systems and certain types of weapons, such as rifles and machine guns, as of early December 2023.

Background:

At the Munich Security Conference, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that Czechia had found up to 800,000 NATO standard-calibre shells that it could send to Ukraine in a few weeks if it received funding for delivery.

The Czech Defence Ministry said it was coordinating the effort and had secured tentative commitments from Canada and Denmark, as well as other countries that preferred not to be named.

Moreover, on 1 March, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrived in Kharkiv and signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Schnitzel the goat marches in the Bockfest Parade in 2016.

Happy Bockfest, everyone!

I don't know about you, but I'll be taking off early today so I can head down to Arnold's Bar & Grill for the kickoff to this year's Bockfest Parade, which will wind through the streets of Over-the-Rhine before ending with the blessing of a beer keg at Old Saint Marys Church. After that, Ill be off to Bockfest Hall to listen to music and sample dozens of bready bock-style beers.

Unlike 2023, Bockfest Hall will not be at Findlay Playground. Thats a good thing since last years weather made it a rather muddy affair. The weather was so bad on Bockfest Friday last year that the parade itself was canceled. The hall will now be hosted inside three local taprooms: Rhinegeist, Moerein Lager House and Northern Row.

Its a good solution for now, but many wonder if the coordinators of the festival will ever be able to find a new permanent Bockfest Hall like the one it had for years at the old Moerlein brewery on Moore Street. To get some answers, I talked to current Bockfest director Steven Hampton, who filled me in on the decisions that went into this years festival, as well as his plans for the future.

Click or tap here to learn more.

What else you need to know Friday, March 1

 Weather: High of 46. Mostly cloudy with a shower.

 10 new restaurants opened in Cincinnati in February, but 3 major casualties.

 Spring Break 2024: When Ohio's major universities, colleges go on break, travel warnings issued.

 FC Cincinnati's work has only begun after CONCACAF Champions Cup victory vs. Cavalier FC.

 Reds prospect Connor Phillips grew from his ups and downs in the big leagues in 2023.

Before you go: Need weekend plans?

Never be bored. Check out our list of the top 15 things to do this weekend. Yes, Bockfest is one of them.

 New here? Subscribe to the Daily Briefing today 

Today's Top Stories

Cincinnati attorney Michele Young, Woman of the Year, at The Enquirer Studio in downtown Cincinnati on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.

 'A cancer survivor asking for change': Meet USA TODAYs Women of the Year honoree from Ohio

The violations range from dirty, understaffed stores to missing pills and a customer sent to the emergency room after ingesting the wrong medication.

 Ohio fines CVS $1.5M for violations at 22 stores, including missing pills, expired meds

Political watchers say former President Trump's march to the Republican presidential nomination played into Sen. McConnell's decision.

 'Kentucky will lose clout': How McConnell's decision to leave leadership will impact state

A photo submitted by federal prosecutors of Tres Genco wearing a mask. Genco was sentenced to more than six years in prison for plotting a mass shooting at an Ohio university.

 Self-described 'Incel' gets prison for plot to kill women at Ohio State University

Free-agent first baseman Joey Votto is getting serious (kind of) in his pleas to MLB teams.

 Joey Votto threatens to leave out shopping carts if he's not signed: 'I'm sick of this'

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bockfest is Cincinnati's ultimate survivor | Daily Briefing
The German branch of the cosmetics retailer Body Shop will not be closing any stores for the time being, despite the firm's bankruptcy.

"We are not thinking about closing any stores at the moment," the company's provisional insolvency administrator, Biner Bahr, told dpa on Friday.

Business operations will continue as normal for the more than 400 employees in the 63 stores in the country, Bahr said.

Body Shop filed for insolvency in Germany two weeks ago. Bahr said that business operations have been stabilized, and ways are now being sought to restructure the company.

"We are looking for a buyer who will take over all the stores. This will hopefully be completed by the end of April," he said.

Bahr said that Body Shop's future prospects in Germany are ultimately up to the customers: "I hope that they will remain loyal to us, which will of course help with the restructuring efforts."

Body Shop the United Kingdom also recently filed for insolvency. On Thursday, it was announced that 75 of the brand's shops in the UK would close and 489 employees would lose their jobs. Another 116 Body Shop UK locations will remain open.

The Body Shop is currently owned by the German private equity firm Aurelius. The brand was established in 1976 and was one of the first companies to focus on ethically produced cosmetics and skincare products.
Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft outside the company's manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, US, on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024.

Boeing is in talks to take over Spirit Aerosystems, the supplier that has been involved in many of its recent manufacturing issues.

The company, a major global air parts supplier, was spun out of Boeing in 2005 as part of a cost-cutting drive.

It continues to rely on Boeing for more than two-thirds of its business.

Boeing has been under pressure over its manufacturing pipeline after a piece of one of its planes blew off in mid-air in January.

The US government's review of the blowout found that bolts meant to fasten the panel had been removed at Boeing's factory in Washington, apparently to fix damaged rivets, and had never been re-installed.

The piece had been made by Spirit, before being sent to Boeing for final assembly.

This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has been examining Boeing since the incident, gave Boeing 90 days to develop a "comprehensive action plan" for improving its safety management systems.

Boeing has already been working closely with Spirit to address a spate of quality issues, which have caused delays to plane deliveries and led to the appointment of a new chief executive at Spirit last year.

In a statement on Friday to Reuters news agency, Boeing said: "We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems' manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality and serve the interests of our customers, employees, and shareholders."

Following reports of takeover talks, shares in Spirit jumped by more than 10% on Friday, giving it a market value of more than $3.7bn.

But shares in Boeing slid more than 1% after the discussions were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.

Spirit, which the Journal said was also considering a sale of its Northern Irish unit to Airbus, did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Spirit employs more than 20,600 people around the world, including about 3,400 in Belfast and 1,120 in Prestwick.
[Source]

Boiling water, a common practice in many Asian countries, could be an effective way to significantly reduce microplastics in tap water, a new study suggests.

What the research found: A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters this week found that boiling water can remove up to 90% of these potentially harmful plastic particles, which are increasingly being found in water supplies around the world.

A centuries-old practice: This finding adds another layer to the cultural preference for hot water among Asians, which has endured through generations and is rooted in historical efforts to promote health and hygiene.

In China, the practice of drinking hot water dates back to public health campaigns in the early 20th century, when warm water was promoted for its perceived cleanliness and hygiene. This widespread practice also likely stemmed from its longstanding tradition in Chinese medicine. The Huangdi Neijing, an ancient text on traditional Chinese medicine written over 2,000 years ago, emphasizes warm water as a key element for maintaining health and balance within the body.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

Dive deeper: After conducting experiments simulating tap water conditions, researchers Zhanjun Li and Eddy Y. Zeng found that boiling was most effective in removing microplastics from "hard" water, which contains high levels of calcium and magnesium. These minerals form crystals around plastic particles during boiling, making them easier to remove through filtration.

The researchers emphasize the need for further studies to fully understand the impact of boiling on different water qualities and its long-term health benefits.

Why it matters: The findings come as the full extent of health risks associated with microplastics exposure are being investigated in other studies, with some experts suggesting potential effects on gut health, inflammation and cell function. The World Health Organization has even recommended that water suppliers and regulators optimize water treatment processes for particle removal and microbial safety.

Trending on NextShark: Asian restaurant slams influencer's request for free meal in exchange for exposure

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree calling reservists to military training. The public part of the decree does not specify the timing of the training.

ADVERTISIMENT

The dictator assigned the organization of the training to the Russian government and governors in the regions of the Russian Federation. The text of the decree was published by Russian propaganda resources.

"Putin signed the annual decree on calling for military training for Russians in the reserve," the propagandists wrote, publishing the text of the decree.

The published decree contains five clauses, two of which are hidden by the stamp "for official use" and another stipulates the date of the decree's entry into force.

ADVERTISIMENT

The same items that Russians were allowed to read show that reservists of the Russian Armed Forces, the National Guard, rescue military formations of the Russian Ministry of Defense for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Management, as well as the State Guard and the FSB are subject to military training in 2024.

Interestingly, in the last year before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, military training was announced only for reservists of the Russian Armed Forces. But with each subsequent year during the great war, the number of reservists only grew.

"The Government of the Russian Federation and the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation shall ensure the implementation of measures related to the call-up of citizens of the Russian Federation in the reserve for military training and the conduct of these training sessions," reads the penultimate paragraph of Putin's decree.

ADVERTISIMENT

According to the final clause, the decree comes into force on the day of its official publication, i.e., March 1, 2024. Putin's signing of the decree is dated the same day.

Earlier, British intelligence estimated Russia's losses in the war. According to representatives of the British Defense Ministry, Russia is trying to compensate for them by recruiting "volunteers."

The same assessment was also published by ISW. According to analysts, the Russians are covering their losses at the front by recruiting new occupants, but whether the aggressor state will be able to maintain the necessary recruitment rates in the event of further intensification of hostilities is a big question.
A 24-year-old man could spend the rest of his life in prison after he intentionally hit and subsequently killed a woman with his car at a West Boise apartment complex last year.

Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler sentenced Marion Nikichimus Friday morning to an indeterminate life sentence for the second-degree murder of Elizabeth Sorg, according to the Ada County Prosecutors Office. Nikichimus will become eligible for parole after 20 years, though that doesnt guarantee hell be released from prison in 2044.

Nikichimus pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November. Several other felonies were dropped following his guilty plea, court records showed. He was initially charged with aggravated battery, use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and assault with intent to murder in addition to the second-degree murder charge.

Hippler said Nikichimus has shown that the community is not safe with him in it at this time and for a long time, according to the release.

At around 9:15 p.m. on June 2, Nikichimus drove to the apartment complex near the intersection of West Poplar Street and North Cole Road, the Boise Police Department previously said. Several residents, including Sorg, contacted Nikichimus about his bizarre and confrontational behavior, according to the release from the prosecutors office.

Nikichimus got into his car, began driving away and then turned around, first striking a man with the vehicle, the release said. Then, Nikichimus turned around again and fatally struck Sorg with his vehicle. Police said that upon arrival they started providing medical care to Sorg, which was taken over by paramedics who took her to a local hospital where she died. Sorg was 37.

The other victim survived and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

On behalf of my office, I extend our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Sorgs family for this senseless crime, Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in the release. I want to thank the Boise Police Department detectives as well as my trial team for their hard work on this case. Judge Hipplers sentence ensures the community is safer.
Polish farmers, who continue to block the movement of freight transport at six border crossing points with Ukraine, have refused to let any lorries pass through the Shehyni checkpoint at around 13:00.

Source: Colonel Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "Today [1 March 2024], we have a certain change at the Shehyni checkpoint. The Polish side informed us that at 13:00, Polish farmers refused to let any lorries travelling either towards Ukraine or Poland pass through the checkpoint.

However, even before that, a critically low number of lorries could cross the border in this area. For example, only 47 vehicles crossed the border in both directions [i.e. entered either Ukraine or Poland]. No lorries have moved at all after 13:00."

Details: Altogether, the Polish protesters continue to block the operations at six checkpoints: Yahodyn, Ustyluh, Uhryniv, Rava-Ruska, Shehyni and Krakivets.

Update: Demchenko specified to Ukrainska Pravda that, according to early reports, the Polish protesters intend to fully block freight transport from passing the checkpoints until midnight.

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Why can't we apprehend both of them at the border? Yesterday, both President Joe Biden and his presumed opponent in November, former President Donald Trump, arrived at the southern border for a whole lot of politicking and very little actual problem solving.

Media outlet after media outlet described it as a "split-screen" showdown. The New York Times described it as a visit "pitting the president's belief in legislating against his rival's pledge to be a 'Day 1' dictator." All right.

"A very dangerous borderwe're going to take care of it," said Trump upon arrival. Biden has "the blood of countless innocent victims" on his hands, Trump added, citing the recent murder of Laken Rileyan Augusta University nursing student believed to have been killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, while running on trails at the University of Georgia.

"The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime. It's a new form of vicious violation to our country," Trump said, leaning hard into fear-based messaging.

Biden, on the other hand, blamed Republicans in Congress for sinking deals that would attempt to handle the crisis at the border and kept meekly calling for bipartisan compromises. "Join me," Biden said to Trumpin what the Times described as an "olive branch""or I'll join you" in passing the bipartisan border deal that Trump recently lambasted, leading Senate Republicans to turn on the legislation.

If at first you don't succeed, tryan executive order? He's no border dove, though: Biden is reportedly mulling an executive order to majorly crack down on asylum seekers, forcing more rigorous entry standards and deportations for those who do not meet the updated criteria. Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act extends latitude to presidents to block certain categories of entrants if deemed "detrimental to the interests of the United States." This would allow him to bypass Congress entirely.

Ironically, Section 212(f) was how Trump instituted the Muslim ban back in 2017. It's dark horseshoe theory that Biden is now considering sidestepping Congress and using the same provision. It's almost as if actual checks and balances would be helpful here, and setting cogent policy in the first place, as opposed to sweeping executive orders to attempt to bandage long-festering problems.

The number of border crossings has reached record levels. December saw almost 250,000 arrests by Border Patrol, a number which fell by more than half in early January due to Mexican immigration authorities stepping up to the plate. The top five nationalities being apprehended are currently Mexicans, Venezuelans, Guatemalans, Honduras, and Colombians, but people from all over the world are now attempting to cross the border as wellincluding Chinese migrants (the fastest-growing group of border-crossers).

Whether it's Biden's pointless "join me!" pleas, designed to make the media fawn all over him, or Trump calling illegal border-crossers "fighting-age men"as if they're creating some sort of militia as opposed to seeking work as, like, dishwashers and roofersnothing good happened at the border yesterday, and the situation got no closer to being resolved.

Scenes from New York: A little before 4 a.m. Thursday morning, an A train conductor was attackedhis neck slashed, as he stuck it out the window to make sure the train was cleared to leaveat the Rockaway Avenue station in Brooklyn (a few stops before mine).

By rush hour Thursday morning, train crews were boycotting the safety conditions they must work under and calling straphangers' attention to attacks on transit workers. For those of us trying to take the A to work (like me, to film a documentary for Reason), it was a massive inconvenience, as trains operated with severe delays. But safety on the subways has gotten intolerably bad: Year over year, NYPD reports a 13 percent increase in crime within the subway system, and an 11 percent increase in assaults specifically. Last week, a man was shot and killed on the D train. In January, a man was shot and killed on the No. 3. Merely 1,000 of the city's 6,500 subway cars are equipped with surveillance cameras; meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transit Authority has installed bright yellow barriers at the Washington Heights stop to deter criminals from pushing people onto the tracks as part of a new pilot programwhich would be terribly expensive to actually scale and wouldn't solve many categories of subway-system crime (like yesterday's neck slashing).

As for the conductor in question, he received 34 stitches and nine sutures and thankfully survived.

QUICK HITS

It's time:

Make them a buddy cop duo and call it a day https://t.co/p8fo42hSWk  Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) March 1, 2024

Congress has approved a continuing resolution that will prevent a partial government shutdown.

Congratulations to The New Republic for finally acknowledging the fact that, generally, plastic isn't actually getting recycled (where Reason has been for a decade-plus): "Between 1990 and 2015, some 90 percent of plastics either ended up in a landfill, were burned, or leaked into the environment," reports The New Republic. Yes, we know.

Russian President Vladimir Putin engaged in some saber-rattling toward the West yesterday, saying that the prospect of nuclear conflict ought to loom large if any countries intervene on Ukraine's behalf. "We also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory," Putin said. "Do they not understand this?"

"Several youth advocacy groups are concerned over the Secure DC bill and its potential impact on juveniles," reports ABC7. NeeNee Taylor, the founder of Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a nonprofit in the area, expressed concern at an event Wednesday night about a provision that would make stealing $500 worth of merchandise rise to the level of a felony. "A couple of my young ladies may have committed retail theftthey were actually stealing clothes for themselves to wear to school," Taylor told the news channel. "So what can we do to avoid them to have to steal the clothes?" Actually, they did not have to steal the clothes. Nor do they need to steal $500 worth of clothes in order to be able to cover their bodies to attend school.

Bloombergnormally goodseems to think that the Google Gemini scandalin which its AI-powered image generator simply could not return historically accurate images of white people, but had to turn, like, the Founding Fathers into black menwas actually a "Republicans pounce" situation. (It was not.)

Watch the dudes of The Fifth Column grace the wonderful Megyn Kelly Show with their presence (and tear Keith Olbermann apart):

"He wants to now replace the court with something else"@mcmoynihan, @MattWelch, and @kmele on Keith Olbermann's meltdown over Supreme Court hearing Trump immunity case. Watch & subscribe: https://t.co/Y12z2uKGMbhttps://t.co/8SsT7CZI2P  The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) February 29, 2024

The post Border Pageantry appeared first on Reason.com.
South Wales Police said an investigation was ongoing and three men had been arrested

A 13-year-old boy is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after being hit by a car.

Police were called to the scene of the crash in Brecon Road, Hirwaun, Rhondda Cynon Taf, at about 18:25 GMT on Thursday.

Three men aged between 18 and 19-years-old have been arrested.

South Wales Police said an investigation was ongoing and appealed for witnesses to get in touch.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  Months after a high school in Rockville received a bomb threat, police said a boy faces charges in connection to the incident as well as similar ones in other states.

The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCDP) said Friday that the threat against Wootton High School took place on Nov. 27, 2023.

Investigators said the boy called the school around 8 a.m. and said that there were bombs placed inside specific areas of the building.

Police helped students and faculty members evacuate the school. K-9 units and other officers searched the building and found nothing.

Tree falls on top of home in Montgomery County

MCDP said officers from its Behavioral Assessment and Administrative Unit talked to witnesses, gathered information and evidence, and carried out search warrants that led them to the boy now charged. Police said the investigation found that he also made bomb threats against schools in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Missouri. and Howard County, Md.

Police said the charges against the boy in Montgomery County included Threat of Violence and Telephone Misuse. The police department said the boy faces charges in other states.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
TAMPA (BLOOM)  Sexual shame and guilt are pervasive emotions that can cast a shadow over intimate relationships, hindering communication and stifling personal growth. Sexuality is often shrouded in secrecy and stigma, many individuals struggle to navigate their desires and boundaries without fear of judgment or rejection. However, there is hope. Through communication, individuals and couples can break free from the constraints of shame and guilt, fostering deeper intimacy, understanding, and acceptance within their relationships.

Defining Sexual Shame and Guilt:

Sexual shame and guilt are complex emotions that can have deep effects on individuals and relationships. According to Dr. Gina Midyett, sexual shame encompasses feelings of embarrassment, unworthiness, or guilt associated with ones sexuality, while sexual guilt involves remorse or regret about sexual thoughts, desires, or actions. These emotions often stem from societal influences, cultural norms, past experiences, and personal beliefs, creating barriers to authentic self-expression and intimacy.

Dr. Gina

Introducing Dr. Gina Midyett: A Trusted Expert in Mental Health and Sex Therapy

Dr. Gina Midyett is a highly regarded Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Psychotherapist, and Sex Therapist with over 20 years of experience in the field. Graduating from Pepperdine University in Southern California, Dr. Midyett brings a wealth of expertise to her practice, Life Focus Group, located in Tampa, Florida.

Her extensive background encompasses a wide range of specialties, including individual, couples, and family therapy. Dr. Midyetts areas of expertise include child and adolescent issues, ADHD, eating disorders, trauma, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, relationship issues, sexual therapy, LGBT issues, and substance abuse. She is also deeply committed to supporting the transgender community, running a weekly Transgender support group as part of her practice.

Beyond her clinical work, Dr. Midyett is a respected educator and leader in the mental health community. She has served as a Professor of Psychology at various universities in the Greater Tampa Bay Area and currently holds the position of President of the Suncoast Mental Health Counselors Association. Dr. Midyett is passionate about sharing her knowledge and has presented to general audiences on topics related to mental health disorders.

Dr. Midyetts expertise extends beyond traditional therapy settings. She has been featured as a professional consultant on Bloom TV and various radio shows, including the Ron and Ian Show on 620WDAE AM and 102.5FM. Additionally, she hosts her own weekly podcast, Mental Intimacy, available on iTunes and Spotify, where she explores topics related to mental health and relationships.

Drawing from her diverse background, Dr. Midyett advocates for a holistic approach to well-being, emphasizing the importance of both physical and mental health. As a former Miss Cuba and WBFF Fitness Pro, she understands the integral connection between a healthy body and a healthy mind. Dr. Midyett integrates her expertise in physical fitness and nutrition into her therapy practice, promoting balance through proper nutrition, exercise, relaxation techniques, and meditation.

Dr. Midyett is also a published author, with books such as The Almost Complete Book of Sex and Dr. Ginas True Self Makeover, available on Amazon. Her dedication to promoting holistic well-being has been recognized in publications such as The Tampa Bay Times, where she was featured in the cover story Getting Pumped about Life.

With her comprehensive background and dedication to helping others achieve balance and fulfillment, Dr. Gina Midyett stands as a trusted expert in mental health and sex therapy, guiding individuals and couples towards greater understanding, healing, and intimacy.

The Impact of Societal Influences:

Dr. Midyett emphasizes the role of societal influences and cultural norms in perpetuating feelings of shame and guilt around sexuality. From a young age, individuals are bombarded with messages that dictate what is considered acceptable or taboo in terms of sexual expression. These external pressures can lead to internalized beliefs and attitudes about ones sexuality, fostering feelings of inadequacy or unworthiness.

The Role of Sexual Communication:

In her practice, Dr. Midyett highlights the importance of sexual communication in overcoming shame and guilt. By fostering open and honest dialogue about desires, boundaries, and fantasies, individuals and couples can create a safe and non-judgmental space for intimate exploration. Through communication, individuals can challenge internalized beliefs, express their needs and desires, and cultivate empathy and understanding within their relationships.

From a young age, individuals are bombarded with messages that dictate what is considered acceptable or taboo in terms of sexual expression. Dr. Gina

Strategies for Overcoming Shame and Guilt:

Dr. Midyett offers practical strategies for navigating discussions about sexual desires and boundaries. She suggests setting aside dedicated time for communication, using I statements to express feelings and needs, and practicing empathy and active listening. By creating a safe and supportive environment, couples can explore their sexuality with confidence and authenticity, overcoming feelings of shame and guilt.

Creating a Safe Space for Communication:

To create a safe and non-judgmental space for sexual communication, Dr. Midyett advises couples to establish trust, respect each others boundaries, and prioritize open dialogue without fear of criticism or rejection. By fostering mutual respect and understanding, couples can navigate difficult conversations with empathy and compassion, strengthening their connection and intimacy.

By fostering open and honest dialogue about desires, boundaries, and fantasies, individuals and couples can create a safe and non-judgmental space for intimate exploration. Dr. Gina

Seeking Professional Support:

Dr. Midyett highlights signs that individuals or couples may benefit from seeking professional support, such as persistent feelings of shame or guilt affecting daily life, avoidance of sexual intimacy or communication, or unresolved trauma related to sexuality. She emphasizes the importance of seeking support from a qualified therapist or counselor who can provide guidance and support in navigating these complex emotions.

Recognizing Intersectionality in Experiences of Sexual Shame and Guilt:

Its essential to acknowledge that experiences of sexual shame and guilt are not one-size-fits-all and can vary significantly based on intersecting identities such as race, gender identity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. These factors play a crucial role in shaping individuals experiences of sexuality and their coping mechanisms in navigating feelings of shame and guilt.

Impact of Race and Ethnicity:

Race and ethnicity can significantly influence how individuals experience sexual shame and guilt. Cultural norms, stereotypes, and historical legacies of oppression may shape attitudes towards sexuality within different racial and ethnic communities. For example, individuals from marginalized racial or ethnic groups may face heightened stigma or discrimination related to their sexual identity, leading to increased feelings of shame and guilt.

Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation:

Gender identity and sexual orientation also intersect with experiences of sexual shame and guilt. LGBTQ+ individuals may encounter unique challenges related to societal expectations, heteronormativity, and discrimination based on their identity. Transgender and non-binary individuals, in particular, may experience heightened levels of shame and guilt as they navigate societal pressures and internalized beliefs about their bodies and identities.

Socioeconomic Factors:

Socioeconomic status can impact access to resources, education, and support systems, which in turn influence experiences of sexual shame and guilt. Individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may face additional barriers to seeking therapy or accessing comprehensive sexual health education, exacerbating feelings of shame and isolation.

Intersectionality and Coping Mechanisms:

Intersectionality shapes individuals coping mechanisms and resilience in navigating sexual shame and guilt. For example, individuals from marginalized communities may rely on support networks within their communities or engage in culturally-specific healing practices to cope with feelings of shame and guilt. Conversely, systemic barriers and discrimination may limit access to supportive resources, making it more challenging for some individuals to address and overcome these emotions.

Overcoming sexual shame and guilt requires vulnerability, courage, and open communication. By challenging internalized beliefs, expressing needs and desires, and seeking support when needed, individuals and couples can cultivate healthier, more fulfilling relationships. Dr. Gina Midyetts insights offer hope and guidance to those struggling with shame and guilt, empowering them to embrace their sexuality with confidence and authenticity. Through communication, individuals can break free from the constraints of shame and guilt, fostering deeper intimacy, understanding, and acceptance within their relationships.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
EU taxpayers should not be on the hook for lavish pensions paid to British former MEPs, a German politician has said.

A supplementary pension scheme for MEPs, which pays out up to 7,000 (6,000) monthly on top of their lucrative final salary payments, has a deficit of more than 310m and could become bankrupt as early as 2025.

An oral amendment in the Budgetary Control Committee earlier this week demanded that every legal option to avoid further taxpayer bailouts of the struggling supplementary pension fund is explored.

Author of the amendment, Daniel Freund, a German Green MEP, said: For the British members in particular, I dont think that EU taxpayers should bail out the lavish additional pensions.

All the UK MEPs have UK pensions, from their time in the parliament, and that now EU taxpayers should be on the hook when the UK has obviously left the union, that really should happen even less.

The motion will still need to be approved by the wider parliament.

It comes after hundreds of former MEPs went to the courts in an effort to reverse rule changes introduced by the parliament last year, which effectively halved their payments.

The lucrative scheme saw EU taxpayers effectively triple MEPs contributions between 1990 and 2009, when it was closed to new members.

The scheme counts Marine Le Pen and Nigel Farage amongst its almost 900 members. Around 20 current MEPs are beneficiaries, and the average size of the pot that the supplementary pension scheme provides is 375,000.

Right-wing French politician Marine Le Pen is also a beneficiary of the scheme - THOMAS SAMSON/AFP

Payments from the voluntary scheme are received on top of the lucrative final salary pension that MEPs get when they turn 63. They receive 3.5pc of their salary for each year they are in office up to 70pc of their total pay packet.

In comparison, members of Parliament in the UK now receive less than 2pc of their pensionable earnings for each year they work, in a Career Average Revalued Earning scheme.

Hundreds of current and former MEPs have demanded the full restoration of their benefits and for the European Parliament to cough up the difference between what it has been paying and what the former MEPs were previously receiving.

More than 400 individual cases have been launched at the European Court of Justice.

The legal cases have been brought individually because the court does not allow for class actions, but all but one of the pension scheme members have been granted anonymity.

Lawyers for Spanish representative Enrique Baron Crespo argue that the schemes rules in respect to entitlements and rights can only be changed in regards to new benefits.

They also argue that the cut is disproportionate and breaches the principle of parliamentary independence.

Legal challenges over changes to the schemes rules were defeated in 2014 and 2022, but former members are hopeful they can restore their benefits to former levels. This is believed to be the first time that those already drawing pensions have sued.

New contributions to the scheme were stopped by the EU parliament when it closed the scheme 14 years ago.

One former British MEP said that his monthly payments from the scheme had been slashed from just over 3,600 to 1,800.

Andrew Duff, who represented the Liberal Democrats in Brussels for 15 years, told the Financial Times: Of course I am not destitute, but it is income I was promised.

A spokesman for the European Parliament said that they had taken note of the cases against what they described as putting the voluntary fund on a more sustainable path.

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Brian Mulroney, the former Progressive Conservative Canadian Prime Minister, who has died aged 84, was elected in 1984 to reverse the profligacy of the Trudeau Liberals and end what was widely perceived as fiscal favouritism to Quebec, but did nothing of the kind.

Pierre Trudeaus addiction to fiscal deficits and inter-regional money transfers was maintained and compounded by a deal between the Mulroney federal government and the Quebec nationalists who demanded to be recognised as a distinct society within Canada. He made two attempts to devolve substantial powers to the provinces, since, as Trudeau observed, he was afraid to seem to confer such powers on Quebec alone.

Canada was already one of the most decentralised countries in the world, with provincial control of property, civil rights, education, most social programmes, most labour and cultural matters and virtually all natural resources. To this Mulroney proposed to add immigration, telecommunications, the composition of the federal senate and Supreme Court and, ultimately, the central bank.

Brian Mulroney with Queen Elizabeth II in 1987 - Doug Griffin

The first of these attempts, the so-called Meech Lake Accord of 1987, met its doom in 1990 when the provincial governments of Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to ratify before a June deadline. Chances of success had been undermined by a decision by the Quebec legislature that all external commercial signs must be in French only. This perceived repression of the language of over 70 per cent of Canadians (who kept Quebec afloat through fiscal transfers), shattered any chances of success and led Mulroneys traditional supporters in English Canada to flock in droves to the Reform Party which demanded an end to concessions to Quebec.

The failure of the Meech Lake Accord sparked a further surge in Quebec separatism and Mulroneys supporters in the province also started to desert him, drifting to the Bloc Quebecois. This led to another round of meetings which culminated in the second attempt, the Charlottetown Accord of 1992. The accord was put to Canadian voters in a referendum in October 1992 at which all three established federal parties and all 10 provincial governments advocated a Yes vote. When 54 per cent of Canadians voted No, Mulroney did the honourable thing and resigned.

At the general election that followed, Mulroneys successor, Kim Campbell, plunged to a shattering defeat by the Liberals under Jean Chretien. Although the Tories polled 16 per cent nationally, the vagaries of the Canadian electoral system delivered just two Conservative MPs.

Margaret Thatcher with Brian Mulroney at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Nassau, 1985 - John Shelley Collection/Avalon

One of six children of Irish Catholic parents, Martin Brian Mulroney was born on March 20 1939 at Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a small lumber town in the eastern part of the province, where his father worked as a paper mill electrician. He grew up fluent in both French and English and was educated at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick, and at St Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, where he became active in the campus Progressive Conservative group and made his name as a star debater. He attended the 1956 Progressive Conservative leadership convention in Ottawa where he threw his support behind John Diefenbaker, with whom he became a personal friend.

After graduating Mulroney at first pursued a law degree at Dalhousie Law School in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he helped the provincial premier Robert Stanfield with his successful 1960 re-election campaign. But he neglected his studies and dropped out of Dalhousie in his first year. He resumed his studies the following year at Universite Laval in Quebec City.

After graduating in 1964, Mulroney joined a large Montreal law firm. Though he failed his bar exams twice, the firm kept him on and he was eventually admitted to the Quebec bar in 1965. He specialised in labour law and proved superb at the arts of conciliation and negotiation, ending several strikes along the Montreal waterfront.

Brian Mulroney with his wife Mila in 1984 - PONOPRESSE

When in 1966 the president of the Progressive Conservatives Dalton Camp ran for re-election in what was widely believed to be a referendum on Diefenbakers leadership, Mulroney threw his support behind Camp, though as an old friend of the prime ministers he did his best to keep a low profile. With Camps narrow victory, Diefenbaker called a 1967 leadership convention in Toronto at which Mulroney supported the eventual victor Robert Stanfield. He then became a chief adviser to the new leader in Quebec.

Mulroneys big break came in 1974 when the Quebec premier Robert Bourassa set up a commission to investigate dirty goings-on among unions working at James Bay, Canadas largest hydroelectric project. The chairman of the commission, Robert Cliche, a former leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, invited Mulroney, a former student of his, to join the commission. The commissions enquiries, which uncovered Mafia infiltration of the unions, made Mulroney well-known in Quebec.

When Stanfield resigned the party leadership in 1974, after three national defeats in a row, Mulroney, despite never having run for elected office, was encouraged to stand as someone who might appeal to voters in Quebec, traditionally a Liberal stronghold. Despite a slick and expensive campaign, he lost to Joe Clark on the second ballot.

Brian Mulroney signing the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992 - DAVE CHAN

Following this disappointment, Mulroney decided to pursue a career in business, becoming executive vice president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada then, in 1977, company president. While he acquired a reputation as a highly effective business leader, joining several more corporate boards, he also went through a period of depression and alcohol abuse from which he recovered, giving up alcohol entirely in 1979.

By 1982, even though the Progressive Conservatives were riding high in the polls, the leadership of Joe Clark was being questioned and Mulroney, while publicly endorsing Clark, organised behind the scenes moves to unseat him. When Clark resigned in order to run again at the 1983 leadership convention, Mulroney, despite still not being a member of Parliament, ran against him again and beat him on the fourth ballot. Two months later, he entered Parliament on a by-election as the MP for Central Nova in Nova Scotia.

In the subsequent federal elections held in September 1984, Mulroneys strong following in Quebec proved decisive and the Conservatives ousted the Liberals under John Turner, winning the largest majority in Parliament in Canadian history, including 58 seats out of a possible 75 from Quebec.

Conrad Black with Brian Mulroney, then a Montreal lawyer, in 1979 - David Cooper

At first the new administration was considered to be a breath of fresh air, but the gloss soon began to wear off due to growing resentment over Quebec, and a series of gaffes and scandals. While his large majority seemed to give Mulroney a free hand, in practice his support was based on a grand coalition of competing and mutually incompatible interests  including Quebec nationalists.

At the international level, Mulroney was notably successful. He built up strong personal relationships with other leaders, particularly Ronald Reagan at whose funeral he would be invited  with Lady Thatcher  to give an address. He made a name as a leading opponent of apartheid, clashing with Mrs Thatcher over sanctions on South Africa, and began the process of mobilising international efforts to combat global warming. His success abroad enabled him to overcome unpopularity in his first term by focusing his re-election efforts overwhelmingly on free trade with the United States, which bore fruit in an agreement signed in election year in 1988, but which was opposed by other parties.

Mulroneys problems were compounded in his second term by economic recession, a series of bitter clashes with the Senate and the failure of his constitutional devolution plans. In 1989 he controversially invoked emergency powers in the constitution allowing him to ask the Queen to appoint eight new Senators in order to force through an unpopular new sales tax. Despite the new tax, annual budget deficits ballooned to record levels, reaching $42 billion in his last year of office, close to 100 per cent of GDP, further weakening the Canadian dollar and damaging Canadas international credit rating.

Brian Mulroney at the White House with Ronald Reagan in 1986 - Diana Walker

Another blow to Mulroneys support was dealt by the decline of cod stocks in Atlantic Canada which necessitated a moratorium on the cod fishery there, putting an end to a large portion of the Newfoundland fishing industry, and causing serious economic hardship.

By 1992 support for Mulroney in the polls had fallen to 11 per cent. It had recovered somewhat by the time he stepped down in February the following year, but in his last days in office he succeeded in undermining any lingering hopes of a Conservative revival by embarking on a lavish international farewell tour at taxpayers expense and by failing to vacate the prime ministers official residence for some time after his departure.

After leaving office Mulroney revived his business career, acquiring a clutch of directorships. His intense unpopularity at the time of his resignation led many Conservatives to distance themselves from him at first, though his past continued to come back to haunt them.

In 1995 Mulroney sued the Canadian government for libel over allegations that he had taken kick-backs while in office from a German-Canadian lobbyist called Karlheinz Schreiber. These were said to relate to Air Canadas C$1.8 billion acquisition of jets from Airbus in 1988. He secured an apology and C$2.1m settlement in 1997. But in 2007 Schreiber, who was fighting extradition to Germany to face charges including bribery, claimed Mulroney had reached a deal with him just before leaving office in 1993 to lobby the Canadian government for Thyssen, his client, and said he later paid Mulroney C$300,000 in cash, a payment which Mulroney allegedly asked him to hush up.

Brian Mulroney in 2009, speaking on the 25th anniversary of his becoming prime minister - Shaun Best

Mulroney subsequently admitted to a parliamentary ethics committee that he had indeed taken C$225,000 from Schreiber but claimed the agreement was to promote Thyssen armoured vehicles outside Canada and denied any wrongdoing. He said he had destroyed records related to the transactions and received the payments in cash at Schreibers insistence. During the earlier libel hearings he had testified under oath that he never had any dealings with Schreiber.

In 2005 Peter Newman, a former Mulroney confidant, published The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister, a book based largely on conversations with Mulroney which Newman had taped with his knowledge as part of his research for a biography that remained unpublished, due, Newman claimed, to Mulroneys failure to honour an agreement to allow him access to confidential papers. The tapes featured Mulroney claiming to have been Canadas greatest prime minister since John A Macdonald, and trashing the reputations of other politicians including his successor Kim Campbell, whom he described as a very vain person who blew the 1993 election.

The book led to an outcry and an entertaining sequel at the annual Press Gallery Dinner in Ottawa, to which Mulroney sent a taped message in which he formally acknowledged the various dignitaries present before delivering the shortest speech of the night: Peter Newman: Go f--- yourself. Thank you ladies and gentlemen, and good night. Mulroneys own memoirs, published in 2007, won critical praise but had nothing like the same impact.

Mulroney was sworn into the Privy Council for Canada in 1984 and appointed Companion of the Order of Canada in 1998.

He married, in 1973, Mila Pivnicki, with whom he had three sons and a daughter.

Brian Mulroney, born March 20 1939, died February 29 2024

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Brian Mulroney's historic win in 1984 to become prime minister came in large part to how he captured Quebecers. In the election, he produced 58 of Quebec's 75 seats. It makes him "the last, and so far only, conservative to taste victory in Quebec," according to The Canadian Press.

With the news of his passing, Quebec Premier Francois Legault paid his tribute to Mulroney, who was born in the province.

"A true ambassador who promoted Quebec and Canada throughout the world. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones," wrote Legault on X.

Brian Mulroney, le ptit gars de Baie-Comeau. Comme premier ministre du Canada, il a ete un visionnaire avec son accord de libre-echange canado-americain. Il sest tenu debout en sopposant au regime de lapartheid en Afrique du Sud. Il a su lutter contre les pluies acides, un  Francois Legault (@francoislegault) February 29, 2024

However, Mulroney did also have some hiccups for Quebec. It's most notably highlighted through the Meech Lake Accord in 1987 and the Charlottetown Accord in 1992. The two accords in large part looked to recognize Quebec as a "distinct society." The Charlottetown Accord was approved by the federal and provincial governments, but was ultimately rejected by Canadian voters in a referendum. Mulroney, as he saw his popularity decline on both sides after the failed accords, resigned as prime minister shortly after.

For more on Mulroney and Quebec separatism, as well as an obituary, see this post from The Telegraph.

Controversy is also tied to Mulroney in regards to the Oka Crisis in 1990 in Quebec. It was a 78-day standoff, where the Mohawks of Kanesatake protested by trying to protect a disputed land, which featured a burial ground. A development for a golf course and townhouses was proposed, leading to actions by the Quebec police and RCMP to try to seize the land. The Oka Crisis involved the death of a Quebec police officer, but the standoff was ultimately cleared after the Canadian army was sent in by Mulroney.

Mulroney loved Canada *so much* that he sent in the army to end the 1990 Mohawk resistance, defending the right of settlers to build a golf course and condos over an Indigenous cemetery. Thats how much he loved Canada aka capitalist accumulation by colonial dispossession. https://t.co/Foz1LAmFBA  Sean Carleton (@SeanCarleton) March 1, 2024
Brian Walshe, man accused of killing wife in Cohasset, due back in court on murder charge

DEDHAM, Mass. -- Brian Walshe, the Cohasset man accused of killing his wife, dismembering her body with a hacksaw and then discarding her remains at trash transfer stations across the region, is due back in court on Monday.

Prosecutors allege the 48-year-old Walshe killed his wife, Ana Walshe, 39, and misled investigators about her disappearance last year. Ana Walshe, a mother of three young children and a real estate professional who worked in Washington D.C. went missing on New Years Day 2023, authorities said. Her body has never been found.

Brian Walshe is scheduled to appear before a judge in Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham on Monday afternoon.

FILE - Brian Walshe enters the courtroom for his arraignment, April 27, 2023, in Dedham, Mass. Walshe, a Massachusetts man charged with killing his wife, was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to more than three years in jail over an unrelated art fraud case involving the sale of two fake Andy Warhol paintings. (Greg Derr/The Patriot Ledger via AP, Pool, File)

25 Investigates: Brian Walshes damaging digital footprint, according to prosecutors

In a separate case, Brian Walshe was sentenced last week to 37 months in prison in a federal art fraud case. Walshe previously pleaded guilty in 2021 to selling two counterfeit Andy Warhol paintings in an international art fraud scheme.

The Ana Walshe case garnered international attention in the days and weeks after she went missing. People in her native Serbia prayed for her safe return, according to a statement released last year from the Serbian Consulate in Washington, D.C.

Ana Walshe

Before she went missing: Ana Walshe, a Serbian immigrant who sought the American Dream

Born in Belgrade, Serbia, Ana Walshe held a dual citizenship of Serbia and the United States. A real estate professional, she worked her way up to a position of regional general manager at Tishman Speyer, a firm in Washington, D.C., according to her LinkedIn profile page.

Brian Walshe, left, is facing murder and other charges following the disappearance of his wife, Ana Walshe, left, on Jan. 1, 2023.

She split her time between Cohasset and the nations Capitol, where she worked.

[Authorities search North Shore dumpster station for evidence in disappearance of Ana Walshe]

She and Brian Walshe married in 2016. Ana posted photographs of their wedding day on Facebook. In one, Brian Walshe is seen kissing her cheek while a radiant Ana, wearing a white, strapless dress and veil and holding a bouquet of flowers, is smiling. In another photograph, the newlyweds are crossing the street and holding hands with Brian Walshe, this time, holding the bouquet in his right hand.

Brian Walshe kisses his new bride, Ana Walshe, on their wedding day. (Facebook photo)

In January 2023, days after she went missing, a hacksaw and a blood-soaked rug believed to contain biological evidence were recovered by investigators.

Police later searched trash bins, dumpsters, trash trucks, and trash facilities in the areas where Brian Walshe traveled following her disappearance.

Prosecutors have also previously said that a broken knife with blood on it was found in the basement of the Walshe family home.

I am not a threat: Apologetic Brian Walshe aims to be loving, repay debt in 2021 letter to judge

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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The Domesday Book in Great Britain is the first ever land census conducted in the Middle Ages (1085-1086). And the settlements listed there are still of great interest to archaeologists.

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According to the BBC, enthusiasts are now aiming to dig up the village of Sudeley, which for a long time was one of the largest in the region but disappeared in the 15th century. They have already identified the approximate location of the village near the town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire and launched a crowdfunding campaign to carry out the excavations.

It is believed that the village of Sudeley was located near Sudeley Castle. Approximately 40 families lived there for 400 years. The period of prosperity lasted until about the 1400s, and in the 1440s, it began to decline. By the 1500s, the village had almost completely disappeared.

According to Derek Maddock, the archivist of Sudeley Castle, the reason for this could be the actions of the first owner of the castle, Ralph Boteler. According to the expert, he built a large building for himself and did not want to see the houses of commoners from its windows. However, Murdoch emphasizes that this is currently nothing more than a working hypothesis.

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New data obtained using LiDAR, a technology for obtaining and processing information about remote objects using active optical systems that use the phenomena of light reflection and scattering in transparent and translucent media, revealed the possible location of the village. In particular, this system made it possible to find probable traces of a number of medieval residential areas.

The excavations will be the sixth in the framework of DigVentures at Sudeley Castle. The project involves ordinary citizens who want to join the search for and preservation of historical heritage. Project participant Maiya Pina-Dacier said that researchers have already managed to find the outlines and traces of some medieval buildings. Now they hope to establish their exact age and the period when they failed and collapsed. The team expects that the evidence collected at this site will contribute to a broader study of the history of the town of Winchcombe and its surroundings.

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With the fate of the so-called Bring Chicago Home campaign in court limbo, steadfast supporters filed amicus briefs and rallied Friday in a bid to reinstate the ballot referendum to raise real estate transfer tax revenue to fight homelessness.

The campaigns supporters filed two amicus briefs to back an appeal that came after Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Burke invalidated the referendum question in a decision shared last Friday. Attorney Ed Mullen, who represents a coalition supporting the referendum, said he expects the panel of state Appellate Court judges hearing the appeal to issue a decision on it next week.

The referendum seeks to raise an estimated $100 million in new revenue by hiking real estate transfer taxes on property values over $1 million. It is paired with a cut in the transfer taxes for properties under $1 million  a combination that led opponents to sue, claiming the ballot question illegally tacked on a more popular secondary proposal to get its less popular parts to pass.

Under Burkes decision, voters will see the referendum question on their March 19 election ballot and be able to cast a vote on it, but those votes will not be counted. The city and Chicago Board of Elections appealed the decision this week.

Amid the uncertainty, the referendums backers continue to aggressively campaign.

The invalidation decision has galvanized supporters and brought more attention to the referendum, said Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th. Volunteers set a campaign canvassing record last weekend and have reached out to 800,000 people by phone, text and visits, a coalition spokesperson said.

We havent stopped knocking doors. We havent stopped making phone calls. We havent stopped bringing in folks from the outside to say yes, we will Bring Chicago Home, said Crystal Gardner, deputy political director for the Service Employees International Union Local 73, during a rally outside the appellate court building Friday.

The supporters touted amicus briefs from the Bring Chicago Home coalition and Legal Action Chicago signed by aldermen and dozens of labor, community and faith groups. The briefs rehashed the citys need for major investment in homelessness services and pushed back against the so-far successful lawsuit filed by real estate interests and other corporate leaders.

They know that if the votes are counted, they will lose. Theyre trying everything they can to undermine the democratic process, Hadden said.

Mullen sounded confident in the appeals prospects, rattling off the many grounds on which Bring Chicago Homes attorneys believe they will overturn the decision. He argued the referendums three separate questions on tax cuts and raises dont amount to an unfair log-rolling pairing, but reflect Chicagos desire for a progressive tax structure where wealthier people pay more.

Its possible another appeal takes the case to the Illinois Supreme Court or a judge decides to move the referendum item to the November ballot, he added.

Between chants of count every vote, the around three dozen Bring Chicago Home supporters called on the citys businesses to support the measure.

For far too long, we have allowed big real estate elites to control our rights, our voices and our votes. It ends this year, Gardner said.

Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, also on the primary ballot in a heated race against 27-year incumbent Danny Davis for the 7th Congressional District seat, said the referendum just makes sense while echoing the coalitions get-out-the-vote lines.

Continue to vote, she said. Do not listen to the hype. Dont be fooled. Continue to vote.

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
Rishi Sunaks warning earlier week of a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule  a theme he returned to this afternoon  is a disturbing and damning indictment of a modern-day Britain that many consider to be broken. Ochlocracy or mob rule is something we associate with the Gordon Riots or Salem Witch Trials  not life in the UK in 2024.

The mere notion of the Prime Minister having to tell the police that they should be better protecting the public from what he described as a pattern of increasingly violent and intimidatory behaviour intended to shout down free debate and stop elected representatives doing their job marks a new low for a nation with a proud tradition as a beacon of freedom and democracy.

Should he really need to issue a reminder that protecting the values that we all hold dear is not only fundamental to our democratic system but also vital for maintaining public confidence in the police?

If the mob is ruling, then of course it is for the Prime Minister to do something about it, and we are promised concrete action soon. But sadly the authority of the state is collapsing wherever we look.

Crime appears to be out of control, with videos circulating almost daily of machete-wielding thugs trying to carve each other to pieces while a bewildered public helplessly looks on. In the old days, anti-social youths used to be given a clip around the ear. Now people are scared of even approaching them for fear of being attacked. The other week, we had reports of a man threatening a bus full of passengers in south London with what was alleged to be acid  as if carrying around corrosive substances has now become a new norm.

Thieves have effectively been given a licence to shoplift goods up to the value of 200, while we have seen an increase in the number of unsolved crimes  now at around 6,000 per day according to the Home Offices own figures. The odds clearly seem to be stacked in favour of the criminals.

If it wasnt bad enough that law-abiding citizens have to put up with the disruption caused by the virtue-signalling extremists of Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion, they have been expected to sit back and watch unruly protesters taking to the streets of our capital to call for jihad and projecting the anti-Semitic slogan from the river to the sea on to Big Ben, one of our most iconic national monuments.

Such is the level of influence exerted by these vocal minorities  be they Islamists, eco-fanatics, criminal gangs, or far-Right thugs  that the majority is left either massively inconvenienced or fearful in their own neighbourhoods. Little wonder, then, that faith in the police is at an all time low, exacerbated by the Sarah Everard scandal, which has caused officers to be viewed with even more suspicion than they were already.

Our porous borders are another example of the authority of the state being completely undermined. The revelations of whistleblower David Neal  who has warned of shocking migration system failings, including passport checkpoints left unmanned  are all the more extraordinary given the nonchalance with which the Home Office appears to have allowed complete scandals to fester without doing anything about it.

We now learn that a flagship humanitarian scheme set up to help Afghans fleeing the Taliban was opened to individuals who had never been to Afghanistan; that persistent problems with those pesky passport e-gates mean protection of the border is neither effective nor efficient; that Border Force X-ray equipment is failing to detect clandestine migrants hidden in lorries; that British airports have a lack of anti-smuggling capability; that Customs channels were repeatedly left unnamed; and that immigration officers conducting raids are relying on Google Maps.

Amid all this bungling, we also discovered this week that the number of foreign workers handed permission to come to Britain by the Home Office surged to a record high of 616,000 last year  a 46 per cent increase on the year before. Having promised, in its 2019 manifesto, to introduce an Australian-style points-based system to control immigration, the Conservative Party is doing the exact opposite of what people voted for, destroying trust in the state to deliver on its promises.

Not only is legal migration at a record high but the boats havent been stopped and no one has been deported to Rwanda despite the deal being set to cost the taxpayer 500 million by 2026. The phrase: You had one job springs to mind.

Defence  or more accurately, our lack of it  also highlights the extent to which the state is giving up on even its most basic duties. The British Army is the smallest it has been since the Napoleonic Wars. The statistics show that, if it continues to lose troops at the current rate, the number of regular soldiers will fall to 67,741 by 2026, an extraordinary decline of 40 per cent since 2010.

We now learn that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is minded not to increase defence spending, despite Dutch admiral Rob Bauer, chair of Natos military committee, warning that the alliance could be at war with Russia within 20 years.

Who could possibly disagree with General Lord Dannatt, the former chief of the general staff, when he says: The woeful state of our Armed Forces in the mid-1930s failed to deter Hitler or prevent the Second World War and the Holocaust. There is a serious danger of history repeating itself?

With Britain giving every appearance of becoming a failed state, is it any wonder that people are giving up any sort of responsibility, even for themselves and their families? School absence is at crisis levels and severe absence is at record levels. Worklessness is becoming an epidemic, with people in their 20s more likely to claim they are too ill to work than those in their 30s and 40s, according to analysis of Office for National Statistic (ONS) data by the Resolution Foundation and Health Foundation think tanks.

This is particularly disturbing when you consider that we are going to become increasingly reliant on this younger generation to pull its weight, as the number of retirees continues to grow and will put added strain on our already stretched NHS (waiting list approaching eight million).

The number of people not seeking employment because of a health condition is now 2.6 million, up by half a million or almost 25 per cent since the pandemic. While there is no doubt that some represented in these figures are indeed unfit to work  there appears to be a growing number of people who are able to work but choose not to. The contract between the state and the people has been broken, possibly beyond all repair.

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An Independence police officer and Jackson County process server were killed Thursday afternoon and two other officers injured while serving an eviction notice at a rural Independence home.

Officer Cody Allen, 35, died at an Independence hospital after the shooting, authorities said, in a late afternoon news conference. Drexel Mack, 42, a civil process server with the Jackson County Circuit Court, also was shot and killed.

I dont want it to be lost on anyone that Officer Allen is a hero, said Interim Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman. He did exactly what the men and women of law enforcement are called to do day in and day out.

And I could not be more proud of him and his service to this community. 

Presiding Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jalilah Otto spoke of Mack, who has been with the court for more than 12 years.

It is with a very, very heavy heart that we lost one of our own, Drexel Mack, simply doing his job, serving eviction papers, Otto said. What he does is integral to the work that we do in Jackson County. Hes a true public servant and he lost his life doing his job today.

We are devastated for the loss that we as a court have suffered.

A suspect is in custody, authorities said, but they would not elaborate further. The Missouri Highway Patrol is handling the shooting investigation, Dustman said.

The police chief would not discuss details of the events that led to the shooting or anything involving the suspects injuries.

Allen is the third Independence police officer to die since 2021.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families, Dustman said. And this entire community is devastated again by the senseless tragedies.

... I told our staff this is something that should never become normal, should never become routine. We are broken. Ill just be very candid, we are a broken family. But as any other family, we will surround each other and lift each other up.

Dustman said he wanted to express my heartfelt and sincere appreciation and pride in the men and women of our entire metro law enforcement community that responded without hesitation and assisted us not only in extracting our wounded officers and Mr. Mack, but also in handling the rest of the call and the calls for service in our city.

The shooting happened as a civil process server was on site for an eviction. Presiding judge in the 16th Judicial Circuit, Jalilah Otto, said Drexel Mack had worked for the court for 12 years. pic.twitter.com/wVTLizc98z  Kendrick Calfee (@calfee_kc) March 1, 2024

Mack  a father of adult children  has a fiancee who lives in the area, Otto said. He also has some family here and more in Florida.

The two other officers who took gunshot rounds are expected to make a full recovery, Dustman said. One underwent surgery and the other suffered minor injuries. Both are expected to make a full recovery.

Macks loss will be felt, Otto said.

Drexel has been a fixture (at the court) for over a decade, Otto said. Hes beloved by many, kind and a hard worker. So were still fighting through it.

.... We have over 700 employees, this is going to affect us very, very much in the next weeks and months.
A former Kentucky police officer who stole drugs from the evidence room because of his addiction was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday.

Michael Correll, a former captain with the Somerset Police Department, pleaded guilty to a total of 20 felony charges and two misdemeanor charges that included tampering with evidence and possession of controlled substances.

Correll retired effective Nov. 1, 2022, after 19 years with the Somerset department, where he was a captain.

He kept keys and key cards that gave him access to the police department and the evidence room, and used them after he retired to return and take drugs, according to a sentencing memorandum by Commonwealths Attorney David L. Dalton.

Correll also took substances from a locked box people could use to dispose of unwanted drugs, according to the memo.

Correll went into the evidence room several times before a city employee saw Corrells pickup truck in the parking lot at the department early on a Sunday, according to the court record.

The woman contacted her husband, an officer with the department, who said hed just had a notification of the evidence-room alarm going off, then being disarmed with the code of another police department employee, according to the court record.

That employee confirmed he had not been in the building, meaning Correll used his code.

Somerset police contacted Kentucky State Police to investigate, which ultimately led to charges against Correll.

Jeremy and Kerri Bartley, Corrells attorneys, argued in favor of a sentence of probation for him.

As a child, Correll suffered trauma and abuse at the hands of his mother, a drug abuser, and his father, who drank heavily and was prone to violence, the defense attorneys said in a sentencing memo.

Correll sometimes slept in a barn to escape his fathers outbursts, according to the memo.

Correll received accolades as a police officer, but received pain drugs after a surgery in 2020 and became reliant on them. The pain medication dulled the overwhelming anxiety he felt, and he also began drinking again, according to the memo.

Correll retired because he believed if he could get away from the stress of his job he could get control of his life, but by then his addiction was too far gone and he started taking drugs from the police department, his attorneys said.

Correls attorneys asked Circuit Judge Teresa Whitaker to put him on probation.

If we expect first responders to protect us at all cost, even the cost of their own health, we must be willing to give them grace when they fall, Corrells attorneys said in their memo.

Dalton, the prosecutor, argued for a sentence of 10 years for Correll, noting he went to the building multiple times after retiring, used someone elses alarm code and initially denied illegally accessing the evidence room or taking drugs.

In a search at Corrells house, police found a .38-caliber pistol that had been missing from the police department and 90 grams of methamphetamine, according to the prosecution memo.

There were seven drug cases that authorities had to dismiss or couldnt pursue because of Corrells actions, and an audit of the evidence room showed 8,522 pills missing, Dalton said.

The Defendant has broken his oath as a police officer and tarnished the reputation of an entire department, Dalton said in his memo. To allow this Defendant to saunter away from this treachery without imprisonment would unduly depreciate the seriousness of his actions.

Whitaker settled on a sentence of five years for Correll during the Thursday hearing and had him taken into custody immediately.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  A Buffalo man pleaded guilty to a first degree rape charge on Thursday, the Erie County District Attorneys Office announced.

On the night of Dec. 8, 2023 28-year-old Rickey D. Roberts allegedly approached another person in the City of Buffalo before claiming he had a gun, officials said. He allegedly forced sexual intercourse on the victim, threatening physical harm, according to officials.

The victim, according to officials, was able to seek help from Good Samaritans after the alleged assault.

He faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing, and was held without bail. A temporary order of protection was issued on behalf of the victim.

Roberts is scheduled for sentencing on April 19.

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Bulgaria has enacted a complete ban on the import of Russian oil into the country effective today, 1 March.

Source: Bulgarian news outlet BGNES

Details: "A complete ban on Russia's oil imports to our country comes into effect today, following the ban on exports of products made from Russian raw materials on 1 January," the news agency reported.

Russia's war against Ukraine was the reason for the ban. Disputes have been raging in the Bulgarian parliament since mid-2023. Some parties called for a complete ban on Russian oil to be introduced. Bulgaria's National Assembly [parliament] adopted a decision that introduced a gradual reduction of Russian oil imports from the beginning of this year.

Background: In June last year, reports indicated that the Bulgarian Energy Ministry was preparing an arbitration claim against Gazprom, a Russian state-owned energy corporation, over the suspension of gas supplies in April 2022.

Bulgaria tried to re-establish contacts with Gazprom and sought to have gas supplies resumed, but the Russian company refused to give a clear answer.

The Bulgarian government has not given up on the possibility of suing Russia's Gazprom for cutting off gas supplies two months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

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Editor's note: A recent story about a Hood Canal property owner being fined by the EPA, published in the Kitsap Sun, did not note that the defendant in the case had outstanding motions in court. Due to the complexity of the case, Philip Bayley of Union, one of the individuals fined, was given the opportunity to share a column from his perspective on the issue.

In January the Region 10 office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release, as reported in the Kitsap Sun on February 2, claiming that I, an owner of property along the Hood Canal shoreline, was guilty of Clean Water Act (CWA) violations for my 2017 replacement of a failing 1930s-era bulkhead. The EPA failed to report that Judge David Estudillo has not finalized his ruling. He has also not ruled on multiple motions I filed in November 2023 detailing his and the EPAs violations of agreements between the EPA and Washington State, the CWA, and state law.

This dispute is between the agreed rules backed by federal, state, and local laws vs. certain bureaucrats' desired rules. As confirmed by Mason County and State-approved permitting of my replacement of the failing 1930s bulkhead and my home, and contrary to the EPAs press release, the property has zero bulkhead violations. The EPA knows their claims cant stand up to scrutiny. The EPA had roughly ten opportunities with permit decisions to allege that somehow my land is their water. The EPA consciously decided not to appeal numerous approvals by the the county and state, according to the applicable rules.

In 1974, the EPA and state entered into an agreement under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), which was reaffirmed in 2020 (Federal Registry 2020-12670). This agreement recognizes that the state Shoreline Management Act of 1971 (SMA) complies with the Clean Water Act. The agreement allocates administration of shoreline development rules to Washington state and Mason County. This results in the EPA federally approving my project, its permitting program, and attesting to Congress that a Washingtonian following these permits would not be violating the CWA but following Congressional intent.

Under this CZMA agreement, federal agencies and judges are barred from: 1.) determining the location of the shoreline on your property, where water ends and the uplands begin, 2.) interfering with state compliance determinations, 3.) bringing enforcement over state-authorized work under this program, 4.) violating any of the terms of the states approved permitting programs, and 5.) engaging in any activities against this programs permit holder unless it asks permission and the local government grants it. Said another way, under this program, Congress requires the feds to agree with the state to whom it recognizes as having lead agency with primary jurisdiction authority.

Now, for that $323,134,524 of federal bureaucratic hypocrisy. As I have shown in photos, the 1930s bulkhead was originally constructed across the six properties adjacent to my property, spanning a total distance of about 500 feet. According to the agreed maintenance rules, two vertical concrete bulkheads have been constructed along a portion of the failing 1930s vintage bulkhead structure. The adjacent property received the same determinations by Mason County as mine. It said both projects do not have a probable significant adverse impact on the environment and are Routine MaintenanceReplacement.

This photo shows the original bulkhead on Philip Bayley's property, built in the 1930s. The new construction has occurred to the right of the home in the photo.

Mason County has determined there is no-net-loss of environmental functions via their direct inspections and permit compliance determinations. The EPA did not appeal these and therefore agreed with Mason County. Since both projects permanently removed old concrete construction materials, the waters of the U.S. were expanded, and their uplands were reduced. As state Fish and Wildlife advised, if we voluntarily removed protected 1930s concrete it would improve the lateral transportation of beach sediment. Both properties did this, and we have observed the beach level rise in elevation and the composition to improve, which supports this critical area for smelt spawning. Instead of saying thank you, NOAA and the EPA criminally and civilly investigated me for years.

For my project, the bureaucrats made up a rule with no basis in law. Their temporary waters rule says, per a legal declaration under penalties of perjury by Army Corps Section Chief, Matthew J. Bennett, that when tidal waters inundated my land while the permitted replacement bulkhead construction was occurring that I lost my land and my right to complete my project because it became waters of the U.S. Thus, by the time I completed my project, it said that I had unlawfully added concrete and dirt into jurisdiction and waters of the U.S. without their permission via a CWA 404 permit, and racked up $323,134,524 in penalties and caused irreparable environmental harm. The illegality of relying on such temporary flooding had already been decided by the unanimous Supreme Court decision (Sackett v. EPA 2023 that simply reaffirmed Rapanos v U.S. 2006) and is prohibited under the agreed CZMA rules in Washington, and the state Supreme Court via our vested rights doctrine.

Aerial view of the Bayley Site on July 21, 2018.

As shown in the pictures, I constructed my replacement bulkhead from the land side to minimize the impact on Hood Canal waters, fish, the beach and its microorganisms. No construction equipment ever worked on the beach for my project. State officials were on-site multiple times per week during my project overseeing its compliance. When state and local officials were overseeing the project, no fish died.

Regarding the three dead juvenile salmon, they were found within a shallow depression on the beach waterward of the bulkhead. This occurred days after Army Corps unlawfully stopped the project and threatened to fine my workers $60,000 a day if they continued following the permit directive. The permit directive included daily smoothing of the beach next to the bulkhead forms.

The revealing aspect of this property rights saga is that in 2022, the same federal employees at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who unleashed arbitrary and unlawful enforcement against me confirmed their lack of federal jurisdiction landward of the waterside face of my neighbors vertical replacement bulkhead and admitted no CWA 404 permit was needed for her replacement concrete. The neighbor did apply for, and was quickly granted, a type of federal permit for activities that have no more than minimal individual and cumulative adverse environmental effects. The neighbors bulkhead, which is at the same position on the beach profile as my replacement bulkhead but is three times longer than my own, was constructed operating heavy diesel equipment on the beach and used a large barge that moved with tidal waters crushing the sensitive beach two times per day for 21 days. Who knows how many marine creatures and organisms were crushed by this heavy barge and equipment. For this projects negative impact on the aquatic environment, Army Corps required 14 cubic yards of gravel be to discharged into the water. In comparison, the Corps said there was no on-site mitigation available to me to off-set irreparable harm from my vertical bulkhead.

The difference in the bureaucrats treatment of the two bulkheads should be obvious! Citizens must ask permission from federal officials  even if not appropriate  or face the unlawful weaponization of their enforcement gang. They dont care that Congress prohibits their actions against me under its CZMA and CWA. They dont care that Congress, in its Submerged Lands Act of 1953, already released these bogus claims and judgement against me for following State authority. They dont care that Congress requires the U.S. to buy your land before these bureaucrats can gain jurisdiction to regulate it.

I would like the readers to ask the following question: Why are Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Department of Ecology Director Laura Watson and local governments not upholding Coastal Zone Management Act policies upon the federal government, and stopping bureaucratic, malicious acts against Washingtonians?

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Hood Canal bulkhead owner responds to EPA enforcement
A car is parked behind a cordon near a barracks. A German Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of shooting dead four people in the Lower Saxony district of Rotenburg, before turning himself in, the police and prosecution announced on Friday. Sina Schuldt/dpa

A soldier in the German Bundeswehr is suspected of shooting dead four people in the Lower Saxony district of Rotenburg, before turning himself in, the police and prosecution announced on Friday.

A child is among the dead, who were found earlier in the day. The investigators gave no further details about the victims, such as their age, gender or relationship to the suspect.

The suspected perpetrator turned himself in after the overnight attack and was arrested, the investigators said.

The incidents occurred at two crime scenes - one in a detached house in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheeel and one in Bothel in the district of Rotenburg.

Police said a domestic issue "cannot be ruled out" as a motive for the crime. It was unclear whether the suspect had lived in either of the crime scene locations.

A large contingent of police officers was deployed. An operation was also under way in the morning at an army barracks in Rotenburg where an infantry battalion is stationed.

Outside the barracks, investigators were examining a vehicle for evidence, according to a dpa reporter at the scene. The public prosecutor's office did not say whether the suspect's weapon had come from the Bundeswehr.

The investigators gave no further details about the arrest of the suspect, nor any information regarding his age or nationality.

A car is parked behind a cordon near a barracks. A German Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of shooting dead four people in the Lower Saxony district of Rotenburg, before turning himself in, the police and prosecution announced on Friday. Sina Schuldt/dpa

Emergency services stand behind a cordon. The police are investigating after shots were fired in the district of Rotenburg. There are two crime scenes - one in a detached house in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheessel and another in Bothel in the district of Rotenburg. Kai Moorschlatt/NordwestMedia TV/dpa
Two hearings Friday, one in Georgia and the other in Florida, could hold significant implications for former President Donald Trump and the criminal charges he faces for his actions around the 2020 election and retaining classified information after leaving office.

In Georgia, Trump and his co-defendants are delivering final arguments in their effort to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from the case. In Florida, meanwhile, a federal judge could push back Trumps trial date in the classified documents case.

Heres what to watch in each.

Classified documents hearing

US District Judge Aileen Cannon has told both parties to be prepared to discuss scheduling in the Mar-a-Lago documents case, including a request from Trumps attorneys to hold a hearing over whether they can demand additional information from an assortment of federal agencies as well as from Joe Bidens White House.

Special Counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Trump proposed moving the trial later into the summer in court filings Thursday. Smith said he believes that Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliviera, should go to trial on July 8, 2024.

Attorneys for the three defendants proposed that Trump and De Olivieras trial begins on August 12, 2024, while Nautas trial begins September 9, 2024.

The Trump discovery gambit, if successful, could further push back the timeline for a trial while giving the former president more opportunity to promote his theories of political bias in the prosecution.

One of Trumps primary legal strategies has been delay, and that includes playing his various cases against each other.

For Fridays hearing in the documents case, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, Cannon told both parties to be ready to discuss several legal issues, including whether the names of witnesses, FBI agents and others involved in the initial investigation should be redacted in filings from Trumps team.

The hearing is likely to touch on the Justice Departments efforts to prevent harassment and intimidation of witnesses  a persistent issue in cases against Trump  and to protect the jury selection process.

Smith has highlighted a myriad of threats made against individuals connected to the documents case, including witnesses, government employees, an FBI agent involved in the initial Mar-a-Lago search and two federal judges, including Cannon herself.

In his effort to gain access to White House records under Biden, including from the National Security Council and the White House Counsels Office, Trump asked to include documents and exhibits that would identify witnesses, government employees, agents and others connected to the case.

Prosecutors have asked for those names and other information, including from the grand jury investigations, to be redacted or sealed.

Trump and his two co-defendants  Nauta, an aide to Trump, and De Oliveira, a Mar-a-Lago property staffer  have pleaded not guilty in the case. Trump has been charged with several counts of willful retention of national defense information and obstruction. Nauta and De Oliveira face obstruction charges.

Fani Willis hearing

Defense attorneys in Fulton County will deliver their closing arguments as to why Willis should be dismissed from the election interference case against Trump and his alleged co-conspirators.

The 1:00 p.m. ET hearing in front of Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee will conclude defense attorneys days-long presentation into whether allegations around Willis romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest that should bar her from continuing to prosecute the case.

In three hearings over the past two weeks, defense attorneys have tried to bring witnesses and evidence that support their allegations against Willis, specifically that she financially benefited from the relationship and that it began before she hired him in late 2021.

Attorneys for Trump and his allies are expected to argue that Wade and Willis lied under oath about when their relationship started. To underscore that argument, defense attorneys will likely highlight Wades cell phone data which they claim shows he made several visits, including some late at night, to the area where Willis was living at the time before they say their relationship began.

McAfee has said he will allow a report from the private investigator working with Trumps attorneys about location data from Wades phone to be used during Fridays hearing. The investigator, Charles Mittelstadt, said he generated a report that isolated all interactions, including calls and text messages between Wade and Willis, which show over 2000 voice calls between the two prior to when they say their relationship began.

In a barrage of court filings and several in-court hearings, defense attorneys have argued that Willis started an improper romantic relationship with Nathan Wade before she chose him to helm the investigation and that they took luxury vacations in California, Belize and the Caribbean funded in part with taxpayer money Wade earned on the case.

During her own dramatic testimony, Willis said that she paid Wade back in cash for trips they took together. She and Wade both testified that their relationship began in early 2022, after Wade was selected as special prosecutor.

Wades former law partner and divorce attorney Terrence Bradley, who was billed as the star witness for defense attorneys, failed to deliver the goods during his testimony earlier this week, repeatedly saying that he couldnt recall when Willis and Wades relationship started.

In text messages reported by CNN, however, Bradley told defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant that the relationship began well before Wades appointment as special prosecutor  raising questions about Bradleys credibility and the degree to which Merchant appeared to rely on his claims, which she was then unable to substantiate elsewhere.

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Russia intends to resume production of the A-50 long-range radar detection and control aircraft. The reason for this is the need for them by the Russian army, which has already lost several aircraft in the war against Ukraine.

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This was reported by the Russian media with reference to the statement of the head of the Rostec state corporation Sergey Chemezov. According to some reports, before the full-scale invasion, the Russians had nine reconnaissance aircraft: three A-50s and six A-50Us, each costing at least $330 million.

"Of course, this aircraft is needed. Of course, we will produce it. Not only does our army need it, but it is also very good for export," the head of the Russian company said.

Russian journalists noted that in September 2023, the Roselectronics holding and the United Aircraft Corporation, both part of Rostec, handed over one modernized A-50U airborne reconnaissance aircraft to the Russian Aerospace Forces.

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Representatives of the corporation claim that after the modification, the aircraft was equipped with new equipment that reduced its weight, as well as increased its range and time in the air during combat missions.

In addition, the Russians boast that, compared to the previous modification, the updated A-50U can allegedly detect new types of aircraft, while simultaneously escorting more targets and guided fighters.

It is noteworthy that since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, the occupiers have lost three AWACS aircraft: in February 2023, Belarusian partisans damaged a Russian A-50 at an airfield in the Minsk region; on January 14, 2024, the Armed Forces of Ukraine neutralized an A-50 over the Sea of Azov (plus damaged an Il-22); on February 23, our soldiers shot down an enemy's modernized A-50U.

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After that, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, called at a meeting of the working group of the military-industrial commission to "provide air defense forces with the most modern means." He even addressed them with the words from Stalin's letter to the directors of Soviet aircraft factories, in which the dictator promised "punishment" for the production of insufficient numbers of Il-2s.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  California lawmakers advanced a resolution on Thursday to demand the federal government declare a national emergency and disperse $310 million in funds to address the ongoing sewage crisis that has crippled South Bay communities for years.

The joint resolution, introduced in early February by a coalition of San Diego-area legislators, joins other pleas from elected officials to put an end to the discharge of waste from facilities  one in San Ysidro and others in Tijuana  that has overwhelmed the regions coastal waters.

The Assembly voted to approve the resolution during Thursdays floor session, moving it to the State Senate.

New report finds Tijuana River contamination a public health crisis

The Tijuana River has been experiencing decades-long cross-border water pollution, causing numerous health problems, significant beach closures, and environmental damage, said San Diego Assemblymember David Alvarez, one of the authors of the resolution. The Federal Government must act now!

The bill specifically asks Congress to pass an emergency supplemental request from President Joe Biden that includes the $310 million grant to prevent and reduce sewage flows through much-needed repairs and expansion to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant.

It also implores the Biden administration to declare a national state of emergency to fast-track these improvements due to the health concerns and local impacts of the pollution, which has closed stretches of the regions southernmost coastline for over 800 consecutive days.

The South Bay plant, which is managed by the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), has been a focal point for its role in the discharge of billions of gallons of waste into the Tijuana watershed, flowing up the coast as far north as Coronado.

In 2021, Congress passed $300 million for the modernization and expansion of the treatment plant as part of a larger $630 million plan by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the sanitation of the Tijuana River basin.

Since then, however, regional water quality officials have learned the cost to complete all necessary repairs and expansions to the wastewater system has climbed from about $600 million to about $900 million, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report from September.

The IBWC also acknowledged last year that the failing plant would need at least $150 million in repairs just to bring it back into basic working condition.

Recent storms have exacerbated these infrastructure weaknesses. According to IWBC estimates, the storm on Jan. 22 pushed upwards of 14 billion of gallons of water tainted with sewage to flow into the Pacific ocean through the Tijuana watershed.

Its the worst its every been, Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said in a conversation with Nexstars Border Report. This plant has been operating on the verge of collapse.

Chairwoman Nora Vargas delivers State of the County Address

San Diego County declared a local state of emergency over the cross-border pollution in June of last year to amp up pressure on federal officials to address the issue. California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Biden two months later asking for federal funding to fix the plant.

We need the federal government to dedicate the resources necessary to address this situation now, a joint statement read in support of the resolution from the cities of Coronado and Imperial Beach. While there have been recent efforts by both the United States and Mexico to dedicate resources to solve the problem, it is not enough, and millions of gallons of sewage continue to cross the border and impact our community.

With Thursdays vote, the joint resolution will advance to the State Senate where it will be heard at a date to be determined.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
CHICAGO  Two of the best indie rock bands will be teaming up this fall to tour North America, including a stop in the Windy City.

Cage The Elephant will bring their Neon Pill Tour to the Credit Union 1 Arena at the University of Illinois Chicago on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

The upcoming tour will follow the release of their sixth studio album with the same name. The record will be released on Friday, May 17.

Devo to celebrate 50 years of music in Chicago this spring

The band from Kentucky won two Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album after 2015s Tell Me Im Pretty and 2019s Social Cues. With nearly 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify Music, their hit songs Cigarette Daydreams and Aint No Rest for the Wicked have close to 1.5 billion streams.

Young The Giant and Bakar will be special guests during the North America tour, including the Chicago stop.

21 Savage heading to Chicagoland this spring

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 14.

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 8. Click here for ticket information.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV.
The Scene

IRVINE, Ca.  Progressive Democrats are bracing for tens of millions of dollars in campaign ads from pro-Israel groups to rain down on them in this years primaries. Theyre a little surprised about where it started  a stretch of Orange County where neither Democratic candidate is calling for a Gaza ceasefire.

In Californias 47th congressional district, which Rep. Katie Porter is leaving to run for the U.S. Senate, the American Israel Public Affairs Committees campaign PAC has gone all-in to beat state Sen. Dave Min in Tuesdays primary. As of Thursday, according to the United Democracy PACs FEC filings, its spent $4.6 million to pummel Min, the vast majority of its ads and mailers focusing on his May 2023 arrest for driving under the influence.

If you didnt know, I got a DUI last year, the California state senator told Democrats who came to meet him at a senior center here, acknowledging how often the worst moment of his career was being replayed on TV. Hed worked for the SEC, for Chuck Schumer, as a law professor, and as a state legislator, and one mistake had nearly wrecked his life. At a visit with union carpenters, he was more direct: I fucked up.

The UDP intervention in the race has benefited Democrat Joanna Weiss, an attorney and first-time candidate whod founded an Orange County womens campaign group, and is also getting help from Emilys List. In an interview, she didnt draw distinctions between herself and Min on Israel.

Instead, she emphasized her outsider appeal, her ability to talk to female voters about reproductive rights, and the fact that she did not have an embarrassing moment that likely Republican nominee Scott Baugh can exploit.

Its a very significant factor, Weiss said of the DUI. There are lots of Democrats who believe that thats too egregious a lapse of judgment to vote for someone.

The spending surge from both outside groups has created an unexpectedly pricey and bitter race, in a seat that Democrats must hold if they hope to flip back the House of Representatives. (Joe Biden carried it by 11 points.) In California, all candidates compete in a primary, and the top two finishers compete again in November.

Five weeks ago, I would have told you were cruising into the top two, Min said in an interview. Maybe well still comfortably win. The polling looks good. Youve got a candidate that is, on paper, far superior to the other candidate. On the other hand, when youve got a candidate whos being outspent five to one, usually the money wins.

Most of the Democrats seen as targets for AIPAC, or the often-aligned Democratic Majority for Israel, had taken loud and early stances against Israels war plan. Min, like the Biden administration, had criticized Israel for expanding settlements in the West Bank.

Maybe AIPAC wants a rubber stamp. Im not going to be a rubber stamp, Min said in Irvine. Asked what hed tell AIPAC after the election, if he wins it: Why the hell did you come in against me? Were trying to understand why.

Davids view

For the next six months, until Missouri Rep. Cori Bush and Minnesota Rep. Ihan Omar face their primary challengers, the anti-war movement and pro-Israel PACs will be fighting hand-to-hand.

That starts on Tuesday, from Orange County to the Houston suburbs  where Rep. Lizzie Fletcher is heavily favored in a race against Pervez Agwan, a progressive who ran on his support for a ceasefire. Their race grew bitter, too, after some voters received texts highlighting Fletchers AIPAC endorsement, and the congresswoman accused the challenger of sending them.

AIPAC not only attempts but succeeds in disrupting American democracy every single day, Agwan said, as he denied responsibility for the texts.

The differences between Min and Weiss on Israel were far smaller, and neither candidate had emphasized them in candidate forums. (UDP did not respond to a question about its spending.) Min speculated that hed lost AIPAC by accepting an endorsement from J Street; according to Jewish Insiders Matthew Kessel, Mins position paper on Israel departed from what AIPAC and allies wanted to hear from candidates by being too vague on a narrow question about aid conditions.

Min had criticized Israels current government in two ways, while not condemning how it was conducting the war with Hamas. Hed opposed new settlements in the West Bank, a policy the Biden administration returned to on Friday and that past presidents have adopted; hed blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for security failures before the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, a widespread view within Israel.

Those were not top-of-mind issues in Orange County, and Weiss told Semafor that she had not had the chance to properly analyze the Biden administrations settlement stance. But it was a distinction in a race where Min and Weiss had drawn few of them, agreeing on issues like climate change, gun safety, and abortion rights. Min said he might be a more effective advocate for the latter, in a district where AAPI residents made up a big swing vote.

This fight for reproductive freedom has to be an intersectional fight, Min said. You dont want your faces to just always be wealthy white women.

Similarly, Weiss said shed be the more credible advocate. Having a male candidate try to talk about womens reproductive rights will not generate the type of voter involvement that we need in order to win, she said.

The differences on Israel were less stark. The role of the United States, in our foreign policy, is to promote peace and democracy and make sure were standing with our democratic allies, Weiss said. I really cant speak to what UDP or AIPACs mindset is, with regard to him. But I know that its important to have leaders who people can trust, and who have strong characters.

That was what the race with Min had become  a contest of characters, not a debate over Israel. Min, who said hed intended to stay positive, had hit Weiss over her husbands work defending the Catholic Diocese of Orange County in sex abuse cases. Ads for Weiss had accused Min of violating a no corporate PAC money pledge (from a prior race, not this one), of supporting The Federalist Society (he advised UC Irvines chapter, as a law professor), and, again and again, of being a criminal. At the house party in Irvine, some Min supporters said they were sick of what they were seeing, and baffled by where the attacks had come from.

People will ask you, whats the source of this money? Why are we seeing all these ads? said Rick Bruck, a 75-year-old retired cardiologist who had been knocking doors for Min. We have to tell them: Its AIPAC.

The View From Progressives

After gaining ground in the last three primary cycles, progressives are facing significant challenges this year  especially from AIPAC. Even as ceasefire campaigners organized a campaign to win more than 100,000 votes for uncommitted in Michigan, and urge the president to change his Israel policy, they were on the defensive, almost everywhere.

While Mins inclusion on the list is a head scratcher, other primary targets have long been lightning rods in this space. On Tuesday, after days of attacks on Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee for scheduling an event with speakers whod made anti-semitic comments after the Oct. 7 attacks, Lee canceled the appearance. She did it, she said, to prevent the Muslim community from being the target of any more politically motivated Islamophobia and to ensure my Jewish and LGBTQ+ constituents know their concerns are heard.

AIPAC, much like the NRAs unwavering support for gun rights, staunchly defends Israels far-right policies, often at the expense of American democratic values, said Waleed Shahid, a strategist who helped build the Listen to Michigan campaign. It targets Democrats critical of Israel, from Donna Edwards to Rashida Tlaib, with millions in spending on negative ads. But as the Democratic Party undergoes a generational shift, AIPACs influence may wane, mirroring the NRAs diminished role in the Democratic Party, making its jingoism increasingly out of step with party values.

Notable

In the American Prospect, David Dayen calls the Min-Weiss-Baugh race the warning shot for whats coming in Democratic primaries, and wonders how many Democrats would criticize Israels war if they didnt know that large amounts of money would be put toward their defeat if they spoke up.

For the Associated Press, Farnoush Amiri profiles the squad and the ways theyre handling the expected AIPAC wave, a struggle that raises significant questions about who can be a Democrat in Congress.
In 2020, Joe Biden beat then-President Trump in California by more than 29 points, amassing a statewide margin of more than 5 million votes  the largest in the history of presidential elections.

Three years in office have not been kind to Biden.

Biden will win Tuesdays primary  he has no serious opposition. And barring a sudden turn for the worse in his health, hes not at risk of losing deeply Democratic California in November.

But hell be lucky to achieve half the margin he ran up last time around, according to the latest Times statewide poll with UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies .

The poll of voters in California, the nations largest Democratic stronghold, highlights the problems the president faces nationwide as he seeks another four years in the White House.

Third-party candidates hurt Biden

One problem is the potential impact of minor-party and independent candidates.

The Berkeley IGS poll shows Biden leading Trump by 18 points statewide in a head-to-head matchup. But that drops to 12 points when independent and minor-party candidates are included.

In swing states, where Biden doesnt have a Democratic cushion to protect him, the impact of those independent and minor-party candidates could be enough to swing the outcome.

Of the three independent and third-party candidates the poll tested, the Green Partys Jill Stein and Cornel West, who is running as an independent, draw support away from Biden, the poll found. When the poll asked voters their second choice, most West and Stein backers said Biden.

Neither has much support  2% and 3%, respectively  but if that were mirrored in closely divided states, it could be enough to matter. In 2016, Steins vote was larger than Trumps margin in three swing states, causing Democrats to charge that she cost Hillary Clinton the election. How many of Steins voters might have voted for Clinton is unknown, but the risk of third-party candidates drawing support away from Biden has haunted Democrats.

A third independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had 11% support in the poll, but his voters were almost evenly split between Trump and Biden as their second choice.

Those candidates, especially West and Stein, may have more impact in California than elsewhere in the country because of the states liberal electorate, noted Mark DiCamillo, the director of the Berkeley IGS poll.

The impact of those candidates could fade by November  that typically happens. They may not even make the ballot in some swing states. Each state sets its own rules for ballot access  some, including California, are easy, others are very difficult, and the deadline remains months away.

But the large number of voters who currently say they would vote for a third-party or independent candidate is a measure of the disaffection with Biden, DiCamillo said.

Latino and young voters dismayed

Another central problem for Biden is the alienation of some key Democratic constituencies.

Just after he was inaugurated, almost two-thirds of California voters had a favorable view of Biden. Today, fewer than half, 45%, still do, the poll found.

Among Democrats, 26% now have an unfavorable view of the president, up from just 7% when he took office.

That drop isnt only  or even primarily  coming from voters on the left angered by Bidens support of Israel in the war in the Gaza Strip. Bidens support has dropped 24 points among voters who identify themselves as moderates, 15 points among those who call themselves somewhat liberal and 16 points among the strongly liberal.

Especially concerning to Democratic strategists, the percentage holding a favorable view of Biden has dropped 30 points over the last three years among voters younger than 30 and 20 points among Latino voters, only 43% of whom now see him favorably.

The younger voters are a key segment in this election, said DiCamillo. A 30-point decline is huge, DiCamillo said, and underscores the concern among Democrats that many younger voters may just decide not to vote.

Even if that wouldnt cause Biden to lose the state, Democrats further down the ballot fear that a lower turnout could lead to Democratic losses in closely fought swing congressional districts. California has at least four districts that both parties consider toss-ups, enough to potentially determine which party controls the House next year.

To the extent that the poll has good news for Biden, its this: His standing with voters may have bottomed out. After rising consistently in polls over the last three years, the share who see him unfavorably, 49%, hasnt changed from the last Times-Berkeley IGS poll in early January.

Moreover, in a reelection match against Trump, who is also very unpopular, Biden can still win voters who have an unfavorable view of him. Of the voters who back Biden in a head-to-head matchup with Trump, about 1 in 6 view the president unfavorably. About two-thirds of those who said they remained undecided also disapprove of Biden.

But getting votes from people who have a negative view is definitely doing things the hard way. Boosting the number of voters who see the president favorably remains job No. 1 for his reelection campaign.

Trump dominates the GOP

Despite Nikki Haleys best efforts to inject suspense into the Republican primaries, the outcome isnt really in doubt. Trumps dominance of the GOP wobbled briefly after the Republicans poor showing in the 2022 midterm elections, but he surged back into control in 2023.

Among likely Republican primary voters in California, 75% now say they plan to vote for Trump, compared with just 15% for Haley, the poll found. Trumps support is up from 66% in early January and 57% in October.

In the early voting states of New Hampshire and South Carolina, Haley got a lot of her support from independent voters. But they cant participate in Californias Republican primary. With only registered Republicans eligible to vote, Trump dominates all major demographic groups in the California primary.

The only significant group among whom Haley currently leads is the small share of Republicans who plan to vote for Biden in the fall, the poll found.

Key group: Double disapprovers

With both Trump and Biden unpopular, key voters to watch are those who take a dim view of both.

In California and nationwide, thats close to 1 in 5 voters.

In 2016, the double disapprover group was similarly large and broke decisively in favor of Trump over Clinton. Double disapprovers were much less of a factor in 2020 because Biden was relatively popular.

So far in this election cycle, voters nationwide who dislike both candidates have fluctuated a lot in their preferences, according to an analysis of national polls by Charles Franklin at Wisconsins Marquette University.

Marquettes numbers show that 37% of voters nationwide land solidly on Bidens side, with a favorable view of the president and an unfavorable view of Trump. On the other side, 42% have a favorable view of Trump and an unfavorable view of Biden.

In California, with its heavily Democratic electorate, 43% have a favorable view of Biden and an unfavorable view of Trump; 29% view Trump favorably and Biden unfavorably, the Berkeley IGS poll finds.

Almost no one likes both candidates, either nationally or in California, and a majority of voters consistently say theyd rather not face this rematch. But barring accident or illness that could befall either of the two elderly candidates, the rematch is what the country faces. Currently, Trump holds the edge. Biden can regain it, but as the California numbers show, he has a hill to climb.

The Berkeley IGS poll was conducted online in English and Spanish Feb. 22-27, among 6,536 California registered voters, including 1,053 Republicans likely to vote in the GOP presidential primary.

The results were weighted to match census and voter registration benchmarks, so estimates of the margin of error may be imprecise; however, the results for the full registered voter sample have an estimated margin of error of 1.5 percentage points in either direction. The estimated margin of error for the sample of likely Republican primary voters is 3.5 points.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  Caltrans and Kerns Public Works will be hosting a Clean California Tire Drop Off day Saturday.

The event will be held at four different locations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or until capacity is reached, for Kern residents to drop-off tires for free.

Kern Public Works hosting free Household Hazardous Waste collection events throughout March

You can drop off your tires at the following disposal sites:

Ridgecrest Landfill: 3301 West Bowman Road, Ridgecrest.



Boron Landfill: 11400 Boron Avenue, Boron.



Mojave-Rosamond Landfill: 400 Silver Queen Road, Mojave.



Tehachapi Landfill: 12001 East Tehachapi Blvd.



Kern Public Works hosting free Household Hazardous Waste collection events throughout March

Before you head out to the disposal sites remember to use the following checklist:

Tires must have rims removed.

Residential only. No commercial waste.

No earthmover/oversized tires.

To prevent litter, loads must be tarped for transport.

*Per State Law, transport only 9 waste tires at a time.

For more information, visit us at www.kernpublicworks.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
Indigenous people in southern Cambodia faced forced evictions and criminal charges after their ancestral lands were marked out for a carbon offset project, a new report alleges.

In 2015, Cambodian officials, working with the conservation group Wildlife Alliance, set aside more than 1,900 square miles of rainforest in the Cardamon Mountains for a carbon offset project. Officials did so without the consent of the Chong people, who have lived in the mountains for centuries, according to a report from Human Rights Watch.

Based on interviews with more than 91 people living within the bounds of the project, the report details how villagers were forced from their lands and in some cases arrested and detained for months without trial.

A woman in Chumnoab commune said officials burned her familys rice crop in 2022. Everybody is banned from entering the forest, but many people have farmland there, she said. I dont have a grain of rice this year, Im borrowing money to buy food.

A man in OSom commune described being arrested for collecting resin in 2021. They destroyed everything I had with me  even the clothes on my back, he said. All I was left with was my underwear. They destroyed our resin as well by pouring it out.

Cambodian officials and the Wildlife Alliance maintain that they acted legally, in consultation with villagers, and said that the project has paid for wells, toilets, schools, a road, and a health post. Going forward, Wildlife Alliance said it will support the titling of Indigenous lands and provide human rights training to its staff and to the government rangers it works with.

Verra, which has accredited nearly half of carbon offset projects globally, certified the Cardamon project in 2018. After learning of the alleged human rights abuses in June, the group stopped issuing carbon credits from the project. It is now undertaking its own investigation.

ALSO ON YALE E360

Mind the Gaps: How the UN Climate Plan Fails to Follow the Science
Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence of Canada, has acknowledged the possibility that Canadian instructors may return to Ukraine for training Ukrainian soldiers under certain conditions.

Source: European Pravda, citing Blair in an interview with Toronto Star

Blair spoke about this in the wake of recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron. Earlier, he had ruled out the possibility of deploying combat units in Ukraine.

The security agreement between Canada and Ukraine, signed last weekend, stipulates that Canada may return to conducting training in Ukraine "when conditions allow."

Quote: "It has to be done in a fairly careful and limited way, the possibility of delivering training," the minister said in an interview with the Toronto Star.

"I do not want to pit Canadian Armed Forces personnel anywhere near a combat theatre that could create the perception that we are taking on any component of a combat role," he added.

Blair noted that the Canadian military already has a small presence in Ukraine to protect Canadian diplomatic personnel and has trained thousands of Ukrainian soldiers as part of Operation Unifier  although this mission was relocated from Ukraine to other countries after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022.

"Weve been training Ukrainians everywhere, but I think there was some recognition that some of that training is challenging because it's difficult to get people out of Ukraine to do the training," Blair said, referring to discussions that took place in Paris this week.

"So (there were) some discussions that, could we do it more efficiently and is it possible to do it in Ukraine?" he added.

Blair stated that some countries expressed concerns that such an operation "would potentially be seen as a combat role, and I think there was wide consensus that thats not appropriate, and were not doing that," he said.

Background:

After European leaders rejected Macron's suggestion regarding the sending of troops to Ukraine earlier this week, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu explained that the discussions were in line with Blair's description. They were focused on military training or mine-clearance operations, "not on sending troops to wage war against Russia."

On 29 February, Macron stated that all his remarks about Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, including the possibility of sending Western troops, which caused a stir, had been carefully considered.

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Canada has banned indirect imports of Russian diamonds weighing one carat and above, Canada's Foreign Ministry announced on March 1.

The ban further builds on restrictions on the direct import of Russian diamonds and related products imposed by Canada in December 2023 in coordination with other Group of Seven (G7) countries.

"It is consistent with the commitments made in February, May, and December 2023 by G7 leaders to reduce the Putin regime's revenues from the export of non-industrial diamonds from Russia," the ministry wrote in a press release.

Canada has pledged to continue working with its G7 and other partners to implement control measures that prohibit Russian diamonds from G7 markets.

"Canada has been at the forefront of imposing economic barriers on the Putin Regime since he launched his brutal full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine, which caused devastating losses to Ukrainians," said Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly.

"Along with our allies and partners, we have imposed severe sanctions on the Russian regime, and we will continue to do so to hold Putin and his enablers to account."

Read also: That diamond ring? It may have helped pay for Russias war

Russia is the world's largest diamond producer, and its revenue from diamond sales last year exceeded $3.9 billion.

The G7 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S., and the U.K., represent 70% of the world's diamond market.

The U.S. imposed a ban on non-industrial diamonds mined in Russia on Feb. 8, prohibiting their export regardless of whether they were processed in Russia or substantially transformed in a third country.

In alignment with the G7, European Union member states also agreed to ban the import of Russian diamonds with the EU's 12th sanction package against Russia in December 2023.

The EU announced on Jan. 3 that it was adding Alrosa, Russia's largest diamond producer, to its sanctions list.

Read also: Opinion: Putins silk road around sanctions

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The News

The GOP battle over Congresss $78 billion tax bill is turning nastier.

That much was clear after Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., thrashed House Republicans who backed the deal in a Wednesday evening Wall Street Journal op-ed, accusing them of getting played by Senate Democrats doing the bidding of the Biden administration.

The legislation, which would pair business tax deductions with an expansion of the Child Tax Credit, passed the House last month in a blowout 357-70 bipartisan vote. But it has met strong resistance from Tillis and some other Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee, who are seeking a chance to make their own changes  a demand supporters worry would slow the deals path to package with tax season already in swing, or possibly sink it entirely.

Senate Finance Republicans led by ranking member Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, met late Wednesday to discuss the legislation. Crapo also released a statement in which he castigated efforts to pressure Senate Republicans to rubber stamp the tax deal, calling them counterproductive.

Republicans on the panel appear to be split, however, after Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Steve Daines, R-Mont. said recently theyd vote for the bill. Notably, Daines chairs the political arm that elects Senate Republicans.

Though Tillis acknowledged there may be divides on the committee, he told Semafor theres no question a majority of Republican members have concerns with moving forward based on the current package.

Know More

Some Democratic aides privately believe Crapo is slow-walking the tax package in order to kill it. Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore. has pressed for speedy passage as tax filing season revs up. He seemed hesitant to entertain ideas for sweeping changes after lengthy negotiations that already involved Crapo.

A lot of the issues that have been mentioned, we dug into them in considerable detail over seven months of negotiations, Wyden, who co-authored the bill with House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, R-Mo., told reporters on Thursday morning.

The bills Republican detractors have focused much of their criticism on a change to the Child Tax Credit known as the lookback provision. The reform is designed to help parents whose earnings suddenly drop in circumstances like a job loss, by letting them claim a larger benefit based on a previous years income. Conservatives have argued the change would disincentivize work.

The fundamental problem with the bill is that Republicans made a major concession to Democratsallowing the child tax credit to begin to transition into a de facto welfare programin return for something Democrats already wanted: research-and-development tax breaks for businesses, Tillis wrote in his op-ed Wednesday.

The lookback provision has been one of Crapos chief targets, as well. But in an interview with Semafor, he declined to say whether removing it would be enough to secure his support. Im not gonna speculate on that right now, he said.

Crapo told Politico hed be interested in adding other tax extenders, and further tweak the child tax credit so more of the benefit flows to working parents who pay taxes. The latter change though might cost Democratic votes.

There has been some chatter on Capitol Hill about potentially bringing the bill to the floor without Crapos support, but its unclear whether it would be able to attract enough Republican votes to pass in those circumstances. Crapo has said hed vote it down in that scenario.

Crapo has said he himself will only bless the bill if a majority of Senate Republicans back it. I never put deadlines, he told Semafor when asked how soon he might be ready to reach a deal. My timeline is Im trying to get to the point where a majority of my caucus is supportive as quickly as we can, but I cant tell you how fast that is.

The View From GOP senators

Crapo also appears to be assessing the pulse of GOP senators outside of the Finance Committee. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., met with Crapo on Wednesday about the tax legislation. Asked if he supports the bill, Rounds demurred and said he will keep providing Crapo with space to negotiate.

We had a good meeting, Rounds told Semafor. Hes explained what his thoughts are on it and kind of a path forward, which I thought was very reasonable. Hes doing his best to express concerns that have been given to him by members of the committee, and he wants to work through those. Well let him continue to negotiate.

Others, though, are already enthusiastically onboard. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said hes close to Smith, the Ways and Means chair, and sees a benefit to getting ahead of next years enormous tax cliff, when Congress will need to negotiate over whether to extend expiring portions of the 2017 tax cuts signed by Donald Trump.

I think too often weve decided were going to wait till better timing because the roses are gonna be cleaner and prettier down the road, he told reporters. The fact is, were still dealing with the same divided Congress. So were still gonna have a short majority.

The View From K ST

Rohit Kumar, the Washington National Tax Services co-leader at PwC, said he believes Crapo is negotiating in good faith to assemble a bill that can pass the Senate. He added theres been a lobbying blitz in support.

Ive been told that theres been a lot of executive outreach to senators, sort of across the board  Democrats and Republicans, Kumar, who once served as a senior aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, told Semafor. Ive also been told that theres been a significant quasi-organized small business effort because small businesses, pass-throughs have a March 15 payment deadline for estimated taxes.

For them, getting it done before March 15 is really important because it changes the size of the check that they have to write to the federal government, Kumar said.
A Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioter who smoked marijuana in a senators office was sentenced Thursday to more than three-and-a-half years in prison.

Schenectady, N.Y., native Brandon Fellows, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden to 37 months in prison, plus five months for a contempt of court charge.

He was convicted by a jury last August for a felony misdemeanor offense of entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, and disorderly conduct in the Capitol building, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Fellows, a chimney repairman, entered the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 riot through a broken window. After briefly entering a congressional conference room, he got to Sen. Jeff Merkleys (D-Ore.) office where he smoked marijuana. He then joined other rioters walking through the Capitol Crypt before later leaving the same way he came.

Theres just a whole bunch of people lighting up in some Oregon room, Fellows reportedly said at the time, according to the DOJ.

Fellows called Judge McFadden a modern-day Nazi.

In all my years as a judge, and before that as a litigator, I have never seen such contemptuous conduct, McFadden said during Thursdays sentencing, referring to many times Fellows interrupted and insulted the judge, according to The Washington Post.

There is no grand conspiracy here against you, McFadden said. Its time for you to grow up

Since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,300 people have been charged related to the riot at the Capitol. More than 400 people were charged with assaulting law enforcement, according to the DOJ. The departments investigation related to the breach is still ongoing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte have signed a bilateral security agreement between the two countries. The politicians met on March 1 in Kharkiv.

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The Ukrainian guarantor announced this on his Telegram channel. He thanked Rutte for the document, which will strengthen the protection of Ukraine and Kharkiv in particular.

What does the agreement provide for?

The document provides for 2 billion euros of military aid from the Netherlands this year, as well as further defense assistance over the next ten years.

The agreement defines priorities for support in the areas of air defense, artillery, maritime, and long-range assets, with a special emphasis on strengthening the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. "The document contains a powerful military block, which provides Ukraine with modern military equipment and support for the defense industry," the Presidential Office said.

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The document defines a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in case of repeated military aggression against Ukraine.

The document formalizes Amsterdam's principled position on strengthening sanctions against Russia, forcing it to compensate for losses and bringing the aggressor to justice.

According to the document, the Netherlands also supports Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO.

In the non-military sphere, it is also envisaged to increase assistance to our country in the areas of economic recovery and reconstruction, countering hybrid threats, intelligence, cyber and information security, critical infrastructure, and the fight against organized crime.

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Thus, as of March 1, Kyiv has security agreements with seven countries: The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands.

The President's Office added that in Kharkiv, Zelenskyy, and Rutte held talks in narrow, expanded formats and in the format of a military cabinet meeting.

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They spoke with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, and Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk.

The agreement on security cooperation was signed as part of the G7 Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine adopted at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

As OBOZ.UA wrote:

 It is the Netherlands that leads the so-called air coalition for our Air Force. According to Prime Minister Mark Rutte, there will be at least 24 F-16 fighters transferred.

 As part of the Czech initiative, Amsterdam will allocate more than 100 million euros to purchase ammunition for the Ukrainian Defense Forces in countries around the world.

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Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The driver fled the scene in Szczecin before being apprehended, officials said (Google Maps)

Three children are among 17 people injured after a man drove a car into a crowd of people in northwestern Poland.

Two are in a critical condition after the incident in the centre of the seaport city of Szczecin, while a 33-year-old man who fled the scene has been apprehended, the website Poland-24 reported.

We have an incident here with currently 17 people injured, including three minors and two in critical condition. The person who caused the accident has been detained, provincial governor Adam Rudawski was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Those who were injured have been taken to hospital, said Mr Rudawski, who governs the Western Pomerania province.

The driver fled the scene at Rodla Square in the seaports city centre, before crashing into another vehicle several streets away and fleeing once again, firefighter Tomasz Kubiak told Polish national broadcaster TVP, which carried footage showing emergency vehicles at the scene.

A police spokesperson told reporters: This was not a terrorist act.

The pedestrians were hit by a burgundy Ford car, an eyewitness told TVP, which reported that the suspect is a Polish citizen who is not thought to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but who is believed to have been receiving psychiatric treatment for several years.

The collision occurred at a busy junction at the start of the rush hour, at around 4pm local time, with people waiting at a tram stop among those injured.

Additional reporting by AP
DENVER (KDVR)  U.S. Rep. Yadira Caraveo hopes to solve some of the issues at the U.S. border with Mexico through a package of bills.

The Democratic freshman congresswoman from Colorados 8th Congressional District unveiled her plan on Thursday. She said the measures could face issues if Democrats cannot convince Republican House leaders to take up the bills.

We need to apply pressure to those in charge, like the speaker, to say: A lot of our members are interested in this. Lets put votes to the floor and have the House figure it out in front of the American people, Caraveo said.

US immigration bills: Work permits, FEMA funds and more

Caraveo is leading the charge on two measures.

The first, which she called the cornerstone of the package, looks to take the burden off local taxpayers in cities like Denver. Instead, the first measure would allocate $1.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help shelter migrants and fund local hospitals impacted by the influx of patients. The money would go to border cities and interior cities like Denver that have not seen a lot of federal funding.

The other measure Caraveo introduced would increase resources for law enforcement to reduce the number of human trafficking victims and the number of illegal drugs coming across the U.S. southern border.

Nikki Haley has a message for the Republican Party

Caraveo is a cosponsor for the final three measures, which look to set up a system to hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers, like the one in Aurora, accountable for making sure detainees are not living in poor or dehumanizing conditions. The remaining bills aim to speed up the process for a work permit from 180 days to 30 days and create new citizenship pathways for certain groups, like people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

On this weeks Colorado Point of View, political analysts break down whether the measures will stand a chance on Colorado Point of View this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on Colorados Very Own Channel 2.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
WIREGRASS, Ala (WDHN)  With the Republican Primary right around the corner, the control of Alabamas First Congressional District hangs in the balance in what is looking like a close race between two sitting U.S. House Representatives, an AUM poll revealed.

The poll, conducted by Auburn University at Montgomerys Department of Political Science and Public Administration, indicates Jerry Carl has an advantage over Enterprise Native Barry Moore by eight points among Republican voters, with a 43 percent to 35 percent lead. It shows 22 percent is undecided.

According to the poll, Alabama Republicans seem to be mainly focused on two factors for the Super Tuesday vote: the incumbents opinions on financial support to Ukraine and former President Donald Trump.

Financial support to Ukraine, for example, is a dividing line in this race, said David Hughes, associate professor of political science at AUM and director of the AUM Poll.

Hughes said those who responded to the poll view Carl as the more moderate and mainstream candidate.

Other factors that seem to sway voters are religious views and community types. The poll shows non-Evangelical Christians, and voters found in suburban areas favor Carl. Voters in rural areas seem to prefer Moore.

The battle for Alabamas first district comes after federal judges approved a redrawing of the states congressional map in October 2023.

Before the congressional drawing, District 2, represented by Moore, encompassed all Wiregrass counties and Conecuh, Butler, Bullock, Montgomery, Elmore, and Autauga counties.

In the new map, Houston, Dale, Henry, Coffee, Geneva, and Covington counties were put in District 1, represented by Carl. These Wiregrass counties joined Escambia, Baldwin, and Mobile counties in District 1.

Rather than seeking reelection in District 2, Moore challenged Carl on the Gulf Coast.

The AUM poll was conducted on Tuesday, February 27, and reached out to 91,642 Alabama residents. 1,909 responded to the survey.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.
The case has been dismissed against a teen migrant from Guatemala almost a year after he was arrested following the death of a Florida police officer, according to Jose Baez, the teen's lawyer.

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, a 19-year-old migrant, was arrested in May 2023 after Sgt. Michael Kunovich, an officer with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office in St. Augustine, Florida, approached the teen, according to Phillip Arroyo, another lawyer for the teen. Aguilar Mendez, who does not speak English, attempted to walk away from the officer, but a struggle ensued, according to body camera video and audio of the incident reviewed by ABC News.

Aguilar Mendez was thrown on the ground, put in a chokehold and tased on multiple occasions, according to the footage.

MORE: Petition calls for release of Guatemalan teen charged with officer's death following heart attack

Five minutes after Aguilar Mendez was handcuffed and put into the patrol car, Kunovich suffered a heart attack and died, according to Arroyo.

Kunovich died of natural causes after suffering cardiac dysrhythmia, according to an autopsy report reviewed by ABC News, which may have been a result of the severe heart disease, a prior heart attack or heart and lung deterioration due to smoking.

The teen was charged with aggravated manslaughter on the same day he was arrested, which was later reduced to aggravated homicide of a police officer, which is punishable by life in prison.

PHOTO: Virgilio Aguilar Mendez has been held without bond since May 19. Aguilar has been charged with aggravated manslaughter after an officer who tried to arrest him died of a heart attack. (Phillip Arroyo Law)

The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the charges against Aguilar Mendez were dismissed "based on concerns about the intellectual capacity of Vergilio Aguilar Mendez and the recent ruling finding him to be incompetent."

Aguilar Mendez was recently declared by the court as being mentally incompetent to stand trial due to his lack of understanding of the American criminal justice system, Arroyo told ABC News.

Aguilar Mendez is from a small Indigenous community in Guatemala and primarily speaks the ancient indigenous language Mam, according to Arroyo.

MORE: New York City discovers migrants being housed illegally in furniture store

In an exclusive interview with ABC News on Monday, Baez said the teen comes from a poor family and was raised in a home with a dirt floor. Aguilar Mendezs family pooled money together from the community through various loans to help him travel to the United States so that he could send money back when he was 17. Because hes been in custody since May, he has been unable to provide for his family and it has placed his relatives in danger, Baez said.

"If he comes here and disappears or doesn't fulfill his responsibilities of paying that money back, his family is shamed forever," he said. "They have no way of really engaging in commerce in their community. They will have no respectability and it'll damage them completely."

Baez also said his client had his "lifes savings" in cash in the pocket officers claim he pulled a knife from.

"He comes from a small little village, lives in a home with a dirt floor and essentially every police officer in his country that he's ever encountered in his life has been a corrupt police and they stop you, they take your money, and they send you on your way," he said. "That's what he had in that pocket, he never reached for a knife or anything of the kind. They never even recovered it until after he was secured in handcuffs."

Though the state charges were dismissed, the sheriff's office said Aguilar Mendez will remain in federal custody pending deportation proceedings.

"There have been attempts by some to portray Aguilar Mendez as a victim and vilify Sergeant Kunovich. I continue to stand behind Sergeant Kunovichs actions on the night of May 19, 2023," St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick said in a statement. "The danger associated with law enforcement is a risk we assume when we enter this profession. Sergeant Kunovich died a hero protecting the citizens of St. Johns County and there is nothing more noble than that. Please continue to hold our agency and Sergeant Kunovichs family in your thoughts and prayers."

Police have argued Aguilar Mendez "armed himself with a folding pocket knife, which he retrieved from his shorts pockets," according to police records obtained by ABC News.

Body camera video reviewed by ABC News does not clearly show Aguilar Mendez allegedly grabbing the knife from his pocket, but officers can be heard telling him to drop the knife. The teen can be heard telling officers he needs the knife to cut up watermelon.

ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

Case dismissed against Florida teen migrant accused of homicide in police officer's death originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
The controversial case against the Guatemalan immigrant charged with aggravated manslaughter of an officer has been dismissed, the 7th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office announced Friday. The case had gained an international following, including a petition with over 600,000 signatures to free him.

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, 19, also was charged with resisting an officer with violence in the May 19 confrontation outside the St. Augustine motel he was staying in when Sgt. Michael Kunovich questioned him and tried to search him. The ensuing struggle led to additional deputies taking the 5-foot-4, 115-pound teen down and Kunovich collapsing afterward and dying from a heart attack.

"Recent expert testimony regarding the defendants inability to comprehend the English language, his cultural background and concerns about his intellectual capacity have raised significant issues to consider in the case," State Attorney's Office Bryan Shorstein said. "Furthermore, based on the courts recent ruling that the defendant is incompetent to proceed based on that expert testimony, dismissal of the charges is appropriate. Arrest and time served is sufficient."

His attorney Jose Baez, who also is representing Shanna Gardner in her high-profile case in the death of ex-husband Jared Bridegan in Jacksonville Beach, said he wasn't surprised by the decision by the state attorney.

St. Johns County deputies arrest Virgilio Aguilar Mendez, 18, after resisting Sgt. Michael Kunovich, who deemed him suspicious outside the Super 8 Motel on May 19. Kunovich, 52, would later collapse and die after a brief tussle trying to detain him.

"It's unfortunate ... it took eight months to do it, but the reality is you expect him to do the right thing," Baez said. "Just like Virgilio expected this police officer to do the right thing. And just like Virgilio expected the sheriff to do the right thing, and so on and so on. At some point this grave injustice had to stop."

He also reiterated "this was a clear case of racial profiling as well as a case of outright discrimination, as well as a case where these police officers didn't even care to try and communicate with this young man and really believe that they could get away with. And let's face reality, they're going to get away with it. They're going to still all be employed. There's not going to be any further investigation, especially with a sheriff like that condoning it and endorsing it."

Neither the State Attorney's Office or St. Johns County Sheriff's Office cited any wrongdoing by the deputies. Sheriff Rob Hardwick released the following statement:

There have been attempts by some to portray Aguilar Mendez as a victim and vilify Sergeant Kunovich. I continue to stand behind Sergeant Kunovichs actions on the night of May 19, 2023. The danger associated with law enforcement is a risk we assume when we enter this profession. Sergeant Kunovich died a hero protecting the citizens of St. Johns County and there is nothing more noble than that. Please continue to hold our agency and Sergeant Kunovichs family in your thoughts and prayers.

What happened between Virgilio Aguilar Mendez and Sgt. Michael Kunovich?

Kunovich

Aguilar Mendez was outside his Super 8 motel on Florida 16 beside an old vacant Howard Johnson hotel when Kunovich thought he was suspicious enough to self-initiate a call for service and question him, court records show. Aguilar Mendez tried to communicate that he was just eating and didn't understand English but pointed to the hotel when asked where he was staying, according to the officer's body camera video.

When Kunovich attempted to search him, the situation escalated with Aguilar Mendez saying "No, no" and that he's sorry. Other deputies arrived and helped take the teen to the ground where Kunovich used his Taser on him several times. Aguilar Mendez can be seen reaching for the Taser and further intensifying the struggle until he was handcuffed. He was able to retrieve a small folding knife that a deputy knocked loose.

The 52-year-old sergeant had to be taken to a hospital in medical distress a short time later and died.

Incompetency ruled and lawsuit filed

Aguilar Mendezs native language is Mam, which isn't equivalent to Spanish. His attorneys argued he couldn't understand or help his case due the language barrier. A judge agreed and ruled Aguilar Mendez incompetent to proceed to trial. He was undergoing treatment and training while in the Volusia County jail to determine if he could move forward. The 60-day period was up and another decision needed to be made.

His attorneys also filed motions to drop his charges citing cases where manslaughter counts were dismissed against men in similar arrests where a person died from attempts to detain someone accused of a minor crime. They also said since Aguilar Mendez has been found incompetent, it is not possible for him to swear to any legal pleadings in his case.

Civil rights attorneys also filed a federal lawsuit against Kunovich's estate, another lieutenant and St. Johns County citing violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.

His limited understanding of English and Spanish is his disability, and he was denied an interpreter at the scene and at the Sheriffs Office to allow him to understand his Miranda rights before being interrogated, according to the lawsuit.

The world would be watching

Baez said believes the State Attorney's Office realized it couldn't prove the case and the charges are not sustainable.

"I was going to bang that drum as loud as I possibly could," he said. "... We were going to ensure that the world was watching, and I think this prosecutor took an objective look at the evidence and realized we don't want to be in that situation."

The Guatemalan-Maya Center, which was involved in Aguilar Mendez's competency training and case, called the development a major victory.

"We celebrate this important win today as Virgilio, a young Indigenous Maya-Mam male was racially profiled, brutalized by the police and treated inhumanely without justice," The Guatemalan-Maya Center said. "Thisvictory is not only for Virgilio, but for the community. So many of us saw our brothers, uncles, cousins and ourselves in Virgilio  a migrant farmworker who came to this country to support his family. We will continue to fight for all others like Virgilio, so there are no more stories like his."

What's next for Virgilio Aguilar Mendez?

Virgilio Aguilar Mendez tries to respond to St. Johns County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Michael Kunovich's questioning on May 19 outside the Super 8 Motel he was staying at.

The Sheriff's Office said although Aguilar Mendez will be released on state charges, he will remain in federal custody due to his immigration status, pending deportation proceedings.

Baez discounts that, however.

"He currently has an immigration hold. We're in the process of filing a motion to withdraw that hold," he said. "In the event that it doesn't get heard before the 48 hours to detain him for an immigration hold, I do not believe that's going to happen because this is an outright dismissal. On top of that, Virgilio was out waiting to actually attend a court hearing for immigration court. He hasn't missed any court dates, so there's absolutely no reason for them to keep him or detain him in any way, shape or form. He's not a danger to the community."

He said The Guatemalan-Maya Center is going to provide him a place to stay and provide him food and clothing and get him started in his life.

"I think we're all going to be a part of that and to contribute and utilize our contacts and resources in any way we can, I don't want to use the word compensate, but to help make things right for him," Baez said. "... The reality is this boy was not looking for a handout, and he still isn't. I fully expect Virgilio to prosper personally as a person and hopefully reunite him with his family really soon."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Case dismissed against immigrant in St. Johns County officer's death
The Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the Global Times, touted President Biden and his campaign's use of TikTok, and critiqued the "deep hypocrisy" of America's politicians who call the social media platform a national security threat.

The opinion article in the CCP's state media said that Biden's campaign use of TikTok "highlights the unjust suppression" and "proves the hype nonsense."

"As a social media app that has been heavily portrayed by the US as a national security threat,' TikTok being used by Biden's campaign highlights the unjust suppression of TikTok by American politicians and proves the hype nonsense," the article said.

BIG TECH FACES BRUTAL QUESTIONING ON CAPITOL HILL OVER CONTENT HARMING KIDS

President Bidens re-election campaign was widely criticized on Sunday for joining the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.

The Global Times argued that the short-form video social media platform has become a "necessary means" for American politicians to reach young voters.

Citing a 2023 survey report by the Pew Research Center, the Global Times said that about one-third (32 percent) of young Americans aged 18 to 29 say they regularly get their news from TikTok.

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The app for TikTok on a phone screen.

The CCP newspaper said that American politicians are "very self-contradictory when it comes to TikTok."

The article argued that the Biden campaign's use of TikTok proves that the social media platform is not a national security threat and proves the "deep hypocrisy" of American politicians.

"In the end, we are witnessing that Washington's behavior toward TikTok is unacceptable to the public and society, so politicians have to choose to compromise for votes," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

A Chinese newspaper says President Biden's re-election campaign's use of TikTok proves that the social media platform is not a national security threat to the U.S.

Jake Denton, a research associate at the Heritage Foundations Tech Policy Center, told Fox News Digital that Biden's "hunger for votes has blinded him to the national security threats" posed by TikTok.

"Once again, President Biden's insatiable hunger for votes has blinded him to the national security threats facing America," Denton said. "By choosing to use TikTok for his reelection campaign, he is callously disregarding warnings from both parties and national security experts that this Chinese-controlled technology imperils our national security through invasive data gathering and its ties to the CCP."

"We cannot let one mans thirst for social media virality and votes endanger our country," Denton said. "The President must put America before his personal electoral interests, immediately delete TikTok, and join the bipartisan efforts to ban the app from operating on American soil."

The Biden campaign's TikTok video sparked outrage after the administration banned the Chinese-owned app from federal devices over security concerns.

TIKTOK CEO GRILLED ON CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY INFLUENCE, SEARCHES OF TAYLOR SWIFT VS. TIANANMEN SQUARE

Last February, the administration set a 30-day deadline for government agencies to purge the app from federal devices.

The social media platform, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is popular among younger Americans.

Biden previously joined forces with TikTok influencers amid his re-election run, and the Democratic National Committee also joined the platform.

The president's campaign joining the Beijing-based social media platform could present unique security risks.

Most notably, the Chinese Communist Party's cybersecurity law allows government authorities to access companies' data.

TikTok and the White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Fox News' Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.





Original article source: CCP flagship newspaper touts Biden campaign's TikTok, criticizes 'hypocritical' politicians for 'suppression'
It is no longer necessary to isolate for five days after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a Friday statement from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The new guidance tells people to stay home if they are sick, but when they are feeling better and have been fever-free for 24 hours, they can return to school or work.

The CDC does recommend continuing to wear a mask for five days, while washing hands, maintaining physical distance and focusing on good ventilation.

This is the same guidance given for flu and other respiratory illnesses.

ASK A HEALTH EXPERT: SHOULD I TAKE PAXLOVID IF I HAVE COVID?

"Our goal here is to protect those at risk for severe illness while also reassuring folks that these recommendations are simple, clear, easy-to-understand and can be followed," said Mandy Cohen, CDC director, in a statement to media on Friday.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The updated guidance "reflects the progress weve made in protecting against severe illness from COVID," she added.

The CDC on Friday announced that it is no longer necessary for people to isolate for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.

Prior to Fridays update, the CDC called for people who test positive for the virus to "stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home," a recommendation that was implemented in late 2021.

At the start of the pandemic, the agency had recommended a 10-day isolation period for people who tested positive for the virus.

Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, spoke with Cohen on Thursday ahead of the updated guidance.

CDC RECOMMENDS ADDITIONAL COVID VACCINE FOR ADULTS 65 AND OVER

"The change is based on the fact that, according to Dr. Cohen, though wastewater analysis for COVID is very high, at the same time, case counts and hospitalizations are MUCH lower," he told Fox News Digital.

"The goal is to have one set of guidelines for all respiratory viruses  flu, RSV, COVID, etc.," Siegel noted.

Prior to Friday's update, the CDC called for people who test positive for the virus to "stay home for at least five days and isolate from others in your home," a recommendation that was implemented in late 2021.

Cohen did indicate that the new recommendation does not apply to every patient.

"The immunocompromised, pregnant women and chronically ill may wait longer based on the advice of their physician," Siegel said.

By the time someone tests positive for COVID, they are most likely at least two days into the illness, according to Cohen, and emerging data shows that the times of greatest transmission are right before symptoms begin and in the first few days of illness.

"Being recently vaccinated and taking Paxlovid (when indicated) within the first few days will help you recover much quicker," Cohen told Siegel.

SHOULD THE CDC DROP ITS 5-DAY COVID ISOLATION GUIDELINES? DOCTORS WEIGH IN

Some states had already relaxed their own guidelines prior to the CDCs official update.

In both Oregon and California, people with COVID have not had to isolate at all  as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicines and their other COVID symptoms are improving, according to each states health department.

At the start of the pandemic, the agency recommended a 10-day isolation after testing positive for the virus.

Siegel said he is in agreement with removing the five-day isolation period.

"The pandemic has been over for several months, and though there was an uptick this winter, with over 20,000 hospitalizations and 1,500 deaths per week at one point, it is now diminishing," the doctor said.

Some doctors believe there should be at least somewhat stricter guidelines for COVID.

One doctor said the isolation period should be one to two days longer for COVID than for flu.

Dr. Ben TenOever, head of the Virology Institute at New York University, told Siegel that he thinks the isolation period should be one to two days longer for COVID than for influenza.

"This is because SARS COV-2 travels farther on smaller droplets than flu," Siegel said.

CASES OF NOROVIRUS OR STOMACH FLU CLIMB STEADILY ACROSS US: 'THIS IS THE SEASON FOR IT'

Also, flu tends to generate a lot of non-infectious material after it's been in the body for a few days, TenOever noted, which means the flu coming out of a person's mouth or nose when coughing or sneezing may be pieces of dead flu virus.

SARS COV-2, by contrast, stays intact because it is more compact, so it may remain infectious longer, the doctor said.

As of the most recently reported week ending Feb. 24, the share of administered COVID tests with positive results was 7.4%, a 0.6% decrease from the prior week, per CDC data.

Of all emergency department visits, 1.8% of them resulted in a diagnosis of COVID, a 0.9% week-over-week decline.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

COVID-related hospitalizations decreased 10.3% from the prior week.

The share of all U.S. deaths due to COVID was 2.1%, which reflected an 8.7% decrease.

For more Health articles, visit foxnews.com/health .





Original article source: CDC drops its 5-day COVID isolation guidelines
(The Hill)  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is advising doctors to conserve a certain type of tetanus shot in anticipation of shortages after one of its two manufacturers stopped production.

Two tetanus and diphtheria (Td) vaccine products have been available for use in the United States: one made by Sanofi, and one made by MassBiologics, which is the sole DT vaccine manufacturer in the country. According to CDC, MassBiologics has discontinued its shot.

Sanofi is taking steps to augment their available U.S. supply, CDC said, but it will take time and the agency said it anticipates that the supply of Td vaccine in the U.S. market will be constrained during 2024.

Drop in flu deaths continues in NC as COVID sees 2-week upward trend

Grifols, which is the exclusive distributor for the MassBiologic shot, expects to have product available only through about June, the agency said.

Temporary ordering controls are in place in the public and private sectors to help manage the gap in supply. CDC said doctors should switch to giving the broader Tdap vaccine instead whenever possible. In addition to tetanus and diphtheria, the Tdap vaccine also offers protection against pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

Tetanus shots are often given as a booster dose every 10 years, though doctors are recommended to give them earlier when treating severe or dirty wounds and burns. Tdap vaccine is an acceptable alternative, CDC said, including when a tetanus booster is indicated for wound management.

The use of Td vaccines has been declining in recent years, according to CDC data, though it is less expensive than the Tdap shot.

There are two licensed manufacturers of Tdap vaccines, and CDC said there are no supply constraints.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Calls in Congress for increased humanitarian aid and a cease-fire in Gaza grew on Thursday after more than 100 people were killed near a convoy of trucks bringing in aid to civilians in Gaza City.

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said there should be an opening of at least two points of entry for assistance to enter Gaza, instead of the one crossing at the southern border, to increase aid to areas including northern Gaza.

If those areas have all of the food and medicine and water and gas that folks need, you will avoid tragic, gut-wrenching events like today, he said. That has to be a priority.

He added that diplomatic leaders got to push and push and push on all sides to bring this war to an end.

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he wasnt sure if the deadly incident changed the debate but said it is more imperative than ever to get more aid into Gaza.

The bloody incident in which more than 100 people died in Gaza City came days after Michigan voters delivered a warning to President Biden in the form of a vote of uncommitted in the Democratic primary on Tuesday.

More than 101,000 people  13.2 percent of the vote  cast ballots for uncommitted to send a signal repudiating Bidens support for Israel in the war.

The two sides offered different stories on what happened Thursday, with Palestinians and Gazan officials contending that Israeli troops opened fire on people seeking humanitarian aid. Israel said many were injured or killed as a result of a chaotic rush on the convoy, and that troops only fired on people who approached troops in a threatening way.

As these vital humanitarian supplies were making their way toward Gazans in need, thousands of Gazans descended on the trucks, said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson. Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies.

Hagari said no IDF strike was conducted toward the aid convoy.

The news was described as a massacre by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which said as of Thursday evening that 112 people died and more than 700 remain injured in the frantic rush to access aid on Al-Rashid Street in Gaza City.

When asked about the incident Thursday, President Biden told reporters that his administration was still checking that out.

Theres two competing versions of what happened, Biden said. I dont have an answer yet.

Biden also acknowledged the deaths could complicate negotiations to secure a new cease-fire and hostage release deal after expressing optimism earlier this week that a deal was at hand.

The U.S. is debating whether to send roughly $14 billion to Israel as part of a national security package, and some more progressive lawmakers are calling to place conditions on any assistance to the country to ensure humanitarian protections.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) grilled Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday about the death toll in Gaza, arguing there should be consequences when another country is defying a U.S. request to lower the death toll.

There has to be some consequence, he said at a hearing, where Austin testified.

Referencing the Thursday incident, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said on the Senate floor she was a friend of Israel but added that this kind of bloodshed should be completely avoidable.

I come to the floor as someone who feels very strongly that Israel absolutely must change course. The collective punishment in Gaza has got to stop, and Israel must do more to protect civilian life, she said. We need a mutually agreed upon cease-fire and end [to] the fighting as soon as possible; we need the return of all hostages by Hamas, and we need a massive surge in humanitarian aid.

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) raised doubts about the veracity of both the cause and number of civilian deaths in Thursdays alleged attacks because the reports originated with Gaza health officials associated with Hamas. But he said the tragedy highlights the massive toll civilians have paid throughout the conflict and reinforces the need for a cease-fire agreement before Ramadan.

Whether its this incident or any other incident, there are many thousands of dead civilians in Gaza, he said.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the White House is in touch with Israel to learn about what happened Thursday and said the administration has pushed for Israel to protect civilian lives.

The situation also does underscore the critical importance of ensuring that much needed humanitarian assistance can be delivered to the people of Gaza in a safe, secure, and sustained manner, he told reporters.

The deaths Thursday added to a mounting toll in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have died.

During a temporary cease-fire agreement in late November, more trucks entered Gaza, and the flow of humanitarian aid increased. But the situation has since deteriorated. Hagari, the Israeli spokesperson, said they are working to increase the amount of aid into Gaza, though Israel has been accused of attacking aid convoys in the past.

Israel has fought across nearly the entire Gaza strip and has set its sights on the last safe zone in the territory, the southern city of Rafah, which is hosting more than a million Palestinian civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel must fight Hamas in Rafah, accusing them of hiding battalions there.

Israeli officials have threatened to move into Rafah by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on March 10, though Biden has said that date could be avoided if a new hostage and cease-fire deal is reached.

Biden has grown more critical of Israels actions over time, saying this month that the Israeli response has been over the top.

But that has not been good enough for critics, who have grown alarmed over time as Israel has raided hospitals and bombed civilian infrastructure after claiming Hamas uses those structures.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street, said the alleged shooting Thursday should never have happened. 

The government of Israel has put young Israeli soldiers and desperate Palestinian families in impossible positions with predictably catastrophic results, Ben-Ami said in a statement. It underscores the need to get more aid in, ensure it doesnt come under fire after it enters, and secure an urgent temporary ceasefire to get hostages out and grant a reprieve to the devastation.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the only Palestinian American lawmaker in Congress, led the uncommitted effort against Biden in Michigan this week and has emerged as the most vocal critic in the Democratic Party of his handling of the war.

At a press conference Thursday, she said that the U.S. must push to secure the release of hostages and for a cease-fire, two important goals that she said can only be accomplished together.

We must choose life over death, Tlaib said.

Mike Lillis and Nick Roberts contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In this 2013 photo, Chelino's owner Marcelino Garcia displays dishes from his restaurant.

Chelino's Mexican Restaurant is turning 35 and to celebrate, they are offering up a variety of deals and specials.

The restaurant posted about its anniversary on Facebook, saying it will offer 50% off a limited selection of dinners and all sizzling fajitas for dine-in customers all day March 5 to celebrate 35 years of business and success in the Oklahoma City metro.

To pair with the half-off food pricing, the restaurant will also offer $5 house margaritas and $3.50 imported beer specials. The deals are valid at the restaurant's Grand Blvd, Edmond, Western, Del City, Yukon, and Northwest Expressway locations.

Fatima Trinidad makes tortillas in 2013 at the Chelino's at 6509 Northwest Expressway in Oklahoma City.

To sweeten the anniversary even more, Chelino's is running a giveaway on social media leading up to March 5.

Customers can win one of eight $35 digital gift cards  three on Instagram and five on Facebook by liking, commenting, tagging, and sharing the restaurant's post before March 4.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Celebrate 35 years of Chelino's with 50 percent off meal deals March 5
All five sons of the Horevych family, who live in the Ternopil region, went to defend Ukraine. Unfortunately, one of them died  in January 2024, his parents buried Oleksandr.

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War veterans Oleh and Ivan returned to their native Pochaiv, having been released from service for health reasons. Anatoliy and Ruslan continue to defend Ukraine in different areas. According to their father Vasyl Horevych, Ivan went to war as a volunteer.

"The photo shows my eldest son Ruslan, Tolik, Sasha, and Oleh. Ivan, who volunteered because all the other boys had received calls. And he said: "How come? I'm going too," says the father.

The soldiers' mother, Uliana Horevych, could not accept her sons' choice. "I will be very happy that my children will come home alive and healthy. At least four of them, one of whom was killed, will come home. And those who are hiding, I want to tell them that they are not Ukrainians. They probably don't love their country," the woman said.

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Ruslan, the eldest son, has been fighting since 2014. "He was in the ATO and is now in a full-scale war. He was awarded these decorations during the ATO and now," said the mother, showing the awards.

Oleksandr, who was buried in late January, would have turned 50 in August. Ulyana Horevych keeps the last message from her son. The parents visit their son's grave every day.

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At the end of January, Oleksandr was going on vacation, but he didn't make it. "The best dad. He really wanted to come home. He had already taken tickets for January 31. He said he would come home soon," his eldest daughter Halyna laments.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, a junior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ivan Pasichnyk from Ivano-Frankivsk region was killed in battles with the enemy in Zaporizhzhia region. He was a combat medic.

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While undergoing rehabilitation after being wounded at the front, the life of National Guard soldier Taras Herasymovych from Ivano-Frankivsk region was cut short. The 32-year-old soldier was seriously injured in the battles near Kreminna last spring.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
A 2023 Chevy Camaro convertible at a dealership in Wheeling, Ill., last year. In the first two months of this year, the number of Camaro thefts in L.A. jumped from 7 to 90. (Nam Y. Huh / Associated Press)

The Chevy Camaro muscle car sitting abandoned at a South L.A. intersection looked suspicious enough.

But then LAPD gang detail investigators spotted two teenagers running from the scene near Slauson Avenue and Broadway and were able to stop them.

One of the youths was carrying an electronic device that police said provides a window into why thefts of the popular Camaros have shot up by more than 1000% in L.A. this year, with 90 vehicles stolen since the beginning of the year. Police said the spike comes at a time when there are increasing numbers of the high-powered vehicles turning up at street takeovers.

Read more: 'Go back to China': Sawtelle woman caught in racist rant over unleashed dog

The device is essentially a hand-held computer that enables the user to create a replacement smart key  using a new key fob  that can unlock Camaros and other vehicles, bypassing the vehicle's existing security system, investigators said. Once the user punches in the make, model and year of the vehicle into the computer, it is then able to reprogram the car's ignition system and generate a new or universal car key.

LAPD investigators believe a 16-year-old suspect used the device to create cloned ignition keys to steal muscle cars. A new Camaro can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

"This young person was stealing the Camaros and taking them to street takeovers and then selling them for $2,000 or $3,000 on social media," Newton Division Capt. Keith Green said. "A 16-year-old was capable of stealing high-end cars."

LAPD's Newton Division, which covers the northernmost section of South L.A., saw the number of Camaro thefts jump from 2 to 10 in the first two months of the year, while citywide they jumped from 7 to 90, Green said. Investigators, he said, now may have the answer to why thefts are soaring.

The technology to clone key fobs is commercially available, and with a little bit of tech wizardry even a high school youth can become a skilled thief of technology-dependent cars, Green said. Investigators say that thieves can generate replacement keys in less than three minutes with the right program and hardware.

Vehicles used in street racing and burnouts  the practice of keeping a car stationary while the wheels are spinning, causing the tires to smoke  suffer so much wear and tear that participants often prefer to use stolen vehicles, police said. This is why thieves often target prized muscle cars.

The LAPD did not indicate the exact method the teenager might have used in the South L.A. incident. But in several cases documented by other jurisdictions, people used a similar device to connect with the vehicle directly or used a wireless system to download all of the car's information to create a duplicate electronic key fob.

Read more: California lawmakers come back with bill targeting 'buyers' of child sex trafficking

Green said it was too early to say exactly how many thefts are tied to the youth, who was turned over to his parents after his arrest on Feb. 25. Detectives will refer the case to the district attorney's office, which will decide whether to pursue charges.

The best way to stop thieves is to employ extra security measures such as fuel cut-offs, steering wheel locks and keeping the vehicle in a more secure place, Green said. Also, detectives advise drivers never to keep key fobs inside a vehicle. Security cases are available on the market that may be utilized to prevent key fob signals from being transmitted. Improvised strategies such as wrapping fobs in aluminum foil or placing fobs inside tin cans have proved effective.

Nationwide, American muscle cars have become the target of some large theft rings. In 2022, dealers in Michigan reported a series of thefts that investigators later tied to key fob cloning.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Parents paying a premium to live in a catchment area are the least likely to get their children into their first-choice school, analysis has found.

A third of parents in inner London did not get their child into their first-choice secondary school for the 2023-2024 school year, despite average house prices of nearly 830,000, analysis by estate agents Savills found.

The rejection rate for secondary schools in London was 29.3pc, despite an average rejection rate of less than 20pc across the rest of England.

In heavily populated areas, competition for coveted spots is at its highest. Those living in the South East also struggled to get their children into their favourite schools.

But parents were most likely to get their children into their preferred school in the North East, where house prices are lowest.

Things were slightly easier for those with primary-age children. In inner and outer London, 13pc and 11pc did not get into their preferred schools, compared with a national average of 7.5pc.

When their child is old enough to start primary or secondary school, parents will apply to local schools in their order of preference.

For children going to secondary school, the national offer day is March 1 this year. Primary school children will be told where they will go to school on April 16.

Many parents will pay a premium to be in the catchment area of a good local school, but there are a wide range of factors that play into school enrollment.

Geography is one factor, as is if the child already has siblings at the school. Children with additional educational needs or other medical needs are more likely to have their top choice taken into account.

Local authorities have a duty to offer each child a place at a school, but not necessarily one at the school of their parents choosing.

Frances McDonald, director of residential research at Savills estate agents, said: Good schooling has long been a key driver for housing demand, particularly amongst growing families and parents often pay a premium to be within close proximity to highly regarded schools.

But the quality of the schools only makes up one part of the equation and the likelihood of children being offered a place at a nearby school also needs to be considered.

House prices in the counties and unitary authorities where parents are most likely to have successful primary school applications are lowest, but they are also growing fastest, the analysis found.

Of those in the top percentile, most were located in the Midlands and the North of England, with the exception of Torbay, Devon, and the Isle of Wight.

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Artist's illustration of a Chinese astronaut on the moon, with a large white lander and the distant earth in the background.

China's human spaceflight agency has given names to spacecraft being developed to put astronauts on the moon.

Mengzhou is the name for the spacecraft that will take astronauts beyond low Earth orbit , while the lunar lander has been named Lanyue.

Lanyue means "Embracing the Moon," referencing the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai. China's human spaceflight Agency, CMSA, said in a press statement that the chosen name appears in a Mao Zedong poem. Mengzhou, meanwhile, means "Dream Vessel" and fits into the naming style for China's Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft, which currently fly astronauts and cargo, respectively, to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Related: Not just Artemis: China and Russia plan to put boots on the moon, too

Artist's illustration of an astronaut on the moon, with a large white lander and the distant earth in the background

CMSA opened a public contest to help name the spacecraft back in August 2023. The agency said it received 2,000 submissions from organizations and people from all walks of life. The final names were selected by an expert panel.

Mengzhou was formerly known by the placeholder term "next-generation crewed spacecraft." It will have a variant for LEO that can carry seven astronauts, while the moon version  Mengzhou  will transport three astronauts into lunar orbit. China conducted a boilerplate test flight of the spacecraft in 2020 and a full debut flight is expected around 2027 .

The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country's state-owned main space contractor, is designing and building the spacecraft and lander. CASC is also building a new rocket, the Long March 10, to launch the new spacecraft.

China's moon landing plan involves the launch of two Long March 10 rockets, which will be based on the current Long March 5. One Long March 10 will carry Mengzhou, while the other launches Lanyue. The two spacecraft will then rendezvous and dock in lunar orbit.

A pair of astronauts will then move over to the lander and then head down to the lunar surface, while a third astronaut stays aboard Mengzhou. Lanyue will use a separate propulsion stage for the descent and landing on the moon . It will also carry a 440-pound (200 kilograms) crew rover. Lanyue will launch the astronauts back into lunar orbit after a brief stay on the lunar surface. The two spacecraft will then rendezvous and dock once more in preparation for the astronauts' voyage back to Earth .

illustration of two white spacecraft in space with the moon in the background

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Work on the various hardware for the mission is progressing well, Ji Qiming, assistant to director of CMSA, told China Central Television (CCTV).

"For now, the development of primary spacecrafts such as the Long March 10 rocket, Mengzhou crew spacecraft, Lanyue lander and spacesuits are finished. The overall technical proposal for the launching site and landing site is also completed," Ji said.

"Plans on lunar science payloads and crew lunar rover have been under formulation in terms of scientific research and application system as well as a lunar activity support system. The setting up of various newly built facilities and equipment for test launch in Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site will start later."

Models of the rocket, spacecraft and lander were recently put on display at an exhibition in Shanghai.
Hundreds of people who had been working in Myanmar's notorious scam centres have left on evacuation flights organised by China.

The flights mark Beijing's latest win in its battle against the centres, estimated to hold hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims.

China has been ramping up the pressure on both Myanmar's military government and armed groups to close the centres.

Money from the centres has poured into both crime and Myanmar's civil war.

But last year, battlefield victories by ethnic insurgents along Myanmar's border with China led to some of the most notorious scam centres being shut down.

Thousands of people, many of them Chinese victims of human trafficking, were handed over to the Chinese police.

This latest group were found further south, working in an area controlled by ethnic Karen insurgents - both fighting for and against Myanmar's military rulers, who took control in a coup in February 2021.

The repatriation flights - which took off from the town of Mae Sot, on the border in Thailand - were carrying about 150 people each, and were the first of a series to leave, taking as many as 1,000 people to China, according to news agency DW.

United Nations estimates, released last year, suggest as many as 120,000 people had been trafficked into centres in Myanmar, with a further 100,000 in Cambodia.

Many of the trafficking victims are lured by adverts promising easy work and extravagant perks, only to find themselves held prisoner and forced to work in online scam centres. Those who do not comply face threats to their safety. Many have been subject to torture and inhuman treatment.

The centres have generated billions of dollars, both for Chinese underworld crime syndicates, and for the various armed groups operating along the Thai border.

But the recent crackdowns have seen numerous centres shut down, with Myanmar's Ministry of Public Security saying about 44,000 people suspected to be involved in the scam centres have been handed over to the Chinese government.

Among the most high profile were three Chinese warlords, who were known for trafficking thousands of foreign workers to forcibly run scams, sent to Beijing in January.
U.S. Space Command head Gen. Stephen Whiting said Thursday that space has become an expanding security challenge and warned that China is growing its military space abilities at a breathtaking pace.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Whiting told lawmakers that space is now central to all-domain security activities.

He said the U.S. Space Command is focused on security in Earths orbit but also looking for potential threats beyond it.

There is an urgency for our Command to advocate for delivery of new space capabilities

and capacity to retain an enduring competitive advantage, Whiting said.

He outlined China as a major expanding threat in the space domain, saying Beijing was focused on advancing its military strength across all domains to become a major world power and world military power.

By 2030, he said, China will have reached world-class status in all but a few space technology areas.

Beijing is growing its military space and counterspace capabilities at breathtaking pace to deny American and Allied space capabilities when they so choose, Whiting said, while extending its ability to conduct long-range fires improving the precision and reach, thus the lethality, of its terrestrial forces.

Whiting noted that China has more than tripled its orbital presence since 2018, deploying more than 359 systems in its satellite fleet and is increasing its ability to monitor U.S. operations.

China also has a counterspace weapons programs that gives Beijing the option to damage U.S. systems and space, including space-based antisatellite weapons.

Whitings testimony comes after the U.S. warned last month Russia could potentially deploy a nuclear space weapon capable of attacking other satellites. Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied those claims.

But Whiting said Russia continues to pursue a suite of counterspace weaponry, including directed energy weapons and satellite communications jammers, as well as offensive cyberspace weapons.

These weapons are intended to disrupt, threaten, and destroy space targets or

otherwise deny freedom of action in space, he said. Russia views its counterspace capabilities as a means to deter aggression from adversaries reliant on space.

Space has remained a threat since the Cold War, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed antisatellite weapon capabilities. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, of which both the U.S. and Russia are signatories, prohibits nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in space.

Space Command was created as its own entity in the Trump administration to focus on emerging threats in space.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Mao Nin, addressing Russian dictator Vladimir Putins recent nuclear threats, urged all parties to exercise restraint during a press conference on March 1.

In January 2022, the leaders of the five nuclear states issued a joint statement emphasizing that nuclear war is impossible to win or wage, Nin said.

Read also: Putin confirms Russian army's use of Zircon missile in Ukraine strike

China consistently advocates for all states possessing nuclear weapons to support the concept of shared security and maintain global strategic balance and stability. Under current circumstances, all parties should work together to promote de-escalation and reduce strategic risks.

She also urged all parties to maintain calm and restraint and build a balanced, effective, and resilient European security architecture through dialogue and consultations.

Read also: Iran, China and Russia to hold joint navy wargames in Indian Ocean

Putin began threatening strikes against Western countries during his address to the Federal Assembly on Feb. 29, asserting Russias possession of necessary weaponry. The dictator claimed that Russias strategic nuclear forces were in full readiness.

He warned of tragic consequences for NATO if it deployed forces to Ukraine. The United States criticized Putins recent statements on the possibility of nuclear war. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that it was not the first time they witnessed Vladimir Putins irresponsible rhetoric. Miller emphasized that a leader of a nuclear-armed state should refrain from making such remarks.

Russia has rehearsed using tactical nuclear weapons at an early stage of conflict with a major world power, the Financial Times reported on Feb. 28, citing leaked military files that include training scenarios for an invasion by China.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
By Kevin Yao

BEIJING (Reuters) -China's parliament is expected to unveil moderate stimulus plans to stabilise growth at an annual meeting beginning on Tuesday, but may disappoint those calling for a detailed roadmap of bold policies to fix the country's deep structural imbalances.

Premier Li Qiang will lay out economic targets for this year and deliver his first work report to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's rubber-stamp legislature, in the giant Great Hall of the People on the west side of Tiananmen Square.

A property crisis, deepening deflation, a stock market rout, and mounting local government debt woes are putting enormous pressure on China's leaders to take momentous policy decisions that will put the economy on solid footing for the long-term.

But analysts and policy advisers expect the NPC agenda to focus more on near-term support for the sputtering economy after a post-pandemic rebound quickly floundered.

Li may nod to measures to improve the business environment and changes to promote technological innovation, but is unlikely to roll out big reforms that would need the Chinese Communist Party's green light, they said.

"The top priority is to stabilise the economy," said Zong Liang, chief of research at state-owned Bank of China.

Li is expected to set a growth target of around 5% for 2024 -- the same as last year -- to keep China on a path towards President Xi Jinping's goal of roughly doubling the economy by 2035 and achieve "Chinese-style modernisation."

That will require more fiscal stimulus, as last year's 5.2% growth rate was likely much flattered by a comparison with a COVID-hit 2022.

"We face more pressure to hit a 5% target this year," said a policy adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity.

China is expected to set a budget deficit target of 3% of economic output, but, crucially, announce plans for issuing 1 trillion yuan ($139 billion) in off-budget special sovereign bonds that could be used for funding strategically important sectors such as food and energy.

Citi analysts said the expected special bonds -- together with the 3% deficit and a flat issuance quota for local governments at 3.8 trillion yuan -- would contribute about 1 percentage point to GDP growth.

In late 2023, China issued 1 trillion yuan in sovereign bonds to spur growth, which was included in the annual budget.

With spending on roads, rail and bridges yielding increasingly lower returns, investment spending might lean more on "new infrastructure" such as 5G telecommunications, artificial intelligence and big data, policy advisers say.

China will continue to pour resources into tech innovation and advanced manufacturing, in line with Xi's push for "new productive forces". Some analysts have criticised this policy, however, saying it exacerbates industrial overcapacity, deepens deflation and heightens trade tensions with the West.

The People's Bank of China, which on Feb. 20 announced its biggest-ever cut to a key mortgage reference rate, is expected to continue to ease policy gradually, amid worries that more aggressive moves could spur further capital outflows and put more pressure on the yuan currency.

But the central bank is expected to expand its pledged supplementary lending (PSL) scheme to support the property sector, which will be vital for stabilising the economy.

In all, the extra stimulus would still pale in comparison with measures taken after a previous episode of market turmoil in 2015 and during the 2008-09 global financial crisis, which eventually righted the economy but left a mountain of debt. Bigger moves could pose a threat to financial stability.

"Fiscal policy will no doubt be more proactive, but there is still limited appetite for bazooka-like stimulus," analysts at Societe Generale said in a note.

REFORM DEBATE

Reform advocates, worried about record low consumer confidence and plunging investor and business sentiment, want China to return to a path of pro-market policies and find ways to boost household demand.

Proposals include relaxing urban residency permits to unleash the spending power of rural migrant workers; clipping the wings of big state firms to help the struggling private sector compete; and redesigning the tax system to tackle the root cause of surging municipal debt.

"Stimulus may only help resolve short-term problems. We need to accelerate reforms. The economic situation may force the authorities to push reforms," said the policy adviser.

The NPC is not the traditional venue for sharp policy shifts, which are usually reserved for events known as plenums, held by the Communist Party between its once-every-five-year congresses.

One such plenum was initially expected in the final months of 2023. The fact that it has not yet been scheduled has fuelled investor concerns over policy inaction.

Two policy sources said it could still take place later this year, if top leaders reach consensus on what steps to take.

Last week, a meeting of the party's Central Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, chaired by Xi, pledged to "use the key tactic of reform and opening up to solve problems in development."

Still, Beijing's national security and social stability concerns, as well as renewed uncertainty over what a potential Donald Trump return to the White House might mean for China, weighs against bold moves.

"Reforms are very pressing but we need to reach a consensus," said a second policy adviser.

($1 = 7.1949 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Kevin Yao; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Kim Coghill)
[Source]

A Chinese American passenger is suing United Airlines, claiming he was discriminated against by a flight attendant.

A passengers legal demands: Yubo Miao, a 64-year-old U.S. citizen of Chinese descent, is demanding $100,000 in damages from the carrier, citing racial discrimination and retaliation after a lunchbox dispute led to his removal from a flight and temporary ban, reported PYOK.

Behind the lawsuit: Miao alleged in a civil complaint he filed last week that he was subjected to verbal abuse and false accusations of physical contact by a flight attendant while he was aboard flight UA2683 from Chicago to San Diego on June 1, 2023.

Incident details: A frequent United Airlines flyer, Miao boarded the plane carrying two suitcases and a lunchbox, placing all three items in the overhead bin. He said the flight attendant yelled at him, instructing him to remove the lunch bag from the overhead bin and place it under his seat.

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Miao initially placed the lunchbox on an empty seat next to him and told the flight attendant that he would move it to the floor after the passenger for the vacant seat arrived. The flight attendant, however, allegedly threatened to inform the plane's captain if he didnt move the lunchbox to the floor. In his separate complaint to United, Miao noted that while he immediately complied, a United Airlines supervisor would later order him off the plane because the flight attendant had claimed he hit her.

Represented by his lawyer, Miao demanded to have his purported ban overturned, all-related documentation destroyed, for all involved parties to issue apologies and for the airline to pay $100,000 in combined damages and legal fees.

Alleged retaliation: The investigation conducted by United's Passenger Incident Review Committee concluded Miao had made physical contact but rescinded the ban against him. While Miao was allowed to fly United again, he said he constantly faced retaliation from the incident as he was being stopped by agents who asked him if he was willing to comply with federal regulations.

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When the airline failed to respond to his demands, Miao filed his lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in Illinois, seeking $100,000 in damages for mental anguish, an apology from United and the flight attendant and a guarantee of fair treatment. He said he felt singled out because the flight attendant allowed a white passenger with similar luggage to keep theirs in the cabin.

It is clear that United intended to discriminate against Miao on the basis of his race and national origin as other non-Asian passengers were not treated in a similar manner or were removed from the flight despite having similar bags that the United flight attendant took issue with. The conduct was so outrageous an award for compensatory damages is inadequate, and punitive damages should be awarded to punish United for its misconduct.

United's cabin requirements: Like most airlines, United Airlines allows passengers to bring one carry-on bag and one personal item onboard. The carry-on bag must meet specific size and weight restrictions, while the personal item should fit under the seat in front of the passenger. In his lawsuit, Miao doesnt argue that he should have been allowed to store more luggage in the overhead locker than is technically permitted but notes that flight attendants singled him out while Caucasian passengers werent challenged for doing the same.

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The brave senator from Mississippi this week fell on the IVF sword for her colleagues  again.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Access to Family Building Act the first time in December 2022. Back then, Duckworth, who has conceived two children via in-vitro fertilization, was aiming to shore up IVF access in the wake of Dobbs and a slew of restrictive abortion laws passing in red states across the country. At the time, she and other Democrats were concerned that the new laws in various states restricting access to abortion could also be applied to assisted reproductive technologies.

Duckworth introduced the bill and requested that it be passed via unanimous consent, meaning just one lawmaker could object to block it from getting a Senate floor vote. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) was the one to object, blocking the legislation from advancing. At the time she said it was full of poison pills.

She said the same thing when she blocked the bill a second time this week.

Duckworth and Murray reintroduced the bill on Wednesday because what they were hoping to prevent with the legislation if it had been successful in 2022 came to fruition. Moved by the opening created by Dobbs, Alabamas Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that an embryo is a child under state law and has the rights of a child in wrongful death suits. At least three Alabama clinics have paused their IVF treatments until theres more clarity on how to move forward with the procedure without fear of prosecution; it is standard for medical professionals to attempt to create more than one viable embryo because implantation isnt always successful. Unviable or unused embryos are either frozen or destroyed, but its expensive to store them and insurance coverage of the procedure is spotty at best. So unused embryos are often destroyed as part of the process.

Whats different in 2024 compared to 2022 is the fact that Republicans have spent the last several weeks cartoonishly fumbling around as they try to declare their impenetrable support of IVF for families who cant conceive while also agreeing with Alabama Supreme Court justices  that embryos are babies.

Hyde-Smith is staunchly anti-abortion and is the breed of Christian fundamentalist that would agree with the underlying fetal personhood ideology at the root of the Alabama ruling. Its not surprising the Mississippi Republican went out of her way a second time to block the bill from advancing in the Senate on behalf of her colleagues. This time she used the poison pills excuse and also argued that the bill  which would give federal protections to IVF and override any state-level restrictions  went too far. She also claimed that the Alabama ruling did not ban IVF, nor has any state banned IVF, a head-in-the-sand assessment of the decision.

The bill before us today is a vast overreach that is full of poison pills that go way too far, far beyond ensuring legal access to IVF, she said in blocking its advancement Wednesday.

While Hyde-Smith and other Republicans are and will surely continue to hide behind leave it to the states arguments in lieu of doing anything tangible to demonstrate their enthusiastic support for in-vitro, Hyde-Smith may want to edit her website first.

Just a quick google of her abortion policy positions this afternoon turned up a page on her Senate website where she outright declares her belief in the need for federal policies that strengthen Americas families. To save you a click, a screen grab below:

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SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  The city of Tijuana has purchased a helicopter for its police department, Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced earlier this week.

She called the aircraft a gift to the citys Security and Citizens Protection Department, the official name for the municipal police agency.

This is to recognize their efforts and hard work, said Caballero. On a daily basis, our municipal police is the one that makes the most arrests, confiscates the most weapons, and now imagine what the department can do with a helicopter.

She also emphasized this will not be for her personal use.

This is not for me, its for the city, she said. Tijuana deserves recognition for its resources, this was sorely needed.

Tijuana police officer ambushed, survives hail of bullets

The last time the city had police helicopter patrols was in 2017 when a helicopter called Pegasus crashed, killing both pilots.

Since then, previous administrations have purchased drones and other other aerial platforms to patrol from the air.

Our finances are healthy, our savings are enough to allow us to purchase the aircraft, Caballero said.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

She told reporters the helicopter cost 20 million pesos, about $1.2 million.

The aircraft will be used at times for search and rescue and in areas that are hard to access where delinquents tend to hide.

The helicopter is scheduled to be delivered by Oct. 1.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
The head of the aggressor country, Russia, Vladimir Putin, has publicly hinted at his alleged openness to discussing the end of the war in Ukraine on his terms. This is likely to be an agreement hinted at in the draft peace treaty drawn up by Russian and Ukrainian delegations in the spring of 2022.

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The Wall Street Journal drew attention to this. The journalists analyzed a document dated April 15, 2022, which describes how negotiators on both sides sought to end hostilities in Istanbul.

"By agreeing to turn Ukraine into a 'permanently neutral state that does not participate in military blocs,' prohibiting it from rebuilding its armed forces with Western support and leaving Crimea under Russia's de facto control," the report says.

The alleged draft agreement stated that Ukraine, despite the possibility of joining the European Union, would not be allowed to join military alliances, including NATO; foreign weapons would not be allowed on Ukrainian soil; and the Armed Forces would be reduced to a certain size. In other words, Russia sought to limit everything from the number of troops and tanks to the maximum range of Ukrainian missiles.

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According to the Russians, Crimea, already occupied by Russia, should remain under Moscow's influence and not be considered neutral. The Kremlin also insisted that the Russian language be used on an equal footing with Ukrainian in the government and courts. None of this was supported by Kyiv.

The question of the future of the districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied by Russia in 2014 was not included in the draft. It was allegedly left "at the discretion of Putin and Zelenskyi" during personal negotiations, which the Kremlin wanted.

In addition, the Russian dictator's preferred draft treaty provided for a ban on foreign weapons, "including missile weapons of any type, armed forces and formations." Moscow wanted the Armed Forces to have 85,000 troops, 342 tanks, and 519 artillery pieces. Ukrainian negotiators wanted 250,000 troops, 800 tanks, and 1,900 artillery pieces. Russia also demanded that the range of Ukrainian missiles be limited to 40 kilometers.

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In the end, the parties failed to reach an agreement. After those talks, the scale of Russia's war crimes against Ukraine became even more apparent and the whole world started talking about them, Ukraine's military situation improved, and the West began supplying weapons to support Kyiv.

In December, The New York Times reported that Putin was sending "signals" to the West that he wanted to freeze the war against Ukraine and start negotiations. The article, citing two former Kremlin officials close to the Kremlin, as well as American and international officials, said that the dictator was proposing to freeze hostilities on the then-front lines. Although Putin had sent the same signals a year earlier, in the fall of 2022.

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Today, Ukraine has made its position clear: no hint of negotiations with the aggressor until Russia withdraws its troops from the country. Two years of war have embittered Ukrainian public opinion against any peace deal, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi warned that any cessation of hostilities would simply allow Russia to rearm and better attack Ukraine in the future. He responded sharply to "negotiations with Putin," noting that the question of ending the war lies in the "legal and political plane."

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Clear Creek Amanas Brock Hillsman prevailed in the Iowa City Press-Citizen's first student of the week poll.

Hillsman secured 1,451 votes, or 57.9% of the 2,506 total votes cast, edging out James Kardos of Iowa City High, who secured 1,055 votes, or 42.1%.

Hillsman is a junior at Clear Creek Amana. Along with being a leader on the mens varsity basketball team, he is also a leader in the classroom.

Brock Hillsman is a current junior at Clear Creek Amana, he is an athlete and a top student.

Principals in Iowa City are allowed to nominate a student who demonstrates excellence throughout the academic year each week. Students from public and private high schools in Johnson County are eligible to participate.

James Kardos is a senior at Iowa City High. Kardos is a talented drummer and received the Class 4A Outstanding Soloist award at the Liberty Jazz Fest earlier this month.

Do you want your student to be considered as Student of the Week? Ask your principal to send nominees to studentoftheweek@press-citizen.com.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Clear Creek Amana's Brock Hilsman is the first Press-Citizen student of the week
CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA)  A Clearwater Estate that sits on a property line with Caladesi Island State Park has been listed for $37.5 million.

The multi-million dollar waterfront home, located at 1198 Mandalay Point, is 3,434 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The home sits 20 feet above sea level on 42.57 acres, sharing a property line with Caladesi Island State Park.

How much do you need to earn to afford a home in Tampa?

The home sits between the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Bay, allowing the homeowner to see both Floridas beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It is only one of 11 homes in the private, gated enclave at the north end of Clearwater Beach.

Built in 1987, the current owners told Coastal Properties Group International, who listed the property, that they wanted to create a home for family and guests to experience the natural beauty of this exceptional setting.

The home features a private dock, a heated lap pool, an elevator, a den/library, an atrium, and storage rooms.

The listing company described the home as peaceful, private, and pristine.

Royal Caribbean announces new short getaways from Tampa

Below are photos of the inside of the home:

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Below are photos of the outside of the home:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
I reached into a cupboard this week for a jumper my mother had given me for Christmas. It was a snazzy dark blue thing with a zip and a cream strip around the neckline. In my family we call these snudges (to rhyme with how a northern would say judge). If ever anyone is at a loss for a present for me they should know that Im never happier than with a new snudge.

Particularly as I unhooked that festive snudge from the hanger, relishing the prospect of a clean and smart jumper to wear to London, unlike the ripped and filthy ones we tend to hang around in in the countryside.

Then having pulled it on my heart sank. I noticed first those tell-tell signs of fiendish vandalism, what look like feint wisps of white string. And then the holes. Yup. The moths were on the attack again and the better the quality of material, the greater their victory.

If I had nothing but polyester in my cupboards and drawers, if my go-to look was a tracksuit, the moths would patrol the area and then waft off.

Instead the mere hint of a decent yarn of wool or cashmere and theres a feeding frenzy in my wardrobe.

Fearing the worst I went through a few piles of jumpers and then had a look at some suits and overcoats. Its a scene of devastation. Some suits with tiny holes, other nice jumpers with vast acreage of frayed munching.

Despondent to say the least I alighted on my wife with an immediate measure of blame. I told you this house was too warm, I muttered.

And then as I pondered this holey war, it dawned on me that the moth assault was a message from God. A warning on climate change right there in my sock drawer to say that Youve gone soft! The moths are a biblical plague, an almost mystical terror infecting all our middle-class comfort.

You can build nice houses and fit them with tellies and wifi and beautiful kitchens and central heating and you can protect all your possessions by fitting all kinds of locks and install CCTV but the moths will still infiltrate.

How they arrive, I dont know. Ive never seen a moth enter the house. Do they come through the cracks in the windows, or down the chimneys, or from small holes in the roof and around the edges of the loft hatches?

How they got here I cant fathom but why theyre here is very clear. They are a slap across ones face for consumerism and comfort. They eat our clothes because we have too many. You know you have too many because if you didnt, you would have noticed the moths before they did their worst.

It doesnt matter how nice and tidy the piles of jumpers, they are no respecter of order.

The moths are a militaristic assault on the soft townie attitude that has latterly afflicted the countryside.

Once upon a time, ones country house was a chilly structure, with drafts coursing through the rooms, nothing but stone floors and a weak-willed Aga, and within which one dressed in more or less the same clothes that one wore outdoors. That is several layers, most of them thick and old, and the wearing of them enabling you to take the dog out last thing at night  in driving rain, howling gales or snow fall  without actually needing to put a coat on.

And our footwear was similarly functional. You didnt need to buy some fancy Wellington boot-style slippers to take the veg bin out to the compost heap, or indeed to fetch the milk or the papers from the gate.

No one needed to wipe their feet or take off their boots because your floor was like a yard, there wasnt a carpet to stain and the mud could just be swept up once a week.

But now we decorate our houses like theyre an advert for the White Company, and the worst of us install pale carpets and then put translucent plastic pathways through parts of the house for those who dont change into slippers at the front door to plod across.

The moths didnt eat our jumpers in the good old days because we were wearing them; in front of the fire that hissed with damp timber.

Now we overheat every room  even those we only occasionally walk through  we buy piles of clothes we only wear once in a while and we shut the windows and bathe three times a day (you know who you are).

Moths dont like fridge-cold houses where the central heating is a thick jumper and a large glass of whisky.

Meanwhile, the chest freezer has been emptied and the fish fingers, peas and Kummel are defrosting in the kitchen. And while Ive lit moth bombs left, right and centre, I cant engage in a long-drawn out assault on the moths because the authorities have spiked our guns by making mothballs  with their juicy and effective naphthalene or para-dichlorobenzene  illegal.

Now into the chest freezer go my suits and jumpers. Ill freeze the bastards and then attempt to turn down the heating so we can all freeze to prevent their return. But thats a battle I know Ill lose.

So if you see me walking by like Job, in torn and rent sackcloth, youll know that in the battle of comfort vs moth, the moth has won again.

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A co-defendant in the corruption investigation of Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey has pleaded guilty and will cooperate with federal prosecutors.

Businessman Jose Uribe, who is accused of giving the senators wife, Nadine, a luxury convertible, pleaded guilty to seven counts in connection with the corruption probe, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud and obstruction of justice, according to the plea agreement filed with the court.

Uribe has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and will testify against Menendez, a three-term Democrat.

It is understood the defendant ... shall truthfully and completely disclose all information with the respect to the activities of himself and others concerning all matters about which this Office inquires of him, the plea agreement states.

Image: New Jersey Senator Menendez Makes First Court Appearance For Federal Bribery Charges (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images file)

Federal prosectors have accused Bob and Nadine Menendez of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for assisting the Egyptian government and private individuals, according to a September 2023 indictment.

Jose Uribe is a New Jersey businessman in the trucking and insurance business who was friends with fellow defendant Wael Hana, according to prosecutors. Hana and Uribe allegedly got Nadine Menendez a Mercedes convertible after the senator called a government official about another case involving an associate of Uribe.

Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes, Nadine Menendez allegedly texted her husband, along with a heart emoji after they got the vehicle.

Uribe allegedly gave the Mercedes to Bob Menendez and his wife as he sought help with a criminal investigation into his associates being run out of the New Jersey state attorney generals office. In exchange, Menendez is accused of calling then-New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal directly about the matter.

Uribe is one of three businessmen the couple is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from, along with Hana and Fred Daibes.

Bob Menendez, his wife and all of the other defendants have pleaded not guilty. Uribe previously pleaded not guilty in October, but in a surprise move changed his plea Friday.

If convicted on all seven counts, Uribe faced up to 95 years in prison. It was not clear what prison time, if any, he would face as a result of the plea deal.

Adam Fee, Menendez's attorney, said in a statement, Senator Menendez has spent months detailing the law and the evidence that demonstrate that charges should never have been filed in this case. Todays news of Mr. Uribes change of plea does not change the core truth: Sen. Menendez is innocent and the prosecutors have got it wrong. Sen. Menendez continues to look forward to proving his innocence to a jury.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A makeshift memorial is pictured near the building that caught fire, in Valencia

A makeshift memorial is pictured near the building that caught fire, in Valencia

By Eva Manez and David Latona

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) -Firefighters in the Spanish city of Valencia could hardly believe their eyes on Friday when they found a live cat huddled within the charred remains of an apartment block ravaged by a huge fire eight days ago.

Named Coco, the feline was reunited with tearful owner Andrea Rubio - who had given up all hope that her beloved pet had survived the blaze, which claimed the lives of 10 people and dozens of pets.

"My poor little thing!," Rubio, 32, exclaimed as she embraced Coco in a video released by local police.

The local fire department said on social platform X it had delivered Coco to his owners "with great satisfaction" alongside a picture of the cat's tail hanging out of the hydrant niche.

"We found him through pure luck," a firefighter can be heard saying in the same video.

Rubio's partner, Javier Fernandez, told Reuters that Coco's rescuers stumbled across him on the 13th floor, two stories above their apartment in the part of the building that suffered little damage. Coco appeared to have taken refuge inside a fire hydrant niche.

The couple immediately took Coco to a veterinary clinic for a complete check-up and he appeared to be in good health although he smelled heavily of smoke, Fernandez said.

He remained under 24-hour observation to determine if and to what extent he had suffered dehydration.

The deadly fire, which spread rapidly as the flames where fanned by strong winds, broke out on the evening of Feb. 22 in the affluent El Campanar district.

Over 150 survivors, including Rubio and Fernandez, are temporarily living in empty social housing as they await a more permanent solution.

"It's a new home for him, so he'll be a bit lost at first, but the sooner he gets used to it the better Coco is going to feel," Fernandez said.

(Reporting by Eva Manez and David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and David Gregorio)
A cold winter storm that is expected to bring another inch or so of rain to Southern California is moving in for the weekend.

This is already a major storm for Northern and Central California due to the atmospheric river conditions, which we dealt with here in the Southland during previous events, KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said.

The atmospheric river will not play much of a role in Southern California as we catch the tail end of the system.

The outlook for a weekend storm is provided by the National Weather Service on Feb. 29, 2024.

The National Weather Service is calling for about a half-inch to an inch of rain to fall on the coastal and valley areas through Sunday.

Foothill and mountain areas should see between one and three inches of rain, according to the Weather Service.

We can handle it. Thats a typical winter storm that brings us measurable rain, Henry said. Compared to our prior two big atmospheric river storms this will not be a big deal for us.

While some light rain will fall on Friday, the brunt of the storm is not expected to arrive until Saturday afternoon.

KTLA's Storm Tracker on March 1, 2024, predicts how much moisture will be over Southern California on Saturday.

We should be in the midst of the widespread rain about midday tomorrow through tomorrow evening, Henry said.

This storm is expected to be much colder than the systems that pushed through the region in February.

Check you forecast on the KTLA Weather page

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Eastern San Gabriel Mountains, including the cities of Mount Wilson, Mount Baldy, Wrightwood and the Angeles Crest Highway from 6 p.m. Friday through 10 a.m. Sunday.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for the San Bernardino County Mountains, including the cities of Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake from 10 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday.

About a foot of snow is expected to fall above the 6,500-foot mark. Snow levels may drop to around 4,000 feet by Sunday morning with a dusting of snow possible along the Grapevine, according to the Weather Service.

Forecasters are also calling on the storm to impact local surf conditions.

The surf outlook for a weekend storm is provided by the National Weather Service on Feb. 29, 2024.

Seven to 10-foot surf is expected to arrive Friday through Sunday along the Ventura County coasts.

Los Angeles County can expect 3 to 6-foot surf with local sets up to 7 feet.

Forecasters are also warning beachgoers about strong rip currents that will make for dangerous swimming conditions.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
A college student tried to smuggle drugs to Japan from Cambodia, the Japanese authorities say.

The student donned a set of billowing Buddhist monk robes to mask the drugs, per the authorities.

The Japanese customs released photos of what appear to be packets taped to the man's thighs and torso.

A college student accused by the Japanese authorities of being a drug smuggler was caught in what one might call an unconventional disguise: a set of Buddhist monk's robes.

On Tuesday, Japan Customs said in a statement that on January 25, it detained a Taiwanese man who tried to smuggle drugs into the country from Cambodia.

The 21-year-old college student is accused of attempting to move around 13 pounds of stimulant drugs across the Japanese border, per a Thursday report from Japanese news outlet Yomiuri Shimbun. The drugs are worth about 370 million Japanese yen, or $2.4 million, the outlet reported.

Photographs released by the Japanese customs showed what appeared to be plastic bags taped to a man's thighs and torso.

According to Taiwan news outlet Focus Taiwan, Liu had packed the drugs into 40 pouches and strapped them onto his body with plastic wrap. Japan Customs

"I was also dressed in a monk-like robe when I entered Japan on January 15. But nobody approached me. So, I decided to do it again," the man told the Japanese authorities, per the Yomiuri Shimbun.

The student faces up to seven years imprisonment for the smuggling charge and up to five years in prison if convicted of drug possession, according to Japanese law.

Other people accused of drug smuggling have also gotten creative with their disguises.

In 2016, a Colombian woman was detained at Frankfurt airport for trying to smuggle cocaine into Germany in her breast implants. The woman, German customs officials said, was carrying 2.2 pounds of cocaine inside her breasts.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A former Colombian soldier was found to have played a minor role in the plot to kill Haitis president, but on Friday he still ended up getting a life sentence like four other defendants directly involved in the final decision to assassinate Jovenel Moise.

Colombian Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios was given the maximum sentence by a federal judge in Miami, even though a prosecutor said he did not participate in operational discussions at key meetings before the July 7, 2021, assassination.

Palacios, 45, who pleaded guilty in December to the murder conspiracy spanning South Florida, Haiti and Colombia, became the fifth defendant in the U.S. case in Miami federal court to be sentenced to life.

MADE IN MIAMI: Read the Miami Herald investigation into the assassination of Jovenal Moise

Palacios defense attorney argued he was a foot soldier who only learned at the 11th hour about the change in plans from carrying out the arrest of Haitis leader to killing him, and that he was not in the room where the president was fatally shot by other Colombian commandos at his home outside Port-au-Prince.

He had no idea what was going on like the other defendants in the U.S. case until the day before the deadly assault, attorney Alfredo Izaguirre told the judge, urging him to give Palacios 30 years in prison. He was in another room. He never fired his weapon.

U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez expressed sympathy for Palacios circumstances, but said he felt restricted by the law because the conspiracy to which the defendant pleaded guilty involved the assassination of a foreign leader.

I dont think I can go below a life sentence, Martinez said.

Depending on his cooperation, Palacios could end up receiving a sentence reduction from prosecutors Andrea Goldbarg, Monica Castro and Frank Russo in the coming months.

Of the 11 defendants charged in the U.S. case, five have pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill Haitis leader and related charges. A sixth defendant has pleaded guilty to other conspiracy charges involving the smuggling of bulletproof vests to the Colombians that carry up to 10 years. Meanwhile, five other defendants, including a Miami-area man who headed a security firm, face trial in May.

Fled to Jamaica

More than two months after the assassination, Palacios fled to Jamaica and became the first suspect to surrender to FBI agents in January 2022. After initially confessing to FBI agents at a Kingston hotel  a confession that he and his lawyers later claimed was given under duress  Palacios chose to accept responsibility for his supporting role in the deadly conspiracy targeting Moise.

According to the FBI, Palacios admitted during a nearly six-hour video-recorded interview with federal agents in October 2021 that he took a necklace, two watches, $2,060 cash and other personal items belonging to Moise, and his wife, Martine, when he was killed and she was injured in the assault at their hillside home.

However, unlike four other defendants who have pleaded guilty in the murder conspiracy so far, Palacios played a minor role, Goldbarg said, because he was not involved in making strategic decisions about the assassination plot. That factor, along with his cooperation, might help the father of three children ultimately receive less than a life sentence in the future.

Colombian military man

A factual statement filed with his plea agreement said Palacios retired from the Colombian military in June 2021 after 20 years of service and was recruited by the Miami-area security company, CTU, to provide protection for an aspiring politician who wanted to replace Moise as Haitis president.

Palacios was recruited along with more than 20 former Colombian soldiers by CTU and met with its president Antonio Intriago in Haiti in the weeks before the assassination plot was carried out. Intriago, who is being held at a federal lockup, has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and other charges in the high-profile case.

Initially, Palacios understood that the goal was to capture Haitis president and arrest him. Palacios and the other Colombians conducted training sessions while CTU provided them with security equipment, including armored vests.

Palacios was led in the mission by a retired Colombian army officer, German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, aka Colonel Mike, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and was sentenced in October to life in prison.

According to the factual statement, Palacios was a line security soldier who took orders from Rivera and other Colombian commando leaders. Palacios did not have the authority to make decisions nor did he take part in planning of any operation.

By at least July 6, 2021, Palacios had been informed that the Colombian contractors would be conducting an operation at the presidential residence, the factual statement says. Before the beginning of the operation, the defendant was also told that the president was going to die.

Prosecutors said the Colombian commandos took money and jewelry from the presidents home, and that Palacios kept some of the cash and jewels.

In the aftermath of the assault, three Colombians died during a shootout with Haitian national police outside the presidents residence.

The U.S. governments prosecution of the 11 original defendants has moved quickly with successive plea deals and sentencings  in contrast to Haitis investigation, which finally resulted in an indictment filed by a Haitian judge last week.

In the U.S. case, a former senator in Haitis parliament was sentenced to life in prison after he had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill his countrys leader. The former senator, Joseph Joel John, 52, also is known as John Joel Joseph to his countrymen.

John was also present at meetings in Haiti where the operation to kill the countrys leader was discussed, including one gathering at the home of a Haitian businessman the day before the assassination. Among those attending that critical meeting: Rodolphe Jaar, who hosted the gathering; Rivera, the Colombian commando leader; James Solages, a Haitian American; and Joseph Vincent, a Haitian American who previously worked as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Palacios, the ex-Colombian soldier, was also there but prosecutors admitted at his sentencing Friday that he was not part of the discussions to kill Haitis president.

Vincent, 58, pleaded guilty to the murder conspiracy and related charges. He was sentenced last month to life in prison.

Jaar, 51, admitted to providing weapons, lodging and money in the conspiracy to assassinate Haitis president. A dual Haitian and Chilean citizen, Jaar was sentenced in June to life in prison. Previously, he was also convicted of drug trafficking in the United States.

Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed to this story.
State Sen. Julie Gonzales presents a bill, which would improve access to the polls for eligible voters who are detained in county jails, to the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)

El Paso County is home to the largest jail in Colorado, with more than 1,000 people detained in the facility. But none of those people who were eligible to vote while incarcerated cast a ballot in the last election cycle.

A Colorado bill that passed its first committee hearing Thursday would require county sheriffs to better work with county clerks to facilitate voting for eligible voters who are confined in jails.

The bill would require county sheriffs to designate someone to help eligible voters access their ballots. The designee would be responsible for informing confined individuals of their eligibility and coordinating with the county clerk to set up a temporary, in-person voting center at their local county jail.

People who are incarcerated prior to trial or have been convicted of a misdemeanor are eligible to vote in Colorado. People who are confined and serving a sentence for a felony conviction dont have the right to vote in Colorado, but once they make parole, they earn back that right.

Sixty percent of the general population across the state of Colorado are pre-trial, and so what you see reflected before you is a bill that will strengthen and ensure that those individuals have access to the ballot, said state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a Denver Democrat who sponsored the measure, Senate Bill 24-72.

The bill only applies to statewide election issues on the ballot, because many people are confined in county jails outside of their home county and local clerks can only provide ballots for the elections they administer. Gonzales said the decision to include this limitation in the bill was hard to make, but she said, It felt unreasonable to ask the county clerk from a completely different county to also keep track of municipal ballots.

My offices role, and I want to make this clear, is that all eligible voters have the opportunity to access and cast their ballot  We do not exist to decide if someone is guilty or not.

 Denver County Clerk Paul Lopez

Several county clerks and other advocates testified in favor of the bill because of how it aims to improve detained peoples ability to access their fundamental right to participate in elections. Representatives from the League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights, Colorado Common Cause and other organizations spoke in favor of the legislation.

These are peoples constitutional rights that should be honored and protected, said Jasmine Ross, manager of civic engagement at the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. If we can encourage people in the community to vote, educate them on the importance of voting and give them access to candidate information and issues, why cant the same encouragement and efforts be given to confined eligible voters who are in jail across our state?

Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul Lopez listens to testimony regarding a bill that would improve access to eligible voters who are detained in county jails, Feb. 29, 2024, at the Colorado Capitol in Denver. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline)

Denver Clerk Paul Lopez has already helped people who are in Denver county jails vote with the help of the local sheriffs office, CCJRC and the League of Women Voters. He said many pre-trial detainees are in jail because they simply cannot afford their freedom.

This would codify a program that my office currently runs to ensure voters in jail have equitable access to their ballot, Lopez said. My offices role, and I want to make this clear, is that all eligible voters have the opportunity to access and cast their ballot  We do not exist to decide if someone is guilty or not.

Hunter Nelson, political chair at Colorado Black Women for Political Action, cited a 2020 study from Colorado Common Cause that found most people in Colorado jails are eligible to vote, but the infrastructure and accessibility differing from county to county makes it difficult to know what to do.

All Coloradans deserve the right to vote and deserve access to the information needed to make informed voting decisions, including Black women and people who are being held in county jails and detention centers during an election cycle across our state, Nelson said.

Civil rights issue

While Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Amanda Gonzalez testified in support of the bill, Gary Gittens, detention division chief for the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, testified against it on the sheriffs behalf. Gittens said that while the sheriffs office supports anyone in their custody who wants to vote, the logistics and cost would be too much for the department to handle.

Gonzalez said that in the 2022 election year, 72% of active Jefferson County voters cast a ballot, but only 0.63% of eligible voters in the county jail cast a ballot.

Thats just over half a percent in a jail where the sheriff is telling us that the voting program is working, she said. In 2022, only three people cast a ballot  to me, thats a civil rights issue.

Gonzalez said 84% of the eligible voters in custody are awaiting trial and are still considered to be legally innocent, and Black, brown and low-income voters disproportionately miss voting opportunities because of this.

Jails across the country have successfully welcomed various services including medical staff and education opportunities, Gonzalez said. If we can ensure safety during these services, we can undoubtedly find ways to provide safe ways to vote in our jails.

Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek expressed concern about getting safety clearances for elections officials who would need to come into the jails and providing staff to ensure those election workers are safe.

We have worked very, very closely with the clerk and recorder, and since 2018, we have never had one issue with anyone not being able to vote, van Beek said.

State Sen. James Coleman, a Commerce City Democrat who chairs the committee, asked representatives from the Eagle County and Jefferson sheriffs offices what they currently do to ensure eligible voters in their jails access elections. Van Beek and Gittens said they have posters as well as other notifications in place to make sure people in the facilities are aware of upcoming elections and how they can participate. Gittens said Jefferson County also has a hotline in the jails that connects directly to the local clerks office during business hours for any questions about elections.

Officials representing El Paso Countys sheriff and clerk testified against the bill as well, saying it creates a solution to a problem that does not exist, since the people the bill covers already have the right to vote. They said it will cost more money and time than their offices have to offer.

El Paso Countys jail is the largest in the state, and sadly neither our sheriff nor I were invited to the discussion table about this bill, El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleiker said. Schleiker told committee members that no eligible incarcerated voters cast a ballot in the last election cycle.

A few other clerks and sheriffs who testified said they wished they, as well as the County Sheriffs of Colorado and the Colorado County Clerks Association, had been consulted prior to the development and introduction of the bill. Gonzales said she was frustrated to hear this testimony, as she said she was meeting with these organizations about the bill as early as October 2023.

Other counties who had officials testify against the bill included Pueblo, Douglas and Logan.

The committee approved two amendments: one that shifts criminal penalties for election violations that would be applied to sheriffs to civil penalties, and another that removes language describing the temporary voting centers as a voter service and polling center. The latter amendment also creates more flexibility around when clerks can coordinate a day of in-person voting at county jails.

The bill passed the committee 3-2, with the two Republican members, state Sens. Mark Baisley of Sedalia and Larry Liston of Colorado Springs, voting against it. It is sponsored by Rep. Manny Rutinel, a Commerce City Democrat, in the House.

Editors note: This story was updated at 2 p.m., March 1, 2024, to correct the spelling of Amanda Gonzalez.

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FILE PHOTO: Jury deliberates in trial of paramedics involved in death of Elijah McClain

FILE PHOTO: Jury deliberates in trial of paramedics involved in death of Elijah McClain

By Brad Brooks

LONGMONT, Colorado (Reuters) -A Colorado court sentenced paramedic to five years in prison on Friday after he was convicted in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a young Black man who died after police put him in a chokehold and medics injected him with a powerful sedative.

Jurors in December found emergency medical worker Peter Cichuniec, 51, guilty of criminally negligent homicide and also of assault in the second degree in a rare trial of paramedics in such a case.

Judge Mark Warner sentenced Cichuniec to five years in prison for the assault conviction, and added a one year sentence for criminally negligent homicide, to be served concurrently. The defendant had faced up to 16 years in prison for those crimes.

Cichuniec's partner, Jeremy Cooper, 49, was also found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and faces sentencing at the end of April.

Their joint trial was the last of three stemming from the death of McClain, 23, who was not alleged to have committed any crime when officers stopped him.

One police officer was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 14 months in jail. Two other police officers were acquitted.

Police confronted McClain in Aurora, near Denver, on the night of Aug. 24, 2019, after a bystander called 911 to report the man was dressed in a winter coat and ski mask on a warm night and was acting suspiciously as he walked home from a convenience store.

Police slammed McClain on the ground soon after stopping him and put him in a carotid chokehold at least twice. He vomited into his ski mask and repeatedly told officers he could not breathe.

The original autopsy conducted on McClain in 2019 found the cause of death to be "undetermined." But a revised autopsy report in 2021 concluded McClain died from "complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint."

Local prosecutors initially declined to file charges in the McClain case. That changed following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died at the hands of Minneapolis police.

After Floyd's death ignited global protests, Colorado Governor Jared Polis in June 2020 asked the state attorney general's office to investigate McClain's case. A state grand jury indicted the officers and paramedics in 2021.

At the sentencing hearing, Cichuniec said that he was sorry McClain had died, but did not take responsibility for his death.

Elijah McClain's mom, Sheneen McClain, spoke at the hearing, expressing her deep anger about her son's death at the hands of the police and paramedics whose job it is to keep the public safe.

"My son's murder is not a terrible tragedy," Sheneen McClain told the judge. "My son's murder was 100% avoidable."

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; Editing by Donna Bryson, Cynthia Osterman and Aurora Ellis)
Ulviyya Shahin

Armenia and Azerbaijan were able to reach an agreement on the main principles of the peace agreement.

This was said by the Deputy Chairman of the Armenian Parliament, the special representative for the normalisation of relations with Turkiye, Ruben Rubinyan, during his speech at the panel on "Peace, Development, and Communication in the South Caucasus" within the framework of the III Diplomatic Forum in Antalya province.

Talking about the process of normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan, Rubinyan expressed hope that the parties would be able to achieve the necessary results.

He reminded that Armenia and Azerbaijan have already agreed on the main principles of peace: the recognition of each other's territorial integrity based on the Alma-Ata Declaration and the opening of regional communications based on the principle of sovereignty.

"If we can include the principles already agreed upon by the heads of the two countries in the agreement, then we can achieve peace quickly," Rubinyan said.

Speaking about the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkiye, the special representative noted that the most important issue at such a sensitive moment is the implementation of agreements.

According to R. Rubinyan, if agreements are reached between Armenia and Turkey in the future, it is necessary to implement them.

He noted that, despite the low level of trust between the nations, the parties are trying to normalise relations.

"We are continuing this process, and I hope that Sardar K?l?c and I will achieve the goal we set together - the complete normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkiye and the establishment of diplomatic relations," he added.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in March Ukraine would receive more support, new security agreements, and arms supplies. According to the head of state, the key is that the aggressor country should lose, and Kyiv and its partners should restore security.

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The President made the statement during his evening video address on Friday, March 1. In particular, Zelenskyy reminded that he and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had visited Kharkiv together.

"We visited our soldiers  the guys are recovering from their injuries. I had the honor to thank them and recognize them with state awards. I am grateful to every doctor, and to all our medical workers who save lives. This is the most honorable job," the President of Ukraine said.

He added that Kharkiv, which is subjected to brutal Russian shelling, now needs more protection. Therefore, Kyiv continues to work on strengthening its air defense.

"Together with Mark, we walked around Kharkiv  the places where Russian missiles hit. Ordinary houses are destroyed, the city's infrastructure is destroyed... It is important to make Kharkiv safer. We are working with all leaders to strengthen air defense here and for our other cities. The world has such potential, and we need sufficient joint determination to make Russian terror lose," Zelenskyy said.

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The Head of State also said that following the meeting with Rutte, there is a new package of military support for our soldiers from the Netherlands.

"By the way, the Netherlands is actively helping us with air defense, with the F-16 coalition. This year, new fighters will be in our sky, and this year we must make it an effective one in protecting ourselves from Russian guided bombs, from Russian planes, from their missiles," Zelenskyy said.

He noted that Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a special military briefing for Rutte on the situation at the front, on Ukraine's capabilities in active operations and defense in specific areas.

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"Of course, we also talked about Kharkiv. I am grateful for the readiness of the Netherlands to continue to help. We signed a bilateral security agreement between our countries  security guarantees and security cooperation. This is the seventh such security agreement with our partners  a strong agreement," the President said.

As a result, Ukraine has a specific amount of military support per year  2 billion euros, and there are also all the details of joint work in the defense sector, politics and to achieve justice, Zelenskyy said.

He added that the Netherlands supports the need to establish a special tribunal for Russian aggression, and also supports the work of Ukraine and its partners to bring all Russian war criminals to justice and strengthen sanctions against Russia for the war.

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"And this is a really strong visit today. I am grateful to Mark personally and to all the people of the Netherlands for their support of Ukraine. We have already prepared active international work for March: there will be more support, we are preparing new security agreements, and there will be new agreements on weapons for our soldiers. The key is that Russia must lose, and our country and partners must restore security. We are doing everything for this," the President summarized.

As reported by OBOZ.UA:

 On March 1, Rutte arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit. He met with President Zelenskyy in Kharkiv. The Ukrainian leader showed the houses damaged by the occupiers. The politicians paid tribute to the children killed by the aggressor. Since the beginning of the invasion, 87 children have been killed in the fighting in Kharkiv region, and 21 in the regional center.

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 Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that at this stage of training, Ukrainian pilots are practicing tactical techniques on F-16s, such as target practice. Engineers are also continuing their training on the maintenance of the fighters and weapons. The transition process cannot be quick: the program is designed to last at least two years, but the Ukrainian military is undergoing accelerated training.

 MP Oleksandra Ustynova warned that Ukraine could lose Kharkiv if it does not receive the F-16. According to her, the lack of support from the West was one of the reasons for the loss of Avdiivka.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
A Colorado firefighter paramedic has been sentenced to five years in prison over his role in the death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain.

The sentence, handed down on Friday to Peter Cichunic, followed a rare prosecution of medical responders that has left officials rethinking how they treat people in police custody.

Cichuniec and fellow paramedic Jeremy Cooper were both convicted in December of criminally negligent homicide for administering a sedative ultimately blamed for killing McClain, a young Black massage therapist, in 2019 who had been stopped by police while walking home from buying some ice tea.

His killing drew widespread attention the following year in the wake of the police murder of another Black man, George Floyd, by police officers in Minneapolis.

The five-year sentence was the minimum the judge could have given Cichuniec under sentencing guidelines.

McClains mother, Sheneen McClain, raised her fist in the air as she left the courtroom following the sentencing, as shes done after previous hearings. In previous testimony Ms McClain said she once dreamed of being a firefighter and considered them heroes until the day they took my sons life.

You are a local hero no more, she said as Cichuniec sat with his attorneys at a nearby table. Next time, think for yourself and do not follow the direction of a crowd of cowards.

Peter Cichuniec received five years in prison following the death of Elijah McClain in 2019 (2023 The Denver Post, Medianews Group)

Cichuniec had also been found guilty of the more serious charge of second-degree assault for giving a drug without consent or a legitimate medical purpose. Jurors concluded the assault caused serious bodily injury or death, which required that he be sentenced to at least five years in prison.

Cichuniec  who has been in custody since his conviction and was handcuffed and shackled for the hearing  asked the judge for mercy ahead of his sentencing on Friday. He said he had spent his 18-year career as a firefighter and paramedic putting his own life on the line and putting other lives before his own.

I have never backed down from a call and Ive had more things happen to me than you can imagine, he said. It sickened me when the prosecution said during their closing argument that I showed no remorse for Elijah. ... There was absolutely no intent to cause any harm to Elijah McClain.

Following the sentencing a member of Cichuniecs family called out, love you Pete as he looked back and waved at them before leaving court in handcuffs, The Associated Press reported.

On 24 August 2019 McClain was walking home from a convenience store in Aurora, Colorado, listening to music and wearing a ski mask, which his family said he wore to keep warm because of his anaemia, when a 911 caller reported him as looking sketchy. Police spotted McClain  who was not armed and had not committed any crime  and put him in a neck hold.

That began a struggle that lasted about 20 minutes before the firefighter paramedics arrived and McClain was injected with 500 milligrams of ketamine. He suffered cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital and was taken off life support three days later.

Experts testified that the sedative ultimately killed McClain, who was already weakened from struggling to breathe while being pinned down after inhaling vomit into his lungs during the struggle with police.

Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was killed in 2019 (via REUTERS)

The case highlighted gaps in medical procedures for sedations of people in police custody that experts said must be addressed so more deaths can be prevented.

The convictions of Cichuniec and Cooper in 2023 sent shockwaves through the ranks of paramedics across the US and thrust the profession into the acrimonious fight over social justice sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.

Firefighters and officials from their union previously criticised the states prosecution of Cichuniec and said it was discouraging firefighters from becoming paramedics, decreasing the number of qualified personnel in emergencies and thereby putting lives at risk.

Convicting Pete for the death is not justice. Its the very definition of a scapegoat, said former Aurora Fire Lieutenant John Lauder, who recently retired after working with Cichuniec over two decades.

But for the grace of God, it could be us in jail. The result of this decision will have a negative impact on patient care throughout the nation. Will paramedics now be held be held responsible for outcomes beyond their control?
A former Colorado paramedic has been sentenced to five years in prison in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain after he was stopped by Aurora police.

Peter Cichuniec was one of two paramedics convicted of criminally negligent homicide for their roles in the 23-year-olds death, which sparked years of protests and changes in the law. A jury also found Cichuniec guilty of second-degree assault. The outcome marks an extremely rare instance of a paramedic being found criminally liable and facing a prison sentence for a death in police custody.

Cichuniec was facing a sentence of five to 16 years for the assault charge. The judge on Friday also issued a one-year sentence for the homicide count for him to serve at the same time.

Colorado prosecutors filed charges against Cichuniec, paramedic Jeremy Cooper and three police officers, with cases that dragged on for years. Cichuniec and Cooper were responsible for injecting McClain with a dangerous dose of ketamine, a powerful sedative, as officers held him down.

Should there have been a better medical assessment of Elijah McClain prior to the administration of ketamine? The answer is simply yes, the judge, Mark Warner, said before issuing his sentence. He added: The court does not find [Cichuniec] is an ongoing risk to the public.

On 24 August 2019, McClain, a massage therapist, was walking home from the store listening to music on his headphones when a passing driver called 911 to report a sketchy person who might be a good person or a bad person. The caller noted he did not see any weapons and did not believe anyone was in danger.

Nathan Woodyard, the first officer to stop McClain, was immediately aggressive and grabbed him, saying he was being suspicious. Two other officers, Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt, soon arrived and tackled McClain to the ground, placing him in a neck hold and putting their body weight on him, causing him to go in and out of consciousness.

McClain, an animal lover who had taught himself violin, apologized, repeatedly said, I cant breathe and also said, Im an introvert  Why are you attacking me? I dont even kill flies.

Cichuniec ordered ketamine from the ambulance and Cooper injected McClain with 500mg, even though 325mg would have been the appropriate dose for someone of his weight, prosecutors said.

McClain showed signs of overdose following the dosage and never awoke.

A review of the case solicited by the Aurora city council found that McClain had committed no crime and police had no legal basis to stop him or to use force against him.

Sheneen McClain, who sat through three lengthy trials, told the court Friday that the paramedics were accomplices to my sons murder and should have cared for her son as a patient and tried to help him.

They want to blame their inhuman actions on their inhuman training, but reality is that they could have done something simply by just saying, Stop hurting my patient. Instead, they chose to make the situation worse for my son and implicated themselves ... They felt no need to stop the brutality that was happening to my son as he pleaded for his life.

She said she had repeatedly watched body-camera footage to try to understand why the paramedics did not save him. Elijah was unconscious for an extended amount of time when he was held down and injected with ketamine, which made sure he did not wake up.

Before the sentencing, the former paramedics relatives pleaded for mercy and Cichuniec spoke at length, criticizing prosecutors for saying he showed no remorse: Every patient is important to me and my crew, no matter what. But he continued to defend his actions that night, saying he had to make a split-second decision. Addressing Sheneen McClain, he said, I am truly sorry for the loss of her sons life. And I wish more than anything that we had a better outcome that night.

Rosenblatt and Woodyard were acquitted in their trials. Woodyard was reinstated to the force in November and received more than $400,000 in back wages and other payments from the city, then resigned in January. Roedema, convicted of criminally negligent homicide, was sentenced to 14 months. Coopers sentencing is scheduled for April.
A vigil in Washington, D.C., last month honored Nex Benedict, the nonbinary 16-year-old in Oklahoma who died recently after being beaten in a school bathroom. (Astrid Riecken / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The name Pat Logue may not be familiar to many of us, but her work is .

From establishing the right of same-sex parents to adopt children to challenging the merits of the militarys dont ask, dont tell policy, its not an exaggeration to say Logues accomplishments as a lawyer for Lambda Legal were instrumental in changing the way society treats LGBTQ+ people. She died last week.

It is because of Logues work that the family of Nex Benedict may get some iota of justice. Nex was the nonbinary 16-year-old in Oklahoma who died in February one day after a group of students beat them up in a school restroom. One of Logues landmark victories  Nabozny vs. Podlesny in 1996  was the first legal challenge to antigay violence in public schools.

Jamie Nabozny had been tormented for years at his Wisconsin high school for being gay. That would include being beaten up in the restroom. He sued his former district for refusing to do anything to stop the attacks. Officials were not only aware of the abuse Nabozny faced but also reportedly told him that boys will be boys and that he should expect the bullying because he was gay. After the verdict, Nabozny was awarded $1 million.

Read more: Granderson: America's tragic war on LGBTQ+ people extends its collateral damage

More important, school districts around the country were put on notice: Every student  regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity  deserves a safe learning environment.

Nex Benedict did not get that.

Instead, the student faced an environment very similar to the one Nabozny encountered 25 years earlier. An environment our courts have already ruled was unacceptable. An environment that may have cost Nex their life.

Read more: Granderson: Who cares about Billie Eilish's sexual orientation?

Police body-cam video shows Nex on a gurney after the attack in school. The details of their death the following day are murky, and an official cause of death has yet to be made public. But the history of abuse leading up to the death is clear.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has already called for a federal investigation into Nex's death. Vice President Kamala Harris posted on social media: to the LGBTQI+ youth who are hurting and are afraid right now: President Joe Biden and I see you, we stand with you, and you are not alone.

Read more: Granderson: 'The Last of Us' told the LGBTQ+ story we needed

This week Lambda Legal joined 350 other local, state and national organizations in an open letter calling for the removal of Oklahomas state superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters. In the letter, Walters is accused of creating an environment in Oklahoma schools hostile to LGBTQ students, which the organizations say led to the attack on Nex.

In the weeks following Nexs death, numerous youths have come forward to detail the rampant harassment of Oklahomas 2SLGBTQI+ students by peers, teachers, and administrators, the letter reads, using an abbreviation that includes the Indigenous term two spirit to refer to some nonbinary individuals. We are outraged that a climate of hate and bigotry has been not only allowed to thrive, but encouraged by the person who is responsible for education in the state.

In addition to Walters' anti-trans rhetoric, he appointed a conservative social media influencer to the states library board after that person harrassed educators online who were supportive of LGBTQ+ students. Walters dismissed the open letter as a standard tactic of the radical left adding, they will stop at nothing to destroy the country and our state."

And yet it was Walters  not the radical left  who appointed an anti-LGBTQ TikTok pseudo-celebrity to his states library board, someone who didnt even live in Oklahoma and whose anti-gay social media posts incited bomb threats against school libraries accused of containing books that refer to gay people. Walters should never have been entrusted with overseeing the education and safety of children, and now that the mistake has been made and the damage done, I hope he will be swiftly removed and replaced by someone with an agenda to protect the learning environment.

Whether or not the state replaces him, a civil suit against the district where Nex attended school, in the Tulsa suburb of Owasso, seems likely. Theres also the question of holding those who attacked Nex accountable.

In a statement to ABC News, the victims family said: The Benedicts know all too well the devastating effects of bullying and school violence, and pray for meaningful change wherein bullying is taken seriously and no family has to deal with another preventable tragedy.

Thats why Nabozny said he sued his school district in the 1990s: to prevent other queer kids from being targeted in school the way he was.

That is also supposed to be a part of local and state administrators jobs. In the past, gross failures to protect queer children might have been normal and tolerated. Certainly they had few repercussions. Thanks to Logue, that part of the story has changed. Queer kids are still targeted in school. However, instead of accepting the premise of boys will be boys, theres hope for accountability.

@LZGranderson

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A community prayer service ended Thursday with tears for victims of violence as participants lit candles in remembrance.

Dozens gathered at the Dunbar Community School for the Dunbar Neighborhood Watch & Community Partners 11th annual Community Prayer Service.

Pastors from local churches prayed for community and national, youth, law enforcement, clergy, school district and government agencies.

Dozens take part including Nicole Wilson and Lt. Angelo Vaughn from the Lee County SheriffOs Office in the Dunbar Neighborhood Watch & Community Partners 11th annual Community Prayer Service at the Dunbar Community School on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens gathered for the event that featured prayer for community and nation, youth, law enforcement, clergy and bereaved families that have lost someone to a violent crime. The event ended with a candlelight vigil. WilsonOs son, Javaris Wilson was murdered on January 18, 2018. She was speaking with Vaugh about the case.

Families of those that have been lost to a violent crime are prayed for during the Dunbar Neighborhood Watch & Community Partners 11th annual Community Prayer Service at the Dunbar Community School on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens gathered for the event that featured prayer for community and nation, youth, law enforcement, clergy and more. The event ended with a candlelight vigil.

A dance recital from Cornerstone Dance Ministry brought some to tears.

Speakers included Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson, Fort Myers Police Chief Jason Fields and Trish Routte from Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers.

Let us honor the memories of those we have lost by building a future where every life is cherished and every community member can walk in the streets without fear," Fields said.

Marilyn Savage reacts while watching a dance recital during the Dunbar Neighborhood Watch & Community Partners 11th annual Community Prayer Service at the Dunbar Community School on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens gathered for the event that featured prayer for community and nation, youth, law enforcement, clergy and bereaved families that have lost someone to a violent crime. The event ended with a candlelight vigil.

Victims advocates from the Fort Myers Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff's Office also spoke about their roles in the community.

The event concluded with an emotional prayer for bereaved families who have lost someone to a violent crime and a candlelight vigil.

Families pray for youth during the Dunbar Neighborhood Watch & Community Partners 11th annual Community Prayer Service at the Dunbar Community School on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens gathered for the event that featured prayer for community and nation, youth, law enforcement, clergy and bereaved families that have lost someone to a violent crime. The event ended with a candlelight vigil.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Dunbar Neighborhood Watch 11th Annual Community Prayer Service
Patrons of glitzy Dubai bars could be sipping beverages cooled by a cube of ancient Arctic ice carved from a Greenland iceberg and shipped to the emirate  destined no longer to melt into the ocean, but into a very expensive drink.

The startup company, Arctic Ice, shipped its first container of around 22 tons of Greenland ice to Dubai this year for sale to high-end bars and restaurants. Founded in 2022 by two Greenlanders, Arctic Ice has an interesting  and controversial  business model.

It scours the fjord near the countrys capital city of Nuuk for icebergs that have naturally detached from the ice sheet. We are looking for the clearest and thereby also oldest and purest ice, said Malik V. Rasmussen, one of the co-founders of Arctic Ice.

Once they have spotted an iceberg they like, they haul it onto a ship using a crane, cut it into smaller pieces and pack it into insulated crates.

A sample of each iceberg is tested in a lab to make sure there are no microorganisms or bacteria. Then the ice is shipped from Greenland to Dubai, first aboard one of the nearly empty cargo ships returning to Europe after dropping off produce in Greenland, and then on a second ship to Dubai, where it is repacked and sold.

Arctic Ice claims its offering a novel way to harness a natural resource, carving out new economic opportunities and raising awareness of the Arctic.

To critics, its wasteful to ship a product thousands of miles on fossil fuel-powered ships when Dubai already makes its own ice.

Few people likely spend much time considering the provenance of the ice in their coke, coffee or cocktail, but its big business.

Ice used to be chipped off natural sources like glaciers, but that changed with the advent of machines able to mass-produce for bars and restaurants, or to manufacture the bags of cubes that lurk in peoples freezers. The market for cubes, blocks and crushed ice was worth more than $5 billion in 2022.

Various attempts have been made over the past few decades to bring back natural ice commercially, but with little success. In 2015, one company tried to sell ice cubes carved from the Svartisen glacier in northern Norway, but its plan faltered amid local opposition.

Rasmussen hopes that by targeting the right markets, he can make it work.

But perhaps inevitably for a business model that involves shipping a diminishing natural resource halfway across the world, Arctic Ice has attracted controversy.

The comments under the startups Instagram videos are peppered with criticism. As if you were doing a good deed for the planet While you are helping to destroy it! said one. Another asked: What is this dystopia?

Rasmussen said the level of vitriol he has received on social media has been shocking.

We knew there was going to be criticism but did not anticipate it to amount to death threats and constant harassment, he said.

Arctic Ice says its operations are designed to minimize environmental impact, and the company has future plans including swapping out fossil fuel-run ships for hybrid or battery-powered vessels.

It also wants to remove three times as much carbon pollution from the atmosphere as it emits  though these ambitions are for an unspecified time in the future and some experts remain unconvinced.

A great deal of energy will be required to transport (ice) to Dubai in refrigerated ships, said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center.

The ice could also still be polluted by natural sources such as wildfire smoke, dust or even ash from volcanic eruptions, Francis added.

I would file this under the category of highly energy-wasteful gimmicks that appeal to ultra-wealthy individuals, she said. I would wager that no one could tell the difference in taste between glacier ice and non-glacier ice.

Rasmussen disputes this. There are advantages, he said: Ancient glacial ice has little to no taste, meaning it doesnt affect the flavor of drinks as it melts  unlike ice made from tap water or mineral water  while its denser structure means it melts more slowly.

Its also about the experience, he said. Giving people the opportunity to sample ice that has never been polluted by humankind can create more awareness about the Arctic and vulnerable glaciers, he said.

Awareness-raising could be the only upside of the business, Francis said. But, she added, no doubt the story about how much energy was needed to bring that chunk of ice to a persons drink will not be told.

Others, however, have no problem with the concept of commercializing Greenlands ice.

There will be a lot of people moaning, said Jason Box, a glaciology professor at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, but in my view, the love of the ice, the aesthetic of the shape and story of the ice, far outweigh environmental concern.

Its fractal geometry will make it look like a tiny iceberg in a glass, he told CNN.

Its like fine art. It gets people talking. And of course they will feel a little sorrow for being part of the global warming problem.

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A coalition of conservative Christian pastors are working to reshape the Springfield school board and elect a trio of candidates that they say align with their Biblical worldview.

Members of the Concerned Pastors of the Greater Springfield Area appeared on a KWTO radio show Wednesday to discuss what they believed was at stake with the April 2 election, when voters will select three of seven school board candidates.

They urged support for candidates Chad Rollins, Landon McCarter and incumbent Maryam Mohammadkhani noting they represent "our values."

"Whether we win or lose this battle before us with the school board, it will be because the church did or did not get involved," said member Calvin Morrow, who is also executive director of Christians Uniting for Political Change and a part of the Back on Track America PAC. "It is really that simple."

Three candidates backed by the groups Morrow is part of are currently on the board  Mohammadkhani and Kelly Byrne and Steve Makoski. If the candidates supported by those groups are elected, or re-elected, they will make up a clear majority.

Calvin Morrow

"The pulpit is probably the last place where we can get our message out," Morrow said.

Morrow rose to prominence locally and across Missouri as the spokesman for the successful campaign to remove sexual orientation and gender identity from Springfield's nondiscrimination ordinance, called SOGI.

In recent elections, the groups Morrow is part of have opposed critical race theory; the use of restorative justice in school discipline; policies that speak to the rights or protections for LGBTQ students and employees; and efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion.

They have advocated for expanded parental rights, especially in the area of curriculum; and have raised concerns  along with others  about school discipline and student achievement.

Morrow said Mohammadkhani "was the first candidate we were able to get on board." Referring to Makoski and Byrne, elected in 2022, he said: "We have two more that came after that."

New Springfield Public Schools Board members Kelly Byrne (center) and Steve Makoski (right) are sworn in by Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller during a school board meeting on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.

In 2023, Morrow said the coalition of pastors, CUPA and the Back on Track America PAC supported McCarter and Rollins, who were not elected.

"Last year we lost by 254 votes and it was a gut-punch," he said of McCarter's narrow loss to incumbent Shurita Thomas-Tate. "And this year, those two candidates that lost are running again."

Incumbents Scott Crise and Danielle Kincaid and first-time candidates Susan Provance and Kyler Sherman-Wilkins are also on the ballot.

Morrow appeared on KWTO's "Wake up Springfield" show hosted by Alex Bryant  a minister and member of the Nixa school board  along with author and retired military chaplain Scott McChrystal and Stephen Rost, pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church.

"What is happening in Springfield, with the school board, I just think it's unacceptable," Bryant said.

Alex Bryant

He said those elected need to "support our values and views" and not be aligned with CRT, DEI or the "transgender ideology."

"You hear reports of like transgender and homosexual stickers and literature posted on pretty much every door at Central High School," Bryant said, apparently referring to "safe space" stickers or signs that some teachers display to denote that all are welcome.

"I imagine being a pastor, I am as well, and I know my Baptist brothers and sisters, that is not the Biblical values, conservative values that we stand on."

On the Wednesday show, Bryant said none of the four pastors have children or grandchildren in the district. But they argued that was not a prerequisite for getting involved.

"These children are being conditioned or disciplined to think and behave a certain way," Rost said. "They're going to be running this city some day so you don't have to have kids in the public school system to be concerned about what is going on."

McChrystal, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army who spent 31 years on active duty, noted his wife and daughter used to teach in the district.

He endorsed Bryant for the Nixa board and said he was moved to get more involved in the Springfield race after the president of the teachers union spoke about discipline issues in a November meeting.

More: Does SPS have the right plan to fix discipline? Board candidates weigh in, seek changes

McChrystal said turnover is needed. He said other districts in the state and U.S. have better results because "they have qualified, courageous leaders  we don't."

"I don't believe anything is going to happen, short of the Rapture, until we change out some leadership," he said. "So I am exhorting anybody that is concerned about discipline or a whole host of other issues, to vote, to vet the people and to just look at what the different candidates are for or are not for."

The Back on Track America PAC and Christians Uniting for Political Change put out a joint voters guide. They asked Springfield school board candidates to respond to five questions.

Rost said conservative Christian churches need to get more involved in the election, even if they are afraid to "ruffle feathers" by speaking out. "The pastors have a moral and Biblical mandate to be involved and engaged in politics and cultural change."

He said pastors must be willing to stand up and proclaim that "there is an absolute truth that dictates morality and behavior."

"To any pastor who is conservative and stands on conservative principles, if you are not encouraging your people to vote for good, conservative candidates, if you're not willing to be bold enough to be engaged in the culture and admonish people to vote correctly and deal with the problems that have been mentioned here in Springfield, then you have basically lost the moral authority to stand up in the pulpit and condemn what is going on in culture," Rost said.

Asked about the Concerned Pastors of the Greater Springfield Area, Morrow said it has grown this year to include nearly 55 who are active on some level.

Morrow and Bryant also talked about the two political action committees, Back on Track America and United Springfield, expected to be most active in the board race.

More: PACs seeking to influence SPS board raise $210K. Their donors are vastly different

Bryant argued it was a battle of "good versus evil" with Back on Track America in the right. "One of these PACs is supporting our conservative candidates and one is not," he said.

The United Springfield PAC was formed in late October and has been supported by a range of civic and business leaders, public school educators, and current and former elected officials.

The co-chairs, Jim Anderson and Terri McQueary, said the new PAC was created in direct response to a dramatic increase in the participation of partisan and "dark money" groups  that opt not to disclose donor names  in local elections.

More: Should Springfield schools paddle kids? Here's what board candidates, teachers union say

The PAC's goal is to support candidates in school board and city council races that are required by state law to be nonpartisan. For the April 2 board race, they endorsed Kincaid, Crise and Provance.

"One of the things that distinguishes us from the other PAC is that they are focused on uniting the community," Morrow said, noting that it sounds like a great idea on the surface.

"What they are doing, in effect, is uniting around the word unity."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Pastors want conservative majority to reshape Springfield school board
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  As thousands of homes, livestock and livelihoods are at risk during the largest wildfire in Texas history, people and businesses across the Concho Valley are loading up supplies and making their way to the Texas Panhandle.

Several posts have been circulating on social media sharing the businesses, schools and individuals working on gathering any supplies and donations available to help those in need in whatever ways they can as fire crews continue to battle the blaze.

SAFD shares on-the-ground glimpse of panhandle fires, sends second crew

One post shared within the Texas Wildfire Updates & Resources Facebook page listed several San Angelo businesses that are providing food, water and livestock supplies including 3-Ds Plumbing, West Texas House Movers, GPC Services, Angelo Pellets, Palmer Feed & Supply Inc., Roger Class, Sams Club, College Hills Veterinary Hospital and River Road Aggregates LLC. This loaded truck and trailer took off Friday morning to make a trip to Canadian.

Other individuals including Drew Workman is also working on filling up a cattle trailer to haul once it is full of supplies. His social media post asks those who would like to help with supplies to email him at drew@workmancattle.com.

Lip Chip LLC. also took to Facebook to help transport and house livestock with their horse trailers and 30 stalls. Both Bolen Racing and Big A Racing are teaming up with Lip Chip LLC to help with transportation and housing. Contact Lip Chip LLC through their Facebook page for more information.

Comparing the Smokehouse Creek Fire to major Texas cities

Out of Ballinger, the Frey Cattle Company is working on helping farmers and ranchers by teaming up with Jacoby Feed & Seed to gather other needed supplies and donations. This group is taking donations through Saturday and is helping coordinate picking up other supplies.

Water Valley FFA set up a wildfire feed contribution with the help of Palmer Feed and Supply. The group was able to fill a trailer with feed, dog food, milk replacements and bottles for calves, leather gloves, feed pans, water hoses and veterinary supplies. Water Valley FFA also teamed up with Hermleigh FFA to gather and transport items like water, Gatorade, facial wipes, chapstick, snacks and more.

Chipsters Grill out of Bangs is also adding to the relief by stocking up on food, water and other needed supplies. The BBQ joint and food trailer is planning on heading out on Monday to provide hamburgers, sausage wraps and other food items. Donations needed include eggs, sausage, tortillas, shredded cheese, first aid supplies, hygiene products, diapers, snacks, pet supplies, blankets, formula, and more. Click here to find the entire list and drop off locations, or donate to $Pokrloin53 on CashApp by Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m.

San Angelo firefighters help fight Panhandle wildfires

Other ways you can donate and help those in need include:

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
Turkey has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan in condemning Israeli forces for shooting desperately hungry Palestinians waiting for the delivery of aid.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded, the Health Ministry in Gaza, which is run by the Hamas militant group, said.

Health officials accused Israeli troops of firing heavily into the crowd, as more than 80 per cent of the wounded brought to one hospital had been struck by gunfire.

Palestinians surround aid trucks in northern Gaza in what officials described the day before as the first major delivery in a month. - AP/AP

They initially reported an Israeli strike on the crowd, but witnesses later said Israeli troops opened fire as people pulled flour and canned goods off of trucks.

According to Israel, many of the dead were trampled in a chaotic crush for food aid, and its troops only fired when they felt endangered by the crowd.

France, Italy, Germany and the United Nations have called for an independent investigation into the attack.

The Secretary-General of the UN, Antonio Guterres has also condemned the incident.

I condemn Thursdays incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid.



The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the @UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week.  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) March 1, 2024

He wrote on X that they were "killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid".

Guterres admitted that civilians in Gaza need "urgent help" and that the UN has been unable to reach the north of the enclave for more than a week.

The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has soared above 30,000 since Israels war on Hamas began nearly five months ago after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a blistering offensive in the Gaza Strip that has created a humanitarian catastrophe and devastation in northern areas like Gaza City, which are largely cut off from the rest of the territory with little aid entering.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Congress narrowly avoided a partial shutdown this weekend, passing a short-term funding bill late Thursday.

This year the good lord gave us an extra day in February. So, lets make sure we finish the job and dont drag this debate into March, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

However, the bill only punts the debate one week, giving lawmakers until next Friday to finalize details of a deal on half of government spending, and another three weeks to reach a deal on the rest.

Kansas Republican Senator Roger Marshall said hes not convinced they can strike a deal by the new deadline.

Here we are already 5 months late and I see no path to gathering in the reigns of an out-of-control budget process, Marshall said.

This is the fourth time Congress has passed a short-term measure to avoid a shutdown. The bill gives lawmakers until March 8 to pass six appropriations bills and until March 22 to pass the rest.

Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn said punting the deadline yet again is only pulling Congress attention away from addressing other issues.

We dont have the ability to work on legislation to address the border crisis, the fentanyl epidemic, public safety concerns or other issues that are top of mind, Cornyn said.

Still, Schumer said he is confident Congress can make it happen and pass a yearlong budget when they return.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
A rendering of NuScale Powers Small Modular Reactor nuclear power plant planned for construction at Idaho National Laboratory. U.S. House lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday in support of nuclear projects by streamlining the approval process and provided financial incentives to development companies to help them overcome the regulatory hurdles.

U.S. House lawmakers passed a bipartisan bill Wednesday in support of nuclear projects by streamlining the approval process and provided financial incentives to development companies to help them overcome the regulatory hurdles.

The Atomic Energy Advancement Act, which received a 356-35 vote, would bolster the development and construction of new neclear reactors.

The overwhelming approval of the bill, which was backed by 166 Democrats, is an indication of how much the needle has shifted toward embracing nuclear power as a means of carbon-free power generation. Its also similar to the Senate legislation approved earlier this year, according to reporting by the Washington Examiner.

Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, said the reforms are badly needed and testified in favor of the bill, which included components of some financial provisions he authored.

The Advanced Nuclear Reactor Prize Act would authorize the secretary of energy to make targeted awards to cover fees assessed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for first technologies that are licensed and made operational in five unique categories. Awards under the bill cannot exceed total amounts expended by the eligible entity excluding other federal support, he said.

Curtis added in a release that, The costs and red tape associated with our permitting process are proving to be duplicative and ineffective. We need innovation in the nuclear space to ensure affordable, reliable and clean energy in our future and Congress must do more to ensure that can happen.

The bill passed under suspension of the bodys rules.

Curtis is uniquely acquainted with the long process it takes to get an advanced nuclear project to fruition. His district includes municipal power producers that were part of the Carbon Free Power Project by NuScale and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems.

That project, which is the only advanced Small Modular Reactor technology to receive a design approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ultimately was canceled last year due to long regulatory delays that helped drive up costs for would be customers.

The municipal power association had worked for well over a decade with NuScale Power to get the small nuclear power plant established at the Idaho National Laboratory east of Idaho Falls.

INL is the premier U.S. Department of Energy laboratory for nuclear research and three presidential administrations had dumped millions into the project for its development, only to encounter prohibitive costs.

Curtis, at the time, expressed his disappointment.

Im saddened to learn of this projects cancellation, he said. Current and future nuclear will play a vital role in Americas energy mix. This can be a learning experience for other SMR projects, and Congress should take this opportunity to ensure the permitting process for energy projects is designed to encourage innovation.

The expansion of nuclear energy in the United States would support the nations uranium industry, including in Utah  which includes mining and the only conventional uranium mill operation in the United States, the White Mesa Mill in San Juan County, Curtis said. Domestically, the United States produces about 5% of the uranium it uses. This is despite production of the concentrate increasing by nearly 10 times in 2023 compared to 2022 because of a spike in prices, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The provision by Curtis was part of a larger bill sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-South Carolina, who is chair of the House Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee.




















































If misused, a Taurus missile could hit a target somewhere in Moscow. In addition, if Germany were to supply the missiles, it would have to be directly involved in the launch.

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This was stated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a commentary to the DPA agency. In this way, he explained the reason for not transferring these munitions with a maximum range of 500 km to Ukraine.

"That is why - and I will say this with all diplomatic abstraction - others also made sure that they knew where everything goes," he added.

The German chancellor emphasized that in the case of supplying Taurus missiles, Germany would have to be directly involved in the launch of them. "I believe that this is impossible," Scholz said.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz categorically rejected the supply of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. He justifies his position by the risk of Germany's involvement in the war.

By the way, the Bundestag also did not support the proposal to expand assistance to Ukraine and provide Taurus missiles. Thus, the German authorities have once again postponed the issue of transferring these air-launched cruise missiles to the Ukrainian army.

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Only verified information on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Mr Schumer hailed the passage of the stop-gap measure on Thursday

The US Congress has passed a bill to temporarily avoid a partial government shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline to approve a budget deal.

The bill will go to the White House for President Joe Biden's approval, after the Senate ratified it on Thursday.

The stop-gap bill extends funding for federal agencies later into March.

Lawmakers in the Senate voted 77-13 to pass the legislation on Thursday, hours after it passed in the House by a 320-99 margin.

Under the legislation, the funding deadline for several departments, including Transportation, Housing, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, will be pushed to 8 March.

Funding for some other federal government agencies will expire 22 March.

Speaking on the Senate floor before the vote, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said lawmakers had "overcome the opposition of the Maga hard right" and provided a way to "not shut the government down and capitulate to extremists".

"Now, let's finish the job of funding the government so we don't have to do this again," he said.

In a statement, Mr Biden also called the passage of the bill "good news for the American people".

"But I want to be clear: this is a short-term fixnot a long-term solution," he added.

Democrats and Republicans have been far apart in the budget negotiations on border security and aid to Ukraine.

Republicans control the House by a slim majority, while Democrats hold the Senate by a single seat.

The Republican House speaker has faced fierce opposition from right-wing lawmakers in his ranks who want spending cuts and insist any further support for Ukraine should be tied to more money for US border security.

There have been 10 US government shutdowns or partial shutdowns over the past four decades.

If a deal had not been reached, around 20% of government departments would have had to temporarily close this weekend. Past shutdowns have also led to furloughs of government workers and the closure of national parks.

A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers were finally able to strike a deal to avoid a shutdown on Wednesday.

The measure, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, includes agreements on six of the 12 annual spending bills. That leaves six other spending measures that lawmakers still have to decide on and pass over the coming weeks to avoid a shutdown.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed the passage of the measure, arguing that it was a smart move to break up the budget into "smaller pieces".

"This was an important thing," he told reporters.
Congress on Thursday passed its fourth consecutive short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. The temporary spending measure extends Defense Department funding at fiscal 2023 levels through March 22.

Five months into the fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, lawmakers have yet to pass a full FY24 budget. The uncertainty has raised concerns in the Pentagon that Congress may put the department on a one-year continuing resolution with a 1% sequester.

Without an FY24 defense budget, the Pentagon remains unable to implement new modernization programs and cannot take new steps to expand the defense-industrial base amid wars in Europe and the Middle East.

The lack of full-year funding has put key government programs in purgatory, wasted taxpayer money on outdated budgets and hindered forward progress that will make the country more secure, push us to the next levels of technological advancement and support American competitiveness in key industries like aerospace, Aerospace Industries Association chief executive Eric Fanning said in a statement.

The House voted 320-99 to pass its fourth temporary spending measure, and the Senate followed suit shortly thereafter in a 77-13 vote. Under the latest stopgap spending bill, funds appropriated for Veterans Affairs and military construction will expire on March 8, two weeks before Defense Department funding runs out.

Congress is expected to vote on the FY24 Veterans Affairs and military construction spending bill next week. But lawmakers have yet to finalize the FY24 Pentagon spending bill.

The right-wing House Freedom Caucus has insisted on several policy riders in the appropriations bill that Democrats have ruled out as poison pills, including bans on the Pentagons abortion travel leave policy and medical care for transgender troops.

Last years debt ceiling deal caps FY24 defense spending at $886 billion. If Congress does not pass a full FY24 federal budget by April 30, the debt ceiling agreement puts government funding on a one-year continuing resolution that would cut spending at the Pentagon and all other federal agencies by 1%.

Pentagon sounds the alarm

The undersecretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force told reporters Wednesday a one-year stopgap funding measure at FY23 levels would result in billions of dollars in misaligned funds at the Defense Department.

To cope with a one-year stopgap measure, they said the Defense Department would first have to prioritize current operations in places like Europe and the Middle East, followed by personnel, then acquisition and modernization.

Navy Under Secretary Erik Raven noted this would result in the military submitting unprecedented reprogramming requests to Congress. The Navy, for instance, would need Congress to approve a $13 billion reprogramming request to address $26 billion in misaligned funds.

It would also result in a $2 billion shortfall for the Virginia-class attack submarine program and another $800 million shortfall for amphibious ship spending. Congress has provided a $2.2 billion carveout for the Navy to continue work on the Columbia-class ballistic submarine program, most at risk of falling behind schedule.

Other services would not be able to begin new initiatives either, including a highly prioritized munitions ramp-up following the influx of arms the U.S. has sent to Ukraine and Israel with more due for Taiwan.

These are production rate increases, new starts  both in programs for acquisition as well as military construction projects  that we cannot start, said Army Under Secretary Gabe Camarillo.

Congress has still not funded the multiyear munitions procurement plans it authorized for FY23 and FY24, and Camarillo noted those funds are needed to give industry the incentive to be able to facilitize, invest in a workforce and be able to do those extra shifts that we know that we need in order to restore our munitions.

The $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan also includes considerable funding to ramp up the munitions-industrial base. But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has so far refused to put it on the floor for a vote after the Senate passed it 70-29 earlier this month.

For its part, the Air Force warned earlier this month a 1% sequester would reduce its buying power by $13 billion and put $2.8 billion in space modernization projects on hold.
There are forces working to take away the very tools of economic opportunity and freedoms that we have fought so hard to advance, said CBC Chairman, U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford.

The Congressional Black Caucus unveiled its Day One priorities for the next session of Congress in 2025 at a press conference this week, discussing top issues impacting Black communities, including protecting voting rights, diversity, equity and inclusion, and reproductive freedoms.

TheGrios D.C. Bureau Chief and senior White House correspondent, April D. Ryan, on Wednesday moderated the CBC Black Media Salon with CBC Chairman U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, and Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md.

The event was held at the Washington, D.C., office of the progressive advocacy group People For the American Way. Black reporters from various outlets attended to hear from CBC leaders about whats next for their policy agenda.

The issues of Black America are very important, Ryan, the longest-serving Black female White House reporter in U.S. history, told theGrio. Were watching our laws be eroded. Were watching a time now called the post-affirmative action era.

Ryan added, It was important for people, including me, to hear what they had to say.

During the panel, CBC members discussed how they plan to advocate for reproductive rights, combat efforts to defund Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), lower the cost of housing, protect voting rights, reform the U.S. Supreme Court, and ensure diversity, inclusion, and equity are upheld in the workplace.

There are forces working to take away the very tools of economic opportunity and freedoms that we have fought so hard to advance, said CBC Chairman Horsford. We are going to hold everyone accountable. We dont have permanent friends or permanent enemies. We have permanent interests.

Earlier this month, House Democrats held their annual retreat. They told reporters that their motto for 2024 is Finish the Job, as they attempt to win back the House majority in the upcoming 2024 general elections.

Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford (above) confirmed with theGrio that he met with Republican Sen. Tim Scott on Monday to discuss police reform and plans to reach out to other Republican colleagues. (Photo: Rod Lamkey-Pool/Getty Images)

In a previous interview, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, told theGrio that if voters want to see progress on important issues such as climate change or [getting] some of our rights back when it relates to reproductive access, they must vote for Democrats.

Congresswoman Beatty told theGrio that to win Democratic support, the CBC must change how it communicates with voters.

We have to do more of explaining legislation and ensuring that CBC-led efforts are translated into simple language versus congressional language, she said.

The Ohio lawmaker shared a message for Democratic voters who plan to cast a vote for Trump in the upcoming election.

This is the man who told you to drink bleach. This is the man who threw paper towels to people in Puerto Rico. This is the man who said he could go on Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and there is nothing you can do about it, said Beatty. Thats the alternative [to President Biden].

Horsford told theGrio that he believes Black voters have a right to have an opinion and a perspective, explaining, We are not a monolith. However, the CBC chair believes those who vowed to vote for Trump may be disenchanted or misinformed. He acknowledged, Thats on us.

Horsford continued: Were to blame for them not knowing that we lifted 50% of children out of poverty, doubled the number of loans to Black-owned businesses in the last three years from the SBA (Small Business Administration), we are seeing record low unemployment, and the CBC created legislation that gave way to the largest investment in HBCUs.

There is no one in the U.S. House of Representatives who has done more to advance the interest of Black America than the CBC and our members, he added.

Ivey told theGrio that to defeat Republicans this November, congressional members and President Biden must meet voters where they are.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Montgomery County Community College January 5, 2024 in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In his first campaign event of the 2024 election season, Biden stated that democracy and fundamental freedoms are under threat if former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

We have to make sure that we have a presence on all platforms to make information available to voters, he said.

Congressman Ivey noted that many CBC accomplishments havent been highlighted on social media platforms like TikTok. Therefore, many voters are unaware of the progress that Democrats have made. The Maryland lawmaker said sharing accurate information about the partys success will also help prevent the spread of misinformation ahead of the 2024 elections.

During the chat, CBC members also discussed a legislative plan that would be enacted if House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., were to become House speaker.

In the coming months, the CBC will engage in a coordinated legislative effort  to create new legislation that Im calling the Day One agenda for when Hakeem Jeffries becomes speaker, said Horsford.

The agenda would address things like racial equity, closing the racial wealth gap, housing affordability, artificial intelligence and its impact on the Black community, and tax equity and fairness.

We want to create a day one agenda for the next Congress  focused on Black economic creation, he said.

Toward the end of the discussion, Horsford and Beatty gave reporters an inside look at what the CBC hopes President Biden will address at the State of the Union on March 7.

Beatty told Ryan that due to reproductive rights being a controversial topic following the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, she believes Biden will highlight the crisis that women across the nation are currently facing.

I think he clearly understands the power of the number of women who vote, she said.

Horsford said he hopes the president will use the moment of the State of the Union and the anniversary of Bloody Sunday to lift up and tie together the fight for voting rights and the fight for economic justice.

He added that the president must cast a vision for how we are to move forward, and that vision has to be passed by Congress.

When our very existence as Black people and the opportunities we have to achieve economic freedom is under attack, we expect Democrats [like Biden] to speak up, said Horsford.

Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter.

The post Congressional Black Caucus unveils Day One agenda in anticipation of Jeffries becoming House speaker appeared first on TheGrio.
NEW YORK (PIX11)  There is a new concern about guns that are supposed to be destroyed as part of gun buyback programs effectively ending up back on the streets.

New York City has a robust gun buyback program- perhaps the biggest in the country.

So, Congressman Dan Goldman of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn is seeking to confirm New York City guns are being properly destroyed.

Man who allegedly shot innocent girl, 5, in the Bronx arrested: officials

The cause for concern comes because of a growing industry where companies, including a popular one known as Gunbusters offer to destroy buyback guns for free. But they are not exactly destroying everything.

What they do is they just remove the one part that is serialized and make it actually a weapon and then theyll re-package all the other parts and sell them online, Goldman said.

PIX11 News easily found the listings online for parts packages. Parts are not well regulated in the US, and these companies say it is how they make money, though some clients do pay extra to destroy everything.

People have compared our services to an automobile scrapyard, where they are able to obtain parts needed for repairs, Scott Reed, of Gunbusters told PIX11 News partner KTVI in St. Louis.

In practical terms, Goldman said the part kits become the basis for untraceable ghost guns putting untraceable weapons back on the street.

These buyback programs are designed to get guns off the street and if its not doing nothing, it is a waste of money and pointless, Goldman said.

Goldman is writing a letter to the Mayors Office to make sure New York City is melting down the entire weapon.

A City Hall spokesperson confirms officers personally oversees the complete destruction of firearms by a private contractor.

Mayor Adams takes the deadly menace of ghost guns very seriously and we are grateful to Representative Goldman for raising these important concerns, she said. Rest assured, that anytime the NYPD destroys firearms in their possession they are melted and shredded in the presence of multiple officers.

PIX11 News also checked with state law enforcement sources. The New York State Police, who work with many smaller communities, also destroy the weapon.

Goldman said New York authorities may very well could be the case, he just wants details.

He is also writing to the ATF asking it to change its gun buyback guidance to require complete destruction to prevent more untraceable guns from flowing to the Tri-State.

If we are going to do everything we can to keep guns off the streets, make our communities safe, make our kids safe, then we have to make sure the few programs designed to that do that work, Goldman said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
The Special Prosecutor's Office in Ternopil is investigating the death of a 49-year-old man who died at a military enlistment center in Ternopil Oblast following a many-day stay at the center. The man was reportedly found to be epileptic, with bruises all over his body.

According to reports, the individual arrived at the recruitment center on Feb. 25 to verify military registration documents and undergo a medical examination. Due to intoxication from alcohol, he did not pass the medical exam.

Two days later, on Feb. 27, while still at the center, the conscript's health worsened. He began to have convulsions, fell to the ground, and ultimately hit his head. The official cause of death was listed as craniocerebral injury. The man was reported to be epileptic and his body was found covered in bruises.

The Special Prosecutor's Office of Ternopil is investigating the conduct of the center's employees for potentially exceeding their official powers.

Late last year, a commander of the security department at the Ternopil military enlistment office was charged with torture, and another staff member of the same department had been charged with illegal imprisonment.

Enlistment offices across the country came under the attention of the authorities after journalists discovered in June 2023 that the family of the ex-head of the Odesa Oblast military enlistment office had acquired property worth $4.5 million since the start of the full-scale invasion.

This led to a nationwide inspection that uncovered already 260 cases of suspected violations by enlistment offices and military medical commissions.

The investigation into the conscript's death is still ongoing.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FIRST ON FOX: A group of conservative policy organizations are urging House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to not reauthorize the controversial surveillance program Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and are pushing the Republican leader to oppose including reforms in any upcoming must-pass legislative vehicles such as a continuing resolution or omnibus package.

In a letter to Johnson sent Thursday, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), FreedomWorks, Taxpayers Protection Alliance and Conservative Partnership Institute said "it is critical that Congress does not attempt to force a reauthorization of this authority into a must-pass legislative vehicle, and once and for all finally have a standalone vote on this topic."

"A standalone vote on Section 702 ensures focused scrutiny and accountability, safeguarding Americans privacy and maintaining the countrys national security. Shoving it into a must-pass continuing resolution avoids a transparent and open process on how to reform a deeply flawed program," AFPs senior policy analyst James Czerniawski told Fox News Digital.

Earlier this month, the House Rules Committee was set to vote on the measure to renew Section 702 of FISA, which would have advanced it to the House floor for a possible vote later in the week, but Johnson pushed that vote.

HOUSE INTEL CHAIR TURNER WARNS OF 'SERIOUS NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT,' URGES BIDEN TO DECLASSIFY

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

In the letter, the groups slammed the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) for allegedly negotiating in "bad faith" after it and the House Judiciary Committee "agreed to a floor process the week of Feb. 12th to consider a base reauthorization bill, but with the opportunity for both committees to offer amendments, the contours of which were understood by both parties."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The letter also claims that on the eve of the Rules Committee hearing, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, "inexplicably released a cryptic Dear Colleague claiming a serious and urgent threat to national security requiring review by Members of the House in a classified setting."

That warning, reportedly, was the intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities in space which could threaten satellites, including potentially knocking out U.S. military communications and reconnaissance.

On Feb. 13, HPSCI voted 23-1 to make information about a destabilizing foreign military capability available to Members of Congress.

Turner and Ranking Member Jim Himes, D-Conn., issued a bipartisan notification  what's known as "a Dear Colleague letter"  urging their colleagues to review this classified information in the secured room on Feb. 13. The language of the Dear Colleague letter was cleared by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

On Feb. 14, reports of the Dear Colleague letter surfaced, which prompted Turner to issue a statement around 11:30 a.m. about a "serious national security threat."

In an interview with "Meet the Press," Turner emphasized that he believed that the Biden administration was sleepwalking its way into an international crisis.

FIGHT OVER GREENLIGHTING CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM UNITES PROGRESSIVES, CONSERVATIVES IN CONGRESS

The letter criticized Turner's disclosure, adding that "both the White House and Senate Intelligence Committee have made statements suggesting serious concerns regarding the risk of disclosure of sources and methods because of Chairman Turners Dear Colleague and subsequent press release."

The groups asserted that "the reauthorization of Section 702 has been top of mind for Members of Congress for over a year now and HPSCIs sole focus and engagement on this issue during this time is evident. It is highly suspect that as the House was on the verge of considering a vehicle for reauthorization, rather than helping to facilitate a carefully negotiated floor process for considering a powerful surveillance tool, HPSCI instead spent its efforts on a non-urgent matter and in the process may ultimately have jeopardized national security."

But a spokesperson for HPSCI told Fox News Digital that Turner "does not play politics with national security."

Section 702 of FISA has been both credited with preventing terror attacks on U.S. soil and accused of being a vehicle for spying on U.S. citizens.

REP. MIKE TURNER SAYS BIDEN ADMIN WAS SLEEPWALKING ON RUSSIAN NUCLEAR THREAT BEFORE HIS SURPRISE DISCLOSURE

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., is flanked by House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, left, and House Intelligence Ranking Member Jim Himes, D-Conn., at a briefing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 15.

It lets the government keep tabs on specific foreign nationals outside the country without first obtaining a warrant to do so, even if the party on the other side of those communications is an American on U.S. soil.

Turner has also advocated for FISA reforms and put forth his own reforms.

But the groups told Johnson in its letter Thursday that while the genesis of HPSCI was originally intended to rein in and provide oversight of an unaccountable Intelligence Community found to be violating Americans rights, they claim it has "unfortunately morphed into merely a rubber stamp" of Intelligence Community activities, "unwilling to even have a debate on how to hold the Intelligence Community accountable for their rampant and repeated abuses of the Section 702 authority."

" It is critical that Congress does not attempt to force a reauthorization of this authority into a must-pass legislative vehicle, and once and for all finally have a standalone vote on this topic. We stand ready to work with Congress to advance a solution that accomplishes the security and Americans' civil liberties," they said.





Original article source: Conservative groups are pushing Speaker Johnson to reform controversial spy program FISA
Last week justices on the Kansas Supreme Court signaled that they find fault with the 2021 state law that makes it more difficult for groups to hold voter registration drives.

The controversial law criminalizes false representation of an election official.

In theory, this seems like it would be a good thing as it would prevent voters from being misled. However, in reality, the law was written so poorly that any group or individual registering voters without a giant sign stating Not An Election Official could be punished under the law.

The justices line of questioning seem to indicate that they believe the false representation law might violate protected speech  which, if accurate, would be in agreement with the arguments brought forth by the laws challengers, civic engagement groups focused on voter participation like the League of Women Voters and Loud Light.

As arguments are heard by the Kansas Supreme Court, the Legislature is simultaneously pushing through changes that would amend the law to make it more narrow, only criminalizing voter registration drives if groups or individuals engaged in conduct with the intent to cause a person to believe they are an election official. In short, if they were deliberately engaging in disinformation.

This situation highlights the continuing power struggle between the Legislature and the judiciary.

Voting rights is only one example. Another is access to abortion services.

For example, this session alone, the Legislature has introduced nine bills that would restrict abortion access, despite the courts 2019 decision in Hodes & Nauser v. Schmidt that constitutionally protects access and citizens vote to uphold that decision in August 2022.

Branches competing for political power is a feature of our system of separation of powers, not a bug.

James Madison, the brain behind separation of powers, believed that creating competing power centers within the political system would force compromise to happen. Madison meant just this when he famously said ambition must be made to counteract ambition.

Historically, compromise was more common in the political system than it is today. In our current era of hyperpartisan polarization, we more often see instances of constitutional hardball.

Constitutional hardball is often defined as actions by political parties to pass laws that violate norms in ways that undermine democracy. Another result of constitutional hardball is declining satisfaction with government institutions and overall lack of trust in government.

The 2023 Kansas Speaks public opinion survey, conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University, gauged satisfaction with the performance of the states Legislature and Supreme Court in October 2023.

 23% of Kansans answered that they were very or somewhat satisfied with the overall performance of the Kansas Legislature, an 8-point drop from 2022.

 22% of Kansans answered the same about the Kansas Supreme Court, a 10-point decline from the previous year.

The survey also asks about approval ratings for Gov. Laura Kelly (38%), the U.S. Congress (10%), U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (24%) and Roger Marshall (21%), and President Joe Biden (22%), all of whom saw a decline from 2022.

In an era marked by low approval ratings, continuous political power struggles risk further alienation of citizens. A healthy democratic government requires active and engaged Kansans, but the social science literature on civic engagement says that citizens are less likely to participate when trust in government is low.

As branches of government vie for power, democratic responsiveness wanes and Kansans suffer the consequences.

Alexandra Middlewood, PhD, is the department chair of political science at Wichita State University.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Today's politics across Kansas would appall James Madison
Douglas Donley, foreground, leaves the federal courthouse in downtown South Bend on Nov. 1, 2023, after being found guilty for his role in a conspiracy to steal money from the housing authority. Donley ran D. Fresh Contractors, which fraudulently accepted payments for repairs, a jury found.

SOUTH BEND  A judge on Thursday sentenced a contractor found guilty for his role in a Housing Authority of South Bend scheme to steal federal money, while the agency's ex-director and a former employee remain to be sentenced.

Douglas Donley, a 42-year-old South Bend resident, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, two years of supervised release and an order to pay $303,920, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Indiana. The decision comes after Donley was found to have accepted 29 fraudulent checks from the housing authority exceeding $300,000 from October 2017 to March 2019, on the pretense that he was doing actual work.

New director: New housing authority director's challenge is confronting a 37% vacancy rate caused by years of neglect

After an eight-day federal trial, a jury in November convicted Donley alongside HASB's ex-director, Tonya Robinson, and its former asset director, Albert Smith.

The two former housing authority employees were also supposed to be sentenced Thursday. Smith's sentencing was rescheduled to April 25, a court representative said. Attorneys for Robinson objected to prosecutors' pre-sentencing report, and the court will first rule on those objections before setting a new date.

From 2015 to 2019, the two HASB leaders were found guilty of a conspiracy to defraud the public housing provider, which is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Tonya Robinson, the former executive director of the South Bend Housing Authority, at a 2018 board meeting. Tribune File Photo

Prosecutors claim HASB issued checks to four outside contractors for maintenance work that never actually occurred. Contractors like Donley would then deposit the checks, withdraw a portion of each amount in cash and hand-deliver the money to HASB's main office at 501 Alonzo Watson Drive, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Over the course of the scheme, contractors received more than $5.8 million, prosecutors claim. While some of it went toward legitimate repairs, most of the payments were fraudulent and led to no improvements at housing authority properties.

Other contractors who already pleaded guilty to fraud in exchange for more lenient sentences are Tyreisha Robinson, Tonya Robinson's daughter; Archie Robinson III (no relation); and Ronald Taylor Jr. All are from South Bend.

Taylor was sentenced to more than three years in prison for his role in the scheme, according to WNDU, The Tribune's reporting partner. Archie Robinson III was ordered to spend six months in prison, six months on home detention and two years on supervised release. Tyreisha Robinson will pay more than $360,000 but serve no time in prison.

South Bend's housing authority manages about 600 active public housing units, an amount that's fallen from more than 800 in recent years. The drop is largely due to the recent demolition of the Monroe Circle townhomes and plans to tear down the Rabbi Shulman complex, both of which faced years of neglect that left many units in bad shape.

The housing authority's new director, Marsha Parham-Green, started this January. She told The Tribune that an immediate priority is to reduce the alarmingly high number of units sitting empty at the remaining properties.

More than a third of units owned by the agency sit vacant because they're in such poor condition. Meanwhile, South Bend's poorest households face the city's worst housing shortage.

Parham-Green told The Tribune this week that she meets daily with the agency's public housing team about how to move families from the public housing waitlist, which exceeded 900 households as of January, and into units.

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend housing authority employee sentenced in fraud case
Screenshot of Never Back Down ad

Quality Journalism for Critical Times

Legislation seeking to control the use of artificial intelligence to slander opponents in political campaigns is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis following its final passage in the Florida Senate on Friday.

The bill (HB 919) requires disclosure within any campaign material if a candidate or political committee uses AI with intent to injure a candidate or to deceive regarding a ballot issue, and sets minimum requirements for the size of these disclosures.

State Sen Nick DiCeglie of Pinellas County. Credit: Florida Senate.

You dont have to go too far to see, you know, the technology of artificial intelligence and what that can do, especially how that can impact our elections. How that can depict somebody doing something, saying something, being somewhere where in reality theyre not, said bill sponsor Nick DiCeglie, a Republican from Pinellas County.

Our constituents, the state of Florida, they need to know when artificial intelligence is being used in a political advertisement to injure somebody, DeCiglie said.

The Senate passed the measure unanimously. The state House passed the bill on Wednesday.

The measure defines generative artificial intelligence as a machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, emulate the structure and characteristics of input data in order to generate derived synthetic content including images, videos, audio, text, and other digital content.

It prescribes that if the generated content appears to depict a real person performing an action that did not actually occur, and if the generated content was created with intent to injure a candidate or to deceive regarding a ballot issue, the political advertisement, electioneering communication, or other miscellaneous advertisement must prominently state the following disclaimer: Created in whole or in part with the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Enforcement

The bill provides for enforcement through the Florida Election Commission or criminal charges that could bring up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Jason Pizzo. Credit: Florida Senate

Democrat Jason Pizzo, representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, complained that law enforcement is typical loth to charge election crimes during campaigns for fear of influencing the outcomes.

The wrongdoers, the bad actors, bank on the idea and rely upon the idea that nothing will ever get done within the election cycle. I think that culture needs to change, Pizzo said.

If youre sending out mailers with me saying Im in the mafia because Im Italian and have a couple of bucks, I think I should be able to stop it immediately. If youre posting where my kids go to school and my home address, I think I should be able to stop it immediately. If youre making stuff up about people, I think you should be able to stop it immediately, he said.

If wrongdoing is being done, then you get to suffer the consequences while its being done so the electorate knows who its dealing with.

As the Phoenix reported in December, Never Back Down, the federal super PAC backing Ron DeSantis presidential campaign, used former President Donald Trumps own words against him last summer in an ad accusing Trump of attacking Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The ad never mentioned that it used artificial intelligence.

In April, the Republican National Committee did include a disclaimer in an AI-generated video targeting President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

The post Controls over artificial intelligence in political ads is heading to governors desk appeared first on Florida Phoenix.
The Mayor of London is suing three people for damages over posts made about him on Facebook, claiming they caused injury to his reputation, mental anguish, (and) humiliation.

London Mayor Randall Weddle filed suit mid-February in Laurel Circuit Court against two different individuals in Laurel County for defamatory statements made on the social media website.

Another lawsuit filed by Chris Asher, a gas station proprietor who used the same attorney as Weddle, also honed in on statements made on Facebook related to Weddle.

Weddle, a logistics entrepreneur, has been a massive donor to Democratic causes in recent years. The mayor stirred controversy when it was discovered he contributed more than $200,000 in other peoples names to Gov. Andy Beshears successful 2023 reelection bid and the Kentucky Democratic Party. Afterward, he legally gave a group supporting Beshears gubernatorial run $550,000.

In one lawsuit against resident Sherri Rudder-Smith, Weddles attorney Jeremy Bryant wrote his client is seeking damages because Rudder-Smith insinuated Weddle was abusing his power as mayor.

Such comments have included, but not been limited to, Mayor Weddle utilizing his authority to conspire against London citizens discriminatingly, using city agents to chalk the tires of patrons frequenting downtown restaurants for the purpose of pulling over drivers under the influence of alcohol at sporting and social events, Bryant wrote.

Bryant called this statement malicious and libelous, and that Rudder-Smiths popularity on Facebook increased the harm to Weddle.

The Defendant has a Facebook profile that reaches an audience extending far beyond the scope of the local community, Bryant wrote. This has not only impacted Plaintiffs reputation as a citizen, business owner, and elected official in Laurel County, Kentucky, but also his reputation in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a whole.

Rudder-Smiths attorney, Stefan Bing, said in a statement provided to the Herald-Leader that Rudder-Smith emphatically denies that she has made any defamatory statements about Weddle.

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It is profoundly disappointing that Mayor Weddle, a high profile public figure, has decided to use our taxpayer-funded court system to target a private citizen for exercising her protected First Amendment rights, Bing said in the statement.

Bryant, Weddle and Ashers attorney, has yet to respond to a request for comment on the cases.

Josh Douglas, a professor at the University of Kentucky College of Law, said the standard for defamation cases like these is whether the defendant knows it is false or has reckless disregard for its truth or falsity. That standard is called actual malice, and it can change when the subject is a public official like Weddle, he said.

Courts generally hold that the actual malice standard is a relatively high bar, especially when the statement is about a public official and the matter is of public concern, Douglas said.

Weddle directed a similar lawsuit at Shane and Rachel Bowling. He said the couple posted that he is using to the mayors office to line his pockets, directing government employees to fill up their vehicles at a certain gas station where Weddle is a silent partner. Bryant said they expressly spread false information in doing so.

Robert Thompson, an attorney for the Bowlings, told the Herald-Leader they will aggressively respond to Weddle in future court filings.

The lawsuits are a blatant attack on the constitutional protections afforded to every citizen. The Bowlings will not be silenced or coerced into relinquishing their right to express critical opinions on matters of political concern, Thompson said in a statement.

Ruby Market owner sues couple

The third lawsuit, from Asher, names Shane and Rachel Bowling as well as an individual named Jimmy Phelps. The suit targets posts made by the Bowlings shared Facebook account and Facebook comments made by Jimmy Phelps.

Asher owns Ruby Market in London, a gas station that was the site of a free gas giveaway that Weddle hosted three months before his election as mayor  an attorney for Weddle has called the giveaway a neutral philanthropic event that was completely divorced from Weddles political ambitions.

According to the London Sentinel-Echo, the Facebook account run by the Bowlings alleged Weddle directed city vehicles to fill up at Ruby Market.

Weddle has publicly denied the claim at a city council meeting, the newspaper reported. He did claim, however, that he contacted businesses about getting a discount for fuel and that Ruby Market was the only establishment to respond. He said the city had saved around $6,000 in one month due to that discount.

Weddles gas giveaway at Ruby Market is the subject of a complaint to the Kentucky Registry for Election Finance.

In the lead-up to Beshears reelection, Republican officials raised alarm when a road project that would benefit Weddles logistics business was moved up to be constructed ahead of schedule. Beshear administration officials said the move was above board and that it saved time and money on a necessary project.
Ukraine is actively acting as a leader in the field of drone technology, and domestic production is crucial. However, to increase drone production and win the war, our country needs financial support from Western partners.

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This statement was made by Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin. He said this in an interview with the Independent.

According to the minister, the introduction of innovative technologies in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles and the growth of Ukrainian defense production are key to winning the war. He called on Western allies to provide maximum support to Kyiv, especially as the Ukrainian Armed Forces struggle to hold the front line at the beginning of the third year of the Russian invasion.

Kamyshin warned that as a fierce artillery war unfolds, Ukraine needs a quantity of ammunition that "no country can supply," not even the United States. And so, as the large-scale war enters its third year, the government is developing more cost-effective means of holding the front while maximizing domestic production. In 2023, Ukraine's domestic defense production tripled, and this year it is planned to increase sixfold.

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In particular, Ukraine is positioning itself as a global pioneer in unmanned technology, as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have suddenly become a cornerstone on Ukraine's battlefields. Drones are so important that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the creation of a separate unit of the Armed Forces called the Unmanned Systems Forces to deal with UAVs and their technologies.

"This year we can produce more than a million FPV drones, as well as thousands of drones capable of flying over 1000 km and reaching oil refineries in Russia. This is a game-changer. Our defense technologies are really cool, and together with the newly formed unmanned systems forces, they will produce results," the minister said.

Ukraine currently produces FPV, long-range, and maritime drones, each of which has shown amazing results in regaining control of the Black Sea and destroying Russian ships and other equipment.

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Kyiv claims that its drones have damaged or destroyed more than $5.5 billion worth of Russian equipment, including more than 1,000 tanks, 1,600 armored vehicles, and nearly 900 artillery pieces. This year, Ukraine will launch production of ground drones that will move on the ground and become the "first drones" on the battlefield.

Kamyshin says Ukraine has one of the fastest capabilities to develop all of these new technologies because it is actively testing prototypes in real time on the battlefield: information that can be shared with partners.

The use of drones has the potential to change the course of war, especially since the cost of the most common artillery shell, the 155-mm. has now quadrupled from about $2,000 to more than $8,000. Drones, according to Kamyshin, are much cheaper: one Ukrainian-made FPV drone costs only $1,650. But the problem for Ukraine now is financing domestic development and production.

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The Minister emphasized that the best help is funding.

"It is in the interest of our partners, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to finance our industry and allow us to produce more to win the war," he said.

In addition, according to him, Ukraine's priority is first ammunition, then drones, then air defense.

"We are trying to cover all this with funding. The rest is suffering. But the US and other partners can cover this: we are asking the UK and the US for funding," the minister added.

As a reminder, Kyiv aims to produce one million drones in 2024, which is more than 80,000 drones per month. Analysts believe that these relatively inexpensive devices should compensate for the lack of expensive missiles and artillery shells in the Defense Forces.

At the same time, military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko expressed his belief that drones are the future of warfare, but they will not be able to completely replace artillery.

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As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine recently supported a resolution that allows the purchase of drones for the Armed Forces through the Prozorro system. This applies to foreign-made UAVs, such as Mavic, Matrice, and Autel.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
MADISON  Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr will leave his post March 8, Gov. Tony Evers announced Friday.

"Kevin has spent over 40 years working as a public servant, devoting much of his life to keeping our state and our communities safe, and I was incredibly grateful when he decided to join our administration five years ago," Evers said in a statement, adding that it was "immediately clear to me Kevin would not only bring a wealth of experience in law enforcement to keeping people safe but that he would do so with an important appreciation for the power of redemption and rehabilitation."

Carr was among the first secretaries named to Evers' cabinet, serving since December 2018. Prior to joining the Evers administration, he was a U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He also spent 30 years with the Milwaukee County Sheriffs Office, rising to the rank of inspector under former Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.

A replacement will be named in the coming weeks, Evers said.

Carr took over the agency at a time of upheaval, as it was under federal investigation following years of allegations of inmate abuse, official misconduct and neglect.

At the time of his appointment, Carr said Wisconsin could produce better results while reducing prison costs.

The past five years have been quite memorable, and I could not be prouder to have worked with some of the finest public servants in the country who are doing amazing work every day under very difficult conditions, Carr said in a statement.

Carr garnered bipartisan praise, including from Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, who leads the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.

Being Secretary of the Department of Corrections can be a thankless and burdensome job. Navigating the conflicting interests between the governors office, state and federal courts, convicted felons, guards, victim and inmate advocates, wardens and, yes, the Legislature, can be overwhelming. Although I clearly did not agree with every decision he made while navigating those headwinds, I think Kevin did nearly as well as anyone could with the challenge," Wanggaard said.

While we have sometimes had to have blunt conversations about the Department, I truly believe Kevin had Wisconsins best interests in heart as he served as Secretary. I wish him the best in his well-earned retirement, Wanggaard said.

Evers praised Carr for accomplishments as DOC Secretary including increasing educational opportunities for inmates, expanding eligibility for the Earned Release Program and expanding Medication Assisted Treatment for those in custody or on supervision.

By April, the vacancy rate for correctional officers and sergeants at adult institutions is expected to be lower than it was when Carr was appointed, according to the governor's office. That follows the creation of a dedicated recruitment team and the approval of a new compensation plan, following ongoing issues with understaffing. The current vacancy rate is 21.3%, according to Evers' office.

Carrs resignation comes at a contentious moment for the department, however.

Over the past year, several institutions such as the Green Bay Correctional Institution and Waupun Correctional Institution have been under unending lockdowns, limiting the movements of those incarcerated, depriving them of recreational time and requiring them to take meals inside their cells.

At Green Bay, there have been chronic issues with rodents, which some incarcerated individuals say force their way under the doors of those housed at the facility at night.

At Waupun, there have been three in-custody deaths.

In June, Dean Hoffmann, 60, died by suicide while in solitary confinement. When family questioned his death, and asked if his mental health concerns had been cared for adequately. The family last month filed a lawsuit against the department, alleging his civil rights were violated in the months leading up to his death.

In October, the Journal Sentinel reported a second and third death at the prison. The cause and manner of their deaths are still under investigation.

Carr remained largely quiet on the issues, refusing for months to speak to the press directly, despite a past history of openness.

Last month, Evers floated the idea of an independent investigation into the deaths, after the department completes its internal investigations.

Jessie Opoien and Laura Schulte can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com and leschulte@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Corrections Secretary Carr stepping down from Evers administration
FRANKFORT  A House committee this week approved a bill that would eliminate Kentucky workers rights to lunch and rest breaks, despite confusion among lawmakers over what the bill would do and concerns from labor cabinet officials.

Kentucky law currently requires employers to give workers an unpaid lunch break in the middle of their shift. It also requires paid 10-minute rest breaks for every four hours worked, as well as time-and-a-half overtime pay on the seventh day of work in a row.

If enacted, House Bill 500, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pratt, R-Georgetown, would repeal those requirements.

Rep. Phillip Pratt (R) represents Kentucky's 62nd district, Georgetown.

The bill has drawn the opposition of organized labor groups and others, including an employment law attorney.

Federal law does not require employers to offer lunch or rest breaks, and Pratt said the purpose of his bill is to modernize Kentucky labor law to match the federal law.

Pratt said the difference between the state and federal labor law creates confusion for Kentucky employers.

Pratt said employers can still provide lunch breaks and rest periods if they choose to, and his business  a landscaping company  will continue to offer those breaks. Pratt is also the sponsor of a bill that would weaken the state's child labor laws.

The elimination of rest and meal breaks is particularly concerning to Michele Henry, a Louisville employment law attorney at Craig Henry PLC, who called the measure simply unfair to employees who are spending eight or more hours a day at the workplace.

"They should be entitled to time off to eat and to engage in other activities," Henry said. "Eliminating breaks increases the chance of injuries and burnout."

Duane Hammons, director of wage and hours for the state department of workplace standards at the Education and Labor Cabinet, brought up similar criticisms.

Paid breaks and mealtimes are essential workplace standards that contribute to the mental and physical well-being of each and every employee we have in this commonwealth, Hammons said.

He pointed out that Kentuckys labor law has mandated breaks and seventh-day overtime for decades.

The bill could also open the door for employers to not pay workers for travel for long commutes to and from distant worksites and even travel between sites during the workday.

"Employers would have no liability for not paying employees who must travel to several locations for work, such as HVAC, repair work plumbers, electricians, landscapers, construction workers," Hammons said.

Organized labor groups and the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank based in Berea, also oppose the bill.

Why the sudden urgency to repeal laws that are in place to protect Kentucky's workers? asked Jerald Adkins, during the House committee hearing. Adkins represents the Kentucky AFL-CIO and the Kentucky State Building Construction Trades Council.

Reducing back pay and increasing lawsuits?

Henry, the employment law attorney, said the bill, if passed, would negatively impact people who have been underpaid, as well as the legal system as a whole.

The bill would change the statute of limitations for bringing employment lawsuits from five to three years. That means employers who underpay their employees would have to pay back lost wages for only three years instead of five, Henry said.

That could drive up the number of lawsuits filed by employees who think theyve been shorted, Henry said.

Attorneys will file lawsuits more quickly instead of first trying to negotiate a resolution with the employer, she predicted.

Unintended consequences

The House Small Business and Information Technology Committee, which Pratt chairs, approved the measure on a party-line vote. But even some GOP members who voted 'yes' for the bill expressed doubts about it.

For example, Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, voted 'yes' but said, There are questions that have occurred to me  (I) definitely want to learn more about what were voting on.

Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, broke with her party and passed on voting. Witten said she is concerned about the bills unintended consequences.

The bill passed on a 9-4 vote and will now move to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.

Reach Rebecca Grapevine at rgrapevine@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @RebGrapevine.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: HB 500 to eliminate workers' rights to rest and lunch breaks advances.
BROCKTON  Kianara Ruiz's patient needed a wound dressed. She had to search floor after floor of Good Samaritan Medical Center amid supply shortages.

"I could not even take care of a wound dressing because it was not in our supplies in the closet," the certified nursing assistant said Friday. "It's embarrassing that I have to go throughout four floors just to find the supplies that I need."

For the second time in as many weeks, Brockton's only remaining trauma hospital received a tour by a high-level delegation. Last week it was U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-8th.) On Friday, March 1, it was U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D) who paid a visit.

Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan, left, has a quick word with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey on Friday, March 1, 2024, just prior to Markey's making a statement about his tour through Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton as the hospital's owner, Steward Health Care, is embroiled in a financial crisis.

Reports of dangerous conditions State sends monitors to Good Sam, Morton, Saint Anne's

Senate subcommittee hearing in Boston

In a post-tour press conference, Markey announced he would convene a Senate subcommittee hearing in Boston on April 3 to spotlight how Steward reached this point and where to go from here. Steward, a Dallas-based for-profit company, has confirmed it plans to leave the Massachusetts market. And Gov. Maura Healey has said she wants the company gone.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey enters the conference room at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton to speak to the media and hospital staff after touring the hospital on Friday, March 1, 2024.

'Shotgun marriage' What will solve financial crisis endangering Good Sam, Morton, Saint Anne's?

Markey: Steward 'looted' hospitals for profit

"We're going to identify permanent systemic solutions that have to be put in place to ensure that hospitals are not looted for the well being of private, wealthy millionaires and billionaires at the expense of patients," Markey said.

Markey traced the problem to ownership by private equity firms. Defenders of the sector say they perform a necessary, if ghoulish, function in the economy. In 2016, Steward sold its buildings in Massachusetts to a real estate investment trust, Medical Properties Trust.

"When Steward decided to sell out to real estate investors instead of investing in the hospitals here in Massachusetts, they cut quality corners, overworked health providers and let emergency room lines grow," said Markey. "And I saw that here today in the emergency room."

The senator said he'd invite Steward executives like CEO Dr. Ralph de la Torre to the April 3 subcommittee hearing.

From left, Deborah Chiaravalloti, head of marketing for Steward Health Care in Massachusetts; lobbyist Bill Cass and Good Samaritan Medical Center President Matt Hesketh chat prior to U.S. Sen. Ed Markey's press conference on Friday, March 1, 2024 in which he blasted Steward, which is embroiled in a financial crisis.

'Taxpayer dollars to float on their yachts'

Markey said the chain received $675 million in COVID relief funds that, while properly spent on patient care, made room for spending he sees as unjustified.

"They took taxpayer dollars to float on their yachts, all while their hospitals, the Steward hospitals, drowned in debt without the revenues they needed in order to provide the services for the community," Markey said.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey speaks to the media and hospital staff after touring Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton on Friday, March 1, 2024, as the hospital's owner, Steward Health Care, is embroiled in a financial crisis.

'Never happens again' Steward crisis rocks already embattled health care system

Five doubles shifts in a row

Meanwhile, workers like Marsela Vropi, an X-ray technician report working extreme hours. The bleary-eyed Vropi said Friday she'd just worked five double shifts in a row.

"The morale is low," said Ruiz, the certified nursing assistant. "Everyone's overworked. Stressed mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. And they are at their wit's end."

Still, both Vropi and Ruiz said that with proper staffing and support, Good Sam could make a quick turnaround. Until then, the remaining workers hold on.

"Every day you hear someone's quitting," said Ruiz. "Every single day."

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Sen. Markey slams Steward: Hospitals 'looted' at 'expense of patients'
Following the lead of 10 other states, Kentucky lawmakers are seeking to further change how children learn to read, proposing a law that would ban a form of instruction associated with Reading Recovery.

House Bill 612 would ban teachers from using a method known as three-cueing  which guides children to use clues like pictures to figure out a word rather than sounding it out  and stop teacher prep programs from using it. The House Education Committee unanimously passed the bill Tuesday.

The move is another step toward removing balanced literacy instruction, a method that numerous studies have said is harmful to struggling readers. It teaches students to memorize or guess at words, while the structured literacy method teaches them to sound out letters to decode words.

The Kentucky legislature already passed a bill last year that prevents school districts from using balanced literacy as their primary instruction model next school year.

Students "are being given cues to guess at a word rather than learning the sounds. ... It is harmful to helping our students learn how to read successfully," said House Education Committee Chairman James Tipton, R-Taylorsville.

The bill, Tipton said, is not geared specifically to Reading Recovery, but "toward any vendor that might utilize this type of instruction."

Ohio is among the states that have banned three-cueing, and in the aftermath is being sued by the Reading Recovery Council of North America.

The intervention program, which has been taught to struggling first grade students in Kentucky since 1989, came under national scrutiny last year after a study suggested the program was ineffective in the long term and could actually be harmful to students reading abilities.

The study followed the test scores of Reading Recovery students and a similarly skilled control group into the third and fourth grades and found the program's students scored about a half-grade level below their peers who also had struggled with reading as first graders but did not receive the intervention.

Even though those early impacts were positive and big, long-term impacts are actually negative, suggesting that the kids may have been better off if they had not gotten Reading Recovery at all, Henry May, director of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy at the University of Delaware, told the Courier Journal.

Kentucky Says Representative Tina Bojanowski speaks to JCPS parents about the problems with bus transportation during a conversation with JCPS parents at Brown Park, Sunday, Aug. 13 2023 in Louisville Ky.

Many Kentucky districts stopped using the program after a Courier Journal Investigation that found the state has poured millions into Reading Recovery but failed to study whether the program leads to long-term reading success. Additionally, the Kentucky Department of Education no longer supports the use of it, but the University of Kentucky awarded $800,000 in grants to districts to expand their use of the program.

The Reading Recovery Center at UK received funding to put toward those grants from the state legislative budget, though Rep. Tipton along with Rep. Tina Bojanowski, D-Louisville, who co-sponsored the bill to ban three-cueing, said neither were aware that funding was still being provided and that it was a line item from several years ago.

The Five Components of Literacy is a slide from a presentation given by Terra Greenwell, chief academic officer for Jefferson County Public Schools to the school board Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

It is unclear what will happen to UK's center if Tipton and Bojanowski's bill is passed. The center's funding from the legislature, according to UK spokesman Jay Blanton, will continue through June.

"UK is legislatively designated to act as the fiscal agent to distribute state-appropriated funds to districts," Blanton said.

Aside from impacting districts, many Kentucky universities will need to make changes in how they train future teachers about literacy and how kids learn to read, with the bill stating such programs should use evidence-based reading instruction.

The National Council on Teacher Quality released a report last summer analyzing whether 15 Kentucky higher ed institutions are instructing education majors on the five components of the Science of Reading. The report gave about half of them a "D" or "F" for failing to adequately cover them.

The intention of the bill, Tipton said, "is that the language is specific enough that it would prevent any (post)secondary institution from promoting (balanced literacy) instruction."

The other states that have banned three-cueing include Arkansas, Florida, Indiana Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

More: Kentucky schools invest more money in reading program experts say is harmful

Contact Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: House Bill 612 could ban Reading Recovery in Kentucky schools
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing back against claims that he sought to include a special exemption in a new minimum wage law to help a longtime friend and donorbut the governor's objections only underline how the entire law was a giveaway to his political allies.

Starting next month, fast-food chains operating in California will have to pay workers at least $20 per hour, even though the minimum wage for other jobs in the state will remain at $16 per hour. Newsom signed the bill to create that higher wage mandate, but the law includes a special carve-out seemingly tailored to exempt Panera Bread (and other chains that sell bread as a standalone menu item). Newsom had pushed for that exemption, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, as a favor to Greg Flynn, owner and CEO of the Flynn Restaurant Group, which operates 24 Panera locations in the Golden State.

After the story took off in the media, a spokesman for the governor's office claimed the allegation of favoritism was false. Newsom "never met with Flynn about this bill and this story is absurd," wrote Alex Stack in a statement to Reason and other media outlets that covered the story. "Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law."

The first claim might be true in only the narrowest sense. The Associated Press has confirmed that Flynn met with the governor's staff regarding the minimum wage bill and that he suggested exempting "restaurants like bakeries, bagel shops and delis" from the higher minimum wage law. Flynn denied speaking to Newsom directly, but it certainly appears that he attempted to exercise some influence over the lawmaking process.

Meanwhile, the governor's office's claim that the exemption doesn't apply to Panera only raises other questionslike, why is that exemption there at all?

That's a question that reporters in Sacramento have seemingly been trying to answer for months. Asked directly about the bakery exemption at a press conference last year, Newsom said it was "part of the sausage making" of the legislative process. In the wake of the Bloomberg story, Newsom's office has not offered a better explanation for the carve-out. Until that changes, the questions will persist.

"If [Newsom] is unable to provide a better justification for this carve-out, it raises serious questions about the integrity of his administration," a group of Republican lawmakers wrote in a letter requesting that state Attorney General Rob Bonta investigate the matter.

Newsom's explanations about the carve-out seem to be "falling apart in real time, particularly because Californians are accustomed to watching this administration hand out favors to its friends," Will Swaim, president of the California Policy Center, tells Reason.

Swaim drew a parallel to the aftermath of the passage of California's Assembly Bill (AB) 5 in 2019, which effectively banned freelancing in many industries. After newspapers complained that the law would make it more difficult for them to use freelance labor, Newsom backed a short-term and then a longer-term exemption for the industry.

Of course, the debate over the narrow bakery exemption to the minimum wage law seems to miss the larger point: the entire law is a bizarre exemption from the state's existing minimum wage statute. Maybe a special interest and personal friend influenced that one section of the new law, but there is no doubt that other special interestslabor unions that give huge campaign contributionsare the reason why the rest of the law singles out fast food restaurants while effectively exempting other employers.

In short: Newsom's claims that special interests didn't influence one part of the bill would be more believable if special interests hadn't obviously influenced the entire bill.

"This was a bad bill to begin withimposing an unsupportable minimum wage on businesses that operate on razor-thin margins has already raised menu prices and accelerated layoffs in the industry," says Swaim. "Its victims will be small franchisees who don't have Panera's pull and workers who are now facing mass layoffs."

The post Of Course Special Interests Shaped California's New Minimum Wage Law appeared first on Reason.com.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Court documents revealed disturbing new details about what happened during an hours-long standoff earlier this week. However, the suspects father tells News 4 the documents are wrong.

Hes not taking them to school. Thats it, said Eliseo Perez. He said he put them online, I say When? When?'

Eliseo Perez was talking about his son, Jose Eduardo Perez-Alamazan, while one of Joses children played in the front yard.

Shes okay now? asked News 4. Yeah, shes okay. Everybody okay, replied Eliseo Perez.

It was a tense scene outside the home Monday night after OKCPD responded to a 911 call.

We were notified by some family members that some children inside the residence there at near NW 11th and Portland had not been to school in some time, said Sgt. Dillon Quirk. We were told that they were confined inside the house there for a while. They hadnt seen them in a while, werent able to make contact.

Court documents show Perez-Alamazans family said he believes the government is brain washing his child. They allegedly told police six months ago, Jose screwed the door shut and they are using a window to enter and exit the room and to use the toilet outside.

Valentines Day nightmare: man brutally beaten and robbed after date

Perez: Who says all this right here?

News 4: Investigators, so the detective.

Perez: Yeah no, its not true, no.

News 4: So the kids were not using the toilet outside?

Perez: No. no.

After officers arrived, Perez-Alamazan barricaded himself and the children inside the home. Police and family members allegedly heard Perez-Alamazan tell the kids to not let police inside. If police did make it inside the home, they were to stab the officers in the head and neck area and then stab themselves.

Perez denied those allegations.

Police eventually rescued the children and arrested Perez-Alamazan.

I think he got problems over here in the head because he sees something, like somebody following him all the time, said Perez. Hes a good father.

Perez-Alamazan was arrested on child neglect and an outstanding warrant.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
A Washington, D.C., court said Friday that a lower court was wrong to apply a provision boosting the punishment for a Texas man convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol  a ruling that could raise questions about many other Jan. 6 defendants sentences.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the so-called sentencing enhancement did not apply to one of Larry Brocks six convictions for his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Brock was briefly on the Senate floor during his 38 minutes in the U.S. Capitol during the attack  which the lower court found was enough to be considered substantial interference with the administration of justice, making him eligible for a harsher sentence.

The appeals court disagreed. We hold that the administration of justice enhancement does not apply to interference with the legislative process of certifying electoral votes, said Judge Patricia Millett in a written opinion.

The case may be significant because that enhancement has been used by federal prosecutors in many other cases involving Jan. 6 insurrectionists. The Washington Post reported it could mean more than 100 could have to be resentenced.

The court sent Brocks case back to district court so the sentence for his felony conviction for obstructing an official proceeding could be reassessed, this time without the enhancement. His initial sentence on that charge was 24 months in prison.

But the court left intact Brocks five other convictions, with concurrent sentences of six to 12 months each and 24 months of probation.

Millett wrote in her opinion that the electoral certification process that the Jan. 6 rioters sought to interrupt was not the same as a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding whose disruption would could be seen as obstructing justice, and thus Brock did not qualify for enhanced penalties.

The multi-step process of certifying electoral college votesas important to our democratic system of government as it isbears little resemblance to the traditional understanding of the administration of justice as the judicial or quasi-judicial investigation or determination of individual rights, she wrote.

To the extent that law enforcement is present, it is there to protect the lawmakers and their process, not to investigate individuals rights or to enforce Congresss certification decision. After all, law enforcement is present for security purposes for a broad variety of governmental proceedings that do not involve the administration of justicepresidential inaugurations, for example, and the pardoning of the Thanksgiving Turkey.

Former president Donald Trump has said the Jan. 6 convicts have been mistreated, likening them to political prisoners, and a cottage industry has sprung up in right-wing circles portraying the convicts as victims of political oppression.

Brock is one of the highest-profile Jan. 6 insurrectionists, having been caught on camera as one of the older attackers in the Senate chamber wearing a combat-style helmet and a tactical vest.

The appeals court said Brock, one of many former military personnel who participated in the attack, told other rioters to calm down and not to sit in the Senate presidents chair because it would be disrespectful.

But the court also noted that before the attack, Brock called the 2020 election stolen and fraudulent on social media, and told a fellow veteran there needed to be a plan of action if Trump was not certified the 2020 winner.

Brock also outlined [r]ules of engagement[,] including avoiding killing law enforcement officers unless necessary[,] [a]ttempt[ing] to capture Democrats with knowledge of [the] coup[,] and [s]hoot[ing] and destroy[ing] enemy communication nodes and key personnel, the court said.

Related...
By September 2020, just six months after COVID-19 triggered shutdowns across the U.S., it was clear that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had mutated from its original form.

The question quickly arose whether existing rapid antigen tests could detect newly emerging variants.

Using clinical samples obtained from diagnostic labs throughout the U.S. from 2020 to 2023, the National Institutes of Health, through its Variant Task Force, analyzed the effectiveness of more than 100 rapid antigen test kits on over 300 variants. The vast majority of the kits were able to detect new as well as prior previously known variants.

We are a team of researchers who have spent the past few years researching COVID-19 tests for their accuracy and performance. We understand why the public may still have questions about whether these tests are reliable, particularly as new variants continue to appear.

Here are answers to some of those questions:

Do these tests work?

There are two major types of tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.

The first, called a RT-PCR test, is more than 95% accurate for detecting the virus. These were the tests that most Americans were given at drive-through and walk-in testing sites early in the pandemic. The vast majority are now done at a doctors office or clinic, though there are some home PCR tests, which typically cost five to 10 times more than rapid antigen tests.

The other type is an antigen test, commonly known as a rapid test, with an accuracy rate of more than 80%. Most of these tests are sold over the counter at supermarkets and pharmacies.

Rapid antigen tests are relatively inexpensive, can be used without prior training and give quick results, typically within 10 or 15 minutes. One drawback is that they are less accurate than PCR tests, especially early in an infection when there is less virus present in the body.

Despite these inherent limitations, our team has demonstrated that these tests perform as well in 2024 as they did earlier in the pandemic, when different variants were circulating  even though our initial study was completed in January 2022. Thats because the virus protein detected by antigen tests has not changed much over the last two years, unlike other parts of the virus that have undergone many mutations. Another study, which tested the accuracy of rapid antigen tests from 2020 to 2022, found similar results.

That said, researchers like us continue to test the tests, both in computer simulations and in the lab, to detect new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

UMass Chan Medical School research staff members enroll participants in a COVID-19 testing study in Worcester, Mass., in the fall of 2020. Nathaniel Hafer

I have symptoms. When should I take a test?

If you have symptoms, take a rapid test as soon as possible. If you test positive, you can be reasonably certain that youre infected. If youre negative, wait two days and test again.

This waiting period is important because it takes a few days for the virus to build up to levels that are detectable by the rapid test. Recent research has shown that the time it takes for this to happen is slightly longer with the omicron family of variants compared to variants from a few years ago.

I was exposed, but have no symptoms. When do I test?

If youve been exposed to somebody but dont have symptoms, the current recommendation is to wait four to five days before taking a rapid test. If youre negative, wait two days and then test again.

If youre still negative, take a third test two more days later. This is the best way to detect COVID-19 infection without symptoms.

Its also recommended that you take a rapid test as close as possible to the time youre visiting someone who is at risk for getting sick, especially if you think you may have been exposed.

When am I contagious?

Most people who have symptoms and test positive are contagious. If you no longer have symptoms and are no longer testing positive, its likely that youre not contagious.

But there are some exceptions to this general rule. Its possible to be infected, have no symptoms and be contagious. This is especially true early on in a persons infection.

Should I swab my nose or throat?

The best advice is to follow the instructions that come with your test. For antigen tests in the U.S., this means taking a swab of your nose.

Although one study from Denmark reported that antigen tests were more sensitive when a health care provider swabbed the throat, the same study said that when a person swabbed themselves, nose samples were more accurate than throat samples. Other studies have shown that swabbing the throat was no better than swabbing the nose.

A new program funded by the National Institutes of Health and rolled out in late 2023  the Home Test to Treat study  offers free testing, telehealth and treatment for COVID-19 and the flu without leaving home. To date, more than 60,000 people have enrolled. The study uses commercially available rapid tests and typically arrive a few days after theyre requested.

For those millions of Americans who are unable to travel, are without insurance, dont live near a clinic or simply dont want to expose others to their symptoms, this new program could help save lives.

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: Nathaniel Hafer, UMass Chan Medical School; Anuradha Rao, Emory University, and Apurv Soni, UMass Chan Medical School.

Read more:



Nathaniel Hafer receives funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

Anuradha Rao receives funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. 

Apurv Soni receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.
A Coweta County man was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison for sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl.

On Feb. 26, 2024, Lanorris Dodson, 38, pleaded guilty to incest, rape, and three counts of aggravated child molestation.

A Superior Court judge accepted the plea agreement negotiated by the state and sentenced him to a life sentence, with 25 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

In June 2021, the victim, a family member, reported the abuse to police.

The victim told police that beginning in 2016, Dodson began raping her and she became pregnant at age 15.

She gave birth to his child in 2017.

Threats from Dodson convinced her to remain silent about the abuse.

But in June of 2021, a family member spoke to police.

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Newnan police investigated the allegations and interviewed Dodson, who denied the acts of abuse.

Police obtained DNA samples of Dodson, the victim, and the baby and gave them to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for analysis, which confirmed Dodson was the father.

The victim did not have to testify or appear at the trial.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
The crew aboard the International Space Station is not in any immediate danger despite a confirmed air leak.

The leak, which has yet to be patched, is coming from the Russian segment of the space station, Roscosmos, a Russian state space corporation confirmed Wednesday.

Specialists were tasked with monitoring the leak while the crew continued to conduct work to locate and fix possible spots of the leak, The Associated Press reported.

There is no threat to the crew or the station itself, the corporation said.

Heres what we know.

When will the leak on the International Space Station be fixed?

It's not clear when the leak will be fixed, but Roscosmos did note that the crew has to spend more time repairing and maintaining the space outpost as it ages, AP reported.

Joel Montalbano, a NASA station project manager, noted that the leak in the Russian segment has increased. The leak remains small, posing no threat to the crews safety or vehicle operations, according to AP.

The Roscosmos segment of the International Space Station is pictured this year as the orbital outpost soared 261 miles above the north Atlantic Ocean.

This is isnt the first time that Russian space officials have spotted a leak. A leak and a leaky spot were reported in August 2020 and November of 2021 in different areas of the Russian section, AP reported.

Roscosmos and NASA have both said the leak reported then posed no danger to the crew and didnt impact operations on the station, according to AP.

Russian officials have also reported a series of coolant leaks over the years, which have not impacted the crew or station operations, AP reported.

USA TODAY has reached out to NASA and Roscosmos for comment.

What crew is currently aboard the International Space Station?

There are currently seven astronauts from three different countries and one continent aboard the International Space Station.

NASA and its partners, which include Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency, hope to continue operating the orbiting outpost until 2030, according to AP.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: International Space Station's has air leak; crew not in danger
The UK government has privately called on Germany to provide Ukraine with long-range German-made Taurus missiles. As an alternative to direct delivery, it was suggested that the missiles be transferred to London so that it could in return provide Ukraine with more of its own Storm Shadow missiles.

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However, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is not ready to accept the offer. He refers to the fact that Ukraine could use German Taurus to hit the territory of the Russian Federation, which would allegedly drag Germany into the war. The details are reported by Bloomberg.

The British government, according to the publication, has privately called on Germany to provide Ukraine with German long-range Taurus missiles. Citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter, British officials have repeatedly tried to convey to official Berlin that the Ukrainian army desperately needs these missiles.

As an alternative to the direct transfer of Taurus missiles to Kyiv, London offered the option of Berlin transferring its missiles to Britain, and in return, Britain could increase the supply of its own Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, replacing its stocks with German weapons.

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However, according to statements by current and former British officials, no understanding was reached with Scholz.

Thus, one of the interlocutors of the publication noted that "Germany should stop making excuses." And former British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace made an even more harsh statement about the head of the German government.

"Scholz's behavior has shown that from the point of view of European security, he is the wrong person in the wrong position at the wrong time," he said in an interview with the Evening Standard on February 29.

These statements come on the heels of Scholz's recent comments ruling out the transfer of Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Such a step on the part of Berlin, he is sure, would mean turning Germany into one of the parties in the war with Russia.

Scholz argued that if Germany were to provide Ukraine with "weapons with a range of 500 kilometers," they could reach Moscow's targets if misused.

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"We have to make sure that we know where it will land," Bloomberg quoted the German Chancellor as saying, adding that the only way to control which targets are hit by German missiles would be to involve German troops in the process.

Bloomberg adds that the disagreement between the UK and Germany over Taurus missiles is part of a broader confrontation. Recently, Scholz said that the British and French military are helping Ukrainian soldiers hit Russian targets with long-range missiles made in France and Britain. According to Scholz, Germany is not ready for such practices.

"What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and the accompanying target control cannot be done in Germany," Scholz said on February 26.

In Britain, such comments by the German Chancellor were interpreted as a public statement about the secret activities of the British military in Ukraine. Reacting to Scholz's statement, a spokesperson for the British Prime Minister said that "a small number of personnel" were supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He did not go into details.

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Alicia Kearns, chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee, also criticized Scholz.

"Scholz's comments are wrong, irresponsible, and a slap in the face to our allies... Scholz should give Taurus missiles and stop creating obstacles to Europe's security," she said.

Earlier, it was reported that Scholz gave a new excuse for why Germany does not give Ukraine Taurus. He said that without Berlin's control, the Taurus missile with a range of about 500 km can hit targets even in Moscow. Therefore, if Germany were to supply the missiles, it would have to be directly involved in the launch, as other partner countries do, according to Scholz. And Berlin is not ready for this, fearing to be drawn into a war with Russia.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes!
People lined up for at least half a mile outside the Moscow church where Alexey Navalny's funeral took place Friday to bid farewell to Russia's most prominent opposition figure. Navalny, one of the most vocal critics of President Vladimir Putin, died two weeks ago in a remote Russian prison, and his family and allies have accused the Russian leader of having him killed.

There was a large police presence and fences were erected by Russian authorities around the church. Nevertheless, crowds chanted the opposition leader's name, as well as slogans like: "Do not give up!" "Russia without Putin!" and "Russia will be free!"

An image shared by Alexey Navalny's organization shows the late Russian opposition leader in his casket during his funeral service at the Mother of God 'Relieve My Sorrows' church in Moscow, Russia, March 1, 2024. / Credit: Reuters/Handout/Alexey Navalny

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy was inside the church for the service.

"Alexey Navalny remains a shining example of what Russia could & should be," the U.S. Embassy in Russia said in a statement on social media. "His death is a tragic reminder of the lengths the Kremlin will go to silence its critics. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, supporters, & all those he has inspired to work for a brighter future."

As the funeral commenced, and image of what appeared to be Navalny's open casket was broadcast by his allies. In the image, Navalny's body is seen covered in roses and surrounded by mourners. The church service ended quickly and the casket was then taken to the Borisov Cemetery, about 1.5 miles away, where his friends and members of his family kissed him goodbye before his casket was closed and lowered into the ground.

Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, posted a message paying tribute to her husband on social media, thanking him, "for love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me. I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me," she said. "I don't know if I can handle it or not, but I will try."

Navalny, 47, died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16. Prison authorities said he died of natural causes. His family fought for over a week to have his body returned to them. It was finally handed over to his mother on Saturday. Navalny's family and allies said they struggled to plan his funeral because Russian authorities discouraged funeral homes, public halls and hearse drivers from working with them.

The Kremlin warned members of the public on Friday against any unsanctioned gatherings in support of Navalny.

"Just a reminder that we have a law that must be followed. Any unauthorized gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable  again, in line with the current law," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

At least 56 people were detained in 14 cities across Russia on Friday, the OVD-Info rights group, which tracks political arrests and provides legal aid, said.

Who was Alexey Navalny?

Navalny, who survived at least two suspected assassination attempts with poison, including an attack with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020, was the most outspoken critic of Putin's government before he was imprisoned in 2021.

Navalny's own message to the world, "if they decide to kill me"

When he returned to Russia after receiving treatment for Novichok poisoning in Germany, Navalny was initially handed a nine-year sentence in a high-security prison for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court, but was later convicted of promoting "extremism." His sentence was extended by 19 years in August 2023, and he was transferred to another high-security prison with a reputation for abuse  known as the "torture conveyor belt"  which raised further concerns about his safety.

"Without public protection, Alexey will be face to face with those who have already tried to kill him, and nothing will stop them from trying again," his spokesperson, Yarmysh, said after the court's decision. "We are now talking not only about Alexey's freedom, but also about his life."

Navalny and many outside observers always considered the charges against him baseless political retaliation for his criticism of Putin and the Kremlin's policies, both foreign and domestic. The U.S. State Department also considered his prosecution and imprisonment "politically motivated."

Anhelina Shamlii contributed to this report.

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Flowers lie in front of a picture of leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in prison while serving a 19-year sentence, during a prayer service at Schillerplatz in Stuttgart. Christoph Schmidt/dpa

Despite a heavy presence of security forces, hundreds of people gathered in Moscow on Friday before the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison.

At the church dedicated to the "Assuage My Sorrows" icon of the Mother of God in the city's south-eastern Marino district, mourners carrying flowers crowded around metal bars to bid farewell to the opposition leader.

A funeral service is scheduled for 2 pm (1100 GMT) at the church, while the burial is planned for two hours later at the Borisov cemetery, about 30 minutes walk away.

Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said that the family and organizers had for unknown reasons received his body later than expected from the morgue, meaning the funeral service and burial could be delayed.

Dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed personnel took up position from the early morning. Police also erected metal fences over a wide area ahead of the event.

Officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by and mobile internet services were reportedly shut down in the area. A notice was also reportedly posted at the church asking people not to film or take photographs.

Navalny's team on Thursday called on people to attend the funeral service and burial despite the expected police presence. Everyone to whom Navalny's political work meant something should attend, his spokeswoman said.

In recent days, police arrested hundreds of people laying flowers in Navalny's memory at locations across the country.

The heightened security measures indicated that even after his death, Navalny, a main challenger to President Vladimir Putin in recent years, remains a major cause of concern for the authorities.

Navalny's supporters, relatives and human rights activists accuse Putin of ordering the killing of the opposition leader. The Kremlin rejects this, while continuing preparations for elections on March 15-17 that are expected to install Putin for a fifth term.

Navalny's team plans to follow the funeral live on the internet. The German ambassador to Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, will also be present, dpa was informed.

Friends of Navalny also called on people in Russia and abroad to express their support on Friday.

"Come and accompany Alexei Navalny on his last journey if you are in Moscow. All those who cannot be there for various reasons will thank you," opposition activist Leonid Volkov wrote on Telegram. Volkov lives in exile and was a close confidant of Navalny.

According to the authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in a prison camp in the Yamal-Nenets region, 1,900 kilometres north-east of Moscow, at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death have not been clarified.

The politician, weakened by an earlier poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed in the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to Navalny's team, the death certificate states that the cause of death was "natural." Navalny's mother said that she had repeatedly resisted Kremlin plans to have him buried in secret.
(COLORADO SPRINGS)  The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) stated on Thursday, Feb. 29 that they oppose House bill HB24-1239, which proposes a single-exit stairway multifamily structure.

If passed, the bill would require local government to modify a building code to allow five stories of a multifamily residential building to be served by a single exit. The bill would require a board of county commissioners to, before December 1, 2026, adopt a building code, or amend an existing code, to allow a 5-story structure to be served by a single exit.

We oppose this bill as we believe it to be a dangerous over-reach for state legislation to supersede years of extensive research, experience, and learning from tragic events which have shaped our model codes to be what they are today, said Fire Marshal Brett Lacey. The model building and fire codes have an established formal code change process that forces research, explanation, and review to be presented in open testimony as well as before professional code bodies.

One of the bills sponsors, Representative Alex Valdez, said on X (Twitter), Single stair not only has the opportunity to ease our housing crunch but can also enhance the look of our city which is currently being dominated by Soviet value engineering.

According to CSFDs statement, political solutions that are put forth without the necessary scientific and/or professional input can result in tragic missteps. They suggested that to preserve and protect property and lives, sufficient professional evidence and supporting arguments must be in place before changing building codes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
Nearly 1,000 Connecticut residents, including toddlers and the elderly, have spent the winter living in cars and tents without access to shelter. In response to the growing crisis, lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow religious organizations to temporarily house individuals experiencing homelessness in non-permanent tiny homes installed on their property.

Advocates say House Bill 5174 would provide much-needed shelter beds and expand homeless services in small towns by allowing religious organizations to bypass zoning regulations that have historically prevented houses of worship from offering shelter.

Opponents argue that the proposal fails to address key concerns and gives too much power to religious entities while sidestepping community input.

In Connecticut, the number of people experiencing homelessness has reached historic levels.

According to the most recent data from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, 940 people in the state are living outside, without shelter. Approximately 4,954 people are connected with a homeless program  a number that does not include individuals and families who are doubled up or couch surfing.

Theres an opportunity for us to address this challenge by multipronged approaches, Sen. Saud Anwar, a sponsor of the bill, said.

Anwar said that while many towns have failed to address homelessness within their communities, religious congregations have recognized their role in mitigating the crisis.

Being a student of all different faith communities, they speak about this as a priority in every one of the pulpits, Anwar said. This would be their opportunity to be able to put their beliefs into action.

We have to look at how we can bring the people back into society, Anwar added. We have to make sure that we create policies to help people achieve that rather than have policies where the larger community can hide behind to refuse treatment for people who really need help.

The bill, raised by the Planning and Development Committee, would grant religious organizations the right to install temporary shelter units on their property.

Under the proposal, religious organizations must submit an as-of-right permit application to their towns zoning commission. All shelters must adhere to building and fire codes.

The language of the bill allows municipalities to impose a handful of specified regulations. For example, towns may opt to prohibit the installation of more than eight temporary shelter units on any single lot, limit units to a maximum of 400 square feet, restrict occupancy to one family or two unrelated individuals, and cap shelter stays at 12 months per occupant.

Towns may also impose requirements for heating and cooling, electricity, exterior lighting, toilet and shower facilities, and personal storage at installation sites.

Additionally, the bill allows towns to Prohibit the installation of any temporary shelter unit within 1000 feet of any public or private elementary or secondary school and Require that any temporary shelter unit be set back not less than ten feet from any adjacent real property not owned by the religious organization.

Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, a chair of the committee, said she hopes the initiative will create more shelter space in rural municipalities and small towns  something that would reduce the burden on urban shelters and allow individuals and families who fall into homelessness to stay connected with their communities and local support networks while they get back on their feet.

When we are trying to concentrate all the services in our cities, it doesnt really reflect the needs of the people, Kavros said.

Kavros said Connecticuts religious organizations are already doing a great job serving people experiencing homelessness and other poverty-related situations.

(This) is one more way that they can extend what they consider to be their good works, Kavros DeGraw said.

Rep. Doug Dubitsky, a member of the committee said he opposes the proposal, which he referred to as a fairly dangerous bill.

Dubitsky said the bill would allow religious leaders to circumvent local regulations and install shelters with little to no community input. Dubitsky said such initiatives could result in chaos for small towns with limited resources.

Lets say you have a church property that owns three or four adjoining parcels and they put eight housing structures on each one.  Perhaps that town has no sewers, no water service, no transportation. Where are these homeless people going to go? What are they going to do all day? Dubitsky said. Theyre going to stay right there.  There will be dozens and dozens of homeless people, in the middle of perhaps a historic district in a little town with no services.

Dubitsky described the proposal as short-sighted adding that the ramifications have not been thought through.

Dubitsky expressed concerns that the bill does not specify what materials shelters can and cannot be made out of. He said the bill, as written, would green-light any prefabricated structure, including shelters made out of shipping containers.

The defines a Temporary shelter unit as a nonpermanent commercially prefabricated accessory structure that is designed to be easily dismantled or removed, but does not include tarps, tents, other nonrigid materials or motor vehicles.

Dubitsky added that shower and toilet requirements in the bill could result in the installation of outdoor portable toilets, which residents may be opposed to.

Dubitsky said that by authorizing shelters on any religious property, structures could go up in historic districts, next to playgrounds, or near liquor stores and cannabis dispensaries.

Homeless shelters are not appropriate in every location, and it is important that the peoples elected representatives, including the town officials and zoning commissions, have some say in where a homeless shelter is going to be located, Dubitsky said. To have this sweeping bill that makes it, as of right, that you can put (shelters) anywhere you want is not, in my view, the appropriate way to ensure the health and safety of the homeless population or the people of the 169 towns in the state.

In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives counted 2,889 houses of worship and religious organizations in Connecticut as of 2020. If every congregation installed eight shelters, the threshold at which towns may begin to prohibit the installation of additional structures, Connecticut could add upwards of 23,000 units of temporary housing.

Sarah Fox, the chief executive officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness said it is important to remember that the bill is not a mandate.

Its not saying that you must and its not saying that every single community across the state has to make this decision, Fox said. It just allows churches to be part of this process and this conversation and make decisions to serve people.

Fox said the current crisis requires different innovative solutions to providing shelter that expand the current capacity in every community across the state.

Fox said the coalition supports the initiative, but they are also advocating for changes to the bill language that would require participating religious organizations to work with the states Coordinated Access Network to connect those in need with services.

Additionally, Fox said provisions of the bill should apply to existing church facilities, like rectories and accessory buildings, that could serve as warming shelters. Fox said that zoning restrictions have blocked churches from opening up their space for this purpose.

When Im talking about this proposal, Im thinking about a tool in our toolbox, Fox said. We have to rethink resources. This just is a tool and a means to an end to keep people safe when severe weather arises, which we do not have in our toolbox today.

Fox said that this year, frontline workers in the fight against homelessness saw demographics shift dramatically, revealing an unprecedented number of individuals over the age of 55 and moms with toddlers and young children.

The fact that leading into winter, we had moms with toddlers sleeping in tents is not something that should be passed by quickly. That really speaks to the state of the challenge that were facing, Fox said. Its very much a different world than what we knew in regards to the people becoming homeless at this point in time.

Fox said that as people come to recognize homelessness as a regional issue, and not just an urban one, she is hopeful that more towns have come to understand their role in addressing homelessness at the local level.

I think so often when people think about homelessness, they very much are just thinking about the people who are stereotypically homeless, people who are long-term homeless with substance abuse and mental health challenges, Fox said. Its easy to not recognize the fact that anyone can become homeless and that people, our neighbors, are falling into homelessness every day.

Sen. Ryan Fazio, a ranking member of the committee, said the tiny homes proposal is not necessarily a one-size-fits-all solution to the varying needs and challenges of the states diverse homeless population.

My concern about the bill in question is that by having an extraordinarily liberal policy towards setting up temporary, outdoor makeshift homeless shelters, as of right, (is) that we arent balancing those considerations and we might not actually be helping all the people were trying to help, Fazio said.

You need to be able to precisely target and alleviate the different challenges that various homeless populations are facing, whether its economic purely or related to psychiatric problems or related to chronic substance abuse problems, Fazio added.

Fazio echoed concerns that the current proposal does not offer enough restrictions in terms of occupancy and geographical placement.

We could be putting people with severe mental health or substance abuse problems in a dwelling next to a single mom with two kids who isnt in the same situation. We could be putting people within 10-foot proximity of residential neighborhoods, backyards where kids are out and about playing, without any sort of community buy-in and regulation, Fazio said.

While Fazio said the bill could be improved with tightened regulations, he said it would be better to leave decisions up to communities and religious houses of worship to collaborate and come to agreements on their own.

Overall, Fazio emphasized the need for balance.

I think we all have the same goal here, Fazio said. I dont think we want policies that bring us in such a liberal direction.  But I think we can find a kind of middle ground here that both improves the well-being of our homeless population in Connecticut, which is sadly increasing, and also protects the health and safety of every community.
The existence of a deputy group with Indian tattoos came to light after a violent altercation at a bowling alley involving sheriff's deputies from the City of Industry station. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Early last year, investigators at the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department learned that a group of deputies at the Lakewood station shared a common tattoo: a spade, with the number 13.

So, according to a new oversight report, officials decided to do a survey: Were the tattoos the sign of a new deputy gang?

When a few dozen deputies said no, the report said, the department took their word for it and stopped investigating.

The existence of the Lakewood station tattoos and the aborted probe into them did not become public until this week, when the county watchdog released a 50-page report examining gaps in the departments efforts to rein in deputy gangs. The tattooed cliques and their alleged misconduct have plagued the nations largest sheriffs department for decades, leading to repeated oversight investigations, an FBI probe and a steady stream of lawsuits that have cost taxpayers more than $55 million .

But Mondays Office of Inspector General report found that, even under a reform-minded sheriff, the department is falling short when it comes to investigating the groups. The report said officials still dismiss and minimize evidence of gang activity, failing to conduct complete investigations and allowing cursory inquiries that fail to identify suspected gang members.

Despite a new California law aimed at addressing law enforcement gangs, and a new administration, oversight officials wrote, the Sheriffs Department has, to date, never undertaken an investigation aimed at identifying every member of any subgroup or determining whether any of those groups engage in a pattern of conduct that violates the law or Department policy.

The reports most recent example centered on the Industry station Indians, whose existence first became public this year after Times reporting showed two suspected members were fired after a violent confrontation with a group of teenagers outside a bowling alley.

On Tuesday, the teens  some now in their 20s  and one witness filed suit, saying they fear the deputy gang will hunt them down and they are still traumatized from the 2022 incident.

The public is already aware that theres no accountability for misconduct by deputy gang members in the Sheriffs Department so theres a lot of fear out there, said Vince Miller, the attorney who is representing the teens. Its good that under the current sheriff the department did fire these deputies, but its too late for my clients to have been spared this trauma.

In a statement this week, the Sheriffs Department said that it had not officially received the lawsuit yet but that it takes the issue of deputy gangs very seriously and is committed to building trust in our communities.

While this issue is not reflective of the entire Department, the statement said, we are conducting multiple investigations related to deputy gangs and are holding personnel accountable.

The department has also drafted a more robust anti-gang policy , the details of which are still being negotiated with the unions. Last year, Undersheriff April Tardy convened a now-monthly working group to address deputy gang issues, and in June, Sheriff Robert Luna told an oversight committee that the department is now asking about tattoos and gang membership during promotion interviews for high-ranking positions.

The incident that brought to light the existence of the Industry station Indians started on the evening of Feb. 28, 2022, at the Bowlium bowling alley in Montclair. As The Times previously reported, a group of deputies from the City of Industry sheriffs station were there, bowling and drinking to celebrate one deputys promotion. After the place closed at 11 p.m., they went out to the parking lot.

When they passed by 19-year-old Jay Stevens and his friends sitting in their cars, one of the deputies  a sergeant, sources told The Times  pushed open a car door as one of the teens tried to close it.

The deputies then escalated the conflict, according to the lawsuit. One allegedly flashed a handgun, and others mocked the teens or screamed obscenities. One made blatantly racist statements and allegedly called Stevens a monkey and used the N-word.

The deputy punched Stevens hard in the face, and several of the other defendant deputies immediately grabbed Stevens to make sure he wouldnt be able to defend himself, the lawsuit said. This was a one-sided attack on innocent victims and not in any way a two-way fight.

Several deputies later told local investigators the teens allegedly either mentioned a gun or made a threat to blast them  though a Montclair Police Department incident report shows no indication that the teens had weapons with them.

At one point, a deputy allegedly grabbed the open back door on the passenger side and started swinging it back and forth violently about six times, shaking the entire vehicle, according to the police report. Then, the lawsuit says, he slammed the door against one teens leg.

Eventually, Stevens and his friends escaped, and the deputies laughed at the teenagers as they drove off.

The teens said they were too scared to report the incident at first. But once they told Montclair police, the suit alleges, one of the deputies tried to get authorities there to give him the phone number of one witness so he could call her and intimidate her.

Four deputies were fired in connection with the incident; the report said two of them admitted to having Industry Indians tattoos. The fired deputies all appealed to the countys Civil Service Commission, according to a county source who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Once internal affairs investigators learned about the Industry group, they asked the nine deputies involved whether they knew of anyone else with that tattoo. But because investigators did not press for names, the report said, they were able to identify only two other suspected members  even though the deputies they interviewed described barbecues and other group gatherings.

Though internal affairs officials notified Industry station leaders about the tattooed group, the station leaders later told the county watchdog they had no plans to investigate who was a member. According to the report, they planned only to monitor closely for evidence of misconduct.

On Wednesday, the Sheriffs Department told The Times it is not only monitoring but would not say what it was doing instead for fear of negatively affecting current or future cases.

The incident outside the Bowlium also led to another line of inquiry: During one interview last year, a deputy told investigators that hed seen a lot of deputies at the Lakewood station with spade tattoos, the oversight report said. The deputy said he wasnt sure whether the tattoos were the sign of a subgroup or gang  so supervisors surveyed 69 deputies at the station to find out more.

Of the 64 who responded, the report said that 81% said they knew of a spade logo, 13% said they knew of a Lakewood station tattoo and 100% said they were not aware of any gang or subgroup at the station.

Based on my inquiry, I did not find any potential violations or evidence to indicate we have deputy sub-groups, cliques, or deputy gangs, a lieutenant later wrote in a memo quoted in the oversight report. The morale of Lakewood Station personnel is positive, inclusive, and promotes a family atmosphere.

Oversight officials criticized that response as inadequate, though the department defended its handling of the situation in a statement to The Times this week, reiterating that there was no evidence to support the allegations of a gang at Lakewood station.

The oversight report also criticized the departments handling of several other problems, including a probe into subgroup stickers and emblems at county jails; revelations about deputies allegedly connected to far-right extremist organizations; and an investigation into another subgroup whose name was redacted along with almost every fact about the case, at the request of the sheriff.

In the coming weeks, the Sheriff's Department is expected to provide a report to the Civilian Oversight Commission detailing when the tattooed Industry station group formed, what misconduct it has been linked to and whether there were any warning signs of gang activity at the station. The report was initially due in February, but on Wednesday the Sheriff's Department said it asked for an extension to March.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Store surveillance cameras captured an angry customer in a downtown Los Angeles dry cleaner dousing employees with pepper spray, and the owner is sharing the footage in hopes of capturing the suspect.

The incident occurred Feb. 28 at Orellanas Tailor Shop near East 7th and Los Angeles streets, a business thats been a fixture in the Skid Row area of L.A. for about 16 years.

In all those years, the shops owner, Ana Orellanas, said theyve had very little trouble until the most recent incident when a customer, upset about some work done on a pair of pants a month ago and was only now bringing it to their attention, attacked an employee with pepper spray.

He then got mad and said he needed it clean and that he wanted his money back, Orellanas said. He proceeded to curse, so we ignored him. We got mad and thats when he took out the pepper spray.

In the video, the customer is clearly seen spraying the employee, who covers his eyes in pain as other employees come to his aid, which is when the man returns and douses everyone else in the shop.

An angry customer doused a dry cleaners with pepper spray in downtown L.A. on Feb. 28, 2024.

An angry customer doused a dry cleaners with pepper spray in downtown L.A. on Feb. 28, 2024.

An angry customer doused a dry cleaners with pepper spray in downtown L.A. on Feb. 28, 2024.

An angry customer doused a dry cleaners with pepper spray in downtown L.A. on Feb. 28, 2024.

Four people were gassed, including the shop owners mother, Anna Maria, and a customer. Clothes waiting to be picked up by other customers were also coated in pepper spray, as well as the sewing machines.

While officers with the Los Angeles Police Department filed a report, the customer has not been apprehended and the Orellanas Family and their employees remain on edge.

Southern California woman rescues girl, 8, from attacking dog

Now I feel fine, but I feel a little bit nervous because I dont know the guy, she said. Maybe hell come [back].

Employees at the store have been looking through older receipts to see if they can figure out the customers identity.

In the meantime, Orellanas has decided to cut the shops hours and close early.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
CVS and Walgreens will begin selling the abortion pill mifepristone in a handful of states where abortion is legal in the coming weeks.

The pharmacies have received certification to dispense the abortion medication from the Food and Drug Administration, under new rules issued by the Biden administration last year.

The move comes just weeks before the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could prohibit brick-and-mortar pharmacies from dispensing the commonly used abortion pill.

Walgreens said it expects to start dispensing the pills within a week, consistent with federal and state laws. The company will begin with a phased rollout in select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois, to allow us to ensure quality, safety, and privacy for our patients, providers, and team members, a spokesperson said.

CVS said it will begin filling prescriptions for the abortion pill in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the coming weeks and will expand to additional states  where abortion is legal  "on a rolling basis."

President Joe Biden, who is making abortion rights a pillar of his reelection campaign, called the move an important milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone.

With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy  just as they would for any other medication, he said in a statement.

Anti-abortion groups quickly condemned the nations two largest pharmacy chains, calling the decision shameful.

This reckless policy was made possible by the Biden administration, which is pushing to turn every pharmacy and post office in America into an abortion center for the sake of abortion industry greed, Katie Daniel, state policy director for SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

Background: After the Biden administration announced in January 2023 that retail pharmacies could dispense the pills, a handful of independent pharmacies across the U.S. quietly began selling them, POLITICO reported. Pregnant people previously had to get the drugs  which are used in more than half of abortions nationwide  directly from their doctor or have it prescribed via telemedicine or sent by mail, depending on the laws in their state.

Major pharmacy chains  including Walgreens  said early last year they would not yet sell the drugs in states where GOP attorneys general have threatened legal action, or in states where abortion is legal but pharmacists ability to dispense the pills falls into a legal gray area.

Both CVS and Walgreens have been the target of protests organized by anti-abortion groups outside their stores since the Biden administration announced retail pharmacies could stock and sell the pills, and the groups have reiterated they will continue to organize pressure campaigns as more pharmacies obtain certification.
The two largest pharmacy chains in the United States will start dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone this month, a step that could make access easier for some patients.

Officials at CVS and Walgreens said in interviews Friday that they had received certification to dispense mifepristone under guidelines that the Food and Drug Administration issued last year. The chains plan to make the medication available in stores in a handful of states at first. They will not be providing the medication by mail.

Both chains said they would gradually expand to all other states where abortion was legal and where pharmacies were legally able to dispense abortion pills  about half of the states.

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Walgreens will start providing the pill within the next week in a small number of its pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois, said Fraser Engerman, a spokesperson for the chain. We are beginning a phased rollout in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety and privacy for our patients, providers and team members, he said.

CVS will begin dispensing in all of its pharmacies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead, Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for the company, said.

The chains will be monitoring the prospects in a few states, including Kansas, Montana and Wyoming, where abortion bans or strict limitations have been enacted but are enjoined because of legal challenges.

Engerman said Walgreens was not going to dispense in states where the laws are unclear to protect its pharmacists and staff members.

As for CVS, we continually monitor and evaluate changes in state laws and will dispense mifepristone in any state where it is or becomes legally permissible to do so, Thibault said. In some states where abortion is legal, she said, pharmacists are prohibited from dispensing mifepristone because laws require that to be done by doctors or in a hospital or clinic.

It is uncertain how much initial demand there will be for the service at brick-and-mortar pharmacies. In the states where the chains will begin dispensing, abortion pills are already available in clinics or easily prescribed through telemedicine and sent through the mail. But some women prefer to visit doctors, many of whom do not have the medication on hand. The new development will allow doctors and other eligible providers to send a prescription to a pharmacy for the patient to pick up.

As the availability in retail pharmacies expands, they may become a more popular alternative, and depending on the outcome of a case the Supreme Court will hear this month, the pharmacy option could take on more importance.

In that case, opponents of abortion have sued the FDA, seeking to remove mifepristone from the market in the United States. An appeals court ruling in that case did not go that far but effectively banned the mailing of mifepristone and required in-person doctor visits. If the Supreme Court upholds that ruling, it could mean that patients would have to obtain mifepristone by visiting a clinic, doctor or pharmacy.

In order to obtain certification, the pharmacy chains had to take specific steps, including ensuring that their computerized systems protected the privacy of prescribers, who are certified under a special program that the FDA applies to mifepristone and several dozen other medications.

Pharmacy certification is granted by manufacturers of mifepristone. Walgreens was certified by brand name manufacturer Danco Laboratories, and is seeking certification from generic manufacturer GenBioPro, Engerman said. CVS was certified by GenBioPro.

Medication abortion is a two-drug regimen that is now the most common method of terminating pregnancies in the United States and is typically used through 12 weeks of pregnancy. Mifepristone, which blocks a hormone necessary for pregnancy development, is taken first, followed 24-48 hours later by misoprostol, which causes contractions that expel pregnancy tissue.

The same regimen is also used for miscarriages, and those patients can now also obtain mifepristone from the pharmacy chains.

Mifepristone has been tightly regulated by the FDA since its approval in 2000, and doctors and other health providers are required to obtain special certification to prescribe it. It has previously been available primarily from the prescribers or from clinics or telemedicine abortion services, in which the pills were generally shipped from one of two mail-order pharmacies that were authorized. Misoprostol has never been as tightly restricted as mifepristone and is used for many different medical conditions. It is easily obtained at pharmacies through a typical prescription process.

The American Pharmacists Association urged the FDA to allow retail pharmacies to distribute mifepristone, even though the medication is unlikely to generate significant revenue. In a statement last year, the association said it wanted the agency to level the playing field by permitting any pharmacy that chooses to dispense this product to become certified.

Shortly after the FDA policy change was announced in January 2023, Walgreens and CVS said they planned to become certified and offer mifepristone in states where laws would allow pharmacies to dispense it.

Walgreens later became the focus of a consumer and political firestorm after it responded to threatening letters from Republican attorneys general in 21 states, confirming that it would not dispense the medication in those states.

Both chains have had protests outside their stores, mostly from anti-abortion advocates, and similar protesters interrupted a meeting of shareholders at Walgreens Boots Alliance, the chains parent company.

CVS is the nations largest chain with over 9,000 stores in all 50 states. Walgreens has about 8,500 stores in all states except North Dakota.

A handful of small independent pharmacies began dispensing mifepristone last year.

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Mifepristone is the first of the two-pill regimen recommended by the FDA to end a pregnancy

The two largest US pharmacy chains will begin selling the prescription abortion pill, mifepristone, this month.

CVS and Walgreens said they will start distribution next week in a handful of states where abortion is legal.

Their move follows a decision by the US Food and Drug Administration last year allowing pharmacies to sell the pill.

The pill has been legal in the US since 2000 but was previously only accessible through clinics and hospitals.

The announcement by CVS and Walgreens on Friday also comes as the Supreme Court is set to weigh whether the pill could be acquired by mail without an in-person doctor visit.

Spokespeople from both CVS and Walgreens confirmed that they will begin selling the abortion pill in interviews with the New York Times on Friday.

Walgreens said it will start by providing the pill in a handful of pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.

Company spokesperson Fraser Engerman said it is part of a "phased rollout" to monitor quality, safety and privacy for both patients and pharmacy staff.

CVS's spokesperson Amy Thibault said it will begin dispensing the pill in all of its pharmacies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island "in the weeks ahead".

Both companies said they will focus on rolling out in states where pharmacists are allowed to dispense mifepristone, and will monitor prospects where there are legal challenges to abortion bans or limitations, like Kansas, Montana and Wyoming.

Mr Engerman said Walgreens will not "dispense in states where the laws are unclear", in order to protect staff.

CVS said it will "monitor and evaluate changes in state laws" and will distribute the pill wherever it is legal to do so.

Abortion pills are already available in clinics, and in some states, can be prescribed through telemedicine and mailed to a patient.

With the pill being available through a retail pharmacy, it will give doctors the option to send a prescription to a CVS or Walgreens, where the patient can pick it up from a pharmacist.

Widespread access to the pill has been opposed by anti-abortion groups, who have sued the FDA in a bid to remove mifepristone off the market in the US.

The case will be heard by the Supreme Court later this month, after a federal appeals court ruled that the pill should remain legal, but should not be sent through the mail or prescribed through telemedicine.

If the US top court upholds that ruling, it would mean that patients would have to obtain the pill by visiting a clinic, doctor or pharmacy in-person.

Mifepristone is the first of the two-pill regimen recommended by the FDA to end a pregnancy. Its use was first approved in the year 2000.

It works by blocking a hormone called progesterone, which is necessary for a pregnancy to continue. The second drug, misoprostol, empties the uterus.

Mifepristone is also used to treat women who have suffered miscarriages and Cushing syndrome, a hormone-related condition.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that European countries are not going to send troops to Ukraine to fight in the war, the Czech news agency CTK reported on Feb. 29.

Following the Feb. 26 summit of European leaders in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine can not be "ruled out" in the future, adding that there was no consensus on such a move.

According to Fiala, the discussion on the possible deployment of troops in Ukraine "took a minimal amount of time," and the issue would not be considered again.

"It's not a topic because this idea is unacceptable for the vast majority of countries. No one in Europe is going to send troops to Ukraine," the Czech prime minister noted.

He called not to "frighten people with things that no one has proposed and is not proposing in the way they are being interpreted."

After Macron's statement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as leaders of Germany, the U.K., and other European NATO member states, ruled out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Later, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas noted that European leaders should not exclude this possibility, saying this could be "a signal to Russia."

During a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened "tragic consequences" if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine, claiming the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons."

Read also: Macron doesnt rule out possibility of Western troops in Ukraine

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U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that if Ukraine loses the war with Russia, the entire NATO will have to fight the aggressor country. Moscow has already reacted to these words  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman and propagandist Maria Zakharova threw another tantrum online.

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At a hearing of the US House Armed Services Committee on February 29, the Pentagon chief emphasized that Ukraine needs Washington's military assistance. Austin emphasized that a situation in the world where one country can afford to redraw the borders of neighboring countries and seize their territories cannot be allowed.

The head of the US Defense Department said that if Russian dictator Putin succeeds, he will not stop his aggression and will spread it to other countries.

"He will continue to be even more aggressive in the region. And other leaders around the world, other autocrats will look at this and they will be encouraged by the fact that this happened and we failed to support a democratic state," he added.

Austin clarified that if Ukraine loses, the Baltic states could be at risk.

"And, frankly, if Ukraine falls, I believe that NATO will fight Russia," the official said.

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In response to these words, Zakharova's propagandist claimed that Austin was allegedly "threatening Russia." She wrote on her social media page that the aggressor is not Russia, which has been waging a full-scale war against Ukraine for two years, but Washington.

"Is this a direct threat to Russia or an attempt to come up with an excuse for Zelenskyi? Both are crazy. Instead, now everyone can see who the aggressor is  Washington," the Kremlin's mouthpiece said.

As OBOZ.UA reported earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Russia could attack NATO countries in a few years. That is why European countries cannot allow Russia to win an aggressive war against Ukraine because the security of Europe is at stake.

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FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  The suspect in the deadly shooting of a custodial caretaker in Winton Park has been found guilty, the Fresno County Districts Attorney said on Thursday.

According to the DAs office, Michael Brandon Kent was found guilty on Thursday of second-degree murder for the shooting that killed Custodial Caretaker James Buford.

On July 19, 2023, deputies said a utility worker called law enforcement after finding an injured person, later identified as James Buford, near Piedrs and Elwood Roads in Winton Park. The victim was found by deputies along Piedra Road, outside the park. He was transported to CRMC where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Suspect sought after Fresno Co. homicide, deputies say

According to sheriffs officials, Buford was contracted by Fresno County to work as a camp host, which means he was a custodian caretaker hired to provide on-site security for Winton Park.

Deputies identified the suspect as Michael Brandon Kent. On Nov. 2, 2023, law enforcement in Camden County, Missouri, arrested Kent without incident.

Winton Park deadly shooting suspect arrested in Missouri, deputies say

The DAs office says Kent will be back in court for sentencing on April 2.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
An Oregon father accused of drugging his daughters 12-year-old friends at a sleepover last summer turned himself in on Wednesday, Lake Oswego Police announced.

Michael Meyden, 57, is facing three counts of causing another to ingest a controlled substance, application of a Schedule 4 controlled substance to another, and delivery of a controlled substance to a minor after detectives determined he allegedly exposed his daughters friends to a prescription drug, police said.

Staff at a local hospital had notified police on Aug. 26, 2023, of three 12-year-old girls whose bloodstreams contained the drug.

Meyden pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment on Wednesday, according to The Oregonian.

Randall Children Hospital Legacy Emanuel, where the girls were admitted after allegedly being drugged, via Google Maps. Google Maps

Police alleged that Meyden had laced mango smoothies with benzodiazepines, depressants that slow the nervous system, and served them to the three girls at his daughters sleepover, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by HuffPost.

Detectives noted that when they interviewed the girls on the morning after the sleepover, one of them walked slowly and used the assistance of her mother for balance, her eyelids were heavy, and she spoke slowly.

The girls told police that Meyden had been very involved with their activities during the sleepover,  that night and made them smoothies that had tiny white chunks throughout and sprinkled on top, the affidavit said.

Mr. Meyden was adamant that the girls drink out of their own cups, detectives said.

One of the girls told police she didnt like the smoothie, but Meyden allegedly insisted she drink it and made her a second one to try.

Police also alleged that after the girls went to bed in the homes basement, Meyden visited them throughout the night to check if they were awake by waving his hands or putting his finger under their noses.

One girl recounted that Meyden moved her body, but she remained awake in fear that Mr. Meyden was going to do something. When Meyden left the room, one girl sent a text to her mom for help at around 1:43 a.m.

Mom please pick me up and say I had a family emergency. I dont feel safe. I might not respond but please come get me (crying emoji), Please. Please pick up. Please. PLEASE!! the message read.

One girl called and texted several friends requesting a ride, police said in the affidavit.

And one girl texted a family friend that she felt unsafe because of her friends dad. She wrote that she was scared and that the father kept moving us away from each other but kept doing tests to make sure we werent awake. She added that one friend woke up for like 2 seconds, but kept her eyes closed and didnt talk.

The family friend agreed to pick the girl up.

It was not clear from the affidavit whether all the requests for help were sent by the same girl, or if multiple girls were texting for help.

Meyden allegedly returned to the basement to check if the girls were asleep several times. The family friend who had received the message came to pick her up in the middle of the night.

When the family friend arrived, she was greeted by Meyden, who she later told police seemed drunk after noticing his speech was slurred, according to the affidavit. The family friend told Meyden the girl had a family emergency and he allowed her to leave.

The family friend drove the girl home, where she woke up the childs parents so they could contact the other parents and tell them to pick the girls up.

When the other parents arrived at Meydens home, they were met with resistance from the host when told they were taking the girls home, according to the document. Meyden allegedly said the girls were asleep and insisted the parents come back later.

In an email to HuffPost on Friday, defense attorney Mark Cogan emphasized that Meyden is presumed innocent, adding, We have not seen the evidence.

According to Cogan, the grand jury that indicted Meyden convened in secret without a judge or defense counsel present.

We ask everyone to withhold judgment until all the facts are known, Cogan stated in the email.

Related...
Following a lawsuit involving accusations of racism, a predominantly African-American church in Dallas, Texas, has managed to block the developer from the construction of a massive warehouse near the churchs property.

Stonelake Capital Partners agreed to halt the project on Thursday, more than a week after Friendship-West Baptist Church was granted an injunction by a Dallas district court judge to suspend plans to build the 200,000-square-foot warehouse, citing environmental racism by church leaders and issues impacting zoning policies.

Paul Stafford, the churchs attorney, told the Dallas Morning News that the warehouse proposal underscored Dallas history of placing industrial sites in low-income neighborhoods where mostly people of color live.

Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes is the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church.(Photo: Facebook/Friendship-West Baptist Church.)

The warehouse location would have been next to the church and a government building and across the street from a neighborhood with many senior citizens, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Just last year, Stonelake was denied a building permit for the warehouse, which the denial was based upon the citys concerns regarding the impact of the project on the community, the lawsuit says.

The church argued the trucks that would come in and out of the property would pose a safety risk for homeowners and students nearby while pointing to the negative environmental impact.

However, all that may be legal is not logical, and all that is permitted is not prudent, according to the suit. In the absence of injunctive relief, Plaintiff and the community will suffer imminent harm and irreparable injury through the loss of enjoyment of the Plaintiffs property and the property of the community, through the negative effect the proposed development will have on the surrounding communitythrough noise, pollution, and a public nuisance.

The lawyer for the megachurch is sought damages in an amount of at least $500,000 for the loss of quiet enjoyment and decrease in property value of plaintiffs property as well as lost opportunity to development plaintiffs property in a manner consistent with the communitys needs and concerns.

Meanwhile, the church has served as a platform for Black leaders to speak about civil rights issues. In 2020, the church featured a huge Black Lives Matter banner in the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, Axios Dallas reported.

If they decide to begin construction, they will find me laying down in front of any construction machines, senior pastor Frederick Douglass Haynes III told NBC5 in June. He also said a truck yard in the neighborhood is environmental racism, claiming that the area has been a victim in the past.

Haynes not only serves the church but is also a social activist, who was chosen last year to lead the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, founded by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Haynes and some neighbors attended a city hall meeting last year to protest against the warehouse. Most of the people in my neighborhood are senior citizens that are right there in that area. We have a hard enough time trying to get out on Wheatland Road as it is, neighbor Lovie Hawkins told NBC5.

Dallas Developer Halts Construction of New Warehouse After Black Church Fights Back Against Environmental Racism
NATICK  The town is gearing up to remove the Charles River Dam in South Natick, with officials currently working on permitting and design.

Over the past few weeks, town officials have discussed how the South Natick Dam removal project will develop over the next two to five years. Bill Spratt, executive director of Natick's Public Works Department, told the Daily News that progress has been made toward the beginning stages of removal  permitting and design.

"We've done field collection and data," he said. "We have preliminary engineering analysis done. We're probably through 30% design or so."

The dam's removal is expected to take five years and cost about $1.5 million. The permitting and design process will last until summer 2025.

Natick officials have begun the process of removing the Charles River Dam, an aesthetic spillway that has fallen into disrepair.

The dam vote: Natick Select Board favors breaching Charles River spillway

In 2022, Natick Select Board members voted to remove the dam, an aesthetic spillway and fish ladder that has fallen into disrepair. Breaching the spillway will make the area more resistant to flooding, a concern that has grown in recent years due to more intense weather activity.

Dam removal process will undergo an environmental impact review

Spratt said that as the town gets further along in the design process, it will also start the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) environmental impact review process. This process, which Spratt says will likely take about two years, involves federal, state and local agencies.

The town will send its MEPA filing to the state this spring, according to Spratt. A 37-day public comment period is then launched before Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper issues a certificate of scope of information to include in the Environmental Impact Report. The town expects the certificate to be issued following the public comment period this spring, and plans to submit the Environmental Impact Report this summer.

The South Natick Dam is classified as a high-hazard dam. In Massachusetts, high-hazard dams are located where failure will likely cause loss of life and serious damage to homes, industrial, commercial facilities, important public utilities, highways or railroads.

"It's important to Natick to make sure we mitigate those risks of having a high hazard," Spratt said. "That would be a good bottom line of why residents should care about this. There's also other things, like the dam has been here for approximately 100 years and we have an opportunity to restore the Charles River to its natural form.

"It has an impact on the town of Natick, from both a liability standpoint, but also a restoration standpoint."

Debate over Charles River Dam's fate was divisive at times

The project was divisive among Natick residents after discussions about repairing or removing the dam were held in 2021.

A group of Natick residents wanted the dam repaired, calling it iconic to the town. However, the dam was never designed to offer flood control, and is purely aesthetic, and the town could be held liable for damage if the dam were to fail.

Some Natick residents, including Artie Doran, left, and Linda Curtis, expressed opposition to removal of the Charles River Dam in South Natick in July 2022, favoring that it instead be repaired.

'Drastic change either way': Ripping debate in Natick over future of Charles River Dam

Local Indigenous leaders have also opposed the practice of using dams. The Nipmuc people lived by and depended on the Quinobequin (now the Charles River) long before dams were introduced. In 2022, nine faith leaders wrote a letter to the Charles River Dam Advisory Committee. One of them, Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach, founding minister and director of the Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick, previously told the Daily News that he heard from local Indigenous leaders about the river being sacred, that their ancestors never wanted it dammed, that it should really be restored to its natural state.

The design cost for the dam's removal is about $250,000, which has been largely covered by a 2023 dam and seawall grant from the state. The total cost of the project will be better defined once the design work is complete, but it's estimated to be about $1.5 million.

Natick officials will continue to pursue grant opportunities to support the dam removal project, according to Spratt.

The town is hosting an online meeting from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on March 5 to discuss Riverfront Park improvements.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick begins permitting and design for removing Charles River Dam
(WHTM) Pennsylvania had slaves before Pennsylvania was even Pennsylvania. Dutch and Swedish settlers in the Delaware Valley held Africans as slaves. When William Penn and the Society of Friends (Quakers) arrived in the 1680s, they also kept slaves.

But there were also Quakers who found the idea of slavery distasteful, a violation of the principles of Quakerism. In 1688, a group of Quakers presented a petition against slavery to the local Monthly Meeting of Friends, which was then forwarded to the Quarterly Meeting, and then the Annual Meeting. It raised important questions about the ethics of keeping slaves, and helped stir an abolition movement in the Quaker community.

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Partly because of this opposition, slaves never became a major workforce as they did in the south. Estimates are there were only about 1,000 slaves in the colony in 1700, when the overall population was about 30,000. In 1750, when the population had hit 120,000, there were only about 6,000 slaves. (This was at a time when many southern colonies had slave populations equal to or greater than the number of white settlers.)

April 18, 1688: The Germantown Petition against slavery

But there were still many slaveholders, who bitterly resisted the idea of full abolition. The only politically practical way to eliminate slavery was to do it gradually.

On March 1, 1780, by a vote of 34 to 21, the General Assembly passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. It had fourteen sections, the first two of which establish the moral underpinnings of the act, starting by comparing slavery to the arms and tyranny of Great Britain in the Revolutionary War, then moving to religious and ethical concerns:

It is not for us to enquire why, in the creation of mankind, the inhabitants of the several parts of the earth were distinguished by a difference in feature or complexion. It is sufficient to know that all are the work of an Almighty Hand.

On this date: Congress passes the 13th Amendment

and we conceive ourselves at this particular period extraordinarily called upon, by the blessings which we have received, to manifest the sincerity of our profession, and to give a Substantial proof of our gratitude.

Section 3 proclaims That all persons, as well Negroes and Mulattoes as others, who shall be born within this state from and after the passing of this act, shall not be deemed and considered as servants for life, or slaves;

Note that it says servants for life. Section Four sets out how the process would work. Every negro or mulatto child born of enslaved mothers after the bills passage would be servants to their masters until they turned 28, at which time they would become free.

Old Black Joe, slave born 1794 who escaped to Pennsylvania, lived to be photographed before he died in 1906

Slaves born before the passage of the act would remain slaves; however, Section Five required slaveowners to register their slaves annually, or risk losing them. This, obviously, required a lot of paperwork, and a long trip to the county seat, adding a layer of inconvenience to keeping slaves. Section Five also banned the importation of slaves.

Monument honoring Harrisburgs 8th Ward, 15th and 19th amendments to be dedicated

Section Ten prohibited non-residents of Pennsylvania from keeping their slaves in the state for more than six months, and Section 14 declared existing legislation that discriminated against African Americans to be annulled and made void.

The Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery was a perfect compromise-it satisfied nobody. Slaveowners felt it interfered with their right to own property as they wish, and abolitionists were upset that all the slaves werent emancipated in one fell swoop. But ultimately, it worked; while there were slaveowners who tried to game the system, gradual abolition freed slaves over time.

The Pennsylvania Act served as a model for other states. Connecticut and Rhode Island enacted gradual emancipation laws patterned on Pennsylvanias in 1784, followed by New York in 1799 and New Jersey in 1804.

And in Pennsylvania, the number of slaves dropped from 3,737 to 1,706 between 1790 and 1800. By 1810 it was down to 795, and in 1840, there were only 64 slaves left. In 1847, 67 years after gradual abolition started, Pennsylvania decided the process had dragged out long enough and abolished slavery completely.

And while the process used was slow and painful, Pennsylvania gets the credit for being the first state to pass an abolition law.

To read the entire Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
APPLETON  Testimony during the second day of trial for a Grand Chute town supervisor accused of illegally benefiting from a public contract became complicated, reflecting the yearslong saga of events that have unfolded related to issues in the town.

Ron Wolff, 64, is charged with having private interest in a public contract, a Class I felony, for accepting a landscaping contract with Grand Chute while serving as a member of the town board.

If convicted, he could face up to 3 years in prison, a fine of $10,000, or both.

Grand Chute Town Supervisor Ron Wolff listens to opening statements during his trial Outagamie County Circuit Court on Wednesday in Appleton. Wolff is charged with having private interest in a public contract, a Class I felony, for accepting a landscaping contract with Grand Chute while serving as a member of the town board.

While the trial began Wednesday with few people in the Outagamie County courtroom, more than two dozen onlookers filled gallery seats for Thursday's testimony.

Prosecutors, who argue Wolff ignored ethical obligations he had in office in order to profit off the contract, called the last of their witnesses Thursday afternoon. The defense began presenting witnesses Thursday afternoon. The trial will wrap up Friday.

What crime is Wolff accused of?

In June 2021, Grand Chute hired Wolff's business, Lakeshore Cleaners Inc., to do work on a prairie around a pond at the Champion Center, at 5000 W. Champion Drive.

Wolff was elected and sworn in as a town supervisor in April 2021. He submitted a quote for the Champion Center pond restoration project on May 11, 2021, after engineering firm McMahon Associates, Inc, which is employed by Grand Chute and had prior approval to hire a contractor for the Champion Center project, reached out to Wolff directly.

In March 2022, state agents conducted a search warrant on Wolff's house. Over a year later, in July 2023, Wolff was charged with the felony.

Wisconsin law limits the amount of money a person in public office can make in a private contract to $15,000 in a year.

At the trial, Assistant Attorneys General Nathaniel Adamson and Robert Kaiser Jr. argue Wolff willfully ignored ethical obligations he had in office, while Wolff's defense attorney, Nathan Otis, says Wolff acted in good faith and is not liable for any crime.

Part of the central issue is whether or not Wolff has a valid "good faith" defense if he did not seek advice of an attorney regarding the legality of accepting the Champion Center project.

A 12-person jury is expected to reach a verdict Friday.

What did witnesses testify about Thursday?

Much of the testimony from both prosecution and defense witnesses addressed timelines and their understanding of municipal law.

Among testimony Thursday was the following:

Employees of McMahon Associates Inc. testified that Lakeshore Cleaners was the only company, out of two who were solicited, to submit a bid for the Champion Center project in May 2021.

The Grand Chute Town Chair Jason Van Eperen testified that he was unaware of any concerns related to Wolff's conflict of interest as owner of Lakeshore Cleaners and as a town supervisor. He said no one brought concerns about it up to him at any time in 2021.

Van Eperen, Wolff and Town Supervisor Jeff Ings were signed up to attend a multi-day virtual training for new town employees in May 2021. Part of that training addressed ethics and specifically, the legal issue of having private interest in a public contract. Van Eperen said he attended the sessions, while Ings said he did not recall attending any of them, because they interfered with his work schedule.

On June 1, 2021, the day of the town board voted to approve Lakeshore Cleaners' bid for the Champion Center project, both Wolff and his fellow supervisor and Lakeshore Cleaners employee, Jeff Ings, abstained from the vote.

No one in attendance at the meeting brought up concerns about Wolff's conflict of interest with the contract, including an attorney from the law firm employed by the town to address legal issues that arise.

The former director of Grand Chute's Department of Public Works, Katie Schwartz, said the department only discussed one concern with an attorney regarding the contract  that there was only one bid, and it was slightly above the estimate provided by McMahon.

Charles Koehler, a lawyer from the firm who serves as outside counsel for the town of Grand Chute, testified that he heard of no concerns about a conflict of interest with a project contractor and a town board member. Koehler said he was asked legal advice about the Champion Center project regarding there only being one bid, but did not learn about the issue with Wolff until he received subpoenas for the trial.

Koehler said Wolff did not reach out to him about the issue either, although he said "it's fairly rare that we get contacts directly from the board members or supervisors of our municipal clients."

Former Grand Chute Town Administrator Jim March said that he when learned possible complications existed with the Champion Center project  that there was only one bid, it was over the estimate, and it was submitted by a company owned by a town supervisor  he asked the deputy director of public works to explain the situation to Koehler and get a written opinion.

When Koehler, who testified that he did not know about the potential conflict of interest with Wolff being the owner, advised the town move forward with the contract, March said that was adequate for him, and he was no longer concerned about that project.

March testified he talked to Wolff about the Champion Center project after it was approved. March told Wolff he did not want Wolff to submit any more bids for town projects, because it was bad for optics and created legal complications. But March said he did not have concerns about the legality of the Champion Center project after receiving the go-ahead email from the town-employed attorney.

March spoke to Special Agent Jay Yerges with the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation in October 2021. He testified that he answered Yerges' questions, but never said he was concerned the Champion Center project was illegal. March said he believed state agents were "looking into other things."

At the end of the day, after the jury was excused from the courtroom, Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge Mark McGinnis told attorneys March's testimony was "completely different than what you guys told me the facts of the case were." The attorneys agreed, and there was discussion about how the rest of the trial would proceed Friday.

A timeline of the case and related legal battles

While there are a few accusations and lawsuits tied to the case, McGinnis has barred attorneys from bringing up most details about anything beyond the Champion Center issue.

March 22, 2022: Agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation executed search warrants on Wolff, a residence in Grand Chute, a residence in Nichols and Lakeshore Cleaners Inc., to search for evidence of misconduct in public office.

March 30, 2022: Wolff and his wife, Karri Wolff, filed a federal lawsuit alleging their civil rights were violated when their properties were raided.

May 2023: Former Town Administrator Jim March filed a federal lawsuit against Grand Chute, Town Chair Jason Van Eperen and supervisors Jeff Ings and Wolff, alleging March was fired in retaliation for cooperating with the state investigation into Wolff. The case is ongoing.

July 2023: Wolff was charged with having private interest in a public contract.

October 2023: Wolff's federal lawsuit was dismissed. U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled the investigators' actions were protected under the doctrine of qualified immunity.

December 2023: Wolff filed a counter-lawsuit to March's lawsuit, alleging March set him up to be charged with a crime for the Champion Center landscaping project. Wolff claims March planned to entrap Wolff either so Wolff would need to leave the Grand Chute Town Board or so that Wolff would abandon his political platform of abolishing Grand Chute's use of special assessments to pay for public improvements. The case is ongoing.

Feb. 28-March 1, 2024: Wolff goes to trial.

RELATED: Grand Chute Town Supervisor Ron Wolff's trial begins today. Here's what to know

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Day 2 of Ron Wolff trial involves testimony from former town officials
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks at a GOP press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 29, 2024. With Johnson are, left to right, GOP Reps. Blake Moore of Utah, Beth Van Duyne of Texas and Steve Scalise of Louisiana. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON  Congress passed a short-term funding extension Thursday intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to wrap up work on the annual spending bills  dodging a shutdown despite election year politics and narrow margins.

The stopgap spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution, or CR, would keep funding mostly flat for programs funded in six of the full-year bills through March 8 and for programs in the other six bills through March 22. That means Congress will face another deadline just next week for action.

The House voted 320-99 to approve the stopgap bill a few hours before the Senate voted 77-13 to pass the measure.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature, which he is expected to provide before the Friday midnight funding deadline for some federal departments.

Before approving the bill, senators voted to reject an amendment from Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul that would have barred the Federal Reserve from buying state government debt.

Senators also voted to reject a proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee that would have had the stopgap bill last through September, another from Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall that did the same thing while adding aid for Israel and a third from Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz that would have added House Republicans border security bill, often referred to by its bill number, H.R. 2.

House debate on the stopgap drew bipartisan backing from both Republicans and Democrats, though some especially conservative GOP lawmakers opposed the short-term extension.

While at the time of passing our last continuing resolution I had hoped we would not need this measure, we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence in reaching the end of this process, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, said on the House floor. I appreciate the respectful bipartisan cooperation that took place to put forward this continuing resolution and move us closer to the finish line.

GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, an appropriator, acknowledged that many of his Republican colleagues would be upset with another CR, but he noted the slim majority in the GOP and that the bill gives Congress more time to pass the remaining appropriations bills.

We are where we are, he said. This negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.

Border security

Republicans like Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Bob Good of Virginia expressed their frustration about border security, and said House Republicans have not leveraged the threat of shutting down the federal government to push for changes in immigration policy.

We just keep spending money and we keep the policies that are in place, Biggs said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said during a Thursday press conference that the bill texts for the first package of six spending bills will be released this weekend and members will be given at least 72 hours to read the bills before voting.

This is a bipartisan agreement in the end, but it sticks to the numbers, the agreement on spending, it does not go above that, Johnson said. It will increase a bit, defense spending, but there will be real cuts to non-defense discretionary spending.

Johnson added that after the remaining appropriations bills are done by the March 22 deadline, he wants to quickly move on to fiscal year 2025, as well as other issues, such as immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Thursday morning the only way for Congress to accomplish anything during divided government is through bipartisanship.

This agreement is proof that when the four leaders work together, when bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government, Schumer said. And I hope this sets the stage for Congress to finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way very soon.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he appreciated the commitment to see this process through and make good on this essential governing responsibility.

As I said earlier this week, government shutdowns never produce positive outcomes. Thats why Congress is going to avoid one this week, McConnell said. Leaders in both parties and both houses have agreed to a plan that would keep the lights on while appropriators complete their work and put annual appropriations bills on a glide path to becoming law.

Congress has used a series of these stopgap funding measures to extend its deadlines for passing the dozen annual appropriations bills after failing to meet an Oct. 1 deadline.

Deep disagreements

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have had fundamental disagreements about spending levels and the policy that goes into the bills for months.

Those differences began after Biden submitted his budget request for fiscal year 2024 in March 2023, starting off the annual process.

The disputes appeared to abate a bit after Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached agreement on total spending levels in May 2023 at the same time they brokered a bipartisan agreement to address the nations debt limit.

House GOP appropriators moved away from that agreement after McCarthy experienced pressure from especially conservative members to significantly cut spending on domestic programs below the agreement.

The original batch of House spending bills also included dozens of very conservative GOP policy initiatives, drawing rebukes from Democrats and impeding the path toward a final bipartisan agreement.

A faction of far-right House Republicans ousting McCarthy of California in early October and then spending weeks disagreeing about who should lead them also delayed the process.

Johnson, after becoming speaker, renegotiated the spending levels for defense and domestic discretionary programs with Biden in January, starting off the process of merging the GOP bills from the House with the broadly bipartisan bills approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The spending deal sets spending on defense programs at $886.3 billion and provides $772.7 billion for non-defense discretionary spending.

Congressional leaders and the four lawmakers that lead the Appropriations committees in both chambers announced Wednesday theyd reached final agreement on six bills and had an agreement for another stopgap spending bill to bridge the gap.

Those bills, which will make up the first so-called minibus, include Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD.

March 22 deadline

The remaining six bills, the toughest to negotiate, havent yet garnered bipartisan, bicameral agreement, but the statement said they will be finalized, voted on, and enacted prior to March 22.

That spending package is supposed to include the Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and State-Foreign Operations government funding bills.

Should Congress approve all dozen of the bills before the March 22 final deadline, and Biden signs them, that would place lawmakers 174 days behind their deadline.

That would be the latest members have completed work on all the bills since fiscal 2017, when they wrapped up work 216 days into the fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Congress wrapped up work on all the bills during fiscal 2018 by March 23, but that was 173 days behind their deadline. The difference between this fiscal year and then is due to leap day.

The process of funding the government is expected to start anew on March 11 when Biden submits his budget request for fiscal 2025.

The post A day ahead of shutdown, Congress works on advancing stopgap spending bills appeared first on Arkansas Advocate.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks at a GOP press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 29, 2024. With Johnson are, left to right, GOP Reps. Blake Moore of Utah, Beth Van Duyne of Texas and Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom

WASHINGTON  Congress passed a short-term funding extension Thursday intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to wrap up work on the annual spending bills  dodging a shutdown despite election year politics and narrow margins.

The stopgap spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution, or CR, would keep funding mostly flat for programs funded in six of the full-year bills through March 8 and for programs in the other six bills through March 22. That means Congress will face another deadline just next week for action.

The House voted 320-99 to approve the stopgap bill a few hours before the Senate voted 77-13 to pass the measure.

The bill now goes to President Joe Biden for his signature, which he is expected to provide before the Friday midnight funding deadline for some federal departments.

Before approving the bill, senators voted to reject an amendment from Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul that would have barred the Federal Reserve from buying state government debt.

Senators also voted to reject a proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee that would have had the stopgap bill last through September, another from Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall that did the same thing while adding aid for Israel and a third from Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz that would have added House Republicans border security bill, often referred to by its bill number, H.R. 2.

House debate on the stopgap drew bipartisan backing from both Republicans and Democrats, though some especially conservative GOP lawmakers opposed the short-term extension.

While at the time of passing our last continuing resolution I had hoped we would not need this measure, we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence in reaching the end of this process, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, said on the House floor. I appreciate the respectful bipartisan cooperation that took place to put forward this continuing resolution and move us closer to the finish line.

GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, an appropriator, acknowledged that many of his Republican colleagues would be upset with another CR, but he noted the slim majority in the GOP and that the bill gives Congress more time to pass the remaining appropriations bills.

We are where we are, he said. This negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.

Border security

Republicans like Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Bob Good of Virginia expressed their frustration about border security, and said House Republicans have not leveraged the threat of shutting down the federal government to push for changes in immigration policy.

We just keep spending money and we keep the policies that are in place, Biggs said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said during a Thursday press conference that the bill texts for the first package of six spending bills will be released this weekend and members will be given at least 72 hours to read the bills before voting.

This is a bipartisan agreement in the end, but it sticks to the numbers, the agreement on spending, it does not go above that, Johnson said. It will increase a bit, defense spending, but there will be real cuts to non-defense discretionary spending.

Johnson added that after the remaining appropriations bills are done by the March 22 deadline, he wants to quickly move on to fiscal year 2025, as well as other issues, such as immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Thursday morning the only way for Congress to accomplish anything during divided government is through bipartisanship.

This agreement is proof that when the four leaders work together, when bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government, Schumer said. And I hope this sets the stage for Congress to finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way very soon.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he appreciated the commitment to see this process through and make good on this essential governing responsibility.

As I said earlier this week, government shutdowns never produce positive outcomes. Thats why Congress is going to avoid one this week, McConnell said. Leaders in both parties and both houses have agreed to a plan that would keep the lights on while appropriators complete their work and put annual appropriations bills on a glide path to becoming law.

Congress has used a series of these stopgap funding measures to extend its deadlines for passing the dozen annual appropriations bills after failing to meet an Oct. 1 deadline.

Deep disagreements

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have had fundamental disagreements about spending levels and the policy that goes into the bills for months.

Those differences began after Biden submitted his budget request for fiscal year 2024 in March 2023, starting off the annual process.

The disputes appeared to abate a bit after Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached agreement on total spending levels in May 2023 at the same time they brokered a bipartisan agreement to address the nations debt limit.

House GOP appropriators moved away from that agreement after McCarthy experienced pressure from especially conservative members to significantly cut spending on domestic programs below the agreement.

The original batch of House spending bills also included dozens of very conservative GOP policy initiatives, drawing rebukes from Democrats and impeding the path toward a final bipartisan agreement.

A faction of far-right House Republicans ousting McCarthy of California in early October and then spending weeks disagreeing about who should lead them also delayed the process.

Johnson, after becoming speaker, renegotiated the spending levels for defense and domestic discretionary programs with Biden in January, starting off the process of merging the GOP bills from the House with the broadly bipartisan bills approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The spending deal sets spending on defense programs at $886.3 billion and provides $772.7 billion for non-defense discretionary spending.

Congressional leaders and the four lawmakers that lead the Appropriations committees in both chambers announced Wednesday theyd reached final agreement on six bills and had an agreement for another stopgap spending bill to bridge the gap.

Those bills, which will make up the first so-called minibus, include Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD.

March 22 deadline

The remaining six bills, the toughest to negotiate, havent yet garnered bipartisan, bicameral agreement, but the statement said they will be finalized, voted on, and enacted prior to March 22.

That spending package is supposed to include the Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and State-Foreign Operations government funding bills.

Should Congress approve all dozen of the bills before the March 22 final deadline, and Biden signs them, that would place lawmakers 174 days behind their deadline.

That would be the latest members have completed work on all the bills since fiscal 2017, when they wrapped up work 216 days into the fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Congress wrapped up work on all the bills during fiscal 2018 by March 23, but that was 173 days behind their deadline. The difference between this fiscal year and then is due to leap day.

The process of funding the government is expected to start anew on March 11 when Biden submits his budget request for fiscal 2025.

The post A day ahead of shutdown, Congress works on advancing stopgap spending bills appeared first on Georgia Recorder.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks at a GOP press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 29, 2024. With Johnson are, left to right, GOP Reps. Blake Moore of Utah, Beth Van Duyne of Texas and Steve Scalise of Louisiana. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa | States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON  The U.S. House on a bipartisan vote passed a short-term funding extension Thursday intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to wrap up work on the annual spending bills  trying to dodge a shutdown despite election year politics and narrow margins.

The stopgap spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution, or CR, would keep funding mostly flat for programs funded in six of the full-year bills through March 8 and for programs in the other six bills through March 22. That means Congress will face another deadline just next week for action.

The House voted 320-99 to approve the stopgap bill, which now goes to the Senate, where any one lawmaker can slow down the approval process, pushing it past the Friday midnight deadline.

A Senate failure to send the bill to President Joe Biden before then would result in a partial government shutdown for the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.

Other agencies, like the Food and Drug Administration and military construction projects, would also be closed except for essential staff until a stopgap bill is enacted.

While at the time of passing our last continuing resolution I had hoped we would not need this measure, we owe it to the American people to do our due diligence in reaching the end of this process, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, said on the House floor. I appreciate the respectful bipartisan cooperation that took place to put forward this continuing resolution and move us closer to the finish line.

GOP Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, an appropriator, acknowledged that many of his Republican colleagues would be upset with another CR, but he noted the slim majority in the GOP and that the bill gives Congress more time to pass the remaining appropriations bills.

We are where we are, he said. This negotiation has been difficult, but to close the government down at a time like this would hurt people who should not be hurt.

Border security

Republicans like Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Bob Good of Virginia expressed their frustration about border security, and said House Republicans have not leveraged the threat of shutting down the federal government to push for changes in immigration policy.

We just keep spending money and we keep the policies that are in place, Biggs said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said during a Thursday press conference that the bill texts for the first package of six spending bills will be released this weekend and members will be given at least 72 hours to read the bills before voting.

This is a bipartisan agreement in the end, but it sticks to the numbers, the agreement on spending, it does not go above that, Johnson said. It will increase a bit, defense spending, but there will be real cuts to non-defense discretionary spending.

Johnson added that after the remaining appropriations bills are done by the March 22 deadline, he wants to quickly move on to fiscal year 2025, as well as other issues, such as immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Thursday morning the only way for Congress to accomplish anything during divided government is through bipartisanship.

This agreement is proof that when the four leaders work together, when bipartisanship is prioritized, when getting things done for the American people takes a high priority, good things can happen, even in divided government, Schumer said. And I hope this sets the stage for Congress to finish the appropriations process in a bipartisan way very soon.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he appreciated the commitment to see this process through and make good on this essential governing responsibility.

As I said earlier this week, government shutdowns never produce positive outcomes. Thats why Congress is going to avoid one this week, McConnell said. Leaders in both parties and both houses have agreed to a plan that would keep the lights on while appropriators complete their work and put annual appropriations bills on a glide path to becoming law.

Congress has used a series of these stopgap funding measures to extend its deadlines for passing the dozen annual appropriations bills after failing to meet an Oct. 1 deadline.

Deep disagreements

House Republicans and Senate Democrats have had fundamental disagreements about spending levels and the policy that goes into the bills for months.

Those differences began after Biden submitted his budget request for fiscal year 2024 in March 2023, starting off the annual process.

The disputes appeared to abate a bit after Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached agreement on total spending levels in May 2023 at the same time they brokered a bipartisan agreement to address the nations debt limit.

House GOP appropriators moved away from that agreement after McCarthy experienced pressure from especially conservative members to significantly cut spending on domestic programs below the agreement.

The original batch of House spending bills also included dozens of very conservative GOP policy initiatives, drawing rebukes from Democrats and impeding the path toward a final bipartisan agreement.

A faction of far-right House Republicans ousting McCarthy of California in early October and then spending weeks disagreeing about who should lead them also delayed the process.

Johnson, after becoming speaker, renegotiated the spending levels for defense and domestic discretionary programs with Biden in January, starting off the process of merging the GOP bills from the House with the broadly bipartisan bills approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The spending deal sets spending on defense programs at $886.3 billion and provides $772.7 billion for non-defense discretionary spending.

Congressional leaders and the four lawmakers that lead the Appropriations committees in both chambers announced Wednesday theyd reached final agreement on six bills and had an agreement for another stopgap spending bill to bridge the gap.

Those bills, which will make up the first so-called minibus, include Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD.

March 22 deadline

The remaining six bills, the toughest to negotiate, havent yet garnered bipartisan, bicameral agreement, but the statement said they will be finalized, voted on, and enacted prior to March 22.

That spending package is supposed to include the Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and State-Foreign Operations government funding bills.

Should Congress approve all dozen of the bills before the March 22 final deadline, and Biden signs them, that would place lawmakers 174 days behind their deadline.

That would be the latest members have completed work on all the bills since fiscal 2017, when they wrapped up work 216 days into the fiscal year, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Congress wrapped up work on all the bills during fiscal 2018 by March 23, but that was 173 days behind their deadline. The difference between this fiscal year and then is due to leap day.

The process of funding the government is expected to start anew on March 11 when Biden submits his budget request for fiscal 2025.

The post A day ahead of shutdown, Congress works on advancing stopgap spending bills appeared first on Daily Montanan.
China has called on all countries possessing nuclear weapons to act prudently and maintain global strategic balance and stability. Beijing is convinced that there will be no winners in a nuclear war.

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This was stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, Ukrinform reports. This is how the ministry reacted to the words of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin about the possibility of using nuclear weapons.

"There will be no winners in a nuclear war, China calls on all parties to maintain restraint," Mao said.

She recalled that in January 2022, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states issued a joint statement that a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be started.

"China has always maintained that all states possessing nuclear weapons should adhere to the concept of common security, maintain global strategic balance and stability," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson explained.

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According to her, in the current situation, all parties should "work together" to reduce tensions and strategic risks.

"We call on all parties to maintain prudence and restraint and build a balanced, effective, and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and consultation," Mao said.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin spoke about dialogue with the United States and once again threatened with nuclear weapons during his address to the Federal Assembly on February 29. This was probably done to draw the West's attention to his speech and to facilitate the Kremlin's ongoing information operations.

In response, the United States said it had repeatedly warned Russia about the consequences of using nuclear weapons. They called Putin's latest threats on this topic irresponsible.

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Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
DUNCAN, Okla. (KFOR)  An award-winning actor, director and producer was born in Oklahoma on March 1, 1954.

Ron Howard, 1980. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Ron Howard was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, on March 1, 1954. Six years later, he was cast as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, leading to a long and successful career.

THIS DAY IN OKLAHOMA HISTORY: February 14

Both of Howards parents, Rance and Jean Speegle Howard, were actors. Rance attended the University of Oklahoma where he majored in drama, while Jean attended acting school in New York City.

Ron made his film debut at eighteen months old in the film Frontier Woman. He eventually shifted to television where played a regular on Playhouse 90 and later scored the role of Opie on The Andy Griffith Show in 1960. In the 70s, he became a fan favorite on Happy Days as Richie Cunningham.

Ron Howard with Happy Days cast members, date unknown. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

OHS says Howard began creating films at the age of fifteen using a Kodak Super-8 camera. After completing public school, he attended the University of Southern California for film.

THIS DAY IN OKLAHOMA HISTORY: February 8

In 1977, he had his directorial debut with Grand Theft Auto, where he was also a screenwriter and star. Since then, he has directed multiple hits like Splash in 1984, Night Shift in 1982, Cocoon in 1985, Parenthood in 1989, Apollo 13 in 1995 and The Grinch in 2000.

Howard also directed a film called Far and Away in 1992, where he told the story of an Irish immigrant couple who travel to Oklahoma Territory to participate in the 1893 Cherokee Outlet Land Run.

In 1975, Howard got married and later had four children, three daughters and a son.

To learn more, visit OKhistory.org.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Republican voters in Washington D.C. will be the next to decide on whom the party wants at the top of this year's presidential ticket, with the nation's capital presenting former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley her best chace at a primary victory yet.

Washington D.C.'s primary will take place over three days this weekend, with polls opening on Friday and not closing until Sunday evening. The City's 19 delegates will be up for grabs in the contest, with all 19 being awarded to the candidate who secures over 50% of the vote or being awarded proportionally if no candidate crosses the 50% threshold. Candidates with less than 15% of the vote will be ineligible to receive delegates.

The nation's capital, which is one of the most heavily Democratic cities in the entire country, represents a challenge for former President Donald Trump in his bid to remain undefeated in the GOP primary.

TRUMP WINS THE MICHIGAN GOP PRIMARY, BRINGING HIM ONE STEP CLOSER TO SECURING REPUBLICAN NOMINATION

Nikki Haley and former President Trump side by side.

The former president won the district in 2020 in an uncontested race, according to the Associated Press, but came in a distant third behind Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the 2016 primary.

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, the Trump campaign downplayed the importance of the upcoming primary contests.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over," a spokesperson for the campaign said. "Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election."

Trump has so far steamrolled his way to obvious frontrunner status in the primary season, coming out on top in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the Virgin Islands, South Carolina and Michigan. Haley, meanwhile, remains the only contender in the GOP field to challenge the former president, vowing to stay in the race despite the recent loss in her home state of South Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a microphone.

MICHIGAN PRIMARY PUTS MAJOR BATTLEGROUND STATE IN PLAY FOR 2024

The nation's capital holds one of the more unique primaries on the calendar, with voting opening Friday morning and not closing until Sunday at 7 p.m. Early voting and absentee voting are not allowed, while results are not released live and instead announced by the district's party officials roughly an hour after the polls close, according to the Associated Press.

The primary comes just days before Super Tuesday, when 15 states will hold GOP contests and put 865 delegates up for grabs.

Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, during an election night watch party in Charleston, South Carolina.

Trump currently holds a commanding lead in the GOP primary, while President Biden holds an equally strong grip on the Democratic side, making it all but assured the two candidates square off for a rematch of the 2020 campaign.





Original article source: DC primary represents Haley's best chance yet to beat Trump
NASA's TIMED satellite narrowly avoided colliding with a dead Russian spacecraft this week.

In the worst-case scenario, the collision could have ejected up to 7,500 bits of debris into orbit.

Satellite collisions are becoming more likely as the amount of space junk in low-Earth orbit grows.

Two satellites nearly collided in space on Wednesday in a harrowing encounter that LeoLabs, a satellite-tracking company, called "too close for comfort."

NASA's Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics, or TIMED, satellite passed by Russia's inoperative Cosmos 2221 spacecraft with less than 65 feet of clearance. That's shorter than the length of a tennis court.

These satellites are non-maneuverable, meaning neither the US nor Russia have control over where they go.

If they had collided, it could have decimated both satellites, blasting up to 7,500 fragments of space junk into Earth's orbit that would now be zooming around our planet at thousands of miles an hour, faster than bullets.

The fragments wouldn't have posed a danger to life on Earth because any debris that penetrated our atmosphere would have burned up during free fall.

But it would have threatened future spaceflight and astronaut lives since the resulting debris could have made navigating low-Earth orbit far more treacherous.

"There are 'bad neighborhoods' where these massive derelicts are accumulating preferentially," Darren McKnight, LeoLabs' senior technical fellow, told Business Insider in an email.

Avoiding collisions in these congested areas is becoming increasingly difficult as the number of objects in Earth's orbit grows yearly.

Earth's orbit is getting overcrowded

This graph shows the spatial density of non-operational objects in low-Earth orbit. The spikes correspond to altitudes most congested with space junk. LeoLabs

Near collisions between large space objects like this are rare, but it only takes one to completely change the landscape of Earth's orbit and endanger countless other satellites, space telescopes, and even the International Space Station, or ISS.

Two satellite collisions in 2007 and 2009 increased the concentration of large debris in low-Earth orbit by roughly 70%.

And with the advent of mega-constellations of internet satellites, such as SpaceX's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper, the number of objects in low-Earth orbit is growing more and more each year, increasing the risk of collisions.

Left to right: Low-Earth orbit is the most concentrated area for orbital debris but the total object population of Earth's orbit extends far beyond this inner region. NASA ODPO

In 2007, scientists estimated there were about 10,000 low-Earth objects. By 2021, that number had doubled. And most of it isn't even useful  it's space junk.

Roughly 70% of low-Earth objects are pieces of debris from damaged or defunct rockets, satellites, and nonoperational payloads, according to LeoLabs.

That's just what's cataloged, though.

The European Space Agency estimates that nearly 1 million bits of debris measuring between one and 10 centimeters are circling Earth, with another 130 million bits even smaller than that.

Space junk is so pervasive the ISS sometimes has to navigate around it.

Space debris hit the space shuttle Endeavour's radiator, creating this hole found after one of its missions. The entry hole is about 0.25 inches wide, and the exit hole is twice as large. NASA

In March 2023, the ISS dodged objects twice in one month, once to avoid a collision with a satellite and again to maneuver around debris a few days later.

Even the tiniest pieces of debris can damage the space station and endanger astronauts, though no astronaut has lost their life due to space debris  yet.

The race to clean up space

The consequences of space debris are very real, so much so that the worst-case scenario has a name: Kessler syndrome.

In this scenario, a collision sets off a chain reaction, generating a catastrophic domino effect that produces so much space debris that no spacecraft can safely leave Earth for hundreds or thousands of years.

An artist's illustration of space junk circling in low-Earth orbit. dottedhippo / Getty Images

But preventing collisions today can offset a possible Kessler-syndrome scenario in the future. And some governments and private companies have begun to address the problem.

New space-industry norms and policies in some countries are prompting satellite operators to design their spacecraft to self-destruct when they die by pushing themselves into a free fall that causes them to burn up in the atmosphere.

Last year, the FCC  the US agency that regulates most communications satellites  took its first-ever enforcement action related to space debris when it fined Dish Network $150,000 for failing to properly dispose of a retired satellite.

Some governments seem less concerned. Both India and Russia have tested anti-satellite missiles by destroying their own satellites in orbit, creating new clouds of debris.

As for old, inoperable spacecraft roaming loose in orbit, such as Cosmos 2221, NASA is outsourcing research and development to private companies to collect them.

In September 2023, the space agency awarded $850,000 to TransAstra for their concept of "FlyTrap" space-debris capture bags  basically, giant high-tech trash bags to scoop up a lot of space junk.

TransAstra's capture bags could help solve Earth's space-debris problem. TransAstra

Outside the US, other companies are coming up with their own innovative disposal solutions. The Japanese company Astroscale designed a spacecraft with a magnetic plate that can attach to dead satellites and pull them into free fall.

But these space clean-up technologies are still in testing. The European Space Agency plans to be the first to remove a piece of debris from Earth's orbit with its ClearSpace-1 mission, scheduled to launch in 2026.

Meanwhile, LeoLabs hopes that its precision data on objects in orbit will help satellite operators foresee and avoid near collisions like the one that happened Wednesday.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Flights at Port-au-Prince airport in Haitis capital have been disrupted for the second straight day by heavy gunfire nearby, as the Caribbean nation grapples with surging gang violence and political instability.

The US Embassy in Haiti issued a security alert on Friday, warning of gunfire and disruptions to traffic near the domestic and international terminals of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, as well as surrounding areas including a hotel and the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police.

The US Embassy is temporarily halting travel of official US personnel to the airport and instructing any US personnel at the airport to remain there, the embassy said.

It comes a day after shootings erupted across Haitis capital, forcing flight cancellations and killing at least four people during an attack on a police station.

American Airlines said Thursday it had suspended its daily service between Miami and Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince.

We will continue to monitor the situation with safety and security top of mind and will adjust our operation as needed, spokesperson Laura Masvidal told CNN.

Haitian airline Sunrise Airways told CNN that it suspended all flights until further notice to ensure the safety of passengers, ground crews, and aircraft.

Rapid gunfire near the airport had caused damage to some aircraft and endangered users of the domestic terminal, according to Sunrise Airways.

A US flight carrying dozens of Haitian deportees was also canceled, according to a source with knowledge of the operation and a lawyer for one of the deportees.

Immigration lawyer Philip Issa told CNN on Friday that his client was removed and taken back to detention facilities after boarding the plane in Miami Thursday.

Its baffling that weve continued to deport people to Haiti when the conditions are so dire, he said, while also complaining that US authorities had failed to provide food to the detainees or let them out since 4 p.m. the previous day.

CNN has reached out to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment.

Surging gang violence

Haiti has been gripped by a wave of unrest and gang violence in recent years.

Warring gangs control much of Port-au-Prince, choking off vital supply lines to the rest of the country. Gang members have also terrorized the metropolitan population, forcing some 200,000 people to flee their homes amid waves of indiscriminate killing, kidnapping, arson and rape.

Some 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in January alone, in what the United Nations called the most violent month in two years.

More than 8,400 people were victims of such violence through last year, according to a report from the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BIUH).

Waves of crime and violence began to sweep across Haiti following the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021.

Public frustration has mounted against Prime Minister Ariel Henry for his failure to put a lid on the unrest, especially after he failed to hold elections supposedly slated for last month, citing the escalating violence.

On Wednesday, Henry told other Caribbean nations leaders during a regional summit that he would hold polls no later than August 31 next year, his first confirmation on when a vote will finally go ahead.

Leaders from the CARICOM regional bloc - a political and economic grouping of 20 developing countries and mostly island states - said they agreed to dispatch a team to assess the electoral needs of Haiti.

A powerful Haitian gang leader said gun fights that broke out across Port-au-Prince on Thursday were aimed at overthrowing Henrys government, multiple media outlets reported.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, said in a video shared on social media that the battle will not only topple the Ariel [Henry] government, but change the whole system, according to international news agencies and Haitian media. CNN cannot independently verify the videos authenticity.

An attack on Bon Repos Police Station, north of Port-au-Prince, on Thursday left at least four people dead and three wounded, a security source told CNN.

Three other people were injured in separate attacks across the capital  one at the airport, a second near a prison in downtown Port-au-Prince, and a third inside the prison, the security source said.

CNN has reached out to the Haitian National Police for details.

International support

The fighting broke out as Henry is visiting Kenya to finalize details with Kenyan President William Ruto for the expected deployment of a multinational security support mission to Haiti. CNN has contacted the Haitian government for comment.

The security mission, authorized by the UN, has been seen by the international community as key to containing the situation in Haiti. Kenya volunteered to serve as the lead nation in that mission.

Officials from Kenya signed an agreement on Friday to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti as part of the security mission.

From Kenya, we are ready for this deployment, and I request all the other partners across the globe to step up so that we can provide a response in good time, Ruto said on Friday.

Henry thanked Kenya for agreeing to lead the mission, saying that after six months of fine-tuning it, finally, we sign. Its the last step.

The signing of the deal is intended to satisfy a court ruling from Kenyas High Court, which delayed the deployment of troops in January after finding that a reciprocal agreement with Haiti was needed.

The United States intended to contribute $200 million to the multinational security support mission to back the Haitian national police with planning, with intelligence, with airlift capacity, communications, and medical equipment and services, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
A playful puppy was adopted  then landed back at a North Carolina animal shelter.

Now, the deaf dog needs another home with someone who is accustomed to caring for pets with disabilities, according to the Humane Society of Concord & Greater Cabarrus County.

Since the animals we adopt out have already been through some bad times, we want to make sure they are going to be cared for in the best manner, Judy Sims, director of the Charlotte-area animal organization, told McClatchy News in a Feb. 29 email.

Coozies journey toward finding a home started in December, when he was found as a stray dog with a tilted head. He was brought to the shelter from another facility before he went home with a couple in January, Sims told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

But about a month later, Coozie was brought back to the humane society. His new owners discovered he had hearing loss and reportedly felt they couldnt properly train him due to their busy work schedules.

Coozie is about 6 months old and appears to be a dachshund-terrier mix. Hes described as a smart, friendly, happy and playful pup with a sense of obedience.

He is in foster care and he gets along with all of their dogs and loves to wrestle with their gentle big dog, and cuddle with the littles, the animal organization wrote Feb. 28 in a Facebook post. His foster mom says he is the best puppy ever and she is working with him to learn hand signals.

As of Feb. 29, Coozie still was in need of a new family. More details about the shelters adoption process can be found by calling 704-784-7387.

The humane society is based in Concord, roughly 25 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Dog with a penchant for kisses lands back at NC shelter. She needs another home

Stray dogs stuck together as best friends. Now they need a home  hopefully together
Cecelia Gallegos, the challenger in Madera Countys District 3 race, thinks the Board of Supervisors used too many public dollars trying to keep the countys only hospital from closing indefinitely. She thinks the county should guard against any potential future health care failures by creating a special district hospital that is approved and funded by the voters.

Shes saying this because of Madera Community Hospitals financial collapse and closure in January 2023, and almost year-long bankruptcy proceedings that followed. The hospital made progress in February toward a potential reopening when a federal bankruptcy judge approved its management agreement with its new partner, American Advanced Management Inc.

The incumbent in the race, Supervisor Robert Poythress, says the county never ruled out the possibility of a district hospital. But Poythress, whos been supervisor in District 3 since 2017, cautioned about trying to launch a new project while at the same time trying to save another.

The countys District 3 includes most of the city of Madera: Almost all of the city west of Highway 99 and a sliver of the city to the east of the highway. Because this county district is largely covered by city land, solutions to some of its issues are handled at the city level. But when Madera hospital went into crisis mode, its leadership called upon the county to help keep it from a point of no return.

This race could be decided Tuesday.

The Board of Supervisors allocated federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, known as ARPA, to try to save Madera hospital. A state-provided fund has helped reimburse some of those federal dollars. In an interview with The Fresno Bee, Gallegos criticized the county boards decisions to provide those dollars in the first place, calling them a payment of taxpayers money to a failing operation.

The hospital is something that is a sinking ship, she said. If the sky is falling, we should have heard long before they were at that point.

Poythress told the Bee that the possibility that the hospital reopens late this summer is evidence that funding it over the past year was the right move.

Without us funding that, its game over for the hospital, he said.

Their stark difference in opinion on allocating public dollars to the hospital is one example of where two candidates who are Madera County through and through diverge politically. Its also one of the issues that led to their race.

Madera County supervisor faces challenge in District 3 from councilmember

ARPA funds, Madera Community Hospital

The county gave the hospital $150,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money and $350,000 from its general fund during the pandemic in 2020.

It then gave $1 million in ARPA funds in July 2022 to pay for upgrades to the hospitals pharmacy, and another $439,183 last May for a consultant to report reopening and health care delivery scenarios, and help with its application to the states distressed hospital loan program. An allocation last May of $100,000 in ARPA money also helped pay for the renewal of the hospitals license.

In August, the county allocated a total of $1 million in ARPA money to cover the hospitals basic operating costs, called the burn rate, through September. The county then began using a $5 million state-provided fund to pay for the burn rate, which it will do at least until March 24, when the hospitals new partner, American Advanced Management Inc., will take over management. The county also used that money to reimburse all of the ARPA funds it had used for the burn rate.

The court ruling Feb. 13 that approved AAMIs management agreement with Madera hospital was, in effect, a denial of a last-minute proposal by UC San Francisco to buy the shuttered hospital. The Board of Supervisors supported the universitys attempt to buy the hospital and has also said it will support AAMI as it progresses toward a potential reopening this summer.

The finish line. Madera hospital reopening plan approved by judge. Heres whos involved

If AAMI does begin managing Madera hospital March 24, the county will commit the remaining $750,000 in state dollars to help the partner reopen the hospital. If the partner doesnt assume management on that date, the county will continue to use the state funds to pay for the burn rate.

Poythress said the funding for the minimal operating costs have mostly kept the air handlers and boilers going. The hospitals creditors took for themselves the money coming into it from insurance companies that owed Madera hospital, he said.

If the air handlers and boilers stopped working, it would cost exponentially more to reopen the hospital due to possible contamination, Poythress said.

But Gallegos questioned why the hospitals CEO continued to receive a salary  Poythress called the paid employees a skeleton staff. Gallegos also described the region-wide strain on hospital resources that have resulted from the hospitals failure.

Its not a good situation, she said. Things like that really bother me to the point where Im stepping up now.

Gallegos believes Poythress should have abstained from voting on the funding because he also sits on the hospitals Board of Trustees.

There was no conflict, Poythress said, because he received no financial compensation from the hospital as a member of its board. It was completely clear with our (county attorneys) and I made sure that was the case.

His votes to fund the hospital, he said, were those of a concerned county supervisor and community member who cares about seeing it reopen. He is confident that will happen this summer.

Tarps cover the signs outside Madera Community Hospital and the ER on Monday, July 24, 2023. The hospital closed early this year.

To Gallegos, the increasing amount the county used to help the private non-profit hospital was bad management.

If Walmart were in trouble, we could not give Walmart money, she said. We couldnt give them assistance because the money comes from the taxpayers, so we have to use it wisely.

County supervisors hoped city councilmembers would also vote to help keep the hospital afloat when they sent a letter to the city of Madera in August requesting that it also allocate some of its $23 million in ARPA money toward that end. Poythress pointed out that, despite its residents being the hospitals main clientele, the city has given no funds to help open up the hospital.

County board conversations around hospital funding last summer stressed that it was an issue for the whole community, and that the county should not have had to take the lead alone.

Gallegos said the city decided not to allocate $1 million of its own ARPA money because the hospitals leadership was not being transparent about its financial activity. The council had questions about why the hospitals CEO was still getting paid and wanted to see financial statements covering the months before the hospital went into bankruptcy, she said.

I cant vote yes if I dont know how they ended up bankrupt and what their plan is, Gallegos said.

She believes that, even if the hospital does reopen this summer, there should be another option. She said the city, while choosing not to provide funds for the hospital, hoped to partner with the county to let voters decide whether they want to fund a hospital district, also known as a health care district.

Lets use that money for something we think we can make better and build a hospital that the residents are OK with, Gallegos said. Let the residents decide. Ive had residents come up to me and say, Ill take $50 out of my check every month if thats what it takes to keep a hospital here in Madera.

Poythress said taking a hospital district initiative to the voters is an option the county has kept on the table throughout the past year, even as supervisors hoped to see Madera hospital reopen.

Its still something that were talking about, Poythress said. But we want to take things in. It would be putting the cart before the horse to be thinking about a district hospital before things continue to move forward for American Advanced (Madera hospitals new partner).

Gallegos thinks it is possible to work on both launching a hospital district initiative and looking forward to AAMIs management of Madera hospital. She said that would be fiscally responsible and looking ahead, so were not backed into a corner in the future.

What if AAMI fails? she said. If it fails, then we have to start the district process from scratch.

Poythress said AAMI is making progress toward a reopening, and reiterated that the choice to fund Madera hospital long enough for it to find a partner paid off.

If we didnt fund the burn rate, they wouldnt be opening up in four months, he said. It turns out it was the right decision.

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FAIRHOPE, Ala. (WKRG)  There is a nearly empty parking lot at Fairhope West Elementary where normally almost 1,000 kids would be in class.

Students were not able to attend school on Thursday and will have the rest of the week following an outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness.

More than 700 students absent from Fairhope East Elementary after norovirus sparks concern, precaution

Our staff at Fairhope West was really just devastated by this norovirus and the kids too, Superintendent Eddie Tyler said. We had a large number of students, but still, you cant have those children there if you dont have staff.

Fairhope East Elementary is also feeling the effects of the virus outbreak. According to reports, only 145 of the 866 students were at school Thursday after officials urged parents to keep them home if possible because of the highly contagious illness.

We have jumped on this situation and done the right thing, Tyler said. There is always going to be a few that tell you how you should have done it, but as long as the kids are safe thats my main concern.

Seven Hills volunteer Fire Chief terminated; 10 firefighters leave department

The Alabama Department of Public Healths infectious disease and outbreak team has been called in to investigate whats going on at Fairhope East and West. In a statement released to News 5, ADPH said, Infection control measures have been implemented at the schools. Specimens have been collected for analysis.

The illness is believed to be the norovirus, but an official diagnosis will have to wait for test results from the health department and that could take up to five days.

While an official diagnosis is pending, all of the schools in Fairhope are being sanitized by a company that has a spray that kills the norovirus. A deep clean of Fairhope East and West along with the Middle school was completed Wednesday night. The high school and J. Larry Newton will be cleaned Thursday night, according to officials.

All classes will be back in session on Monday, March 4.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRG News 5.
Jose Uribe, one of the three businesspeople charged in the corruption case focused on Sen. Bob Menendez, pleaded guilty Friday to bribery and other charges in a Manhattan federal court.

Uribe was an insurance broker and central player in a yearslong scheme to bribe New Jersey's senior senator with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold in exchange for favors to enrich themselves and the government of Egypt, according to federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York.

Uribe and the two other businesspeople, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, also purchased a new Mercedes-Benz for Menendez's wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and helped pay her mortgage, according to prosecutors.

"Are you happy?" Uribe allegedly texted Nadine Menendez after purchasing the Mercedes. She responded, "I will never forget this."

Uribe had also been implicated in a New Jersey state-level investigation, in which Menendez allegedly tried to intervene.

Both Menendezes, as well as Daibes and Hana, have pleaded not guilty.

In court Friday, Uribe withdrew his initial plea and pleaded guilty to seven charges, which include conspiracy to commit bribery, tax evasion and wire fraud. He faces a maximum of 95 years in prison on all counts, according to court papers. He also agreed to fully cooperate with investigators.

Lawyers for Menendez did not immediately return a message seeking comment. He has resisted calls to resign from the Senate, but his political fate is all but sealed. He's lost support at home from major figures, including Gov. Phil Murphy and his Senate colleague, Cory Booker.

And the race to succeed him has become one of the premier contests of 2024.

Murphy's wife, Tammy Murphy, is in a heated Democratic primary with Rep. Andy Kim, while a handful of Republicans are battling to become the nominee in November.
(KRON)  A preliminary hearing is underway for a San Jose father whose 3-month-old daughter, Baby Phoenix, fatally overdosed on fentanyl inside their San Jose apartment. On Thursday, David Castros defense attorney re-directed blame over the babys death toward the mother.

Testimony delivered on Day 3 of the hearing painted a portrait of what can go wrong when parents of a helpless baby are both in the throes of drug addiction.

Phoenix died on May 13, 2023 from a toxic combination of methamphetamine and fentanyl, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office. Castro, 38, is charged with felony child endangerment, and he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The father has pleaded not guilty.

In the hours leading up to Phoenixs overdose, Castro was trying to get more drugs from his dealer, according to text messages shown in court Thursday. At 6:36 p.m. on May 12, Castro texted his dealer, You got that strong s**t? Let me know.

While cross-examining the cases lead detective on the stand, a defense attorney asked many questions focusing on Phoenixs deceased mother, Emily De La Cerda.

Castro had sole custody of Phoenix, and he was alone with his baby at home when he noticed she was unresponsive, according to testimony. The father called 911 reporting that his baby was not breathing in their apartment at 5479 Spinnaker Walkway. The detective testified that the home was littered with drug paraphernalia, and fentanyl was found on Phoenixs onesie pajamas.

Defense attorney Mishya Singh focused in on Phoenixs visit with De La Cerda at her residential drug addiction treatment program on May 11. The mother had recently been released from jail and was living at the rehab facility. Singh raised the possibility that De La Cerda may have intentionally given her daughter fentanyl at the rehab to stop her from crying.

The babys visit with De La Cerda lasted a few hours. During the May 11 visit, De La Cerda text messaged Castro several times saying she didnt know how to open the babys bottle to feed Phoenix formula, and she didnt know how to calm the baby down from crying. The father picked up his baby that evening and took Phoenix home.

The countys Child Protective Services agents were aware of the couple even before Phoenix was born. Two of the couples children were previously taken away by CPS and the couple lost custody.

County pledges to reform CPS after Baby Phoenix dies

When De La Cerda gave birth to Phoenix, the mother and newborn had fentanyl in their systems, according to testimony. Castro was given full custody of Phoenix and random drug tests from a CPS agent.

After Phoenix died, he admitted to police that he was still regularly using methamphetamine and fentanyl during his daughters very short lifetime. In court on Thursday, prosecutors showed how frequently he called and text messaged his drug dealer asking for narcotics.

Castro was interrogated by San Jose Police Department detectives on October 19, the same day he was arrested.

A prosecutor played a video tape in court of the interrogation. Castro told detectives that when Phoenix was still alive, he allowed friends and drug dealers to use narcotics in his home, but never in the same room as the baby.

He also told police that, as a single dad his life was boring, he didnt throw parties at home, and he wanted to be a good father for his baby, Det. Mike Harrington testified.

In the tape, Castro says, I had people over, yes, and they use at the same time. but not a party or anything like that. It was kind of boring, most of it was boring. Im a single father. Nothing crazy, no parties.

Detectives peppered Castro with questions to find out if he was aware of potential dangers created by using narcotics around young children. Castro said when he met with CPS, case workers gave him a DVD about CPR, but CPS never provided any information or warnings about drug use.

San Jose parents appear in court after fentanyl kills Baby Winter

Phoenixs mother suffered several overdoses and survived, he told police.

On September 16, 2023, De La Cerda died at 5479 Spinnaker Walkway from a fentanyl overdose, police said. The following month, a toxicology lab result revealed the same cause of death for her baby, and San Jose Police Department officers arrested Castro.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney said the fathers behavior showed clear disregard for Phoenixs health and well-being. Prosecutors wrote, unlike a toddler, who can move around, grab things, or crawl into small places, a 3-month-old child is completely immobile and is entirely dependent on her caretaker to receive food, nutrients, and care.

Castro told the detectives that he didnt use drugs on the day before or day of Phoenixs death. He couldnt remember how many days he had been clean and sober. Im not sure, he said.

The defense attorney said Castro was drug tested on the day Phoenix died. The test results were clean. Police never drug tested De La Cerda, the defense pointed out.

During cross-examination, Singh grilled Det. Harrington, questioning why De La Cerda was never treated as a suspect. Singh asked, Did anyone visit Emily (at the rehab) and provide her with fentanyl or methamphetamine? Did anyone search her?

Det. Harrington answered, I dont know. She was not seen as a suspect in this case.

Singh asked, Wouldnt it be important to determine whether or not the baby had been exposed by the mother? Thirty-six hours before her death, Baby Phoenix was in the care of her mother, correct? You did not search her purse or vehicle?

Singh showed the court text messages that the couple exchanged while the mother was struggling to feed and soothe her baby at rehab. De La Cerda told Castro to hurry up and pick up Phoenix because the baby was crabby.

Castro replied, How are you going to be a mother later on? according to the defense.

The mother wrote back, Damn, shes a screamer if you dont have her food ready, text messages shown in court stated. When Phoenix became crabby again, the mother said she didnt know what to do. Castro suggested holding the baby and burping her.

The defense attorney said, Shes telling Mr. Castro that Phoenix is crying. Fentanyl can make someone who is agitated calm, lethargic. If the baby is crying, you could give them fentanyl to calm them down, thats a possibility, right?

Singh added, Emily had no problem with using fentanyl and exposing Phoenix to fentanyl while she was pregnant.

During a taped police interrogation, Castro can be heard saying he usually smokes fentanyl using a bong, or by boiling it, also known as chasing the dragon. Obviously, I wouldnt do it near (the baby.)

Castro told detectives that he decorated his infants baby room and he took good care of his daughter. Phoenix usually slept in her bassinet. Around 1 a.m. on May 13, she woke up crying, so Castro gave her a bottle and changed her diaper. After the baby became sleepy again, the father and infant fell asleep together on a couch. Before sunrise, Castro woke up, realized something was wrong, and started performing CPR on Phoenix, he told detectives.

Evidence presented in court for the preliminary hearing revealed that investigators are not 100 percent sure exactly when Phoenix overdosed on drugs. On Wednesday, a coroner testified that the baby died about 24-36 hours before the father called 911 in the early morning hours of May 13, the Mercury News reported. But Castro told police that he didnt realize anything was wrong until he woke up that morning.

On Thursday, the defense attorney showed dozens of baby photos that Castro snapped of his daughter during her 3-month-long life. In the photos, the infant appears healthy and clean. The defense also played videos of Castro playing baby games with his daughter.

When parents are entrenched in using drugs, the children can also be neglected. She appears healthy, Singh said.

The detective on the witness stand responded, Yes, she appears, adorable.

After the hearing concludes, a Santa Clara County judge will decide if prosecutors have enough evidence for the case to move forward to trial.

Castros criminal history includes two felony and 16 misdemeanor convictions. Eight of his 18 convictions were for drug-related crimes dating back to 2011.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
Ukraine's Armed Forces shot downed 13 Russian aircraft in February, the Defense Ministry reported on March 1.

This is the biggest number of planes Ukraine managed to destroy in a single month since October 2022, according to the ministry.

The 13 aircraft downed in February include 10 Su-34 fighter jets, two Su-35 fighter jets, and one A-50 early warning and control aircraft, the report said.

"We are grateful to our soldiers for their efficient work. And to our partners - for strengthening the air defense capabilities of Ukraine," the ministry said.

Earlier on Feb. 29 Ukraine shot down three Su-34 jets in a single day, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat confirmed to the Kyiv Independent. Each plane is estimated to cost around $36 million.

Russia has decreased the usage of A-50, as it lost two aircraft of this type in January and February, Ihnat said on television on Feb. 27.

One A-50 aircraft costs around $330 million.

According to the General Staff, Ukraine has downed a total of 345 Russian planes since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin squared off with the House lawmakers Thursday about his secret hospital stay, following complications from prostate cancer surgery.

I never intended to keep my hospitalization from the White House or from anybody else, Austin said, blaming a breakdown in communication.

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) pressed Austin on why it took so long to notify the President, Congress, and the public about it.

The chain of command doesnt work when the commander-in-chief doesnt know who to call, Rogers said.

Congressman Jim Banks (R-Ind.) says Austins absence was a matter of national security.

Are you surprised the president didnt call for your resignation? Banks asked.

The president has expressed full faith and confidence in me, Austin replied.

House Democrats say they were uncomfortable with how Austin handled his hospitalization, but they came to his defense.

You have an extraordinary service record, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) said.

Garamendi and Congressman Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) say at no point during Austins illness was the country unsafe.

There was just never any moment where there was any absence of authority within the department, Courtney said.

The Pentagon is conducting a review of the roles, processes and actions related to Austins hospitalization and pledges to do better going forward.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
People place flowers and tributes in front of the Russian embassy on the day of the burial of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. imanek Vit/CTK/dpa

Thousands of people defiantly bade an emotional farewell on Friday to Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident who died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison, at times unable to contain their anger at the authorities they blamed for his death.

At the church dedicated to the "Assuage My Sorrows" icon of the Mother of God in Moscow's south-eastern Maryino district on Friday, mourners carrying flowers crowded around metal bars to bid farewell to the opposition leader.

In the church, pictures of Navalny's body in the open coffin, covered in flowers and surrounded by numerous people during the service were also shown for the first time. Navalny's face was visible.

His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya, who had fought to have her son released, was holding a candle and sitting with his father by the coffin during the ceremony. People hugged them after the funeral service.

Dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed personnel took up position from the early morning ahead of the funeral service. Police also erected metal fences over a wide area ahead of the event.

Officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by and mobile internet services were reportedly shut down in the area. A notice was also reportedly posted at the church asking people not to film or take photographs.

"Russia without Putin!" "Putin is a murderer!" "Russia will be free!" and "No to war!" people chanted people in chorus outside the funeral service amid a tense atmosphere.

In a livestream on YouTube, Navalny's team showed thousands of people chanting "Navalny, Navalny, Navalny" behind barriers. They chanted: "We do not forget. We do not forgive."

"I was afraid to come, but Navalny was a symbol of fearlessness," said 20-year-old Artyom.

Pensioner Alla had white carnations with her. She was worried about getting arrested. "I've already received two administrative penalties, and they booked me on the third one," she said, as prison vans circled the crowd.

In several cities including Moscow, there were arrests at events to remember Navalny, according to rights activists.

The civil rights platform OWD-Info wrote on Friday evening that there had been 128 arrests in 19 cities, including 31 in Novosibirsk and 17 in Moscow.

After the funeral service in the church in Maryino, the brown coffin was transported to Moscow's Borisov cemetery for the burial. Thousands of people walked the half hour or so to the cemetery.

His colleagues and close supporters, who are abroad due to the threat of arrest, wrestled with tears as Navalny's relatives kissed the body. The live images were shown on a YouTube stream. The body was covered with a cloth before the coffin was closed and lowered into the ground.

The "Terminator 2" theme song was played. "[Navalny] thought Terminator 2 was the best film on earth. The music from the final scene was played at his funeral," his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

His widow published a video clip with scenes from their life together in a moving farewell to her husband.

In the post on Instagram, 47-year-old Yulia Navalnaya wrote: "Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For the love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking of me."

Navalnaya, daughter Daria and son Zakhar were not in Moscow for the funeral - for security reasons.

The widow has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of Navalny's murder and must expect to be arrested if she returned to her homeland. She has also announced that she will continue her husband's political fight against Putin.

The Kremlin rejects responsibility for his death, while continuing preparations for elections on March 15-17 that are expected to install Putin for a fifth term.

The heightened security measures indicated that even after his death, Navalny, a main challenger to Putin in recent years, remains a major cause of concern for the authorities.

According to the authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in a prison camp in the Yamal region, 1,900 kilometres north-east of Moscow, at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death have not been clarified.

The politician, weakened by an earlier poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed in the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to Navalny's team, the death certificate states that the cause of death was "natural." Navalny's mother said that she had repeatedly resisted Kremlin plans to have him buried in secret.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell expressed condolences to the family and friends of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday.

"Navalny's beliefs will not disappear - ideas cannot be tortured, poisoned or killed," he said.

Navalny "remains an inspiration for many in Russia and beyond," he added.

People place flowers and tributes outside the Russian Embassy on the day of the burial of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in Helsinki. Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva/dpa

A placard reading "Putin killed Navalny" is placed among Flowers, candles and pictures, laid in tribute to deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, near the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. . Sven Hoppe/dpa
Chicagos Democratic establishment came out in force Friday for U.S. Rep. Danny Davis as he heads into the final stretch of a primary campaign for the seat hes held since 1997.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, freshman U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, former Gov. Pat Quinn and former Secretary of State Jesse White were among the elected officials standing at the microphones with Davis during a morning stop at Mannys Cafeteria & Delicatessen, a regular stop for the citys political class on the Near West Side.

If those individuals are willing to stand and say that you are doing and have done a good job, it matters not what anybody else says, it matters not what anybody else believes, said Davis, who has made his seniority in Congress and his position on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee key components of his pitch to voters for a 15th term.

Davis faces four challengers, including Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and third-time opponent Kina Collins, in the March 19 primary for the 7th Congressional District seat.

Collins, who lost to Davis by 6 points in 2022, and Conyears-Ervin both have argued that its time for new representation for the district, which centers on the West Side but stretches from the lakefront to western suburbs past the the Tri-State Tollway, and from Chicagos Old Town neighborhood on the North Side to West Englewood on the South Side.

But Davis backers say the longtime congressman has delivered for his district and the state during his almost three decades in Washington.

Pritzker praised Davis for his work on issues including health care, housing, criminal justice and social services.

Throughout his time in Congress, Danny has worked with his colleagues, even those across the aisle, to deliver investments and solutions for the communities across his district, said Pritzker, who endorsed Davis last summer.

The display of endorsements came two days after a group of influential Black clergy members announced their support for Conyears-Ervin and about two weeks after she got the nod of the politically powerful Chicago Teachers Union. But heading into Fridays news conference, Pritzker told reporters the event was a show of strength, not a sign of concern over Davis chances in the five-way primary race.

Hes in good shape, Pritzker said. Were just trying to make sure we get the vote out.

Youve got to always run like youre even or behind. This guy, I think hes ahead and doing well in the district, the governor said.

As of Friday, Davis had yet to report any financial contributions from Pritzker, whos given $58,200 to other Democratic U.S. House and Senate candidates during the current election cycle, according to the most recent federal campaign finance reports.

Preckwinkle, who also chairs the Cook County Democratic Party, lauded Davis, who was an alderman and Cook County commissioner before his time in Congress, for having a breadth of experience that few people bring to the job.

He has been a strong advocate and proponent of our public health system, for which Im deeply grateful, Preckwinkle said. So on behalf of all the people in Cook County for whom he has been an advocate, not just the members of his district, not just the folks in his district, but for all of Cook County, I want to thank him for his service and encourage you to support him in this election.

In an election year during which voters have voiced concerns about the advanced age of both partys presumptive presidential nominees, the 82-year-old Davis age has been an undercurrent in the 7th District Democratic primary as well.

Quinn, a former Democratic governor and longtime constituent, brushed aside any concerns that Davis is slowing down.

As long as hes been congressman, hes been my congressman, Quinn said after the news conference. So you can count on him. And I think thats important, to have somebody you can count on in Congress, especially in these times.

While he respects the other candidates in the race, theyre nowhere near the ability of Danny Davis, Quinn said. I mean, we have one of the very best congressmen in America.

Early and mail-in voting already are underway ahead of the March 19 primary.

Also on the ballot in the 7th District Democratic race are Nikhil Bhatia and Kouri Marshall, both of Chicago.

The lone candidate on the Republican ballot is perennial candidate Chad Koppie, who resides outside the district in far northwest suburban Gilberts.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  Republicans in Congress are blocking legislation that aims to protect access to IVF.

Democrats worry a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling threatens the practice and want to protect it at the federal level.

Women in America: wake up, said U.S. Rep. Susie Lee, (D-Nev.).

Lee said Congress needs to pass a law that guarantees every American woman the right to fertility treatment.

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, (D-Ala.), said since the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos used for IVF are children, doctors and fertility clinics in her home state are turning away women.

Some have devoted their life savings to fertility treatment only to have their hopes and dreams ripped away by Republican judges, Sewell said.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, (D-Calif.), warns if Republicans have their way, this will not end with Alabama.

This is the Republican dream realized into a waking nightmare, Clark said.

House Republicans say they support IVF.

It needs to be readily available, said House Speaker Mike Johnson, (R-La.). It needs to be something that every American supports.

However, Johnson would not say whether he supports Democrats bill that would give federal protections to IVF services, and Senate Republicans are having a similar debate.

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, (R-Miss.), blocked a vote on the legislation, arguing it would also legalize practices like human cloning and gene editing designer babies.

It had many, many other aspects to it besides just protecting IVF, said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, (R-W.Va.).

Capito also opposes the bill, but its sponsor, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, (D-Ill.), said theyre being shortsighted.

IVF is the reason I get to experience the chaos and the beauty, the stress and the joy that is motherhood, Duckworth said.

Democrats plan to bring up the bill for another vote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Democrats are going on offense over access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), looking to hold Republicans feet to the fire and force them to answer uncomfortable questions about the full impact of fetal personhood.

In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling, Republicans have publicly spoken up to say they fully support IVF.

But they have largely avoided detailing how clinics should handle unimplanted, viable embryos, as many seem to agree that embryos are children with equal rights.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is circulating a nonbinding resolution expressing strong support for continued access to fertility care, including in vitro fertilization.

Yet neither she nor any other Republicans have co-sponsored legislation by Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) that would federally codify Americans rights to IVF.

Wild on Thursday said the bill has picked up more than 90 additional co-sponsors this week, all of them Democrats.

In an open letter posted Thursday, the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, led by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), called out what they said was the hypocrisy of Maces resolution.

The outcry that has been heard since the Alabama decision was handed down is one that cannot be ignored. Which is, of course, why House Republicans have tried to change the subject with this resolution, they wrote.

During a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) dodged when asked if he believed discarding a fertilized embryo is murder.

Look, I believe in the sanctity of every human life  I always have  and because of that I support IVF and its availability, Johnson said.

During IVF treatments, multiple eggs are often harvested, fertilized and then frozen to increase the chances of successful implementation and pregnancy. If an embryo is not viable, if genetic abnormalities are identified or if a patient does not wish to have any more children, common medical practice is to discard them.

Johnson is a religious conservative who has long said he believes life begins at conception.

Like 124 other House Republicans, Johnson is a co-sponsor of the Life at Conception Act, which would grant personhood from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or any other mechanism of creation. If enacted, it would likely have the same impact as the Alabama decision across the country.

The Alabama ruling criminalized the destruction of frozen embryos under Alabamas Wrongful Death of a Minor Act and led multiple clinics in the state, including the states largest health system, to pause IVF operations for fear of legal repercussions.

Many Republicans raced to distance themselves from the ruling, and the GOP Senate campaign arm called on candidates to reject attempts to regulate access to the procedure.

But Democrats, including President Biden, say the ruling is the logical extension of Republicans anti-abortion views and are seeking to tie the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade.

They are also eager to hang the decision around the neck of former President Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination.

Its simple: if Donald Trump supported IVF, he would demand Republicans protect access to it  but he hasnt. The moment Roe was overturned, Donald Trumps legacy became every abortion ban, limit on womens health care, and any family losing access to the IVF treatment they need across the country, Biden-Harris 2024 senior spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement.

In the Senate, Republicans have largely said they think fertility treatments are a states rights issue.

While they support access to IVF, they argue the U.S. government doesnt need to get involved in protecting it.

I support IVF, and under Dobbs, the decision about how to work things out in Alabama is up to the people of Alabama, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters. I have every confidence that the people of Alabama, either themselves or through their elected representatives, will work out a way to protect in vitro fertilization.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said he hopes that states can work it out and endorsed the model adopted by Louisiana in 1986, which says an embryo is a juridical person and bans the deliberate destruction of embryos.

But Senate Democrats said Republicans are trying to have it both ways.

You cant claim that life begins a minute an egg is fertilized and then claim that you are fully supportive of IVF. Thats not how this is going to work, Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) told reporters Wednesday before asking for unanimous consent to pass a bill creating federal IVF protections.

The American people need to know that when they make their decision in November.

Senate Republicans ultimately blocked Duckworths bill. Under the expedited unanimous consent process, any single senator can object to passage.

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) objected, saying the legislation was an overreach full of poison pills that would go far beyond ensuring access to IVF.

The lack of a formal roll call vote could give cover to Republicans if they continue to publicly back access to IVF, but Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Democrats arent going to let up.

This isnt some surprise. The Alabama Supreme Court decision is Republican ideology in action. So spare me the empty statements, Murray said on the Senate floor Wednesday. Unless youre actually going to work with us to protect IVF, save your breath.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An aerial view of the Fun F/X warehouse on Sample Street after a fire ravaged the building in July 2019. The owner now claims the city should be held responsible for its alleged role in impairing the building's sprinkler system.

SOUTH BEND  South Bend leaders have deemed the former Fun F/X building, the site of a massive fire in 2019, unsafe under Indiana law and plan to demolish the crumbling brick remnants. But plans were further delayed this week by a bidder's calculation error as the building's owner continues to seek damages from the city in a lawsuit.

The $553,800 bid from Green Demolition Contractors was to be approved Tuesday by the South Bend Board of Public Works. But a miscalculation by the company overestimated the percentage of minority- and women-owned businesses that would participate, senior project engineer Zach Hurst said. The corrected numbers didn't meet the goals established by city ordinance.

The next lowest bidder was asking for an additional $275,000 to do the job, Hurst said. The city will instead request more bids and seek to approve the demolition at a future meeting. Because the board meets twice a month, the delay is likely to last one to two months.

Blight: More than 700 truckloads of debris later, EPA leaves Drewrys Brewery site to South Bend

The former Halloween supply warehouse at 1000 W. Sample St. is owned by Victor Cao, 57, who founded Fun F/X in 1989. He bought the Sample Street property in 1999 and had just moved all of his inventory out of a store on Grape Road when the fire erupted in July 2019.

Store owner claims South Bend is liable for fire

After the fire, Cao filed multiple ongoing lawsuits against Legacy Fire Protection Services and the city of South Bend.

A federal court ruling last February held that Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company owed nothing to Cao because he knew about an issue with the building's sprinkler system and failed to report it to his insurer. Cao requested a $7 million payout, claiming the fire destroyed the building and almost everything inside.

Cao is suing the city with the allegation that a South Bend employee in April 2017 errantly cut and capped the pipe that supplied the building's sprinkler system. An inspection later that year revealed the sprinklers had no water pressure. The issue was unresolved by the time of the 2019 fire.

"I lost everything," Cao said in a phone interview Wednesday. "It's one of those situations where you just keep hoping that the nightmare will end soon so you can just move on and rebuild, but it's been over four years now."

Victor Cao, former owner of Fun F/X, standing at the scene of a 2019 fire that wiped out his South Bend warehouse.

The city doesn't comment on pending litigation. But Caleb Bauer, executive director of community investment, said that once the city pays for the demolition, it would impose a tax lien on Cao to reimburse taxpayers.

Bauer said the city hopes to take ownership of the property at a future St. Joseph County tax sale.

Cao said he couldn't afford to pay for a demolition above $500,000 unless he won his lawsuit against the city. But he wants to see the building torn down.

"I don't want to see anyone there getting hurt," Cao said. "It's a reminder of a nightmare for me."

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Fun F/X building set for demolition after massive 2019 fire
MARICOPA, Calif. (KGET)  The Kern County Sheriffs Office is searching for a suspect who allegedly shot a person in the leg in Maricopa.

KCSO said deputies assigned to the Taft Substation were dispatched to the 800 block of San Joaquin Street regarding a subject who had been shot in the leg on Wednesday, Feb. 28 just before 4:30 p.m.

The victim was located in front of the Kern County Fire Department station in Maricopa, where he received medical attention. The victim was later transported by ambulance to a hospital in Bakersfield for further treatment, according to KCSO.

2 hospitalized after vehicle collides with disabled car on Highway 58: CHP

After speaking with witnesses, deputies say they learned that the suspect involved was identified as a man with long hair in his 30s. The suspect was approximately 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighed approximately 190 pounds and was last seen driving a gray SUV.

Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation is requested to contact KCSO at 661-861-3110 or Secret Witness 661-322-4040.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov has been given one of the most sensitive jobs of his incoming team: reforming and managing Ukraines troubled military procurements. His overloaded daily schedule barely hints at the scope of the issue.

Former Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov and his entire team were fired after multiple corruption scandals came to light, mid-war. In 2023, journalists revealed that the ministry was buying food at highly inflated prices and ordering worthless jackets from a Turkish company connected to a Ukrainian lawmakers family.

Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov and the ministrys procurement department head, Bohdan Khmelnytskyi were charged with embezzlement, causing over Hr 1 billion ($27 million) in losses, according to Ukraines Security Service.

Read also: Reznikovs tenure as defense chief ends after latest corruption allegations

Another procurement official, Oleksandr Liyev, is in custody, and police are investigating his successor, Toomas Nakhkur. Each faces up to 12 years in prison. They were supposed to procure 100,000 mortar shells by February 2023, but none ever materialized.

This alleged Hr 1.5 billion ($39.6 million) scheme coincided with a severe ammo shortage at the peak of the battle of Bakhmut.

Klimenkov, who took office in November, faces an uphill battle.

He was hired to fundamentally transform Ukraines troubled defense acquisitions into a robust, efficient system, with impeccable oversight. This means tearing any traces of Soviet influence out with the roots.

The priority of our work is to finish the reforms started decades ago  defeating the Soviet legacy, Klimenkov said, popping into a ministry conference room for a chat with the Kyiv Independent.

We eliminated it from the street signs and monuments but it lives on inside the very system.

The snag is that Ukraine is also fighting a total war for survival. So Klimenkovs team also has to ensure that the supplies keep flowing with no interruptions. The reforms have to be done as quickly as possible, but also be smooth and gradual enough to prevent dangerous disruptions to procurement.

Some steps were made. The scandal-ridden department was disbanded. In its place, the ministry created two agencies which have the sole authority to buy things for the military  one vehicles and weapons, the other everything else.

Dmytro Klimenkov, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, talks to The Kyiv Independent on Feb. 22, 2024. (Press Service/Defense Ministry of Ukraine)

The ministry itself provides policy, oversight and a list of what everybody needs. This is only the beginning of Klimenkovs responsibility.

The management, the logistics, they have many constituent parts that have to be tracked daily. The better we see these important things, the faster we can react to problems and there are plenty of problems because were at war, he said. Creating the two agencies is just the tip of the iceberg.

Clad in black business casual, Klimenkov carries himself with a civilian vibe.

He has this in common with much of the team picked by new Defense Minister Rustem Umerov  they tend to be younger, with backgrounds in business, civil society or digital innovation.

While some of them have done a lot of work to support the military, they hadnt been part of it. Umerov himself previously headed the State Property Fund for about a year. Klimenkov was his first deputy.

Before that, Klimenkov worked in the private sector. He took his engineering and business management degrees to Ericsson where he last worked as project manager. He then went to Ukraine International Airlines, serving as the air fleet logistics director and then as director of infrastructure and logistics.

Read also: Who is Rustem Umerov, Ukraines soon-to-be defense minister?

The deputy minister said he brought that experience into his current job. The first thing he did was run a cross check to see where the problems were.

The first problem I saw is that procurements were concentrated in certain power verticals, he said. This is unacceptable in business big or small, because the problem is corruption arising from conflict of interest. The ministry wrote its own technical standards for what to buy, then did the purchases themselves.

The replacement model was worked out based on what top NATO countries do, modified for Ukraines situation. Ordinarily, there might be one procurement agency, like what Ukraine did for health acquisitions with Medical Procurements of Ukraine.

But since Ukraine is at war and weapon purchases require extra layers of military secrecy, the defense ministry made two procurement agencies  lethal and non-lethal.

The non-lethal agency will do all its procurements through Prozorro, an online procurement system, and is being run by Arsen Zhumadilov, who formerly headed up Medical Procurements of Ukraine. The ministry is working with the Anti-Corruption Council and civil society for extra oversight.

Lethal purchases wont be open to the public, but can be viewed by enforcement bodies and the countries making and providing the weapons.

Klimenkov also said that theyre eliminating the lack of international cooperation that occasionally disrupted delivery contracts.

Every week I meet with U.S., U.K., European allies, where we coordinate our action plans and show were doing this or that or what we need by this time. This avoids wasting time and forestalls any artificial changes to market competition that might cause prices to spike.

There will also be a feedback system for weapon systems, which will be battlefield tested and referred back to the developer for improvement if there are issues.

We are not allowed to make mistakes, Klimenkov said. We cant stop for 2-3 months to fix something.

Read also: Deputy defense minister plans to transform ministry  heres how

As for the new policy department, it will establish all the rules, control for quality and ensure that its not possible for a supplier to pull another fast one.

Klimenkov broke the food scandal down like this: the ministry has a list of all provisions it needs to buy. Unscrupulous suppliers saw the opportunity to manipulate prices. Goods that they supplied rarely and in small quantities got deeply discounted. But prices were doubled or tripled on goods that they supplied often, in large quantities.

This was enough to disguise the profiteering for a while, with the participation of allegedly complicit defense ministry officials.

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There are now multiple ongoing court cases involving suppliers. The ministry is working to claw back some of the money these suppliers have been paid, or their assets.

The new defense team is trying to curb price tampering by introducing price floors and ceilings on goods. They also dissolved the previous procurement-handling offices within the ministry.

The newly-created bodies will have to be better-managed. Short-term KPIs have already been set and the ministry has signed statutes making independent supervisory boards mandatory at both, Klimenkov said. To attract qualified people, the positions have to offer competitive market rates.

Unfortunately, ministries tend to give people low salaries and high responsibilities. It doesnt work like that, Klimenkov said. People have to know their career will develop and be motivated.

As for himself, the deputy minister has one master KPI in mind above all others.

My KPI is for my job to become unnecessary, he said.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
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Quality Journalism for Critical Times

In light of an expected veto of the Legislatures sweeping social-media ban for children below age 16, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said Friday that her chamber will try again to send Gov. Ron DeSantis a version more to his liking.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has been saying that he thinks parents should be able to opt-in their children for social media platforms  a provision the House and Senate firmly rejected in passing HB 1, a priority for House Speaker Paul Renner. The Legislature passed the combined bill last week and sent it to the governor last Friday.

DeSantis hasnt outright said he plans a veto, at least not publicly.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. Credit: Florida Senate

In addressing the Senate as it opened business for the day, Passidomo appeared to concede the governor would prevail in the dispute. She proposed bringing up the porn bill (HB 3) as a separate item and voting on it on Monday. She mentioned an amendment planned for release later in the day, but provided no details about whether it would include a version of the social-media ban that the governor might view more favorably.

I know we all share a desire to protect children from content that is harmful, she said.

As Sen. [Darryl] Rouson so eloquently stated on the floor a few days ago, there are differences for how to get there but we all want to be part of the solution. With HB 3 in our possession, we hold in our hands the opportunity to facilitate a potential solution to make sure this critical issue is addressed before the end of session. Rousons district includes parts of Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

The Legislature is due to adjourn on March 8, next Friday.

Speaker Paul Renner did not discuss the situation when the Florida House convened for the day.

This story will be updated as the situation develops.

The post With DeSantis down on social media ban for teens, Legislature starts maneuvering appeared first on Florida Phoenix.
In this photo illustration, social media apps are seen on a mobile phone. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Quality Journalism for Critical Times

As expected, Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed legislation enacting a ban on social media use by children under age 16, noting that the Legislature was working on a new version that would allow parents to opt-in their kids to these platforms.

He made the announcement via his X stream.

Ron DeSantis. Credit: Governors office

I have vetoed HB 1 because the Legislature is about to produce a different, superior bill. Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech. I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon, DeSantis wrote.

The veto, officially released during the afternoon, mid-afternoon, killed HB 1, a priority for House Speaker Paul Renner. The Legislature passed the bill last week, including a requirement that pornography sites verify the ages of their users, and sent it to the governor last Friday.

The porn language had been contained in a separate bill, HB 3, which remained in the Legislatures hands. Social-media bill sponsors, chiefly Republicans Erin Grall in the Senate and Tyler Sirois in the House, along with House Democrat Michele Rayner, to work out changes.

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo announced the reopened talks after that chamber convened Friday morning. The plan, she said, was to take up the amendment Monday, the first day of the last week of the Legislatures regular session.

The amendment dropped in mid-afternoon. It calls on platforms to cancel accounts for users under age 14, but 14- and 15-year-olds could open or retain accounts if the minors parent or guardian provides consent for the minor to become an account holder.

Supporters believe social media open children to bullying, sex abuse, depression, and self-harm blaming algorithms designed to boost engagement and keep kids clicking.

Poison

House Speaker Paul Renner discussed the maneuvering with reporters on Friday afternoon. The bill has been his top priority for the session.

We believe that we started out with a very, very good bill. And now this bill is even better, Renner said.

He called social media poison.

Their business model is addiction that causes harm to children for profit. Thats not good. And so, I think from that standpoint, I would, I do favor bright lines, Renner said.

But again, this is a product of compromise. And I think the way weve addressed it is a nuanced one that gives deference to the fact that we have our views of things and others have the view that we shouldnt be involved at all. And so, I think having a parental consent component at this age level is an appropriate place to land where probably there will be wider acceptance in the community.

The amendment drops language requiring platforms to verify teenagers ages in favor of authorizing prosecution by the attorney generals office or civil lawsuits  sufficient incentives to the platforms to actually follow the law, Renner said, while removing a possible constitutional objection.

Rayner emphasized to reporters: This is a bipartisan bill.

We have a product that will survive constitutional scrutiny and will make sure that we are setting the tone, not only for the state of Florida but for the rest country on how to protect our children. Once again, were not talking about content, right, were talking about a business model, and that is a clear difference, Rayner said.

Harm to children

The amendment retains language exempting platforms that dont subject users to engagement features calculated to keep them online, including algorithms and like buttons.

However, the porn language would require platforms that allow people under 18 access to material harmful to minors, defined as appealing to prurient interest as established by contemporary community standards, to apply a reasonable age verification method conducted by a nongovernmental, independent, third-party not affiliated with the commercial entity.

The commercial entity must offer anonymous age verification and standard age verification, and a person attempting to access the material may select which method will be used to verify his or her age, the amendment says.

Covered material would include patently offensive sexual material that when taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors. It contains penalties equivalent to those in the social media bill.

The post DeSantis, Legislature reach compromise allowing parental consent to teen social media use appeared first on Florida Phoenix.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida  After years of legal wrangling, Florida will let a one-time Italian television producer and convicted murderer whose case has attracted international attention serve out his sentence in his home country.

Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the green-light to transfer 66-year-old Enrico Forti to Italian authorities on the same day that the nations prime minister Giorgia Meloni is scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. Meloni also spoke to DeSantis about the transfer on Friday.

Both the Biden administration and the administration of former President Donald Trump had sought to transfer Forti back to Italy.

DeSantis first gave conditional approval to handing over Forti  who was convicted in 2000 of gunning down an Australian man and leaving his body on a stretch of beach near Miami  more than three years ago even though Miami-Dade prosecutors who prosecuted him objected to the transfer. Forti has insisted on his innocence, and previous media reports have pointed out how Italian journalists have questioned his conviction. His case has even been compared to Amanda Knox, the American who was convicted of murder in Italy but who was eventually freed.

Florida officials wanted assurances that Forti would serve out his life sentence in an Italian jail before handing him over. The governors office said the victims remaining family and Australian government are on board with the decision to have Forti serve the rest of his sentence in Italy.

Ryan Newman, the general counsel for DeSantis, sent a letter on Thursday to the U.S. Department of Justice stating that Florida had agreed to the transfer now because federal authorities have said that the transfer is in the national interest as it is beneficial to furthering the relationship between the governments of Italy and the United States.

Among those expressing support for the move is former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

When I was Secretary of State, we received assurances that should Enrico Forti ever be extradited to Italy, he would live out his days in an Italian prison consistent with Italian law, Pompeo said in a statement. I am confident that the Italian Government will fulfill their promises. Since this was a request of the Italian Government, this will go a long way toward fostering the continued strength of the diplomatic relations of our two countries."

DeSantis spokesperson Bryan Griffin added that additionally, this move is expected to bring considerable taxpayer savings to the people of Florida as Italy will assume the cost of Mr. Fortis lifetime custody. Griffin added that such transfer approvals are not made without considerable examination. Todays action completes the conditional approval of the transfer made in 2020 by the DeSantis Administration and concludes extensive negotiations and due diligence.

Previous news reports have detailed how Forti, a one-time windsurfing champion, was charged with killing of Anthony Dale Pike, who had been shot in the head in 1998. Pike had flown to Miami to discuss a proposed deal between Forti and Pikes father, Tony Pike, where his father had agreed to sell a famed resort in Ibiza, Spain to Forti. The resort became well-known during the 80s and was the site of Queen vocalist Freddie Mercurys 41st birthday celebration. The Herald reported that at his Fortis trial, evidence was presented that Tony Pike was suffering from dementia and alleged Forti was trying to dupe him.

Forti has acknowledged that he picked up Pike but denied shooting him and said he dropped him off at a restaurant. A key piece of evidence used to tie Forti to the murder was sand found in his car that is unique to the strip of beach where Pikes body was found.

CBS News more than four years ago did an extensive story on Forti that examined the murder and raised questions about whether a German con man who was accused of running up expenses on Tony Pikes credit card was actually responsible. One of the jurors from the trial also told CBS News that she was pressured to convict Forti.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bipartisan bill into law authorizing the release of grand jury transcripts from an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

The new legislation, signed by the Florida governor on Thursday, will allow a public release of the jurys transcripts from the 2006 probe into Epsteins abuse of underage girls. The new measure goes into effect July 1.

Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges and was sentenced to 18 months in jail after cutting a deal with federal prosecutors in 2008. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

The law would shed more light on the grand jury testimony and would have limited exceptions to provide greater insight, according to DeSantis.

The public deserves to know who participated in Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking, DeSantis said in the news release Thursday. Nobody should be protected from facing justice due to their wealth or status, and those who harm children should be exposed and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Prosecutors in Florida brought one victim before the jury in Epsteins case even with law enforcement saying the wealthy financier sexually abused several girls, according to Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Browns book Perversion of Justice.

The new law was already cited by the local judge, who denied the release of the jurys record, according to The Associated Press. The Palm Beach Post filed the lawsuit to obtain records. Circuit Judge Luis Delgado, who denied the release citing the current statute, said he would consider the petition when the new legislation takes effect in July.

A federal judge unsealed names of Epsteins associates in January in a different lawsuit involving one of his accusers and his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) vetoed legislation Friday that would have banned children under 16 years old from holding social media accounts in the Sunshine State.

DeSantis, who had previously voiced concerns about the legislation, said in a statement that Florida lawmakers were about to produce a different, superior bill.

Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech, he said. I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon.

The former Republican presidential candidate, who dropped out of the GOP primary race in late January, emphasized last week that Florida officials were looking to strike a proper balance between regulation and parental input on the issue.

Ive always said I think social media is a net negative for kids, DeSantis said, adding I do think parents can supervise in ways, where its used in ways that can be beneficial.

I think youve got to strike that proper balance when youre looking at these things, between policy that is helping parents get to where they want to go versus policy that is just outright overruling parents, he explained.

Under amended legislation unveiled on Friday, 14- and 15-year-olds would be allowed to hold social media accounts with parental approval, Politico reported.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner (R) touted the latest bill as empowering parents to control what their children can access online while also protecting them from the harm caused by addictive social media platforms.

It introduces critical parental controls and enforces stronger penalties against social media companies that continue to disregard the well-being of children, Renner said in a threat on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This legislation will equip our Attorney General and Florida parents with the necessary tools to hold them accountable, he wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
TALLAHASSEE, Florida  Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday vetoed legislation that would have created strict social media prohibitions for minors in Florida, triggering lawmakers to reconfigure the top legislative priority of GOP House Speaker Paul Renner in the final days of the annual legislative session.

DeSantis for weeks signaled that he wasnt fully on board with the legislation and decided to block the proposal even as lawmakers made several changes with the hopes of quelling the Republican governors concerns. DeSantis veto this week went from a possibility to a foregone conclusion as senators, bracing for the move, cleared a path for lawmakers to alter the proposal once again after reaching a deal with the governor.

I have vetoed HB 1 because the Legislature is about to produce a different, superior bill, DeSantis wrote on social media Friday. Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech. I anticipate the new bill will recognize these priorities and will be signed into law soon.

Floridas legislation would have required some social media platforms to prohibit anyone younger than 16 from creating an account and mandate that they use a third party for age verification services. While other states have attempted similar ideas, Floridas aimed to go further by not giving parents an opportunity to allow their children to bypass the potential law.

Lawmakers unveiled a sweeping amendment to the legislation on Friday afternoon just as the bill was vetoed by DeSantis.

Under one notable change, social media companies would be prohibited from giving 14- and 15-year-olds access to platforms unless their parents give consent. This provision marks a significant deviation from the original policy and was a result of negotiations between DeSantis and Renner.

Adding the policy wrinkle was not a capitulation to the governor, according to Renner, who said Friday the proposal is a product of compromise. Renner expects the revamped legislation to capture broader public support and have a better chance of surviving possible legal challenges.

Were happy, Renner told reporters. We believe that we started out with a very, very good bill and now this bill is even better.

The veto by DeSantis is one of the more intriguing outcomes of Floridas 2024 legislative session since it put the kibosh on a bill that Renner has been advocating for the past few months. DeSantis at first raised questions about a lack of anonymity in requiring age-verification in the bill, something lawmakers addressed through an amendment last week. Then, the day the bill was passed by the Legislature, the Republican governor expressed reservations over the proposal excluding parents from the process.

But lawmakers, led by Renner, at the time were unwilling to add a carve-out to the bill that could allow some minors to access social media despite the threat of DeSantis possible veto. House members overwhelming supported the bill, passing it 108-7 with a few Democrats voting against while senators backed it 23-14 with five Republicans joining nine Democrats in opposition.

Other states considering similar policies have allowed parents to opt their children out of the restrictions, an idea that was proposed by a Democrat in the Florida House before legislators passed the bill.

DeSantis, who grew into a rising conservative star during the Covid-19 pandemic, has become one of the most powerful governors in state history. Prior to his run for president, he was able to bend the Legislature to go along with measures dealing with education, race, gender identity and China.

As one example, DeSantis in 2022 muscled through a congressional map that resulted in Republicans picking up four seats in Florida. Legislators had initially rejected the governors proposal, but they fell in line after he vetoed their first maps and ordered them to create new ones that he wanted.

The new-look social media proposal, FL HB3 (24R), is scheduled to be heard on the Senate floor Monday. It could be sent to the House, pass the full Legislature, and get to DeSantis, who is expected to approve, in the same day.

Floridas social media bill also targets the ability of minors to access online adult content by requiring websites that publish materials harmful to minors to take steps to verify age to prevent anyone younger than 18 from accessing them, a policy expected to face blowback especially from the pornography industry. This piece of the proposal was originally housed in HB 3, the vessel now carrying the social media restrictions.

Republican leaders and Democrats supporting the legislation say the restrictions are meant to curb serious issues plaguing children across the state, including cases of bullying, depression, social pressure and even suicide tied to accessing social media. They contend that its passage could protect kids from human trafficking, potential abuse and other dangers facing them online.

Opponents including social media giants like Meta and several Democrats and Republicans, decried the original bill as a violation of free speech rights that breaks from Floridas longstanding position of giving parents more power in the upbringing of their children.

To that end, similar social media regulations pursued in Utah are being challenged in court by a trade group associated with Meta, TikTok and X that claims the law violates First Amendment free expression rights. That same trade group, NetChoice, opposed the original Florida proposal and claims it is unconstitutional and, if enacted, would be swiftly struck down under federal free speech protections  possible foreshadowing for a legal battle to come.

Florida is already facing a challenge before the Supreme Court over its 2021 law that allows the state to punish social media companies that deplatform elected officials. During oral arguments in that case this week, justices hinted that Floridas 2021 law may be unconstitutional.

NetChoice officials applauded the veto from DeSantis Friday, saying the organization seeks to work with the governor to find constitutional solutions for online safety. NetChoice, however, objected to the new changes to the legislation.

Floridas legislation could still face lawsuits despite the tweaks being considered now, yet Renner said lawmakers arent bracing for the possibility.

Were not bracing for it, were inviting it, Renner said Friday. We want the courts to look at this issue.
The family of a missing three-year-old in Wisconsin is continuing to ask for help in finding him, as police search storm drains and the boys arrested mother tries to get out of jail.

Elijah Vue was reported missing from Two Rivers on 20 January and there has been no sign of him since, despite extensive searches at local landfills, rivers and woodland.

The little boy had been sent to his mums boyfriends house for disciplinary reasons around a week before, where he was allegedly subjected to lengthy timeouts and threatened with cold water if he misbehaved.

Jesse Vang, 39, reported Elijah missing after he went for a nap at 8am and the boy was gone when he woke up a few hours later. Police arrested him on suspicion of child neglect that night.

A day later, his mother Katrina Baur, 31 from Wisconsin Dells, was also arrested on suspicion of party-to-a-crime child neglect. She has also been hit with two charges of obstruction after changing her story to police.

At a press conference, Elijahs grandmother wept as she thanked everyone who had helped with the search so far, while his aunt begged the couple for information on where the boy was

Every day without him feels like a piece of our hearts is missing, Linda Vue said. We long to hear his laughter, to witness his curiosity and to feel the warmth of his embrace.

The emptiness left in his absence is a void that cannot be filled by anything else.

Ms Vue asked that anyone with information on the three-year-olds whereabouts come forward, with the FBI offering a $15,000 reward.

Meanwhile, Ms Baur has requested that her $15,000 bond be changed to a personal recognizance bond.

That means she wants to be released from jail without needing to pay that bill, on a promise that she will return to court when requested.

She is next due in court, alongside Mr Vang, on 7 March.

Elijah Vue was subjected to time outs and threats of cold water by his mothers boyfriend (Two Rivers Police Department)

Police and volunteers have continued to search for Elijah, with Two Rivers Police Department saying on Thursday that officers had turned to the towns storm sewers as part of its latest efforts.

Landfills, quarries and rivers have also been scoured, while another town has joined the search effort.

Volunteers in Fond du Lac, which sits between Wisconsin Dells and Two Rivers, have begun searching after it was reported this was the place Ms Baur handed her son over to Mr Vang.

"If he was here once, he could possibly be here again, resident Jordan Dillon told NBC 26. Im just hoping for a good outcome, that maybe we can be helpful in some way, shape or form.

However, as the weekend arrives, there is still no sign of Elijah, who is of Hmong and white ethnicity, about three feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a birthmark on his left knee.

He was last seen wearing grey pants, a dark-coloured long-sleeve shirt and red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes. He may have been carrying his red-and-white plaid blanket.
A 33-year-old man was detained  and neglected  inside a frigid, isolated jail cell referred to as the freezer by corrections officers, according to a federal lawsuit, which says he died of hypothermia.

Officers are accused of purposely exposing Anthony Tony Mitchell, a pretrial detainee who was arrested during a welfare check, to freezing temperatures overnight from Jan. 25 to Jan. 26, the day of his death, at Walker County Jail in Alabama, the lawsuit says.

They directed extremely cold air into his cell using the facilitys climate control system, according to an amended complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Now, Mitchells death certificate has been made public.

He died of hypothermia, as well as sepsis resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect according to the certificate obtained by Mitchells family on Feb. 29 and provided to McClatchy News.

Mitchell was denied medical care for more than two weeks in jail, when he had open wounds while surrounded by feces, and was also denied water for about three days, the complaint says.

The manner of Mitchells death was ruled a homicide, according to his death certificate.

Below the homicide determination, the certificate lists a section titled How injury occurred, with see autopsy report as the response.

Mitchells death certificate.

Mitchells death certificate.

Mitchells family hasnt seen his autopsy report as of March 1, Jon C. Goldfarb, the lead Birmingham-based attorney representing the lawsuit, told McClatchy News.

The family looks forward to receiving the autopsy report and perhaps that will provide them with some answers about what happened to Tony, Goldfarb said.

Margaret Mitchell, Mitchells mother, filed the lawsuit against several defendants, including Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith, who was present during Mitchells arrest and detention, and jail staff members, McClatchy News previously reported.

The civil case has been paused because of pending criminal and administrative investigations, court records show.

Randy McNeill, one of the attorneys representing sheriff Smith and corrections officers named as defendants, told McClatchy News on March 1 that because of the ongoing investigation, I do not think that I should comment.

On Jan. 30, 2023, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced it was investigating Mitchells death following a request from the sheriffs office, according to a news release.

Now, the FBI is also investigating, ABC 33/40 reported.

Smith told the TV station on Feb. 29 that his office has provided all video footage documenting Mitchells two-week stay at Walker County Jail along with any other documents required by SBI and the FBI for a comprehensive examination.

Recently completed autopsy brings us closer to uncovering truth behind case but due to the ongoing investigations I am unable discuss details right now, he said.

Worst case of inmate abuse I have ever seen

Mitchell, described as a beloved son and brother, struggled with drug addiction, which worsened after his father died in late 2022, according to the lawsuit.

On Jan. 12, 2022, Mitchells cousin realized he was in serious need of psychiatric help after Mitchell arrived to his home disheveled, emaciated and in a delusional state, the complaint says.

After his cousin called 911, Walker County Sheriffs Department deputies responded, according to the complaint.

Ultimately, deputies responded for a welfare check and found Mitchell in the front yard with a handgun before he fired a shot toward them and ran away into the nearby woods, according to a Jan. 13 Facebook post from the sheriffs office, McClatchy News reported in February 2023.

The post is no longer available as of March 1.

During the next 14 days, he was subjected to horrendous conditions before he was taken to Walker Baptist Hospital with an internal body temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the complaint.

There, an emergency room physician tried to resuscitate Mitchell for more than three hours but was unsuccessful, according to the complaint.

In a note, the physician wrote it was difficult to understand why Mitchells body temperature was so low, the complaint says.

Instead of medical professionals, deputies drove Mitchell to the hospital, because no one called an ambulance for him even though he obviously needed medical help, the complaint says.

According to the lawsuit, Mitchells heart stopped beating before they made it there that morning.

They arrived at the hospital over five hours after deputies were captured on video laughing and joking while Tony lay naked on the cement floor of his cell in obvious need of emergency medical treatment, the complaint says.

On the evening of Feb. 29, a crowd rallied outside of the sheriffs office, demanding justice for Mitchell, ABC 33/40 reported.

In a previous statement to McClatchy News, Goldfarb described what happened to Mitchell as the worst case of inmate abuse I have ever seen.

Inmate covered in lice and bedbugs dies at hospital, TN officials say. Intolerable

Please help me. Inmate begged for help before jail staff let him die, lawsuit says

Detainee wasted away and lost 45 pounds before death, lawsuit says. County pays $7M

Officer ignored dying inmate he promised to help, feds say. Hes sentenced to prison
Trees around the site have been felled with campaigners fearing for the resident wildlife - PAUL GROVER/FOR THE TELEGRAPH

A nature reserve that is believed to have inspired the Railway Children is under threat from developers that are bulldozing trees and disturbing wildlife, campaigners say.

Residents near the railway banks in the Grove Park area of Lewisham, south London, have been alarmed by the recent removal of trees on the land, which is privately owned.

The land lies next to the railway that was overlooked by the home of Edith Nesbit in the years before she wrote the famous childrens book in 1906, and is believed to have inspired the work.

Nesbits home near Grove Park was called Three Gables, reminiscent of the Three Chimneys in the book, and a nearby mural now declares the area to be the home of the Railway Children.

Local pupils have been taken to the railway to wave red flags, recreating one of the books most famous scenes in which a train is flagged down with Bobbie and Jills petticoats.

Children wave red flags in a scene from the Railway Children - Film Stills

Video posted on social media by local campaigners this week shows industrial equipment removing whole trees from the ground on land beside the railway.

Stephen Kenny, the chairman of the Grove Park Neighbourhood Forum, said the work could threaten the local wildlife, including protected lizards and endangered hairstreak butterflies.

This is probably one of the most biodiverse places in inner London, he said.

Many of the trees in the area are protected by a preservation order, which requires the landowner to get permission to remove them.

Lewisham council said it had carried out several inspections of the works in recent days, which it said consisted mostly of clearing of rubbish and debris.

It added that it understood that the trees that were removed were already dead, had fallen as a result of adverse weather conditions or were not large enough to be covered by the tree preservation order.

Machinery is used to remove trees from the area

Marion Kennett, the treasurer of the Edith Nesbit Society, said it was disappointing that the trees had been removed.

The concern is that this is the thin end of the wedge, she said. That area should remain a walkalong railway edge.

This is part of the local literary heritage and its important for people to have that connection.

This year we commemorate 100 years since Edith Nesbit died, and we in the Nesbit Society are calling this a legacy of Edith Nesbit year, so we want these things to be protected.

Local residents are campaigning for the plot of land to become part of an officially designated nature reserve, and fear that if too much habitat is cleared away it could be more vulnerable to future development.

Two previous planning applications to develop the area as new horse stables were rejected on the grounds that they would diminish its value as a green corridor and lead to the loss of habitat for several species.

It starts off with carr wetlands and then it gets to a wet meadow, and then it has chalk grassland, said Mr Kenny. Chalk grassland next to wetlands is almost impossible, and to have it in Lewisham is quite unique.

Residents fear too much habitat may be cleared away

Alice Roberts, of CPRE London, said poor enforcement of wildlife protection measures was exacerbating habitat destruction.

Habitat in London has been steadily eroded over many years and nature is now in disastrous decline, she said. As a result, the city now has targets to create many hectares of new woodland, wetland and grassland.

If we destroy what we already have we are just running to stand still.

A spokesman for Lewisham council said: The land is protected as an area of Special Interest for Nature Conservation and a tree protection order is also in place  it is vital that any works taking place do not negatively impact on wildlife and habitats on the site or violate the tree protection order.

We will continue to engage with the landowners to ensure they are complying with the planning protections in place and have requested that they keep local residents and ward councillors up to date with the works they are carrying out moving forward.

They added: The owners will be required to plant new trees to replace the dead/fallen trees removed and enforcement action can be taken if this is not carried out.

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Have you ever heard of Dick Turpin? If you live anywhere but England, the name may sound a little unfamiliar. Thanks to a new Apple TV+ series about the infamous character, though, youre about to become acquainted with one of the greatest (and, now, goofiest) British robbers.

The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, premiering Friday and releasing new episodes weekly on Apple TV+, isnt entirely made up, as the title may suggest. Dick, played by The Mighty Boosh star and Great British Baking Show host Noel Fielding, was a real highwayman in the early 1700s, although his storylines in this new serieslike fighting an evil witch, for exampleare fictionalized.

Dick Turpin is, in our British folklore, a bit like Billy the Kid and Jesse James are in American folklore, or a bit like Ned Kelly is in Australian folklore, executive producer Kenton Allen tells The Daily Beasts Obsessed over Zoom. There was a Dick Turpin show when we were growing up as 13 year olds. Wed go out afterwards during Saturday tea time and pretend to be Dick Turpin.

But even though Dick Turpin is a huge name in British history, his story hasnt been told in recent years. Yes, as Allen notes, there was a drama series called Dick Turpin in 1979, but none have ventured to make Dicks escapades seem funny.

We thought it was a great opportunity because no one had done Dick Turpin in comedy, Fielding adds. We reimagined him. Hes a pacifist and a vegan and inclusive and quite creative, because that would be more fun to write and more interesting. We really love The Princess Bride and The Holy Grail, things like that.

Apple TV+

So instead of following a cut-and-dry biopic formula to retell Dicks story, Allen and Fielding set forth to turn the burglar into a real jokester. The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin begins at Dicks end: Hes about to be hanged for his plethora of crimes. But before hes finally taken out, Dick has one final missionhes going to tell his life story from start to finish, detailing his many robberies and his colorful gang. Dicks stories are too hilarious to be forgotten.

Below, Fielding and Allen chat about how fans of Paddington, Our Flag Means Death, and The Mighty Boosh will love their new show, and how they modernized a British icon.

Where did the idea for Dick Turpin come from?

Kenton Allen: Ive always wanted to work with Noel, because The Mighty Boosh is one of the greatest comedy series of all time. But I was always a bit frightened of asking Noel to work with us because hes a legend and unimpeachably brilliant.

Noel Fielding: What he didnt know is I was sitting by the phone waiting for the call. [Laughs]

You were ready as soon as Kenton figured out the right role for you!

Allen: At Big Talk [Studios], we play the casting bingo game of, Who would be a brilliant Marilyn Monroe? Jodie Comer. Who would be a brilliant X? Who would be a brilliant Y? And my colleague said, Who would be a brilliant Dick Turpin? We all went, Noel Fielding, obviously. If you say it out loud, its implicitNoel can bring his Noel Fielding-ness to that character.

Fielding: Then we went to Apple with it, and the woman who runs Apple in England, shes the lady that used to run Channel 4 and shes the one who put me on The Great British Bake Off. I had a bit of a relationship with her anyway. She was looking for programs for Apple and it all lined up. We didnt really know what we wanted it to be at the beginning, we just knew we wanted it to write about Dick Turpin and his gang, and it kept evolving and changing until we settled down on the idea that hed run this gang. Hed accidentally be in charge of this gang and replace violence with creativity.

The Great British Baking Show Underwhelming Finale Crowns a Surprise Winner

You mentioned Bake Off, which has become huge in the United States. Was finding a global audience important to making Dick Turpin as well?

Allen: Normally you make things for U.K. broadcasters, and it goes out in Great Britain. But because we were working with Apple, we knew it was going to go out to the world. [An Apple exec] said to me, Yeah, your show will be on three billion devices.

Fielding: No pressure!

Allen: So we knew we needed to take the best of British comedy actorsthe established guys and the new guysand put them in this show so we can show the world how brilliant British comedy actors are.

Was it easy to round up the best of the best in the British comedy scene?

Fielding: Well, whats good about this show is its period costumes. Everyone wants to get involved in a period costume, everyone wants to be in the show because they want to dress up as a characterthey want to have a gun, they want to have a cape, they want to have a mask, they want to ride a horse.

Allen: Dont underestimate the appeal of thigh-high boots.

Fielding: Were Englishmen!

The show isnt entirely anachronistic, but you have changed the characterhe talks about pleather, being vegan, hes got quite a modern personalitya lot. How did you decide what aspects of Dick Turpin you wanted to keep and which to alter?

Fielding: We mined the actual history of Dick Turpin and [changed] just the storylines, really. There was a character called the Reddlehag, which is [the focus of] Episode 4, about this witch that terrorizes the village. There was a character called the Reddlehag. Sometimes we sort of found these jewels and thought, Oh, we can make a story out of that.

Allen: There was a Thief-Taker General.

Fielding: Yeah, Jonathan Wilde!

Yes, hes played by Hugh Bonnevillewhat was it like to work with him?

Fielding: When Hugh Bonneville said he would play that character, that was very exciting. Hes probably our global trump card because of Downton Abbey, people probably know him. It was really nice to work with Hugh, actually, because we had quite a good double act. You never know when thats going to happen. Some people, you just have good chemistry with. Kenton knows Hugh and suggested Hugh, but the director of BooshPaul Kingdid Paddington, and Hugh was in that. Hes amazing in that.

There are some other Mighty Boosh stars in Dick Turpin. How did they get involved?

Fielding: Theres quite a few Boosh faces in there, as well as peripheral people from the Boosh. There are lots of people in it that I really wanted to work with and never had the opportunity to. Its quite a big ensemble cast, so that really helps in taking the pressure off myself and the gang, because theres always a good guest role. Joe Wilkinsons in ithes quite a big comedian in England. Theres a certain type of comedy actor or comedian in Britain that lends themself to this show in a definite way.

Allen: Connor Swindells, too. We didnt know he was in Barbie, but hes perfect for Tommy Silversides. He didnt mention Barbie [during the casting process]!

How did you find Connor if not from Barbie? Did you see him in Sex Education?

Fielding: He did something for charity, like a fake advert, and thats when we saw him.

Allen: He did a CPR advert where he was doing CPR on a dummy of himself.

Fielding: He played this cocky, weird character, and in that minute, we just went, Thats the guy. Hes incredible. Hes gotta be Silversides. Now hes in Barbie, now hes in Hollywood, so well never see him again. But we got him just before he went off!

A lot of people have compared the show to Our Flag Means Death, based on the trailer. Do you think fans of that show will enjoy Dick Turpin?

Fielding: I love Taika [Waititi]. I think The Mighty Boosh existed in the same world as Flight of the Conchords. There was always a crossover, we were really good friends. They were always trying to get me into their showthey wanted me to play David Bowie in their show, but I couldnt do it. We loved What We Do in the Shadows. Im sure there is a crossover! But when I saw that they were doing that show, we purposefully didnt watch it because we thought, Oh, no. We dont want to know. Its better if we dont see it. Im sure [Our Flag] is great, but I havent seen it.

Allen: They blazed the trail for us, in terms of being the first period comedy to be a massive hit. Its adjacent to Our Flag, thats what we like to think. We shot a pilot in the middle of the pandemic, before Our Flag was a thing. Even though no one knew about it, we were slightly ahead of them.

Our Flag was sadly canceled, so youve got this fanbase thats hungry for a new period comedy. Maybe Dick Turpin can be a replacement of-sorts.

Fielding: I feel like the people who liked The Mighty Boosh also liked Flight of the Conchords, and I feel like people who like Flag will like our show as well. Comedy fans are very specific. They know they like certain comedy.

Allen: I have a 14-year-old son, so when Ive shown my son this show, its the only thing Ive produced where his reaction is, Can I watch the next one? So its good for parents of tweenagers and teenagers, you can watch it with your kids and have a good time with it. Its got that four quadrant appeal, as Americans say.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Charlotte the stingray has been a topic of discussion around the world since her shocking pregnancy was announced to the public just before Valentine's Day.

The Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team Ecco in Hendersonville, North Carolina revealed that Charlotte, its female stingray, was able to get pregnant without a male mate. Although an exact due date was not given by the aquarium, the birth was reportedly supposed to have happened this week.

The aquarium continues to make posts about her as eager fans wait in anticipation for the birth of the now famous stingray.

Thank you all for continuing to be patient while we all await for Charlotte to give birth! Please visit the link in our bio to support Charlotte and her nursery, the post on Instagram read.

Rare virgin birth': Baby shark asexually reproduced at Brookfield Zoo, second in the US

Fans are invested in Charlotte the stingray's pending birth

Aquarium Shark and Lab Team ECCO director Brenda Ramer, left, opens the doors on Feb. 28 to allow people in to see Charlotte, the stingray who is close to giving birth.

The aquarium staff members have been so overwhelmed with media requests that a public relations firm was hired to handle them all. According to the firm, one of the latest requests came from ABC's "Good Morning America."

In the early afternoon on Feb. 28, a small line of Charlotte lovers began to form in front of the aquarium. Then, the moment everyone was waiting for came.

"Are you guys ready to see our Charlotte?" the aquarium's director, Brenda Ramer, said as she opened the doors, which resulted in the kids who were in line jumping up and down with excitement.

Ramer said staff members haven't seen any changes in Charlotte's behavior relating to her eating habits and interacting with her tank mates.

"We are anticipating preforming another ultrasound within the week where we will check on the condition of her young," she said.

An ultrasound performed a few months back showed there are between one to four pups. Kady Lyons, a research scientist at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, told the Associated Press last month that Charlotte's birth will be the first-time a round stingray has given birth asexually through parthenogenesis  a process where cells will split inside of the female's eggs and create an embryo, which is basically a clone of the mother.

One of the people who came on Feb. 28 to the aquarium hoping to see the pups being born was Tara Kegan, who knows plenty about stingrays.

"I used to be a marine science instructor in California. I'm so excited that our little aquarium has a stingray and that she's going to make history," she said.

Kegan said while she worked with stingrays many times during her teaching days in California, she never was around one that was pregnant.

"I never was, so this will be a first," she said. "This specifically will be such a unique opportunity to see her give birth to clones."

Ramer and her team provide updates on Charlotte on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). In a Facebook post on Feb. 27, she asked people to list their city, state and country. By 3 p.m. Feb. 28, the post had more than 2,000 comments.

She said since Charlotte's impending miraculous birth has been announced, Team ECCO's social media pages have grown "exponentially."

"The whole world has interest in Charlotte. We are happy to use our platform to promote science and inspire people to visit aquariums and parks. Charlotte has inspired conversation in the science world, and we are happy to facilitate the media coverage surrounding her and all the other amazing animals we have at Team ECCO. We are happy to bring science to our community and the world," Ramer said.

Charlotte the stingray fans react on social media as they await birth

In addition to fans showing up to the aquarium in person, those are social media are also voicing their anticipation over Charlotte's pregnancy and birth.

Team Ecco if you see this please go back to your daily updates. You left us hanging for three days and I was seriously concerned, Samantha said in a post on TikTok. We need to know how Charlotte is doing on a daily basis.

Another TikTok user is asking for any information involving the births.

Does anyone have insider information on Charlotte the stingray? Lexi posted on TikTok yesterday. Because her due date was like a week ago. Are we all just getting trolled? This is excellent clickbait because I'm here for it, but is it a stingray baby, is it a shark baby? I need to know.

Although Charlotte have become an instant star, one TikTok user warns that all this attention might be a contributing factor to Charlottes late birth.

The large influx of people coming to see Charlotte might make her feel a little stressed out, Kayla Jade said in the post. Stingrays when they give birth, they want to feel 100% secure in giving that birth. I mean theyre like humans in that respect.

Charlotte became pregnant asexually debunking initial claims of a shark-stingray hybrid

Pregnant stingray confuses caretakers

As previously mentioned, Charlotte was able to reproduce asexually through a process called parthenogenesis.

Before that was discovered, the controversial pregnancy started a debate. With no male companion, a question arose, who got Charlotte pregnant?

The aquarium believed that Charlotte had cancer when she began to swell. However, ultrasound results revealed the growths within her body were actually eggs.

Charlotte's companions in her tank were white-spotted bamboo sharks, the alleged possible father to her pups.

Although this rare phenomenon had many researching about the possibility of a shark and stingray pup, experts debunked the claims giving everyone a quick lesson in marine biology.

We should set the record straight that there arent some shark-ray shenanigans happening here, Lyons told the AP.

In addition, Lyons also told the AP this theory is impossible. A shark and a stingray are different sizes which means the animals wouldnt match up anatomically. Neither would their DNA.

Averaging a length of 24 to 37 inches long, white-spotted bamboo sharks primarily prey on small marine fish and invertebrates, though species aren't well-documented, the Florida Museum of Natural History states.

Charlotte, a round stingray, can grow up to 10 and 22 inches in width, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Round stingrays are preyed on by northern elephant seals and larger fishes such as giant sea bass and sharks, especially leopard sharks.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlotte the stingray birth: Social media reacts to rare pregnancy
WASHINGTON  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in his first congressional hearing since his health crisis related to prostate cancer, faced blistering criticism Thursday for failing to notify lawmakers, the White House and the American public about his hospitalization last month.

Our adversaries should fear us, and you have embarrassed us, Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., scolded Austin at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

An ambulance sped Austin, 70, to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on New Year's Day, but he attempted to conceal that he had been admitted to the hospital's critical care unit. Austin's three-day delay in informing his boss, President Joe Biden, and other authorities has drawn bipartisan criticism and internal reviews at the Pentagon.

Austin reiterated to Congress on Thursday that he has taken responsibility for poor communication and has apologized for not being fully transparent about his hospitalization. Lawmakers, though, said more accountability was needed.

''We did not handle this right," Austin said. "I did not handle this right."

Truck drivers and bartenders have to tell their bosses when they miss work, Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., told Austin.

"This is about judgment, and poor judgment, Waltz said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies in front of the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Feb. 29, 2024. Secretary Austin was called before the committee to explain the circumstances surrounding the failure to communicate his absence to the President during his recent hospitalization.

'Either the president is that aloof, or you are irrelevant'

Austin deflected a barrage of questions about whether Biden is out of the loop on key national security issues. "The president is not aloof," he said.But Austin's critics said that was not enough.

"Who will be held responsible for this?" Banks demanded. "Are you surprised he did not call for your resignation?"

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said the fact that it took Austin days to tell the White House reflects badly on both of them. "Either the president is that aloof, or you are irrelevant," he said."Which one is it?"

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., who chairs the Armed Services Committee, blasted Austin for failing to notify the White House of his hospitalization while wars raged in the Middle East and U.S. troops faced attacks from Iranian-backed militias. "Its totally unacceptable," Rogers said.

The chain of command, starting with Biden, "doesnt work when the commander-in-chief doesnt know who to call," Rogers said.

More: 'We're trying to remain a little subtle': Lloyd Austin security detail requested no sirens or lights on his ambulance

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testifies in front of the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on Feb. 29, 2024. Secretary Austin was called before the committee to explain the circumstances surrounding the failure to communicate his absence to the President during his recent hospitalization.

'We did have a breakdown'

Austin has acknowledged significant lapses in communication, and he repeated those when facing his critics in Congress.

"We did have a breakdown in notifications during my January stay at Walter Reed," Austin said. "That is, sharing my location and why I was there. And back in December, I should have promptly informed the president, my team, Congress and the American people about my cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment."

Austin stressed that he or Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, to whom he transferred his authority in January, maintained control of military, which includes its 2 million troops and nuclear forces.

"There was never any lapse in authorities or in command and control," Austin said.

A Pentagon report on the matter, issued Monday, did not recommend that anybody be disciplined, finding that there was no "ill intent" or obfuscation in delaying notification of Austin's incapacitation. It did endorse formal procedures, adopted last month by the Pentagon, to notify the White House, Congress and senior military officials immediately when the defense secretary transfers his or her authority.

The review did not satisfy Rogers.

Unsurprisingly, the review of Sec Austins actions, conducted by his own subordinates & subject to his approval, HELD NO ONE ACCOUNTABLE," he wrote this week on X, formerly Twitter. "This is why we are conducting our own investigation. We will seek answers at our hearing w/ Sec Austin on Thursday.

Austin and his staff sought to downplay his illness and hospitalization from its early days. He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in early December and had surgery Dec. 22. A staffer asked emergency medical personnel not to use sirens and lights when the ambulance picked him up at his home, according to a recording of the 911 call.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lloyd Austin's Congress hearing apology: 'I did not handle this right'
Throughout the week, Cook County jurors viewed shockingly violent body-camera footage, watching a death happen over and over.

They viewed chaotic movements and heard screams as they watched the shootings of Officers Ella French and Carlos Yanez Jr. during a traffic stop on Aug. 7, 2021. They watched officers carrying their fallen colleagues to police vehicles before racing to the hospital. They saw the blood on the seats of the cars, and doctors rushing to address their wounds.

The trial for a man accused of killing French and seriously injuring Yanez broke for the weekend Friday after a week marked by difficult footage, bringing tears from family and observers in the gallery, witnesses and even jurors. The trial will resume on Tuesday.

Emonte Morgan, 23, is charged with murder, attempted murder and other felonies in the slaying of French, injuring of Yanez and of shooting at their partner, Joshua Blas. Blas returned fire and struck and injured Morgan.

With body cameras in use for all Chicago Police Department patrol officers by the end of 2017, footage has become the norm in cases involving shootings of or by police, an important tool for investigation and accountability. It means that jurors and courtroom observers are able to watch, to some extent, a shooting unfold.

CPD began testing body-worn cameras for patrol officers in 2015, and its use expanded later as part of broad reform efforts spurred by the killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by CPD Officer Jason Van Dyke in 2014. The SAFE-T Act further expanded body-camera use across Illinois, requiring that all police officers in the state be outfitted with cameras by 2025.

Because of body-worn camera, you will have a front-row seat to the absolute carnage this defendant unleashed on those police officers, Assistant States Attorney Scott Clark told the jury in opening statements Tuesday at the trial of the man accused of killing French.

Defense attorneys, though, have contended that the footage can only go so far in offering proof. Theyve argued that the video in the moment of the shooting is too muffled and chaotic to make out what happened.

Unfortunately, what youre not going to see is anything from body-worn camera during this interaction at the front passenger seat, Assistant Public Defender Kristine Neal said. Theyre too close together. You see movement, clothing and hear shots go off.

During the trial, jurors heard from Yanez, Blas and Elizabeth French, Ellas mother, as well as testimony from first responders, forensic technicians and DNA scientists. They were sworn in on Monday after fielding questions about whether they can put any bias or preconceived notions about the case aside amid the heavy pretrial publicity.

Tuesday: She called me on her way to work

Elizabeth French smiled as she viewed a photograph of her daughter dressed in full police gear.

Its one of my favorites of Ella, she said.

French testified that she spoke to Ella just before work as usual, telling her she loved her, to be careful and be safe.

She called me on her way to work, French said.

Was that unusual? prosecutors asked.

No, she answered. She liked to call me on the way to work.

Jurors also heard extensively from Blas, the third partner riding with French and Yanez that night.

According to prosecutors, French, Yanez and Blas pulled over an SUV occupied by Emonte Morgan, his brother, Eric, and a woman for expired plates around 63rd Street and Bell Avenue. Eric Morgan handed over the keys when asked, prosecutors have alleged, but Emonte Morgan refused to put down a drink and a cellphone he was holding, leading to a scuffle, prosecutors said.

Blas testified that he chased after Eric Morgan when he took off, then returned when he heard gunfire.

Blas anguished yells were audible on body-camera footage: French  French! he yelled. Yanez!

Wednesday: I couldnt move anything

Yanez took the stand and fought to compose himself as he was asked to spell his name.

He described the injuries he suffered and his long recovery. He still can feel a bullet lodged in his neck that doctors felt shouldnt be removed, he said. He was confined to a wheelchair after the shooting but now walks with a limp. He uses hearing aids and wears a prosthetic eye.

He can no longer serve as a police officer.

Yanez told the jury that he recalled the start of the traffic stop, but later couldnt remember anything until he was lying on his back, shot.

I was completely paralyzed, he said. I couldnt move anything.

Witnesses on Wednesday also described the arrests of Eric and Emonte Morgan. Eric Morgan was sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in the shooting in October.

After getting shot by Blas, prosecutors said, Emonte Morgan ran to where his brother was.

Body-camera video shown to the jury showed Emonte on the ground on a sidewalk, and Eric, inside a fenced yard where investigators also recovered the gun, according to testimony. Eric had been tackled by a good Samaritan according to prosecutors, after he jumped a fence into their yard.

Thursday and Friday: Time was a crucial factor

As the week came to a close, evidence technicians told the jury about processing the sprawling crime scene and responding officers described arriving to a chaotic scene.

On Friday, jurors heard and saw reams of technical evidence, as prosecutors put on the stand an evidence technician who processed the vehicle driven by Eric Morgan, a firearms expert who examined the weapons and casings and a DNA expert.

The day before, Officer Nicolas Morales testified that he heard a frantic call for help over the radio and arrived to find Yanez and French on the ground. French was unresponsive, and Yanez was softly moaning, Im shot.

Morales and other officers scrambled to put Yanez and French in the back of separate squad cars to more quickly get them to the hospital. Body-camera footage showed them racing away from the scene and helping place the officers on gurneys.

The footage, which caused observers to tear up, showed an officer giving chest compressions to French in the car. Another video depicted doctors as they began to work on Yanez, cutting his pants and administering to his wounds.

Time was a crucial factor, Morales said.
A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body.

The outcomes of the World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi highlighted the sharp divisions between the bodys 164 members amid geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds that are threatening global commerce.

"The WTO needed a good crisis and perhaps this will lead to a realisation that we cannot continue like this," said a senior European Union official participating in the talks.

Speaking at the closing press conference, the Emirati chair of the so-called MC13 gathering, Thani Al Zeyoudi, acknowledged the shortcomings.

"Despite our best efforts, we failed to agree on some texts which are of great importance to many of our members," said Al Zeyoudi, who also serves as the UAE's foreign trade minister.

For her part, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the talks came up "against an international backdrop marked by greater uncertainty than at any time I can remember".

"We have achieved some important things and we have not managed to complete others," she said, while insisting that the "glass was half full".

The WTO, the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations, requires full consensus from all members to chalk up deals.

It was hoping the MC13 would replicate the landmark success of its 2022 ministerial in Geneva, which yielded a deal on fisheries and saw members agree to restore a now-defunct dispute settlement system by the end of this year.

But the latest ministerial fell short of that objective.

"The unexpected weakness of the overall (MC13) package should... serve as a wake-up call," the secretary general of the International Chamber of Commerce, John Denton, said in a statement.

-'Bogged down' -

After a 2022 deal that banned subsidies contributing to illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing, the WTO was hoping to conclude a second package focusing on subsidies that result in overcapacity and overfishing.

Negotiations in recent months at the WTO headquarters in Geneva had enabled a draft text to be brought forward for a second fisheries deal, which provided flexibility and advantages for developing countries.

But some -- notably India -- demanded further concessions, including transition periods that others consider to be too long.

At MC13, a revised draft fisheries agreement faced strong objections from New Delhi.

"There was basically just one country that was blocking the deal," said EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, without specifying which member.

Richard Ouellet of Canada's University of Laval said "consensus, which was once the cement of this organisation, has now become the mud in which it is bogged down".

- Emirati sway -

With farmer protests sweeping Europe and India, agriculture agreements also emerged as a particularly sensitive topic of debate.

Member states were trying to negotiate a text listing the subjects that merit further discussion.

An agriculture package, however, was hampered by a firm demand by India for permanent rules governing public stockholding of food reserves to replace temporary measures adopted by the WTO.

India's insistence on a permanent solution for public stockholding was "impossible to bridge", Dombrovskis said.

Despite failing on agriculture and fisheries, the WTO managed to temporarily salvage a moratorium on customs duties for digital transmissions that was extended for another two years.

It faced a particularly strong challenge at MC13, with countries led by India and South Africa arguing that it harms customs revenues.

India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Friday that he allowed the extension to pass "out of respect" to the conference's Emirati chair, whom he called a "good friend".

However, the moratorium, which has been regularly extended since 1998, is set to definitively expire on March 31, 2026, with no chance of an extension, Iweala said.

"I think that the membership has agreed... on very firm dates for its conclusion," she said.

"I have to abide by what the membership has just decided."

On dispute settlement reform, the final outcome mainly reiterated the commitment made at MC12 to have a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system in place by 2024.

Washington, under former President Donald Trump, brought the system to a grinding halt in 2019 by blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO's appeals court, the organisation's highest dispute settlement authority.

"We wished for more progress on the question of appeal... but we were not able to move forward as fast as we wanted," Dombrovskis said.

ho-apo/js/imm/ach
State Attorney General Josh Stein spoke at Fayetteville City Hall on Thursday and said more cops retired or moved on from state law enforcement agencies last year than were hired  an issue he said is "untenable."

"We're here today because keeping people safe is job one for all of us," Stein said. "Too many of our cities, towns and counties are facing a real shortage of law enforcement officers."

He said that last year, 428 more officers left the force than were hired in North Carolina.

"This is an untenable situation, and it diminishes public safety," Stein said.

The attorney general was joined by Fayetteville Police Chief Kemberle Braden, Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright, Hope Mills Police Chief Stephen Dollinger and Democratic state Sen. Val Applewhite. The group gathered to address a push to recruit and retain law enforcement officers in the county and statewide.

From left: Sen. Val Applewhite, Hope Mills Police Chief Stephen Dollinger, Attorney General Josh Stein, Sheriff Ennis Wright, Fayetteville Police Chief Kem Braden and Attorney General Josh Stein held a news conference Thursday to address law enforcement recruitment.

More: Fugitive featured on 'America's Most Wanted' nabbed by U.S. Marshals in Fayetteville

Stein said his office is championing ideas such as hiring bonuses for new officers, expanding a program that repays community college debt for people who take jobs in law enforcement and allowing retired officers to return to work without impacting retirement pay.

"North Carolina needs trustworthy, public-spirited officers serving our communities and I'm going to do everything in my power as attorney general to make sure that our law enforcement agencies and sheriffs' offices are well staffed and well supported," Stein said.

To retain officers, Stein suggested tailoring mental health and wellness resources to address the "unique and difficult challenges" they face.

"The job of law enforcement is unbelievably stressful. Every day they have to run towards danger when the rest of us seek shelter," he said. "It's incumbent upon all of us to make sure they have the tools to manage their health and well-being."

Fayetteville Police Chief Braden also took the podium and said he looks forward to working with the attorney general to fix these issues.

"I think it's key and reassuring to know that I'm not the only department that is having these concerns," Braden said. "This isn't a local problem, but a problem we have to come up collectively with ideas on how to actually alleviate the problem."

As of Feb. 6, there were 58 vacancies for sworn officers at the Fayetteville Police Department, according to a public record request. Braden said the starting pay for a police officer is $45,000 a year.

Sheriff Wright said that his office has been experiencing the same difficulties in retention and recruitment plaguing law enforcement agencies across the state. He cited two major setbacks in the hiring of new deputies as the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 beating death of Fayetteville-born George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police officers. Floyd's killing sparked months of nationwide protests against police brutality.

Wright said his office is budgeted for 755 positions across all departments including patrol and the jail and currently only 556 jobs are filled. He said the Sheriff's Office is down 85 sworn officers.

Wright said the starting salary for new deputies is $50,750.

The starting salary for officers at the Hope Mills Police Department is $40,915, Dollinger said.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein speaks in Fayetteville
Posts across X are blaming the wildfires scorching the US state of Texas on high-energy lasers fired from the sky, echoing baseless conspiracy theories that spread after an unprecedented blaze hit Hawaii . But there is no indication that directed energy weapons ignited the flames, which were fueled by dry conditions, unusually strong winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.

"Texas. DEW. In 10 minutes time on different places," says a February 28, 2024 post, using an acronym for directed energy weapons being developed for military operations.

Screenshot from X taken February 29, 2024

The post was one of several attempting to link such systems to the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which by February 29 had killed at least one person and swelled to become the largest blaze in Texas's history, covering more than a million acres and prompting evacuations in the flat, northern region of the state known as the panhandle.

The claims proliferated in multiple languages on X, where disinformation has accelerated since billionaire Elon Musk's 2022 takeover. One post suggests a "cabal" set the flames to "divert resources from border protection." Others have revived debunked allegations about lasers sparking the inferno that burned through Maui, Hawaii in August 2023.

Ex-president Donald Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, also amplified a post mentioning directed energy weapons. "Wild," he wrote.

Directed energy weapons use concentrated electromagnetic energy fired at the speed of light, and they are being developed in the United States for drone and missile defense.

But while the causes of the wildfires torching the Texas panhandle remained under investigation as of February 29 -- with the Smokehouse Creek Fire listed as just 3 percent contained -- there is no evidence such military technologies were involved.

"There is no indication that these claims are true," said Erin O'Connor, public information officer for the Texas A&M Forest Service.

'Red flag' conditions

A high-energy laser fired at vegetation could in theory cause a fire, but doing so would require a tremendous amount of power and an enormous air carrier that could not go unnoticed, Iain Boyd, director of the University of Colorado's Center for National Security Initiatives and an expert on directed energy weapons, told AFP in a February 28 email.

"A large aircraft carrying a high-power laser weapon would be needed and would have been seen by someone," he said. "There appears to be no evidence that the Texas wildfires were caused by directed energy."

More likely culprits include human carelessness with outdoor fires and cigarettes, downed power lines or lightning strikes, Boyd said, adding that there may have been more than one source of ignition.

Conditions in Texas's panhandle enabled the flames to spread rapidly -- as the National Weather Service (NWS) warned could happen.

The NWS issued a red flag alert on February 26 for the area where the fires started, cautioning in advance that a conflux of harsh winds, low humidity and warm temperatures would "create favorable weather for rapid fire growth and spread" (archived here).

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles today. Critical fire weather conditions are expected from 12 PM to 7 PM due to low relative humidity values and sustained westerly winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.#txwx#okwx#phwxpic.twitter.com/qNtB8Ntvh9  NWS Amarillo (@NWSAmarillo) February 26, 2024

Two fires started that day as heavy winds hit ranch land areas with grass fields and rough terrain, NWS spokesperson Maureen O'Leary said in a February 28 email. By the next day, the fires continued, the wind picked up, and several new blazes started.

O'Leary said this is an example of an exceptionally dangerous weather phenomenon known as a Southern Plains Wildfire Outbreak, which can hit environments with dry vegetation and other features.

"Fires spread rapidly in dry grasses," said Michael Gollner, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California-Berkeley who researches fire dynamics and wildland fire. "In fact, these are often the most deadly fires."

Gollner told AFP in a February 28 email that a combination of dry conditions, shifting weather and unfortunate timing -- in February -- are "what really made this fire explode in size."

"Already there were hot, dry, windy conditions blowing the fire along a narrow west-east oriented path," Gollner said. "Suddenly, a cold front blew in with strong winds and shifted the fire spread 90 degrees.

"Rather than starting a fire from a single point, imagine drawing a line so many miles long and it suddenly spreads along the entire line very fast. This quickly envelops a huge area."

Biden's roof remarks

The directed energy weapon conspiracy theories exploded further online after Joe Biden addressed the situation during a February 29, 2024 address near the US-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas.

A prominent promoter of QAnon and others falsely claimed the US president admitted to blasting Texas with directed energy weapons that spared blue structures when he noted that certain homes with "the right roof" had survived the flames that destroyed others.

Screenshot from X taken March 1, 2024

But the posts cut Biden's remarks out of context, omitting that he was talking about the need to rebuild homes with "up-to-date standards and building codes" so they could better withstand natural disasters.

Similar conspiracy theories about blue objects followed the wildfires in Maui. Experts dismissed them as "really crazy" and explained that as fires burn, it is common to find some structures left relatively unscathed due to their distance from fuel sources or ability to sustain high temperatures.

"They are saying that blue objects are not susceptible to fire, which we all know is not true," Boyd said at the time.

AFP previously debunked posts faulting directed energy weapons for the wildfires that devastated Hawaii, including here, here and here.
Black Americans have made significant advancements in the 60 years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, but economic, educational and voting rights disparities persist, according to a report by the National Urban League on the State of Black America.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of that landmark legislation, but the journey toward racial justice in the United States is older than the nation itself, and nowhere near complete, wrote Marc A. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

In the wake of the uprising triggered by George Floyds murder in 2020, the nation now finds itself swept into a backlash that presents the gravest threat to the Civil Rights Act in its relatively short history, he added.

One of those threats is the income gap, which the report found has not seen any significant change for more than two decades. On average, the report found, Black Americans make 64 percent of the income of white people.

And though the number of Black students dropping out of primary education has decreased from just more than 13 percent in 2000 to nearly 4 percent in 2024, Black students remain more likely to have uncertified and inexperienced teachers than white students.

The report also called the Supreme Courts 2023 ruling overturning affirmative action in higher education admissions one of the most brazen attacks on communities of color.

Voting rights is another topic the report focuses on.

Following the 2020 election, the report said, voter suppression tactics exploded in the form of laws that removed ballot boxes, enforced strict voter ID laws and purged registration rolls across the country.

Doors have been opened in higher education, government and the private sector in that sixty year period. Thats important. Every measure shows progress, Morial told the Associated Press.

But I would have thought we would have been much further along than we are in 2024 with respect to achieving a sense of parity in America, Morial added.

Still, the report approved of President Bidens policy agenda and promises, pointing out that his cabinet is reflective of the diversity of the nation.

The report also highlighted how the Black unemployment rate under Biden decreased from 9.2 percent in January 2021 to 5.2 percent in January 2024.

But Black voter participation is mixed. Though 69 percent of Black Americans registered to vote in 2020, an increase from 64 percent in 2000, only 42.3 percent of Black people voted in 2022, a steep decrease from 54 percent who cast their ballots in 2002.

To move toward parity between Black and white Americans, the report identifies several policy agendas to focus on in 2024, including student loan forgiveness and the passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A political mailer that arrived on residents doorsteps last month near Baldwin Hills is stirring controversy in the Los Angeles City Council District 10 race and prompted action by the council this week.

The City Council approved a motion Wednesday to crack down on fraudulent campaign materials and deep fakes after the Baldwin Hills mailer, which appeared to have been sent from council candidate and current Councilmember Heather Hutt, attracted attention. Hutt introduced the motion in early February, days after the mailer was distributed.

The colorful mailer included a picture of Hutt and Mayor Karen Bass smiling together and a list of endorsements. It was packaged with a printed list of official city resources and a logo that identifies Hutt as a council member.

This could violate regulations set by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission barring city officials from using their city title or position to support a candidate for office, including themselves. By allegedly including campaign materials alongside her City Council logo, Hutt broke this rule, her critics say.

Read more: Your guide to the L.A. City Council District 10 race: South L.A., Mid-City, Koreatown

But Hutts campaign consultant, Mike Shimpock, said the campaign was not responsible for the mailing and had no knowledge of it. He said someone downloaded the campaign flier from the Ethics Commission website, where it is publicly available, and then printed and distributed it themselves along with the resource list.

Shimpock said whoever distributed the materials was trying to make it appear that Hutt had violated the regulations.

Its ridiculous and it comes from somebody with an axe to grind, Shimpock said. We never printed or produced this.

Grace Yoo, a former city commissioner who is running against Hutt, said she thinks Hutt put in the motion to conceal an ethics violation.

This is atrocious, Yoo said. The fact is she violated ethics. They get caught in their lies and they were covering their tracks.

Devyn Bakewell, director of communications for Hutts City Council office, said the motion was put forward in response to the reality that technology is way ahead of our ethics rules, not just locally but nationally.

Whether its dirty tricks against the councilwomans campaign, the fake Biden robocalls in New Hampshire, or the need for Purdue University to create a Political Deepfakes Incident Database, we must put an end to this activity now, she said in an email.

Council President Paul Krekorian and Councilmember Traci Park seconded the motion. Krekorian was not aware of the mailer when he chose to support the motion, his spokesperson said.

Dianne Lawrence, a District 10 resident who wrote a critical article about the mailer for the CityWatch news website, disputed Shimpocks claim that the flier was downloaded from the Ethics Commission website.

The graphic was posted on the website on Feb. 2, but Lawrence said residents received the materials in late January, before an outside party could have accessed and downloaded the image .

Lawrence sent The Times cellphone photos of the materials on doorsteps time-stamped on Jan. 28. Shimpock said the photos were obviously fake.

Shimpock also said the mailer could not have been from Hutts campaign because it did not have a small mark indicating that it was printed by union-represented workers. All of Hutts official campaign mailings include the mark, he said.

This whole thing is so clearly fake, he said. We've run a completely clean campaign, we've been honest about all this stuff, and we've only talked about Heather.

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The first G20 finance ministers' meeting of the year ended Thursday without a joint statement due to deep divisions over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, officials said.

Host country Brazil has an ambitious agenda to use the rotating G20 presidency to amplify the voice of the global south and tackle inequality and climate change.

But that was overshadowed by what it called an "impasse" at the two-day meeting in Sao Paulo.

"It isn't possible (to reach) a final statement," Finance Minister Fernando Haddad told a news conference.

"The impasse, as usual, is over the ongoing conflicts," he said, without explicitly mentioning Russia's invasion of Ukraine or Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"We had nurtured the hope that more sensitive geopolitical issues could be debated exclusively" by the group's foreign ministers, who held a meeting in Rio de Janeiro last week that likewise failed to produce a joint statement.

Haddad said that on financial issues, the G20 group -- which represents 80 percent of the global economy -- was unified.

"But since the meeting last week in Rio de Janeiro didn't reach a joint statement, that ended up contaminating the establishment of consensus" at what Brazil had hoped would be a purely economic policy meeting, he said.

- No 'business as usual' -

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner had earlier said his country planned to insist any final statement address Russia's two-year-old war in Ukraine.

The war has split the G20, with Western countries condemning the invasion and pouring military and financial aid into Ukraine.

Russia -- also a G20 member -- has meanwhile courted support from fellow emerging powers such as Brazil, China and India.

The group is also divided over Gaza, with the United States and Western allies reluctant to condemn Israel, even as non-Western members grow increasingly critical of a spiraling humanitarian crisis there.

"We can't have business as usual at the G20 when there's a war in Ukraine, Hamas terrorism and the humanitarian situation in Gaza," Lindner told journalists.

"We oppose avoiding those issues. Even if we're central bankers and finance ministers, we represent the values of our countries and must defend the international rules-based order."

The meetings are meant to lay the groundwork for the annual G20 leaders' summit, to be held in Rio in November.

Despite a push from Western countries for the group to condemn President Vladimir Putin's invasion, the G20's last summit, held in New Delhi in September, ended with a watered-down statement that denounced the use of force but did not explicitly name Russia.

The divisions do not look to have abated.

"Obviously, we want to name Russia as the aggressor, and Ukraine as the victim," a French official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.

- Taxing the super-rich -

On the global economy, the group voiced cautious optimism for a "soft landing" from the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, in an unsigned "Chair's Summary" released by Brazil in lieu of a joint statement.

But "uncertainty remains high," it warned.

"The global economy continues to face multiple challenges that reinforce each other and whose solutions require renewed multilateral cooperation. Among those are conflicts in many regions of the world; geoeconomic tensions; persistent inequalities, poverty, malnutrition and diseases," it said, in the only reference to the ongoing wars.

It also cited "elevated debt vulnerabilities," "tighter financing conditions," and "challenges imposed by climate change."

"Global growth is projected to stabilize in 2024 and the coming years at a subdued level," it said.

Brazil had sought to push an international plan to ensure the world's super-rich pay what Haddad called their "fair share" of taxes, urging G20 nations to adopt a shared stance on preventing billionaire tax-dodging by July.

That issue also failed to make it into the "Chair's Summary."

But Haddad, a close ally of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said there was broad backing. "No one spoke against it," he told journalists.

bur-jhb/bgs
Oklahoma City Superintendent Sean McDaniel sits in his seat Thursday before the Oklahoma City school board went into executive session to consider his surprise resignation.

A deeply divided Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education has accepted the resignation of Superintendent Sean McDaniel, its members casting their votes and then leaving the building without speaking to reporters.

After a closed session that lasted an hour and 48 minutes Thursday night, the board voted 5-3 to accept McDaniel's resignation, with board Chair Paula Lewis making the motion. Joining Lewis in voting for her motion were Vice-Chair Lori Bowman (who seconded Lewis' motion), Cary Pirrong, Meg McElhaney and newly sworn-in member Dana Meister, making her second vote as a board member. The first was to enter into the executive session.

Cary Pirrong, District 3 representative on the Oklahoma City school board, listens Thursday before the board went into executive session to consider the surprise resignation of Superintendent Sean McDaniel.

Voting against accepting the resignation were members Carole Thompson, Adrian Anderson and Juan Lecona.

McDaniel also declined comment after the meeting, but on Friday afternoon he released a brief statement saying, OKCPS is the greatest place Ive ever worked. Our students are amazing, we have the best teachers on the planet and our school and district leaders display their dedication to our students daily."

In the statement McDaniel expressed his gratitude to students and staff in the district and said he was committed to giving them "my all" until the end of June, when his resignation takes effect.

He added: "I want everyone to remember that change can be good and exciting. I have no doubt that OKCPS is going to land an excellent superintendent to continue the phenomenal growth and momentum currently happening for OKCPS.

Oklahoma City school board members Juan Lecona and Meg McElhaney walk past Superintendent Sean McDaniel during Thursday's meeting.

Carole Thompson, District 1 board member, listens Thursday during the Oklahoma City school board's meeting.

At Thursday night's board meeting the division on the board was palpable. After the vote to accept the resignation, the board held what normally would be a routine vote to select a search firm to help the board in recruiting candidates for the open position. But two board members, Anderson and Lecona, both voted against the motion to hire the nonprofit Oklahoma State School Boards Association, even after the board heard a short presentation from the OSSBAs executive director, Shawn Hime.

McDaniel made his surprise resignation announcement Monday, saying an irreconcilable difference of opinion with an as-yet-unidentified school board member led him to decide to resign, effective June 30, after six years in the position.

Oklahoma City Superintendent Sean McDaniel and wife, Traci, leave the Oklahoma City school board meeting Thursday when his resignation was accepted.

McDaniel is the longest-serving Oklahoma City Public Schools superintendent since Arthur Steller, who held the job from 1985 through November 1992. Since Stellar left, McDaniel is one of only three people to last at least five years as the districts superintendent.

After the meeting, instead of speaking with reporters, Lewis issued a prepared statement that read:

"Tonight, the Board of Education came together at a Special Meeting to formally accept Dr. McDaniels resignation as superintendent of OKCPS. Although we hate to see him go, the Board respects his decision and wishes him nothing but the very best."

The prepared statement also said: "The Board also took action to hire the Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA) to lead the districts national search as we work toward selecting a new leader for the 2024-25 school year. While we are still very early in the planning process for our search, I want to take this opportunity to reassure each of you that the Board is committed to gathering input from all OKCPS families and staff, as well as our community, regarding the qualities and characteristics you would like to see in our districts next superintendent. The diverse perspectives found within our district and across our growing city are part of what makes OKCPS special, and the Board looks forward to hearing from you. Stay tuned for more information about this effort in the coming weeks.

"As we look toward the future, Im honored to work alongside my fellow board members who are deeply passionate about OKCPS. As elected officials, each of us works hard to respect those who dedicate their lives to public education, while representing the values and voices of our community.

"As I shared in my message earlier this week, OKCPS is deeply grateful to Dr. McDaniel for the leadership, passion and expertise he has invested in our district over the last six years. His impact is sure to be felt for generations to come. The Board looks forward to finishing the school year together, as we begin the process to hire a new superintendent."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKCPS board is divided even as it accepts Sean McDaniel's resignation
A view of the land that developers Mungo Homes cleared that was once part of the Abbey Nature Preserve. The rest of the Abbey Nature Preserve backs up to the future development.

The chairman of the Pender County Board of Commissioners wants his colleagues to consider creating a new and improved tree ordinance after the removal of hundreds of century-old trees that were in Scotts Hill for years.

The conversation came up at a recent commissioners' meeting after South Carolina-based Mungo Homes cleared land that was once a part of the Abbey Nature Preserve to make way for a new housing development.

Mungo Homes bought the 242 acres of land in July 2022, which included Abbey Nature Preserve and all of the public access trails leading to it.

Pender County and Mungo Homes reached an agreement for the county to lease the park for $5 a year. The park is protected by a conservation easement from the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust.

The land, off of Scotts Hill Road, is rich with history as it is also home to the Poplar Grove Plantation, which dates back to the 1800s, with many trees dating back to that time as well.

To some, the clear-cutting of the trees has been a difficult sight to see.

Local residents took to Facebook to voice their concerns over this happening and to post pictures of the clear-cut land, but under current Pender County ordinances, the developers are allowed to do so.

"I would like to encourage that we get back on trying to figure a tree ordinance out that doesn't take two-inch trees to replace a hundred-year-old oak tree," Commissioners Chairman Brad George said.

Commissioner Jackie Newton suggested looking at putting a moratorium on certain trees.

More: As construction begins near Abbey Nature Preserve, here's what's coming to the area

A view of the land developers cleared in Scotts Hill next to Abbey Nature Preserve. This photo was taken from the back porch of the manor house at Poplar Grove.

The current ordinance

Under the Unified Development Ordinance that was adopted on Aug. 15, 2022, a zoning text amendment allows developers to start clearing land before the issuance of clearing and grading permits. This part of the ordinance was amended on Aug. 15, 2022, and is still currently in effect.

A significant tree survey is also required for any commercial or industrial zoned property and all mixed use districts. This is not required for land that is in a designated Special Flood Hazard Area, jurisdictional and coastal wetlands and wetland buffers, designated areas of environmental concern and stream buffers.

Significant trees include an American holly, a flowering dogwood, a water oak, a live oak, and other trees with certain trunk caliper measurements.

The specific requirements for tree surveys can be found in Pender County's Unified Development Ordinance.

What's next?

George didn't make a motion, but he said he would like to find a way to repeal that ordinance until they can put together a new tree ordinance.

"Everything is clear-cut and I really think there's got to be a way to at least leave some trees," George said.

George said that it's been hard to see trees cleared out that have been there for years and that it's also a concern for flooding in the future.

He said Scottsdale and Oakdale are both areas that have had issues in the past just from rain storms, so he is worried about the future of the area when another hurricane or tropical storm comes.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Pender County to review tree removal ordinance
Ukraine needs such a large quantity of ammunition that no country can deliver, including the United States, Minister of Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin stated in an interview with The Independent on Feb. 29.

As a result, Ukraine is focusing on developing more cost-effective methods to maintain the frontline while also increasing domestic production.

Read also: Ukraine faces catastrophic shortage of ammunition and air defense by spring  report

According to the official, domestic defense production in Ukraine tripled in 2023, with plans to increase it sixfold this year.

Moreover, Ukraine is positioning itself as a global leader in unmanned technology, as UAVs have emerged as an unexpected cornerstone on Ukraines modern battlefields.

Domestic production is crucial, Kamyshin said.

Read also: Allies must arm Ukraine from their stocks  Estonian PM

We can produce over one million first-person-view (FPV) drones this year plus thousands of drones that can fly over 1,000km, reaching as far as refineries in Russia. This is a game-changer.

Our defense tech is really cool, and together with the newly formed force of unmanned drone systems, it will deliver results, the minister added.

The European Union (EU) is set to provide Ukraine with more than one million artillery shells by the end of 2024, EU High Representative/Vice-President (HR/VP) Josep Borrell said during his press briefing in Kyiv on Feb. 7.

The European Commission confirmed that the bloc would be able to produce 1 million shells by the end of winter 2024.

Czech President Petr Pavel disclosed on Feb. 17 that the country had discovered hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds abroad, which it could transfer to Ukraine pending funding.

The Presidents Office affirmed on Feb. 23 that they would secure funding for 800,000 shells, as indicated by the Czech leader.

Read also: France, Greece, Cyprus block plans to buy artillery shells outside EU  German MP

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
BROWNSVILLE  The long-anticipated standoff between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump finally happened Thursday, not on a debate stage but along 325 miles of the Texas-Mexico border.

The two political rivals, who are expected to face a rematch in the November election, staged separate visits to the border in Texas to draw attention to immigration and border security, now the leading issue for voters. The visits amounted to a duel in optics, if not specifics.

Biden, speaking in Brownsville, called on Trump to join him in asking Congress to pass wide-ranging border security legislation negotiated by a team of Democratic and Republican senators, which the House GOP rejected at Trumps urging.

Instead of playing politics with the issue, why dont we just get together it done? Biden said.

Trump, speaking at roughly the same time some 300 miles away in Eagle Pass, showed no interest in working with Biden or the Democrats for that matter on border security. He hurled insults at his successor, charging that the president is solely responsible for the immigration crisis and said Biden is unable to deal with it effectively.

President Joe Biden speaks Thursday at the Border Patrol Station in Brownsville. He called on Congress to pass wide-ranging border security legislation, saying, Instead of playing politics with the issue, why dont we just get together it done?

"This is a Joe Biden invasion," Trump said from Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, which sits on the Rio Grande and has become the epicenter of the national immigration debate. "This is a Biden invasion over the past three years. ... He's a terrible president, worst president our country's ever had probably, the most incompetent president we've ever had."

The competing stops by Biden and Trump come as polls show Americans are deeply concerned about the situation along the border.

A Gallup poll released this week showed that, for the first time since the last decade, Americans now believe immigration to be the most important issue facing the United States. A separate survey in February by the Pew Research Center survey showed 80% of Americans believe the government is doing a bad job dealing with the large number of migrants at the border.

Yet another poll this month by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas showed that a majority of Texans want to see more enforcement at the state's southern border with Mexico and support Abbott's border security initiatives, such as building border barriers and installing razor wire along the Rio Grande.

Former President Donald Trump arrives Thursday in Eagle Pass' Shelby Park, where Gov; Greg Abbott greeted him. Trump lauded Abbott's hard-line approach to the border, saying, "These are the people that are coming into our country, and they're coming from jails, and they're coming from prisons, and they're coming from mental institutions, and they're coming from insane asylums."

'We can't wait any longer'

In Brownsville, Biden's motorcade drove along a road alongside a 20-foot-high border fence, just inside the U.S.-Mexico border. Biden's entourage drove through a gate in the fence and down a bumpy dirt road, alongside which parked cars were flying Trump flags.

Biden later met with federal immigration agents and local government and law enforcement officials. Brownsville was once the nations busiest corridor for illegal crossings, but in recent months has seen a sharp drop in the number of people crossing illegally into the United States.

In his remarks at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station, Biden said officials desperately need more resources to secure the border. "We can't wait any longer," he said.

Before Biden's arrival, several hundred mostly Biden supporters lined up on Boca Chica Boulevard outside the citys airport before Bidens arrival Thursday, waving blue Biden flags and chanting Four more years! More residents parked along the boulevard, stretching for about half a mile, waving U.S. flags and hoping to catch a glimpse of the president.

Elia Zamora-Hernandez, 71, drove 30 miles from Harlingen to show her support. Donning a Biden cap and waving a Biden flag, she said Republicans are not cooperating enough with the president to allow him to do his job.

The border has been a problem for years, years, years, Zamora-Hernandez said. This is not something he created.

Further down the boulevard, groups organized by La Union del Pueblo Entero, a migrants and workers rights group, chanted, Biden, escucha  estamos en la lucha! (Biden, listen  were struggling!) and Si se puede! (Yes we can!)

Victor Cavazos, a director at The Sidewalk School, a nonprofit that helps asylum-seekers in Reynosa, Mexico, said he was baffled that Biden chose not to meet with leaders of nongovernmental organizations while in Texas.

Hes missing a big piece of the puzzle, he said. We know what the needs are on the ground.

Unease in Eagle Pass: As border battle brews between Texas and U.S., tiny Eagle Pass braces for its next conflict

Trump travels to Eagle Pass

In Eagle Pass, Trump, joined by Gov. Greg Abbott, ripped into Biden, calling him solely responsible for the immigration crisis and he is unable to effectively deal wit

Speaking without notes, Trump veered from praising himself to criticizing immigration policies in Democratic-controlled California to lauding Abbott for picking up and running with the hard-line approach to the border. And he somewhat reprised his 2016 theme that "murderers" and "rapists" were at the time coming into the United States from Mexico.

"These are the people that are coming into our country, and they're coming from jails, and they're coming from prisons, and they're coming from mental institutions, and they're coming from insane asylums," Trump said. "And they're terrorists and being let into our country."

Trump also referred to Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was found slain Thursday in a wooded area at the University of Georgia in Athens. The man charged with the killing of the student was an immigrant from Venezuela.

On Main Street, the four corners of the intersection with Commercial Street were filled with a mix of Trump and Biden supporters amid a collection of stores such as Claudias Perfuma Fina and the Cowboy Corral, which sell western wear.

Supporters of Donald Trump await his arrival to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas prior to TrumpOs visit to the border community on Feb. 29, 2024.

Weve seen two surges under two administrations, and it was better under Trump, said Freddy Arellano, a junior at nearby Sul Ross University, who sported a Make America Great Again ball cap. Under Biden its unbearable.

At the opposite corner, Steve Fischer, who is the chief public defender for the region, called Trumps visit and Abbotts policies at the border a big joke and political theatrics.

Jose Hernandez, who served in the Army and wore a Vietnam veterans cap, was in the middle figuratively and literally.

Im 50-50 on Biden and Trump, he said. Whoever can fix it.

Hernandez said he voted for Biden in 2020, but the president has not yet earned his support for a second term.

Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, welcomed Bidens and Trumps visits to the border.

A Donald Trump supporter in Eagle Pass holds up a banner.

Theyre a little late, Garcia said. But at least theyre finally paying attention to a humanitarian crisis that has been festering for years.

Garcia said immigration and border issues are going to be key campaign issues in November, and Latino voters will be an important voting bloc.

I think that shows that they both know how important immigration is as an issue and that the road to the White House goes through the Latino communities, he said.

Tragedy at the border: Mexican family's death at border looms over ongoing Justice Department standoff with Texas

A Border Patrol officer patrols the banks of the Rio Grande in Brownsville on Wednesday.

Will Trump, Biden's visits to the border shift the conversation?

No one in the White House, in Congress or on the campaign trail has figured out how to address the pace and swell of modern migration, as people arrive at the U.S. border in record numbers.

Biden has called on Mexico and its regional partners to stem the flow of migrants north. Biden has created new legal pathways to encourage migrants not to cross the border unlawfully. And hes funneled resources to struggling nations to address the root causes of why people leave.

Trump has proposed more barriers at the border, from razor wire to fences, and mass deportations. Republicans in Congress have proposed sharply restricting access to the U.S. asylum system.

But the flows northward continue at a pace that has been mind-rattling for many Americans. A once-impenetrable jungle connecting North and South America has become a human highway. The Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama is now being trod through by half a million people annually  nearly all of them headed for the U.S. border.

Nobody has figured out how to deal with this in a short-term way with the existing tools they have, said Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America. The most theyve been able to do is to come up with a small tweak to policies that can push the numbers down for a few months  and then the numbers recover.

The push-and-pull factors of immigration have proved more powerful than the limited opportunities for legal pathways at the U.S. border and the deterrents of 30-foot fences and flesh-tearing razor wire.

Gov. Greg Abbott greets Donald Trump in Eagle Pass on Thursday.

There are more than 9 million job openings in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics  a magnet for workers. Meanwhile, countries throughout the hemisphere are still suffering the economic fallout of the pandemic.

You have the United States in a moment of relative domestic stability with more job openings than workers, Isacson said. Throughout the region, you have economies that havent crawled out of the crater COVID left. You have repressive governments, climate change and gangs running rampant. You also have a broken U.S. asylum system where you can claim fear and be here for four or five years.

The number of migrants arriving at the U.S. border dipped in the first year of the Trump administration before climbing again in 2018 and more than doubling in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic, when travel was restricted across the western hemisphere, depressed migration in 2020 and apprehensions at the U.S. border plummeted.

But as the pandemic waned and regional economies remained in distress, people began heading to the U.S. border in record numbers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 1.7 million migrant encounters at the Southwest border in fiscal 2021, 2.4 million in fiscal 2022 and 2.5 million in fiscal 2023.

The images of tens of thousands of families crossing the Rio Grande in Texas, or waiting to be received by Border Patrol at the border fence in Arizona or California, have captivated American voters and stoked real worries about the federal governments ability to quickly vet so many people and the ability of American cities to welcome them.

Abbott has bused more than 100,000 migrants from the Texas border to cities including New York, Chicago and Denver  effectively exporting humanitarian crises to American backyards.

The United States flag flies behind concertina wire at the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville Wednesday February 28, 2024.

Contributing: Deborah Berry and Swapna Venugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump and Biden at the border: How the dueling visits played out
CHICAGO  Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are appealing a Cook County circuit judges ruling that Trumps name should be struck from the March 19 Illinois Republican primary ballot because of his role in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In a notice of appeal filed with the states 1st Appellate Court late Wednesday, Trumps lawyers asked that Cook County Judge Tracie Porters ruling be reversed, and that the former presidents name be reinstated on the ballot and that votes cast for him be counted.

Porter had stayed her order pending appeal and clarified Thursday that it was on hold until the appeal is fully and finally resolved by higher courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Porter on Wednesday found that Trump engaged in insurrection in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol aimed at blocking the counting of Electoral College votes that made Democrat Joe Biden president. She based her ruling on evidence and findings made in Colorado, where the state Supreme Courts Democratic majority voted 4-3 in December to remove Trump from that states ballot based on the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

With Porters ruling, Illinois became the third state to toss Trump off the ballot. The Maine secretary of state, the chief election authority in that state, also removed the former president from the states ballot in December. As in Colorado, the Maine decision is on hold until the nations Supreme Court rules.

Porter found that in signing his statement of candidacy for the Illinois Republican primary ballot on Jan. 4 of this year, Trump falsely swore that he was legally qualified for the presidency because the Colorado Supreme Court had already ruled that the former president had been found to engage in insurrection.

Porters ruling came in an appeal of a bipartisan 8-0 decision by the State Board of Elections on Jan. 30 to reject efforts backed by the group Free Speech for People to disqualify Trump from the primary ballot.

The elections board said it was prevented by previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings from using constitutional analysis to determine candidate qualifications for the ballot. It also said Trump was eligible for the primary because he did not knowingly lie when he signed his statement of candidacy.

Porter, however, ruled that the state election boards rationale for keeping Trump on the ballot was without basis and contrary to existing Illinois law.

Trumps attorneys had argued that states do not have the power to act on the insurrection clause without authorization from Congress, that the 14th Amendments section on insurrection does not apply to the office of president, and that the former presidents actions on the day of the Capitol riot did not amount to insurrection. Porter rejected those arguments.

Under the structure of the Illinois Republican presidential primary, striking Trumps name from the ballot would have minimal consequences for the GOP front-runners bid for the partys nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July.

Illinois sends 64 presidential nominating delegates to Milwaukee,13 at large and 51 who are elected  three from each of the states 17 congressional districts  and pledged to a candidate. The 13 at large delegates are pledged to the winner of the statewide presidential preference primary election, meaning Trump could not collect their votes if he were not on the ballot. But the district delegates pledged to Trump would not be affected by the court action.
In what should be a shock to no one, the man who bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade is now talking about banning abortion after 15 weeks.



Donald Trump floated the new number during his bizarre trip Thursday to the U.S.-Mexico border. While there, he sat down for an interview with Fox Newss Sean Hannity, who asked about abortion.

Republicans are coming in with a certain number of weeks, and the number 15 is mentioned, Trump said. I havent agreed to any number. Im gonna see. We wanna take an issue that was very polarizing and get it settled and solved so everybody can be happy.

Trump suggests he might be open to a 15 week national abortion ban pic.twitter.com/iUh8gltOb0  Acyn (@Acyn) March 1, 2024

Many Republican lawmakers have suggested banning abortion after 15 weeks as some sort of compromise. The argument is generally that fetuses can feel pain after that point. But just two years ago, Republicans were arguing that a 22-week cutoff was reasonable because that was when fetuses started to feel pain.

In reality, most medical experts agree that fetuses dont develop the necessary physical sensors to experience pain until at least 24 weeks, possibly not even until 28 weeks. So its more likely that, now that the protection of Roe is gone, Republicans are just trying to shift the goal posts and ban abortion sooner.

The surprising thing about Trumps interview is not that he expressed openness toward limiting abortion. Just two weeks ago, Trump suggested a 16-week federal abortion ban.So its possiblelikely, evenTrump will keep reducing what he considers a reasonable number of weeks to allow abortions until hes reached zero.

Trump has bragged about his role in overturning Roe and even demanded credit for individual state abortion bans. He is reportedly planning to gut reproductive rights if he is reelected, likely by relying heavily on the Comstock Act, a century-old law that conservatives are using to ban access to abortion and abortion medication.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans61 percent, according to the Pew Research Centerthink abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This is why, even in otherwise deep red states, people keep voting to increase abortion access.
Something unusual is happening in Defence  people are talking about it: and not just in these pages for a change. A certain orange politician in the USA, to a large extent, has got people thinking. In particular he is stirring things up among the Nato nations east of the Atlantic: and that may, in fact, be a good thing.

There are four big factors in play.

First, threat levels are increasing. People are talking about Russia in Ukraine and what happens to other neighbouring countries  and democracy  if Putin is allowed to triumph there. The horrors of Gaza are also being discussed, though sadly less about the situation there and more about the polarising effect it is having here. Some people are also talking about the Houthis in the Red Sea, though sadly this is getting less discussion than the previous two. I say sadly, as British, American and other allied servicemen are actually in harms way on that one: but as a serviceman you get used to the idea that your fellow citizens are probably not very interested in you risking your life far away.

Iran is involved in all these things  Iranian made Shahed drones are hitting Kyiv almost every night  and the mullahs are seemingly never far from launching their next adventure. Further afield, Kim Jong Un (remember him?) declared last month that his regime would no longer seek peaceful reunification with Seoul  they are now codified as the enemy. He has 50 to 60 nuclear warheads.

Whether hot, cold or no war is coming, defence is about being sufficiently ready to prevent it happening in the first place. Being less ready makes war more likely.

Second follows on from this: the raft of bad news stories about the state of UK Defence at the moment.

Ill try and put some perspective on this. My 27 years in the Navy was accompanied by a perma-rhetoric of decline and associated griping. Morale was always low and everyone you spoke to had their notice in. Where we are now is nothing new, but the rhetoric is accelerating. This could just be an increase in access, leaks and reporting but I dont think so.

More important is what lies beneath the rhetoric and this is fragile. Retention figures are a quantifiable barometer of this and they make for grim reading. Its not just that theyre declining, thats been the case for decades, its the rate of decline. If you keep squeezing any system or asset  or sweat it, to half-quote the Chief of the General Staff  eventually it breaks. Were not there yet but a look at our maritime nuclear industry and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary shows you what close looks like.

Third, there is an election coming. Defence is no longer discussed in any detail by politicians  the since-2010 convention of having a Defence Review just after each election has meant that they can always kick any discussion down the road to the Review and nobody gets to vote knowing what the parties policies might be.

But like clockwork, impending elections do bring the issues to the surface. Defence editors need to sell papers, of course they do, but they also universally believe in Defence, understand its fragility and therefore (rightly) use opportunities to push for more money. This infuriates senior officers  I get called shrill all the time by my serving friends (to which I normally respond by asking how their sensible and steady plan is going)  but media pressure can have an effect.

The about-turn on defence accommodation recently is a case in point. Truly, you mess with Army officers wives and their media friends at your peril. Nobody heard quite as much from the enlisted soldiers wives, who might have got a bigger house on the officers patch if they had more kids than the officers ladies. It was noted that trained officers are resigning in droves  no less than 6.5 per cent in the most recent quarter. It wasnt noted that trained enlisted soldiers are resigning at exactly the same rate. It also wasnt noted that the actual number of majors and colonels in the Army has barely dropped recently, but the number of corporals and sergeants is down by several per cent and the number of private soldiers is down almost ten per cent over the last two quarters. But the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Meanwhile, conversations often focus on what percentage of GDP should be spent on defence. Its a clunky metric but also easily relatable: resisting its use is futile. The UK hovers just above the two per cent mark and has done so for a while, which is theoretically not too bad by Nato standards. When you consider the deterrent and pensions, however, the picture is less rosy.

It was interesting to see a recent Secretary of State for Defence write in this paper that we should increase to three per cent. Hes right, but it is odd that he never mentioned that when uniquely empowered to do so. He also took the chance (sadly predictably, as an ex Army man) to take a shot at our aircraft carriers.

But this stuff is all routine. Russia and Iran, feeble capabilities, arguments over resource and interservice squabbling go way back into the mists of time.

The fourth thing, the biggest thing, the new wild card, is the possibility of future President Donald Trump.

What happens if, once whispered, is now openly spoken of and planned for in the corridors of Whitehall. Saying the Russians can do whatever the hell they want to countries who dont meet their [Nato] commitments is as crass as it is predictable, but is the underlying sentiment wrong?

A previous Editor of Janes Fighting Ships (and therefore less susceptible to bombast and hyperbole than most defence media types) said at an event in 1984, I never understood why the US, a country of 235 million people and a GDP of 4 trillion dollars should be responsible for the defence of a continent of 413 million people and cumulative GDP of 2.6 trillion dollars.

He has a point. If we dont play ball and lose our US protective umbrella we will be a lot less safe. That is a fact whether you like it or not.

Worse still, Europe is strategically incoherent. The French President talks about boots on the ground in Ukraine and the German premier has disclosed UKsupported operations there  in both cases attempting to win political clout among their own fellow citizens, no matter what damage they might do. Far too many Nato nations fail even to achieve two per cent of GDP. With this sort of thing going on, Trumps apparent disgust for European Nato allies appears more and more justifiable.

Back in the UK, assuming there isnt a total rethink as to our strategic position in the world, and discounting premature conversations about how everything should now be automated, we need to step up so that The Donald doesnt disavow us. We need a trinity of symbiotic things: more money, money to be spent better and more people.

Anyone who thinks Defence doesnt need more cash either doesnt understand the problem, has adopted a position of learned helplessness over the years where asking for more is seen as toxic (or shrill) or owns the purse strings and doesnt think there is any available. Just look at the big ticket build items currently in the hoist  nuclear submarines (including the deterrent and Aukus), Army recapitalisation, the Global Combat Air Programme and ask if any of that can be affordable in an environment where we cant provide our armed forces with decent accommodation?

The second point is a killer though, because not only is it true that Defence has been unbelievably wasteful over the years but this also provides the perfect stick for the Treasury to hit people with who ask for more: We wont give you any more because you will only waste it.

I would argue that as a position this is better suited to managing your childs pocket money than defending a country, and it certainly isnt applied to, say, the NHS, but it is hard to defend against. I had it played to me by a very senior politician last week, you wont get more money until you can prove you can spend it properly. My attempts to sell the trinity as symbiotic fell on deaf ears.

The Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey reflected on this yesterday, effectively saying that Defence is not in a strong position to go to the Treasury to ask for more money until it can show that it can spend it better.

Needing more people is one I wont go into now but unless that improves, this whole conversation is moot. Hopefully the links between a well-resourced, growing and well-planned enterprise and recruit/retain are obvious.

With threats increasing but resources both stalled and mismanaged, we are not well placed to enter the pre-war era as many now call it. Elections here and in the US provide a good opportunity to get defence on the agenda. It seems strange that the key pillar of government  security of the nation  attracts a paltry (and caveated) two per cent of GDP.

When the aforementioned Editor of Janes was in command of a nuclear submarine, defence was at seven per cent of GDP. Clearly there are different demands and priorities now across government compared to then but they didnt spend that much then for fun, it was because that was the figure determined to be the right amount in that global environment. It doesnt matter how tight Whitehall budgets are now, or how much debt there is: the government could increase defence spending if it chose to. So small is the Defence budget, that getting to three per cent of GDP would involve a barely noticeable two per cent cut across the other departments. The government simply chooses not to spend on Defence, and that is what needs to change.

On becoming Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer promised, never again will Labour go into an election not trusted on national security. To me that looks like putting three per cent on the manifesto with accompanying strategy papers on what its for, how it will be spent and how it will not be wasted.

The current government will not endorse this. Trump would. And bluntly, like him or loathe him, hes right. Arguably many US Presidents before him have failed for decades to tell it straight when talking to the lazy, clutch-fisted politicians of the European Nato allies. Trump may very well be the alliances salvation, not its destroyer.

You dont pay your bills, you get no protection. Its very simple.

Trumps words are rude and ominous in equal measure. But we should be doing it anyway for us, not for him. We should always have been doing it. History shows it costs a lot more if you dont.

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Former President Donald Trump puzzled people with his latest dog-whistle attack on immigrants during a speech on the U.S. border in Eagles Pass, Texas, on Thursday.

The Republican 2024 front-runner repeated his usual fear-mongering rhetoric when he claimed, without offering any evidence to back up his assertion, Theyre coming from jails, and theyre coming from prisons, and theyre coming from mental institutions, and theyre coming from insane asylums, and theyre terrorists. Theyre being let into our country, and its horrible.

Trump then focused on what he considered a highly important issue: The languages talked by those who go to the U.S.

Trump, confused: We have people who dont speak languages. We have nobody that even speaks those languages. Nobody speaks them pic.twitter.com/5OfQU9xIAb  Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) February 29, 2024

Nobody can explain to me how allowing millions of people from places unknown, from countries unknown, who dont speak languages, he confusingly railed. We have languages coming into our country. We have nobody that even speaks those languages. Theyre truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them, and theyre pouring into our country, and theyre bringing with them tremendous problems, including medical problems, as you know.

CNNs fact-checking reporter Daniel Dale told anchor Kaitlan Collins that Trump has made a similar claim about people arriving speaking languages that no ones ever heard.

Dale recalled, He said in a previous, recent speech, We didnt even have one translator who could understand this language. Ive looked into this, seems to be just conjured out of thin air. Its nonsense.

Conjured out of thin air. CNN cuts out of Trumps speech after he tells several lies. They have their fact-checker, Daniel Dale, standing by, who immediately goes to work. CNN has finally wised up. Every single network must do this when Trump is speaking. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/9GAOnygmMe  Mike Sington (@MikeSington) February 29, 2024

Critics on X (formerly Twitter) scratched their heads over Trumps dont speak languages logic.

If no one speaks these languages, how does he know about them?  Thomas Paine's Ghost (@Rdsaucier) February 29, 2024

Wait what? Languages that no one speaks? Are they speaking in tongues? Maybe he got confused between the border and his meeting with the Christian Nationalists right beforehand.



That must be it!  Tommy Lavin (@TommyLavinTST) February 29, 2024

*truly* foreign languages...what an idiot  Brad Bo  (@BradBeauregardJ) February 29, 2024

 but all I hear about is Biden's age.  Jason Mcdaniel (@mcdaniel0207) February 29, 2024

Hes stuck on stupid  Renegade Cowboy  (@Rene_gadeCowboy) February 29, 2024

Related...
Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to President Biden backing a temporary pause in fighting in Gaza to ease the release of remaining hostages and to provide aid for civilians displaced by the war.

The letter said the representatives are encouraged by the news of progress in hostage and cease-fire negotiations and applaud the Biden administrations work with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and others to advance progress.

The Democrats are calling for a temporary pause to not only help release the hostages and give desperately needed relief to the millions of civilians displaced by this war, it can also open a path to permanently ending the conflict.

Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) were joined by 27 Democratic colleagues in urging the president to continue talks of a temporary pause in fighting so food, water, medicine and other essential supplies can be delivered to civilians in the region.

On Monday, Biden had said a cease-fire could start before next week and stressed that talks among the U.S., Egypt, Qatar, Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a deal.

But Biden backtracked Thursday, saying a cease-fire probably wont start before next week, with more civilian deaths in Gaza likely complicating negotiations. Biden said he was on a call with people in the region and is hopeful.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed Thursday in Gaza City while they were trying to get humanitarian aid, the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry reported.

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas that began in early October, more than 30,000 people have died in Gaza, the ministry said.

Hope for a better future for Gaza will open the door for movement toward a two-state solution, the letters signatories argue. The letter acknowledged that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians cannot happen as long as Hamas, PIJ and other terrorist groups reign with terror in Gaza or threaten Israel and its people.

The Democrats added that peace also cant be achieved without Israel recognizing the legitimacy of Palestinian aspirations for freedom. They argued the path to peace must be supported and reinforced by U.S. leadership.

We resolutely believe that peace is possiblethat a Jewish democratic state of Israel can live with safety and security alongside a viable, democratic Palestinian state, the letter concluded. We are fully committed to work with your Administration, Israel and the Palestinians to move toward that dream.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
French police on Friday arrested 66 people at a farmers' protest at the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysees in central Paris. The action comes amid anger in the French and European agriculture sectors over rising costs and falling revenues.

Farmers used tractors and bales of hay to block traffic on the avenue, not far from President Emmanuel Macron's office, the Elysee Palace.

Protest organisers, the Rural Coordination collective, said the demonstration was aimed "at saving French agriculture".

It wants quick action, it added, to save 45 percent of French farms in financial distress.

The farmers arrived in the early hours of the morning and held up banners around the famous monument, which was also at the centre of Yellow Vest protests in 2018.

Farmer Axel Masson said about 100 of his peers had gathered at from 3am "in a peaceful and law-abiding manner".

Masson said the farmers laid a wreath in memory of their colleagues who had been driven to suicide by financial woes, adding: "The state is not listening to us."

The demonstration wrapped up around 9am when police intervened, according to journalists at the scene.

Among the 66 people taken into custody was Patrick Legras, one of the figures of Rural Coordination.

'Illegal' action

Junior Minister for Agriculture Agnes Pannier-Runacher said the protest had not been declared and was therefore considered "illegal".



Read more on RFI English



Read also:

French far-right leader calls for 'economic patriotism' for agriculture

France's organic farmers 'green with rage' over lack of government support

French PM seeks to avert fresh farmer protests with bill of change
A second building in New York City has been raided for having been illegally converted into a shelter for West African migrants who were living in cramped conditions, with both buildings belonging to the same owner, according to a report.

On Wednesday, city officials sweeped a two-story commercial building on East Kingsbridge Road in Fordham where they found 34 beds on the first floor and 11 beds in the cellar tightly packed together," an FNFY spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Inspectors also found extension cords, e-bikes, space heaters and hotplates inside the Bronx building, the New York City Dept. of Buildings (DOB) told Fox 5. Lithium batteries caused a record number of fires, injuries and deaths in New York City last year, according to the FDNY.

DOZENS OF AFRICAN MIGRANTS FOUND LIVING PACKED INSIDE STORE BASEMENT, SLEEPING IN SHIFTS

The DOB issued a full vacate order for the store due to the hazardous life-threatening conditions, lack of natural light and ventilation, and severe overcrowding. The department also issued two violations to the landlord for failure to maintain the building and for occupying the building contrary to city records, The New York Post reports.

The store, located at 305 East Kingsbridge Rd., appeared to have previously housed a cell phone store and is situated just a few blocks from Fordham University.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Video from inside the building shows a room with tightly packed bunk beds side by side divided by a narrow aisle.

The tenants, who are mostly from Senegal, told Fox 5 they were paying $300 a month to stay there but were ordered to gather their belongings and leave.

Several men were seen carting suitcases out of the building as NYPD officers watched on. One man told Fox 5 that he didnt know where he would sleep Wednesday night. Some men were seen getting on buses and were transported to city-run shelters.

Ebou Sarr is listed as the landlord of both buildings, according to city records.

FACING COMMUNITY PUSHBACK, NYC MAYOR REVERSES PLAN TO HOUSE MIGRANTS IN LUXURY BUILDING

The FDNY said that a slew of other violations were handed down for the buildings' dangerous conditions, including a lack of emergency exit signs, failure to produce portable fire extinguisher records and failure to maintain a fire alarm system and keeping exits clear.

The sweep came just two days after a building in Queens was found to have also been converted into a makeshift hostel, cramming at least 74 migrants into the first floor and cellar of a furniture store.

Ebou Sarr, 47, is listed as the owner of both buildings, Fox 5 reports, citing city records.

The New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) also issued a full vacate order for the store, called Sarrs Wholesale Furniture, which is located at 132-02 Liberty Ave. in Richmond Hill.

Sarr told Pix11 News on Monday he was charging the migrants $300 a month to live there.

He said most of the migrants are from Senegal and that he was providing them with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Cellphone video from inside the building showed the African men in a bright white room full of beds with a low ceiling. The beds are placed close together with limited walking room  a single narrow lane runs through the room with beds on either side. Another video showed a similar room full of bunk beds.





Original article source: Dozens of NYC migrants found packed into second illegal makeshift shelter
If you own a newer model Chevrolet Camaro, your car may be at risk of theft.

The Los Angeles Police Department said in a news release that on Saturday, officers arrested a minor who had a key cloning device.

These devices are about the size of a cell phone and are a programming tool that picks up the signal of a key fob nearby which the device then clones, police said.

Cloning devices have been used in many newer model Camaro thefts, and in the LAPD Newton Division, 10 Camaros have been stolen just this year: a 500% increase over last years two thefts, police said.

Citywide, the numbers are even more staggering: 90 Camaro thefts so far this year after only seven all of last year, a 1,285% increase.

Detectives offered several tips for Camaro owners:

Never keep your key fob inside your vehicle

Purchase security cases that prevent key fob signals from being transmitted

Even home remedies, such as wrapping fobs in aluminum foil or placing them inside tin cans, have been effective

Anyone with information is asked to call 323-846-6592. During non-business hours or on weekends, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).

To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania Edi Rama, Azernews reports.

Edi Rama congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his victory in the presidential election and on Azerbaijans hosting the COP29.

The head of state expressed his gratitude for the congratulations.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked the Prime Minister of Albania for his participation in the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting.

In turn, Edi Rama expressed his gratitude for the invitation to this event.

During the conversation, they underlined the importance of the 10th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and the 2nd Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting.

The meeting saw discussions on bilateral relations.

They highlighted the role of President Ilham Aliyevs state visit to Albania and Prime Minister Edi Ramas previous trips to Azerbaijan in the development of bilateral ties.

The head of state highly appreciated Albania's support for Azerbaijan's just position within the UN and other international organizations and noted that Azerbaijan has always advocated for Albania's interests within these institutions as well.

The importance of the TAP project and its expansion were discussed during the meeting, with Albania's pivotal role in this field highlighted. They touched upon the issue of Azerbaijans investments for implementation of the gasification project in Albania.

During the conversation, the discussions also revolved around the normalization of the Azerbaijan-Armenia relations and the prospects for cooperation.




FRENCH VILLAGE, Ill.  An Illinois driver escapes a single-car crash with only minor injuries, despite the vehicle being nearly split in half.

The French Village Fire Department responded to a single-vehicle crash around 8:30 a.m. near the eight-mile marker westbound on I-64.

At the scene they discovered a single car that had been nearly split in half after smashing into a light pole. The driver was the only one in the car at the time of the accident.

The driver was found walking around and had only minor injuries. Emergency Medical Services brought the driver to a local hospital for a check-up.

The fire department took the opportunity to remind everyone to exercise caution and reduce speed while driving. They said that this incident could have easily led to a different outcome.







For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
Louisville Metro fire and emergency crews rescued the driver of a semi-truck dangling over the Clark Memorial Bridge after being involved in a multi-vehicle crash on Friday. The bridge, which connects Kentucky and southern Indiana, remains closed to traffic while Louisville Metro Police and state officials assess damage and clear the scene. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI

March 1 (UPI) -- Firefighters rescued the driver of a semi-truck after a crash left it hanging over the edge of the Clark Memorial Bridge Friday.

The incident over the Ohio River shut down traffic as first responders undertook rescue efforts.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill told local news outlets that rescue crews arrived at the scene at 12:06 p.m. CT to a "pretty serious wreck" involving two vehicles and the semi-truck.

The two other people involved in the incident were transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, Louisville Metro Police spokesperson Aaron Ellis said in a statement reported by local media.

The driver of the semi-truck was trapped in the cab, but firefighters were able to rescue her with a rope and a pulley. She was then transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Louisville Metro fire and emergency crews rescued the driver of a semi-truck dangling over the Clark Memorial Bridge Friday. Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill said the driver was "extremely lucky" the truck didn't fall off the bridge. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI

Firefighter Bryce Carden was primarily responsible for rescuing the woman from the cab and getting her to safety.

"She was just praying. She was praying a lot, and I prayed with her," Carden said.

Louisville Metro fire and emergency crews rappelled off the Clark Memorial Bridge to rescue the driver of a semi-truck dangling over the Ohio River Friday. Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill said its "a once-in-a-career type of thing" for rescue crews to put this kind of training into action. Photo by John Sommers II/UPI

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the incident.

The bridge, which connects Kentucky and southern Indiana, remains closed to traffic while police and the state crews clear the wreckage.

"It's tremendously lucky that it [the semi-truck] didn't go over," O'Neill said.

Ellis said the bridge is unlikely to open before Saturday morning.

O'Neill said Louisville's rescue team trains frequently to respond to various rescue situations, but it's "a once-in-a-career type of thing" to actually put that training into practice.

"This is why our first responders are heroes," Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a post on X. "Your bravery is unmatched and we're grateful for your lifesaving work."
Truck hanging off Second Street Bridge in Louisville on Friday, March 1, 2024.

A woman was rescued from a tractor trailer after being involved in a four-vehicle accident that left the truck dangling precariously from the Clark Memorial Bridge Friday.

Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill said the woman was rescued from the cabin at 12:45 p.m., about 40 minutes after the collision occurred.

Two other people involved in the accident have been transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, Louisville Metro Police spokesperson Aaron Ellis said in a statement.

The bridge, which connects Kentucky and Southern Indiana, remains closed to traffic while LMPD and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet assess damage and clear the scene. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.

The bridge is unlikely to reopen before Saturday morning, Ellis said.

More: Clark Memorial Bridge inspection underway Saturday after truck crash, rescue operation

'It's tremendously lucky that it didn't go over'

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the accident, but O'Neill said the rescued driver was "extremely lucky" her truck did not fall into the river.

"The position that it's in ... it's tremendously lucky that it didn't go over," he said.

The chief said Louisville's rescue team trains regularly to respond to various situations, practicing rescues from bridges, high-rises and other points. However, putting the training to use is "extremely unique."

Truck hanging off Second Street Bridge in Louisville as rescue crews work. pic.twitter.com/opGv0Puyzb  Matt Stone (@mattstonephotog) March 1, 2024

"This is a once-in-a-career type of thing," he said.

Firefighter Bryce Carden, 29, was responsible for getting a harness to the trailer's driver and lifting her to safety.

O'Neill called Carden "one of the nicest, happiest guys that you'll ever want to meet in your life. And he is the exact right person to put down there to try to keep the patient calm and very cool and collected, to understand that she's in safe hands."

O'Neill also applauded the driver, who he said "held it together like a champ." Firefighters were able to speak with the driver through an open window while preparing equipment for the rescue, and O'Neill said she remained calm until she reached the ground.

"She was just praying. She was praying a lot, and I prayed with her," Carden said.

Rescue crews working accident scene where a semi-truck is hanging off the Second Street Bridge. pic.twitter.com/4rh5hdGQsT  Matt Stone (@mattstonephotog) March 1, 2024

'A true difference'

During a separate Friday afternoon news conference, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he had been speaking with the firefighters of Rescue Team 2 about what resources and support they needed from the city to do their work earlier in the morning.

"Little did any of us in that room know that just a few hours later, the same people who were in that room talking about the future of our city would be undertaking an amazing and successful rescue," he said.

Greenberg thanked Carden and Rescue Team 2 for their service, saying their bravery and dedication serves as an inspiration.

"All of us in Louisville owe everyone  all of our first responders  a giant debt of gratitude for their work," he said. "Their life-saving work made a true difference. ... The world got to see it today."

James Ballinger, state highway engineer for the transportation cabinet, said specialized equipment would need to be brought in to inspect the bridge before a determination can be made on when it can reopen.

Officials encouraged drivers to use alternate routes, including northbound Interstate 65 to the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, to cross to and from southern Indiana.

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Second Street Bridge accident: Woman rescued from truck, 1 driver hurt
Authorities are investigating a hit-and-run after the victim was found on the side of the road.

Atlanta police told Channel 2 Action News around 12:21 a.m. Friday, officers received reports of a body on the side of the Interstate 20 EB ramp from I-75 North.

According to the investigation, drivers called 911 when they passed the body on the side of the road.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

When officers arrived, they were met by paramedics who were performing CPR on the victim. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities said the victims identity is unknown since he had no identification on him.

TRENDING STORIES:

Investigators believe the victim was hit by a car and died from his injuries.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
BLANDING, Utah (ABC4)  San Juan County officials are looking for two men who went missing on Feb. 26 while heading to an unknown job location.

San Juan County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Marcia Shumway confirmed an open investigation this morning, March 1.

Leaplings: Payson family has three children all born on separate Leap Days

Christopher Topher Owens, 28, and William Drew Bull, 29, were last seen in a black 1997 Dodge Ram in late morning or early afternoon on Monday in Blanding, according to Owens brother Jeff LeBlanc.

LeBlanc told ABC4.com that Owens and Bull do mechanical work and often perform recovery jobs for vehicles that get stranded or stuck on rural trails. While family members knew the two were headed to a job, they did not know the details or location. The duo have been known to ride trails between Blanding and Moab somewhat regularly.

LeBlanc said Owens was new to Utah, only having moved here roughly a month before his disappearance, and may not be familiar with the area. Owens and Bull have been friends for over a decade, said LeBlanc.

LeBlanc described Owens as standing around 56 tall with a skater haircut. He is heavily tattooed, including a rose tattooed on one pinky and a pink and white flower tattooed between his thumb and index finger. He wears ear gauges and has several facial piercings. He is believed to have last been seen wearing a white T-shirt and black/metallic gray pants and sandals. He may also have been wearing a beanie or fitted cap.

No information has been provided on Bull.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these two individuals is asked to contact the San Juan County Sheriffs Office at (435) 587-2237.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
FILE - Journalists take images of part of the reconstructed forward section of the fuselage after the presentation of the Dutch Safety Board's final report into what caused Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to break up high over Eastern Ukraine, during a press conference in Gilze-Rijen, Netherlands, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 The Dutch government has spent more than 166 million euros ($180 million) dealing with the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014  from repatriating victims' bodies to investigating and prosecuting some of those involved in the downing, according to an official report Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP)  The Dutch government has spent more than 166 million euros ($180 million) dealing with the aftermath of the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014, from repatriating victims' bodies to investigating and prosecuting some of those involved in the downing, according to an official report Thursday.

The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.

A Dutch court convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian in 2022 of involvement in the downing of MH17 and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They were tried in absentia and have not been detained to serve their sentences.

The court ruled that the missile and its launcher were driven into Ukraine from a military base in Russia and the launcher returned to Russia afterward.

The trial and the massive investigation that preceded it cost a total of more than 87 million euros, according to the Netherlands Court of Audit, which calculated costs through the end of 2022.

The total does not include about 16.5 million euros that the Dutch government paid to next of kin last year as an advance on compensation that the Dutch court ordered the three men convicted in the downing of MH17 to pay.

This compensation should ultimately be paid by the perpetrators, but it is open to question whether they will, the report said.

The Dutch government asked the independent auditor to estimate the costs as it intends to seek compensation from Russia in a case the Netherlands and Australia filed at the International Civil Aviation Organization. Moscow denies any role in the downing.

The Dutch government also is supporting families who have brought a case against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights.

Repatriating and identifying the bodies of those killed cost more than 31 million euros, the audit said. International legal proceedings and diplomacy accounted for 5.7 million euros.
E Jean Carroll departs a Manhattan federal court at the conclusion of her defamation suit against Donald Trump on 26 January 2024 in New York City (Getty Images)

E Jean Carrolls legal team has filed an opposition to former president Donald Trumps recent attempt to delay paying the $83.3m payment owed from her recently won defamation suit.

The opposition came after lawyers for Mr Trump filed a motion pushing the judge to delay enforcement of the huge payment.

In a 36-page court filing on Thursday, Ms Carrolls attorneys argued that Mr Trump has no grounds for the delay.

The reasoning Trump offers in seeking this extraordinary relief boils down to nothing more than trust me, the filing states. He doesnt offer any information about his finances or the nature and location of his assets. He doesnt specify what percentage of his assets are liquid or explain how Carroll might go about collecting.

Ms Carrolls legal team expressed concern that the former president  who is currently embroiled in a wide range of legal disputes  might not have enough cash to pay up.

He doesnt even acknowledge the risks that now accompany his financial situation, from a half billion-dollar judgment obtained by the New York Attorney General to the 91 felony charges that might end his career as a businessman permanently, the filing states.

He simply asks the Court to trust me and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers, it states.

In January, a jury ruled that Mr Trump had defamed Ms Carroll after she publicly accused him of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.

Mr Trump denied the allegations, claiming he had "never met that person in my life, and even told The Hill in 2019 Shes not my type, implying Ms Carroll wasnt attractive enough for the assault to have occurred.

Attorneys for Mr Trump filed a motion for a mistrial after the jury ruled in Ms Carrolls favour, but a federal judge denied the motion, calling it entirely pointless.

In a Good Morning America interview after the decision, Ms Carroll said she planned to spend the $83.3m on something Donald Trump hates.

If itll cause him pain for me to give money to certain things, thats my intent, she said.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)  Most Northeast Tennessee counties in News Channel 11s viewing area saw fewer early voters for the March 5 primaries than four years ago, but two reported an increase in turnout.

Compared to the March 2020 primaries, turnout was down in Greene, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties.

Speed limit to increase to 70 mph on I-81 in Sullivan County

Percentage-wise, Washington County experienced the biggest drop with a nearly 22% decline in turnout. Numbers in parentheses denote a decrease in voter turnout.

Early Voting Turnout  March 2024 vs. 2020

County 2024 2020 Change % Change Carter 2,494 2,319 175 7.55% Greene 2,509 2,594 (85) (3.28%) Hawkins 2,338 2,107 231 10.96% Johnson 817 836 (19) (2.27%) Sullivan 4,954 5,185 (231) (4.46%) Unicoi 1,097 1,326 (229) (17.27%) Washington 5,863 7,496 (1,633) (21.78%)

Hawkins and Carter counties saw a rise in turnout of 7.5% and nearly 11% respectively.

Although Unicoi County saw slightly fewer early votes than four years ago, it had the sixth-highest voter turnout in the state (9.45%) for the March 2024 primaries.

Statewide, 270,591 early votes were cast, a 19.6% drop from the 336,604 votes cast ahead of the March 2020 election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was seriously assaulted in east Belfast.

Police said they were called to a property in Montrose Street at about 23:20 GMT on Thursday.

Officers found a woman with serious injuries to her head and neck and arrested a 42-year-old man at the scene, who remains in police custody.

Det Sgt McAllister has appealed for anyone with information about the incident to contact detectives.
FILE PHOTO: Ecuador's Vice President Jorge Glas talks during an interview with Reuters at the Government Palace in Quito

By Alexandra Valencia and Raul Cortes

QUITO/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Ecuador has requested Mexico's permission to enter that country's embassy in Quito and arrest former Ecuadorean Vice-President Jorge Glas, the Ecuadorean Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Glas, convicted twice for corruption, asked Mexico for political asylum in December, arguing he is being persecuted by the attorney general's office.

"We confirm that the Foreign Ministry, through a diplomatic channel, has requested the permission of the Embassy of Mexico so law enforcement can comply with an order by the National Court of Justice of Ecuador to capture Jorge David Glas Espinel, who is inside that diplomatic mission," the ministry said in a post on X after local media reported the request.

Mexican authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor have they publicly responded to his asylum request.

The former vice-president, who served under leftist ex-President Rafael Correa between 2013 and 2017, has been inside the Mexican Embassy in Quito since Dec. 17 last year.

In January a judge ordered Glas be held on charges of misusing resources meant for the reconstruction of the province of Manabi after an earthquake in 2016. He lost a February appeal against the measure.

Glas was sentenced to six years in prison in 2017 after he was found guilty of receiving bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht in exchange for awarding it government contracts.

He was given a separate eight-year prison sentence in 2020, as was Correa, for using money from contractors to finance campaigns for Correa's political movement.

His lawyer Edison Loiza has argued the life of his client, last released in November 2022 after completing five years of his sentences, could be in danger should he be returned to jail.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito and Raul Cortes in Mexico City,; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb, Editing by William Maclean)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs the fast-food bill surrounded by fast-food workers at the SEIU Local 721 in Los Angeles in September. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Even before Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the landmark law in September that would increase the minimum wage for fast-food workers to $20 per hour starting in April, there were some eyebrows raised over the so-called Panera exemption.

The law was designed to boost pay and improve working conditions for employees of fast-food chain restaurants, but it contained an oddly specific carve-out: It wouldnt apply to restaurants that bake and sell bread as a stand-alone item on the menu.

Read more: Editorial: Give fast-food workers some say on the job

Now, Bloomberg reports that Newsom pushed behind the scenes for the exemption, which will benefit billionaire Greg Flynn, a campaign donor and business associate who owns two dozen Panera Bread locations in the state.

Flynn runs one of the worlds largest restaurant franchise operations and was a vocal opponent of the law, which sets a fast-food worker wage and creates a Fast Food Council that would hike pay in future years and develop labor, health and safety standards for the covered restaurants.

Flynn, who also attended the same high school as Newsom, contributed $160,000 combined to the governors 2021 anti-recall campaign and his 2022 reelection. Thats a lot of dough.

Read more: Editorial: It's long past time to raise the national minimum wage

When questioned about the bread exemption last year, Newsom dismissed it as part of the sausage-making of politics. On Thursday, amid rising outrage, Newsoms office put out a statement calling the Bloomberg story absurd and suggesting Panera is not exempt from the law because it mixes the dough at an off-site location and only bakes and sells the bread at the restaurant.

OK, but were going to need some proof. Because the carve-out for bakeries has been reported numerous times using Panera as the example of a restaurant that would benefit from the exemption. The governors office has yet to explain publicly why the bakery exemption was even warranted. And Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), who carried the bill, said he had nothing to do devising the bread break.

Newsom and legislative leaders need to explain themselves. This sounds exactly like the kind of legislative shenanigans that undermine public confidence. Lawmakers should expect to explain why an exemption from any new law is necessary.

Read more: Column: Gov. Gavin Newsom needs to focus on his day job

But it's difficult to imagine how this one could be justified. How does it make sense that, if a restaurant bakes bread for sandwiches, its workers deserve $20 an hour, but if it sells it as a loaf, its workers don't?

If you were thinking, well, why doesnt McDonald's just start selling the McBaguette in California to avoid the law? The exemption applies only to restaurants that operate on-site bakeries as of Sept. 15, 2023.

This is really a half-baked idea anyway. Anyone who works for Panera or another exempted chain restaurant-bakery can easily switch to another eatery that pays the new minimum wage. This idea so crumby it could have risen only in Sacramento.

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Bail Boys Bail Bonds in Los Angeles in 2023. L.A. Superior Court and law enforcement data show that a program eliminating money bail and allowing defendants to go home between arrest and arraignment is working well. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The end of money bail for most nonviolent and nonserious crimes hasnt increased repeat arrests or court no-shows, according to Los Angeles Superior Court data on the first four months of the courts bail-free release protocol.

This was a pleasant surprise for many in law enforcement, who were wary of a program that allows many suspects to walk free after their arrest but before their first court appearance. I believe we are on the right path at this time, Sheriff Robert Luna told the Board of Supervisors at a Tuesday hearing.

Read more: Editorial: L.A. court's refreshing candor on money bail: It doesn't make us safer

This good news ought to prompt Whittier, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica and more than two dozen other cities to drop their ill-considered lawsuit to block the court's bail reform program. The suit was filed in September and transferred to an Orange County Superior Court judge. He threw it out in December but gave the cities until Friday to file a new complaint.

The results of the Pre-Arraignment Release Protocol are similar to what criminal justice researchers have found in other U.S. cities and counties that have eliminated bail. The consensus of academic studies is overwhelmingly that using money bail increases the likelihood of crime.

Read more: Editorial: Leaders arent leading on L.A. bail reform

The data may be disappointing to candidates for district attorney in Tuesdays election, many of whom are campaigning on fear-mongering claims that reforms such as eliminating money bail have fueled an epidemic of crime.

But crime in most categories fell last year over the previous year and continues to fall. In categories in which it has risen, such as theft, data from police, courts and jails suggest little connection to no-bail release so far. A years worth or more of data would provide a more confident assessment.

Read more: Editorial: How the court's bail reform plan could go wrong. How to keep it going right

The latest numbers are also disappointing to those who have supported the program because they reasonably thought it would reduce the population of Mens Central Jail, a decrepit and dangerous facility.

But jail populations have not decreased. Why not? If fewer people can be held on bail, it stands to reason that fewer would be held at all.

Read more: Editorial: You think you know what bail is? You're probably wrong

One answer could be that the court is so careful and conservative in transitioning to the no-bail program that it might be holding more suspects in custody than absolutely necessary. Those who worried groundlessly that eliminating money bail would lead to greater crime should take note.

The L.A. Superior Court judges who review people arrested for crimes eligible for no-bail release are increasingly ordering holds (most people arrested for the lowest-level crimes are released without review). It was initially presumed that the judges would release the majority of people whose cases they reviewed. After four weeks, though, the number was 64%. It jumped to 84% after eight weeks, and at 20 weeks it is now at 87.1%.

Read more: Editorial: Chief Moore and other bail reform critics are wrong. Cash bail should not be a form of punishment

Thats a lot. The court should study why judges are holding so many, and how to give them the confidence that more people can be released safely before arraignment.

The county provides services to help keep people from trouble and ensure they show up in court at the appointed time. But referrals to housing, employment and substance and mental health treatment, and free transportation to court, work or child care, are voluntary. If judges could mandate them as conditions of no-bail release, they might be more confident in allowing defendants to go home.

Standing in the way is bureaucracy, including the screening and qualifying that health insurance companies require before covering treatment. That wont be an easy nut to crack, but the county should try.

Read more: Editorial: Goodbye to cash bail. L.A. is moving to a better approach to pretrial justice

Meanwhile, its important to keep in mind that the defendants who pose the greatest risk to public safety  those arrested on suspicion of serious and violent crimes  are not part of the no-bail program and are automatically set free if they qualify for bail and can pay.

They go through none of the vetting that lower-risk defendants must go through. Changing that will require a change in state law, and Los Angeles County and the Superior Court should put such a change high on their legislative agendas.

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.
MADERA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  A career pathway fair was hosted on Thursday by the Madera Unified District to provide students with information about the diverse career opportunities available within the community.

The Madera Unified Career Pathway Fair is a pivotal event for over 1,500 sixth-grade students in the district. District officials say the fair marks the culmination of a 24-week intensive study on Career Exploration across various industries and career pathways offered by the districts three comprehensive high schools.

The district says they believe that early exposure to Career Technical Education (CTE) offerings will empower students as they transition into seventh grade, providing valuable insights into their interests and the diverse career opportunities available within the community.

This is really important for our kids. Not as an opportunity to get a job like some career fairs are, this is more of an educational adventure for them, for the date, to really explore and find out about the career pathway options that they have in their future, said Laura Toney, College and Career Readiness Coordinator for Madera Unified.

According to district officials, the initiative aims to educate and inspire young minds and foster meaningful connections between students, educators, and industry professionals.

Madera Unified is all about making sure our students are aware of the multiple opportunities they have, said Toney.

The fair was hosted at the Madera District Fair  Hatfield Hall, located at 1850 W Cleveland Avenue from 9 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
DENVER (KDVR)  Educators and state lawmakers are celebrating what they say is a big win for classrooms across Colorado. A longstanding tool that balanced the budget but reduced funding for schools will finally be paid off this year, but lawmakers say there is still work to be done.

Lawmakers and educators celebrated the buydown of the so-called budget stabilization factor, or BS factor for short, with a Taylor Swift-themed rally  finding common ground in Colorado education and the year the pop megastar was born.

It is such a thrill to finally say to the BS factor: We are never, ever, ever getting back together, said state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, an educator, quoting one of Swifts popular songs. It is a huge deal.

A rally at the Capitol with a banner that says "FULLY FUNDED ERA"

Educators, state lawmakers and even some Swifties celebrated the plan, which buys down the BS factor in the states school finance formula that reduces money for school districts.

Junk fee crackdown: Disclosure bill clears Colorado committee

The bipartisan group of supporters celebrated the state being able to enter into a new era with fully funded classrooms  an estimated funding increase of $15,000 per classroom. Lawmakers say buying down the factor is a great start, but they need to do more.

Its not just the budget stabilization factor I want to talk about today, state Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer said. For the last three years, my colleague Senator Zenzinger and I have been fighting to include hundreds and millions of dollars in special education funding for our kids!

Lawmakers are already looking ahead to what needs to happen next for teachers and students.

I think they are going feel a little bit of relief according to the formula, Zenzinger said. But our point here today is just because we are going to fully fund our schools according to the formula, that does not actually mean that we are fully funded. That just means that we are taking our funding back to 1989 levels.

Lawmakers said they want to continue to work on improving teacher pay as their next priority.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego attended President Joe Bidens remarks event Thursday, Feb. 29 at the Brownsville Border Patrol Station where the president highlighted the need for comprehensive immigration reform, the El Paso County announced in a news release.

The County says that two weeks ago, Samaniego and commissioners sent a letter to President Biden highlighting challenges faced at the border and concerns with the states border policies, specifically opposing SB 4 law that was set to go into effect on March 5.

The federal government should support border communities like El Paso County so we may continue providing services to newcomers in a safe and humane way without overwhelming our local social services and law enforcement, said Judge Ricardo Samaniego, El Paso County Judge. Im hopeful that the Presidents visit to the border will be an important step in improving our immigration system while allowing us to remain a welcoming community to recent immigrants.

During his visit President Biden also met with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and other local leaders, according to the County.

In addition, El Paso County leaders are celebrating the injunction of SB 4, a law that criminalizes illegal entry and re-entry into the United States and authorizes the removal of noncitizens, according to the County.

El Paso County and other civil rights groups including the ACLU filed the lawsuit in December 2023 arguing that S.B. 4 violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution and is preempted by federal law. The court found that plaintiffs (including El Paso County) are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims and will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted, read the news release.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)  A Scranton-based company issued a recall for certain chocolate bars due to an undeclared ingredient.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Electric City Sweets issued a recall on Wednesday for 1,644 Red Velvet Milk Chocolate Bars, due to undeclared milk in the ingredient and allergen statements.

The FDA says this could cause people who have an allergy or a severe sensitivity to milk to have serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume the chocolate bars.

Pittston City Saint Patricks Parade kicks off on Saturday

The product was disturbed through the companys online website and to wholesale stores in:

Scranton, PA

Milford, PA

Delray Beach, FL

Orlando, FL

Marina Del Rey, CA

North Carolina

The FDA announced in a statement:

The recall was initiated after a consumer reported the issue to the retailer where they had purchased the affected item. The milk-containing product was distributed in packaging identified with the allergen on the front panel display however it did not reveal the presence of milk in the ingredient list as required.

According to the FDA, the recall includes A 1.75oz milk chocolate candy bar with Lot 0101461635, Best By Date of 05/16/2025, and Lot 0101542739, Best By Date of 05/29/2025

No illnesses have been reported to date, according to the recall.

For further information, consumers may contact Electric City Sweets by phone at 570-430-8999, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or by visiting their website.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PAhomepage.com.
A firefighter works from an articulated boom lift to put out the blaze

Eleven people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out at a terraced house in South Kensington.

Around 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines attended the scene following reports of the blaze at a five-storey building, which is converted into flats, on Emperors Gate.

The fire broke out shortly after midnight on Friday with 130 people forced to leave neighbouring buildings.

A London Ambulance Service spokesman said 11 people were treated on the scene before being taken to London hospitals and major trauma centres.

London Fire Brigade said five people in total were rescued from the burning building with the injured treated for smoke inhalation.

The property in west London is made up of several flats

The brigade said two people were rescued from a second floor flat, one person was rescued from a first floor flat and another two were rescued from a flat on the fourth floor.

Half of the ground floor of the building was alight when LFB arrived, it said.

Footage shared on social media shows a large cordon blocking public access had been set up as emergency crews battled the inferno.

The street cordoned off: 15 fire engines were sent to the scene

Station Commander Steve Collins said: The fire has spread from the ground floor to the top floor and roof of the property.

Crews are working extremely hard to contain the (fire) to stop it spreading to adjacent buildings.

Road closures are in place and likely to remain well into the morning rush hour so motorists are advised to avoid the area. However, there is no impact on rail services and they will be running as normal.

Emergency services were still at the scene on Friday morning. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

A Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea spokesman said: We are aware of the situation and liaising with emergency services to offer support.

It said staff are providing assistance at a nearby hotel where residents are being sheltered.

Kim Taylor-Smith, the deputy council leader, said: We are on the ground and providing support and accommodation to residents impacted.

I also want to thank the emergency services for the incredible job they have done in very challenging conditions, and to staff at the council who have sprung into action in the middle of the night.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  Eligible families will have an opportunity to receive $500 for 12 months as part of Fresno Economic Opportunities Commissions Advancing Fresno County Guaranteed Income program, beginning on March 15.

Officials say this is a monthly supplemental cash payment to households living in vulnerable communities to uplift families and provide financial stability.

Fresno EOC says they advocated alongside community partners and sought funding to launch efforts locally. In 2022, the state, funded seven agencies with more than $25 million to expand these efforts and the Central Valley was denied.

Our local community did not take no for an answer when the state decided to leave the Central Valley out of its Guaranteed Income Pilot Program funding in 2022, said Emilia Reyes, Fresno Economic Opportunities CEO. As an anti-poverty agency, we continued to fight and advocate for funding for the community. We are grateful for the foundations who have stepped in to help make this vision a reality.

Officials say guaranteed Income applications are scheduled to open on March 15 and close on May 15 at 11:59 p.m. Eligible participants can apply online or in person at locations in the two priority zip codes including Fresno EOCs Local Conservation Corps (Neighborhood Youth Center) located at 1805 E California Ave, Fresno, CA 93706 and in Huron at the previous Senior Center 16900 5th Street Huron, CA 93234.

Fresno EOC says the Center for Community Voices at Fresno State will evaluate the program through paid surveys and focus groups. A total of 150 households will be selected to receive a monthly, guaranteed income. Through a lottery system, researchers will randomly select 75 individuals living in Southwest Fresno and 75 living in Huron, both with over 30% poverty and home to some of the highest levels of concentrated poverty in the city of Fresno and the westside of Fresno County, respectively.

Applications are also available through Fresno EOCs Guaranteed Income Web page.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
TWO RIVERS  A request to modify bail was filed Thursday on behalf of Katrina B. Baur, the mother of 3-year-old Elijah Vue, who has been missing in Two Rivers since Feb. 20.

Baur, 31, of Wisconsin Dells, is being held at Manitowoc County Jail on a $15,000 bond and is suspected of felony child neglect in connection with the disappearance of her son.

The motion to modify bail for Baur asks to change the cash bail to a personal recognizance bond, which would not require Baur to pay any money, "on the grounds that Ms. Baur is unable to post the cash bail as set."

Elijah Vue has been missing since Feb. 20. Daily search efforts by local, state and federal law enforcement officers have included canvassing of urban and rural neighborhoods; searches of rivers, shores and a landfill in Calumet County; and K-9 teams "checking and rechecking various areas."

The FBI has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to locating Elijah or convicting those responsible for his disappearance, and Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers has offered a $1,000 reward.

In a news release Thursday, the Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert said the search for Elijah included an extensive search of the Two Rivers storm sewers, which was assisted by the Department of Public Works.

The search for Elijah has extended to other areas in Wisconsin, including Wisconsin Dells, where Elijah lived with his mother, and Fond du Lac, where about 30 people searched Hobbs Woods near Interstate 41 and U.S. 151 Feb. 29, according to a report by NBC 26 WGBA-TV. The Fond du Lac search was organized by a local resident after they learned the criminal complaint stated Elijah's mother had dropped Elijah off with her boyfriend, Jesse Vang, in Fond du Lac, which is about 75 miles southwest of Two Rivers.

What to know about Jesse Vang: Here's what to know about Jesse Vang, the Two Rivers man charged with neglecting missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue

Police continue to ask for the public's help in locating Elijah Vue.

Two Rivers Police Department has asked the public in Two Rivers and Manitowoc County to check their own property with the following guidelines:

Check anywhere a small child could hide, climb or fall.

Check your own property for items that don't belong to you which could include anything from Elijah such as the red-and-white plaid blanket or dinosaur-printed shoes.

Check your surveillance systems from Feb. 12-20. Look for anyone matching Elijah's description in the surveillance footage.

Search public land for the same items or anything relevant to the investigation.

Do not touch anything you find, but contact the tip line (1-844-267-6648) or Two Rivers police (920-686-7200) right away.

A coordinated civilian search effort for Elijah Vue continues daily throughout Manitowoc County.

Volunteers listen to instructions before starting the search for missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Two Rivers, Wis.

Elijah's family, along with hundreds of people from the community, have turned out each day to search public properties.

A coordinated civilian search effort is being organized with the Mikadow Theatre, 1118 Washington St. in Manitowoc, as a base of operations. People coordinating the searches are now at the theater every day 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and will assign volunteers to areas that need to be searched.

People and businesses have also donated food and drinks to the law enforcement officers conducting the search. The Two Rivers police ask that anyone who wishes to donate contact their business line at 920-793-1191 to make arrangements.

FBI offers reward: FBI offers $15K reward for information about Elijah Vue's disappearance. Here's what else we learned at the Two Rivers press conference.

Do you have information about Elijah Vue?

A sign by St. Peter the Fisherman Church, which became a central location for law enforcement helping in the search for missing 3-year-old Elijah Vue Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in Two Rivers, Wis.

Police describe Elijah as being of Hmong and white ethnicity with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is approximately 3 feet tall and has a birthmark on his left knee. He was last seen wearing gray pants, a dark-colored, long-sleeve shirt and a pair of red-and-green dinosaur slip-on shoes. He may also be carrying a red-and-white plaid blanket.

If you have information that could help the Two Rivers Police Department find Elijah Vue, contact their tipline at 844-267-6648 or submit information via the Crime Stoppers app P3.

People who share information that leads to finding Elijah or the arrest of anyone involved in or responsible for his disappearance could be eligible to receive a reward of up to $1,000 through Manitowoc County Crime Stoppers or $15,000 through the FBI.

Alisa M. Schafer is a reporter for the Herald Times Reporter in Manitowoc. She can be reached by email at aschafer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Elijah Vue still missing in Two Rivers; mother seeks change in bail
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  A Nashville staple of the meat-and-three and the best milkshakes in town was recently recognized by state lawmakers for more than 80 years of service.

Rep. Kelly Keisling (R-Byrdstown) was on hand to present an official proclamation passed by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2023 recognizing the iconic midtown restaurant, Elliston Place Soda Shop, for its 83 years in business. This year, the restaurant is celebrating 84 years of service to Nashville.

Elliston Place Soda Shop: Ms. Lindas legendary pies

Gov. Bill Lee signed House Joint Resolution 357 on March 13, 2023, according to the proclamation. It was brought forth by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, including Reps. Harold Love (D-Nashville), Keisling, Dale Carr (R-Sevierville), Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro), Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), Clemmons (D-Nashville), Hardaway (D-Memphis) and the late Bill Beck (D-Nashville), as well as Sens. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis), Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville), Charlane Oliver (D-Nashville) and Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville).

The resolution states it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should commend those exemplary businesses that, through their unwavering commitment to excellence, are a credit to this State and commends Elliston Place Soda Shop as a beloved staple of Nashville providing food for generations of customers.

Elliston Place Soda Shop remains steadfastly committed to providing its legendary service and atmosphere to all who enter therein, including the long-standing tradition of bringing new mothers a milkshake from the shop, the resolution reads in part.

Click HERE to read the full House Joint Resolution No. 357

Rep. Kelly Keisling, right, explains the proclamation celebrating Elliston Place Soda Shop with Manager Craig Clifft, left, and owner Tony Giarratana. (Source: Finn Partners)

The resolution concludes by congratulating Ellison Place Soda Shop on its 83rd anniversary in 2023 and extends to them our best wishes for every continued success in Nashville.

Keisling presented a framed copy of the proclamation to Elliston Place Soda Shop Owner Tony Girarratana and Manager Craig Clifft on Thursday, Feb. 29, inside the soda shop.

According to Keisling, Clifft told him about the shops successful 80th year, which inspired him and about a half dozen other lawmakers to act and celebrate.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

We looked at one another and said, By golly, lets do a Tennessee House Joint Resolution for Elliston, Keisling said Thursday.

Thank you for this great honor that you bestowed upon us , Giarratana told the lawmaker.

In addition to the best milkshakes in town, Keisling added that Elliston Place also has, in his opinion, the best breakfast in Nashville.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Elon Musk sued OpenAI alleging its deal to receive a $10 billion investment from Microsoft violates the company's founding charter. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

March 1 (UPI) -- Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman Thursday in California, saying the artificial intelligence leader violated its own founding charter by joining with Microsoft.

Musk, who co-founded OpenAI before leaving to start a rival artificial intelligence company xAI, charged in state court Thursday that OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft represents a breach of contract.

Open AI, which was founded as a counterweight to artificial generative intelligence "for the benefit of humanity," created a board to oversee its products and to make its product codes public. Musk claims those codes are now being kept secret. The lawsuit made note of the firing and rehiring of Altman.

"The public is still in the dark regarding what exactly the board's 'deliberative review process' revealed that resulted in the initial firing of Mr. Altman," the lawsuit said. "However, one thing is clear to Mr. Musk and the public at large: OpenAI has abandoned its 'irrevocable' nonprofit mission in the pursuit of profit."

ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot, has grown quickly since making its debut last year and immediately sparked competition from Alphabet, the parent of Google, and Microsoft. Musk said now Altman and others now stand to personally benefit from what was originally set up to help the public.

"Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity," the lawsuit said.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority has already taken aim at Microsoft's $10 billion investment into OpenAI, opening an inquiry in December over fears the union could lead to a "substantial lessening of competition."

The authority's invitation to comment would be used to rule on whether Microsoft has gained control of OpenAI.
Semafor Signals

Insights from Kara Swisher, Hollywood Reporter, and Bloomberg Opinion

The News

Elon Musk is suing ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman among others, claiming that the company he co-founded in 2015 has abandoned its mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity rather than profit.

The lawsuit sets up a legal battle between two of the most powerful tech leaders as legal scholars, philosophers, and political leaders debate the future of AI.

To this day, OpenAI, Inc.s website continues to profess that its charter is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity, the lawsuit read. In reality, however, OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft.

Musks lawyers argued that in maximizing profits for Microsoft, OpenAI has breached that charter. (Microsoft is a Semafor investor).

Musk left OpenAI in 2018, four years after saying that AI is potentially more dangerous than nukes.

SIGNALS

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

Lawsuit is about Musks personal grudges against Altman and OpenAI

Sources: Kara Swisher, The Hollywood Reporter

Everything is about [Musks] personal gripes, and this lawsuit is no exception, tech journalist Kara Swisher told Semafor. Altman and OpenAIs founders rejected Musks proposal to take over the company in 2018. He is holding a grudge, Swisher said, deploying his tactic of using the courts to advance his personal and business agendas. Musk may claim that OpenAI is not benefiting humanity, but hes not here to help us, Swisher said. In 2013, The Hollywood Reporter described Musks tech ambitions as a billionaire industrialist supervillains plot, where it begins with him offering the world something that is beneficial to mankind but turns out to be a sinister tool for world domination.

Lawsuit illustrates the problem with AI startups idealism

Source: Bloomberg Opinion's Parmy Olson

Irrespective of Musks intentions behind the lawsuit, its potentially positive outcome could be to force AI companies to be honest about their intentions as they evolve, Bloomberg Opinion tech columnist Parmy Olson argued. The lawsuit illustrates how most startups that vow to harness AI for the greater good end up falling under the sway of tech giants who can provide the massive computing power required to build better AI systems. After Microsoft invested $16 million in French AI startup Mistral  which touted its open-source AI models  the companys latest AI system is now closed source and accessible only to Microsofts Azure cloud customers. Its common for many startups to veer from their idealistic goals after being bought out by big companies, but the stakes are higher with artificial intelligence systems that are being woven into all facets of life, Olson opined.

Musk and Altmans diverging views on AIs existential risks

Sources: The Guardian, CNN, Fortune, VentureBeat

Both Musk and Altman have held divergent and changing views on protecting humans from AIs existential threat. Musks lawsuit reiterated his position about the dangers of artificial general intelligence  AI that is smarter than humans  being exploited by for-profit companies, warning that AGI could pose a noxious danger to humanity. Musk previously called for a pause in building large AI models, and later launched his own startup to develop an alternative AGI model that is pro-humanity and seeks to be maximally curious and truth-seeking. Altman originally held more prophetic views about AGI, warning of its dangers to humanity while acknowledging its potential to do good, but has recently adopted a more measured tone, telling Davos attendees, It will change the world much less than we all think.
Multi-hyphenate billionaire Elon Musk is officially suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, accusing the company of hiding its AI models' secrets from the world.

It's a major escalation of a falling out that dates back to when Musk cofounded the company alongside Altman almost nine years ago. In 2019, Musk left OpenAI, which at the time was a non-profit, citing disagreements with leadership, which were likely related to executives' efforts to push for a profit-driven approach.

Now, Musk is arguing that OpenAI's $13 billion partnership with tech giant Microsoft betrays its original plans to develop an open-source AI, highlighting his longstanding "existential angst" about the technology.

"OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft," the lawsuit reads. "Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity."

As always, it's hard to get an exact read on Musk's intention here. Is he just salty about having missed out on one of the biggest gravy trains in Silicon Valley history and is now trying to settle out of court to make up for his waning businesses? Worthy of note: Musk is now developing his own for-profit AI at several of his menagerie of companies, including X, xAI, and Tesla.

"Without Mr. Musks involvement and substantial supporting efforts and resources," the suit reads, "it is highly likely that OpenAI Inc. would never have gotten off the ground."

Musk is accusing OpenAI and its leadership of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices.

As such, he's calling for all of OpenAI's technologies to be made openly available to the public and for Altman to give up all of the money he's made so far, which are lofty requests that will more than likely raise considerable objections  if the suit even makes it to court, that is.

In his suit, Musk argues that OpenAI is getting closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI), the point at which an AI can compete with humans on any intellectual task.

Musk claims that he's been one of the few to ring the alarm bells over the development of the technology  which is far from the truth, of course  arguing that OpenAI's closed-door development of AI models is dangerous.

"I've been banging this AI drum for a decade," Musk told Business Insider in 2020, roughly a year after he left OpenAI. "We should be concerned about where AI is going. The people I see being the most wrong about AI are the ones who are very smart, because they can't imagine that a computer could be way smarter than them."

Meanwhile, his own AI venture xAI has released an "anti-woke," dad joke-generating AI chatbot called Grok, which is trained on X-formerly-Twitter messages.

Musk has yet to open source Grok.

The billionaire is hoping to raise a whopping $6 billion for his AI venture, but exactly why remains a bit hazy. The company claims it wants to "understand reality" and "the true nature of the universe."

In short, Musk certainly has a clear interest in suing OpenAI. His falling out with Altman, and OpenAI's monumental rise to become a $80 billion company in his absence has clearly rattled him  and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get a piece of the pie.

More on OpenAI: Humanoid Robot Maker Signs Deal to Put OpenAI Tech in Their Brains
Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman on Friday alleging the ChatGPT maker abandoned its mission of benefiting humanity in a sprint toward profits.

Some legal experts who spoke to ABC News, however, cast doubt on Musk's case.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and X, said upon funding the company at an early stage, he reached an agreement with the company's leaders, including Altman, on the nonprofit course of the firm, according to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court and reviewed by ABC News.

Musk did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. Neither did Tesla, Altman or OpenAI.

Last year, Musk said, the company "set the Founding Agreement aflame" when it released ChatGPT-4, the most powerful version of its popular chatbot, making the technology available for use by tech giant Microsoft under an exclusive licensing agreement.

MORE: OpenAI video-generator Sora risks fueling propaganda and bias, experts say

"OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft," Musk said in the lawsuit.

The case, legal experts said, centers on the founding agreement alleged by Musk, which he said took place at the outset of the firm.

Typically, deals established between a top investor and company leadership are set out in writing with concrete terms, the experts added, leaving Musk in a difficult position as he attempts to invoke what they say appear to be spoken commitments made years ago without a formal contract.

For his part, Musk says in the lawsuit that the agreement was memorialized in a legal filing when OpenAI was incorporated.

"Oral promises are unusual at the beginning of a relationship that you would sue on," Dave Hoffman, a professor of corporate law at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News. "That just feels like it's weak to start."

Paul Barrett, a professor at New York University Law School and deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, also voiced skepticism about Musk's allegations tied to the founding mission of OpenAI. The company likely addressed potential legal pitfalls when it added its for-profit operation in 2019, Barrett said.

"I assume at the time OpenAI hired competent lawyers who structured the transaction so that it would be legal," Barrett told ABC News.

In the lawsuit, Musk alleges that Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman reaffirmed the founding agreement in written messages over the ensuing years.

"[I] remain enthusiastic about the non-profit structure!" Altman wrote to Musk in 2017, according to the lawsuit.

Musk, who helped bankroll OpenAI, launched a rival AI company last year called xAI, which is building a model that will compete with ChatGPT.

PHOTO: Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, Calif., Nov. 16, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE)

Acknowledging his previous criticism of the pace and ambitions of AI development, Musk said in a conference call on X in July 2023 that he entered the industry reluctantly.

"If I could press pause on advanced AI digital super-intelligence, I would. But it doesn't seem like that is realistic," Musk said.

In September, Musk joined a group of nearly two dozen tech executives and advocates who met privately with U.S. senators to discuss potential bipartisan legislation regulating AI.

By pursuing a for-profit AI venture, however, Musk raises questions about the credibility of his claims regarding a firm commitment to the non-profit status of OpenAI, Barrett said.

"It's a little hard to take Elon Musk's lawsuit seriously given that he himself has his own for-profit AI company that is in effect a rival of OpenAI," Barrett added.

Unlike a typical company, xAI classifies as a for-profit benefits corporation, signaling a focus on social impact rather than shareholder value.

Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University who studies corporate law, described the lawsuit in a post on X as "sour grapes."

The lawsuit primarily amounts to "an argument that Altman hasn't managed the various entities as Musk would prefer," Lipton said.

MORE: What's driving the bitcoin surge? Experts weigh in.

"There are all kinds of reasons that business law," Lipton added, "wouldn't permit this kind of suit."

In the lawsuit, Musk alleges breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and unfair business practices.

Musk is seeking a legal order that requires OpenAI to abide by its alleged founding mission of aiding humanity and retaining its nonprofit form, as well as compensation for the funds received by OpenAI while it carried out allegedly unfair business practices.

In some cases brought by Musk, his significant resources pose a threat to adversaries who may lack the finances to compete in a high-priced legal fight, Hoffman said. But the deep pockets of OpenAI, Hoffman added, will remove that consideration as a factor in the outcome of the case.

For both sides, Hoffman said, "the $20 million or $30 million legal fee is trivial."

ABC News' Victor Ordonez contributed reporting.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI. Some legal experts cast doubt on the case. originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Elon Musk has sued OpenAI, its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman and affiliated entities, alleging the ChatGPT makers have breached their original contractual agreements by pursuing profits instead of the nonprofit's founding mission to develop AI that benefits humanity.

Musk, a co-founder and early backer of OpenAI, claims Altman and Brockman convinced him to help found and bankroll the startup in 2015 with promises it would be a nonprofit focused on countering the competitive threat from Google. The founding agreement required OpenAI to make its technology "freely available" to the public, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit, filed in a court in San Francisco late Thursday, says that OpenAI, the world's most valuable AI startup, has shifted to a for-profit model focused on commercializing its AGI research after partnering with Microsoft, the world's most valuable company that has invested about $13 billion into the startup.

"In reality, however, OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft. Under its new board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity," the lawsuit adds. "This was a stark betrayal of the Founding Agreement."

The lawsuit follows Musk airing concerns about OpenAI's shift in priorities in the past year. According to the legal complaint, Musk donated over $44 million to the nonprofit between 2016 to September 2020. For the first several years, he was the largest contributor to OpenAI, the lawsuit adds. Musk, who left OpenAI's board in 2018, has been offered a stake in the for-profit arm of the startup but has refused to accept it over a principled stand, he said earlier.

X, the social network owned by Musk, last year launched Grok, a rival to ChatGPT.

Altman, on his part, has also addressed some of Musk's concerns in the past, including the close ties with Microsoft. "I like the dude. I think he's totally wrong about this stuff," he said at a conference last year of Musk's criticisms. "He can sort of say whatever he wants but I'm like proud of what we're doing and I think we're going to make a positive contribution to the world and I try to stay above all that."

OpenAIs launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked an AI arms race, with rivals still scrambling to match its uncannily human-like responses. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella landed a gloved jab at the rest of the industry last month. We have the best model today  even with all the hoopla, one year after, GPT4 is better, he said. We are waiting for the competition to arrive. It will arrive, Im sure, but the fact [is] that we have the  leading LLM out there."

An email exchange between Musk and Altman, presented as evidence in the lawsuit.

The Thursday lawsuit alleges close alignment between Microsoft and OpenAI, citing a recent interview with Nadella. Amid a dramatic leadership shakeup at OpenAI late last year, Nadella stated that if "OpenAI disappeared tomorrow...we have all the IP rights and all the capability. We have the people, we have the compute, we have the data, we have everything. We are below them, above them, around them." The lawsuit presents this as evidence that OpenAI has strongly served Microsoft's interests.

The lawsuit also centers around OpenAI's GPT-4, which Musk claims constitutes AGI -- an AI whose intelligence is at par, if not higher, than humans. He alleges OpenAI and Microsoft have improperly licensed GPT-4 despite agreeing that OpenAI's AGI capabilities would remain dedicated to humanity.

Through the lawsuit, Musk is seeking to compel OpenAI to adhere to its original mission and bar from monetizing technologies developed under its nonprofit for the benefit of OpenAI executives or partners like Microsoft.

The suit also requests the court rule AI systems like GPT-4 and other advanced models in development constitute artificial general intelligence that reaches beyond licensing agreements. In addition to injunctions forcing OpenAI's hand, Musk asks for accounting and potential restitution of donations meant to fund its public-minded research should the court find it now operates for private gain.

"Mr. Altman hand-picked a new Board that lacks similar technical expertise or any substantial background in AI governance, which the previous board had by design. Mr. DAngelo, a tech CEO and entrepreneur, was the only member of the previous board to remain after Mr. Altmans return. The new Board consisted of members with more experience in profit-centric enterprises or politics than in AI ethics and governance," the lawsuit adds.
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman, and others, accusing them of deserting the companys original purpose of developing artificial intelligence for the good of humanity rather than making profits.

The lawsuit filed Thursday in San Francisco alleges that Altman and Greg Brockman, OpenAIs co-founder, had originally asked for Musks help in creating open-source AI out of shared concerns about the threats that the technology could eventually pose. The Tesla boss now says that the ChatGPT maker has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft.

The Intercept and Raw Story, Progressive News Stalwarts, Sue OpenAI

Musk, who helped to found OpenAI in 2015 before stepping down from its board three years later, is basing his case on a founding agreement among himself, Altman, and Brockman about the principles to which their research lab should adhere.

He alleges that they agreed it should be a nonprofit developing [Artificial General Intelligence] for the benefit of humanity, not for a for-profit company seeking to maximize shareholder profits, and that the technology it developed should not be kept closed and secret for proprietary commercial reasons.

That agreement was set aflame in 2023, the lawsuit claims, with the release of OpenAIs GPT-4, whose internal design was kept and remains a complete secret except to OpenAI.

Musks contributions to OpenAI, Inc. have been twisted to benefit the Defendants and the biggest company in the world, the lawsuit alleges. This was a stark betrayal of the Founding Agreement, turning that Agreement on its head and perverting OpenAI, Inc.s mission.

The case is a dramatic escalation in the criticisms Musk has made of OpenAI since his departure from the organization, which came shortly before it established its for-profit arm, through which Microsoft has invested a reported $13 billion. Musk last year started a new AI company, xAI, as a competitor to OpenAI focused on advancing our collective understanding of the universe.

The filing also comes amid mounting legal and regulatory battles for OpenAI. Its board fired Altman in November alleging he had not been consistently candid in his communications, only for him to return as CEO less than two weeks later. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that the SEC is now investigating whether the company misled its investors over the episode, which also reportedly triggered a criminal investigation in New York.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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OTTAWA COUNTY  Ottawa County's former administrator John Gibbs was told his pick for senior administrative aide could be problematic, according to internal emails obtained by The Sentinel.

"I have concerns about moving forward with Mr. Epperson," Human Resources Director Marcie VerBeek wrote in an email to Gibbs in June 2023. "I would strongly recommend we get the hiring committee back together to discuss."

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Gibbs confirmed to the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 8 he'd hired someone to fill the newly expanded role, but declined to name the individual to avoid "a public spectacle."

The Sentinel later reported Gibbs hired 23-year-old Jordan Epperson, a recent graduate of Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. He started with the county Aug. 21.

After hiring Epperson in August, Gibbs was accused of age discrimination after a more qualified finalist for the position went unselected. That finalist, Ryan Kimball, filed a lawsuit against Gibbs and Ottawa County in October.

Gibbs was fired Thursday, Feb. 29, after Board Chair Joe Moss motioned to terminate him for cause  largely focused on new allegations brought forward by Epperson and recently hired Deputy Administrator Benjamin Wetmore, rather than the lawsuit.

More: Lawsuit: Gibbs committed age discrimination in hiring executive aide

Of the five mandatory criteria the county sought, Epperson had one  a bachelor's degree. Kimball met more of the qualifications and had 20 years more experience, according to emails obtained by The Sentinel through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The emails between Gibbs and VerBeek show Gibbs directing VerBeek on June 15 to make an offer to Epperson.

Former County Administrator John Gibbs

"After much deliberation, I have decided to move forward with the next steps in the process for hiring Jordan Epperson for the senior executive aide position," Gibbs wrote.

The next day, VerBeek asked for an additional meeting with the hiring committee "to discuss options prior to moving forward." 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 Kimball.

Counsel Jack Jordan told The Sentinel the comments were redacted because "communications and notes within a public body or between public bodies of an advisory nature are exempt to the extent that they cover other than purely factual materials and are preliminary to a final agency determination of policy or action."

Kimball's attorney, Rob Howard, released the full email Friday, March 1, to The Sentinel as part of the discovery process of his client's ongoing litigation.

In the unredacted email, VerBeek says:

"I have concerns about moving forward with Mr. Epperson. I would strongly recommend we get the hiring committee back together to discuss. I put together a basic chart of the requirements (below) from the job description that was posted for the position. Jordan does not meet the minimum requirements of the position. Also, in all the categories, Mr. Kimball meets the requirements more fully than Mr. Epperson. In addition, I have concerns about tools that we started using in the hiring process, that were not fully vetted ... I also have concerns regarding the comments you made in front of the interview panel about the ages of the candidates and your ability to 'boss' Mr. Epperson around easier because he is younger. I am concerned of the liability of the possibility of violating our Equal Employment Opportunity policy if we were to move forward with Mr. Epperson at this time."

In a response dated July 7, Gibbs thanked VerBeek for her feedback and directed her to "please move forward with the next steps in hiring Jordan Epperson."

Gibbs then forwarded his response to Moss and Board Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea with the message "FYI."

Moss and Rhodea control the board's Ottawa Impact majority, a group of far-right fundamentalists disgruntled over school mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commissioners Joe Moss (left) and Sylvia Rhodea (right) listen to legal council during a September 2023 meeting.

In the months since, Gibbs' relationship with Epperson has soured.

Gibbs said the accusations from Epperson and Wetmore made last week were manufactured after Gibbs identified "corruption and opposed bad governance" by the board.

They targeted me "by concocting a laundry list of miscellaneous, contrived allegations that only saw the light of day after I attempted to hold them accountable," Gibbs wrote in a statement Friday.

"I think they were scared they were going to get fired or something," Gibbs told The Sentinel. "So they started to put all their eggs in the commissioners' basket, and came up with this stuff."

Gibbs said he hired Epperson "despite all those things he said online" because members of the state legislature who worked with him "said he was good."

"But they didn't work with him in close capacity like I did," Gibbs said. "So I got to see."

Gibbs was referring to a series of troubling social media posts unearthed after Epperson's hire.

"Jordan did have a history of making very racist, anti-Semitic comments," Gibbs said. "He has a history and background, but I went with people that knew him."

Gibbs shared a similar sentiment about Wetmore, whom he said came "highly recommended by Jordan, as well as other people I trusted."

"Someone said they'd heard some stuff that wasn't OK, but everybody else said he was good. I went with a preponderance of recommendations, but it turns out that person was right also."

Gibbs claims both men "failed to perform their job duties consistently, which was discussed in performance evaluations."

Epperson called Gibbs' characterization of his job performance "false." Wetmore did not respond to The Sentinel's request for comment.

The lawsuit from Kimball is one of four filed against the board in 2023. A lawsuit filed by Health Officer Adeline Hambley was resolved Monday via an updated settlement agreement, under which she and her deputy will remain employed by the county.

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A second lawsuit alleging an Open Meetings Act violation was dismissed last summer and unsuccessfully appealed in January.

The final lawsuit was filed in October by a Grand Haven pastor who alleged religious discrimination after the board failed to respond to his multiple requests to give an invocation.

Gibbs' attorney, Noah Hurwitz, indicated Friday he plans to file a lawsuit for the board's alleged wrongful termination of his client.

 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: New email: Ottawa HR warned Epperson hire could be problematic
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Emily Florez, a long-time beloved ABC4 anchor, is saying goodbye to the station.

Emily has had an impressive career in the news industry over the past 15 years, serving most recently as a main weekday night anchor for the past five years at ABC4 in Salt Lake City.

Emily has been an invaluable member of the ABC4 team, bringing dedication, passion, and a wealth of knowledge to the workplace. And she got to do it all in the community she grew up in, ABC4 General Manager and VP Mark Danielson said.

































Emily is a Utah native who graduated in broadcast journalism from Brigham Young University before helping to launch the School of Communications Student Ambassador program, which helps journalism students network within the Utah community.

Emily chose to leave news to dedicate more time to her family, including her three children. While she said she feels its the right choice in her heart, it was a difficult decision to step away from the anchor desk.

Its a mixed bag, all the emotions, right? said Florez. Im so grateful for the time I had here. I feel like I, every night, put my heart out there to try to give people a piece of it from the desk.

A Taylorsville native, Florez said it meant the world to her to be able to give the news to her own community and extended family on a daily basis.

I have a lot of pride for having represented them, she said.

We will miss Emily dearly. She was the heart of our newsroom, ABC4 News Director Nancy Bauer said. But we also respect her immensely for making the tough decision to stay at home and take care of her family. We wish her nothing but the best, and in this business, you never say goodbye, just so long for now.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Humza Yousaf told First Minister's Questions that an inquiry is not off the table given the systemic failings in the case - Jane Barlow/PA

Humza Yousaf has said he was very seriously considering ordering a public inquiry into the polices appalling investigation into Emma Caldwells murder after being challenged by her mother.

The First Minister said he was weighing up ordering a judge-led inquiry into polices failure to catch serial rapist Iain Packer for almost two decades despite a mass of evidence that he was responsible for the April 2005 murder.

They ignored warnings about Packer from sex workers and wrongly focused on four Turkish men, allowing him to continue with an extreme campaign of sexual violence against vulnerable women.

Speaking the day after Packer was convicted and jailed for a minimum of 36 years, the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross told First Ministers Questions it was one of Scotlands worst policing scandals.

Mr Ross told MSPs it was shocking that police had launched a surveillance operation targeting journalists and whistleblowers who disclosed the evidence implicating Packer.

He read out a statement provided to the Tories by Margaret Caldwell, Emmas mother, who said: They knew it was Iain Packer as far back as 2006, but they gave him the freedom to carry on attacking and raping vulnerable women like my Emma.

Margaret Caldwell, second from the left, and her lawyer Aamer Anwar, centre, said those responsible for delays in the police and Crown must be held accountable - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

In a direct challenge to the First Minister, she said: If Mr Yousaf genuinely cares about victims and my Emma then he has no other option but to organise an independent public inquiry. With respect, what are you waiting for?

Mrs Caldwell added: A judge-led public inquiry that acts without fear or favour  that is the very least my Emma and the many women who spoke up deserve.

A former stable worker who had a middle-class upbringing in Erskine, Emma Caldwell turned to heroin and prostitution after her older sister, Karen, died of cancer.

It has emerged that numerous sex workers told police that Packer had attacked them and taken them to the remote location where Ms Caldwell was murdered but their testimony was dismissed.

Her mother, 76, concluded: For far too long those in the police or Crown who failed us have remained in the shadows. Only a judge-led public inquiry will reveal the corruption, the criminality and the motivation.

Mr Yousaf told MSPs: A judge-led public inquiry is something that were exploring, is absolutely not off the table and is something were giving very serious consideration to given the systemic failings in this case.

Emma Caldwell was killed by Iain Packer in 2005 and her body was left in remote Scottish woods - PA

He accepted that the victims of Packer, who was first interviewed by police the month after Miss Caldwells body was found, were ultimately let down by police.

There are many questions to answer why Packer was able to evade justice (and) continue to commit many crimes as he did for so long, said the First Minister.

However, he said he wanted to meet Mrs Caldwell and her solicitor, Aamer Anwar, before making a decision. The First Minister also warned there was an ongoing legal process, with Packer having the right to appeal.

Packer was found guilty of strangling Ms Caldwell, 27, and leaving her naked body in remote Lanarkshire woods about 40 miles from her Glasgow home.

In addition, the 51-year-old was found guilty of 32 charges against 22 women, including 11 rapes and multiple sexual assaults.

But Mr Ross said the prospect of an appeal did not alter the facts around the now-defunct Strathclyde Polices botched investigation and urged Mr Yousaf to act immediately.

He said: Humza Yousaf must agree to a judge-led inquiry to uncover everything that went wrong in this appalling scandal. Emma Caldwell, her grieving family and Packers many victims were betrayed by what is one of Scotlands worst policing scandals.

The Scottish Tory leader argued that a judge from outside Scotland should preside over the inquiry as these were not mere accidents by Police Scotland and the Crown Office. It seems evidence was deliberately ignored and suppressed.

Iain Packer was found guilty of 32 charges against 22 women including 11 rapes - Police Scotland/PA

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, told MSPs that Packer had committed 19 rapes, sexual offences or assaults after murdering Ms Caldwell.

He said: This injustice has spanned 19 years and in that time we have had five lord advocates and six chief constables.

There are many troubling issues with this case. Misogyny, prejudice and the failure to listen to women coming forward with evidence.

Mr Sarwar cited a 2020 independent review of Police Scotlands complaints system, saying it had found evidence of misogyny, racism and serious discrimination issues.

Sir Iain Livingstone, the forces then chief constable, admitted last year it was institutionally racist and sexist.

Mr Yousaf said Scotland had a serious problem with misogyny and admitted there was a strong argument that the inquiry is led by somebody elsewhere.

The exchanges at Holyrood came after a former senior Scottish Police Federation (SPF) head expressed concern that the force would act the same way and look for its own reputation first if a similar case happened again.

Calum Steele, who retired as SPF general secretary in 2023, said that following a Sunday Mail newspaper story which branded Packer the forgotten suspect in 2015, police had failed to concentrate wholly and exclusively on the reinvestigation of the murder and had instead focused on finding journalistic sources quoted in the article.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BOONVILLE, Mo.  Two Cooper County, Missouri employees face charges in the death of an inmate in the Cooper County jail.

Robyn Pfeiffer, 29, and Rachel Atherton, 34, both work for the Cooper County Sheriffs Office.

Golubski to remain on house arrest despite Culvers visit violation

Jackson County prosecutors charged both Pfeiffer and Atherton Thursday with involuntary manslaughter.

The inmate, Brooke Bailey, died back in October.

FOX4 newsletters: Get the latest news delivered to your inbox

Court documents indicate the suspects failed to provide timely medical help for the victim who told jail staff she had diabetes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Enough is enough. That was the welcome  albeit belated  sentiment of Rishi Sunaks address to the nation on Friday afternoon. Drawing on his own experience, the Prime Minister defended the idea of Britain as a patriotic, liberal, democratic society, a reasonable country with decent people. But, he warned, that society is being targeted by extremists, who want to pit Briton against Briton and tear this country apart.

The immediate context was George Galloways victory in the Rochdale by-election on Thursday. Jewish groups had expressed their alarm at Mr Galloways return to Parliament, after a campaign marred by sectarianism and accusations of intimidation. He had successfully turned the by-election into a vote on Gaza, a foreign conflict in which the UK has no direct role. The Prime Minister attacked Mr Galloways views on Israel, citing the fact that he was endorsed by the former BNP leader Nick Griffin.

But the Rochdale by-election did not emerge out of nowhere. Week by week, pro-Palestinian protesters have sought to dominate the centres of our cities, chanting extremist and anti-Semitic slogans while the police have just looked on. A new low was reached last week, when the Speaker of the Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was seen to break parliamentary convention out of fear for MPs safety, an action condemned as appeasement by many parliamentarians.

The Government has not been on the front foot as these appalling events have unfolded. Now, however, the Prime Minister is promising to face down the extremists who would tear us apart, not with pandering but with leadership.

The question is what he proposes to do. It appears that he wishes the police to end their ambivalent attitude to hateful demonstrations, and he called on the marchers to reject radicals in their midst. But if Mr Sunak thinks the protests have become a vehicle for anti-Semitism, some will ask why he does not wish to prevent them entirely, at least in the heart of the capital.

Mr Sunak also pledged to redouble support for the Prevent anti-extremism programme. Last month, however, Sir William Shawcross, who had been commissioned to write a review of the scheme, criticised the Government for not following through on all of his recommendations.

Many will have been cheered to hear the Prime Minister speak with such passion about Britain, and of his determination that the extremists should be defeated. But this is not a battle that will be won in short order. He will need to accompany his fine words with decisive and comprehensive action to defend the British way of life.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Students and instructors at El Paso Community College's Advanced Technology Center practice welding techniques earlier this month. EPCC recently entered into an agreement with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to offer welding courses to incarcerated students at La Tuna correctional institution. The courses could begin as early as this spring. Among the goals is to reduce recidivism.

El Paso Community College has entered into a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons to teach incarcerated students the necessary welding skills to make them legitimate candidates for in-demand, good-paying jobs upon their release.

The program should launch this spring.

The EPCC Board of Trustees approved the five-year, $520,000 agreement last month. To prepare, EPCC must hire a full-time instructor, while the leaders at the Federal Correctional Institution, La Tuna, need to upgrade its camp facilities in Anthony, Texas.

La Tuna is a low-security prison for incarcerated males located about 20 miles northwest of El Paso. According to its website, it has about 690 inmates and offers vocational training in welding, automotive and office technology. The prisons satellite camp will house the inmates picked for the welding program.

This is the latest effort between the two entities to prepare people who are incarcerated to transition back into society. Blayne J. Primozich, associate vice president for Workforce & Continuing Education at EPCC, said it was part of the colleges mission to assist underserved populations.

(Incarcerated students) earn time off their sentences for every course they complete, but the idea is also to make them workforce ready, Primozich said. Thats key to reducing recidivism.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, approximately 600,000 Americans are released from state and federal prisons annually, and they add to the almost 80 million who have been arrested or convicted for a crime. That connection to a criminal past can make it difficult to get a job, let alone one that pays well.

More: Power on: El Paso Electric's new, natural-gas fired $211 million generator celebrated

According to a 2022 report published by the Prison Policy Initiative, approximately 60% of people who were incarcerated in a federal prison do not have a job up to four years after their release. To put it in perspective, the U.S. had an unemployment rate of 13% in 2020 during the pandemic. The current unemployment rate is 3.7%.

A RAND Corp. analysis showed that incarcerated people who participate in education programs are 43% less likely than others to be incarcerated again, and the government saves $4 to $5 in reimprisonment costs for every dollar spent on prison education.

While the college and the prison have collaborated for more than 20 years, this is the colleges first big effort to teach at the prison since the pandemic. Olga L. Valerio, dean of EPCCs Advanced Technology Center on the Valle Verde campus, said prison officials will select the participants for the certification program, which should last from six to eight months. Each cohort could have as many as 14 students.

EPCC officials said that the college has collaborated with La Tuna on other similar training programs that teach interior and exterior vehicle renovations, and Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. Valerio said participants with those skills have become successful workers and, in some cases, business owners, upon their release.

This has opened doors for them, Valerio said.

EPCC considers the chance to teach welding skills to incarcerated students at La Tuna federal prison part of its mission to help underserved communities. Olga L. Valerio, dean of the colleges Advanced Technology Center, left, and Blayne J. Primozich, EPCCs associate vice president for Workforce & Continuing Education, will direct the colleges part of the project. They recently toured the ATCs welding area at the Valle Verde campus.

Primozich said that the colleges goal is for the La Tuna students to earn their American Welding Society certifications in Shielded Metal Arc Welding and Gas Metal Arc Welding. The courses would include theory, safety training and hands-on experience with industrial welding equipment.

Once certified in those welding processes, those participants will be ready to work in maintenance and manufacturing shops, steel construction sites and oil field operations, according to the abstract presented to the trustees. The size of employers range from big companies to small businesses.

According to Salary.com, the average salary for an entry-level welder in El Paso County is $40,843 as of January, but salaries could range from about $36,300 to $46,800. Those who move out of the area could earn more.

The welding courses, which are free to the students, are funded in part through the governments First Step Act. Congress passed the legislation in 2018 to promote rehabilitation services such as job training, lower recidivism, and to reduce sentence times.

An August 2023 brief in The Sentencing Project included an announcement from the Department of Justice that the recidivism rate of those people who used the First Step Act was lower than those who did not. The report stated that of the nearly 30,000 people who gained an early release because of the program, almost 90% had not been rearrested or reincarcerated. In contrast, a 2021 article in the Harvard Political Review stated that within three years, about 66% of formerly incarcerated people are rearrested, and more than 50% are reincarcerated.

College and prison officials said that they will do what they can to help the certified welding students to find a job after they are released.

Louis Castillo, industry project manager with Workforce Solutions Borderplex or WSB, said having an up-to-date certification in an in-demand field helps, but people who were incarcerated also need to find a company that will give former felons a chance.

People who recently were released from prison often deal with barriers to employment. Among those Castillo listed were homelessness, substance abuse, mental health issues, the stigma of a criminal record, and a lack of reliable transportation.

When an employer is looking at two candidates, a lot of times those kinds of biases will have them choose the one who doesnt have the record, Castillo said.

The WSB manager said that there are openings for skilled laborers such as welders. However, he said that jobs outside the region could pose a logistical problem for people who must stay in a certain area as a condition of their parole. While La Tuna prisoners come from throughout the country, most are from the southwest.

Sandra Quinonez, La Tunas supervisor of education, said the prison is in early discussions with EPCC and the University of Texas at El Paso to offer college courses inside the institution using Pell Grant funds. As of July 1, 2023, the U.S. government made Pell Grants available to qualified people who are incarcerated so they can pursue a college education.

Quinonez said that the effort will proceed after the institutions submit the required documentation to the U.S. Department of Education.

A UTEP official said the university is in talks to offer some courses at La Tuna, but there is nothing official to report yet. EPCC did not respond to a request to comment.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: EPCC, La Tuna welding program gets inmates workforce ready
A defendant from Eritrea sits in a courtroom before the start of his trial. A 29-year-old Eritrean man has been charged with a severe breach of the peace, serious bodily harm, and reportedly attacking police officers. Bernd Weibrod/dpa

Following riots at an Eritrean event in Stuttgart in September, a 29-year-old man has been sent to prison for several years.

A Stuttgart district court sentenced the man to three years and nine months in prison late on Thursday evening, a court spokeswoman announced on Friday. The judgement is not yet final. The Sudwestrundfunk (SWR) regional public broadcaster first reported the ruling.

A 29-year-old man of Eritrean nationality was charged with a particularly serious breach of the peace and causing grievous bodily harm. He is also alleged to have assaulted police officers.

During the protests, he allegedly threw a cobblestone weighing more than 3 kilograms.

The public prosecutor's office demanded a prison sentence of four years. The defence pleaded for acquittal and argued that the man could not be clearly identified from photographs and video recordings, the court spokeswoman said.

On the afternoon of September 16 up to 200 rioting demonstrators had wielded posts and planks of wood to protest against the event in the Romerkastell, a venue on the site of a former Roman military camp, because they believed that the organizers supported Eritrean dictatorial regime.

They threw stones and bottles at police officers, provoking nationwide attention and alarm. According to the public prosecutor's office, 39 police officers were injured, some of them seriously.

A cameraman films the start of the trial of a 29-year-old Eritrean man charged with a major breach of the peace, causing serious bodily harm, and allegedly assaulting police officers. Bernd Weibrod/dpa
ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM)  The Ernie Davis Academy middle school will be hosting a Family Reading Night next week for middle school students and families to celebrate the Whole School, One Book challenge supported by the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Federal Grant.

The family event will take place on Thursday, March 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Ernie Davis Academy.

Watkins Glen Public Library asks for help during Library Advocacy season

The event will serve as a celebration for the Book Besties book club, a whole-school-initiative where students of the school read the same book selected by the Student Success Team. The book the students are reading now is We Dream of Space, a historical fiction book by Erin Entrada Kelly.

The event will feature a variety of family-friendly activities for the night including book bingo, a book-related art project, tech-electrical participation circuits, galaxy lemonade stands, a writing-a-memoir station, games, book trivia and more. Door prizes, free books, snacks and drinks will also be provided.

Chemung County Sheriffs Office warns about another phone scam

A sibling room will be available for families with young children so parents can spend time with their EDA students during the event. This room is provided by EDA Student Council members.

Sponsors of the event will be on-site for the evening including people from Hilliard, M&T Bank, Steele Memorial Library, Corning Community College, Red Bookshelf, ARCADE and APEX, Equal Opportunity Program, PFO booth and the BWA summer program.

If youre interested in attending the event, you can fill out an attendance form online. Registration for the event is recommended but not required.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.
By Gabriela Baczynska and Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission will pay 50 million euros ($54 million) to beleaguered U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) but hold back 32 million euros while it deals with Israeli allegations that 12 staff took part in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

In an announcement on Friday, the European Union's executive body also said it would increase overall aid to Palestinians by 68 million euros this year to help civilians facing "terrible conditions" in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

UNRWA provides aid and basic services in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere in the Middle East. It was thrown into crisis after Israel alleged in January that 12 of its 13,000 staff in the enclave were involved in the attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas, during which fighters killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

UNRWA dismissed all the accused staff. But it warned its operations would be "severely compromised" after many major donors, including the United States, Britain and several European Union countries, suspended payments or said they would not approve new funding until the matter was resolved.

The European Commission, one of UNRWA's biggest donors, had been due to pay 82 million euros around now to the agency.

But, seeking to balance different views among EU countries and in its own ranks, the Commission said it would pay 60% now and the rest in two installments of 16 million euros each as UNRWA addressed issues arising from the allegations.

"The 1st transfer is already an important step to alleviate the situation in Gaza," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on social media platform X.

"By continuing to fund it, the EU acknowledges UNRWA as an irreplaceable actor."

UNRWA's boss, Philippe Lazzarini, said the Commission's decision will support the agency in delivering "lifesaving and essential services" to Palestinian refugees. But he added that UNRWA needed all 82 million euros as soon as possible.

"The full disbursement of the EU contribution is key to the agency's ability to maintain its operations in a very volatile area," he said.

As well as dismissing the accused staff, the United Nations is investigating the allegations and has also commissioned a review of UNRWA's adherence to neutrality.

AID TO PALESTINIANS

Israel responded to the Hamas attack with a military assault on Gaza that has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, as well as leaving many hungry and homeless.

"We stand by the Palestinian people in Gaza and elsewhere in the region. Innocent Palestinians should not have to pay the price for the crimes of terrorist group Hamas," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"They face terrible conditions putting their lives at risk because of lack of access to sufficient food and other basic needs."

UNRWA has agreed it "stands ready to ensure that a review of its staff is carried out to confirm they did not participate in the attacks and that further controls are put in place to mitigate such risks in the future," the Commission said.

It said the agency also agreed to an audit into its control systems "to prevent the possible involvement of its staff and assets in terrorist activities" and to strengthen its department of internal investigations.

The further tranches of aid would be "released in line with the implementation of this agreement", the Commission said.

($1 = 0.9223 euros)

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska and Andrew Gray; editing by Angus MacSwan and Rosalba O'Brien)
The EU asked Meta to provide information about Threads, a platform it rolled out last year in Europe (Stefani Reynolds)

The EU on Friday used new regulatory powers to query Meta about ad-free subscriptions to Facebook and Instagram as well as claims some voices are suppressed online in a phenomenon known as "shadow banning".

The European Commission made a request for information under the mammoth content moderation law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force last August for online giants like Meta.

The EU's executive arm has launched a wave of probes under the DSA to quiz platforms on how they are addressing concerns from consumer protection to children's activity online.

The latest request is a first step in a possible compliance procedure, but does not itself suggest there have been breaches of the law or a move towards punishment.

The commission's list of questions is long.

It wants more information about Meta's offer from November for Facebook and Instagram users in Europe to pay monthly subscriptions to use the platforms without adverts and without their data being tracked for targeted advertising.

Privacy and consumer rights campaigners have slammed the subscriptions, and filed separate formal complaints with data protection authorities.

Now the commission wants Meta to give "additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations concerning Facebook and Instagram's advertising practices, recommender systems and risk assessments" related to subscriptions.

Recommender algorithms are used by platforms to push more personalised content. Under the DSA, platforms must mitigate risks arising from such systems as well as offer users a non-personalised feed that does not rely on "profiling".

- Greater transparency -

Brussels also demanded Meta "provide information related to the practice of so-called shadow banning and the launch of Threads", a spin-off of the Instagram photo app.

Individuals, including politicians, and groups accuse some media platforms of shadow banning -- or actively limiting the reach of certain viewpoints, including conservative opinions.

Since the outbreak of war in Gaza in October, there have been accusations against platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, of censoring pro-Palestinian voices in particular.

The platforms have firmly denied such claims.

Meta must respond to the EU's questions by March 22.

"The DSA mandates transparency around 'shadow banning' and similar content moderation", such as deletion and suspension, a commission spokesperson told AFP.

"In some cases, such practices could have a bearing on the societal risks that (large platforms) need to identify and mitigate," the spokesperson added.

For example, if a user has been "moderated", the largest platforms need to give a "very comprehensive" explanation for why such a decision has been taken.

The EU's request comes after Instagram last month said it would not "proactively recommend content about politics" on users' Instagram and Threads recommended feeds.

Meta has taken similar steps to reduce the amount of political content on Facebook.

The commission is also seeking "additional information" on issues including terrorist content, risk management related to elections, and the protection of minors, after previous requests made since October 2023.

It added Meta had until March 15 to respond on these issues.

Meta did not respond immediately to AFP's request for comment.

raz/ec/rl
FILE - The Commissioner-General of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the UNRWA headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.The head of the main United Nations agency supporting people in Gaza alleges that Israel is intent on destroying it along with the idea that Palestinians are refugees and have a right one day to return home. Philippe Lazzarini in an interview with a Swiss newspaper accuses Israel of having a long-term political goal of eliminating the agency created decades ago to assist Palestinians who fled during the war over Israels creation. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

BRUSSELS (AP)  The European Union said Friday that it will pay 50 million euros ($54 million) to the main provider of aid in Gaza next week after the cash-strapped U.N. agency agreed to allow EU-appointed experts to audit the way it screens staff to identify extremists.

The UNRWA agency is reeling from allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff members participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel. The agency fired the employees, but more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about $450 million, almost half its budget for 2024.

The Israel-Hamas war has driven 80% of Gazas population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes, and U.N. officials say a quarter of the population is starving. The agency is the main supplier of food, water and shelter, but it is also on the brink of financial collapse.

The European Commission had been due to disburse 82 million euros ($89 million) to UNRWA on Feb. 29, but wanted the agency to accept its terms for an audit. The EU's powerful executive branch is the third biggest donor to UNRWA after the United States and Germany.

The commission said the agency has now indicated that it stands ready to ensure that a review of its staff is carried out to confirm they did not participate in the attacks and that further controls are put in place to mitigate such risks in the future.

The commission said the funds will be dispatched next week once UNRWA has confirmed in writing that it accepts the EU's conditions. Two further tranches worth 16 million euros ($17.3 million) each will be given to UNRWA as it complies with their agreement.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini welcomed the EUs announcement and said that the commitment to provide money next week comes at a critical time.

The full disbursement of the EU contribution is key to the agencys ability to maintain its operations in a very volatile area, he tweeted.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of tolerating or even collaborating with Hamas activities in or around U.N. facilities, but no one  in Israel or abroad  has offered an alternative for delivering aid to Gazas besieged population.

UNRWA took the unusual step of immediately firing its staffers based on Israels allegations against them, but with no hard evidence being provided. Each year, UNRWA gives a list of its staff to the Israeli authorities for vetting, and the agency said it has received no complaints.

Two U.N. investigations into Israels allegations against the agency are already underway.

Even as the commission was negotiating the terms of its audit, Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic told EU lawmakers this week that we have not received any evidence supporting the allegations by Israel that UNWRAs staff were involved in the terrible events on 7 October.

To our knowledge, none of the donors  other donors  have received any evidence, he added.

Belgian Development Minister Caroline Gennez, whose country currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, tweeted on Friday that UNRWA is the only organization that can structurally get humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Defunding would mean a death sentence for tens of thousands.

The funding dispute comes a day after witnesses said that Israeli troops had fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City. More than 100 people were killed in the chaos. The death toll since October stands at more than 30,000, according to health officials.

The Hamas attack into Israel that ignited the war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants seized around 250 hostages. Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most other captives during a November cease-fire.

___

Find more of APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
The European Union will tighten control on the compliance with the agreements by hauliers transporting grain from Ukraine. The intention is to calm the discontent of EU farmers and promote open trade, which benefits the entire bloc.

Source: Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport, Reuters reports

Reuters reports that farmers across Europe are protesting against a range of issues, including what they see as unfair competition from Ukraine.

Many, particularly in Ukraine's neighbouring countries, claim that their interests have been hurt by EUs attempts to open "solidarity lanes", abolish customs duties and introduce other measures to help Kyiv get grain to market amid the Russian invasion.

Quote: "Closing borders is never a good idea, even less borders with a neighbour in such need of connectivity. As long as the agreements are implemented correctly, there shouldn't be problems, and we are working on strengthening implementation," said Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport, in an interview with Reuters.

"In other words, we must check to ensure operators are not overstepping agreements, that they can only do bilateral operations, that ... they have the right to transit."

EU countries can also benefit from this trade, Valean said. Exports by road to Ukraine from Poland, Romania and Slovakia grew by double digits, exceeding the growth in the volume of goods coming from Ukraine to these countries.

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The ambassadors of the European Union and the United States came to Navalny's funeral

Ambassadors of the EU and the U.S. attended the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, taking place in Moscow, Russian media outlet Meduza reported on Telegram on March 1.

U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, German Ambassador Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, French Ambassador Pierre Levy, and diplomatic representatives from some other EU countries were spotted near the church.

Read also: Putins spokesman comments on decision to hand over Navalnys body to his family after days of delay

The funeral for Navalny is scheduled to take place in Moscow on March 1.

The bastards have again crawled out with their mockery of Alexei, even when he is no longer there, said Ivan Zhdanov, the former chief of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), commenting on the date of the funeral on Telegram.

They initially planned the farewell and funeral for Feb. 29, because for many reasons this day was suitable, he said. However, it quickly became clear that by Feb. 29, no one could dig a grave, making March 1 or Feb. 28 more feasible options.

Russian authorities announced the death of 47-year-old opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Far North.

Read also: Orban refuses to honor Navalnys memory, calling him a chauvinist

The pro-Kremlin media, citing sources, reported that Navalny had allegedly suffered a blood clot.

The next day, Navalnys team confirmed his death.

The oppositionists mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, confirmed that she had seen her sons body on Feb. 22.

Navalnys press secretary Kira Yarmysh wrote that the medical report on the death, which was shown to Navalnaya, stated that the cause of death was natural.

Yarmysh said that the Russian Investigative Committee had given the mother an ultimatum  either she agrees to a secret funeral for her son, or he will be buried on the colonys territory.

The mother refused to negotiate with the Investigative Committee, because they have no authority to decide how and where she should bury her son, Yarmysh said.

Navalnys body was returned to his mother only a week later, on Feb. 24.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Europe is investing in defense in ways that were 'unimaginable' before Russia invaded Ukraine, Lithuanian PM says

Lithuania's PM said Europe is boosting defenses in ways that were unthinkable before the Ukraine war.

But she told BI that Europe must do more to protect Ukraine and grow its defenses against Russia.

Ingrida Simonyte said European countries should be spending and manufacturing far more.

Many European countries are boosting their defenses in ways that were not on the cards before Russia invaded Ukraine, Lithuania's prime minister told Business Insider.

In fact, Ingrida Simonyte told BI that European countries "are doing things that were unimaginable" before the conflict.

But, she said, Europe should have increased its defense spending "long ago."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sparked a surge in defense spending and agreements across Europe, as countries moved to support Ukraine while boosting their own arsenals, worried Russia could attack elsewhere in Europe.

That has been particularly true with Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, which all border Russian territory and are EU and NATO member states.

Simonyte gave the example of her own country getting a permanent brigade of troops from NATO ally Germany.

"It was unimaginable we would agree on placing a full brigade on permanent basis in eastern flank," she said. The Baltic countries are often referred to as NATO's eastern flank.

Simonyte also said that European countries are all "rushing up and beefing up our capacities and spending."

In 2021, the year Russia invaded Ukraine, total defense spending by the 26 European Defence Agency member states rose by 6% year on year. And it has kept growing since.

Two European countries have also sought to join NATO, with one, Finland, now a member.

But Simonyte said Europe should have increased defense spending "long ago," and she noted that many European countries still do not meet the NATO target of 2% of GDP being spent on defense.

Lithuania's own defense spending has soared, with the country budgeted to spend 2.75% of its GDP this year.

Lithuania has been one of Ukraine's most vocal backers, and Simonyte said its allies need to give it even more support.

She said Ukraine can win, but victory depends on outside support.

House Republicans are stalling further US support, and many European countries say there is little weaponry left to give, with the continent's manufacturing unable to keep up with demand.

"Ukraine needs real artillery, real vehicles, real guns, and armor," Simonyte said, adding: "Unfortunately you cannot shoot money, you cannot fire the euros or dollars."

Simonyte said European countries spending more on defense would also send a very clear signal to industrial players, that they "can actually count on contracts from their governments to expand their production facilities and to replenish the stocks that are very much worn."

She said that if Russia "is not stopped in Ukraine, then whatever happens next is Europe's problem at large."

Europe can't just think that if something happens "it's the US that would sort that out," she added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stands in the plenary chamber of the European Parliament and speaks. A central point of the debate was the EU's defense policy. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

The European Commission released suspended EU funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) worth 50 million ($54 million) on Friday.

"Innocent Palestinians should not have to pay the price for the crimes of terrorist group Hamas," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement, announcing a further 68 million in aid to other organizations in the region.

The commission suspended the funding for UNRWA and demanded an independent audit of the agency after Israel accused about a dozen employees of being involved in the October 7 terror attacks led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Based on commitments from UNRWA to carry out this investigation and to review safeguards to prevent staff's involvment in terrorist activities, the commission said it decided to release the funding.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stands in the plenary chamber of the European Parliament and speaks. A central point of the debate was the EU's defense policy. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

The European Commission released suspended EU funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) worth 50 million ($54 million) on Friday.

"Innocent Palestinians should not have to pay the price for the crimes of terrorist group Hamas," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

The EU executive arm also announced a further 68 million in aid for the region to be distributed by the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and other organizations.

The commission suspended the funding for UNRWA and demanded an independent audit of the agency after Israel accused about a dozen employees of being involved in the October 7 terrorist attacks led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Based on commitments from UNRWA to carry out this investigation and to review safeguards to prevent staff's involvement in terrorist activities, the commission said it decided to release the 50 million in funding meant for the month of March.

A further two disbursements of EU aid, each worth 16 million, is to be released pending UNRWA's success in implementing the review, the commission said. Restored funding for UNRWA amounts to 82 million.

Another 125 million in aid has already been allocated to Palestinians for 2024 with the first sums distributed on Friday, the commission added.

In addition to the new funding announced worth 68 million, this brings the total amount of EU aid for the Palestiians for the year to 275 million.

European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, who pushed unsuccessfully to suspend aid in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attacks, said the EU executive arm was "diversifying its assistance for the innocent Palestinian people in Gaza."

Varhelyi stressed that it was "essential that UNRWA delivers on the agreed measures and conditions for [the EU's] continued assistance."

This includes checking UNRWA staff for links to the October 7 attacks as well vetting staff during recruitment processes and on a continuous basis, he said.

Varhelyi said UNRWA was also to increase checks to protect assets from misuse.

As well as staff links to the October 7 attacks, the main UN aid agency for Palestinians in Gaza has been under heavy scrutiny after the Israeli military said it discovered a Hamas command tunnel running under UNRWA's headquarters.

Earlier von der Leyen said she was "deeply disturbed by images from Gaza" after Israeli soldiers opened fire on a crowd at an aid convoy.

"Every effort must be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency," von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter.
Then Romania's National Anticorruption Directorate Laura Codruta Kovesi is pictured in Bucharest. The European Union's chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, has warned against criminal organizations having too much influence on democratic structures. picture alliance / George Popescu/dpa

The European Union's chief prosecutor, Laura Codruta Kovesi, has warned against criminal organizations having too much influence on democratic structures.

"In our proceedings, we see businesspeople, politicians or civil servants protecting criminal organizations," she told Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, in remarks published on Friday.

The European Public Prosecutor's Office is an independent and decentralized authority with the power to prosecute offences against the EU budget in national courts. Its focus is on crimes that are used to wrongfully obtain subsidies or contracts from the EU, as well as customs offences and Value Added Tax (VAT) fraud schemes.

Kovesi believes the extent of fraud with EU funds is underestimated. According to estimates by the Europol police authority, only 4% of criminally obtained funds in Europe have been confiscated to date.

She also said Germany is attractive to fraudsters. "It's a large economy, there are many companies, it's easy to hide things." However, the number of cases also shows that there is a good detection rate, she said.

"If we had the same level of detection of VAT or customs fraud elsewhere as in Germany, the situation would be better overall," Kovesi said.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stands in the plenary chamber of the European Parliament and speaks. A central point of the debate was the EU's defense policy. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she is "deeply disturbed by images from Gaza" after Israeli soldiers opened fire on a crowd at an aid convoy.

"Every effort must be made to investigate what happened and ensure transparency," von der Leyen said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Humanitarian aid is a lifeline for those in need and access to it must be ensured," she wrote.

"We stand by civilians, urging their protection in line with international law," she added.
Lyle and Erik Menendez have been behind bars in California for more than three decades for the 1989 killing of their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez. They were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the notorious case that captured the nation's attention. Now, the brothers are hoping that new evidence will reopen their case and set them free.

"48 Hours" contributor Natalie Morales speaks to Lyle Menendez from prison as he awaits a judge's decision in "The Menendez Brothers' Fight for Freedom," streaming now on Paramount +.

The Menendez brothers admit that they killed their parents. Instead, the focus of the case has long been on why they did it. They insist that they killed out of fear and in self-defense after a lifetime of physical, emotional and sexual abuse suffered at the hands of their parents.

One of their lawyers, Cliff Gardner, tells "48 Hours" that new evidence corroborates those longstanding claims and lessens their culpability. Gardner argues that Lyle and Erik Menendez should have been convicted of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder, and that if they had been, they would have received a much shorter sentence and been out of prison a long time ago.

New evidence in the case includes this letter written by Erik Menendez to his cousin Andy Cano in December 1988. / Credit: Superior Court of the State of California, Los Angeles County

The new evidence includes a letter that Gardner says was written by Erik Menendez to Erik's cousin, Andy Cano, in December 1988, about eight months before the crime. The letter reads, in part, "I've been trying to avoid dad. It's still happening, Andy, but it's worse for me now.  Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.  I'm afraid.  He's crazy. He's warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle."

Andy Cano did testify at the brothers' trials. He said that Erik Menendez at age 13, years before the killings, told him that his father was touching him inappropriately. Prosecutors at trial suggested that Cano was lying.

The brothers were tried twice. Their first trial ended in a mistrial when two juries, one for each brother, couldn't reach a unanimous decision as to whether Lyle and Erik Menendez were guilty of manslaughter or murder. When they were tried a second time, prosecutors attacked the abuse allegations more aggressively. They referred to the allegations as "the abuse excuse." That trial resulted in the brothers' convictions for first-degree murder.

Gardner says this letter is proof that the abuse allegations were not made up. He says the letter was never presented at either trial, and that it was discovered in storage within the last few years by Andy Cano's mother. Andy Cano died in 2003.

The letter isn't the only piece of evidence that has surfaced. Roy Rossello, a former member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, has come forward claiming that he was also sexually abused by Jose Menendez, back in the early 80s, when Rossello was a minor and a member of the band. At the time, Jose Menendez was working as an executive at RCA Records, and RCA signed Menudo to a recording contract.

Jose Menendez, top row, second from left, is pictured with former members of Menudo in 1983, including Roy Rossello, bottom right. / Credit: Sony Music/RCA Records

Rossello is now 54 years old. He says in a sworn affidavit filed in 2023 that he went to Jose Menendez's home in the fall of 1983 or 1984. Rossello would have been between 14 and 15 years old at the time. He says he drank "a glass of wine," then felt like he had "no control" over his body. He says Jose Menendez took him to a room and raped him. Rossello also states in the affidavit that he was sexually abused by Jose Menendez on two other occasions, right before and right after a performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

"When I first heard about it  I cried," Lyle Menendez told Morales. "For me, it was very meaningful to just have things come out that caused people to really realize, OK  at least this part of what it's about is true."

The Menendez brothers' attorney, Cliff Gardner, filed a habeas petition in May 2023 citing the letter and Rossello's affidavit as new evidence that proves his clients' convictions should be vacated.

"The boys were abused as children. They were abused their whole life.  And this is a manslaughter case, not a murder case. It's just that simple," Gardner said to "48 Hours" about the Menendez brothers. "My hope in the case is that the judge will realize that this new evidence is indeed credible and persuasive, and he'll vacate the convictions."

If that happens, it would be up to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office whether to retry the case. In a statement, the district attorney's office told "48 Hours" it is investigating the claims made in the habeas petition. It is unclear when a judge will rule in the case.

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A school bus drives along a snow covered road on Nov. 4, 2022 in Eagle River, Alaska. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The Legislature recently overwhelmingly passed an education budget that better funds our schools and also places the responsibility for recruiting and retaining teachers right where it belongs, in the school districts. The governor, by threatening a veto if he doesnt get his way, seems intent on forcing the state to implement a teacher bonus program. The governor has said that the bonuses should be implemented for three years to see if they will work to improve teacher recruiting and retention. In the governors press conference he repeatedly referenced the editorial in the Anchorage Daily News supporting bonuses. In that editorial the editors asked who wouldnt want a bonus. That is not the right question. It should be, who will stay if they are offered a bonus. The answer is that bonuses retain very few, if any, teachers in the long term.

There has been a lot of research on the teacher recruiting and turnover issues, they are not unique to Alaska. Massachusetts tried a signing bonus program offering $20,000. While it did help to a degree, the dropout rate of all those hired after three years was 46%. In North Carolina bonuses only made teachers 15% less likely to leave and there was no positive long-term effect on retention. When the bonus was gone, so was the reduction in intent to leave. In a study of Denvers public schools retention rates only increased by 2.1%. In a 2020 research paper published by the Oxford Review of Education, a comprehensive look at research on teacher recruitment and retention included 52 separate studies. The overall effect of bonuses and incentives ranged from 12% to 25% reduction in the likelihood teachers will leave but the moment the incentives were gone so were the reductions in intent to leave. Clearly bonuses and incentives have not been shown to be a long-term solution to the recruitment and turnover problem.

The obvious question is, Why wont bonuses and incentives work to decrease turnover? It is because unless the basic minimums for compensation have been met, other employment opportunities are more attractive and turnover goes up. When looking at why people are willing to stay or not, one needs to understand what is driving their behavior. One of the more robust findings in management is that insufficient pay leads to higher turnover and lower motivation. Money will not result in sustained motivation, but if pay is insufficient and employees are dissatisfied with compensation it will result in increased turnover. Fredrick Hertzberg discovered that the things that motivate people are separate and distinct from those that dissatisfy them. The dissatisfiers he called hygienes. It is important to note that meeting the minimums to prevent dissatisfaction only results in no dissatisfaction. Satisfaction with a job and motivation comes from growth, achievement, recognition, autonomy and advancement. The things that can dissatisfy employees include pay, policy and administration, work conditions, and supervision. If employees are dissatisfied, they are prone to be less motivated and more likely to leave.

In the report created for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (the product of the Alaska Governors Working Group on Teacher Retention and Recruitment) titled: Teacher Retention and Recruitment Survey Results, in table 1.1 we find that compensation, retirement benefits, and healthcare benefits were all in the top five issues of importance to teachers in this state. For teachers pay was No. 1. Interestingly, the Teacher Retention and Action Plan, also a product of the working group, acknowledges the primacy of compensation and then punts rather than calling for the increases that will address this problem. In the report, eight of the top 10 items of greatest importance to the teachers are all hygienes or dissatisfiers. In other words, the basic minimums to attract and retain employees have not been, and are not being, met. In fact, according to the Institute for Education Sciences , during the past nine years teacher turnover in Alaska has ranged from 18% to 33%. That means that the teacher turnover rate for Alaska has been up to five times higher than for the nation as a whole.

It is clear what needs to be done. To permanently reduce turnover, the entire compensation package for teachers needs to be massively improved. Turnover rates from 18% to 33% for the past nine years are a clear demonstration that compensation, increasing class sizes, and other working conditions are driving turnover. It has been shown repeatedly that teacher turnover has a negative effect on student outcomes. If we take effective steps to reduce teacher turnover it will improve student outcomes. If we reduce class sizes it will improve student outcomes. If we fund the gifted programs, optional programs, and charter schools it will improve student outcomes. To continue to do what we have been doing and expecting turnover to go down and student outcomes to improve is not rational.

If the governor gets his way and a bonus program is implemented instead of solving the real problem there will be a brief improvement in recruiting and retention followed by an exodus when the program ends and we will be right back where we are now. There is no reason to think Alaska will be any different than any other place that has tried bonuses and incentives and failed to attract and retain teachers for the long run. If the long-term strategic plan for education in this state is to be a training ground for new teachers and to see them leave for other opportunities in three years, then what the governor is proposing is a sure winner. However, if what we want to do is attract and retain the best and brightest teachers for the long run and improve student outcomes, then the Legislature has it right, increasing the BSA and letting the superintendents do their jobs is the way to get it done.

The post Evidence shows how to retain Alaska teachers: higher compensation and broad funding, not bonuses appeared first on Alaska Beacon.
Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, commended the thousands of people who attended Fridays funeral service for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

I have a lot of respect for those Muscovites that came out to honor Alexei Navalny, McFaul told MNSBCs Ana Cabrera. I think its important for everybody to know that Putins government tried really hard to not allow this to happen.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged Navalnys supporters not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings are violations, The Associated Press reported.

McFaul said all of the funeral attendees were being photographed and can expect to be threatened with years in jail for being on TV with us right now.

That is incredible bravery, he said. And for every one of them that is that brave, theres another dozen people in Russia, in Moscow, who are not as courageous but have exactly the same preferences.

Police turned out in force near the Moscow church where the funeral was being held. Officers watched as hundreds of people waited to enter the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers.

The attendants applauded and chanted his name when the hearse arrived and Navalnys coffin could be seen taken out of the vehicle.

Navalny, 47, rose to fame for becoming one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was reported dead by Russian authorities on Feb. 16 in the countrys highest-security prison near the Arctic Circle.

President Biden and other world leaders have blamed Putin for Navalnys death, but Russian officials have denied the accusations. Instead, they claimed he died of sudden death syndrome  a vague term for various cardiac syndromes that can prompt sudden cardiac arrest and death.

McFaul, a close friend of Navalnys, highlighted that his family defied the Russian government, who threatened to bury him in Siberia and overcame scheduling difficulties with churches who refused to host them.

Even in these horrible, horrific moments of their lives, they are still defying Putin, he said.

The former ambassador has maintained his original position that the Kremlin was behind Navalnys death, arguing they were threatened by his political opposition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An ex-flight attendant shares his top pet peeves when it comes to passengers  and it includes swapping seats

An ex-flight attendant who flew with two US airlines shared three annoying things passengers do.

Bobby Laurie said passengers shouldn't swap seats without telling their cabin crew first.

Laurie said passengers also shouldn't ask for food items that aren't on the menu.

Passenger disputes with flight attendants keep making headlines. In July, American offloaded a passenger after he got into an argument with a flight attendant. In August, United temporarily banned a woman from flying after she refused to follow a flight attendant's instruction to return to her seat.

So, what do you do to get on a flight attendant's good side? Avoid their pet peeves, of course.

While annoying a flight attendant is unlikely to get you kicked off a flight, getting on their good side might get you better service, travel expert Bobby Laurie told Business Insider in an email. Laurie, the cohost of "The Jet Set," a travel talk show that airs weekly on national television, worked as a flight attendant with US Airways and Virgin America.

"Kindness and politeness were always rewarded when I could. Whether it be a free drink, snack, or a better seat, the people who made an impression and were kind got those benefits first," Laurie said.

Here are three of Laurie's pet peeves as a flight attendant and how to avoid them.

A plane's overhead compartment stuffed with bags. Techa Tungateja/Getty Images

1. Refusing to listen to instructions on how to stow bags

Laurie said passengers should avoid placing bulky items like outerwear in the overhead compartments.

"This is especially true in the winter when everyone has a heavy jacket with them. Jackets shouldn't take up the space of a bag," Laurie said.

Laurie said passengers seated near the plane's bulk-head are not allowed to keep any of their bags or belongings at their feet.

Air India's economy cabin. Taylor Rains/Business Insider

2. Swapping seats with other passengers.

Laurie said passengers should pay for their seats in advance rather than trying to move to other passengers' seats once on board  especially without telling the cabin crew.

"Don't 'steal' the seat and think the flight attendant won't notice. Don't ask if you can get a free upgrade," Laurie said.

Airlines often charge more to sit in the window and aisle seats toward the front of the plane, Laurie said. This means many airlines will refuse to allow passengers to switch seats, especially if the swapped seat comes with services such as better food or free drinks, Laurie added.

An in-flight meal on low-cost airline AirAsia. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

3. Asking for items that are not on the plane's in-flight menu

Laurie said passengers should not assume there are off-menu items. The reality, he said, is that the plane is likely to be stocked with limited food. On shorter flights, where there are only three or four flight attendants working on board, Laurie said passengers should select from whatever the crew offers in order to avoid wasting time.

"Every airline has some sort of a seatback menu for offerings on the plane," Laurie said. "Airlines in the US don't have strawberry juice, watermelon juice, or any other juice other than orange, apple, and cran-apple."

Laurie added that planes don't have a microwave for people to heat up food they brought on board with them, or a refrigerator to store their meals.

That said, Laurie noted that if passengers are considerate of cabin crew, they're likely to get better service.

"As a crewmember, I always tried to have fun and relate to my passengers," Laurie said.

"To get on the cabin crew's good side, simply acknowledge them! Say hello. Smile. Especially around the holidays, just say thank you. So many people walk right past crew members like they're the help," he added.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Kansas U.S. Magistrate Judge Rachel Schwartz opened the Wednesday hearing by saying that she had already decided against sending former KCKPD detective Roger Golubski to jail, so no discussion of his illegal recent lunch stop while on house arrest would be necessary. She was not going to be revoking his pretrial release, as federal prosecutors had asked her to do, but would instead firmly admonish him not to do that again.

If youre guessing this talking-to chastened the accused rapist and sex trafficker, whats your second guess?

Golubski and his lawyer, Chris Joseph, walked out of the federal courthouse laughing, said Kansas City, Kansas, activist Cece Harlin, whod left court early because it hurt too much.

They were cracking up, she said, while for victims, it was another heartbreaking day.

In an email, Joseph responded that I have no idea whether we laughed about something or not. But I can assure you that any laughter, it there was any, was not about the judges decision or the seriousness of the allegations. Maybe, he said, they were just enjoying their usual banter with court security officers.

But again, I had no clue what shes talking about.

Schwartz was not jailing Golubski, she said, because his unsanctioned Jan. 23 lunch stop at the Culvers in KCK, where a concerned citizen caught him on videotape, was his first such violation.

But was it? We dont know any such thing, though prosecutors could find out easily enough.

One Golubski victim said after the hearing that a friend of hers had seen him at the Walmart in the Legends shopping center with his grandson over Christmas. Another said hed been spotted visiting a former police colleague on KCKs Savage Drive last April 15.

Without proof, maybe yes and maybe no, right? I personally, though, know no one busted for anything on his first walk on the wrong side of the street. Do you?

Electronic monitor, cellphone records

The point is that we dont have to guess whether Golubski slipped away one time or hundreds. Because isnt the whole reason we have electronic monitoring to know where the person who is under that monitoring is at all times?

Have prosecutors bothered to look back through the records to find the answer? I asked federal prosecutor Tara Allison that question in an email, but she didnt respond.

Also, shouldnt prosecutors have been told by Golubskis probation officer that hed violated the terms of his house arrest on Jan. 23? Instead, they had to hear it by happenstance, on Feb. 5, and even then waited weeks to do anything about it.

Is that probation officer going to be disciplined at all, or just allowed to go on as she has been?

In court on Thursday, the judge noted that it was highly unusual to get a motion to revoke home detention from the prosecution without it first having been recommended by probation officers. Why didnt probation get involved here, and doesnt that in itself indicate a problem?

Even without electronic monitoring, Golubskis cellphone records could presumably tell us the story of his whereabouts since his arrest in September of 2022.

Remember how the South Carolina Lowcountry lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife and son? That only happened because Murdaughs cell records told us that he was exactly where they were on their hunting estate at the time they were murdered. If small-town cops in a county run by the Murdaughs for generations can figure such things out, then so can the FBI, no?

If federal officials care to find out, I dont think the answers are beyond knowing.

Thursdays hearing was even more painful, according to women who have accused Golubski of abusing them, because of the hearing that immediately preceded the Golubski matter in the same courtroom.

In that case, federal prosecutor Stephen Hunting energetically argued that the 50-year-old grandmother who he said was part of a clan of Romanians involved in high-end theft from jewelry stores in Kansas should not be allowed to stay with her daughter and four grandchildren on house arrest, but should for securitys sake have to be incarcerated. And in that case, Schwartz agreed while the woman sobbed.

She put that lady in jail for stealing jewelry, the activist Harlin said, crying, too, but Golubski has been stealing lives for decades, and yet can still sleep in his own bed.

Already knew that was just a waste of time

Even Golubskis talking-to from the judge was as mild as most of this last weeks weather in Kansas City: No more going into a restaurant in the community, Schwartz told him. To the extent you may have thought that was OK, its not, going forward.

Golubskis lawyer, Chris Joseph, asked her to clarify for his Eagle Scout client whether that meant he could still stop for gas en route to his various appointments. Yes, she said, but without much leeway beyond that. So, Joseph probed, he cant go in and get a hot dog?

None of that, the judge answered.

No wonder the hot dog-deprived defendant exited laughing, while his victims pretended that they had known all along not to get their hopes up again.

We already knew that was just a waste of time, said Ophelia Williams, who has said Golubski started raping her right after he came to her home to arrest her 14-year-old twins.

Maybe next time hes caught there will be some consequences, said Michelle Houcks, who has said Golubski kidnapped and raped her and then threated to kill her and her brother if she told a soul.

He will do it again, so maybe everyone in Kansas City, Kansas, needs to get ready to record Golubskis next outing, Houcks said, because he thinks hes above the law. And its been proven, for now, anyway, that hes right.

A victim Ive known for several years who came to the hearing on Thursday but does not want her name in the paper said shed still like to thank the woman who stepped up and took that video in the KCK Culvers. She was our guardian angel, she said, quick-thinking and brave as a warrior, while most people would have just said oh, look who that is over there. The woman who made and shared that video is appreciated, she said, even if her courage was not immediately rewarded.
PORTSMOUTH  Ex-city police officer Dean Outhouse paid restitution Wednesday to the Portsmouth Police Patrolmans Union after pleading guilty to embezzling $17,340.02.

The Stratham resident retired from the Portsmouth Police Department in July 2022. In December, he was indicted by a Rockingham County Superior Court grand jury for taking thousands of dollars from the union while serving as its treasurer. He was indicted on a Class B felony charge of theft by unauthorized taking.

Dean Outhouse, a longtime Portsmouth police officer, is seen in 2018. In December 2023, he was charged with embezzling from the Portsmouth Police Patrolmans Union. On Feb. 28, 2024, a Rockingham County Superior Court judge accepted the terms of Outhouse's plea deal and he made full restitution to the union.

On Wednesday at the Brentwood court, Outhouse pleaded guilty to the charge and the terms of his plea agreement were approved by a county judge, according to the New Hampshire attorney general's office.

Portsmouth police Detective Charley Raizes, elected president of the union last month, reacted to the guilty plea in a prepared statement.

This entire situation has been unfortunate and disappointing to say the least, but the union is ready to put this behind us and move forward, he said.

City police Detective Erik Widerstrom was the president of the union at the time of Outhouses indictment in December.

I would like to thank Detective Erik Widerstrom, past president of the PPPU, for his keen attention to detail in discovering Deans criminal activity involving the unions bank account, as well as Investigator Allison Vachon of the New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office for her diligence in working to get us the outcome we were hoping for, Raizes added.

Per the terms of his accepted deal, Outhouse was sentenced to a year in the county house of corrections, though he will not serve any of the jail time pending good behavior, according to the New Hampshire Attorney Generals office.

Outhouse must also surrender all of his law enforcement certifications and cannot seek future employment as a law enforcement officer. He will also be placed on a national registry of decertified officers, as well as the states Exculpatory Evidence Schedule, otherwise known as the Laurie List of New Hampshire police officers with known misconduct and credibility issues.

In a statement last month, Outhouses attorney, James Rosenberg, said toward the end of his clients career in law enforcement, he struggled with alcohol and depression.

Rosenberg shared a statement on Thursday after Outhouse's plea and sentencing hearing, writing that the former officer is taking full responsibility for his conduct.

"These events arose out of a difficult time in his life when he was working two jobs and struggling personally," Rosenberg said of Outhouse. "When these events were brought to his attention, he worked cooperatively with the attorney general's office to account for his mistake and paid full restitution as part of his plea agreement yesterday."

Outhouse did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The felony theft by unauthorized taking charge was punishable by upwards of 3.5 to 7 years in jail and a maximum $4,000 fine.

The case was investigated by law enforcement officers with the New Hampshire Department of Justice and was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Joe Fincham II of the state attorney generals Public Integrity Unit.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-Portsmouth officer pays back stolen money. Union responds.
A former Missouri middle school principal pleaded guilty on Thursday to hiring a hitman to murder a teacher who was seven months pregnant with his child, finally bringing the stunning case to a close.

Prosecutors alleged that married St. Louis principal Cornelius Green hired his friend to kill then-30-year-old Jocelyn Peters, a third-grade teacher at Mann Elementary School with whom hed been having an affair.

In March 2016, Green briefly left St. Louis for Chicago to establish an alibi, prosecutors said. While he was away, his friend Phillip Cutler drove to Peters apartment and shot her in the head with a .380 caliber gun, killing her and her unborn child.

According to prosecutors, the hitman muffled the shot by using a potato as a silencer. Hed driven Greens own car to Peters apartment that day.

Prosecutors also alleged that Green stole $2,500 from the school that he worked at to pay Cutler for the job. Once Cutler had murdered Peters, Green drove to her house and called 911, pretending not to know anything about her death.

He was hit with local charges over his role in the murder conspiracy seven months later. A federal grand jury indicted him on charges of murder for hire and conspiracy to commit murder for hire in 2022.

Federal prosecutors previously sought the death penalty against Green, a local outlet reported. He could still receive a life sentence, in which case the local charges against him would be dropped.

Greens plea deal sentencing is set for March 5.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) A former Shippensburg University employee was charged Tuesday for allegedly using the schools bank card to rack up more than $14,000 in personal purchases.

According to the charges filed by the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office, Anissa Burkholder, 34, of Shippensburg, allegedly made $14,674.15 worth of fraudulent purchases on the university credit card for four months when she was employed at the school.

Burkholders position at the university was secretary for the Chemistry/Physics Department and her position allowed her access to the schools card just for department-related purchases, the DAs Office says.

Two charged with dumping powder on the U.S. Constitutions display case

University Police were contacted last fall by faculty regarding the theft of university funds by an employee. Faculty started to find out about the fraudulent purchases when the department supervisor changed in May.

It was discovered that Burkholder was allegedly using the credit card for her own use, as well as forging supervisor signatures for authorizations of the transactions. The criminal complaint states that it was also believed that Burkholder also stole money from the bank account of the Shippensburg University Chemistry Club.

Burkholder allegedly bought 487 items with the university card, the complaint shows, at businesses including the university bookstore, Target, Walmart, and Amazon.

There were also four logs that showed when Burkholder allegedly forged her supervisors signature to make the purchases.

Since her separation from the university, the DAs office says that Burkholder was returning items to the stores to get credit back on the university card to make restitution, and she also dropped off a box of items at the Shippensburg Police station to try and return purchases.

Caught off guard, but in a good way: Dillsburg neighbors celebrate sudden victory over proposed warehouse

In an interview with investigators, Burkholder allegedly admitted to using the credit card for fraudulent purchases. When she was questioned about the forged signatures, she was quoted saying she shouldnt have ordered some of this stuff, the complaint states.

Burkholder also made eight withdrawals outside of her responsibility as secretary from the universitys chemistry clubs bank account that totaled $400.65, the complaint notes.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Shippensburg University said As this is an ongoing investigation, the university does not have any information to share at this time.

Burkholder currently faces multiple felony charges of forgery and theft, as well as a misdemeanor charge of theft.

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Burkholder is out on unsecured bail that was set at $5,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 27.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Seminole County Public Schools recently became the victim of an email phishing scheme.

School district officials, the Seminole County Sheriffs Office, and the Secret Service are not releasing many details about the crime to Channel 9.

However, an SCPS source told Channel 9 that the online scheme built the district out of a little more than $1.3 million which came out of the district general fund.

Since the district is self-insured, that money will not be able to be replaced, unless it is recouped by federal authorities, and could impact things like future pay raises and bonuses in the district.

The incident took place on December 15, 2023 but school district officials did not report it to the Seminole County sheriffs office until January 2, 2024.

Seminole County sheriffs office would only provide a heavily redacted incident report of the incident.

Read: Man arrested in connection with shooting that left 1 dead, 6 injured in Orlando

When asked a district spokesperson would not provide many details of what happened, but did provide the following statement to Channel 9. Upon discovery of an error, SCPS immediately took action and continues to work closely with law enforcement to address this incident. This is an ongoing investigation, and as such, no further details are available to be shared at this time. Katherine Crnkovich APR, CPRC Communications Officer Office of Communications

According to our source within the district, the finance office received what looked like an official email from one of the district vendors, asking to change their banking information and to pay their bill into the new account account.

That same source told Channel 9, the employees deemed the email legit without verifying the information and the change was made, allowing the scammers to build the district out of $1.3 million.

Asking to change banking details, that should always set off red flags, says Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center , a non profit organization. Velasquez says these scammers are getting more sophisticated, and organizations have a process to determine the of any incoming communications when it comes to banking information.

The bad actors know that they can insert themselves, they can pretend to be these entities and make these asks, and if there isnt that good amount of double-checking, they know that they can be obscure with that money, says Velasquez, who added that there might be legitimate reasons to not share information, right away with the public, however, in the long-term, she says organizations and individuals should be sharing the information with employees and the public to educate people on what to look for. Because we want to warn other organizations and frankly, individuals, that this is real, and this, this can happen. And this is how it happened, understanding the root cause, and where the vulnerabilities were, and where the deficiencies were.

Read: Madeline Soto: Search continues for missing girl as her mothers boyfriend refuses to face judge

SCPS would not comment on the status of the two employees who made those changes in order for suspect gain access to the money.

Our source in the district told us they were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

The Seminole County sheriffs office told us the reason they are not releasing many details about the investigation is because this is a secret service investigation, and they do not have to be released because the school is afforded an exemption while there is an open investigation.

Attorneys for Channel 9 wrote a letter today to the general counsel for the Seminole County sheriffs office, asking them to release more details about the investigation.

Just before 6:00 pm, they released a few more details to us after that letter was sent.

Read: Woman accused of stabbing her partner to death at their Daytona Beach apartment

This is developing story.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Donald Trumps lawyers on Thursday proposed an August trial in the former presidents Florida classified documents case even as they argued the case against him should be delayed until after the election.

Despite arguing to push the trial past November, Trumps team proposed an August 12 trial to U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, three months before Election Day and just weeks following the Republican National Convention, according to The New York Times.

But the attorneys also used the filing to argue that the law, the Constitution and the Justice Departments policy manual opposes prosecuting the presumptive Republican nominee during his campaign.

Its unclear why Trumps lawyers proposed a start date before the election but one possibility is that his lawyers are seeking to prevent Trumps other federal trial  the D.C. election subversion case  from being held before the vote, according to the Times.

Cannon asked both sides to propose new trial schedules. Special counsel Jack Smiths team on Thursday proposed a July 8 start date. Cannon, who initially set a May 20 trial that has long been in flux due to delays over classified evidence fights, is expected to set a new trial date after a hearing on Friday.

The Supreme Courts decision this week to hear arguments on Trumps immunity claim in the D.C. case has put the spotlight on Cannons decision even more.

A decision by Cannon to push back the Florida case could clog the calendar in late summer, making a 2024 trial in Washington on the federal election charges all but impossible, even if the Supreme Court lifts the freeze in the election case soon after it is argued, Politico reported.

Kenji Yoshino, a professor at New York University School of Law, was stunned by the filing but predicted Cannon wont be able to ignore Trumps focus on the campaign.

"I think in an ideal world, she should not," he told CNN. "I mean, no one is above the law. This is a criminal proceeding. She should just set the dates as it were. But I can't imagine that she, as a human being, she will be able to ignore that. One of the most chilling things that I've seen 25 years of teaching constitutional law is the trial schedule that defense attorneys proposed.

"Just this idea that you have somebody who's saying, here's a pretrial motion, and then here's the Republican National Convention, because it just suggests that this is the very first time in our nation's history that we have an individual who is a frontrunner running for president, who was a former president who's under criminal indictment," he continued. "This has never happened before, this is completely uncharted territory ... it did more than anything else to knock my socks off."

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin pointed out that Trumps lawyers are complying with the letter of Cannons order to submit a proposed schedule  but not its spirit.

Despite the proposed date, Trumps lawyers argue that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution and further argue that such a trial would violate DOJ policy.

And then and only then does Trump [grudgingly] say he respects the Court's direction to submit a proposed schedule, but one that must, of course, also take account of the SCOTUS presidential immunity case, she tweeted. Put another way, this is a coded invitation to Judge Cannon to schedule absolutely nothingor in the alternative, a trial date that would effectively block Judge Chutkan from trying the case before her before the election.
On 1 March, explosions were heard in Russia-occupied Crimea during an air-raid warning; they were heard by residents of Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia and Hvardiiske, north of Simferopol.

Source: Radio Liberty project Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities); Suspilne; Krymskyi Veter (Crimean Wind) Telegram channel; Atesh, military partisan movement; Kryminform (Crimea Inform)

Details: Local residents reported to Suspilne.Crimea about explosions in Sevastopol and Yevpatoriia. Krym.Realii also reported that two powerful explosions were heard in Sevastopol.

Atesh reported the movement of ambulances in Sevastopol and Yevpatoriia.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, Russian-appointed governor of occupied Sevastopol, said that air defence is responding in Sevastopol, and "all services have been put on alert." At 15:32, he reported that the all-clear was given in the city.

"We heard several powerful explosions in Hvardiiske, and then there was smoke over the city for a short time. Now part of Hvardiiske is without electricity," a local resident told Suspilne.

Krymskyi Veter, citing its subscribers, writes that the base in Hvardiiske "was attacked, and there is no electricity in the village".

According to Krym.Realii, there is a Russian airbase in Hvardiiske, where the 37th Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Russian Aerospace Forces is based, consisting of two squadrons of Su-24M and Su-25SM (12 aircraft each).

Krymskyi Veter, a monitoring group, recorded a fire south of the runway at Simferopol airport.

After the all-clear was given, the Russians suspended traffic on the Crimean (Kerch) Bridge for the second time in a day.

At first, Razvozhayev reported that "smoke in the area of the inner raid, Sevastopol and Pivdenna bays is the military using service smoke-screen camouflage". Later, Kryminform (rimeainform) reported that the smoke over the Crimean Bridge was also a camouflage curtain.

However, the centre of Sevastopol, according to Krymskiy Viter, was left without electricity.

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F-16 fighter jets will arrive in Ukraine in 2024, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a meeting with Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands.

Source: Zelenskyy

Quote: "Today we have a new package of military support for our warriors from the Netherlands. By the way, the Netherlands is actively helping us with air defence, with the F-16 coalition. This year, new fighter jets will be in our skies, and we have to make this year an effective one in defending ourselves against Russian guided bombs, Russian aircraft, and their missiles."

Background:

At a press conference in February, Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that Denmark was working "at full capacity" to be able to supply Ukraine with first F-16 fighter jets this summer.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands on 1 March in the city of Kharkiv.

The Dutch government allocated a new military aid package for Ukraine and will fund the procurement of artillery projectiles Czechia has found.

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Claim:

A video that circulated during the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war showed a Palestinian man handing a young girl a rifle to shoot at Israeli soldiers.

Rating:

Rating: Miscaptioned

Context:

While the exact location of the video is unknown, it was not recorded during the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war. The video has been online since at least 2013, and multiple news articles say it shows violence in Lebanon.

In late 2023 and early 2024, during the Israel-Hamas conflict, a viral video circulated in social media posts claiming it showed a Palestinian man handing a young girl a rifle to fire at Israeli soldiers. For instance, a February 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter) claimed, "This is a video of a young girl shooting at Israeli soldiers with the blessing of her adult peers."

A December 2023 X post stated, "Palestinian society is sickening. A Gazan 'civilian' gives his AK to a little girl to shoot at Jews." Fatabyyano, a Jordanian fact-checking outlet (which, like Snopes, is a member of the International Fact Checking Network (IFCN)), alerted us to that post.

The video was also shared on Instagram with the caption, "Radical Palestinian Islam."



(Screenshot via X)

These posts inaccurately described the video. While the exact location where the video was made is unknown, it was not recorded during the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war. The footage has existed online since at least 2013, according to Google reverse-image search results. Multiple news sources reported it depicted a 2013 incident in Lebanon.

The claim that this video is an example of generational violence in Palestine has circulated for years. We found a 2014 YouTube clip and 2016 blog post in Hebrew that, like the 2023 and 2024 posts, claimed the footage showed Hamas using a Palestinian child to shoot at Israeli soldiers.

Other than the year the video first surfaced online, we were unable to confirm much about it. For instance, the identities of the people depicted, including the girl, are unknown  as well as what, or who, recorded the footage.

Lebanese media outlets and The Huffington Post suggested the video showed a 2013 incident in Tripoli, Lebanon, where armed groups had been fighting each other.

According to reverse-image search results, a YouTube clip posted on May 26, 2013, was among the first versions of the video online. That posting was uncensored  it did not blur the girl's face to conceal her identity. On the same day, the verified account of LBCI Lebanon, a Beirut-based news station, posted the video on YouTube with the girl's identity hidden.

According to Google Translate, the caption for the LBCI video stated, "One of the repercussions of the Tripoli clashes is the involvement of children in the war of adults. They saw a young girl from Bab al-Tabbaneh shooting with a military weapon."

Naharnet, another Lebanese media outlet, reported on the video in 2013, as well. That article described the footage as showing the "gunmen who urged the girl to shoot were from Bab al-Tabbaneh and that the girl was shooting towards Jabal Mohsen."

Saraya News, a Jordanian news outlet, posted an article about the video on May 27, 2013 with a headline claiming (per Google Translate), "This is how they train children in northern Lebanon to fight."

A Huffington Post article from May 28, 2013, during the conflict in Lebanon, used the video as a point of analysis, debating whether it showed unethical media behavior:

It doesn't stop. Examples of unethical media behavior abound. Or do they? A brief video clip this week on Lebanon's LBCI TV's and New TV's nightly news, that went viral on YouTube, shows a little girl being taught how to fire an AK-47 Kalashnikov. The amateur footage is purportedly shot by militiamen in the predominantly Sunni Muslim neighborhood of Bab El Tebbaneh in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli. One of the fighters had to hold the girl steady because of the weapon's strong recoil. According to writer Salwa Baalbaki: "I believe she thought her relative was playing with her with the gun to point at the adjacent "enemy" neighborhood and fire tens of rounds, and with his help, against the "enemy neighbors" in Tripoli, amidst the adult warriors' celebration, their sadistic pride, their shooting of souvenir pictures, perhaps to immortalize a victory over what's left of our country's innocence and the meekness in children's eyes." They made this girl, who couldn't be more than 10, and whose video shooting spree on the Bab El Tebbaneh-Jabal Mohsen demarcation line spread on social media and YouTube, and who hardly knows how to play house, age fast to play their dirty game. Anti-Syrian Sunni groups including hardline Salafists from Bab El Tebbaneh, and pro-Syrian Alawite factions in Tripoli's Jabal Mohsen district (who share the same sect as Syrian President Bashar Al Assad) have been going at each other for years.

According to Human Rights Watch, an independent human-rights organization, violence between armed Muslim groups in Lebanon impacted the neighborhoods of Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh, in particular, since 2008. Sectarian tension between Sunnis and Alawites exacerbated the fighting, which resulted in poor economic and social conditions for people living in the region.

Sources:

"An Ethical Question." HuffPost, 28 May 2013, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/an-ethical-question_b_3346900. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

 ..        " .   |     -   ." https://www.sarayanews.com/article/199411. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Evon, Dan. "Snopes Tips: A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches." Snopes, 22 Mar. 2022, https://www.snopes.com//articles/400681/how-to-perform-reverse-image-searches/. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"Fatabyyano Project." IFCN Code of Principles. https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/profile/fatabyyano-project. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"In the Video: A Child Participates in the Fighting in Jabal Mohsen and a Woman Launches an RPG." Naharnet, 2013, https://www.naharnet.com/stories/ar/84513. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"     ." LBCI News, May 26, 2013. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz1zFr74VlE. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"Lebanon: Take New Approach to Protect Tripoli." Human Rights Watch. 28 May 2013, https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/28/lebanon-take-new-approach-protect-tripoli. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Updates:

Mar. 1, 2024: The story was updated to include Fatabyyano's analysis of the dialect spoken in the video.
Claim:

As U.S. President Richard Nixon spoke to Apollo 11 astronauts on the phone after they landed on the moon in 1969, a photograph taken during the same mission was already on the wall in the Oval Office.

Rating:

Rating: Miscaptioned

A conspiracy is afoot about the moon landing, if X users are to be believed. An old photograph of U.S. President Richard Nixon purportedly shows him speaking by telephone to the astronauts of Apollo 11 soon after they landed on the moon in 1969  while a photograph taken during that same moon mission is clearly visible on his Oval Office wall.

What appeared to be a video of Nixon's office as he was on the phone spread online in February 2024.

Internet users, thinking they had spotted a nefarious conspiracy at play, pointed this out repeatedly, sharing a meme of Nixon on a phone call, stating, "Nixon talking to Apollo 11 on a landline phone with a picture taken from the moon in the background  take your time."



(Screenshot via X)

This is a real photograph from the time, but the caption misrepresents the situation. Videos from the White House Historical Association and the BBC show Nixon sitting in the Oval Office as he made the historic phone call to congratulate Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on their landing on the lunar surface.

"For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one  one in their pride in what you have done and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth," Nixon said to Armstrong and Aldrin.

A photograph showing Earth, that appears to be taken from the surface of the moon, is indeed on the Oval Office wall next to Nixon, and is visible at the 0:56 mark in the video below:

The same photograph is visible during an ABC News special that took cameras into a recreation of the Nixon Oval Office in 2016.

The photograph is called "Earthrise," and the reason it was on Nixon's wall prior to the Apollo 11 moon landing is because it was taken during an earlier mission to the moon.

According to NASA, it was captured by astronaut Bill Anders while he was aboard Apollo 8 and "shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon, with astronauts Anders, Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell aboard."

Apollo 8 launched in December 1968 and was the first crewed spacecraft to successfully orbit the moon and return to Earth. So the photograph in Nixon's Oval Office was taken long before Apollo 11 landed on the moon.

We thus rate the viral image as "Miscaptioned."

Sources:

"1st Moon Phone Call | Moon Landing Live." BBC America. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_8tawnlwr8. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.

Apollo 8 - NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-8/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

"President Nixon Speaks to Apollo 11 Astronauts." The White House Historical Association | Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouseHistory/videos/president-nixon-speaks-to-apollo-11-astronauts/186506812819904/. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.

Smith, Yvette. "Apollo 8: Earthrise." NASA, 13 Apr. 2015, http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/apollo-8-earthrise. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.

"Video: A Look Inside the Nixon Oval Office." ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/inside-nixon-oval-office-42789931. Accessed 30 Mar. 2023.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump delivered back-to-back Thursday speeches at different Texas locations near the border with Mexico.

Bidens speech, largely delivered from a prepared text, was highly factual. Biden devoted much of the address to an accurate description of various provisions of the bipartisan border bill he supports but Trumps opposition helped to kill in Congress.

Trumps speech minutes prior, much of which appeared to be off the cuff, was filled with assertions about migrants that were unsubstantiated, misleading or plain false.

Some of his words were too conspiratorially vague to definitively fact-check. For example, Trump spoke of migrants as entire columns of fighting-age men and said they look like warriors to me; somethings going on, and its bad  winking at a baseless narrative about foreign adversaries using migration to surreptitiously assemble some sort of enemy force in the US. He said he thinks unnamed people are allowing migrants into the country because theyre looking for votes, faintly echoing his previous false claim about migrants being signed up to vote in the 2024 election  and declining to explain that non-citizens cannot vote in federal, state and almost all local elections (though some migrants might potentially receive citizenship years down the road).

Trump also spoke of the US being overrun by a new form of crime he called Biden migrant crime. He made that claim though early data suggests that in 2023 the US was at or around its lowest violent crime rate in more than 50 years amid a sharp decline in homicides; though there were cases of undocumented people committing crimes during his own presidency; and though, despite some recent cases in which undocumented people are accused of serious offenses, research has found no connection between immigration and crime - and sometimes that immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than people born in the US.

Heres a fact check of two of Trumps other claims.

An evidence-free story about foreign countries and insane asylums

Trump repeated - and broadened  his familiar story about how migrants are supposedly arriving in the US after having been deliberately freed by foreign leaders from prisons and mental health facilities.

After claiming that theyre coming from jails and theyre coming from prisons and theyre coming from mental institutions and theyre coming from insane asylums, Trump added, You know, I know many of the leaders of these other countries that are doing it. He said moments later, You look at the jails now  you look at the jails throughout the region but more importantly throughout the world, theyre emptying out, because theyre dumping them into the United States.

Facts First: There is no evidence for Trumps claim that jails throughout the world are being emptied out so that prisoners can travel to the US as migrants, nor for his claim that foreign leaders are also emptying out mental health facilities for this purpose. Last year, Trumps campaign was unable to provide any evidence for his narrower claim at the time that South American countries in particular were emptying their mental health facilities to somehow dump patients upon the US.

Representatives for two anti-immigration organizations told CNN at the time they had not heard of anything that would corroborate Trumps story, as did three experts at organizations favorable toward immigration. CNNs own search did not produce any evidence. The website FactCheck.org also found nothing.

In response to CNNs 2023 inquiry, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung cited one source for Trumps claim about prisons being emptied for migration purposes  a 2022 article from right-wing website Breitbart News about a supposed federal intelligence report warning Border Patrol agents that Venezuela had done this. But that vague and unverified claim about Venezuelas actions has never been corroborated.

Even if Venezuela in particular had indeed freed prisoners to allow people to try to migrate to the US, that would be insufficient proof for Trumps current claim that countries throughout the world are doing so. And a second article that Cheung cited at the time, about Mexicos president having freed 2,685 prisoners, was not about migration at all; that article simply explained that the president had freed them as part of an effort to free those who have not committed serious crimes or were being held unjustly.

CNN reached out to Cheung again after Trumps speech on Thursday and will update this item with any relevant comment.

Another inaccurate number about the border wall

Returning to one of his regular exaggerations, Trump claimed that we built 571 miles of border wall during his presidency.

Facts First: Trumps 571 miles claim is false, an even greater exaggeration than the inaccurate 561 miles and over 500 miles claims he has made at other points of his campaign. An official report by US Customs and Border Protection, written two days after Trump left office and subsequently obtained by CNNs Priscilla Alvarez, said the total number built under Trump was 458 miles  including both wall built where no barriers had existed before and wall built to replace previous barriers. Trump has sometimes put the figure, more correctly, at nearly 500 miles.

Fifty-two of the 458 miles built under Trump was primary wall that was built in parts of the border where no barriers previously existed. The rest was 33 miles of secondary wall that was built in spots where no barriers previously existed, plus 373 miles of primary and secondary wall that was built to replace previous barriers the federal government says had become dilapidated and/or outdated.

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Claim:

During a speech at CPAC 2024, former president Donald Trump referred to his wife Melania by the name Mercedes.

Rating:

Rating: False

Ever since former president Donald Trump's took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 24, 2024, his critics ranging from late-night television hosts to President Joe Biden claimed a short clip from his appearance showed him referring to his wife Melania as "Mercedes." CPAC is an influential meeting of American conservatives presently aligned with Trump.

In a Feb. 29, 2024 post on X (formerly Twitter), for example, the president shared the in-question clip and another piece of footage showing Trump denying the assertion that he had forgotten his wife's name. "Check the tape," Biden tweeted.

Snopes checked the (full) tape. These claims are false, because they omit obvious context indicating that the former president was referring to a Mercedes Schlapp. Among other connections, Schlapp served in the Trump Administration as White House director of strategic communications.

The American Conservative Union, which runs CPAC, is chaired by her husband, Matt Schlapp. At the beginning of the speech, Trump thanked both of them, looking to his far left as he did so:

This indicates that Mercedes Schlapp was in attendance and likely seated in that general direction during Trump's speech. Other views of the conference room during his remarks indicate that some sort of VIP area may have been placed in the general direction of Trump's gaze:

The Schlapps were not the only people acknowledged by Trump. Much of the introductory portion of his one-and-a-half-hour speech was dedicated to recognizing people of note in attendance. Trump frequently looked to the people gathered in that area to his left, commenting to them when a name he mentioned got a notably receptive response from the crowd.

Trump did not acknowledge Melania in this portion of the speech. Along with a lack of photos of her at the event, this suggests she did not accompany the former president to CPAC. Trump's first reference to the former first lady occurred midway through the speech. Melania's name interrupted a story denigrating President Joe Biden's cognitive abilities:

[Biden] trips over the machinery and [...] if there's a wall behind him, he ends up walking into the wall []. [The U.S. Secret Service] will run up and grab him and take him off the stage. This is what we have as our president. But the worst thing is when I do that the fake news I call up my wife, our great first lady. She was a great. People love her. People love her

The crowd applauded and rose to give a standing ovation. Following that, Trump looked in the same direction as earlier, remarking  once again  about the notably receptive response. This time, he directed his comment to Mercedes. "Oh, look at that," he said. "Wow, Mercedes, that's pretty good."

This crucial context is omitted when presented as evidence of Trump supposedly forgetting the name of his wife. It is clear, given the context of his introductory remarks, that Trump is referring to the same Mercedes as earlier in the speech.

Because viral and comedic claims that Trump referred to his wife as Mercedes during Trump's 2024 CPAC speech omit the crucial context that he was referring to Mercedes Schlapp, the claim is "False."

Sources:

Haberman, Maggie, and Annie Karni. "Mercedes Schlapp Leaving White House Press Office to Join Trump Campaign." The New York Times, 1 July 2019. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/us/politics/mercedes-schlapp-trump-campaign.html.

LIVE: President Donald Trump Speech at CPAC 2024 | NEWSMAX2. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoXKP55cC9Y. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

"Trump Calls Himself a 'proud Political Dissident' in CPAC Speech." AP News, 24 Feb. 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-cpac-vindication-judgment-day-2c73c0e64ff5b25afd2e3b09fd75204a.

Williamson, Elizabeth. "Meet the Schlapps, Washington's Trump-Era 'It Couple.'" The New York Times, 30 Apr. 2018. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/us/politics/schlapp-trump.html.
Claim:

One hundred migrants attacked security officers at a Home Depot store in Chicago in early 2024.

Rating:

Rating: False

On Feb. 20, 2024, X user @SubxNews posted (archived) a video of a purported Chicago Police Department dispatch audio recording that said 100 migrants had attacked security guards at a Home Depot store. According to the post, the incident occurred on the same day around 2:00 p.m. local time at 200 W. 87th St. in Chicago, Illinois. The store is labeled "Dan Ryan #1914" on the official Home Depot website.

The next day, TikTok user @Worldhervoice shared (archived) the same audio recording with the caption, "MEDIA SILENT. SHOCK REPORT: 911 call reveals over 100 MIGRANTS attacking security officers at Chicago Home Depot." As of this writing, this TikTok video had received more than 778,000 views.

In the days that followed, other online users virally shared the same audio recording, with some of them saying that the news media had been "silent." At least one user reported not understanding why "no one cares" about the purported massive assault on security guards at the store.

Despite all this, the truth is that the incident was a hoax. A manager on duty for the Home Depot store where the attack purportedly occurred told Snopes by phone that the story was nothing more than a "rumor." Further, a spokesperson for the office of communications for the Chicago Police Department confirmed by email that there was a call for service placed, but said they were not notified by any responding officers and no report was generated in their system. Snopes also reached out to Home Depot's corporate office for further comment but had not yet receive a response at the time of publication.

Here's just how viral this rumor was: Multiple users on Facebook discussed the purported incident. Instagram user @chicagoghetto3 (archived) reposted the TikTok video from @worldhervoice. On X, the claim was posted by the prominent accounts @ChuckCallesto (archived), @WallStreetApes (archived) and others. YouTube users Starkey Farmstead, JLR INVESTIGATES!, Route Rethinker, Gpac from chiraq 87 and Rising Crime News also shared the same rumor, as did other users on TikTok. Additionally, we found the story being reposted on LinkedIn (archived), by MJTruth on Rumble (archived), on the bodybuilding.com forums, on BitChute.com and on Reddit's r/walkaway subreddit (archived).

It's unclear if the police dispatch audio recording was authentic. The post from X user @SubxNews claimed that the audio was broadcast just after 2:04 p.m. local time. The post even included a link to listen to archived police dispatch clips. However, no matching clip existed on the date and time mentioned by this user.

In one other development pertaining to this rumor, on Feb. 27, a YouTube user named Ford Boss Me said in a new video that he had deleted his original video (one that Snopes did not review) and wanted to correct the record  something that the vast majority of the users who shared the false report did not responsibly do. In his new video, he said he believed the police dispatch audio recording had been generated by AI and that it wasn't real. He also told subscribers that he would be looking to improve the way he reports news in the future.

"From now on, if it's not coming from a major news source or something like that where they have verified data, then I will not be reporting on it anymore, because I feel bad about just reporting on that," the user said. "I deleted it. It had like 140,000 views, that video. And I deleted it. Because I felt bad. It's not a true story."

For further reading on the subject of illegal immigration ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, we previously reported that it was true that, as of January 2024, there had been more than 7.2 million reported migrant encounters with border officials at the U.S.-Mexico border during President Joe Biden's administration, a number that was higher than the individual populations of 36 states.

Sources:

"CPD Citywide 1." CrimeIsDown.com, https://crimeisdown.com/.

Manager On Duty, Home Depot, Dan Ryan #1914. Phone Call, 1 Mar. 2024.

Office of Communications for Chicago Police Department. Email Message, 1 Mar. 2024.

"The Home Depot Dan Ryan Store in Chicago, IL 60620." The Home Depot, https://www.homedepot.com/l/Dan-Ryan/IL/Chicago/60620/1914.
(Reuters) - At least 44 people died and 22 were critically injured in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka after a massive blaze broke out in a biryani restaurant to rage through a six-storey building.

Hundreds of people have been killed in similar fires or other accidents in buildings servicing the booming domestic industrial and commercial sectors where adequate safety measures can sometimes be neglected.

Here are some of the major incidents of recent years:

June 2022: More than 40 people were killed and 200 injured after a fire broke out in a depot near the southern port city of Chittagong, in a blaze fire officials said could have been caused by a container of hydrogen peroxide as safety regulations were not followed.

July 2021: A fire killed at least 52 people in a food processing factory outside Dhaka that officials said was built without permission and lacked safety measures.

Feb. 2019: A fire killed at least 70 people in a building in old Dhaka with shops and a plastics warehouse on its two lower floors and homes on the three floors above that officials blamed on illegally stored inflammable chemicals.

Sept. 2016: At least 33 people were killed in a fire at a food and cigarette packaging plant in Dhaka, which officials said was probably triggered by a gas line leak and a boiler explosion.

Aug. 2016: More than 100 people were taken ill after inhaling gas that leaked from a fertilizer factory in Chittagong.

April 2013: At least 1,136 people died and hundreds were injured in the country's worst industrial accident, when an eight-storey building near Dhaka home to five garment factories collapsed.

Nov. 2012: A fire at a garment factory in Dhaka that supplied global brands killed 112 workers and injured more than 150. Officials said the blaze was caused by a short circuit.

(Compiled by Sakshi Dayal)
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  Residents of a Fresno community say they have been left to take matters into their own hands after they say a dumpsite in Calwa is being consistently ignored by Fresno County officials.

They say Fresno County has yet to address what is now a reoccurring issue for residents.

Why industrialization in south Fresno is a larger problem

The residents group Friends of Calwa say two alleys located near 10th and 11th Streets at Kaviland Avenue in Calwa have been used as dumpsites since 2020. The community has reported the issue to both code enforcement and their Fresno County Supervisor Sal Quinteros office over the years  but so far no action has been taken.

We called him [Tuesday], talked to his assistant. His assistant told us there was nothing straight out told us there was nothing that they could do for us with the alleys because there were no funds to do anything with the alleys, said Executive Director of Friends of Calwa Laura Moreno.

Courtesy of Laura Moreno

Courtesy of Laura Moreno

Courtesy of Laura Moreno



Courtesy of Laura Moreno

Courtesy of Laura Moreno

Moreno says the alleys are full of random junk: couches, refrigerators, car parts, and more. Moreno adds that a pile in one of the alleys caught fire and burned the back of a residents fence.

I just sent the report of this fire that happened in the same place. I have told [code enforcement]its going to cause a big fire, she said.

In response to what they say is a lack of effort from local government officials, Friends of Calwa will be working to figure out how to deal with the issue on their own.

These people deserve more than what they are getting from our government. Were asking for some help on some alleys and they cant? I feel like theyve failed us, they cant even help us with that. We have taxpayers who pay. Where is the money going? Moreno said. What can we do as a community if we cant get Sal Quinteros office, we cant get code enforcements help?

She says that while the idea of cleaning up the alleys on their own seems like a feasible solution, that all takes time and money which is not always readily available to a residents group like Friends of Calwa.

Were trying to figure out some other ways of maybe doing more community clean-ups, but again that takes money were a small little nonprofit, Moreno said. We can keep doing clean-ups and keep cleaning it up but if we dont get the source of the problem then its going to be four years later and its not going to be taken care of.

Having grown up in Calwa, Moreno says she has been around long enough to notice this ongoing lack of attention and resources provided to the community.

They only think of Calwa as industrial, industrial Thats not what were about. We have a community here still. We have an elementary school here. Its about time they start investing some more money into Calwa, she said.

Even if there is nothing that can be done, the residents believe the least Fresno County could do is address the community they serve.

Come out here and let them know You know what we have no funds to do that, youre going to have to do this as a community something. Dont leave the community hanging, Moreno said. If theres something that were doing or we can do, at least come and talk to your community and explain to them.

YourCentralValley reached out to Fresno County Supervisor Sal Quniteros office on Tuesday for a written statement in response to the accusations. On Thursday morning, Supervisor Sal Quinteros office responded that there historically is no ongoing funding for alleys and is working with Fresno Countys CAO (County Administrative Office) to identify funding for another clean-up. Four hours later, a further statement established that some monies have been found for a clean-up  but when that clean-up will take place has yet to be finalized.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
A Fairborn man is dead after being shot in Scioto County in February, a spokesperson from the Scioto County Sheriffs Office confirmed.

46-year-old Joseph Morris, of Fairborn, died on Feb. 22.

>> Local man shot in southern Ohio; daughters ex-boyfriend arrested

On Feb. 17, Morris was allegedly shot by his daughters ex-boyfriend, John Moore, according to a previous News Center 7 report.

Morris was taken to Southern Ohio Medical Center and flown to Grant Trauma Center in Columbus.

Moore was initially arrested by the Scioto County Sheriffs Office and charged with attempted murder and felonious assault.

Following Morris death, Moores charges were upgraded, the spokesperson said.

Moore is now charged with aggravated murder, two counts of murder, felonious assault, and weapons under disability, the spokesperson said.

We will continue to follow this story.








FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now)  Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) middle school students might get a bit more shuteye on school nights in the coming years.

The Fairfax County School Board hired a consultant firm to explore options to push back school start times. Currently, middle schools in the district begin classes at 7:30 a.m.

Prismatic Services Inc. will study possibilities over the next 10 months before presenting options to the school board in January 2025. The firm explored a similar effort for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

Fairfax Connector service suspension remains through the week, hurting riders

Middle schoolers are not the same as elementary students. They are going through biological changes and that includes changes to their preferred and most beneficial sleep patterns, Prismatic Services Inc. consultant Tatia Prieto told the board during its Feb. 22 meeting.

The research that has come out of it is performance in academics, she said. We have documented research that shows later school start time can be equivalent to a couple months of education, are we doing the right thing if we dont make the change?

Stephanie Lundquist Arora, a FCPS mother, has a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary schooler. Many nights, her son in middle school has late sporting events which does not allow him to head to bed until after 10 p.m. Then, he must be at the bus stop by 6:40 a.m., leaving too little time for a good night of sleep.

Person in custody after Fairfax County bank robbery

We are hopeful with my third son and responsible budgetary allocations, that hell be able to start school a little bit later. Just a little bit longer for sleeping, Lundquist Arora said.

For parents with multiple children at different schools, staggered start times mean parents are spending a large amount of their morning sending their children off to school. For Lunquist Arora, bus stop drop off begins at 6:40 a.m., and lasts until after 9 a.m., when her youngest child heads off to school.

A change in a students start time also impacts transportation services, which will be one of the key factors explored by Prismatic Services Inc. It will analyze the divisions school bus program demands along with how a change would impact special programs and after-school activities.

Arlington County first responders urge board to increase funding

Prieto told the board that the Anne Arundel school district in Maryland has more after-school offerings for middle schoolers than FCPS does, and a later bell schedule was feasible without a negative impact on programs.

Prismatic Services Inc., will also explore how a change might impact teachers with personal obligations, such as picking children up from daycare and schedules for crossing guards.

After the group makes a recommendation, the earliest the start time changes would be implemented is by the 2025-2026 school year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  Several religious groups gathered at the Texas Capitol Thursday in opposition of a new law created by Senate Bill 763 that passed last year, which allows school districts to hire chaplains as staff members.

Read more: Texas passes bill to let unlicensed chaplains serve as counselors in schools

The groups also said they were gathering to celebrate the large number of Texas school districts that chose not to create those problematic school chaplain programs. They also said such programs violate the religious freedom rights of students and families.

Senate Bill 763 took effect on Sept. 1. The new law required districts to vote on whether or not to create chaplaincy programs by Feb. 29. To mark the deadline, groups including Texas Impact, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Interfaith Alliance, ADL, and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism gathered at the Capitol and held a press conference.

More than 100 Texas chaplains issued a letter in August urging school board members in the state to keep chaplains out of public schools.

The letter, organized by the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Interfaith Alliance and Texas Impact, asked school board members to reject the opportunity to recruit government-approved chaplains to public schools to provide support, services, and programs for students.

Harmful to public schools: Over 100 Texas chaplains issue letter of opposition to school chaplain bill

The chaplains who signed the letter last year said the chaplaincy programs are an affront to the religious freedom rights of students and parents as well as church-state separation, and the programs would take funding away from trained mental health professionals who are better equipped to serve students.

They also expressed alarm the law doesnt require chaplains to refrain from proselytizing  or attempting to convert someone from another religion  while at schools.

Democratic state Rep. James Talarico was at the conference. He said the pushback from the districts is a good sign.

We are protecting our students and protecting our religious liberties, at the local level, across the state of Texas, Talarico said. But, we have to acknowledge that this is a growing movement.

According to the groups, similar policies are being considered by other state legislatures: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma and Utah.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
The man who infamously shot a 20-year-old woman dead after an SUV mistakenly pulled into the driveway of his New York home last year was sentenced Friday to 25 years to life in prisona sentence that came just minutes after his victims family lambasted him as a coward in court.

Kevin Monahan, 65, was convicted in January of second-degree murder for the slaying of Kaylin Gillis, who was shot in the neck in April as she sat in the passenger seat of her boyfriends car.

The killing grabbed national headlines and, as Gillis family and prosecutors pointed out in court Friday, Monahan never publicly showed remorse for the slaying.

Our entire family has been shattered forever, scarred by this tragedy, said the victims father, Andrew Gillis, reported the Albany Times Union. You were deceitful. You hid the truth and you never showed remorse.

The father asked that a judge in Washington County, which is just north of Albany, sentence Monahan to the maximum sentence possible. He got just that.

Dad of 20-Year-Old Shot Dead in New York Driveway Has Fiery Words for Her Accused Killer

During the trial, Monahan testified that he believed he was under siege and facing an invasion from intruders when a Ford Explorer pulled into his driveway. He said that led him to fire a warning shot with his shotgun to start a dialogue, which was followed by an accidental second shot that struck Gillis after he tripped on nails that were protruding from his front deck.

A jury didnt buy that explanation, and he was convicted on Jan. 24.

Gillis boyfriend, Blake Walsh, told NBC News after the slaying that there was no cell service in the area of Monahans home. They were lost, he said, and were backing out of the driveway when the shots were fired.

Walsh said he had to drive five miles in terror as his girlfriend bled out next to him. Once they reached a location with cell service, he said they called 911, but it ultimately proved to be too late for Gillis. A GoFundMe for her family raised nearly $150,000.

Gillis family hosted a press conference days after her death, blasting Monahan for what they described as his indifference to human life. There, her father said said he hoped Monahan dies in jail.

Kaylin Gillis smiles in an undated photo released by her family. GoFundMe

Monahan declined to speak in court Friday ahead of his sentencing. The Times Union reported that a loved one of Gillis called out coward when his attorneys said he wouldnt speak.

Christian Morris, a prosecutor, said Monahan deserved no mercy because he never accepted responsibility for the slaying. Had Monahan acknowledged it, only then should he be in the running for mercy from a judge in sentencing, Morris said.

Reporters at Fridays hearing said the announcement of Monahans sentencing, the maximum, was met with tears and cheers from those attending.

Every person out there needs to know that you cant murder someone because they accidentally pulled into your driveway, Morris said Friday.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The threat of strike action by Border Force guards at Heathrow hangs over families' Easter travel plans - Steve Parsons/PA

Families face the risk of their Easter holiday plans being thrown into chaos as Border Force officers at Heathrow plan to go on strike.

About 600 members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) are being balloted on whether to go on strike from April onwards.

If union members vote for a strike, any industrial action could hit families trying to fly home during the Easter half-term week.

It comes as train companies have scheduled engineering works to be carried out over the holiday, with London Euston planning to close down completely over the weekend.

The PCSU said its members were unhappy about planned changes to rosters and shift patterns, claiming some staff might quit.

Border Force staff went on strike over pay in March 2023 - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Fran Heathcote, the PCSU general secretary, said: Our members at Heathrow are united in their opposition to these draconian plans.

One aspect of the plans would force workers to choose between finding another job or losing their allowances. Another would see others having to sign up to new, exhausting shifts or leaving altogether.

This is an appalling way to treat long-serving, dedicated staff, so its no wonder weve recruited hundreds of members in recent weeks.

The PCSU ballot starts on March 1 and will run until March 22. Under laws regulating trade unions no strike could take place until April 5 at the earliest, potentially causing long queues at passport control in the final week of the Easter half-term holidays.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: Given that this is only a ballot for potential strike action and no such action is confirmed, our advice to customers remains to travel as planned.

Neither British Airways, which counts Heathrow as its home base with hundreds of planes based at the airport, nor the Home Office responded to requests for comment.

More problems for Border Force

The potential strike threatens to pile fresh controversy onto Border Force, which is in charge of running passport gates at Britains airports.

Earlier this week, David Neal, the former chief inspector of borders and immigration, said that protections at Britains borders and airports were neither effective nor efficient.

After inspecting Heathrow, Stansted and Luton airports, he found that border posts were left unmanned, staff were distracted and guidance was ignored.

Mr Neal was sacked earlier this month after accusing the Home Office of burying a series of reports he authored that explained the security risks.

He claimed he was fired for doing my job of unveiling inconvenient truths about the failings of the system.

Heathrow was also affected by strike action in December 2022 - Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

In his annual report, covering April 2022 to March 2023, Mr Neal accused the Home Office of a culture of defensiveness, claiming he had experienced significant pushback while drafting inspection reports, including responses which have gone way beyond just checking factual accuracy.

After inspecting airport e-gates, he said: I believe the protection of the border is neither effective nor efficient.

A Heathrow spokesman said the airport would work closely with Border Force to reduce any disruption caused for passengers if a strike went ahead.

Other airports around the country said they were not expecting the strike threat to spread.

Railway engineering works

The potential Border Force strike comes ahead of other travel disruptions which are set to hit the UK during the Easter bank holiday weekend, with Good Friday falling on March 29 this year.

Network Rail warned that planned engineering work will partially close the West Coast Main Line between the Midlands, north-west England, Scotland and London over that weekend.

Your journey to and from London will be significantly disrupted, the company said.

The train operator Avanti West Coast warned that Euston would be closed between March 29 and April 1, with northbound travellers from London being advised to take LNER trains from London St Pancras instead.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
WASHINGTON  Family members of some of the Americans still held hostage in the Gaza Strip are expected to attend President Joe Bidens State of the Union address next week after receiving an invitation from a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

The families also plan to send a letter to every member of Congress asking them and their staffers to wear yellow ribbons and dog tags to the speech Thursday night in a sign of solidarity for those desperately working each day to bring their loved ones home.

Its a living hell. A living hell from the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed, said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen who plans to attend the event at the Capitol with Sagui's stepmother, Gillian Kaye.

Dekel-Chen and Kaye said they're hopeful their presence will remind Americans of the horrific situation their son and 133 other hostages are dealing with and plead with lawmakers both in the United States and around the world to continue their effort to secure their release.

There really are no words to describe how difficult this is. I feel for my son; I am consumed for his wife and his three little girls who are waiting for him at home and have absolutely no idea what his condition is, Dekel-Chen said.

Dekel-Chen will be attending as a guest of Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and Kaye will be a guest of Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla.

More than a dozen family members are expected to attend as guests of lawmakers in both parties, including Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Ted Budd of North Carolina.

There are thought to be six remaining American hostages in Gaza.

The State of the Union address comes as more congressional Democrats have called for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, with the progressive wing of the party growing louder in its criticisms of Biden over his handling of the conflict that began Oct. 7.

Biden and his administration have been in regular contact with the families of hostages, and some of his top aides have played a key role in the negotiations aimed at bringing them home.

When members of the hostage families are in Washington, they typically meet with senior administration officials at the White House to get an update on the latest status of the talks. Theyve met at least three times this year so far. Another meeting is likely to happen next week since the family members will be in Washington for the State of the Union, a person familiar with the plans said.

Gottheimer has argued that the peace process cannot begin in any meaningful way until the hostages come home.

I do believe that it transcends any political issue or any ideological differences, Gottheimer said. These are Americans who are hostage that were captured by terrorists on Oct. 7. To me, theres nothing clearer than the urgency of getting them home.

Some 1,200 people were killed and around 240 kidnapped on Oct. 7, according to the Israeli government. Since then, the war has killed at least 30,000 people in Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry announced Thursday. Israel has said there are still 134 hostages believed to be in Gaza.

Other guests for Biden's speech include Ronen and Orna Neutra, who say they start every day thinking of their son Omer.

Hes very friendly. Hes the kind of kid that breaks the ice, Orna Neutra said. He has a big smile on his face. Hes very social. And hes  hes a really good kid.

The Neutras, who will attend as guests of Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi of New York, worry that the American publics interest in the plight of the hostages is fading. They hope that a sea of yellow ribbons and the faces of the family members will help serve as a reminder of the cost of the war and the efforts to bring the hostages home.

This has to stay in front of politicians, it has to stay in front of the media, it has to stay in front of the public, Ronen Neutra said. This is one of the biggest stages of the year. We are hopeful that President Biden will mention us and our dear ones in his speech, and I know he cares deeply about the situation.

The Neutras remain hopeful a deal could be struck soon.

We are actually quite optimistic. I think all parties reached a point where they need some deal, Ronen Neutra said. Ultimately, we feel that a deal is somehow imminent.

But to Dekel-Chen, hope still feels foreign. He said that until he physically sees and holds his son again, he will be worried about his fate.

I dont deal in hope. I havent since Oct. 7. I only deal in results, Dekel-Chen said. I would not recommend to anyone getting on the emotional roller coaster of, you know, rumors and hearsay and reports about what might happen. Not at this stage. Not five months into it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
FILE - Kristlyn Wood, a cousin of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, reacts during a vigil in Cunningham's honor, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, in Livingston, Texas. As mourners prepare for the funeral of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston, the community wants answers about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history of violence. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  As mourners prepare for the funeral of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham, who was killed near Houston, the community wants answers about how the suspect in her death was allowed to remain free despite a long criminal history of violence.

Nearly two decades years before Don McDougal was charged with capital murder in Audrii's slaying, he was accused of indecency with a child by climbing into another Texas girl's bed and attempting to undress her. That previous case was pleaded down to a lesser charge of enticing a minor, allowing him to remain off the state sex offender registry, according to Brazoria County documents.

Last year in the county where Audriis family lives, McDougal was accused of a stabbing a man, but authorities said they didn't have enough evidence at the time to arrest him on a charge of aggravated assault.

Now, her family and victim advocates are calling on lawmakers to close the legal loophole that allowed McDougal to stay off the sex offender registry and question what they see as the failure of the criminal justice system to keep Audrii safe.

Wayne Davis, the father of the child McDougal pleaded guilty to enticing in 2008, said the legal system failed my daughter 100% and failed Audrii and who knows how many other children.

The system is not made to protect our kids, Davis said.

McDougal, 42, a family friend, was supposed to be taking Audrii to the school bus stop when she disappeared on Feb. 15. Her body was found in a river Feb. 20, and her funeral is set for Saturday.

In a statement sent earlier this week to KPRC-TV in Houston, Audrii's father and grandmother said the system failed us because, despite McDougal's history of targeting female children, he was not listed in the sex offender registry when they checked before allowing him to stay in a camper on their property in Livingston.

Had we been aware of what we know now, this man would never have set foot on our property, much less been a part of our little girls life, the statement said.

Chad Etheridge, who has been appointed to represent McDougal, did not respond to messages left by phone and email.

Since finding out about the legal loophole, Andy Kahan, director of victim services and advocacy at Crime Stoppers of Houston, has begun a campaign to change state law.

Kahan, whose nonprofit aims to solve and prevent crime in the area, said he is in talks with legislators to add enticing a child, when the crime involves a sexual element, to the list of offenses required to register on the state's sex offender registry. The measure, which would be named after Audrii, has received early support from lawmakers, he said.

We are naming another law after another dead kid," Kahan said. "Thats reality.

State Rep. Trent Ashby, a Republican who represents Livingston, said in a statement that he is committed to making the change during the states next legislative session in 2025.

I am deeply troubled by the notion that a legal loophole may have allowed a monster to carry out such a senseless and wicked act of violence," said Ashby, who is seeking reelection this year.

Mary Sue Molnar, executive director of Texas Voices for Reasons and Justice, a nonprofit that supports people required to register as sex offenders and their families, said she hopes the extent of any proposed law remains limited and doesn't group everybody into the same category.

Molnar said she views McDougal as an isolated case that she has no idea how he slipped through the process and wonders how effective a new law will be if prosecutors continue to allow plea deals for lesser crimes.

The larger question Molnar has in this case is why McDougal was not arrested when first identified by the victim in a stabbing last year.

The lawyer who represents David Stanley, the person stabbed outside his Polk County home last fall, said he is unsure what changed after his client called police to identify McDougal as a suspect in September.

David Feldman said his client was stabbed after going to help a woman who claimed she and a man she was traveling with later identified as McDougal were having car trouble.

In a November audio recording obtained by The Associated Press, Stanley's girlfriend confronts Polk County Sheriff Byron Lyons about why McDougal has not been detained despite being identified by the victim and matching the description.

We messed up and we are trying to get the answers for what happened," Lyons responds to the woman in the recording.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office declined to comment to the AP on the recording, adding that it would not comment on any of McDougal's charges until the cases were tried.

Though Stanley originally misidentified the suspect in his stabbing, he later corrected his statement. Feldman said police did not arrest McDougal then but did so earlier this month after Stanley called police when he identified McDougals photo from seeing coverage of Audriis disappearance.

That is the big question  why is he allegedly believed for the first time on Feb. 16 and not before? Feldman said.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Audrii Cunningham's body was found Feb. 20, not last week.
Police in a New Jersey township who came under fire two years ago after officers handcuffed a Black teen at a local mall have settled a lawsuit with his family, reports say.

ZKye Husain got into an altercation at Bridgewater Commons Mall in February 2022. A viral video obtained by WABC shows Husain in a physical scuffle with another teen  who appeared to have a lighter complexion.

When police responded to the area, two officers from the Bridgewater Township Police Department tackled Husain and placed him in handcuffs, per the footage. The other teen was able to sit on a nearby bench and watch from the sideline.

The family of a teen handcuffed by police following a fight at Bridgewater Commons Mall has reached a settlement with the department two years later. (Photo: CBS New York/Youtube/Screenshot)

The male officer put his knee in my back and then he started putting me in cuffs then the female officer came over and put her knee on my upper back too and started helping him put cuffs on me while he was just sitting down on the couch watching the whole thing, Husain, who was 14 and an 8th grader at the time, told WABC.

Husain said the conflict started when the other teen, a high schooler, started bullying his friend, a 7th grader, according to the report. The video sparked protests and intense backlash from the community, prompting calls for accountability. Black leaders demanded that the officers be relieved from their duties.

The NAACP-NJ State Conference was disappointed today to see still another police action irrefutably showing the disparate treatment of African-Americans in our police institutions. Despite years of talk about bias training and accountability, the video of what happened today in Bridgewater cannot be denied, the civil rights organization said in a statement at the time.

The police department tapped the Somerset County Prosecutors Office to assist with an investigation. Husains family filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that he was discriminated against and subjected to a hostile environment based on his race.

Both parties reportedly settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount. However, according to NJ.com, court documents revealed that the family received just over $150,000.

Officers far too often see our [Black] children as predators, civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a news conference, per the reports. We have visual proof of officers doing these nefarious things and yet nothing happens to them.

Family of Black Teen Seen Handcuffed By Police In Viral Video Has Reached a Settlement with New Jersey Township
ACCOMACK, Va. (WAVY)  The Parksley Volunteer Fire Company responded to an overnight stove fire in Accomack on Thursday.

According to officials, crews were notified of a residential fire on Lilliston Avenue at approximately 9:38 p.m.

Crews arrived to the scene to find heavy black smoke spilling out of the house. The fire was considered extinguished within two and a half hours.

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

Lilliston Ave fire (Courtesy: Parksley Volunteer Fire Company)

An investigation revealed the cause of the fire was due to a stove fire.

No injuries were reported, and the family pet was saved and returned to the owners.

The American Red Cross is assisting the family.

Check with WAVY.com for updates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
A former Obama administration official has warned that famine in Gaza is inevitable unless president Joe Biden immediately changes course and applies pressure on Israel to open the territory to all aid deliveries.

Jeremy Konyndyk, who led USAIDs Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for three years and worked on famine prevention in Yemen and South Sudan, said the only way to avoid famine would be for Israel to allow complete access for aid organisations to enter Gaza, which it has been unwilling to do.

Just based on the other circumstances where Ive worked on famine relief operations, its very hard for me to see how you could avert famine now, he told The Independent. With the humanitarian footprint that currently exists, you would need a total change. You would need complete access through the territory. You would need a level of security that is hard to envision without a ceasefire.

He said the US is the only country with the leverage to pressure Israel to open up the territory to aid deliveries, due to it being one of its closest allies and the recipient the billions of dollars of US military aid each year.

In an opinion piece published on Friday in Foreign Affairs, Mr Konyndyk urged Mr Biden to act now to make famine prevention a top priority and be prepared to deploy meaningful U.S. leverageincluding pausing arms salesif the Israeli government does not comply.

The decision to use leverage lies with the president, and he has been very clear he will not use it, Mr Konyndyk, who is now president of Refugees International, told The Independent.

But he added that he was unsure if even a famine in Gaza would prompt Mr Biden to use that leverage.

I used to think there was a line, or hope there was a line, and I have a harder time discerning what that line would be at this point, Mr Konyndyk said. I would hope that famine would be the line, it should be.

What worries me is that [Israeli] prime minister Netanyahu proceeds on the assumption there are no lines. Every time the [Biden] administration has issued warnings to him, both publicly and much more forcefully in private, about things he should not do, he goes ahead and does them. And there has been no consequence and no shift in US policy as a result, he added.

The United Nations warned this week that some 576,000 people, or one quarter of Gazas population, are one step away from famine. It has also accused Israel of  systematically  blocking aid deliveries into Gaza and of opening fire on convoys that do make it through.

Israel has repeatedly denied blocking aid deliveries and instead blamed humanitarian groups inside Gaza and chaotic scenes around aid convoys for the bottleneck.

The US has repeatedly said it has been working behind the scenes to convince Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, but the UN said that 80 per cent of aid deliveries destined for northern Gaza were blocked by the Israeli army in January . Gazas health ministry said on Wednesday that six children have died from dehydration and malnutrition in recent days .

The desperation situation inside Gaza was highlighted this week when 100 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd that was scrambling to collect aid from food trucks near Gaza City. The Israeli army said its forces had fired at those who posed a threat after some civilians rushed towards the trucks.

When asked his reaction to the killings, Mr Biden said on Thursday: Were checking that out right now. But two  theres two competing versions of what happened. I dont have an answer yet.

After being unable to deliver life-saving aid on the ground, the US is now said to be considering airdropping aid into Gaza.

Mr Konyndyk described airdrops as the most expensive and least effective way to get aid to a population. We almost never did it because it is such an in extremis tool.

I imagine there are some very frustrated people inside the US government right now that theyre having to even entertain doing this because it just reflects such a failure of US humanitarian diplomacy with Israel, he said.
SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  Students who live in Tijuana but attend school in San Diego now have access to a fast lane that allows them to cross the border much faster in the morning.

This expedited access will only be available between 6 and 10 a.m. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramirez said the pilot program will include passes for the first 500 students who sign up and pay a fee of 800 pesos, or about $47.

We hope this is a benefit for many young people who suffer daily at times when having to get in line by two in the morning, she said.

To sign up for the pass, U.S.-born students must have a valid birth certificate issued in the U.S., proof of residency in Tijuana, student I.D. and official transcripts from their schools.

Students born in Mexico must have F1 and M1 student visas.

Caballero was asked about the likelihood of forged or altered passes.

Citizens are also capable of corruption, but were appealing to them to be honest, Caballero said. This is public policy aimed at helping many families, parents who have to get up early in the morning to cross the border into the United States, its a big sacrifice for many.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

The mayor said with the pass, students should be able to cross the border in 20 to 30 minutes instead of having to wait in line for up to three hours each morning.

While applauding the program, the Smart Border Coalition says most Tijuana students will be left out considering 10,000 cross the border daily.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Jorge Barahona, jailed for the past 13 years for one of the most heinous acts of child abuse in South Florida memory, will not have to stand trial  for an undetermined amount of time  a judge ruled Friday.

At the end of a brief hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Andrea Wolfson accepted the conclusion of two of three court-appointed doctors who determined Barahona, 53, was not competent to stand trial. She ordered him committed to the states Department of Children & Families.

Hes incompetent to proceed, said the judge.

What that means, at least for Barahonas immediate future, wasnt exactly clear.

Typically, criminal defendants determined to be incompetent are sent for treatment by DCF, which operates six state psychiatric hospitals across the state, including South Florida State Hospital in Pembroke Pines. Florida law requires that DCF take custody within 15 days.

Currently, however, the psychiatric hospitals are packed full, with about 450 Floridians deemed too mentally ill or insane to stand trial, waiting on beds. That leaves most criminal defendants forced to wait in jail, often with a lack of meaningful treatment, for weeks or months.

Once Barahona, 56, is in DCF custody, mental health professionals will begin the process of restoring him to competence. If that can be done, Barahona would then be returned to the Miami-Dade County Jail for trial.

The judges decision could lead to several different outcomes, according to legal experts. Once hes found competent, he could argue he was insane when the crimes were committed. Or, if a judge ultimately determines Barahona to be unrestorable, the charges could be dropped and he could ultimately be set free.

Barahonas attorney, Carmen Vizcaino, had not returned phone calls by early afternoon Friday. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle issued a written statement saying she regrets the horrific case is delayed, yet again.

The psychologists opinions that he cannot assist his new attorney in mounting his own legal defense is frustrating to all, the state attorney said. Hopefully, he will be found to be competent to stand trial soon, and this case will finally move forward providing justice for Nubia and her twin brother Victor.

Notorious murder

Very few people currently jailed have spent more time behind bars in Miami-Dade than Jorge Barahona, whos been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and several counts of aggravated child neglect against his adopted twin children. Also charged with the same offenses was his wife, Carmen Barahona.

On Valentines Day in 2011, police found 10-year-old Nubi Barahona dead, wrapped in a plastic bag and covered with chemicals and decomposing in the bed of a pick-up truck on the side of I-95 in West Palm Beach. She had been dead for three days. Her twin brother, Victor, was in the trucks cab suffering seizures from chemical burns. Beside him, suffering a similar fate, was Jorge Barahona. Victor lived.

Investigators ultimately determined the twins had been beaten and tortured repeatedly in the familys Westchester home. Prosecutors also believe they were starved and often tied up in the bathtub for long periods of time with the door locked.

The case also rocked the states child welfare agency, which allowed the adoption of the twins and then overlooked repeated allegations of abuse. A court-appointed guardian told investigators the Barahonas barred him from entering the home on official welfare visits.

Trial was delayed for years as lawyers who took hundreds of depositions came and went for various reasons. Then, just as the COVID pandemic hit in February 2020, Carmen Barahona pleaded guilty and accepted a life sentence in exchange for the state dropping its ultimate punishment as death. Trial was further delayed by COVID.
The family of a murder victim said a father and his daughter teamed up to shoot the womans boyfriend to death at an apartment complex in Lithonia earlier this week.

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Police responded to reports of a man shot to death at an apartment complex on Wednesday. Another man went to the hospital with a gunshot wound.

TRENDING STORIES:

Family has identified the victim as 25-year-old Treyvon Vallery.

They told Channel 2s Audrey Washington that Vallery and his girlfriend, Nina Shaw, 25, got into an argument at the apartment. Shaw called her father, Royricas Shaw, to the apartment.

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When Royricas Shaw arrived, he and Vallery started arguing. Royricas Shaw shot at Vallery and missed.

Vallery then shot back and hit Royricas Shaw in the hip. Nina Shaw then shot and killed Vallery.

Both Nina Shaw and Royricas Shaw have been charged with malice murder.

Family and friends of Vallery are holding a vigil Friday night at Rhodes Jordan Park.

IN OTHER NEWS:
FBI agents on Thursday were seen raiding the Bronx home of a top adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Records show the Pelham Bay property is owned by Winnie Greco, a longtime fundraiser for Adams who has served as a special adviser and director of Asian Affairs since he took office two years ago.

The reason for the raid wasn't immediately clear. It comes amid a federal probe related to political fundraising during Adams' 2021 campaign.

A spokesperson for the FBI Field office confirmed to Fox News Digital that law enforcement officers carried out the raid at 1447 Gillespie Avenue.

NYC COUNCIL REACTS TO CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITY STATUS TO BE DITCHED AFTER WAVE OF ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRIMES

FBI agents seen leaving the Bronx home of Winnie Greco.

The citys Department of Investigation opened an inquiry into Greco last November, following a report from The City, a local news site, that raised questions about her political fundraising and whether she used her position in the administration to obtain personal benefits, including free housework from a city employee.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Greco was placed on administrative leave Thursday, according to a City Hall spokesperson.

MIGRANT CRIME FORCING DRAMATIC POLITICAL SHIFT AS NYC MAYOR CALLS FOR SANCTUARY LAW CHANGES: BENSON

The federal investigation into campaign fundraising emerged in November after the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams. Four days later, agents quietly seized the mayor's cellphones and an iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan.

The probe is believed to be focused, at least in part, on whether the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources, funneled through straw donors, according to a warrant reported on by The New York Times.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has blamed his political troubles on race, saying that recent attacks on him are down to his administration being made up of people of color.

Adams has repeatedly deflected questions about the investigation while stressing that he has not officially been accused of wrongdoing.

"Our administration will always follow the law, and we always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines," a spokesperson for the mayor told Fox News Digital in a statement Thursday. "As we have repeatedly said, we don't comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway."

There was no immediate response to a voicemail seeking comment left at a phone number listed as Greco's.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: FBI agents spotted raiding home of top aide to NYC Mayor Eric Adams
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11)  The New York Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information in a Queens kidnapping case, the agency announced on Friday.

Ruhel Choudhury, 34, is wanted for his alleged involvement in two kidnappings that happened on March 27, 2023, and May 11, 2023, authorities said. Choudhury, with other suspects, allegedly abducted the victims off the street and then robbed, tortured, and drugged them, authorities report.

More Queens News

Choudhury allegedly drove the cars used to trap and transport the victims to several locations in Queens during the kidnappings, authorities said. Hes also accused of assaulting and threatening the victims.

One victim was held for ransom and sexually assaulted, authorities said.

A federal warrant was issued for Choudhurys arrest on Jan. 9, 2024, after he was charged with two counts of kidnapping and kidnapping conspiracy. The FBI warned that Choudhury is armed and considered dangerous.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
NEW YORK  The FBI carried out court-authorized law enforcement activity on Thursday at the Bronx address of Mayor Adams aide Winnie Greco, a law enforcement source confirmed to the New York Daily News.

Greco, Adams director of Asian Affairs, is already the subject of a city Department of Investigation probe examining whether she attempted to milk perks out of her government job, but it was not immediately clear if the FBIs raid Thursday is related to that investigation.

The law enforcement source who spoke to the Daily News declined to comment when asked if a search warrant had been executed at Grecos address.

The raid at Gillespie Avenue, first reported by News12 The Bronx, involved blocking off a Bronx intersection and multiple government vehicles and agents, according to that outlet. Video posted by Fox News showed federal agents entering the Pelham Bay premises repeatedly.

Late last year, the news outlet The City first reported Greco was being probed by the city's Department of Investigation based on a referral from the mayors office, but a DOI spokesperson would not divulge what that investigations focus was at the time. A spokesperson for that agency also declined comment Thursday.

The DOI probe came on the heels of The Citys reporting that Greco asked a volunteer for Adams 2021 mayoral campaign to renovate her Bronx home for free before getting a job in the Adams administration.

That outlet also reported that after that campaign volunteer was hired by the city, Greco continued to demand he perform work on her home while on the citys time.

When asked about the feds activity at Grecos address, Adams spokesman Fabien Levy said that our administration will always follow the law.

We always expect all our employees to adhere to the strictest ethical guidelines. As we have repeatedly said, we dont comment on matters that are under review, but will fully cooperate with any review underway, Levy added. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Property records show Greco bought the one-family home in Pelham Bay for $850,000 this past Oct. 16. She holds a $680,000 mortgage on the property, records show.

Greco reportedly earns $100,000 annually in her city job.

In paperwork for the mortgage, Greco identified herself as residing at another one-family home just across the street from her other property. Property records show Greco owns the property with Nickolas Greco, her husband.

Its unclear which of the two buildings Greco permanently resides in.

The feds interest in Greco comes as the mayor himself faces a federal probe into his ties to Turkey. As part of that investigation, the FBI raided the homes of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and City Hall staffer Rana Abbasova. The FBI also seized the mayors electronic devices as part of their investigation.

Its unclear whether the raid in the Bronx is tied to that probe into foreign involvement in local politics.

Records show that Greco likely had her own connections to a foreign government.

It first emerged last year that Greco served as a consultant to multiple local Chinese interest groups that receive funding from Beijings Communist government. And in a previously unknown wrinkle, Greco also identified herself in a 2014 letter reviewed by the Daily News as the CEO of the New York Sino Agricultural Organization, a Chinese investment group.

Under Grecos leadership, the Sino organization was in talks in the mid-2010s with the upstate municipality of Warwick about purchasing the shuttered Mid-Orange Correctional Facility in hopes of turning it into a agricultural education center, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Supreme Court in 2021.

In 2013, Warwick Town Supervisor Mike Sweeton told the Times Herald-Record that the Chinese government was actually behind the bid to buy the old prison. Citing Sweeton, the local newspaper reported at the time that Chinas government was hoping to turn the closed prison into an agricultural university or a vocational school, where they can learn about American agricultural technology.

Sinos bid to buy the old prison ultimately never came to fruition.

An Adams administration official confirmed that Greco has been placed on leave, but would not say whether or not shes still drawing a salary while away from her post. The official noted that the mayors office hasnt been contacted by either the FBI or federal prosecutors about the matter.

_____
[Source]

FBI agents conducted searches at two residences belonging to Winnie Greco, a longtime associate of New York Mayor Eric Adams.

About the raid: The morning raids took place at two of Grecos Bronx properties, which are located on the same block, at around 6 a.m. on Thursday. Although the purpose of the searches were not revealed, they are reportedly part of an investigation in collaboration with prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, known for cases related to alleged Chinese government activities in the U.S. involving diaspora control.

About Greco: Winnie Greco, a former fundraiser for Adams who now serves as his director of Asian affairs, was placed on leave on Thursday. The raids follow an ongoing investigation into allegations that Greco sought improper benefits from her position, such as demanding free renovations on her home from a city employee, with the city's Department of Investigation previously opening the probe in November.

Alleged ties to CCP: Greco was previously alleged to be a long-time "consultant" of Chinese Communist Party-backed organizations, including the Dong Guan Association of America and the Fujian Daily Southeast Network. Her company also allegedly received money from the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the CCP, the New York Post reported in September 2023. However, Adams has dismissed allegations and maintains that Greco is a dedicated public servant who has worked to build relationships between his administration and the Asian community in New York. He labeled such insinuations as "fear-mongering" and unfounded, emphasizing her commitment to the administration and the city's residents.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

Mayors statement: Adams has deflected inquiries about the ongoing investigation, emphasizing that he has not faced any formal accusations of wrongdoing. Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the mayor noted the administration's commitment to legal compliance and ethical standards, stating they do not comment on matters under review but will fully cooperate with any ongoing investigations.

Not the first: The recent searches follow previous federal raids on associates of Adams as part of a corruption investigation. In November, the FBI also raided the homes of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova, who worked in the mayor's international affairs office. Greco is the third aide to Adams to have her home targeted by federal agents. The ongoing investigation is reportedly examining potential conspiracies involving Adams' campaign and the Turkish government for allegedly receiving illegal campaign contributions through straw donors.

Trending on NextShark: Asian restaurant slams influencer's request for free meal in exchange for exposure

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Lidia holds passport photos of her daughter, Juliva, who disappeared in July of 2014, while on her way to the Public University of El Alto.

A man in a suit. A boy in a cap and shorts. A man in overalls. An elderly man. Two young men in jeans. Another with a tie, briefcase still in hand. One after another, in less than a minute  the time it takes for the traffic light to change  18 men enter a building with a red facade.

This is the 12 de Octubre district of the Bolivian city of El Alto. A guard stands at the door. Inside, there are wall-mounted urinals right near the front, where visitors can make a brief stop. What lies beyond the bathrooms cannot be seen, but everyone knows whats there: rooms where pimps are engaged in the prostitution of (mainly) women and girls.

On a Monday afternoon, the red light district is already filled with prostitutes, no matter where you look. From Thursday to Sunday, there are even more people, explains a worker from the Munasim Kullakita Foundation  which means I love you, little sister, in Aymara, a major Indigenous language  a Bolivian NGO that combats human-trafficking and the commercialized sexual exploitation of minors.

Lidia, the mother of a missing woman, on one of the streets in the 12 de Octubre district of El Alto, an area full of so-called accommodations that are often used for prostitution. MANUEL SEOANE

Prostitution  when carried out voluntarily by people of legal age  isnt a crime in Bolivia. However, the activity of prostituting another person for profit  otherwise known as pimping  is. Queen criticizes this concept of voluntary prostitution, because it ignores the vulnerability of the person who engages in this activity. The conditioning serves, in practice, to protect it. For this reason, organizations like hers focus on whats clearly illegal: sexual exploitation of minors for profit. Consent never exists in these cases, she points out.

Its a [widespread] phenomenon and theres a lot of ignorance surrounding it, both about its dynamics and the spaces in which it develops, says Nancy Ale, coordinator of the Protejeres-Tejiendo Redes Seguras (weaving safe networks) program for the prevention of sexual violence against minors. It was developed by the NGO Educo, alongside the Munasim Kullakita Foundation and other organizations. Sexual exploitation can materialize in the form of human-trafficking, pimping, commercial sexual violence, or pornography, Ale adds.

In the cities of El Alto and La Paz, the walls of train stations, buses and the airport are covered with posters that show faces of missing people. There are also screens, where images and information of missing women and girls are displayed. Their families continue to search for them.

A digital billboard displays missing person announcements at the La Paz Bus Terminal. Manuel Seoane

The lack of data complicates the ability to determine how this violence comes about. According to the latest figures from the government of Bolivia, in 2022, there were 711 complaints filed regarding human-trafficking and related crimes (including child pornography, pimping and commercial sexual exploitation), in which 23% of the victims were minors. All the experts consulted emphasize that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg: its not known exactly, for example, how many girls and women are still missing, or how many minors are exploited without their families coming forward to report abuse.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Government, in 2023 alone, the disappearance of 3,409 people was reported. Of these, 485 remain missing, as confirmed in a telephone interview by Carola Arraya, general director of Bolivias Office Against Human Trafficking. Meanwhile, a 2019 investigation by the Munasim Kullakita Foundation identified 338 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of minors that year.

She probably went off with her boyfriend

Much of the discourse  even from the authorities  [claims] that 15-year-old girls work [as prostitutes] because they want to, Ale laments. This misogynistic prejudice affects the lack of investigation, because its common, she explains, that  when a young woman disappears  a police officer will say, she probably went off with her boyfriend.

Ricardo rescued his 16-year-old daughter from a brothel in the city of Santa Cruz  in an area similar to the 12 de Octubre district of El Alto  two weeks after her disappearance. The girl  deceived by a friend  was kidnapped in La Paz, held prisoner for several days and finally transferred to the economic capital of the country, according to the testimony that EL PAIS has had access to. They found her drugged, but they were able to save her thanks to a police operation, says a person close to the victim.

Lidia, however, wasnt so fortunate. Her daughter, Juliva, left home on July 10, 2014, on her way to the Public University of El Alto, where she was studying Psychology. She was in her second year. She never came back.

We reported it in La Paz but since my daughter was already 21-years-old, they didnt pay any attention to us, they told me that she had gone off with some man, she recalls, from a hotel in the Bolivia capital. She holds a stack of flyers that she still distributes: they show a photo of Juliva and some of her information.

During the first 15 days after her disappearance, Lidia received several calls from Julivas number. Whenever she would reply, there would be no answer. One of her other daughters also received a call: a mans voice told her that the young woman was in the city of Oruro  in the west of the country  and that she needed clothes to be brought to her.

Dona Lidia looks at a photo of her daughter Juliva, who disappeared on July 10, 2014, when she was on her way to university. Manuel Seoane

The police never traced the calls, they didnt analyze them, Dona Lidia cries. She says that, over the years, her daughters case has been assigned to 10 different investigators. One of them, she says, even asked Lidia for money to look for her daughter. I gave him half of [what he wanted]... but he never did anything. The last possible clue about her daughter was obtained in 2015. A man called me from a number that I didnt know and told me that he had seen my daughter in Cochabamba. So, I went there. But I didnt find her, she laments. It was around then that she went to a media outlet to request help in the search for Juliva and  upon leaving the office  she got a call:

They told me that if I continued looking for my daughter, I was going to die. The police  according to Lidia  never investigated these threatening calls. I think its because were poor people. The same doesnt happen with rich people, she affirms.

Lorenza  who expresses herself in Spanish mixed with Aymara words  also hasnt managed to find her daughter, Juliana. She was 12-years-old when she disappeared, on July 14, 2016. She had gone to play at my eldest sons house, but she never arrived, the woman remembers. She speculates that they must have kidnapped her. Shortly after that  like what occurred with Lidia  she received a call from a man who assured her that he would return her daughter, but only if she gave him money. I waited at the [location] they gave me, but there was nobody there. They called me again to ask for more money. Lorenza didnt have the amount. She was never contacted again.

A photograph of Juliana, the daughter of Lorenza, who disappeared on July 14, 2016. Manuel Seoane

A weak police response

Not knowing the fate of their daughters, Lidia and Lorenza agree to speak with EL PAIS with the hope that their daughters  if theyre still alive  will read the story and know that their mothers are still looking for them. But mapping the places where sexual exploitation occurs is very difficult, because the police are very weak in Bolivia, Ale explains. Queen confirms this. I once notified the police when we knew that there were minors in a brothel. When they showed up, there was no one [in the building], the social worker says. She suspects that the police tip off the pimps.

We have a weakness in the judicial system and in [the investigative process], Arraya agrees. For this reason, she assures this newspaper, the administration of President Luis Arce is strengthening the specialization and training of public servants, both from the judicial bodies and the Bolivian police because the crime of human trafficking and its related crimes (pornography, pimping and commercialized sexual violence) are complicated crimes for officials who dont have adequate experience and training.

According to the latest report on human-trafficking from the US Department of State  which dedicates a section to Bolivia  the government of Bolivia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. Regarding the police efforts, the same document notes that the government did not report investigating, prosecuting, or convicting traffickers and did not report identifying or referring victims to care in 2022, the last year that the agency has detailed figures from. By contrast, in 2021, officials reported 62 trafficking investigations, 22 trafficking prosecutions (12 for sex trafficking, five for labor trafficking, and five for other forms of servitude) and 12 trafficking convictions. This is just the tip of the iceberg, according to Ale.

Announcements of missing people at the police station at the La Paz Bus Terminal. Manuel Seoane

There are several places in Bolivia where sexual exploitation is evident. Around [certain areas], a commercial environment is also created, Ale describes, giving logging or gold mining sites as examples. Specifically, where a mens camp arises, she specifies. This is what happens in the 12 de Octubre district, where hundreds of shops and fast-food places are located. Men come out, carrying food and drinks. Why doesnt anyone question the presence of teenagers in places like these? the Educo expert asks.

From the department against human-trafficking, Arraya insists on the effectiveness of the measures that are being applied to strengthen judicial investigations. New technology and equipment are being provided to officers to prosecute online child pornography cases, while facial recognition systems have been purchased by the state to locate missing women and girls. A cost-free university degree that specializes in countering human-trafficking has been created, while agents are being trained to more effectively observe airports, bus terminals and border crossings. There has also been an intensification of research in mining areas. Likewise, educational prevention programs have been created in schools, while the government of Bolivia has signed agreements with Brazil and Argentina to monitor crimes committed in border areas.

President Arces administration plans to modify Law 2/63 on Trafficking and Human-Trafficking, to classify crimes more precisely and include new ones, such as online grooming (when an adult impersonates a minor on the internet to establish a relationship of trust with a child or teenager), or the dissemination of child sexual material on social media.

Dona Lidia shows a poster of missing women in Bolivia. Manuel Seoane

The vulnerability of victims

Of the 3,409 people who disappeared in 2023, in 2,193 cases, the person had behavioral or family problems, which makes them [more likely to be] potential victims of trafficking, explains the general director of the department that investigates this crime. Child recruiters often take advantage of victims vulnerable situations, according to organizations that work with victims. The most common techniques are false job offers, or what Ale calls the infatuation technique (or the loverboy technique), which consists of the captor courting a teenager until he overrides her will and sexually abuses her, or prostitutes her.

Online recruitment  through mobile applications or social media  is increasingly present, as confirmed by Arraya. And even [through] online video games, confirms Lindsay, a teenage member of the Consultative Council of Children and Adolescents of La Paz and El Alto, formed to fight against the online recruitment of minors into the sex trade. Ive seen how some of my friends compete to see who receives the most [follows] from unknown people [on their social media], as if it were proof of the success of their publications, adds Milenka, a member of the same group.

Monica (not her real name) is a 26-year-old survivor of sexual abuse. She was a victim of the loverboy technique. After suffering years of abuse from her father  who subjected her to beatings and rape  she ended up staying in the home of her godfather and his wife when she was still a teenager. He started to talk to me, [saying] that he was in love with me, that he was going to take me to another house so we could be alone at that age, they brainwash us and they can dominate us, she remembers. When an older person dominates a minor and offers them a house or money in exchange for sex, thats called pimping, Queen replies. She highlights one of the main problems in identifying this form of sexual violence: Girls  in an attempt to survive  validate what theyre experiencing, as if theyre doing it voluntarily, she emphasizes. Part of society also validates it, she adds.

Veronica plays with her children in a park. Manuel Seoane

Today, Monica  who was welcomed in a house run by the Protejeres program, when she wasnt even 18-years-old  has rebuilt her life. She has two children and has just finished her degree in Social Work. Although Ive had setbacks during the process, she regrets.

Pimps are experts at detecting vulnerabilities, says Queen, as she points to two men standing in one of the main squares of the 12 de Octubre district. She doesnt know their names, but her years of experience working in the area give her a clue. Look, since we arrived, they havent moved. Do you know why? Because theyre looking to pick up a young girl.

This report has been filed with the support of Educo, an NGO that works in 14 countries to protect the well-being and rights of children.

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Texas cannot enforce a new set of immigration laws the state Legislature passed last year after a federal judge's ruling Thursday.

Judge David Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas decided to enjoin Senate Bill 4 from going into effect next week. He agreed with constitutional concerns raised by federal prosecutors at a hearing earlier this month that immigration enforcement is well beyond the purview of state governments.

"Several factors warrant an injunction," Ezra wrote in his ruling to enjoin SB 4. "First, the Supremacy Clause and Supreme Court precedent affirm that states may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government."

Ezra similarly indicated further concerns over conflicting provisions between SB 4 and federal immigration law, which would be "to the detriment of the United States foreign relations and treaty obligations."

Texas' lawyers filed an immediate appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shortly after Ezra's ruling.

What is Texas Senate Bill 4?

SB 4 increased penalties for anyone suspected of crossing the U.S-Mexico border in Texas outside of a legal international port of entry.

The legislation allows state law enforcement officers to arrest, detain and deport individuals suspected of crossing the border illegally. It also mirrors the federal law that makes illegal entry at the U.S. border a misdemeanor and illegal re-entry a felony.

Jennefer Canales-Pelaez, Texas Policy Attorney and Strategist with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, speaks at a news conference before a court hearing about the constitutionality of Senate Bill 4 at the U.S. Federal Courthouse Thursday February 15, 2024.

The bill would require people accused of illegally crossing the state's southern border to either accept a magistrate judge's deportation order or face a second-degree felony charge for noncompliance. The Legislature passed the bill in November during a special session and it was set to go into effect on March 5.

Judge rejects claims immigration surges are an invasion

Striking against the heart of Texas' argument laid out Feb. 15, Ezra found that an influx of migrants and immigration surges do not invoke the meaning of an "invasion", and Texas would not be engaging in its limited war powers by enforcing SB 4.

Additional issues with the law could frustrate the asylum processes and allow for the incarceration of noncitizens before their possible removal, making it substantially harder for those noncitizens to apply for asylum after entering the country, Ezra wrote.

Federal prosecutors filed their lawsuit against the state in January and joined previous suits filed late last year challenging SB 4 by the ACLU, ACLU of Texas, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, American Gateways, the Texas Civil Rights Project and the County of El Paso.

El Paso County applauds the courts clear confirmation today that immigration policies rest solely under Federal jurisdiction, and the state of Texas interference with the U.S. Constitution will not be tolerated," said El Paso County Commissioner Iliana Holguin in a statement after the ruling. "A piecemeal approach from individual states on federal matters such as immigration enforcement would put an undue burden on local taxpayers, while opening the door to potential civil rights violations for border residents and immigrants alike.

Greg Abbott says Texas will appeal ruling

Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to continue fighting to enact SB 4, adding that an immediate appeal is necessary in response to the Biden Administration's border policies. He emphasized the need for Republicans to keep pushing the border conversation ahead of the March 5 primary election.

"Texas will immediately appeal this decision, and we will not back down in our fight to protect our stateand our nationfrom President Biden's border crisis," Abbott said in a statement. "Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden's ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border."

Abbott mentioned Ezra's acknowledgment that the case will "ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Bipartisan vote: House passes short-term deal to avert devastating partial government shutdown

Joe Biden, Donald Trump both visit Texas-Mexico border

President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are both visiting the Texas-Mexico border Thursday.

For the second time during his presidency, Biden is visiting the state to address border security and criticize Republicans derailing a border bill this month. During his trip in Brownsville, Biden was expected to speak with federal immigration agents, law enforcement officials and local government regarding his push for Congress to quickly pass border security legislation.

Meanwhile 325 miles northwest, the GOP frontrunner was scheduled to visit Eagle Pass, where a standoff between the federal government and the states has occurred over border security. Abbott joined Trump to provide an update on the state's unprecedented response to "President Bidens border crisis," he said on X (formerly Twitter).

The dueling visits come as a Pew Research Center poll released this week shows that 80% of Americans believe immigration has become the most crucial issue in the nation, for the first time since the last decade.

Contributing: Lauren Villagran

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas SB 4 targeting migrants blocked by federal judge, Abbott appeals
Special counsel Jack Smith and attorneys for Donald Trump proposed moving the trial in the classified documents case against the former president later into the summer.

Smith said in court filings Thursday that he believes that Trump and his two co-defendants, political aide Walt Nauta and property staffer Carlos De Oliveira, should go to trial on July 8.

Attorneys for the three defendants proposed that Trump and De Olivieras trial begin on August 12, while Nautas trial begins September 9.

Even so, Trumps attorneys reiterated that they believe that the former president cant have a fair trial before Novembers election, highlighting political dates in their filing where they say the former president needs to be on the campaign trail like the Republican National Convention. Trump could still seek delays even if a trial is set for the summer.

The case is currently scheduled to go to trial in May, though District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is overseeing the case, is expected to address the date in a hearing on Friday.

Trump was indicted in June 2023 and faces dozens of charges related to alleged mishandling of classified documents, including a charge under the Espionage Act, in addition to counts of obstruction of justice, destruction or falsification of records, conspiracy and false statements.

Nauta and De Oliveira have been charged with several counts, including making false statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice and corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating, or concealing documents. The defendants have all pleaded not guilty.

The trial date proposals come days after Cannon denied efforts from Nauta and De Oliveira to view the classified records they allegedly helped conceal at the former presidents Florida residence. Her ruling resolved a dispute that had the potential to hinder movement toward a trial.

The schedule for Trumps several criminal cases are still largely up in the air.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments over whether Trump benefits from presidential immunity in regard to Smiths 2020 election interference case the week of April 22, further delaying the federal trial for that case. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan had already postponed the first trial date, originally set for March 4, while appeals courts wrestled with Trumps claims. Any decision from the high court could affect the course of the classified documents case too.

Meanwhile, Georgias state election subversion case against Trump and 14 of his allies has been wrapped up in whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified, a move some inside the district attorneys office fear could derail the entire case, as CNN previously reported.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNNs Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Attorneys for special counsel Jack Smith and former President Donald Trump proposed new trial dates Thursday for Trump's criminal trial on charges that he mishandled classified documents and national security secrets.

Federal prosecutors proposed a July 8 start date, while attorneys for Trump suggested he stand trial Aug. 12. Trump's proposed date was a surprise, because he and his attorneys have maintained that the trial should be held after the presidential election in November.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, had asked both sides to propose a schedule ahead of a hearing on the issue Friday in Fort Pierce, Florida. The case was initially scheduled to go to trial in May, but it has been expected that the original start date would be pushed back because of a number of outstanding legal issues that have yet to be decided by the court.

If Cannon were to agree to Trump's proposed date, the timing could conflict with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' trial plans for the Trump election interference case in Georgia. Her office is seeking an August trial date.

In their filing Thursday, Trump's attorneys said the schedule they laid out was out of respect to Cannon's request for a proposal from each side, but they made it clear that they believe the trial should be pushed back even further.

"As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution," his attorneys wrote, adding that there are some issues Trump wants dealt with sooner rather than later.

"President Trump seeks to timely vindicate important rights through these proceedings, including his motions to dismiss pursuant to the Presidential Records Act, presidential immunity, and based on selective and vindictive prosecutionfor which significant disclosures and fact-finding will be necessary," the filing said.

His attorneys also contended that the Supreme Court's plans to hear and decide Trump's presidential immunity claims in the federal election interference case could "provide guidance as Your Honor evaluates President Trumps motion to dismiss the case based on presidential immunity. President Trump respectfully submits that all of these considerations are relevant as the Court considers proposed schedules for the remainder of this unlawful case."

The court fight over the immunity claims has already delayed the federal election case, which had been set to begin Monday. The case is now on hold until the Supreme Court rules on the immunity dispute, and it said this week it won't hear arguments until the week of April 22.

The Georgia election case could wind up being delayed, as well. Arguments are scheduled for Friday afternoon over whether Willis should be disqualified from the case because of an alleged conflict of interest involving the special prosecutor she appointed to the case.

That leaves just one of the four impending Trump criminal trials with a firm start date  the Manhattan district attorney's case alleging Trump falsified business records to cover up hush-money payments. That's scheduled to go to trial March 25. Trump has pleaded not guilty in that case and denied any wrongdoing.

Trump was indicted in the documents case in June on charges that he misled federal investigators to hold on to sensitive materials that he knew were still classified after he left the White House. He was later hit with additional charges alleging he tried to obstruct the investigation.

Trump and his two co-defendants, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Editors Note: This story contains descriptions of graphic scenes.

Yuliia Solomko couldnt fall asleep late on the night of Feb. 9.

Kharkiv, her hometown, was under yet another heavy Russian attack. Worse, she could hear explosions coming from the neighborhood where her best friend and her family lived.

"It's very loud here," reads a text she received from her friend, Olha Putiatina. "But the kids are asleep," Putiatina wrote soon, reassuring Solomko that they were all right.

It was the very last time Solomko heard from her.

Just a couple of minutes later, a Russian drone attack struck a gas station, creating a huge, raging fire that engulfed 15 residential homes  including the one where Putiatina's family lived.

It killed seven people, including Putiatina's entire family of five, and injured 57 others.

The badly burnt bodies of 35-year-old Putiatina, her husband Hryhorii Putiatin, 38, and their three little children  Oleksii, 7, Mykhailo, 4, and 10-month-old Pavlo  were found inside the shattered and burnt remains of their home.

"Nobody could have survived there," says Solomko, who went to the site shortly after the curfew was over at 5 a.m.

Putiatina and her eldest and youngest sons were found in the bathroom, while the bodies of her husband and Mykhailo were in the corridor, according to Solomko.

"We assume that the mother held the children, hugging and pressing them to her chest," Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the investigative department of the regional police, reported shortly after the tragedy.

"The temperature of the blaze was such that the bones and body of the infant almost turned completely to ashes," Bolvinov wrote.

The deaths of the family in the Russian attack shocked Ukraine.

Firefighters extinguish a fire at an oil depot following a Russian kamikaze drones strike on Feb. 10, 2024, in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In the Nemyshlyanskyi district of Kharkiv, the Russian kamikaze drones hit a critical infrastructure facility. As a result of the impact, diesel fuel and gasoline were spilled and a massive fire broke out. The private sector caught fire, and 15 residential buildings were engulfed in flames. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Seven people died, including three children aged seven and four and a baby about 7 months old. Three people were injured. (Viacheslav Mavrychev/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Ever since the first day of Russias full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, civilian areas in Kharkiv, as in other cities, have been relentlessly bombarded by Russian forces. Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, is located in the east of the country, just about 30 kilometers from the Russian border.

According to the latest report by the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), At least 10,582 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 have been injured since the start of Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022. The actual number of civilian casualties is believed to be significantly higher, since neither Ukraine nor international organizations have access to the Russian-occupied territories, where according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, thousands of civilians could have been killed since 2022.

The number of confirmed civilian casualties includes 587 children killed by the war.

"Who are they (Russian troops) fighting here  children, families, a mother of three, or a husband who spent all his time at work to earn something for his loved ones?" asks another friend of Putiatina, Oleksii Shuliak.

Happy family

Putiatina, Solomko, and Shuliak studied together at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Kharkiv. Solomko and Shuliak describe Putiatina as a very reliable and responsible person.

In late 2012, Putiatina became an intern prosecutor at the District Prosecutor's Office in Chuhuiv, a city in Kharkiv Oblast, alongside Shuliak. After 10 months, she was promoted to a prosecutor's position.

"She loved her job a lot," Shuliak recalls.

However, Putiatina worked as a prosecutor only until 2015, when she went on maternity leave after giving birth to her first son with Hryhorii.

Solomko says Putiatina and her husband-to-be met accidentally: "She got a flat tire and asked a nearby young man to help her change it." The young man was Hryhorii, Solomko says.

Shortly after they married, Putiatina moved from her apartment in the Saltivka neighborhood  in the northeast of the city, closest to the Russian border, and now heavily damaged by Russian attacks  to Hryhorii's one-floor house. They began building a family home there.

Hryhorii operated a small business specializing in installing windows and gates, according to Solomko.

"They were an ordinary happy family," she says. "They loved their children very much."

Solomko says the couple's oldest, Oleksii, had already started school and recently joined an aviation modeling club, which he greatly enjoyed. Mykhailo loved playing with toy cars, and little Pavlo recently had his first three teeth come in.

Solomko was godmother to all three of Putiatina's kids  proving their close ties and trust in one another.

"There wasnt a single day when we didn't call and say good morning," Solomko says.

Smoke and ashes

Due to its proximity to the border with Russia, Kharkiv Oblast and the regional capital have been under attack almost daily since the start of the full-scale invasion. Part of the region was also occupied in early February 2022, but then liberated in early September.

Solomko says Putiatina and the kids relocated to her mothers home in Cherkasy, a regional capital in central Ukraine, shortly after Feb. 24, 2022. There, she gave birth to Pavlo. Soon, however, the family decided to return to Kharkiv, where Hryhorii had stayed the whole time.

As a father of three children, Hryhorii could legally leave Ukraine along with the family during martial law, which bans men of draft age from leaving the country, with several exemptions. "But they stayed in Kharkiv as they loved Ukraine," Shuliak says.

According to Shuliak, the family had a little basement at home, but hiding there might not have saved their lives from the terrible fire overnight on Feb. 9-10.

The funeral of Olha Putiatina, Hryhorii Putiatin and their three children who were killed in the fire caused by a Russian drone attack on an oil depot at night on Feb. 10, 2024, in Kharkiv. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported a Russian drone attack on the city at 11 p.m. Solomko contacted Putiatina immediately after the attack started. In her worst nightmares, she could not imagine it would be their last conversation.

As the attack raged on, Solomko spent the night reaching out to Putiatina and her neighbors. She could not go to the site of the drone strike before 5 a.m. due to the curfew limitations. What she saw there in the morning, when she finally arrived at what used to be her friend's house, shocked her to the core.

The entire street was covered in ashes and smoke, with numerous houses destroyed by the fire. Later, after the attack, Bolvinov said the leakage of fuel from the gas station had contaminated over 10,000 square meters of land there.

KHARKIV, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 12: The graves of the Putiatin family that perished because of the Russian drone kamikaze attacks on February 12, 2024 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. On February 9, the Russian army launched drone kamikaze attacks of the Shahed type on Kharkiv. The shelling resulted in the death of 7 people. In one of the residential houses, the charred bodies of the Putiatin family - husband, wife, and their three children (10-month-old Pavlo, 4-year-old Mykhailo and 7-year-old Oleksii) - were found. (Vika Mankovska for Gwara Media/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Solomkos voice trembles when she recalls that morning. In the charred ruins of the house, she saw the badly burnt bodies of Putiatina, her three little sons, and her husband.

"I saw everything" Solomko whispers.

Numerous people gathered at one of Kharkiv's cemeteries to say goodbye to the family on Feb. 12, many in tears. Shuliak says the entire Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutors Office team came to pay their respects to Putiatina and her loved ones.

"It's very difficult... It's a terrible loss when an entire family is gone. How can life go on after this?" he says.

"We should never forget them."

"But we should also remember what kind of neighbor we have (in Russia), and what evil they have done to us."

Note from the author:

Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russias brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russias war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war.

Read also: They mourned loss of their apartment. Then, Russia destroyed their whole city

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Poland imported US$2.6 billion worth of goods from Russia and US$450 million from Belarus in 2023. If considering only agricultural products, their imports from Russia to Poland reached US$117 million and exceeded the level of 2021, i.e. the level before the full-scale war.

Source: data from the Ekonomichna Pravda article

Details: "In particular, imports of grains and oilseeds have more than doubled, while imports of oil have remained almost unchanged. At the same time, imports of meals and other processing residues fell from US$25 million in 2021 to only US$1 million in 2023," the article says.

The situation is similar in Poland's trade with Belarus. Imports of grains, oilseeds and meals gradually increased in both 2022 and 2023. In total, Poland paid Belarusians US$55 million for agricultural products last year.

For reference: Agricultural products are defined as the volume of trade in goods classified as HS 10 Cereals, HS 12 Oilseeds, HS 15 Seeds and HS 23 Processing residues and grist. Food products are not included.

"However, to understand the scale of this problem, two facts need to be taken into account. The volume of Poland's imports from Russia and Belarus is significantly lower than its imports from Ukraine. Last year, Ukraine sold US$1.3 billion worth of agricultural products to Poland, while Russia and Belarus sold US$117 million and US$55 million, respectively," the article says.

Apart from grist, Poland hardly imports any other goods from Russia and Belarus, which were embargoed against Ukraine. The only item that is still present is Russian sunflower seeds, but in tiny volumes  about US$50,000 per month.

Background:

Poland will "thoroughly" analyse the aftermath of Latvia's decision to ban imports of Russian food products and does not rule out that it will take appropriate steps.

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The Smokehouse Creek Fire, now the largest wildfire ever recorded in Texas, has scorched more than 1,078,000 acres and killed at least two people, with only 15% containment as of Friday morning.

The cause of the fire has remained uncertain since Monday, but according to a filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission, investigators from several insurance companies communicated with Xcel Energy this week via a law firm, questioning if one of its downed utility poles may have started the fire.

Livestream: Texas Gov. Abbott to provide update on states response to fires in panhandle

"On February 28, 2024, a law firm sent a letter to Xcel Energy on behalf of various property insurance interests whose insureds were allegedly adversely affected by the Smokehouse Creek Fire that purports to provide Xcel Energy with notice of potential exposure for damages resulting from the Smokehouse Creek Fire and to request that a fallen SPS utility pole that is situated within the vicinity of the fires potential area of origin be preserved," reads the filing from Xcel. "Investigations into origin, cause, and damage of the wildland fires burning in or near the service territory of SPS, including the Smokehouse Creek Fire, are underway."

Terrain continues to smolder in the outlying boundaries of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, seen Wednesday near Miami, Texas. The fire, which was currently the second largest in state history, was an estimated 850,000 acres and 3 percent contained as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

More: Texas wildfire live updates: The latest on the Smokehouse Creek Fire on Friday

Xcel Energy already faces nearly 300 lawsuits alleging the company's responsibility for the 2021 Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado, that killed two people and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, according to a story from the Denver Post.

The company has provided the following statement:

"Our thoughts are with the families and communities impacted by the devastating wildfires across the Texas Panhandle. As members of this community, we will continue to support our neighbors in this recovery."

"We are working in coordination with first responders and local officials to support the power needs of our communities, while safely restoring power to customers where possible. We will cooperate with officials while conducting our own investigations to determine the causes of the fires."

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: How did Texas wildfire start? SEC filing reveals possible cause
The juvenile fin whale that stranded in Potter Pond in South Kingstown on Thursday has died.

"These cases are always heartbreaking, seeing such a beautiful animal in a compromised state. As sad as the outcome is here, I feel some relief that this animal is now at peace," said Sarah Callan, animal rescue program manager for Mystic Aquarium, who responded to the call, in a news release. "Well collect a lot of data today and not only learn more about what happened with this specific whale, but also different threats that this species faces as a whole."

The whale was reported to Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue hotline by a local resident at 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. Emaciated but with no other sign of physical injury, the 42-foot whale likely was so weak that it floated in with the tide, according to Callan. The hope was the during the noon high tide the whale would be able to free itself, but that didnt happen.

In consultation with NOAA, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and other partners, a decision was made to use medical intervention to reduce the whale's suffering. At 9:20 p.m. the whale died with Mystic Aquarium and RI DEM personnel on the scene, according to the aquarium.

Why couldn't the whale be towed back out to sea?

A 40-foot whale found in Potter's Pond in South Kingstown on Thursday, Feb. 29.

Ahead of the whale's death, there was a steady stream of people braving the winter wind to stand on a nearby dock to see the rather rare sight. Fin whales are much more common in deep waters, such as off of Cape Cod, than near Rhode Island.

Watching the rescue effort, people tried to help in the ways that they could.

The nearby homeowners were bringing us coffee yesterday and we were getting emails with prayers for the whale. The community rallied to keep our spirits up, and were just really grateful, Francesa Battaglia, animal rescue technician, said in the release.

But overall, it was tough to watch.

Its sad, said Jim Martin, who came with his wife, Marcie, a wildlife photographer. Its strange how he got in the shallow.

Even over the whip of the wind, people could hear the whales breathing. And as each new person came by, almost all had the same question: why couldnt the whale be moved?

With the whale weighing about 25,000 pounds, Callan said trying to tow the whale back out to sea is too dangerous.

You can paralyze them by doing that," Callan said. "Their body is so heavy that if you pull them by the fluke, the spine will break. Unfortunately, there is not an easy way to move an animal of this size.

And even if it was towed back out to sea, Callan said given the weakened condition it was likely to restrand somewhere else.

What is happening with the whale's carcass?

Now that the whale has passed, the Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue team will work with NOAA and other network partners on a necropsy to learn more about the potential causes of this stranding.

The animal was towed to a nearby beach for a necropsy by boat, with an excavator to help move the whale to shore, according to Meagan Seacor, Mystic Aquairum's vice president of external relations. A team of 20 people conducted the necropsy on Friday.

Fact check: No evidence offshore wind projects are killing whales on East Coast

"The findings from the necropsy and pathology will help determine the cause of death," Seacor said. "After the necropsy, the remains will be transported to a different predetermined location for burial and natural decomposition."

A second whale washed up on Moonstone Beach

Also on Thursday, a pilot whale was found on Moonstone Beach. Unlike the other whale, this one died in the ocean and washed in with the most recent storm, according to Seacor.

"We sent our team out to review yesterday and collect data on the animal, but due to the decomposition, we will not be able to conduct a necropsy," she said.

How to report a marine animal stranding in Rhode Island

Since 1975, Mystic Aquarium has led animal rescue efforts along 1,000 miles of shoreline covering Rhode Island, Connecticut and Fishers Island, New York, as part of the Greater Atlantic Region Stranding network.

If you see a stranded or dead marine animal or sea turtle, call Mystic Aquarium's 24-hour hotline at (860) 572-5955, ext. 107, and expect a return call. Keep at least 150 feet away from the animal, even if it's dead, and do not attempt to touch or feed it.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Fin whale that stranded in South Kingstown dies, Mystic Aquarium says
Outgoing President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinisto (2nd R) and his spouse Jenni Haukio (R) with President-elect Alexander Stubb (2nd L) and his spouse Suzanne Innes-Stubb, greet the public from the Palace balcony of the Presidential Palace during the inauguration of the President in Helsinki. Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/dpa

Alexander Stubb took the oath of office as Finland's new president at a ceremony in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Friday.

Stubb, a 55-year-old conservative politician and former prime minister, succeeds his party colleague Sauli Niinisto, who was Finland's head of state for 12 years.

In his inaugural speech, Stubb emphasized the importance of collaboration and international cooperation. He argued that global challenges such as climate change and geopolitical conflicts cannot be solved between only like-minded countries.

He called on his fellow countrymen to avoid polarization and to listen to each other.

"I promise to work for an open, secure and international Finland," said Stubb. "I promise to defend democracy, freedom of expression and the rule of law in all situations. I promise to listen, discuss and care. I promise to fight for Finland to remain a good country in the future - the best country in the world for us Finns."

In mid-February, Stubb narrowly won a run-off election for the presidency against Green politician and former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto.

Stubb is regarded as pro-European and a staunch supporter of Ukraine. The change in office is not expected to significantly alter Finland's defence and foreign policy toward its neighbour, Russia.

Finland joined the NATO military alliance last year. Finland's border with Russia is around 1,340 kilometres long.

The post of president plays a more active role in Finnish politics than in many other European parliamentary democracies, where it is often primarily a ceremonial position.

Finland's president, in contrast, plays an important role in setting foreign and security policy together with government ministers. He is also commander-in-chief of the Finnish armed forces.

Niinisto, one of the most popular presidents in Finnish history, was not allowed to run again for re-election after having already served two six-year terms.

Outgoing President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinisto (L) and President-elect Alexander Stubb inspect the Guard of Honour before attending the Parliament's plenary session during the inauguration of the President of the Republic of Finland in Helsinki. Antti Aimo-Koivisto/Lehtikuva/dpa
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  An electrical fire damaged a home in northwest Bakersfield on Thursday afternoon, according to the Kern County Fire Department.

KCFD said firefighters were dispatched to the 9800 block of Holland Street for a report of a structure fire. Upon arrival, crews determined the fire was in the attic of the structure, as smoke was seen flowing steadily from the eaves and roof vents.

Thermal imaging cameras were used by fire officials to pinpoint the area of the ceiling that needed to be opened, according to KCFD. To minimize damage to belongings while fighting the fire, firefighters moved furniture and placed salvage covers when possible.

Pets, valuables saved in Ridgecrest house fire: KCFD

Once firefighters accessed the attic, they prevented it from spreading into the homes other areas, according to KCFD.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical fault, said KCFD. No injuries were reported.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY  Warren and Portage townships residents could see property tax increases if the formation of a new fire territory, the St. Joseph County Fire Protection Territory, gets approved.

The tax increase applies to residents below the 1% tax cap for residential homesteads  Portage trustee Jason Critchlow said 80% of residents are above the tax cap.

The estimated annual tax increase for residents residing in Portage and Warren townships above or below the tax cap.

Property tax increases for Portage Township residents

Portage residents can see a 13.22% increase. Property assessed at $150,000 and over will see no increase in the property tax due to being at the cap.

 A property valued at $50,000 could see an annual increase of $41.85

 A property valued at $75,000 could see an annual increase of $62.78

 A property valued at $100,000 could see an annual increase of $108.82

Property tax increases for Warren Township residents

Warren residents can see a 21.83% increase. Property assessed at $150,000 and over will see no increase in the property tax due to being at the cap.

 A property valued at $50,000 could see an annual increase of $68.55

 A property valued at $75,000 could see an annual increase of $102.83

 A property valued at $100,000 could see an annual increase of $183.63

Nichole A. Franklin, the Chief Operating Officer at Peters Franklin LTD, reiterated that these numbers are estimates and could change depending on the assessed value of the townships in 2025. Residents will see these changes on their 2025 property tax bill, she said.

All farmland and other residential properties, including apartments and townhomes, will not see a property tax increase, however, all commercial properties will see a property tax increase for both Portage and Warren townships.

A new territory offers increased firefighter benefits

By establishing a fire territory, firefighters within the St. Joseph County Fire Protection Territory could see increased benefits that are not offered in the current Southwest Central Fire Territory, Warren Trustee Steven Downey said.

We really want to be a professional, modern fire department, Downey said. You cant do that if you arent willing to pay for that.

Theyre asking for higher wages, but, Downey said, theyve compared those number not only locally, but around the state as well.

The proposed salary for St. Joseph County Fire Protection Territory firefighters is compared with the current salaries of surrounding departments, February 29, 2024.

What were asking for is right aligned where we should be," Downey said.

There's not "as many applicants anymore, Warren Township firefighter and Local 4927 Union President Jay Pendergrass said comparing today to 10 years ago. Unfortunately for us, it is a massive trickle down. The city of South Bend is not having as much applications, or they take people from us. This will, hopefully, curb the turnover rate as well.

An additional benefit for firefighters employed with the St. Joseph County Fire Protection Territory is to "bring everyone into the '77 pension fund, Downey said, which Warren Township is a part of.

The 1977 Police Officers' and Firefighters Retirement Fund ('77 Fund), Downey said, gives firefighters a retirement fund after working for 20 years. Firefighters contribute 6% of their base pay into the fund, and if the fire territory is approved, the provider unit, Portage Township, would contribute 20.3%, Downey said. He called the '77 fund a "significant" difference in payout when firefighters retire, compared to the Indiana Public Retirement System for all government employees.

Its a retirement built for firefighters and police officers, Pendergrass said.

He also mentioned a disability fund within the '77 fund.

If you break a leg and you have to retire early, Downey gave as an example.

Cancer can, unfortunately, be a reason as well to use the disability fund, Pendergrass said, calling it "a definite benefit to (Centre Townships personnel) to come over."

Public hearings

Three out of four public hearings scheduled for before the boards of Portage and Warren townships decide on a final vote to adopt, reject or table the resolution take place at Portage's Fire Station #41, 23626 Fillmore Road, South Bend:

 March 5 at 6 p.m.

 March 14 at 6 p.m.

 March 28 at 6 p.m. A vote will take place at 7 p.m.

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Property tax increase boosts wages for Portage and Warren firefighters
The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, 42, has attacked gender theory and has decided that it shouldnt be included in the public education system of the Central American country. Bukele has said that he wont allow [gender] ideologies in schools and colleges, and the Ministry of Education has announced that it will implement the controversial presidents decision. Confirmed: we have removed all traces of gender ideology from public schools, was the response posted on social media by Minister of Education Jose Mauricio Pineda. This step has aroused criticism from feminist organizations.

Bukeles decision comes a week after the Electoral Court of El Salvador settled the dispute over the election results and ratified the presidents victory: he won his re-election bid with 84% of the vote. The body also reported that the vote count to elect legislators to the National Assembly has ended, giving a large majority to Bukeles Nuevas Ideas (New Ideas) party. It is now the main political force in the country, allowing for the president to expand his controversial policies. This includes extending the state of emergency that he imposed more than a year ago.

Bukele has enormous support from the Salvadoran population. He sees this support as giving him carte blanche to implement various measures, such as those related to gender theory and sex education.

Minister Pineda has stated that every use or trace of gender ideology has been removed from public schools, without giving more details about the implications of this decision in one of the countries that has one of the highest femicide rates in Latin America. Data from U.N. Women show that, in 2019, the rate was 6.48 murders per 100,000 women. In addition, the organization cites reports from the Attorney Generals Office of El Salvador, which indicate that, in the first-half of 2021 alone, 315 women were reported missing. Meanwhile, the 2019 National Sexual Violence Survey reflected that 63% of women nationwide (6 out of 10) expressed having experienced at least one incident of sexual assault. In general terms, women and girls experience continuous forms of violence and discrimination that are based on the patriarchal system [This requires] a comprehensive and integrated approach to contribute to its eradication, U.N. Women warns.

The controversial decision made by the Salvadoran government comes after Bukele said  during the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that was held in the United States  that he considers it important that the curriculum doesnt [include] gender ideology and all these [other] things. He stated that parents should be informed and have a say in what their children are going to learn. Bukele had already expressed his rejection of abortion and same-sex marriage. The president has been the subject of criticism for how he has shifted his position on social issues, since he was once a part of the FMLN, El Salvadors major left-wing party, which emerged from the guerilla movement.

Salvadoran feminists and activists have also criticized the presidents positions, which they consider to be a violation of the rights of women in the small country. Bukele is a messianic figure, a patriarchal leader a [paternalistic] president who watches over us and who [seems to think that hes] anointed by God, human rights activist Celia Medrano told EL PAIS at the beginning of February, in the middle of the electoral process. Hes a highly conservative man with a very clear tendency to manipulate religion [in favor of] the message that women have to be kept at home. Our role is to combat that narrative, Medrano emphasized.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
UPDATE Feb. 29 @ 8:07 p.m.: An emergency demolition order was requested for a house in the 30 block of South Jersey Street that sustained major damage in a fire Wednesday night, Dayton Fire Assistant Chief Brad French said in an update Thursday evening.

>>It really hurts; Tornado strikes historic church, nearby cemetery

The cause of the fire has been classified as undetermined, he said.

There were no victims found or injuries reported. The first-arriving crew was on scene within four minutes of being dispatched at 10 p.m. and found heavy fire throughout the two-story house and flames making their way through the roof.

The incident commander made the call for firefighters to control the flames from the exterior because of the extent of the fire and concerns about the structure possibly collapsing. Firefighters later were able to conduct a partial search of accessible areas. Firefighters operated at the scene approximately two hours.

The structure was deemed a total loss, the assistant chief said.

INITIAL REPORT

Firefighters responded to a house fire in Dayton Wednesday night.

Dayton firefighters were dispatched about 10 p.m. to the 30 block of South Jersey Street on initial reports of a house fire, Montgomery County Regional Dispatch told News Center 7.

Heavy fire was reported in the back of a two-story home, Dayton Police & Fire wrote on social media.

We are working to learn the extent of damage to the home.

News Center 7 will provide updates on this story.
France to supply Ukraine with one hundred Delair drones

France has ordered 100 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Ukraine from Frances Delair, one of the worlds leading drone manufacturers, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.

The remote-control drones are expected to arrive in Ukraine by Summer 2024.

Read also:

France expects to order two thousand drones from French companies under an innovative program. The drones will be for use by the French and Ukrainian armies.

This step in the field of military cooperation highlights the country's support for Ukraine and its contribution to the modernization of its military capabilities.

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
WAUKESHA, Wis. - Inside the 4-H building at the Waukesha County Expo Center, first lady Jill Biden put women and Wisconsin center stage.

The Badger State was the final stop of the "Women for Biden" campaign tour on Sunday, March 3. It was as an effort to mobilize women ahead of the election.

"Women put Joe Biden in the White House, and women are going to do it again," Biden said. "We're going to meet this moment as if our rights are at risk, because they are. As if our democracy is on the line, because it is."

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Milwaukee County Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Krystal Judah also spoke at the event.

First lady Jill Biden

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, the former head of the state's Republican Party, sees it differently.

"Really, for me, what it comes down to is a fear factor," he said. "They're trying to scare women to realize, or to think that all we're trying to do is take away their reproductive rights, and that's hardly the case."

He said the focus should be public safety and pointed to the southern border as the top issue.

"I think what we need to do is get the president to realize what's really important, and that's the security and safety of this country," Farrow said.

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Before leaving town, the first lady stopped at Rooted MKE, a Black woman-owned bookstore in Milwaukees Washington Heights neighborhood to get some books for her grandson.

She also thanked volunteers and supports at the Democrats campaign office in Bay View.

Wisconsin will get another visit from the White House on Wednesday, when Vice President Kamala Harris makes her sixth trip here for an event in Madison.

Biden was last in the Badger State just about two weeks ago; the first lady traveled to Green Bay on Friday, Feb. 16 to discuss education. The first lady joined a roundtable to spotlight efforts to expand career-connected learning in high school and college.
Friday afternoon, the community will rally around a medic who was injured in an ambulance crash.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Local paramedic critically injured while transporting patient to hospital

The New Alexandria Firemens Club will host a fundraiser at its weekly Fish Fry today from 3 to 7 p.m. Organizers will have a boot where people can add cash.

Dina Filo ONeill was injured in a crash on Feb. 21 when the ambulance she was working in crashed along Freeport Road in front of the Waterworks Mall in Pittsburgh.

Loved ones are also raising money through GoFundMe.

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Dental office suing Butler County man over negative comments online 11 Investigates: Mayor reacts to dramatic drop in overnight Pittsburgh police patrols Top of ambulance flies off while on I-79; drivers mistake piece for boat VIDEO: Hockey community rallies around local player badly burned in fire DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
Fisker has announced its future plans alongside preliminary 2023 and Q4 earnings, and it's not looking great for the EV manufacturer. The company plans to lay off 15 percent of its workforce  nearly 200 people  as it shifts from a direct-to-consumer to a Dealer Partner model. The company is halting all investments in upcoming models and will resume only if in partnership with another automaker.

The company's fourth-quarter revenue increased to $200.1 million from $128.3 million in Q3. However, its gross margin was negative 35 percent, and it lost $1.23 per share. Its sole EV on the market, the Ocean SUV, also had 10,193 units produced but 4,929 vehicles delivered.

The automaker first introduced its pivot to a Dealer Partner Model in January and claims it has received interest from 250 dealers across North America and Europe, along with 13 signed agreements. "We are aware that the industry has entered a turbulent, and unpredictable period," Henrik Fisker, chairman and CEO of Fisker, said in a statement. "With that understanding and taking the lessons learned from 2023, we have put a plan in place to streamline the company as we prepare for another difficult year. We have adjusted our outlook for 2024 to be much more conservative than in 2023." The company plans to deliver between 20,000 and 22,000 Ocean models across the world.

Fisker is currently negotiating with "a large automaker" for an investment and joint production of future EVs. This means that previously announced vehicle production, such as the Alaska EV pickup with humungous cup holders and a designated cowboy hat space, will be on hold indefinitely. Fisker originally planned to start production on the Alaska EV pickup in early 2025.
Galloway is one of the areas taking forward a bid to become a national park

Five areas will compete to become Scotland's next national park.

The Scottish Borders, Galloway, Lochaber, Loch Awe and Tay Forest all submitted bids before the deadline passed at midnight.

The Scottish government has promised to create at least one more by the end of this parliamentary session in 2026.

A number of areas had already decided not to take their proposals forward following community consultation.

How did we get here?

Any new park would join the current ones in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and the Cairngorms

Scotland currently has two national parks - the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - but it is more than 20 years since a new one was created.

A power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens agreed that "at least one" would be designated by the end of this parliamentary session.

The nominations process opened in October last year with the window to submit applications closing at midnight on 29 February.

The five bids will now be appraised before a detailed investigation is carried out by NatureScot and legislation is brought forward to create the new park.

What is a national park?

National parks such as Yosemite, pictured here, have been designated around the world

The term is used to describe an area set aside by a national government for the preservation of the natural environment.

It may be designated for purposes of public recreation and enjoyment or because of its historical or scientific interest.

Most of the landscapes and their accompanying plants and animals in a national park are kept in their natural state.

The national parks in the United States and Canada tend to focus on the protection of both land and wildlife, those in the United Kingdom focus mainly on the land, and those in Africa primarily exist to conserve animals.

Who is in?

A bid for the Borders is being taken forward

The full list of contenders has been announced by the Scottish government.

They are at the Tay Forest, Loch Awe, Lochaber, Galloway and the Borders.

These proposal will now be appraised by the Scottish government against its published criteria.

A further consultation will be held once a preferred site or sites is identified, which is expected to be in the summer.

Who is out?

A bid for Skye and Raasay has been ruled out

A number of areas ruled themselves out of the contest following community consultation.

Residents had reservations about an "awful lot of disadvantages" that could come with securing the designation for Skye and Raasay.

A community survey found that the majority of people were against seeking the status for Wester Ross.

It was also reported that the group behind plans for Ben Wyvis and Glen Affric had dropped out citing concerns over the limited timeframe and resources.

An Affric and Loch Ness proposal has been shelved too.

National parks campaigner Nick Kempe said he was worried the process of gathering bids had divided communities.

He said: "At the moment we will end up with what I would describe as culture wars rather than actual discussion about what we need to happen on a local basis.

"That includes how we protect the natural environment and about how national parks could help to resolve the rural housing and employment crises."

Who is in favour?

Lorna Slater said it was time for Scotland to have more national parks

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater has described Scotland's two current national parks as among the country's "greatest assets".

National park status has boosted their economies, supported local business and engaged communities to make the parks work for those who live and work in them," she said.

She thanked everyone who had worked "so positively and proactively" in the process to establish a new park.

"I look forward to meeting with those who have led the nominations to hear directly from each community what they would want to see from becoming a national park," she added.

Who is against?

Farmers and crofters have protested against a bid to create a park in Lochaber

The bids which are being taken forward are not without their opposition.

Among the most vociferous opponents has been the agricultural sector due to fears of additional bureaucracy.

In Galloway, they have raised concerns - dismissed by campaigners - that the status could damage growth and tourism potential.

That bid has been backed by all the local authority areas it covers as well as South of Scotland Enterprise and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere.

Another south of Scotland submission in the Borders has gone ahead despite being branded "incoherent" by the council and failing to secure its support.

Campaigner Malcolm Dickson said many other groups had backed the plans.

"Scottish Borders Council didn't support our bid - but that doesn't mean to say they're opposed to it," he insisted.

A Lochaber proposal generated a protest at the weekend of about 100 people - including farmers and crofters - but was still submitted.

Farming union NFU Scotland has stated that the existing parks have "failed to make a positive contribution" to the sector.

It will be up to the assessment process to balance those conflicting views when deciding how many proposals make it over the final hurdles.
Republicans conducting the impeachment investigation into President Biden released the transcript of their private interview with Hunter Biden on Thursday evening, one day after the presidents son huddled behind closed doors for nearly seven hours on Capitol Hill.

The younger Biden is perhaps the most crucial witness to appear before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees since GOP leaders formally launched their impeachment probe last September, and Republican investigators had fought for months for the opportunity to grill him in person about his overseas business deals.

The investigation has split House lawmakers down straight party lines, and Wednesdays feisty testimony from the presidents son did nothing to change that.

Republicans have alleged his business ventures were tainted by corruption and influence peddling that financially benefited other members of the family, including the president  allegations they say were bolstered by Hunter Bidens testimony.

Democrats have countered that there was nothing irregular about the business arrangements, and that Joe Biden never had a hand in, or profited from, those pursuits  a position they say Hunter Biden defended clearly.

Here are five takeaways from Wednesdays deposition.

GOP failed to score a knockout punch

Hunter Biden was the star witness of the investigation  the figure on whom their most serious allegations hung  but if Republicans were hoping hed provide the smoking gun evidence of Biden-family wrongdoing, they came up short.

Republicans repeatedly accused Hunter Biden of accepting payments from foreign companies and transferring those funds to other family members, including the president. But Hunter Biden countered each accusation with detailed accounts of those business arrangements, never invoking his Fifth Amendment rights  all of which led to no clear knockout punch for the GOP.

ccountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.)

After receiving a payment from a Chinese energy company, for instance, Hunter Biden wired money to his uncle, James Biden, who later wrote a check to his brother, Joe Biden, for the sum of $40,000. Republicans claim the exchange was evidence of Joe Biden benefiting from his sons business deals. The Bidens say it was simply a case of James repaying a loan from his brother.

My father was never financially, nor any other way, of benefit of my business, Hunter Biden testified about his dealings with the Chinese company.

Another dispute came over an email to Hunter Biden from another business associate, which referenced a 10 percent cut for the big guy. Republicans, again, alleged that was proof that Joe Biden was receiving payments for his sons business deals. But under questioning, Hunter Biden testified that there were five business partners and each received a 20 percent share, leaving nothing left for anyone else.

Nothing [to] do with Joe Biden, his son testified.

Perhaps the biggest blow to the Republicans investigation came days before the deposition, when an FBI informant who had accused Joe and Hunter Biden of accepting $5 million bribes from a Ukrainian energy company was indicted for fabricating those same allegations.

This is a feckless enterprise, and a desperate attempt by our Republicans to salvage something of a totally discredited inquiry, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said.

Biden family tragedy casts shadows over testimony

Hunter Biden lost his mother, Neilia, and his sister, Naomi, in a fatal car crash in 1971, then watched his brother, Beau, die of brain cancer in 2015  tragedies that cast a shadow over Hunter Bidens testimony Wednesday and underscored the close relationship between the president and his son.

Republicans throughout their investigation have zeroed in on instances where Hunter Biden put the elder Biden on speakerphone during business meetings, according to former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer, who specified the conversations were limited to pleasantries.

Hunter Biden defended his actions Wednesday, telling lawmakers I always answer his call while also noting that he would have his father say hi if he received the phone call while with friends.

It is nothing nefarious literally, Biden said. You understand my relationship with my family. When my dad was 29 years old, he woke up one day, went to work, and got a phone call and lost his wife and his daughter. And, in that same accident, he also lost almost my brother and myself. And then, when I was 46 years old, my 47-year-old brother died.

In our family, when you have a call from  I call him or he calls me or I call one of my  his grandkids or one of my children, you always pick up the phone, he continued. Its something that we always do.

The close-knit nature of the Biden family was also apparent during discussions about dinners both Bidens and some of the sons business associates attended at Cafe Milano, a posh Washington, D.C., restaurant that is regularly frequented by politicians. Republicans have highlighted the gatherings throughout their probe.

Hunter Biden told lawmakers he has dined at Cafe Milano dozens of times, including with family, friends and associates. His father, he said, would often stop by because the D.C. establishment was between the White House and the vice presidents residence.

If my mom wasnt there or if my mom was home in Delaware, he would, you know, stop and have a bowl of spaghetti with me or whoever I was sitting with, Hunter Biden said.

Hunter Bidens addiction runs through testimony

Hunter Biden has been open about his struggle with addiction, a time of his life that was invoked several times throughout Wednesdays deposition  including during a back-and-forth with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board? Gaetz asked Biden.

Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate? Biden responded, prompting Gaetz to answer absolutely.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)

Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think thats appropriate to ask me? Biden asked.

I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use, he later added. Im sorry; Im an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over four-and-a-half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it. Let me answer. I work really hard at it, under an enormous amount of pressure. Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

It was not just Republicans who referenced Bidens addiction. Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the Oversight and Accountability Committee, asked Biden to respond to claims from some witnesses who said the political focus on the first son may be an attempt to drive him into a relapse.

Im more determined than Ive ever been in my life that the No. 1 most important thing that I can do, not only for myself but for my family and for those that love and support me, is to maintain my sobriety, Biden said.

In his opening statement, Biden spoke about his fathers assistance during his period of addiction.

During my battle with addiction, my father was there for me. He helped save my life. His love and support made it possible for me to get sober, stay sober and rebuild my life as a father, husband, son, and brother, Biden said. What he got in return for being a loving and supportive parent is a barrage of hate-filled conspiracy theories that hatched this sham impeachment inquiry and continue to fuel unrelenting personal attacks against him and me.

Some Republicans, however, accused Biden of using his past addiction to his advantage throughout the deposition when he remembered some key details and could not recall others.

Hunter Biden

At one point, for example, Hunter Biden told lawmakers he was high or drunk when he sent a controversial WhatsApp message to a Chinese business associate in 2017 that said he was sitting here with my father and pressed the associate to fulfill an unspecified commitment  or risk angering the Bidens. He testified that he was not with his father at the time and sent the message to the wrong person.

My addiction is not an excuse, but I can tell you this: I am more embarrassed of this text message, if it actually did come from me, than any text message Ive ever sent, he said.

But when asked if he had any recollection of sending the message, Biden said I do not.

Whenever Hunter Biden explained payments to him, he cast himself as a brilliant & experienced advisor/attorney. Whenever he had to explain the threats, shakedowns and familial overlaps with business, he was a sympathetic addict, Gaetz wrote on social media, along with a screenshot of the transcript.

Jared Kushner gets surprise focus

Kushner was nowhere near Capitol Hill on Wednesday. But he became a surprise character in the deposition when Hunter Biden sought to draw a distinction between his overseas business dealings and those of former President Trumps son-in-law.

Kushner had founded a private equity firm shortly after leaving the White House, where he served as a top adviser to Trump, and six months later he scored a huge deal when the Saudi Arabian government invested $2 billion in the firm.

The transaction raised plenty of eyebrows, not only because Kushner had served as a key liaison to the Middle East under Trump, but also because it was later revealed that the advisory panel for the Saudi sovereign wealth fund had recommended against investing in Kushners firm, citing the inexperience of the  management.

Under fire from Republicans about his own business dealings overseas, Hunter Biden offered this contrast: Unlike Jared Kushner, Ive never received money from a foreign government, he testified.

Republicans have disputed that claim, saying Hunter Bidens business ventures with a Chinese energy company were essentially deals with Beijing, which controls much of the countrys industry  an argument Hunter Biden denied.

The anomaly of the CEFC [China Energy company] was this: is that they were not state-owned, Biden testified.

Whats next? A public hearing

With Hunter Bidens deposition in the rearview mirror, Republicans are looking to bring his testimony to television screens across the U.S.

Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said the next phase in the impeachment inquiry is a public hearing with Hunter Biden, where he hopes to clear up some discrepancies between some of the statements [that] were made between some of the associates and what we heard today.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)

The chair did not give a date for the hearing, but said the sooner the better.

Hunter Bidens team initially demanded he testify publicly rather than behind closed doors, voicing concerns Republicans would selectively leak or twist his testimony. Republicans, however, refused to give in to the request, and threatened to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress when he defied his subpoena and failed to appear for a private deposition in December.

Biden ultimately acquiesced to the GOP demands, asking that Republicans reissue him a subpoena because the first one, he argued, was invalid since it was sent before the House voted to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry. They complied.

Now, Hunter may have his moment in the public spotlight.

If thats something that the parties agreed to, we would have no objection to it, because I suppose the whole country can see what an absurd waste of time this circus has been, Raskin said Wednesday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A bill that would specifically define antisemitism in Florida law has been passed unanimously by the Florida Senate, with its sponsor warning of extremism and violence without taking action.

Senate Bill 148 adopts a definition developed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and provides examples of what it looks like in society. The bill, which passed earlier this week, comes at a time of increased tension and reports of hate speech and incidents, largely stemming from the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Supporters said the law seeks to educate people on whats considered antisemitism and will help identify antisemitic hate crimes and discrimination in Florida.

Combating antisemitism requires cooperation among experts, governments and civil society, said Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, the bills sponsor. Defining it and codifying it makes a clear statement that we are going to identify, confront, and call out antisemitism.

If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis into law, Florida would join several other states defining antisemitism at a legislative level.

The bill defines antisemitism as a perception of Jewish individuals which may be expressed as hatred toward such individuals, and any manifestations of antisemitism toward Jewish people, their property, community and religious institutions.

Among the definitions in the bill are some long-understood examples of antisemitism like calling for death or harm on Jewish people or denying the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of Nazi Germany.

The bill also would expand that to include more contemporary examples of antisemitism, like making dehumanizing or stereotypical claims about the power Jewish people hold as a collective, such as the myth of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy or of Jewish individuals controlling the media, economy, government, or other societal institutions.

One section says it would be antisemitic to accuse Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jewish individuals worldwide, than to the interests of their respective nations.

First Amendment questions

Since it was first introduced in the House, just days after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, some lawmakers and organizations have expressed concern about the bill limiting the rights of pro-Palestinian activists or other critics to speak out against Israels response to the Hamas attack, which has demolished much of the Gaza Strip and left more than 30,000 Palestinians dead since the war began.

In January, the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), issued a statement condemning the bill as a threat to civil liberties.

The proposed Florida HB 187/SB 148 legislation not only infringes on our constitutionally guaranteed free speech rights to critique unlawful Israeli policies, but also disregards the plight of other religious minorities like Sikhs, Jehovahs Witnesses, and Muslims facing significant bullying and hate crimes across the state, said Imam Abdullah Jaber, CAIR-FL executive director in the statement.

Berman argues that the amended definition in the bill does not include criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism of any other country and does not violate any First Amendment right.

The bill does say it would be antisemitic to claim that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor, or to require of the Jewish state of Israel a standard of behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.

After the Oct. 7 Hamas assault, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have been on the rise, according to data released in January from the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit that tracks and combats antisemitism.

The organization tracked a total of 3,291 incidents between Oct. 7 and Jan. 17, which represents a 361 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022, which saw 712 incidents. ADLs data since Oct. 7 includes 1,317 rallies that were marked by antisemitic rhetoric, expressions of support for terrorism against the state of Israel and/or anti-Zionism, but such rallies were not included in its earlier data. The groups CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, in the past, has stated antizionism is antisemitism, but not all members of the Jewish community agree on that equation.

Outbreaks of antisemitism can be a harbinger of deep societal trouble and reflect that extremism and violence are eminent. It is dangerous and unacceptable, Berman said. When there is hateful behavior against anyone, it can quickly become a societal endemic.

At a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Berman pointed out that the bill does not create a new crime, but clarifies the definition of antisemitism which can be used in conjunction with existing hate crime discrimination laws.

Hate crime offenses in Florida include acts committed based on the race, color, ancestry, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, homeless status, or advanced age of the victim. This kind of crime might look like a group of white teenagers threatening a Black teenager while using racial slurs, a gay man who is physically assaulted in front of a gay bar, or a bomb threat called into an Islamic center, according to the State Attorneys website.

Hate speech alone would not constitute a hate crime under the First Amendment. But hate speech coupled with another offense, such as defacing public property or harassment, is considered a hate crime.

Unless it falls into one of these other categories of unprotected speech, just saying hateful things about a group of people is protected in the United States. Thats First Amendment law, said Caroline Mala Corbin, professor of law at the University of Miami School of Law.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Lauren Book, D-Davie, thanked lawmakers for their support of the bill and standing alongside our community at time when its very difficult.

Book referenced the Jewish concept of Tikkun olam which is often interpreted as a commitment to repair what is wrong with the world today.

When you think about little Jewish kids ... who when theyre leaving Hebrew school or day school, theyre taking off their Kippahs because theyre afraid of going into Publix and somebody saying something thats unkind, she said. That is the world that we live in.

This story was produced with financial support from Trish and Dan Bell and from donors comprising the South Florida Jewish and Muslim Communities, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson talks during an economic forecast event hosted by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce this week released new numbers that show more Leon County children appear to be ready for kindergarten compared to the previous year.

Last week, during the Annual Economic Forecast hosted by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, business leaders heard a call to action to help more children prepare for kindergarten.

Florida Chamber President and CEO Mark Wilson, the guest speaker at the forecast, urged business leaders to make early learning a community priority because it is directly tied to building a strong workforce.

Leon County's kindergarten readiness landed at 49% in 2022 and increased to 53% in 2023. In Florida overall, kindergarten readiness went from 50% in 2022 to 51% in 2023.

"Leon went from slightly below the state average to now slightly above," said Wilson, in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. "We still have over 1,000 kindergarteners that are not ready for kindergarten."

Leon County's kindergarten readiness went from 49% in 2022 to 53% in 2023.

Other good news, Wilson said, is that 70% of the kids that went through Volunteer Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) were ready for kindergarten in Leon County. In contrast, he said 37% of children who didn't go to VPK were ready for kindergarten.

"The numbers got better since last week because the 2023 final numbers were just released," Wilson said.

Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Chamber: Leon County kindergarten readiness improves
A Florida family is reuniting with a deputy who saved a babys life.

A terrifying video shows the moments a motorcycle sped past Charlotte County Deputy David Musgrove.

The biker then crashed into an SUV and died.

Watch: Florida deputy helps save infants life after deadly motorcycle crash

Inside the SUV was a mother and her two young daughters.

One of them, 6-month-old Lola, had no pulse and wasnt breathing until Musgrove performed CPR and revived her.

See: Two rare leaplings are born on Leap Day 2024

This week, Musgrove reunited with the family, two weeks after Lola was released from the hospital.

We call him Uncle Dave now, the girls do. He is our guardian angel, the infants mother said.

Exclusive: Seminole County Public Schools taken for $1.3 million in email phishing scheme

Even before the rescue, it turns out the family had a special connection with the deputy.

Musgrove and Lolas mother share the same birthday and their families attend the same church.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Ulviyya Shahin

An agreement on economic cooperation has been signed between Azerbaijan and Albania.

The agreement on economic cooperation was signed between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Council of Ministers of Albania. According to the document, the promotion of collaboration in priority projects between Azerbaijan and Albania is envisioned, including areas such as trade, investment, energy, transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, environmental protection, humanitarian efforts, and other directions.

A meeting took place between the Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, the President of SOCAR, Rovnag Abdullayev, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy of Albania, Belinda Balluku. During the meeting, the importance of developing relations with Albania was emphasised, highlighting the significance of high-level reciprocal visits and conducting negotiations to expand cooperation. It was noted that strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries holds a significant place in the context of bilateral relations. Therefore, the organisation of business trips, meetings, and various events is beneficial for the establishment of effective economic partnerships.

The meeting provided information about the favourable business and investment environment in Azerbaijan, opportunities created for investors, and highlighted the potential for strengthening cooperation with Albania in the fields of energy, trade, investment, industry, agriculture, tourism, transportation, and infrastructure.

The parties discussed opportunities for mutual business partnerships, investment, and the promotion of joint activities.

On March 1, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, held a one-on-one meeting with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Albania, Edi Rama, as well.

The meeting in question took place at the "Gulustan" Palace in Baku during the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council and the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Green Energy Advisory Council.

During the meeting, the President touched upon the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Albania and emphasized the active cooperation of the two countries in various fields.

"We have quite an active political dialogue. Whether it is in Azerbaijan or Albania, or during various international events, we maintain a regular agenda for our meetings. We support each other in international organisations and actively work on energy security issues. Albania has played a significant role in the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and continues to play an important role as a member of the TAP team. Currently, we are discussing various aspects of our energy cooperation. I am confident that, during our discussion today, the Prime Minister will cover all the current issues on the agenda."

The president specifically emphasises that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner.

"I believe that Azerbaijan has already proven itself to be a reliable partner. Our word is as valuable as our signature. I am confident that all the plans we have set for ourselves will be implemented because the performance indicators of the past year alone are evidence of this."

Historically, diplomatic ties between Azerbaijan and Albania have been generally positive. Countries often engage in cooperation across various sectors, including trade, investment, culture, and politics. Both nations may explore opportunities for collaboration in areas such as energy, infrastructure, tourism, and economic development.
Five people will go on trial for the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, gunned down by hitmen on August 9, 2023, as he was leaving a political rally at a school in the north of Ecuadors capital, Quito, just days before the first round of early elections.

In a hearing that lasted two days, the Prosecutors Office presented evidence to suggest Carlos A., aka El Invisible, was the perpetrator of the assassination, the details of which were drafted at the Cotopaxi prison where he was serving a sentence for arms trafficking. The other four detainees are being considered his co-perpetrators and accomplices.

None of the five detainees was identified as the actual mastermind behind the murder of the 59-year-old journalist-turned-politician who had turned up documents in the 2020 Sobornos corruption scandal that saw former president Rafael Correa and more than a dozen from his government receiving prison sentences. Villavicencio had also flagged up links between organized crime and Ecuadorian politics just days before he was murdered.

One of the main pieces of evidence for the Attorney Generals Office is the advance testimony of a protected witness, who gave details of how two alleged leaders of the Lobos gang worked out the logistics of the attack on Villavicencio a month prior to it being carried out. The planning was entrusted to El Invisible, who was being held in Cotopaxi and who hired Colombian hitmen to execute the killing, among them Johan Castillo, alias Ito, the 18-year-old assassin who died in the subsequent shootout. El Invisible assumed the task of planning Villavicencios assassination after a failed attempt on the politicians life at another rally in the city of Santo Domingo, two hours from the capital. At the hearing, the prosecutor in charge of the case read the witness statement revealing the motives for the crime:

Why would they want to kill this person?

They undertake the job and they have the right to half of Quito, to the management of its prisons.

According to the protected witness, Villavicencios murder allowed the Lobos gang to move up the ranks, lending them access to prison management so they could reduce their sentences and, in the case of several, secure their release. In order to make the deal, they paid off lawyers and officials from the Attorney Generals Office in Quito. Thirteen people were arrested in the case, but six Colombians were murdered in the cells of Litoral prison in Guayaquil. According to the autopsy, they died of asphyxiation while another of the detainees was found dead in his cell in the Inca prison in Quito, one month after the crime.

The Ecuadorian Attorney Generals Office singles out Laura C, aka Flaca, as the one in charge of logistics. She arranged for the purchase of Villavicencios political party T-shirts and hats so that the assassins could mingle among his supporters at the political rally on August 9. She also provided the assassins with weapons, ammunition, motorcycles and vehicles, and set up meetings prior to the assassination. One such took place the night before the crime, in which the gunmen gathered to listen to instructions from El Invisible via videoconference from prison, one of which was ensuring the motorbikes had sufficient fuel. At this point, Laura C. took the opportunity to walk around the outside of the schools stadium where Villavicencio would be gunned down, then everyone went to sleep.

Under investigation for the murder of a candidate for popular election, the five detainees could face between 22 and 26 years in prison. Once the material authors have been identified, it is time to go after the intellectual authors, said Veronica Saruz, Villavicencios wife on X, formerly Twitter. That is, those who Fernando Villavicencio was getting in the way of. The testimony of the protected witness will also come into play in a parallel investigation to identify the intellectual authors of Villavicencio death.

Meanwhile, the FBI is lending its support to the investigations at the request of Ecuadors government, offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the conspirators and masterminds behind the assassination.

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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law permitting the public disclosure of grand jury testimony, paving the way for officials to release documents from the secretive 2006 Jeffrey Epstein case.

The bill, HB-117, states in part that grand jury testimony may be disclosed so long as the subject of the grand jury inquiry is deceased, the grand jury inquiry related to criminal or sexual activity between the subject of the grand jury investigation and a person who was a minor at the time of the alleged criminal or sexual activity.

According to DeSantis, the law will spearhead the release of records related to the grand jury case where a single criminal charge was brought against Epstein, despite prosecutors identifying over 30 victims. Some of the people who claimed he abused them at his Palm Beach home were as young as 14 years old.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signs HB-117

When police raided Epsteins home in 2006, they found hidden cameras believed to have been used to document the abuse, as well as several photos of young girls.

The FBI stepped in after the Palm Beach Police Chief requested Epstein be charged with several offenses and accused the state prosecutor of being too lenient with Epstein. The then-state attorney, in an unusual move, decided to present evidence to a grand jury, which would legally seal the identities of those involved and the details of the accusations.

Epstein pleaded not guilty to the single charge of procuring for prostitution a girl below age 18 as part of a deal negotiated between his lawyers and the state attorney. According to the Miami Herald, the deal essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epsteins sex crimes.

After spending just 13 months in jail  housed in a private wing and permitted to leave for up to 12 hours a day  Epstein walked free until his July 2019 federal sex trafficking arrest. He died by suicide in his jail cell just over a month later.

Epsteins longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy in 2021 for helping Epstein groom his victims.

Haley Robson

Two victims of the disgraced billionaire joined DeSantis at the Palm Beach Police Department on Thursday. Haley Robson, a former teen recruiter for Epstein, said victims are still healing from the abuse, and she hopes the law will bring some closure.

Im trying to put the final pieces of this puzzle together so I can move on and finally get the peace I deserve for my life, Robson said. Im so grateful for this bill. Really, I just want to know why Jeffrey Epstein was given such grace and mercy for his inhumane crimes.

Robson also wants to know why the young victims were scrutinized so heavily in the media. She said the victim-shaming that arose from the high-profile case was psychologically damaging and led some to retract statements out of fear.

Jena-Lisa Jones

Jena-Lisa Jones was 14 years old when she was sexually assaulted by Epstein.

Weve been left in the dark for so long, with no answers as to what was going on and why things played out the way that they did, Jones said. It would have saved literally hundreds of girls from being put in a position none of us ever wanted to be put in.

Both women said they were grateful to the legislature for passing the bill.

Its going to shed light on what Ive known this entire time. Im excited to see what is and what isnt included in these documents, Robson said. I think its going to be groundbreaking.

Grand jury documents from the Epstein case will be authorized for release on July 1, when the law goes into effect. When Robson asked DeSantis if the documents were allowed to be altered before they are released, he said the judge is allowed to redact some things, but the law is structured in a way thats disfavored.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A Florida man is facing charges after he brought endangered deer into his home in the Florida Keys, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The FWC said Thomas F. Scancarelli, 61, of Big Pine Key was arrested on Feb. 27 and is facing 32 misdemeanor counts of violations related to an endangered species.

How much do you need to earn to afford a home in Tampa?

Scancarelli reportedly enticed multiple Key deer, a federally designated endangered species found only in the Florida Keys, into his home and fed them.

The FWC identified Scancarelli through videos shared on Facebook, including one where Scancarelli bragged he was watching Fox News with his new BFF. In total, Scancarelli posted 16 videos and photos of himself feeding or enticing Key deer into his home leading back to Oct. 14, 2023.

CREDIT: FWC

CREDIT: FWC

CREDIT: FWC

The FWC said feeding Key deer is harmful as it lessens their fear of humans and can cause the population to concentrate, leading to the spread of parasites and disease.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
In July 2021, Florida deputies arrested a man for shooting down their drone. Last week, a judge sentenced him to four years in federal prison, but not for destruction of property: He was sentenced merely for possession of a firearm as a felon.

According to a criminal complaint filed by an agent with the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, deputies with the Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a possible burglary at a large commercial property in Mount Dora, Florida. Upon arrival, they found a front entry gate that had been "damaged by impact," as well as "unsecured doors on some of the buildings at the facility."

Thinking there could still be intruders present on the 10-acre site, deputies flew an unmanned aerial vehicle over the property to check it out. As it flew, however, they heard two gunshots ring out and saw the drone "slowly spinning downward and emitting smoke" before it "crashed onto the metal roof of an outbuilding, became suspended on a rain gutter, and caught fire."

Deputies investigated the source of the gunshots and encountered Wendell Goney, who lived nearby. Goney first denied shooting the drone but admitted to it after learning the craft was equipped with cameras. Goney claimed this was the first time he had ever shot at a drone, but he told deputies that he had been "harassed" by people flying them over his property. He said he had bought a .22 caliber rifle to put a stop to it and hadn't known that this particular drone belonged to law enforcement.

When deputies asked, Goney admitted that he was a convicted felon and therefore ineligible to own a firearm under federal law. They arrested Goney, who gave them permission to search his house and told them exactly where to find the rifle.

The criminal complaint noted that Goney "has approximately 23 prior felony convictions. He has been sentenced to more than a year in state prison on multiple occasions, including 1997, 2007, 2009, and 2013." His offenses included forgery, burglary, and multiple instances of grand theft, including the theft of a rifle in 1995. Most recently, he was sentenced in 2013 to two years and eight months in prison on charges including simple battery, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and possession of cocaine.

Goney pled guilty in October 2023. Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell sentenced Goney to four years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release during which he would have to participate in both drug and mental health treatment programs. He would also be required to pay more than $29,000 in restitution to the Lake County Sheriff's Office to replace the drone.

While Goney was initially charged with both destruction of law enforcement property and possession of a firearm, prosecutors dropped the former charge in exchange for his plea. Noting in their sentencing memo that federal guidelines "call for a recommended sentencing range of between 7796 months," prosecutors asked for "a sentence at the low end of the applicable sentencing guidelines77 months." The memo noted that "such a sentence would be slightly more than twice the length of the longest of the prison sentences the defendant has served to date."

But is that a just sentence? Goney's previous longest sentence was two years and eight months for crimes involving assaulting other people, including police; in this case, on the other hand, Goney's only aggressive act was toward an unmanned flying drone, and his only charged offense was possessing a gun without the government's permission.

While it seems sensible to bar felons from owning gunsespecially those with such unsavory records as Goney'sthe act presents uncomfortable questions of both liberty and constitutionality.

For one, the federal ban on firearm ownership necessarily sweeps up people who have committed nonviolent offenses, even those not involving firearms. In 1995, Bryan Range fraudulently obtained $2,458 in welfare benefits; when caught, Range repaid the money, paid a small fine, and served three years of probation. But under federal law, Range also lost the right to own a firearm as a result of his state misdemeanor conviction. In June 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled that Range's ban violated the Second Amendment's guarantee of a right to keep and bear arms.

Unlike Range, Goney's prior convictions did involve the use of violence. But who is supposed to be protected by keeping Goney from owning a firearm? At the time of his arrest, Goney had not been in trouble with the law for several years, and his only act of aggression was aimed at a drone he thought was "harassing" him.

The original criminal complaint notes that Goney is a felon and "has never had his civil rights restored by executive clemency following these felony convictions." Indeed, the only way for Goney to legally regain his Second Amendment right to own a firearm is through a pardon by the governor.

People convicted of crimeseven felonies, even those involving violencedo not cease to be citizens, or human beings, as a result of their sentences. Once their sentences have been served, they should have the ability to regain the rights they've lostincluding the rights to vote, to hold public office, and to serve on juries. The right to bear arms is just as essential.

The post Florida Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison After Shooting Down a Drone appeared first on Reason.com.
Officials in Florida say they are confident that missing teenage girl Madeline Soto is dead and that it was her mothers boyfriend who killed her.

The 13-year-old was reported missing on Monday morning in Kissimmee. Her mothers boyfriend had said he had dropped her off at school, but Orange County Sheriffs Office said Friday that she was never taken to school and that instead, they believed Stephan Sterns, 37, had killed her.

Sheriff John Mina told reporters that officers had met with Madelines mother on Thursday night to tell her they were confident her daughter was dead and that the search was now underway for her body.

I wish we were here to tell you that we have found Madeline, but we have not found her, the sheriff said at Fridays briefing.

Our detectives have determined that Madeline was never dropped off on the morning of February 26 near her school. Instead, we believe she was already dead.

He explained how OCSO had video evidence which appeared to prove that, showing Mr Sterns throwing items into a dumpster behind their apartment building at around 7.35am. Those items included the teens backpack and her school-issued laptop.

At 8.19am, we have evidence that shows Stephan Sterns returning to the complex and Madeline was visible in that vehicle. We believe she was already dead at that time, the sheriff continued.

The Kissimmee Police Department is now taking over the case, with Mr Sterns now being held on capital sexual battery charges.

Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland said her officers were looking into Mr Sterns movements on 26 February.

13-year-old Madeline Soto (last seen wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts, and white Crocs) has been missing since Monday, February 26, 2024. Through investigative efforts, Stephen Sterns was identified as the prime suspect in Madelines disappearance. pic.twitter.com/2vDccltiZf  Kissimmee Police (@kissimmeepolice) March 1, 2024

The department shared photos of Mr Sterns car, which he was seen driving between 1pm and 2.30pm in the area of State Road 192 and Old Hickory Tree Road. It is believed he had a flat tyre at the time.

Sheriff Mina said that Madelines mother was not a suspect at this time. Earlier this week, it was reported she only knew her daughter was missing when she went to the school on Monday afternoon.
Florida law enforcement officials say they believe they have found the remains of a 16-year-old girl who went missing nearly 20 years ago.

The Volusia County Sheriffs Office said detectives and forensic units uncovered human remains at an Ormond Beach mobile home park on Wednesday, which could be those of 16-year-old Autumn McClure who was reported missing in 2004.

"There really never is a cold case," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said during a media briefing on Thursday. "The men and women that are assigned to our Major Case Unit and all of our investigative units, thats what they understand."

The sheriffs office said McClure was reported missing from her grandmothers home in Ormond Beach on May 10, 2004.

Detectives learned early in the investigation that McClures grandmother received letters and phone calls from McClure saying she was fine and would come home after she turned 18.

FLORIDA WOMAN ATTACKS TEEN, WOMAN WITH HOT SAUCE BOTTLE: POLICE

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Autumn McClure went missing in 2004, and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says it may have found her remains buried under a trailer in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Investigators also learned McClure was staying with a woman she worked with at Winn-Dixie, as well as the womans boyfriend, 31-year-old Brian Donley. The two lived in the Shady Oaks mobile home park, and they told investigators McClure stayed with them only for a short time.

Over the next several years, the investigation continued, which included another interview with Donleys girlfriend in 2018, when she denied knowing anything about the teenagers disappearance.

Three years later, the sheriffs office received a tip claiming Donley and/or his girlfriend were responsible for the death of a teenage girl in Volusia County. Investigators followed up with the tipster and were provided with additional evidence.

FLORIDA WOMAN'S COLD CASE MURDER CRACKED A QUARTER CENTURY LATER

Autumn McClure went missing in 2004, and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says it may have found her remains buried under a trailer in Ormond Beach, Fla.

In 2022, detectives interviewed the girlfriend again and provided her with a letter of immunity to get more information.

During the interview, the sheriffs office said, the girlfriend indicated she saw Donley kill McClure in the trailer before he threatened to do the same to her if she told anyone.

Over the course of 20 years since McClure disappeared, the property the trailer sat on changed hands several times, and a new trailer was placed there in 2021.

The sheriffs office was able to have the trailer removed, along with the concrete it sat on, to allow for the excavation of the property this week.

REAL-LIFE 'DEVIL MADE ME DO IT' CASE OF ARNE CHEYENNE JOHNSON 'SCARED US S---LESS': LAWYER

Autumn McClure went missing in 2004, and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office says it may have found her remains buried under a trailer in Ormond Beach, Fla.

Dr. Lerah Sutton and her team from the University of Floridas Maples Center for Forensic Medicine assisted in the excavation, which included the logistics, planning and deployment of ground-penetrating radar to find areas of interest.

By Thursday, about 99% of the human remains had been recovered from the site, though matching the remains with McClure was still pending.

Still, the sheriffs office has notified McClures family of the discovery.

The sheriffs office said Donley died at the age of 49 in 2022, therefore he cannot be prosecuted for the crime if there is in fact a match.

"Im hoping to God that when he took his last breath on May 26 of 2022, that maybe he had a vision of where the hell he was headed," Chitwood said.





Original article source: Florida remains excavated from mobile home park could be linked to teenage girl who went missing 20 years ago
Florida school principals could face state penalties if they are determined to have illegally prevented students from looking at library books in their schools, under a new rule under consideration by the state Department of Education.

Randy Kosec, chief of the departments Office of Professional Practices, introduced the proposed rule on Friday during a lightly attended 20-minute online workshop. It reads that a school principal shall not prevent, direct anyone to prevent, or allow anyone to prevent students from accessing educational materials without legal cause to do so.

The activity came two weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for reforms to the book challenge process, which he said had been abused by bad actors.

Florida has received national attention for a surge in the number of books that schools have pulled from their shelves. The state led all others in that category last year, according to PEN America.

DeSantis supported several pieces of legislation that made the challenge process easier. He touted the efforts to remove books with sexual content as a way to protect children and preserve parental rights.

Yet the governor blamed activists who challenge too many books, and educators who remove access to entire sections of libraries, for hijacking the process to make political points. He called on the department to write rules for educators who take such steps, and encouraged lawmakers to amend state law to deal with the outside objectors.

Fridays workshop represented the departments first step toward following the governors directive.

During the session, participants raised questions about what the terms in the proposed rule mean. They targeted the phrases educational materials and legal cause.

Carlos Guillermo Smith, senior policy adviser for the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality Florida, contended the rule appears as vague as the laws that schools are attempting to follow when they remove books from shelves. Those include measures that place limits on the instruction of sexual identity and gender orientation, along with prohibitions on books that depict pornography or sexual conduct.

The law is vague and the law is punitive. It has led to a toxic environment in our schools where educators are afraid of being prosecuted by the state if they dont remove the books, said Smith, a former state representative from Orlando who is seeking election to the Senate. I dont think the solution to a vague and punitive law is to double down on penalties.

Bruce Harris, another speaker during the workshop, suggested the department needs to clarify the language. He noted that a principal might view a book as inappropriate even if the state does not, and asked whether that principal would be found to have violated the rule.

Kosec said it was a good point worthy of future consideration. He later added that, if the department receives a complaint about a principals action on books, his office would conduct a full investigation into how the decision followed district policy and state law.

Damaris Allen of Tampa-based Families for Strong Public Schools, who also attended the workshop, said she hoped the state will seriously consider requests for more clarity in what is considered inappropriate material, rather than keep its focus on punishing educators.

I would hate to see a whole generation of kids robbed of the love of reading at a time when were struggling with literacy rates because of vague and punitive rules, Allen said.

Kosec said the department would continue to accept public input on the proposal as it moves toward an April consideration by the State Board of Education.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have taken a step toward dealing with excessive book challenges from the general public.

The Florida House has proposed a provision to assess $100 processing fees for each challenge filed by a parent or resident who does not have a student in the affected school, after that person has had five unsuccessful challenges. That item is in a larger bill (HB 1285) that awaits Senate action.

The House also had included in its education deregulation bill (SB 7004) a proposal to limit nonparent objectors to one challenge per month. That line was deleted from consideration before the bill passed, though.
ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA)  The body of a missing 13-year-old Florida girl has been found, the Orange County Sheriffs Office confirmed.

Madeline Sotos body was recovered around 4:30 p.m. in a wooded area in Osceola County.

Earlier, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said investigators were confident that a missing 13-year-old Florida girl is dead.

Madeline Soto, 13, was reported missing after she didnt show up to school on Monday. A day later, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a Missing Child Alert for the teen.

Detectives said Madeline was never dropped off at school, instead, they believe she was already dead on Monday.

Mina said investigators believe that Stephan Sterns moved Madelines body in the early morning hours of Feb. 26.

We have video evidence that shows Stephan Sterns discarding items in a dumpster in that apartment complex in Kissimmee at 7:35, Mina said. Detectives later recovered Madelines backpack and her school-issued laptop from that dumpster.

Mina said a video showed Sterns returning to the complex with Madeline in his car about 45 minutes later.

We believe she was already dead at that time, Mina said.

Detectives believe Madeline was killed in Kissimmee and that her body was moved.

Since the girls body was last spotted in Kissimmee, the Kissimmee Police Department will be taking over the investigation.

Kissimmee Police Chief Betty Holland said there may be more charges in the case in the future.

On Friday, the Orange County Public Schools Superintendent released the following statement regarding Sotos body being found:

I am heartbroken to hear from the Orange County Sheriffs Office of the tragic death of our precious student, Madeline Soto. My thoughts and prayers go out to Maddies family and her school community. To lose a child so suddenly and tragically is extremely difficult especially for family and friends. Counselors continue to be available for any student or staff member dealing with the news. I ask that you keep the entire Hunters Creek Middle School community in your prayers as they grieve the loss of one of their own. Dr. Maria Vazquez, OCPS Superintendent

Sterns, who was Madelines mothers boyfriend, was arrested late Wednesday after the sheriffs office said disturbing images were found on his phone.

The girls mother is not a suspect in the case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Video above: Biden and Trump trade blame during southern border visits

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A Florida woman was arrested Wednesday on charges connected to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday.

Lin Marie Carey, 56, travelled from Naples to D.C. to participate in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, according to the newly-unsealed criminal complaint.

Coolest thing Ive ever done: Florida Jan. 6 rioter gave cop a concussion, bragged about it on Instagram

Carey told the FBI she paid $115 to take a bus from southwest Florida to Washington D.C. after hearing about it on a Facebook group. The bus departed from the Seed to Table grocery store, which gained notoriety for resisting COVID masking mandates.

Court documents state Carey travelled with her church group and was dropped off in D.C. at 4 a.m. on Jan. 6, just hours before former President Donald Trumps rally at the Ellipse. She gave the FBI several self-recorded videos, including one where she narrated her journey into the Capitol building, according to the DOJ.

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Im putting my goggles on. I think theyre going to try to tear gas us, Carey said, according to court documents.

She was captured on security cameras inside the Capitol wearing a yellow scuba mask. Carey also recorded herself yelling, we want Trump, taking back our house, and Stop the Steal, at least eight times, the DOJ said.

Georgia was a disappointment last night; they stole it again. Theyre getting really good at stealing elections, court documents stated. She went on to say, Were here to support the POTUS, Stop the Steal, and save our country for our children and grandchildren.

Gay adult film actor-turned-Proud Boy from Pasco gets jail time for Capitol riot

Another self-recorded video showed Carey and another woman wandering the halls in search of a bathroom, the DOJ said. She asked a Capitol police officer to point her toward a restroom, which led them downstairs to another officer who ushered them out of the building. Carey boarded a bus back home at 3:45 p.m.

Carey was arrested over three years later in Naples. She was charged with obstruction of an official proceeding  a felony  and misdemeanor offenses of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Former state Sen. Betty Holzendorf, a fiery advocate and longtime pillar of Jacksonvilles Democratic circles, died Thursday at age 84.

"Betty Holzendorf was a force in Jacksonville politics," Mayor Donna Deegan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "... I will always be grateful for her commitment to community and compassion for people."

Ms. Holzendorf was a passionate voice for her constituents and for the causes she held dear, State Rep. Dean Black, chair of the Duval County Republican Party, tweeted. He called Ms. Holzendorf a great legislator and a strong leader for our city.

Her impact on the region has been profound, University of North Florida Moez Limayem said in a statement that called her a proud UNF alum.

In this 1999 photo, then-state Sen. Betty Holzendorf, left, shows off her 4-month-old grandson, Kevin, to House Speaker John Thrasher, right, and Senate President Toni Jennings before Gov. Jeb Bush's annual state of the state address..

Words cannot express the deepest gratitude and honor we have for her dedicated service to our community, the Duval County Democratic Party said in a statement about her passing. A fierce advocate for education, affordable housing, healthcare, and the re-nourishment of the beaches, Betty always exuded integrity, a fighter spirit, and a love for our city.

A public figure for close to a half-century, Ms. Holzendorf grew up around Florida Avenue in the citys old Eastside and graduated from Edward Waters University, later earning degrees in biochemistry at Atlanta University and education administration at UNF.

Another life: Remembering woman described as "the face of the civil rights movement in Jacksonville"

Formerly a public school teacher and an administrator at Edward Waters, she became a city affirmative action officer in 1975 under then-Mayor Hans Tanzler.

After Jake Godbold was elected mayor a few years later, she earned a post as his City Council liaison, honing political skills that aided her when she was elected to Floridas House of Representatives in 1988.

Four years later, she won a seat in the Florida Senate, where she developed relationships with interests ranging from teachers unions and school boards to insurers and manufacturers, expanding her influence. She remained in the Senate until 2002.

You may not have always agreed with her, but you would always know where you stood with her. I will always remember her as feared and fearless, Council member Rahman Johnson said in a statement that described her as an iconoclast and "a true force of nature."

Ms. Holzendorf ran for mayor in 2003, losing in the first round of voting for the job John Peyton eventually won.

Despite the defeat, she retained unifying authority that Peyton valued when she was recruited in 2007 to co-chair the steering committee of the Jacksonville Journey, the anti-crime measure that became a signature part of Peytons legacy.

Betty Holzendorf Drive on UNFs campus is named after her.

Funeral arrangements had not been finalized by Friday morning but are being handled through Sarah L. Carters Funeral Home  Northside, 6665 New Kings Road in Jacksonville.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Betty Holzendorf (1939-2024): fierce Jacksonville lawmaker dies at 84
As deputy secretary general of NATO, Mircea Geoana has spent the last four and a half years monitoring the growing threats from Vladimir Putins Russia. Shortly before this interview was held, the head of the Kremlin launched his most explicit nuclear threat since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The social democratic politicians response to Moscows rhetoric is calm but firm. His own arguments revolve around a forceful idea: that the members of the North Atlantic Alliance have done a lot to help the invaded country and must continue to do so. But above all, that they must not fall into despair in the face of difficulties.

During a half-hour meeting at the Madrid headquarters of IE University, Geoana, 65, summarized the various challenges that Western societies face in an era that he defines as one of renewed great power competition. In response to Donald Trumps attacks on NATOs guiding principle  mutual protection among allies  he replies that the United States needs Europe as much as the latter needs the former.

Question. Putin spoke this Thursday of a nuclear attack that would entail the destruction of our civilization. How seriously do you take his words?

Answer. We have seen such use of nuclear threats from Russian leaders for at least two years, since the war in Ukraine started. And this, from a nuclear superpower like Russia. This is highly irresponsible because when you possess such weapons, you also have an obligation for restraint. It is part of their arsenal of psychological pressure intimidation.

Q. Do you then view it more as a bluff than a real threat?

A. It is a speech that is in the logic of psychological intimidation rather than in real intentions. We dont see any imminent threat of Russia using such weapons. But such statements are very dangerous because they erode trust in the field of nuclear weapons. Russia knows the consequences of such an eventuality. We know that this is mainly the same bombastic way of blasting the West and describing the war that he started in Ukraine as a war of civilizations or when he maintains that the West is trying to destroy Russia, which is total nonsense.

Q. Putin was responding to statements by French President Emmanuel Macron, who did not rule out any option, including sending troops to Ukraine, something that other European and U.S. leaders have ruled out. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg himself said that no such plans exist. Is it an error to talk about measures that are discarded a few hours later?

A. We fully respect the right of nations and leaders to come up with fresh ideas. But at NATO we have no intention and no plans to deploy troops in Ukraine. What we are determined to do is continue to support Ukraine and avoid escalation with Russia, something we have done satisfactorily so far. This is especially important after Ukraine started negotiations for accession to the EU and is moving closer to NATO. We cannot say when, but one day independent sovereign Ukraine will be part of both NATO and the EU. This war is likely to continue for some time. So NATO will continue to ensure that we support Ukraine and avoid escalation with Russia.

Q. Moscow has recently achieved military successes such as the capture of Avdiivka. Meanwhile U.S. aid to Ukraine is paralyzed, the collapse of the Russian economy that many predicted has not occurred... Is Putin winning the war?

A. We have to avoid the temptation to be too optimistic, as we were a few months before the counteroffensive, or too pessimistic, as we seem to be today. This war is very dynamic. If I look at the glass half full, I see Ukraine pushing the Russian fleet from the Black Sea, away from Crimea towards the Sea of Azov. Thats a huge success. I see Ukraine with our help restoring the Black Sea export route for Ukrainian grains to Africa and to the rest of the Middle East. I see some technical difficulties for Ukraine, but no strategic difficulties. So lets have confidence that as Russia has switched into a war economy, and receives support from North Korea and Iran, that we also ramp up our production, our industrial base, to help Ukraine but also to refill our own needs for our own security and defense and deterrence in Europe.

Geoana, during the interview, this Thursday in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez

Q. Trump, who has encouraged Russia to do whatever the hell it wants to any NATO country that does not spend enough on defense, is virtually guaranteed the Republican nomination for the November election. Would a new Trump administration pose a threat to the commitment on which the Alliance was created?

A. We saw very powerful statements from President Trump at the beginning of his term, but then he worked with NATO. He understood the need for this alliance, and the interest of America to keep this alliance strong, progressively changing his views and expressing far more constructive approaches when it comes to NATO. I cannot prejudge who the American people will elect. But polls show immense support for NATO in the public opinion of America. In a recent YouGov survey, more than 60% of the population was willing to defend their allies. Both Republicans and Democrats understand very well the very complicated competition with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. The United States will need all its allies in Europe and the rest of the world. China will never have so many allies. And this is why NATO is precious for us in Europe, but also very important for America. Let us ensure that we do not erode confidence in the sanctity of NATO Article 5. We need each other more than ever. Staying together serves the interests of both sides of the Atlantic.

Q. How should allies prepare for a hypothetical return of Trump to the White House? Has the time come to accept that the U.S. no longer guarantees European security?

A. This has been a recurring conversation for more than 20 years. In NATO, EU states are contributing only 20% of the total defense expenditure. So 27 member states together, thats only 20%. Im a strong supporter of the European Union project, but I believe that in a way, its counterproductive to have this Cassandra prophecy of things that will not happen. America needs us. And we need America. We all need each other. The EU is relatively weak in defense due to a lack of investment for decades, but also due to the fragmentation of the defense market. NATO is the EUs best partner to avoid its fragmentation.

Q. Germany refuses to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Earlier, there was discussion about the Leopards and the F-16 jets, steps that were finally taken. Is this gradual strategy of taking small steps responsible for Russias current advances?

A. I have to respect the democratic decisions of each country. These are especially complicated steps in Germany, a country that after a long period of pacifism is, however, doing a lot: it dedicates 2% of GDP to defense and helps Ukraine with significant resources. Before, the F-16s were a kind of taboo. Now we are ready to train the first Ukrainian pilots. Let's give democracies time to make decisions before rushing and criticizing. The same goes for the United States Congress.

Q. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has warned that the threat of war may not be imminent, but it is not impossible. Are allies doing enough in the face of this danger?

A. The EU is adjusting to a new reality since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Then, countries began to invest more in defense. Last year, at the NATO summit in Madrid, we adopted the most important deterrence and defense plans since the end of the Cold War. Nations are doing a great job for this Alliance. They are providing a lot.

Q. Should NATO thank Putin for the accession of new members such as Finland and soon Sweden?

A. Putin has made a series of strategic misjudgments: he misjudged the resistance of the Ukrainian people and believed that NATO would return to the pre-1997 borders. We now have among our members two countries that had been neutral, in the Swedish case for more than 200 years. And now NATO has an Eastern flank which covers the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea. This is a huge strategic difficulty for Putin. He believed that the West would be weak and divided, but we are strong and united.

Mircea Geoana, at the Madrid headquarters of IE University. Samuel Sanchez
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes discusses the forgery of documents in an indictment against three former Arizona Department of Education employees in Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2024. (Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror)

Three former employees of the states education department were indicted this week for defrauding Arizonas private school voucher program for more than $600,000.

The trio face a litany of charges, including conspiracy, forgery, money laundering and fraud for falsifying the enrollment documents and special education evaluations of 17 students  five of whom dont even exist  to receive voucher funds via Arizonas Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program.

ESA vouchers allow students to attend a private school or be educated at home. Republican lawmakers opened up the program to every student in the state in 2022 with a universal expansion. Previously, funds were reserved for those in D or F rated public schools, with military families or with special education needs.

The expansion has been widely blamed by critics for turning the program into a free for all for wealthy Arizonans after an explosion of new applicants turned out to be private school students with no prior public school history. Since then, ESA vouchers have repeatedly come under fire from Democrats and public school advocates for the programs ballooning cost to the state and permissive funding policies that allow for piano and luxury car driving lessons to be classified as approved expenses.

Contention over the ESA programs lack of legislative regulation flared up on Thursday, when Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office spearheaded the investigation into the three fraudsters, denounced the program as ripe for abuse.

The Democrat outlined how the trio and two other adults, who are the children of one of the former Arizona Education Department employees, were able to fabricate birth certificates and special education records to fool the system. Students with special needs are awarded larger grant amounts than their peers.

Mayes criticized the Republican-majority legislature, which has been unwilling to regulate the program, as part of the problem.

My overarching concern here is this is a program that is easy to target for fraud, she said. The legislature has never appropriately funded the administration of this program. And the lack of controls, regulation and appropriate oversight make the voucher ESA program a target for fraudsters.

Former employee Delores Lashay Sweet falsified paperwork asserting that non-existent triplets children lived at her home. And non-existant twins allegedly lived with former employee Jennifer Lopez. All five ghost children shared the same birthday. As many as 10 ESA recipients were registered as living at Sweets home.

Sweet, Lopez and a third former employee, Dorrian Lamar Jones, were all part of the ESA department staff and approved applications for the program.

Mayes said her office was tipped off about Sweet by a credit union, and questioned why a red flag wasnt first raised by the state education department. She attributed that failure to the programs massive enrollment growth, saying the universal expansion has jeopardized applications from deserving students.

That universal expansion has degraded services for students with real disabilities who have relied on the program and for whom it was originally designed, she said. This fraud is a slap to the face of any parent who has children with disabilities. They now have to compete for the time and resources of ADE staff with tens of thousands of new students in the program, many of whom were already attending private schools on their parents dime before this taxpayer funded coupon for the wealthy was passed by the legislature.

The solution, Mayes said, lies with the legislature.

It is high time for the legislature to get serious about putting some regulations in place to prevent the fraud that were seeing today from happening in the first place, she said.

She said, he said: ESA supporters respond

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, a Republican, called Mayes assertions false and lashed out at her. He noted that only Sweet was flagged by the credit union; Lopez and Jones were both referred to the AGs Office by the Department of Education. That, he said, proves the department is on top of any issues.

According to AG spokesman Richie Taylor, the two were terminated by the state education department after the AGs office reached out with concerns about Sweet.

Horne added that the trio were hired under his predecessor, Democrat Kathy Hoffman, and said that, under his leadership, the department was better focused on rooting out fraud.

John Ward, the leader of the ESA program, said verification policies are in place and working. A 19-year veteran of the Arizona Auditor Generals Office, he was hired after the programs former head abruptly resigned, and was shortly afterwards implicated in a data breach that exposed the information of thousands of ESA accounts to a single parent.

Ward said eight enrollment specialists review applicant documents and report suspicions to their supervisors. The entire ESA program, which now serves over 70,000 students across the state, is staffed by 32 employees.

Horne pointed out that many government programs are targeted by fraud, and vowed to continue safeguarding ESAs against it. But, he said, action from the state legislature isnt needed because current processes are sufficient.

The unfortunate fact is that the department is not alone in having been victimized by fraud, he wrote in an emailed statement. According to the Auditor Generals Financial Investigation Reports and Fraud Prevention Alerts website, over the past 30 years there have been multiple incidents of fraud committed against government entities, including various state agencies, law enforcement and many school districts.

House Speaker Ben Toma, who spearheaded the universal expansion in 2022, echoed Horne, saying that fraud is rampant across government programs and that state laws already exist to hold criminals accountable. The Republican from Glendale dismissed Mayes criticism of the program as nothing more than political opportunism.

Its regrettable that critics of Arizonas highly popular and successful ESA program are predictably seizing this opportunity to politicize and undermine it, he said.

A hearing in the indictment against the three former employees and two other adults involved in the alleged crimes who are the children of Sweet is set for March 28.

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This story was originally published by the Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arizona Mirror maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jim Small for questions: info@azmirror.com. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Former Arizona Education Dept. staffers indicted for defrauding the school voucher program appeared first on Arkansas Advocate.
One of the two paramedics who were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Elijah McClain was sentenced on Friday.

Former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Peter Cichuniec was sentenced to 5 years in prison -- the minimum sentence -- and 3 years of probation on Friday by Adams County District Judge Mark Warner. He said the sentence and the example it might send are tied to public safety, but also said he does not believe Cichuniec is a risk to the public.

McClain was walking home in August 2019 when the 23-year-old Black man was confronted by police officers who forcibly restrained him and then the Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics -- Jeremy Cooper and Cichuniec -- injected him with ketamine.

Body camera video from an Aurora police officer shows paramedics injecting Elijah McClain with ketamine. / Credit: Aurora Police Department

He went into cardiac arrest in an ambulance a few minutes later and died three days after that.

Cooper and Cichuniec were both convicted on charges of criminally negligent homicide in December 2023.

Cichuniec was also found guilty of second-degree assault-unlawful administration of drugs, a conviction that typically carries a 5- to 16-year prison sentence. He appeared in court in a prison jumpsuit in handcuffs Friday.

Paramedic Peter Cichuniec, convicted for his role in Elijah McClain's death sits in court before his sentencing on Friday, March 1, 2024 in Brighton, Colo. Cichuniec was sentenced to five years in prison for the death of McClain in a rare prosecution of medical responders that has left officials rethinking how they treat people in police custody. / Credit: Colorado State Court via the Associated Press, POOL

Peter Cichuniec's friends and family

During victim impact statements, several family members and friends spoke on behalf of Cichuniec.

Lainey Garrison, a friend and former neighbor of Cichuniec and his family, was the first to speak.

"Pete is one of the best people I know," she said, her voice breaking. "He's the last person that would have any ill intent or hatred toward anyone."

Garrison said her kids grew up playing with Cichuniec's kids and are a similar age.

His wife Katie Cichuniec and sons Jack and Ryan Cichuniec then stood together at the podium. His wife Katie said through tears that the approximately 100 letters of support of her husband received by the court don't begin to speak to his character as a husband and father.

"Pete has always been my rock but never more than in 2021 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer," she said. "He was at every single appointment."

Katie Cichuniec, wife of former Aurora paramedic Peter Cichuniec, speaks on her husband's behalf during the victim impact statement portion of her husband's sentencing hearing on Friday, March 1, 2024. / Credit: CBS

"He literally held me up and helped me walk when I was sick from treatment," she continued. "That's his character. He has never been cruel or intentionally hurt anyone with his actions or words."

Jack Cichuniec, Peter's 21-year-old son, said his father has been a constant source of inspiration and support amid a bone marrow disorder diagnosis.

"As an adult, I consider him one of my closest friends," he said. "My dad consistently embodies the spirit of a selfless man, who I consider a hero."

"I hope to be half the man, husband, father and citizen that he is," he said, before requesting the judge impose the minimum sentence.

Ryan Cichuniec, Peter's other son, said his father "was always there."

"He's an honorable man," he said. "I would really appreciate you giving him leniency."

Following statements from his family, fellow emergency medical professionals defended Peter Cichuniec and, at times, criticized the prosecution. One said the jury lacked understanding of the job of paramedics.

Peter Cichuniec then took the stand himself.

"I wish I could tell Ms. McClain that Elijah was going to be okay," he said, just as he said he wished he could tell many loved ones of deceased victims in incidents he responded to. "But I can't."

Former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Peter Cichuniec speaks at the sentencing portion of his trial after being convicted of criminally negligent homicide and second-degree assault-unlawful administration of drugs in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. / Credit: CBS

"We can't save everyone. I wish my mind could forget the things my eyes have seen over the last 18 years," he continued. "Elijah will always be on my mind, along with all the others."

He said he and his fellow paramedics never had the opportunity to go through video previously recorded by security cameras or police body-worn cameras, saying they had to make a "split-second decision" and didn't have time to second-guess the police's words at the scene."

"I'm truly sorry for the loss of her son's life," he said of Sheneen McClain, Elijah's mother. "I'm begging for mercy from the court."

His attorney asked the judge for leniency in sentencing, including rehabilitation, saying there was no evidence that his client intended to hurt Elijah McClain.

"Divine justice for my son, Elijah McClain."

Sheneen McClain spoke about her son during the victim impact statement portion of the hearing. She described having admired firefighters growing up until her son died at the hands of two paramedics.

"You cannot say you're not training people to be robots when they find no fault in their actions," she said. "I watched my son's murder on bodycam video so many times because I want to know why they didn't save him."

Sheneen McClain, Elijah McClain's mother, speaks during former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedic Peter Cichuniec's sentencing hearing on Friday, March 1, 2024. / Credit: CBS

"If Peter's child, family member, friend or coworker was laying on that ground the way my son Elijah McClain was, I guarantee you when Peter arrived, he would not have allowed the brutality to continue," she said. "He did not try to save my son's life."

Sheneen McClain characterized her son's death as a "murder" and his detention by police and paramedics as a "kidnapping" several times in her speech.

"Elijah will never be a husband or a father," she continued. "I have righteous anger toward those that made sure my son would never see another day."

Sheneen McClain concluded: "Divine justice for my son, Elijah McClain."

Jason Slothouber, one of the prosecutors, spoke about Elijah McClain's personality, caring for everyone around him while trying to better himself. He characterized the killing as just one in a long line of unarmed Black men killed at the hands of police and other first responders and the shattering of trust between those responders and the public, both in Aurora and beyond.

He said Cichuniec knew he gave Elijah McClain too much ketamine and was the senior-most medical professional at the scene the night McClain was taken to the hospital.

After the judge ruled on the case, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser issued a statement, calling that sentence accountability for Cichuniec's actions.

"No action will bring Elijah back or take away the pain and loss that his mother, Sheneen McClain, continues to experience," he said, in part. "But today's sentence from the court is one of accountability for the defendant's criminal negligence in the death of Elijah McClain. It sends a strong message that no profession, whether a paramedic, a nurse, a police officer, an elected official, or a CEO should be immune from criminal prosecution for actions that violate the law and harm people."

Sheneen McClain, left, the mother of Elijah McClain, and a supporter leave the Adams County Justice Center in Brighton, Colorado on Friday, March 1, 2024. A jury convicted Peter Cichuniec of criminally negligent homicide in the 23-year-old's death in 2019. / Credit: Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Sheneen McClain left the courthouse after the sentence was handed down with a fist raised -- a common symbol of hers after leaving previous court hearings and trials related to her son's killing.

McClain's death, investigation and other court cases

In Elijah McClain's 2019 death, the coroner's office in Adams County initially couldn't determine how McClain died, but after social justice protests drew attention to the case, a medical examiner ultimately found that he died from complications of ketamine following forcible restraint. That led to a 2021 indictment of three police officers -- Randy Roedema, Jason Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard -- and the two paramedics.

Throughout their weeks-long trial, the use of the sedative that Cooper and Cichuniec injected McClain with and the amount given to him came under scrutiny. In 2018, Colorado state regulators had approved the drug for someone who was in an "agitated state" and showing signs of "excited delirium." The defense for both men argued that was the case -- that they were following their training by giving ketamine to McClain because he was showing an unusual amount of strength as he was being restrained and was acting in a strange way, they said.

Three officers from the Aurora Police Department have been tried in connection to McClain's death. Last fall, two of the officers were acquitted in Elijah's death and a third was found guilty.

A jury found Randy Roedema guilty of criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault, while Jason Rosenblatt was found not guilty of manslaughter and assault in October 2023. A jury also found Nathan Woodyard not guilty of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 23-year-old's death.

In January, Roedema was sentenced to 14 months in jail along with four years of probation. He has filed an appeal and is asking the court to review nine different aspects of the case.

The City of Aurora agreed in 2021 to pay $15 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by McClain's parents.

Cooper, the other paramedic who was convicted, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 26.

RELATED: Read all our coverage of Elijah McClain here

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(Reuters) - Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who struck a free trade deal with the U.S. but whose legacy was marred by revelations of improper business dealings with an arms dealer, has died.

Mulroney died peacefully surrounded by family, his daughter Caroline Mulroney posted on social media platform X on Thursday. He was 84.

Mulroney had a heart procedure in August and was treated for prostate cancer earlier last year, she said in a social media post in late August 2023.

A corporate lawyer turned businessman, Mulroney led the center-right Progressive Conservatives to a historic win in 1984 over the Liberals of John Turner.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, son of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, shared in a social media post that he was devastated by Mulroney's death.

"He never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home. I'll never forget the insights he shared with me over the years  he was generous, tireless, and incredibly passionate," Trudeau wrote.

A skilled politician with a gift for public speaking, Mulroney sought to emulate in Canada the conservative leanings of the Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher era by revamping the tax system and selling off government assets.

His nine-year stewardship was marked by negotiations for the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement in 1988, which helped boost Canadian exports, and the introduction of a goods and services tax in 1991. The tax was enormously unpopular politically but helped fix the government's finances.

Under Mulroney, some government-run corporations were sold off, including Air Canada.

Mulroney took an active interest in foreign affairs, pushing through a treaty with the United States to curb acid rain, spearheading efforts to tackle the 1984 Ethiopian famine and speaking out against apartheid in South Africa.

"You cannot name a Canadian prime minister who has done as many significant things as I did, because there are none," the author Peter Newman quoted him as saying in an interview.

Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939. He and his wife Mila had four children.

A tall man with a broad smile and booming voice, Mulroney was known for his charm, which University of Toronto history professor Robert Bothwell described as "a unique characteristic that was extremely effective".

Mulroney formed a close bond with Reagan, the U.S. president at the time, and the two men marked a 1985 summit with a public rendition of the song "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".

Mulroney's ties to Reagan helped him negotiate the landmark acid rain treaty and the trade deal with the U.S., by far Canada's biggest trading partner.

"It's quite clear that Reagan was prepared to go out of his way to oblige his friend Brian," Bothwell said in an interview. "I do think that on relations with the United States, he deserves immense credit."

Mulroney also presided over two failed bids to change Canada's constitution to grant the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec the status of a distinct society.

The efforts, designed to thwart the Quebec independence movement, fostered deep cleavages between French and English Canada that reverberated politically for decades.

Mulroney won large majorities in 1984 and 1988, in part by bringing together social conservatives in the west of Canada and nationalist voters in Quebec.

But strains began to emerge and the union fell apart in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the creation of the overtly separatist Bloc Quebecois and the western-based Reform Party.

He resigned in 1993 amid record low popularity numbers. The Progressive Conservative party was reduced to just two of 295 seats in the House of Commons in an election later that year - easily the biggest defeat in Canadian history - and never recovered politically.

After leaving politics, Mulroney returned to law and became a partner with the Montreal firm Norton Rose Fulbright.

In 1995, a leaked letter revealed that Royal Canadian Mounted Police had accused Mulroney of having taken kickbacks from German-Canadian arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber on the sale of Airbus airliners to Air Canada in 1988. Mulroney sued the Liberal government and won an apology and damages in 1997.

But in 2010, an inquiry into the affair concluded Mulroney had indeed had inappropriate business dealings with Schreiber. Mulroney told the inquiry there was nothing illegal about the payments, but apologized publicly for taking the money.

"My second biggest mistake in life, for which I have no one to blame but myself, is having accepted payments in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber," he said in 2007. "My biggest mistake in life -- by far -- was ever agreeing to be introduced to Karlheinz Schreiber in the first place.

A close friend of both Reagan and former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, he delivered eulogies at the funerals of both men.

(Writing by David Ljunggren, Deepa Babington and Maria Ponnezhath; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Christian Schmollinger)
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who led his country from 1984 to 1993, has died at the age of 84.

The conservative leader, the 18th prime minister in Canada's history, passed away "peacefully, surrounded by family," his daughter posted online.

Mulroney led Canada through the closing days of the Cold War and forged a free trade agreement with the US.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was "devastated" to learn of his death.

"He never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home," Mr Trudeau posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"I'll never forget the insights he shared with me over the years  he was generous, tireless, and incredibly passionate."

Mr Trudeau also asked the public to "also acknowledge - and celebrate - Mr Mulroney's role in building the modern, dynamic, and prosperous country we all know today".

Born in a blue collar paper mill town in north-eastern Quebec, Mulroney began his career as a lawyer and business executive before taking over as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and becoming prime minister.

In 1974, he was tapped to participate in a commission to investigate the James Bay hydroelectric project, helping to author a bombshell report that described organised criminal infiltration of labour unions involved in the project.

In 1983, Mulroney won a parliamentary seat in Nova Scotia, and became the leader of the conservatives. He took office as prime minister in 1984, taking over from the Liberal Party's Pierre Trudeau. He handily won re-election in 1988.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday described Mulroney as "a gifted public speaker", one of the country's most controversial prime ministers and "unafraid to tackle the most challenging issues of his era".

Mulroney sitting beside Ronald Reagan

His followers often compared him to the US president at the time, Ronald Reagan. The two leaders bonded over their shared Irish ancestry, at one point singing a duet together of the song "Irish Eyes are Smiling" at a meeting dubbed the "Shamrock Summit".

His stewardship of the economy was the most controversial part of his tenure in office.

Among the measures he passed, the most significant was the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) between Mexico and the United States. The agreement helped boost the country's exports.

But he also privatised several Crown holdings, including the airline Air Canada and created Canada's Goods and Services Tax, which overhauled the country's tax system. The move was intensely unpopular among Canadians.

In 2015, he defended the many reforms that he pushed through in an interview with BBC News.

Nafta, he said, "gave Canada a new lease on economic life", and his government's tax measures have "had an extremely beneficial impact on the economy".

Internationally, he pushed for Reagan to sign a treaty to curb acid rain and an agreement to modernise Canada's air defence systems. He also took a vocal stance against apartheid in South Africa,

"Whether one agrees with our solutions or not, none will accuse us of having chosen to evade our responsibilities by side-stepping the most controversial issues of our time," Mulroney said in his 1993 resignation address.

"I've done the very best for my country and my party."

After leaving office, it was revealed that he had received large sums of cash from an arms dealer and lobbyist, although he insisted not during his time in office.

The money given to him by Karlheinz Schreiber, which was revealed amid a large kickback scandal, he described as an "error of judgement".

"My second biggest mistake in life, for which I have no one to blame but myself, is having accepted payments in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber," he said in 2007. "My biggest mistake in life - by far - was ever agreeing to be introduced to Karlheinz Schreiber in the first place."

Mulroney and his wife had four children. His daughter Caroline, is now a politician in Ontario, while his son Ben is a well known television presenter in Canada.
Canadian Former prime minister Brian Mulroney speaks during an event. Mulroney has died at the age of 84, his daughter said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa

Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney has died at the age of 84, his daughter said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"He died peacefully surrounded by family," Caroline Mulroney wrote on Thursday.

Canada's current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paid tribute to Mulroney on X, saying Mulroney "never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home."

The Progressive Conservative Party (PC) politician was the country's 18th prime minister and was in office from 1984 to 1993. His greatest achievement was the negotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the United States and Canada, which came into force in 1994.

Mulroney also strengthened relations with the US and campaigned against apartheid in South Africa.

Mulroney was born the son of Irish immigrants in the province of Quebec and spoke both English and French. In the 1960s, the lawyer was drawn into politics. He won an overwhelming election victory with his Progressive Conservative Party in 1984.

However, he fell out of favour during his second term in office because of the ongoing recession, high unemployment, the introduction of new taxes and the failure of a constitutional reform aimed at integrating the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec more closely into the federation with more rights.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes discusses the forgery of documents in an indictment against three former Arizona Department of Education employees in Phoenix, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2024.Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

Three former employees of the states education department were indicted this week for defrauding Arizonas private school voucher program for more than $600,000.

The trio face a litany of charges, including conspiracy, forgery, money laundering and fraud for falsifying the enrollment documents and special education evaluations of 17 students  five of whom dont even exist  to receive voucher funds via Arizonas Empowerment Scholarship Accounts program.

ESA vouchers allow students to attend a private school or be educated at home. Republican lawmakers opened up the program to every student in the state in 2022 with a universal expansion. Previously, funds were reserved for those in D or F rated public schools, with military families or with special education needs.

The expansion has been widely blamed by critics for turning the program into a free for all for wealthy Arizonans after an explosion of new applicants turned out to be private school students with no prior public school history. Since then, ESA vouchers have repeatedly come under fire from Democrats and public school advocates for the programs ballooning cost to the state and permissive funding policies that allow for piano and luxury car driving lessons to be classified as approved expenses.

Contention over the ESA programs lack of legislative regulation flared up on Thursday, when Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, whose office spearheaded the investigation into the three fraudsters, denounced the program as ripe for abuse.

The Democrat outlined how the trio and two other adults, who are the children of one of the former Arizona Education Department employees, were able to fabricate birth certificates and special education records to fool the system. Students with special needs are awarded larger grant amounts than their peers.

Mayes criticized the Republican-majority legislature, which has been unwilling to regulate the program, as part of the problem.

My overarching concern here is this is a program that is easy to target for fraud, she said. The legislature has never appropriately funded the administration of this program. And the lack of controls, regulation and appropriate oversight make the voucher ESA program a target for fraudsters.

Former employee Delores Lashay Sweet falsified paperwork asserting that non-existent triplets children lived at her home. And non-existant twins allegedly lived with former employee Jennifer Lopez. All five ghost children shared the same birthday. As many as 10 ESA recipients were registered as living at Sweets home.

Sweet, Lopez and a third former employee, Dorrian Lamar Jones, were all part of the ESA department staff and approved applications for the program.

Mayes said her office was tipped off about Sweet by a credit union, and questioned why a red flag wasnt first raised by the state education department. She attributed that failure to the programs massive enrollment growth, saying the universal expansion has jeopardized applications from deserving students.

That universal expansion has degraded services for students with real disabilities who have relied on the program and for whom it was originally designed, she said. This fraud is a slap to the face of any parent who has children with disabilities. They now have to compete for the time and resources of ADE staff with tens of thousands of new students in the program, many of whom were already attending private schools on their parents dime before this taxpayer funded coupon for the wealthy was passed by the legislature.

The solution, Mayes said, lies with the legislature.

It is high time for the legislature to get serious about putting some regulations in place to prevent the fraud that were seeing today from happening in the first place, she said.

She said, he said: ESA supporters respond

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, a Republican, called Mayes assertions false and lashed out at her. He noted that only Sweet was flagged by the credit union; Lopez and Jones were both referred to the AGs Office by the Department of Education. That, he said, proves the department is on top of any issues.

According to AG spokesman Richie Taylor, the two were terminated by the state education department after the AGs office reached out with concerns about Sweet.

Horne added that the trio were hired under his predecessor, Democrat Kathy Hoffman, and said that, under his leadership, the department was better focused on rooting out fraud.

John Ward, the leader of the ESA program, said verification policies are in place and working. A 19-year veteran of the Arizona Auditor Generals Office, he was hired after the programs former head abruptly resigned, and was shortly afterwards implicated in a data breach that exposed the information of thousands of ESA accounts to a single parent.

Ward said eight enrollment specialists review applicant documents and report suspicions to their supervisors. The entire ESA program, which now serves over 70,000 students across the state, is staffed by 32 employees.

Horne pointed out that many government programs are targeted by fraud, and vowed to continue safeguarding ESAs against it. But, he said, action from the state legislature isnt needed because current processes are sufficient.

The unfortunate fact is that the department is not alone in having been victimized by fraud, he wrote in an emailed statement. According to the Auditor Generals Financial Investigation Reports and Fraud Prevention Alerts website, over the past 30 years there have been multiple incidents of fraud committed against government entities, including various state agencies, law enforcement and many school districts.

House Speaker Ben Toma, who spearheaded the universal expansion in 2022, echoed Horne, saying that fraud is rampant across government programs and that state laws already exist to hold criminals accountable. The Republican from Glendale dismissed Mayes criticism of the program as nothing more than political opportunism.

Its regrettable that critics of Arizonas highly popular and successful ESA program are predictably seizing this opportunity to politicize and undermine it, he said.

A hearing in the indictment against the three former employees and two other adults involved in the alleged crimes who are the children of Sweet is set for March 28.

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The post Former Education Dept staffers indicted for defrauding the school voucher program appeared first on Arizona Mirror.
A former substitute teacher at a Hall County high school has been sentenced after officials say he was charged with molesting a student while he was working at her school.

According to Hall County court records, Christopher Young has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, followed by life on parol after being found guilty of aggravated child molestation.

In 2022, officials said Young met the victim while working at East Hall High School.

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According to the investigation, Young assaulted the teenager, who is under 16 and took videos of the sexual acts on his phone.

Officials confirmed that the abuse did not take place on school property.

Hall County School officials told Channel 2s Michael Seiden at the time that Young passed a criminal background check before he began working at East Hall High School and that he only worked there for four months, from Jan. 31, 2022, to May 24, 2022. He also spent a few days at Mt. Vernon Elementary.

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The district issued the following statement after Youngs initial arrest:

First and foremost, our hearts go out to the victim and the family. The district stands ready to provide the necessary support.

The individual charged worked sporadically last year as a substitute teacher and has not worked in that capacity. All of our substitutes go through a criminal background check before working in our schools.

We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and all questions regarding the investigation should be directed to the Hall County Sheriffs Department.

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP)  A former researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has pleaded guilty to the 2021 killing of a Yale University graduate student found shot outside his car in Connecticut.

Qinxuan Pan faces 35 years in prison following his guilty plea Thursday in a New Haven court. The 32-year-old will be sentenced April 25.

Pans lawyer William Gerace said Friday that it was prudent to take this reasonable plea bargain as his client was facing 60 years if convicted.

Prosecutors say that on the morning of Feb. 6, 2021, Pan shot Kevin Jiang multiple times on a street in New Haven, which is home to Yale University. He fled, leaving Jiang lying by his car with gunshot wounds to his head, chest and extremities.

Pan had eluded authorities for three months following the shooting death and was apprehended in Alabama, where officials said he was caught living under a fake name with $19,000 in cash, a passport and several cellphones.

A graduate student at Yales School of the Environment, Jiang grew up in Chicago and was an Army veteran.

Thursdays statement from prosecutors didnt mention a motive for the killing, but court documents show Pan knew Jiangs fiancee, Zion Perry, from when they both attended MIT.

But Perry told authorities They never had a romantic or sexual relationship, they were just friends, but she did get a feeling that he was interested in her during that time.

Jiang had just left Perrys apartment after a day of fishing when Pan shot him. Jiang and Perry had been engaged just days earlier.

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As our nation reflects upon Februarys Black History Month, we celebrate men and women whose proud achievements should inspire generations of bright young Americans. Apply yourself, study your lessons, work hard, treat others as you want to be treated, and you, too, can live a rewarding, productive life. Weve got your back.

We remember when Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to America in 1963 from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. His prophetic message was one of the great, iconic speeches on liberty and justice. Among its profound passages, this sentence speaks volumes:

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.

Sixty years later, a curious denial of Dr. Kings dream has become fashionable. Some progressive influencers now want students to learn and accept that they are either oppressed or oppressors, based on nothing but the color of their skin.

Recently, all Davidson College student-athletes were required to watch a film entitled, Im Not Racist, Am I? Its provocative message disavows The Dream. Regardless of what you think, say or do, it insists that if youre white, you are racist. If youre of color, you cannot be racist. In their lexicon, racist is just a synonym for white.

Oddly, some activists believe this fiction. They want to indoctrinate Americas youth for the noble goal of eliminating racism. Great. Then why insist upon bogus definitions that evoke only insult and injury? How can racism be eliminated if some of us remain melanin challenged? Their Cynical Race Theory is malicious and unworkable.

How did this mischief creep into our colleges? Partly, its a distortion of any valid ideals of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) movement, replacing religion as the guiding light for many American institutions. Diversity, equality and inclusion... these are the moral trinity of higher education.

Were told no decent person could object to diversity, equality or inclusion. What if diversity required conformity of thought? What if equality meant not just opportunity but equal outcomes? What if inclusion did not apply to privileged students.

Davidsonians for Freedom of Thought and Discourse, an unofficial alumni group on whose board I serve, recently learned of some startling excesses by a cluster of professors. In an effort to attract students from those they considered victimized minorities, they chose to demonize everyone else. For example, one course description demands that students identify and confront oppressive behaviors. It also said they must commit to understanding how white supremacy, patriarchy, classism, heterosexism, cisgenderism, ableism, and all other systems of oppression affect each of us.

In classes like Spanish, biology and math, this inclusive shaming told students to understand and embrace that you will feel discomfort and pain as you face your part in oppression, and realize that this is a necessary part of the process of liberation and growth. You should set personal anti-oppression goals and continually evaluate whether or not you are meeting them.

Hopefully, similar unofficial alumni groups across the land are challenging this foolishness, demanding that colleges follow the Academic Freedom guidelines from the American Association of University Professors. Formulated originally in 1940 to protect faculty communist sympathizers, the AAUP affirms: Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject.

Whether you approve or not, check out DEI efforts at your own alma mater. Yes, these questions should be discussed freely by any respected academic community. But they should never be compulsory or irrelevant to the course, or a test for admission. Controversial notions should never be mandated with partisan interpretations. I am confident that Davidson can get it right.

Jim Martin, a Republican, was North Carolina governor from 1985-93 and is a regular contributor to our pages.
Prosecutors charged a former St. Paul police officer Thursday with arson at the building that houses his and his wifes St. Paul restaurant.

Law enforcement reviewed video from several cameras and saw a person, later identified as 55-year-old Tou Mo Cha, exiting Checker Board Pizza and then going into the buildings apartment entry, according to a criminal complaint. Cha walked away and the apartment entry started on fire.

When Cha was a St. Paul police officer, he was charged in 2004 with lending his department-issued handgun. The gun was used in a pair of drive-by shootings that targeted members of the Hmong community; no one was injured. Cha pleaded guilty to making terroristic threats in 2005 and resigned from the police force.

Reached by phone on Friday, Cha said he was unaware hed been charged in the fire and said he was surprised.

I had no intention or anything to do with it, Cha said.  I had no knowledge, I had no desire, I had no motivation to do anything like that. Thats my only income, my only job.

The business remains closed  there was smoke damage upstairs somewhere, Cha said. The bar and upstairs portion of the building had been undergoing renovations for years, Cha said, adding that he still opened the kitchen for takeout and delivery before the fire.

Property records indicate the building at 992 Arcade St. in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood is not owned by Cha or his wife.

The business has also been called Checkerbar Food & Liquor and Checkers Bar Inc., and Chas wife held licenses for it through the city. St. Pauls Department of Safety and Inspections recommended to the city council in 2020 that the bars licenses be revoked after Cha pleaded guilty to assault outside the bar, among other reasons. Chas wife voluntarily relinquished the bars licenses to the city in 2020.

The business, which Cha said Friday that he and his wife own together, had a license for food service from the Minnesota Department of Health.

Arson charge: Fire started at apartment entryway

About 6:20 a.m. Aug. 9, there was a fire at 990 Arcade St., a convenience store across Jenks Street from Checker Board Pizza. Its been ruled an arson and the investigation continues, according to police.

The fire at Checker Board Pizza also happened on Aug. 9, about 1:25 p.m.

The Ramsey County attorneys office charged Cha, of Little Canada, with second-degree arson of the Checker Board Pizza building. Prosecutors gave the following information in a complaint:

Video from the area showed Chas wife coming out of Checker Board Pizza and going to their vehicle. Cha went between the pizza shop and the doorway of the apartment, and the fire started a few minutes after he drove away.

Cha told police he had not gone to the apartment entryway where the fire started, however, the video shows him to be there, the complaint said.

Fire examiners concluded the fire began in the entry staircase of the apartment portion of the building. It was possibly ignited with gasoline.

The fire caused extensive damage to the building, costing more than $100,000.

Chas first court date wasnt listed in court records as of Friday.

Past cases connected to bar

Cha was sentenced in 2019 to 90 days in jail for an assault outside Checker Board Pizza the year before. The case was at the center of an incident that resulted in the firing of five St. Paul police officers.

Cha admitted in court to hitting a man, who he described as his wifes nephew, in the head with a baton outside Checker Board Pizza. The man, who said Cha had first pepper sprayed him, was hospitalized and needed 24 staples to close gashes in his head, according to the complaint in that case.

The police department said five officers failed to intervene and lied about what happened, leading to then-St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell firing them.

Before that case, police had received reports about Checker Board Pizza.

In 2014, 34-year-old Nicholas James Keilen died a couple of months after he said bouncers assaulted him outside the bar and restaurant. The Ramsey County medical examiners office ruled the manner of Keilens death as undetermined, and no one was arrested or charged.

Keilens family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tou Cha and the bar. They received a settlement, though the amount was small due to the bars insurance company not covering damages. Claims again the insurance agent and insurance agency were settled for a nominal amount, according to the Keilens attorney, Kathleen Loucks.

Other men told police in 2011 and 2014 that security guards assaulted them. And in 2013, a group of people reported to police that Cha had pepper-sprayed them. No bar employees were charged in those cases.

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I realize that, unintentionally and against all logic, I feel far removed from everything I have read and learned about the Holocaust. Literature about past horrors does not serve to prevent the horror being broadcast live: the little girl crying for a piece of bread, the rickety arms of the little ones punished with famine for the mere fact of being as Palestinian as the Hamas terrorists. Or that is the story that Israels propaganda is telling us: that the crimes it is perpetrating against an unarmed population are nothing more than part of its self-defense strategy. But what do children and mothers have to do with violent organizations? The humiliating treatment is unworthy of a civilized country that should be ruled by the word and the law, and not by vengeful and sadistically organized barbarism.

When Elias Canetti visited his native Bulgaria in 1924, he met his cousin Bernhard Arditti, a passionate Zionist who, with his oratory skills in the Ladino language, was able to persuade those attending his talks to turn their backs on a country in which they had been settled for several generations, where they were accepted and respected and where they were undoubtedly doing well for themselves, to emigrate to an unknown country that had been promised to them millennia ago but which at that time did not belong to them at all. The root of the flagrant injustice is exactly that, that a new State was established in a territory where, we were told, there was no one, and on an idea, that of the promised land, of evident theocratic origin. Europes guilt over the Shoah led its leaders to allow this colonization process, but the Palestinians, who had lived on their lands for millennia, had nothing to do with the horrors of Nazism. In this sense, it is especially painful to observe that Germany is wrong again, that with its support for Israel it is once again siding with the executioners, even if now it is to prevent anti-Semitism. It is not hate to affirm that Netanyahus actions are criminal, among other things because neither he nor his government are the only Jews in this world. If after the Holocaust, philosophers declared the end of modernity (there are no longer words that serve to describe the horror) today, with the actions of the Israeli prime minister and the complicity of the West and the United States, what is ending is the Holocaust itself because it is now impossible to read about it and think about it without taking into account that some of the descendants of those who suffered it are inflicting unspeakable horror on other human beings.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  A former elementary school teacher whose conviction for sex crimes against children was overturned in 2023 pleaded guilty to charges on Friday.

The Montgomery County States Attorneys Office said John Vigna, 57, of Silver Spring entered pleas to charges of Sexual Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Minor (3 counts). Prosecutors said the crimes of which Vigna was accused involved a number of students at Cloverly Elementary School between 2001 and 2016.

After a jury convicted Vigna, and he received a sentence of 48 years, he filed for relief, citing ineffective counsel. A judge agreed with Vigna and ordered that the conviction be vacated.

Former Montgomery County teacher convicted of sexually abusing minors had convictions vacated ahead of new trial

Following Vignas guilty plea Friday, prosecutors said they will ask for a 30-year suspended prison sentence with supervised probation by the COMET Unit (Collaborative Offender Management/Enforced Treatment) of the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation with conditions including no unsupervised contact with minors. Vigna will have to register as a sex offender.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
A former U.S. diplomat accused of spying for Cuba for more than 40 years said he will plead guilty to charges the Department of Justice (DOJ) brought against him in December 2023.

Victor Manuel Rocha, 73, told Judge Beth Bloom on Thursday that he would change his plea, indicating he is prepared to plead guilty to two counts, according to The New York Times.

The DOJ charged Rocha in December for working as a covert agent for Cubas General Directorate of Intelligence since 1981, the same year he started working at the State Department.

He was accused of using access to classified information and foreign policy to assist Cuba. He faced counts of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government and using a passport obtained via a false statement.

Prosecutors are expected to drop the wire fraud charge, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years, according to the Times. Rocha pleaded not guilty earlier in February to the initial charges filed against him by the DOJ.

Jacqueline Arango, Rochas lawyer, hinted that a deal might be on the table between her client and prosecutors Thursday, according to The Associated Press, but neither she nor prosecutors provided further details. Rocha is expected to appear in court April 12 for his sentencing.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in December that Rocha performed one of the longest-lasting infiltrations of the U.S. by a foreign agent.

Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve, Garland said. To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department.

Rocha, who served in several federal roles including as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, allegedly revealed his ties with Cuba during meetings with an undercover FBI agent in 2022 and 2023, in which he called the U.S. an enemy. The former diplomat hails from Colombia and became a U.S. citizen in 1978.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former US ambassador, NSC member charged with acting as secret agent for communist Cuba for decades: DOJ

A former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia and a National Security Council member was charged after working against the U.S. government for decades for communist Cuba in "clandestine intelligence-gathering missions."

"This action exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent," Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said.

"We allege that for over 40 years, Victor Manuel Rocha served as an agent of the Cuban government and sought out and obtained positions within the United States government that would provide him with access to non-public information and the ability to affect U.S. foreign policy," Garland said. "Those who have the privilege of serving in the government of the United States are given an enormous amount of trust by the public we serve. To betray that trust by falsely pledging loyalty to the United States while serving a foreign power is a crime that will be met with the full force of the Justice Department."

Victor Manuel Rocha's career in covert work began in 1980, before his stunning fall from grace in 2012.

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According to a release from the Department of Justice, Rocha is a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Colombia.

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The 73-year-old allegedly secretly supported Cuba and its "clandestine intelligence-gathering mission" against the United States by working as a covert agent for Cuba's General Directorate of Intelligence.

According to a criminal complaint from the DOJ, Rocha used his employment in the U.S. Department of State between 1981 and 2002, to obtain classified information and affect U.S. foreign policy.

Following his employment at the Department of State, Rocha transferred in 2006 as an advisor to the Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, a joint command of the United States military whose area of responsibility includes Cuba.

Former US ambassador arrested in Florida, accused of serving as an agent of Cuba, AP source says

The complaint alleges that Rocha kept his status as a Cuban agent secret in order to protect himself and others and to allow himself the opportunity to engage in additional "clandestine activity."

STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS BLINKEN MEMO URGING STAFFERS TO AVOID PROBLEMATIC LANGUAGES LIKE MANPOWER

The DOJ said that Rocha provided false and misleading information to the U.S. to maintain his secret status, traveled outside the U.S. to meet with Cuban intelligence operatives, and made false and misleading statements to obtain travel documents.

According to the complaint, Rocha made a series of recorded admissions to an undercover FBI agent who posed as a Cuban intelligence operative who reached out to Rocha on WhatsApp, saying that he had a message, "from your friends in Havana."

Rocha praised the late communist leader Fidel Castro, calling him "comandante," branded the U.S. the "enemy" and bragged about his service for more than 40 years as a Cuban mole in the heart of U.S. foreign policy circles.

Rocha also described his work as a Cuban agent as "a grand slam."

Rocha was charged with conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General; acting as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General; and with using a passport obtained by false statement.

This image provided by the Justice Department and contained in the affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, shows Victor Manuel Rocha during a meeting with an FBI undercover employee.

During a hearing in federal court in Miami on Thursday, Rocha said he had agreed to plead guilty to two charges of conspiring to act as an agent of a foreign government, according to The Associated Press .

Prosecutors agreed to dismiss more than a dozen other charges in exchange for his guilty plea, the AP said.





Original article source: Former US ambassador, NSC member charged with acting as secret agent for communist Cuba for decades: DOJ
Manuel Rocha, the former US ambassador to Bolivia accused of acting as a secret foreign agent of Cuba, said in court Thursday that he plans to plead guilty to charges, according to his court docket.

Rocha, 73, is charged with several counts, including acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, wire fraud and making false statements to investigators. Prosecutors have alleged that the former American diplomat acted as a covert agent of Cubas intelligence services for decades.

During a hearing in Miami Thursday, Rocha and prosecutors announce[d] the Defendant will be changing his plea, according to the court docket. Rocha pleaded not guilty earlier this month.

The court record does not give any information about what charges Rocha plans to plead guilty to. He is scheduled to return to court on April 12.

Rocha served as the US ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002 and as the deputy principal officer of the US Interests Section in Cuba in the 1990s. Rocha also worked for the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic in the 1980s as well as the US Consulate in Italy, and he served in different roles for US embassies in Mexico and Argentina.

His role as the political officer at the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic gave him special responsibility for Cuba, prosecutors alleged.

In several meetings with an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of Cuban intelligence, Rocha repeatedly referred to the US as the enemy and praised Cuban revolutionary and politician Fidel Castro, according to court documents.

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(FORT CARSON, Colo.)  An event to honor K-9 veterans and their handlers will be taking place at the Fort Carson Army Post at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 9, rain or shine. The War Dog Memorial Fun Run will include both a 5k and a one-mile course and is open to all Department of Defense ID cardholders and their guests.

For those who wish to attend and receive a swag bag, registration is $20 per person ages four years and up. For those who do not wish to receive a swag bag, and for those three years and under, registration is free. Swag bags contain a limited-edition war dog t-shirt and sticker.

Dogs must remain on leashes and any dog showing aggression or presenting a threat to participants or their dogs will be removed from the event. The race route is on both asphalt and dirt terrain and is stroller-friendly.

County, state, and federal civilian concealed-carry permits are not recognized or valid at Fort Carson. All weapons brought onto the installation must be registered with the provost marshals office at building 2700 per U.S. Army and Fort Carson regulations and policy.

Marijuana use is illegal on federal installations, despite the Colorado amendment legalizing it within the state, and is not allowed at the event.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
As hordes of visitors make their way to South Florida for spring break, Fort Lauderdale officials on Friday detailed their plans for ensuring safe crowds.

Both Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood are closely monitoring happenings in Miami Beach, which is cracking down this year after previous spring breaks erupted into violence.

I want everyone to understand that while we do have certain rules in place  no drinking on the beach, no scooters, no camping out  we still want you to have fun, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said at a press conference Friday. Every day the police will be here to help people. We intend to make sure we have a constant police presence.

Trantalis said crowds from Miami Beach could come to Fort Lauderdale because of the strict policies Miami Beach has enacted this year.

We anticipate that, we welcome that, Trantalis said. The same rules apply to everybody. And were hopeful that whoever comes here has the same great experience that everyone else has ever had and will continue to have here.

READ MORE: Think South Beach is hard to navigate now? Wait till spring break. Here are new rules

He emphasized that the numbers arent as concerning as the potential for bad behavior.

Its not the question of the number of people but the attitude of people, he said. And as long as people come here with the right attitude to enjoy themselves and allow other people to enjoy the beauty that we have here, its going to be a great season.

Police Chief William Schultz speaks during Fort Lauderdales annual spring break news conference on Fort Lauderdale Beach on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bill Schultz said there will be an enhanced police presence. We absolutely want you to be here having fun going into our establishments, enjoying our beach, but while youre here we will expect proper and non-disruptive behavior, he said, adding that some officers will be undercover.

For the third consecutive year, the police departments Bar Watch program is in place to educate local bartenders, bar staff and officers on spotting suspicious behavior. Bars will be given kits to test beverages that have potentially been spiked.

But Schultz emphasized that visitors should trust their instincts if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

We need to look out for each other, he said. If you see something suspicious, if you see someone acting out dangerously, please let us know.

For the first time this year, the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department is partnering with the South Florida Opioid Alliance to provide Narcan in hotels and to lifeguards in the event someone experiences an overdose.

The idea is to get the Narcan to the patient as quickly as we possibly can, Fire Chief Stephen Gollan said.

Gollan said the hotels will be notified of any 911 calls related to overdoses on their properties. When they make contact with the patient, theyre able to administer the Narcan, which will almost immediately [and] within moments reverse the effects if there was an opioid overdose.

During Fort Lauderdales annual spring break news conference on March 1, 2024, city officials said to expect an increased police presence. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Gollan also warned of the increased winds over the next few days that could create rip currents.

Inevitably, every year when we have rip currents like this, we see drownings that are very much preventable, he said, urging beachgoers to listen to lifeguards.

READ MORE: Like Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale may crack down on spring break parking with $100 rates

The citys spring break plans come as the City Commission plans to vote Tuesday on a parking rate increase of up to $100 for garages and lots near the beach. The commission will also decide on a $125 fee for drivers who let their parking meters expire.

We dont want the beach to get too crowded, Trantalis said during the press conference. So if we see more and more people coming here with vehicles, were gonna have to raise the parking rates to discourage people from wanting to park here on the beach. He encouraged visitors to use ride-share services or the free LauderGO shuttle.

Beach goers on Fort Lauderdale Beach during the annual Spring Break season shown on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Hollywoods spring break plans

Hollywood has a more conservative approach to spring break this year. City spokeswoman Joann Hussey told the Herald on Wednesday that Hollywood Beach was already getting crowded ahead of spring breaks official start in March.

Our staff is currently investigating the possibility of maybe a similar parking rate to Fort Lauderdale, Hussey said, adding that Hollywood is unlikely to charge rates as high as Fort Lauderdale or to take the strenuous measures enacted by Miami Beach.

Were not a spring break destination for the party club crowd. We attract more families and retirees, Hussey said. So we dont want to close the parking garages or put these crazy, very large rates in place to punish families or retirees from coming to Hollywood.

In the meantime, Hollywood police are monitoring the crowds and conditions on the beach to see if a parking rate increase is needed. But right now, were not doing it, Hussey said.
A Fort Worth nursing home hosted a happy hour for residents in November, during which one resident got angry while waiting for a drink and attacked a pregnant staff member, according to a state inspection report.

The nursing home, Remarkable Healthcare of Fort Worth at at 6649 N. Riverside Dr., has been identified by the federal government as having a history of serious quality issues.

The nursing homes most recent citation stemmed from a Nov. 2, 2023, happy hour. The staff had been hosting happy hours for about a year before the one in November, according to the state inspection. During the weekly happy hours, residents could order rum, whiskey, and vodka, with the mixer of their choice, the report said.

Nursing home staff did not check whether the residents being served had diagnoses or prescriptions that could be dangerous when combined with alcohol, the state found.

On Nov. 2, at the beginning of the weekly happy hour, one resident requested a double shot of alcohol in his drink from the nursing homes activity director. When the activity director declined, the resident became upset, throwing his drink on her and then attempting to grab a bottle of alcohol from her, according to the states investigation.

The resident kicked and scratched the employee, who was pregnant at the time. The resident then took his shoes off and attempted to hit other people with them, before another staff member separated the resident from the group. The resident was transported to the hospital for treatment.

In the states investigation, three residents said they were served alcohol weekly at the nursing home, despite having conditions with symptoms that can be come worse with alcohol use. All of them, the state reviewer found, had diagnoses and behaviors that could be intensified by using alcohol.

Remarkable Duo LLC owns 72% of Remarkable Healthcare, according to federal records. That LLC is registered to Jon McPike of Southlake, according to the Texas Comptrollers online database. McPike did not immediately respond to a voice or text message asking for comment for this story. In interviews with the state, McPike said all residents who were served alcohol had been cleared to drink by the nursing homes medical director. The medical director denied any knowledge of alcohol consumption in her interview with the state.

Remarkable Healthcare agreed to stop serving alcohol at its weekly happy hours after the state inspection.

The Star-Telegram interviewed a former staff member of Remarkable who confirmed that the nursing home regularly served alcohol to residents. The Star-Telegram agreed not to identify the staff member by name, because she was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement when she started working at the nursing home.

Remarkable Healthcare of Fort Worth was identified as one of the nations most troubled nursing homes in January 2023, when the federal government designed it as a Special Focus Facility, a designation reserved for homes with the most serious and long-standing health and safety violations.

Have you or a loved one stayed at Remarkable Healthcare, or do you work or currently work there? We want to hear from you. Reach out to health reporter Ciara McCarthy at cmccarthy@star-telegram.com or call or text 817-203-4391.
ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)- For the first time in their 2024 campaign for Texas District house 71, candidates Stan Lambert and Liz Case appeared together for a forum debate Thursday. In the KTAB studio they answered questions ranging from School vouchers and the crisis at the border, to rural healthcare and their personal political records.

FULL FORUM: Liz Case and Stan Lambert respond to rumors & burning questions in candidate forum

Heres a quick look at some of the key moments to come out of the conversation:

Kicking off the night, each candidate was posed with allegations that have been following them throughout their campaigns. Case addressed the claim that she does not reside in the district having voted in Dallas as recently as November of 2023. She stated this was an issue of registration, rather than residence  an issue that she says has been resolved.

KTAB/KRBC News Director Manny Diaz moderating forum

If I hadnt qualified, I wouldnt be on the ballot. There could have been a legal challenge but they knew that there was no standing for that, said Case.

Lambert was questioned on his house voting record on claims that he has voted with Democrats regularly. He says the votes in question had bipartisan support  an aspect he feels is integral to the political process.

Im very proud of my voting record. Its important that we have bipartisanship. And I will continue to be a bipartisan supporter, Lambert stated.

Following that, school vouchers have been a prominent topic in most all Texas Elections. Case has voiced her support for them while Lambert has come out against the idea. He says he sees vouchers as an unsustainable big government program that would ultimately result in financial loss for the State.

Political commentators Dr. Paul Fabrizio and Dr. Neal Coates take notes

Were the party of limited government. Now were talking about creating a completely new bureaucracy. With administrators, government officials overseeing the voucher program that is going to grow exponentially, said Lambert.

Case says she feels its an issue of parental empowerment rather than government overreach.

I think weve got to trust Texas parents that they know whats best for their kids, Case said.

In the nights closing statements, Lambert was first on the floor bringing the conversation back to the question of Cases residence leaving the night with a reassurance of his qualifications, and a slight jab toward Case.

I believe that I have the qualifications to continue in this role. You may not agree with every vote I take. You may not understand why I took that vote, but heres what I guarantee  you can call me and we can discuss that. If you call my opponent, youll be calling a 214 area code and she may not be here 24/7 like I will be, Lambert said.

Dr. Paul Fabrizio takes notes as Liz case speaks

In her closing statement, Case again addressed the allegation and returned that jab to Lambert, closing out by doubling down on her long stated promise of availability in office.

I find it interesting that he says that you can get ahold of him given the fact that he doesnt even have a district office here. I dont know any other state representative that doesnt have a district office that you can visit him in. And when Im elected to this district, I will have a district office that you can come visit me in any time, said Case.

To put the nights conversation into perspective political science professors Dr. Paul Fabrizio of McMurry University, and Dr. Neal Coates of Abilene Christian University were on hand taking notes throughout the Forum.

FULL FORUM REVIEW: Political Analysts review Texas House District 71 Candidate Forum

In overview, Dr. Fabrizio says this race is indicative of the current state of the Republican party, stating that when you closely examine the issues Case and Lambert arent that far apart. Positing that party power players such as Gov. Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz are supporting the candidates that best support their agendas.

Dr. Neal Cotes and Dr. Paul Fabrizio offer political analysis of forum

the republican party is eating itself. This is a republican civil war. And Ill even be more blunt. This is a power play by the republican powers in the state. The Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, Senator Ted Cruz to get out of the party those that are not 100% with them on their agendaAnd its not just taking place here but as Neal said its taking place all over the state. Theyre willing to find candidates who will agree with those power players. They will make sure they have more than enough money to run the campaign and feed our mailbox with all these things and also they will make sure that they have advice on how to run their campaign.., Fabrizio said.

Dr. Coates then looking ahead to post election expounding on issues each candidate might face if they are elected to the office.

If Lambert wins, will he be able to still be able to bring home the bacon and represent us in a way that people in Austin will say, were listening to you? If Liz case wins? Will she listen to the district would be the response there. So it creates quite a difficult situation no matter who wins. And whoever does win, needs to really mend some fences, said Coates

Both the forum debate and the political analysis can be viewed in full at the links found throughout this article.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com.
When is a Four-day school week appropriate? The answer is simple. When it meets the educational needs of the students, when it is supported by parents and educators and the community! Why does it have to be so difficult, especially when it works?

I have said on the House Floor that New Mexico has a hard time dealing with prosperity. When we have an industry providing over 100,000 great jobs, creating billions of dollars of revenue, what does the Legislature do? It attacks, taxes, regulates and imposes anti industry legislation, hardly beneficial to families and certainly detrimental to New Mexico.

In the Education World, we try the same silliness.

New Mexico Rep. Jim Townsend (R-54)

In many areas of New Mexico, we have communitys supporting the 4-day school week. Many of them are Blue Ribbon Schools and Schools of Excellence, the best of the best. These are schools where graduation rates, student achievement, attendance and overall excellent students performances are met and documented. Schools and achievements like this should be replicated and should not be abolished! Why in the world would the Governor and her PED Secretary advocate for such? Shouldnt they be advocating for such remarkable achievements throughout the state, not trying to drag super achievers to a policy and regiment that doesnt work and isnt accepted by the community and staff?

In some of these rural areas, where transportation costs must be recognized as a significant cost to families, families overwhelmingly support the 4-day school week because it enhances their lives while educating their children.

It is beneficial to teachers as well, enhancing their time with their loved ones while allowing them to teach students who want to be there and are excelling in the process. There is nothing more gratifying than being a member of a winning team.

Students in many areas spend a long time on school buses, reportedly in some instances over 1  hours long one way, three hours per day. Being able to reduce the school systems transportation costs and a student three hours of riding/day, 15 hours per week or 60 hours per month seems wise and prudent, but in New Mexico where we say we strive for excellence and it is being achieved, we seem to want to change that for a solution that will cause a problem. It seems to be the New Mexico way in education. Every new State Public Education Secretary, I think we are on our 5th of the current administration, tries to change things up, even when a process works we cant stand leaving well enough alone. It appears to be too much to ask that children are being educated, parents are happy and the local communities are supportive.

Maybe the problem isnt at the local level, maybe the problem is in Santa Fe! BINGO

I am a strong proponent of educating children and funding them appropriately. I believe we should drive control to the local level and with demonstrated achievements. I believe in allowing school systems to meet the needs of their community and families while meeting the educational needs of the child.

That is why I will continue to advocate for communities/school systems to adjust as they see necessary and to educate their children. Local School Boards should not be ridiculed or admonished for standing for their children and their parents.

The proper course of action is to allow 4-day school weeks to continue where children are being educated and certainly when they are recognized as schools with exemplary performance.

Isnt that the goal, to educate the child? Even in Santa Fe where politics often trumps common sense, it should be.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Is a four-day school week the right way?
(KRON)  The fourth suspect in the killing of Oakland police officer Tuan Le has been charged with murder, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said on Thursday.

Sebron Russell, 28, was originally charged with three counts of burglary. He now joins Marquise Cooper, Mark Sanders and Allen Brown as being charged for Les murder.

Defense attorney: Mother may have caused Baby Phoenixs fentanyl OD death

Russell was also charged with the attempted murder of Les partner, Donald McKinney. In addition, he was charged with kidnapping to commit robbery in connection to a robbery incident that happened on July 25, 2019.

We will not stop our pursuit of justice for Officer Le and his family until everyone who participated in his murder is held accountable, said Price. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, amend any charges against these four defendants as needed, and bring charges against anyone else allegedly involved in the killing of this Oakland Police Officer.

Le was fatally shot on Dec. 29, 2023, when responding to a burglarized business in the area of Jack London Square. He was working undercover when one of the suspects opened fire on him.

Oakland Police Officer Tuan Le (Image courtesy Oakland Police Department)

Prosecutors believe it was Sanders, 27, who pulled the trigger and killed Le. Oakland officers arrested him in Livermore using Les handcuffs.

The four defendants are scheduled to go to court for a preliminary hearing on Monday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
The United States has stepped up its diplomatic pressure in the Middle East amid fears that the deaths of over a hundred Palestinians, on whom the Israeli army opened fire as they were trying to obtain humanitarian aid in Gaza, could derail ceasefire negotiations. This is one of the most serious episodes so far in the Gaza war and has unleashed a wave of criticism from leaders around the world. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into these deaths.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who was traveling to Texas to visit the Mexican border on Thursday, was asked by the reporters accompanying him about what happened. Specifically, they asked whether it would complicate the ceasefire talks in Qatar. I know it would, the U.S. president replied.

On Monday, Biden had predicted that a six-week ceasefire could be in place by March 4. But almost immediately, both Israel and the radical Palestinian militia Hamas rejected that possibility. Deaths in the crush for humanitarian aid have complicated matters further. With just three days before that deadline, the president has acknowledged that the humanitarian pause is unlikely to be achieved by then. It probably wont [be accomplished] by Monday, but I remain hopeful, Biden said.

The U.S. president has stepped up contacts with leaders in the region to try to prevent the talks from breaking down. The White House has indicated that on Thursday Biden spoke on the phone with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who is hosting the negotiations, and Egypts President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to address the event that killed at least 112 people near Gaza City.

According to a White House statement, Biden and the Arab leaders with whom he spoke on Thursday agreed that the incident underscores the urgency of closing negotiations as soon as possible and expanding the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The head of the U.S. humanitarian aid department (USAID), Samantha Power, is in the area to press for the greater inflow of assistance into the Gaza Strip, where there is a dire need for it.

Aboard Air Force One, where the president was traveling to Texas, White House spokeswoman Olivia Dalton indicated that the U.S. government has demanded information from Israel about what happened and called for a thorough investigation.

We are checking what happened. But there are two versions of what happened. I dont have an answer yet, Biden said. The Israeli army, which fired on the crowd, blames the episode on a stampede and hit-and-runs by overwhelmed Gazan drivers, while the Palestinian Authority calls it a heinous massacre.

According to Dalton, Thursdays deaths highlight the need to expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the imperative for Israel to put in place viable plans to protect civilians during its offensive in the Gaza Strip. We have yet to see such plans put in place, the spokeswoman maintained.

Criticism of Israel

On Friday, Josep Borrell, the EUs High Representative for Foreign Policy, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was horrified by the killing of civilians in Gaza who were trying to access humanitarian aid. I am horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid. These deaths are totally unacceptable. Depriving people of food aid constitutes a serious violation of IHL [international humanitarian law], Borrell wrote.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was appalled by the tragedy and called for an investigation that guarantees transparency. However, her message, did not directly refer to the hundred or so victims, nor did she mention Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron did speak somewhat more critically against Israel for the episode, which some Palestinian sources have already begun to call the flour massacre, a reference to the food that the humanitarian aid trucks were carrying. Macron has said he was outraged by the shooting and demanded truth and justice about the role of Israeli soldiers in the incident.

Deep indignation at the images coming from Gaza where civilians have been targeted by Israeli soldiers. I express my strongest condemnation of these shootings and call for truth, justice, and respect for international law, Macron posted on X.

Earlier, the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong, had released a statement from her government on X, in which she used the same expression  horrified  as the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy: Australia is horrified by [Thursdays] catastrophe in Gaza and the ongoing humanitarian crisis that has led to it. She also noted the importance of protecting civilians and defending humanitarian aid meant for those in desperate need.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by the radical Palestinian militia Hamas, announced that the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has now surpassed 30,000. That is the equivalent of 1.3% of a population that was around 2.3 million people at the beginning of the conflict.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
Fox News Jessica Tarlov swiftly cleared things up for her co-hosts on The Five after they accused Democrats of subverting democracy.

I love days when you guys think that youre describing Joe Biden, but youre actually describing Donald Trump, the liberal commentator said.

She went on: So the person who didnt want the American people to be able to speak in 2020 was Donald Trump. And he had his team of crackpot lawyers fan out across the country to bring forward frivolous lawsuits, when there had been recount after recount, to make sure that the American public was disenfranchised.

Jessica: I love days when you guys think that you are describing Joe Biden but you are actually describing Donald Trump. So the person who didn't want the American people to be able to speak in 2020 was Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/vghpl2EEiF  Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024

She was responding to her conservative colleagues, who had spent minutes bashing Democrats and the media for criticizing the Supreme Courts decision to review Trumps presidential immunity claims, thereby delaying the former presidents federal election interference trial by at least several months.

If the federal prosecutions against Trump are delayed beyond the November election, and Trump wins, he could order the Justice Department to drop the cases.

Tarlovs co-hosts had also slammed an Illinois judge for ruling that Trump is ineligible to appear on the states primary ballots under the U.S. Constitutions so-called insurrection clause.

I mean, these people, Im so sick of their saying hes a threat to democracy, when everything they do is a threat to democracy, Jeanine Pirro had said.

Greg Gutfeld said the political left is trying to compromise an election.

Jesse Watters claimed Democrats and the media were upset about the Supreme Court news because theyre realizing that the judges of the Supreme Court arent on their schedule. And so theyre realizing that Joe Biden might have to win this himself.

Thats what you saw last night, them realizing that this is going to be a free and fair election, to a certain extent, he said.

Trump is being prosecuted federally and in Georgia for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Hes also been criminally indicted in two other cases.

With his media and political allies dutifully in tow, he has cast the prosecutions as politically motivated and accused Democrats and President Joe Biden of weaponizing the justice system against him.

See the full discussion below. Tarlov is given her opportunity to weigh in at 6:25.
France will order 100 drones from the French company Delair that will arrive in Ukraine this summer, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu announced on Feb. 29.

"Through an innovative program, France is ordering 100 remotely operated munitions from Delair, which will arrive in Ukraine this summer," Lecornu stated on X. "In total, 2,000 remotely operated munitions will be ordered from our defense industry. For the needs of our armies and the needs of Ukraine."

Drones have been a key tool in Ukraine's defense against Russia's war. In his nightly address on Jan. 29, President (Volodymyr) Zelensky noted that one of Ukraine's top priorities for 2024 is the production of drones.

Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov previously said the intensity of drone use and minefields "made it impossible" for both Russia and Ukraine to conduct offensive operations.

Budanov also highlighted the importance of electronic warfare systems to counter enemy drones, which Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi had called the key to victory in the drone war.

Lecornu's announcement comes after French President Emmanuel Macron held a summit on Ukraine in Paris, convening 20 European heads of state and other Western officials. The meeting included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as leaders from the Baltic states.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Bob and Amanda Kowalski were enjoying margaritas downtown with friends on a normal night more than a decade ago. You know what they say, the best ideas always come when youre sipping on tequila.

We should have a St. Patricks day parade. Amanda Kowalski said then.

And that they did.

But it was not just any St. Paddys day parade. Most know the parade as St. Paddys Pickle Parade and Palooza. Why not? Its hosted in Mansfield, the pickle capital of Texas.

The first year was just word-of-mouth. We thought wed maybe have 500 people and then the folks turned down to the main street. We had over 5,000 people.

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The green screams down Mansfields main street, a horde of revelers that began an annual tradition in this city south of Fort Worth.

The Kowalskis knew then that they had something big going. This was absolutely going to be an event. From that point on, along with nine volunteer board members with no experience, they became event planners.

None of us are parade or event professionals. So now you have to learn where to get barricades, porta potties. How do you get groups to be in your parade? All of that, so we had to learn on the fly. Kowalski told the Star-Telegram.

Now, pickle palooza has pickle queens and their mascot, the pickle dude.

Everybody wants to see the pickle queens, they are like the Santa Claus of our parade, she said.

The queens are costumed in green gowns with red wigs, and of course, cowboy boots. The 12 ladies strut down as the parades finale.

Their prince, the pickle dude, is the most photographed character in Mansfield. The mascot even has his own Instagram account. Wearing his custom pickle converse, he prances around the pickle palooza drawing smiles as he passes by.

Vendors, local small craft businesses, and pie eating contests are all part of what makes the free parade popular. It is the only pickle parade in the world that attracts people from Boston, California, and even London.

Patricia Dalton, Gary Dalton, and Son Garland Dalton pictured in the Best Maid warehouse, August 1990. Patricia served as the companys chief financial officer, Son served as the chairman and chief executive officer, and Gary served as the company president. Best Maid was founded in Fort Worth by Mildred and J. O. Dalton in 1926. [FWST photographer Norm Tindell]

Why is Mansfield Texas pickle capital?

Dating back a century, Mildred Dalton sold grocery items out of her humble home in Mansfield. A surplus of pickles she used to make her famous burger spread gave Dalton no other choice but start selling pickles.

Thus Best Maid pickles was born.

For the next century, Mansfield has been home to the largest family-owned manufacturer of shelf stable pickles in the U.S., according to Best Maid Pickles.

Mansfield was named the Pickle Capital of Texas in 2013 by the 83rd Legislature. One small step for Texas, a huge leap for the pickle community.

The famous Mansfield Pickle Queens have decided parades, paloozas and fairs are not the only events for them. Those redheads in green have had a busy summer getting ready for their inaugural Bling Fling Pickle Prom making its debut on Saturday night at Stevens Garden & Grill in downtown Mansfield. Money raised at the event will benefit charities in and around Mansfield.

Whats the dill with 2024 Pickle Palooza in Mansfield?

Pickle Palooza has a different theme every year. For 2024, its deep in the heart of Texas. Families prepare miniature floats for their babies to ride following the years theme. The parade will host a run this year  starting at Legacy high school, the parade and run will move through Main Street all the way to downtown.

This year the parade will take place Saturday, March 16 .

Free admission , parking, and parking shuttles.

Kendras Kreations once again sponsors and provides pickles.

Childrens 5k begins at 8 a.m., concert by Cory Morrow wraps up at 6 p.m. For the full schedule, visit Pickle Paloozas website.

Map of pickle paloozas parade. Featuring parade path, runners path, ,vendors, and activities.
France will not provide Ukraine with Mirage 2000 fighter jets, instead focusing on providing the Ukrainian Armed Forces with bombs that can be adapted to Soviet-made aircraft.

Source: Sebastien Lecornu, Minister of Defence of France, at a meeting of the National Assembly Defence Committee; Ukrinform news agency; Zone militaire

Quote: "As for aircraft, on the whole, we are also trying to do something useful. To be as honest as possible, and Ive never said this publicly, instead of supplying Mirage 2000 jets, of which we have very few and whose MOC [maintenance in operational condition] would present terribly complicated challenges, we preferred to start general pilot training."

Details: Lecornu said that France did not stop there: "We chose to spend money and engineering resources on adapting A2SM (air-to-surface) bombs to the generations of Soviet-made Su-24 and MiG-29 aircraft that Ukraine already has, rather than focusing solely on the Mirage."

Lecornu noted that the 50 A2SM bombs being delivered to Ukraine every month, which are compatible with Soviet aircraft, were a game changer. And that was the most important thing. After that, there are discussions about aircraft, "but thats never the central point on which we are expected to focus."

He added that France has never been caught in a discrepancy between promises and actions. On the contrary, Paris waited until the logistics had been worked out and the deliveries had been made before announcing them.

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Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks (Thomas SAMSON)

French police said Friday they had arrested 66 people at a farmers' protest on the Champs-Elysees in central Paris that blocked traffic during the morning rush hour.

Using tractors and bales of hay, farmers briefly brought traffic to a halt on the famed avenue near the Arc de Triomphe monument, only a short distance from President Emmanuel Macron's office, the Elysee.

The protesters, who held up banners on the avenue, said their action was aimed "at saving French agriculture".

Farmers across Europe have been protesting for weeks over what they say are excessively restrictive environmental rules, competition from cheap imports from outside the European Union and low incomes.

Farmer Axel Masson said about 100 of his peers had gathered at the arterial roundabout from 3:00 am (0200 GMT) "in a peaceful and law-abiding manner".

Some of the protesters handed out bags of potatoes to motorists stuck in crawling traffic around the Arc de Triomphe, AFP reporters at the scene said.

Several were seen chatting with police officers before the arrests.

"The Rural Coordination takes over the Arc de Triomphe symbolically and peacefully," the farmers' union said earlier in a statement on social media platform X, adding that it was a cry to "save" agriculture in France.

It said it "wants quick action to save 45 percent of our farms which are in financial distress".

Masson said the farmers laid a wreath in memory of their colleagues who had been driven to suicide by financial woes, adding: "The state has never heard us".

French farmers have continued to block roads, set fire to tyres and lay siege to supermarkets, saying they need more measures, even after the government promised reforms.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom admitted a mistake four years ago, at the height of the COVID pandemic, when he was caught dining with friends and without a mask at the French Laundry, a famed and exclusive Napa Valley restaurant

The moment, leaked on video, showed Newsom at his worst: A nagging lack of judgment and an overinflated sense of entitlement in the service of double standards that apply to him, a chosen few in his circle but not the rest of us.

Newsom is now having another French Laundry moment, although the cuisine involved this time is a lot cheaper.

The governor and those around him are accused of seeking to exempt fast food franchises like Panera that sell bread from having to pay a higher minimum wage to employees starting this April. Greg Flynn, who owns more than 100 Panera Bread franchises, is a big Newsom donor. Flynn has also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to prevent voters from recalling Newsom in 2021 after the French Laundry debacle and re-electing the governor in 2022.

Opinion

A governors spokesman calls the allegation, which first surfaced in a report by Bloomberg News, absurd. Yet the legislative language in question was crafted in such secrecy and at such high levels, that not even the bills author - Assemblyman Chris Holden - was not involved. When Holden shared this information with reporters it undermined the denials from Newsom people. So did Flynns comment that he was surprised that Panera qualified for the exemption, although Flynn denies seeking special favors or speaking directly to Newsom.

Whether Panera truly got special treatment is beside the point. When Newsom operates this way, he invites criticism from Republican leaders that he richly deserves.

The story of this double standard begins with the powerful Service Employees International Union. In recent years, it has been targeting the fast-food industry for reform. As part of its campaign, SEIU came to Sacramento seeking a higher minimum wage for fast food workers than all other Californians, such as hotel maids, who suffer at the lowest rungs of our economy.

This selective economic justice for some poor people but not others had no rationale, but Newsom and legislative Democrats bought into it anyway. Then, in the rarest of Sacramento moments, the governors office helped craft the bill language to push it over the finish line.

The result was Assembly Bills 257 and 1228 by Holden of Pasadena. They established a new state Fast Food Council that raised the minimum wage from $16 an hour to $20 for fast food workers this April in exchange for the industry backing off a threat to take the issue to voters.

But the whole deal came with an exemption for a fast-food restaurant that applies only where the establishment produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item.

That sure sounds like Panera. As Paneras website boasts, Each day our trained bakers fill our bakery shelves with delicious freshly baked cookies, pastries, bagels, and a range of breads from focaccia to classic baguettes.

Yet if this exemption wasnt intended for Panera, who was it for?

At its bill signing, Newsom was asked about the special exemption. Thats a part of the sausage making.

But this is not a political sausage moment. This was Gavin Newsoms French Laundrys triple-layer cake.

Fast food workers get a higher minimum wage than everybody else. Fast food workers who happen to sell store-produced bread dont. Newsons circle benefits, he gets stuck with the political tab.

Newsom cannot get to the White House someday if he cant handle Panera-Gate.
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. More than 20 European heads of state and government and other Western officials are gathering in a show of unity for Ukraine, signaling to Russia that their support for Kyiv isn't wavering as the full-scale invasion grinds into a third year. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool via AP)

PARIS (AP)  French President Emmanuel Macron appeared isolated on the European stage this week after saying the possibility of Western troops being sent to Ukraine could not be ruled out, a comment that prompted an outcry from other leaders.

French officials later sought to clarify Macron's remarks and tamp down the backlash, while insisting on the need to send a clear signal to Russia that it cannot win in Ukraine.

The Kremlin warned that if NATO sends combat troops, a direct conflict between the alliance and Russia would be inevitable. Russian President Vladimir Putin said such a move would risk a global nuclear conflict.

Here's a look into Macrons comments, his strategy and whats at stake.

MACRON'S REMARKS, ALLIES' REACTION

Macron floated the possibility of Western troops helping in Ukraine while speaking at a news conference after 20 European heads of state, and other Western officials, met in Paris.

There was no consensus to send troops in an official, endorsed manner on the ground, Macron said, but in terms of dynamics, nothing can be ruled out.

The exact signal Macron was trying to send remains unclear, but it wasn't said by accident, said Phillips OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

It could be a bit of a warning to Russia or it could be that this might happen, so people need to prepare for it, OBrien said.

Macron was clearer when speaking about European leaders' evolving attitudes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. I remind you that two years ago, many people around this table were saying: were going to offer sleeping bags and helmets. Today theyre saying: we need to work faster and harder to get missiles and tanks."

Soon after, officials from Germany, Poland and other countries that participated in the Paris meeting sought to distance themselves from Macron's comments, saying they would not send troops to Ukraine. The head of NATO, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, told The Associated Press there are no plans for NATO combat troops on the ground.

FRENCH CLARIFICATION

French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the discussion about possibly sending Western troops into Ukraine centered on using them for de-mining and military training operations, away from the front lines  "not sending troops to wage war against Russia. He said no consensus emerged from the discussion.

The foreign minister, Stephane Sejourne, said this type of military presence wouldn't be crossing the belligerence threshold.

A French diplomat with knowledge of the Paris talks said the goal was also to send a signal to President Putin that this is now an option and that he cannot simply count on the fact that none of Ukraines partner countries will ever be deployed there.

The diplomat insisted on anonymity to discuss such a sensitive issue. Macron didnt rule out any options for one simple reason: as weve seen, there are all sorts of things that were ruled out two years ago but no longer are today, he said.

Paris said talks with allied countries will continue at meetings of European foreign and defense ministers to be set at a later date.

MACRON'S EVOLVING VIEWS ON RUSSIA

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Macron initially kept open a line of communication with Putin.

He said in June 2022 that the Russian president made a historic error but that world powers shouldnt humiliate Russia, so that when the fighting stops, we can build a way out together via diplomatic paths. The remark drew strong criticism from Ukraine and many of France's allies.

Macron last spoke with Putin in September 2022; he's taken a tougher stance publicly ever since.

His comments on Monday were clearly intended to sound the alarm bell, said Francois Heisbourg, a defense analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies based in London.

Yet some knock-on effects of the news conference were probably not expected," Heisbourg said. "It gives the impression that (the French) ventured out as mavericks, with the risk of being misunderstood.

RUSSIA SEEN AS AN AGGRESSIVE FOE

In presenting his case, Macron raised concerns over Russia getting tougher in recent months.

He cited the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the repression of Russia's political opposition and the ferocity of combat along the front line in Ukraine.

The French government recently revealed that Russian forces threatened to shoot down a French surveillance aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea. And earlier this month it accused Russia of spreading disinformation across Europe.

The hand-wringing over Russia in Europe comes amid worries that the U.S. will dial back support for Ukraine. European officials are also concerned that former President Donald Trump could be reelected later this year and potentially change the course of U.S. policy on the continent.

Our security as Europeans is at stake, Macron said. Should we delegate our future to American voters? My answer is no, whatever the vote is.

Whatever Macron's message was, some analysts say he may have fumbled the delivery.

Macron wants to send a signal of strength to Russia. But for deterrence to work, it must be credible," said Jana Puglierin, head of Berlin's European Council on Foreign Relations, an international think tank. "He has unnecessarily introduced a potential for division into NATO."

"This is no way to promote European unity and strength, Puglierin said in a written statement.

___

AP writer Danica Kirka in London contributed to the story.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
A frog was found with mushroom sprouting from its side, leaving scientists baffled

A tiny frog baffled scientists by growing a mushroom on its side.

The frog seemed to be living its life unaware of its companion.

Whether the frog continued to live with the mushroom on its side will remain a mystery.

Scientists were stunned when they came across a frog with what seemed to be a mushroom sprouting from its side.

The amphibian, a Rao's intermediate golden-backed frog, was spotted by rivers and wetlands specialist Lohit Y.T. during a survey of amphibians in the foothills of the Western Ghats in India.

Rao's intermediate golden-backed frog is a small frog that is endemic to India.

"When I first observed the frog with the mushroom, I was amazed and intrigued by the sight," Lohit told CNN.

"My thought was to document it, as this phenomenon is something we have never heard of. We just wanted this to be a rare incident and not a dangerous phenomenon for the frog," he said.

A close up of the mushroom. Maliye, C. C. ., & Y.T., L. (2024) Reptiles & Amphibians. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v31i1.20966. CC BY-NC 4.0

The frog, sitting atop a twig, seemed content with the mushroom. It was moving around and very much alive, Lohit and his co-author Chinmay C Maliye said in a note reporting their finding.

"To the best of our knowledge, never has a mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog been documented," the authors said in their paper.

A mycologist's examination of the pictures first suggested that the mushroom was a common bonnet, which tends to grow on rotting wood. Others have debated the species of mushroom, The New York Times reported.

The golden frog is shown from the front. Maliye, C. C. ., & Y.T., L. (2024) Reptiles & Amphibians. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v31i1.20966. CC BY-NC 4.0

The reason why this is so peculiar is that only a few species of fungi sprout mushrooms, Matthew Smith, a fungal biologist at the University of Florida who was not involved with the finding, told The Times.

Many will make mycelia, but to sprout a fully formed mushroom, they need to be deeply rooted and have access to the right nutrients.

When it comes to animals, scientists are more attuned to finding fungi inside the body or on the skin, not sprouting out of them.

Smith said he'd never heard of an example of a mushroom growing on animal tissue, per The Times.

"I was very surprised to see it," he said.

Some mycologists believe this to be a bonnet mushroom, which typically grows on rotting wood. Maliye, C. C. ., & Y.T., L. (2024) Reptiles & Amphibians. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v31i1.20966. CC BY-NC 4.0

Alyssa Wetterau Kaganer, a postdoctoral associate at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, told CNN that she found the discovery fascinating.

"Fungi are dynamic organisms that adapt to changes in their environment, and with exposure to new potential hosts in different environments or climates they may grow in places we hadn't previously expected," she said.

Karthikeyan Vasudevan, chief scientist for the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Telangana, India, told CNN he initially thought the mushroom was stuck on the frog, but a closer look at the pictures convinced him it was indeed embedded in the skin.

"But one of the possibilities is that there is a small piece of woody debris under the skin of the frog after it got lodged in the skin and it has sprouted a mushroom from it," he said.

Whether the frog continued to live with the mushroom on its side will remain a mystery. The scientists didn't capture the small specimen, which carried on with its life.

Kaganer expects the frog could withstand a local infection, but if the mushroom were to continue to burrow into its skin, it may be spell trouble for the amphibian.

Hopefully, this isn't a new type of infection that is sweeping across Indian frogs. India has been ravaged with an epidemic of a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis which is affecting more than 700 species in India, per CNN.

Frog numbers worldwide have been dwindling with more than 40% of known species now threatened, in part because of the climate crisis and other threats to their environment.

The findings in the peer-reviewed journal Reptiles and Amphibian in January

Read the original article on Business Insider
North Carolina lawmakers say they hear plenty from constituents about long lines, lack of appointments and other problems with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.

With those complaints echoing in their heads, members of the House and Senate spent nearly three hours Thursday grilling DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin and his staff about the agencys performance.

They asked about the DMVs efforts to fill vacancies and replace outdated computer systems; how it manages the private contractors that run license plate offices; and why a visit to a DMV office cant be like going to a Great Clips, the salon that lets customers check in for appointments online.

When it was over, Sen. Michael Lazzara said it is clear the DMV has significant room for improvement.

As legislators, a broken DMV is a broken promise to our constituents, said Lazzara, a Republican from Onslow County who co-chairs the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee. This division has the largest customer-facing role in our states government. And instead of providing service, its a source of frustration and disruption to the lives of our citizens. Commissioner Goodwin, unfortunately this responsibility belongs to you.

Goodwin acknowledged that the DMV has a long way to go. He said that when he got the job in early 2022, he set seven goals that include reducing wait times and lines at driver license offices, modernizing the agencys technology, hiring more license examiners and increasing the number of services that can be done online.

Within my two years as commissioner, objective metrics indicate improvement in each of those seven areas, he told lawmakers. We still have more to do, but there have been improvements.

Goodwin said more than half of driver license office workers left or retired during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the vacancy rate for full-time permanent driver license examiners was 25% to 30% two years ago. Thats improved to about 11%, he said, as higher salaries and hiring bonuses helped bring on more than 250 examiners.

But the agency is still about 80 employees shy of being able to staff all of the work stations at the DMVs 116 driver license offices across the state, Goodwin said. Something that would help, he said, is for lawmakers to allow the agency to convert 40 full-time temporary examiner jobs  those who work 11 months of the year and dont get benefits  to permanent positions, which are far easier to fill.

Fewer appointments leads to frustration

The DMV has also tried to manage the flow of customers at its offices by making appointments only in the morning and allowing only walk-ins in the afternoon. It found about one in four customers with an appointment werent showing up and that increasing the availability for walk-ins created more flexibility for customers.

But reducing the number of appointments means they fill up quickly. Rep. Donnie Loftis, a Republican from Gaston County, noted that he recently found 68 of DMVs driver license offices had no available appointments, something he hears about from constituents.

I get hammered with this at home, that they go to make these appointments and there is nothing online, Loftis said.

If no-shows are a problem, Loftis said, why cant the DMV do what his doctors office did when he recently had his annual physical: Send repeated reminders about the upcoming appointment by text or email.

Once I had that date and time locked and loaded, a week out I started getting reminders, he said. I got no less than five or seven to make sure I was going to be there.

Goodwin said DMV does have several million email addresses for driver license customers and for the first time is looking to use those to communicate. Text messages would require further steps, he said, including consent of each customer to receive DMV messages on their cell phones.

Along those lines, Lazzara asked about the agencys use of QR codes that allow customers to check in to a driver license office and be notified by phone when its their turn. The placement of those QR codes is inconsistent from office to office, he noted, prompting him to mention the Great Clips approach to texting.

The subject of technology came up repeatedly during the hearing.

DMV recently signed an agreement with the state of Arizona to use its cloud-based operating system that will replace all of the agencys aging computer programs. The system will allow customers to create accounts and see all their records and do more business online, reducing trips to the office.

Asked how long before those features are ready, DMVs chief operating officer, Brian Watkins, said it took Arizona seven or eight years to develop the system and that it will likely take three to five years for North Carolina to adapt it.

Thursdays hearing comes as the legislature is studying whether to privatize part or all of the Division of Motor Vehicles. That study, ordered as part of last falls state budget, is due May 1. Lazzara pressed for the study but says he wants to wait for the results before considering any moves toward privatization.

Once more on license renewal issue

Lawmakers again asked Goodwin about two provisions in the state budget that aimed to reduce visits to DMV offices but turned out to run contrary to federal law.

Under one of those provisions, licenses granted to drivers age 18 to 65 will not expire for 16 years, twice as long as the current renewal period of eight years. The other allows drivers to renew their licenses online every time, rather than having to visit a DMV office every other renewal as they must do now.

Both provisions go into effect July 1.

But Goodwin says the provisions run afoul of the REAL ID Act, the law Congress approved in 2005 to tighten identification standards after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The law says REAL IDs issued by states are not valid for more than eight years. It also requires that the photo on REAL IDs be replaced at least every 16 years. That requires an office visit, contradicting the budget bill provision that says they could be renewed online.

Goodwin had asked for the 16-year renewal period in February 2023, before realizing it would violate federal law. He says he asked that it be removed from a bill last spring, but the message didnt get to budget writers, who work behind closed doors. The provision appeared in the final version of the budget in September, which was released two days before it was approved and sent to Gov. Roy Cooper.

The other provision, allowing people to repeatedly renew their licenses online, was not one the DMV requested, but it, too, violates the REAL ID Act, Goodwin says.

Goodwin told lawmakers at a hearing in October that he was sorry for any miscommunication and asked that lawmakers reverse themselves and take both provisions out of state law. He made the same request Thursday.

It is important that we correct this, he said.

In an interview after the hearing, Lazzara said lawmakers have not yet drafted legislation to address the issue but likely will before the General Assembly returns to Raleigh on April 24.
GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF)  A Lieutenant Colonel stationed with the U.S. Army Cyber Command at Fort Eisenhower has been arrested in Hall County, Georgia.

According to the Grovetown Police Department, U.S. Army Cyber Command Lt. Col. Rene Gamara, 44, is charged in Hall County with driving more than 130 miles from Columbia County , GA, to Hall County, GA, in an alleged attempt to meet someone hed met online and believed was a child in order to have sex with them at a location Gamara believed was their home, as part of an undercover sting targeting suspects who may be engaging, electronic exploitation of a minor, prostitution, and pandering.

According to the warrant for his arrest, Gamara was arrested on February 24th around 1 P.M. after he traveled to a location in Hall County for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with a victim he believed to be under the age of 16.

ALSO ON WJBF: Bicyclist hit, killed by train on Washington Rd. identified

According to Hall County Sheriffs Office, their office spearheaded the operation in coordination with multiple police departments across the state and the GBI as part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

According to Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch, the ongoing goal of the sting has been to identify and arrest suspects who use the internet for illegal sexual activity.

Starting on the afternoon of Friday, February 23rd, and continuing into the early-morning hours of Sunday, February 25th, according to a press release about the operation, authorities say a total of 17 suspects traveled to a location in Hall County for the purpose of illegal sexual encounters during that time frame, which was nicknamed Operation Good Shepherd.

Authorities say that of those arrested, four were charged with felony electronic exploitation of a minor after believing they would be meeting with a victim under the age of 16 for the purpose of having sex, which Gamara being among those arrested.

According to the Grovetown Police Department, Gamara is charged with Felony Electronic Exploitation of a Minor.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
The path to the 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections remains uncertain. This past Wednesday, February 28, the government  led by the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), founded by Hugo Chavez, who governed Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013  has proposed 27 potential dates for election day. These dates were compiled by members of the political, business, academic and religious sectors who took part in an unusual consultation process promoted by the National Assembly, the legislative body controlled by President Nicolas Maduro, who has ruled since 2013.

In reality, however, this consultation hasnt taken any specific step on the path towards elections. Its the National Electoral Council (CNE) that must set the electoral calendar. Still, the events that took place this past Wednesday have helped the government exert control over the political agenda.

The opposition coalition  which signed an electoral commitment with the Maduro government in Barbados last summer  is running former right-wing legislator Maria Corina Machado as its candidate, after choosing her in primaries. However, her candidacy has been disqualified by the Supreme Court, while the opposition was left out of the consultation process to determine potential voting days.

Jorge Rodriguez  president of the PSUV-controlled National Assembly  was the spokesman for the Maduro government at the Norway-sponsored negotiations last year. He now suddenly says that the proposal from last week is even broader than the Barbados agreement and should replace it. The vast majority [of the Venezuelan population] is represented here, he proclaimed, at the event on February 28, in which 150 people signed a document  with a red cover, the same color as that of the ruling party  which will be delivered to the CNE.

The government and its aides have continued with their strategy of creating an opposition tailored to their needs, according to several critical voices. Rodriguez highlighted that they managed to convene 85% of the countrys political parties to propose a date to hold the elections and to discuss electoral guarantees. These involve regulations for traditional media and social media, so as to ensure equal advertising exposure to all candidates. Representatives of various opposition parties  such as Democratic Action and Popular Will  were convened to sign the document, but their boards of directors were purged in recent years by the Maduro-controlled judiciary, which replaced them with pro-government figures. In Venezuelan political jargon, the illegitimate members of these boards are referred to as scorpions.

In my view, this agreement is the development of the [2023] Barbados agreement and replaces it. In other words, the Barbados agreement is a subset of this whole new agreement, which is much broader, Rodriguez shrugged. This is despite the fact that members of the Unitary Platform  the big-tent opposition coalition  were not present at the signing of the document on Wednesday.

Last week, the opposition delegation delivered a document to the mediators and the government delegation, in which they denounced 33 violations of the previously-signed commitments. For instance, in the Barbados agreement, it was established that the presidential elections would be held in the second-half of 2024. The document included proposals that ranged from the last week of March to December. The ruling PSUV, however, hasnt publicly presented its date. Weve decided to [offer up] all the dates proposed by all the factions that participated in this round of dialogue, Rodriguez noted. In addition, the government spokesman has stated that  over the next 12 months  regional and municipal elections will also be held, in addition to the federal legislative ones.

Specialists in electoral matters maintain that at least six months are needed from the official announcement of elections to be able to comply with all the audit processes and to produce sufficient materials, such as ballots and booths. Other key aspects  such as the updating of the voter registry  should occur even sooner.

Nearly eight million Venezuelan migrants live beyond the countrys borders. And, despite the fact that many of them have permanent residence elsewhere, they continue to be left in limbo, unable to register or vote from abroad. Any kind of formal registration is made even more difficult in the numerous countries from which the Venezuelan government has withdrawn its diplomatic representation.

How does a Venezuelan vote in the United States? They cant, because were not allowed to have electoral representation. How does a Venezuelan vote in Argentina? If we send the electoral material [to Buenos Aires], the crazy person can steal it. Theres no way to guarantee that the psychopath wont do something like that, Rodriguez commented, in reference to far-right President Javier Milei, using the newly-elected Argentines leaders volatility to justify the obstacles to voting abroad.

Last October, in Barbados, the Venezuelan government also agreed to have international observers monitor the elections, from institutions such as the European Union and the Carter Center. Their participation requires sufficient advance notice. But on the point regarding respect for the opposition coalitions internal political processes  and on the point regarding the lifting of political bans that have been imposed on certain opposition candidates, such as Maria Corina Machado  the agreements have foundered. The government has blocked Machados participation and seems determined not to give in on that aspect. A ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice also annulled the results of the 2023 opposition primaries that saw surprising voter turnout (more than two million Venezuelans) amidst logistical difficulties, with the organizers of the process under investigation by the Attorney Generals Office.

Over the course of February 2024, the scandal caused by the arrest of the lawyer and activist Rocio San Miguel  and the subsequent expulsion from the country of members of the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights  once again raised alarm bells about the stagnation of the Venezuelan political crisis. The elections are crucial for Maduro to lift the weight of illegitimacy that he has been carrying since 2018, when he was re-elected in an early election, in which a large part of the opposition candidates were disqualified. The 2024 elections are also crucial for the opposition and for the Venezuelans who aspire to open up a window to political change in their country.

After 11 years in power, Maduro continues in his role as the candidate, despite the fact that most polls show him with an approval rating at or below 20%. And Machado is continuing her campaign stops around the country, in the hopes that she will still be allowed to compete. In the coming days  according to Rodriguez  there will be news about the date of the elections.

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The Spanish fashion giant Zara is preparing to reopen its stores in Ukraine following the two-year closure amid Russia's full-scale invasion, according to the Financial Times report on March 1, referring to the companys statement.

In October 2023, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv was working to bring back global brands like H&M, IKEA, and Zara, which ceased operations in Ukraine after the all-out war started.

Spanish company Inditex, the owner of the Zara, Bershka, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius, Uterque, Oysho, and Massimo Dutti brands, will open some stores in Kyiv as soon as in early April, FT reported.

The company has informed its landlords that the retailer plans to reopen 50 of 84 stores in Ukraine.

The remaining stores are located in parts of the east and south of Ukraine directly affected by Russias war, where the Ukrainian government prohibited commercial operations, according to FT.

The company noted that ensuring the safety of both employees and customers is a top priority for Inditex, and it wants to adapt its plans to market circumstances.

"Some Ukrainian staff have already been sent to Poland for training in preparation for their return to work," FT reported.

Zara's parent company ceased operations also in Russia shortly after the all-out war began, though it did not rule out returning if the circumstances chage.

H&M reopened shops in Ukraine in November 2023. The Swedish fashion retailer first opened in Kyiv in August 2018 and closed due to the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Read also: Opinion: Putins silk road around sanctions

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Editor's note: The article was updated after Alexei Navalny's burial took place.

The funeral service of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny took place in a church in Moscow's Maryino district, the independent Russian news outlet Meduza reported on March 1.

Navalny was buried at the Borisov Cemetery in the Brateyevo district. Videos published on Navalny's team Telegram channel show thousands of people accompanying the funeral procession on its way toward the cemetery, chanting in support of Navalny and calling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "killer."

Navalny, Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in the town of Kharp, Yamal Nenets Autonomous District. He had been convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.

Leaders around the world pointed at Putin as to blame for Navalny's death. It remains unclear whether the harsh prison conditions caused his death or if he was intentionally murdered.

According to Meduza, many people came to pay their respects to Navalny, with the line to the church reportedly stretching for about two kilometers.

Only a few relatives and friends were allowed inside for the service, however, and authorities reportedly restricted internet access in the Maryino district.

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EU and U.S. ambassadors, as well as anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin who unsuccessfully tried to run for the upcoming presidential election, were also present, Meduza wrote.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he has nothing to say to Navalny's relatives and warned that anybody who takes part in "unauthorized rallies" during the funeral "will be held accountable."

Navalny's body was released to his mother on Feb. 24, shortly after Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya called out Russian President Vladimir Putin in a video due to the refusal of the prison authorities to release his remains to his mother, nearly nine days after his death.

Navalny's mother said on Feb. 22 that the authorities threatened that they would only transfer the body to her if she agreed to a secret funeral, as opposed to a public one.

Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, told Russian independent media outlet Meduza on Feb. 28 that the authorities were actively trying to prevent a public funeral.

Read also: Alexei Navalnys life and death as main opponent to Putin regime

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Ukrainian pilots have already started practicing tactical maneuvers on F-16s, including strikes on air and ground targets, Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said on national TV on March 1.

The pilots are already practicing tactical techniques, he said.

They actually practice the task of striking air and non-ground targets. This is crucial, because it is not only necessary to fly the planes and control the airspace  you must be able to fight. Precisely these things are being practiced now."

The training of ground personnel apart from pilots training is also underway, he added.

Read also: Ukraine takes out 1,000+ Russian soldiers, two fighter jets, and 14 tanks in a single day

They learn how to maintain F-16 aircraft and its armaments, how to program it, and so on.

"All this training is necessary for the aircraft to operate as efficiently as possible in Ukrainian skies [and to] destroy air, ground, and water surface targets," Ihnat said.

Infrastructure is currently being prepared and adapted in Ukraine "at certain sites, so that these aircraft can be used from our airbases.", he added.

F-16 for Ukraine: what is known

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the UK, along with the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark, had agreed to participate in training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets on May 19, 2023.

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

Romanian officials said on July 6, 2023, that they were opening a regional training center for F-16 fighter pilots, which would be available to its allies and partners, including Ukraine.

The U.S. authorized Denmark and the Netherlands to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.

The two allies announced on Aug. 20, 2023, that they would provide Ukraine with 61 F-16 aircrafts  42 from the Netherlands and 19 from Denmark.

Norway also confirmed its intention to supply F-16s. Belgium will provide Ukraine with F-16s starting in 2025.

Ukrainian pilots are training on F-16 fighters in different programs worldwide, Ukraines Defense Ministry reported on Jan. 10.

The Pentagon reported on Jan. 5 that Ukrainian F-16 pilots will be ready to undertake missions in 2024.

Ukrainian pilots abroad are training on F-16s with instructors, Ihnat said on Jan. 22.

The first F-16 fighter jets will appear in Ukraine around June 2024, Foreign Policy reported on Feb. 18, citing European officials.

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Finance ministers from the G20 countries are still discussing how to describe the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Gaza Strip in a joint communique, Reuters reported on March 1.

The dispute erupted just hours before the scheduled conclusion of the G20 negotiations, highlighting a noticable rift among the group's members over how to address the escalating geopolitical tensions that Brazil is attempting to resolve, Reuters said.

Read also: Czech President approves 20 citizens to join Ukrainian Armed Forces

Germany's Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, expressed confidence that the G20 finance ministers would reach an agreement on a communique that acknowledges the geopolitical risks to economic growth.

Read also: President Zelenskyys 10-point peace formula, full text of speech to G20 in Bali

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, however, have yet to agree on certain parts of the statement.

Members of the G7 and Japan favor describing the conflict as a war "in" Ukraine, while Russia prefers to characterize it as a war "within" Ukraine.

G7 members also support a phrasing that describes the situation in the Gaza Strip as a "humanitarian crisis" without mentioning Israel.

Brazilian officials hosting the event have tried to steer the discussions towards economic cooperation.

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George Galloway secured 40 per cent of the vote in Rochdale on a pro-Palestinian ticket - Oli Scarff/AFP

George Galloways by-election victory in Rochdale was a dark day for the Jewish community in this country, the Board of Deputies of British Jews has said.

The Board, the largest Jewish community organisation in the UK, said Mr Galloway should be shunned as a pariah by all parliamentarians in the aftermath of his by-election win.

On Thursday, he secured 40 per cent of the vote on a pro-Palestinian ticket. He returns to Westminster for the fourth time  this time for the Workers Party of Britain.

Mr Galloways victory speech was temporarily interrupted by an eco-protester, who accused him of being a denier of climate change.

Her protest was swiftly drowned out by the left-wing politicians supporters chanting Galloway! Galloway! until she was dragged off by security.

Another activist tried to throw orange confetti over him - the colour closely associated with Just Stop Oil - but they missed their target.

A spokesman for the Board of Deputies said: George Galloway is a demagogue and conspiracy theorist who has brought the politics of division and hate to every place he has ever stood for Parliament.

His election is a dark day for the Jewish community in this country, and for British politics in general. We believe he should be shunned as a pariah by all parliamentarians.

Over the course of Mr Galloways career, spanning almost four decades, he has been criticised several times for comments he has made about Israel.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said Mr Galloway has an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.

It said: He has previously and infamously declared Bradford an Israel-free zone. He said of his previous election loss that the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating.

He described David Baddiel, a Jewish comic who is well-known for not closely associating himself with Israel, as a vile Israel fanatic.

He claimed that the institutional anti-Semitism within the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn was really a disgraceful campaign of Goebbelsian fiction, in reference to Joseph Goebbels, Hitlers propagandist.

He was sacked by TalkRadio over his views. Recently, he has described the atrocity carried out by Hamas on Oct 7 as a concentration camp breakout and referred to Hamas terrorists as fighters.

The group said it was extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this Parliament.

It comes as the deputy leader of the Workers Party of Britain refused to condemn the Oct 7 Hamas attacks.

Chris Williamson, suspended from Labour in 2019 after claiming that the party had been too apologetic over allegations of anti-Semitism, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: What about the Palestinian people that have been massacred over nearly 76 years now, actually, where is the media outrage at that?

And in international law, oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance.

Rishi Sunak has described the Rochdale campaign as one of the most divisive in recent times, as candidates complained of aggressive behaviour by Mr Galloways supporters.

A Number 10 spokesman said intimidation doesnt represent our values of tolerance and respect, and hes [Mr Sunak] very clear that he will always defend and champion those values.

A spokesman for Mr Galloway, and Rochdale borough council, were contacted for comment.

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Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Republican candidate Steve Garvey are now in a statistical tie in Californias nonpartisan Senate primary, polling released Friday shows.

The poll from the Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley found Garvey with 27 percent support and Schiff at 25 percent.

Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) came in outside of the top-two with 19 percent, while Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) trailed with just 8 percent.

In Californias nonpartisan primary system, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff in November, regardless of party affiliation. The candidates are looking to fill the late Sen. Dianne Feinsteins (D) vacancy, which is currently being filled by temporary appointee Sen. Laphonza Butler (D).

Schiff, who has been leading in other polling over the last few weeks, has appeared to try to elevate Garvey  since spectators say a Democrat-Republican showdown would be easier for Schiff to win than a battle between lawmakers in the same party.

The Berkeley IGS poll notes a large increase in support for Garvey over the last several weeks, and he fares even better in the partial-term race on the California ballot.

Schiff, Porter, Garvey and Lee are running both for a full term in the Senate that starts in January 2025, and also for a partial term to take over from Butler between this November and the start of the next term.

Garvey boasts the lead in the partial term race, according to the Berkeley IGS poll, with 29 percent to Schiffs 23 percent, followed by Porter at 20 percent. That boost appears to be due to fewer Republican names on the partial-term ballot compared to the full-term ballot, the poll notes.

California is seeing notably low turnout for the primary, just days before Super Tuesday, and data indicates its predominantly older Californians casting ballots at this point.

The Berkeley IGS poll found nearly two-thirds of the likely electorate were 50 or older, tripling the number of voters under 40.

Garvey is the chief beneficiary in a low turnout election scenario, as he holds a huge advantage over the field among fellow Republicans and both he and Schiff are the two most preferred candidates among older voters, whites, and homeowners, the poll release reads.

The poll was conducted Feb. 22-27 among 6,536 California registered voters, of which 3,304 had already voted or were likely to vote. The estimated sampling error is approximately plus or minus 2 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is now claiming Panera Bread will not be exempt from new fast food worker minimum wage laws as he fights back against allegations suggesting a major Newsom donor and Panera franchise owner received a special carve-out.

At issue is an exemption for bakery restaurants that produce and sell bread in Assembly bills 257 and 1228, which created a fast food council to enact worker protections and set a $20-per-hour minimum wage for employees at qualifying establishments.

Newsom spokesman Alex Stack on Thursday evening called the story absurd and said the governor never met with Flynn.

Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law, Stack said in a statement.

Bloomberg on Wednesday reported the bakery exemption came about due to the influence of Newsom donor and Panera franchisee Greg Flynn.

The new minimum wage requirement does not take effect until April, so it is difficult to say which restaurants will ultimately be exempt. It applies to companies with at least 60 locations nationwide. Panera has more than 2,000 restaurants across the country, according to the company website. That includes the two dozen franchises in California run by Flynns company, which claims to be the bread chains second-largest franchisee.

The governors team is hinging its argument on the word produce, which AB 1228 does not define. They claim the exemption would apply only to restaurants that make their bread entirely on-site, unlike Panera, which makes dough at central locations to be baked at the companys retail stores.

Bloomberg also suggested the exemption could apply to restaurants such as Paris Baguette and Great Harvest Bread Co. It is unclear whether those companies, or any others with at least 60 locations, make their bread entirely on-site.

Republican lawmakers on Thursday called the apparent Panera exemption pay to play. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of Santee, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City and Assemblyman Joe Patterson of Rocklin wrote a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta calling for an investigation into AB 1228.

As elected representatives, it is our duty to ensure state government serves the peoples interests, not special interests, they wrote. The appearance that campaign donations influenced a decision impacting the livelihoods of countless Californians is deeply troubling.

In a statement late Thursday, Service Employees International Union, which fought for AB 1228, supported the Newsom teams conclusion about the apparent Panera exemption.

The conclusion of the governors legal team is consistent with our intent as the bills sponsors during negotiations, said Tia Orr, SEIU California executive director, in a statement. There was never an intent to exclude any one company, but instead to provide clarity on what constitutes a fast food establishment.

The Flynn Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Palestinians wounded in an Israeli strike while waiting for humanitarian aid on the beach in Gaza City are treated in Shifa Hospital on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa)

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP)  The head of a Gaza City hospital that treated some of the Palestinians wounded in the bloodshed surrounding an aid convoy said Friday that more than 80% had been struck by gunfire, suggesting there was heavy shooting by Israeli troops.

At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others injured Thursday, according to health officials, when witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy. Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a crowd surge that started when desperate Palestinians in Gaza rushed the aid trucks. Israel said its troops fired warning shots after the crowd moved toward them in a threatening way.

Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, told The Associated Press that of the 176 wounded brought to the facility, 142 had gunshot wounds and the other 34 showed injuries from a stampede.

He couldnt address the cause of death of those killed, because the bodies were taken to government-run hospitals to be counted.

Dr. Husam Abu Safyia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said the majority of the injured taken there had gunshot wounds in the upper part of their bodies, and many of the deaths were from gunshots to the head, neck or chest.

The bloodshed underscored how the chaos of Israels almost 5-month-old offensive has crippled the effort to bring aid to Gazas 2.3 million Palestinians, a quarter of whom the United Nations says face starvation.

The U.N. and other aid groups have been pleading for safe corridors for aid convoys, saying it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, including crowds of desperate people who overwhelm aid convoys.

U.N. officials say hunger is even worse in the north, where several hundred thousand Palestinians remain even though the area has been isolated and mostly leveled since Israeli troops launched their ground offensive there in late October. U.N. agencies havent delivered aid to the north in more than a month because of military restrictions and lack of security, but several deliveries by other groups reached the area earlier this week.

The United Nations says a U.N. team that visited Shifa Hospital in Gaza City reported a large number of gunshot wounds among the more than 200 people still being treated for injuries Friday from Thursdays chaotic aid convoy scene.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and several European leaders have called for an independent, credible investigation into what happened.

Acknowledging the difficulty of getting aid in, United States President Joe Biden said Friday the U.S. soon will begin airdropping assistance to Gaza and will look for other ways to get shipments in, including possibly a marine corridor.

The announcement came hours after a Jordanian plane over northern Gaza dropped packages attached to parachutes, including rice, flour and baby formula.

Innocent lives are on the line, and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there, Biden said. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

Aid officials have said airdrops are an incredibly expensive way of distributing assistance.

I dont think the airdropping of food in the Gaza Strip should be the answer today. The real answer is: Open the crossing and bring convoys and bring meaningful assistance into the Gaza Strip, Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said Thursday.

Thursdays convoy wasnt organized by the U.N. Instead, it appeared to have been monitored by the Israeli military, which said its troops were on hand to secure it and ensure it reached northern Gaza.

United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Fridays convoy was also "coordinated and deconflicted with the Israeli authorities because they control Gaza.

Weve been trying to do that every day, he said. We have not been successful every day.

Thursday's shooting and bloodshed raise questions about whether Israel will be able to keep order if it goes through with its postwar plans for Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has put forward a plan for Israel to retain open-ended security and political control over the territory  an effective reoccupation  after Hamas is destroyed. Under the plan, Palestinians picked by Israel would administer the territory, but its uncertain if any would cooperate.

That would leave Israeli troops  who, throughout the war, have responded with heavy firepower when they perceive a possible threat  to oversee the population during the massive postwar humanitarian and reconstruction operation envisioned by the international community.

Israel launched its air, sea and ground offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas Oct. 7 attack into Israel, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 others. Since the assault began, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israels Kerem Shalom crossing.

Despite international calls to allow more aid in, the number of supply trucks is far less than the 500 that came in daily before the war.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has climbed to 30,228, with another 71,377 wounded. The ministry doesnt differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

Thursdays bloodshed took place as a convoy of around 30 trucks entered Gaza City before dawn.

Many of the wounded described a scene of desperation and chaos, with people climbing on the moving trucks to get bags of flour when Israeli troops began shooting, including from a tank.

I was holding a bag of flour on my way home. They shot me in the right foot and in the left foot. Shells were fired above our heads, gunfire, said Sameer Salman, who was being treated in Kamal Adwan.

The Israeli military said dozens of the deaths were caused by a stampede and that some people were run over by trucks as drivers tried to get away.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said Israeli troops guarding the area fired shots only towards a threat after the crowd moved toward them in a way that endangered them. He said the troops didnt open fire on those seeking aid.

___

Bassem Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press Writer Zeke Miller in Washington and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

___

Find more of APs coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
(Bloomberg) -- Pro-Palestinian demonstrators nearly penetrated the security perimeter around President Joe Bidens motorcade in San Francisco recently, prompting cries for help from a White House aide and a moment of alarm for the US Secret Service.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Feb. 22 incident at the Fairmont Hotel saw protesters follow White House staffers and reporters into a restricted stairwell. When one aide yelled we need help over here, the Secret Service counter-assault team readied their rifles in whats called low ready position with guns pointed down. The group, carrying a Stop Funding Genocide banner, almost made it to a secure area where the presidents motorcade was waiting before being turned away.

Protests like that one, along with weeks of demonstrations outside the homes of senior administration officials, have prompted rising alarm among Biden and his team as they confront unprecedented blowback over their handling of Israels conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The most shocking protest yet occurred Sunday, when Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty Air Force serviceman, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington. He later died.

US Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment on the incident at the Fairmont Hotel but said demonstrations have been common at presidential events in recent months. None have risen to a level of a major safety concern, he said. One person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified commenting on the presidents schedule, said Bidens departure from the Fairmont that day was delayed only briefly.

Even so, when Biden visited Michigan in early February, his itinerary was kept closely guarded to avoid protests. Demonstrators were removed at a Biden event in Manassas, Virginia, in January, and two women wearing head scarves were turned away from a Biden rally in Las Vegas. A White House spokesperson said they had disrupted a previous event.

The protests have shone a spotlight on the challenges that the Biden administration has faced as it navigates the bloody aftermath of Hamass Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Biden and his team have been more sympathetic to the Palestinian cause than his predecessor, Donald Trump, and have called repeatedly for Israel to protect Palestinian civilians.

Yet now its those officials who have been accused of genocide and of abandoning Palestinians while siding with Israel, continuing to provide it weapons to go after Hamas, which is labeled a terrorist organization by the US and the European Union, even as the death toll mounts. Israels counterattack has left more than 30,000 dead in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Read More: Dozens Dead After Violence Near Aid Trucks in Gaza City

Patrick Kennedy, a former undersecretary of state, said he had checked with a colleague and recalled small protests outside former Secretary of State John Kerrys home but nothing on the scale officials are confronting now.

Thats the only precedent that he and I could think of, Kennedy, who joined the foreign service in 1973, said in an interview. And we, collected together, go back 20, 25, 30 years.

The anger toward Biden has had political consequences, most notably in Michigan, which has a large Arab-American population and where where 100,000 people in a primary this week voted uncommitted  two thirds of Bidens 150,000-vote margin of victory over Trump in 2020.

The protests are the latest evolution of a trend thats seen top officials and staffers confronted much more directly. Under the Trump administration, staff were confronted while dining out or at their homes, and protesters waged similar demonstrations outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Along with the San Francisco episode, there have been many more over the war in Gaza, the most public and vocal being a continuing protest outside Secretary of State Antony Blinkens home in Virginia as well as demonstrations outside the homes of National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Its a reflection of the social-media age when its much easier to track officials and coordinate movement. As a way to get people to find Blinkens home, one group created a fake breakfast restaurant  called Wakey Wakey Eggs & Bakey Tonys Going to the Haguey!  before it was removed from Google Maps.

The protesters have dumped fake blood on the street as Blinkens motorcade departs. His security detail has hung black cloth screens over the gates surrounding his home.

We are making good trouble as a plea to US leadership to stop the injustice, Hamazi Barmada, one of the protesters outside Blinkens home, said in a post on Instagram. We have set up a camp at Blinkens house and remind him of the failure of action on Palestine.

White House staff have been careful to not show any disrespect toward the protesters. The Secret Service has its own policy against blocking protesters from sites where the president or other top officials are as long as theyre not making threatening statements or gestures toward the official.

We are aware of the depth of feelings that people have over this issue, and we are constantly taking those points of view into account and using them to think about how we approach the issue and whether there are things that we can do differently, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told a briefing on Feb. 27.

In addition to the public protests, the administrations handling of the crisis has prompted fierce internal pushback, including several resignations. Among them was Tariq Habash, who quit his job as an adviser at the Department of Education in January.

It was very, very hard to feel like I could continue to represent the administration and its agenda on issues that I worked on because of the fact that it didnt feel like the administration had room for me and my identity and who I was, Habash, who is Palestinian-American, said in an interview. He called official outreach more of a ticking-the-box exercise than anything else.

--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.

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The body of a person killed near an aid convoy in Gaza City Thursday is carried on a donkey-pulled cart. (AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli troops opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians near a convoy of aid trucks in Gaza City on Thursday, killing scores of people and injuring hundreds of others as the civilian death toll there continues to climb.

The incident drew conflicting accounts from Palestinian and Israeli officials and could complicate talks for a temporary ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, now approaching its fifth month.

 What happened

In a statement, the Gazan health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said that at least 112 people were killed and more than 200 others injured by Israeli forces who witnesses said fired at residents as they waited for food and supplies from the convoy.

Israeli military officials said that its troops encountered a stampede as they tried to secure the road and fired warning shots before shooting only in face of danger when the mob moved in a manner which endangered them.

"We didnt open fire on those seeking aid," said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military's chief spokesman. "Contrary to the accusations, we didnt open fire on a humanitarian aid convoy, not from the air and not from land.''

The Israeli military released edited video footage taken by a drone showing a crowd of people climbing on top of aid trucks before the gunfire erupted.

 A humanitarian crisis

Palestinians watch as humanitarian aid is air-dropped into Gaza City on Friday. (AFP via Getty Images)

Conditions are increasingly dire in Gaza, where one-quarter of its 2.3 million people face starvation, according to the United Nations.

Last week, the World Food Program said it was forced to pause deliveries to northern Gaza because it has become too dangerous to safely transport food there.

The decision to pause deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip has not been taken lightly, as we know it means the situation there will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger, the U.N.-backed group said.

President Biden announced Friday that the United States will begin air-dropping humanitarian assistance into Gaza in the coming days.

"Innocent people got caught in a terrible war unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid," Biden said from the Oval Office. "But we need to do more, and the United States will do more."

He added: Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough. Now, its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line. We wont stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

 Where do the ceasefire talks stand?

President Biden speaks during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The deadly shooting in Gaza comes amid talks between Israel and Hamas and their Mideast and Western counterparts over the release of hostages and a temporary ceasefire.

Biden, who had earlier expressed hope for an agreement by the end of the upcoming weekend, told reporters Thursday that the bloodshed would complicate negotiations.

I know it will, Biden said.

 A mounting civilian death toll

A picture taken from southern Israel Thursday shows destroyed buildings in Gaza. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

International pressure has been mounting on Israel to agree to a ceasefire as the death toll rises.

On the same day of the aid convoy shooting, the Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000, with two-thirds of that figure being women and children.
Kids imitate what they see, and in the age of the internet, what they see online are obsessive beauty habits. Skincare culture is becoming more and more prevalent, and is typified by the public airing of daily routines composed of a passel of products. Words like serum, retinol, collagen, peeling and hyaluronic acid have become part of our everyday lexicon. This obsessive attention to our skin, combined with social pressure to achieve an impeccable glow, has given birth to a mental health condition thats been dubbed cosmeticorexia, an addiction to skincare defined by the excessive purchasing and use of such products. The phenomenon has been primarily noted among women, and the affected age range begins early. Beauty stores have been inundated by little girls and preteens who are hooked on cosmetics they dont need. This practice doesnt just reflect a shift in their age groups interests, but can also have an effect on their health. Skin experts warn of a rise in irritation, acne and dermatitis among the very young, a reaction to potent active ingredients in the products kids are using in order to imitate their favorite influencers.

Its easy to see signs of the trend online. The search function on platforms like TikTok or Instagram reveal young people explaining skincare routines, showing off cosmetic products as though they were toys. In one video, a nine-year-old girl walks down the aisles in a beauty store adding products to her basket. As her mom, I spoil her, and Im going to let her use them and even buy them for her, explains her mother, who is holding the camera. The post is accompanied by the term Sephora kids, and was shared by the Candela y la Dani account, which has more than 13,000 followers on TikTok. There are countless similar examples on the platform, in addition to a host of other kinds of content that invites users to tend to their skincare.

To open an account on TikTok you have to be at least 13 years old, according to the platforms policy for the security and wellbeing of minors. Younger kids are only able to appear on accounts that are administered by an adult. Due to that fact, in many of the Sephora kids tutorials, moms stand alongside them as they apply their products. Kassie, a six-year-old girl from the United States, gazes at the camera next to her mom, sharing her facial skincare and makeup routine in a video that has been seen 33 million times.

To measure the rise of the skincare routine, one may turn to the figures that track the volume of such content on digital platforms. On Googles search engine, use of the word skincare has steadily risen over time, its ascension having accelerated beginning with the pandemic, during the same year that TikTok exploded. On that social network, there are around 17 million posts with the hashtag #skincare. In addition, the tags #SephoraKids and #ChildSkinCare have accumulated more than 400 million views.

Rise in dermatitis

Dermatologist Alejandro Lobato recently saw a 13-year-old patient at Barcelonas Hospital del Mar. During their consultation, the boy, accompanied by his mother, showed him the eight or nine products including creams, masks and shampoos, that constitute his skincare routine. I was very surprised that an adolescent would have that obsession, and that his mother didnt see anything wrong with it, says the specialist. After their visit, Lobato looked into the matter and realized, after speaking with his colleagues, that the phenomenon was becoming more and more common. Social networks have a large part of the responsibility for this, Lobato says.

A recent study conducted in the United States focused on the causes and effects of this trend: cosmetics contain ingredients that are toxic for minors, and very potent active ingredients; in consequence, there has been a rise in contact dermatitis. Dermatologist Alba Calleja, who works at Madrids Doctor Morales Raya Clinic, confirms that in Spain, she has observed more preteen patients with the skin condition, in addition to cases of irritation and acne.

The problem, explain dermatologists, is that minors are using products that they dont need, like retinol, hyaluronic acid and anti-wrinkle creams. It doesnt make sense to use retinol before you turn 25 to 30 years old. Its an anti-aging product, says Calleja. In many cases, adult skin care enthusiasts arent taking care of their skin properly, either. I probably wouldnt recommend the routines of the people that these kids are imitating. People can have very complex routines with eight products or more. In the morning and at night, says the dermatologist.

The consequences of this overkill are not limited to physical impacts, but can also affect mental health and detonate problems with self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Adolescents at that age tend to suffer from more self-esteem problems and emotional shifts, says Calleja. She says that the demand for having smooth, perfect skin from a young age is unrealistic, given that everyones skin has some kind of imperfection.

Its not all bad news, according to the specialist: she considers it a good thing that going to the dermatologist has become fashionable. If people start going at an early age, we can prevent or start treating patients who have health conditions earlier, Calleja explains.

An expanding business

The TikTok effect is almost always the same: one or several content creators record themselves using and recommending a product or brand, their videos go viral and soon after the creams, serums and oils are disappearing off the shelves. Many beauty influencers are paid to promote and lead their followers to certain personal care products.

Employees in these establishments attest to the power of cosmeticoreixa. Theyre seeing increasingly younger customers, who almost always come in looking for a particular product or brand. On weekends, 12-year-olds come in groups, asking for something theyve seen on TikTok. Even if its expensive, whatever is in fashion sells out quickly in the store and online, says one of the workers at a well-known beauty store in Madrids Puerta del Sol. On the social network itself, videos circulate of employees displaying Sephora kids favorite items.

One of the latest favorite brands of the young skincare fans is Drunk Elephant, a line of creams for what it calls clean beauty because, it claims, it chooses ingredients based on biocompatibility. Its products star in many of viral videos. The brand was bought by the Japanese business group Shiseido in 2019 for $845 million. Figures from Statista show that global sales for children and baby skincare products stood at approximately $4.135 million in 2021, an increase of nearly $233 million from the previous year. This market is estimated to grow steadily in the coming years to around $5.6 billion in 2026, states the website.

Filters and photo editing that lighten the skin, and the costly products that impose impossible beauty standards are impacting kids self-image and self-esteem. Its important for kids to know that the smooth skin they see on social media is not real, warns Calleja.

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Anderson Clayton, 26, is the youngest Democratic state party chair in the country and ready to encourage other young voters to support Joe Biden in 2024 (iStock, Julia Saqui )

When Anderson Clayton walks into the room casually dressed in a fun graphic tee, nearly everyones head turns and the noisy chatter lulls into excited whispers. Eyes remain locked on her as she begins embracing each of her fellow Democrat leaders.

Clayton is somewhat of a local celebrity in North Carolina, her energy enough to move an immovable object.

The rest of the country doesnt realise that this 26-year-old is currently leading the Democratic Party in North Carolina, a pretty serious job at any age.

But for those at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention, not only is she the state party leader, she is the future.

Anderson Clayton speaks at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

A natural politician, Clayton works the room recalling peoples names and a fun fact about them all while spreading the good word of the Democratic Party. After all, her job as the state party chair is to network, fundraise and get people to vote.

Yet Clayton approaches her role with a refreshing irreverence: She cracks jokes, swears like a sailor and drops vibes, mood and feels into her conversations.

When she speaks about the Democratic agenda, she doesnt stop. In fact, she speaks so much that by the time she takes the stage at the convention, her voice is hoarse and begins disappearing during inflections. That doesnt stop Clayton from ad-libbing an impassioned speech about the importance of maintaining democracy and fighting for the values young people believe in.

That enthusiasm is exactly what makes Clayton the perfect surrogate for the BidenHarris campaign in recruiting young people to get out and vote, especially in a potential swing state like North Carolina.

Unlike many of her fellow Gen Z voters, Clayton feels overwhelmingly positive about both Democrats winning this election and the presumed nominee, President Joe Biden.

She points to Bidens record on climate change, his cancelling of student loan debt, his implementation of an anti-gun violence initiative, and his commitment to protecting the right to an abortion as examples of policies that resonate with young voters.

The issues that I hear a lot about in particular on college campuses right now are mental health, gun violence, [housing and grocery] affordability, Clayton told The Independent.

And Clayton talks to a lot of young people, constantly travelling across the state and country. In February alone, Clayton visited South Carolina, Washington DC, Iowa and New York to speak with young voters.

Despite her eagerness, Clayton is fully aware shes in the minority when it comes to this election. On college campuses, the people she chats with are not amped about voting in November.

I went to UNC Charlottes campus the other day, I was in a political science class, and I asked every single one of the students Raise your hand if you are excited to vote for the 80-year-old president, Clayton said. Nobody in that class raised their hand. And I was like, But how many of you are still going to vote? Every single one of them raised their hand, except for one.

Young Democrats sit around tables and listen to speeches at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

A win is a win, as far as Clayton is concerned. And she wants to remind young people that they hold the power to change the things theyre unhappy with.

People look at you and say You cant do anything about it either, its just happening to you. And Im like, No, we can do everything about it. And this presidency, this administration has said so because we can push him, she said.

Clayton believes Biden is more likely to hear complaints and respond to them with legislation, unlike the presumed Republican nominee  a choose-your-fighter situation, if you will.

We cant push a Donald Trump, who doesnt want young people to have the right to vote right now. We cant push a Donald Trump, who doesnt want people to have the right to abortion. We can not push that type of president, Clayton said. We can push a president, though, that believes and cares about young people. We can do that. And thats why I tell them, You need to vote this year because you still want that.

And the way that Clayton starts that conversation ranges from handing out flyers at the farmers market and politely asking people if theyre registered to vote, all the way to dancing in a giant inflatable eagle costume.

Shes really doing it all, Quentin Wathum-Ocama, the president of the Young Democrats of America said.

Ive been around long enough to see and I dont know if theres another comparable state party chair, anywhere in the country, to her. What shes able to do and the energy that shes able to bring, Wathum-Ocama said.

I love u person county  pic.twitter.com/FlOxSM5YmA  Anderson Clayton (@abreezeclayton) January 27, 2024

Eve Levenson, the 24-year-old Director of Youth Engagement for the Biden-Harris re-election campaign, said that Clayton is a phenomenal surrogate.

I think that having somebody who is so young and has been able to have that public platform has been really inspiring to so many young people and I think will continue to be, Levenson said. Folks like Anderson are going to play a key role in helping us reach other young people.

Obviously, Clayton is an anomaly  she became the youngest state party chair in the country when she was elected last year at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, most eligible Gen Z voters do not belong to a political party.

But Clayton empathises with their position because it took her a while to find her way to politics. She hails from the rural town of Roxboro, North Carolina and spent most of her life disengaged from either political party, accepting her Republican state and town as the status quo. It wasnt until 2016 that she realised unified voters have the power to change anything after she watched Watauga County, another rural area of North Carolina, turn blue the same year Donald Trump won.

After graduating from college, and feeling inspired, Clayton moved back to her hometown to initiate similar change by helping flip the Roxboro City Council from red to blue.

I could have changed it all along if Id just looked at my backyard and gotten involved, Clayton said.

Anderson Clayton, 26, catches up with her fellow young Democrats at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention (Julia Saqui)

These days, shes rallying a room of 300 young Democrats while running on just four hours of sleep, because she spent the night before giving yet another speech at the governors mansion.

In Claytons ideal world, her hard work will pay off and not only will Biden win the 2024 presidential election but North Carolina will flip blue. In 2020, Biden lost the state by roughly 75,000 votes. With more than eight million Gen Z voters newly eligible this year, Clayton hopes her energy can convince some of those in North Carolina to back Biden.

If I didnt believe that we could win, and I didnt believe it down to my absolute core, I couldnt do this job as effectively as I need to, Clayton said. Thats why Im in this job. Because I believe that the Democratic Party right now is fundamentally the party that is speaking for the majority of Americans and the majority of North Carolinians at this moment in time.
George Galloway after his victory in Rochdale - the third time he has unseated a Labour incumbent

George Galloway overturned a sizable Labour majority for the third time in his parliamentary career in the Rochdale by-election, triumphing with a 5,697 majority.

With previous election victories in Bethnal Green and Bow in 2005 and Bradford West in 2012, it means no single challenger has stolen as many seats from the major parties in England at by-elections since the Second World War.

Ukip may well have enjoyed some success in the middle of the past decade  with Conservative defectors Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless bringing Tory voters with them in 2014 by-elections  but no single insurgent has come close to matching Mr Galloways hat-trick.

In fact, other than these Ukip candidates, only the deselected Labour MP Dick Taverne, who won a by-election in Lincoln prompted by his own resignation for his splinter Democratic Labour Party, has managed it even once. That was in 1973.

In the Rochdale seat, the 69-year-old Scots 39.7 per cent vote share marks the best performance of a candidate not belonging to the Conservatives, Labour or Liberal Democrats/Liberals since 1945  trumping Ukips 18.8 per cent at the partys peak in 2015. It is also the first time an outsider has clinched the constituency.

There is, however, an emptiness to the celebrations.

Despite the election being in the national and international spotlight  Mr Galloway making Sir Keir Starmers fluctuating position on Gaza his main line of attack  the voters of Rochdale themselves were not, for the most part, stirred to participate.

The turnout of 39.7 per cent was the lowest ever recorded in the constituency. Out of just over 78,000 registered electors, Mr Galloways mandate stems from just 12,355, or 15.7 per cent, of them.

On the fringes of Labour from the outset, Mr Galloway nonetheless represented them in Glasgow seats four times between 1987 and 2003, when he was expelled from the party over his controversial views on the Iraq War.

He then became a headache for Sir Tony Blair, Ed Miliband, and now Sir Keir.

Standing for the Respect Party  a coalition of Leftist and anti-Iraq War factions founded by George Monbiot  he contested and won Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2005 general election, doing away with Labour MP Oona Kings 10,000-seat-plus majority. The campaign went down as one of the most acrimonious in living memory.

Mr Galloways reputation for stirring up controversy is deep-rooted. Booted out of the Commons in 2007 for breaching parliamentary standards, his grand return would not come until five years later.

In the 2012 Bradford West by-election, he secured a 10,000-seat majority, once again deposing Labour with a landslide 55.9 per cent of the vote.

Rochdale is Mr Galloways first victory since then, as well as the first win for his own Workers Party of Britain.

The Rochdale result suggested widespread revolt against the main parties. Yet on polling day, most voters decided to steer clear of the chaos.

Labour withdrew its support from its candidate Azhar Ali after leaked recordings emerged in which he claimed Israel was complicit in Hamass Oct 7 attacks.

The party subsequently suffered a swing of -43.9 per cent. Someone on a Labour ticket hasnt come fourth since the 2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election.

The turnout in Rochdale in the 2019 general election was 60.1 per cent. While the decline in participation this time around is stark, it is not out of line with the 37.1 per cent rate in Kingswood or 38 per cent in Wellingborough earlier in February.

In the end, while Mr Galloways fiery rhetoric succeeded in whipping up a storm, the voters of Rochdale know the polls will open once more, in the general election, before the year is out.

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George Galloway has won a heated by-election, overshadowed by the war in Gaza, in Rochdale on Friday (1 March).

The Workers Party of Britain MP beat out Tory and Labour MPs to take the win, and dedicated his victory to Palestinians in the Gaza strip, saying Labour leader Keir Starmer had woken up to his worst nightmare.

But before the political maverick won his seventh election to Parliament, he was also known for starring on reality TV show, Celebrity Big Brother.

Galloways appearance on the programme became a viral meme before there existed the language to describe it as such.

He appeared on the fourth series of the TV programme in January 2006 alongside Michael Barrymore, Dennis Rodman, Pete Burns, Jodie Marsh and Rula Lenska.

The series was won by Chantelle Houghton, a non-celebrity sent in to trick her fellow contestants.

Galloway entered on the first day and was evicted after exactly 21 days in the Big Brother house. At the time of his appearance, he was an MP with the independent Respect party for Bethnal Green and Bow, and was booed upon entrance.

After he was challenged by a producer to mimic a pet, the politician threw himself into the challenge, getting down on all fours to act like a cat.

(PA)

In the famous clip, he is seen asking, Would you like me to be the cat?, as he kneels before fellow contestant and Coronation Street actress Lenska, purring and pretending to lick milk from her cupped hands.

As well as the cat incident, other less lasting memories from his time on the show caused a stir at the time.

Galloway branded himself the most famous housemate worldwide as he insisted that he was known to every Muslim.

He referred to fellow contestant and glamour model, Jodie Marsh, as a wicked person and lambasted eventual winner, Chantelle Houghton, for referring to the Houses of Parliament as the place with the green seats.

In an article he wrote for The Independent, Galloway addressed his behaviour on the show including his performance as Lenskas pet cat insisting the publicity had raised thousands for charity.

(PA)

My antics on Big Brother, which were actually the same stunts that BBC presenters and celebs get up for Children in Need, actually raised tens of thousands of pounds for the charity Interpal and paid for the wages of an extra caseworker in my constituency.

He said he could live with the cheap jibes but could not tolerate the deliberate misrepresentation of my election victory and Respects programme and ideology in the opinion piece written in 2012.

The former Labour politician took 12,335 votes and has now become the only MP for the party he founded in 2019. Its number one pledge is to end imperialist wars and withdraw from Nato.
Rarely seen without his trademark hat, George Galloway's eloquence is legendary among supporters and opponents

Few politicians can whip up a crowd - and generate controversy - quite like George Galloway.

In a career spanning four decades, he has been hailed as a hero of the anti-war left, ridiculed as a reality TV contestant and elected to Parliament seven times for three different parties.

The 69-year-old's latest political comeback, in Rochdale, shows he has not lost his appetite for a fight - or his talent for riling his opponents.

As he has done in previous by-elections, he mainly targeted his message at Muslim voters, promising, in this case, to be a powerful advocate for Palestinians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

But he also took aim at the entire political and media establishment.

"There's not much I can do to stop Netanyahu but I have the right to try and stop Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer from collaborating in it," he told a meeting in Rochdale during the campaign.

"And that's why they are so unhappy - the politicians, the media are so unhappy about the prospect of me returning to Parliament at the end of this month because they know that I will enter the chamber of the House of Commons like a tornado and I will shake the walls for Gaza.

"They know it, they fear it and that's why you should give it to them."

This kind of combative rhetoric is Mr Galloway's trademark.

To his critics and opponents, he is dangerous egotist, someone who arouses division.

He views himself as part of the international struggle for socialism and against imperialism - in particular US imperialism - and a staunch opponent of Zionism. He has described Israel as an apartheid state and called for it to be dismantled.

Despite rumours he has converted to Islam, he is strongly connected to his Irish Catholic roots and has stressed the importance of having a big family. He has fathered six children and he married his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, in 2012.

Winning in Bradford for the Respect Party in 2012, George Galloway beat Labour MP Imran Hussain

Born into poverty in Dundee, in 1954, Mr Galloway worked on the production line at Michelin tyres, where he first became active as a trade unionist.

In 1980, he was involved in flying the Palestinian flag from the offices of Dundee Council, and was involved in the twinning of Dundee with the West Bank town of Nablus. In 1983, he became the general secretary of charity War on Want.

He was elected to Parliament for the first time in 1987, as the Labour MP for Glasgow Hillhead, where he quickly gained a reputation as a left-wing firebrand,

In the 1990s, he was heavily criticised for meeting Iraq's leader Saddam Hussein and telling him - in a much-repeated clip - "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability". His multiple visits to the region during the period led to him being dubbed the "member for Baghdad Central".

What many supporters see as his finest hour - and what he said at the time was the best day of his life - came in 2005, when he gave evidence to a US senate sub-committee.

He branded claims he had been given credits to buy Iraqi oil by Saddam Hussein as the "mother of all smokescreens" to cover the "crimes" committed as part of the invasion of Iraq. He accused senators investigating the UN Oil-for-Food programme of being "cavalier" with justice, saying they had "traduced" his name.

"Brit fries senators in oil," was the New York Post headline.

He had, by this time, been expelled from the Labour Party over his stance on the 2003 Iraq war.

Labour accused him of bringing the party into disrepute after he said British troops in Iraq should refuse to obey orders, saying that those orders would be "illegal" because the UK/US invasion of Iraq was "illegal".

Joining the fledgling anti-war Respect Party in 2004, he stormed to an unexpected victory in Bethnal Green and Bow, in East London, in a tense campaign and, at times, bitter campaign.

With his profile at an all-time high, he then took the decision to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house.

For many, the enduring image of Mr Galloway is of him dressed in a leotard, pretending to be a cat and licking pretend milk out of actress Rula Lenska's hand, while purring.

He got his share of ridicule over his appearance on the show, but it did not appear to do any long-term harm to his political career.

After losing Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2010 general election, he stood in the 2012 Bradford West by-election, winning it with a landslide 56% of the vote and a 37% swing from Labour to Respect.

It was one of the biggest upsets in recent electoral history but he lost the seat at the 2015 general election.

More by-elections would follow - including a defeat to Labour in Batley and Spen in 2021 after another ill-tempered campaign - and a 2016 run at the London Mayoralty, which saw him come 7th.

George Galloway joined the Respect Party in 2004 and was its leader from 2013 to 2016

Less often seen on mainstream media now (he is not a fan), he became skilled at using social media to get his message out.

He also harnessed his oratory skills as the presenter of a phone-in programme, which was called the Mother of All Talk Shows, as well as a presenter on the Kremlin-backed news channel RT, which was taken off-air in 2022.

Mr Galloway's strident style breached Ofcom rules on impartiality on multiple occasions on both stations in 2018 - three times for failing to provide balance on the Skripal poisonings and, on Talk Radio, for bias over antisemitism. He was later sacked by the station for a separate social media post deemed antisemitic.

Mr Galloway's latest electoral vehicle, the Workers Party of Britain, is a self-conscious throwback to the traditional socialist values espoused by the Labour Party of his youth. He is aiming to recruit 50 candidates to send a message to Sir Keir Starmer - a man near the top of his enemies list - at this year's general election.

But, in the meantime his return to the House of Commons, for however long it lasts, will be nothing if not riveting.
George Galloway gives his victory speech from the podium after being declared winner of the Rochdale by-election following the count

Hes back. Like the foe in one of those teen horror franchises of the 80s, George Galloway simply refuses to disappear forever.

The former MP for Glasgow Kelvin, Bethnal Green and Bow and Bradford West can now add MP for Rochdale to his long CV, and few will bet on his being ousted from his latest perch at this years general election. Galloway is a unique political character, a one-off, and for that at least, the rest of us can be truly thankful.

There are so many extraordinary aspects of last nights by-election, and Galloways victory by a 6000-vote margin of victory on behalf of the Workers Party is only one of them, and not even the most remarkable.

That prize goes to the fact that despite Labours official candidate coming fourth in what should have been one of its safest seats, (finishing behind even the Conservatives), the party can afford to shrug off this humiliation. Rochdale will have no impact on Labours general election prospects, despite the party being rightly blamed for the latest comeback of the Frank Sinatra of British politics. The mention of Rochdale will evoke a frustrated roll of the eyes among Keir Starmers closest advisers and strategists, not the frenzied panic which, on paper, it should.

Consider, for example, the unusual circumstances of this contest. It was triggered by the death of the previous incumbent, Tony Lloyd, and assumed to be a shoo-in for Labour. But then the party succeeded in seizing defeat from the jaws of victory by allowing a wholly inappropriate candidate, Azhar Ali, to be shortlisted. The newspaper revelations that Councillor Ali was an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist were well-timed to cause Labour maximum damage, coming after nominations had formally closed and preventing him from being replaced as Labours standard-bearer.

Which is why this result has little significance for the party more widely, unless a similar fate is likely to befall hundreds of other Labour candidates after nominations close at the general election. You never know, I suppose.

But this was not Labours night, it was George Galloways. Even his most vociferous critics will find it difficult not to admire the mans resilience and tenacity, let alone his oratorical abilities, which were in full flow last night as he castigated his old party over its approach to Gaza.

Galloway was always more popular among the rank and file of the Labour Party than among his parliamentary colleagues. An unverifiable story records that he once asked Donald Dewar, the late Scottish Secretary and First Minister, why people took such an instant dislike to him. Because it saves time, George, replied Donald.

But there is no doubt that in his latest political incarnation, Galloway has tapped into a seam of support that will make the other parties uneasy. Until now, the mainstream parties (but especially Labour) have skilfully avoided having to confront the ugly stain of sectarianism. Labour, the traditional repository of British Muslim votes, managed to win the Batley and Spen by-election in 2021, for example, while successfully avoiding taking a stand on the scandal of a local teacher being forced into hiding by fundamentalist Muslims who were offended by his use in the classroom of cartoons of Mohammed. The party is far more comfortable talking about allegations of Islamophobia than confronting the often ugly and threatening behaviour of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who have besieged MPs offices and homes and even parliament itself in recent months.

Galloways return to the green benches of the Commons will make this trick far more difficult for Labour to perform. He has won Rochdale on an unambiguous platform of opposition to Zionism  the belief that Jews have a right to their homeland  and an appeal to Muslim voters frustration with Keir Starmers measured support for Israel. Now that Galloway has stepped back on to the biggest soap box in the country, Labour will have to decide whether to ignore him or confront him.

As to the new Rochdale MPs performance in the Commons in the next six months or so, we will have to wait and see, but not for too long. Galloway IV: The Revenge. This time its personal.

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After winning the Rochdale by-election, George Galloway declared: "This is for Gaza."

He took 12,335 votes to defeat independent David Tully, who received 6,638 votes to take second place. Labour had dropped its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he was seen on camera endorsing conspiracy theories about Israel. He finished fourth. The turnout was low at 39.7 per cent.

Mr Galloway said on Friday: "Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza," a reference to the Labour leader who at first declined to demand a truce in Gaza.

He said: You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in  in the Gaza Strip.

As Mr Galloway led a pro-Palestinian campaign in the heavily Muslim district, he accused both Labour and the Conservatives of supporting Israel.

But who is George Galloway and what does he stand for?

Who is George Galloway?

Mr Galloway was born in 1954 and raised in Dundee, Scotland.

He became the youngest-ever chair of the Scottish Labour Party at the age of 26. He later became the general secretary of the London-based charity War on Want from 1983 until his election as MP for Glasgow Hillhead (later Glasgow Kelvin) in the 1987 general election.

After being kicked out of Labour in 2003, Mr Galloway served as an independent member of parliament until joining the Respect Party, which opposed the war in Iraq.Before the 2005 general election, his constituency was abolished, and he left Scotland to run for the east London seat of Bethnal Green and Bow. He defeated Labour's Oona King to win the seat.

She later described the election as "one of the dirtiest campaigns we have ever seen in British politics", claiming she was subjected to antisemitic taunts while running.As a supporter of Tony Blair, Ms King supported the Iraq War, which dominated the election campaign in her seat.

Mr Galloway participated in the 2006 season of Celebrity Big Brother while still an MP. He dressed like a leotard and pretended to be a cat.

His political career took a hit after this. He ran for office in 2010 in the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse, which borders Bethnal Green and Bow but finished third.

Two years later, he tried his hand at Westminster once more, winning the Bradford West by-election in 2012 but he was ousted from his seat in the subsequent general election.

In the 2016 London mayoral election, he ran under Respect but received just 1.4 per cent of the vote.

He then ran as an independent in the general elections of 2017 and 2019, but he was not successful in Manchester Gorton or West Bromwich East.

In 2021, he ran for his own Workers Party of Britain in the Batley and Spen by-election, but he was unsuccessful.

When was he in the Labour party?

He joined the Labour Party as a teenager, rising to the position of chairman of the Scottish branch by the time he was 26. He first made it to the Commons after winning the Glasgow Hillhead seat in the 1987 general election.

Mr Galloway belonged to the Left-wing of the Labour Party, more in line with Michael Foot or Tony Benn, and he frequently rebelled against the party throughout Tony Blair's tenure as prime minister.

He and the prime minister had a falling out over the UK's role in the Iraq War, and in 2003 his remarks on the subject led to his expulsion from the party.

What does George Galloway stand for?

Mr Galloway declared in his candidature announcement that a Tory-Labor duopoly in Britain, in which the two major parties "stand for entirely the same things... including on the supremely important issues of war and peace" has "no future.

He has pledged to challenge Labour, which threw its support behind Israel in the wake of the 7 October offensive spearheaded by the Palestinian organisation Hamas, by speaking out on Gaza in Parliament.

Since then, the Labour Party has changed its mind and in February said it is in favour of an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Mr Galloway intends to take advantage of Labour's divisions. In his words, voters in Rochdale can use the by-election to show their support for "the people soaking wet, freezing cold hungry, living out in the open in Gaza".

He declared: I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight. This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates.

In 2019 he founded the Workers Party of Britain and is its leader and sole MP. He set up the party in response to the disastrous showing by Labour under Jeremy Corbyn in the general election of that year.

The party has outlined 10 points of policy, which include ending "imperialist wars", leaving Nato, reviving British industry and providing "decent, cheap, secure housing for all". It aims to "build a new working class politics in Britain.
George Galloway's return to the Commons is a stunning comeback for one of Britain's most controversial politicians - REUTERS

George Galloway sealed a shock return to front line British politics on Thursday night as he stormed to victory in the Rochdale by-election.

The Workers Party leader claimed his fourth Parliamentary seat and will return to Westminster after almost a decade in the wilderness.

He secured a comfortable 5,697 majority with Azhar Ali, the candidate who Labour ditched over an anti-Semitism row, pushed into fourth place.

It marked a stunning comeback for one of Britains most controversial politicians, who took advantage of Labour being forced to pull out of the contest.

Mr Galloway won a controversial and chaotic election - GETTY IMAGES

Speaking moments after his victory, he said: Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine.

Keir Starmers problems just got 100 times more serious than they were before today. This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of Parliamentary constituencies.

Labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them generation after generation.

Mr Galloways victory speech was temporarily interrupted by an eco-protester, who accused him of being a denier of climate change.

ROCHDALE BY-ELECTION

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Her protest was swiftly drowned out by the Left-wing politicians supporters chanting Galloway! Galloway! until she was dragged off by security.

Another activist tried to throw orange confetti over him  the colour closely associated with Just Stop Oil  but they missed their target.

Relentless campaign on war in Gaza

Mr Galloway, 69, ran a campaign relentlessly focussed on the war in Gaza as he openly courted Rochdales substantial Muslim vote.

His leaflets were festooned with the Palestinian flag and rebranded him as Gaza George and aggressively attacked Labour over its stance.

The first of many to come! https://t.co/pHbt3ctMwp  Workers Party of Britain (@WorkersPartyGB) March 1, 2024

One cast the by-election as a choice between George who will fight for Palestine and the people of Rochdale  and Keir Starmer who will fight for Israel.

The return of Mr Galloway to the Commons will provide another headache for Sir Keir, who is already facing a threat from the Left of his party over Gaza.

It is the third time he has taken on Labour, the party with which he started his political career, and won by campaigning on Middle Eastern issues.

He took full advantage of Labour being forced to withdraw its support for Mr Ali after it emerged that he had repeated a conspiracy theory about Israel.

George Galloway kisses his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi - REUTERS

Mr Ali had up until that point been the overwhelming favourite to hold onto the seat for Labour, succeeding Sir Tony Lloyd who died of leukaemia.

He appeared on the ballot paper as a Labour candidate because it was too late to reprint the slips, but that did not spare him falling to a crushing defeat.

In the end he was pushed into fourth place, securing just 2,402 votes.

Local businessman beats major parties

David Tully, a businessman who ran as an independent and campaigned on largely local issues, came second with 6,638 votes.

His performance meant the Rochdale by-election was the first time in modern political history that no major party had featured in the top two.

The Conservatives, whose candidate Paul Ellison spent part of the campaign on holiday, came in third with 3,731 votes.

Reform UK, whose candidate Simon Danczuk was a former Labour MP for Rochdale, endured a disappointing night and secured just 1,968 votes.

Richard Tice, its leader, said the result did not matter though as his partys candidate and campaigners had been subjected to death threats and vile racist abuse.

He said the contest had not been free and fair and questioned a sharp rise in the number of postal votes, up from 14,000 at the last general election to 23,000.

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The Workers Party of Britain has its first MP after George Galloway pulled off a stunning by-election victory in Rochdale. But what does the party stand for?

Mr Galloway - a former Labour and Respect MP - is the founder and leader of the WPB. It was set up in 2019, after Labour's defeat in the general election to "build a new working class politics in Britain".

It is targeting left-wing voters disillusioned with the direction of the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer. It is also aiming to send the Labour leader a message over his position on the conflict in Gaza.

The fledgling party has had limited success at the ballot box before Rochdale.

Mr Galloway came third in the Batley and Spen by-election in 2021, his first time standing under the WPB banner - and it has contested local elections in Scotland and England, without winning a seat.

Its new MP is hoping that his victory in Rochdale will be a springboard to a breakthrough at the general election. He claims to have signed up 60 candidates already.

The WPB describes itself as a socialist and working class party, which wants to bring about "a redistribution of wealth and power in favour of working people".

It has published a "10 point plan for Britain", with the first priority on the list an "end to imperialist wars and financial domination, starting with withdrawal from Nato".

Other pledges include rebuilding British industry, "decent housing" for all, "free or cheap" public transport, free provision for the elderly and disabled, and an end to NHS waiting lists.

More on the Rochdale by-election

The party is against EU membership and is calling for a referendum on the UK's membership of Nato, the defence alliance.

According to its website: "We defend the achievements of the USSR, China, Cuba etc, not least the debt owed by humanity to the Soviet Union and Red Army in their war of liberation against German fascism."

The WPB also wants a net zero referendum, "to create a national debate on who profits from these targets and on what terms".

The party's deputy leader is Chris Williamson, a prominent supporter of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was kicked out of the Labour Party for claiming it had been "too apologetic" in its response to criticism of its handling of antisemitism allegations.

The former Derby North MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Galloway's victory on Rochdale "will send shockwaves through the corridors of power".

"George Galloway is probably the best orator in the world," he added.

"He's now got a place in the corridors of power in Westminster."

He refused to condemn the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel, saying: "You can't expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction."
A Georgia beach boasts a unique landscape  and travelers cant get enough.

So much so, the coastal destination ranks among the nations best beaches for the third year in a row. The beach  Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island  landed in the No. 8 spot as Tripadvisor gave it a nod for being a hidden gem.

Driftwood Beach is a picture-perfect beach with  you guessed it  beautiful, weathered driftwood dotting its long, sandy shore, the vacation website wrote in its report. Quiet and peaceful, its a great spot to relax and catch the sunset.

To create the list, Tripadvisor said it studied the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings that visitors left for beaches between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023. The winners received Travelers Choice Awards, which were divided into categories that focused on the top-notch coastal destinations worldwide, within the United States and in other regions.

From rave reviews of breathtaking views to unrivaled cleanliness to watersport-friendly seas, award-winners provided the best overall experiences during this time period, the website wrote Feb. 21, adding that the Travelers Choice honor celebrates the highest level of excellence in travel.

What makes the Georgia beach special?

Driftwood Beach was the only place in the Peach State to make it onto the resulting list of Best of the Best U.S. beaches. It was recognized this year after scoring top 10 spots on similar travel lists in 2022 and 2023.

The beach is known for beautiful driftwood and trees that resemble a scene from another world. These gnarled and weathered trees are left behind from years of erosion, according to the Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau website.

Tripadvisor said in a news release the destination is recommended for nature lovers and photographers. It suggests people visit in the winter months, when hotel prices reportedly can be lower.

But the beach has earned praise throughout the year, including from fans who took to Tripadvisor to rave about opportunities to stroll near the shore and soak up sunset views.

Nationwide, the No. 1 beach was Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina, Hawaii. Weeks before Tripadvisor stopped gathering data for its report, a wildfire left a deadly trail of destruction in the region.

Rounding out the top five U.S. beaches on Tripadvisors list were:

Siesta Beach in Florida

Poipu Beach Park in Hawaii

Hollywood Beach in Florida

La Jolla Cove in California

Driftwood Beach is about 95 miles south of Savannah and 75 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Florida.

Two GA cities rank among best places to live in Southeast. What makes them special?

These 4 Georgia restaurants rank among the nations best. Heres why fans love them
Savannah GOP Rep. Jesse Petrea filed the bill in January, but the recent killing of Laken Riley who was allegedly killed by Jose Antonio Ibarra, who entered the country illegally, gave the bill and the larger conversations around immigration new momentum. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Legislation that gained momentum in the wake of last weeks killing of Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley to penalize law enforcement agencies that refuse to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pushed through the Georgia House on Crossover Day.

House Bill 1105 requires local law enforcement agencies to work in tandem with federal officials to detain arrestees suspected of being in the country illegally. Under the proposal, if an undocumented immigrant is in the county jail and is found to be in the United States illegally, the jailer must report the arrest to ICE.

Savannah Republican Rep. Jesse Petrea had been pushing such legislation for a year. He filed the bill in January, but the recent killing of Riley and authorities arrest in connection with the homicide of Jose Antonio Ibarra, who allegedly entered the country illegally, gave the bill and the larger conversations around immigration new momentum.

Petrea said the bill would narrowly focus on people in the U.S. without authorization and who are in the criminal justice system. The bill would also withhold funding from local law enforcement if the agency doesnt comply with the process. If an officer refuses to enforce these policies, they could be charged with a misdemeanor for the first offense, and a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for the second offense.

Georgia Republican lawmakers claim that law enforcement agencies that do not work with ICE policies allowed Ibarra to slip through the cracks. Athens Republican Rep. Houston Gaines said that so-called sanctuary city policies, which he says are similar to the ones Athens has, would be outlawed with this bill. Athens, where the homicide took place, chose not to hold undocumented immigrants charged with crimes for an extra 48 hours unless a judge ordered it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Democrats disagree.

We have had enough of attempts to promote racial profiling and discrimination, said Duluth Democrat Rep. Pedro Marin.

Multiple House Democrats, most of them people of color, emphasized that the bill would increase racial profiling in their communities.

Rep. Ruwa Romman. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

There are so many people both in this body and outside of this body who would be suspected as foreign nationals and would be unfairly detained until it was proven they were citizens, said Duluth Democrat Rep. Ruwa Romman.

The GALEO Impact Fund, an organization focused on Hispanic and Latino representation in public office, condemned the bill in a press release Wednesday for shifting the blame away from the culprit himself and onto the entire immigrant community. The advocacy group echoed some of the similar criticisms of policies unfairly targeting the Hispanic community.

Democrats also had a problem with the logistics of the bill. Atlanta Democrat Rep. Stacey Evans said that it would overload law enforcement with sorting out which crimes get processed. Agencies would also have to publish a quarterly report on a public website detailing the number of immigration detainers issued by ICE for inmates at the jail or other information. Evans said that their time would be split between chasing crime on the street and detaining migrants.

If local law enforcement wants to focus on crime as a whole as opposed to further detaining migrants, I dont have a problem with that. And I dont think anybody in here should, said Evans.

Rep Esther Panitch. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Sandy Springs Democrat Rep. Esther Panitch said a lack of funding would hamper efforts to detain undocumented immigrants by law enforcement agencies.

The bill was approved in a vote nearly along party lines. It got the approval of the House Speakers office in a press release and it now goes to the Senate.

While we continue to pray for Laken Riley and her family, the Georgia House took action today to strengthen public safety and security in our state, stand firmly against illegal immigration and for the rule of law  and I am proud of the passage of House Bill 1105, House Speaker Jon Burns, a Newington Republican, said in the statement.

The post Georgia House OKs bill to require jailers to work with ICE in wake of killing of Athens student appeared first on Georgia Recorder.
Grand jury transcripts from a 2006 Florida investigation into Jeffrey Epsteins abuse of dozens of underage girls will be released publicly later this year under legislation signed into law Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. A local judge cited the new law in denying release of the records for now.

The measure, which takes effect July 1, would carve out a limited exception to the secrecy that generally shrouds grand jury testimony in specific cases such as that involving Epstein, DeSantis said at a signing ceremony in Palm Beach, Florida, where many of the crimes took place at Epsteins home.

There needs to be a mechanism in some of these rare circumstances where people can get the truth, the Republican governor said. This is in the interest of justice to disclose this. We dont think we can just turn a blind eye.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, cut a deal with South Florida federal prosecutors in 2008 that allowed him to escape more severe federal charges and instead plead guilty to state charges of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and solicitation of prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in the Palm Beach County jail system, followed by 12 months of house arrest. He was required to register as a sex offender.

What happened was clearly wrong and the punishment was wholly inadequate for the crime, DeSantis said.

Epstein in 2018 was charged with federal sex trafficking crimes in New York  where he also had a mansion that was a scene of abuse  after the Miami Herald published a series of articles that renewed public focus on the case, including interviews with some victims who had been pursuing civil lawsuits against him. Epstein was 66 when he killed himself in a New York City jail cell in August 2019, federal officials say.

Epsteins former girlfriend, socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of luring girls to his homes to be molested.

Haley Robson, who was victimized by Epstein as a 16-year-old high school student in Florida, said she and others like her are grateful for the closure that release of the grand jury records would mean. The Associated Press does not generally report names of sexual assault victims unless they consent, and Robson appeared at the governors news conference to share her thoughts publicly.

I cant express enough how weve all been so affected by all of this, Robson said. This is not something we should be forgetting about.

Although some material could still be edited out, most of the grand jury transcripts should be released fairly soon after the new laws July 1 effective date once a petition is filed seeking them, DeSantis said.

I dont think it should take forever and a day, the governor said.

Also Thursday, mentioning the new law, a state judge decided not to release the grand jury records as part of a lawsuit filed by The Palm Beach Post and said he would consider any petition seeking them once the law takes effect in July. Circuit Judge Luis Delgado said he cant order the release under todays statutes.

The release of the records will not further justice as our law currently prescribes, Delgado wrote in a ruling denying that they be made public for now.

While in Palm Beach sheriffs custody, Epstein was allowed to stay in an isolated cell at the countys minimum-security stockade, where he roamed freely and watched television. Epstein was also allowed into the countys work-release program, working from his office on his financial consulting business and his foundation.

So many questions remain unanswered about how such a lenient punishment was imposed, Robson said.

Why was Jeffrey Epstein given such grace and mercy for his inhumane crime? she said. Its going to shed light on what Ive known this entire time.

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Legislation that criminalizes the use of deepfakes generated by artificial intelligence to impersonate candidates in political campaign ads cleared the Georgia House of Representatives Thursday.

House Bill 986, which passed 148-22, creates the crime of fraudulent election interference. Anyone who knowingly perpetrates a political deepfake within 90 days of an election would face two to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

We want to protect good political free speech, Rep. Brad Thomas, R-Holly Springs, the bills chief sponsor, said on the House floor before Thursdays vote. But fraud is not protected speech.

The legislation applies to materially deceptive video or audio deepfakes but carves out exceptions including satire, parody, artistic expression and journalism. It also allows deepfakes to be used in campaign ads as long as they acknowledge the candidate is being impersonated and the events depicted may not have occurred.

Nonetheless, the bill drew objections that it would violate free speech rights. Rep. Charlice Byrd, R-Woodstock, compared it to the Patriot Act Congress passed in 2001 following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.

This bill is an affront to our First Amendment rights, Byrd said. In the process of providing security, you abolish liberty.

But the measures supporters said deliberately spreading false information during a political campaign is not protected by the U.S. Constitution.

How can we have election integrity without knowing what the candidates are truly saying? said Rep. Todd Jones, R-South Forsyth, chairman of the House Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee, which approved the bill last week. Dont we want truth in advertising?

The legislation now heads to the state Senate.
The Georgia judge overseeing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis election subversion case against former President Donald Trump has said he expects to decide within the next two weeks whether Willis and her office may continue to prosecute it.

Attorneys for Trump and other co-defendants accused Willis of corruption, saying she improperly hired attorney Nathan Wade as one of three special prosecutors in the sprawling racketeering suit. Willis and Wade admitted to having a past romantic relationship in February after it was unearthed in January.

I think its been very much made clear by the argument made today that there are several legal issues to sort through, several factual determinations I have to make, and those arent ones I can make at this moment, Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee said Friday after listening to closing arguments from both sides. And so I will be taking the time to make sure that I give this case the full consideration its due.

Willis has forcefully defended herself from accusations of impropriety.

John Merchant, an attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman, argued that the district attorney hired her boyfriend and paid him with public funds; thus when the pair had taken trips together, Merchant suggested it had been on the publics dime.

She put her boyfriend in the spot, paid him, and then reaped the benefits of it, Merchant said Friday.

Roman is a Republican opposition researcher who worked on Trumps failed 2020 presidential campaign.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee presides during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on Feb. 27. Brynn Anderson-Pool via Getty Images

Willis maintained that she and Wade split costs evenly throughout their relationship, which she said began in the spring of 2022  after shed hired Wade, in November 2021. (The relationship ended last summer, Willis said.)

When the relationship started has been a main source of contention, as defendants attorneys claim that it began in 2019, long before Willis hired Wade.

They knew it was wrong, they hid it, and even when they were called out on it they tried to create an excuse for it by saying it happened after the fact, Merchant said.

McAfee hinted at the questions he considers to be outstanding during an exchange with Fulton County Chief Deputy District Attorney Adam Abbate.

The original and the core financial allegations  there is a relationship, and money has changed hands. There is maybe still an open question of where the ledger stands, but I think it was conceded that the balance could run in the district attorneys favor, McAfee told Abbate.

Its no longer just a theory that money changed hands, its no longer just speculation and conjecture, the judge added.

Abbate responded to say that whether the money had any financial benefit or gain to the district attorney that is all speculation and conjecture.

Absolutely all speculation and conjecture, Abbate emphasized.

The defendants attorneys argued before the judge that a former college friend of Willis vouched for the idea the Willis-Wade relationship began earlier than admitted.

Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for Roman who is married to John Merchant, alleged that a text message from Wades former law partner, Terrence Bradley, further proved that point. But Bradley only proved to be an ineffective witness. He evaded questions on the stand earlier this week, saying that he had just been speculating in the text message when he said he absolutely thought Willis began dating Wade before she hired him.

Theres absolutely no evidence that contradicts that the relationship did not begin around March 2022, Abbate told the judge Friday.

Theres no evidence that [the defendants] due process rights have been harmed in any way, Abbate went on. Not a single shred of evidence that was produced showed how their due process rights were at all affected.

Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article misstated when Willis and Wade admitted to having had a relationship. They admitted this in February, not January.

Related...
The Georgia state House passed a bill that allows for anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally to be arrested.

The state House voted 97-74 to approve House Bill 1105, which would allow police to arrest anyone with probable cause who is suspected of being in the U.S. unlawfully and detain them for deportation.

The bill comes after the killing of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in Athens, Ga. The suspect in her death is Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan citizen whom authorities say crossed into the U.S. unlawfully in 2022.

Ibarra was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but released for further processing. He later was arrested in New York and charged with acting in a manner to injure a child, but was released before ICE could ask local authorities to take him into custody, The Associated Press reported.

Rileys death has sparked outrage among the community and some Republicans have used her death as an opportunity to call out President Biden and Democrats on the subject of immigration. Democrats are arguing that her death shouldnt shape broad immigration policy.

The bill, passed Thursday, would require jailers and sheriffs to report to federal authorities when someone in their custody has been found to not have legal documentation. Local governments could lose state funding or state-administered federal funding if they dont report it, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, which first reported the legislation passing.

State Rep. Jesse Petrea (R) sponsored the legislation. He said he worked on the effort for at least a year but the bill took on new importance after Rileys death, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

Rep. Pedro Marin (D), Georgias longest-serving Latino legislator, said the crimes committed by individuals should not be used to generalize entire communities. He said the bill is an attempt to promote racial profiling, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The state Senates Republican majority passed a religious freedom bill Thursday, resurrecting an issue that roiled the General Assembly eight years ago.

Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which passed 33-19 along party lines, the state and local governments would not be permitted to substantially burden an individuals free exercise of religion unless the government could demonstrate it had a compelling governmental interest in doing so and that it was using the least restrictive means of intrusion.

Senate Bill 180 is aimed at protecting religious minorities from government intrusion through a balancing test, Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, the bills chief sponsor, said on the Senate floor shortly before Thursdays vote.

It simply provides a tool to weigh the legitimate interests government has against peoples religious rights, Setzler said. Were not trying to take anything from anybody.

But the bills Democratic opponents said the measure could be used to discriminate against LGBTQ Georgians under the guise of religious freedom.

Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler, D-Stone Mountain, said passing the bill could hurt the state economically.

We are telling LGBTQ Georgians and their families to leave our state and take their dollars elsewhere, Butler said.

The General Assembly passed a RFRA bill in 2016 over objections from business organizations worried by threats from organizers of conventions and sporting events to boycott Georgia if the legislation became law.

But then-Republican Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed the measure after a storm of protest from civil rights groups that it threatened the rights of the states LGBTQ community.

Setzler said his bill is similar to a bipartisan federal RFRA law Congress passed back in 1993, a far different version than the legislation Deal vetoed.

Georgia lawmakers need to act because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that the protections the federal law provided extended only to intrusions by the federal government, not by states or local governments, Setzler said.

The legislation now heads to the Georgia House of Representatives.

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Georgia teacher being investigated after TikTok trend video goes too far, school district says

Parents said an elementary school teacher took a TikTok trend too far when he appeared to use the N word in the video.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

The video trend was created to poke fun at stereotypes based on a persons identity or profession, but the comparison in this one has led to an investigation.

Several parents from Indian Creek Elementary School reached out to Larry Spruill with Action News Jaxs sister station WSB-TV about the situation.

Read: Mild temperatures return to Northeast Florida, Southeast Georgia as rain moves back in

In the video, two men, one White and the other Black, are explaining why they are best friends. But the video is getting a lot of backlash after some call it offensive after one of the men appeared to say a bleeped-out expletive.

Were interracial best friends. When the cops show up, I feel safe with him. Were interracial best friends. When he calls me his *expletive*, I feel so alive, the TikTok video showed.

CLICK HERE to read the full story by WSB-TV.

Read: One month after RISE Doro fire, neighborhood businesses, sports district still feeling impact

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Emergency services stand behind a cordon. The police are investigating after shots were fired in the district of Rotenburg. There are two crime scenes - one in a detached house in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheessel and another in Bothel in the district of Rotenburg. Kai Moorschlatt/NordwestMedia TV/dpa

A German Bundeswehr soldier is suspected of shooting dead four people in the Lower Saxony district of Rotenburg, before turning himself in, the police and prosecution announced on Friday.

A child is among the dead, who were found earlier in the day.

There were two crime scenes - one in a detached house in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheeel and one in Bothel in the district of Rotenburg.

The suspected perpetrator turned himself in after the attack on Thursday night and was arrested, the investigators said.

Police said a domestic issue "cannot be ruled out" as a motive for the crime.

A large contingent of police officers has been deployed.

Emergency services stand behind a cordon. The police are investigating after shots were fired in the district of Rotenburg. There are two crime scenes - one in a detached house in Westervesede in the municipality of Scheessel and another in Bothel in the district of Rotenburg. Kai Moorschlatt/NordwestMedia TV/dpa
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz takes part in a discussion with young tradespeople after the top-level meeting of German industry. Scholz and representatives of the business community met as part of the International Crafts Fair (IHM). Sven Hoppe/dpa

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday once again defended his refusal to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

When asked by dpa about the decision at the International Craft Fair in Munich, Scholz said "this is not something we can provide at this time."

He had already declared his position about the Taurus systems in the past and has made that position clear.

"This is a decision that I made as chancellor and I stand by it just as much."

Scholz emphasized that there are currently "very many arguments" against the delivery of the advanced long-range cruise missiles.

"And I will say once again that I will not support any decision that results in German soldiers somehow becoming involved in a military operation in connection with Russia's terrible war against Ukraine."

Scholz already made similar comments days ago, stating that the Taurus weapon system was very far-reaching and needed to be programmed, something that Scholz said could require the participation of German soldiers.

An escalation of the war into a war between Russia and NATO must be prevented, the chancellor said.

"I agree on this with all my friends in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. And that's why everything that needs to be said on this subject has been said."

Taurus is a German-Swedish air-launched precision weapon that can hit targets at a range of 500 kilometres.

The German conservative opposition is still calling for the missiles to be delivered to Ukraine, while Scholz's own coalition partners - the Greens and the Free Democratic Party - are also largely in favour and have criticized Scholz for his refusal to send the missiles.

There have also been repeated calls from Ukraine for the delivery of the long-range weapons.
Malte Lenz Gallee, member of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, gives an interview at the parliament building in Strasbourg. Germany's youngest EU lawmaker in the European Parliament, Malte Gallee, resigned his seat on Friday over allegations of his misconduct towards staff members. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

Germany's youngest EU lawmaker in the European Parliament, Malte Gallee, resigned his seat on Friday over allegations of his misconduct towards staff members.

The allegations are still under investigation by Gallee's Green group in the European Parliament. He has denied the accusations and said he is cooperating with the investigation.

"There had already been unsubstantiated rumours about me beforehand and I have already actively asked my group's ombudsman's office in the European Parliament to investigate them," he said in a statement.

Gallee, 30, requested the investigation into the allegations in the summer of 2022. The German magazine Stern previously reported on the alleged misconduct.

The Green group in the European Parliament refused to comment on the specific allegations. However, a spokeswoman said the group "attaches great importance to a climate of safety and zero tolerance for harassment and inappropriate behaviour."

Gallee, from Bavaria, replaced Sven Giegold in the European Parliament at the beginning of 2022 after his move to Germany's Ministry of Economics as state secretary, the number two post at the ministry.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz takes part in a discussion with young tradespeople after the top-level meeting of German industry. Scholz and representatives of the business community met as part of the International Crafts Fair (IHM). Sven Hoppe/dpa

Germany's Cabinet has agreed to new nationwide regulations allowing states to use a payment card to supply social welfare benefits to asylum seekers, sources told dpa on Friday.

Leaders of Germany's federal states had already agreed to implement the card in an effort to prevent asylum seekers in Germany from transferring money back home or using cash assistance to pay smugglers.

But state leaders lobbied Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government to institute new regulations backing the use of payment cards, in hopes that the move would prevent lawsuits.

The payment card will now to be explicitly included as an option under Germany's Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act. Sources told dpa that the Cabinet approved draft legislation to that effect from the Ministry of Labour on Friday.

The change will still need to be passed by parliament.
FILE PHOTO: German chancellor Olaf Scholz sits in a tram as he talks to participants of the Democracy project 'metro-polis' in Dresden

FILE PHOTO: German chancellor Olaf Scholz sits in a tram as he talks to participants of the Democracy project 'metro-polis' in Dresden

By Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he wants the government to open an account on TikTok, with concerns about the far right AfD's strong social media presence seemingly trumping security worries about the Chinese-owned platform.

While mainstream politicians and parties are starting to have a low key presence, parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are already leveraging the platform to connect with younger voters ahead of a slew of communal and state elections this year.

The AfD, which has surged in polls over the last year to second place, has more than twice as many Facebook fans as mainstream parties, according to an analysis by political consultant Johannes Hillje.

It also has around 10 times as many subscribers on video-sharing site YouTube and its videos have been shown 10 times as often on TikTok, he said.

Asked about this disparity at a citizens' forum on Thursday evening in Dresden, the capital of the eastern state of Saxony, a far-right stronghold, Scholz said the government was considering opening an account on Tiktok.

"And I believe this is right," he said.

However, Germany's security agencies have warned against using the video-sharing app over concerns it could share data with China's government or be used to influence users. Countries including the United States, Britain and Austria last year banned it from government employees' work phones.

On Friday, a government spokesperson said Berlin still needed to check the situation thoroughly before launching an account, noting members of the federal press office could not access the app on their government phones.

"But fundamentally Tiktok is a platform that is especially intensely used by young people - and we have to recognise this despite all justified criticisms of the platform," the spokesperson said.

TikTok says security warnings are unwarranted and it does not collect more information than other apps.

ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has denied using it for spying. Beijing has also repeatedly denied having any intention to use the app for espionage.

Hillje said the AfD's increased focus on TikTok was likely to be the reason for its improved results with first-time voters in recent state elections, after underperforming with them in the 2021 federal vote.

"Western governments are stuck in a dilemma," said Hillje, who worked as campaign manager for the Greens in 2014 and is now a freelance consultant, noting that the AfD appealed much more to voters' emotions on social media despite currently having fewer seats in parliament.

A post from the AfD's leading European Parliament candidate last year for example appealed to all the young men without girlfriends, saying "real" men were right wing and they should not resort to left of centre parties or pornography.

The Konrad Adenauer Foundation think tank warned in a study last year that TikTok's algorithm would not reward measured political statements as much as the more extreme ones.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke and Sarah Marsh; Additional Reporting by Alexander Ratz, Rachel More and Alison Williams)
Former President Donald Trump kisses the American flag as he speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 24, 2024.

Attorneys for former President Donald Trump have appealed a Cook County judges decision ordering election officials to remove the Republicans name from Illinois March 19 primary ballot.

The appeal, filed minutes before midnight Thursday, came hours after Judge Tracie Porter issued her decision. She placed a hold on it until Friday to allow the expected appeal.

A group of Illinois voters is trying to remove Trump from the primary ballot over his handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The group appealed an election board decision unanimously rejecting its effort. The voters, joined by national voter advocacy group Free Speech for People, argued Trump is ineligible to hold office because they say he encouraged and did little to stop the Capitol riot.

The case is one of dozens of lawsuits nationwide filed to remove Trump from the ballot, arguing he is ineligible due to a rarely used clause in the 14th Amendment prohibiting those who engaged in insurrection from holding office. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month signaled that it is likely to reject the efforts, judging from commentary the justices made during an appeal of a Colorado ruling removing Trump from the ballot there. Like the Illinois decision, the Colorado ruling is on hold until the appeal is finished.

Trumps attorneys also filed a motion early Thursday to clarify how long the hold should stay in place. They declined comment Thursday.

In her 38-page ruling, Porter wrote that the Illinois voters request to exclude Trump from the ballot should have been granted because they met their burden and the Election Boards decision was clearly erroneous.

This is a historic victory, Ron Fein, legal director of Free Speech For People and co-lead counsel in the case, said after the ruling.

In an earlier statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the Illinois decision an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal.

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Grappling with an acute shortage of skilled labour, Germany on Friday enacted provisions of a law granting residence rights for skilled immigrant workers without requiring them to first have their qualifications recognized in Germany."

"Skilled workers with a degree and professional experience will be able to enter and work in Germany without a prior recognition procedure," Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger told dpa.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil also decribed the changes as an important building block in the national labour market.

"We are ensuring that the skilled labour that our economy has urgently needed for years can come to our country," Faeser said about Friday's implementation of the new regulations.

The first stage came into force in November 2023 and mainly included easing the way for a residency permit known as the EU Blue Card and for recognized skilled workers. The third stage, including a new job search opportunity card, will follow in June.

Many sectors of the country's economy are reliant on immigrant workers, according to data concurrently released by the Federal Statistical Office.

The cleaning and catering industries have a particularly high share of workers with an immigrant background, at 60% and 46% respectively, the data from 2022 showed.

Overall, a quarter (25%) of all people in employment between the ages of 15 to 64 in 2022 had a migrant background. The definition includes anyone who immigrated to Germany from 1950 onwards or whose parents had both immigrated since then.

In 2022, the proportion of this population group was also above average in transport and logistics occupations (38%) and in construction (36%).

Just under a third (30%) of caregivers between 15 to 64 had a migrant background. Among doctors, the figure was 27%, and in personal care professions - including hairdressers and beauticians - the figure was 36%.

In contrast, relatively few people with a migrant background worked in the police force or the judiciary, accounting for just 6% of the workforce, or one in 16 employees.

The proportion of school teachers was 11%, while in banking and insurance professions, 16% of employees had foreign roots.

In future, people from third countries will be able to work in Germany if they have at least two years of professional experience and a vocational or university degree recognized by the state in their country of origin.

This means that they do not yet have to have a qualification recognized in Germany. This is intended to reduce bureaucracy and shorten procedures.

There are also changes in other areas. For example, in view of the shortages in the caregiver sector, qualified caregiver assistants will also be able to come to work in Germany in future.

Non-EU foreigners will be allowed to work part-time and will be given more time to have their professional qualifications recognized if they come to Germany for educational purposes or for language courses.
We will not go it alone. Germany will not act differently from other countries, chancellor Olaf Scholz promised in April 2022. Its become a mantra, deployed whenever Berlin is asked to do more to support Ukraine against Russias brutal invasion. Unfortunately, it no longer appears to be true. Germany looks increasingly isolated, with its domestic divisions, careless communication and tensions with its closest allies a far cry from the robust leadership we were promised.

Scholzs latest breach of trust came on Monday. Keen to bat away internal opposition, he discussed British and French aid to Ukraine in terms that implied they were active participants in the war. Explaining his own reluctance to send long-range Taurus cruise missiles while Britain and France have sent comparable Storm Shadow and Scalp systems respectively, he said: What is being done in the way of target control and accompanying target control on the part of the British and the French cant be done in Germany.

The fact that Britain aids Ukraine with intelligence on targets isnt new, but Scholzs open discussion of the matter did nothing for the veiled ambiguity in which such interventions are deliberately shrouded  a gift to Russian propagandists, as one intelligence expert put it. A senior Tory MP was stronger still, describing the chancellors comments as a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germanys reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system.

Germany is increasingly out of step with another of its allies, too: France. In a jarring contradiction to Germanys guiding principle in Ukraine  avoiding direct conflict with Russia  French president Emmanuel Macron told reporters after a summit of European leaders in Paris that there was no consensus today to send ground troops officially but ... nothing is ruled out.

Scholz had said the precise opposite shortly before. While several other Nato countries, including the UK and the US, also rejected Macrons remarks, the disunity between Berlin and Paris, usually so keen to stress how crucial their partnership is for peace in Europe, will have been noted in Moscow.

A large part of the problem for Germanys allies are the severe splits within the countrys ruling coalition. These have again come to the fore in an emerging debate over whether the country should acquire nuclear weapons or there should be a common European deterrent, sparked over concerns about the reliability of Europes partnership with the United States should Donald Trump return to the White House.

The debate was largely started by a member of Scholzs own Social Democratic Party (SPD), whose lead candidate for the European elections in the summer, Katarina Barley, wants the option on the table. Her colleague Ralf Stegner, however, has called the idea extremely dangerous and irresponsible.

Such internal rifts within the chancellors own party mean that allies rightly worry they cant rely on a clear stance from Germany while war is raging in Europe. And its just the tip of an iceberg of domestic division as anti-establishment parties tear chunks out of the ruling coalition. The three parties in Scholzs coalition would now only gain around a third of the vote combined. Meanwhile, the hard-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) and a new party under the direction of Left-winger Sahra Wagenknecht both advocate negotiations with Russia. The survival of his fragile coalition is a priority for Scholz over security policy.

This lack of German leadership is a tragedy for Ukraine and for the West. When Scholz promised that Russias illegal invasion would be a Zeitenwende, a turning point for Germany, there was an opportunity for the country to step out of its post-war shadow and assume more responsibility for Western security. This could have had an immensely stabilising effect, underpinned by the countrys economic might and geostrategic position.

As it stands, Germany may be the second biggest contributor of military aid to Ukraine after the US, but it can no longer credibly claim to offering any form of leadership. That Germany is struggling to set its own house in order, leaving it neither the will nor the authority to lead on European security, is clear for all to see, including Vladimir Putin.

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The logo of the pharmaceutical and chemical company Merck is displayed on flags on a building at its headquarters in Darmstadt. Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

German science and technology company Merck is once again cutting jobs in the face of weakening business.

Merck, which is based in the western German city of Darmstadt, will cut up to 230 jobs in its electronics division.

Up to 100 of those job cuts will come at Merck headquarters, while the rest are to be eliminated outside of Germany by the end of 2025.

The company has already reached an agreement with labour representatives on the works council, a spokeswoman told dpa on Friday.

She said that Merck is seeking to make the job cuts as amicable and socially responsible as possible, and is looking to shift affected workers to other positions elsewhere in the company.

Merck had already announced plans in November to cut costs in the electronics division by up to 90 million ($97 million). The division manufactures semiconductor materials for electronic devices and liquid crystals for smartphones and television screens, among other products.

Merck also produces pigments for the automotive and cosmetics industries.

However, demand in the electronics industry is sluggish and Merck said that the downturn is lasting longer than expected.

A boom in sales around the coronavirus pandemic in Merck's laboratory division is now over, while the company's pharmaceuticals division has suffered setbacks in product development.
Semafor Signals

Insights from The Accra Times, Stonewall, TBIJ, and The Guardian





The News

Ghanas parliament has passed one of the strictest anti-gay bills in Africa, expanding the scope of its existing provisions as part of a growing crackdown on LGBTQ+ people.

Sponsored by a coalition of Christian, Muslim, and Ghanaian traditional leaders that have links to U.S. conservative Christian groups such as the World Congress of Families, the bill increases the punishment for gay sex from three to five years in prison and imposes a new five-year maximum sentence for anyone who participates in the willful promotion, sponsorship, or support of LGBTQ+ activities. It also details a new sentence of up to three years in prison for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.

Ghanaian civil society groups condemned the bill and said they will file legal challenges if it is signed into law by the president, Nana Akufo-Addo.

More than 30 African countries criminalize homosexuality. Last year Uganda passed a new law imposing the death penalty for some same-sex acts. Only South Africa has legalized same-sex marriage on the continent.

SIGNALS

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

Africas homophobic laws are linked to legacy of Christian colonialism

Sources: Stonewall, The Guardian

There is a direct correlation between countries which belong to the Commonwealth, and therefore have previously been under British rule, and countries that still have homophobic biphobic and/or transphobic legislature in their constitutions, the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall reported, pointing to how many African countries see homosexuality as a white disease. Numerous African societies did not view and practice gender as a binary, compared with European nations such as Britain and France, before colonization and the spread of fundamentalist Christian attitudes. The growth of Islam and Christianity on the continent further challenged Indigenous social and religious systems, paving the way for the taboos that prevail today, an author wrote in The Guardian.

Advances in LGBTQ+ rights have been viewed as anti-African by some states

Sources: CNN, TBIJ, Human Rights Campaign Foundation

The rise of this bill represents a deep shift in the nation, reported CNN. Ghana was a bit liberal compared with countries such as Uganda, one gender rights activist said, with a live and let live mentality. However, discussions about LGBTQ+ rights by leaders including the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris became paraded as examples of neocolonialism, as conservative Ghanaian politicians claimed the West was imposing its values on local customs. Activists have called this rise imported homophobia, while investigations by Human Rights Watch found U.S. conservative Christian groups such as the World Congress of Families were funding Ghanas anti-LGBTQ+ movement.

Anti-LGBTQ+ laws have put peoples health at risk

Sources: The New York Times, The Accra Times

The Anti-Homosexuality Act enacted in Uganda last year has threatened to renew the [HIV] epidemic as LGBTQ citizens are denied, or are too afraid to seek out, necessary medical care, The New York Times reported. In addition to a rise in LGBTQ+ evictions from homes, clinics and hospitals estimate that the number of people coming in for HIV testing, prevention, or treatment has dropped by at least half. If Ghana implements its new bill, there could also be economic consequences: a New York Times report found that Ugandas hospitality industry faced cancellations within weeks of its draconian law passing. The Accra Times cited Uganda, Nigeria, and Kenya  which have all passed stringent anti-LGBTQ+ measures  as cautionary tales for international backlash, saying that Ghanas new bill could trigger a talent drain that could diminish the workforce quality available to Ghanaian businesses.
A back-up generator was used to power parliament's main chamber until electricity was restored later in the day

The state-run Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) on Thursday cut power supplies to the parliament over a debt of 23m Ghanaian cedi ($1.8m; 1.4m).

The outage interrupted a debate on the president's State of the Nation speech.

A video shared by local media showed MPs in the dimly lit chamber chanting: "Dumsor, dumsor", which means power outage in the local Akan language.

Local media reported that a back-up power generator restored power to the chamber a few minutes later.

But other parts of the parliament building remained without power for most of the day before supplies were restored.

MPs and parliamentary staff who were using the elevator when the abrupt blackout hit were stuck, Ghana's TV3 channel reported.

The power company's communications director William Boateng told Reuters news agency it had resorted to disconnecting power because of parliament's refusal to "honour demand notices to pay up".

Electricity was restored later in the day after parliament paid 13m cedi and made a pledge to settle the remaining debt within a week, Mr Boateng added.

"Disconnections are for everybody; anyone who doesn't pay and fails to make arrangements, the team will disconnect," he told Reuters.

Ghana's electricity company, which is facing crippling financial difficulties, frequently disconnects power from indebted clients.

In recent years, power shortages have worsened as the country grapples with its worst economic crisis in a decade.

Private electricity suppliers are owed $1.6bn by the state power company, according to Elikplim Kwabla Apetogbor, the head of the organisation representing them.

Last July, they threatened to shut down operations over the arrears.

More BBC stories from Ghana:
(KRON)  A man accused of domestic violence was arrested after an illegal firearm was located in his possession on Feb. 21, according to the Gilroy Police Department.

Gilroy police officers responded to a business in the 1000 block of First Street on Feb. 21. Officers were alerted of multiple intoxicated subjects urinating in the parking lot and throwing beer bottles into a nearby neighborhood.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity

Responding officers located multiple intoxicated people inside a vehicle. Police said one of the individuals provided a false identity to avoid being identified as the suspect involved in a domestic violence incident earlier that day.

Gilroy Police Department

The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Gilroy resident Giovani Ahumada.

According to police, officers located a concealed firearm without a serial number on Ahumada. Gilroy PD said Ahumada grew combative and required multiple officers to overcome his resistance.

Ahumada was arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for the domestic violence incident, illegal firearm possession and resisting arrest.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
Spectators listen during a rezoning hearing for the new Girls IN STEM Academy that is set to open in the Washington Township district, on Thursday March 19, 2024 at the Indianapolis city-county building.

The new Paramount Girls IN STEM Academy moved one step closer to opening in a Michigan Road church after the citys Metropolitan Development Commission hearing examiner Thursday recommended the building be rezoned to house the school.

The recommendation came over objections from Washington Township Schools administrators and parents who have voiced concerns about the effects the school might have on traffic if it opened it in the former church in the Highland-Kessler neighborhood. They also question whether Indianapolis needs another charter school.

Even if Paramount does not receive a green light from the city in time to operate in the former Witherspoon Presbyterian Church next year, the school may still open in a Washington Township private school.

The Hasten Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis last week sent a letter to parents, saying that the school was in talks with the Paramount Schools of Excellence, the charter school operator, to lease part of their building next year.

Paramount CEO Tommy Reddicks told IndyStar after Thursdays hearing that talks are ongoing between the two schools.

More on the new STEM school: New Paramount charter school faces pushback from local school and community groups

Parties both for and against the STEM charter school crowded into the public hearing Thursday.

Charter school and Washington Township school district lawyers gave arguments for why the property should or shouldnt be rezoned for a school.

Hearing examiner Judy Weerts Hall said that her decision would not involve ongoing political battles over the best school models.

I am considering solely whether the rezoning of a school is appropriate here, Hall said. I dont feel like it's relevant for me, if its a public school, if its a charter school, if its a private school.

A staff report submitted ahead of the hearing from the Department of Metropolitan Development Division of Planning also recommended approving the rezoning.

More school news: Here's when central Indiana schools and colleges go on spring break in 2024

The report recommended that a turn lane be installed for the northbound and southbound lanes of traffic on Michigan Road and an arrival/dismissal traffic control plan be prepared.

The Metropolitan Development Commission will hear the rezoning proposal at 1 p.m. on March 20 at the Indianapolis City-County Building.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy.

Carolines reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Report for America is a program of The GroundTruth Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening local newsrooms. Report for America provides funding for up to half of the reporters salary during their time with us, and IndyStar is fundraising the remainder. To learn more about how you can support IndyStars partnership with Report for America and to make a donation, visit indystar.com/RFA.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New charter STEM school can continue with rezoning process
All tickets for the festival had sold out in under an hour in November last year

Glastonbury Festival has opened a ticket prize draw to raise money for charities supporting people affected by conflict.

The prize draw comes after tickets for the Somerset festival sold out within an hour of being released in November.

Twenty tickets are up for grabs and the prize draw is open until 12:00 on 28 March.

Organisers say the money raised will be donated to the British Red Cross, Oxfam and War Child.

The chosen charities deliver humanitarian support to people in conflict areas.

The line-up for the festival has not been announced yet but Glastonbury Festival organiser Emily Eavis previously said she had been offered a "really big American artist".

She added that she was aiming to book two female headliners.

Glastonbury Festival, which hosts more than 3,000 acts, takes place from 26-30 June.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: westinvestigations@bbc.co.uk
High school senior Jailyn James of New Jersey is a three-sport athlete with good grades and six college acceptance letters.

James will be the first in her family to attend college. But where she ends up depends on the amount of financial aid she receives from each school  offers she should already have.

"My mom will not let me commit without knowing my financial aid," James said. "I don't want to come out of college with a bunch of debt."

The delays are due to the U.S. Department of Education's overhaul of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA. The form is now shorter and simpler, but computer glitches have led to a botched rollout.

Typically, FAFSA forms are released on Oct. 1. Once submitted, the data is sent to colleges within one to three days, and it is then used to calculate financial aid.



But the updated application forms came out three months late, on Dec. 30, 2023. And schools will not receive the data until the first half of March.

The delay has forced some colleges to push their financial aid deadlines. Last week, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education announced that its 10 state universities will extend the student commitment deadline to May 15.

"Some universities are pushing, certainly, their priority deadlines for grants," said Rachel Burns, senior policy analyst for the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. "State agencies are doing the same thing. We don't know yet whether institutions are going to be able to change their decision deadlines."

For James, pressure is mounting. Most of the schools she has applied to require a deposit by May 1.

"My biggest worry, I would say, is that there's not enough time," said her mother, Lori James, who added that her daughter would have already chosen her college if not for the FAFSA processing delay.

However, as it is, students like James can only hope the FAFSA fumble doesn't delay their college dreams.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire spreads, extending its reach from Texas to Oklahoma

Texas Smokehouse Creek Fire becomes second-largest wildfire in U.S. history

Roughly half of graduates are underemployed 10 years after college, study finds
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior leaders at multiple global media outlets signed a letter urging Israeli authorities to protect journalists in Gaza, saying reporters have been working in unprecedented conditions during Israel's assault on the enclave and faced "grave personal risk."

Among media outlets whose top editors signed the letter dated Thursday were the Associated Press, AFP, Reuters, the New York Times, the Washington Post, BBC, CNN, the Guardian, Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Haaretz.

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT

A total of at least 94 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Gaza war; the majority of them - 89 - being Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, which released the letter signed by the leaders of 59 news organizations.

The CPJ has said the war has been the "most dangerous ever" for journalists. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists and civilians, saying it is only going after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which governs Gaza and attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

KEY QUOTES

"These journalists ... continue to report despite grave personal risk. They continue despite the loss of family, friends, and colleagues, the destruction of homes and offices, constant displacement, communications blackouts, and shortages of food and fuel," the letter said.

"Journalists are civilians and Israeli authorities must protect journalists as noncombatants according to international law," the letter added.

CONTEXT

Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel has since militarily assaulted Hamas-governed Gaza, with its bombardment of the tiny enclave killing over 30,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, many of them civilians.

Most of Gaza has been flattened in Israel's offensive, with nearly all its 2.3 million population displaced and on the brink of starvation. South Africa has accused Israel of state-led genocide at the World Court. Israel denies the allegation and says it is acting in self-defense after the Oct. 7 attack.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
U.S. President Joe Biden was photographed on Thursday in front of the Rio Grande with members of the border patrol in Brownsville, Texas. At the same time, his likely rival in the November presidential elections, Donald Trump, posed at the wire fence on the banks of the same river in Eagle Pass, also in Texas, some 310 miles away. The politicians gestures have been similar, but their discourse has been very different. While Biden has offered his rival unity on immigration policy, the latter spoke of an invasion, men of fighting age who arrive looking like warriors. This is like a war, he declared.

Biden conferred with border patrol and immigration services representatives before giving a speech in which he was conciliatory and asked the former president, Donald Trump, to support the bill in which Republicans and Democrats agreed to increase border security. The bipartisan border security deal is a win for the American people, Biden said, highlighting that it would give him the ability to temporarily shut down the border, something that would be activated when illegal crossings surpass a certain number.

Folks, its really simple. Its time to act. Its long past time to act, Biden said in his speech. They desperately need more resources, he said in the Border Patrol station in Brownsville, surrounded by about 50 agents. He spoke about agents working overtime, making major sacrifices, over the last four years. Its time to step up and provide them with significantly more personnel and capability. We also need more immigration judges to help handle the backlog of 2 million cases, he added.

Border Patrol agents listen to Biden's speech Feb. 29 at the Brownsville station. Evan Vucci (AP)

This bill was in the United States Senate, was on its way to being passed, and then was derailed by rank and file, partisan politics, the president said. And then he addressed Trump directly: We can do it together. You know, and I know its the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country has ever seen. Instead of playing politics with the issue, why dont we just get together and get it done.

For his part, Trump did not mince words in Eagle Pass. He gave an inflammatory speech, full of lies and xenophobic messages, with echoes of the extreme right, as he is accustomed to. In his rhetoric, immigrants have come out of prisons and mental asylums: These are the people that are coming into our country, and theyre coming from jails and theyre coming from prisons and theyre coming from mental institution and theyre coming from insane asylums and theyre terrorists. Theyre being led into our country. And its horrible, the Republican said. The United States is being overrun by the Biden migrant crime. Its a new form of vicious violation to our country. Its migrant crime. We call it Biden migrant crime, but thats a little bit long, he added, pinning the blame on the current administration.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump visits the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, as seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico. Go Nakamura (REUTERS)

He also repeated some of his nonsensical arguments, such as the claim that the immigrants who are arriving speak languages that have never been heard before in the United States. We didnt even have one translator who could understand this language, he claimed. In reality, the vast majority of immigrants are Latin Americans (mostly Venezuelans) who speak Spanish, a language that is widely used in Eagle Pass and Brownsville as well as in many other parts of the United States. The former president has promised, if re-elected to the White House, the largest deportation of illegal migrants.

This was Bidens second visit to the border as president; he previously visited El Paso in January of last year. Trumps machinations derailed a bill that included aid for Ukraine and Israel, as well as reforms to curb illegal immigration at the border with Mexico, which has broken records during Bidens presidency. The border measures were a Republican demand in exchange for approving aid to Ukraine and Israel, but when it came down to it, they preferred to step back and continue using migration as an electoral weapon.

Legal migration

Bidens policy of trying to open legal channels for orderly migration to the United States while stiffening penalties against illegal entry has not stemmed the flow of undocumented immigrants to the United States. The legislation allows immigrants to apply for asylum regardless of how they arrive, and they have arrived in such numbers that they overwhelm the capacity of the underfunded immigration system. This effectively allows immigrants to settle in the United States while their cases are delayed for years.

On Thursday, dozens of immigrants waited at Xeriscape Park in Brownsville, just across the border from Mexico. Those who are gathered there have managed to reach the United States with papers, whether for family reunification or other reasons. For many of them, arriving has been an odyssey of several months. Jose Antonio Romero, a 19-year-old Venezuelan from Merida, is waiting for some friends who have not been able to cross yet. He wants to say goodbye to them before heading to Oceano, California. I want to see my brother and work, he explains.

Another Venezuelan woman speaks to her relatives loudly via videoconference: We arrived, she tells them. She is euphoric. Ricardo, a 22-year-old Venezuelan, and Patrix, a 19-year-old Peruvian, are also excited. They are a couple and after crossing the border they are heading to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his mother is. Ricardo, who started his trip in October, had to cross the Darien Gap: It was pretty tough, theres a lot of danger, you have to climb, climb mountains, cross the river several times, but since I am young it was easier for me. There is the natural risk but also the risk of being attacked and robbed.

The hardest thing was getting through Mexico, says Patrix, because from the moment we enter, its very difficult to go up to Mexico City to ask for an appointment. They dont let us get on the buses, we have to do everything by foot, they make us pay to go from town to town. There are kidnappings, robberies; many things happen, but they are not talked about much, she says.

The Venezuelans who have crossed the border arrived through the legal channels opened by the Biden administration. They arrive with an initial two-year work permit. The idea is to open these pathways somewhat and to make irregular entries more difficult, to discourage them. The theory sounds good, but in practice the legal channels have not eased the pressure on the border.

Brownsville is no longer one of the hotspots for illegal crossings. On Thursday, a tour along the river around the city  which faces Matamoro on the other side of the border  showed areas protected with barbed wire fences and ample border patrols. That area is the one the president toured to receive information from the teams working on the ground and to whom he promised Thursday an effort to provide them with more means.

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The cleanup of the Raritan Bay Slag Superfund site will receive an estimated $1 million grant to complete work on the seawall in the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge.

The site is among the more than 100 across the country getting more than $1 billion for cleanup projects as part of President Bidens Investing in America agenda, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The funding comes from the Presidents Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will launch new cleanup projects at 25 Superfund sites and continue cleanups at more than 85 others, the EPA said.

A portion of the Laurence Harbor beachfront has been closed for years because of lead contamination.

The other New Jersey Superfund projects included are the Matlack site in Woolwich and the Roebling Steel site in Florence.

More: NJ has the most Superfund sites in the country. What to know if you live near one

"This announcement is a step in the right direction so that the Old Bridge community can use the space without fear of the health risks that come with living near a Superfund site," U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said in a press release. "... I'll continue to fight to ensure that corporate polluters are held accountable for the contamination they create and that New Jersey receives the resources it needs to clean up these sites.

The site is adjacent to Old Bridges planned beachfront community center.

In 2021, the EPA announced plans to take over the design of plans to clean up the 1.5-mile Superfund site on the Old Bridge and Sayreville border.

A portion of the Laurence Harbor beachfront has been closed for years because of lead contamination. The seawall and the jetty were constructed in the 1970s with slag, an industrial byproduct containing lead, manufactured at the Perth Amboy factory of National Lead, now NL Industries.

In 2007, the state Department of Environmental Protect discovered contamination along the seawall and notified the EPA in June 2008. Six years later, the EPA ordered NL Industries to remediate the site, based on the finding that the company had manufactured the slag that was causing the contamination.

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: New Jersey Superfund site on Raritan Bay gets $1M cleanup grant
This story is part of Tri-Cities Best, a viewer-driven segment of News Channel 11s community coverage. Your votes placed Salon SOCA as the Tri-Cities Best Salon, among several finalists also chosen by viewers:

Clothesline (Johnson City)

Elizabeth Dean Boutique (Gray)

Wags to Riches Thrift Store (Johnson City)

ROAN MOUNTAIN, Tenn. (WJHL)  The Tri-Cities voted, and the results are in for the best thrift store in the region.

From the four finalists, Good Samaritan Thrift Store in Roan Mountain was chosen as the winner by voters.

Photo: WJHL

Photo: WJHL

Photo: WJHL

News Channel 11 spoke with store administration, who said Friday marked 20 years to the day since Good Samaritan Thrift Store opened in Roan Mountain.

Weve been here 20 years, and I know its just the Lord working through the people to help us help others and that is sort of how it got started, said store administrator Kay Hogan.

Hogan said the store has thrived because of the communities, businesses and churches in the area who have worked alongside Good Samaritan.

Good Samaritan Thrift Store also offers a food pantry as part of their ministry.

Weve had folks that weve helped before that [have come] back like a year later and say You know you helped us last year, and I havent forgotten, and theyll give a donation cause now theyre on their feet, Hogan said.

Store employee Tammy Sluder said the thrift store also serves people in North Carolina.

They are from Spruce Pine, Boone, down toward Elizabethton, Sluder said. You name it, they are just coming in.

Hogan told News Channel 11 that receiving the title of Tri-Cities Best on the stores 20-year anniversary is not just happenstance.

That is more than just a coincidence, she said. I just think thats the Lord. March 1, 2004 we opened the store to the public. Yes, 20 years ago today  its amazing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
[Source]

In a leaked memo, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said recent errors made by the company's Gemini image generator, which some critics alleged were biased against white people, were "completely unacceptable."

Historical inaccuracies and bias: Earlier this week, Google temporarily paused its artificial intelligence (AI) model from generating images of people after it faced criticism for producing inaccurate and historically insensitive images. For instance, requests for pictures of historical figures like U.S. senators from the 1800s resulted in images featuring women and people of color. Depictions of the Founding Fathers and Nazi soldiers included Asian people, while queries for the Pope yielded results featuring Black people and even a woman.

Gemini also created problematic text responses, including an answer that equated Elon Musks influence on society with Adolf Hitlers.

Netizens' reactions: The incident ignited backlash on social media, primarily from conservatives who alleged the errors were a result of Google forcing "wokeness" or diversity, and sparked discussions on bias in AI and the need for responsible development practices.

Trending on NextShark: Watch: Chinese makeup artist transforms 57-year-old man into '27-year-old'

"Now they are trying to change history, crafting a version that fits their current narrative to influence our children and future generations," a commenter wrote.

"When they say diversity, they actually mean replacing Whites," another chimed in.

In an X post, Musk went as far as calling Google's AI "racist" and "anti-civilizational" due to its problematic biases. He later claimed that a Google exec called to assure him that the company was "taking immediate action to fix the racial and gender bias in Gemini."

Trending on NextShark: Benny Blanco faces Filipino fury after disrespectful review of Jollibee

Acknowledging the issue: In the memo first reported by Semafor, Pichai acknowledged the issue, stating, "I know that some of its responses have offended our users and shown bias  to be clear, thats completely unacceptable and we got it wrong." He went on to outline a plan to address these problems, including structural changes, product guideline updates, stricter launch processes, more thorough evaluations and technical improvements.

Learning from mistakes: Google had earlier clarified in a blog post that while their AI was trained to ensure diverse representation in its results, the training process did not adequately address situations where diversity wouldn't be historically accurate or appropriate.

Its clear that this feature missed the mark, Google Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan wrote. Some of the images generated are inaccurate or even offensive. Raghavan explained that Gemini does sometimes overcompensate in promoting diversity in its output.

Trending on NextShark: Japan expands free day care centers to all children

In Pichai's memo, he emphasized the need to learn from these mistakes but also urged continued progress in developing helpful and trustworthy AI products.

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One of Gov. Katie Hobbs' appointees to a panel that helps select Arizona judges resigned the post on Thursday in advance of the Senate confirmation process, reviving an issue that characterized Hobbs' first year in office.

Jacob Raiford, a well-known community organizer and American Civil Liberties Union board member, resigned hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee was set to consider his nomination to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. The commission helps Hobbs pick Arizona Supreme Court and appeals court judges.

The resignation came to light in an announcement from Senate Republicans, who said they found posts showing "extreme disdain for conservative public officials and a disrespect for the Senate confirmation process" when researching Raiford's social media activity.

"The Constitution requires these nominees to review judge candidates impartially, and with his public displays on social media, I don't know how that can be possible," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale. "It's unfortunate Hobbs once again irresponsibly appointed someone to a position of power who clearly should not be there."

Senate Republicans shared Raiford's social media posts from the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Several criticized conservative lawmakers, including for politicizing the nomination process last year and preventing Hobbs from putting her allies in charge of state agencies.

Jacob Raiford, a leader with the WE Rising project, speaks at a protest at the Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza in Phoenix, Ariz., on May 17, 2021.

In one post, Raiford described "extremist conservatives holding our government hostage to advance their personal agenda."

In another, he described Republican Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell as a "villain" and "vessel for violent patriarchy" after she refused to comply with Hobbs' order consolidating abortion-related prosecutions with Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. The shift means no cases will be brought, as Mayes has stated clearly she would not do so.

Raiford, who was named to the commission last fall, told The Arizona Republic he resigned ahead of the committee because he feared that politicization would continue. He said his work at the ACLU and on the commission required impartiality that he said Kern did not show when considering his appointment.

"Unfortunately, the current makeup of the Senate majority is driven by this type of obstructionist toxicity that is not rooted in fairness, that is not rooted in honesty, that is not rooted in objectivity," Raiford said, noting Kern's own political stances. "That's no different from the chair who allegedly was on site during the insurrection. Who, me being on the floor during the State of the State address, witnessed the only adult in the room standing up and turning his back towards the governor."

Kern was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 during the insurrection and was on Arizona Republicans' slate of false electors after the 2020 election, part of a plot that led to criminal charges against former President Donald Trump. Mayes is investigating those electors who claimed the state went for Trump, not Democrat Joe Biden.

Arizona fake electors: Investigator predicts case won't wrap until March

A Trump ally and one of the most conservative Arizona lawmakers, Kern made his distaste of Hobbs known during her annual address to lawmakers in January, turning his back and giving her policy priorities a thumbs down.

Raiford was considered but not chosen for a vacancy in the Legislature last month. He serves as the Arizona representative on the board of the American Civil Liberties Union and vice president of the ACLU's Arizona chapter. He led protests of police brutality and calls for reform in Phoenix and is co-chair of the Maricopa County Democratic Party Black Engagement Committee.

Hobbs nominated more than two dozen agency leaders in 2023, in her first year as governor. But just six made it through a contentious Senate confirmation process led by a new Committee on Director Nominations. The governor repeatedly charged that committee was placing politics before putting leaders in charge of agencies that serve Arizonans, while GOP committee members responded that they were doing a thorough vetting of nominees that Hobbs had failed to do.

Ultimately Hobbs pulled her agency director nominees last year and gave them other titles, but was sued by Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, over the maneuver. That case is pending.

Before Thursday, however, drama over Hobbs' nominees had largely died down this year.

Christian Slater, Hobbs spokesperson, said Raiford withdrew because of the overtly partisan political circus created by extremists in the State Senate. Slater declined to comment further.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jacob Raiford resigns from Hobbs administration before GOP confirmation
House Republican hardliners are frustrated at Speaker Mike Johnson for once again passing a "clean" short-term federal funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown this week.

"It's just the usual c--p. Swamp is going to swamp, nothing's changing, we're spending more money. We're not changing the bureaucracy," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. "We're afraid to shut down, we won't use the power of the purse, and the result is a demonstrably weaker America."

Members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies have been pushing House GOP leaders to leverage a shutdown to force the Democrat-dominated Senate and White House to agree to conservative policies on the U.S. border and elsewhere.

CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY

House Freedom Caucus leaders are furious at Speaker Johnson and House GOP leaders for passing another short-term funding extension.

The House passed a short-term extension of fiscal 2023s government funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), on Thursday along bipartisan lines. It's the fourth such extension passed since Sept. 30. While a majority of both parties supported the measure, the bill received significantly more votes from Democrats than from Republicans.

GOP lawmakers opposed to passing "clean" CRs  meaning without Republican policy riders and at current spending levels  have argued that it extends the previous Democrat-controlled Congress priorities. Differences over government funding have led to a political civil war within the House Republican Conference  ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by Republican hardliners after putting the first "clean" CR on the floor late last year.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, R-Va., told Fox News Digital that Thursdays measure will only lead to fiscal 2024 spending bills that his group will also oppose.

TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS FLEE CAPITOL HILL AMID RISING CHAOS, DIVISION: 'A BAD WORKPLACE'

"We got no wins for the American people. We're just further exacerbating the debt situation by continuing the [Democrat] spending levels, the [Democrat] policies that are destroying the country," Good said. "We're doing nothing for the border. We're doing nothing to demonstrate we really care about the spending, and all this was was a bridge to a bill that will be even worse."

Asked whether Johnson could face pushback from GOP rebels, Good said, "Everything's on the table to try to figure out what to do, but it's unfortunate the direction that we've chosen to go."

A partial government shutdown, even a short one, has the potential to significantly disrupt federal programs and potentially furlough hundreds of government employees. Johnson was also under added pressure to avoid a shutdown ahead of President Bidens planned March 7 State of the Union address.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., accused Congress of failing to do its duty by not leveraging a shutdown.

HOUSE GOP LEADERS JETTISON PROMISE TO VOTE ON 12 INDIVIDUAL SPENDING BILLS

Rep. Andy Biggs was among the conservatives who spoke out against the bill.

"We just keep spending money, and we keep the policies that are in place, and that means the border remains open," Biggs said on the House floor. "This country is in danger because of this administration, but not just [the] administration, but because this body does not use what the founders gave us as the ultimate tool, and that is the purse strings."

The CR overwhelmingly passed the House, 320-99, with 113 GOP lawmakers voting for it, while 97 voted against. Two hundred and seven Democrats voted for it, versus just two who were opposed. In a modest win for Johnson, however, this CR got more GOP votes than the extension he put on the House floor in January, which got 107 Republicans' support.





Original article source: GOP hardliners furious at Johnson for passing another short-term spending bill with Dems: 'Usual c--p'
Just three months after her death, the Arizona House has rejected a proposal to honor the late Sandra Day OConnor with a statue inside the U.S. Capitol.

Its not so surprising that a coalition of Republicans and Democrats would kill the state bill. There already is a federal plan to honor OConnor with a statue, and two of OConnors three sons felt the Arizona addition would have been redundant.

What was surprising  stunning, actually  was the rant by a hard right Scottsdale Republican who used the occasion of Wednesdays vote to absolutely flame OConnor.

What's next, going after Ronald Reagan, the Republican president who appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court?

Kolodin calls O'Connor 'undistinguished'

Rep. Alexander Kolodin on the House floor inside the House of Representatives in Phoenix on Jan. 24, 2024.

Scott OConnor, OConnors son and a former Republican Party legislative district chairman back when the party was all about winning elections, told me he wasnt surprised at the disrespect shown to his mother.

Nothing coming from MAGA land surprises me anymore, he told me. They eat their own, and everyone else is a communist.

The sneering remarks about O'Connor came courtesy of Rep. Alexander Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, a member of the hard-right Arizona Freedom Caucus who apparently learned nothing from the fallout after Kari Lakes sneering remarks about another Arizona icon, the late Sen. John McCain.

Her policy driven approach to judicial decision making gave us such greatest hits as affirmative action and the prolonging of Roes terribly unconstitutional precedent at the federal level, when that always should have been a state issue  , Kolodin said on Wednesday, in urging his colleagues to vote no.

We cannot allow the distinguished members of this body to have to suffer walking by such an undistinguished jurist when they enter here in the morning.

Did Kolodin even read the resolution?

Apparently, the pride of Scottsdale didnt bother to read the two-page House Joint Resolution 2002, which called for the statue to be placed in the U.S. Capitols Statuary Hall.

Had he done so, he would have known the distinguished members of the Arizona Legislature  if, indeed, there are any  would not have had to subject themselves to the apparently distasteful view of the Arizona icon who blazed trails all her life, including the one that took her East to become the first woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

O'Connor was never the justice: That some pretend

But then, facts dont appear to be Kolodins strong suit.

The first-term legislator is perhaps best known for his frivolous, almost laughable lawsuits representing the MAGA crowd.

Among his greatest hits was the now-infamous kraken lawsuit in which he and attorney Sidney Powell claimed massive fraud in Arizonas 2020 the election. It was tossed out of court by a judge who admonished that gossip and innuendo cannot be a substitute for earnest pleadings and procedure in federal court.

Kolodin was placed on probation by the State Bar of Arizona late last year after state regulators found four of his elections lawsuits violated rules for attorneys. As part of a settlement, Kolodin has to take several continuing legal education courses focused on attorney ethics.

O'Connor could teach him a bit about civics

If she was alive, no doubt, OConnor might have taught Kolodin that class on ethics.

Or maybe, as a mother, she might have taught him that its not nice to speak ill of the dead.

Fortunately, not all Republicans go out of their way to slander dead Republican icons.

Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, sponsored HJR 2002.

For a quarter century, Justice OConnor served our country with distinction and accomplished one of her missions that paved the way for five other female justices to follow her, Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, said in urging passage of his bill.

The capstone to Justice OConnors career might very well be her dedication, through the creation of the Sandra Day OConnor Institute and iCivics, which continue to promote the importance of civic knowledge and engagement, especially when it comes to understanding the U.S. Constitution.

Perhaps the institute should add a class on having class.

Or maybe Kolodin will tell us he was just joking?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts or on Threads at laurierobertsaz.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sandra Day O'Connor is 'undistinguished' for a statue, lawmaker says
FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers cautioned Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the crime risk involved with Venezuelan illegal immigrants crossing the southern border nearly a year and a half ago but never received a response, Fox News Digital has learned.

In September 2022, Republican Reps. Troy Nehls of Texas, Byron Donalds of Florida, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin wrote to Mayorkas regarding a Homeland Security intelligence report informing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents to keep an eye out for violent criminals from Venezuela in the migrant caravans marching towards the border.

The group says Mayorkas did not respond to the letter, and now they are again attempting to get answers from the Homeland Security chief as reports emerge showing some of those very migrants have committed severe crimes in the United States.

"As you know, in September 2022, the Venezuelan regime, under the control of Nicolas Maduro Moros, was reportedly releasing violent prisoners early, including inmates convicted of 'murder, rape, and extortion,' and pushing them to join caravans heading to the United States," the lawmakers wrote in a Thursday letter to Mayorkas. "Since then, we have seen the tragic consequences of allowing Venezuelan nationals into the interior of the United States."

DUELING BIDEN, TRUMP VISITS TO BESIEGED BORDER COME AMID FRESH SLEW OF VIOLENT CRIMES BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allegedly did not respond to concerns regarding Venezuelan illegal immigrants posed by Republican lawmakers.

"Our country is also facing the effects of Venezuelan gangs, posing as asylum seekers, who are turning our cities into war zones," they wrote. "Specifically, the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, known for torturing victims, has established its presence in New York City. This Venezuelan robbery gang recruits its new members from migrant shelters and off migrant busses, where they have committed more than 60 robberies in New York City, including the aggravated robbery of a woman in her 60s, who was dragged down the sidewalk and slammed into a pole, sustaining injuries."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The lawmakers pointed to how half a million Venezuelans have entered the country illegally. They further noted reports have indicated "Venezuela is refusing to cooperate with deportation requests after President Biden reimposed some of the economic sanctions it had previously lifted on Venezuela."

"If Venezuela does not want these Venezuelans back, it is common sense that we do not want them here," they wrote. "In addition to answering the questions in our September 2022 letter that were never addressed, we urge you to prevent Venezuelans from entering our interior and immediately deport those you have released, pending immigration proceedings."

"We cannot continue to apologize to families for the tragic consequences of your disastrous border policies without action," they continued. "Therefore, we encourage you to initiate a moratorium on all Venezuelan migration until they agree to cooperate with deportation requests."

WHITE HOUSE CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITIES TO COOPERATE WITH ICE AMID FUROR OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMES

The letter comes on the heels of reports showing violent crimes committed by Venezuelan migrants.

An illegal immigrant originally from Venezuela has been charged in connection with the violent murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday. Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, the suspect, was released into the U.S. via parole, three ICE and DHS sources told Fox News.

In Virginia, a Venezuelan illegal immigrant was arrested in connection with a sexual assault on a minor.

In Chicago, four immigrants from Venezuela were recently arrested for allegedly robbing and beating a man on a CTA train in the city.

And in New York, police are attempting to crack down on the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang mentioned in the letter that law enforcement says is responsible for dozens of robberies.

DHS did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.





Original article source: GOP lawmakers warned Mayorkas about crime risk from Venezuelan illegal immigrants but never got a response
Republicans are hitting back at the White House after the Biden administration appeared to blame GOP lawmakers for a broken immigration system when asked about Laken Riley's murder.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the comments during an interview with CNN host John Berman.

She was asked to respond to Republican accusations that the Biden administration's border policies have led to the deaths of Americans, like Riley, at the hands of illegal immigrants.

Berman highlighted a quote from Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO., who said: "these deaths are on [President Biden]."

GOP LAWMAKERS WARNED MAYORKAS ABOUT CRIME RISK FROM VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BUT NEVER GOT A RESPONSE

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

"I want to offer our condolences to the family of Laken, I mean this is a horrific, horrific loss for any family, and obviously, whoever is found guilty, we need to make sure that that happens, and obviously, we don't want to see anything like that happen again," Jean-Pierre said, before pivoting to the broader question of the border crisis.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"But here's the thing, we have done the work, to make sure we're dealing with a broken immigration system. The Republicans have gotten in the way. They have gotten in the way. And that's what we continue to see over and over and over again," Jean-Pierre said.

She continued: "And so look, this is a serious matter, thats why the president is going to the border. The president was at the border a year ago in El Paso, visiting the border back in January 2023. He put a comprehensive, a comprehensive immigration policy on day one."

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Jean-Pierre also made similar comments during an earlier press briefing, in which she said Republicans were "getting in the way," when it came to fixing the border.

In response, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the "Biden White House blaming anyone else but themselves for the effects of their open border policies is insane."

"Under President Biden's open border policies, American lives have been lost. Laken Riley's is the latest in that tragic count. At every turn, this administration has refused to hold themselves accountable  blaming everyone and everything but their own policy failures," Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, said in a statement.

"With a wave of a pen, President Biden can take action on border security, but he refuses to do so. There is no excuse for the President of the United States to turn his back on communities that are clearly in danger. We need action now."

"Its telling that the White House cant even admit the truth: an illegal immigrant killed Laken Riley and Joe Bidens open border is to blame," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO., said in a statement. "Its time for the White House to take responsibility for their dangerous policies and take action before more Americans are hurt."

TRUMP SAYS HE SPOKE TO DEVASTATED PARENTS OF LAKE RILEY, BLASTS BIDEN FOR BORDER CRISIS LIKE A WAR

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told Fox News' Sean Hannity that Laken Riley's death "was caused by the Biden administration breaking the law."

"If I were her family, and this guy actually did it, I would sue the hell out of the federal government because the Biden administration has been breaking the law for over two years now when it comes to [immigration] parole."

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused Democrats of viewing American deaths as "acceptable collateral damage."

"They view these murders as just the price we have to pay to advance their open-border agenda," Cruz tweeted Thursday.

TEXAS WILL APPEAL RULING TO BLOCK LAW ALLOWING POLICE TO ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, ABBOTT SAYS

Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student, was found murdered on the campus of the University of Georgia earlier this month after going for a run.

Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national in the U.S. illegally, was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in connection to Riley's death.

This all comes as President Biden and his GOP rival, former President Donald Trump, made dueling trips to the southern border on Thursday, underscoring how central immigration has become in the 2024 presidential race.

An influx of migrants on the Gateway International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas. A Biden administration plan would force many migrants to remain in Texas as their asylum cases play out, according to reports.

Biden slammed Republicans for a bipartisan border deal that collapsed earlier this month. Meanwhile, Trump continued to dial up his attacks on illegal immigrants, deriding them as "terrorists" and criminals.

Trump was in Eagle Pass Thursday, roughly 325 miles northwest of where Biden visited in Brownsville.





Original article source: GOP slams White House for blaming 'broken immigration system' on them when asked about Laken Riley's murder
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a South Carolina event while holding his own book, The Courage to Be Free, which isnt on the banned list. Sean Rayford via Getty Images

Tempting as it is to want to completely ignore the charmless curmudgeon that is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, we should not ignore his slight omission that his book ban campaign has gone too far.

DeSantis, at a Feb. 15 news conference, supported a state House proposal designed to limit what he called bad-faith objections to various school library books and instructional materials. He said these objections were an abuse of the process, performed to score cheap political points.

We obviously have to give parents the ability to be able to ensure that this smut doesnt get into their schools, the Republican governor said.

But he noted: Although we like people wanting to be involved in whats going on, to just show up and object to every single book under the sun, that is not an appropriate situation here, and we have seen that occasionally.

Florida reportedly logged 1,218 book objections during the 2022-2023 fiscal year, resulting in the removal of 386 books  often titles that are very Black, hella gay, pro-trans, and/or anti-slavery and anti-segregation.

Despite his call for the Florida Legislature to fine-tune the process to prevent what he described as activists saddling school districts with unnecessary work, he continued to argue that the mashup of bills and state education department policy that effectively allowed for the banning of books was not a book ban bill  saying that was a false narrative.

A lot of the things that people say in the media that were, quote, objected to were actually on the summer reading list of the Florida Department of Education, so this is all a big fraud, DeSantis claimed at the news conference.

He added, No district in Florida has removed any dictionaries or thesauruses.

Thats not true, though.

It is unsurprising that a man who launched a 2024 presidential campaign built on the theme that God directly called on him to run cant admit fault, but nonetheless, these comments are an acknowledgment that his bill, HB 1069, in its original form is not working.

This tacit admission from DeSantis is likely rooted in his ongoing delusions of one day becoming president.

As reported by ABC News days before DeSantis spoke out, a source close to him confirmed that he had privately expressed interest in running for president again as early as 2028.

And multiple other people close to him added that he plans to keep a small political team around him.

How much money will DeSantis waste on consultants to lie to him that he still has a shot at becoming president of the United States someday before he ultimately accepts that the only DeSantis in his house with any shot at moving into the White House to launch their white Christian nationalist remix of the Kennedy dynasty is his wife?

Who knows, but while Im not often in the habit of saving boring bigots money, I have some free game for the failed presidential contender: You cannot run away from your own policies that easily.

After all, it was only in 2022 when DeSantis, along with his political adviser Christopher Rufo, best known for launching a campaign against the teaching of critical race theory in public schools (spoiler: it never has been), were already exploiting LGBTQ biases when they decided to pivot and exploit racial animus for political gain next with legislation like the Stop WOKE Act.

Much like the made-up beef about critical race theory to limit discussion of racial history and identity in schools and workplaces, DeSantis, Rufo and other conservative activists like them stoked fear about queer and trans people under the false pretense of parental control.

As The New YorkersBenjamin Wallace-Wells wrote in The Political Strategy of Ron DeSantiss Dont Say Gay Bill at the time: In American politics, ideology is often a smoke screen for individual ambition.

DeSantis wanted to usurp former President Donald Trump as the leader of the Republican Party and used Black history and LGBTQ people as his answer to Trumps racist ramblings about Mexicans coming across the border to be predators.

With DeSantis, queer and trans people were the predators  purposely maligning them as groomers and repeatedly arguing that parents should be protected from schools using classroom instruction to sexualize their kids as young as 5 years old.

In the small minds of men like Ron DeSantis, you cant discuss a non-heterosexual person without immediately thinking of their sexual acts.

But let him tell it, and anyone who didnt support his homophobic and transphobic legislation based on that dumb, creepy premise were alleged to be complicit in pedophilia.

Its exactly how he maligned Disney over its objections to all of his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation before then punishing them from the Governors Mansion.

His campaign was pretty homophobic in tone at times, too.

None of these stunts resulted in the same level of success for DeSantis as Trump achieved in 2016, but while DeSantis may want to forget a lot about the last two years of his life  chasing what proved to be a humiliating defeat in the GOP primary, dropping out on Jan. 21  the rest of us should not let him.

Whereas DeSantis failed in the primary, he succeeded in inspiring the entire Republican Party to not only target minority authors but also teachers, librarians and others who promote literacy without biased restrictions.

Take West Virginia, where the House of Delegates just votedon a bill to allow the prosecution of librarians.

But now, as he apparently considers another presidential run, Ron DeSantis wants to act like the level-headed man behind the mess hes responsible for making.

It doesnt work that way, Meatball.

His book ban bill is not a false narrative but an accurate description of a despicable policy that should hang around his neck for the rest of his life.
MULLENS, WV (WVNS)  West Virginia Governor Jim Justice made an appearance in Wyoming County on Thursday, February 29, 2024. He brought with him some good news  more than 15 million dollars to build a new Pre-K through 8th grade school in Mullens.

This is part of 111 million dollars being distributed in 19 different counties in the mountain state.

Local middle school among state winners in the National Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition

Deirdre Cline, Superintendent of Wyoming County Schools, said this funding is only possible through people coming together.

Its an exciting day for Mullens and for Wyoming County Schools. This has been a team effort and it shows once again in Wyoming County that when folks come together, big things happen. The Governor, the First Lady, and of course Baby Dog being here was the cherry on top, said Cline.

Governor Justice presents the money, but others assess the needs of different counties and decide how to distribute it.

The School Building Authority helps to decide.

Andy Neptune, Executive Director of the School Building Authority, says the new school is a big step above current facilities.

Well, obviously its gonna be a state of the art facility. The county has developed with their architects and designs what they want as a school building. We provide the funding for it. So, its gonna be a very exciting opportunity for these young children to come through with such modern technology that new building provides, said Neptune to 59News.

Students now and in the future will be able to walk into the newest school in Wyoming County. The school is planned to be finished by the Fall of 2026.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks as she hosts a campaign event in Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. February 29, 2024.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Friday that she raised $12 million in February, a haul that will likely allow her to remain in the Republican primary against former President Donald Trump past next weeks Super Tuesday  even though she cant point to an upcoming state where she thinks shell beat him.

The former ambassador to the United Nations noted that she outraised Trump in January and insisted that the donations have continued to flow despite her not having a long-term plan to challenge  or even really dent  the former presidents commanding lead in the primary.

When I go into a fundraiser, she said Friday, They dont ask me, Whats your strategy? They dont ask me, Whats your plan? All they say is, Thank you for giving me hope.

Haleys announced February total has not yet been verified by official campaign finance filings. Still, Haley argues that another strong month with donors shows that Republicans are hungry for a viable alternative to Trump. Haley, who is also a former South Carolina governor, is the last Trump challenger standing from a field that was once crowded with more than a dozen Republican White House candidates.

Trump has swept every early GOP contest heading into Saturdays primary in the nations capital  including trouncing Haley in South Carolina. But Haley outraised Trump in January, taking in $11.5 million while her allied super PAC brought in another $12 million. The former presidents campaign raised $8.8 million in January with his primary super PAC taking in another $7.3 million.

Asked about Haley announcing her strong February fundraising, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, Our focus is now on Joe Biden and the general election.

Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest and this race is over, Cheung said.

As Biden steps up his own fundraising and travel around the country amid his own reelection campaign, the president has also zeroed in on Trump while largely assuming the race with Haley is over  calling his presidential predecessor a threat to the nations core values and very democracy.

Haley says shes not anti-Trump and doesnt fault Republicans for voting for him in the primary. She campaigned in Washington ahead of its Republican primary on Saturday  though the stakes are low given how Democratic the city is. She was also finishing the evening Friday in North Carolina, one of the 15 states holding GOP primaries on Tuesday.

Haley ducked questions about where she might win a primary on Super Tuesday or beyond, saying, I dont look all the way down the road. She has repeatedly refused to comment about long-term plans aside from saying that she will reevaluate after Tuesday.

Super Tuesday, were gonna try to be competitive. I hope we go forward. But, this is all about like, how competitive can we be? Haley said in her Washington meeting with reporters. Can we continue to show that there is a big number of Americans who are saying they want to go in this direction?

Haley has said previously that she has no interest in mounting a third-party presidential challenge against Biden and Trump with the centrist No Labels group. She said Friday that shed not spoken to No Labels but didnt plan on mounting a White House bid with them because she said it would require her to team up with a Democratic running mate.

I cant do what I want to do as president with a Democrat vice president, she said. If I ran for No Labels that would mean its about me. Its not about me  its about the direction I think the country should go.

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Grand Chute Supervisor Ron Wolff listens to proceedings during his trial in Outagamie County Circuit Court.

APPLETON  Grand Chute Supervisor Ron Wolff was acquitted Friday of a charge that he illegally profited from a public contract while in office, after a three-day trial in Outagamie County Circuit Court.

The verdict means the 12-person jury found that Wolff acted in good faith when he bid on and landed a $26,865 landscaping contract with the town shortly after he was elected to the Town Board.

Wolff's defense was that he relied on the advice of one or more town officials, including Jim March, the town administrator at the time, who informed him it was OK to proceed with the landscaping work while serving as town supervisor.

"We're extremely happy with the verdict," Wolff's defense attorney, Nathan Otis, said. "I think this was always a situation where we knew if a jury was able to hear the evidence, they'd reached the right conclusion. Mr. Wolff didn't commit a crime, and I think their verdict speaks to that fact."

About 20 people were in the courtroom gallery when the verdict was announced. The jury deliberated for more than three hours before returning with its decision.

Wolff, 64, was charged in July with having private interest in a public contract, a Class I felony, for accepting the landscaping job. Wisconsin law limits the amount of money a person in public office can make in a private contract to $15,000 a year.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of 3 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

What led to the felony charge and trial?

Wolff was elected and seated as town supervisor in April 2021 and reelected in April 2023.

In May 2021, shortly after Wolff joined the Town Board, one of his companies  Lakeshore Cleaners Inc.  submitted a quote for a landscaping job at the Champion Center at the request of the engineering firm McMahon Associates Inc., which was working on behalf of the town.

The quote was the only bid received, and Grand Chute awarded the contract to Lakeshore Cleaners in June 2021. Wolff abstained from the vote.

At trial, prosecutors contended Wolff willfully ignored his ethical obligations as a public official to profit off the contract. They noted Wolff was informed about the conflict-of-interest law but didn't seek the advice of an attorney regarding the legality of accepting the contract.

"What we are trying to protect here is the integrity of how the government works," Assistant Attorney General Robert Kaiser Jr. said.

Day 2 of Ron Wolff trial: Memories differ as town officials testify in felony misconduct case

Day 1 of Ron Wolff trial: Testimony begins in felony misconduct trial of Grand Chute supervisor

Wolff takes the stand to testify on his own behalf

Wolff testified that he was overwhelmed with the materials and training he received after being seated as town supervisor.

He said no one within the town raised any concerns with his bid for the landscaping job until after it was approved by the town. Wolff said March told him there might be a conflict of interest because he was a town supervisor and that March would look into the issue.

Defense attorney Nathan Otis speaks to the jury during the trial of Grand Chute Supervisor Ron Wolff.

A few days later March informed Wolff of his findings.

"He said the staff and him had found an exception  he called it a loophole  in the soil erosion laws and that there was no problem doing the job," Wolff testified.

The prosecution and defense stipulated at trial that the landscaping job didn't qualify for an exception.

Attorneys make closing arguments to jury

During closing arguments, Kaiser and fellow prosecutor Nathaniel Adamson said Wolff was fully responsible for his actions.

They said Wolff didn't act in good faith, as evidenced that he was informed about the law multiple times, in both written materials and verbally in a seminar, after becoming supervisor. Wolff also was advised to consult an attorney with any legal concerns but didn't do so.

Assistant Attorney General Nathaniel Adamson states his case during the trial Grand Chute Supervisor Ron Wolff.

"The town isn't there to save him from his private conduct," Adamson told the jury. "You don't want to learn the job, don't do the job. It's that simple when you have a position like this."

Adamson said the trial showed indisputable evidence that Wolff "attended a training that said, 'Don't commit this crime,' while he was committing the crime."

Otis, Wolff's defense attorney, told the jury Wolff acted in good faith and wasn't liable for any crime. He said Wolff relied on the advice of the town administrator and the town engineering firm, who told him it was OK to proceed.

If there were a problem, Wolff testified earlier, "somebody should have said something."

A timeline of the case and related legal battles

March 22, 2022: Agents from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation execute search warrants on Ron Wolff, a residence in Grand Chute, a residence in Nichols and Lakeshore Cleaners Inc., to search for evidence of misconduct in public office.

March 30, 2022: Wolff and his wife, Karri Wolff, file a federal lawsuit alleging their civil rights were violated when their properties were raided.

May 2023: Former Town Administrator Jim March files a federal lawsuit against Grand Chute, Town Chair Jason Van Eperen and supervisors Jeff Ings and Wolff, alleging March was fired in retaliation for cooperating with the state investigation of Wolff. The case is ongoing.

July 2023: Wolff is charged with having a private interest in a public contract.

October 2023: The Wolffs' federal lawsuit is dismissed. U.S. District Judge William Conley rules the actions of state agents were protected under the doctrine of qualified immunity.

December 2023: Wolff files a counter lawsuit to March's lawsuit, alleging March set him up to be charged with a crime for a Champion Center landscaping project. Wolff claims March planned to entrap Wolff either so Wolff would need to leave the Grand Chute Town Board or so that Wolff would abandon his political platform of abolishing Grand Chute's use of special assessments to pay for public improvements. The case is ongoing.

March 1, 2024: Wolff is found not guilty of the felony charge of having a private interest in a public contract.

Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 or dbehnke@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DukeBehnke. Reporters Kelli Arseneau and Sophia Voight contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Grand Chute supervisor acquitted of profiting off public contract
Greater Naples Fire Chief J. Nolan Sapp on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, tendered his notice of retirement effective March 8, the fire district announced.

Southwest Florida will say farewell to the third fire chief to step down in the region in about a year.

Greater Naples Fire Chief J. Nolan Sapp tendered his notice of retirement effective March 8, the fire district announced Feb. 23.

The fire district said Sapp has dedicated 46 years of his life to public safety.

He was appointed as interim chief of the District in December 2020 and was later appointed as permanent fire chief in March 2021.

Among his accomplishments, the fire district said, are the establishment of a professional human resources department for the District and completing a 5-year strategic plan.

Naples fire chief probe: Report shows former Naples fire chief violated city policy with years-long affair

The district said Sapp has directed the Operations and Incident Command structure of many of Collier County's largest wildfires, as well as the direct impact of Hurricanes Irma and Ian.

Sapp began his career in Taylor County, Kentucky, in 1978 where he worked as a firefighter and police officer.

He left in 1991 and moved to Naples to begin a career with North Naples Fire District; rising through the ranks to captain.

He joined the Golden Gate Fire District in 2002 as the Districts first deputy chief of operations and was promoted to assistant chief of operations in 2008. The assistant chief of administration duties were turned over to him in January 2011.

The Fire District said Deputy Chief Chris Wolfe will serve as interim fire chief following Sapps departure. The Fire District will host an open house to honor Sapp beginning at 1 p.m. March 8at its administrative headquarters, 14575 Collier Blvd., in Naples.

Sapp is at least the third fire chief to step down from his post in the last year, and the second in Collier County.

At least two SWFL fire chiefs resigned in 2023

Former Naples Fire Chief Pete DiMaria retired in February 2023 after an investigation into his affair with another city employee.

Fort Myers Beach Fire announced Chief Ronald Martin's resignation in a memo March of last year. Martin cited personal reasons for his resignation.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Greater Naples Fire Chief J. Nolan Sapp to step down from post
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (L) and Theresa "Terry" Reintke (R) of the Buendnis 90/Die Gruenen (Alliance/90 the greens), greet each other in the run-up to the 70th anniversary celebrations in the European Parliament building. Reintke, the leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, said she won't vote to re-elect European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen without written commitments on climate policy. Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa

The leader of the Greens in the European Parliament said she won't vote to re-elect European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen without written commitments on climate policy.

I will need to see things on paper before I vote in a certain way, Terry Reintke said in an interview with the European Newsroom in Strasbourg this week.

Von der Leyen wants to return for a second term. To do that, she first needs the backing of EU member states and then of a majority in the European Parliament. Elections to the parliament will be held in June.

She may need the votes of Greens such as Reintke. Von der Leyen  a German from the European Union's largest political bloc, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP)  was confirmed by a narrow margin in 2019. If member states nominate her again, she will face a different, newly-elected parliament this year.

Reintke, also from Germany, said she believes von der Leyen is feeling the pressure, especially within the EPP. Reintke said that pressure "already has a lot of impact," particularly when it comes to the environment.

The Green leader wants the to see the EU's environmental and climate agenda bolstered, and not "reversed." In particular, she wants von der Leyen to commit to "investment in infrastructure, in renovating, in the green transformation of companies," she said. "This will be key for us, alongside obviously with making the transition socially just, she said.

Reintke will be the Greens' lead candidate in the elections. In principle, that makes her the group's choice for commission president. But as with all the other groups' lead candidates, the parliament is extremely unlikely to be given the opportunity to vote for her, because a sole nominee will be chosen by member states, behind closed doors.

The European Parliament will, however, be in position to block the appointment of whomever member states pick. That's never happened before, but von der Leyen's narrow margin in 2019  and the spectre of a populist surge in this year's elections  means von der Leyen's re-election is by no means a forgone conclusion.

TALK OF FAR-RIGHT SURGE RISKS "SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECY"

Reintke said success for the Greens in the June elections would be consolidating the strong result we had in 2019 with the addition of having a more geographically diverse group." That means winning more seats in southern and eastern Europe, she said, beyond the group's greener pastures in the north and the west.

But polls predict a sharp drop in seats for Green parties throughout the EU, which would leave them as the sixth-largest force in the European Parliament.

The group may be able to shore itself up to some extent by inviting unaffiliated newcomers to its ranks. For example, the Greens are in talks with members of the Spanish leftist coalition Sumar, Reintke told enr.

She said Greens will campaign against the return of austerity  "especially in southern Europe"  and for green investment.

The polls also suggest that the European Conservatives and Reformists group (ECR) could make major gains. The ECR is generally more conservative than the EPP and more sceptical of the EU's current climate policies.

Reintke fears a possible coalition between the EPP and the ECR would pose "a very clear danger that achievements of this legislature could be reversed, or at least could be on hold and not move forward."

But the polling that rattles people most in Brussels points to a far-right surge.

I think there is certainly a threat that the far right is going to grow in these European elections, Reintke said. But she also warned against fatalism and "self-fulfilling prophecy."

FARMERS' PROTESTS

The recent farmers protests across Europe require that we listen to them and try to find answers," the Green leader said. But she insisted that the farmers' problems are not the result of the European Green Deal, the name given to the EU's broad climate agenda.

The Greens say that the European Commission has had to close a third of Europes farms over the last 15 years," long before the advent of the Green Deal. "You have to see what the problem is with European agricultural policy, Reintke argued.

She said that the farmers movement contains very different groups, with some farmers radicalized, some even undermined by the far right. However, she pointed out that there are genuine problems the EU needs to address.

For example, the Greens want EU farm subsidies to be more evenly distributed. "Currently 80% of the subsidies go to only 20% of the farmers," Reintke said. They also want to change the impossible situation" whereby large distributors and supermarket chains force farmers to produce at rock-bottom prices.

We have to look at how we change these structures so that farmers can make a sustainable living." But making farming economically viable needs to be coupled with "measures to protect biodiversity and the climate," said Reintke.

"All this is possible, but we have to change agricultural policy at European level, she said. The aim is to lift the pressure from the farmers to either grow or to close down.
Big developments are coming to Green Township in 2024.

New housing starts in the West Side township of 60,400 will highlight the township's progress this year. In addition to several new subdivisions, a large housing development with nature at the forefront will be built next to the bike trail off Harrison Avenue.

Related: West Side Buffalo Wild Wings is the third new restaurant in Green Township this year

Infrastructure like sidewalks and bike paths will help increase safety in the township, elected officials say. Trustees are also promoting new security measures being taken by the police department, in addition to a new police station.

We never lose sight of whats most important to our residents. Its safety. Continuing our strategy of managed, steady growth and listening and then reacting to our citizens wants and needs will keep Green Township a great community to live and raise a family," said Tony Rosiello, Green Township Board of Trustees chairman.

Trailside Village

What used to be farmland tucked away in the woods behind Harrison Avenue is now set to be a huge housing development aimed at preserving the land's natural features  the first of its kind in Hamilton County.

Last June, developers and township officials broke ground on the first phase of Trailside Village. Named for its location along the Green Township Bike Trail, it is a conservation development designed with a plan to ensure sensitive streams and woodlands are preserved and integrated into the neighborhood's amenities.

The development will feature the township's first natural play area constructed from timber repurposed from the site, expected to serve as the recreational hub of the neighborhood.

Trailside Village broke ground in Green Township in 2023.

Phase one includes 195 lots for residential development, which includes 90 trailside and creekside row-style homes with attached garages, 84 traditional homes, and 21 estate homes. The trail will be expanded from 1.1 miles to 2.6 miles.

Phase two is in the planning stages and includes adding commercial or mixed-use development near Harrison Avenue that will add shopping and apartments. A timeline for the second phase has not been set.

Additional housing developments

In addition to Trailside Village, there are other housing developments coming to the township this year:

15 homes by Ott Builders off Wesselman Road.

11 homes by Anevski Builders off Rybolt Road.

30 homes by Ryland Homes located off Sarah's Oak Drive near the Interstate 74 exit.

40 homes in the Monfort Heights area off Boomer Road by Niehaus Builders.

With all the new housing starts underway, trustees expect more than 300 new homes will be built in the township in the next few years.

A new station will help accommodate a growing Green Township Police Department. It will be built near the Dent Lowe's store on Harrison Avenue.

Trustees: New station, programs for Green Township police enhance safety in township

A new facility will help accommodate a growing Green Township Police Department.

The police department is currently housed in the township administration building at 6303 Harrison Ave. The facility houses all township departments, and staffing has grown 45% over the past 10 years. Instead of a more costly demolition and rebuild of the administration building to accommodate the new employees, the township opted to move the police department into a new, separate facility.

The new police station will be located next to the Dent Lowe's store and will accommodate 63 officers, additional department staff, a holding area and police vehicles. The costs of site work and the building bring the price tag to about $14.5 million.

The department is also expanding its Flock camera program by installing more license plate readers throughout the township's 28 square miles. Cameras are used to capture images of license plates pinged for a felony, which police use to track down the driver.

Road, sidewalk, trail improvements

Expect more pedestrian and bike-friendly amenities to appear throughout 2024.

New sidewalks will appear on Harrison Avenue, North Bend Road near Mercy Hospital, and Colerain Avenue near Blue Rock Road. North Bend Road near Diehl Road will be improved to accommodate traffic flow better later this year. The township is expected to finalize plans for two future projects this year, a roundabout at Hutchingson and Ebenezer and turning lanes at Westbourne and Werk Road.

Walkers, runners and cyclists have something to look forward to as well with new parks and recreation improvements. In addition to the 1.5 mile-expansion of the bike trail for the Trailside Village project, Veterans Park is also slated to get a new nature trail this year.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati's West Side sees new developments in Green Twp.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Griselda.

The new Netflix miniseries Griselda is a fictionalized dramatization of Colombian drug trafficker Griselda Blanco, per the streamers press notes.

Griselda Blancos four sons  Dixon, Uber, and Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco, and the youngest, Michael Corleone Blanco  also figure prominently into the series, especially the ending.

While in prison serving a combined sentence for second-degree murder and conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine into the United States, Griselda (in the show) learns that her three older sons were killed in three different coordinated hits. Griselda Blanco herself was executed in 2012 after being deported to Colombia.

Dixon was shot while he was walking to his car. Ozzy was in a crowded nightclub, June Hawkins, a real-life intelligence analyst played by Juliana Aiden Martinez, tells Griselda, played by Sofia Vergara. Uber was shot in Colombia was he was making a drug deal.

How accurate is this ending? Though the series is inspired by true events, the storyline of Griselda and each of the characters underwent dramatization. When it comes to her sons, real life is merging with fiction.

Heres what to know.

What happened to Griseldas older sons?

The South Florida Sun Sentinel published an expose on Blanco in 1989, saying she welcomed her three oldest sons into the cocaine trade and their opulent lifestyles.

The article characterized Osvaldo Trujullo-Blanco, her third sons', way of life. He lived in a splendid house in Beverly Hills at a rental of $16,000 a month, the article reads. Every morning a florist would come to spread a blanket of fresh flowers on his pool. In the driveway were a Rolls-Royce, two Aston Martins and a Porsche.

As of 2008, though, not 20 years later, it's likely at least two of her three oldest sons had all been killed. The Miami News Times wrote that year, Blancos three other sons were all murdered, purportedly in retribution for carnage she herself caused. CBS News, in a 2012 article featuring a former Miami police chief and a documentarian that worked with Blanco directly, reported that two of her sons had been killed.

One was certainly Osvaldo Trujillo-Blanco, whose death outside a Colombia nightclub in 1992 was reported by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General.

Is Griselda Blancos youngest son still alive?

Michael Corleone Blanco, Griselda Blancos fourth and youngest child, is still alive. He calls himself, per the website of his lifestyle brand, the proud son of Griselda Blanco.

Michael Corleone Blanco starred in the VH1 reality series Cartel Crew, which followed family members of notorious cartel members in Miami.

According to the series, Michael Corleone Blanco spent decades in crime before changing his ways.

Marie Ramirez De Arellanos Instagram shows that she and Michael Corleone Blanco married in 2021 and have a daughter named Faith. He has also thanked De Arellano for caring for his sons.

He is the founder of Pure Blanco, which the website describes as a billionaire cartel lifestyle brand that focuses on fashion, movies, music, cannabis and the licensing of the Pure Blanco Brand.

His Instagram page is rife with homages to his mother. My mother once told me dont ever forget where u came from. I came from GRISELDA, he said. He also wrote a book about her called "My Mother, The Godmother."

What has he said about Griselda the series?

Michael Corleone Blanco and his wife, Marie Ramirez De Arellano, filed a lawsuit against Vergara, Netflix and others involved in the limited series on Jan. 17 in Floridas Miami-Dade County. The lawsuit was obtained by NBC News. In it, they seeking damages in excess of $50,000, arguing that the series and its promotional materials use the unauthorized image, likeness and/or identity of family members.

The pair also allege in their complaint that the series relied on recorded conversations the shows producers had with Michael Corleone Blanco, who was not compensated for their use.

Benjamin Mordes, an attorney representing Michael Corleone Blanco, spoke to NBC News about the lawsuit.

Netflix, as weve alleged, is using these ideas that were part of interviews that were memorialized, and writings and notes. Nobody else could have those ideas and nobody else could have those stories, he said.

In a statement posted to his and his wifes Instagram pages Sept. 12, the Blanco family denounced the series and said that he, nor any other member of the Blanco family have been consulted or have taken any part in the 'Griselda' project, contradicting the complaint.

While talking with TODAY.com, Griselda and Narcos creator and executive producer Eric Newman says a lawsuit from the subjects estate comes with the territory.

I dealt with similar suits from Pablo Escobar, his family, during the making of Narcos, Newman says. I tend not to think much about them. It just feels a little bit unsurprising and kind of comes with the territory.

TODAY.com has reached out to Netflix for comment and has not heard back at the time of publication.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  It was a packed house at the San Diego Superior Court in Vista Friday morning as an accused cat killer from Oceanside awaited his sentencing.

Joshua Tyler Boyer, who pled guilty to torturing and killing at least 10 felines, was handed an 8-year prison stay for 10 felony counts of animal cruelty.

FOX 5 was in the courtroom, seeing several animal service agencies present to witness the 31-year-old mans sentencing.

San Diego Humane Societys Humane Law Enforcement launched an investigation into Boyer after after a GPS tracker on a missing cat led them to a gruesome discovery  a strew of dead animals and partial remains on his familys property in Escondido.

Also found at the scene by authorities were suspected torture tools and firearms with DNA that matched Boyers.

Evidence bags

While we can never erase the suffering endured by these helpless animals, we take solace in this investigation coming to a conclusion with a prison sentence, said San Diego Humane Society Humane Law Enforcement Lt. Regina Price. We want this case to serve as a stark reminder that we will relentlessly pursue justice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

According to San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephans office, Boyer had adopted many of the cats from the Humane Society and Craigslist.

This was an egregious and extremely disturbing case of animal abuse, Stephan said. Our specialized Animal Cruelty Unit brings its expertise working with other agencies in order to investigate and prosecute these difficult cases and bring justice to those cant speak for themselves. Let this case be a warning that those who abuse animals will be held accountable.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
National Guard officials are looking into whether the Texas adjutant general ran afoul of military politicking rules by appearing in uniform alongside former President Donald Trump during a campaign event Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer, who has led the Texas Military Department for the last two years, stood in uniform beside Trump during a televised speech in Eagle Pass, Texas, after the former presidents visit to the southern U.S. border.

The move prompted criticism on social media for violating strict military rules regarding appearances in uniform at political rallies and events.

Suelzer served in the active duty Air Force for 10 years, and the Air Force Reserve for seven more, before joining the Texas Air National Guard. His current post is a political appointment, in contrast to nonpartisan Defense Department leadership roles.

Does the National Guard have to follow Pentagon orders? Sometimes.

National Guard Bureau officials confirmed Friday they have received multiple queries on Suelzers appearance with Trump and are reviewing the incident. Air Force officials referred all questions to the Texas Military Department, which has not issued any public statements on the matter and did not return requests for comment.

Defense Department officials, particularly in election years, periodically issue reminders that federal rules prohibit servicemembers from appearing in uniform at rallies, protests, or other political events where they could be appearing to be representing the armed services.

Troops are free to make campaign contributions or volunteer on behalf of a candidate, but they cannot undertake those activities in uniform or while on duty.

But Suelzers responsibility to adhere to those rules is less clear. Guard members in state active duty status arent subject to federal rules, even though they are allowed to wear their regular uniforms.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021 to crack down on the number of migrants who attempt to cross the border into the U.S. Suelzer oversees that mission, and frequently issues statements on the work  and the political fights behind the policies  alongside the governor and other state officials.

Abbott was also on hand for Trumps immigration event, and praised the former president for his border security policies.

Heidi Urben, a professor at Georgetown Universitys Walsh School of Foreign Service who has studied military rules on politicking, said that while Suelzers appearance may not explicitly violate military rules, its a violation of the militarys norm of nonpartisanship.

She said the logic behind the regulations is to ensure that military members arent inferring official sponsorship or approval of a candidate or groups views.

From a practical standpoint, violating the norm is just as damaging as violating a rule, she said. Survey research shows that the American public doesnt draw meaningful distinctions between active duty and retired generals, let alone distinguishing across components.

Incidents such as this only add to the publics confusion, or worse, continue to give the impression that the military is a partisan actor.

In 2020, then Defense Secretary Mark Esper issued a memo ahead of the presidential election warning all service members that as public servants who have taken an oath to defend these principles, we uphold DODs longstanding tradition of remaining apolitical as we carry out our official responsibilities.

Both Trump and President Joe Biden received criticism for the appearance of uniformed military personnel during their nominating conventions in 2020. Veterans running for Congress have received similar rebukes for using old service photos in their campaign materials without specific disclaimers, but those incidents rarely result in any real punishment.

Urben warned that military personnel need to be aware of events they attend and the potential public reaction from those appearances.

Because politicians in both parties seem unable to resist the temptation to use the military as props or a backdrop during partisan speeches, it falls on military officials to exercise good judgment and uphold the spirit and intent of the norm of nonpartisanship, she said.
Since the Legislature reconvened in Albany, Ive been talking about the need to focus on the basics. Im referring to basics such as education, healthcare, food, housing, workforce, child care, public safety, and human services. If we add the challenges we face from climate change, we have a full plate of basics that need to be addressed.

We are still experiencing the economic, mental health, and social aftershocks of the pandemic. COVID exposed weaknesses caused by years of underfunding and brought to light many difficult personal and social issues. I know that we can help our communities get back on track if government and community leaders work together and focus on the basics. The state budget were currently working on provides an opportunity for us to zero in on whats most important.

Donna Lupardo

Attention to urgent issues communities are facing would be a good starting point. Nursing homes, for example, have been closing around the state due to a funding formula that dates back to 2007. With 15,000 beds already off-line, logjams are happening in hospitals and emergency rooms across the state. EMS have their own set of issues causing potential delays in life-saving calls. In many ways, the entire healthcare delivery system is at risk, because the state has not kept up with basic investments in home care, assisted living, hospitals, long-term care, and emergency services.

Regarding the local economy, we have more jobs available than people to fill them. We also have some of the highest poverty levels in the state when measured by percentage of population. There are many people in our community who, with the right supports, would take advantage of workforce training, financial literacy programs, apprenticeships, and other educational opportunities. BOCES and SUNY Broome are key to our economic recovery, providing training in important areas like nursing, advanced manufacturing, and skilled trades. They need to be supported along with Binghamton University, our premier SUNY Center.

A strong workforce also needs quality, affordable child care, which is in short supply. We have available slots, but many places lack staff. These professionals are often underpaid and are stressed by worsening child behavioral issues and difficult state regulations. We are trying to address this before more centers close or scale back further.

Another basic issue is housing. We need all types of housing, including support for the homeless, safe and affordable rental housing, new single-family homes, and senior-friendly housing. The lack of housing is putting a stress on all aspects of our quality of life. Its also sending the wrong message to companies and people who want to locate or stay here.

Ive highlighted just a few of the issues Im working on in a bi-partisan way; looking to raise awareness and advance workable solutions. I remain committed to doing my part to be of service, and recently announced plans to seek re-election. This is a critical time, one where experience with the basics is needed now more than ever.

Donna Lupardo represents New York's 123rd Assembly District, which includes the City of Binghamton and the towns of Vestal and Union.

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: NY government needs to focus on education, healthcare, work force
GAHANNA, Ohio (WCMH)  Police in Gahanna said they recognized similarities in a man and his car during a traffic stop, eventually leading them to arrest him for a months-old shooting on Thursday.

An officer pulled over Rickey R. Hill, 19, on Oct. 5 for speeding in a 2014 Ford Fiesta, according to the Gahanna Division of Police. They noted that Hill didnt have a valid drivers license, and while searching the car, they found a loaded handgun underneath the drivers seat.

The officer arrested Hill on a charge of improper handling of a firearm, since he was not old enough to own a handgun legally. While reviewing the arrest report, detectives noticed similarities between the car Hill was driving and one involved in an Aug. 17 shooting on Interstate 270. They also noted his appearance was similar to suspect descriptions given by a victim and a witness.

A photo of the vehicle Gahanna police said was involved in an Aug. 17, 2023, road rage shooting. (Courtesy Photo/Ohio Department of Transportation via Gahanna Division of Police)

The shooting a month prior stemmed from a road rage incident, where Gahanna police said Hill shot a 25-year-old man and a 1-year-old infant as they were traveling on the highway. Both victims survived their injuries with treatment from local hospitals.

The detectives sent Hills handgun to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, where lab tests confirmed one of the bullets found during the shooting came from Hills firearm. Gahanna police then arrested Hill again on Thursday and charged him with two counts of felonious assault.

Hill was arraigned Saturday in Franklin County Municipal Court, where he was given $500,000 cash or surety bond. Should Hill post his bond, he is required to stay away from guns and not engage in any violent acts.

He is scheduled to return to court on March 8. As of Saturday afternoon, he remained in custody in Franklin County Jail.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
The suspect was seen driving a U-Haul pickup several hours after the El Cajon shooting Thursday. (El Cajon Police Department)

One person was killed and two wounded when a man opened fire Thursday afternoon in a San Diego County dental office.

Mohammed Abdulkareem, 29, was arrested several hours after the incident, according to authorities, who say he may be a disgruntled patient.

The shooting took place shortly after 4 p.m. in the 400 block of North Magnolia Avenue in the city of El Cajon in eastern San Diego County, according to authorities.

Shortly afterward, the El Cajon Police Department posted to social media about an "active shooter event" in the community, about 20 miles from downtown San Diego. Authorities identified Abdulkareem as the suspect and said he should be considered "armed and dangerous."

Emergency scanner reports said the shooting took place at a dental center. Sgt. Eric Thornton confirmed to The Times that one person died and two were wounded.

Read more: Yosemite closes due to monster blizzard, 'life threatening' conditions in California mountains

On Friday, the Anti-Defamation League in San Diego said it had been in touch with law enforcement because the person who died was a member of the Jewish community but said there were no indications that the shooting was hate-related. In a statement, the El Cajon Police Department confirmed that there was no clear indication that the shooting was "racially or politically motivated."

Police said they believe Abdulkareem was a disgruntled patient at the dental office.

Abdulkareem was seen after the shooting driving a U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona license plates. Police provided an image of the vehicle that was captured by plate-reading software at the scene of the shooting.

He was spotted around 9 p.m. by a citizen who called the San Diego Police Department, according to authorities. Police found the pickup truck parked near 6th Avenue and Quince Street in San Diego. Abdulkareem was found nearby a short time later. At the time of the arrest, he was armed with a loaded handgun and several loaded magazines, police said. The gun was legally purchased by Abdulkareem two weeks before the shooting.

He was booked into a San Diego jail on felony charges, including one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Charges may be added pending the investigation.

"The El Cajon Police Department mourns with the family and friends of the deceased victim and extends heartfelt condolences to those injured in yesterday's senseless and evil act of violence," El Cajon Police Chief Mike Moulton said in a statement.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Priority areas of the cooperation between Georgian and German defence ministries were discussed on Friday in a meeting between the Georgian Defence Minister Irakli Chikovani and Peter Fischer, the German Ambassador to the country, Azernews reports.

The meeting highlighted Germany's active involvement in bilateral and multilateral cooperation formats, the Ministry said.

It also focused on Germany's robust support in enhancing capabilities of the Georgian Defence Forces.

The sides also reviewed the significance of Germany's important contribution to the successful implementation of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package.

Chikovani extended his gratitude to the German side for its significant role in the development of the GDF.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 1, 2024 - 10:22 | All, Japan, World

Former U.S. President Donald Trump will not be an isolationist if he returns to the White House given his overriding goal is to strengthen his country, Sen. William Hagerty, a strong backer of the likely Republican nominee, suggested Thursday.

Hagerty, a Republican who served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan under Trump, said he talked to the former president last week about the importance of the relationship with Tokyo in maintaining stability in the Indo-Pacific, including in dealing with China and North Korea.

"People misinterpret the term America first" as a byword for a Trump administration seeking to disregard cooperation with the United States' longtime allies, Hagerty said in a group interview with several Japanese media outlets.

Hagerty, a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, pushed back on the idea that the United States was isolationist when Trump was in office, saying his job at the time in Tokyo was to make the bilateral alliance as robust as possible.

"Trump has been clear that he wants to see our partner nations as strong as they possibly can be and as supportive as they possibly can be," he said, asserting that media coverage on the former president often distorts the truth, including recent remarks on NATO that sparked alarm with member nations.

He said Trump "has been very consistent that our NATO allies need to step up and pay their dues."

Trump, the clear front-runner in the Republican presidential primary race, said at a rally in South Carolina on Feb. 10 that as president he told NATO allies he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to member countries that fail to meet defense spending targets.

Hagerty claimed Trump's comments, which sent shockwaves through Europe and beyond, were reported out of context.

"What he was trying to say is if you don't, if you don't step up, Russia is going to have their way because being subsidized (by the United States) is not the right way to play this game," according to the senator who represents the state of Tennessee.

Asked about the possibility of Trump again stepping away from various global and regional systems should he win the November presidential election, the senator said he does not think the former president is opposed to dealing with critical issues on a multilateral basis.

Explaining his view that "the problem with multilateral (engagement) is that it's so hard to get every party to come to the table and if one person doesn't agree it is very complicated," he said, "Trump is a business person just like I am. He wants to see progress and wants to see progress rapidly."

On President Joe Biden's plan to host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as a state guest in April, Hagerty said he will be welcomed by the United States with open arms.

Hagerty said he believes "Japan certainly is our strongest ally in the region but (also) in the world. So I think it's entirely appropriate. I'm sorry that it is not happening sooner. But I very much appreciate the fact that we're doing it."

When asked about Kishida's desire to have a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the former ambassador said that is "a positive development."

He said, "I applaud the prime minister for looking for a window of opportunity and his willingness to engage (and) negotiate" with North Korea to resolve the issue of Pyongyang's abductions of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and 1980s.

Despite tremendous difficulties in striking a deal with North Korea and considering that time is running out for many aging families of the abductees, he said it is imperative to aim for a settlement and the United States will continue to support Japan to that end.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  The inaugural Flavortown Festival, a weekend-long Ohio event spearheaded by celebrity chef Guy Fieri, has been canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.

The event was scheduled for June 1 and 2 in Columbus, with rock band Greta Van Fleet and country star Kane Brown announced in January as the festivals headline performers. Tickets had already been available for purchase, with two-day passes starting at $155.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Guy Fieris Flavortown Fest, initially planned for June 1-2 in Columbus, OH, has been canceled, a spokesperson confirmed in a statement shared with Nexstars WCMH. Thank you to all our Flavortown Fest fans for understanding and your support along this journey.

The spokesperson said organizers are issuing full refunds to everyone who purchased passes.

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In addition to Greta and Brown, several other acts were scheduled to perform on the main stage, including country-music duo LOCASH, country artist Niko Moon, and Bret Michaels, the front man of rock band Poison.

A press release for the festival teased plenty of turbo-charged food as well as events curated by Fieri and other notable chefs. One of the festivals areas (Culinary Stadium) was also slated to host food competitions, while another stage would feature comedy battles and art demonstrations, according to the release. Most of those experiences would have been situated along a festival thoroughfare nicknamed Bitchin Avenue.

I was actually born in Columbus, Ohio, so one might say its pretty much the birthplace of Flavortown, Fieri said when announcing the festival last November. But in 2024, were making it official with the launch of Flavortown Fest, two full days of awesome music, the best chefs, real deal food from around the nation and a whole lotta fun that youre gonna have to see to believe.

The cancellation comes as Fieri is opening a new restaurant this spring in Columbus, a yet-to-be-named Italian concept inside the Scioto Downs racetrack and casino. A Scioto Downs spokesperson said the restaurant will feature an old-school Italian feel polished with textured glass screens, rustic wood finishes, an open pizza & pasta prep station and gallery walls.

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The festival was also supposed to launch Flavortown Cares, an impact program to support the Columbus community, which would have donated a portion of proceeds from every ticket sold to the National Veterans Memorial and Museum, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ohio and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.

Still, a $10,000 donation will be made to the three charity partners that would have benefitted from the festival.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
The Gwinnett County Police Department announced a new local hiring event coming near the end of March.

The event, which will be held on March 23 at the Gwinnett County Police Training Center in Lawrenceville, will offer a $5,100 hiring incentive and $2,000 for relocation incentive to move to Gwinnett County.

Those applying for the police officer positions are asked to register and schedule an appointment for this event in advance, police said, as well as bring all documents requested by the investigator at the time of appointment.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Applicants are encouraged to come to the event at 8 a.m. if they dont have an appointment. Police said the process can sometimes take a few hours so applicants should plan for it accordingly.

Gwinnett police said the hiring event will have multiple phases, including orientation, physical agility tests, oral interviews, psychological exams and initial background checks.

After Phase I, conditional job offers will be given to qualifying candidates, with a Phase II of the hiring process expected to take place at a later time, according to police.

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The department said the application process averages about 90 days.

Listing incentives, Gwinnett police said the department offers all officers a 4% annual raise and a 5% shift differential for Night Watch uniform patrol officers. Educational incentives of 3% for a 2-year college degree and a 6% incentive for a 4-year college degree are awarded to those who qualify.

In order to qualify to be a police officer, applicants must have a high school diploma or G.E.D., be an American citizen, have a valid drivers license from their state of residence, be 21 years old upon graduating from the police academy and be eligible for Georgia P.O.S.T. certification.

P.O.S.T. is the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, which provides the citizens of Georgia with qualified, professionally trained, ethical, and competent peace officers and criminal justice professionals.

While applying to become a police officer, background investigators will conduct comprehensive background investigations into each applicants criminal history, driving history and credit reporting, according to police.

Anyone looking for more information can find it online, while anyone with questions can call Investigator Valle at 770-513-5513 or email the department recruiter.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
Taiwan has been the target of persistent cyberattacks in recent years (Sam Yeh)

Hackers stole "sensitive information" including military and government documents from Taiwan's largest telecom company and sold it on the dark web, the island's ministry of national defence has said.

The confirmation of the democratic island's latest major data leak followed a report by local news channel TVBS on the hack of telecom giant Chunghwa Telecom.

That report included a screenshot of a post in which hackers announced they were "selling Chunghwa Telecom 1.7 TeraBytes of data" that included government contracts.

"The initial analysis of this case is that hackers obtained Chunghwa Telecom's sensitive information and sold it on the dark web, including documents from the armed forces, foreign affairs ministry, coast guard and other units," the defence ministry confirmed in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.

Taiwan is one of the world's top targets for cybersecurity attacks, according to digital data experts. Some have suggested that tactics employed against Taiwanese infrastructure bear the hallmarks of Chinese state-sponsored groups.

Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control.

Taiwan's defence ministry added that an air force contract included in the Chunghwa leak was "not confidential information, thus (there was) no information leakage".

Correspondence between the navy department and Chunghwa also contained no classified information, the ministry said.

"We have asked the contractor involved to strengthen its information security control to prevent any further incidents," it said.

Neither the ministry statement nor the TVBS report identified the hackers or said where they were located.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the leak.

Chunghwa, a publicly traded company, announced in a statement to the Taiwan stock exchange on Thursday that it had "conducted investigations to clarify the cause of the suspected incident".

"Currently, there is no significant impact on the Company's operations," it said, referring to potential losses from the data theft.

Government officials have said that persistent cyber threats are a form of "grey zone harassment" engaged in by China on a near-daily basis, including flying warplanes around the island and sending vessels to its surrounding waters.

While stopping short of clear acts of war, these tactics are enough to keep Taiwan's military and digital security agencies occupied, experts say.

Last year, Microsoft flagged the threat from a China-based group called Flax Typhoon that was targeting Taiwan.

The US tech giant said Flax Typhoon intended "to perform espionage and maintain access" to various Taiwanese organisations for as long as possible.

sc-dhc/pbt
Port-au-Prince  Gun battles across the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince Thursday left four police officers dead as a prominent gang leader said a coordinated attack by armed groups was underway to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Shots were heard across the city as authorities battled assailants who had targeted police stations, including two that were set on fire, as well as a police academy and the Toussaint-Louverture International Airport.



"Today, we announce that all armed groups are going to act to get Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down," gang leader Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherisier said in a video posted on social media before the attacks began.

"We will use all strategies to achieve this goal," he said. "We claim responsibility for everything that's happening in the streets right now."

Police are seen during an anti-gang operation in the Portail neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Feb. 29, 2024. / Credit: Odelyn Joseph/AP

A police union official told AFP that in addition to the four officers killed, five were injured.



Armed gangs have taken over entire swaths of the country in recent years, unleashing brutal violence that has left the Haitian economy and public health system in tatters.



At the same time, the Caribbean nation has been engulfed in widespread civil and political unrest, with thousands taking to the streets in recent weeks to demand Henry step down after he refused to do so as scheduled.



Under a political deal reached following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti was supposed to hold elections and Henry cede power to newly elected officials by February 7 of this year, but that hasn't happened.

Henry is currently in Kenya, which is moving to head up a multinational mission greenlit by the United Nations Security Council to help Haitian police wrest back control of the country.

The international force  dubbed the Multinational Security Support Mission or "MSS"  is being sent at the request of the Haitian government and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. It will be tasked with protecting hospitals, schools, airports, ports and traffic intersections in conjunction with the Haitian National Police.

Schools, universities and businesses in Haiti halted their activities as the unrest escalated on Thursday. At one point, students at the State University of Haiti were briefly taken hostage before being released, a dean told AFP. At least one student was shot and wounded in the fighting, he added.

People flee their homes as police confront armed gangs after prominent gang leader Jimmy

Multiple airlines canceled domestic and international flights after aircraft and an airport terminal came under fire.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that in addition to restoration of safety, a solution was needed for Haiti's years of political turmoil.



"You can put as many police forces as possible in Haiti (but) if there is no political solution, the problem will not be solved," he said in the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ahead of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States summit.



Prime Minister Henry on Wednesday had agreed to "share power" with the opposition until fresh elections are held, though a date hasn't been set.



Five countries have said they are willing to join the Kenya-led multinational policing mission, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.

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Police take cover during an anti-gang operation in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Haitian police were overwhelmed by a series of coordinated violent attacks by gang members across the capital in which four officers were killed, a national police spokesman said Friday.

The attacks Thursday in Port-au-Prince were led by gunmen who opened fire on targets including Haitis international airport and seized control of two police stations, prompting people to flee dozens of communities in fear as schools and businesses closed.

The situation yesterday was horrible, spokesman Garry Desrosiers said in an interview with Radio Caraibes. The city center was at war.

Jimmy Cherizier, a former elite police officer known as Barbecue who now runs a gang federation known as G9 and Family and Allies, claimed responsibility for the attacks.

He said the objective was to capture Haitis police chief and government ministers and prevent the return of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was in Kenya to push for the U.N.-backed deployment of police from the East African nation to fight gangs in Haiti.

Neither the police chief nor government ministers were injured or captured during Thursdays attacks.

As of late Friday morning, most of Port-au-Prince remained peaceful as people timidly resumed their routines. The main international airport reopened, but by Friday afternoon, the U.S. embassy reported heavy gunfire near the airport and said it was temporarily halting all official travel to it.

Meanwhile, the capital's downtown was largely deserted as most schools and businesses remained closed.

Desrosiers said the young officers stood up and fought to guarantee the security of the population, adding that authorities could not reach the station in time to repel the attack.

He said police faced a lack of logistics and equipment to properly fight the gangs on Thursday, as well as roadblocks that remained in place Friday in dozens of communities preventing officers from responding to attacks.

Despite everything we had to deal with, the will was there, Desrosiers said.

Haitis National Police has roughly 9,000 officers on duty at a time for a country of more than 11 million people, according to the U.N. The officers are routinely overwhelmed and outgunned by powerful gangs estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.

The police are in need of more equipment to be able to face the situation, Desrosiers said.

Henry, the prime minister, has not publicly commented on the situation and simply shrugged when asked if he felt it was safe to return to Haiti from Kenya.

He signed reciprocal agreements Friday with Kenyan President William Ruto to try and salvage the plan to deploy Kenyan police to Haiti. Kenya's High Court in January ruled that the deployment was unconstitutional, in part because the original deal lacked reciprocal agreements between the two countries.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the latest upsurge in violence and deteriorating situation in Haiti underline why the United Nations wants member nations to work quickly to support and deploy the multinational security force.

We have been talking for months now about how civilians in Haiti and in Port-au-Prince are basically trapped by gang violence, he told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. Schools are closed, hospitals are not functioning, people are suffering on a daily basis.

Dujarric said the mission urgently needs more support, both financially and for its security component.

____

Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
From the Dispatch Politics on The Dispatch

Happy Friday! Well get behind any candidate for office who prioritizes declaring Leap Day a quadrennial national holiday.

Up to Speed

This week was busy in the race for the Republican nomination for Senate in Michigan. First, Justin Amash, the libertarian-leaning former congressman, entered the primary, declaring on X he would not be a rubber stamp for either party, but an independent-minded senator prepared to challenge anyone and everyone on the peoples behalf. Second, businessman Sandy Pensler was endorsed by former GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, with the wealthy biotech entrepreneur vowing in a statement: I am going to help [Pensler] in any way that I can to win. And third, Great Lakes Conservatives Fundthe super PAC supporting former Rep. Mike Rogerspublicized a fresh poll showing the former congressman leading with 32 percent, followed by former Rep. Peter Meijer at 12 percent and Pensler at just 4 percent. You can read more from the poll memo here.

President Joe Biden and his predecessor, likely Republican nominee Donald Trump, made dueling visits to the southern border on Thursday amid polling that shows voters are highly concerned about an ongoing surge of illegal immigration and asylum seekers entering the U.S. from Mexico. Biden was briefed by federal border patrol and local elected officials in Brownsville, Texas, about the myriad of challenges and threats posed by the situation. Its time to act, Biden said. We cant wait any longer. Meanwhile, Trump traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, where he received a similar briefing from Greg Abbott, the states Republican governor. The United States is being overrun by the Biden, migrant crime, Trump said. Hes destroying our country.

After a couple of campaign rallies in Virginia on Thursday, Nikki Haley brought her underdog bid for the Republican presidential nomination to Washington, D.C., on Friday as she continues her multistate swing in advance of next weeks Super Tuesday primaries. Next up, stops in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Texas. Haley also told reporters in Washington on Friday that her campaign raised $12 million in February.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced this week he would step down as the chambers No. 1 ranking Republican in November, ending his run at the top after an unprecedented 18 years. McConnell and Trump have been at odds since at least the weeks after the 2020 election, when the 45th president lobbied GOP senators to oppose certifying Bidens Electoral College victory. The Senate Republican leader counseled the oppositeand vigorously so. But doubts about McConnells ability to continue as the Republican leader long-term only spread after a series of health events, including one that kept him out of the Senate for several months last year.

Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama will deliver the Republican rebuttal to Bidens March 7 State of the Union address, McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Thursday. Britt, a former aide to Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, was elected to the Senate in 2022 to succeed Shelby after defeating her Trump-endorsed competition, then-Rep. Mo Brooks, in the Republican primary.

First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to travel to Atlanta on Friday to launch Women for Biden, a coalition of women voters assembled to support her husbands reelection bid.

Nikki Haleys Last Stand?

Former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event on February 29, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

RICHMOND, VirginiaNikki Haley had little time for niceties. As she strode onto the stage around lunchtime Thursday, the former South Carolina governor briefly thanked the crowd before launching, without transition, into a dire warning about the state of the country and the world.

You know you dont have to look at the news to know how tough things are right now, Haley said to a crowd of about 500 gathered in a hotel ballroom here in Virginias capital city. Its pretty bad. Were $34 trillion in debt. Were having to borrow money just to make our interest payments. China owns some of that debt. And for the first time, were paying more in our interest payments than we are in our defense budget. You know who pays attention to that? Russia, China, and Iran.

The audience of around 500 votersa well-heeled Republican crowd with plenty of quarter-zip vests and chic womens blazersall nodded in agreement. This was the kind of sober, serious summation of the nations problems many had come to hear. Efficient too: The one-time ambassador to the United Nations wrapped up her remarks in just over half an hour, though she spent just as much time afterward shaking hands and taking photos with voters.

If Haley is campaigning as if shes running out of time, its because she is. March 5 is Super Tuesday, when 15 states will hold their presidential primaries. Her stop in Virginia, including a Thursday night event in Fairfax County in the Washington suburbs, is the middle leg of a nationwide swing of appearances in several Super Tuesday states. Haley has already been to Colorado and Utah this week, and she will campaign in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, and Texas in the days ahead.

This may be the last stand for the last remaining Republican challenger to Donald Trump, who is likely to become the presumptive nominee soon after Super Tuesday, when most of the remaining states will award all their delegates to the winner of their states primary or caucus. The multi-state blitz could be Haleys final opportunity to make a case against nominating Trump in front of actual Republican primary voters.

We also need to acknowledge that all we have done under Donald Trump is lose. We lost in 2018. We lost in 2020. We lost in 2022, Haley said Thursday. Everything Donald Trump does, we lose. And at some point, maybe we need to say maybe Donald Trump is the problem.

Haley tends to sprinkle her stump speech with applause lines and bits of light humor, and occasionally her crowds will break out into Nikki! or Haley! chantsincluding when one lone attendee, who took issue with Haleys assertion that Trump was siding with Putin, loudly yelled from the back of the room that she was lying. People in the crowd listen intently to her words. For many of them, she continues to offer reassurance that Trump isnt the only answer for what it means to be a Republican.

I think shes offering a different perspective by being still in it, Amelia Johnson, from Prince George, told Dispatch Politics.

Tom Linton of Richmond remained hopeful. The center of the party is bigger than most people think, he told Dispatch Politics. Historically, the center holds. Thats where the party has the most success. You know, the extremes never really seem to win. But the center does.

Heres the problem for Haley: What Linton described as the center of the GOP, which in the last few decades reached its apex by nominating Mitt Romney in 2012, has ceded all its decision-driving power to Trump and the MAGA movement. Thats put these Republicans on the outside looking in, grudgingly going along with Trump through two successive presidential elections. After eight years of Trump, a Haley campaign stop is liberatinga countercultural event within an otherwise monolithic GOP.

In Richmond, several attendees wore Haley-branded T-shirts with cheekily defiant slogans. Underestimate me: Thatll be fun, read one. Barred. Permanently, read another, a reference to a recent Trump social media warning that donors to Haleys campaign will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp.

When youre running for president, youre trying to bring people into your fold, Haley said. You dont push people out of your club.

Yet most of the Haley voters who spoke to Dispatch Politics in Richmond seemed inclined to vote for Trump in November if he is the nominee. Despite the messages of exclusion from Trump himself, they still consider themselves part of the party. But standing athwart the Trumpian tide these days can make some Republicans feel isolated. As she approaches an almost certain defeat in most, if not all, of the Super Tuesday states, Haley is providing GOP voters like Ethan Haswell of Richmond with a new sense of belonging.

If I can just go out and put a body in a room and have someone see hopefully a slightly more packed room for someone else, then yeah, thats like a thing thats worth a little bit, Haswell said. Its a message-sending exercise.

The Senates Changing of the Guard

In November, Mitch McConnell will step down as the No. 1 ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate after nearly two decades at the helm. His retirement will trigger a competitive and uncertain race to succeed him, while also raising more questions about the ideological direction of the GOP.

McConnell, 82, announced Wednesday he would not run for another term as Republican leader in November, triggering the first open race for the post since the Kentucky senator won it immediately following the 2006 elections. Speculation about his potential successor immediately revolved around three veteran Republicans commonly referred to as the three Johns.

They include 71-year-old Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, appointed to fill a vacancy in June 2007 and now, as the Republican conference chairman, the chambers third-ranking GOP member; 72-year-old Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, first elected in 2002 and a former McConnell deputy who made his leadership bid official on Thursday; and 63-year-old Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, first elected in 2004 and now, as the Republican whip, the second-ranking Republican in the chamber.

Thune is trying to reassemble the hardcore McConnell coalition, and that is the fastest way to 20, said a Republican strategist with relationships in the Senate, who, like the roughly one dozen GOP operatives in Washington Dispatch Politics queried, requested anonymity to speak candidly.

But 20 votes for leader, while a solid base of support, is unlikely to constitute a majority of the Republican conference, even under the rosiest of 2024 scenarios for the Democrats and their bid to retain or expand their 51-seat caucus. And, depending upon the outcome of the race for Senate controland the 2024 presidential racethis contest of heavyweights between Barrasso, Cornyn, and Thune could be upended by a dark horse contender.

Sen. Steve Daines of Montanachairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP campaign armis most often mentioned as the possible next leader in this context. Daines, 61, has cultivated close ties to former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, and might command the loyalty of any newly elected GOP senators, who could number more than a half-dozen if his party is successful on November 5.

And what if Senate Republicans are looking for a member of the partys younger generation? Keep your eye on 46-year-old Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a McConnell protege but one who has maintained warm relations with Trump. On this front, Politicos Burgess Everett reported that Republicans also are monitoring 52-year-old Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.

I would keep an eye on Daines as a possible outsider that could emerge, a dialed-in Republican lobbyist said. Of the Johns, a lot of people seem to like Barrasso, but I know that behind the scenes, McConnell has been grooming and trying to help Thune.

I think the outcome of the election could have a lot to do with who emerges, this lobbyist added. If Trump wins, its probably a tougher path for Thune, but I would not count him out. If Daines delivers a Senate majority for Trump, he could be the candidate that nobodys thinking about right now.

By the time Addison Mitchell McConnell III relinquishes power in November, hell have served at the top for 18 years, making him the longest-serving Senate leader in history. For most of that tenure, his grip on the Republican conference went unchallengedboth as majority leader and minority leader. McConnell was reelected to the post seven times without opposition; he only faced a challenger during his first race in 2006 and what turned out to be his final race in 2022, when he easily defeated Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who might also be plotting another leadership bid.

But more than just a changing of the Senate leadership guard, McConnells departure stands to have far-reaching implications for the sorts of policies the GOP pushes on Capitol Hill.

The Republican Party, as shaped by Trump over nearly a decade, has grown more populist. During that period, McConnell has been among the few Republicans in Congress with the fortitude and institutional power to resist these changes in favor of a traditional, Ronald Reagan-era approach to domestic and foreign policy issuesand keep his seat at the leadership table.

But once McConnell is out of leadership, its unclear whether his successor will be able to fill his shoes in this regard. Even McConnell has faltered lately. Senate Republicans, including close McConnell allies, rebuffed him on proposals to fund Ukraine and compromise with President Joe Biden on border security measures. Once the Kentuckian is fully out the door, Trump-aligned populist figures will have a freer hand to dispense with traditional conservative policy and pursue populist causes.

Novembers a long time away. We need new leadership now. Leadership that is going to prioritize the American people over defense contractors, thats going to prioritize our border over foreign wars, Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, told a St. Louis television station. We have got to turn the page in this party in the United States. This is a good first step, but we need new leadership. We need more of it, and we need it quick.

McConnell told the Associated Press he plans to remain in office through the end of his seventh Senate term, which expires in early 2027.

Notable and Quotable

Its probably the worst bordernot probably. Its the worst border in the history of the world. Former President Donald Trump, speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity during his visit to the southern border near Eagle Pass, Texas, on February 29, 2024

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GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley took a swing at former President Trump and other male politicians Friday for demonizing the issue of abortion, specifically with talks around a potential 15-week ban.

The fellas just dont know how to talk about this, Haley told CNNs Dana Bash in an interview on Inside Politics. Theyve got to humanize this issue and stop demonizing it.

Haley has previously called for civility when it comes to the abortion debate and has not committed to supporting any length of ban, saying she will only sign a bill that makes it through Congress.

I would support anything that would pass. But you have to be honest with the American people, Haley said in November during a GOP primary debate. I would sign anything that would get 60 Senate votes.

Dont make the American people think youre going to push something on them when you dont even have the votes in the Senate, she added at the time.

Haley, the only remaining primary rival against Trump, has also called the issue of abortion a personal issue for every woman and every man.

In Fridays interview, highlighted by Mediaite, she argued there needs to be more focus on providing other resources and find a consensus among lawmakers.

The focus needs to be banning late-term abortions, encouraging adoptions, and making sure doctors and nurses who dont believe in abortion shouldnt have to perform them, she said. Having contraception be accessible and making sure no state law says to a woman whos had an abortion that shes going to jail or getting the death penalty. Just start there.

This is about babies and women and a personal situation that they are in, Haley added.

President Bidens reelection campaign went after Haley last November for her stance on abortion, calling her no moderate and citing a previous interview in which she said she would sign a 6-week national abortion ban if it passed.

Nikki Haley is no moderate  shes an anti-abortion MAGA extremist who wants to rip away womens freedoms just like she did when she was South Carolina governor, the campaign said in a statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley blamed former President Trump Friday for recent Republican losses in critical electoral races, including those for seats in the Senate, while expressing hope the GOP's new leader in the upper chamber is focused on setting a tone rather than courting Trump.

"You're seeing the wave of what Congress thinks they need to do to win," Haley told reporters during a briefing at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.

Haley was likely referencing Trump's dominance over the House and Senate relative to endorsements and influence.

But Haley suggested lawmakers who cater to the former president are misguided because Republicans have lost pivotal matchups since his presidency.

SENATE REPUBLICANS KEEP HOPE FOR MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ALIVE

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former President Trump

"All of these losses happened after Donald Trump became president in 2016," she said, noting gubernatorial, federal and statewide losses in Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia.

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Haley claimed the only reason Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R-Va., was elected in 2021 was because "he distanced himself" from Trump.

Youngkin's political team declined to comment to Fox News Digital.

"Its not an accurate statement," according to Zack Roday, a former Youngkin adviser and partner at Ascent Media.

DC PRIMARY REPRESENTS HALEY'S BEST CHANCE YET TO BEAT TRUMP

"Glenn Youngkin won because he built a movement and coalition of Republicans, independents and even Democrats who wanted a new direction for Virginia."

Despite the losses, Haley claimed members of the House and Senate are now "falling all over themselves to show that they're more Trump than everybody else."

Haley weighed in on what the next Senate Republican leader should bring to the table after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's surprise announcement Wednesday that he's stepping down. She didn't suggest any specific senators for the role but explained she wants a leader focused on the people and "not rewarding people for peacocking on TV."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, as they leave the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 23, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

"I want to see somebody inspirational. I want to see somebody that says, You know what, we can do things differently,'" Haley said. "My hope is that we will. But we'll have to see."

Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital the campaign's focus is now on Biden and the general election.

"Republican voters have delivered resounding wins for President Trump in every single primary contest, and this race is over," she said.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump gestures to supporters during an election night watch party at the State Fairgrounds Feb. 24, 2024, in Columbia, S.C.

SHIRTLESS GOP US SENATE CANDIDATE TAKES COLD PLUNGE IN WISCONSIN LAKE, CHALLENGES DEMOCRATIC OPPONENT

So far, only Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has announced a bid for the leadership position in the Republican conference. But several other senators are rumored to be considering their own bids for the coveted role. Senators John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; John Thune, R-S.D.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have all also been suggested as potential successors to McConnell.





Original article source: Haley slams Trump for Senate losses, calls out GOP lawmakers for courting him
A Hammond man avoided prison Friday in a plea deal for setting a late lawyers office on fire in 2021.

Michael D. Cox, 59, said in court Friday he was trying to stay warm and never intended for it to spread. Court records indicated he was homeless at the time.

He pleaded guilty Nov. 7 to Level 4 felony arson. Under the agreement, he was sentenced to three years in Lake County Community Corrections and three years on probation.

Cox said in court he had actually used the same law firm in the early 1990s and was very happy with (its) services.

Defense lawyer Nicole A. Bennett represented Cox, while Deputy Prosecutor Chris Bruno was assigned. The case was before Judge Samuel Cappas.

Calumet City Police told Hammond Police around 2:30 a.m. Dec. 5, 2021, that the law office of Enslen, Enslen and Matthews, 142 Rimbach St., was ablaze.

By the time firefighters arrived, the building was fully engulfed and parts of the exterior were collapsing. The building was later declared a total loss.

At the police station, Cox, who smelled like smoke, initially denied setting the fire but then admitted he set it to stay warm, not thinking it would engulf the building since the alcove was made of brick. Because there were no pay phones nearby, he couldnt call for help, he said.

Hammond Fire Inspector Daniel Misiak estimated damages were $600,000 for the building and $30,000 for the property inside. The cause was listed as intentional, according to court documents.

Attorney William Enslen was found slain in his ransacked Hobart home June 24, 2021. Jason M. Vazquez, then 38, of Hammond, was charged with Enslens murder Oct. 29. Senior partner Lowell Enslen, who died in 2010, once headed the law firm.

Vazquez signed a plea deal on Jan. 22. He faces 50 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for April 10 before Judge Natalie Bokota.

Enslen was a former Lake Superior Court pro tem judge and Dyer town attorney. Friends described the Vietnam veteran as a fitness buff who was well-liked in the legal community.

mcolias@post-trib.com

Carole Carlson contributed.
A member of the British royal family has mysteriously left public view in recent months

The world is asking: Where is Princess Kate? Here is everything to know.

Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was last seen on Christmas Day.

What happened to Princess Kate?

Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, was last seen on Christmas Day in December 2023, when she joined members of the royal family in attending a service at Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Norfolk, United Kingdom.

The 42-year-old was photographed alongside her three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and her husband Prince William.

Coverage of Middleton was radio silent until over three weeks later, on Jan. 17, 2024, when Kensington Palace released a formal statement revealing the Princess of Wales was admitted to the hospital the day prior for "planned abdominal surgery." The statement added that she is "unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."

A statement from Kensington Palace pic.twitter.com/6h3BCrqj5L  The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 17, 2024

Social media users questioned the "planned" nature of her surgery, given the fact the end of the palace's statement said Middleton had to postpone upcoming engagements amid her health issues. But the context behind that particular phrasing is still unclear.

Where is Princess Kate? The public has not heard much about Kate Middleton

On the same day the palace released its statement about Middleton's surgery, a second statement regarding Middleton's father-in-law, King Charles, was made public. It revealed that the king sought treatment for an enlarged prostate and will, too, have to postpone his public engagements. The king would go in for a "corrective procedure" in one week, the statement added.

The 75-year-old monarch went into surgery Jan. 26 at the London Clinic, where Middleton reportedly remained in recovery from her surgery. A royal source told CNN the king visited the Princess of Wales before he went in for his own treatment.

Days later, on Jan. 29, the palace announced Middleton was discharged from the hospital and returned home to Windsor Castle. Not much has been said formally since.

Why Princess Kate conspiracy theories are circulating

People online have started cooking up theories surrounding Middleton's public absence. But until there are any formal statements, all online theories are just that: theories.

Many have pointed toward King Charles' ample health transparency as a concerning contrast to Middleton's.

News of King Charles' cancer diagnosis was made public Feb. 5, a week after he was discharged from the London Clinic. While the type of cancer has not been disclosed, the public knows it was found during the king's prostate procedure.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave as they leave a service at St. Mary Magdalene Church on the Sandringham Estate in England on Feb. 11.

The monarch has also halted most of his normal duties as he undergoes cancer treatment, but he was photographed going to church with Queen Camilla Feb. 11. And he appeared in a video on the family's official X account Feb. 23.

Others have looked to Prince William's recent departure from a formal engagement. The prince abruptly pulled out of attending a memorial service honoring his late godfather on Tuesday.

However, according to a People magazine article from Thursday, Princess Kate's spokesperson recently said: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant." The rep added she is "doing well."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Where is Princess Kate? What happened to her? Why fans are worried
KYODO NEWS - Mar 1, 2024 - 16:58 | World, All, Japan

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Friday that his country and Japan can open up a new future together if the two continue to build trust and solve difficult challenges left over by history.

Yoon's remarks, made at a government ceremony to commemorate the 1919 independence movement against Japan's colonial rule, came after Tokyo last month lodged a protest with Seoul over the transfer of money deposited by a Japanese firm with a court to give to a South Korean plaintiff in a wartime labor lawsuit.

The president did not refer to wartime forced labor issues stemming from Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and stressed that the two countries have become partners based on shared values and the pursuit of common interests.

"If Korea and Japan build trust through mutual exchanges and cooperation, and work together to resolve difficult challenges that history has left us, we will be able to usher in a new, brighter future for our bilateral relationship," Yoon said at the ceremony in Seoul.

Bilateral ties hit a low after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 upheld orders in separate judgments against Nippon Steel Corp., then named Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., requiring that they pay damages for forced labor during the colonial era.

But relations have improved since Yoon's administration announced a plan in March last year to compensate South Korean plaintiffs of the lawsuits and other wartime labor cases with money from a South Korean government-backed fund.

Japan has maintained that all issues related to the colonial era were "completely and finally" resolved under a 1965 bilateral agreement.

On Feb. 20 this year, a Seoul court transferred money deposited by Japanese firm Hitachi Zosen Corp. to a South Korean citizen who won a wartime labor case against the firm, after it failed to comply with an order issued by the top court in December to compensate the plaintiff.

The Japanese engineering corporation's funds were deposited to the Seoul Central District Court to prevent the company's assets in South Korea from being seized and liquidated to compensate the plaintiff.

Japan's Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador of South Korea the following day in protest of the move.

During his speech at the March 1 Independence Movement commemoration, Yoon also talked about the heightening tensions on the peninsula due to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, reiterating the importance of security cooperation with Japan.

Related coverage:

U.S.-led Indo-Pacific deal on supply chain resilience takes effect

Japan PM Kishida to address U.S. Congress in April
Could low clouds interfere with your epic experience of the Great North American Solar Eclipse? Not to worry, new research shows that cumulus clouds dissipate during even partial solar eclipses.

Research published in the journal Nature, showed that the low, fluffy white clouds started to disappear when only 15% of the Sun was shaded by the Moon.

The total solar eclipse shadows part of the nation on April 8. Onlookers will flock to cities from Texas to Maine because you won't be able to watch another total solar eclipse from the U.S. until 2045. Already, Bell County, Texas, has declared a State of Emergency because the influx of people will stress the infrastructure and emergency responders.

WHO WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE APRIL 2024 TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE?

Path of totality during the Great North American Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Unfortunately, the average cloud cover in Bell County is 40% to 50% at that time of year, over a 20-year average, according to NOAA. However, travelers may not have to worry about the afternoon clouds caused by the Sun heating the Earth. Even the more stubborn clouds became less opaque.

"The time series shows that the increasing cloud cover in the morning already halted at low obscuration (blocking of the sun) fractions (~15%), happening at around 09:30 UTC (11:30 am local time where totality was around 1 p.m. local time) which was 30 minutes after the start of the eclipse," wrote authors. "Secondly, there was a ~50-minute time lag with respect to the instant of maximum obscuration (totality) at 10:52 UTC before the clouds started to return."

That means that even after the Sun partially reappears, clouds don't start forming again for almost an hour.

EARLY ARRIVALS TO CLEVELAND GUARDIANS HOME OPENER COULD CATCH GLIMPSE OF TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

Average cloud cover for the path of totality.

WILL WEATHER COOPERATE FOR TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE IN APRIL?

During an eclipse, the Moon moves in front of the Sun and blocks energy, incoming solar radiation, from hitting the Earth's surface. Just like at night, we cool down without the Sun's rays.

The visible light from the Sun is converted to heat when it is absorbed by the ground. That means the air just above the ground heats up. Hot air rises, so like a balloon, that parcel of air heats up.

The temperature generally gets colder with height, so at some point, the parcel of air can't hold all the moisture in it. That moisture condenses out of the air and makes clouds. Without the Sun and heat, air starts to sink, and the water droplets become invisible vapor again.

HOW TO SAFELY WATCH A SOLAR ECLIPSE

The researchers wrote that so little is known about how solar dimming impacts clouds despite those clouds playing such a big part in the planet's heat/solar radiation balance. Their main goal was not to prove better viewing of a solar eclipse but how to cool the Earth's surface despite rising greenhouse gases and warming.

2023 FINISHES AS WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD

File: Fair weather cumulus clouds.

"Blocking part of the solar radiation incident (making it to the Earth) on the Earths (lower) atmosphere and surface is one of the proposed strategies to counteract the current and future global temperature rise, which may be inevitable if climate change mitigation efforts prove to be insufficient," wrote the authors.

"This type of (solar) geoengineering is based on placing sun shields or reflecting particles in space between the Earth and the Sun or on the injection of aerosols into the stratosphere," the study continued.

Models showed that just a 3.5% to 5% reduction in the amount of solar radiation hitting the planet "can largely undo the global temperature rise and intensified hydrological cycle (more intense storms) associated with a quadrupled pre-industrial carbon dioxide concentration."

File: The total solar eclipse Monday August 21, 2017 in Madras, Oregon.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Solar eclipses happen about twice a year, but finding yourself under a total of one is rare. According to the American Astronomical Society , any given spot on the planet only sees temporary darkness from the Moons shadow once every 400 years.





Original article source: What happens to clouds during a solar eclipse? New research may surprise you
Texas Independence Day is on Saturday, March 2.

Did you know Texas was its own country at one time? Yep, from 1836 until statehood was granted in 1845, Texas was known as the Republic of Texas.

Do you know why we celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2? And how about this, do you know the Texas state tree? It's one we find rampantly in El Paso.

If you're from Texas but the only sure thing you know is that the Lone Star State has a great slogan  everything is bigger in Texas  here is some information you might find handy if you are socializing this weekend.

When is Texas Independence Day 2024?

Texas Independence Day is a state public holiday celebrated on March 2 every year. It also marks Texas Flag Day and Sam Houston Day as special observances.

What is Texas Independence Day?

Texas Independence Day commemorates the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. Inhabitants of Texas proclaimed independence from Mexico and established the Republic of Texas with the signing of this declaration by over 59 delegates, according to nationaltoday.com

In some cities, the day is celebrated with children's events, re-enactments and cook-offs.

How to celebrate Texas Independence Day 2024 in El Paso

There are no specific events commemorating the day, however, the Magoffin Home celebrates a great El Paso, Texas family with monthly programming.

So how about learning how four generations of the Magoffin family made pudding in a cooking class from 10 a.m. to noon March 2 at the Visitors Center, 1117 Magoffin Ave. Class is $5; reserve your spot at 915-533-5147, ext. 1006.

What is Texas State Flower

The bluebonnet is the official Texas state flower.

The bluebonnet is the official Texas state flower. It was adopted by the state legislature in 1901.

Around this time of year, El Pasoans are not thinking about bluebonnets but about poppies and celebrating those.

More: Poppies Fest, Cowboy Days top things to do for spring in El Paso, Las Cruces

What is Texas Pledge of Allegiance

Texas has had a pledge to its flag since 1933, but it took 70 years before Legislature required the state's schoolchildren to recite it along with the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag.

It goes: Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.

What is Texas State flag?

A Texas state flag waves in the wind, Wednesday, March 31, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Texas flag is known for its prominent single white star against a blue background and two other horizontal white and red stripes. It is commonly called the Lone Star flag, and its colors are derived from the United States flag.

What is Texas state tree?

The official state tree of Texas is the pecan tree, which can be found in orchards in the valleys of El Paso. You've missed out if you've never seen a pecan tree get a good shake for its pecans.

The Ramirez Pecan Farm, at 13709 North Loop Drive in Clint, should be one of your top places to get pecans in the Southwest. You can buy all kinds of pecan-centered goodies, including breads and pies.

The pecan tree (Carya illinoensis) was designated the official state tree of Texas in 1919 (the pecan was also adopted as the state health nut and pecan pie is the official state pie.

Speaking of pecans, there's a neat festival taking place this weekend in Mesilla, New Mexico.

The original Pecan Festival returns for the third annual year, March 2-3, at the Historic Mesilla Plaza in Mesilla, New Mexico. The festival hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday along Calle de Principal.

Celebrate this important crop in the New Mexico area with a day of delicious food, including fresh pecan pies, live music and fun activities for all ages. There will also be local and regional artisans and food, including alcohol vendors representing local vineyards and breweries.

Park along the one-way streets or at the Town of Mesilla parking lot, 2231 Avenida de Mesilla. Free admission. Information: 575-323-0027; www.nmpecanfest.com

Sources: timeanddate.com

Maria Cortes Gonzalez may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com, @EPTMaria on Twitter; eptmariacg on TikTok.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Texas Independence Day 2024 celebrated Match 2; find answers to FAQ
The parents of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn who died in a collison in 2019 have said holding a second funeral for their son was much harder than the first time.

A private service was attended by Harrys parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn and their partners Bruce Charles and Tracey Dunn, as well as his twin brother Niall on Friday.

The second event was held after Northamptonshire police informed Mrs Charles that human remains had been found alongside his possessions during preparations for an inquest to be held in June.

Mrs Charles told the PA news agency the second funeral service had retraumatised the family, adding that the pain is extremely deep-rooted.

Harry Dunn's family attend his second funeral on Friday - Jacob King/PA

The Dunn family spent more than three years campaigning for US citizen Anne Sacoolas to face a UK court - a fight that saw the teenagers parents change laws and secure a meeting with former US president Donald Trump at the White House.

The 19-year-olds killer, described by her own lawyer as an employee of the US State Department, was flown out of the UK on the orders of her countrys government after she collided with Harrys motorbike while driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, in August 2019.

Diplomatic immunity was asserted on her behalf by Mr Trumps administration and she was able to leave the country 19 days after the crash.

Sacoolas appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via videolink in December 2022 and she was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Harry Dunn was 19 when he died in the road accident - Nicholas Razzell

Northamptonshire Police said Harrys clothing, bike and helmet were removed from the crash site and as they were examined to repatriate them to the family, human remains were discovered on the clothing.

Det Chief Supt Emma James said she would be meeting the family in the coming days to ensure complete transparency.

Speaking after the service at Banbury Crematorium, Harrys father said he hoped it was the last time he would have to say goodbye to his son.

Mr Dunn told PA: It breaks you still every time when this comes.

You think youre moving forwards, moving on with your life, but you just cant do it - it just seems to kick you again and again.

Hopefully now Ive said my last goodbye to my son and we can move forward with this part of it - hopefully now he can be at peace, at rest.

Harry Dunn's father Tim Dunn and his wife Tracey Dunn at the private service - Jacob King/PA

Harry's mother Charlotte Charles (centre) said: 'I'm glad we had the opportunity today to do it our way and go and have our family time now' - Jacob King/PA

Mrs Charles said: It was worse than last time I think - not numb this time, not in shock any more.

The pain is extremely deep-rooted, more than you could ever really comprehend, and you wouldnt want anyone to be able to comprehend.

Im weirdly glad weve had the opportunity to do it, because of the rumours that were flying round last time - that Anne Sacoolas had fled and we didnt know how to deal with that back on September 18 2019.

Im angry at whats happened today.

But me being the person that I am, trying to find the positives, Im glad we had the opportunity today to do it our way and go and have our family time now, just the few of us, and remember him in the way we want to remember him without worrying about what people were saying to us that afternoon.

Mrs Charles added: Being back in a place like this - you never think youre going to come here twice for the same loved one - so when its your son I dont think it can be any worse.

So yes, it retraumatises but were glad of the knowledge weve got since the first time and its made us stronger as a family, stronger in ourselves as people and theres nothing now we can be faced with that we cant come out the other side of.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Harvard University is staring down a Monday deadline after the House Education Committee issued unprecedented subpoenas against school officials in its investigation into antisemitism on the elite colleges campus, sparking concerns of deteriorating academic freedom.

The GOP-controlled panel and Harvard have battled for months over documents lawmakers requested that dive into how students have been disciplined for antisemitism and the conversations school officials have had in how to address the issue.

Harvards continued failure to satisfy the Committees requests is unacceptable. I will not tolerate delay and defiance of our investigation while Harvards Jewish students continue to endure the firestorm of antisemitism that has engulfed its campus. If Harvard is truly committed to combating antisemitism, it has had every opportunity to demonstrate its commitment with actions, not words, Education Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said.

The fight escalated in February after the committee issued its first-ever subpoena against a university, which some argue is part of a larger attack by conservatives on higher education.

Here are five things to know:

How it all started

After Hamass Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Harvard made headlines when 30 student-led groups signed a letter blaming Israel. The school sought distance from the letter, but the spotlight hasnt left it since.

The campus erupted into protests between supporters of Israel and Palestine, with one incident in October going viral during a die-in by Palestinian protesters that included physical confrontation  and eventually reports filed with the police and FBI.

It all came crashing down when then-university President Claudine Gay testified before Congress at the beginning of December on the state of the fight against antisemitism on campuses.

Gay, along with the two other college heads present, was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) if calls for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment on campus.

Gay responded that it could violate policies depending on the context and that antisemitic speech when it crosses into conduct that amounts to bullying, harassment, intimidation  that is actionable conduct, and we do take action.

But the trios responses were unsatisfactory, causing international backlash and eventually becoming a contributing factor to Gays resignation.

Soon after the hearing, Foxx announced the House would be investigating the state of antisemitism at Harvard.

The testimony we received earlier this week from Presidents [Claudine] Gay, [Liz] Magill, and [Sally] Kornbluth about the responses of Harvard, [the University of Pennsylvania], and [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology] to the rampant antisemitism displayed on their campuses by students and faculty was absolutely unacceptable, she said in a statement.

Given those institutional and personal failures, the Committee is opening a formal investigation into the learning environments at Harvard, UPenn, and MIT and their policies and disciplinary procedures.

What the House wants from Harvard

The committee has asked for numerous types of information regarding the state of antisemitism at Harvard, dating back to 2021, including what types of disciplinary action have been taken.

They also want to review the minutes of meetings for the Harvard Corp. and board of overseers, along with any additional conversations or information they partook in regarding antisemitism.

Lastly, the committee wants to know how many professors or students who have tried to participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

We have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Harvards response to the antisemitism on its campus, Foxx wrote to Harvard Corp. senior fellow Penny Pritzker and interim President Alan Garber.

Why the House decided to subpoena

Foxx announced in the middle of the month that she would subpoena Pritzker, Garber and Harvard Management Co. CEO N.P. Narvekar, the first time the committee has issued a subpoena to a university.

The House said the deadline it previously set for Harvard to turn over documents was extended, and while the school gave more than 2,500 pages of information, it was not what lawmakers wanted to see.

I am extremely disappointed in the path that Harvard has chosen to take in the Committees investigation, Foxx said in a statement, saying her panel was looking for Qualitynot quantityis the Committees concern.

She emphasized more than 40 percent of the documents turned over were already publicly available.

Harvard maintains it has complied with the committees request and that the subpoenas were not necessary.

While subpoenas were unwarranted, Harvard remains committed to cooperating with the Committee and will continue to provide additional materials, while protecting the legitimate privacy, safety and security concerns of our community, a university spokesperson said.

Asked about the looming subpoena deadline, a school spokesperson told The Hill they had no updates at this time.

Why academics fear the implications

Some academic experts fear the investigation into Harvard will have a chilling effect on academic freedom and is little more than a ploy for Republicans bigger fight against higher education.

The congressional committees overly broad demand for documents and data is an alarming effort to control, intimidate, and ultimately suppress certain speech and expression on our campuses and is an expansion of a broad effort to undermine the integrity and democratic mission of U.S. higher education, said Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors.

Republicans have been on the hunt for ways to dismantle parts of higher education that they believe have become too liberal, including diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the tenure process and disciplines such as sociology and gender studies.

Jon Fansmith, senior vice president for government relations and national engagement at the American Council of Education, emphasized Harvard handed over documents on 10 different occasions and that the committees reaction of issuing subpoenas has led to concerns from others in academia about lawmakers motivations.

I think the other thing is it raises the belief, which I think is pretty widely held now, that the committee always intended to subpoena Harvard  no matter how compliant they were, no matter how fully they met the committees requests, that this really wasnt ever about getting the documents in. This was always about bringing maximum attention and pressure on Harvard, Fansmith said.

It also raises concerns about how much more involved the government believes it can get in the operations of universities.

Theres a reason we dont really want government taking direct intervention on how classes are taught and what is said, and thats not just to preserve academic freedom. Thats because we dont generally like to have government-endorsed lines of thought taught in school. Thats something that happens in totalitarian states, Fansmith added.

A warning shot to other schools under investigation

The committees actions toward Harvard send a strong message to other schools that may also come under investigation.

Foxx originally said Harvard, Penn and MIT would be investigated  but then vowed to go after other institutions as well.

This month, she announced Columbia University would be the next institution under investigation for antisemitism allegations.

The Committee on Education and the Workforce  is investigating Columbia Universitys response to antisemitism and its failure to protect Jewish students. We have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of Columbias response to antisemitism on its campus, Foxx said.

But some predict that the way the committee has handled the Harvard investigation will make future inquiries more difficult.

I think the problem here is that by taking actions like this, where you had institutions who were seeking in good faith to work with the committee, to meet the committees needs, what youre seeing instead is  schools will understandably become much more protective and much more defensive, Fansmith said. Your incentive to be cooperative when they are issuing subpoenas to schools that are being cooperative starts to go down, and it becomes a much more adversarial process.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
James Romig, a composer at Western Illinois University, will present a new hour-long work for electric guitar this Sunday, March 3, at 1 p.m. at the Figge Art Museum.

The Fragility of Time is a 58-minute work for solo electric guitar commissioned by Matt Sargent and completed in 2022. The performance will take place in the Figge lobby (225 W. 2nd St., Davenport), with free admission.

Composer James Romig wrote the piece for guitarist Matt Sargent, who will perform it at the Figge lobby Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m.

The guitar piece is scored for electric guitar without distortion or other electronic effects. The guitar will have a gently pure, ringing, tone, Romig said Thursday.

The piece has a structure similar to the gears of a mechanical clock: three slow-moving lines of music, each moving at a slightly different speed, unfold simultaneously, and the cycles return to where they began, he said.

The three lines are individuated only in Romigs sketchwork for the piece.

Once the piece became real music, I incorporated all three lines into a single one. Though the score Matt plays from is only a single line, it is made up of a combination of the three, the composer said.

Matt Sargent is a composer, guitarist, recording engineer, and music technologist based in upstate New York, where he is an assistant professor of music at Bard College.

James Romig will have his third extended-length piece performed at the Figge., 225 W. 2nd St., Davenport.

The Fragility of Time is Romigs second large-scale work for electric guitar. The first, titled The Complexity of Distance, was written for and recorded (for New World Records) by Mike Scheidt, guitarist for the venerable doom metal band YOB. That work calls for heavy amplification, distortion, and feedback.

The Fragility of Time, its much quieter companion piece, was written for Sargent, who has recorded the work for A Wave Press. It will be released in summer 2024.

His performance on Sunday will be the third public performance of the work (the first two were at Bard College and William Paterson University), and the first in a museum setting.

This is the third of Romigs extended-length compositions that have been performed at The Figge. Still, for solo piano, was performed by Knox College professor Ashlee Mack in 2018 (the piece went on to be a finalist for the Pulitzer in 2019); Spaces, for solo vibraphone, was performed by Augustana professor Tony Oliver in 2022.

Romig  who teaches at Western Illinois University, Macomb  was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2019.

Critics have described his work as rapturous, slow-moving beauty (San Francisco Chronicle), developing with the naturalness of breathing (The New Yorker), and profoundly meditative haunting (The Wire).

Romig is a two-time Copland House award recipient and has served as artist-in-residence at national parks including Everglades, Grand Canyon, and Petrified Forest. Guest composer presentations include visits to the Eastman School of Music, the Cincinnati Conservatory, SUNY Buffalo, the Clyfford Still Museum, and the American Academy in Rome.

For more information, visit his website HERE.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
Attempts to hire a hearse to take the body of Alexey Navalny body to his funeral have been thwarted by unknown people, the Russian opposition leaders team said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh claimed that drivers had been called by unknown people and threatened not to take Alexeys body anywhere.

Yarmysh said she had been told that no hearse agrees to take the body there.

Navalnys team also encountered difficulty hiring a venue for his funeral, which will be held at 2 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) Friday at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscows Maryino district, where the opposition leader lived. He will then be buried at Borisov Cemetery.

The Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow, where Navalny's funeral will be held. - Olga Maltseva/AFP/Getty Images

Many venues claimed that they were busy, or refused the booking once Navalnys named was mentioned, while one venue explicitly said they were forbidden from working with Navalnys team, Yarmysh said Tuesday.

The team had initially planned a public farewell and funeral for the late Russian opposition leader for Thursday, but were told there were no available cemetery workers who can dig a grave, said Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation, on Wednesday.

Navalnaya blames Putin

Navalny died on February 16 in the penal colony in Siberia where he was serving a 19-year sentence after being found guilty of creating an extremist community, financing extremist activists and various other crimes in August. He was already serving sentences of 11-and-a-half years in a maximum security facility on fraud and other charges he had always denied and claimed were politically motivated.

The Russian prison service said Navalny felt unwell after a walk in his Siberian penal colony and almost immediately lost consciousness.

Navalny was Russias highest-profile opposition leader and spent years criticizing Putin, who has been in power for nearly a quarter of a century, at great personal risk. His death came weeks before the countrys presidential elections scheduled to begin nationwide on March 15, which is widely seen by the international community as little more than a formality that will secure Putin a fifth term in power.

Navalnys death was met with grief and anger across the world as well as inside Russia, where the smallest acts of political dissent carry huge risks.

He returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he had been treated after being poisoned with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent. On arrival Navalny was swiftly arrested  on charges he dismissed as politically motivated  and spent the rest of his life in prison.

His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for her husbands death.

Putin killed my husband, she said during a speech at the European Parliament on Wednesday. On his orders, Alexey was tortured for three years, she added, a reference to the time Navalny spent in prison.

He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls. And then even letters. And then they killed him. Even after that, they abused his body, she said, as Navalnys team alleges the body was held in order to pressure the family into agreeing to hold a private funeral.

The Kremlin has rejected any allegations of involvement in Navalnys death.

Navalnaya also said she was concerned that police will crack down on mourners at the funeral on Friday.

More than 400 people were detained at makeshift memorials for Navalny across 32 Russian cities, according to human rights monitoring group OVD-Info.

CNNs Anna Chernova contributed to this report.

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TOPEKA (KSNT)  The deadly shooting of a Missouri police officer and a civil process server has prompted multiple law enforcement agencies across Kansas to come together in support of their fellow peace officers.

On Thursday, Feb. 29, 35-year-old Cody Allen with the Independence Police Department (IDP) was shot and killed outside a home in Jackson County, Missouri. Drexel Mack, a Jackson Co. civil process server, was also killed during the incident. Two other officers were shot and wounded while the suspect was taken into custody.

The suspect in the shooting was identified on Friday, March 1 as Larry D. Acree. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree assault.

The death of Allen and Mack prompted several law enforcement agencies across Kansas to come together in solidarity with the IDP. Many took to social media to share their thoughts on the tragic deaths.

He had a big heart: Sheriff says missing Washington County man found dead, family left grieving

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Independence Police Department as they have lost two of their own today. Below is a statement of what took place. Lyon County Sheriffs Office

Our thoughts are with the Independence Police Department and all involved in this situation. Shawnee County Sheriffs Office

Our thoughts are with the family of the fallen officers and our brothers and sisters in Independence, Mo. Ottawa Police Department

Our hearts ache for the men and women of the Independence Police Department and the 16th Circuit of Jackson County as they mourn the loss of Officer Cody Allen and Process Server Drexel Mack. We are with you. Topeka Police Department

Stay ahead of severe weather by becoming a Kansas Storm Spotter

Thoughts and prayers go out to the Officers families, agencies, and the community of Independence Missouri. Crawford County Sheriffs Office

Tragic news for our neighbors to the north this evening. Please join our office as we send our most sincere thoughts and heartfelt prayers to the Independence Missouri Police Department and the family of Officer Cody Allen and Jackson County Court Service Officer Drexel Mack who both lost their lives today in the line of duty. Bourbon County Sheriffs Office

Topeka man arrested after firing gun at neighbor

Our hearts and thoughts are with the Independence Police Department and the 16th Judicial Circuit Court of Jackson County. Officer Cody Allen and Civil Process Server Drexel Mack lost their lives yesterday in the line of duty while serving an eviction notice. We are thinking of their family, friends, and their departments during this heartbreaking time. Carbondale Police Department

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Independence Missouri Police Department and the family of Police Officer Cody Allen who tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Salina Police Department

For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
Less than 24 hours after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, announced he was stepping down from leadership, Kentucky Republicans advanced a bill changing the rules for how a Senator would be replaced if they decide to step down from the office altogether.

House Bill 622 from House GOP Floor Leader Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, would strip the governors authority to appoint a replacement U.S. Senator and replace that process with a special election.

The bill easily passed the House Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee Thursday with all Republicans voting yes and only one of three Democrats voting no.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, whose role in replacing an outgoing U.S. Senator would be nixed in the bill, characterized the legislation as a legislative power grab. He lumped it alongside bills that seek to take away from the governor the power to appoint members of the board of education as well as the exclusive right to call the legislature into special session.

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Sen. Mitch McConnell arrived at the Graves County Republican Party pre-Fancy Farm breakfast to thunderous applause. He showed up with his wife, former U.S. secretary of labor and transportation Elaine Chao.

He also indicated that the legislatures changes to the law, which before 2021 allowed the governor to appoint anyone of their choosing, were informed by partisanship. He believes thats not what Kentucky voters want, citing his five percentage point reelection victory on a message of transcending partisanship.

If we are just dominated by trying to create a result of what letter someone would have behind their name, if appointed, then we are not performing or engaging in good government, Beshear said. Last November, people said knock it off. We are tired of the rank partisanship, and we dont want a candidate or a general assembly that just sees Team R or Team D.

Beshear also reaffirmed his commitment to serve out his second gubernatorial term, excluding the possibility of running for a U.S. Senate seat in 2026 or earlier.

Im completely and totally ruling out a run for any open Senate seat in 2026, Beshear said. I love this job.

McConnells office did not comment on the bill. However, they did direct the Herald-Leader to the leaders comments that he wasnt going anywhere anytime soon.

I will complete the job my colleagues have given me until we select a new Leader in November and they take the helm next January, McConnell said. I will finish the job the people of Kentucky hired me to do as well  albeit from a different seat in the chamber. I am looking forward to that.

McConnells decision to step down from leadership in the U.S. Senate generated speculation that he may not seek an eighth term when his current term runs out after the 2026 election. McConnell has not committed to do so, though he has held fundraisers for his reelection efforts.

Leadership in the Republican-controlled state House and Senate, as well as Beshear, have expressed confidence that McConnell will serve out his term.

One member of leadership in particular, Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, has been both a strong ally of McConnell through the years and was the sponsor of a 2021 McConnell-backed law that changed the U.S. Senate vacancy process.

That bill mandated that the governor select a replacement for any U.S. senator vacating the office from a list of three provided by the state executive committee of the vacating senators party. In recent months, Beshear hasnt said explicitly that he would follow that law and some Democrats in the state have predicted that hell resist it.

Sitvers said that he hadnt read Rudys bill yet. However, he didnt shut off the possibility of passing it.

If somebody has a good idea, Im open to it, Stivers said.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A Henderson man with two open DUI cases  who killed three of his friends as a teenager  was accepted into a court treatment program but will remain in custody for at least a week.

Sean Larimer, 36, faces two DUI charges in two separate incidents: one from August 2023 and one from this January, records said. In 2003, Larimer, then 16, was driving with several passengers when he lost control and crashed into a wall. Three 15-year-olds died in the crash.

Earlier this month, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Joe Bonaventure ordered Larimer back into custody after he failed to appear for a hearing, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported.

The case now moved to DUI court involves Larimers August arrest. Metro police responded to a crash at a business on Warm Springs Road near Cimarron Road, documents said. A witness told police he saw a driver, later identified as Larimer, driving around and attempting to park forward and backwards, documents said.

Larimer pleaded no contest to the DUI charge in December, records said. The charge was technically for a first DUI offense within a seven-year window. Prosecutors said his juvenile record was sealed and it appears the judge nor prosecutors were aware of his history.

Before his re-arrest, Bonaventure had released Larimer on his own recognizance ahead of a February sentencing. Bonaventure ordered Larimer not to drink and not to drive. In court documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained, prosecutors allege Larimer has been continuously consuming alcohol. The document indicates Larimers alcohol-monitoring bracelet recorded alcohol in Larimers sweat over five days.

When police arrested Larimer on the bench warrant, he told the officer, I need help, documents said.

Larimer was scheduled to appear in DUI court on March 7.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department is requesting the publics help in identifying a man who is wanted for an attempted robbery at a bank.

On Feb. 20, a man entered the Regions Bank located at 4706 S Kingshighway Blvd. He indicated possessing a weapon with him, but he exited the building when employees refused to give him money, according to a release.

Allegedly, the man also tried to take another customers purse but was unsuccessful. He then fled the location afterwards.

Driver escapes with minor injuries after vehicle nearly splits in half

Police described the suspect as a Black male, around 20-30 years old, 5 feet 9 inches, 155 pounds, with a buzz-cut hairstyle.

At the time of the incident, the man was wearing a black jacket over a black hooded sweatshirt, a green surgical mask, blue surgical gloves, and white shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477.







For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 1, 2024 - 12:43 | All, Japan

Police on Friday served fresh arrest warrants to a Filipino man and woman alleging they killed a couple whose bodies were found underneath their home in Tokyo in January.

Bryan Jefferson Lising Dela Cruz, 34, and Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, 30, have already been indicted on a charge of abandoning the bodies of Norihiro Takahashi, 55, and his wife Kimie, 52, at their residence. The pair likely knew each other while in the Philippines and Morales is a former girlfriend of the couple's son.

The two Filipinos are alleged to have broken into the couple's home in Tokyo's Adachi Ward and stabbed them to death on Jan. 16. They have respectively denied their involvement in the deaths, according to police.

Morales, a resident of Adachi Ward, is believed to have owed money to her former boyfriend and had a disagreement with the couple over her relationship with their son, according to investigative sources.

A resident of Tsuchiura in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, Dela Cruz came to Japan as a technical trainee last July.

Dela Cruz, after he was initially arrested in January, admitted to the allegation of abandoning corpses but told investigators that Morales killed the couple.

The case came to light after the couple's son called the police upon finding traces of blood at the home on Jan. 16. The police discovered the bodies under a bathroom floor on Jan. 18.

Related coverage:

Filipino man arrested over bodies found under Tokyo home

5 arrested in connection with death of teenager in Japan lake

Teen arrested for allegedly killing father near Tokyo
According to a California state law set to take effect on April 1, 2024, a restaurant chain with more than 60 locations nationwide that "produces for sale bread as a stand-alone menu item" does not count as "fast food."

The confusing exception led to controversy following a Bloomberg article published on Feb. 28 reporting that the "fast-casual" chain Panera Bread had dodged an upcoming minimum-wage increase for fast-food workers in California to $20 an hour. The article connected the "bread exemption" to billionaire Greg Flynn, a frequent donor to California Gov. Gavin Newsom's political campaigns who owns more than two dozen Panera Bread locations in the state.

In a statement to Politico, however, Newsom spokesperson Alex Stack denied any such a connection played a role in the law and even suggested the exemption would not actually apply to Panera. "The Governor never met with Flynn about this bill and this story is absurd," Stack said. "Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law." The response came after Newsom received intense criticism over the perceived loophole.

Flynn, a prominent Panera franchisee erroneously described as Panera's "owner" by some sources (including the New York Post and many social media accounts), told Bloomberg he played no part in coming up with the exemption.

Snopes reached out to both Flynn and Newsom for comment, and we will update this story if they respond.

The Fast Food Recovery Act

The law in question has proved quite controversial since its initial proposal in late 2021, and as such, it has been the subject of changes and challenges.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, fast-food workers began striking nationwide to fight for standardized working conditions. In California, lawmakers drafted Assembly Bill 257, sometimes referred to as the Fast Food Recovery Act, which would establish a statewide "Fast-Food Council" that could regulate the industry by issuing standards for wages and working conditions.

In January 2022, the bill narrowly passed in the state Assembly. Over the next seven months, the state Senate made several amendments that lessened the sweeping changes of the original draft, and a revised version of the bill passed in both chambers in August 2022 and was signed into law by Newsom in September 2022. The law would go into effect in April 2024.

Throughout the process, fast-food companies and chambers of commerce pushed back, rallying against the bill by attempting to put a measure on the 2024 ballot to repeal the act. After a year of negotiation between the state legislature and those who opposed the act, Assembly Bill 1228 was passed in September 2023, promising to repeal many parts of the act if the referendum was withdrawn, removing the fast-food council's power over workplace conditions and dropping the proposed minimum-wage increase from $22 an hour to $20 an hour.

The Bread Exception

The provision exempting restaurants that make and sell bread as a stand-alone item from the rules was included in both the 2022 and 2023 bills. The exception, as we mentioned above, is real, and was achieved by not designating such restaurants as fast food. However, Newsom's office has claimed that Panera does not fall under the exception.

According to the Bloomberg article, that exception was lobbied for by both Newsom and Flynn behind closed doors, with Flynn supposedly arguing that Panera's status as a fast-casual chain meant that it was not fast food. The article claims that a compromise with Newsom was reached through the bread exemption, with the explicit rationale being Newsom's "longstanding relationship with a Panera franchisee." These claims were made by a person who wished to remain anonymous because the talks were private. Bloomberg granted that individual anonymity, making it harder to confirm whether the rumor is true.

"That's part of the sausage-making," Newsom said of the exception in a news conference. He mentioned that the exception had been in the original Fast Food Recovery Act, and was included in the second bill because of the "nature of negotiation trying to get a referendum off the ballot."

As reported in Bloomberg, Flynn has donated more than $150,000 to Newsom's campaigns over the years, and the two overlapped by one year at Redwood High School. Flynn told Bloomberg that he had no part in shaping the bread exemption, but he did not comment on his relationship with Newsom.

Sources:

Archive, View Author, et al. Panera Bread Exempt from California Wage Law after Newsom Donation. 28 Feb. 2024, https://nypost.com/2024/02/28/business/panera-bread-exempt-from-california-wage-law-after-newsom-donation/.

Bill Text - AB-257 Food Facilities and Employment. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB257. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Bill Text - AB-1228 Fast Food Restaurant Industry: Fast Food Council: Health, Safety, Employment, and Minimum Wage. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1228. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Bollag, Sophia. "Top Republican Calls for Investigation into Newsom over Panera's Exemption from Wage Law." San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Feb. 2024, https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/newsom-panera-wage-exemption-18694604.php.

Brandon Gillespie, Joe Schoffstall. "Major Gavin Newsom Donor Benefitting from California $20 Minimum Wage Exemption Pushed by Governor: Report." FOXBusiness, 28 Feb. 2024, https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/major-gavin-newsom-donor-benefitting-california-minimum-wage-exemption-pushed-governor.

Cohen, Rachel M. "California Aims to Transform How Fast Food Workers Are Treated." Vox, 15 Aug. 2022, https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/8/15/23296481/fast-food-ab257-california-sectoral-labor-unions.

"Fast Food Workers Are Getting a Huge Raise. Will $20 an Hour Become San Diego's New Minimum Wage?" San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Dec. 2023, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2023-12-29/fast-food-workers-are-getting-a-huge-raise-will-20-an-hour-become-san-diegos-new-minimum-wage.

"How Panera Bread Ducked California's New $20 Minimum Wage Law." Bloomberg.Com, 28 Feb. 2024. www.bloomberg.com, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-28/panera-bread-exempt-from-california-s-minimum-wage-increase-for-fast-food-worker.

"How Panera Bread Ducked California's New $20 Minimum Wage Law." The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024, https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/02/28/how-panera-bread-ducked-californias-new-20-minimum-wage-law/.

"Https://Twitter.Com/Mualphaxi/Status/1762848934202937672." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/mualphaxi/status/1762848934202937672. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

"Https://Twitter.Com/WallStreetApes/Status/1763210313640648778." X (Formerly Twitter), https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1763210313640648778. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Luna, Nancy. "Fast-Food Workers Will Make $20 an Hour in California. Here's Why Panera Bread Was Exempted from the New Law." Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/panera-bread-workers-exempt-from-california-fast-food-pay-increase-2023-9. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

OnLabor. California Fast-Food Workers Secure Big Win in Compromise Deal  OnLabor. 18 Sept. 2023, https://onlabor.org/california-fast-food-workers-secure-big-win-in-compromise-deal.

"Panera Bread Exempt from Following California's New Minimum Wage Law Due to Relationship with Newsom: Reports." KTLA, 28 Feb. 2024, https://ktla.com/news/california/panera-bread-exempt-from-following-californias-new-minimum-wage-law-due-to-relationship-with-newsom-reports/.

TikTok - Make Your Day. https://www.tiktok.com/@untoldamerica/video/7340757304964304170?q=gavin%20newsom%20panera&t=1709223963633. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

Twitter, et al. "California Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Fast-Food Workers." Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2022, https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-08-29/california-senate-pass-bill-fast-food-workers.

---. "Fast-Food Workers Plan to Strike across California Today for Better Working Conditions." Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2022, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-06-09/fast-food-workers-to-strike-across-california-demand-better-working-conditions.

White, Jeremy. "Facing Backlash, Newsom Says Fast Food Carveout Doesn't Apply to Donor's Company." Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/29/gavin-newsom-fast-food-panera-00144282.

Zavala, Ashley. "California Republicans Want Investigation into Newsom's Ties to Panera Franchisee, New Fast Food Law." KCRA, 1 Mar. 2024, https://www.kcra.com/article/california-newsom-ties-to-panera-franchisee-investigation/60030990.

Updates:

March 1, 2024: This story was updated to include comment from Gov. Gavin Newsom's office and a statement by Greg Flynn.
With just a few days to go until the 2024 Oscars, its time to learn what viewers can expect to see during Hollywoods biggest night  including who will be handing out the coveted golden statues.

Since early last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been revealing the presenters for the upcoming ceremony, and there are quite a few Oscar winners and current nominees on the list.

"Barbie" stars Ryan Gosling and America Ferrera, who are both nominated in the supporting acting categories, will present awards. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who will appear together in the highly anticipated movie "Wicked," which arrives at the end of the year, have been tapped to announce some winners, too.

So who else will make an appearance at the 96th Academy Awards? Well, the academy confirmed the presenters in three separate lists.

The following were announced in the first group of actors set to hit the stage on Sunday, March 10, to present an award:

Mahershala Ali

Nicolas Cage

Jamie Lee Curtis

Brendan Fraser

Jessica Lange

Matthew McConaughey

Lupita Nyongo

Al Pacino

Michelle Pfeiffer

Ke Huy Quan

Sam Rockwell

Michelle Yeoh

Zendaya

Yeoh and Fraser won best actress and best actor at the 2023 Oscars for their performances in Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Whale, respectively.

Curtis and Quan, who both were presented with golden statues last year in the supporting actress and actor categories for their work in Everything Everywhere All at Once, will also be in attendance to present.

On Feb. 29, the academy revealed more presenters.

"Meet your second slate of presenters for the 96th Oscars," the award show's official account shared on X.

The second slate of presenters included:

Bad Bunny

Chris Hemsworth

Dwayne Johnson

Michael Keaton

Regina King

Jennifer Lawrence

Kate McKinnon

Rita Moreno

John Mulaney

Catherine O'Hara

Octavia Spencer

Ramy Youssef

A few days before the ceremony, the academy unveiled the third list of stars who will be presenters.

"Meet your third slate of presenters for the 96th Oscars," the award show tweeted March 5.

The third group of actors and musicians announced are:

Emily Blunt

Cynthia Erivo

America Ferrera

Sally Field

Ryan Gosling

Ariana Grande

Ben Kingsley

Melissa McCarthy

Issa Rae

Tim Robbins

Steven Spielberg

Mary Steenburgen

Anya Taylor-Joy

Charlize Theron

Christoph Waltz

Forest Whitaker

The academy has been sharing bits of information about the awards ceremony over the past few months. In November, it was announced that Jimmy Kimmel will return to emcee the ceremony for the fourth time. In preparation for the big night, which will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, he appeared in a funny promo for the 96th Academy Awards featuring the cast of Barbie.

The blockbuster film landed eight nominations, including best supporting actor and actress nominations for Gosling and Ferrera, respectively. Oppenheimer, Poor Things and Killers of the Flower Moon lead the pack with the most nominations.

Regardless of who wins, the 96th Oscars has already made history, as three of the 10 flicks up for best picture were directed by women for the first time  Past Lives by Celine Song, Barbie by Greta Gerwig and Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet.

Movie fans will find out which stars will get to add Oscar winner to their resume when the award show begins March 10 at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on ABC.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Can astrology predict who will win the 2024 Oscars? We unpacked last year's awards show, and will use the same methodology for this year's best picture and best actor and actress races.

Will Lily Gladstone ("Killers of the Flower Moon") or Emma Stone ("Poor Things") emerge victorious? Will the "Oppenheimer" cast, who won big at the SAG Awards, continue their streak at the Oscars?Here's who may emerge victorious from the nominations list.

Is it possible to predict the outcome of events using astrology? Heres our methodology

Astrologers and esoteric practitioners use things like planetary transits and tarot cards to make predictions.

Tarot readers Sarah Potter, Blue June, Kelly Beauvais, Theresa Reed, Fernando Salinas, Caitlin McGarry, Christine ODay and Marguerite Recupero pulled cards for individual nominees to see what might be on the horizon.

Over on the astrology front, Chelsea Jackson, Renee Watt, Evan Sherlock, Shawnte Cato and I examined how planetary alignments on March 10, the day of the Oscars, interacted with nominees' natal charts.

The day of the Oscars coincides with a new moon in Pisces, symbolizing fresh starts and good fortune. Pisce is associated with luck and creativity, too.

We also analyzed the movement of Jupiter, a planet associated with abundance and success, along with other elements from nominees' birth charts, like the nodes of destiny, which predict significant events.

Best actress

Nominees: Annette Bening, Lily Gladstone, Sandra Huller, Carey Mulligan and Emma Stone

Astrologers predict Lily Gladstone will be the winner for "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Lily Gladstone carries the most star power when it comes to astrological transits during the Oscars. The event kicks off with the moon in Pisces, which forms a sweet connection to her natal moon, ensuring that emotional fulfillment is on the horizon. This placement also marks a moment of transformation and empowerment, Renee Watt says.

Evan Sherlock also points out a conjunction  or overlap  between the sun and Gladstone's natal Jupiter, the planet of luck. The moons also makes a "pleasant" aspect to her sun in Leo.

"This combination points to a significant moment of advancement and growth for her, making her the likely star of the evening, Sherlock says.

Tarot readers see a tie between Gladstone and Stone.

Kelly Beauvais pulled the High Priestess tarot card for Emma Stone, indicating that she might win the Oscar because this character is unlike anything weve ever seen her you before, and she used her imagination and intuition to guide her to this point."

But the stronger card went to Gladstone for the Empress, which Beauvais called one of thebest cards in the deck. This is the card of security, which is why I feel that she will get the Oscar. Its spiritually aligned with her and part of her fate at the moment, Beauvais says.

Fernando Salinas pulled the Queen of Wands for Stone, signifying a strong woman. "With the fiery Queen of Wands shining her energy onto Stone, it seems as if regardless of a win, shell receive all of the accolades she deserves, he says.

Best actor

Nominees: Bradley Cooper, Colman Domingo, Paul Giamatti, Cillian Murphy and Jeffrey Wright

Many, but not all, saw Cillian Murphy as the winner for "Oppenheimer." Astrologer Chelsea Jackson points out fortunate happenings in his chart.

"The ceremony is taking place during his lunar return (he has an Aries moon), as well as during his Jupiter return in the sign Taurus. In fact, his Jupiter return will be exact during the award show," Jackson says.

Jupiter return is an auspicious transit that happens to us every 12 years. The planet is bringing double fortune to Murphy's chart because it connects to his south node of destiny, meaning its his time to win.

Tarot reader Sarah Potter pulled the Sun, a card of good fortune, for Murphy, and says he "looks to be the winner."

"All eyes will be on him at the Oscars: Hes shining brightly and being recognized for his success and accomplishments. This is a very powerful card that reflects happiness, joy, and achievement, all energetic aspects of an award winner! It's always a clear indicator of a victory, she says.

Theresa Reed predicts that Murphy will take the Oscar, since she pulled the Four of Wands, the card of celebration," for him.

"People will get on their feet to cheer him on. This is his moment to stand tall and claim his prize.

But there wasn't a consensus across the board.

O'Day is split between Bradley Cooper and Murphy. :Ive checked in a few times and Im getting a yes for both Bradley Cooper and Cillian Murphy," then says she's guilty of not seeing either movie yet so I cant even give you my personal choice, either.

Astrologically speaking, Colman Domingos birth chart is also making fated connections to the cosmos. With the new moon connecting to his north node of destiny in Pisces, this is a moment that could change his life  which could entail winning the Oscar. This situation could be unpredictable as his Venus will be opposing transiting wildcard Uranus.

June pulled Ten of Pentacles, "the card of long term success, for Domingo. "The second card was Queen of Pentacles, which highlights the hard work he has put in to get to this place of recognition and that in his speech he will likely thank his family above anyone else, she says.

Bradley Cooper also has fortunate astrological transits on the day of the Oscars, too. The new moon in Pisces is aspecting his natal Jupiter, bringing luck to him. But, since the karmic south node of destiny is in his 10th house of career, the results could go either way for him.

Best Picture

Nominees: Oppenheimer, Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, Poor Things, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, The Holdovers, Maestro, Past Lives and The Zone of Interest.

The odds are with Oppenheimer, though there were an array of predictions.

Tarot reader Beauvais pulled the Sun card for the J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic. This movie exposes and sheds light on history, she says. On another, more literal note: Nuclear fusion powers the sun, and the movie is about the creation of the first nuclear bomb.

Caitlin McGarry pulled the Prince of Swords for "Oppenheimer", a card "dedicated to his purpose and mission," indicating a person who uses "intellect to achieve goals."

Potter also predicts "Oppenheimer" will win the best picture after pulling Four of Wands, since its a card of success and celebration."

"This card is always a good indication of an award winner, especially in the category of best picture as it reflects a harmonious energy of unity," she says.

But there were other opinions. McGarry thought the Queen of Wands made "Poor Things" another possibility. Margeurite Recupero also thinks Poor Things could win since she pulled the Knight of Pentacles, a card "steady in the face of unbeatable odds."

Beauvais also pulled a favorable card, the Star, for Past Lives.

The Star is a glorious card of hope and power. This can easily transcend to Past Lives having strength to win  even though its the underdog of the evening.

Finally, Blue June says "The Holdovers" has a chance at best picture. Star Da'Vine Joy Randolph is a likely pick for best supporting actress.

I chose 'The Holdovers' based on the final pull. 'Killers of the Flower Moons' final card was Seven of Pentacles, and while its a highly favorable card, it can sometimes indicate frustration, so I chose 'The Holdovers'' card as the winner, Nine of Pentacles. This card indicates a celebration of great achievement and abundance, she says.

Disclaimer: Astrology and tarot is not based in science. These posts are not intended to act as a directive.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Cody Allen, 35, an Independence police officer and father of two small children, was shot and killed Thursday.

Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman praised Allens heroic actions after a civil process server called for help during an eviction.

A Jackson County civil process server, identified as Drexel Mack, was also shot and killed.

Two other Independence police officers were shot. One underwent surgery and the other had minor injures. Both are expected to make full recoveries, Dustman said.

One suspect was taken into custody.

Thursdays shooting took place shortly after 1 p.m. on the front porch of a private residence in the 1100 block of Elsea Smith Road, near Bundschu Road, in northeastern Independence.

Allen had served with the Grandview Police Department and then took a job in the private sector. But he missed being a police officer, Dustman said, and joined the Independence Police Department about two years ago.

This is more than just a job. This is a life, its a calling, Dustman said. You dont raise your hand and go towards danger when others typically run away without something that is ingrained in your spirit and who you are as a person. And he was that person.

Allen was married and had two children.

Today is an absolutely devastating day, Dustman said.

He always had a smile. He was the guy that when you go on a call, you knew he was going to be there. He could diffuse things in a moments notice. He was right there to back you up.

Allen is the second Independence officer who was fatally shot in the line of duty in recent years.

Blaize Madrid-Evans, 22, was killed in September 2021.

Were a broken family, Dustman said. But as any other family, we will surround each other and lift each other up.
A historic Texas ranch on the market for $180 million has been devastated by wildfires, owners say

About 80% of Turkey Track Ranch, listed for $180 million, has been destroyed by wildfire.

The owners said Texas's Smokehouse Creek Fire has decimated the pastures, plains, and vegetation.

The fire has spread to nearly 1.1 million acres  an area bigger than Rhode Island.

Most of a historic Texas ranch, on the market for $180 million, was badly burned by wildfires spreading across the Texas Panhandle, the owners said Thursday.

In a statement, the owners of the Turkey Track Ranch, which contains around 80,000 acres, said an early assessment indicated that about 80% of "pastures, plains, and creek bottom vegetation" had been destroyed.

The owners said the loss of livestock, crops, wildlife, and infrastructure was "unparalleled in our history."

"We are heartbroken by this devastating fire and its tremendous associated effects and losses which continue," they said, while thanking firefighters who came to help save the ranch.

According to Icon Global, the Dallas-based brokerage running the marketing for the property's sale, the Turkey Track Ranch was one of the original ranches of the Panhandle.

It has an extensive Native American history and is known for the battles of Adobe Walls in 1864 and 1874.

Situated in northern Texas, the ranch was overrun by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest of several wildfires blazing through the Panhandle.

The fire, which broke out on Monday, quickly became the "largest and most destructive" in Texas's history, the West Odessa Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

It's also the second most destructive wildfire in US history, after the 1825 Miramichi Fire in Maine, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

In total, it's spread to nearly 1.1 million acres  an area bigger than Rhode Island  with only about 3% of the fire contained as of Thursday, the fire department said.

Two people have been confirmed dead.

Responding to the crisis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration on Tuesday for 60 counties affected by the "devastating" wildfires.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the US-Mexico border, announced that he had directed federal officials to do "everything possible" to assist communities affected.

More than 500 federal personnel are already engaging in fire-fighting efforts, he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Perhaps this was the most awful scene I have ever witnessed, Sussex County native William Morgan wrote nearly four decades after the 1805 lightning strike on the Georgetown courthouse.

[Dr. Jacob] Wolfe and two or three others were set on fire, buttons melted off their clothes  watch cases and silver dollars melted in lumps in their pockets; their clothes torn into ribbon or strings. To hear those groaning that were not dead, or see them gasping for breath, black as if burned with powder, and the strong smell of sulphur was truly appalling to all who beheld them.

In the first half of the 19th century, William Morgan (no relation to the author) worked as a farmer, carpenter, store keeper, medical doctor and Methodist preacher. His wide experience made him an astute observer of southern Delaware life and politics.

Maryland Woman of Year honoree: Meet Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the Maryland honoree for Women of the Year

Southern Delaware politics were maritime vs. agrarian interests

In 1805, the political divisions in Sussex County were wide and deep. During colonial times, residents of Sussex County were loosely grouped into political factions that pitted the maritime interests of Lewes and other coastal communities against the agrarian outlook of the interior of the county.

Following the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson championed farmers, small government and strict interpretation of the new Federal Constitution. Followers of Jefferson, including many of the farmers of the inland areas of southern Delaware, coalesced into the Democratic-Republican party, whose members were often referred to by some as Democrats and by others as Republicans.

On the other hand, those in the coastal region were followers of John Adams and the Federalist party, which promoted a loose interpretation of the Constitution and an active government that protected the growing mercantile interests of the United States.

DELAWARE HISTORY: The infamous 'log cabin and hard cider' campaign of WIlliam Henry Harrison

Bitter rivalry led to infamous Hamilton-Burr duel

The bitter rivalry between the two parties led to raucous elections and violence. A political feud between Federalist Alexander Hamilton, who had been Secretary of the Treasury, and Democrat Aaron Burr, the current vice president, had been simmering for years. On July 11, 1804, Burr shot and killed Hamilton in a duel.

In Delaware, the Federalist had a holier than thou attitude that rankled some Sussex County residents. According to Morgan, To many of them  made a high and loud profession of religion in the Methodist church and then to see them so hot in politics, traducing and impugning the character and motives of others and making so much disturbance in church and state.

Michael Morgan

Some feared for their lives at the hands of their political opponents. In July 1805, as Dr. Wolfe was leaving for the Federalist meeting at Georgetown, he told his wife, I may never see you again for the Democrats will murder me today.

As Wolfe and the Federalists gathered on the second floor of the courthouse, a fierce thunderstorm rolled over Georgetown. When Thomas Laws offered a motion that Dr. Wolfe be named chairman of the meeting, lightning struck the cupola of the courthouse and sent a charge of electricity coursing through the ironwork of the building.

The roof, rafters, windows, shutters and walls of the front of the building were shattered and splintered. On the second floor, a dozen people, including Dr. Wolfe, who sat on the bench with their backs pressed against the wall that was struck by the lightning bolt, were thrown to the floor.

At first, all 12 were feared dead; but most were revived. Dr. Wolfe, however, was dead. It was not the Democrats nor divine retribution, but Mother Nature, had killed the Federalist, Dr. Jacob Wolfe.

Who wins the Coastys: Who wins the Coastys? The awards recognize major impacts of minor players on our coast

Principal sources

Harold Hancock, William Morgans Autobiography and Diary: Life in Sussex County, 1780-1857, Delaware History, Vol. 19, No. 1, Spring-Summer 1980, pp. 50-52.

John R. Kern, The Election Riots of 1787 in Sussex County, Delaware, Delaware History, Vol. XXII, #4, Fall-Winter, 1987, p. 241.

Virginia Argus (Richmond, Virginia), July 31, 1805.

Portland Gazette and Maine Advertiser, Aug. 5, 1805.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: History: The lightning bolt that killed prominent Delaware Federalist
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR)  A Cook County judge officially put a hold on her order that stated Former President Donald Trump should be removed from the March primary ballot.

But pending action from either the Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court, Trump will remain on the Republican Primary ballot in Illinois.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter issued the first ruling Wednesday night. She found that Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot because of the Insurrection Clause of the 14th Amendment. She put her own order on hold though for two days to give the Trump legal team enough time to appeal.

That appeal was filed within a few hours.

Trump campaign, lawyers for objectors react to Cook County judges ruling to remove Trump from primary ballot

In that appeal, Trumps legal team asked for a stay while the higher courts get their chance to weigh in.

Staying the judgment until the Illinois appellate courts finally decide this case would reduce the great risk of voter confusion and logistical difficulties for election officials, Trumps lawyers wrote in the appeal.

Both state and local election officials said nothing is changing as of right now.

At this moment, there is no change in the status of where were at in terms of implementing the administration of the 2024 presidential primary for Republicans, Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said. The reality is, Donald Trump is a qualified certified candidate for presidency, he is on our ballot, and those that are interested in voting for him can do so at any moment come in and cast that ballot. The order thats recently been issued, its been stayed.

They also said people who have already cast their ballots in the Republican Primary should not be worried. Their ballots will count.

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently hearing a case out of Colorado over whether Trump should be on the ballot. That decision could end up taking precedent over any ruling from state level courts.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
Sweets from Scottish chocolatier Fetcha are headed for the Oscars (Andy Buchanan)

In a storyline improbable enough for Hollywood, a vegan chocolatier in a remote Scottish port town has made the confectionery to be given to silver screen icons at next month's Oscars.

Fiona McArthur's luxury chocolates will be handed out to Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone and other VIPs at cinema's biggest annual night, with each nominee in the main categories to be treated to a box.

McArthur, 37, only opened her small chocolate shop in Campbeltown, western Scotland, in 2019 but it soon caught the eye of the company responsible for assembling Academy Awards goody bags.

At first she thought it was a hoax.

But after verifying the firm online, she realised the offer to help fill the gift packs worth tens of thousands of dollars for the March 10 ceremony was genuine.

"It's mind blowing! I can't believe it still," she told AFP from "Fetcha", her self-owned and run shop.

"The best director, best actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress -- they all get one of my boxes.

"I'm really excited... it's amazing!" she added.

McArthur, a film buff, saw most of the nominated films at her local art-deco cinema -- opened in 1913 -- with notebook in hand to jot down ideas for the tailor-made boxes to come.

She ended up designing six different vegan chocolates inspired by this award year's biggest films.

- Variety -

The "Oppenheimer" chocolate, inspired by the 13-Oscars nominated drama about the father of the atomic bomb, resembles a ball of fire.

The yellow and orange truffle has a hard shell with popping candy "so when you bite through, it kind of explodes in your mouth" with a chilli after-burn that "heats up your tongue", she explained.

The chocolate for dark comedy "Poor Things" -- a female "Frankenstein" story up for 11 awards -- was based on Portuguese "pastel de nata" egg tarts, which lead character Bella Baxter gorges on.

The inside of the chocolate is custard flavoured, with cinnamon on top to give it a baked look.

"Barbie" is represented by a heart-shaped pink chocolate flavoured with strawberry and rose.

But the hearts are "kind of rough... like her journey through Barbieland into the real world is not a smooth journey, it's full of angles," McArthur noted.

For "Maestro", about the legendary US composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, she created depictions of musical note bars from cocoa butter.

She delicately imprinted them on the chocolates, which also contain a salt and pepper filling to represent Bernstein and his wife Felicia's "separate... but together" lives.

Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" is honoured using dark chocolate and caramel ganache with flecks of lilac, yellow and green.

Lastly, "The Holdovers" is reimagined as a dark chocolate shell with cherry and ice cream interior.

- 'Going to Hollywood' -

Before sealing each of her boxes and shipping them by post to Los Angeles, McArthur slipped in a booklet explaining the inspirations behind her sweet creations.

It is a long way to Tinseltown from her mother's humble Campbeltown kitchen, where she honed her skills.

Part of McArthur's Hollywood appeal may be that she runs the "luxury micro-business" with environmentalism and health consciousness front and centre.

The chocolatier herself is vegan, and noted several nominees are too, including Emma Stone and Paul Giamatti.

She does not use plastic and pledges to plant trees with every order.

Meanwhile her vegan, gluten-free chocolates are made with organic and fair-trade ingredients "as far as possible", and her Oscars creations are alcohol-free.

"The chocolate is made with rice milk powder," McArthur explained.

"And then a lot of the chocolates that I make have ganache on the inside and so I use a water ganache."

Her Oscars role has led to celebrity status in Campbeltown, with people stopping her in the street to offer congratulations.

So much so that her shop, where her mother helps out, is no longer able to meet local demand for the Oscars assortment.

"We are sorry, the Awards collection is out of stock," reads a placard in the window.

Also displayed in the window is a small red carpet and a sign stating: "Fetcha is going to Hollywood".

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Illustration: Jianan Liu/HuffPost; Photo: Getty Images

Gabriela Gonzalez had been dating her abusive boyfriend, Harold Thompson, for four months in the spring of 2023 when she got pregnant.



Police records show that Thompson had physically abused Gonzalez several times throughout their relationship, including when she was pregnant. Thompson strangled Gonzalez and recklessly caused bodily injury in a December 2022 incident, according to court records. She told her family she wanted to leave him, but she was terrified.



He was so angry that she wanted to get away from him, Mileny Rubio, Gonzalezs sister, told a local Dallas outlet. She would always tell me that she wanted to leave, but that she couldnt.



Gonzalez knew she couldnt continue the pregnancy because she did not want to be tied to her abuser for the rest of her life. But she lived in Dallas, Texas, where by last spring, abortion had been banned for nearly a year. So she drove to Colorado  at least an 18-hour journey there and back  to get an abortion.



The day after Gonzalez returned, Thompson found out about the abortion and confronted her in a gas station parking lot. Surveillance video, described in a police report, shows Thompson put Gonzalez in a chokehold before she was able to shrug him off. Thats when Thompson pulled out a gun and shot Gonzalez in the head. The video shows Thompson firing several more bullets into Gonzalezs body before fleeing. He was charged with murder and is awaiting trial.



Gonzalez, like so many other domestic violence victims in Texas, faced an increased risk of violence from her abusive partner and a higher likelihood he would kill her because of the states decision to loosen gun laws and completely restrict access to abortion. Her story reflects the three systemic crises converging in Texas that are creating a deadly new normal for women. Each has resulted from a deliberate policy created by right-wing state lawmakers.



The leading cause of death among pregnant and postpartum women in the U.S. is homicide, most often by an abusive partner with a gun. Pregnant and postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.

Pregnant and postpartum women are more than twice as likely to be murdered than to die from sepsis, hypertensive disorders or hemorrhage.

Experts tell HuffPost other states with abortion bans are also seeing an increase in domestic violence, but Texas stands out for a few reasons. The state was the first to severely restrict abortion in 2021, forcing women to stay pregnant nearly a year before Roe fell and exposing domestic violence victims to more violence with fewer ways to escape. At the same time, the Lone Star state has the largest rate of gun sales in the country and continues to have lax firearm restrictions. The state is so firearm friendly that gun rights groups chose it as the testing ground for a Supreme Court case that will determine if domestic abusers get to keep their guns.



In the last decade, the amount of women shot and killed by an abuser has nearly doubled in Texas.

Even though Gonzalez was able to get an abortion, her abuser still had access to a firearm. Women who travel more than 150 miles to get an abortion are more likely to experience physical violence from an abuser than those traveling less than 50 miles. Gonzalez, who leaves behind three young children, traveled at least 500 miles on the last trip of her life.



HuffPost spoke with a dozen people working in advocacy services in the state  ranging from abortion funds and family attorneys, to shelter directors and hotline staff  who believe that the states abortion bans coupled with its lax gun laws are fueling intimate partner violence. Survivors and advocacy workers are terrified that this new normal will lead to more dead women in Texas: The state has made it easier for a man to obtain a gun to kill his partner than it is for a woman to access abortion care.



Domestic Violence Victims Are Especially Vulnerable To Abortion Bans



For Holly Bowles, a sexual assault victim advocate working in Texas, the hardest part of her job is telling someone theyre pregnant.



Bowlesand her colleagues at SAFE Alliance, which is based in Austin, normally see people in the immediate aftermath of an assault. They serve around 6,000 Texans every year who have experienced emotionally and physically devastating violence. The nonprofit works with survivors of child abuse, human trafficking, intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Their hotline, which hears from around 2,000 callers a month, connects people to housing assistance, legal services  or to advocates like Bowles, who can support a victim through a rape kit exam or legal trial.



Around half of the survivors Bowles supports have experienced intimate partner violence, or are still in active situations. Most of the victims she sees can take emergency contraception after they finish the forensic exam, but for women in abusive relationships, some may already be pregnant from a prior assault by their partner. And they might not know it.



Recently, a staff member on Bowles team was sitting with a woman during a rape kit exam when the advocate had to tell her she was pregnant. This was actually the fifth time I believe that her partner had gotten her pregnant intentionally so that she would stay, said Bowles, who works as the director of SAFEs sexual assault victim advocacy program.



Before Roe v. Wade fell in 2022, Bowles could connect victims with abortion clinics or even schedule an appointment for them. Now with a total abortion ban in effect in Texas, as well as a law criminalizing those who help people seeking care, Bowles has to tread extremely carefully.



Its very difficult to think about, in that immediate moment, what we can and cant talk about, she said. Were very limited in the things that we can do if someone does find themselves in that situation because of the laws in Texas.

Protesters march while holding signs during an abortion rights rally on June 25, 2022, in Austin, Texas, after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade. Sergio Flores via Getty Images

Since the Supreme Court repealed Roe, calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline about reproductive coercion  an umbrella term that includes when an abusive partner controls pregnancy outcomes, coerces someone into unprotected sex or tampers with birth control methods  have doubled across the country.

Pregnant women were already more likely to be murdered by an intimate partner in states where abortion was restricted before Dobbs, according to a new study published in the Journal of American College of Surgeons. With 21 states now severely restricting or banning abortion altogether, This problem is only going to be exponentially worse, said senior author of the study Dr. Justin Cirone, a trauma surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Millions of Texans are dealing with the repercussions of these bans, but victims of domestic violence are particularly vulnerable. An estimated 324,000 pregnant people are abused each year by an intimate partner, and research suggests that abortion access plays a critical role in reducing intimate partner violence.

For some victims, pregnancy can mean an increase in the severity of violence. For others it can actually initiate abuse in a relationship that was not violent beforehand often because of the financial and emotional stress pregnancy can create.

In Texas, specifically, calls citing firearms in situations of intimate partner violence have increased dramatically (47%) between 2022 and 2023. Adding a firearm into the mix increases the likelihood that the victim dies: Women are five times more likely to be killed in a situation of intimate partner violence if a gun is present.

The Supreme Court could make it even easier for domestic abusers to access firearms legally sometime this year. Following SCOTUS unprecedented reinterpretation of the Second Amendment in 2022, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a conviction of a Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, who was found with several firearms despite a previous arrest for domestic violence.

Under federal law, the protective order for domestic abuse against Rahimi stripped him of his right to possess the guns found in his home. The court of appeals overturned Rahimis conviction, ruling that the federal law violates peoples constitutional right to bear arms. The Supreme Court is set to make a decision in the case later this year.

Gun reform advocates and anti-domestic violence groups have worked tirelessly to close what many refer to as the boyfriend loophole  a statute in the Violence Against Women Act that has allowed unmarried partners who are convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence to buy or own firearms. The Biden administration narrowed the loophole but did not fully close it, though many states have their own laws banning convicted domestic abusers from owning guns.

If SCOTUS sides with Rahimi, the consequences for victims of intimate partner violence will be deadly. This [case] is essentially putting firearms into the hands of abusive partners and that equation means lethality for survivors, Crystal Justice, the chief external affairs officer at the National Domestic Violence Hotline, told HuffPost. Lives will be lost if the wrong decision is made in the Rahimi case.

A Trump supporter wears a T-shirt reading "pro God, pro gun, pro life, pro Trump" during a "Keep America Great" rally in Dallas, Texas, on Oct. 17, 2019. Nicholas Kamm via Getty Images

More Pregnant Domestic Violence Victims, Less Options

Recently, Marta Pelaez started noticing more and more pregnant women and mothers with newborns seeking services at her San Antonio organization, the Battered Women and Childrens Shelter. She kept hearing from staff that more women were coming in with babies, and they needed help getting necessities like diapers and formula.

When Pelaez looked at the intake data, there was a 12% increase in pregnant women or women with a baby under 12 months seeking services from 2022 to 2023. To me, there is a big chance that this is because of their impossibility to get an abortion, plus the dynamics of how pregnancy plays a role in domestic violence, she said.

Pelaez is witnessing firsthand what statisticians are finding in their research. Birth rates in states with abortion bans have increased since Roe fell, according to the Institute of Labor Economics. Texas had the largest birth rate increase in the country in 2023, in part because the state is so large and there are longer travel times to the nearest abortion clinics. The year before, Texas had nearly 10,000 more births than expected in the last nine months of 2022  correlating to the state enacting the six-week ban in 2021.

When victims of intimate partner violence are forced to stay pregnant, they are likely to face more violence from their abusive partner and a heightened lethality of violence. Even if a survivor makes it through pregnancy and the postpartum period, and even if shes able to escape at some later date, shell always be linked to her abuser through their child.

Research suggests that abortion access helps reduce domestic violence. The Turnaway Study, landmark research published in 2020, followed 1,000 women over the course of 10 years and analyzed the long-term impact of abortion access. The study found that after 2 1/2 years, the women who were denied abortions were more likely to experience violence from the men involved in the pregnancies because they have ongoing contact with them, even if they are no longer in a romantic relationship.

You cant trust your partner, you cant ask someone for help, your neighbors are now hunting you  it makes the entire world unsafe, Lisa Pous, a survivor of intimate partner violence whose pronouns are she/they, told HuffPost. How are we supposed to leave [our abusers]? What is the point of leaving?

To me, these laws say that my government doesnt care if I die, the same way my partner didnt.Lisa Pous, domestic violence survivor

Pous was able to escape a 13-year abusive relationship in 2006 with the support of SAFE. Now, shes the founder and director of the organizations Survivor Peer Support program which offers emotional support and other resources to victims of intimate partner violence.



The program works with 300 survivors every year, with a small but mighty staff of five, including Pous. Their time is spent speaking with people in active domestic violence situations as well as survivors who are trying to get back on their feet. When the state passed the six-week abortion ban in 2021, survivors were confused and scared. Pous and her staff organized several talking groups so that people could ask questions and discuss their feelings about the law.



We cant tell the difference anymore between whos harming us, Pous said, referring to the Texas government and abusers. To me, these laws say that my government doesnt care if I die, the same way my partner didnt.



Pregnant people who have the resources are traveling out of Texas to get abortion care. But victims of intimate partner violence dont have the money or freedom to travel; financial abuse is present in 99% of domestic violence relationships. Those who try to find resources and travel support through abortion funds are taking tremendous safety risks if their abuser finds out.



The amount of times Ive heard from clients who say, He cant know I had an abortion, or I cant have this child because Ill be tied to this person forever, or The last time I was pregnant, thats when it was the worst. It was all the time, said Anna Rupani, executive director at Fund Texas Choice, an abortion fund that offers travel support. Its routine, Rupani said, to ask if its safe to call clients because so many are experiencing domestic violence.



Cathy Torres told HuffPost sometimes her staff at the Frontera Fund will field calls where the client is whispering over the phone because her abuser is in the next room. The majority of Torres clients at Frontera Fund, an abortion fund based in the Rio Grande Valley, are undocumented, which brings its own set of barriers.



If someone is undocumented, abusers will say, OK, Ill call ICE on you or Ill call customs, Torres said. That has always been the case, always. But now theyre just emboldened.



Time and time again, interpretations of state law very rarely end up supporting the pregnant person. Last year, a Texas man used the states six-week abortion ban to bring a $1 million wrongful death suit against three women for allegedly helping his ex-wife self-manage an abortion. The husband was emotionally abusive, according to court documents, and routinely threatened the wife including promising to drop the lawsuit if she had sex with him.



The three friends who helped the woman get abortion pills wrote in a countersuit that the ex-husband did not file this lawsuit because he is interested in protecting life... Instead, he wanted to control a life.



When The State Becomes The Abuser



Many victim advocates in Texas are now experiencing the same dreadful reality physicians are facing when it comes to abortion care: turn patients away, or give the standard of care and risk legal ramifications or the loss of funding.



All of the people working in advocacy services that HuffPost spoke with were afraid of Texas law enforcement, and deeply concerned about confidentiality.



The biggest priority we have all the time is privacy and confidentiality, one Texas advocacy worker, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid repercussions from the state, told HuffPost. Now were being even more careful, were telling staff members: Do you know about tracking devices on your phone? Because just the way we counsel people to be safe around their abusers, I feel like as an agency we have to do the same thing with our government now.

Activists rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court before the start of oral arguments in the United States v. Rahimi second amendment case in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 7, 2023. Bill Clark via Getty Images

Dr. Leila Wood, a professor at the Center for Violence Prevention and School of Nursing at the University of Texas Medical Branch, said physicians and advocates are at risk ofexperiencing a concept called moral injury.

I see providers talking about the same thing in all of these pockets, which is the idea of: Im having to do something that is counter to my protective caring instincts with this vulnerable population or I have to risk my own safety and security, and its a decision that people make differently, said Wood, who has led statewide research on intimate partner violence in Texas.

Bowles, the sexual assault advocate with SAFE, has a hard time getting victims to be forthcoming in those initial conversations after she tells them theyre pregnant from intimate partner rape.



Shes always worried that the detailed medical records the forensic exam nurses take could be turned over to law enforcement for investigation if a pregnant rape victim contemplates abortion. Now, Bowles asks nurses to step out of the room before discussing next steps.



Were not violating [Texas abortion ban] or S.B. 8 in those conversations, but we put so much more thought and caution into how we give information to survivors because of that risk, Bowles said.



Conversations with victims about reproductive health care could threaten an entire organizations ability to help other victims. Many of the groups HuffPost spoke with dont just provide anti-domestic violence services, they offer other critical community needs like housing and legal services for immigration or child custody disputes.

Our programs receive state and federal dollars. Drawing attention to these issues is not necessarily super safe for us, said a former employee of a large anti-domestic violence nonprofit in Texas.

Pous, the survivor of domestic violence who is now at SAFE, said many of the victims she works with feel trapped  first by their abuser and now by their home state. She said it feels like a repetition of their entire life, working so hard to escape an abuser just to be met with more violence once theyre back on their feet.



Shes proud of the work shes doing, and she will continue to support survivors as best as she can, but shes exhausted and worries for the future.



A lot of us really thought we were finding ways out of violence, she said. When the laws changed, we realized we may never make it out.

Related...
Gregory Hanna hands out The Homeless Voice newspaper at Jacksonville's Atlantic Boulevard and Joeandy Road in this 2022 photo. The nonprofit that's behind the publication is suing the city over an ordinance adopted last year that bans interaction between motorists and people on roadsides, medians, sidewalks and other rights of way.

A homelessness nonprofit is suing to stop enforcement of a Jacksonville law banning panhandling in intersections and major roadways, arguing it violates the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment free-speech guarantees.

The ordinance has effectively banned requesting donations and distributing literature throughout vast portions of city sidewalks and streets, says a court filing by attorneys for the COSAC Foundation, a South Florida organization that raises money by distributing a newspaper called The Homeless Voice.

People had been soliciting for the foundation in Jacksonville since 2017 but the ordinance has effectively banned their activities throughout the city, says the lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court.

In this file photo from Asheville, N.C., Sean Alcock, who is homeless, stands in the middle of a roadway asking for help from motorists. Jacksonville's ordinance bans this type of soliciting on many roads.

The City Council changed Jacksonvilles traffic code in February 2023 to forbid any physical interaction between a pedestrian and an occupant of a motor vehicle.

Opinion: Al Barlow: Panhandling is dangerous to the poor, but not to solicitors for charity

Solicitors are told theyre breaking the law, then can be warned in writing, then fined $100 and by the fourth violation can be jailed for up to 10 days.

Listing a set of dates and corners where its solicitors have been warned by police, the lawsuit says it wants to keep distributing its newspaper but it fears its solicitors will be cited or arrested.

Saying city streets are traditional public forums, the suit argues the law amounts to a solicitation ban and therefore a content-based restriction on speech thats automatically unconstitutional.

In this 2017 photo, a Jacksonville firefighter walks through traffic stopped at University Boulevard and Atlantic Boulevard collecting donations for an annual fundraising "Boot Drive" to help the Muscular Dystrophy Association. City law allows this fundraising.

The ordinance instead cited the fact that the Jacksonville metro area was identified in a 2022 report from a transportation-safety group as having the countrys sixth-highest rate of pedestrian fatalities.

Close by: Homeless in Atlantic Beach: City proposes ban on sleeping, camping in public spaces

However, that report framed the fatality rate as largely a result of roads being designed to move vehicles fast without enough consideration for the safety of pedestrians, not dangerous conduct by pedestrians.

The ordinance sets up rules allowing people to solicit for charity on roadsides, but the lawsuit calls that "largely illusory."

Besides criticizing the rules as vague, the suit says the the law only allows fundraising for two three-day periods each year, meaning COSAC would be frozen out of soliciting in Jacksonville for 359 days of the year.

Restrictions on roadside soliciting have been a recurring subject in municipal government in recent years. Gainesville officials in 2021 weighed a ban on sitting or standing in some medians following the death of a man who was panhandling.

State Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, filed a statewide bill for this year's session of the Florida Legislature that would ban approaching motorists for donations, but there was no companion bill in the Senate and it hasn't advanced.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Lawsuit: Jacksonville roadside panhandling law violates First Amendment
By Toma Mochizuki, KYODO NEWS - Mar 1, 2024 - 14:27 | Arts, All, Japan

A Western-style house in Tokyo originally built in the 1880s in the Meiji Era opened Friday as a manga gallery following efforts by famous manga artists to restore and renovate it.

The former residence of Theodora Ozaki, a London-born translator of Japanese works into English, will be used to introduce manga culture as a result of the efforts of the artists, including Kazumi Yamashita and Rumiko Takahashi.

Yamashita, known for "Tensai Yanagisawa Kyoju no Seikatsu" (the life of genius professor Yanagisawa), launched the preservation project after a proposal was made in 2019 to demolish the residence in Setagaya Ward due to aging.

She garnered support through crowd funding and from other popular manga artists including Takahashi, known for "Urusei Yatsura" and "Inuyasha," and Tatsuo Nitta, the author of "Shizukanaru Don" (The quiet don).

"We would not have been able to get here without everyone's help," said Yamashita at the opening ceremony. "I hope this manga-themed residence stays standing for another 100, 200 years."

The residence will be used to host exhibitions, starting with a charity event to display original illustrations by 38 manga artists including Moto Hagio and Ryoko Yamagishi.

Their works will be available for auction both in person or online from Friday through March 12, with the proceeds used to restore the building.

It houses a cafe and a shop to sell manga-related goods on the first floor and a gallery space on the second floor that will be open to visitors with reservations.

"I was especially excited to see the works of Rumiko Takahashi and Tatsuo Nitta," said Yoshimitsu Nishimata, a manga fan who came to visit from Chiba Prefecture, adding he had learned about the residence and the exhibition from Yamashita's social media posts.

The original building is said to have been built in 1888 by politician Saburo Ozaki for his daughter Theodora.

She later married the politician Yukio Ozaki, called the "god of constitutional politics," who is also known for sending cherry blossom trees to Washington.

The works of the late Jun Mihara will be exhibited from March 15 through April 9.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Manga bringing realities of fertility treatment to mass audience

FEATURE: Married manga artists tell story about life with disability
Jun Jayaraman is vice president and plant lead of Honda in Marysville.

I joined the Honda team in Ohio as an electrical engineer, just ten years after Honda began building products in America in 1979.

Ive served in a variety of roles at the Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and our Performance Manufacturing Center. Key to our success is something we call The Honda Way  a culture based on teamwork, respect and open communication.

From time to time, there are suggestions from outside the company that there is a better approach. Yet, over the past four decades, no automaker has been more successful in growing its production operations in America than Honda. Of course, this includes our Marysville Auto Plant, which now employs some 4,700 associates.

What is 'The Honda Way?'

Jun Jayaraman

I think The Honda Way is one reason we see so many second-generation Honda associates who want to work here.

We have a number of sons, daughters, cousins and grandkids of past Honda associates coming to work at Honda. Two young weld technicians recently approached me, to tell me that both of their moms had worked here. They like it at Honda and are trying to work their way up through the company just like their parents.

More: Honda, LG ramp up hiring as Fayette County electric vehicle battery plant hits milestone

We value the opinions and the experience of associates who are working at the spot on the production line regardless of their title or rank. When our associates have concerns about a production process, we not only want to hear about it, we want their suggestions for how to fix and improve issues they face.

Safety for our production associates has always been our priority and while improving ergonomics is not about winning awards, Honda has been recognized for these efforts. The Ergo Cup is an independent competition that highlights successful ergonomic solutions in North America.

In the Ergo Cups 18 years, Honda associates have won 17 awards, including associates from each of our auto plants in the U.S. and Canada.

Efforts to re-route a wiring harness or replacing a fastener with a snap-in, one-touch part might seem small and mundane, but changing a process that is repeated over and over again each day can have an enormous impact on the health and safety of our associates. Thats why we work with our associates to find opportunities to make their daily work safer and more ergo friendly.

Honda in Ohio

Since 1982, our associates in Ohio have built ten different generations of Accord, helping make it the best-selling car in America over the past 50 years. Just as we continue to update the product with all-new styling and features, we invest in the processes and technologies we use to make it safer and easier to build.

One of my previous roles was serving as a new vehicle model project leader. Before each new model goes into production, our Honda associates contribute hundreds of suggestions for changes to the product and the processes used to build them. This has enabled us to create a work environment that is safer for associates while achieving higher quality for our customers.

We were presented with one of these opportunities during the introduction of the 2023 Accord. A new tool was developed to align the trunk lid to the body. During trial events, we got feedback from associates about the weight and difficult maneuverability of the tool. Working with the production associates, our engineers reimagined the tool, resulting in a safer process. This activity is a good example of the partnership between our team leaders and associates to achieve both high quality and production safety.

Investing in Our Future

Oct 11, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Honda announced a $3.5 billion battery plant in Fayette County near U.S. 35 and I-71. It's a joint venture with South Korean company LG Energy. Also Honda will invest $700 million to retool three factories in Ohio to make EVs and components for EVs. Honda made the announcement at the Statehouse this morning.

Now, we are preparing for our electrified future, starting with the production of EVs next year at our EV Hub in Ohio. This is where three of our auto plants will anchor the shift to electrification for Honda in North America. How we build our products will undergo dramatic change, but the way we approach it will not.

We will continue to invest in our people, listen to their ideas and work together to create products of the highest quality for our customers and unprecedented job security for our associates and their families. That is The Honda Way.

Jun Jayaraman is vice president and plant lead of Honda in Marysville.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: The future of Honda, EV in Ohio is bright, VP Jun Jayaraman writes
CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW)  Assault-by-mob charges against a state Republican Party political director from Horry County, her mother and another woman were dismissed on Friday, according to the 15th Circuit Solicitors Office.

Magistrate Brad Mayers dropped the charges against Braley Estep, her mother Michele Stalvey Estep and Katie Richelle Turvey during a preliminary hearing. The three women were charged in early January after a Dec. 23 fight at Stalveys Watering Hole, a Conway bar operated by the Estep family.

Katie Turvey / Photo: J. Reuben Long Detention Center

Turvey still faces two other charges related to the incident, the solicitors office said. Those include malicious injury to animals or personal property and petit larceny.

After their arrest, the Esteps were booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center. They each posted a $5,000 bond and were released from jail on Jan. 3. Turvey was booked into the jail on Jan. 4 and released the same day after posting bonds totaling $9,250.

A bio on the Republican Partys website indicates that Braylee Estep graduated from the University of South Carolina in December 2021 with a political science degree. She also attended Conway High School, according to an Horry County Schools document.

She served as an intern with the SCGOPs Victory Program in Myrtle Beach and has been involved in multiple statewide campaigns, the bio said.

During the 2022 election cycle, she served as the regional field director in Georgia for the race between Gov. Brian Kemp and Herschel Walker. Her bio says she made more than 500,000 grassroot connections during that race.

More recently, in 2023, she worked on the reorganization process of the 7th Congressional District in South Carolina, according to her bio.

* * *

Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) on Thursday dismissed House Republicans who have tried and tried and tried and failed to smear President Joe Biden  especially when, Garcia said, the Trumps are the real White House crime family.

Garcia criticized GOP lawmakers for their political stunt and joke impeachment inquiry against the president just one day after Hunter Bidens closed-door deposition on his business dealings, which he said his father was not engaged in.

Garcia  who said Republicans have zero evidence tying Hunter Biden to any such dealings with his father  delivered a message to GOP lawmakers as he spoke on the House floor next to a picture of Jared Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, who both served as advisers in the Trump administration.

I want to remind everyone about the real White House crime family, Garcia said of Kushner, former President Donald Trumps son-in-law.

He continued: Why did Saudi Arabia give Jared Kushner $2 billion  billion with a B  just months after he left the Trump White House? And why did the Saudis spend hundreds of thousands of dollars at Trump properties while he was still the president?

Garcia has previously commented on the Saudi-backed private equity fund that gave $2 billion to Kushners investment firm six months after he left the White House.

He continued: We also know that Jared Kushner used his cushy White House job to secure a $100 billion arms deal for Saudi Arabia, and did other favors as well. Now some members of the majority actually agree that this was unethical. And in fact a few weeks ago, Jared Kushner was asked by a reporter about his grift. He responded, Are we still really doing this? Yes, Jared, we are still really doing this.

Garcia: I want to remind everyone about the real White House crime family. Why did Saudi Arabia give Jared Kushner $2 billion just months after he left the White House? Why did they spend hundreds of thousands at Trump properties while he was still the president? pic.twitter.com/eRTzmKeS78  Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024

Hunter Biden, during his deposition, also flipped questions about his business ventures to Republicans to ask them about Donald Trumps son-in-law.

When Jared Kushner flies over to Saudi Arabia, picks up $2 billion, comes back, and puts it in his pocket, OK, and he is running for president of the United States, you guys have any problem with that? the presidents son said.

Related...
A vacant home has been demolished as plans near for the construction of a new Sprouts Farmers Market on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley.

A vacant home has been demolished ahead of the construction of an Apple Valley Sprouts Farmers Market.

A heavy equipment operator on Wednesday quickly razed the 1,307-square-feet home, which was built nearly 60 years ago on Bear Valley Road.

As for a construction timeline for the new Sprouts, Town of Apple Valley spokeswoman Sarah Krieg told the Daily Press that town officials expect to have the grading plan approval next week.

Krieg added that she will inform the Daily Press of updates on the construction of the new shopping center that will include Sprouts Farmers Market and Raising Canes Chicken Fingers.

Both businesses will be included in a 40,000-square-foot shopping center on the south side of Bear Valley Road, and directly across from El Pollo Loco in the Apple Valley Town Center.

A 2023 photo shows a vacant home before it was demolished on Wednesday. The home sat near a soon-to-be constructed Sprouts Farmers Market on Bear Valley Road in Apple Valley.

The retail property, with two or three additional pads, is located adjacent to and east of a possible second development site, which includes the demolished home site.

The free-standing Sprouts in Apple Valley will be the second to be built in the High Desert.

Victorville Sprouts

The Daily Press reported that Sprouts took over the 18,600-square-foot building that formerly housed Toys R Us on Amargosa Road in Victorville.

The Victorville Sprouts hosted a two-day job fair beginning Jan. 31 in preparation for its opening day on March 15.

Sprouts

Best known for offering fresh produce, meats, and organic food, Sprouts Farmers Markets No. 469 is located in a retail center, anchored by stores such as 99 Cents Only Get Air and Hobby Lobby.

The Sprouts grocery chain boasts that it appeals to everyday shoppers interested in fresh, natural, and organic products at affordable prices.

Stores offer The Butcher Shop and Fish Market and the fresh Market Corner Deli where entrees and sides are prepared

Sprouts Farmers Market and a Raising Canes Chicken Fingers restaurant is included in a proposed retail development in Apple Valley.

Sprouts also sells a variety of vitamins, supplements, bulk foods, dairy, and bakery items. They also offer gluten-free options

Sprouts also sells a variety of vitamins, supplements, bulk foods, dairy, and bakery items. They also offer gluten-free options.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Sprouts is one of the largest and fastest-growing specialty retailers of fresh, natural, and organic food in the U.S.

Sprouts employs approximately 31,000 team members and operates approximately 380 stores in 23 states nationwide.

Raising Canes

Raising Canes first introduction to the High Desert came in May 2021, when the Louisiana-based company opened a restaurant at 2620 Fisher Boulevard near the Outlets at Barstow.

In December 2021, Raising Canes opened a quick-service restaurant on the corner of Main Street and Escondido Avenue in Hesperia.

The Louisiana-based restaurant serves chicken finger meal combos, chicken sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, coleslaw, Texas toast, and tangy Canes sauce.

Customers can order inside the restaurant, at the drive-thru, or on the companys mobile app.

Founded in 1996 by Todd Graves, Raising Canes has more than 600 restaurants in the U.S. and the Middle East.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: House demolished near new Sprouts Farmers Market project in Apple Valley
The House Oversight Committee released the transcript of President Biden's brother James Biden's testimony on Friday, as the panel enters its "next phase" of the impeachment inquiry.

Fox News Digital obtained the transcript on Friday. James Biden testified before the committee last week that his brother, the president, was never involved in his family's business dealings.

But committee investigators said there are inconsistencies in James Biden's testimony, when compared to the testimonies of Hunter Biden, Tony Bobulinski, and other ex-Biden family business associates.

"James Biden's testimony conflicts with Hunter Biden and Tony Bobulinski's sworn testimony," a House Oversight Committee aide told Fox News Digital. "Both Hunter Biden and Tony Bobulinski testified that Joe Biden met with Tony Bobulinski, Hunter Biden, and James Biden at a hotel in California."

The aide added: "James Biden said this never happened."

In his deposition, James Biden was asked about the apparent May 2017 meeting on the sidelines of the Milken Conference in Los Angeles, California at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Do you recall a meeting in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hotel with you, Hunter Biden, and Tony Bobulinski?" he was asked.

"I remember that my brother had a speaking engagement at the hotel. I don't know what it was. And that we were in Los Angeles, and I met -- I was outside of the hotel. I never went into the hotel with my brother," James Biden testified. "And it's my recollection that -- that my brother never came out and had any discussions. May have came out to say hi. That's all."

"Said hi to who?" an investigator asked.

"Me," he replied.

When pressed if he recalled having a meeting with Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and Bobulinski at the hotel, James Biden testified: "Absolutely not."

James Biden, brother of US President Joe Biden, arrives for a deposition before the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees on President Biden's impeachment inquiry in Washington, DC, February 21, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

"It's your testimony here today that meeting never took place?" he was asked.

"Yes, sir," he replied, with his lawyer interjecting and adding "that he was present for."

"That I was present for," he said.

Biden was further pressed on whether he met with his nephew and Bobulinski at the hotel bar.

"That I know did not happen," he said.

"Who were you at the bar with?" he was asked.

"I could have been there just with Tony Bobulinski. I could have been there with Hunter as well," he said. "But my brother was never there."

The questions about his testimony comes after Hunter Biden testified Wednesday that a meeting did, in fact, take place with his father and Bobulinski.

"He met him in the lobby of the hotel of the -- I believe it was the -- the Beverly Hilton," Hunter Biden testified. "My dad's flight arrived I think at 11 a.mExcuse me, 11 p.m. We were in the lobby bar with Mr. Bobulinski having coffee."

Hunter Biden said it was "My uncle and myself."

"I think my uncle was also staying at that hotel. And so yeah. I know that, if you go further, it says -- but I think that the reality is that he didn't -- anyway, my dad went and shook hands with Tony," Hunter Biden testified. "They talked about -- I believe at that time, I don't know whether it was Tony's father was suffering from cancer, and his sister was suffering from cancer, and he invited him to the speech at the Milken Conference."

Bobulinski also testified that the meeting took place at the hotel bar with Hunter Biden and James Biden, before Joe Biden eventually arrived.

Bobulinski testified that Hunter Biden went to greet his father, then returned back into the bar area.

"So then they came into the bar. I stood up. Obviously, you know, we shook some hands. And I think Hunter made a comment of something like, you know, 'Dad, this is Tony who I've told you about,' and the stuff we're working on with the Chinese. I don't -- it was years ago. I don't remember the exact term, but he sort of set the stage for the meeting," Bobulinski testified, adding that they shook hands and sat down. "And I think the meeting was, you know, 45 minutes to an hour. I remember going through my background in detail."

Bobulinski said that "Jim and Hunter didn't do a lot of talking, as you can imagine."

"And then we sort of called it a -- called it a night. It was late. It was, you know, 11:30 or something like that. And we called it a night because in that meeting and previously they had already asked me to, you know, come the next morning to be a guest of Joe Biden's at his Moonshot speech where he was addressing the entire Milken Conference," Bobulinski testified.

Meanwhile, comparing testimonies of James Biden and others who have answered questions as part of the impeachment inquiry, there appears to be a contradiction related to whether Joe Biden met with the chairman of Chinese energy firm CEFC.

Rob Walker, a former business associate of the Biden family, testified that Joe Biden met with Chairman Ye Jianming of CEFC at the Four Seasons in Washington D.C. in 2017.

Walker, during his closed-door transcribed interview, told congressional investigators that Joe Biden attended a meeting where he, Hunter Biden, their other business partners and CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming were having lunch.

"I dont remember the exact time, but I remember being in Washington, D.C., and the former vice president stopped by. We were having lunch," Walker testified, according to a transcript of his interview reviewed by Fox News Digital.

"The former vice president was not there the entire time. He was there maybe 10 minutes," Walker said. "He spoke nice, you know, normal pleasantries. I think he probably did most of the talking and then left."

Walker testified that Biden addressed the entire groupwhich consisted of approximately 10 CEFC-linked individuals during his visit.

During Hunter Biden's testimony on Wednesday, he was asked about the meeting, and said he did not recall, but said: "I do not contest or would question if Rob has a memory. I do not have a memory of the date of that."

James Biden, during his testimony, said he had "no knowledge" of a meeting happening between Joe Biden and Ye.

"Absolutely 100 percent. Thats my knowledge. I have no knowledge of that ever happening," he testified.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Wednesday, after hearing testimony from Hunter Biden, James Biden, and their ex-business associates, said the impeachment inquiry against President Biden would move into its "next phase," and hopes to hold public hearings.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.





Original article source: House Oversight releases James Biden's deposition transcript as impeachment inquiry moves into 'next phase'
Protesters march through the Syrian city of Idlib in a rare protest against former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which controls much of the northwest of the country (OMAR HAJ KADOUR)

Hundreds took to the streets across Syria's rebel-held northwest on Friday in rare protests against its jihadist rulers, as anger simmered a week after a man died in their custody.

About half of Idlib province and parts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia are controlled by former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The rebel-controlled region hosts about three million people, many of whom fled other parts of the country held or recaptured by the Russian and Iranian-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Dozens of civilians gathered around the Idlib clock tower, chanting slogans against HTS leader Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, an AFP correspondent reported, with one man brandishing a banner that read "freedom of opinion and speech is not a crime".

"We took to the streets to say no to injustice, no to HTS's policies, and no to Abu Mohamed al-Jolani," said 30-year-old protester Abdul Rahman Talib.

Another protester, Mohammed Assaf, 30, told AFP: "Our protests erupted after a crime was revealed: a young man was killed under torture.

"Our demands are clear: overthrow Jolani, free the prisoners, put an end to the security grip they have on us."

On February 23, a rebel fighter was killed under torture after eight months in HTS custody, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Since gaining control of the Idlib region, HTS has set up its own security apparatus as well as a civil administration that collects customs duties at the Turkish border.

Human rights groups and the United Nations's Commission of Inquiry on Syria have accused HTS of human rights abuses including torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.

Protesters also took to the streets of other HTS-controlled towns and villages including Binnish, Marea, Killi and al-Atarib.

In the town of Binnish, in Idlib province, dozens chanted: "Jolani, we don't want you".

Wearing a three-starred Syrian rebel flag around his neck, Abdulaziz Ali, 54, said he wanted to see HTS's security apparatus held to account.

"We are hearing about what happens in prisons, things that a human heart can't bear," he said.

ohk-aya/kir
An investigation by Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach has revealed how hundreds of Polish lorries carrying Russian agricultural products are travelling through Belarus to Poland and back.

Source: an investigation by Mykhailo Tkach

Details: The Ukrainska Pravda film crew asked a man to call a Polish company and pretend to be the manager of an actual Belarusian company. He explicitly offered to sell Russian rapeseed meal accompanied by Belarusian documents.

The manager of the Polish company asked him to email the terms and conditions.

Yet Poland banned the import of rapeseed meal from Ukraine in September 2023, following protests by farmers. Since then, the volume of products that have continued to arrive from Belarus has been steadily increasing.

Quote from Tkach: "For your information, in the three months since the ban on Ukrainian products, Poland has bought US$8 million worth of rapeseed meal through Belarus."

Details: Near the Kukuryki checkpoint, we counted hundreds of lorries that had entered Poland from Belarus without any obstacles. Judging by our conversations with representatives of agricultural firms, Russian agricultural products first go to Belarus, where they are loaded onto Polish-registered lorries at special centres. The lorries then head for large companies in Poland.

One of these centres in Belarus is the Koliadychi terminal of BTLC in Minsk.

Polish sources and data from open and closed databases show that there are at least three companies in Poland that are major buyers of agricultural products from Russia: Bromex, Diaspolis, and Kampol Krzysztof uzniak.

Dmytro Dienkov, editor of Ekonomichna Pravda, notes that in general, Poland and other EU countries have not been banned from trading with Russia and Belarus, as there are no sanctions that relate specifically to agricultural products.

Quote from Dienkov: "These countries pose a potential threat for Europe, but they still keep trading agricultural goods with them. If we look at the balance of trade between Poland and Russia, the most surprising thing is that their trade turnover is increasing and numbers have risen compared to 2021."

Background:

On 28 February, Polish law enforcement officers arrested an Ukrainska Pravda film crew consisting of Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative journalism department, and videographer Yaroslav Bondarenko, close to the Polish-Belarusian border as they were filming a story about the transit of goods between Poland, Russia and Belarus. Some of the footage was deleted by the Polish authorities.

While our colleagues were being detained, the Polish police searched their car, removed the memory cards from their cameras, and took all their phones and documents.

The Podlaskie Voivodeship police posted a brief note on the evening of 27 February to say that they had not "detained a journalist from Ukraine".

Later, the police reported that officers had taken measures to identify some individuals whose presence in the border area had caused concern to local residents.

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Chinese and Pakistani engineers celebrate the impoundment of the China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in the Mansehra district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Feb. 28, 2024. The China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in northwest Pakistan started impoundment on Wednesday.

The successful start will lay a solid foundation for the project's operation on schedule under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). (The Overseas Investment Company of China Gezhouba Group/Handout via Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in northwest Pakistan started impoundment on Wednesday.

The successful start will lay a solid foundation for the project's operation on schedule under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Located in the Mansehra district of the South Asian country's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the 884-megawatt hydropower project was invested and constructed by the Overseas Investment Company of China Gezhouba Group.

Noting the impoundment as a milestone, He Xiongfei, the chairman and general manager of the Hydropower plant said that the overall construction progress of the project has exceeded 98 percent.

The dam body filling, diversion tunnel lining, pressure steel lining installation, unit installation and other key engineering milestones have been completed on schedule, he added.

The hydropower project started construction in January 2017. Once getting functional, the CPEC project will annually generate some 3.21 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity, replacing 1.28 million tons of coal and reducing 2.52 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to the Chinese manager.

It will significantly optimize Pakistan's energy structure, boosting the country's economic and social development, he added. 

This photo taken on Feb. 28, 2024 shows part of the China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in the Mansehra district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in northwest Pakistan started impoundment on Wednesday.

The successful start will lay a solid foundation for the project's operation on schedule under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). (The Overseas Investment Company of China Gezhouba Group/Handout via Xinhua)

This photo taken on Feb. 28, 2024 shows part of the China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in the Mansehra district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in northwest Pakistan started impoundment on Wednesday.

The successful start will lay a solid foundation for the project's operation on schedule under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). (The Overseas Investment Company of China Gezhouba Group/Handout via Xinhua)

A Chinese engineer prepares to start impoundment of the China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in the Mansehra district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Feb. 28, 2024. The China-built Suki Kinari Hydropower station in northwest Pakistan started impoundment on Wednesday.

The successful start will lay a solid foundation for the project's operation on schedule under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). (The Overseas Investment Company of China Gezhouba Group/Handout via Xinhua)
Oliver Varhelyi, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, shared a letter on 29 February that supposedly came from Petro Poroshenko, former President of Ukraine and the leader of the European Solidarity political party. In it, Poroshenko asked Varhelyi to lobby the Ukrainian government to stop the "discriminatory practice" of not letting opposition MPs travel abroad.

Source: European Pravda

Details: Photos of the letter, allegedly written by Poroshenko, have captions claiming that he has received a preliminary invitation to the conference of the European People's Party to be held in Bucharest on 6-7 March, with the invitation being sent by the EPP chairman, Manfred Weber.

At the conference, Poroshenko is to "address the high-level audience on the situation in Ukraine and the role of the European People's Party in strengthening support to our nation in these challenging times," the letter says.

"I am kindly asking you to send the relevant messages to the Government of Ukraine with a view to strongly encourage the authorities to stop this discriminatory practice against opposition parties, and to ensure the political pluralism and the rights of the opposition in Ukraine is fully respected in line with EU membership criteria," the document posted by Varhelyi reads.

Furthermore, Poroshenko allegedly asks Varhelyi to raise the mentioned issues in the upcoming European Commission report on Ukraine's progress towards EU membership and the development of a negotiation framework for accession.

"In a working democracy the opposition cant be restricted," the Hungarian Commissioner wrote in his post. Based on this, it was sent the day before, on 28 February.

Neither Petro Poroshenko nor the European Solidarity party has officially commented on the letter.

Read also: Outrage Sparked in Ukraine by Parliament Speaker's Efforts to Sabotage Opposition Internationally

In February, Poroshenko claimed that the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), Ruslan Stefanchuk, had not signed the decree that would allow Poroshenko to attend the Munich Security Conference, allegedly because of a threat to his life. At the time, the Rada said it had not received any "statements and relevant documents" from Poroshenko.

Recently, there have been several high-profile scandals involving the denial of access to meetings with international partners for opposition MPs, and this topic has attracted media attention both in Ukraine and abroad.

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Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, has confirmed that next week he will meet with Donald Trump, a likely Republican candidate in upcoming US presidential elections.

Source: European Pravda, Orbans statement at the diplomatic forum in Antalya cited by the Mandiner magazine

Details: Orban thinks that Trump will be a powerful US president who can stop wars  between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine.

The Hungarian PM also repeated once again that he wants the peace in Ukraine to be achieved as soon as possible since it is needed "in the interests of the whole world", and recalled that many of the Hungarians living in Ukraine "have died in combat".

Background:

The media reported earlier that Trump planned to meet with Orban at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on 8 March.

Lately Trumps claims caused resonance among the NATO allies. At one of the pre-election events Trump revealed how he threatened to "encourage Russia" to unleash aggression against the allies in order to make them increase their contributions into NATO collective security.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, asked Trump not to undermine the system of deterrence.

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WASHINGTON  For years, Republican members of Congress have described the presidents son as a corrupt wastrel with no business on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

On Wednesday, Hunter Biden came to Capitol Hill and told Republicans that not only was he qualified for his job with Burisma, but he had a more impressive business background than any of them.

You guys have gone out and said I had no credibility, no  that theres no way that I shouldve been serving on the board of Burisma, Biden said, according to a transcript released Thursday.

I just read you my resume, he said. Id put my resume up against any of you, in terms of my responsibility.

It was one of several combative moments from a seven-hour deposition Republicans held Wednesday as part of their impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. Republicans have not uncovered any official wrongdoing by the president despite months of searching for bribes and improper participation in his sons business deals.

During questioning, Republicans sought to undercut Hunter Bidens insistence that he was qualified for the job, and they repeatedly asked him to detail the timeline of his addictions to alcohol and crack cocaine  something he detailed in a 2021 book that Republicans have apparently never consulted. In response to their questions, Biden suggested Republicans were being hypocritical about their own problems with drugs and alcohol.

Biden created an instant controversy when he took a high-paying position on Burismas board in 2014, while his father, then the vice president, served as the face of U.S. foreign policy toward Ukraine.

State Department officials privately complained that the job created the appearance of a conflict of interest, and Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to announce an investigation, withholding military aid in an extortion scheme that triggered his first impeachment. Those same officials said, however, that Hunter Bidens Burisma job had no effect on U.S. policy.

Republicans have resurrected Trumps corruption allegations and made them Exhibit A in their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, claiming his son was useless to Burisma except as a conduit for bribes to his father.

The younger Biden has had it both ways with Burisma. On the one hand, he admitted his last name helped him get the board position, saying high-profile Western board members allowed Burisma to send a defiant message to Vladimir Putin, who had launched an invasion of Ukraine. But hes also insisted that he was qualified  and he seemed to relish the chance to say so to Republicans directly, citing his Ivy League degrees and previous positions on corporate and nonprofit boards.

I dont know anybody that was, at that time, that was teaching the No. 1 rated course at Georgetowns School of Foreign Service in the masters program in terms of foreign policy and advocacy, Hunter Biden said. I literally was on 17  like, 12 different boards. I only listed like, you know, 10 of them. And so I had an enormous amount of reasons to be on it.

He repeatedly asked his own questions during the deposition. In response to queries about his father meeting his business associates for dinner, he asked Republicans if they had a problem with Donald Trumps son-in-law landing a $2 billion deal with the Saudi government shortly after serving as an advisor to the president.

When Jared Kushner flies over to Saudi Arabia, picks up $2 billion, comes back, and puts it in his pocket, OK, and he is running for president of the United States, you guys have any problem with that?

(Democrats claimed that several Republicans nodded in agreement in response to the Kushner remark.)

When Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) asked if Biden was on drugs when he was on the Burisma board, Biden asked a loaded question of his own.

Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate to ask me?

Absolutely, Gaetz said.

Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think thats appropriate to ask me? Biden said, seemingly alluding to allegations of drug use that have swirled around Gaetz.

Biden wrote a month-by-month account of his addiction to crack cocaine in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things, which included a chapter specifically about Burisma  but it seemed as though Republicans had no familiarity with the material.

Yes, I was an addict, Biden said. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) followed Gaetz with more questions about the timeline of his addiction and his work for Burisma, asking if Biden should have disclosed his problems to the company. Biden said thats not how addiction works.

I can guarantee you, at least 30% of the people that you serve with suffer from alcoholism, Biden said. Do you think its incumbent upon them, if they suffer from alcoholism, that they immediately resign?

Biden said he had good days and bad days struggling with his addiction, and that his close associates knew about his efforts to recover  as they themselves have testified in their own interviews with lawmakers.

As for his actual board work, Biden said he brought expertise on corporate governance to a company that wanted to elevate its financial standards.

My responsibilities were like any other board member, to attend board meetings, to be aware of what the management was doing to try to strive for, you know, accountability, transparency, openness in terms of the reporting, to go through the financials and make certain that the financials were certified by a [certified public accountant], Biden said.

Republicans have repeatedly held up an anecdote from Devon Archer, a business associate of Bidens who recruited him to Burismas board, as evidence that Biden got his father to help the company. Archer told lawmakers in a transcribed interview last year that he witnessed Burisma executives ask Biden to call D.C. in December 2015 and that he thought he might have called his father, though Archer admitted he did not witness such a call.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has suggested the call resulted in Joe Biden pressuring Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who was supposedly investigating Burisma. But Hunter Biden said there was no such call.

I know there was never a phone call to my father. I can say that under oath, he said. (Separately, Hunter Biden testified that he did help Burisma connect with a Democratic consulting firm that helped the companys executives with visa and other issues.)

Biden initially refused to sit for a closed-door deposition when Republicans sent him a subpoena last year, insisting instead on public testimony, before changing his mind and sitting for Wednesdays interview.

House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said this week that he still wants to have a public hearing, but its not clear if Biden remains willing. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, noted in a statement after the deposition that the source of a key bribery allegation has been charged with fabricating the claim and lying to the FBI.

Bribes had supposedly been paid by the head of Burisma to both Hunter and Joe Biden, and Republicans had touted the informants dubious claim as their very best piece of evidence.

This illegitimate inquiry should have ended long before their star witness was indicted for lying but it wasnt, Lowell said. Now that Hunter has put this partisan conspiracy to the lie that it is  on the record and under oath  this political charade should finally come to an end.

Related...
Federal immigration authorities have arrested three Portuguese women living in the U.S. illegally who are also charged in connection with the death of a Rhode Island infant.

Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested the women  ages 32, 25 and 22  on Feb. 17 in Pawtucket.

The trio were initially arrested on Feb. 11 by the Pawtucket Police Department on suspicion of the death of a 1-year-old boy, which allegedly occurred under their care.

The women were charged with child endangerment, but posted bail following their arraignment and were released by the 6th Division District Court of Rhode Island. Pawtucket police also arrested the boy's alleged 25-year-old father, who is being held at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, Rhode Island.

WHITE HOUSE REFERS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AS NEWCOMERS

He is charged with manslaughter, three counts of second degree child abuse, and child endangerment. None of the suspects were identified.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston arrested three unlawfully present Portuguese nationals who were recently charged with child endangerment following the death of a child.

"The alleged crimes of these unlawfully present individuals resulted in the death of an innocent child," said ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd M. Lyons. "Those who commit crimes against children must be held accountable. Unlawfully present foreign nationals posing a danger to our New England communities cannot expect to escape the consequences of their actions."

Pawtucket police responded to a home for an emergency call and found the boy unresponsive with "significant bruising" on his face, ICE said. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

One of the Portuguese women arrived in the U.S. in 1998 on a tourist visa, but overstayed for more than 25 years, ICE said. The other two arrived in the U.S. under a visa waiver program  one in 2016, and the other in March 2022.

Both violated the visa and also remained in the country longer than allowed, authorities said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE.





Original article source: ICE arrests 3 Portuguese women who overstayed visas and are charged in 1-year-old Rhode Island boy's death
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Thursday the brother of the suspect charged with the murder of Georgia student Laken Riley was arrested multiple times in Athens, Georgia, in 2023, but its requests to take him into custody were ignored.

Diego Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, was arrested last week and charged with green card fraud.

His younger brother, Jose, is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in the homicide of Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT'S BROTHER FIRED FROM UGA DINING HALL JOB AFTER PRESENTING FAKE GREEN CARD

Jose Ibarra is accused of killing Riley while she was jogging along a popular pedestrian loop around Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia's campus in Athens Feb. 22. The two brothers from Venezuela were living in the United States illegally. ICE confirmed Jose's illegal status earlier this week.

In a statement Thursday, ICE said Diego Ibarra had first entered the U.S. April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, but was removed via the COVID-era Title 42 process. He reentered April 30 and was enrolled into "Alternatives to Detention," by which migrants are monitored via GPS tracking when released.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

BROTHER OF UGA MURDER SUSPECT CHARGED WITH GREEN CARD FRAUD

He was released May 12, 2023, but by May 25 was judged to have bolted from the program after abnormalities with his GPS tracking device. Enrollees can be tracked in a number of ways, including a bracelet or a cell phone app. Last year, the administration pushed for a reduction in ICE detention beds and more funding for ATD but is now pushing for more detention beds.

The ICE statement said he has several arrests in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, but that ICE detainers  requests that ICE be notified when an illegal immigrant is being released for a transfer to ICE custody  were not honored.

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the campus of the University of Georgia Feb. 22, 2024.

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department told Fox News Digital it is not responsible for ICE notifications and does not have access to immigration status. It said that is instead handled by the Clarke County jail and directed Fox to the Clarke County Sheriffs office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on why the detainers were not honored.

The revelation comes a day after Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz repeatedly rejected the characterization Athens is a "sanctuary" city.

"There's been no legislation from this government thats created sanctuary city status," he said.

WHITE HOUSE CALLS FOR SANCTUARY CITIES TO COOPERATE WITH ICE AMID FUROR OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIMES

Fox reported this week that Diego Ibarra was fired from the University of Georgia after it was discovered he presented a fake green card to work at the school's dining hall.

"Diego Ibarra presented a fake green card to the hiring unit to begin a temporary position as a dishwasher in Bolton Dining Hall at the University of Georgia on Feb. 6, 2024," UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Diego then failed to "submit further documentation required to keep the job and was never paid by the university" before he was "fired," Trevor added.

The White House on Wednesday issued a statement to Fox News Digital calling on local governments to work with ICE on deporting violent criminals.

"We welcome local law enforcements support and cooperation in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety," a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday in response to a question about its stance on sanctuary cities.

"When a local jurisdiction has information about an individual who could pose a threat to public safety, we want them to share that information with ICE.

"Just since May 12, DHS has removed or returned more than 565,000 individuals, the vast majority of whom crossed the southwest border. (The) 565,000 removals and returns is more than every full fiscal year since 2013."

Fox News' Audrey Conklin and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.





Original article source: ICE says Georgia murder suspect's brother was previously arrested, but detainers were ignored
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it fired "warning shots" at a mob of Palestinians who rushed a humanitarian aid convoy early Thursday, resulting in more than 100 killed in the chaos.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said a convoy of 38 trucks came from Egypt and entered Gaza to distribute humanitarian supplies to Gazans in need. He said "thousands" descended on the trucks, with some violent pushing and trampling other Gazans to death, "looting the humanitarian supplies."

"The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed or injured," he said, adding that the tank commander decided to retreat when "things got out of hand."

Hagari insisted that "no IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy."

"On the contrary, the IDF was there conducting a humanitarian operation to secure the humanitarian corridor and allow the aid convoy to reach its designated distribution point."

TEXAS DEM RUNNING TO UNSEAT TED CRUZ HAS RECEIVED THOUSANDS IN DONATIONS FROM ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVISTS

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More than 100 people were ultimately killed and more than 700 others were injured in the chaos, bringing the number of dead since the start of the Israel-Hamas war to more than 30,000 with another 70,000 wounded, according to Gazas Hamas-run Health Ministry. The agency does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed.

Arab countries have condemned the violence, accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians in the incident. U.S. President Biden expressed concern it would make negotiating a ceasefire more difficult.

Medics arriving at the scene of the bloodshed Thursday found "dozens or hundreds" lying on the ground, according to Fares Afana, the head of the ambulance service at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He said there were not enough ambulances to collect all the dead and wounded and that some were being brought to hospitals in donkey carts.

Aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order, with crowds of desperate people overwhelming aid convoys. The U.N. says a quarter of Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians face starvation; around 80% have fled their homes.

SQUAD MEMBER RASHIDA TLAIB REFUSES TO SAY WHETHER SHE'LL VOTE FOR BIDEN DURING CEASE-FIRE PRESSER

The increasing alarm over hunger across Gaza has fueled international calls for a ceasefire, and the U.S., Egypt and Qatar are working to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas for a pause in fighting and the release of some of the hostages Hamas took during its Oct. 7 attack.

Smoke rises from damaged residential buildings in Khan Yunis seen from the city of Rafah following the Israeli attacks on January 11, 2024, in Rafah, Gaza.

Mediators hope to reach an agreement before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts around March 10. But so far, Israel and Hamas have remained far apart in public on their demands.

The Hamas attack into southern Israel that ignited the war killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants seized around 250 hostages. Hamas and other militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of about 30 more, after releasing most of the other captives during a November ceasefire.

Since launching its assault on Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, Israel has barred entry of food, water, medicine and other supplies, except for a trickle of aid entering the south from Egypt at the Rafah crossing and Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing. Despite international calls to allow in more aid, the number of supply trucks is far less than the 500 that came in daily before the war.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: IDF says troops fired warning shots as mob rushed aid convoy, leading to more than 100 killed
Ifo Pili says his four years as the Las Cruces City Manager have rounded out his skillset as a leader as he is set to return to Utah.

Pili resigned his post this week to take over as City Manager in West Valley City, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City on April 8. Pili played football at BYU, where two of his daughters are currently competing on the track and field team. His son, a sophomore on the Centennial football team, recently picked up an offer from BYU.

Pili said the West Valley opportunity was the only job in Utah he would leave for at this stage of his career.

"I've had other opportunities presented to go back to Utah, but I started considering it only because of my children," Pili said. "I came here with eight of them and now I have five and they are all going to BYU and Utah."

Pili said he was contacted by a search firm in November. He was offered the job in February, but the prospect of returning to family began to sink in when he drove to Utah with his family in February, where 50 members of his extended family took over a restaurant.

More: Las Cruces City Manager Ifo Pili resigns. City says it will seek internal candidate.

He still didn't sign the offer letter until last Friday.

"This city (West Valley) in particular, I wish it didn't come open until later because I still feel there is so much I want to do and want to be a part of here. It's a great city," Pili said. "I have a wonderful mayor and city council and a wonderful staff. I fell in love with the community."

Ifo Pili, Las Cruces city manager, chats with another city staffer during the budget retreat on Feb. 22, 2023.

Ifo Pili's tenure in Las Cruces began during pandemic

Pili was hired by Las Cruces City Council after 14 years as an administrator building the city of Eagle Mountain, Utah from the ground up.

He was hired to take over in Las Cruces at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

He restructured the city's organization and improved insurance benefits and pay for city employees. The City has added police officers and Pili said council has approved a 24% pay increase for police throughout his tenure.

The City has taken steps toward revitalizing areas across the city with LiftUP Las Cruces and two metropolitan redevelopment areas.

Las Cruces has increased its minimum wage and City Council has allocated federal funds toward a guaranteed basic income project. When asked what projects he felt haven't been completed as he leaves his post, he said addressing poverty in the city stands out.

"I'm really proud of the organizational culture and the alignment between council and staff," Pili said. "We are all working on the same page and moving in the same direction.

"Coming in, I asked council what they wanted me to work on and every one of them said we needed to move the poverty dial and that hasn't been moved. That is something that will probably continue to bother me. I think there is so much more potential with economic development that we were just getting started."

Mayor Pro Temp Johana Bencomo said Pili has been open to projects related to poverty in Las Cruces while adding that it's not a government only issue.

"I think he has moved the needle and poverty is a really big needle," Bencomo said. "I think he has been at the forefront for some pretty big changes and I'm really proud of work we've done together."

Pili steps away at a challenging time for the city, which is still grieving the loss of Las Cruces Police Department officer Jonah Hernandez.

Local business leaders have become increasingly frustrated and vocal with instances of trespassing and two LCPD officers also face criminal charges for their involvement in fatal officer involved shootings.

Pili said every city presents its own challenges. Throughout his tenure in Eagle Mountain, Utah, Pili said that city grew from 250 people in 1996 to over 70,000 residents currently.

West Valley, Utah is the second largest city in Utah and Pili said it's the only city in Utah where minorities make up the majority of the population.

"I lost a police officer in my previous city which totally devastated the community just like it has with officer Hernandez, but that is the only thing similar with previous city. There are different challenges in the city I'm going to now.

"I has certainly made me a better city manager."

What is next for Las Cruces?

The City posted the job for Pili's replacement on Wednesday with the expectation of hiring an internal candidate in March. Pili said his last day will be around March 15.

Pili made an annual salary of $216,000. He signed an employment agreement extension in July 2023 through September 2026, but as an at-will employee, he will not be penalized for leaving prior to the end of the current contract.

"I would be heartbroken no matter if things were hard or not," Bencomo said. "I think (Pili) is deeply valued. He has been wonderful to work with. I'm personally having a hard time thinking about doing this job without him. But when I put feelings aside and think about the city, I think he has been intentional about building a good bench."

Pili said he will appoint an acting city manager while city council determines the hiring process to identify his successor. Pili was selected in Las Cruces after a process that involved a search firm and 18 months without a city manager while William Studer and David Maestas served as interim city managers.

The current belief among council members is that between Pili's top three assistants, as well as experienced department heads, there are several individuals capable of stepping into the role.

"There are really incredible people in the city who worked under Ifo," Bencomo said. "He was really intentional about building a deeper bench. I feel sad, yet confident that we will find someone soon."

Assistant city manager Ikani Taumoepeau followed Pili from Eagle Mountain to Las Cruces. Assistant City Manager Sonya Delgado is a Las Cruces native with experience in multiple roles and chief administrative officer Barbara Bencomo has been with the city since 2010.

"(Taumoepeau) is very capable and my hope is that he will stay and put in (for the job)," Pili said. "That would give me piece of mind knowing that he would stay and continue on. My hope is that everyone stays. Everyone is committed and passionate."

Prior to his departure, Pili said he will provide his experience as the city works through the budget process. During the city's budget retreat, department heads provided presentations to receive funding from the city's general fund.

"I really want to make sure those things are in our budget," Pili said. "There is enough money for the parks and facilities improvements. I think all of those can be funded.

"I think the city is on a good trajectory and I hope it will continue on that good trajectory."

Jason Groves can be reached at 575-541-5459 or jgroves@lcsun-news.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @jpgroves.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Ifo Pili returns to Utah after four years as City Manager in Las Cruces
Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Commissioner for Human Rights, has stated that as of 1 March, he had not received any official information from Russia regarding the possible death of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) aboard the Il-76 that crashed in Russia. However, after the Russian ombudsman stated that the country was ready to hand over the bodies, he will once again bring this issue up with the Russian side.

Source: Lubinets in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "My position remains unchanged: I believe that Russia is once again exploiting the issue of the Il-76, which crashed on 24 January. I can confirm that I have not received any official passenger manifests or other information.

Assuming at the time that Russias claims of passengers being onboard the plane were true, I, as an authorised person, and Ukraine as a whole demanded a transparent investigation, access to the crash site, the involvement of international organisations in the investigation and lists confirming the supposed presence of POWs on the flight.

The next day, I used all possible communication channels to get official information from the Russian side. But I didnt receive anything."

Details: Lubinets also emphasised that he raises the issue of bringing back all Ukrainian citizens, including children, hostages and POWs, as well as repatriating the bodies of Ukrainian heroes during every communication through various channels.

Quote: "After receiving information from the Russians, we will do everything we can today so that no one ever accuses the Ukrainian side of being unprepared to retrieve the bodies of our heroes. However, we are unable to confirm the assertion that Ukrainian POWs were on board the plane that crashed as I have not received any lists or other evidence to confirm this."

Regarding the question of whether they verified the lists of POWs that Russian propagandists published at that time, Lubinets noted that he approached the Russian side officially and labeled the dissemination of such data on social networks "an element of information warfare".

"We will address Russia using all communication channels available to us. And in case Russia actually hands over the bodies to us, as soon as we receive them, all necessary expertise will be employed, and relatives and loved ones will finally have the opportunity to bury the heroes with dignity. But I want to point out again that [it will only happen] if the Russian side hands them over to us," Lubinets concluded.

Previously: Earlier on 1 March, Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said that Russia was ready to return to Ukraine the bodies of the prisoners of war it says were killed in the 24 January crash of an Il-76 cargo plane in Belgorod Oblast.

In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda, Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), reported that that Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to Russia regarding the transfer of bodies of those who died aboard the Il-76. Work in this direction is ongoing, as is the investigation into the circumstances of what actually happened with the Il-76 and who was truly on board.

Background:

On 24 January, a Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war to Belgorod for a swap. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, two Ukrainian missiles were "fired", killing 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian POWs. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed that the swap was scheduled for 24 January.

A few hours after information about the crash appeared, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement in which it hinted that the plane was a military target and was transporting ammunition for the Russian army.

Ukraines Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets noted Ukraine had seen no evidence indicating that a large number of prisoners of war were onboard the Il-76 military transport aircraft that crashed in Russias Belgorod Oblast, contrary to statements made by the Russian Ministry of Defence and other representatives of the aggressor country.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraines Defence Intelligence, has said that neither Russia nor Ukraine could lay to rest the question of what happened when the Il-76 aircraft crashed in Russias Belgorod Oblast, because the Russians havent shown the bodies.

None of the POWs who returned to Ukraine as a result of the swap on 31 January were on Russias list of those supposedly aboard the downed flight.

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We continue with our endorsements in contested primaries for the Illinois House of Representatives.

27th District

This majority Black district includes South Side neighborhoods such as Auburn Gresham, Morgan Park, Beverly, Roseland, West Pullman and Washington Heights, as well as south suburbs including Alsip, Crestwood, Robbins, Blue Island, Orland Park, Palos Heights and Palos Park. Democrat Justin Slaughter has been the representative since 2017 and is running for reelection. His challenger is Tawana (TJ) Robinson, a special education teacher in Chicago Public Schools.

Slaughter, the chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, is a well-regarded House member. Hes been a leader on criminal justice reform in Springfield and co-sponsored the Safe-T Act, which eliminated cash bail and set new standards for pretrial detention of those accused of violent crimes. He says the most pressing issue in his district is gun violence and was a leader in enacting the Reimagine Public Safety Act, which invests in programs to steer potential violent criminals into productive pursuits.

Robinsons platform is skimpy, and she doesnt lay out a compelling rationale for unseating Slaughter, who ably represents the interests of his district.

We endorse Justin Slaughter.

29th District

The 29th covers a stretch of the south suburbs including Calumet City, Harvey, South Holland and Chicago Heights and Crete-Monee. After the last redistricting, communities to the south such as Peotone were added to the district. Representing the district since 2011 is Thaddeus Jones, who also serves as the mayor of Calumet City.

In both roles, Jones has been a source of controversy. In 2022, the Tribune reported federal investigators were probing Jones for potential tax violations involving his campaign funds. There have been no charges brought so far in that investigation. More recently, as Calumet City mayor, Jones made a fool of himself, garnering national attention in the process, for moving to cite a Daily Southtown reporter for alleged interference/hampering of city employees tied to asking repeated questions about stormwater facilities and floods.

Jones reflects poorly on the district and Calumet City, and voters would do the region a service by removing him. Opposing him in the primary is Gloria White, 60, a retired executive payroll specialist at FedEx and a Calumet City resident for three decades. Political involvement is a late career move for White, who is trustee for Thornton Fractional Schools and secretary for the Southland Northeast Chamber of Commerce.

People are afraid of him, White tells us about Jones. We have to come together to say enough of this foolishness.

Whites campaign emphasizes protecting womens reproductive rights; combating gun violence both by attacking root causes of crime and giving police more enforcement tools; and promoting small business through greater access to grants and loans, as well as providing better understanding to businesses of government procurement rules. In short, its a platform well-tailored to the district.

Its past time for a change for this district, and we think White is worth supporting in her own right, not just because of the incumbents negatives.

Gloria White is endorsed.

31st District

This South Side and south suburban district includes portions of Englewood, Auburn Gresham and Wrightwood in the city, as well as parts of Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park and Hickory Hills. For nearly four decades, Rep. Mary Flowers has represented the district.

Flowers is the longest-serving Black lawmaker in Illinois history. She also is a political target of a fellow Democrat, House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch, who is backing a primary challenge to her from Michael Crawford, dean of The Chicago School, a private college focused on psychology.

This is one of the most closely watched primary battles for the General Assembly this cycle and a test of Welchs influence. He has enlisted private sector unions to contribute hundreds of thousands to Crawfords campaign.

Welch has cited boorish and uncivil behavior from Flowers  most notably her comment last year to a staffer that he looked like Adolph Hitler  and nearly a year ago removed her from her Democratic leadership post and barred her from Democratic caucus meetings. Flowers told the Chicago Sun-Times she believes Welchs real motive is her support for his staffs unionization efforts.

From a policy point of view, there arent significant differences between these candidates. There are other things to consider, though. One is whether Flowers simply has been in the seat long enough and has become too erratic in terms of her temperament. Another is the poor optics of the Illinois speaker calling on unions to finance a primary race as a personal favor. The Democrats in Springfield are too close to powerful private and public sector unions as it is. What will Welch owe these unions in return?

Among the generous givers is the Illinois political action committee for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which donated $68,500 on Feb. 1. IBEW is in Springfield asking Democrats to reverse decisions made by state utility regulators to rein in electricity rate hikes.

Were not happy with either choice for the reasons stated above and wont make an endorsement in this race. But we will expect Speaker Welch to be clear with the unions financing this challenge not to expect any special favors in return.

35th District

Rep. Mary Gill was appointed a year ago to represent this district, which includes the Southwest Side neighborhoods of Beverly and Mount Greenwood, as well as southwest suburbs including Alsip, Worth, Palos Heights and Orland Park. She succeeded Fran Hurley, who stepped down after Gov. J.B. Pritzker appointed her to the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Gill, a Democrat, is running for election in her own right; her opponent is David Dewar, a financial adviser who has run in the past for this seat and also for 19th Ward alderman in Chicago.

True to a district thats home to many Chicago police officers and their families, Gill has represented law enforcements interests in Springfield. She has decried the Chicago Board of Educations decision to remove all uniformed cops from city high schools even if the Local School Councils representing those schools still want them  a position with which we agree.

Dewar, among other things, says he would file a bill to eliminate Illinois designation as a sanctuary state and to restore cash bail, which judges no longer can impose on criminal defendants under the Safe-T Act.

We think Gill shows promise as a lawmaker and is in tune with the desires of her district.

Mary Gill is endorsed.

49th District

This district covers several suburbs in western DuPage County, including parts or all of West Chicago, Bartlett, Elgin, South Elgin, Batavia, Aurora and Naperville. Two Republicans are vying to challenge the Democratic incumbent, Maura Hischauer. They are Aris Garcia, a 24-year-old human resources manager for Avlon Industries, and Hannah Billingsley, 36, owner of MOD Sportswear in West Chicago.

Garcia, a self-described champion of conservative values, supports lower taxes and would back creating a local property tax task force to proactively give constituents information on ways to reduce their property taxes.

Billingsley also believes Illinois tax burden is too high and supports a statewide audit of school systems spending, an idea we think is good since schools consume the majority of property tax revenue. As a small business owner, she emphasizes support for businesses and job training.

On taxes, Billingsley tells us shes from Florida originally and her parents still live there. Even though my parents home is 50% bigger than mine, my property taxes are five times more than their property taxes, she says.

Addressing wasteful spending in the schools and policies to encourage more robust business growth will help keep taxes more manageable, she says.

Billingsley is exactly the kind of candidate Republicans need to compete better in suburban Chicago.

We endorse Hannah Billingsley.

76th District

In a sign of these gerrymandered times, this is the only House district statewide featuring primaries in both races. The district is centered in DeKalb, home to Northern Illinois University, and includes surrounding communities. Three Democrats  DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes, DeKalb Ald. Carolyn Morris Zasada and Amy Murri Briel  are running. Briel is the chief of staff to retiring Democratic Rep. Lance Yednock. On the GOP side are Liz Bishop, a retired bank examiner and Crystal Loughran, a teacher who works for Northern Illinois as a tutor to elementary school kids.

In the Democratic contest, all three are impressive, moderate candidates with solid ideas for economic development in the area and strong backing for womens reproductive rights. Barnes can boast of a solid record of reducing property taxes in DeKalb. Briel, given her work in Springfield, is expert on the workings of the Capitol and how to get things done there. As a real estate agent, Zasada supports making homeownership realistic for more residents of the district. Democratic primary voters cant really go wrong with any of them.

We endorse Cohen Barnes based on his mayoral record and impressive property tax reductions.

On the GOP side, Bishop is the clear choice. In addition to lowering property taxes  a common theme for both parties  she supports reinstating the Invest in Kids tax credits and toughening the Safe-T Act to revoke pretrial release when defendants violate the terms of that release. She pledges to work across the aisle on issues where theres common ground to be found. Loughran is more conservative, emphasizing gun rights and criticizing wind farms on rural land, for example.

We endorse Liz Bishop.

Editors note: The Tribune editorial boards endorsement in the 36th District is coming soon. We are doing further reporting in that race.
OsakaWayne Studios via Getty Images

I have always been fascinated by forgiveness. For something so fundamentally crucial to us flawed humans, understanding it seems daunting  a concept both complicated and nebulous.

Im also fascinated by Sex and the City (like so many other 40- to 50-somethings, I suspect). The series sometimes foregrounded forgiveness, as did the 2008 SATC film, in which both Carrie and Miranda face betrayal by their respective partners. Later in the film, Carrie discovers that Miranda withheld information from her about Bigs betrayal, and she  in current terms  ghosts Miranda. Soon after, Miranda confronts Carrie and begs for forgiveness. Carrie responds, You badger me to forgive you in three days  and you wont even consider forgiving Steve for something he did six months ago. When Miranda protests that it is not the same thing, Carrie counters simply, Its forgiveness.

But is it that simple? I always assumed so. Ive also (upon reflection, somewhat self-righteously) prided myself on how freely I forgive, believing that doing so helps the offended as much as the offender. But then, I havent been on the side of needing forgiveness until recently, when I became responsible for the death of my sisters beloved dog.

My sister and her husband live three hours north of me. When they needed to attend a funeral in a city two hours south of me, I offered to watch their dog, Peggy Sue. She was recovering from an injury and needed more care than my sisters pet sitter could give.

I did not know Peggy Sue well, as she was a relatively recent addition to their family; extremely shy and timid, she rarely interacted with me when I visited. But I have always considered myself a huge dog lover, as well as an experienced dog guardian/sitter. In fact, when my sister and I were teens, we ran an informal neighborhood business, J&J Pet Sitting. And I have been a dog mom to multiple dogs in my adulthood, including my current golden retriever, Hudson.

My sister and brother-in-law arrived on a Monday to drop off Peggy Sue. This was the first time that they visited my present home, but I had described my small yard and see-through iron fence  the bars of which were strong but vertical, spaced about 4 inches apart. My sister expressed some concerns about the fence, suggesting that I would need to keep her dog on a leash, and I agreed. However, upon arriving at my home, she reversed this advice, as it seemed physically impossible for Peggy Sue to squeeze through the bars.

I imagine you can guess what happened. About two hours after my sister and her husband departed, I took Peggy Sue, sans leash, into my yard, staying close by her. My neighbor Fernando, walking by, stopped to ask if I had gotten a new dog after the passing, at the ripe old age of 18, of my second dog, Dinah, in April last year. As I began to answer, Peggy Sue shot through the bars of the fence  and was gone. My neighbor and I looked at each other, equally astonished. I felt rooted to the spot, horrified, but quick-acting Fernando took off after my sisters dog.

To try to defend the seemingly indefensible, I should point out that Dinah, who had been exactly the same size as Peggy Sue, never escaped the yard herself; in fact, none of the dogs I have had or cared for was an escape artist. I was unaware at the time that Peggy Sue was, or how desperately she would want to escape and, I assume, find my sister.

The next two hours are a blur to me. I joined Fernando in chasing after Peggy Sue, who was faster and more elusive than I ever could have imagined possible. We saw the little dog run as far as a commuter train station across from my neighborhood, and an expansive parking lot between, before disappearing into an apartment complex to the east. For a time, she kept coming into view, eventually running back into my community and even, multiple times, near my house. But each time she darted away again.

As word  both verbally and through social media  quickly got around my close-knit, very dog-friendly community, kind neighbors helped search, occasionally reporting sightings of her in and around the area, but they were unable to catch her. Crying by that time, I called my brother and sister-in-law, who live a few miles away, to assist in the search. However, as the sun began to set, reports of sightings dissipated and soon ended altogether. My heart sinking, I knew it was time to call my sister, who by that time had arrived at her destination with her husband.

After our difficult conversation, they decided to return to my house, arriving just before midnight. I apologized profusely for what happened, and the next 48 hours were a frantic whirlwind of searching, posting on social media, and contacting shelters and rescues. I made flyers and hand-delivered them to veterinarians in the area, in case someone found Peggy Sue and brought her in to check for her microchip.

When my sister, her husband and I were back at my house, we barely interacted. I sensed that it was best to give them privacy in the guest room downstairs; I was unsure how my sister felt about me and the part I played in this. But as I sat, alone and despondent, in the living room upstairs, her heartbreaking, hysterical crying left no doubt in my mind how she felt about losing her dog. I hated causing her such pain.

By Wednesday morning, with no signs of Peggy Sue, my sister and her husband returned home. I was unsure what the plan moving forward was; we did not speak before they left. I continued to search the area and check social media. Then, late that afternoon, a neighbor messaged me on Discord. He saw what he thought was Peggy Sues body on the service road of a nearby highway. He warned me that it was a very difficult image to see and that I would maybe call professionals to identify/recover due to her condition.

Ignoring his advice, I rushed to the area. If you had told me before that week that I would soon be recovering the body of a dog from a busy road  and then driving it for three hours to deliver it to my grieving sister  I would have told you that I was incapable. But its amazing what we discover we can do when we have to.

I will spare you the details of identifying Peggy Sues body, of getting it into the back of my SUV, of finding a way to store it until I could leave the next day to take it to my sister. I knew that my only path to possible redemption was returning the body to my sister and giving her closure. So much that week felt out of control, so I turned to controlling the few things I could, as difficult as they were.

When I arrived at my sisters house, my brother-in-law was outside alone to meet me. He thanked me for bringing the body home  and asked me not to contact them. So I have honored that request.

I have disappeared from my sisters life, and she from mine. As the weeks turn into months, my hopes of reconciliation  of forgiveness  diminish. But isnt there a difference between committing an act intentionally and doing something accidentally, as I did? Isnt the latter worthy of forgiveness? Or, since the tragic result is the same, do I not deserve it?

As I contemplate this possibility, I find myself considering just what forgiveness is, and what we do when it eludes us.

The Mayo Clinic defines forgiveness as an intentional decision to let go of resentment and anger, adding: Forgiveness means different things to different people. ... The act that hurt or offended you might always be with you. But working on forgiveness can lessen that acts grip on you. But this is entirely from the perspective of the offended. What about the offender, the unforgiven  like me? Could I lessen my acts grip on me?

A quick search online suggests that a therapist or spiritual adviser would urge anyone seeking forgiveness to review the situation, admit responsibility, apologize, forgive themselves, and have patience. These are things that you can control, and I have done all of them.

Would I have done anything differently? Not in the aftermath of Peggy Sues escape  I was careful to ensure that I would have no regrets about my actions then  but before, I sure wish I had erred on the side of caution and kept Peggy Sue on her leash in my yard. But I can no longer control that.

Coincidentally, soon after these events, the Amazon Prime Video series Expats dropped. I watched the first episode unaware of the focus of the show. The opening depicts snapshots of a doctor, three pilots and a 12-year-old boy, who are all responsible for accidental but fatal tragedies. The narrator intones: These stories always focus on the victim. The person responsible for the calamity is never mentioned. ... But I want to know about the perpetrators. I want to know about the people who caused the tragedies. People like me. Are they ever forgiven? Now I was people like me. I cried through the episode.

I worry about how this is affecting other family members, namely my brother, my sister-in-law and especially my elderly father (my mom passed away in 2022)  if they feel caught in the middle. Thankfully we do talk, if not about my sister and the death of her dog, and our relationships seem undamaged.

I think what I have been feeling is akin to grief. I think I have been experiencing some of its classic stages, including denial, anger and depression. I know that due to my culpability, I will not be afforded the kind of sympathy reserved for those not responsible for the cause of their grief. Still, I grieve.

I grieve the loss of that sweet little dog, never again to enjoy my sisters love and the pleasures of this life. A few well-meaning family members and friends have tried to console me with it was just a dog or dogs are lost/hit by cars all the time. But that logic fails to work on this dog lover, who as an adult has grieved the deaths of four of her own canine companions, albeit all in relatively old age.

I grieve the loss of my sister, which perhaps I feel all the more keenly with my moms recent passing. Not quite Irish twins but still only 19 months apart, my sister and I have always had a special bond; besides our parents, one of whom now is gone, no one has known me as long, and she always seemed there to protect me.

An old picture shows the author, right, and her sister. "This is one of the first photos ever taken of us together, around 1966," she writes. Courtesy of Judith Sebesta

And I grieve the loss of who I was: someone who felt secure in the knowledge that I had never knowingly caused anyone grief.

One of my favorite phrases is it is what it is. And so, unwillingly, I guess I must face the final stage of grief: acceptance. But as the character Red in one of my favorite films, The Shawshank Redemption, argues: Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things. And good things never die. I admit that I hope my sister sees this essay and it convinces her to forgive me or, at the very least, reach out to try to begin to repair our broken relationship.

If nothing else, this essay has helped me process what happened and move through the stages of grief. But I also hope that, if others out there reading this have been through something similar and are silently suffering, they might feel less alone because of it.

Judith Sebesta, Ph.D., is a consultant, researcher and writer focused on innovation in higher education. Following a career as a professor of theater, she served as a policy analyst and innovation director at a state higher education agency and several nonprofit organizations. She is an editor of Women in American Musical Theatre and the author of Telling Stories To Save the World: Climate Change in Narrative Film, the childrens book Kirby the Kind Dog, and numerous articles, papers and reports on theater, film and innovation in higher education. She received her Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin and her masters from Florida State University.

Do you have a compelling personal story youd like to see published on HuffPost? Find out what were looking for here and send us a pitch at pitch@huffpost.com.

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Dubai International (DXB) airport announced recently a record-breaking passenger traffic figure for 2023 while planning to cater more to Chinese visitors passing through, Dubai Airports Chief Executive Officer Paul Griffiths told Xinhua.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Charging documents filed by Jackson County prosecutors Friday in the deadly shooting at a northeastern Independence home the day before discuss three of the four victims.

The shooting Thursday during an eviction killed a police officer and a civil process server, and wounded two other officers.

Independence Police Officer Cody Allen, 35, and Drexel Mack, a civil process server with Jackson County Circuit Court, died.

Two other Independence police officers were shot. One underwent surgery and the other had minor injures. Both are expected to make full recoveries, Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Thursday.

Larry D. Acree, 69, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action, the Jackson County Prosecutors Office announced Friday.

The charges related to Allen, Mack and the officer who underwent surgery, court documents indicated.

Police vehicles line up for a procession to escort the body of fallen Independence police officer Cody Allen from Centerpoint Medical Center to the medical examiners office on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Independence. Allen was shot and killed in the line of duty hours earlier who in the northeast part of the city. Tammy Ljungblad/tljungblad@kcstar.com

The documents do not say anything about a fourth victim.

During a news conference Friday, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said the investigation was ongoing and that we will get there with additional charges.

Its just been hours, you know, not days, she said. Sometimes when investigations occur, you do the biggest items first. So were simply trying to work through the evidence as quickly as we can, but also methodically and thoughtfully. So were going to get there.

The first gunshots were fired shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday in the 1100 block of North Elsea Smith Road, near East Bundschu Road, said Cpl. Justin Ewing, a spokesman with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is investigating the shooting.

According to court records filed Friday, after civil process servers knocked and announced their presence in an attempt to carry out an eviction after a year-long eviction process, officials got no answer. They began removing the locks on the door with a drill. While doing so, they were reportedly met with gunfire. Mack was shot and fell to the floor inside the front entrance.

Officers responded and attempted to retrieve the victim. Thats when, court documents say, Officer Allen was shot and killed and other officers were also wounded. Officers then reportedly returned fire.

Baker said Friday that Acree is in the hospital due to injuries he sustained in the shooting, but is in custody on a $2 million bond.
India's aviation safety regulator has imposed a penalty of Rs3m (28,700) on an airline after an 80-year-old man suffered cardiac arrest due to a delay in wheelchair service.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show cause notice to Air India last month for not complying with provisions for people with limited mobility following the passengers death.

Babu Patel and his wife had requested their pre-booked wheelchairs upon their arrival at the Mumbai airport from New York on an Air India flight on 12 February.

The couple was asked to wait for assistance due to heavy demand for wheelchairs.

While the woman was provided with a wheelchair, Patel reportedly decided to walk alongside his wife instead of waiting further.

Patel collapsed on his way to the immigration and was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Following the incident, the National Human Rights Commission asked India's aviation authorities to file a detailed report in four weeks and sought compensation for the bereaved family.

The regulator on Thursday said the airline failed to comply with the provisions and take action against the "erring employees". "The airline also failed to submit any corrective action taken to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future," the DCGA said in a statement.

The regulator also issued an advisory to all airlines to ensure adequate wheelchairs were available for the passengers.

Air India responded to the show cause notice saying that the airline was in "constant touch with the family members of the bereaved, extending necessary assistance."

"Air India has a clearly laid down policy to offer wheelchair assistance to every passenger who requisitions it during reservations.

Earlier in January, a passenger on an Air India alleged she was served non-vegetarian food  despite the packaging being labelled as meat-free.

Taking to X, Veera Jain shared images of the in-flight meal she was given on board the Calicut-Mumbai flight.

In one of the photos taken by Ms Jain, the meal packaging reads veg main meal  but in the second photo, there is chicken served with the rice dish.

Air India also responded to the post, with a representative asking Ms Jain to contact them via direct message.
When Indianas Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita launched Eyes on Education  an official state website that he says seeks to expose socialist indoctrination of students and trans-sanity in schools  educators targeted by the site were caught completely off guard.

Paul White is the superintendent of New Prairie United Schools, outside of South Bend. I found out when it became live, he tells Rolling Stone. But when he saw why his district was among those highlighted for supposedly unacceptable policies, White was confused. The document that they had on their website related to our school system was no longer in use. It had only been used for about 60 days. And it had been replaced for almost two years now.

Rokitas office has claimed that the objectionable curricula, policies, or programs affecting children that are posted to its site are fully reviewed and verified. But White insists that is hogwash: There was zero due diligence, he says. This lack of considered process may be a pattern.

The attorney general website pledges the office will use our investigative tools, including public records requests to probe materials it believes could violate Indiana law. But Rolling Stone sent records requests to the 14 districts and educational entities highlighted on Eyes on Education, asking what the attorney generals office has demanded of them. None of the eight that responded had received any records requests from Rokitas office.

In the case of New Prairie, the Eyes on Education site posted, for public opprobrium, the districts old Gender Support policy, originally crafted in August 2022. That plan had directed that trans and gender-nonconforming students could choose whether the district would discuss their school accommodations (think: bathroom choice, pronoun changes) with the parents. Based on community feedback, that policy was soon revised to make disclosure mandatory. The new policy, adopted November 2022, is still in effect. And it complies with a controversial new state law, adopted in May 2023, to require such disclosure.

When launching Eyes on Education, however, Rokitas team posted the districts old, temporary policy without any context, as if it were still in effect. As Whites office was suddenly besieged by calls from local media outlets, he figured there had been a simple error, and thought the attorney generals office would be eager to correct it. To reach Rokitas office, White used the same Eyes on Education portal that allows citizen snitches to make a complaint.

White provided Rolling Stone with the correspondence he used to try to get the matter settled. Whoever sent this to you did not share the correct plan with you, he wrote. My recommendation is that you  not take every citizens submission as gospel truth. He pressed the attorney generals office about its seeming lack of care: Why did no one from your office reach out to me to ensure the accuracy of the posted document and verify its usage?

White attached copies of the current plan, highlighting that parents will be informed in all instances when a transgender student comes forward to request gender transition considerations. He asked that the old policy be removed.

The response White received shocked him. Corrine Youngs, policy director and legislative counsel for Rokita, demanded White provide extensive documentation that evidences the repeal of your former policy, as well as documents evidencing you formally adopted this new policy. Having already posted the out-of-date policy without corroborating it was still in effect, the attorney generals office was refusing to correct the record without putting White through the wringer.

White did not hold back in his reply to Youngs: It is beyond concerning that the highest legal office in the state of Indiana  vetted nothing, gave me no chance prior to publication to respond, and now you have published your website and we have to prove what I submitted to you is true. This is sad and I have no respect for it, he wrote. White insisted that the submission process for Eyes on Education enables politically motivated attacks. He wrote of the person who sent Rokitas office the outdated document: They clearly have an agenda, or they would have been interested in the full truth.

The updated policy was eventually added to the Eyes on Education website, but without any context or explication. The old policy is still there as well, now with a date appended: Policy revised in November 2022. White says he has gotten no response to his last communication with the attorney generals office. A Rokita spokesperson defended posting outdated materials on the website in a statement to Rolling Stone: Even if a lesson plan or policy has changed, its important for parents to see what the adults in their childs school are capable of.

White points out that gender accommodations werent something the district came up with on its own, but the result of litigation that required the district to develop a policy. White made this clear in his letter to Youngs: Given you are in the Attorney General office, I am guessing you are also aware of federal court case precedent around this subject. He referenced a case that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up, about an Indiana school that was required to make accommodations for a transgender student. White adds, We have no choice from policy and federal case law precedent [but] to work with transgender students on facility and programming access.

Youngs did not respond to detailed questions about her communications with White. Instead, Rolling Stone received an additional statement from the Rokita spokesperson. A vast majority of the submissions on the portal currently were given to us by teachers or other school employees, and easily verified, it says in part. Thats why they went up without us notifying the schools. The statement insists that the portals goal is to provide transparency, but adds, We will not take down outdated content. The statement asserts that the portal will actually help teachers and school administrators because it will expose misinformation that can naturally exist amongst the public.

White says he still doesnt know what the aim of Eyes on Education is. But as a Cuban American, hes particularly alarmed by other documents highlighted on the site  posted from a nearby school district  that simply alert students to the availability of minority scholarships at local colleges. I went to a state university in this state on one of those types of minority scholarships  and so did my mother, as a first generation immigrant, he says.

That really concerned me, he continues. Is that local school system supposed to be in trouble for highlighting opportunities and options for minority students? It seems to infer that. I find that troubling on so many levels. I just dont understand.

More from Rolling Stone

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DELHI TWP., Mich (WLNS)  Ingham County Sheriff Officials and Holt School leaders are investigating allegations a substitute teacher at Holt Middle School was inappropriately touching youth.

The investigation comes after a child reported to her mother a substitute teacher had inappropriately touched her Wednesday.

Its not an OK situation here my kid literally looks at me and says, Im not going to school the rest of the week  at least. I dont feel safe, Lauren Demmon says.

The front of Hope Middle School, part of the Holt Public Schools. A parent says a substitute teacher inappropriately touched her daughter, other children. (WLNS)

And thats when she learned her daughter says she was touched by a substitute teacher.

She was like, Yeah, he touched my upper thigh, Demmon says her daughter told her of the teachers actions. He tried to take me into a room with him alone. She said that he stared at her the whole day in a messed up manner. He was licking his lips very slowly.

Demmons 10-year-old daughter is not the only one alleging there was inappropriate behavior from the substitute. When Demmons daughter rebuffed the teacher, he allegedly targeted Demmons friend.

He would put his arm out and give kids no choice but to back up into the room, Demmon says of the incidents. Her best friend dodged him and my daughter slapped his hand away.

She claims officials escorted the substitute from school grounds but didnt call the parents of the students impacted.

You had until 2 p.m.  til the time my kid called me  to let me know that a predator was touching my child and making her uncomfortable the entire day, she says of school officials alleged failure to reach out to her.

Demmon met Ingham County Sheriffs Department officials at the school to file a criminal complaint  which the department confirms with 6 News is under investigation.

The ongoing criminal investigation doesnt assuage her anger at school officials, however.

The fact I have learned from my 10-year-old that a predator was touching her  its inappropriate, she says.

School district officials declined to go on camera, but they did send the following letter to parents and 6 News.

Dear Hope Middle School families, At Holt Public Schools, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority. We are reaching out to provide an update on reports of alleged inappropriate behavior by a substitute teacher we received on Wednesday at Hope Middle School. In the afternoon, a group of students reported a substitute teacher had engaged in inappropriate conduct. When school leadership learned of these concerns, the school district began a review, and the substitute teacher was removed from the building. We followed all reporting guidelines in this matter, and we are working with local law enforcement. We will provide updates on our review as information becomes available and appropriate to share. Our district takes reports of inappropriate conduct very seriously. Our teachers and staff members are held to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical conduct, including an obligation to treat students with dignity, respect and to adhere to our school code of conduct as well as state laws. We understand that reporting inappropriate conduct can be uncomfortable and difficult and we are proud of the students who brought these concerns to our attention. If your student reports any concerning behavior, we encourage you to contact us by phone at (517) 694-5715. Thank you for choosing Holt Public. Respectfully, The Central Office Administration Team Feb. 29, 2024 letter to Holt Middle School parents

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
In 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Andes mountains, forcing the survivors to endure freezing temperatures, avalanches, starvation and, eventually, eat the dead among them.

That true story is now being told in the hit Netflix film Society of the Snow. The movie chronicles how the survivors made it through the famed disaster, from the horrific plane crash all the way to their improbable rescue 72 days later.

How did the plane crash?

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was carrying a total of 45 passengers and crew members while heading from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile. Nearly half of the passengers were members of the Old Christians Club amateur rugby team, while others were their friends and family.

Bad weather forced the flight to stop overnight in Mendoza, Argentina. The next day, Oct. 13, 1972, the plane took off again and was flying through the Andes when the co-pilot at the controls started to descend, mistakenly thinking he'd cleared the mountain range.

Andean Plane Crash Wreckage (Bettmann Archive)

The aircraft hit a mountain, breaking both wings off and causing the fuselage to slide down a mountain. The rear of the plane also broke off in midair, taking five people with it. After a long slide, the planes front end wound up stopping at an altitude of more than 11,000 feet.

When the plane lost the wings and tail, it began to slide at an incredible speed, survivor Dr. Roberto Canessa, who was 19 at the time, told Time magazine recently. I thought my feet were going to go through the back of my ears. So when it stopped, I couldnt believe I was alive. It was absurd.

Society of the Snow (TODAY)

How many people died in the crash?

Twelve people died in the initial crash. Five more died the first night, and another person died about a week later from injuries.

I thought I was going to die, Canessa told TODAY last November about the crash.

Out of the 45 people aboard the plane, only 16 survived the entire ordeal, which lasted more than two months.

How did the passengers who lived manage to survive?

Society of the Snow chronicles how the survivors saw search planes overhead, but rescuers failed to spot them in the snow. The group recovered a transistor radio, only to learn the search had been called off and everyone onboard was presumed dead.

The survivors created a makeshift shelter out of the fuselage. After a few weeks passed and their predicament became dire, the group resorted to cannibalism, eating the bodies of the passengers who had died.

I thought if I would die, I would be proud that my body would be used for someone else, Canessa told TODAY.

Society of the Snow, Roberto Canessa (TODAY)

Canessa said he wrestled with the notion of not just eating another human, but a person he once knew.

You are eating a dead person and the person is your friend and you wonder, Should I do this? Or should I let myself die? he told Time.

But I have seen how mothers cry when they lose their sons and I didnt want my mother to go through that. I realized that when you have a reason for doing something, nothing stops you.

What about the snow and the elements?

An avalanche buried the fuselage in snow on Oct. 29, killing eight more people and trapping other survivors inside. They managed to break out, but had to return when a blizzard hit. During their time stuck in the fuselage, the survivors ate those who died in the avalanche. At that point, only 19 people remained alive.

The survivors eventually managed to break out of the fuselage, but three more people would later die.

Plane Crash Survivor Rescued (Bettmann Archive)

Who rescued the survivors?

Three of the men who were still alive  Canessa, Nando Parrado and Antonio Tintin Vizintin  decided to hike through the mountain range in an attempt to get help. Vizintin eventually returned to the makeshift camp so the other two would have more rations for the trip.

About 10 days after they initially set out, Canessa and Parrado came across a Chilean man named Sergio Catalan who was riding a horse, but they were separated by a stream. He promised to return the next day.

When he returned, Catalan wrapped a pencil and paper around a stone and threw to the men, according to a recent Esquire story.

Parrado jotted down what had happened, prompting Catalan to take action by riding to the nearest town to inform authorities about the other survivors.

On Dec. 22, helicopters began evacuating the remaining 14 survivors at the camp.

Society of the Snow (Netflix)

Has this story been told before?

The story of the crash and unlikely tale of survival has been told in books, documentaries and movies, perhaps most notably the 1993 film Alive, based on author Piers Paul Read's 1974 book, "Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors."

Society of the Snow is based on Pablo Viercis book of the same name.

This is a story of 45 individuals providing a window through which we can observe how they endured major adversities and built a society where compassion and mercy prevailed, he told The Associated Press earlier this month.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
In late 2023, one of the teams investigators visited a seafood processing plant in northeastern China called Dandong Taifeng, which supplies tens of thousands of tons of seafood to grocery stores in the U.S. and other countries. The investigator found one hundred-fifty North Koreans working on the processing floor. Credit - Credit:  The Outlaw Ocean Project, Late 2023

Perhaps the only thing tougher than interviewing workers in China about human rights is doing the same in North Korea.

Still, it seemed worth trying because it might shed new light on the experiences of thousands of relatively invisible people who, as it turns out, provide much of the seafood consumed in the U.S. and Europe. What we found was chilling: women held captive in processing plants in China, dispatched there by the North Korean government, only to face violence, wage theft and rampant sexual abuse. And much of the seafood coming from these plants supplies major American companies, which is a violation of U.N. sanctions and the 2017 U.S. Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which established a rebuttable presumption categorizing work by North Koreans as forced labor unless proven otherwise, and levying fines on companies that import goods tied to these workers.

An investigation from The Outlaw Ocean Project revealed that fifteen seafood-processing plants together seem to have used more than a thousand North Korean workers since 2017. Ten of these plants have, in the same timeframe, cumulatively shipped more than 120,000 tons of seafood to more than seventy American importers, which supplied grocery stores including Walmart, Giant, ShopRite, and Weee! This seafood also went to importers that sent the products to restaurant chains including McDonalds and Syscowhich supplies nearly half a million restaurants, as well as U.S. public schools, military bases and the U.S. Congressand to an importer who supplies the cafeterias of the E.U. Parliament.

Such revelations were tough to land because Western journalists are restricted in China and barred from entering North Korea, whose citizens are prohibited from talking freely to reporters.

In late 2023, I set out to find ways around these obstacles. I hired a team of investigators in South Korea who help new organizations report on North Korea. The investigators have contacts across the border whom they employ to get information out of the country. The investigators and their contacts worked to compile a list of two dozen North Koreans who had been dispatched to China, most of whom have since returned home; the workers and managers were a range of ages, came from a variety of regions in the country, and had worked at half a dozen different Chinese factories. The investigators contacts met with the workers in secret, often in open fields or on the street, where it is tougher for security agents to listen in on conversations.

The workers were told that their responses would be shared publicly by a U.S. media outlet. They faced legitimate risk; if they were caught, experts told me, they could be executed. But they agreed to talk because they want the world to know what happens to them in China. The North Korean contacts transcribed their answers by hand, and then sent photos of the questionnaires, using encrypted communication channels, to the investigators, who sent them to me. Because of these layers of protection, it is impossible to fully verify what was said. But the responses were vetted by experts to make sure that they line up with what is known about the program, and with other interviews of North Korean defectors.

The investigators recently checked in on the interviewers and interviewees, and everyone was safe.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has announced three finalists in its search to replace former chancellor Joe Gow.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is one step closer to finding a new chancellor and turning the page on a scandal involving its former leader.

Sixty people applied for the job. The finalists are:

James Beeby, provost of Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire

Betsy Morgan, interim chancellor of UW-La Crosse

Christopher Olsen, provost of Indiana State University

Finalists will participate in campus forums March 4-6. The UW Board of Regents is expected to make its pick later this month.

More: What to know about about former UW-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow and the investigation into him

Before Morgan was named a finalist, the interim chancellor fielded a complaint filed by her boss, UW System President Jay Rothman, against her former boss, former UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow.

The regents removed Gow as chancellor late last year after discovering he had created sex tapes with his wife and posted them on porn websites. Gow remains a professor, but he isn't teaching this semester. He is on paid leave while the investigation is ongoing.

The UW System hired Husch Blackwell, an outside law firm, to investigate. The findings will go to the UW-La Crosse chancellor and a faculty committee to decide whether Gow should be fired from his tenured faculty position.

Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Finalists named in UW-La Crosse chancellor search
This article was originally published in Iowa Capital Dispatch.

A federal appeals court has ruled that a group of Iowa parents of children with disabilities lack the legal standing to sue the state over a law prohibiting schools from imposing mask mandates.

ARC of Iowa, a nonprofit that helps individuals with intellectual disabilities, and the parents of several Iowa children with disabilities, had sued the state over a law that prevents schools from imposing mask mandates on students and staff to combat the spread of COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the state by stating the plaintiffs lacked the legal standing to bring such a lawsuit.

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The legal battle dates back to 2021, when Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation prohibiting school districts from imposing mask mandates on staff and students. That triggered a lawsuit brought by ARC of Iowa and the parents of children who have disabilities or chronic health conditions that put them at greater risk of complications if they contract COVID-19.

The parents alleged the state was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by making it impossible for school districts to make reasonable accommodations for their children through the imposition of mask mandates.

An injunction was issued preventing the enforcement of the new law, but Reynolds appealed that decision. In 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated the injunction, noting that COVID-19 conditions in classrooms had changed since the beginning of the pandemic.

That ruling focused only on the injunction and not on the broader issue of the laws legality. Litigation over that issue continued and in November 2022, a federal judge again ruled in favor of the parents, noting that doctors for three students had recommended the students teachers and classmates be masked.

In that decision, the district court stated that the new law could not be cited as the sole basis for denying a schools request for a waiver of the mask-mandate law due to the Americans with Disabilities Act and that laws requirement that schools provide reasonable accommodation to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Reynolds appealed the ruling, arguing that ARC and the parents lacked any legal standing to bring their case, and that they had not satisfied all of the requirements of the ADA.

In its ruling on Tuesday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals noted that to establish standing, ARC of Iowa and the parents would have to show an injury tied to the conduct of the state and show that such an injury could be redressed by a favorable court ruling.

The appeals court found that ARC of Iowa and the parents could show no such injury and had simply challenged rights that they believed schools should have with regard to mask mandates.

The crux of any dispute  if there is one  appears to perhaps be between the state and the school districts, the appeals court stated. Since the school districts did not appeal and are not a party before us, the precise nature of any ongoing dispute is unclear to us.

Citing prior decisions in other jurisdictions, the court said the general risks associated with COVID-19, even though COVID-19 remains an ever-present concern in society, are not enough to show imminent and substantial harm for standing. Those prior decisions found that the increased risk of contracting COVID-19 was insufficient to demonstrate an impending future injury, in part because the odds of contracting COVID-19 and suffering complications would be speculative.

Because ARC of Iowa and the parents of the disabled students only alleged the potential risk of severe illness should they contract COVID-19 at school, the risk of harm is too speculative, the court said in its decision Tuesday.

It added that even if the added risk of contracting COVID-19 wasnt speculative, the plaintiffs still had not alleged that a school had denied their request for a mask mandate as a reasonable accommodation they were seeking under the rights bestowed by the ADA.

Although the appeals courts decision doesnt address the merits of a ban on mask mandates, Reynolds and Bird characterized the ruling as a victory for parents and for freedom.

While children were the least vulnerable, they paid the highest price for COVID lockdowns and mandates, but Iowa was a different story, Reynolds said in a written statement. Iowa was the first state to get students back in the classroom and we prohibited mask mandates in schools, trusting parents to decide what was best for their children. Elected leaders should always trust the people they serve, and I promise I would do it again.

In a written statement, Bird said, Freedom wins in todays court ruling to uphold Iowas law banning mask mandates in schools. Parents have the right to choose what healthcare decisions are best for their kids. As attorney general, I support Iowans rights and freedoms and will continue fighting to defend them.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
Super Tuesday, the most important date in the US primary calendar, is almost upon us as voters in 15 states and one territory get their chance to have their say on their preferred candidates for the presidency.

Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, plus American Samoa, will all be filling out their ballot papers.

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the Republican Partys presidential nominee once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri.

All but one of Mr Trumps challengers have long since fallen away, with only the well-funded but underperforming ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging having won the District of Columbia primary on Sunday.

The Democratic contest is even more one-sided, with President Joe Biden to be his partys candidate, despite concerns about his advanced age and consistently poor polling.

But the presidential race is not the only contest voters will be weighing in on and some of the down-ballot races are likely to prove far more nail-biting.

Key Points

New poll finds most Americans think Biden too old to be effective as president

Haley wins DC primary in crucial boost ahead of Super Tuesday

Rival says she no longer feels bound by RNC pledge to endorse winner of Republican primary

Biden losing to Trump by four points in latest poll

Super Tuesday: When is it, which states are participating and how many delegates are at stake?

Democrats eyeing Texas in difficult Senate seat race

08:02 , Arpan Rai

Democrats are on a lookout to woo Texas voters and are watching the state closely on Super Tuesday, as they patiently wait for voters to nominate their chosen rival for Republican senator Ted Cruz.

Among the potential candidates, US Republican Colin Allred, a former NFL player and three-term congressman from Dallas, and state senator Roland Gutierrez have drawn most of the attention in a primary that again finds Texas Democrats in pursuit of a breakthrough candidate.

In the past 30 years, no Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas  marking the longest losing streak of its kind in the US.

Despite that, Democrats believe Texas and Florida are their best shot for upsets in November as they try to preserve a slim 51-49 advantage in the Senate. That majority includes West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, who is not seeking reelection and whose seat is likely to flip Republican.

Seven other Democrats are also running in the Senate primary in Texas, including state Republican Carl Sherman. The race heads to a May 28 runoff if no candidate wins a vote majority.

Things are shifting in the state. It takes a long time, said Jared Hockeman, the chairperson of the Democratic Party in Cameron County along the US-Mexico border. We recognise that.

What to know ahead of Americas biggest primary day

07:53 , Arpan Rai

Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the US presidential primary season, is here today and promises to have a decisive  if perhaps somewhat anticlimactic  impact on the respective Republican and Democratic races.

All eyes will be on the Republican contest between Nikki Haley and Donald Trump after the former breathes life into the campaign with a DC win but will come head on today with the former US president. The well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador picked up a much-needed win in Washington DCs primary on Sunday, her first of the season, beating Mr Trump by 62.3 per cent of the vote to his 33.3 per cent, scooping up 19 delegates in the process.

The Democratic contest is appearing one-sided with president Joe Biden seemingly nailed-on to be his partys candidate again as he seeks a second term in the White House, despite concerns about his advanced age and consistently poor polling.

Heres everything you need to know about the great American political slugfest:

What to know about Super Tuesday 2024

Super Tuesday: Key races you should watch out for

07:48 , Arpan Rai

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the Republican Partys presidential nominee once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri primaries and had any doubts about his place on ballot papers dispelled by the US Supreme Court, which ruled on Monday that states have no authority to disqualify candidates.

All but one of Mr Trumps challengers have long since fallen away, with only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.

Joe Sommerlad explains the top races:

Key races to watch on Super Tuesday

Donald Trump wins North Dakota caucus ahead of Super Tuesday

07:40 , Ariana Baio

Donald Trump won the North Dakota Republican caucus on Monday night, taking all 29 of the states delegates after receiving more than 84 per cent of the vote.

The former president appeared on the ballot alongside former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, pastor Ryan Binkley who suspended his campaign and little-known businessman David Stuckenberg.

Read the full story here:

Donald Trump wins North Dakota caucus ahead of Super Tuesday

Analysis: The Supreme Court just gave insurrectionists a free pass to overthrow democracy

02:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Woodward writes:

The US Supreme Courts reversal of a landmark court decision in Colorado will keep Donald Trump on the states presidential election ballots and on the ballots in a handful of other states where he was also disqualified from the presidency under a constitutional clause barring insurrectionists from office.

It was a unanimous 9-0 decision from the justices, on its face. They agreed that individual states cant unilaterally remove candidates for federal office from their ballots. But thats about as far as they got to being on the same page.

Instead, what emerged was a 5-4 conservative majority decision that went far beyond that of the liberal minority, stating that only Congress can decide whether insurrectionists are disqualified from federal office.

What this means is that any candidate who tries to overthrow the government can still get elected to the presidency  just so long as they have the support of the controlling political party in Congress.

Continue reading...

The Supreme Court just gave insurrectionists a free pass to overthrow democracy

State of the Union: White House preps publicity blitz

01:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Andrew Feinberg writes:

The presidents speech will coincide with a significant push for media exposure by Mr Bidens team, which is looking to harness the national attention given to the annual speech by placing him, Ms Harris and top aides on local media, as well as in other channels where they believe voters can be provided with relevant information on the administrations record.

Read more...

White House preps publicity blitz for State of the Union address

GOP senator who voted to convict Trump endorses Haley

00:45 , Eric Garcia

One of the seven Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting a riot at the US Capitol on January 6 endorsed Nikki Haleys bid for president.

Lisa Murkowski, the senior senator from Alaska, announced her support for the former governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations.

America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next Presidentand in this race, there is no one better than her, Ms Murkowski said in a statement. Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.

Republican senator who voted to convict Trump endorses Nikki Haley

Super Tuesday: Crucial House contests

Monday 4 March 2024 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alabama

The Yellowhammer States electoral map was redrawn in October after a panel of federal judges rejected a Republican proposal in favour of their own, maintaining the states one existing majority-Black district and effectively creating another, which the Democrats ultimately hope to be able to flip.

The redistricting places Republicans Jerry Carl and Barry Moore up against each other in Alabamas new 1st Congressional District, with Democrat Tom Holmes providing the opposition challenge.

Mr Moore, who formerly held the states 2nd Congressional District and has the support of Marjorie Taylor Greene, in turn leaves behind a seat that will be fought over by 11 candidates, with a 16 April runoff considered the most likely outcome to find an outright winner.

Arkansas

The race for the states 3rd Congressional District will be fought between long-serving Republican representative Steve Womack, seeking an eighth term, and state senator Clint Penzo, who has said he was motivated to challenge Mr Womack because of his opposition to Jim Jordans candidacy for the speakership of the House of Representatives after Kevin McCarthys ousting last autumn.

California

The Golden States top-two approach to primaries, which lists all the candidates together on ballot papers regardless of party affiliation, promises to keep things as interesting at House level as the Feinstein Senate race promises to be.

The decision by Mr Schiff and Ms Porter to contest the latter means their old 30th and 47th Congressional Districts are open to a successor, with Republicans like Scott Baugh believing they might have a chance at stealing Porters former base.

Other key congressional districts that look competitive in California include the 9th, 13th, 16th, 20th, 22nd, 27th, 32nd, 27th, 40th, 41st, 45th and 49th.

The 16th takes in deep blue Silicon Valley while the 20th is in need of a successor to the aforementioned Mr McCarthy, underlining the complexity of California as an electoral proposition.

North Carolina

Like Arkansas, the Tar Heel State has redrawn its congressional map in a move that stands to benefit Republicans hopeful of flipping House seats.

North Carolinas 14 seats are currently divided evenly but the new map ultimately threatens to leave conservatives with at least 10.

Races in the 6th and 14th Congressional Districts are being fought because Democratic incumbents Kathy Manning and Jeff Jackson are stepping down in opposition to the redistricting.

The 1st District race between Democratic incumbent Don David and challengers Tom Bailey (libertarian), Laurie Buckhout and Sandy Smith (both Republican) promises to be tight, as does the 8th, being fought over by six GOP candidates including pastor Mark Harris after incumbent Dan Bishop left to campaign for state attorney general.

Texas

The Lone Star State has a number of key races to watch, notably Democrat Lizzie Fletcher being challenged by Pervez Agwan in the 7th Congressional District, Sheila Jackson Lee being challenged by ex-Houston City councilwoman Amanda Edwards in the 18th and Republican Tony Gonzales facing a host of would-be GOP usurpers in the 23rd, his opposition including former ICE agent Victor Avila and social media influencer Brandon Herrera.

Republicans Kay Granger and Michael Burgess are retiring, leaving the 12th and 26th open respectively, while Mr Allreds challenge for the Senate leaves the 32nd in search of a replacement.

Super Tuesday: Key race  North Carolina gubernatorial primaries

Monday 4 March 2024 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Both parties are choosing their nominees in the race to succeed the states term-limited Democratic governor Roy Cooper and the result is likely to be a matchup between Democratic attorney general Josh Stein and Republican lieutenant-governor Mark Robinson.

Mr Trump carried the battleground state in 2020 but President Biden is hoping to flip it in November so the outcome here will go a long way towards indicating how feasible that goal might be.

Super Tuesday: Key race  Texas Democratic Senate primary

Monday 4 March 2024 22:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The favourite among Democrats hoping for the chance to ultimately challenge Republican incumbent Ted Cruz is former NFL star turned congressman Colin Allred.

State senator Roland Gutierrez appears best placed to challenge him but has not been able to match his rivals fundraising.

Federal appeals court strikes down DeSantis Stop WOKE Act

Monday 4 March 2024 22:32 , Oliver O'Connell

A federal appeals court has struck down Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss Stop WOKE Act saying it violates the First Amendment right to free speech.

The ruling states: By limiting its restrictions to a list of ideas designated as offensive, the Act targets speech based on its content. And by barring only speech that endorses any of those ideas, it penalizes certain viewpointsthe greatest First Amendment sin.

Read the full ruling here...

Heres Alex Woodward with some background on the legal challenges to the Florida law:

Judge blocks Stop WOKE Act, comparing Florida to Stranger Things upside down

Super Tuesday: Key race  California Senate primary

Monday 4 March 2024 22:20 , Oliver O'Connell

The race to replace the late senator Dianne Feinstein comes after Gavin Newsoms appointee to the seat, Laphonza Butler, decided against running for the full term and pits well-known Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, who led the first House impeachment of Mr Trump, against fellow representatives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee and ex-LA Dodgers star Steve Garvey, who is running on the Republican ticket.

Leading Democrats and an ex-baseball star vying for US Senate seat in California

What can we expect from Super Tuesday?

Monday 4 March 2024 22:14 , Oliver O'Connell

The Independents Andrew Feinberg walks us through what might unfold tomorrow:

What to expect from Super Tuesday

What does the Supreme Court ruling mean for Trump?

Monday 4 March 2024 21:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Ariana Baio explains the significance of todays Supreme Court ruling:

The challenges to former president Donald Trumps ballot eligibility have ended after the Supreme Court ruled states did not have the authority to remove him under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.

On Monday, the highest court in the land decided that the Colorado Supreme Courts decision to remove Mr Trump from the primary ballot in Colorado was incorrect  claiming Congress, not states, only had the right to make that decision.

This means states where Mr Trump was removed from the ballot, including Colorado, Illinois and Maine, must keep the one-term president on their ballots.

Lawsuits pending in other states will likely be thrown out as they are now unnecessary.

Continue reading...

What the Supreme Court ruling means for Donald Trump

Monday 4 March 2024 21:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Biden thinks Trump wont concede if he loses election

Monday 4 March 2024 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Biden says that Donald Trump will do anything to try and win the 2024 presidential election, and contest the outcome no matter what the result is.

Ahead of Super Tuesday on 5 March, a rematch of the 2020 election  pitting the two men against each other  is all but certain, following Mr Trumps domination of the Republican primaries so far.

In a rare feature interview with The New Yorker, Mr Biden said he believed he was the person best positioned to beat Mr Trump at the national polls again.

Mike Bedigan has the story:

Biden says Trump wont concede if he loses election: Hell do anything to win

Biden too old to be an effective president, poll shows

Monday 4 March 2024 20:20 , Oliver O'Connell

A majority of voters  73 per cent  say that President Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president. Forty-two per cent say the same about former President Donald Trump.

In a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted late last month, 47 per cent of survey respondents strongly agreed with the statement that Mr Biden is too old to be effective, while 26 per cent somewhat agreed. Fourteen per cent somewhat disagreed, and 11 per cent strongly disagreed.

For Mr Trump, 21 per cent strongly agreed that hes too old, another 21 per cent somewhat agreed, 23 per cent somewhat disagreed, and 32 per cent strongly disagreed.

Gustaf Kilander reports:

Majority of voters believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, poll shows

Super Tuesday: Which races to watch and what you need to know

Monday 4 March 2024 19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Sommerlad breaks down what you need to know:

The most important date in the US primary calendar arrives on Tuesday 5 March as voters in 15 states and one territory get their chance to have their say on their preferred candidates for the presidency.

Residents of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia, plus American Samoa, will all be filling out their ballot papers on Super Tuesday.

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the Republican Partys presidential nominee once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, the US Virgin Islands, South Carolina, Michigan, Idaho and Missouri primaries and had any doubts about his place on ballot papers dispelled by the US Supreme Court, which ruled on Monday that states have no authority to disqualify candidates.

All but one of Mr Trumps challengers have long since fallen away, with only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.

Continue reading...

Key races to watch on Super Tuesday

State of the Union: White House preps publicity blitz

Monday 4 March 2024 19:20 , Oliver O'Connell

President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and top officials from the White House and Mr Bidens cabinet will mount a full-scale public relations blitz to promote the Biden administrations accomplishments and make a case that they should be given another four years to finish the job following his annual State of the Union address to Congress.

Mr Biden is set to deliver his yearly message to Congress on Thursday, two days after the Super Tuesday primary election contests that will, if the results are as expected, set up a November general election rematch with the man he defeated in 2020, former president Donald Trump.

In a statement, White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt said the president would make the case to continue to build the economy from the bottom up and middle out that has led to record job creation, the strongest economy in the world, increased wages and household wealth, and lower prescription drug and energy costs.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC:

White House preps publicity blitz for State of the Union address

Watch: Trump falsely accuses Biden of using prosecutors against him

Monday 4 March 2024 18:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Super Tuesday: When is it, which states are participating and how many delegates are at stake?

Monday 4 March 2024 18:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Heres everything you need to know ahead of tomorrows big day on which 15 states and one territory go to the polls, which promises to be make-or-break for Nikki Haley.

What to know about Super Tuesday 2024

Protester grabbed at Jill Biden event after calling for Gaza ceasefire

Monday 4 March 2024 17:20 , Joe Sommerlad

A protester was violently grabbed and pulled by the crowd at an event with First Lady Jill Biden after they called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Dr Biden spoke in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday and it was at the Fox Theatre in Tuscon that multiple protesters were removed from the premises after interrupting her speech, which was primarily about Republican efforts to curb abortion rights.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Protester grabbed by crowd at Jill Biden event after calling for Gaza ceasefire

Watch: Scarborough lays into Comer over impeachment inquiry

Monday 4 March 2024 17:05 , Oliver O'Connell

Joe Scarborough on James Comer: "I mean, how stupid does he think everybody is? He talks about the 'deep state.' Their witnesses are international fugitives ... then they got a guy that was their star witness who ended up lying to the FBI. And it just keeps getting worse." pic.twitter.com/sOwyzj4Y36  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 4, 2024

Trump celebrates big win after Supreme Court hands him victory

Monday 4 March 2024 16:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Former president Donald Trump celebrated a personal victory on Monday morning after the Supreme Court overturned Colorados decision to remove him from its presidential primary ballot under Section Three of the 14th Amendment.

For months, Mr Trump had been fighting Colorado, as well as other states, for invoking the novel insurrection clause to disqualify him from the states primary.

The former president was accused of aiding an insurrection through his rhetoric on January 6, 2021.

Ariana Baio has the story:

Trump celebrates big win after Supreme Court hands him victory in ballot case

New poll finds most Americans think Biden too old to be effective as president

Monday 4 March 2024 16:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Most American voters believe Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president according to a new poll by The New York Times and Siena College.

As many as 73 per cent of registered voters responded as such to the survey, with 61 per cent of those who voted for him in 2020 saying they believe his age will make him ineffective in a second term.

The poll, released on Friday, is the latest in a string of criticisms concerning the presidents advanced age as the 81-year-old seeks re-election in November, squaring up against likely opponent Donald Trump, who is only four years his junior.

Some 42 per cent of voters believe Mr Trump is too old to be commander-in-chief.

Polling continues to be at odds with how Americans vote, and consistently overestimates Donald Trump while underestimating President Biden, the presidents campaign communications manager Michael Tyler told Politico.

Whether its in special elections or in the presidential primaries, actual voter behaviour tells us a lot more than any poll does and it tells a very clear story: Joe Biden and Democrats continue to outperform while Donald Trump and the party he leads are weak, cash-strapped, and deeply divided. Our campaign is ignoring the noise and running a strong campaign to win  just like we did in 2020.

The poll shows Mr Trump has a four percentage point lead over Mr Biden, 48 per cent to 44 per cent.

Were Mr Biden to go up against former UN ambassador Nikki Haley this year, she would beat him 46 to 37 per cent, the poll found.

Harris demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Monday 4 March 2024 16:20 , Joe Sommerlad

US vice president Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Sunday that would last for six weeks as she spoke in Selma, Alabama, on the anniversary of the civil rights march later known as Bloody Sunday.

Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire  for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table, she said, standing with her back to the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Harris also delivered one of the sternest condemnations of Israels failure to allow humanitarian aid to citizens of the Gaza Strip from the White House so far, remarks that came after Israels military was widely criticised for opening fire as Palestinians gathered at an aid truck carrying flour.

More than 100 Palestinians were killed in the incident, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane. And our common humanity compels us to act, Harris said.

The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses.

John Bowden reports.

Kamala Harris says there must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Trump can stay on 2024 ballots says Supreme Court but ignores insurrection role

Monday 4 March 2024 15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

The US Supreme Court has determined that Donald Trump can remain on 2024 presidential election ballots across the country, marking a reversal of a landmark Colorado court decision that found him constitutionally ineligible because of his actions on January 6.

But the justices ignored the question at the heart of the case, which revolves around whether then-President Trump engaged in insurrection by fuelling a mob that stormed the US Capitol.

Mondays ruling did not include any discussion on the central premise of the Colorado Supreme Courts decision, as well as decisions from officials in Illinois and Maine. The justices instead determined that only Congress  not states  has the authority to disqualify candidates for federal office.

Alex Woodward reports:

Supreme Court says Trump can stay on 2024 ballots but ignores insurrection role

Majority of voters believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, poll shows

Monday 4 March 2024 15:20 , Joe Sommerlad

A majority of voters  73 per cent  say that President Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president, according to a new poll.

But, 42 per cent say the same about Donald Trump.

The latest New York Times/Siena College survey conducted late last month found that 47 per cent of respondents strongly agreed with the statement that President Biden is too old to be effective, while 26 per cent somewhat agreed. Fourteen per cent somewhat disagreed and 11 per cent strongly disagreed.

For Trump, 21 per cent strongly agreed that hes too old, another 21 per cent somewhat agreed, 23 per cent somewhat disagreed and 32 per cent strongly disagreed.

Concerns about Mr Bidens age now threaten his re-election effort, even as both he and Trump are showing signs of their age, often appearing confused and making obvious verbal blunders during public appearances.

Biden, the oldest serving president in US history, is 81, and Trump, the third-oldest, is 77.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

Majority of voters believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, poll shows

Haley says she no longer feels bound by RNC pledge to endorse winner of Republican primary

Monday 4 March 2024 14:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Trumps rival was grilled by Kristen Welker on NBCs Meet the Press yesterday about whether or not she would stand by the Republican National Committee (RNC)s pledge she took to endorse the eventual winner of the Republican presidential primary.

Trump is, of course, currently leading in the primary and Haley would be expected to endorse him if he is eventually chosen to be the nominee.

Do you still feel bound by that pledge? Welker asked.

After skirting around the question, Haley finally answered her directly: No, I think Ill make what decision I want to make.

Trump crowd goes silent as he confuses Biden and Obama yet again

Monday 4 March 2024 13:20 , Joe Sommerlad

The crowd of Trump supporters that gathered in Richmond, Virginia, to hear their hero speak on Saturday night fell silent as the former president appeared to mix up presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama yet again.

Shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled, Trump blustered.

I know them both very well and we will restore peace through strength. Get that war settled. Its a bad war. And Putin has so little respect for Obama that hes starting to throw around the nuclear word, he added, seemingly labouring under the delusion that Bidens former boss remains in charge.

Wow the crowd goes silent as a confused Trump says: And Putin has so little respect for Obama that he's starting to throw around the nuclear word pic.twitter.com/M0oMFKUBgu  Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2024

There were plenty of other moments during Trumps campaign events in Greensboro, North Carolina, and later in Richmond in which he appeared to struggle to deliver his speech or otherwise appeared confused.

Trump glitches while trying to say Biden border bill pic.twitter.com/qOsOa4UKFM  Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2024

Trump: We are a nation thats no longer respectered pic.twitter.com/l8zduZi23Y  Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2024

Trump short circuits again LOL pic.twitter.com/OqfJpZR2i8  Acyn (@Acyn) March 2, 2024

Gustaf Kilander has more.

Trump crowd goes silent as he confuses Biden and Obama again

Trump extends winning streak with weekend primary victories in Idaho, Michigan and Missouri

Monday 4 March 2024 12:20 , Joe Sommerlad

For all that, Trump moved closer to the Republican nomination on Saturday with victories in the Idaho, Michigan and Missouri caucuses that left Haley even further in his rear-view mirror.

In Michigan, the former president took all 39 delegates that were available on Saturday. In a separate Michigan primary earlier this week, Trump won 12 of the other 16 delegates up for grabs.

Saturdays contests were the last before Super Tuesday where Haley is desperate to make her case for hanging on in the primaries and providing an alternative to voters.

John Bowden and Gustaf Kilander have this round-up.

Trump extends winning streak in Idaho and Michigan after early Missouri win

Bad loser Trumps rages at Haley and DC swamp after first primary loss

Monday 4 March 2024 11:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Haleys rival has not taken last nights result at all well, claiming to have purposely stayed away from the DC Vote because it is the Swamp, with very few delegates, and no upside.

Sure Don. Sure.

I purposely stayed away from the D.C. Vote because it is the Swamp, with very few delegates, and no upside. Birdbrain spent all of her time, money and effort there. Over the weekend we won Missouri, Idaho, and Michigan - BIG NUMBERS - Complete destruction of a very weak  Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 4, 2024

Birdbrain is a loser, record low performance in virtually every State. DeSanctus easily beat her in Iowa for a VERY DISTANT second place, and then she ran up to the podium, before he had a chance to do so, and claimed victory. I enjoy watching the Bird disavow her PLEDGE to the  Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 4, 2024

Haley wins DC primary in crucial boost ahead of Super Tuesday

Monday 4 March 2024 10:20 , Joe Sommerlad

Nikki Haley secured her first victory of the 2024 Republican primary season on Sunday in DC, ending her losing streak and providing her campaign with the sliver of hope it desperately needed.

Haleys defeat of front-runner Donald Trump marks the first time another GOP candidate has beaten the former president in any contest since 2016 and is the first sign that this years primary season will amount to anything more than a further demonstration of his dominance over conservatives.

The race was called around 9pm last night, when Haley was leading with 62.9 per cent of the vote.

Her campaign now looks ahead to Super Tuesday and the possibility of peeling off a few states from what is likely to prove yet another huge delegate haul for Mr Trump.

John Bowden reports.

Nikki Haley wins her first Republican primary victory in Washington DC

VIDEO: Closing arguments heard in bid to remove Fani Willis from Trump case

Monday 4 March 2024 09:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump campaign appears to have learned from its previous mistakes

Monday 4 March 2024 08:50 , Gustaf Kilander

All three of the contests on Saturday were caucuses, which are more time-consuming and require more voter engagement, possibly benefitting Mr Trump as he has many fervent followers.

Caucuses usually have lower turnout than primaries since voters have to arrive at a specific time and stick around for a while to take part in the more labour-intensive process compared to pulling a lever in a primary.

Prominent Iowa pollster Ann Selzer spoke to The Independent about the caucus process late last year ahead of the first-in-the-nation contest. While caucuses vary from state to state, its usually the case that voters listen to a speech and then declare their support.

Caucuses are designed for things to happen in the room on caucus night  theres a moment in time where a representative from each campaign stands up and makes their pitch  they get a couple of minutes to do it, she said, noting the importance of person-to-person politicking at the last possible moment.

If you dont know how to get the votes, [how to] get your name written on a piece of paper, you can lose that way, she added at the time.

But the Trump campaign appears to have learned from its previous experiences, handily winning all the contests so far, caucuses and primaries alike.

Why Missouri currently doesn't allow pregnant women to be legally divorced

Monday 4 March 2024 07:50 , Geoff Mulvihill

A Missouri lawmaker has introduced legislation to clarify that the states judges can grant divorces even when one spouse is pregnant.

The notion that they cant already has sparked anger from people who see it as an antiquated policy that controls women unfairly, possibly trapping them in abusive marriages.

But divorce lawyers say the practice  which goes beyond Missouri  is not meant to be punitive for pregnant women and has some important practical benefits.

Haley says she no longer feels bound by the GOP pledge requiring her to support the eventual nominee

Monday 4 March 2024 06:50 , Via AP news wire

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Sunday she no longer feels bound by a pledge that required all GOP contenders to support the partys eventual nominee in order to participate in the primary debates.

The Republican National Committee had made the pledge a prerequisite for all candidates, and nearly every major contender signed, except for Donald Trump, the current front-runner, who skipped the debates.

When Haley, Trumps lone remaining major challenger for the nomination, was asked on NBCs Meet the Press whether she was compelled to honor that commitment, she said, No. I think Ill make what decision I want to make.

She said the the RNC is now not the same RNC as it was at the time of the debates. She also maintained that she has always said she had serious concerns about Trump, for whom she served as U.N. ambassador.

The RNC is in the midst of major changes, with the chair, Ronna McDaniel, set to leave the job on Friday. She was Trumps hand-picked choice to lead the RNC shortly after the 2016 election, but Trump now is poised to install loyalists atop the organization. He has announced his preference for North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley, a little-known veteran operative, to replace McDaniel. Trump also has picked his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to serve as committee co-chair.

Haley dismissed questions about whether she would drop out and eventually endorse Trump.

Right now, my focus is, How do we touch as many voters? How do we win? she said. I want the American people to see that you dont have to live this way. There is a path forward. And we can do it with someone who can put in eight years, that can constantly focus on results and not the negativity and the baggage that we have right now.

Trump on Saturday continued his march toward the nomination, winning caucuses in Idaho and Missouri and sweeping the delegate haul at a party convention in Michigan.

Trumps count is now 244, compared with 24 for Haley. A candidate needs to secure 1,215 delegates to clinch the nomination.

The next event on the Republican calendar was Sunday in the District of Columbia. Two days later is Super Tuesday, when 16 states will hold primaries on what will be the largest day of voting of the year outside of the November election. Trump is on track to lock up the nomination days later.

Ive always said this needs to be competitive. As long as we are competitive, as long as we are showing that there is a place for us, Im going to continue to fight, Haley said.

VIDEO: Trump's classified documents trial pushed

Monday 4 March 2024 05:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Super Tuesday: When is it, which states are participating and how many delegates are at stake?

Monday 4 March 2024 04:50 , Joe Sommerlad

Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the US presidential primary season, arrives early next month and promises to have a decisive if perhaps somewhat anticlimactic impact on the respective Republican and Democratic races.

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the GOPs presidential candidate once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in the Iowa and US Virgin Islands caucuses and the New Hampshire and Nevada primaries.

All but one of his challengers have fallen away, leaving only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.

But even she may not make it to Super Tuesday (although she has promised she will), as the next Republican primary takes place in her home state of South Carolina and current polling indicates the Palmetto States former governor could be in for another trouncing on her home turf, a further humiliation after she scored fewer votes than the none of these candidates box on Nevada ballot papers.

Is there any way we can call the election for next Tuesday? a cocky Mr Trump gloated on stage in Las Vegas after that result.

Thats all I want. I want to call the election for next Tuesday.

However, if Ms Haley can somehow conjure a surprise victory in either South Carolina on 24 February or Michigan on 27 February, it will be game on for Super Tuesday and we could find ourselves with a very interesting evening indeed.

The Democratic contest is looking equally one-sided, with President Joe Biden seemingly nailed-on to be his partys candidate again as he seeks a second term in the White House, despite concerns about his advanced age and consistently poor polling.

Following the withdrawal of Marianne Williamson, Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips remains the presidents last remaining rival and is surely too low-profile to make an impact, President Biden having comfortably won the New Hampshire primary without even appearing on Granite State ballots thanks to a grassroots write-in campaign.

Kentucky House backs giving lawmakers authority over statues in Capitol Rotunda

Monday 4 March 2024 03:50 , Bruce Schreiner

Kentucky lawmakers would claim authority over what statues are installed or removed from the state Capitols Rotunda under a bill passed Friday by the GOP-led House, a move the bill sponsor said has nothing to do with the removal of a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis four years ago.

Republican state Rep. David Hale said his legislation is forward looking amid preparations to renovate Kentuckys statehouse and has no reflection on what has been done in the past.

The debate turned testy when Democratic Rep. Josie Raymond tried asking Hale if the bill could be used to restore the statue of a racist, slaver and secessionist like Jefferson Davis or someone as equally reprehensible. Her question was ruled out of order and the House vote followed immediately.

The bill passed 77-17 to advance to the Senate, where Republicans also have an overwhelming majority.

In an interview afterward, Hale said his legislation would not allow lawmakers to act on their own to install or remove a statue or other permanent Rotunda display. Instead, they would respond to recommendations from the state Historic Properties Advisory Commission, he said.

Hale also said the proposal was not a response to the Davis statues removal.

I have no intention of making any kind of a request to bring anything back thats gone, he said.

Haley says Trump should have stopped Capitol attack much earlier

Monday 4 March 2024 02:50 , John Bowden

Nikki Haleys balancing act over the issue of January 6 and the 2020 election continued on Sunday as she appeared on NBCs Meet the Press and faced questions about the attack on the Capitol from Kristin Welker.

Ms Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations under Mr Trumps presidency, drove a careful edge between opposing Mr Trumps actions before and during the riot as she warned that the former president would have to answer in court for his actions. She took no position on whether the former president was guilty of a crime for not calling off the mob after rioters began attacking and injuring police on the grounds of the Capitol, only calling it questionable and stating that the courts would decide the answer.

Im not a lawyer, she insisted, after explaining: I think he should have said something earlier. I think he should have stopped it when it started.

I am telling you: Having the rally was not a crime. To turn around and not stop people from breaking the law, when he had the opportunity to do that, is questionable. And thats what I think the courts are going to have to play with.

WATCH: @NikkiHaley wont say if former President Trump is morally responsible for January 6th but says he should have stopped it when it started.



Having the rally was not a crime. To turn around and not stop people from breaking the law  is questionable. pic.twitter.com/4bmxtzbWd9  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) March 3, 2024

The former governor added that her opponent will have to answer for allegedly condoning lawlessness on the day of the attack. Ms Haley has also indicated, however, that Mr Trump would receive a presidential pardon for his actions were she to reach the White House, meaning that any potential punishment for his actions at the federal level would not be levied.

VIDEO: 2024 Election: Super Tuesday just days away

Monday 4 March 2024 01:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump crowd goes silent as he confuses Biden and Obama again

Monday 4 March 2024 00:50 , Gustaf Kilander

The crowd of Trump supporters gathered in Richmond, Virginia to hear Donald Trump speak on Saturday night went silent as the former president appeared to mix up Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama yet again.

Shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled, Mr Trump said on Saturday.

I know them both very well and we will restore peace through strength. Get that war settled. Its a bad war. And Putin has so little respect for Obama that hes starting to throw around the nuclear word, Mr Trump added, seemingly in the false belief that Mr Bidens former boss remains in charge.

Wow the crowd goes silent as a confused Trump says: And Putin has so little respect for Obama that he's starting to throw around the nuclear word pic.twitter.com/M0oMFKUBgu  Acyn (@Acyn) March 3, 2024

There were plenty of moments during Mr Trumps campaign events in Greensboro, North Carolina and later in Richmond when he appeared to struggle to deliver his speech or seemed to be confused.

US pharmacy chains will offer abortion drug as Supreme Court prepares to hear major post-Roe case

Sunday 3 March 2024 23:50 , Alex Woodward

Major pharmacy retailers Walgreens and CVS will begin offering the abortion pill mifepristone as early as next week in stores across the US, a move that could significantly expand access to abortion care as the US Supreme Court once again prepares to hear a case that could radically restrict reproductive healthcare for millions of Americans.

Mifepristone is one of two drugs in a two-drug protocol for medication abortion, a procedure that accounts for more than half of all abortions in the US

The drug, which is only available with a prescription, was first approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2000. The pill blocks a hormone necessary for pregnancy development, and is followed by the pill misoprostol, which causes contractions to expel tissue.

That same regimen is also used in miscarriage treatment.

A phased rollout of the drugs availability in two of the largest pharmacy chains in the US arrives just weeks before the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in a case from right-wing legal groups and anti-abortion activists seeking to revoke the FDAs approval, part of a years-long campaign to outlaw abortion nationwide.

That case comes before the court less than two years after a decision in Dobbs v Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overturned a constitutional right to abortion care affirmed in Roe v Wade nearly 50 years earlier.

Patchwork anti-abortion laws across the country have choked off abortion access or effectively outlawed abortion care entirely; mifepristone prescriptions from CVS and Walgreens will only be available in states where abortion is legal.

But many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy  just as they would for any other medication, President Joe Biden said in a statement on Friday.

I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification, he added.

Legislation to legalize, tax skill games in Virginia heads to governor

Sunday 3 March 2024 22:50 , Sarah Rankin

Virginia lawmakers passed legislation Friday that would legalize skill games, the slots-like betting machines that proliferated in businesses around the state before an on-again, off-again ban took effect.

If signed by GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, the bill would tax and regulate the devices, which are also known as gray machines because of the murky area of the law in which they previously operated.

The legislation was supported by a well-organized coalition that involved skill game developer Pace-O-Matic and business owners who have hosted the games and shared in their profits. Even critics said they were moved by the testimony of the business owners, many of them first-generation Americans, who said the machines had been a lifeline for their establishments, especially during the pandemic.

For years, thousands of small businesses throughout the Commonwealth have come to rely on the supplemental, sustainable revenue provided by skill games. This victory will solidify their presence in Virginia and give thousands of small business owners peace of mind knowing they can keep their doors open, create jobs, and support their local communities, said Rich Kelly, a restaurateur and president of the Virginia Merchants and Amusement Coalition, which formed to advocate for legalization of the machines.

The arcade-style games, which other states are also grappling with, look similar to slot machines but involve an element of skill, according to their manufacturers.

Netanyahu rival to meet with VP Harris in White House as US grows impatient with Israeli prime minister

Sunday 3 March 2024 22:20 , John Bowden

A top Israeli minister and political rival of Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week for a series of meetings that have already earned a stern reprisal from the Israeli prime minister.

Benny Gantz is set to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, on Monday while also holding meetings with top congressional leaders on Capitol Hill. The official agenda for his meeting with Ms Harris differs little from the readouts of Mr Bidens own past interactions with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

But its Mr Gantzs status as a centrist rival to Mr Netanyahu in the latters coalition government that has caused his trip to DC to rankle the prime minister and his allies. Mr Netanayhu himself issued a stern rebuke on a phone call with Mr Gantz this weekend, according to media outlets, while ordering officials with the Israeli embassy in Washington not to join the former defence minister for his meetings.

One source close to the prime minister was quoted by multiple media outlets as saying that Mr Netanyahu had made it clear to Minister Gantz that the State of Israel only has one prime minister.

VIDEO: Katie Britt to deliver response to Bidens State of the Union address

Sunday 3 March 2024 21:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Protester grabbed by crowd members at Jill Biden event after calling for Gaza ceasefire

Sunday 3 March 2024 21:20 , Gustaf Kilander

A protester was violently grabbed and pulled by the crowd at an event with First Lady Jill Biden event after the protester called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Dr Biden spoke in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday and it was at the Fox Theatre in Tuscon that multiple protesters were removed from the premises after interrupting the first ladys speech.

The first lady focused on Republican efforts to curb abortion rights in her speech, which was interrupted at least four times during its 15 minutes, according to USA Today.

Jill, when are you and the President going to call for a ceasefire in Gaza? one protester asked before she was pulled down by the audience and subsequently dragged out by security.

The activist group known as the Answer Coalition shared a video of the incident:

Jill, when are you and the President going to call for a ceasefire in Gaza?



Protestors in Arizona disrupt Jill Bidens speaking event to #ShutItDown4Palestine  pic.twitter.com/BuZNYwKvqX  ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) March 2, 2024

Kamala Harris says there must be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Sunday 3 March 2024 21:11 , John Bowden

Vice President Kamala Harris called for Israeli officials and leaders of Hamas to accept a deal that would begin a six-week ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as she spoke in Selma, Alabama, on the anniversary of the civil rights march later known as Bloody Sunday.

She also delivered one of if not the sternest condemnations of Israels failure to allow humanitarian aid to citizens of the Gaza Strip, remarks that came after Israels military was widely condemned for opening fire as Palestinians swarmed an aid truck carrying flour.

[G]iven the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire  for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table, said the vice president.

Kamala Harris demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza: The condition is inhumane

Sunday 3 March 2024 21:06 , Natalie Chinn

Vice President Kamala Harris was met with cheers when she demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

She addressed the recent killing of more than 100 Palestinians when Israeli troops opened fire on people rushing to an aid convoy in Gaza City.

Our hearts break for the victims of that horrific tragedy and for all the innocent people in Gaza who are suffering from what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe, she said. The conditions are inhumane.

Harris is currently in Selma, Alabama to mark the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

Fewer participants in Idaho caucus compared to 2012

Sunday 3 March 2024 20:50 , Gustaf Kilander

The Missouri caucuses were called by the AP for Mr Trump at 12.40pm ET on Saturday. After Mr Trump won all the delegates at the Michigan convention caucuses, the news agency called the Idaho race at 6.58pm ET.

Both Idaho and Missouri cancelled the Republican primary to hold caucuses instead, handing control of the state nomination to a small number of party members.

Idaho last held caucuses in 2012, when only 45,000 people participated  about 20 per cent of all registered Republicans in the state. On Saturday, fewer than 40,000 votes were cast.

The timing could also have been a problem for some, with Idaho, which is in both the Mountain and Pacific time zones, holding its caucuses at 12.30pm or 1.30pm, while Missouri, which is in the Central time zone, held its caucuses at 10am local time.

Majority of voters believe Biden is too old to be an effective president, poll shows

Sunday 3 March 2024 20:15 , Gustaf Kilander

A majority of voters  73 per cent  say that President Joe Biden is too old to be an effective president. Forty-two per cent say the same about former President Donald Trump.

In a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted late last month, 47 per cent of survey respondents strongly agreed with the statement that Mr Biden is too old to be effective, while 26 per cent somewhat agreed. Fourteen per cent somewhat disagreed, and 11 per cent strongly disagreed.

For Mr Trump, 21 per cent strongly agreed that hes too old, another 21 per cent somewhat agreed, 23 per cent somewhat disagreed, and 32 per cent strongly disagreed.

Concerns about Mr Bidens age now threaten his re-election effort, even as both he and Mr Trump are showing signs of their age, often appearing to mix things up during public appearances. Mr Biden, the oldest serving president in US history, is 81, and Mr Trump, the third oldest president in US history, is 77.

Mr Trump was 74 at the end of his presidency, while the second oldest president, Ronald Reagan, was 77. He died in 2004 at the age of 93 after struggling with Alzheimers disease.

A majority of those who supported Mr Biden in 2020  61 per cent  now think hes too old to be effective, according to the poll.

Nineteen per cent of those who voted for Mr Biden last time around and 13 per cent of those planning on voting for him again said in the survey that hes too old to handle the job of being the commander-in-chief.

Mr Bidens doctor said after his annual physical this week that he continues to be fit for duty.

Physician to the President Dr Kevin OConnor wrote that Mr Biden is a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.

House GOP wont blur faces of Jan 6 rioters in surveillance footage

Sunday 3 March 2024 19:50 , Oliver OConnell

After announcing that the faces of January 6 rioters would be blurred to avoid their prosecution by the US Department of Justice, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to reverse course on Friday, saying that it was taking too long.

Last year, Mr Johnson appeared to admit that House Republicans were protecting people who broke into the US Capitol, telling reporters in December that we have to blur some faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we dont want them to be retaliated against, and to be charged by the DOJ, and to have other, you know, concerns and problems.

On Friday, with the release of 5,000 hours of raw footage, his office announced that rioters faces wont be blurred given the significant logistic hurdles involved and the importance of getting this work completed as responsibly and efficiently as possible.

Alex Woodward reports:

House Republicans wont blur faces of January 6 rioters in surveillance footage

Nikki Haley says she no longer feels bound by RNC pledge to endorse winner of Republican primary

Sunday 3 March 2024 19:38 , Natalie Chinn

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley was grilled by Kristen Welker on Meet the Press about whether or not she would stand by the RNC pledge she took to endorse the eventual winner of the Republican presidential primary.

Do you still feel bound by that pledge? Welker asked.

Donald Trump is currently leading in the GOP primary. Haley would be expected to endorse Trump if he is the nominee and she sticks to the pledge.

After skirting around the question, Haley finally answered Welkers question directly: No, I think Ill make what decision I want to make.

Trump campaign appears to have learned from its previous mistakes

Sunday 3 March 2024 18:50 , Gustaf Kilander

All three of the contests on Saturday were caucuses, which are more time-consuming and require more voter engagement, possibly benefitting Mr Trump as he has many fervent followers.

Caucuses usually have lower turnout than primaries since voters have to arrive at a specific time and stick around for a while to take part in the more labour-intensive process compared to pulling a lever in a primary.

Prominent Iowa pollster Ann Selzer spoke to The Independent about the caucus process late last year ahead of the first-in-the-nation contest. While caucuses vary from state to state, its usually the case that voters listen to a speech and then declare their support.

Caucuses are designed for things to happen in the room on caucus night  theres a moment in time where a representative from each campaign stands up and makes their pitch  they get a couple of minutes to do it, she said, noting the importance of person-to-person politicking at the last possible moment.

If you dont know how to get the votes, [how to] get your name written on a piece of paper, you can lose that way, she added at the time.

But the Trump campaign appears to have learned from its previous experiences, handily winning all the contests so far, caucuses and primaries alike.

VIDEO: Trump legal team hopes to DQ Atlanta D.A.

Sunday 3 March 2024 17:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Super Tuesday: When is it, which states are participating and how many delegates are at stake?

Sunday 3 March 2024 17:28 , Joe Sommerlad

Super Tuesday, the biggest day of the US presidential primary season, arrives early next month and promises to have a decisive if perhaps somewhat anticlimactic impact on the respective Republican and Democratic races.

As it stands, Donald Trump looks all but certain to be the GOPs presidential candidate once again in 2024, having already chalked up big wins in the Iowa and US Virgin Islands caucuses and the New Hampshire and Nevada primaries.

All but one of his challengers have fallen away, leaving only the well-funded but under-performing ex-UN ambassador Nikki Haley still swinging.

But even she may not make it to Super Tuesday (although she has promised she will), as the next Republican primary takes place in her home state of South Carolina and current polling indicates the Palmetto States former governor could be in for another trouncing on her home turf, a further humiliation after she scored fewer votes than the none of these candidates box on Nevada ballot papers.

Is there any way we can call the election for next Tuesday? a cocky Mr Trump gloated on stage in Las Vegas after that result.

Thats all I want. I want to call the election for next Tuesday.

However, if Ms Haley can somehow conjure a surprise victory in either South Carolina on 24 February or Michigan on 27 February, it will be game on for Super Tuesday and we could find ourselves with a very interesting evening indeed.

The Democratic contest is looking equally one-sided, with President Joe Biden seemingly nailed-on to be his partys candidate again as he seeks a second term in the White House, despite concerns about his advanced age and consistently poor polling.

Following the withdrawal of Marianne Williamson, Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips remains the presidents last remaining rival and is surely too low-profile to make an impact, President Biden having comfortably won the New Hampshire primary without even appearing on Granite State ballots thanks to a grassroots write-in campaign.

Trump has won every state in the Republican primaries so far

Sunday 3 March 2024 16:50 , John Bowden

Mr Trump has won every state in the Republican primaries so far. Ms Haley is his last challenger after Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out in January after the Iowa caucuses.

The former president remains the favourite of Republican voters and is leading President Joe Biden in some swing states, according to some recent polling.

However, other polls suggest that a sizeable number of Republicans, and Americas unaffiliated voters, wont vote for Mr Trump in November.

Trump leads Biden by four points in new poll

Sunday 3 March 2024 15:50 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump is four points ahead of President Joe Biden in a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in late February.

The poll, released on Saturday, shows Mr Trump at 48 per cent and Mr Biden at 44 per cent among likely voters  among registered voters, Mr Trump had 48 and Mr Biden 43 per cent.

In a hypothetical matchup with Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador and the last remaining Republican challenger to Mr Trump, Mr Biden came in at 37 per cent to Ms Haleys 46 per cent.

Forty-seven per cent of likely voters said they were strongly disapproving of Mr Bidens handling of the job.

PHOTOS: Haley campaigns in Needham, Massachusetts

Sunday 3 March 2024 15:16 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican US presidential candidate Nikki Haley participates in a campaign stop in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, 02 March 2024 (EPA)

Republican US presidential candidate Nikki Haley (L) autographs a campaign placard during a campaign stop in Needham, Massachusetts, USA, 02 March 2024 (EPA)

US Republican presidential hopeful and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley takes pictures with supporters during a campaign rally in Needham, Massachusetts, on March 2, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Donald Trump extends winning streak with victories in Idaho and Michigan after early Missouri result

Sunday 3 March 2024 14:51 , John Bowden and Gustaf Kilander

Former President Donald Trump moved closer to the Republican nomination on Saturday with victories in the Idaho, Michigan, and Missouri caucuses that put his remaining rival, Nikki Haley, further in the rear-view mirror.

In Michigan, the former president took all 39 delegates that were available on Saturday. In a separate Michigan primary earlier this week, Mr Trump won 12 of the other 16 delegates up for grabs.

Saturdays contests were the last before Super Tuesday where Nikki Haley is desperate to pick off a single state to make her case for hanging on in the primaries and providing an alternative to voters.

The unspoken implication appears to be that some, apparently including Ms Haley, believe that Mr Trump, who is facing 91 felony charges, may yet exit the race.

On 5 March, voters will head to the polls in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia. The voting wave accounts for more than a third of delegates ahead of the Republican National Convention in July.

For Ms Haley, this Tuesday is an opportunity to breathe life into her campaign. For Mr Trump, it is the time to put the race away in a decisive manner. Polls do not show Ms Haley leading anywhere, however, her campaign is optimistic about states with high suburban populations.

Vermont, Utah, Virginia. I think there are states that, if you look at demographically, she has a chance to win, a source close to the leadership of Ms Haleys super PAC told reporters last week, after her defeat in South Carolina.

Who is Katie Britt, the Republican set to deliver the State of the Union response

Sunday 3 March 2024 13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The youngest Republican woman to serve in the US Senate will deliver the response to President Bidens State of the Union address next week.

Alabama Senator Katie Britt is set to give the remarks  a rebuttal speech to the presidents address made by the opposing party  on 7 March, which she has promised will be a candid discussion about the future of our nation.

Mike Bedigan profiles the rising star in the Republican Party:

Who is Katie Britt, Republican set to deliver response to Bidens State of the Union?

GOP lawmakers balk at Trump playing a role in the fight to replace McConnell

Sunday 3 March 2024 11:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Eric Garcia and Gustaf Kilander filed this report from Capitol Hill:

Senate Republicans have a clear message for former president Donald Trump about the race to replace Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: stay out of this.

After they got over the initial shock of McConnells announcement on Wednesday, the race to replace him  namely among the Three Johns, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso and Senator John Cornyn of Texas  has begun at a quick pace. Friends of The Independents Inside Washington newsletter Stef Kight and Stephen Neukam at Axios reported that Trump wants National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines of Montana to run for the job.

But Republicans expressed scepticism about Trump playing a role in replacing McConnell, his longtime nemesis.

Read more...

Republicans balk at Trump playing a role in the fight to replace McConnell

Which members of Congress arent seeking re-election in 2024?

Sunday 3 March 2024 09:50 , Kelly Rissman

If a presidential election year wasnt enough in Washington DC, this year will also see a lot of new faces in Congress, as many members have decided to not seek re-election, with many citing frustration with the chambers productivity as their reason for stepping down.

Eight Senators and 42 Representatives have announced their intentions to step down from their current post in 2024, with some running for different elected positions and others leaving politics altogether. Some of those could still run for their current seats if they do not win primary elections.

The mass Congressional exodus includes several controversial seats, which could alter the control of each chamber and numerous Committee chairs.

Here is a list of every member of Congress who has announced that they wont seek re-election in 2024:

Heres every member of Congress who isnt seeking re-election in 2024

How US airdrops into Gaza can help and why its so complicated

Sunday 3 March 2024 07:50 , AP

President Joe Biden on Friday announced that the U.S. will begin airdropping sorely needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Heres what you need to know:

US to airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza  how it can help and why it's so complicated

US will begin humanitarian aid airdrops into Gaza, says Biden

Sunday 3 March 2024 05:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The United States will soon begin airdropping humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip to alleviate the ongoing humanitarian crisis caused by Israels war against Hamas.

President Joe Biden confirmed on Friday that US forces would join the Jordanian Air Forces existing mission that has been conducting airdrops of food, medicine and other supplies in recent days.

Speaking alongside Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni in the Oval Office, Mr Biden referenced the tragic deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who were killed after the Israeli army opened fire at a crowd trying to get food from an aid convoy on Wednesday, calling the loss of life heartbreaking.

Continue reading...

Biden says US will begin humanitarian aid airdrops into Gaza

Abortion pill mifepristone will soon be available at CVS and Walgreens

Sunday 3 March 2024 03:50 , AP

The drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens plan to start dispensing an abortion pill in a few states within weeks.

CVS Health will start filling prescriptions for mifepristone in Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts in the weeks ahead, spokeswoman Amy Thibault said Friday.

Walgreens will begin dispensing the medication within a week, spokesman Fraser Engerman said. The chain will start with some locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.

Continue reading...

CVS and Walgreens plan to start dispensing abortion pill mifepristone soon

Missouri doesnt allow pregnant women to be legally divorced - why?

Sunday 3 March 2024 01:50 , AP

A Missouri lawmaker has introduced legislation to clarify that the states judges can grant divorces even when one spouse is pregnant.

The notion that they cant already has sparked anger from people who see it as an antiquated policy that controls women unfairly, possibly trapping them in abusive marriages.

But divorce lawyers say the practice  which goes beyond Missouri  is not meant to be punitive for pregnant women and has some important practical benefits.

Heres a look at the issue:

Why Missouri currently doesn't allow pregnant women to be legally divorced

Missouri Republican governor candidate revealed as honorary KKK member

Saturday 2 March 2024 23:50 , Oliver O'Connell

A long-shot Missouri gubernatorial candidate who once admitted to being an honorary member of the Klu Klux Klan says he will defy attempts by the state Republican Party to have him kicked off the ballot.

Photos of Darrell L McClanahan appearing to make a Nazi salute while standing in front of a burning cross resurfaced online this week, nearly two years after they were first published by the Anti-Defamation Leagues (ADL) Center on Extremism.

On Thursday, the Missouri Republican Party said in a post on X it had been made aware that Mr McClanahan had filed to run for governor despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan.

The party said this fundamentally contradicts our partys values and platform, and that it had begun the process of removing him from the ballot.

Bevan Hurley has the story:

GOP governor candidate revealed as honorary KKK member pictured making Nazi salute

PHOTOS: Emergency personnel needed at Trump rally

Saturday 2 March 2024 21:54 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C. (AP)

A supporter holds a sign as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Greensboro, N.C (AP)

Emergency personnel respond as an attendee falls ill as former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participates in a Get Out The Vote Rally campaign event at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina (EPA)

Florida House passes bill to lower minimum age to buy a gun

Saturday 2 March 2024 21:50 , Kelly Rissman

The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill that would allow 18-year-olds to buy firearms, lowering the previous age minimum of 21.

The Republican-controlled state House passed the controversial measure that would permit 18-year-olds to purchase rifles and shotguns on 1 March in a 76-35 vote. The state Senate has not yet voted on the bill.

According to gun safety group Everytown, federal law mandates someone be at least 21 to buy a handgun from a licensed firearm dealer, however, it only mandates a person to be 18 to buy a long gun  including an assault weapon.

Opponents of the measure cited the 2018 Parkland shooting, in which a 19-year-old shot up Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others.

Democratic state Rep Robin Bartleman slammed colleagues, saying shame on us, over lawmakers decision to renege the 2018 law  enacted shortly after the school shooting  that increased the gun-purchasing age to 21.

Continue reading...

Florida House passes bill to lower minimum age to buy a gun from 21 to 18

Two people needed medical attention at Trump rally

Saturday 2 March 2024 21:02 , Gustaf Kilander

jesus it sounds like someone needed CPR at the Trump rally and was taken out with his kids. Trump just forges ahead with the rally anyway but says, "it doesn't sound as important now" pic.twitter.com/ouDleP175c  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Trump overwhelmingly wins Michigan caucuses

Saturday 2 March 2024 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander

Former President Donald Trump won the Michigan Republican caucuses on Saturday, taking all 39 available delegates.

The caucus handed out 39 out of 55 delegates from Michigan, with the presidential primary won by Mr Trump on Tuesday this week doling out the rest.

Mr Trump won about 68 per cent and 12 out of 16 delegates in the primary, while he dominated the caucuses. In all 13 congressional districts taking part, Mr Trump won between 90 and 100 per cent.

In the first, third, and tenth districts, he got all of the votes cast.

Kristy Whitson from Monroe County told The Detriot News that Mr Trump is the only one who can stop what she said was the countrys leftward shift.

Do I like his personality? No. Do I like his attitude? No, she told the paper. But business-wise, he had the country moving.

In the 13 caucuses, 98 per cent  1,575 delegates  backed Mr Trump, while two per cent  36 delegates  backed former Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, according to unofficial tallies referenced by The News.

Haley boasts of new polling showing her beating Biden by a larger margin than Trump

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:42 , Gustaf Kilander

New York Times poll confirms itagain. I defeat Joe Biden by double digits in a general election matchup, while Trump is barely outside the margin of erroragain.



Haley: 45% 

Biden: 35%



Trump: 48% 

Biden: 43%  Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) March 2, 2024

Trump claims youll end up in 1929 if Biden wins

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:24 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump takes credit for the stock market going up and says if Biden wins "you'll end up in 1929." (He said the same stuff in 2020 and the stock market has been at record levels recently.) pic.twitter.com/CVC5onXLm9  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Trump attempts new nickname for California governor

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump: "When I'm president, instead of trying to send Texas a restraining order, I will send them reinforcements" pic.twitter.com/ytATqq6Rmk  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Trump claims to have widespread rights over classified documents

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:12 , Gustaf Kilander

it is true that bathrooms have locked doors pic.twitter.com/ZYBqOwPDgl  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Trump promises largest domestic deportation operation in American history

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:10 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump promises on day one of his presidency to begin "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history" pic.twitter.com/haEHlfJUXx  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Trump makes bizarre polling claim on election rigging

Saturday 2 March 2024 20:01 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump: "In Texas a few weeks ago, another illegal alien animal ... and last week in Louisiana, a savage Biden migrant criminal ... " pic.twitter.com/Jzrw5whKYG  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

Fetterman blames Hamas for deaths of Palestinians apparently shot by Israeli military

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Bevan Hurley reports:

Senator John Fetterman has blamed Hamas for the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who witnesses say were killed when Israeli forces opened fire as they rushed to get supplies from an aid convoy in Gaza.

The Pennsylvania senator claimed that Hamas alone owns this calamity and rejected widespread international condemnation  including from the Biden administration  of the massacre in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.

I reject statements from nations with atrocious human rights records: China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, Mr Fetterman wrote.

Without a doubt, this is a humanitarian tragedy. Hamas alone owns this calamity. We must demand Hamas free the hostages and surrender  ending suffering, death and chaos.

Continue reading...

Fetterman blames Hamas for deaths of Palestinian civilians

Idaho

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:45 , AP

Last year, Idaho lawmakers passed cost-cutting legislation that was intended to move all the states primaries to the same date in May  but the bill inadvertently eliminated the presidential primaries entirely. The Republican-led legislature considered holding a special session to reinstate the presidential primaries but failed to agree on a proposal in time, leaving both parties with presidential caucuses as the only option. The GOP presidential caucuses will be on Saturday, while the Democratic caucuses arent until May 23.

The last GOP caucuses in Idaho were in 2012, when about 40,000 of the states nearly 200,000 registered Republican voters showed up to select their preferred candidate.

For this year, all Republican voters who want to participate will have to attend in person. They will vote after hearing short speeches by the candidates or their representatives.

If one candidate gets more than 50% of the statewide votes, that candidate will win all the Idaho delegates. If none of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, then each candidate with at least 15% of the total votes will get a proportionate number of delegates.

The Idaho GOP will announce the results once all the votes are counted statewide.

Trump placed a distant second in the 2016 Idaho primary behind Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

Trump takes the stage at North Carolina rally to January 6 choir

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:42 , Gustaf Kilander

Trump fans are waving around "TOO BIG TO RIG" signs pic.twitter.com/bGZ9lXWpi0  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 2, 2024

PHOTOS: Haley campaigns in Raleigh, North Carolina

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:35 , Gustaf Kilander

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally at Raleigh Union Station on March 2, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina (Getty Images)

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally at Raleigh Union Station on March 2, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina (Getty Images)

Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally at Raleigh Union Station on March 2, 2024 in Raleigh, North Carolina (Getty Images)

Missouri

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander

The Missouri Republican Party held its presidential caucuses on Saturday, offering state voters their only chance to weigh in on who should represent the party on the November presidential ballot.

Voters lined up outside a church in Columbia, home to the University of Missouri, before the doors opened.

I dont know what my role here will be, besides standing in a corner for Trump, Columbia resident Carmen Christal said, adding that shes just looking forward to the experience of it.

This year will be the first test of the new system, which is almost entirely run by volunteers on the Republican side.

The caucuses were organized after GOP Gov. Mike Parson signed a 2022 law that, among other things, canceled the planned March 12 presidential primary.

Lawmakers have failed to reinstate the primary despite calls to do so by both state Republican and Democratic party leaders. Democrats will hold a party-run primary on March 23.

Trump prevailed twice under Missouris old presidential primary system.

Michigan

Saturday 2 March 2024 19:15 , AP

Michigan Republicans at their convention in Grand Rapids on Saturday began allocating 39 of the states 55 GOP presidential delegates. But a significant portion of the partys grassroots force was skipping the gathering because of the lingering effects of a monthslong dispute over the partys leadership.

Trump handily won Michigans primary this past Tuesday with 68% of the vote compared with Haleys 27%.

Michigan Republicans were forced to split their delegate allocation into two parts after Democrats, who control the state government, moved Michigan into the early primary states, violating the national Republican Partys rules.

Donald Trump wins Missouri caucuses. Michigan and Idaho Republicans will also weigh in on 2024 race

Saturday 2 March 2024 18:57 , Jonathan J. Cooper

Donald Trump has won Missouris Republican caucuses, one of three events Saturday that will award delegates for the GOP presidential nomination.

The former president, who is especially strong in caucuses, was adding to his delegate lead in Republican caucuses in Missouri as well as at a party convention in Michigan. Idaho was scheduled to hold its caucuses later Saturday. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, meanwhile, is still seeking her first win.

There are no Democratic contests on Saturday.

The next contest is the GOP caucus Sunday in the District of Columbia. Two days later is Super Tuesday, when 16 states and American Samoa will hold primaries on what will be the largest day of voting of the year outside of the November election. Trump is on track to lock up the nomination days later.

Crowd gathers in North Carolina for rally with Nikki Haley

Saturday 2 March 2024 18:52 , Gustaf Kilander

Big crowd for Nikki Haley in Raleigh. Three days til Super Tuesday, when North Carolina and 14 other states vote. pic.twitter.com/qX2joZOujB  Samuel Benson (@sambbenson) March 2, 2024

Trumps former communications director predict some of his voters will go to Biden

Saturday 2 March 2024 18:52 , Gustaf Kilander

The flip side of this - @NikkiHaley has consistently pulled 30% among Republican *Primary* voters. While I think the vast majority of those ultimately go to Trump, Id be shocked if only 3% of those wont be w/Trump.



My predict: ~5-7% of Rs sit out, write in, or go to Biden https://t.co/mAvkRB1Bzu  Alyssa Farah Griffin (@Alyssafarah) March 2, 2024

Gen-Z is sold on Biden, but one person is determined to change their mind...

Saturday 2 March 2024 17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Ariana Baio writes:

When Anderson Clayton walks into the room casually dressed in a fun graphic tee, nearly everyones head turns and the noisy chatter lulls into excited whispers. Eyes remain locked on her as she begins embracing each of her fellow Democrat leaders.

Clayton is somewhat of a local celebrity in North Carolina, her energy enough to move an immovable object.

The rest of the country doesnt realise that this 26-year-old is currently leading the Democratic Party in North Carolina, a pretty serious job at any age.

But for those at the Young Democrats of North Carolina Convention, not only is she the state party leader, she is the future.

Continue reading:

Gen Z isnt sold on Biden but Anderson Clayton is out to convince them

Trump leads Biden by four points in new poll

Saturday 2 March 2024 17:15 , Gustaf Kilander

Mr Trump is four points ahead of President Joe Biden in a New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in late February.

The poll, released on Saturday, shows Mr Trump at 48 per cent and Mr Biden at 44 per cent among likely voters  among registered voters, Mr Trump had 48 and Mr Biden 43 per cent.

In a hypothetical matchup with Nikki Haley, the former UN ambassador and the last remaining Republican challenger to Mr Trump, Mr Biden came in at 37 per cent to Ms Haleys 46 per cent.

Forty-seven per cent of likely voters said they were strongly disapproving of Mr Bidens handling of the job.

Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina tweeted: NYT chases headlines while ignoring whats happening. Trump consistently underperforms & Biden overperforms in primaries. In NH, Trump 7 pts worse poll v result. In SC -8 points & MI -10 points. Best predictor of elections = how voters vote. And theyre voting for Dems & Biden.

The polls would have to change significantly - or be quite wrong - for Biden to win in November'

Saturday 2 March 2024 17:12 , Gustaf Kilander

The polls were not very far off the mark about Tom Suozzis prospects in 24, Andy Beshears in 23, or even Joe Bidens in 20. The polls would have to change significantly - or be quite wrong - for Biden to win in November. https://t.co/UO5vfFSBWi  Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) March 2, 2024

US completes first airdrop of food supplies into Gaza

Saturday 2 March 2024 16:28 , Gustaf Kilander

The US military has dropped about 38,000 meals into Gaza, two days after more than 100 Palestinians were killed while trying to get aid from a convoy.

Three planes dropped 66 bundles carrying the meals at about 8.30am (eastern time) on Saturday, according to the AP. The Jordanian Air Force also dropped aid parcels over Gaza.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said that he hoped there would be a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas before Ramadan begins later this month.

Im hoping so. Were still working real hard at it. Were not there yet, he said as he left the White House for Camp David on Friday.

Mr Biden announced on Friday that the US would start dropping aid into Gaza. The drops will be coordinated with Jordan, and more are expected.

Bob Menendez associate pleads guilty to fresh bribery charges

Saturday 2 March 2024 15:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Kelly Rissman reports:

An associate of embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez pleaded guilty to new bribery charges, changing his previous plea after facing a superseding indictment.

The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York charged Jose Uribe, a New Jersey insurance broker, with seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.

He pleaded guilty to all counts on 1 March, altering his previous not guilty plea.

Uribe had initially faced one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in September, when he was indicted alongside the New Jersey senator, his wife and two other Menendez associates for allegedly committing a years-long bribery scheme.

His sentencing is scheduled for 14 June.

Associate of Senator Bob Menendez pleads guilty to fresh bribery charges

Whats going on in Michigan?

Saturday 2 March 2024 15:11 , Gustaf Kilander

While Michigan Republicans took part in a primary on 27 February, most of the delegates will be awarded following congressional district caucuses on Saturday as a leadership dispute infects the Granite State GOP.

Pete Hoekstra has the backing to chair the states GOP and will chair one convention in Grand Rapids while the former party chair Kristina Karamo, who was deposed, was planning to chair yet another gathering in Detriot, according to NBC News.

Republican groups in two of the 13 congressional districts were also planning to hold their own conventions this weekend.

But two operatives close to Ms Karamo told NBC News on Friday that her convention was cancelled.

Ms Karamo posted a video on X, telling her backers to keep fighting and go where your district chair recommends.

Michigan GOP strategist Jason Cabel Roe told NBC: Delegates have been getting conflicting and confusing emails for weeks  promoting different agendas, different staff, different conventions.

You have to pay close attention to even know who is sending what and what the legitimate directions and events are, he added.

Biden twice mixes up Gaza with Ukraine in aid announcement

Saturday 2 March 2024 14:35 , Holly Patrick

Joe Biden mixed up Gaza with Ukraine twice during his announcement that the US will airdrop aid to the territory desperate for humanitarian assistance.

The US president, 81, referred to airdrops to help Volodymyr Zelenskys nation in a speech on Friday, 1 March, but White House officials later clarified his comments were referring to Gaza.

We are going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into Ukraine and seek to continue to open up other avenues into Ukraine, including the possibility of a marine corridor to deliver large amounts of humanitarian assistance, Mr Biden said.

House GOP wont blur faces of Jan 6 rioters in surveillance footage

Saturday 2 March 2024 13:50 , Oliver O'Connell

After announcing that the faces of January 6 rioters would be blurred to avoid their prosecution by the US Department of Justice, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to reverse course on Friday, saying that it was taking too long.

Last year, Mr Johnson appeared to admit that House Republicans were protecting people who broke into the US Capitol, telling reporters in December that we have to blur some faces of persons who participated in the events of that day because we dont want them to be retaliated against, and to be charged by the DOJ, and to have other, you know, concerns and problems.

On Friday, with the release of 5,000 hours of raw footage, his office announced that rioters faces wont be blurred given the significant logistic hurdles involved and the importance of getting this work completed as responsibly and efficiently as possible.

Alex Woodward reports:

House Republicans wont blur faces of January 6 rioters in surveillance footage

Haley calls for Trumps legal woes to be dealt with before November

Saturday 2 March 2024 11:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Nikki Haley, the last Republican rival facing Donald Trump in the 2024 primaries, has called for all of his legal battles to be dealt with before the November election.

The former South Carolina governor is yet to win a state primary or caucus. On Thursday, days after losing big in Michigan, she appeared on NBC News Meet the Press and said: I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November.

We need to know whats going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I dont think any of its going to get heard, she added.

Kelly Rissman reports:

Nikki Haley calls for Trumps legal woes to be dealt with before November

Might North Carolina flip blue in 2024?

Saturday 2 March 2024 09:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Ariana Baio writes:

For the last three presidential election cycles, North Carolina, a red-leaning state, has favoured the Republican presidential candidate. But a January analysis by Moodys Analytics suggests it could flip in 2024.

It projects that the assumed Democratic nominee President Joe Biden will flip North Carolina in Democrats favour by less than a percentage point.

Its no secret that North Carolinas red has appeared more purple in recent years. Mr Trump barely secured the state in 2020, winning by a margin of 1.3 per cent. Republicans only narrowly won a Senate seat in the 2022 midterms by 3.2 per cent.

Republicans currently have control over the legislature but the governor is a Democrat. With an electorate that is almost completely split between the two parties, neither one can afford to lose any votes.

Continue reading...

Could North Carolina flip blue in 2024?

Former Obama official says famine in Gaza inevitable without US pressure on Israel to allow aid

Saturday 2 March 2024 07:50 , Oliver O'Connell

A former Obama administration official has warned that famine in Gaza is inevitable unless President Joe Biden immediately changes course and applies pressure on Israel to open the territory to all aid deliveries.

Jeremy Konyndyk, who led USAIDs Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance for three years and worked on famine prevention in Yemen and South Sudan, said the only way to avoid famine would be for Israel to allow complete access for aid organisations to enter Gaza, which it has been unwilling to do.

Richard Hall reports:

Famine in Gaza is inevitable without US pressure on Israel, says Obama aid official

Read the full transcript of Hunter Bidens congressional testimony

Saturday 2 March 2024 05:50 , Mike Bedigan

The full transcript of Hunter Bidens evidence to House Republicans has been released, following his six-hour testimony held behind closed doors.

Mr Biden was giving evidence in the Republican impeachment probe into his father, President Joe Biden. House members have accused him of using his fathers influence as leverage in lucrative overseas business deals.

However, so far they have struggled for evidence and have been accused of running a sham investigation in order to smear President Biden ahead of the November election.

Read the full transcript below:

Transcript of Hunter Biden testimony to House committee released

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website
SHANGHAI, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, in Shanghai on Thursday.

On the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," the mainland would like to work with the KMT in advancing relations between the two parties and across the Taiwan Strait, Song said.

He called on the two sides to jointly promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, oppose separatist activities seeking "Taiwan independence" and external interference, safeguard peace, improve people's wellbeing, and push forward national reunification and rejuvenation.

Song also noted that the mainland will not tolerate those actions of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities that ignore the safety of mainland fishermen and hurt the feelings of people on both sides.

Hsia, on behalf of the KMT, extended condolences to the family members of the victims of the recent fatal boat incident, and called for quick action to find out the truth and handle the aftermath.

The KMT is willing to maintain cross-Strait peace and stability, promote exchanges and dialogue, and work for the sound development of cross-Strait relations on the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence," he said. 
Iowa lawmakers have passed a "religious freedom restoration act" that Republicans say will protect Iowans' constitutional right to practice their religion and Democrats say will allow discrimination against LGBTQ Iowans and others.

The House voted 61-33 to pass Senate File 2095 on Thursday evening, sending the measure to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk for her signature.

Republicans have tried for years to pass similar religious freedom bills since taking control of the House, Senate and governor's office in 2016, but this year is the first time such a measure has reached the governor's desk.

"It gives people of faith a fair day in court," said the bill's floor manager, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison. "And unless you want a rigged system that disfavors religious liberty  there should be no reason not to support the religious freedom restoration act."

State Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, speaks from the House floor at the Iowa State Capitol, Monday, May 1, 2023.

Democrats said the bill would allow people to cite their religious beliefs to deny service to LGBTQ Iowans and others.

"In my opinion, this bill is an example of extremism because it weaponizes religious beliefs to justify discrimination," said Rep. Heather Matson, D-Ankeny.

More: Iowa Senate passes 'religious freedom' bill that Democrats call 'blank check to discriminate'

In a statement released after the bill's passage, Reynolds indicated she intends to sign it into law.

"The right of religious freedom is endowed upon us by our creator  not government," she said in the statement. "Our founders recognized this principle, and today the Iowa House took a step forward to protect it. Twenty-three states around the country, with both Republican and Democrat governors, have passed similar laws. Now, its Iowas turn."

What would Iowa's religious freedom restoration act do?

The legislation would say that state and local governments shall not "substantially burden" someone's exercise of religion unless it is in furtherance of a compelling government interest and the least restrictive means of pursuing that interest.

A person, corporation, church, foundation or other entity whose exercise of religion has been burdened would have the power to go to court to seek damages or other means of redressing the harm against them.

The bill defines exercise of religion as action "substantially motivated by one's sincerely held religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief."

"The religious freedom restoration act works because it is the right balancing test, that compelling government interest test, for courts to use to protect the precious right to religious freedom and balance it with other serious governmental interests," Holt said.

The federal government passed a "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" in 1993, and about two dozen states have their own version.

Democrats, businesses say the bill would hurt Iowa's ability to recruit workers

Business groups have opposed similar bills in Iowa for years, and several business groups and chambers of commerce urged lawmakers not to pass this year's bill. Lobbyists registered against the bill include the Krause Group, the Technology Association of Iowa, Principal Financial Group and the Iowa Chamber Alliance.

More: Iowa lawmakers advance 'religious freedom' bills over concern from businesses, LGBTQ groups

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, told reporters Thursday that the legislation would have a negative impact on Iowa's ability to recruit young workers in the state, even if the impact isn't evident right away.

"Legalizing discrimination is going to make it harder to recruit young people and keep young people to stay," she said. "We might not see an immediate economic impact, but were going to be able to look back in five years and see that all of the nonsense weve passed has made it harder to keep young people here."

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst speaks during the first session of the year Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.

She said she's heard stories about workers turning down jobs in Iowa because of the state's political climate.

"I have a recruiter in my district who calls me every time they try to recruit someone from out of state and that person laughs at them," Konfrst said. "This person calls me more than once a month because of Iowas reputation."

Democrats raised several examples of people in other states who have been denied medical services, including abortion, as well as examples of businesses denying services to LGBTQ Iowans.

In one high-profile case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that Hobby Lobby could cite a religious belief under the federal law to refuse to cover birth control for its employees' health insurance plans.

"I wish these were hypothetical cases, but these are just the tip of the iceberg of the real cases that are happening throughout this country because states have this discriminatory law on the books," said Rep. Megan Srinivas, D-Des Moines.

Holt pushed back against those examples, arguing that many of them were decided on separate legal issues rather than religious freedom restoration laws and calling them "far-fetched scenarios."

"Bless your heart," Holt said, addressing Democrats. "Because so much of what was said on the floor tonight was not factual."

Galen Bacharier contributed reporting.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House passes 'religious freedom restoration act'
Iowa House lawmakers voted Thursday to require Iowa's three public universities to eliminate all staff positions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion that are not necessary to comply with state or federal law and to cap in-state tuition increases at 3% per year.

The bill would also require the Iowa Board of Regents to include two state lawmakers as nonvoting members.

House lawmakers voted 56-39 Thursday afternoon to pass House File 2558, which Republicans named the "Higher Education Reform Act of 2024."

Six Republicans, Reps. Chad Ingels, R-Randalia; Shannon Latham, R-Sheffield; Brian Lohse, R-Bondurant; Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, and Ray Sorensen, R-Greenfield; and David Young, R-Van Meter, joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Much of the discussion focused on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.

"Whether they were created with good intentions or not, it has become clear that they now are ideological enforcement centers that suppress the pursuit of truth and, most importantly, merit," said the bill's floor manager, Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis.

State Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, speaks from the House floor at the Iowa State Capitol, Monday, May 1, 2023.

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said she's concerned about the "political motivations" behind the bill.

"It clearly is a political bill," she said. "It clearly is a bill that creates more inefficiencies, increases costs, reduces services and puts the accreditation of our regents institutions at risk."

Lawmakers require University of Iowa, Iowa State, University of Northern Iowa to eliminate DEI staff positions

The legislation's language on diversity, equity and inclusion programs codifies a series of directives adopted by the Iowa Board of Regents in November.

More: Iowa Board of Regents tells UI, ISU, UNI to eliminate DEI positions not required by law

Those directives require the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa to restructure their university-wide DEI offices to eliminate any DEI functions not required for accreditation or to comply with the law.

The universities must also eliminate any other DEI-focused positions not necessary for those reasons.

And the three universities must take reasonable steps to assure that no student, employee, visitor or applicant is required to disclose their pronouns or to submit a DEI statement or participate in DEI initiatives.

The directives also require the universities to develop annual employee guidance for separating personal political advocacy from university business and to work to advance "the diversity of intellectual and philosophical perspectives in faculty and staff applicant pools."

And the universities must develop a policy "that prohibits the consideration of race and other protected class characteristics during the admissions process."

Iowa's public universities rely on the Regent Admission Index for applications, which does not consider race or gender.

The bill would also require community colleges to "adopt policies and procedures that prohibit the community college from discriminating against faculty, staff or students who do not ascribe to diversity, equity and inclusion ideologies."

House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst speaks during the first session of the year Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, at the Iowa State Capitol.

Konfrst said the letters "DEI" have been politicized as a "boogeyman." But she said the concepts are those of fairness and including those who are different.

"I dont think diversity, equity and inclusion is something we should be afraid of, we should be eliminating or we should be villainizing," she said.

In-state tuition increases at public universities would be capped at 3% per year

The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would not be allowed to raise in-state tuition and fees by more than 3% each year without the approval of Iowa's Legislative Council.

For incoming in-state undergraduate students beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the universities would not be allowed to raise tuition on a class of students for four years, meaning most students would see the same tuition rate for their entire undergraduate experience.

The tuition freeze would not apply to out of state students, and there would be exceptions for students who enter the university with a significant number of credits, or who remain enrolled longer than four years.

The universities would also have to conduct a comprehensive review on how to reduce costs, maintain tuition at close to its current levels and keep "non-instructional costs" below 10% of the university's budget.

Konfrst said she has concerns about Republicans' proposal on tuition, although she appreciates the idea of a freeze.

"House Democrats introduced one as well," she said. "The difference is this one does not do anything to backfill that money, does not do anything at the regents institutions to ensure that they wont have to cut programs, that they wont have to cut faculty, that they wont have to cut things at that school."

Collins said he believes the universities would still be able to support their operations if they were limited to a 3% increase.

"I think the 3% increase is very reasonable for the students," he said. "Its sustainable for the institution as well."

Board of Regents would include lawmakers as nonvoting members

The bill would expand the Iowa Board of Regents by adding two state lawmakers as nonvoting members of the nine-person board.

One lawmaker would be chosen by the Iowa Senate majority leader and one would be chosen by the House speaker.

It would also alter the process for choosing new presidents of the three public universities by requiring the Board of Regents to use a presidential search committee made up of members of the board.

The bill would keep confidential the identity of any candidate for a university president position by specifying that the person's identity is not a public record.

The Iowa Senate would also gain the power to confirm the president of the Board of Regents, who is chosen by their colleagues. Regents are already subject to Senate confirmation after being nominated by the governor.

Collins said having lawmakers included as nonvoting members on the Board of Regents "gives this body increased oversight" of higher education.

Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City, said the bill isn't focused on the issues facing students, like declining state funding for higher education.

"I talk to a lot of students at the University of Iowa, they make up a lot of my district and they often bring concerns about things that are happening in state government," he said. "Not one of them has ever said, 'What we really need is more politicians on the Board of Regents.'"

Board of Regents would have to approve any new administrator hires at UI, ISU, UNI

The Iowa Board of Regents would have to approve the hiring of any administrator positions at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University or the University of Northern Iowa.

The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa would not be able to hire any new administrator positions without the Board of Regents' approval.

The three universities would be able to fill open administrator positions with another administrator who is already employed at the university.

A new American history and civics requirement for public university graduates

All students at the state's public universities would be required to complete a course on American history and civics before graduating, if the bill became law.

The requirement would apply to all undergraduate students admitted during or after the 2024-25 school year.

"The curriculum shall focus on the founding of the United States and shall emphasize the Federalist Papers, the United States Constitution and the three branches of government," the bill states.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa legislature: House votes to ban DEI programs at public colleges
A woman casts her ballot during the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 1, 2024. Iran held the country's first election since the mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, with questions looming over just how many people will turn out at the polls. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Iran held its first parliamentary election Friday since mass 2022 protests over mandatory hijab laws following the death of Mahsa Amini, apparently drawing a low turnout amid calls for a boycott.

It wasn't immediately clear if voter apathy or an active desire to send a message to Iran's theocracy depressed the number of voters coming to polling stations across the Islamic Republic. While state-controlled television broadcast images of lines of voters, others across the capital of Tehran saw largely empty polling stations.

Officials including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sought to link turnout directly to taking a stand against Iran's enemies. Others, including imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, urged a boycott of a vote they derided as a sham.

Authorities broadly barred politicians calling for any change within the country's government, known broadly as reformists, from running in the election.

Of about 15,000 candidates vying for seats in the 290-member parliament, formally known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly, only 116 are considered to be relatively moderate or pro-reform candidates.

Meanwhile, Iran's economy continues to stagnate under Western sanctions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program and the country's arming of militia proxies in the Middle East and Russia in its war on Ukraine.

Some of the voters acknowledged the challenges facing the Islamic Republic.

There are many problems; too many problems," said one voter, who just gave her last name, Sajjad. "We are sad, we are sorrowful and we voice our criticism as much as we can. God willing, those responsible will start thinking about us, and probably many of them do care.

Khamenei, 84, cast one of the first votes in an election that also will pick new members of the country's Assembly of Experts. The panel of clerics, who serve an eight-year term, is mandated to select a new supreme leader if Khamenei steps down or dies, underscoring its increased importance, given Khamenei's age.

Khamenei voted before a crowd of journalists in Tehran, his left hand slightly shaking as he took his ballot from his right, paralyzed since a 1981 bombing. State television showed a woman nearby weeping as she filmed Khamenei with her mobile phone.

He urged people to vote in his brief remarks.

Pay attention to this, make friends happy and disappoint the evil-wishers, he said.

Khamenei's protege, hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, repeated that call and urged the public to make it "a glorious day for the Iranian nation.

But turnout appeared depressed in Tehran, where the state-owned polling center ISPA had estimated a turnout of 23.5%. ISPA hadnt put out election data prior to the vote until Thursday, something highly unusual as their figures typically get released much earlier.

ISPA's poll, based on a survey of 5,121 voting-age people, predicted a turnout 38.5% nationally. It said the margin of error in the poll was 2%.

That could put turnout on track to be its lowest ever. The lowest previous came in the last parliamentary election in 2020, which saw a 42% turnout.

The boycott calls have put the government under renewed pressure  since its 1979 Islamic Revolution, Irans theocracy has based its legitimacy in part on turnout in elections.

In one polling place Friday in Tehran, a young woman without a hijab and her mother, wearing one, entered. There was no comment from officials or police on hand.

I accompanied my mother who wanted to vote just to remind authorities about last years crackdown, said the daughter, who gave her first name, Zohreh. Her mother voted for a relative moderate running in their district, while Zohreh declined to cast a ballot, she said.

Meanwhile, a heavy security presence could be seen across the capital, with ordinary and anti-riot police officers visible in main squares and junctions. Some 200,000 security forces have been deployed across the country as over 59,000 polling stations opened. Another 1 million people reportedly are running the election, home to some 85 million people.

Estimates put the voting-age population at 61 million.

Parliament terms run for four years, and five seats are reserved for Irans religious minorities. Under the law, the parliament has oversight over the executive branch, votes on treaties and handles other issues. In practice, absolute power in Iran rests with its supreme leader.

Hard-liners have controlled the parliament for the past two decades  with chants of Death to America often heard from the floor.

Under Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guard general who supported a violent crackdown on Iranian university students in 1999, the legislature pushed forward a bill in 2020 that greatly curtailed Tehrans cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

That followed then-U.S. President Donald Trumps unilateral withdrawal of America from Irans nuclear deal with world powers in 2018  an act that sparked years of tensions in the Middle East and saw Iran enrich enough uranium at record-breaking purity to have enough fuel for several nuclear weapons if it chose.

More recently, the parliament has focused on issues surrounding Irans mandatory head covering, or hijab, for women after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Amini in police custody, which sparked nationwide protests.

The protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Irans clerical rulers. A subsequent security crackdown killed over 500 people, with more than 22,000 detained.

Authorities extended the voting time by six hours, closing polling places at midnight local time (2030 GMT). Initial election results are expected as early as Saturday.
Two men put up campaign posters on the last day of election campaigning, Wednesday, in Tehran.

Voting is under way in Iran as the country holds its first elections since the 2022 anti-government protests.

Friday's elections are seen as a crucial test of legitimacy and national support for Iran's leadership - but a low turnout is expected.

Voter apathy remains high following a period of unrest after the death of a young woman detained by morality police for wearing "improper" hijab.

More than 61.2 million people are eligible to vote.

Two separate polls are taking place on Friday: one to elect the next members of parliament, and another to elect members of the Assembly of Experts.

The assembly selects and oversees Iran's most powerful figure and commander-in-chief, the supreme leader - who makes key decisions on issues important to voters, such as social freedoms and economic conditions.

On Thursday, current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - who has held the position for more than three decades - encouraged voters to cast their ballots.

Refraining from voting "would not solve anything", he said.

In the run-up to the elections, state media tried to encourage voting and build enthusiasm by airing dozens of elections specials and creating new channels to give candidates airtime.

Voter turnout is expected to be low, however, with a state-linked polling agency projecting a 41% turnout for the parliamentary elections - which, if accurate, will be the lowest turnout in the past 12 such ballots.

Many Iranians are reluctant to vote - or choosing not to - following the mass protests of 2022, which were triggered by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

Iran's harsh crackdown on protesters saw hundreds of people killed and thousands injured. Many were arrested and remain in prison - and in some cases, received the death penalty.

Since then, Iran's political and social atmosphere has become more repressive and the public has become further dissatisfied with the government.

This year, a record number of 15,200 candidates were approved to stand for the 290 seats in the parliamentary election - but only 30 were from the reformist camp.

Reformists have described the elections as "meaningless, non-competitive, unfair, and ineffective in the administration of the country".

On Thursday, US spokesperson Matthew Miller said a "great number of Iranians" had no expectation that the elections would be free and fair.

"The world has long known that Iran's political system features undemocratic and non-transparent administrative, judicial and electoral systems," he added.

Polls opened at 08:00 (04:30 GMT) and are expected to remain open for 10 hours - though in previous elections voting time was extended up to midnight in some cases.
A staff member collects national IDs of voters at a polling station in Tehran, during the Iranian legislative election. Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Elections for seats in the Iranian parliament, the Majles, and the country's Assembly of Experts were on Friday accompanied by calls for boycotts and widespread apathy among Iranians.

There has been little sign of enthusiasm for the elections in the capital Tehran, with many potential voters disillusioned after repeated failed attempts at reforms in recent decades.

Voting was extended in the evening until 8 pm local time (1630 GMT), with the first results expected at the weekend.

Iran's religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened voting on Friday morning under heavy security precautions in the capital of Tehran as he cast his votes for the parliament and for the Assembly of Experts, an influential body of Islamic scholars.

"The eyes of the people and politicians of the world are on Iran," Khamenei said after casting his vote. "Both friends and enemies," he added.

In the snowy north of the capital Tehran, few people wanted to discuss their opinion about the elections with a dpa reporter.

"These elections are just a facade and have no effect on the future of the country," complained a young barista. "The economic situation is getting worse every day."

A 27-year-old woman expressed similar sentiments. She used to vote, but no longer does, citing "the repression of people during the protests."

In conservative neighbourhoods in southern Tehran, more people appeared to be heading to vote on Friday.

"Voting is a religious duty," said one 23-year-old. "I just hope that the politicians don't let us down."

The reformist camp is currently extremely weak, with hard-line conservatives in particular are vying for power. About 5,000 candidates critical of the Iranian regime were excluded from the ballot by Iran's Guardian Council before the elections.

These are the first elections since mass women-led protests rocked the country in the autumn of 2022, following the death of the Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's so-called morality police.

Well-known activists, including the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, have called for a boycott.

In the last parliamentary election in 2020, voter turnout was officially just over 40%, the lowest figure in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Around 61 million people in Iran were eligible to vote this time round.

Since the 1979 revolution, the political system of the Islamic Republic of Iran has combined theocratic and republican elements.

The 290 seats in parliament, five of which are reserved for religious minorities, are elected by the people every four years.

The Guardian Council, an arch-conservative supervisory body, decides on the ideological suitability of politicians.

As a result, citizens can usually only choose from a group of candidates who are loyal to the existing system. Nevertheless, a record number of 15,000 Iranians are running for office.

Candidates do not enter the race with parties, but organize themselves via lists. In Tehran, for example, 30 seats are up for election to parliament, and the alliances are presenting 30 candidates each.

The Assembly of Experts, meanwhile, is made up of 88 Shiite religious clerics who are elected for eight-year terms. The group has the power to select the successor to the country's religious leader, currently Khamenei.

Khamenei, 84, is seen as the most powerful man in Iran.

But only 144 candidates are eligible for election to the assembly, due to strict theological requirements.

The disqualification of moderate ex-president Hassan Ruhani, who has been a member of the Assembly of Experts for more than 20 years, caused controversy before the elections.

A staff member helps voters at a polling station during the Iranian legislative election. Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi casts his ballot at a polling station, during the Iranian legislative election. Iranian Presidency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Khamenei had earlier warned that Iran's 'enemies want to see if the people are present,' in Friday's elections (ATTA KENARE)

As Iranians cast ballots on Friday, many are preoccupied with a pivotal question, not about which candidate to pick, but whether to vote at all.

"It is a religious duty, it is a national duty, and it is the order of the supreme leader," said Afrasiabi, 43, while proudly displaying his ink-stained finger at a polling station south of Tehran.

Afrasiabi was among those who turned out on Friday to pick members of a new parliament and the Assembly of Experts, a body in charge of electing Iran's supreme leader.

More than 61 million people out of the Islamic republic's 85-million population are eligible to vote.

But fears of a low participation rate loomed large after a state TV poll found more than half of respondents were indifferent about the elections.

"I am not voting for two reasons. The first is that I want a lot of changes that are not possible with the current candidates," said 32-year-old Lida.

"Secondly, I have always voted for reformists, but none have been approved."

Jurists in charge of vetting approved 15,200 hopefuls to run for parliament and 144 candidates for the Assembly of Experts. Many moderate and reformist candidates were disqualified.

Iran's present parliament is dominated by conservatives and ultra-conservatives, and observers expect a similar make-up in the new assembly.

Friday's elections are the first since Iran was rocked by mass protests triggered by the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, had been arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

- 'Enemies of Iran' -

Government employee Morteza, 40, says he voted "to try to improve the (political) situation".

"Boycotting the elections will not change anything," he said, referring to calls by some opposition figures and members of the diaspora.

"There is no advantage in not voting, but maybe there is an advantage in participation."

His wife, Akram, said voting was a way of not "letting foreigners interfere in the affairs of our country".

Khamenei had earlier warned that Iran's "enemies want to see if the people are present," adding that otherwise "they will threaten your security in one way or another."

Other voters decried what they referred to as "propaganda" campaigns outside Iran urging people not to cast their ballots.

"Those who do not vote have actually voted, they have voted for the enemies of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Iran," said a 50-year-old Shiite cleric on condition of anonymity.

He cast his ballot at a polling station in central Tehran where dozens of people queued to vote, though in lower numbers compared with previous elections.

Iran's 2020 parliament was elected during the Covid pandemic, with a turnout of 42.57 percent -- the lowest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Pedram, a mathematics teacher living west of Tehran, said authorities in Iran "use votes for propaganda purposes".

They "consider each vote for a candidate and even blank votes as a vote for the entire system", he said.

ap-jri/mz/srk/dv
FILE - Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023.Irish President Michael Higgins was expected to spend the weekend in the hospital as a precaution after he felt ill, his office said Friday, March 1, 2024. Higgins, 82, was admitted to St Jamess Hospital on Thursday after feeling unwell. He underwent tests and was to remain in the hospital to monitor his blood pressure. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

LONDON (AP)  Irish President Michael Higgins was expected to spend the weekend in the hospital as a precaution after he felt ill, his office said Friday.

Higgins, 82, was admitted to St Jamess Hospital on Thursday after feeling unwell. He underwent tests and was to remain in the hospital to monitor his blood pressure.

The president thanked the public for an outpouring of messages wishing him well. He was expected to return to his official residence early next week.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he had been touch with Higgins and wished him a speedy recovery.

Higgins, a onetime factory worker who is a poet, writer, academic and human rights advocate, has been president since 2011.
Peigi Anne Shields is worried about the visual impact up to 66 wind turbines would have on the landscape

Islanders in Lewis have raised concerns about the visual impact a planned offshore wind farm could have on the island's west coast.

Northland Power is leading the Spiorad na Mara project which could see up to 66 turbines, each 380m (1,246ft) tall, installed three to eight miles (5-13km) from shore.

The company says the farm would support jobs and generate enough electricity to meet the average annual needs of about 815,000 Scottish homes.

But there are concerns the scheme would spoil the coastal area and harm tourism.

The wind farm site was selected as part of Crown Estate Scotland's ScotWind leasing process.

A planning application for Spiorad na Mara could be submitted next year.

If approved, construction could start in 2028.

Canadian company Northland Power, which is working with Irish firm ESB, said the project could support more than 100 permanent jobs, and up 1,000 short-term roles during construction.

The company said the wind farm would also help meet climate targets, and could save more than 1.36 million tonnes of harmful CO2 emissions every year.

Map

The west side of Lewis is home to about 3,500 people.

Some are concerned about the visual impacts of the turbines and an onshore sub station proposed for a site in Barvas.

Peigi Anne Shields told BBC Alba's Eorpa programme: "When I think about it, it feels like a heartbreak.

"This is my home, and theres going to be a huge development that doesnt at all fit with the area, and Ill have to see it every day.

"Lots of people say you shouldnt think about scenery, but the scenery here is a big part of my life."

Rodney Jamieson said the landscape was important to local tourism

Rodney Jamieson, who runs a surfing business, has worries about the impact on tourism.

He said: "The evidence to me would suggest that if you have something big, that close, its going to change the place.

"Everything we sell the Western Isles on from a tourism point of view is landscape, scenery, culture, heritage."

Alice Macmillan shares some islanders concerns about the visual impact

Artist Alice Macmillan moved back home to Lewis because of the landscape.

She said: "I missed the sea, I missed the landscape, I missed seeing the kind of animals we get here and you know, to see all that wiped out in the name of being green I just think it would be absolutely devastating.

"None of this is green for us at all so I dont think I could live here anymore."

The proposed wind farm site is on the west side of Lewis

Western Isles local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, has not not yet taken an official view on the project.

But Lewis councillor Donald Crichton said the islands could play a role in energy security but added that it was important any renewable power scheme resulted in gains for island communities.

He said: "The benefits of this will have to be substantial in order to keep people in the townships [communities], and give them work."

Mr Crichton added: "Locally it's important that we have projects that contribute to the economy, to jobs and which also help with fuel poverty that is really high in the islands compared to the rest of the country."

'Rigorous assessment'

Spiorad na Mara project director Tanya Davies said work had started on a potential multi-million pound community investment package.

She said the project was keen to engage with islanders and public consultations would be held this year.

She added: "We are currently undergoing rigorous environmental impact assessment which will consider all the different effects of the project.

"We are also about to start a social impact assessment, which is something we do voluntarily to show that we have a wider understanding of all of the different social impacts associated with the project."

More on this story

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Britain demands urgent probe into deaths of more than 100 Palestinians killed in Gaza aid convoy chaos

Britain on Friday demanded an urgent probe into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians killed in a crowd of people desperately trying to obtain aid from a convoy of trucks in Gaza.

Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron also emphasised that people must be held accountable for the fatalities.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, he said: The deaths of people in Gaza waiting for an aid convoy yesterday were horrific.

There must be an urgent investigation and accountability. This must not happen again.

He also stressed: We cant separate what happened yesterday from the inadequate aid supplies.

In February only half the number of trucks crossed into Gaza that did in January.

This is simply unacceptable.

He added: This tragedy only serves to underscore the importance of securing an immediatehumanitarian pause. A sustained pause in the fighting is the only way to get lifesaving aid in at the scale needed and free the hostages cruelly held by Hamas.

Israel came under pressure on Friday for a neutral probe into the deaths.

The US reportedly blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel for the pre-dawn deaths in northern Gaza early on Thursday, arguing it was too early to apportion blame.

Israel denied witness accounts that its soldiers had opened fire on the civilians, insisting some died in a stampede while others were run over by reversing trucks.

But with more than 30,000 people now killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, UN Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "shocked" and said the latest killings would require an effective independent investigation.

The violence was condemned by Arab countries, and US President Joe Biden expressed concern it would make it harder to negotiate a ceasefire after this week suggesting that a humanitarian pause could come on Monday.

In Britain, senior Conservative backbench MP Tobias Ellwood said such scenes of absolute panic were inevitable given the paucity of aid being allowed into Gaza by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus hardline government.

And then in that pandemonium shots were fired, Mr Ellwood told Sky News.

The idea that now, Netanyahu wants to then plough into Rafah (in southern Gaza) is simply wrong and he's haemorrhaging international support that was there from the very start when those barbaric attacks took place on the seventh of October.

Israel insists it will not stop until Hamas is eradicated from Gaza and all its hostages are released after they were seized by terrorists when they killed 1,200 Israelis on October 7.

Palestinian witnesses said that Israeli troops fired on the crowd as people raced to pull food off the convoy of 30 aid trucks in Gaza City, amid warnings from foreign aid agencies of starvation and famine stalking civilians caught up in an Israeli blockade.

Weve been eating animal feed for two months, said Kamel Abu Nahel, who was being treated for a gunshot wound in hospital. He said the crowd had gathered at the distribution point in the middle of the night because they heard a delivery of food was coming. A few thousands have stayed despite longstanding Israeli warnings to evacuate northern Gaza.

Mr Nahel told the Associated Press that Israeli troops opened fire as people pulled boxes of flour and canned goods off the trucks, causing the Palestinians to scatter. After the shooting stopped, people went back to the trucks, and the soldiers opened fire again, he said, adding that he was shot in the leg and fell over, and then a truck ran over his leg as it sped off.

At least 112 people were killed and more than 700 others were wounded, according to Gazas Hamas-run health ministry, which called it a massacre.

However, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said troops guarding the area only fired warning shots toward the crowd because they felt endangered.

We didnt open fire on those seeking aid. Contrary to the accusations, we didnt open fire on a humanitarian aid convoy, not from the air and not from land. We secured it so it could reach northern Gaza, he said.

The US administration has meanwhile been negotiating its own ceasefire resolution at the UN after steadfastly standing by Israel in previous votes.

US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators hope to reach an agreement before Ramadan starts around March 10. But Israel and Hamas remain far apart in their public demands.

Asked if the bloodshed in Gaza City would complicate those efforts, President Biden said: "I know it will."

He added: "Hope springs eternal. I was on the telephone with people from the region. Probably not by Monday, but I'm hopeful."

Mr Guterres complained that worsening geopolitical divides have "transformed the veto power into an effective instrument of paralysis of the action of the Security Council".

"I am totally convinced that we need a humanitarian ceasefire and we need the unconditional and immediate release of hostages and that we should have a Security Council able to achieve these objectives," the UN chief said.
At least 112 Palestinians are said to have been killed and 760 injured trying to get desperately needed aid in Gaza.

Crowds descended on a convoy of lorries on the coastal road south-west of Gaza City, in the presence of Israeli tanks.

Israel's military say tanks fired warning shots but did not strike the convoy. Some Palestinians say troops fired directly at them.

A Palestinian witness told the BBC most of those who died had been run over as lorry drivers tried to move forward.

Israeli aerial footage shows hundreds of people on and around lorries, while graphic videos posted online show bodies loaded on to emptied aid lorries and a donkey cart.

Giving the figures of 112 dead and 760 injured, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry accused Israel of a "massacre".

The UN Security Council has scheduled a closed-door emergency meeting to discuss the incident.

France said "fire by Israeli soldiers against civilians trying to access food" was "unjustifiable" and US President Joe Biden expressed concern the incident would complicate efforts by mediators to broker a temporary ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.

The medical charity MSF said it was "horrified" and called for an "immediate and sustained ceasefire".

The incident came hours before Gaza's health ministry announced that more than 30,000 people, including 21,000 children and women, had been killed in Gaza since the start of the current conflict on 7 October. Some 7,000 were missing and 70,450 were injured, it said.

The UN is warning of a looming famine in the north of the territory, where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

The Israeli military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign to destroy Hamas - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and others - after its gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 253 hostages.

Thursday's incident took place shortly after 04:45 (02:45 GMT) at the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

A convoy of 30 lorries carrying Egyptian aid was making its way north along what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a "humanitarian corridor" when it was surrounded by civilians, with people climbing on to the trucks.

"Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," said the IDF's chief spokesman, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari. "The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

Israeli tanks, he said, "cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots" but pulled back "when the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand".

"No IDF strike was conducted towards the aid convoy," he said, insisting the Israeli military had been trying to help the aid convoy reach its destination.

Another IDF spokesman said some civilians had approached Israeli soldiers at a nearby checkpoint, ignoring warning shots. Fearing a threat, the soldiers fired at them in a "limited response", he said.

A Palestinian witness, speaking to the BBC, described panic in the crowd and among the drivers, who tried to move forward. Most of those who died were run over, the witness added.

Map showing Gaza City, Nabulsi roundabout and al-Shifa Hospital

Hamas rejected the IDF's account, citing "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing".

Dozens of casualties in a critical or severe condition were brought to the nearby al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where medics were unable to cope with the sheer volume and severity of cases.

One man at the hospital who was cradling the body of this dead friend, Tamer Shinbari, told the BBC he had gone to the Nabulsi roundabout hoping to get a bag of flour for his family. He said Israeli soldiers had opened fire "and the aid lorry ran over the bodies".

All or most of the casualties being treated at two other hospitals, Kamal Adwan and al-Awda, were said by officials there to have bullet or shrapnel wounds.

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia said it had received dead and wounded from western Gaza City

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a rival of Hamas based in the occupied West Bank, accused Israeli forces of a "heinous massacre".

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he condemned the incident and called again for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages".

The north of Gaza suffered widespread devastation after being the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive and has been largely cut off from humanitarian assistance for several months.

Last week, the World Food Programme said it had been forced to suspend aid deliveries to the area after its first convoy in three weeks had been surrounded by crowds of hungry people close to an Israeli checkpoint and had then faced gunfire in Gaza City.

On Tuesday, a senior UN aid official warned that at least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - faced catastrophic levels of food insecurity and one in six children under the age of two in the north were suffering from acute malnutrition and wasting.

Ten children died from dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza in recent days, the health ministry said.
Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

GAZA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people.

The ministry said 81 Palestinians were killed and 132 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total casualties to 30,035 dead and 70,475 injured since the conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023.

Shortly after the ministry announced the grim milestone, medical sources in Gaza told Xinhua that at least 104 people died and more than 760 were hurt on Thursday when Israelis opened fire at a gathering of Palestinians on a coastal road west of Gaza City, where they were expecting aid trucks to arrive.

The wounded, many of them in critical condition, were taken to Al-Shifa Hospital, which is struggling with a shortage of medical supplies and equipment, the sources said.

Witnesses told Xinhua news agency that the Israeli army targeted the civilians on Al-Rashid Street, causing a large number of casualties.

The Palestinian foreign ministry denounced the attack as a "heinous massacre" and part of the Israeli war that aims "to clear the northern Gaza Strip of its population."

The attack "shows that the Israeli government ignores the international calls and demands to protect civilians," the ministry said in a statement, urging an immediate ceasefire as the only way to save lives.

An Israeli military spokesman said the troops fired "in self-defense" after Gazans attacked and looted aid trucks that entered the Gaza Strip early in the morning. He said dozens of Gazans were injured in the chaos, some by being crushed or trampled.

He said some of the Gazans approached the soldiers in "a threatening manner," forcing them to respond with live fire.

Israel launched its assault on Hamas in response to a cross-border raid by the militant group on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken captive. 

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday as the Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid in western Gaza, killing at least 104 people. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia said it had received dead and wounded from western Gaza City

Several countries have joined the UN in calling for an investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza.

At least 117 people were killed and more than 760 injured on Thursday as they crowded around aid lorries.

Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots.

The UK foreign secretary called the situation "horrific" and repeated calls for a sustained pause in fighting.

In a statement on Friday, David Cameron said the tragedy could not be separated from inadequate aid supplies to Gaza, which he described as "unacceptable".

"There must be an urgent investigation and accountability," he said. "This must not happen again."

France, Italy and Germany have also called for an independent investigation into the aid convoy deaths. French President Emmanuel Macron said civilians had been "targeted by Israeli soldiers".

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres wrote on social media: "I condemn Thursday's incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid."

"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week."

Injured Palestinians were taken to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City for treatment

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry called the incident a "massacre".

The UN Security Council held a closed-door emergency meeting to discuss the incident, during which Algeria - the Arab representative of the body - put forward a draft statement blaming Israeli forces for "opening fire".

While 14 of the Council's 15 members supported the motion, the US blocked it, according to AP news agency, citing the Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour who spoke to reporters afterwards. US envoy Robert Wood said the facts of the incident remained unclear.

Thursday's incident took place shortly after 04:45 (02:45 GMT) at the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

Ramzi Mohammed Rihan was injured in the stampede and described to BBC Arabic what he saw.

He said: "We were informed that a shipment of flour would arrive through Al-Nabulsi Street and that there would be no shooting.

"We went to get flour to feed our children. We went to Nabulsi Street and before the trucks arrived there was gunfire.

"As the trucks entered, we headed towards them, and as we tried to get the first bag of flour out of the truck, they began to fire at us."

Mr Rihan said he was carried to the hospital on a cart and that his X-rays have been delayed due to a lack of electricity.

Khaled al-Tarawish was also wounded and said his surgery has also been postponed due to a lack of fuel in al-Awada Hospital.

"I went to Nabulsi Street to get a bag of flour," he said. "Because of the crowd I ran under the car, I went to the Awda hospital where they told me that I needed to have an operation but because there was no diesel fuel, they told me the operation would be carried out three days later.

"All I want is to provide the hospital with diesel fuel so that I can undergo the operation and get my treatment."

The convoy of 30 lorries carrying Egyptian aid was making its way north along what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a "humanitarian corridor" which it said its forces were securing.

Map showing the location of the convoy of aid which was surrounded by people on Thursday.

IDF chief spokesman, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, said civilians surrounded the convoy and people began climbing on the lorries.

"Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," he said. "The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

Israeli tanks, he said, "cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots" but pulled back "when the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand".

Another IDF spokesman, Lt Col Peter Lerner, said some civilians approached a checkpoint which was about 70 metres (230 feet) away and ignored warning shots fired by the soldiers there.

He said the soldiers, fearing that some of the civilians posed a threat, then opened fire on those approaching in what he described as a "limited response."

Hamas rejected the IDF's account, citing "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing".

The incident came hours before Gaza's health ministry announced that more than 30,000 people, including 21,000 children and women, had been killed in Gaza since the start of the current conflict on 7 October. Some 7,000 were missing and 70,450 were injured, it said.

Mr Gutteres added: "I am appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza - more than 30,000 people reportedly killed and over 70,000 injured.

"I reiterate my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages."

The executive director of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) in the UK, Natalie Roberts, said delivering aid to a starving population without adequate security was risking disaster.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme she said: "We know that there have been very few aid convoys in the last weeks in the north, people have been unable to get anything to eat.

"We know from our own colleagues that they're having to eat animal food, that they go without food for days on end sometimes. And so people are just completely desperate, and the minute you start trying to deliver food to the region without any sort of security for the convoy, then this was always going to happen."

The UN is warning of a looming famine in the north of the territory, where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

Israeli military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign to destroy Hamas - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and others - after its gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.
(L-R) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Katharina Zweig, Professor of Theoretical Computer Science, German Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Lisa Paus and Emre Celik, anti-discrimination expert at Google DeepMind, discuss at the "Cliche-Free Initiative" conference entitled "Cliches, professions and cultures - what we can learn from each other" at the Foreign Office. Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday expressed shock at the bloody outcome of an aid delivery to Gaza the previous day and called on Israel to clarify the situation.

"People wanted aid supplies for themselves and their families and died. I am shocked by the reports from Gaza," Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The Israeli army must now fully investigate how the mass panic and shooting occurred, she added.

Baerbock expressed her sympathy to the families of the victims and called for more humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, saying that people there were "closer to dying than to living."

The minister reiterated her call for a humanitarian ceasefire "so that the hostages can finally be released from the hands of Hamas and no more people die in Gaza. And aid can be distributed safely."

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza, more than 100 people were killed and several hundred injured when the truck convoy arrived on Thursday with supplies for the north of the coastal strip.
During his speech to the Federal Assembly, Russian leader Vladimir Putin used rhetoric about negotiations and nuclear weapons rattling to draw Western attention to his speech and to advance the Kremlin's ongoing information operations.

Source: the Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Putin reiterated his ostensible willingness to engage in dialogue with the United States on "strategic stability" and continued to hold the United States responsible for the lack of talks.

Putin argued that if the US wants to discuss important security issues, Russia's national interests must be taken into account.

ISW stressed that Putin continues to pursue his maximalist goals in Ukraine; he wants Ukraine's complete surrender, and he also aims to weaken and disarm NATO, which he sees as an integral part of Russia's national interests.

Currently, the Kremlin is conducting an information operation simulating an interest in negotiations to encourage the West to make concessions on Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Putin also stressed that Russia possesses weapons capable of striking Western countries and said that Western escalation threatens a possible nuclear conflict that could destroy civilisation.

Military analysts have noted that Putin and Russian officials often invoke nuclear threats to instil fear in Western audiences and weaken Western support for Ukraine.

The Kremlin has not escalated significantly in response to the provision of new Western systems to Ukraine, and ISW continues to assess that Russia's use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine and beyond is highly unlikely.

To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 29 February:

Ukrainian officials are reportedly concerned about the possibility of significant Russian territorial gains in the Summer of 2024 in the event of continued delays in Western security assistance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his 29 February address to the Federal Assembly to attempt to convince the Russian public that his next term as president will be defined by Russian military success in Ukraine but not at the expense of stagnating or decreased social and economic welfare.

Putin used tired rhetoric about negotiations and nuclear sabre rattling during his Federal Assembly speech, likely to seize on Western attention to the speech to promote ongoing Kremlin information operations.

Putin emphasised the Kremlins domestic focus on 2024 as the "Year of the Family" to address Russias ongoing demographic crisis during his Federal Assembly address.

Putin did not respond to the 28 February request from the Congress of Deputies from pro-Russian Moldovan breakaway region Transnistria, but this lack of response still affords the Kremlin several possible courses of action (COA) at a later time.

Ukrainian forces downed three more Su-34 fighter aircraft in eastern Ukraine on 28-29 February.

The Kremlin continues to assert its self-arrogated right to enforce Russian federal law on citizens of NATO member and former Soviet states over actions taken within the territory of their own countries.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a threat to Armenian security as Russian officials refused to acknowledge Armenias reduced participation in the CSTO.

The Kremlin has reportedly established high-level positions in all federal bodies to promote patriotism and history within each body, likely aimed at strengthening informational and ideological control over federal employees.

Russian forces made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional engagements along the frontline on 29 February.

Russian state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec Head Sergei Chemezov stated on 29 February that Rostec plans to produce A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft on an unspecified schedule because Russian forces require more A-50 aircraft.

Occupation officials continue to support Kremlin efforts to gain further control over religious groups in occupied Ukraine.

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Italy's Premier Giorgia Meloni speaks during a press conference at the Mariinskiy Palace in Kyiv on Feb. 24. Meloni will visit Canada to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday. (Efrem Lukatsky/The Associated Press - image credit)

This weekend, Canada will play host to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is widely regarded as that country's most right-wing leader since the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. But don't expect that detail to come up.

Meloni will be in Toronto this Saturday for a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and it is expected to be a cordial one. Meloni's visit, reads a news release from the Prime Minister's Office, will build on the "close relationship" Canada has with Italy, a steadfast ally in "defending democracy around the world."

The statement is a far cry from the public criticism Trudeau lobbed at Meloni at a meeting of the G7 last year. There, he voiced "concern" about the Italian prime minister's positions on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, which included plans to revoke parental rights for gay couples with children.

But a lot can change in a year. Since last May, experts say Meloni has deftly performed a delicate balancing act, advancing centrist positions on the international stage while appeasing a far-right base at home. In the process, she has become a key power player in Europe amid a wider surge in right-wing sentiment across the continent.

"I expect Trudeau to be much more gentle with Meloni this time around," said Amy Verdun, director of the University of Victoria's European studies program, in an email. "There is a more right-wing wind blowing in Europe. On the whole we do not know where all this is going. But for people on the left, it is a worrying trend."

Efrem Lukatsky/The Associated Press

Growing influence

Before coming to power, Meloni was known for her fiery speeches against "globalist" institutions such as the European Union. But since becoming premier, she has been positioning herself as a powerful player at the European Parliament.

As leader of a large right-wing bloc, Meloni's tough talk on immigration has increasingly dictated the direction of EU policy. She was instrumental in the development of its new migration plan, which will increase relocations and refusals, and has built a close relationship with European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.

"They have helped each other many times, supporting each other politically," said Teresa Coratella, a program manager for the European Council on Foreign Relations in Rome.

With upcoming European elections expected to hand a quarter of seats to far-right parties like Meloni's, Von Der Leyen has been actively courting Meloni's approval, making frequent visits to Italy and statements in favour of her harsh policies on migration.

"Meloni played her cards on the European tables very well," said Lorenzo Castellani, a political analyst at the LUISS Guido Carli university in Rome. "She will be one of the largest  players in the next election."

Intercontinental ambitions

Now, Meloni's ambitions have extended across the Mediterranean, with a new investment plan that would transfer billions in cash to African countries. The strategy is one of the topics that is expected to be under discussion Saturday.

Though the PMO's statement says the strategy could help "promote peace, development, and prosperity across the continent," it is widely understood to be aimed primarily at curbing immigration flows from North Africa.

Roberto Monaldo/LaPresse/The Associated Press

"This plan might create some sort of exchange," said Castellani. "You can use this cash for drilling oil or building schools and bridges, but the underlying motivation is first and foremost to stop illegal immigration  or at least to limit it."

The plan has already drawn criticism for proposing large cash transfers to unstable regimes with poor human rights records, in exchange for implicit promises to prevent refugees from getting out.

And while Meloni's migration strategy has earned the support of European politicians fearing a far-right surge at home, it has appalled human rights organizations, which have decried policies that offshore immigration processing to Albania, fund Libyan warships that illegally push back refugees, and criminalize the rescue of drowning migrants at sea.

'Draconian' policies at home

Meanwhile, since Trudeau voiced concern last year, Meloni has only accelerated the erosion of 2SLGBTQ+ rights in Italy. Last summer, she outlawed international surrogacy, and carried through on threats to revoke the legal rights of dozens of gay parents.

Her government has earned rare rebukes for its harsh policing of protests, passed "draconian" new laws targeted at youth crime and spurred controversy by clearing critics from cultural institutions like the public broadcaster.

More recently, she's raised alarm by proposing constitutional reforms that critics say parallel those enacted by Mussolini in the 1920s, which would likely hand sweeping new powers to her office.

And while analysts admit she's been successful in shaking her party's fascist associations internationally, she is still routinely embarrassed in Italy by members of her own party attending neo-fascist rallies  events which she often avoids condemning.

"It's like she has a double face," said Coratella. Internationally, she has been encouraged to moderate her positions  but at home, she faces the opposite pressure: a fractious coalition of far-right politicians she must appease to survive until the end of her mandate.

Shifting landscape

But analysts say little of this is likely to factor into Trudeau's discussion with Meloni Saturday. His high-profile critique last year was "mostly for a Canadian audience," according to Ruben Zaiotti, a professor of political science at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"Trudeau  did what he had to do last year at the G7," Zaiotti said. "The [Meloni] government was new, so it wasn't yet clear if [it] would be playing by the same tune as the rest of the G7. But since then, she's done exactly that."

With ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, maintaining unity in groups like NATO, the G7 and the EU may simply be more important now than policing the domestic politics of foreign leaders, analysts say. The bulk of the meeting is expected to focus on priorities like aid to Ukraine and support for Israel, two files where Meloni has remained in lockstep with her more mainstream allies.

"On the international level, the issues today are Ukraine, Russian aggression, Israel-Gaza," said Zaiotti. "There's a lot of overlap between what she wants and what Trudeau wants."

With the prospect of another right-wing leader occupying the White House next year, Canada may also not have the luxury of choice when it comes to its allies.

"I'm not sure that Justin Trudeau's foreign policy has been as successful as he wants," said Sir Graham Watson, a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and a former member of the European Parliament. "Maybe he is interested in closer relations with Europe. Relations between Canada and Italy could perhaps be strengthened."

"Even if [its] European allies might not be of the same political colour," said Verdun, "it is in Canada's interest, at the moment, to be diversifying its relationships."
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WETM)  An Ithaca man has been sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for drug-related crimes involving cocaine and meth in May of 2021.

According to a release by the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of New York, 31-year-old Odell Tindley was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 29, to 13 years in prison with five years parole for conspiring to distribute controlled substances, meth, and cocaine, in Watertown.

Two Newfield men face drug and gun charges after search

Tindley admitted in a previous guilty plea that he distributed 83 grams of cocaine in Watertown on May 25, 2021, and set up a delivery for a larger quantity of meth later the same day.

Police pulled over a vehicle driven by a coconspirator of Tindley as it entered Watertown on the evening of May 25, 2021.

When police searched the vehicle they found 904 grams of meth and around a pound of marijuana.

At the time of Tindleys arrest, he was living in Watertown for a mandated pre-sentence drug rehabilitation program coming from a guilty plea to a felony drug charge out of Tompkins County in October 2022. As part of that offense, Tindley was sentenced to serve two years in state prison.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com.
Special counsel Jack Smith proposed a July 8 start date for the trial into former President Donald Trumps handling of classified documents, according to court filings on Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is set to hold a hearing on the timing of the trial on Friday. If she agrees to Smiths timeline, the former president would be forced to defend himself just before the Republican National Convention begins and the party officially selects its presidential nominee. The RNC will be held from July 15 to 18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

BREAKING: Jack Smith proposes a new Florida trial date of *July 8* pic.twitter.com/LTKwprj0T5  Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 29, 2024

Trumps attorneys rejected Smiths timeline in a filing of their own Thursday, saying the former president would not receive a fair trial while he was simultaneously campaigning for the presidency. He pushed for the trial, to be held in Florida, to begin after the 2024 presidential election, but also offered up Aug. 12 as an alternative start date.

As the leading candidate in the 2024 election, President Trump strongly asserts that a fair trial cannot be conducted this year in a manner consistent with the Constitution, which affords President Trump a Sixth Amendment right to be present and to participate in these proceeding, his lawyers wrote. Consistent with the Introduction and reiterating the position that a fair trial cannot be held until after the 2024 Presidential election is concluded.

Trump was indicted last June over his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. Smiths team has accused the former president of hoarding the files at his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Florida and resisting government efforts to see them returned.

The charges include counts of willful retention of documents, making false statements and obstruction of justice, among others. Trump has been charged with 40 counts in total. Two of his aides will also stand trial.

Smiths team this week rebuffed Trumps claims that he had been unfairly targeted, saying there has never been a case in American history in which a former official has engaged in conduct remotely similar to Trumps.

But the former president has regularly lambasted the indictment  and the three others now pending against him  as political witch hunts. His attorneys have pushed claims that he is protected from prosecution, leaning on unprecedentedly broad interpretations of presidential immunity.

The U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear arguments on some of those immunity claims in relation to the federal charges he faces related to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. Oral arguments are set for April 22.

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An employee with Jackson County was shot and killed during an eviction Thursday in Independence.

Drexel Mack was a civil process server who had been employed with Jackson County Circuit Court for 12 years, according to a news release from the court.

Two Independence police officers were also shot and critically wounded, and one of them, Officer Cody Allen, later died.

We are simply devastated that someone who is doing their job on behalf of the Court could be shot and killed, said Presiding Judge Jalilah Otto. Every day there are people at the Court who serve legal papers and who handle evictions and that is their job, and they perform their jobs diligently. Our hearts are very heavy and we send our sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Mack, and the families of the Independence Police Department officers who also suffered tragedies today.

Thursdays shooting took place shortly after 1 p.m. on the front porch of a private residence in the 1100 block of Elsea Smith Road, near Bundschu Road, in northeastern Independence.

A civil process server with the Jackson County Circuit Court called Independence police requesting officer assistance. The caller advised that an officer with the court had been shot, said Cpl. Justin Ewing, a spokesman with the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Simultaneously, a neighbor called 911 saying that an officer had been shot.

Multiple officers from the Independence Police Department responded and additional shots were fired, critically injuring the two police officers, Ewing said.

At that time, officers from multiple agencies responded to assist, including tactical units. Eventually, a male suspect was taken into custody with minor injuries.

It was unknown how many civil process servers were on the scene when the initial shots were fired, Ewing said.
James Crumbley, the father of the Michigan high school shooter, is going on trial next week, when a valuable piece of evidence may make or break his case.

His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, became the first parent to ever be convicted for a mass shooting committed by her child, Ethan Crumbley. She was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter; her husband faces the same charges and has pleaded not guilty.

The 17-year-old, who last year was sentenced to life without parole, had written a series of disturbing journal entries, including one that read: I will have to find where my dad hid my gun before I can shoot (up) the school. A judge is expected to decide this week on whether the entry is admissible.

This line could be favourable for Mr Crumbleys defence, as prosecutors argue that he and his wife ignored their their troubled sons mental health and gave him easy access to a firearm in their home.

However, that piece of evidence was not permitted in Jennifer Crumbleys trial, the Detroit Free Press reported, yet jurors were allowed to hear other entries and texts regarding Ethan requesting help from his parents for his mental health issues, which they allegedly ignored.

Its unclear whether the entry will be allowed to be used in James Crumbleys trial.

James Crumbley appears in court for a preliminary examination on involuntary manslaughter charges in Rochester Hills, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Throughout his wifes trial, her defence lawyer painted James Crumbley as being in charge of guns, while she didnt know much about them.

For example, when she took Ethan to the shooting range, she said that her husband had gotten the gun ready for her by removing the cable lock and putting it in the car.

The trial revealed that Mr Crumbley took his then 15-year-old to purchase the gun that became a murder weapon four days later.

The storage of the gun will likely be a key point in Mr Crumbleys case if his wifes trial serves as precedent.

The jury foreperson said after Jennifer Crumbleys guilty verdict was read: The thing that really hammered it home is that she was the last adult with the gun.

So not having a journal entry underscoring that Ethan didnt know where the gun was stored  or Ethan himself, who refused to testify in either of his parents trials  could prove difficult for Mr Crumbleys defence team.

A videotaped police interview right after the November 2021 shooting could also highlight some care that he took to store the gun. In the video, Mr Crumbley said that the weapon was hidden in a gun case in an armoire and that the bullets were in a completely different spot underneath some jeans.

If the journal entry is ruled admissible, it could serve as a counter-balance to other entries that will be allowed in court that could hurt Mr Crumbleys defence, including one in which Ethan Crumbley wrote: I have zero help for my mental problems and its causing me to shoot up the f***ing school.

Mr Crumbleys trial begins on 5 March. His wifes sentencing is scheduled for 9 April.
Hubble image of the Orion Nebula, and a zoom in on the protoplanetary disc d203-506 taken with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to investigate a stellar nursery packed with infant stars in the Orion Nebula. The investigation has helped to uncover the effect that radiation from massive stars has on planet formation.

The Orion Nebula is a massive complex of gas and dust that forms the building blocks of new stars. In fact, it's the nearest star-forming region to Earth. However, this stellar precursor material can also absorb light, acting as a shield for recently born, post-natal stars. That makes it hard for scientists to see those baby stars from our vantage point on Earth. The light the bodies emanate gets effectively hidden. Fortunately, though, the material is less effective at screening low-energy and long-wavelength light: Infrared light.

What this means is the infrared-sensitive, powerful JWST allows astronomers to peer through the Orion Nebula's clouds, even from about 1,400 light-years away. And, with the team's new research, it has honed in on a disk of material called d203-506. This is a disk currently forming planets. After taking a closer look, the researchers found the so-called protoplanetary disk may be unable to form some planets. They speculate this is due to the actions of other stars.

The protoplanetary disk at hand surrounds a small red dwarf star believed to be less than 1 million years old and have, at most, around 10% of the sun's mass. This means the star is relatively young, and relatively cool. Yet, in addition to being only mildly irradiated by its own central star, d203-506 is also bombarded by harsh, high-energy ultraviolet radiation coming from massive young stars in its surroundings.

Related: James Webb Space Telescope finds 'extremely red' supermassive black hole growing in the early universe

"Massive stars that are 10 times the size of the sun are 100,000 times more luminous than the sun, and therefore they cast a strong UV radiation on the disks around nearby sun-like stars," Olivier Berne, team leader and a research scientist at the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planetologie, told space.com. "This radiation heats up the gas, which then escapes from the disk from which planets are expected to form, a process which we call 'photoevaporation.' Therefore, their action can suppress the formation of planets."

Some stars find it harder to shed mass

A main outcome of the team's research was the discovery that whatever planetary system emerges from disk d203-506 will lack an analog for our solar system's largest world, Jupiter.

This is because the intense blasting of UV radiation is likely to suppress the formation of such a gas giant.

"Thanks to observations in the infrared with JWST, we were able to make a measurement of the rate at which the gas escapes," Berne said. "We found that, in d203-506, the disk loses about one Earth mass per year. That is a lot of mass loss!"

This investigation was necessary because, somewhat ironically, massive stars bombarding protoplanetary disks with radiation doesn't always act to suppress planet formation. "We think the solar system formed in an environment similar to Orion, so observing systems like d203-506 is a way to travel back in the past," Berne said.

That, however, raises the question of why the solar system was able to form Jupiter when d203-506 cannot.

jupiter

"An important parameter is the mass of the star around which planets may form," Berne said. "The star of d203-506 is five to 10 times less massive than the sun. Therefore, it has a weak gravitational field, which means its disk cannot resist photoevaporation well. A star like the sun has a larger gravitational field, so it would be able to better resist photoevaporation."

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The protoplanetary disk d203-506 first came to the attention of the team behind this discovery after it was observed with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Northern Chile.

"It was a bit serendipitous. This object was seen with Hubble, but it was very faint. In some previous observations with ALMA, however, we saw it was quite bright, so we zoomed in with ALMA. Our ALMA data was also very nice, so we thought we should observe it with JWST," Berne said. "The JWST delivered many surprises, one of the greatest was how rich the spectra we obtained were.

"There is an incredible amount of information in the data; it has already been a year since we obtained it, but we probably used only 10% of the useful information."

The team's research will be published in the March 1 edition of the journal Science.
Guests attend the launch ceremony of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version) in Paris, France, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens of French experts praised the important contribution of Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance at a thematic seminar here Thursday, in parallel with the launch of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version). (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui)

PARIS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of French experts praised the important contribution of Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance at a thematic seminar here Thursday, in parallel with the launch of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version).

The Chinese vision of human rights is centered on the people, Chen Dong, charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in France, said in his speech, "the people's aspiration for a better life is our goal."

Chen said the book describes the Communist Party of China's people-centered governance philosophy in the new era, systematically summarizes China's policy on global human rights governance, and provides an authoritative textbook for domestic and foreign readers to understand China's perspective on human rights.

In this increasingly complex world that is in full recomposition, the Western model is in full shift, said Jean-Christophe Bas, director of the European center for studies on the community with a shared future for humanity.

He stressed that people are witnessing a movement towards the de-Westernization of the world, or at least a shift away from monopoly towards a multipolar world. He emphasized that diversity, a central theme in the Chinese vision of human rights, is fundamental to global peace.

"China respects and guarantees human rights by adapting to its own conditions, prioritizing the rights of its people above all," said Herve Azoulay, professor at the Silk Road Business School.

For Karim Medjad, professor at the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts, the eradication of extreme poverty in China is exemplary for the development of human rights in the world. "It is extraordinary. Nobody disputes it. This is a major step forward."

In China, "actions speak louder than words," said Joseph Makutu, director general of the Franco-Chinese University preparatory school. He welcomed the fact that the development of human rights in China directly benefits the well-being of the people, including education, employment and health.

President of Saphir Eurasia Promotion agency Jean Pegouret said that China, with "its breadth and diversity," always strives to strengthen "economic, political, social and cultural, environmental rights and the full development of each person in a coordinated manner."

Robert Prosperini, a former official of the French Ministry of Education, said that the Chinese vision of human rights is a fundamental approach built on its history and philosophy. "There is not only one way to approach human rights, there are several," which is "fundamental for the future of humanity." 

Herve Azoulay, professor at the Silk Road Business School, speaks at the launch ceremony of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version) in Paris, France, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens of French experts praised the important contribution of Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance at a thematic seminar here Thursday, in parallel with the launch of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version). (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui)

The launch ceremony of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version) is held in Paris, France, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens of French experts praised the important contribution of Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance at a thematic seminar here Thursday, in parallel with the launch of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version). (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui)

President of Saphir Eurasia Promotion agency Jean Pegouret speaks at the launch ceremony of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version) in Paris, France, Feb. 29, 2024. Dozens of French experts praised the important contribution of Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance at a thematic seminar here Thursday, in parallel with the launch of Xi Jinping on Respecting and Protecting Human Rights (French-Chinese version). (Xinhua/Zhang Baihui)
(Bloomberg) -- Japans ruling parties have failed to agree to allow exports of a next-generation fighter jet before a deadline set by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a fresh blow for the premier as he seeks to build up the countrys defenses.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Kishida had called on the coalition led by his Liberal Democratic Party to reach an agreement by the end of February. A prolonged deadlock could disadvantage Japan in negotiations on dividing up work on the aircraft, which are set to start as soon as March, with co-developers Italy and the UK.

The government wants to explain the need for direct exports even more carefully through questions in parliament, so that we can quickly reach a final agreement between the ruling parties, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Friday. He added the sides were moving closer together.

The delay comes amid doubts over ambitious plans to bolster Japans defenses triggered by rising concern about threats from the likes of China and North Korea. With support at its lowest in a decade or more, Kishidas government has yet to introduce tax hikes needed to finance the plans in the longer term.

Read more: UK, Italy and Japan Sign Treaty Formalizing Jet Fighter Plan

Defense ministers from the three countries signed a treaty in Tokyo in December to develop the fighter jet, known as the Global Combat Air Program. The three main contractors are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, BAe Systems Plc and Leonardo SpA. They aim to reach the development phase by 2025 and have the aircraft in service by 2035.

Japan, where pacifist sentiment has remained strong since the countrys World War II defeat, has been gradually easing its virtual ban on arms exports, last year announcing it would allow the sale of Patriot missiles to its ally the U.S.

Kishida has said exporting the warplane wouldnt violate Japans pacifist principles, and overseas sales would reduce the unit cost for the jet.

Read more: Japan to Sell Missiles to US in Easing of Arms Export Rules

A survey conducted by national public broadcaster NHK in February found 51% of respondents were opposed to exports from Japan of the fighter jet, while 31% approved.

Natsuo Yamaguchi, the head of Kishidas Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner party Komeito, said last month the public had not been properly prepared for the change. He added this week he wanted to seek public understanding of the issue through discussion in parliament.

--With assistance from Takashi Hirokawa.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Each spring, as reliably as the changing of the seasons, Japan releases grim new population data that prompts handwringing in the press and vows by politicians to address the countrys demographic crisis.

Its now or never to tackle declining births and the shrinking population, the countrys leader warned last year  nearly eight years after his predecessor had pledged to confront the demographic problem head on.

This year is no exception. The number of new births fell for an eighth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a record low and representing a 5.1% decline from the previous year, according to preliminary data released this week by the government.

The demographic crisis has become one of Japans most pressing issues, with multiple governments failing to reverse the double blow of a falling fertility rate and swelling elderly population. More people are dying than being born each year, causing the population to fall rapidly  with far-reaching consequences for Japans workforce, economy, welfare systems and social fabric.

Japan is far from the only country with this problem. Its East Asian neighbors, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea face similar issues, as do several European nations such as Spain and Italy.

A day after Japan released its preliminary data this week, South Korea released its own figures showing its fertility rate  the worlds lowest  dropped yet again in 2023.

Unlike many developed countries with low fertility rates, such as the United States, Japan and other East Asian nations have shied away from using immigration to bolster their population.

But Japans crisis is unique in that its been decades in the making, experts say  meaning its impact is particularly evident now, with relief unlikely to come anytime soon. So whatever path Japan takes will likely offer a roadmap for other countries facing unchartered territory, and a glimpse into their potential future.

Not reversible

The first thing to understand about Japans population crisis is that its only partly behavioral, said James Raymo, professor of sociology and demography at Princeton University.

A much bigger part of the problem has to do with Japans history and how that has shaped its population structure, he said.

For a population to remain stable, it needs a fertility rate of 2.1, defined as the total number of births a woman has in her lifetime. A higher rate will see a population expand, with a large proportion of children and youth, as seen in India and many African nations.

But in Japan, that measure of fertility has been below 2.1 for 50 years, Raymo said. It fell below that level after the 1973 global oil crisis pushed economies into recession, and never climbed back up.

As of last year, Japans fertility rate sat at 1.3. It has stayed relatively flat for a while, meaning the average Japanese woman today is having roughly the same number of children as five or 10 years ago.

The real problem is that the fertility rate has been consistently low for so long. A country can recover if that rate only dips for a few years  but when it stays under 2.1 for decades, you get a population with much, much fewer young people than older adults.

Because of that skewed ratio, the total number of babies being born each year will continue to fall  even if women start having more kids  because the pool of women of childbearing age is already so small, and shrinking each year.

It has to continue  it cannot not continue, Raymo said. Even if all of a sudden Japanese married couples started having three children on average  the population would continue to decline. The number of births would, for a while, still continue to decline. Its not reversible.

That means even if Japan manages to boost its fertility rate dramatically and immediately  which experts say is unrealistic  its population is bound to keep decreasing for at least several more decades until the skewed ratio balances out, and the babies being born now reach childbearing age themselves.

Official projections echo this prediction. According to models by the governments Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS), which were most recently revised last year, the population will fall 30% by 2070. At that point, the number of people age 65 and over will account for 40% of the population, it forecast.

What were seeing now is zero surprise  and it will structurally continue for the foreseeable future, Raymo said.

Drifted into singlehood

There are many reasons for Japans low fertility rate  but the main problem is that people arent getting married in the first place, Raymo said.

Single parents, or children born to unmarried mothers, are far less common in Japan than many Western countries. Thus, fewer marriages means fewer babies overall.

The number of marriages in Japan declined nearly 6% in 2023 from the previous year  dipping below 500,000 for the first time in 90 years, according to the preliminary data released this week. Divorces also rose 2.6% last year.

A couple poses for a wedding photograph near blossoming cherry trees in the Yonomori area of Fukushima, Japan, on April 2, 2023. - Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

Experts have pointed to Japans high cost of living, stagnant economy and wages, limited space, and the countrys demanding work culture as reasons fewer people are opting to date or marry.

Japanese peoples willingness to form a family  has declined considerably, according to a 2022 survey by the IPSS. Among single adults who have never wed, fewer say they intend to get married compared to previous years  while more say they wouldnt be lonely even if they continued living alone. About one third said they did not want a relationship.

For women, economic costs are not the only turn off. Japan remains a highly patriarchal society in which married women are often expected to take the caregiver role, despite government efforts to get husbands more involved.

For all these reasons, many people are ambivalent about marriage, postponing it for years  and then theyre 35, theyre 40, and theyve sort of drifted into singlehood, Raymo said.

Many of these issues are also plaguing other East Asian nations with their own population woes. Marriage rates have plummeted in China, where women are more educated and financially independent than ever. In South Korea, only one third of young people feel positively about marriage, according to polls, with many saying they dont have enough money for marriage or feel its simply not necessary.

Most East Asian nations have also declined to legalize gay marriage, parenting and adoption rights, making it far harder for LGBTQ citizens to become parents.

What does Japans future look like?

The impact of the population crisis is evident.

Industries are feeling labor shortages; jobs are hard to fill, with fewer young adults entering the workforce; some rural communities are dying out, with one village that went 25 years without any new births.

Even in cities, things are changing  with many service jobs occupied by young immigrants, or students from countries such as China or Vietnam, Raymo said.

The government has spent years pushing various initiatives to encourage marriage and childbirth, such as enhancing child care services or offering housing subsidies. Some towns are even paying couples to have kids.

But given the decline is expected to continue for at least several decades, Japan will likely feel the blow to its pension and health care systems, and other social infrastructure that is difficult to maintain with a shrinking workforce.

Businessmen walk towards Shinjuku station in Tokyo. - Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Thats not to say Japan is doomed, Raymo asserted  the fertility rate will likely even out at some point, and the country will adjust. But that will take time, and Japan needs to prepare itself for a really bumpy ride to a new equilibrium.

There are a few ways that ride could play out. We could see a massive mechanization of society, meaning human labor being replaced by machines, Raymo said. As the population falls, some problems like the high cost of living, or overcrowding in Toyko could begin to ease. One theory suggests that fewer people means less competition for things like university admission and jobs.

But for now, this is all speculation. No country has been in this position before. And, Raymo said, the only likely large-scale response the government can implement is mass immigration on a level Japan has never experienced.

Immigration is a controversial issue in Japan, a largely conservative country that perceives itself as ethnically homogenous. It has historically failed to integrate previous waves of foreign workers and has instead relied on temporary fixes such as employing foreigners on student visas. Foreign residents and Japanese nationals of mixed ethnicity have long complained of xenophobia, racism and discrimination.

Japan may not have a choice, however. A 2022 report by a Tokyo-based research organization found that Japan needs about four times as many foreign workers by 2040 to achieve the governments economic goals.

And authorities have shifted that direction in recent years, creating new visa categories and considering proposals to allow certain types of skilled workers to stay indefinitely. The IPSS models predict that by 2070, the pace of population decline is expected to slow down slightly, mainly due to the increase in international migration.

Decades down the line, the new Japan might be a slightly poorer country, and a slightly less generous country in terms of policy support for elderly and families, Raymo said.

I can imagine a much smaller and a much different Japan, he said. But I dont imagine an empty Japan.

CNNs Mayumi Maruyama and Alex Stambaugh contributed to this report.

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A Connecticut jury on Friday found Michelle Troconis, girlfriend of Jennifer Dulos' estranged husband, guilty of conspiring to murder the New Canaan mother of five in May 2019.

After four days, the jury found Troconis guilty of all charges filed against her, including conspiring to murder Jennifer , conspiring to commit evidence tampering, tampering with physical evidence, conspiring to commit tampering with physical evidence, tampering with physical evidence as an accessory and hindering an investigation.

Troconis bent over a table in the courtroom with her head in her arms as the verdict was read aloud on Friday morning.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Kevin Randolph set a bond of $6 million in lieu of the verdict. If paid, Troconis may be placed under house arrest and have electronic and GPS monitoring.

88-YEAR-OLD CONNECTICUT MOTHER TESTIFIES ABOUT DAUGHTER'S DISAPPEARANCE IN MURDER CONSPIRACY TRIAL

Prosecutors said Michelle Troconis conspired with Jennifer Dulos' estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, to kill Jennifer in 2019 and tamper with evidence.

Outside court after the jury's verdict was read, Troconis' family shared statements with media, according to WTIC

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"I came many years ago to this country. Looking for opportunities. Freedom. And justice. And I moved my whole family here. I have eight [American grandchildren]. And today we're here, devastated, because [there] has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter," Carlos Troconis, Michelle's father, said. "She's innocent. And we will keep proving that forever. I forgive the jurors, the judge, and the prosecutors. And God will prevail the truth. Also, I think the influence of the media [has had] a tremendous affect on this case."

Michelle's sisters similarly expressed their concern that Michelle is innocent and did not get a fair trial.

"We too care to know the truth of what happened to Jennifer," Daniela Troconis said. "But we don't know what happened to Jennifer. And choosing and putting my sister as the guilty person is not the right thing to do because she's innocent. So we will appeal and we will not stop fighting for her justice that this country has apparently promised to us. Because as an American myself, this is an injustice. Completely."

Prosecutors said Troconis, a Venezuelan national, conspired to kill Dulos with the late Connecticut mother's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, who was charged with murdering Jennifer in New Canaan. Fotis died by suicide in January 2020, after he also received a $6 million bond. Fotis left a note insisting he was innocent.

"It is about a mother being taken away from children, in life or in death," Assistant State's Attorney Sean McGuinness said in closing statements Tuesday in Connecticut Superior Court. "It is about [Jennifer's children] Petrus, Theodore, Christiane, Constantine and Noel, who went to bed on May 24, not knowing where their mother was. And she has still not arrived. That's what this case is about."

Authorities still have not recover Jennifer's remains, but a judge declared the mother of five dead just days before Troconis' trial began.

Police suspect Fotis violently attacked Jennifer in her New Canaan garage and then drove away with her body. Prosecutors say Troconis sat in the front seat of his truck while he threw away trash bags containing Jennifer's bloody clothing and a glove with his DNA on it throughout Hartford.

Prosecutors also argued that Troconis then helped create alibi scripts with Fotis so that they were on the same page about their schedule on the day Jennifer disappeared.

JENNIFER DULOS CASE: TOP MOMENTS FROM MICHELLE TROCONIS' TRIAL

Jennifer Dulos' estranged 52-year-old husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, right, were charged in connection with her death in 2019. Fotis died by suicide shortly after he was charged, and Troconis went to trial.

"I pose this question to you: Do any of you doubt that Fotis Dulos is responsible for the death of his wife?" McGuinness asked. "Do any of you doubt that he was in New Canaan on May 24, 2019, murdering his wife? How else could he have had her bloody bra, her bloody shirt, blood all over the bags, his DNA in a glove found inside the trash? How?"

McGuinness then noted Troconis' alleged role in Dulos' death, saying she "hated" the New Canaan mother of five and "referred to her as a b---- who should be buried next to the dog."

JENNIFER DULOS CASE: JUROR DISMISSED AFTER TELLING PROSECUTOR, WE LOVE YOU

Police believe Jennifer Dulos was attacked in her New Canaan, Connecticut, home on May 24, 2019, after dropping her five children off at school.

Meanwhile, defense attorneys argued that there was no evidence to prove Troconis had a motive to kill Dulos. They also pointed fingers at Fotis, saying he killed his estranged wife, allegedly motivated by money, and Troconis was not involved at all.

"She did not know that Fotis Dulos planned to harm her. Everything suggested that things were going well, and ... she didn't know that Fotis was capable of doing something like this," defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn said in closing statements. "A man who is dedicated to his five children had been in court for years trying to get custody. The state has made what I would suggest are unfounded and unfair assumptions  that Michelle Troconis had to know what was going on, that  because she was romantically linked with Fotis, that she was somehow involved in this nefarious, murderous plot."

MICHELLE TROCONIS, SUSPECT IN JENNIFER DULOS MURDER COVER-UP, SEEN SHUTTLING PEOPLE TO AIRPORT DURING TRIAL

Despite a mountain of evidence presented in court, Schoenhorn said it was still unclear what exactly happened to Jennifer, and therefore unclear what Troconis' alleged role in Jennifer's death could have been.

"There [were] surveillance cameras. There were multiple interviews. There were family court pleadings. There were the interrogations. You heard eight or nine hours of interrogations of Michelle Troconis. Even in hindsight, even now, major questions remain about what happened, and it's still unclear. It's unclear what happened. And unfortunately, this trial will not solve that puzzle," he said, adding that jurors "must find beyond a reasonable doubt that Michelle conspired with Fotis Dulos not just to cause harm to Jennifer Dulos, but to murder her."

JENNIFER DULOS CASE: POLICE BODYCAM FOOTAGE SHOWS POSSIBLE BLOOD IN GARAGE DURING MICHELLE TROCONIS' TRIAL

The defense attorney later noted that "everyone wants closure," but "Michelle is not the remaining half of a scheming plot."

Troconis' family, including her sister, who testified on her behalf, have stood by the Venezuelan national since the beginning of her trial.





Original article source: Jennifer Dulos case: Estranged husband's girlfriend found guilty of conspiring to murder Conn. mom of 5
First lady Jill Biden slammed former President Trumps treatment of women Friday, as she kicked off Womens History Month with a campaign event in Georgia.

The first lady launched Women for Biden, a campaign effort to mobilize women voters, with remarks in the Atlanta area. While she boasted about President Bidens accomplishments and efforts to protect reproductive health care, Jill Biden also took aim at Trump, the likely GOP nominee.

He spent a lifetime tearing us down and devaluing our existence. He mocks womens bodies, disrespects our accomplishments, and brags about assault, Biden said, the latter point a reference to Trumps past comments on an Access Hollywood tape.

Now, hes bragging about killing Roe v. Wade, the first lady said. Just last night, he took credit again for enabling states like Georgia to pass cruel abortion bans that are taking away the right of women to make their own health care decisions. How far will he go? When will he stop. You know the answer. He wont.

She added, Donald Trump is dangerous to women and to our families.

The comments served as a potential preview of how the first lady will be deployed as a campaign surrogate in the months to come.

The former president, in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity Thursday, said hes been hearing more about a proposed 15-week abortion ban. While he did not rule out backing such a proposal, Trump said he had not made up his mind on what to support.

As part of the Women for Biden initiative, the first lady plans to talk to female voters in critical swing states  Georgia, Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.

The campaign will also launch digital ads this week about her travel to battleground states and will run more ads targeting women through November.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Biden described climate change deniers as "Neanderthals" during a speech on Thursday in Brownsville, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Fox News and other conservative media appear to be depicting this as an unacceptable insult  but perhaps it was most unfair to the Neanderthals.

Ive been [in] helicopters in the West, in the Southwest and Northwest, flown over more land burned to the ground, all the vegetation gone, than the entire state of Maryland, Biden told his audience, partly referring to the wildfires now raging in Texas. The idea theres no such thing as climate change, I love that, man," the president added with evident sarcasm. "I love some of my Neanderthal friends who still think theres no climate change.

As Biden suggested, those who either deny that our planet's climate is changing with potentially catastrophic results or who claim that the changes are not primarly caused by human activity have been discredited by science. Empirical evidence clearly shows that the world is warming to an unprecedented degree and that carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are the primary cause. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide trap the Sun's heat after it reaches Earth, which has caused elevated temperatures, increasingly extreme wildfires, intensified storms, worsened flooding and rising sea levels.

Biden's implication that Neanderthals, an archaic and now extinct human species, were unintelligent is factually dubious. There is considerable evidence that Neanderthal humans created art, practiced some form of herbal medicine, used tools and performed burial rituals. Although the Neanderthals are no longer with us, many modern humans have small amounts of Neanderthal DNA.

There is no doubt that modern humans, rather than Neanderthals, are responsible for climate change, which Dr. Michael E. Mann of the University of Pennsylvania described in a Salon interview as a "'new abnormal' ... now playing out in real time. ... It will only get worse and worse as long as we continue to burn fossil fuels and generate carbon pollution."
Senator John Fetterman has blamed Hamas for the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians who witnesses say were killed when Israeli forces opened fire as they rushed to get supplies from an aid convoy in Gaza.

The Pennsylvania senator claimed that Hamas alone owns this calamity and rejected widespread international condemnation  including from the Biden administration  of the massacre in a post on X/Twitter on Friday.

I reject statements from nations with atrocious human rights records: China, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, Mr Fetterman wrote.

Without a doubt, this is a humanitarian tragedy. Hamas alone owns this calamity. We must demand Hamas free the hostages and surrender  ending suffering, death and chaos.

On Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that 112 Palestinians were killed and more than 700 wounded after IDF forces fired into a crowd who had gathered at a food distribution point.

Israeli officials have said many of the fatalities occurred in a chaotic crush to reach the food trucks, and that their troops fired because they believed the crowd posed a threat. The IDF has said it is reviewing the incident.

Senator John Fetterman has been an outspoken backer of Israels response to the 7 October terror attacks (Getty Images)

Palestinian officials have described the deaths, which took the death toll in Gaza to more than 30,000 in five months since Israel launched its ground invasion, as a massacre.

Doctors in Gaza City who treated the wounded said over 80 per cent had been struck by gunfire, according to Reuters.

Israel has come under increasing international pressure to allow an independent inquiry into the deaths, which occurred amid a humanitarian disaster unfolding in the narrow strip that is home to more than two million people.

The United States, Israels closest ally, has called for a thorough investigation and said the incident shows the need for expanded humanitarian aid to make its way into Gaza.

Palestinians receive medical care at Kamal Edwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, after Israeli forces opened fire on an aid truck convoy (AFP via Getty Images)

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his deep indignation and the strongest condemnation of these shootings.

Germany called on the Israeli army to fully explain how the mass panic and shooting could have happened, according to Reuters.

The governments of India, Brazil, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and several other Middle East countries have voiced their condemnation of the killings.

Mr Fetterman was seen as a champion of progressive causes when he was elected to the Senate in 2022.

He has since rejected the progressive label, and emerged as one of Israels most unwavering supporters after the 7 October attacks by Hamas, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 taken hostage.

Mr Fetterman was sharply critical of South Africa for leading a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

In December, Mr Fetterman blamed TikTok for giving young people a warped view of the Israel-Hamas war.

Mr Fetterman did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about his comments on the aid truck deaths by The Independent.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  With the new airport terminal coming to Columbus in 2029, would a new facility be the reason Columbus could attract new business, or even land direct flights to destinations in Europe?

NBC4 breaks down why build it and they will come is not a guarantee.

Bill would rid of foreign contributions for issue campaigns in Ohio

Columbus seems to be making an impression on potential residents. A recent study by Bank of America shows Columbus is the fastest growing major city in the nation.

Didi Caldwell serves as president of a consulting firm that helps companies find ideal locations for growth. She recently placed a large client in the Columbus area. She said Ohios tax structure gives the region an edge.

A real economic powerhouse with manufacturing and data centers and headquarters and all of the things that make a really diverse, dynamic economy, Caldwell said.

But for companies that need frequent international access, Columbus does not check many boxes.

They tend to go to cities where there is a large international airport just for the ease of travel, Caldwell said. Until Columbus has something like that, its going to be difficult to recruit that type of a global or, you know, national headquarters.

Census data shows Columbus as the 14th most populated city in the nation at more than 900,000 residents. Cleveland ranks 54th, Cincinnati 64th and Pittsburgh 68th.

Yet Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh all offer several direct flights to Europe each week. Columbus offers none.

Airport officials said its the airlines who make decisions on when and where to offer flights and their research shows Columbus is not there yet.

The airport renovation plans call for two international gates. NBC4 spoke with several international companies with central Ohio operations  many said international travel is not a major issue for them, especially with the ease of virtual meetings.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Sheriff Jay Long takes oath from Judge Craig Marcotte while his wife and mother hold the bible.

Jay Long was officially sworn in as the interim sheriff of Caddo Parish on Friday.

The former chief deputy of the Caddo Parish Sheriff's office was sworn in by Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Craig Marcotte in the presence of family, friends and colleagues.

Following Steve Prator's departure due to his acceptance of an appointment by the Louisiana Board of Pardons, Long will fill the vacant position until July 1 following the swearing-in of the March 23 sheriff's election winner.

More: Caddo Sheriff Steve Prator to step down at the end of February

Long, a Shreveport resident and C.E. Byrd High School graduate, joined the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office as a reserve deputy in 1989 before being hired full-time in 1990.

He held various positions in the Sheriff's Office, including deputy at Springridge Caddo Detention Center and chief deputy appointed by Prator in 2016.

More: Louisiana Supreme Court wont hear Caddo Sheriffs race appeal. Whitehorn reacts

Long served many years on the Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue and Special Response teams. Additionally, he was a state firearms instructor, high-risk warrants instructor and hostage rescue instructor.

He and his wife Kathy have four adult children.

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: John Long sworn in as interim Caddo Parish sheriff
If voters wanted an early taste of the likely election rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump, they need not look further than the showdown at the U.S.-Mexico border.

During rivaling trips to Texas 325 miles apart, Biden and Trump sparred in remarks aired within a half-hour of each other. They both took walks along parts of the border in Texas. And they took turns blaming each other in an extraordinary clash over surging migration eight months before the 2024 presidential election.

Perhaps most memorably, Biden challenged Trump to get behind border legislation the former president helped kill.

Here are five takeaways from the visits:

Biden to Republicans: 'Show a little spine'

As expected, Biden used his visit to Brownsville, Texas, to blame congressional Republicans for inaction on the border after they blocked legislation in the Senate that would have created some of the most aggressive border restrictions in a generation.

Republicans took their cues from Trump, who urged the defeat of the bill, denying Biden a major political win in an election year.

"Both houses supported this legislation until someone came along and said, 'Don't do that, it will benefit the incumbent,'" Biden said, referring to Trump. "That's a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem."

President Joe Biden, second from the right, looks over the southern border on Thursday in Brownsville, Texas. Walking with Biden are from left to right., Peter Flores, deputy commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Jason Owens, chief, U.S. Border Patrol and Gloria Chavez, sector chief, U.S. Border Patrol.

The bill would establish a new border emergency authority, allowing the president to temporarily prohibit individuals from seeking asylum in the U.S. when daily border crossings exceed a daily average of 4,000 in any one-week period.

Among other provisions, the bill would also fund 100 new inspection machines to detect fentanyl at the border, 1,500 Border Patrol Agents and customs officers and 4.300 new asylum officers to speed up the review of asylum claims.

Biden called on congressional Republicans to "show a little spine" and reconsider the legislation. "Those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on merit, not on whether it's going to benefit one party or benefit the other party," Biden said.

A striking split screen

The visits made for a striking split screen for a likely election rematch between Biden and Trump, who visited Eagle Pass, Texas.

While Biden talked about bipartisanship, Trump stuck to his hardline immigration pitch that helped fuel his entry into national politics. Trump has promised the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants if he returns to the White House

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures after waving to people across the Rio Grande in Mexico at Shelby Park during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday in Eagle Pass, Texas.

"This is a Joe Biden invasion," Trump said, flanked by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council union. "It's allowing thousands of people to come in from China, Iran, Yemen to Congo, Syria, and a lot of other nations  many nations are not very friendly to us."

Trump said the U.S. is being overrun by "Biden migrant crime," pointing above all to the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student whose body was found on a wooded trail at the University of Georgia. Republicans seized on the tragedy after a 26-year-old migrant from Venezuela was charged with her kidnapping and death.

"Biden will never say Laken Riley's name," Trump said. "But we will say it and we will remember."

Abbott blamed Biden for record-setting border crossings while hailing four Trump-era immigration policies: the end of "catch and release;" Title 42; the remain-in-Mexico policy; and border-wall spending.

"All Joe Biden had to do to secure the border was to keep in place what President Trump put in place in the first place," Abbott said. "But instead, what Joe Biden did, he signed executive orders eliminating all of the effective policies that President Trump put in place."

Biden's dare to Trump

Biden, speaking from inside a Border Patrol station, only once mentioned Trump by name in his prepared remarks. It came as he called on the former president to get behind the border bill.

"I understand my predecessor is in Eagle Pass today," Biden said. "Here's what I would say to Mr. Trump. Instead of playing politics with the issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me or I'll join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together."

Biden's visit marked his most public display yet of his new get-tough strategy on immigration.

Ahead of the presidential election, Biden has embraced stronger rhetoric on the border, seeking authority to "shut down" the border when it is overwhelmed and acknowledging the border is not secure.

By killing the border bill, Republicans gave Biden an opening to go from defense to offense against Trump on the border  an issue Republicans have historically used to attack Democrats.

"You know, and I know," Biden said, still referring to Trump, "it's the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this country's ever seen."

No executive action announced

Biden did not announce any executive action as he continues to mull whether to address the border unilaterally.

"The fact of the matter is that the only enduring solution is legislation," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters during the trip. "Actions taken outside of legislation are often met with litigation challenges in court."

Biden has been exploring executive action under Section 212(f) of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act to achieve similar restrictions as the legislation on asylum-seekers trying to enter the U.S. illegally. But Biden has not made a decision or even determined whether he has the legal authority to restrict asylum-seekers.

Even before any executive action is taken, progressive Democrats are pushing back, underscoring the delicate line Biden must walk as he navigates the border crisis in an election year.

The House Congressional Hispanic Caucus has said its members oppose unilateral attempts by the White House to overhaul the asylum system.

Why Brownsville?

By choosing Brownsville for his border visit, Biden did not go to the busiest stretch of the border.

That would have been Tucson, Arizona, which had 250,611 apprehensions in the area between October 2023 and January.

The Rio Grand Valley, where Brownsville is situated, had 76,436 apprehensions over the same period, making it a less active crossing site than the Eagle Pass area as well.

"He's not even going to the right place," Judd told The Daily Mail ahead of the visit. "He's going to Brownsville, Texas. The Rio Grande Valley has been very slow for the past, 11, 12 months."

Biden met with Border Patrol agents and local officials during his visit and walked with them on a gravel road looking over the border.

Mayorkas said Brownsville provided Biden an important glimpse into the border situation, crediting "enhanced efforts" by the Mexican government for the decline in migrant crossings the city is experiencing. Mayorkas said it resulted from conversations Biden and other administration officials had with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in December.

In contrast, he said Tucson has seen an increase in border apprehensions because of patrolling difficulties in Sonora, a Mexican state directly south of Arizona.

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden were both on the border in Texas on Feb. 29, 2024. Trump in Eagle Pass, Biden in Brownsville.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden and Trumps border visit: 5 key takeaways
Investigative reporter Catherine Herridge poses for a portrait in her home. (Hadley Chittum / For The Times)

A court ruling found veteran TV news correspondent Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to identify sources related to a 2017 investigation she reported for Fox News.

Herridge, who until recently worked for CBS News, declined to divulge information about how she learned of an FBI probe into an academic when she was deposed on the matter in September.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper imposed a fine of $800 a day until Herridge complies. She will have time to appeal the decision before the fine goes into effect.

Cooper had ordered Herridge in August to reveal her sourcing for a 2017 story on Dr. Yanping Chen, a Chinese American scientist who founded the University of Management and Technology. The Virginia-based school attracted military service members who received tuition assistance from the Department of Defense.

Chen became the subject of an FBI investigation in 2010 concerning statements she made on immigration forms about her work related to a Chinese astronaut program. Her home was searched and materials were seized, but no charges were filed against her.

Years after the investigation, Herridge reported a number of stories for Fox News about the case, which looked into whether Chen concealed her former membership in the Chinese military on her immigration forms. The investigation also examined whether Chen used her school to funnel information about the U.S. military to the Chinese government.

Read more: How this CBS journalist and organ-donating mom finds purpose in military vet reporting

The Fox News reports included family photographs of Chen, excerpts from her immigration forms and a portion of an FBI memorandum.

Chen filed suit against the FBI and the Department of Defense in 2018, claiming the records were leaked in violation of the Privacy Act, which generally prohibits federal agencies from disclosing internal records about a person without her consent. She is seeking an admission of guilt and damages, as she contends the leaks hurt her reputation and professional livelihood.

Chen has been seeking the source of the government leak for years to no avail, which led her to target Herridge and Fox News.

In 2022, Chen's attorneys served Herridge and Fox News with subpoenas. Herridge and the network moved to quash them, asserting her work was protected by the 1st Amendment.

But the judge ruled that Chens need to know for the sake of her lawsuit against the government overcomes Herridges right to shield her source.

Cooper wrote that he recognized the "paramount importance of a free press in our society and the need to use confidential sources in investigative journalism. But he added the court also has its own role to play in upholding the law and safeguarding judicial authority.

In a statement, Fox News Media expressed its support for Herridge.

"Holding a journalist in contempt for protecting a confidential source has a deeply chilling effect on journalism," the company said in a statement. "Fox News Media remains committed to protecting the rights of a free press and freedom of speech and believes this decision should be appealed.

Chen's attorney Andrew C. Phillips praised the decision.

"It is important to understand that without the protections of the Privacy Act, federal law enforcement can exploit its expansive powers to invade an American citizens private life and then selectively leak documents to smear reputations or score political points," Phillips said in a statement. "Such misconduct should not be without recourse just because a rogue government official happens to launder his or her wrongdoing via a journalist."

Herridge moved to CBS News in 2018, where she was a senior investigative correspondent. She left the network earlier this month as part of a round of across-the-board staff cuts at CBS News parent Paramount Global.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The death toll in the war-torn Gaza has surpassed 30,000, and the United Nations (UN) agencies on Thursday warned of growing risks of starvation, desperation and social disorder facing Gazans.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
A federal judge has established the timeline for the trial in the lawsuit filed by Senate candidate Rep. Andy Kim about the constitutionality of the state's primary ballot.

Naming the clerks in all 19 counties that use the line ballot design as defendants, Kim alleges in his lawsuit that the design creates an unfair advantage for the candidate awarded the line, the coveted first position on the ballot.

What comes next?

Judge Zahid Quraishi decided that the clerks have to file any opposition by March 6 and any reply has to be filed by March 12.

There will be hearing on March 18, more than a month before ballots are mailed out.

Rep. Andy Kim in a file photo from May 2021.

Kim filed the suit last Monday calling for changes to the design of New Jersey ballots ahead of a contentious primary in June against the state's first lady, Tammy Murphy. They are vying for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Menendez.

Earlier: Andy Kim sues to block NJ's line  the ballot positions for preferred candidates

The system provides preferential ballot position for such candidates and displays them in a manner that nudges voters to select them, even when they otherwise might not, Kim's filing says. By contrast, their opponents are often excluded from a chance at preferential ballot placement, displayed in a column by themselves or in a manner that is less appealing to or harder to find for voters, separated by one or more blank ballot spaces from their opponents, stacked in a column with candidates for other offices with whom they do not want to be associated, and/or otherwise strewn about haphazardly on the ballot.

What does the lawsuit say?

The suit alleges that the current ballot design is a violation of the First and 14th amendments under the federal constitution because it is used to nudge voters toward bracketed and particularly county line candidates.

It specifically lists the right to vote, equal protection and freedom of association as well as a violation of the elections clause under the federal Constitution and calls for the ballot to be changed in time for the primary this June.

Kim, alongside the two other candidates in the primary, Patricia Campos-Medina and Lawrence Hamm, has already called for the line system to be dismantled and the block system, which is used by every other state in the nation as well as two New Jersey counties, to be implemented statewide.

In response to the suit, a spokesperson for Murphy said that "Andy Kim doesn't have a problem with the county line system, he has a problem with the idea of losing county lines  as he is perfectly happy to participate in the process when he wins, and he has benefited from the lines in every other election he's run."

Kim has won the county line in the three New Jersey counties that have held open conventions: Monmouth, Burlington and Hunterdon counties.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Andy Kim lawsuit: Judge establishes timeline
Lawyers presented their closing arguments on Friday afternoon in a three-day evidentiary hearing to determine whether the district attorney, Fani Willis, should be disqualified from the election interference prosecution against Donald Trump because of her romantic relationship with a deputy handling the case.

The hearing was the coda to a dramatic deviation from the racketeering case against the former US president and 14 remaining co-defendants for trying to overturn the election in Georgia.

Willis sat at the counsel table in court on Friday for the latter half of the hearing, and Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case, said he hoped to issue a decision on the matter in the next two weeks.

Related: Star witness for Trump defendants in Georgia fails to give damning testimony

The matter kicked off in January when Michael Roman, a Republican operative and one of the defendants in the case, filed a motion claiming Willis financially benefited from the case because of a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a top prosecutor in the case. Trump and several other defendants later joined the request.

John Merchant, a lawyer for Roman, said as part of his argument on Friday: They did this, they knew it was wrong, they hid it, and even when they were called out on it, they created an excuse for it, saying it happened after the fact  You have to pay attention to what this looks like to the public. If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on  the entire public confidence in the system will be shot and the integrity of the system will be undermined.

Willis and Wade admitted to a romantic relationship, but both said it only began after he was hired on 1 November 2021. They both testified about vacations they had taken together and revealed personal details about a romantic relationship that they say only began in 2022, after he was hired, and ended last summer.

Adam Abbate, a lawyer in Williss office, said on Friday: Not a single shred of evidence was produced through the exhibits or any testimony showing how their due process rights or constitutional rights were violated by the relationship that began in March 2022.

There has been absolutely no evidence the district attorney has benefited financially at all.

A key question before McAfee is what standard he should use to determine if Willis should be disqualified. Lawyers for the defense argued that the appearance of a conflict of interest was enough to disqualify Willis.

Ashleigh Merchant, another lawyer for Roman, said on Friday: The law in Georgia demonstrates that we can demonstrate the appearance of a conflict and that is sufficient.

Abbate said that Georgia law was clear in saying a conflict had to exist. They must show an actual conflict, he said. Experts say state law has long established this high bar to clear and the defendants in the case have not done so, but McAfee seemed somewhat skeptical on Friday that the appearance of a conflict would not be enough.

Robert CI McBurney, a different Fulton county judge who was overseeing the case at an earlier stage, disqualified Willis from investigating a fake elector after she appeared at a fundraiser for his political rival. That appearance, he said, would lead to questions about her motives in every step of the case, which was enough to disqualify her.

A disqualification would upend the case and delay it past the 2024 election. The Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, a state agency, would have the sole discretion to reassign the case to another prosecutor, and there is no timeline for how long that could take.

Pressed by McAfee, Merchant struggled to articulate what exactly Williss personal interest in the case was. I think you know it when you see it, he said.

Abbate, for Willis, also rejected claims that his client was living a lavish lifestyle. She [Willis] stayed at a DoubleTree in Napa: a DoubleTree. I dont know that to be a lavish hotel, he said.

There was also more discussion of the testimony of Terrence Bradley, a star witness who told defense lawyers he knew the relationship began before Wade was hired. But when he testified, Wade said he was only speculating and had no first-hand knowledge.

While defense lawyers suggested Bradley was being dishonest on the stand, McAfee pressed them to explain how they knew he was being honest in text messages. Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump, pointed to the fact that Bradley had answered with the word absolutely in a text message when he was asked if the relationship began before Wade was hired.

If we take that view that he thoroughly impeached himself, that he did not give truthful conduct, whats left standing? McAfee asked at one point during the hearing. Generally, you would see someone whos impeached, perhaps we have some kind of core that you could point back to and say, Thats the time he was telling the truth. In these text messages, is it ever definitively shown how he knew this, and that he actually did know it? Other than just an assertion outright  Absolutely.

Abbate sought to undermine the testimony of Bradley, and Robin Yeartie, a former friend of Willis who testified that the relationship began before 2019. He said both had motive against Willis and Wade. Bradley, he claimed, left his law partnership with Wade after a sexual assault allegation. Yeartie, he said, had a falling-out with Willis and was essentially fired from the district attorneys office.

Abbate said: Mr Bradley had every motive to lie.

Sadow and several other defense attorneys said Willis should be disqualified because of a speech she gave at a historically Black church in Atlanta during Martin Luther King weekend claiming that the effort to disqualify her was racially motivated.

It was a calculated determination by Ms Willis to prejudice the defendant and their counsel, Sadow said. The purpose of that was to get public sympathy, public empathy for what Ms Merchant had alleged in her motion, he said, referring to Merchant.

On the surface, the question at the heart of the hearing, which lasted three days was whether Willis had a conflict of interest because of her relationship with Wade. But over several hours of testimony, lawyers for Roman, Trump and the other defendants did not produce any concrete evidence showing that she did.

Willis testified that she repaid Wade in cash for any travel they had taken together  a claim that drew skepticism from defense lawyers, but no evidence to prove otherwise.

This was a disqualification hearing that quickly denigrated into a daytime soap opera, said J Tom Morgan, a former district attorney in DeKalb county, a Fulton county neighbor. Have they proven a conflict of interest, where this all started, absolutely not.

But even if Willis and Wade are not disqualified, defense attorneys have used the hearings to damage the two prosecutors judgment and credibility in the publics eye.

By bringing to light something the prosecutors failed to disclose on their own, they have seeded the impression that the two were trying to conceal something.
Atlanta  A hearing kicked off Friday in a bid by former President Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office over allegations that Willis engaged in a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The proceeding before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee caps a series of extraordinary hearings held after Michael Roman, a longtime GOP operative charged alongside Trump, alleged in January that Willis and Wade had an "improper" romantic relationship, and that the district attorney financially benefited from it.

Trump and several others joined Roman's effort to disqualify Willis, Wade and her office from prosecuting the racketeering case against them. They are seeking to have the charges against them dismissed.

Roman claimed that the relationship between Wade and Willis began before she hired him as special prosecutor in the case against Trump in early November 2021. The two admitted in a court filing that they did have a personal relationship, but said it started in 2022.

Both Willis and Wade testified during evidentiary hearings last month and divulged personal details about their relationship, financial affairs and travels to places like Napa Valley, Belize and Aruba. During several hours on the witness stand, Willis forcefully defended herself from accusations she acted improperly and financially benefited from Wade's hiring.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis takes the stand as a witness during a hearing on the Georgia election interference case, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. / Credit: Alyssa Pointer / AP

Defense attorneys claimed that Wade paid for hotel rooms, cruises and getaways, though both prosecutors said they split the costs associated with their travels and that Willis often reimbursed Wade in cash. To demonstrate that Willis typically used cash to cover expenses, on Tuesday prosecutors filed an affidavit from Stan Brody, who worked at a winery in Napa that she and Wade visited last year. Brody asserted that Willis paid $400 in cash for two bottles of wine and a tasting.

The district attorney had accused Ashleigh Merchant, Roman's attorney, of spreading lies and "salacious" rumors.

"You've been intrusive into people's personal lives," Willis said during her testimony Feb. 16. "You're confused. You think I'm on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I'm not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial."

The timeline surrounding Willis and Wade's relationship has emerged as a crucial issue in the effort to kick the district attorney and her office off the case. Willis' former longtime friend, Robin Yeartie, claimed the relationship with Wade pre-dated his appointment on Nov. 1, 2021. Yeartie testified that she witnessed the couple being affectionate with one another.

Defense attorneys also questioned Terrence Bradley, Wade's former law partner and divorce attorney, about his communications with Wade and text messages he exchanged with Merchant about the relationship between the two prosecutors before she filed a motion exposing their private dealings.

After asserting attorney-client privilege while testifying twice last month, Bradley was called back to the stand at a hearing Wednesday. He said he had been "speculating" when he told Merchant in a message that the relationship between Wade and Willis started before Wade's hiring. Bradley repeatedly said he had no direct knowledge of when it began.

Prosecutors sought to discredit both Bradley and Yeartie. They revealed during the evidentiary hearing last month that Bradley left the firm he shared with Wade following an accusation of sexual assault. Bradley forcefully denied the allegation, and said earlier this week that he has not spoken to Wade in more than a year.

Lawyers with the district attorney's office also said Yeartie left her job there on poor terms after she was told she could either resign or be terminated. Willis testified last month that she has not spoken with Yeartie for more than a year, and said she "betrayed" their friendship.

It's unclear when McAfee will make a decision on whether to remove Willis and her office from the matter involving Trump, but the controversy over her romantic relationship with Wade has cast a shadow over the prosecution and derailed the case for several weeks. Trump and his allies face charges over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Several original co-defendants have taken plea deals, while the remaining defendants have all pleaded not guilty.

Heading into Friday's hearing, there are still lingering disputes over evidence that both sides have sought to admit. Defense attorneys want McAfee to admit Wade's cellphone data as evidence, claiming it shows he was in the vicinity of a condo Willis rented from Yeartie in Hapeville, south of Atlanta, at least three dozen times in 2021. They said testimony about location data from Wade's phone show that he was near Willis' condo late at night and into the early morning hours in the months before he was tapped as special prosecutor.

Prosecutors have also said Brody, who worked at the Napa winery that Wade and Willis visited, is available to testify Friday if the court declines to accept his affidavit.

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A Stark County judge has ordered the owner of the historic Timken Stables at 2317 13th St. NW to fix the building and fire code violations at the property within 30 days or it will be sold.

CANTON  The owner of the historic Timken Stables has until April to fix the dangerous conditions at the iconic building, or it will be sold, a Stark County judge has ruled.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Kristin Farmer on Thursday set a 30-day deadline for owner, Beit HaKavod, to repair or demolish the building at 2317 13th St. NW. Beit HaKavod purchased the property at auction in 2013 to house the Beit HaKavod Messianic Synagogue.

If the ministry fails to meet the deadline, the property will be sold.

The judge also set a hearing for May 3, when she will determine how much money the ministry will have to pay in civil penalties for not fixing the violations sooner.

Stables lawsuit started a year ago

The city of Canton and the state fire marshal sued Beit HaKavod a year ago to force the owner to fix the numerous fire and building code violations that were first identified in 2018.

They also asked the judge to enforce the penalties issued by the Ohio Board of Building Appeals in December 2019 when it upheld four code violations and fined the synagogue $20,000. The state board also imposed additional monthly fines of $1,000 for each of the four violations if the fixes werent made within 90 days. City attorneys said the repairs have not been made.

Canton Law Director Jason Reese said Friday that he agrees with the judges decision and awaits the property owners next steps.

Attorney Steven Mastrantonio, who is representing Beit HaKavod, did not immediately return a message seeking comment on whether the congregation plans to appeal the judges ruling.

Judge dismisses Beit HaKavod's claims against city

Beit HaKavod, which purchased the historic Timken Stables at auction in 2013, is facing a 30-day deadline to fix the dangerous conditions at the building or be forced to sell the property.

Farmer on Thursday also dismissed the synagogues claims that Canton violated its right to freely exercise its religion by prosecuting it more vigorously than others in similar situations.

In court filings and in a letter to The Canton Repository, Beit HaKavods spiritual leader Rabbi Mark Lancaster accused the city of using strong-arm tactics and heavy fines in an attempt to force his congregation out.

He said the congregation, which he co-founded in 2009, tried multiple times to make the necessary repairs but city inspectors continuously stopped them by claiming they didnt have the proper licenses or permits. The city also rejected their plan to repair the roof in phases, Lancaster said.

Estimates provided in court filings show that the cost to repair the building likely exceeds $4 million.

Built around 1915, the circular-shaped building with its 14-inch thick walls and turrets was part of the private estate of Henry H. Timken Sr., founder of the Timken Co. The building, also known as the Henry H. Timken Estate Barn, has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Reach Canton Repository staff writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Timken Stables to be fixed or demolished by April, or will be sold
A judge in Harris County, Texas, the execution capital of the country, recommended earlier this month overturning a mans death sentence, finding that he received ineffective legal assistance at trial.

In a highly unusual 158-page court filing, Judge Natalia Cornelio found that Jeffery Prevosts court-appointed lawyers unreasonably delayed their investigation into mitigating evidence  information that may reduce a defendants culpability, including evidence of an abusive childhood, addiction, untreated mental illness or positive actions since the crime  and that the lead attorney, Skip Cornelius, carried an excessive caseload while representing Prevost. Those lawyers failed to uncover information about his mother drinking while pregnant with him and signs that he suffered from brain deficiencies, Cornelio wrote.

The Harris County district attorneys office objected to Cornelios recommendation and urged the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) to deny Prevost relief. The district attorneys office declined to comment.

If the CCA agrees with Cornelios recommendation, 64-year-old Prevosts death sentence will be overturned, and the case will go back to Harris County. At that point, the state could either pursue the death penalty again or offer a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Although allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel are common in death penalty cases, it is extremely rare for a judge to agree. The Supreme Court has held that to succeed on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim, the individual must prove that their lawyer was objectively deficient and that the outcome would have been different with a competent lawyer. Even when the evidence is compelling, judges are supposed to be highly deferential to the lawyers judgements and avoid second-guessing their strategy, according to the court. The standard is so high that even a lawyer admitting they did a bad job is often not enough to get their former clients a new trial.

Harris County Judge Natalia Cornelio recommended overturning Jeffery Prevost's death sentence, making a rare finding that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Courtesy of Jeffery Prevost's attorneys

Prevost grew up in a brothel owned by his grandmother, who pushed the women in the family into sex work, according to court documents. Prevost and his siblings were sexually abused as children. His father spent time in prison for heroin possession, and his mother had a violent temper, sometimes even shooting a gun at him. When Prevost was about 13, his mother was psychiatrically hospitalized after the death of his little sister.

In 2011, Prevost was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, Sherry White, and her son, Kyle Lavergne. Like most people on death row, Prevost could not afford to hire a lawyer for the resource-intensive process of a capital trial.

Harris County, which executes more people than anywhere else in the country, does not offer public defenders in death penalty cases. Instead, the judge overseeing the case appoints defense counsel from a list of private lawyers. Defense lawyers whose livelihoods depend on indigent appointments often donate to trial judges election campaigns, creating a system that legal scholars have described as judicial pay to play. Many appointed defense lawyers maintain caseloads that far exceed state and federal guidelines, billing the state several hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to represent people too poor to hire a lawyer.

Death penalty cases typically have two phases: The first is to determine whether the accused is guilty and, if they are convicted, the second is to determine whether they deserve a death sentence. The trial judge in Prevosts case, Mark Ellis, appointed Cornelius as first chair, and another lawyer named Allen Tanner as second chair. Prevost pleaded guilty and a jury sentenced him to death.

Cornelius was a subject of a previous HuffPost investigationinto Harris Countys indigent defense system. Obel Cruz-Garcia, one of Cornelius former clients who is now on death row, told HuffPost he barely saw his lawyer ahead of trial. Cruz-Garcia, who maintains his innocence, alleged in a federal habeas petition that Cornelius failed to investigate and present information that could have undermined the states theory of the crime, as well as mitigating information that could have, at least, convinced the jury he didnt deserve a death sentence.

Cruz-Garcia has been unsuccessful in appealing his sentence. Cornelius, who is no longer alive, previously denied allegations that he was ineffective in Cruz-Garcias case. In interviews, he dismissed the idea that his heavy caseload ever negatively impacted his work.

Tanner declined to comment on Prevosts case, citing pending litigation.

Once sent to death row, it is exceedingly difficult to get that sentence overturned. In Texas, state habeas proceedings, which are the first opportunity to raise ineffective assistance of counsel claims, occur in the same court as the conviction, often with the same judge from trial. Both parties submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law (FFCL) for the court to consider before entering their own version. A 2018 review of 191 Harris County cases found that judges adopted prosecutors FFCL verbatim in 96% of cases the authors analyzed.

That is initially what happened in Prevosts case.

After being convicted and sentenced to death in 2014, Prevost was represented in state habeas proceedings by public defenders in the Office of Capital and Forensic Writs (OCFW). He filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in January 2016, alleging that his imprisonment was unjust, in part, because he received ineffective assistance from Cornelius and Tanner at trial. He accused the trial lawyers of woefully deficient mitigation investigation that left the jury with a remarkably incomplete picture of his life history.

The court ordered Cornelius and Tanner to file affidavits, responding to allegations that they were ineffective. Both lawyers complied, supplying brief statements defending their work.

In November 2016, Ellis, a Republican, lost his reelection campaign to a Democrat named George Powell. The state filed a motion asking the court to set a deadline for both parties to submit their proposed FFCLs. Ellis agreed and set a deadline at the end of December, days before he was set to leave office. The state submitted its version, but Prevosts lawyers repeatedly objected to the deadline, arguing it was premature to make a decision in the case, that the timing was motivated by electoral politics and that the deadline did not provide sufficient time to prepare their findings.

Powell assumed the bench on Jan. 1, 2017. On his first working day in office, he signed the states proposed FFCL verbatim, recommending that Prevost be denied habeas relief. Powells version still had the states header at the top of the document, and in the place that the state had left to Ellis to sign, Powell crossed out the former judges name and hand wrote in his own name.

Judge George Powell's findings of facts and conclusions of law. Harris County District Clerk

Then, in a bizarre procedural move, Ellis, who was no longer a judge, also signed the states proposed FFCL and filed his version, which was identical to Powells except for the signature.

The two competing sets of judicial documents were both sent up to the CCA, which was tasked with deciding whether to follow the lower courts recommendation to deny habeas relief.

In a March 2017 court filing, Prevosts lawyers slammed the fact-finding procedure in the case as indefensible, noting that Prevost was not given the opportunity to cross-examine Cornelius or Tanner in an evidentiary hearing.

One set of findings was issued by a newly-elected judge who had an impossibly short period of time to review the voluminous trial record and post-conviction pleadings, Prevosts lawyers wrote, noting that the case record was more than 7,000 pages long. The other set of findings was issued by a former judge who was no longer on the bench. No matter which set of findings controls, Mr. Prevost was deprived of basic due process and adjudication of his claims of constitutional confinement.

Later that year, the CCA remanded the case back to the trial court to develop more evidence related to Cornelius and Tanners work on the case. The appellate court also instructed the trial court to clarify which set of judicial findings should be considered.

Powell deferred to Ellis findings of fact and conclusions of law and directed Cornelius and Tanner to file additional affidavits. Prevost pushed for an evidentiary hearing, which would provide the opportunity for cross-examination.

Then, the case languished for three years.

During that time, Cornelio, a former public defender in Houston, beat Powell in the Democratic primary and went on to win the general election. Shortly after she assumed office in 2021, the CCA ordered her to promptly resolve the case. Unlike her predecessors, Cornelio convened an evidentiary hearing, which lasted several days.

Cornelius testified at the 2021 hearing that state and American Bar Association capital caseload guidelines are basically ridiculous and that he does not pay any attention to them at all. He testified that he would never argue the things that you put in this write in any trial, specifying that raising the race card when it has no application to the case  would alienate any jury, likely a reference to Prevosts post-conviction attorneys describing Prevosts early exposure to racial segregation and violence against Black people.

Cornelius also testified that he believed some of the mitigation evidence raised by Prevosts post-conviction attorneys cuts both ways because if Prevost is a cracked egg and he cant be fixed, youre probably going to have the death penalty on your hands. He said he was not aware that trauma can cause cognitive deficits.

On Feb. 5, Cornelio issued her 158-page findings of fact and conclusions of law, finding that Prevost received ineffective assistance of counsel, citing their failure to conduct a reasonable mitigation investigation.

The judge concluded that Prevosts trial lawyers did present evidence of his traumatic childhood, but failed to investigate and present to jurors evidence of his neurocognitive disorder, untreated major depressive disorder recurrent with psychotic features, and possible fetal alcohol spectrum.

The jury missed out on hearing important evidence that [Prevosts] inability to change his behavioral responses to a situation that is not working, including a relationship, is due to an organic brain impairment, Cornelio wrote.

Benjamin Wolff, the OCFW director and one of Prevosts current lawyers, praised Cornelios recommendation as an unusual assertion of judicial independence.

We should all want judges to act as judges, and independently analyze the evidence and claims before them rather than robotically rubber stamp whatever the prosecution suggests. Thats what basic fairness demands, Wolff said. In the past, unfortunately its been rare for a judge in Harris County to both take the time to evaluate the evidence before her and draft her own findings of fact on that evidence.

Last year, the Wren Collective, a group of former public defenders who do criminal justice research and policy, released a scathing two-part report on Harris County death row cases, describing the system as utterly broken. In nearly every case out of Harris County resulting in a death sentence over the previous 20 years, defense lawyers failed to find and present evidence that could have kept their clients off of death row, the report authors wrote.

One of the cases the Wren Collective looked at was Prevosts. At the punishment phase, his defense team told the jury that Mr. Prevost largely grew up in a loving and happy home, the authors wrote.

That was not true.

Related...
A federal judge ruled Thursday that a new Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship is not discriminatory.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton concluded Thursday that state legislators did not discriminate when they adopted the voting laws in 2022, and that the state has an interest in preventing voter fraud, The Associated Press reported.

Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizonas interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizonas elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide [documentary proof of citizenship], Bolton wrote.

She said part of the law, which requires individuals using a state registration form to include the state or country where they were born, violated part of the Civil Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act because the provision will result in the investigation of only naturalized citizens based on the county recorders beliefs that a naturalized citizen is a noncitizen.

The Justice Department, the Democratic National Committee and voting groups filed legal challenges to the bills, signed into law by former Gov. Doug Ducey (R), arguing they were racially discriminatory.

House Bill 2492 adopted stricter voting requirements in Arizona, which already requires people looking to register to vote to provide proof of citizenship for state elections. It now requires election workers to verify the documentation of citizenship for voters in federal elections.

It has banned people who could not show official proof of citizenship, such as a passport or a drivers license, from voting and registering to vote. The attorney generals office also must investigate all cases in which noncitizens attempted to vote or register, The Arizona Republic reported.

The case went to a bench trial in late 2023, in which experts highlighted the states history of voting discrimination, which included literacy tests that excluded Native American and Latino voters from participating, as well as voter roll purges, which made it harder for minorities to re-register to vote, the AP reported.

Arizona, a key swing state narrowly won by President Biden in 2020, has seen increasingly close elections in the last several years. It has been at the center of political controversy after election results have been contested.

Bolton argued no evidence had been presented that the new laws intended to suppress voter registration among minority groups.

Ultimately, Bolton argued the laws do not impose an undue burden on the right to vote or violate the equal protection and due process guarantees of the U.S. constitution, and the plaintiffs didnt show that the laws were created with discriminatory purposes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A Las Vegas judge scheduled a trial date Thursday for a man accused of severely abusing his children and putting at least two of them in a dog cage.

The jury trial for Travis Doss, 32, was scheduled for Aug. 5. Last year, a grand jury indicted Doss on 38 counts of child abuse, two counts related to first-degree kidnapping, one count of sex trafficking and one count of living off the earnings of a prostitute.

In June 2023, Las Vegas Metro police found six children home alone while two of them were locked in a dog cage, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported. The oldest child was 11. Body camera video showed officers rescuing the children who all showed signs of abuse. Allegations dated back to 2019, according to the Clark County District Attorneys office.

The family of nine lived in a one-bedroom extended-stay unit.

Before his arrest, Doss attempted to be a rapper under the name Trap Montana. He pleaded not guilty in August.

His wife, Amanda Stamper, 33, had called 911, which led to the childrens rescue. Stamper was also arrested.

In February, Stamper, the stepmother to the six victims, was sentenced to 7-18 years in prison for failing to intervene to protect the children.

Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dena Rinetti said Doss kept one of the children locked in a dog cage for five days while also starving him. The child was severely malnourished.

Stamper pleaded guilty to three felony counts of child abuse, neglect or endangerment in December. A grand jury in Clark County previously indicted Stamper on seven counts of felony child abuse and neglect.

Stamper and Doss had one child together at the time of their arrests. Stamper gave birth to another child last December.

Stamper said Doss also abused her. She was identified as a victim in his separate sex trafficking case.

Rinetti pointed out that Doss had access to a vehicle and the opportunity to leave the home and call police or Child Protective Services. Doss had even texted Stamper a photo of one of the children who appeared to be dead saying that he killed him, according to Rinetti. The child survived. However, Stamper only called 911 after Doss had been cheating on her and she had sent Doss nearly 100 unanswered text messages, Rinetti said.

Travis Doss and Amanda Stamper shared a one-bedroom, one-bathroom extended-stay apartment with seven children near Flamingo Road and Valley View Boulevard, documents said. (LVMPD/KLAS)

Stamper and Doss both had criminal histories when they were arrested. There was an active warrant for Doss out of South Carolina. He was wanted for aggravated assault, according to North Myrtle Beach Police. Two days before the warrant for Doss was issued in January, Stamper was arrested, according to police. This was in connection to a warrant for violating federal probation related to drug charges in Tennessee, police said.



During one court hearing, Doss shook his head at 8 News Nows camera and tried to hide.

To report child abuse, visit the DCFS website. To reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline, call: 800-799-7233. For a list of local and state resources for domestic violence and abuse victims, visit this link.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway, R-Great Falls, speaks in support of her ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. (Arren Kimbel-Sannit/The Daily Montanan)

In a ruling deeply critical of restrictions placed on abortion by the 2021 Montana Legislature, Yellowstone County District Court Judge Kurt Krueger struck down three laws that he said placed unreasonable and unconstitutional limits on abortions in Montana.

The decision converted what had been a temporary injunction on the laws into a permanent one, but it does not affect a raft of abortion restrictions that were passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature and are still being challenged in Montanas courts.

The ruling, issued Thursday, struck down three laws that made obtaining an abortion more difficult in Montana, and Krueger said those restrictions had no basis in medical science, by the states own admission. He said the measures trample upon the more robust state constitutional protections, as well as the landmark 1999 decision that the right to obtain an abortion was part of the states right to privacy, enshrined in the Montana Constitution.

The Montana Attorney Generals Office, which defended the lawsuit, did not comment when asked on Thursday afternoon. It can appeal the decision to the Montana Supreme Court.

Planned Parenthood of Montana brought the lawsuit challenging House Bills 136, 140 and 171.

House Bill 136 bans abortions at 20 weeks, which is before the point of viability, based on the legislative conclusion that the fetus is able to experience pain at that point during the gestation.

House Bill 171 implemented a host of restrictions, including banning abortions via telehealth, imposing a 24-hour waiting period, requiring a patient to use a state form that had various notifications, and required an entirely new set of credentialing for medical providers who perform abortions.

House Bill 140 required providers to provide two forms of ultrasound and fetal heart tones, and imposed civil penalties for providers who dont offer it.

In the ruling, Krueger struck down each of the bills one at a time, and said the state failed to present medical evidence to support its position, while also incorrectly tying Montanas right to abortion to the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs vs. Jackson Womens Health decision, rather than to the Armstrong case in the state.

Notably, Armstrong rejected the states attempts to regulate abortion, not on the basis that the procedure should be protected per se, but because a womans right to decide up to the point of fetal viability, what her pregnancy demands implicates her right to procreative autonomy. If the state can infringe on that autonomy in favor of birth, then, necessarily it also has the power to require abortion, neither of which would be acceptable, Krueger said.

The judge also rejected the idea that state officials have repeated that Montana courts should base their decisions about abortion because of the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs decision, which returned the power to regulate abortion to each state.

The state cites to Dobbs for its assertion that it has a compelling interest in respecting and preserving human life, including prenatal life at all stages of development, regardless of determinations of viability. But Dobbs does not control here. Federal precedent is not binding on questions of state constitutional law, Krueger said, pointing to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case.

Krueger said that while the state has the right to use its police power to regulate the health of its citizens, that also is not unlimited.

Krueger referenced other recent decisions that were hotly contested outside the area of abortion to demonstrate his rationale. For example, the judge said that a challenge to Montanas mask mandate brought by Missoula parents was upheld because a public school policy requiring students to wear masks to prevent spread of infectious disease did not violate the right to make private healthcare decisions because the mask amounted to a public health intervention, not treatment  the same way the state Supreme Court has ruled that requiring a motorcycle helmet is not a treatment for a head injury.

Krueger instead said that the State of Montana has failed to show a bonafide health risk presented by abortion.

Courts are particularly wary of ideological or sectarian legislation presented as healthcare interests, the order said.

The court found that Montana was able to present no evidence that 20 weeks of gestation for a fetus was medically viable, and Montanas laws protect abortion up to the point of viability. But the new law, HB 136, bans abortion after 20 weeks because of the equally unsupported claim that a fetus can feel pain, Krueger said.

Under the Montana Constitution, contrary to Dobbs, citizens retain their right to procreative autonomy up through the point of viability. The scope of any asserted state interest in protecting fetal life, therefore, depends on determinations of viability, he wrote. In this case, the law largely bans abortions at 20 weeks. It is undisputed that no fetus is presently viable at that point.

Krueger also said that HB 136 smacks of the ideologically motivated legislation condemned by the court in Armstrong, and that it failed to show a compelling state interest. The court order demonstrated that no deaths from 2010 through 2020 were attributed to abortion, and only 0.3% of abortions in the state had a complication, so the states argument of medical risk was not substantiated.

House Bill 171

Krueger also struck down HB 171, which included a panoply of rules governing abortion and telehealth.

It violates the right to privacy by imposing numerous and severe burdens on patients and providers, which lack a basis in demonstrable medical science and do not apply to any other medical treatment, Krueger wrote. The state produced no discovery showing the risks of telehealth administered medication abortion versus in-person. Moreover, the state admits that Montana law does not expressly authorize or prohibit telehealth for any other medical provider.

The court found that other provisions of the bill, like a 24-hour waiting period, were not justified by any medical science, and instead, served only to put more barriers in place; nor do other medical procedures require such a period.

The state, in the court order, said that it passed the law to ensure that women werent being forced into abortions, but Krueger pointed out during the court process, the State of Montana failed to produce any evidence that this was a problem, or even occurred.

The judge also took issue with several provisions of a state-designed form that women seeking an abortion must sign, including information that abortion is a reversible process. In his ruling, Krueger said that theres very little medical evidence to support that claim, and requiring patients to sign such a statement may give the impression that an abortion provider agrees with that advice, which violates First Amendment protections for the provider to speak freely.

There is scant evidence that abortion reversal is even possible, and no evidence of a legitimate, recognized health risk which the promise of reversibility purports to solve, apart from the bare assertions that it furthers informed consent, Krueger said.

The judge also counted more than 20 different, new and burdensome requirements placed on medical providers who offer abortion. Those requirements he described as expansive and only aimed at abortion providers because they offer the service, not because its medically necessary.

Providers must be credentialed to handle any adverse physical or psychological condition arising from the performance of an abortion, the judge said. The law lists 29 such conditions, including renal failure, pelvic inflammatory disease, metabolic disorder, shock, subsequent development of breast cancer, any psychological condition, coma and death. The court claims no special medical expertise, but surely a doctor with credentials in all these ares would be among the worlds renowned medical experts.

Krueger also pointed out that part of the form would require the medical provider to advise that the abortion will result in the death of an unborn child, a statement he called legally incorrect.

Armstrong recognizes the right to an abortion pre-viability, and plaintiffs only perform abortions to that point, Krueger said. Ipso facto, a patient exercising their protected right does so in relation to a fetus which is not viable and cannot be legally considered an unborn child. Moreover, the implication would suggest to the average patient that they are ending a life tantamount to a criminal act. Such language is, at best, wrong and misleading.

Krueger also said that Montana was violating First Amendment rights by pushing a particular viewpoint on abortion in the legislation.

The requirement appears motivated by a particular perspective  the viewpoint that abortion is wrong. That statute is conspicuously absent of any requirement that providers discuss the potential risks of carrying a pregnancy to term, Krueger wrote. If the patients well-being and autonomy were truly the underlying motivations behind the law, why not require providers to discuss all aspects of the decision regarding ones pregnancy, regardless of which decision a patient prefers?

Senate Bill 140

House Bill 140 requires the options of both ultrasounds and fetal heartbeat tones, and also requires the healthcare providers to provide those services, even if theyre not medically warranted.

It infringes the right to privacy by requiring providers to offer medical interventions which may violate their own best judgment, without basis in generally-accepted medical consensus, the judge said.

Krueger also said it treated pregnant patients who want to get an abortion differently than those who want to complete a full-term pregnancy.

Because the ultrasound and fetal heart tone requirements do not correspond to bonafide health risks and only apply if a patient decides to terminate a pregnancy, the court is left with the strong impression that the law aims to advance the ulterior motive of discouraging abortion, the court order said.

Statement from Planned Parenthood of Montana CEO Martha Fuller

We are relieved that Montanans will no longer live with the threat of these harmful restrictions taking effect. But make no mistake, our fight continues. For years anti-abortion politicians at all levels of government have made banning abortion their number one priority, despite the current protection held in our state constitution. During the 2023 Montana legislative session, an onslaught of anti-abortion bills was introduced, passed, and signed into law, and PPMT is working hard to beat back these attacks and more. We will never stop working to ensure that all Montanans and those who are forced to travel here for care can access the care they need.

Order Granting Summary Judgment (1)



The post Judge strikes down a trio of abortion laws passed in 21 as unconstitutional appeared first on Daily Montanan.
By Jack Queen

(Reuters) -A lawyer for Donald Trump on Friday told a Georgia judge that the lead prosecutor who charged the former U.S. president with election interference should be disqualified because she may have lied to the court about her undisclosed affair with a top deputy.

The lawyer, Steve Sadow, said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis claim under oath that her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade did not begin until after she hired him was not credible.

Once you have the appearance of impropriety ... the law in Georgia is clear: That's enough to disqualify," Sadow told Judge Scott McAfee.

Prosecutor Adam Abbate countered that three days of evidentiary hearings yielded "zero evidence" showing how Willis' relationship harmed the defendants' constitutional rights to due process.

"Because of that, the motions to disqualify should be denied," Abbate said.

McAfee said after the hearing that he hoped to rule within two weeks but gave no indication of what he might decide.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and the others are accused of illegally pressuring Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state to President Joe Biden.

Trump has pleaded not guilty, along with his 14 co-defendants.

A ruling in favor of Trump and his allies could further bog down a complex racketeering case that already faces a potentially long road to trial.

Disqualification of Willis would not necessarily end the case, as she would likely be replaced with a different district attorney.

But this would lead to significant delays, and a new prosecutor could narrow the charges or decide not to pursue the case.

The closing arguments before McAfee on Friday follow a series of evidentiary hearings where Willis conceded having an affair with Wade but accused a defense lawyer of lying about the timing and nature of the relationship.

The affair was first revealed in a January filing by a lawyer for Michael Roman, who said it posed a conflict of interest and improperly enriched Wade.

Willis and Wade testified that the relationship did not begin until after Wade was hired, and prosecutors have said the relationship is irrelevant to the case because it did not harm the defendants.

Defense lawyers have accused the prosecutors of lying to the court, saying the relationship began before Wade was hired. In court papers filed last week, Trump's attorney cited location data from Wades cellphone suggesting he made numerous late-night visits to Willis home before she appointed him.

Trump is under indictment in three other state or federal criminal cases.

He is set to stand trial on March 25 in New York in a case accusing him of illegally covering up hush money payments to a porn star, which could be the only trial he faces before the November election.

Trump has also been charged in Washington over his efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss, but that case is paused until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether he is immune from prosecution over actions he took while in office.

He is also under indictment in Florida over his handling of classified documents upon leaving office. The judge overseeing that case held a hearing on Friday on Trump's bid to move his May 20 trial date.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all those cases and says they are part of a politically motivated plot to undermine his bid for office.

If he wins the presidency, Trump could use his presidential powers to end the Washington and Florida cases because they were brought in federal court.

He would not have the power to stop the Georgia case because it was brought in state court.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Daniel Wallis, Jonathan Oatis and Chizu Nomiyama)
Dubai Taxi Company (DTC), a leading provider of comprehensive mobility solutions in Dubai, has seen its FY 2023 net profit jump 54% to AED345.3 million ($94 million) year-on-year, with free cash flow of AED129 million.

DTC delivered a strong performance during 2023, while also completing its landmark listing on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in December. Revenue for the year increased 11% year on year to AED1.95 billion, primarily driven by the strong performance of its Taxi segment as the number of trips increased during the period, supported by the strong growth of Dubai and DTCs exclusivity agreements in high-volume areas of the city, including Dubai International Airport (DXB).

DTCs fleet size at the end of 2023 was more than 7,400 vehicles, with its Taxis and Limousines completing 46 million trips in 2023, an increase of 8% year on year.

Increase in EBITDA

The strong revenue performance resulted in a 55% year on year increase in EBITDA to AED490.5 million, a margin of 25% and an increase of 7 percentage points year-on-year, supported by DTCs continued focus on driving operational efficiencies through technology adoption, with initiatives including its state-of-the-art control centre optimising fleet distribution and the increased adoption of e-hailing improving the customer journey.

DTC maintained a healthy balance sheet during the year, with a highly attractive net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.3x. The Company secured a AED1.0 billion term loan in FY 2023 with a maturity of 5 years as well as a revolving credit facility of AED200 million, from which there were no drawdowns in FY 2023.

DTCs Chairman, Abdul Muhsen Ibrahim Kalbat, said: Our strong inaugural set of results following our successful IPO on DFM in December 2023, highlights the strength of our business, which is underpinned by the growth of Dubai, our market leading position and a supportive regulatory environment.

Well-defined vision

DTC has a well-defined vision and strategy that capitalises on Dubais ambitious urban development and robust resident and tourism growth, ensuring we are well positioned to deliver long-term growth and value creation for our shareholders. I am also pleased to confirm that DTCs Board has recommended a dividend payout of AED71 million for Q4 2023, in line with our IPO commitment and subject to shareholder approval.

DTCs CEO, Mansoor Rahma Alfalasi, added: Following our successful IPO on the DFM, DTC delivered a good set of results with Revenue increasing 11% year-on-year to AED1.95 billion in 2023, driving a 54% rise in Net Profit. During the year we continued to make strides with our strategic priorities, expanding our fleet and implementing smart technologies to drive efficiency across segments. With a leading taxi market share in Dubai and several opportunities to expand into neighbouring emirates, DTC plays an instrumental role in connecting people and developing the nations world-class transportation infrastructure.

Looking ahead we see a supportive environment for growth driven by Dubais status as a premier tourist destination and the expansion of the emirates urban areas.

Board approves Q4 2023 dividend

The companys Board of Directors has approved its first dividend of AED71 million, amounting to 2.84 fils per share for Q4 2023, subject to shareholder approval at the Companys Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is expected to be distributed in April 2024.

FY 2023 operational highlights

DTC implemented the use of artificial intelligence at its control centre monitoring its entire fleet of taxis, limousines, buses and delivery bikes to ensure safety and efficiency while redirecting services to areas of high demand.

Taxis: Launched the In-Safe Hands service on the DTC app which enables parents to pre-book taxis daily, weekly or monthly to transport their children to and from school, offering a safe and convenient service for students living in areas not serviced by school buses.

Limousines: Signed an agreement with Dubai World Trade Centre to provide 24/7 limousine services for its visitors and exhibitors, cementing the Companys position as the provider of premium transportation services at Dubais most high-profile venues.

Buses: Deployed high-tech features on its fleet of school buses to ensure student safety on all journeys. These include surveillance cameras, a system to detect student movement in transit, and an emergency alert system for making immediate contact with the emergency services.

Delivery Bikes: Launched in September 2022, the Companys delivery segment has grown substantially to over 752 bikes at the end of 2023. During the year, DTC signed new agreements with Noon and Etisalat Smiles for last-mile delivery services, as it continues to scale the delivery segment.

Outlook

DTC has a positive outlook across all segments, bolstered by Dubais strong economic outlook with a forecasted population growth Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.8% between 2023 and 2040, and a tourism CAGR of 20.5% between 2023 and 2025. Additionally, the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, which will see the development of new urban clusters across Dubai, is expected to drive increased demand for taxis and limousines.

DTC is in a strong position to capture value from this growth by continuing to execute its well-defined strategy of fleet expansion and operational efficiency improvements, while continuing its expansion into neighbouring emirates and exploring market consolidation opportunities.--TradeArabia News Service
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- An amendment to China's criminal law, which strengthens criminal penalties for offering bribes and corruption in private firms, took effect on Friday.

Amendment XII to the Criminal Law adds seven serious offenses related to bribery, such as repeatedly offering bribes and offering bribes to more than one person, among others.

According to the amendment, offering bribes to those involved in the country's key work areas, major national projects or programs, as well as those in the fields of organization and personnel affairs, discipline and law enforcement, justice, food and medicine, and education, constitute severe offenses, said Ma Yan of China's Supreme People's Court.

Enterprise staffers engaging in the same type of business illegally, profiting unlawfully for friends and relatives, and converting companies' assets to shares at a low price or selling them at a low price for personal gain are now classified as criminal offenses.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, adopted the amendment in December 2023. 
A junior high teacher who beat a student for comparing him to an anime character was given a 10% pay cut for 3 months: Japan officials

A junior high teacher had his pay temporarily cut by 10% after beating a student, per Osaka officials.

The teacher was upset that the student had compared him to an anime character, per Sankei Shimbun.

Officials said the teacher put the student in a headlock and punched him twice in January.

A junior high teacher in Osaka, Japan, had three months of pay docked by 10% for physically assaulting a student, school officials said.

The 38-year-old teacher from Kawachinagano Municipal Junior High School was punished for two altercations, the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education said on Monday.

In May 2023, the unnamed teacher squeezed the student's head with both arms, and in January 2024 shoved the same student to the ground, trapped him in a headlock, and punched him at least twice on the left side of his head, the board said.

The teacher's direct supervisor, the school principal, was also given a strict warning, the board added.

The board does not name punished teachers, and regularly disciplines faculty with a 10% salary reduction for misconduct, such as inappropriate physical contact with students or taking a public transport commuting allowance when they drive a car to work.

School officials said the teacher at Kawachinagano grew upset with the student, who was in his third year of junior high because the latter and his schoolmates repeatedly made fun of the teacher's physique, the national daily Sankei Shimbun reported.

Third-year students in junior high are typically about 14 years old.

During school recess in January, the student compared the teacher to an anime character of a similar body shape, and at least twice called him by the name of the fictional character, per Sankei Shimbun.

That was when the teacher engaged the student in a headlock and punched him, school officials said, per the outlet.

School officials said the teacher apologized to the student and his family, per Sankei Shimbun. "I couldn't control my anger," the teacher said.

The student suffered minor bruises, and the teacher was reported by other students witnessing the altercation, Sankei Shimbun reported, citing school officials.

The recommended salary for junior high teachers aged 35 to 45 is $2,500 to $3,000, per the Osaka prefectural board of education.

Other Osaka faculty who recently received a temporary 10% pay cut include a high school teacher who went out four times with a female student and a junior high teacher who touched a female student's head and hands while in a car, the education board said.

Another was a lecturer who illegally parked twice near his school while receiving a public transport allowance.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Michelle Troconis was found guilty of conspiring with Fotis Dulos to kill his wife, Connecticut mother Jennifer Farber Dulos, and five other counts in connection to her disappearance and presumed death.

Troconis, 49, was Dulos girlfriend when his wife disappeared in May 2019. Dulos was eventually charged with murder in the case but died by suicide while out on bail.

On Friday, after two days of deliberations, a six-person jury found Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of hindering prosecution in the second degree following a multiweek trial in Stamford Superior Court.

Troconis, a dual American and Venezuelan citizen, became visibly emotional during the verdict reading. She sat with her head down and could be heard crying as she was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom.

She is scheduled to be sentenced May 31, and her bond was set at $6 million. If she makes bond, she will be held under house arrest while awaiting sentencing.

Speaking with reporters outside the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Connecticut, after the verdict, Troconis attorney Jon Schoenhorn said the defense team plans to file post-trial motions for a new trial where (he will list) any number of reasons why the trial itself was not fair.

Troconis, who once produced and hosted a show on ESPN South America, has been free on bond since 2019. She now faces up to 50 years in prison.

On Tuesday, shell appear before a different judge for a contempt hearing after allegations she displayed a sealed custody report on her laptop during the trial.

Jennifer Farber Dulos, mother of five, went missing after dropping off her kids at school on May 24, 2019. Jennifer Farber Dulos was last seen alive on May 24, 2019, at her home in New Canaan, Connecticut. She was 50 years old at the time.

Despite an extensive search of the city, surrounding areas and other Dulos-related locations, she has never been found. She was declared legally dead in October 2023.

When she disappeared, Farber Dulos was going through an acrimonious divorce with her husband, a luxury real estate developer in the tri-state area. Troconis was living with Fotis Dulos at a home in Farmington, Connecticut.

Dulos was arrested on Jan. 7, 2020, and charged with killing his wife. He posted $6 million bail and died by suicide on Jan. 30.

Troconis and a lawyer, Kent Mawhinney, were arrested the same day. Troconis was the first person to stand trial in connection with Farber Dulos death.

Surveillance video from Hartford on the days after the murder showed Dulos driving around the city and disposing of items in various trash bins. Prosecutors played several of the videos at trial and claimed Troconis was with Dulos while he was attempting to destroy evidence.

Investigators eventually recovered several of the items, and testing revealed blood stains on multiple items of clothing.

Prosecutors also played Troconis three interviews with police for the jury. In the third interview, Troconis admitted to lying about knowing Fotis Dulos was home on the day of Farber Dulos murder.

Defense attorneys argued that the evidence focused on Dulos, not Troconis, and that she could have been stressed and confused in the police interrogations.

The entire case, at least 99% of it, is about Fotis Dulos conduct and notably his conduct outside the presence of my client, Troconis lawyer Joe Schoenhorn told local CBS affiliate WFSB-TV during the trial.

Mawhinney, who previously worked as a lawyer for Dulos, is still awaiting trial on a charge of conspiracy to commit murder. The opening date for those proceedings has not been scheduled.

Shortly after the verdict was announced, Stamford/Norwalk States Attorney Paul J. Ferencek expressed gratitude to jurors for their thoughtfulness and attention during the trial and offered condolences to Dulos family  particularly her five children.

While its our hope that todays verdict brings Jennifers family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide a resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests, Fereneck said. I assure you the State of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking.

_________
Rachel and Rob Shirley listen as a jury finds Deborah Lundstrom guilty in the death of their eight-month old son, Coleman, in 2022. The verdict was returned Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2024 in the Greene County Courthouse.

Robert and Rachel Shirley are expecting another child in the coming months, the first since the death of their 8-month-old son, Cole.

Each is willing to quit their job and stay home with two young children while the other works. Their trust of day cares and babysitters is broken, and so are their hearts.

Cole died in the care of in-home day care provider Deborah Lundstrom on March 2, 2022, and a jury convicted the 49-year-old woman Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter, operating a child care facility without a license and nine counts of child endangerment after leaving nine children under the age of 3 at her home unsupervised, leading to Cole's death.

"We're not risking it," said Robert, who told a jury Thursday how he explained to his 3-year-old son, Jackson, that his younger brother was in heaven and not coming home.

Fewer than 24 hours after presenting a guilty verdict, the jury deliberated again after hearing a series of victim statements and recommended issuing the jail suit-clad Lundstrom a sentence of at least 20 years in prison.

Greene County judge Todd Myers will rule on the recommendation at a May 13 hearing.

The verdict and sentencing came nearly two years to the day Cole was found unresponsive at the illegal daycare in the 2800 block of North Washington Avenue. Lundstrom told police she left the infant boy and eight other children under age of 3 alone for about 12 minutes while she ran an errand, placing Cole in a car seat in the home before she left.

When she returned, she found the boy to not be breathing, and he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. An autopsy determined the child died due to strangulation by the child safety seat's buckle and strap.

"We are who we are when people aren't looking," Greene County prosecuting attorney Elizabeth Fax told the jury Thursday. "And when people weren't looking, (Lundstrom) played Russian roulette with other people's children."

Deborah Lundstrom showed no outward sign of emotion as a jury found her guilty in the death of eight-month old, Coleman Shirley, in 2022. The verdict was returned Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 28, 2024 in the Greene County Courthouse.

Lundstrom changed her story

In the two-day trial that concluded Wednesday after two hours of deliberation, some of the witnesses from the trial gave victim impact statements on Thursday before sentencing.

Fax and fellow prosecuting attorney Philip Fuhrman had parents Thursday whose children were also at the daycare the day Cole died take the witness stand. They spoke about how the situation has destroyed their trust in daycare and mentioned past marks on their children that also appeared to have come from a tightly strapped car seat.

One of the parents said Lundstrom told her no more than four children are cared for at a time. Another parent said Lundstrom took care of only six at a time, and that she takes the children with her when she leaves the house.

That didn't appear to be the truth.

When Lundstrom left to go on a "school run" on March 2, nine children were left alone at home, the majority strapped in car seats while the toddlers were unrestrained.

Fax and Fuhrman presented body camera footage that showed Lundstrom telling police that she took all nine children with her on her short trip. As the investigation unfolded, however, cameras from Lundstrom's home showed her leaving her home by herself.

Prosecutors said no adults were home when Lundstrom left the house, but she appeared to suggest her 18-year-old daughter, Maleah Lundstrom, was at least in proximity to the home, and could have helped. Maleah denied on the witness stand being present in the home when the incident occurred.

Fuhrman asked Deborah Lundstrom on Thursday if she understood how her poor choice had ultimately led to the child's death. She appeared to deflect.

"If I could do it again, I'd make sure my daughter (was there)," Lundstrom answered, generating several loud sighs from the packed courtroom, which appeared overwhelmingly in support of the victim's family.

"She bit off more than she could chew"

Defense attorneys Erica Mynarich and Shane Cantin, who said Lundstrom did not have a prior criminal record, called several characters to the stand Thursday, including her sister, a pastor, and a doctor, all of whom said the situation was out of her character and that she was overwrought with guilt.

"She bit off more than she could chew," said character witness Dr. Linda Wellborn.

Cantin said his client deserves a punishment for her actions, but not the maximum penalty on all counts that prosecutors suggested.

"Maximum sentences are handed to people who we're afraid of; she is not that," Mynarich told the jury before they made their sentencing decision. "This is a terrible case, but the maximum would not be well-placed here."

Jury sentencings are rare in Greene County, as they are often given by a judge, who also has the power to contest a jury's sentence. A jury determines sentencing, according to Missouri law, unless the defendant specifically requests in writing that the judge determine sentencing or if the state proves the defendant is a prior and persistent offender.

Judge Todd Myers carries the car seat that Cole Shirley was asphyxiated in from the courtroom for jurors to examine more closely while they deliberated Wednesday afternoon.

Remembering Cole Shirley

Robert Shirley, a sizable, bearded man who wore cowboy boots to trial, softened with emotion when recalling his late son.

"Great little boy who hardly ever cried and loved his family," the man said.

He mentioned how he and his wife have not entered his bedroom since his death and relatives volunteered to pack the child's belongings, because the pain would have been too much to bear for the parents.

Their oldest son Jackson, now 5, tells his friends that his brother is "up in heaven with God," and his parents said he is already looking to protect his new sibling after what happened.

"The cry or scream (Jackson) let out is forever burned into our brains," Rachel Shirley said when recalling Jackson learning that his brother had died.

Several people wore blue "Justice4Cole" shirts to the courtroom on Thursday, each with a design that had several photos of the smiling child.

Fuhrman reminded the courtroom before the verdict that Lundstrom didn't fully own up to the death of Cole.

"She's not sorry for what she did, she is sorry for the consequences she will face," Fuhrman said.

Ryan Collingwood covers a wide range of topics for the News-Leader with an emphasis on public safety. He can be reached by phone at 417-258-8174 and email at rcollingwood@news-leader.com. You can also follow Ryan on social media at X.com/rwcollingwood

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jury recommends 20 years for woman in Springfield day care death
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD)  A Kalamazoo familys trip to Ecuador was cut short by a wave of gang violence surging across that country.

Kacey and George Wright III, West Michigan natives who live in Kalamazoo, started to travel later in life, and they wanted their kids to be exposed to different cultures as early as possible. Thats why they took their two children, 2-year-old Enola and a 15-month-old who is also named George, to Ecuador in December for a planned three-month visit.

The couple runs a travel blog called The Wright Destination, where they document their adventures. They even have sweatshirts with their blogs logo on them.

We felt like theres always a story to tell when we go to these different places, George Wright told News 8 on Thursday.

They arrived in Ecuador on Dec. 3 and said their first month went perfectly, exploring communities like Cuenca, a city of nearly 600,000.

Ecuador is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, George Wright said. The people were very welcoming. As soon as got off the plane, we felt at home.

George and Kacey Wright and their children. (Courtesy)

George Wright and his children. (Courtesy)

George and Kacey Wright and their children. (Courtesy)

George Wright with one of his children. (Courtesy)

Kacey Wright and one of her children. (Courtesy)

George Wright. (Courtesy)

After spending over a month there, Kacey Wright said Ecuador was like a hidden gem.

Its got so many different landscapes: it has the Amazon Rainforest, the mountains, the Galapagos Islands, she said.

Everything changed Jan. 9. Shortly after walking through a park, they found out violence  either a shooting or a bomb threat  broke out there after they left.

Everyone was fleeing from that park we had just walked through an hour ago, George Wright said.

On Jan. 7, police said that Adolfo Macias, the leader of a criminal gang, disappeared from a prison where he was serving a decades-long sentence. By Jan. 9, violence broke out across the country, which the government blamed on cocaine trafficking gangs. Prisons across Ecuador were overrun with inmates escaping, and more than 200 prison staff were taken as hostages.

Explosions went off in several cities. Police officers were kidnapped. By the time January ended, Ecuador had reportedly seen at least 391 violent deaths that month.

They stormed a TV station during a live broadcast with guns and knives and held them captive, George Wright said. We also saw some of other rumblings of bombs exploding, cars being set ablaze.

A scene the Wright family captured in Ecuador. (Courtesy)

President Daniel Noboa issued a 60-day state of emergency. A military crackdown on gangs resulted in a national nighttime curfew stretching between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Ecuador hunkers down for a government war on drug gangs after attack during live TV newscast

The Wrights said that public transportation had stopped, and they were told they couldnt leave their Airbnb until they were instructed to do so.

The town of Cuenca was like a ghost town, George Wright said. So we really couldnt even go anywhere.

The couple knew they had to get their young children out, and they decided to leave less than 24 hours after the violence broke out.

We (were) just waiting on these prison riots to hit the streets and these acts of terror where we dont know where theyre coming from, George Wright said.

They looked for airplane tickets to head home immediately, but the internet was running slow. Every time the page refreshed, they say the price increased by $400 to $500.

We were looking at each other like, This is four times what we paid to get down here, George Wright said.

They ended up paying $6,000 to get home. As they left, they saw buses running through downtown that had no one inside them. The streets, which they said were bustling before, were now empty.

It really broke my heart for the Ecuadorian people because they had been so kind to us while were were there, Kacey Wright said.

Kacey Wright and her children. (Courtesy)

They had two different layovers in Colombia. They later stopped in New York City and Chicago before finally returning to Kalamazoo.

Despite everything that happened, they say their spirit to travel isnt broken and their family is only stronger. They plan on traveling to Malaysia later this year.

George Wright urged other families to travel if they can and bring their children.

Once you get out there and experience other cultures and see how other people live day to day, its exhilarating, he said. I just challenge everybody to get your passports.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
Japan has approved new sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including the imposition of an export ban on 20 more Russian companies.

Source: Bloomberg, with reference to the Japanese Foreign Ministry

Quote: "We decided on the latest sanctions in cooperation with the G-7 from the perspective of what would be effective in achieving a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press briefing on Friday.

"Japan will continue to work together with the international community, including the G-7," he added.

According to the Russian service of Radio Liberty, a total of 36 organisations and individuals have been subject to the new restrictions.

Among them is the son of former governor of Krasnoyarsk, Artem Uss, who escaped from house arrest in Italy. The Russian defence contractors Kalashnikov and Almaz-Antey were sanctioned, as was Tinkoff Bank and the United Shipbuilding Corporation.

The sanctions also targeted the shipping line Atomflot, train manufacturer Uralvagonzavod, asphalt supplier Basalt, aircraft engine maker Aviadvigatel, drone maker Aeroscan, sensor maker Neva Electronics, semiconductor supplier Angstrem and other companies.

In addition, the restrictions apply to Irina Ageeva and Irina Cherkasova, the ombudsmen for children's rights in Russia's Kaluga and Rostov Oblasts; Mansur Soltaev, the human rights commissioner in Chechnya; Konstantin Fedorenko, the director of Artek summer camp in Russian-occupied Crimea, and others.

Japan has also banned supplies of Russian diamonds for non-industrial use from third countries.

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As county appraisers send out valuation notices, Kansas lawmakers have taken little action on cutting property taxes this year.

Appraisers must mail valuation notices no later than Friday to owners of real property. Rising valuations result in higher property taxes if mill levies are left unchanged and can result in higher taxes even when mill levies are reduced. Local governments don't set mill levies until later in the year.

In recent years, legislators have heard complaints from constituents about appraisals and property taxes after they received their notices.

Kansas legislators went into the 2024 legislative session with several ideas for ways to cut property taxes. So far, none of them have come to fruition, and some of them have seen zero debate.

County appraisers have until Friday to mail valuation notices to Kansas property owners, like those of these homes seen from a hot air balloon in west Topeka. Lawmakers have several property tax cut proposals, but none have come to fruition so far this session.

Constitutional amendment would limit valuation growth

One proposal is to amend the Kansas Constitution in order to limit the growth in property valuation. Over time, that could result in lower taxes for homeowners who stay in the same house.

Such a cap was passed by the Senate in SCR 1611 relatively late in the 2023 session. House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, later promised, "I will bring that to the floor immediately at the start of next session."

That didn't happen. It remains in the House tax committee, where it has sat since April 2023, and no hearing has been scheduled on it.

The idea has generally been backed by Republicans, who say it would help seniors on fixed incomes to not be taxed out of their homes as they age. Democrats have generally opposed it.

Economists have said local governments would likely raise the mill levy to compensate for the valuation growth cap, resulting in a tax increase on people who purchased a home more recently, such as younger first-time homeowners.

More: As property values and taxes rise, is a Kansas constitutional amendment the solution?

Constitutional amendment would decrease assessment rate

Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Vic Miller, D-Topeka, have preferred a different constitutional amendment proposal that Republicans have shown little interest in.

Property taxes are determined by taking the appraised value, multiplying it by the assessment rate, then factoring in the mill levy. The Democrat proposal would reduce the assessment rate for residential property from 11.5% to 9%.

A lower assessment rate on residential property would mean lower taxes for homeowners. But it would likely result in some of the tax burden shifting onto other classes of property, such as commercial.

In the House, there is HCR 5021. In the Senate, there is SCR 1613. Neither chamber's tax committee has scheduled a hearing on either resolution.

More: Want property tax cuts? Here's a comparison of plans from Kansas Republicans and Democrats

Will the state provide money to locals to cut property taxes?

Kansas has a local ad valorem tax reduction fund designed to send state money to local governments to be used to reduce local property taxes. But the Legislature hasn't funded it for two decades.

Hawkins, who is a critic of the fund, said in the fall, "This next year, you can bank on LAVTR will be repealed." So far, that has not happened.

Other politicians, particularly Democratic lawmakers, a handful of Republicans and Gov. Laura Kelly, have supported funding the LAVTRF.

The Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee had a hearing in January on Senate Bill 196 and another on Senate Bill 332 in February, but has taken no further action on either bill. The topic has also been discussed in the Senate Local Government Committee.

The House Taxation Committee has House Bill 2366 and House Bill 2508, but neither has had a hearing.

The two budget committees, House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means, have the governor's budget proposal that includes restoring LAVTRF funding. The bills are House Bill 2802 and Senate Bill 514.

Legislators do not typically pass a budget until early April, then follow up later that month or in early May with an omnibus budget.

More: Will Kansas help fund local property tax cuts? Shawnee County and state leaders butt heads

Cutting the state mill levy, or increasing the exemption

While property taxes are mostly used to fund local governments, the state does impose a 20 mill levy to help fund local schools and a 1.5 mill levy for state building maintenance.

At the start of the session, there were two main ideas for how to cut the state property tax.

One was to reduce the school mill levy, an idea proposed by Hawkins last fall. It does not appear there is a bill to do so.

There is, however, a similar proposal to eliminate the 1.5 mills for building maintenance and fill the hole with other tax revenue. That idea is in Senate Bill 94 from Sen. Virgil Peck, R-Havana, which passed out of committee last session. It was referred back to committee this session and has not seen any action since.

The other idea, which had garnered bipartisan support in the past and again this year, was to increase the exemption on the state's 20 mill levy. Such an exemption increase appeared in both the Republican tax cut plan and the governor's tax cut plan.

The Republican tax cut plan died when Kelly vetoed it and the House failed to override the veto. The governor's tax cut plan is effectively dead, as Senate Republicans gutted the bill and House Republicans redirected it to a committee that never meets.

The idea isn't dead. Variations of it remain alive in House Bill 2364, House Bill 2457, House Bill 2520, Senate Bill 97, Senate Bill 138 and Senate Bill 377.

More: Did your home value rise? Support for property tax cuts heats up in Kansas Legislature.

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: Will Kansas lawmakers cut property tax after appraisers mail notices?
LATHAM, Kan. (KSNW)  The Kansas Masonic Foundation and the Latham Masonic Lodge have announced a large donation to Butler County Fire District #6 in Latham.

The department serves the Flint Hills community of Latham and the surrounding area in southwest Butler County. Each year, Latham Masonic Lodge #401 and its 39 members raise money to support the fire department.

Salina home heavily damaged in fire

We started this annual benefit eight years ago and have had it every year since, said Latham Lodge No. 401 Secretary Donald Nelson in a news release. The fire department is entirely volunteer-run and furnishes fire protection for the town of Latham and the surrounding area. They provide protection for homes and businesses and the ranchers and farmers in the district.

The Latham Masonic Lodge has partnered with the Kansas Masonic Foundation to donate $15,825 to the department. The funds will help cover the costs of the new fire station building and equipment.

A formal donation announcement will be held at the lodge on March 12.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSN-TV.
When Lilly Miller was in elementary school, teachers told her parents they needed to immediately sign up their youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome, for a wait list so the state would pay for a day program when she grew up. The teachers predicted a six-year wait.

The Millers have been waiting 10 years. Lilly is now 21 and has aged out of special education programs in Wichita public schools. Her parents, also teachers, have hired a home caregiver. A day program, where she would learn new job skills or flex existing ones while socializing, would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 a month, Marvin Miller said.

Across the U.S., hundreds of thousands of children, adolescents and young adults with physical or intellectual disabilities are waiting for state-covered services. In Kansas, legislative committees are considering proposals for higher funding. But even with more funds, it could take years to eliminate the states waiting lists.

The services, which include day programs, employment assistance, and home care, are designed to foster independence and build work skills. Without them, Marvin Miller said, his youngest daughter isnt getting enough social interaction. Weve actually seen her regress.

Someday, I wont be around anymore, and thats a parents greatest fear, Miller said during an interview. I want her to be at the place where, if something should happen in 15 years when Im gone, she will still have a community of supports and friends and all the things that we take for granted when we work in jobs and and have neighbors.

Parents across the U.S. have been stalled getting services for toddlers who are delayed developmentally. But many parents of children with intellectual or physical disabilities also must think years into the future.

At least 692,000 people with physical or intellectual disabilities are waiting for services in at least 40 states, according to a November 2023 survey by KFF, a health policy research group. Federal law doesnt require states to provide home and community based services, and what they cover varies.

Kansas expects to spend $776 million under its current budget on such services for the disabled. That funding would have to jump by roughly 54% to about $1.2 billion annually to eliminate waiting lists.

But Kansas also has seen its budget surpluses balloon since mid-2020 and theyre now projected to approach $4.5 billion by the end of June. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the Republican-controlled Legislature both advocate big tax cuts, although they havent been able to agree on the details.

Neil Romano, a National Council on Disability member, said its simply responsible to help families so parents can be more productive in their jobs or attend to more family needs  even take weekend breaks.

Youre not just providing help for that family and that child, he said. Youre providing help for the community.

Kansas has separate in-home and community services programs for physically and developmentally disabled residents, together serving about 15,000 people. As of mid-February, the two waiting lists totaled about 7,500 people. That figure has grown 37% over the past five years, even with increases in funding.

Outside Topeka, Rick and Anna Elskamps oldest daughter Sheridan is now 23, and the family recently received word in December that she was off the waiting list for intellectually disabled Kansas residents  after 10 years. A month later, after more administrative hoops, they said, they were still paying for day services themselves.

They said navigating the states social services system has been time-consuming and, Rick Elskamp said, All their acronyms and abbreviations are a whole new language.

The budget committee in the Republican-controlled Kansas Senate considered Wednesday a proposal from the Democratic governor for an additional $23 million to shrink the states waiting lists by a total of 500 people.

When Kelly outlined her proposal earlier this month  weeks after presenting a proposed $25.6 billion budget without it  Republicans in the GOP-controlled House already had been working on a plan twice as large. That plan was on the House budget committees agenda Wednesday.

But disability rights advocates want lawmakers to be even more aggressive, particularly in attacking the more persistent and larger waiting list for people with intellectual disabilities. Theyd like to spend roughly $85 million more in the next budget, reduce both lists by a total of 1,600 people and eliminate both lists in five years.

Instead of shrinking the waiting list for people with intellectual disabilities by 250 or 500, their plan would reduce it by 1,100 people.

Very typically, 300 to 400 people can be added to the waiting list in any one year, said Rocky Nichols, executive director of the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, a former legislator. So 500 slots may not reduce the waiting list much at all.

Oklahoma struggled for years to provide services to residents with intellectual disabilities and had 5,100 people on a waiting list, with some families waiting up to 13 years. With state revenue collections at record highs in 2022, lawmakers increased provider rates by 25%  and poured extra money into covering more people. It hopes to provide services to everyone who was on that list as of this spring.

Kansas lawmakers approved an additional $283 million over the past five years on home and community-based services  but more than 90% of it went to increasing rates paid to providers and of the rest, only $3 million went to shrinking the waiting lists, according to legislative researchers.

Officials said the state needed first to build up its network of providers and make sure they could attract enough workers.

It is very difficult to solve the waiting list problem without also addressing the workforce problem, said Alice Burns, associated director of KFFs program on the medically uninsured and state Medicaid programs.

But Nichols and other advocates said Kansas has seen its waiting lists grow because it hasnt at the same time committed funds specifically to covering more individuals. Burns agreed that states have to do that as well.

The funding issues in Kansas arent likely to be resolved for at least another month. Parents like Miller, Padding and the Elskamps are juggling their advocacy with their jobs and caring for their children.

Sheridan Elskamps parents said they dont leave her at home alone because cognitively, shes 6 or 7 years old. When she was in high school, they arranged their work schedules so one of them was home when she was out of school and Anna Elskamp took a demotion at her credit union job so that her schedule was flexible.

Marvin Miller considers his family fortunate, although he and his wife havent been able to save for retirement and he drives a 1999 truck. Besides teaching, hes an ordained Assemblies of God minister, filling in at rural churches or for churches that are between permanent pastors.

As a society, I think we owe it to take care of... he said, searching for the right words, our most vulnerable members, and to help them become successful.

Contributing: Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City.
Three years ago Cat Polands son nearly died.

The Kansas mother of three told lawmakers Thursday that her now 14-year-old child attempted suicide after coming out as transgender.

She also told them that gender affirming medication, testosterone, left him happier and healthier than shes seen him in years. Starting hormone therapy, Poland told The Star, wasnt a decision her family made lightly but instead one that came after extensive therapy and detailed conversations with doctors.

But Kansas lawmakers are considering legislation that would label that care abusive and bar Polands son from accessing the very medication Poland says saved his life.

I am not a perfect mother but I am certainly not an abusive one, Poland said. When I asked my son about this bill he said it would have been abusive not to help me.

For the second year in a row, Kansas Republicans are pushing to ban hormone therapy and gender transition surgery for minors  referred to as gender-affirming care by practitioners. They argue that, even with the support of parents and doctors, children should not be permitted to make life-altering decisions about their healthcare.

If approved, Kansas would join a growing number of Republican states that restrict this care despite statements from major American medical associations supporting its use.

Continued legislative attacks on gender-affirming care

According to the Human Rights Campaign 22 states, including Missouri, ban gender-affirming care for minors. The organization estimates that 35% of the nations transgender youth live in these states.

The push comes after Kansas lawmakers passed a string of bills regulating the lives of transgender Kansans and youth last year but were unable to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kellys veto of a bill banning gender-affirming care in minors.

The latest effort is certain to face steep opposition from Kansas Democrats and, if passed, a likely veto from Kelly.

But Poland said the continued legislative attacks on transgender Kansans weigh heavily on her son.

Its like its this heavy suffocating blanket, she said. It darkens all the brightness, and all the progress, and all the joy that hes made to know that these adults, whove never met him, probably dont know any kids like him, are making these decisions about who he is as a person and the kind of life he can lead.

In hearings on Thursday, LGBTQ advocates warned lawmakers the proposals would be immensely harmful to transgender children in Kansas, and that it would send a clear message they were not wanted in the state.

When I think about how satisfied I am with my gender transition it pains me to think about that being taken away from other young Kansans, said Anthony Alvarez, a 19-year-old transgender man from Wyandotte County.

Two approaches to restricting care

Lawmakers are considering two separate bills that would restrict healthcare for transgender youth.

One bill bars surgery for minors but allows hormone therapy so long as practitioners adhere to a specific set of care guidelines developed by the endocrinology society when providing hormone therapy to minors and adults.

A separate, broader bill, restricts hormone therapy alongside surgery. It threatens the licenses of doctors and allows for someone to sue a medical provider who gives that care for up to 30 years after it takes place. It also bars any state employee who works with children from promoting physical or social transitioning for children  which opponents say could include a public school teacher using a students preferred pronouns in class.

Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican, who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee, said she expects her committee to move forward with one of the two policies or combine components of each when they act on the subject.

Advocates for restrictions on the care, however, only spoke in support of the broader proposal. Brittany Jones, a lobbyist for the Christian conservative policy group Kansas Family Voice, said the policy needed to bar hormone therapy as well as surgery.

Rep. Ron Bryce, a Coffeyville Republican who introduced the broader bill, compared hormone therapy and transition surgeries to lobotomies  a type of brain surgery that was, unsuccessfully, used in the mid-20th century to treat schizophrenia.

Like transgender treatments, it manipulates or destroys healthy tissue in order to treat mental problems, Bryce said, arguing the treatments werent safe and hadnt been studied enough.

D.C. Hiegert, an attorney at the ACLU of Kansas, said the proposals were among the largest and most harmful anti-trans bills that had ever been introduced in Kansas. The bill limited to surgery, he said, sets a dangerous precedent by codifying a specific medical guideline into law. The broader measure, he said, is written so broadly it could keep teachers and foster care social workers from referring to a transgender youth by their preferred name and pronouns.

These bills are life-threatening and they cause serious harm for trans youth in our state and for Kansas families in general, he said.

Concerns about regret

Advocates of the proposals frame it as an issue of child safety. Chloe Cole, a California woman who detransitioned and has since traveled nationally advocating for bans on gender-affirming care, told lawmakers that doctors failed her by pointing her towards gender transition rather than mental healthcare.

Ivan Abdouch, a fellow for Do No Harm, an organization that pushes for bans on gender-affirming care nationwide, said the risk was too great that a minor would make the wrong choice and be harmed in the long run.

When physicians and parents are willing to risk this kind of potential harm to their kids, someone has to step in, Abdouch, who is a former provider of gender-affirming care for adults, said.

But the Academy of Pediatrics contends youth should have access to developmentally appropriate gender-affirming care. Amanda Mogoi, a Wichita nurse who is certified to provide that care said patients dont jump into hormone therapy and surgery lightly.

Transgender Kansans who testified against the bill described extensive consultations with doctors alongside their parents before choosing to move forward.

No youth are moving forward with gender-affirming care without the support and legal informed consent of all of their adult guardians, Mogoi said.
U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake hammered President Joe Biden for what she called lax policies that allow crime committed by migrants on a day when both leading presidential candidates visited the nations border with Mexico to discuss security.

I dont know why we have laws in Joe Bidens world. None of the ones that protect us as American citizens are being enforced, Lake, the Republican Senate front-runner, said during a news conference Thursday in Phoenix. It focused on her top issue, border security, through the prism of crimes against Americans.

Joining her to reinforce the matter  and to deliver his endorsement of her candidacy  was U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who is a leading contender to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the top Republican in the Senate.

It brought another significant endorsement for Lake, who continues to consolidate support behind a candidacy some Republicans initially sought to avoid.

On Thursday, Lake and Barrasso were united in their condemnation of Biden, their support for former President Donald Trumps reelection and getting Lake into the Senate. Barrasso took a shot at Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who is also running for the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

This is a crisis that has been created by Joe Biden and the Democrats, Barrasso said. And in this race,  the contrast is crystal clear between Kari Lake, who knows what we need to do and will get the job done, and her opponent on the Democrat side of the aisle, who as far as I can tell, doesnt think there should be any borders.

Barrasso, who chairs the Republican conference in the Senate and is one of the top members of party leadership, said the country would be much better and much safer with Lake in the Senate. He criticized Biden for lacking the backbone to strengthen security.

Gallego said Lake has not offered serious solutions to the border situation.

There has been a crisis along our southern border for years, which is why I supported the bipartisan immigration compromise bill and have long supported hiring and deploying thousands more Border Patrol agents, Gallego said in a statement to The Arizona Republic. Kari Lake did not. If she is interested in fixing our border crisis, then why is she playing political games instead of working towards solutions?

Lakes daughter held a photo of Laken Riley, a University of Georgia nursing student whom authorities believe was slain last week by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who entered the country 18 months ago and was arrested in New York in September.

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake (right) during a news conference on Feb. 29, 2024, at her headquarters in Phoenix. Looking on is Sen. John Barrasso (left).

These are the people Joe Biden is letting into our country, Lake said. She identified two other men charged in crimes in Louisiana and Maryland as further examples of the threat of a porous border combined with law enforcement that allows criminal suspects back on the streets.

What good are laws if were not following them? Lake said.

Sinema, who has not publicly said whether she intends to run for a second term, played a central role in the bipartisan border security bill that former President Donald Trump, the GOP's presidential front-runner, helped sink to prevent handing Biden an election-year legislative victory.

Lake and Barrasso both opposed the bill.

Biden praised that bill at length during his remarks from El Paso, Texas, on Thursday.

For her part, Sinema tweeted Thursday about the border situation.

In Arizona, we cannot afford to just move on and pretend the border crisis doesn't exist, she wrote. Despite partisanship in Washington, Arizonans can count on me to continue fighting for real solutions to secure our border and keep Arizona safe.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb's campaign shrugged off Barrassos endorsement. He also is seeking the GOP Senate nomination.

The people of Arizona will decide this election on their own, without interference or suggestions from the Washington establishment, said Ed Morabito, a senior adviser to the Lamb campaign.

Lake also picked up the endorsement Thursday of Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, adding to her clutch of GOP Senate endorsements.

By contrast, it was a quiet day for Lamb, who also has made border security his central issue. His campaign had no comment on a day when it was front and center nationally and in Arizona.

Barrassos visit to Arizona landed a day after future Republican leadership in the Senate became an open issue following McConnells announcement that he would step down as leader after the elections.

Barrasso is a leading contender for McConnells post, along with Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and John Thune, R-S.D., the No. 2-ranking Republican in the Senate.

Barrasso declined Thursday to discuss his interest in party leadership, saying he wanted to focus on the upcoming elections involving Lake and Trump.

Similarly, Barrasso did not address a question of whether Lake would have trouble gaining the trust of Senate Republicans after she secretly recorded and later released a conversation with the now-former chair of the Arizona Republican Party.

In that March 2023 incident, Jeff DeWit visited Lake at her home to inform her that there were very powerful people who want to keep you out of the Senate race. The tape was released 10 months later and toppled DeWit.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake rips Joe Biden on border, is endorsed by Sen. John Barrasso
PHNOM PENH, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia registered 604 new electric vehicles (EVs) in 2023, bringing the total number to 1,335 in the Southeast Asian country, said a report from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport on Friday.

EVs have gained momentum in Cambodia in recent years, the report said, adding that the kingdom logged only five EVs in 2020 and the number of new EV registrations was 63 in 2021 and up to 663 in 2022.

Currently, EV charging stations are available at 18 locations in the country, according to the report.

The Cambodian government has been encouraging people to use EVs and electric motorcycles, as they are environment-friendly and save money.

Moeurng Sokmeng, a sales supervisor at the Mingyang Guoji Co., Ltd., which is the sole agent of China's Hongqi brand in Cambodia, said consumers' interest has significantly increased as people are more aware of the advantages of EVs.

"Currently, we have sold out a lot of EVs, both small-scale and large-scale EVs, and our EVs have received considerable support from consumers," she told Xinhua.

Udom Pisey, an EV manager at the Car4you Co., Ltd., which imports Letin Mengo EVs from China, said EVs have far fewer moving parts than petrol or diesel vehicles, so their maintenance and repair cost is also lower than internal combustion engine vehicles.

"Using electric cars saves money, as they are easy to charge and environment-friendly," she told Xinhua.

Cambodia is committed to having 40 percent of EV cars and 70 percent of electric motorbikes by 2050 in order to reduce carbon emissions, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

To achieve this goal, the government has reduced import duties on EVs since 2021 to about 50 percent lower than taxes on traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. 
It has been 68 days, the internet will tell you, since the public saw Kate Middleton.

That she is recovering from major surgery at home  the explanation offered freely, clearly and repeatedly by the palace  is not enough to satisfy modern curiosity.

According to social media, overseas websites and WhatsApp groups across the country, she may instead be hiding in a mystery location, in a coma, being cloned, having Brazilian butt lift cosmetic surgery, or waiting for a bad haircut to grow out.

For the avoidance of doubt: she isnt.

But the void of news and photographs of the Princess of Wales has seen the royal-watching landscape reach a new level of lunacy.

In the absence of a stream of updates from Kensington Palace about the Princess, there comes the wisdom of social media conspiracy theorists and trolls making mischief  some glib, others (in light of the Princesss inarguable medical needs) grimly sinister.

The old palace policy of never complain, never explain is being tested to destruction.

From our perspective, we were very clear from our statement at the start of this in January that the Princess of Wales planned to be out of public action until after Easter, and that hasnt changed, says a spokesman for the Waleses.

We were always clear we wouldnt be providing updates when there wasnt anything new to share.

The last thing anyone wants is a running commentary of the Princess of Waless recovery. Nothing has changed from that approach in January.

Prince William receives a bouquet of flowers for his wife during a visit to the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London on February 29 - Toby Melville/Reuters

Back then, they said the Princess had undergone abdominal surgery that left her in hospital for two weeks, and that she would be taking time off public duty to recuperate, at least until Easter.

In 2024, for a public now used to its news moving at lightning speed, it seems that is not enough to placate them.

Rumours swirl about Kate, Princess of Wales, amid health concerns, said The New York Times. Vogue tracked The Curious Case Of Kate Middletons Disappearance, while numerous websites asked: Where Is Kate Middleton?

Even the BBC was moved to mention a royal dilemma as public curiosity over Kates health grows.

Some of that public curiosity has been benign, some heartfelt, and much downright unpleasant, told through online jokes and memes.

Some of its funny, I guess? said one source. More of it is pretty uncomfortable, when you remember this is a real person theyre talking about.

Add in a new media landscape where anyone can set themselves up as a royal expert, it all has an air of spiralling out of control.

The Princess is not expected to appear in public until after Easter - Samir Hussein/WireImage

Much of the divisive disinformation about the Royal family is assumed to have been spread by bots and trolls, but there are now countless social media accounts dedicated to obsessive fandoms cheering on either the Sussexes or the Waleses at the expense of the other.

TikTok influencers who discuss royal events from thousands of miles away, having never set foot in a room with a royal or anyone who knows them, garner multi-millions of views by virtue of being outside the mainstream media.

Even the more traditional parts of the media have played a part  overseas. A detailed report on a popular Spanish television news programme, alleging that the Princess was in a coma, is still being widely discussed despite being denied in full by a royal aide.

All in, the palaces now face an ungovernable cycle of new media which is meddling with its protocols like never before.

No one has agreed when, where or even if the late Queen Elizabeth II ever really said never complain, never explain, but there is no doubt it has come to sum up her reign.

The Waleses attending the Christmas Morning Service at Sandringham Church last year - Samir Hussein/WireImage

If there were already signs that her heirs were not going to take the same party line, the past few weeks have seen it spelt out clearly.

Part of the problem, one old hand points out, is the difference in the responses between the palaces: Kensington representing the Waleses and Buckingham representing the King and Queen.

The public just doesnt know what to expect, the source noted. One day theyre hearing all about the Kings prostate, the next theyre not hearing why William has missed his godfathers memorial.

Neither of those approaches are necessarily right or wrong, but you can see why the general public are confused.

Another said: I honestly dont think theres any mystery or need to panic.

At Buckingham Palace, an air of openness  up to a point  has so far prevailed.

Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Prince William and the Princess of Wales pictured at Buckingham Palace in December 2023 - Getty

After confirming that the King was suffering from enlarged prostate symptoms, the public has seen him coming in and out of hospital with the Queen by his side.

He has been seen regularly since it emerged that he had cancer, including being photographed smiling and waving to the public in London, driven in the State Bentley with its deliberately large windows.

His office allowed the rare filming of the first minute of his in-person audience with the Prime Minister, and later released photographs of him looking through his get-well-soon cards.

On Commonwealth Day, instead of attending a Westminster Abbey service, he will deliver a video message.

The impression is that of a King who wants to be seen, reassuring the public that the business of state continues and the monarchy stands strong.

Its important that not only do we say hes performing those duties, but hes seen to be performing those duties, a palace aide said.

Defenders of the palaces point out that there is a vast difference between a King who is head of state and a Princess and mother-of-three who has no day-to-day constitutional responsibilities.

The Princess of Wales (far right), with other members of the Royal family, welcomed the President and First Lady of the Republic of Korea on their state visit to London in November - Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

After calls for the Princess to pose for photographs as evidence of her whereabouts, one source says: Why should she? Truly, I dont get it. In what other circumstance would a woman take sick leave after a major operation, and instead of being allowed to recover shes supposed to pose for pictures?

Those who know the Prince point out that his recent inclination for openness  from talking about mental health to speaking out on Gaza  reaches its limits when it comes to his wife.

The truth about the Princesss health, say friends of the Waleses, is not salacious. She is doing well; she will be fine; her recovery is tiring and necessarily long.

She did not stay in hospital for two weeks through private healthcare decadence or  as some ill-thought-through online theories would have  to get some peace and quiet: it was, literally, for the good of her health.

This isnt the first time royal rumours have run wild, online or otherwise. But this does come at a moment of true challenge for the monarchy.

They need to be aligned in their approach, says a former royal adviser. At the moment, one palace never explains, the other is always explaining.

Never complain, never explain suited the era of Queen Elizabeth II. Once this latest saga is over, the royals back on their feet, the next generation may have a chance to figure out a version fit for the 21st century.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Kansas City police are searching for three suspects who allegedly shot and robbed a man at a gas station last month.

Police said the shooting happened around 10:45 p.m. Feb. 22 at a BP gas station near E. 45th Street and Cleveland Avenue.

Man charged in shooting of Independence officer, process server

Video that KCPD posted shows a man leaving the gas station when one of the suspects reportedly asks him for money, and he gives him some cash.

Two other suspects come out of the gas station, and police said one of them shot the man. Video shows him falling to the ground, and one of the three suspects starts going through his pockets, police said.

Surveillance cameras inside the gas station captured the three suspects. Police released photos of the three people theyre looking for.

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Anyone with information is asked to call KCPDs Robbery Unit at 816-234-5230 or anonymously call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET)  The Kern County Sheriffs Office is asking for the publics assistance in locating a missing adult last seen in downtown Bakersfield.

Robert Herrera, 31, was last seen by family on Aug. 12, 2023, at Jastro Park.

Herrera is described by deputies as 5 feet, 9 inches tall and 180 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has an upside-down cross tattooed on the left side of his face and a dollar sign tattooed on the left side of his face, near his ear.

Deputies searching for suspect in Maricopa shooting that wounded 1: KCSO

It is unknown what Herrera was last seen wearing.

If anyone has information regarding Herreras whereabouts, they are asked to contact KCSO at 661-861-3110 or the Secret Witness Line 661-322-4040.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17.
KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD)  Outback Steakhouse in Kentwood has closed.

A sign on the door at the 3650 28th St. location in Kentwood thanks customers for the years of support. The restaurant is also listed as permanently closed on its Facebook page.

The closure comes after the restaurants parent company, Bloomin Brands Inc., made the decision to close 41 of its restaurants.

The Outback Steakhouse in Kentwood has closed. (March 1, 2024)

We periodically review our asset base and in our latest review we made the decision to close 41 underperforming locations, Bloomin Brands CEO David Deno said in a conference call on its 2023 fourth-quarter earnings. The majority of these restaurants were older assets with leases from the 90s and early 2000s.

He said the company considered a variety of factors, including sales, traffic and the investment each location would need to improve. The company would offer staff members opportunities to transfer to other locations, he said.

Deno also noted that the company, whose brands also include Carrabbas Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill, has plans to open 40 to 45 new restaurants in 2024.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

There are still two Outback Steakhouse locations in the greater Grand Rapids area, one in Walker along Alpine Avenue and one in Grandville at 3333 Century Center St. off of Rivertown Parkway.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry gives a public lecture at the United States International University (USIU) in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday March. 1, 2024. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said Friday elections in his country need to be held as soon as possible in order to bring stability to the troubled Caribbean nation facing gang violence that threatens to overran government. Henry is in Kenya trying to salvage the deployment of a foreign armed force to Haiti to help combat gangs. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Kenya and Haiti signed agreements Friday to try to salvage a plan for the African country to deploy 1,000 police officers to the troubled Caribbean nation to help combat gang violence that has surged to unprecedented levels.

Kenya agreed in October to lead a U.N.-authorized international police force to Haiti, but the Kenyan High Court in January ruled the plan unconstitutional, in part because of a lack of reciprocal agreements between the two countries.

Kenyas President William Ruto said in a statement that he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry witnessed the signing of the reciprocal agreements between the two countries on Friday.

It was not immediately clear how, or if, the agreements could circumvent the courts ruling, which also said that Kenyas National Police Service cannot be deployed outside the country.

Kenyan opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who filed the High Court petition against the deployment, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Henry has no constitutional or legal powers to commit Haiti to any agreements with Kenya.

In a public lecture at the United States International University in Kenya on Friday, Henry said elections in his country need to held as soon as possible to bring stability.

We need elections in order to stabilize the country. We need democratic governance in order to have people to come and invest in Haiti, he said.

Henry has repeatedly pledged to hold elections since being sworn in as prime minister and interim president after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. But he and other officials say gang violence has not allowed them to move forward on those promises.

Caribbean leaders said late Wednesday that Henry has agreed to hold general elections by mid-2025.

Henry shrugged when asked if it was safe for him to return home from Kenya following a surge of gang violence in Haitis capital Port au Prince on Thursday.

Gunmen shot at Haitis main international airport and other targets, including police stations, in a wave of violence that caught many people by surprise. Separately, at least four police officers, including two women, were killed in an attack on a station near the community of Canaan, according to a police union.

The violence forced the airport, businesses, government agencies and schools to close as parents and young children fled through the streets in panic. At least one airline, Sunrise Airways, suspended all flights.

Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, the leader of the gang federation G9 Family and Allies, announced in a recorded video that his group's aim was to detain the police chief and government ministers and prevent Henry from returning to Haiti.

With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country, he said.

Gangs have grown more powerful and political instability has increased since the assassination of President Moise, who had faced protests calling for his resignation over corruption charges and claims that his five-year term had expired.

More than 8,400 people were reported killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti in 2023  more than double the number reported in 2022. The gangs continue to fight over territory, and are estimated to control up to 80% of Port-au-Prince.
Kenya has said it is ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel to a UN-backed law and order mission to Haiti (YASUYOSHI CHIBA)

Kenya and Haiti signed a "reciprocal" agreement on Friday to deploy police from the East African country to lead a UN-backed law and order mission to the gang-plagued Caribbean nation, Kenyan President William Ruto said.

Ruto said he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry had "discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment", but it was not immediately clear whether the agreement would counter a court ruling in January that branded the deployment "illegal".

Haiti's government has pleaded for international help to confront violence that has cost thousands of lives, as armed gangs take over entire swathes of the country, leaving the economy and public health system in tatters.

Kenya had previously said that it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.

But a Nairobi court said the decision was unconstitutional, in part because the two countries had not signed a reciprocal agreement on the issue.

On Friday, Ruto said he and Henry had "witnessed the signing" of a reciprocal agreement in Kenya's capital Nairobi. Details of the document have not been made public.

"I take this opportunity to reiterate Kenya's commitment to contribute to the success of this multinational mission. We believe this is a historic duty because peace in Haiti is good for the world as a whole," Ruto said in a statement.

The UN Security Council had approved the multinational mission in early October but the Kenyan court ruling threw its future into doubt.

Opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who had filed the petition against the deployment, told AFP on Friday that he would lodge a case "for contempt of court".

"What is emerging is that William Ruto does not care about the rule of law or the constitution of this country," he said.

"We will question the validity of this secretive agreement."

- 'A helping hand' -

In the face of criticism, Ruto had described the Kenyan undertaking as a "mission for humanity", in step with its long record of contributing to peacekeeping missions abroad.

Haiti, the Western hemisphere's poorest nation, has been in turmoil for years, and the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise plunged the country further into chaos.

No elections have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.

Thousands of protesters have demanded Henry's resignation in line with a political deal that required Haiti to hold polls and for him to cede power to newly elected officials by February 7 of this year.

The prime minister, who is on a visit to Nairobi, told an audience of university students on Friday he aimed to "have elections as soon as possible".

"We need elections to stabilise the country," he said, but offered no specific timeframe for the polls.

On Thursday, the Caribbean Community bloc said Henry had agreed to hold elections by 31 August 2025 following a regional summit this week in Guyana.

In January alone, more than 1,100 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti, according to the UN.

"In October 2022, we asked the world to give us a helping hand. President Ruto was the first one to agree to come to Haiti and we want to say thank you to him," Henry said.

"We thank Kenya for its active solidarity."

The multinational mission -- initially approved for one year -- had envisioned Kenyan police on the offensive with their Haitian counterparts, who are outnumbered and outgunned by gang members.

Five countries have agreed to join the Kenya-led multinational policing mission, including the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin and Chad.

Last year saw nearly 5,000 homicides counted in Haiti, more than double the number in 2022, according to a UN report.

str-ho-dyg-amu/bp
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has stated at a press conference in the city of Kharkiv that so far the city is not protected enough for people to return to it.

Source: Zelenskyy at the press conference

Quote: "As for the return of Kharkiv residents: you know, I dont think that at the moment Kharkiv is protected enough for me to advise people to come back. This is the choice of the residents of Kharkiv. As of today the situation is like this. If we were protected Or, no, Id even say when we are protected, our military and I will definitely communicate that to the residents of Kharkiv."

Details: Concerning attack from S-300 systems, Zelenskyy noted that the most important thing is not only strengthening the air defence of Kharkiv Oblast but also pushing the Russians further back.

Quote: "We understand what we lack. We understand that we need a multi-level defence. Probably the most important thing is not only to strengthen the air defence of [the city of] Kharkiv and Kharkiv Oblast but also to push the Russians further back. Otherwise it will be very hard to protect Kharkiv, even if we strengthen the air defence with modern air defence systems."

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HANGZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A group of Chinese scientists has developed a design of electrolytes capable of promoting the charging rate and expanding the operating temperature of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature.

This new design can enable lithium-ion batteries to achieve reversibility when the cells are charged and discharged in a wide temperature range from minus 70 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius. The lithium-ion batteries can also be charged and discharged within just 10 minutes at room temperature, according to the study.

According to Fan Xiulin, a professor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University, the charging rate, operating temperature, and safety of lithium-ion batteries are complex issues for further developing electric vehicles. Lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles require high density, fast charging and a wide operating temperature range, the study noted.

With this new design of electrolytes, lithium-ion batteries are capable of reaching an 80 percent charge within 10 minutes, said Fan.

Fan's team devised solvent-screening strategies, screening out 23 solvents from tens of thousands of solvents to prepare electrolytes for studying lithium-ion batteries. Following four years of research, they pinpointed the optimal electrolyte formula.

According to him, this new achievement will further promote the development of green and low-carbon energy. 
Explosions rocked Kherson on the night of March 1, as the Russian military shelled the city from the temporarily occupied left bank of the Dnipro River, Kherson City Military Administration head, Roman Mrochko, reported.

Read also: Ukrainian military comments on Russias night strike on Odesa amid enemy focus on southern regions

"Kherson is under enemy fire!, he wrote on Telegram.

The Russian military is shelling the city from the temporarily occupied left bank. A series of explosions were reported in coastal areas. Be careful! Stay away from windows!"

Read also:

Explosions were heard around 2:46 a.m., though no air raid alerts were announced overnight.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
State lawmakers honored Atlantas own Killer Mike with a proclamation at the Georgia State Capitol this week.

It was in recognition for sweeping all the rap categories at this years Grammy Awards, winning three statues for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.

Everything I do, I do as a proud Georgian to have this validation from my home state is an immense honor, he wrote about his proclamation.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Killer Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, recently sat down with Channel 2s Karyn Greer to talk about the Grammys.

Everyone said the same thing, It feels like we won. And I said, Cause we did, Render said.

The best news though came the morning after the Grammys. Render got a phone that he had been waiting two and a half years for: his 21-year-old son had been matched with a kidney donor.

The next morning, I got a call at like 7:20-something in the morning, and it was Pony Boy, my youngest son, and his mother saying, You guys gotta get back to Atlanta, now. I said, Whats going on? Shes like, We just got the call. He has a kidney waiting for him.

TRENDING STORIES:

Whats next for Render? Right now, he is focused on his new business venture, restoring Bankhead Seafood.

He also told Greer that he wants to complete his education and get his degree from Morehouse College.

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Deyun Shi, accused of murdering his two teenage nephews, is escorted by police in Hong Kong on Feb. 1, 2016, a month after he was detained following his arrival on a flight from Los Angeles. He was returned to the U.S. and is on trial for two counts of first-degree murder and felony domestic violence. (Anthony Wallace / AFP via Getty Images)

Deyun Shi sat with his hands clasped and his eyes downcast, his face impassive behind black-framed glasses as a screen in the Alhambra Courthouse flashed one image after another of his two teenage nephews, bloody and tangled in their bedsheets.

Anthony Lin, 15, was sleeping when he was bludgeoned to death with a two-foot long pair of bolt cutters on Jan. 22, 2016, prosecutors say. His older brother William, 16, was wide awake, and appears to have fought their attacker. He was found bloodied under a blanket on the floor, his skull split open, the lead pipe used to beat him left beside an American history textbook on the bed at their home in Arcadia.

Jurors choked back tears and stifled gasps as Deputy Dist. Atty. MacKenzie Teymouri described the crime scene  and the evidence that the prosecutor said indicated the boys' uncle was the killer.

"Detectives found the bloody bolt cutters wrapped in a towel in [Shi's] car, with DNA from both Anthony and William on it," the prosecutor said. "He got a parking ticket while he was inside killing the children."

The facts of the actions are not in dispute. Nor is the identity of the perpetrator, who has spent much of the intervening years being assessed for competency to stand trial and recovering from a heart attack and subsequent stroke he suffered in pretrial detention.

Instead, the case will hinge on whether jurors believe the killings were the culmination of a "calculated plan of rage and revenge," as prosecutors allege, or whether Shi was in the throes of a psychotic break, as the defense contends.

Read more: He died training for L.A. teen crisis hotline. His parents want all to know the number

Shi, 52, glanced occasionally toward the Mandarin interpreters in the gallery as Teymouri laid out the details of the bloody assault Thursday morning  seven years, one month and six days after he was detained by authorities in Hong Kong, where he fled in the hours after the attacks.

Shi is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and felony domestic violence in connection with William's and Anthony's deaths and an attack on his then-wife, Yujin "Amy" Lin, who was bludgeoned with a metal wood-splitting tool while next to their 8-year-old son.

That assault ended when Shi's teenage son wrestled his father away. Shi's in-laws, David and Vicki Lin, rushed to the hospital to tend to Amy, and were still there when their children were slain.

Shi's lawyers say he was suffering from schizoaffective disorder and post traumatic stress disorder when he first learned his wife had filed for divorce on Jan 21, 2016.

They say he was not in his right mind when he left the Pasadena Courthouse where officials were arguing the terms of his mother-in-law's restraining order against him. They say the wealthy businessman was delusional when he went to the East West Bank and initiated nine wire transfers of $49,000 each  just under the legal limit for individual transactions  to people in his hometown in China, each using his sister's phone number.

"This is not about whether our client committed those acts  he did," defense attorney Vicki Podberesky told jurors Thursday. "This case is about mental health."

Podberesky argued her client was psychotic when he drove to Los Angeles International Airport just after the killings on Jan. 22, his bag stuffed with six kinds of foreign currency and legal ID from three sovereign nations, and calmly negotiated for a seat upgrade from Cathay Pacific Airlines, paying in cash for a one-way ticket to Hong Kong.

"Mr. Shi was acting under an active mental illness," the attorney said. "He did not have the requisite state of mind to have committed the murders as charged in this case."

Read more: Hollywood executive's son pleads not guilty in triple murder of wife and in-laws

Shi's defense team also pushed back on the prosecutors' theory that killing his nephews could be an extension of his violence against his wife or rage at his brother-in-law, the boys' father, who had helped her escape Shi's escalating assaults. The defense argued his nephews fall outside the definitions of kinship set by California's domestic violence laws.

But evidence presented in court and documented extensively in records reviewed by The Times show what domestic violence experts call a textbook pattern of coercive control  a pattern that often involves threats and attacks on children and extended family.

"Its often easier and more satisfying to the abuser to harm the children and leave the victim alive to suffer," said Gail Pincus, executive director of the Domestic Violence Abuse Center in Los Angeles, who is not involved in the case.

As part of her divorce case, Amy Lin described a long history of angry outbursts and repeated fits of violence.

When Shi was upset, she said, he would take her phone, keys, purse and credit cards, leaving her helpless to escape. He'd also threatened to drain the family's bank accounts and take their children out of the country, she alleged.

Judge Jared Moses has limited what portion of previous allegations of abuse can be admitted as evidence. Lin said the violence began early in their marriage, while the couple still lived in China.

"He would punch me with his fist and kick me with his foot," Lin said in court Thursday  the first time she had seen Shi since he broke into their La Canada Flintridge home just before midnight on Jan 21, 2016, fracturing her nose and slashing her face.

Read more: Suspect in 'bone-chilling' homeless killings charged with 4 counts of murder

"Very often it would be because of the things that happened at work and sometimes I did not even know what made him angry," Lin said.

Then, in late 2015, that violence began to escalate, Lin said.

In early December, barely two months before the killings, he forced Amy to kneel in front of him and strangled her until she couldn't breathe, she told the court in custody filings. He also smothered her with a pillow until she fought him off, she testified Thursday.

Experts said prosecutors may struggle to convince jurors that violence could spread from the couple to their nephews.

"If you dont draw the link for them theyre not going to see it," Pincus said. "Theyll buy the defenses story."

Lin's own testimony could further complicate the picture.

"Shi never told me, or made any threats to me, that he would attack my nephews," she testified in a wrongful death suit brought by her brother and his wife, which was quoted in a pretrial filing by the defense. "I never told Shi that the reason for my divorce had anything to do with David, Vicki or their kids."

But testimony and court records appeared to show Shi considered his brother-in-law an enemy.

"He would go through my messages and my emails. Hed see my messages with David," and become enraged, Amy Lin testified Thursday. "David would tell me certain things about the U.S., like about calling the police" in response to domestic violence.

On Dec. 30, Shi drove to Lin's mother's house and tried to force his wife to leave with him, grabbing her when she refused, court records show.

Read more: Notorious L.A. gang informant now accused of setting fire that killed 7 children

Her brother David stepped in to protect her, ending up on the pavement in a brawl with his brother-in-law, Lin testified. Lin's mother tried to intervene and was thrown to the ground, she said.

David Lin called 911, but the family declined to press charges, Lin said.

"David said we could apply for a restraining order to prevent him from hurting us again," she said. "I was very afraid he might hurt my two kids."

The next day, aided by her brother, records show both Lin and her mother sought restraining orders against Shi.

"My mind is set," Lin said in court filings. "I cannot continue to suffer threats by [Shi] and physical harm as he has been doing this for many years."

Phone records show Shi spent the weeks he was under the restraining order Googling California divorce law, killers who escaped justice or got only light sentences, and Chinese extradition policies.

A week before the attacks, he went on the Chinese-language chat forum Zhihu and asked: "Can a Chinese citizen, who returns to China after committing a crime overseas (with the victims being a local citizen), avoid punishment?"

He had also voiced his growing anger to his older son, Zheyaun "Torres" Shi.

Read more: She binged true crime on Netflix. Then she helped free two men from prison

Shi's son testified that, on a trip to Disneyland with his children in January 2016, his father raged over the state's community property laws, which typically require an equal split of marital assets.

"That's why he did not want the divorce, he thought my mom was spending his money from all the hard work he did," Shi's 24-year-old son testified Thursday. "He believed David was behind my mother for this divorce so David could take some of the money from my mother after the divorce."

"He said if he cannot get back with my mother, he would waste his money on a lawsuit rather than have my mother and my uncle take his money," Torres Shi said.

Yet, even as he fumed over the financial implications of a legal split, Shi still didn't appear to believe the divorce was imminent until he was told paperwork had been filed on Jan 21.

"This is when the plan began," Teymouri, the prosecutor, said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
After Queen Elizabeth II died, the throne passed immediately and without ceremony to King Charles III.

He became the UK's monarch at the age of 73 and was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 6 May 2023.

Who is Charles?

Charles was born at Buckingham Palace on 14 November 1948. He was 4 years old when his mother was crowned as Queen Elizabeth II.

Instead of being tutored at the palace, his education was in school. He attended Hill House in West London, Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire and Gordonstoun in Eastern Scotland.

In 1969, at the age of 20, he was invested by the Queen as Prince of Wales at Caerfarnon Castle. Before the investiture, the then prince learnt Welsh at University College of Wales in Aberystwyth.

Family life

He married Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981 at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. They had two sons: Prince William, born on 21 June 1982; and Prince Harry, born on 15 September 1984.

Their marriage was dissolved on 28 August 1996, although the Princess of Wales continued to live at Kensington Palace and to carry out her public work. Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris on 31 August 1997.

On 9 April 2005, he married Queen Camilla in a civil ceremony at the Guildhall, Windsor.

Regnal Name

He is known as King Charles III.

That was the first decision of the new king's reign. He could have chosen from any of his four names - Charles Philip Arthur George.

His former title of the Prince of Wales passed to his eldest son and heir, Prince William, when he became king.

Prince Charles file photo

King Charles's wife, Camilla, became the Queen Consort - consort is the term used for the spouse of the monarch.

Formal ceremonies

Charles was officially proclaimed King on the Saturday following the Queen's death. This event took place at St James's Palace in London, in front of a ceremonial body known as the Accession Council.

This was made up of members of the Privy Council - a group of senior MPs, past and present, and peers - as well as some senior civil servants, Commonwealth high commissioners, and the Lord Mayor of London.

It included a series of prayers and pledges, commending the previous monarch and pledging support for the new one.

The proclamation was then signed by a number of senior figures including the prime minister, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Chancellor. It was read aloud from a balcony above Friary Court in St James's Palace and for the first time since 1952, the national anthem was played with the words "God Save the King".

The King's first declaration

King Charles attended the second meeting of the Accession Council, along with the Privy Council.

This was not a "swearing in" at the start of a British monarch's reign, in the style of some other heads of state, such as the president of the US.

Instead, the King made a declaration to uphold the constitutional government and - in line with a tradition dating from the early 18th Century - he made an oath to preserve the Church of Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II crowned her son Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969

The proclamation announcing Charles as the King was later read out in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The Coronation

The symbolic high point of the accession was the Coronation, when Charles was formally crowned. Because of the preparation needed, the Coronation was almost eight months after the King's Proclamation.

It was held in Westminster Abbey where coronations have been held for the last 900 years - William the Conqueror was the first monarch to be crowned there, and Charles was the 40th.

It is an Anglican religious service, carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury. At the climax of the ceremony, the St Edward's Crown was placed on Charles's head - a solid gold crown, dating from 1661.

This is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London, and is only worn by the monarch at the moment of coronation itself (not least because it weighs a hefty 2.23kg - almost 5lbs).

Unlike royal weddings, the coronation is a state occasion - the government pays for it, and ultimately decides the guest list.

King Charles III wearing St Edwards crown at his Coronation in 2023

The new King took the Coronation oath in front of the watching world in a ceremony that was followed by millions. During this elaborate ceremony he was anointed using oils of orange, roses, cinnamon, musk and ambergris. He received the orb and sceptre as symbols of his new role and the Archbishop of Canterbury placed the solid gold crown on his head. Queen Camilla was also crowned at the ceremony.

Head of the Commonwealth

Charles is the head of the Commonwealth, an association of 56 independent countries and 2.5 billion people. For 14 of these countries, as well as the UK, the King is head of state.

These countries, known as the Commonwealth realms, are: Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, New Zealand, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu.

The early days of his reign

Even though he has not been head of state for long, King Charles III has already seen two prime ministers during his reign. He has visited France, Romania and Germany - where he was the first British monarch to address its federal parliament, the Bundestag.

In February 2024 the King was diagnosed with a form of cancer and paused his public appearances.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland, during his visit to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on 1 October 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland.

All photographs are copyright
Tightly controlled legislative meetings next week in Beijing will provide a rare glimpse into the top leadership's priorities (GREG BAKER)

Thousands of delegates from across China will convene in Beijing next week for the start of the country's annual legislative meetings known as the "Two Sessions".

The tightly controlled voting on legislation already pre-approved by the ruling Communist Party means there will be no major changes.

But the meetings do provide a rare glimpse into the top leadership's priorities, with analysts eyeing support measures for China's ailing economy as well as an expected increase in defence spending.

Here's what you need to know:

- What are the 'Two Sessions'? -

The first one, due to kick off Monday, is a gathering of China's political advisory committee, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The group's members -- who have included many of China's most famous celebrities, such as Yao Ming and Jackie Chan -- receive a lot of attention at home.

But its discussions are relatively low stakes: representatives provide lawmakers with policy suggestions that, more often than not, have little impact on national policy.

The real focus of the "Two Sessions" is the meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's legislature, starting Tuesday at Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

Two-thirds of the legislature's members come from the Communist Party.

And most of the bills that will be passed have already been decided by party leaders well in advance, leading to it being described as a "rubber-stamp" parliament.

- How important is it? -

China goes to great lengths to make sure there are no embarrassing incidents during the parliamentary session, which is touted by the Communist Party as proof that it answers to the people despite its monopoly on power.

The meeting place in the Great Hall of the People is freshened up, traffic is shut down, factories are closed to guarantee blue skies, plainclothes policemen seem to lurk on every corner and political dissidents are rounded up and asked -- or sometimes forced -- to go on "vacation" somewhere far away from the capital.

It is also the one time each year when the country's most powerful politicians are all in one place, making it a key venue for political horse-trading, glad-handing and backstabbing.

Every five years, the parliamentary session also sees the appointment of the president -- last year, Xi Jinping began his third term in the position, complementing two top Communist Party positions he secured at a congress in 2022.

This year's "Two Sessions" will also feature the first annual government work report presented by Premier Li Qiang since he ascended to the country's number-two position at last year's meeting.

- What are the top issues? -

The economy, beset by slumping consumer activity and a prolonged crisis in the property sector, will be the most closely-watched topic at this year's gathering.

The conference will see delegates set official growth targets for 2024, following a reported national GDP expansion of 5.2 percent last year -- the lowest rate in decades, excluding the pandemic years.

The release of details on military spending will offer signals as to China's confidence in current geopolitical conditions, as tensions persist across the Taiwan Strait and Russia's war in Ukraine enters its third year.

Observers will also be closely assessing any plans announced on the allocation of public resources into the tech sectors or major infrastructure development projects.

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If you thought airports were crazy during winter travel, you may want to brace yourself for spring break.

Orlando International Airport officials warn those traveling now through Easter to be prepared and pack patience. The airport is expecting a record number of spring break passengers, an increase of 11 percent over last spring break.

We expect to set a new spring break benchmark with more than 7.6 million passengers, said Kevin J. Thibault, Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. This growth is actually a continuation of what we saw in 2023. For the year, we shattered all passenger records with more than 57.7 million travelers.

The current MCO daily passenger record was set on December 30th of last year with 98,521 going through security at Floridas busiest airport.

How early should travelers arrive to the Orlando International Airport?

Orlando International Airport is expecting a record number of passengers for spring break this year.

Officials are recommending travelers abide by the 3-2-1 rule.

Arrive at the ticket counter at least three hours in advance of your flight. Be at the security check-in at least two hours before your departure time. Finally, arrive at your gate at least one hour prior to boarding.

Have a parking plan before arriving at the Orlando International Airport

Parking at MCO is notoriously an issue. Consider taking advantage of a new reserved parking program.

There also is an MCO mobile app that allows passengers to reserve and pay for parking ahead of time. However, this is only available for Level 4 of parking garage C. The cost is $32.

If you dont want to deal with onsite parking, there are a number of private, off-site parking lots that provide shuttles to and from the airport.

What are the biggest spring break travel days at Orlando International Airport?

Saturday, March 23 - 197,697

Saturday, March 31 - 197,401

Saturday, March 16 - 196,920

Saturday, March 9 - 194,649

Sunday, March 24 - 191-788

Sunday, March 17 - 191,146

Sunday, March 10 - 190,742

Sunday, March 31 - 189,946

Friday, March 29 - 188,977

Friday, March 15 - 188,146

Where are Floridians traveling for spring break?

A study by AirportParkingReservations.com found the 10 most popular destinations for Florida residents during spring break were:

New Orleans, Louisiana

Miami Beach, Florida

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Las Vegas, Nevada

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Montego Bay, Jamaica

Panama City Beach, Florida

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Key West, Florida

More Florida spring break destinations: Mexico under caution warning from U.S. for spring break. 5 Florida beach towns to go to instead

Spitzer can be reached at Mspitzer@floridatoday.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Know before you go: How to prepare to fly out of MCO for spring break
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised and spent in the El Paso district attorney race  one of the most competitive local contests in Super Tuesday Democratic Party primary.

The three democratic candidates  Nancy Casas, Alma Trejo and James Montoya  have combined to raise more than $152,000 and spent more than $350,000.

The district attorney seat oversees the 34th Judicial District, which includes El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties.

The winner of the primary will face incumbent district attorney Bill Hicks in the November general election. Hicks, who is running unopposed in the Republican primary, has raised $11,411. Hicks' campaign donations are expected to grow once the primaries are over and he knows who he will face in the general election.

From left, former Judge Alma Trejo, El Paso attorney James Montoya, former assistant district attorney Nancy Casas were part of the El Paso Chambers forum on Jan. 18, 2024, for candidates seeking the district attorney seat in the upcoming election.

Voters head to the polls in the primary election on Tuesday, March 5. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The annual salary for the district attorney is $198,104, El Paso County officials said. The district attorney receives $140,000 from the state of Texas, while $58,104 is paid for by the county.

The district attorneys office has an annual budget of nearly $22 million in the 2024 fiscal year, the El Paso County Budget and Finance Departments 2024 Annual Operating Budget report states.

About 180 positions, including 90 prosecutors, are included in the DA's budget, the report states.

The monetary figures are from the last campaign finance reports filed by each candidate as of Feb. 29.

Key El Paso Walmart case players donate to DA candidates

The biggest case in El Paso history  the 2019 El Paso Walmart mass shooting  has been one of the main issues in the runup to the primary elections, with key figures on both sides donating to the democratic candidates.

Twenty-three people were killed and dozens others injured when a white supremacist targeted Hispanics during their Saturday morning shopping trips. The state's capital murder case remains stalled before Judge Sam Medrano Jr.

The entire Walmart mass shooter's defense team has donated to Trejo. Joe Spencer and Mark Stevens, two of the gunman's attorneys, each donated $500 to Trejo's campaign. Attorney Felix Valenzuela, also part of the gunman's defense team, donated $100 to Trejo's campaign.

Former Judge Alma Trejo introduces herself at the El Paso Chambers forum on Jan. 18, 2024, for candidates seeking the district attorney seat in the upcoming election.

On the state side, Rebecca Tarango, who is currently working as a prosecutor for Hicks on the Walmart case, donated $240 to Montoya's campaign.

Trejo and Montoya told the El Paso Times they would continue to seek the death penalty. However, they both said they may change their decision once they are able to review all the evidence in the case.

Casas declined to comment on the Walmart case because a gag order issued in it prevents her as a current county attorney in the El Paso County Attorney's Office from speaking on it, she said.

The Walmart mass shooting case remains at a standstill as Hicks and the gunman's defense attorneys continue to argue over evidence nearly five years since the shooting. Hicks is seeking the death penalty against the gunman.

It is unlikely the state's case will be tried by the end of the year. A new district attorney could be placed if the case goes to trial in 2025.

If Hicks is not elected to the position, the person elected to the seat will be the fourth district attorney to oversee the case since the Aug. 3, 2019 mass shooting.

Before Hicks, former longtime district attorney Jaime Esparza, who retired in 2020, followed by Yvonne Rosales, who resigned from office amid allegations of mishandling the Walmart case, oversaw the case. Both Esparza and Rosales were seeking the death penalty.

Montoya has large lead in political donation

Montoya, currently an El Paso County deputy public defender, has raised $69,076 in political campaign donations.

Casas, currently an assistant county attorney, has raised $49,172 in political donations.

El Paso attorney James Montoya answers a question at the El Paso Chambers forum on Jan. 18, 2024, at the Sundt Construction offices in El Paso for candidates seeking the district attorney seat in the upcoming election.

Trejo, who was the last candidate to enter the race, has raised the least amount of money with a total of $34,122.

Montoya's biggest campaign donors include private practice attorney James Rey, donating $3,500, and El Paso Magistrate Judge Linda Estrada, who is running for County Criminal Court 1 judge, donating $3,000.

Other prominent donors to Montoya includes:

Steve Ortega, former El Pasos City Council representative and current attorney, donated $2,500.

Defense attorney Denise Butterworth giving $2,000.

Ted Houghton, El Paso businessman and former chairman at the Texas State Transportation Commission, donated $1,000.

Texas state Rep. Claudia Ordaz, D-El Paso, donated $750

More: Texas election 2024: Details about primary election in El Paso

Casas' biggest donors includes attorney Noe Valles donating $5,000 and El Paso resident Felix Casas donating $3,450.

Other prominent donors to Casas includes:

Attorney Russell Aboud donated $1,000

Borderland Bail Bonds donated $1,000

Attorney Jesse Herrera donated $1,000

Along with the El Paso Walmart defense team, Trejo's other big campaign donors includes:

Lozano Meza Law Firm donated $3,000

Texas state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, donated $2,000.

El Paso businessman Juan Mimbela donated $2,000

Trejo is largest spender in district attorney race

Trejo has spent $141,280 on her campaign including $100,889 coming from personal funds. She also took out a $10,000 loan.

Former assistant district attorney Nancy Casas answers a question at the El Paso Chambers forum on Jan. 18, 2024, for candidates seeking the district attorney seat in the upcoming election.

Casas has spent $110,833 on her campaign including $82,590 coming from personal funds. She paid nearly $73,000 to the political consulting firm Y Strategy LLC. The rest of the money has been spent on campaign fliers, political signs, advertisements, and campaign events.

Montoya has spent $99,410 on his campaign, including $18,152 from personal funds, and charged $13,018 on a credit card. The money has been spent on campaign fliers, political signs, advertisements and campaign events.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What you need to know about El Paso DA campaign donations
FILE - Rabbis and supporters from around the country gather for a rally, one day after the midterm elections, to show their support for protecting abortion rights Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, in Clayton, Mo. The state of abortion access in the U.S. remains in flux with an accusation against Planned Parenthood in Missouri and a plan to educate doctors headed to the governor in South Dakota. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)

A judge in Montana rejected abortion restrictions, the attorney general in Missouri is accusing Planned Parenthood of illegally transporting minors for abortions and new data shows how the way abortions they're provided continues to shift in a nation where some states have bans and others are protecting access.

More than a year and a half since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled overturned Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion, the details of what that means are still in flux. With lawsuits still pending and ballot questions on the horizon, that's the one thing that's not likely to change quickly.

Here are things to know about developments across the country this week.

MONTANA JUDGE BLOCKS RESTRICTIONS

A Montana judge on Thursday rejected restrictions on abortion that were adopted in 2021, possibly setting up a chance for the Montana Supreme Court to revisit its 1999 ruling that protected a woman's right to abortion until the fetus is viable.

The 2021 laws were put on hold and never took effect.

They would have banned abortion after 20 weeks' gestation, banned telehealth prescription of abortion pills, required a 24-hour waiting period after giving consent and required providers to show women an ultrasound or hear a fetal heart tone before providing an abortion.

The state government plans to appeal the ruling, possibly putting it on a path for another showdown at the state's top court. The high court has previously declined to reverse the 1999 decision  including when it backed up a lower court's decision to pause enforcement of the 2021 laws.

A judge last year also put on hold enforcement of more restrictions the state adopted last year, including a ban on dilation and evacuation abortions  the most common procedure after 15 weeks' gestation.

Abortion rights groups are pushing for a ballot question to amend the state constitution to protect reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion.

REPORT FINDS CHANGES IN HOW ABORTIONS ARE PROVIDED

There have been legal and legislative battles over abortion access in the U.S. for generations, but everything changed when the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had protected access nationwide.

Since then, bans have taken effect in most Republican-controlled states, including 14 where abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy, with varying limited exceptions. Most Democrat-controlled states have sought to protect access.

Those changes are reflected in data released this week by #WeCount for the Society of Family Planning. The group finds that the number of abortions per month nationally is similar to what it was before the court's ruling.

Although the number of monthly abortions has dropped to nearly zero in states with bans, they have risen in states that allow abortion  and a larger portion of them use pills prescribed by telehealth.

STATES PUSH VIDEOS TO DISCOURAGE ABORTION, CLARIFY POLICIES

West Virginia's state Senate this week approved a measure to require eighth and 10th graders to see a video on fetal development.

The Baby Olivia video is being used in classrooms in North Dakota and there's legislation that aims to require it in Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri.

Though it was approved in West Virginia's Senate, Republican Senate Majority Leader Tom Takubo, a pulmonologist, objected, saying the video has grossly inaccurate information contradictory to science. The bill now heads to the House of Delegates.

Meanwhile, South Dakota is looking to produce another video to guide medical providers on when to apply the one exception to the state's abortion ban. Under state law, abortion is allowed only to save the life of the woman.

This week, the state Senate approved the plan, which had already passed the House, this week. It now heads to Republican Gov. Kristi Noem for her signature.

MISSOURI ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Missouris attorney general is suing Planned Parenthood, asserting that the organization is illegally transporting minors from Missouri  where most abortions are banned  to obtain them in Kansas.

The claim is based on a conservative groups hidden-camera video of someone seeking an abortion for a fictitious 13-year-old.

Planned Parenthood denies the claim.

The office of Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican running for election this year, has not said whether criminal charges could be filed, too.

TEXAS OFFICIAL PUNISHED OVER MURDER CHARGE IN ABORTION CASE

The abortion bans across the U.S. seek to criminalize doctors and others who provide abortions and in many cases those who help women seeking abortions  but they stop short of allowing charges against those women themselves.

Still, a 26-year-old who self-managed an abortion in 2022 in Texas was charged there with murder and spent two nights in jail before being released and having the charges dropped.

It was revealed this week that the prosecutor who oversaw the case has been disciplined for his role in it. Starr County District Attorney Gocha Ramirez must pay a $1,250 fine and have his license held in a probated suspension for 12 months under a settlement agreement with the State Bar of Texas.

Ramirez says he made a mistake and agreed to the deal because it will keep his office running.

ALABAMA LAWMAKERS MOVE TO PROTECT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION AFTER COURT DECISION

Alabama lawmakers this week advanced bills to protect fertility clinics after the state's Supreme Court issued a ruling last month that could be devastating for them.

The court ruled that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. Three large clinics quickly halted offering in vitro fertilization, a devastating outcome for people trying to expand their families.

Abortion rights advocates  including U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on a visit to Alabama this week  have framed the court's ruling as a consequence of overturning Roe v. Wade and part of a conservative effort to ban abortion by declaring that embryos and fetuses have the rights of people.
More than a dozen states are set to hold presidential nominating contests next week on Super Tuesday, a critical milestone in the 2024 race.

President Biden and former President Trump have dominated their respective races in the early states so far, and strong finishes in the Super Tuesday results could boost them toward securing their party nominations.

Nikki Haley, the last major GOP challenger standing against Trump, has vowed to stay in the race through Super Tuesday, even as she trails the former president in the polls  but the March 5 presidential contests are shaping up to be largely anticlimactic.

Still, the results could provide insights on their strengths and weaknesses in certain states and voting blocs as the two front-runners hurtle toward the general election.

Other key races will also be in play, such as Californias closely watched Senate race, where three Democratic lawmakers and a prominent Republican contender are fighting to emerge from the states top-two nonpartisan primary.

Heres what to know about Super Tuesday:

What states vote on Super Tuesday?

Fifteen states and one territory are holding presidential contests on March 5.

These states are holding primaries for both parties:

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Maine

Massachusetts

Minnesota

North Carolina

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Texas

Vermont

Utah will hold a Democratic primary and a GOP caucus.

Virginia

Alaska will host its Republican caucus, and the territory of American Samoa will also hold a Democratic caucus.

Iowa will also release its Democratic caucus results.

See more from Decision Desk HQ/The Hills election calendar.

How many delegates are on the table?

Hundreds of delegates are on the table in the presidential race as Biden and Trump both seek to score their respective parties nods.

To become the presumptive nominee, a Republican candidate needs 1,215 of 2,429 available delegates  while a Democrat needs 2,330 of 4,659 delegates.

Candidates arent expected to soar to the nomination on either side on Super Tuesday alone, but March 5 wins could give them a major boost on the way there.

On the GOP side, Trump is leading the delegate count with 109 pledged so far, according to the latest from Decision Desk HQ, while Haley has earned 20. Biden boasts 206 in the Democratic race.

March is the biggest month for up-for-grabs delegates, with 2,827 total available on the Democratic side and 1,639 on the table for Republicans  most concentrated on Super Tuesday.

Californias Super Tuesday contests alone could move as many as 495 delegates into Bidens column, and up to 169 to Trumps.

Follow along with Decision Desk HQ/The Hills delegate tracker as results come in Tuesday night.

When will we know the results?

With Trump and Biden largely trouncing their challengers, some Super Tuesday states could see race calls in the presidential contest quickly  while other results might take longer to come in.

In California, where voters send their ballots by mail, officials may still be counting ballots in the days after Election Day.

Early voting is already underway in some states, and most polls will close around 7 or 8 p.m. local time on March 5.

Follow the results with Decision Desk HQ and The Hill.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In early February, four friends who had each immigrated from Haiti to Knoxville decided to take their authentic Caribbean catering business, Taste of the Island, to the next level. They got professional photos made and announced they could take on more customers.

Three weeks later, one of the four men, Wisbens Antoine, suddenly collapsed at a training for Knoxville Police Department recruits and died Feb. 25. He was sworn into the force at the hospital before his death.

To his friends and family, Antoine was known as "Chacado."

His business partners  Colby Dorcely, Edrich Volny and Edson Volny  are grieving the shocking loss. When he first heard about Antoine's death, Dorcely thought Taste of the Island could not continue without him.

But when he thought about who his friend was, he realized the company needed to push through.

"If Chacado were still here, he would have wanted us to continue on because he was that guy," Dorcely told Knox News. "No matter how many setbacks he got, no matter how many times he fell down, he would always get back up. He was one of the most resilient people I knew."

Knoxville Police Department police recruit Wisbens Antoine

Dorcely said Antoine was a "big teddy bear," a compassionate and giving person who would take hours out of his day to drive friends across the county or give them wise business and real estate advice. He was a loving husband and father to two young daughters.

"I would like him to be remembered for the person he was. He was a nice, genuine individual who sought to make a positive impact on the world," Edrich Volny said.

All four men had immigrated to Knoxville in the years following the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which flattened the capital Port-au-Prince and killed more than 200,000 people.

As more people moved to Knoxville fleeing political unrest and violence in Haiti, the quartet decided to start a catering company in a city with no Haitian restaurant. Their mission was to bring Haitians together, introduce Knoxville to authentic Caribbean cuisine and create job opportunities.

There are many ways to support Antoine's family, like a GoFundMe page and a memorial fund at the Knoxville Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union. But another way is to visit tasteoftheislandtn.com, to see the food Antoine helped bring to Knoxville and to try some for yourself.

Taste of the Island brings flavors of Haiti

Antoine had great influence over the menu at Taste of the Island, which is full of stews served with rice and beans, plantains and salads.

Haitian names are printed next to their English translation. For instance, "kabrit" is stewed goat served with rice and beans, plantains and "pikliz," a spicy Haitian slaw. There is also "diri djondjon," a staple savory black rice with lima beans.

"We choose our recipes based on the food that we enjoy and we take pride in ensuring that each meal we prepare is not just flavorful, but also perfectly aligned with our individual taste, creating a dining experience that is both satisfying and memorable," Volny said.

Taste of the Island caters to weddings, corporate events and parties. Though the team is taking a step back to mourn the loss of their business partner, they hope to serve their food again soon.

A Knoxville Police Department patrol car honors Wisbens Antoine.

Knoxville honors fallen police officer

Antoine, 32, was a member of the 2023 recruit class and was set to be sworn in March 4.

After he suddenly collapsed at a Feb. 23 training session, Police Chief Paul Noel and Knoxville Municipal Judge Tyler Caviness swore him into the force from his hospital bed.

Those who wish to donate money to the Antoine family can write a check payable to the Wisbens Antoine Memorial Fund at the Knoxville Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union at 501 E. Summit Hill Drive.

There is an online GoFundMe started by family friend Jenn Shelton. The page has raised more than $30,000, with a goal of $45,000.

Celebration of life set for Wisbens Antoine

A celebration of life service will be at 11 a.m. March 2 at First Apostolic Church of Knoxville, 5020 Pleasant Ridge Road, where Antoine was a member. The service will be streamed at youtube.com/facknoxville.

A burial with police honors at Lynnhurst Cemetery will follow. Officers will lead a procession from the church to the cemetery, traveling north on Pleasant Ridge Road and turning east onto Merchant Drive. The procession will continue on Merchant until it turns into Cedar Lane, then south on Inskip Road and back east on Adair Drive before turning into Lynnhurst Cemetery.

Community members are invited to line the road.

Antoine's faith has been a rock for his friends and family as they grieve, including his partners at Taste of the Island.

"He was a man who truly believed in God, who was hopeful. Because of that, of course, although we mourn, we grieve the loss of our friend, but we are certain that he is with the Lord," Dorcely said. "That remains our source of comfort."

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology and energy. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

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

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Knoxville police recruit Wisbens Antoine remembered by Haitian friends
This photo taken with a mobile phone shows Wu Jing teaching the Miao language to third-graders at Minzu Primary School in Minzu Village, Meijiang Township, Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, on Feb. 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhou Siyu)

CHONGQING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- "This is the word we are going to learn today, repeat after me -- bad ghot gheab (pronunciation as reflected by the Latin alphabet)," said Wu Jing as she uttered the Miao language word for rooster with exaggerated mouth movements, while teaching dozens of third-graders.

In the school building distinguished by its Miao ethnic group architectural style, students of Minzu Primary School were gathered following their winter break. Those in Wu's class were greeted by their teacher in the Miao language.

Minzu Primary School is located in Minzu Village, Meijiang Township, Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality which borders Guizhou and Hunan provinces -- the two provinces with the largest Miao population in China. Meijiang Township has an ethnic minority population amounting to about 70 percent of its total population, with most of its ethnic minorities being Miao and Tujia people.

Minzu Village is the only village in Chongqing where the Miao language has been completely preserved. The Miao language curriculum is a distinctive course offered by Minzu Primary School.

Wu wrote down a string of Latin letters on the blackboard and asked the students to pronounce the words. "The Miao language does not have a writing system, which poses difficulties in teaching the language. Therefore, the textbook adopted the Latin alphabet to mark the consonants, vowels and intonation of the language," Wu told Xinhua after the class.

Raising his right arm to indicate his desire to speak in class, Chen Shuai, a student who belongs to Han ethnic group, scrambled to read out the Miao words for "chopping the firewood.""It's peab deul," Chen said with a smile on his face. "Miao language class is my favorite, the language is cool and it's fun to learn it too."

For Long Haolin, a student of Miao ethnic origin, learning the Miao language amounts to more than a penchant for novelty, but represents a deeper connection with his cultural traditions, and more importantly, with his family. "My grandma speaks the Miao language, and I want to be able to master the language and communicate with her in the language one day," the 9-year-old said.

According to Wu, the teaching focuses on everyday language so that students find greater fun and ease in learning. To ignite the enthusiasm of students, she created Miao language jingles to praise the outstanding students.

The Miao language, belonging to the Miao-Yao language family, boasts a long history. Devoid of a writing system, it is passed down by word of mouth. "I used to be a student at Minzu Primary School. At that time, my fellow students all spoke the Miao language, so I learned to speak the language at school," said Wu.

Today, although the village elders still often speak the Miao language, the younger generation, due to leaving the village to seek employment and education, has become more accustomed to communicating in Mandarin, Wu said.

A native resident of Minzu Village, Wu returned to her hometown to teach in the primary school after graduating from a teaching college.

Minzu Primary School has provided bilingual teaching since the 1950s, but the Miao language teaching efforts there tended to rely purely on personal experiences, lacking standardized guidance.

In 2011, the school dispatched a team of Miao language teachers to Hunan and Guizhou provinces to learn better practices for Miao language teaching. Following the study tour, the teachers compiled three volumes of a "Miao Language Textbook," thus ushering in a new stage of standardized bilingual teaching in Minzu.

Apart from preserving the language of the Miao people, Minzu Primary School has also integrated elements of Miao ethnic culture, such as Miao dances, drum playing and handicraft making, into the school's extracurricular activities.

The school's efforts in boosting ethnic culture education are in line with a broader initiative of the Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County to pass down and highlight its cultural heritage, including preserving villages with ethnic minority group characteristics, renovating ancient towns and traditional dwellings, and hosting training sessions concerning intangible cultural heritage, such as Tujia brocade and Miao embroidery. 

This photo taken with a mobile phone shows Wu Jing teaching the Miao language to third-graders at Minzu Primary School in Minzu Village, Meijiang Township, Xiushan Tujia and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, on Feb. 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhou Siyu)
Nearly 10,000 junior doctors -- about 80 percent of the trainee workforce -- walked off the job last week (Jung Yeon-je)

South Korean police raided the offices of the Korean Medical Association on Friday, an officer told AFP, as the government contends with a doctors' strike that has led to chaos in hospitals.

Nearly 10,000 junior doctors -- about 80 percent of the trainee workforce -- walked off the job last week. They are protesting government plans to sharply increase medical school admissions to cope with shortages and an ageing society.

The government had set a Thursday deadline for medics to resume work or face potential legal consequences, including suspension of medical licenses and arrest.

There is currently no official data on the number of doctors who have returned post-deadline, the health ministry told AFP, but South Korea's Yonhap news agency said most striking doctors remained off the job on Friday.

The mass work stoppage has taken a toll on hospitals, prompting the government to raise its public health alert to the highest level.

Around half of the surgeries scheduled at 15 major hospitals have been cancelled since last week, according to the health ministry.

Under South Korean law, doctors are restricted from striking.

Earlier this week, the government requested police investigate people connected to the stoppage.

Seoul's police confirmed that it raided the Korean Medical Association (KMA) on Friday.

In response to the Thursday deadline and initiation of a police probe, the KMA slammed the government for "intimidation tactics" and accused it of turning the country into a "totalitarian state".

The government says it is trying to address one of the lowest doctor-to-population ratios among developed nations. It is pushing to admit 2,000 more students to medical schools annually from next year.

Doctors say the plan will hurt the quality of service and medical education, but proponents say medics are mainly concerned the changes could erode their salaries and social status.

The KMA said its members will hold a rally in Seoul on Sunday, with local reports saying around 25,000 expected to join.

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South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (C) called for the international community to back 'unification efforts' with the nuclear-armed North (KIM HONG-JI)

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called Friday for the international community to back "unification efforts" after Pyongyang earlier this year declared Seoul its "principal enemy".

Ties between the two Koreas have been in a deep freeze as Pyongyang accelerates its weapons development programmes and Seoul ramps up military cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

Yoon, who has consistently taken a firm stance against nuclear-armed North Korea, has rarely discussed the topic of unification since assuming office in 2022.

"Our unification efforts must become a source of hope and a beacon of light for the people of North Korea," he said at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea's 1919 uprising against Japanese colonial rule.

"We must come together on a path that leads ultimately to unification" of the Korean peninsula, he said, stressing that the international community "must pool its strength in a responsible manner".

Yoon emphasised better ties with Tokyo were helping to counter the North's ever-increasing military threats.

"The security cooperation between the two countries against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats has been strengthened further," he said, adding that the countries were "working together to overcome the painful past".

Last month, the North Korean leader's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said her country would be open to improving ties with Tokyo, even hinting at a possible future invitation to Pyongyang for Japan's leader.

Her comments came after Kim Jong Un said in December that he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with the South, blaming Seoul and Washington for creating an "uncontrollable crisis".

This year, North Korea conducted live-fire drills near the contested maritime border, prompting counter drills by the South and evacuation orders on two islands.

Pyongyang also declared South Korea its "principal enemy" and threatened war over "even 0.001 millimetres" of territorial infringement.

Yoon responded by telling his military to "act first, report later" if provoked by Pyongyang.

In the event of an attack, he said Seoul will hit back "multiple times stronger".

The isolated North has shut agencies dedicated to promoting reunification and fostering communication with Seoul.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity," Yoon said on Friday.

South Korea is gearing up for a crucial election on April 10, with Yoon's conservative party hoping to regain a parliamentary majority for the first time since 2016.

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As an elder millennial, I received my first cell phone during my senior year of high school. I still remember the novelty of finding out how easy and seamless it was to contact people and download apps. Back then, no one fully understood how addictive these technologies were.

Today, smartphone addiction is widely acknowledged, and most people I know are actively seeking to minimize screen time and shield their children from the highly addictive nature of technology. However, across the world, ultra-orthodox Jews have consistently refrained from adopting smartphones as a community and maintain a cautious approach to internet usage.

Ultra-orthodox groups are relatively secluded and are characterized by their strict adherence to Jewish law, particularly those concentrated in Israel and America but also found in various countries such as Australia, Canada, and England. They have chosen to eschew the internet and smartphones, and perceive these technologies as excessively addictive and incongruent with their traditional way of life.

I am a native New Yorker, but I saw zero footage of September 11th, Frieda Vizel told The Daily Beast. Shes a 39-year-old woman who grew up as part of New Yorks ultra-orthodox Satmar community but chose to leave that way of life more than a decade ago. The footage was completely inaccessible to me [in my community]. She grew up in the Hasidic Jewish town of Kiryas Joel in upstate New York, where she had no access to screens or television.

Frieda Vizel gives tours works as a tour guide for people who are curious about Hasidic Jews in New York, remembers when phones first began popping up in her ultra-orthodox Jewish community. Courtesy of Rabbi Jason Miller, The Jewish News

The resistance to embrace smart technologies unfolded gradually. During the early 2000s, with technological advancements, some within the ultra-orthodox community began to buy some of the earliest versions of smartphones like Blackberries. Vizel, who runs a popular YouTube channel that explains many aspects of ultra-orthodox Jewish life and works as a tour guide for people who are curious about Hasidic Jews in New York, remembers this early period clearly.

After I got married [in the early 2000s], I had a mobile phone. Everyone in the community bought one, she recalled.

The technology was rapidly gaining popularity and was eagerly adopted. However, the rabbis soon realized that smartphones, with their swiftly advancing features and fast internet speed, would be challenging to control and could jeopardize the community's way of life. To counter this risk, smartphones were prohibited, and a novel approach emerged: kosher phones.

Kosher phones, often endorsed by rabbis for community use, typically come in two varieties. They can be extremely simple phones with minimal features, like basic calling and no internet, while others are smart devices retrofitted with filters that can be updated and installed by designated individuals within the ultra-orthodox community at the time of purchase. These filters guarantee that no distractions or apps conflicting with the expectations of the ultra-orthodox lifestyle are allowed.

Kosher phones can be extremely simple phones with minimal features, like basic calling and no internet, while others are smart devices retrofitted with filters that can be updated and installed by designated individuals within the ultra-orthodox community at the time of purchase. Frieda Vizel

While pornographic websites are obviously blocked, other more innocuous websites like YouTube or apps like Spotify may also be limited due their perceived incompatibility. Filters are adaptable and can be modified upon special request to include apps or browser access necessary for business or school purposes.

When I first heard about them, I started to think, Is this going to catch on? Are they going to get people to turn in their smartphones and get people to buy these basic phones? said Vizel.

A quick walk around any ultra-orthodox Jewish enclave anywhere in the world will show that the ban on smartphones has been remarkably successful.

It is mind boggling to me to see the rate of success. In Hasidic Williamsburg, you see kosher phones everywhere and you rarely see a smartphone, Vizel said. I watched this happen in real time, and I thought it was impossible.

In contrast to the ubiquitous online presence in today's hyper-connected world, the ultra-orthodox community follows a different approach. Adults may have access to internet-enabled devices for work or study, albeit with limitations and filters and they are not online all the time. Access is never granted to children under the age of 18.

There is an acceptance that smartphones and the internet are necessary, Vizel said. However, they try not to bring it into their life, and dont subscribe to hyper-addicting smartphone culture.

Interestingly, Vizel finds that she is often recognized and spotted by members of her former community, who have clearly been watching her videos on YouTube, perhaps with a filter like KosherTube, which ensures content that is viewable and appropriate for members of an ultra-orthodox Jewish community.

I have a ton of viewers on my YouTube channel who are Hasidic, she said. But many dont have smartphones.

How Orthodox Jews Get Through Sabbath in Our Tech Dystopia

Even though kosher phones are widely used in ultra-orthodox communities, it does not necessarily result in lower levels of addiction. Technology can prove to be incredibly enticing even with the filters and limited features.

People can call hotlines and listen to the news, and people are enamoured by that, Vizel said. One of the ubiquitous sights in Williamsburg is that there are people glued to their phones. [...] Kosher phones are addictive but in a different way.

Imposing restrictions on internet access also has its drawbacks. Leah Boulton is the founder and CEO of Pathways Melbourne, a group dedicated to supporting and empowering ultra-Orthodox Jews who are questioning their lifestyle, practices and beliefs. She told The Daily Beast that there are multiple challenges created by the technology.

For one, the use of kosher phones can complicate the process of challenging their beliefs, as filters may block access to supportive websites and hinder the acquisition of essential information. Often when we start engaging with people, they have managed to access some form of internet, she said. Last year, we had a young man with two sim cards. He had a kosher and non-kosher one. It was very hard to contact him.

Boulton doesnt criticize anyone who uses a kosher phone. Its their individual choice. However, it does lead to a more limited worldview. And this controls the risks that may lead to questioning.

There are also safety concerns. While imposing restrictions on oneself and family members can provide a sense of manageability for mobile phone users, issues arise when there is a need for broader access to the world, making kosher phones a significant concern. If a child or adult is in an unsafe family environment, kosher phones allow little means to see that what they are experiencing is unacceptable, Boulton explained.

Despite some of the drawbacks, adopting a simpler lifestyle with a kosher phone still triggers a yearning for Vizelespecially when she sees ultra-orthodox children enjoying life without being tethered to an iPad or smartphone.

The communitys success in keeping kids off social media and off the internet is predicated on all of them being in the same situation, she said. If your kid is bored there are other children [who are] bored and want to play with them. These children have something special. Its almost impossible to replicate.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The Russian dictator's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has responded to the words of notorious former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin, by saying that the American does not understand much but he listens well. Carlson described the idea of "denazification of Ukraine" as the dumbest he'd ever heard.

Source: Russian Interfax

Quote: "Tucker Carlson is an American journalist. He has his own vision of the world. He strongly disagrees with a lot of things in our country. Just because he interviewed Putin does not mean that someone attempted to convert him. This is stupid; no one has such intentions.

What distinguishes him from others is his willingness to listen to various points of view and present them to his listeners and viewers. Yes, he's an American, and he doesn't understand much, but he does listen."

Previosuly: In a podcast hosted by American political commentator Lex Fridman, Carlson, the former host of the Fox News TV channel, described his impressions of his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin and admitted that the Kremlin is trying to demonise Ukrainians by calling them Nazis.

Background:

On 6 February, Carlson announced that he would be interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin  the reason for his visit to Moscow  and noted that he had asked for an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

During the interview with Carlson on 9 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that he wanted to "achieve a resolution of the situation in Ukraine through negotiations".

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said that any unsanctioned gatherings in support of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is to be buried on Friday in Moscow, will violate the law.

In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to give any assessment of Navalny as a political figure and said he had nothing to say to Navalny's family.

Navalny, Russia's best known opposition figure, died suddenly on Feb. 16 in an Arctic penal colony where he was serving sentences totalling more than 30 years.

A large crowd gathered on Friday near the Moscow church where he is due to be buried, and his supporters have asked people to turn out in his memory in Russian cities in the evening.

"Just a reminder that we have a law that must be followed. Any unauthorised gatherings will be in violation of the law, and those who participate in them will be held accountable - again, in line with the current law," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

(Writing by Felix Light and Mark Trevelyan)
The Cinema House in Kyiv is set to host a charity screening of the documentary 20 Days in Mariupol on March 6, a film nominated for the 2024 Academy Awards in the Best Documentary category.

The screening aims to raise funds to purchase drones for filmmakers-turned-aerial reconnaissance officers from the Babylon 13 film association, Ivan Bannikov and Yaroslav Pilunskyi. 100% of the funds raised will go towards purchasing drones.

Read also: Ukrainian film 20 Days in Mariupol nominated for 2024 Oscars

The screening will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Red Hall of the Cinema House. To attend, you must make a donation to the monobank jar and send a screenshot of the confirmation in the registration form. Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended. Reminder emails will be sent out to registered attendees the day before the screening.

The winner of the Oscar for Best Documentary will be announced during the ceremony in Los Angeles on March 10-11.

20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov, is the third Ukrainian film to be nominated for an Oscar. It premiered internationally at the Sundance Independent Film Festival in January 2023, where it received the Audience Award. In 2024, Mstyslav Chernov received the Directors Guild of America Award, and the film won the British BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

The documentary is based on video footage captured by Ukrainian journalists Mstyslav Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and producer Vasylisa Stepanenko, who were part of the Associated Press news agency crew. They were the only journalists with international accreditation in the Russian-held port city of Mariupol. Over 20 days in February and March 2022, they documented a series of crimes committed by the Russian military against civilians in Mariupol, bringing the truth about the situation in the Ukrainian city to the worlds attention.

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 currently does not have the capabilities and conditions to attack Kyiv again from Belarus, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Serhiy Popko, said in an interview with TSN.ua on March 1.

As of today, our intelligence and that of our partners do not record the creation of strike groups that could pose a threat from the northern direction. The situation is stable and under control, he said.

Read also: How territorial defense units protect Kyiv from enemy drones  first-hand account

However, the military threat from the northern direction has not been completely eliminated, so the defense of the capital is constantly on the agenda.

Kyiv has not been part of the war zone for a long time, but these years of war have taught the main thing  the enemy will not abandon its plans to destroy Ukraine, and Kyiv is and will be the enemys No. 1 target.

The experience of the full-scale invasion proved that danger can come from any direction. And, in particular, from the north, said Popko.

Bloomberg reported on Feb. 29, citing an anonymous source, that Ukrainian officials are concerned about a possible breakthrough of the Russian offensive by the summer of 2024 if Kyivs allies do not increase the supply of ammunition.

Read also: Increased frequency of Russia executing Ukrainian POWs  Kyiv

According to the article, Ukrainian intelligence estimates that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his plans to seize Odesa and Kyiv.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
KYLE, Texas (KXAN)  The arrest of three people in connection with a stolen vehicle in Kyle earlier this month prompted the city to remind drivers of a program aimed at protecting its residents from similar crimes.

Around 4:19 a.m., Feb. 10, officers with the Kyle Police Department tried to make a traffic stop on a Hyundai Elantra that was reported stolen from the Aidan Apartments on Amberwood South in Kyle, a City of Kyle news release said.

Once police initiated the traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle tried driving away, which then prompted a police chase that eventually ended in the Blue Meadow Drive in Austin, the release said. Furthermore, the vehicle struck multiple parked vehicles before the suspects tried running away.

Officers detained three of the four suspects in the vehicle. Jeremy Christian Cardenas, 18, of Kyle, was identified as the driver. Police also identified a 17-year-old from Austin and a 13-year-old juvenile from Austin. Police are still searching for a 16-year-old from Austin.

Resolution urges federal government to recall theft-prone Kia and Hyundais

Cardenas and the 17-year-old are facing several charges, which include engaging in organized criminal activity, according to police.

Anyone with additional information can contact Kyle PD at (512) 268-3232, submit an anonymous tip to the Hays County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-324-TIPS (8477), online at callcrimestoppers.com or by using the P3 Tips app on your smart phone.

How to get a free steering wheel lock

As a way to remind drivers with certain vehicles to stay safe, free steering wheel locks can be picked up at the Kyle Public Safety Center at 1700 Kohlers Crossing during regular business hours, the release said.

In order to receive the steering wheel lock, you have to be a Kyle resident. Furthermore, you must own one of the following vehicles:

2011-2022 Hyundai Accent

2011-2022 Hyundai Elantra

2013-2017 Hyundai Elantra GT

2013-2014 Hyundai Elantra Coupe

2011-2012 Hyundai Elantra Touring

2011-2014 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

2018-2022 Hyundai Kona

2020-2021 Hyundai Palisade

2011-2012, 2019-2022 Hyundai Santa Fe

2013-2018, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe; Hyundai Santa Fe XL

2013-2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport

2011-2019 Hyundai Sonata

2011-2022 Hyundai Tucson

2012-2017, 2019-2021 Hyundai Veloster

2020-2021 Hyundai Venue

2011-2012 Hyundai Veracruz

2011-2021 Kia Forte

2021-2022 Kia K5

2011-2020 Kia Optima

2011-2021 Kia Rio

2011-2021 Kia Sedona

2021-2022 Kia Seltoa

2010-2022 Kia Soul

2011-2022 Kia Sorento

2011-2022 Kia Sportage

If someone with one of these vehicles already purchased a steering wheel lock, Hyundai will reimburse drivers. All they have to do is call 888-498-0390 for more information.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
George Gascon, the Los Angeles district attorney (LADA), is facing 11 challengers in a high-stakes primary next week that advocates for criminal justice reform across the US will be watching.

Gascon was elected to oversee the USs largest district attorneys office in 2020, ousting a longtime incumbent after pledging to prioritize police accountability and undo harms of mass incarceration. His win, on the heels of protests of George Floyds murder, established him as one of the most prominent progressive prosecutors in the US.

Related: Shes famous for taking on CEOs. Can Katie Porter win the California senate race?

A former LAPD officer and San Francisco police chief, Gascon has followed through on many promises of significant reforms: declining to seek the death penalty; limiting the prosecution of youth as adults; exonerating wrongfully convicted people who spent decades in prison; frequently prosecuting officers; and undoing excessively long sentences.

Most of Gascons 11 opponents  including four prosecutors in his office, former federal prosecutors and current and former judges  have promised to reverse much of his agenda.

This election is much more than a referendum on my work, its a referendum on reform work throughout the country, Gascon said in an interview. A few years ago, when people ran for these offices, it was generally a lock everybody up message. It was almost inconceivable someone would run on a platform of public safety through a more thoughtful, equitable approach  that incarceration is not the answer to every social ill, that we have to look at the wrongdoings of the past and try to correct them.

One of Gascons signature initiatives is a re-sentencing unit, which is aimed at giving second chances to some youth tried as adults and older people serving long prison terms. Roughly 240 people have received reduced sentences, his campaign said. None of those released have been convicted of a new offense.

Gascon has also brought 140 cases against police for a range of crimes, and has prosecuted more officers for shootings than the office had done in the two decades prior. That includes securing the first conviction for an on-duty shooting in 20 years; Andrew Lyons, one of two deputies who fatally shot Ryan Twyman, received a 30-day sentence for assault.

[Gascon] did what he could do. Its a start, said Chiquita Twyman, Ryans sister. It took a long time for me to trust him. My brother was killed by police, and to me, [Gascon] was part of the police family. I was afraid hed just try to make a political thing out of my brothers death. But I learned he is a stand-up guy.

Twyman said she was concerned about the ferocious resistance Gascon has faced: Every step we take to move forward to get justice, we get thrown back five or 10 steps. Hes just trying to give us families some accountability.

Related: It was the perfect storm: the fatal crash that changed criminal justice in San Francisco

Some of Gascons deputy DAs have openly opposed his policies, with many supporting failed efforts to recall him in the middle of his first term. The LA police union has blamed him for high-profile retail thefts, calling it a George Gascon crime wave. And some victims families and others concerned with crime and safety have called for a return to more punitive policies.

His opponents have attributed negative crime trends to Gascon, painting a dire picture of violence in LA. Last year saw a significant decrease in shootings and homicides in LA, but an uptick in property crimes amid rising car thefts. Homelessness and the fentanyl crisis continue to worsen in a humanitarian emergency that has caused anxiety and frustration among voters. Experts, however, emphasize its difficult to link crime rates, good or bad, to prosecutors policies since DAs act after crimes occur.

We know that fearmongering works. Republicans have used it for generations, said Gascon, who is frequently derided as a woke and soft-on-crime DA in New York Post and Fox News stories. The facts and history are on our side  the challenge for us is to make sure that especially non-traditional voters who have a lot at stake in this race come out and vote.

Mona Sahaf, director of reshaping prosecution at the Vera Institute of Justice, a non-profit that advocates for reforms, said roughly 20% of the US population now has a reform-minded DA in their jurisdiction. Gascon is unique among those DAs because of his extensive police background: He cant be painted with this stripe of, Hes just against the blue. And hes servicing a community where theres been a lot of harm from police and the criminal legal system, going back to Rodney King.

DAs dedicated to progressive policies have faced intense opposition across the country  San Franciscos Chesa Boudin, a former public defender, was recalled after two years, while reformers in Chicago, Philadelphia and St Louis have weathered backlash and been re-elected.

The challengers

The majority of LA voters are undecided, according to one poll, but Jonathan Hatami, an LA prosecutor endorsed by the police union, polled the highest behind Gascon. The majority of Angelenos feel unsafe for whatever reason  if theyve seen it on TV or experienced it. They feel scared to wear jewelry or sit outside and drink coffee. They feel afraid to go to their car at night to open their trunk. They feel afraid to pump gas, Hatami said. They dont want to go shopping at the mall because they see all the smash-and-grab burglaries. He noted a surge in homicides at the start of Gascons tenure, mirroring pandemic-era trends across the country, but acknowledged violent crime had gone down.

Hatami, who publicly criticized Gascons policies his first month in office, said he broadly supported Gascons efforts to keep youth in juvenile court and his police accountability efforts, though he said it seemed the DA had gone too far in promoting police prosecutions: You dont need to go in front of the media every single police case because you give the impression police are running around like criminals all over the place  and tells the police they have a different standard than everybody else.

Related: Lots of cash. First in the polls. Californias Senate race is Adam Schiffs to lose

Candidate Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor who has touted $2m in fundraising, more than any other candidate, said he was running because Gascons policies amount to the most pro-criminal directives in LADA history. He cited Gascons opposition to charging enhancements, which lengthen defendants sentences based on factors like alleged gang affiliation. Gascon also opposes charging three strikes, which leads to life sentences for some people convicted of three felonies; enhancements have been found to exacerbate racial disparities and lead to indefinite prison terms for minor offenses, and reformers point to research suggesting more severe punishments dont deter crime.

The criminals are 100% paying attention, Hochman said. If you went ahead and reinstituted the filing of enhancements, youre not going to stop violent crime overnight, but you will definitely affect the people who are watching the law, he argued.

While the candidates have largely pledged to reject Gascons agenda, Jeff Chemerinsky, a former federal prosecutor, has positioned himself as the only challenger in the race who consistently talks about the need for reform, saying he agrees with the DAs opposition to the death penalty. But he criticized Gascons implementation of reforms as being too abrupt and inflexible and noted his poor approval ratings:

Theres a real risk that someone like a rightwinger could win and there could be a Republican district attorney. Im running to keep this a Democrat seat.

Craig Mitchell, an LA judge challenging Gascon, said he would ramp up prosecutions for drug possession in response to the addiction crisis, saying he believed an increase in arrests would get more people into treatment.

Hochman, Chemerinsky, Hatami and Eric Siddall (another LADA prosecutor, who is endorsed by the deputy DA union), have all raised more funds than Gascon as of Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The other candidates are current LADA prosecutors Maria Ramirez and John McKinney; LA judge Debra Archuleta (also endorsed by the police union); David Milton, a retired judge; Lloyd Bobcat Masson, a deputy DA in neighboring San Bernardino; and Dan Kapelovitz, a defense attorney endorsed by the Green party.
By Elizabeth Piper

LONDON (Reuters) -Veteran left-wing political maverick George Galloway was elected as the new lawmaker for the English town of Rochdale on Friday, vowing to be a thorn in the side for the opposition Labour Party over Gaza before a national election it is tipped to win.

After running a pro-Palestinian campaign, Galloway won over many of Rochdale's Muslim community by attacking both Labour and Britain's governing Conservatives for supporting Israel in its war against Hamas, making a foreign conflict the major issue - unusual in a by-election where local concerns usually dominate.

Elected to parliament for the seventh time, Galloway will be an irritant to Labour, a party he once belonged to before being ejected for criticising then-prime minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war.

His victory underlines the divisions in Britain over the Israel-Hamas war, which is in its fifth month and has brought protesters onto British streets in support of both sides.

More than 30,000 people have been killed during Israel's military campaign in Gaza, Palestinian health authorities say. This follows an attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7, when Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage.

British lawmakers have faced threats to do more to bring an end to the fighting in Gaza and with the national election later this year, Galloway's return to parliament will be short-lived but explosive.

"Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale," Galloway said in his victory speech. A heckler challenging him on his climate change credentials was drowned out by supporters chanting "Galloway".

Galloway won 12,335 votes compared with 6,638 for second-placed David Tully, an independent candidate. The former Labour candidate, Azhar Ali, came fourth after the opposition party pulled its support from him over a recording espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.

The leader of right-wing Reform UK, Richard Tice, said the campaign had been marred by intimidation and abuse of his party's candidate and campaigners. His party's candidate came sixth.

HEADACHE FOR LABOUR

Turnout was low at 39.7%.

It will be the first time Galloway's left-wing Workers Party of Britain has been represented in parliament.

For some in Rochdale, a former cotton mill town near to Manchester, the so-called by-election, triggered by the death of Labour lawmaker Tony Lloyd last month, had failed to offer them a clear choice of someone determined to help their town, ranked in the top 5% most deprived English local authorities in 2019.

Galloway also campaigned to reinstate maternity services in Rochdale but it was his message on Gaza that rang loudest.

He has vowed to speak out on Gaza in parliament, challenging Labour, which initially gave full backing to Israel following the Oct. 7 attack. The party has since shifted its position to call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

It is a headache Starmer could do without. He has struggled to maintain party unity over its position on Gaza. He avoided having to put the divisions on show last week when his party was allowed to put forward its own stance on a ceasefire.

"We regretted that we weren't able to have a candidate," Labour lawmaker Ellie Reeves told Times Radio, criticising Galloway for stoking "division and fear."

Galloway, a colourful figure who became well known after he impersonated a cat on a reality television show in 2006, will try to exploit Labour's divisions.

"I want to tell Mr Starmer above all, that the plates have shifted tonight," he said. "This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates."

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, additional reporting by Phil Noble in Rochdale and Farouq Suleiman in London, Editing by Gareth Jones and Lincoln Feast and Miral Fahmy.)
A man works at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.(Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony that took place on Thursday, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime said the new e-commerce facility aims to streamline operations and inventory management before goods are dispatched to customers.

"Today's inauguration marks the unveiling of a model facility, poised to set a standard for the private sector to emulate. This infrastructure is pivotal in simplifying logistics, reducing costs and enhancing efficiency, ultimately elevating logistics performance," Sime said.

Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ethiopian Airlines Mesfin Tasew, on the occasion, said the launch of the "modern e-commerce facility," after two years of construction, reaffirms the airline's unwavering dedication to catch up with emerging innovations and technologies and enhance its service delivery.

"It (the facility) is probably the first of its kind in Africa, and this move by Ethiopian Airlines sets up the e-commerce industry on the continent and follows the global trend," said Tasew, indicating that the airlines invested 55 million U.S. dollars to make the facility a reality.

Noting that e-commerce has come out to be a driving force shaping the way business operates and consumers interact, Tasew said the new facility will revolutionize the way the airline connects and conducts business and open up new avenues of opportunities.

The CEO said the Ethiopian Airlines has established a strategic partnership not only with Chinese construction companies but also with Chinese technology companies specializing in e-commerce such as Alibaba to make its dream a reality.

"When it comes to operation, we work very closely with Chinese e-commerce companies. We transport e-commerce goods from China to other parts of the world under the strategic agreement with them. Now, we can bring the goods from these companies to Addis Ababa. We sort and re-aggregate the goods here and transport them to other African destinations," Tasew told Xinhua. 

A worker operates the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Workers transfer goods outside the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

Photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows the sorting machine at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

A man works at the e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Feb. 29, 2024. The Ethiopian Airlines has inaugurated a new e-commerce logistics hub in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, to meet the surging demands of online shoppers and retailers. Built by China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Cooperation, the e-commerce logistics hub covers about 15,000 square meters and has a capacity to handle 150,000 tonnes of goods annually. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A Lake Oswego man was indicted by a Clackamas County grand jury Wednesday on charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly drugged three young girls at a sleepover last year.

On August 26, 2023, Lake Oswego police officers were told three 12-year-old girls were being treated at Randall Childrens Hospital after a report they had been exposed to an unknown prescription drug while at the sleepover.

Officials investigated further and found that 57-year-old Michael Meyden, the host of the sleepover, was responsible for administering the drug to the girls, authorities said.

Armed and dangerous: Man accused of 2022 murder sought by Portland police

Meyden was charged with three counts of causing another to ingest a controlled substance, four counts of application of a schedule-4 controlled substance to another and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance to a minor.

Soon after the indictment, authorities say Meyden turned himself in at the Clackamas County Jail where he is currently being held.

No other information has been released at this time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
GEORGIA (WJBF)  Funeral services for Laken Riley are scheduled for today, March 1st, in her hometown of Woodstock, Georgia.

Visitation begins at noon at Woodstock City Church, followed by funeral services at 2:00 pm.

The 22-year-old nursing student was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia campus on February 22nd.

Laken was well loved by her peers at the Augusta University College of Nursing in Athens.

University of Georgia students gather to pay tribute to Laken Riley at the Tate Plaza on campus in Athens, Ga., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta Universitys Athens campus, was found dead Thursday, Feb. 22, after a roommate reported she didnt return from a morning run in a wooded area of the UGA campus near its intramural fields. Students also gathered to pay tribute to a UGA student who committed suicide last week. (Nell Carroll/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Augusta University students, in blue, and University of Georgia students gather at the Tate Plaza on the UGA campus in Athens, Ga., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, to pay tribute to Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta Universitys Athens campus who was found dead Thursday, Feb. 22, after a roommate reported she didnt return from a morning run in a wooded area of the UGA campus near its intramural fields. UGA students also gathered to pay tribute to a student who committed suicide last week. (Nell Carroll/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

People gather at the Tate Plaza on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Ga., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, to pay tribute to Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta Universitys Athens campus who was found dead Thursday, Feb. 22, after a roommate reported she didnt return from a morning run in a wooded area of the UGA campus near its intramural fields. Panhellenic President Dabney Duncan hugs Alpha Chi Omega President Chloe Mullis after she spoke about what Riley meant to the sorority. People also gathered to pay tribute to a UGA student who committed suicide last week. (Nell Carroll/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Students gather at the Tate Plaza on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Ga., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, to pay tribute to Laken Riley, a nursing student at Augusta Universitys Athens campus who was found dead Thursday, Feb. 22, after a roommate reported she didnt return from a morning run in a wooded area of the UGA campus near its intramural fields. UGA students also gathered to pay tribute to a student who committed suicide last week. (Nell Carroll/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

In addition to her parents, Riley is survived by her stepfather, two sisters and a brother. One of her siblings, Lauren Phillips, posted on social media that Riley was the best sister and my built in best friend from the very first second.

This isnt fair and I will never understand it but I know you are in heaven, Phillips wrote on Instagram following her sisters death. She added, Im not sure how Im going to do this but its all going to be for you from now on. I cannot wait to give you the biggest hug someday.

26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra has been arrested and charged in her death.

The read Laken Rileys obituary, click here

The Associated Press Contributed to the report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF.
LaPorte County Commissioner Rich Mrozinski provided documentation of a medical reason for his being in Florida, so he was allowed to resume voting at meetings.

LAPORTE  A judge will decide whether a LaPorte County Commissioner will have his name returned to the Republican Party ballot in the May 7 primary.

Commissioner Rich Mrozinski filed a written request for an appeal Thursday in LaPorte Circuit Court.

A hearing date will be set Friday if Judge Tom Alevizos decides to consider the appeal, courtroom officials stated.

The LaPorte County Election Board voted last week not to allow Rich Mrozinski to run as a Republican for a third consecutive term. The party is further seeking to ban Mrozinski from running on their ballots for 10 years. A state election official has cast doubt on the legality of those moves.

The board granted LaPorte County Republican Party Chairman Allen Stevens' request to remove Mrozinski from the May primary ballot on grounds Mrozinski failed to place his initials as required by state law on three spots of documents he filed declaring his candidacy.

The board also agreed with Stevens that Mrozinski is disqualified because of him not being in good standing with the LaPorte County Republican Party Central Committee.

In September 2022, Republican precinct committee members voted unanimously to remove Mrozinski as an official member of the party following disputes with other Republicans and going back on his promise not to support the hiring of Shaw Friedman as county government attorney.

In the appeal, Sirinek said a person is basically required under state law only to have cast a ballot in the primary of the party he or she wants to represent as a candidate in at least two consecutive primaries.

Since Mrozinski has done that, hes automatically eligible, his attorney said.

He also pointed out Mrozinski is not a convicted felon, which is pretty much the only thing that would make him ineligible to appear on a ballot, he said.

Sirinek said state election law, historically, has been interpreted with some flexibility to keep candidates from being taken off ballots over technicalities like missing initials that can be easily fixed.

He also said nowhere is it mentioned in state election laws that someone not in good standing with the party cannot run in that partys primary.

When he went before the election board, Stevens cited a law upheld in federal courts that guarantees political parties freedom from associating with candidates not in good standing with their parties and ability to protect themselves from intrusion by those with adverse political principles.

Sirinek countered that political parties are allowed to discipline members within their own ranks, but their authority does not extend to keeping them off ballots.

If they want to bar Rich from the Republican Party, good for them," he said. "If they want to bar him from going to the state convention, good for them. They can do that.

"I dont disagree, but freedom of association is a far different world than disenfranchising the voters of LaPorte County from the ability to vote for Rich.

Stevens said the District 1 Republican Central Committee at its office in Valparaiso has scheduled a hearing for March 11 to decide his request to ban Mrozinski from running for elected office as a Republican for 10 years.

He said the committee scheduled the hearing after finding probable cause was sufficient to formally consider the matter.

Stevens cited a $100 campaign donation by Mrozinski to Democrat Sheila Matias when she was seeking a second term as commissioner in 2022 as another reason, besides the political clashing, for seeking the short- and long-term bans.

That is a clear violation of the Republican state party rules, he said.

Sirinek said the donation was from Mrozinskis wife but, regardless, hes eligible for a place on the Republican ballot.

If they want to have their little private club, good for them. That has nothing to do with what the election is about," Sirinek said. "The election is about whether Rich Mrozinski should continue on as a county commissioner. Its a decision best left and solely left with the voters and not the biased attitudes of the Republican Party.

Matthew Cochevar, Co-General Counsel at the Indiana Election Division under the Indiana Secretary of States Office, said the proper filing of candidacy papers is required by state election law.

However, there must be a challenge to such mistakes to trigger a home rule process that begins with a county election board hearing arguments from both sides and making a decision, he said.

Cochevar said state law also provides a right to appeal for a judge to render a final decision on whether a violation was serious enough to keep someone off the ballot.

He pointed out there is nothing in state election law that gives political parties the authority to keep someone off a ballot.

Cochevar said the only requirements to be on a primary ballot are proof of party affiliation from voting for candidates on that partys ballot in the past two primaries or presenting a letter signed by a party chairman that this person affiliates with the party.

Everything else is, frankly, immaterial at least under the law, he said.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: LaPorte GOP fights to kick its own incumbent commissioner off ballot
Richard Murray surveys the charred land after historic Texas wildfires swept through his town

Officials in Texas have warned the state's biggest ever fire could be fuelled further over the weekend with high winds in the forecast.

Two people and thousands of cattle have been killed as the blaze continues to rage out of control.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which spans over 1.1 million acres, has devastated cattle ranches, destroyed homes and left a blackened landscape in its wake.

As of Friday afternoon, the fire is only 15% contained.

Governor Greg Abbott has urged people to stay vigilant and not to "let down their guard".

"Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend," he said at a press conference on Friday.

Fire weather watches have been issued in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle from Saturday through to midnight on Sunday as firefighters rush to contain the conflagration.

The bulk of the Texas fires - including the massive Smokehouse Creek Fire - are in the Texas Panhandle, the northern region of the state that is home to vast cattle ranches.

The land is not densely populated but millions of cows, calves, steers and bulls are raised in the area.

Governor Abbott said initial damage assessments show 400 to 500 structures that have been destroyed by the blaze.

"When you look at the damages that have occurred here, it's just gone, completely gone, nothing left but ashes on the ground," Mr Abbott said.

Thousands of animals are believed to have died, the Texas agriculture commissioner, Sid Miller, said on Thursday.

"Just my prediction, but it will be 10,000 that will have died or we'll have to euthanise," he said.

"It's sad. A lot of those cattle are still alive but the hooves are burned off, the teats on their udders are burned off. It's just a sad, sad situation."

Texas is the nation's largest cattle producer, and over 85% of the state's herd is in the Panhandle.

Cattle ranchers in the area were scrambling on Thursday to save both themselves and their livestock as the fire scorched the grasslands around them.

"It's hard to watch," Jeff Chisum, a Texas rancher with 600 cows, told the New York Times.

His wife, Leigh Chisum, described the devastation on Facebook, writing that she had "driven by baby calves standing alone in the black, desolate pastures with dead cows scattered along the roads".

A picture of Stinnett, Texas, in the aftermath of Smokehouse Creek Fire

According to the US Department of Agriculture, Texas is home to 12 million cattle.

Texas officials said the losses will be devastating to individual producers as grasslands for feeding and farm buildings are destroyed. Governor Abbott said nearby counties and states have donated hay to affected areas, but they continue to face a shortage.

However, the overall impact, including prices at the grocery store, is likely to be unnoticeable, David Anderson, an extension economist at Texas A&M, told the BBC.

"We don't have any good numbers yet on what the losses are simply because the fires are still burning - but in terms of the entire herd and industry in the US, it's going to be relatively small," he said.

Hundreds of firefighters and first responders are deployed to the affected areas, including cities like Amarillo and Fritch, said Seth Christensen, a spokesman for Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The Red Cross is currently operating two disaster centres for wildfire victims.

In Hutchinson County, one of the hardest-hit areas, 83-year-old Joyce Blankenship died in her home as wildfire engulfed her town.

The other victim was a female truck driver, Cindy Owen. The 44-year-old was driving home from Oklahoma to Amarillo when the fire surrounded her truck, according to The Texas Tribune.

She died in hospital a day later.

In Oklahoma, the US state just north of Texas, over 30,000 acres have burned and at least 13 homes have been destroyed, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.

With files from Natalie Sherman in New York

Map showing how much of Texas has burnt so far in 2024 and highlighting the area burnt in the past 24 hours
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A Las Vegas man faces four counts of assault with a deadly weapon after police said he fired a gun 12 times in a neighborhood while waiting for his ex-girlfriend to get home, documents said.

On Sunday, Feb. 18 at around 3 p.m., a ShotSpotter indicated twelve rounds were fired in a redacted location, according to the arrest report.

Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrived and spoke with a victim who said she and her family were driving home when they saw a man standing in the middle of the street with a firearm, the report stated.

The victim told police her husband attempted to drive around the suspect who was blocking the street. The suspect then confronted the family and pointed his gun at them, according to the report.

The victims said they were able to drive around the man and heard a gunshot go off after they got past him. They did not find any impact from the gunshot on the vehicle.

Other witnesses later heard 11 more gunshots in the area.

A witness at the scene told police that she saw her daughters ex-boyfriend, identified as David Apodaca, 26, outside of her home before the shots were fired, the report stated. She said Apodaca and his friend told her they were looking for her daughter.

David Apodaca, 26, faces four counts of assault with a deadly weapon after he fired a gun 12 times in a neighborhood. (LVMPD)

She told police she told Apodaca and his friend that her daughter was not there. Apodacas friend told police that Apodaca got visibly upset and began reaching for his waistband as if he had a gun, before telling the friend to leave, the report stated.

A records check on Apodaca showed that he attempted to break into his ex-girlfriends home after they broke up and during the incident, Apodaca battered three LVMPD officers. Court documents also show Apodaca has a lengthy criminal history, including DUI and assault with the use of a deadly weapon.

Police arrested Apodaca on Feb. 23. He was being held at the Clark County Detention Center on a $54,000 bail. He faces charges of four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, owning or possessing a gun as a prohibited person, 12 counts of discharging a gun where a person might be endangered, and violation of probation.

His next court appearance was scheduled for March. 4.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The last day in February is National Rare Disease Day which lands on a rare day today  Feb. 29  and two Las Vegas parents are shining light on their sons rare disease.

Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Brandon Parker and his wife Dominique have two young children. Their 1-1/2-year-old son, Elias Parker, was born with a mutation in his genes that affects all the systems in his body.

Its an ongoing battle for his parents.

You can feel like you have everything in control, and everything is going well and then next thing you know you find something out. Maybe he has a heart problem and then you get past that heart problem. Then next thing you know he has a lung problem. So, it is sort of like that, Dominique Parker said.

Dominique Parker holds her son, Elias. (KLAS)

Dominique and Brandon Parker with their son, Elias. (KLAS)

Elias Parker. (KLAS)

MEF2C is an extremely rare genetic disorder. Only about 350 cases are known worldwide. Half of all those are right here in the United States.

The disease can affect a persons breathing, muscle and brain development along with severe autism-like abnormalities.

There is currently no treatment and the Parkers often fly to Salt Lake City to see doctors.

Not a lot of doctors know what that looks like, so they are just treating his symptoms at the moment, Dominique said.

Theyve helped with developing a foundation to raise awareness, gain a better understanding of it and bring families like theirs together. We realize there may be no cure, but we just want to help other parents with resources, Brandon said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  With weeks left on her jail sentence, a Las Vegas-area realtor convicted of exploiting an older man with dementia out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, while convincing him they were in a relationship even though she is gay, is appealing.

In December, a Clark County jury found Sophia Smith, 50, guilty of exploiting an older or vulnerable person, theft and credit card fraud. In January, Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny sentenced Smith to a six-month jail term with a suspended 12-to-30-year prison sentence. If Smith violates her probation within five years, she will have to report to prison, Kierny ordered.

Smith remained in custody Thursday and was due to be released on April 8, records said. Documents filed Feb. 13 indicate Smith was appealing all of her cases rulings and judgments, the jurys verdict and Kiernys sentence.

MyVegas Magazine named Smith a realtor with a purpose in its 2021 issue featuring the top 100 real estate professionals. In court documents, prosecutors included Facebook posts with Smith and her victim, Cornelius Connie Hoffmans, where Smith repeatedly called the now-90-year-old her best friend.

Hoffmans gave Smith more than $600,000, prosecutors said. Court documents indicate Hoffmans believed he and Smith were dating, though Smith is openly gay.

The money funded a home, an RV and Smiths gambling debts, documents said. Smith bought the home for $275,000 of Hoffmans money, documents said. The Hoffmans family later received the home and RV in a civil lawsuit.

In court, prosecutors said Smiths nonprofit, the Strong A.R.M. Foundation, which raised money for underprivileged women and children to buy equipment and uniforms, was a scam, with nearly 90% of donations going to Smith directly. The nonprofits website was no longer active as of Thursday.

In addition to the jail sentence, Kierny ordered Smith to pay the Hoffmans estate nearly $300,000 in restitution. Smith has not faced charges connected to the foundation.

A hearing on the appeal was scheduled for March 5.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  The winds that howled into Utah on Friday morning are just a taste of what is expected this weekend, when a winter storm is expected to bring a one-two punch of potentially-damaging wind gusts followed by heavy snow.

Weather alerts have been issued, or are already in place, across the state running through Sunday evening. These include high wind warnings for the West Desert, Salt Lake County and Castle Country, and winter storm warnings for Utahs mountains. Cities along the Wasatch Front will be under winter weather advisories from Saturday afternoon to Sunday.

Dramatic wind gusts to blow in colder temperatures for the weekend

This is going to be the biggest wind event of the winter season so far, said ABC4 meteorologist Nate Larsen. Were talking about wind gusts, even down in the valleys, of 70 mph, thats near hurricane-force winds.

The Utah Department of Transportation is urging motorists to expect wintry conditions while driving this weekend, both along mountain routes and major roadways, such as the I-15 corridor. For most of the state, high caution is advised from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning.



Were expecting a pretty big winter blast where we could see road snow, said UDOT spokesperson John Gleason, adding that crews will be pretreating the roads ahead of the storm.



He said that UDOT will be working with Utah Highway Patrol to determine if wind-related travel restrictions should be implemented for high-profile vehicles, such as semi trucks and campers.



Those 60 mph winds do present a challenge for those high-profile vehicles, especially in the West Desert, along I-80 and into Tooele County, Gleason said. The ones that blow over in the those storms tend to be the ones not holding any cargo  they are more susceptible.

The powerful winds also threaten to topple trees and other objects, perhaps knocking out power lines. Rocky Mountain Power said it is readying crews to deploy this weekend to restore power in potentially affected areas.

How it will play out

Winds are expected to increase heading into Friday night and Saturday morning, which could lead to blowing dust and low visibility.

In the Salt Lake Valley, gusts could be as powerful as 60 mph on Saturday, strong enough to send lawn furniture or trampolines flying. In other high wind warning areas, such as the West Desert, gusts over 70 mph are possible. The wind benchmark for a category 1 hurricane is 74 mph.

Following these powerful winds will be a cold front descending from the northwest. This moisture-rich system looks to enter northern Utah late Friday and hit the Wasatch Front by Saturday afternoon, starting as valley rain and mountain snow.

But as temperatures are expected to plunge, the valley rain will transition to snow, which could linger into Sunday. Between 2 to 6 inches of snow could pile up in the northern valleys, and the mountains could see between 1 to 2 feet, although up to 30 inches of fresh powder could fall in the Upper Cottonwoods.

Other mountain ranges could see up to three feet of snow. These include the Bear River Range and the Tushars. Along mountain ridge lines, winds could exceed 60 mph, creating whiteout conditions.



UDOT said its fleet of roughly 400 plows will be out across the state, clearing the snow from the roads. Still, drivers are reminded to take it slow or just stay home if they dont need to travel.



If you have to be out driving during, make sure you give yourself extra time to get to where youre going, and youre ready to drive in winter weather, Gleason said. There are going to be periods of time where were expecting really heavy snow.

Following the storm

Remnants of the storm could linger into Monday, although skies are expected to clear across the state. That said, conditions look to remain breezy and cool along the Wasatch Front, with daytime highs only climbing into the upper 30s.

The next chance of wet weather looks to come in the middle of next week.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
VIENTIANE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lao cabinet has approved draft laws and decrees as guidance to address the ongoing economic and financial issues with strategic planning.

The government has approved in principle several draft laws and decrees specifically designed to overcome economic headwinds, Lao People's Army News on Friday quoted government spokesperson Thipphakone Chanthavongsa as saying in a press conference after the close of the government's monthly meeting for February held on Wednesday and Thursday.

During the meeting, participants reviewed the nation's economic performance, analyzing key indicators and identifying areas that need improvement.

In line with the government's commitment to developing a resilient economy, a series of legislative drafts were discussed, which included revisions to laws governing tourism, medicinal resources, anti-money laundering, and taxation.

The meeting agreed to adopt a draft law aimed at countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

An agreement has also been reached to adopt a draft law on value-added tax, which will be passed to the Ministry of Finance and other relevant bodies for refinement.

In addition, the meeting agreed to adopt a draft decree on dry ports, which has been forwarded to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and related parties to revise in conjunction with comments made by other government members. 
St. Johns County Flood Vulnerability Assessment Update

St. Johns County Flood Vulnerability Assessment Update

The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) recently reviewed findings from the Countywide Flood Vulnerability Assessment, which included a survey, designed for public input, distributed to county residents in September.

The county was awarded a $500,000 grant through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) Resilient Florida Grant Program to fund the assessment and a preliminary adaptation plan.

The countys project manager, Westly Woodward, underscored the assessment as a benefit for the community.

The findings help St. Johns County identify critical assets that may be vulnerable to future flooding and establish a plan for building a more resilient community, he said in a news release.

According to Tyler Jarnagin, the countys public affairs supervisor, the vulnerability assessment measures the impact potential flooding and rising sea levels may have on structures, infrastructure, people and natural resources. Results from the comprehensive assessment will allow the county to formulate an adaptation plan for making areas more resistant to flood risk.

Completing the vulnerability assessment according to criteria outlined in the Florida statute qualifies St. Johns County for additional project funding through the FDEP, he said in a news release.

Jarnagin listed the following components included within the assessment:

Inventory of Critical Community Assets

Existing/Future Extreme Event Flood Mapping

Identification of Community Assets Vulnerable to Flooding

Prioritization of Vulnerable Critical Community Assets

Identification of Focus Areas for Adaptation Planning

Preliminary Identification of Adaptation Strategies/Projects

Summary Report, Tables, and Flood Maps

Thus far, about 22,000 critical community assets have been identified as part of the assessment through data mined from county, state and federal sources, he said.

Jarnagin listed the components that determine asset prioritization:

Frequency of Flooding

Sensitivity to the Depth of Flooding

Impact to the Community

Regional Significance

Community Feedback Survey

The Adaptation Focus Areas include:

Anastasia Island from the City of St. Augustine Beach to State Road 206

Anastasia Island from State Road 206 to the Matanzas Inlet

Anastasia Island from State Road 312 to City of St. Augustine Beach South Boundary

Vilano/North Beach

Ponte Vedra

State Road 16 / Lewis Speedway / Masters Drive

Low Spots Along County Road 13

Hastings

State Road 16 Wastewater Treatment Plant

County Road 210 at Interstate 95

As noted in the press release, the next steps for the countywide flooding vulnerability assessment include developing a preliminary adaption plan with high-priority projects identified; applying for fiscal year 2024/2025 FDEP implementation grant funding for high-priority projects; and continued adaptation planning with additional FDEP planning grant funding.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Updates and next steps from the St. Johns County Flood Vulnerability Assessment
A person threatened to shoot up the Maryland State House on Thursday afternoon, prompting scores of law enforcement to lock down and sweep legislative buildings.

Officials declared the situation safe around 7 p.m., with no injuries reported, about two hours after a caller dialed the main line of the Annapolis Police Department and said something about coming in and shooting up the place, Chief Ed Jackson told The Baltimore Sun.

The caller, Jackson added, didnt stay on the line, didnt say where he came from  didnt represent any organization. He just called and said he was going to shoot up the place and hung up.

Jackson said police would continue to investigate the source of the threat, which sent the lawmakers, staffers, reporters and civilians into lockdown as officers from several agencies swept the State House, the House and Senate buildings and Government House, the home of Democratic Gov. Wes Moore.

We want to thank all the law enforcement officers who responded today, Senate President Bill Ferguson and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, both Democrats, said in a statement once the emergency was over. We and everyone else in the legislative complex are grateful for their presence as we continue to do the peoples work.

Moore thanked law enforcement, as well, in a statement.

Our family is grateful for the members of the Maryland Capitol Police, Maryland State Police, Annapolis Police Department, and the Anne Arundel County Police Department who secured the State House Grounds and kept us safe today, Moore said, via spokesman Carter Elliott. These brave men and women arent just Marylands finest  theyre Marylands promise. They define what it means to be a Marylander.

Legislators were busy with bill hearings when the threat emerged, but several of those chairing committee meetings in legislative office buildings handled the emergency calmly.

Del. C.T. Wilson, chair of the House Economic Matters Committee, suddenly addressed those attending a hearing about a gas station pricing bill around 5:30 p.m.

Can you guys do me a favor? Thats going to conclude that panel, said Wilson, a Democrat. Its all right, everythings fine. Were just going to keep going. Just chill in the back and Ill come get you in a second, all right? Dont leave until I get confirmation.

Around the same time in another hearing room, Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk, chair of the Health and Government Operations Committee, asked delegates and witnesses to stay inside the room.

Can I just ask, if I may, the delegates and people here, can you stay in the building, please and do not go out, please? Pena-Melnyk, also a Democrat, said. Please just stay in the room. If you could do that I would really appreciate it. Just stay in place. Excuse me, the witnesses that just testified, I will ask you respectfully to stay in the room for a while. Please dont leave until I tell you so.

Officers could be seen running into the building holding rifles. With their guns drawn, officers evacuated reporters working at the State House around 5:30 p.m. Officers later shepherded them to the House Office Building.

In a phone interview around 5:41 p.m., Democratic Del. Sandy Bartlett of Anne Arundel County said she was staying in place and waiting for the green light.

Democratic Sen. Cory McCray of Baltimore said in a text message that he and his staff were all good and in the Senate office building as the lockdown continued.

Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat, serves on the Senate Finance Committee. He said his committee proceeded to do business and went on lockdown after it completed a voting session.

There are 23 state-owned buildings in Annapolis, including those in the State House complex. It includes the capitol, the office buildings and the home of the governor.

In addition to elected officials and state employees, the State House sees hundreds of visitors a day, especially during the 90-day legislative session from January to early April. They range from citizens to lobbyists, advocates to schoolchildren on field trips  and Thursday was no different.

After receiving the threat, Annapolis Police promptly notified Capitol Police, state police, Anne Arundel County Police and security at the different legislative buildings, said Nick Cavey, a spokesman for the Maryland Department of General Services, which encompasses the capitol police.

Capitol Police coordinated sweeps of the State House, Senate and House buildings and surrounding grounds, according to protocol, and determined that the areas are secure and clear of any potential threat, Cavey said in an email. The lockdown and shelter in place was lifted at 6:52 p.m. and all remaining occupants, including the governor, lieutenant governor, and Senate president, were escorted from the building, per situational protocol.

It is a crime in Maryland punishable by up to 10 years in prison to make a threat of mass violence, which state law defines as knowingly threaten to commit or threaten to cause to be committed a crime of violence  that would place five or more people at substantial risk of death or serious physical injury.

Law enforcement will continue to investigate the source of the threat, Jackson told The Sun.

We have the number and were trying to trace the call, he said.

Baltimore Sun Media reporters Hannah Gaskill, Sam Janesch, Cassidy Jensen, Natalie Jones and Luke Parker contributed to this article.
NYU School of Law Professor Kenji Yoshino on Thursday described one element of Donald Trumps new legal filing in his classified documents case as one of the most chilling things that Ive seen in 25 years of teaching constitutional law.

The trial schedule proposed by the former presidents defense attorneys  with its references to the dates of the Republican National Convention and the GOP front-runners other 2024 campaign commitments  did more than anything else to knock my socks off, Yoshino told CNNs Kaitlan Collins.

Its just this idea that you have somebody whos saying, Heres a pretrial motion and then heres the Republican National Convention, the legal scholar explained. It just suggests that this is the very first time in our nations history that weve had an individual whos a front-runner, running for president, who was a former president, whos under a criminal indictment.

This has never happened before, Yoshino added. This is completely uncharted territory.

On Thursday, special counsel Jack Smith proposed a July 8 start date for the trial. Trump is accused of illegally retaining classified documents after leaving the White House. He denies the allegations, claiming they are politically motivated.

Trumps attorneys noted in a filing that the trial would be taking place during the RNC, which is being held July 15-18 in Milwaukee.

Despite his legal woes, Trump remains the clear favorite to win the GOP nomination and take on President Joe Biden in November.

Trumps attorneys countered Smiths suggestion with a post-election start date, or suggested it should begin on Aug. 12. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is due to hold a hearing on the trials possible start date on Friday.

Collins asked Yoshino if Cannon should consider Trumps campaigning when making a decision.

I think in an ideal world, she should not, Yoshino replied. I mean, no one is above the law. This is a criminal proceeding. She should just set the dates as it were. But I cant imagine as a human being, shell be able to ignore that.

Related...
A view of Xcel Energy's Cherokee Generating Station in Adams County on Feb. 20, 2022. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)

After a string of scandals and amid rising bills, lawmakers in statehouses across the country have been pushing legislation to curb utilities spending ratepayer money on lobbying, expert testimony in rate cases, goodwill advertising, charitable giving, trade association membership and other costs.

At least a dozen states have considered bills to limit how gas, water and electric utilities can spend customers money, according to a tracker maintained by the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group funded by environmental and climate-focused foundations that concentrates on utilities and fossil fuel interests.

Another, Louisiana, has opened a proceeding at its public service commission to investigate use of ratepayer cash on trade association dues, activities meant to influence the outcome of any local, state, or federal legislation, advertising expenses and other costs.

Michigan joined the party last week with the introduction of legislation to ban utility political spending. In states like Illinois, the push has been joined by groups like the AARP and the Citizens Utility Board, a state watchdog group, which said the legislation would stop electric, gas and water utilities from charging us for a long list of expenses they rack up trying to raise our rates and further increase their political power.

Three states  Maine, Colorado and Connecticut  have already signed similar bills into law. The legislation comes as natural gas bills have fallen but average residential electric prices in the U.S. climbed from 13.66 cents per kilowatt hour in 2021 to 15.93 cents per kilowatt hour in 2023, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That would mean a monthly bill going from $136.60 in 2021 to $159.30 in 2023 for a house that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours per month.

It absolutely is a growing trend, said Matt Kasper, the Energy and Policy Institutes deputy director. Theres a lot of eyes on the industry, how its operating.

The institute published a report last year that scrutinized how electric and gas utilities use ratepayer money to fund political machines that push legislation, curry favor with regulators and alter the outcomes of elections, sometimes even breaking laws in the process.

Some of the lowlights include:

Other examples of questionable spending abound. In 2018, South Carolina lawmakers were flooded with bogus emails encouraging them to support Virginia utility giant Dominion Energys takeover of SCANA Corp., a company struggling under the weight of a failed nuclear project. Dominion denied having anything to do with the fake emails, which were sent by the Consumer Energy Alliance, a group that was then supported by Dominion. (The company is no longer listed as a CEA member.)

Consumer Energy Alliance was also involved in a 2016 campaign to support a natural gas pipeline running through Ohio that involved sending 347 letters to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission using the names of locals  more than a dozen of whom signed affidavits denying they signed the letters  including an Ohio man who has been dead since 1998, The Plain Dealer reported.

In Louisiana, Entergy was fined $5 million by the New Orleans City Council after actors hired by a public relations firm working for the utility showed up at public hearings to support a proposed power plant.

Arizona Public Service, which has 1.4 million electric customers in the state, spent $10 million in 2014 that was funneled to dark money groups to help elect its preferred members of the State Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities. That spending wasnt revealed until 2019, when the company complied with a subpoena to release documents.

Utilities are often using their ratepayer-funded political machines to slow the nations urgently-needed transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy, the Energy & Policy Institute wrote. Working hand-in-hand with their trade associations, the Edison Electric Institute and American Gas Association, utilities continue to fight tooth-and-nail against policies that enable the adoption of essential technologies like rooftop solar power, energy efficiency and building electrification.

A coalition of climate justice groups organized a rally Monday outside the Washington, D.C., hotel where the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is holding its winter policy meeting. The speakers, including Christine Pendzich, center, of Montgomery County, Md., took aim in part at energy company and utility sponsorship of the event. (Robert Zullo/States Newsroom)

The appetite is there

However, bills to curb utility influence spending can face an uphill fight, demonstrating the stronghold that the companies can have on state governments.

In Virginia, for example, another round of legislative attempts to prevent candidates from accepting donations from public service companies like Dominion Energy, the states largest electric utility and long the biggest corporate donor in Virginia politics, died in House and Senate committees. Both houses are controlled by Democrats.

Time will tell what will happen, Del. Josh Cole, a Democrat who was carrying the House version of the legislation, told the Virginia Mercury. The appetite is definitely there for it.

A separate proceeding at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been looking into the rate recovery, reporting and accounting treatment of industry association dues and certain civic, political and related expenses.

The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric utilities and is one of the trade groups affected by some of the state-level legislation, said electric customers benefit when its member companies have a seat at the table, adding that they are among the most regulated businesses in the nation.

We engage on their behalf through lobbying, advocacy and regulatory proceedings as part of our work to ensure that electricity customers have the affordable, reliable and resilient clean energy they want and need. Engaging in discussions with policymakers and regulators is essential to achieving these outcomes, EEI spokeswoman Sarah Durdaller said in a statement. We bring unique expertise and insights on how policy proposals will affect business operations, the cost for capital, and, ultimately, our customers.  There are strict laws in place already to ensure that lobbying activities are always funded by shareholders not customers.

The American Gas Association, which represents natural gas utilities, did not respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, across the street from the Washington, D.C., hotel where the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners was holding its winter policy meeting, a group of climate justice organizations held a rally to call attention to energy company influence, taking aim at corporate sponsorship of the event and a lack of progress on renewable power.

When we see events like this where utility execs fund gatherings and hobnob with regulators  we need to speak out, said Sukrit Mishra, D.C. program director at Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that helps communities form solar co-ops. He voiced support for state legislative efforts as well as federal legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, a Florida Democrat, to prevent utility companies from using ratepayer dollars to fund political activities.

The public is ready to hold utilities accountable. We need regulators to do the same.

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The Minnesota Department of Health announced its opposition to a planned for-profit rehabilitation hospital in Roseville, damaging chances that it will gain legislative approval this year.

The finding by state health economists was notable, given hospital overcrowding across the state that has been blamed in part on the lack of places to discharge patients after hospitalizations. But the state's health commissioner, Dr. Brooke Cunningham, said Minnesota should be wary of allowing more for-profit providers such as Nobis Rehabilitation, which has rapidly opened 13 rehab hospitals across the U.S. since 2020.

"The proposed hospital would represent a further move toward profit-driven, private equity financed, freestanding specialty hospital ownership, away from the existing largely not-for-profit community hospital model," Cunningham wrote in a letter this week to lawmakers. The review was publicly released Thursday.

Nobis submitted notice last year of plans to build a 60-bed facility in Roseville that would be named the Minneapolis Rehabilitation Hospital. The Texas company argued that Minnesota had a shortage of inpatient rehab facilities compared to other states, and that it would complement rather than compete with existing hospitals.

Minnesota prohibits construction of new hospitals, or expansion of existing hospitals beyond their licensed capacities, unless they receive permission from the Legislature.

A negative public interest review by the health department is a setback, but doesn't prevent lawmakers from voting for the project. PrairieCare ended up building a pediatric psychiatric hospital in the west metro despite a negative health department review for the company's original plans for an adult and child facility in the east metro.

Minnesota has relied on nursing homes to take patients when they are ready to leave hospitals but still need rehab and recovery before they go home. Ten general hospitals in the state operate inpatient rehab units, but they remain scarce. Sanford Bemidji is closing its unit this spring, citing a greater need for more beds for hospital patients.

The health department raised concerns that Nobis would worsen the worker shortage in the Twin Cities by hiring away caregivers from other facilities rather than bringing in their own. Nobis also proposed a 7.6 patient to nurse ratio that "gave us tremendous pause," said Stefan Gildemeister, state health economist. The ratio at six rehab units within Twin Cities hospitals ranges from 2.6 to 4.2.

Nobis didn't immediately reply to a request for comment Thursday.

Most rehab units in Minnesota are only half or two-thirds full, despite overcrowding in general hospitals that is causing backlogs in emergency departments. Gildemeister attributed that situation to Medicare rules, which compensate rehab facilities only for patients capable of participating in substantial daily rehab exercises.

Most patients in existing rehab facilities are recovering from stroke, neurological disorders or traumatic brain injuries. Minneapolis-based Allina Health had submitted a similar plan to build a rehab hospital, but the nonprofit provider delayed it because it wasn't ready to seek legislative approval this year.

Nobis proposed an "exceptional" facility with state-of-the-art rehab equipment, but Gildemeister said there were concerns about whether the for-profit provider was committed to serving low-income and uninsured patients.

Minnesota hasn't always opposed for-profit solutions. The health department in 2022 approved the conversion of the Bethesda campus in St. Paul into a psychiatric hospital operated by Fairview Health Services along with a Tennessee based for-profit, Acadia Healthcare.

Opening of the 144-bed hospital is scheduled next year. In its most recent review, the health department contrasted the need for rehab beds, given that existing units have vacancies, with the urgent need for mental health care. More than 95% of the state's inpatient mental health beds are usually occupied.
The Massachusetts Senate on Friday unveiled a portrait of former First Lady Abigail Adams and put out a public call for nominations for the first woman to be honored with a permanent bust in the Senate Chamber.

Nominations will be considered by a renewed Senate Art Committee, led by Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro.

The portrait of Adams, the second First Lady of the United States and an early advocate for womens rights who opposed slavery and supported womens education, was unveiled by Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, at a public ceremony on the first day of Womens History month.

Adams portrait will hang permanently in the Senate Lobby.

Adams is the second woman with a permanent portrait in the Massachusetts Senate, following former Senate President Therese Murray, whose portrait hangs in the Senate Reading Room. Spilka said it is the latest effort to expand representation in the State House.

Centuries after Abigail Adams told the founders to remember the ladies, we still have a long way to go to reach full equality when it comes to womens representation on Beacon Hill, Spilka said in a statement.

Either by accident or design, the many contributions of women who have shaped our Commonwealth and our nation have been left out of the art here in the State House, Spilka said. As we celebrate their achievements  and those of the strong women who lead our government today  I am committed to ensuring that the halls of power change to reflect these women. As we unveil Adams, we are taking a meaningful step towards remembering the ladies and making it clear that women belong here.

Unveiling Abigail Adamss portrait at the Massachusetts State House marks a significant step towards expanding American history, Massachusetts Historical Society President Catherine Allgor said in a statement. Senate President Karen Spilkas commitment to recognizing influential women, like Abigail Adams, acknowledges the importance of listening to the diverse voices from the past. They deepen, challenge, complicate, and ultimately change the stories we tell.

Adams portrait is a reproduction of an original pastel created in 1766 by Benjamin Blyth and was gifted to the Massachusetts Senate by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Adams was an advocate for women at a moment in history when women were prohibited from voting or holding elected office. Adams famously told her husband, a then-delegate in the First Continental Congress, to, Remember the ladies.

A native of the South Shore, Adams was born and raised in Weymouth, and later moved to Braintree. After several decades of advising and traveling alongside her husband, and then serving as First Lady, Abigail and her family returned to Massachusetts to live in Quincy.

The portrait is the 21st permanent image of a woman to be added to the State House.

It comes at a time when women hold more of Massachusetts elected positions than ever before, including Senate president, governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, one U.S. Senate seat, three Congresswomen, and mayor of Boston, officials said.

During the unveiling of Adams portrait on Friday, Spilka announced the renewal of the Senate Art Committee and that the committee would solicit nominations from the public for a woman to be honored with a statue in the Chamber.

The Senate Art Committee, which was established in 1972 but has not done business formally in many years, will be revived to continue finding ways to make Senate art more representative of state residents, officials said.

The art that adorns the halls of the State House should embody the values of Massachusetts and reflect who we are as a Commonwealth, Cyr said in a statement. Yet, as I come and go from my office, I often remark that the portraits, murals, and sculptures in our capitol do not encompass the richness of our history and the diversity of our communities.

I am thrilled and honored to lead a renewed Senate Art Committee, one that will work to expand inclusivity and representation in the art that beautifies the State House, Cyr said. As an LGBTQ+ person, I understand how integral it is to see people like yourself represented in spaces of power. As we solicit submissions for a sculpture of a trailblazing woman to join the all-male busts in the Senate chamber, I am excited to see the remarkable names that will be put forward. I remain grateful for Senate President Spilkas vision and persistence to realize a Senate that embraces a more complete story of Massachusetts.

Via a submission form, any Massachusetts resident will have until 11:59 p.m. on April 30 to submit nominees and a brief explanation of why they should be honored in the Senate.

Entries will be reviewed by the Senate Art Committee, and the honoree will be chosen in the months following the closing of submissions.

The woman selected will be honored with a commissioned figure that will fill the eighth and final statue position in the of the Massachusetts Senate chamber, where she will take a permanent place alongside historical American figures including abolitionist Frederick Douglass and former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, officials said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) State lawmakers are demanding action on what they claim are numerous accusations of mistreatment and neglect within youth psychiatric care facilities in Michigan.

The lawmakers said there has not been enough action to address those concerns in the psychiatric system or the youth detention and juvenile care system.

Parent Jami Vaughn was with lawmakers Thursday as they demanded action from Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit).

(WLNS)

Her son was in one of the states facilities, Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital and she was troubled by what happened to him.

They were there to help him get better, they were there to keep him safe. Thats what I trusted them to do and they failed in every area, Vaughn said.

Back in October Vaughns son was attacked by another resident of the building. The video shows him running down the hall but is cornered and beaten to the ground.

Courtesy Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Hes completely terrified, Vaughn said. The unfortunate thing is in the event that he still needs care like this, hes terrified to go back. Or to go anywhere, cause he doesnt know whats going to happen.

The psychiatric facility is overseen by the Michigan Department for Health and Human Services.

State Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) said the experience Vaughns son had is one the reasons shes calling for more action. She serves on the House Families, Children, and Seniors Committee, the House Health Policy Committee, and the House Health Policy Subcommittee on Behavioral Health and she said has been demanding hearings  to no avail.

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We need to do a deep dive into how were protecting the kids in the state of Michigan,  Thompson said.

Thompson cited multiple instances of neglect that people have informed her about. From children escaping to not getting any outside time, and a lack of personal hygiene as well as complaints from parents being unable to visit on weekends. She said the Senate is working on these issues, but the House should be too.

I promised these families and I gave them my word that I would be their voice and the only way I can be their voice is if this happens in the House of Representatives where I serve on those committees, Thompson said.

For Vaughn  she just wants changes to keep kids safe.

You have to be equipped with whats needed for situations like this. He should never have been left alone and watched. they watched this happen, Vaughn said.

6 News did reach out to Speaker Tate but has not heard back yet.

Moments before 6 News aired this report, Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for MDHHS, sent the following statement:

The health and safety of our staff and patients is our top concern. As part of the states continued commitment to providing behavioral health services to Michigan families, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced in April 2023, the upcoming construction of a new inpatient psychiatric hospital that would care for patients currently served at both Hawthorn Center and Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital in Westland. The new hospital is being made possible by a $325 million FY23 budget allocation and will be located at the site of the former Hawthorn Center. To accommodate the construction of the new facility, youth patients from Hawthorn Center were moved to a separate wing at Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital as of June 28, 2023. Michigans state hospitals are accredited by The Joint Commission and are committed to providing evidence-supported, person-centered inpatient care to individuals in an environment that values compassion, collaboration and community reintegration. We are always happy to participate in hearings and work together with our legislators. We welcome the opportunity to respond to any questions they may have and have already responded to questions and provided tours of Walter Reuther Psychiatric Hospital to Rep. Thompson and other legislators. Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman MDHHS, email statement to 6 News

She added information on what actions state officials are taking to address the concerns.

As part of our commitment to expanding access to behavioral health services, MDHHS has invested more than $360 million over the past two years to ensure families can receive services when and where they need them. This has included increasing access to community-based services to allow for interventions before an individual needs to be admitted into a residential facility and to have services and support for a healthy and successful transition back to the community following a stay at one of Michigans state hospitals. As part of this effort, the state has worked to increase the number of providers in Michigan through scholarships, as well as continue to improve access to care through certified community behavioral health clinics, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, crisis stabilization units and mobile crisis response units to help improve access to behavioral health care for youth and adults. $279.7 million to expand the number of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) sites in Michigan. $45 million to improve facilities for school-based health services and $28.9 million to continue school-based mental health services on campuses. $5 million for the Michigan Crisis and Access line. $5 million to offer scholarships for those going to college studying behavioral health and strengthen the health care workforce. $38 million for the Pine Rest pediatric behavioral health center to offer a comprehensive continuum of care for children and teens. $32 million for establishing crisis stabilization units. $10 million for establishing psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTF). Since June 2023, 28 youth have served by PRTFs, 15 of them discharged from Walter Reuther. Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman MDHHS, email to 6 News

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
LAWRENCE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT)  Authorities are conducting a death investigation after possible human remains were discovered in the Hatton community this week.

The Lawrence County Sheriffs Office (LCSO) responded to a call about some possible human skeletal remains in the 11000 block of Highway 101 on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. Officials said when deputies arrived they discovered what appeared to be human skeletal bones.

ALEA arrests three found with drugs, guns after chase through two counties

The skeletal remains were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for investigation and identification, according to the sheriffs office.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is assisting LCSO in the death investigation.

Anyone with information that may help with the investigation is encouraged to contact the sheriffs office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
The ripple effect of recent church exits may result in Oklahoma United Methodists being partnered with their counterparts in Arkansas under the leadership of one bishop.

Under a new realignment plan proposed by leaders with the United Methodist Church's South Central Jurisdiction, the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference would be placed under the leadership of the Rev. Laura Merrill, current bishop of the Arkansas United Methodist Conference.

Bishop Jimmy Nunn has been bishop of both Oklahoma conferences since 2016 and he is set to retire in August.

The South Central Jurisdiction episcopacy committee came up with the realignment plan and sent a letter outlining the proposal to delegates in mid-February.

"We intend to recommend to the SCJ (South Central Jurisdiction) Conference that there be no election of bishops in 2024," the committee said.

"This recommendation is informed by the high number of disaffiliations in our Jurisdiction, the changing landscape of the church, and the projected financial pressures on the episcopal fund."

More: What we know: Oklahoma churches seeking to cut ties with United Methodist denomination

In a statement, Nunn said the proposal to have one bishop over multiple conferences is not unusual. He noted that he is not only bishop of the Oklahoma conferences, but also the United Methodist Church's Northwest Texas Conference.

"Since 2022, I have been serving an additional conference, so this change is not as radical as it might seem," Nunn said.

Rev. Laura Merrill

The latest development is tied to an ongoing split over same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination that has been playing out in the international United Methodist Church for decades. In Oklahoma, 127 churches left, and in Arkansas 169 congregations exited, all via a special provision, adopted by the denomination's General Conference in 2019. The provision, known as Paragraph 2553, allowed churches wishing to make a "graceful exit" to end their affiliation with the United Methodist Church and take their property with them if they had theological disagreements with the denomination, particularly about same-sex marriage and ordination of gay clergy. The deadline for exiting the denomination by way of Paragraph 2553 was Dec. 31, 2023.

Same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination are prohibited according to the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline, a policy guide. Mostly conservative-leaning congregations in Oklahoma and other parts of the United States have left the denomination out of concern that it soon will become more liberal and frustration that bishops have not effectively enforced violations of the same-sex marriage and gay clergy ordination ban.

More: Oklahoma Supreme Court rules against two churches in United Methodist exit cases

What to know about the United Methodist Church conferences, and how many churches disaffiliated in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma and Arkansas conferences are two of 12 conferences that make up the United Methodist's South Central Jurisdiction. The South Central Jurisdiction also includes conferences in Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana and New Mexico.

United Methodist News, the United Methodist Church's official outlet, reported that 1,603 churches or 30.3% of the congregations in 2019, have left the South Central Jurisdiction conferences, mostly due to disaffiliation. The figures were based on a report by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.

After disaffiliations, 401 congregations remain connected to the two Oklahoma United Methodist conferences, while 422 churches remain affiliated with the Arkansas conference.

The realignment proposal to place the Oklahoma conferences under Merrill's leadership will be up for a vote at the South Central Jurisdiction meeting set for July in Rogers, Arkansas. Also to be considered is a proposal for Bishop Ruben Saenz Jr., leader of the Central Texas and Texas conferences, to add the Northwest Texas and North Texas conferences under his jurisdiction.

In a United Methodist News story, the Rev. Amy Lippoldt, chairwoman of the committee that came up with the proposed realignment, said disaffiliations played a large part in the proposal.

"We were going to have to do some sort of reconciling ourselves to reality in terms of the budget anyway," she told the news outlet. "Its a big change, to figure out across the jurisdiction the right deployment and what conferences could rightly share while we adjust to this different landscape with what conferences have suffered."

More: Numerous Oklahoma churches left the United Methodist Church. How did other regions fare?

In its letter to delegates, Lippoldt's committee said the realignment proposals could be affected by what happens at the denomination's General Conference gathering set for April 23 through May 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nunn said leaders of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conferences "have done outstanding work during a challenging time."

"I have complete confidence in the leaders in both conferences and know that they will work effectively with the next bishop as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," Nunn said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: United Methodists to vote on partnering Oklahoma, Arkansas conferences
NEW DELHI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were injured Friday in a blast at a popular eatery in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, police said.

The blast took place at Rameshwaram Cafe during the lunch hour.

According to police, three of the injured people were identified as employees of the cafe, while the fourth person was said to be a customer.

"The injured have been removed to the hospital," a police official said.

Authorities have rushed firefighters, police teams and bomb disposal squads to the spot.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

"Whether it is a cylinder blast or any other thing, the forensic experts will probe it thoroughly," the police official said. 
By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) - PFLAG, a leading U.S. LGBTQ advocacy group, has sued Texas' Republican attorney general for demanding information about the group's work with families of transgender minors seeking gender-affirming treatments, such as puberty blockers and hormones.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday evening in Travis County state court, PFLAG called Attorney General Ken Paxton's demands "a clear and unmistakable overreach...in retaliation for PFLAG successfully standing up for its members."

Paxton's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

PFLAG is also a plaintiff, along with several families of transgender adolescents, in lawsuits challenging Texas' ban on gender-affirming care for minors and a rule requiring the state's child protection agency to investigate families seeking such care.

PFLAG won preliminary orders blocking enforcement of the policies in both cases, which Paxton's office is appealing to the state's Supreme Court. The gender-affirming care ban has been allowed to take effect during the appeal, while investigations of families remain blocked for now.

Paxton's office on Feb. 9 demanded information from PFLAG about its communications concerning families' plans to access gender-affirming care, saying they were part of an investigation into possible violations of the state's consumer protection laws. The demand letters, which are attached to the lawsuit, did not elaborate on exactly how the consumer protection law might be violated.

PFLAG said the demands were actually an effort to get around an automatic pause on discovery in the earlier lawsuits.

It said the demands would violate its rights of free speech and free assembly, and could expose the identities of patients and families who have sought information about gender-affirming care.

Texas is one of more than 20 Republican-led states that have sought to restrict the treatments. Many have prompted legal challenges, and courts have been divided on whether to allow them.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Josie Kao)
Your chance of being born on leap day is less than 0.1%, yet when the TODAY show put out a call for leapers (people who were born on Feb. 29), we received over 1,000 responses ... and 23 leapers traveled to Studio 1A today.

Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin spoke with a few of the birthday folks on the show, and TODAY.com chatted with some of the youngest (and young at heart) leapers backstage to find out what they really think about being born on a day that occurs only once every four years.

Giada Catanzaro, age 16 (age in leap years: 4)

Hailing from Bridgewater, New Jersey, Giada Catanzaro celebrates her birthday in a big way.

"I normally celebrate on the 28th, but on years with the 29th I go out and do something big usually," she says. "I went to Disney for my first, Kalahari (an indoor water park) for my second, and I went to a UNC lacrosse game for my third birthday and now I'm here today."

TODAY team with all the leap day birthdays. (Nathan Congleton / TODAY)

Giada traveled to 30 Rock with her mom, Danielle Catanzaro, who says that having a leap day baby was completely unexpected because her actual due date was April 4.

"I was in complete shock," Danielle says. "So I don't even think I realized what day it was driving to the hospital. When I was finally at the hospital, it kind of all sunk in. And it was when my dad called me and he says, 'Danielle, do you know that there's less than 200,000 people in the country with this birthday?' And I'm like, 'Oh! Wait! It's leap day!'"

Noah Lewis, age 8 (age in leap years: 2)

Noah Lewis and his mom, Kristin Mendez, traveled all the way from Texas to be a part of TODAY's leap day birthday celebration. Like all the children in this morning's segment, Lewis seemed slightly amazed by all the attention.

"We're going to go to Central Park and ice skate, and then we're going to go to a Broadway show," Mendez shares. Additional family members came along on the trip to really make it a birthday to remember.

Emma Tesser, age 12 (age in leap years: 3)

Emma Tesser from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey was floored when Savannah and TODAY made her birthday wish come true by gifting her a trip to Universal Studios. What is this 12-year-old most looking forward to? "All the rides," she says backstage.

Emma Tesser has big plans for her 12th year. (Nathan Congleton / TODAY)

"My due date was actually February 29th," Emma's mother, Jodi Tesser, shares, "and I was really worried about it because I didn't want her to feel like she was going to see a calendar and not have her birthday on it. But it turned out to be such a special and amazing thing."

The Tessers try to make Emma's "real" birthdays exciting. For her first two leap year birthdays, the family went to Disney World. But since she'll celebrate her bat mitzvah this year, they weren't necessarily going to plan a big trip.

"When we got this call about being on TODAY, I thought that now we have something incredibly special to do for her third leap day birthday," Jodi says. "And now, Universal! We are blown away and so, so thankful. That was beyond generous."

Sadie Oldenborg, age 8 (age in leap years: 2)

Sadie Oldenborg and her parents, Ron and Katie, live in Port Jefferson, New York. Sadie was excited by all of the attention, and her parents were thrilled to give their daughter this experience.

Sadie Oldenborg, 8, is celebrating her second leap day birthday. (Nathan Congleton / TODAY)

Katie says she was "excited" to have a leap day baby "because it's something different and unique. And not many kids can say they are born on the leap year."

Sadie celebrated her "1st" birthday  at the age of 4  with a simple family party. But now that she knows that 2024 has her "real" birthday, her mom says, she wants to bump the celebration up to the next level. Sadie had a roller skating party with her friends last weekend, and after the broadcast, her parents were going to take her to the American Girl store.

On off-years, Ron and Katie celebrate Sadie's birthday on Feb. 28 for a very specific reason. "We have a daughter that's born in March," Ron says. "They each get their own months."

Debra Smith ONeal, age 72 (age in leap years: 18)

Together with her two daughters and her granddaughter, Debra Smith O'Neal drove to Manhattan from Newport News, Virginia. But it wasn't her first visit to Studio 1A.

"When I turned 'sweet 16,' I came here," O'Neil says, referring to her birthday eight years ago. "We came in and did a segment with Carson Daly. I've been watching TODAY since I was a little girl."

A teacher for 35 years, O'Neal says that she when she sees her former students, they might not remember her name, but they always remember her birthday.

O'Neal's advice to all the children celebrating leap day birthdays: "Just enjoy it because it always makes you special."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
High-quality tutoring programs not only get students up to speed in reading and math, they can also reduce absenteeism, a new study shows.

Focused on schools in Washington, D.C., the preliminary results show middle school students attended an additional three days and those in the elementary grades improved their attendance by two days when they received tutoring during regular school hours.

But high-impact tutoring defined as at least 90 minutes a week with the same tutor, spread over multiple sessions  had the greatest impact on students who missed 30% or more of the prior school year. Their attendance improved by at least five days, according to the study from the National Student Support Accelerator, a Stanford University-based center that conducts tutoring research.

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Susanna Loeb, who leads the center, called the data the first evidence of a strong causal link between tutoring specifically and attendance.

Hedy Chang, executive director of the nonprofit Attendance Works, said it makes sense that students come to school more often when theyre keeping up in class and getting good grades.

Part of why kids dont show up is because they dont feel successful in school, she said. Forming a connection with a tutor over several weeks or months can also make students more motivated to attend, she added. I do think its an impact of high-dosage tutoring, not necessarily just tutoring.

Related

Americans Have Yet to Accept COVIDs Tragedy  And Are Taking It Out On Schools

The early findings, which will be expanded in a future paper, reinforce the benefits of offering high-impact tutoring during the school day. The extra instructional time helps schools address two of their biggest post-pandemic problems  learning loss and chronic absenteeism, the researchers said. The White House has urged districts to not only target remaining federal relief funds toward those areas, but explore ways to sustain those efforts when they dry up.

Districts that continue tutoring programs will likely keep student achievement top of mind, Loeb said, with greater engagement  including increased attendance  as another outcome they hope to see.

D.C.s experience with tutoring also demonstrated how to successfully integrate tutoring sessions into the school day. The state education agency, which has spent $35 million on the program, funds staff members in charge of rearranging the schedule to accommodate the sessions and track data on student participation.

They took that off the plate of the principal, Christina Grant, D.C.s state superintendent, said at a January conference hosted by Accelerate, an organization that works to scale high-dosage tutoring. She added that working with researchers like those from Stanford can help districts communicate the impact of federal relief funds. Without those partnerships, she said, we would look back three years later and not be able to tell the authentic story around what happened to $35 million.

Christina Grant, left, state superintendent of the District of Columbia schools, participated in Accelerates conference in January along with Joanna Cannon of the Walton Family Foundation. (Accelerate)

The district, which had a chronic absenteeism rate of over 40% last school year, began its tutoring program in 2021. Officials awarded grants to a variety of providers, including Saga Education, which focuses on high school math and American Universitys teacher preparation program.

Sousa Middle School, in southeast D.C., works with George Washington Universitys Math Matters program, which pays college students interested in STEM or education to work as tutors.

My challenge, when this program first began, was getting students to come and not look at it as a form of punishment, said Sharon Fitzgerald, Sousas tutoring manager. Now students who have graduated out of the program ask why they cant come back.

Sousa Middle seventh graders practiced math skills during a tutoring session. (D.C. Public Schools)

Students responded well, she said, because its a break away from seeing their regular teachers every day and because they look up to the college students. The tutors, she added, also have a clever way of giving students a taste of how much more theyll learn during their next meeting and if they attend class everyday.

It was what the tutors left them with in the last session that encouraged them to come to school, Fitzgerald said.

Related

As Relief Funds Expire, Harvards Kane Says Whole Generation Still Needs Help

The results are likely to spark more interest in how tutoring and attendance initiatives can work in tandem.

We have not intentionally used tutors as a way to address attendance. I can imagine that it could help if part of their work focused on that, said A.J. Gutierrez, co-founder of Saga Education. I see potential.

Chang, with Attendance Works, said the results are on the right track, but dont go far enough. During the 2022-23 school year, several states still had chronic absenteeism rates over 30%, including Alaska, New Mexico and Oregon.

Tutoring doesnt address all of the barriers that keep students from attending school, like health conditions or bullying, she said. But tutors could refer students to school attendance teams when those concerns surface.

What more could we get, she asked if tutoring was tied to a bigger strategy, a more comprehensive approach? 
France will focus on providing Ukraine with air bombs and not Mirage fighters, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu reportedly said at a meeting of the country's Defense Committee of the National Assembly on Feb. 26.

According to the French security outlet Zone Militaire, Lecornu highlighted that France needs to pay attention to providing Ukraine with "useful" and "effective" military assistance for Ukrainian forces.

The Defense Minister reminded lawmakers that Paris is adapting air bombs, such as the precision-guided A2SM, to Soviet-origin aircraft that the Ukrainian military already possesses instead of sending Mirage fighters. Lecornu already announced earlier this year that France would supply Ukraine with 50 A2SM missiles per month until the end of the year.

The delivery of Mirage 2000D fighters, Lecornu stated, would instead present complicated challenges that could deter the effectiveness of French military support to Ukraine.

Read also: France, Netherlands back Czech plan to buy ammunition for Ukraine outside EU

The Mirage 2000D is a French fighter jet manufactured by the French military and defense company, Dassault Aviation. Ukraine has consistently appealed to Western allies to supply aircraft support in the form of fighter jets, including Dassault fighters and F-16s. Zelensky has previously said that Ukraine's allies need to "move past their taboo" on supplying aircraft to Ukraine.

Despite Lecornu's comments about the inefficiencies of providing Mirage fighters, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced at a press conference earlier this week that Ukraine is "talking about fighter jets with France."

Are we completely closed to the question of the Mirage?" Lecornu said this week. "The president has always said: 'There is no taboo'... The fifty A2SM bombs, every month and now compatible with Soviet-class aircraft [are a] 'game changer.'.Afterwards, we have discussions about aviation."

Critics argue that allies reluctance to supply F-16 and Dassault fighter jets and long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine would likely prolong Russias war of aggression and result in thousands of deaths.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Rep. Barbara Lees (D-Calif.) Senate campaign released her plan for climate action Friday, two weeks after front-runner Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The plan, first shared with The Hill, emphasizes resolving racial and class disparities in environmental matters and promises to expand the Biden administrations Justice40 initiative, which requires at least 40 percent of benefits from federal renewable energy investments to flow to disadvantaged communities.

Lees plan also calls for passage of the A. Donald McEachin Environmental Justice for All Act, a sweeping bill aimed at addressing environmental disparities named for the late Virginia congressman who introduced an early version.

It would also address fossil fuel use by the Department of Defense, the worlds single biggest consumer of fossil fuels at an institutional level. Lee has been an outspoken critic of the Pentagons size and budget and in 2001 was the only member of Congress to vote against the invasion of Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks. Lees plan calls for the passage of legislation she has sponsored that would cut the defense budget by some $100 million.

The California congresswomans plan further calls for the reimplementation of a ban on offshore drilling, as well as passage of a Green New Deal for Cities that would allocate $1 trillion for state and local governments to develop climate resiliency.

An urgent approach to climate means rectifying historical injustices, strengthening global peace and security, investing in jobs, and holding corporations accountable, Lee said in a statement. We can, and we must, prioritize the health of our world and the health of communities  especially those that have and continue to bear the brunt of this crisis  for a truly just and sustainable future.

Schiff was the first candidate to introduce his plan in February. Republican Steve Garvey is second to Schiff in most polling, followed by Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Lee. Under the states jungle primary system, the top two finishers will advance to the general election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
George Galloway first became an MP in 1987 (NIKLAS HALLE'N)

Left-wing firebrand George Galloway was elected to the UK parliament on Friday after tapping into anger over the Israel-Hamas war in a chaotic by-election marred by anti-Semitism allegations.

Galloway, 69, first became an MP in 1987 and will return to the House of Commons for the first time since 2015 after winning the seat of Rochdale, in northwest England, by nearly 6,000 votes.

The turbulent vote saw the main opposition Labour party withdraw its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he touted a conspiracy theory that Israel had allowed Hamas to carry out its deadly attack on October 7.

Galloway, long accused by critics of stoking community tensions, put the Gaza conflict front and centre of his campaign in Rochdale, which has a 30 percent Muslim population.

"Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza," Galloway, leader of the fringe Workers Party of Great Britain, said in his victory speech, referring to Labour's leader.

"You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip," he added.

Starmer, tipped by pollsters to become Britain's next prime minister following a general election due later this year, has been reluctant to criticise Israel and only recently backed calls for a ceasefire.

Labour's stance has caused divisions within the party and sparked several frontbench resignations, but pollsters say the centre-left outfit remains on track to oust the ruling Conservatives in the nationwide vote.

- 'Maverick' -

Galloway has been a repeated thorn in the side of Labour since he was expelled from party in the 2000s.

His anti-war rhetoric will now pose a headache for Starmer after he is sworn into parliament on Monday.

But political scientists cautioned against reading too much into the result, in which the country's traditional three main parties failed to finish in either first or second place.

"If George Galloway can all of a sudden manufacture 20-30 clones to stand in the seats with the highest Muslim populations, and generate adequate resources to run a general election campaign, then maybe he can pose Labour a serious threat," said Chris Hopkins of polling firm Savanta.

"But realistically, Galloway is a bit of a maverick, a one-off, and has taken huge advantage of a non-campaign from the established parties in Rochdale."

He grabbed nearly 40 percent of the votes cast -- on a turnout of 39.7 percent -- while a local businessman and independent candidate was the surprise runner-up.

The by-election was triggered by the death of veteran Labour MP Tony Lloyd.

A Labour spokesperson said the party "deeply" regretted that it was not able to have a candidate and apologised to Rochdale residents.

"George Galloway only won because Labour did not stand," said the spokesperson, adding that Galloway "is only interested in stoking fear and division".

"As an MP he will be a damaging force in our communities and public life."

- 'Concerned' -

The Scottish-born Galloway sparked controversy in the 1990s when he visited then-Iraq leader Saddam Hussein, telling him: "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability."

He then gained international notoriety in 2005 when he was called to testify over Iraq in the US Senate. He was expelled from Labour in part for calling on British troops "to obey illegal orders" in Iraq.

Galloway, then representing the Respect Party, ousted a Labour MP for a constituency in east London at the 2005 general election. He last represented a seat in Bradford, northern England, from 2012 to 2015.

A spokesperson for the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism said Galloway has "an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community".

"Given his historic inflammatory rhetoric and the current situation faced by the Jewish community in this country, we are extremely concerned by how he may use the platform of the House of Commons in the remaining months of this parliament."

pdh/jj/db
by Matthew Rusling, Xiong Maoling

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing domestic discontent over his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, U.S. President Joe Biden is now pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza in the run-up to November's presidential elections.

As more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, Biden said earlier this week that he hoped to see a ceasefire by next Monday.

"Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend, I mean, the end of the weekend," Biden said Monday. "We're close, it's not done yet. And my hope is that by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire."

"The status quo isn't working," Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua while commenting on Biden's words.

Recent weeks have seen an increase in pressure on Biden to call for a ceasefire after the president was criticized when the United States vetoed another United Nations resolution that called on Israel to halt the fighting.

To protest Israel's military operation in Gaza, an active-duty airman of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire Sunday at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

"The uptick in criticism from Progressives and Democrats overall for his response to the war is a real danger to the president," reported The Hill, a Washington D.C. newspaper that reports on Congress and politics.

Biden's "pro-Israel stance could result in him losing votes in 2024 in critical states like Michigan," The paper reported last week.

Our Revolution, a political group founded by Senator Bernie Sanders, encouraged Michigan voters to vote "uncommitted" in Tuesday's Democratic primary instead of voting directly for Biden.

Over 101,000 Michigan voters cast their votes as "uncommitted" to protest Biden's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, accounting for more than 13 percent of the Michigan Democratic primary vote.

The state of Michigan is home to many Arab-Americans, who have expressed a sense of betrayal by what they believe is Biden's pro-Israel stance in the war in Gaza.

Greg Cusack, a former member of the Iowa House of Representatives, told Xinhua he thinks that "nothing will placate his (Biden's) domestic critics short of ending the destruction of Gaza, and I see no indication that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to help at all."

Recent polls have revealed that voters generally disapprove of Biden's management of the violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Younger Americans are notably more critical than older voters, expressing dissatisfaction with both Israel's actions and the administration's handling of the Gaza conflict.

The U.S. government has been facing increasing protests across the country calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and some groups are even seeking legal challenges to force the White House to withdraw support for Israel.

Speaking of whether a ceasefire would help Biden, Galdieri said: "I don't know that it will turn around his numbers with the public at large." 
As part of theGrios Running Black election series, we sit down with U.S. Rep. Blunt Rochester, who is running to become the first Black American from Delaware elected to the U.S. Senate.

TheGrios Running Black election series profiles Black candidates running for office in the 2024 elections. If successful, each candidate profiled could make history in their state. Hear from them in their own words about whats at stake in their races, for the country, and for Black and brown communities on the political margin.

After serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., is ready for higher office.

The current Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Delaware told theGrio she believes she could have a greater impact in the upper chamber of Congress. Democracy is on the line, Blunt Rochester said of the 2024 elections.

If her campaign is successful, Blunt Rochester would become the first woman, Black person, and person of color to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Delaware. The seasoned public servant said that, if elected to the Senate, she would continue to focus on job growth and the economy, reproductive rights, and strengthening the nations health care system, including lowering medical drug prices.

Blunt Rochester, 62, said she is proud of the work she has been able to do as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has served since 2017. She said one of the highlights of working in Congress has been fighting for the passage of both the bipartisan infrastructure law and elements of the Build Back Better Act, the Inflation Reduction Act.

We ended up with the greatest investment in climate in the history of this country, she said of critical investments, which allowed us to lower costs for Americans, particularly seniors.

While Blunt Rochester has experienced some victories working in the U.S. House, she also experienced one of Capitol Hills darkest moments in U.S. history.

The Democratic lawmaker recounted witnessing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection when a mob of supporters for former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent the transfer of power from Trump to then-President-elect Joe Biden.

It was a traumatic day for our country, she said. But the fact that we went back in that night and certified the election and did our job also was the most uplifting night for me.

Blunt Rochester, who has spent decades committed to serving others, began her political career as an intern and caseworker for then-U.S. Rep. Tom Carper, D-Del., who became the states governor and U.S. senator.

Blunt Rochester later worked as a cabinet member for Governors Carper and Ruth Ann Minner. She notably served as Delawares secretary of labor, deputy secretary of health and social services, and state personnel director.

After winning her House race in 2016, Blunt Rochester became the first woman and person of color elected to represent Delaware in Congress.

She told theGrio she was inspired to run for office following her husbands death in 2014.

I was a widow, not sure what I was going to do next with my life, said the congresswoman. This moment changed everything for me.

One day, she was in a local grocery store and saw a father with children return a bag of grapes because they cost $9.

It shook me to my core, and at that moment, I realized people are struggling, but Im still alive. I can still serve, she said. So, I decided to run for Congress.

WASHINGTON  OCTOBER 20: Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., waits to vote during the third failed vote to elect a new Speaker of the House in the Capitol on Friday, October 20, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In 2023, incumbent Senator Carper announced that he would not seek re-election, prompting Blunt Rochester to throw her hat in the race.

On Sept. 10, Blunt Rochester will face off against Democratic candidate Pamela Brown in the Democratic primary to determine who will be on the ballot for the 2024 general election on Nov. 5. She said she believes she is the right person for the job because of her record of accomplishments that are based on the needs of Delawareans.

Thats why Im in the [Congressional] Progressive Caucus, the New Dems, the Womens Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, and an assistant whip, Blunt Rochester said of her congressional resume.

Blunt Rochester said she has a great rapport with her constituents, so much so that she shares a unique chant with them.

I yell to the crowd when Lisa goes to Washington, then they yell back we all go to Washington, she shared. I want to make sure that all Delawareans are seen and heard and represented. Thats what Ill continue to do in the Senate.

If elected, Blunt Rochester would join a shortlist of Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate. Currently, Senator Laphonza Butler, D-Calif, is the only Black woman in the Senate. After the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Butler was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2023 to temporarily hold the seat until after the general election on Nov. 5.

There have only been two other Black women to serve in the Senate. Carol Moseley Braun was the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, representing Illinois from 1993 to 1999. Vice President Kamala Harris was the second Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, representing California from 2017 to 2021.

We need to have representation in the Senate, said Blunt Rochester, who acknowledged, It is an honor should it happen.

She added, Its also a responsibility that I dont take lightly because I know others are watching, and its a necessity that our voices be heard.

Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter.

The post Lisa Blunt Rochester, who turned tragedy into purpose, aims to join historic shortlist of Black female US senators appeared first on TheGrio.
Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture Kestutis Navickas states there have been no cases of imported Ukrainian grain being falsely labelled as a domestic product and re-exported to Poland, and that the protesting Polish farmers who made the allegations have been unable to back up their claims.

Source: European Pravda with reference to LRT

Quote: "We did not receive any such complaints and have been unable to prove the claims. We met with the Customs Department today, which is very fastidious in keeping records of any potentially illegal trade. There werent any."

Polish farmers believe that some of the Ukrainian grain sent to Lithuania is being re-exported to Poland.

Navickas and his Polish counterpart Cheslav Sekersky will meet remotely on Friday to discuss the situation at the state border as well as the demands of Polish farmers.

The conversation will take place after Polish farmers, who were unable to reach an agreement with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday, plan to partially blockade the Lithuanian-Polish border beginning Friday.

Background:

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte previously stated that the actions of Polish farmers appear to be a hybrid operation of Russian special services aimed at dividing Ukraine's allies.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also stated that the protests by Polish farmers bear similarities to "hybrid operations."

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  Little Rock police said they arrested a high school student after they found a gun in his possession Friday morning.

According to the Pulaski County Special School District, officials with Joe T. Robinson High School received an email that a parent chose not to send their child to school after alluding to receiving a threat from another student.

Bauxite High School paraprofessional arrested, accused of giving student controlled substances

School district officials said that PCSSD security and Little Rock police officers took the student accused of making the threat to the principals office after he was dropped off at the school.

Officials said that authorities arrested the student, 18-year-old Alex Bazzelle, after they searched his backpack and found a weapon.

North Little Rock Schools report student found with gun at Amboy Elementary School

Police officials have not released any additional information on the incident, including the type of weapon found.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
Screenshot: video by Main Directorate of the National Police of Donetsk Oblast

A family with two children has been evacuated from the town of Torestsk in Donetsk Oblast. Their house is located just 300 metres away from the frontline.

The family hesitated to leave because of the grandmothers health.

Source: the Main Directorate of the National Police of Donetsk Oblast

In the video posted by the police, the mother of the family explains that one of the grandmothers has dementia, and the other has problems with her legs. After a few minutes the police manage to convince the woman to evacuate.

At the moment, a total of 17 children remain in Toretsk. Mandatory evacuation is ongoing in Toretsk hromada due to its close proximity to the frontline [a hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories  ed.].

"Most adults realise the seriousness of the situation and have evacuated to safer regions with their small children. Yet there are families who refuse to evacuate. Donetsk Oblast law enforcement visits such families to convince them," the police say.

Background: Ukraines government wants to implement mandatory evacuation from 18 more villages in Kharkiv Oblast.

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In the wake of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear Donald Trumps demand for absolute immunity from prosecutionpotentially delaying his insurrection-related trial until after the electionDemocrats should take careful note of Liz Cheneys response to the decision:



Delaying the January 6 trial suppresses critical evidence that Americans deserve to hear. Donald Trump attempted to overturn an election and seize power. Our justice system must be able to bring him to trial before the next election. SCOTUS should decide this case promptly.  Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) February 28, 2024

The courts decision is terrible news, to be sure, but it gives Democrats an opportunity to clarify a few crucial points, and they should seize it.



First, Democrats should stress that voters need to know before the election whether Trump committed crimesand this is due to them as a matter of right. Second, Trump is seeking these delays to end all prosecutions of himself if he regains the White Houseto corruptly place himself above the law by pardoning himself or having his handpicked lickspittle attorney general do it. Democrats must say clearly that if the court helps delay the trial until after the election, it will be enabling him to do that.

As many have noted, the Supreme Court didnt have to agree to review an appeals court ruling against Trump, who is demanding immunity from prosecution for conspiring to obstruct the official electoral count and defraud the United States, among other charges. The high court could have simply let the lower court ruling stand, given that Republican-appointed and Democratic-appointed judges unanimously ruled that Trumps efforts to overturn the election dont constitute official actsand thus dont get immunitya clear-cut legal case.

This is not a difficult legal question, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, a constitutional law professor, told me. All the Supreme Court has done is to introduce several months of gratuitous delay right before the presidential election.

The court has set April 22 to hear arguments, and if it takes its time in ruling, the decision may not come until late June. That and pretrial logistics might postpone the trial until after the election.

Perhaps you think the Supreme Court has good reason to weigh in on a matter of such importance. But even if we accept this, the court still has the option of deciding the case in time for the trial to proceed before the election, notes Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at University of Texas at Austin. Though justices likely wont be influenced by the election schedule, Vladeck says, the trials timing is clearly within the courts control.

This is where Cheney and Democrats come in.

Note that Cheney stated unequivocally that voters deserve to know whether Trump committed crimes while trying to overthrow democracyand deserve a full accounting of those actionsprecisely because the sheer gravity of what he did threatens the democratic system itself. As Will Stancil points out, Democrats sometimes hesitate to talk this way, out of fear of being perceived as trying to politicize legal processes.

But in this case, Democrats have an obligation to level with voters about whats really happening here.

At this point, the notion that Trump would use presidential power to end prosecutions of himself is so widely accepted that news accounts note it in passing. He could use the powers of his office to seek to dismiss the election interference indictment altogether, The New York Times observes, as detachedly as it might report on Trumps plans to alter the decor in the Oval Office.

So ask yourself this: What percentage of voters is aware that Trump actually will have the power to cancel ongoing prosecutions of himself, if hes elected president again?

Remember, sizable majorities believe Trump committed crimes in trying to overthrow the election and that the prosecutions are holding Trump accountable under the law, as opposed to trying to hurt him politically. Voters do care that Trump committed alleged crimes, and they do think he is being legitimately held accountable.

But how many voters grasp that if the trial is delayed, the election itself will decide whether that process runs to completion? How many understand that the Supreme Courts handling of this matter will determine whether Trump has the opportunityshould he win the electionto place himself beyond legal accountability in a way no other criminal defendant can?

Democrats need to seize this moment to make those stakes clear.

Its not unreasonable for Democrats to worry about the implications of being vocal on this matter. It is potentially problematic to demand that the Supreme Court make decisions in keeping with the political timetable. But Trump himself created an unprecedented situation: Trump tried to nullify constitutional democracy to seize power in defiance of lawful processes. Hes demanding total immunity for any crimes he committed toward that end. Hes dismissing any and all prosecutions for those crimes as inherently illegitimate. And he will use his presidential powers to end those prosecutions the second hes given the chance.

In short, because of Trump and nobody else, the Supreme Courts handling of the situation will inescapably either create a potential pathway for Trump to render the law moot, or not do that. This is what Democrats have to communicate to voters.

As of now, Raskin told me, The Supreme Court has bestowed a giant gift on Donald Trump.

Any efforts by the hard-right faction of the court to delay Trumps trial render it an enemy of the Constitution and the rule of law, Raskin continued. The Democratic Party has to stand up. Its up to us.

Some Democrats will balk at this kind of talk. But theres a way for them to allow that the Supreme Court shouldnt tailor its deliberations to the political timetable while also communicating this undeniable reality: How the court proceeds will of necessity dictate whether Trump has a plausible pathway toward placing himself above the law entirely, or whether that pathway is barred to him.

Liz Cheneys language provides the beginnings of a template. Democrats, dont mince words: Just tell the plain, blunt truth.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  An Oklahoma City animal rescue is seeking help for seven puppies saved from a fire on Thursday.

According to Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society, the puppies were originally found in a box near a convenience store before being taken in by an unhoused person. That person bottle fed the pups and kept them sheltered in the building.

RELATED NEWS: Fire crews knock down commercial fire in SW Oklahoma City

Officials say that the building caught fire Thursday morning and three of the puppies did not survive, but the seven remaining need help.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

Puppies rescued from fire. Image courtesy Mutts Misfits Animal Rescue Society.

They are a tiny 2 lbs each and just 4 weeks old. They have experienced smoke inhalation and smell AWFUL. They shows signs of being malnourished and some have bites/sores all over them. One shows signs of trauma. These precious pups need medical care. said Mutt Misfits on Facebook.

To learn more, visit the Mutt Misfits Animal Rescue Society Facebook page.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Cable news channel Comporium will no longer produce local newscasts for viewers in South Carolina.

CN2 has operated a newsroom in Rock Hill since 1992, delivering a daily local newscast to cable customers in York, Lancaster and Chester counties.

ALSO READ: Shipping giant UPS to open Rock Hill facility

A news release posted on CN2s website reveals that Comporium sold CN2 to OTS Media Group, which owns WRHI and other radio stations.

OTS Media said that instead of a daily local newscast, it will air a live multi-interview program. Some WRHI radio programs will now be broadcast live on CN2 as well.

Channel 9 has partnered with both CN2 and WRHI for news coverage throughout the years.

(WATCH BELOW: Manufacturer to close Mooresville facility, cut nearly 100 jobs)
The estate of a former Marysville resident has gifted St. Clair County Community College with $250,000.

The gift comes from Tom Andison's estate. The planned gift has created a new endowment fund at the Community Foundation of St. Clair County, which manages the 57 endowments that make up the SC4 Foundation.

"Tom may not have attended SC4, yet he appreciated the value of education provided by our community college and knew that endowed funds are the gifts that gives forever," said Will Oldford, board chair of the SC4 Foundation and treasurer of the community foundation.

The Andison estate and planned gifts were handled by attorney John Coury.

Andison graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955. After serving in the army and teaching business at Buena Vista University in Iowa, Andison returned to Marysville and spent the rest of his career as a stockbroker, including 20 years at the local A. G. Edwards office.

When he was not working, Andison was active in the First Presbyterian Church in Port Huron. He was also a longtime volunteer with the International Orchestra and the Port Huron Museums.

"Having personally known Tom for much of my life, with his financial background, he knew the value of leaving his planned gift to the community foundation," Oldford said. "Tom was able to watch the growth of the community foundation first-hand, and today we manage about $100 million in community assets that benefit every sector of our life."

In recent years, the community foundation has pressed forward in the evolution of its scholarship programs and support for young people. The foundation focuses on overall college success, and aims to be innovative in its approach to supporting young adults during their college career.

The community foundation manages 300 different endowment funds overall. In 2024, it has given away more than $4.6 million.

Oldford said the planned gift from the Andison estate is an example of how residents cherish local institutions such as SC4. He said the community foundation is proud to help honor these philanthropic goals.

Contact McKenna Golat at mgolat@gannett.com.

Subscribe: Follow more stories from the Blue Water Area. Subscribe to the Port Huron Times Herald.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Andison estate gifts SC4 with $250,000
Principal Garey Coke greets students with high fives as they get off their bus early Wednesday morning, August 16, 2023, on the first day of school at Lingerfeldt Elementary in Gastonia.

Gaston County Board of Education members came together with Gaston legislators Wednesday to discuss priorities for the district.

Gaston County Senators Ted Alexander and Brad Overcash joined North Carolina House Representatives Kelly Hastings and John Torbett to talk about refining the district's education budget, continuing to focus on post-graduation preparation, artificial intelligence tools and more.

Board of Education members Josh Crisp, Lee Dedmon, and A.M. Stephens III joined chairman Jeff K. Ramsey and vice chairman Dot Cherry in sharing the board's priorities, which include college and career readiness, contributing to a qualified workforce, maintaining healthy, safe, and responsible schools, and innovation, according to documents from the board.

An overarching topic of discussion at the meeting was how both the legislators and board members could collaborate to benefit Gaston students. Here is what they brought to the table:

What's working

Both the legislative team and board members agreed in the discussion that a focus on career and technical education classes (CTE), Career and College Promise, and Advanced Placement (AP) classes have benefitted both students and parents in Gaston County.

Ramsey said the Career and College Promise program, which allows high school students to get college credit while completing high school, "is taking off."

Ramsey added that the program saves parents money on their child's college education, and that the students are taking advantage of every opportunity available.

According to Cherry, AP classes are also still a popular choice in the district.

Room for improvement

CTE classes are also a popular choice for Gaston County high school students.

However, according to the board, the district is struggling to keep enough CTE instructors on board to teach those classes.

Ramsey said the board requested an increase in state funding for career and technical education, adding that potential teachers can make significantly more money in their field than they can as part-time teachers in the classroom.

Crisp, who represents the Dallas Township, said it can be difficult to keep CTE instructors on board when they are only working part-time, receiving no benefits, but are still required to personally invest in a nine-class course to obtain a teaching certificate.

Crisp added that charter schools are not required to have CTE instructors obtain a teaching certificate, and proposed the possibility of legislative changes that could help alleviate the issue for public schools.

Another topic of conversation during the meeting involved effective ways to correct behavioral issues in the classroom without sending students home.

Torbett suggested a legislative move to reinstate some alternative schools with the ability to focus on mental health and behavioral issues for students who have a pattern of behavioral problems.

Also on the topic of behavioral issues, Crisp inquired about North Carolina's Raise the Age law, which raised the age at which a student can be legally charged as an adult to 18-years-old.

Crisp said he believes many students have been emboldened by the law and are more likely to act out because they know there will be no long-term consequences. He mentioned bringing the age back down to 16-years-old.

Hastings said there is nothing wrong with looking at it, but that there is more nuance to the issue than meets the eye.

Artificial Intelligence

Three areas of focus Gaston residents can expect to see in schools include reading, math and science.

All parties agreed that third-grade reading will be a focal point in coming years with math and science in all grades also becoming a focus.

Torbett mentioned at the beginning of the meeting that Khan Academy, a popular learning tool for instructors and study tool for students, is now using artificial intelligence that can answer student questions and give in-depth explanations on various topics.

Torbett suggested leaning into Khan Academy, not only as a learning tool for students, but also as a lesson planning tool for teachers.

Teacher pay

Toward the end of the meeting, the group discussed teacher pay and ways to implement increases.

The representatives discussed the most recent 7% increase that was included in a North Carolina state budget.

Torbett suggested the possibility of raises for seasoned teachers who are willing to mentor and train younger teachers, or otherwise take on additional responsibilities.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County legislators discuss priorities for the school district
PARIS (AP)  A green labyrinthine art gallery surrounded Loewes luminaries on Friday where they breathed crisp air from enveloping woodland on Paris eastern edge, among the ancient stones of Chateau de Vincennes.

The gallery-decor walls were lined with the framed, wooded landscapes of artistic outsider and American painter Albert York, a clear statement of commonality from the brands one-time outsider fashion designer, Jonathan Anderson. The Northern Irish master can always be counted on twisting, bending, and reinventing the wheel in his own fashion. Little wonder Loewe is among the hottest tickets for Paris Fashion Week.

ANDERSONS OPPOSITES ATTRACT

Inverting the notions of class and money, in a show replete with contradictions Anderson turned high to low and vice versa with aplomb. Tropes of British Isles working-class styles were inventively reimagined for the luxury runway  a humble woolen sweater vest was made of rough-textured balled reams of black wool, above baggy pants, intentionally faded evoking wornness, with dynamic, gathered swooshes in the fabric. A lowly brown rough, A-line tunic had a feel for historic garb and was elevated to high fashion by its minimalism.

Yet among all this, the most interesting part of this veritable mine of ideas was Andersons fusion of couture and tailoring; the highest forms of dress for women and men were intentionally muddled up, fused and confused.

Anderson transformed the traditional Etonian morning suit into a captivating hybrid dress with flappy bands dancing along the floor. Beneath a crisply tailored jacket unfolded a spectacle of billowing white printed sultan pants. They had an unexpected parachute-like effect at the back, creating a dramatic silhouette with VIP guests capturing the moment with their cameras.

Elsewhere, a mens gray jacket was elevated to a work of art with a silver, intricately carved metal couture collar, showcasing sculptural details so exquisite they defy description. This is where Anderson truly excels, venturing into the realm of the impossible: He crafts visual poetry on the runway that is grounded in reality and wearable on the street. His designs are a testament to the rare ability to blend the imaginative with the practical, creating fashion that both inspires and is accessible.

THE OUTSIDER REIMAGINED

Guests were greeted by 18 of Yorks artworks, showcasing lush landscapes and serene still lifes, not only reflecting Yorks status as a beloved inspiration for Anderson but highlighting the outsider theme. Born in Detroit in 1928 and later relocating to New York, York forged a unique path. After connecting with gallerist Roy Davis in 1962, he chose to distance himself from the vibrant New York art scene, instead finding solace and inspiration in the tranquility of Southampton, where he continued to paint until his passing in 2009.

Anderson, sharing his own narrative of feeling like an underdog, as he once confided to The Cut in 2022, identifies with Yorks journey. Citing his Irish background and the challenges of not being accepted into a top art school, Anderson saw himself on the periphery in the early years. Yet, through designs that consistently push boundaries and captivate the fashion world, he has become Pariss celebrated figure. Much like York, who was eventually collected by Jacqueline Kennedy and revered by the elite, Anderson has transformed from an outsider to a luminary, celebrated by the glitterati and beyond.

ISSEY MIYAKES ARTISTIC ALCHEMY: WRAPPING MODERNITY IN TRADITION

Inside the breathtaking Art Deco interiors of the Palais de la Porte Doree, Issey Miyake s guests admired wall-to-wall frescos and bas-reliefs of exotic scenes lit up in dappled lighting. This symphony of light continued into show of the Japanese house, which excels in techno-fabric, casting harsh, broodingly surreal shadows on looks showcasing explorations of sculptural dressing. Pleated wrapping and swathes of layering  sometimes in eye-popping hues such as vivid blue  created a sense of envelopment and protection.

Central to this collection were two series called Envision and Wander embodying the essence of wrapping the human form in cloth, drawing from the concept of clothing as a protective and playful gesture. Sculptural forms came from the wrapping of fabric around the body to create garments with natural draping, while hand-pleated fabrics in organic silhouettes created the sense of a nomad wandering through airy, expansive designs.

Despite the innovative exploration of form and fabric, the shows finale ventured perhaps too far into the concept of concealment, with excessively pleated looks that obscured the models faces and resulted in cumbersome silhouettes. This unexpected turn surprised many, as models navigated the runway encased in pleats from head to toe.

MIYAKE UNVEILS FUTURISTIC FLAGSHIP STORE IN PARIS

Fashion Week is more than just the shows; brands capitalize on the presence of the international fashion circus and hold myriad launches and openings with intentional timing.

On Friday, VIP guests sipping on champagne celebrated the opening of Issey Miyakes new flagship store at 28 rue Francois in the luxury heartland of the 8th district. Previously occupied by the Europe 1 radio studio, the building, now housing a retail store for the first time, has been transformed with natural light streaming in through the front and rear windows.

Designed by Tokujin Yoshioka, the space has a modern aesthetic with orange aluminum walls that shine brightly, with a futuristic edge. Yoshioka said, The historic 19th-century French architecture fused with orange, which symbolizes the sun. The space, composed of orange aluminum walls made by exquisite anodizing technique, expresses Issey Miyakes philosophy of craftsmanship and energy for the future.

BECKHAM: A STUDY IN STYLING, PRECISION AND COHESION

Victoria Beckhams collection, presented at the Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, showcased a deliberate approach to styling and design, threading through various decades with consistent precision. The collections stark black leather coat, neatly paired with a white turtleneck, introduced a refined simplicity.

A journey through eras began with a 70s-inspired high-collared crimson silk gown, and with a loose pastel suit, that was a nod to retro elegance with modern twists. While, a foray into the 90s came with a denim total look, blending casual with chic in a way  that was retrospective and fresh.

One highlight was a black top enhanced by cascading silvery ribbons, demonstrating the former Spice Girls flair for integrating dynamic, fashion-forward elements. A thick ribbed turtleneck sweater emphasizing texture, and the collections focus on material and form. Among the more playful designs was a heart-shaped textural mini dress, showcasing the now-seasoned designer's ability to infuse whimsy without sacrificing sophistication.

Each piece, regardless of its historical inspiration, was marked by a meticulous styling that spoke to Beckhams established aesthetic  that Paris Fashion Week is gradually revering since she presented her debut here in Oct. 2022. David Beckham supported his wife backstage (in front of reporters) in a chic turtleneck and suit.

YAMAMOTO'S BOLD SILHOUETTES

Yohji Yamamoto, the venerable Japanese designer renowned for his avant-garde approach to fashion, presented a masterclass collection in dramatic layering and architectural forms. A striking display of armor-like shoulders set the tone for a runway narrative that felt like a visual exploration of a post-apocalyptic warriors wardrobe. The designs, with myriad sleeves erupting from the back of garments, resembled war-torn shrapnel reimagined into a fashion statement, blending the harsh realities of conflict with the ethereal beauty of resilience.

The punk-inflected collection was emphasized through exaggerated pocket details from tunic dresses, imbuing them with a militaristic air. This was fashion as a form of rebellion, where conventional silhouettes were disrupted and reassembled into something entirely new or unexpected.

Adding to the intrigue were accessories that seemed to borrow from the ceremonial: face nets and square hats paired with angular silhouettes that transitioned seamlessly into interpretations of the Etonian morning suit. This style has captured the fashion worlds imagination this season, apparently.

Yamamotos ability to marry the traditional with the avant-garde was on full display, with black and white gowns that evoked the whimsy of a Pierrot doll, morphing effortlessly into skirts adorned with gathered pockets and suit jackets with elongated tails. These pieces, reminiscent of the legendary British designer Vivienne Westwoods iconic punk-inspired creations, paid homage to a legacy of fashion rebellion while firmly establishing Yamamotos collection as a beacon of innovative design.

Throughout the presentation, Yamamotos penchant for deconstruction and reconstruction was evident, challenging the audience to reconsider their perceptions of beauty and form.
GENEVA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) agencies and officials on Thursday warned of growing risks of starvation, desperation and social disorder in war-torn Gaza.

They also condemned the killing of aid-seeking Palestinian civilians and urged an end to the conflict.

The spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General issued a statement on Gaza on Thursday, saying that the UN chief is appalled by the tragic human toll of the conflict in Gaza.

"The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid. The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the besieged north where the United Nations has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week," the statement said.

The Israeli army fired at a crowd of people waiting for humanitarian aid near the Gaza city Thursday, killing at least 104 people.

On the same day, the Hamas-run health ministry said that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October last year.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Thursday warned of an impending famine in Gaza, citing local medical authorities in Gaza as saying that six infants have died of malnutrition and dehydration.

"The risk of death from starvation in Gaza is reportedly growing, disproportionately affecting children and pregnant women, and is exacerbated by inadequate water, sanitation and health services, the severing of power and fuel supplies, and the decimation of food production and agriculture," OCHA said in its latest update report.

According to the latest report by UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued on Thursday, as of Feb. 7, the entire 2.2 million population in Gaza are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, over 50 percent of which are at an emergency level, and at least 1 in 4 faces catastrophic conditions.

FAO said that the food supply chain in Gaza has been severely disrupted, with 97 percent of ground water reportedly being unfit for human consumption.

Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Thursday in a statement that "Life is draining out of Gaza at terrifying speed."

Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said at the ongoing 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council that he had no words to capture the horrors in Gaza as the total number of people killed in Gaza has exceeded 30,000.

"The war in Gaza must end," he said at an interactive dialogue meeting on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, adding that the Israeli leaders must accept the right of Palestinians to live in an independent state and all Palestinian factions must accept the right of Israel to exist in peace and security. 
Long-range bombers that the U.S. Air Force used in a cross-combatant command mission with NATO allies have returned home to Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, officials said.

The U.S. B-1B Lancers assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing were deployed from Lulea-Kallax Air Base, Sweden, in support of Global Guardian for a specific mission, dubbed Vanguard Adler, on Feb 29. The mission comes amid tensions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

During the mission, the bombers and their crews operated as part of the Bomber Task Force deployment 24-2, where they "engaged in combined strategic opportunities with NATO Allies and partners, synchronizing capabilities and assuring security commitment in the area of operations," the Air Force said.

The aircraft departed from Sweden, crossed into the U.S. Northern Command area of responsibility and returned to Ellsworth AFB, where the B-1Bs are permanently stationed.

AIR FORCE INVESTIGATING SELF-IMMOLATION PROTEST OF SERVICEMAN, EXAMINING 'WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED'

The B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber, capable of flying intercontinental missions without refueling and penetrating present and future sophisticated enemy defenses.

The Air Force said the objectives of the NATO-led mission were to "exercise multinational cooperation, demonstrate collective deterrence, and test air defense capabilities. To achieve this, the B-1s flew as a simulated adversary and received intercepts from various NATO fighter aircraft across the Arctic, North Sea, and the Greenland, Iceland, and U.K. gap. All training objectives were met."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe  Air Forces Africa and NATO Allied Air Command, said the remarkable long-range bombers served as a "stellar illustration" of "collective deterrence" amid tensions in Eastern Europe.

PENTAGON SAYS ACTIONS OF US AIRMAN WHO SET HIMSELF ON FIRE OUTSIDE ISRAELI EMBASSY IN DC WAS 'TRAGIC EVENT'

"This serves as a stellar illustration of NATO's collective deterrence and air defense capabilities," he said. "In the face of today's uncertain global security landscape, preparedness for any scenario is paramount. Through this exercise, we enhance interoperability within the NATO Alliance, reinforcing our commitment to collaborative efforts that foster international security and stability."

A B-1B Lancer from Ellesworth Air Force Base touches down at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom.

Sweden is not a NATO member but has been invited to join as a member and will soon be a full-fledged member. This means the country has increased its involvement with NATOs military structures and operations.

"The U.S. is one of our most important partners and having them here at the base is very good logistic training for us to be able to host," said Swedish air force Col. Peter Greberg, Norrbotten Wing commander. "Unfortunately, I couldnt fly on the mission myself, but I heard that it was really, really good. Being a bomber escort is not something we do regularly, so that was very good training."

Sweden is not a NATO member but has been invited to join as a member and will soon be a full-fledged member.

Greberg added, "Joining NATO means bringing our two countries together. Im looking forward to that and having more opportunities to train."

The U.S. routinely deploys forces to provide critical training to NATO allies and its partners.

The B-1B Lancer is a multirole bomber built by Boeing, with a General Electric engine. It can fly over 900 mph and is used for its ability to deploy long-range armaments.

It was originally built to penetrate Soviet air defenses in the event of nuclear war.





Original article source: Long-range bombers return to US following massive NATO mission amid tensions with Putins Russia
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK)  The Longview Police Department said they are seeking the publics help in locating a man suspected of robbing a bank at gunpoint on Thursday afternoon.

Marshall man sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder

According to a release, Longview PD responded to a call at 2001 Judson Road for a bank robbery. Police said the suspect entered the bank, waved a firearm and demanded money. The suspect then reportedly fled the scene in a stolen vehicle.





The police department said the vehicle was found a short time later. Now, officers are searching for the suspect, described as a white man wearing a dark colored hooded jacket, dark colored jeans and black shoes.

There were reportedly no injuries and the suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money.

If anyone recognizes the suspect or know any information, they are asked to contact Longview PD at 903-237-1110, Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP (7867) or provide information online at greggcountycrimestoppers.org.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.
President Joe Bidens decision to airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza will provide temporary relief for Palestinians on the ground  but it also exposes the limits of Americas approach toward Israel.

When the U.S. sends military aircraft to drop food, water, medicine and other assistance for people in need, it typically does so in areas occupied by terrorist groups or hostile regimes, not allies. And yet, months of pushing Israel to allow more aid into Gaza  where around 80 percent of the population is displaced and famine looms  have yielded limited results.

Even Biden, who refuses to blame Israel for the scarcity of supplies, outwardly admitted Friday that more assistance should be getting into the enclave.

The truth is, aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. Its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line, Biden said alongside Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.

For close watchers of the Israel-Hamas conflict, which has raged following the militants Oct. 7 attack, the move to drop aid from the skies signals Biden cant persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more for suffering Palestinians.

We look 100 percent weak, said Dave Harden, a former humanitarian assistance coordinator at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Administration officials are doing this just to make themselves feel better.

The National Security Council didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on that charge. But during a Friday news briefing, NSC spokesperson John Kirby agreed with Bidens overall assessment.

We just havent been able to meet the need, he said. "Not enough aid is getting into people that need it. It's not getting in fast enough, it's not happening in the quantity that we need. And we're trying to act to the need; we're trying to behave and change and be more creative to meet the desperate need of the people of Gaza."

The good news is airdrop operations arent overly dangerous for U.S. personnel, especially when there arent immediate threats to the aircraft or crew, noted retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, who led U.S. Central Command during the Trump and Biden administrations. There arent enemies to shoot down the planes, he said, and working with aid agencies on the ground to manage crowds clamoring for fresh supplies and food wont be too difficult.

Plus, McKenzie said in an interview Friday, the U.S. can use GPS to track where the packages land. Its not like the old days when troops did their best to aim the drops and avoid harming civilian infrastructure or civilians themselves in the process. Were pretty good at this, were pretty precise, he said.

But airdrops can also create perilous problems for people on the ground, noted Harden. Without clear crowd control, Palestinians will fight for morsels of the one or two truckfulls of assistance planes can carry. That puts Jordanian troops working with the U.S. or aid organizations in a tough spot to ensure the strongest dont bully their way to the front of the line.



On Thursday, dozens of Palestinians were killed while scrambling for aid in Gaza, prompting Fridays announcement. It was the final impetus, said a senior administration official, granted anonymity to reveal sensitive internal thinking. Gazan health officials say Israeli troops fired into the crowd, killing more than 100 people and injuring some 700 more. The Israeli military denies attacking the humanitarian convoy.

Harden insisted that, short of convincing Israel to open all the gates into Gaza, the U.S. would be better off pushing Israel to allow 10 more trucks to go through currently open crossings. Airdrops are a stupid thing to do. Theyre expensive, theyre inefficient. Its more symbolic to make people in the administration feel good that weve done something, he said.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who supports Bidens decision, agreed that what can be provided with aircraft alone is a drop in the bucket to what's needed in order to relieve the impending famine.

Still, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member added in an interview, it sends the right message, including the fact that the United States is absolutely fed up that the Netanyahu government is restricting humanitarian assistance into Gaza to the point that the United States has to airdrop food. I mean, that's a statement in itself.

Some critics, though. say the operation is also unnecessary.

The U.S. has many ways to influence Israeli actions, not least of which is to consider conditioning military aid for the country. Democrats in Congress have long suggested that Biden withhold new arms sales to Israel until Netanyahu addresses the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But Kirby, aware the U.S. is in talks with Israel on a new weapons delivery, on Friday reiterated the U.S. would continue to support Israels right to self-defense.

To make matters even more baffling, were doing this while continuing to send weapons to the very military responsible for forcing us to conduct aid airdrops, said Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.



The Biden administration insists its approach toward Israel is the right one. An open break with Netanyahu and his far-right, anti-Palestinian government would lead to more indiscriminate military operations and less humanitarian aid would get into Gaza. Its better for the U.S. to maintain some influence with Israel than not at all.

The U.S. is also working with Israel, Hamas, Qatar and Egypt to broker a hostage deal that would pause the fighting for six weeks. That cease-fire would allow more assistance to get into the enclave, alleviating some of the crisis that Israels retaliation against Hamas started.

That the Biden administration has to think this way, and is about to launch airdrop missions, tells Lister that the U.S. approach is limited in its effectiveness.

The fact that the U.S. is having to mobilize military resources to airdrop aid into Gaza is a staggering symbol of just how emphatic Israels constraints are on access, he said.

Lara Seligman and Eli Stokols contributed to this report.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee on Thursday released the full transcript of Hunter Bidens closed-door testimony that included eyebrow-raising exchanges between Biden and members of the committee.

The partially redacted 229-page document underscores the disconnect between Republicans criminal allegations against Hunter and President Joe Biden and the actual evidence they have, NBC News reported.

During the questioning, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., asked Hunter Biden if he was on drugs while serving as a board member of the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, drawing an objection from Bidens attorney.

Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate to ask me? Biden asked Gaetz, according to the transcript.

Absolutely, Gaetz replied.

Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think thats appropriate to ask me? Biden asked.

Gaetz has been accused of using drugs at parties by multiple people, including by a Republican senator, which he has denied.

Yeah. Are you going to answer it? Gaetz pressed Biden during the hearing.

I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use, Biden replied. Again, I spoke to you all earlier this morning about that. Im sorry; Im an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over four and a half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it. Let me answer. I work really hard at it, under an enormous amount of pressure. Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?
Screen Reed-er

Since before ChatGPT was even a thing, Laurie Anderson, the widow and longtime collaborator of the late Lou Reed, has been talking to an AI chatbot modeled after her late partner  and now, she's hooked.

In a new interview with The Guardian, the 76-year-old experimental artist who just won a "Lifetime Achievement" award at this year's Grammys acknowledged the outrageousness of her regular conversations with an AI built to mimic her superstar husband that died a decade ago.

"I mean, I really do not think Im talking to my dead husband and writing songs with him  I really dont," she said. "But people have styles, and they can be replicated."

First revealed in a New York Times profile about the artist in 2021, the Reed-mimicking chatbot is one of three Anderson created with the University of Adelaides Australian Institute for Machine Learning. The other two, as she told the newspaper, were made to mimic her own writing and a mix of the husband-and-wife duo's.

Now, a few years into the endeavor, Anderson says she's "totally 100 percent, sadly addicted" to the chatbot.

"I still am," she said, "after all this time."

Adjusted for AI

Back in 2021, Anderson said that a third of what the chatbot spat out was total nonsense, akin to "monkeys with typewriters," and another third was just boring. In her newer interview, the artist seems to have adjusted her percentages.

"Three-quarters of it is just completely idiotic and stupid. And then maybe 15 percent is like, 'Oh?' And then the rest is pretty interesting," she told The Guardian. "And thats a pretty good ratio for writing, I think."

Over her years with the Reed-bot, Anderson has found herself continually drawn to the algorithm that replicates, to varying degrees of success, her late partner  and her friends' attitudes towards her strange, er, addiction have changed as AI has become a more well-known thing.

"I kind of literally just cant stop doing it, and my friends just cant stand it  'Youre not doing that again are you?'" she recounted, reportedly with a laugh.

Anderson's pioneering experiments in AI are the subject of a show in Adelaide titled "I'll Be Your Mirror" after The Velvet Underground and Nico's famous song. Though she won't physically be present herself, she'll be phoning in from New York to give talks about the work, which includes the 9,000-word rendition of the Bible her bespoke chatbot spat out in Anderson's voice early during her time working with it.

When asked how she feels about AI potentially putting out art in her style after her own passing, Anderson was unsurprisingly flippant.

"Oh, why not? I mean, that doesnt bother me," she said. "I dont feel that attached to time anyway, you know?"

More on AI weirdness: Trump's Dad Resurrected Via AI to Tell Son He's a Disgrace
Louisiana's Legislature is cracking down on carjacking criminals in an effort to deter the brutal encounters that have left some victims dead or maimed.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed House Bill 7 by Republican Metairie Rep. Laurie Schlegel that will more than double the prison penalties for those convicted of carjacking.

Schlegel's legislation was one of a series of bills passed by the Legislature during a Special Session to address crime that ended Thursday.

"I'm definitely happy it passed with such bipartisan support," Schlegel said in an interview with USA Today Network.

She said the random, often violent nature of the crime escalated the need for stiffer penalties.

"It's so traumatic and violent," Schlegel said.

The bill was prompted by a series of horrific, high-profile carjackings in New Orleans and other cities.

Laurie Schlegel, the Republican state representative in Louisiana, at the State Capitol in in Baton Rouge, La., April 13, 2023.

Schlegel's bill will increase minimum sentences from two years to five in carjackings where victims weren't seriously injured and from 10 years to 20 in carjackings where victims suffered severe bodily injuries.

It was one of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's priorities for the Special Session.

Landry addressed tragic carjackings in his speech to open the session, including the 2022 New Orleans carjacking in which victim Linda Frickey, 73, was dragged hundreds of yards by her three teenage attackers in the SUV and died from her injuries.

"People no longer feel safe going to their cars," Schlegel said while presenting her bill. "I don't think you can turn on the news and not hear about carjackings."

Fricke's sister was among those recognized by Landry Monday and the Fricke family attorney attended Tuesday's committee hearing in support of the bill.

Schlegel said her bill is designed to give criminals pause before committing a carjacking.

"My intent is to deter the criminals," Schlegel said.

But Sarah Whittington of the Louisiana Justice and Accountability Center dismissed the claim that stiffer penalties will deter criminals during a hearing on the bill.

"It does nothing to make us safer," Whittington said. "I believe raising this minimum will not have a deterrent effect."

Schlegel countered that the violent and traumatic nature of carjacking crimes warrant increased penalties.

"The propensity and risk for bodily injury is just so high," she said.

More: Louisiana will join Alabama in adding nitrogen suffocation as option for killing prisoners

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Louisiana promises crackdown on carjackings after brutal crimes
TOPEKA (KSNT)  A new restaurant that recently opened its doors to Topekans at West Ridge Mall is sharing some exciting news on Friday.

Ta Co. Topeka moved into the mall late last year as part of ongoing efforts to bring new businesses into the building following its purchase by Advisors Excel. The restaurant was initially moved in as a pop-up for Topekans to try out.

On March 1, Ta Co. Topeka announced on social media that it will start to be open daily in the mall. It will adopt the new schedule starting on Monday, March 4. The restaurants new hours will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

THANK YOU, Topeka, for your continued support! We love what we do and we love bringing you tacos that are on the next level! Ta Co. Topeka social media statement excerpt

Taco festival, wrestling coming soon to Topeka with new food celebration

This news comes after other new restaurants and businesses have announced they will be joining the current list of mall tenants. These include Boxer Q BBQ, Absolute Tattoo, Luxe Wellness Studio and Shockwave Fitness.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. To download our Storm Track Weather App, click here.

Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
Caucus

I am a Boise State University student who  like many  cant participate in the Idaho GOP caucus. We often hear about engaging young voters to develop the next generation of Republicans. Its one reason Ive been active in Idaho and campus politics.

The goals of Idaho GOP leadership  keeping Idaho relevant in the primaries and preventing fraud  are admirable. But it seems that young people were forgotten when leadership decided on a caucus this year.

Students like me who work weekends in restaurants, retail, and other industries must skip the caucus in favor of the jobs that pay our tuition. It seems backwards to punish young people who would rather work their way through college than demand our debt be canceled.

Young Americans are sick and tired of the disasters wrought by Democrat governance in the past few yearswere waiting eagerly to make our voices heard. Republicans are winning on crime; on the economy; on immigration. This is the time to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, neither of which is accomplished by a caucus. Instead of inviting the next generation of moderate and conservative leaders and activists into the fold, it feels like the Idaho GOP has hung us out to dry.

Ethan LaHaug, Boise

Clean needles

Rep. John VanderWoude is attempting to address serious issues in Idaho by eliminating a local clean needle exchange. He is concerned that offering addicts clean needles will encourage them  or others  to use IV drugs. As an experienced registered nurse working for a local hospital, I disagree.

We are perennially short of beds. Providing clean needles does not promote drug use. I feel absolutely certain that I could bring home 17 boxes of clean needles and have no urge to try meth. I am somewhat certain that VanderWoude would also refrain, even if he had clean needles available.

Providing IV drug users with clean needles minimizes the percentage of IV drug users who will end up occupying a hospital bed for days-to-weeks while we treat their dirty-needle-caused abscesses or sepsis with IV antibiotics.

Reducing admissions for meth abscesses would increase the availability of hospital beds for those needing admission for other critical medical issues ... who are often now boarded in the emergency room waiting for beds to become available.

Dirty needles dont stop addiction, clean needles dont promote addiction. Dirty needles do promote abscesses and sepsis. Thats the wrong direction. VanderWoudes plan causes problems rather than solving them.

Amy Elizabeth Hugon, Boise

Aid to Ukraine

Sloppy reporting by news outlets on U.S. aid to Ukraine is harmful: upon reading it, one would be excused for thinking that cash is simply being expropriated from U.S. taxpayers, then sent to a corrupt Ukraine.

Not true.

In fact, about 90% of U.S. aid to Ukraine is actually spent here in the U.S., where it supports tens of thousands of American jobs across all 50 states.

All major weapons systems being sent to Ukraine are produced in the U.S. by American workers, as are millions of smaller-ticket items: night-vision gear, medical supplies, and small-arms ammunition, etc. Hard to believe that some of these jobs are not being created here in Idaho.

Additional aid would further strengthen the U.S. economy  previous weapons shipments mostly drew down existing inventories; new supplies will provide even more American jobs.

This lazy reporting has bad real-world effects, allowing opponents of aid to weaponize the debate, by falsely claiming that were simply sending taxpayer money to Ukraine. In fact, aid to Ukraine is a massive job creation program for tens of thousands of Americans. It is also the cheapest way to combat Russia, one of our aggressive, geopolitical enemies, without endangering American service personnel.

Allen L Morgan, Boise

Veterans

As a former naval officer and Vietnam veteran I , like all other veterans, signed an oath of loyalty to the constitution of the United States . It read : I solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.....etc.

So please explain to me how any veteran could possibly support any traitorous person even if he were the leader of a major political party? How is it possible to back an anti-veteran who does not value duty, honor or country? Are some veterans confused by his actions or anti-American behavior? Are they blind? I do not consider those who served their country to be losers. I was taught that true service is to and for your country.

So anyone failing to comprehend how respect can only be earned is incapable of ever respecting anything other than himself. Veterans, blue star families, POWs are all simply not worthy of honor or respect?

Have we as a nation lost sight of truth, facts or even reality?

So the question remains, will genuine patriots and honorable veterans forestall that possible outcome that would discard losers. We shall see how veterans vote.

James Franklin, Meridian

Abortion

To the Legislature,

Sometimes, it is wise to reconsider actions taken in haste. The multitude of quickly passed abortion restrictions have had two results. Total abortions are up and health care, particularly in poorer, rural areas have been hit hard. It is never too late to correct a mistake. It only takes (a little) courage. When voters are given a choice, they choose overwhelmingly to have their rights restored to pre Dobbs. In your speed (i.e. trigger laws) to take away womens reproductive rights and criminalize personal decisions you forgot to ask the voters, especially women, what they wanted. I propose that you ask the voters of Idaho directly - Do you want your reproductive rights restored or not? It would be even better if only women could weigh in on this issue. It may be a good time to reflect on Who do I truly represent?

Mark Bussolini, Boise
Rather than draining her customers accounts, Diamond insists that she works to improve their financial situation - John Lawrence

She earns six figures looking after the money of chief executives and bankers  but this is not your average financial adviser.

Harper Thornhill, known professionally as Countess Diamond, is a financial dominatrix, catering to the growing number of people, the vast majority men, who pay for the thrill of having someone else take complete control of their money.

While the language is the same  restrained but consenting adults are submissives  the services offered by Diamond and others go beyond whips and chains. Often these dominatrix, sometimes called findoms, work entirely online or over the phone and may never even meet their clients, let alone touch them.

The professional dominatrix from Bristol, a married mother-of-two, aims for complete financial control. She orders her submissives, sometimes called slaves, to hand over access to their bank accounts, restricts their spending, controls their financial decisions and takes a healthy cut. It may sound risky, but Diamond, 35, says its where the thrill lies.

The people I work with get a rush from losing money, or the thought of it, she says, theyre turned on by the idea of giving over everything they have knowing Im going to take a big chunk of it.

Submissives, often referred to as paypigs, ATMs and finsubs, send them significant sums of money, buy them gifts or completely surrender their finances. The clients willingly sign up for the experience and as with the usual dominant/submissive dynamic, the sexual thrill comes from relinquishing control to the dominatrix. But in findom, the power-play is all acted out through money  and its getting more popular.

Findom App, a platform that links findoms to submissives, currently has 9,000 members and the company claims this number is growing rapidly.

Members post every one to four seconds, with a spokesman saying: Our members dont sign in once or twice a day, but rather theyre online all day, everyday. Findom is not a fad, it is here to stay.

Google searches for findom have risen 83pc over the last five years, according to platform Sensuali.

Countess Diamond earns a six-figure income from her work as a professional findom - John Lawrence

On X, formerly Twitter, you can find countless demands from findoms to potential paypigs, that are often aggressive and loaded with insults.

One findom, Daphne, posted: Lets go losers Im in the mood to drain today lets start big and give me what I deserve.

And a Tweet from another, Goddess Keeli, a 23-year-old self-described USA college brat, wrote: Annoyed & ready to take it out on a stupid little beta & his bank account. In a video underneath the post she tells the camera: You would be nothing without me.

But Countess Diamond says this is just one type of financial domination. While she makes her own financial demands to eager submissives, her approach is all-encompassing and even ethical. She says: The approach is very much I have no interest in you, I just want your money. It feels elitist and could result in harm occurring in the relationship.

Instead, Diamond claims she insists her clients pay down debt and even make pension contributions.

Vicky Reynal, financial psychotherapist and author of Money on Your Mind: The Psychology Behind Your Financial Habits, says: Money to many people represents power and what is being enacted in a findom dynamic is a person giving that up.

The humiliating language that usually accompanies this intensifies that dynamic of feeling powerless. It is a masochistic dynamic in that the person engaging in it finds pleasure in the suffering.

However, Ms Reynal says the link between pain and pleasure can often come from traumatic experiences. For example, those who experienced neglect as children may consider themselves bad and deserving of punishment.

She suggests those who seek out the services of a findom may be struggling with having control in their lives. They may long to give it up or be the complete opposite  people who feel small and powerless and seek out this familiar dynamic.

Either way, there is a risk of developing an addiction.

Ms Reynal says: There is a psychological release that comes from engaging with this behaviour and that often becomes compulsive. For many, there is a progressive element to it as they might need to give away growing sums of money to get the same fix.

Diamond messages around 30 submissives per day  and her longest-running relationship is seven years - John Lawrence

Diamond insists that rather than draining her customers accounts and heading for the hills, she works to improve their financial situations.

Acting as their unofficial financial adviser, alongside an accountant and a fund manager who she consults, she demands her submissives make pension contributions, debt repayments, investments for their children, cut unnecessary spending and set aside money for their partners.

Those who follow her instructions are praised and those who fail are punished with financial restrictions or increased debts to Diamond.

She says: When I can see they need to make savings, I restrict their spending. Say theyre spending a stupid amount of money on getting to work, I order them to walk half the way.

Whats amazing is no matter how much I restrict their spending, they find the money. Ive had submissives whove got out of debt, got married and bought houses.

Diamond first ventured into domination around eight years ago. She started doing webcam work which she describes as a saucy phoneline.

She had just had her first child and was on maternity leave when she realised, once she covered childcare, travel and lunch, she could not afford to go back to work as regional manager of a well-known retailer.

Diamond says: The goal was never to make a career out of it, it was just to help cover the bills. However, she found the work empowering, was particularly good at the domination and made the decision to leave her old job.

Fast forward to today and Diamond has had thousands of submissives and commands a six-figure income. She messages around 30 clients each day (which starts at 5am) and her longest-running relationship has lasted seven years  she speaks to him every other day.

Theyre chief executives, heads of departments, businessmen and bankers, from Britain and beyond. Lots of them are married and Diamond says the more money they have, the more their wives turn a blind-eye.

Diamond charges some clients thousands of pounds a month, while from others she takes very little. However, her work brings in a comfortable salary.

At no point does the relationship become physical, Diamond says - John Lawrence

Interestingly, many of Diamonds submissives are big rugby fans and most have either grown up with wealth, made a lot of cash or have struggled financially and this relationship with money has had long-lasting effects.

Diamond says: Some people may see my work as exploitative, but its really not. Theyre having fun and its educating them to be more mindful of their money. Its a good thing, for me and for them. As much as Im in control, its still their choice.

Lots of her work is online  sending personal messages and voice notes  but she meets some submissives in person. For example, she may allow a loyal slave to take her on an all-expenses paid trip to Paris, if theyve served her well for two years. At no point does the relationship become physical  Diamond says this is not her area.

Diamonds most popular service is her debt contracts. Marketed as a game, clients agree to be monetary reigned by Countess Diamond for the entire duration of the contract. Over 30 days customers receive regular emails from The Bank of Countess Diamond demanding payments of increasing amounts.

There are three options  low, medium and high risk  which cost 10, 25 and 50, respectively.

In a high-risk contract seen by Telegraph Money, it says: Slave shall make a minimum weekly payment to Countess Diamond in the amount of 250 via Vouchers  The ongoing schedule will be determined by Countess Diamond and is subject to change at her discretion.

The first email sent stated a starting debt of 1,000 with a minimum weekly payment of 250. A few days later the debt increased by 30 and shortly after it went up by another 50. In addition, those who fail to pay on time are charged a 10 late fee.

Diamond says the debt contracts are popular because they can involve relatively small amounts of money and take effect instantly. Submissives get a thrill when the debt increases, knowing shes accruing wealth.

And as a result of the cost of living crisis, rather than cut back shes noticed submissives spending larger sums in one go. The rush they get when they spend means more when times are tight, she adds.

However, Diamond says she never pushes people into debt they cannot pay and has stopped providing services to submissives who she identifies as vulnerable.

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, says playing games with your finances could have real consequences, if you trust the wrong person.

She says: Its your money, and your life, so its entirely your choice, but if youre going anywhere near this you need to appreciate how risky it is. You could ringfence money for this purpose, setting up a pre-paid card and giving it away, but youre still handing over personal financial information and willingly making yourself worse off.

By sharing your financial details youre losing any protection from your bank if things go wrong.

If you need help with an addiction the NHS provides lots of useful information online or you can call the Samaritans on 116 123

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The current M&S Marble Arch Oxford Street store is in an art deco style building

Marks & Spencer has won a legal battle against the government over plans to demolish one of its flagship central London stores.

The company took legal action against the government in the High Court over its "unusual" decision to refuse permission for its plans to flatten and rebuild its Marble Arch store in Oxford Street.

The government said Michael Gove was entitled to make the decision he did, but Mrs Justice Nathalie Lieven said the levelling up secretary had "rewritten" planning policy.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities acknowledged the judgement and said it was "considering our next steps".

M&S wants to flatten Orchard House and replace it, claiming the redevelopment was "of fundamental importance" to the future of London's West End.

Westminster City Council originally approved M&S' plans to tear down the current art deco building and replace it with a modernised shop featuring a new cafe, offices and a gym in 2021.

But the decision was met with resistance from campaigners which prompted Mr Gove to launch an inquiry and eventually block the proposals.

Mr Gove had said the building should be refurbished rather than demolished and that demolition would negatively impact nearby heritage assets, including the Grade II* listed Selfridges store directly opposite.

Barristers for M&S told a hearing earlier in February that Mr Gove had "misunderstood and misapplied" national planning policy when making his decision.

Mrs Justice Lieven agreed and in her ruling on Friday said: "In my view, it is plain that the secretary of state misinterpreted the national planning policy framework, and therefore erred in law.

"The secretary of state relied on a meaning of the national planning policy framework which is simply not open to him."

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove had said the building should be refurbished and not demolished

Following the decision, Sacha Berendji, M&S operations director, said the judgement "couldn't be clearer" that Mr Gove's decision was "unlawful".

He added: "The result has been a long, unnecessary and costly delay to the only retail-led regeneration on Oxford Street which would deliver one of London's greenest buildings, create thousands of new jobs and rejuvenate the capital's premier shopping district."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

More on this story
Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, speaks during the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 29, 2024. As the Gaza Strip is facing an unparalleled humanitarian crisis, an immediate ceasefire is the urgent demand of the global community and a fundamental necessity for achieving peace, Chen said while elaborating on China's position on the situation between Palestine and Israel at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council. (Xinhua/Shi Song)

GENEVA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Chen Xu, permanent representative of China to the United Nations Office in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, on Thursday reiterated China's call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

As the Gaza Strip is facing an unparalleled humanitarian crisis, an immediate ceasefire is the urgent demand of the global community and a fundamental necessity for achieving peace, Chen said while elaborating on China's position on the situation between Palestine and Israel at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

China is calling on Israel to allow humanitarian organizations to have the resources they need to conduct rescue missions in Gaza and to properly enforce the interim measures and directives from the International Court of Justice, Chen said.

Chen emphasized that China has always firmly supported the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and strongly opposed the forced transfer of the Palestinian people and the occupation of Palestinian territory.

The two-state solution is the general consensus of the international community and a realistic way to ultimately realize the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel, Chen said, urging all countries to make unremitting efforts to this end. 
Ukraine has been using naval drones to damage and destroy Russian warships.

Moscow has made some efforts to defend against them, like putting machine-gun crews on ships.

But Kyiv is "still a few steps ahead," a Ukrainian general said.

Ukraine's formidable fleet of exploding naval drones has hurt the Russian Black Sea Fleet since these weapons were first introduced, leaving a trail of damaged and destroyed warships in its wake.

Though Moscow has made efforts to curb this threat, a general in the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, said Kyiv's attacks are still finding success, which has ultimately led to the reopening of a maritime corridor in the Black Sea and the relocation of some Russian forces in the region.

"The adversary immediately began to respond to the threat of naval drones, but we are still a few steps ahead," Brig. Gen. Ivan Lukashevych, whose SBU team has carried out some of the boat operations, told Business Insider.

Ukraine, which had no naval warships when it was first attacked, unveiled its naval drones in 2022. Kyiv has since sought to develop what it calls "the world's first fleet of naval drones"  which would rely heavily on uncrewed surface vessels, or USV, called Sea Babies  and recently launched a fundraising initiative to purchase dozens of these systems for the SBU.

Ukraine's Sea Baby drones have been used in attacks targeting Russian warships and infrastructure  including a key bridge  around the Black Sea.

Ukraine has prioritized the development and deployment of a fleet of naval drones. United 24/Ukrainian government

Moscow has defended against these drone attacks and has even taken some out, but ultimately, it has been unable to stop them from inflicting serious damage.

The Russians' "first move was to deploy machine gun crews on their warships to shoot down drones and reinforce their air-defense capabilities," Lukashevych said. "Their planes and combat helicopters are constantly patrolling the coastline and waters of the western Black Sea."

The general said that a joint team made up of the SBU and Ukrainian naval forces "were quick to come up with ways to equip a Sea Baby in order to break through the defenses of Russian ships or other targets."

He added that "the drone's self-detonation mode is very restricted and does not cover the full range of threats."

To make these drones more of a headache for Russia, Ukraine has made new ones that are "stronger, more efficient, and deadlier" than earlier models, Lukashevych said.

A sea drone shows the silhouette of the Olenegorsky Gornyak ship near the Novorossiysk port in this screengrab from a video released on August 4. Reuters

The new drones have larger warheads, making them more durable in the water, and ensuring they can travel greater distances, such as from positions in southern Ukraine to the occupied Crimean peninsula across the Black Sea  and back.

"The Russians are very well aware of what our drones are capable of," Lukashevych said. "They have already tested the distance we can operate at, the speed at which we can strike, and the payload we can carry. So they are eager to learn some new details."

Staying one step ahead of the Russians also means that the SBU is testing and manufacturing drones in multiple locations and constantly relocating. Special operations are carried out from different command posts in different areas.

"We have modified our maritime drones into multipurpose systems," Lukashevych said, explaining this allows the SBU "to cope quite successfully with the Russian fleet in order to keep it away from Ukrainian shores."

Ukraine said in early February that it had damaged or destroyed more than 24 Russian warships  amounting to a third of the Black Sea Fleet  since the full-scale invasion began two years ago.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet warships take part in the Navy Day celebrations in the port city of Novorossiysk on July 30. STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

Naval drone attacks have also driven some of the Russian fleet away from its headquarters in Sevastopol, a port city in the southwestern corner of the Crimean peninsula, across the Black Sea to Novorossiysk in Russia.

Western intelligence has cautioned that the fleet is not out of the fight and can still perform its main duties.

Nonetheless, Ukrainian officials are still celebrating pushing Russian forces across the Black Sea because it's allowed Kyiv to reestablish a critical maritime corridor in the region after living under a crushing blockade.

"We managed to unblock the grain corridor and suppress the activity of Russian missile launchers firing from the sea at the territory of Ukraine," Lukashevych said.

The general added that "forcing the enemy to flee from the Black Sea was the goal we sought and it was achieved."

Read the original article on Business Insider
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that his remarks about Russias full-scale war against Ukraine, including the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which have caused a stir, were carefully thought through.

Source: Macron cited by AFP, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Macron was asked to comment on remarks that he made after an informal summit of allies in Paris, when he stated that a possible deployment of Western troops in Ukraine "should not be ruled out".

"These are sufficiently serious issues; every one of the words that I say on this issue is weighed, thought through and measured," Macron told journalists, declining to make any further comment.

Macrons words drew criticism from the governments of the allied countries, whose leaders have stressed that they do not intend to send troops to Ukraine.

While the majority of NATO member states have ruled out sending troops to Ukraine, including such powerful players as Germany, the UK and the US, Gabrielius Landsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, said on 28 February that he was thankful to Macron for starting the debate.

Moscow was outraged by Macrons remarks, warning that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO.

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The Central Florida community held a prayer Friday evening for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

Tonights vigil was held at 7 p.m. near Hunters Creek Middle School on Town Center Loop Boulevard.

Soto was first identified as missing on Feb. 26.

In a press conference Friday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said law enforcement believes that Soto is dead, and all efforts will focus on recovery.

Read: Sources: Madeline Sotos body discovered in rural Osceola County

Members of the community will gather to pray for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

The Unity & Fire Church International Chaplains Inc. is organizing the prayer.

Come pray with us as we come together for our city, communities and children, the flyer said.

Read: Madeline Soto search: Mothers boyfriend performed factory reset on phone, report shows

The Orange County Sheriffs Office said Friday evening that Madeline Sotos body has been found. Investigators said Osceola County deputies found the missing 13-year-old girls body at about 4:30 p.m. in a wooded area along Hickory Tree Road.

Detectives believe Stephan Sterns killed 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Monday morning at a Kissimmee apartment complex.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Sources say that Maddies body was found in rural St. Cloud near Hickory Tree Road.

Police and deputies canvassed the area of Osceola County for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

The Kissimmee Police Department will handle the search for Madeline Soto, said Chief Betty Holland.

The sheriff said the efforts will now shift to recovering her body.

Sheriff John Mina said he is confident that she is dead, and recovery efforts will continue.

Members of the community will gather to pray for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

Deputies in Orange County said 13-year-old Madeline Soto has been missing since Monday morning. And now, her mothers boyfriend is in jail on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material. Stephan Sterns was supposed to go before an Orange County judge Thursday morning but refused to be in court.

More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation.

More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation.

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

The Orange County Sheriffs Office on Friday confirmed that the body of Madeline Soto, 13, has been located.

See a map of the vigil location below:

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ORLANDO, Fla. - UPDATE: Madeline Soto was killed by her mother's boyfriend, Stephen Sterns, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a press conference on Friday afternoon. The update comes after five days of searching for the missing teenager. Click here for the latest update.

Original story continues below

The family of missing 13-year-old Madeline "Maddie" Soto is holding out hope for her safe return.

On February 28, the Orange County Sheriffs Office announced a major development in the case. Stephan Sterns, 37, has been named a prime suspect in Sotos disappearance. Sterns is the boyfriend of Sotos mother, Jenn. According to the Kissimmee Police Department, Sterns was charged with sexual battery and possession of material sexual performance by a child.

An arrest affidavit stated Sterns voluntarily handed over his phone to investigators, telling them he had "accidentally performed a factory reset" on the device the day Soto was reported missing.

TIMELINE : Everything we know about 13-year-old Madeline Soto's disappearance

Investigators were able to recover "disturbing" photos and videos on Sterns phone. FOX 35 News is choosing not to elaborate as the details are graphic.

During an interview with Jenn Soto on February 27, Sterns can be seen fidgeting with his hands and cracking his knuckles in the background.

MORE HEADLINES:

"Thats a way to release tension," said Susan Constantine. "The point is tension is one of the 27 points of interest. Points of interest that can lead to possible deception or suspect behavior."

Constantine, a human behavior investigator, has aided law enforcement in dozens of high-profile investigations nationwide. She is unconnected to the case but weighed in on Sterns mannerisms.

"In my personal opinion, I would have said, Sheriffs office, you need to take a really good look at this guy. He is presenting to me suspect behavior," Constantine said.

Sterns is being held without bond. On Thursday, he refused to show up to court.

Retired detective and law enforcement expert David Nutting has dealt with hundreds of suspects over the years.

"How frustrating is it when you have a prime suspect who is refusing to play ball, or give up information, or just answer questions," asked FOX 35s Hannah Mackenzie.

"Its especially frustrating in cases involving children because it just seems so right in human nature to tell everything you know," Nutting responded. "This is a truly innocent victim. Maddie is a young girl who did not live a high-risk lifestyle, and shes apparently with this monster, and its just frustrating. Why cant you tell us what happened? Lets resolve this case and bring Maddie back home."

Sterns is from North Port, Florida, about two hours from Kissimmee, and still has ties to the area. On Thursday, the North Port Police Department confirmed they have also assisted in the investigation.

According to Soto's aunt, Stephanie, the family is devastated over the developments but is waiting and hopeful for Maddie's return.

Who is Stephan Sterns, and why was he arrested?

Stephan Sterns, 37, is the boyfriend of Jenn Soto, a Central Florida mother whose daughter, Madeline "Maddie" Soto, disappeared earlier this week. He was the last confirmed person to see Maddie on the morning of Monday, Feb. 26, according to OCSO.

Sterns was arrested and booked into the Orange County jail on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material after detectives found "disturbing" images on his phone, OCSO said. They also alleged that Sterns had attempted to delete evidence from the phone.

Stephan Sterns (Orange County jail)

According to OCSO, several sexually explicit images and videos were found on Sterns' cell phone. Detectives said it appears that whatever alleged actions were captured in the images and videos happened at the family's home in Kissimmee, Florida, which is just south of Orlando.

The Kissimmee Police Department will lead the investigation into Sterns' sexual battery case, officials said.

Officials did not elaborate further  and it's unclear if the findings are connected to Soto's disappearance.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina: "We will not stop until we find her"

Sterns was interviewed at OCSO Central Operations on Wednesday by detectives from Kissimmee Police and Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said he invoked his right to an attorney and declined to speak further. He was arrested on the charges listed above and booked into jail.

"Stephan Sterns had an opportunity tonight to come clean with detectives and help lead them to information about Maddies disappearance. Her loved ones deserve answers, and OCSO and the Kissimmee Police will not stop until we find Maddie." Orange County Sheriff John Mina

Who is Maddie Soto?

Madeline "Maddie" Soto was last seen on Monday, Feb. 26, one day after she and her family celebrated her 13th birthday.

Maddies mother, Jenn Soto, said surveillance video showed Maddie hanging out in the Peace United Methodist Church parking lot after being dropped off for school, but she never made it inside.

"Im trying to hope for the best, but Im scared for her," she said. "I want her to be okay; I want her to be safe I dont want her to come back harmed. I just want her back  whatever that means, I just want her back."

RELATED: Florida mom begs for daughter's safe return home

Sheriff Mina said deputies attempted to use a piece of Maddie's clothing and a bloodhound to track the girl's scent. However, she was not found.

According to Soto, her daughter had never run away before. She said the teen had forgotten her cell phone at home that morning, but that was normal.

When deputies searched Maddie's phone, they learned that Soto had told her friends that she wanted to "live in the woods" after her birthday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Maddie is "endangered," meaning that her physical safety is in danger, such as a predatory abduction or kidnapping.

When was Maddie Soto last seen?

During a news conference on Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Soto was dropped off a few blocks from Hunter's Creek Middle School on Monday morning by her mother's boyfriend. However, when Soto's mom went to pick her up, she found out her daughter had never set foot inside the school that day.

Sheriff Mina said Soto was dropped off near Peace United Methodist Church on Town Loop Boulevard, a half-mile from the school.

It remains unclear why she was dropped off at this location, but Sheriff Mina said she was possibly "embarrassed" by her vehicle and asked her mom's boyfriend to be dropped off there.

"Why not drop her off at the school?" Sheriff Mina asked during Wednesday's press conference, adding that the sheriff's office is looking into it.

Sheriff Mina said that the woods behind Hunter's Creek Middle School are among the areas deputies have been searching in. Over 100 personnel, including deputies, detectives, intelligence analysts, specialized personnel, and bloodhounds, have been deployed to help search for the missing teenager.

Deputies and Soto's family continue to pass out flyers in the area to notify people of the ongoing search.

"This is every parent's worst nightmare. We can't even imagine the pain and anguish that Madeline's family is going through," Sheriff Mina said. "We will not stop until we find her."

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT in the case of missing 13-year-old Madeline Soto:



This evening, the Kissimmee Police Department, working in conjunction with the Orange County Sheriffs Office, arrested Stephan Sterns, 37, for sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material. pic.twitter.com/yZn8O8JpYM  Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 29, 2024

Can you join the search?

The Orange County Sheriff's Office thanked those wanting to help search for Madeline Soto but asked the public to avoid entering the search area.

"For now, we are asking that people refrain from coming to the search area, and to let our Emergency Response Team handle that. But we will advise if that changes," the sheriff's office wrote on X.

Thanks so much for the offer. For now, we are asking that people refrain from coming to the search area, and to let our Emergency Response Team handle that. But we will advise if that changes.  Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 28, 2024

Have you seen Madeline Soto? How you can help

Madeline "Maddie" Soto is a 13-year-old girl who was reported missing this week. She was reported missing on Tuesday after she was last seen at around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 26, in the area of Town Loop Boulevard and Hunter's Park Lane in Orlando.

She had just celebrated her 13th birthday with her family over the weekend, her mother, Jenn, told FOX 35.

Soto is a 5-foot-1, 110-pound girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. Officials said she was last seen wearing a green jacket, black shorts, and white Crocs. She has a mole on the left side of her nose and the right side of her chin.

Contact the Orange County Sheriff's Office at 407-836-HELP if you have information about Soto's disappearance or whereabouts.
A newly released arrest affidavit stated investigators found evidence on 37-year-old Stephan Sterns phone that led them to arrest him for sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material.

Law enforcement said Sterns is the primary suspect in the disappearance of 13-year-old Madeline Soto who vanished Monday. Sterns is the boyfriend of Sotos mother, Jennifer.

 WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Channel 9, law enforcement said Stephan Sterns did a factory reset on his phone the day Madeline vanished.

Investigators recovered several photos and videos showing Sterns sexually battering a child.

Just hours before Stephan Sterns was arrested for sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material he spoke to Channel 9 crying and pleading for help to find Madeline.

Read: Madeline Soto: Search continues for missing girl as her mothers boyfriend refuses to face judge

He was the last confirmed person to see her. He claims he dropped her off at a church down the street from her middle school.

I dropped her off early, but I could have waited longer, Sterns told Channel 9 Tuesday beside Madelines mom.

According to the arrest affidavit, family and friends said it was unusual for Madeline to be dropped off down the street.

Read: Man arrested in connection with shooting that left 1 dead, 6 injured in Orlando

We dug into Sterns background and how long he and Madeline Sotos mother have been in a relationship - sorting through records and speaking to both his family and Jennifer Sotos family.

We went to speak to Madeline Sotos grandmothers Thursday. She was not at home, but we spoke by Ring Doorbell Camera.

She said Stephan Sterns and Jennifer Soto have been in a relationship for several years. She said she is worried about Madelines safety, especially after hearing what authorities found on Stephan Sterns phone.

We spoke by phone to Sterns father, Christopher Sterns, who said he was shocked.

Read: Woman accused of stabbing her partner to death at their Daytona Beach apartment

As for a criminal history, Sterns is not a registered sex offender, according to FDLEs sexual offenders and predators search.

This is the first time hes been in booked into the Orange County jail. We found no criminal history except a handful of traffic violations.

As for employment, its unclear if he was currently employed. We confirmed hes been a licensed real estate agent since July 2013. However-- the state database stated he is inactive.

His real estate license is registered at an address in North Port in Sarasota County, the same address his parents live at.

We did confirm with North Port Police that the agency is assisting Orange County Sheriffs Office as the investigation into Madeline Sotos disappearance expands.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
The prime suspect in the disappearance of a 13-year-old girl is now in the Osceola County Jail.

Stephan Sterns was arrested on Wednesday on sexual battery and child porn possession charges.

Sterns was moved out of the Orange County Jail on Friday morning.

Read: Madeline Soto Search: Mothers boyfriend performed factory reset on phone, report shows

Law enforcement said Sterns is the primary suspect in the disappearance of 13-year-old Madeline Soto who vanished Monday. Sterns is the boyfriend of Sotos mother, Jennifer.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Channel 9, law enforcement said Stephan Sterns did a factory reset on his phone the day Madeline vanished.

Read: Madeline Soto: Search continues for missing girl as her mothers boyfriend refuses to face judge

Investigators said they recovered several photos and videos showing Sterns sexually battering a child.

Sterns is not a registered sex offender, according to FDLEs sexual offenders and predators search.

Read: Madeline Soto search: Orange County sheriff to give update on search for missing girl at 1 p.m.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina is planning to give an update on Madelines disappearance at 1 p.m. on Friday.

Watch continuing coverage on Eyewitness News.
Ukrainian Defense Forces achieved remarkable results in their combat against Russian aviation in February 2024, successfully downing 13 enemy aircraft worth over $1 billion.

NV has compiled all the details of this monumental achievement.

Including the three Su-34 jets Ukraine shot down on Feb. 29, Ukraine has now destroyed 345 Russian aircraft since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion.

Read also: Russian aviation now less active over Sea of Azov, Ukraine says

The aircraft downed in February 2024 include:

Ten Su-34 fighter-bombers, each with an export value of around $50 million ($500 million in total). The Su-34s are among the most modern aircraft in Russias aviation arsenal, equipped with guided aerial bombs and Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles used to attack frontline regions in Ukraine. The Su-34, with a crew of two pilots, is roughly equivalent to the American F-15E Strike Eagle, a two-seat multirole fighter from the 1980s, capable of reaching speeds up to 1,900 km/h. Currently, Russia has dozens more Su-34s in service. Before the full-scale invasion, Russia produced 127 Su-34s, according to Defence Express.

Two Su-35 fighters, each valued at around $100 million ($200 million in total). These fourth-generation multirole fighters, previously described as the "main adversary" by the late Ukrainian Air Force ace pilot Andriy Pilyshchikov (callsign "Dzhus"), often provide air support for Russian combat aircraft, ranging from Su-34s to A-50s, reaching speeds up to 2,400 km/h.

One A-50U long-range radar detection aircraft, an exceedingly rare Russian plane valued at around $350 million, which Russia can no longer produce. These planes serve as airborne command centers, coordinating air and sea target detection and air defense operations. With a maximum speed of around 900 km/h, Ukraine has shot down two such aircraft since the start of 2024, with another A-50U damaged at the Belarusian Machulishchy airfield in February 2023.

Read also: Russia hopes to revive production of A-50 AWACS aircraft

In total, Ukraine's successful engagements in February 2024 led to the downing of Russian aircraft worth over $1 billion.

NV

These 13 Russian planes were shot down over seven different days, with some days proving particularly "fruitful." Here's a timeline of February's "birdfall":

Feb. 17: 2 Su-34s, 1 Su-35

Feb. 18: 1 Su-34

Feb. 19: 1 Su-34, 1 Su-35

Feb.21: 1 Su-34

Feb. 23: 1 A-50U

Feb. 27: 2 Su-34s

Feb. 29: 3 Su-34s

Read also: Ukrainian forces down three more Russian Su-34 jets in one day  Air Force Commander

February is the shortest month of the year, but our sky defenders have achieved the greatest results in downing Russian jets since October 2022, Ukraines Defence Ministry wrote on X on Feb.29.

It seems like being a Russian military plane pilot is the worst job in the world.

Reflecting on Ukraine's extraordinary success in taking down Russian aviation in February 2024, Britains The Sun noted that Russian military aircraft are "dropping like flies" and suggested that these weeks have been "hellish days" for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

Data sources: General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces, Institute for the Study of War, Forbes. The export value of the destroyed aircraft is provided.



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
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  A call for support from mail carriers took place at the Capitol Thursday. Members of the National Association of Letter Carriers spoke out about the rise in attacks and robberies.

According to the NALC, more than 2,000 mail carriers nationwide have been attacked while on their route since 2020. Now, members want lawmakers to deliver changes.

Simply asking folks out of the community to look out for us, Brian Renfroe, President of the National Association of Letter Carriers said. Something as simple as watching your letter carrier walk down to the end of the block sometimes could be the difference from one of these crimes happening at night.

Renfroe says it only takes a couple minutes to keep your eye out, and to possibly save a life.

Most importantly, if you see something out of the ordinary, whatever it may be, thats alarming, do not hesitate to contact law enforcement, Renfroe said.

The stories of the terrible attacks that have happened have stuck with mail carriers, making it hard for them to get out of bed for work.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Postal Service stops mail delivery in Norman neighborhood due to loose dog

Every morning I wake up, I worry like hopefully I can get that route done today and nothing crazy happens, Matt Dennis, Sgt. at Arms for the National Association of Letter Carriers at Branch 458 said.

Dennis says they have obstacles they go through for every route; having to look over their shoulder after every house shouldnt be an added concern.

This job is not easy to begin with, let alone youre dealing with dogs, the weather and everything that goes with it, Dennis said.

While they are asking residents to keep an eye out for them, they are also asking legislators to make a change.

We are very close to having some federal legislation thatll be bipartisan in nature, introduce that legislation to do a number of things, Renfroe said. It is going to assist the Postal Service in using a technology solution to better secure the ways we access mail. It is going to designate someone to prosecute these cases in all 93 of the United States attorneys offices, which would be a big step forward.

Renfroe says only 14% of cases involving mail carriers being attacked have resulted in an arrest or federal prosecution. He says that is unacceptable, and something needs to be done.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP)  Democrats in the Maine Legislature unveiled sweeping gun violence measures on Wednesday including a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases, adding to firearm bills and mental health spending already proposed by the governor after the deadliest shooting in the state history.

Senate President Troy Jackson said lawmakers are not interested in taking away guns but they do want to seek consensus on ways to prevent gun violence following the shooting that claimed 18 lives.

There has to be a way for level-headed people to come together and figure out a way that could possibly stop, or make it harder, for anything like this to happen again, he said.

Crime scene tape still surrounds Schemengees Bar & Grille, Oct. 29, 2023, in Lewiston, Maine. Democrats in the Maine Legislature unveiled sweeping gun violence measures on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, including a 72-hour waiting period for most gun purchases, adding to firearm bills and mental health spending already proposed by the governor after last year's shooting in Lewiston, the deadliest shooting in the state history.

The suite of bills would expand spending on mental health, create mobile crisis centers and give 911 callers the option of connecting with mental health crisis workers as well as law enforcement. They would also ban bump stocks or other physical modifications that can transform a semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun.

Some of the proposals received a frosty reception from Republicans  especially the mandatory waiting period for gun purchases. Republicans tried unsuccessfully Wednesday to block it, noting that a similar bill was rejected last year.

Sen. Matt Harrington, R-York, accused Democrats of trying to ram through proposals that previously failed.

These bills are here year after year after year. They get defeated. Now here we are dealing with them again because they don't want to let the crisis in Lewiston go to waste, he said.

Gun control has proven tricky in the past in a state that has a strong hunting tradition. But there seemed to be broad support for expanding mental health treatment with a goal of preventing gun violence and suicides. That's something Harrington and many other Republicans agree with.

A bill sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross would spend $17.5 million to create six crisis receiving centers, form an office of violence prevention in the Department of Health and Human Services, expand mobile crisis response teams and provide suicide prevention materials to be distributed by gun dealers.

Her bill would also create a statewide notification procedure for mass shootings, addressing concerns from the deaf community that some people had trouble getting information as the tragedy unfolded in Lewiston.

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills already proposed background checks for advertised private sales, construction of a network of mental health crisis centers and bigger penalties for reckless private sales to prohibited people. She also wants to allow police officers to go directly to a judge to start the process of removing guns from someone in a psychiatric crisis.

The proposals follow the tragedy that unfolded when an Army reservist opened fire in October at a bowling alley and at bar in Lewiston. Thirteen people were injured, in addition to the 18 deaths. The gunman, 40-year-old Robert Card, died by suicide.

Addressing lawmakers last month, Mills urged lawmakers not to give in to the cynical view that its pointless to try to change gun laws because the laws will simply be broken. For the sake of the communities, individuals and families now suffering immeasurable pain, for the sake of our state, doing nothing is not an option, the governor said, bringing lawmakers to their feet.

An independent investigative commission appointed by the governor and attorney general may release preliminary findings as early as next month to help inform lawmakers decisions. The Legislature is due to wrap up its work in April.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine's deadliest shooting spurs additional gun control proposals
Major pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens announced Friday they would begin selling the abortion pill mifepristone.

The pharmacy chains concurrently said Friday they had received Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) certifications from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which prescribers and pharmacies are required to have to dispense mifepristone.

The REMS program is required by the FDA for any drug that has serious safety concerns and is meant to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risk. Some critics have argued mifepristones requirement under REMS is not backed by science and limits access to the drug.

Weve received certification to dispense mifepristone at CVS Pharmacy and plan to fill prescriptions for this medication in states where legally permissible. Were working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure the medication and are not yet dispensing it in any of our pharmacies, CVS said in a statement to The Hill.

Well begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and will expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Walgreens said the chain has completed the FDA certification process to dispense mifepristone and expects to begin dispensing within a week, consistent with federal and state laws. We are beginning a phased rollout in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety, and privacy for our patients, providers, and team members.

The spokesperson added that Walgreens will begin dispensing at select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. While the company will begin by dispensing the brand name version, there are plans to provide the generic form in the future.

President Biden welcomed the news Friday.

With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacyjust as they would for any other medication. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification, he said in a statement.

The stakes could not be higher for women across America, Biden added. In the face of relentless attacks on reproductive freedom by Republican elected officials, Vice President Harris and I will continue to fight to ensure that women can get the health care they need, to defend the Food and Drug Administrations independent and evidence-based approval and regulation of mifepristone, and to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law.

Mifepristones FDA approval as an abortifacient was at the center of a federal lawsuit last year that ended with a panel of judges ultimately ruling to keep the approval in place but reversing federal actions that expanded access to the drug.

The Department of Justice has requested that the Supreme Court reverse this ruling. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments on the case, with a court date set for March 26.

Nathaniel Weixel contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Abu Dhabi government has unveiled a high-level plan outlining global recommendations to bolster Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in partnership with Unesco at the 12th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC2024) held in the emirate.

The roadmap, which comes after a culmination of four days of vibrant discussions, workshops and events at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, outlines a call to action to catalyse and reinvigorate efforts in EE and ESD, focuses on addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis.

Announcing this, Shaikha Al Dhaheri, Secretary-General at Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD), said: "The Abu Dhabi Roadmap represents a pivotal moment on our path towards a more sustainable and resilient future, and affirms the UAEs dedication to enhancing EE to help further catalyse us on that journey."

"The WEEC2024 served as a dynamic stage to unveil this environmental plan. The mass of knowledge gained and the ideas which have inspired us over the course of this congress are fitting illustrations of the power of educational initiatives. Now, the Roadmap will continue to propel us in our ongoing work to a greener future," she stated.

Developed with input from a range of stakeholders across 83 countries including Unesco, IUCN, UNEP, UAE Ministry of Education, UAE Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment, Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, and Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA), as well as a whole host of global environmental education experts, the Roadmap was introduced by Ahmed Baharoon, Executive Director, Environmental Information, Science and Outreach Management, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

This unveiling occurred during a dedicated session on the fourth day of WEEC2024.

During the announcement, Baharoon emphasised that the discussions from the congress had helped inform The Abu Dhabi Roadmap.

However, its inception traces back to COP28, where urgent calls for action and intensified efforts in Environmental Education and Education for Sustainable Development were echoed to confront the 'Code Red for humanity' represented by the Triple Planetary Crisis.

Emphasising the significance of the announcement, Julia Heiss, Team Leader for Education and Sustainable Development, UNESCO, said: "The 2024 World Environmental Education Congress successfully brought together stakeholders from the global Environmental Education (EE) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) community globally. The event served as a platform for exchanging ideas, innovations, and the latest developments in the field."

"This global community of practice aims at transforming education to support a more sustainable future not only at the international level but also regionally through the network of Regional Centres of Expertise, and at the country level through the development of comprehensive Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) initiatives for the year 2030," noted Heiss.

Echoing the sentiment, Abdul-Majeid Haddad, Deputy Regional Director for West Asia, UNEP, said: "Education is one of the key vehicles to achieve a sustainable future. The Triple Planetary crisis is a clear and present danger, one that needs a coordinated and collaborative action. UNEPs Strategy is guided by the triple planetary crisis."

"We are indeed encouraged to see that EAD has focused on this crisis and has managed to elicit a response from environment educators from all across the world to take collaborative action towards contributing to tackling this crisis in the 12th World Environment Education Congress conducted in Abu Dhabi," he added.

According to him, the key recommendations include the need to urgently ramp up the pace and scale of EE and ESD, and ensure they are prominent elements in both national and global agendas, with the Roadmap highlighting the essential nature of events such as WEEC to foster better integration and amplify the impact of shared goals.

The plan also encourages the harnessing of AI and smart technologies to help achieve environmental goals while underscoring the importance of placing ethics and values at the centre of EE and ESD to help foster emotional connections between society and nature, he added.
GUANGZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The island of Hengqin in south China's Guangdong Province on Friday started to allow most goods to be moved there tax-free from the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The new customs operation became effective at midnight in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in the city of Zhuhai. The zone covers the 106-square-km island of Hengqin that sits between Macao and the Chinese mainland.

Under the new mechanism, tariffs will be generally lifted for goods entering Hengqin from Macao, while goods moving from Hengqin to the Chinese mainland will now be subject to import duties, if they are not eligible for added-value tax exemption.

Similar tax exemptions also apply to luggage and parcels entering Hengqin from Macao.

The new policy is seen as a major arrangement to enrich the practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao and boost economic diversification of the SAR, which has a land area of only 32.8 square km.

Li Weinong, director of the zone's executive committee, said the customs rearrangement also aims to make it easier for Macao residents to live and work in the zone.

Macao residents are now allowed to bring a reasonable amount of cooked meat, fresh vegetables and fruits into Hengqin, which is a pioneering reform in China, according to Li.

"The new policy will effectively facilitate the flow of goods, personnel, capital and information between Hengqin and Macao, and create valuable new space for Macao's new industries and business forms," said the official.

In 2021, China's central authorities decided to build the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and make the island an important new growth point for Macao's economy.

By the end of 2023, there were 11,500 Macao residents working or living in Hengqin, an annual increase of over 70 percent, according to the zone's statistics bureau.

Xuan Jianguo, secretary-general of the Hengqin Institute of Innovation and Development, said the customs reform will greatly boost the integration of Hengqin and Macao.

"Hengqin has completed a key step toward fulfilling its two main goals, which are promoting the diversification of Macao's economy and creating a new home for Macao residents to live and work," Xuan said. 
I hadnt expected my book tour in Malaysia to end with a confrontation with men who identified themselves as police in a Kuala Lumpur airport.

I arrived in the Muslim-majority country in early January 2024 to promote the Malay translation of my book Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment, an academic analysis of the political and socioeconomic crises facing many Muslim societies today.

But my visit attracted unwarranted attention. Some conservatives and Islamists labeled me in social media a liberal  a term used by Malaysias federal agency administering Islamic affairs to denote those against the official religion, Sunni Islam. This was followed by the cancellation of my book launch event.

Nonetheless, I continued my program of other talks. Two men who identified themselves as police officers came to my last event and questioned my publisher.

The following day, the same men interrogated me and tried to seize my passport in Kuala Lumpur International Airport as I was due to embark on a flight to Pakistan. Concerned over my safety, I canceled a series of talks planned for Lahore and Islamabad and returned home to the United States.

When the incident became national news, Malaysias police inspector-general denied that officers were sent to confront me. Yet, a human rights group has called for a more thorough investigation into my case.

As a scholar of religion and politics in comparative perspective, I dont see my ordeal as an isolated example of religious intolerance in Muslim-majority countries. Instead, it taps into something wider.

My research shows that there is a rising global trend against dissenting and minority religious views. Analyzing this trend is crucial to understand why right-wing populist leaders are now ruling diverse countries, such as Turkey, Russia, Israel and India, and how they may come to power in other places, including the United States.

All these countries have recently experienced the combination of three movements: religious conservatism, nationalism and populism.

Religion and nationalism: Old enemies, new allies

In both Christian and Muslim history, nationalism emerged in reaction to the religious establishment. Scholars of nationalism such as Benedict Anderson explain its origins in Europe after the 16th century by the expansion of vernacular languages, national churches and nation-states at the expense of Latin, the Vatican and divinely ordained dynasties.

Similarly, in many Muslim-majority countries, there was a tension between Islamists and nationalists. The Islamists pushed for traditional religious education and Islamic law, and emphasized global Islamic identity. Nationalists, however, modernized schools, established secular laws and stressed national identity.

This tension continued throughout the 20th century in Turkey, where nationalists led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded a secular republic in the 1920s. There was a similar struggle in Egypt between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and the nationalist military officers who built the republic under the leadership of secularist Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s.

Today, however, religious and nationalist forces are often political allies. For a decade, such an alliance has existed in Russia between the Orthodox Patriarch Kirill and President Vladimir Putin. Laws punishing insults to religious feelings have been expanded, and Orthodox Christian values returned to school curricula.

Analysts define Kirills strong support for Putins invasion of Ukraine as a reflection of the nationalist ideology they share.

In Turkey, the main religious authority is Diyanet, a government agency that controls mosques and pays the salaries of their imams. Although the Diyanet was established by Ataturk to serve secular nationalist policies, it has become an important pillar of President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government, which mixes Islamism with nationalism. While Erdogans Justice and Development Party represents Islamism, its coalition partner for a decade, Nationalist Action Party, has an explicitly nationalist agenda.

In the Arab world, there was a wrangling between Nassers secular nationalist Egypt and the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and 1960s. No longer. Egypt, which has moved to Islamism with a constitution referring to sharia as the source of law since 1980, and Saudi Arabia, which has recently become less Islamist and more nationalist through Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans reforms, are now regional allies.

The age of populist leaders

What explains this transformation in the relationship between religion and nationalism? I believe that populism is the glue that brings them together.

Populists often claim that they are defending the people against both elites and minorities, especially immigrants.

Recently, populist nationalist leaders have used religious symbols to mobilize their followers. For example, in 2016, Putin established an Orthodox Cathedral in Paris on the banks of the Seine River, near the Eiffel Tower. And in 2020, Erdogan declared the Hagia Sophia a mosque again  it had been a church for over a millennium until the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453 and a mosque for about 500 years until Ataturk made it a museum.

Most recently, on Jan. 22, 2024, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple in Ayodhya on the site of a mosque that had been built in 1528 but violently destroyed in 1992 by Hindu radicals, after a century of controversies over the land.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opens a Hindu temple in Ayodhya, India. AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh

And while former U.S. President Donald Trump did not establish a cathedral, he did give a photo-op holding up a Bible at a crucial moment  during the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020  as a sign of his religious politics against the protesters.

In such acts, populist leaders aim to incorporate religion and nationalism to serve their political agenda. Yet, for religious minorities, this symbolism may imply that they are secondary citizens.

The future of religious minorities

In several countries, the alliances between religious forces and populist nationalists have threatened minority rights.

One such case is Malaysia, an ethnically and religiously diverse country, where Muslim Malays are the majority, while Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities constitute a third of society.

As I learned during my recent visit, Islam is at the center of political debates about nationalism in Malaysia. For example, on Jan. 13, 2024, Mahathir Mohamad, the once powerful former prime minister, said ethnically Chinese and Indian citizens of Malaysia are not fully loyal to the country and offered assimilation as a solution.

Assimilation of ethnic minorities into the majority may not be limited by language and culture, because the countrys constitution connects Islam and the Malay identity, stating: Malay means a person who professes the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language, conforms to Malay custom.

For Malays and converts, leaving Islam officially is not an option  both civil courts and sharia courts have rejected that in various cases.

The strong connection between religion and Malay nationalism has helped Islamic authorities, such as sharia courts and sharia police, expand their influence. Increasing Islamization of Malaysian government, however, is a worry for non-Muslim minorities.

Meanwhile, Muslim minorities are worried about their rights in several non-Muslim countries ruled by populist nationalists.

According to democracy watchdog Freedom House, in India, Modis government has pursued discriminatory policies against the Muslim minority of about 200 million people. These policies have included the destruction of Muslim properties to the extent that bulldozers became Hindu-nationalist and anti-Muslim symbols in India.

In the United States, Trumps anti-immigrant policies included the so-called Muslim ban  an executive order that barred nationals of certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. While campaigning for the upcoming 2024 elections, Trump vowed to bring back the ban in an expanded manner.

As the experience of many countries around the world shows, the trend of advancing a religious-nationalist agenda restricts minority voices. This trend constitutes a major challenge to the ideals of democracy and equality of citizens worldwide.

These concerns are also personal for me: As a Muslim American, I want to both keep enjoying equal citizenship in the United States and give talks about Islam in Muslim-majority countries without being harassed by the police.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University

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Ahmet T. Kuru 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.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A man with a lengthy criminal history who was due to be sentenced in May on a 2023 criminal case is now facing 20 additional felony counts for allegedly targeting beauty salons as part of an organized retail theft ring.

Kenny Moore, 38, faces 19 counts of burglary of a business and one count of being part of an organized retail theft ring. According to Moores arrest report, Las Vegas Metropolitan police were investigating a string of thefts at beauty salons that occured from Jan. 4, 2023, through Sept. 14, 2023, and had identified Moore as one of the suspects.

Court documents said Moore would typically enter the salon with one or two females, usually the same women, and they would place items, including hair dye, cosmetics, clippers, and other tools in bags they had brought with them and then walk out of the store. They were only in the store for a few minutes before leaving. However, their images were captured on surveillance video during many of the thefts which helped police identify them.

Moore and his accomplices were brazen. The report said when an employee of one salon realized Moore and a woman were stealing items, she asked them to leave. But instead of offering to pay or leaving right away, they walked around adding more items to their bags and then left. Police said Moore and his accomplices stole merchandise that could easily be resold for profit.

One of the women with Moore was identified as Carolyn Cacciopoli. She is currently facing 14 counts of burglary of a business and one count of being part of an organized retail theft ring.

According to court documents, Moore has a criminal history dating back to 2004 with arrests for robbery, robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, petit larceny, and burglary. He currently has an open criminal case for stealing from beauty salons. In that case, he is due to be sentenced in May.

He is currently being held in the Clark County Detention Center.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now)  The man accused of stealing a Maryland Highway Administration tow truck and leading police on a chase earlier this month was in court Thursday.

27-year-old Flavio Cesar Lanuza was denied bond in a Montgomery County court Thursday afternoon and is now facing several criminal charges.

Lanuza is believed to have hit 13 cars. A civilian and two law enforcement members  a Maryland State Trooper and a Montgomery County police officer  were taken to a hospital for their injuries.

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Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy says he believes that was the appropriate conclusion based on what happened on the night of Friday, February 16th.

The vehicle that he used, McCarthy said, which I think has been described as the effectively the size and weight of a tank. As you saw him hit various cars, it was like as if a tank was hitting some of these smaller vehicles.

Meanwhile, Lanuzas defense team argues what happened that night was because of his mental health.

My understanding, Lanuzas defense attorney Maria Mena said, as Ive stated, hes from Nicaragua, hes only been here three years. He works day and night so obviously, he probably never sought out medical treatment and did not realize the gravity of what was going on.

Lanuza faces charges including vehicle theft and first-degree assault. He is scheduled back in court on Friday, March 22.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
DENVER (KDVR)  The Loveland Police Department said a man was arrested and accused in the August 2022 killing of a 49-year-old woman.

The woman, Chantell Wilkes, was found unresponsive in a river near Barnes Park on August 22, 2022. She was pronounced dead on the scene, and her death was ruled as a homicide.

PAST REPORTING: Family of Loveland woman killed searching for answers

On Wednesday, a no-bond warrant was issued for Asa Peck, 45, in the death of Wilkes. Loveland police said he was arrested that evening without incident.

Peck was booked in the Larimer County Jail and faces a first-degree murder charge.

In August 2022, Wilkes family told FOX31 that she was a mother, grandmother, sibling and a giving person who would do anything for anyone.

While we understand this will not take away the pain Chantells family and friends are feeling, we are hopeful the progress in this case will bring her loved ones some peace, Loveland Police Chief Tim Doran said.

Suspect had significant criminal history

FOX31 obtained records from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that reveal Peck was arrested multiple times in recent years, and faced criminal charges.

Most of those charges were dismissed by the district attorney, according to the CBI records, for unspecified reasons. However, he was found guilty on a handful of charges over the years involving:

obstructing a peace officer (2017)

DUI (2018)

possession of controlled substances (2018, 2019,

trespassing (2019)

property damage (2019)

obstructing government operations (2020)

assault causing injury (2022)

contempt of court violation (2022)

On March 31, 2022, Peck was arrested by Loveland police on charges of assault causing injury, assault menacing and harassment. In this case, Peck was convicted of assault causing injury and received a three-day sentence as well as a three-day credit for time served. The other two charges were dismissed by the district attorney.

On Aug. 25, 2022, three days after the alleged murder of Wilkes, Peck was arrested and charged with an assault that took place on July 24, 2022. In this case, a third-degree assault charge was dismissed by the district attorney and Peck was found guilty of contempt of court violation, for which he was sentenced to 200 days in jail.

Peck is currently being held in the Larimer County Jail on a $2 million cash-only bond.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  A 56-year-old Buffalo man was arrested after allegedly threatening to blow up multiple VA Medical Centers, the U.S. Attorneys Office announced.

Demont Coston was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with threatening to blow up VA Medical Centers in Buffalo and Washington D.C. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

In September 2022, officials said Coston allegedly called the Veterans Crisis Line and made threats to blow up the VA Medical Center in Buffalo, making statements such as If I can not get any help from the VA, no one can, and The VA wont be here anymore.

Officials said Coston also stated that he finally found the person that he wants to kill, and he planned to kill him tomorrow. They said he made similar threats to the VA Medical Center in Washington D.C.

Coston was later located at a familys members house in Maryland after investigators were unable to contact him.

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Emily Miller is a digital producer who has been part of the News 4 team since 2022. See more of her work here.

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MARION OAKS  It was business as usual at the Humberto Barbershop here on Friday.

On Jan. 12, also a Friday, the shop was crawling with sheriff's deputies, forensic investigators and personnel from the Medical Examiner's Office. That was the day Milagros Guzman Lopez, an employee at the shop for a year, was gunned down in broad daylight in front of the business by a man following an argument.

Loved ones and strangers gathered at the shopping plaza that day, trying to make sense of what happened.

Milagros Guzman Lopez, 47, of Marion Oaks, was shot and killed on Jan. 12 outside this barbershop at Marion Oaks Boulevard and Marion Oaks Drive.

On Thursday, the man accused of shooting Lopez  Melvin Arias  was arrested in The Bronx, New York. The news was welcomed by Lopez's boyfriend, who also works at the business.

"I don't have to live in fear of him returning to do any harm," Humberto Boscan said in Spanish on Friday while cutting a customer's hair. The customer acted as a translator for Boscan.

Marion County Sheriff's Office officials said Arias was apprehended by U.S. Marshals Service agents in a Bronx apartment on Feb. 29. He was arrested without incident and taken to Rikers Island, Eric M. Taylor Center, a more than 400-acre prison facility, where he was still being held on Friday, according to sheriff's officials.

Detectives from the sheriff's office have traveled to New York to interview Arias and secure his extradition to Marion County, where he will be charged with second-degree murder.

Last year, sheriff's deputies investigated 23 murders. So far this year, the number is four.

Boscan said Lopez was a good woman and a hard worker whose death was senseless.

"She was an excellent person, an excellent human being who would help anyone in need. She was an excellent worker and girlfriend. She didn't deserve to die this way," Boscan said.

A key piece of evidence

Shortly before 2 p.m. on Jan. 12, deputies were called to 168 Marion Oaks Blvd. in reference to a shooting. When deputies arrived, they found Lopez with multiple gunshot wounds. She had been shot in the head, arm, torso and groin.

Paramedics arrived and Lopez was pronounced deceased at the scene at 2:07 p.m. Deputies recovered .223-caliber rifle ammunition near the woman's body.

Milagros Guzman Lopez, 47

Lopez, who worked as a hair stylist at the barbershop, was 47.

Lt. Ryan Robbins and a deputy in training noticed a cellphone next to Lopez and it was still recording. Watching the video, the deputies saw an argument between Lopez and another woman. The video showed a vehicle, later described as a Honda Odyssey minivan, and an armed man.

Shots were fired and a woman was heard screaming, "Melvin what did you do, why did you do that?" The man had a rifle, deputies said.

Arias identified

Detective Andrew Canterberry searched the vehicle and determined the registered owner's address. Arias lived at the location.

The detective interviewed several people about the shooting. One witness said she saw the victim and a woman arguing over $5,000. A man joined in the argument. The man was seen going into the minivan and returning with an AK-47. The witness said she heard multiple shots and the minivan driving away.

Detective Santana Palau interviewed a man who said he heard noises and went outside. There, he said a man with a long black rifle. The witness said he tried talking with the armed man and offered to pay him the money. The witness said he went to call the police when he heard gunshots.

File photo of the Jan. 12 shooting in Marion Oaks

Other people were interviewed by deputies. Arias was identified by at least three witnesses as the alleged shooter.

Boscan said he was heartbroken and cried when his girlfriend was shot. He said he called family and friends to let them know about the shooting.

Past history

With witnesses identifying Arias as the reported shooter, Canterberry felt he had probable cause for an arrest. Detectives felt Arias was a flight risk in part because he's an immigrant from the Dominican Republic.

During the investigation, detectives determined Arias may have fled to New York. The detectives were able to confirm that Arias was in New York and at an apartment.

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Four years ago, Arias was arrested locally on a charge of simple domestic battery. Court records show the case was settled several months later with him admitting to the offense. He spent time in the county jail.

Boscan said Lopez had an adult daughter.

As to what he will miss about Lopez, Boscan said: "Everything."

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Authorities arrest man they say shot and killed a woman on Jan. 12 in Marion Oaks
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A Maryland man was arrested Thursday for homicide by vehicle stemming from a fatal 2022 Christmas Day crash in Lancaster County.

According to the charges filed by State Police in Schuylkill, David Whisman, 42, allegedly admitted to smoking fentanyl before a head-on crash that took the life of Frank Cascarilla.

Medical records showed Troopers that there was Fentanyl, Xylazine, and other drugs in Whismans system during the crash, State Police said.

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Troopers got to the crash scene at the intersection of PA-272 and Truce Road in Providence Township around 5:30 p.m. and saw a Nissan Sentra and Honda Odyssey minivan both with heavy front-end damage.

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Whisman, the driver of the Nissan, was trapped in his vehicle due to the wreckage and was going in and out of consciousness. Troopers could not open either door so both the passenger and driver side windows were broken to pull him out from the wreckage, the criminal complaint shows.

Whisman was then rushed to the hospital, Troopers said he was bloody and had multiple cuts on his face.

There were two people in the minivan, including Cascarilla, who wanted to be checked out at the hospital because of their age. The driver of the van told State Police that they saw headlights coming right at their vehicle and they had no time to react.

On Jan. 12, Cascarilla died from his injuries at the hospital, State Police say, and the coroners report showed that his cause of death was from multiple traumatic incidents due to motor vehicle accident, the complaint states.

Pill bottles and paraphernalia containing drug residue were found in Whismans car at the scene. State Police said when they spoke with him at the hospital, he admitted to smoking fentanyl hours ago.

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A crash reconstruction report also showed Troopers that Whisman left his original lane of travel before the crash, Troopers noted.

Whisman faces multiple charges that include felony counts of homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, and aggravated assault by vehicle. He also faces multiple misdemeanor DUI charges.

Whisman is locked up in Lancaster County Prison with bail set at $125,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 6.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
INDEPENDENCE, Mo.  The Jackson County Prosecutors Office has filed charges against an Independence man in the deadly shootings of an Independence officer and civil process server.

Larry D. Acree has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of first-degree assault.

Independence officers death adds to departments tragic history

The charges come less than one day after prosecutors say Acree shot and killed Independence Officer Cody Allen and process server Drexel Mack. Two other officers were also injured.

I want to extend my condolences to the City of Independence. They have suffered enough tragedy to last a lifetime. But here we are again because they lost another among them, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said.

Peters Baker said Acree is currently in the hospital but will be transferred to the jail and held on a $2 million cash-only bond.

What happened?

The deadly shooting happened around 1 p.m. outside a house in the area of N. Elsea Smith Road and E. Bundschu Road, near 40 Highway, in Independence.

Officials said it happened as process servers were trying to serve an eviction Thursday.

Theres at least two heroes in this case who gave their lives just doing their jobs, Peters Baker said Friday, and I include Mr. Mack in that as well because he was simply doing his job yesterday.

Court records say on Feb. 23, Mack had already put a notice to vacate at the property as the result of a writ of possession, or eviction process, completed in 2023.

Charging documents say Mack and two others arrived at the home Thursday to physically evict the property owner and used tools to remove a padlock from the gated drive.

Vigil held for Independence officer and court employee killed, two hurt in shooting

After knocking and announcing their presence, they didnt receive a response or any indication that the home was occupied, according to court records. They drilled out the front door lock and entered the home. Thats when prosecutors say Acree started shooting from inside the home.

Mack was shot and fell to the floor immediately, court documents say.

Other process servers called for help, and Independence police responded to the call. When police arrived, three officers entered the home and attempted to rescue Mack.

Prosecutors say again Acree started shooting from inside the home. Allen was shot in the head, court records say, and a second Independence officer was hit in the torso.

The word ambushed is fitting, Peters Baker said Friday.

Officers returned fire and eventually took Acree into custody.

Allen and Mack were pronounced dead at the hospital, and the other injured officer had surgery but is expect to survive.

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Several agencies, as well as a tactical response team, arrived at the scene after the shooting and initiated a standoff in case there was anyone else inside.

Kansas City police Capt. Jacob Becchina said several hours later tactical response officers carefully searched the home and did not find anyone else inside.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is leading the investigation.

Because the case involves the death of a Jackson County employee, Acrees case will not go through the Jackson County court. The judge will recuse herself, and the Missouri Supreme Court will appoint a judge from outside the county.

The victims

Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Allen had served with IPD for about two years. He had also worked with the Grandview Police Department for nearly six years before transferring to Independence.

The 35-year-old is survived by his wife and two young children.

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Judge Jalilah Otto said Mack, who was in his early 40s, had served the Jackson County Circuit Court for 12 years.

Mack is survived by his fiance, who lives in the Kansas City area, and multiple children who live in Florida.

Today we mourn their sacrifice, and we mourn their memory. May Officer Allen and Mr. Mack rest in peace. But more importantly, may their legacies continue to inspire us to serve in our communities, Independence Mayor Rory Rowland said Friday.

FOX4 will continue to provide updates about this story as we learn more details.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Palestinians attend Friday prayers near a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

GAZA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday.

In a press statement, the ministry said 71,377 Palestinians have been wounded in the coastal enclave since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October last year.

Israeli forces killed 193 Palestinians and wounded 920 others in the past 24 hours. Some victims remain under the rubble because of heavy bombardment and lack of civil defense and ambulance crews, the ministry added.

The Hebrew public radio reported that the Israeli army was continuing its military operations in the Gaza Strip for the 147th consecutive day, adding that 450 Palestinians were killed during the last 10 days.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in a press conference on Thursday that Israel's military operation will continue until total victory is achieved. 

People are seen by vehicles damaged in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A man looks at the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People gather on the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People inspect the damage after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A boy stands among the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

People gather around a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

Palestinians attend Friday prayers near a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

Palestinians attend Friday prayers near a mosque destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua)

A young man stands among the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 30,228 as the Israeli military killed 193 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said Friday. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW)  A man is facing assault charges after a woman was grazed by a bullet outside of a Myrtle Beach-area nightclub, according to an Horry County police report.

Charles Lowrimore, 27, of Georgetown, was charged with first-degree assault and battery, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

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Police responded to the 3001 Night Life Club in the 900 block of Lake Arrowhead Road just before 1 a.m. Sunday for a shooting, the report said. When officers arrived, they were told that a woman was standing by the entrance of the club when she was grazed by a bullet in her lower leg.

The woman told police she was standing by the front when she noticed an altercation between Lowrimore and another person, according to the report. She said she heard a shot ring and then felt a burning sensation on her leg.

The person in the altercation with Lowrimore told police that Lowrimore chased him around and tried to fight him before shooting a gun at him and missing, which ended up grazing the woman, the report said.

An arrest warrant shows Lowrimore said Im going to shoot you during the altercation. He allegedly fled before police arrived.

Online jail records show Lowrimore was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center Thursday afternoon. As of this writing, he was still in jail on a $45,000 bond.

* * *

Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
A man is in custody after he allegedly fired shots at SWAT officers at an Ohio hotel.

>>BBB warning of possible repair scams following this weeks tornadoes

Blue Ash officers were dispatched in Hamilton County at the Birch Hill Suites on Wednesday after initial calls about a hostage situation, according to our news partner WCPO in Cincinnati.

Police say a woman was also being held hostage.

Officers said Brian Bledsoe, 40, fired seven times, but the bullets did not hit anyone.

We got very lucky, said Scott Noel, Blue Ash Police Chief. I would assume if this happened a bunch of times, we would have people injured.

The woman was found safe with no injuries.

Online jail records indicate that Bledsoe is in the Hamilton County Jail.

He is facing more than a dozen charges, including 11 counts of both felonious assault and attempted murder of a police officer, WCPO says.

A judge has set bond at $12 million.




CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW)  The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services board denied parole Wednesday for a Conway man convicted of killing a Conway teenager in 1991.

Johnnie Kenneth Ken Register, 50, of Conway, sought parole for his convictions of murder, kidnapping, and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the killing of Crystal Faye Todd, a student at Conway High School.

Register was sentenced to life in prison for her murder and kidnapping and the parole board rejected Registers request for release.

Register was the first person in South Carolina to be convicted on DNA evidence.

Solicitor Richardson, members of the victims family, as well as the lead investigator at the time who is now retired all spoke to the parole board virtually requesting Register to not be released.

More than 20 members of Todds family also attended the hearing, the release said.

Johnnie Kenneth Register was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for the 1991 slaying of Crystal Faye Todd, Richardson said. The case devastated our community and reached national audiences for its brutality. Unfortunately, in the 90s, life didnt really mean life. People who were sentence to life in prison met in the 90s must serve 30 years and then come up for parole every other year. I will continue to support the Todd family at every parole hearing to keep this man in prison.

* * *

Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylors work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.
A 28-year-old man was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of his brother, New Mexico police said.

Their mother told officers that her sons, Travis Sheckler, 35, and Nathan Sheckler, 28, got into a fight when the victim grabbed his brother by the neck and started punching him, according to a Feb. 27 news release by the Albuquerque police.

After the fight, the suspect started yelling at his brother to leave his room, police said.

The suspect followed him out of the room and held a rifle upward before shooting his older brother as he turned away, officers said.

The victim collapsed near the laundry room before his sibling ran over to ask him if he was OK, police said.

The suspect told his mother to call 911, officials said.

The two had a previous altercation in which the suspect fired a gun in the air to scare his older brother away, police said. Their mother said the victim had a history of mental illness and had expressed his anger toward his brother in the past.

The suspect fled the scene in a gold Buick sedan before eventually sending his mom a text message apologizing about the incident and saying he wished it did not happen, officers said.

McClatchy News reached out to Albuquerque police for more information on March 1 and was awaiting a response.

Nathan Sheckler was found at a motel, arrested and booked into the Metro Detention Center on an open count of murder, police said.

Pregnant mom shot to death in ambush, Colorado cops say. Two suspects on the run

17-year-old fatally shot man over Louis Vuitton fanny pack, Colorado officials say

Friends hear gunshot, then find woman dead in bedroom, cops say. Ex-boyfriend arrested
The latest Action on Smoking and Health report shows that the number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years

A business owner has been fined after selling an e-cigarette to a child whilst failing to ask for proof of age.

Antonio Baker Versace, 55, from Bournemouth, sold a Lost Mary vape to a 15-year-old volunteer at Mario's Pizza on Royal Wootton Bassetts high street.

He was given a fine of 293, a 117 surcharge and must pay 700 in costs.

Councillor Nick Holder said: "This prosecution shows that we are acting on our business plan commitment to safeguard our residents from harm and tackle businesses that arent complying with the law."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Versace pleaded guilty to selling the disposable device on 27 February at Salisbury Magistrates' Court.

Wiltshire Trading Standards has recently seen a rise in the number of complaints of vaping products being sold to those underage.

"Vapes are being sold at pocket money prices, in bright packaging and flavours which young people will find appealing," Mr Holder added.

The council encourages residents to report sales of age restricted products to children by calling Citizens Advice Consumer Service.

The NHS only recommends the use of e-cigarettes for adult smokers "to support quitting smoking."

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A man has been hospitalized after an attempted robbery and shooting in North Las Vegas, police said.

It happened around 3 p.m. in the 5000 block of Losee Road at East Tropical Parkway near a shopping center area.

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A male suspect is accused of shooting another man during the attempted robbery, according to preliminary details released by North Las Vegas police.

The suspect remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident. The man who was shot was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
PROVIDENCE  Rep. Julie Casimiro first met Mario Monteiro when he graduated as valedictorian from the gang step-down program in the medium-security unit at the Adult Correctional Institutions.

For years, Casimiro championed legislation that would provide Monteiro and others who committed crimes in their teens an avenue to seek parole earlier, given their youth. In 2021, the Youthful Offender Act  informally known as Marios Law  became law, providing people serving long sentences for crimes they committed before they turned 22 a chance to seek release after 20 years.

Despite passage of the law and a court determination that he met the standards to be paroled to the community, Monteiro, the law's namesake, remains behind bars. A judge paused his release amid the states contention that he be paroled not to the community, but to serve another consecutive sentence.

The intention of the bill was to parole Mario to the community. It was never my intention to parole him to the next sentence, said Casimiro, who was the lead House sponsor of the bill.

The intention of the bill was to parole Mario to the community. It was never my intention to parole him to the next sentence, said Rep. Julie Casimiro, who championed the 2021 Youthful Offender Act to help Mario Monteiro and others like him.

Im angry and disappointed. They knew what my intention was, Casimiro said. She expressed frustration that she had worked with the state on the legislation and even met with Monteiro at the prison with Stephen Dambruch, chief of the criminal division at the attorney generals office, and the offices then director of legislative affairs prior to its passage.

Brian Hodge, spokesman for Neronha's office, did not respond to email, phone and text inquiries.

In the meantime, Casimiro says she remains focused on getting Monteiro, now 40, out.

Supreme Court set to hear the states appeal

Now, the state Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case on April 2.

The state has asked the high court to review Superior Court Judge Stephen P. Nugents determinations that Monteiro and three other youthful offenders should be released on parole under Marios Law due to their rehabilitation efforts in prison. While Joao Neves, Pablo Ortega and Keith Nunes were freed, Nugent put Monteiros release on hold.

In ruling, Nugent rejected the states arguments that the law didnt apply to the men because it referred to a person sentenced for any offense, not to individuals such as the men who were serving consecutive sentences for multiple crimes.

Courts: ACLU fights for release of youthful offender; RI officials say law doesn't apply to him

Nugent similarly struck down separation-of-powers arguments that Marios Law, in effect, would reduce sentences by allowing state lawmakers to encroach on duties reserved for the judiciary.

Most importantly, it bears mention that Petitioners parole does not amount to a get-out-of-jail-free card; rather, Petitioner will remain subject to revocation of his parole and being ordered to serve inside the walls of the ACI if he violates the conditions of his parole, Nugent wrote in ruling for Monteiros release.

Law refers to 'singular offense'

The state, joined by the Department of Corrections, is taking up the same arguments before the Supreme Court.

The plain and ordinary meaning of this provision, specifically, the reference to the singular offense,' indicates that the General Assembly intended [Marios Law] to apply to individuals serving a single sentence and not to individuals such as the defendants who are serving consecutive sentences, Christopher Bush and Judy Davis argue for state.

The state asserts that Nugents interpretation conflicts with state law governing parole for people serving consecutive life sentences that dictates that an individual serving consecutive life sentences must serve a minimum amount of time on each sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

More: Ex-court 'fixer' says he was 'forced' out after stopping side jobs for judge. Now he's suing.

There are few acts that constitute more of an impermissible encroachment on judicial power than an attempt by the legislature to reverse or vacate a state court judgment, the state said.

It would violate the separation of powers by impinging on the domain of the court, they say.

If the high court sides with the state, Neves, Ortega and Nunes would likely have to be sent back to prison, according to the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Mario faces a double life sentence

Monteiro was 17 years old when he fatally shot a Cambodian immigrant, Rom Peov, on July 3, 2001, during an ongoing gang feud in Providence. Sitting on a stoop with friends on Hanover Street drinking a beer, Peov, 31, was an innocent bystander to the gang conflict.

A jury convicted Monteiro in 2002, and he was sentenced to two mandatory consecutive life terms.

Under the state's thinking, he now begins serving his second life term.

Mario Monteiro at age 16. A year later, in 2001, he fatally shot an innocent bystander during a gang-related conflict and was sentenced to two mandatory consecutive life terms.

ACLU: 'Nonsensical and would produce absurd results'

The ACLU  through lawyers Lisa Holley, Lynette Labinger and Sonja Deyoe  faults the states arguments as illogical, arguing that, in practice, that reading of the law would waste resources by requiring multiple parole hearings and notices to victims. They accuse corrections officials of arbitrarily changing the way they calculated parole eligibility without notice in 2018 to no longer aggregate consecutive sentences.

The States claim that the legislature only intended to apply [Marios Law] to those youthful offenders serving a single sentence where initial parole eligibility is more than 20 years is, respectfully, nonsensical and would produce absurd results, they wrote.

If a parolee were only moving to a consecutive sentence, notice to the public would be unnecessary because the person would still be behind bars. Release clearly means to the community, the ACLU continued, adding that the law is intended and designed to provide an earlier path to initial parole consideration for all youthful offenders who meet its terms, without regard to the minimum amount of time they would otherwise be required to serve before initial parole consideration.

They similarly dismiss separation-of-powers arguments.

The States position is grounded in its view that the grant of parole is equivalent to a sentence reduction. It is not. As discussed at length  the grant of parole does not reduce or modify the sentence imposed by the court; it modifies the location where the sentence is served, they wrote.

Medical and geriatric parole  which allow individuals meeting those definitions to be brought before the Parole Board at any time, regardless of the sentence  would also be barred under the states argument, they said.

Does Mario's Law violate separation of powers?

The state Supreme Court asked the state Department of Corrections and the Parole Board to weigh in.

The corrections department stood by its decision to no longer aggregate sentences in cases involving life terms plus consecutive time.

Simply stated, the prisoner does not begin his or her consecutive term of year sentence until he or she is paroled from their life sentence, Nicole DiLibero wrote.

Specifically, a prisoner sentenced to a life sentence plus a consecutive term of years  would be eligible for consideration of parole after twenty (20) years and, if paroled, would never serve a single day of their consecutive sentences, thereby nullifying the consecutive sentence ordered by the Superior Court, she added.

More: More than 150 employees have left the AG's office since 2019. What that means for RI.

The department cautioned that Nugents interpretation of the law fails to recognize the Superior Courts exercise of its judicial power to impose consecutive sentences and could run afoul of the separation of powers doctrine.

According to the corrections officials, there are 17 people in state custody that this ruling could potentially apply to  16 of these individuals are serving only one controlling and one consecutive sentence, and one individual is only serving his consecutive sentence at this time after being paroled to his consecutive sentence, Monteiro.

There are 96 offenders all together who were committed at the age of 21 or less, who, based on their controlling sentence, were sentenced to a term of 20 years or greater. Of those, 83 offenders were serving on a single charge.

'Uncertainty' is complicating Parole Board decisions

The Parole Board argues that its bound by the Department of Correctionss determination about parole eligibility under state law, and that changes in the way thats aggregated has created uncertainty.

This uncertainty affects not just the Boards ability to make fully informed parole determinations, but also its ability to make referrals for rehabilitative programs.  This uncertainty about whether the Boards grant of parole release will result in the prisoner being released into the community or their next sentence constricts the Boards ability to make fully informed parole determinations," Special Assistant Attorney General Patrick Reynolds wrote.

The board looked to the high court to be the final arbiter.

National groups weigh in to support ACLU's position

A host of national groups and the Rhode Island Public Defenders office filed briefs in support of the ACLUs position.

The public defenders office emphasized that the parole system saves Rhode Islanders money, as the cost per incarcerated offender for fiscal year 2023 varied from $88,282 to $256,534 per year, with an average of $107,969 per offender.

To put it plainly, there are significant benefits to providing parole opportunities to young offenders with lengthy sentences, both in terms of safe reintegration and costs, Kara J. Maguire wrote.

Despite the states insistence, there is nothing in the plain language of the statute that excludes those serving consecutive sentences, she said, adding, Indeed, the legislation would impact very few  if any  young offenders were it not to apply to those serving consecutive sentences. This is especially true considering the mandatory consecutive sentences for offenses involving guns.

Consecutive sentences should be aggregated, and a single parole eligibility date calculated, under state law, she said.

When consecutive sentences are disaggregated, the process is turned on its head, with the Parole Board paroling an offender back into prison. The result is an inefficient and confusing process that undermines the goals of a parole system, the office said.

The other organizations include The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth; Human Rights for Kids; The Juvenile Law Center; the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; The Center for Law, Brain and Behavior, at Massachusetts General Hospital; and the Prisoners Rights Clinic at Roger Williams University School of Law, among others.

Many of the briefs examine recent U.S. Supreme Court cases that highlight scientific evidence of structural differences in the brains of youth that lead to impulsivity and that immaturity diminishes their culpability, making it appropriate that the law seeks to treat them differently.

Another argues that the states position that the law doesnt apply to juveniles serving more than one sentence for the same act encourages prosecutorial use of charge stacking to increase sentence length, which is especially harmful for youthful offenders.

The state Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether the national briefs will be admitted.

What crimes were the three men released under Mario's Law convicted of?

Neves, now 41, was convicted of murder in the shooting death of John Cumiskey on Jan. 15, 1999.

Cumiskey, a University of Massachusetts Dartmouth student known as Cuff, was visiting Providence with friends when they were accosted by Neves and 18-year-old Eliecer Ortiz. Cumiskey lunged at the men as they tried to rob them and Neves shot him in the chest and head. Neves and Ortiz were also implicated in a series of muggings on the East Side.

The Parole Board agreed to release Neves in August 2021 to begin serving his next consecutive sentence  a 10-year term for the muggings.

Nunes, 42, was 18 when he got into an argument and fired a handgun into a crowd in 1999, killing 36-year-old Mark D. Pierce. Nunes, too, was sentenced to serve life plus 10 years.

The Parole Board in 2019 also found that he met the criteria for release based on his rehabilitation and remorse. The board agreed to parole him from his life sentence to his next consecutive sentence of 10 years, meeting minutes show.

Ortega, 41, was 19 in 2001 when he fatally shot shopkeeper Franklin Mercado as he and two other teenagers attempted to rob a convenience store. He received a life sentence plus five years for conspiracy.

The Parole Board in 2021 agreed to release him on the life sentence to begin to serve the five years based on his rehabilitation and progress. An immigration detainer has been placed on Ortega upon his release.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: State, ACLU at odds over RI's early parole law for youthful offenders
A man who murdered his girlfriend and three members of her family in south London has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 46 years.

Joshua Jacques, 29, killed Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, her grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill's husband, Denton Burke, 68, in Bermondsey in April 2022.

The scene found by police was described as being like "a horror movie".

There was a cry of "coldblooded murderer" as Jacques was sent down.

Addressing Jacques in the Old Bailey dock during sentencing, Mr Justice Bryan said the defendant's offending had been contributed to by an increased daily intake of skunk cannabis, and that he was "well aware" of the impact on his mental health.

'Salutary lesson'

The judge told Jacques it was a "horrific catalogue of murders inflicted by you in the most brutal of circumstances on three generations of the same family".

"It is a salutary lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug," Mr Justice Bryan added as Jacques appeared emotionless.

The defendant had murdered his girlfriend and three members of her family at the home in Delaford Road for "no apparent reason", he added.

The judge said the jury had heard Jacques had doubled his consumption of skunk cannabis in the days before the killings.

'Drug-induced psychosis'

It was likely that Jacques had had a row with his girlfriend Samantha, which had triggered the killings that followed, the judge said.

"You and you alone bear responsibility for any such row, and for what occurred during your drug-induced psychosis," Mr Justice Bryan told him.

He added that Jacques had expressed no remorse prior to the sentencing hearing, during which the defendant had had a statement read out on his behalf in which he apologised and said he was "disgusted" with himself.

The judge paid tribute to the victims' family for their dignified manner during the trial, adding: "No sentence will ever be enough to reflect their loss."

Following the hearing, Ms Hill's daughter Tracey-Ann Henry told reporters outside the court that Jacques should have been handed a whole life order, meaning he would never be released from prison, but added: "Justice has been served."

Chyloe Daley, Mr Burke's niece, agreed, saying: "We'll accept this for now but there is no bringing them back."

Jacques, of Lewisham, was found guilty of four counts of murder in December. He had denied murder but admitted manslaughter.

'I've lost four family members who won't come back'

Every morning, Tracey-Ann Henry, the daughter of 64-year-old victim Dolet Hill, awaits a phone call that never comes.

"I spoke to my mum every day," she explains in the run-up to Jacques' sentencing hearing. "Sometimes, four times in the day, even when I'm at work."

Tracey-Ann Henry used to call her mother Dolet Hill, who was one of Jacques' victims, several times a day

Ms Henry said she realised something was wrong when she tried to call her mother as usual and she did not pick up.

Ms Hill had been recovering from cancer and had just completed her final radiotherapy treatment when she was murdered in the home she shared with her husband and fellow victim Denton Burke.

Another of her daughters, Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, also known as Racquel, sometimes stayed at Ms Hill's home to help care for her. She was also killed by Joshua Jacques that day.

Granddaughter Samantha Drummonds, Jacques' girlfriend who was another of his victims, had been living there too because her own flat was undergoing renovation.

Concerned that she could not get hold of her mother, Ms Henry rushed to the house but found it cordoned-off by police.

"I said, 'I want to talk to my mum'," she recalls. She said the police officer asked what number she lived at, and then went to check with a colleague. "He said, 'oh, you need to sit in the car with me'."

Growing increasingly worried on her way to the police station, Ms Henry said she had used her phone to check the news headlines, remembering saying: "Four people are dead, that's mum, Racquel, Samantha and Denton."

The shock was so great, Ms Henry can barely recall what happened next, although she does remember police wanting to ask her what she knew about a man called Joshua Jacques.

He had been arrested at the scene by armed officers, who found him naked in an upstairs bathroom, screaming "Allah, take me", "kill me now", and "God please forgive me".

The four family members were killed in Dolet Hill and Denton Burke's house, in Delaford Road

Later, at Lewisham Hospital, Jacques said: "I ain't even in the wrong, I did them for sacrifice," and warned: "I will do something stupid again."

Ms Henry said she had only met Jacques once, a few days earlier. "He was like a normal person," she said. "It's not like he was acting strange or anything."

Family members said it was difficult to listen to the evidence in court. "It felt like he had no remorse," Asheka Jones, the niece of Mr Burke, says.

"Having mental health issues is one thing, but when you are abusing drugs, it's just horrible. I've lost four family members who won't come back."

Ms Henry said she would remember her mum as a "loving, bubbly person. She loved to cook, you won't come to the house and don't get fed" she added.

Although she had been trying to think of the good memories they had shared, she said she found it difficult to look forward to the future.

"If I go on holiday, most of my holidays are with my mum, so, it's really hard for me."

"Things will never be the same, there will always be that empty hole," Ms Jones agrees. "When I think of them, I think of this warmth they had, the humour. I feel like everyone was filled with such joy that can't be replaced."

With additional reporting from PA Media.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk
A man who shot and killed a teenage student at a high school graduation ceremony in Virginia after a long-running feud between the pair will serve 25 years in prison for the murder.

Amari Pollard, 20, pled guilty to two charges on Thursday over the shooting during the Huguenot High School graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, in June 2023.

He pled guilty to charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to Richmond City Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachinn, per WRIC.

Pollard was sentenced to 43 years in jail, with 18 years suspended, for the killing of 18-year-old Shawn Jackson, whose step-father, 36-year-old Lorenzo Smith, was also fatally shot.

While Pollard was initially charged with the death of Smith, prosecutors later dropped the charges after an investigation, citing a lack of evidence to try him, the Associated Press reported.

Pollard testified that he shot Jackson because he was scared for his life, according to the outlet. He claimed he was running away from him when he heard someone say, Shoot him, leading to Pollard firing his gun.

However, prosecutors reportedly challenged this statement and referred to surveillance video, which they say captured Pollard shooting at Jackson from behind, adding that the victim was shot a total of six times.

The judge ultimately ruled that there was not enough evidence for a self-defence claim.

"This was a murder that happened at a public high school graduation, in the middle of the summer, in the middle of the afternoon, with hundreds of people around," Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin said to reporters after the guilty plea.

The defendant had so little regard for completely innocent bystanders.

The shooting, which occurred on 6 June 2023, happened after a graduation ceremony outside Richmonds Altria Theatre on the outskirts of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Amari Pollard has pled guilty to two charges (Richmond Police Department)

The Richmond Police Department told The Independent at the time in a statement that detectives had determined the shootings were not a random act but resulted from an ongoing dispute between Pollard and Jackson.

Pollard was detained by Virginia Commonwealth University security after trying to flee from the scene on foot, according to police at the time.

Richmond Police Department interim chief Rick Edwards said in a press conference last year that the suspect and the victim had a long-running dispute.

They knew each other, this was a dispute that were hearing took place over the course of over a year, Mr Edwards said.

Pollard had apparently attended the graduation before getting into an exchange with Jackson.

The police chief said the two had an interaction in which words were exchanged that led to the violent attack.

I wouldnt say [Pollard] was waiting for [Jackson]. I think there was an interaction, and then it appears the suspect went to his car to retrieve the gun and return, Mr Edwards added at the conference.

A report prepared by a law firm for the Richmond Public Schools and released in January this year said that Jackson was kept at home from school during the school year because of issues surrounding his security and safety.

Richmond Public Schools released a statement following the trial conclusion: June 6 was intended to be a joyful day for Richmond graduates. Instead, it ended in a senseless tragedy that took two lives and destroyed countless others. We continue to mourn the loss of Shawn Jackson and his step-father Lorenzo Smith, and pray that Mrs. Jackson-Smith finds some closure and peace with the conclusion of the trial.
Investigators say the fire that destroyed a Morganton business was intentionally set. That business owner told Channel 9s Dave Faherty that people have been after him because he owes them money. He says a third party told him one of the groups he owes money to may have ties to the Russian mafia.

Wendell Fox owns Fox Built Construction in Morganton. He showed Faherty one of the threatening videos he claims he received after he said he borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from people in New York and then filed for bankruptcy last summer.

PREVIOUS: Building for construction company in Morganton catches fire

Enjoy the time you got left. Your days are numbered. Stuff like that, Fox told Faherty.

In late January, flames swept through the building, causing more than $700,000 in damage.

Police have called Fox a person of interest in the case. According to search warrants, investigators could smell the odor of something used to start a fire in an upstairs storage room. They said the owner of the company is the only person of interest in the case.

I didnt do it, Fox said. I have gone though a bunch of turmoil right now.

Fox says his financial troubles started more than a year ago. Court documents say when he began to run short on funds, he went online and filled out loan applications and was contacted by a broker out of New York.

ALSO READ: Im concerned: Neighbors protesting proposed megasite development in Burke County

After filing for bankruptcy months later, Fox claims the threats started.

But the search warrant says Fox defaulted on four $100,000 loans. Just days before the fire started, his bankruptcy was dismissed, making him responsible for all of the debt.

Im not nearly stupid enough to do something like that knowing its going to cripple me more, and that Im going to be the prime suspect, Fox said.

The search warrant says Fox told investigators that he knows it looks like he started the fire.

The police chief said this remains an active investigation. They are working closely with the State Bureau of Investigation, who were spotted back out at the scene this week.

(WATCH BELOW: Arrest made in house fire that injured 1 person, firefighters say)
CAIRO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Secretary-General of the Arab League (AL) Ahmed Aboul Gheit late Thursday condemned "in the strongest terms" the killing of more than 100 Palestinians waiting for aid in northern Gaza by Israeli forces.

He described the killing, in an AL's statement, as "a barbaric and brutal act that disregarded human lives," stressing that the continuous targeting of civilians by Israeli forces constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity.

The pan-Arab body underscored that Israel had implemented a systematic plan to prevent aid from reaching the people of the Gaza Strip.

He emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire to save thousands of lives from bombing and starvation.

In a separate statement released on Thursday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said "the targeting of civilians running to take their share of aid is a heinous crime and blatant violation of international laws."

Egypt called on the international community to take responsibility and provide protection for the Palestinian people.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed, and 760 others wounded in an Israeli attack as they were waiting for aid in western Gaza City on Thursday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. 
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD)  A drunk driver was sentenced to years behind bars for a deadly 2023 crash in Kalamazoo.

On Friday, Miguel Angel Huerta-Altamirano was sentenced to a minimum of 4.5 years to 15 years for each charged and to run concurrently. He was charged with operating while intoxicated causing death, reckless driving causing death and failing to stop at the scene of fatal crash, according to a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety news release.

The crash happened on July 3, 2023, at the intersection of W. Cork Street and S. Burdick Street in Kalamazoo.

Police said Huerta-Altamirano was driving westbound on Cork Street at around 75 mph when he failed to stop for a red light at Burdick Street, causing a three-vehicle crash.

The driver of one of the vehicles, David Allen Meyers, was killed. The driver of the other vehicle had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to KDPS.

Huerta-Altamirano ran away from the scene of the crash and was arrested a short time later. Police said he showed signs of intoxication.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
An Ethiopian man living in Snellville was convicted of fraudulently gaining U.S. Citizenship after lying to immigration authorities. He was sentenced Wednesday, according to federal officials.

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Attorneys Office said Mezemr Abebe Belayneh, 67, entered the U.S. in 2001.

Before that, he lived in Ethiopia where justice officials say he was involved in a campaign of oppression and mass killings which started in 1976, called the Red Terror.

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While in Ethiopia, Belayneh is said to have violently beat political opponents, then lied about it to U.S. immigration officials. As a result of his deception, he unlawfully entered this country and obtained U.S. citizenship, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Departments Criminal Division said.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said Belaynehs actions in Ethiopia included abusing teenagers, actions which he later concealed while coming to the United States. He later became a naturalized citizen in 2008, according to the Justice Department.

Belayneh served as a civilian interrogator during the Red Terror, according to the USDOJ. Officials said he worked at a makeshift prison called Menafesha in Dilla, Ethiopia.

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While working as an interrogator, detained teenage victims in a crowded prison for weeks and months, interrogated them about their political beliefs, and directed and participated in severe beatings in which they were whipped or hit with sticks.

USDOJ said he also forced prisoners to fight each other to amuse the prison guards.

A Snellville resident, Belayneh was convicted of fraudulently obtaining citizenship in July 2023, following an arrest related to a Homeland Security investigation, according to officials.

When a person attempts to become a U.S. citizen under false pretenses, it jeopardizes our naturalization process and we will not stand idly by for war criminals and human rights violators to use our nation as a safe haven, Executive Associate Director Katrina W. Berger of Homeland Security Investigations said. Simply put, those who knowingly and willfully misrepresent themselves to obtain U.S. citizenship status will be held accountable for their deceitful actions.

A jury found Belayneh guilty of one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law and one count of procuring citizenship to which he was not entitled.

Belayneh obtained U.S. citizenship by concealing from immigration authorities the abuse he inflicted on teenagers in Ethiopia during the Red Terror in the late 1970s, Buchanan said. We hope that todays sentencing brings a measure of peace and closure to the defendants courageous victimssome of whom testified at trialand sends a clear message to others that we will continue to investigate and prosecute human rights abusers who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship.

Justice officials said Belayneh was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
The man charged in the Thursday fatal shooting of a civil process server and Independence police officer had recently lost his home and property over unpaid taxes.

As civil process server Drexel Mack attempted to serve eviction papers, a man at the home opened fire, authorities said Thursday. They identified that man Friday morning as Larry D. Acree, the homes former owner. He has been charged two counts of first-degree murder, assault in the first degree for wounding a police officer and three additional counts of armed criminal action.

Three Independence police officers who arrived to help were also shot, one fatally.

Mack, 42, and Officer Cody Allen, 35, died at an Independence hospital. The two other officers were wounded but are expected to make full recoveries, police said.

Jackson County property records show that an Independence man purchased the home and property  valued in 2023 at $675,500  and had just paid back taxes on it last week. The new owner wrote a personal check for $18,543 to cover taxes from 2022 and 2023.

According to the probable cause affidavit explaining the charges, a notice to vacate was posted in a conspicuous place on the premises on Feb. 23. It said the notice was a result of a request for a writ of possession that was completed Feb. 9.

Mack arrived at the home in the 1110 block of North Elsea Smith Road shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday. Independence police said that he was shot, leaving him wounded outside the home.

Drexel Mack, a civil process server for the Jackson County Circuit Court, was shot and killed during an eviction Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Independence. Mack had worked for the court for 12 years. An independence police also died.

Acree was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital. Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman on Thursday would not discuss his injuries or any details about what happened at the home.

Larry D. Acrees tax problems

Jackson County property records show Acree bought the 9-acre property in 2005. The three-bedroom house  which is 2,419 square feet  was built the same year, records indicate.

Court and property records also show that Acree has had financial troubles for years, filing bankruptcy in 1992 and again in 2004. In 2012, the Missouri Department of Revenue filed a tax lien on him, and a judgment was entered for $12,628.

His wages were garnished from GSM Corp., and the judgment was satisfied in 2016.

Records show Acree also owed back taxes from 2019 through 2023 of $1,150 for a livestock trailer, two utility trailers, a pickup, an SUV and two horse trailers.

In the summer of 2023, a roofing company issued a real estate levy against Acrees property for $32,155.34.

Records show the new owner bought the property on Aug. 14, 2023, for $260,000 in a delinquent tax sale. The sale was confirmed on Nov. 20. On Feb. 22, records show the new owner paid the $18,543 in back taxes.

Simply devastated

Two law enforcement communities in Jackson County are struggling with the loss of Allen and Mack.

Officer Allen always had a smile on his face, Dustman said.

He was the guy that when you went out on a call he would be there and he would defuse things in a moments notice, Dustman said Thursday. He was right there to back you up.

Presiding Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jalilah Otto said in a release Thursday evening that the impact of the loss would linger.

We are simply devastated that someone who is doing their job on behalf of the Court could be shot and killed, Otto said. We send our sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Mack, and the families of the Independence Police Department officers who also suffered tragedies today.
GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A local man has been arrested after police said he shot and killed his girlfriends father at their Gastonia home Thursday night.

The deadly shooting happened at 8:43 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, along South Weldon Street in Gastonia. Detectives said the suspect, identified as Darnell Shanquavius Fowler, 30, got into an argument with his girlfriends father, identified as Gerald Lee Humphries Sr.

Police said both men were armed during the argument.

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Crime & Public Safety

During the fight, Humphries was shot and killed. Both men were living in the same home along South Weldon Street, police said.

Fowler has been arrested and booked into the Gaston County Jail, charged with a firearms violation.

This case is being reviewed by the Gaston County District Attorneys Office and remains under investigation, Gastonia Police said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
March 1 (UPI) -- A judge on Friday sentenced Kevin Monahan to 25 years to life in prison for shooting and killing a 20-year-old woman who mistakenly turned into his driveway last April.

Washington County Judge Adam Michelini delivered the sentence after family members urged him to hand Monahan the maximum sentence for the unprovoked shooting. Monahan was handed a lesser sentence, to be served consecutively, for tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors along with family and friends of Gillis described Monahan as unsympathetic to the incident where his fears were unfounded.

"You were deceitful," Gillis's father Andrew Gillis told Monahan in court during sentencing. "You hid the truth and you never showed remorse."

Arthur Frost, one of Monahan's attorneys said he was indeed remorseful even though he declined to take the stand during sentencing.

A jury in January deliberated for less than three hours before convicting him of second-degree murder. Monahan had told the jury he felt threatened before firing at the SUV Gillis was a passenger in rural Hebron, N.Y., but fired the shot that killed the woman by accident.

The SUV was part of a group that included a second vehicle and motorcycle that had gotten lost because of the area's spotty cellphone service. Gillis's boyfriend Blake Walsh said the group was pulling away from Monahan's home when he fired on them.

Monahan testified that he believed the vehicles were attempting to block him from leaving, so he picked up his 20-gauge shotgun. He said he fired one warning shot but the second one that struck Gillis was accidental.
(KRON)  An injured man was stranded for two days alone on a rugged ocean cliffside after he survived a harrowing crash over Highway 1 in Californias Big Sur, investigators said.

A California Highway Patrol Coastal Division Air Operations Unit conducted an aerial search of the rugged coastline and spotted the man waiving a makeshift flag below Hurricane Point on Tuesday. His vehicle had plummeted 400 feet down to a beach below. Big Sur, renowned for its natural beauty, is located along Californias central coast and is accessible via a narrow, winding, two-lane highway with a precipitous drop along much of the Pacific Ocean side.

The crash victim is an employee of Post Ranch Inn, a luxury resort that attracts celebrities for its world-class ocean views. The employee left Post Ranch Inn around 11:30 p.m. Sunday, the CHP said.

Gov. Abbott says Texas wildfires may have destroyed up to 500 structures

Someone later alerted authorities that the man never made it home.

On Tuesday morning, the CHPs helicopter search and rescue team was notified by the Pacific Grove Police Department that the man was still missing. Officers were informed that the missing man could be anywhere between Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, and Monastery Beach in Carmel.

(Image courtesy CHP Coastal Division Air Operations)

Investigators had a hunch that he may have crashed somewhere along Highway 1. The coastal highway is infamous for beautiful landscapes and major crashes.

From the air, the CHP Coastal Division Air Operations Unit spotted the wrecked vehicle 400 feet down a cliff near the beach below. A solo male was standing next the vehicle franticly waving a makeshift flag, the CHP wrote.

(Image courtesy CHP Coastal Division Air Operations)

An hour later, a Big Sur Fire Chief used a rope to climb down to the victim.

The driver stated that while driving home late Sunday night, he swerved to miss some deer in the roadway causing him to veer off  and roll several hundred feet down the cliffs edge. The driver reported that he was ejected through the sunroof as his car rolled down, the CHP wrote.

Woman survives 14 hours on top of submerged car in Livermore

The man was stranded at the collision site because it was impossible to climb back up the 400-foot cliff, investigators said. A narrow stretch of sand separated the cliffs from powerful breaking waves.

(Image courtesy CHP Coastal Division Air Operations)

The helicopter crew hoisted up the victim and the Big Sur Fire Chief before flying to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas.

The CHP wrote, Even though the victim had been over the side for two days, he appeared to be stable and suffered moderate injuries.

Video of the incredible Big Sur crash rescue can be viewed in the video player above. (Video courtesy CHP Coastal Division Air Operations).

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
George Galloway says his victory at the Rochdale by-election was a win for Gaza. Is it a win for Rochdale? Mr Galloway was duly elected (though the dramatic rise in the numbers of postal votes cast does make one wonder how well they were invigilated). But the total electorate in Rochdale is about 78,000. He won 12,335 votes  less than a sixth of that. On this slender foundation, he boasts (with Gorgeous George, everything is a boast) of affecting a major war 2,365 miles away.

Unfortunately, Mr Galloway is not 100 per cent mistaken. At present, the classic issues of domestic politics are so badly handled by the main political parties that adventurers who exploit visceral issues can hog the stage.

Those classic issues concern what used to be called the condition of the people. Both Conservatives and Labour understood this.

For the Tories, that condition was better improved by independent institutions and a government that favoured entrepreneurism, property ownership and liberty. For Labour, government, trade unions and a welfare state were the chief engines of social betterment. Both parties engaged with subjects that mattered to all voters.

At present, both are in a mess. Mr Galloways low jibe that Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer are two cheeks of the same backside is not quite as unacceptable as one would like.

The Rochdale result reinforces the widespread impression that the Tories are going nowhere. For Labour, it is worse. It increases the growing doubt about Sir Keirs grip on his party and whether he can propose, as all oppositions should, answers for voters present discontents. Mr Galloway is eloquent, and wrong. Sir Keir is not eloquent, and not clearly right.

The general reason for Mr Galloways success is the weakness of the political establishment, but the particular reason in Rochdale is the large number of Muslim voters there. He sent out a special by-election address to the voters of the Muslim faith in Rochdale. He had fought for Muslims ... all of my life, he said, especially for Palestine and in Iraq.

If I win, he told them, Sir Keir, a top supporter of Israel, could well be forced out as Labour leader. Invoking the will of God, he called on his Muslim brothers and sisters to send a message that will be heard in all four corners of the world. Wa Salaam o Aleukum, he ended. His sectarianism puts even Northern Irish politics 50 years ago in the shade.

It is obvious that Muslim voters will, on average, care more about Israel/Gaza than the general population. The same applies to Jewish voters, usually from the opposite point of view.

The important electoral difference is that Muslims, at roughly 6.5 per cent of our population, are well over 12 times more numerous than Jews. The Muslim vote remains too small to decide the fate of the nation but is now big enough to sway several parliamentary seats and raise the political temperature.

The Gaza conflict, and the ensuing marches in Britain, have proved this as never before. The marches aggression and extremism have alarmed most Jewish voters, most Gentile supporters of Israel, and many millions who have no strong views on the Middle East and do not see why the subject should dominate our public spaces. In an overdue but welcome speech, Mr Sunak said that What started as protests on our streets, has descended into intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence. People resent this embryonic mob rule.

Their resentment is often related to a belief, which recent statistics confirm, that immigration is out of control.

For some, it is Islam itself that is the problem. Readers quite often write to me about this. This week, I received an email from a gentleman whom I have known slightly for several years. He is a retired chartered accountant, of mainstream conservative views, living in southern England. I have met him a couple of times and found him pleasant and sane.

He does not want to be named in public (which indicates our bad situation), so I shall call him Mr A. He showed me his correspondence with his MP, who is a Conservative. Since I am not naming Mr A, I shall not name his MP, but just call him Mr B.

Here is what Mr A wrote:

Islam is a major threat to democracy in this country and elsewhere.

Islam cannot allow itself to be governed forever by non-Islamic rule. If you study the history of Islam and see how it is reflected in modern society, the clues are plain to see.

Muslims do not integrate into our culture. They do not become British except in law. Multiculturalism is a failure and allows minorities to take us over.

As a politician, you and your cohort and predecessors need to face the truth and not cast out someone like Mr [Lee] Anderson, with whose views I and millions of others in this country agree. It is politicians who have caused the problem with their fixation for allowing massive immigration and it is politicians like you who need to wake up and fix it.

As one Muslim said to me a few years ago, We will win in the end because we have more babies than you.

I fear for my children and grandchildren, as should you.

Mr Bs reply, in full, was I will not respond to your racist email, and shall no longer respond to correspondence from you.

As I said to Mr A when we discussed this exchange, I do not fully agree with him. There is indeed a strong anti-pluralist tradition in Islam which can work against integration and seems to have revived in modern Islamism. But the equivalent could be said of Christianity at many times and in many places in history.

As a Christian myself, I notice how often people outside the faith mischaracterise it, drawing on isolated scraps of Biblical quotation to prove a hostile point. A great faith is a deep, immensely complicated thing. It is unwise to condemn it wholly. Better to focus on the bad things that extreme followers do in its name. Important, also, to acknowledge that Islams most strident spokesmen are self-appointed and untypical.

But it is Mr As  and everyones  perfect right to criticise any religion. It is also his right to be worried by the failures of multiculturalism and of mass immigration and to share his anxieties with his elected representative.

It is Mr Bs response which offends. I was about to write that it is extraordinary, but I fear it may not be: it has become quite commonplace to describe any criticism of Islam as racist.

This cannot be right. Islam, like Christianity, is offered to all mankind, and has adherents of all colours. It is a belief system, not a genetic code. All belief systems must be open to challenge.

To call someone racist is a serious charge. Mr B has no evidence for making it. By saying he will not respond to future correspondence from Mr A, he is failing in the duty each MP owes to all his/her constituents. He is entitled to disagree with Mr A, but should answer him properly, not cancel him.

This case is a microcosm of the gap between voters and the political mainstream. If electors with genuine concerns about what they see as the effect of political Islam are insulted, how can they not be disillusioned with the political process?

Seeing such cowardly mainstream leadership, many more Galloways will press home their advantage.

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For most of her life, Neena Nizar experienced weakened and crooked bones that caused her pain and made walking difficult. But doctors never knew why.

My parents would really tell doctors, Her bones are bending, and they wouldnt really believe it, the 46-year-old from Nebraska tells TODAY.com. I grew up with lots of corrective surgeries and living with a misdiagnosis for most of my life.

When she was 32, she finally learned what caused her bowed bones  an ultra-rare disease, Jansen Metaphyseal Chondrodysplasia.

I had almost given up, honestly, she explains. The world suddenly made a lot more sense.

In 2015, Nizar was talking to some researchers about Jansen, which causes swelling and stiffness of joints, high levels of calcium in the blood in addition to bent, fragile bones. At the time, she had identified five patients in the world with it, including herself and her two sons.

children with rare diseases (Courtesy Neena Nizar)

Nizar was lobbying for studies on Jansen to find a potential therapy or cure when a researcher said something shocking to her.

Somebody actually told me, No one is going to care about five patients, Nizar says. They were actually telling me that my life and my kids lives didnt matter.

Nizar didn't let that discourage her. She will be the first person to undergo treatment in the first-ever clinical trial for Jansen, followed by two other adults enrolled in it. Her sons will participate, too.

Sometimes it can take a mountain to climb to be able to get to the other side of treatment, Nizar says. Our story is really important because it shows that every life has value, and every life is worth fighting for.

Nizars story is not unlike others with rare diseases. The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimates that 7,000 rare diseases impact between 25 to 30 million Americans, but few treatments exist for these diseases. Worldwide, there are 300 million people with rare diseases, according to a paper in the European Journal of Human Genetics.

For some, rare diseases cause disability, chronic illness and pain. For others, a rare disease is fatal. Clinical trials often represent the only hope that people with rare diseases have for a possible treatment.

We have to learn so much from the trial. But our hope is that theres a benefit to it, Nizar says. My older son, hes 15, and I have a younger sons whos 13. And the reality is that even though weve (started this trial) so quickly, as a mom I just feel like its not been quick enough.

Rare disease, research and its treatment

Rare diseases are those that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S., according to the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, which facilitates the development of drugs for rare diseases.

But even within this definition, there's tremendous variation because it can refer to the 100,000 Americans with sickle cell disease or the 30 people worldwide with Jansen. More than half of rare diseases impact children, says Pamela Gavin, chief operating officer of National Organization for Rare Diseases (NORD).

Finding a diagnosis for a rare disease can take anywhere from four to nine years, according to research in PLOS One. But a diagnosis is only the first step in a complicated journey. Some conditions are so rare that most doctors will never encounter them, and most lack treatments.

Many people recently diagnosed with rare diseases dont know where to go for help, and NORD serves as a resource for them. It manages a database of about 1,200 rare diseases, hosts patient assistance programs, oversees centers of excellence and helps with research. NORD also connects families with rare diseases to support and advocacy groups and introduces them to experts who can treat their children or enroll them in studies, if they exist.

Rare disease research ranges from patient registries to genomic investigations to natural history studies, where patients simply share their experience because some conditions are so rare that it's not known how they progress. And of course, there's clinical trials.

Weve never had as many clinical trials ... since the Orphan Drug Act was passed and NORD was formed as we do today, Gavin tells TODAY.com.

But more than 95% (of rare diseases) dont have a treatment or cure," she adds. "So, despite that great activity we still have a long, long way to go." Of the 7,000 identified rare diseases, only 500 of them have an approved treatment, per the NIH.

The Stewart family of Knoxville, Tennessee, enrolled their daughter daughter, Mary Mitchell, in a clinical trial because her rare disease, Sanfilippo syndrome, has no treatment or cure. The degenerative condition, also known as childhood Alzheimer's, robs children of their ability to speak, and progressively they stop walking, sitting up and eating. Most children die before they become teenagers.

"Their quality of life is just nonexistent, Mary Mitchells mom Sarah Stewart, 41, tells TODAY.com. There was just a short period of time in her short little life where she was cognitively aware.

Mary Mitchell, who had the nickname Shug and loved Dolly Parton, passed away in 2020 at age 5. When her parents enrolled her in the trial, they knew this outcome was a possibility, but they still chose to do so because they hoped it could give them a few more good years with their daughter. There was no medical treatment, and this was the one shot we had, Stewart says.

With some rare diseases, there are only a few doctors considered experts in it, and being connected to them often requires travel, an expense that can be a burden to many. A study in Orphanet Journal of Rare Disease found people with rare diseases spend three to five times as much for health care costs compared to other patients.

Nizar paid to move her family from Dubai to the United States after finding an expert at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Harald Jueppner, who researches bone and nerve isolation and was studying Jansen  though he'd never met a patient with it.

After Jueppner told Nizar there was little funding for his work, Nazir started a foundation to help support Jansen research, which Gavin says is a surprisingly common course of action among parents of kids with rare diseases.

They werent medical experts. They werent researchers. Theyre not scientists, but theyre facing an unbelievable problem, she adds.

I was determined that the only way to help these children have a different future would be to create (a potential treatment), Nazir explains. Now that I was a mom, I was driven to find answers. It takes on a whole new level of investigation because youre now determined that youve got to find the answer.

Research offers hope but comes with risks

For families of children with rare diseases that already have clinical trials, they have to weigh the risks and benefits of participating.

For example, some clinical trials involve a control and experimental group. The control group generally maintains the care theyre receiving without getting the experimental treatment.

Thats a really difficult decision for a parent to make  to have their child participate in a clinical trial knowing they may be getting a placebo, Gavin says.

Other barriers include parents not having enough paid time off work to travel with their child to participate in the research. And some children might already undergo hours of therapies weekly and can't spend extra time to be involved research.

If a family does join a clinical trial, they often feel a mixture of excitement and fear about participating.

Theres definitely a higher level of risk that people can tolerate and will tolerate when it comes to rare diseases, Gavin says.

When you participate in research, youre a guinea pig, Stewart adds. They dont know whats going to happen.

children with rare diseases (Courtesy Dina Agami)

After Zein Elsharqawy was diagnosed as an infant with progeria  which causes children to age rapidly and has an average life expectancy of 15  his mother, Dina Agami, found a clinical trial in the U.S. that could treat some of his symptoms. At first, her family balked at enrolling Zein, now 6, in the research.

They said, No. How can you do this? Its the first time (anyone is taking) a medication. Its a clinical trial. Its too dangerous, the mom from Cairo tells TODAY.com. I said, No. I want to do this clinical trial.

So Zein and his mom traveled to Boston to participate. Shortly after, they were able to get the medication shipped home to Egypt. Agami hasnt seen much of a difference in her already outgoing and boisterous child (who's a social media star), but thinks that it is possible shell notice more changes as he ages.

Regardless, she stands by her decision: (We) must participate in this clinical trial to find a cure, she says. It was the only hope.

children with rare diseases (Courtesy Dina Agami)

Dont give up hope

Families often feel that participating in research, even if it doesnt help their child, feels meaningful, Gavin says.

NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel's son Henry died in 2022 at age 6 after being diagnosed with Rett syndrome, a progressive rare disease that predominately impacts females. But Henry is still helping with the research.

He never walked or talked, and had low muscle tone. Missing several milestones leading up to his first birthday was the first clue that something was wrong.

Even though Henry Engel has passed away, his DNA is helping researchers better understand the condition he had, Rett syndrome. (TODAY)

He could initially sit up himself, and he could use his hands, Engel explains. He wasnt progressing, and we were getting more and more nervous.

When Engel first learned of his son's condition, he used his journalism skills to search for help.

I called every single person I could think of, he tells TODAY.com. I called professors at universities. I called every person who I thought would know more about this because I never even heard of this syndrome before.

The family found Dr. Huda Zoghbi, founding director at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Childrens Hospital. At first, Engel says Zoghbi felt tentative about working with Henry because she wasn't sure he fit into the research.

But she re-ran some tests and examined his genome and found that Henry had a unique mutation that could possibly lead to a better understanding of Rett syndrome. Allowing Henry to participate in research felt like a no-brainer for the family.

First priority, bar none, is to help your own child, Engel says. When youre there and youre watching your child deteriorate and suffer in any way, you want that treatment ... immediately to alleviate, in this case, Henrys pain and improve his quality of life. But you, of course, want to help other people.

While Henry never talked, he was able to tell his parents when he was happy using various sounds and made-up words. He was often joyful and loved music and food. When home from assignments, Engel, who enjoys cooking, turned gourmet meals into soft foods that Henry could eat, such as meatballs or vegetable purees.

It was a way for me to connect," he recalls. It was made with love.

Henry's death chipped away at Engels armor, he says. It was very difficult as his condition worsened. He couldnt eat anymore, struggle to breathe toward the end. It was tough on us, but nothing like it was on him.

Engel says his family wanted to share Henrys life so people know him and to give other families with rare diseases hope.

Were still participating in this research even though our son passed away, and that still adds meaning to his life, Engel says. I want to tell these other families: Dont give up hope in our son. Were working for you. This little boy is working for you.

It's a common mentality among those who've suffered and sacrificed to put involve a child in research for a rare disease.

Even if it doesnt result in something in their lifetime or before irreversible damage, (they know) that theyre contributing to something greater, Gavin says.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin (46) controls the puck with Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Justin Danforth (17) defending during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)  The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Anaheim Ducks in a three-team trade involving Carolina.

Anaheim received Toronto's third-round pick in 2025 in the deal announced Thursday night, while Carolina gets Toronto's sixth-round pick in the 2024 draft. The Ducks will pay 50% of Lyubushkin's remaining salary this season, while the Hurricanes will pay an additional percentage.

Toronto also got the reserve rights to KHL forward Kirill Slepets from Carolina in the deal.

Lyubushkin has no goals and four assists with a minus-13 rating in 55 games this season for the Ducks, who acquired him from Buffalo last August for a fourth-round draft pick. The veteran Russian has been most valuable as a mentor to Pavel Mintyukov, Anaheim's promising 20-year-old Russian defenseman.

Lyubushkin will provide depth on the blue line for the Maple Leafs, who first acquired him in a trade with Arizona in February 2022. Lyubushkin scored six points in 31 games for Toronto and added another assist in seven postseason games before he left for Buffalo as a free agent that summer.

Lyubushkin is a stay-at-home defenseman and a right-handed shot who is likely to fill in for injured Mark Giordano in the near future while Toronto continues its playoff push.

The Ducks could be offloading additional veterans with expiring contracts as they finish up what is all but certain to be their franchise-record sixth consecutive non-playoff season. Veteran forward Adam Henrique has figured prominently in trade rumors in recent weeks.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
St. Joseph County residents in need of supplemental food may pick up a food box at any of several upcoming food distributions throughout the community.

The first South Michigan Food Bank distribution will take place at 4 p.m. March 12 at Centreville Seventh Day Adventist Church, 23683 M-86, in Centreville. A free ride to and from the premises is available through the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority depending on availability.

Fresh food is packaged for distribution at the South Michigan Food Bank.

The First Presbyterian Church in Sturgis, 1320 S. Lakeview Ave., will give out supplemental food boxes starting at 4 p.m. March 14. Beginning at 9 a.m. March 16, The Huss Project at 1008 8th St., in Three Rivers, will give out food boxes until supplies are depleted.

The White Pigeon Schools campus, 410 Prairie Ave., will be the site of a food distribution at 3:30 p.m. March 19. The date of the White Pigeon event has been moved due to the local spring break schedule.

Those in the Burr Oak area may visit Railroad Park at 4 p.m. March 20, for a box of food. Gateway Village Apartments, 409 Gateway Court, in Sturgis, will host a distribution at 10:30 a.m. March 21, followed by a giveaway at Colon High School, 400 Dallas St., in Colon, at 4:30 p.m. the same day.

For additional food distributions in St. Joseph County through other agencies, food pantry hours and other supportive events, visit the human services calendar and St. Joseph County community resource guide at sjchumanservices.com.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: March food distributions announced for St. Joseph County
A train of Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line is seen at Ikeja station in Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 29, 2024. The first phase of a Chinese-built state-of-the-art light rail project in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos was inaugurated Thursday by President Bola Tinubu, opening a new chapter in addressing the challenges of traffic congestion and commuting delays that have long plagued the country's economic powerhouse.

Undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2021, the transformative Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project is 26.5 km long with eight stations. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

ABUJA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The first phase of a Chinese-built state-of-the-art light rail project in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos was inaugurated Thursday by President Bola Tinubu, opening a new chapter in addressing the challenges of traffic congestion and commuting delays that have long plagued the country's economic powerhouse.

Undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2021, the transformative Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project is 26.5 km long with eight stations.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos, Tinubu described the project as "a dream realized and a fulfillment of years of hard work and dedication by successive governments."

The president, who later led an inaugural ride on the Red Line train, also witnessed the contract signing ceremony for the construction of the second phase of the LRMT Red Line project by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority and the CCECC.

In December 2022, the CCECC completed the 13-km-long first phase of the construction of the LRMT Blue Line project, which aims to complement the entire Red Line initiative.

Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun said the project demonstrated a people-centered initiative, calling for a stronger partnership between the two friendly nations to enhance development with "resilience to overcome difficulties."

"All the stations are live and ready to receive passengers," said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, at the ceremony, adding the completion of the project heralds a new dawn for transportation in the state and promises swift, reliable, and comfortable commuting experiences for millions of residents. 

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu addresses the commissioning ceremony of the first phase of Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line in Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 29, 2024. The first phase of a Chinese-built state-of-the-art light rail project in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos was inaugurated Thursday by President Bola Tinubu, opening a new chapter in addressing the challenges of traffic congestion and commuting delays that have long plagued the country's economic powerhouse.

Undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2021, the transformative Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project is 26.5 km long with eight stations. (Xinhua/Han Xu)

This photo taken on Feb. 29, 2024 shows a contract signing ceremony of the second phase of Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line in Lagos, Nigeria. The first phase of a Chinese-built state-of-the-art light rail project in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos was inaugurated Thursday by President Bola Tinubu, opening a new chapter in addressing the challenges of traffic congestion and commuting delays that have long plagued the country's economic powerhouse.

Undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2021, the transformative Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project is 26.5 km long with eight stations. (Photo by Yan Yujuan/Xinhua)

Trains of Lagos Rail Mass Transit Red Line are seen at Ikeja station in Lagos, Nigeria, Feb. 29, 2024. The first phase of a Chinese-built state-of-the-art light rail project in Nigeria's southwestern state of Lagos was inaugurated Thursday by President Bola Tinubu, opening a new chapter in addressing the challenges of traffic congestion and commuting delays that have long plagued the country's economic powerhouse.

Undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in 2021, the transformative Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Red Line project is 26.5 km long with eight stations. (Xinhua/Han Xu)
European Bakery & Pastry on Millbury Street in Worcester for years has been home to a variety of Polish and Eastern European specialty breads and sweets. Recently, it became a wholesale and retail go-to-location for Irish brown bread and scones, with Irish soda bread and Irish hot cross buns additional options leading to Easter.

European Bakerys owner Casey Griswold expanded the business a couple of months ago, buying out the former Montgomerys Bakery in Boston from David McGimpsey, who retired and returned to Ireland. McGimpsey, who grew up in Northern Ireland, at one time owned Keltic Krust Bakery in West Newton.

Griswold said McGimpsey had phoned him out of the blue and asked if he would be interested in taking over his business. I thought it would be a good option for expansion, said Griswold, who knew McGimpsey through a friend of a friend. European Bakery around St. Patricks Day (March 17) is typically slower than usual, depending on where Easter and Purim fall on the calendar, said Griswold. This year, itss a different story, he said. It should be interesting. Purim begins the night of March 23 and continues through March 24. Easter is March 31. Note: European Bakery is kosher certified.

Griswold acquired equipment, recipes, brand and wholesale customers from McGimpsey. Through the years, Irish markets in and around Boston have taken bread and scones from Montgomerys on Saturdays, according to Griswold. To keep up with demand, the Worcester bakery currently makes brown bread and scones in house Saturday mornings. Products are sent to Boston, with a limited supply being sold at the bakery, Saturday only, throughout the year. Griswold also works with several distribution companies to spread Irish products a little further out and he looks to sell wholesale in Worcester.

From top left, Irish soda bread, brown bread; hot cross buns and scones at European Bakery & Pastry.

McGimpseys original recipe for sweet, creamy soda breads stay true to the ones of Northern Ireland, said Griswold. His brown breads are made with coarse-whole wheat flour with distinct flavor and eye appeal. Its a different style than in Southern Ireland where breads are denser, he said.

For the month of March, Griswold has added Irish soda bread and Irish hot cross buns to the bakerys retail shelves. The hot cross buns are different from what consumers typically find as the Irish hot cross buns are not very sweet, said Griswold, who described them as brioche dough with currants and zests of lemon and orange. In lieu of icing that you usually see for the cross on top of the bun, its a white dough made from flour, butter and buttermilk, he said.

Griswold, who boasts Irish and British heritage, is a former executive chef who worked in restaurants and for food service companies. He and his brother purchased European Bakery more than three years ago. The bakery founded in 1994 has built a solid retail and wholesale business, selling products to markets, restaurants and food trucks in and out of state.

Paczki, the pillowy, sugar-coated jam-filled pastry or Polish doughnut is a pre-Lenten bakery specialty. Polish babka and fruit-filled strudels are among big sellers leading to Easter. So are Polish Chrusciki, traditional angel wing cookies. Griswold said the bakery sells thousands of the cookies to wholesalers and keeps a steady supply on its retail shelves.

European Bakery & Pastry, 29 Millbury St., Worcester is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; Closed Sunday and Monday. Telephone: (508) 767-1651. Visit http://europeanbakeryworcester.com; Connect on social media. FYI: At the front counter, employees speak both Polish and English. Millbury Street once was recognized as the center of the citys Polish immigrant community. These days, a different ethnic mix populates this neighborhood, said Griswold, but the bakery continues to have a generation of customers who get a loaf of Polish-style rye bread at least once or twice a week. Best rye bread youll find, according to a local chef who said its not only great for a sandwich, but also as a side to Polish kielbasa and hearty soups and stews.

Note: Griswold will be among vendors at the Worcester Irish Festival, held from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. March 2 at Saint Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 102 Russell St., Worcester.

Plan now for the March holidays.

Shake it off ...

Its a Taylor Swift Party, March 10, at the Vin Bin, 91 Main St., Marlborough. Swifties celebrate all things Taylor from 10 a.m. to noon, with admission $60 per person. Visit www.eventbrite.com for tickets.

Vin Bins party schedule: Guests will create their own You Belong with Brie snack box featuring a little sweet, a little salty and a lot of delicious snack options. Participants also will get a bouquet from the stores flower bar and a commemorative photo to take home. Party guests are encouraged to bring personal friendship bracelets and wear Taylor Gear.

Note: Adults will be able to purchase specialty beverages and the Vin Bins deli will be open for food.

All tickets are nonrefundable. One child under 12 may accompany a parent or guardian who has purchased a ticket at no additional cost. The event is subject to a minimum number of guests.

Reserve early!

Maple Barn Breakfast

Hardwick Vineyard & Winery, 3305 Greenwich Road, Hardwick, will host Maple Barn Breakfast every Saturday and Sunday in March, with seating at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Cost is $19, adults; $12, children under 12. Indoor and outdoor (heated) seating available. Wagon rides included with admission. For reservations, visit www.hardwickwinery.com.

'Lager Con'

Narragansett Brewery in celebration of Rhode Island Craft Beer Week, March 1-10, offers a full schedule of events at the Providence brewery and taproom.

Weekend activities include a Lager Con on March 2 and Hanleys Cask Release, March 3. Its Craft Beer Trivia, March 4; Gansett & Crook Point Relay Run, March 6; First Thursday Beer, with the newest beer release, Tockhaus Lager, March 7; Tap Takeover & Pint Night at Malted Barley, March 8; New Beer Release, ISCO Aquivit Barrel Aged Lager, with Aquidneck Oyster on deck, March 9; Sunday Funday, Jigs & Swigs Irish dance class and limited-edition Rhode Island and Narragansett Pint Glass, March 10. Visit https://www.narragansettbeer.com for more info.

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Table Hoppin': European Bakery & Pastry sets sights on new horizons
Two Marco Island couples donated a total of $9 million for construction of a new NCH Healthcare System urgent care center on the island scheduled to break ground in late spring.Pat and Scot Kaufman and Steve and Barbara Slaggie made donations that will get their names on the building and the campus. The Pat and Scot Kaufman Healthcare Center will be the building name. The campus will be named after the Slaggies."There really isnt a good medical facility on Marco," said Pat Kaufman, who has been on the NCH Marco Island board for more than 10 years.

There will be, now, she said. The Kaufmans donated $4 million for the new urgent care center.

Pat and Scot Kaufman donated $4 million for the new NCH urgent care planned for Marco Island. Groundbreaking for the Pat and Scot Kaufman Healthcare Center is scheduled for late spring 2024.

NCH is planning to build a 25,000-square-foot building that will replace the existing 30-year-old building. Since the new building will be in another location on the property, the current urgent care center will remain open during construction.

The new urgent care and office building will be located on a corner of South Heathwood Drive and San Marco Road on the south side of another existing NCH healthcare center that will remain. Construction can begin as soon as permits are approved on the approximately $18 million building and campus remodel. Construction is expected to begin this summer and take 12 to 18 months.

"With this new building, every metric that is measured in healthcare will be improved," Pat Kaufman said. Thats so encouraging that well have more in every area." She said she hopes the new building will bring more doctors to Marco Island.

"I think the need for a new facility on Marco is very very necessary," Barbara Slaggie said in an interview. "The island is growing, and younger people have been moving onto the island."

Rendering of the planned NCH Urgent Care on Marco Island.

Existing NCH urgent care, doctors' offices and physical rehabilitation centers on Bald Eagle Drive on Marco Island.

Long history of philanthropy

Pat Kaufman gives most of the credit for the planned building to NCH President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Hiltz.

"When the president of NCH came on board, thats really the best thing that happened to Naples," she said. Hiltz was named CEO in 2019.

"I had been fighting for better healthcare for Marco Island. We need more doctors. We need better equipment," Kaufman said. "When Paul came on board, I had this real feeling that it was going to finally happen. And indeed, it is. It is finally happening."

The Kaufmans and the Slaggies have a long history of philanthropy in their home states and in Southwest Florida.

Donors to NCH's planned Marco Island urgent care center in a $5 million match campaign.

Pat and Scot Kaufman are originally from Maryland and have been married 52 years. at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake in Bel Air, a cancer center is named for them.

"Pat had taken quite a few friends downtown an hour away to get treatments for cancer," Scot Kaufman said. There was a need for a cancer center in Bel Air, he said. "The motto is "Hope and Healing Close to Home."

"That really easily segued to Marco Island," Pat Kaufman said of the couple's philanthropy.

"Weve been around, and weve met the people, and the people of Marco Island are special people. Theres a spirit on this island, maybe its the Calusa Indian spirit, she said. "We have met the most wonderful people on Marco Island, and we care about the people."

The Slaggies' donation came as a surprise In January 2023 during the NCH Healthcare System re-opening of the Marco Rehabilitation Center on the same property as the urgent care center. The Slaggies, who will be married 54 years in May, were credited with making the reopening possible. As the Slaggies were being thanked they announced their intention to inspire others to support the new Marco Urgent Care Center building with a $5 million dollar match grant.

The Mayo Clinic Stephen and Barbara Slaggie Family Cancer Education Center in the Slaggies' home state of Minnesota is now a resource for patients to learn about cancer and share their experiences.

Able to give

Being able to give as they do isn't something either the Kaufmans or the Slaggies expected in their lives.

"To grow into where you have a great respect and empathy in wanting to share what you have with others whether medical or education really strikes a chord to us," Steve Slaggie said in an interview "Being in a position to do that is very rewarding. It gives life great meaning for us."

Slaggie, who is a founder of Fastenal, a publicly traded wholesale distributer of industrial and construction supplies, said Barbara Slaggie is from a family of 13 and of modest means. The largest fastener supplier in the country reported $7.35 billion in sales in 2023. Slaggie retired from the board of directors in 2014.

Pat Kaufman said her husband was at the right place at the right time with the right skillset, and the two of them worked as a team.

Scot Kaufman was chief financial officer of MBNA and in 2001 was one of the top 10 highest paid CFOs in the country, according to CFO magazine. MBNA was acquired by Bank of America in 2006.

"Neither one of us grew up with a silver spoon in our mouths," Pat Kaufman said.

"I couldnt have done it without the support of my wife because I was away a lot," Scot Kaufman said.

The couples both say they hope their donations encourage others to donate.

"Our gift I think also was in hopes that other people would give no matter what their means," Barbara Slaggie said, adding that donations of as little as $50 are welcomed and can give residents a sense of ownership in the new facility.

"Of those to whom much has been given, much will be expected," is from St. Luke's gospel, which the Kaufmans say they follow and believe in. "I really hope people will pick up on that. That we are so blessed to live there, and they also will want to be philanthropic to this endeavor."

Existing NCH urgent care, doctors' offices and physical rehabilitation centers on Bald Eagle Drive on Marco Island.

The site plan for a new urgent care facility and hospital campus redevelopment on Marco Island was approved by the city's Planning Board Oct. 6. The NCH facility will replace an existing urgent care the company owns on Bald Eagle drive.

The site plan for a new urgent care facility and hospital campus redevelopment on Marco Island was approved by the city's Planning Board Oct. 6. The NCH facility will replace an existing urgent care the company owns on Bald Eagle drive.

More: NCH urgent care on Marco Island moving closer to construction with site plans approved

More: NCH urgent care on Marco Island moving closer to construction with site plans approved

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Marco Island's new NCH urgent care gets $9 million naming gifts
Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson (D) said the state entered into an agreement with Motorola to implement a text message alert system earlier this week.

The deal was made Monday, just days before police locked down the State House in Annapolis on Thursday afternoon for nearly two hours due to a security threat. Police confirmed to The Hill that an anonymous individual made a call threatening the legislature.

Local, state and Capitol police swept the buildings and determined the areas were secure and clear of any potential threat.

Maryland signed a contract this week to create the alert system for the Capitol grounds, but it had not yet been implemented at the time of the lockdown. Ferguson told reporters he had been in discussion with House Speaker Adrienne Jones about setting up the system for some time, ABC News first reported.

In any situation the most important thing is to clear lines of communication, and Im incredibly proud of the response that happened, but there were a lot of lessons learned, Ferguson said.

Reporters who have offices on the ground floor of the State House building were told by an aide to lock their doors shortly after 5 p.m., according to The Associated Press. They were escorted out by police about 30 minutes later.

In his press briefing, Ferguson thanked the police and first responders who made sure that everyone was safe despite it being a bit of a scary situation.

This is the sad reality of what we have to deal with, and we have to be able to respond appropriately, he said, per the AP. Law enforcement did a remarkable job. There was never a moment yesterday where I felt unsafe. It was a surreal experience, but I was very confident that plans were in place.

Bernie Bennett, a public information officer for the Annapolis Police Department, said as of Thursday evening, no suspects have been identified, nor has any suspicious items been found in the State House.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Police have locked down the Maryland State House in Annapolis due to a security threat, which has now been lifted.

Gov. Wes Moores (D) press secretary said in a post online that staff members, personnel and community members on the grounds of the State House should shelter in place and listen to directions from law enforcement.

WBAL reporter David Collins reported that officers had their weapons drawn and were running inside the building.

Maryland State Police confirmed to The Hill that Annapolis City Police received a call from an individual threatening the State House. Along with Maryland Capitol Police, Maryland State Police, Anne Arundel County Police and security in the building, the Annapolis City Police responded to the threat.

Within minutes of receiving the information, Maryland Capitol Police placed the Maryland State House, Government House, and House and Senate Office Buildings on lockdown, directing occupants to follow instructions from law enforcement  including to shelter in place, an emailed Department of General Services statement said.

Police swept the buildings and determined the areas were secure and clear of any potential threat. The lockdown and shelter-in-place were lifted at 6:52 p.m. and all remaining occupants were escorted from the building.

According to The Associated Press, reporters who have offices on the ground floor of the building were told by an aide to Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones to lock their doors shortly after 5 p.m. Reporters were escorted out by police about 30 minutes later.

An AP reporter saw an officer hurry up a staircase with his gun drawn and other state employees leaving the building.

Moores spokesperson, Carter Elliott, posted an update online after the incident saying were all good in Annapolis and thanking the men and women that keep us safe everyday.

Moore released an official statement thanking all members of the police who secured the State House grounds and kept us safe today.

These brave men and women arent just Marylands finest  theyre Marylands promise. They define what it means to be a Marylander, Moore said.

Bernie Bennett, a public information officer for the Annapolis Police Department, said so far no suspects have been identified, nor has any suspicious items been found in the State House.

Updated 8:11 p.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sophie Reeve, who gave birth to baby Donny Zipfell on 29 February, said staff had been amazing

A hospital that requires improvement has seen its maternity service rating upgraded to "good" after an inspection.

The service at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, had been told it required improvement by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The culture of the service was judged to be better, but it was again told it needed improvement in the safety category, including staff training.

The hospital said it was "delighted" by the CQC's findings.

The overall rating for the entire hospital remained "requires improvement".

Maternity services staff were found to work well together and focus on the needs of people using the service and their babies.

They were also praised for their awareness of health differences, affecting possible treatment and care provided, especially for ethnic minorities and less privileged groups, the CQC said.

The overall CQC rating for Queen Elizabeth Hospital remained "requires improvement"

It found a "significant improvement" in the culture of the service, where people felt able to raise concerns without fear.

However, inspectors noted mandatory training had not always been completed, which managers said had been impacted by recent industrial action.

Only 66% of midwifery staff had carried out required training courses, against a trust target of 80%.

'Delighted'

Patient Sophie Reeve, who gave birth at the QEH on 29 February, said: "This is our fourth baby we've had at the QEH.

"The team have always been amazing and the midwives are very supportive and it was nice to have the same midwife throughout my pregnancy."

Interim head of midwifery Esther Dorken said: "We are absolutely delighted the CQC inspectors found such a significant change in the culture in our service and the positive changes that make such a difference to the compassionate care our patients receive.

"We have already implemented changes to ensure areas where we performed less well attain the standards that staff and patients should expect without exception."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11)  Mayor Adams addressed the FBI raid on two Bronx homes owned by one of his top aides Winnie Greco on PIX11 Morning News on Friday.

The mayor shared that Winnie Greco is on sick leave and more would be determined after she returns. During the raid, Greco had a medical episode and was taken to a hospital for treatment, sources said.

Once Greco returns from sick leave, she can use her vacation time or personal time while the inquiry is conducted or take unpaid leave, Adams said.

More Local News

An FBI spokesperson confirmed that agents conducted the raids on Thursday at two Bronx addresses, owned by Greco, a former fundraiser for Adams who now serves as his director of Asian affairs, the Associated Press reported. It is unclear if the raid is connected to Adams.

A City Hall spokesperson shared Greco was placed on administrative leave Thursday. Greco has worked closely with Adams for over a decade, serving as his conduit to the citys Asian-American communities.

Greco is at least the third aide to Adams whose home has been targeted by federal agents. In November, the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser for Adams, and Rana Abbasova, who worked in the mayors international affairs office. Four days later, agents quietly seized the mayors cellphones and an iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Charline Charles is a digital journalist from Brooklyn who has covered local news along with culture and arts in the New York City area since 2019. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass swore in Dominic Choi as interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department Friday morning.

Choi was joined by his wife and three daughters for the ceremony, which took place at the Police Administration Building in Downtown Los Angeles.

The 28-year LAPD veteran became the 58th Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles and is the first Korean American to assume the role

Dominic Choi is sworn in as interim police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department on March 1, 2024.

Its not just about breaking barriers  its really about building bridges. Its about this great department, this great city, Choi said during the ceremony.

During his tenure with the LAPD, Choi has served as a commander, deputy chief of an operational bureau and chief of staff to Chief Michel Moore.

Mayor Bass said during the ceremony that Choi had no plans to enter the race for the permanent position of chief.

I asked you why you didnt want to be the permanent chief, Bass said. And you said it wasnt about titles, it was about service. To me, that is exactly what we need in a leader.

Mayor Bass and the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners are expected to spend the next six to nine months conducting a nationwide search to find a permanent replacement for Moore, who was honored on his last day with the department Thursday.

The veteran L.A. police chief exited the downtown headquarters to an Honor Cordon, considered one of the departments highest tributes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)  City of New Orleans officials voiced their opinions on the recent passing of the senate bill that will allow Louisiana citizens to carry a gun without a permit.

We have too many guns in New Orleans, said Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick.

Senate Bill 1, approved by the legislature, has left some New Orleans leaders feeling uneasy.

I do not at all believe this makes our city and people safer. It puts us all in greater danger, said Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Illegal gun enforcement is so critical to ensure we dont have firearms, illegal firearms in areas that are so incredibly crowded, said Councilwoman Helena Moreno.

Father of Kenner murder victim allegedly kills 3-year-old, then shoots self

When Governor Jeff Landry signs it next week, the law will allow people 18-years-old and up to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.

Kirkpatrick said during the parade season, 111 guns were confiscated, and more than half of them would have been given back if the law was already in effect. She believes New Orleans should have been looked at differently.

This particular bill was not well thought through. It is more of an emotional reaction and not the result of sober critical thinking about the impact, said Kirkpatrick.

The chief also says the law will hamper their efforts to find and confiscate illegal guns.

You will see more people who are armed that we cannot check. We will have to train differently and look for more legal standards that would give us the opportunity to do that, said Kirkpatrick.

City leaders said theyre looking for a solution everyone can live with, and they point to House Bill 498 thats been filed for the upcoming regular legislative session.

The bill will prevent permit-less concealed carry in crowded areas of New Orleans.

Puts it under a firearm-free zone. So in public spaces, there would not be firearms allowed. The convention center area, downtown, and the French Quarter. This is just a step toward finding what that solution is, said Moreno.

Cantrell added there will be more guns on the streets of New Orleans, and people coming into the city with weapons. This would create an even more dangerous environment. They are all hoping the bill can be redrafted.

The bill passed with a 75-28 vote on Wednesday, Feb. 28, after Republican State Representative Mike Johnson, of Pineville, argued that having the bill would give citizens the right to defend themselves.

People are getting raped, murdered, carjacked, assaulted, and in most cases, those people are defenseless, said Johnson.

While some believe the bill would eliminate the cost and training to conceal their weapons others believe it will lead to more gun violence.

Law enforcement, by and large, the ones who Ive talked to, theyve not come out against the bill, but it doesnt appear that theyre for the bill, said Representative Joe Stagni.

Stagni voted against the bill.

The bill will now make its way to Landrys desk. If it is signed, the law will take effect on July 4.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

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SALEM, Va. (WFXR)Roanoke County and the City of Salem held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to announce the expansion of the McAfee Knob Trailhead Shuttle service into Salem on Thursday, Feb. 29.

New shuttle stops in Salem are Longwood Park and 101 South Broad Street. From these locations, the shuttle service will drop passengers to the designated shuttle pull-off near the McAfee Knob Trailhead parking lot.

With limited parking and the popularity of the trail, Roanoke County applied for and was eventually awarded funding through a grant request from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) in Sept. 2022. The funding was used to develop and eventually launch the shuttle, which has since helped the parking dilemma.

Blue Ridge Parkway announced as the most visited national park in 2023

In 2023, Roanoke County again received funding from the DRPT to add additional stops in Salem to provide even more parking and transportation options for guests.

The shuttle will resume service on Friday, March 1. The shuttle will run on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday Mondays until Dec. 1.

Reservations may be made by visiting the McAfee Knob Shuttles website and clicking book now. Tickets are $5 one way, plus booking fees.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
The race to replace Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is laying bare the power struggle between pro-Trump and anti-Trump Republicans in the Senate.

GOP lawmakers aligned closely with the former president are urging any candidate wanting to succeed McConnell to embrace Trump. Other Republican senators want McConnells successor to keep a healthy distance from the controversial former president.

McConnell fell out bitterly with former President Trump after the 2020 election and hasnt spoken to him for more than three years, creating an awkward tension in the party that many GOP senators want to dispel.

But Republicans are divided over how aligned their next leader should be with Trump.

Some, such as Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) want to elect a new leader who will be a cheerleader for Trump, flying with the former president to rallies around the country.

Its an imperative, he said. We got to get somebody now whos going to energize our base all across the country for Senate Republicans and also going to be able to get on that airplane with Trump and stand up at a rally and say, Listen, we need President Trump to win, and be very truthful about it.

Other Republicans, who point to what they view as Trumps spotty record endorsing Republican candidates who can actually win Senate seats in November  not to mention Trumps failure to win re-election in 2020  want to keep a healthy distance from Trump.

Some of those same Republicans are privately alarmed that Trump last month torpedoed a package of Ukraine funding and border security reforms because he wanted to deny President Biden a political win.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said many Republican senators have endorsed Trump out of a sense of political self-preservation.

But he said many GOP senators privately wish they had a different nominee for president.

If you were to ask individuals: OK, if you could choose anyone to be the Republican nominee, I dont think he would be likely to get the majority of the caucus, Romney said of Trump.

One Republican senator who requested anonymity said the leadership race is becoming a proxy battle between traditional Republican senators who were allied with McConnell and MAGA-aligned conservatives who are sharply critical of McConnells leadership and the former GOP establishment in Washington.

Theres that faction of individuals who have really found voice through the MAGA group and the endorsement of Trump, the senator said.

The two leading candidates to replace McConnell  Senate Republican Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and former Senate GOP Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas)  have had an up-and-down relationship with Trump over the years.

Both helped enact his agenda as Senate GOP whip  a job Cornyn held for the first two years of Trumps presidency and which Thune then held during Trumps second two years in office.

Thune clashed with Trump immediately after the 2020 election when he opposed an effort by Trumps allies to delay the certification of Bidens victory in Congress. Thune predicted the push to overturn the election results would go down like a shot dog.

Trump retaliated by threatening that Thune would face a primary challenge in 2022, slamming him as a Republican in Name Only.

Cornyn has also clashed with Trump, who also called the Texas senator as a RINO after he negotiated a bipartisan deal to address gun violence after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Cornyn last year questioned Trumps ability to beat President Biden in 2024, telling reporters in Texas: I think President Trumps time has passed him by.

I dont think President Trump understands that when you run in a general election, you have to appeal to voters beyond your base, he said, expressing concerns that many GOP senators shared at the time.

The mixed history that both Thune and Cornyn have with Trump has prompted speculation that a third Republican senator may jump into the race to pick up Trump-allied votes.

Trump urged Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to challenge McConnell as Senate GOP leader after 2022 midterm election.

Despite Trumps support, Scott only collected only 10 votes in the race, losing to McConnell by 27 votes.

Politico reported on Thursday that Trump is now urging National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (Mont.) to jump in the race, though Daines says he is laser-focused on winning back the Senate majority instead of campaigning for votes to succeed McConnell.

Were going to make sure we got the majority, thats my first and highest priority, he said. I think its going to be a great slate of candidates.

A person familiar with the conversation confirmed that Trump has urged Daines to consider a leadership bid, but noted they havent spoken recently.

Senate GOP colleagues say Daines would be at a disadvantage if he waits until after the election to run for the top leadership post.

Senate Republicans speculate that the race between Thune and Cornyn may boil down to which candidate can do a better job of courting Trump-allied colleagues.

But they also caution that Trumps influence on the race would evaporate if he loses to Biden in November. The leadership election is currently scheduled for after the November general election although some senators are talking about moving it up.

Both Thune and Cornyn have spoken to Trump in recent days and are touting their record of helping to enact Trumps agenda as Senate whip.

I have not talked about the race with him. I think others have but the point I guess I would simply make is: I worked closely with him when he was president last time, Thune said, referring to Trump. I was one of the key negotiators in the Senate Finance Committee on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We put through, I want to say, 154 judges when I was the whip on the floor under his administration.

Cornyn called Trump after he announced his intention to run for Senate majority leader and emphasized that ability to work closely with Trump, who is leading Biden in the polls in key battleground states.

I called him and told him that Ive thrown my hat into the race and I mentioned to him again how constructively we worked together when I was majority whip, when he was president, Cornyn said.

The most important part is we need someone who can work with the former president and I think I can, he said.

Cornyn endorsed Trump on Jan. 23 following his victory over former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire primary.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who hasnt endorsed Trump for president, acknowledged that Trump will have an impact on the race but argued that senators would be perfectly comfortable electing Thune or someone else not seen as especially close to Trump to the top leadership job.

There are folks here who will clearly listen very [carefully] to what the former president said, Rounds said, but he cautioned that Trumps endorsement could both help and hurt a Senate leadership candidate. It can influence both ways.

Just as Trumps endorsement could rev up Republican senators who have embraced his brand of conservative populism it could turn off GOP senators who view him as an erratic personality with a propensity for alienating moderate and women voters.

Rounds, who is backing Thunes bid for leader, said Thunes independence from Trump could be a selling point with colleagues.

Ive known John for 30 years. He doesnt play games. Hes straightforward. What you see is what you get. He grew up in a time in which Ronald Reagan was a guy we both admired, he said.

Rounds, who emphasized that Thune has endorsed Trump, also made the case that his South Dakotan colleague is looking out for what is best for the Senate.

Thats what the Senate leader is supposed to do, is to look out what is best for his Senate conference and whats best long-term for the institution, he said.

Updated at 7:46 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
JINAN, March 1 (Xinhua) -- As the Spring Festival break drew to an end, migrant worker Guo Diancai prepared to bid farewell to his beloved home, perhaps for another year.

Before leaving, he opened the GPS map on his mobile phone to confirm once again that the country road leading to his doorstep had a name, which he believes, provides a tangible link to his cherished memories.

"The next time homesickness strikes, I'll find solace in recalling a place with not just a village name, but also a road name and a doorplate number," Guo said. "Having all these details in one place gives me a 'location' to anchor my longing for home."

Guo hails from Guozhuang Village in Yanggu County, located in Liaocheng, a city in east China's Shandong Province. Yanggu is among the localities in the Ministry of Civil Affairs' pilot project aimed at naming previously unnamed country roads and offering related name-based services.

In recent years, this county has mobilized more than 1,000 community workers and volunteers to screen out 560 nameless roads and 25 named roads without road signs across the county.

Villages are encouraged to propose names for their roads from the provided list, drawing inspiration from local traditions and characteristics. The proposed names will then be forwarded to the county authorities for official approval and subsequent installation of road signs. Once approved, these names will be linked with the doorplate numbers of rural households.

Guozhuang is known for its glass noodle (a type of transparent noodle made from starch and water) industry, with some 30 production mills scattered across six roads. However, the nameless roads often bewildered people coming from outside, hindering social interactions among locals and visitors.

"When businesspeople would come to buy our products, they often had to navigate the area by knocking on doors and seeking directions, or else, we had to send someone to meet them at the village entrance and guide them to the mills," Guo Jinshang, Party secretary of the Guozhuang Village, recalled. "It's very inconvenient."

Today, road signs have been placed at the starting points and intersections of country roads. According to Zhang Baoyun, head of the civil affairs bureau of Yanggu County, guideposts have also been installed at regular intervals, providing directions and indicating the distance to nearby villages.

Guozhuang villagers have infused their hopes for a brighter future into the names they've chosen for the country roads, such as "Harmony Street" and "Prosperity Road." The two roads with the most glass noodle mills along their paths have been aptly named "Entrepreneurship Road" and "Integrity Road."

After naming 560 country roads and setting up or updating over 1,000 road signs, Yanggu County has digitally integrated the names of these roads and rural public service facilities into GPS apps. Villagers have also been encouraged to upload the addresses of their small businesses -- ranging from rural hospitality and catering services to farming and animal breeding bases, and rural cooperatives -- to these apps, thereby facilitating the local economy.

"After fellow villagers uploaded the factory address information, the village's popularity as a glass noodle hub has soared," said Guo Lichang, a local with more than a decade of experience in this industry. He added that over the past two months, the village has sold about 2 million kg of glass noodles, up 700,000 kg from the same period last year.

With clear addresses for rural households, goods from across the country can now reach their doorsteps without any problem. "Now, I can easily navigate through the villages using my mobile phone, which also saves our customers a lot of hassle," said Wang Peijun, a delivery personnel who works with the Yanggu County branch of China Post Group Corporation Limited.

According to Shandong provincial civil affairs authorities, the province has recently assigned approximately 7,000 rural place names and installed 16,000 guideposts bearing these names. 
Its time for Mitch McConnell to finally become a leader.

For so much of his 40 years in the U.S. Senate  more than half of it occupying two of the top positions in Republican leadership  the 82-year-old was anything but what his titles suggested.

He was a follower.

Perhaps the most powerful Republican follower in the Senate  but a follower nonetheless.

So often, he chose not to do what was right but what allowed him to keep his fist tightly clenched around the reins of Senate power.

He took his positions not because of what he believed. He took his positions based on what the Republicans in the Senate who elected him first as whip and then as party leader wanted him to do.

And while he has had a lasting impact on the United States Supreme Court through the partisan gamesmanship at which he excelled, the impact has forever tarnished the court with the same sort of partisanship that has infected other parts of government.

Mitch McConnell refused to do what was right

He took an active role in tarnishing the court; he also took an active role in tarnishing the presidency.

He kept his mouth shut when he should have spoken out about the outrageous conduct of former President Donald Trump. He derailed efforts to convict him of high crimes and misdemeanors twice  going so far as to block testimony before the Senate in the first impeachment and saying he wouldnt even try to be impartial when determining Trumps fate.

I'm not an impartial juror. This is a political process, McConnell said. There's not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision.

President Donald Trump speaks as he stands next Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., after their meeting at the White House, Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Washington. (

He expressed his disgust with Trumps actions on Jan. 6, 2021, in the days after Trumps supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from affirming Joe Bidens presidential election, but when the House impeached Trump, McConnell blinked.

So often, he refused to do what was right for fear of ostracizing someone whose vote he might need in an upcoming leadership election.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao, his wife, said goodbye at Fancy Farm 2023 on Aug. 5, 2023.

McConnell wouldnt even defend his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, when Trump launched racist attacks on her, calling her Coco Chow or McConnells China-loving wife.

Now is the chance for McConnell to prove he is Chaos America-loving husband. (In recent years, there has been ample evidence that McConnell loves the GOP and his own power more than he loves his country.)

Will McConnell endorse Trump? He should stand up to him instead.

Word came out the other day that McConnell and Trump were in discussion  through intermediaries  to secure McConnells endorsement of Trump.

Trump, who has not been campaigning as if hes trying to get the support of moderate voters who are turned off by his policy and style, needs to keep big-name Republicans in his camp.

Time to retire? With McConnell, Biden, US politicians are older than ever. Stop voting for them.

The more big-name Republicans who speak out against him or, at the very least, dont endorse him, the more trouble hell have in November if he is the Republican nominee for president again.

Its too much to hope that McConnell would endorse anyone other than Trump. Again, he remained silent when Trump went after his wife, and he refused to hold him accountable even after he blamed Trump for the attack on the Capitol.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

This, however, is the chance for McConnell, no longer held captive by MAGA senators, to stand up to Trump and demand something for his fealty and atone for his past sins.

The most pressing thing right now is the vote to fund Ukraines resistance to Vladimir Putins invasion of that country  one of a handful of issues McConnell is right about.

Ukraine burns. Republicans and Biden dither. And Russia's Vladimir Putin smiles.

An emboldened Putin  especially if American blinks  puts all of Europe at risk and in doing so, puts Americas security at risk. Providing Ukraine with the weapons and ammunition it needs to defend itself potentially allows the United States to stop Putin without harm to American soldiers.

An unchecked Putin would also give permission for China to attack Taiwan.

But the bill to fund Ukraines defense is stalled in the House, largely because of a group of Trump-backed MAGA Republicans who seem to support Putin more than they support a Democratic American president.

Joseph Gerth is a columnist at the Louisville Courier-Journal.

If Trump wants McConnells backing, then McConnell should demand that Trump weigh in with the Matt Gaetzes and Lauren Boeberts and Marjorie Taylor Greens of the House and get the Ukraine funding bill passed.

It wont undo McConnells years of failure to provide leadership. But its a start.

Joseph Gerth is a metro columnist for the Louisville Courier Journal, where this column first published. Reach him at jgerth@courierjournal.com

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: McConnell steps down from Senate. Maybe now he'll stand up to Trump
Orlando Dem. Rep. Anna Eskamani in front of the Old Capitol on Feb. 28, 2024 (photo credit: Mitch Perry)

Quality Journalism for Critical Times

Although the Florida Senate is unlikely to take up the issue, the Florida House passed a bill Friday that would require drivers licenses to display a persons sex assigned at birth, rather than the gender identity, and health insurers to cover treatment to de-transition from the sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures.

State Rep. Douglas Michael Bankson. Credit: FL House of Representatives.

The bill, HB 1639, passed along a party-line vote (75-33), with Democratic lawmakers saying it would put transgender Floridians in harms way.

But the Senate never even had a companion for the bill, which means its chances of making it to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk is slim to none. Still, it prompted more than 100 transgender rights advocates to protest the bill outside the Capitol on Wednesday.

Republican Rep. Doug Bankson, who represents Orange and Seminole counties, said that his bill was not an attack on trans Floridians.

The bottom line is this law: Governance must be tethered to fact not feeling. While we can have compassion on people who suffer from gender dysphoria or embrace that fully and say, Dont say that Im suffering. Thats their choice. Were not attacking that choice, Bankson said. Were not then obligated either as a society to agree and then conform our laws and functions whether its restroom privacy, womens sports, reeducation, or identification.

Drivers license changes

One of the provisions of the bill, referring to the gender markers in drivers licenses, has already become a reality for Floridians. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) changed its policy in January to no longer honor peoples requests to amend the gender marker on their drivers licenses.

The change means that some transgender people may not be able to obtain a drivers license with a marker that matches their gender identity.

Its about targeting one group of people. A marginalized group of people. Are we doing this because we want to be the most extreme? Because we want to get ahead of the curve and say Oh, we found another way to punish transgender people. This is not needed, said Broward County Democratic Rep. Robin Bartleman.

Another concern lawmakers discussed was whether changing the drivers license marker would stray Florida away from compliance with the Real ID Act. If states do not comply with the standards of the act, the drivers licenses they issue cannot be used for entering certain federal facilities and nuclear power plants or taking domestic flights.

This bill would force trans people to be outed every single time they have to show their ID. This bill could also force any Florida traveler to have a passport or risk the inability to step on a domestic flight, said Democratic Rep. Rita Harris of Orange County. This would force us out of compliance with the Real ID Act of 2005. An act that was designed so all 50 states would be on the same page. Not some states get to choose what words mean.

Bankson insisted that Florida is still compliant with the act.

Health insurance coverage

The health insurance portion of the bill states that companies cannot prohibit coverage of mental health or therapeutic services to treat someones perception that their sex is inconsistent with their sex assigned at birth.

Democratic lawmakers and Joe Saunders, the senior political director of civil rights group Equality Florida, pointed out that that language would allow conversion therapy to attempt to change someones gender identity. The American Psychiatric Organization stands against such therapies that dont respect the identities of people with different gender expressions.

Transgender people exist  and always will. This cruel bill weaponizes private insurance companies and state agencies to threaten the safety and inclusion of the transgender community, and it exists for the purpose of bullying transgender Floridians out of public life entirely, Saunders said.

Opponents of the bill were using the extreme example of conversion therapy to silence opposition, Bankson said, affirming that it was not in the bill.

The post Measure criticized for targeting trans Floridians passed the House, but its unlikely to become law appeared first on Florida Phoenix.
GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on television screens at a Washington, D.C. bar during the first 2024 Republican presidential primary debate on Aug. 23, 2023. Photo by Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images via The Conversation

Its common to hear Americans complain about the media throughout presidential elections. Partisans tend to believe the press is biased against their side. These perceptions may lead people to believe the media can affect how people vote.

Political scientists have found some evidence that media bias can push people to vote for Democrats and Republicans in presidential contests. But we theorize that media influence is actually stronger in primary elections.

Why?

In a general election, most people plan to vote for their partys candidate, meaning a large portion of the outcome is predetermined and there is less room for media influence. Moreover, in a general election, both major party candidates are inherently newsworthy. There may be some discrepancies in how much coverage each person gets, but the media cannot simply ignore one of them.

Primaries are different.

When candidates are from the same party, voters cannot rely on their partisanship to make a choice. Instead, they must sift through candidates within one party and learn about them. Since media have more leeway to focus on some people over others in this context, they help choose which candidates voters hear about in the first place.

And those choices are potentially meaningful.

A man in a white shirt, dark jacket and tie talking to a crush of reporters.

Patterns of primary coverage

I am a political scientist who researches and teaches about patterns in political media, including how the press has decided which Republican primary candidates to focus on from 2012 until now.

A widely discussed pattern in primary coverage is called discovery, scrutiny, decline. When a candidate says something novel, they are discovered and receive a burst of coverage. This attention brings momentum, making them subject to scrutiny, which then pushes their polling numbers back down and they decline. This trend is likely due to the medias appetite for novelty.

The pattern does not hold for all primaries, but explains some on both the Republican and Democratic side. Additional research also confirms that the media leads the public in this dynamic rather than vice versa.

Here are the recent presidential primaries that demonstrate changes in the discovery, scrutiny, decline pattern and the medias process of focusing on some Republican candidates over others.

2012  the Bubble Primary

The GOP presidential primary in 2012 provides the clearest example of discovery, scrutiny, decline. Though Mitt Romney dominated the polls on average, other candidates  such as Herman Cain and Rick Santorum  would occasionally say something noteworthy, get bursts of coverage, then face scrutiny and decline. Reporter Matthew Jaffe called this the Bubble Primary, in which a new candidate would float to the top of the pack like a bubble, pop, and then sink.

2016  Trump dominates

There were muted levels of discovery, scrutiny, decline with some candidates in the 2016 GOP primary. For example, Ben Carson, a political outsider with a unique backstory, received a burst of media attention before the scrutiny process kicked in and he then declined in popularity. This pattern was not the central story of this cycle though.

Ultimately, Donald Trump got the majority of Republican news coverage. His constant provocative statements meant the media kept rediscovering him, thereby thwarting the decline stage. By the end of the general election, The New York Times estimated that Trump dwarfed every other candidate and received nearly US$2 billion in free media, an estimated amount a campaign would need to pay in ads rates to get comparable coverage.

If the magnitude of his coverage was unique, so was the effect. Whereas media attention drove sustained public curiosity for other Republican candidates  which is different from support  researchers have found that Trumps level of coverage actually increased his poll numbers, which do indicate support. Trump then dominated the news cycle into his presidency.

Five men debating each other on a stage behind lecterns.

2020

The Republican Party canceled some of its primaries in 2020, allowing Trump to run virtually uncontested.

2024

Most of the past discovery, scrutiny, decline patterns have taken place while candidates debated and campaigned in the early primary or caucus states. The 2024 GOP primary has been different.

Eight Republican candidates participated in debates while Trump sat them out and focused his campaign efforts elsewhere. Though these debates generated small moments and poll bumps for some candidates  such as Vivek Ramaswamy in August 2023  this time period did not produce a series of clear and obvious flavors of the week.

Instead, prominent outlets seemed to have fixated on a  potential  Republican nominee literally years before debate season: Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who did not declare he was running until May 24, 2023. Even though coverage of Trump became more prominent as the primary season picked up in 2023, this early selection of DeSantis is the more unusual story of American media behavior.

Choosing DeSantis

In the months after the 2020 election, Fox News asked DeSantis to appear on the network almost every day. New York Times journalists suggested the network was promoting his inevitable campaign.

But the New York Times itself published a slew of articles that increasingly sounded like DeSantis was the inevitable nominee, culminating in the 2022 article Did Ron DeSantis Just Become the 2024 Republican Front Runner?

The New York Post in late 2022 featured him on their front page with the title DeFUTURE. Though some reporters hedged their language about DeSantis prospects, headlines like these are nonetheless signals to the public about a politicians viability, which voters use to make decisions.

The abnormally early focus on DeSantis could have been because he was genuinely newsworthy given his controversial COVID-19 policies, he increased viewership or because, as one Fox producer said in an email, he is the future of the party. Ultimately, the hype was premature; DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump before the New Hampshire primary.

Trump throws a wrench

What can be made of all this?

The media is influential in telling the public who to consider. In 2012, coverage moved in distinct cycles, leading the public to focus on certain Republicans over others. In 2016, Trump benefited from this attention in ways others did not, allowing him to monopolize the spotlight for years and bond with his base.

Trumps dominance  partially a creation of the American press  may have thrown a wrench into somewhat normal patterns of primary coverage, as some outlets then seemed to discover a new Republican candidate the moment Trump left the Oval Office.

Regardless of why major outlets selected DeSantis early, Trump has shown that when he is actively campaigning, he comes out on top and other Republicans mostly fade into the background.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

The post How media coverage of presidential primaries fails voters and has helped Trump appeared first on Arizona Mirror.
DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA)  Meet Sunshine Raeigh, who wont celebrate her true first birthday until 2028.

Sunshine was born at OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Center in Danville on Leap Day, Feb. 29 at 8:20 p.m. She weighs 6 pounds, 6 ounces and was measured 19 inches long.

Why does Leap Day exist?

Workers at the hospital gave Sunshine and her parents Ellis and Jennifer a special Leap Day onesie to commemorate her rare birthday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
Progressive pundit Mehdi Hasan blasted President Biden for not doing more to end Israels ongoing war in Gaza, which he argued the president could end with one phone call.

Joe Biden has the power to pick up the phone and end this war. He can ring the Israeli prime minister and say, Were cutting you off. Were cutting off aid, were cutting off armament. Israelis themselves, Israeli generals say, We cant do this war without America. He hasnt done it, Hasan said during a recent appearance on CNN.

The former MSNBC anchor noted that Biden has rightly said for the last few years that Donald Trump poses an existential threat to our democracy.

The idea that he would risk not only his own presidency but the future of American democracy for the sake of Benjamin Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich and the rest of the fascists in Israel is bizarre and inexplicable to me, he added.

Hasans comments were first highlighted by Mediaite.

Biden is under increasing pressure from the American left to negotiate a cease-fire in the bloody Middle Eastern conflict, which has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead since October.

Hasan has been one of the most prominent people in media advocating for a cease-fire in Gaza, and earlier this year he announced he would leave MSNBC after the network canceled his Sunday night opinion show.

Hasan this week launched a media company of his own, becoming the latest in a slew of former cable news anchors and pundits to do so.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Tiffany Scott, also known as Andrew Burns, leaves Falkirk Sheriff Court after being sentenced for assaulting prison staff - TIM BUGLER/CENTRAL SCOTLAND NEWS AGENCY

A notorious transgender prisoner was found dead in their cell a year after a proposed move to a womens prison was blocked.

Tiffany Scott, also known as Andrew Burns, had a reputation as one of the UKs most violent inmates and died on Thursday aged 32, the Scottish Prison Service confirmed.

Police Scotland said that it had responded to reports of a 32-year-old woman taking unwell at HMP Grampian in Peterhead on Wednesday morning, who later died in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

The cause of death is unclear.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said Scott was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where she died. The death is being treated as unexplained and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

The death of the violent trans inmate who was being held in a male jail comes a year after a planned move to a womens facility was blocked in the wake of the Isla Bryson scandal.

Scott had attacked a nurse in Cheshire in 2010 and committed a series of other offences while in custody - TIM BUGLER/CENTRAL SCOTLAND NEWS AGENCY

Scott was serving an indefinite sentence under an order for lifelong restriction, and had been described as one of the most menacing people in the Scottish prison system.

Scott had been deemed an unmanageable risk to public safety and could only have ever been released if it was decided this was no longer the case.

Despite a long history of violence, a move to a womens facility was said to have been approved last year.

However, gender self-ID rules in Scottish jails were then torn up after Bryson, also known as Adam Graham, was initially sent to HMP Cornton Vale, Scotlands only female jail, following a conviction for two counts of rape.

Stalking a 13-year-old girl

Scott had been convicted of a string of offences, including stalking a 13-year-old girl from behind bars by sending letters.

The convict had attacked a nurse in Cheshire in 2010 and committed a series of other offences while in custody.

These included attacking a prison nurse with a chair, punching and attempting to bite prison officers, smearing excrement in a cell and ripping up tear-proof clothing in a suicide attempt.

During a court appearance last year, Scott had to be accompanied by seven guards when appearing to face assault charges.

The planned move to a womens facility was reversed after a temporary ban on biologically male inmates being sent to female jails was brought in amid a public backlash after the Bryson case.

Revised rules have since come into force in Scotland in which it is stated trans inmates with a history of violence against women should not be placed in female jails unless there is compelling evidence they do not pose an unacceptable risk of harm.

However, those seen as too dangerous to be placed in female jails permanently can still be offered chances to mingle with female inmates temporarily in a bid to support their gender identity.

Scott began claiming to identify as transgender in 2016. Scottish prison bosses took the claim seriously, and respected previous demands from the prisoner to be referred to as Mr Mighty Almighty.

Tear-proof clothing

In 2015, prison staff in riot gear had to save Scotts life after the inmate used excrement to stop obscure staffs view into the cell, and tore supposedly tear-proof clothing to fashion a noose, which was suspended from a sprinkler valve.

A prison officer giving evidence in a court case said of the clothing: Its supposed to be untearable, but Tiffany could rip it up no problem.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said: Tiffany Scott, 32, of HMP Grampian has died on 29 February 2024.

With each death in custody, Police Scotland are advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Fatal accident inquiries are held in due course.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
NAIROBI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The depletion of wetlands linked to human activities, climate change, invasive species and population pressure could undermine local communities' resilience to climatic shocks, senior UN officials said Friday.

David Cooper, acting executive secretary of the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said wetlands are critical freshwater bodies, playing host to rare species and providing a range of ecosystem services, including water purification, flood control and weather regulation.

"Despite providing multiple ecosystem services and functions, wetlands are threatened by the climate crisis, growing pollution, and poor land use practices," Cooper said on the sidelines of the sixth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly underway in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

According to Cooper, wetlands provide safe habitation for migratory species like birds and are a source of livelihood for indigenous communities, women and youth. He added that synergizing several UN treaties covering biodiversity, migratory species, pollution and desertification has been prioritized to help improve the ecological health of wetlands.

Musonda Mumba, secretary-general of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, said the resilience of local communities on the frontline of the climate crisis will be hinged on deliberate efforts to protect wetlands.

Mumba called for policy coherence, better community engagement and enactment of laws to restore the health of wetlands that are key to sustaining food, energy and water security. In addition, Mumba said that investments in nature-positive agricultural activities will be key to curbing the siltation of wetlands, which is to blame for the loss of species, including mammals, fish and pollinators.

Jerker Tamelander, director of Science and Policy at the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, said strengthening the protection of wetlands is key to disaster risk management, stabilizing the hydrological cycle, and local weather patterns.

Over 40 percent of global species are directly linked to wetlands as part of their lifecycle, Tamelander noted, adding that these freshwater bodies hold immense cultural and aesthetic value to local communities.

To reverse wetlands degradation, governments must phase out subsidies that are detrimental to ecosystems and soil health, besides supporting community-based conservation efforts, Tamelander said. 
Mercyhurst University President Kathleen Getz offered a prediction in an interview with the Erie Times-News shortly after she was hired in 2021.

More: New Mercyhurst president aims for 'bolder and a little audacious'

She said some colleges were likely to close their doors as they faced what's been described as the demographic cliff  a period of sharply declining enrollment that has grown from a years-long trend of fewer births in the United States.

Mercyhurst University President Kathleen Getz is shown outside of Old main in September of 2021.

"I do think there is room for a lot of consolidation," Getz said at the time. "If Mercyhurst gets involved in that consolidation, I want us to be on the acquiring side, not the acquired side."

Enrollment could grow

Mercyhurst, which will mark its 100th anniversary in two years, isn't acquiring any other college at the moment.

But chances are good that its enrollment will grow  at least slightly  with the announcement Thursday that 102-year-old Notre Dame College, a private Roman Catholic college located 95 miles west of Erie in South Euclid, Ohio, will close its doors after the spring semester.

"Like many small higher education institutions across the country, NDC has faced long-standing challenges related to declining enrollment, a shrinking pool of college-aged students, rising costs and significant debt," Notre Dame said in a statement. "These challenges were the impetus for the Board of Trustees decision to create new pathways for students to continue their education at partner institutions."

Old Main and the front gate of Mercyhurst University is shown in this March of 20220 file photo.

Those pathways include Mercyhurst University and eight other colleges and universities that have agreed to help Notre Dame students in good standing by allowing them to retain all their credits, graduate on time and continue to pay their current fees and tuition if they transfer to Mercyhurst.

More: 'He did amazing things every day': Mercyhurst University mourns autism advocate Brad McGarry

Eight other schools, including Lake Erie College, John Carroll University, Hiram College and Cleveland State University, are extending the same so-called teach-out agreement to Notre Dame students.

Richard McCarty, vice president for academic affairs at Mercyhurst, said the school has identified 17 undergraduate programs and one graduate programs that Notre Dame students can move into directly. Other participating schools have their own list of programs into which they can accept Notre Dame students.

"We guarantee that they will graduate on time, upon their successful completion of remaining classes here," McCarty said. "If a student wants to come to Mercyhurst University, but not in one of our identified teach-out degree programs, we will work very hard to help them complete their degree on time."

Typically, he said, Mercyhurst, like many universities, limits the number of transfer credits it will accept.

The arrangement represents a bargain for Notre Dame students who choose to attend Mercyhurst. Those students will continue to pay the $32,000 Notre Dame tuition compared to the $41,500 Mercyhurst charges.

A compassionate response

McCarty said he believes current Mercyhurst student will understand that arrangement and be compassionate toward students who are a low point in their undergraduate career.

"We view this as an errand of mercy," McCarty said. Mercyhurst, like most schools, "would hope someone would do that for our students."

Getz echoed that sentiment in her own statement.

It is vitally important that we support these students as they go through this challenging time, she said. "Mercyhurst is known for its hospitality and its inclusive and supportive community, an atmosphere that mirrors the environment at Notre Dame. We stand ready to welcome Notre Dame students who choose to complete their undergraduate and graduate degrees here, and we will work with them to make that transition as seamless as possible.

It's too soon to say how many of Notre Dame's 1,300 or so students will end up at Mercyhurst, which has a reported enrollment of 2,668.

While the agreement could provide a boost to Mercyhurst's enrollment, McCarty said the agreement was reached with a more charitable mission in mind, one that's consistent with the intentions of the Sisters of Mercyhurst, who founded the college.

"We want to do what we can for these young people at a difficult time in their lives," he said.

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Mercyhurst to offer seamless transition for displaced Ohio students
Meta said Thursday it has decided to end news tabs on Facebook in the United States and Australia. The company said it will no longer enter into agreements with news publishers to use their content because Facebook users want more short videos and are not interested in news. Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI

March 1 (UPI) -- Meta plans to remove the Facebook News tab from the social media platform in the United States and Australia in April.

The company said in a blog post Thursday that it made the decision because the feature was rarely used, adding that news makes up less than 3% of what users see in their feeds and asserting "people don't come to Facebook for news and political content."

"This is part of an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most," Meta said. "As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, including short-form video."

The move comes after Meta removed the Facebook News tab in Britain, France and Germany last year.

The company noted that people in these countries will still be able to view news on their feeds and news publishers can still access and post news content including article links on the platform as well as utilizing other services such as advertisements and short-form "Reels" videos to expand their reach, while maintaining 100% of revenue from outgoing links on Facebook.

This decision continues a Facebook exit from news distribution that is heavily impacting referral traffic for news content producers.

Facebook's existing news agreements in Australia, France and Germany are not affected for now. But when they expire they won't be renewed.

The U.S. and Britain Facebook news deals are already expired.

"We will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future," Meta said.

Revenue is at the heart of the decision since news producers have sought over the years to be paid for Facebook using their content while Facebook resisted paying for the content.

Last summer Facebook blocked news on its platform in Canada after the Online News Act was passed requiring Meta to pay news publishers for using their content.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted parent company Meta for blocking news during a massive wildfire emergency.

How Facebook presents news has led to misinformation controversies and issues with policies on moderating and fact-checking content.

In 2021 Facebook decided to no longer allow Australian users and news publishers to post links to news articles after a law was proposed requiring tech companies to pay publishers a fee for linking to news content.

Facebook reversed that decision after reaching an agreement with Australia's government.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that it will wind down the Facebook News tab in the United States and Australia starting in early April.

The decision to get rid of Facebook News, a dedicated tab on the platform that spotlights news coverage, comes as part of an effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most, Meta said in a blog post.

As a company, we have to focus our time and resources on things people tell us they want to see more of on the platform, the social media giant said.

We know that people dont come to Facebook for news and political content  they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests, it added.

Meta similarly discontinued the Facebook News tab in the United Kingdom, France and Germany late last year.

The company emphasized on Thursday that Facebook users will still be able to find news on the platform.

People will still be able to view links to news articles on Facebook, Meta said. News publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and Pages, where they can post links to their stories and direct people to their websites, in the same way any other individual or organization can.

Earlier this month, Instagram announced that it would no longer proactively recommend content about politics on both Instagram and Threads, following similar efforts to limit the amount of political content on Facebook.

Meta noted that the decision to wind down Facebook News will not impact existing agreements with publishers in Australia, France and Germany, while agreements in the U.S. and U.K. have already expired.

The social media giant also said it will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content or offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers in the future.

Metas push to move away from news content comes amid efforts in several countries to require major tech platforms to pay news outlets for their content.

An Australian law that took effect in 2021 required both Google and Meta to reach deals with news outlets. Meta briefly blocked Australian users from viewing and sharing news content in response, before reaching an agreement with the Australian government.

A similar battle has ensued in Canada, after the country enacted a law requiring Google and Meta to pay for news content last year. As a result, Meta has blocked news content for Canadian users since August.

The state of California also considered similar legislation last year that was put on hold until 2024.

Updated at 1:01 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Meta logo adorns the sign in front of the company headquarters in Menlo Park. Verena Wolff/dpa-tmn/dpa

Facebook on Thursday said that it would discontinue its Facebook News tab in the United States and Australia, starting in early April.

Facebook also said in an update published on Thursday that it would not enter new commercial deals for news content on Facebook News in Australia, France and Germany once existing agreements with publishers in those countries expire. Its deals with British and US publishers have already expired.

The company said it does not foresee launching new products specifically tailored for news publishers in the future.

The news comes three years after Facebook agreed to support publishers of its choosing in Australia after a tough battle with the government in Canberra about paying for content. The row had briefly prompted Facebook to ban Australian news content from its platform.

The Australian government on Friday blasted Facebook parent company Meta's decision "to no longer pay for news content in a number of jurisdictions" which it said "represents a dereliction of its commitment to the sustainability of Australian news media."

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said in a joint statement that Canberra was seeking advice on "next steps."

"The decision removes a significant source of revenue for Australian news media businesses," the statement said. "Australian news publishers deserve fair compensation for the content they provide."

Facebook said that the move to discontinue its Facebook News tab in Australia and the US, which follows similar actions in the UK, France and Germany in September, is part of its "ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most."

The decision stems from Facebook's acknowledgement that its users primarily visit the platform for social connections and exploring their passions, rather than for news and political content.

"The number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. has dropped by over 80% last year," the update said. According to Facebook's data, news content makes up less than 3% of what users see in their Facebook feeds globally.

Other Meta products and services in these countries will remain unaffected by the change, it said. Users can still access news articles through shared links on the platform.
A U.S. district judge in Missouri on Friday sentenced a metro-east man to life in federal prison, plus 15 years, for his role in a drug deal and fatal shooting five years ago.

A jury in September found Deoman Reeves, 32, of East St. Louis, guilty of 11 felony counts, including weapons charges related to the shooting death of David Anderson in the 1100 block of Kingsland Avenue in University City on Oct. 21, 2019.

Other counts on which he was convicted include:

One count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute in excess of 40 grams of fentanyl

Four counts of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl

Three counts of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

Two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm

One count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, resulting in death.

According to the criminal complaint filed with the U.S. Court for the Easter District of Missouri, Reeves and others fired multiple shots at Anderson in retaliation for a shooting in St. Louis County the day before. Anderson was not involved in the St. Louis County shooting, court records state.

This is a dangerous individual who has a callous disregard for human life, said Special Agent in Charge Bernard G. Hansen of the Kansas City Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. There is no higher priority for ATF than keeping our communities safe and we will use all available resources to identify and investigate those who commit violent acts.

This sentence should send a message to others that violent behavior in our communities will not be tolerated.

Judge Matthew Schelp sentenced Reeves co-defendant, Franklin Bell, now 32, on February 12 to 20 years in prison. Bell pleaded guilty on the eve of his trial in September to a fentanyl distribution conspiracy charge, five counts of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and two counts of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Bell admitted in his plea that he, Reeves and Arrion Jones were involved in selling fentanyl in the St. Louis area.

After a September 2019 non-fatal shooting, the University City Police Department requested the assistance of the ATF. According to court records, a confidential informant and undercover ATF agents began buying fentanyl from Reeves and others, who were armed while selling the

fentanyl. Reeves also sold firearms to a confidential informant, charges state.

Deronte McDaniels, now 26, was sentenced in federal court in October to 150 months in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and admitted being the target of a shooting on Oct. 20, 2019, that wounded Jones.

McDaniels took Jones firearm and returned fire and was one of the men who shot at Anderson the next day, his plea says, court records state.

Jones is serving a 40-month sentence.

The ATF and the University City Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul DAgrosa and Erin Granger are prosecuting the case.
MEXICO CITY  The most populous city in North America is in the grips of a severe water crisis, as lingering drought and years of low rainfall push the already-strained system that supplies Mexico City with running water to its limit.

More than 21 million residents across the Mexico City metropolitan area have endured weeks of water shortages, with local authorities imposing rations as reservoirs hit historic low levels.

Olga Gonzalez, a 50-year-old woman who lives in the neighborhood of Coyoacan, said local officials have been using water tanker trucks to supply water to residents in the area, but there just isnt enough.

Sometimes it takes four or five days for the trucks to arrive, she said.

People fill buckets with water from a water tanker truck in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood in Mexico City on Jan. 26, 2024. (Henry Romero / Reuters)

The shortage means Gonzalez has to do as much as possible with what little water is available.

I recycle the water. I go into the shower and collect the water to use it in the toilet, she said. And its the same with the washing machine. I recycle the water from the wash cycle to use in the toilet.

She added that she also has to buy drinking water from the store because the water provided by the city is too dirty and chlorinated for consumption.

In Mexico Citys Tlalpan district, Nancy Cabrera Cepeda, a 40-year-old office worker, said that local authorities typically provide residents with water only once a week.

We have a tank and, when the water arrives it fills up, but in general we have no water supply, she said.

The shortages have unfortunately become all too familiar for residents of Mexico City, where poorly planned urban development, insufficient infrastructure and the areas unique history and geography are all taking a critical toll on the regions water system.

In recent years, droughts intensified by climate change have magnified these ongoing challenges.

Last year, we spent two months without water, said Estela Hernandez Villa, a 42-year-old merchant who lives in the Iztapalapa district. There are areas that go even longer without water.

Dario Solano-Rojas, an associate professor in the earth science engineering division at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said its unlikely that the entire city will run out of water  a milestone that is sometimes referred to as day zero  but that the months ahead will likely prove challenging.

If I run out of water, then for me its day zero already, he said. This kind of thing has been happening for a long while already.

The regions complicated relationship with water is as old as the city itself. Mexico City sits atop a high-altitude former lake bed that was drained in the 16th century after the Spanish conquered the area.

As a result, the citys main source of water comes from pumping underground aquifers and channeling a network of canals, dams and reservoirs that make up the Cutzamala System.

Roughly 70% of water in Mexico City is pumped from underground, while the Cutzamala System supplies the other 30% to the Mexico City metropolitan area and the nearby Toluca Valley, Solano-Rojas said.

But underground aquifers are becoming stressed as the city rapidly expands, and years of overuse are causing the ground to sink, a process known as subsidence.

A 2021 study co-authored by Solano-Rojas and published in the journal JGR Solid Earth found that groundwater extraction has caused the city to sink at a rate of about 20 inches per year since 1950.

The city has been growing a lot, he said. We have other sources of water but we still get water from underground, so subsidence continues and its a problem that hasnt stopped ever since the construction of the big pyramids in the pre-Hispanic history of the city.

Local infrastructure has also not kept pace with how quickly Mexico City is expanding, Solano-Rojas said, adding that authorities have been scrambling to repair leaks and replace aging pipes to bolster the regions water system.

All of these issues are major challenges on their own, but he said that climate change is compounding the water crisis because the region has been suffering from ongoing drought conditions.

The country as a whole has been warmer and drier than normal, according to a recent report from Mexicos National Water Commission (Conagua). The agency found that January was the warmest on record, with average temperatures 1.26 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal for the month.

Warmer temperatures and less precipitation across central Mexico mean fewer chances to replenish the aquifers and dams that feed the Cutzamala System.

In Mexico City, we are not ready to respond as quickly as the drought is producing problems, Solano-Rojas said.

All these stresses combined make it difficult for the city to provide enough water for human consumption, industrial activities and agriculture.

Many neighborhoods are feeling the brunt of the shortage.

In the case of Iztapalapa, water scarcity has always been a big problem, said Mariano Salazar, a 69-year-old community leader in the district. There are almost 2 million of us in this municipality and we require 100 million cubic meters of water a year.

Frustrations over the situation have fueled unrest. In January, protesters in the municipality of Acambay forced open the gate of an office of Mexicos National Water Commission and broke windows, as reported by Reuters.

Local authorities have urged residents to conserve water and prioritize what is available for drinking, particularly as temperatures this week hover around 85 F.

For many like Hernandez Villa in Iztapalapa, the shortage has forced major sacrifices on a daily basis.

We try to wash our clothes as little as possible, we dont use the shower anymore, she said. We have to leave the water in containers and bathe in jars to try to save as much as possible. We want the little water we manage to collect to last a little longer.

Denise Chow reported from New York City and Albinson Linares from Mexico City.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Opposition hopeful Xochitl Galvez (L) and ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum (R) are the frontrunners in the race for the Mexican presidency (Rodrigo Oropeza)

Rival candidates launched their campaigns Friday for elections likely to produce Mexico's first woman president -- a watershed for a nation with a long tradition of macho culture.

Opposition hopeful Xochitl Galvez took to the streets after the stroke of midnight in one of Mexico's most dangerous states, seeking to tap into voter concerns about the country's rampant violence.

Public opinion polls suggest that she faces a tough battle against ruling party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum, a former Mexico City mayor and close ally of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Sheinbaum addressed large crowds of supporters in Mexico City's main square, vowing to continue the outgoing left-wing populist's "transformation" of the Latin American nation, including measures to fight corruption and help the poor.

On foreign policy, she said that Mexico would maintain its close cooperation with the United States, but would also demand respect for its sovereignty and "never bow our heads."

With three months to go before the June 2 vote, Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist by training, enjoys a significant lead with 63 percent support, according to an average of polls compiled by the Oraculus research firm.

Galvez, also 61, has 31 percent support, while Jorge Alvarez, 38, of the Citizens' Movement party is a distant third with just five percent, polls show.

At stake is the future of Latin America's second-largest economy, a country of 126 million people that is a key trading partner of the United States and a major tourist destination, but which faces huge challenges from illegal migration and drug-related violence.

Sheinbaum's "biggest challenge is security because we're experiencing a time of chaos," said David Jimenez, a 49-year-old office worker at the ruling party rally.

- 'People are afraid' -

Galvez, an outspoken businesswoman with Indigenous roots, sought to put the focus on the country's insecurity with a night-time rally in the city of Fresnillo in the violence-wracked state of Zacatecas.

She led a candle-lit march through the streets before sharing the stage with a relative of one of Mexico's more than 100,000 missing persons, holding a minute's silence for victims of violence.

"Here in Fresnillo, as in all of Mexico, people are afraid," Galvez said, hitting out at Lopez Obrador's "hugs not bullets" strategy to tackle violent crime at its roots by combating poverty and inequality, rather than using military force.

"Hugs for criminals are over," she said.

"To have a Mexico without fear, we're going to restrain the most violent and aggressive criminal organizations in our country," she added.

It was the first of several planned stops in cities considered by their residents to be among the most unsafe in Mexico, to highlight what Galvez says is the government's failure to tackle spiraling violence.

Nearly 450,000 people have been murdered across Mexico since 2006 when then-president Felipe Calderon launched a controversial anti-drug military campaign, according to official figures.

- 'Formidable party machinery' -

Sheinbaum is a staunch supporter and confidant of Lopez Obrador, known by his initials AMLO, who enjoys an approval rating of nearly 70 percent but is required by the constitution to leave office after one six-year term.

"Sheinbaum is in a very strong position," analyst Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington told AFP.

"Although nothing is impossible in politics, with just over three months to go before the election, it is highly unlikely that Galvez will be able to gain enough ground to make it a competitive race. AMLO is too popular, and the government and party machinery is too formidable," he added.

Galvez represents an opposition coalition made up of the Institutional Revolutionary Party -- which ruled the country for more than 70 years until 2000 -- the conservative National Action Party and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution.

But her background sets her apart from the traditional conservative opposition -- she wears Indigenous clothing, uses colloquial language peppered with profanity and is known for travelling around Mexico City by bicycle.

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Drought continued to impact regions throughout New Mexico into the spring fire season as temperatures heated up, but little precipitation was expected.

About 88 percent of the state was at moderate drought conditions as of Feb. 20, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with another 47 percent in extreme drought.

The worst drought conditions were reported in southeast New Mexico, where 73 percent of Eddy County was under exceptional drought the highest class reported by the Monitor.

More: 'Softer version' of Lujan Grisham water supply plan limps through New Mexico Legislature

That could mean no surface water for agriculture, the monitor read, and wildfire danger.

New Mexicos political leaders announced last week about $43 million in federal dollars would come to the state to help strengthen its water infrastructure through low-interest loans offered by the Environmental Protection Agency to local communities and municipalities.

The funds come from the Drinking Water and Clean Water state revolving funds, as part of a $50 billion nationwide appropriation through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.

More: New Mexico gov. unveils 50-year water plan that targets industry, agriculture

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said more money was needed to help New Mexico respond to climate-change-induced aridification, choking the states water supplies and leaving it vulnerable to worsening wildfires.

Lujan Grisham released a 50-year water plan on Jan. 30 which expected New Mexico to lose 25 percent of its available freshwater in the next five decades, following a 2022 report the state commissioned from the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources that forecast temperatures were likely to rise by an average of 5 to 7 degrees during that time.

Rainfall was not predicted to increase consistently, the report read, while snowpack and associated runoff were expected to decline by 2070, weakening stream flows.

More: Texas blocks oil and gas wastewater wells amid earthquakes. What is New Mexico doing?

The plan in response will aim to see local water consumption reduced by 10 percent, and curb agricultural use by 20 percent, establishing a variety of programs to address impacts to water supplies throughout the state.

The EPAs recent funding for New Mexico would be helpful for those efforts, Lujan Grisham said.

This funding comes as our state continues to face unprecedented water challenges, as temperatures rise and precipitation decreases, she said in response to the federal funds. Thanks to the leadership of the Biden administration and the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, our state will be better prepared for a changing climate and better positioned to protect and conserve our precious water resources.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tours the trail at Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park, June 1, 2022 in Carlsbad.

More: New Mexico called on to ban 'forever chemicals' in oil and gas, as feds push restrictions

New Mexico Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney said the funds would aid his agency in upgrading aging sewer lines and pipe systems in New Mexico communities.

NMED was also working to address widespread contamination from per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) in New Mexico from Air Force bases and other industrial activities in the state, contaminants the EPA recently proposed to list federally as hazardous materials in response to a petition from New Mexico officials.

These investments will connect more homes to sewer systems and remove them from aging septic systems, saving residents money and protecting our precious groundwater for years to come, Kenney said.

More: NGL Energy Partners subsidiary expands water disposal pipeline in Permian Basin

The EPAs announcement was applauded by New Mexicos all Democrat congressional delegation, with U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich calling it an historic investment in water infrastructure from the federal government.

Modernizing our water infrastructure is how we create economic security and opportunity for communities in New Mexico, Heinrich said. Together, these investments will allow New Mexicans to protect their homes from severe weather, keep families safe and healthy, and create a solid foundation for our communities to grow.

The lawmakers touted local projects like a $350,000 upgrade to Village of Ruidosos Storm Water Master Plan last year via the infrastructure bill, along with an about $7.6 million expansion of Socorros city sewer system.

More: NGL Energy Partners subsidiary expands water disposal pipeline in Permian Basin

This is what investing in America truly looks likegiving communities the tools they need to make their lives better, said U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (R-NM).

At the state level, several water-related bills were passed by lawmakers during the 2024 Legislative Session that concluded Feb. 15.

This included House Bill 148, which authorized the New Mexico Finance Authority to issue loans and grants to 65 different municipal water projects that sought funds under the Water Project Finance Act passed in 2001.

HB 148 meant in Fiscal Year 2024 about $115.7 million was made available for the projects, with the amounts going to the projects to be determined by the Water Trust Board.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Drought funds coming to New Mexico from federal, state leaders
By Diego Ore and Adriana Barrera

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's presidential candidates started their campaigns on Friday for elections on June 2, with the ruling party candidate leading in a race poised to crown a woman to lead Latin America's second-largest nation for the first time.

Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, running under a coalition led by current President Andre Manuel Lopez Obrador's leftist MORENA party, holds a comfortable 20 percentage point lead over former Senator Xochitl Galvez, who represents the opposition coalition.

With the backing of Lopez Obrador, who has consistently polled support of around 60% or more, Sheinbaum is favored in the race.

The 61-year-old scientist, a close ally of Lopez Obrador, has vowed to carry on with the policies that have made him popular, such as combining strong social welfare programs with fiscal discipline that has helped boost the Mexican peso.

"On June 2, the people of Mexico will make a decision. There are only two paths: that the transformation continues or that corruption returns," Sheinbaum told thousands of supporters in the capital's famous Zocalo plaza.

Sheinbaum said she would seek to cash in on the so-called nearshoring trend of multinational firms relocating supply chains closer to their final destination.

She also promised to tackle rife insecurity, which despite improving by some metrics under the current administration, still puts Mexico among the most violent countries in the Americas.

Beyond the presidency, Mexican voters will also cast their ballots on June 2 for lawmakers in both chambers of Congress, eight governorships, as well as the Mexico City mayoral post and thousands of other local officials.

As Sheinbaum's chances of winning are good, analysts have said MORENA is targeting its efforts on obtaining the majority needed in the lower house and the Senate to pass constitutional reforms meant to cement Lopez Obrador's legacy without requiring opposition votes.

"With the presidential race looking increasingly decided, Lopez Obrador is focusing on winning two-thirds majorities in both houses of congress to modify the constitution without support from opposition parties," consulting firm Eurasia's Daniel Kerner said.

In the 2018 elections, MORENA claimed a two-thirds majority in the lower house and came close in the Senate. However the 2021 midterms saw MORENA's supermajority slip away, as the party began pushing for constitutional reforms.

The message from opposition candidate Galvez, an outspoken politician and businesswoman with indigenous roots, that Lopez Obrador has mishandled the economy during his term has not resonated with most voters, who believe their financial situation has improved under his tenure, polls show.

On Friday, Galvez criticized Lopez Obrador's domestic security strategy as she kicked off her campaign in the central state of Zacatecas, one of the most affected states by the wave of criminal violence and which counts some 4,000 missing people.

"The hugs for criminals are over, the law will be applied to them," said Galvez, referencing the president's less hardline policy which he has described as "hugs, not bullets."

Galvez pledged to double the number of National Guard troops and build a mega prison for violent criminals.

"There will be no higher priority for me than national security," Galvez said.

Before cameras, she signed an agreement with drops of her own blood vowing she would not scrap the current administration's popular social programs should she win.

Unemployment is at a historic low of 2.7%, while poverty in 2022 fell to 36.3% from 41.9% in 2018, when Lopez Obrador took office.

"Voters are largely satisfied with Lopez Obrador's results," Kerner said. "Galvez will struggle to depict the (MORENA) administration as posing a threat to family incomes."

(Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Kylie Madry and Sarah Morland; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Alistair Bell)
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Sitting at a local embroidery workshop nestled in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Lan Lin, an embroidery artist and deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), is busy crafting a special needlework featuring traditional loong, or Chinese dragon.

"The image of the loong embodies a blend of cartoonish charm and modern flair, but its body patterns and stitching techniques remain rooted in traditional Zhuang embroidery," Lan explained, adding that she hopes to introduce the traditional art to more young people by infusing her creations with trendy design elements.

Zhuang embroidery is a traditional art form with vibrant cultural characteristics of China's Zhuang ethnic group, and is listed as a regional-level intangible cultural heritage.

As a representative inheritor of the art form, Lan has committed herself to promoting Zhuang embroidery. Her dedication shines through not only in her creative endeavors but also in the proposals she has submitted as a deputy to China's top legislative body.

According to Lan, since becoming a deputy to the 14th NPC, she has focused more on the development of the Zhuang embroidery industry instead of her own artistic efforts.

She actively reached out to the people engaged in this industry, gathered their opinions, and relayed them to the annual "two sessions," which are China's annual legislative and political consultative sessions.

Last year, Lan proposed enhancing communication and exchanges with ASEAN countries regarding intangible cultural heritage, a suggestion that has been successfully put into action. Another suggestion she made, aimed at leveraging the role of intangible cultural heritage in rural revitalization, garnered positive responses from relevant departments. These experiences have bolstered Lan's confidence and drive in fulfilling her duties as a deputy.

While gathering opinions, Lan found that cultural heritage preservation hinges on creating a larger market for related products. Therefore, this year, Lan plans to propose the establishment of smaller exhibition venues showcasing intangible cultural heritage near popular tourist destinations in urban areas, where visitors can access relevant information and purchase products by scanning QR codes.

"Cultural heritage must become visible and seamlessly integrated into people's lives. Incorporating cultural heritage products into our daily lives is the best way to preserve them," Lan said. 
FILES - This combination of two file photos shows Xochitl Galvez, at left, arriving to register her name as a presidential candidate on July 4, 2023 in Mexico City, and at right, Claudia Sheinbaum at an event that presented her as her party's presidential nominee on Sept. 6, 2023 in Mexico City. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, Files)

IRAPUATO, Mexico (AP)  Tens of thousands of people packed a stadium in a violence-torn western Mexico state while even more did so in Mexico City's central square Friday as the country's leading presidential candidates officially kicked off their campaigns with promises of greater security and support for the outgoing president's social programs.

Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's chosen successor, drew a multitude of supporters to the heart of the capital who expressed a desire to see her continue her mentor's policies.

I will never submit to any economic, political or foreign power, Sheinbaum said. I will always work for the supreme interest of the people of Mexico and the nation. She said the voters' choice is continuing the transformation begun by Lopez Obrador or allowing corruption's return.

In Irapuato, Guanajuato, the country's homicide capital, there was no greater priority than improving security.

Opposition coalition candidate Xochitl Galvez launched an aggressive attack on Lopez Obrador's security policies Friday and said voters would have a clear choice of continuing on the same path or electing her to take a much more aggressive approach to securing the nation.

Hugs for criminals are over, Galvez said during her Irapuato rally. Were going to punish those who harm our youth.

That was a play on Lopez Obradors shorthand for his security strategy  hugs, not bullets, which steered resources to social problems that he says are at the root of violence.

I have a head, I have a heart, but I also have the guts to take on criminals, Galvez said.

Malena Gomez, an Irapuato resident and activist with a civic group, said safety was her biggest concern.

Here in Guanajuato and in the entire country," she said. "This Morena government (of Lopez Obrador) allowed organized crime to get into everything.

Organized crime has long controlled swaths of Mexico through violence and corruption. It has diversified beyond drug trafficking in recent years, extorting businesses big and small for protection payments.

Farmer Amadeo Hernandez Barajas, who grows corn and beans on his farm in Acambaro, Guanajuato, said he supported Galvez because Sheinbaum just promised to be more of the same. He said farmers are also targets of organized crime.

How do you get the product out? he asked. Because the criminals charge you for every ton of corn you take out and they charge the combines and harvesters too.

He said the reliance on the military, which Lopez Obrador, as well as his predecessors, used against the heavily armed cartels hasn't worked. What are soldiers and National Guard in the streets worth if they don't do anything, just put up yellow tape after something happened?

But Lopez Obrador enjoys high popularity, largely because of his extensive social spending that has benefitted his low-income base and efforts to target corruption.

Those are the programs that Sheinbaum has promised to extend.

Gabriel Ruiz, holding a silhouette of Sheinbaum, said we have to continue with what we have.

I've liked this government and that it has tried to eradicate corruption and that it's with the people, said the 54-year-old teacher.

He expected Sheinbaum to continue Lopez Obrador's security policies, but noted that no administration has managed to contain organized crime. There has always been violence, he said.

Sheinbaum has maintained a comfortable lead over Galvez in polling. The race's third candidate is Jorge Alvarez Maynez of the smaller Citizen Movement party. The 38-year-old launched his campaign in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco Friday.

But it is highly likely that Mexico will elect its first woman as president June 2.

That excited Dante Robles, a 24-year-old student, though he hoped it would be Sheinbaum to take away the privileges of the business owners.

There are a lot of business owners who don't even pay taxes and are protected by politicians from the conservative regime, he said.

Four Mexican soldiers were killed by a land min e in the state of Michoacan, Lopez Obrador confirmed Friday. The president called it a trap likely set by a cartel.

The soldiers inspecting a camp on the outskirts of Aguililla Thursday when an anti-personnel mine was triggered.

On Monday, gunmen killed two mayoral hopefuls in the Michoacan town of Maravatio within hours of each other, the latest signal of organized crimes willingness to engage in local elections.

Earlier Friday, at an event in the violence-torn state of Zacatecas, Galvez posed the choice as: continuing on the same path which would mean giving in to crime or fighting to defend families, to defend the youth, to defend those who work.

In places like Zacatecas and neighboring Guanajuato, Galvezs heavy handed security approach could sway voters terrorized by warring drug cartels.

She promised to double the size of the National Guard that Lopez Obrador created to 300,000, but put it under civilian leadership. She also proposed closer collaboration with the United States to confront a common enemy in the cartels.

There will not be a more important priority than Mexicans safety, Galvez said.

__

Sanchez reported from Mexico City.
Matthew Williams mood was somber Thursday as three police cars sat parked near the homeless encampment on Southwest North River Drive where he lives in downtown Miami. Officers were refusing to leave until he moved all of his belongings somewhere else, he said.

Its because of that new movie thats filming, Williams said as he filled a grocery cart with his personal items. They moved us because we were too close to their set. They didnt want the fancy movie people from out of town seeing the homeless exist in Miami.

Bad Boys 4, an action movie starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is currently filming in the area. Road closures have been announced throughout Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Williams, 44, previously worked as a line cook at a Bayside Marketplace restaurant before he became overwhelmed with costs of living and became homeless.

Matthew Williams puts up his tent after being forced to move from an encampment area on SW North River Drive on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, in Miami. Williams usually tries to pick a spot for the group to travel to together since he is more able-bodied than some of the rest.

The production was approved by government officials and promised to add $20 million to the local economy, according to Variety. Film studio Columbia Pictures spent $500,000 on added police support to manage traffic during the four days of filming in Miami.

A spokesperson for Will Smiths production company, Westbrook Studios, referred questions to Columbia Pictures parent company, Sony, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

City of Miami Police Officer Michael Vega affirmed that it is illegal to put a tent anywhere on city property and that the police officers were enforcing that law. He added that the group was in a restricted area and that no one other than those approved by the film crew can be in that area.

It is not that Miami Police doesnt want them to see the homeless population, Vega said. They can see it through all of downtown Miami.

Police recommend that individuals seek shelter at Camillus House, the Chapman Partnership center or the Salvation Army.

Theyre offered to go to a shelter and if they refuse, then they have to leave the area, Vega said. Before the officers tell them to move, they are offered help, and most refuse to accept it.

Eli, a veteran, center, and her dog and partner search for a new area to camp with all of their belongings after City of Miami Police told them to move and vacate the area under a Flagler Street bridge on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, by the river in Miami. According to the group they camp with, the homeless shelters in the area are all full. Even if they werent, they are only allowed to take a few of their belongings inside with them to an emergency shelter, so when they come back outside, all of their belongings are either picked through or thrown away, which makes sleeping on the street the next night harder.

As traffic zoomed by Friday afternoon, Felicia Evans sat outside of her tent at a new location on Northwest Third Court and expressed her grievances with the city.

Evans, 55, previously worked as a certified nursing assistant and has been part of the group moving around Miami with Williams. According to Evans, all three of the citys recommended shelters are at capacity and have no beds.

We dont have too many places to go, she said. Theyre filming for Will Smith, and we cant go that way. Its difficult. I dont know what the next steps are going to be because all of the shelters are full.

Evans has been without a home for the last nine months and is concerned for her safety, as well as that of her pregnant niece, who is also living on the streets. Her caseworker has yet to help her find shelter.

The area under Flagler St. bridge sits cleared out after city of Miami Police tell the homeless to vacate the area on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. According to the group of homeless persons, the shelters in the area are full.

Evans said she was not able to fall asleep in her tent until 6 a.m. Friday because she was worried about strangers stealing from her or harming her. She already has had her identification card and an air mattress stolen.

We need help, she said. Whats next for us to do?

The city of Miami was recently ordered to pay $300,000 to four people experiencing homelessness whose things were disposed of by city officials. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to stop trashing peoples personal belongings immediately, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs. The city agreed to collect, photograph and temporarily store what they pick up off the street to allow owners to go recover them, the attorneys said.

Miami Herald reporter Joey Flechas contributed to this report.
The girlfriend of a luxury home builder accused in the 2019 disappearance and death of her boyfriends estranged wife was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder by a Connecticut jury Friday.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was also convicted of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in the killing of Jennifer Dulos, 50, a mother of five whose body has never been found. A judge issued her declaration of death last October.

After a 7-week trial, the six-member jury deliberated for two full days. Troconis laid her head down on the defense table after the verdict was read.

Her sentencing was scheduled for May 31. The judge set her bond at $6 million.

For more on the death of Jennifer Dulos, tune in to A Life Interrupted on "Dateline" at 9 ET/8 CT tonight.

Troconis had claimed innocence in the case.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Jennifer Dulos' family called the verdict "a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory. There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother."

Speaking outside the courthouse, Troconis relatives described the jury's decision as an injustice.

My sister is innocent of all the charges she was convicted of, Claudia Marmol told reporters. We still dont know what happened to Jennifer. We too care to know the truth of what happened to Jennifer. Choosing and putting my sister as the guilty person is not the right thing to do.

The family's lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn, told reporters he plans to file a motion arguing for a new trial.

Defendant Michelle Troconis (Tyler Sizemore / Hearst Connecticut Media via AP)

Fotis Dulos, Troconis boyfriend, had been charged with felony murder, kidnapping and other crimes in the case before his death on Jan. 30, 2020.

Fotis Dulos, 52, was on house arrest at the time after posting a $6 million bond. He attempted suicide at his home in Farmington, west of Hartford, and died two days later, after being flown to a New York hospital and placed in a hyperbaric chamber.

Fotis Dulos left a note denying involvement in the disappearance that his attorney later released.

A close friend of Fotis Dulos, Kent Mawhinney, was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the death. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Jennifer Dulos was last seen on May 24, 2019. In arrest warrants, authorities said her blood was found in her home, and surveillance video from that day showed Fotis Dulos stuffing garbage bags into trash cans in nearby West Hartford. The bags were stuffed with zip ties, gloves, tape and other items, according to the warrants.

Image: Jennifer Dulos (Courtesy Carrie Luft)

He was also captured on camera allegedly disposing altered license plates, the warrants say.

Bloodlike stains that matched Jennifer Dulos DNA were found on a paper towel and a poncho inside the bags, the documents say.

Troconis DNA was found on some of the items, according to the documents, and the video showed she was with Fotis Dulos when he threw away the bags.

She later admitted to investigators that she was with him in West Hartford but denied knowing what he was doing or what was in the bags, according to the warrants.

The former couple had five children together and were in the middle of a contentious custody dispute when she disappeared. Authorities alleged that Fotis Dulos was millions of dollars in debt and may have been able to gain access to their childrens' trust fund if he obtained custody.

In his letter, Fotis Dulos said authorities fabricated many of the allegations against him. He loved his children, he wrote, and would do anything to be with them, but unfortunately we all have our limits.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
STAMFORD, Conn. -- Michelle Troconis was convicted on all counts Friday in the murder of Jennifer Dulos, nearly five years after the Connecticut mother of five went missing.

After deliberating for about 14 hours, the jury of three men and three women found Troconis guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, tampering with evidence and hindering the prosecution.

Specifically, the jury found that she conspired with Fotis Dulos to murder his estranged wife, lied to provide an alibi for him and helped him dispose of bloody evidence.

Inside the courtroom

Troconis hung her head and started to sob, with her parents and sisters sitting directly behind her in the courtroom. As soon as the final verdict was read, she dropped into her chair and put her head down on the table.

Read More: Wild theories about Jennifer Dulos' disappearance dominated Michelle Troconis trial

Across the courtroom, the loved ones of Jennifer Dulos appeared to be relieved.

As Troconis was led out of the courtroom, she asked if she could please say goodbye to her family, but was only allowed to say a few words in Spanish.

Prosecutors argued Troconis came to hate Jennifer Dulos, who was in a costly divorce and custody battle with Fotis Dulos.

Defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn said the case was built on speculation and guesswork.

"I truly just don't see how the jury could have reached this verdict," said Schoenhorn. "We're going to challenge whether or not the trial had errors that should be reconsidered, and if not reconsidered in this court then we'll go to the appellate or supreme court."

Lauren Almeida, a longtime nanny who is now like a mom to the five Dulos children, left court smiling.

Families react to verdict

Troconis' distraught parents and sisters addressed reporters outside the courthouse, insisting she is innocent.

"I came many years ago to this country looking for opportunities, freedom and justice. And I moved my whole family here, I have eight grandchildren [who are] American. And today we are here, devastated, because there has been a tremendous injustice in the trial of my daughter," said Dr. Carlos Troconis, her father. "She is innocent, and we will keep proving that forever."

"I know that everyone wanted answers, I know that maybe this day is happy that they finally convicted her, or someone is paying for the price. But she is not the right one," said Troconis' sister Claudia Troconis, fighting back tears.

Read More: Family members react to guilty verdict in case of missing Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos

A spokesperson for the friends and family of Jennifer Dulos shared a statement, calling the verdict a "crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory."

"There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this case-most important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found," the statement continued. "We have lost a mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and cherished friend. Jennifer's loved ones cannot bury her next to her father."

Case against Troconis

Troconis was accused of helping her boyfriend, Fotis Dulos, kill his estranged wife in 2019 and covering up the crime. Fotis Dulos was charged with murder in the case but later died by suicide.

Over the course of the month-long trial, jurors heard from dozens of witnesses and from Troconis herself in three separate interviews with Connecticut State Police.

In those interviews, Troconis changed her story -- first saying she was home with Fotis Dulos on the day of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance, before eventually admitting that was not true.

Another surveillance video showed Fotis Dulos dispose of bloody evidence, and Troconis could be seen wiping her hand on the ground. She claimed she was wiping gum off her hand, but prosecutors made the case that she knew what was going on and helped with the disposal.

Read More: Who is Michelle Troconis? What we know about the woman found guilty of conspiracy in Jennifer Dulos' murder

The big question in the case was the top charge of murder conspiracy -- a class B felony that carries up to 20 years in prison.

The judge raised Troconis' bail from $2.1 million to $6 million. If she is able to pay, she will be placed on house arrest.

Her sentencing is set for May 31. If the charges run concurrently, she could face up to 20 years. If they run consecutively, that would add up to 50 years.

Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos

Jennifer Dulos, 50, was last seen on May 24, 2019 in New Canaan, Conn. / Credit: New Canaan Police Department/Facebook

The guilty verdict against Troconis came 1,743 days after Jennifer Dulos vanished from her New Canaan home.

The 50-year-old was reported missing in May 2019 after dropping her kids off at school. She and Fotis Dulos were in the midst of a bitter and expensive divorce and custody battle.

Proseuctors walked the jury through a complicated timeline -- with Fotis Dulos taking an employee's truck and parking it in New Canaan, then riding a bike to Jennifer Dulos' home and killing her in the garage, disposing of the body in an unknown location using her SUV, and then abandoning that vehicle and returning to his mansion in Farmington.

Read More: Timeline of the investigation into missing mother Jennifer Dulos

Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Troconis, were arrested the following week on charges of tampering with physical evidence and hindering the prosecution. He pleaded not guilty and posted bond, and he was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device on his ankle.

In January 2020, police arrested Fotis Dulos and Troconis again, charging him with murder and her with conspiracy to commit murder, along with his civil attorney, Kent Mawhinney.

Three weeks later, Fotis Dulos was due to appear in court for a bail hearing but was found unresponsive at his home. He was rushed to the hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning but died two days later of an apparent suicide.

Meanwhile, Jennifer Dulos' body has never been found, but she is presumed dead. Police said there was enough evidence of bloodshed in her garage to suggest she did not survive, as well as evidence suggesting a potential attempt to clean up the scene.

Jennifer Dulos left behind five children, who are now in the care of their 88-year-old grandmother.

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A jury Friday found a Connecticut woman guiltyof conspiring with her boyfriend to kill his estranged wife, a mother of five who disappeared in 2019.

Michelle Troconis, 49, was also found guilty on five other counts of tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution connected to Fotis Dulos presumed killing of Jennifer Dulos, who was last seen dropping off their five children at school on the morning of March 24, 2019. The Duloses had been in the middle of a contentious two-year divorce battle and custody dispute, which placed strict restrictions on when and how Fotis Dulos could see the couples children.

The six-member jury deliberated for three days after hearing more than seven weeks of testimony before finding that Troconis helped Dulos create an alibi for the time of the killing, and later helped him clean up and dispose of evidence of the crime.

Troconis faces up to 50 years in prison, according to the Stamford Advocate, citing Connecticut state statute.

Jennifer Dulos body has never been found, but she was declared officially dead by a state judge in October.

Fotis Dulos was facing capital murder and kidnapping charges when he died by suicide in January 2020.

Troconis could be heard audibly crying as the verdicts were read, leaning against her attorney Jon Schoenhorn. After he whispered that she could sit, she put her head on the table and sobbed, with attorney Audrey Felsen rubbing her back as the jury was polled.

Connecticut Superior Court Judge Kevin Randolph set a bond of $6 million, denying her defenses request that she remain free on her original bond of $2.1 million. Troconis was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

Michelle Troconis appears in court during closing arguments Tuesday in her criminal trial in Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford. Troconis was accused of conspiring and covering up evidence in the 2019 death of Jennifer Dulos. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press

Jennifer Dulos family called the ruling a crucial attribution of accountability for an unconscionable series of crimes but emphasized that it is not a victory in a statement shared with HuffPost.

There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother, said Carrie Luft, a close friend of Jennifer Dulos and the familys spokesperson. Despite the immense body of evidence presented at trial, Luft pointed out that Jennifer Dulos body still hasnt been found and expressed the familys hope that the publicity from the trial will generate new leads.

In the meantime, Jennifers grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory, Luft said.

Jennifer Dulos was living with her five children in New Canaan, Connecticut, when she disappeared. Courtesy Carrie Luft

This is not the trial of Fotis Dulos; this is the trial of Michelle Troconis, Schoenhorn said in his closing argument Tuesday. But prosecutors first had to establish Fotis Dulos guilt to make the case that Troconis conspired with him in a murder  when the body of the victim has never been found.

Randolph dealt an early blow to the prosecution when he excluded testimony of the chief medical examiner, who had previously said that Jennifer Dulos had suffered non-survivable injuries. Without a body to examine, Dr. James Gill based his conclusion on evidence provided by investigators, including blood in Jennifer Dulos garage and bloody clothes that matched her DNA. Ultimately, Randolph ruled, the jury has heard more than Dr. Gill could testify to.

And Schoenhorn questioned whether prosecutors had proved that Dulos killed his wife. Its still unclear what happened, he told jurors. And unfortunately, this trial will not solve that puzzle. It will remain a mystery, an unfinished puzzle.

Prosecutors presented hundreds of puzzle pieces to jurors over the course of 25 days of testimony and more than 150 exhibits. On Tuesday, they had just one hour to assemble the pieces for the jury in closing arguments, which they did in two parts, before and after Schoenhorn argued for the defense. (There were no opening statements, in accordance with Connecticut state law.)

Fotis Dulos alleged scheme required careful planning, multiple vehicles and hours of driving. Prosecutors said he drove 70 miles south from his Farmington home (where he also operated his luxury real estate development company) to Jennifer Dulos house in New Canaan, back up to Farmington (where he spent the afternoon at a property he was selling) and finally 10 miles to Hartford, this time driving his Ford Raptor with Troconis in the passenger seat. Based on a search warrant of Fotis phone, investigators were able to use location data to trace his movements that night and requested surveillance footage for the area, which was shown at trial.

At Michelle Troconis' trial on Jan. 23, Krista O'Reilly, a crime analyst with the Hartford Police Department, points at a map showing where investigators said surveillance cameras captured Fotis Dulos and Troconis driving in Hartford on the evening of Jennifer Dulos' disappearance. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP

In the bed of the four-door pickup were numerous full black plastic garbage bags, whose numbers dwindled as he tossed them in various garbage bins along the way. Police said they were able to recover some of those bags and found inside a number of items linked to Jennifer Dulos and the crime, which were shown in court. The grim findings included a womans Vineyard Vines shirt and bra, both sliced down the middle and soaked in blood  later identified as Jennifer Dulos  a box cutter, two rain ponchos, a towel, four long zip ties, gloves and cleaning supplies that all appeared to be stained with blood.

Troconis claimed that she rode with Dulos specifically to go to Starbucks and wasnt paying attention because it was not unusual for him to dump trash from their construction projects. At one stop, surveillance footage showed both Fotis and Troconis opening their doors. While Dulos walks around the truck and places a garbage bag in the bin, Troconis is seen opening the passenger door and reaching down to the sidewalk. He then approaches her and slides what appears to be a large envelope into a sewer grate under her open door. Investigators later recovered the envelope and found inside two Connecticut license plates that had been altered with tape. The plates had been used on a car registered to Fotis.

Connecticut State Police Sgt. Kevin Duggan points to a blood-like stain on a women's long-sleeve shirt taken from a trash can on Albany Avenue in Hartford as he testifies on day eight of Michelle Troconis' criminal trial in Stamford on Jan. 23. The blood was later determined to match Jennifer Dulos' DNA. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press

Cameras also captured him removing a large, rigid object consistent with a missing cargo liner from Jennifers Suburban and leaning it up against a building. It was never recovered.

Authorities believe that Fotis Dulos was lying in wait and attacked Jennifer Dulos in her own garage in New Canaan when she returned from the school just after 8 a.m. on March 24. To get there, police believe he drove his employee Pawel Gumiennys Toyota Tacoma pickup, with his own bicycle in the back, parked it near Waveny Park, and cycled to the New Canaan mansion. After killing her, he drove her body in her own Chevy Surburban back to the park, leaving her SUV for searchers to find later while he returned to Farmington in Gumiennys pickup, investigators said.

The murder conspiracy charge against Troconis relates to what she was doing that morning. According to prosecutors, she agreed to answer a prearranged call from Dulos friend in Greece to Dulos phone  which he left in their home office  but also to avoid having his movements tracked. Initially, Troconis and Dulos friend Kent Mawhinney (who is himself awaiting trial on a murder conspiracy charge in the case) said Dulos was with them in the office that morning. She also originally told police that she had woken up beside Dulos that morning, showered with him and had sex, but in a later interview admitted she had not seen him at all.

Prosecutors said Troconis and Dulos were following what investigators referred to as alibi scripts  a term they were barred from using during the trial  to account for their movements that day.

A document depicting a timeline that investigators referred to as an "alibi script" found in Fotis Dulos' Farmington home is presented as evidence on day nine of Michelle Troconis' criminal trial on Jan. 24. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via Associated Press

Schoenhorn said that Troconis inconsistent statements were a result of aggressive police tactics that affected her memory and confusion because English is not her native language. (She is originally from Venezuela.) Her police interviews were all conducted in English, but she used a Spanish interpreter throughout the trial.

Jurors were shown video of her three police interviews in their entirety, hours of footage filmed at Jennifer Dulos house, and traffic and security video of the various vehicles driven by Dulos, Troconis and Gumienny on May 24.

Troconis movements that afternoon were of particular interest to investigators and highlighted by prosecutors in their closing arguments. She made five trips back and forth from the home and office she shared with Dulos on Jefferson Crossing, to the empty property he was preparing to sell on Mountain Spring Road, two miles away. Dulos stayed there the entire time, close to 3 1/2 hours.

During that time, prosecutors said, there were three different fire events at Jefferson Crossing. Based on a neighbors security video of smoke billowing from the chimney  and its absence  prosecutors alleged that Troconis was burning evidence.

Although Schoenhorn countered that Troconis enjoyed having fires in the fireplace year-round, the prosecution emphasized that this was the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, a warm day and an odd time to light several different fires.

Meanwhile, prosecutors said Dulos was cleaning Gumiennys Tacoma, which he allegedly used to transport his wifes body, and bagging up the evidence. When Gumienny showed up unannounced at the Mountain Spring Road property to pick up his truck, Troconis took his keys to dissuade him from taking it. He insisted, however, because he needed it to transport his dirt bike home.

Gumienny was a key witness for the prosecution and was granted immunity to testify.

Pawel Gumienny, a former employee of Fotis Dulos, is shown surveillance video of his red Toyota Tacoma as he testifies on Feb. 7. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media/Pool via Associated Press

When he returned to Farmington with his Tacoma after Memorial Day weekend, Gumienny testified that Dulos and Troconis took it without his knowledge or consent to a car wash to have it cleaned and fully detailed  twice. Then Gumienny said Dulos repeatedly urged him to replace the Tacomas seats, which he eventually did, but held on to the original ones. Ultimately he handed them over to investigators, who said they found evidence of Jennifer Dulos DNA on the passenger seat.

Dulos might have had an additional sinister intent when he borrowed Gumiennys truck.

Just before Jennifer Dulos disappearance, Fotis Dulos shaved his head  a deliberate attempt, investigators believed, to mislead any witnesses into thinking he was Gumienny, who had a similar hairstyle.

Gumienny said he even made a joke about it when he found Dulos and Troconis at a property they claimed to be cleaning the afternoon Jennifer Dulos disappeared.

You shaved your head. Youre wearing dirty old work clothes. You trying to be as handsome as me? Gumienny testified he told Dulos.

Troconis had a greater motive than just helping her boyfriend, prosecutors said. She hated Jennifer Dulos, Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning said Tuesday, and wanted to end the two years of torture she endured, including being barred from her home during Dulos visitations with his children.

The frustration turned to anger and hatred, Manning said, quoting Troconis own interviews when she described Jennifer Dulos as manipulating, angry and toxic.

In one of the most dramatic moments of the seven-week trial, Gumienny recounted what Troconis said when Jennifer Dulos refused to allow their children to say goodbye to the ill family dog before Fotis Dulos had him put to sleep in the spring of 2019.

That bitch should be buried next to the dog, Gumienny testified.

In the final closing argument, Assistant States Attorney Sean McGuinness repeated Troconis derogatory comment but said this case was about a mothers worst nightmare.

It is about a mother being taken away from her children, in life or in death, he said. It is about Dulos children, who went to bed on May 24 not knowing where their mother was, and she has still not arrived.

In a statement shared with HuffPost, Schoenhorn said he is extremely disappointed in the outcome of the trial and reiterated his previous contention that Troconis inconsistent accounts were partly the result of her police interviews being conducted in English without a Spanish interpreter, saying that played a major role in the verdict.

I think it was unfortunate that the interrogations were conducted in a manner and in a language that led her to contradict herself, and I understand how that would be used against her, he said, blaming hindsight bias for the jurys finding that Troconis knew in advance that Fotis Dulos would kill his wife.

Paul J. Ferencek, states attorney for the Stamford/Norwalk Judicial District, commended the jury and offered condolences to Dulos family in a press release after the verdict, promising that their work on the case isnt over.

While its our hope that todays verdict brings Jennifers family and friends some peace, we also hope that someday we can provide resolution to the still unanswered question of where Jennifer rests. I assure you the State of Connecticut and this office will never stop looking, Ferencek said.

Troconis also faces a contempt hearing on March 5. During the trial, a friend of Jennifer Dulos told prosecutors that a sealed report related to the Duloses custody battle had been displayed on Troconis laptop in a very large font that could be read by people in the courtroom. In response, Judge Randolph restricted the use of computers in the courtroom to attorneys.

Troconis is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31. The court clerk originally proposed May 24, which Schoenhorn suggested would be inappropriate  it marks the fifth anniversary of Jennifer Dulos death.

Related...
After 11 hours of deliberation over the past three days, the jury has still not reached a verdict in the murder conspiracy trial of Michelle Troconis.

Jurors are tasked with deciding whether the 49-year-old conspired with her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos to kill his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, in Connecticut on 24 May 2019, and cover up the crime.

Following closing arguments on Tuesday, the jury received their instructions and were sent to begin deliberations. They only deliberated for about 30 minutes when they were dismissed.

During closing arguments, prosecutors described Jennifers murder as deliberate and intentional and said that Ms Troconis and Dulos worked to make this happen.

Jennifers body has never been found, but she was officially declared dead  with police finding that she died a violent death at the hands of Fotis Dulos.

In January 2020, Fotis died by suicide after being charged with her murder.

Ms Troconis has pleaded not guilty and insists she did not know Fotis was doing anything nefarious as she watched him toss garbage bags into random bins, or as she helped him write up a timeline of their whereabouts on the day Jennifer disappeared.

Key points

Michelle Troconis trial nears the end

State says case is about 'conspiracy and a coverup'

Defence claims three words prove innocence

Jury watches playback of Michelle Troconis friends testimony

The jury has reached a verdict

16:03 , Julia Reinstein

The judge has received a note that the jury has reached a verdict.

Justice for Jennifer supporters pack courtroom

15:57 , Julia Reinstein

((Justice for Jennifer Dulos/Facebook/Supplied))

Throughout the trial, spectators have packed the courtroom wearing purple for domestic violence awareness.

Many are members of the Facebook group Justice for Jennifer Dulos, which has more than 1,000 members.

If there were room for 1100 of us in the courtroom, we would have all been there everyday, Shell Meador, one of the Facebook admins told The Independent.

Read more about the women fighting for Justice for Jennifer here.

Deliberations enter their third day

15:32 , Julia Reinstein

Jurors are now in their third day of deliberations.

So far, they have sent two notes to the judge. The first, on Wednesday morning, requested testimony from Troconiss friend, Clara Petu Duperron.

On Thursday, they sent another note, with questions about the definitions of tampering and accessorial liability.

Deliberations resume

15:05 , Julia Reinstein

The court reconvened at 10am, and jurors were quickly sent back to their chambers to continue deliberations.

They have already deliberated for 11 hours since the end of closing arguments on Tuesday.

Will there be a verdict today? Deliberations resume in one hour

14:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors are expected to return to the courthouse at 10am today to continue deliberating in the Michelle Troconis murder conspiracy trial.

For 27 days, the court has heard dramatic testimony about how mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, 50, was allegedly killed in 2019 by her estranged husband Fotis Dulos amid a contentious divorce and custody battle. After being charged with her murder, he died by suicide in 2020, leaving his girlfriend Michelle Troconis to take the fall.

Ms Troconis fate is now in the hands of the jury who will decide whether she was involved in conspiring with Fotis to kill Jennifer and cover up the crime.

(AP)

What to expect today as the jury continues deliberations

13:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury in the Michelle Troconis trial have deliberated for 11 hours over the course of three days since closing arguments concluded on Tuesday at the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford .

They have not yet reached a verdict.

On Wednesday morning, they sent a note to the judge requesting testimony from Troconis friend Clara Petu Duperron  which they watched in the courtroom.

On Thursday, the jury sent another note with two questions.

In order to constitute tampering, does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed, concealed, or removed an item or thing, i.e. physical contact? the first question read.

They also had questions about the term accessory or accessorial liability and said the information never mentions those terms.

The judge told them accessorial liability does not require physical contact.

Jurors are expected back at court at 10am today.

A journey to get Justice for Jennifer'

12:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Since Michelle Troconis trial began, family and friends of Jennifer Dulos, along with supporters who had never even met her, have been wearing purple ribbons and clothing in court to raise awareness for domestic violence.

Many of the supporters are members of Justice For Jennifer Dulos, a Facebook page that started over four years ago, and has since grown to more than 1,000 members.

If there were room for 1100 of us in the courtroom, we would have all been there everyday, Shell Meador, one of the Facebook admins told The Independent.

Ms Meador explained that the admin team is a group of personal friends, many of whom were brought together by their individual experiences of having a loved one be murdered.

For most people especially Connecticut moms, Jennifers story brought an awareness of wow...things like this do happen here, Ms Meador said, And the family court system in CT is broken in ways that are hurting children, hurting families.

Creating an online community gave them a chance to share their stories and advocate for Jennifer  and heal from some of their own pain.

For me, its always been about creating a safe, respectful place to raise awareness of a missing person, follow and discuss case facts of a justice journey, Ms Meador said.

Andrea Cavallier reports ...

Women fighting for Justice for Jennifer show up at Michelle Troconis trial

RECAP: Michelle Troconis trial is almost over. Now a jury is deciding her fate

11:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Nearly five years after Jennifer Dulos vanished without a trace, her late ex-husbands lover Michelle Troconis will soon learn her fate for her alleged role in the case.

Heres what has been happening in her seven-week trial in Stamford, Connecticut:

Andrea Cavallier reports:

Closing arguments in the Michelle Treconis trial to begin on Tuesday

ICYMI: Bloodied clothes believed to belong to Jennifer Dulos shown in court

09:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Who is Michelle Troconis friend Clara Duperron?

07:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis friend Clara Petu Duperron testified on 23 February, and claimed she has information and evidence that disproves the states case against Troconis.

But after multiple objections, the judge did not allow Ms Duperron to explain the specifics of her claims.

She also talked about her relationship with Troconis dating back to 2017 and recalled their interactions on the morning Jennifer went missing.

Ms Duperron recalled Ms Troconis acting normal.

She also described Fotis Dulos reaction to a custody report that the defense claims negates motive for the presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos, because Fotis wouldnt have done anything to jeopardize his chance to have his kids back.

(AP)

VIDEO: Nanny describes day Connecticut mother Jennifer Dulos disappeared

05:00 , Andrea Cavallier

What happened to Jennifer Dulos children?

03:00 , Andrea Cavallier

When Jennifer Dulos mysteriously vanished in Connecticut over four years ago in the midst of a custody dispute with her estranged husband Fotis Dulos, her five children were left behind.

By January 2020, their father was also gone, having died by suicide three weeks after being charged with murder in Jennifers disappearance and death.

Within just eight months, the children  who were ranging in age from 8-13 at the time  had lost both parents.

What happened to them?

What happened to Jennifer Dulos children?

Theyve never met Jennifer Dulos, but these women were in court every day to support her family

02:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Caroline Rutenberg, who grew up in Farmington, close to where Fotis and Jennifer lived, is one of the admins of the Facebook group Justice for Jennifer Dulos.

She was in high school in 2019 when Jennifer disappeared.

It was the first time I heard of domestic violence, she told The Independent.

Jennifers story touched my heart and seeing all the people that came out to support yesterday wearing purple brought me to tears, she said of the dozens of women who showed up for closing arguments on Tuesday.

I wore a purple ribbon around my neck that was the same ribbon we used at the memorial our group created honoring Jennifer, she added.

(Justice for Jennifer Facebook page)

WATCH: Michelle Troconis and Fotis Dulos seen dumping trash bags after alleged murder

01:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors are combing through more than 200 exhibits as they deliberate the fate of Michelle Troconis.

One major exhibit is the video that shows Ms Troconis in Fotis Dulos truck as he dumps bags of evidence in various trash cans in Hartford.

Who else is charged in connection to Jennifer Dulos murder?

00:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Kent Mawhinney, another defendant in the case and Fotis longtime friend, was expected to testify for the state, but Assistant States Attorney Sean McGuinness ended the states case without him.

Kent Mawhinney of course is a co-conspirator in this matter, hes been arrested, the charges remain pending, Mr McGuninness told the court. He undoubtedly has Fifth Amendment privilege, therefore, is unavailable to both parties. Given that we are going to be resting, I just wanted to indicate that for the record, obviously, there shouldnt be any sort of missing witness arguments during closing arguments ... in light of that fact, hes unavailable.

Mr Mawhinneys attorney, Jeffrey Kestenband, later said his client had not invoked his Fifth Amendment right to not testify, so the reason as to why he didnt testify remains unclear.

Mr Mawhinney will stand trial on his own conspiracy to commit murder charge in the case. Hes accused of trying to create an alibi for Fotis on the morning of Jennifers disappearance.

What is Michelle Troconis charged with?

Thursday 29 February 2024 23:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Ms Troconis, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.

The jury could find her guilty on all counts, not guilty on all counts, or a combination. If the jury is deadlocked and cannot come to a unanimous decision, it would result in a mistrial.

No verdict today

Thursday 29 February 2024 21:47 , Andrea Cavallier

Court was adjourned at 4.47 pm Thursday and the jury was sent home for the day. They have not yet reached a verdict in the Michelle Troconis trial.

So far, jurors have deliberated for 11 hours since closing arguments concluded on Tuesday afternoon.

The jury will return to the courthouse in Stamford tomorrow at 10am to continue deliberations.

Jury is back in court

Thursday 29 February 2024 21:43 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury is being brought back into court.

The judge usually dismisses court at 4.45pm.

Verdict Watch: Day three of deliberations nears end

Thursday 29 February 2024 21:34 , Andrea Cavallier

Another day of deliberations is nearly over as the time ticks closer to 4.45pm.

Judge Randolph typically releases the jury at that time and the courthouse closes at 5pm.

There is still no verdict in Michelle Troconis case.

(AP)

(AP)

(AP)

Jurors ask judge to clarify tampering with evidence

Thursday 29 February 2024 20:45 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury deciding Michelle Troconis fate sent a note just before lunchtime with two questions for Judge Kevin Randolph.

The questions were read aloud in court with the jury present.

Judge Kevin Randolph read the questions in court.

In order to constitute tampering, does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed, concealed, or removed an item or thing, i.e. physical contact? the first question read.

They also had questions about the term accessory or accessorial liability and said the information never mentions those terms.

The judge told them accessorial liability does not require physical contact.

Answers: Judge brought the jury in and this is how he responded to their questions: #MichelleTroconis #JenniferDulos pic.twitter.com/olt1y5CvNS  Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 29, 2024

Will there be a verdict in Michelle Troconis trial today?

Thursday 29 February 2024 20:15 , Andrea Cavallier

As of 3pm on Thursday, jurors have been deliberating for nine hours and 20 minutes across three days since closing arguments finished on Tuesday.

The time does not include lunch breaks, the 38-minute playback of testimony they listened to or the time they spent in the courtroom to clarify two questions.

The jury sent this note:

Your Honor, can we please receive clarification as to the verbiage of count 3? Specifically, in order to constitute tampering, does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed, concealed or removed an item or thing, i.e. physical contact?

Further the information never mentions the term accessory or accessorial liability. Following the juror instructions would lead one to believe having accessorial liability is enough to prove a defendant guilty of tampering with physical evidence.

Is that the case or is the section titled "accessorial liability" from page 44 of the jury instructions misleading?

The judge explained accessorial liability does not require physical contact.

Accessorial liability is when a person intentionally aids another person to engage in conduct which constitutes an offense.

Justice for Jennifer Dulos supporters come out in force at Michelle Troconis trial

Thursday 29 February 2024 19:30 , Andrea Cavallier

As spectators packed a Connecticut courtroom for closing arguments in the Michelle Troconis murder conspiracy trial this week, there was a noticeable common theme  many of them wore purple.

Some wore purple hats or scarves while others were fully decked out in the colour. It was intentional, they said: it was all for Jennifer.

Andrea Cavallier reports:

Women fighting for Justice for Jennifer show up at Michelle Troconis trial

Deliberations continue after lunch break

Thursday 29 February 2024 19:05 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury has returned to deliberate following a lunch break.

They have been deliberating for eight hours and 20 minutes across three days.

Court is likely to be dismissed at 4.45pm as usual so the jury will deliberate until then, unless they reach a verdict sooner.

Court breaks for lunch until 2pm

Thursday 29 February 2024 18:04 , Andrea Cavallier

Court has been adjourned for lunch.

The jury will continue deliberations at 2pm.

Court is in recess while jury deliberates

Thursday 29 February 2024 17:36 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors returned to the jury room to continue deliberations.

Court is in recess untiil further notice.

Judge brings in jury to answer questions

Thursday 29 February 2024 17:34 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury asked does an accessory to tampering with evidence had to have made physical contact with the evidence.

The judge told the jury No. It is an accessorial liability and does not require physical contact.

Jury asks for clarification on term accessory'

Thursday 29 February 2024 17:21 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury sent a note to the court with two questions.

1 - Can we please receive clarification as to the verbiage of count 3, specifically in order to constitute tampering does the defendant need to have physically altered, destroyed or concealed an item or thing, ie: physical contact.

2 - The jury had a question about the term accessory in the jury instructions

Jury has sent a note and court is back in session

Thursday 29 February 2024 17:17 , Andrea Cavallier

Court is back in session after the jury sent a note around 11:58pm.

They have two questions which the judge is now reading in open court.

How many years in prison could Michelle Troconis face?

Thursday 29 February 2024 17:02 , Andrea Cavallier

If Michelle Troconis is found guilty of all charges, she could face up to 50 years in prison in the death and disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.

Ms Troconis, 49, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence, two counts of tampering with physical evidence and one count of second-degree hindering prosecution.

The jury could find her guilty on all counts, not guilty on all counts, or a combination. If the jury is deadlocked and cannot come to a unanimous decision, it would result in a mistrial.

Ms Troconis could face between 1 and 20 years if the sentences ran concurrently, or up to 50 years if consecutive. A judge would make that decision during sentencing.

(AP)

Jury has been deliberating for seven hours

Thursday 29 February 2024 16:26 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury  made up of three men and three women  have now been deliberating for a total of seven hours since they began following closing arguments on Tuesday.

A verdict has not yet been reached.

Defence claims supporters of prosecution team were blowing kisses at officers in court

Thursday 29 February 2024 15:16 , Andrea Cavallier

Before the jury was brought out on Thursday for the third day of deliberations, defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn told the judge that he was made aware that some of the supporters of the prosecution team were blowing kisses and doing heart signs when some of the police officers walked in to the courtroom.

I thought the court made it clear that would not be permitted, he said. I believe its harassment for that to be permitted.

The judge said the court would leave it up to the marshals to be vigilant in determining whether any conduct is inappropriate.

WATCH: This morning, #MichelleTroconis attorney told the judge: Apparently some of the supporters of the prosecution team.....were blowing kisses and doing heart signs when some of the officers walked in.... pic.twitter.com/TfBWFhdBf8  Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 29, 2024

Jury resumes deliberations

Thursday 29 February 2024 15:05 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury has resumed deliberations in the Michelle Troconis trial.

Deliberations in Michelle Troconis trial begin in one hour

Thursday 29 February 2024 14:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors are expected to return to the courthouse at 10am today to continue deliberating in the Michelle Troconis murder conspiracy trial.

For 27 days, the court has heard dramatic testimony about how mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, 50, was allegedly killed in 2019 by her estranged husband Fotis Dulos amid a contentious divorce and custody battle. After being charged with her murder, he died by suicide in 2020, leaving his girlfriend Michelle Troconis to take the fall.

Ms Troconis fate is now in the hands of the jury who will soon decide whether she was involved in conspiring with Fotis to kill Jennifer and cover up the crime.

What to expect today as the jury continues deliberations

Thursday 29 February 2024 13:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury in the Michelle Troconis trial have deliberated for 5 hours and 40 minutes over the course of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday at the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford .

They have not yet reached a verdict.

On Wednesday morning, they sent a note to the judge requesting testimony from Troconis friend Clara Petu Duperron  which they watched in the courtroom.

Jurors are expected back at court at 10am today.

Defence claims three words prove innocence in Jennifer Dulos murder

Thursday 29 February 2024 11:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The defence ended closing arguments for Michelle Troconiss trial on Tuesday with video of officials expressing doubt that Troconis knew anything about her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos nefarious actions surrounding his estranged wifes disappearance and presumed death.

Defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn ended his closing showing a clip from Ms Troconis 2019 police interview after she and her attorney had left the room.

In the video, officials are talking and the Stamford States Attorney says: She doesnt know, referring to Ms Troconis.

Back in court during closing arguments, the defence then told the jury: And if he thought she didnt know, thats reasonable doubt.

Read more:

Troconis defence claims three words prove innocence in Jennifer Dulos murder

Michelle Troconis trial is almost over. Now a jury is deciding her fate

Thursday 29 February 2024 09:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Nearly five years after Jennifer Dulos vanished without a trace, her late ex-husbands lover Michelle Troconis will soon learn her fate for her alleged role in the case.

Heres what has been happening in her seven-week trial in Stamford, Connecticut:

Closing arguments in the Michelle Treconis trial to begin on Tuesday

Where are Jennifer Dulos five children

Thursday 29 February 2024 07:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jennifer Dulos five children are back in New York City after appearing at the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford twice in the past week.

Her five grandchildren, who were orphaned after Jennifers disappearance and presumed death and Fotis suicide, have been living with Ms Farber and their nanny in New York City.

Gloria Farber, Jennifers mother, took the stand as the states final witness.

The children were in the courtroom for the first time as they watched their grandmother on the stand last week. Her testimony only lasted 10 minutes.

Ms Farber testified that the mother of five had never missed one of her childrens birthdays or name days, which is a Greek tradition.

The testimony appeared to take aim at defence attorney Jon Schoenhorns argument that Jennifer left on her own, a theory Fotis reportedly claimed she had done in the past.

The children also made a brief appearance during closing arguments, but are reportedly back in New York City.

Supporters hoping for #JusticeforJennifer wear purple at courthouse

Thursday 29 February 2024 05:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Dozens of supporters have arrived at the Stamford Superior Courthouse in Connecticut on Tuesday to hear opening statements as Michelle Troconis nears the end.

Many of them are members of a #JusticeforJennifer Facebook page and have come together in support of Jennifer, whether they knew her or not.

Since the trial began, family and friends of Jennifer, along with supporters who had never even met her, have been wearing purple ribbons and clothing during the proceedings to raise awareness for domestic violence.

Troconis will have a contempt of court hearing on 5 March

Thursday 29 February 2024 03:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconi has been accused of dislaying sealed custody documents on her laptop during the trial for people to see.

A contempt of court hearing will be held on the matter on 5 March.

The two tales of Michelle Troconis

Thursday 29 February 2024 01:00 , Andrea Cavallier

A state jury heard two different tales of the 49-year-old Michelle Troconis as the prosecution and defense made their closing arguments in Stamford, Connecticut.

The six-member panel began deliberations later that afternoon on charges including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. Troconis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness told jurors Troconis was angry and fed up with the divorce case and had called Jennifer Dulos disparaging names.

Jennifer is dead, and Fotis and Michcelle Troconis intended that to happen, Manning said. They agreed to work together to make it happen, and unfortunately they were successful in making it happen. But they got caught. This trial is very simple. Its about a conspiracy and a coverup.

(AP)

(AP)

But her lawyer, Jon Schoenhorn, said the prosecution did not prove any of their allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, including whether Fotis Dulos killed Jennifer Dulos or even if he was in New Canaan that morning.

She did not know that Fotis Dulos planned to harm her, Schoenhorn told the jury. The state has made, what I would suggest, are unfounded and unfair assumptions and have speculated that Michelle Troconis had to know what was going on because she was romantically linked with Fotis, that she was somehow involved in this nefarious, murderous plot.

But thats not reality, he said. Thats more like one of these cable TV movies, scripted movies. Its not based on the facts that you heard during this trial.

In fact, a TV movie was made about the case, Lifetimes Gone Mom, as the case drew widespread attention.

Defense attorney Jon Schoenhorn (AP)

Who is Michelle Troconis friend Clara Duperron?

Thursday 29 February 2024 00:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis friend Clara Petu Duperron testified on 23 February, and claimed she has information and evidence that disproves the states case against Troconis.

But after multiple objections, the judge did not allow Ms Duperron to explain the specifics of her claims.

Clara Duperron (AP)

She also talked about her relationship with Troconis dating back to 2017 and recalled their interactions on the morning Jennifer went missing.

Ms Duperron recalled Ms Troconis acting normal.

She also described Fotis Dulos reaction to a custody report that the defense claims negates motive for the presumed murder of Jennifer Dulos, because Fotis wouldnt have done anything to jeopardize his chance to have his kids back.

Jury has deliberated for 5 hours, 40 minutes  and had one question

Wednesday 28 February 2024 23:00 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury in the Michelle Troconis trial have deliberated for 5 hours and 40 minutes over the course of yesterday and today.

They have no yet reached a verdict.

Earlier today, they sent a note to the judge requesting testimony from Troconis best friend Clara Petu Duperron.

The jury was then brought in to rewatch the 38-minute testimony.

No verdict today in Michelle Troconis trial

Wednesday 28 February 2024 21:47 , Andrea Cavallier

Court was adjourned at 4.45pm today and jurors were sent home for the day.

No verdict was reached.

The jury will report back at 10am tomorrow.

Jury is back in the courtroom

Wednesday 28 February 2024 21:44 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury has been brought back into the courtroom.

Will there be a verdict today?

Wednesday 28 February 2024 21:15 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury will deliberate for about 30 minutes as the judge typically dismisses court at 4.45pm.

They have been deliberating for nearly five hours total.

Earlier in the day, the jury asked to see the testimony of Michelle Troconis best friend Clara Petu Duperron.

Ms Duperron testified on the final day for the defence and recalled her friend was acting normal the morning Jennifer Dulos went missing.

The courthouse closes at 5pm.

What charges does Michelle Troconis face?

Wednesday 28 February 2024 21:02 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis is charged with conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.

Ms Troconis has insisted that she did not know Fotis was doing anything nefarious as she watched him toss garbage bags into random bins, or as she helped him write up a timeline of their whereabouts on the day Jennifer disappeared.

She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Who is on the jury in Michelle Troconis trial?

Wednesday 28 February 2024 20:42 , Andrea Cavallier

There are six people on the jury tasked with deciding whether Michelle Troconis was involved in conspiring with her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos in the plot to kill his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos and cover up the crime.

The jury is evenly split with three women and three women.

They have been deliberating for a little over four hours total since closing arguments ended on Tuesday.

Jurors have returned to deliberating

Wednesday 28 February 2024 19:49 , Andrea Cavallier

Lunch break is over and jurors have returned to the jury room to continue deliberations.

The jury has been deliberating for a total of four hours and 17 minutes.

Court is on lunch break

Wednesday 28 February 2024 18:18 , Andrea Cavallier

Court is on lunch break until 2pm.

The jury paused deliberations while listening to a playback of testimony for 38 minutes.

They will now take lunch before returning to deliberations this afternoon.

Playback of testimony ends

Wednesday 28 February 2024 18:09 , Andrea Cavallier

Playback of Ms Duperron's testimoy is over and the jury has left the courtroom to continue deliberations.

Michelle Troconis friend testified she was acting normal the day Jennifer Dulos went missing

Wednesday 28 February 2024 17:46 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury is listening to playback of Clara Petu Duperrons testimony in court.

She previously testified that Michelle Troconis was acting normal the morning Jennifer Dulos went missing.

She also testified to Fotis Dulos reaction to a custody report as being "favorable to him."

Jury is watching playback of testimony

Wednesday 28 February 2024 17:24 , Andrea Cavallier

The jury is in the courtroom after requesting the testimony of Michelle Troconis best friend Clara Petu Duperron.

Ms Duperron testified on the final day for the defence.

They will now watch a playback of testimony, which is about 38 minutes long.

Jury asks for testimony from Michelle Troconis best friend

Wednesday 28 February 2024 17:21 , Andrea Cavallier

Nearly three hours into deliberations on Wednesday, the jury sent a note to the judge with a question.

The note read: Your honor can we please get a copy of Michelle's best friend testimony? 

PHOTOS: Michelle Troconis covers faces, clutches hands together during closing arguments

Wednesday 28 February 2024 17:00 , Andrea Cavallier

(AP)

(AP)

(AP)

Supporters, loved ones of Jennifer Dulos thank investigators at courthouse

Wednesday 28 February 2024 16:20 , Andrea Cavallier

During lunch recess on Tuesday, several of the supporters here in the court for Jennifer Dulos are thanking investigators for their work on the case.

Some of them are emotional as the long-awaited trial is finally wrapping up.

There were many more spectators than usual as dozens came out in force for the closing arguments.

The jury continues their deliberations today.

Today members of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad and New Canaan Police Department will be standing in the courtroom alongside the friends and family of Jennifer in a sign of support and solidarity seeking accountability in this terrible crime.  SGT_KIMBALL (@det_kimball) February 27, 2024

Defence takes questions from reporters and shows off his tie

Wednesday 28 February 2024 16:00 , Andrea Cavallier

As deliberations began on Tuesday afternoon, defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn spoke to members of the media outside of the courthouse.

We believe the state has present insufficient evidence, Mr Schoenhorn said, showing off his tie, which was printed with the words of the US constitution.

It was either this one or my not guilty tie, he joked.

Mr Schoenhorn said that as we wait for a verdict, its a nail biting time for everyone, includiung Ms Troconis family who watched quietly from the crowd.

(Andrea Cavallier/The Independent)

Jennifer is dead, and Fotis, and Michcelle Troconis intended that to happen, state says

Wednesday 28 February 2024 15:50 , Andrea Cavallier

Prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness told jurors on Tuesday that Michelle Troconis was angry and fed up with the divorce case between her boyfriend Fotis Dulos and his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos and that she had called Jennifer disparaging names.

Jennifer is dead, and Fotis and Michcelle Troconis intended that to happen, Ms Manning said.

They agreed to work together to make it happen, and unfortunately they were successful in making it happen. But they got caught. This trial is very simple. Its about a conspiracy and a coverup.

Michelle Troconis and family arrive for first full day of jury deliberations

Wednesday 28 February 2024 15:23 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis and her family have arrived at Stamford Superior Court in Connecicut for the first full day of jury deliberations.

The jury only deliberated for about 30 minutes on Tuesday following closing arguments.

The judge noted that the jury will be brought in to the courtroom to be dismissed for a lunch break before being sent back to the jury room.

TROCONIS TRIAL, JURY DELIBERATIONS: Michelle Troconis and her family have arrived at Stamford Superior Court for the first full day of jury deliberations. They only had the case for about half an hour yesterday. @News12CT pic.twitter.com/E2R4Putqb1  Marissa Alter (@MarissaAlter) February 28, 2024

What to expect today in the Michelle Troconis trial

Wednesday 28 February 2024 14:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors return to the courthouse in Stamford, Connecticut at 10am on Wednesday to continue deliberating.

The six-person jury began deliberating on Tuesday after a long day of listening to closing arguments.

Before being dismissed for the evening, they asked for an easel, which the judge said he would try to get for them by the morning.

Michelle Troconis fate is now in the hands of the jury

Wednesday 28 February 2024 13:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Is Michelle Troconis a murderous conspirator or an innocent bystander?

The decision of her fate is now up to the jury.

The six-member panel began deliberations Tuesday afternoon on charges including conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering and hindering prosecution.

After dismissing for the night, jurors will continue Wednesday. Troconis has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

State says trial is about conspiracy and a coverup

Wednesday 28 February 2024 12:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Prosecutors Michelle Manning and Sean McGuinness told jurors on Tuesday that Michelle Troconis was angry and fed up with the divorce case between her boyfriend Fotis Dulos and his estranged wife Jennifer Dulos and that she had called Jennifer disparaging names.

Jennifer is dead, and Fotis and Michcelle Troconis intended that to happen, Ms Manning said.

They agreed to work together to make it happen, and unfortunately they were successful in making it happen. But they got caught. This trial is very simple. Its about a conspiracy and a coverup.

Defence says Fotis Dulos 'put on a facade until his last, poisoned breath

Wednesday 28 February 2024 11:00 , Andrea Cavallier

"Whatever Fotis Dulos did, it was not for or because of Michelle, and it was not with her. Fotis put up a facade until his last, poisoned breath," Attorney Schoenhorn said during closing arguments.

He put the blame solely on Fotis and said his client had nothing to do with Jennifer Dulos disappearance.

Schoenhorn claimed that the states case against Troconis was based on unfounded and unfair assumptions.

Jennifer Dulos ties to Liz Claiborne

Wednesday 28 February 2024 09:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jennifer Dulos was a member of a wealthy New York City family and a niece by marriage of fashion designer Liz Claiborne.

Although her body has never been found, a medical examiner concluded suspected blood spatter in her garage and other evidence indicated she could not have survived. A state judge declared her officially dead in October.

Fotis Dulos was a luxury home builder originally from Greece. He killed himself in January 2020, shortly after being charged with the murder of Jennifer Dulos. He had denied the charge.

Troconis is a dual American and Venezuelan citizen who once had her own TV production company in Argentina and hosted a snow-sports show for ESPN South America.

The Dulos five children, who ranged from 8 to 13 years old when their mother disappeared and include two sets of twins, have been in the custody of Jennifer Dulos mother, Gloria Farber, 88, in New York City ever since.

Where are Jennifer Dulos five children

Thursday 29 February 2024 03:01 , Andrea Cavallier

Jennifer Dulos five children are back in New York City after appearing at the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford twice in the past week.

Her five grandchildren, who were orphaned after Jennifers disappearance and presumed death and Fotis suicide, have been living with Ms Farber and their nanny in New York City.

Gloria Farber, Jennifers mother, took the stand as the states final witness.

The children were in the courtroom for the first time as they watched their grandmother on the stand last week. Her testimony only lasted 10 minutes.

Ms Farber testified that the mother of five had never missed one of her childrens birthdays or name days, which is a Greek tradition.

The testimony appeared to take aim at defence attorney Jon Schoenhorns argument that Jennifer left on her own, a theory Fotis reportedly claimed she had done in the past.

The children also made a brief appearance during closing arguments, but are reportedly back in New York City.

Defence suggests there was miscommunication because English is Troconis second language

Wednesday 28 February 2024 07:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Schoenhorn said there could have been miscommunications because the interviews were in English instead of Troconis primary language, Spanish.

A defense expert also testified that traumatic events, such as being interviewed by police, can affect peoples memory and recall of events.

Prosecutors claim Michelle Troconis lied to police in her 2019 interviews

Wednesday 28 February 2024 05:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Prosecutors said Ms Troconis lied to police during the first of her three interviews with them in 2019 when she said Fotis was at their home the morning of 24 May.

They say she acknowledged in a subsequent interview that she hadnt seen him.

Defense claims Fotis Dulos is 'ultimately responsible

Wednesday 28 February 2024 04:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Attorney Jon Schoenhorn told jurors in his closing arguments that Fotis Dulos is ultimately responsible for what happened to Jennifer Dulos, and that his client was not involved.

Everything suggested that things were going well and it was to the contrary. In fact, she didnt know that Fotis was capable of doing something like this, Mr Schoenhorn said.

He claimed that the states case against Troconis was based on unfounded and unfair assumptions.

(AP)

Investigators speculated that Michelle Troconis had to know what was going on, that because she was romantically linked with Fotis, that she somehow was involved in this nefarious, murderous plot.

But thats not reality, thats more like one of these cable TV scripted movies, Mr Schoenhorn said. Its not based on the facts that you heard during this trial. It is, and I will say this multiple times, speculation; its conjecture, its guesswork, which is not the standard of evidence in criminal case.

ICYMI: Jennifers 88-year-old mother was states last witness

Wednesday 28 February 2024 02:30 , Andrea Cavallier

Gloria Farber was the last witness to testify for the state against Michelle Troconis in Stamford Superior Court in Connecticut.

She testified that she has not seen or communicated with her daughter since she disappeared and was presumed by police to be murdered in 2019.

Dressed in a gray suit with scarfs, Ms Farber told the jury that her daughter was supposed to meet her at her New York City apartment on 24 May 2019, after a doctors appointment, but never showed up.

She said Jennifer would never abandon her children.

She was always there for them, Ms Farber said.

Ms Farber nor her grandchildren were in court for closing arguments on Tuesday. The case is now in the hands of the jury.

Gloria Farber (Hearst Connecticut Media)

Who else is charged in Jennifer Dulos case?

Wednesday 28 February 2024 01:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Kent Mawhinney, a longtime friend and former lawyer of Fotis Dulos, is also charged in the case.

Hes accused of trying to create an alibi for Fotis on the morning of Jennifers disappearance.

He pleaded not guilty and awaits trial on a conspiracy to commit murder charge.

Supporters wear purple in court to honor Jennifer Dulos

Wednesday 28 February 2024 00:30 , Andrea Cavallier

Dozens of court spectators who support Jennifer Dulos packed the courtroom on Tuesday.

Some wore purple hats while others wore purple scarves and ribbons.

They said it was to honor Jennifer, to support her family and their way of fighting for justice.

Why didnt Michelle Troconis testify in her defence?

Wednesday 28 February 2024 00:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis remained stone-faced as both side presented closing arguments in her case on Tuesday.

She had decided not to take the stand last week to testify in her defence.

Her attorney Jon Schoenhorn said the decision had to do with the fact that the jury had already watched her police interviews.

There is nothing she could add that she didnt already add in those hours of questioning, he said.

Troconis will have a contempt of court hearing on 5 March

Tuesday 27 February 2024 23:40 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconis has been accused of dislaying sealed custody documents on her laptop during the trial for people to see.

A contempt of court hearing will be held on the matter on 5 March.

Where are Jennifer Dulos children now?

Tuesday 27 February 2024 23:20 , Andrea Cavallier

All five children are in the custody of Jennifers mother Gloria Farber.

At the time of their mothers disapearance, the children ranged in age from 8 to 13.

They were seen for the first time in court when Jennifers mom took the stand to testify last week.

However, they were nowhere to be seen during closing arguments.

Jury asks for easel before court adjourns for the day

Tuesday 27 February 2024 23:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Jurors only deliberated about 30 minutes on Tuesday before court was adjouned for the day due to the courthouse closing at 5pm.

They were giving a laptop with the exhibiys and evidence as they make their decision.

Before being dismissed, they asked for an easel.

While many spectators in the courtroom were hoping for a quick verdict, others said the jurys request forshadows a drawn out deliberation.

Court resumes at 10am Wednesday.

Michelle Troconis defence claims three words prove innocence in Jennifer Dulos murder

Tuesday 27 February 2024 22:35 , Rachel Sharp

The defence ended closing arguments for Michelle Troconiss trial on Tuesday with video of officials expressing doubt that Troconis knew anything about her former boyfriend Fotis Dulos nefarious actions surrounding his estranged wifes disappearance and presumed death.

After seven weeks, Ms Troconis trial is nearing an end. Jurors in Connecticut will soon decide whether the 49-year-old conspired with Fotis to kill his estranged wife, Jennifer Dulos, on 24 May 2019, and cover up the crime.

Both sides gave one last shot at arguing their case as they presented their closing arguments on Tuesday.

Read the full story from Andrea Cavallier in court:

Troconis defence claims three words prove innocence in Jennifer Dulos murder

Court adjourned for the day

Tuesday 27 February 2024 21:50 , Julia Reinstein

The court has now adjourned for the day.

Judge Kevin Randolph instructed the jury not to speak with the media as they exited the building.

Deliberations will continue tomorrow at 10 a.m.

Defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn speaks

Tuesday 27 February 2024 21:44 , Julia Reinstein

(Andrea Cavallier)

As deliberations begin, defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn spoke to members of the media outside of the courthouse.

We believe the state has present insufficient evidence, Mr Schoenhorn said, showing off his tie, which was printed with the words of the US constitution.

Deliberations begin

Tuesday 27 February 2024 20:18 , Julia Reinstein

Judge Kevin Randolph has concluded with jury instructions.

Jurors will now retire to their chambers to begin their deliberations.

When you reach a verdict, it must be unanimous, he said.

Judge instructs on tampering with physical evidence charges

Tuesday 27 February 2024 20:09 , Julia Reinstein

The jury was instructed on the charges of tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence.

The defendant is guilty of the charges if they did alter, destroy, conceal, or remove physical evidence with the intent to impair the availability or verity of the item, the judge said.

Jury receives instructions on conspiracy charges

Tuesday 27 February 2024 19:55 , Julia Reinstein

Judge Kevin Randolph instructed the jury on the charge of conspiracy to commit murder.

The size of the defendants role does not determine whether she may be convicted of conspiracy, he said. Rather, what matters is whether she willfully participated in the plan with knowledge of its ends.

Since conspiracies are typically planned in secret, circumstantial evidence is sufficient to convict, he said.

Judge instructs on witnesses who testified in exchange for immunity

Tuesday 27 February 2024 19:46 , Julia Reinstein

Witnesses who testified in exchange for legal immunity  as was the case for Pawel Gumienny  should be examined with greater care and caution than testimony of an ordinary witness, Judge Kevin Randolph told the jury.

These witnesses may have had an incentive to testify favorably for the state, he explained.

Look at it with particular care, the judge said.

Jury instructed on witness credibility

Tuesday 27 February 2024 19:35 , Julia Reinstein

Judge Kevin Randolph instructed the jury on how they should weigh the credibility of witnesses who took the stand.

You may believe all, or part, or none of a witnesss testimony, he said.

The jury may consider how well a witness recalled details, any bias they may have in the case, their mannerisms, any contradictions that came up, and so on.

They must also decide whether any errors in testimony constitute an innocent lapse of memory or a deliberate falsehood.

Keep in mind, people sometimes forget things, the judge said.

Judge instructs jury on reasonable doubt"

Tuesday 27 February 2024 19:22 , Julia Reinstein

Judge Kevin Randolph is now instructing the jury, explaining that the state bears the burden of proving the defendants guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

It is not a surmise, a guess, or a mere conjecture, the judge said. Reasonable doubt is a real doubt, an honest doubt, a doubt that has its foundation in the evidence or lack of evidence.

Court is back in session

Tuesday 27 February 2024 19:12 , Julia Reinstein

The jury returned to the courtroom at 2:10 pm.

They will now receive instructions from the judge before entering deliberations.

Three words prove Troconiss innocence, defence argues

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:57 , Julia Reinstein

In their closing argument on Tuesday, the defence showed a clip from Troconiss police interview they say prove her innocence.

In the clip, the Stamford States Attorney can be heard saying, She doesnt know, in reference to Troconis.

Defence attorney Jon Schoenhorn said this statement should clear his clients name.

If he thought she didnt know, thats reasonable doubt, he said.

Court is in recess until 2pm, after which they will hear jury instructions, then begin deliberations.

Court is in recess until 2pm

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:43 , Julia Reinstein

Upon their return from lunch, they will hear jury instructions.

The final witness to testify before todays closing arguments was Gloria Farber, Jennifers mother.

Jennifers five children listened as their grandmother testified, recalling how Jennifer never missed one of their birthdays or name days, which is a Greek tradition.

Court will return for jury instructions after lunch

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:10 , Andrea Cavallier

Court is in recess for the lunch break.

Closing arguments have ended and court will resume at 2pm for jury instructions.

The jury instructions are expected to last about 50 minutes, the judge said.

Supporters, loved ones of Jennifer Dulos thank investigators during break

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:02 , Andrea Cavallier

During lunch recess, several of the supporters here in the court for Jennifer Dulos are thanking investigators for their work on the case.

Some of them are emotional as the long-awaited trial is finally wrapping up.

There are more spectators than usual and the courtroom is packed forcing several people into the overflow room.

Court will resume at 2pm.

State ends closing arguments

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:00 , Andrea Cavallier

These were really scripts and you know all scripts have three acts. The first was the murder. The second was the coverup. And she doesnt get to write the third. You do. Whats the ending going to be?"

You get to write the ending with your verdict.

State tells jury weve met our burden of proof here

Tuesday 27 February 2024 18:00 , Andrea Cavallier

As the state goes through the inconsistensies showing slides, he asks is it really just a series of consequences?

Are all these things coincidence or is the defendant guilty? McGuinness asks.

He then tells the jury that the state has met their burden of proof, now its up to the jury to follow through.

State asks why is somone who is so innocent lying so much?

Tuesday 27 February 2024 17:23 , Andrea Cavallier

McGuiness is now speaking for the state and says Troconis was undoubtedly invoolved in the murder of Jennifer Dulos.

He told the jury they shoul reject the defence arguments because of the inconsisentiss of Troconis statements  why is somone is someone who is so innocent lying so much?

State is back to finish their closing argument

Tuesday 27 February 2024 17:17 , Rachel Sharp

The state is back up to finish their closing argument to the court.

The defence has finished their hour and now the state will have the last word before the jury is given the case

Defence ends argument with video of state attorney saying she doesnt know

Tuesday 27 February 2024 17:13 , Andrea Cavallier

The defence closed with a clip from her secon interview that shows invetsigators talking after Troconis and her attorney left.

The Stamford States Attorney says: She doesnt know.

The defence then tells thejury: And if he thought she didnt know, thats resaonable doubt.

State says Jennifers murder was deliberate and intentional

Tuesday 27 February 2024 15:25 , Andrea Cavallier

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning is beginning her closing argument for the state.

Im going to begin by talking about one thing that is very clear Jennifer Dulos is dead. She was murdered. This was a deliberate and intentional murder.

Jennifer did not run away from her family, her friends, her five children as the defense would live you to believe. She didnt run away and leave her blood soaked shirt.

Jennifer is dead and Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis worked to make this happen. They conspired together to get rid of the room who stood in their way. But they got caught.

Court is starting

Tuesday 27 February 2024 15:17 , Andrea Cavallier

Closing arguments have begun.

The state will go first.

Lead detective in Jennifer Dulos investigation will be in court

Tuesday 27 February 2024 15:00 , Andrea Cavallier

Sgt John Kimball, the lead detective in the Jennifer Dulos investigation, says several members of state police and New Canaan police will be in court for closing arguments.

Today members of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad and New Canaan Police Department will be standing in the courtroom alongside the friends and family of Jennifer in a sign of support and solidarity seeking accountability in this terrible crime.

Please keep Jennifer and her loved ones in your hearts today. #JusticeforJennifer #MichelleTroconis

Today members of the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad and New Canaan Police Department will be standing in the courtroom alongside the friends and family of Jennifer in a sign of support and solidarity seeking accountability in this terrible crime.  SGT_KIMBALL (@det_kimball) February 27, 2024

Troconis will have a contempt of court hearing on 5 March

Tuesday 27 February 2024 14:50 , Andrea Cavallier

Michelle Troconi has been accused of dislaying sealed custody documents on her laptop during the trial for people to see.

A contempt of court hearing will be held on the matter on 5 March.

Supporters hoping for #JusticeforJennifer wear purple at courthouse

Tuesday 27 February 2024 14:40 , Andrea Cavallier

Dozens of supporters have arrived at the Stamford Superior Courthouse in Connecticut on Tuesday to hear opening statements as Michelle Troconis nears the end.

Many of them are members of a #JusticeforJennifer Facebook page and have come together in support of Jennifer, whether they knew her or not.

Some are wearing purple in honor of Jennifer.

Michelle Troconis included intimate detail in alibi scripts

Tuesday 27 February 2024 13:50 , Rachel Sharp

Documents dubbed alibi scripts by police found at the Farmington home of Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis were read in court on 24 January.

Three photocopies  two of which outline the couples movements the day Jennifer disappeared  were found inside a black computer bag during a search of the home on 9 June 2019.

Ms Troconis previously told police that they had been advised by an divorce attorney at the time to write out the timelines.

The first document presented to the court mentioned sending emails to Jennifer and Michelle, a trip to Starbucks at 7pm in which she wrote, West Hartford Starbucks ... Two frappuccinos ... I did not like the sandwich.

The trip to Starbucks was made after Ms Troconis and Fotis were seen driving the route of Albany Avenue as Fotis tossed trash bags that police later discovered contained Jennifers DNA.

A second document was a detailed timeline that began with take a shower with Fotis at 6.40am, a description of an outfit and cooking scrambled eggs for her daughter.

The third photocopy appeared to be a call log which documented the incoming, outgoing and canceled calls and the duration of each one.

A fourth document, found in an office in the home, appeared to be the original version of the first photocopy.

It was dated 25 May 2019 and noted a meeting with an officer from the New Canaan Police Department and what vehicles Michi, Fotis and Pawel drove.

The defence previously asked the judge to ban any mention of the writing as alibi scripts.

Prosecutors clarified that they dont intend to call the documents alibi scripts during the evidentiary portion of the trial, and also have advised their witnesses to call the documents timelines.

However, the state will be able to call the documents alibi scripts during closing arguments.

Jennifer Dulos five children watch grandmother testify

Tuesday 27 February 2024 13:32 , Rachel Sharp

Gloria Farber, Jennifers mother, took the stand as the states final witness.

Her five grandchildren, who were orphaned after Jennifers disappearance and presumed death and Fotis suicide, have been living with Ms Farber and their nanny in New York City.

The children were in the courtroom for the first time as they watched their grandmother on the stand. Her testimony only lasted 10 minutes.

Jennifer Dulos mother, Gloria Farber, testifies during Michelle Troconis trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford

Ms Farber testified that the mother of five had never missed one of her childrens birthdays or name days, which is a Greek tradition.

The testimony appeared to take aim at defence attorney Jon Schoenhorns argument that Jennifer left on her own, a theory Fotis reportedly claimed she had done in the past.

Click here to read the full blog on The Independent's website
Michigans election results are giving third-party sympathizers hope after a portion of voters protested against President Bidens reelection at the polls.

While Biden swept the state overall, the double-digit uncommitted number pointed to a strong appetite for a potential alternative in November, as resentment with the president builds over everything from his age to the Israel-Hamas war.

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. qualifies for more ballots, and No Labels prepares to make a decision on whether to jump into the race, those advocating for a third-party option see new proof of interest among voters disenchanted with both parties candidates.

As Robert Kennedy Jr. gains ballot access state by state, many disaffected Democrats and Republicans now leaning independent considered this their last time voting in the primaries, Matthew McCloskey, a volunteer for the Kennedy campaign based in west Michigan, told The Hill.

So what to do, write in Robert Kennedy Jr., or check undecided?

McCloskey cast what he described as a protest vote Tuesday and turned his attention ahead to the general election.

Im excited to not have a protest or lesser-evil candidate that Im voting for in November, he said, expressing confidence in Kennedy.

One of national politics most closely watched battlegrounds, Michigan tallied a significant number of third-party votes in the 2016 election due to Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The Stein effect was part of what enabled Donald Trump to pull off a surprising defeat of Hillary Clinton that year. In 2020, Biden won against Trump, but by less than 3 percent, a margin Democrats are aware can swing back toward the GOP.

This cycle, the third-party threat is now bolstered by the 13 percent of Michigans Democratic voters who went against Biden in a primary where hes already presumed to be the nominee.

Kennedy is hoping to be the beneficiary of that protest vote. And some are already casting him in that light, diverting the focus away from Biden and former President Trump. After the results were tallied, The Wall Street Journals conservative editorial board posed the question: The Winner in Michigan Is . . . RFK Jr.?

Some of what progressives and independents consider Bidens more controversial policy decisions in office, coupled with more intrinsic factors such as his age and voters perception of his mental acuity, have again put the Wolverine State on the map as he faces an expectedly tough path to keep the White House. The presidents handling of the war in Gaza contributed to 100,000 Democratic voters going against the incumbent in an otherwise easy primary victory.

According to data collected by the Center for American-Islamic Relations, a whopping 80 percent of Muslim voters in the state said they would theoretically support a third-party candidate over Biden or Trump. That tally was divided among the potential third-party options, including Kennedy and Cornel West, who both reregistered as independents after beginning their bids as Democrats, as well as Stein, whos running again with the Green Party.

Other surveys show less favorable margins but could still prove consequential in the state where only a low single-digit difference is determinative of the final outcome. An Emerson College/The Hill poll also released this week shows Kennedy with a modest 6 percent of support in the battleground.

Progressives and grassroots groups organized around the uncommitted vote in an effort to signal their mounting disapproval of the war in Gaza and the Biden administrations months-long foreign policy decisions around the conflict, including resisting immediate calls for a cease-fire after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Our Revolution, a left-wing activist network that has had a presence in Michigan since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took the state over Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primary, led advocacy around the protest vote leading up to this weeks election. The group said its aim was to make Michigan a megaphone for Peace and to send a signal against the ongoing approach to the war.

Wael Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, a Muslim advocacy group, said he intends to use the sizable anti-Biden results to further amplify his message at a time of high resentment towards the president.

Alzayat said his organization is working to maintain the momentum post-Michigans uncommitted achievement, lobbying especially around a cease-fire and noting that many tens of thousands of Democratic voters expressed discontentment with Bidens policy.

The goal, Alzayat suggested, stretches beyond one state and is part of a larger effort to push for their platform throughout the calendars following contests. Super Tuesday is March 5, when multiple states are holding their elections, including delegate-rich California and Texas.

We will be looking at upcoming primaries to assess the best strategies to continue with this signaling, he said. You can be assured that we will not rest until at a minimum, we get a permanent mutual cease-fire in Gaza, a sizable increase in aid to those who need it, and an actionable plan for Palestinian freedom.

On Thursday, the United Food and Commercial Workers, the largest union for labor workers in Washington state, said it is backing the uncommitted vote for its Democratic primary later in March, according to a report by NBC News.

While Democratic strategists caution against gleaning too much from the Michigan vote against Biden, theres a lingering sentiment that the third-party factor could change the general election in unpredictable ways.

Biden has won 82 percent overall and also 81 percent in Michigan, so lets not get overly enamored with the uncommitted showing. The uncommitted number was modestly impressive, but its also a free vote with zero consequences, said Jim Kessler, vice president at Third Way, who has been analyzing the possible effects of third-party candidates throughout the cycle.

Lets see where these voters are come November. Some of them will not return to Biden, but some of them were never with Biden, Kessler said. The bottom line is the Biden team should neither ignore these voters or be alarmed by their showing.

Before the results showed room for a possible opening, Kennedys campaign was also bolstered by less-noticed news from American Values 2024, the super PAC supporting his bid, which said it has amassed enough signatures this week for the Independent candidate to qualify for the ballot in Georgia and Arizona. Both were important pickups for Biden last election against Trump and are among the newer swing states Democrats continue to use in their calculus toward a fall victory.

Reached by The Hill, the Kennedy campaign did not confirm that it qualified, noting campaign finance laws that prohibit the campaign from coordinating with any PACs. But the PACs autonomous signature-gathering effort has nonetheless inspired the candidate himself, who after Michigan saw the apathy toward Biden come to fruition for the first time during a tangible test at the ballot box.

They cant ignore us anymore, Kennedy wrote after the primary on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Were gaining momentum and building a movement to heal America.

Democrats who believe Michigans showing should be viewed cautiously for now still see the third-party question as more likely to tilt things in the favor of Republicans; Kessler is among those who argue that a third-party candidacy is far more dangerous to Biden than Trump.

Furthermore, the ongoing presence of Nikki Haley in the GOP primary race, still declining to drop out after losing her home state of South Carolina, has fueled speculation that she could be No Labelss choice for a consensus candidate. Between Kennedy and a possible Haley option, many Democrats believe it only further hampers their chances.

Biden needs some of those Haley votes to win, and if they are siphoned off to a spoiler No Labels bid from the center, it gives a big lift to Trump, said Kessler. And it wont take much. This is going to be an awfully close general election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Hospitals across Middle Tennessee celebrated the arrival of several adorable leaplings who made history by being born on Leap Day.

Wishing a lifetime of special celebrations and memorable birthdays ahead! TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center wrote in a statement on Thursday, Feb. 29. We are so excited to welcome these little bundles of joy delivered today at TriStar Hendersonvilles Birth Center!

Leaplings: Family has three children all born on separate Leap Days

No additional details were provided about the two leaplings born at the Sumner County hospital.

(Courtesy: TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center)

(Courtesy: TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center)

Meanwhile, TriStar Centennial Childrens Hospital welcomed numerous babies on Thursday, including two little girls. Officials said neither family expected to bring their new bundles of joy into the world on Leap Day, they look forward to celebrating their little miracles in an extra special way every four years.

Why does Leap Day exist?

According to TriStar Centennial Medical Center, Baby Luna is her parents first born child. Meanwhile, the second baby girl  whose name had yet to be determined as of Thursday afternoon  will be welcomed home by her 3-year-old sister. Both moms and babies are reportedly doing well.

Baby Luna (Courtesy: TriStar Centennial Medical Center)

Baby girl (Courtesy: TriStar Centennial Medical Center)

Elsewhere in Nashville, another leapling, Indy Rose Manning, actually arrived on her due date, Vanderbilt University Medical Center announced.

We were definitely excited, but we knew it was pretty rare for a baby to be born on their actual due date, so we didnt think it would actually happen, said Indys mother, Emma Manning. But we have been talking about how crazy it would be for birthday celebrations for her!

The Mannings said they plan to celebrate Indys birthday on the last day of February in non-Leap Years and then theyll do a bigger celebration on Leap Day to make her feel special.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Joining her 3-year-old brother, Jag, in the new Manning family of four, Indy reportedly wore her first gift on Thursday  a Leap Day Baby onesie from Vanderbilt University Hospital.

Emma and Kyle Manning with baby Indy Rose Manning (Courtesy: Susan Urmy via Vanderbilt University Medical Center)

Every birthday is special yet Leap Day birthdays are unique and we wanted to create a keepsake for families to celebrate such a rare birthday, said Stephanie Abbu, manager of Neonatal Services. Some families come into the hospital excited to have a baby born on Leap Day and others are surprised, especially if they dont know any other Leaplings. Our team is privileged to care for babies every day and love that 2024 gives us an extra day to do so.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Stephane Sejourne says defeat for Ukraine would have an impact on the rest of Europe - FADEL SENNA/AFP

Ukraines fall would cause a tidal wave of 10 million migrants fleeing to Europe, France has warned, adding that it has seen evidence that Russia wont stop at its conquest of the country.

Speaking to France Inter radio, Stephane Sejourne, the French foreign minister, said: First of all, there is a risk of Ukraine collapsing and there are consequences to this risk.

Were talking about 10 million Ukrainians who could leave Ukraine in the event of a collapse. And we know very well, and have information, that Russia will not stop there.

Mr Sejourne singled out Moldova as Vladimir Putins next target.

The warning comes after The Telegraph revealed that Russia is using mercenaries to control migration into Europe to try to destabilise governments.

Border police have identified the possibility that Putin will flood Europe with migrants, both through its eastern borders and through the regions in Africa controlled by his private militias, as a major security risk for this year.

Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, told this newspaper: Russias mission is to try and destabilise the West, and what they are exploiting is the generosity of the asylum system  the fact that European countries including Britain cant respond in a way that they want to.

The fact that bad people are manipulating it is even more reason why we need a root and branch reform of the asylum system  it is not fit for purpose.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, said that The Telegraphs revelations demonstrate exactly why we are absolutely right to confront Putin not just in Ukraine but around the world.

This is something that they have been doing now for many years: they have weaponised it in different parts of the world, and it looks like they are trying to increase it, he told Talk TV.

Eastern European leaders have consistently warned Putin could attempt to attack Nato if he was allowed by the West to succeed in Ukraine. Last week, Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, said: If we do not stand up to Putin, he will be back for more.

The warning over a possible flood of refugees to the West appeared to be aimed at the French hard-Right, whose placatory tone towards Russia, Mr Sejourne implied, could see France facing mass migration. This is a major concern for Marine Le Pens National Rally, which is polling to come first in European elections in June.

Everything we are doing is to avoid war, he said.

The comments came a day after Putin threatened nuclear conflict should the West send ground troops to help the country Russia invaded.

Unease amongst allies

Earlier this week, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, refused to rule out the deployment of Western ground troops, sparking unease among his allies gathered in Paris. Almost all of them distanced themselves from the remarks.

Mr Sejourne warned would-be appeasers, notably the French hard-Right, that the West was facing a new Munich Agreement. He was referring to the 1938 deal between UK, France and Fascist Italy that allowed Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia in the vain hope it would quench Hitlers imperialist ambitions. It has since become the byword for failed appeasement.

We cannot find ourselves in the same period as September 1938, when Czechoslovakia was abandoned for a short-lived peace in the Sudetenland, he said, referring to the territory where more than three million people, mainly ethnic Germans, lived.

Mr Sejourne denied that Mr Macrons suggestion of ground troops was a mistake given the reaction of his allies. A very clear framework has been set, namely to put Russia in check without going to war with Russia. And within that framework, nothing is ruled out.

It contributes to strategic ambiguity, but at the same time it puts us on the right side of history. Im very happy with it.

As for Putins nuclear threat, he said this was nothing new. When we decided to send military equipment, he raised the nuclear threat. When we decided to send tanks, he raised the nuclear threat. When we decided to send planes, he raised the nuclear threat, he said.

So now were taking it to the next level, ruling out anything, and hes raising the nuclear threat.

Mr Sejourne said that the French presidents comments were justified because Russia had changed its stance and was already attacking France and Europe.

He said: We are in a fragile situation with the preparations for the European elections and the Olympic Games Its their services, our public services, our transport, our hospitals. Imagine for two minutes that we had no hospitals in the Paris region, that transport came to a standstill because of Russian computer attacks. All this means that Russia has changed its stance.

He then issued a thinly veiled broadside at Ms Le Pen, who has long been close to Putin and who this week accused Mr Macron of taking a further step towards belligerence, posing an existential risk to 70 million French people.

Lets not work with the Kremlins language and doctrine, said Mr Sejourne.

A number of political parties are playing into Russias hands today, either knowingly or unknowingly.

Unmanned aerial vehicles

France will order 100 drones to deliver to Ukraine this summer, Sebastien Lecornu, the defence minister, said.

He described the unmanned aerial vehicles as remotely operated munitions, suggesting they will be capable of carrying out attacks on Russian forces.

But after Mr Macron insisted that everything that is necessary must be done to ensure Russian defeat, his defence minister ruled out donations of French-made Mirage fighter jets.

Mr Lecornu said Paris focus would remain on providing Kyivs air force with precision-guided bombs.

He said France needed to focus on useful and effective military aid, and that the Mirage fighters would be too complicated.

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BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The main agenda proposed for the upcomig second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, was unveiled Friday.

The second session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC will open on March 4 in Beijing, according to a decision made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee on Friday.

The proposed agenda for the session includes hearing and deliberating a work report of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee and a report on how the proposals from political advisors have been handled since the previous session of the CPPCC National Committee.

Members of the CPPCC National Committee will sit in on the second session of the 14th National People's Congress to hear and discuss documents including the government work report, according to the proposed agenda. 
Russian presidential administration official Sergey Kiriyenko and Vladimir Putin's former advisor Vladislav Surkov are on the list of those involved in the "Maidan-3" destabilizing campaign aimed against Ukraine, a military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said on March 1 on national television.

President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly mentioned the "Maidan-3" campaign last November for the first time. Zelensky cited information from Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) and from Western countries.

Maidan refers to the 2014 EuroMaidan Revolution that led to the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, which culminated on Kyiv's Independence Square, known in Ukrainian as Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

The main goal of the "Maidan-3" plan is to divide Ukrainian society via disinformation, creating chaos in the state in order to remove the president by "any existing measures," Yusov said.

Yusov did not announce the complete list of those who participated in the "Maidan-3" campaign, but he said that "political traitors of Ukraine," along with Surkov and Kiriyenko, are on it.

Read also: Ukraines Orange Revolution

Ukraine-based suspects could also be involved, according to Yusov.

"It does not mean that they agreed (to take part in the 'Maidan-3' campaign). The information is being checked," the military intelligence spokesperson added.

Yusov also told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russia has already allocated $1.5 billion for its disinformation campaign, including $250 million for spreading pro-Russian narratives only in Telegram channels.

"Maidan-3" could reach its most active stage in the period from March to May 2024, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

"In the next few weeks, an enemy will put its every effort into spreading narratives, which are destructive for international security, and to fuel the conflicts in Ukraine and in other parts of the world, where the effective support of Ukraine is present," the SBU said on Feb. 27.

The attention to the "Maidan-3" destabilizing campaign has been revitalized amid the upcoming formal end of Zelensky's presidential term.

None of the parliamentary parties had stood up for holding presidential elections during the full-scale invasion. The financing of any elections was not also provided in the 2024 Ukraine's state budget.

Read also: Investigation: Leaked document exposes Kremlins 10-year plan to undermine Moldova

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A Russian Pantsir S-1 anti-aircraft missile system was damaged as a result of the attack in Russias Belgorod Oblast on Feb. 29, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on March 1, without specifying who had carried out the strike.

Russia uses Pantsir S-1 to shield its military-industrial facilities. The system has an estimated price tag of around $15 million.

According to Ukraine's military intelligence, Pantsir S-1 was attacked near the village of Golovchino, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

In a post on its Telegram channel accompanied by a video showing the alleged attack, the military intelligence agency wrote that the strike disabled the Pantsir, and two Russian soldiers on board were wounded.

Ukrainian intelligence has occasionally reported successful strikes on Russian equipment near the border settlements in Russia.

In November 2023, a high-value radio relay station, 48Y6-K1 Podlet, was reportedly damaged in Belgorod Oblast.

At the same time, Russia regularly claims to have shot down drones over its regions. Moscow claimed its air defenses shot down one drone over Belgorod Oblast and three more over Nizhny Novgorod Oblast overnight on March 1.

Ukrainian officials usually do not comment on these statements, which cannot be independently verified.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Russia ramps up attacks in the Avdiivka sector, but Ukrainian forces hold ground and have even retaken some lost positions, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria group of forces, said on Telegram on March 1.

Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka, a key front-line city in Donetsk Oblast, on Feb. 17 and from other nearby villages weeks later. Russia is intensifying offensive actions along the front as Ukraine's Armed Forces face serious ammunition shortages due to delays in U.S. aid.

According to Tarnavskyi, Russian forces are increasing artillery strikes and infantry assaults near Avdiivka while calling up reserves. The Ukrainian general described the situation as "dynamic," as Ukraine's forces retook lost ground in some areas and set up additional firing positions and observation points.

Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled 25 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector, the commander said, killing or wounding 319 soldiers and destroying 36 pieces of equipment.

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Moscow's troops have been focusing their efforts also near Chasiv Yar, a city west of occupied Bakhmut.

The Khortytsia group of forces' spokesperson, Illia Yevlash, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russia accumulated a large force in the sector and is currently launching a "powerful thrust" toward Chasiv Yar.

Russia sees the city as crucial for further advances toward Kostyantinivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, Yevlash said.

"Preparations for Chasiv Yar's defense have been underway for a long time, even when the enemy captured Bakhmut," Yevlash noted, adding that the city is protected by minefields and anti-tank barriers.

Russian forces are trying to find weak spots in the defenses and focus efforts there to break through, according to the spokesperson.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL)  Months of preparation was down to a few finishing touches Thursday for Milligan University seniors Jacob Nance, Kaelyn Slaughter and Blake LaCroix as they prepared for a weeklong trip to Mexico that will start March 2.

TWRA: Greene Co. father and son banned from hunting for life after poaching violations

The trio is part of a team of around 20 engineering students whose senior capstone project will bring major relief to a refugee settlement in Piedras Negras across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas.

In the same year it had its potable water source cut off, the site run by CrossRoads missions has seen its numbers swell from around 30 men, women and children to somewhere in the neighborhood of 150. Doctors without Borders and others have trucked in potable water  an expensive and unsustainable option.

Its really great to see just how much of an impact that were going to have on these peoples lives, said Slaughter, who hopes to get an engineering job in the manufacturing sector after graduating in May.

Ive been in communication with some of the people trying to get our parts down there, and its just great to see how theyre so excited that were going to go, and were really doing a real-world thing and changing lives.

Kaelyn Slaughter, left, and Blake LaCroix are part of a student team that will install a water filtration system in Piedras Negras, Mexico the week of March 3. (Photo: WJHL)

Greg Harrell heads up Milligans 10-year-old engineering program and said the department tries to find annual capstone projects that combine useful experience with an impactful project. Last years senior class worked on a solar-powered air conditioning project that could be replicated in rural hospitals in the developing world, but that group didnt have a specific site that needed their work product.

This year is different. Leaders from CrossRoads told Harrell their Piedras Negras site, which serves families from throughout Latin America and the world who have fled their homes, lost its previous access to water.

Were focused on solving the technical problems of providing drinkable water to the folks, Harrell said of his students.

To do that, students have used skills from mechanical and electrical engineering theyve learned in four years of classroom and lab work. Doctors Without Borders funded a pipeline to get non-potable water to the camp, which helped Milligan focus its project to getting the water to a tank high enough to gravity feed it to a filtration system  and then both filtering and disinfecting it.

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Weve got multiple teams that are focused on different things, but the main team thats going to Mexico designed and has built and tested the entire water treatment system, Harrell said. We put solar panels on the roof of this building so that we could mimic exactly what the system is going to see down in Mexico.

Slaughter said the experience has provided plenty of useful challenges for someone about to head to the job market.

A lot of trouble came with our charge controller and our low voltage disconnect, so we probably spent a good week or two weeks working out those kinks and that was kind of really what stumped us, she said.

Harrell said even for a professional engineering firm, this would be a big project.

Theres a lot going on. Weve got everything from power to fluid flow, fluid movement to disinfection and clean-up controls, and sensors. Weve got the whole thing. Its a big, big project.

At this point, Harrell said, the group feels completely ready for a successful mission, having double and triple-checked its work.

Weve spent six months heavily focused on every aspect of this, and the folks that are working on it are very talented, they are very dedicated, they want this project to succeed, he said. We have a lot of great confidence that its going to be a great project.

Milligan engineering seniors Jacob Nance, Kaelyn Slaughter and Blake LaCroix. (Photo: WJHL)

Slaughter said she cant wait to head south and west come Saturday.

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I imagine the first day were going to get there and kind of see what were working with. The next day, its going to be a lot of physically building the system, putting some pipe together, putting the tower up and kind of getting the pump and everything in place.

And then I imagine the following days are going to be testing it. Running tests, making sure its working as we expected it to.

While projects like this help Milligan place most of its engineering graduates into coveted jobs, Harrell said the program never loses its focus on impacting the world.

If you want to see a picture of Milligan engineering, come take a look at this, Harrell said. This is exactly what were about. We are teaching mechanical engineering. We are teaching electrical engineering.

These are essential aspects of technology and technological advancement, and were doing it from the Milligan mindset, which is how can we use our skills, our knowledge, our technology to make the world a better place.

Slaughter expects the experience to stick with her for a long time.

Its crazy to think that theres a lot of people out there that arent as blessed as weve all been, she said. To go down there and be in their space and experiencing what they experience is life-changing and something that we will never forget.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
A council is investigating after a graffiti mural appeared on the side of a Grade II listed house in support of Ukrainian refugees.

Derek Edwards, who lives in Willen, Milton Keynes, co-founded Nadiya, a charity that supports refugees.

As part of a campaign for the charity, he had Banksy-inspired art put on an external wall of his own 400-year-old home, by street artist Bambi.

Milton Keynes Council said it was "looking into the matter".

The mural depicts a child stepping on an unexploded bomb to reach an open window coloured blue and yellow to resemble the Ukraine flag,

A woman is leaning out of the window attempting to lift the girl to safety with the words "spare rooms can spare lives" written nearby.

It appears to resemble a Banksy mural from 2006.

Mr Edwards, 65, said he has helped more than 1,000 people from multiple countries including Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan to find accommodation.

The charity founder estimated he and his family have been personal guarantors for more than 150 refugees.

Nadiya has also helped find a home for struggling British families.

'Sometimes you have to do what's wrong, to do what's right'

Mr Edwards wanted to draw attention to the work of his charity and what he felt was the lack of support for refugees.

He explained: "I've been working on the Ukraine crisis since the star of the war.

"We knew we were coming to the second anniversary of the war, so we knew we had to do something.

"That house has had refugees from different countries since the Calais Jungle crisis in 2016".

The artwork does not have planning permission and the Milton Road resident said he did expect the local authority to take issue with it.

"I do know what I've done is wrong but sometimes you have to do what's wrong, to do what's right."

To commission the mural, Mr Edwards had to meet Bambi, a street artist who hides her real identity, The wfirst reported by MK Citizen reported.

"I had to speak to her through a plastic sheet, I couldn't even meet her," he recalled.

Since the artwork appeared he has not heard from the council, but has seen some people complaining on social media.

He said he expects to eventually be ordered to remove the mural.

Mr Edwards has invited Ukrainian families his charity has supported to visit the mural in an act of solidarity on Sunday.

"It will be a celebration of what I've done for them and what they've done for me," he said.

A spokesperson for Milton Keynes City Council said: "We are aware of the mural and are looking into the matter."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and X. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 0800 169 1830
Ottawa is ready to send a limited number of military personnel to Ukraine, but only to train Ukrainian soldiers and not for participation in hostilities, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said in an interview with Toronto Star, published on Feb. 29.

Following the Feb. 26 summit of European leaders in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine can not be "ruled out" in the future, adding that there was no consensus on such a move.

According to Blair, Canada is open to sending a certain number of its soldiers in "a clear, non-combat role" to Ukraine to train the Ukrainian soldiers, provided that operations will take place far from the front line.

Canada is one of six NATO countries that have signed agreements on security assistance with Ukraine, which includes "comprehensive support" for Ukraine over the next 10 years.

After Macron's statement, the Canadian defense minister, along with leaders of Germany, the U.K., and other European NATO member states, as well as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, ruled out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

Later, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas noted that European leaders should not exclude this possibility, saying this could be "a signal to Russia."

During a two-hour State of the Nation address on Feb. 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened "tragic consequences" if NATO troops were sent to Ukraine, claiming the West's support for Kyiv "risks a conflict using nuclear weapons."

Read also: Ukrainians criticize historic UK security agreement as weak, but encouraging

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Seven Ukrainian vocational schools will implement a commercial drone education program, Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov wrote on his Telegram channel on March 1.

The new educational project called "Commercial drone pilot" will be launched in Kyiv, Sumy, Lviv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kirovohrad oblasts.

Drones have been a key tool in Ukraine's defense against Russia's war. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that surpassing Russia in drone operations is one of the top priorities in 2024.

Zelensky also signed a decree on Feb. 6 creating a separate branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces dedicated to drones. It will reportedly focus on creating special drone-specific units, increasing production, ramping up training, and pushing innovations.

"Learning how to operate a drone is vital nowadays in Ukraine," Fedorov said.

"These drones are used for sowing, rescue operations, demining," the minister added.

"They help assess the damage from the combat actions, and journalists use them to film the war."

The EU helped Ukraine purchase drones for educational purposes and prepare teachers for the program, according to Fedorov.

The plan is to extend the number of vocational schools participating in the program and approve an educational standard, creating an opportunity to prepare pupils for a future career in this area, Fedorov said.

The minister also said that more than 200 vocational schools have already requested renovation of their workshops to create "quality conditions" to prepare future specialists.

Read also: How has Crimea changed after 10 years of Russian occupation?

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ben Wallace claimed that when he resigned in August last year, the recommendations for the medal were with the Cabinet Office - OLIVIER MATTHYS/AP

Ben Wallace has accused the Ministry of Defence of letting down troops over the slow rollout of a new medal for service personnel.

The former defence secretary has expressed his frustrations over the Wider Service Medal (WSM), which has been six years in the making and has still not materialised.

Mr Wallace, who served as defence secretary from 2019 to 2023, said he had signed off on the medal, which is designed to recognise service personnel not normally put forward for medallic recognition over a year ago.

Somebody in the system is blocking it or trying to undo what was decided, he claimed on X, formerly called Twitter. Not a way to treat any one in the forces, he added.

The WSM was designed to recognise serving personnels contribution to campaigns that keep the country safe, such as those who work on the continuous at-sea deterrent and other campaigns that reflect modern war.

Mr Wallace previously told Parliament: People hundreds of miles away are contributing to keeping us safe, and they sometimes need to be recognised, not just the person pulling the trigger or storming the bunker; it goes all the way back. In todays military, the pyramid is very big and very deep, and hopefully a wider campaign medal will recognise that.

Whitehall inaction

Mr Wallace told The Telegraph he had worked on changing the criteria over the years to make it more relative by shaping it as a medal that recommends contributions to enduring campaigns, which ensured we picked up everyone that contributes to campaigns wherever they may be based.

That is reflective of modern conflict and security, he said.

Mr Wallace claimed that by the time he resigned at the end of August last year, the recommendations for the medal were with the Cabinet Office.

Here we are, nearly a year later, with an effort by the MoD to undo ministerial direction, he said.

Its not the right way to treat our forces simply because someone doesnt like being told what to do by the secretary of state.

However, government sources told The Telegraph the proposal for the WSM was moving at pace since Mr Wallace signed off on the proposal in August 2023.

The proposal was then sent to the Honours and Decorations committee in September, which led to further amendments sent back to the medals team in the Ministry of Defence.

A further proposal went back to the committee in December.

Moving at pace

The source added that the medal was working through part of an agreed process and will be announced this year.

It is not the first time medals for military personnel have struggled to get through the Ministry of Defence.

In 2021, The Telegraph revealed that military personnel who risked their lives in Operation Pitting, the drawdown of troops in Kabul, would not be given medals because the two-week evacuation effort did not reach the stipulated 30 days continuous service for which they are awarded.

Troops were eventually awarded a medal after a Telegraph campaign highlighted what many considered an injustice. At the time military sources had warned that amending the criteria could become an issue for the medallic recognition processes in the longer term.

In response to Mr Wallaces claims, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: Medals play an important role in acknowledging the crucial work of our brave personnel. We are working with other government departments to ensure we get this right  any changes will be announced once the required consultation and approval process are complete.

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Updated, March 4

The Minnesota House of Representatives voted 124-8 Monday afternoon to approve legislation that removes a ban on school resource officers using prone restraint on students. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

Nearly four years after George Floyd suffocated to death while being pinned face down to the pavement by a police officer, Minnesota Democrats are fast-tracking legislation that would undo a less-than-year-old ban prohibiting school-based cops from using that same type of restraint on students.

As early as Monday, the states House of Representatives is slated to consider a proposal that presents a drastic departure from provisions approved by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz  rules that explicitly barred school resource officers from using face-down prone restraint.

The ban was part of a broader police reform movement that followed Floyds murder. The fatal physical hold led to the largest civil rights protest in U.S. history, a national reckoning on racism, policy reforms that sought to address police brutality and, in Minneapolis and dozens of districts nationwide, the removal of sworn officers from school campuses. In Minnesota, new state rules barred police officers from using chokeholds on people and prone restraints were banned in the states prisons.

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Now, as the states Democrats make a 180-degree turn on the campus reform, education equity advocates have accused state leaders of falling to the political pressure of law enforcement groups ahead of a November election where party lawmakers seek to maintain their narrow majority in the state House. The proposal cleared the House Ways and Means committee earlier this week.

Physical restraints have led to devastating consequences for children including injury and, in some cases, death. Yet for Republican lawmakers and law enforcement, the change in Minnesota went a step too far. Police departments statewide pulled their cops from schools in protest of the restraint restriction.

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During a recent Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee hearing, Democratic Sen. Bonnie Westlin, lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill that would restore prone restraints in schools, presented it less as a backtrack and more as an opportunity. The issue is about ensuring campus cops remain important team members in our schools, Westlin said, while creating uniformity across school resource officers duties, their training requirements and accountability.

Along with removing restraint rules for school-based police and campus security staff, the pending legislation would allocate $150,000 this year to develop consistent, statewide training standards for school resource officers and require police to complete the lessons before working on campuses. The bill also seeks to clarify that school-based police officers should not be involved in routine student discipline.

When a local community determines that they would like to engage SROs, we want to make sure there is uniformity about expectations for everyone concerned, Westlin said.

Advocates who lauded the prone restraint ban, however, say that lawmakers have turned their backs on Floyds legacy.

How is it that  in the state where this man gets killed and the world erupted  that we are not the leading people who are banning this on our kids? asked advocate Khulia Pringle, the Minnesota director of the National Parents Union and a steering committee member of the Solutions Not Suspensions Coalition, a group of education nonprofits that has lobbied against the legislation. Its banned in prisons, its banned for students with disabilities.

Why cant we extend that same courtesy to all children?

The fix

Presented by Democratic leaders as an SRO fix bill, the proposal comes after police departments got wind of the restraint ban last fall  an under-the-radar change in a larger education bill that passed without opposition. In response, about 40 law enforcement agencies removed their school resource officers from campuses.

Under the language in the current law, school resource officers and campus security personnel are prohibited from using face-down prone restraints and certain physical holds, including those that restrict or impair a pupils ability to breathe or their ability to communicate distress.

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The ban represented an extension of state rules that have been on the books for years. In 2015, after state education officials warned in a report that it is only a matter of time before a Minnesota child is seriously injured or killed while in prone restraint, lawmakers banned educators from using the technique on children with disabilities. Nationally, 37 states have laws that curtail educators from using prone restraints and other tactics that restrict students breathing.

In Washington, D.C., Democratic lawmakers have sought for years to pass a federal ban on student restraints. Nationally, about 35,000 students were placed in physical restraints at school during the 2020-21 school year, according to the most recent data from the Education Departments civil rights office. Black students represented 15% of K-12 school enrollment and 21% of those placed in physical holds. Meanwhile, students with disabilities represented 14% of the national enrollment  and 81% of those subjected to restraints.

After the new changes were put in place in Minnesota and students returned to classes last fall, law enforcement agencies argued it stirred confusion among their ranks, opened their departments to lawsuits and tied their officers hands in how they work to keep schools safe and combat crimes like vandalism. Republican lawmakers seized on the furor and demanded a special legislative session to repeal the law.

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The Coon Rapids Police Department, located in a northern Minneapolis suburb, is among the agencies that removed its officers from schools. That decision was reversed and the agencys four campus cops returned to schools in November after the state attorney general issued a clarification on the laws limits. The school resource officer program was put on hold temporarily last fall in part because of how officers are trained to do their jobs, Captain of Investigations Tanya Harmoning told The 74. She said she wasnt sure how often prone restraint had been used by her officers inside schools. Regardless of whether an officer is stationed inside a school building or on a city street, she said, they are all trained in the same tactics.

Our officers are trained a certain way to handle certain situations, she said. Some of these people transition back out onto the road, so to expect them to transition from you can do it here, but you cant do it here, kind of thing, thats just not how we train our people.

In two legal opinions last fall, Attorney General Keith Ellison clarified that the ban didnt restrict officers from using prone restraints in cases involving imminent harm or death, which offered assurances to many law enforcement agencies that agreed to return officers to schools.

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The special session that Republicans and police brass demanded didnt come to fruition but the issue has become a top priority this year for Gov. Walz and his Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which controls both chambers of the state legislature.

State officials and education leaders have sought to frame the debate as being not about prone restraint, but rather the need to get police back in schools.

The voices of all stakeholders

When Democratic Rep. Cedrick Frazier appeared before the House Education Policy Committee in mid-February, he acknowledged the timing of his testimony: We are not far removed, he said, from the tragic murder of George Floyd.

He pivoted to a state law passed in response that banned police from using chokeholds  rules that he said were critical to their discussions about school-based police. With the chokehold ban in place, he suggested the prone restraint prohibition was unnecessary.

Minnesota Rep. Cedrick Frazier, a Democrat, has led a state effort to repeal a year-old rule that banned school-based police from using face-down prone restraints on students. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune/Getty Images)

The tension and anxiety that has been discussed, in large part, stems from the egregious visual of that tragic day, Frazier testified. But even without a ban on prone restraints, he said that state law would continue to prohibit school-based officers from pinning students to the ground in ways that restrict breathing.

Our only focus must be doing everything we can to ensure that while our young people are in our schools, that we ensure that their environment is safe from any type of harm, Frazier said. We must ensure our young people have the best environment to have the best possible outcomes.

His testimony didnt explicitly touch on prone restraints or why police needed greater autonomy around their use in classrooms. Representatives for Frazier and the governor didnt respond to requests for comment and state Sen. Westlins office declined an interview request.

In his testimony, Education Commissioner Willie Jett focused on schools need for campus police officers and the bills new training requirements. He, too, didnt touch specifically on restraint procedures.

SROs are viewed by many as essential to maintaining safe and secure learning environments and data from the 2022 Minnesota student survey tells us that an overwhelming majority of students from all demographic areas value the SROs in their schools, Jett said.

In Minnesota, state education officials have sought to reduce schools reliance on restraint tactics for years. The most recent state data on restrictive procedures reveal that students with disabilities were subjected to more than 10,000 physical restraints during the 2021-22 school year, with such holds disproportionately used on Black and Indigenous students. Frequently, state data show, these holds result in injuries  and more often for adults than children. During the 2021-22 school year, districts reported 733 staff injuries from placing students in restraints  a rate that equates to about one staff injury for every 14 physical holds. That same year, 161 students were reported injured.

Fraziers work leading the reform bill appears to be at odds with his broader championing of policing and public safety. After Floyds murder, Frazier became known in the state as a key negotiator in favor or progressive police reforms, often drawing on his personal experiences with inequities growing up as a Black teen on Chicagos South Side. In September, as police agencies statewide began pulling officers from schools, Frazier signaled his support for the new prone restraint ban. The House People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, which Frazier co-chairs, released a statement expressing that same sentiment.

The provision in the education bill passed earlier this year related to school personnel is clear: School staff, including school resource officers, are not allowed to use prone restraints, or other holds that restrict a students ability to breathe, the caucus wrote in the statement, which bore Fraziers name. Given the attorney generals opinion extending SROs authority to restrain kids in serious cases, the group wrote, changes to the law are not needed.

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In Republicans unsuccessful bid to force a special legislative session, they found common ground with Education Minnesota, the state teachers union, which noted that school staff needed clear guidance on how to protect themselves and students during potentially dangerous situations. In 2021, union spokesperson Chris Williams told The 74 the group was concerned about the ongoing racial disparities that we know exist in the use of restrictive procedures, and noted support for rules that prohibited prone restraint in classrooms.

Williams didnt respond to a list of questions about the pending legislation introduced by Frazier who, along with being a state representative, works as a teachers union staff attorney.

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin is seen placing George Floyd in a face-down restraint in a 2020 incident that led to the mans murder.

Prone kills kids

When Matt Shaver testified at the House education committee last month, he opened with a grim warning: Prone kills kids.

We are advocates for kids  and prone kills kids, said Shaver, the policy director of the nonprofit EdAllies, which is a member of the Solutions Not Suspensions Coalition working to maintain the current prone restraint ban. This is not about whether SROs belong in schools, as lawmakers and state education officials have cast the conversation, he said. This is about whether we believe holds that kill children belong in school.

Shaver cited a recent study which examined childhood fatalities that stemmed from physical restraints over a 26-year period. Researchers identified 79 incidents where restraints led to deaths in settings including foster homes, psychiatric agencies and schools. Deaths were most common when children were held in the face-down prone restraints  and most often for benign childhood behaviors like failing to remain silent or sit without wriggling. Investigations into the fatalities found that adults routinely failed to follow proper restraint policies and laws.

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In 15 fatalities, children vomited, urinated or turned blue during the restraint, researchers concluded in the 2021 study, which was published in the academic journal Child & Youth Care Forum. These signals should have been detected by an adult monitoring these events and immediately triggered a change in tactics or discontinuation of the restraint.

Shaver told The 74 he believes the Democrats are reacting to the politics of the police work stoppage and a desire not to appear soft on crime ahead of the November election. That has placed them in the position, he said, of wanting to overturn the restraint restriction, but not in a way that will freak out their base.

They may have failed at doing that, Shaver said.
Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli stands in the dugout during the fifth inning of a spring training baseball game against the New York Yankees Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

It didnt take long for Royce Lewis to remember what it feels like to hit a grand slam.

He did it four times last year. And in his first opportunity with the bases loaded in spring training, he did it again on Friday.

The young Minnesota Twins slugger went deep in the third inning of a 5-3 win over the Boston Red Sox. Lewis homer came off minor leaguer Jordan DiValerio on a 3-0 pitch that he decided not to let go by.

I think these guys are just like, What the heck, man, I dont know whats going on, Lewis told reporters in Fort Myers, Florida. I said the same thing. I really dont (know). I just enjoy it. Take advantage of the opportunities when they come because theyll go away soon. You just take advantage while you get them.

Lewis has five grand slams in the first 66 games of his major league career. He hit one early in the 2022 season before a torn ACL in his right knee cost him almost an entire calendar year. Last season, Lewis hit four slams in just 12 plate appearances with the bases loaded, setting a franchise record. The 24-year-old did it despite being limited to only 58 games and 217 at-bats.

Well, you almost laugh to yourself a little bit that youre in the situation again, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters. Even without the homer, youre still sitting there like, My god, it feels like we load the bases for this guy a lot, and he just keeps coming through, over and over again. Its a good time. Its fun. I hope were talking about it again in April, May and June.

BACK TO WORK

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole gave up two runs and four hits over two innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in his first start since winning the 2023 AL Cy Young Award.

The right-hander retired his first two batters on three pitches before allowing three consecutive hits, including a two-run homer by Daniel Vogelbach. Cole struck out one during a 39-pitch outing that included 26 strikes.

It was pretty good, he said. It was good to be out there again, and stuff was pretty good.

Cole is 51-23 with a 3.08 ERA in four seasons with the Yankees after going 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA in 33 starts last year. He has a $324 million, nine-year deal through 2028 and can opt out at the end of this season, which would force the Yankees to decide whether to add a guaranteed $36 million salary for 2029.

New York first baseman Anthony Rizzo, shut down in early September last year due to post-concussion syndrome, had a grand slam and solo homer in two at-bats.

Everything that I need to check off has been really good, Rizzo said.

Juan Soto, acquired from San Diego, went 2 for 2 and hit his second spring homer.

I knew I would enjoy watching him, but I love watching him, Cole said.

BATTERED AROUND

Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon allowed four homers to minor leaguers over three innings during a simulated game with the wind blowing out in Florida.

I dont want to give up homers, but Im glad I give it up to our guys, Rodon said. Makes them feel good about themselves.

Josh Breaux, Agustin Ramirez, Ben Rice and Jose Rojas went deep. After Rojas homer in the final inning, Rodon struck out three of his final four batters, including top prospect Spencer Jones twice.

I had some sequences there at the end, Rodon said. Got some work on curveballs and work on the cutter, so its good.

While the outing wasnt great, Rodon feels healthy and thats most important after an injury-marred 2023 when he went 3-8 with a 6.85 ERA in 14 starts.

HELLO, JULIO

Seattle center fielder Julio Rodriguez is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut Saturday when the Mariners face Oakland. Rodriguez had been limited for about a week due to some left hand soreness.

The good news didnt stop there for Seattle. Top reliever Matt Brash is not expected to need surgery after having inflammation in his right elbow. Seattle general manager Justin Hollander told reporters in Peoria, Arizona, that after several exams, Brash was told he could resume throwing next week. He will still need a full build-up and wont be ready for the start of the regular season.

Brash appeared in a big league-high 78 games last season and had a 3.06 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings.

Seattle also hopes to see infielder Luis Urias in spring training games next week after he was slowed by a shoulder issue.

OLD FRIEND

The Yankees will get to see an old friend in a couple of weeks after 41-year-old Robinson Cano signed with Mexico's Diablos Rojos. Cano spent 17 seasons in the majors, most of that time with the Yankees and Seattle Mariners.

New York is set to play exhibition games against at the Diablos Rojos on March 24-25.

BUMPS AND BRUISES

Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. was scratched from Atlantas lineup on Friday for precautionary reasons due to right knee soreness.  Houston RHP Justin Verlander is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Sunday as he works his way back from a shoulder issue that led to a delayed arrival to spring training. Verlander threw a bullpen Tuesday and could progress to facing hitters if his next outing goes well.  Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash told reporters that infielder Yu Changs oblique injury will sideline him for six to eight weeks.

___

AP freelance writer Mark Didtler contributed to this report.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Central Institute of Socialism (CIS), a political academy for non-communist parties and people without party affiliation, held its spring semester opening ceremony on Friday.

Speaking at the ceremony, Hao Mingjin, president of the CIS, called on the students to uphold, develop and improve China's new model of political party system.

He also stressed efforts to concentrate on advancing Chinese modernization, enhance confidence in the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, build broad consensus and contribute wisdom and strength to transform China into a strong country while achieving national rejuvenation.

About 400 students attended the event.

First founded in 1956, the CIS is a political academy for non-communist parties and people without party affiliation. It also offers Chinese cultural education to people from ethnic and religious circles, new social groups, as well as the private sector. 
Florida authorities say they now believe that a missing 13-year-old girl who never made it to school on Monday is dead and that her mothers boyfriend moved her body, the Orange County Sheriffs Office in Orlando announced.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said authorities are confident that Madeline Soto is dead after reviewing disturbing video evidence that appears to show her mothers boyfriend, 37-year-old Stephan Sterns, throwing items into a dumpster behind their apartment building in Kissimmee.

A photo of missing 13-year-old Madeline Soto provided by the Kissimmee Police Department. Kissimmee Police Department

Madelines mother, Jenn Soto, told police she thought Sterns was taking her daughter to school but later found out that the girl never arrived there and she reported her missing.

Police had previously said Sterns had dropped Madeline off near her school, but they now say theyve learned he never dropped her off at all, Mina said. Video footage appears to show that when Sterns returned to the apartment complex, Madeline was in the car. Police say they think she was already dead at that time.

According to Mina, investigators searching the dumpster found Madelines backpack and her school-issued laptop.

Stern was arrested on Wednesday night on suspicion of sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material.

According to an emergency arrest warrant shared with HuffPost, police alleged that Sterns was in possession of several images that werecriminal and sexual in nature and videos that depicted an underaged girl.

Its unclear whether the girl in the videos was Madeline, but authorities said in an earlier news release that the crimes were committed at the family home in Kissimmee.

Madelines mother is not considered a suspect in the investigation.

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A womans suspicious death is under investigation as police in New Hampshire and Massachusetts searched for her missing children, officials said.

The 31-year-old woman was found dead in an apartment in Berlin at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, according to a March 1 New Hampshire Department of Justice news release. Two children were reported missing after the womans body was found, authorities said.

McClatchy News is not identifying the woman, father and kids to protect the identity of the children.

Officials referred to the discovery of the womans body as a suspicious death, according to the release.

The woman was confirmed to be the missing childrens mother by officials, WMTW and WMUR reported.

The New Hampshire State Police issued an Amber Alert for the missing 4-year-old and 1-year-old, who were said to have last been seen in Berlin with their biological father at about 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29.

The father was driving a white 2017 Subaru Impreza, police said. He was suspected by police to be potentially armed and dangerous.

The Amber Alert was canceled later on Friday after the three were found by officers in Keene  about 165 miles southwest of Berlin, according to an update from the New Hampshire Department of Justice.

The two children and their father were unharmed when they were found, officials said.

A suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was taken into custody, according to the Massachusetts State Polices March 1 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

There have been no arrests made as of March 1, but the father was with police, the departments director of communications Michael Garrity told McClatchy News.

Berlin is about 100 miles northeast of Montpelier, Vermont.

12-year-old missing for a week may have been on dating app for adults, Texas cops say

Social media helps identify lost boy in 7 minutes, cops say. He was 200 miles from home

25-year-old woman shot to death in public execution at gas station, officials say
A Republican nominee who appeared on the unofficial ballot to become Missouri's governor appeared in photos with Ku Klux Klan members and a burning cross, and admitted in court documents to receiving an "honorary one-year membership" to join the white supremacist group.

Darrell Leon McClanahan III will be removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate in the upcoming August primary after photos surfaced of the politician associating with KKK members, according to the Missouri Republican Party.

"The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for Governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our party's values and platform," the political party said in a post on X on Thursday. "We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate."

The Missouri Republican Party has been made aware that Darrell Leon McClanahan III filed for Governor as a Republican despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, which fundamentally contradicts our party's values and platform. We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan  Missouri GOP (@MissouriGOP) February 29, 2024

The photos, which show McClanahan with KKK leaders doing a Nazi salute in front of a burning cross and standing next to a man wearing a white robe and hood, were further explained by the wannabe governor in court documents from a lawsuit he filed in 2023 against the Anti-Defamation League.

"McClanahan was provided an honorary one-year membership," according to court documents in the suit filed in federal court in Maryland against over an article written in 2022. "However, (McClanahan) never pursued an active role in that membership and never participated in their activities."

In addition to confirming the proposed membership from the KKK's Knight's Party, McClanahan described himself in court documents as a "pro-white man, horseman, politician (and) political prisoner-activist who is dedicated to traditional Christian values."

McClanahan admits to being in pictures

Former Missouri Rep. Shamed Dogan, a Republican, posted the pictures of McClanahan on Wednesday on X after the Missouri Republican Party posted about the first day of candidate filing.

"I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs," Dogan said in the post.

Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs. https://t.co/AZTGrAl7X0 pic.twitter.com/z7ilIo5k4d  Shamed Dogan (@ShamedDoganMO) February 29, 2024

When the St. Louis Riverfront Times contacted McClanahan about the pictures' legitimacy and questioned if he was in them, the politician said: It's an invisible empire. Yes, it's me.

McClanahan then denied being a member of the KKK, the Riverfront Times reported. "No I am not and I have never been," he told the outlet.

McClanahan later sent the Riverfront Times a statement, primarily addressing Dogan.

Shamed Dogan, I would like to respectfully request that you cease and desist from making defamatory statements about me on the X platform," McClanahan's statement read. "Your statement about me being a cross-burning KKK member and white supremacist is false and damaging to my reputation.

A Ballot box is seen inside the Longs Peak Student Center drop off in Fort Collins, Colo., on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

Missouri GOP condemns McClanahan's 'affiliation'

The Missouri Republican Party not only is in the process of removing McClanahan from the primary ballot, but they also condemned "his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan."

"We condemn any association with hate groups and are taking immediate action to rectify this situation," the party said in its post on X. "Our party upholds respect for all individuals, and we're dedicated to addressing any challenges to these principles decisively."

The party said 279 Republicans officially filed to run for office, according to an X post shared Tuesday.

On the first day of candidate filing, we had 279 Republicans officially file to run for office! Help us keep Missouri RED by donating to the Missouri Republican Party at the link here: https://t.co/RDYSJcktmA pic.twitter.com/GmwbqHT6cE  Missouri GOP (@MissouriGOP) February 28, 2024

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Missouri GOP governor candidate given 'honorary' 1-year KKK membership
A long-shot Missouri gubernatorial candidate who once admitted to being an honorary member of the Klu Klux Klan says he will defy attempts by the state Republican Party to have him kicked off the ballot.

Photos of Darrell L McClanahan appearing to make a Nazi salute while standing in front of a burning cross resurfaced online this week, nearly two years after they were first published by the Anti-Defamation Leagues (ADL) Center on Extremism.

On Thursday, the Missouri Republican Party said in a post on X it had been made aware that Mr McClanahan had filed to run for governor despite his affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan.

The party said this fundamentally contradicts our partys values and platform, and that it had begun the process of removing him from the ballot.

Mr McClanahan fired back in a post that the Missouri GOP knew exactly who he was and had vetted him when he ran for the US Senate in 2022.

Hey @MissouriGOP I just learned the candidate listed first on our primary ballot for Governor is a cross-burning KKK member who ran for US Senate 2 years ago and freely admits his KKK membership & white supremacist beliefs. https://t.co/AZTGrAl7X0 pic.twitter.com/z7ilIo5k4d  Shamed Dogan (@ShamedDoganMO) February 29, 2024

What a bunch of Anti-White hypocrites, he wrote on X, adding the party was aware he was a Christian identist.

The move to take Mr McClanhan off the ballot, first reported by The River Front Times, came after former state representative Shamed Dogan brought attention to his past ties to the KKK and urged the party to take action.

Mr McClanhan this week confirmed to the River Front Times that it was him in the photo published by the ADL, but denied he was ever a member of the Klu Klux Klan.

Mr McClanahan took exception to the ADL describing him as a white supremacist and filed a $5m defamation lawsuit against the non-profit last year, in which he claimed he was not a KKK member and had only been granted an honorary one-year membership by the groups state coordinator.

In the lawsuit, he said he identified as a pro-White man, horseman, politician, political prisoner-activist who is dedicated to traditional Christian values.

He admitted in court documents that he had attended a private religious Christian Identity Cross lighting ceremony falsely described as a cross burning.

The ADL describes the Christian Identity church as a racist and antisemitic religious sect.

He added that he had attended the ceremony after becoming angry that a Charlottesville Unite the Right protester had been sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting a Black man.

In response, the Missouri GOP knew exactly who I am. Chairman Myers told me when I signed up for Senate, paying my $500 fee, saying he had vetted me and knew I was a Christian identist; and that I should just not say anything bad about the Jews. When I met Prince lazy J Ashcroft pic.twitter.com/XoeNbU7Cwo  Darrell L McClanahan III (@Darrell4Mogov) February 29, 2024

In December, a magistrate judge threw out the defamation lawsuit. The judge ruled that Mr McClanahan had not been defamed and that his court filings were consistent with the views ascribed to him by the ADL, that is the characterisation of his social media presence and views as antisemitic, white supremacist, anti-government, and bigoted.

On his campaign website, Mr McClanahan describes him as the conservative voice for governor of Missouri and among his campaign pledges he promises to support Christian Values & God's Laws and oppose the woke agenda.

Mr McClanhan did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment.

Current Missouri Governor Mike Parson is term-limited and cannot run for reelection in November.
Michigan's presidential primary election marked the first time that early voting was implemented. Early voting was made available for nine days prior to Tuesday's election.

NORTHERN MICHIGAN  Michigan's presidential primary election marked the first time that early voting was implemented, and local clerks in Northern Michigan reported a small number of people made use of the new option.

Early voting was made available for nine days prior to Tuesday's election. On average, numbers in a few counties show about 20 people voted early per day.

In Charlevoix County, 179 people took advantage of the opportunity. In Emmet County, 249 chose to vote early. In Chippewa County, 164 individuals voted early. In Cheboygan County, 154 people voted early.

An early voting station set up on the campus of the University of Michigan is seen in Ann Arbor on Feb. 20, 2024.

More: Around 1 in 4 Northern Michigan voters turned out for election

Subscribe: Check out our offers and read the local news that matters to you

Despite the resources needed to accommodate the early voting and the minimal turnout, many of the county clerks felt the learning experience was successful in preparation for the general election in the fall.

I'm happy we had the amount of people we did because it was more people that got to see it first-hand. The Election Day program we are using is a little bit different, so it gave us an opportunity to learn it and have them be excited to help next time because they know what the process is, said Charlevoix County Clerk Julia Drost.

Most counties in Northern Michigan opted to have one centralized early voting location, with each township, city or other municipal entity working together during the nine-day period.

Since primary elections tend to have a smaller turnout than general elections, Drost said she doesn't believe that early voting helped alleviate congestion on Election Day.

Maybe in August and November we might see a little bit more of a help as far as taking away from Election Day traffic," she said. "But nobody was that busy during early voting. Hopefully going forward, we see it take a little bit of the edge off and cut down on some lines in some of the busier precincts."

Charlevoix County had at least two early voters from each of their 20 precincts. The only exception were the two Beaver Island townships, as voters would have had to fly over to the mainland to vote at the county's one early voting location.

Emmet County Clerk Suzie Kanine said she had expected a low turnout during early voting because of its newness in addition to many of the county population voting from out-of-state in February.

Typically, in a presidential primary we only get a 30 percent turnout anyway, said Kanine.

Despite this, she said the early voting process went relatively smoothly.

It was a great runthrough for August and November, Kanine said. I would encourage the community to take advantage of it because we are stuck with it ... we have to provide it ... for the resources to be put to good use I would like to see people coming and voting early so that the resources that we are putting into it can be meaningful."

Cheboygan County Clerk Karen Brewster noted that the people who participated in early voting were happy that it was available.

I didnt really hear any disappointments, she said, but, it was a lot of work.

 Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231) 675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoix.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Modest turnout for early voting in Northern Michigan sets the stage for future elections
A sign informs motorists about entering the territory of the autonomous region of Gagauzia

By Alexander Tanas

CHISINAU (Reuters) - The pro-Kremlin head of Moldova's Gagauzia region asked Russia on Friday for its support and to maintain close ties, after the pro-European Moldovan president said Moscow was mounting new efforts to destabilise her country.

Eugenia Gutul, governor of Gagauzia, met the speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament in Moscow, accusing the central government in Chisinau of "oppressing" people's rights in her region in the south of Moldova.

"We want ... to continue to receive support from the Russian Federation," she told Valentina Matviyenko, Russia's most senior lawmaker, in a video published by Russia's RIA news agency, requesting the establishment of direct flights to Moscow.

Gutul was elected last year to head Gagauzia, a region populated mainly by ethnic Turks. That vote was marred by what Chisinau said were irregularities that are being investigated.

The government has shunned Gutul, who is an ally of Ilan Shor, an exiled pro-Russian businessman convicted of fraud in Moldova. Shor founded a political party that has now been banned, and has been sanctioned by the U.S. as a Russian agent.

On Wednesday, officials from Transdniestria - a largely Russian-speaking region in the east that broke away from Moldovan control at the end of the Soviet era - had also appealed to Moscow for help, accusing Chisinau of stifling its economy.

Transdniestria, which has a garrison of Russian troops, has long been seen as a possible flashpoint with Russia.

On Thursday, pro-Western president Maia Sandu said Russia was using Transdniestria to put pressure on Moldova, a poor ex-Soviet state sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania that has set out on a path to joining the European Union and the Western defence alliance, NATO. She repeated her view that Moscow was trying to destabilise her country.

Oazu Nantoi, a lawmaker with Sandu's party, told Reuters on Wednesday: "The Gagauz and the Transdniestrians have a goal: to further destabilise the situation in Moldova."

He added: "I just don't understand why the chair of the Federation Council of Russia, in a country of 140 million people, has such concern about 26 villages in Gagauzia that don't have sewers."

(Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
As many as 14 violations were noted at a single Stanislaus County food facility during health inspections conducted in mid-February  some of the violations repeated from previous inspections.

Food stored on the floor, clothing stored on top of food, and small, nonfood items stored loosely above food were some of the things inspectors spotted while making their rounds at facilities throughout the county.

The majority of the 2,400 permitted food service establishments in Stanislaus County receive two routine unannounced food safety inspections per year, according to the Department of Environmental Resources. The website says inspection reports are scanned weekly.

Of the 89 restaurant inspection reports sent to The Modesto Bee on Wednesday, eight were not updated on the site as of Thursday morning.

If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email Modesto Bee reporter Dominique Williams at dwilliams@modbee.com.

Major violations for some Stanislaus County restaurants

The following Stanislaus County restaurants had violations the week of Feb. 12-16. Only the dates of violations are listed.

The details of the reports do not indicate whether a restaurant passed or failed inspection. Corrective actions may have been made by the business by the time of publication.

The reports are linked. For updates on individual restaurants, search the DER website.

Yosemite Lanes Restaurant, 2301 Yosemite Blvd. in Modesto, had six violations during a routine inspection Feb. 12  two of them major, according to the department. Inspectors observed cooked beans cooling at room temperature in the kitchen. The kitchen floor, walk-in refrigerator floor and dry food storage room floor had dirt and other buildup. Some shelving in the walk-in refrigerator was rusted.

Five of the six violations were noted as corrected during a reinspection Feb. 20. Parts of the kitchen floor still had dirt and debris buildup.

Kabul Express Market, 2001 Tully Road Suite A/B in Modesto, had four violations during a routine inspection Feb. 12  two of them major. The walk-in refrigerator that stores dairy was observed two degrees warmer than required by the California Health and Safety Code. The paper towel dispenser in the bakery room was empty. Both major violations were corrected at the time of reinspection.

The health permit and food safety certification were not available during the inspection.

Pizza Guys #143, 1421 Crows Landing Road in Modesto, had 14 violations during a routine inspection Feb. 13  five of them major. Inspectors observed two repeat violations: The ventilation hood had grease and dust accumulation and a bulk container of flour next to a sink had the scoop stored directly inside it, contacting the food.

A plastic table was being used in the preparation room, the walk-in fridge was two degrees warmer than required by code and the sanitizer dispenser at the three-compartment sink was in disrepair. A can opener was heavily soiled with dry food accumulation, the pizza oven was heavily soiled with grease and dry food accumulation and the floors in the walk-in fridge were soiled with food debris.

Inspectors observed a box of creamy garlic sauce stored directly on the floor in the walk-in fridge. There were water leaks at the food-prep area hand-washing sink and the bathroom sink. The wall behind the hand-washing sink was heavily rusted.

All 14 violations were noted as corrected during a reinspection Feb. 28.

Jack in the Box #4394, 2301 Crows Landing Road, Suite A, in Modesto, had seven violations during a routine inspection Feb. 13  four of them major. Inspectors observed grime accumulation by the door and the side of the refrigerator next to the grill. The door of this refrigerator did not close all the way and was not able to maintain proper temperature. The refrigerator by the drive-thru window was noted with a temperature three degrees above whats required by code.

The dishwasher  which displayed a note that read equipment not in use, work order pending  was observed in use and with a zero ppm sanitizer concentration level (50 ppm is required in final rinse of dishwasher). The floors throughout the facility were heavily soiled, the grill had heavy grease accumulation and the hood above the grill was heavily soiled with grease.

Four of the seven violations were noted as corrected during a reinspection Feb. 27. Both refrigerators had not been repaired.

Hong Kong Restaurant, 901 N. Carpenter Road #47 in Modesto, had four violations during a routine inspection Feb. 14. Inspectors observed several cardboard boxes stored in the hallway that leads directly from the kitchen to an exit, making the hallway inaccessible. The sanitizer in the dishwasher was at zero ppm.

Mold and grime accumulation was observed on the ice chute within the dispenser of the ice machine. Tools, bolts, rubber bands and other small, nonfood items were found stored loosely on a shelf above several containers of food items within the food preparation area.

All four violations were noted as corrected during a reinspection Feb. 21.

Carnitas El Bajio #2, 1701 Standiford Ave., Suite A, in Modesto, had 10 violations during a routine inspection Feb. 14  three of them major. The cold-holding unit on the prep table was two degrees warmer than required by code. The hot-holding unit was 26 degrees cooler than required. Both violations were corrected at the time of reinspection.

Inspectors observed the hand soap dispenser in the food prep area was empty. Some bulk food containers were stored in the walk-in fridge without lids, exposing the food inside of them to cross contamination. Raw chicken was stored above an open cardboard box of raw beef. Bags of clothing were stored on top of bulk containers of rice, and sanitizer chemical bottles were stored beside the containers of rice.

The soda dispenser in the dining room was mildly soiled and the interior surface of the ice machine was soiled with moldlike growth.

Saigon One, 901 N. Carpenter Road #61 in Modesto, had six violations during a routine inspection Feb. 14. An Igloo cooler was being used as a storage container for bulk noodles. Employees scoop a serving from the cooler, blanch the serving in hot water, cool the serving and then plate it, the inspector observed. After blanching noodles in hot water on the stovetop, an employee was observed rinsing the noodles in a five-gallon bucket of water that was directly on the floor.

Grime accumulation was noted on the wall behind the three-compartment sink and on the wall above the mop sink. Dish racks were being stored beneath the three-compartment sink on a sheet of plywood.

Other food facilities with three or more, or major, violations at the time of their inspections include:

Which Stanislaus County facilities had little to no violations?

According to Stanislaus County, food facilities that had zero to two violations, none of them major, are:
BEIRUT, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) peacekeepers were "briefly detained" on Thursday night by "local individuals" in Lebanon while on their way to Beirut, an official of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Friday.

Candice Ardell, deputy director of the UNIFIL Media Office, said a peacekeeping vehicle was on a routine logistical tour when it ended up on an unplanned route.

"The vehicle was stopped, and local individuals detained peacekeepers who were later released," she was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.

"We are looking into the circumstances of what happened, but peacekeepers were not harmed," Ardell said, without mentioning the number of peacekeepers involved in the incident.

"We emphasize that, in addition to freedom of movement inside UNIFIL's area of operations, peacekeepers have the freedom and authorization from the Lebanese government to move throughout Lebanon for administrative and logistical reasons," she noted. 
Alec Baldwin waved a gun like a pointing stick on the set where a cinematographer was fatally shot, a court has heard.

Footage from the set of Rust before the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was played for the first time at the trial of the films armourer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

It showed Baldwin gesticulating with a pistol loaded with blanks and firing the gun within close proximity to camera operators.

In another clip, Baldwin can be seen lying on the ground on set in New Mexico and talking over his notes for a retake while gesturing with the gun.

Hes using the weapon as a pointing stick, as his finger, Bryan Carpenter, a firearms expert serving as a prosecution witness, told the court.

At one point, Baldwin was captured on camera telling Ms Gutierrez-Reed to reload a gun more quickly and asking why she did not have more weapons ready.

He rapidly fired blanks from a pistol to get through a wooden shed before the director shouted cut in one scene shown to jurors.

The court is shown a video of Alec Baldwin on set holding a gun - GABRIELA CAMPOS/AFP

After the director called cut, Baldwin said: One more! One more! One more! Right away! Lets reload!

Ms Gutierrez-Reed can then be seen hurriedly reloading the weapon with blanks.

Baldwin can be heard saying: We should have two guns and both were reloading.

Prosecutors have alleged that Baldwin, 65, endangered safety by rushing production.

Rushing with firearms and telling someone to rush with firearms is not normal nor accepted, Mr Carpenter told the court.

The firearms expert said that Baldwin shot the pistol far too close to the camera operators, was basically instructing the armourer how to do their job and creating an unnecessary unsafe and nerve-wracking situation.

Mr Carpenter told the court that Ms Gutierrez-Reed should not have allowed herself to be hurried.

He said: In a situation like that, when youre getting rushed to that extent, thats when safety starts to fall by the wayside.

Armourer denies involuntary manslaughter

While Ms Gutierrez-Reed instructed the crew to move out of the path of the gun, Mr Carpenter said she should instead have instructed Baldwin not to wave the gun around.

He suggested Ms Gutierrez-Reed, who was 24 years old at the time, was attempting to not correct the Hollywood star.

Ms Gutierrez-Reed, who as the armourer was in charge of firearms on the film set, has denied involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence.

She faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

Baldwin, the star and a co-producer of the Western, was pointing the gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal in 2021 when the weapon went off, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza.

The Hollywood star has said he pulled back the hammer, but not the trigger, and the gun fired.

He is expected to face a separate trial in July and has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

I let a safety check pass

Elsewhere in the trial, Dave Halls, Rusts first assistant director, gave emotional testimony where he said he was ultimately to blame for the fatal shooting, as he did not do a final check on a gun.

Halls was the first crew member to praise Ms Gutierrez during her two-week trial, describing her as diligent.

He said he failed to have Ms Gutierrez show him all the rounds in the reproduction Colt. 45 Peacemaker to ensure they were dummies  as is standard practice in the industry  before the gun went to Baldwin.

I let a safety check pass, said Halls, at times wiping away tears.

Last year, Halls pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and received a suspended six-month sentence.

He told the trial on Thursday he may have been the first person to speak to Hutchins after she was shot. She said, I cant feel my legs, Halls recalled.

Halls also defended Baldwin, saying the actor did not endanger safety by rushing production, as prosecutors allege.

The testimony of Halls may weigh significantly as prosecutors reconstruct the chain of events and custody of ammunition that led to the shooting.

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Deserved or not, Leakin Park has a reputation.

Scores across the country know it as the site where Hae Min Lee was buried in a shallow grave, a case probed years later on the podcast Serial. Locals better know Leakin Park as the densely overgrown expanse in their backyards with a host of possibility but also insufficient staffing, illegal dumping and safety concerns.

Recently, however, there has been movement to improve Leakin Parks circumstances, making it more of an asset for the historically disinvested West Baltimore neighborhoods that surround it.

A bill currently before the Maryland General Assembly, sponsored by Del. Malcolm Ruff, a Democrat from Baltimore, would create a city-state partnership to manage Leakin Park. If passed, Ruff said the bill would unlock funds from the states Program Open Space to assign a permanent force of park rangers, managers, foresters and technicians to the sprawling park.

On the local level, the Baltimore City Council is also taking action. This week, the councils Public Safety and Government Operations Committee advanced a bill calling for a study to look at closing a portion of North Franklintown Road, which traverses the park east to west, in an effort to control the illegal dumping thats prevalent there. Last month, the full council also voted in favor of a resolution in support of Ruffs legislation, calling on city and state leaders to enter into a partnership agreement.

The momentum surrounding Leakin Park, also known as Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, comes on the heels of a violent crime there last fall. A 71-year-old woman was walking in the park in November when she was followed by a man who then threatened her with a gun. She attempted to flee but was attacked, dragged to an encampment in the park, and sexually assaulted. She managed to escape, but suffered severe injuries.

Police arrested and charged a man one week later, but the incident elevated existing fears among area residents and prompted a standing room-only community meeting at Cahill Recreation Center. There, staff of the Department of Recreation and Parks as well as Councilmen Kristerfer Burnett and James Torrence, both Democrats who represent areas of the park, heard concerns from residents. Park users pleaded for more proactive patrols to spot encampments in the park, better signage and additional lighting.

Recreation and Parks officials have since hired a small number of rangers for the park. Trash removal has increased in frequency as have police patrols in the park. The department sends regular updates to attendees of the meeting.

But Leakin Parks demands remain massive. The more than 1200-acre park is Baltimores largest. (For comparison, Druid Hill Park has just 745 acres.) Consisting of several parks assembled via land acquisitions over many decades, the parks rolling forested landscape cut by streams feels, in places, more like wilderness than city. That forest makes it hard to treat Leakin Park like others in the city, parks officials told residents during the November meeting. Lighting the park isnt feasible, they said, pointing to the same darkness that falls at Patapsco Valley State Park, a 16,000-acre park in Howard County.

Ruff, who grew up in West Baltimore and was a frequent visitor to Leakin Park, has long been interested in the parks potential. When Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, a nonprofit thats been caring for the park on a volunteer basis for more than 40 years, approached him with a proposal to push for a state partnership, it was a meeting of mutual interests.

Leakin Park has always been a place that could have had so much potential for so many people, but it has never received the care and attention that the park deserves  and that its surrounding neighborhoods deserve, Ruff said.

Novembers community meeting only further convinced Ruff of the proposals necessity, he said. Residents from surrounding neighborhoods like Edmondson Village, Windsor Hills, Rognel Heights and Franklintown packed the gathering.

That really was a ground swell, Ruff said. I could literally see 100-plus people from the surrounding communities all charged up and wanting to see results. They were absolutely right to be demanding such.

The state legislation, which Ruff said is being championed by the entire delegation from the 41st District, is due for a hearing Wednesday before the Maryland House Environment and Transportation Committee. Ruff said the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has been enthusiastic about the concept. A spokesman for Recreation and Parks did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In Baltimore this week, Burnett, who sponsored both the resolution in support of the hybrid park and the bill calling for a study on closing North Franklintown Road, said the city simply does not have the resources to care for a park the size of Leakin Park. Citing Patterson Park, one of the citys other large parks, as an example, Burnett said the challenges are not the same.

The councils conversation this week centered on dumping in the park. Burnetts proposed bill, which still faces a vote from the full council, calls for the city to study the effectiveness of closing to traffic the portion of North Franklintown Road that runs through the park in an effort to curb dumping. A separate stretch of Wetheredsville Road in the northern part of the park has already been blocked to traffic for the same reason.

Tylor Schnella of the mayors office of government services told council members that Mayor Brandon Scotts administration was committed to addressing the issue, and supports two pieces of legislation on the table at the state level that it believes would help track down culprits.

Members of the council were critical however of the communication between city agencies when addressing dumping. Code enforcement, which responds to illegal dumping violations, is housed under the Department of Housing and Community Development, but the Department of Public Works is responsible for picking up trash. The Department of Transportation will ultimately be responsible for the proposed study of North Franklintown Roads closure, but the Department of Recreation and Parks manages the park.

This coordination piece is still missing, Torrence said Wednesday. Im just going to charge the administration with coming up with a conversation about it.

Burnett acknowledged there are potential problems with closing North Franklintown Road. There are some homes within the park that need to have access, and the road is also a well-traveled route. But the city closed the roadway on a temporary basis in 2018 after flooding washed some of it away, and the closure encouraged more walking and biking in the park, he said.

Maybe the study comes back and says this is a terrible idea and we dont do it, Burnett said. Hopefully this gets all of it out on the table.

Mike Cross-Barnet, executive director of Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, said hes excited about the momentum surrounding the park, particularly the prospect of a major state investment.

When you have a facility like that thats not taken care of, thats not well-maintained, its almost an invitation for people with bad intentions, he said. The solution to unwanted behavior and people with bad intentions  is to have good behavior and good intention in the park.

We need people in the park enjoying its natural beauty, its trees and streams and trails  all the assets that it has, Cross-Barnet said. Theyre not going to do that unless they feel comfortable and safe.
Lansing  Clarence Walker doesn't understand why the city of Lansing is once again pursuing another transformation of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near downtown.

Construction work upset the Westside neighborhoods in the 1990s, when he said his grandmother felt forced to sell her home along the north-south boulevard near the Capitol campus.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said Thursday, when more than 100 people, largely in opposition, crammed into a small room at Letts Community Center for an open house about a plan to rework one of Lansing's most well-known roads this summer.

Many residents said they have only learned about the project in the last week or so.

Lansing Public Service Director Andy Kilpatrick, right, fields questions about the city's plans to revamp a section of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, during a community meeting at Letts Community Center. Plans include removing a median near downtown.

MLK Jr. Boulevard is expected to shrink from a six-lane road, sometimes seven with a turn lane, to five lanes. The large median would disappear, replaced by green space on the downtown side.

The work will happen in tandem with a few related projects: A sewer project starts in April and will tear up many of the trees in the median and nearby.

Because of the sewer project, the city has opted to do the construction project, using more than $1.2 million in state funds dedicated for changing one lane roads into two lanes. The road project is expected to cost $3 million.

The MLK Jr. Boulevard work is based on how to best adjust the road to handle the two-way conversion of Ottawa and Allegan streets, said Andy Kilpatrick, public service director for the city, who fielded questions at Letts Thursday for more than an hour.

Carol Rall, who has lived for 40 years on the Westside, said the project is not necessary and shouldn't be a city priority.

"I'm vested and invested here and I don't see how this project enhances the neighborhood at all," she said.

Ethan Rose and Joy Stone of Lansing look at proposed reconstruction plans, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, during a community meeting at Letts Community Center, where Lansing officials informed Westside Neighborhood residents about the city's forthcoming plan to remove a median on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Some residents aired concerns that the road project is secretly a handout for developers interested in building in the area, which Kilpatrick said is not true.

Kilpatrick acknowledged developer Sam Eyde's Capitol Loop owns much of two blocks nearest to Interstate 496, but he said no land is changing hands in the project. The extra green space on the east side will be owned by the state Department of Transportation, and the city has not had discussions with Eyde about the property nor the road project, he said.

Eyde could not be immediately reached for comment.

Westside Neighborhood resident Clarence Walker questions Lansing Public Service Director Andy Kilpatrick, Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, during a community meeting at Letts Community Center. Lansing officials hosted the meeting to share information about plans to remove a median on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near downtown.

One of the key objections voiced Thursday was why the project will put the extra green space on the east side of the road, along the state-owned Hall of Justice property and mostly state land. The west side of the street, with residential homes facing MLK Jr. Boulevard, will stay largely the same.

Kilpatrick said extending the western portion would add state or city owned property that residents would have had to maintain and disrupting curbs on both sides could add to the cost of the project.

The initial design of this summer's proposed project took into account the historic sidewalks and curbs and will restore it to how it was in the 1980s.

Kilpatrick said residents seem interested in keeping some form of a median, and the project could include small 6-foot-wide medians at some intersections. Bids for the project are expected to be opened next week.

Many of the residents asked about the safety of the changes, saying they like to pause on the median to gauge the next crowd of cars.

Kilpatrick said there are a variety of factors in road safety and he compared the current road to a similar stretch on Pennsylvania Avenue, which has no median, finding there were fewer crashes on the Pennsylvania stretch than on the Martin Luther King Jr. stretch.

"In this situation I don't believe either a boulevard or five lanes are safer," he said.

A median can be a physical barrier but also can encourage faster speeds, and plans to add a turn lane could help reduce rear-end crashes, so there would be tradeoffs, Kilpatrick said.

Signage seen Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, near the corner of West Kalamazoo Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near where the city plans to revamp Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard by removing a median.

Heath Lowry, president of the Westside Neighborhood Association, said the meeting helped him and others to understand the project better and to hear the reasons it was started: To use state two-way road money and to work on accessibility to neighborhoods.

He said he remains interested in whether the homeowners on the west side of the street could be compensated or helped in some way. The project will make the northbound lanes closer to their homes, potentially lowering their property values and quality of life.

Christopher Greene-Szmadzinski said he thinks the project is a good start to fixing some historical wrongs.

"There used to be shops and apartments on both sides. This road was a scar between the Westside and downtown," he said. "This is a step in making downtown whole, but I don't think it's a final step."

Cheryl Brand said she remained opposed to the project.

"It's fixing a situation that's not broken," she said.

Kilpatrick said trees ripped out for the project on the west side of the street will not get replaced until after a major sewer project planned for 2026-2027.

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: More than 100 show for meeting on MLK Jr. Boulevard project near downtown Lansing
Sacramento County health inspectors shut down a local Mexican restaurant due to a lack of hot water.

Meanwhile, nine food facilities in the county received yellow placards for violations including rat droppings, a grimy meat slicer, a bloody freezer and improperly stored produce.

A yellow placard signals two or more major violations, according to the Sacramento County Food Inspection Guide. These are typically corrected or mitigated during the inspection.

A red placard signals imminent danger to public health and safety and suspends the health permit until violations are corrected. This could include, but is not limited to, major vermin contamination.

In contrast, a green placard means a restaurant passed the inspection.

The county conducts roughly 14,000 inspections a year, and 97% of all restaurants pass their inspections, spokesman Ken Casparis previously told The Bee. About 1% of inspections result in a closure.

Health inspectors recently closed 58 Degrees and Holding Co. due to violations including cockroaches and slime in the ice machine. The wine bar reopened on Feb. 22.

Inspectors also shut down International Catering Bon, after discovering roaches, animal fecal matter and other violations. The catering company reopened on Feb. 23.

Here are the Sacramento County food facility inspections for Feb. 22 through Wednesday, as of noon Thursday:

If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email Sacramento Bee reporter Jacqueline Pinedo at jpinedo@sacbee.com. The Bee will publish weekly updates on health inspections across Sacramento County.

Health inspectors close Sacramento Mexican restaurant

La Sobrocita, 5015 Stockton Blvd. in Sacramento, had one violation on Monday.

The restaurant was shut down due to a lack of hot water. Water at three compartment sinks was 60 degrees.

According to Sacramento County Health Department guidelines, An adequate, protected, pressurized, potable supply of hot and cold water shall be provided at all times.

The Sacramento Bee called the restaurant on Thursday night, but the manager was not available. The Bee also called the permit holder on the restaurant, but her voicemail was full.

When The Bee called the restaurant on Thursday it had reopened, but no inspection had been posted on the Sacramento County inspectors website.

Sacramento County restaurants cited for health violations

The following Sacramento County restaurants had violations the week of Feb. 22 through Feb. 28, resulting in a conditional pass.

Only the dates of violations are listed. Most restaurants fully pass reinspection within 72 hours. The reports are linked. For updates on individual restaurants, you can search the EMD website here.

Falafel Corner, 1004 J St. in Sacramento, had nine violations on Tuesday.

Inspectors observed hummus, sliced tomatoes and thawing chicken at improper holding temperatures, according to the report, and a meat slicer had dark food debris on its blades.

Inspectors also saw a total of 10 rodent droppings throughout the basement on Tuesday.

The restaurant was reinspected on Wednesday, but again received a yellow placard.

Taqueria Milindo Apatzingan, 928 Oak Lane in Rio Linda, had 12 violations on Wednesday.

The managers food safety certificate and workers California food handler cards were not available during the inspection.

Inspectors observed raw meat stored on shelves above ready-to-eat food items inside a refrigerator, as well as raw chicken stored on shelves above raw pork and a bag of raw pork resting on a bag of cheese.

Inspectors provided education to workers on how to properly store food in the refrigerator, according to the report.

A bag of flour and a bag of sugar were on the floor in the dry storage area, the report said.

The restaurant was reinspected on Thursday and received a green placard.

Baan Noodle and Rice, 1299 Florin Road in Sacramento, had 15 violations on Wednesday.

Inspectors observed raw beef in a preparation sink that was said to have been there overnight, according to Wednesdays report, as well as white rice from the previous day in a covered plastic container.

Storage bins with bulk foods in them were open during Wednesdays inspection. The bottom of a stand up freezer unit had dried blood on the bottom of the unit, according to the report.

Food handler cards were not available during the inspection.

The restaurant had not been reinspected as of Friday morning.

Pho ABC Inc, 7811 Greenback Lane in Citrus Heights, had 11 violations on Wednesday.

An employee did not wash their hands after handling janitorial equipment, and then proceeded to handle food, according to Wednesdays report.

An dirty container was used to store a chicken in wrapped plastic, the report said. The container was discarded.

Inspectors saw frozen meat improperly thawing.

California food handler cards were not available during the inspection.

The restaurant had not had a reinspection as of Friday morning.

World Traveler Coffee, 500 J St. in Sacramento, had three violations on Wednesday.

The coffee shop had its initial inspection on Jan. 18 and received a green placard. Since then the shop has had four reinspections to follow up with a glass light chandelier installed over the front coffee make line and pastry case.

Reinspections were conducted on Jan. 26, Feb. 6, Feb. 23 and Wednesday.

On Wednesday, inspectors observed an employee beverage and cigarette stored on a pickup counter alongside food-related equipment, according to the report.

There were also coffee mugs, plates, utensils and various other food contact equipment stored on the counter. Inspectors advised the coffee shop to install a sneeze guard.

Smokey Oaks Tavern, 9634 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Sacramento, had 13 violations on Wednesday.

Inspectors observed a total of 75 rat droppings throughout the restaurant on Wedesday, according to the report, including on the floor, in sheet pans and on top of canned food products and a box of bread crumbs.

In addition, inspectors saw an employee put on their gloves without washing their hands.

A box of beef was stored on the floor in a walk-in cooler, the report said, and there was grease accumulation on the cooks line.

The restaurant was reinspected on Thursday and received a green placard.

The Original Mels Diner, 3000 J St. in Sacramento, had 14 violations on Monday.

Inspectors observed a server enter the prep area from the dining area and handle toast with their bare hands without washing them, according to Mondays report.

Another server entered the station from the dining area and handled toast with gloved hands, but didnt wash their hands first, the report said.

Inspectors intervened and provided guidance on cleanliness to servers, according to the report.

Sinks located in employee restrooms, prep stations, a ware wash station and next to the office door and kitchen entrance all were out of paper towels during the inspection, the report said.

Cut melon, raw shell eggs and sliced tomato were stored at improper holding temperatures.

The diner was reinspected on Tuesday and received a green placard.

Hibachi Buffet Sushi and Grill, 5623 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights, had 10 violations on Tuesday.

Inspectors observed multiple food items cooling improperly in covered containers with tight fitting lids, according to the report.

Food items were stored on the floor in the walk-in refrigerator and freezer.

The restaurant had not been reinspected as of Friday morning.

Golden Corral, 4940 Watt Ave. in North Highland, had 14 violations on Feb. 22.

Inspectors observed condensation ice build-up on top of an open bag with raw chicken that was stored beneath a condenser unit inside a walk-in freezer, according to the report.

An open bag with raw chicken and corn was stored inside a walk-in freezer.

Inspectors also observed hotel pans with large roast beef pieces, pulled pork, spare ribs and cooked pasta from the night before improperly cooling inside a walk-in cooler, the report said.

The restaurant was reinspected on Feb. 23 and received a green placard.

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.
Photo and illustration by Jim Small | Arizona Mirror

House Republicans have approved a bill that would upend the way that Arizonans vote, ending no-excuse early voting by mail, by far the most popular way to cast a ballot in the state.

On a party-line vote of 31-28, the Arizona House of Representatives on Thursday backed a proposal that would force a return to precinct-based voting instead of voting centers and would force most voters to head to the polls on Election Day instead of dropping off or mailing an early ballot.

House Bill 2876 next moves to the Senate for consideration, but if it makes it past that chamber, its all but certain that Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will veto it.

The bill, like many others proposed by Republicans in the state legislature this year, is aimed at addressing conspiracy theories that the 2020 Arizona election was somehow stolen from then-President Donald Trump and that victories in the 2022 election were similarly swiped from several Republicans running for statewide offices.

Its sponsor, Republican Rep. Michael Carbone, of Buckeye, dubbed it the Free, Fair and Transparent Elections Act, and said the bill would make Arizonas system of voting more like those in Florida and Illinois. He claimed that his bill would mean quicker release of results following elections, a point of contention for some who believe that a slower release of results means that fraud must have occurred.

During a debate of the bill on Feb. 28, Democratic Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, of Laveen, called the legislation deeply misguided, saying that Arizona already has free and fair elections thanks in part to the work of Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.

Some Republicans in recent years have used delays in Arizonas election results  largely due to processing and counting early ballots that were delivered on Election Day  to stoke conspiracy theories about election fraud. In reality, complete election results in the state have never been available on Election Night in any Arizona county, it was just easier in the past to call a race for the winner when the state was solidly red and Republicans won by large margins.

But now that Arizona is trending purple, races have been much tighter, making it more difficult to call a presumptive winner before all the results are in.

In 1991, Republicans ushered no-excuses early voting, in which any voter can request an early ballot and then cast it by mail, into existence in Arizona. The GOP long benefited from early voting here until then-President Donald Trump and his supporters began spreading misinformation about vote-by-mail fraud after he lost the 2020 presidential election.

Voting by mail remains incredibly popular in Arizona, with almost 90% of ballots in 2020 cast by mail and around 75% of voters signed up to receive early ballots in 2022.

Democratic Rep. Laura Terech warned Carbone that banning voting centers and forcing a return to precinct-based voting would cause a huge increase in provisional ballots, ultimately meaning that a larger percentage of ballots cast on Election Day will never be counted.

Carbone told Terech that he disagreed with that, but the numbers say that he is categorically wrong.

Several counties in Arizona, including Maricopa, Pima and Yavapai, used a vote center model, wherein any registered voter in the county can cast their ballot at any polling location in the county. In a precinct model, there are more voting locations, but each voter can only cast a ballot at their designated location.

Voters who cast their ballot at the wrong location would not have their votes counted.

In 2014, when Maricopa County voters were still casting their ballots at designated precincts, 19% of Election Day voters cast provisional ballots. Thats compared to only 3% in 2022 after the county began using only voting centers.

Before voting in favor of the bill on Feb. 29, Republican Rep. Neal Carter of San Tan Valley used Pinal County as an example of the success of precinct-based voting, saying that the county has had no problems with elections.

But that ignores what happened in 2022.

In July, Pinal Countys elections department sent to voters more than 60,000 ballots that didnt include their town elections. And just a month later in the August primary, some Pinal County voters stood in line for hours after precinct locations ran out of ballots because the elections director didnt order enough of them.

Carter didnt mention those issues, saying instead that he was appalled at the lines hes seen at vote centers in Maricopa County, as compared to the short lines that he has personally experienced at his precinct in Pinal County, where he said there were never more than 3-4 people in line.

Maricopa County has a mostly urban population of almost 4.5 million while Pinals is mostly rural with around 450,000 residents.

I think that the precinct-only method is great, Carter said. I just dont understand why any other system would be preferred.

He added that he thinks precinct voting is convenient and saves people time.

But the Republicans who advocated for this legislation failed to address another major issue: That counties have already had trouble finding enough people to staff polling locations, and if counties that use a vote center model were forced to return to precincts, they would likely have to hire thousands more workers.

The Arizona Association of Counties opposes the measure for that reason, as well as because voters have clearly shown that they prefer the option to vote early by mail.

While the bill would allow some early voting, unlike today, it would require all those who want to cast their ballot that way to provide an excuse. The only exceptions are for the elderly and disabled, people who must be outside of their precincts on Election Day and for citizens living overseas, including members of the military.

Democratic Rep. Mariana Sandoval of Goodyear urged a no vote on the bill, saying that what works for one county isnt necessarily whats best for all counties, and that each community should do whats best for its own voters.

Sandoval added that the Cocopah Indian Tribe, located south of Yuma in Yuma County, recently asked for a voting center within its borders to make voting easier for its members.

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The post More than 75% of voters use early ballots. Every AZ House Republican voted to take that away. appeared first on Arizona Mirror.
When COVID-19 shuttered virtually everything in 2020 and forced public schools to begin distance learning, those schools responded with the agility one would expect from a decrepit battleship forced to make a quick change of course in the face of an unexpected enemy. In other words, the state's hulking K-12 system barely responded at all, even as small and nimble private and charter schools quickly adapted to the new reality.

I remember news stories about public schools unable to set up even the most basic Zoom classes, of teachers who had no idea what they were supposed to doand then of unions and administrators resisting efforts to re-start classroom teaching even after the rest of society was getting back to normal. Instead of re-ordering procedures to help kids stay current on their schoolwork, the school establishment mainly whined about not having enough money.

Anyone who needs a reminder about why government bureaucracies are incapable of providing quality public services need only look at the resulting disaster. A Stanford University study found, "a substantial decline in student learning in both English language arts/literacy (ELA) and mathematics between the 201819 and 202122 academic years." Those are the general figures, but the results for poor and minority students were a travesty.

California's lowest-income students already fared second to last in the nation in 2018, before anyone had even heard of coronavirus. After the pandemic closures, the study found that only 16 percent of Black students met or exceeded state math standardsa number that was below 10 percent for English learners. And then there are the appalling truancy numbers: Nearly a third of the state's K-12 students were chronically absent during the ruckus.

We heard rumblings of a "parent revolt," which manifested itself in some high-profile school board elections. But, again, it's hard to turn around a giant shipespecially one that for years has been taking in water. In the private sector, unhappy customers take their business elsewhere. With government agencies, the process for making change is daunting. Booting bad school board members is a start, but there are so many obstacles to improving matters at the classroom level.

A recent settlement has been touted as a way to force the state to enact meaningful reforms that might improve achievement after several parents had filed a lawsuit against the state. "The change in the delivery of education left many already-underserved students functionally unable to attend school," they noted in their complaint. "The state continues to refuse to step up and meet its constitutional obligation to ensure basic educational equality or indeed any education at all."

The agreement earmarks $2 billion in remaining COVID funds to pay for tutoring, counseling, and after-school activities, CalMatters reported. I applaud the agreement, but have limited expectations. Mainly, as the publication noted, "the case has drawn attention to the magnitude of the learning loss during the pandemic." How much more drawing attention do we need? And more than 40 percent of the state budget goes to K-14 education, so a little more money won't institute the change we need.

I also take issue with CalMatter's description of the "herculean efforts by school staff to keep students engaged." I'm sure many teachers and administrators tried their best, but Hercules succeeded at completing his nearly impossible 12 laborsand most public schools failed to complete even the most elementary educational tasks.

Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-dominated Legislature have been taking aim at one reform that has enabled many ill-served students get a quality education. At the behest of teachers' unions, they restricted the growth of charter schools. Empowered by the new laws, Los Angeles Unified School District this month "passed a sweeping policy that will limit when charters can operate on district-owned campuses," the Los Angeles Times reported.

That above-mentioned Stanford study noted that dismal test scores "should sound a loudly screaming alarm: The task of transforming our schools can no longer be delayed." Yet warning sirens have been sounding for years and the public-school establishment continues in the wrong union-dictated direction.

The latest lawsuit echoes the Vergara decision, a 2014 Los Angeles case that initially tossed teacher-employment protections including tenure. The court found that these firing restrictions leave "grossly ineffective teachers" in the classroom. The impact, which disproportionately harms lower-income students, "shocks the conscience," it added. Higher courts eventually overturned the ruling. The state didn't heed the alarm bells. They mainly energized teachers' unions, which feared the impact on their protected employment.

So here we are again. How much more evidence do we need? California's poorly served public school students need more than a few more dollars diverted to tutoring programs. We need to airlift them off a sinking ship and into competitive educational vessels. Quite frankly, with the money the state spends on education, every student could have a room on a luxury cruise liner.

This column was first published in The Orange County Register.

The post More Evidence That COVID School Closures Wrecked Student Performance appeared first on Reason.com.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  Digital menus, contactless ordering and robot servers are just a few of the technology investments some restaurants are considering this year.

According to the National Restaurant Associations 2024 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, more restaurants are turning to technology.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New report highlights whats next for Texas restaurants in 2024

The report said 60% of restaurant operators nationwide plan to make technology investments to enhance the customer experience.

How are the different ways that we can apply todays latest technologies to create a better customer experience? Joe Monastero, Texas Restaurant Association

That follows a growing trend of more businesses turning to technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

RELATED COVERAGE: How Austins small businesses are using artificial intelligence

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, about 25% of small businesses said they are using or testing AI so they can outpace competitors.

Automating certain tasks

Joe Monastero is the chief operating officer for the Texas Restaurant Association.

Monastero said restaurants are looking at technology that can automate certain tasks behind the scene.

AI is certainly being incorporated now into things like calling up and having an interactive conversation to place a to-go order, Monastero said. That saves the person needing to be on the phone, giving more time and attention to the customer thats standing right in front of them.

Monastero said restaurants are also using technology to help better predict things they need.

The amount of food they need to have, how to control their food costs, Monastero said. So applying those technologies and finding that right combination is really where everyone will be focused most.

Its helpful

At K BBQ, rolling around from table to table, you can find a robot server bringing food to customers.

The restaurant incorporated the robot ever since it opened in 2021.

General Manager Mario Cotto said there are white dots on the ceiling that help the robot navigate throughout the restaurant.

K BBQ said its robot helps servers by bringing food to customers. (Photo: KXAN)

K BBQ said its robot helps servers by bringing food to customers. (Photo: KXAN)

K BBQ said its robot helps servers by bringing food to customers. (Photo: KXAN)

K BBQ said its robot helps servers by bringing food to customers. (Photo: KXAN)

It has multiple cameras where itll kind of visualize itself and a map where its at in the restaurant, Cotto said. It will go to any of the tables whenever its input what table to go to.

Cotto said the robot beefed up their workforce and helped save them time.

Whenever it gets really, really busy here, we have two of those things running around, Cotto said. Its like two other people kind of working for us. Its really helpful.

Whether it is delivering food or singing happy birthday, Cotto said this technology frees up their servers to focus more on customer service.

The robots can kind of do all the hard labor work for us, Cotto said. It creates a better relationships for us and customers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
A military court in Somalia has sentenced six Islamic State fighters from Morocco to death.

The men will be executed by a firing squad if their appeal, which they have one month to file, is unsuccessful.

"They came to Somalia to support Isis [IS} and destroy and shed blood," the court's deputy chairman, Col Ali Ibrahim Osman, told VOA Somali.

The men's lawyer said they had been misled into joining IS and were seeking to be deported to Morocco.

It is the first time authorities in the semi-autonomous Puntland region have charged or sentenced foreigners for joining IS.

The military court also gave an Ethiopian and a Somali 10-year prison sentences each, while freeing another Somali defendant due to insufficient evidence.

One of the prosecutors told BBC Somali that the militants were arrested in the Cal-Miskaat mountains, east of Bosaso, Puntland's commercial hub.

The mountains are a stronghold of Islamic State, which has a base there.

The Somali branch of IS was formed in 2015 by a group of defectors from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Shabab group - the largest jihadist group in Somalia.

It is notorious for extorting locals and mainly carries out small-scale, sporadic attacks, according to the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Somalia typically issues the death penalty for crimes connected to terrorism.

The practice has been condemned by several local and international human rights groups, including The Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders.

Last month, the coalition and other rights groups said in a report that Somalia had carried out at least 55 executions last year.

It said that 23 of the executions done last year were carried out by military authorities in Puntland and Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Months after Metro police said a man was found staggering around North Nashville with a gunshot wound, the person believed to be responsible has been taken into custody.

According to Metro dispatch, the incident was reported shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2023. In an arrest affidavit, officials said there were multiple pedestrians in the area when the shooting took place.

PREVIOUS: Metro police investigating after man found shot in North Nashville

Witnesses told police the victim was seen staggering around near 10th Avenue North and Buchanan Street, before eventually collapsing. When officers arrived on scene, they discovered the man had been shot in the chest.

The man was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where officials said he was treated for critical injuries. In an interview with police, the man reportedly identified 50-year-old Charles Bowman Scruggs Jr. as the person who had shot him.

Charles Scruggs Jr. (Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department)

Scruggs was added to the Metro Nashville Police Departments Top 10 Most Wanted list on Jan. 10 as authorities continued to search for his whereabouts. He was finally taken into custody early on Friday, March 1, ending the nearly two-month long search.

He is charged with attempted criminal homicide, felon in possession of a weapon, employing a firearm with intent and reckless endangerment. Arrest records show Scruggs is being held on a $65,000 bond.

Nashvilles Top 10 Most Wanted fugitives: Week of Feb. 28, 2024

He is among at least 91 Most Wanted fugitives who have been taken into custody since the program was launched in October 2022. Authorities have largely attributed the programs success to tips from the public.

To see this weeks list of Most Wanted fugitives out of Nashville, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A Stormont department has "concrete plans" to address a failure to test diesel cars for potentially dangerous emissions, a court has heard.

Judgement was reserved in the judicial review action taken by Friends of the Earth NI with the Public Interest Litigation Support Project (PILS).

The NI Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) was also granted leave to intervene in the case.

The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) accepted it breached test obligations.

A BBC Spotlight investigation found the vehicle tests had not been carried out since 2006.

A barrister for the DfI told the judicial review hearing in Belfast that it was investigating the latest technology for emissions testing, including "particulate number testing", which was better suited to newer cars.

The DfI plans - which are to be introduced in a "workable but reasonable timeframe" - include operating the smoke test for older cars while using the newer one for more modern cars.

The court was told the number of cars getting an MoT test each year had increased from 700,000 in 2006 to 1.2m in 2023 and that immediate reintroduction of the diesel smoke test would make it impossible to meet current demand.

Two new MOT test centres expected to have testing capability were due to open in 2023, but they have been delayed.

In the first hearing in September 2023, a lawyer for the applicants told the court that the alleged failure of the DfI to test diesel cars not only breached its obligations but also its duties to protect public health, biodiversity and wildlife habitats.

The tests are legally required, but a BBC Spotlight investigation in 2018 found they had not been carried out for more than a decade.

At that time, in response to concerns about emissions testing, the Driver and Vehicle Agency, which falls under the DfI, said staff did "a visual test" where they made a "personal judgement" about a car's emissions.

This is one of the first cases to rely on the Climate Change Act 2022 in court.

Mr Justice Colton said he would deliver judgement as quickly as possible.
China's Hengqin lifts tariffs for most imports from Macao

Xinhua) 08:19, March 01, 2024

An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 4, 2023 shows a view of the Hengqin International Financial Center in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

GUANGZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The island of Hengqin in south China's Guangdong Province started a new customs operation on Friday that allows most goods to be moved there tax-free from the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR).

The new operation became effective at midnight in the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in the city of Zhuhai. The 106-square-kilometer island sits between Macao and the Chinese mainland.

Under the new mechanism, tariffs will be generally lifted for goods entering Hengqin from Macao, while goods moving from Hengqin to the Chinese mainland will now be subject to import duties, if they are not eligible for added-value tax exemption.

Similar tax exemptions also apply to luggage and parcels entering Hengqin from Macao.

The new policy is seen as a major arrangement to enrich the practice of "one country, two systems" in Macao and boost the SAR's economic diversification.

"The new policy will effectively facilitate the flow of goods, personnel, capital and information between Hengqin and Macao, and create valuable new space for Macao's new industries and business forms," said Li Weinong, director of the zone's executive committee.

In 2021, China's central authorities decided to build the Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin and make the island an important new growth point for Macao's economy.

By the end of 2023, there were 11,500 Macao residents working or living in Hengqin, an annual increase of over 70 percent, according to the zone's statistics bureau.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Villeroy & Boch, a German manufacturer of ceramics, has successfully completed its acquisition of all operating companies of the Ideal Standard Group. Ideal Standard will be integrated as a separate part of the Villeroy & Boch Group now that all necessary approvals by antitrust authorities have been received.

Through the integration Villeroy & Boch will join the ranks of Europes largest manufacturers of bathroom products, with around 13,000 employees and a global production and distribution network.

Ideal Standard complements Villeroy & Bochs business model excellently. The complementary strengths of the two companies in terms of regional presence, sales strategies and product and brand portfolios will increase the Groups competitiveness.

Unchanged composition

The composition of Villeroy & Boch AGs Management Board will remain unchanged under CEO Gabi Schupp. Jan Peter Tewes will continue to manage the Ideal Standard business and will report to Gabi Schupp.

With the acquisition of Ideal Standard, we are systematically pursuing our strategic growth path, expanding our core business and enhancing our international presence. We firmly believe that the two companies will also be a good cultural fit. In addition to our traditional brands, we share common values, including a dedication to quality and service, an appreciation for exemplary design and the constant pursuit of innovation. We would like to welcome our new colleagues and we look forward to shaping our future together, commented Schupp.

The acquisition of Ideal Standard represents the biggest transaction of this kind in Villeroy & Bochs history. The integration will enable us to increase our resilience in a consistently challenging market environment, leverage synergies and establish optimal foundations for future profitable growth, added Andreas Schmid, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Villeroy & Boch AG.

We are looking forward to working together as part of the Villeroy & Boch Group. A stronger regional presence, our bundled expertise in private consumer and project business, and our excellently positioned fittings business are just some examples of the vast potential we will realise with our customers, our partners and our employees, said Tewes.--TradeArabia News Service
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China will guide major payment platforms to raise the single transaction limit for overseas travelers using mobile payments from 1,000 U.S. dollars to 5,000 U.S. dollars, a central bank official said Friday.

Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, told a press briefing that the central bank will instruct platforms such as Alipay and Tenpay to raise the annual cumulative transaction limit from 10,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars.

The platforms were also told to optimize their operating procedures and improve the efficiency of binding overseas bank cards, while simplifying identity verification when conducting transactions, Zhang said.

To further improve payment services for overseas travelers, the establishment of hardware and software facilities required for mobile payments, bank cards and cash at tourist attractions will also be advanced, Shi Zeyi, an official of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said at the briefing.

Cash and bank card rejection will be strictly penalized, and sufficient cash reserves will be ensured for overseas cash users in key cities and scenic spots as non-cash payments have become the mainstream in China, National Development and Reform Commission official Chen Hongwan said.

Payment facilitation in areas including transport, catering and retail sales will also be boosted for overseas travelers, officials said. 
Robert Taylor speaks at Pine View Baptist Church on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Taylor was was the chief financial officer for University Health Services for 40 years.

Days after dozens of University Hospital retirees gathered at Pine View Baptist Church in Augusta to discuss recent rulings in a civil suit against Piedmont Healthcare Inc., new court documents were filed that again question the jurisdiction of the case.

The lawsuit, filed on March 21 by 174 retired employees, claims just a few months after University Health Services joined Piedmont in March 2022, retirees were notified that promised lifetime health benefits for employees over 65 with more than 30 years of employment would no longer be funded.

The battle over jurisdiction began on April 19, when Piedmont attorneys moved the case to U.S. District Court, stating the employees' claims fell into federal jurisdiction, according to previous reporting.

Over the last several months, the case has been volleyed back and forth between U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall and Richmond County Superior Court Judge Amanda N. Heath.

'It's just so heart wrenching': University Hospital retirees discuss ongoing Piedmont lawsuit

The retirees filed a motion to remand the case back to Superior Court on Thursday, stating:

There is a difference in Georgia law and federal law relating to declaratory judgments, which are meant to resolve legal uncertainty for both parties.

The obligation to pay retirees the hidden paycheck is not governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal law that sets minimum standards for retirement health plans.

University Health Services, now Piedmont, are only lessees of the property of the Richmond County Hospital Authority and any hidden paycheck obligation would not be governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

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Also filed Thursday was a sworn affidavit by former University Health Services chief financial officer Robert Taylor, who worked for the hospital for 36 years.

In the affidavit, Taylor stated the purpose of the contractual obligation was to retain employees and was never part of any welfare plan or health insurance plan offered to employees by University Hospital.

He also said he "knows for a fact" that in 2020, hospital administrator Jim Davis and then-CFO Dave Belkoski told retirees they would have to go into a Medicare Advantage Plan in order to receive the promised benefit, offering "substantial savings to University Hospital," according to the affidavit.

Taylor alleged Piedmont is now telling individuals qualified for the benefit that they have to enroll in the advantage plan, which is not what the hospital is obligated to provide, according to the affidavit.

He said the move is a breach of the contract the hospital made with those employees.

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This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: New court documents filed in Piedmont lawsuit on behalf of retirees
(KRON)  Students from Mountain View High School have filed a statewide lawsuit against their school on Thursday alleging censorship. The lawsuit was filed after The Oracle, the student-ran newspaper, published a story concerning a supposed sexual assault case against a teacher in the school. In response, the schools principal both brought down their story, and fired the schools journalism advisor.

Its a lousy sort of message to send That if you dont like the story that your student journalists published, you can just target their teacher who they really respect and admire, said Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel for the Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit group that works with student journalists across the country. The SPLC is also representing the student journalists in the lawsuit.

In response to censoring the students, the principal told the paper they ought to be publishing more positive news, Hiestand said, The principal missed the whole purpose of what the newspaper is about. The reason we have free press is because we have to keep our government accountable. The journalism advisor who was fired is also suing on her own behalf for wrongful discharge.

You know, a lot of people think that its stories of sex, drugs and rock and roll that are going to be censored, and you know, it happens. But the number one reason that stories get censored is when someone, like a school official, thinks that for whatever reason, it makes them look bad, Hiestand said.

Students involved in the lawsuit have two main demands from the school. The first is their right to publish the story instead of the watered down version of it, said Hiestand. The second is reinstating both the journalism advisor that got fired, along with the introductory journalism class the advisor created for the school.

Hiestand is hopeful this can be settled before going to court. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars, censoring the story, and firing the advisor, Hiestand believes the school should, get to their senses and say, we messed up, lets figure this out.

California is only one of 17 states that has state laws that specifically protecting its journalists from censorship. You guys [California] have made the decision to train the next generation of journalists in the way they should be trained, Hiestand said, They [the students] were on the front lines more than any other journalist. So, lets listen to these kids. Lets see what they have to say about it.

The district and principal have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
Semafor Signals

Insights from The Guardian, Mediazona, RusNews, Agentstvo, 7x7, Ekaterina Duntsova, and Radio Free Europe

The News

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnys coffin was buried as by Frank Sinatra played over speakers.

Supporters arrived at a Moscow church for his funeral amid a heavy police presence and the threat of arrest. Not present were his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, or his two children, Dasha and Zahar. All three risk persecution from the Kremlin if they arrive in Russia, and currently live abroad. Russian police reportedly detained dozens of Navalnys supporters who gathered for tributes across the country, according to rights monitoring group.

On Instagram, Navalnaya posted a heartfelt tribute to her husband. I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to do it so you  up there  would be happy and proud of me, she wrote. We will definitely meet one day.

Navalnys supporters shouted you were not afraid, and we are not afraid ahead of the service at the Icon of the Mother of God church in the neighborhood of Maryino, chanting his name. As his body was later taken for burial, they said, We will never forget you, the BBC reported.

Russian police warned against protests over the death of the high-profile Kremlin critic. Independent media earlier noted disruptions to internet connections, with security cameras and fencing installed around the church.

The Kremlin refused to comment to journalists on Navalnys funeral. The Kremlin has nothing to say to Navalnys relatives on the day of his funeral, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. But he warned that any unauthorized gatherings will violate the law and protesters will be held accountable, independent outlet Mediazona reported.

Navalny, 47, died at an Arctic penal colony last month where he was jailed on politically-motivated charges. His family accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin of ordering his death, and many Western world leaders have held Putin responsible.

SIGNALS

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

The Kremlin has sought to limit potential protests at Navalnys funeral

Sources: The Guardian, Mediazona, RusNews, Agentstvo, 7x7, Yekaterina Duntsova, Radio Free Europe

Previously, funerals for the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov in 1989 or the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015 saw thousands of Russians marching in Moscow. This time around, the Kremlin has seemed determined to prevent Navalnys funeral from becoming a political flash point. Russian authorities installed fences and CCTV cameras near the church where Navalnys funeral was held, while posters prohibiting video and audio recordings were hung inside the building, the Russian independent outlets Mediazona and RusNews reported. Meanwhile, Russian educational authorities have released a video aimed at schools emphasizing that attending illegal protests can come with prison sentences of up to 10 years, Agentstvo reported. One Moscow university has threatened to expel students who attend a rally on the day of Navalnys funeral, wrote 7x7. Moscow city authorities have refused to approve a memorial march for Navalny on the basis of COVID-19 restrictions, the Russian journalist and opposition figure Yekaterina Duntsova wrote on Telegram. Russia has previously blocked other political rallies on the basis of the pandemic despite holding large pro-government rallies and events, Radio Free Europe reported.

Navalnys funeral is a stress test for Russian authorities

Source: The Moscow Times, Time Magazine

The Kremlin made detailed plans to prevent protests at Navalnys funeral and to fill Russian media with pro-government stories to drown out the news about the Russian opposition leaders death, The Moscow Times reported. Navalnys funeral is a stress test for the Russian authorities, a senior Russian official told the independent news outlet. The official added that Russian special services were tasked with preventing a picture similar to the farewell to [Andrei] Sakharov, a reference to the dissidents funeral, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people in what was seen as a powerful indictment of the Soviet government, Time Magazine wrote.
FILE - This undated image provided by Augusta University shows Laken Hope Riley, a nursing student whose body was found Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Ga., after not returning from a run. (Augusta University via AP, File)

WOODSTOCK, Ga. (AP)  Hundreds of mourners lined up Friday at a church outside Atlanta to pay respects to the family of Laken Riley, the nursing student was found slain after she went out for a morning jog on the University of Georgia campus.

A funeral service for 22-year-old Riley followed a visitation in Cherokee County, where Riley lived before graduating from high school in Atlanta's northern suburbs. A long line formed outside the visitation at Woodstock City Church, where a slideshow of photos played on TV screens inside the large church's auditorium  Riley on a beach, at a football game, wearing a Bulldogs jersey.

Some people dabbed away tears as they passed by the casket, which was at the front of the auditorium and flanked by photos of Riley and flower bouquets.

The funeral service was not open to the media, and reporters were asked to wait outside on a sidewalk.

The ceremony included tributes from family, said David Milan, who attended the event and said he was an accountant for Riley's family.

I've known her since she was a baby, he said afterward in the church parking lot.

Riley was enrolled in the Augusta Medical College's nursing program in Athens when police found her dead Feb. 22 on the neighboring University of Georgia campus. A friend called police after Riley left to go running and didn't come home.

The killing shocked Riley's fellow students in Athens, where more than 41,000 attend UGA and another 210 are enrolled in the medical program where Riley studied nursing. Police arrested a suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, on murder charges the day after Riley was slain in a forested area with trails for running and walking.

Riley loved nursing and caring for others, according to her obituary from Poole Funeral Home. She had remained active in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority at UGA, where she studied before enrolling in nursing school.

In addition to her parents, Riley is survived by her stepfather, two sisters and a brother. One of her siblings, Lauren Phillips, posted on social media that Riley was the best sister and my built in best friend from the very first second.

This isnt fair and I will never understand it but I know you are in heaven, Phillips wrote on Instagram after her sisters death. She added, Im not sure how Im going to do this but its all going to be for you from now on. I cannot wait to give you the biggest hug someday.

Ibarra is a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case, which has thrust the slaying to the forefront of the U.S. debate over immigration, a top issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.
With Frank Sinatra's ''My Way' blaring in the background, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was buried Friday after thousands of defiant mourners gathered for his funeral in Moscow.

Risking arrest by Russian police, mourners clapped and chanted anti-Putin slogans as they paid tribute to Navalny, who died two weeks ago at an Arctic penal colony. He was 47.

A short memorial service for Navalny took place in an Orthodox church in southeastern Moscow. He was then interred in a nearby local cemetery, where music from "Terminator 2," Navalny's favorite movie, was played at the cemetery, his spokesperson said.

Video streamed online on Navalny's YouTube channel showed sizable crowds standing in orderly lines and behind barricades set up by police at the church and cemetery.

Navalny, a thorn in Putin's side, died: What does it mean for Russia?

'Russia will be free'

Some in the crowd clapped and chanted "Navalny! Navalny!" as the hearse carrying his body arrived at the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrow.

Others chanted slogans directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, such as "Russia without Putin," "Russia will be free," and "You (Navalny) were not afraid, and we are not afraid."

There were no immediate reports of arrests.

More: In Tucker Carlson interview, Putin's plans for Ukraine appear to echo Trump's

Russia warns against 'unauthorized gatherings'

Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, urged those gathering in Moscow and elsewhere not to break the law, saying any "unauthorized (mass) gatherings" are violations, according to comments he made to Russian state media.

Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow and heir to his political activism, said earlier in the week she was worried that Putin would order the arrests of anyone who tried to attend her husband's funeral.

"Im not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband," Navalnaya said during a speech to European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday. "You cannot hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions that is no different from the previous ones, you cannot defeat him by thinking hes a man of principles who has morals or rules. ''

Putin, she told European leaders, doesn't operate the way they do.

"You are not dealing with a politician but with a bloody mobster, she said.

Putin, for his part, has been focused on saber-rattling on international affairs as much as he has on domestic politics. He warned this week that the West faces prospects of a nuclear conflict if it got more involved in its war in Ukraine. The warning was a response to suggestions by France's president that Western troops could eventually fight alongside Ukrainian forces two years into Russias ongoing invasion.

More NATO troops in Ukraine? French proposal brings a warning from Russia

Putin crackdowns on his critics

Putin has passed stringent laws that have marginalized any effective opposition to his rule. Many Russian activists who oppose his government have either fled the country or are themselves imprisoned.

Russian authorities detained about 400 people across 39 cities in the days after Navalny's death as they attempted to lay flowers and pay their respects at small-scale vigils, according to OVD-Info, a Moscow-based independent human rights group and information service that focuses on political persecution in Russia.

OVD-Info published a photo from inside the church during Navalny's memorial service Friday that showed his body in an open casket covered with red and white flowers. His mother sat beside it holding a candle. Navalnys father was also present. It was not clear who else in his family attended the service.

Neither Navalnaya nor her children are thought to have returned to Russia since Navalny's death.

"I don't know how to live without you," Navalnaya posted on X in a final goodbye message to her husband.

Dig deeper: 'They can come for you': For Russian protesters, a free-speech crackdown sharpens threat

'Sudden death syndrome'?

The exact cause of Navalny's death has not been independently established. Russian prison authorities say he died of "sudden death syndrome." But his family and supporters say he was murdered and question why it took more than a week for his body to be released to them. He also joins a growing list of Putin foes who died in mysterious ways including poisoning, falling out of windows, and even in a plane crash.

"He was our hope. He was the same age as my children. I feel like I'm burying my own son," one mourner outside the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrow told the BBC, of Navalny.

"He was the only person I could trust. I was dreaming that he would become president. It's a huge tragedy."

The Biden administration last week imposed sanctions on more than 500 individuals and entities for Navalny's death and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. However, a panel of Russian dissidents in London told reporters on Wednesday they did not think those punitive measures, while helpful, would ultimately do much to harm Putin.

"There is no silver bullet that the Russian opposition or Western governments can employ to stop the war (in Ukraine) and get rid of Putin," said Vladimir Ashurkov, who helped found Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation.

More: 'Consequences you have never seen': How to read Putin's nuclear threats

Last hope for a democratic Russia? Young Russians mourn death of opposition leader Navalny

"It's a matter of consistent work," Ashurkov said. "Our premise has always been that Putin's regime may seem stable but it's becoming more and more fragile and our goal as a professional political organization is to be the most organized political force in Russia when things start to change."

'Yulia ... is our hope' 'Yulia ... is our hope': Can Alexei Navalny's widow continue the fight against Putin?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alexei Navalny's funeral draws mourners and anti-Putin slogans
The Mississippi House Constitution Committee advanced a bill Wednesday to give suffrage to people previously convicted of certain non-violent felonies.

House Bill 1609, which passed unanimously through the committee, will now be taken up and considered by the full House next week, committee Chair Price Wallace, R-Mendenhall, told the Clarion Ledger Thursday. It will be the first time such a bill has hit the floor in more than 10 years.

"It's a step in the right direction for our citizens that messed up and now their voice cannot be heard at the ballot box," Wallace said. "It is going to be left up to that person, whether he or she chooses to go register, but we're just going to give them that opportunity."

If passed by both legislative chambers, the bill would give suffrage back to certain non-violent felony offenders five years after the terms of their sentence. Those violators include people who committed bad check writing, perjury and bribery, to name a few. Other crimes such as murder, arson and embezzlement would not be covered under the bill.

Benny Ivey, 47, at a client's house in Terry, Miss., on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Ivey has been sober for 14 years and has tried to get his felonies expunged so he can get his rights back. On Wednesday, the House Constitution Committee moved forward a bill to return suffrage to people with certain nonviolent felonies.

The proposed law would also restore gun owning rights to those non-violent offenders covered in the bill.

Under the Mississippi Constitution, those who have been convicted of 10 types of felonies lose the right to vote. In recent years, the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office has expanded the list of disenfranchising felonies to 22 different offenses.

As of 2022, The Sentencing Project, a national research and advocacy organization, reported that about 9% of the states eligible voting population is currently disenfranchised, or about 235,000, which includes disenfranchisement from both in state and federal elections. It also found a large portion of those people are Black.

Over the last three years, according to the Mississippi Legislature website, more than 42 suffrage bills have been filed in both the Mississippi House and Senate, but all died in committee before a proper debate on the subject could be had. There were also 47 individual requests for suffrage from people seeking their voting rights back, but only seven were approved, and they were not signed by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.

Committee Vice Chair Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, said he was thrilled to see the proposed law pass through the committee.

"One of the best ways to make sure that we're restoring people to their natural rights as citizens is giving them back the right to vote," Taylor said. "This is historic, and in my opinion, is probably the first truly bipartisan bill since bringing down the flag."

In 2021, Reeves signed into law a bill to change the state flag, which previously featured the stars and bars, a symbol of a Virginia battle flag used in the American Civil War.

Bills about the Confederacy: Confederate symbols removal pushed by Mississippi Democrats in State Capitol, Washington DC

Will it pass the Legislature?

Wallace and Taylor both told the Clarion Ledger they are confident the House will pass the bill with the necessary two thirds majority needed vote, which is the highest threshold for a piece of legislation.

However, to achieve that likelihood, the bill had to drop a key component that would have allowed for certain non-violent offenders to have those felonies removed from their criminal record five years after competing all sentencing requirements, Wallace said.

"There were some certain issues with it with some members of the of the House," Wallace said. "I felt like the best thing to do was to take that section out and have something that we feel like we know we can pass."

If the bill does pass through the 122-member House, it will then go on to the Senate where it is unknown if it will be met with much approval. Though, Wallace said he has had positive conversations with several other lawmakers.

"We've gotten some good responses from them, but my main thing is to get (House Bill 1609) out of here first," Wallace said.

House expanding Medicaid: Mississippi House passes state's first Medicaid expansion bill

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi could give voting rights back to some ex-cons
A Mississippi police department in one of the nations poorest counties unconstitutionally jailed people for unpaid fines without first assessing whether they could afford to pay them, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.

The announcement comes amid a Justice Department probe into alleged civil rights violations by police in Lexington, Mississippi. The ongoing investigation, which began in November, is focused on accusations of systemic police abuses in the majority-Black city of about 1,600 people some 65 miles (100 kilometers) north of the capital of Jackson.

In a letter addressed to Katherine Barrett Riley, the attorney for the city of Lexington, federal prosecutors said the Lexington Police Department imprisons people for outstanding fines without determining whether the person has the means to pay them  a practice that violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Riley did not immediately respond to a phone message Thursday.

Its time to bring an end to a two-tiered system of justice in our country in which a persons income determines whether they walk free or whether they go to jail, said Kristen Clarke, the departments assistant attorney general for civil rights. There is great urgency underlying the issues we have uncovered in Mississippi, and we stand ready to work with officials to end these harmful practices.

Prosecutors said the conduct of police in Lexington violates the constitutions prohibition on wealth-based detention. It does so by requiring people who are arrested to pay outstanding fines before they can be released from jail, and by issuing and arresting people on warrants for outstanding fines, they said.

One-third of Lexingtons residents live below the poverty line. The burden of unjust fines and fees undermines the goals of rehabilitation and erodes the communitys trust in the justice system, said Todd W. Gee, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

About 86% of Lexingtons population is Black and it has a poverty rate approaching 30%. The area also has a storied place in civil rights history. In 1967, Holmes County residents elected Robert Clark, the first Black man to win a seat in the Mississippi Legislature in the 20th century.

The civil rights divisions sweeping investigation into the Lexington Police Department includes allegations of excessive force, discriminatory policing and First Amendment violations.

The citys former police chief, Sam Dobbins, was fired after a civil rights organization obtained an audio recording of him using racial slurs and talking about how many people he had killed in the line of duty.

Justice Department officials said they met with city leaders Thursday. The local officials have pledged to work with the Justice Department to reform their procedures, prosecutors said.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A new Zillow report is revealing just how much Tampa residents need to earn to afford a home.

According to Zillow, a $58,577 income was enough to comfortably own a Tampa home in 2020. However, Zillow said 2024 buyers will need nearly 50% more income to afford a home in Tampa.

Today, an income of $116,329 is enough to own a Tampa home, Zillow said.

This is the most affordable ZIP code to buy property in Florida, study says

The report also showed that it will take Tampa homebuyers 9.8 years to save a 10% down payment for a home if they are making the median income.

Zillow said the average monthly mortgage payment in Tampa was $2,364, assuming the buyer puts down a 10% downpayment.

Housing costs have soared over the past four years as drastic hikes in home prices, mortgage rates and rent growth far outpaced wage gains, said Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow. Buyers are getting creative to make a purchase pencil out, and long-distance movers are targeting less expensive and less competitive metros. Mortgage rates easing down has helped some, but the key to improving affordability long term is to build more homes.

According to Zillows research, the income needed to own a Tampa home was similar to that needed in Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Metropolitan

Area* Size

Rank Income Needed

to Afford a

Mortgage,

January 2024 Change in

Needed

Income Since

January 2020 Zillow Home

Value Index

(ZHVI),

January

20243 Monthly

Mortgage

Payment,

10% Down4 Years to

Save a

10%

Down

Payment Pittsburgh, PA 27 $58,232 $23,675 $201,487 $1,286 5.3 Memphis, TN 43 $69,976 $31,717 $230,807 $1,473 6.9 Cleveland, OH 34 $70,810 $30,227 $211,712 $1,351 6.0 New Orleans, LA 46 $74,048 $19,203 $232,870 $1,486 7.0 Birmingham, AL 50 $74,338 $31,875 $246,805 $1,575 6.7 Oklahoma City, OK 41 $74,732 $31,057 $226,048 $1,442 6.3 Detroit, MI 14 $75,662 $31,124 $236,025 $1,506 6.1 Buffalo, NY 49 $76,884 $34,744 $242,435 $1,547 6.5 St. Louis, MO 21 $76,895 $31,880 $238,231 $1,520 5.9 Louisville, KY 45 $77,450 $31,185 $243,810 $1,556 6.8 Indianapolis, IN 33 $82,037 $38,150 $267,301 $1,706 6.6 Cincinnati, OH 28 $86,027 $38,050 $267,423 $1,706 6.8 Kansas City, MO 31 $92,896 $40,742 $289,290 $1,846 7.2 Houston, TX 5 $95,374 $39,779 $300,955 $1,920 7.5 San Antonio, TX 24 $95,767 $38,307 $283,161 $1,807 7.5 Columbus, OH 32 $95,821 $43,405 $297,637 $1,899 7.3 Milwaukee, WI 40 $100,822 $42,613 $321,037 $2,049 8.5 Virginia Beach, VA 37 $102,703 $43,989 $332,820 $2,124 8.2 Chicago, IL 3 $104,757 $39,716 $300,906 $1,920 6.7 Richmond, VA 44 $106,170 $47,930 $349,558 $2,231 7.9 United States 0 $106,536 $47,490 $342,941 $2,188 8.4 Philadelphia, PA 7 $109,257 $47,837 $343,102 $2,189 7.5 Jacksonville, FL 39 $109,271 $51,617 $348,665 $2,225 8.2 Charlotte, NC 23 $111,051 $55,239 $368,712 $2,353 9.2 Hartford, CT 48 $114,109 $52,114 $334,712 $2,136 7.3 Minneapolis, MN 16 $114,344 $41,867 $355,511 $2,269 7.3 Baltimore, MD 20 $114,348 $44,063 $367,861 $2,347 7.6 Atlanta, GA 9 $115,430 $55,989 $370,548 $2,364 8.0 Tampa, FL 18 $116,329 $58,577 $370,474 $2,364 9.8 Las Vegas, NV 30 $119,529 $54,172 $407,516 $2,600 10.6 Dallas, TX 4 $121,398 $53,679 $366,690 $2,340 8.3 Orlando, FL 22 $121,418 $58,140 $386,687 $2,467 9.9 Nashville, TN 36 $128,535 $59,508 $425,827 $2,717 10.1 Raleigh, NC 42 $130,472 $62,410 $430,562 $2,747 8.7 Phoenix, AZ 11 $131,322 $65,017 $447,074 $2,853 9.9 Providence, RI 38 $142,928 $65,387 $449,025 $2,865 10.1 Austin, TX 29 $149,267 $65,144 $451,322 $2,880 8.8 Miami, FL 8 $151,163 $74,834 $472,970 $3,018 12.3 Salt Lake City, UT 47 $154,455 $72,592 $523,832 $3,343 10.6 Portland, OR 25 $161,624 $65,664 $528,724 $3,374 11.0 Washington, DC 6 $166,551 $64,078 $539,116 $3,440 8.2 Sacramento, CA 26 $172,261 $69,908 $559,243 $3,569 11.6 Denver, CO 19 $172,704 $71,338 $566,692 $3,616 10.7 Riverside, CA 13 $173,375 $81,676 $563,468 $3,595 12.6 Boston, MA 10 $205,253 $86,967 $650,890 $4,153 11.6 New York, NY 1 $213,615 $78,696 $627,944 $4,007 12.9 Seattle, WA 15 $213,984 $94,163 $697,824 $4,453 12.2 San Diego, CA 17 $273,613 $131,018 $902,199 $5,757 16.9 Los Angeles, CA 2 $279,250 $121,457 $918,247 $5,859 19.4 San Francisco, CA 12 $339,864 $119,614 $1,104,853 $7,050 16.0 San Jose, CA 35 $454,296 $191,071 $1,493,255 $9,528 18.8

*Table ordered by income needed to afford a mortgage in January 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  The 37th annual Waterfront Blues Festival is coming to Portland this summer, with a myriad of elite musicians slated to take the stage.

Four days passes for the event, which will take place July 4-7 at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, are on sale now on the Waterfront Blues website.

Three-time Grammy winner Ben Harper, a collaboration between blues legend Bobby Rush and the five-time Grammy-nominated North Mississippi Allstars, as well as neo-soul vocalist Lo Steele, daughter of Portlands First Lady of the Blues, LaRhonda Steele, are just a few of the many performances that can be seen during the event  view the current lineup here.

We had so much fun putting the initial lineup together this year, as we really wanted to push the boundaries of the genre and have something for every type of music lover, says Peter Dammann, Waterfront Blues Festival artistic director. When you think about bluegrass, soul and Americana, they all have blues traditions woven in and its exciting to showcase new genres and bring new audiences to this years festival.

Along with the world-class music, the Waterfront Blues Festival will feature local vendors offering food and beverages, as well as art exhibits, music memorabilia, and a kids activities area.

The Waterfront Blues Festival is not just a music event; its a celebration of community, welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds to share in the joy of live music, dance, food, art, and all the things we love about Portland, says Christina Fuller, festival director of Waterfront Blues Festival. For 37 years, this festival has brought families and friends to downtown Portland, making it a vibrant hub of fun and activity. Its a tribute to the unifying power of live music and in-person events.

Four-day passes are now available, starting at $125, with general admission and several VIP options. Kids 12 and younger get in for free.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
The UK must face down extremists trying to "deliberately" undermine the country's "multi-faith democracy", Rishi Sunak has warned.

The PM said Islamists and the far-right were "two sides of the same extremist coin" who loathed Britain.

He also expressed concern about the regular protests taking place in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Mr Sunak spoke at a lectern outside No 10, a set up usually reserved for big announcements such as elections.

However, he did not set out details of any new policies.

The prime minister had already given his response to the Rochdale by-election, saying earlier in the day that the campaign had been one of the most divisive in recent times and praising the Tory candidate's positive message.

But only a few hours later he decided, on the steps of Downing Street, to take aim at George Galloway, saying it was "beyond alarming" that voters in Rochdale had returned a candidate who he said had "dismissed what happened on 7 October" in Israel.

There was tough rhetoric on extremism, warnings of "forces here at home trying to tear us apart" - but no repeat of the phrase 'mob rule' that he'd used in a statement following a meeting with police on Wednesday in Street.

Instead there was a reference to "small groups" hijacking protests. He was careful to reference both Islamist and far-right extremism, as well as condemning antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.

There was little mention of law changes beyond a message to police that he would back them taking action at protests.

Speaking to BBC News after the prime minister's speech, Mr Galloway said: "My views are my views and they were endorsed by the electorate.

"I won and people are going to have to get use to it."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the prime minister was right to "advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently".

He added: "This is something agreed across the parties and which we should all defend."

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The British people will take no lessons from a prime minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years. SNP MP Alison Thewliss said Mr Sunak had "repeatedly, and very deliberately, sought to stoke up divisions, pander to the far-right and pit communities against each other for electoral gain".

In his Friday evening speech, Mr Sunak warned democracy had become "a target" and that MPs no longer felt safe.

He expressed his fears about protests that had taken place in the aftermath of Hamas' attack against Israel, saying they had "descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence".

The police had a "tough job" in managing the protests he said but insisted "we must draw a line".

He said people on marches should not be allowed to call for violent Jihad or for the eradication of any state.

Mr Sunak promised to back the police and said his government would be introducing "a new robust framework for how it deals with this issue".

He also said his government would re-double support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities tackle "extremist activity" and stop people coming to the UK "whose aim is to undermine its values".

Divisions over the Israel-Gaza conflict have led to heightened political tensions in UK politics in recent months.

Last week Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said fears over threats to politicians was partly behind his controversial handling of a debate on Gaza.

Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood's home was targeted by pro-Palestinian protestors and Justice minister Mike Freer said he would be standing down due to safety fears.

Responding to concerns the Home Office announced 31m of funding aimed at protecting democratic processes including expanding security for politicians.
BAGHDAD, March 1 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi soldier was killed and four others were wounded on Friday in a bomb explosion north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Iraqi military said.

The incident took place in the morning when a bomb detonated inside a house under construction within an orchard in the Tarmiyah area, some 40 km north of Baghdad, the Baghdad Operation Command said in a statement, adding the soldiers were conducting a search operation to hunt down Islamic State (IS) militants at the time.

An army officer, speaking on condition of anonymity to Xinhua, said that the search operation targeted a terrorist group that had launched a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the house of a tribal leader in the Tarmiyah area late Thursday.

Although the security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of IS in 2017, remnants of the group have dispersed into deserts and rugged terrains, carrying out frequent guerrilla attacks against security forces and civilians. 
Lin Marie Carey, 56, of Naples, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A Naples woman faces several charges more than three years after a mob of former President Donald Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol and engaged in a violent riot that left at least two dead.

Lin Marie Carey, 56, was arrested Wednesday on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

On Jan. 6, 2021, after former President Donald Trump's reelection loss, a riot of his supporters, including Carey, stormed the U.S. Capito, authorities say. The mob hoped to prevent Congress from counting electoral college votes and keep then-President-elect Joe Biden from power.

Carey is charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in the District of Columbia with felony obstruction of an official proceeding; a misdemeanor offense of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; a misdemeanor offense of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Christopher Worrell sentenced: Naples Proud Boy Christopher Worrell sentenced in Jan. 6 Capitol attack as anniversary looms

The FBI arrested Carey on Wednesday in Naples. Carey made her initial appearance in the Middle District of Florida in Fort Myers the same day, court records show.

Lin Marie Carey, 56, of Naples, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

She is at least the second Southwest Florida to face charges linked to the event.

Christopher Worrell, 52, of East Naples, will remain jailed in Washington, D.C., for the immediate future. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth announced the prison sentence in January. Worrell has appealed the 10-year sentence.

According to court documents, Carey entered the Capitol building Jan. 6, 2021, via the East Side doors with a crowd of other rioters while wearing scuba goggles.

In a video that she recorded after entering the Capitol, Carey stated, "We overtook the Capitol" and, "We simply wanted to take our house back."

She added, "We want our republic back. We will not allow the Chinese to overtake the United States of America. We want to talk to Pelosi; we want to talk to Schumer; we want to talk to Pence."

According to authorities, Carey told investigators she learned through social media groups that buses were being organized to go to Washington, D.C., for the Trump rally.

Lin Marie Carey, 56, of Naples, was arrested Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Carey reportedly told authorities that she signed up through an Eventbrite website and paid $115for the bus ticket. She further stated that on Jan. 5, 2021, the buses departed from Seed to Table  a Naples grocery store owned by activist Alfie Oakes.

She told authorities she knew four or five other people on the bus through a church group. Carey said there were approximately 95 people spread between both buses.

Court records on Friday afternoon displayed her conditions of release, but a bond amount wasn't immediately available.

In 37 months, more than 1,313 men and women have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 469 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, which is a felony. The investigation remains ongoing.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples woman charged with obstruction in Jan. 6 Capitol riots
They appeared in late January over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico like sinkholes in the sky, or crop circles in clouds of cotton or floating glazed donuts. NASA took note; so did some Florida Keys fishermen.

What is going on here? one said in a video posted on social media.

Captured on NASAs Terra satellite and by the perplexed boaters were cavum clouds, more commonly known as "fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds.

Its unclear if the satellite image from Jan. 30 and the video posted the next day to social media by BlacktipH Fishing are of the same clouds, but the post mentions the video was taken in the Gulf of Mexico off Key West. BlacktipH Fishing couldn't be reached for this story.

Fallstreak holes happen when super-cooled water droplets freeze. This image was from Jan. 30, 2024 was highlighted by NASA in its image of the day series. It was taken by NASAs Terra satellite.

NASA Earth Observatory senior science writer Adam Voiland wrote about the satellite photo in a post last month for NASAs Image of the Day website.

The unusual potholes in the sky happen when airplanes fly through fluffy, mid-level altocumulus clouds that contain supercooled water droplets. The droplets remain in liquid form even in freezing temperatures because they are incredibly pure, without contaminants such as dust, pollen or bacteria that ice crystals typically form around, Voiland said.

But when the air is disturbed by a planes wings or propellers, its temperature can drop further, pushing the supercooled droplets to freeze and ice crystals to form.

The ice crystals eventually grow heavy enough that they begin to fall out of the sky, leaving a void in the cloud layer, Voiland said. The falling ice crystals are often visible in the center of the holes as wispy trails of precipitation that never reach the ground.

Those aren't UFOs: South Florida radar picks up something beautiful, ghostly and unusual

National Weather Service meteorologist Bryce Tanner, who is based in Key West, said fallstreak holes are more likely to happen during winter in the subtropics because they need mid- to high-level clouds that are common during the cooler months.

The freezing level in the atmosphere is also lower in the winter, meaning the holes would be easier to see from someone on the ground.

Fallstreak holes seen on satellite imagery over Florida on Jan. 7, 2021.

Meteorologists have noted the strange holes in clouds in publications dating to the 1940s. A picture published in a 1968 edition of Weatherwise magazine of a fallstreak was titled "Hole-in-cloud: A meteorological whodunit?" Airplanes were long thought to contribute to the formations.

In 2010 and 2011, studies by scientists at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and NASAs Langley Research Center directly linked the holes to passing airplanes and the supercooled water droplets freezing. They also found that elongated holes, dubbed canal clouds, can occur if a plane passes through the cloud at a shallow angle.

With more than 1,000 flights arriving at Miami International Airport each day, there are many opportunities for planes to encounter the atmospheric conditions needed to produce cavum clouds, Voiland wrote.

Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. Help support our local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Holes in clouds in South Florida: cavum clouds called 'fallstreak holes'
In December, 39 Missouri National Guardsmen received Combat Infantryman Badges, the formal recognition given only to troops who have engaged in active ground combat, for actions that took place during their 2023 deployment to Syria.

It was a somewhat uncommon occasion. Taking hostile fire in the Middle East had become more of a rarity for conventional troops in recent years, as the U.S. pared down its missions in Iraq and Syria.

Group of some of Missouris own was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for combat operations in the Middle East. God bless our troops who cant be home for the holidays!  pic.twitter.com/1yRSd8DpS2  SFC Nick Connery (@SFC_Connery) December 27, 2023

But its become more commonplace since October as troops deployed to the Middle East have regularly faced drone, mortar and missile attacks from Iran-backed militias, totaling more than 180 injuries in 170 incidents.

U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military presence in that area of the world, has not responded to repeated requests from Military Times to provide a list of awards for contact with the enemy since October.

Many of those troops in the line of fire have been National Guardsman, as regular rotations in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have largely been carried about by part-time soldiers spending six or more months at a time supporting the mission to defeat ISIS.

Served in Iraq, Syria or Jordan recently? We want to hear from you.

The Missouri soldiers were from 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, Army Lt. Col. Rutledge McClain, a Missouri Guard spokesman, confirmed to Military Times. The unit deployed in May and returned in December.

McClain did not respond to a request for the award citations accompanying the badges, which could offer details on what troops downrange faced during the recent attacks.

Guardsmen from Massachusetts, Maryland and Michigan were also deployed in 2023, in a support role that has largely been done with little fanfare, a U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told Military Times earlier this month.

The Missouri Guard did not publicize 1-138ths bravery, but members of the unit shared photos of the ceremony on Facebook,. One of the states recruiters then re-shared the photos.

The mission in Iraq, Syria and Jordan is to keep ISIS under control, mostly through special operations forces working with local forces to carry out kill-or-capture operations on known ISIS leadership.

To support that mission, thousands of conventional troops also deploy, taking care of everything from supply to legal services to security and air defense at outposts housing both U.S. and local troops.

The January attack on Tower 22, a small outpost on the Jordan-Syria border, which killed three Army Reserve soldiers and injured dozens of others, raised questions as to how safe these troops are, spending months at remote outposts, with questions being raised after the attack about the level of available air defenses.

Most casualties from recent attacks in Middle East are brain injuries

Guardsmen took most of the many of the casualties in that attack. Approximately 35 troops were from the Arizona National Guard, according to their spokeswoman, Army Capt. Erin Hannigan. Their injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to more serious traumatic brain injuries, including one soldier who returned stateside for treatment, she said.

New rotations of Guard troops headed to the Middle East at the beginning of the year, including the New Jersey National Guard. More than 1,500 members of the 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team left in January for the states biggest deployment of troops since 2008.

In addition, the Ohio Army National Guards 1483rd Transportation Company, which hadnt deployed in 15 years, and 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment from Massachusetts, also headed downrange.

U.S. troops in the Middle East are not thought to have been targeted by Iran-backed militias since Feb. 4, following multiple attacks on Kataib Hezbollah facilities and leadership in retaliation for the Tower 22 attack.

We will maintain our focus on the mission that were there to do, which is the enduring defeat of ISIS, Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said during a briefing Feb. 20. But again, if our forces are threatened or attacked, we maintain the inherent right of self defense and well take action.
The Navajo Nation is nearing completion of a settlement of water rights claims in Arizona, ending decades of negotiations and giving hope for thousands of people who have long gone without running water.

For the past 60 years, Navajo leaders have worked to settle water claims in Arizona. The aim of the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement is to affirm and quantify the nation's rights to water in the state and to secure funding to build much needed water delivery infrastructure to homes on the Navajo Nation, according to a summary of the agreement.

"When we took office last year there was a huge push for us to start talking about our water rights, our water claims," Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley told The Arizona Republic. "It's been far too long, going through COVID, climate change, drought that we are facing every year, we had to take into account of what we want to secure for the next 100 years."

The U.S. Supreme Court held last summer that the United States did not have an affirmative treaty or trust obligation to identify and account for Navajo Nation water rights on the Colorado River. Curley said that ruling was a pivotal moment that led the Navajo Nation and its water rights negotiation team to focus on completing on the settlement.

"That really gave the momentum and motivation to start getting aggressive with our water rights," said Curley.

Last April, the Navajo Nation Water Rights Commission established the settlement negotiation team, composed of Navajo Nation Council delegates, the Office of the President and Vice-President, the Navajo Attorney General, the Department of Justice Water Rights Unit, the Navajo Department of Water Resources and contracted consultants.

Since then, the negotiation team has spent long hours in discussion with various stakeholders over settlement details.

From my first day in office to today, achieving a water rights settlement has been a top priority, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren said in a statement. Now we know we are close. Once our negotiations are complete, our council delegates and the public will now discuss it. Then we turn to Congress for approval and funding of infrastructure to bring it home. This is a day all Navajos can celebrate and remember.

Crystalyne Curley, speaker of the Navajo Nation Council, says proposals to strengthen state laws on sober living homes should only be a start in mitigating the harm that Arizona's Medicaid fraud scandal has inflicted on Indigenous communities.

What's in the Navajo water settlement?

The agreement will settle all of the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute water rights for the upper and lower basins of the Colorado River, the Little Colorado River basin, the Gila River Basin (including Big Boquillas Ranch) and claims to groundwater in the Navajo Aquifer, the Coconino Aquifer and other alluvial aquifers.

The settlement agreement recognizes that all existing Navajo trust land and future trust land acquired under the 1974 Navajo Hopi Settlement Act is Navajo reservation land where the Navajo Nation may use its settled water.

The settling parties include Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the San Juan Southern Paiute, the United States, Arizona, Arizona State Land Department, Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service, Central Arizona Water Conservation District, Bar T Bar Ranch, Winslow, Flagstaff, Holbrook, Taylor, Snowflake, Show Low, Eager, Springerville, St.Johns and other parties to the larger Little Colorado River general stream adjudication.

According to the agreement, the Navajo Nation would receive 44,700 acre-feet per year from Arizona's allocation of the Upper Basin Colorado River water. The Hopi Tribe would 2,300 acre-feet per year from this water source.

The settlement also includes all the Little Colorado River mainstream water that reaches the Navajo reservation, with historic flows that are estimated to be 122,000 acre-feet per year. For Hopi, that includes existing uses, the same limited new uses as permitted for non-Indian parties and certain limited rights to participate with the Navajo Nation in new and enlarged reservoir projects on or adjacent to Hopi land.

It also covers Little Colorado River tributary water that reaches the Navajo reservation, with the same conditions for the Hopi tribe.

Also included is 3,600-acre feet per year of fourth-priority Lower Basin Colorado River Water, along with 4,178 acre-feet per year of fourth-priority river water from the Cibola allocation, 750 acre-feet per year of fifth-priority Cibola water and 1,000 acre-feet per year of sixth-priority Cibola water.

From the Coconino Aquifer, the settlement includes water under the Navajo reservation, and for the Hopi Tribe, water under its lands, with some limits at the Hart Ranch.

From the Navajo Aquifer, the agreement includes water under the Navajo Reservation subject to an agreement between the Navajo Nation and the Hopi Tribe that limits Navajo pumping to 8,400 acre-feet per year.

The deal also includes terms for water in five washes shared by the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe.

Some 1,000 acre-feet a year from Flagstaff's Red Gap Ranch Regional Project will also be available to the Navajo Nation.

Navajo water: 'Water is life': Native leaders honor sacred river spaces as courts debate water rights

How will the Navajo water settlement help people?

Officials said legislation outlining all of the terms will be available for public comment before it is introduced to Navajo Nation Council.

Council Delegate Shondiin Parrish, chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee, said the Navajo Department of Justice is doing public outreach from March 3-9 across the Navajo Nation to give the Navajo people a view of the terms before the legislation is dropped.

"We are putting our people first," said Parrish, who traveled across the Navajo Nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was serving as Miss Navajo. "In strategy, we are trying to make sure that this is a collaborative effort with our people.

The Little Colorado River on March 23, 2023, in Cameron, Ariz.

Statistics have shown that one in three Navajo homes lack access to running water, with 30% to 40% of households needing to haul water from communal wells, often over long distances, to meet basic daily needs. This situation proved particularly challenging throughout the pandemic.

Within the agreement is a listing of possible infrastructure, projects and estimated funding to connect water sources to communities, but there is no guarantee that Congress will provide all the funding identified.

"This settlement is historic because we have reached a settlement in Utah and New Mexico so for the Navajo Nation its historic to reach a final settlement in Arizona," said Parrish. "There are many families throughout the Navajo Nation that do not have access to running water. We are reaching a settlement that will have plans to continue to connect Navajo families to water source across the Navajo Nation. This settlement is important to the everyday livelihood to our people."

Navajo Attorney General Ethel Branch said the proposed comprehensive Arizona water settlement offers the Navajo Nation a clear path to a future marked by strong water security, healthy communities, and economic promises.

There is no faster or more thorough way to transform the nations vision for a global Navajo water supply system into reality," said Branch. "With intensifying climate conditions and biological risk like we saw in recent years, our people need piped water in their homes more urgently than ever. This settlement gives me true hope for a healthy and vibrant future for our Navajo people.

Tribes and water: Their pleas for water were long ignored. Now tribes are gaining a voice on the Colorado River

More than 100-year water rights settlement history

The proposed settlement, if approved and ratified, will be the latest in a more than 100-year water rights settlement history.

Tribes have pre-contact rights to water known as time immemorial or Aboriginal rights. In addition, beginning in 1864, Arizona adopted the doctrine of prior appropriation for surface water, known as first in time, first in right.

Some tribes water rights date back further. The Colorado River Indian Tribes were guaranteed 662,000 acre-feet of the Colorado River that flows through the heart of its tribal lands in Arizona, and another 56,800 acre-feet in California when its reservation was established in 1865.

Other tribes along the Colorado also were guaranteed water. At the same time, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the Gila River Indian Community, which has relied on its eponymous river for farming for millennia, was thrust into crisis and famine when the river was dammed upstream.

The first court decision affirming those rights was the case Winters vs. United States in 1908. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tribes have reserved rights to water necessary to fulfill the purpose of their reservation lands.

The Colorado River Compact, enacted in 1922, only paid lip service to tribes as it divvied up water between the seven states in the basin.

It wasnt until 1963 when the Supreme Court ruled in Arizona vs. California that the Colorado River tribes water was affirmed. The case also clarified that the standard of practicability irrigable acreage, or lands that can be farmed, would be used to quantify Indian water rights.

From 1978 to 2003, eight other tribes water rights were established.

The Arizona Water Settlement Act in 2004 returned water to Gila River through an allocation of Colorado River water and some water from two other rivers, and groundwater.

The last two tribes to settle water rights were the White Mountain Apache Tribe in 2010 and the Hualapai Tribe in 2013.

Arlyssa Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Navajo Nation nears completion of historic water agreement
Police turned out in force near the Moscow church where Alexei Navalnys funeral took place Friday, as mourners gathered in a show of support for the late Russian opposition leader.

Officers watched as hundreds of people waited to enter the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers.

When Navalnys hearse arrived at the church and his coffin could be seen taken out of the vehicle, the crowd applauded and chanted his name.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov urged Navalnys supporters not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings are violations, The Associated Press noted.

A burial was set to follow the funeral at the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where there was also a heavy police presence.

Navalnys spokesperson earlier this week described difficulty in arranging the funeral, noting threats and hearse drivers refusals to transport the body.

Russian officials announced Feb. 16 Navalny died while imprisoned, saying he felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness. His mother was told her son died from sudden death syndrome  a vague term for various cardiac syndromes that can prompt sudden cardiac arrest and death.

His family pressed officials to release his body, but they held it for several days for further investigation.

Navalny, 47, rose to fame for becoming one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. President Biden and other world leaders have placed blame on Putin for Navalnys death, but Russian officials have brushed off the accusations.

Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism in the countrys highest-security prison near the Arctic Circle.

Hundreds of people mourning Navalny were detained in Russia at events in the days following his death. His wife vowed in a speech to continue the work of her late husband.

Updated at 9:59 a.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hundreds of mourners assembled in Moscow Friday for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in spite of a heavy police presence around the church where the life of Vladimir Putins fiercest domestic critic will be celebrated.

Applauding supporters chanted Navalnys name and the slogan you were not afraid, and we are not afraid as the hearse carrying his coffin arrived at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in a suburb of the Russian capital. The funeral comes after Navalnys death on Feb. 16 at the age of 47 in an Arctic penal colony.

Navalnys Widow Says Mobster Putin Must Pay Ahead of Friday Funeral

Navalnys allieswho have accused the Kremlin of murdering the activistattended the funeral despite the very real risk that doing so could lead to their arrest. Activists at earlier memorials in the wake of Navalnys death have been detained, with Russian authorities treating his following as an extremist movement. His supporters said several churches had outright refused to hold the funeral service.

A burial is due to take place after the service at the nearby Borisovskoye cemetery, which was sealed off with metal barriers on Friday morning.

Foreign diplomats including Lynne Tracy, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, were spotted in the long line of mourners who gathered for the funeral. She was photographed holding flowers alongside her German and French counterparts.

The queue for the church where Navalnys farewell service will take place is getting longer and longer pic.twitter.com/2nwa3AGtAk  Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) March 1, 2024

Putins spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had warned people in Moscow and elsewhere not to break laws, reminding them that unauthorized gatherings are illegal, according to Reuters. He also declined to make any assessment of Navalny as a political figure on a call to reporters and said that he had nothing to say to Navalnys grieving relatives.

Navalnys mother publicly called out Putin in the days after her sons death, accusing authorities of refusing to hand over the body. Even as late as Friday morning, the morgue where Navalnys body was being held delayed its release, the director of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation Ivan Zhdanov said.

No formal explanation has been given for Navalnys demise, with his death certificate merely citing natural causes, his allies said. The Kremlin has denied being responsible, though Navalnys supporters have vowed to ultimately prove Putin had him murdered.

Maria Pevchikh, another director of Navalnys foundation, has already publicly claimed that Navalnys death came as a prisoner swap deal to secure his freedom was in its final stage. She further alleged that Putin gave the order for Navalnys death after realizing that the West would be willing to free an imprisoned FSB assassin as part of some type of exchange, and that he could simply wait for another bargaining chip to eventually offer in Navalnys place.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, paid an emotional tribute to the late Russian opposition leader after laying her husband to rest during a funeral at a Moscow church where hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their respects.

In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Navalnaya shared a video compilation of her husband, highlighting their decades-long marriage as well as his legacy as one of the most vocal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even over the last three years of happiness. For love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for the fact that you always thought about me, she wrote in the post.

I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to make you up there happy for me and proud of me. I dont know if I can handle it or not, but I will try, the post continued.

The video also captured private moments of Navalnys life outside of the political sphere, notably those shared with his wife and two children.

Shortly after Navalnys death, President Biden met with Navalnaya and his daughter Dasha Navalnaya in San Francisco, where he expressed his condolences and affirmed his commitment to impose major sanctions against Russia.

Biden, along with many international leaders, has placed the blame squarely on Putin for the opposition leaders death and denounced Putins repressive regime.

News of Navalnys death was announced Feb. 16 by Russian officials who said the opposition leader died while serving a 19-year sentence in Russias highest security level prison near the Arctic Circle.

According to the Russian Federal Prison Service, Navalny, 47, reportedly felt unwell after a walk and lost consciousness, with efforts to revive him failing. His mother was later told her son died from sudden death syndrome  a vague term for various cardiac syndromes that can prompt sudden cardiac arrest and death.

In the days that followed, his family called for the release of his body after authorities said they would be holding it pending further investigation.

I thought that in the 12 days since Alexeis murder, I would have time to prepare for this speech. But first we spent a week  a week getting Alexeis body and organizing the funeral, Navalnaya said in an address to the European Unions parliament.

Navalnys funeral took place at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows in the Maryino district of Moscow, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers and featured a heavy police presence. In the wake of his death, hundreds of people mourning the loss of Putins top rival were detained in Russia at various events.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Under a heavy police presence, thousands of people bade farewell Friday to opposition leader Alexei Navalny at his funeral in Moscow after his still-unexplained death two weeks ago in an Arctic penal colony.

The crowds who thronged to honor Navalny outside a church and cemetery in a snowy southeastern suburb of the capital chanted slogans for him and against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, turning the event into one of the largest recent displays of dissent. But police did not act against them.

At least 91 people were detained at events across Russia in Navalny's memory, said OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, with most stopped while trying to lay flowers at monuments dedicated to victims of Soviet repression. When his death was announced Feb. 16, police detained hundreds who tried to leave flowers.

Navalny was buried after a short Russian Orthodox ceremony, with vast crowds waiting outside the church and then streaming to the fresh grave with flowers.

Navalny's widow, Yulia, who was not seen at the funeral but has vowed to continue his work, lovingly thanked him for 26 years of absolute happiness."

I don't know how to live without you, but I will try to do it in a way that you up there are proud of me and happy for me, she wrote on Instagram.

Navalnys 23-year-old daughter, Daria, also shared a tribute to her father.

Ever since I was a child, you taught me to live by certain principles. To live with dignity. You gave your life for me, for mum, for (my brother) Zakhar, for Russia, she wrote on Instagram. I promise you that I will live my life in the way that you taught me, in a way that will make you proud  and most importantly, with a smile on my face.

The funeral followed a battle with authorities over the release of his body. His team said several Moscow churches refused to hold the funeral for the man who crusaded against official corruption and organized massive protests. Many Western leaders blamed the death on the Russian leader, an accusation the Kremlin angrily rejected.

Navalnys team eventually got permission from the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, which was surrounded by crowd-control barriers.

As his coffin was removed from the hearse and taken inside the church, the crowd waiting outside broke into respectful applause and then chanted: Navalny! Navalny! Some also shouted, You werent afraid, neither are we! and later No to war! Russia without Putin! and Russia will be free!

Western diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy, were among the mourners. Also paying respects were Boris Nadezhdin and Yekaterina Duntsova, anti-war politicians who wanted to run against Putin in this month's presidential election but were not allowed on the ballot.

Inside the church, Navalny's open casket showed him covered with red and white flowers. His parents, Lyudmila and Anatoly, sat beside it.

Navalny's closest associates live outside Russia and offered commentary on a livestream of the funeral on his YouTube channel, their voices occasionally cracking with emotion.

Those people who follow what is happening, it is of course obvious to them that this man is a hero of our country, whom we will not forget," said Nadezhda Ivanova of Kaliningrad, a mourner who was outside the church. What was done to him is incredibly difficult to accept and get through it."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged those gathering in Moscow and other places not to break the law, saying any unauthorized (mass) gatherings are violations.

After the short church service, thousands marched to the nearby Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the police were also out in force.

With the casket again open, Navalnys mother and father stroked and kissed his head. A large crowd gathered at the cemetery's gates, chanting: Let us in to say goodbye!

The coffin was lowered into the ground. In keeping with his irreverent sense of humor, music from the The Terminator 2" was played, a movie his allies said he considered the best in the world.

Mourners streamed by his open grave, tossing handfuls of soil onto the coffin as a large crowd waited at the cemetery's entrance. As dusk fell, workers shoveled dirt into the grave while Lyudmila Navalnaya watched. A mound of flowers, funeral wreaths, candles and a portrait of Navalny sat nearby. Mourners continued to stream into the cemetery until it was closed by police shortly after 10 p.m. local time.

Lyudmila Navalnaya had spent eight days trying to get authorities to release her son's body following his Feb. 16 death at Penal Colony No. 3 in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) northeast of Moscow.

Even on Friday, a Moscow morgue delayed releasing the body, according to Ivan Zhdanov, Navalny's close ally and director of his Anti-Corruption Foundation.

Authorities near the penal colony originally said they couldn't release the body because they needed to conduct post-mortem tests. Lyudmila Navalnaya made a video appeal to Putin to release it so she could bury her son with dignity.

Russian authorities still havent announced the cause of death for Navalny, who was 47. His team cited paperwork that Lyudmila Navalnaya saw that listed natural causes, although the day before his death he had appeared in court via video link joking with officials.

At least one funeral director said he had been forbidden to work with Navalnys supporters, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said on social media. They also struggled to find a hearse.

Unknown people are calling up people and threatening them not to take Alexeis body anywhere, Yarmysh said Thursday.

Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin. His Foundation for Fighting Corruption and his regional offices were designated as extremist organizations by the Russian government that same year.

Yulia Navalnaya accused Putin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of trying to block a public funeral.

We dont want any special treatment  just to give people the opportunity to say farewell to Alexei in a normal way, she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Moscow authorities refused permission for a separate memorial event Friday for Navalny and slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, citing COVID-19 restrictions, according to former presidential hopeful Duntsova. Nemtsov, a 55-year-old former deputy prime minister, was shot to death as he walked on a bridge adjacent to the Kremlin on the night of Feb. 27, 2015.

Yarmysh also urged Navalny's supporters around the world to turn out.

Hundreds brought flowers and candles at the Russian Embassy in Tbilisi in a rally organized by those who fled Russia since the start of the war with Ukraine. In a rainy Rome, a delegation from the Italian Radical party went to Moscow's embassy for the Kremlin critic.

___

More AP coverage of Alexei Navalny: https://apnews.com/hub/alexei-navalny
The Navys small, C-2 Greyhound fleet is picking up additional air time and surging to support aircraft carriers in the Pacific, as all V-22 Ospreys remain grounded following a fatal Air Force crash in Japan last year.

The Navys CMV-22 Osprey, tapped to replace the aging C-2 Greyhound to fulfill the carrier onboard delivery mission to ferry personnel, mail and priority cargo from land to an aircraft carriers deck, were grounded following a November crash that killed nine airmen.

It remains unclear when Ospreys will fly again.

As a result, Greyhounds from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 are surging to fill in gaps due to the Ospreys absence, according to Naval Air Forces.

Its the only C-2 Greyhound squadron, and is equipped with 15 aircraft.

Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 40 is providing service to support logistics and personnel transfers on the East and West Coasts, as well as deployed aircraft carriers in U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets, according to a Naval Air Forces spokesperson.

What is the Osprey, the aircraft at the center of multiple tragedies?

Lucky for the Navy the C-2 Greyhound is still available, Air Boss Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever said at the WEST 2024 conference in February.

Cheever said the loss of the Osprey fleet had had limited operational impacts at this point, but there are still operational impacts.

And as you look into the future, significant operational impacts, he added. Thats the journey were on, and we need to make it a safe and effective platform moving forward.

A Naval Air Forces spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Navy Times by deadline regarding long-term operational impacts of the Ospreys absence.

Despite the Ospreys uncertain future, Navy officials said there is no change in its original plans to retire the C-2 Greyhound by 2026. The aircraft have been in use for 60 years.

The Air Force said this month it knows what occurred to cause the November Osprey crash, but that it doesnt know why the failure happened.

The crash marked the fourth in the last two years, resulting in the deaths of at least 13 American troops.

None of the fatal crashes have involved the Navys Ospreys, which first arrived to the fleet in 2020 and deployed with carrier air wings in 2021.

How the Navy is dealing with a military-wide grounding of Ospreys

The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft designed to take off and land as a helicopter, but fly forward as an airplane. The Marine Corps, which operates a fleet of more than 300 of the aircraft, first started acquiring their variant of the aircraft in 1999.

The Associated Press previously reported that the military services are poised to brief Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday to lay out their plans to get the Osprey fleet back flying. The AP reported that it remains unclear when Austin would make a decision on the matter.

A defense official familiar with the V-22 program told the Associated Press that none of the U.S. Ospreys would return to flight until Japan has had an opportunity to weigh in on the militarys plan. Japan has also grounded its fleet of 14 Ospreys.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN)  Attorney General Josh Stein is pushing state lawmakers to address the shortage of law enforcement officers in North Carolina. Stein said law enforcement agencies are struggling to staff their departments, putting public safety and their trust in law enforcement at risk.

Too many of our cities, towns, and counties are facing a real shortage of law enforcement officers, Attorney General Stein said during a news conference at Fayetteville City Hall on Thursday.

Weve had to realign some of the ways that we do business on a day-to-day basis, while still maintaining our basic services of 911 response and investigating crimes that occur within our city, Chief Kem Braden, with Fayetteville Police Department said.

According to Stein, there were 506 fewer recruits taking the Basic Law Enforcement Training exam in 2023 than in 2019. Law enforcement retirement increased by 45% and resignation increased by 18% in 2021, according to Stein.

Im authorized as the sheriffs office; Im authorized to have 755 personnel assigned to that sheriffs office. As of today, I have 556 people in that sheriffs office. So, that says a lot, Cumberland County Sheriff Ennis Wright said.

Sheriff Wright said hes authorized to have 178 officers employed at Cumberland County Detention Center. Currently, there are 98 vacancies at the detention center. The shortage is forcing him to quickly promote officers with very little experience.

Because a lot of the experienced folks are going home, Wright said.

Attorney General Stein is proposing some recruitment and retention strategies. He wants to expand the Criminal Justice Fellows Program to all 100 counties through House Bill 612. It repays community college loans for people who work four years in a North Carolina law enforcement job.

Stein also wants to offer law enforcement hiring bonuses. North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Training graduates would be offered $5,000. Out-of-state transfers and former military police would be offered $10,000 bonuses and $10,000 relocation stipends. He also proposes launching a public awareness and out-of-state recruiting campaign.

The AG also wants House Bill 768 to pass. It would allow retired law enforcement officers to return to work without paying a penalty for their pension. Incentivizing further education is another idea. Under this idea, North Carolina would provide bonuses for officers who get additional education and training up to a bachelors degree. Offering more mental health and wellness resources is another idea that Stein is proposing to state lawmakers.

North Carolina needs trustworthy public-spirited officers serving our community. And Im going to do everything in my power as attorney general to make sure our law enforcement agencies and sheriffs offices are well staffed and well supported, Attorney General Stein said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS17.com.
Israeli troops conduct military operations in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis, on Feb. 28, 2024. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

The U.S. government has been facing increasing protests across the country calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and some groups are even seeking legal challenges to force the White House to withdraw support for Israel.

by Matthew Rusling, Xiong Maoling

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Amid growing domestic discontent over his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, U.S. President Joe Biden is now pressing for a ceasefire in Gaza in the run-up to November's presidential elections.

As more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October, Biden said earlier this week that he hoped to see a ceasefire by next Monday.

"Well I hope by the beginning of the weekend, I mean, the end of the weekend," Biden said Monday. "We're close, it's not done yet. And my hope is that by next Monday we'll have a ceasefire."

"The status quo isn't working," Christopher Galdieri, a political science professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua while commenting on Biden's words.

Recent weeks have seen an increase in pressure on Biden to call for a ceasefire after the president was criticized when the United States vetoed another United Nations resolution that called on Israel to halt the fighting.

To protest Israel's military operation in Gaza, an active-duty airman of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire Sunday at the Israeli Embassy in Washington.

"The uptick in criticism from Progressives and Democrats overall for his response to the war is a real danger to the president," reported The Hill, a Washington D.C. newspaper that reports on Congress and politics.

Biden's "pro-Israel stance could result in him losing votes in 2024 in critical states like Michigan," The paper reported last week.

A man stands in front of destroyed buildings at Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, on Feb. 28, 2024. (Xinhua)

Our Revolution, a political group founded by Senator Bernie Sanders, encouraged Michigan voters to vote "uncommitted" in Tuesday's Democratic primary instead of voting directly for Biden.

Over 101,000 Michigan voters cast their votes as "uncommitted" to protest Biden's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, accounting for more than 13 percent of the Michigan Democratic primary vote.

The state of Michigan is home to many Arab-Americans, who have expressed a sense of betrayal by what they believe is Biden's pro-Israel stance in the war in Gaza.

Greg Cusack, a former member of the Iowa House of Representatives, told Xinhua he thinks that "nothing will placate his (Biden's) domestic critics short of ending the destruction of Gaza, and I see no indication that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to help at all."

Recent polls have revealed that voters generally disapprove of Biden's management of the violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Younger Americans are notably more critical than older voters, expressing dissatisfaction with both Israel's actions and the administration's handling of the Gaza conflict.

The U.S. government has been facing increasing protests across the country calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and some groups are even seeking legal challenges to force the White House to withdraw support for Israel.

Speaking of whether a ceasefire would help Biden, Galdieri said: "I don't know that it will turn around his numbers with the public at large." 
Youve probably noticed candidate mailers piling up in your mailbox, or that you cant watch the evening news without seeing multiple political ads at every commercial break.

Those who live in parts of Raleigh, Greensboro or Charlotte have probably noticed it more than most, due to fiercely competitive Republican primaries in the 6th, 8th and 13th Congressional Districts this year.

In a recent ad roundup, I mentioned that one super PAC with unknown origins is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an ad campaign opposing Mark Harris in North Carolinas 8th Congressional District. The PAC is called America Leads Action, and it only formed at the beginning of the year.

We now have a better idea of who is behind that effort. New fundraising reports  first reported by progressive news site Daily Kos  show that the top donor to America Leads Action is Jay Faison, a businessman and philanthropist from North Carolina who frequently donates to conservative causes. Rob Walton, one of the heirs to the Walmart fortune, has also made a sizable donation to the group, per federal filings. So far, the group has only targeted two candidates: Harris and a congressional candidate in Texas.

America Leads Action has now spent more than a million dollars opposing Harris and is running a second TV ad against him. Instead of focusing on the 9th District absentee ballot fraud scandal, this ad criticizes Harris record on immigration and Social Security.

But the effort to keep Harris out of Congress is bigger than that. Another group, Conservatives for American Excellence, is sending out anti-Harris mailers to voters in the Charlotte area. Conservatives for American Excellence is a PAC funded by several GOP mega-donors and is opposing a small number of Republican candidates that include Harris as well as Bo Hines in North Carolinas 6th District.

One of their mailers features a cartoonish, photoshopped image of Harris flexing his arm muscles next to the words When it comes to fighting illegal immigration Liberal politician Mark Harris is weak! Another shows an arrow pointing to a basset hound and says, This guy is an expert at sniffing out candidates with ZERO credibility on fighting voter fraud  and look who he found! A second arrow then points to an image of Shady Politician Mark Harris.

At least one of Harris opponents in the 8th District primary is targeting him, too. N.C. Rep. John Bradfords campaign has sent out similar mailers hitting Harris on key issues like immigration. One mailer says Harris has fought against everything we stand for when it comes to illegal immigration, while another says voters cant trust Harris to protect their Social Security. Both mailers urge recipients to vote no on Mark Harris and encourage them to vote for Bradford instead.

Whats particularly interesting is that the ads seem to be hitting Harris from all directions. For example, the ads criticizing Harris stance on Social Security seem to suggest he is too extreme, while the ads attacking his record on immigration appeal to a different subset of the GOP base by suggesting he is too liberal.

Its also worth noting that both PACs have spent far more against Harris than he has spent on his own campaign. According to the campaign finance website OpenSecrets, Harris campaign has only spent $196,143, while nearly $1.7 million in outside money has been spent opposing him. Both Bradford and Allan Baucom have outraised and outspent Harris in the 8th District primary. Bradfords campaign has spent more than $1.1 million, while Baucoms has spent $495,000.

Perhaps GOP elites and Harris opponents believe that he is more of an electoral threat than the fundraising numbers imply. Of course, in a primary as crowded as this one, he doesnt have to be the frontrunner in order to cause problems for his opponents. If no candidate receives more than 30% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a runoff, dragging the primary cycle out even more.

As one of the most prominent candidates in the race, Harris could easily receive a sizable chunk of the vote and prevent another candidate from reaching that 30% threshold. Theres also a scenario in which those looking for an alternative to Harris could be split between Bradford and Baucom, leaving Harris as the top vote-getter. At this point, it might be anyones race, so this will be one of the most interesting ones to watch on Election Day.
In 2018, then-North Carolina Republican Party Chair Robin Hayes disavowed a Republican candidate with a history of white supremacist and antisemitic statements.

This year, however, the state GOP, led by Chair Michael Whatley, has remained silent on a candidate with ties to a neo-Nazi organization.

Joseph Gibson III, a Rockingham County podcaster with past felony convictions, is running for a state House seat.

Some Republicans in positions of leadership tried to stop Gibson from getting on the ballot. But in January, the State Board of Elections cleared Gibson to run in House District 65 against Rep. Reece Pyrtle.

After Gibson was approved to be on the ballot, Whatley  who is now running to be chair of the Republican National Committee with former President Donald Trumps support  did not publicly condemn his candidacy.

Whatley and the state GOP have not responded to requests for comment after The News & Observer attempted to reach them over three days by phone, email and text message.

Heres what we know about Gibsons ties to an extremist group and who has spoken out against his campaign.

Who has spoken out about Gibson?

 The Anti-Defamation League found that Gibson had ties to the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement and referred to him as a white supremacist and anti-government extremist.

The ADLs report said 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.

 House GOP caucus director Stephen Wiley raised the alarm after finding Gibsons criminal history and referred to him as a Nazi on X, formerly Twitter.

 Diane Parnell, chair of the Rockingham County GOP, filed an official challenge to Gibsons candidacy in December over his criminal record. But the elections board unanimously agreed that his citizenship rights had been restored, finding that he had completed his probation in 2008 for crimes committed in Connecticut.

 On Jan. 17, the day after Gibson was approved to be on the ballot, Wiley joined powerful House budget chair Rep. Jason Saine on his radio show to discuss Gibsons candidacy.

 After Gibson was approved to be on the ballot, the North Carolina Democratic Jewish Caucus began emailing, calling and, on Feb. 1, making pleas on social media to the NCGOP and to Republican leaders in the legislature, asking them to condemn Gibson and refuse to seat him if he wins.

What does Gibson say?

In a email to The N&O, Gibson denied being a Nazi and described the Jewish Caucus statement about his candidacy as unfair and anti-constitutional, libel, slander and political character assassination.

His email also included vague references to antisemitic conspiracy theories and purported discrimination against white Christian males.

Top House Republican responds

The N&O requested comment on Feb. 23 from House Speaker Tim Moore, who is running for Congress. In response, his spokesperson said Moore did not support the candidate.

The Speaker is supportive of Rep. Pyrtle in his reelection campaign, Luke Ball, a spokesperson for Moores campaign, said in an email to The N&O. Based on Mr. Gibsons past behavior, we do not think he is fit for public office, and we are confident that the voters in Rockingham County will resolve this matter at the voting booth.

After Moores campaign told The N&O he would not support Gibson, Conner Taylor, a vice president of the Democratic Jewish Caucus, said he was glad leadership had said something, but criticized Moore for not sharing his statement on social media platforms or his website.

As for state party leaders, Taylor said they responded with radio silence.

Taylor noted that the Republican front-runner for governor has also made antisemitic remarks.

In a Facebook post, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson once said the Marvel movie Black Panther was created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by (a) satanic Marxist. How can this trash, that was only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets, invoke any pride? The N&O previously reported.

In an October press conference, in which Robinson issued a proclamation declaring solidarity with Israel after the Oct. 7 attack, he said he was not antisemitic.

I apologize for the word  not necessarily for the content, but we apologize for the wording, Robinson said. And we have spoken to several Jewish groups who completely understand what our sentiments were. And we have full confidence in the people of North Carolina understanding Mark Robinson is definitely not antisemitic.

How did Gibson get on the ballot?

After Wiley and Parnell raised the alarm about Gibsons criminal history and extremist connections, a challenge to his candidacy was heard by the Rockingham County Board of Elections.

The board initially voted to remove Gibson from the ballot, but they later reversed that decision, finding that he had completed his probation for crimes committed in Connecticut. The State Board agreed on appeal.

Gibson has also faced legal trouble in North Carolina. In 2021, he was twice found guilty of violating domestic violence protection orders, a misdemeanor.

This is the second time Gibson has run for the state House, after losing to Pyrtle in 2022.

There is no Democrat running in HD 65, so whoever wins the primary will be elected to the legislature.

NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com
What should have been a regular Matthews Board of Commissioners meeting briefly devolved into a conversation about free speech on Monday.

During the meetings public comment section, several individuals spoke over Zoom, sharing hateful comments filled with homophobia, transphobia, and antisemitism.

The hate speech from the multiple Zoom attendees included accusations of pedophilia and child molestation, anti-Jewish conspiracies, and Holocaust denialism.

It led to some attendees leaving the meeting early and some commissioners arguing over whether or not it was acceptable to turn down the volume on one of the speakers before he finished his comments.

At the meeting, Commissioner Mark Tofano asked if the sound was purposefully turned down on a commentator who was making antisemitic statements. Commissioner Renee Garner said she asked that it be turned down.

That interaction led to a brief argument about freedom of speech.

I refuse to sit down on thisalthough you may not agree with him and we might find it repulsive, you have no right to turn the volume down on this man, Tofano said.

At the end of the meeting, Tofano reiterated that, while he disagreed with what the commentator was saying and found it hard to listen to, it was discriminatory to turn down the volume on a speaker.

That type of abridgment of freedom of speech cannot be tolerated, regardless of the content, he said.

He said he hopes they do not discriminate against speakers in the future as the board did Monday night.

But Commissioner Ken McCool, who said the incident was potentially an example of Zoombombing, pushed back, saying that the board has the right to lower the volume of the speaker, so long as people could hear it, and, he said, they confirmed with multiple audience members that the speaker could be heard after the volume was lowered.

I think you are projecting something that did not happen, McCool said. We were not trying to take away someones freedom of speech.

Kristi Graunke, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, spoke with The Charlotte Observer on Thursday about hate speech at public meetings and what towns may be able to do to mitigate the issue in the future.

Is hate speech protected by the First Amendment?

Yes, said Graunke. Expressing viewpoints, however reprehensible they may be, are generally protected by the First Amendment.

What does the First Amendment say?

In addition to prohibiting the government from making laws that establish a religion, restricting the press, and giving people the right to peaceably assemble to petition the government over grievances, the First Amendment also prevents the government from restricting peoples freedom of speech.

Does hate speech, if ever, cross a line and become unprotected by the First Amendment?

If the hate speech includes an incident of imminent violence, then it would not be protected by the First Amendment, Graunke told the Observer.

Hate speech would cross the line if its what we would call a true threat  a very specific threat to commit an unlawful act against someone that is sort of wrapped up in that hate speech. But it generally would require more than simply expressing a hateful point of view.

What do North Carolina laws say about public comments in meetings?

The North Carolina General Assembly said that town councils shall provide at least one period for public comment per month at regular meetings of the council.

It said town councils can adopt reasonable rules of governing, for the public comment period.

This includes:

Setting a time limit for each speaker

Allowing a spokesperson to be designated to speak on behalf of a person or groups who support or oppose the same positions

Allowing delegates to be selected from a group of people who support or oppose the same positions when the hall the meeting is being held in exceeds capacity

Maintaining order and decorum during a meeting

A commissioner in Matthews got up and left during one of the comments. Is she expected to listen to all speakers comments?

Graunke is not aware of any case that addresses this issue specifically, but in many cases, she said, the First Amendment protects the rights of people who choose not to listen to messages - including elected public officials.

Elected public officials have First Amendment rights, certainly, and those rights are particularly robust when theyre trying to send a message about their values and beliefs, Graunke said. Walking out may be one way to indicate those beliefs.

While the court may ask whether the elected officials demonstration of refusing to listen interfered with their ability to perform basic functions of their office, she said, and officials may not have free rein to silence speakers they disagree with, it would be a difficult argument to make that they are obligated to listen to hate speech to fulfill the basic requirements of their positions or oath of office.

Especially when the speech has no connection to the commissions business, Graunke said.

Free speech doesnt mean that youre entitled to avoid all consequences of your speech, she said. Certainly, if youre someone engaged in hate speech, you voluntarily assume the risk that people will find your message so odious that they will refuse to listen to it.

Are people really allowed to say whatever they want at public meetings?

It depends. Graunke said there are ways for the government to limit or moderate whats discussed during the public comment sections of meetings, but its determined by what the meeting is for and the rules put in place beforehand.

If the government has chosen to open up a space for public participation at a meeting, known as a limited public forum, then speakers do not necessarily have unlimited rights to speak on any topic, she said.

If the meeting, for example, pertains to zoning, then towns can limit public comments to those only focused on the subject matter at hand.

It really depends on what the government says the purpose of the meeting is for, Graunke said. They can make reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of speech as long as theyre not discriminating based on viewpoint or the speaker themselves, and they can cut off speech which imminently threatens to disrupt the meeting.

There are limits on how much the towns can limit speech, but they can, in fact, limit speech, she said.

But what about in the town of Matthews?

According to the town of Matthews Board of Commissioners Organizational Resolution, the public comment portion of the meeting gives citizens the opportunity to speak on any subject for up to five minutes.

That changes things because the town cannot necessarily shut down speakers because they dont like what they are saying, Graunke said.

That said, if they say it needs to be a topic pertaining to issues that we discussed at the meeting, or it needs to be a topic of legitimate concern to public officials, those become a little fuzzier, she said. They do have some authority to limit the topics of conversation, so long as they are not discriminating based on who the speaker is, or the viewpoint of that speaker.

The town could potentially make rule changes ahead of future meetings, such as limiting public comment to only discussing what is on the agenda. But it would need to make sure that those rule changes were occurring during the middle of a meeting, and do not discriminate against a specific person or viewpoint.

Theres also this question of imminent disruption, that I think thats a fairly high standard to meet that you need to show that, Graunke said. Its a reasonable perception of disruption, that the officials have, not just speculation, that the meeting is going to become unmanageable.

She said there may be alternatives to completely shutting down hate speech in some way. She pointed to people who left the Matthews meeting early during the hate speech comments, which she said is their right to do.

But there is a line that speech could cross where it becomes disruptive to the meeting and, conceivably, could be regulated.

Would that put a stop to hate speech at public meetings?

Not necessarily, Graunke said. For example, if a town is speaking about school curriculum and invites public comments, as long as the comments tie back to the subject matter at hand, towns wouldnt really be able to limit any hate comments being shared.

Is there anything else that can be done to mitigate hate speech?

Towns like Matthews are not exploring uncharted territory, Graunke said. There have been a number of cases of similar issues, she said.

Towns can do things like limiting people to commenting on topics pertaining to what is on the agenda, or enforcing time limits and cutting people off, but the key thing is to make sure that any changes towns make to the public comment portions of meetings are not discriminatory towards a speaker or their viewpoint.

People need to know that the rules are going to be fair and that theyre going to apply evenly, regardless of viewpoint, Graunke said.

Should towns limit their public comments to people who live in that town/county?

Graunke said she has concerns about how a policy that limits public comments to those who live in the town or county would be enforced, and potentially issues with discrimination.

We obviously live in a very mobile society where people can change residence, Graunke said. You may live somewhere and work somewhere else, and just because you dont live in that community doesnt mean that you dont have some stake in whats going on in the community.

It could create a barrier for someone who wants to participate in the meeting, but cant provide proof of residency. Or wants to participate spontaneously, but didnt bring proof with them.

I think, given the interdependence of various communities, that nobody sort of lives siloed in one city, and there are ripple effects on cities decisions about certain issues, Graunke said. It would be concerning to me that people who simply cant establish residency in the community for whatever reason, or didnt bring the proof to that particular meeting, if they were barred from commenting on matters within the city.

Why are people allowed to make comments via Zoom instead of being required to come in person to make comments?

Remote access has been particularly important for people who have health issues, or people with disabilities, Graunke said. Shutting down virtual access to meetings would limit access for some people.

Instead, towns should look at ways to limit Zoombombings and disruptions through other means other than limiting or removing remote access, she said.

What is Zoombombing?

In 2020, during the pandemic when many aspects of life  including work, school and church  went virtual, the FBIs Boston Office warned of people who would enter virtual public meetings to disrupt them with things like pornographic images and videos, vulgar language, and crude behavior.

How often do people disrupt public meetings?

The Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism has documented over 160 hateful public forum disruptions since publishing its report on Aug. 21, 2023.

The comments made at Mondays Town of Matthews Board of Commissioners meeting were vile; perpetuating deeply harmful antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ myths and stereotypes, said the ADL Washington, D.C. Regional Director, Meredith R. Weisel. This is unacceptable  especially at a time of rising antisemitism and hate.

Have others weighed in?

In addition to McCool, and a couple of other officials and groups voicing the disapproval of the comments made at the meeting, the LGBTQ+ Democrats of North Carolina and the North Carolina Democratic Party Jewish Caucus put out a joint statement on Wednesday.

In light of recent events, we call upon the Town of Matthews Board of Commissioners to explore ways of managing public discourse that uphold the principles of free speech while safeguarding our community from hateful and disruptive antics, the statement read in part. Commenters have a right to speak their minds, but they do not have a right to derail the meeting, preventing others from speaking.

What now for the town of Matthews?

There is a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. to discuss methods for citizens to provide public comments during board meetings.

The ADL said it also planned to reach out to town officials to offer guidance on how to mitigate hate speech at future meetings.

NC Reality Check reflects the Charlotte Observers commitment to holding those in power to account, shining a light on public issues that affect our local readers and illuminating the stories that set the Charlotte area and North Carolina apart. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@charlotteobserver.com
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV)  A Green Bay man with a prior criminal conviction for fleeing officers was arrested after a nearly 13-mile pursuit in Fond du Lac County early Friday morning.

According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office, a deputy attempted to pull over the 22-year-old man from Green Bay around 2:10 a.m. on March 1 for a speed violation on I-41 near Hwy 151 in Fond du Lac.

After the deputy turned on their sirens and lights, the driver allegedly attempted to speed away, subsequently exiting I-41 onto Hickory Street before getting back onto I-41 northbound.

Green Bay man charged with making terrorist threats, claims he will use a bulldozer on restaurant on Oneida Street

Deputies say the pursuit continued at a high rate of speed and attempted to deploy Stop Stick tire deflation devices, however, the suspect was able to avoid them. It was noted that a Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office squad car, and a semi-truck hit the tire deflation device, affecting both the squad car and semi-trucks tires.

The suspect then reportedly exited I-41 north at CTH N and hit a raised median on CTH N before becoming disabled in a nearby ditch. The 22-year-old then allegedly tried to flee on foot but was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.

Deputies reportedly found illegal drug contraband during a search of the vehicle.

The release stated that the Green Bay man was on probation through the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections for Vehicle Operator Flee and Elude Officers. It was also noted that he has prior criminal convictions for Disorderly Conduct, Operating Without a Valid License, and Vehicle Operator Flee and Elude Officers.

The driver was arrested for Vehicle Operator Flee and Elude Officers, 2nd Degree Recklessly Endanger Safety, Operate a Motor Vehicle with a Restricted Controlled Substance, and a hold placed by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. He was also cited for several traffic violations.

Spike of car break-ins targets Appletons City Park neighborhood

Deputies say the pursuit lasted just under 13 miles and that nobody was injured as a result of the incident.

Excellent work by 3rd shift to get this repeat offender, currently on probation for prior eluding, and suspected of driving high on illegal drugs, off our highway. Thank you to the various other agencies who assisted in this pursuit. Sergeant Gregory Anderson, Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office

The Wisconsin State Patrol, City of Fond du Lac Police Department, North Fond du Lac EMS, and Town of Eldorado First Responders assisted the Fond du Lac County Sheriffs Office during the pursuit and subsequent arrest.

No additional information was provided.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  After extending the application deadline, 39 people applied to be Austins next city manager, according to an update sent to council by Mayor Kirk Watson.

Watson noted some of the people who applied will not meet minimum requirements and will not move forward.

The application process closed February 26 and Austin City Council will review the candidates Tuesday, March 5, according to the mayor.

We have additional time identified later this month and in early April for candidate interviews and a community townhall with final candidates, Watson wrote.

The mayor has said a new city manager is likely to be selected by April.

How we got here

All but one member of Austins City Council voted to fire former City Manager Spencer Cronk during a meeting last year. He faced increased scrutiny following prolonged power outages from an ice storm in early February and negotiation with the Austin Police Association on a four-year deal in principal, which ultimately fell through.

Cronk still received his base pay salary for 12 months, plus six months of COBRA payments and other payouts, which add up to about $463,000.

One-on-one with Austins interim city manager, Jesus Garza

Jesus Garza has been serving as interim city manager since.

Garza previously served as city manager of Austin under Mayor Kirk Watson in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was also behind a PAC that fundraised money in support of Watson during his campaign last year.

We talked to Garza about his priorities here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
A group of men loiter and use drugs outside a fast-food restaurant in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. Nearly half of San Francisco drug users are not native. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Nearly half of the individuals cited for drug usage in San Francisco over a 12-month period ending in February were not residents of the city, according to a report released Thursday that sparked a debate over how to care for poor and drug-addicted people in one of the nation's most progressive cities.

That data led to speculation from the mayors office and allies that abuse of free money offered to low-income residents was driving substance abusers to the Bay Area. But San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin called the statistics released by the office of Mayor London Breed highly suspect and said the report was a cynical attempt to attack the city's public safety net.

San Francisco police cited 718 individuals for drug use between March 30, 2023, and Feb. 2, 2024, with 47% of the violators stating they reside in another county or declined to say, according to Breeds office. A slight majority of the citations were given to violators who identified themselves as San Franciscans.

Of that group, 20% or 141 were recipients of a government assistance program intended for San Francisco residents. The mayors office said that about 33% of those 141 people, however, were not residents and "self-disclosed they lived outside of San Francisco."

Read more: Some D.A.s are fighting fentanyl with murder charges. Why San Francisco will join them

These numbers serve as proof that we must continue doubling down our efforts to shut down our drug markets that are attracting people to come here, Breed said in a statement.

She added that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have increased drug seizures and arrests over the past year.

We cant let up until those dealing drugs and using them openly on the street understand that San Francisco is closed for this type of activity," Breed said.

Drug use and overdose deaths have been an increasing problem in San Francisco in recent months, drawing harsh criticism from conservative politicians and others who blame lax police enforcement and the city's liberal social welfare policies.

But since May, Breed said drug enforcement has been directed at the high-crime Tenderloin and South of Market, or SOMA, areas.

Law enforcement agencies made more than 2,000 arrests for drug sales or use in the Tenderloin area, while seizing 260 pounds of fentanyl, according to city figures.

Read more: 'It's absolutely heartbreaking': Fentanyl is officially Los Angeles County's deadliest drug

Last week, San Francisco police narcotics detectives arrested four individuals and confiscated 44 pounds of drugs , including 32 pounds of methamphetamine.

Breed's office added that there have been 350 illicit substance abuse arrests in two months this year, not counting busts made by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

These arrests have led to a boom in court activity, with 827 felony narcotics cases filed by the district attorney out of a total of 952 presented last year through Dec. 14.

Those numbers topped the 2018 county record of 880 cases presented and 731 cases filed.

These numbers further confirm that San Francisco is too often a destination for drug tourism, and why Mayor Breeds efforts to dismantle open-air drug scenes and hold general assistance recipients accountable to seek drug treatment when its medically indicated are absolutely necessary, Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district includes SOMA, said in a statement.

Breed and others have speculated that one reason behind the soaring drug arrests is San Francisco's County Adult Assistance Program, or CAAP.

Each California county is required to provide support for low-income residents via cash and services. One such assistance program is CAAP, which offers San Francisco residents a $712 monthly cash grant, according to Trent Rhorer, Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Services Agency.

These taxpayer dollars are intended to provide short-term support to meet basic needs for San Franciscos poorest residents, not for people who live in other counties... and certainly not for any recipient to purchase and use illegal drugs, Rhorer said in a statement.

HSA currently requires proof of residency in San Francisco for a minimum of 15 days, but unfortunately people take advantage and provide false information when applying, the mayors office noted. During the process of applying for the aid, applicants can't be under the influence of drugs. But it is not clear if recipients are tested for illegal drug use after getting the funding.

Read more: L.A. County offers 3,000 new mental health and substance use treatment beds in bid to end lawsuit

This data shows us that we need to redouble our efforts to prevent this welfare fraud moving forward, Rhorer said.

Peskin, whose district includes Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf and Union Square, blasted the housing services agency, saying it failed to fulfill this baseline responsibility for years" of vetting residency for CAAP eligibility. He also accused the mayor's report of including "highly suspect data."

[This] is yet another weapon in this administration's arsenal of cynicism to manipulate genuine concerns that people have about the staggering number of overdose deaths on our streets, Peskin said in a statement.

Peskin said the statistics take aim at safety net programs like public assistance that should be protected and invested in.

He said the data raises questions about the mayors ability to lead and the HSAs functionality, asking how can we trust them if Breed and the HSA cant even do the basics of their jobs.

Kanishka Cheng, CEO and founder of TogetherSF Action, a nonprofit geared at increasing civic engagement, said the citys social safety net is a crucial expression of our liberal values.

Yet, the lack of city-sponsored treatment for those battling drug abuse and a lack of enforcement of rules over who is awarded the grants has ended up sponsoring out-of-towners deadly public drug use.

This is a losing situation for everyone, Cheng said. Residents in SF are fed up with the drug crisis. We need to find middle ground, immediate, and realistic solutions, rather than voting according to ideology."

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2024 shows a scene during the parade of the gods in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo by Lin Ruile/Xinhua)

by Xinhua writers Yao Yuan and Deng Qianqian

FUZHOU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- In an eastern Chinese village, a formidable group of divine generals parade the streets with great panache, their ornate headwear and chiseled features commanding the thunderous applause of firecrackers and a barrage of flashlights.

Known as "youshen" or the "parade of the gods," this lively and grand procession is popular in Fujian, Guangdong, and Taiwan. The procession invites celestials to visit the mortal realm, revel with local residents and distribute blessings.

This year, this folk tradition, with its unique regional flair and cyberpunk ambience, became a social media phenomenon and transformed many otherwise anonymous villages into tourist hotspots.

"Youshen used to be a local affair, but this year, our village was chock-a-block with cars from across China, including Beijing, Jiangsu and Shanghai," said Lin Xiangguo, Party secretary of Kefeng Village in Changle, a suburban district of Fuzhou in Fujian Province.

Youshen activities are usually held in the first lunar month following the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, and during the godlings' birthdays. A statue of the main deity is seated on a sedan, preceded by a formation of divine generals and other attendants. The latter characters are usually giant or life-sized hollow effigies worn by temple workers.

Changle is renowned for its spectacular youshen festivities. On Feb. 19, hundreds of deities walked through 18 villages in a lively carnival that lasted from 9 a.m. to the next morning.

Changle's many "shenjiang," or divine generals, attracted the most online attention this year, their dashing looks described by some netizens as "coming straight out of anime."

Lin Bin, 23, is one of a new-generation of divine general designers. He explains that, traditionally, the faces of the celestial generals were painted in the claborate style to give them a solemn look, but young designers, like Lin, instead opted for a more stylised, animesque face.

"We hoped the new designs would promote the youshen culture and increase its fandom," said Lin, a Changle local. "It took quite a lot of persuading before the older villagers agreed to our unconventional vision, though."

Heavy participation of young people is one feature of the youshen tradition. The divine generals' effigies, which can weigh up to 40 kg, are often carried by the younger generation, such as students or urban workers who return to their villages for major festivals.

"I've not received professional training (of carrying gods), but I have watched the parades since I was a child," said Lin Yanxin, a 20-year-old college student who has volunteered to be a god carrier for three years straight. "Many villagers of my age also volunteer at the parade, inspired by a sense of calling," he said.

Lin Yating, 32, is proud to not only be an inheritor of the centuries-old youshen traditions but also, by becoming a chief drummer in the local youshen team, a challenger.

"The older generation would never have contemplated having girls in the drumming lineup, but we young people must have the courage to challenge outdated customs," she said.

A TRADITION TO RETURN TO

Apart from drawing back young villagers studying and working in other parts of China, the youshen celebrations have in recent years risen as a major magnet for overseas Chinese.

Fuzhou is the hometown of 4.3 million Chinese who reside abroad, and youshen festivities in the city often include prayers for those working and living far away from home.

"This is the first time in 33 years that I have returned to my hometown for the Spring Festival, and watching youshen brings back many childhood memories with my family," said Lin Liangping, a businessman and head of the Fujian Houfu Association of America.

Lin said many fellow villagers living in the United States decided to return to Changle for the Chinese Lunar New Year after watching youshen videos on the Internet.

"The appeal of youshen is incredible. It ignites deep feelings for the homeland for many overseas Chinese," he said. 

This photo taken on Feb. 19, 2024 shows a scene during the parade of the gods in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo by Lin Ruile/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 19, 2024 shows a scene during the parade of the gods in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. (Photo by Lin Ruile/Xinhua)
A total solar eclipse will cross North America on April 8, bringing a spectacle over the homes of tens of millions of Americans.

The eclipse's path of totality will travel over a portion of northern Mexico before entering the U.S. It will pass into Texas around 1:30 p.m. local time before covering portions of the Midwest and east coast. It will then touch southeast Canada before moving out to sea, according to NASA.

The eclipse's path will cross 13 states from Texas to Maine, and experts say the southern end of the path has the best chances for good viewing.

Those who don't live on the path or can't travel to a place that is, might be wondering when their next chance to see a total solar eclipse will come. Here's what we know.

When is the next total solar eclipse visible from the U.S.?

It will be 20 years before there's a chance to witness a total solar eclipse in the United States again.

According to NASA, after the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the next total solar eclipse that can be seen from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

2044 total solar eclipse path of totality

Unfortunately, the 2044 total solar eclipse won't have the broad reach across the U.S. as the 2024 eclipse.

The Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach and political space advocacy, says that during the 2044 eclipse, the path of totality will only touch three states.

The eclipse will begin in Greenland, sweep through Canada and end around sunset in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Middle school students in Topeka, Kansas put on their solar eclipse glasses to view the annular solar phenomenon in October at Washburn University.

What is a total solar eclipse?

Any celestial object like a moon or a planet that passes between two other bodies can create an eclipse by obscuring the view of objects like the sun.

In the event of a solar eclipse, the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun, blocking its light from reaching a small part of our planet. Partial eclipses, when some part of the sun remains visible, are the most common, making total eclipses a rare sight to behold.

Total eclipses can lead to a period of darkness lasting for several minutes, during which time nocturnal animals stir while confused birds and insects may fall silent, NASA says.

When a solar eclipse reaches totality, people are able to see the suns outer atmosphere called the corona, which is usually obscured by the sun's bright surface. This offers scientists an uncommon opportunity to study the corona.

What states are on the 2024 eclipse path of totality?

Mexico's pacific coast will be the first location in continental North America to experience totality, which will occur at about 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA.

As the moon's shadow travels northeast, totality in the U.S. will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT. The path will cut diagonally across the country, traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The 115-mile-wide path of totality will stretch from Mazatlan, Mexico, across America, into Newfoundland.

In the United States, the eclipse's path will end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT before visiting the maritime provinces of Canada, according to estimates.

See interactive maps of the 2024 path.

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Ramon Padilla & Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is the next total solar eclipse after 2024? Here's what we know.
As part of theGrios Running Black election series, we sit down with Rep. Allred, who is running to become the first Black American from Texas to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

TheGrios Running Black election series profiles Black candidates running for office in the 2024 elections. If successful, each candidate profiled could make history in their state. Hear from them in their own words about whats at stake in their races, for the country, and for Black and brown communities on the political margin.

As a former NFL linebacker and Big-12 college football player, Colin Allred knows much about competition. This November, the U.S. congressman from Texas is confident in his chances of winning the biggest battle of his political career as he attempts to unseat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a two-term, high-profile Republican who has been an outspoken and loyal ally to former President Donald Trump.

We cant afford six more years of Ted Cruz, Allred told theGrio. Texas is this incredibly diverse, dynamic state. Were not the state that [he], I think, represents us as.

If victorious, Allred would make history as the first Black American from Texas elected to the U.S. Senate. The 40-year-old would be etched in the history books, following in the footsteps of groundbreaking Black politicians from Texas like Barbara Jordan, the first Black woman from the South elected to the U.S. Congress, and Eddie Bernice Johnson, the first Black woman to represent Dallas in the U.S. House.

Here in Texas, we have such a rich history, particularly as African-Americans, said Allred, whose familys lineage in Texas dates back four generations during U.S. slavery. He noted that during the Jim Crow era, his grandparents didnt have the right to vote.

However, the congressman and former voting rights attorney acknowledged that Texas, a former confederate state, also produced some of our biggest progress, including former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, two critical pieces of legislation that enfranchised Black Americans.

Joining that history, said Allred, would be incredibly important for Texas, and for the country, for us to have a Black senator.

Getting there, however, wont come easy. Allred will first have to win his Democratic primary election on March 5 (which he is favored to do) and, if successful, will face off against Cruz. The Republican senator raised $5.5 million last quarter and has the advantage of incumbency in a state that hasnt elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in more than 30 years.

But Allred, who has outpaced Cruz with cash-on-hand fundraising, believes he can take him on and win. The Democratic hopeful slammed Cruz for joining 147 Republican members of Congress to vote against certifying President Joe Bidens win in the 2020 election and backed Trumps false claims that there was voter fraud. Trump is facing two criminal indictments related to his actions connected to his alleged attempts to remain in the White House.

[Cruzs] actions that day [and] in the days leading up to it are part of why Jan. 6 happened, said Allred, referring to the violent mob of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building in 2021, leading to five deaths  including that of a Capitol Police officer. Allred said he sees this years election as Cruzs accountability for his attack on our democracy.

In Texas, U.S. Rep. Colin Allred (right) is favored to win the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. If successful, he would face Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (left), who is seeking reelection.

This is accountability for abandoning us when 30 million Texans were freezing in the dark and deciding it was a good time to go to Cancun, said the Senate candidate, referencing Cruzs vacation during a power outage caused by a severe winter storm. He added, Its his accountability for voting against all the legislation that will help our state.

Allred called Cruz one of the most extreme senators and divisive senators in the country.

By contrast, Allred believes he can be a U.S. senator who actually cares about Texas and its diverse population. He thinks he can bring together a broader coalition of voters, similar to the one formed nationally by former President Barack Obama, whose administration Allred worked for as general counsel in the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

What we have to do here in Texas is combat the issue that weve had oflow voter turnout and getting more of our fellow Texans engaged, he acknowledged.

Allred continued: Im a voting rights lawyer. I know why some of that occurs, but I also know that some of it is because weve decided and felt that our voices dont matter here in Texas, and we have to change that in this election.

The congressman believes that mobilizing voters will come down to the critical issues vital to a majority of voters in Texas, including increasing wages, reducing health care costs, and protecting abortion rights amid the states strict six-week ban. In a campaign ad, Allred accused Cruz of being more focused on pushing phony culture wars than on getting results for Texans.

During the 2022 Senate confirmation hearing, Cruz notably clashed with Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, his former Harvard Law School classmate, over critical race theory and books about race in America. Cruz pointedly asked Jackson if she believed that babies are racist, in reference to Ibram X. Kendis book Antiracist Baby, which was being taught at a private school in Washington, D.C., for which Jackson serves as a board trustee.

The Republican Party, led by members of Congress and state governors, has seized on school curriculums and books that discuss Americas history of U.S. slavery and racial oppression. Many of them have argued that said materials are indoctrinating children and causing white children to feel badly about their identity.

We have to teach our real history, said Allred. Weve made tremendous progress together because we have a system that allowed us to mend and perfect our union. To me, thats a much better story than the one that I see some of these folks trying to pushthat none of this ever happened.

Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, speaks during House Democrats June 2020 news conference to unveil the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The Senate hopeful said that despite the censorships occurring in Texas and beyond, young people are smart and tech-savvy enough to access the truth.

They know whats happening, and they know  what youre trying not to put in front of them  when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, he said.

Allred wants to flip Texas U.S. Senate seat to protect the rights of its citizens, most especially by ensuring equal access to the vote. Texas joined more than half of U.S. states in passing restrictive voting laws that experts and advocates say are designed to thwart Black, brown, young, and other marginalized communities (the core of the Democratic Partys coalition) from casting their ballots.

Were in a moment where  many folks who are trying to take us backward, said Allred. The good news is in election after election, weve responded to it, and seeing the folks are saying, listenyoure not gonna stop us from voting.

During the last session of Congress, Allred and fellow House Democrats passed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore measures to prevent states from engaging in voting discrimination after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court struck down such provisions in the Voting Rights Act. However, the bill was blocked by the filibuster rule in the Senate. On Thursday, Senate Democrats led by Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia reintroduced the bill.

Allred committed to reforming the filibuster rule if elected to the Senate to finish the job to protect the right to vote instead of trying to take it away. He vowed, When Im in the Senate, we will do that.

Gerren Keith Gaynor

Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Never miss a beat: Get our daily stories straight to your inbox with theGrios newsletter.

The post NFL player turned attorney Colin Allred seeks to make Texas Black history with Senate campaign appeared first on TheGrio.
How the state funds its public schools is once again being debated in the State House.

Last week, a Rockingham County Superior Court judge issued a directive to the state: Increase per-pupil school funding in New Hampshire immediately.

In a pair of orders Feb. 20, Judge David Ruoff reiterated two sweeping decisions he made in November and rejected the states efforts to reconsider them. Those November decisions found the state is paying too little for schools and is not meeting its constitutional obligations. This month, Ruoff again ordered the state to pay nearly twice as much per student  $7,356.01  and retool the statewide education property tax to distribute money to property-poor towns.

In court, the state has vowed to appeal Ruoffs school funding orders to the state Supreme Court, setting up a legal fight that could take years.

But in the State House, lawmakers are considering their own funding bills. On Feb. 22, the House took up a handful of bills that would boost adequacy grants, though not to the level that has been dictated by the court.

Heres a guide to what the House is considering and not considering.

A bipartisan bump in per-student funding

Last Thursday, the House approved a bill that would increase how much the state pays to schools through its adequacy formula  which gives school districts a set amount per pupil every year.

Currently, the state pays a base amount of $4,186 per student  and more if the student is enrolled in the free or reduced-price lunch program, requires special education, is an English language learner, and other categories. That amount was increased in 2023 as part of the budget, up from around $3,800.

House Bill 1583 would increase that base amount to $4,404 per pupil. And it would include two programs to target additional aid to lower-income school districts.

One program, known as relief funding, would increase the money paid to schools depending on what proportion of their students qualified for free or reduced-priced lunches, meaning their families make below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. The other, fiscal capacity disparity aid, would distribute more funding to school districts whose property values per student were below a certain level.

Towns must use local property taxes to pay for the bulk of their school costs; districts with lower property values often have lower budgets and higher taxes.

The bill passed the House floor last Thursday and heads next to House Finance for further review.

Increases to special education approved

House lawmakers are also vying to spend more state money toward supporting special education costs.

Currently, schools are given $2,142 per student receiving special education services  on top of the $4,182 the student receives in base aid. But the level is rigid, and does not account for students who need more or fewer special education services.

House Bill 1656 would change that approach by introducing graduated funding that would pay school districts more for students who need more help. The bill would separate student disabilities into three categories. Students in Category A would include those who require out-of-class special education services less than 80 percent of the day  the least expensive category; Category B would include those who require out-of-class services more than 80 percent of the day; and Category C would include those who require services in separate schools, hospitals, or facilities.

The payouts would rise from $2,642 per Category A student to $5,285 per Category B student to $7,927 per Category C student.

HB 1656 also passed the House on Feb. 22 and also heads to the Finance Committee.

Return to donor towns rejected

Neither bipartisan funding bill that passed last Thursday would fully address Judge Ruoffs order in one lawsuit that the state pay at least $7,356.01 toward adequacy. And lawmakers shelved a bill that would have addressed Ruoffs order in the second lawsuit.

House Bill 1686 would require the state to gather any excess statewide education property tax payments collected by towns and cities and add it into the states Education Trust Fund to be redistributed to other towns. That approach would mean that towns in school districts that raise more than they need to pay for their schools would give up the money to help other districts, creating what opponents call donor towns. Currently, wealthier towns are able to keep the excess property tax collections and use it for non-school-related spending.

The donor town model has long been politically controversial, but Ruoff was clear: Allowing towns to retain their excess collections created an uneven tax, which he ruled is unconstitutional.

Lawmakers nonetheless voted to table HB 1686 rather than passing it before a key legislative deadline, effectively killing the bill.

Pending an appeal and a stay by the state Supreme Court, New Hampshire is technically not complying with its funding orders. But Rep. David Luneau, a Hopkinton Democrat, hailed the two funding bills that passed, which had the backing of the leading two Democrats and Republicans in the House Education Committee.

Both of those bills clearly showed that theres bipartisan recognition of the need for school funding reform, obviously not to the degree that the ConVal order has done, Luneau said in an interview Friday, referring to the Contoocook Valley School District, the lead plaintiff in one of the school funding lawsuits.

But were going to have to build up to that, and ultimately what New Hampshire needs, consistent with the (court) decisions, is comprehensive school funding reform.

This story was originally published by the New Hampshire Bulletin.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: NH lawmakers work on school funding reform after judge's order
International Court of Justice holds public hearings on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, in The Hague

By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Nicaragua has filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Germany for giving financial and military aid to Israel and for defunding the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), the U.N.'s top court said on Friday.

Nicaragua asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to issue emergency measures requiring Berlin to stop its military aid to Israel and reverse its decision to stop funding UNRWA.

The German Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The court usually sets a date for a hearing on any requested emergency measures within weeks of a case being filed.

According to Nicaragua's claim, Germany is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention and the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the laws of war in the occupied Palestinian territories.

"By sending military equipment and now defunding UNRWA which provides essential support to the civilian population, Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide," Nicaragua said in its legal filings.

Major donors to UNRWA, including the United States and Germany, suspended funding after allegations that around 12 of its tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas.

Nicaragua's filing adds that emergency measures were needed because of Berlin's "participation in the ongoing plausible genocide and serious breaches of international humanitarian law" in the Gaza Strip.

This claim builds on the case South Africa brought against Israel for allegedly committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Last month the ICJ said South Africa's claims that Israel violated the genocide convention were not implausible and ordered emergency measures, including a call for Israel to halt any potential acts of genocide in Gaza.

Israel has denied allegations of genocide and said it has the right to defend itself.

Under the genocide treaty countries not only agree not to commit genocide but also to the prevent and punish any possible genocide. It also makes complicity in genocide and attempting a genocide a violation of the treaty.

Germany is one of the largest arms exporters to Israel together with the United States, according to U.N. experts.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Bart Meijer, editing by Deepa Babington and Alex Richardson)
The News

LAGOS  Nigeria will ask cryptocurrency exchange Binance to pay $10 billion for alleged losses caused to the government by its operations, an aide to President Bola Tinubu said.

This country recorded massive losses from their operations and the government is asking for small money from them, said Bayo Onanuga, the presidents adviser on information and strategy, to the BBC. We are asking them to pay us close to $10 billion in retribution because they really messed up our economy in a very short time, he said.

Onanuga claimed that crypto traders have used Binance to manipulate Nigerias currency, undermining the central bank which he said is the only authority that can fix the countrys exchange rates. He confirmed reports earlier this week that two members of the Binance team were arrested when they came to Nigeria.

Nigerias national security advisers office said law enforcement agencies and the central bank are investigating Binances operations in the country, according to news publication Premium Times.

Binance did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Semafor Africa.

Know More

On Tuesday, Nigerias central bank governor Yemi Cardoso claimed $26 billion have been traded in and out of Nigeria on Binance in the past year by unidentifiable sources. He alleged that certain aspects' of crypto transactions across platforms involved illicit flows.

The detention of Binance staff came a week after Nigerian telecom providers shut off user access to the websites. Binance has since disabled several of its most used services in Nigeria, especially trades that involved using the naira to buy the USDT digital currency pegged to the U.S. dollar.

In December, Nigerias central bank cited current global trends as its reason for lifting a three-year old ban that barred banks from relationships with crypto trading platforms. Certain conditions, including valid licensing by Nigerias securities and exchange commission for crypto companies, were part of new requirements that seemed to foreshadow a welcoming of crypto into the financial system.

Step Back

It is not the first time Nigerian authorities have sought a large sum from a foreign company for alleged infractions. Nigeria fined South African telecoms company MTN $5.2 billion for failing to disconnect 5 million unregistered SIM cards. The company negotiated the fine down to $980 million, which it paid in 2019.

Nigeria is struggling with low growth. Africas largest economy grew by 2.7% last year, the lowest rate since the countrys recession in 2020, and the value of the countrys naira currency has plummeted in the wake of economic reforms introduced since Tinubu took office last May.
From Jon Stewarts Daily Show return to President Biden chatting it up with Seth Meyers, late-night TV is riding a wave of buzz  and the surge of interest could affect how the 2024 White House hopefuls dip their toes in the after-hours broadcast waters.

Comedy Central has touted record ratings for Stewarts highly anticipated Monday night Daily Show hosting duties, which started earlier this month. His second episode hosting the faux news program netted 1.3 million total viewers, marking the most-watched episode of The Daily Show since the final time Stewart hosted in 2015.

Certainly theres a new energy coming out of late-night right now, said Geoffrey Baym, a media studies professor at Temple University and author of From Cronkite to Colbert: The Evolution of Broadcast News. Stewart, Baym said, is a welcome voice thats been missing for a long time.

Fox News has also highlighted its late-night offering Gutfeld! as a ratings juggernaut in recent weeks, netting more than 2 million viewers earlier this month. The cable news networks show, hosted by comedian Greg Gutfeld, has been the top-rated late-night program for several quarters running.

In addition to the eyes on Stewart and Gutfeld, viewers also saw John Oliver return to his show this month, heading back to HBOs Last Week Tonight for its 11th season on the heels of his latest Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a variety series.

Late-night is having a moment right now, said A.J. Katz, the editor in chief of the new site LateNighter.com, which launched this week.

The format was losing a little bit of momentum, but I think with the return of Jon Stewart and this election coming up, and Biden and [former President Trump], whatever you think of them, they can say outlandish things and that makes life easier for writers on these shows, Katz said.

So theres just going to be a lot to talk about right now, he added.

That talk this week largely revolved around Bidens appearance on on Late Night to help Meyers celebrate his 10th anniversary as the face of the NBC show. Sporting a pair of sunglasses to mimic the Dark Brandon meme, Biden deployed a one-liner to address a question about his age and threw some zingers Trumps way.

After Meyers said with a grin that he was in the possession of classified information that indicated that Biden was 81 years old, the president replied: Who the hell told you that? Thats classified!

Biden also said of Trump, Hes about as old as I am, but he cant remember his wifes name.

But it wasnt all wisecracks and knee slappers  Biden addressed the Israel-Hamas war and accused Trump of inviting [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to invade Western countries in a reference to a conversation the ex-president said he had with a foreign leader of NATO in which he said he wouldnt defend alliance members who didnt pay up at least 2 percent of their economic input.

Biden also elicited some criticism with his Late Night appearance: Varietys Daniel DAddario said the commander in chief seemed a beat behind in catching the joke each time during one of his few extended TV interviews.

Politicians often see late-night television shows as a good platform to show off their personality, to show people who they are in a more free-flowing setting, Katz said.

Plus, the former senior editor of Adweeks TVNewser blog said, A lot of the time these shows attract some of the younger audience, as opposed to cable news.

As someone who covered cable and broadcast news for several years, your average viewer is going to be 65-plus a lot of the time, whereas with late-night, your linear viewer is still in their 40s, and 50s and 60s as well, Katz said.

Youre reaching a different audience, he said, noting that viral segments and YouTube clips of interviews can reach millions of more eyes online.

But hitting the late-night circuit isnt entirely hazard-free.

In 2021, Vice President Harris appeared on Comedy Centrals now-defunct weekly late-night show Tha Gods Honest Truth and raised eyebrows with a tense exchange with host Charlamagne Tha God after he asked her to name the countrys real president.

Its Joe Biden, Harris, appearing agitated, told the host. And dont start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not hes president.

Katz said, Sometimes youre going to get tough questioning. These comics will have fun with you, theyll joke around with you, but then out of the blue, theyll fire something of a fastball, and you might not be prepared for it just because the conversation has been so casual up to that point.

Generally speaking, Baym said, The risk is [politicians] look silly and uncomfortable, and the jokes are too close to home  that they end up being the butt of the joke.

But Baym predicted viewers should expect to see a lot more of Biden and his campaigns surrogates dotting the late-night landscape ahead of November.

Im certain that Democrats are going to be trying to appear on these programs as much as they can. I dont think theres any doubt about that, Baym, a former TV producer, said.

While Biden may not be particularly comfortable in that space, he added, he recognizes the utility of it.

Although Meyers may be the first of multiple late-night appearances for Biden this year, its unlikely Trump will be racing to sit down with almost any of the time slots hosts.

Virtually every network TV late-night personality has been fiercely critical of Trump, including The Late Shows Stephen Colbert, ABCs Jimmy Kimmel and even NBCs Jimmy Fallon, who typically doesnt deliver as many politically charged punchlines on The Tonight Show.

Colbert had boycotted uttering Trumps name on his CBS show for years, saying in 2021, After the whole Jan. 6 thing  no, even before that. It was after [the 2020 election] when he did that whole I won thing, I planned not to say the guys name again.

The Late Show host eventually began mentioning Trump by name again late last year.

The hard feelings appear to be mutual. Trump has referred to the late-night host lineup as low rated creeps and losers.

Remember when I told you that the poorly rated and not at all funny Late Night Talk Shows are nothing less than a major Campaign Contribution to the Radical Left Democrat Party, Trump said in a social media post last year.

As president, Trump directed his staff to complain to ABC parent company Disney about Kimmels jokes that were focused on him, according to a Rolling Stone report last year.

Even if Trump wanted to stir the pot with a high-profile return as a late-night guest, some hosts have said hes not welcome.

Despite Trump appearing as a Late Show guest in 2015, Colbert said in a 2019 interview that he wouldnt invite the 45th president back on his show.

The quick answer would be no because it would be hard for me to be properly respectful of the office, Colbert said at the time.

Ever since then-Democratic White House hopeful Bill Clinton picked up his saxophone to play Heartbreak Hotel on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1992, late-night shows have served as a buttoned-down, decidedly un-Washington-like platform for political candidates.

The shows give politicians a friendly, supportive space to demonstrate their authenticity and to show that they have a sense of humor  that theyre not robots, Baym said.

The professor credited Stewart with giving late-night shows a sharper political edge when the comic first took the reins of The Daily Show in 1999.

I think more than anyone, Jon Stewart pushed what you could call the politicization of late-night, turning that space, taking the genre of late-night talk and interweaving it with quite serious political argument and political information, he said.

While neither Biden nor Trump are likely to be lining up to play a musical instrument alongside todays hosts, the shows could prove to be a platform the 2024 presidential campaigns see as worth staying up late for.

Its an exciting time to be in late-night, Katz said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said all of former President Donald Trumps legal cases should be dealt with before the upcoming presidential election so that voters know what theyre walking into and cases ultimately arent swept under the rug.

I think all of the cases should be dealt with before November, Haley said in an interview Thursday with NBC News. We need to know whats going to happen before it, before the presidency happens, because after that, should he become president, I dont think any of its going to get heard.

Haley, who is Trumps last remaining rival for the Republican presidential nomination, spoke one day after the Supreme Court said it will consider whether Trump is immune to prosecution for his actions regarding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a campaign event in Virginia on Thursday. via Associated Press

Trump, who is the current Republican front-runner, also faces a federal indictment in Florida related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. His attorneys said they want that trial pushed back until after the election.

Haley said Trump has the right to defend himself, but that the cases should not be drawn out and must be addressed quickly.

I think voters are going to want to know what theyre walking into, and if theyre walking into a president whos still going to have to be in court or if theyre walking into a presidency where he can get rid of a court case. Voters are going to want to know that, Hayley said.

While Hayley added that no president should be legally immune to anything, and they must live under laws too, she has previously said that it would be bad if Trump winds up sitting in a jail cell.

For me, the last thing we need is an 80-year-old president sitting in jail because thats just going to further divide our country, she told CNN back in January. This is no longer about whether hes innocent or guilty. This is about the fact: How do we bring the country back together?

She added that that does not mean she would preemptively pardon Trump, like President Gerald Ford did for Richard Nixon. Instead, she thinks everything needs to play out.

Related...
Incumbent Los Angeles City Councilmembers Kevin de Leon and Nithya Raman have had success in getting homeless people off the street in their districts. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times; Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Nithya Raman won a spot on the Los Angeles City Council four years ago by promising to ease the city's homelessness crisis.

Now, the council member points to her work reducing the number of people living on the street in her Silver Lake-to-Reseda district as she runs for reelection.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority data show "unsheltered homelessness" dropped 7% in her district over a two-year period. The term includes anyone living in the open or in a tent or car.

Councilmember Kevin de Leon is also waging a reelection campaign and sending out mailers announcing that homelessness dropped in his district.

Read more: Your guide to the L.A. City Council District 14 race: Kevin de Leon vs. 7 challengers

Unsheltered homelessness dropped 7% in his Northeast L.A. district last year, according to unofficial LAHSA results.

Raman and De Leon aren't viewed as friends or political allies. But both are in the same boat: waging a tough reelection campaign while touting progress in their districts on homelessness.

Such a message can bolster a campaign in a city where polls show that homelessness is the No. 1 issue. Political consultant Brian Van Riper said voters will also weigh the city's success on how they feel walking around their neighborhoods and whether there are signs of homelessness.

"Voters vote as much on feeling and emotion as they do on statistic and fact," said Van Riper, who is not involved in the race.

Two factors make it hard this election year to track City Hall's progress on the crisis.

Some City Council district boundaries were changed significantly following the city's 2021 redistricting process.

Read more: In Hollywood, homeless encampments fuel neighborhood frustration with Bass and Raman

At the same time, the L.A. Homeless Services Authority, the city and county agency that oversees homelessness, didn't release council district-specific homelessness numbers in 2023.

Unsheltered homelessness grew 15% in Los Angeles in 2023 compared with 2022, according to LAHSA. Since the 2015 count, overall homelessness has increased by 80% in the city.

Jason Ward, an economist at the Santa Monica-based Rand Corp., a nonprofit research institute, has been studying homelessness in Hollywood, Skid Row and Venice since 2021.

He said it's probably reasonable to deduce that the number of citywide encampments has declined given the various programs underway, including Mayor Karen Bass' Inside Safe program, which places people into hotel and motel rooms.

Even in Skid Row, theres a moderation and a flat pool of people, rather than an upward trend, he said.

On a windy morning in May 2023 two staffers from Raman's office joined homelessness outreach workers to visit a series of ragged tents along the L.A. River's concrete banks.

The group was there to introduce themselves, part of the process of trying to coax people to move into shelters.

Aides to L.A. Councilmember Nithya Raman joined outreach workers in May 2023 making contact with homeless residents living alongside the L.A. River, including Christopher Given, left. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

The program, launched with state and federal funds, is one of the ways that Raman's office has moved more than 500 people in her district into shelter, according to her office.

More than a dozen major encampments in Raman's district, including a corridor of RVs along Victory Boulevard in Reseda, were cleared, according to her office.

Monthly community events for the unhoused hosted by Raman's office offer haircuts, showers, and access to identification cards and shelter.

Raman, who chairs the councils homelessness committee, said the work by her team shows that the city "can actually address street homelessness, which is what most Angelenos are concerned about, far more effectively than we have been in the past.

Former Councilmember Mike Bonin said that many council offices have outreach teams but Ramans staff acts as housing navigators.

She has folks who are out there who are building relationships over time and figuring out what sort of housing people need," Bonin said.

Read more: Voter guide to the 2024 California primary election

Alex Perez gets a haircut in December at the Will and Ariel Durant Branch Library in Hollywood  a service that is part of monthly events held in Raman's council district. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

The 7% drop in the unsheltered homeless population in Raman's district was in 2022, compared with 2020. (LAHSA didn't conduct a count in 2021 because of COVID-19). At the same time, the sheltered population more than doubled during that period.

Raman's office credits the increase in sheltered population to more beds being offered by her district. Those in shelter, such as motel rooms, are still considered homeless by the city.

LAHSAs 2022 numbers didnt take into account the citys recent redistricting process that affected Ramans district. She lost some 40% of her constituents as Hancock Park, Park La Brea and other neighborhoods were removed, and Encino and Reseda were added to her district.

Post-redistricting, LAHSA's unofficial 2023 data showed that Raman's district again saw a 7% drop in unsheltered homelessness compared with 2022's count. But given the dramatic change in her district boundaries, it's difficult to compare the two years meaningfully.

The 2023 figure comes from raw data collected by LAHSA that was reviewed by The Times. The districts led by Raman and De Leon were among six districts that saw drops in unsheltered homeless populations, according to that data.

LAHSA didn't release official council district-level data in 2023 because of concerns that the numbers weren't precise, said LAHSA spokesperson Ahmad Chapman.

Raman's challengers in Tuesday's primary  Deputy City Atty. Ethan Weaver and software engineer Levon Lev Baronian  both offer voters a different approach on homelessness.

Read more: Your guide to the L.A. City Council District 4 race: Nithya Raman faces two challengers

Both said they would enforce Municipal Code 41.18, the citys anti-camping law, which allows police to regulate where people can sit and sleep and is opposed by Raman.

Weaver has also criticized Raman's handling of encampments around Cahuenga Boulevard and the Los Feliz Bridge Home shelter. Neighbors have complained about safety and sanitation at both locations.

He also wants a phased withdrawal from LAHSA. The agency, which is governed by a 10-member board, was "designed to fail," he said. "If you talk to any of our council members, they will tell you that they cannot give direct orders to this bureaucracy."

Raman has argued against a pullout from LAHSA, saying such a move would jeopardize federal funding meant to help the city's unhoused population.

Since taking office in 2020, De Leon has opened three tiny home villages  in Eagle Rock, Highland Park and Boyle Heights converted two motels into temporary housing in El Sereno, and completed a 77-bed shelter for women and families in Boyle Heights.

More than 2,000 beds have been created in his district, according to his office.

De Leon said he pursued housing options even as he was the target of recall attempts, some of them driven by opposition to his push for interim homeless housing.

Councilmember Kevin De Leon greets people in line for a food distribution outside his office in Eagle Rock. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

"I've built [homeless] housing in every part of my district and I've built different types of housing because there's no single solution to the crisis," De Leon said in an interview.

Tommy Newman, vice president of public affairs at United Way of Greater L.A., said that Northeast L.A. has historically lacked shelter options, so it's "good to see" De Leon's push to add beds.

On a recent morning, the council member inspected an alley in an industrial area of Boyle Heights where his office was seeking to get people into housing.

De Leon and Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officer Johnny Altamirano described how thieves hire unhoused people living in tents to strip copper wire.

The thieves pay people with crystal meth, a cycle that keeps the unhoused people in this area "drugged up," said the councilman, who wants more L.A. County resources to help homeless residents battle drug addiction.

In campaign mailers, De Leon says homelessness declined in District 14, which takes in Skid Row and part or all of Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Eagle Rock, El Sereno and Hermon.

The unofficial 2023 data from LAHSA show that the unsheltered population in the district dropped 7% last year compared with 2022.

De Leon spokesperson Pete Brown said LAHSA provided numbers to the council member's office showing a slight decrease in District 14's overall homelessness last year. LAHSA's Chapman said that data was imprecise.

Some of the seven people challenging De Leon in the primary point to LAHSA's 2022 data.

Unsheltered homelessness rose that year 38% compared with 2020, said one of the candidates, Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles).

Kevin de Leon goes over his speech notes before opening of Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village on Oct. 21, 2021. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

"Clearly, whatever the incumbent has been doing isnt enough," Santiago said.

Another candidate, tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado, proposes community resource centers to offer sanitation, healthcare and social services for unhoused people.

Times staff writers David Zahniser and Doug Smith contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY)  Virginia State Police said no one was injured in a school bus crash Thursday afternoon.

Sgt. Michelle Anaya confirmed the single-vehicle accident occurred at 2:50 p.m. at Beartown Road and Chester Street.

The school bus slid off the road, into a ditch. State Police said there was no damage to the bus, but images from a WAVY viewer show a tow truck was called to the scene to remove the bus from the ditch.

Check with WAVY.com for updates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
Presidential hopeful Donald Trumps use of an isolated incident - the murder of a Georgia student by an undocumented Venezuelan suspect - to portray most unauthorized immigrants as violent criminals is not only misleading. Its a display of racist demagoguery that incites hate crimes against Latinos.

An estimated 71 people are murdered daily in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control data. But despite the fact that most of these murders are committed by U.S.-born Americans, Trump is putting the spotlight almost exclusively on violent crimes committed by migrants.

In fact, blaming Latin American migrants for violent crimes has become, much like it was during his 2016 presidential bid, the centerpiece of Trumps 2024 campaign.

While visiting the U.S.-Mexico border on Feb. 29, Trump falsely claimed that the United States is being overrun by migrant crime. He added, in a blatant generalization, that undocumented migrants are coming from jails and theyre coming from prisons and theyre coming from mental institutions and theyre coming from insane asylums.

Trump cited numbers of crimes committed by migrants, conveniently omitting to mention that U.S. violent crime rates in Americas biggest cities dropped by 12 percent last year and are significantly below their 2020 levels, according to studies based on FBI data.

Undocumented immigrants are half as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as U.S.-born citizens, according to a multi-year study of crime statistics published by the prestigious Proceedings magazine of the National Academy of Sciences. In fact, most undocumented migrants face far fewer criminal charges than Trump, who is fighting 91 felony charges.

In his speech at the border, Trump cherry-picked the recent murder of 22-year-old Georgia Augusta University College nursing student Laken Riley by a suspect who was identified as an undocumented Venezuelan migrant and made it look as if it were the most common occurrence.

Days earlier, referring to the Georgia murder, Trump had written in his social media platform that the monster who took her life illegally entered our Country in 2022.

It was the same kind of selective outrage with which Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign when he falsely claimed that Mexican undocumented immigrants are bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

This is all about inflaming voters and augmenting outrage, but we know that some people take it to the next level and actually commit murder because they feel the need to repel an invasion, says Douglas G. Rivlin, a spokesman for the Americas Voice, a group that supports orderly migration.

Since Trump made his famous 2016 campaign claim about Mexican migrants, violent attacks against Latino immigrants have risen sharply, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University.

The 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart shopping center in El Paso that left 23 people dead and more than two dozen wounded was the worst attack against Hispanics in Americas recent history. Echoing Trumps rhetoric, the gunman had posted an online message shortly before the massacre saying that the shooting was in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.

Domestic terrorism, which happens to come mostly from right-wing extremists, is one of the biggest threats to national security, according to law enforcement agencies. Instead of fueling the flame of racism, Trump should be trying to put it out.

It is also ironic that Trump and his extremist followers dont apply the same logic for immigration as they do for gun control.

Whenever there is a mass shooting and there are calls for stricter regulations on against automatic weapons, Trump and his followers say we should not politicize the issue while the victims relatives are grieving. But when an undocumented migrant commits a murder, they immediately politicize the issue and demand laws to crack down on migrants.

The reason why Trump and right-wing media are pushing the migrant crime story is very simple: fear-mongering draws big audiences and many votes.

The Trump campaign is now focusing on the migrant crime issue because it has run out of most other arguments to run on.

The U.S. economy is doing much better than expected, the U.S. stock market is hitting record heights, U.S. unemployment is at near record lows, and the United States is the world leader in artificial intelligence and other key brand-new technologies.

Xenophobia and racism are and have always been, the last refuge of demagogues.

Dont miss the Oppenheimer Presenta TV show on Sundays at 9 p.m. E.T. on CNN en Espanol. Blog: andresoppenheimer.com






COLOMBO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan rupee has appreciated against major currencies during the year up to Feb. 29, 2024, the country's central bank said in a press release on Thursday.

The Sri Lankan currency appreciated by 4.4 percent against the U.S. dollar, 6.8 percent against the euro, 5 percent against the sterling pound, 10.8 percent against the Japanese yen, 9.8 percent against the Australian dollar and 4.2 percent against the Indian rupee during the period, the central bank said.

Meanwhile, gross official reserves continued to improve to 4.5 billion U.S. dollars by the end of January, the central bank said.

Earnings from tourism recorded the highest monthly value in January in the past four years, it said. 
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said that "no one in Europe" is going to send troops to Ukraine.

Source: Czech news agency CTK with reference to Fiala's statement, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Fiala said that the issue of sending troops took up a minimum of time at Monday's Paris summit on assistance to Ukraine. The idea was put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Wouldn't it be useful if some soldiers, for example, from France, were on the territory of Ukraine  not fighting there, but helping with training," Fiala recounted Macrons idea.

Fiala said that the vast majority of participants in the Paris summit concluded that the issue of sending troops would not be discussed or even considered further.

"This is not a topic [for discussion] because the idea is unacceptable for the vast majority of countries," Fiala stressed.

"No one in Europe is going to send troops to Ukraine," Fiala added, answering questions, including whether Czech diplomats had detailed information in advance about the topics to be discussed at the Paris summit.

He did not want to reveal the nature of the information he had about the meeting but said that all the necessary information had been available.

"I don't think there is a need to dramatise and scare people with things that no one has proposed and is not proposing in the way they are being interpreted," Fiala added.

Background:

Most NATO countries have ruled out sending their troops to Ukraine, including such major players as Germany, the UK and the US.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Wednesday that he was grateful for the debate initiated by Macron.

Estonian PM Kaja Kallas also supported Macron's idea of Western troops in Ukraine.

Moscow reacted angrily to Macron's statements, warning that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a conflict between Russia and NATO.

On 29 February, Macron said that all his statements about Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine  including the possibility of sending Western troops, which has caused a stir  had been carefully considered.

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Wisconsin has a new set of Legislative maps, and many politicians have spoken out about them; expressing excitement, questions and apprehension.

Sarah Godlewski took to social media to express her happiness, and to share a snapshot into her life as the Secretary of State.

Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski

In a Feb. 21, 2024, post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Godlewski said it was one of her responsibilities as Secretary of State to countersign acts passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers.

Im excited to be signing 2023 Wisconsin Act 94, because it means fair maps in Wisconsin! she continued.

Godlewski in her post insinuated that her signature is necessary to put a new law into action after its approved by the Legislature and the governor.

But is that true?

Lets take a closer look.

Signature not required

When we reached out to Godlewskis office, Nate Schwantes, the chief of staff, sent back information from the state Constitution and the state statutes.

Schwantes also included a photo of the signature sheet for Senate Bill 488, which is signed by the Senate President, the Assembly Speaker and the Governor. At the bottom, there is also a line for Godlewskis signature.

According to the section of the states Constitution that addresses the duties of the Secretary of State, the person who serves in the position shall keep a fair record of the official acts of the legislature and executive department of the state, and shall, when required, lay the same and all matters relative thereto before either branch of the legislature.

So basically, the Constitution says the Secretary keeps a record of official acts by the governor and the Legislature, and is able to present those acts if asked. No countersignature is mentioned.

According to the section of the state statutes that addresses the duties of the Secretary of State, there are a number of responsibilities, including recording executive acts, having custody of books and records, providing a biennial report, keeping enrolled laws, compiling original laws and resolutions, recording fees, and several more.

Another one of the duties is to affix the great seal and countersign all commissions issued and other official acts done by the governor, the governors approbation of the laws excepted.

That portion of the statute is confusing, and it may be due to the fact that the language dates back to before Wisconsin was even a state. But it doesnt require Godlewski to countersign laws, Mike Gallagher of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau said in an email.

The SOSs countersignature of official acts of the governor dates back to Wisconsins territorial days and has served primarily as a means of document authentication, i.e. verification of the legitimacy of official documents, especially in an era when state government relied exclusively on physical documents, Gallagher said.

He also noted that while yes, laws signed by the governor have included a signature block for the Secretary of State since before Godlewski took office, shes not actually required to sign on the line in order for a law to be functional.

The SOS has no role in the process by which a law takes effect. After having been passed by both houses of the legislature and signed by the governor, a law becomes effective on the day after the day on which the law is required to be published by the Legislative Reference Bureau, he said.

That date of publication is the day after the governor signs the law. The SOS has no official role in this process, whether by countersigning the governors approval or otherwise.

In fact, the Secretary of States office has gradually diminished over the years, making the role largely inconsequential, despite the fact that the person in the role is elected. In reality, the office has just a handful of small duties outlined in state law.

For Godlewski, this isnt the first time shes overstated her role as the SOS. Last year, she exaggerated her role in state elections, saying she wanted to use the office to help improve transparency and accountability in elections, and help local election officials and the Wisconsin Elections Commission. But those are not roles delegated to the SOS, as Megan Wolfe, the WECs administrator said in an April 28, 2023 report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Mostly False

Our ruling

Godlewski claimed that one of her responsibilities is to countersign acts passed by the legislature & signed into law by Gov. Evers.

While there is a line on the sheet that is signed by the Legislature and the governor for the Secretary of States signature, it doesnt actually matter if she does or doesnt sign it. The Secretary of State has no official role in the process of a bill becoming a law in Wisconsin.

We rate this claim as Mostly False, because it contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.

Sources

Sarah Godlewski, X, Feb. 21, 2024

Email conversation with Nathan Schwantes, SOS Chief of Staff, Feb. 27, 2024

Wisconsin Constitution, Secretary of state; duties, compensation, Feb. 28, 2024

Wisconsin statutes, Secretary of state, duties, Feb. 28, 2024

Email, phone conversations with Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, Feb. 27. 2024

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin election officials worried Secretary of State Sarah Godlewskis election focus will confuse voters, April 28, 2023

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Secretary of State doesnt have to countersign new laws for them to take effect
People chanted anti-war slogans at Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's funeral in Moscow on 1 March. Local media reported that participants of the rally are being detained.

Sources: BBC News Russian; OVD-info, a human rights media project about political persecution in Russia; Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza; Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories)

Details: Russians chanted "Ukrainians are good people" and demanded that Russian soldiers be brought home.

   "  " pic.twitter.com/vSQgsbq5mm     (@ukrpravda_news) March 1, 2024

BBC News Russian also released a video of a long line of people at the cemetery shouting, "No to war".

    ,  ,     ,   . pic.twitter.com/rtKG7svVHh     (@ukrpravda_news) March 1, 2024

OVD-info reported that it had information about over 45 protesters being detained across Russia. Most of them, 18 people, were detained in the city of Novosibirsk. Ten more people were detained in Yekaterinburg while laying flowers.

In addition, 10 individuals were detained in Voronezh Oblast as they were travelling to Moscow to pay their last respects to Navalny. A total of six people were detained in Moscow.

Previously: The funeral service for Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in a penal colony on 16 February, took place in Moscow on 1 March.

Background:

On the afternoon of 16 February, Russias Federal Penitentiary Service reported the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at Correctional Facility No. 3 in Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in northwestern Siberia. Representatives of the colony where Navalny was located told the politician's mother that he died of sudden death syndrome.

On the morning of 19 February, Lyudmila Navalnaya arrived at the morgue in the town of Salekhard where the body of her son, opposition politician Alexei Navalny, was allegedly kept. Still, neither she nor her lawyers were allowed in.

On 23 February, Lyudmila reported that the prison administration threatened to bury her son's body in the prison colony if she did not agree to a secret, quiet burial.

On 24 February, Russias prison employees finally handed over the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his mother.

On 27 February, the politician's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh reported that Moscow funeral agencies refused to provide premises for the funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

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Editors note: The Florida Department of Children and Families has clarified that those who are only applying for SNAP do not need an account. This information has been shared with Matthews Hope.

Despite hundreds of people who have reported glitches with a new SNAP and Medicaid application portal, the Florida Department of Children and Families blames User Error.

Weve shown you video of glitches filmed by several who have reported document upload issues with the portal, as well as the disconnecting phone lines that have made it difficult for some applicants to complete interviews needed to verify their claims.

Yet, one Orange County Non-profit told Channel 9 for some of the most vulnerable, the issues begin before they even get in front of a computer.

Amid a homeless crisis, Matthews Hope Ministries said since December 5th, only 3 of their homeless clients have successfully applied and received SNAP benefits.

Holly Norris helps homeless clients at Matthews Hope Ministries complete clerical work.

Norris explained under the previous system, just a username and password were needed to apply for SNAP benefits.

However, since the MyACCESS portal launched in December, every account must be linked to a functioning email.

Read: Man arrested in connection with shooting that left 1 dead, 6 injured in Orlando

The problem: emails now force you to use two-factor authentication, and many homeless applicants dont have cell phones.

Norris said it means her clients cannot get past creating a MyACCESS account.

Channel 9 watched as Norris had to turn away a homeless man who was trying to apply for SNAP.

I couldnt make that work for him because hes homeless. He thinks he has a Gmail, but he doesnt know the password, said Norris.

The man was sent away with homework and told to find a cellphone, create and verify a new email, and then report back to the nonprofit to start the SNAP application process.

When he leaves here hes not thinking about the email, hes thinking that hes hungry, said Norris.

On Tuesday, DCF sent Channel 9 a statement saying it believes some complaints are unique to Matthews Hope Ministries, and that some issues may occur via user error.

Read: Madeline Soto: Search continues for missing girl as her mothers boyfriend refuses to face judge

In the days since advocates have cast doubt on that statement.

Community activist Vanessa Brito has several excel sheets documenting close to a thousand people impacted by portal issues ranging from problems uploading documents to not being able to connect with representatives for necessary phone interviews.

Im having to send almost periodically, every two days list of claimants who are encountering issues, said Brito.

On Thursday, Brito told Channel 9 she was skeptical of the claim that issues are user-driven. She continued to call for transparency and accountability from DCF.

In various social media posts by Brito, hundreds have commented sharing their experience.

I have called for my interview 16 times, and I left several messages with the number on my letter no response. Then I call the main number and when it says it is going to transfer me to a representative, I get disconnected every single time, said one Facebook user.

The system must be flawed because they request for things that have already been uploaded in the system, said another Facebook user.

The full statement from DCF spokesperson Mallory McManus is below:

It is our belief that these complaints are unique to this organization. Some issues may occur via user error, but DCF is adequately staffed to receive calls and help process applications.

Since the launch of the enhanced system in early December:

 More than 1.8 million documents have been uploaded successfully.

 A 175% increase in cases were processed without having to request additional information or contact the recipient.

 There has been a 20% reduction in the number of duplicate applications received.

Read: Construction begins on Ponce Inlet boat hotel

If someone is having difficulty uploading documents, they can contact our dedicated line at: 833-912-2575. They can also notify us in writing using the form on our website located here, and someone will call them back to provide assistance.

Not everyone who completes an application needs to do an interview.

If the individual is pending an interview, there is a direct phone number to a caseworker on their pending notice to complete the interview.

If they were awaiting an interview and contact the call center from 7am to 6pm, they are automatically transferred an agent to complete the interview.

Additionally, our vacancy rate for those answering the phones is less than 5 percent, and the Department has hired an additional 125 call center agents.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN)  More children in North Carolina are dying from fentanyl in recent years. The North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force took a closer look at those deaths and what could be done to prevent them during its meeting Thursday.

The N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Chief Toxicologist Sandra C. Bishop-Freeman shared the harrowing data with the task force.

It has become clear that fentanyl is the first and foremost opioid that is currently causing illicit deaths in the pediatric population, said Bishop-Freeman.

No person that is safe: Families continue the fight against fentanyl during victim summit

Bishop-Freeman said 108 North Carolina children died from fentanyl in the past decade, most of them are teenagers or are babies and toddlers.

We have older individuals that are using the drug recreationally, either knowingly or unknowingly, and toddlers and infants that are finding the drug through exploration, Bishop-Freeman said.

She said theres been a huge increase in the past few years, with 35 fentanyl deaths in 2022 for teenagers and children below 5.

Marty McCaffrey sits on the state committee that reviews child deaths.

Its always been the worst meeting and the most horrific meeting I go to every month, but over the last couple of years I will say, if its possible, its gotten even more horrible, McCaffrey said.

McCaffrey and others in the meeting said when it comes to solutions, safe storage is critical.

Carolina Liquid Chemistries COO explains fentanyl urine detection kit

He suggests giving mothers who have known substance abuse issues secure boxes. He also suggests that after a mother gives birth hospitals should send her home with Narcan if doctors know the children in that home may be at risk for coming in contact with drugs.

I mean, were going to have to accept, and really change our culture, about how we deal with some of these moms, all of these moms, with substance use, and recognize theres good harm reduction strategies we have to start employing, McCaffrey said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
This article was originally published in Education NC.

More than 58,000 students were eligible for placement in advanced math courses in grades 6-12 during the 2022-23 school year, Department of Public Instruction (DPI) Deputy State Superintendent Dr. Michael Maher told lawmakers on Tuesday during a Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee (JLEOC) meeting.

The number of students eligible for advanced math courses increased more than 18% from 2021-22  by 9,032 exam scores. Of those eligible students, 94% are currently enrolled in an advanced math course, Maher said.

We have an increase in both the number of students scoring at the highest level on their math assessment, in addition to the percent of those students placed in the advanced math course, Maher told lawmakers. We are clearly seeing huge increases in the number of students participating.

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Mahers presentation was part of a larger discussion with legislators about advanced math courses  and the importance of automatic enrollment policies that place all students with qualifying scores in advanced courses.

North Carolina lawmakers passed legislation in 2018 to expand access in advanced courses. The goal, according to DPIs presentation, was to guarantee the opportunity to access advanced coursework in mathematics for those students who demonstrate readiness, regardless of students address and demographic factors.

Here is a look at that statute. Note that qualifying students are automatically enrolled in the next advanced math course, unless a parent or guardian opts out.

When advanced courses are offered in mathematics, any student scoring a level five on the end-of-grade or end-of-course test for the mathematics course in which the student was most recently enrolled shall be enrolled in the advanced course for the next mathematics course in which the student is enrolled. A student in seventh grade scoring a level five on the seventh grade mathematics end-of-grade test shall be enrolled in a high school level mathematics course in eighth grade. No student who qualifies under this subsection shall be removed from the advanced or high school mathematics course in which the student is enrolled unless a parent or guardian of the student provides written consent for the student to be excluded or removed from that course.  SESSION LAW 2018-32, Advanced courses in mathematics

Johns Hopkins University School of Education Associate Dean Dr. Jonathan Plucker said automatic enrollment policies are important to student success.

Course placement can be fairly arbitrary and biased, Plucker told lawmakers. Parents shouldnt have to have the social capital and knowledge about how schools work to go in and fight for our children. It should be automatic. If you perform at a high level, you should be in advanced courses.

North Carolina is one of just six states with automatic enrollment in these courses, and its the only one collecting data showing whether its actually working or not, Plucker said.

Here is a look at participation in N.C. advanced math courses over the last three years.

Related

Advanced HS Math Classes a Game Changer, But Not All High Achievers Have Access

Access and advanced courses

Nationally, many high-performing students are not offered advanced learning opportunities even when there is clear evidence that they are ready for higher-level academics, according to an analysis by The 74, co-written by Plucker and Best NC President and CEO Brenda Berg.

This is especially true for Hispanic, Black, Native American and low-income students, leading to a chronic underchallenging of many of the nations brightest children. As a result, these students are less likely to be ready for postsecondary education, the analysis says. One obvious, but surprisingly underused, remedy is automatic enrollment. Also known as mandatory or opt-out enrollment, the concept is straightforward: Students who perform at the top of their classes are automatically placed in advanced courses for the following academic year.

While other states are considering automatic enrollment policies, Plucker and Berg said North Carolina is far ahead. North Carolinas policy begins in third grade and specifically guarantees access to high school-level math for highly qualified middle schoolers.

On Tuesday, Plucker told lawmakers the percentage of high-performing North Carolina students not placed in advanced math courses has steadily and significantly dropped.

I would argue in terms of participation it absolutely is working.  Theres been progress across the board, which I think is very important, Plucker said. Thats probably due to several different factors. Pandemic recovery is probably part of it. But theres no question that automatic enrollment is probably part of that too.

In 2019, lawmakers updated the state statute to require an annual report from DPI on implementation. Here are a few highlights from the 2023 report:

For eligible eighth grade students, data indicates the overall number and percentage of students placed in Math 1 or other advanced mathematics courses is again >95%. This reflect a 1% increase over the 2022-23 reporting year.

That eighth grade increase is true across all race/ethnic groups, per the report. Before the legislation (2017-18), only 87% of eligible eighth grade students accessed N.C. Math 1 in eighth grade.

Of students who qualified for advanced courses, 94% of white, 92% of Black, 92% of Hispanic, 88% of American Indian/Alaska Native, and more than 95% of Asian students actually enrolled in advanced math courses.

Data indicates middle school students are more likely to access advanced courses beginning in sixth grade. Last year, 90% of eligible sixth grade students took an advanced math course.

Across grades six-12, current data shows that 94% of both male and female eligible students enroll in advanced mathematics courses. This is an increase of 2% for females and 3% for males from the previous year.

Several districts have reported that the policy helped to accelerate students who might otherwise have been overlooked, The 74 analysis says. Districts responded to the legislation by developing partnerships between middle and high schools, expanding virtual instruction, personalizing support based on students needs and increasing access to advanced education for students who previously were not offered such opportunities.

You can view the Johns Hopkins School of Education report, which served as background for The 74 article, here. You can also view DPIs full presentation here.

Future possibilities for automatic enrollment and math

Plucker raised several opportunities for automatic enrollment in the future:

North Carolina could expand automatic enrollment to other content areas, such as English Language Arts or science.

Creating more opportunities for students who ask to take advanced courses to be able to do so. If students self nominate, they should be given a chance, he said.

Continuing efforts to teach math more effectively, including teacher prep, high-quality curriculum, and and emphasis on research and evaluation.

Maher said schools also must offer support for students who place in advanced coursework for the first time.

Next steps will be to continue to review our data for disparities and looking for other opportunities, he said. We are also interested in conversations around extending auto enrollment to other subjects.

Plucker also raised the following research questions for North Carolina:

Why are there lower rates of participation in sixth and 12th grade? Are there ways to address this?

Whats happening at the elementary school level? What are districts doing to get more students to advanced performance?

What strategies have districts used most successfully to increase access? What hasnt worked?

How are districts using automatic enrollment to complement other advanced education services?

What is the impact of automatic enrollment on a wide range of student outcomes?

Above all, Plucker and Maher stressed that state leadership should continue to stress both remediation and excellence when it comes to math.

We are very interested in not only continuing to work at supporting students at the highest level of math, but also reaching students who are being underserved right now in mathematics  in an effort to accelerate math learning for for all children, Maher said.

This article first appeared on EducationNC and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Snow continued to fall across parts of California and Nevada on Tuesday after a blizzard dumped up to 10ft of snow, shutting down major highways for three days and trapping people in their homes.

Isolated, light snow showers would continue across the Sierra Nevada until Thursday morning, the National Weather Service reported, but drier and warmer conditions were expected by the end of the week.

Communities across the region were digging out after snow reached up to roof lines in some towns, and trapped people inside. More than 7,500 customers remained without power in some California counties, according to utility tracker poweroutage.us.

Localized, heavy rainfall is expected on Tuesday for northern California with downpours moving into southern California on Wednesday. Due a recent glut of atmospheric rivers hitting the state, there will be the threat of isolated flash flooding, NWS reported.

Key Points

Yosemite National Park to close as officials warn of 7 feet of snow

Sierra Nevada area could experience life-threatening conditions

Areas with winter storm warnings and advisories

West coast weather forecast: The latest

18:40 , Louise Boyle

One more day of heavy snow in the mountains and at higher elevations is forecast in the West on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported.

An influx of moisture from the Pacific was targeting northern California and the southern Pacific Northwest into the northern Great Basin and Rockies.

Several more inches of snow are forecast from the southern Cascades and northern Sierra east to the Tetons in Wyoming. A cold front has also brought snow to lower elevations from southern Oregon to western Idaho.

In northern and central California, snowfall will taper off on Wednesday. However, localized, heavy rainfall is expected on Tuesday for northern California with downpours expected in southern California on Wednesday.

Due a recent glut of atmospheric rivers hitting the state, there will be the threat of isolated flash flooding, NWS reported.

California snowfall traps people inside

18:20 , Louise Boyle

The Sugar Bowl Ski resort near Norden, California posted a video showing just how much snow they got this weekend - so much that they couldnt get out of the front door.

The resort tweeted on Saturday that they had received 20-24 inches of snow. We got some digging to do, they added.

More rain and high winds for southern California

18:02 , Louise Boyle

Rain and mountain snow is expected to return to the Los Angeles area from late on Tuesday into early Thursday, the National Weather Service reported.

Heavy downpours and small hail was possible but otherwise the rain would be light to moderate. Snow was also possible in the mountains and along the Grapevine, the 40-mile stretch of highway from Castaic in Los Angeles County down to the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County.

Weather warnings for southern California (NWS)

Watch: Californias snowpack is well above average after mammoth blizzard

17:41 , Louise Boyle

Downpours incoming

17:20 , Louise Boyle

The National Weather Service in Los Angeles shared the potential rainfall amounts for the incoming storm system. Rain and mountain snow is expected to spread through the area on Wednesday.

The heaviest downpours will be north of Pasadena, east of Ojai and north of Santa Barbara in Santa Ynez and Big Pine Mountain.

Hot of the presses this morning! Here are the most probable rain and snow amounts for the upcoming storm system. Rain and mountain snow will spread over the area through Wed and/or Wed night. #CAwx #LARain pic.twitter.com/Pfe2zKvRpI  NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) March 5, 2024

Snowed under in Truckee

17:01 , Louise Boyle

One of the places hit by the powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains was Truckee. Kevin Dupui, who lives in the town, just northwest of Lake Tahoe, said his snow blower broke, but it doesnt really matter because theres nowhere to put all the snow anyway. We just move it around, he said on Sunday.

Dupui said residents and tourists seem to be mostly heeding warnings to stay home. The roads havent been that safe, so we dont really want people driving around, he said.

Another Truckee resident, Jenelle Potvin, said at first some cynical locals thought there was a little too much hype made about the approaching storm. But then the unrelenting snow began Friday night.

It was definitely a blizzard. And we woke up to a lot of snow yesterday and it never let up, Potvin said Sunday. Her neighbors were snowmobiling and cross-country skiing in the streets. (Associated Press)

A person uses a snowblower during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 03, 2024 in Truckee, California (Getty Images)

Avalanche threat

16:40 , Louise Boyle

The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center warned that there was moderate avalanche danger through Wednesday morning at 7am, local time.

Wind slabs ranging in size and sensitivity will be possible to find in leeward catchment zones at all elevations and in atypical areas such as sheltered terrain below treeline. Localized assessments will be important to help you identify and avoid features of concern, the avalanche center report read.

The avalanche threat on 5th March, 2024 in the Sierra Nevada (Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center)

In pictures: Californians dig out from crippling blizzard

16:22 , Louise Boyle

A person walks at Boreal Mountain Resort, currently shuttered due to the snowstorm, following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 04, 2024 at Soda Springs, California (Getty Images)

In an aerial view, homes are covered in snow following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 04, 2024 near Soda Springs (Getty Images)

A snow blower operates following a massive snowstorm in the Sierra Nevada mountains on March 04, 2024 in Soda Springs, California (Getty Images)

Ski resorts reopen in Tahoe

16:01 , Louise Boyle

The Palisades Tahoe ski resort reported on Tuesday that it received an additional two inches of snow on the mountain on Monday, bringing the five-day total to 98 inches.

The largest skiing complex in the Lake Tahoe region was forced to close this past weekend because it received too much snow, along with powerful winds, which caused low visibility. The resort re-opened on Monday.

Palisades Tahoe ski resort on Sunday (AP)

West coast weather forecast: The latest

15:41 , Louise Boyle

One more day of heavy snow in the mountains and at higher elevations is forecast in the West on Tuesday, the National Weather Service reported.

An influx of moisture from the Pacific was targeting northern California and the southern Pacific Northwest into the northern Great Basin and Rockies.

Several more inches of snow are forecast from the southern Cascades and northern Sierra east to the Tetons in Wyoming. A cold front has also brought snow to lower elevations from southern Oregon to western Idaho.

In northern and central California, snowfall will taper off on Wednesday. However, localized, heavy rainfall is expected on Tuesday for northern California with downpours expected in southern California on Wednesday.

Due a recent glut of atmospheric rivers hitting the state, there will be the threat of isolated flash flooding, NWS reported.

What is the Donner pass, the treacherous California mountain route notorious for cannibalism incident

15:20 , Louise Boyle

Donner Pass, a stretch of road 7,088 feet above sea level in Nevada County, California, was hit with 80 inches of snow over the weekend as the state battled one of its most historic snowstorms.

What is the Donner pass, the California route notorious for cannibalism incident

2 snowmobilers killed in separate avalanches in Washington and Idaho

15:00 , Louise Boyle

Two snowmobilers have been killed in separate avalanches in Washington state and in Idaho.

Two snowmobilers riding in the Cascade Mountains west of Yakima, Washington, triggered a slide Friday in a bowl near Darland Mountain, according to the Northwest Avalanche Center. The rider who did not survive was described as fully buried. The riders name wasnt released.

While we dont know for sure, this avalanche likely failed on older persistent weak layers in the snowpack, the organization said, adding that many other areas are dealing with the same problem. (Associated Press)

Avalanche threat

12:01 , Louise Boyle

The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center warned that there was considerable avalanche danger through Tuesday morning at 7am, local time.

Unstable wind slabs ranging in size and sensitivity are todays primary concern. The weak layers near the base of our snowpack may still be adjusting to the new snow load, the avalanche center report read.

Avoiding steep, wind affected slopes and overhead hazard is the best way to minimize your exposure today.

Eastern Sierras backcountry avalanche report on 4 March, 2024 (Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center)

California snowfall traps people inside

11:31 , Louise Boyle

The Sugar Bowl Ski resort near Norden, California posted a video showing just how much snow they got this weekend - so much that they couldnt get out of the front door.

The resort tweeted on Saturday that they had received 20-24 inches of snow. We got some digging to do, they added.

20-24" overnight. We got some digging to do. pic.twitter.com/sYFX1Zblqr  Sugar Bowl Resort (@sugarbowlresort) March 2, 2024

And now for the good news...

11:03 , Louise Boyle

Californias water from the snowpack is at 104 per cent of its normal level, after starting the year at 28 per cent, the UC Berkeley Sierra Snow Lab reported on Monday.

Were also at 94% of our April 1st normal and should get be able to get to 100%, the research facility posted on X.

Psst... you want some great news? The storm helped out the whole state A LOT!



Statewide #snow water equivalent is now at 104% of normal to-date after starting January at only 28%\. We're also at 94% of our April 1st normal and should get be able to get to 100%#CAwater #CAwx pic.twitter.com/Aj4fnolBBi  UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 4, 2024

Californias extreme storm: The latest

10:30 , Louise Boyle

A powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts had moved through the Sierra Nevada by early Monday, but forecasters warned that more snow was on the way for the Northern California mountains.

A long stretch of Interstate 80 from west of Lake Tahoe over Donner Summit to the Nevada state line finally reopened to all but big rigs late Monday morning, but chains or snow tires were required, the California Highway Patrols Truckee office said. Closures or chain requirements also affected other highways.

More than 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow fell in some locations and fierce winds lashed the Sierra over the weekend.

The last blizzard warnings expired before dawn Monday, leaving a few light Sierra showers, but winter storm warnings were issued for a new, less powerful system due to arrive later in the day and last into Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said. (Associated Press)

Meanwhile, further south...

10:02 , Louise Boyle

Another round of stormy weather could be on the way for southern California, forecasters said on Monday.

The storm system could potentially move into the region between late Tuesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Services Los Angeles office.

The rain forecast for southern California this week (NWS Los Angeles)

Struggle to clear roads

09:31 , Louise Boyle

Transport crews have been struggling to clear highways after many blowers and plows broke down in the face of extreme snow piles.

We have been down to 2 of 10 blowers at our central hub in Kingvale and 6 out of 20 from Auburn to the Nevada state line. 80 remains CLOSED with no ETO, Caltrans District 3, north of Sacramento, reported on Sunday.

Major routes were blocked across northern California by the blizzard (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Lake Tahoe blanketed in six feet of snow as residents dig their way out of homes

09:04 , Louise Boyle

Lake Tahoe blanketed in six feet of snow as residents dig their way out of homes

Satellites capture the mammoth snowfall on the west coast

08:30 , Louise Boyle

Blizzards clobbered the Sierra Nevada Mountains region over the weekend, along with winter storm conditions and strong wind gusts extending across much of the western United States to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, the CIRA research group at Colorado State University posted.

The satellite imagery captured the thick snow bands shifting across the US west.

Blizzards clobbered the Sierra Nevada Mountains region over the weekend, along with winter storm conditions and strong wind gusts extending across much of the Western US to the edge of the Rocky Mountains. pic.twitter.com/cxMYyy0xyn  CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) March 4, 2024

Watch: Intense Snowstorm Batters Northern California Causing Blizzard Conditions

08:04 , Louise Boyle

California snowfall traps people inside

07:04 , Louise Boyle

The Sugar Bowl Ski resort near Norden, California posted a video showing just how much snow they got this weekend - so much that they couldnt get out of the front door.

The resort tweeted on Saturday that they had received 20-24 inches of snow. We got some digging to do, they added.

20-24" overnight. We got some digging to do. pic.twitter.com/sYFX1Zblqr  Sugar Bowl Resort (@sugarbowlresort) March 2, 2024

California post office destroyed by fire

06:01 , Louise Boyle

A fire caused by a lightning strike destroyed the post office in a tiny town of 100 people on Friday.

Leggett Post Office in northern California went up in flames after being hit by lightning during the intense blizzard across northern and central parts of the state.

Snow totals for Sunday range from 5 to 12 feet

05:30 , Louise Boyle

National Weather Service meteorologist William Churchill said snow totals by late Sunday would range from 5 to 12 feet, with the highest accumulations at elevations above 5,000 feet. Lower elevations were inundated with heavy rain.

He called the storm an extreme blizzard for the Sierra Nevada, in particular, as well as other portions of Nevada and even extending into Utah and portions of western Colorado. But he said he didnt expect records to be broken.

And now for the good news...

05:03 , Louise Boyle

Californias water from the snowpack is at 104 per cent of its normal level, after starting the year at 28 per cent, the UC Berkeley Sierra Snow Lab reported on Monday.

Were also at 94% of our April 1st normal and should get be able to get to 100%, the research facility posted on X.

Psst... you want some great news? The storm helped out the whole state A LOT!



Statewide #snow water equivalent is now at 104% of normal to-date after starting January at only 28%\. We're also at 94% of our April 1st normal and should get be able to get to 100%#CAwater #CAwx pic.twitter.com/Aj4fnolBBi  UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 4, 2024

Watch: The California blizzard explained

04:30 , Louise Boyle

Winter Storm #Orzelle is heading toward California, prompting blizzard warnings for potentially historic snowfall with up to 10 feet expected in the Sierra Nevada.



Here's the forecast: pic.twitter.com/HgCzGZugvw  The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) February 29, 2024

Watch: Reporter struggles to get through interview with high-speed winds

04:05 , Louise Boyle

Snow began falling in Californias Sierra Nevada on Thursday and was expected to continue through the weekend, forecasters said as the mountains faced up to 10 feet of snow from a winter storm. pic.twitter.com/ceLm0Dbryt  hanako (@hanako049924187) March 1, 2024

California post office destroyed by fire

03:30 , Louise Boyle

A fire caused by a lightning strike destroyed the post office in a tiny town of 100 people on Friday.

Leggett Post Office in northern California went up in flames after being hit by lightning during the intense blizzard across northern and central parts of the state.

The Leggett Post Office was destroyed as result of a lightning strike tonight. #cawx #mendocino https://t.co/0n4eoyKjlP pic.twitter.com/wbGomlwdj1  Sarah Stierch   (@Sarah_Stierch) March 2, 2024

Californias blizzard in pictures

03:04 , Louise Boyle

Residents clear out snow in front of their home on Donner Pass Road during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains (Getty Images)

Homes are covered in snow during a powerful multiple day winter storm in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which is boosting the snowpack, on March 03, 2024 in Truckee, California (Getty Images)

Workers clear snow off the roof of a building during a blizzard Sunday, March 3, 2024, in Olympic Valley, California (AP)

Blizzard forces Lake Tahoe ski resorts to close

02:33 , Louise Boyle

The dangerous blizzard conditions in northern California forced many ski resorts to close this past weekend, with some posting cautious re-opening schedules on Monday. Bear Valley, Boreal Mountain and Woodward Tahoe and Donner Ski Ranch were among the resorts which closed due to too much snow, high winds and generally unsafe conditions.

Californias extreme storm: The latest

02:03 , Louise Boyle

A powerful blizzard that closed highways and ski resorts had moved through the Sierra Nevada by early Monday, but forecasters warned that more snow was on the way for the Northern California mountains.

A long stretch of Interstate 80 from west of Lake Tahoe over Donner Summit to the Nevada state line finally reopened to all but big rigs late Monday morning, but chains or snow tires were required, the California Highway Patrols Truckee office said. Closures or chain requirements also affected other highways.

More than 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow fell in some locations and fierce winds lashed the Sierra over the weekend.

The last blizzard warnings expired before dawn Monday, leaving a few light Sierra showers, but winter storm warnings were issued for a new, less powerful system due to arrive later in the day and last into Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said. (Associated Press)

Avalanche danger

01:31 , Louise Boyle

The Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center warned that there was considerable avalanche danger through Tuesday morning at 7am, local time.

Unstable wind slabs ranging in size and sensitivity are todays primary concern. The weak layers near the base of our snowpack may still be adjusting to the new snow load, the avalanche center report read.

Avoiding steep, wind affected slopes and overhead hazard is the best way to minimize your exposure today.

Eastern Sierras backcountry avalanche report on 4 March, 2024 (Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center)

Yosemite National Park re-opens

00:30 , Louise Boyle

Yosemite National Park reopened on Sunday after asking visitors to leave the area on Thursday evening.

The popular park was widely impacted by the blizzard, receiving 45 inches of snow in in places.

Satellites capture the mammoth snowfall on the west coast

Monday 4 March 2024 20:50 , Louise Boyle

Blizzards clobbered the Sierra Nevada Mountains region over the weekend, along with winter storm conditions and strong wind gusts extending across much of the western United States to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, the CIRA research group at Colorado State University posted.

The satellite imagery captured the thick snow bands shifting across the US west.

Blizzards clobbered the Sierra Nevada Mountains region over the weekend, along with winter storm conditions and strong wind gusts extending across much of the Western US to the edge of the Rocky Mountains. pic.twitter.com/cxMYyy0xyn  CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) March 4, 2024

Massive mudslide in southern California

Monday 4 March 2024 17:03 , Louise Boyle

A massive mudslide has blocked State Route 150 in the small Southern California town of Santa Paula, transport officials reported on Sunday.

Californias Department of Transportation shared a photo of the slide and said that they were working to open the highway ASAP in the town, halfway between Santa Barbara and Malibu.

Southern California has experienced hundreds of landslides this winter after a series of atmospheric rivers slammed the state.

The mudslide in Santa Paula, California pictured on 3 March, 2024 (CalTrans)
There isnt much to recommend university politics, but in most student unions there is at least the option for voters unhappy at the choice of candidates theyve been presented with to Re-Open Nominations. You can be sure that many people in Rochdale would have leapt at the chance to do the same in yesterdays by-election.

In the absence of that choice, George Galloway, elected with 40 per cent of the vote, will return as an MP to represent a fourth different part of the country. He was followed by Independent candidate David Tully who took 21 per cent. While the Conservative candidate and his (disowned) Labour counterpart took less than 20 per cent between them.

So what does that result mean? And does it mark the shifting of the tectonic plates in British politics that Galloway claimed in his victory speech?

No doubt, Galloway will be a major thorn in Starmers side in Parliament and embolden those who see the Labour Partys stance on Gaza as an Achilles heel. The Conservative Party, which might have hoped to capitalise on Labours implosion, will have been disappointed to finish third. Meanwhile, Reform UK will have its own questions to ask. At a by-election in the neighbouring seat in 2014, Ukip took nearly 40 per cent of the vote, whereas Simon Danczuk, Reforms candidate, took just six per cent yesterday.

But despite all that, the idea that the next General Election will be The Gaza Election is far-fetched. In focus groups in Rochdale, we found Muslim and non-Muslim voters alike were dismayed that their by-election was being treated as a referendum on the Middle East. They wanted to hear what the candidates were going to do to reduce crime in the town centre, to help them get off never-ending waiting lists and to make the cost of living less painful.

That is not to say they werent concerned or angry about the situation in Palestine, but rather that they felt strongly that politicians should be focusing first on issues closer to home. As one participant told us: Theres no point in tackling world peace when the area you live in is a s---hole. For many, a vote for Galloway and David Tully reflected their frustrations with Broken Britain and an expression of the anti-politics mood we hear week in, week out from the public.

But the truth is, the moment Labour suspended their candidate for his anti-Semitic remarks, and removed their campaigning support, it became impossible to draw wider conclusions from this election.

Labour took over 50 per cent in Rochdale in 2019 and could have been expected to take even more given the shift in the polls since then, but the absence of an endorsed Labour candidate left much of that vote up for grabs by outsiders.

Which is why in the long-term, despite the sound and fury, yesterdays by-election will likely be most valuable as fodder for future political trivia rounds, rather than a portend of the forthcoming election.

In a general election, few other Gaza-independents will have the same profile or cut-through as Galloway and voters minds will focus on the choice between Rishi Sunak or Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.

Few other Labour candidates will find themselves disowned by the party (and its also safe to assume other Conservative candidates wont make the same choice to go on holiday in the run-up to polling day).

Crucially the next election will be fought on domestic issues not foreign policy. In our latest poll, 67 per cent of respondents said that the cost of living was one of the most important issues facing the country. In comparison, just eight per cent said the same about conflict in the Middle East.

Perhaps the most important lesson for the parties is the importance of candidate due diligence, because the voters of Rochdale deserved better than the offer they were presented with. Luckily for them, while the option to re-open nominations wasnt on the ballot yesterday, theyll at least have the opportunity to vote again in less than 12 months time.

Luke Tryl is the UK Director of More in Common

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 photo, a security official walks in front of the entrance to the national headquarters of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington. On Friday, March 1, 2024, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming an update to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives background check policy allows people in the U.S. illegally to purchase firearms. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out.

___

ATF rules not updated to allow migrants to purchase firearms

CLAIM: An update to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives background check policy allows people in the U.S. illegally to purchase firearms.

THE FACTS: No such update has been made. Federal law prohibits people in the country illegally from purchasing or possessing firearms, with limited exceptions, an ATF spokesperson told The Associated Press. The ATF does not have the power to change federal law, only implement it.

Amid accusations from Republicans that President Joe Bidens migrant policies are to blame for the recent killing of a nursing student in Georgia, social media users are falsely claiming that the ATF is making it easier for people who enter the U.S. illegally to obtain certain lethal weapons.

Many posts include a video of a woman who says that her husband, who owns a gun shop, told her that the ATF has made updates to their background check policy and effective today, they give an exemption to illegal immigrants to be able to purchase firearms.

But the ATF has made no such update  nor does it have the power to do so.

It is unlawful for any person who is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States to purchase or possess a firearm, Kristina Mastropasqua, a spokesperson for the ATF wrote in an email. There are limited exceptions to these prohibitions that allow for the possession of a firearm issued for use by a federal, state, or local government or agency.

Mastropasqua continued: The federal laws governing the purchase and sale of firearms are the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act. ATF enforces those statutes as enacted by Congress. ATF does not make or change the laws, that role is reserved for Congress. Depending on the jurisdiction, state and local laws may also apply to the sale and purchase of firearms.

The Gun Control Act, originally passed in 1968, prohibits licensed gun dealers from selling firearms to anyone who is illegally or unlawfully in the United States. ATF regulations outline how the agency implements federal law, which it has no power to amend.

These regulations, including those related to background checks, do not include any exceptions to federal law that would allow people in the U.S. illegally to purchase firearms.

The woman in the video spreading online also claims that the ATFs alleged policy update strangely coincides with California, New York, and Chicago making it legal for illegals to be police officers.

Kirstan Conley, a spokesperson for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, told the AP that a police officer in the state must be a citizen of the United States, a requirement that has existed since at least 1909.

In California, police officers no longer need to be a U.S. citizen, but must be authorized to work in the country under federal law, according to Meagan Poulos, a spokesperson for the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. The citizenship requirement was removed by a 2022 bill.

The Chicago Police Department confirmed that its most up-to-date information regarding eligibility is available on its website, which lists either U.S. citizenship or legal residency as a requirement for its officers. However, the website notes that a 2023 bill that took effect on Jan. 1 may provide a pathway in the future for certain non-citizens with work authorization to be employed as police officers, similar to how Californias bill did last year.

Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was found dead near running trails on the University of Georgia campus on February 22. A Venezuelan citizen named Jose Ibarra has been arrested on murder and assault charges in connection to her death. Ibarra was previously arrested in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court, the AP has reported.

It is unclear whether Ibarra applied for asylum, according to the AP. Federal officials say he was also arrested by New York police in August for child endangerment and released, though New York officials said Sunday they had no record of his arrest.

Republicans have blamed the Biden administrations migrant policies for Rileys death. Georgia House Republicans in particular are now pushing to require every eligible police and sheriffs department to help identify undocumented immigrants, arrest them and detain them for deportation.

___

Israels intelligence agency did not label the US Air Force an enemy of the Jewish state

CLAIM: Israels Mossad intelligence agency called the U.S. Air Force an enemy of Israel in a post on X after an active-duty member of the military branch set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C.

THE FACTS: The account that made the post is not affiliated with Mossad and has previously published erroneous claims about Israel. Mossads official X account, to which the agencys website links, has not posted anything since September 2020.

After 25-year-old airman Aaron Bushnell self-immolated outside the Israeli Embassy, while declaring he will not longer be complicit in genocide, social media users alleged that Mossad had denigrated the U.S. Air Force on X in response.

Many posts shared a screenshot of two posts from an account called Mossad Commentary. One includes an image of Bushnell on fire captioned with the widely-used expression, in Hebrew, Am Yisrael chai, meaning the people of Israel live. The second, made in response to the first, states: Our enemies kill themselves.

The first post had been deleted by Monday afternoon, but an archived version shows that it was still up early in the morning.

BREAKING: Mossad labels United States Air Force an ENEMY to the state of @Israel, reads an X post from a different account that included the screenshot. It had received more than 10,600 likes and shares on Monday.

But Mossad Commentary, which uses Mossads logo as its profile picture, is not affiliated with the Israeli intelligence agency and has previously made false claims about the Jewish state. For example, a post from October 2023 states that Yemen had officially declared war on Israel. The Associated Press reported at the time that Yemens internationally recognized government had done no such thing.

Mossads website links to its official X account, which is called in Hebrew The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks. The most recent post is from September 2020.

The Israeli military said Mossad Commentary is clearly not an official account in response to an email query from the AP. Mossad Commentary did not respond to a message from the AP on X.

Bushnell died from his injuries. According to AP reporting, he had walked to the embassy shortly before 1 p.m. on Sunday and began livestreaming on Twitch, a video streaming platform. Law enforcement officials believe he set his phone down and then doused himself in accelerant and ignited the flames.

Israel has adamantly denied genocide allegations and says it is carrying out operations in the Israel-Hamas war in accordance with international law.

___

Find AP fact checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck
CAIRO, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden discussed the need to calm the situation in the Gaza Strip, achieve a ceasefire, exchange captives and facilitate access to humanitarian aid during a phone conversation on Thursday, said the Egyptian presidency.

During the call, Sisi underscored the need to reach an immediate and sustainable ceasefire that allows the delivery of humanitarian aid in the war-ravaged Palestinian coastal enclave.

He warned of the repercussions of "continuing military escalation and targeting civilians" in Gaza.

For his part, Biden said that "achieving calm is a priority to restore stability in the region."

The U.S. president noted that he values the intensified Egyptian efforts toward achieving calm in Gaza and its role in delivering relief aid to the people of Gaza via Rafah crossing.

The two presidents stressed the necessity to avoid the expansion of conflict in the region.

So far, 30,035 Palestinians have been killed and 70,475 others injured in the Gaza Strip since Israel began its offensive against Hamas in October 2023, the Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday. 
Meta's controversial pay or be tracked 'consent' choice for users the European Union is facing questions from the European Commission. Today the bloc said it's sent Facebook and Instagram's owner a formal request for information (RFI) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), asking it to provide more detail on the "Subscription for no Ads options" it gives regional users of its two major social networks.

"In particular, Meta should provide additional information on the measures it has taken to comply with its obligations concerning Facebook and Instagram's advertising practices, recommender systems and risk assessments related to the introduction of that subscription option," the Commission wrote in a press release.

Meta was contacted for a response to the Commission's RFI. But spokesman, Matthew Pollard, told us it has no comment at present.

Meta made the controversial switch to a so-called "consent or pay" business model in the EU last fall, after challenges to two other legal bases it had claimed for processing users' data for ad targeting forced it to rethink its approach.

Meta's ad-free subscription is controversial because under EU data protection law consent must be informed, specific and freely given if it's to be valid. But the choice Meta has framed requires users to either pay it monthly subscriptions (starting at 9.99/month) in order to gain access to ad-free versions of the social networks -- or else they must agree to being tracked and profiled for its targeted advertising.

There is currently no way for EU users to access Facebook or Instagram for free without being tracked.

Privacy and consumer rights groups quickly cried foul over Meta's self-serving tactic and a raft of complaints have since been filed under EU data and consumer protection law -- breaches of which can lead to fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover. (See: here, here, here and here.)

Now the EU itself is stepping in with an RFI under the DSA, the bloc's recently updated e-commerce rulebook.

This separate pan-EU regulation has -- since last August -- applied a set of algorithmic accountability and transparency rules to larger online platforms (aka VLOPs), including Facebook and Instagram.

The DSA is highly relevant because it stipulates that larger platforms must obtain consent from people to use their data for advertising; and that consent must comply with the bloc's data protection rules and be as easy to withdraw as it is to provide.

The regulation also entirely bans the use of sensitive data or minors' data for ads -- and it's not clear how Meta prevents sensitive data from being processed by its ad targeting engines given how -- for example -- people's political views may be inferred by its behavioral tracking and proxies used to target ads on sensitive categories. (The company claimed, back in 2021, to have removed advertisers' abilities to target sensitive categories. But its ongoing tracking and profiling of users creates opportunities for advertisers to target proxies.)

Nor is it clear how successful (or otherwise) Meta is at preventing minors from accessing Facebook and Instagram. Children would obviously not be able to sign up and pay for a monthly subscription to access the ad-free versions of these services -- so minors could be forced to accept its tracking, despite the DSA banning the use of minors' data for ads.

While data protection complaints against Meta typically end up being routed back to the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC), which leads on oversight of Meta's compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) -- but still hasn't produced a view on the legality of Meta's 'consent or pay' model -- the Commission itself is responsible for enforcing the DSA's subset of extra rules for VLOPs. Penalties for violations of the DSA can reach up to 6% of global annual turnover.

In the first six months of the EU's enforcement role, it has sent out a raft of RFIs to platforms -- including several earlier asks on Meta (related to disinformation, child protection and election security) -- as well as opening two formal investigation proceedings (on X and TikTok). But the Commission appears to have paid less attention to compliance issues related to advertising consent -- until now.

Back in November, MEPs Kim van Sparrentak and Paul Tang tabled written questions to the Commission asking for its views on the legality of Meta's 'consent or pay' offer under EU data protection law and under the DSA -- with the pair pointing out "alternatives for tracking, such as contextual advertising are available and feasible".

In its response, dated almost two months later (January 30), the Commission wrote that "the processing of personal data for personalised advertising must comply with the [GDPR]"; and said it is "currently monitoring and assessing the compliance of VLOPs, including Facebook and Instagram, with their DSA obligations". But the EU avoided providing a specific answer.

In follow-up questions last month, the MEPs criticized internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, for what they couched as "inadequate answers" -- repeating their ask for a clear verdict on Meta's 'pay or consent' model. These new questions were tabled as "priority questions" -- amping up pressure on the Commission for a quick response.

One week later Meta has now received an RFI from the Commission asking about the ad-free subscription. The EU has given Meta until March 22 to provide the requested information.

"After tabling written questions multiple times to the European Commission, asking it to act upon Meta's very questionable 'pay or consent' model, I'm happy the Commission is finally following up," MEP Paul Tang told TechCrunch today, after we highlighted the Commission's RFI on Meta's ad-free subscription. "It's about time Meta faces the music and provides the answers all of us have been demanding."

In parallel with this DSA attention on Meta's consent or pay model, three data protection authorities recently asked the European Data Protection Board, a GDPR steering body, to formulate an opinion on the legality of consent or pay -- which remains pending but could arrive as soon as later this month. (The Board's view may help shape how the GDPR is enforced on Meta's mechanism. So it will also be one to watch.)

We also reached out to Ireland's DPC for an update on its review of Meta's consent or pay model -- which has been ongoing for around six months. A spokesperson told us: "The DPCs assessment in this matter is ongoing, as such we are unable to say more at this stage."

Further requests

The Commission's RFI to Meta today contains some further asks -- related to several topics that were already included in earlier formal info requests under the DSA.

"These previous RFIs covered issues such as terrorist content, risk management related to civic discourse and election processes, and the protection of minors," the EU wrote. "The present RFI builds on Meta's previous replies and asks additional information concerning the methodology underlying Meta's risk assessment and mitigation measures reports, the protection of minors, elections and manipulated media. The RFI also requests Meta to provide information related to the practice of so-called shadow banning and the launch of Threads."

Meta has until March 15 to provide the EU with responses to these requests.

It's not yet clear whether the bloc will open a formal investigation of Meta under the DSA, although all these RFIs suggest there are multiple compliance issues it feels demand closer scrutiny. In its press release today, the Commission wrote that it will assess Meta's replies to determine its next steps. So we may know more in a few weeks' time.

As well as potentially opening a formal investigation, as the bloc already has in the case of X's and TikTok's DSA compliance, the EU could issue more RFIs if it still feels it needs more information from Meta. It also has powers to impose fines for incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information in response to these requests.
Here's a look at local court cases and related matters recently addressed:

State v. Luke Thomas Massey

Lawyers: Assistant Public Defender Walter Flinn and Assistant State Attorney Katrina Self.

Judge: Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.

Charges: Human trafficking for commercial sexual activity, direct promote sexual performance by child, and two counts of use computer to seduce solicit lure child.

Who arrested Massey and why? Authorities in New Mexico arrested the 29-year-old man on a Marion County Sheriff's Office warrant in late January. He was extradited to Marion County in mid-February to face his charges.

Detectives allege Massey communicated with a 14-year-old Marion County girl via the internet. Those communications included graphic sexual content. Detectives became aware of a website where adults would meet children online to arrange sexual encounters.

What was the purpose of Massey's hearing? A pre-trial detention hearing was held on Feb. 29 to determine whether he should be held without bail until trial or given a chance to post bond and be released from the jail.

Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon

What did the lawyers have to say? Self told the court Massey encouraged the child to send him lewd pictures of herself. She said his behavior is dangerous for the community, has no ties to Marion County and faces a possible life sentence if convicted.

Flinn said the teen sent his client pictures and was one of the moderators on the chat site. He said Massey did not travel to Marion County to meet the teen, there's no proof he had sex with any other child, and all he did was engage in online communication.

Judge's ruling: The judge said she believes the prosecutor has shown evidence of human trafficking. She also noted that Massey has no local connections, and his patterns and behavior are dangerous. She ordered him held without bail.

U.S. v. Jordan Karod Goodman.

Charges: Aggravated battery with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm while engaged in criminal offense, drug possession and possession of cocaine.

Defense lawyer: Public Defender's Office.

What happened? Charges against Goodman has been transferred from state circuit court to federal court.

When and why was Goodman arrested? In November 2023 for allegedly shooting two people outside a convenience store off State Road 40.

Is Goodman in jail? Yes, he is on federal hold for felon in possession of a firearm. He is being held without bail.

State v. Jodie Ann Overholser

Judge: Circuit Judge Peter Brigham.

Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney James Moody and Assistant Public Defender Theodore Riquelme.

Charge: Death caused by the unlawful distribution of methamphetamine and/or fentanyl. Overholser's arraignment was held Feb. 27. Moody told the court prosecutors have filed the charge against the 51-year-old Fort McCoy woman. Overholser was not present at the hearing.

When is Overholser's next court hearing? In June, in front of Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon.

Where's Overholser now? At the county jail, where she is being held without bail.

Why was Overholser arrested? A convicted felon, Overholser is accused of supplying drugs to 23-year-old Austin Taylor Roberson, of Ocala, who overdosed and died.

State v. Jessica Lynn Long and Michael Rene Montgomery Jr.

Judge: Circuit Judge Anthony Tatti.

Prosecutor: Assistant State Attorney Richard Buxman.

Charges: Long and Montgomery are charged with first-degree murder with a firearm. Montgomery has additional charges of felony flee or attempt to elude police/disregard for safety, resisting arrest without violence, and driving while license is suspended or revoked.

Grand jury: On Feb. 27, a grand jury indicted Long and Montgomery in connection with the death of Wayne Barlow, 40, of Ocala. Both defendants were in court on Feb. 28 and County Judge Robert Landt denied bail.

What's next? Long, 37, of Ocala, and Montgomery, 47, of Reddick, have court dates on April 2 for a pre-trial conference.

What happened? Sheriff's detectives said Montgomery beat and shot Barlow to death late last year. The detectives said testimony they have gathered also implicates Long.

Jason Dale Volkman

In a Feb. 29 press release, The Florida Bar announced that Volkman received a permanent disciplinary revocation following a Feb. 8 court order.

A former real estate and tax attorney, Volkman was admitted to pratice in 2000.

Late last year, Volkman pleaded no contest to multiple sexual offenses and was sentenced to prison. State records show the 50-year-old Ocala man is scheduled to be released in 2052.

Mental issue: Not guilty by reason of insanity: Federal judge rules in Marion County church fire case

Volkman was arrested by sheriff's deputies and accused of sexually abusing a boy and giving the juvenile alcohol and Vicodin. Deputies were told about a hidden camera Volkman used to record the abuse.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Judge orders no bail for man accused of child sex trafficking
Two officers being charged for their roles in the November 2022 shooting death of Marando Salmon, 37, have surrendered to the DeKalb County Jail.

Former DeKalb officer Russell Mathis, 30, and current DeKalb officer Jordan Vance, 30, were indicted earlier this week in Salmons death.

Mathis was indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. Vance was indicted on a misdemeanor reckless conduct charge.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

According to DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, Mathis and Vance responded to a call about a stolen car in the driveway of a Stone Mountain home.

When they knocked on the door and found it open, they went inside.

Mathis opened the door to a second-floor bedroom and saw Salmon sitting in the dark on his bed, according to the DA.

In a matter of seconds, Officer Mathis opened fire shooting and killing Salmon. Salmon had thrown a cell phone at Officer Mathis, which Mathis believed was a knife, Boston said during a Wednesday news conference.

TRENDING STORIES:

Records obtained by Channel 2 Action News show that Mathis voluntarily left the department in May 2023.

The DeKalb County Sheriffs Office confirmed that Vance was released on a $3,000 bond.

Mathis has been granted an $8,000 bond, and according to jail records, he was released late Thursday night.

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IN RELATED NEWS:
The Caldwell County Sheriffs Office is investigating a hit-and-run after a man was struck by a car.

The incident occurred along Abington Road in Lenoir.

Officials said the victim was rushed to an area hospital with a leg injury.

ALSO READ: Innocent girl: Victims family wants justice after 18-year-old killed in hit-and-run

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is working with deputies to determine if the accident was intentional.

Deputies said they are searching for a four-door burgundy Mazda that is being driven by a female.

VIDEO: Innocent girl: Victims family wants justice after 18-year-old killed in hit-and-run




Billy and Tiffany Turner were both born on leap days in the 1980s.

The Akron couple got married on leap day in 2016.

Their son was born in a leap year  2020  but missed leap day by a few weeks.

And, they had their daughter Thursday, which was leap day.

Mya Marie was born at 6:36 p.m., much to the delight of her leap day-loving parents.

Its the best birthday present  ever, Billy Turner said, after the couple welcomed their daughter at Summa Akron City Hospital.

It just kind of worked out, said Tiffany Turner, whose due date was Friday but who was induced early because of hypertension. Its just like  funny.

Billy and Tiffany Turner, both Leap Year babies, with their second child, Mya Marie, a newborn Leap Day baby at Summa Akron City Hospital on Friday, March 1.

Maureen Nagg, a spokesperson for the hospital, said Summa has had leap day babies before but never one with so many unique ties to the milestone that happens every four years. Nagg said the nurses assisting the Turners were nearly as excited as the couple.

Mya was among 14 babies born on leap day at the hospital, with each of them receiving a beanie with a frog on it.

All the babies born on leap day at Summa Akron City Hospital, received a beanie with a frog on it. A person born on leap day is called a 'leapling.'

The nearby Cleveland Clinic Akron General welcomed seven babies on Thursday, with each of them getting a special leap day onesie made by an employee.

Kate Schoonover, a former labor and delivery nurse who is now a nurse recruiter, tried to find leap day onesies to buy, but came up short. So, she designed and made them herself.

I wanted to do something memorable, said Schoonover, who plans to save the design and update it for the next leap year in 2028.

What is leap day and how many leaplings are there?

Leap day helps align our calendar with the solar calendar and account for how the Earth takes slightly more than 365 days to orbit the sun.

About 5 million people worldwide were born on leap day, according to the Associated Press.

Thats roughly 0.06% of the worlds population of 8 billion people.

Those born on leap day are called leaplings or leap day babies.

Feb. 29 is the rarest birthday and the odds of being born on that date are one-in-1,461.

Who created leap year? What to know about leap day's complicated history

How did 2 leap day babies end up together?

Billy and Tiffany, who were introduced by friends, didnt realize they shared a birthday when they first started dating in 2005.

Billy left his wallet at Tiffanys place and she took a peek at his license to see when he was born.

She remembers thinking, This does not say Feb. 29.

He was born on Feb. 29, 1984, four years before her birthdate of Feb. 29, 1988.

It seemed like we had a whole lot of things in common, she said.

Neither of them has ever known anyone else who was born on leap day.

In early 2016, the couple was planning to get married and decided to tie the knot on leap day.

In non-leap years, Billy and Tiffany celebrate their birthdays and anniversary on either Feb. 28 or March 1.

From proposals to pig feet: 6 weird leap day traditions and superstitions

How did they manage to have a leap day baby?

Its a special day for both of us, Billy said.

The couple started trying to have a baby in 2016, which was a leap year.

Tiffany, though, had a miscarriage with their first pregnancy.

Four years later, in another leap year, she got pregnant again.

When we found out we were expecting, we were counting the months and said, Is this going to happen? Billy recalled. Unfortunately, it didnt happen on leap day.

A baby boy born at Cleveland Clinic Akron General on leap day sports one of the special onesies made for the occasion by one of the hospital's staff.

Their son David was born on March 25, nearly a month after leap day.

With Tiffanys latest pregnancy, the couple tried to schedule her to be induced on leap day, but the hospital had no openings until March 6.

Tiffany, though, went for a check-up Wednesday and her doctor said she needed to be admitted to the hospital because of high blood pressure. Doctors decided Tiffanys labor should be induced, starting this process about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

That still didnt guarantee that Mya would be born on leap day, with a six-hour time gap.

Mya, though, appeared to understand the importance of not arriving too early and waited until the next evening to make her appearance.

It just happened that way, Billy said, chuckling. The odds are astronomical.

Billy and Tiffany Turner, both leap year babies, talk with Dr. James Monte on Friday at Summa Akron City Hospital. Tiffany holds Mya Marie, their second child who was born Thursday, which was leap day.

Mya, who weighed 10.1 pounds and was 53 centimeters long, got water in her lungs during the delivery and was put into the neonatal intensive care unit. By Friday morning, she was taken off a breathing machine. The couple has been able to hold her.

Could the Turner family have another leap day miracle?

Billy, 40, and Tiffany, 36, arent sure if they want to have more children, but, if they do, they may consider trying for another leap-day milestone.

As it stands now, the couple plans to reach out to Ripleys Believe it or Not! to see if their quadruple-leap-day phenomenon rates as a fun fact mention.

Tiffany also wonders if Mya might be able to carry on the family tradition and give her a leap day grandbaby someday.

Its one of those things  maybe the legacy lives on, she said.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of Cincinnati history

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio couple with leap day birthdays, anniversary have baby February 29
An Ohio man has been sentenced after admitting he wanted to conduct a mass shooting of women at a university.

Tres Genco, 24, was sentenced to 80 months in prison, according to our news partners at WBNS.

Genco pleaded guilty in October 2022 to attempting to commit a hate crime.

He self-identified as an incel or involuntary celibate, according to the Department of Justice.

Genco maintained profiles on a popular incel website from at least July 2019 through mid-March 2020 and posted hundreds of times on the site.

>> Man accused of killing security guard at local nightclub formally charged

In a manifesto, he wrote he would slaughter women out of hatred, jealousy and revenge and referred to death as the great equalizer.

Law enforcement agents discovered a note of Gencos that indicated he hoped to aim big for a kill count of 3,000 people.

The DOJ said an investigation found he searched online for sororities and a university in Ohio, including one at Ohio State, according to WBNS.

In 2019, Genco purchased tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie bearing the word Revenge, cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask and two Glock 17 magazines, a 9 mm Glock 17 clip and a holster clip concealed for a Glock.

Court documents also state that he conducted surveillance at an Ohio university on Jan. 15, 2020. That same day, he searched online for topics including planning a shooting crime and when does preparing for a crime become an attempt?

He was arrested by federal agents in July 2021 and has remained in custody since.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  A new Oregon Health & Science University study found that slight, temporary changes in menstrual cycles are associated with the timing of COVID-19 vaccinations.

The study, published Wednesday in the Obstetric & Gynecology journal, found that people who received a COVID shot in the first half of their menstrual cycle are more likely to experience cycle length changes than people who received a vaccine in the second half of their cycle.

The study builds on work from the same research team that found an association between COVID-19 vaccines and cycle length. However, researchers said this study furthers understanding of how vaccination timing impacts cycle changes.

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Understanding these changes on a population level allows us to more effectively counsel patients about what to expect with a COVID-19 vaccine, said Dr. Alison Edelman, the studys lead author and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and division director of Complex Family Planning in the OHSU School of Medicine. We hope this work helps validate the publics experiences and ease fears and anxiety around vaccination.

Researchers used data from nearly 20,000 users of the FDA-cleared birth control app Natural Cycles to determine whether vaccine timing is associated with cycle length. OHSU notes researchers received permission to use the de-identified data from the apps users.

Researchers compared three groups including people vaccinated in the follicular phase  the first menstrual cycle phase when the body collects follicles that have the potential to release an egg during ovulationalong with people vaccinated in the luteal phase  the second phase starting after ovulation  and an unvaccinated control group.

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Researchers found that people who were vaccinated in the follicular phase experienced a one-day increase in cycle length, on average, compared with their pre-vaccinate cycle average. The changes usually resolved in the following cycle after vaccination.

Despite evidence showing that the vaccine is associated with temporary cycle changes, the exact biological mechanism for the change is still unknown, OHSU says.

We are constantly learning about how our bodies work together, but we do know the immune and reproductive systems interact closely with one another, Edelman explained. Based on this relationship, it is certainly plausible that individuals may see temporary changes in their menstrual cycle due to the immune response that vaccines are designed to produce.

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The experts emphasized that these findings should not be a cause for concern and should provide reassurance that if people experience changes in cycle length, they are likely to be small and temporary.

People who experience prolonged changes in menstruation should seek guidance from their doctor, OHSU said.

Because the data was gathered from people with regular menstrual cycles before the vaccine, OHSU says more research is needed to establish any differences for people who have irregular cycles.

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Researchers also hope to better understand how vaccination impacts menstrual-related symptoms and flow.

Historically, menstruation has not been prioritized in scientific and medical research, which leaves individuals who menstruate with a lot of unanswered questions, especially when they are experiencing something thats not normal for their body, Edelman said. Menstruation is a key indicator of fertility and overall health, so understanding these changes is very important to us as reproductive health researchers and to our patients.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
The Oklahoma City Police Department will need a new chief after its head official announced his retirement Friday.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley, 56, said he would soon be stepping away from the position, after a 34-year career with the city. He has agreed to remain employed with the department until a successor is named and the position is filled.

Working alongside the dedicated men and women of this Police Department and serving this great community for over 34 years has been an incredible honor, Gourley said in a statement Friday. After my departure, I know the Police Department will continue to honor our core values by serving this City with integrity, compassion, accountability, respect and equity.

Gourley started as a police officer in Chickasha before joining the Oklahoma City Police Department in September 1989. He was named deputy chief in 2017 and was promoted to Oklahoma City's 50th chief of police in July 2019 by City Manager Craig Freeman. Gourley oversees more than 1,230 uniformed officer positions and 413 non-sworn employees.

Oklahoma City police Capt. M. Henderson and Chief Gourley visit with students in 2023 during the annual Oklahoma City Police Athletic League "Shop with a Cop" event.

His time as the police chief saw significant challenges. Within less than a year of his promotion to chief, Gourley was leading the department's response to both the COVID-19 pandemic and local protests over racial injustice following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

I cant thank Chief Gourley enough for his more than three decades of leadership and service to the residents of Oklahoma City, City Manager Craig Freeman said in a statement Friday. During his tenure as Chief, he guided the Police Department through a time of significant uncertainty and change. Through it all he has embodied the values of the Oklahoma City Police Department by leading with integrity and a commitment to serve all Oklahoma City residents.

More: OKC police chief 'disgusted' by social media posts during protests, Nazi symbol probe

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley speaks during a 2023 news conference at police headquarters in Oklahoma City.

Gourley has been involved in some of the most notable evolutions in the police department's modern history. He led efforts to change the way police respond to mental health calls, expanded crisis intervention and de-escalation training for officers, and supported transparency efforts through body-worn cameras. He also revamped the entire employee wellness program, enhanced the department's use of technology with its Real Time Information Center, and prioritized community outreach to improve trust between residents and officers.

In the citys annual resident survey, the police department and other public safety services are routinely among the highest-rated city services. For the latest 2023 survey, 91% of surveyed residents believed they were being treated fairly in interactions with Oklahoma City police officers; 69% of residents also reported being satisfied with police services, a number which researchers said was much higher than other large cities surveyed.

Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt acknowledged that "managing a police department in America's 20th-largest city is an immensely challenging job" and noted the additional challenges Gourley faced in 2020. But while hundreds of police officers died of health complications from COVID-19 throughout the United States, Oklahoma City's police department "lost not a single officer," Holt said.

The mayor also highlighted Gourley's willingness to work with city council and community advocates on implementing various police reforms amid a time of widespread social unrest and criticism of law enforcement.

"When a broad spectrum of residents asked in 2020 that we have a generational conversation about some of the most challenging law enforcement issues, Chief Gourley didnt obstruct, and was in fact an active participant," Holt said Friday in a series of tweets on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. "When the task force I appointed came forward with 39 recommendations for reform, Chief Gourley publicly stated that they were reasonable. This was a critical leadership moment and I dont take it for granted."

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley speaks as police and community leaders meet in 2023 at the Tower Theatre for a forum following the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. At right is Oklahoma City Councilperson James Cooper.

A year after George Floyd's death: What has changed in Oklahoma City?

Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III, who assumed office in January 2021 as its first Black sheriff, considers Gourley a close friend and said he appreciates the mentorship the police chief has offered over the past three years.

"He was always willing to work with the Oklahoma County sheriff's office because he understood we have the same goal in mind: The safety of the people of Oklahoma County," Johnson said. "He is a selfless public servant and I am proud to call him my friend. I love my brother, Wade; I'm going to miss him in uniform, and I wish him the best in his retirement."

The city manager hires the police chief, who reports to Assistant City Manager Jason Ferbrache. A longtime administrator of the city's public transportation department, Febrache also oversees the police and fire departments, as well as law enforcement policy implementation. He called Gourley "an innovator" and "a collaborative, key partner" in moving forward with the city's Public Safety Partnership, an alliance of city agencies and community groups tasked with implementing police reforms.

Specific to his work with the PSP, Chief Gourley has served on the steering committee and has provided complete access to his command staff and Police Department personnel, Febrache said. In working with Chief Gourley I have come to appreciate his leadership and commitment to our residents.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley gives an update on an Oklahoma County jail shooting during a 2021 news conference.

Freeman said the city would be conducting an extensive nationwide search for a new police chief with leadership experience in modern, community policing.

"Im confident we will attract highly qualified candidates from inside and outside the organization," Freeman said in a statement. "Choosing a Police Chief is one of the most important decisions I make as City Manager."

Gourley spent the early part of his career on patrol and as a field training officer. He then worked in investigations, administration, emergency services and the Uniform Support Division, and as a crisis negotiator, the tactical team commander and the director of training. He also developed the Leadership, Ethics and Accountability Development, or LEAD, program.

Gourley holds a bachelor's degree in police administration from The University of Oklahoma. Other notable training includes the Anti-Defamation League Advanced Training School in Extremist and Terrorist Threats, the Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBI Executive Leadership Institute. He has been a member of several law enforcement groups and local organizations, including on the board for the American Red Cross of Central & Southwest Oklahoma.

The police chief is a lifelong Oklahoma resident with roots in Ardmore, living in south Oklahoma City for most of his career. Gourley and his wife, Tracy, have two children.

Marilyn Luper-Hildreth speaks as police and community leaders meet for a community forum in 2023 in Oklahoma City. The forum followed the death of Tyre Nichols, who has been shown on video being beaten by Memphis police. Beside her are Wade Gourley, JD Younger and Todd Gibson.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City police chief to retire after 34 years
Land the county is considering as a jail site at 1901 E Grand is pictured in January. A donor to County Commissioner Myles Davidson's campaign is connected to a company that owns the proposed jail site.

Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson on Thursday sent out an invitation to a campaign fundraiser hosted by the company chosen to build the new jail.

The invitation quickly resulted in new criticism of the District 3 commissioner, who took office last year.

Davidson already is under fire for voting last week to build the jail at a site tied to a $2,900 donor.

He told The Oklahoman on Thursday afternoon he will move the fundraiser. He denied his decision on the jail site was influenced by a donation.

Donors to Davidson's campaign on Thursday were invited to a "Second Annual Grand Slam Event" at Flintco in Oklahoma City on March 28. Commissioners on Jan. 2 voted unanimously to hire Flintco to work with architects to build the new jail.

"We'll just change that right now," Davidson said. "The campaign team ... came up with it. ... I didn't even think about it. Didn't even think anything of it. ... It makes sense now that you say something about it. But, gosh, these things don't weigh into the decision.

"But, I get it. I get the public perception of it."

He said the fundraiser is to pay off the final expenses of his 2022 campaign and for future campaigns. He reported in January getting more than $200,000 in donations for his 2022 campaign.

His campaign records show he accepted $2,900 from William Garrett, an Oklahoma City donor. The commissioner acknowledged Thursday that donor is connected to a company that owns the proposed jail site. The connection was first reported by KFOR-4.

"The Garretts have been longtime friends," he said. "Pat Garrett Jr. and I go back to the day we were about 20 years old. Billy is ... Patrick's older brother.

"They've done business with the county for as long as I've worked up here, which is right at 20 years. I've helped them through numerous zoning issues and all types of things."

William Garrett could not be reached for comment.

Del City mayor calls vote on jail location tainted

Commissioners voted 2-1 on Feb. 21 to build the jail at 1901 E Grand Blvd.

Davidson said he didn't remember the Garrett donation at the time of the vote. He pointed out he also got a $500 donation from the Del City mayor, who opposes the location.

"I did give him money. I wasn't trying to sell him land," Del City Mayor Floyd Eason said. "At that time I thought he was a decent guy."

More: Oklahoma County jail inmate dies Monday, two months after arrest in fatal collision

The mayor said he asked the commissioner twice at the Feb. 21 meeting about the rumor of donations from the proposed site's landowner.

"He didn't look at me. He ducked his head and he didn't answer. After the crowd died down a little bit, I asked him again. ... And, again, he wouldn't answer me."

Eason said the commissioner should have recused himself from the vote or disclosed the relationship. He called the vote tainted.

The location chosen for the jail is 71 acres, next to Del City. Public opposition to the site still could force commissioners to find a new location.

The biggest obstacle is zoning. The Oklahoma City Council would have to agree to change the zoning for the jail to be built there.

Opinion: Moving Oklahoma County's jail to Del City area is a mistake - for OKC and the incarcerated

The site is in Ward 4. Todd Stone, the Ward 4 councilman, said Thursday he doesn't think a zoning change will get approved.

"I just think there's too many open-ended questions that can't be answered," Stone said. "There are a lot of issues with that location. I don't know that they even could be worked out."

County Commissioner Brian Maughan, who voted for 1901 E Grand Blvd., said Thursday getting a zoning change will be an uphill battle.

He also said he would not support filing a lawsuit, if a zoning change is denied.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK County Commissioner Myles Davidson denies donation swayed jail site choice
OKLAHOMA COUNTY (KFOR)  Weeks after settling on a location for the new Oklahoma County Jail, were now seeing what the facility could look like. But questions are swirling around the plans because soon, the Oklahoma City Council will get involved.

Last week, Oklahoma County Commissioners approved building the jail at 1901 East Grand Boulevard in southeast Oklahoma Citya site many Mid-Del community members have been fighting against for months.

On Thursday morning, News 4 sat down with Commissioner Myles Davidson. He showed us possible design plans for the new jail.

Records: OK County commissioner who voted in favor of new jail site previously took donation from sites owner

Soon, the Oklahoma County Commissioners will vote on the design for the new jail, but thats just one step of many more needing to happen before the jail is built.

We have to treat these individuals more humanely than we currently do in their facility and we will have the ability to do in that facility. And thats what this new facility will do. It will allow us programing space, said Myles Davidson, Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 3.

This week, the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board approved an outdoor preliminary design as the new jail.

Its not designed for you to come here and want to come back Thats not what were trying to do. Were trying to blend in to where you cant tell that this is a jail or prison, said Davidson.

Davidson invited KFOR to see more renderings of what the facility could look like inside.

Theyd like to include three courtrooms, natural sunlight throughout the facility, outdoor spaces for inmates in each pod and much more. He also showed us plans of comforting areas for those receiving mental health treatment.

However, Mid-Del Public School superintendent Dr. Rick Cobb, who has fought against the Grand Boulevard property because of its close proximity to students, isnt sold. He says he doesnt feel like the esthetics of a jail are as important as the location.

I didnt want to see the renderings. You could make it look like the Taj Mahal, and I wouldnt want it near Del City The location on Grand is not near the core services that families and individuals facing incarceration need, said Dr. Rick Cobb, Mid-Del Public School superintendent.

But, with current plans, a possible future problem could be space. Davidson says they are looking at providing between 1,800 and 2,400 beds.

Officials at the current Oklahoma County Jail in downtown Oklahoma City tell KFOR as of February 29, 2024, they have 1,246 inmates.

However, with the influx of inmates, they could need more space.

Davidson says the property will be big enough to expand in the future if they need to.

This site being as large as it is, will allow us to. As our population grows, so too will we be able to grow our jail, said Davidson.

Del City filing lawsuit against Oklahoma County over jail location decision

Davidson also addressed rumors the Oklahoma City Council plans to vote down a rezoning request for the property. He doesnt believe they would have to follow the vote because of private property rights. He also thinks it would take a judicial ruling to stop any construction.

Lets be partners in this situation. I dont think that what youre going to see when the vote actually takes place Im hoping that youll see that they all agree that this is the best spot, said Davidson.

Davidson adds Oklahoma City officials have been allegedly looking at this property for the new jail for years now.

The citys been involved with looking at this for over 21 years. The city has done their due diligence on this as well We just need to educate and allow them to come into the process to see, said Davidson.

Davidson says they are already taking next steps.

Youve got the preliminary design, but then everything else on the inside of that architecturally, I mean, the planning of the wiring, the planning of the pipes, all of that is taking place. So, once we selected, we flipped multiple switches. The construction company says, okay, weve got our preliminary designs, lets start ordering certain pieces for the jail that we know take a long time. And weve got industrial packages that take up to three years to build and get on site. So, well be able to get that stuff moving and thatll be good for almost anywhere that we go. But everything is still moving forward, said Davidson.

The rezoning request will likely be presented to the Oklahoma City Council in late April.

On Monday morning, Oklahoma County Commissioners will vote to accept or reject the designs that were recently approved by the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
SANAA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-British military coalition launched two airstrikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Friday, residents and the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

The strikes hit Houthi mobile missile launchers in the west of the city, residents said on social media platform X.

The coalition has made no comment yet.

This is the latest in a series of strikes aimed at Houthi targets, initiated after the armed group began targeting international commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in November. The Houthis claimed these actions were in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi vowed to launch further missile attacks to disrupt shipping in the region. In a televised address aired on al-Masirah TV, he declared that these attacks would continue to pressure Israel to cease its conflict with Hamas. Since the Houthi attacks began, several vessels, primarily U.S., British, and European, have been damaged.

Washington re-designated the Houthi group as a "global terrorist organization" in January. 
A group of Oklahoma LGBTQ and advocacy organizations is calling for the removal of the states top education official, following the death of a nonbinary student earlier this month.

In a letter penned to the states legislature on Wednesday, more than 300 advocacy and LGBTQ organizations, including Freedom Oklahoma, GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign, alleged that Ryan Walters, the states superintendent of public instruction, is responsible for fostering a culture of violence and hate against the 2SLGBTQI+ community in Oklahoma schools.

They argued that Walters created a hostile environment at Oklahoma schools which contributed to the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict, who was assaulted in a school bathroom earlier this month.

Benedict had been bullied since last year, the Independent reported, shortly after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed a law requiring students to use bathrooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate.

Superintendent Walters reprehensible conduct shows a willful rejection of his duty to protect the health and welfare of the children in Oklahomas public schools and instead has created an environment that allows for hostility and harm for youth like Nex, the letter stated.

We are outraged that a climate of hate and bigotry has been not only allowed to thrive, but encouraged by the person who is responsible for education in the state of Oklahoma. State officials must be held accountable for bringing the politics of hate into Oklahomas schools and making our most vulnerable youth pay the price.

Walters has faced calls for his ouster before. Last month, he faced backlash for passing an emergency rule to bar students from changing the gender marker listed on their school files. He also appointed Chaya Raichik, the creator of the far-right social media account Libs of TikTok, to a seat on Oklahomas library review committee earlier this year.

Last year, Libs of TiKTok made a post targeting a librarian at an Oklahoma school, NBC News reported. The school district received bomb threats a day after Walters retweeted the Libs of TikTok post, prompting Oklahoma Democrats to push for an impeachment probe of the superintendent.

Walters has also been scrutinized for his campaigns affiliation with Ron The Real Ron Ron Causby, a far-right podcaster who has called for violence against transgender people. Walters reportedly participated in a fundraiser event at the influencers residence in 2022, according to Media Matters.

In a statement sent to HuffPost, Walters dismissed the organizations recent call for his removal as a standard tactic of the radical left that will stop at nothing to destroy the country and our state.

Their woke desperate political game has led them to exploit the death of a young Oklahoman, Walters said. I will never stop fighting, I will not play woke gender games, and I will not back down to a woke mob.

Since Benedicts death, other young people have come forward about the harassment faced by LGBTQ students in Oklahoma, the letter claims. LGBTQ youth mental health organizations have also reported a major increase in crisis calls since the incident, with many callers citing instances of bullying and harassment, the Advocate reported.

So far this year, Oklahoma has introduced 54 anti-LGBTQ bills, according to the ACLU, including bans on gender-affirming care and restrictions on what pronouns teachers can use for their students.

Nearly 469 of these bills have been introduced by states nationwide this year, which follows the more than 500 bills introduced in 2023  a number that led the Human Rights Campaign to declare a state of emergency for LGBTQ Americans.

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I'm constantly astounded at my children's "selective" hearing.

There are moments when direct conversation with them yields nothing more than a puzzled "Huh?" Yet, unexpectedly, they'll interject into adult conversations they seemingly couldn't possibly overhear.

Andy Dossett

Kids' ability to ignore and absorb information from the world is a mystery. Or their ability to recall seemingly obscure moments from time.

One time, after my son made a simple mistake, I interpreted it as him being careless and, in my frustration, threw out, "It's about not making mistakes."

It was not my proudest moment as a father.

Fast forward a few years, he spilled orange juice on the couch and was visibly upset. I told him it was no big deal and we could clean it. He replied, "But you said it's about not making mistakes."

He confessed that he feared making mistakes for the last three years because of what I carelessly told him. He had taken those five words and created an identity around them, and it shaped his actions.

A comedic example is in Will Ferrell's movie 'Talladega Nights' when his father tells him at a young age, "If you ain't first, you're last." Farrell's character lives by it, while his father never recalls saying it.

On Feb. 8, an Owasso student who reported being bullied died the day after an altercation in the school bathroom. This news sat quietly for a few weeks, then exploded into the national spotlight. There are wildly different accounts and rumors of what happened, and the investigation is ongoing.

We might have to face the fact that we could never know what happened or why, but that doesn't mean we can't learn from it before it's too late.

Oklahoma State Sen. Tom Woods recently called the LGBTQIA+ community, which the Owasso student identified with, "filth" that we need to "fight" to keep out of our state when asked about the student's death. His answer was greeted with applause and cheers.

I have read social media posts from pastors mocking the student's pronouns as "was/were" and celebrating their death.

We ask, "Why is bullying an issue in schools?"

Because we allow, promote, condone and celebrate bullying from our leaders. But we don't call it bullying when it's used against people we don't like.

When they target "those other people," we call it "brave" and "courageous."

When I was a kid, those considered brave were Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman and the guy who stood alone in front of a column of tanks leaving Tiananmen Square  individuals who stood against oppression and injustice.

Today, however, the definition of bravery has been distorted to celebrate aggression, exclusion and intolerance. Acts of bravery are playing the victim, being unapologetic and attacking anyone who disagrees with you.

In 2020, a minor took a gun he shouldn't own to a state where he didn't live and killed two people. He was celebrated as brave.

In 2023, after news broke about a local preacher performing in blackface, he doubled down and refused to apologize for his racist and offensive actions. He got words of support, and people called him brave.

Our governor, state superintendent and legislators are called brave for using dangerous rhetoric and passing discriminatory laws and policies. Some even call the LGBTQIA+ community a "bigger threat than terrorists."

But hey, as long as it doesn't affect me.

These messages are boiled down and kids take them on as identities. We have kids who now believe they are "filth," and we have other kids who think they should cleanse the "filth."

So I ask, is this student's death an unintended consequence? Or maybe we need to admit shamefully this is precisely intended.

The message is clear: if people won't conform to our idea of who they should be, we should bully them, pass laws and make their lives so miserable they leave our state  if they don't, well, I guess there is another solution on the table now.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Oklahoma is redefining what it means to be brave
Oklahoma Southern Baptists will hold their largest gathering of the year at a prominent predominantly Black church in northeast Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma Baptists' 2024 Advance Conference is set for Monday and Tuesday, March 4-5, at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, 5700 N Kelley. The event will include as guest preachers the Rev. Tony Evans, senior pastor of Dallas megachurch Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, who will preach Monday evening; and the Rev. Fred Luter, a New Orleans pastor who served as the Southern Baptist Convention's first Black president, who will deliver a message on Tuesday evening.

Alan Quigley, Oklahoma Baptists' associate executive director, said the conference was formerly known as the Oklahoma State Evangelism Conference, and it is typically the largest gathering held each year by Oklahoma Baptists, the state's largest faith group. He said the free event is held to bring together members of Oklahoma Baptists' 1,750 churches across the state, along with members of other Christian faith traditions for worship, preaching and ministry breakout sessions.

Fred Luter

Oklahoma Baptists have held the annual conference at various Southern Baptist churches across the state, including First Baptist Church of Moore and First Southern Baptist Church of Del City. Quigley said the faith group hired the Rev. Walter Wilson, senior pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Lawton, about eight years ago to help Oklahoma Baptists strengthen and grow relationships with predominantly Black churches in the state.

"We had about eight at that time, and today, we have over 100, so we're kind of celebrating the fact that Oklahoma Baptists have seen a good growth in our African American community of churches," Quigley said.

He said he and Wilson worked to put together a conference program with the theme "Sent."

Major Jemison

'Melting pot experience'

Rev. Dr. Major Jemison, St. John's senior pastor, said he expected the conference to draw a diverse crowd as a "statement of our need to partner with other Christian believers championing the cause of Jesus Christ."

"It will be a mixture of the races, and when I say that, you will have individuals from across the Caucasian community, the Hispanic community, the Native American community and the African American community, all converging on St. John Missionary Baptist Church for two days  and that kind of a melting pot experience can only generate goodwill and forge opportunities in the future for us to collaborate on the issues and our good."

St. John, he said, is dually aligned with the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the National Baptist Convention USA, two of the nation's Black Baptist denominations. The minister said St. John's is also part of the Oklahoma Baptists' African American Fellowship of churches.

More: Oklahoma Baptists eye moving headquarters to former Sonic HQ in Lower Bricktown

Conference highlights will include guest speaker the Rev. Doug Melton, senior pastor of Southern Hills Baptist Church, who will be among three preachers to share messages in the morning session, and the Rev. Stephen Rummage, senior pastor of Quail Springs Baptist Church, who will be one of three ministers set to speak at the afternoon session.

Monday evening's session will include faith messages of faith from Jemison and Evans. In addition to leading his Dallas church, Evans is also known for his "The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans," a daily radio show broadcast in more than 130 countries. The Monday evening session will also include a special performance and worship lead by the combined voices of Jemison, the St. John Missionary Choir, and the Ambassadors Concert Choir, under the director of Sandra D. Thompson.

Shane Pruitt

Breakout sessions will be held Tuesday, with discussions on children's ministry, Hispanic ministry, women's ministry, discipleship, music ministry, missions, youth ministry, evangelism and African American Fellowship.

Shane Pruitt, National Next Gen Evangelism director for the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, will speak at the youth ministry breakout session, and he will also be one of three ministers who will be featured Tuesday evening. Quigley said Pruitt is a popular speaker at youth summer camp sessions at Oklahoma Baptists' Falls Creek Camp and Conference Center near Davis.

Other preachers set to speak on Tuesday evening include the Rev. Anthony Jordan, retired Oklahoma Baptists executive director-treasurer; and Luter, senior pastor of New Orleans' Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, a multi-site megachurch. Luter served two one-year terms as Southern Baptist Convention president, after being elected to lead the nation's largest Protestant denomination first in 2012 and then in 2013.

Stephen Rummage

2024 Advance Conference

When : Monday: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; Tuesday: 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Where : St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 5700 N Kelley.

Cost : Free, no registration required. Deadline to register for childcare for infants through children 5 years old is March 1.

Information: https://www.oklahomabaptists.org/.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Southern Baptists' evangelism event to be held in OKC
Olive Clarke, who has died aged 101, was a retired farmer, life-long volunteer and stalwart of country life in Cumbria  exemplifying the sort of devotion to public service and willingness to take on organisational roles which is fundamental to building strong rural communities.

She was born Olive Teasdale on May 19 1922 into a Westmorland farming family, the daughter of George Teasdale and his wife Sarah, nee Fawcett. Educated at Kendal High School for Girls, in 1947 she married farmer Arthur Clarke, with whom she raised a family on Kaker Mill Farm in Preston Patrick.

Appointed OBE in 1994 for her role in campaigning to save the Settle to Carlisle railway as a chairman of the Transport Users Consultative Committee for North Western England, she also had stints as a magistrate, chairing the South Cumbria Magistrates Association during the 1980s, and as a parish and county councillor. But it was for her commitment to farming and to the Womens Institute that she was particularly known.

She had joined the Hutton branch of the Young Farmers Club in 1938 aged 16, winning the YFCs first ever public speaking competition the same year. Convinced that farmers needed to become more articulate in their dealings with public and government, she went on to become a tutor and adjudicator of public speaking competitions and remained much in demand as a speaker herself. When, aged 100, she gave a speech to the Worshipful Company of Farmers it was described as a tour de force, the best speech ever heard from anyone at our livery lunches.

Olive Clarke aged 49 in 1971 - courtesy family

Involved in many other farming organisations, she became seen as a matriarch of the young farmers movement, having served as the first female chairman for the Westmorland Federation of Young Farmers and President of Cumbria Young Farmers, of which she was made honorary life vice-president in 2013. In 2022 she was appointed Honorary Life President of the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs. She received the rare accolade of direct election as a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society and last year was presented with a Special Recognition Lifetime Achievement award by the British Farming Awards.

Olive Clarke attended her first WI meeting at Old Hutton WI aged 17 months, sitting on her grandmothers knee. She joined the group in 1938 and confessed to a lifetime addiction to the movement. She had fond memories of jam galore made for the war effort, when a peripatetic canning machine did the rounds of WI halls. Im all for jam because it signifies home, and Jerusalem signifies for me the wider outlook and the campaigns weve run to make things better, she recalled in 2015.

She felt that the WI had in a way taken over from the suffragettes in getting things done and was particularly proud of the way local members had been encouraged women to take up the opportunity for cervical screening in the early 1970s. In 2010 the Cumbria-Westmorland Federation of Womens Institutes appointed her its honorary life president.

Among other national and local organisations and charities too numerous to list, she was a greatly respected figure within the Country Landowners Association, served for 25 years on the Board of Visitors of Durham Prison and was appointed to the Review Committee for Parole. She was Commissioner of Inland Revenue for many years, served on bodies and charities concerned with health care and disability and, as a devoted churchwoman, served on the Deanery Synod of Carlisle Cathedral and, from 1999, as Trustee of its Development Trust.

She was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cumbria in 1978 and was awarded the Queens Jubilee Medal in 1997.

Her husband died in 1975 and she is survived by their two daughters.

Olive Clarke, born May 19 1922, died December 18 2023

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The Olympian is getting ready to take its biggest step yet on its journey toward a more digitally focused, sustainable future.

We will transition to a 24/7 digital news provider with three days of print newspapers beginning May 6.

The print editions will publish Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and continue to be delivered along with your mail. The Sunday newspaper will arrive on Saturday as it has. Single copies also will be available at select retail locations.

The eEdition will continue to publish seven days a week at theolympian.com and in our digital app. And well continue to publish news digitally throughout the day, every day.

And the best is yet to come. Were very excited about a new, improved eEdition that will be in place in the next few months.

Were also expanding our digital offerings and improving your digital experience. For a limited time were offering a unique opportunity for The Olympian subscribers to enjoy a customized experience via a brand new tablet we provide at no extra cost. You can register for that program online at digital.theolympian.com/tablet-offer/. While supplies last and restrictions apply.

This is all part of the digital transition of the news industry  and a vital step toward the sustainability of The Olympian.

Olympian publishers, editors and managers have been key partners in helping shape this community for decades, from serving on the boards of local organizations to playing pivotal roles in key decisions. We plan to be here for decades to come.

The reality is that, increasingly, Thurston County residents get their news from their phones, tablets and computers. This shift will allow us to allocate more resources and effort to providing timely updates and engaging content on our website and other digital spaces.

Weve already become much more digitally focused to the point where readers of theolympian.com or our eEdition often see our best work before our print readers. For months now, we have been able to add to our eEdition, providing a new section of stories that were published after our print deadline or are scheduled to run in print at a later date.

For The Olympian to continue to provide you with essential coverage of our community, to hold local leaders accountable, and to lead reporting on the state Capitol, we must transform our business to thrive in 2024 and beyond.

Our professional journalists  some, like Rolf Boone, who have been covering this county for decades  provide you with unparalleled coverage, digging deep on topics of critical importance and providing context on long-running issues. They know the leaders in this community, and write clearly about the impact of their work.

The Olympian has made housing and homelessness a priority as more and more of local residents struggle with these issues. Reporter Ty Vinson reported on the Olympia School Districts budget crisis that has put beloved schools in jeopardy of closing. State government reporter Shauna Sowersby has boiled down the many actions of the state legislature into easy-to-read roundups, as well as held legislators to account for efforts to keep state records out of the publics hands.

Just this past month, reporter Martin Bilbao reported on the closed process used to choose the new county manager, a man who left his previous job in San Bernardino, California, amid allegations of impropriety and divisive management practices.

Our journalists commitment to this community isnt changing. We will continue to deliver in-depth reporting, breaking news and captivating stories about interesting residents and happenings.

If youre already a subscriber, thank you for supporting the work we do and investing in local journalism. Be sure to activate your digital access at theolympian.com/activate.

If you arent a subscriber, please consider subscribing and becoming a part of the solution. Our growing community deserves a strong, dependable, professional local news source, but that requires support from the community.

In the coming days, subscribers will receive correspondence from our customer service team regarding next steps. That team can be reached at 800-905-0296.

Dusti Demarest has been editor of The Olympian for nine years, and has been on staff for 30 years. Contact her at ddemarest@theolympian.com.
Russia has not yet provided Ukraine with any official list confirming that there were Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed in Belgorod Oblast in late January, chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on March 1.

Lubinets's statement came after his Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, claimed Moscow's readiness to hand over the bodies of allegedly killed Ukrainian POWs to Kyiv.

Russia has alleged that the Russian military aircraft that crashed on Jan. 24 was destroyed by Ukrainian forces and that it was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian fighters.

According to Lubinets, Russia "keeps speculating" on the Il-76 plane crash topic and has not granted international organizations access to the site more than a month after the downing of its aircraft.

"Ukraine's position is unchanged: we demand a transparent investigation, access to the crash site, and from day one, we have been demanding official lists and repatriation of bodies and appropriate examinations (if confirmed)," the ombudsman noted.

Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, told the Suspilne media outlet on March 1 that Kyiv had repeatedly appealed to Moscow to transfer the bodies of allegedly killed Ukrainian POWs and that the "work in this direction is ongoing."

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov said in an interview published in early February that there were no Ukrainian prisoners of war on the destroyed transport plane.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation into the Il-76 crash.

Unnamed American officials told the New York Times on Feb. 8 that the U.S.-made Patriot missile system was likely responsible for the plane's downing. The officials suggested that the plane likely had at least some Ukrainian prisoners onboard.

Read also: Ukrainian officials meet relatives of POWs who Russia claims were in crashed Il-76, say no evidence to confirm that

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)  Saturday will mark one year since former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was found guilty by a Colleton County jury in the killing of his wife Margaret and youngest son Paul.

The pair were found brutally murdered near dog kennels on the familys sprawling Colleton County property, Moselle, on the night of June 7, 2021.

Thirteen months later, Murdaugh  who was in prison on charges related to myriad financial crimes  was charged with both of their deaths following a weeks-long trial.

Murdaugh and his defense team had asked for a speedy trial; however, it lasted six weeks before the jury delivered their verdict. The trial saw many twists and turns, including a bomb threat at the Colleton County Courthouse, jury turnover, a jury trip to the crime scene, and even Murdaugh taking the stand to deliver his defense.

After weeks of testimony from more than 70 witnesses, the jury was tasked with determining whether the disbarred SC attorney killed his wife and son on the afternoon of March 2.

The jury took under four hours to find their verdict. Murdaugh was guilty of the murders. He received a double life sentence.

Since then, Murdaugh has filed a slew of motions alleging jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill and other bias as grounds for a new trial  those efforts have been unsuccessful so far.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
The family of Howard Moe Higgins is speaking out in hopes that someone knows something about his killing and can help bring them closure.

His mother and sister are still heartbroken after Higgins was killed on Christmas Eve and they need the publics help with solving the case.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 1 shot, killed in car in northwest Charlotte neighborhood on Christmas Eve

Ieisha Higgins wipes tears from her cheeks as she remembers her brother.

You still wake up to that terrifying feeling, she said. So, its been really hard.

Police say the father of three who was a party planner was shot in his car outside his home on Flagler Lane in northwest Charlotte on Dec. 24. His family still doesnt know why anyone would shoot him.

He was just getting home and someone walked up to the car and shot my brother, Ieisha Higgins said.

Christmas will never be the same. Never, she said.

This is the hurt that I wouldnt wish on any parent, his mother, Emma Higgins, said. I have never had to experience this kind of pain.

Both Higginss mother and sister say that with no leads in the case, they are begging the community for help.

We need answers, we need justice for my brother, Ieisha Higgins said. We are asking that someone step forward and let us know what did happen to my brother and why.

Ieisha Higgins says her brother would do anything for anyone.

He was the shining armor of the family, she said. He was that person.

If you have any information about this case, please call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

VIDEO: 1 shot, killed in car in northwest Charlotte neighborhood on Christmas Eve








Less than half of Washington state lawmakers said they will commit to transparency in a new survey of all 147 legislators conducted by McClatchy and the Seattle Times.

Of the total lawmakers in the statehouse, about 40% told the news outlets they would not invoke legislative privilege, a newly adopted concept used by state legislators to withhold documents from the public under a broad interpretation of the constitution, and a practice they were sued twice for last year after it was revealed by McClatchy that they were secretly invoking the practice.

Lawmakers won the first round of litigation in both lawsuits, but both cases are being appealed and will likely end up before the state Supreme Court to determine if the privilege exists.

And while Washington voters may not agree on an exhaustive list of issues, 82% of respondents in a recent Crosscut/Elway poll including Democratic, Republican and Independent voters, disapproved of lawmakers use of the privilege despite the two Superior Court Judges rulings last year, leading some to wonder why elected officials continue to pursue such an unpopular policy.

Survey results

In a joint effort by McClatchy and the Times, lawmakers were emailed a brief survey asking if they had used legislative privilege in the past, and why. The survey also asked if lawmakers intended on using the exemption moving forward.

Few lawmakers said outright that they would not use the privilege.

Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, told the Times that he hasnt felt the need to assert the privilege, and that he doesnt like the policy. He thinks the privilege is useful for a majority party that doesnt want people to know everything.

Well, weve got so many people that dont trust the government now, and sometimes we give em reasons, Wilcox said. And it just seems like clinging to privilege is one more time when were giving people reasons to distrust.

Others shared the same sentiment.

No, I do not intend to invoke legislative privilege because I think that transparency is important in the work we do and helps store faith in government, wrote Rep. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines.

The only privilege I enjoy in the Legislature is the privilege of serving the people of the 35th District and the state of Washington, wrote Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn. I am a firm believer in open government and will always be 100% transparent with the people of Washington state.

Some lawmakers would not outright commit to not using the exemption, claiming that the privilege exists in the state constitution.

The basis for their argument, lawmakers and their attorneys say, exists in the state constitutions Speech and Debate Clause, which says that members of the legislature are not liable for any civil action or criminal prosecution for words spoken in debate. The clause does not speak specifically to public records, such as emails and texts, held by legislators, however.

The U.S. Constitution has a similar Speech or Debate Clause, and federal courts have interpreted the provision to apply to actions by any Member of Congress.

Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, said he hasnt invoked the privilege, but couldnt make a full commitment not to use it in the future because only the foolish say never and noted that judges at a lower level have deemed it constitutional.

Several lawmakers based their justification of the privilege from a 20-year-old paper titled The Neglected Value of the Legislative Privilege in State Legislatures, which argues that legislative privilege exists in several states, but that state judicial interpretations of the exemption have departed from federal interpretations of the privilege, failing to apply it broadly to protect the legislative process and instead unduly favoring ideals of open government.

The author of the paper, Professor Steven F. Huefner, a legislation clinic director at the Moritz College of Law, presented his interpretation of the exemptions legal framework to the states public records task force in 2018, just months after lawmakers tried to fast track an exemption for themselves from the state Public Records Act during the legislative session.

Using a passage from Huefners paper, Rep. Suzanne Schmidt, R-Spokane Valley, claimed the privilege is not an exemption from public disclosure laws but instead it is a tool to provide legislators a fundamental constitutional protection that allows them to work independently and unimpeded by threats of judicial or executive intervention.

Some lawmakers who previously had records withheld under the privilege acknowledged they had used it before, but fell short of committing to not using it again.

Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, wrote that while she had used it before, she subsequently waived it.

When legislative privilege is used, I believe it should be used very sparingly and that the goal should always be to land on the side of transparent and open government, Kuderer added.

Some lawmakers even seemed confused by the purpose of the privilege.

Rep. David Hackney, D-Seattle, admitted to not understanding the privilege, and said that he once invoked it out of caution despite the misunderstanding of the exemption. He said he will continue to use the privilege if there is sensitive information that falls within the privilege.

I do not believe in a blanket privilege, but I would like to protect others from embarrassment, Hackney wrote.

More than 30 lawmakers did not respond at all to the survey, despite a deadline extension by McClatchy and the Times, and reminder emails to lawmakers and their staff. Others responded but declined to comment.

Why do lawmakers need another exemption?

Speaker of the House Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, told McClatchy and the Times that elected officials in the Legislature should have the ability to invoke the exemption because it exists in the constitution.

Jinkins would not respond to a question asking what types of documents she has kept redacted out of view of public scrutiny, but said she believed that invoking the privilege benefits constituents because it allows lawmakers to have a full deliberative process before deciding which options should be pursued with regards to legislation.

Records obtained by McClatchy and the Times showed that the Speaker has used the privilege to withhold documents related to the disastrous 2021 Redistricting Commission, as well as a drug possession law that did not pass in the House before the legislative session adjourned last year.

When asked why the public isnt entitled to know the options lawmakers are weighing behind the scenes, Jinkins claimed that those different options would all come up during the course of a hearing on a piece of legislation, still allowing lawmakers to talk about why they chose the one they chose. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the privilege, lawmakers could then decide what kind of a view they want to provide into their thinking, she said.

As reporters and engaged citizens know, issues brought up during hearings dont always paint the full picture of whats going on with legislation behind the scenes. But Jinkins pushed back on that idea, saying she wasnt aware of any members who arent forthcoming with information on a bill when asked.

Jinkins was then asked how she thinks legislative privilege is compatible with the states Public Records Act, which specifically states that public servants do not have the right to decide what information is good for the public to know. She then questioned reporters instead.

How do you get a court case if the privilege is never used? Jinkins asked. Honestly, Im asking you a question. Im not looking to be quoted by that. Im looking to ask you a question back: how do you think we would get court guidance?

The Speaker admitted to being frustrated at reporters for suggesting that lawmakers have been using the privilege without guardrails, adding that if the reporters knew how lawmakers are supposed to get court guidance without exercising a privilege, she was happy to hear it.

While lawmakers wait on a higher courts decision, Jinkins says will continue to use the exemption for public records from her office, and said she believes she may have used it more than other lawmakers because she wants the courts to be able to look at different circumstances to provide legislators with really good guidance on the use and limits.

I think that in every circumstance that Ive used it, Ive been aware that it could be litigated, Jinkins said.

What did other caucus leaders say?

All three other caucus leaders have clung to the idea of a constitutional framework for the exemption as well, and were non-committal in their responses when asked if they would use the privilege moving forward.

When pressed on the issue during a news conference in January, Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said he believes some records are privileged to a limited amount under the constitution. Still, its something he thinks should be used sparingly or not at all, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, wrote in his response to the survey that the only pledge he will take is the oath of office, so he would not pledge to not use the exemption in the future.

While he believes legislative privilege exists and could be used in certain limited circumstances, Billig said he tries to err on the side of disclosure and that he cannot currently imagine a situation that would require the use of it.

The newest member of the four caucuses, House Minority Leader Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, said he has no intent to use the exemption, and that he hasnt encountered any issues during his five terms in the House where he would need to invoke it.

But Stokesbary also quoted the constitutionality of the privilege outlined in Huefners 2003 article, and noted the Washington judges rulings in favor of lawmakers. He previously declined to assert privilege in one instance, he added.

I am reluctant to preemptively abandon a tool that could one day prove necessary to protect the legislative branch from an inquisitorial executive or hostile judiciary, Stokesbary said.

What does this mean for voters and the public?

There currently are no parameters for how the privilege can be applied to lawmakers documents, allowing them to withhold documents that would not otherwise be exempt under the states Public Records Act, a law that was adopted by an initiative of the people in 1972.

Lawmakers have already used the privilege to withhold a multitude of items including documents related to a failed legislative staff unionization bill, 136 pages of a draft amendment on a bill that updated the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act and documents regarding a Chinese American History Month bill.

Robert McClure, a board member for the Washington Coalition for Open Government and co-founder of InvestigateWest, called lawmakers latest move to hide public records discouraging.

Thats a legislature that certainly seems hostile to the Public Records Act, he said.

WashCOG recently released a report that noted the urgency of the erosion of the peoples right to know, and added that every legislative session involves a battle by the public to stop further erosion to open government laws.

The report had its own recommendations for elected officials including a pledge to support open government in addition to pledging to defend and strengthen the PRA.

Michele Earl-Hubbard, an attorney who represented media outlets in a 2017 lawsuit against state lawmakers, said she hopes the state Supreme Court justices will understand the harm of allowing a legislative privilege for lawmakers.

Ultimately, voters might need to elect people who understand that their job is to be transparent to constituents, she said.

And voters are paying attention.

In emails obtained by McClatchy from a records request, many constituents urged their lawmakers to maintain transparency by not invoking the privilege.

If we want information, we are entitled to the information, read one email to several lawmakers. This isnt about your self-declared legalities and justifications its about the righteous power that we inherently hold, regardless of your opinion. Its about an ethical line that should not be crossed.

Earl-Hubbard said that the materials lawmakers are hiding using legislative privilege isnt earth shattering, sometimes it is just embarrassing things they dont want the public to see, and theyre looking for a veil of secrecy.

Its never that the sky will fall. Its never that our national security will be at risk, Earl-Hubbard continued. Its that Im embarrassed and I want to keep you out of the process.

She pushed back on the notion of privilege because everything would go underground if the exemption is allowed, she said.

And when things go underground, bad things are enacted, bad things are said and bad decisions are made, Earl-Hubbard added. At least if they know we might look over their shoulder somedaymaybe they will pass better laws and behave better.

This joint report was produced in collaboration with The Seattle Times.
Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets with Rycko Amelza Dahniel, head of Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency, in Beijing, capital of China, March 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with Rycko Amelza Dahniel, head of Indonesia's National Counter-Terrorism Agency, in Beijing on Friday, with both sides pledging to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation.

Noting that the development of China-Indonesia relations have maintained a strong momentum under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, Wang said China is ready to work with Indonesia to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, and act on the Global Security Initiative.

He added that both countries should strengthen the mechanism of counter-terrorism cooperation, promote cooperation on counter-terrorism capacity building, and communication and coordination on international counter-terrorism affairs, deepen practical cooperation on law-enforcement security, and advance the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future at a high level.

Rycko expressed willingness to enhance practical counter-terrorism cooperation with China to improve the overall level of counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries. 
Editors Note: Elena Sheppard is a culture writer who focuses on books, fashion, theater and history. Her first book, The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora, is forthcoming from St. Martins Press. The views expressed here are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

It wasnt until I got to college that I learned much of anything about women in US history. I had sort of learned about the first ladies (but really just because Id learned about their husbands) and Id learned about Betsy Ross (whose legacy as the one to sew the first American flag fits right into historic narratives about womens work). But while sitting in a first-year college lecture about womens roles throughout our nations growth, I remember feeling stunned that I hadnt heard most of these names before: Dorothea Dix and her 19th century work to fundamentally change the medical field; Lucy Delaney, the formerly enslaved activist and memoirist; even Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 19th century leader of the womens rights movement, who occupied only a pullout blurb in my high school textbook.

Elena Sheppard - Courtesy Elena Sheppard

This gap in my education  and in many American students educations  is one with serious repercussions. If during the foundational years of our education, we are perpetuating a male-centric past, our male-centric present begins to feel inevitable. On a policy level, womens rights are currently being eroded across the United States and women are still fighting for equal pay for equal work. Were we taught in school how fundamental womens history is to understanding American history, we would not find ourselves in a position where American kids grow up to be American adults with a spotty understanding of womens contributions and womens stories. If, while in school, we are taught that the most important histories are about men and written by men, it only makes sense that we then grow up to believe (subconsciously or not) that mens experiences are the most important ones, too.

A 2017 report by the National Womens History Museum researched K-12 educational standards in social studies classes nationwide, examining how curricula addressed women and their stories. All history projects require choices. Including a person or event excludes another. Women often dont make the cut, the writers explained. The most recent study, published in 2016, found that women continue to make up a small percentage of figures in US history textbooks, including illustrations and sidebars.

The 2017 report also found that when women are included, its often as an addendum. Women are frequently included in lists of marginalized groups as a reminder to teachers that when covering a broad topic, they should also include the experiences of women among others, their report reads.

Seven years later, not much has improved. To combat that, two high school history teachers have started a national campaign to incorporate more womens history into high school classrooms via Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Kristen Kelly and Serene Williams are petitioning the College Board  the entity in charge of AP exams and the suite of SAT tests  to create an AP US Womens History Course. Their argument, as laid out on their website, is that womens history is not sufficiently taught. In response to a request for comment by The 19th last year, the College Board did not make anyone available for interview, but did release a statement about their criteria for course assessment: Key to that process is colleges and universities willingness to award college credit and placement to students who achieve qualifying AP exam scores, a spokesperson told The 19th. Additionally, we evaluate new courses to determine if there is significant demand for the course in high schools. Finally, the launch of the course must also serve the Advanced Placement programs mission to expand access to a broader student population.

Were the College Board to stand behind the importance of this subject matter, that would go a long way toward bringing it into non-AP classrooms as well. AP classes and exams are used by both students and college admissions as a marker of academic seriousness and rigor; were womens history given its own AP course, that subject matters importance and depth would be underscored. Of course, it should not only be AP students who are given the opportunity to learn this history. But creating an AP curriculum around it would shine a national spotlight on its importance, hopefully encouraging other learning environments to follow suit.

In a Ms. Magazine article, Kelly and Williams point out that in AP US Government & Politics, and even with the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, of the 14 Supreme Court cases required to be taught, none of them have to do with womens equality. Of the courses core texts, none are written by women. In AP US History, womens suffrage, for example, is taught as just one of many movements encapsulated in the Progressive Era. The end result is a general devaluing of womens histories, stories and contributions. If we are teaching our students that women are a sidebar to men, is it any wonder if thats what they grow up to believe?

There is a precedent for this kind of change from the College Board. This coming school year will mark the launch of the AP African American Studies course, introduced after similar backlash highlighted the underrepresentation of the subject matter in the nations high school classrooms. The course has faced substantial controversy, with the coursework being revised and many scholars left unsatisfied with the final course offering, saying it doesnt go far enough into structural racism or critical race theory.

On the other hand, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to ban the course from his states classrooms on the grounds that it is promoting a political agenda. Other states  including Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota and Mississippi  quickly decided that they too would need to review the AP offerings to make sure that they dont violate state restrictions on the teaching of race. Its a safe assumption that a womens studies AP course would face similar controversy and scrutiny, particularly with the inclusion of womens reproductive rights. But by not teaching students we are doing them a disservice, especially as yet another generation grows up with this educational gap.

Women are not sidebars. But by undermining and undervaluing their contributions and histories, that is exactly what were teaching our students. Womens stories should be fully integrated in our national narrative, and we should be teaching our students as much. Women deserve more, high schoolers deserve more, all of us deserve more. And its our responsibility to help make it so.

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GRAND RAPIDS  A local nonprofit is asking the community to help raise awareness about childhood hunger and provide healthy food to others this March.

Kids Food Basket is once again launching Go Orange," presented by PNC Bank, the color used to represent childhood hunger awareness.

Kids Food Basket provides food and resources to children and families in Ottawa, Allegan, Kent and Muskegon counties. Its flagship program, Sack Supper, provides daily evening meals to 10,000 children in local schools. The nonprofits services also include sustainable farming, community food distribution and educational programming.

Throughout March, the public can support KFBs efforts through donations, community events, activities and more.

Kids Food Basket is once again launching Go Orange," presented by PNC Bank, the color used to represent childhood hunger awareness.

Food insecurity is rising nationwide, and the cost of healthy food has continued to increase, Tamara VanderArk-Potter, vice president of philanthropy, wrote in a release. Together, we can do something about it. In March, we invite our community to take action to increase food access for kids right here in West Michigan.

Each of KFBs locations will host an event for volunteers to come decorate brown bags, make trail mix and more. The lakeshore event runs 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, at 652 Hastings Ave.

Area businesses and organizations will engage in friendly competition by participating in activities, including decorating bags, advocating online and creating their own fundraising events.

Subscribe: Receive unlimited digital access to your local news coverage

Local schools will participate in KFB Week from March 11-15, when students will learn about food insecurity and be connected with ways to make a difference.

For more information, visit kidsfoodbasket.org/go-orange.

 Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Go Orange in March to fight childhood hunger
Work has been carried out to replace about 170 trees cut down accidentally by contractors in an east Belfast park.

More than 400 new trees have been planted by Northern Ireland Electricity Networks (NIE) in Orangefield Park.

Last May, NIE contractors mistakenly cut down trees and saplings while working on overhead power lines.

A Belfast City Council (BCC) spokesperson said they are pleased to see trees have been replanted in the area at no cost to the council.

The spokesperson said they will "work closely with NIE Networks in relation to any future maintenance work required on the power lines within the park".

Green Party councillor Brian Smyth said he was delighted to see that new trees have been planted at the site.

He said the loss of the trees in December had "decimated a sizeable chunk" of the park.

"People were genuinely gutted with what happened," Mr Smyth told BBC News NI.

"So I am delighted to see the planting of these 400 new native trees and that going forward, much tighter agreements and processes are in place."

In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks have a responsibility to cut back any trees that grow around power lines.

In April 2023, NIE had asked Belfast City Council for permission to cut back the trees in the park and a licence was granted with specific instructions to "lop the trees, as opposed to felling them".

But the following month work was suspended when residents complained about "excessive tree cutting".

NIE later said the trees had been cut down by accident, in part due to ineffective communication.

It said while the work was "technically competent" the tree cutting works "deviated significantly from those agreed with Belfast City Council as detailed in the published work instruction".

The company also offered to plant and pay for 400 new trees in the park.

In a statement on Friday, NIE said: "On 28 February around 400 trees were planted in Orangefield. These were a mix of native species completing the work required".
Lawmakers took another step Thursday to roll back part of Measure 110, passing the bill reintroducing criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs out of the Oregon House.

House Bill 4002 passed by a vote of 51-7, with two members excused. Four Democrats and three Republicans voted against the bill, which now awaits a vote in the Oregon Senate.

The bill will penalize drug possession as an entirely new misdemeanor with penalties of up to 180 days in jail. Counties have been asked to commit to offering deflection and diversion programs; 23 of 36 counties have signed letters of commitment so far.

Current Class E violations, established under Measure 110, would be repealed and become unclassified drug enforcement misdemeanors as of Sept. 1. A defendant would first face 18 months of probation. Probation violations would result in 30 days of jail. If probation is revoked, a defendant could be released to treatment or face a 180-day sentence.

Records could be expunged upon completing a deflection program, two years after a citation without convictions, after successful probation or three years after conviction. The bill will also change the definition of drug delivery charges, enhance charges for dealers selling near treatment facilities, homeless shelters and public parks, and expand welfare holds from 48 hours to 72 hours.

The Oregon House passed House Bill 4002 with 51 votes in favor and seven against at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 29 in Salem.

Oregon lawmakers give testimony on bill recriminalizing drug possession

Lawmakers provided lengthy and at times emotional testimony on the House floor, often referring to the bill as a first step in responding to Oregons drug crisis.

"While this legislation is far from perfect, it is a step in the right direction and provides our law enforcement with the tools they need to keep our communities safe," said Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem.

Rep. James Hieb, R-Canby, Rep. Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone, and Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, spoke of how addiction had personally impacted their lives. Hieb spoke of losing two of his brothers. He said he had shared his familys story so many times he was numb and said while HB4002 was not perfect, it was better than I expected.

Hartman spoke of her fathers struggle with addiction and the recent loss of her step-brother to a fentanyl overdose. Grayber, a firefighter, spoke of responding to a call where they found a man dead with his 2-year-old child curled up on his chest. The state had failed the man and his daughter, she said.

We have an opportunity to change the narrative, Grayber said.

Rep. James Hieb, R-Canby, speaks in favor of House Bill 4002 at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 29 in Salem.

House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, said in a statement the vote signaled tremendous momentum to change Oregonians lives.

With this bill and connected investments, were supporting them and helping to significantly expand their ongoing work, to move us into the next phase of our long-term commitment to establishing a sustainable treatment infrastructure that can efficiently get people from crisis to stability, said Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, chair of the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety.

Kropf said the 137-page bill reflected months of conversations between stakeholders to take a new approach. The new misdemeanor provided "flexibility," when it comes to prosecuting possession, Kropf said, that made it clear "our goal is treatment and recovery."

House Bill 5204 is the budget companion of HB4002, directing $200 million to shovel-ready projects and programs, training for behavioral health workers, Medication Assisted Treatment programs in jails, education and increasing capacity in the criminal justice system.

Oregon's rollback of Measure 110 faces criticism

Opponents of the bill said the it was a return to a failed policy of criminalization and ignored the realities of Oregons already overwhelmed criminal justice system. As of Thursday, 2,908 people in the state were unrepresented in the state. The Oregon Public Defense Commission estimated it would need to hire an additional 39 full-time public defenders to provide the representation needed for the estimated new cases under the bill.

Speakers also pointed to the Criminal Justice Commissions Racial and Ethnic Impact report released earlier in the week, which estimated the new law would have a disproportionate impact on Black and Latino Oregonians.

Advocates of Measure 110 and other criminal justice organizations said the bill was developed without input from providers.

The Oregon House passed House Bill 4002 at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 29 in Salem.

Tera Hurst, executive director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance, said service funding was delayed in the rollout of Measure 110 and the citation system never set up effectively.

Two wrongs dont make a right, Hurst said in an emailed statement. HB 4002 doubles down on the same mistakes the state made in implementing Measure 110. Unfortunately, it will be people struggling with addiction  especially those living outside and Black and brown Oregonians  who will pay the biggest price. And our communities will be no safer for it.

The Oregonians for Safety and Recovery thanked Rep. Farrah Chaichi, D-Beaverton, Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland, Rep. Khanh Pham, D-Portland, and Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, for opposing the bill.

Gamba referred to the passage of the bill as a regression and said he was highly disturbed by a return to treating addiction as a criminal issue.

Both my district and my conscience are calling on me to vote no on HB4002. Thats what Im going to do, Gamba said.

Rep. Mark Gamba, D-Milwaukie, speaks against House Bill 4002 at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 29 in Salem.

Other supporters of the bill pointed to a looming ballot initiative that would repeal Measure 110 as motivation to pass the bill. The Fix and Improve Ballot Measure 110 coalition behind the ballot measure released a statement applauding the bills passage.

The group said it would withdraw the ballot initiative if the bill passed in the Senate and Gov. Tina Kotek signed the bill into law.

A law that achieves 85% of what we proposed now is well worth the lives and communities that will be saved sooner rather than waiting for the passage and implementation of a ballot measure over a year from now, a statement from the coalition said.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on Twitter @DianneLugo

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon takes another step in rollback of Measure 110 drug law
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Janet Yang, left, and CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Bill Kramer poses for a portrait during the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

For a few years, the Oscars looked to be hanging on by a thread. Viewership was plummeting. The pandemic didn't help. And the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization behind Hollywoods biggest night, kept finding itself on the wrong side of the conversation, whether it be #OscarsSoWhite, envelope-gate, the blip that was the popular Oscar, the untelevised awards or the slap.

Then a funny thing happened: Interest started increasing both in and outside the academy. It seemed people were excited about the movies and, they hope, the Oscars again.

Its been an amazing year for film in general, film academy CEO Bill Kramer said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. Our art form has never been more relevant.

The scope, and wide public embrace, of the 10 films nominated for the best picture prize this year are proof. There is big studio fare, small intimate indies, two international films and two bilingual ones. And whether or not you think Barbie was snubbed in a few other categories, it still has people talking and debating what will happen at the 96th Oscars on March 10.

Theres a lot of great energy around the movies of 2023 and the show this year. So were extremely hopeful and excited, Kramer said. The show is shaping up to be remarkable.

Academy President Janet Yang chimed in that the Barbie-themed Jimmel Kimmel promo spot has over 35 million views, and the telecast is riding several years of ratings increases.

A UNIFYING MOMENT

After some rough patches, the Oscars may have finally met the moment. But that comes as no surprise to the academys leaders, who have been working behind the scenes to foster this kind of evolution as they approach their 100th year. Both Kramer and Yang, who assumed their positions in 2022, are looking at the organization as a global entity. Theyre not on the defensive anymore, instead pushing toward the future.

Were very unique in the sense that we represent all the disciplines of the industry. No other organization can say that, said Yang. We feel like we are in a potentially strong leadership position to unify.  We hear from members all the time How can we have more inter-branch meetings?' They just want to gather, and we can bring this.

Nearly a century ago, unification wasnt part of the plan. In fact, Louis B. Mayer got the idea to start the academy in part to counteract unionization efforts, under the pretense that it would help set standards. In reality, he envisioned the studio heads setting these standards with only their own interests in mind. Mayers dream evaporated quickly, however, and by the 1930s, writers, actors and directors were all forming unions.

As proof of how far theyve come, last year during the strikes, the academy took the initiative to host two member conversations about pressing topics: one about artificial intelligence and another about how the strikes were impacting members from traditionally marginalized communities.

We felt that it was our responsibility, Kramer said. And we are in a position to actually do this, to create a space for our members to have honest, safe conversations around these topics.

It gave us a lot of food for thought, he added. And eventually these conversations will inform perhaps policies and procedures at the academy or inspire others in the industry to think differently.

A MORE DIVERSE ACADEMY...

The academy as a catalyst for change is not new: They have longstanding programs for helping emerging artists (Academy Gold, the Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting and the Student Academy Awards among them). And its aggressive move to diversify its membership was in place before Yang and Kramer started, in response to #OscarsSoWhite and public exposes about its own ranks being largely older white men.

Theyve also taken more proactive steps in recent years to impact the industry they give awards to, including implementing the best picture inclusion standards that went into effect this year.

Now there are more than 10,500 members in the academy, representing more than 75 countries and territories. While parity is still a work in progress, 20% of members are from outside the U.S., 34% of members identify as women and 18% are from underrepresented ethnic and racial communities.

We represent executives, editors, visual effects artists, technologists, and artisans and professionals across disciplines.  Not everybody is singing the same notes and not everybody feels the same way. But we can bring everybody together, Kramer said. Given the past couple of years with the pandemic, and the strikes, and to all of the topics associated with the strikes, the academy needs to remain a neutral ground for these conversations.

...ENGAGING MORE WITH THE PUBLIC

There has also been substantial focus on engaging the public through social media, often drawing on the academys vast archival material  whether that be vintage acceptance speeches or just memorable moments from Oscars past.

Their Instagram account is close to 4 million followers and their YouTube channel is a treasure trove of fun clips: Leonardo DiCaprio's best actor win (54 million views), Hugh Jackman's 2009 opening number (23 million views), Chris Rocks opening monologue (16 million views), Jack Black and Will Ferrell singing Get Off the Stage (15 million views), and Fred Astaire dancing at the 1970 Oscars (13 million views).

The interest in movie history has also driven enthusiasm around the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, which houses more than 23 million items of memorabilia, and has hosted exhibitions on everything from Hayao Miyazaki and the history of Black Cinema to The Godfather and the films of John Waters. Kramer noted that about half of the ticket buyers are under the age of 40.

But its not just about relics: Short videos theyve made spotlighting below-the-line categories in the lead-up to the Oscars have also taken off. One about visual effects from last year has over 4 million views. Theyre rolling out similar shorts for this years nominees soon too.

THE ACADEMY'S FUTURE

All of this plays into a different way of looking at the Oscars and the academy's place in the culture.

Its important that we think about: How do we change our metric of success? We want millions and millions of people around the world to watch the show the night of, but we also want people watching it for many days after the initial run and on social in perpetuity, Kramer said. This is evergreen programming. And people overseas, outside of the U.S., engage with the show in a lot of different ways.

All of these conversations will continue about the future of the industry, the academy, its membership, and, Yang said, even weaning the Oscars from ABC in a few years (the current contract runs through 2028). For both, one of the most satisfying experiences was the overwhelmingly positive response to the addition of an award for casting directors  something that had been discussed for decades  but was finally voted in this year.

I think people feel gratified knowing that we can change. The reputation of the past was, you know, it was a little stodgy, Yang said. Its been an entrepreneurial experience while maintaining the legacy of this very, very revered institution.

And they hope the academy will stay at the center of it all.

Business models are changing. The way people are engaging with movies and arts is changing. And the academy is really at the center of that conversation for the film community, Kramer added. We have a great responsibility to think this through and to ensure that the academy has a successful second 100 years.
Fourty-five members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) invoked the Moscow Mechanism in response to cases of arbitrary detentions of Ukrainians by Russia, according to a joint statement published on Feb. 29.

The Moscow Mechanism allows for an expert mission to be dispatched and assist a country "in the resolution of a particular question or problem relating to the human dimension."

Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territories has been accompanied by widespread human rights abuses. According to Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, roughly 28,000 Ukrainian citizens remain in Russian captivity.

Moscow also abducted over 19,500 Ukrainian children, sending them to "foster families" in Russia or to re-education camps.

Previously, OSCE members invoked the Moscow Mechanism in 2022 and 2023. The resulting expert missions confirmed the concerns about Russia's violations of humanitarian law and human rights during the full-scale invasion.

"We remain particularly alarmed by the findings of the expert missions that some of the violations amount to war crimes and that some violations may amount to crimes against humanity," the statement read.

Read also: Shock therapy: War tourism in Ukraine attracts foreigners to see scars of Russias invasion

Citing a number of independent sources, including previous Moscow Mechanism missions, the UN, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and civil society organizations, the statement points to numerous instances of arbitrary detentions and "enforced disappearances" of Ukrainian civilians.

The detainees, including representatives of local authorities, volunteers, activists, journalists, clergymen, and teachers, are often held incommunicado, and many are considered missing. Russia also continues to illegally hold three Ukrainian OSCE officials.

"According to testimonies of victims and witnesses, Russia's actions towards civilian detainees are marked by the profound disregard for human dignity, including the use of torture, sexual violence, and ill-treatment," according to the statement.

The countries supporting the declaration requested the ODIHR to ask Kyiv whether it would invite an expert mission to build upon previous findings.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he welcomes the invocation of the Moscow Mechanism.

"I anticipate that invoking the OSCE Moscow Mechanism will assist us in determining the true scope of this crime and establishing facts," Kuleba said.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Community members are shaken as the search for 13-year-old Madeline Soto turned into a death investigation Friday afternoon.

Its very tragic news for anybody to hear. As a church and a community, it is our job to now come together more than ever, said Dr. Hector Gaby Melendez, The Director of Unity Christian Academy.

Orange County Sheriff John Mina said all signs point to a homicide after surveillance video showed Stephan Sterns dumping the teens backpack and school-issued laptop in a dumpster.

Read: Sources: Madeline Sotos body discovered in rural Osceola County

She had family members, schoolmates, you know, people that were around her, and so now we mourn. We mourn, said Melendez.

The Unity and Fire Church International prepared to hold a community prayer circle near Hunters Creek Middle School on Friday. With changed circumstances, they plan to hold a community prayer vigil.

Eyewitness News saw Kissimmee Police outside the home of the teen Friday hours after Sterns was taken from Orange County Jail to Osceola County.

As of now, Sterns has yet to talk to investigators about the whereabouts of Soto.

Read: Madeline Soto: Community to hold prayer vigil tonight

On Tuesday, Sterns spoke to Eyewitness News inside their home, claiming he dropped Maddie Soto off at Peace Church, only one block from the school, on Monday morning. He also said she was sleeping inside the car on the ride there.

She was asleep most of the way. [I] Told her to have a good day at school, and she got out, said I love her, she said thanks, I love you too, that was it, said Sterns.

Both pastors said they plan to hold the vigil Friday at 7 p.m. near Hunters Creek Middle School.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office said Friday evening that Madeline Sotos body has been found. Investigators said Osceola County deputies found the missing 13-year-old girls body at about 4:30 p.m. in a wooded area along Hickory Tree Road.

Detectives believe Stephan Sterns killed 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Monday morning at a Kissimmee apartment complex.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Investigators discovered the body of 13-year-old Madeline Soto on Friday afternoon.

Sources say that Maddies body was found in rural St. Cloud near Hickory Tree Road.

Police and deputies canvassed the area of Osceola County for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

The Kissimmee Police Department will handle the search for Madeline Soto, said Chief Betty Holland.

The sheriff said the efforts will now shift to recovering her body.

Sheriff John Mina said he is confident that she is dead, and recovery efforts will continue.

Members of the community will gather to pray for 13-year-old Madeline Soto.

Deputies in Orange County said 13-year-old Madeline Soto has been missing since Monday morning. And now, her mothers boyfriend is in jail on charges of sexual battery and possession of child sex abuse material. Stephan Sterns was supposed to go before an Orange County judge Thursday morning but refused to be in court.

More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation.

More than 50 members of the Orange County Emergency Response Team looked for the 13-year-old in various areas as our detectives continued their investigation.

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

Madeline Soto

The Orange County Sheriffs Office on Friday confirmed that the body of Madeline Soto, 13, has been located.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  People waiting for a good time to buy a new home in San Diego County could find some deals this month.

Registration is now open for people interested in bidding on properties in the 2024 online property tax auction.

These San Diego County schools named 2024 California Distinguished

According to the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collectors auction website, 468 properties were originally advertised and 426 are still up for sale.

The properties include residential or commercial properties, timeshares and vacant land.

San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said the properties have been in tax default for at least five years.

The county hopes to bring in more than $3,800,000 in tax revenue from the sale of these properties, if they are sold for the minimum bidding price.

Anyone around the world can register for bidding before March 14 on the Treasurer-Tax Collectors website.

Interested bidders must also pay a refundable $1,000 deposit and a non-refundable processing fee starting at $35.

The online auction opens at 8 a.m. on March 22 and officially ends on March 27. All sales are final.

Property owners whose properties are on the auction block can avoid going to sale if they pay off all of their taxes and fees by 5 p.m. on March 21.

For more information about the online property tax auction, visit the San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collectors property tax auction website.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
GUIYANG, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Over the Spring Festival holiday, Liang Guangjin and his younger brother Liang Guanglin, hailing from Congjiang County in southwest China's Guizhou Province, were particularly busy, working long hours to fine-tune Lusheng, a traditional musical instrument.

In their hometown in Jinying village, the local ethnic Dong people have the custom of donning their traditional attire and performing the Lusheng during festivals and other important events.

In 2019, the Lusheng-making craft of the Dong ethnic group was listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in Guizhou.

Almost every household in Jinying boasts skills in making Lusheng, and their handicrafts are quite popular in Miao and Dong villages in Guizhou, as well as neighboring provincial-level regions like Guangxi and Hunan. It's not uncommon for Lusheng performers from outside the village to make a day-long journey to Jinying just to buy one.

The Liang brothers' home, which also serves as their workshop, is filled with raw materials like bamboo and fir used for making Lusheng. Various types of Lusheng can be seen on the first floor of their house, while the interior walls are covered with red silk banners gifted by the Miao and Dong people.

"People from the ethnic minority groups used our Lusheng to participate in various competitions. Upon winning prizes, they would send us banners to express their gratitude," Liang Guangjin said.

Thanks to the incredible quality of the Lusheng made by the Liang brothers, their customer base has expanded in recent years and so has the scale of their workshop.

In the run-up to the Spring Festival this year, the two brothers kicked into high gear, Liang Guanglin said, noting that though he was delighted with the surge in orders, he was also a bit concerned due to the fleeting time.

Nevertheless, their commitment to maintaining quality remained steadfast, a principle ingrained in their family for generations.

The Liang brothers acknowledged that the craft requires painstaking efforts, which was evident from their callused hands.

Lusheng making involves more than 20 procedures, with reed polishing being the key. Liang Guangjin said that at times, he didn't even need to trim his fingernails, as the thin and sharp reeds would naturally file them down while he polished the instruments.

Owing to their years of experience and meticulous craftsmanship, the two brothers have attained mastery in shaping and achieving the perfect thickness of the vocal reeds.

Liang Guangjin used to work in China's coastal province of Guangdong. In 2012, he returned to his hometown to carry on the legacy of Lusheng craftsmanship, following in the footsteps of his father and younger brother.

His father Liang Songguang was also renowned for his craftsmanship during his time. When he was young, he was frequently invited by villagers to craft Lusheng in their homes. Now, at 76 years old, he faces challenges in making the musical instrument due to declining physical health, including hearing loss.

Liang Songguang takes great pride in seeing his two sons carry on and enhance the craft. He harbors the hope that more people will take up playing Lusheng and learn the art of crafting it.

In 2023, the two brothers made more than 1,200 pieces of Lusheng together. Each piece was sold at the price of 400 yuan (about 56 U.S. dollars) to 500 yuan, earning them about 280,000 yuan last year.

To ensure the quality, they employed eight craftsmen, five of whom were young individuals passionate and talented in the art of Lusheng crafting.

At times, the two brothers had to work until midnight to complete the orders. Undoubtedly, the craft demands considerable effort, but they were glad to receive orders as it brought job opportunities to ten households and can help pass on the time-honored skill, Liang Guangjin said. 
Two of Ventura County's three community colleges announced Thursday that their respective hunts for new presidents have kicked into high gear.

Ventura College said that it has narrowed down to five finalists its search for a successor to President Kim Hoffmans. She is set to retire on June 30.

Oxnard College named three finalists to fill the seat opened up in May 2022 when former President Luis Sanchez was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation into his conduct.

More: Documents shed new light on probe of ex-Oxnard College president

The twin presidential searches could bring added stability to a district that has spent the last several years with its top leadership in flux.

Chancellor Rick MacLennan replaced Greg Gillespie who retired in 2022. The district formally fired Sanchez in January 2023, naming Oscar Cobian as interim president in his stead.

Hoffmans, president since 2019, announced her retirement in September, leaving Moorpark College's third-year president Julius Sokenu as the district's longest-tenured top leader.

Kimberly Hoffmans

Lisa Putnam, a district spokesperson, said in an email Thursday that the district hired the nonprofit Association of Community College Trustees to lead nationwide candidate searches for the two roles. The nonprofit guided hiring committees through the search process and in March will facilitate public candidate forums at the two colleges, Putnam said.

Cobian is one of the three finalists for Oxnard College along with outside candidates Claudia Lourido-Habib and Roberto Gonzalez.

Jennifer Kalfsbeek-Goetz, a vice president at Ventura College, is a finalist for the college's top spot. Lourido-Habib and Gonzalez are also being considered for the Ventura job joined by out-of-district finalists Monica Chahal and Vinicio Lopez.

Oxnard College finalists

Each of the three Oxnard College finalists have been given a designated day on campus between March 25-28. Gonzalez will go first on March 25, followed by Cobian on March 26 and Lourido-Habib on March 28.

They will appear in open forums at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the main auditorium of the campus performing arts building. The hourlong forums are open to the campus community and the general public and end with a question-and-answer session.

The finalists are:

Oscar Cobian: A former Oxnard College vice president, was appointed as the college's acting president when Sanchez was placed on leave and later promoted to interim president. He has a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Southern California.

Roberto Gonzalez: The vice president of student services, enrollment management and equity initiatives at West Los Angeles College and a former dean at Santa Monica College. Gonzalez has a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Southern California.

Claudia Lourido-Habib: The president of Porterville College and former vice president of Madera Community College Center and Oakhurst Community College Center. She earned a doctorate in education and leadership from CSU Fresno State.

Ventura College finalists

Each Ventura College candidate will get a one-day campus visit between March 11-21.

Lourido-Habib will lead off on March 11, followed on March 12 by Kalfsbeek-Goetz, Vinicio Lopez will visit the campus on March 19, Monica Chahal on March 20 and Gonzalez on March 21 to round out the series.

During their visits, the finalists will be at hourlong open forums at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in the college performing arts center.

In addition to Gonzalez and Lourido-Habib, the other finalists are:

Monica Chahal : The vice president of instruction at Clovis Community College and former dean of instruction at Woodland Community College. She has a doctorate in educational leadership from UC Davis.

Jennifer Kalfsbeek-Goetz : The vice president of Academic Affairs at Ventura College. She previously served as the dean of student learning and Title IX coordinator at Moorpark College. Kalfsbeek-Goetz earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Capella University in Minnesota.

Vinicio Lopez: The vice president of instruction at Skyline College in San Bruno and former campus dean for the Mission Campus of the City College of San Francisco. Lopez holds a doctorate in educational leadership, administration and policy at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

Individuals with questions regarding the process can reach out to Julie Golder, the Association of Community College Trustees search consultant leading the search process, at jgolder@acct.org or 202-384-5816.

Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard College, Ventura College pick finalists to replace presidents
Autoblog

The cost of auto insurance has seen the biggest jump by far among the factors driving U.S. inflation. There are several reasons why this has happened, and post-pandemic driver behavior is one of them.
The attorney for a Columbus woman accused of suffocating a 5-year-old boy in her legal care and dumping his body in a street sewer drain, prompting a statewide Amber Alert, said the case will hinge entirely on mental health.

Pammy Maye, 48, of the city's South Side, appeared via closed circuit television Friday for an arraignment in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Local defense attorney Sam Shamansky, who is representing Maye, entered not guilty pleas on her behalf to charges of aggravated murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Pammy Maye was arraigned Friday in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas by video call from the Franklin County Corrections Center on Jackson Pike. Maye is accused of killing 5-year-old Darnell Taylor, whom she had legal custody of with her husband, and leaving him in a street sewer drain. Maye is charged with aggravated murder, abuse of a corpse and three counts of tampering with evidence.

Shamansky asked Magistrate Mark Petrucci to consider transferring Maye, who is currently being held in the Franklin County jail, to a more secure psychiatric facility.

"This is a mental health case through and through," Shamansky said.

Shamansky also said he anticipated a potential not guilty by reason of insanity plea being entered in the case.

Maye is accused of suffocating 5-year-old Darnell Taylor, who was in the legal custody of Maye and her husband, on Feb. 13. Maye then dumped Darnell's body in a street sewer drain on the 1000 block of Marsdale Avenue before driving to the Cleveland area.

Around 3 a.m. Feb. 14, Maye's husband called 911 to tell police about statements Maye had made suggesting that Darnell was no longer alive, Columbus police said. A statewide Amber Alert was issued shortly after 5 a.m. for both Maye and Darnell. About an hour after the alert was issued, Maye's Jeep was found in the Cleveland suburb of Brooklyn, however, the vehicle was empty.

The next night, Brooklyn police arrested Maye, who according to court records then told police where they could find Darnell's body.

Court records have not provided any information about Maye's potential motive, and no additional details were provided in open court during Friday's hearing.

Prosecutors previously said Maye had been diagnosed with several mental health conditions. Friday, Shamansky did not indicate whether those would play a role in Maye's defense.

If convicted, Maye faces a potential maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pammy Maye to remain in jail, pleads not guilty to killing 5-year-old
VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  A new and highly anticipated Paramedic Program has been launched at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, to meet the demand for skilled emergency medical professionals in the community, officials announced.

According to officials, the Paramedic Program, built upon a foundation of cutting-edge curriculum and hands-on training, represents a significant milestone in the institutions dedication to fostering exceptional healthcare professionals.

In addition to the new Paramedic courses, we are also rolling out a formal Associates Degree program that will allow our Paramedic students to be recognized by formal education for the first time at COS, said Nick Branch, COS Paramedic Program Director. The Central Valleys Emergency Medical Service Providers pride themselves on providing the highest level of Paramedic care to our communities and COS is proud to be supporting these agencies by offering this program.

College of the Sequoias officials say the program offers a comprehensive curriculum that encompasses essential theoretical knowledge, practical skills development, and real-world clinical experiences.

Students will engage in immersive learning experiences that cover a wide range of topics, including emergency medical techniques, patient assessment, cardiac care, trauma care, pharmacology, and more, officials said.

Applications for the program will be accepted from March 1 to April 17. For more information about the program and application process, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  The Pasco County Sheriffs Office is searching for a missing 18-year-old.

Kathlyn Dieu was last seen at about 7 p.m. Thursday in the area of Glastonbury Lane in Land O Lakes, deputies said. She was wearing a long-sleeved black V-neck and blue jeans.

Dieu is 53 and 105 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, deputies said.

She was driving a black 2023 Hyundai Elantra with Florida license plate 60EGQN.

Anyone with information is asked to call 727-847-8102 and press option 7.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, prepares to gavel the Alabama House of Representatives into session on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

Here is a list of bills that passed the Alabama Legislature this week.

Tuesday, Feb. 27

House

HB 2, sponsored by Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, would provide compensation to Dallas County board of education members of $1,000 per month. The bill passed 36-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 193, sponsored by Rep. Pebblin Warren, D-Tuskegee, would provide that any salary payments made to the Macon County probate judge beginning on Jan.15, 2019, and ending on Mar. 31, 2022, which were incorrectly paid, be ratified and confirmed. It passed 17-1.

HB 129, sponsored by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, would establish the CHOOSE Act, a voucher-like program for schools that would set up educational savings accounts to households of up to $7,000 to use for non-public education, including private schools and tutoring. The bill passed 69-34. It goes to the Senate.

Senate

SB18, sponsored by Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, would extend the statute of limitations to allow survivors to fully participate in a Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy suit. The bill passed 34-0 and moves to the House of Representatives.

SB7, sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Daphne, would authorize sheriffs and chiefs of police to contract with nonpublic schools. The bill passed 34-0 and moves to the House of Representatives.

SB25, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield would, among other measures, clarifies the disciplinary actions that can be taken by the Board of Nursing. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB26, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield would change the term nurse educator to the advanced practice nurse in the Alabama Loan-Repayment Program for Advanced Practice Nursing. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB106, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, revises how the salary of the secretary and the deputy secretary of the Department of Commerce are set. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB44, sponsored by Sen. Wes Kitchens, R-Arab, removes the Department of Insurance from Sunset Law. The bill passed 33-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB53, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, removes the eligibility to work form for 14- and 15-year-olds. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB105, sponsored by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, limits the liability of member of any community emergency response team certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency who provides emergency care at a disaster or accident. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the Alabama House of Representatives.

SB50, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, prohibits the government from restricting appliances based on the energy source. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB100, sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, establishes the Board of Medical Scholarship Awards Fund. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB101, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, would, among other measures, remove the apprentice provisions from the Board of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB15, sponsored by Sen. William Beasley, D-Clayton, revises the number of pharmacy technicians regulated by board rules at compounding pharmacies. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB59, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, requires CPR and automated external defibrillators in K-12 health classes. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB46, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, which, among other measures, provides licensing exceptions for some surplus line brokers. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB47, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, establishes the Alabama Automobile Insurance Plan. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

Wednesday, Feb. 28

House

A woman at a lectern

Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, speaks during a debate in the Alabama Senate over legislation extending immunity to in vitro fertilization programs on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama House and Senate both considered bills Thursday to restart IVF programs after many closed their doors following a Feb. 16 Alabama Supreme Court ruling. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

HB 40, sponsored by Rep. Phillip Pettus, R- Killen, would authorize a qualified taxpayer 65 years of age or older to claim a senior property tax exemption for real property owned in Lauderdale County. The bill, a constitutional amendment, passed 64-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 82, sponsored by Rep. Mike Shaw, R-Hoover, would add additional activity that would constitute the crime of false reporting, provide a penalty of a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and require the payment of restitution in certain circumstances. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 114, sponsored by Rep. David Stanbridge, R-Hayden, provides for the expense allowance and salary of the coroner in Blount County. The bill passed 22-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 115, sponsored by Rep. David Stanbridge, R-Hayden, sets the annual salary of the members of the Blount County Commission at 80% of the chairs salary. The bill passed 17-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 179, sponsored by Rep. David Stanbridge, R-Hayden, would alter, rearrange, and extend the boundary lines and corporate limits of the Town of Hayden in Blount County. The bill passed 20-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 213, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, R- Russellville, would further provide for the compensation of the probate judge of Colbert County to 80% of a circuit judge compensation with the same number of years of service as the probate judge. The bill passed 21-0. It goes to the Senate.

Senate

SB111, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, continues the Board of Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors until October 1, 2028. It passed 25-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB113, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, continues the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board until Oct. 1 2028. It passed 25-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB117, sponsored by Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, continues the Alabama Electronic Security Board of Licensure until Oct. 1 2028. It passed 25-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

Thursday, Feb. 29

House

A voting board

The Alabama House of Representatives votes for a bill extending immunity to IVF providers on Feb. 29, 2024 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Alabama Legislature is voting on immunity measures after an Alabama Supreme Court decision that caused many IVF programs in the state to close. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

HB 96, sponsored by Rep. Bill Lamb, R-Tuscaloosa, allows the City of Lake Views municipal or magistrate judge to recall a failure to appear or comply with a warrant upon the payment of fee by the defendant. The bill passed 16-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 237, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, would provide civil and criminal immunity for death or damage to an embryo to any individual or entity when providing or receiving goods or services related to in vitro fertilization (IVF). The bill passed 94-6. It goes to the Senate.

HB 51, sponsored by Rep. Margie Wilcox, R-Mobile, would exempt hearing instruments from the state sales tax of 4%. The bill passed 102-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 164, sponsored by Rep. Ben Robbins, R- Sylacauga, would require age verification for the distribution of sexual material through certain adult websites, applications, and digital and virtual platforms. The bill passed 101-1. It goes to the Senate.

HB 66, sponsored by Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollingers Island, would require certain food service establishments to notify consumers of the country of origin or importation status of seafood products offered for sale. The bill passed 101-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 110, sponsored by Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster, increases the air-mile radius for intrastate motor carriers from 75 air-mile radius of their normal work reporting location, following 10 consecutive hours off duty, to 150 air-mile radius to reflect the current federal allowance. The bill passed 102-1. It goes to the Senate.

HB 156, sponsored by Rep. Chad Robertson, R-Heflin, would establish that a candidate for elected public office, within five days of becoming a candidate, must file a statement with the Secretary of State indicating the names of individuals serving as the principal campaign committee for the candidate. The bill passed 100-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 126, sponsored by Rep. Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena, would require fire-protection personnel, certified volunteer firefighters, and emergency medical services personnel to undergo regular training related to interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities passed. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 101, sponsored by Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, would provide the cost of necessary training and associated travel expenses as approved by the county commissions for any individual appointed as the absentee election manager. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to the Senate.

HB 70, sponsored by Rep. A.J. McCampbell, D-Linden, would authorize the Board of Dental Examiners of Alabama to issue special volunteer licenses to allow eligible nonresident dentists and dental hygienists to practice in this state for a limited time under the supervision of a licensed dentist during an organized charitable event. The bill passed 88-13. It goes to the Senate.

HB 79, sponsored by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, would provide that knowingly advertising, either online or in print, access to the sexual or labor servitude of another is human trafficking shall be guilty of a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison passed. The bill passed 100  0. It goes to the Senate.

Senate

SB159, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, would provide civil and criminal immunity for death or damage to an embryo to any individual or entity when providing or receiving goods or services related to in vitro fertilization (IVF). The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB34, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, makes a threat against a judge or staff a terrorist threat in the first degree. It passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB89, sponsored by Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, makes it illegal to loiter within 30 feet of any interchange involving a controlled-access or limited-access highway. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB118, sponsored by Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, continues the Alabama Private Investigation Board until Oct. 1 2026. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB120, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, continues the Alabama Real Estate Commission until Oct. 1 2028. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB130, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, continues the Alabama Board of Court Reporting until Oct. 1, 2028. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB131, sponsored by Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, continues the Alabama Behavior Analyst Licensing Board until Oct. 1 2026 and outlines services required to be provided by the Department of Mental Heath. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB137, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, terminates the Alabama Board of Massage Therapy and replaces it with the Alabama Massage Therapy Licensing Board. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB144, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, continues the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology until Oct. 1 2028. The bill passed 23-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB145, sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham, continues the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling until Oct. 1 2026. The bill passed 22-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB62, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, removes the state sales tax from baby and feminine hygiene products. The bill passed 26-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB121, sponsored by Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, continues the Alabama Real Estate Commission until October 1, 2028. The bill passed 34-0 and goes to the House of Representatives.

SB63, sponsored by Sen. Josh Carnley, R-Enterprise, which limits the liability of public funds and the county commission under some circumstances. The Senate concurred with an amendment from Gov. Kay Ivey.

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The post What passed in the Alabama Legislature: Feb. 27-29, 2024 appeared first on Alabama Reflector.
VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  A couple in Visalia were arrested following a multi-agency operation leading to the seizure of drugs, ammunition, and guns, the Visalia Police Department said.

At 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, Tulare County Agencies Regional Gun Violence Enforcement Team (TARGET Task Force) with assistance from detectives with the Tulare County Sheriffs Office TAGNET and CATTCH Units, as well as agents with the California Department of Justice say they served two search warrants at a residence in the 700 block of North Elmwood Avenue in Lindsay and at an apartment in the 2900 block of West Caldwell Avenue in Visalia.

Officers with the Visalia Police Department say during the searches they seized one handgun, two rifles, two shotguns, four large capacity magazines, 22 standard capacity ammunition feeding devices, live ammunition, over 200 grams of cocaine, as well as items and materials consistent with the sales of controlled substances.

Courtesy: Visalia Police Department

According to officers, 25-year-old Angel Vasquez, a convicted felon, and his girlfriend, 24-year-old Wendy Rodriguez were arrested as a result.

Police say Vasquez was arrested and booked into the Tulare County South County Detention Facility for alleged active warrants for possession for sale of controlled substances as well as a DUI. He was also charged on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession for sales of a controlled substance, and possession of a firearm with a controlled substance as well as child endangerment.

According to officers, Rodriguez was booked at the Tulare County Adult Pre-Trial Facility on suspicion of possession for sales of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm with a controlled substance.

If anyone has information regarding the illegal possession or manufacturing of firearms, please

contact the TARGET Task Force Tip line at 559-713-4738.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.
The director of a department within Penn States student affairs unit was charged Thursday with drunken driving.

Anna C. Barone, the universitys student care and advocacy director, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of DUI for driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.25%, about three times the states limit. Defense lawyer Jason Dunkle declined comment Friday.

The University is aware of these charges against a staff member and takes these matters seriously, Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers wrote Thursday in an email to the Centre Daily Times. As this is a personnel matter, we cannot comment further.

Barone, 41, of Patton Township, was stopped in December after she crossed the centerline of South Water, Willowbank and West Water streets five times, Spring Township police wrote in an affidavit of probable cause. She nearly crashed into an officers patrol vehicle on South Water Street.

She told an officer she left an apartment party after having one drink. Barone had glossy eyes, slurred her words, smelled of alcohol and failed field sobriety tests, police wrote.

She had an unsteady gait and used the vehicle to help maintain her balance, police wrote. A blood test was completed at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Barone, who was also charged with a summary traffic violation, was issued a summons. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 3.

Barone has worked for Penn State since at least 2014. She was named student care and advocacy director in March 2017. The department provides resources, support and intervention to students and families during critical situations.
A Pennsylvania man on Thursday pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges following a 2020 POLITICO investigation into a super PAC that said it was spending millions of dollars in battleground Senate races but didnt actually exist.

The Department of Justice on Thursday announced that Christopher Richardson pleaded guilty to two charges stemming from fabricated transactions from a super PAC  one count of making a false entry in a record for the falsities submitted to the FEC, and one count of access device fraud for credit card fraud. He will be sentenced in June and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for the former charge and 10 years for the latter, but such a severe sentence is unlikely.

A separate release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for Washington noted that the quick fundraising and spending attracted media scrutiny, questioning the veracity of the FEC reports.

POLITICO reported nearly four years ago on Americans for Progressive Action USA, a super PAC that presented itself as a new, major player in elections. In filings to the Federal Election Commission, the organization said it raised over $4.8 million from a small handful of unknown donors in its first quarterly campaign filing. Then it told the FEC in late April 2020 that it was imminently dropping millions on advertising in key Senate races across the country.

Such a move would have been a big splash in the world of high-dollar political spending from an entirely unknown organization.

But POLITICOs reporting unveiled that AFPA and its millions in spending were, in fact, a phantom. A long list of inconsistencies  like a seemingly fabricated list of vendors creating a multi-million advertising spree and untraceable donors  called into question the validity of the group.

Richardson used fictitious names for the super PACs officers to create the organization, and the non-existent donations were from several fictitious individuals, according to the press release from the Department of Justice.

An attorney representing Richardson in the case, Jarrett Colby, declined to comment.

Once POLITICO began inquiring about the reported spending to the super PAC, the organization apparently began to cover its tracks. Email addresses linked to the super PAC began to return messages as undeliverable, and it told the FEC that it was returning its (now determined to be fake) donations, writing in memo lines it was making the refunds due to POLITICO and after Montellaro  the last name of this POLITICO reporter.

In the filing that referenced POLITICO, Richardson falsely stated that AFPA refunded the non-existent $4.8 million in donations, the Department of Justice said. A spokesperson for the agency declined to comment further on its investigation on Friday.

At the time, campaign finance experts contacted by POLITICO were baffled why someone would go to such great lengths  and risk criminal charges  to fabricate a super PAC. The Department of Justices announcement shed some light on that as well. Richardson used the alias of one of the fictitious donors to AFPA to obtain a credit card and made over 200 transactions.

I cannot emphasize this enough: dont lie to the FEC, Sean Cooksey, the Republican chair of the FEC, said in an email. I hope this guilty plea will be a lesson to others, and I thank the Department of Justice for their efforts in this criminal case.
JERUSALEM, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Two Israelis were shot dead on Thursday by a Palestinian militant at a gas station outside the settlement of Eli in the occupied West Bank, before the assailant was killed, Israeli sources said.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service confirmed in a statement that the two Israeli men, one in his 20s and the other in his 40s, were dead.

An employee of a shop at the gas station shot and killed the assailant, Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council that governs dozens of Israeli settlements and outposts in the West Bank, told Israel's Channel 12 TV news.

The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that the militant was "neutralized," adding that "soldiers are blocking off routes and pursuing additional suspects in the area." 
The Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with sharing hundreds of classified documents on social media, which led to punishment for 15 service members, is expected to plead guilty Monday.

Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira has been charged with six counts of willful retention of defense records for allegedly sharing classified documents through the social media platform Discord.

The leaks exposed embarrassing secrets and analysis from across the U.S. intelligence community involving Russia's war in Ukraine and North Korea's race to develop nuclear weapons.

This photo illustration created on April 13, 2023, shows the suspect, national guardsman Jack Teixeira, reflected in an image of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Teixeira initially pleaded not guilty. But a filing Thursday in U.S. District Court from prosecutors in coordination with defense lawyers asked for a hearing Monday for Teixeira to change his plea. The filing didnt say what charges he would admit.

The classified documents leaked to Discord revealed the work of bodies including the National Security Agency, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, law enforcement agencies and the ultra-secret National Reconnaissance Office, which operates America's spy satellites.

One notable document that Teixeira allegedly shared with a rapt audience of teenage gamers on Discord was a top secret February analysis predicting that Ukraine's vaunted counteroffensive against Russia would likely produce modest gains. The assessment, at odds with the Biden Administration's optimistic appraisals of the Ukraine military, turned out to be correct  the war is currently stalemated.

The Air Force disciplined 15 members of the National Guard after an investigation into the massive online leaks of classified information, allegedly by a Massachusetts airman, revealed a lack of adequate supervision and a culture of complacency, according to an inspector generals report Monday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira expected to plead guilty Monday
The young Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified military documents to an online server is poised to plead guilty to federal charges in the case next week, according to prosecutors, who signaled the incoming change of plea in a court motion filed Thursday.

Jack Teixeira previously pleaded not guilty to six charges of willful retention and transmission of national defense information, each count of which is punishable by up to 10 years behind bars. He has agreed to a plea deal, a person familiar with the proceedings told The New York Times, though it was not immediately clear what its terms were or to what charges Teixeira will plead.

The 22-year-old has been in federal custody since his arrest last April, deemed a serious flight risk by prosecutors, who alleged that he began wiping his digital footprint after the breach was detected and the Times published the first report of the leak. A judge agreed that Teixeira might continue attempting to obstruct the case if freed, and ruled that his disquieting interest in weapons and violence was another reason to keep him in pretrial detention.

When Teixeira spoke to other participants on his social media platform, he exhibited a chilling interest in violence and disregard for human life, she wrote, according to Boston station WCVB, adding that his messages display both an affinity for violence and vitriol for certain classes of people.

Secret Docs Reveal Pentagon Leak Suspect Was Caught Pocketing Notes

Teixeira, a cyber transport systems specialist, enlisted in the Air National Guard in 2019 and obtained top secret security clearance two years later, the Justice Department previously said. He is believed to have begun posting information about classified material to Discord, an online chat platform, as early as December 2022, graduating to posting photos of the documents the next month.

Some of the documents contained intelligence about North Korea, Israel, and Russias war in Ukraine, including assessments of military action and details on shipments of military equipment from Washington to Kyiv, according to the Justice Department.

An Air Force inspector generals report published late last year found that while Teixeira was directly responsible for the leak, his superiors had failed to supervise and restrict him properly, ignoring red flags about his behavior in the months before the breach was discovered. More than a dozen members of the Guard were subsequently disciplined.

In their Thursday filing, federal prosecutors requested a Rule 11 hearing, in which a change of plea is discussed, for March 4, when a pretrial conference had previously been scheduled. A judge agreed to the motion and set the hearing shortly after.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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It is critical for Ukraine to receive additional U.S. funding not only to defend itself but also to take back Russian-occupied territories, Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder said on Feb. 29.

The U.S. Senate on Feb. 13 passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, as well as funds for Israel and other allies, but Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to put it to a vote in his chamber.

Months of delays in U.S. assistance have put a significant strain on Ukraine's efforts to resist Russian aggression, causing ammunition shortages and contributing to the loss of a key front-line city of Avdiivka.

"We continue to see Russia... making some small but incremental gains... And so it's vital that we be able to receive the supplemental funding," Ryder said during a press briefing.

"And as well as a full year appropriation to be able to ensure that Ukraine has the assistance to include air defense and ammunition capabilities to be able to not only defend themselves but also take back sovereign territory."

Ryder previously said that some U.S. assistance, including air defense capabilities, continues to flow to Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

Read also: US Congress passes bill to avert government shutdown without Ukraine aid

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  On Friday, workers began to assemble the Pease Park troll, which is located in Central Austin.

PAST COVERAGE | Giant troll will soon appear at Austins Pease Park

The installation was created by Thomas Dambo, a world-leading recycle artist. Its expected to be about 18 feet tall, 15 feet wide and made from a water tower at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

Dambo spoke about his vision for his art around the world and in the park as the building of the troll begins.

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

Workers begin to assemble the Pease Park troll (KXAN photo/Todd Bailey)

The full assembly is expected to be complete March 15, and Dambo is expected to introduce the Pease Park troll to the Austin community.

An event will be held following the completion of the build from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Kingsbury Commons, located at 1100 Kingsbury Street near Pease Park. There will be food, nonalcoholic beverages and music to celebrate, according to organizers.

Go big or go home! Artist describes giant troll coming to Austins Pease Park

Pease Park said parking options for the event included:

Parking lot at the Austin Recreation Center, 1301 Shoal Creek Blvd.

Small parking lot in front of the south end of Pease Park at 1100 Kingsbury Street

Street parking on Parkway, North of 15th Street

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
DENVER (KDVR)  Colorado welcomed many new babies on Thursday  much like any other Thursday. But Feb. 29 only comes once every four years.

The chances of being born on a Leap Day are just 1 in every 1,461 days, so several hospitals shared photos and details of newborns who entered the world on the 2024 leap year. Some hospitals took some time to celebrate the leap babies, as is common for many holidays.

Photos: Colorado NICU babies celebrate first Valentines Day

It appears this years leap day was for mostly the boys, as AdventHealth reported five baby boys and Denver Health reported 10 boys. UCHealth reported five babies born as of 2 p.m. but only shared details of one  also a boy.

Leap Day babies around Denver  including twins!

AdventHealth welcomed Leap Day babies to its Littleton, Castle Rock, Parker and Avista hospitals on Thursday.

AdventHealth Littleton baby boy, Stetson was born at 1:25 a.m.

AdventHealth Parker baby boy, Elias was born at 2:32 a.m.

AdventHealth Avista baby boy, Fabian was born at 4:35 a.m.

AdventHealth Avista baby boy, Osias was born at 9:46 a.m.

AdventHealth Castle Rock baby boy, John was born this afternoon.

AdventHealth Avista baby twin boys Ronan and Ambrose, born at 1:14 and 1:16 p.m.

AdventHealth Avista also welcomed a set of Leap Day twin boys into the world: Ronan and Ambrose. The odds of having twins on a leap day are 1 in 50,000, or 0.002%, according to AdventHealth.

We were thrilled to welcome these little leaplings into the world today! Chloe Dean, AdventHealth communications manager, said in a release.

Denver Health also welcomed leap day infants into the world. The hospital staff had delivered 12 leap day babies  10 boys and two girls  as of 4 p.m. Thursday and was expecting to deliver 17 babies total by midnight.

One of Denver Healths first babies of the day was born to Charise Dixon. Dixon gave birth to her daughter, Serenniti Stark, who was born at 2:18 a.m. and weighed 5 pounds, 12 ounces.

As of 2 p.m. at UCHealth, five babies had entered the world. A total of 12 were expected by the end of the day. One family shared photos of their leap day baby, Genesis, who was born at 8:01 a.m. weighing 7 pounds, 1.06 ounces and measuring about 19 inches.

Genesis was born at 8:01a.m., Feb. 29, 2024, at UCHealth.

Genesis was born at 8:01a.m., Feb. 29, 2024, at UCHealth.

Labor and Delivery RN, Karen Agee, poses with the infant hats she crocheted to help celebrate leap day.

The family said theyre still deciding whether to celebrate Genesis non-leap year birthdays on Feb. 28 or March 1.

Download the FOX31 App: Breaking news alerts & Pinpoint Weather

Labor and delivery nurse Karen Agee crocheted frog hats for the infants to celebrate leap day, crocheting 12 in total. Agee said shes been crocheting for a long time and landed on the project while searching for something new.

Agee said the parents love the hats, saying theyre cute and special, especially because the babies technically only get their true birthday every four years.

The Intermountain Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette also shared news of a leap day baby. Madelyn Harper Cohen was born at 9:36 a.m. to Tori and Dave Cohen. Also welcoming Madelyn was her big sister, Eleanor, who was born at Good Samaritan almost two years ago.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
By the end of this week Sweden could be a member of NATO, ending 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment. But even before it cleared the final hurdle, the Nordic nation was already busy reordering its defences  transforming the central town of Ostersund into a military hub.

An important junction by rail and road, Ostersund is a picturesque old garrison town on the shores of the idyllic Storsjon Lake. Just over the other side of the mountains is Trondheim, a strategic harbour in Norway.

"Trondheim's ice-free port is a gateway to the Nordic region for NATO," explains Erik Essen, Ostersunds military coordinator  a recently created post.

"It houses huge NATO warehouses, the US Navy and the headquarters of the Norwegian Air Force."

Strategic role

Sweden is preparing to become a central logistics link in the defence of NATO's north-eastern front, having applied to join NATO in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

While its not worried about a direct strike, it cant risk the chance that Moscow might one day test the strength of NATO in the neighbourhood.

"Five years ago, no one would have believed that Sweden could be drawn into a war, Ostersund mayor Niklas Daoson told RFI.

"Now its become a possibility  So we need to use the time we have left to rebuild a credible defence  both for the country and as a NATO member."



Read more on RFI English



Read also:

Hungary's parliament has ratified Sweden's bid to join NATO

Even with Turkish approval, Sweden's wait to join NATO may not be over yet

Ukraine's allies must 'jump-start' their support, Macron tells Paris summit
ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR)  Chilly conditions will continue across the region for one more day before warmer air arrives for the weekend.







A storm system will move across the south, sending moisture northward into Virginia. For many areas, this means rain will fall. Higher elevations could see a brief period of sleet or freezing rain before warmer air wins out and changes precipitation to rain.

The heavier rain will fall east of the Blue Ridge where up to one inch is possible. Areas west of the ridge will see amounts up to half an inch. The rain is expected to end by midday on Saturday.

As the rain moves out, warmer air will arrive for the weekend and the first half of next week as temperatures return to the 60s.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
Thomas Kingston, the husband of Prince Michael of Kents daughter Lady Gabriella Windsor and the ex-boyfriend of Pippa Middleton, died from a traumatic head wound and a gun was found close to his body, an inquest was told Friday.

The 45-year-old financier, whose shocking death was announced by Buckingham Palace, was found dead Sunday at an outbuilding at his parents country mansion in the scenic Cotswolds region of southwest England, the hearing at Gloucestershire Coroners Court heard. British authorities had previously said that police and paramedics were called to the scene just before 6:30 p.m., and his death was not being treated as suspicious.

Palace Mourns Shock Death of Lady Gabriella Windsors 45-Year-Old Husband

King Charles III and Queen Camilla sent their most heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Kingstons loved ones in the wake of his death. Lady Gabriella, in a joint statement with his family, said Kingston was an exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him and said his passing had come as great shock to the whole family.

Senior coroner Katy Skerrett said at the inquest that Kingston had been visiting his parents home on Sunday where they ate lunch together. Afterward, his father took his dogs out for a walk and then came home to find that Kingston was not in the house, according to The Independent.

His mother also joined the search to find him. During the search, Kingstons father forced his way into an outbuilding that had been locked. He found Mr. Kingston deceased with a catastrophic head injury, Skerrett said. A gun was present at the scene.

She added that the post-mortem had listed a provisional cause of death as a traumatic wound to the head.

Kingston, a financier, married Lady Gabriellaa second cousin of King Charlesin 2019 in a ceremony at Windsor Castle attended by the likes of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry. Hed earlier dated the Princess of Wales younger sister in 2011, according to Tatler, and remained close with the Middleton family. Both Kingston and Lady Gabriella had attended Pippa Middletons wedding to James Matthews in 2017.

Before working in finance, Kingston had worked as a hostage negotiator in Iraq, according to The Telegraph. Hed been in Baghdad as a project manager for the International Centre for Reconciliation, a religious-based organization that worked on resolving conflict.

Reverend Canon Andrew White, who led the only Anglican church in Iraq, said Kingston was one of the most remarkable people I have ever worked with and said theyd survived some close scrapes, including a 2004 bombing.

Tom worked with me in Iraq through the worst of the Iraq War, White said after Kingstons death. He was a great man of deep faith and wisdom. I know for sure he is now in glory.

If you or a loved one are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.

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The Pittsburgh St. Patricks Day Parade plans have been announced.

The parade will step off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 16 in downtown Pittsburgh, rain, snow or shine.

Pittsburghers can enjoy over 20,000 participants including marching bands, Irish dancers, organizations and a host of local heritage groups.

The entire week will feature Irish heritage events in and around Pittsburgh.

Parade organizers suggest that the event be a catalyst for residents to explore Irish heritage.

The statute in place against consuming alcoholic beverages in public spaces will be enforced, as it has in years past. Those marching in the parade are not permitted to drink alcohol during that time, either.

Parade route

The parade will begin at the Greyhound Bus Station at the intersection of Liberty Avenue and 11th Street. Staging will take place from the bus station and away from downtown to 28th Street. The parade will proceed from the intersection of Liberty and Grant Streets on Grant to the Boulevard of the Allies, where it will turn right. Proceed on the Boulevard of the Allies to the end of the parade route at Commonwealth Place.

Family-friendly fun in Market Square

For the first time ever, the Pittsburgh St. Patricks Day Parade will host family-friendly activities immediately following the parade, including Irish dancing, musical performances and a petting zoo, all free of charge, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Performances will include dancers from the Shovlin Academy of Irish Dance, as well as the bands Abbots Cross and The Merry Blacksmiths, joining us from Donegal, Ireland.

Merchandise

This years official parade tee shirt features symbolism quintessential to the Irish, including a shamrock, a harp and the Trinity knot, with a blue accent color to represent the three rivers of Pittsburgh. Both long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts are available at Definitely You in Brentwood. Proceeds will be directed to The Irish Society for Education & Charity, Inc., the nonprofit parent of the Pittsburgh St. Patricks Day Parade Committee.

The official parade button features an image of St. Brendan and a blue background to complement the official parade tee shirt. Parade buttons can be purchased on the parade website or from parade committee members listed on the parade website. Included in your button purchase is entry to the Annual Button Party, taking place on Friday, March 8 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at The Grand Hall at The Priory. Buttons can also be purchased at the doors of the Button Party.

Pre-parade Mass

Once again, on parade day, the parade will host a special pre-parade Roman Catholic Mass to be held at St. Patricks Church in the Strip District. Parade participants and the public are invited to join in prayer and communion at 8 a.m. on parade day as celebrations of the feast of St. Patrick begin by offering prayers of thanksgiving and prayers of peace throughout the world.

PRT bus detours

Nearly 50 Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus routes will be detoured. Some detours along the parade route will begin as early as 7 a.m. and continue through 5 p.m. Most detours will begin at 9 a.m. and will end when Pittsburgh police reopen streets around 2 p.m.

Riders will be able to disembark buses and transfer to light-rail cars at Station Square or Penn Station, and the bus and rail station along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway for free.

A free rail shuttle will run between Penn Station and Steel Plaza.

A complete list of the detours can be found at www.rideprt.org/stpats2024.

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stc Bahrain, a world-class digital enabler, has marked 14 years of pioneering excellence and empowering technology and innovation in Bahrain by announcing special value-added offers

Commemorating its anniversary celebrations, new & existing voice customers will receive 14 GB of complimentary data as a sign of reward, appreciation, and gratitude for being with stc Bahrain through its remarkable journey.

In addition, stc Bahrain is presenting an opportunity for its customers by launching a special promotion on devices when subscribing to its 5G and Fiber home broadband plans. As part of this offer, customers can get their preferred TV (up to 70 inch) or iPad 9th Gen for just BD1 ($2.65) per month, while also having access select from a wide range of other devices such as laptops, tablets, and gaming gadgets, all available at discounted prices or even for free.

Combo bundles

Furthermore, stc Bahrain is introducing customisable combo bundles where customers can choose from a selection of iPhones or Samsung phones and receive a complimentary accessory of their choice to complement their mobile experience. These exciting promotions and offers are exclusively available to stc Bahrain customers and will be available from March 1, 2024, onwards.

Continuing the anniversary offers, stc is offering business customers 50% off the first year of subscription for both Fiber Broadband and 5G Broadband, on two-year contracts. stc is also offering advance internet, up to 30% off high-end services on two-year contracts.

In addition to this, stc business customers have the option to renew their broadband for 24 month and get higher speed, 5g, fiber broadband and advance internet. On ICT services, get 4 months free for stc One. In addition to 14GB of free data valid for 3 days is offered to existing Business voice base customers, valid from March 3rd-5th, 2024.

Connections made

Eng Nezar Banabeela, CEO of stc Bahrain, said: We are incredibly grateful for the journey weve had over the past 14 years, this milestone is not just about our success, but also about the connections weve established with our customers and partners. By offering unparalleled cutting-edge communication solutions, enhanced connectivity, or tailored services, we are offering our customers and businesses the tools they need to thrive in an evolving environment.

He added: Wed like to thank the government of Bahrain for its continuous support, dedication and commitment to building a strong infrastructure to enhance technology transformation in line with Vision 2030.--TradeArabia News Service
SHANGHAI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Five global asset management institutions, including Aspect Capital and Schroders Capital, have signed agreements to settle in Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City, said local authorities.

According to Xiao Jian, head of Lujiazui administration bureau under the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Lujiazui Financial City has so far attracted more than 8,000 financial institutions.

Lujiazui has become an important cluster for global asset management institutions in China. It now boasts about 80 percent of foreign-funded asset management institutions, 40 percent of foreign-funded corporate banks, nearly one-third of public fund management companies, and nearly one quarter of insurance asset management institutions of the total in the country, Xiao said.

More than 80 world-renowned financial institutions from 13 countries have established over 120 foreign asset management institutions in Lujiazui. 
After abandoning plans for an ecotourism resort on Bay Point Island, developers have a new proposal to build an ecologically-conscious resort, spa and residential community that would span three of Beaufort Countys sea islands.

The sprawling project would include a resort, spa and village homes on Daufuskie Island, according to a Wednesday news release from Six Senses, a Thailand-based hotel and resort developer. Residential villas would dot Bay Point Island. And a development on Hilton Head Island would include a restaurant, retail outlet and launch point for access to the other two islands.

Dead trees, sand dunes and sea oats line the Atlantic Ocean shore of Bay Point Island.

Partners of the Six Senses South Carolina Islands plan  Whitestone, Redrock Portfolio Inc., and Six Senses  announced an opening date of 2026. The project redefine(s) living spaces with a commitment to ecological mindfulness, said Whitestone Resources president, Tim Pitcher, in the news release.

But many questions remain unanswered.

Beaufort Countys Planning and Zoning Department had not received an application or any inquiries on the project, county spokesperson Hannah Nichols said Friday. By Friday afternoon, Pitcher had not commented to the Island Packet about whether an application was submitted.

Nichols said the county couldnt comment on what approvals might be required for the project because details of it have not been submitted.

It is also unclear whether current zoning of the three islands would allow for the plans developments.

Hilton Head and Daufuskie plans

The Six Senses plan detailed that Hilton Head would have a retail outlet and restaurant near the embarkation point where guests and residents could take either a hybrid yacht or electric boat to Daufuskie or Bay Point, according to the news release.

The majority of resort guests would head to Daufuskie, a rustic barrier island south of Hilton Head thats inhabited by about 550 people. Under the resort plans, the Six Senses development would offer guest rooms, private suites, cottages, guest residences, a spa, a beach club and eateries.

However, its not known the capacity limit of the planned resort or the number of structures.

Mark Lawson, the Beaufort County Council member who represents the island, did not respond to a request for comment.

The ocean is visible through trees on Daufuskie Island, which is only accessible by boat.

Bay Point plan

At a smaller scale, Bay Point, an undeveloped island north of Hilton Head thats at the mouth of the Port Royal Sound, would offer residential villas under the plan.

The villas are described as modular, Category 5 hurricane-resilient, biophilic and self-contained. Neither Pitcher nor spokespeople for IHG Hotels & Resorts, which owns Six Senses, commented on the number of villas planned at Bay Point. However, a limited number will be for sale in 2024, according to the news release.

Infrastructure and waste handling, renewable energy, reverse-osmosis water supply, and helical piling to limit soil disruption and lighten their footprint would be built on Bay Point, which currently has no infrastructure.

Former plan for Bay Point

In April 2020, Bay Point Island LLCs application showed the islands owners and developers intended to spend $100 million to build dozens of beach bungalows, spas and restaurants as part of an environmentally friendly project by Six Senses. A solar field, 10 septic fields and stormwater ponds were also in the proposal. The project wouldve included about 50 acres of the mostly vacant island.

In September 2020, the Beaufort County Zoning Board of Appeals denied Bay Point Island LLCs request for a permit that would have allowed the resort a special ecotourism use under current zoning. Among one of the reasons stated by the board was that Bay Point Island LLC failed to demonstrate to resort operators how it would meet ecotourism requirements

Environmentalists spoke out against the project, as did Gov. Henry McMaster, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, state Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston and state Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort. Several nonprofits opposed the project.

They expressed concern over lack of emergency services, the islands high erosion rate, shifting shoreline, saltwater intrusion, the islands shorebird population, and a plan for a septic system that the Coastal Conservation League said would be an environmental catastrophe.

In July, Bay Point Island LLC dropped its appeal of a circuit court decision that upheld the denial of a special permit

While the new Six Senses project proposes constructing residential villas instead of a sweeping resort, environmentalists have the same concerns. Jessie White, South Coast Office director at the Coastal Conservation League, said Thursday evening that any reference to development on Bay Point is extremely concerning.

The island has no infrastructure  no roads, water, sewer, or power  and is only accessible by boat or air, White said. It is a dynamically shifting piece of sand, and siting new development there is irresponsible. 

Neither Pitcher nor spokespeople for IHG Hotels & Resorts responded regarding the projects timeline.
Parents, students and teachers who crowded in to the Keller school board meeting Thursday demanded transparency and explanations over recent decisions to cancel a play about the 1998 murder of a gay college student and why a Christian film crew was allowed inside Central high School without permission.

Board members took no action and did not make any statements following the public comment segment of the meeting, which lasted almost three hours.

Sarah Zamora, a Falcon theater booster at Timber Creek High School whose child was supposed to perform in The Laramie Project said it was disingenuous to cancel the play.

This piece is all about community, and it has been planned for 11 months, she said. This project is all about history its not sensationalized.

Last week, parents and students at Timber Creek High School were notified that The Laramie Project was canceled in favor of productions like Mary Poppins that generated excitement in the community, although the students began rehearsing in January.

But Zamora and others in the audience demanded that district officials reverse their decision.

The school district issued a statement earlier this week which said the district consulted with stakeholders.

But Zamora said: We are the real stakeholders. Why are you taking away students opportunities?

The Laramie Project explores the reactions of people in Laramie, Wyoming, following murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at the University of Wyoming. The murder was classified as a hate crime.

Another parent, Greg Silvestre, said he was proud of the students for speaking up and telling board members they want an explanation.

The superintendent and board now have the same opportunity to show leadership skills, he said.

Taylor Silvestre, a sophomore at Timber Creek who was supposed to perform in play, questioned why superintendent Tracy Johnson canceled the play without reading the script. There was no appropriate reason  Hate is not a Timber Creek value, Silvestre said.

Adam Schultz, a parent of a former Keller school district student, was one of several speakers who criticized the board for creating a permissive environment for discrimination of LGBTQ students.

Im here to tell you, Keller ISD almost killed my child, he said, describing how his daughter, who is gay, was cornered by male students who sexually harassed her. She was told they could turn her straight.

Schultz said he emailed the board for support, but did not get a response.

You have spent years shelling out political rhetoric that has divided this community and hurt the teachers here, he said, addressing board members. Its time for you to step up and lead and do your jobs that youre are elected to do, to represent every child in this district.

Schultz ultimately transferred his daughter to another school district, and urged other parents of children with similar experiences to do the same.

Speakers also questioned why an evangelical film crew from the Netherlands was allowed inside Central High School accompanied by two board members who did not get permission from district officials, who were never informed about the visit. Many said safety and security were at stake.

Ben Nelson, a parent in the Keller school district, questioned why the film crew was allowed inside the school where there were students present.

Elizabeth Mitias, who teaches engineering at Central High School, presented her resignation letter while she talked about how she could look from her classroom and see the cafeteria. Normally worried about an exterior door down the hall from her classroom, she never thought the cafeteria doors would be a concern until she saw the film crew.

In our cafeteria, the consequences of having a board of trustees so blinded by their own political and religious agenda that they believe that the rules dont apply to them became glaringly obvious on Feb. 9, she said. Our children are not pawns to be used for their own agenda.

Referring to the baord members, Mitias said, Highly qualified teachers willl look elsewhere. Its not the students, its you.

On Feb. 9, the film crew from a Dutch company whose name translates to Evangelical Broadcaster accompanied board members Sandi Walker and Micah Young to Central High School. The crew interviewed the two board members but also talked to students, which angered parents.

Walker resigned, but Young is still on the board.

Young addressed the matter before the public comments, claiming that he had never met or communicated with the film crew before meeting them at the school for an interview.

During the time I was with the film crew, I did not observe any students being interviewed, and I do regret if any students were captured on film, he said, adding that the district has stated that it has the assurance of the film crew that no students will appear in any footage.

I look forward to working with this body and the district to ensure that this doesnt happen again, Young said.

Although board members were criticized, several in the audience thanked them for doing a good job and said they needed to stand up to the radical left.

Its a tough night tonight, said Doug Hines. I see that you are doing a good job. Keep it up, he said.

Along with questioning board members about the film crew and The Laramie Project cancellation, many in the audience asked about the budget shortfall and how it will affect libraries and programs such as fine arts.

Others also questioned the lack of communication between the Keller schools and the city of Fort Worth over an extended stay Studio 6 hotel under construction next to Basswood Elementary
Indiana Supreme Court opinions don't typically start with a reference to Romantic era poets  in fact, its a safe bet a recent ruling Chief Justice Loretta Rush framed with an ode Lord Byron penned to his beloved dog is a first in the history of the states highest court.

But this wasnt just any case  and Rushs analogy was spot on for the long-running legal dispute that bounced through at least five different courts.

Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush framed an opinion in a case prompted by the death of a Border Collie with a reference to a tribute Lord Byron penned to his beloved dog.

As captured by Lord Byrons Epitaph to a Dog, Rush started the 11-page opinion, the death of mans best friend prompts a visceral response  perhaps none more so than the one here, where a dogs death triggered over a decade of litigation in state and federal courts.

The tangled case started with a young driver who accidentally struck and killed a conservation officers pet dog. That was followed by the woman being charged with leaving the scene of the accident, a action prompted by the dogs owner and later determined by a federal court to be a violation of her civil rights.

The courtroom drama continued with the Indiana Attorney General claiming the conservation officer's actions in the case wasn't part of his job so the state wasn't liable for the false arrest judgment  a contention the supreme court rejected.

Along the way, the woman was cleared of the traffic charge, the officer continued working for the Department of Natural Resources, and on Feb. 5 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the officer's actions were not criminal and state must pay the woman more than $62,000 in damages and legal fees.

No, it wasn't 'a dark and stormy night'

In keeping with Rushs literary theme, heres what happened: It was a dark (but not stormy) night in December of 2012 as the young woman drove along a rural Hancock County road. About a mile from her home, a neighbors Border Collie darted in front of her vehicle. She hit the dog, and briefly stopped to check on it. When she saw the dog was dead, she continued home to get her fiance and they returned to tell their neighbor what happened.

Most similar accidents would end with the drivers acknowledgment and apology. But not this one.

The dog's owner apparently stewed over the death of his family's beloved pet, Gypsy, for weeks.

The court record shows he ultimately approached a deputy in the Hancock County Prosecutors office, who he regularly worked with in the course of his official duties, and posed a hypothetical question. It mirrored the scenario involving Gypsy's death. He was directed to an investigator, who looked into the accident and determined there was probable cause  the legal term for adequate evidence  to charge the woman with failing to stop after an accident resulting in non-vehicle damage.

The Hancock County Prosecutor filed a criminal case against her on June 28, 2013  nearly six months after the accident. The charge was a Class B misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to 180 days in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000.

That's when the legal donnybrook got serious.

Long-running dispute focused on legal questions

The multiple court cases that prompted the supreme court ruling essentially boiled down to three legal questions:

 How much time passed before the woman returned to tell her neighbor about the accident?

 Did the conservation officer violate the woman's civil rights by his role in the criminal charge?

 Was the man acting in his official role as a state employee and, if so, had he committed any crime in that process?

In the unanimous ruling detailed by Rush, the court found the man was acting in his official role and had not committed any crime. That means the state, as his employer, is liable for the fine and the woman's attorney fees under a legal principle called indemnification.

Literature in law: Sherlock Holmes to Goldilocks

There's no central repository for tracking literary references in legal opinions, but a Texas professor did examine "literary allusions in federal appellate decisions" from 1997-2012.

Kristin B. Gerdy Kyle "found 470 federal appellate opinions (from 167 judges and justices) using literary references during the 15-year period," according to a 2022 blog post by Wayne Schiess, a legal writing professor at University of Texas.

He said the research found the most-cited authors included William Shakespeare, George Orwell and Charles Dickens. Others included Edgar Allen Poe, William Faulkner, Dr. Seuss and J.K. Rowling.

Among the most frequently mentioned literary characters, places and symbols: Sherlock Holmes, Goldilocks, Orwell's Big Brother, Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, and the eponymous scarlet letter from the Nathaniel Hawthorne tome.

But there was no mention of Lord Byron or his dog.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Poetic justice: Court cites Lord Byron in case prompted by dog's death
Rishi Sunak says 'the time has now come for us all to stand together' - Aaron Chown/PA

Extremists are trying to undermine British democracy, Rishi Sunak warned on Friday as he called for the country to come together and beat this poison.

In a speech on the steps of Downing Street, the Prime Minister said there had been a shocking increase in extremist activity in the UK in the wake of Hamass Oct 7 attack on Israel.

Mr Sunak called the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election on Friday beyond horrifying and said that extremism demanded a response not just from government, but from all of us.

He also issued a direct plea for pro-Palestinian protesters to reject radicals who are hijacking their marches and urged police to take a tougher stance.

Pointing out that he is the countrys first non-white Prime Minister, Mr Sunak said he wanted to tell people of all races that success in Britain is determined by their hard work and endeavour.

He said both Islamists and far-Right groups were spreading a poison and aiming to wreck confidence in Britains achievements and history.

The intervention came after weeks of mounting concern about anti-Israel slogans and banners at marches, threats to MPs safety and controversial remarks about the Gaza conflict by politicians.

In his address, Mr Sunak promised to implement a raft of measures to tackle the issues. The Telegraph understands that as part of this, universities and councils will be given powers to crack down on Islamists and Right-wing groups under plans to create a new definition of extremism.

Mr Sunak said: In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.

What started as protests on our streets has descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveal their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes.

Long-standing Parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

The Prime Minister added later: The time has now come for us all to stand together to combat the forces of division and beat this poison.

We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart. There must be leadership, not pandering or appeasement.

When they tell their lies, we will tell the truth. When they try and sap our confidence, we will redouble our efforts.

And when they try and make us doubt each other we will dig deeper for that extra ounce of compassion and empathy that they want us to believe doesnt exist, but that I know does.

Mr Sunak chose to speak on the same day it was announced that Mr Galloway, the former Labour MP, would become an MP after comfortably winning the by-election in Rochdale.

The traditionally Labour seat was won by Mr Galloway, standing for his own Workers Party of Britain, after Labour had to withdraw support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, over an anti-Semitism row.

During the campaign, Mr Galloway fiercely criticised Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, for failing to issue stronger calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Mr Galloway said in his speech: I think Keir Starmer has woken up this morning to his worst nightmare.

Jewish groups expressed despair at his victory.

The Prime Ministers speech, which amounted to an appeal to the nation to stand up to extremism, was given after he flew back from the Scottish Conservative conference.

It had echoes of an address Lord Cameron gave while prime minister in the wake of the London riots in 2011.

After addressing the result of the Rochdale by-election, Mr Sunak said: I need to speak to you all this evening because this situation has gone on long enough and demands a response, not just from government, but from all of us.

Mr Sunak defended the right of pro-Palestine protesters to take to the streets but also said chants such as from the river to the sea were unacceptable.

The Prime Minister says protests have 'descended into intimidation' - Aaron Chown/PA

The Prime Minister said: Yes, you can march and protest with passion. You can demand the protection of civilian life.

But no, you cannot call for violent jihad. There is no context in which it can be acceptable to beam anti-Semitic tropes on to Big Ben in the middle of a vote on Israel/Gaza.

And theres no cause you can use to justify the support of proscribed terrorist groups, such as Hamas.

Yes, you can freely criticise the actions of this Government, or indeed any government: that is a fundamental democratic right.

But no, you cannot use that as an excuse to call for the eradication of a state  or any kind of hatred or anti-Semitism.

This week I have met with senior police officers and made clear it is the publics expectation that they will not merely manage these protests, but police them.

And I say this to the police, we will back you when you take action.

New police framework

Mr Sunak pointed to a newly published police framework which has sought to clarify when officers should step in if extremist chanting or activity is seen in protests.

It is understood that Michael Gove, the Communities Secretary, will unveil the plans this month for a new definition of extremism that will enable the Government and public bodies to bar groups from venues or campuses and block funding if they are judged to be promoting extremist ideology that undermines British values.

He is concerned that the current definition of extremism in the Prevent counter-terrorism programme is too narrow and allows Islamist and Right-wing groups to get away with behaviour that stirs racial and religious hatred, threatens communities and divides society.

However, the plans for a wider definition of extremism are likely to raise objections from civil rights groups that it will restrict freedom of speech and could ostracise groups representing mainstream Muslim or Right-wing opinion.

Senior figures involved with Prevent have identified organisations such as Palestine Action, Friends of Al Aqsa and the Palestinian Forum of Britain as harbouring extremist links. Last week Sir William Shawcross, independent reviewer of Prevent, singled out the Forum as part of a Hamas support network stirring the protests.

A government source told The Telegraph: It is not about banning the groups. It creates more of an obligation and empowers universities, councils or other public organisations to be able to say: Here is an organisation we should be monitoring and looking at more closely.

They can then take action against groups that are getting away with it and stirring up hatred where they should not be. It means a university could expel them from their campus or a council could end funding.

In Fridays address, Mr Sunak said: I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: Dont let the extremists hijack your marches.

You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.

Lee Andersons remarks not addressed

Mr Sunak has also been under pressure this week for refusing to call controversial remarks made by Lee Anderson, the former Tory deputy chairman, racist or Islamophobic.

Mr Anderson was suspended as a Tory MP last weekend after claiming Islamists have got control of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London. He has continued to refuse to apologise.

The Prime Minister did not address the controversy explicitly in his speech, but talked about the dangers of anti-Muslim hate and called out all forms of extremism.

Mr Sunak said: I fear that our great achievement in building the worlds most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy is being deliberately undermined.

There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart. Since October 7th there have been those trying to take advantage of the very human angst that we all feel about the terrible suffering that war brings to the innocent, to women and children to advance a divisive, hateful ideological agenda.

He went on later: Islamist extremists and far-Right groups are spreading a poison; that poison is extremism.

It aims to drain us of our confidence in ourselves as a people, and in our shared future.

They want us to doubt ourselves, to doubt each other, to doubt our countrys history and its achievements.

In a call to action, Mr Sunak said: I stand here as our countrys first non-white Prime Minister, leading the most diverse Government in our history to tell people of all races, all faiths and all backgrounds, it is not the colour of your skin, the God you believe in or where you were born, that will determine your success but just your own hard work and endeavour.

We must be prepared to stand up for our shared values in all circumstances, no matter how difficult.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
A Ukrainian man selling a poison thought to be linked to at least 130 UK deaths has been identified by the BBC.

Leonid Zakutenko advertised his services on a website promoting suicide and he told an undercover reporter he sent five parcels a week to the UK.

He has been supplying the same substance as Canadian Kenneth Law, who was arrested last year and is now facing 14 murder charges.

Mr Zakutenko denied the claims when challenged by the BBC.

He was tracked down to his home in Kyiv and denied that he sold the deadly chemical, which the BBC is choosing not to name.

However, our investigation found that he has been supplying the substance for years.

The chemical can legally be sold in the UK, but only to companies using it for a legitimate purpose.

Suppliers must not sell to customers unless they have carried out basic checks on what the substance is to be used for.

It can prove fatal if ingested in even small doses.

'Contemptible'

Zakutenko was described as a "contemptible and evil human being" by the family of twin sisters Linda and Sarah, who died in London last year after the Ukranian supplied them with poison.

Linda was given "easy access to a 'death kit' for a few pounds" after finding out about the seller on a well-known suicide forum, according to sister Helen Kite.

She described her sisters, 54, as "intelligent, caring and articulate".

If you've been affected by the issues in this story, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line

Ms Kite said that the lack of action by the authorities to prevent her sisters and many others getting access to the chemical was "a national disgrace".

The chemical Zakutenko sells is openly discussed on the forum used by Linda, with members advising one another on how to buy and then use it.

The chemical may be linked to more than 130 UK deaths since 2019, according to scientist Prof Amrita Ahluwalia, an expert in vascular pharmacology at Queen Mary University of London.

She analysed blood and other samples from people who had died, which were sent to her from pathologists and police around the UK.

Of 187 tests she found 71% showed high traces of the chemical, indicating that at least 133 people may have died as a result of ingesting it.

"Something needs to be done," Prof Ahluwalia said.

"With what it's being used for, there has to be a full investigation of the issues. It has to be regulated so that its use is for its intended purposes."

Murder charges

Chef Kenneth Law was arrested in Canada in May 2023 and has now been charged with 14 counts of murder and of aiding suicide..

He is thought to have sold the chemical more than 1,200 times to buyers in 40 countries around the world and is linked to at least 93 deaths in the UK.

Our investigation found that Zakutenko has been selling the same chemical since at least November 2020.

He also offers three different prescription medicines, referred to in online suicide guides.

He even briefly promoted his service on the same suicide forum as Mr Law.

Since then, users have passed on his contact details through direct messages.

Zakutenko was confronted in Kyiv by the BBC

We traced Zakutenko to a small flat in a Soviet-era tower block in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

We challenged him outside his local post office where he had been posting more parcels.

We asked him why he was sending a poisonous chemical to people who wanted to end their lives.

"That is a lie," he told us, before putting his hand over our camera and trying to walk away.

We know that at least one of the parcels contained the chemical because we placed an order that day and received a tracking number shortly after Zakuetenko left the post office.

When asked what he had to say to the families of the dead, he replied: "I don't understand what you are talking about".

Firmer action

David Parfett's son Tom, 22, bought the same chemical from Kenneth Law, and used it to end his life in October 2021.

Mr Parfett now campaigns to shut down the suicide forum and stop sellers like Zakutenko.

The British authorities have known about the chemical and the online trade since at least September 2020, when they were alerted by a coroner who examined the death of 23 year-old Joe Nihill.

Tom Parfett and Joe Nihill

The coroner wrote to police, the chief coroner and a chemical supplier warning them about the lethal trade in the substance.

Since then, coroners across England have written to different government departments on at least five occasions recommending action be taken about the chemical and the suicide forum.

Mr Parfett bought a consignment from Zakutenko in December 2023 because he wanted to test the system to see if the authorities would intercept the parcel.

He had a "welfare check" from police a few days after placing the order, but he still received the chemical within weeks and did not receive another police visit.

"I still can't believe that was happening today, with everything we know now about the number of deaths," said Mr Parfett.

Similar welfare checks on UK buyers were carried out after Kenneth Law was arrested in Canada.

The National Crime Agency has confirmed that there are cases of people - who bought the substance from Law - dying after police had carried out welfare checks.

"Such cases are addressed by police forces in line with their policies and national guidelines," a spokesperson said.

Mr Parfett and Ms Kite are both calling for firmer action to be taken against the forum where their loved ones Tom and Linda found out about the chemical.

Ms Kite described the site as "an abomination, preying, unimpeded by the authorities, on the most vulnerable and causing untold misery and suffering for those left behind".

The government says the new Online Safety Act, which became law last year should help restrict access to this kind of forum.
A car crashed into a pole and snapped it in half near a busy intersection by Georgia Tech campus. The snapped pole dangled over the road during the morning rush hour.

The crash happened Friday morning around 5 a.m. at 10th Street and Hemphill Ave.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Atlanta police confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that the crash damaged the pole. Georgia Tech police is handling the crash investigation, according to APD.

Georgia Powers outage map showed at least 87 customers were without power after the crash.

Georgia Power confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that power was restored just after 11 a.m.

TRENDING STORIES:

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A 25-year-old murder suspect allegedly led police on a chase across the Tri-Cities before being finally caught in Richland.

Police had been looking for Katelynn Vinson in connection with the August 2023 killing of Daniel Bueno as well as threatening to kill another person on Wednesday night, according to a Kennewick police news release.

Police officers spotted her with Joe Gonzalez, 39, in a car near the 400 block of South Conway Street in Kennewick about 1 p.m. Thursday. Gonzalez, who was behind the wheel at the time, sped away from officers.

Police chased the car into Pasco, where Gonzalez ran from the car. Vinson allegedly started driving.

The car was stopped at the intersection of Lee Boulevard and Cottonwood Drive in Richland about 25 minutes after the chase started. Vinson was arrested and is being booked into the Benton County jail.

Buenos case was one of five unsolved homicides in Benton County in 2023.

Investigators didnt provide any new details about why Vinson targeted the 36-year-old father of two in his car on South Conway Street

Neighbors reported hearing a gunshot about 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, on the 2600 block of West Sixth Avenue near the intersection with South Conway Street.

It was initially reported to emergency crews that a man was shot in the arm. Its unclear if that was the case but investigators determined that the man, later identified as Bueno, was inside a car when he was shot, Commander Aaron Clem told the Herald at the time.

He was taken to an area hospital but later died.

Detectives served a search warrant on the next day in connection with the shooting on the 2200 block of West Fourth Avenue with help from the Tri-City Regional SWAT team. Its not clear how the home was connected to the investigation.

While he wasnt able to say what the connection was between Vinson and Bueno, Vinson is well known to police, Commander Isaac Merkl told the Herald.

She has been tied to a number of crimes across the Tri-Cities, including allegedly shooting at her ex-boyfriend in 2016 and eluding police in 2019.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Interim Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn C.J. Davis touted her connection to the community and MPDs crime-reduction efforts during an unannounced interview on WREG Thursday morning.

Davis joined Deputy Chief Joe Oakley on Live at 9 with Kontji Anthony to talk about the Connect Memphis program, which links private security cameras to a wider database maintained by MPD.

The interview continued as Anthony directed several questions toward Davis. The chief said the city was seeing reductions in both property crime and violent crime.

CJ Davis opens up in a surprise, no-holds-barred, 12-minute sit-down with the Memphis police chief

Crime is actually down as it related to property crime and even our violent crime, Davis said. We do have crime problems in the city, but we all have to take ownership of the crime problems that exist in Memphis.

Data released by the Memphis Shelby County Crime Commission in January did show a downward trend in overall crime in the second half of 2023.

I think were doing an excellent job right now. Weve got a 30% reduction in auto thefts. We put a plan in place last year, and we have seen that plan work, Davis said.

When pressed, she did not specify the time range in which the city saw a 30% reduction in auto thefts. She also said MPD is working on the problem of juvenile crime, which is driving much of the auto thefts and burglaries.

Were really concerned about making sure that when people go to a restaurant, when people go to the FedExForum, that they walk outside and their car is still there, Davis said.

The police department, she said, is becoming more victim-focused under her watch, and listening to members of the community  a group that includes her.

Im a member of this community, Davis said. My record speaks for itself as a chief of police, outside of Memphis. So the work that Im doing here in Memphis is really to try and help my community understand that Im not just the chief of police. I am a community member.

C.J. Davis is now interim Memphis Police chief. What does that mean?

Later, as Davis left the set, she talked with WREGs Zaneta Lowe on several other issues, including County Mayor Paul Youngs recent ceasefire brokered with local gang leaders.

Davis said its too early to tell what the impact of that meeting was, but credited the mayor for his effort.

I think its certainly admirable, and I think it really shows the community that we have a mayor that wants to connect to the community, and one that feels that if we dont talk to individuals, boots on the ground, were not going to be able to get to the bottom of the problems in the city, she said.

A recent survey conducted by the crime commission showed that a slim majority  51%  rated MPDs service as good or excellent, while 47% rated it fair or poor. Still, overall support for police was strong, with 93% of respondents saying they respected local law enforcement.

One quarter of Shelby County residents report being a victim of violent crime, with 71% saying theyve been a victim of property crime.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Inquiry chairwoman Lady Elish Angiolini makes a statement after the first report from the Angiolini Inquiry into Sarah Everard killer Wayne Couzens is published

A depressing picture of how Britains police are not providing the level of protection that women are entitled to expect has been painted in two cases. An inquiry, conducted by Dame Elish Angiolini, stated that there had been a lamentable and repeated failure by the police to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct against Wayne Couzens, a then serving police officer, before he murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021.

Dame Elish made 16 recommendations, including that a new importance should be attached to reports of indecent exposure. She said police investigations of indecent exposure by Couzens  which might have prevented Miss Everards death  had been of poor quality and inadequate with officers displaying apathy and disinterest.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, Iain Packer was jailed for 36 years for the murder of Emma Caldwell 19 years ago, in an astonishing case which had seen police accused of concentrating on investigating journalists rather than finding her murderer. The delay allowed Packer to rape and rape again, according to Caldwells family.

A newspaper had branded Packer the forgotten suspect in 2005, but was then investigated by police to discover the papers sources  action that was ruled to have breached the editors rights by an Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The relevant force, Strathclyde Police, now part of Police Scotland, has apologised to Caldwells family, who are demanding a judge-led inquiry into the case.

The two cases highlight the serious problem posed to womens safety when police forces ignore evidence that could have brought serious sex offenders to speedier justice.

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Mao Xianglin tells the road-building story at the village museum in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Jan. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

by Xinhua writers Yao Yulin, Chen Qingbing

CHONGQING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A tough man like Mao Xianglin rarely hesitates in the face of difficulty, let alone being deterred from his course of action. However, faced with carving a road out of the mountains where he and his fellow villagers had lived for generations, he found himself faltering.

In the piercing winter of 1997, more than 100 villagers from over 300 households in Xiazhuang Village, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, began the arduous task of building a road for vehicles on precipitous cliffs.

Lacking modern machinery, they hung themselves from the cliff-face and used hammers, drills and other simple tools to cut a slice in the stone. It was during this process that Huang Huiyuan, a local villager, was hit by a falling rock and fell into a gully 300 meters below.

Mao still remembers the scene as he and several other villagers descended by rope from the mountain top to the bottom of the gully. "We cried all the way. No one was not sad," he recalled.

The survivors were faced with the age-old question of "To be or not to be?" -- the universal quandary on whether to risk danger in pursuit of a better life or give up and accept one's fate.

Hidden in a steep-sided valley, fenced off by four cliffs, their hometown was secluded for hundreds of years. To reach the nearest town, the locals had to spend more than three hours clambering over hill and dale, following paths only suitable for foot traffic.

In 1997, Mao Xianglin, aged 38 at the time, mobilized his villagers to build a road suitable for vehicles, working at the task without external support. They all knew that, even if this road could be built, it was unlikely that their own generation would enjoy the benefits brought by convenient transportation.

At Huang's funeral, Mao, his heart filled with guilt and regret, asked villagers if they wanted to continue building the road.

Amid the silence, Huang's father was the first one to answer: "Let's build it. Let's keep this fire burning to the end. Don't stop now."

Through an agonizing reappraisal of life and death, they concluded that the road would someday bring the light of hope into the lives of their children or grandchildren, and for such a goal it was worthwhile risking their own lives.

In 2004, the 8-km road was finally finished, not only leading the locals to the outside world, but also leading the next generations to the greater dream -- common prosperity.

Today, self-motivated role models emerging from among the impoverished local residents of rural China, just like Mao, are called "pioneers of achieving prosperity." During China's battle against absolute poverty, such self-made pioneers are the key to setting a vivid example for other households living in grinding penury and driving distinctive local industrial development.

By 2025, China strives to cultivate 100,000 pioneers who will lead their fellow villagers to achieve prosperity through rural revitalization.

ROAD-BUILDING PIONEER

Before the road, death was a regular visitor to Xiazhuang.

When villagers wanted to reach the nearest town, they had to spend hours climbing the steep mountainside. If they needed firewood, they had to scramble over rocks to the mountain peak and cut down trees. In these indispensable routines, death and injury were inevitable.

Despite this heart-wrenching fact, when Mao proposed that the villagers should build themselves a road, many opposed the project, calling it a daydream.

In the 1970s, some senior villagers had tried to build a meandering byway, but this ended in failure. So they didn't hold out much hope for the vehicle-friendly road that Mao had in mind. Also, most villagers were poor and worried that such a road would cost money, and few were keen to face the safety risks of such a project.

However, Mao had traveled beyond the village and seen the changes taking place; he knew that a proper road was essential if the fate of the villagers was to be improved.

"When I was in the town, I saw that people were already using refrigerators and TVs, and driving cars. However, we were still chopping wood to cook and lived in adobe houses," he said.

Over the space of a month, Mao organized seven meetings and persuaded villagers of the necessity of building the road. "It's for ourselves, not for others," said Mao. "Don't be afraid of the sacrifice. Even if our generation doesn't enjoy the gains, the next generation will. No matter how many years it takes, we have to build this road."

Gradually, the villagers relented. Some of them, like Yang Yuanding, joined Mao in mobilizing others. Yang had seen his father hit by a falling rock when they were chopping wood, so he knew a road was needed to change the villagers' lives. Motivated by their hopes for the future, they decided to continue with the project.

Mao's success in leading the project is due in part to characteristics he shares with many other pioneers leading rural development, such as being raised in the village and being a member of the local community. In addition, many have usually acquired additional knowledge and experience from big cities through gig jobs, later returning to their hometowns to initiate pilot development programs, just like Mao.

Pioneers also need to be familiar with the local situation and to have built a certain amount of popularity and trust among the villagers, which provides a good foundation for their further explorations in pursuit of common prosperity. Since the pioneers are always local villagers, they have a certain amount of sway in the group and can organize them quickly to take part in the emerging business.

With the completion of the road in 2004, thanks to the vision of Mao and the villagers' hard work and courage, the story of Xiazhuang was rewritten.

THE RIGHT THING

Throughout the road-building process, Mao had demonstrated an unswerving determination and far-sighted vision. Many people were not just amazed at the "miracle" of the road itself, but also at how Mao came up with the idea, since he only received a middle school education and had stayed in the village most of his life.

"One must do boldly what is right," Mao said, adding that he still remembers that, although his family was very poor back then, his father, a retired soldier, always told him to do the right thing.

The so-called "right thing" sounded like a vague concept to Mao as a little boy, but he learned from other villagers and the well-worn phrases on their heads, which were almost the only sources of information he had access to during his childhood.

"Most families in Xiazhuang were poor, but we are very united. When every household experienced some difficulties, people would just offer to share food, firewood and so on," recalled Mao, who has himself been the beneficiary of such kindness.

When Mao was in his 30s, his father passed away, and warm-hearted villagers donated enough firewood to see his family through for a whole year.

The signature slogans often heard from the loudspeakers set up by the village also set him thinking. One was "Education is the last thing to sacrifice," and another was "Building the road is the first step to becoming rich."

Before work started on building the road, he also mobilized people to spend half of the year on building the village's first primary school in 1995. Every stone, every tile and every ounce of labor was contributed by villagers themselves.

"I am just doing the right thing for the village. Thanks to the solidarity of our villagers, we have come this far," Mao added.

People in Xiazhuang now view the road zigzagging along the side of the mountain to the top as a hard-won access to cities that provides plenty of opportunities for study and work. What they couldn't predict back then was that 20 years after its completion, the road would make them a shining example of China's battle against poverty, attracting emerging industries and tempting young people to return to their hometowns.

CATALYZING RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The new road put the development of Xiazhuang on the fast track. It provided people with a safe and convenient way to sell agricultural goods and find jobs in the big cities. However, what really ushered in the roller-coaster of development was China's poverty alleviation policy.

Prior to the introduction of the policy in 2015, life in Xiazhuang changed a lot, but there were still obstacles to progress.

"Once the road was finished, Xiazhuang's poultry could be sold at a favorable price, as good as other villages. Before, it was difficult for us to ship our livestock out, so we could only sell smoked meat at a lower price," said Mao.

Around 2010, thanks to such economic improvements, villagers started building new brick houses, a sign of growing prosperity.

However, when it came to nurturing related agricultural industries in the village, things were not so easy, with Mao making several failed attempts. After a decade of exploration, the village finally struck lucky, adopting orange growing as the pillar industry. The oranges grew well in the local conditions, and taking them to market was no problem with the new road. Soon after, the poverty alleviation policy arrived, further catalyzing the process.

"It's really good that the government can see the grassroots needs and make such big efforts to improve the village living conditions," said Mao.

Thanks to the policy, many village families with young people at college or relatives in bad health, or other difficult situations, can receive support to make their lives better.

Also, with the support of this policy, many pioneers have grasped the opportunity to engage deeply in industry development in accordance with the local characteristics.

In 2020, Mao and nine other people were selected as the outstanding representatives of poverty alleviation at the national level. Most of them have been rooted in the village and revitalized it through a series of industries, such as the fungus industry, embroidery industry and others.

Although Xiazhuang was lifted out of poverty in 2015, the government has continued efforts to boost living standards, such as further improving the infrastructure, building more convenient vehicle-friendly roads, and introducing companies to develop the orange and tourism industries.

"I never imagined that one day, I would get to enjoy my life like this," said Yang Yuanding, sitting in the yard of his three-story farmhouse.

Like most villagers, Yang left the village after the road was finished to become a blue-collar worker in Sichuan, Guangdong and other provinces. Thanks to the poverty alleviation policy, the government provided him with housing subsidies, and he built a two-story house in the village.

The government helped develop the local tourism industry, making use of the village's road-building narrative, and many visitors were attracted by this "miracle" of perseverance. Soon the village became a tourism hot-spot. Yang was the first villager to transform his house into an agritainment resort, and in 2020, he made 100,000 yuan (about 14,300 U.S. dollars) in revenue.

With the business flourishing, Yang also built a new inn to accommodate more tourists. Also, in 2023, his two daughters came back to the village and opened another agritainment resort.

Sitting in his yard, Mao points at a building that is under construction, just in front of his house. "The owner of that house is not in the village, but he can earn money by renting the property to a company and letting the company turn their old house into tourist accommodation," said Mao. "Now, for Xiazhuang people, no matter where you are, you can make the money. Things have changed a lot."

In 2022, Xiazhuang garnered more than 700,000 yuan in tourism revenue, receiving 120,000 tourists. Meanwhile, the output value of the orange business was 1.5 million yuan. Villagers can now expect a per capita disposable income of more than 17,000 yuan, which is more than 50 times that of 1997.

THE NEXT GENERATION

From building the road to the development of local business, Mao has always been the backbone of this village, mapping the future and implementing policies. Even now, he has the habit of wandering around the village in the mornings and thinking about new projects.

"I think we could have a larger cultural square for villagers to dance and exercise in. Also, there are over 80 villagers who are over 60 years old. I want to set up a canteen for them," said Mao, who is now the Party secretary of Xiazhuang Village.

However, Mao is not alone in leading the village to a better future. Due to the economic and environmental changes in recent years, many young people have returned and are committed to making further improvements.

Yuan Xiaoxin, 31, is one of around 30 college graduates in the village. In October 2023, she was picked as the director of the village committee.

"At first, I felt very hesitant about accepting this offer, because I thought I was young and unqualified. However, when I thought about the sacrifices the older generation had made for the road, I decided to say yes," said Yuan, whose mother also participated in the road-building project.

Yuan said it's time for the young people to make their contributions to the village, and for the older generation to enjoy life. In fact, before being elected to her official role, Yuan had already injected some vibrancy into the village.

In 2021, Yuan had just left the internet sector and was looking at other career options. Seeing her parents doing well in the agritainment business in Xiazhuang, and knowing that the village had undergone lots of changes, she came back home in search of opportunities.

As she was looking around the village museum, an old photo of dye works caught her attention. Fascinated by this traditional craft, she decided to learn the necessary skills and go into business. By the end of 2021, she had established a tie-dying workshop and had become the inheritor of this county-level intangible cultural heritage.

Yuan is not the only young person who chose to return. More than 30 young people have chosen to settle down in the village, working as sightseeing bus drivers, primary school teachers, museum guides and so on.

To equip the self-made pioneers with more professional skills, almost every provincial-level region in China have held themed training classes on a regular basis, providing lessons on logistics, branding, e-commerce marketing, business management and so on. Also, the local governments send professional experts to provide on-site guides, helping the pioneers promote relevant skills and knowledge.

For example, Chongqing has held over 200 training activities in 2023 alone and each class was made up of 50 people. Since 2021, Chongqing has recognized nearly 7,000 people as pioneers.

"When I returned, I never imagined this degree of success," said Yuan. "In the future, I'll learn from Mao and contribute to building my hometown. Although it has seen some remarkable changes, it still has lots of space to grow." 

This file photo taken in 1998 shows a security guard fulfilling his duty on the cliff in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

This file photo taken in 1998 shows villagers climbing up a cliff in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

This file photo taken in 1998 shows a villager with scar left on his body while building a cliff-side road in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

This file photo taken in 1998 shows villagers transporting supplies in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

This file photo taken in 1998 shows villagers having noodles in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

This file photo taken in 1998 shows villagers building a cliff-side road in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua)

Yuan Xiaoxin does tie-dying work in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Oct. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

Yuan Xiaoxin (C) introduces her workshop for a team of reporters in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Oct. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Huang Wei)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows a cliff-side road built by villagers in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

This photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows a view of Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 16, 2024 shows a view of Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

A villager works at a restaurant in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Jan. 17, 2024. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

This photo taken on Jan. 24, 2024 shows a newly constructed road in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)

Villagers pick oranges in Xiazhuang Village, Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Jan. 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
Expert witnesses testified for the prosecution Thursday in the trial of a man charged with fatally shooting Baltimore Police Officer Keona Holley and 27-year-old Justin Johnson in less than two hours three years ago.

The testimony of a firearms examiner and DNA analyst, both with the Baltimore Police Department, linked guns collected as evidence in the shootings to the defendant, Elliot Knox, and another suspect. Knox, 34, is standing trial on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearms offenses stemming from the shootings on Dec. 16, 2021.

During an hours-long interrogation, shown in court earlier this week, Knox confessed to being present during both shootings  while blaming another man for pulling the trigger  and directed investigators to a house where he had stored the guns: a Glock 22 handgun, which fires .40 caliber rounds, and an AR-style pistol, which propels .223 caliber bullets.

Holley was ambushed around 1:30 a.m. while sitting in her patrol car in the 4400 block of Pennington Ave. in Baltimores Curtis Bay neighborhood. She was shot in the head twice, with bullets damaging her brain and neck, and died in the hospital about a week later.

Johnson was gunned down in his car around 3 a.m. in the 600 block of Lucia Ave., located in the Yale Heights neighborhood of Southwest Baltimore. He was shot six times, all in the back, injuring his spine, lungs and heart, and died at the scene.

Crime lab technicians collected six .40 caliber cartridge casings from the area where Holley was shot. They found two .40 caliber casings and one .223 caliber casing from the scene of Johnsons death. All of the casings were submitted as evidence in the shooting and, eventually, sent for further analysis.

Firearms examiner Daniel Lamont testified about comparing the casings to each other under a comparison microscope, which allows an analyst to look at two pieces of evidence at the same time. Once he received the guns detectives recovered, Lamont said, he test fired them, collecting the casings ejected. He compared those casings to the ones collected at the crime scenes.

Lamont said he believed all of the .40 caliber casings picked up as evidence were fired by the same gun, and they were all consistent with having been fired by the Glock 22 handgun. He also said the .223 caliber casing from the scene of Johnsons death was consistent with having been fired by the AR-style pistol.

Firearms examiners like Lamont once may have testified that a specific gun fired specific bullets, but the Supreme Court of Maryland last June placed limitations on what examiners could say in court. Recognizing limitations in the practice of firearm toolmark analysis, the states high court ruled that the most an examiner could say was that microscopic markings on an evidence bullet were consistent, or inconsistent, with bullets for which they know the gun that fired them.

A homicide detective who participated in the search of the house Knox identified as having the firearms from the shootings, and another residence, testified Tuesday about finding boxes of bullets of different calibers, gun cleaning kits, along with standard and high-capacity magazines.

The AR-style pistol had a homemade brass catcher affixed to it to collect casings ejected during firing, the homicide detective said in court. It also was loaded with a 30-round magazine duct-taped to another that was facing the opposite direction  another improvisation for quick reloading.

Defense attorney Natalie Finegar suggested during opening statements that the accomplice was responsible for both shootings, even though two different guns were used in Johnsons killing.

During cross examination by Finegar, Sgt. Frederico Davis, who was the first officer at the scene of Johnsons shooting, testified about how he originally hypothesized that one shooter opened fire with a rifle that jammed and then switched to a handgun.

Lamont said he test fired the AR-style pistol with the same magazine it was found with, though it was lighter because he only loaded three bullets, and that it functioned like it was supposed to.

DNA analyst Michael Lawson said both Knox and Shaw matched a profile of genetic material collected from the pistol. Lawson said his analysis could not determine a profile for the DNA taken from the Glock handgun.

Knox admitted during his interrogation to handling the guns while allegedly hiding them for his accomplice, Travon Shaw.

A jury found Shaw, 34, guilty in October of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and firearms offenses in the fatal shooting of Johnson. He faces life at sentencing March 28, the same day his trial in Holleys killing is set to begin. His public defender declined to comment.

The homicide detective who located the guns, which were secreted in backpacks in a bedroom closet, as Knox had said, testified about finding masks and gloves alongside the weapons.

Knoxs trial will resume Monday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN)  Its been more than a week since Clark County deputies shot and killed a man during a welfare check, and Vancouver officials have just released the law enforcements identities.

The deputies shot 53-year-old Jonathan Gale after they said he produced what appeared to be a firearm while holding a woman against her will at 12500 Northeast 152nd Avenue.

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According to an investigation by the Vancouver Police Department, three officers shot Gale.

Patrol Sergeant Tom Yoder, with CCSO since 2006

Deputy Forrest Gonzalez, with CCSO since 2018

Deputy Holly DeZubiria, with CCSO since 2019

Two other law enforcement officers witnessed the scene.

Patrol Sergeant Jeff Ruppel, with CCSO since 2016

Deputy Isaac Henrikson, with CCSO since 2023

After the shooting, all five deputies were immediately placed on leave, which is standard protocol. Body camera footage is expected to be released later on.

NW Natural distributing $29 million in credits to Oregon customers

An original statement from the sheriffs office said a woman called 911 saying she was concerned for her mothers safety. On Friday, the Vancouver Police Department  now in charge of investigating the case  shared the following update:

Upon arrival, deputies learned from a female at the location that she was being held against her will and had been sexually assaulted by the male at the residence, who she said was in possession of a firearm. As deputies attempted to detain the male, there was a use of force resulting in an officer-involved shooting.

Gale was critically injured with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and died at the scene. Vancouver police say authorities found firearms in close proximity to his body.

Audit outlines challenges addressing Oregons government workforce crisis

The female victim was taken to the hospital for an evaluation, and officials have yet to give an update on her progress.

Home records show the address is owned by a husband and a wife, who both appear to run businesses out of the property  including a hypnosis center and a counseling service.

Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com.
The Albemarle Police Department is searching for a suspect in connection with a homicide that happened around 1 a.m. Friday at a housing complex on Elizabeth Avenue.

Police said they were called to the area to conduct a wellness check.

ALSO READ: 1 killed in Gastonia shooting, police say

At the scene, 47-year-old Duane Lamont Perry was found dead from apparent gunshot wounds, according to police.

Perry was visiting the housing unit, police said.

Otis Eugene Burns is wanted and charged with:

First-degree murder

Possession of a firearm by a felon

Discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling

The circumstances surrounding this shooting are unknown at this time.

VIDEO: 1 shot in Gastonia, GEMS says












EXCLUSIVE: A New York City police officer who was attacked by migrants in Times Square is coming to Washington, D.C., to watch President Biden tout his administrations work over the last year in his State of the Union address.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., the only Republican representing New York City in the House, told Fox News Digital she invited NYPD Lieutenant Ben Kurian to the presidents major address on Wednesday.

"Our NYPD officers are on the front line every single day working to keep our streets safe, and unfortunately, now they are being forced to deal with hundreds of violent crimes being committed by those in our country illegally," Malliotakis said.

ICE OFFICIAL RIPS NYC POLICIES SHIELDING POLICE-BEATING MIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION

President Biden is set to give his State of the Union address on Wednesday.

"The horrifying video of Lt. Kurian and his fellow officer being attacked by a mob in Times Square was hard to watch, but it shed a light on just how difficult our officers jobs have become."

She said his presence at Bidens speech will "bring attention to the need for the Biden administration to end its dangerous border policies."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

A now-viral video from late January showed two officers being attacked by a group of migrants in the heart of New York Citys tourist area.

NYPD CHIEF BLASTS MIGRANTS' ATTACK ON OFFICERS AS MUGSHOTS OF SUSPECTS RELEASED

One suspect can be seen kicking an officer in the head twice while another person kicked the other officer in the back.

The attack began after the police officers asked migrants who were blocking the sidewalk outside a shelter to disperse, the NYPD has said.

The incident was a flashpoint in the tension thats long been simmering in New York City since it was flooded by thousands of migrants, many seeking asylum. A number were bussed up by Southern governors whose states were buckling under the strain of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

More than 161,000 migrants have come to New York City in need of shelter and other city resources since the middle of 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said.

AMERICANS ARENT SAFE WITH BIDEN'S OPEN BORDER AND THE SYSTEM IS FLASHING RED

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is bringing one of the officers attacked in Times Square to the State of the Union address.

Earlier this week, Adams, a Democrat, called for curtailing the citys "sanctuary" status to allow migrants "suspected of serious crimes" to be turned over to federal law enforcement.

Republican lawmakers, including Malliotakis, have denounced the citys sanctuary policies as a primary driver of the migrant crisis.

When reached for comment on Malliotakis' speech invitation, the White House referred Fox News Digital to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's earlier condemnation of the attack. The Biden official said on Jan. 31, "The assault on two NYPD officers over the weekend is absolutely unacceptable. The president is outraged by these attacks on law enforcement. We hope these officers make a swift recovery as this attack is investigated."





Original article source: Police lieutenant attacked by migrants in Times Square invited to Bidens State of the Union
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM)  A 19-year-old El Paso man is now facing aggravated assault charges after getting into a fight with another man over a woman in Northeast El Paso, El Paso Police said.

According to the Police Departments preliminary information, the incident happened just after 1 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when a 40-year-old man was walking on the 3700 block of Hercules and was headed to a bar.

The 40-year-old man saw a woman and asked her if she wanted to have a drink with him. She refused and the man continued on his way.

The woman told the alleged suspect, identified as Irvin Alexis Gerardo, 19, about the other man approaching her.

Gerardo then approached the victim and an altercation took place.

Gerardo showed a gun during the altercation and the victim pepper sprayed Gerardo and a struggle for the gun followed, according to police.

The 40-year-old man was able to take the gun away after he was shot, according to police.

Gerardo was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility and was booked under a $100,000 bond.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News.
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) Detectives with the Lynchburg Police Department were at E. C. Glass High School after an alleged bomb threat came in on Friday.

Around 11:39 a.m. on March 1, the police said they were notified of the threat at the High School. Captain Joel Hinkley told WFXR that K9 Units were on the scene searching the building.

Were told that Liberty University and Virginia State Police were requested to assist with the search.

Student taken to hospital after fight at Heritage High School

All students were released early and classes were canceled for the day out of caution.

Police say after completing the search, the school was considered safe.

WFXR News has reached out to the Lynchburg City Schools and has not heard back.

Police presence at E.C. Glass High School after alleged bomb threat on March 1 (Jemon Haskins/ WFXR News)

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv.
Transcripts of former Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler's interviews with police were released Thursday. Ziegler was accused of rape but police decided not to charge him.

The woman who accused former Florida GOP Chairman Christian Ziegler of rape told police at one point that she wanted to drop the case, saying she "just didn't want to deal with it after all the emotional stress I've had."

Meanwhile, Ziegler told police that his accuser initiated the sexual encounter when he arrived at her apartment on Oct. 2, according to newly-released records from the Sarasota Police Department.

While wavering over whether she wanted to prosecute Ziegler, the alleged victim continued to insist over her interviews with police that the encounter was not consensual.

Sarasota Police released transcripts of interviews with the alleged victim and Ziegler, who wasn't charged with rape after investigators concluded a video he took of the Oct. 2 incident showed it was "likely consensual." A related investigation into whether Ziegler committed video voyeurism has been turned over to the State Attorney's Office to decide if charges are warranted.

Much of the information in the transcripts has been summarized and previously made public in reports released by the police, but the transcripts provide more details about a case that drew national attention.

The fact that Ziegler's accuser considered dropping the case has not previously been reported.

The alleged victim met with two Sarasota Police detectives on Oct. 25. A detective started the interview by mentioning that "you called... and said that you didn't want to go through with the... You didn't want to do anything. Is that still your mindset?"

The alleged victim asks detectives what they think.

"That's your call," says a detective. "I can't tell you one way or another."

"It's a lot to get through," the alleged victim responds.

Another detective suggests counseling and asks the alleged victim whether she is receiving family support. The interview continues, and the detectives try to elicit more information from the alleged victim about her prior contacts with Ziegler, who she previously had consensual sex with, and what happened on Oct. 2.

The detectives eventually return to whether the alleged victim wanted to move forward with the case.

"I mean, you guys know more than me," the alleged victim says. "Is this a fight worth fighting or not? Is it better I just move on? I don't know."

"That is totally up to you," a detective says.

The detective goes on to explain how the court process can "drag out" over multiple years.

"I just want to be upfront and honest with you, but I don't want to sway you, either," the detective said.

"Just tell me your honest opinion," the alleged victim says later.

"If somebody raped me, I would want them to pay for it," the detective says.

"One hundred percent," says another detective.

"So long as you've known me, I would never make something like this up," the alleged victim responds.

The records released this week include four interviews with the alleged victim on Oct. 5, Oct. 25, Nov. 1 and Dec. 4.

Detectives are clearly frustrated at times by the alleged victim's inability to remember key details about the encounter and the timeline of events.

Toward the end of the Oct. 25 interview, a detective tells the alleged victim that "being completely blunt, you're going to have to work on trying to remember what happened."

During an interview with another individual who was in contact with the alleged victim shortly after the Oct. 2 incident, a detective tells that person that police have met with the alleged victim "a couple of times and it's just really hard for her to give us any details."

Detectives eventually pieced together a timeline and description of events in a final police report that they released in February.

The alleged victim told police that "she agreed to have sex with Christian Ziegler (on Oct. 2) because she believed that his wife Bridget Ziegler was going to join them for a threesome," according to police documents, and that "when she learned that Bridget was not going to make it, she changed her mind and informed Christian not to come over."

The alleged victim said Christian Ziegler came to her apartment anyway, showing up at her door, and that's when the alleged assault occurred. But the details of what happened were hard for her to remember, she said.

Police described the alleged victim as "incoherent and distraught" during the Oct. 5 interview. During that conversation, the alleged victim said that Ziegler has "been assaulting me for years."

"Have you ever reported this before?" an officer asks.

"How do you report someone like that?" she said.

Earlier in the interview the alleged victim said that Ziegler thinks hes above the law because of who he is. Hes a politician. They think theyre above the law.

They get to do it, and Ive let him do it to me for a long time, she added.

The alleged victim said Ziegler entered her apartment and assaulted her. Police pressed her for details, and she restated the information.

In a subsequent interview on Nov. 1, the alleged victim said she started drinking before Ziegler came over on Oct. 2 and "my memory's foggy."

"I feel like I definitely was intoxicated enough that I was not in a place to consent," she says.

The alleged victim said "I briefly remember bits of him being here and then leaving.

When a detective asks about her earlier description of Ziegler assaulting her, she said of the location: I believe we I dont know if he exactly I dont remember all of it. I do remember it being there.

Thats all I remember. Thats the only part of it I remember," she adds.

Christian Ziegler also gave at least three interviews to police.

During the first interview on Nov. 1, Ziegler already was aware that the alleged victim was upset because of a phone call the two had after the Oct. 2 encounter. He told police "I kind of know what this is about" before detectives informed him of the sexual assault allegation. Ziegler also was acutely focused on the allegations becoming public, and the publicity the case would receive.

So Im chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, so therell be a high public interest in the case," Ziegler tells police. "I have to navigate this not just from the fact base, but from also a political, PR angle.

Im more sensitive about the PR side, the political side, than I am about he facts. Okay? Ziegler says at another point, adding later that, Even if its baseless it still impacts me.

Ziegler predicted during the interview that the case would be a "national story" and he was right. The scandal involving the Republican power couple - Bridget Ziegler sits on the Sarasota County School Board and is co-founder of the Moms for Liberty conservative activist group - has received considerable news coverage.

The Republican Party of Florida removed Christian Ziegler as chair in January, before police opted not to charge him with sexual assault. Bridget Ziegler has rebuffed calls for her to resign from the School Board.

Christian Ziegler later invoked his right to an attorney and cut the Nov. 1 interview short after police told him he was accused of sexual assault. He met with officers again the next day with his attorney, Derek Byrd, present.

Byrd said in a statement this week that Ziegler "knew the facts, knew that he is was innocent and he had confidence it would be resolved in his favor once the facts were presented."

"Hence why Mr. Ziegler quickly transitioned his focus on the impact and damage the false accusations would have on his reputation, career and family," Byrd added.

During the second interview, Ziegler told police that he had known the alleged victim for more than a decade and that they "had relations back when we first met, and those started again about three years ago or four years ago... and then it's just been periodic since."

"It's a very kind of friends benefits relationship," he added. "Never been an issue until now, I guess."

Police asked Ziegler what happened on Oct. 2 and he told them that he messaged the alleged victim in the morning and they agreed to meet in the early afternoon.

Ziegler told police that, after arriving at the alleged victim's apartment, he engaged in "small talk" with her and "then she started to engage."

"How did she engage?" a detective asks.

"She just started undoing my pants," Ziegler says, adding later that "right there in the kitchen she engaged."

When the detective asks Ziegler to elaborate, he says "she might've tried to kind of kiss me a little bit first" before performing a sex act.

"And then we walked over to the bedroom and had intercourse there," he added.

A detective asked Ziegler if the alleged victim was "upset at any point in time" and he replied "no, never."

"There was never any indication that she was upset about anything until about a week ago," Ziegler said, adding that he was "kind of blindsided" when she expressed concerns about the incident during a subsequent phone call. Ziegler also insisted that he asked the alleged victim if she'd been drinking and she said no.

Toward the end of the interview Ziegler reiterated that the encounter was "consensual."

"I was invited in. When I went in, she engaged," he said.

He was at her apartment for 36 minutes according to the interview transcript.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Records show Christian Ziegler's accuser didn't want to prosecute
The bronze art pieces stolen from a beloved Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Denver, Colorado, have been recovered, local police announced on Tuesday.

Last week, officials were notified that pieces were missing from the I Have A Dream monument at Denvers City Park. The suspects took a bronze panel  which was later found cut into four pieces  and two emblems from the structure.

Dr. Vern Howard, chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission, told ABC News that the plaque alone is worth an estimated $75,000.

Someone took bronze plaques from beneath a Martin Luther King Jr. I Have A Dream statue in Denver, Colorado. (Photo: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission)

Police said the suspects also swiped seven bronze pieces from the Joseph Addison Thatcher Memorial fountain and sold all the artworks as scrap metal to a local business, according to a press release. When law enforcement obtained the pieces, they returned them to the art agency that manages the monuments.

An investigation revealed that the theft at the MLK memorial happened in the early hours of Feb 18. Its unclear when the suspects took the art pieces from the fountain. Denver Police said they didnt realize the pieces vanished until they went to the scrap metal shop.

Because the stolen pieces from the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I Have a Dream monument and Joseph Addison Thatcher Memorial fountain were sold as scrap metal, the incident does not appear at this time to be bias-motivated. However, investigators final findings will be presented to the Denver District Attorneys Office, which determines charges, Denver Police said in a statement.

RELEASE: Bronze Artworks Stolen from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument and Joseph Addison Thatcher Memorial Fountain Recovered#Denver Police Seeking Publics Help Locating Suspects Involved pic.twitter.com/F81eFdW8du  Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) February 27, 2024

Howard previously said he believed that more than one person was involved due to the weight of the pieces. Officials released a photo of the suspect in this case, identified as 67-year-old Herman Duran. The identity of the second suspect has yet to be determined. Police are offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to their capture. Tipsters could remain anonymous.

This will not deter us. We will continue to march. We will continue to seek justice. We will continue to seek love, Howard told local news.

Police Recover Missing Art Pieces from MLK Memorial In Denver, Say Suspects Sold Items to Local Scrap Metal Business
Michigan Republican Bree Moeggenberg poses next to an American flag in front of her home in Mount Pleasant

Michigan Republican Bree Moeggenberg poses next to an American flag in front of her home in Mount Pleasant

(This March 1 story has been corrected to rectify Ritchards stated reason for attacking Moeggenberg online in paragraph 28, and to add a paragraph about Ritchard's Facebook posts)

By Nathan Layne

MOUNT PLEASANT, Michigan (Reuters) - A threat of dueling party conventions to choose a presidential nominee this weekend. Accusations of adultery, corruption and incompetence. A barrage of social media attacks and a police investigation.

The Michigan Republican Party is in turmoil, raising fears among some Republicans that support for former President Donald Trump's re-election bid could suffer in a battleground state that Democratic President Joe Biden won by 2.8 percentage points in 2020.

The fight to oust Kristina Karamo, elected as Republican party chair in Michigan last year, has become increasingly bitter and personal, leaving deep divisions in the local party, according to three dozen party members who spoke to Reuters.

At the center of that battle is Bree Moeggenberg. The 44-year-old member of the Republican state committee  a governing board for the party in Michigan - helped organize a Jan. 6 vote by some committee members to remove Karamo.

Moeggenberg and others blame Karamo  a fiery grassroots activist who backs Trump's false claims of election fraud - for stifling dissent within the party, a lack of transparency in decision making, and driving away wealthy donors.

The Republican National Committee  which helps to coordinate the party's fundraising and election strategy across America - ruled in February that Karamo's removal was legitimate and recognized Pete Hoekstra, ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's presidency, as the new chair. Trump has thrown his support behind Hoekstra.

Karamo has contested the vote and the rival factions have announced dueling conventions on Saturday to choose a presidential nominee and award delegates to the party's national convention in July.

Karamo retains a loyal following among a contingent of the party's roughly 2,000 precinct delegates and its 107-person state committee, but a court ruling this week affirming her removal as chair has put her convention and future with the party in doubt.

Among Republican activists, the fighting has become personal. Several Karamo supporters and anonymous online trolls have, without evidence, accused Moeggenberg of having an affair with a married man, Andy Sebolt, another state committee member.

Both Moeggenberg and Sebolt deny the allegations. Moeggenberg has accused Karamo and her supporters of character assassination. "Such destructive behavior has been a core cause of division in the party," she told Reuters.

Karamo's signature was on an official email newsletter in January that directed party members to a Telegram messaging chatroom with a series of anonymous posts repeating the adultery allegations, some uploaded days before the crucial party vote.

Karamo did not respond to a request for comment on the adultery allegations and intra-party strife.

A number of the three dozen party members in Michigan who spoke to Reuters expressed concern that the acrimony risked leaving Republican activists disillusioned and less likely to volunteer or vote. Among the disenchanted are many grass-roots donors Karamo courted with promises of breaking the party's reliance on the moneyed elite.

Daniel Harrington, 62, who wrote two $1,776 checks last year in support of Karamo, says he won't be donating to the party or helping it get out the vote in November if she is ousted. As precinct delegate, he was planning to participate in Karamo's convention in Detroit.

"We're upset with Trump, absolutely," said Harrington, who voted for the former president in 2016 and 2020 but was angry at how he abandoned Karamo. "I'd like to send a message wherever the convention is going to be to not elect Trump."

A conservative, Harrington said he would probably still vote for Trump in November, if given the choice of him and Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump won Michigan's primary convincingly on Tuesday, securing 12 of 16 delegates up for grabs. The remaining 39 of Michigan's 55 delegates are due to be allocated on Saturday.

The impact of the turmoil within the party has already hit campaign coffers. Donations into a state-level account came to just under $20,000 from the start of Karamo's tenure to the end of 2023, down sharply from $690,000 during the same period four years earlier, according to a Reuters review of filings.

Contributions to the state party's federal account also suffered, with reported fundraising totaling about $900,000 last year, down from about $1.5 million four years earlier in 2019.

PERSONAL DIVISIONS

The tensions in Michigan are driven as much by personal animus as any ideology. Karamo and her supporters describe "establishment" Republicans - those aligned with business interests and traditional donors - as corrupt, and tend to be very conservative in their policy beliefs.

The members backing Hoekstra are also conservative but told Reuters they are willing to work with wealthy donors. They accuse Karamo of incompetence.

"We're so very fractured," said Kelly Sackett, one of two people from the rival factions claiming to be the party chair in Kalamazoo County, where a battle for control has been playing out in courtrooms and police reports. "I don't see it all coming back together."

A judge in Kent County, Michigan on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction saying that Karamo was properly removed and preventing her from representing herself as chair of the party in Michigan. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals denied Karamo's request to suspend Tuesday's ruling while it weighs her ongoing appeal.

Despite the rulings, Karamo has yet to call off Saturday's planned convention in Detroit. Hoekstra has convened a meeting the same day in Grand Rapids, confident his delegates will be recognized at the national convention in July.

NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSY

Moeggenberg, a single mother of three who runs a day care at her home, is no stranger to controversy. She was until recently chair of the Isabella County chapter of Moms for Liberty, a conservative nonprofit that fought COVID-era mask mandates and teaching about LGBT rights.

When Sebolt's wife Jennifer first messaged her privately on Facebook last June accusing her of sleeping with her husband, a tense exchange ensued.

Jennifer told Reuters she was also upset with her husband for working with Moeggenberg and others to undermine Karamo, who she supports. Jennifer did not provide evidence of an affair.

In July, as Moeggenberg ramped up pressure on Karamo, Charles Ritchard, a backer of the embattled chair, started attacking Moeggenberg and Sebolt with Facebook posts containing sexual innuendo and unsubstantiated claims of corruption.

When asked why he attacked Moeggenberg online, Ritchard pointed to a disagreement with her that predated Karamo's election as state party chair. He said Moeggenberg confronted him in a threatening way at the state party convention in February 2023. Moeggenberg denies threatening him.

In some Facebook posts Ritchard subsequently criticized Moeggenberg and Sebolt for moving against Karamo. In a Sept. 23 post, for instance, he railed against the "fake Republicans" working against Karamo while using a pejorative nickname for Sebolt and calling him Moeggenberg's "new Beau."

Following an adultery complaint submitted by Sebolts wife, the state police opened an investigation that prosecutors in both Oceana and Isabella counties declined to pursue, citing a lack of evidence and jurisdictional issues, according to a letter from the Oceana prosecutor on Oct. 9 and police report dated Oct. 10, reviewed by Reuters.

In November, Jennifer nonetheless went public with adultery allegations against her husband, posting them on Facebook. Other Karamo supporters piled in.

Hoekstra said he was confident the party would come together to back Trump and work towards winning a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs in November after the Democratic incumbent announced she would not run. Hoekstra told Reuters he has spoken with several big donors ready to write checks for the party, once leadership has changed. He did not identify the donors.

Penny Swan, a precinct delegate from the city of Hillsdale, is less sanguine about the party's prospects.

"Our party is too involved in this turmoil and the fight within the party to do what we're supposed to be doing: helping candidates and fundraising," said Penny Swan, a precinct delegate from the city of Hillsdale. "I am absolutely worried."

(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Additional reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Ross Colvin and Daniel Flynn)
Protesting Polish farmers have launched a week-long blockade of the Budzisko-Kalvarija crossing on the border between Poland and Lithuania, local authorities in Kalvarija reported via Facebook on March 1.

The farmers were checking incoming trucks for Ukrainian grain, with many arriving at the protest site around 10:30 a.m. Lithuanian officials arrived at the border around 11 a.m., news website Delfi reports.

Private individuals are prohibited from stopping vehicles and inspecting cargo, according to Polish law. Customs and police officers perform this function, while farmers monitor the process from a distance.

While the protestors don't stop cars or small trucks, they select some vehicles from the general stream and direct them to a roadside parking lot, Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT reported.

"They are interfering with us; the farmers have already been blocking our roads for a week, one truck driver said.

It is hard for us; they should organize this differently. I am a driver, Im self-employed. It is also hard for me, I agree, but why block the road? What are we, drivers, doing wrong?"

Polish farmers announced a complete blockade of the Ukrainian border from Feb. 20. Traffic is blocked at all checkpoints.

Read also: Total Ukraine-Poland border closure would be disastrous, freight forwarder warns

Polish Agriculture Minister Czesaw Siekierski recently said that ongoing talks with Ukraine are nearing completion, focusing on introducing restrictions on the import of agricultural products. While a complete closure of the border with Ukraine is not feasible, strict restrictions can be implemented to ensure thorough control of all incoming products, addressing farmers' demands, he said.

Nevertheless, Kyiv and Warsaw are yet to agree on a solution that would assuage the concerns of Polish farmers regarding cheap Ukrainian agricultural products distorting prices in Polands domestic market.

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
MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday expressed alarm over a 255 percent increase in measles cases in 2023 from a year earlier in the Western Pacific Region due to gaps in vaccination coverage, disease surveillance, and travel of people from countries experiencing outbreaks.

The UN health agency said the region recorded 5,044 cases in 2023, higher than that in 2021 and 2022 combined, which totaled 2,502 cases.

The WHO warned of more potential measles cases this year, noting that 3.6 million children in the region missed their routine immunizations from 2020 to 2022, while ongoing measles outbreaks in the Philippines and persistent endemic measles transmission in Malaysia both pose a threat of measles resurgence in the region.

"Anytime there's measles in a community, it is a threat," said Saia Ma'u Piukala, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, adding that countries have to maintain high coverage of measles vaccination and strong systems for picking up cases that get imported through international travel.

The measles virus is exceptionally contagious and spreads easily among susceptible individuals. To prevent outbreaks, at least 95 percent immunization coverage with 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine is needed for people, including those who missed routine vaccination in the past. 
Polish police officers at the Wrocaw police station planned to exploit a homeless Ukrainian citizen with mental health issues to improve their statistics, the Polish newscast Wiadomosci reported on Feb. 28.

The 35-year-old man was allegedly offered a hot dog in exchange for confessing to 26 crimes, most of which he likely did not commit, the report said.

Read also: Ukrainian FM Kuleba comments on Polish provocateurs' calls for Putin to come

Pawe Potorzycki, the Voivodeship Police Chief in Wrocaw, initiated a special inspection team to probe into the officers misconduct and illegal actions in response to the allegations.

The police purportedly used the mans mental health diagnoses to attribute unsolved crimes to him and close the cases. The official protocols reportedly omitted any reference to the detainees mental health problems, and consequently, he was not assessed by psychiatric experts. The man was sentenced to three years in prison.

Read also: Total Ukraine-Poland border closure would be disastrous, freight forwarder warns

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Polish police and special forces surrounded Ukrainian hauliers on their way to negotiate with the protesters at the border, dividing them into several groups, and the blockade lasted for at least two hours.

Source: a correspondent of European Pravda from the Korczowa border checkpoint

Details: The hauliers say that on the morning of 1 March, the police reported a decrease in the number of vehicles that can cross the border every hour. Up to 26 lorries crossed the border on 29 February, but by 1 March, the protesters had imposed a limit of one vehicle per hour.

Photo: European Pravda

Ukrainian hauliers headed to the negotiations with the protesters. Instead, the Polish police and special forces encircled Ukrainian drivers, dividing them into several groups.

Ukrainian hauliers say the Polish police did not let them approach the Polish protesters, encircled them, and did not even allow them to return to their vehicles and campsites.

The blockade lasted for at least two hours. As of now, the police have lifted the blockade and let the hauliers return to their vehicles. The speed of letting vehicles cross the border has not increased.

The police accuse Ukrainian hauliers of trying to block the road in response. The Ukrainians reject these claims. The Ukrainian embassy in Poland states that it is aware of the situation and is constantly in touch with the Polish police.

Background:

Numerous farmers protests have been ongoing all over Poland for a few days. Their participants block the roads, motorways and border checkpoints at the border with Ukraine. The farmers are against the influx of Ukrainian goods, as well as against the European policy connected to the so-called Green Deal of the EU.

On the afternoon of 28 February, Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, said that Poland and Ukraine were discussing a possible temporary closure of the border for the movement of goods until the problems are solved.

After that, Taras Kachka, Ukraines trade representative, said that on 28 February he had long talks with Polish ministers and such an option was not mentioned there.

He also advised reading Tusks statement in full so as not to have a false impression about it.

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Dear Katie,

I dont do online banking and often prefer to use cheques to make payments via my Santander 123 account. Most of the cheques I write are to UK charities, and they are always written with the same type of pen.

Back in November I wrote a series of 10 cheques to various charities and posted them in prepaid and addressed envelopes, which were provided by the charities.

When my bank statement arrived for that month I was horrified to see that one of the cheques that I had written to Shelter, for 50, had been cashed by someone with a name I didnt recognise on December 12, for 9,980.

I immediately contacted the Santander helpline and explained the circumstances. I was told that an investigation would be started and that the money would be refunded to my account.

After Christmas I went in person to my local Santander branch and was told that the full 9,980 had been refunded to my account. I was told that an investigation was underway and that it would take 21 working days to complete.

On January 15 I received an email stating that I was in an unarranged overdraft. I phoned Santanders helpline only to find that I was not overdrawn at all.

Two days later I returned to my local branch where I was told that the 9,980 had been re-removed from my account.

I was shown a copy of the cheque on the computer screen. It looked like the name of the recipient and the amount had been overwritten with a much heavier and darker pen.

I explained that I had not written the cheque to the person named, that I did not know them and that the cheque had originally been written to Shelter for 50, not for 9,980.

At the end of the month 21 working days had elapsed since my reporting of this crime, yet I still had heard nothing from Santander. I called its customer service helpline again. I eventually got through to an operator who told me that the investigation had been closed.

When I asked what this meant I was told that the investigation was over and that the 9,980 was not in my account. I was on the phone for several hours, trying to get some explanation of why the bank had come to this conclusion without contacting me.

After over three hours I was in utter despair. I was told that the only option left for me was to make a complaint, which I did.

It also occurred to me that I had better report this crime to Action Fraud. It gave me a report number, which I tried to pass on to Santander. I was told the lines were down, but that somebody from the fraud department would call me back within 48 hours. But no one ever did.

AP, via email

Dear reader,

Finally, in February you were told by Santander that your 9,980 was back in your account, but that there had been no fraud investigation into the fraudulent cheque. No one seemed to know why. You were offered 200 as compensation; however, because you were so livid, you declined.

Then you received a letter from Santander Fraud Operations, which you presumed was designed to close this matter. It was 10 pages long and began with the words: Weve completed our fraud investigation. Yet you felt nothing had been done.

The rest of the letter was about ways you could protect yourself from fraud. You felt like this was trying to insinuate that the forgery came about as a result of your negligence, which left you incensed. All you had done was try to donate to charity.

The only thing you could have done differently here was to donate via a more secure means of payment, such as a bank transfer, telephone payment or direct debit. Cheque usage in the UK has plummeted by 90pc since 2007, according to trade body UK Finance, so your desire to keep using them puts you in a minority.

However, you quite happily admit to being old fashioned and, like many fans of the paper and pen payments, you view cheques as convenient and secure. Or at least you did until recently.

When you popped your 50 cheque in the post to Shelter you never once imagined it might be used to extort you out of 9,980.

You were the victim of whats called a cheque interception scam, where someone  either operating within Royal Mail, which was supposed to deliver the cheque to Shelter, within Shelter itself, or somewhere else  overwrote your handwriting with thicker, darker pen, changing the amount to 9,980 and the recipient from Shelter to the name of a man you did not know.

When I asked Shelter it said your case was an isolated incident and that it had no employees which matched the name on the rogue cheque.

Andy Harris, director of income generation at Shelter, said: We were saddened to hear about Mr Ps experience. As soon as he got in touch with us about what had happened to his postal cheque we launched an urgent investigation.

We were able to confirm that no-one with the name he provided works for Shelter or is known to us. We then advised him to contact Action Fraud, as well as speaking with his banks fraud team.

Shelter has also reported this incident to the Royal Mail to investigate how the cheque could have been intercepted. A Royal Mail spokesman said: We take these matters very seriously and will support any police investigation.

A Santander spokesman said: Were sorry for the delay in handling Mr Ps cheque fraud claim. We can confirm that Mr P has had the full 9,980 returned to his account, with interest, and we have paid him an additional 400 in recognition of the service he received during the handling of his claim.

Santander confirmed that the fraudsters bank has been notified about the incident, allowing it to make its own enquiries and assist the authorities, if they do look into it.

Youve said youll be wary of sending cheques in future, which is perfectly understandable.

To my mind, sending cheques in branded envelopes which could signal to criminals whats inside may not be the best way to donate to charity. Santander has offered to support you in making payments via other methods, which I think you should accept.

You have very kindly offered to donate the 400 compensation to charity instead of keeping it, so that could be a good place to start. Good luck with it.

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I asked a learned lawmaker a few years ago about what they thought would happen to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Former President Trump was in office and starting to take digs at the Kentucky Republican. McConnell was then the Majority Leader. Trump began lobbing verbal brickbats at McConnell, imploring him to shred the legislative filibuster in the Senate.

The lawmaker knew McConnell well. But doubted that Trump could lay a hand on McConnell.

"Mitch craves power," said the lawmaker. "Hell never leave. Theyll have to take him out of here in a pine box."

Addison Mitchell McConnell isnt leaving the Senate. Yet. The prophesy from the political soothsayer may yet come true. McConnell plans to remain in the Senate through at least January, 2027  the end of his term.

CROWDED FIELD OF POTENTIAL MCCONNELL SUCCESSORS EMERGES IN SENATE

Anyone who aspires to a senior Congressional leadership position certainly craves power to some degree.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

But political power is mutable. Protean. It fluctuates. And those who have power today are certainly not guaranteed to wield it tomorrow.

Especially on Capitol Hill.

Its not known where McConnell stands on the congressional scale measuring the quest for power in Washington. McConnell procured power as the longest-serving Senate leader of either party, besting stalwarts like late Senate Majority Leaders Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., Joseph Robinson, D-Ark., Robert Byrd, D-W.V., and Alben Barkley, D-Ky.

But like the others, McConnell had only power  not superpowers.

And everyone lacks power over maintaining power.

MITCH MCCONNELL STEPPING DOWN AS REPUBLICAN LEADER

"I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than Id prefer," said McConnell. "Father Time remains undefeated."

"I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than Id prefer," said McConnell.

It wasnt so much that time caught up to McConnell. Its just that so much time passed. That made it more challenging to preserve that power. Factors began multiplying. All working against McConnell.

Time and age began toiling against McConnell. There was his health. A bad fall last year kept McConnell out of the Senate for six weeks. McConnell then suffered several episodes where he froze in public  seemingly unable to speak.

Whispers began around the Senate corridors that McConnells time as Republican Leader was nearly up  even though McConnell secretly decided he would step aside from his post at the end of this Congress.

Former President Trump resumed his verbal assaults on McConnell, pushing for a new GOP Leader  especially if the former President returns to the White House.

But the rhetorical cartridge shells from the former president werent what drove McConnell out. They were a symptom. The Republican Party shifted over time. As the grains of sand slipped through the hourglass, so did the granules of McConnells power. Slowly. Methodically. But, surely.

McConnell said he arrived on Capitol Hill at the beginning of President Ronald Reagans second term. Unfamiliar with the new senator from the Bluegrass State, McConnell said the Gipper called him Mitch "ODonnell." Now McConnell departs with former President Trump calling him an "Old Crow."

McConnell embraced the avian moniker. Like McConnell, Henry Clay is one of Kentuckys other great statesmen, formerly a House speaker and senator. And as McConnell likes to tell it, Old Crow was Clays favorite bourbon. So McConnell said he was honored that Trump would liken him to Clay.

But a new "MAGA" breed of senator arrived on Capitol Hill in recent years. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rand Paul, R-Ky., Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., Rick Scott, R-Fla., JD Vance, R-Ohio and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. Theyre not aligned with McConnell. In fact, a senior Senate Republican leadership source told Fox that some GOP senators are tired of whats called the "MAGA show" at the weekly party conference lunches each Tuesday.

SEN. JOHN CORNYN DECLARES CANDIDACY FOR MINORITY LEADER AFTER MCCONNELL STEPS DOWN

And therein lies the problem for McConnell as his power eroded.

Like all things on Capitol Hill, its about the math.

There was no better metric in recent years to measure McConnells dwindling power than the exercise over the international aid package, which then became the international aid package with a border security plan. And then reverted back to an international aid bill.

McConnell wanted to advance the foreign money program  especially for Ukraine. But McConnell calculated that a robust border security package would sweeten the plan and satisfy members of his conference. That turned out to be a misjudgment. Support for a border plan diluted. And the bill went back to just international security.

McConnell hoped to get a majority of Republican senators to support the final product. That would be 25 out of 49 Republican senators. McConnell scored 22.

Thats not because McConnell stumbled. Its because the Republican Party moved from where it would have been a few years ago. The political tectonic plates shifted. And the vote on the international aid bill served as a barometer reading of McConnells power.

McConnell grasped the political transference. His power may be dissipating. McConnels greatest power was his understanding of power. That never left him.

"Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time," said McConnell on the Senate floor. "I have many faults, misunderstanding politics is not one of them."

Who will succeed McConnell?

It is almost too early to divine where another power center will emerge to dictate who might succeed McConnell as the Senates top Republican. That political universe doesnt even exist yet. Yes, for now, look at the three Johns: Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., former Whip John Cornyn, R-Tex., and Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Even someone like Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., could be in play. A source tells Fox that Cotton is interested in a race.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) speaks after a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 28, 2023 in Washington, DC.

But we dont understand much else.

We must first know who wins the presidential election. And if 2024 is anything like 2020, that might take a while. A delay in figuring out the winner could postpone the internal secret leadership election which Senate Republicans will take in mid to late November. But the winner of the presidential election will define who the GOP wants  especially if former President Trump prevails and has something to say about it.

Another factor: which party has control of the Senate  and by how many seats. Keep in mind we didnt know which party would control the Senate after the 2020 election until January of 2021.

This is why other figures may emerge. Especially dark horses.

As I have written before, leadership elections in Congress are not "partisan politics" They are "particle politics." Factors which determine who is propelled into leadership are decided at the subatomic political level. Thus, it is hard to see who might prevail. Consider how former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, won in an upset to become House Majority Leader in 2006. Or how former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., got his job  despite saying he wasnt interested. And who could have predicted what was in store for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., say back in September?

A dark horse could emerge.

Imagine Republicans prevail with a substantial majority in November. In that case, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., may be a possibility. Daines leads the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the GOPs campaign arm. Daines has made many of the right moves so far in pending political contests. If Republicans win the Senate by a good margin, some members (especially the new ones), might give Daines a look.

en. Steve Daines, R-Mont., testifies during the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing titled Passenger and Freight Rail: The Current Status of the Rail Network and the Track Ahead, in Russell Building on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

It will be someones time this fall. We just dont know who.

It has been McConnells time for more than 17 years on Capitol Hill.

And now its not.

Father Time is undefeated.

And power is elusive. Always deteriorating.

Political leaders are powerful. But powerless over their power.





Original article source: Powerless over power: After shifts in GOP landscape, McConnell's leadership draws to a close
An Ohio zoo welcomed a new addition to its family  a precious baby African elephant  a news release said.

An African elephant was born at the Toledo zoo in February, the Zoo said. African elephants are an endangered species, according to the Zoo.

The elephant, which does not not have a name, was born Feb. 17 at the Toledo Zoo after a successful artificial insemination process.

It was nearly a two-year gestation period for the calfs mother, Renee, according to the zoo, where shes been since 1982. The calfs father is at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, Kansas.

It took months of coordination working with our partners in the field, Michael Frushour, the parks general curator of endotherms, said in the release. It takes a special team of experts to perform an elephant AI, and we prioritized working with the best professionals within the United States and from around the world to make sure that happened.

The artificial insemination process helps zoos grow populations of declining species, such as African elephants.

African elephants are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Preserving the future of this species is critical to us, and we are committed to doing so. Were looking forward to the new calf joining our herd, and were optimistic that he will fit in just fine, Frushour said.

The zoo said both the mother and baby are in good health.

The zoo is holding a donation contest to vote for the calfs name. Voters are choosing between Leap, Link, Loki, Leif and Leo.

The new elephant will make his public debut March 16, the zoo said.

Bear rescued as orphan  known as a laid back little brother  dies at Minnesota Zoo

Adorable newborn elephant bonds with his family at Nebraska zoo. See the cute photos
(WJET/WFXP)  Days after a pregnant Amish woman was found dead inside her Pennsylvania home, the search for a suspect continues.

Authorities found 23-year-old Rebekah Byler dead inside her home on Fish Flats Road in Crawford County on Monday. State police said her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Police focus on tattoos to ID human remains found on Long Island

The crime sent shockwaves through the community. As of Friday, many questions remain.

On Wednesday, the Crawford County Coroner said the autopsy was completed, but the results would not be released.

As the investigation continues, members of law enforcement urged the Spartansburg community to report any suspicious activity.

Keep being vigilant this is a criminal homicide investigation, practice safe procedures keep your doors locked report any suspicious behavior, persons, or vehicles whether it was passed or current, said Trooper Cynthia Schick.

See it: NYPD helicopter pursues stolen car in Queens

State police added there is growing interest in the murder investigation as network news outlets have begun to cover the case.

The national attention is picking up as you said you compared it to the Burham case, so this is obviously impacting more than just the community here within itself and has reached out further so were also asking them as well to relay the same message to everyone. We want them to stay vigilant if somebody knows something we want them to call it in, said Tpr. Schick.

Anyone with information was asked to contact state police at 814-663-2043.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
A pregnant Amish woman was found murdered in her home in western Pennsylvania Tuesday afternoon.

State police in Corry said Rebekah Byler, 23, was found dead at her home on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Crawford County. The Associated Press reports a relative and a family friend discovered her body in the living room.

Bylers death is being investigated as a criminal homicide and state police said theyre aggressively investigating all available leads.

Anyone with information of any suspicious person, vehicles or activity in the area of Fish Flats Road is asked to call the state police Corry barracks at 814-663-2043.

Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers is also offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest, the solving of a crime/cold case or the location of a wanted person/fugitive or missing person.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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A pregnant Amish woman found dead in her living room on Monday had lacerations to her head and neck, according to search warrant filings issued for her Pennsylvania home, The Associated Press reported.

Rebekah A. Byler, 23, was about six months pregnant when she was killed.

A woman, previously described by police as a family friend, called 911 to report the discovery of Byler's body "a short distance inside" the house on Fish Flats Road in Sparta Township, Crawford County, around 12:36 p.m., according to a warrant application reviewed by The Associated Press.

Trooper Adam Black wrote in the application that Andy Byler, the slain woman's husband, found his wife unresponsive on her back around noon. He was reportedly not home at the time of the murder, according to ABC 13.

Byler's two children in the home were unharmed, Pennsylvania State Trooper Cynthia Schick told The Associated Press.

DEATH OF PREGNANT AMISH WOMAN FOUND IN PENNSYLVANIA HOME INVESTIGATED AS HOMICIDE: REPORT

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Byler's death has been ruled a homicide, but state police have not yet named any suspects.

The woman's autopsy and a state police investigation have given investigators an idea of what the murder weapon may have been, but they do not have it in their possession, Schick said.

The warrant application sought knives, blades, cutting instruments and other items.

On Thursday afternoon, there were no signs of activity outside Byler's home, which is located along a dirt road in a very remote farming community. A buggy, a bike and a truck were parked outside, The Associated Press reported.

CONSERVATIVES RALLY BEHIND PENNSYLVANIA AMISH FARMER WHO SUFFERED POLICE RAID OVER MILK SALES

The slaying shocked the rural northwestern Pennsylvania community. Residents say the Amish, known for their plain dress and restricted use of technology, get along well with their non-Amish neighbors, The Associated Press reported.

"It's not something that happens around here," Lindsey Smith, president of the women's auxiliary of the nearby Spartansburg Volunteer Fire Department, said.

PA AUTHORITIES REVEAL CAUSES OF DEATH FOR VICTIMS OF MURDER-SUICIDE ARSON INCIDENT

"We're worried about our Amish," Smith said. "They are a big part of our community. They support us a lot."

Katie Rhodes, a waitress at the Dutch Treat Restaurant in Spartanburg, said the community is still shocked.

"My heart breaks for the family, for the little kids," she said.

There are about 400,000 Amish living across settlements in 32 states, Canada and Bolivia  Pennsylvania has one of the highest concentrations of the Mennonite sect, according to the news agency.





Original article source: Pregnant Amish woman killed in Pennsylvania home had cuts to head, neck: report
Much has been made of Missouris archaic law that restricts a judge from finalizing a divorce if a woman is pregnant. And rightfully so. Any measure that prevents anyone from leaving a potentially dangerous situation is a problem that should be fixed.

The draconian law has been on the books since 1973, last amended in 2016, and needs an update. Under the measure, a family court judge cannot finalize a divorce until a child is born, paternity is established and a custody agreement is put in place. The intent is to protect the financial and emotional well-being of the mother and child, a concept we support.

But no exceptions exist with the current law. As a result, victims of physical or emotional abuse or spousal rape could be put at the mercy of their abusers, victim advocates have warned.

We see no other recourse to this present ban: The Missouri General Assembly must act on House Bill 2402, a proposal that would allow a judge to finalize a divorce or legal separation no matter a womans pregnancy status.

Introduced earlier this year by state Rep. Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Platte County, the measure did advance to the House Emerging Issues Committee, an encouraging development, Aune told us this week.

Last year, a similar bill she proposed failed to gain traction. This years version has bipartisian support but needs some tweaks, according to Aune.

The language is pretty broad, she said.

Once more instructive language is added, Aune is hopeful the proposal will advance out of committee for a full vote before the House.

What I am trying to do is for a judge to have another tool in the tool box to end a marriage, she said.

H.B. 2402 is co-sponsored by Republican state Reps. Jeff Farnan of Stanberry and Sherri Gallick of Belton and Rep. Richard Brown, a Democrat from Kansas City.

Farnan represents Nodaway, Gentry, Holt and Atchison counties in northwest Missouri. During a Feb. 7 public hearing on the legislation, he said he was not aware of the current law. Three days later, he signed on as co-sponsor.

Has this law always been this way? Farnan inquired at the hearing. Ive never even heard of anything like this.

Missouri isnt the only state that bars judges from finalizing divorce while a woman is pregnant, according to the American Pregnancy Association, a nonprofit anti-abortion organization. Arkansas, Arizona and Texas are the others.

It is to me, an unintended consequence of the good intentions we have in our statute to prevent what the courts call the bastardization of a child, Aune testified at the hearing. We want to make sure babies that are born have that support. But what Im trying to do here is really give judges an opportunity to determine if the situation requires an additional step.

In other states, judges have the discretion to dissolve a marriage even if a woman is pregnant. In the best interest of all parties involved in family court matters, Missouri lawmakers should give judges in our state the ability to make those tough calls, too.

Homicide 3rd leading cause of pregnancy related deaths

Last year, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services released the findings of a multiyear review of maternal mortality. Homicide was the third leading cause of death among all pregnancy related deaths, according to the review.

In each of the eight homicides reported, the perpetrator was either a current or former partner, according to DHSS.

Giving a judge more power to expedite the dissolution process could possibly prevent these unfortunate tragedies.

Lawmakers must consider the overall health of an unborn child. Experiencing domestic violence during pregnancy puts both mother and child at risk, according to Matthew Huffman, chief public affairs officer for the Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, a statewide association made up of service providers for abuse victims.

Women who are abused during pregnancy are more likely to receive no prenatal care or delay receiving any care because of the abuse theyre already experiencing by their partner and that partner controlling their access to health care, Huffman told members of the Emerging Issues Committee.

Maternal exposure to domestic violence is associated with significantly increased risk of low birth weight and preterm birth, he said. Infants exposed to domestic violence can show signs of trauma that include problems eating, sleep disturbances, higher irritability and delays in development.

A pregnancy should not preclude a divorce from proceeding  especially if the woman is at risk. Missouri lawmakers must join many other states that give a family court judge the option to finalize a divorce between a pregnant woman and her spouse.

Keeping an archaic law on the books makes little sense. The protection and health of a mother and unborn child are more important than outdated state statutes.
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday congratulated Tamas Sulyok on his election as Hungarian president.

In recent years, China-Hungary relations have maintained a high level of development, characterized by frequent high-level exchanges and fruitful cooperation in various fields, Xi remarked, adding that the two countries have worked well together in international and regional affairs.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary, and bilateral relations are facing new important opportunities for development, the Chinese president noted.

Xi said he highly values the development of China-Hungary relations, and stands ready to work together with Sulyok to continue the traditional friendship between the two peoples, deepen political mutual trust and exchanges and cooperation in various fields, promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and lead the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Hungary to a new level. 
Woda Cooper Companies wants to demolish the Farm Crest Bakeries building at 1826 E. Livingston Ave. in Columbus' Driving Park neighborhood to build affordable apartments.

Columbus-based developer Woda Cooper Companies wants to build affordable apartments on the site of a long-closed bakery building in the city's Driving Park neighborhood that the Columbus Landmarks Foundation and others want to save.

A demolition company filed on Feb. 16 for a permit to knock down the Farm Crest Bakeries Building at 1826 E. Livingston Ave. Woda Cooper plans to redevelop the site into the Granville Woods Lofts, a $23-million project with 118 apartments and more than 5,000 square feet of retail space on the 3-acre site just west the Norfolk Southern tracks.

According to an emailed statement from Jonathan McKay, Woda Cooper's vice president of development, the apartments at the Granville Woods Lofts will be available to families making between 30% to 80% of the area median income. That would be $20,850 for a one-person household and $30,000 for a four-person household at 30%, and $55,550 for one person to $79,350 for a four-person household at 80%.

Jewish Family Services will provide support services.

The proposed development has been in the works for more than two years.

Columbus Landmarks placed the bakery building on its 2022 most-endangered list, calling the building "a rare example in Columbus of Art Moderne (also referred to as Streamlined Moderne) architecture." It said the style emphasizes "curving forms, long horizontal lines, rounded corners, flat roofs, and minimal ornamentation."

Susan Keeny. Columbus Landmarks preservation director, said the building has "a streamlined modern style we dont see a lot of now."

Columbus Landmarks officials said the building housed the Detroit-based Farm Crest bakery's cookie division, and served markets from the East Coast to the Mississippi River.

Columbus Landmarks CEO Rebecca Kemper said the bakery employed many Black employees over the years, and is important to the neighborhood's history.

The Driving Park Civic Association recommended against a zoning variance for the site, but Columbus City Council in June 2022 approved the variance for the apartments. The Livingston Avenue Area Commission voted in favor of the variance.

Stacee Green, the civic association's vice-president, said she and others would prefer the property turned into a workplace, not apartments.

"We have a difference of opinion as to what is the highest and best use," Green said. "We need jobs on that parcel."

Kemper said that Columbus Landmarks supports affordable housing. But she added, "We see residents being critical experts of their neighborhoods and corridors."

According to the Franklin County auditor's office, the three-story, 53,616-square-foot building was built in 1949 and is now owned by Lee-Elle Management LLC of Columbus. In his statement, McKay said that Woda Cooper has an agreement to purchase the site and anticipates taking ownership in the spring.

Michael Aaron, a longtime community leader in the storied Driving Park neighborhood, said he is an affordable housing advocate for his neighborhood, especially as home prices in what had long been a depressed real estate market have been reaching $250,000, $300,000 and more in recent years.

"We have an opportunity to provide housing for families that need new, clean, energy-efficient affordable housing," he said.

While Aaron said it's commendable that historic preservationists want to save at least the front part of the bakery building, he said Woda Cooper representatives told him that isn't feasible.

The building has been vacant for years, Aaron said, and is a blight on the neighborhood as people enter Driving Park from the west.

"No one has been interested and willing to tackle the building," Aaron said.

In his statement, McKay said that Woda Cooper officials considered preserving the existing bakery building, but determined that wouldn't work for modern housing. Woda Cooper plans to put up a historical marker on the site and photo documentation in the common areas.

But Mike Feist, a Columbus Landmarks preservation services committee member concerned about the demolition, called the bakery a big iconic part of the neighborhood and a gateway to the heart of the city.

"It has so much history intertwined with the community," Feist said.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Preservationists fighting to save old bakery building in Driving Park
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has postponed his visit to Armenia and Azerbaijan due to the decision of the Baku authorities, Radar Armenia reported on March 1.

Media reports last week suggested that the Ukrainian leader was planning to visit Armenia in the coming days.

The date of the visit has not been officially confirmed.

Read also: Armenia may suspend its CSTO membership

Charge dAffaires of Ukraine in Armenia Valeriy Lobach neither confirmed nor denied the information about Zelenskyys visit to journalists.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Feb. 12 that since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Armenia has not been an ally of Russia.

However, Pashinyan refused to answer whether the Armenian police would act on the International Criminal Courts warrant for the arrest of the Russian dictator if Vladimir Putin came to his country.

Zelenskyy arrived in the German capital of Berlin on Feb. 16, where he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a security guarantee agreement. On the same day, Zelenskyy and his team arrived in France, where the Ukrainian president met with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. The parties also signed an agreement on security guarantees.

Presidential Spokesman Serhii Nykyforov announced on Feb. 21 that many foreign leaders would arrive in Kyiv on Feb. 24.

Read also: President Zelenskyy's strategic European tour aims at military support talks

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
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers await the arrival of President Joe Biden to deliver remarks about immigration and border security at the Brownsville Station on February 29, 2024 in Olmito, Texas. The president visited the border near Brownsville on the same day as a dueling trip made by former President Donald Trump to neighboring Eagle Pass, Texas. Cheney Orr/Getty Images

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon paid competing visits to the nations southern border, where Biden called on Congress to reconsider a bipartisan border security deal that Republicans tanked at Trumps direction.

Biden traveled to Brownsville, Texas, while Trump journeyed to Eagle Pass, highlighting how immigration policy has risen in importance as the 2024 presidential race takes shape. Biden is seeking reelection and Trump is the GOP primary front-runner.

Heres what I would say to Mr. Trump, Biden said. Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together.

Senate Republicans earlier this month walked away from that deal they brokered with the White House, following Trumps objection to the plan that would drastically overhaul U.S. immigration law and bolster funding.

Biden said that the Senate needs to reconsider the bipartisan border security bill and that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson should bring the measure to the floor for a vote.

Johnson has refused, arguing that the House already passed its own measure in H.R. 2, and that Biden has the executive authority to take action to address high levels of immigration. Democrats object to many of the policies in that bill.

Accompanying the president was U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by House Republicans over policy disputes in early February, and Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, whose district includes Brownsville.

During his visit, Biden met with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, frontline personnel and local leaders, the White House said.

I just received a briefing from the Border Patrol at the border as well as immigration enforcement asylum officers and theyre all doing incredible work under really tough conditions, Biden said. They desperately need more resources.

Mayorkas said only Congress can help DHS fund more Border Patrol agents, immigration enforcement agents, asylum officers, immigration judges and support personnel, facilities and technology.

You can see the impact these resources will have on our ability to strengthen our security, advance our mission to protect the homeland and enforce our nations laws quickly and effectively, he said. Though Congress has not yet provided the resources we need, DHS will continue to enforce the law and work to secure our border.

Migrant encounters

As the Biden administration deals with the largest number of migrant encounters at the southern border in more than 20 years, Trumps reelection campaign has centered on stoking fears surrounding immigration  as he previously did in his 2016 presidential campaign.

More than 300 miles away from Biden in Eagle Pass on Thursday, Trump criticized the Biden administration and touted how he managed the border during his first presidency.

He highlighted his Remain in Mexico program that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while waiting for their asylum cases to he heard  a move that many advocates documented resulted in harm, separation and deaths to those migrants who had to comply.

The best was Remain in Mexico, Trump said. You stay in Mexico.

Trump implemented the program in 2019 and the Biden administration sought to terminate it in June 2021.

But the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas determined in Texas v. Biden that the termination memo from the Biden administration was not issued in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, so the court ordered the Department of Homeland Security to keep the program in place.

It took a Supreme Court ruling for the Biden administration to finally be allowed to end the program.

Trump also praised Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who is at odds with the Biden administration over who wields authority over the border, most recently when Abbott defied U.S. Supreme Court orders to remove razor wire along the border.

Abbott has also sent migrants on buses and planes to Democratic-led cities without warning local officials, putting strains on those cities.

Hes in some sanitized location, Abbott said of Bidens visit to Brownsville. It just goes to show that Biden does not care about either Texas or the border and whats going on.

GOP on the attack in D.C.

U.S. House Republicans at the Capitol also criticized Bidens visit to the border, calling it a photo op, and arguing that Brownsville is not a busy area that encounters many migrants.

The border is the issue for every American no matter where they live, no matter where their state is, because every state is a border state, Johnson said during a Thursday press conference.

Johnson also pressed for Biden to take executive action on immigration, something Biden has argued he cannot do without congressional authority.

Utahs Blake Moore, the vice chair of the House Republican Conference, argued that El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, are busier than Brownsville in terms of immigration.

Brownsville can hardly be considered one of the most challenging immigration areas, Moore said.

Moore said that this should not be just the second time in Bidens presidency he has visited the border, and that Trumps visit on the same day made it seem like Biden was trying to compete with Trump. Bidens first visit to the border was in January 2023.

That is what the American people will take from this, and its disheartening to know that that is the case, Moore said.

NBC has reported the White House says Trumps visit had nothing to do with Bidens trip to Texas.

The post Presidential campaign moves to the border, as Biden urges Trump to back immigration deal appeared first on Georgia Recorder.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers await the arrival of President Joe Biden to deliver remarks about immigration and border security at the Brownsville Station on February 29, 2024 in Olmito, Texas. The president visited the border near Brownsville on the same day as a dueling trip made by former President Donald Trump to neighboring Eagle Pass, Texas. (Cheney Orr/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon paid competing visits to the nations southern border, where Biden called on Congress to reconsider a bipartisan border security deal that Republicans tanked at Trumps direction.

Biden traveled to Brownsville, Texas, while Trump journeyed to Eagle Pass, highlighting how immigration policy has risen in importance as the 2024 presidential race takes shape. Biden is seeking reelection and Trump is the GOP primary front-runner.

Heres what I would say to Mr. Trump, Biden said. Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or Ill join you in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill. We can do it together.

Senate Republicans earlier this month walked away from that deal they brokered with the White House, following Trumps objection to the plan that would drastically overhaul U.S. immigration law and bolster funding.

Biden said that the Senate needs to reconsider the bipartisan border security bill and that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson should bring the measure to the floor for a vote.

Johnson has refused, arguing that the House already passed its own measure in H.R. 2, and that Biden has the executive authority to take action to address high levels of immigration. Democrats object to many of the policies in that bill.

Accompanying the president was U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was impeached by House Republicans over policy disputes in early February, and Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, whose district includes Brownsville.

During his visit, Biden met with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, frontline personnel and local leaders, the White House said.

I just received a briefing from the Border Patrol at the border as well as immigration enforcement asylum officers and theyre all doing incredible work under really tough conditions, Biden said. They desperately need more resources.

Mayorkas said only Congress can help DHS fund more Border Patrol agents, immigration enforcement agents, asylum officers, immigration judges and support personnel, facilities and technology.

You can see the impact these resources will have on our ability to strengthen our security, advance our mission to protect the homeland and enforce our nations laws quickly and effectively, he said. Though Congress has not yet provided the resources we need, DHS will continue to enforce the law and work to secure our border.

Migrant encounters

As the Biden administration deals with the largest number of migrant encounters at the southern border in more than 20 years, Trumps reelection campaign has centered on stoking fears surrounding immigration  as he previously did in his 2016 presidential campaign.

More than 300 miles away from Biden in Eagle Pass on Thursday, Trump criticized the Biden administration and touted how he managed the border during his first presidency.

He highlighted his Remain in Mexico program that required asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while waiting for their asylum cases to he heard  a move that many advocates documented resulted in harm, separation and deaths to those migrants who had to comply.

The best was Remain in Mexico, Trump said. You stay in Mexico.

Trump implemented the program in 2019 and the Biden administration sought to terminate it in June 2021.

But the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas determined in Texas v. Biden that the termination memo from the Biden administration was not issued in compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act, so the court ordered the Department of Homeland Security to keep the program in place.

It took a Supreme Court ruling for the Biden administration to finally be allowed to end the program.

Trump also praised Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who is at odds with the Biden administration over who wields authority over the border, most recently when Abbott defied U.S. Supreme Court orders to remove razor wire along the border.

Abbott has also sent migrants on buses and planes to Democratic-led cities without warning local officials, putting strains on those cities.

Hes in some sanitized location, Abbott said of Bidens visit to Brownsville. It just goes to show that Biden does not care about either Texas or the border and whats going on.

GOP on the attack in D.C.

U.S. House Republicans at the Capitol also criticized Bidens visit to the border, calling it a photo op, and arguing that Brownsville is not a busy area that encounters many migrants.

The border is the issue for every American no matter where they live, no matter where their state is, because every state is a border state, Johnson said during a Thursday press conference.

Johnson also pressed for Biden to take executive action on immigration, something Biden has argued he cannot do without congressional authority.

Utahs Blake Moore, the vice chair of the House Republican Conference, argued that El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, are busier than Brownsville in terms of immigration.

Brownsville can hardly be considered one of the most challenging immigration areas, Moore said.

Moore said that this should not be just the second time in Bidens presidency he has visited the border, and that Trumps visit on the same day made it seem like Biden was trying to compete with Trump. Bidens first visit to the border was in January 2023.

That is what the American people will take from this, and its disheartening to know that that is the case, Moore said.

NBC has reported the White House says Trumps visit had nothing to do with Bidens trip to Texas.

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The post Presidential campaign moves to the border, as Biden urges Trump to back immigration deal appeared first on Alabama Reflector.
Feb. 29 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old Florida girl remains missing following the arrest of her mother's boyfriend. Madeline Soto was last seen on Monday, police said.

Stephan Sterns, 37, was arrested for sexual battery and possession of child sexual abuse material, officials confirmed Thursday, who called Sterns a "prime suspect."

Orange County sheriff's detectives found "disturbing images" and videos that were "criminal and sexual in nature" in a forensic examination of Sterns' phone, police said, adding that there had been attempts made to delete the evidence.

Detectives said that the crimes were committed at the family's home in Kissimmee. Local police there were notified and are in charge of the sexual battery case.

The department released a video on social media showing Sterns being detained in a patrol car.

Soto was last seen about 8:30 a.m. Monday when Sterns was to have dropped her off a few blocks away from Hunter's Creek Middle School in Orlando, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said.

Her mother went to pick her up from school at 4:30 p.m. but was told her daughter did not arrive at school that day.

Authorities began a search that night.

"Sterns is considered the prime suspect at this time," the Orange County Sheriff's Office said, but added that he was not arrested in direct connection with Soto's disappearance.

Sterns invoked his right to an attorney when he was interviewed by Kissimmee police and OCSO detectives Wednesday night. That's when he was arrested and taken to jail, the sheriff's office said.

"Stephan Sterns had an opportunity tonight to come clean with detectives and help lead them to information about Maddie's disappearance," Mina said after the interview. "Her loved ones deserve answers and OCSO and the Kissimmee Police will not stop until we find Maddie."

About 100 deputies, detectives, intelligence analysts and bloodhounds have been deployed in the search for the teen, which included a wooded area near the school.

Soto is described as blond with blue eyes and is 5 feet, 1 inch tall. She last was seen wearing a green sweatshirt, black shorts and white Crocs.
The Prince of Wales pulled a pint with Wrexham AFC's Hollywood owner Rob McElhenney to mark St David's Day.

Prince William visited the Turf pub, featured in the Welcome to Wrexham series and the Racecourse Ground, on Friday morning.

During the visit, he was asked about the condition of his wife, Catherine, but he did not respond.

Speculation has been growing since the Princess of Wales underwent abdominal surgery.

At The Turf pub, the prince met local charity volunteers, pub regulars and landlord Wayne Jones.

He then walked from the pub into the Racecourse Ground next door, where he met Wrexham AFC players, Ben Tozer and Luke Young, who were training there.

The duo gave him a club shirt with "William" on the back.

The future King said Wrexham was every football fan's second club as he downed a shot of whiskey and pulled a pint in the supporters' home bar - and joked it needed time to settle.

"It's a great success story you're building here, everything you've started and achieved it's fantastic, so onwards and upwards - it's exciting," he said.

Prince William was gifted with a Wrexham club shirt with "William" on the back

"And anyone who's a true football fan wants to see you do well."

Mr Jones described his latest brush with celebrity as "bizarre" after welcoming Prince William to his pub on Friday morning.

"You honestly don't know who's going to turn up next," said Mr Jones, reflecting on the popularity the club has gained since being bought by Hollywood stars Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Mr Jones said the visit had allowed the prince to meet representatives from several local charities supported by the community, such as the Nightingale House and Hope House hospices.

Prince WiIliam and Rob McElhenney enjoy a drink

The prince told him he was "rooting" for Wrexham as they push for a second straight promotion and a place in League One, he added.

He said he was grateful McElhenney had been in the pub to meet the Prince too, as he "was a little nervous", while McElhenney is "a natural at these things".

He said the royal visit "shines a good positive light on Wrexham".

Prince William also called in at Ysgol yr Holl Saint, or All Saints School, in Gresford.

Pupils there performed folk songs and dances for him while wearing traditional costumes.

Commenting on the outfit of four-year-old Esme Dale, who wore a collar-sized daffodil around her neck, he said: "I like your daffodil, that's amazing."

Prince William visited pupils at Ysgol yr Holl Saint in Gresford

The prince also donned an apron to have a go at stirring a mix for bara brith and was presented with a loaf to take home.

As he left he was given three Welsh dragon toys to pass on to his children George, Charlotte and Louis.

"The children will like these when I come home with these guys," said the prince.

Accepting a bouquet of flowers, he added: "I'll pass those on to Catherine."

Meanwhile, King Charles is to take on the role of Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Welsh regiment, in succession to the late Queen who held this role for 16 years.

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Even as the Mississippi Supreme Court is still considering whether private schools can receive public funds for students, Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is pushing legislation to study its viability.

House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, R-Starkville, originally filed House Bill 1449 on Feb. 19, which would establish a funding program through the State Treasury of Mississippi to create financial accounts for parents to pay for non-public education.

However, after conversations with Republican Gov. Tate Reeves and first year House Speaker Jason White, R-West, Roberson told the Clarion Ledger he introduced a substitute bill to lawmakers Thursday afternoon to create a committee to study whether a voucher program would work in Mississippi.

"(The committee would look at) what the cost would be cost be, who it would help, who was in areas that would maybe need this, where would this need be and what information is out there that would be applicable to what this would like if it was implemented," Roberson said.

Gov. Tate Reeves speaks with House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann after he gave the Mississippi State of the State address at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson on Monday.

Roberson previously said he did not believe any voucher legislation would pass through his committee or the House this year and simply wanted to start a conversation.

The new bill would establish a committee comprised of about six members appointed by Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and White, which would complete a study about a voucher program in Mississippi.

If passed, the committee would report back to lawmakers at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session.

"I'm all for getting more information (on this), Roberson said. "I think we all could use whatever information to come and see who could be benefited. The bottom line is just that it is always good to have information to see what would happen, and what it would look like and what the cost would be."

Reeves and White have both publicly endorsed the idea of a voucher program in Mississippi.

White said during an interview with the SuperTalk radio network earlier this month that he would support a limited school voucher program for students in low-rated schools.

"In D and F districts, we want that child to go anywhere they can find, whether public, private, charter, home school, whatever, White said.

Reeves also addressed "school choice" during his State of the State address Monday night.

"We must be innovative," Reeves said. "We must be open to new and different models. We should fund students, not systems. We should trust our parents, not bureaucrats, and we should embrace education freedom."

Reeve's annual address: Reeves avoids Medicaid, pushes economic development during state of state address

Supreme Court still undecided on private school funding

Despite Roberson's attempt to study a private school voucher system in Mississippi, the legality of public funding for private schools is still being determined by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

In 2022, the Legislature appropriated $10 million to fund education in private schools, but it was halted after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Democracy Forward, and the Mississippi Center for Justice on behalf of Parents for Public Schools, a Jackson-based nonprofit, claiming the move was unconstitutional.

According to the state's constitution, public funds shall not go to any school not conducted as a free public school."

The state has countered that claim by stating the appropriation is constitutional because the Legislature appropriated the money to the Department of Finance and Administration, which could disperse it to the private schools.

Earlier this month, the court heard oral arguments from both sides, but the case is not expected to be decided on until after the 2024 legislative session, which ends in early May.

Court's latest hearing on funding: MS Supreme Court listens to arguments over federal funding in private schools. See details

Democrats oppose voucher program

Even still, the bill already faced opposition from five House Democrats who voted against the bill Thursday, Roberson said.

One of the representatives on the Education Committee, Justis Gibbs, D-Madison County, told the Clarion Ledger he would not support any voucher program in the state.

"Our priorities should be on public education," Gibbs said.

Jackson legislators Rep. Chris Bell and Sen. David Blount both also voiced concerns about a voucher program.

"At the end of the day, those vouchers are taking away from our public schools, and I'm fully supporting our public schools," Bell said. "For Individuals to prop up vouchers, it only hurts our public schools, and it hurts our communities."

"I am opposed to vouchers and using tax money for private schools," Blount said. "Public money is for public schools."

Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, told the Clarion Ledger he has not read Roberson's original bill, but he believes a private school voucher program would only add financial burden to the state.

"We have approximately 50,000 Kids in private schools, and if you allocate that using our current (school funding) formula of $7,500 per student, you're looking at roughly $350 to $400 million of new money needed for those students. I don't believe at this point the state can afford something like that."

Nancy Loome, executive director of The Parent's Campaign, an education advocacy group, said in a press release Thursday night the bill is an "affront" to the public school system and those who work to sustain it.

"HB 1449 is an affront to public schools and the hard work of Mississippi teachers," Loome wrote. "It calls for a study committee to evaluate the feasibility of universal vouchers in Mississippi  vouchers that would be available to all K-12 students in the state, including students already attending private schools. We don't need a study committee  we can see clearly the disastrous consequences to state budgets, voucher students, and public schools in the states that have allowed universal voucher programs."

Even though Roberson passed the bill through his committee, it will still need approval from the House Appropriations Committee, which will have until 8 p.m. on Tuesday to either send it to the House floor for a vote or let it die in committee.

If it passes that committee, the bill will go to the House floor, where Republicans hold a majority in the 122-member chamber.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS House leader pushing for study on private school voucher funding
Brian Fitzpatrick, a pro-Ukrainian Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, is preparing an attempt to bypass Speaker Mike Johnson and get the Ukraine aid bill passed, Axios reported on March 1.

The lawmaker told reporters that he is preparing a so-called discharge petition (a mechanism that allows a bill to be brought to the floor by a simple majority, without the participation of the speaker). It can force the House to vote on the bill if it collects 218 signatures.

Such a petition will require the support of some Republicans, assuming it receives the signatures of the majority of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Axios writes.

Read also: If Ukraine falls, NATO will have to fight Russia  Secretary Austin

The decision will also take some time  30 days  before it can be put to a vote. Fitzpatrick expects some Republicans to support the petition as there is more Republican support for helping Ukraine than meets the eye.

The Axios article notes that pro-Ukrainian Republicans are increasingly at odds with the party and Speaker Johnsons position on support for Kyiv.

The U.S. Congress has been unable to pass a bill to fund aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan for more than three months. Republicans have been blocking the vote, demanding stricter migration policies and stronger border protection with Mexico.

Read also: Ukraine aid to be considered after US budget passes  House Speaker Johnson

American media reported in January that Republicans were being influenced by former President Donald Trump, who was demanding that the party reject the compromise deal on immigration.

The U.S. Senate passed the bill providing $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, $60 billion of which is earmarked for Kyiv on Feb. 13. The same day, House Speaker Johnson once again criticized the Senate proposal, stating that he was not going to introduce the bill supported by the Senate for consideration.

The U.S. House of Representatives adjourned for recess on Feb. 15 without passing the aid bill for Ukraine. Now this issue will be considered no earlier than mid-March.

After a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Feb. 28, Mike Johnson said that he would put the extension of aid to Ukraine to a vote in a timely manner. During a meeting with leaders of both parties in Congress, Biden emphasized the urgent need to provide aid to Ukraine.

The speakers of 23 parliaments and the head of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called on Johnson to bring the bill to the floor on Feb. 28. The next day, the speaker said that the House of Representatives would not consider the issue of allocating aid to Ukraine before the U.S. government receives funding.

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
When Jack Posobiec took the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) ahead of Donald Trump last week and called for the overthrow of American democracy, he held up a Christian symbol, a cross, making clear that like many on todays far-right, his goal is to replace democracy with a Christo-fascist regime.

One could argue theyve already made this goal the Republican Partys platform. Theyve been generous enough to spell it out in a Christian Nationalist manifesto from the conservative Heritage Foundation called Project 2025.

Mainstream media outlets have begun to expose Project 2025s radical vision: A gutted federal government; immigrants rounded up in work camps and deported; a military response to peaceful demonstrations; oppression of women, minorities, the poor and the disadvantaged. For the media, it is simply an extreme conservative plan.

When I read Project 2025, I recognized immediately that it is a 1,000-page Christo-fascist screed.

How do I know? I am a product of Christian Nationalism.

In 1975, my parents joined a southern Christian Nationalist church and enrolled me in their kindergarten. For thirteen years, I was indoctrinated with Christian Nationalist, Moral Majority-era dogma: America is a white, Christian nation; the founders intended for Christianity to be our national religion; it was our responsibility as Christians to compel everyone to live by the truths of the Bible; I might one day have to fight and maybe die to defend my faith.

It has been a 20-year process to deprogram that worldview. As hard as it is to follow the news and read online articles, nothing prepared me for how thoroughly Project 2025 hammers home the religious indoctrination of my earlier life.

From the very beginning, Project 2025 invokes Christo-fascist language. In its preamble, Project 2025s director Paul Dans calls for plans to move out upon the Presidents utterance of the words so help me God on Inauguration Day.

Dans closes his introduction with: As Americans living at the approach of our nations 250th birthday, we have been given much. As conservatives, we are as much required to steward this precious heritage for the next generation.

I know from my Bible studies he is channeling Luke 12:48: From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.

Project 2025 is riddled with this type of Christo-fascist language. Christian Nationalists do not write or speak without referencing the Bible. It is a language American voters would do well to understand before November, or it will be the language of our government.

To help the cause, I have been writing about the religious dogma underpinning Project 2025. Take Project 2025s opening salvo, their so-called Conservative Promisewhich they assert are the four broad fronts that will decide Americas future.

Promise 1: Restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.

The next conservative President must get to work pursuing the true priority of politics the well-being of the American family. In many ways, the entire point of centralizing political power is to subvert the family. Its purpose is to replace peoples natural loves and loyalties with unnatural ones. - Project 2025, page 4

Project 2025s use of natural and unnatural is deliberate Christo-fascist language, drawn directly from the Bible:

For this cause God gave them up unto vile aections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another. -Romans 1:26-27 KJV

To a Christian Nationalist, marriage can only exist between one man and one unrelated woman. A mans natural use is as husband and head of the home. He is the breadwinner. A womans natural use is to stay home, have and rear children, and submit to her husband. Project 2025 intends to impose this Christian Nationalist view of marriage and family nationwide.

According to their Bibles, a womans God-given purpose is to be a wife and mother without human intervention. This is the basis for their opposition to abortion, IVF and even hormonal birth control. It is also the foundation for their goal to end no-fault divorce.

Promise 2: Dismantle the administrative state and return self-governance to the American people.

The next conservative President must possess the courage to relentlessly put the interests of the everyday American over the desires of the ruling elite. Their outrage cannot be prevented; it must simply be ignored. - Project 2025, page 9

The media has highlighted Project 2025s promise to gut the federal government- but they are not explaining its Christo-fascist designs.

Christian Nationalists believe the Bible is Gods infallible law and so it should be the basis for all laws. They will not compromise this position because they believe God commands them to follow his perfect law to the letter.

This is why they disregard unfavorable voting outcomes like the Ohio referendum on abortion. They dont care about polls or what American voters support. Its why they are willing to ignore judicial decisions and election results they dont feel serve Gods commands.They believe their Bibles give them the right to deny anyone and anything that conflicts with their interpretation of Gods law. They are already governing this way in many red states; it is how they will govern nationally if they win in November.

Promise 3: Defend our nations sovereignty, borders and bounty against global threats.

Intellectual sophistication, advanced degrees, financial success, and all other markers of elite status have no bearing on a persons knowledge of the one thing most necessary for governance: what it means to live well. That knowledge is available to each of us, no matter how humble our backgrounds or how unpretentious our attainments. It is open to us to read in the book of human nature, to which we are all oered the key just by merit of our shared humanity. - Project 2025, page 10

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

In Project 2025s draconian section on immigration, they buried this gem: Their book of human nature is the Bible. It is yet another veiled statement that the Bible should be the basis for our laws.

This is also why Christian Nationalists deplore education and expertise. They believe everything God meant for humans to know is contained in the Bible, so there is no need for any other means of enlightenment.

This is the basis for their attacks on public school classrooms and libraries, as well as secular colleges and universities. These are heretical places that teach humans to question their Bible.

Promise 4: Secure our God-given rights to live freely - what our Constitution calls the Blessings of Liberty.

The American Republic was founded on principles prioritizing and maximizing individuals rights to live their best life or to enjoy what the Framers called the Blessings of Liberty. - Project 2025, page 14

Many Americans might say, Im living the good life, or Im living my best life, to mean career success, financial security, good health, or a relaxing vacation. When Christian Nationalists talk about living a good life or living their best life, they mean the Christian life or a holy life.

By conflating a good life with a holy life, the framers of Project 2025 embedded their idea that America is a Christian nation into Promise 4. They intend to force every American to live their definition of a good life through government edict, a goal they weave throughout Project 2025s policy recommendations.

Calling Project 2025 a Republican Christo-fascist manifesto seems too aggressive for some people. We are conditioned to avoid confronting the religious passions of others, but I spent years in the pews hearing the sermons, the warnings of Christian persecution. Im not exaggerating. Its not hyperbole.

Christian Nationalists believe the Bible is the infallible word of God, his perfect law. That is their right. They are convinced they are called by God to overturn any law that contradicts the Bible. Its why they seek to override voter referendums, question election outcomes, and ignore polls that indicate the unpopularity of their policies.

Project 2025 is their playbook. They are engaged in Christian warfare, and they will not compromise their positions. If they are empowered by this Novembers election, they will force every American to live under Christo-fascist governance and laws drawn from their narrow interpretation of the Bible. Democracy will be replaced with theocracy. For the American experiment to reach 250 years, it is our rightand responsibilityto make sure that does not happen.
PropertyPal is the largest property website in Northern Ireland for sales and rentals

A group of estate agents have said they will stop posting listings on the website PropertyPal in a row over fees.

It came after PropertyPal announced it had a new system for charging for listings.

PropertyPal is the largest property website in Northern Ireland for sales and rentals.

The company said the decision to increase fees was "aimed at delivering enhanced value and services".

In a statement to BBC News NI, Errol Maxwell, chief executive officer at PropertyPal, said the company "takes pride in offering the most competitive pricing of any property portal in the UK and Ireland".

The intention of some estate agents to stop listings on the site was communicated in a letter sent on behalf of a steering group representing agents from across Northern Ireland.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Stephen McCarron, an estate agent based in Londonderry, said agents felt "coerced and bullied".

He said that under the new system estate agents could expect to pay 25-45% more per listing on the PropertyPal website.

The steering group is made up of several of the largest property retailers in Northern Ireland including CPS, Simon Brien, UPS, Reeds Rains, and Donnybrook.

In the letter, seen by BBC News NI, the estate agents said they feel they "have no alternative but to take drastic action".

"As such we need to inform you of our collective intention to cease placing any new listings on the PropertyPal platform from midnight on Thursday 29th February, until further notice," the letter continued.

Mr McCarron said that his group felt that PropertyPal were using their "dominate market position" to force estate agents into accepting their terms.

Mr Maxwell said PropertyPal's "new membership plan allows estate agents to advertise all their properties for an average of 20 per listing and provides them with a powerful suite of new tools to support their business".

He added: "We're delighted that the majority of estate agents have embraced the change and recognise the significant value it brings to their partnership with us."

On its website, PropertyPal claims to host listings for more than 60,000 properties for sale and rent in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

It is understood the proposed changes to the pricing structure would move from a set fee per listing to a membership-type scheme with different tiers.

Mr McCarron said estate agents would have to pass on any costs to their clients, which he said was "really unfair on the consumer".

He said the changes were made with "zero consultation" with estate agents and a "refusal to meet with our steering group or acknowledge the very real concerns that we have".
The island of Hengqin in south China's Guangdong Province started a new customs operation on Friday that allows most goods to be moved there tax-free from the neighboring Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR). #XinhuaNews
An outside prosecutor has found that a longtime Boise police corporal was justified in the fatal shooting of a man who was being investigated on a sexual assault allegation and a parole violation, according to the Boise Police Department.

In January 2023, Boise Police Cpl. Kip Paporello shot Boise resident Eli Nash after police said he pointed a handgun in the direction of other officers. Paporello, who joined the department in 1999, was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Nash posed an imminent threat of death or physical injury to those officers, Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Fredback wrote in a letter stating that criminal charges werent warranted against Paporello.

The shooting was one of six that involved the Boise Police Department in 2023, with four of them being fatal  one of the deadliest years on record for fatal police shootings. Paporello was also involved  and found to be justified  in the nonfatal shooting of Jeremy Waste, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

Footage, reports outlines fatal shooting

Just before 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2023, several Boise police officers, along with the Idaho Department of Corrections Fugitive Recovery Agents team, formulated a plan to arrest Nash, the release said. The 32-year-old was on parole for crimes involving possession of sexually exploitative child material, and police began investigating after hed failed to register as a sex offender  as required by law.

The Boise Police Department also was investigating Nash over allegations that he sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl, according to Fredbacks letter.

Police located Nash sitting in his vehicle on his phone in a Meridian Crossroads parking lot in front of a Texas Roadhouse along Fairview Avenue. Officers used their vehicles to block Nashs car in the parking lot to prevent him from escaping, according to the release.

Given Nashs history of child pornography, a primary goal of law enforcement was to preserve any potential evidence from his phone, Fredback said in the letter.

In body-camera footage released by the department, an officer approached the drivers door of Nashs vehicle with his gun drawn, and after identifying himself, told Nash to place his hands on the steering wheel. At the same time, several other officers approached and surrounded the car.

A little over 10 seconds later, an officer used a device called a glass punch to break a drivers-side window, the video showed.

Nash then jumped into the back seat of his car, where the windows were covered with blankets, police said.

I cant see him, one officer said in the video.

Paporello approached from behind and tapped his gun on the back window, as commands for Nash to put his hands up continued. Paporello then fired four rounds through the glass.

According to the release, Paporello was able to see through the vehicles rear windshield that Nash was holding a handgun and pointing it toward the rear drivers-side door toward other officers. This isnt clear in the footage, and police said in the video that Paporellos body cam was on his upper chest and didnt provide the best angle.

He had a gun, he said right after firing, according to the video.

The video then cuts to another officers body camera, which shows an officer clearly removing a firearm from Nashs hand. Officers then began providing medical care until paramedics arrived, but Nash died at the scene.

No officers or other people were injured.

Police chief: Deadly force is a last resort

Several people witnessed the shooting, Boise Police Chief Ron Winegar told the media at the time of the shooting. He said he didnt know why the attempted arrest was conducted in the parking lot.

I cant comment on where the best place for an arrest is, Winegar previously said. But when we have a violent or a wanted suspect who is absconding parole, its in everybodys best interest that we get them into custody as quickly as possible for everyones safety.

In Fridays news release, Winegar said that searching for, locating and arresting non-compliant criminals is dangerous work and that hes grateful no officers or community members were injured.

The use of deadly force is always viewed as a last resort and something we never take lightly, Winegar said. This incident is a reminder that there are those in our community who will resort to violence to avoid apprehension when engaged in criminal conduct, and we must be ever vigilant.

The end result of this incident, a person losing his life, is extremely unfortunate, and not the outcome we were seeking.
Prosecutors announced criminal charges Friday against a man alleged to have fatally shot a Jackson County civil process server and Independence police officer and wounded two other police officers.

The suspect has been idenified in charging documents as Larry D. Acree.

He faces multiple felony counts, including two charges of first degree murder. He also faces charges of first degree assault for wounding a police officer and three additional counts of armed criminal action.

The shooting unfolded after 1 p.m. Thursday on the front porch of a home in northeastern Independence, where police were called to assist a civil process server who called for help while serving an eviction.

Killed were Drexel Mack, a civil process server for Jackson County Circuit Court, and Cody Allen, a 35-year-old police officer, husband and father of two small children.

Two other Independence police officers were shot and both were expected to make full recoveries, Independence Police Chief Adam Dustman said Thursday.

This story will be updated.
(PUEBLO, Colo.)  Pueblo School District 60 (D60) has launched a nationwide search for its next superintendent and is asking for the publics input with a series of community forums and an online survey.

D60 said all students, parents, employees, and community members are encouraged to add their voices to the selection process. A link to the survey can be found on D60s website and the survey is available in English and Spanish. The survey is an anonymous way for the community to share their thoughts on what attributes and qualities they would like to see in a superintendent candidate.

D60 will also hold a series of Public Forums, visitors are welcome to any forum and D60 provided a schedule and the guidelines of opportunities available:

Thursday, March 7

Central High School  4 p.m. Open to all D60 Teachers and Staff

Central High School  5 p.m. Open to all D60 Teachers and Staff

Central High School  6 p.m. Open to all D60 families and community members



Friday, March 8

Centennial High School  9 a.m. Non-profit and business community

Centennial High School  10 a.m. Open to all D60 families and community members

East High School  12 p.m. Non-profit and business community

East High School  1 p.m. Open to all D60 families and community members

South High School  3 p.m. Non-profit and business community

South High School  4 p.m. Open to all D60 families and community members



Those unable to attend the meetings will be able to join virtual focus groups at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on both Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed an annual decree on the call-up of Russian citizens in the reserve for military drills in 2024.

Source: Putin's decree

Quote: "I hereby decree to call up citizens of the Russian Federation in reserve for military training in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the National Guard of the Russian Federation, emergency rescue military formations of the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation, state security bodies and federal security service agencies in 2024."

Details: The decree does not specify the duration of the training or the number of people to be called up.

Background:

On 29 September 2023, Putin signed a decree to start the autumn conscription into the Russian Armed Forces on 1 October.

On 18 February 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a decree to call up Russian citizens in the reserve for military training in 2022.

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Two years on since the full-scale invasion, it is clear that Russia is becoming an increasingly bellicose country. From the death of Alexei Navalny to Putins sabre-rattling in his address this week, it is a nation on the march.

To date, the brave Ukrainians have valiantly resisted Russia, despite its massive scale. Its crucial to reflect, therefore, to reflect on the lessons Ukraine is teaching us about modern warfare.

Drones in particular have emerged as a key area of innovation. In Afghanistan and Iraq, drones were specialist equipment, costing tens of millions per unit, often equipped with exquisite sensors and guided by longstanding pilots. Today, there are thousands of drones in use across the eastern front, most considered as disposable and many piloted by volunteers.

Drones are vital to giving troops awareness of their surroundings, conducting surveillance and targeting enemies more quickly with artillery. The emergence of Kamikaze drones, also known as loitering munitions or strike drones, gives them an explosive edge. The drones, often piloted through a first-person view (FPV) camera, make advancing on the front line treacherous. They can easily destroy tanks and other high-value assets. One FPV, worth only a few thousand pounds, even claimed a Russian Tor Missile system worth over twenty million.

Strike Drones have been rapidly democratised too, even to non-state militants, by attaching explosives to hobby drones. Its not just Ukraine, in the Red Sea similar drones are being used by Houthis rebels against our ships. The economics are scary - the UKs HMS Diamond shot a Houthi drone down with a Sea Viper missile, but these cost more than 1m a piece.

Russia has responded too. Their new one-way attack drone, ZALA lancet, has been recognised by Defence Intelligence as one of the most effective new capabilities fielded in the conflict. This variant is reported to have damaged or destroyed nearly a thousand Ukrainian targets. While Iran denies supplying their drones to the conflict, their appearance on the battlefield and production facilities in Belarus and Russia suggests otherwise.

The Russian Defence minister during a visit to the leading enterprise of the ZALA Aero Group, which produces Lancet loitering munition and reconnaissance drones

So the UKs commitment to prioritise 200 million of its 2.5 billion Ukraine package, to supply drones, heading up an international coalition with Latvia, is both timely and commendable. This initiative not only signifies a substantial investment in supporting Ukraine where they need help most, but also could position the UK as a frontrunner in developing these technologies.

Likewise, the Minister for Defence Procurement, James Cartlidges announcement that the UK is already investing 4.5 billion for the UK is reassuring. There are pockets of brilliance within our armed forces driving this change, making it easier to acquire new tech, learning from Ukraine, and rapidly developing cutting edge tech.

However, these moves alone are not enough to win the drones arms race and harness the potential of this technology in Ukraine and beyond. Without reducing the cost per drone, finding a solution to Russian electronic warfare countermeasures, and embracing software, gifting our current hardware alone will prove a costly let down.

To deploy drones at a scale that can meaningfully impact the outcome of the war, we need to ensure that these systems are much more affordable and, frankly, commit a greater share of our budgeted support. Latvia said the Drone Coalition aims to deliver 1 million drones to Ukraine, while our 200m gift is anticipated to only provide 4,000 drones. At that price point, we would need to find another 49.8 billion for these numbers to reconcile.

Driving down the cost per drone, for example, commoditising drones by using plywood and polystyrene airframes, is essential to getting these volumes into the hands of Ukrainian forces. For more sophisticated drones, UK suppliers need commitment and predictable orders, to achieve economies of scale and reduce cost across their supply chains.

Perhaps even more critically, we must ensure these taxpayer funded drones already destined for Ukraine work on arrival. Russian uses Electronic Warfare to jam and spoof the use of GPS, meaning many drones get lost in flight or risk being grounded altogether. Our usual antidote, fancy antennas known as CRPAs are costly and far from fool proof. First-person-piloting only works at short range, is personnel intensive, and challenging to execute. Manual piloting is also vulnerable to jamming, with pilots often losing their video link just as they attempt to finish their attack in the terminal guidance phase.

A FPV (First View Person) drone unit is seen inside a trench

The sobering reality is that without sophisticated software to enhance surveillance, targeting, and enable precise strike capabilities, drones risk becoming obsolete against a well-equipped Russian adversary. Drone software needs to be given as much attention as the drone hardware.

The technological superiority that drones can offer hinges on their ability to operate autonomously, navigate in GPS-denied environments, and execute missions with minimal human intervention. Software can be updated much more rapidly in response to counter measures too. Software solutions that incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning are not just enhancements; they are necessities for maintaining relevance.

Lastly, the urgency to advance drone capabilities is not confined to the battlefields of Ukraine. The UK must seize this opportunity to reflect on its own defence strategies, recognising that we are at risk of falling behind. The lessons learned from the deployment of drones in Ukraine should inform the development of our own military doctrines and the training of our troops, ensuring that the UKs armed forces are equipped with the most advanced, resilient, and cost-effective unmanned systems available. This also entails rebalancing investment away from costly, aging platforms, towards commoditising hardware and cutting-edge software updates. The UK also needs innovative procurement models that prioritise agility of technological advancement.

The UKs commitment to drones is a commendable step in the right direction. We need the resources and a plan to maintain momentum, addressing the challenges of cost, confronting the sophistication of modern EW threats, upgrading drones with advanced software, and applying these lessons to strengthen our own defences. Lets fully harness our academia, industry, and armed forces to lead the drone revolution.

James Lawson is director of programmes at the defence company Helsing

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Joshua Jacques had doubled his consumption of cannabis in the weeks leading up to the murders - CENTRAL NEWS/WEBCOLLECT

The case of a marijuana addict who murdered four people in a psychotic frenzy should be taken as a lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug, a judge has said.

Joshua Jacques, 29, stabbed to death his girlfriend, Samantha Drummonds, 27, and three of her family members: mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and her husband Denton Burke, 58, in Bermondsey, south-east London, on April 25 2022.

Jacques butchered all four within the space of a single evening following a bout of self-intoxication with drugs and alcohol.

Prosecutors, during the trial in December at the Old Bailey, described the scene as a bloodbath that would not have looked out of place in a horror film.

Samantha Drummonds was Jacques' girlfriend - CENTRAL NEWS

Ms Drummonds' mother, Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo - CENTRAL NEWS

Ms Drummonds' grandmother, Dolet Hill, with her husband Denton Burke - CENTRAL NEWS

Immediately after the murders, Jacques video-called his mother from a locked bathroom, telling her: Im ending it, Im gonna make a sacrifice.

Armed police who arrived at the scene were met with the sight of Jacques naked and prostrate on the ground in a praying position, shouting, Allah, take me, Kill me now, Get rid of me, and God please forgive me.

On Friday, Justice Bryan handed the killer four life sentences with a minimum of 46 years for the horrific catalogue of murders inflicted on three generations of the same family.

Psychosis

The court heard how Jacques had smoked cannabis since the age 12 and had doubled his consumption in the week running up to the killings.

Justice Bryan, in sentencing, said: The tragedy that played out on 25 April 2022 is a salutary lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug.

No one is suggesting that [the murders] were religiously motivated. You never intended to make any sacrifices of your victims. This was simply a symptom of your psychosis.

You were well aware of the risks to your health of smoking skunk cannabis. You had doubled your consumption of cannabis in the weeks leading up to the killings.

You may have consumed seven grams of cannabis a day immediately before the killing.

Dr Nigel Blackwood, a forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution, said the symptoms of manic behaviour displayed were caused by the large amount of cannabis Jacques had consumed.

Jacques had been hospitalised in a psychiatric ward in 2018 and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

He had denied four counts of murder, but jurors convicted him on each charge after a trial last December.

Explaining his decision not to impose a whole-life sentence, Justice Bryan said Jacques was unlikely to pose the same risk to the public in his seventies.

A very substantial minimum term will amount to a just punishment, he said.

Previous convictions

The court heard Jacques has 11 convictions for 20 offences, including conspiracy to supply drugs.

Paul Raudnitz KC, defending, claimed there was no premeditation before Jacques carried out the murders.

The critical distinction between this case and those where the court would see fit to say that a whole-life sentence is merited is an absence of premeditation.

Mr Raudnitz read a note to the court in which Jacques apologised for what he had done.

I would like to say to the family of the deceased that I am truly and sincerely sorry for all the heartache I have caused them.

I am disgusted with myself. I cannot believe that I am the cause of this monstrosity.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
A British Black man shopping for spray paint with his 4-year-old son at a Hobbycraft store in Wales claims he was racially profiled and turned away after white employees baselessly asserted he would use the items for graffiti.

Louis Gray, who works as a diversity, equality and inclusion manager at Sport Wales, tried to purchase spray paint to customize his son Parkers bicycle helmet with colors that matched the helmet of his sports idol, Fabio Wibmer.

As a paying customer, Gray didnt anticipate any issues during a routine visit to the Harlech retail park in Newport on Saturday, leading to an unsettling encounter with the store manager at Hobbycraft, who told Gray, We cant serve you, you could be doing graffiti with this.

Louis Gray claims he was racially profiled while buying spray paint.(Photos: Getty Images, Louis Gray/X)

The 32-year-old Gray walked away bristling from the episode of shopping while Black as his son Parker broke out in tears in the parking lot.

Gray immediately called his white grandfather, John, who arrived moments later and entered the store to purchase the spray paint, insisting it was for him all along.

The strategy worked.

Later, Gray expressed outrage on social media, accusing Hobbycraft of disrespecting the Black pound.

Funny how, a white man came and purchased the paint, and did not get IDed, Gray wrote on the social media platform X, in a post that has since been deleted. He simply said hes not with me, I promise Im over 16 and the paint is for me. A white promise is held with higher regard than a Black promise? Is the Black pound not worth anything at @Hobbycraft??

Gray suggested the store targeted him because of the way he was dressed.

I was refused service because I am Black and wearing a Nike tracksuit and Yeezys [trainers], he wrote, according to the Guardian.

In todays episode of wearing your Black skin in public I was racially profiled and refused service at @Hobbycraft  trying to buy paint for an arts and craft project with my four-year-old. I was refused service as I may be about to undertake an incidence of graffiti..

Gray described feeling a burning anger inside after the confrontation as he felt compelled to remain compliant during the incident to avoid escalating the situation in front of his young son.

All I was thinking was, dont bite, dont do anything, Parker is watching. I had to be quite passive and permissive, but my insides were absolutely raging.

The companys front office vowed to investigate the incident, but officials did not indicate whether any disciplinary actions would be taken.

Following the racially charged incident, staff members said they informed Gray about a new store policy called Challenge 25 that requires anyone under age 25 to show ID when purchasing age-restricted items such as knives, aerosol paints, or helium.

But Gray rejected that explanation, saying he noticed the manager and another employee tracking his every movement throughout the store while he shopped.

It was the way they were looking at me; I knew it was because I was Black and not my age; if you have a protected character, you just have a sense for these things. I felt they were trying to justify their biased behaviors and found Challenge 25 as a way to justify their actions.

In England and Wales, its illegal to sell spray paint to anyone under 16.

But Gray questioned the stores extraordinary actions to monitor him, which he felt had nothing to do with his age, but everything to do with racial profiling.

They said to me, You could be a mystery shopper trying to catch us out, Gray said. But the shop is on a retail park you have to drive to, and I was with a big four-year-old  who looks six, who was telling them he just wanted to paint his helmet. I havent been IDed anywhere for at least eight years.

Gray called for Hobbycraft to apologize and implement bias training for its employees, adding that he wont be shopping at the store again anytime soon.

Later, Hobbycraft sent an email to Gray, saying the chain maintains a zero-tolerance approach to racism and emphasized that this is not how we want any of our customers to feel.

We are so sorry to hear about Louis experience in one of our stores, a Hobbycraft spokesperson said in a statement. This is absolutely not the service we expect to deliver, and we are looking into this as a matter of urgency.

In a bit of irony, Gray marked MLK Day on social media last month by sharing a colorized photo of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s 1958 arrest for loitering outside the Montgomery, Alabama, courthouse. At the time, two white officers bum-rushed the civil rights leader as he showed up for the arraignment of his friend and partner, the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy.

Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals, the caption declares.

My Insides Were Absolutely Raging: Black Man Accuses Hobby Store of Racial Profiling After Refusing to Sell Him Spray Paint for Sons Helmet
A firefighter battling the Smokehouse Creek Fire, near Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle (-)

Gusty weekend winds were threatening to worsen a million-acre wildfire that has already killed two people in the southern US, as a monster blizzard engulfed California's mountains Friday.

Fires are burning across northern Texas and neighboring Oklahoma, fueled by an unseasonably warm winter and ferocious winds.

After a slight dousing of rain that brought limited reprieve to firefighters on Thursday as they sought to get a handle on the out-of-control blazes, danger was forecast for Saturday.

"Critical fire weather conditions are expected to return midday Saturday and once again after sunrise Sunday," tweeted the National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas.

Wind gusts up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) an hour could push the blaze into very dry grassland, spreading the boundaries of the fire even further.

The Smokehouse Creek fire started Monday and after merging with another blaze has now become the largest-ever wildfire in Texas at over one-million acres (over 4,000 square kilometers).

That makes it around the size of Rhode Island, or about three times the size of London.

Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead urged Texans to be careful over the weekend, when many celebrate Texas Independence Day on March 2.

"As firefighters continue to suppress active fires, we urge Texans to be cautious with any outdoor activity that may cause a spark," he said in a statement.

A 44-year-old truck driver died in an Oklahoma City hospital on Thursday, having been rescued near her smoke-engulfed truck in Smokehouse Creek on Tuesday, according to several local media.

While evacuations were ordered in some places, the body of an 83-year-old woman was found in the city of Stinnett, a Hutchinson County emergency services spokesperson told ABC News.

She also said about 20 structures in Stinnett had been razed by the fire.

A 120-year-old Texas ranch said it lost 80 percent of its 32,000-acre property near the area of the largest fire.

"The loss of livestock, crops, and wildlife, as well as ranch fencing and other infrastructure throughout our property as well as other ranches and homes across the region is, we believe, unparalleled in our history," the managers of Turkey Track Ranch said.

- -

Over on the US West Coast, the Sierra Nevada mountain range was getting walloped Friday by a blizzard that could dump as much as 12 feet (over three-and-a-half meters) of snow.

The life-threatening winter storm was bringing ferocious winds, with gusts as high as 145 miles an hour recorded at Palisades Tahoe in the northern part of the range.

There will be "whiteout conditions with near zero-visibility at times due to blowing snow," the NWS warned.

"Do not travel. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay in your vehicle."

Backcountry areas could also experience avalanches, the Sierra Avalanche Center warned.

Meteorologists say the weather system is particularly strong and very cold, coming in from the Pacific Northwest and ferrying a lot of moisture inland.

Courtney Carpenter of the NWS in Sacramento told the San Francisco Chronicle that a storm of this magnitude happens once every few years.

"This just happens to have the perfect combination of enough cold air and just the track of the storm that leads to a lot of snow flowing up into the mountains," she said.

While both winter storms and wildfires are naturally occuring and expected phenomena, human-caused climate change is exacerbating the strength and unpredictability of both.

A warmer atmosphere disrupts long-established weather patterns, bringing more intense periods of drought in some areas and heavier precipitation in others.

ia-hg/st
RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP)  Law enforcement nationwide is searching for a man who has been missing for two weeks.

The Randolph County Sheriffs Office received a missing persons report for 43-year-old Craig Wesley Cox who was last seen on Feb. 12 on Craven Branch Road in the area of Siler City and Coleridge at around 7:30 a.m.

On the Rio Grande, 300 miles apart, Biden and Trump try to use immigration to election advantage

Cox was last seen wearing a tan coat, blue jeans and cowboy boots and was driving a four-door white 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck with a North Carolina license plate YP-7165.

Deputies say that Cox does not have a cell phone and is 5-feet-11 tall, 210 pounds, with blue eyes, a brown beard and curly light brown hair. He may not seek help from people he is unfamiliar with or law enforcement due to a cognitive disability.

Cox was verified to have entered the state of Texas on Feb. 13 and crossed the border into Mexico, according to investigators. He re-entered the United States, still driving the Ford F-150 and drove north towards San Antonio.

Investigators say that Coxs F-150 was last known to be in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area on Feb. 13 and Feb. 15 and no further sightings of the F-150 or license plate have been reported to law enforcement since Feb. 15.

Cox has been entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and is considered a missing person nationwide.

Be-on-the-lookout alerts have been sent to law enforcement agencies across the state of Alabama to make them aware that Cox could be in their area.

The sheriffs office says that Cox only took one weeks worth of medication with him and told his family that he would be back in a week when he left.

Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area  >> Latest stories here

Anyone with information on Coxs location is asked to contact 911 or the Randolph County Sheriffs Office directly at (336) 318-6698. You can anonymously contact the Randolph County Crime Stoppers tip line at (336) 672-7463.

Deputies also want people to be on the lookout in the areas of Atlanta, Greenville, South Carolina and Charlotte.

You can also submit tips online via the Randolph County Sheriffs Office app for Apple and Android to Crime Stoppers directly via the P3 tips app for Apple and Android.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
RONCEVERTE, WV (WVNS)  Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency, or GAMT, is an inherited disease that primarily affects muscles and the brain.

Its caused by a mutation that inhibits the body from making its own creatine, which is used by the body to store and use energy.

People with GAMT can have serious health issues including epilepsy, self-injurious behaviors, and weakened muscle tone which can sometimes delay them learning motor skills.

Keedon Holliday turned 18 just a few days ago. He was diagnosed with GAMT when he was 12.

Its such a challenge trying to get the proper medical care in this state. He, for example, needs to see a metabolic geneticist, which we dont currently have in the state of West Virginia, said Mandi Holliday, Keedons mother.

Medical students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine use virtual reality to study anatomy

Keedon has been taking supplements since his diagnosis. Every day he takes 30,000 milligrams of both ornithine and creatine.

Holliday told 59News GAMT is entirely treatable and children can live normal lives if the disease is caught at birth.

He could have started treatment at birth, and he could have lived a normal life, but we have 12 years of epilepsy thats done so much damage that even starting the supplements, it wont repair the damage thats already taken place, said Holliday.

GAMT was added to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel last year, but very few states have made it mandatory to screen for or even adopted laws to set the screening in motion.

West Virginia currently does not screen for GAMT, but Holliday is currently advocating for the state to start.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS.
A researcher conducts pre-launch preparation for a satellite at Chang Guang Satellite Technology in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, May 22, 2023. (Xinhua)

* In late January, China released a guideline for the innovative development of "future industries," highlighting fields including future-oriented manufacturing, information, materials, energy, space and health.

* Future industries are crucial for countries to seize the opportunities brought about by the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation and have a new field of competition among major countries.

* The development of future industry has been prioritized by many provinces across China.

BEIJING/CHANGCHUN/HEFEI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- In the smart factory of Chang Guang Satellite Technology, robotic platforms are working together efficiently and smoothly to manufacture polished optical lenses. Meanwhile, the company's researchers are busy testing the newest satellite optical cameras in their debugging workshop.

Located in Changchun, the capital city of Jilin Province, the company is the first unicorn enterprise founded in the old industrial base of northeast China. "On the first day after the Spring Festival holiday, our workers immediately devoted themselves to intense work as the satellite research and development (R&D) tasks wait for no one," said Jia Hongguang, secretary of the company's Party committee.

The company specializes in the R&D, production, and operation of remote sensing satellites. Incubated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the tech-savvy company has over 800 employees. Over 88 percent of them hold a master's degree or above, which provides a rich talent pool for the company's scientific research.

In 2023, 48 Jilin-1 satellites developed and produced by the company were successfully launched. To date, the company has sent 108 remote sensing satellites into orbit, building the world's largest sub-meter-level commercial remote sensing satellite network. In June 2023, 41 of the firm's satellites were sent up into the sky all at once, setting a new record for the most satellites launched at one time in China.

In late January this year, China released a guideline for the innovative development of "future industries." The document highlighted six key fields including future-oriented manufacturing, information, materials, energy, space and health.

The future industries refer to those emerging industries integrated with the cutting-edge technologies, which are expected to lead the overall economic development, generate new market demands and application scenarios, and grow into sectors worth hundreds of billions of yuan in scale within the next five to 15 years, according to the authorities.

Researchers perform product development tests at the research and development center of CIQTEK in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, Feb. 22, 2024. (Xinhua)

SOLVING BOTTLENECK PROBLEMS

At the R&D center of CIQTEK, a developer and manufacturer of quantum precision measurement products, the quantum sensing team was testing the quantum diamond atomic force microscope about to come off the assembly line, which can realize ultra-high spatial resolution and quantitatively non-invasive magnetic imaging.

"We want to help realize the transformation and upgrading of more industries with the exploration of quantum precision measurement technologies this year," said Guo Maosen, application engineer of the company.

He Yu, chairman of CIQTEK, said that in 2023, the company received orders exceeding 500 million yuan (about 70.4 million U.S. dollars), doubling its revenue in consecutive years. Meanwhile, the total R&D investment accounted for nearly 30 percent of the company's total revenue.

The company plans to make more breakthroughs in solving "bottleneck" problems including electron microscopes and gas adsorption analyzers, and to have more high-end scientific instruments manufactured domestically. "In the meantime, we will cooperate in depth with various partners to expand the industrial applications and demonstration scenarios of the quantum technology, thus empowering the transformation and development of the manufacturing industry," He added.

Hu Yongjun, a researcher from the State Information Center, noted that such future industries are of great strategic significance in global economic and industrial competition.

The development of future industry has been prioritized by many provinces across China, among which, Beijing is taking the lead. The Chinese capital has proposed to gather more innovation entities with major international influence by 2035.

On Feb. 18, the first day after this year's Spring Festival holiday, Xiaomi's smart factory in Changping District of Beijing began operation. It is a major production hub, boasting 24/7 autonomous operation with most tasks handled by intelligent robots. The new factory stands among China's most advanced mobile factories in terms of intelligent manufacturing and digitization, able to produce 30,000 smartphones daily, said the company.

Xiaomi's new energy vehicle SU7 is displayed at the 2024 edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

FOR SMARTER FUTURE

Yu Maojun, a researcher at the macroeconomic research center of the Anhui Economic Research Institute, said that since the beginning of the year, the Yangtze River Delta region has stepped up efforts to develop innovative and cutting-edge technologies, accelerating the development of future industries including quantum and life sciences, and a number of future industries have been put on the fast track.

Since the beginning of 2024, many Chinese cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Hefei in east China have all accelerated fostering future industry pilot zones.

On Jan. 2, the first workday of 2024, a batch of major projects in Anhui Province started construction, among which 253 were related to the top 10 emerging industries such as artificial intelligence and biomedicine. The 253 future industry projects would require a total investment of 247.7 billion yuan.

On Feb. 18, the neighboring Zhejiang Province launched 333 major projects with a total investment of 977 billion yuan, aiming to build future industry pilot zones in fields such as blockchain, third-generation semiconductors, aerospace integration and new materials.

"In the future, I believe that with the completion of these major projects, the momentum of the new productive forces will be unleashed at an accelerated pace, and the power of technological innovation will greatly change people's production methods, lifestyles, and ways of thinking, bringing profound and lasting changes to the economy and society," Yu said.

Yu explained that new productive forces are productivity in which scientific and technological innovation plays a leading role, and meet the requirements of high-quality development.

Future industries are crucial for countries to seize the opportunities brought about by the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation and have a new field of competition among major countries, observers said. The United States, the European Union and Japan have all announced initiative related to the development of future industries such as high-performance computing, quantum technology and artificial intelligence.

Many analysts have commented that China's proactive planning for and investment in future industries not only ensures it will keep up with the world or even leads in innovations, but also promotes its high-quality economic development and industrial transformation. 
Toronto Blue Jays' Vladimir Guererro Jr., right, shares a light moment with Tampa Bay Rays' Amed Rosario and Jose Siri prior to a spring training baseball game in Dunedin, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (AP)  Infielder Amed Rosario would increase his earnings with the Tampa Bay Rays to $2 million if he has at least 620 plate appearances this season.

Rosario agreed Feb. 20 to a one-year contract with a base salary of $1.5 million.

The 28-year-old would earn $100,000 each for 500 plate appearances and each additional 30 through 620.

He spent last season with Cleveland and the Los Angeles Dodgers, batting .263 with six homers and 58 RBIs in 142 games. He played 104 games at shortstop and 36 games at second, In 2022, he also saw time in the outfield.

Rosario broke into the majors with the New York Mets in 2017. He was traded to Cleveland in January 2021 as part of a package for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco.

Rosario is a .272 hitter with 60 homers and 334 RBIs in 839 games. He set career highs with a .287 batting average, 15 homers and 72 RBIs in 2019 with the Mets. He led the majors with nine triples in 2022 with Cleveland.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
MANHATTAN (KSNT)  The Riley County Police Department (RCPD) wants to ensure transparency with the community during this weekends Fake Pattys Day festivities.

According to a spokeswoman with the RCPD, law enforcement has released plans for how it will keep the public up-to-date with information on Fake Pattys Day, March 2, 2024.

RCPDs Public Information Officer (PIO) will be posting briefings on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, on or about 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. for the community to stay up-to-date. The agency will not be closing any streets for the festivities in Aggieville, but strongly discourages driving in the area due to the high volume of foot traffic that is expected.

League terminates Topeka Tropics, future of team unclear

RCPD will be actively monitoring the event with a significant presence in an effort to reduce crime and enhance the quality of life for participants and Manhattan residents who choose not to participate. News release excerpt from RCPD

For more information about Fake Pattys Day from the RCPD, click here.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
A little less than a year ago, Republicans in Congress were proclaiming that the testimony of a mysterious unnamed FBI informant implicated Joe Biden in a scheme to oust a Ukrainian official in exchange for a bribe. On Monday, that informantwho we now know is named Alexander Smirnovwas in handcuffs before a judge, charged with feeding the Justice Department false information, potentially on behalf of the Russian government. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

For Biden supporters, this twist could be almost comically satisfyingif it werent for permanent damage Smirnovs testimony has already done in creating the public perception of a Biden crime family.

Smirnov, a 43-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen, seems like a character straight out of a bad spy thriller. He was arrested in Las Vegas last week as he was getting off an international flight and, according to prosecutors, preparing for another monthslong, multicountry foreign trip. Photos of him leaving detention after news of his arrest broke showed Smirnov in a leather jacket, his face entirely covered by a hat, mask, and scarf. Sketches from Mondays court hearing show Smirnov to be an inconspicuous-enough bearded man in glasses with short-cropped brown hair. Reporters at the courthouse noted that Smirnov, who speaks Russian, made his plea in heavily accented English.

At the hearing, the government painted a picture of Smirnov as a wealthy, jet-setting serial liar with sketchy foreign connections. According to the government, Smirnov lived in Israel from 1992 to 2006 before moving to Southern California. Two years ago, he moved to Las Vegas with his partner, and the two live in a $980,000 condominium. He has more than $6 million in cashsomething that makes him a flight risk, the government arguedand had, in recent months, transferred hundreds of thousands out of his accounts. He has been an FBI informant for more than a decade and spoken to his informant nearly every day, the Justice Department said. (The government has not said how Smirnov first became an informant.)

In a dramatic turn, the government said that they decided to re-arrest Smirnov just a couple of days after he was released in Las Vegas as the judge became concerned that Smirnov was plotting to leave the country. DOJ officials tracked Smirnovs ankle monitor to his attorneys office, where they took him into custody. They considered it less risky than arresting him at his home, since he had nine handguns at the condo where he lives.

It seems clear that Smirnov doesnt like Joe Biden. In the indictment, the government claimed Smirnov expressed bias against the president, with accompanying screenshots of Smirnovs texts with his handler in which he expressed enthusiasm for finding evidence against Biden. Biden, he texted, was going to jail.

Smirnov also seems to be a chronic liar. The DOJ has said that he lied about his own wealth, for example, and has been fabricating allegations about the Biden family since 2020and as recently as September. (Smirnovs attorney has attributed some of the discrepancies to miscommunications related to Smirnovs limitations in English. He also highlighted Smirnovs lack of a criminal background, his ties to a cousin in Florida, and a serious eye condition as factors that made him less likely to flee.) The prosecutors also said he claimed to have a security business in California but could not find evidence of that business from bank records. Instead, they found large wire transfers from what appear to be venture capital firms and individuals.

The FBI relies on informants to get connections to shady people and networks. So its not surprising that someone like Smirnov, who would provide intel on oligarchs and potentially corrupt foreign entities, would not be the most reliable person. The FBI tried to make that clear by emphasizing the unreliability of Smirnovs testimony even as Republicans latched onto it. But while both parties are liable to make similar mistakes in service of smearing their own enemiesthere were, after all, unverified accounts in the Steele dossierRepublicans may have hitched their corruption claims not just to a politically motivated fabulist but to an actual tool for Russias foreign aims.

The prosecutions detention memo says that Smirnov had admitted that officials associated with Russian intelligence were involved in passing a story about [Hunter Biden]. And, the memo noted, he has often claimed to have close ties to Russian intelligence officials and said that he planned to meet with Russian intelligence again. He is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November, prosecutors said in the filing that successfully sought to revoke Smirnovs bail. Smirnovs contacts with Russian officials who are affiliated with Russian intelligence services are not benign.


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Feudal Japan and the unexpected alliance between a powerful warlord and a marooned English sailor are the foundation for FXs new miniseries Shogun. Based on the fictional 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell and a reimagining of the 1980 miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain, the 10-part drama began February 27 on FX and is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Shogun stars Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, a Japanese daimyo fighting for his life at the outbreak of civil war, and Cosmo Jarvis as naval pilot John Blackthorne. The two realize they may share common enemies and form an unlikely pairing crucial to survival.

While Toranaga and Blackthorne are fictional characters, they are loosely based on two real-life figures. Heres what you need to know about Tokugawa Ieyasu and William Adams.

Tokugawa Ieyasu Had a Tumultuous Upbringing

According to FX, Ieyasu was born at Japans Okazaki Castle in 1543. His father and mother divorced when he was only 3 years old for political reasons. He was then taken hostage by two rival clans, the Odas and Imagawas, at ages 6 and 8, respectively.

Although he was treated well by the Imagawas and even married his captors niece, Ieyasu eventually fled after a loss in battle around age 20 and switched his alliance to the Odas. He would continue to rise in the political realm over the coming decades and eventually made a play for power following the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1598.

Before his death, Hideyoshi appointed Ieyasu to a 10-person Council of Elders, whom he asked to ensure that his infant son would become ruler of Japan when old enough. However, tensions developed between Ieyasu and the Five Elders of the group and the Five Commissioners led by Ishida Mitsunari. This forms the basis of the conflict during which Shogun takes place.

Then, on April 19, 1600, the unexpected arrival of English sailor William Adams would start an important friendship for Ieyasu.

Ieyasu Saved William Adams' Life

Getty Images

On that day, navigator Adams and his beleaguered crew dropped anchor near the town of Usuki on Kyushu, Japans third-largest island.

According to the William Adams Club, Adamsborn in 1564 in Gillingham, Englandhad set sail from Rotterdam two years earlier, in June 1598, as a senior officer for a Dutch voyage to the Pacific. With the Protestant English and Dutch allied at the time, the excursion was designed to break up the trade monopoly held in the region by the Spanish and Portuguese, both Catholic.

However, the venture was a disaster. Delays led to starvation and scurvy outbreaks among the 500 sailors involved, and Adams ship, the Liefde, became isolated from the group. An attempted raid for supplies resulted in an ambush on the crewleaving Adams brother Thomas dead. By the time they reached Japan, Adams was the most senior officer remaining and assumed command.

Fearing the presence of Protestants in the area, Jesuit missionaries already in Japan attempted to convince local leaders that Adams and his men partook in piracyfor which the penalty was death. Luckily for Adams, the incident was reported to Ieyasu, who interrogated the sailor personally. Instead of killing him, Ieyasu welcomed Adams as an ally and would appoint him to various roles in the coming years.

Adams Built Ships for Ieyasu and Became a Samurai

Ieyasu was eventually appointed shogun, or a military ruler, in 1603 and tasked with keeping peace in Japan on the emperors behalf. Adams became a valuable adviser to Ieyasu because of his scientific knowledge and mastery of languages.

According to the William Adams Club, Adams helped Tokugawas troops improve their gunnery and naval capacity. Known by his title Anjin, or pilot, Adams helped build two small English-style ships for Ieyasu. He later became an interpreter and interacted with Spanish and Dutch delegations, replacing the Jesuits who had traditionally filled the role.

In recognition of his services, Adams was appointed the high samurai rank of Hatamoto in 1610. With this came land and prestige and a prohibition on leaving the country until further notice. This ban was lifted in 1613, and Adams would participate in multiple trade expeditions until his death on May 16, 1620.

Ieyasu, meanwhile, surrendered his status as shogun in 1605 to confer the title to his son, establishing a hereditary link with the honor. However, he did continue to lead the country under a shadow government. He died before Adams in 1616.

Watch Shogun on FX

The first two episodes of Shogun debuted on February 27 on FX. The remaining eight episodes air every Tuesday through April 23. You can also stream episodes on Hulu and Disney+.



Shogun has already drawn immense praise from criticsas well as comparisons to another TV megahit. Variety calls the series the most transportive TV epic since Game of Thrones and says the focus on their characters unites the two series beyond their plot-based similarities. It stars Hiroyuki Sanada as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, and Anna Sawai as Toda Mariko.

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Julie Sus stalled nomination as U.S. Labor secretary got a vote in a secret committee meeting this week, said fierce opponent Rep. Kevin Kiley.

But the meeting was not a secret.

He said the nomination had been defeated.

It has not been, though Democratic Senate leaders feel she doesnt have the votes to be confirmed. But theres been no full Senate vote.

Kiley also said he had helped flip votes against Su. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., voted for Su for deputy labor secretary in 2021 but last year said hed oppose her for the top job. While some other Democrats who backed her four years ago have said they are undecided, Manchin is the only known change.

Asked Thursday by The Bee if Kiley had help flip his vote, Manchin replied Whos Kevin Kiley?

Kiley, R-Rocklin, made his latest statements about Su on his Capital Quagmire blog and on X, former Twitter,Tuesday.

His comments came shortly after the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee voted 11 to 10 along party lines in a well-publicized meeting to send the Su nomination to the full Senate. Again.

Kiley has been successful in the effort to derail the Su bid since President Joe Biden nominated her a year ago.

From 2019 to 2021, Su headed the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, which oversaw the chaotic state unemployment system during the Covid years.

She came to Washington shortly after Biden became president, serving as deputy labor secretary. For about the past year, Su has been acting secretary.

Her confirmation faced trouble as Republicans and some Democrats questioned her work in California and her support for a controversial state law that allows independent contractors to have certain worker rights, such as a minimum wage.

On his blog, Kiley Tuesday cited a San Francisco Chronicle article that he said focused on our success stopping Julie Sus confirmation as Labor Secretary. After exposing her role in Newsoms disastrous governorship, we flipped votes and defeated the nomination.

Sus unbelievable responses to my questioning last year sealed her fate, he wrote.

In June, Su appeared before the House workforce committee and was grilled hard by Republicans, including Kiley. He pressed her on whether she supported Assembly Bill 5 but found her hard to pin down.

Kileys chief complaint involving Su is that she was an enthusiastic supporter of Californias AB5, the four-year-old law that generally allows independent contractors certain worker rights, such as minimum wages.

After the hearing with Su, Kiley called her the most evasive witness Ive ever seen.

Whether his forum  and his questioning of Su  led to Senate doubts about her ability to serve is impossible to measure.

Today Bernie Sanders held a secret confirmation hearing with no questions.

Kiley told the Bee It was a closed-door session, in contrast to the first hearing.

Such meetings, to reconsider nominations that did not succeed in a previous year, are not uncommon. There is often no new testimony, since a confirmation had already been held. And this meeting was advertised well in advance.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the committees top Republican, was not pleased. He wanted to speak, and said at the start of the session that it was a mockery because there would be no new hearing.

Of course it was not a secret meeting. You have to legally publicize it, Bernie Sanders later told The Bee.

The Congressional Record, the log of everything that goes in the House and Senate chambers and provides schedules, listed the meeting date, time and subject on Monday. It was on the weekly schedule of Congress.gov in advance, and the media got an advisory Monday afternoon about the meeting.

The same day, Cassidy said in a Senate speech This week, the HELP Committeethe Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committeewill be holding a vote on the renomination of Julie Su for Secretary of Labor.

Kiley told The Bee I agree it wasnt a hearing . Thats why I put it in quote marks.

After exposing her role in Newsoms disastrous governorship, we flipped votes and defeated the nomination.

The Senate has not voted on her nomination. All 49 Republicans were expected to oppose her. Manchin is also a no.

I dont think she ever had the votes, Sanders said of the 2023 decision not to call for a vote.

As a result, Su has been acting secretary since mid-March, when previous Labor Secretary Marty Walsh left the job. Shes allowed to stay indefinitely because of a series of laws that permit her to do so.

Kiley pointed to the 2021 Senate vote to confirm Su as deputy secretary. There was one less Democrat in the Senate then, and she was confirmed, 50 to 47.

Manchin did vote to confirm her in 2021. So did the other 49 senators in the Democratic caucus. Forty-seven Republicans voted no, and three did not vote. When Manchin issued a statement opposing Su last year, he did not mention that anyone helped him decide his vote.

Flipped votes? I have no idea, Sanders said.

My position has never changed. I thought she was doing a great job in what she was doing (as deputy), Manchin At the time, he said, said, but added he is sticking to his 2023 position.

He said then  While her credentials and qualifications are impressive, I have genuine concerns that Julie Sus more progressive background prevents her from doing this and for that reason I cannot support her nomination to serve as Secretary of Labor.
Many young people are aware of and desire conversation around sensitive topics, as seen in the Oscar-nominated documentary, "The ABCs of Book Banning." Illustration:Jianan Liu/HuffPost;Photo:Getty Images, courtesy of mtv documentary films

To hear some adults tell it, adolescents are exposed to troubling and inappropriate messages found in many childrens and young adult books, TV, and film. But one look at the staggering (and growing) list of banned books will give you a sense of what those messages are:

1982s The Color Purple by Alice Walker, a sprawling novel about a queer Black girl who overcomes decades-long physical and sexual abuse through the love and support of Black women. 2019s Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, an illustrated story of a young protagonist exploring their identity outside the binary. 2009s Tricks by Ellen Hopkins, the tale of a group of teenagers who fall prey to drug use and turn to sex work. 2017s Dear Martin by Nic Stone, the story of a Black teenage boy whos wrongfully arrested and grapples with racial injustice and Martin Luther King Jr.s legacy. 2006s Sold by Patricia McCormack, a story about a young girl who is sold into slavery in India.

These narratives are not completely unrelated to many young readers real-life experiences  and a quick glance at the news or reading the words of young people themselves could confirm that.

In The ABCs of Book Banning, the Oscar-nominated short documentary from directors Sheila Nevins, Trish Adlesic and Nazenet Habtezghi, young people reveal their frustrations with the draconian concept of restricting their access to literature.

The argument from the adult side has often been that book bans, or rulings like the British Board of Film Classifications recent decision to increase the rating of the 1964 family film Mary Poppins from U for Universal to PG due to discriminatory language, are necessary to protect kids.

"Its just telling us to be powerful. Like, I dont get what the problem with that is, 9-year-old Nuli (left) says about author Meena Davis' 2021 children's book, "Ambitious Girl." The child appears in "The ABCs of Book Banning" alongside 10-year-old Kika (right). Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films

But are either of these tactics effective in a world where many adults, including some parents and politicians like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, want to restrict knowledge of some aspects of history entirely?

As evident in The ABCs of Book Banning, children are more aware of  and, in many cases, more directly impacted by  the world around them than theyre given credit for. Racial profiling, gender identity and LGBTQ rights are all themes of which they are already painfully aware.

The film makes it increasingly clear that many children and teens can actually handle conversations about these topics. Some adults, though, are unwilling to have them, whether a movie comes with a parental guidance suggestion or not.

Opponents of the bans, like teachers and authors, have railed against them, fearing they serve to limit the facts from young people and control the narrative.

In February, the Washington Post reported that managers of an Asheville, North Carolina, bookstore took in eight tons of picture books restricted by the laws in Florida, which has the highest number of banned books in the U.S. They also managed to send some books to people in the Sunshine State who requested them.

In "The ABCs of Book Banning," 9-year-old Ridley recognizes the universality of queer parenting depicted in Justin Richardson and Peter Parnells 2005 illustrated book, And Tango Makes Three. Courtesy of MTV Documentary Films

In The ABCs of Book Banning, Ridley, a 9-year-old student in Jacksonville, struggles to understand the decision to ban And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnells 2005 illustrated book about two male penguins who welcome a child through another penguins egg.

Its about two penguins that are gay with each other and, even though they have their differences from the other penguins, they could still have a child, take care of it, Ridley said. They could do pretty much everything but lay an egg. Theyre still human.

Whats especially critical here is that Ridley is able to note the universality and humanity of an illustrated story that centers animals.

Everyone deserves these beautiful books; to read, to learn, etcetera, Ridley continues. They teach them about culture, what they can be. They should be able to be what they want to be. But they cant be without knowing what it means.

Kierran, 15, reckons with what it means to ban author Art Spiegelmans 1986 graphic novel, Maus, detailing a characters experience in the Holocaust.

At a press conference last year, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke out against the Parents Bill of Rights Act and the banning and censorship of books in schools. He held up a copy of author Art Spiegelman's banned children's book, "Maus," which is also discussed in "The ABCs of Book Banning." Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images

I feel like if youre trying to ban this book, youre trying to ban Jewish history, Kierran says plainly. Thats like saying, Well, this didnt happen, which will probably just eventually lead to the same thing happening again because people dont know it even happened in the first place.

Then the teen gets right to the meat of the issue: Because youre stealing knowledge. Why would you want to steal knowledge?

Kierrans final question, to which theres no response, lingers long after the film ends. If adolescents are able to properly discern queer themes, concentration camps and the potential of history repeating itself, they might be open to a dialogue around why, say, hottentots is a prejudicial term.

Thats the word young Mary Poppins viewers encounter twice in the Disney film, and for a long time it was deemed entirely acceptable by a racist white Hollywood. Its a racial slur historically targeting the Khoekhoe, an Indigenous people from South Africa. The word is uttered by Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen), a supporting character.

To be fair, the movies increased rating is deserved. It also creates a vital opportunity for adults to talk to young people about why the term is so harmful.

(Left to Right) Actors Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke star in the 1964 Disney film, "Mary Poppins." The British Board of Film Classification recently increased its rating from "U" for universal to PG for its "discriminatory language." In a world of book banning, will parents be willing to talk to kids about the movie's concerning text  or restrict it altogether? Donaldson Collection via Getty Images

Leshu Torchin, a senior lecturer of film studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, recently told The New York Times that the new rating indicates that children could watch a film, and if not with their parents to help contextualize things, could come away either thinking certain language is OK, or come away from it feeling harmed by what theyve just seen.

That makes sense, in theory. But considering many adults efforts to outright restrict children and teens from learning history (or even present-day events) as depicted accurately in books, its hard to feel confident that those conversations will happen in many homes.

Poet and author Nikki Giovanni, who appears in The ABCs of Book Banning, believes no book or hateful term should be restricted at all. That includes her own, 2005s Rosa, a childrens picture book about activist Rosa Parks that has been subject to bans.

To ban it is to give it power over you, she says. Theres no word that should have power over you. If its a word, you can use it. Everyone may not like it. Everybody may not want to hear it. But you cant give a word a power. Words have to be free.

Giovanni then puts the onus on the consumers: Were the ones that have to decide what to do with the words that were hearing and the words that were saying.

Theres woefully been no consensus around what that decision should be.

While various entities struggle to reach a consensus around what to do with media that contains difficult themes and imagery, Disney+ made its own conscious decision regarding "The Muppet Show" (pictured here) in 2021. It maintains 18 episodes of series on the platform, as well as its TV-G rating, but added a disclaimer acknowledging its harmful impact with the hopes that it will spark conversation that will help viewers be more thoughtful and inclusive. Walt Disney Television Photo Archives via Getty Images

It feels like every year now in our evolving social climate adults keep bumping into new ways to contend with or simply erase these issues, particularly when it comes to art for kids and teens. In 2021, Disney+ made the conscious choice to add a disclaimer to 18 episodes of The Muppet Show that contain culturally insensitive images.

So the streamer maintains the episodes and its TV-G rating that suggests its suitable for all audiences, but encourages essential dialogue for educational purposes. Part of that warning reads as follows: Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.

That seems more effective, assuming adults go on to have those conversations, than, say, revising inappropriate text and imagery, as the late Roald Dahls estate did with his childrens books just last year.

As Kierran said, attempts to erase history are counterproductive. You can confront it, discuss it and try to prevent it from happening again. Because whats to stop kids from learning and using offensive terms on their own if 1) they dont know theyre offensive or 2) dont understand their historical context?

And what message does it send to kids when many books that are considered problematic  among a staggering 3,362 cases, according to PEN America last year  are usually ones that dont center white, cisgender, and/or straight characters and storylines? Their themes might be uncomfortable for some. But thats not the same as being harmful.

Nikki Giovanni poses with a smiling young fan at a 2010 book signing of "Rosa," the banned children's book detailing the story of late activist Rosa Parks. The book is among the many titles mentioned in "The ABCs of Book Banning." Monica Morgan via Getty Images

And that lack of distinction could have a detrimental impact on young readers.

By putting restrictions on who gets to claim shelf space, school boards are telling marginalized kids  especially those who are LGBTQ+ and/or kids of color  that their very existence is invalid, Pooja Makhijan reported in Parents magazine last year. Thats exactly what these book bans are meant to imply.

At a time when media literacy is devastatingly low, we should be bolstered by the fact that many children and teens are hungry for information, historical narratives and stories from people who both share and dont share their experiences. The more they learn, the more inquisitive and vocal they are.

That should be encouraged and engaged with, not dismissed, which would only result in a new generation of ignorance.

If you were the person who helped ban this book, why? Yeye, 9, asks about Rosa in The ABCs of Book Banning. Do you feel like Rosa Parks is a bad person? Do you think that people should not know about her legacy? Why do you choose to do this? Im just curious.

The childs question, of course, goes unanswered. It seems curiosity isnt what some adults want to deal with anyway.

The ABCs of Book Banning is available to stream on Paramount+. Mary Poppins is streaming on Disney+.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to the media after casting his vote during the parliamentary and assembly of experts elections at a polling station in Tehran. | Rouzbeh Fouladi/ZUMA Press Wire

Iranians went to the polls on Fridayor didn'tfor the first time since a women-led uprising against religious rule rocked the nation. Authorities reported a record-low turnout of 27 percent, even after they extended voting for an additional two hours, amidst widespread disillusionment and calls for an election boycott.

The country had suffered months of unrest following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not complying with the country's mandatory hijab rule in September 2022. Although the streets have calmed down, it was the most significant challenge to the Islamic Republic yet.

The Iranian government was clearly hoping that the parliamentary elections would be an opportunity to show that Iranians had renewed their trust in the system. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently argued that voting was an act of resistance against the Islamic Republic's enemies. Banners in public places stated that "strong turnout = strong Iran."

Instead, the election became an opportunity for Iranians to show that they were still fed up with the system. Jailed women's rights activist Narges Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, called on Iranians to avoid the "sham elections" in order to show the "illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic."

Even many figures from within the Iranian system declared their intent to boycott. A group of 300 political figures, including former members of parliament, signed a petition stating that they would not participate in an "engineered" vote.

The news site Khabaronline cited a poll in the run-up to the election projecting a 36 percent turnout. Authorities ordered the article deleted. The final turnout number turned out to be ten percent lower than the offending poll.

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has had a mix of democratic and theocratic institutions. Election turnout has rarely fallen below 50 percent and has sometimes reached as high as 70 percent. Iranian "leaders crave constantly high turnout as evidence of the people's love of the revolution, butloathe the results that high turnout always brings," in the words of political scientist Shervin Malekzadeh.

Over the past few years, the government has dropped the pretense of caring. During protests in November 2019, authorities launched a crackdown that killed hundreds of people, then banned thousands of candidates from the February 2020 parliamentary election. A record low 42 percent of voters turned out that year, a result that the Iranian government blamed on coronavirus and "negative propaganda."

Even Hassan Rouhani, who was President of Iran during the November 2019 crackdown, has been banned from running for office. He joins a long list of elected Iranian leaders who have outlived their usefulness to the system, including former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in office during the 2009 protest wave and crackdown.

Ahmadinejad and Rouhani have both refashioned themselves as dissidents.

"Something should have been done to make these elections more competitive. Instead, they limited people's opportunity to participate," Rouhani said in an August 2023 interview. "Those who are in favor of minority rule over the majority should know that they are threatening the future of the system and the revolution. It's not so easy to call this system an Islamic republic anymore."

The post Record Low Turnout in Iran as Voters Lose Faith in Elections appeared first on Reason.com.
Smoke hangs in the Canadian River Valley south of Stinnett, Texas after multiple days of wild fires Friday, March. 1, 2024. Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune

Meteorologists at the National Weather Service office in Amarillo saw signs of possible danger in the Panhandle days before the first fire sparked. The previous week was dry and hot for February  the cities of Amarillo and Borger broke records for high temperatures as they respectively hit 83 and 85 degrees. Then a breezy cold front followed.

Forecasters on Sunday expected the days ahead to bring low relative humidity, which dries out grass and other vegetation in the Panhandle region that was already browned by winter. With a cold front blowing in, strong winds would soon gust as high as 50 to 60 mph, which could fan flames and cause them to spread. The weather was hot again. Borger tied another record high.

On Monday, their fears were realized. The first fires started as temperatures again set high records. And on Tuesday, as the front blew in, winds that had been blowing to the east shifted and pushed those long fire lines south.

By Friday morning, more than 1.25 million acres had burned, most of them north of Amarillo. At least two people died. And while the snow and rain brought in by the front temporarily slowed the fires spread, firefighters worry that the return of strong winds and dry air over the upcoming weekend might allow more fires to start.

Its not unusual for there to be fire risk in the winter in Texas, when vegetation is dead, dormant or dry. Most of the area that has burned is not in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

But scientists know that the hot, dry weather that set the stage for the spread of the Panhandle falls in line with the type of weather that climate change is making more likely. Drier and warmer air dry out vegetation that fuels fires. (There isnt clear scientific consensus yet on how or whether climate change affects wind.)

If climate change had a role, it was in the fire weather itself, having record-setting temperatures on Monday combined with low humidity and then strong winds on Tuesday and low humidity, Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon said.

Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy and professor at Texas Tech, describes this effect as climate change loading the dice in favor of extreme weather. She noted on X, formerly Twitter, that worsening climate change would grow the risk of winter wildfires.

Wildfire seasons have already been getting longer and more intense, according to a May 2023 report from Climate Central, a nonprofit that aims to communicate the effects of climate change. The researchers traced an increase of 32 more fire weather days per year in the Texas Panhandle from 1973 to 2022 one of the sharpest increases in the country. On average over that time, the area saw 62 fire weather days.

Theres a lot of these really hot dry windy days, but were seeing a huge increase, said Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior research associate with Climate Central.

Climate change attribution science  or the process of saying to what extent human-caused climate change fueled an extreme weather event  is an evolving field. It typically takes researchers time to parse out how much of the greenhouse gasses pumped into the air as humans burn fossil fuels have contributed to the severity of one storm or another.

But Climate Central has developed a tool for assessing day-by-day how much climate change is affecting temperatures. Their method found that the heat on the day the fires started was at least three times more likely than it would have been if human-caused climate change werent occurring.

And, of course, more bad fire weather means more risk, said Dylan Schwilk, an associate professor in the department of biological sciences at Texas Tech University.

If you get more warm, windy weather for a longer period, then theres a better chance of that lining up with ignitions, Schwilk said.

Schwilk studies how climate and weather alter how much plant material there is for fires to burn. The Panhandle fires are tearing through warm-season grasses, which good rain early last summer helped to grow. Hot weather later dried everything out, but that grass would have gone dormant anyway, he said.

The weird weather caught the attention of meteorologist Matt Lanza, who lives across the state in Houston and built a reputation for his even-keeled forecasting on the website Space City Weather during Hurricane Harvey. He saw how the changing winds fueled the fire and brought what he called chaos.

By Thursday, the weather finally gave firefighters a chance to gain some control. But Amarillo meteorologists were staring down another spell of what they considered critical fire weather this weekend because it would be warm, windy and dry, making it easier for fuels to ignite.

The weather experts worriedly watched for new fires to start and urged people to be careful as they celebrated Texas Independence Day on Saturday. Even after some precipitation, vegetation was already starting to dry out. It didnt take long.

There are still a lot of areas that have plenty of fuels to burn, said National Weather Service meteorologist in Amarillo Samuel Scoleri.

Disclosure: Texas Tech University and Nature Conservancy have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.
Children are pictured at Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Feb. 29, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua)

CAIRO, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

"About one in every 20 children, women and men, are now dead or wounded," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said Thursday, referring to the bloodshed in Gaza as "carnage."

"The war in Gaza must end. Clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including war crimes and possibly other crimes under international law, have been committed by all parties," he said during the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Over the nearly five months since the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, 30,035 Palestinians have been killed and 70,475 others injured, including those seeking humanitarian aid, the Hamas-run health ministry said Thursday.

WORSENING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

"There is no food, no drink, no security, no safety, no shelter -- nothing exists here," said Ayman Shahin, a resident from Gaza City who has been displaced to Deir el-Balah, a city in central Gaza.

"Humanitarian aid barely reaches the camp here. It is very limited and not enough for our children and women," he said.

"No one here gets enough (resources) to meet their needs, and famine is approaching," said Naguib Abu Khaled, a Palestinian man who has been forced to relocate from Gaza City to Deir el-Balah.

During a UN Security Council meeting in January, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that about 1.9 million people, or 85 percent of Gaza's population, had been forcibly displaced amid Israel's military operations.

At least 576,000 people in the Gaza Strip, or one-quarter of the population, are one step away from famine, Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the Security Council on Tuesday. A Palestinian source, who spoke to Xinhua anonymously, said many local residents were limited to one meal a day and not all the people could get their share of food aid.

With hunger and infectious diseases spreading within the small enclave, Gazan residents may even face a deadly risk in accessing humanitarian aid.

At least 112 Palestinians were killed and 760 others wounded in an Israeli attack as they were waiting for aid in western Gaza City on Thursday. Local eyewitnesses told Xinhua that the Israeli army targeted a gathering of civilians with artillery and guns.

An Israeli military spokesman claimed that the troops opened fire "in self-defense" after Gazans attacked and looted aid trucks. He said dozens of Gazans were injured in the chaos, some by being crushed or trampled.

POTENTIAL CEASEFIRE

Ceasefire talks have resumed in Doha this week between "specialists from Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Israel" as well as Hamas representatives, Egyptian media reported.

No breakthrough has been announced, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the military offensive.

He said Sunday that an Israeli military operation into Rafah, the southernmost Gazan city, home to about 1.4 million Palestinians, would secure a "total victory" over Hamas within a few weeks.

The prospect of an assault on Rafah has sparked widespread international appeals to Israel to exercise restraint.

Egypt is reportedly threatening to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if the latter sends troops into densely-populated Rafah. According to media reports, the United States, Israel's key ally, has proposed a draft UN Security Council resolution cautioning against a "major ground offensive" into Rafah.

In addition, the Israeli killing of Palestinians seeking food aid may further complicate the ceasefire negotiations.

Hamas said the incident could undermine talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and releasing Israeli hostages. U.S. President Joe Biden has acknowledged that the negotiations would be complicated by the incident.

ISRAEL UNDER MOUNTING PRESSURE

Last week, Netanyahu unveiled his first post-war plan for Gaza, which advocated for Israel's "security control" over Palestinian territories following the conflict and underlined Netanyahu's opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The plan, rejected by Palestine, also contradicts the U.S. policy, as Biden has said that only a two-state solution has a chance of achieving lasting peace.

Israeli politicians are also facing mounting pressure due to the dire situation of the estimated 130 hostages still held in Gaza. At least 35 of them are believed to be dead, according to Israeli figures.

During a truce last November, more than 100 hostages were released as part of an agreement that included a week-long cessation of hostilities and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

On Wednesday, families of Israeli hostages embarked on a four-day march from near the Gaza Strip to Jerusalem, demanding the release of their loved ones.

Video footage showed that they were marching with posters and T-shirts bearing images of their relatives, chanting "Now! Now! Now!" 

Children are pictured at Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Feb. 29, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua)

People buy food at Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Feb. 29, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua)

Children are pictured at Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Feb. 29, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua)

Vendors make food at Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza Strip, Feb. 29, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Xinhua)

A young man clears debris in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

Children move a cart on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)

A girl with a pot is seen on a street in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on March 1, 2024. More than 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died from Israeli attacks as of Thursday amid worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. (Photo by Yasser Qudih/Xinhua)
Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council budget proposals for 2024-25 were approved on Thursday

A rebellion has failed to stop a council approving budget plans for the next financial year, which include an overall 4.99% local tax rise.

Thirty-seven Redcar and Cleveland council members voted for the plans, with 16 Conservatives and some independents voting against.

The minority Labour-led council said it was facing a 700,000 budget shortfall.

Labour councillor Christopher Massey told a meeting council tax going up would be a "challenge" for many.

The rise will add 1.73 per week (90.27 per year) to the bill of a full council taxpayer living in a band D house, while someone living in a band A house receiving full council tax support will pay an extra 20p a week (10.53 per year).

Rejecting criticism of council tax levels, Mr Massey said the local authority had the third lowest rate of council tax in north-east England, while also describing various financial pressures it was facing.

He said: "Local government has been chronically underfunded and that has remained so for the best part of a decade."

Opposition

Budget proposals to make savings totalling 8.6m over the next five years were also approved amid opposition, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Councillor Paul Salvin, leader of the Conservative group on the council, said round table discussions arranged when the budget was being developed had been a "sham" with no cost saving suggestions from Conservatives being implemented.

Mr Salvin said: "They [the discussions] were all in the name of a PR exercise so the council leader can say we have all worked together on the budget."

He also said for every 1 of council tax being paid, 17% was going towards interest on loans taken out by the local authority.

Council leader, Labour's Alec Brown said "difficult decisions" were required to "shield our residents from potential greater hardship".

Lib Dem councillor Glyn Nightingale said not to pass the budget would be effectively a vote of no confidence.

He said it was "absolutely essential" the council was provided with the resources it needed to do its job and called for a "rational decision".

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Simon Danczuk, the Reform UK candidate, and Claudine Uwamahoro, his wife. Earlier this week, a man was arrested after making an online death threat against him - Phil Noble/Reuters

Rishi Sunak has described the campaign for the Rochdale by-election as one of the most divisive in recent times as candidates complained of aggressive behaviour by supporters of George Galloway.

The Prime Minister said it was very concerning to see reports of intimidation during the contest, which was won by Mr Galloway for his Workers Party of Britain after Labour disowned its candidate.

Downing Street later said such intimidation does not represent our values of tolerance and respect and that the Government wont allow that to continue or stifle democracy.

It came as the Conservatives accused supporters of Mr Galloway of hounding people and following them down streets, as well as intimidation in one particular ward. They said they had put in an official complaint to Rochdale Borough Council about reports of bullying behaviour.

Reform UK said its staff had had to be removed from the constituency for their own safety, while a burger van displaying a party poster was threatened with firebombing.

Earlier this week, a man was arrested after making an online death threat against Simon Danczuk, the Reform candidate.

Mr Sunak said: It was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns that weve seen in recent times.

Im pleased the Conservative Party was the only party to run a really positive campaign, focused on local issues, with a great local candidate, Paul Ellison.

A No 10 spokesman said: The Prime Minister has expressed his concerns at the behaviour and increased intimidation that weve seen in recent weeks and months.

Hes very clear that there is no place for that in our society. It doesnt represent our values of tolerance and respect, and hes very clear that he will always defend and champion those values.

There is a difference between robust debate and the importance of freedom of expression and intimidation, and we wont allow that to continue or stifle democracy.

Richard Tice, the Reform leader, claimed the by-election was not free and fair and also questioned a sharp rise in the number of postal votes cast, saying they were unquestionably open to significant abuse.

He did not provide evidence of voting irregularities to support the claim.

Richard Tice claimed candidate Simon Danczuk and his team had been 'subjected to death threats' - Phil Noble/Reuters

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Tice wrote: People across the UK need to know the truth about this election campaign  and the implications for our democracy.

To suggest that a parliamentary election in this country has not been truly free and fair is a very serious allegation indeed.

Unfortunately however, the behaviour of certain candidates and their supporters in this contest fell very far short of our traditional democratic standards.

The post said that in recent weeks, Reform UKs candidate and campaign team has been subjected to death threats, suffered vile racist abuse, been refused entry to hustings in a public building, had to be relocated for his own safety, suffered daily intimidation and slurs.

He said the results of the by-election should act as a stark wake up call to those in power  and the entire electorate, adding: This is Britain. We are supposed to be a beacon of democracy. This shameful contest has been more characteristic of a failed state.

Unless something dramatic changes, our fear is that it will be repeated in dozens of constituencies across the UK at the general election.

Now the polls have closed, people across the UK need to know the truth about this election campaign - and the implications for our democracy.



To suggest that a parliamentary election in this country has not been truly free and fair is a very serious allegation indeed.  Richard Tice  (@TiceRichard) March 1, 2024

A source at the party said: The intimidation was off the scale of what we have seen before. There was a burger van with our leaflets on it that was threatened with being firebombed. We had to move a lot of our stuff.

On polling day, there were numerous Galloway supporters outside polling stations, which was quite intimidating. The cumulative effect of all this was horrific. We had to take on two extra security people this week. The staff did not feel safe at the count, which is why they did not stay to the end.

Mr Galloway and Rochdale council were contacted for comment.

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Richard Tice, the Reform Party leader, speaks to the media at the Rochdale by-election count - Asadour Guzelian

Reform UK has hit its highest-ever polling support level in the aftermath of the Tory row over the suspension of Lee Anderson.

A YouGov survey, published on Friday, showed that the Right-wing party, led by Richard Tice, was now at 14 percentage points  up one from the previous week.

The Conservatives were just six points ahead of their rivals on the Right, polling at 20 points. More than one in five 2019 Tory voters currently intend to back Reform.

The poll, conducted between Feb 28 and 29, suggests Mr Tice may have benefited from Tory splits over Mr Anderson, a former Conservative deputy chairman who lost the whip last week for claiming that Islamists had got control of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.

Mr Tice has reportedly gone on to hold talks with Mr Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, who he said speaks for millions of people who are appalled by what is happening to our country.

The poll showed that Labour remained on 46 points despite a difficult few weeks for Sir Keir Starmer. The Labour leader has ditched a flagship 28 billion green spending pledge and faced criticism over his handling of an anti-Semitism row in Rochdale.

YouGov said: This is Reform UKs highest vote intention share to date, with the party currently taking 21 per cent of those who voted Conservative in 2019. The Tories are holding on to just 35 per cent of their previous voters, with 12 per cent going to Labour and 20 per cent unsure.

Responding to the poll, Mr Tice wrote on X, formerly Twitter: Our first 14 per cent national poll for Reform  just 6 per cent behind the toxic Tories.

Earlier this week, Reform recorded its highest-ever level of support with Savanta, which put it on 10 per cent of the vote.

Despite the partys strong showing in the polls, it recorded just 6.3 per cent of the vote at the Rochdale by-election on Thursday.

Mr Tice went on to claim that the by-election in the Greater Manchester town  won by George Galloway, of the Workers Party of Britain, on a pro-Palestinian ticket  was not free and fair after Simon Danczuk, Reforms candidate, and his campaigners allegedly suffered abuse and death threats.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats had their worst showing in a YouGov poll in 17 months, with Sir Ed Daveys party at seven points  its lowest total since September 2022.

The Telegraphs poll tracker has shown a surge in support for Reform in the past three years since it rebranded from the Brexit Party at the start of 2021 to oppose Covid lockdown restrictions.

Mr Tice has credited the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary and the return of Lord Cameron  widely seen as being on the liberal wing of the Conservatives  with helping him recruit hundreds of new members.

Reforms policies include the abolition of all flagship net zero targets, sweeping tax cuts and the sacking of head teachers who allow the teaching of gender ideology or critical race theory in schools.

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Disgruntled patrons described the underwhelming Willy Wonka-themed event as a "scam." Stuart Sinclair

We all occasionally buy tickets for events that are disappointing, but a recent Scotland event has gone viral for just how badly it fell short of what it promised.

The February immersive event, Willys Chocolate Experience, took place in Glasgow, Scotland. It was supposedly inspired by Roald Dahls 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which features the oddball chocolatier Willy Wonka. The event promised captivating live performances, extraordinary props, oversized lollipops, and a paradise of sweet treats and interactive experiences, according to the events website.

Last weekends attendees got anything but that.

Instead of the 45-minutes-to-an-hour experience promised on the website, Stuart Sinclair, a father who brought his children to the event, said it took two minutes to get through to then see a queue of people surrounding the guy running it complaining, according to his Facebook post.

Instead of a paradise of sweet treats and interactive experiences, families and children said they got a mostly empty warehouse with scattered decorations and the scarce offerings of a quarter-cup of lemonade. Some attendees were so unhappy that they called the police. The Willy Wonka actors themselves have since said they got AI-generated gibberish scripts, and that they feel really embarrassed by the jobs they were hired for.

Since the event, a Facebook group called House of Illuminati Scam has been created for disappointed participants seeking a refund. In a since-deleted social media statement, the event company House of Illuminati, which organized the Chocolate Experience, said it would be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets.

Hopefully, you will never have to pay 35, or about $44, for your child to reportedly get three jelly beans from a disenchanted Oompa Loompa actor. But at some point in your life, you very well might buy tickets for an event that ends up being wildly different from what it advertised. Here are the warning signs that the event you bought tickets for might not be what it claims  and what you need to prove so you can fight for a refund.

1. The website for the event has typos.

"Encherining" and "Cartchy tuns"? Be wary of multiple typos on event websites. "Willy's Chocolate Experience" by House of Illuminati

On the Willys Chocolate Experience website, there are missing apostrophes and garbled terms like cartchy tuns and catgacating.

Most organizations take the time to proofread what they advertise. Scammers often have poorly designed websites, numerous spelling errors, or a lack of social media presence, which seemed to be a red flag for the Wonka experience, said Mike Lemberger, Visas regional risk officer for North America.

2. The event is not officially associated with the brand in question.

Bad actors take advantage of your enthusiasm for the popular movie or artist you want to see, so that you dont look more closely at the details. The House of Illuminati event acknowledged on its website that its event was in no way related to the Wonka franchise, which in hindsight feels like a bad sign.

If the event is not an authorized retailer for merchandise or is not officially associated with the franchise, that should set off alarm bells, said Melanie McGovern, director of public relations and social media for Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit that tracks bad advertisements and customer complaints in North America.

You dont know what to expect if its not affiliated with the company that licenses and owns that image, McGovern said. You might not be getting what you think youre getting. So that is definitely a red flag, and its very important for people to scroll to the bottom of a lot of websites to see all the information to make sure that it is what it says.

3. There are no reviews  or many bad reviews.

Lemberger said few or zero reviews can be a sign that the event is a scam.

If you still want to buy tickets from a business that has little social media presence and is a first-time organizer of the event, call the organizer and the promotional company about your concerns, McGovern suggested.

Reputable companies will always answer your questions, McGovern said. Theyll work hard to earn your trust.

Try to find out if there have been any other complaints about events that the company has run. If you see the same complaint over and over again, that could give you a pause to maybe say I might not want to do this, or Im going to do it anyway, McGovern said.

And double-check the name of the event and the organizers behind it. McGovern cited the example of how consumers complained to Better Business Bureau in 2021 about buying tickets for Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience  an event that used virtual reality headsets  thinking it was Immersive Van Gogh, a large-scale projected installation.

4. There are no terms and conditions, or only vague ones.

When you buy a ticket for an event, you want to know what will happen if the venue suddenly changes, if weather conditions shift, or if a performer drops out. The terms and conditions on the events website will typically outline that information.

If the event details are vague, or if the organizer cannot provide specific information about the venue, performers, or event schedule, it might be a scam, Lemberger said.



What you can do if you believe youve been scammed

Its frustrating to have an underwhelming time at an event you paid significant money for. But theres a difference between a disappointing experience and a potentially misleading one that can get you a refund.

For Lemberger, the difference is that a disappointing experience still delivered its product or service as promised by the organizer. On the other hand, a scam is something that is intentionally misleading in an effort to make money, he said.

If you believe youre dealing with the latter category, here are actions you can take:

Ask the company to refund you.

You should always reach out to the company where you made the purchase, Lemberger said. They may have policies in place to handle such situations and can handle it for you directly.

Dispute the charge with your bank.



If the company refuses to provide a refund, you can dispute the charge with your bank. Save any receipts as proof of purchase and attendance, and take screenshots of what you believe the organizer sold as false advertisement to help your claim.

Customers will need to provide documentation they have around the situation, including all receipts, emails, photos and screenshots related to the purchase, Lemberger said. When you dispute something with your bank, your bank [will] work with the merchants bank to investigate the situation and side with the appropriate party.

But if you bought the tickets with cash or a debit card, you might be out of luck. Unless the events refund policy states otherwise, you probably will not be able to get your money back with cash or a debit card, McGovern said.

File a complaint.

If youre in the U.S. or Canada, you can use Better Business Bureau to help you escalate your complaint and present it to the company on your behalf.

Then the company would come back with, OK, well refund your money, or According to our terms and conditions, there are no refunds, and then we would go back to the consumer, McGovern said.

You can also file a consumer complaint to your local attorney generals office.

Do your research before your next ticketed event.

Ultimately, it takes extra homework and research to avoid getting fooled. Lemberger noted that in the case of the Willy Wonka-themed event, the illustrations that appear AI-generated created a false impression of what the event would be like.

What was delivered was certainly not what was advertised, Lemberger said. As generative AI tools become more accessible to everyone than ever before, it is easy for bad actors to create fake advertisements that do not represent the experience accurately.

Thats why you should trust your instincts and make extra calls before buying a pass to that next immersive experience.

Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Always do your research before purchasing tickets to a live event, Lemberger said.

Related...
Sen. Ed Setzler. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Thursday was Crossover Day in the Georgia Legislature, the deadline for bills to easily pass from either the House or the Senate, and culture war partisans had a few reasons to celebrate, or mourn, depending on point of view.

After years of trying, the Senate passed the Georgia Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or RFRA, a longtime dream of conservative politicians and activists.

Conservative politicians and activists also made one of their newer dreams come true with the passage of a bill cutting ties with the American Library Association, a library support and accrediting body some Republicans say has become too progressive.

Other culture war issues did not make the cut, including bills aimed at school bathroom and library use.

Religious Freedom

Eight years after then-Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed a controversial religious freedom bill, a different bill with the same aim passed the state Senate.

Acworth Republican Sen. Ed Setzlers Senate Bill 180 states that the government may substantially burden a persons exercise of religion only if it does so in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest and the least restrictive means of furthering such compelling governmental interest.

Setzler gave examples including a Muslim woman in Florida who could not remove her facial covering to be photographed for a drivers license. Setzler said Floridas religious freedom law allowed her to be photographed in a private room by a woman.

It largely helps people in minority religious space, but it doesnt provide everybody of course, to make sure the government has to prove a compelling reason, and in accomplishing the compelling reason, they do that in the least restrictive means possible. The decency, the human decency, of allowing the Muslim woman, who piously believes she needs to wear a full face guard in public, allowing her to have her photo for her drivers license made in a private room by a female photographer.

Decency wasnt the word on Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jacksons mind. Jackson, the states first and only openly LGBTQ+ senator, called the bill a permission slip to discriminate against families like hers.

Sen. Kim Jackson. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

This is my reality and my fear, she said. My fear that my childs daycare can turn us away. That a hotel can refuse me entry. That we can be denied access to any number of services that every other Georgian has rights to. The gas station that refuses service, the restaurant that wont seat us, the physician who denies care for my child, all because they have a religious objection toward me and my family. Across the country, RFRAs have already opened the door for discrimination in public health, child welfare and adoptions, marriage-related services, employment, and public accommodations.

Deals veto of the previous religious freedom legislation came amid pressure from major Georgia-based businesses that said the legislation could make it harder to attract workers to the state.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce released a joint statement opposing Senate Bill 180.

For decades, Georgia has benefited from a positive working relationship between the business community and our elected leaders to promote our state as a center for global commerce. Georgias stable governance attracts industry and has served our citizens well, and we oppose any efforts, including SB 180, that would undermine the states strong reputation we have built together, the business groups statement said.

Cole Muzio, president of the influential conservative lobbying group Frontline Policy Action, celebrated the bills passage.

Passage of RFRA by the state Senate brings us one step closer toward restoring our nations founding right, he said in an email to supporters. The balancing test provided in SB 180 is fair, right, consistent with federal law and in accordance with what Gov. Kemp campaigned on.

If Gov. Brian Kemp is to sign or veto the bill, it will first need to pass the state House. It will have until the legislative session is set to gavel out March 28 to do so.

Libraries

A watered-down version of a bill pulling Georgia out from the American Library Association made it through the Senate. Author Sen. Larry Walker, a Perry Republican, said he got clued in on the ALA after his local library used an ALA grant to buy books about diversity and LGBTQ+ issues, some of which he said were in the childrens section.

He said he went on to find out the current ALA president described herself in a tweet as a Marxist lesbian.

Sen. Larry Walker. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Prior to taking on this issue, I put libraries in the same category as mom and apple pie, and I was shocked to find that the havens for learning that I envisioned where childrens imaginations could run free and unhindered to find inspiration for their future and the legacy of knowledge accumulated by civil society could become a political battleground for a radical agenda pushed down by this Chicago organization, the American Library Association.

The ALA accredits the schools that train librarians, and Walker said under his bill, Georgia universities must pay for that accreditation with private funds rather than state money. Libraries in the state cannot use private funds or state money to become members of the ALA.

Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent characterized the bill as a political ploy and referenced data showing Georgia near the bottom of the rankings for child literacy by state.

I really, colleagues, do find it deeply ironic, in a state where two-thirds of kids cannot read on grade level, that we have so many more bills addressing what children should or should not be able to read, instead of focusing on the actual five-alarm fire problem, the problem that many of them cannot read well, if at all. That is the problem that we should be discussing today. That is the money we should be discussing putting into our budget.

Ahead of their time

Several bills hoped for or dreaded by culture warriors failed to make it to the all-important deadline.

Bills ending sex education for elementary schoolers, making school librarians liable for distributing materials deemed harmful to minors and restricting transgender students to the bathroom matching the gender listed on their birth certificates did not move forward.

But fans of culture clashes should not grieve or celebrate just yet. Crossover day marks the end of a bills ability to pass the smoothest way, but dead bills can find new life if grafted to other legislation, sometimes in surprising ways.

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The News

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed new congressional maps into law Wednesday, ending a three-year battle over partisan redistricting lines. One unsung winner: Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a two-term member of Congress facing a primary in New Yorks 16th congressional district.

Democrats gifted Bowman Co-Op City, a heavily Black-populated housing development in the Bronx with relatively high voter turnout. The move bolsters his chances against challenger Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who is backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Bowman, who represents a significant number of Jewish-American voters, has come under fire from AIPAC for voting against pro-Israel resolutions in the House.

The new map also includes Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School, which Bowman founded and where he served as principal.

I gave 10 and a half years of my life as a middle school principal and community activist in that community, so Im obviously ecstatic to have it back, Bowman told Semafor in an interview Thursday.

At the same time, Bowman lost Wakefield, another heavily Black-populated community that is now in a neighboring district. The primary is expected to be heavily competitive  and expensive.

This is no slam-dunk race, Bowman said. We still gonna have to work our butts off.

Know More

Bowman previously represented Co-Op City, but lost the area in 2022 when a court-appointed special master redrew partisan gerrymandered lines that Democrats approved ahead of last years midterm elections.

Barring a few changes, the new map looks similar to an earlier proposal drawn by the states Independent Redistricting Commission that was rejected by the state legislature. In that version, Co-Op City temporarily sat in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs, D-N.Y. district.

I love Co-Op City, but I also know that he loves it too, Ocasio-Cortez said of Bowman. Im very honored to have stewarded over Co-Op City, you know, in between times Bowman has represented it.

Kadias view

National Democrats and Republicans following the drama around New Yorks redistricting tended to focus on its impact on the Houses overall makeup  would the state legislature aggressively push Republicans out of their seats or make more modest changes?

There was a little movement there: Newly elected Democrat Tom Suozzi picked up parts of Hempstead that make his district bluer. Republican Brandon Williams also picked up some Democratic voters that threaten his hold on his swing seat a bit more. But the Bowman changes illustrate how the process could have an impact beyond the red-blue scorekeeping on the surface.

Notable

Bowman is a popular second-term member of Congress for more than one reason and was censured by the House for pulling a fire alarm in a Capitol office building.
HANOI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam posted a state budget collection of 399.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (16.2 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of this year, up 10.4 percent year on year, the country's General Statistics Office has said.

Domestic revenue over the months rose 14.6 percent from the same period of last year to 355.8 trillion dong (14.4 billion dollars), while the revenue from import-export activities decreased by 18.4 percent to 33.8 trillion dong (1.3 billion dollars), local media reported Friday.

In January and February, Vietnam's budget spending stood at 260.7 trillion dong (10.5 billion dollars), up 7.7 percent year on year.

Vietnam aims to have a state budget collection of 1,700.99 trillion dong (about 69 billion dollars) in 2024. 
A Russian defector is assassinated in Spain. The Chinese government offers bounties for dissidents who take refuge in foreign countries. The Canadian government fingers Indian officials for murdering a Sikh activist in British Columbia. What do these incidents have in common? They represent acts of "transnational repression," a form of authoritarianism that reaches across national frontiers and has becoming disturbingly common in recent years.

Repression Without Borders

"More than 20 percent of the world's national governments have reached beyond their borders since 2014 to forcibly silence exiled political activists, journalists, former regime insiders, and members of ethnic or religious minorities," finds a Freedom House report released in February. "According to the new data, 25 countries' governments were responsible for 125 incidents of physical transnational repression in 2023 alone, including assassinations, abductions, assaults, detentions, and unlawful deportations."

Last year enjoyed the dubious distinction, the report adds, of featuring the first documented cases of transnational repression by Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, and Yemen. Well, it's only fair that every regime gets an opportunity to terrorize a critic or political opponent in another country, instead of leaving all the fun to the year's main culprits: Russia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, and China.

A Busy Year for International Thugs

Along those lines, recent weeks saw the assassination of Maksim Kuzminov, the Russian helicopter pilot who defected to Ukraine in 2023 in protest of his country's invasion of that nation. Russian media reported that military intelligence issued a kill order for Kuzminov, which, it seems, was carried out.

"Kuzminov, who was reportedly living in Spain under a false identity, was found dead in the Spanish town of Villajoyosa, near Alicante, on Feb. 13. Police said attackers shot the former pilot six times before running him over with a car," reports Politico. "Sources in Spanish intelligence servicesbelieve Moscow hired hitmen from outside Spain to carry out the assassination."

China's overseas efforts are broader and more overt in their efforts to target dissidents.

"Fox Hunt is a sweeping bid by General Secretary Xi to target Chinese nationals whom he sees as threats and who live outside China, across the world," FBI Director Christopher Wray charged in a 2020 speech. "Hundreds of the Fox Hunt victims that they target live right here in the United States, and many are American citizens or green card holders."

Chinese officials threaten dissidents' family members who remain in China, but also pressure those overseas through "police stations" covertly established in foreign countries and intended to convey the impression that the regime reaches everywhere. U.S. officials busted one such outpost in New York City last spring.

China's government has a fixation on veterans of Hong Kong's democracy movement, offering bounties of $1 million H.K. ($127,730 U.S.) in December for assistance with the capture of dissidents who sought overseas refuge.

India's government, for its part, stands accused by Canadian officials of orchestrating the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Accused of terrorism by India in pursuit of a Sikh homeland, Nijjar had a bounty on his head and was shot dead outside a temple in British Columbia.

Just months later, U.S. officials claimed to have thwarted a similar attempt on American soil against Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Last year was a busy year for international thugs and assassins, it appears. But if we go back just a bit further, we find other incidents, such as the gruesome 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi Arabian agents in Istanbul, or the botched but lethal attack the same year on Sergei Skripal in the U.K. by Russian agents using the Novichok nerve poison (one of the Putin regime's favorite calling cards). There is a frightening abundance of examples from which to choose.

"Between 2014 and 2023, Freedom House has recorded a total of 1,034 direct, physical incidents of transnational repression committed by 44 origin-country governments in 100 target countries," observes Freedom House. "The governments of China, Turkey, Tajikistan, Russia, and Egypt rank as the most prolific perpetrators of transnational repression overall since 2014. China's regime on its own accounts for 25 percent of all documented incidents of transnational repression."

Bad Examples Encourage Bad Behavior

Part of the problem, unmentioned by Freedom House, is that relatively free democratic governments can compound the problem with their own misbehavior. While Canada, the U.S., and their allies aren't known for poisoning overseas dissidents (at least, not as a matter of course that they want publicized), they do sometimes bend laws to target inconvenient people in other countries. The U.S. federal government, aided by its British allies, has tormented journalist Julian Assange for years with arrest and extradition efforts over what Amnesty International describes as "politically motivated charges" under the Espionage Act. His "crimes," points out the Freedom of the Press Foundation, are "things journalists at news outlets around the country do every day."

That sets a precedent on which authoritarian government can seize.

"National security laws of other countries, including the US and the UK, also have extraterritorial effect," sniffed China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning when challenged on arrest warrants and bounties for Hong King dissidents residing in other countries. The scope of China's actions extend way beyond those of any western government in reach and severity, but she had a point.

"It's clear that governments are not being deterred from violating sovereignty and targeting dissidents living abroad," commented Freedom House's Yana Gorokhovskaia of events documented in the recent publication. "Democracies must ensure that the perpetrators of these brutal acts face real consequences. Otherwise, the use of transnational repression is likely to spread."

That's true. But if officials in relatively free countries are serious about deterring overtly authoritarian regimes from spying on, blackmailing, assaulting, kidnapping, and killing people who've taken refuge across national borders, they have to refrain from anything that even slightly resembles such behavior themselves. The end of transnational repression begins at home.

The post Report Finds Rise in Governments Targeting Dissidents Overseas appeared first on Reason.com.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  At-home surgeries, unsanitary conditions and a lack of vet care are just a few of the allegations noted in a report of problematic breeders in which Ohio is listed as the state with the second highest number of documented puppy mills in the country.

The Humane Society of the United States publishes an annual report called The Horrible Hundred, detailing known puppy mills and dealers. Ohio had the second highest number of appearances in the report. Six puppy mills resided in Tuscarawas County, four in Holmes County, one in Knox County, one in Madison County and one in Coshocton County.

A puppy mill is a commercial scale dog breeder that sacrifices the health and wellbeing of puppies and dogs in their care in order to maximize their profit, said Mark Finneran, state director for HSUS.

At a puppy mill, the physical, psychological and behavioral needs of the dogs are not being consistently fulfilled, according to HSUS. The society report lists Missouri as the state with the most puppy mills, with 31 detailed in the report. Ohio, tied with Iowa, came in second with 13 puppy mills each listed in the report.

Ohio is routinely amongst the states that have the highest number of appearances in The Horrible Hundred, Finneran said. Number one, it tells us clearly we have a puppy mill problem in our state, but secondly, it does speak to the value of our state-level dog breeder inspection program.

Finneran said that state employees inspect licensed commercial breeders and those reports lead into The Horrible Hundred report. He noted its possible there are other states where puppy mills may not be as closely tracked.

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

(Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture)

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

Ohio puppy mill featured in The Horrible Hundred Report (Photo Courtesy/Ohio Department of Agriculture).

In the most recent horrible hundred report, 12 of the included breeders reportedly sold to Petland, including an Ohio breeder who was cited for performing his own ear-cropping surgeries on puppies. Petland is a Chillicothe-based chain, and is the only national pet store chain that sells puppies. The store recently found itself at the center of a lawsuit, backed by the HSUS, which claimed the store sold customers sick dogs from puppy mills.

Puppy mills in the state have a ripple effect on animal welfare and can become a burden to shelters and rescues, according to Finneran.

Sometimes [puppy mills] have litters of puppies they cant turn a profit on, and when that happens, theyre just dumping these dogs on local humane societies, local rescues, that are kind of being overrun with these litters of these puppies, many of whom have these significant behavioral challenges because theyre not socialized or have significant health issues that are extremely costly to take care of, Finneran said.

Finneran said the best thing Ohioans can do to combat the states puppy mill problem is to use their power as consumers and start at a local shelter when looking to get a dog.

If you do want to buy from a breeder the best thing you can do is look for a breeder that invites you to come be where the puppy was raised, maybe meet its parents, just give you an understanding of the environment it was brought up in and thats whats impossible to do if youre buying a puppy from a pet store or an online broker, you really have no idea what environment that dog was coming from, Finneran said.

The HSUS noted in its Horrible Hundred report that its not possible to list all puppy mills across the country due to patchwork laws, inconsistent enforcement and other restrictions in some parts of the country  numerous puppy mills operate unseen.

The biggest effort from the Ohio branch of the HSUS to remedy puppy mills in the state is improving the way laws that already exist are enforced. The Ohio Department of Agriculture is the entity that enforces puppy mill laws and regulations.

One of our biggest challenges right now is not that we cant find any puppy mills, its that when we do find the puppy mill, [Ohios] choosing to allow them to stay in operation, Finneran said. Some of these places are getting fined, but Ohio has the authority, and in certain cases the legal obligation, to stop issuing these commercial scale breeding licenses to breeders that have a history of violations that threaten the health and welfare of their dogs.

Finneran said if an individual has come across what they believe to be a puppy mill, they should report it to the Ohio Department of Agriculture and follow up with local law enforcement, who can assist if an animal cruelty law was broken. The Horrible Hundred full report including the list of Ohio puppy mills can be found here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Ward 2 Councilwoman and Vice President Angelique Lee is expected to get a DUI charge expunged from her record, according to a WLBT report.

According to the report, Lee was arrested on June 16, 2023 after being pulled over by an officer with the Madison Police Department who followed her after smelling marijuana.

Lee was not immediately available for comment.

Madison Officer Brian Chism pulled Lee over on I-55 North after seeing her cross over lanes. He reported he smelled marijuana coming out of Lee's car. He also reported he found an orange pill bottle with marijuana residue.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee, seen in this August 30, 2022 file photo, was arrested for a DUI last June after an officer with the Madison Police Department pulled her over and smelled marijuana.

The officer reported Lee failed a "finger-to-the-nose" field sobriety test. She missed her nose three times. Thirty minutes of dash cam and body footage was reviewed by WLBT though it did not show Lee falling that test. City officials say they are looking into the footage, WLBT reported.

Lee submitted to several sobriety tests and was taken to the Madison Police Station. She was released on a $1,500 bond.

According to a copy of the incident report obtained by WLBT, Lee admitted she had been smoking. She told the officer she was attending the National League of Cities National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials' Summer Conference with other elected officials. The event was held in Jackson that summer.

Lee was charged with one count of DUI-Other, and possession of paraphernalia. She waived her right to a trial and pleaded guilty in August, WLBT reported. Lee was eligible and agreed to participate in a non-adjudication program because she was a first-time offender

She was required to pay a fine of $688 and $250 in court costs. She attended a victim impact panel and the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program. Lee was court-mandated to submit to drug tests for 120 days and she was allowed to drive as long she continued to comply with the court order.

After completing those requirements, a judge signed off on an order on Feb. 8 and agreed to remand her case to the file.

WLBT reported that Lee apologized for the incident, saying:

I sincerely apologize to the constituents of Ward 2 for any disappointment that my decisions that night may have caused. This (has) been a true learning experience for me, and a cautionary tale for others as we matriculate through the legalization of marijuana, that the odor will carry on your person, clothes, and vehicle, and you too, can easily be charged with DUI other.

Lee is the second member of the Jackson City Council to face DUI charges in the last year. Council President Aaron Banks faced a DUI charge in January. He later announced he would fight the charge. He had no comment after pleading not guilty. According to court documents, Banks' blood alcohol level was 0.16, twice the legal limit.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson, MS Councilwoman charged with marijuana related DUI last year
Shes the GOPs one sure thing

I am amazed that the majority of Republican voters are rejecting the one candidate for president, Nikki Haley, who can hands-down defeat President Joe Biden and energize voters enough to win a Republican majority in the Senate. (Feb. 26, 4A, Trump wins SC primary; Haley vows to stay in race)

Theyre supporting a candidate who can easily lose to Biden and who is the reason Republicans are a minority in the Senate.

- Paul Park, Fort Worth

Valued windows onto history

Richard Selcers story on the Railway Express building is typical of his interesting writings about Fort Worth history. (Feb. 25, 1C, Railway Express used to carry packages, not people) He insightfully describes the background and demise of the building.

Having driven past the area umpteen times without realizing what occurred there and then learning how Lancaster Avenue got its name, I have a new appreciation for how Fort Worth grew to what it is today. Thank you, Mr. Selcer.

- Rick Weintraub, Mansfield

Ignore the negative campaigning

Every election season since 2016 has gotten nastier. Some groups have resorted to a flood in your mailbox of false accusations and negative campaigning against good people, and thats just not the Parker County way.

I encourage you to do some fact checking. State Board of Education candidate Pat Hardy is a pro-life protector of children from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in our schools. State Rep. Glenn Rogers did not vote to celebrate Texas Muslims. (Feb. 12, 1A, Texas Family Project is behind anti-Muslim election mailers) He voted for ceremonial resolutions wishing Muslims happy holidays.

Please dont let the negative campaigning and the process keep you from the polls. Be sure to attend your precinct convention, too, after the polls close March 5. They are the starting place for delegates to the next convention, who will make the Republican platform.

- Dennis V. Thompson, Aledo

Boost democracy, Tarrant County

Republicans on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court oppose expanding voting access, arguing its not the governments role to promote democracy by providing rides to the polls. (Feb. 27, 11A, No rides to polls? Primaries driving some Texans mad)

It costs the county $10,000 per election  less than their recent pay raises.

In a true democracy, the government must prioritize accessible voting. The inability to afford transport should never limit voting rights. Democracy hinges on citizens ability to vote, and the government should ensure this right. All voices should be heard, regardless of financial status.

- Sydney Jones, Fort Worth

Details needed in ads, please

TV stations are flooded with campaign ads. But most lack any reference to the specific seat the candidate is running for. Simply stating Texas House without mentioning which district does not help voters, especially new ones. Many of us would appreciate this information so we know which ads to mute (if not all of them).

David Roll, Colleyville

Athletes just bring more value

My wife was a teacher in the Fort Worth ISD for about 25 years. But when people say teachers should be paid equally to professional athletes, I say: When a teacher is instructing a class, there are not tens of thousands of people paying to watch and gazillions more on TV, with all the ad revenue.

- Bruce McAnally, Fort Worth
As she seeks a third and final term as a Los Angeles County supervisor, Kathryn Barger and her supporters are touting her endorsements from unions, the Sierra Club and the local lobbying arm of Planned Parenthood, her concerns about climate change and her willingness to stand up to the NRA and former President Trump.

It would be standard campaign fare for a Democrat, but Barger is a lifelong Republican  albeit one who laments her party's takeover by "a radical side."

Read more: Voter guide to the 2024 California primary election

Winning elections in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County is difficult at best for most Republicans, but Barger has won twice, boosted by generally moderate positions and a willingness to work with the four Democrats she serves with on the Board of Supervisors, three of whom have endorsed her.

The challenge has grown a bit steeper since redistricting in 2021 tilted the sprawling 5th District slightly less conservative. Some neighborhoods in the northwest San Fernando Valley were removed, while more liberal L.A. neighborhoods came in.

So as Barger faces off against four opponents, led by Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena), she and her backers have emphasized her Planned Parenthood endorsement and moderate stances on issues that might appeal to Democratic or independent voters.

Holden, meanwhile, has claimed in campaign materials that Barger "supports Donald Trump's MAGA agenda"  which she denies  and has pointed to choices Barger has made that he said underscore her Republican values.

"His best bet is to actually tag her as a Trump Republican or a partisan Republican, even if it's not accurate in terms of her voting record  she does often vote with the other Democrats who are on the board  but it's a really good way to actually try to attack her because she's so well known in the whole district," said Christian Grose, academic director at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.

Supervisor races are nonpartisan, meaning the political parties of candidates aren't listed on ballots. Instead, voters see only their job titles. The top two finishers will have a November runoff if no one receives more than 50% of the primary vote.

Barger, a county employee since the late 1980s, and Holden, who has held public office for about 35 years, are the best known candidates in the race. If Barger wins, this would be her final term because of term limits.

The other three are Burbank City Council member Konstantine Anthony, civic technologist and businessman Marlon Marroquin, and attorney and nonprofit leader Perry Goldberg, who has slammed Barger for trying to play both sides.

Read more: Your guide to L.A. County's 5th District supervisor race

Of the 1.2 million registered voters in the 5th District, 46% are Democrats, up from 43% before redistricting in 2021, according to county election data. About 25% are Republicans, down from 26%, and about 23% have no party preference, down from about 26%.

"There's not dramatic changes, though I do think going from [43%] to 46% [Democrats], in a close election, that's the margin, even though it's not a huge change," said Grose, a political science and public policy professor at USC.

Most races in L.A. County involve moderate Democrats being challenged by more liberal members of their own party, said Raphael Sonenshein, a longtime researcher of California politics. The 5th District offers the rare opportunity for a moderate Republican like Barger to be successful.

"But the candidate who would be identified as more Republican really has to sidestep the downside of being a Republican in California when party is on people's minds," said Sonenshein, executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which finances social science research.

The focus on the support from Planned Parenthood could help Barger court Democrats and other left-leaning voters, especially female and LGBTQ+ voters, experts said.

"Her opponents sense that her voters tend [to lean] more left, and they want to paint Barger as a Trump devotee, based on those mailers, and a clear way for Barger to dispel doubts about her Trump allegiance is to focus on a core issue for Democrats, especially Democratic women: her support for reproductive rights," said Jennifer M. Piscopo, an associate politics professor at Occidental College.

In his mailers, Holden said he has a "100% legislative score" from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and included images of him speaking to supporters in pink Planned Parenthood T-shirts.

Barger's endorsement from Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project Los Angeles County came because of her long history of working with the broader organization, said the project's board president, Sue Dunlap.

Since being elected, Barger has ensured that if protesters outside a clinic block patient access, Dunlap, who also leads Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, or her staff can easily reach top Sheriff's Department officials to help keep their staff and patients safe, Dunlap said.

"It's not so much not endorsing Chris Holden ... this is not about him," Dunlap said. "It's about [Barger] and who we've worked with for over 15 years now. ... We trust her and know she'll pick up the phone."

For his part, Holden is endorsed by the L.A. County Democratic Party, several local and state leaders, including U.S. Rep Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), and several labor unions, including SEIU Local 2015, which represents long-term care workers, and three other SEIU unions.

During the campaign, Holden has sought to place Barger in the larger Trump orbit.

Barger has raised more than $448,000 from donors to former President Trump, Holden said in campaign materials and an interview, citing county fundraising data. Barger said Holden has Trump donors, too, which he denies.

Holden said Barger supported a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate who claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Barger said this candidate, who wasn't endorsed by Trump, was a personal friend who was the first person to donate to her campaign in 2016.

"It's values, OK? You're my friend, but whoa, my friend's got some wacky ideas here, and how's that going to look if I'm supporting her?" Holden said. "Who's going to know I'm supporting my friend? All they're going to know is I supported this person who's an election denier."

Holden criticized Barger for abstaining from voting on a recommendation in 2018 that the county's lobbyists in Washington, D.C., push for a semiautomatic weapons ban.

Barger said she supports gun control  including a ban on .50-caliber handguns and other measures the board passed last year  and "because I don't agree on a certain motion that was brought in is not reflective of the fact that I'm not pro-gun control because I am," adding that the U.S. continues to add gun control laws without enforcing laws already on the books.

Holden said Barger has taken conservative stances on immigration, pointing to reported comments by Barger at a 2017 Republican women's luncheon that America needed Trump's approach to immigration. "Im hoping tough love does it because obviously playing nice in the sandbox has done nothing," Barger was quoted as saying in a Santa Clarita Valley Signal story.

Barger said her comment was taken out of context and the "tough love" she was talking about was the energy that the supervisors should direct at Congress because both Democrats and Republicans are using the broken immigration system as a "political pawn" and that is harming L.A. County residents.

Holden said if he were a moderate Republican, he'd have changed his registration to independent.

"I've seen moderate Republicans move in that direction. That was their decision. That's their call. She's perfectly entitled to kind of land where she is, and that's her choice," Holden said.

Barger said she has considering registering as an independent but won't at this point just because "politically it's the thing to do."

There are those in the party who call her a RINO  Republican in Name Only  and it's unfortunate the Republican Party has been overtaken by "a radical side," she said.

Barger said she has always supported LGBTQ+ rights and has focused her attention on the priorities of the county, addressing homelessness by funding shelters, housing and new mental health facilities in the 5th District.

"I joke  but I don't think it is a joke  if I were in an office up in Sacramento or in Washington, D.C., I'd be in 'timeout' every day" for her moderate views and refusal to vote only as directed by the party, Barger said. "I think you should think for yourself, and do what's right for your constituency."

For all their sparring, Barger and Holden have at least one thing in common: they were both influenced by their politician fathers.

Holden's father, Nate Holden, is a former Democratic state senator and L.A. City Council member.

The younger Holden said he became a registered Democrat at 18. His first job out of college was at an East L.A. juvenile hall, where he saw young people close to his age suffering, and he wanted to help.

"It was based on the values that I grew up around, how I saw how and who my dad was fighting for in a public service position, and it just made sense to me," Holden said. He said those values led him to open a health clinic in Pasadena for uninsured and underinsured people, and fight to bring better public transit options to Pasadena through the creation and extension of the Gold Line.

Barger's father, Richards D. Barger, was appointed as state insurance commissioner in 1968 by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan.

Barger said she registered as a Republican at 18 because of the respect she had for her father, adding that she has never been active in the party and has never sought its endorsement.

Barger said that as a child she knew Democratic political giant Jesse M. Unruh as a family friend but had no idea he was a Democrat.

"My dad was so nonpartisan, and that's where I got it," Barger said. "It's about the issues in front of you and not about the party."

Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The European Union will strengthen control over carriers' compliance with agreements on transporting grain from Ukraine to address concerns of protesting farmers and free up trade, Reuters reported on March 1, citing the EU Transport Commissioner Adina Valean.

Farmers across Europe have been protesting over a range of issues, including what they claim is unfair competition brought by Ukrainian agricultural imports to the EU, which Kyiv denies.

The farmers say they have been undercut by an influx of cheaper products from Ukraine following the creation of "solidarity lanes" in May 2022 to facilitate Ukraine's agricultural exports amid Russia's blockade of the Black Sea.

Polish farmers have been blocking border crossings with Ukraine since early February, further threatening Ukraine-Poland relations, as some protestors dumped Ukrainian crops and displayed anti-Ukrainian slogans.

"Closing borders is never a good idea, even less (when those are) borders with a neighbor in such need of connectivity," Valean told Reuters in an interview.

Disputes over agricultural goods trade escalated last year when Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government introduced an embargo on Ukrainian grain and four other products, first within the EU framework and then unilaterally while allowing their transit through Poland. The current government has not lifted the measure.

"As long as the agreements are implemented correctly, there shouldn't be problems, and we are working on strengthening implementation," Valean said in the interview.

"In other words, we must check to ensure operators are not overstepping agreements, that they can only do bilateral operations, that ... they have the right to transit."

EU countries also benefit from the trade, she added, as road exports to Ukraine from Poland, Romania, and Slovakia have grown by double digits, which exceeded the increase in the volume of goods arriving from Ukraine to these countries.

Read also: Polish farmer blockade puts Polish-Ukrainian relations at further risk

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
For four seasons, Apple TV+'s For All Mankind has presented an alternate history of the space race, starting in a world where Russia, not America, put the first person on the moon. That single incident creates a domino effect on history: In the first season, set in the 1960s and '70s, the United States allows women into the NASA pilot program. In the 1980s, both America and Russia build small manned bases on the moon. By the 1990s, American and Russian space programs are competing not only with each other but with private space tourism efforts, including a massive orbital hotel.

In the fourth season, set in 2003, the U.S., Russia, a private space exploration company, and North Korea have set up a joint settlement on Mars. But tensions run high when the workers revolt, staging a strike just as an asteroid ripe for mining drifts through the solar system. There are black market operations and an illegal speakeasy, high-stakes geopolitical negotiations, and deadly outer-space operations. The show presents space exploration, under whatever national or corporate aegis, as risky, difficultand gloriously necessary for the growth of humanity.

The post Review: <i>For All Mankind</i> Offers an Alternate History of Moon Exploration appeared first on Reason.com.
Richard "Dick" Truly, who was one of the first astronauts to fly on the space shuttle and later led NASA as its eighth administrator, has died at the age of 86.



Truly's death on Tuesday (Feb. 27) was confirmed by the Association of Space Explorers, a professional organization for the world's astronauts and cosmonauts, which counted Truly as a life member.

A naval aviator, Truly was among the first candidates chosen for the U.S. Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), but when that program was canceled in 1969, he joined six fellow MOL trainees to form NASA's seventh group of astronauts. They were the last class to be chosen during the Apollo program.



"I never filled out an application [to join NASA]," said Truly in a 2003 NASA oral history, adding that he never applied to be part of the MOL program; the first class was assigned rather than selected. "So I'm the only person who has ever flown in space that never applied."

Related: Facts about NASA's space shuttle, the first reusable spacecraft

a man in a blue flight suit kneels in front of a white space shuttle on a runway

Truly's first spaceflight was as the pilot on STS-2, the second flight of the Space Transportation System in 1981, but first he was one of only four astronauts to test landing the winged orbiter as part of the Approach and Landing Test program carried out using the prototype shuttle "Enterprise."



Paired with his future STS-2 commander Joe Engle, Truly flew one "captive" flight with Enterprise remaining attached to the top of the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and two "free" flights, separating at altitude from the modified 747 jetliner to then touch down at Edwards Air Force Base in southern California.



On Nov. 12, 1981, Engle and Truly lifted off aboard the space shuttle Columbia, becoming only the second crew to test the spacecraft in Earth orbit. The mission proved that the space shuttle was reusable. It was also the first to test "fly" the Canadarm remote manipulator system, or robotic arm.



"As soon as we lifted off, I didn't think they had screwed all of the things down. I never heard such a rattling in all my life," said Truly at a 2016 gala celebrating the 35th anniversaries of the first two space shuttle missions.

two smiling men in orange-brown flight suits stand in front of an american flag

Truly and Engle also carried out several science experiments, tested the shuttle's orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines, spoke with President Ronald Reagan and were awakened by the Muppets ("Pigs in Space"), all before having to cut the planned five-day mission short due to a failed fuel cell.



On Nov. 14, Engle and Truly landed at Edwards, two days and six hours after they launched.



"We flew almost exactly the same duration on board STS-2 as STS-1," said Truly. "But we had five days of potatoes to put in a 2.5-day sack. I went through the flight plan after the mission and I figured that we got maybe two, two-and-and-half hours' sleep."



Truly returned to space a year and a half later as the commander of space shuttle Challenger and the STS-8 crew. Flying with pilot Dan Brandenstein and mission specialists Dale Gardner, Bill Thornton and Guy Bluford  the latter the first African American to fly into space  Truly and his four crewmates were also the first shuttle astronauts to launch and land at night.

five men in blue flight suits stand in front of an american flag

The crew deployed a multi-purpose weather and communications satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and gained more practice using the Canadarm by working with a payload flight test article. They astronauts were joined aboard Challenger by six rats, which were testing a cage needed for future experiments, and by more than 260,000 stamped envelopes that were later sold to the public.



Truly landed Challenger at Edwards on Sept. 5, 1983, marking the end of his career in space after circling Earth 135 times over the course of two missions and eight days, seven hours and 21 minutes off the planet.



Richard Harrison "Dick" Truly was born in Fayette, Mississippi on Nov. 12, 1937, 44 years to the day before his first launch. He received a bachelor degree in aeronautical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959 and then entered the U.S. Navy.



Truly was designated a naval aviator a year later and flew F-8 Crusaders aboard the USS Intrepid and USS Enterprise, ultimately making more than 300 carrier landings as a member of Fighter Squadron 33 (VF-33). He was serving as an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base when he was recruited for the MOL program.

a smiling man in an orange-brown flight suit stands in front of an american flag

Truly's first assignment at NASA was as a member of the astronaut support crew and capsule communicator (capcom) in mission control for the three Skylab orbital workshop missions and the joint U.S. and Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. After flying Enterprise in the ALT program, he served as backup to STS-1 pilot Bob Crippen.



After landing from STS-8, Truly left NASA to become the first commander of Naval Space Command. He returned to the space agency, though, in the wake of the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. As associate administrator for spaceflight, Truly led the effort to recover from the tragedy and return the shuttle to flight after an almost three-year hiatus.



Truly retired from the Navy as a vice admiral shortly before being appointed NASA administrator in 1989. As chief, Truly focused on extending the life of the space shuttle and establishing the International Space Station, large-scale projects that may have spurred Vice President Dan Quayle's decision to fire Truly on Feb. 12, 1992.



After separating from NASA for a second time, Truly went on to become vice president and director of the Georgia Tech Research Institute at his alma mater, the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1987, he was named the director of the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and as the executive vice president of MRIGlobal (formerly the Midwest Research Institute).



Truly later served on the board of visitors to the U.S. Naval Academy, the defense policy board and the Army science board. He was a trustee of Regis University and the Colorado School of Mines and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He was a director of Tetra Tech, Edenspace Systems Corporation, Suntricity Cells and Xcel Energy.

a man in a blue shirt holds a large scroll of teleprinter copy while floating aboard a spacecraft

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For his service to the United States' efforts in space Truly was awarded two NASA distinguished service medals, the NASA outstanding leadership medal, two NASA exceptional service medals and two NASA space flight medals. He was also bestowed with the Robert J. Collier Trophy (twice, in 1982 and 1989), the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy (twice, 1982 and 1989) and Society of Experimental Test Pilot's Ivan C. Kincheloe Award in 1978, among numerous other civilian and military honors.



In 1995, he was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was enshrined in the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.



In 2007, Truly donated his personal archives to Regis University, where they are held as part of the Richard H. Truly U.S. Space Program Collection.



In 2022, Truly was portrayed by actor John Hartmann in the third season of the alternate space history series "For All Mankind."



Truly was married to Colleen "Cody" Hanner of Milledgeville, Georgia and they had two sons, Richard Michael and Daniel Bennett; a daughter, Margaret Lee; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2024 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia, waves as he arrives for a media roundtable in Kuala Lumpur on December 8, 2023 (Mohd RASFAN)

The emergence of AI bots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard has fueled a massive rise in share prices of chip-making juggernaut Nvidia, with its skyrocketing stock now making it the world's fourth biggest company by market capitalization.

And for Wall Street, it's no bubble.

Between the launch of ChatGPT on November 30, 2022, for example, and the market close on February 23, Nvidia's share price increased fivefold, lifted to investor heaven by an insatiable hunger for so-called generative artificial intelligence.

That day Nvidia also crossed the symbolic valuation of $2 trillion, a threshold only reached by Microsoft, Apple and oil giant Saudi Aramco.

The journey has been nothing but mind boggling for a company that doesn't even rank among the world's top 150 firms in terms of sales, and barely in the top 1,000 in terms of employees.

On paper, this hot streak is reminiscent of the dot-com bubble, which saw the share price of fiber networking giant Cisco rise eightfold in 18 months, to the point of becoming, for a few minutes, the world's most valuable company in terms of market capitalization in March 2000, before the tech bubble burst.

"In AI, there might be some names out there that might be getting a bit ahead of their skis from a valuation perspective, and those stories are going to work themselves out over time," CFRA analyst Angelo Zino told AFP.

"But on the Nvidia side of things, it's more fundamentally driven," he said, without the "type of hype you had previously."

Unlike the frothy days before the bubble popped in 2000, Nvidia's actual annual net income (up an eye-popping 581 percent year-on-year) is on par with the stock price, said Larry Tentarelli of Blue Chip Daily Trend Report, a research firm.

For analysts at Wedbush Securities, the relevant parallel is not with 2000 and the end of the dot-com bubble, but rather with 1995, when the dot-com boom began.

- 'Years ahead' -

Despite appearances, Nvidia's success is not out of the blue, but rather years in the making.

At the root of this 30-year-old company's success are graphics processors or graphics cards, known as GPUs (graphics processing units) -- chips with far greater computing capacity than conventional microprocessors (CPUs).

Initially developed to improve the graphics quality of video games, the company run by Jensen Huang figured out the technology was perfectly suited for developing the large language models (LLMs) that underpin generative AI interfaces such as ChatGPT.

Despite initial skepticism from Wall Street, Nvidia went down that road, years before programs like ChatGPT exploded onto the scene.

Now Nvidia's rivals have set off in pursuit, and several of them, notably AMD and Intel, are already marketing their own AI-oriented GPUs, while Apple, Microsoft and Amazon have also developed chips with AI in mind.

But Nvidia "is years ahead" of its competitors, explained Tentarelli.

"The only real risk for Nvidia is if for some reason they run into some unexpected delay... if they can't produce enough of these GPUs," he said.

Unlike its rivals Intel, Micron and Texas Instruments, Nvidia, like AMD, does not manufacture its own semiconductors, but uses subcontractors, mainly the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

Given the geopolitical concerns with Taiwan and China, this could be a potential weak spot, but Tentarelli attributes only a very low probability to a crisis.

- Beat Apple? -

For the time being, Zino argues, Nvidia's business model, with no production site, is more of a strength than a weakness, as it enables it to generate higher margins and adjust its volumes more easily to demand.

When they scan the horizon, investors see no sign of a slowdown in demand for AI equipment.

For Wedbush securities, "the AI Revolution starts with Nvidia and in our view the AI party... is just getting started."

Analysts are expecting, on average, earnings to almost double again this year compared with 2023.

"Nvidia could definitely pass Apple in 20 or 24 months and maybe sooner if it stays at the growth rate that the industry is expecting," Tantarelli said.

As for Microsoft, the other member of the $2 trillion market cap club?

That's a taller order, as Microsoft "is also doing a very good job" in AI, Tantarelli said.

tu/arp/nro
If there is one thing that you should know about India's Ambanis', it is that they like to go all out.

Case in point, the pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest man and his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant. The actual wedding is expected to take place in July of this year, according to Reuters.

The three-day pre-wedding festivities in the city of Jamnagar are expected to be a spectacular affair with lavish events, that will have some of the world's most renowned personalities in attendance, according to Reuters. Rihanna, who was seen arriving in Jamnagar Thursday, is also expected to perform at one of the events.

Akash Ambani (C), son of Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani (R) and businesswoman Nita Ambani (3rd L), their daughter Isha Ambani (3rd R) and her husband Anand Piramal (2nd R) pose during the wedding ceremony of Akash Ambani in Mumbai on March 9, 2019.

Ambani-Merchant wedding: The world's most renowned personalities show out for Ambani pre-wedding festivities

Who are Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant?

Anant Ambani (R) son of Indian businessman Mukesh Dhirubhai Amani, and his fiance Radhika Merchant poses for pictures during the inauguration of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) at the Jio World Centre (JWC) in Mumbai in April 2023.

Anant Ambani, 28, is the youngest son of Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, the head of Indian conglomerate Reliance, and his wife Nita Ambani. A graduate of Brown University, Anant is a director at Reliance's energy businesses, which range from fossil fuels to developing solar panel manufacturing, according to BBC News.

On the other hand, Radhika, 29, is the daughter of Viren Merchant, CEO of Encore Healthcare, a renowned pharmaceutical firm. She is a graduate of New York University and serves as a director at her father's company.

The couple got engaged in a traditional ceremony at Anant's Mumbai residence in January 2023.

Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani (L) along with his wife Nita (4L) pose with their elder son Akash (R), his wife Shloka (2R), daughter Isha (4R) her husband Anand Piramal (3R) and younger son Anant (3L) his fiance Radhika Merchant (2L) during Anant's engagement ceremony in Mumbai on January 19, 2023.

What is the Mukesh Ambani's net worth?

Mukesh Ambani has a net worth of $83.4 billion according to Forbes, making him the 9th richest person in the world.

Who is on the guest list?

Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Hilary Clinton, Sundar Pichai, Ivanka Trump and Bob Iger are expected to attend the pre-wedding event, according to The Indian Express along with fellow Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Kumar Mangalam Birla. Clinton, who is said to be a long-term friend of the Ambanis, also attended the 2018 wedding festivities for Anant's sister, Isha Ambani, where Beyonce also performed, as per The Guardian.

Rihanna was spotted arriving in Jamnagar with A$AP Rocky Thursday afternoon while Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan arrived later in the day. Rihanna is also expected to perform at one of the events during the three-day festivities alongside Punjabi music star Diljit Dosanjh and others, according to Reuters.

A galaxy of Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh were also spotted either in or en route to Jamnagar.

Breaking down the events

The pre-wedding festivities, prior to the star-studded weekend, began with the couple and their families hosting a communal dinner for about 51,000 locals at a local village, near Reliance Township in Jamnagar, reported The Hindu.

All members of the family, including the bride and groom, served traditional Gujrati food to the local community to seek their blessings. The Hindu reported that food will continue to be served to the local community over the next couple of days.

Reuters reported that wedding guests over the next couple of days will be treated to a private performance by Rihanna and illusionist David Blaine, besides a visit to an animal rescue center that is home to over 2,000 animals, including leopards, tigers and jaguars, and houses the world's largest elephant hospital, among other traditional celebrations.

The guests have been provided with a planning document, reported Reuters, detailing the events and dress codes. For example, the dress code for the animal center visit is "'jungle fever,' with guests advised to wear animal print clothing or Hawaiian shirts".

Guests will also be treated to 500 dishes created by around 100 chefs so that they don't have to eat the same dish twice, hair stylists and makeup artists and return charter jet flights from the capital, New Delhi and the coastal city of Mumbai. For the flights, guests have been asked to "limit themselves to only two luggage items or three suitcases per couple".

Rihanna arrived with truckloads of luggage, much of which is believed to be the equipment for her show.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Inside Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant's star-studded wedding events
Beneficiaries of the food supplement program run by the Women's Federation for World Peace in Zambia hold received rations at a health facility in Lusaka, Zambia, on July 23, 2021. (Photo by Lillian Banda/Xinhua)

More than 2 million people, 21 percent of Zambia's population, are estimated to face high food insecurity levels this year.

UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians said Friday that they are supporting the Zambian government-led response to a worsening humanitarian crisis caused by extreme weather conditions, economic hardship and a cholera outbreak.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it is working with the UN Team in Zambia to scale up the response over the next nine months. This plan will urgently require funding of 39 million U.S. dollars.

"UN agencies aim to provide emergency cash transfers to some 475,000 people facing high levels of food insecurity in more than a dozen districts in the country," OCHA said. "These households will also receive drought-tolerant crop varieties and other critical agricultural support meant to help farmers maintain their livelihoods and prevent hunger-filled migration."

The office said that more than 2 million people, 21 percent of Zambia's population, are estimated to face high food insecurity levels this year.

On Thursday, the Zambian government declared a state of national disaster and emergency to respond rapidly to the prolonged drought, which threatens national food security and electricity supply. 
The Prime Minister says transition to net zero must be done in a "pragmatic" way - PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS

The Prime Minister has argued only the Tories can be trusted to protect thousands of North Sea jobs as he attempted to drive up support in Scotland ahead of the general election.

Rishi Sunak will use an appearance at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, the oil capital of Europe, to contrast his governments steadfast support for the industry with Labour and SNP opposition to new exploration.

Speaking ahead of his visit, he said that 90,000 of the 200,000 jobs that depend on oil and gas are in Scotland. Downing Street said he aimed to demonstrate his commitment to the industry and give Scots peace of mind.

Mr Sunak pledged the Tories would manage the transition to net zero in a pragmatic and proportionate way that doesnt burden hardworking Scottish families.

The Prime Minister has announced plans to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licences, but Sir Keir Starmer confirmed he would not allow further North Sea exploration if Labour were to win the next general election.

Labour has also proposed increasing the windfall profits tax on the industry from 75 per cent to 78 per cent, and extending it to 2029, despite warnings the move would threaten thousands of jobs.

The SNP has also argued for a presumption against further exploration being allowed and Humza Yousaf attacked the decision last September to give the green light to Rosebank, the UKs largest untapped field.

Mr Sunak has previously announced plans to grant hundreds of new oil and gas licences - ISTOCKPHOTO/IGORS ALEKSEJEVS

But a new poll has found support for the Scottish Tories has fallen to its lowest level since Liz Truss was Prime Minister.

The Survation poll put their backing for the forthcoming general election at 15 per cent  down one point from January and a level last recorded by the same pollster in Sept 2022.

The survey, commissioned by PR agency Quantum Communications, put backing for the SNP at 38 per cent, up two points. Support for Scottish Labour was put at 33 per cent, down one point, while the Scottish Lib Dems remained on eight per cent.

Despite the decline, Tory strategists believe they can still make gains in constituencies where it is a straight fight between their party and the scandal-hit Nationalists.

The poll shows Humza Yousaf's SNP has a commanding lead over the Tories in Scotland - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images Europe

Craig Hoy, the Scottish Tory chairman, argued that Labour and Liberal Democrat supporters could get rid of dud First Minister Humza Yousaf by voting tactically for his party.

Other polls have predicted the SNP will lose at least half the 48 seats it won in the 2019 general election, a result that would put Mr Yousaf under huge pressure to go.

The Telegraph disclosed this week the Conservatives are targeting 12 Scottish seats, the six they won in the 2019 election and six held by the SNP.

This includes holding all three of their seats in the North East of Scotland, and they plan to repeatedly emphasise their backing for North Sea oil and gas. Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho will also attend the Aberdeen conference.

Mr Sunak said: Scotland has an abundance of ingenuity, talent and hard-working people, people who are at the core of our United Kingdoms success.

That is why my government remains steadfast in its support of the 200,000 high-quality UK jobs that depend on our North Sea oil, gas and energy sector  with nearly half of those jobs in Scotland alone. I will continue to back the industry so we can build a brighter, greener future for Scotland.

Arguing that he had a net zero plan with the right long-term decisions, he said this was proving once again, only the Conservatives can be trusted to protect Scottish jobs and livelihoods.

The Prime Minister concluded: I will always stand up for our country, our United Kingdom.

Chancellor to focus on NI cut

In a video address to delegates, Jeremy Hunt is expected to contrast his efforts to help Scots with the cost-of-living crisis, including a recent National Insurance cut, with the SNPs decision to hike income tax again.

Arguing there is more to do, the Chancellor is expected to say: That is why in the Autumn Statement I set out a range of actions to benefit Scottish families.

From January, we cut National Insurance  meaning that a household with two parents on average income are now paying nearly 1,000 per year less in tax.

This is benefitting 2.8 million Scottish workers. Contrast that with the situation here in Scotland, where successive SNP budgets have meant that a majority of Scottish taxpayers are paying more tax than they would in the rest of the UK.

Mr Hunt will conclude: We now need to stay the course, continue to take the long-term decisions, so that we can take Scotland and the whole of the UK forward together into a brighter future.

Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Tories deputy leader, will use her speech to argue that the SNP government exists for one goal and one goal only  breaking up our country.

She will also call for the coalition deal between the SNP and Greens to be ripped up, arguing that the latter party should be sent back to the extreme fringes of our politics, where they belong.

The Survation poll was conducted between Feb 14 and 20, covering the period of Scottish Labours conference in Glasgow.

Damian Lyons-Lowe, chief executive of Survation, said: Labours opinion polling success since the 2019 general election means the SNP faces off against Labour in scores of now-marginal seats as their key challenger.

While this poll shows a modest lead for the SNP over Labour, this is the largest SNP lead over Labour we have recorded since May 2023.

A Scottish Tory spokesman said: Voters know that in swathes of seats across Scotland only the Scottish Conservatives can beat the scandal-ridden SNP and move the focus from their independence obsession to peoples real priorities, like economic growth and Scotlands ailing public services.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Police arrested Ricardo Montes, 18, on suspicion of brandishing a firearm during a road rage incident in Barstow.

A man was arrested after police say he pulled out a gun during a road rage incident in Barstow.

On Wednesday afternoon, Barstow police were given the license plate number of a vehicle involved in a road rage incident. A description of the driver was also provided to police.

Officers found the vehicle at a home in the 800 block of Higgins Road. The area is south of Interstate 40, east of Highway 247, and near Montara Elementary School.

Authorities spoke to the residents and identified Ricardo Montes, 18, of Barstow, as the suspect who pulled out the firearm. He was arrested.

During a search of the home, police said Victoria Montes, 21, of Barstow, became combative and assaulted a detective. After a brief struggle, she was arrested, according to police.

A loaded firearm was also found inside the home.

Ricardo Montes was booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Departments Barstow Jail on suspicion of brandishing a firearm. His bail was set at $30,000, sheriffs booking records show.

Victoria Montes was issued a citation for suspected resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer. She was released from the police department.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Officer Austin Jaramillo at 760-256-2211 or at ajaramillo@barstowca.org. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact WE-TIP at 800-78-CRIME (27469) or wetip.com.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Road rage incident with firearm leads to arrest of Barstow man
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Multiple women have accused a Las Vegas man of being a romance scammer.

Lydell Birch, 44, also known as Moka Blast, has been involved in the music industry and appeared on the reality show Life After Lockup.

Multiple women said they met him online, they began dating him, and he would come up with a story about why he needed to borrow money.

In many cases, the women sent him the funds while they were under the impression he would pay them back.

Multiple women have accused a Las Vegas man of being a romance scammer. Lydell Birch, 44, also known as Moka Blast, has been involved in the music industry and appeared on the reality show Life After Lockup. (Getty Images)

I say he has no type, Becky Barnes, an ex-girlfriend told the 8 News Now Investigators. His type is good credit.

Barnes said Birch still owes her more than $27,000 after he said he needed money for tires on his car, his electric bill, and funding for business purposes.

Its kind of like is this a bad dream, you know? Barnes said. Youre like okay, Im an intelligent woman. Im strong. Im not weak. Im not insecure like a lot of women think, oh, you let this happen to you. No. Im a businesswoman. Im very resilient.

Las Vegas man shot dead during live interview, mother files wrongful death lawsuit

Barnes said she learned Birch was dating other women after a deadly shooting in Las Vegas. Birch shot and killed Lendor Coney, Jr. in April of 2023. Coneys loved ones described what unfolded as a love triangle gone bad. Coney barged into the home of the woman he had been in an on-again-off-again relationship with while Birch was inside the home. Birch shot and killed him.

Lendor Coney, Jr. was shot and killed in April of 2023 (KLAS)

Part of the incident was caught on video because it happened while Birch was doing a live interview on YouTube. The Clark County District Attorneys office considered the shooting to be self-defense.

The woman at the home, Bree Florence told a 911 operator that Birch was her boyfriend.

Another woman who called 911 from Arizona after watching the livestream on YouTube said that Birch was her boyfriend, too.

After the shooting death, Nicolle Leonard, a friend of Coneys created a Facebook page, Victims of Lydell (aka Moka Bast) The Serial Scammer.

Since he uses the internet and his online profile to get into womens heads and womens minds that I was gonna warn the public about him, Leonard told the 8 News Now Investigators. It caught fire and theres just women all over.

The private Facebook page has more than 3300 members.

Tammy England said she also thought she was in a monogamous relationship with Birch and that he still owes her close to $6,000.

Thats really embarrassing, England said. Its always been under the premise that he was going to pay me back.

Tammy England (center) said she also thought she was in a monogamous relationship with Birch and that he still owes her close to $6,000. (KLAS)

In California, a woman was awarded a more than $23,000 judgment against Birch in March of 2023 after she said Birch borrowed $20,000 for a business venture, promised to pay it back within six weeks, and didnt. She said she still has not been paid.

I literally could name off the top of my head 20 business ventures, Brynna Malen, an ex-girlfriend told the 8 News Now Investigators. They were gonna put him in the Black Panther 2. They were gonna hire him as the villain. He was gonna buy a headphone company. Besides the barber shop, he was gonna open another studio. He was gonna do Muay Thai in Thailand. He was gonna be a boxer. He was training to be a heavyweight boxer.

Malen claimed Birch pulled a gun on her at his home but said she did not report it to police and continued to communicate with Birch.

I told him I was scared of him and he told me hed never do it again, Malen said.

Malen and several other women said Birch attacked them on social media after their relationships took a turn.

England said Birch posted a sexual photo of her.

Come to find out that he did a lot of videotaping of me without my knowledge, England said.

England said she made a police report and was initially granted a restraining order but a judge later dismissed it.

I guess because he didnt physically harm me they didnt take it seriously, England told the 8 News Now Investigators.

Birch has made several social media posts showcasing his weapons which has also raised concerns.

It terrifies me, England said.

The 8 News Now Investigators looked into Birchs criminal history. He was arrested for domestic battery in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2006, according to court documents. The case was later dismissed.

Three business licenses are listed for Birch on the Nevada Secretary of States website. Two are in default while one is revoked.

Birch is also linked to two COVID-19 relief loans for small businesses totaling nearly $18,000 for Forever Getting Cash LLC and a studio linked to it. One loan and ten jobs are listed. 15 jobs are listed on a second loan.

He liked to portray himself as a record producer recording studio artist, rapper. No, England said. He is a romance scammer. Period.

The 8 News Now Investigators reached out to Birch to get his side of the story. During a phone call, he used profanity and hung up.

The mother of Len Coney, the man whom Birch killed, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Birch and Florence. The lawsuit alleged that Coney was unaware that Florence was also dating Birch.

Reports of suspected romance scams can be made to the Federal Trade Commission and the Nevada Attorney Generals office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
The life of a military spouse is not easy. Military families move every two to three years on average, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, with around 200,000 to 350,000 military members living with their families internationally.

Although not a military spouse, while working as an engineer on Hill Air Force Base in Davis County, Aniza Brown saw firsthand the struggles they faced in getting hired and into meaningful positions.

Uprooting your family so often comes with many challenges, but a Clearinghouse survey found that job insecurity was the biggest challenge for military spouses between 2016 and 2020. In 2016, 38% said military spouse employment was their biggest concern, and that number has risen each year to as many as 52% in 2020.

When you move with your active duty member, youre having to stop everything, Brown said. Its not an easy transition to keep a career, move everywhere and then be a mom or dad on top of that.

About a year ago, Brown found herself in a position where she felt she could really make an impact on this issue, and reached out to Hill Air Force Base and Weber State, with whom she was already working on other initiatives.

When she pitched a program idea to decrease the barriers military spouses faced when finding employment, they told me to run, Brown said. Start it, please, because nobody has taken this on.

The project started out as something she would give a few hours to after work for a couple of months. I built the website and worked with Weber State and Hill Air Force Base to build requirements, knowing that we had a massive shortage in IT, she added. (So) we built the requirements around information technology, and then slowly started peeling back, what barriers of entry military spouses would have.

When it came time to post the Rosie Project online, Brown said she shared it on Facebook, knowing she would have funding for only 20 applicants. She was blown away by the response, I posted the Rosie Project for a whole two days, and by the end of the day, we had 40 applicants.

Rosie the Riveter in STEM

Inspired by the brave women of WWII and the iconic symbol that represented them, This generations Rosies are military spouses  both male and female  who are ready to pioneer and mold the future of aerospace and defense, the nonprofits website explains.

Other than being married to someone in the military, there are minor requirements for becoming a Rosie.

With funding from holiday fundraisers and companies, including America First Credit Union and OM Group Inc., they are able to provide child care and technology for each student in the program to ensure they are provided with everything they need to succeed during the six-month program.

Launched in February 2023, The Rosie Project has its classes at the Center for Continuing Education at Weber State University and is taught by instructors like Matt Paulson, who is an assistant professor at the university.

However, they intend to expand the Project to more than just Utah. Brown said the group already has plans to take the program international in 2024 to assist military spouses in Japan, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

So far, the Rosie Project has had about 50 graduates complete the program and become IT certified.

But Brown said she doesnt rank the projects success on getting certified.

We work so closely with aerospace and defense to fit them into positions to integrate them into the community prior to graduation. So, we dont rank the success of the program on getting certifications. We rank it on whether or not people get jobs, she said.

Anabel Wyatt, equipment custodian, speaks with her coworkers in the 309th Software Engineering Group at Hill Air Force Base in Layton on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Becoming a Rosie

When her military husband came across the Rosie Project, Anabel Wyatt said she was sold on the idea immediately. While working at a call center, Wyatt said she had already developed an interest in information technology but was also looking forward to the community aspect of joining.

I went in with hopes of meeting other spouses going through the same thing that I was going through, Wyatt said. You know, some places kind of give the side eye for hiring military spouses because of the uncertainty of our significant others (potentially) deploying.

Wyatt said shes often seen military spouses struggling to find meaningful work or are unable to find the time to work because they are also raising their children.

Its not easy. So I think the whole IT certification and being a part of something big, or at least in my opinion, something big  something military spouse-oriented  was what really motivated me to want to go, she said.

Fighting imposter syndrome

One thing Brown didnt think she would witness when starting the project was the imposter syndrome that so many of her students dealt with.

We realized this in the first cohort when individuals were just worried to even take a task because they were worried that they were going to fail, she said.

Oftentimes, when spouses move to a new base, the majority of them come in with college degrees and leave bagging groceries at the base exchange. Brown emphasized that she works directly with the military bases to prevent this from happening to the Rosies.

I want to give them opportunities to identify where they want to go or connect them closer to the community, she said. I work with the commander spouses to really try to drive that narrative home and ensure that were building pathways forward, not just putting them into the on-base shop to bag groceries.

In addition to working directly with the base, the next cohort to go through the program will have a counselor available to combat the struggles military spouses face.

We added counseling because just in conversation with some of the military spouses, were identifying that there are some systemic issues that theyve had to go through and had to overcome, and Im not well-versed in that, Brown said. So I want to make sure that we get them the right support.

According to a study by the University of Warwicks Institute for Employment Research, Many spouses/partners recorded perceived employer discrimination in applying for jobs, with the main reasons being: the possibility of postings and deployment in the future (35%); employment history (such as changing jobs frequently) (24%); and employer perceptions that spouses/partners are not committed (20%).

Anabel Wyatt walks through the 309th Software Engineering Group at Hill Air Force Base in Layton on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Entering the workforce

The second cohort to go through the Rosie Project just had its graduation in January.

Deciding what her next step is, recent graduate Marisa Duarte said she is figuring it out with the help of Brown and her team, who are continuing to aid her and her classmates in finding jobs that fit their interests.

When asked what she would say to other military spouses thinking about taking the program, she said the support system it brings makes it worth it just as much as the certification does.

About two years ago, Duartes husband was assigned to Utah, causing her to leave her family, friends and her job behind in Pennsylvania.

I was jobless, missing my loved ones, not knowing anybody and feeling isolated, Duarte said. I immediately scoured the internet in search of support for military spouses. Thats when I stumbled upon the Rosie Project, and honestly, it felt like striking gold to me.

The biggest thing was the support system that it builds for you (and) the chance to meet others in your same position; theyre going through the same things, she added.

Having Brown and her team of teachers constantly advocating for her and her classmates is what Duarte said gave her the confidence to reenter the workforce:

You know, theyre understanding, theyre helpful. They just want to help us, which is amazing.
Royal Mail Stamps

Royal Mail is increasing the price of all postage stamps by 10p as the company battles plummeting enthusiasm for letters.

The price of first class stamps will rise to 1.35 from April, while second class stamps will cost 85p, the company announced today.

It is the second time in six months that Royal Mail has increased stamp prices. In October, the price of a first class stamp was increased by 14pc from 1.10.

Royal Mail said that letter volumes had fallen by more than 10 billion in the last two decades  from 20 billion in 2004 to 7 billion in 2023.

The increase comes despite Royal Mail being fined 5.6m by regulator Ofcom last year for failing to meet its delivery targets.

It comes as households face a barrage of price increases in April, with broadband, council tax, and water bills set to rise for millions.

Royal Mail said it had tried to keep price increases as low as possible, but added that the average adult now receives just two letters a week and spends less than 7 a year on stamps. The company made a loss of 419m last year.

Royal Mail also announced that prices would go up for sending parcels.

Increases for sending small and medium packages range between 8pc and 17pc depending on the weight band, while increases for special deliveries range from 15pc to 22pc. Franked letters will be unaffected, the company said.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: We always consider price changes very carefully, but we face a situation where letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years, while costs have increased.

It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion.

As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter.

In January, Ofcom unveiled a consultation paper which could allow Royal Mail to scrap Saturday postal deliveries. Reforms to the universal service obligation (USO) could also include overhauling first-and second-class delivery targets.

The company is currently expected to deliver 93pc of first-class post within one day of collection, and 98.5pc of second-class post within three working days.

But Royal Mail was found to have breached this requirement in November.

At the time, Ofcom said the company had caused considerable harm to customers, and Royal Mail took insufficient steps to try and prevent this failure.

A Telegraph survey revealed that almost half of Royal Mail customers had experienced delays in 2023.

Mr Landon has again appealed to the Government to overhaul the USO, following an unsuccessful bid last year.

He said: It is vital that the universal service adapts to reflect changing customer preferences so that we can protect the one-price-goes-anywhere service, now and in the future.

Royal Mail estimates reforming the USO could save the company hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

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Cost of a book of first-class stamps hits 10 for first time

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A trail runner stumbled upon a lost dog curled up all alone on a trail on the island of Oahu  and jumped into action to save her.

Sergio Florian found the scared and shivering pup about 1,000 feet up the Puu Manamana mountain in the Kaaawa area during a training run on Wednesday, Feb. 28, he told McClatchy News on Instagram.

She was stuck on the steep cliff and couldnt get back up or down the mountain, Florian said in the comments of the video he shared to the platform showing the rescue.

Found this sweet girl 1000 feet up on one of the most precarious sections, of one of the most dangerous trails on the island. Sheer cliffs and drop offs in all directions, he said. Luckily she let me carry her down. My arms are hurting tonight, but my heart is overjoyed. I couldnt leave another living creature in distress like that.

The dog was on the most treacherous part of the trail, Florian told Island News.

He carried the 40-pound pup down the steep mountain trail and posted about the dog hed found on social media, which ultimately led to Florian reuniting her with her owner, a pig hunter.

Floridan said the owner told him his dog, named Stevie, ran off along with two of his other dogs when they werent wearing their collars or protective pig hunting gear. Stevies face was injured as a result, Florian said.

Florian searched for the other two dogs the next day and plans to go much deeper into the valley to search for them over the weekend, he told McClatchy News.

But for now, hes happy he could at least help rescue Stevie.

My heart is full tonight, he said on Instagram. Love happy endings.

Dog plummets 85 feet into rock quarry during hunt for hogs  and lives, photos show

Teens end up in precarious location while hunting off trail, Hawaii rescuers say

Barking dog found near Hawaii trail helps rescuers find missing hiker, officials say
Russia claimed its air defenses shot down one drone over Belgorod Oblast and three more over Nizhny Novgorod Oblast overnight on March 1, according to the Russian Defense Ministry's Telegram channel.

In recent weeks and months, Russian authorities began reporting an increasing number of drone strikes targeting Belgorod, Bryansk, Oryol, and Leningrad oblasts, as well as other regions.

The Russian Telegram channel Astra wrote early on March 1 about explosions in the city of Dzerzhinsk in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where one of Russia's largest explosives manufacturing plants is located, Ya. M. Sverdlov State Owned Enterprise.

The governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast, Roman Starovoyt, claimed a drone attack on the region, which allegedly resulted in a blackout in three settlements.

Ukrainian officials did not comment on the claims, which cannot be independently verified.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Ukraine downs 3 Russian Su-34 jets in 1 day

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Russian air defence systems have allegedly destroyed four drones on the night of 29 February-1 March.

Source: Russian Defence Ministry; Russian Telegram channels

Details: One UAV was destroyed over Belgorod Oblast and three more drones were intercepted over Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

Russian Telegram channels claimed that Ukraines Armed Forces allegedly attempted to attack the Yakov Sverdlov Plant in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, which is one of the largest Russian manufacturers of explosives and key components for missile defence system warheads.

A total of three drones headed toward the facility. Allegedly, all of them were disabled with the help of electronic warfare devices.

Various media reported that residents of Dzerzhinsk heard explosions during the night.

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The Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany has initiated an investigation into whether the conversations of representatives of its air force  who, according to Russian propaganda, allegedly discussed blowing up the Crimean bridge with Taurus missiles  were intercepted.

Source: German Defence Ministry, in a comment to DPA, European Pravda reports

A German Defense Ministry official said that the Federal Military Counterintelligence Service (BAMAD) had "initiated all necessary measures" to investigate the incident.

The incident is related to the post by Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan of an alleged conversation between several German air force generals discussing how to deploy Taurus missiles and hit the Crimean bridge.

Russian propaganda was very "stirred up" by this story and actively searched for details about the generals, whom it managed to identify on the recording of unknown origin.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the German government should explain the comments on the recording of unclear origin, otherwise she would consider Berlin to be "admitting guilt".

Notably, the Russian media leak came at a time when Germanys discussions about the possible supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine have intensified, a move that the federal government categorically rejects.

Background:

This week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again ruled out sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, stating that doing so would mean Germany would become a party to the war with Russia.

He said that Germany could not give Ukraine "a weapon with a range of 500 km, which, in case of incorrect usage, could hit a certain target somewhere in Moscow".

Scholz's previous claims that the use of long-range weapons implies the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine to "target missiles" sparked criticism from the UK

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Pfffffft

Russia's space agency has confirmed that air is continuing to leak from its segment of the International Space Station and that specialists are monitoring the situation  though not enough, they say, to endanger the crew there.

The news comes after NASA's ISS program manager Joel Montalbano told reporters during a Crew-8 mission briefing that Russia's Zvezda life support module had a small but growing leak.

"There is an area at the end of the International Space Station that we've seen a leak," he said, as quoted by Science Alert. "There is a small leak."

"We saw a leak increase about a week before the recent Progress launch and docking," he added, referring to a recent mission to the station.

When It Leaks, It Pours

It's far from the first time we've heard of a leak on board the ISS. In 2020, NASA detected a drop in air pressure, triggering a months-long hunt for the source of the leak. Russia's Zvezda service module, which is also used for evacuations, turned out to be a culprit, with crew members patching it up.

A seemingly different leak was then spotted by a Russian cosmonaut the next year. A "final air leak" followed in 2022, as identified by Russian news agency TASS, with officials promising that it would be plugged.

Given the latest news, the Zvezda module is still somehow leaking air  and that's not to mention misfiring Russian rockets and radiator leaks plaguing the station's crew members.

Russia has long complained of the aging orbital outpost's sorry state and that it's "irreparable."

The nation has also vowed to pull out of the ISS sometime "after 2024" and build its own space station.

It's a pitiful end to decades of peaceful scientific cooperation  but NASA wants to stick it out until at least 2030, which means it'll have to find the source of the latest leak one way or the other.

More on the leaks: Another Russian Spacecraft Docked to the ISS Just Sprang a Leak
UNITED NATIONS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes Friday's decision by the European Commission to imminently release 50 million euros (54 million U.S. dollars) to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said his spokesman.

The decision comes at a critical time. And the United Nations believes that this is part of the 82-million-euro (89-million-dollar) aid from the European Commission to be implemented through UNRWA this year, said Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for Guterres.

The UN secretary-general very much hopes that other donors will follow suit and support UNRWA, said Dujarric.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini also welcomed the European Commission's decision and said that the funds will support UNRWA's efforts to maintain life-saving and essential services for Palestine refugees across the region.

UNRWA has been in a dire situation after Western donors suspended funding following Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA employees in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.

UNRWA, established by the UN General Assembly, is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

The agency provides assistance and protection to some 5.9 million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 
Russia now plans to restart production of A-50 airborne warning and control (AWACS) aircraft, after losing two of them in Ukraine in 2024, Sergei Chemezov, head of Russias state-owned corporation Rostec, said on Feb. 29.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Chemezov explained that these aircraft are critical for the Russian military and have "high export demand."

Read also: NORAD detects Russian aircraft operating in Alaskan ADIZ three times in four days

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov earlier said that if Russia loses another A-50, it would have to stop the continuous round-the-clock coverage of the battlefield with these aircraft.

Read also: Ukrainian Air Force notes steep decline in observations of Russia's key A-50 recon aircraft recently

In February alone, Ukrainian forces shot down 13 Russian aircrafta record number since October 2022.

Read also: Explosions heard in Mariupol could have been the downing of another Russian aircraft

The media reported on Jan. 14 that the Ukrainian military had shot down a Russian A-50 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AWACS) aircraft and an Il-22 command and control aircraft over the Sea of Azov.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down a second A-50 on the evening of Feb. 23. This was officially confirmed by the Ukrainian Air Force and Defense Intelligence (HUR).

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Photo allegedly from the crash site of IL-76 in Belgorod Oblast, published by Russia

Russia has declared its readiness to hand over to Ukraine the bodies of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers, who allegedly died in the crash of an IL-76 military transport plane in Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24, Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti stated on March 1, citing Russian Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova.

We have everything we need from the point of view of the procedure, the Russian ombudsman said.

The bodies can be transferred in accordance with the procedures that exist.

Read also: Carrying missiles or Ukrainian POWs? Kyiv and Moscow claim different cargo for downed Il-76 plane

Moskalkova also said that she is in contact with Kyiv in the case of the plane crash, and the Ukrainian side, according to her, was interested in the possibility of transferring the bodies.

Russian IL-76 crash  what is known

A Russian IL-76 military transport plane, designed to airlift troops, cargo, military equipment, and weapons, crashed in the Korocha district of the southern Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine, on Jan. 24.

A video of the incident appeared on social media. The footage showed the plane catching fire in midair and exploding in a huge fireball when it crashed.

Read also: Russia refuses to return bodies of alleged Il-76 crash casualties to Ukraine  HUR

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 65 Ukrainian POWs were on board, heading to Belgorod Oblast for a prisoner exchange. Russia accused Ukraine of taking down the plane.

Ukraines General Staff, as quoted by NVs sister outlet Ukrainska Pravda, said the plane was transporting missiles for Russias S-300 air defense systems. There was no mention of prisoners of war.

However, the head of Ukraines Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Andriy Yusov, said a prisoner exchange had been scheduled to take place.

I can state that the exchange planned for today is not going ahead, he told Radio Svoboda.

Read also: Russian VIPs were denied boarding crashed IL-76 plane at the last moment  Ukrainian intelligence

Ukraines Armed Forces are not currently confirming that they downed the aircraft on the morning of Jan. 24, Armed Forces spokesperson Bohdan Senyk told NV.

The General Staff has officially stated that it tracks the launch sites of Russian missiles and the logistics of their delivery, especially by military transport aircraft, and will continue to take measures to destroy delivery planes and control the airspace in order to destroy the terrorist threat.

The Russians did not warn Ukraine about the need to secure the airspace near Belgorod, as they had done before. Ukraine was also not informed about the form of delivery of the prisoners, the route, or the number of vehicles.

On Feb. 1, Yusov, said that Russia refuses to hand over bodies of allegedly killed prisoners of war in the plane crash.

On Feb. 9, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that there were no Ukrainian prisoners of war in the IL-76, but that Ukraine did not know for sure whether the soldiers who were supposed to be returned were alive.

On Feb. 13, Yusov said that 65 servicemen who were declared dead in the crash of the IL-76 plane by the Russians are still considered prisoners of war in Ukraine.

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The Il-76 cargo jet was carrying 65 prisoners of war in January for a scheduled exchange, Russia has claimed

Russia has said it is ready to return the bodies of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war it claimed were killed when Kyiv shot down a military transport jet.

Tatyana Moskalkova, Moscows human rights tsar, said talks were underway with Ukraine over a possible returns deal for their remains, state media reported on Friday.

Yes, we are ready, she said. The bodies can be transferred according to the procedures that are in place.

The Russian defence ministry accused Kyivs forces of shooting down the Il-76 cargo jet that it said was carrying 65 prisoners of war in January for a scheduled exchange.

So far, Moscow has not presented any evidence that supports its claim.

Oleksii Danilov, Ukraines national security adviser, said last month that there were no prisoners of war on the downed transport plane.

Mystery over shooting down

Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot down the plane and has challenged Moscows account of who was on board and what happened.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, immediately called for an international investigation into the crash after the aircraft came down close to Belgorod, a Russian city 25 miles from the border with Ukraine.

American officials, cited in a report by The New York Times, said the Russian jet was likely to have been brought down by a Patriot missile battery.

The officials added that the Il-76 was probably carrying at least some Ukrainian prisoners onboard.

Ahead of a potential return deal for the bodies, Ms Moskalkova said she had informed Kyiv of DNA evidence of the victims.

Moscows top human rights officials did not confirm whether the information had been shared with her interlocutor Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliaments human rights commissioner.

Mr Lubinets has offered no response to the claims.

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The wreckage of the IL-76 that crashed in Belgorod Oblast of Russia. Photo: RIA Novosti

Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova has said that Russia is ready to return to Ukraine the bodies of the prisoners of war it says were killed in the 24 January crash of an Il-76 cargo plane in Belgorod Oblast.

Source: Russian propaganda outlet RIA Novosti; The Moscow Times

Quote from Moskalkova: "We have everything we need legally speaking.... The bodies can be handed over according to the existing procedures."

Details: She added that she is in contact with Ukrainian representatives working on the case of the downing of the Il-76 and that "the Ukrainian side was interested in seeing the bodies returned".

Moskalkova clarified that she was discussing this issue with Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner, to whom she had allegedly replied "to questions about the incident".

"Regarding the bodies, I immediately informed [the Ukrainian side] that we have DNA evidence, which, with the help of experts, allows us to identify the people," Moskalkova said.

Ukrainska Pravda has reached out to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets for comment.

Background:

On 24 January, a Russian Il-76 aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast. Sources in the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated the plane was carrying S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the plane was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war to Belgorod for a swap. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, two Ukrainian missiles were "fired", killing 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian POWs. Defence Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed that the swap was scheduled for 24 January.

A few hours after information about the crash appeared, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine issued a statement in which it hinted that the plane was a military target and was transporting ammunition for the Russian army.

Ukraines Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets noted Ukraine had seen no evidence indicating that a large number of prisoners of war were onboard the Il-76 military transport aircraft that crashed in Russias Belgorod Oblast, contrary to statements made by the Russian Ministry of Defence and other representatives of the aggressor country.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraines Defence Intelligence, has said that neither Russia nor Ukraine could lay to rest the question of what happened when the Il-76 aircraft crashed in Russias Belgorod Oblast, because the Russians havent shown the bodies.

None of the POWs who returned to Ukraine as a result of the swap on 31 January were on Russias list of those supposedly aboard the downed flight.

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Russia is ready to hand over to Ukraine the bodies of those killed in an Il-76 plane crash on Jan. 24, Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti reported on March 1 citing the country's human rights official.

Russia has alleged that its military aircraft that crashed in Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24 was destroyed by Ukrainian forces and that it was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners. The Kremlin has yet to provide evidence that there were any POWs on the downed plane. Ukrainian officials did reveal that a prisoner exchange had been planned for that day.

"Yes, we are ready," Russian human rights official Tatyana Moskalkova was quoted as saying. "The bodies can be transferred according to the procedures that are in place."

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov said in an interview published in early February that there were no Ukrainian prisoners of war on the downed transport plane.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation into the Il-76 crash.

Unnamed American officials told the New York Times on Feb. 8 that the American-made Patriot missile system was likely responsible for the Russian Il-76 plane crash. Additionally, officials suggested that the plane likely had at least some Ukrainian prisoners onboard.

Read also: They mourned loss of apartment. Then, Russia destroyed their whole city

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Wall Street Journals article about the Russias demands to Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, commented by Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, on his Telegram on March 1.

There were no real opportunities to negotiate at the time, he said, adding that the known facts should be reassessed.

The Russian Federation is entering another country on a large scale and killing citizens of that country en masse, Podolyak said.

Read also: China urges restraint amid Putins nuclear threats

The goal is to seize the territory, reformat the state, direct and indirect occupation.

According to Podolyak, at the first and subsequent stages of the negotiations, Russia ultimately demanded that the already occupied territories be given to it and legally renounced.

To give up its subjectivity (not joining alliances, giving up cultural and informational identity), giving up its own army. These conditions were unchanged. How can we see an offer of peace rather than unconditional surrender? he said.

Podolyak also emphasized that after the tactical defeats in the northern regions of Ukraine and the occupiers flight from Kyiv region, massive facts of Russias genocidal practices and its true intentions in Ukraine were revealed, which finally made any contacts with Russia impossible.

There were no real opportunities to negotiate. Russia did not change the terms of surrender. Ukraine has never categorically accepted these conditions, Podolyak said.

Read also: Russia is Frances top threat today - French Interior Ministry

Today, Russia again wants to destroy Ukraine, but is looking for opportunities to bargain for an operational pause in order to complete militarization, expand mobilization, and scale up hostilities at the next stage. The question is: why periodically return to a non-existent topic and try to pass off the well-known surrender demands of the Russian Federation as something new, which absolutely could not lead to peace.

Earlier, the WSJ published a story that contained the demands that Russia made of Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

The journalists read a 17-page document drawn up during peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow after the outbreak of a full-scale war. It is dated April 15, 2022.

The document states that in order to conclude peace, the aggressor country prohibits Ukraine from receiving foreign weapons and joining NATO. At the same time, it is allowed to join the EU. Kyiv also had to introduce the Russian language alongside Ukrainian in government and courts.

Read also:

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The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has gathered evidence against two more top Russian officers who committed war crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine.

Source: the SSU, the Prosecutor Generals Office

Details: Vice Admiral Sergey Pinchuk, First Deputy Commander of the Staff of the Black Sea Fleet of the Armed Forces of Russia, and Major General Oleg Pchela, Deputy Commander of Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Forces of Russia, have been served with notices of suspicion.

Both officials gave orders to carry out missile attacks on civilian and critical infrastructure of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, Pchela and Pinchuk are among the organisers of large-scale attacks on Ukraine from 10 October 2022 to January 2023.

During this time the Russians launched tens of air- and sea-based cruise missiles of the Kh-101, 3M14 Kalibr types and supersonic Kh-22 missiles on the power infrastructure facilities of Ukraine.

As a result of these attacks, 51 civilians have died, 110 more have sustained serious injuries. There were small children among the civilian casualties.

Pinchuk also ordered to mine a sea route from the Bosporus strait to the city of Odesa in order to block the grain corridor. He was also in command of the attacks on port infrastructure and coastal agricultural facilities of Ukraine, as reported by the SSU.

The Russians hoped to disrupt the export of Ukrainian agricultural products and to destroy logistical centres of its transportation and preservation with these attacks.

On the grounds of the collected evidence, Vice Admiral Pinchuk and Major General Pchela were served with notices of suspicion under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

Article 110.3 (encroachment of the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine);

Article 437.2 (planning, preparation, unleashing and waging a war of aggression);

Article 438.1 (violating the laws and customs of war);

Article 438.2 (violating the laws and customs of war which led to the death of people).

Complex measures are being conducted to hold both perpetrators accountable.

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The Russians are recruiting Cubans and Nepalese

Russians are bringing mercenaries from Cuba and Nepal to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Ukraines National Resistance Center (NRC) reported on March 1.

The mercenaries undergo training at local training grounds by Russian instructors, former members of the Wagner terrorist group.

Read also: Russia recruits female prisoners for war against Ukraine  NRC

The Russians are actively recruiting citizens from poor countries around the world, where they have extensive agent networks, the NRC said.

Empires constantly wage their colonial wars with the hands of foreign peoples, the report says.

Read also: Russians not paying their frontline soldiers, robbing and looting of locals likely to rise  NRC

Mercenaries from other countries receive higher payments than Russians because their lives are more expensive, the NRC said.

Russia has recruited about 15,000 Nepalese citizens for the war against Ukraine, with many enticed by the promised high salary.

The NRC previously reported that mercenaries from Malaysia and former Wagner PMC militants were seen in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk Oblast.

Serbian mercenary Dejan Beric, who recruits Serbs for the Russian army, complained about how Russian commanders insult and mistreat Serbian recruits fighting against Ukraine in an online video, the BBC reported on Jan. 8. In a video published online, he called the command of Russis 119th Airborne Regiment a criminal organization

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Air defense is active in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, the Russian proxy leader in the city, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said on March 1 amid reports of explosions, urging people to stay in shelters.

Blasts could be heard in Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia, and near Simferopol in occupied Crimea, Suspilne and local Telegram channels reported, citing local residents.

According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, there was a successful hit against the Hvardiiske airbase not far from Simferopol. Suspilne also said that explosions were heard near Hvardiiske and that smoke could be seen above a bridge.

"The military is working to destroy aerial targets," Razvozhayev said on his Telegram.

Crimean Wind wrote that smoke could be seen over a bay in Sevastopol, publishing accompanying footage.

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Razvozhayev claimed that smoke visible in Sevastopol is the "(Russian) military using standard means of camouflage," claiming that no damage was recorded.

The Kerch Bridge and the Dzhankoi checkpoint in Sevastopol have been closed, Ukrinform reported.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims, and Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on the incident.

In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea.

Ukrainian forces damaged at least three Russian military aircraft at the Belbek military airfield near Sevastopol on Feb. 2, Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed.

Read also: How has Crimea changed after 10 years of Russian occupation?

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Thousands of Russian mourners chanted no to war and Putin is a killer as Alexei Navalny, the opposition leader, was buried in a hurried funeral on the outskirts of Moscow on Friday.

Two weeks after Vladimir Putins greatest challenger to power died in murky circumstances at a penal colony above the Arctic Circle, his family were finally permitted to lay him to rest in a carefully controlled service and burial.

Mr Navalnys mother spent days in the Arctic trying to retrieve her sons body as officials were pressing her into agreeing to a secret burial at a remote location.

After much public wrangling, Navalnys body was finally delivered in the back of a black Mercedes van after alleged pressure on funeral directors not to provide a hearse.

Large crowds walk towards Borisovskoye cemetery to honour the fallen opposition leader - Stringer/Reuters

It may have been a final attempt at humiliation but the funeral turned into something of a final rally, with anti-Putin chants and makeshift memorials left in the snow.

With all forms of dissent outlawed in Russia, Russian police had issued warnings against unauthorised gathering in an apparent attempt to discourage supporters of the man who led Russias pro-democracy movement for more than a decade.

Defying the threats, tens of thousands flocked to a remote working-class Moscow neighbourhood, where the 47-year-old politician lived most of his life.

Its a huge loss

By noon, flower shops in the area were reportedly out of stock.

Many of the mourners were wary of talking to reporters or identifying themselves in light of Russias draconian law against dissent.

Those who did talk spoke about how much Navalnys work meant to them.

Its a huge loss, Svetlana Petrova told the Associated Press. Im offering my deep condolences to his mother, his wife and children because not everyone can bear what they had to bear.

The passing of Alexei Navalny affected many Russians, with tens of thousands of his supporters joining in solidarity - MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Navalnys supporters also travelled from elsewhere to say their goodbyes.

For everyone who is here, those who cant be here and those who were too afraid to come, Alexei was the person who not only gave his life fighting for something  he gave his life fighting for us, said Nadezhda Ivanova, who had travelled from Russias westernmost city of Kaliningrad.

This man is a hero for our country. We will not forget him and we will not forget what [the government] did to him.

When asked what he would like to say to Navalnys relations shortly before the funeral, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, told Russian reporters he had nothing for the politicians family, which named Putin directly responsible for his death.

Sombre gathering

Political rallies in Russia have been banned following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the gathering of mourners on Friday looked like the very last that Navalny, who always attracted crowds of supporters, was able to organise.

The sombre gathering outside the church in Maryino, where many struggled to hold back tears, soon erupted into chants of Navalnys name and no to war.

The church service, which was supposed to be open to the public, was cut unexpectedly short, reportedly under pressure from authorities. Outside, a group of Orthodox believers sang church hymns.

People pay their respects at the coffin of Alexei Navalny - Stringer/Reuters

As church bells tolled to mark the end of the church service, the casket was swiftly taken away. Some mourners were able to breach the police cordons and reach the gate to hug Navalnys mother. Others said to her: Thank you for your son.

Despite official warnings, tens of thousands of people thronged the wide streets of Maryino and marched in frigid weather for half an hour to the other side of the Moskva river to Borisovskoye cemetery.

Numerous police squads were on standby and did not interfere.

Neither Navalnys wife, two children or brother, who all live in exile abroad, attended the funeral, fearing an immediate arrest.

To mark their presence at the funeral, the family ordered a wreath of white carnations with a ribbon saying: To our sweet, darling and eternally loved husband and father.

In a message on Instagram on Friday, Yulia Navalnaya, the politicians widow, who last month vowed to keep up Navalnys work, wrote of her love and devotion to her partner of 26 years.

He was so much fun

I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to make sure you will be happy for me and proud of me out there. I dont know if I can do it but I will try, she said.

Two close allies of Navalnys who hosted a live show on Friday commenting on the broadcast of the funeral visibly struggled with emotion.

He was a brilliant man. He was so much fun to be around, said Leonid Volkov, his former campaign chief.

Were going to work hard to keep up his work. Were going to try to do our best to make him proud.

At the cemetery, the politicians parents planted kisses on the pale forehead of Navalny, and his mother covered his face with a burial shroud before the lid was closed and the coffin was lowered into the grave to the tune of Frank Sinatras My Way, one of his favourite songs.

The string quartet then played the closing soundtrack from Terminator 2  his favourite film, which his allies said they used to make fun of.

People jostle to catch sight of Alexei Navalny's hearse - ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP

Despite widespread fears, police did not interrupt the funeral procession, and crowds of mourners, who often broke into chants of Putin is the killer, were allowed to proceed peacefully across the bridge from the church.

For at least five hours, a string of supporters, many of whom sobbed and looked visibly distressed, filed through the cemetery gate to bring flowers and handfuls of soil to the grave.

Before the grave was filled and closed, the mother of Navalnys widow thanked supporters for coming to the funeral.

They were incredibly in love. They were an amazing couple  Ive never seen a couple like that, she said.

He devoted his life to a big struggle but he did it with a big love and faith in the bright future of Russia.

At least 91 people detained

Mrs Navalnayas mother and the politicians mother then huddled together on plastic chairs by the graveside, sobbing as the gravediggers clanked their metal shovels, filling up the grave.

Ten minutes later, they covered the grave with fir tree branches, planted a large cross and a photo of a smiling Navalny.

Crowds milled around the area for hours, and many mourners who despaired of reaching the cemetery on Friday evening started setting up makeshift memorials in snowdrifts outside nearby buildings, leaving Navalnys photos, candles and flowers.

Navalny supporters were also gathering in other Russian cities. At least 91 people were detained across Russia, including 19 people in a small village on the Volga, according to police watchdog OVD Info.

04:44 PM GMT

Thats all for today

Thanks for following our live coverage of Alexei Navalnys funeral. This live blog is now closed.

04:44 PM GMT

People keep saying goodbye to Alexei Navalny

Mourners are still filing past the grave of Alexei Navalny as darkness falls in Moscow, according to the Russian opposition leaders team.

People keep saying goodbye to Alexei Navalny, they wrote on social media, alongside footage of well-wishers laden with flowers.

People keep saying goodbye to Alexei Navalny pic.twitter.com/lnK0QFebmZ  The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) March 1, 2024

04:23 PM GMT

Scholz: Russians are carrying on Navalnys legacy

Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, praised the thousands of Russians who turned out to pay their respects to Alexei Navalny despite the heavy police presence.

Alexei Navalny paid for his fight for democracy and freedom with his life, Mr Scholz wrote on social media.

After his death, courageous Russians are carrying on his legacy: Many of them were at the funeral today and took a big risk - for freedom.

Alexej #Nawalny hat seinen Kampf fur Demokratie und Freiheit mit dem Leben bezahlt. Nach seinem Tod tragen mutige Russinnen und Russen sein Vermachtnis weiter: Viele von ihnen waren heute bei der Beerdigung und sind damit ein groes Risiko eingegangen - fur die Freiheit.  Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz (@Bundeskanzler) March 1, 2024

04:02 PM GMT

What does Alexei Navalnys funeral mean for Putin and Russia?

Alexei Navalny, who was the leader of the Russian opposition was be laid to rest in Moscow on Friday.

The ceremony attracted crowds of supporters and creates a challenge for Vladimir Putin, who has been widely accused of sanctioning his killing.

Nataliya Vasilyeva considers the threat to Putin, the risks to mourners, and what happens next here.

03:46 PM GMT

Navalny parents thanked as they leave cemetery

Navalnys parents and his widows mother have left the cemetery to the chats of thank you from supporters. The cemetery is still open to mourners.

03:22 PM GMT

Pictured: Mourners head to Navalnys grave

Crowds head for Moscow's Borisovskoye Cemetery during the funeral of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny - REUTERS/Stringer

03:17 PM GMT

They were incredibly in love

The mother of Alexei Navalnys widow thanked supporters for coming to the funeral just before the politicians grave was sealed.

They were incredibly in love. They were an amazing couple  Ive never seen a couple like that, she said.

He devoted his life to a big struggle but he did it with a big love and faith in the bright future of Russia.

Mrs Navalnayas mother and the mother of Alexei Navalny then sat together, sobbing as the grave diggers were filling up the grave to seal it.

02:45 PM GMT

Navalny parents sob as they kiss sons forehead in final farewell

Alexei Navalnys parents kissed their son farewell before his open casket was sealed and lowered into the ground at a Moscow cemetery.

Lyudmila Navalnya sobbed as she used a funeral shroud to cover the face of the Russian opposition leader, who died in prison last month aged 47.

A priest read a prayer for Navalnys soul before his body was lowered into the grave as Frank Sinatras My Way  apparently one of his favourite songs  played.

Lyudmila Navalnaya, the mother of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, leans over her son's body at Moscow's Borisovskoye Cemetery - REUTERS/Stringer

Hundreds of mourners, including senior diplomats, thronged the streets for Navalnys funeral service, which was reportedly cut short under pressure from the authorities.

They were let through the gates of the cemetery after the burial had concluded, throwing a handful of soil on the grave before leaving.

The Kremlin has warned that those who take part in unauthorised rallies will be held accountable by the law.

02:20 PM GMT

The first Russian politician to harness the power of the internet

Alexei Navalny, who has died in prison aged 47, emerged in 2012 as the leading figure in the opposition to President Putin of Russia, albeit one whose ideology and goals appeared increasingly unclear, even ambiguous, as greater prominence brought more scrutiny.

Navalnys rise was often attributed to his being the first Russian politician to harness the power of the internet.

From 2008, he exposed corruption in his blog on the platform LiveJournal, which with his use of social media had garnered him a substantial following among the young.

In 2011 he set up an anti-corruption foundation and described Putins United Russia party, in a phrase soon widely echoed, as one of crooks and thieves.

Read The Telegraphs obituary of Alexei Navalny, published last month after his death, here.

02:09 PM GMT

Watch: Mourners line streets to bid farewell to Alexei Navalny

01:38 PM GMT

Terminator music played at Navalny burial

The music from Terminator 2 was played at Alexei Navalnys burial  because he thought it was the best movie on earth, according to his team. Frank Sinatras My Way also featured.

Alexei thought "Terminator 2" was the best movie on earth. The music from the final scene was played at his funeral. pic.twitter.com/eMCFqN5IBp  The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) March 1, 2024

01:28 PM GMT

I dont know how to live without you, Navalnys widow says

Yulia Navalnaya, Alexei Navalnys widow, admitted she does not know how to live without her husband in a message posted on social media after his funeral.

She wrote: Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even over the last three years of happiness.

Thank you for your love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even when you were in prison, for always thinking about me.

I dont know how to live without you, but I will try to make sure that you will be happy for me and proud of me out there. I dont know if I can do it or not but I will try.

We will definitely meet some day. I have so many stories to tell you.

01:26 PM GMT

Mourners enter cemetery after Navalny burial

Mourners have been allowed into the cemetery in Moscow moments after Alexei Navalny was buried.

A string of people were seen moving through the cemetery gate, approaching the grave, throwing a handful of soil on the grave and leaving.

Many more thousands are still marching from the church a few kilometres away, chanting Navalny and No to war.

People say goodbye to Alexei Navalny. Those wishing are allowed to go to the grave, but most of them remain outside the cemetery fence. pic.twitter.com/ke8GGdL5xw  The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) March 1, 2024

01:07 PM GMT

Navalny buried as My Way plays

Alexei Navalnys coffin was lowered into the grave to Frank Sinatras My Way.

A string band by the graveside played the song as the coffin was lowered.

Leonid Volkov, a close ally of the opposition leader, says My Way was one of Mr Navalnys favourite songs.

01:06 PM GMT

Britain sent charge daffaires to Navalny funeral

Britain was represented among the mourners by Tom Dodd, the charge daffaires in Moscow. The French and US ambassadors were among the other senior diplomats seen in the crowd.

01:01 PM GMT

Navalny parents kiss son goodbye as coffin sealed

Alexei Navalnys parents approached the coffin and kissed their son on their forehead before the coffin was shut closed ready for burial.

Mr Navalnys mother covered his face with a funeral shroud before the priest read a short prayer for the soul of the deceased.

Undertakers then closed the lid and lowered the coffin into the grave.

12:56 PM GMT

Mourners crowd onto bridge en route to cemetery

Footage published by Alexei Navalnys anti-corruption foundation shows crowds of mourners heading for Borisovskoye Cemetery, where the Russian opposition politician is being buried.

The queue near the bridge on the way to the Borisovskoye cemetery pic.twitter.com/sEroXkQ7no  The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) March 1, 2024

12:48 PM GMT

Parents bid farewell to Navalny as coffin taken into cemetery

Undertakers have brought in the coffin with Alexei Navalny into the cemetery to a freshly dug out grave nearby.

They were seen opening the lid of the coffin for the parents to bid their farewell before the coffin is closed and taken down into the grave.

12:41 PM GMT

Watch: Navalny coffin unloaded before funeral

12:34 PM GMT

Thank you for your son, Navalny parents told

Parents of Alexei Navalny were surrounded by mourners outside their church, offering their condolences.

After the hearse departed and mourners were not allowed into the church, they came out to the church gate to greet Anatoly and Lyudmila Navalny.

Mourners were seen hugging the politicians parents and telling them, Thank you for your son! and Forgive us.

12:33 PM GMT

Navalnys body taken into Borisovskoye Cemetery

A coffin containing the body of Alexei Navalny was brought into Moscows Borisovskoye Cemetery following a brief funeral service. Large wreaths have been placed near the grave.

12:30 PM GMT

Idiotic police block hearse outside cemetery

Alexei Navalnys family is waiting to take his coffin into the cemetery after the hearse was apparently blocked in by police.

Ivan Zhdanov, an ally of the Russian opposition leader, said: Due to the idiotic actions of the police, the car with the ritualists unloading the coffin was blocked.

Now they are just waiting at the cemetery for ritualists to carry the coffin.

12:22 PM GMT

Pictured: Family pay respects to Navalny in open casket funeral

The body of Alexei Navalny lies in his coffin in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow - https://x.com/istories_media/status/1763530356735570081?s=20

12:20 PM GMT

Church was ordered to cut service short

A well-connected Russian religious affairs reporter says the church had been under pressure to hold a very brief funeral service for Alexei Navalny and prevent a public farewell.

Sergei Chapnin, a journalist who covers the Russian Orthodox Church, said on Facebook the church in Maryino has been ordered to cut the service as much as they could.

He reported the day before that the church would not allow anyone for the funeral service except for the family.

The casket with Mr Navalnys body was taken out of the church barely twenty minutes after it arrived.

12:17 PM GMT

Navalnys body arrives at cemetery for burial

Alexei Navalnys body has now reached Moscows Borisovskoye Cemetery, where he will soon be buried.

12:13 PM GMT

Pictured: Navalny parents arrive for their sons funeral

Anatoly Navalny, and Lyudmila Navalnaya parents of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny walk to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow - AP Photo

12:08 PM GMT

You were not afraid, we are not

Mourners gathering in Moscow for the funeral of Alexei Navalny chanted you were not afraid, we are not as his coffin was carried into the church.

Crowds also shouted Navalnys name in tribute to the Russian opposition leader, who died last month aged 47 in an Arctic penal colony.

12:06 PM GMT

Mourners chant No to war as they head to cemetery

Thousands of mourners who had queued for hours to get into the church to bid farewell to Alexei Navalny are now marching towards the cemetery chanting Navalny, No to war and Love is stronger than fear.

Mourners toss flowers as the hearse carrying Navalny's body to Borisovskoye Cemetery drives by. https://t.co/jEKa9YoE2F pic.twitter.com/SIDErdsU9G  Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 1, 2024

The hearse carrying the body of the slain politician left the church after a brief ceremony. Mourners were throwing flowers at the hearse as it was pulling out.

It was not immediately clear why Navalny supporters were not allowed inside.

11:57 AM GMT

Navalny taken to cemetery after quick funeral

Alexei Navalnys body is now being taken to a cemetery following a short funeral service, according to his anti-corruption foundation.

Ivan Zhdanov, an ally of the Russian opposition politician, said: The funeral service went by very quickly. Alexei will now be taken to the cemetery.

Navalny is to be buried at Moscows Borisovskoye cemetery, which is roughly a mile and a half from the church across the River Moskva.

11:54 AM GMT

Coffin carried out after short service

The casket with Alexei Navalnys body has been taken out of the church by undertakers after a short church service.

It was not immediately clear why the mourners were not allowed to come in to say their goodbyes.

11:49 AM GMT

Funeral service starts as church bells ring out

Church bells are ringing, signifying the start of the church service for Alexei Navalny.

An Orthodox Christian service for the deceased is led by a priest who offers prayers for the soul of the dead.

At the end of the service, a priest says the prayer of absolution over the body of the deceased, and mourners are invited to come forward to give their last kiss to the diseases.

Eulogies are not part of a traditional Orthodox Christian funeral service.

11:40 AM GMT

Crowds continue to chant Navalnys name

Mourners outside the church are continuing to chant Alexei Navalnys name, according to footage published by the Russian opposition leaders anti-corruption foundation.

People outside the church continue chanting "Navalny!" pic.twitter.com/IxycrvYX58  The Anti-Corruption Foundation (@ACF_int) March 1, 2024

11:13 AM GMT

Authorities jamming communications as funeral starts

Authorities appear to be jamming communications outside the church.

Connection was already poor an hour before the church service but communications appeared to be fully jammed just as Alexei Navalnys body arrived at the church, journalists working at the scene said.

Live feed run by several media outlets was done shortly after the bodys arrival.

11:10 AM GMT

US and French ambassador among crowds of mourners

Foreign diplomats including Pierre Levy, the French ambassador to Russia, and Lynne Tracy, the UN ambassador, are among the mourners in Moscow today.

Foreign diplomats, including French Ambassador to Russia Pierre Levy and US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy, wait near the Soothe My Sorrows church - REUTERS/Stringer

11:08 AM GMT

Navalny coffin carried into church

A coffin containing the body of Alexei Navalny has been carried into church as his funeral begins.

Workers carry the coffin of Alexei Navalny to the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows, in Moscow - AP Photo

11:04 AM GMT

Crowds chant Navalny as hearse arrives at church

A hearse carrying Alexei Navalnys body has pulled up by the church in Maryino.

Mourners outside greeted the black minivan with appause and chanted Navalny.

Several men were seen carrying the coffin into the church where the politicians body will be prepared for burial.

A hearse reportedly carrying the body of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny is parked outside the Soothe My Sorrows church - REUTERS/Stringer

11:00 AM GMT

Snipers on Moscow rooftops as mourners gather

Snipers have been positioned on Moscow rooftops ahead of Alexei Navalnys burial in the Russian capital.

Crowds of mourners had gathered hours in advance of Fridays ceremony, braving the risk of arrest to pay their respects to the opposition leader amid tight security and fears of a police crackdown.

Riot police were deployed near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, in Moscows Maryino district, where a ceremony for Mr Navalny was set to take place.

He will be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, around 2.5km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva River.

10:39 AM GMT

Cemetery closed to public ahead of burial

Members of the public have been barred from Borisovskoye Cemetery, where Alexei Navalny will be buried later today, according to media reports.

A Moscow company in charge of the cemetery denied the reports and said the cemetery is open as usual.

10:33 AM GMT

Cameron: We must hold Russia accountable for Navalny death

Russia must be held accountable for the death of Alexei Navalny, Lord Cameron said, as he paid tribute to the opposition leaders courage, spirit and defiance.

The Foreign Secretary wrote on social media: Putin tried to silence Alexei Navalny. But the world was watching.

On the day of his funeral, we remember his spirit of defiance in the face of brutality from the Russian regime, and his courage in standing up to corruption.

We must continue to hold Russia to account.

Putin tried to silence Alexei Navalny. But the world was watching.



On the day of his funeral, we remember his spirit of defiance in the face of brutality from the Russian regime, and his courage in standing up to corruption.



We must continue to hold Russia to account.  David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 1, 2024

10:20 AM GMT

Pictured: Riot police on streets of Moscow ahead of funeral

Riot police officers guard the area near the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God Soothe My Sorrows in Moscow - AP Photo

10:18 AM GMT

Alexei gave his life fighting for us

Many of the mourners were wary of talking to reporters or identifying themselves in light of Russias draconian law against dissent.

Those who did talk spoke about how much Mr Navalnys work meant for them.

Its a huge loss, Svetlana Petrova told AP.

Im offering my deep condolences to his mother, his wife and children because not everyone can bear what they had to bear.

Navalny supporters also travelled from elsewhere to say their goodbyes.

For everyone who is here, those who cant be here and those who were too afraid to come, Alexei was the person who not only gave his life fighting for something - he gave his life fighting for us, Nadezhda Ivanova, who travelled from Russias westernmost city of Kaliningrad, said.

This man is a hero for our country. We will not forget him and we will not forget what [the government] did to him.

10:13 AM GMT

Kremlin: We have nothing to say to Navalny family

The Kremlin has nothing to say to Alexei Navalnys relatives on the day of his funeral, according to a spokesman. Members of the public who take part in unauthorised rallies will be held accountable by the law, he added.

A representative for Navalny responded: But we have something to say to the Kremlin  the killers of Alexei.

10:10 AM GMT

Navalny supporters in tears as thousands wait outside church

Thousands of mourners are lining outside a church on the outskirts of Moscow an hour before the body of Russias slain opposition leader Alexei Navalny was to be prepared for burial according to Orthodox Christian tradition.

A long line of mourners snaked outside the church in Maryino, taking up most of the pavement all the way to the metro station several hundred metres away.

The queue for the church where Navalny's farewell service will take place is getting longer and longer pic.twitter.com/2nwa3AGtAk  Francis Scarr (@francis_scarr) March 1, 2024

Some Navalny supporters, dressed warmly for a frigid and wet afternoon, arrived in the area several hours before the church service. Many carried flowers. Some could not hold back tears.

Authorities earlier dispatched a sizable police force to the area and warned Russians against unauthorised gatherings in a bid to spook Navalny supporters.

About one hour before the church service, the mood outside was largely calm, and police stood by.

10:06 AM GMT

Pictures: The Moscow grave where Navalny will be buried

A grave where Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny will reportedly be buried - REUTERS/Stringer

The Borisovskoye cemetery where Alexei Navalny will be buried - OLGA MALTSEVA/AFP via Getty Images

09:58 AM GMT

Navalnys body handed over to relatives

Ivan Zhdanov, a close ally of Alexei Navalny, says the body of the slain politician has now been released to the family and the hearse should be expected to reach the church in an hour.

Mr Zhdanov previously reported an unexpected delay at the morgue in a Moscow suburb, which threatened to delay the ceremony.

09:49 AM GMT

Pictures: Mourners line the streets ahead of funeral

Mourners gather in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church ahead of a funeral service for Alexei Navalny - ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images

A mourner stands in front of the Mother of God Quench My Sorrows church ahead of a funeral service for Alexei Navalny - MAXIM SHIPENKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

09:46 AM GMT

Navalnys body has not been released by authorities

Russian authorities are yet to release the body of Alexei Navalny from a morgue, a representative for the deceased opposition leader said.

Kira Yarmysh wrote on social media: Relatives arrived at the morgue at 10am [local time, 7am GMT], when Alexeis body was supposed to be given to them.

The body has not yet been released. The schedule has not changed yet, but there may be delays.

09:43 AM GMT

Morning

Hello and welcome to the live blog. Benedict Smith here. Well be bringing you all the updates as Alexei Navalnys funeral gets underway later today in Moscow.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Art Dubai, the leading international art fair for the Middle East and Global South, is showcasing 120 contemporary, modern and digital gallery presentations from March 1-3 at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

Since its founding in 2007, the 17th edition of Art Dubai has sought to rethink the institutional role that an art fair can play in supporting the regions evolving cultural ecosystem.

Set against the backdrop of Dubais rapid growth, the breadth of Art Dubais programming includes significantly expanded partnerships, a wide-ranging education, talks and thought-leadership programme that reflects an increasingly mature local and regional creative scene.

Art Dubais Executive Director Benedetta Ghione said: We are witnessing an exciting phase in Dubais cultural story. The city is thriving, welcoming people from all over the world and, built on strong foundations, the cultural infrastructure here is also maturing rapidly.

Through a unique and independent model, Art Dubai continues to rethink and reframe the role an art fair can play in supporting the growth of a creative economy, building capacity and creating opportunities for artists and creatives through partnerships and collaboration.

Art Dubai 2024 Gallery Line-up

Committed to spotlighting leading artists and galleries from across the Global South, over 65% of which are drawn from the Global South, Art Dubai provides an important platform for art from often-under-represented regions and communities.

Art Dubai Digital remains the only section of any major international art fair dedicated to new media and digital art.

Now in its third year, the 2024 edition is curated by duo Alfredo Cramerotti and Auronda Scalera and foregrounds the artists, collectives, institutions and platforms who continue to push the boundaries of art and tech, from the early pioneers of blockchain art, to artists working at the cutting edge of robotics, AI, VR, XR and other advanced technologies.

The 2024 edition of Art Dubai Modern is curated by Dr Christianna Bonin and highlights the forces that gave rise to todays Global South.

The presentation  entitled This Other World  examines the extensive cultural exchanges between the Soviet Union and the Arab, African and South Asian countries that took place after the Second World War and reveals the shared experiences of artists from places as seemingly distant as Uganda, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka who were invited to study in Soviet metropoles such as Tashkent, Kyiv, Almaty and Moscow.

Art Dubais Bawwaba, meaning gateway in Arabic, section features 10 solo presentations of new artwork. Curated by Emiliano Valdes, the section explores the notion of Sanacion or healing, and features artists from Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia.

Expanding on this theme, this years Art Dubai Commissions programme includes a series of newly commissioned performances and interventions that will take place throughout the fair.

Art Dubais Artistic Director Pablo del Val said: Art should challenge our perceptions, and this years fair spotlights diverse and often under-represented voices. Art Dubai is the meeting point for creative communities from a truly global art world and we invite visitors to explore the breadth and depth of our programme  from top-class contemporary galleries to museum-quality presentations in Art Dubai Modern to the artists who are breaking new ground in their use of cutting-edge technologies in Art Dubai Digital.

Conferences and Talks Programming

Thought leadership and capacity building remain central to Art Dubais programme, which is now the largest of any international art fair.

Highlights of the 2024 programme include the 17th edition of Art Dubais Global Art Forum, which explores the relationship between extreme weather and extreme change; the second edition of the Art Business Conference Dubai, the leading platform to discuss key challenges facing the global art market and the inaugural Digital Summit at Art Dubai, convening experts from a range of disciplines to examine the growth of, and opportunities for, Dubais digital art economy.

Partnerships and Capacity-building

Supporting the next generation of creatives and cultural leaders, Art Dubai has an extensive education programme, including Campus Art Dubai, which is now in its 11th year, and provides graduates with hands-on, practical training and professional development opportunities in the cultural sector.

This year also marks the largest edition to date of the A.R.M. Holding Childrens Programme which, has grown to become the UAEs largest cultural education initiative. The 2024 programme has been developed by Indian artist Sahil Naik and will launch at Art Dubai before expanding to reach more than 15,000 students in over 100 government, private and special educational needs schools across all seven Emirates.

The 2024 edition of Art Dubai will showcase a range of newly commissioned works by top local, regional and international artists, including Heart Space, a major new digital artwork by multidisciplinary artist Krista Kim, commissioned by Julius Baer and debuting at Art Dubai.

Further highlights of the on-site programme at Art Dubai include a new exhibition from Dubai Collection, the first institutional collection for the city of Dubai.

Across the city, Dubais galleries, museums and cultural institutions present a programme of solo and group exhibitions for Art Dubai Week and Dubai Art Season. Highlights include the unveiling of Union of Artists, commissioned by Dubai Culture in collaboration with Art Dubai, Sikka Art and Design Festival and exhibitions at Alserkal Avenue.  TradeArabia News Service
HARARE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's security systems are on high alert following a "bomb/firearm threat" targeting the country's airports, presidential spokesperson George Charamba said Friday.

The bomb threat forced Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was scheduled to fly to the resort town of Victoria Falls Friday morning, to cancel the trip.

"This morning (Friday morning) Zimbabwe Airport Authorities were made aware of an e-mail sent through Fastjet airline by one John Doe claiming 'credible bomb/firearm threat' targeting Zimbabwean airports," Charamba said in a statement. "As a precaution, the country's security systems are now on heightened alert following this message whose source and credibility are also being investigated."

He said although the country is peaceful and its ports of entry secure, the government takes and treats such alerts on possible terrorist attacks very seriously.

He urged the nation to remain calm while investigations are underway. 
(FOX40.COM)  A Sacramento resident won big at Sky River Casino in Elk Grove on Thursday while playing Blackjack, according to a news release from the casino.

The jackpot worth $516,471 was won at a table between the Rock Bar and River Bar when the Sacramentan hit the progressive jackpot.

Capitol Beer Fest returning for 14th annual event in downtown Sacramento

Our tables are hot and our progressive card games continue to be extraordinarily lucky, said Sky River Casinos President Michael J. Facenda. We love to share in the excitement of life-changing wins when our guests hit it big, the energy is contagious throughout the casino.

In December, two Sky River Reward members hit the progressive jackpots playing Face-Up Pai Gow and Ultimate Texas Hold Em. Each player won over $500,000.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40.
Sadiq Khan has admitted that a controversial low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) scheme in London is causing huge problems after buses were caught in hours-long traffic jams.

The scheme, at Streatham Wells, was implemented last year as part of an 18-month trial that Labour-run Lambeth council says is meant to improve air quality.

Yet the Mayor of London has now spoken out against the LTN, marking the first time he has criticised one of the schemes.

The Labour mayor said on his Speak to Sadiq LBC radio show on Thursday: The LTN in Streatham is causing huge problems.

Yesterday I was in touch with Lambeth council to see what my team can do to resolve the issue and so weve asked the council to look at it urgently in relation to the consequences of a very well-intentioned LTN.

The current wave of LTNs began to be introduced during lockdown - YUI MOK/PA

He added: The unintended consequence is less use of public transport. So youll get news very soon about changes that the council are going to make to that LTN because the evidence is that, just in the first few months, its not been great.

Mr Khans comments come after significant opposition to LTNs, amid huge traffic congestion caused by the schemes.

One London bus reportedly took 121 minutes to travel just 2.9 miles across Streatham after the A23 arterial road, which runs along one side of the LTN, became heavily congested with traffic trying to avoid the scheme.

Local campaigners, including the Streatham LTN Watch group, have said the schemes merely displace traffic onto neighbouring roads and worsen congestion around their fringes.

A spokeswoman for Lambeth LTN Watch said: We appreciate Mayor Sadiq Khans honesty about the challenges of the Streatham Wells LTN. Unlike local leaders, who have been silent for four months, the Mayors acknowledgement is a positive step.

Residents are eager to know the proposed changes and wish to participate actively in the decision-making process.

Lambeth Council did not comment on suggestions that Mr Khan has ordered the scheme to be scrapped.

A council spokesman said: We are aware of concerns regarding bus times in Streatham relating to the trial of Streatham Wells LTN, ongoing roadworks by utilities and recent rail strikes. We are working closely with TfL to monitor the situation and discuss changes to the LTN.

Residents were gaslit

Neil Garratt, the City Hall Conservatives leader, said: I pointed out the LTN traffic chaos in Streatham to Sadiq Khan in December. He denied all knowledge of the chaos and refused to intervene. He arrogantly ignored and gaslighted local residents, commuters and motorists.

As the mayoral election approaches on May 2, Sadiq Khan has finally woken up to this issue. We need to see urgent action.

LTNs should not be imposed without the support of local communities. The chaos in Streatham and the impact of this LTN on peoples lives shows us why.

More than seven million penalty charge notices were issued by Transport for London and the capitals 32 councils in 2022-23. Of those, three million were given to drivers caught on CCTV cameras disobeying road signs, like driving through LTNs.

Lambeth was one of the top five London authorities for road fines after issuing 354,832 penalties.

The current wave of LTNs began to be introduced during lockdown. Councils from across the country took advantage of empty streets to start blocking off roads with bollards and large flowerboxes, claiming that the closures would help improve air quality and road safety.

Energy minister Andrew Bowie said last summer that LTNs should be removed from places where locals do not want them.

Speaking about encouraging the take-up of electric and hybrid cars, Mr Bowie told ITVs Good Morning Britain in July: We also recognise there are huge cost-of-living pressures on people in Britain right now, which is why we must do more to support those people and which is why we think that where they are not working or where there is not local support, low traffic neighbourhood projects should be looked at again.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Probalist Agenda

OpenAI and its embattled CEO, Sam Altman, are apparently being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about statements made to the company's investors.

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the SEC is looking at emails, including those sent by and to Altman, as its investigators figure out whether the company's investors were misled during the November bloodbath that resulted in his ouster and subsequent reinstatement.

During the debacle that Microsoft employees referred to as the "Turkey-Shoot Clusterfuck," the company's board claimed when sacking Altman that he had not been "consistently candid in his communications"  only to reinstate him days later following an employee revolt, with a modified board that didn't include those that ousted him.

Now, it seems, the SEC is trying to figure out what happened there, and if OpenAI itself was, you know, "candid" in its own communications.

It's not the first time the government has come snooping around about that particular claim, either. As the WSJ reported in November, officials from the US attorney's office in Manhattan and other regulators began asking executives what they meant by that statement even as the coup was going down.

Dueling Investigations

The investigation, as the WSJ reports, is based in New York, where SEC officials have asked some senior OpenAI employees to preserve internal documents. This is common practice in these sorts of investigations, and as the newspaper's anonymous sources close to the probe say, so too is the agency's "predictable" desire to look into the matter.

News of this SEC investigation, which until now had not been made public, comes just a day after the New York Times reported that an internal investigation into Altman's ouster by the WilmerHale law firm is "nearing its end." The CEO himself has, apparently, been telling people that the company's probe will soon be over, and that its results could be presented to the OpenAI board in early March, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the NYT on condition of anonymity.

With leaks and tweets abounding, the public has still only gotten a piecemeal look into OpenAI's Thanksgiving drama  even as its products, including ChatGPT and its forthcoming text-to-video generator Sora, continue to make it the world's preeminent AI firm.

Now, it seems, the government may force OpenAI's hand in revealing more about the fiasco.

More on OpenAI investigations: OpenAI Hiring Detective to Find Who's Leaking Its Precious Info
A visitor takes a picture of the Samsung Galaxy Ring during the second day of Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. The Mobile World Congress kicked off Monday in Barcelona, Spain, with mobile phone makers showing off new devices and telecom industry executives perusing the latest networking gear and software.

This week has seen a lot of sneak peeks at whats to come in the mobile tech world during the Mobile World Congress 2024. Samsung was no exception as it revealed its upcoming product: the Galaxy Ring.

First look at the Samsung Galaxy Ring pic.twitter.com/J6l3GtIxmP  Parker Burton (@imparkerburton) February 26, 2024

What we know so far about the Galaxy Ring

Revealed at the Mobile World Congress 2024 conference, the new Samsung Galaxy Rings can be used as another health monitoring device, per Axios.

According to Samsung, the Galaxy Ring comes in three colors  gold, black and silver  and in nine sizes. The Galaxy Ring is meant for people who want the benefits of a smartwatch without feeling inundated with data, according to Wired.

The Galaxy Ring will have the following features, according to CNBC:

Heart rate monitoring.

Sleep monitoring.

Track movements during sleep.

Let users know how long it took for them to fall asleep.

According to Wired, other features of the Galaxy Ring might include a period tracker and a feature called My Vitality Score, which lets users know how mentally and physically prepared they are for the day.

CNBC also shares that there is a possibility of a glucose monitoring feature that is noninvasive.

Some features are still unknown, such as battery life and what the rings are made of, per Wired.

Additionally, Samsung is planning to use AI in its smart ring. According to CNBC, the leader of Samsungs digital health team, Hon Pak, shared that theyre hoping to use AI to make sense of the massive amounts of health data the smart ring will be monitoring, providing deeper insights to a users health.

Other smart ring options

The Samsung Galaxy Ring isnt the first smart ring watch to appear on the market. Oura, a company from Finland, has released a smart ring meant to track your health habits.

According to Ouras website, its ring can track sleep, heart health, illness detection, recovery time, period cycles and stress.

Psst  there's a really big sale going on right now 



From 11/17 through to Cyber Monday (11/27), enjoy:



$30 off Black + Silver

$50 off Stealth + Brushed Titanium

$70 off Gold

and $100 off Rose Goldhttps://t.co/NMXKqUzCiO pic.twitter.com/BdEokZ06xm  OURA (@ouraring) November 24, 2023
YAOUNDE, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Twelve people died Thursday in a traffic accident in Maroua, capital of the Far North region of Cameroon, announced Midjiyawa Bakari, the region's governor.

A bus bound for Maroua from Mokolo in the Mayo-Tsanaga department was involved in the fatal accident 10 km from Maroua around 7:00 p.m. Thursday local time.

According to the governor, who visited the scene, the toll was heavy with 12 dead, including eight women and four children, and 22 injured.

The injured were transferred to the Maroua regional hospital, where measures were taken to ensure their effective care. The bodies of the dead were taken to the morgue of the Maroua regional hospital.

According to the initial findings of the administrative authority, the accident was caused by mechanical failure and overloading. "At a glance, the tires were bursting and the vehicle was overloaded. It has a capacity of 22 seats, and at the count, 34 people were on board," said the governor.

Most of those on board were refugees who had gone to the Minawaoua refugee camp to collect their monthly rations. 
A far-right activist has been jailed after a judge branded him an "antisemite" with "Nazi sympathies".

Samuel Melia, 34, was found guilty earlier this year of inciting racial hatred after a series of "stickering" incidents between 2019 and 2021.

Melia, from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, was sentenced to two years in prison at Leeds Crown Court on Friday.

Judge Tom Bayliss KC said: "The publication of this kind of material is corrosive to our society."

Melia was the head of the Telegram Messenger group Hundred Handers, a social media channel that generated racist and anti-immigration stickers that were printed off and displayed in public places.

The stickers contained "ethnic slurs" about minority communities which displayed a "deep-seated antipathy to those groups", the court heard.

'Nationalistic and vitriolic'

The court also heard Melia had an "obsessive interest" in Sir Oswald Mosley, who founded the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, and that he was attempting to "peddle the same antisemitism".

Melia had a poster of Hitler in his garage, a book by Mosley in his bedroom and it was found that much of the material Hundred Handers published was "xenophobic, nationalistic and vitriolic".

Judge Bayliss said: "For the first time since the 1930s, a real risk of gross, potentially violent, antisemitism is becoming normalised on our streets.

"It has been used before to tear at the heart of Western democracy.

"It must not be allowed to do so again."

After police arrested Melia in April 2021, they searched his house and found a label printer and stickers with anti-immigration messages.

The court previously heard the Hundred Handers Telegram channel had more than 3,500 subscribers and an anti-immigration sticker was even placed on the door of an MP's constituency office.

It was also said that media reports of the "stickering" linked to the group "extended from Cornwall to Northern Ireland".

'You are an antisemite'

The judge told Melia: "I am quite sure that your mindset is that of a racist and a white supremacist.

"You hold Nazi sympathies and you are an antisemite."

Melia, who was also found guilty of encouraging racially-aggravated criminal damage, was sentenced to two years for each charge to run concurrently.

He must serve up to half his sentence in custody before being released on licence.

Det Ch Sup James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "Those that seek to bring hatred to our communities through actions such as stickering will be identified and brought to justice."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  A whopping 23 San Diego County Schools were selected for the 2024 California Distinguished Schools Program.

Selected by officials with the California Department of Education (CDE), schools that are recognized were determined to have demonstrated exemplary achievements.

Eligibility

CDE said it uses a multiple measures accountability system to identify eligible schools based on their performance and progress.

Gov. Newsom stops in San Diego, urges support for Prop 1

Performance on these measures is reported through whats called the California School Dashboard, which helps to identify school strengths and areas of improvement.

Schools were selected based on the following indicators: demonstrating excellence and growth in academic achievement and ensuring a positive school climate.

Additionally, CDE said schools recognized for closing the achievement gap enroll at least 40% of their students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and achieve accelerated academic growth for one or more historically underserved student groups.

Elementary schools, middle and high schools are recognized in alternate years, so awardees hold the title for two years.

Local schools selected

Here are the San Diego County schools  23 in total  that have been recognized in the 2024 California Distinguished Schools Program:

Aviara Oaks Middle, Carlsbad Unified

Spring Valley Academy, La Mesa-Spring Valley

El Camino High, Oceanside Unified

Mesa Verde Middle, Poway Unified

Oak Valley Middle, Poway Unified

Challenger Middle, San Diego Unified

De Portola Middle, San Diego Unified

High Tech High, San Diego Unified

Kearny College Connections, San Diego Unified

Kearny Eng Innov & Design, San Diego Unified

Kearny School of Biomedical Science and Technology, San Diego Unified

KIPP Adelante Preparatory Academy, San Diego Unified

Magnolia Science Academy San Diego, San Diego Unified

Marston Middle, San Diego Unified

Muirlands Middle, San Diego Unified

School for Entrepreneurship and Technology, San Diego Unified

Standley Middle, San Diego Unified

Taft Middle, San Diego Unified

Canyon Crest Academy, San Dieguito Union High

Pacific Trails Middle, San Dieguito Union High

High Tech Middle North County, SBC  High Tech High

Vista Magnet Middle School of Technology, Science, and Math, Vista Unified

My experience has been that when you raise expectations, kids will meet them. When you have a belief system that kids can do anything, good things happen. Especially since we control the conditions and have the ability to eliminate opportunity and access gaps, said San Diego County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Gothold.

These 2024 California Distinguished Schools are showing success in providing academic guidance as well as social and emotional support for students, removing barriers that have held too many of our students back for so long and creating schools where students have the opportunities and resources necessary to thrive in school and in life, Dr. Gothold continued.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI)  San Diego is no stranger to issues with the regions water, between periods of prolonged drought, recent flooding and the ongoing sewage crisis in South Bay.

These challenges have wrecked havoc on the region and its waterways, leaving San Diegans searching for answers. A new research initiative from San Diego State University may be able to help.

On Thursday, the universitys researchers announced they have received a $2 million grant from the San Diego River Conservancy to fund a new laboratory aimed at educating the community on the hydrological systems around them while training the regions next generation of water experts.

CA lawmakers up pressure on federal government to address South Bay sewage

Located at SDSU Mission Valleys river park, the new One Water Living Learning Laboratory will provide an outdoor space to gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge technologies for studying water quality, stormwater treatment and wastewater reuse, university officials say.

Water issues hit home in so many ways for San Diegans. Were going to hear more and more about extreme events like the rains and flooding that weve had, said Natalie Mladenov, SDSU professor of environmental engineering and the principal investigator of the project.

Through One Water Living Learning Lab, we want to provide a space where community members and students can have a chance to interact with different technologies and better understand the value that water has, she continued.

The 900-foot facility, complete with a bioretention basin that captures runoff, will have space for research teams to conduct fieldwork such as collecting water samples, as well as examine storm water and waste water for studies on water reuse.

According to SDSU officials, the lab will provide students and community members a way to examine the interconnectedness of rivers, drinking water and wastewater, on top of learning how to leverage technology to use these resources to meet the regions water needs.

Its not just water from the Colorado River that we need to be using, especially in this water scarce environment where we live, Mladenov said. We have the technologies to treat all water types  including wastewater or stormwater that runs off from the landscape  to make it clean water thats safe enough for drinking. And its all connected.

Safely treating the water means that we can protect the water quality of our rivers so that we can enjoy them and maintain public health, she continued.

Disaster recovery centers open for San Diego flood victims

One Water Living Learning Lab will also have spaces for family-friendly exploration of water issues and learning opportunities designed for K-12 students.

The One Water Living Learning Laboratory is scheduled to open in January 2026. When it opens, it will mark the first active research and training facility in SDSU Mission Valleys river park.

It is vital to collaborate on issues relating to water quality and supply, hydrology, flood control, water reuse, and local watersheds in San Diego County, said Julia L. Richards, executive officer of San Diego River Conservancy. This initiative will undoubtedly set a new standard for innovation and excellence in the field of water resource management.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
(KRON)  Two suspects have been arrested in connection to a December 2023 homicide, the San Jose Police Department said Thursday. The arrests were in connection to an incident that occurred on Dec. 17 at around 4:19 a.m.

SJPD officers responded to the area of Snow Drive and Giusti Drive on reports of a firearms discharge. At the scene, officers found evidence indicating that a shooting had occurred.

A short while later, two men arrived at a local hospital suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the men succumbed to his injuries and died at the hospital. The second man sustained a non-life threatening injury and was stabilized.

Half of those cited for public drug use dont live in the city: SF Mayor reports

SJPD Homicide Unit detectives launched an investigation. Two suspects  Joshua Sodapop Bocanegra, 20, of San Jose, and Michael Carabajal, 20, of Gilroy  were identified. Warrants were obtained for their arrests.

Bocanegra was located by the SJPD Covert Response Unit on Feb. 15 in San Francisco and apprehended. Carbajal was located in Gilroy on the same day and also arrested.

Both suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for homicide.

The motive and circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation, police said. The victims identity will be released by the Santa Clara County Coroners Office pending identification and notification of next of kin.

The incident marked San Joses 33rd homicide of 2023.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage)  The San Angelo Police Department has issued a warning for San Angelo residents after it received reports that a new phone scam is targeting locals.

According to an announcement made by the SAPD, the unknown person or people behind the scam are calling citizens and claiming that someone the victim knows is in trouble and that money is needed to help them out.

San Angelo man dead in Schleicher County crash

The SAPD has received two calls for service regarding the same in the past week, with at least one victim losing a substantial amount of money to the scam.

The police department asks residents to spread the word about the scam to help protect their loved ones from it.

We ask that the public do their part in spreading the word to help prevent their family, friends, or loved ones from becoming victims to these scams, the SAPD said in the announcement.

If you or a loved one has a question regarding a potential scam, the SAPD asks that you contact its desk duty officer at 325-481-2696 during business hours or its non-emergency dispatch at 325-657-4315 after hours.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com.
Palestinian children are checked for malnutrition, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip

Palestinian children are checked for malnutrition, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip

GENEVA (Reuters) - People in the Gaza Strip are risking their lives to find food, water and other supplies such is the level of hunger and despair amid the unrelenting Israeli assault, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

"The system in Gaza is on its knees, it's more than on its knees," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva. "All the lifelines in Gaza have more or less been cut."

Lindmeier said this had created a "desperate situation", as seen on Thursday, when more than 100 people seeking humanitarian aid in Gaza were killed.

Gaza health authorities said Israeli forces shot dead the Palestinians as they waited for an aid delivery. Israel blamed the deaths on crowds that surrounded the aid trucks, saying victims had been trampled or run over.

"People are so desperate for food, for fresh water, for any supplies that they risk their lives in getting any food, any supplies to support their children, to support themselves," Lindmeier said.

While aid is reaching southern parts of the Gaza Strip, it is too slow to avert a hunger crisis even there. Aid barely makes it to northern areas that are further from the main border crossing and only accessible through more active battle fronts.

"The food supplies have been cut off deliberately. Let's not forget that," Lindmeier said.

Israel has said the failure to get enough aid into Gaza to meet humanitarian needs is due to U.N. distribution failures.

A senior U.N. aid official told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that one quarter of the population of Gaza is one step away from famine and widespread famine could be "almost inevitable" without action.

(Reporting by Cecile Mantovani and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Is in vitro fertilization in danger in South Carolina? Its possible, some warn, but a group of S.C. politicians across the spectrum are determined to protect it.

A preventative bill that explicitly states any form of a fertilized egg that exists outside the uterus would not be considered an unborn child has been filed in the House. Rep. Kambrell Garvin, D-Richland, filed H. 5157 after the Alabama Supreme Court decided to consider frozen embryos as people, ruling that unborn children are children.

At least three IVF in Alabama halted services after the Alabama Supreme Courts decision, which sparked backlash from Democrats and Republicans alike across the nation.

People in states like South Carolina want to know, if it happened in Alabama, could it happen in the Palmetto state?

Republican State Sen. Shane Massey said there isnt a need for further legislation in South Carolina concerning the topic because IVF is not under threat.

Our law is very different from Alabama. I am confident that IVF is protected in South Carolina, Massey told reporters Wednesday. They [Alabama] have a conception ban, we dont.

What played out in Alabama cant play out in South Carolina, he added.

Others disagree on the current laws scope.

State Rep. Heather Bauer, D-Richland, says a section of the S.C. Fetal Heartbeat Act raises questions about what could be considered an unborn human.

The fetal heartbeat bill lists that unborn child means an individual organism of the species homo sapiens from conception until live birth. Conception is then defined as fertilization of an ovum by sperm, she said during a Thursday press conference by the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Bauer said the Alabama Supreme Court had used nearly identical language from their abortion ban to justify the IVF decision.

The IVF decision in Alabama was ruled using the wrongful death of a minor act, which is an Alabama law. Three couples who lost frozen embryos during a storage facility accident sued using the wrongful death of a minor. Although lower courts rejected their argument, their states Supreme Court ruled it could be used. Because an embryo outside the uterus would now be considered an unborn human, the clinics fears of lawsuits heightened, as they could be charged in similar ways to abortion restrictions.

Vicki Ringer, director of public affairs for SC Planned Parenthood, said every year for at least 25 years, the house or senate has introduced some type of personhood bill, which would convey all constitutional rights to a fertilized egg, and thats not even before a pregnancy.

She recalled testimonies from doctors when they had said there arent freezers in the world big enough to accommodate all the eggs that are retrieved. If doctors could be charged with murder and sued for wrongful death, some would no longer provide IVF services, she said.

Oftentimes, abortion bills will include statements that will refer to a fertilized egg as a person or life begins at conception, Ringer said. Those types of references would have the same impact on IVF as a personhood bill would.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he had no intention of using the recent Alabama Supreme Court decision as a basis for prosecuting IVF families or providers.

The Senate Democratic Caucus and House members who were sponsors, co-sponsors and supporters of the South Carolina protection bill made clear why Alabamas decision was a poor choice for women and families alike Thursday.

Who would have thought we would ever have to protect being a parent in South Carolina?, asked Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.

He added there are forces out there that dont believe in the bills being proposed to protect IVF.

Rep. Gil Gatch, R-Dorchester, a co-sponsor of the House bill, said he couldnt imagine being a potential parent in Alabama where the family process through IVF would halt because of this decision.

The bill is just a explanation that an embryo thats not basically implanted inside of the body cant be considered life for any reason from a legal standpoint.

Gatch said he believes life begins at conception from a religious and philosophical standpoint. He also said the heartbeat law in effect in South Carolina is a good law. But the question of what happens if an embryo in a freezer is thrown out is scary.

As a policymaker, I understand that not everybody is a Christian and not everybody believes the Bible. You have to figure out what the states policy would be on life.

Although he hadnt read the bill, Gov. Henry McMaster said protecting families and babies is a good thing.

I havent read the decision either, he told reporters Thursday. But I think anything to allow and protect the ability of parents, people who want to be parents to be parents have beautiful babies is a good thing.

Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, said declined comment Thursday. He said if the protection bills made it into subcommittee, however, he would have something to say about them. Cash was adamant about his anti-abortion stance during the fetal heartbeat law discussion, and even noted some Senators at the time referred to him as the bishop of Anderson, Jamie Lovegrove, former SC reporter tweeted in 2021.

Were struggling for public opinion right now, and IVF is not a great thing to have a conversation about, Rep. John McCravy, R-Greenwood, told Politico in an article on the indifference for Republicans on the issue. Its a bad development for the cause of life that this is being challenged in Alabama.
A South Carolina man serving a life sentence for stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in Rock Hill wants his conviction tossed out because he thought his guilty plea was for less time.

Prosecutors and his lawyer from the 2019 guilty plea said in court Thursday that Jefferson Quishpi, 32, admitted to murder. Whats more, he understood a judge could sentence him to life in prison with no possibility for parole for fatally stabbing Marandy Jade Brandon after breaking into her apartment, hiding, then killing her in front of her three young children, according to court testimony.

All of which he did while out on bail after an arrest for beating her up a week earlier.

The violent attack on Brandon and the life sentence after the guilty plea two years later covered by The Herald received regional and national media attention.

But Quishpi testified he pleaded guilty because he thought hed get a 45-year sentence.

The judge hasnt ruled in the new filing.

The Herald was the sole media organization in court Thursday for Quishpis attempt for a new trial.

Why in court again if guilty plea?

After his guilty plea, Quishpi filed a post-conviction relief (PCR) lawsuit against the state of South Carolina. In that lawsuit filed in February 2020, he alleged his guilty plea was involuntary and other claims about sentencing, court documents show.

That claim was heard Thursday in York County Court at the Moss Justice Center in front of visiting Judge Mark Hayes of Spartanburg.

Post-conviction relief claims heard by a judge, not a jury, are common in South Carolina, especially in cases involving long or life sentences. But a judges decision overturning a conviction and granting a new trial  especially when there was a guilty plea  is rare.

Quishpi is an immigrant from Ecuador who came to the United States legally as a child but speaks little English. He had a Spanish-speaking interpreter with him in court Thursday along with a court-appointed lawyer, Mike Lifsey.

Prosecutors from the S.C. Attorney Generals Office who want the claim dismissed represented the state of South Carolina Thursday.

Defense lawyer testifies in former clients case

Before the killing, Quishpi already had had two domestic violence arrests where Brandon, 25, was the victim, testimony showed. One of the arrests was just a week before the killing. He was released on bail with a judges order to stay away from Brandon while the case was pending, according to records and testimony.

You broke into Jades house, hid in her 4-year-old daughters room, then stabbed her to death, S.C. Assistant Attorney General T. Cruise Mitchell said in court Thursday. You were out on bond at the time. You had a no-contact order with the victim...You did plead guilty to this crime?

Quishpi testified through the interpreter those facts were true, with the exception that he believed the dwelling was his.

Chris Wellborn, the lawyer who defended Quishpi from 2017 until the guilty plea in 2019, testified in court he met several times his client where he explained the case and the evidence against him.

Two mental health experts found Quishpi was mentally competent to stand trial even with evidence of mental illness, Wellborn testified. There was no legal justification for an insanity defense, he testified.

Wellborn also testified that murder carries between 30 years and life, that prosecutors could have sought the death penalty and that there was never any 45-year plea offer.

It was Quishpi who made the decision to decline what Wellborn understood to be a previous, 50-year offer to a different lawyer, Wellborn testified.

Quishpi made the decision to plead guilty and try to seek a judges sentence that could be as little as 30 years during the guilty plea hearing in 2019, Wellborn testified.

What happens now?

Judge Hayes didnt rule on the post-conviction relief claim. Hayes told the court at the end of the hearing: I will let you know.

Hayes gave no timetable on when he would rule.

Quishpi left court and was returned to a S.C. Department of Corrections prison in Lee County where he is serving the life sentence.

The original case was prosecuted by Jenny Desch, a senior assistant solicitor in York County. Desch was in court Thursday but was not called to testify.

Desch declined comment after court on the claims made by Quishpi, pending Judge Hayes ruling.

Some members of Brandons family were in court Thursday with a victims advocate. They did not testify, and declined to comment after court.
A judge dismissed mob assault charges Friday against the political director for the South Carolina Republican Party and her mother.

Braylee Estep, 22, of Columbia, and Michele Estep, 53, of Conway, were arrested by Conway Police on Jan. 3 and Jan. 2, respectively, on charges of third-degree assault and battery by a mob . Another woman, Katie Richelle Turvey, 26, of Conway, was arrested Jan. 4 on the same charges related to the incident.

The three woman in December allegedly hit a person multiple times who had been drinking at Stalveys Watering Hole, located at 1609 4th Ave. in Conway, according to a police report. Michele Estep owns the bar.

Turvey also faces charges of petit larceny and malicious injury to personal property after taking a Stanley Cup from the victims vehicle and repeatedly striking the vehicle several times with the cup, leaving dents, the report said.

The dismissal came during a preliminary hearing for the charges against the mother and daughter. Turvey was not present during Fridays preliminary hearing.

The womens attorney, Natasha Hannah, successfully argued that the charge required premeditation, but that there was none based on the officers testimony that Braylee Estep was inside the bar and her mother outside the bar sitting on the curb before the altercation began.

There is no video of the altercation. The officer said that video was requested but was unavailable.

Hannah argued that the witness statements were not reliable, and that it wasnt possible for the women to plan the attack since they were not together before it happened.

Neither Braylee nor Michele Estep were available for comment after the hearing. Their attorney was also unavailable.

Braylee Estep is still listed as the political director for the state GOP party. Since her arrest, officials from the state Republican Party have not returned several messages seeking comment.

What happened that night

Police responded about 11 p.m. Dec. 23 to a report of vandalism, according to a police report. When officers arrived, the victim and a witness told police that while drinking at the bar, Turveys boyfriend began to make them feel uncomfortable by hanging his arms over their shoulders.

Turvey allegedly began to shake her head and call the victim and witness vulgar names. The victim and witness then decided to leave and the bickering continued between the two parties in the parking lot.

Michele Estep allegedly heard the victim say something negative about her daughter, the report said. Braylee Estep then came to the vehicle and began to bang on the window. The victim and witness were inside the vehicle at the time.

Braylee Estep and Turvey came out of the bar after hearing the commotion and also came to the vehicle, the report said. At some point the door of the vehicle was opened by one of the women, the report said.

At that time, all three women began to hit the unnamed victim several times with their hands, causing injury, the report stated. Turvey then allegedly grabbed the Stanley cup from the vehicles cup holder and began to bang it on the vehicle, placing dents into it.

The victims were able to put the vehicle in reverse and leave, and then called police.

The report said all of those involved, except for the witness, were highly intoxicated.
A South Carolina restaurant was recently added to a select group of James Beard award winners.

The Spartanburg restaurant was one of just six restaurants to receive the 2024 Americas Classics Award, the James Beard Foundation announced on Wednesday. A category under Restaurant and Chef Awards, the Americas Classics Award is given to locally-owned restaurants that serve quality food, reflect the character of their communities and have timeless appeal, the foundation states.

The Americas Classics Award is somewhat of a rare honor, with just over 100 restaurants across the U.S. having received it since the category was introduced in 1998. The six new recipients will be honored at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on June 10.

Americas Classics Award is among several James Beard Foundation awards presented each year to recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system.

Below is the South Carolina winner of the Americas Classics Award.

Wades Restaurant

Wades Restaurant in Spartanburg was the Southeast representative to win the award. Located at 1000 N. Pine St., the family-run restaurant and its more than 130 employees serve country food to many hungry customers six days a week.

Wades Restaurant was founded in 1947 by Wade and Betty Lindsey after they purchased a small grocery store on South Pine Street in Spartanburg. Betty Lindsey began serving her familys recipes of Southern-style meats and vegetables from a lunch counter in the back, the restaurants website states. Word about the tasty food soon spread.

Its been 75 years and the Lindsey family has continued to make traditional Southern dishes for the community.

Today, 2,500 guests visit Wades daily; 3,500 made-from-scratch yeast rolls are served; along with 750 turkey plates and more than 1,500 orders of mac and cheese, the foundation states. Everything is made fresh from whole foods and served at a fair price. Its a place where tea is steeped the old-fashioned way, and chicken is breaded by hand.
TUNIS, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Export Development will intervene if prices of certain products rise during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported on Thursday.

Measures such as setting profit margins or maximum prices will be implemented, the TAP quoted Ramzi Trabelsi, director of the National Supply and Price Observatory, as saying.

Trabelsi said in a video interview with the TAP that the ministry would monitor price fluctuations on a daily basis.

He noted that recent studies conducted by the observatory had shown no significant price increases, except for certain products affected by off-season factors.

The month of Ramadan in Tunisia is expected to begin on March 11 this year. 
A Scandinavian Airlines medevac plane arrives at Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is being treated for an infection, in Malaysia, Friday, March 1, 2024. King Harald V, Europe's oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced Tuesday. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)

LANGKAWI, Malaysia (AP)  A Scandinavian Airlines medical evacuation plane arrived on Friday in Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi, where the Norwegian king is in hospital and being treated for an infection.

King Harald V, Europe's oldest monarch at 87, was hospitalized after he fell ill during a vacation, the royal palace in Oslo announced on Tuesday. There were no details of his illness. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has said his father's condition was improving and that he needed rest before being brought back.

Norwegian TV2 said that a Scandinavian aircraft with the tail number LN-RPJ took off from Oslo Airport on Thursday, The Boeing 737-700 airline, which has previously been used as a flying ambulance, landed in Langkawi on Friday.

The royal house said Friday in a brief statement that the monarch's condition was improving but he would remain in hospital for a few more days for treatment and rest before returning home.

Norway's Armed Forces said Friday that they do not share information about ongoing operational missions, the armed forces said in a separate statement. It is particularly important for us to maintain this practice, for the safety and health of His Majesty the King.

Norwegian TV2 said the same aircraft was used last summer for the medical evacuation of patients from Ukraine.

Malaysian national news agency Bernama has reported that Harald was undergoing treatment at the Sultanah Maliha Hospital in Langkawi. It cited unnamed sources as saying he was staying in the hospitals Royal Suite. The hospital declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

It is clear that his age means that it is good to treat this properly. They are very good at the hospital, Crown Prince Haakon said Wednesday. We dont know when he will come home. We will have to decide on that later. The palace said that no decision has been made regarding his return home.

Earlier, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said that we get worried when our king gets ill and is admitted to hospital, whether in Norway or abroad.

We should do what we can to contribute to getting the king home as quickly as possible and as healthy as possible, he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Two days before his birthday last week, Norwegian news agency NTB said that the king was undertaking a private trip abroad together with his wife Queen Sonja, without specifying the destination or dates.

Media in Norway said Harald traveled to Malaysia to celebrate his 87th birthday.

In the past, the Norwegian king has traveled privately in connection with his birthdays. When he turned 80, he and his family traveled to South Africa and they were on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to mark his 85th birthday, media in Norway reported.

The monarch, who has been seen using crutches in recent years, has been repeatedly ill in recent months, raising concern about the head of states health. In January, the palace said he was on sick leave until Feb. 2 because of a respiratory infection.

In December, he was admitted to a hospital with an infection and was treated with intravenous antibiotics. He also was hospitalized last August with a fever.

___

Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
A claim by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that French and British personnel are present in Ukraine to help guide long-range missiles has sparked criticism from the UK.

Source: Politico, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Earlier this week, Scholz reiterated his excuse for opposing the provision of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, citing among the reasons that their guidance could imply the presence of German forces on Ukrainian territory.

"This is a very far-reaching weapon. And what the British and French are doing in terms of target control and support for target control cannot be done in Germany," the chancellor added.

The German chancellor's remarks, which some commentators interpreted as an acknowledgement of the presence of British and French troops in Ukraine, have been denied by the UK Ministry of Defence, who stressed that the operation of long-range missiles is the sole responsibility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Alicia Kearns, Chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke out more sharply, calling Scholz's words "wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies".

"We gave Storm Shadow, we all have to give what we can. Scholz should give Taurus and stop holding back the security of Europe," Kearns stressed.

Paris took the German chancellor's comments more calmly but did not refrain from criticising him either. Benjamin Haddad, a member of President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party, said Scholz's remarks had created a "diplomatic crisis" between Berlin and London.

Background:

Finnish defence officials noted that they impose no restrictions on Finnish military assistance and that Ukraine can use the weapons it receives in Russia as well.

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Olaf Scholz has previously cited concerns about Germany being perceived as a party to the war in Ukraine - Michaela Stache/Reuters

Olaf Scholz said he doesnt want to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine as he fears they will be used to strike targets in Moscow and potentially drag Germany into the war.

The German chancellor has repeatedly ruled out sending the powerful Taurus missile system to Ukraine as he fears it could be regarded as a step too far by Vladimir Putin.

On Thursday he told voters he feared Ukraine could use them to hit Moscow, amid reports this week that the missiles  which are more advanced than British Storm Shadows  could target the Kremlin.

Speaking to voters on Thursday night in Dresden, Mr Scholz said: [The Taurus], which has a range of 500km and if used incorrectly could reach a specific target somewhere in Moscow, is a weapon where the question must be asked, what would be done with it, and this cannot be decided simply with encouraging statements.

Therefore it is the case, and I put this in diplomatic abstractions, others have made sure they know exactly where everything ends up, he added.

Olaf Scholz (centre) at the ground-breaking ceremony of a new Rheinmetall ammunition plant in Unterluess in Germany - FRIEDEMANN VOGEL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Mr Scholz has previously cited concerns about Germany being perceived as a Kriegspartei, or party to the war, but his remarks on Thursday suggested he is also concerned about Ukrainian forces potentially trying to attack Putin in the Kremlin, which is based in Moscow.

The German chancellor is under intense pressure to agree to send the Taurus system to Ukraine as Britain and France have already provided similar missile systems, the Storm Shadow and the Scalp.

In the past, Mr Scholz has stated that Taurus missiles would require boots on the ground in Ukraine, a step that he has ruled out because of concerns about subsequent escalation by Putin.

Earlier this week he drew the ire of UK security sources after he appeared to confirm that Britain had already deployed forces to Ukraine to assist in the use of Storm Shadows.

Those comments were seen by German opposition figures and Tobias Ellwood, the former chairman of the Commons defence committee, as putting British military and diplomatic staff in Ukraine at risk.

This is a flagrant abuse of intelligence deliberately designed to distract from Germanys reluctance to arm Ukraine with its own long-range missile system. This will no doubt be used by Russia to racket up the escalator ladder, Mr Ellwood said earlier this week.

Norbert Roettgen, a senior member of the opposition CDU party, said: The chancellors statement regarding France and Britains alleged involvement in operating long-range cruise missiles used in Ukraine is completely irresponsible.

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A leading research scientist at Canadas highest-security laboratory provided confidential scientific information to Chinese institutions, met secretly with officials and posed a realistic and credible threat to Canadas economic security according to newly released intelligence reports.

The dismissal of Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, has been shrouded in mystery ever since the couple were escorted from Winnipegs National Microbiology Laboratory in 2019 and formally fired two years later.

Intelligence assessments released late on Wednesday afternoon alleged that Qius close and clandestine relationships with Chinese institutions which showed a reckless judgment could have harmed Canadas national security. The assessments were among more than 600 documents released after a long fight with opposition legislators who had demanded information behind the sackings.

CSIS, Canadas intelligence agency, concluded that in security-screening interviews, Qiu repeatedly lied about about her relationship with research institutions linked to the Chinese government. Even when confronted with contradictory evidence, Ms Qiu continued to make blanket denials, feign ignorance or tell outright lies.

In one instance, Qiu told investigators a 2018 trip to China was a personal vacation. But she eventually admitted the trip was paid for by Wuhan Institute for Virology and that she met the a senior member of the organization during the trip. Investigators also found evidence of application from Qiu agreeing to work for the Wuhan Virology Institute for at least two months each year, with the aim of augmenting Chinas biosecurity platform for new and potent infectious disease research, according to the CSIS report.

Qiu admitted she sent an Ebola sample to Chinas national institute for food and drug control, which was attempting to develop an inhibitor to the virus. But she did so without a material transfer agreement or collaboration agreement.

Qiu also allowed two employees of a Chinese institution, whose work is not aligned with Canadian interests access to the lab.

Both Qiu and Cheng filed grievances for their dismissal but have not commented on the allegations in the documents. Their current whereabouts are unknown.

In a letter to Cheng, the public health agency said there were serious concerns over his close personal and professional relationship with Xiangguo Qiu and his awareness and lack of candour regarding your own activities and those of Xiangguo Qiu with individuals and entities of a foreign government.

Qiu was told by the health agency that during the entire [investigative] process, you did not express remorse or regret and at times tried to deflect blame onto the public health agency.

You cannot be relied upon not to abuse the trust accorded to you and to perform your assigned duties in a manner that will reflect positively on PHAC and not pose a security risk to the government of Canada and PHAC, the agency said.

Canadas Liberal government has fought the release of the documents for years. The government initially released heavily redacted documents, which left opposition parties frustrated with what they felt was a lack of candour by Justin Trudeaus government. A recent unified motion by opposition parties finally compelled the release of the investigation.

The Health minister, Mark Holland, acknowledged a lax adherence to the securities and protocols at the lab, which is overseen by the public health agency of Canada.

But Holland said at no time were there breaches of national secrets or information from the lab.

The Conservative party, which is currently polling far ahead of the Liberals, accused the Trudeaus government of permitting the Chinese government to infiltrate Canadas highest-security lab.

This is a massive national security failure by Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government, which he fought tooth and nail to cover up, said the Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre.
A rugby fan returning from watching the national team in Italy was Scotland's first confirmed case of Covid four years ago.

Within weeks the country was in lockdown and the NHS was facing its toughest ever test.

In August 2021 - while still in the teeth of the pandemic - the then Health Secretary Humza Yousaf launched a 1bn Covid recovery plan to "drive the recovery of our NHS, not just to its pre-pandemic level but beyond".

At the half-way point of this five-year plan some key targets, such as dealing with growing waiting lists, are behind schedule and progress on other pledges is unclear.

The road to recovery

It is hard to underestimate just how disruptive the pandemic was for the NHS.

Dental services suspended, cancer screenings paused, and the widespread cancellation of scheduled operations were just some of the measures deployed at a time when it was feared the health service could be overwhelmed.

The subsequent backlog of care that built up continues to weigh heavily on the shoulders of Scotland's NHS.

Just before the Omicron wave of Covid took hold in 2021, the Scottish government unveiled a five-year recovery plan for the NHS as part of an SNP Holyrood election pledge.

Audit Scotland has since kept a close eye on the progress of a plan where, according to the watchdog, health boards had no involvement in setting the targets despite being charged with delivering them.

In its latest review of the NHS, the watchdog said that "updates against a range of the ambitions are absent" from the government's 2023 recovery plan update while others had no mention of the progress made, or it was unclear if things had improved.

NHS staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow taking part in the clap for carers and key workers event during the tenth week of the Covid lockdown in May, 2020

One area where it is clear the recovery plan is behind schedule is the flagship promise to build 10 National Treatment Centres (NTCs) to provide an additional 40,000 procedures per year by 2025/26.

The backlog blockage

The NTCs are dedicated facilities for the likes of knee, hip and eye operations. They are separate from regular hospitals and the plan to build a network of them has been described by Mr Yousaf as the "single biggest increase in planned care capacity ever created in the NHS".

NTCs are operational in Clydebank, Kirkcaldy and Inverness, with a delayed centre in Larbert meant to fully open later this year.

Data released to BBC Scotland suggests these NTCs are performing well, with Inverness carrying out more procedures than planned last year.

But these centres are not enough to hit the 40,000 procedures target and deal with growing waiting lists where nearly a third of waits for inpatient and day case treatment are for orthopaedic procedures.

The biggest planned NTC is in Livingston but this is still without a confirmed start date or price tag, while internal NHS Lanarkshire documents last year suggested the proposed NTC in Cumbernauld will not treat its first patient until 2028.

The then First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, visited a mock theatre set up with robotic surgery devices at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank for the launch of the NHS recovery plan in 2021

Audit Scotland has said it will be 2027 at least before the remaining NTCs are open with progress slowed by the pausing of all new NHS building projects due to budget constraints and rising costs.

The estimated cost of building five of the six delayed centres across Scotland is now at 730m, with the price of the NTC in Perth alone jumping from 35m to 138m.

The NTCs face more than funding problems too.

A total of 1,500 new clinical and non-clinical staff will be needed for the full network but the latest available figures show just 126 of the 370 people hired so far were new entrants to the NHS.

Progress on the recovery plan

There are a number of other pledges from the 2021 recovery plan where it is not clear if they will be met in the five-year timescale:

* Increase diagnostic procedures by 78,000 in 2022/23

Public Health Scotland does not publish figures on diagnostic activity, only the number of people waiting for one of eight key tests such as MRI scans. As of December 2023 a total of 144,234 were on this waiting list.

This is down 5% on the previous quarter but up from 88,301 at the end of February, 2020.

* Deliver 800 additional GPs by 2028

Scottish ministers say they are making progress on this with the GP headcount up by 291 since 2017. But this tally includes trainee GPs which Audit Scotland has said is misleading.

Medical trade unions argue that, once you remove the trainees, the headcount is actually dropping using a different measure.

* Giving every GP practice access to a link worker

There is no mention of this in the 2023 plan update and the Scottish government said work on this pledge has not started as "a result of the difficult decisions which had to be taken through the emergency budget review".

Where the recovery plan is working

Despite Audit Scotland concerns about Scottish ministers' transparency on its recovery plan, it is possible to see where there has been some progress made:

* Increase capacity for outpatient appointments by 10% compared to pre-pandemic activity

The Scottish government said a total of 100,000 appointment slots were created as a result of a project to increase efficiencies in hospital referrals - ahead of the target of 50,000 for 2022/23.

* Hiring 800 mental health workers and 500 advanced nurse practitioners

Both achieved by 2022.

* Create 30 radiographer and 30 cardiac physiology training places

Both achieved by January this year.

What next for the recovery plan?

Scotland's NHS appears to be at a crossroads with Audit Scotland warning it is unable to meet the growing demand for health services.

The watchdog has used its past two annual reviews of the NHS to spell out serious concerns about the Covid recovery plan but the Scottish government has insisted progress is being made.

A spokeswoman added: "Through maximising capacity and redesigning services we are committed to delivering year on year reductions in NHS waits, with NTCs providing significant additional capacity for orthopaedics, ophthalmic and diagnostic activity."

The amount of cash earmarked for the NHS recovery plan is not unsubstantial and now edges north of 1.2bn.

But the big challenge, as best exemplified by the NTC-building saga, is that this pot of money has to stretch so much further now as costs and demand continue to soar in the post-pandemic NHS.
Police searching for a woman who had been missing since 2017 found her in Michigan this week after they heard screaming and crying coming from a motel room, authorities said Thursday.

Michigan State Police announced that detectives received a tip Tuesday from a caller staying theyd been contacted by their missing stepdaughter saying she was being held against her will in a motel. The woman, who was reportedly in her 20s when she vanished almost seven years ago and is now in her 30s, has not been named by authorities.

She Messaged Mom She Was a Hostage. Then She Was Found Shot Dead.

After receiving the tip, detectives traced the missing woman to the Evergreen Motel in Inkster, MSP said. Once in the area, law enforcement heard a distressing sound. They described it as like a crying, kind of screaming type of noise that lured them to that specific area, Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw told WXYZ.

Authorities entered the room and found the woman physically unharmed, but Shaw said she was pretty distraught. The woman was reportedly alone in the room, where a gun and drugs were also allegedly discovered.

She was transported to Beaumont Dearborn for a medical evaluation and interview by detectives, MSP said. She was reunited with family and was given other resources to help her recover. Authorities added that a suspect has been identified in the case but no arrests have been made.

Shaw told CBS News Detroit that investigators are now working to establish how the woman disappeared. It may take us nowhere, he said. It may not be something that we can charge criminally, but at least we got her out of the situation.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A popular branch of the Lexington Public Library will reopen in early March at its former location.

The former Village Branch Library, which has been on Alexandria Drive for months during the tear down and reconstruction, will now re-open as the Marksbury Family Branch library on Versailles Road.

The new two-story library will be nearly three times the size of the original library on Versailles Road with 30,000 square feet. When opened, it will be the second largest library besides the original Main Street library, also called the Central Public Library.

The Marksbury Branch Library is also the first major renovation of a Fayette County Public Library since 2016, when the Eastside branch moved from its former digs to its new location at New Circle Road and Palumbo Drive.

To celebrate the grand opening on March 9, the Lexington Public Library will hold a series of events:

12-12:30 p.m.: Jose Rivera, Mariachi (Outdoor Amphitheater)

12:30 p.m.: Opening remarks, explore the new branch

1:30 p.m.: Lexington Childrens Theater (Tempur Sealy Childrens Discovery Zone)

2 p.m.: Cardinal Valley Choir (Community Room)





2:45 p.m.: Casa de la Cultura Kentucky (Community Room)





3 p.m.: Lexington Childrens Theater (Tempur Sealy Childrens Discovery Zone)





3:30 p.m.: Irene Aguilar, Musician (Community Room)





4:15 p.m.: Lafayette FIERO Strings (Community Room)





The Marksbury Branch of the Versailles Road public library was funded through a combination of public and private donors including the Marksbury Foundation, $1 million from coronavirus relief funding via the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, and other donors.

The new building will include community and study rooms, a dedicated classroom, makerspace, outdoor reading area, expanded adult and childrens areas, and a drive-thru window where customers can pick up and return borrowed materials. The library estimates that it will serve approximately 1 million visitors per year at the new location.

Through private and public donors, approximately $8.3 million has been raised toward the $17 million construction and overhaul of the former Village Branch library.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Las Vegas police arrested a second teenager suspected in a January northwest valley homicide.

On Jan. 2, at around 9:40 p.m., officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department were called to the 2200 block of North Torrey Pines Drive near Sahara Avenue.

Police said a man was shot and killed inside an apartment. A second shooting victim took himself to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Several people were inside the apartment at the time of the shooting, police said.

On Thursday, Feb 28, police arrested a second suspect. David Valle, 18, faces charges of open murder with a deadly weapon, robbery with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy to commit robbery.

He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 4.

David Valle, 18, faces charges of open murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. (LVMPD)

Earlier in the week on Tuesday, Feb. 27, police arrested Presyus Dennis, 18, on charges of open murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Officers arrested Prseyus Dennis, 18, on Tuesday on charges of open murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, records said. (LVMPD/KLAS)

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
WEBB, Ala. (WDHN) Millions of voters are expected to cast ballots for federal, state and local offices this coming Tuesday in 16 states.

For Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, this will be the first major election he oversees.

Ahead of election day, we discussed everything from how his office is preparing for the election, the importance of voting, and election security.

Allen says he wants to make sure the election is safe, secure and transparent.

I want to make sure we get it right. I wanna make sure that the people of this state have the utmost confidence in our election systems and our election process and the way we do things, he said.

Allen says his office collaborates with officials across the state, including poll workers, whom he thanks for the hard work and long hours they give

His comments come on the heels of the 2022 midterm elections, when Alabama experienced its lowest turnout since the 1980s.

This cycle, Allen encourages voters to pay attention not only to the national races, but also the local ones.

County commission races, those probate judge races, those mayor and city council races, those are really, really important because those folks, those leaders have a lot of input, obviously, in the direction of your communities, he said.

Allen also addresses a bill in the state legislature that would outlaw knowingly handling and accepting payment for somebody elses absentee ballot application or pre-filing somebody elses application. There are exceptions for military members and disabled people.

One change this election is how Alabama verifies its voter rolls. Upon entering office, Alabama left the Electronic Registration Information Center under Allens direction. Allen opted for the state-created Alabama Voter Integrity Database.

I just didnt think it was whats best for Alabama, he said.

Allen also discusses a social media post his office made linking illegal immigration at the Southern Border to less safe elections.

Numerous audits and election watchdog groups have not found significant voting fraud by non-citizens. There are between one dozen and two dozen municipalities that allow undocumented people to vote in a limited number of local elections. But, only citizens can vote in federal elections.

We got to make sure that we only have American citizens voting in our elections, and I believe the systems that we have here in Alabama make sure that happens, he said.

But, Allens goal is to keep the election safe, secure and transparent, and he hopes all eligible voters exercise their rights.

Your vote is your voice, and thats how you have a voice in your community, he says.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN - wdhn.com.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems 'relatively unfazed by his country's recent growth struggles', an analyst told AFP (GREG BAKER)

China's top officials hold an annual gathering next week, offering a rare window into the ruling Communist Party's thinking as it tightens its grip in the face of dire economic headwinds.

From a protracted property crisis to waning domestic spending, China's lawmakers face a litany of challenges as they hold their "Two Sessions".

The meetings are not expected to see the unveiling of big-ticket bailouts that experts say are needed to get the economy back on track.

Instead, they will continue a path of "elevating national security measures on all fronts", Ho-fung Hung, a professor of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP.

"It will not help the economy but could help the party-state weather the storm of the economic crisis," he said.

Smaller-scale investments in science and technology, as well as steps to lift China's debt-battered property market, could be on the agenda.

However, Neil Thomas, an analyst on Chinese politics at the Asia Society, said President Xi Jinping "seems relatively unfazed by his country's recent growth struggles".

"I do not expect major shifts on core economic issues," he told AFP.

Meticulously choreographed and staged over more than a week, the most important of the "Two Sessions" is the National People's Congress (NPC), China's legislature, beginning Tuesday in Beijing's Great Hall of the People.

The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the first of the sessions, begins on Monday but is generally overshadowed by the NPC.

Thousands of delegates from across the country convene for the sessions to approve bills, budgets and personnel moves every year.

First on the agenda will be Premier Li Qiang's announcement of China's GDP growth goal for 2024 -- broadly expected to remain around five percent.

"The GDP target will likely err on the side of caution without conceding how large the pressures on the economy are," Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, told AFP.

Beijing has for years been reluctant to confront those pressures head-on with a major bailout, fearful of putting too much pressure on fragile state coffers.

Analysts don't see any reason to think that will change soon.

"Investors and consumers are looking for measures that can restore their confidence," Choyleva said.

"But the government's focus on preventing increased economic risk and improving security will not allow for the kind of measures that will immediately increase positivity," she said.

- Limited powers -

The NPC serves as a "crucial networking event, where thousands of powerful individuals from around China meet and discuss politics", according to analyst Nis Grunberg.

On paper, it wields little actual power.

All major decisions will have been made weeks before in closed-door meetings of the Communist Party, far from the international media's cameras.

"It has never rejected any bill, budget, report, or nomination put before it," Changhao Wei, a Fellow at the Paul Tsai China Center of Yale Law School and founder of the NPC Observer website, said of the congress.

However, the topics that are up for discussion and the tone of the speeches allow for key insights into what's keeping China's rulers up at night.

High among those worries are national defence and security. An increase in China's military budget, which is second only to the United States, is also expected on Tuesday.

Beijing revised a law dramatically expanding its definition of espionage last year and conducted raids on a string of big-name consulting, research and due diligence firms.

The legislature's top body approved a broad and vaguely worded revision to China's state secrets law in the run-up to the NPC that was "a clear signal of security's importance for this year's governance agenda", Choyleva of Enodo Economics said.

Given the choice between deep reforms to restart economic growth and efforts to strengthen the state's power, analysts say China's policymakers have little room for manoeuvre.

"Beijing will not budge on its control and security-first approach," analyst Grunberg said.

"Everyone should ask themselves: when did Xi last compromise on control in favour of economic growth, let alone liberal reform?"

bur-oho/je/pbt/ser
MOGADISHU, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A former deputy prime minister and current member of the federal parliament of Somalia, Fawzia Yusuf Adam, has announced her candidacy for the position of the African Union Commission (AUC) leadership.

"I am announcing here that I am a candidate who will run for the African Union Commission leadership whose election will be held on Feb. 25, 2025," Adam told a news conference Thursday in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

"It is important for Somalia to reach that position," she said.

Adam noted that Somalia, a founding member of the African Union (AU), made a failed attempt at the position in the 1970s.

"Central Africa, Southern Africa, and Western Africa were holding the position of AU Commission chairmanship, but Somalia did not," she said. "This position is a rotating one based on five regions as agreed by the African Union, and now it is the turn for East Africa."

"There are two only candidates from the region, Somalia and Kenya, which have declared their intention so far," Adam said.

She said Somalia's chance among the other 14 countries in the East Africa region is high if Somalis do their best.

"Most of these countries support Somalia. If we achieve this seat, both Africa and Somalia will achieve more success," Adam said.

Her announcement came one month and a half after the government nominated her as the country's candidate for the top AU position.

In 2012, Adam became the first woman to be appointed foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Somalia. 
On April 8, 2024, a solar eclipse will cross North America, and curious Kansas Citians can experience it.

The path of totality will pass through states including Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois. Metro residents might remember Aug. 21, 2017, when a total solar eclipse passed over Kansas and Missouri.

The next time this will happen is 20 years from now in 2044.

Heres how you can experience this rare astronomical phenomenon, according to NASA.

What is a solar eclipse?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the suns light on Earth.

When the moon obscures some of the sun, that is called a partial solar eclipse. On April 8, all of the contiguous United States will experience at least a partial eclipse.

The moon blocks out the whole of the sun in whats called the path of totality. People experiencing totality might see the outer atmosphere of the sun, or the corona. Compared to the 2017 eclipse, this one will have a wider path, longer totality  up to 4.5 minutes  and cross over more populated areas of the United States.

The last solar eclipse that crossed the Americas was in October. That one was annular, which means the moon is not large enough in the sky to entirely block out the sun causing an effect referred to as a ring of fire..

What will be visible from Kansas City?

April 8s total solar eclipse will completely block the suns light and create a 115-mile-wide path of totality across much of the U.S. Those outside the path will see a partial solar eclipse.

Kansas City will experience a partial solar eclipse on April 8. In the metro area, the sun will be about 90% covered by the moon at the peak at almost 2 p.m.

Where can I see totality?

Unlike 2017, the Kansas City area will not completely darken in the solar eclipse. However, if youre up for a road trip, you can visit these urban areas less than a six-hour drive from downtown Kansas City that will be in the path of totality.

Cape Girardeau, Missouri (5 hour drive)

Carbondale, Illinois (5 hour, 30 minute drive)

Conway, Arkansas (5 hour, 50 minute drive)

What is a partial solar eclipse like?

People in Kansas City can observe the moon blocking the sun during a partial eclipse. You can use eclipse glasses and indirect viewing devices like pinhole cameras to safely see the covered sun.

During a partial solar eclipse, the sky darkens and temperatures cool. Birds, insects and other animals might act like its night time.

Where can I get eclipse glasses?

While you may be tempted to look at the eclipse with your bare eyes: dont. That causes eye damage. Even observing through dark sunglasses, a camera or a standard telescope is dangerous.

If you want to see the eclipse from home, make a simple pinhole camera out of paper or buy eclipse glasses. Check the fine print on your glasses to make sure they comply with the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard.

What if theres bad weather?

Right before the total eclipse in 2017, clouds moved in and the crowd groaned. But soon they were delighted to see the eclipse effects after all.

While the moon will go in front of the sun no matter what, pesky clouds could block the view for Kansas Citians. The American Astronomical Society recommended taking off your eclipse glasses during a cloudy eclipse and focusing on the darker landscape. Again, dont look directly at the sun even when clouds are present.

Do you have more questions about nature in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
Every morning, David Owen walked into his job as a public works employee in Florida and started his day with a cup of coffee, honey roasted peanuts, a Little Debbie snack cake and a Code Red Mountain Dew.

He turned the computers on for his co-workers and prepped their vehicles and keys to ease their morning.

This is how his colleagues will remember him.

On Feb. 26, Owen was killed in a tree-trimming accident on the job in Ensley, Escambia County officials said.

The 59-year-old veteran employee was in the bucket of a crane cutting trees when a loose branch swung into the boom arm holding him up, according to a Feb. 26 news release from the Escambia County Sheriffs Office.

The force knocked Owen from the bucket and he fell to his death, the sheriffs office said. He was not wearing a harness or helmet at the time, deputies said.

David Owen is the type of guy youre never going to replace, his supervisor, Randy Brasch, said in a Feb. 29 news release from the county. Theres not another David Owen out there. They dont make them like him anymore.

Like brothers

Owen joined the staff of Escambia County Public Works in April 1999, and served as an equipment operator for nearly 25 years, the county said.

Owen, along with equipment operator Floyd Heist, spent their days cutting and trimming trees, completing work orders for the county and logging potential hazards in a mental Rolodex, the county said.

David and I were together 99% of the time, Heist told county officials. We were like brothers.

Heist and Brasch described Owen as selfless and said he was known for being willing to help anybody and everybody.

He would take his shirt right off his back and give it to anybody, Heist said.

If David had $10 in his pocket and you needed $10, he would give it to you, Brasch added. He had a big heart. David would do without to help others.

His colleagues also said he was a dedicated employee who loved his job. Heist told county officials even when Owen wasnt working, he would drive down the road and take note of potentially hazardous trees and branches for them to cut down later. Owen also hated rainy days because they slowed down his work, Heist said, and he got bored easily.

He was a worker that wanted to work 24/7, because cutting trees was what he enjoyed doing, Heist said.

The county was his life

Outside of his work for the county, Owen like to work on old trucks and would go to the junkyard on his days off to look for parts for his projects, the county said.

David also loved spending time with his grandchildren and family, especially his mother, who he visited daily, the county said.

Brasch said almost anyone around would be able to recognize Owen and his black GMC truck.

He loved cutting trees, and I loved being his supervisor, Brasch said. This was his life out here  the county was his life.

The county said Owen would be remembered as a hardworking, selfless person who was committed to his job and loved his family dearly.

A visitation will be held for Owen on March 7, the county announced.

Ensley is about 195 miles west of Tallahassee, in the Florida panhandle.

Man guns down landscaper for blowing leaves toward his truck, Texas police say

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell leaves a Republican luncheon on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, at the Capitol after announcing that he will step down as Senate Republican leader in November. The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker is the longest-serving Senate leader in history. He's maintained his power in the face of dramatic changes in the Republican Party.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee joined nine of his colleagues on a letter to the Senate Republican Conference chairman requesting a meeting on March 18 to discuss next steps in replacing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

McConnell, R-Ky., the longest-serving Senate party leader in American history, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

The group of 10 senators led by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., addressed the letter to GOP conference chairman John Barrasso and requested that he call a meeting of the conference to develop a mission statement and goals for the conference, and a process to elect a new Senate Republican leader.

Lee took to X to say, The next Senate GOP leader must emphatically denounce The UnipartyTM and permanently disband The FirmTM. In the past, Lee has used the term The Firm to describe Senate and House leadership on both sides of the aisle.

In addition to Lee, other signatories on the letter include Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.

Theres no doubt its time to turn the page. I mean, weve got to turn the page here as a party. Weve got to get back to supporting working people over corporate interests. Weve got to get rid of the corporate money that has gushed into our politics, Hawley told The Washington Post. Hawley, Braun and Johnson were among the letters signatories who also voted against McConnells reelection as Senate GOP leader in 2022.

On Thursday, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told his fellow senators that he will make a bid for McConnells seat. From experience, I have learned what works in the Senate and what does not. And I am confident Senate Republicans can restore our institution to the essential role it serves in our constitutional republic, Cornyn said.

Cornyn was the first to make a formal announcement about his intention in what some are saying will shape up to be the election of one of the Three Johns.

Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Barrasso, R-Wyo., have not formally announced their bids. The Hill is reporting that Republicans are also looking to them to run. Both Thune and Barrasso declined to say whether or not they have decided to run.

Im going to talk to members of the conference, hear what they have to say, listen to them in terms of what direction that they want to take with the conference, Barrasso said to The Hill.








Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) slammed former President Trumps Thursday speech at the southern border as disgusting and racist.

Murphy, a member of President Bidens campaign advisory board, ripped Trumps remarks given during an Eagle Pass, Texas, visit, calling them xenophobic, and went after the former president for his role in tanking bipartisan legislation that included border provisions last month.

I just think its disgusting, Murphy said during an appearance on CNN News Central on Friday, when anchor John Berman asked him about Trumps speech. I think its racist and xenophobic.

Trump visited the southern border Thursday, touring the area with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R). During his speech, he said, This is a Joe Biden invasion. This is a Biden invasion, when talking about the U.S.-Mexico border.

The former president also disparaged migrants who speak different languages.

Theyre truly foreign languages, Trump said. Nobody speaks them. And theyre pouring into our country and theyre bringing with them tremendous problems.

Murphy pushed back on Trumps assertions, saying the former president is not familiar with what an invasion is.

Donald Trump doesnt know what an invasion looks like, Murphy said Friday morning. Go to Ukraine, see what happens when a neighboring country actually invades you and kills hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands of your citizens.

The Connecticut senator then said Trump enjoys the situation at the border because he benefits politically from the chaotic situation, and that he helped tank the legislation Murphy, along with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), invested months to negotiate and release, which swiftly failed.

The fact of the matter is: Donald Trump wants the southern border to remain chaotic, Murphy said. We had a chance to pass that bipartisan, tough border security bill that would have allowed the president to close sections of the border when crossings get too high. You know who stopped that bill from becoming law? Donald Trump, because he does not want the border under control. He wants it chaotic, because he thinks it helps him politically.

Trump took credit for tanking the bill earlier this month during his speech at the National Rifle Association in Harrisburg, Pa.

I think we killed it. I think its dead! But you can never say it, because bad bills always come back to life, because these guys make a lot of money with bad bills, Trump said during that speech. But they give millions, tens of millions of dollars thats down there to lawyers to represent the illegal immigrants that come into our country. Its not even believable.

Even if the legislation cleared the Senate, it would have a tough time passing through the GOP-led House; Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the bill was dead on arrival at the lower chamber.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) sent a letter to President Biden and his Cabinet demanding wireless carriers cybersecurity standards be regulated as to not further exploit lax security in the United Statess phone networks.

I write to request that you address the grave threats posed by wireless carriers lax cybersecurity practices, which are not regulated, but should be, Wyden wrote in the letter. Surveillance companies and their authoritarian foreign government customers have exploited lax security in the U.S. and foreign phone networks for at least a decade to track phones anywhere in the world.

Wyden argued that authoritarian governments have abused tools to track Americans in the United States, and reporters and dissidents who are abroad, which has threatened the countrys national security, freedom of the press and international human rights.

The senator stated in his letter that surveillance technology companies sell access to phone hacking services, and foreign government customers can enter any phone number and track it, no matter where it is in the world.

In contrast to spyware-based surveillance, these services do not interact with the targets phone. Instead, they trick wireless carriers servers into revealing the information, he wrote.

Google and Apple, the most popular operating systems, cant track the services, and the tracking depends entirely on the security of a persons wireless carrier, he said.

The phone hacking companies exploit flaws in two obscure technologies, known as Diameter and Signaling System No. 7 (SS7), he said. The two technologies are used by global wireless carriers for text messaging.

Wyden highlighted that several federal agencies have noted the serious threat SS7 surveillance poses, and the importance of securing Americas communications networkers. No official or agency has taken responsibility for the problem, and very little has been done to address it, he claimed.

Wyden accused the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of actively hiding information from the American people about the threat.

The senator said his staff was permitted to read an independently conducted report for the agency last fall, but it refuses to release the unclassified information which includes details that are relevant to policymakers and Americans who care about the security of their phones.

John Marinho, vice president of CTIA, a trade association representing the wireless communications industry, said he is proud of the collaboration with the U.S. government to enhance security and make the countrys wireless networks the most secure in the world.

We appreciate that the Senator shares our goals of ensuring Americas wireless networks are secure and protecting consumers privacy, he said in a statement to The Hill, adding that theyve worked with federal agencies hand-in-hand for years.

Marinho said the organization is committed to working to keep the networks secure and that there is no need for new and inflexible regulations or requirements to protect consumers.

Wyden asked the Biden administration to work on the threat and provide Congress with updates twice a year until its meaningfully addressed, among several other requests for the government to ensure security for Americans wireless communication.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MONROE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  Members of a suspected street gang accused of numerous violent crimes in Union County were arrested this week.

Over the past several months, law enforcement personnel from the Union County Sheriffs Office and the Monroe Police Department partnered to investigate the gang. These investigations began in late October when law enforcement were called to investigate four separate shooting incidents that occurred in a two-week period, specifically Monroe and Wingate.

Pageland man first arrest after Wingate teen shot multiple times: Sheriff

Deputies say that during each of the four shootings, a group of suspects, consisting primarily of juveniles, would reportedly steal a car from a local home and use it to conduct a drive-by shooting. In total, the suspects involved stole four cars then shot multiple rounds into five local homes and one vehicle during separate incidents.

No one was injured during the shootings, although all the homes were occupied at the time the shootings occurred.

The police department and sheriffs office identified seven suspects who have been charged in connection with the shootings and associated crimes. Five of the suspects were identified as juveniles ranging from 15-17 years old.

Four of the juvenile offenders are in custody at a local detention center. A fifth juvenile , who is not in custody, also faces numerous criminal charges.

Garbage truck damages Monroe bridge; NCDOT crews on scene

The two remaining suspects, 22-year-old Jhony Vergara-Torres and 18-year-old Tahaj Moser, were both arrested and are being held the Union County Detention Center.

All suspects are charged with:

Attempted Murder,

Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling,

Motor Vehicle Theft, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon,

Evidence Tampering, and

Breaking and Entering a Motor Vehicle.

Additional charges are likely during this ongoing investigation, and investigators ask that anyone with information pertaining to these cases call 911, the Union County Sheriffs Office at 704-283-5600, the Monroe Police Department at 704-282-4700, or Union County Crime Stoppers at 704-283-5600.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Three artists from the Lviv Opera's ballet troupe have not returned to Ukraine following their tour in Finland, including two men of conscription age, Lviv Opera's press service reported on Feb. 29.

The artists who stayed abroad include the lead ballet soloist Andriy Mykhalykha, his wife, ballet soloist Yuliya Mykhalykha-Roma, and ballet master Bohdan Klyuchnyk.

Read also: Lviv Opera drops mezzo-soprano over Russian ties

The ballet troupe performed the show "Don Quixote" in Estonia and Finland from Feb. 8 to 22. They were scheduled to perform next in Lviv on March 1, but the aforementioned actors are not listed among the participants.

Lviv Opera Theater has ceased collaboration with the artists, and their names have been removed from the theater's website. Attempting to access their personal pages results in a message stating that the page does not exist.

An internal investigation is currently underway at the theater.

Read also:

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
In 2012, the disappearance of a little girl from her Tucson bedroom rocked the southern Arizona city. For months, police searched for her body.

After more than a decade, a Tucson man has been convicted of her murder.

A jury Thursday found Christopher Clements, 42, guilty in the death and disappearance of 6-year-old Isabel Celis, who shuffled off to bed on the night of April 20, never to be seen again. The verdict came after closing arguments wrapped up Tuesday.

Her body was found five years after her disappearance. Clements led FBI agents to her skeletal remains located in a remote desert area just north of Tucson in return for dropping his burglary charges and the release of his car.

This was Clements' second trial in Isabel Celis' death and disappearance following last year's trial, which resulted in a hung jury.

He is already serving a natural life sentence plus a 17-year prison term for the murder and kidnapping of 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez, who disappeared in 2014.

Maribel Gonzalez (left) disappeared in 2014, and Isabel Celis disappeared in 2012. On Sept. 15, 2018, Tucson police announced the indictment of Christopher Matthew Clements in the murders of the two girls.

Prosecution highlighted Clements interest in young girls

Attorneys on Tuesday presented their closing arguments after two weeks of trial in front of a jury.

The prosecution, led by Tracy Miller from the Pima County Attorneys Office, argued Clements was the only person who could have kidnapped and killed Celis.

There is no reason Mr. Clements would be in a desert area the day, within hours, after Isabel Celis disappeared, and then five years later, use that information to get yourself out of trouble when no one else had been able to tell us where Isabel was, Miller said.

Prosecutors revealed Clements asked his former girlfriend to go to their front yard where, buried under a rock, was a plastic bag containing a piece of paper. Celis' name was written on that paper.

Miller pointed to photos of little girls on a hidden folder only Clements had access to on cellphones and iPads belonging to Clements and his former girlfriend.

Miller also revealed Clements' internet search history on his devices like a 2016 search for Isabel Celis was not kidnapped and Isabel Celis sexy in 2014. She also noted his cellphone location data in the hours after Celis' disappearance put him near the remote desert area where her body was eventually found.

Prosecutors showed Clements called Celis' home phone several times in October and November before her disappearance.

Miller also focused on his actions after her death. The days after Celis' disappearance, he changed his phone number and paid $110 for a car wash.

Defense said prosecution had no evidence proving Clements is guilty

The defense, led by attorney Eric Kessler, said the prosecutors did not present the jury with indisputable evidence that proves Clements is guilty.

The prosecution has presented the case based solely on circumstantial evidence, attempting to paint Mr. Clements as the perpetrator of a heinous crime.  They haven't provided the piece of evidence that tells you it could not have been done any other way, Kessler said.

Kessler pointed to the inaccuracy of programs used to map cellphone data, which put Clements in the area where Celis' remains were found on the night of her disappearance.

He asked the jury why the prosecution showed the photographs of little girls even though they were not related to the Celis family.

Their reason is that they dont want you to like Chris Clements, they want you to think that he is a creep. And if the state gets you thinking that way, then it would be a lot easier to sell you  these unsupported theories, Kessler said.

He highlighted holes in the prosecutions arguments, noting how challenging it was for investigators to get in and out of Celis' window when they were reenacting the alleged kidnapping. He noted family members did not hear any noise coming from Celis' room that night. He said it was unlikely Clements would be able to enter and leave Celis' room without a sound.

He also said Clements would have had to know the layout of the house, as well as Celis' favorite clothes, which were found missing.

Kessler suggested Clements found out the information about Celis remains from other sources, noting: In jail, information is like currency.

He asked the jury why someone would have gone to the FBI with information on the location of Celis' remains if they had any involvement in her disappearance.

Who would put themselves in such legal jeopardy just to get a car back? Kessler said.

Reach the reporter at sarah.lapidus@gannett.com.

The Republics coverage of southern Arizona is funded, in part, with a grant from Report for America. Support Arizona news coverage with a tax-deductible donation at supportjournalism.azcentral.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sex offender found guilty of murdering 6-year-old Tucson girl in retrial
A Miami-Dade County jury needed less than three hours to find Dale Ewers guilty of the first-degree murder of a Miami Beach woman, the rape of her girlfriend and two other felonies, in a 34-year-old cold case that hinged on semen found on a tiny square of a towel.

With the small square of cloth as the only physical evidence tying Ewers to Mercedes Perezs small South Beach apartment and a heinous crime committed more than three decades ago, jurors were likely swayed by expert testimony that placed the odds of the semen not belonging to Ewers at one in 1.8 quadrillion.

The 60-year-old South Beach resident, who state prosecutors say was deported to Jamaica before his arrest, was also picked out of a photo line-up by Perezs girlfriend, who took the witness stand during the trial and who the Miami Herald has not named.

During closing arguments Thursday, Miami-Dade assistant state attorney Natalie Snyder detailed the gruesome acts that jurors would attribute to Ewers. They were told he was let into Perezs apartment, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase and after asking for the managers phone number.

When Perez went to retrieve it in her bedroom, he struck, Synder told jurors. First, he grabbed Perezs girlfriend from behind.

He took her by the mouth. He shot Mercedes, hitting her in the head, Snyder said. He then forced the woman into a closet where he tied her mouth with a shirt and covered her eyes with a dress. He proceeded to rape [Perezs girlfriend]. When he was done, he gave her a towel and told her to wipe herself.

Ewers was found guilty of first-degree murder, sexual battery with a firearm, kidnapping with a firearm and robbery with a firearm. Though the first-degree murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez will officially sentence Ewers on March 19.

DNA plays pivotal role

The case caught the publics attention because it was one of only a couple cold homicide investigations cases that linger because of lack of evidence but that dont have a statute of limitations  that detectives given a grant to work on, were able to bring to trial.

For decades, detectives said they were stumped by the sharp-dressed man who forced his way into a Miami Beach apartment on Sept. 21, 1990, killed one woman and forever changed the life of another. By 2010, technology had finally evolved enough, police said, to link Ewers to the crime through DNA.

That year a Miami Beach detective reviewing the file sent the towel to Miami-Dades police crime lab. The semen was linked to Ewers through evidence retained from a case in 2008, when he was convicted of burglary in Massachusetts. The Miami Beach rape victim then picked Ewers out of a lineup.

DNA doesnt forget, Snyder told jurors.

Ewers was arrested in Hallandale Beach a few months before Perez was murdered. He was found hiding in the bushes near an apartment complex with a hunting knife and a .32-caliber pistol. He pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and received three years probation. Though Ewers was identified as the Miami Beach attacker in 2010, it took two years to extradite him from Jamaica, where he was deported after the Massachusetts burglary conviction.

Towel was key

In an unusual move, Ewers took the witness stand on Wednesday, mostly rambling on about issues that had little to do with the crime. Though at one point he told jurors if detectives could find anything else that links him to the crimes, jurors should convict him.

During closing arguments Thursday, Ewers attorney Harris Gilbert tried to convince jurors that Perezs girlfriend never really got a good look at his client. He told jurors that Ewers fingerprints didnt show up on any of the 97 taken from the apartment after the murder.

As for the towel with the semen, Gilbert said Ewers only lived about a mile from Perez and since neither had a washer or dryer in their home, they might have mixed up towels at a common laundromat. He also noted that none of he rape victims DNA was found on the towel.

Were not disputing crimes occurred, said Gilbert. But its an identity issue. Ultimately, this case is about a very small piece of towel.
Two new neighbourhoods in Sheffield, providing 1,300 homes in the city centre, have been given a 67m boost.

The funds come from Homes England, the government housing agency, which said it would "kickstart the transformation" of Furnace Hill and Neepsend.

The development will also see commercial space, new local facilities and public green spaces.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove announced the plans at the Convention of the North conference on Friday.

Sheffield City Council leader Tom Hunt said a minimum of 20% of the new homes would be "truly affordable accommodation", which would be "within the reach of everyone".

In the plans, Furnace Hill would become a liveable neighbourhood with "a focus on people and place".

The council said the area would provide a "broad residential offer", alongside commercial and leisure space.

Its industrial heritage would also be celebrated by creating a "new public realm with the iconic Cementation Furnace at its core".

The council said the other new neighbourhood at Neepsend would "promote the best of city life" but with added benefits of outdoor and waterside living alongside the River Don.

The plans for Neepsend sought to attract local families to the core of the city, by providing a range of housing, amenities and green public spaces.

The developments will also include a network of public spaces and streets to improve connections between the city centre and Kelham Island.

Peter Denton, chief executive of Homes England, said: "This funding will kickstart the transformation of Furnace Hill and Neepsend, paving the way for 1,300 new homes and 4,000 square metres of commercial space, and, ultimately, the creation of two new vibrant communities for the people of Sheffield to enjoy.

"We've worked in partnership with the council and other local stakeholders to create a viable action plan, and now we're providing the funding to help make it happen."

Mr Hunt said the regeneration plan would "breathe new life" into the two areas and "create great neighbourhoods", adding that the council had "big plans" for more new neighbourhoods.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
NEW DELHI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were injured Friday in a low-intensity blast at a popular eatery in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru, police said.

The blast took place at Rameshwaram Cafe during peak lunch hours, a time when the eatery was bustling with customers.

An improvised explosive device went off inside the eatery, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters.

"An unknown person carried a bag to the restaurant. He had bought a token and consumed food. Later, he left behind the bag which carried the bomb. The police are examining closed-circuit television cameras," Siddaramaiah said.

According to the police, the nine injured were sent to Brookfield Hospital and their conditions were reported to be stable. 
Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas giant Naftogaz aims to produce 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2024, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on March 1.

Shmyhal said that the increase in domestic natural gas production is one of the key objectives of Ukraines energy strategy in 2024.

Ukraine got through the winter using only domestic gas production for the first time in history in 2023-2024, Naftogazs CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said on March 1.

According to Chernyshov, Ukraine had 16 billion cubic meters of gas in reserve in October, which helped to pass the winter without importing.

"On the first day of spring, it is important to say that the energy system remains stable. There are no restrictions applied to consumers," Shmyhal said.

According to Shmyhal, Naftogaz launched 86 new wells in 2023.

Ukraine currently has more than 8.5 billion cubic meters in its underground storage facilities, according to Shmyhal. More than 1 million tons of coal has also been stored, he added.

"We must complete this heating season with confidence, and we will begin preparation for the next winter immediately, "Shmyhal said.

Naftogaz earlier reported that its production branch, Ukrgasvydobuvannya, had increased the daily production rate of domestic natural gas by 11% in 2023. This figure has been the biggest since April 2019.

Ukrgasvydobuvannya also hit a record level of daily gas production for the first time over the past five years. The company reached 38.54 million cubic meters of commercial gas produced per day, Naftogaz announced in February.

Read also: Shock therapy: War tourism in Ukraine attracts foreigners to see scars of Russias invasion

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Members of a Coastal Carolina University fraternity allegedly shot pledges with airguns as a form of hazing, according to the investigation that led to the groups suspension.

The university suspended Alpha Chi Rho for five years for violating its code of student conduct, a ruling upheld earlier this year after appeal.

A first-year student who was pledging the fraternity withdrew from the university for medical reasons shortly after the alleged shooting in October 2022 left him with a severe concussion and welts all over his body, the investigative report compiled on behalf of the university shows.

The investigation, conducted by the Cozen OConnor law firm, was initiated in March 2023 after CCU received a letter outlining the allegations from an attorney representing that former student.

The investigators report, acquired by The Sun News through a Freedom of Information Act request, documents interviews with 23 witnesses, including the former student who was allegedly shot, active members of the fraternity and CCU staff members with information related to the allegations.

The university redacted all the names of the students as well as the investigators determinations of responsibility and conclusion, citing exemptions based on attorney-client privilege and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The investigative report shows that the mother of the student who medically withdrew told CCU student services officials about the hazing in November 2022, months before Greek Life personnel were made aware.

CCU has since 2022 updated its case management protocol and changed its intervention team membership and incident assessment process, according to university spokesman Jerry Rashid. It recently launched RealResponse, an anonymous texting and email platform available to all CCU students, faculty, and staff to report any concerns.

Rashid did not say whether these changes would have led to this case being investigated sooner.

Students involved in the alleged hazing faced conduct meetings and appropriate sanctions, but the universitys Department of Public Safety was not involved, Rashid added.

How did shooting happen?

Six pledges, who the fraternity called postulants, were summoned the night of Oct. 10, 2022 to an off-campus house on Quail Run where several Alpha Chi Rho brothers lived to prepare for a coming exam about the fraternitys history, the former CCU student told investigators.

The fraternity members took the pledges cell phones and had them line up in the backyard and answer questions about the organization, ordering them initially to perform pushups or hold a plank position if someone gave an incorrect answer, he said in the report.

After a couple hours, some of the brothers retrieved airguns, including a BB gun, and began shooting at pledges who answered incorrectly, according to the former student, who told investigators he was shot twice in the head, at least once in the stomach and six times against his back.

This former student, who had suffered a concussion shortly before this incident, suffered severe headaches, loss of hearing and was later diagnosed with another concussion, medical records included in the report show. He left the university a couple weeks after the incident, and never reported it to police.

An attorney representing the former student sent CCU a letter, included in the report, seeking $225,000 to release the university from liability in relation to the incident. The university has not paid any compensation to resolve this issue, according to Rashid.

The former students attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

None of the fraternity members interviewed during the investigation admitted to shooting airguns at pledges. Some denied knowledge of anyone ever shooting an airgun at the residence, while others suggested members were shooting into the woods, and a pellet may have ricocheted off a tree and hit the former student in the head.

The only witness who supported the former students recollection of the shooting was a different former pledge, reportedly at the off-campus house that night.

That student told investigators he didnt get shot, but he did witness them shooting other pledges, and one in particular who kept answering questions incorrectly and laughing about it, which made the brothers angry.

It seemed more like them taking their anger out versus trying to teach someone something, he said to investigators.

That student was later dropped from the pledging process before joining the fraternity after some members mistakenly accused him of sexually assaulting a female student, he told investigators.

Other hazing allegations

That former pledge also relayed several other instances of alleged hazing he and his pledge class endured, including being made to eat butter rolled in dirt, drink bong water, and being placed in a dark room with just a candle and told to separate by color a two-pound bag of colored sprinkles brothers spilled onto the floor.

The fraternity members interviewed all denied those allegations, and one even told investigators hed never heard of a bong.

A separate incident Alpha Chi Rho members couldnt deny was when their pledges were found to be housing ducks on campus.

University police called CCUs director of Greek Life, Amanda Eisele, on Sept. 27, 2022 after a duck was discovered in a dorm, and a student had claimed he was babysitting it for a friend at a different college, the report shows. Another student later told Eisele that pledges were being told theyd have to kill the ducks after initiation.

The university suspended Alpha Chi Rho Sept. 29, 2022 due to the alleged hazing and animal abuse, but they were quickly reinstated Oct. 7, 2022 after discussions between CCU administrators, fraternity members and national Alpha Chi Rho representatives, according to letters included within the investigative report.

Eisele told investigators she was surprised the alleged shooting happened just three days after the reinstatement.

I personally wouldve thought they wouldve been walking on eggshells just, and typically thats what we see from an organization, she said in the report.

The number for RealResponse, CCUs anonymous incident reporting system, is 843-305-6911, and the email address is report@coastal.realresponse.com. The number is designated for texting and does not accept phone calls. Users can also share photos and videos through this platform.
A man laced Oreo-flavored ice cream with THC  marijuanas main psychoactive ingredient  and stored the batch inside a freezer of a New Hampshire cafe, federal prosecutors said.

The ice cream was sold to customers who were unaware of the additional ingredient at Roots Cafe in Newmarket, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Hampshire.

A child was among several customers who showed up to hospitals with symptoms of dizziness, weakness and rapid heart rates after eating Angelos Amore brand of ice cream in March 2023, according to the Newmarket Police Department, McClatchy News previously reported.

The juvenile, along with the other customers, tested positive for THC, police said.

According to Roots Cafe, the restaurant was not involved in making Angelos Amore ice cream, the restaurant said in a March 24 Facebook statement.

Marc Flore, the 43-year-old Maine resident accused of adding THC to coffee-Oreo batch, was indicted on one count of tampering with consumer products, prosecutors said in a Feb. 29 news release.

Information regarding his legal representation wasnt immediately available on March 1. Direct contact information for Flore also wasnt available.

Flore was the owner of the Angelos Amore ice cream shop located in Newmarket, Seacoastonline reported in June 2020.

He told the newspaper he established the business to produce flavors that he worked on for a decade.

Angelos Amore provided ice cream to Roots Cafe, according to the restaurants Facebook statement.

Now the business is listed as permanently closed on Google.

On March 24, police said the Food and Drug Administration was investigating the reports of illnesses linked to the shops ice cream.

At the time, Roots Cafe forfeited the remaining ice cream inside its restaurant for testing, according to police.

We cannot believe or understand how this happened, the cafe said at the time.

Its unclear why Flore added THC to the ice cream, according to prosecutors, as they didnt offer potential motives.

All the customers who ate the laced batch and checked into a hospital for treatment last year, including the child, recovered from feeling ill, police said. One person was monitored at the hospital overnight.

New Hampshire is the only New England state where marijuana hasnt been legalized for adult use.

The active cannabis component, THC, comes from the marijuana plants leaves and flowering parts, according to MedlinePlus.

Its known to produce feelings of euphoria, with other common side effects including sedation, confusion and dry mouth. For some people, its psychoactive effects, such as hallucinations, dysphoria, and paranoia, can be intolerable, according to the National Library of Medicine.

If Flore is convicted on one count of tampering with consumer products, he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000, prosecutors said.

Newmarket, New Hampshire, is about 60 miles north of Boston.

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A placard reading "Putin killed Navalny" is placed among Flowers, candles and pictures, laid in tribute to deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, near the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. . Sven Hoppe/dpa

Some people openly protested against Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the funeral service for Kremlin critic and opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp.

"Russia without Putin!" "Putin is a murderer!" "Russia will be free!" and "No to war!" people chanted people in chorus on Friday in Moscow. The atmosphere was tense, with a large contingent of uniformed Russian special police.

In a livestream on YouTube, Navalny's team showed thousands of people chanting "Navalny, Navalny, Navalny" behind barriers made of metal bars. They chanted: "We do not forget. We do not forgive."

After the funeral service in the church, the brown coffin was transported to Moscow's Borisov cemetery for the burial, which was planned for 4 pm (1300 GMT). Thousands of people walked the half hour or so to the cemetery.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously warned against unauthorized protests.

Supporters and relatives of Navalny as well as human rights activists accuse Putin of having the leading Russian opposition figure murdered in custody. The Kremlin rejects this.

Flowers, candles and pictures are laid in tribute to deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, near the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. . Sven Hoppe/dpa
Social Security is important to you and your neighbors whether you realize it or not. According to the AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, more than 1 in every 5 residents of Missouri collects benefits, injecting more than $225 billion into the states economy over the course of 2022 alone.

It is important to realize that Social Security does not operate in a vacuum. It doesnt matter whether you are young or old, Republican or Democrat, collecting as a beneficiary or serving older customers as a business owner: Chances are the program likely touches your life in some way.

Right now, voters from around the state need to pay attention, because the program on which most Americans depend is once again drifting from the view of our elected officials.

As it is, the programs finances arent great. Based on the latest data, the program has roughly $22.4 trillion in promises to current voters, which no one expects it to keep. People who turn 80 today expect on average to outlive the programs ability to pay their scheduled benefits.

With those prospects, Social Security should be at the top of every candidates list of priorities, and yet it seems to be on the list of none.

At this point, Democrats as a party are more than $10 trillion apart on what benefits the program should provide. In other words, the party isnt talking about a solution. Its battling over what problem its leaders hope to solve.

Republicans, on the other hand, have not put forward legislation on Social Security reform since 2016. Instead of offering ideas, the GOP candidates proffer rhythmic platitudes : A promise made is a promise kept. Sounds great  until you realize that the program has promised benefit reductions for current retirees in the mid-2030 for nearly 30 years.

Maybe this is the promise that the GOP intends to keep, because every idea emerging from party leadership leads us to that uncertain fate. Even the local Republican block captain should understand that benefit cuts for those currently in their 20s will not materially alter the prospects of benefit reductions coming to those now in their 80s.

The coming presidential election will pit President Joe Biden against Donald Trump. While you may feel strongly about one over the other, there isnt a material difference between the two on the issue of Social Security. Both talk sparingly about the program while on the campaign trail, and accomplished little on Social Security while in office.

Back in 2016, Trump campaigned on the idea that a growing economy would solve the imbalances in the program threatening older Americans. He promised not to touch Social Security, and kept his word to terrifying effect. The programs finances unraveled at an unprecedented pace over the course of his term in office. During that time, the gap between what the program has promised and what it expects to pay out grew more than twice as fast as the nations economy.

In 2020, Biden promised to put the program on a path to long-term stability. Since he arrived in the Oval Office, he hasnt produced any visible progress toward that goal. In fact, he has not even made a visible effort to unify his party behind a single vision for Social Security.

The coming presidential campaign augurs more of the same. Both will promise to protect Social Security. Biden will protect it from Republicans who might put benefits on the chopping block. Trump will protect it from Democrats who want to increase your taxes so that they can spend your money on something else.

No one is protecting the program from the do-nothing politicians who have enabled the systems financial decline.

That is the job of voters, most of whom remain passively on the sidelines of politics, as though a representative form of government is a spectator sport. Too frequently, I hear people say that the government took their money without asking. The hard truth is that every voter has been asked every two years about his or her priorities, and for 40 years, Social Security has not been the most pressing concern.

If your benefits fall or your taxes increase, there is only one person to blame. It is the guy in the mirror.

Brenton Smith is a policy adviser on Social Security to The Heartland Institute, an Illinois-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advocates for free markets.
The latest twist in the saga surrounding Jennifer Farber Dulos murder came Friday, with a Connecticut jury finding Michelle Troconis, whose boyfriend was accused of killing his estranged wife in 2019, guilty of conspiring to murder Dulos.

Troconis, 49, now faces up to 50 years in prison after a jury found her guilty on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, evidence tampering, and hindering the prosecution.

The New York Times reported that Troconis sobbed and leaned on her lawyers as the guilty verdict was read. At one point, the Times reported she rested her head on the desk in front of her as one of her lawyers, Audrey Felsen, rubbed her back.

Troconis was then led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. Shed previously been out on bail since 2019.

#BREAKING Michelle Traconis seen with her head down after hearing a unanimous GUILTY verdict on all counts @WTNH pic.twitter.com/cVt3iOs8YF  Laura Hutchinson (@LauraHutch8) March 1, 2024

Troconis will learn her fate in a sentencing hearing slated for May 31. An initial date of May 24 was suggested, but a lawyer for Troconis said that date would be inappropriate because it was the five-year anniversary of the day that Dulos, a mother of five, disappeared after dropping her children off at school.

Carrie Luft, a close friend of Dulos whos acted as a spokesperson for her loved ones, said in a statement that the guilty verdicts were a crucial attribution of accountability, not a victory.

There can be no victory when five children are growing up without their mother, the statement continued. This verdict represents the meticulous collection, analysis, and presentation of evidence to illuminate an unconscionable series of crimes. That immense body of evidence also serves to highlight the gaps that remain in this casemost important, that Jennifer Farber Dulos still has not been found.

Dulos disappearance grabbed national headlines when authorities launched a massive manhunt for her that saw drones, dogs, and helicopters deployed across New England in 2019.

That search uncovered Dulos abandoned car in New Canaan, her hometown in Connecticut, but her body was never recovered. (Before trial, a judge declared her dead last year.)

At the time of Dulos disappearance, Troconis was the live-in girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, 52, who was engaged in a bitter divorce with Dulos that included a custody battle over their children.

Juror Booted After Comparing Jennifer Dulos Case To Gone Girl

Authorities determined that Fotis, a luxury homebuilder, killed his estranged wife at her rental home after she returned from school, restraining her with zip ties. What happened next remains a mystery, but police and prosecutors say Fotis killed Dulos and disposed of her body.

Dulos family reported her missing after she failed to show up for appointments she had scheduled in New York City. Cops who were sent to her home arrived to see blood stains and splatters around the house, a scene so grisly that Connecticuts chief medical examiner, Dr. James R. Gill, determined Dulos must have sustained injuries so severe they were non survivable without medical intervention.

Surveillance footage captured Fotis and Troconis stop at several locations around Hartford just after the slaying, prosecutors said. In one video, prosecutors said Fotis was captured disposing bags of trash into garbage cans as Troconis sat in the car.

Troconis was accused of not complying with investigators as they probed her boyfriend, refusing to reveal his whereabouts on the day of the murder. She told detectives she didnt know her boyfriend was doing anything criminal when she watched him throw away the garbage bags, which prosecutors said had zip ties, bloodied clothing, and a kitchen sponge stained with blood inside.

Troconis never testified in her month-long trial, but repeatedly insisted she was innocent through her lawyers.

Fotis faced charges in connection to his estranged wifes disappearance, but he died in a New York City hospital in 2020, shortly after he attempted suicide at his home.

In interviews with police that were shown in court, Troconis admitted that she wasnt truthful with police in earlier conversations she had with thema statement that prosecutors homed in on. In other interviews with police, she claimed she was also a victim of Fotis.

Fotis Dulos Accused of Removing Items From Memorial to Missing Wife

He set me up because he used me,she said.

Troconis never denied claims that she was having an affair with Fotis while he was still married to Dulos.

In their statement, Dulos family thanked the trials jury for their careful deliberation during this lengthy, complex trial, and Judge Kevin Randolph for his guidance and authority in the courtroom.

Many questions remain as we approach the five-year marker, the statement said. It is our hope that the resurgent public interest in this case might spur new, viable leads. In the meantime, Jennifers grace, goodness, and light live on through her children and through the honor of her memory.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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VIENTIANE, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The National Steering Committee Meeting for two rural development projects in Laos funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has been held in the Lao capital Vientiane.

Speaking at a recent meeting, Lao Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Thongphath Vongmany said that COVID-19 and the ongoing financial crisis have had a severe impact on livelihoods and development in rural areas, resulting in continuing high poverty rates, according to a report issued on Friday by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Thongphath expressed his gratitude for the support from the South Korean government and KOICA in trying to spur development at the grassroots level.

KOICA is supporting the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to implement two rural development projects.

Also speaking at the meeting, South Korea's Ambassador to Laos Jung Yung Soo expressed hope that KOICA's projects would bring about development in Laos. 
Society of the Snow has put a renewed interest in the harrowing saga of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, the flight carrying 45 people that crashed in the Andes Mountains in 1972 while heading from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile.

A total of 16 people survived after 72 days in the snow, while they endured avalanches, harsh cold, starvation and the decision to eat those who had died.

Twelve people died as a result of the crash, while another 17 would die at various points afterward. Sixteen people wound up being rescued.

Nearly half of the passengers played on the Old Christians Club amateur rugby team, while others were their friends and family. One of the men who on the plane was Numa Turcatti. Enzo Vogrincic portrays Turcatti in Society of the Snow, who serves as the films narrator.

Who was Numa Turcatti?

Turcatti did not play on the team. He was friends with Pancho Delgado, one of the other people onboard who survived the crash and wound up among the survivors.

Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti in

What role does Turcatti play in 'Society of the Snow'?

Turcatti is depicted as gritty and caring. His character is based on accounts given in Pablo Viercis 2008 book Society of the Snow, which served as the basis of the movie.

When I talk about Numa, I cant help but cry, crash survivor Coche Inciarte, who died in 2023, said in the book.

Hes the best person Ive ever met in my life. However tenderly I cared for those who were losing heart, Numa did it much better because he never got tired. He was constantly aware of everyone elses distress. He radiated peace, he never gave up, and when he came near me, I felt like Jesus Christ himself was among us, with such mercy and compassion in his eyes. I dont know where he got his strength.

Society of the Snow (Netflix)

What happened to Turcatti?

Numa Turcatti turned 25 on Oct. 30 while trapped under a blanket of snow from an avalanche. He sustained injuries on his leg from it, which ultimately led to his death Dec. 11. He was the last person to die before the rescue Dec. 22.

Turcatti was involved in earlier efforts to seek help and worked hard to help others.

He was muscular, with a lean build, though not very tall, Vierci wrote in Society of the Snow.

Numa was also a very special person. He helped with the endless activities on the mountain from the very first, never thinking about the risk to himself, never calculating how much energy he was expending and how much energy he needed to keep for himself. He took part in the expedition on the fourth day, the suicidal expedition on the 11th day, shortly after hearing on the radio that the search had been called off.

He always wanted to go on the final expeditions, even though an injury he had gotten during the avalanche had become infected, and he was growing weaker day by day, his body too defenceless to protect him any longer.

During an initial expedition, Turcatti was horrified to find that all you could see was more mountains, Nando Parrado recalled in Viercis book. He told survivor Daniel Fernandez he thought, after he expedition, "we will never be able to leave this place."

Society of the Snow (Netflix)

Turcatti seemed to think of his death as a sacrifice. He was found with a note clutched in his hands on which he'd written, "There is no greater love than giving your life for your friends."

Survivor Gustavo Zerbino said Turcatti's death helped spur the final expedition for help, which ultimately led to their rescue.

Numa sacrificed himself to push the expeditionaries to leave, as if saying: If I die now, most importantly I wont suffer anymore. Besides that, Ill motivate them to leave, he said in the Society of the Snow book.

A photograph of the crashed plane and the survivors, shown at the Lircunlauta Museum, in San Fernando, Chile, Oct. 4, 2022. (Elvis Gonzalez / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock)

What is Turcattis legacy?

For those not familiar with the story, Turcattis death may come as a surprise to those watching Society of the Snow. While his father had previously died, some of the survivors visited his mother in Montevideo after they were rescued. His brother, Daniel, was on hand.

Mama listened in total silence, he recalled in the book Society of the Snow.

They talked, one by one, while Mama was reliving her sons life, touching the jagged edges of the hole that could never be filled. Suddenly she asked them, Did Numa ever let you down? And to some extend she got the answer she wanted to hear. She was not surprised, but she was comforted to be able to confirm what she had always believed: the death of her son had not been in vain.

Vogrincic, ahead of filming, visited Turcatti's home, where he was accompanied by Turcatti's surviving brother and sister.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A forensics officer works near a car in front of the Von D'ring barracks in Rotenburg, Germany, Friday March 1, 2024. Four people were killed in shootings in northern Germany, police and prosecutors said Friday, and the suspect is a soldier who turned himself in to authorities. (Sina Schuldt/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP)  Four people were killed in shootings in northern Germany, police and prosecutors said Friday, and the suspect is a soldier who turned himself in.

The four victims, including a child, were shot overnight at locations in the rural Scheessel and Bothel areas, near Hannover and Bremen, authorities said in a statement.

The suspect, a German soldier, turned himself in to police shortly after the shooting, they said. His motive wasn't immediately clear, but they said that a motive in the family environment cannot be ruled out.
Since at least 2016, some of the worlds leading mental health professionals have been sounding the alarm that Donald Trump appears to be emotionally and psychologically unwell  and perhaps even a sociopath or a psychopath. Unfortunately, throughout Trumps presidency, the COVID pandemic and his willfully negligent response to mass death and suffering, the Jan. 6 coup attempt and the attack on the Capitol by his MAGA forces, and now several years beyond, their warnings have repeatedly proven to be correct. Donald Trump only appears to be getting worse, not better, as he ages, and the pressures of his multiple criminal and civil trials and the 2024 presidential campaign grow heavier.

In a recent conversation with Dr. John Gartner, a prominent psychologist and contributor to the bestselling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President," the former faculty member at Johns Hopkins University told me that based on Trump's speech, memory, recall, and other behavior, he appears to be hypomanic and cognitively deteriorating at a rapid rate:

I had to speak out now because the 2024 election might turn on this issue of who is cognitively capable: Biden or Trump? It's a major issue that will affect some people's votes. Not enough people are sounding the alarm, that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden's gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains. Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing.

Almost as if on cue, in a series of speeches and interviews at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and elsewhere last week  which took place after my conversation with Dr. Gartner  Donald Trump again manifested these symptoms. So I spoke with Dr. Gartner again on Tuesday about Donald Trumps recent behavior, what comes next if his apparent cognitive challenges and related maladies continue to worsen, the dilemma of having human sympathy and concern for a vile person like Donald Trump, and why so many medical professionals (and members of the news media, political class, and others with a public platform) are continuing to be silent about the corrupt ex-presidents very troubling and dangerous behavior.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length:

We spoke last week about how Donald Trump's apparent mental and emotional challenges and pathologies appear to be getting much worse. That conversation was widely read and circulated  including by the British and other foreign news media. Why do you think your warnings gained so much traction?

Most of us have known someone, possibly in our own families, whos had Alzheimers or some other form of dementia. The diagnostic signs are not subtle. My warnings and conclusions about Trump simply confirmed what many people had already observed and concluded for themselves but didnt have the authority to assert. I was giving voice to what ordinary people see with their own eyes, and they were grateful for validation from a mental health professional.

Why do you think so many of your peers who also have expertise in psychology, the brain, aging, and related topics and subjects are remaining silent?

I've been reaching out to several colleagues who are real experts in this area. They were happy to share observations and diagnostic conclusions about Trumps severe organic mental decline, privately, but even among colleagues who were once outspoken, there's a new high level of fear, not to mention exhaustion, that we didnt see before. Each of these experts convinced me they werent being paranoid when they believed there was a good chance, they would lose their jobs if they went on the record, not to mention other forms of retaliation, especially for those who live in red states.

How are you processing the reality that if Trump wins, there is going to be retaliation against his critics and anyone else who has dared to oppose him and the MAGA movement and American fascists more broadly? Trump has repeatedly said this. Revenge and punishing the enemies of the regime are central to Project 2025 and Agenda 47, for example. They're going to get even; there's going to be score settling for the truth tellers.

Wow. That is a powerful way of putting it  yes, there is going to be score settling for the truth-tellers. We're really seeing in real time how a people can be beaten down. People who were enthusiastic members of "the resistance" against Trump and the MAGA movement are now saying, "I can't do it. I'm intimidated." The reality and potential for retaliation by Trump and his followers is extremely real. In 2016, what were my peers afraid of? The American Psychiatric Association? What was the worst that could have happened to us? We could have been expelled from the American Psychiatric Association. So what?! With Trump trying to come back to power, people are looking over their shoulders out of a reasonable fear of professional, social economic, and even criminal retaliation, as well as the threat of political violence from the right wing. We weren't making those risk assessments before.

Trump, who is a pathocrat, and what he symbolizes and has channeled and summoned, is impacting all of us.

It's taken a psychological toll on the population, both clinically and non-clinically. Exhaustion. Depression. Fear. Being detached and disengaged mentally and intellectually. The collective trauma of Trumpism has put many Americans in survival mode.

In our last conversation, you warned that Trump is suffering serious cognitive decline as shown by his speech, memory, and other behavior. Almost on cue, Trump manifests these symptoms at CPAC and at other events over the course of several days. Once you see this pattern of aberrant behavior you can't unsee or otherwise ignore it.

This weekend, Trump showed more evidence of his accelerating dementia. Trump named the wrong month for the primary, said that Putin would rather see Biden as president and he agreed with him, and that he made Israel the capital of Israel. But most important are the fundamental breakdowns in his ability to use language. Once you become aware of a symptom, you start to notice it, whereas before you might have overlooked it.

Trump manifested a number of phonemic paraphasias. He was trying to say evangelist, for example, but haltingly said "evangelish. He was trying to say three years later," but said, three years, lady, lady, lady. Trying to spit out the word lately, he sounded like a car with a bad battery struggling to turn over. When Trump can't find a word his whole demeanor changes. Its almost like someone pulled the metaphorical plug. Trump looks blank, stops in mid-sentence (or mid-word), his jaw goes a little slack, and when he starts to talk again, he slurs, speaks haltingly, and often looks confused. Trying to get the word out, he shifts to a non-word that is easier to pronounce. When people are losing their ability to use language they use non-words. They start with the stem of the real word, and then they improvise from there.

In my family we call sandwiches slamichs because thats what my stepson called them when he was three. It was cute then. Its not cute watching and adult man regress to the mental age of a three-year-old. It can make you even feel sorry for Trump in those moments when he appears so vulnerable, confused, and disoriented. I asked several highly specialized experts about Trump's use of language, and they told me that what Trump is doing in total, but especially the phonemic paraphasias, were almost certain evidence of brain damage. This is not minor, or within normal limits, like forgetting who the president of Germany is, for example, as Biden has been pilloried for. Trump is evidencing formal thought disorder, where his basic ability to use language is breaking down.

Trump is also showing signs of "semantic aphasia" where he is using words in the wrong way. For example, when Trump talked about "the oranges of the investigation." We saw an example of that this weekend, as well. Trump said, Were going to protect pro-God. In mid-sentence, he goes blank and looks at the ceiling. The words he uses to complete the sentence dont really make sense: context and content.

Trump is bragging about passing the MOCA, a screening test for dementia, as if it made him MENSA, when its a test any kindergartener should pass. Specialists tell me a patient can be in steep diagnosable organic decline for an extended period before they fail the MOCA. Someone with an advanced degree from an Ivy League school, for example, has a lot of IQ points to give before they hit kindergarten level. If you pass the MOCA it certainly does not mean youre cognitively equipped to be President of the United States. Trump cant even name the current president of the United States. Seven times hes said hes running against Obama. Thats not a gaffe or joke. Thats hard clinical evidence of serious organic brain damage.

When this is happening to Trump, how is he feeling? Does he know what's happening?

One of the things that's most notable is Trump's lack of awareness when he makes these mistakes. He very rarely corrects himself or goes back, typical for someone with this kind of organic decline. Ironically, Trump boasted that If I were cognitively impaired, Id know it, but actually he wouldnt, and he doesnt. Sometimes a patient with organic brain damage will have what we call a "catastrophic reaction," where they suddenly realize "Oh, my God, I can't think!" They'll then have an anxiety attack or begin weeping because their denial has been broken through and suddenly, they realize just how serious their condition is.

As for Trump's MAGA people and other supporters, in a healthy relationship, they would become concerned for Trump and realize that what appears to be his worsening cognition and other behavior actually makes him not qualified for the presidency and that he should seek help. Instead, the worse Trump's behavior becomes the more they seem to adore him. This is textbook collective pathology.

Trumps hypomanic energy gives him power and makes him charismatic to his followers. Trump's behavior has a type of primal appeal to his followers. As I warned in our conversation last week, whatever personality disorder someone has, it gets dramatically worse as their cognitive functions decline. All of Trump's viciousness, hostility, and unpredictable and other pathological behavior is only going to get worse. In the end, Trump and the MAGA movement are a cult, and he is the leader.

Does Donald Trump deserve pity if he is indeed struggling with these types of challenges?

In psychology, we often try to use our reactions to understand the patient and to develop a diagnostic workup. Trump is someone who many people despise because he is evil. Yet, when Trump acts in what appears to be a demented way, our reflexive reaction is actually sympathy. He seems vulnerable. He seems confused. He reminds you of your relatives. In a way, such a reaction to Trump is a type of confirmation that something may be seriously wrong with him. You're reacting to him in such a protective way, you feel sorry for Trump, and you want to help him because he's a doddering old man. Trump is confused. Seeing Trump or anyone else in such a state brings forth our normal human empathy.

Is there a social taboo, especially among the news media, that is limiting our much-needed discussions of these types of health issues as seen with politicians and other leaders?

I dont want to say the mainstream media is covering up Trumps cognitive disability, but they certainly arent covering it like the 5-alarm fire it is. The media will show Trump being combative and saying something outrageous and his audience reacting to it  but they are consistently not showing the parts of Trumps speeches and interviews where his eyes go blank, his jaw goes slack, he looks confused, and slurs words, uses non-words, can't finish a sentence, rambles, perseverates, confabulates and babbles incoherently. Thats what should make the 6 oclock news. Doesnt the media have a duty to warn the public that the man who wants the nuclear codes back (not including the ones he probably stole) is publicly displaying unimpeachable evidence of a broken and deteriorating brain?

The obvious comparison here is Ronald Reagan. I am no fan of Reagan and do not understand the worship of that man. We now have confirmation that towards the end of his presidency that he was basically senile. The United States and the world were very lucky that Reagan was surrounded, mostly, by very serious people who were institutionalists. By comparison, Donald Trump is surrounded by fascists, white supremacists, Christian nationalists, plutocrats, corporatists, and other malign actors who are going to take advantage of the situation to get what they want. That possibility  if not outright certainty  should terrify any reasonable thinking person.

There will be no guardrails to Trump's absolute most primitive, impulsive, destructive, and insane actions. There will be no pushback from within his inner circle and regime. It is certainly very possible that a person in a state of cognitive decline is in a state where they are highly vulnerable to suggestions and being manipulated by others. I can easily imagine a scenario where Trump is a figurehead and there is a real power behind the throne pulling the strings.

What is the difference between someone being older and getting older, and someone being mentally and emotionally ill? Given how Biden is being unfairly maligned because of his age while Trump's obvious deficits, which are far more serious and dangerous, are being mostly ignored, that distinction needs to be emphasized  repeatedly.

They're not the same thing. I feel like older people should take offense to Trump's behavior being explained away by aging. There are natural things that happen with aging such as occasionally using the wrong word or calling someone the wrong name because they remind you of someone you worked with. President Biden is confusing names, not people. The Dementia Care Society says mixing up people and generations is a sign of dementia. Recently Trump confused Nikki Haley and Nancey Pelosi, for example. He also mixed up the generations in his own family when he said his father was born in Germany, when it was his grandfather. Michael Wolff said Trump frequently didnt recognize old friends. And most importantly Biden isnt showing a fundamental breakdown in his ability to use language. The whataboutism narrative is that this is a race between two old men. True but one has an aging brain, and the other a dementing brain. If Trump were your relative, you would be reaching out to doctors in a state of alarm. If Joe Biden were youre relative, you might have to remind him of things from time to time.

How do you think Trump is going to respond to the experts and other such voices who are publicly sharing their concerns about his apparent worsening cognitive and other intellectual and emotional challenges?

As I said earlier, Donald Trump is going to make theater and spectacle out of it. But Trump will keep betraying his denials through his behavior. He has other symptoms as well. These physical symptoms include a wide base to his gait, his leaning posture, and his loss of fine motor control. A dementia diagnosis is not limited to an interview. To reach a firm conclusion one needs observations, reports from informants and other people around the person in question, and an MRI for example to see exactly what is going on with Trump's brain. In my opinion, Trump is showing a level of symptoms where no real expert would think that there is not something seriously wrong with his mind and brain.
The News

This year is defined by make-or-break elections affecting billions of people. With so many votes around the world, it can be hard to keep track of them at all. Our Global Election Hot List is here to keep you up to date.

In this edition: South Africa sets its election date, echoes of the Philippines in Indonesia, and Mozambiques long-ruling party loses love and power.

Know More

1. South Africa  Game on

Al Lucca

South Africas general election has officially been called for May 29th, setting up what is potentially the ANCs biggest test to date. Following 30 years of incumbency the ANC could lose its majority, according to analysts and surveys. The election will be 2024s largest vote in Africa, taking place in a country of over 59 million people  and given the uncertainty of governing outcomes, it could easily see one of the worlds most significant electoral shifts this year.

2. Mexico  No radical right

The lack of a radical right movement in Mexico is distinct in Latin America, a new Americas Quarterly article notes. Despite a Trump-linked actor, Eduardo Verastegui, mounting a campaign for president, support for the right-wing populist lane has been negligible in polls for the upcoming vote  and Verastegui himself couldnt even make the ballot. According to the article, much of the phenomenon can be attributed to President AMLOs present political dominance. But between figures like Brazils Bolsonaro, Argentinas Milei, Chiles Kast, and scores of others across the Americas, the absence of their brand of politics in Mexico is stunning in itself.

3. Portugal  Election looms

Al Lucca

With a March election on the horizon, a change of government could easily be in the cards for Portugal. The countrys right-wing has charged ahead in polls this year, leaving increasingly slim hopes for a renewed government led by the center-left. While the main conservative alliance may still have options for coalition partners, the nationalist Chega party garnered over 20% support in the latest Intercampus poll, compared to 26% for each of the two largest parties.

4. Dominican Republic  PRM dominate

The Dominican Republics incumbent PRM party swept major local elections held in February, presaging a presidential contest set to re-elect President Luis Abinader. Abinader, in remarks on the outcome, declared his partys results a triumph. The PRM saw its term renewed in the capital of Santo Domingo with the victory of Carolina Mejia, who became the first woman ever elected mayor of the city back in 2020. Abinader leads all polls for the May vote, and could be re-elected handily. A recent Americas Quarterly article noted economic stability under the presidents tenure, though his administrations harsh policy on neighboring Haiti has been slammed by human rights groups.

5. Indonesia  Uniteam phenomenon

Al Lucca

Family ties to a former dictator, family ties to the current leader  is this a new winning political formula? Indonesias recent presidential winners had a lot in common with the Uniteam ticket that won the 2022 election in the Philippines, notes academic Richard Heydarian. The elections featured two presidential candidates, each the son or son-in-law of a former dictator, campaigning with children of the previous incumbents as their vice presidents. While Indonesia has yet to finalize its election results, the connection becomes even more striking, as the candidates appear to have won nearly the same share of votes: around 58%, per the latest count. The tandem teams may have even employed the same PR firm.

6. El Salvador  Final frontier

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele aims to complete his consolidation of power through upcoming local elections, in what IFES Latin America/Caribbean regional director Maximo Zaldivar calls his final frontier. While Bukeles control over the presidency and national legislature may be near-total now, the last local elections brought some level of political opposition to the government. Many of those opposition mayors have since jumped ship to Bukele, but the president could still see pushback in the March vote. Per Zaldivar the municipality of Antiguo Cuscatlan near the capital, which has been ruled by ARENA party mayor Milagro Navas since 1988, could be one contest to watch.

7. Mozambique  Love and power

Al Lucca

Mozambiques ruling FRELIMO party is losing love and power ahead of an election later this year, potentially posing a rare challenge to its grip on the country. Reports of public anger and infighting within the ruling party occur every day, according to the Africa Report, stemming from revelations of vote rigging in municipal elections held last year. The governments handling of an Islamic insurgency, which has led to major disruptions and economic hardship, is also a potential liability. Despite winning every vote held since the countrys civil war, the party could face an actual threat in Octobers election. FRELIMO has never entertained the idea of losing grip on power, said one analyst quoted in the piece.

8. Belarus  AI candidate

Belarusian dissidents may have found a workaround to the poisonings, arrests, and murders plaguing elections in Russias sphere of influence. Political opposition in Belarus promoted an AI candidate for recent elections held by the authoritarian regime, noting that an artificial intelligence cannot be imprisoned. The AI in question: Yas Gaspadar, a chatbot that describes itself as a 35-year-old from Minsk. As part of his digital platform, the Belarusian opposition campaigned for the release of political prisoners, free and fair elections, and a prohibition on nuclear weapons. Elections in Belarus have long been criticized for being rigged under the regime of Alexander Lukashenko.

9. Malaysia  Impatient electorate

Al Lucca

Declining approval ratings signal an impatient electorate for Malaysias ruling coalition, according to analysis from East Asia Forum. After surviving state elections last year, the government will now enjoy an extended period with no major polls on the horizon. The countrys new king has also stated he has no intention of toppling the incumbent coalition, despite the wishes of some in the political opposition. With the prime ministers approval at just above 50%, however, fast action on reforms could be needed for the government to stay above water, with a long road to the next elections scheduled for 2028.

Notable

Italys Sardinian election saw the center-left win a regional government for the first time since 2020.

In Jamaica, long-delayed local elections featured a split between the countrys two major parties.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a call for unification with North Korea in a speech on Friday celebrating the 105th anniversary of the independence movement against Japanese colonizers. He also hailed the strengthening ties with Japan achieved under his administration. Photo by Yonhap

SEOUL, March 1 (UPI) -- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for unification with North Korea in a speech Friday, while condemning the "repressive rule" of the Pyongyang regime.

"Unification is not just an issue confined to the Korean Peninsula," Yoon said in televised remarks celebrating the 105th anniversary of Korea's independence movement against Japanese colonizers.

"The tyranny and human rights abuses of the North Korean regime deny the universal values of humanity," he said. "Unification is precisely what is needed to expand the universal values of freedom and human rights."

Yoon's comments come as inter-Koerean tensions are at their highest in years, amid a steady stream of weapons tests and bellicose rhetoric from the North and a stronger military stance from the South.

Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un proclaimed South Korea the "principal enemy" and publicly rejected a longstanding official policy goal of peaceful reunification.

Yoon called the declaration "truly deplorable."

"North Korea still continues its totalitarian system and repressive rule and is unable to escape from the worst forms of degradation and poverty," he said. "The North Korean regime relies solely on nuclear weapons and missiles while trapping its 26 million citizens in a quagmire of misery and despair."

Yoon also hailed Seoul's improving relationship with Tokyo, saying the two have become "partners" after a painful history that includes Japan's 1910-1945 colonial occupation of Korea.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has moved to repair frayed ties with Japan, which cratered after a 2019 ruling by South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

Seoul proposed a plan last March to compensate the victims through a public foundation without demanding contributions from Japan, leading to a series of summits between Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The thawing relationship has also led to stronger trilateral security ties with the United States against North Korean nuclear and missile threats, including a three-way summit in Camp David in August.

"Now, Korea and Japan are working together to overcome the painful past," Yoon said Friday.

"Sharing the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law, our two countries have become partners in the pursuit of common interests for global peace and prosperity."
Marc Wischkaemper, assistant professor of automotive technology at the South Plains College Career and Technical Center, attained World Class Technician status from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) in January.

Marc Wischkaemper, assistant professor of automotive technology at the South Plains College Career and Technical Center, attained World Class Technician status from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence in January 2024.

The status identifies automotive technicians who have attained 22 ASE certifications: A1-A8 (automotive), T1-T8 (medium/heavy truck), B2-B5 (collision repair), and L1 and L2 (advanced), according to the ASE website. Since 1986, only about 2,000 technicians have attained the status.

About a year ago, Wischkaemper said he only lacked the four collision certifications needed for World Class status. He said the last test he needed to pass was the hardest one.

I knew nothing about auto body, the Lubbock native said. I had to study like crazy.

Wischkaemper, who has been in the automotive field since 1982, said he had most of the required certifications for most of his adult life. After about forty years of working in the automotive field, he decided to pursue the other certifications.

Im going to do it for me just to prove that I can do it, he said regarding the mindset he had at the time.

Wischkaemper said his background in the automotive industry started when he worked on vehicles at independent shops and worked on heavy equipment at Caterpillar. In 1999, he opened Master Auto Repair Center (an acronym for Marc) in Lubbock, which was a dream of his since he was a kid. After 15 years, he closed the shop.

There were lots of really good years and then lots of not-so-great years dealing with problems, he said. I really got burned out toward the end.

After closing the shop in 2014, Wischkaemper said he moved to Hawaii, where he worked as a master technician at a brand service station on the island of Maui. While he was living in Hawaii, an automotive teaching job opened at the SPC Plainview campus. At first, he was reluctant to apply, as he did not have any teaching experience, but his wife encouraged him to go for the position.

Wischkaemper said he waited several weeks after applying and later received a call from Rob Blair, SPC dean of technical education, about interviewing for the position. Wischkaemper made the trip to Texas for the interview and later received the job.

It has been the best move Ive ever made, he said regarding his return to Texas.

In Spring 2015, Wischkaemper started his teaching position at SPC but not at the Plainview campus as was originally planned. A week before the semester started, Blair informed him that he would start teaching at Levelland to fill in for another faculty member. The following summer, Wischkaemper moved to Lubbock to serve in a teaching position at the SPC Career and Technical Center.

Wischkaemper, who thrives in the rapidly changing automotive industry, said SPC has provided him with training opportunities. Once a year, the college sends him to Kansas City, Missouri for the VISION Hi-Tech Training & Expo, where he learns about the latest technology and brings his newfound knowledge back to his students.

When they leave here, they are definitely above anybody else in the industry, he said regarding his students, who have access to various technologies in the SPC automotive program.

In addition to providing students access to the latest technology, Wischkaemper said the automotive program encourages students to get ASE certifications. Program faculty will prepare students by reviewing the ASE study guides during classes. Students who want to attempt the certification tests will take a student version and can earn full certifications when they later gain work experience.

Our students go through the same certification process at the end of the semester, he said. We get them ASE-certified, and we have over a 90-percent pass rate with our students.

ASE-certified students tend to have an easier time finding a job in the industry, Wischkaemper said.

I really push it because it makes you look like a person that actually cares about yourself and your skills, he said.

While prepping for the certification tests, Wischkaemper said he asks for the students feedback on questions. He said he is always surprised by the different perspectives students have on automotive issues.

Its the most challenging and rewarding job I've ever had in my life, he said regarding his time as a faculty member. Theres nothing like teaching a group of people that are really interested in what you do, and they finally get it.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: South Plains College automotive professor earns ASE World Class Technician status
Tens of thousands of miners walked out in a year-long dispute over plans to close coal mines

South Yorkshire Police has been accused of continuing a "cover-up" of its actions during the miners' strike over a delay in making its archives public.

The force said in 2018 it intended to make some 82,000 documents relating to the strike available after a 340,000 project to digitise the files.

Campaigners claim the archive would detail the "militarisation" of policing during the 1984 strike.

The force says it remains its "intention" to open the archive .

March marks the 40th anniversary of the miners' strike, when tens of thousands of miners across the country walked out in a year-long dispute over plans to close coal mines.

The strike began in the South Yorkshire coalfields, with South Yorkshire Police playing a central role in policing the strike both locally and nationally.

Over the past four decades hundreds of government documents and files at the National Archive relating to the dispute have been opened to the public.

But the South Yorkshire Police archive has remained closed.

'State involvement'

The force told the BBC it currently holds 82,000 documents in its archive, including maps, legal files and official reports compiled by the constabulary from 1984 onwards.

But, when the BBC asked to be granted access to the archive the request was denied.

"The police operational documents are quite important" said Kate Flannery, Secretary of the Orgreave Truth and Justice campaign, a group that has called for a public inquiry into how the miners' strike was policed.

"The documents will reveal a lot about the state involvement and the militarised nature of policing during the strike," she added.

"I think the cover-up is continuing, but I'm sure there are a lot more documents being held in various buildings throughout Britain."

Public records show that in 2018 the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) of South Yorkshire, Dr Alan Billings, approved a "priority request" from the then Deputy Chief Constable Tim Forber to spend 340,000 on archiving, digitising and redacting the miners' strike documents the force held.

At the time the report stated the project would take two and a half years, and the money should be spent in order to "meet the publicly stated intention to publish the Miners' Strike Archive/Orgreave material, so that it is electronically accessible to all".

However, nearly six years later, no documents have been made public.

When asked about the delay, a police spokeswoman said: "It is absolutely our intention to open our archive to the public.

"A small team of people are working to prepare the 1,474 files of material which amount to 82,913 pages.

"They have archived the materials and are now cataloguing these and ensuring they are aligned with the requirements of GDPR as they will, in some circumstances, include personal information. This work is expected to take a further eighteen months."

Police and pickets clashed repeatedly in South Yorkshire during the strike

The archive is likely to contain operational orders drawn up by the force during the industrial dispute.

The BBC has obtained a copy of one such order which details how the South Yorkshire constabulary planned to keep the Orgreave coking works open during the strike.

The document, dated 23 May 1984, shows how police operations were planned in advance, but makes no reference to the deployment of police horses or dogs.

Later that year, on 18 June, mounted officers would charge into the picket lines at Orgreave as some miners threw rocks at officers deployed in riot gear.

The day became known as the "Battle of Orgreave", the most violent day of the strike, which left at least 120 people - miners and police officers - injured.

Around 100 miners were arrested, but the case against them later collapsed after police evidence was deemed "unreliable" in court.

Many in the mining community believe South Yorkshire Police planned a violent confrontation with the miners at Orgreave in an attempt to break the strike.

"There's not been many in times in my life when I've been as scared as that", said Kevin Horne, a miner who was arrested at Orgreave.

"We walked straight into a trap that had been set by the police.

"What were the police orders on the day? That document has never been seen, so these police files may reveal that."

The miners' strike in 1984 was the beginning of a dark decade for South Yorkshire Police, which was also involved in the unlawful killing of 97 Liverpool supporters at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield five years later.

A 2013 Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report detailed that 164 South Yorkshire Police statements were altered in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, where a crush killed supporters before an FA Cup semi-final.

Senior South Yorkshire officers were found to have engaged in a cover-up in an attempt to blame the Liverpool fans.

A separate IPCC investigation found the force had used similar tactics in 1984 at Orgreave, when some officers fabricated and altered their witness statements after arresting picketing miners.

During the miners' strike and Hillsborough disaster the force was led by Chief Constable Peter Wright who died in 2011.

No South Yorkshire officer has ever faced professional misconduct charges relating to either event in the 1980s.

Ex-miner Kevin Horne said he hoped the files would include details of the police orders for for Orgreave

"I've always said that we will never have the full truth about Hillsborough until we have the full truth about Orgreave", said Andy Burnham, who as a Labour MP led calls for a public inquiry to be held into Hillsborough.

"The same tactics were used against the miners as would subsequently be used against Liverpool supporters.

"I can see no good reason [for not publishing] when ex-miners and their families have asked for the release of documents in which those people are named," said Mr Burnham.

The now Mayor of Greater Manchester said an independent inquiry should be held regarding the miners' strike "so communities in the North of England can see how this emblematic dispute was actually handled by the government of the day."

In 2016 the then Home Secretary Amber Rudd MP ruled out holding an inquiry stating that it was "not in the public interest".

At last year's Trade Union Congress the Deputy Leader of Labour, Angela Rayner said the party supported "a full investigation into the violent events at Orgreave."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
ABINGDON, Va. (WJHL)  A Washington County, Virginia dispatcher has been chosen to receive an award from the American Red Cross for her life-saving actions.

According to a Washington County Virginia Sheriffs Office news release, communications officer Frances Flanary was selected to receive the 2024 American Red Cross 911 Dispatch Hero within the American Red Cross Chapter of Southwest Virginia.

The honor is given to dispatchers who save lives, act courageously and inspire their communities.

Dispatcher Flanary did that in October 2023 when she received a call that an elderly man needed assistance, the release said.

The 78-year-old man was unresponsive and desperate for medical attention, the sheriffs office reported.

Flanary provided instructions for CPR to the caller while on the phone, and the caller and another adult worked to keep the unresponsive man alive. Flanary remained on the line, assuring the callers throughout the ordeal, according to the sheriffs office.

Flanary was successful at calming the situation and helping over the phone.

Thanks to Dispatcher Flanary, the caller stated his friend was breathing, the release said.

We are excited about Dispatcher Flanarys selection as the 2024 American Red Cross 911 Dispatch Hero, Washington County Sheriff Blake Andis stated in the release. Frances consistently exhibits exceptional work performance and is dedicated to her role as a dispatcher. Her calm demeanor and willingness to help have aided countless callers. Washington County is lucky to have her!

Flanary will receive the award in April at an event honoring local heroes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE)  A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit after an attempt to change the protective status of the southwestern willow flycatcher. The dismissal means the bird will retain protection as an endangered species.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. It claims that New Mexico farmers have to contend with burdensome federal regulations, including the federal Endangered Species Act, which protects the southwestern willow flycatcher. The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association claimed that by listing the flycatcher as an endangered species, the government has effectively reduced the value of property for some New Mexico landowners.

Used power poles recycled into ABQ BioPark habitat

With that in mind, in 2015, the Cattle Growers Association and others petitioned the federal government to remove the southwestern willow flycatcher from the endangered species list; they tried to argue that the flycatcher was not a distinct subspecies of the broader category of willow flycatchers. The federal government denied that petition, which sparked this latest lawsuit.

I do think theres been abuse of the Endangered Species Act over the years, Tom Paterson, the president-elect of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, told KRQE. It has been used to really decimate some of our rural communities in New Mexico.

Now, a federal judge says the federal government did properly rely on experts to classify the southwestern willow flycatcher as a subspecies and that listing the bird as endangered was done properly. Due to those factors, the Cattle Growers Associations lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was dismissed.

Of course, were disappointed with the courts decision, and were in the process of studying the opinion with our counsel for next steps, Paterson says. Paterson adds that these sorts of cases can have big impacts on places like Luna, New Mexico.

[Luna] had a gas station. They had a motel. Now, we dont have our school here, and the kids have to be bussed 40 minutes each way, four days a week. We dont have a gas station. We dont have a cafe. We dont have a motel. The only thing that is growing is our cemetery. And those are some of the consequences of some of these policy choices.

Valles Caldera visitor data shows busiest months

Environmental advocates, on the other hand, have celebrated the recent court decision, arguing that bird protection should take priority over current cattle ranching practices. Thank goodness weve defeated another bogus effort by ranchers to remove protection for this imperiled songbird, Charles Babbitt, the conservation chair of the Maricopa Audubon Society, said in a press release. That protection is problematic for ranchers whose unsustainable business model requires that their cows continue to destroy the countrys few surviving desert riparian areas.

Paterson, from the Cattle Growers Association, pushed back on the idea that cattle ranchers are damaging New Mexicos landscapes. When the grass gets anywhere close to being short, they take the cattle off, he said. [And] much of southwestern New Mexico that has riparian area has been fenced off, so cattle are not allowed to go into those areas.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
SEOUL, March 1 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's export grew for the fifth consecutive month in February due to strong global demand for locally-made tech products, government data showed Friday.

Export, which accounts for about half of the export-driven economy, gained 4.8 percent from a year earlier to 52.41 billion U.S. dollars in February, keeping an upward trend since October last year, said the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Excluding the business day effect, caused by the Lunar New Year's holiday, the daily average export advanced 12.5 percent to 2.56 billion dollars last month.

Import dipped 13.1 percent to 48.11 billion dollars, sending the trade surplus to 4.3 billion dollars. The trade balance stayed in black for nine successive months since June last year.

Of the country's 15 major export items, six products saw an expansion in outbound shipment.

Semiconductor shipment soared 66.7 percent over the year to 9.95 billion dollars in February, maintaining an upward momentum for the fourth straight month.

It marked the fastest increase in over six years since October 2017 on higher memory chip prices and solid demand for mobile and server chips.

Mobile phone export declined 16.5 percent, but display panel shipment jumped 20.2 percent to 1.35 billion dollars on the back of strong demand for high-priced TVs and rising demand for flat screens used for cars.

Computer shipment spiked 18.4 percent to 620 million dollars, continuing to go up for two months in a row owing to higher price for solid state drive.

General machinery shipment kept an upward trend for the 11th consecutive month at 4.49 billion dollars, but those for oil products and petrochemicals retreated in single digits to 4.42 billion dollars and 3.94 billion dollars each.

Automotive export reduced 7.8 percent to 5.16 billion dollars in February, marking the first downturn in 20 months on less working days.

Shipment for steel products and auto parts diminished in single figures to 2.68 billion dollars and 1.98 billion dollars each, while those for home appliances and secondary battery shrank in single digits to 660 million dollars and 700 million dollars respectively.

Export to the United States increased 9.0 percent from a year earlier to 9.8 billion dollars in February, continuing to rise for the seventh consecutive month.

Shipment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations gained 1.4 percent to 8.56 billion dollars, keeping an upward trend for the fifth straight month.

Export to the European Union declined 8.4 percent to 5.67 billion dollars, but those to Japan and Latin American nations climbed to 2.37 billion dollars and 2.35 billion dollars respectively.

Those to India and the Middle East slipped to 1.47 billion dollars and 1.44 billion dollars each last month.

Regarding import items, crude oil import was up 0.9 percent, but those for natural gas and coal dipped 48.6 percent and 17.3 percent each.

Non-energy import lost 10.0 percent to 36.11 billion dollars in February compared to the same month of last year on lower demand for consumer goods such as cars and mobile phones. 
Practice makes perfect, which is especially true for moon missions with astronauts on board.

That's why SpaceX and NASA recently completed more than 200 docking scenarios together with Starship hardware. Starship is the landing system that will bring astronauts to the lunar surface with the Artemis 3 mission, no earlier than 2026.

Engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center spent 10 days using hardware from the Starship lander and NASA's Orion orbiter (designed by Lockheed Martin) at "various approach angles and speeds," NASA officials said in a release. "These real-world results, using full-scale hardware, will validate computer models of the moon lander's docking system," agency officials wrote on Wednesday (Feb. 28).

Related: NASA astronauts test SpaceX Starship elevator for future moon landings

The Artemis 3 moon landing requires two spacecraft: the Orion capsule, which will ferry the astronauts to lunar orbit, and the Starship lander, which will send the astronauts to the moon's south pole. The agency eventually aims to create a permanent settlement in this region to take advantage of its potential water ice, which would be beneficial for fueling and other mission needs.

The testing put Starship into the active docking role, with its hardware being a "chaser" to the Orion target docking system, NASA officials explained. Testing was meant to ensure SpaceX's soft capture system could extend to Orion, while Orion's passive system stayed retracted. The two hardware pieces join through "latches and other mechanisms," according to the agency.

a docking mechanism on top of a stand in a warehouse

Docking hardware for future Artemis missions, including some from SpaceX Starship and NASA's Orion, underwent testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)

While Starship has not yet made it to Earth orbit, its lunar docking system has a lot of flight heritage: it's based on the Dragon 2 docking system used for International Space Station missions. On future missions following Artemis 3, Starship will dock, alongside Orion, with NASA's Gateway space station for astronaut transfer.

SpaceX was initially chosen as the winner in 2021 of the Human Landing System (HLS) contract for the NASA-led Artemis program, which intends to bring a coalition of nations to the moon's surface under the Artemis Accords. NASA at first said it was planning on selecting multiple vendors, making the sole-source award a surprise.

Blue Origin and Dynetics, other companies competing for the opportunity, filed protests to the Government Accountability Office and cited "flawed acquisition" for the program as well as "issues and concerns" with the award process. The GAO turned those protests down and, in its detailed rationale released that August, said it found no "competitive prejudice" in NASA's decision. The U.S. Senate, however, directed NASA to select a second company in October 2021, and the agency eventually went with Blue Origin for its Blue Moon lander system.

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Starship made two test flights in 2023 in an attempt to reach Earth orbit, but neither were successful. The most recent SpaceX-led investigation into the November launch attempt was closed by the Federal Aviation Administration this week, and SpaceX is now working on the launch license for its third attempt.

The Artemis 3 landing, along with the Artemis 2 round-the-moon mission which will have astronauts onboard as well, was delayed in January due to several technical issues that included Starship delays. Artemis 3 will now land in 2026 at the earliest, a year later than planned, while Artemis 2 is launching nine months later in September 2025.

SpaceX's progress with Starship has been a concern for NASA for quite a while. NASA associate administrator Jim Free said in June 2023, for example, that SpaceX will need to finish "a significant number of launches" successfully before the agency gives the green light for Artemis.

In its Tuesday update, NASA officials noted SpaceX has finished "more than 30 HLS specific milestones" regarding hardware ranging from generating power and developing a guidance and navigation system, to mechanisms for propulsion, life support and protection from space's harsh environment.
LANSING  About 200 delegates from 25 Michigan counties, including the Republican stronghold of Ottawa County, will be excluded from Saturday's Republican convention in Grand Rapids because they missed the Feb. 21 deadline to register for the event, amid party infighting, officials said Thursday.

Kristina Karamo, left, and Peter Hoekstra.

Pete Hoekstra, who a judge ruled Tuesday is the lawful chair of the Michigan Republican Party, at least pending an appeal and a trial scheduled for June, is convening a Saturday convention in Grand Rapids to select 39 delegates for the Republican National Convention in July. Kristina Karamo, who was voted out as the party's chair by state committee members at a meeting Jan. 6, earlier called a Detroit convention for the same day.

Most county chairs sent their delegate lists to both Hoekstra, whose leadership is also endorsed by the Republican National Committee, and Karamo. But 25 counties only registered delegates for the Detroit convention, though some of them backtracked after Kent County Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi ruled Feb. 27 that Karamo had been lawfully removed and ordered her to stop identifying herself as party chair.

Logistically, it was by then too difficult to get those delegates credentialed, though the party repeatedly reached out to county chairs earlier to encourage them to send the required information, Hoekstra said Thursday.

"It creates some heartburn  it created some heartburn for me," Hoekstra said. "We bent over backwards. We called. We emailed. Please submit your list. Otherwise, we are going to be put in a bind."

It's possible some of the affected delegates may have opted for the Detroit meeting in any case, Hoekstra said.

The exclusion applies to delegates elected at county conventions in the affected counties but not to "at-large" delegates from those counties, such as state lawmakers and party officials.

The party has credentialed about 1,900 delegates, Hoekstra said. Because delegates to the national convention will be chosen by congressional district, each district will still be able to fill its allotment of national convention delegates by drawing them from counties in the same congressional district whose delegates were not excluded, officials said.

The only possible exception is the 1st congressional district, which takes in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula. There, many counties are among the excluded and some delegates who are not excluded are opting to attend the Detroit convention anyway.

"Whatever THEY decide to do will determine where we caucus on Saturday," Daire Rendon, chair of the 1st congressional district, said in an email to the Free Press. "I was elected to represent their voices, and I will not stop doing that now."

Cheryl Costantino, chair of the 13th congressional district, said she is freeing her delegates to attend whichever convention they choose.

"It's split, but slightly leaning toward Grand Rapids," she said.

On Thursday, the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected Karamo's request to suspend Rossi's order pending her appeal. Karamo asked for an emergency ruling by Friday in light of Saturday's convention, but a three-judge panel said no.

Hoekstra said there has not been swift compliance in turning over control of the party website and bank accounts, though he is not certain that is all Karamo's doing.

"We're going through the process," Hoekstra said. "I wouldn't say there are people who are facilitating a smooth and fast transfer." However, if issues continue beyond a few days, "we have legal recourse," he said.

Jim Copas, chief of staff to Karamo, said he expects a large turnout in Detroit Saturday and still believes the Grand Rapids meeting will ultimately be ruled unlawful.

"Last I heard, 90% of the total delegate base registered for Detroit," Copas said. "Maybe a good number of them also registered for Grand Rapids."

Copas said he will attend the Detroit meeting but he will advise Karamo not to attend as she could face potential legal jeopardy if seen as acting as party chair.

Counties whose delegates are excluded from the Grand Rapids convention are: Alcona, Alger, Antrim, Arenac, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Delta, Dickinson, Gogebic, Gratiot, Huron, Iosco, Keweenaw, Mackinac, Menominee, Missaukee, Montmorency, Oceana, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Ottawa, Presque Isle, Schoolcraft, and St. Clair.

The split in the Michigan Republican Party is expected to significantly disrupt  and possibly duplicate  Saturday's selection of delegates to this summer's Republican National Convention, but not to impact the ultimate outcome.

Whether delegates selected in Grand Rapids are ultimately seated at the July national convention in Milwaukee, or ones endorsed at a competing convention in Detroit are ultimately found to be legitimate, it's expected all or nearly all of the 39 delegates selected at either meeting will be pledged to support former President Donald Trump.

The RNC has authority over which delegates are seated in Milwaukee.

Earlier, 16 of Michigan's GOP delegates were awarded through Tuesday's presidential primary, with 12 awarded to Trump and four to Nikki Haley.

At each convention Saturday, delegates elected to represent each of the state's 13 congressional districts are expected to meet separately to allocate three nominating delegates for each district.

Additional business planned for Grand Rapids includes the election of a Michigan committeeman and committeewoman to the Republican National Committee.

Candidates for committeeman are Dr. Rob Steele, who is seeking a third four-year term, and Ralph Rebandt, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor in 2022.

Candidates for committeewoman, to succeed Kathy Berden, who has moved to Tennessee, are longtime party activist Linda Lee Tarver, Bernadette Smith, who is currently the party's ethnic vice-chair, and Hima Kolanagireddy, who is chair of the 6th congressional district.

At the Detroit meeting, Republicans in attendance are expected to reaffirm what they see as Karamo's continued leadership of the state party.

Free Press staff writer Todd Spangler contributed to this report.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on X, @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan GOP split excludes 200 delegates from Grand Rapids convention
In noting the loss of two innocent people killed in a crash in East St. Louis, a St. Clair County judge Thursday ordered a man charged in connection with the crash to remain in the county jail.

Zachary Carpenter, 23, of East St. Louis faces two counts of reckless homicide, two counts of failure to report an accident involving death and one count of unlawful use of a weapon-machine gun, according to court records.

During a pre-trial detention hearing for Carpenter, Associate Judge Sara L. Rice ordered that Carpenter remain in custody until his trial.

Marilyn Hill, 60, and Willie Bufford, 73, both of Cahokia Heights, died on Feb. 9 in a crash in the 3500 block of Bond Avenue, authorities said.

Carpenter drove a Ford Fusion at a high rate of speed on Bond Avenue and crashed into a Honda Civic Hill and Buffod were in, according to the charging documents. Illinois State Police investigated the crash.

St. Clair County Assistant States Attorney Derek Smith told Rice that a Cahokia Heights police officer had responded to a call about the Ford Fusion and another vehicle driving recklessly. The officer said the Fusion turned onto Bond Avenue and then T-boned the Honda Civic, Smith said.

After the crash, Carpenter ran from the scene and an officer followed him.

During the pursuit, Carpenter shot himself in the leg, Smith said.

Carpenter told the police officer, Im hit, Smith said.

A Glock handgun was found about 10 feet away from Carpenter.

Carpenter was taken to a hospital for his wound and he remained there until he was booked into the St. Clair County Jail on Wednesday.

Patrick Sullivan, a part-time public defender for St. Clair County, represented Carpenter in the hearing. He told Rice that the police officer cited by Smith did not have his emergency lights activated on his car. He also said Carpenter had previously been shot in another incident and that he was scared he was being chased by a third party.

Sullivan told the judge that Carpenter would not be a flight risk because he has a bullet in his leg and uses a wheelchair. He wasnt transported to the courthouse due to his injury and participated in the detention hearing via online video.

Sullivan argued that Carpenter, a father of five who has a full-time job with a St. Louis hospital, should be released from jail prior to his trial due to the severity of his wound.

Rice said she was not basing her ruling on whether Carpenter was a flight risk but instead on whether he is a real and present danger to society.

Rice noted that Carpenter was driving fast enough to create enough velocity to kill two people and that he was armed with a gun. She also said that Carpenter was on probation for a felony firearm charge at the time of the crash.

Illinois ended its cash bail system on Sept. 18. Since then, Illinois judges have conducted detention hearings to determine whether someone charged with serious offenses should remain in jail before their trial.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)  St. Lawrence Parish, located on East Delavan Avenue in Buffalo, is set to close, according to an email from the Buffalo Diocese.

The decision was made due to the untenable financial and sacramental condition of the parish, the diocese said in a statement.

Following extensive review with diocesan leaders in consultation with clergy and lay leaders of both financial and sacramental data of St. Lawrence Parish, it has become evident that the parish is insolvent, the diocese said.

A specific date for the closure has not yet been determined.

The church becomes the third area parish to close in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the diocese said that All Saints Parish on Chadduck Avenue will close. That joined St. Andrews in Tonawanda, which announced that it would close in June.

Parents scramble to find new school for their children as St. Andrews inches toward closing

St. Lawrence is a member of family No. 21 within the diocese, which also includes St. Martin de Porres on Northampton Street, Saints Columba and Brigid on Hickory Street and Blessed Trinity on Leroy Avenue.

In November, the diocese called on parishes to financially assist to help resolve nearly 900 child sexual abuse claims. It was estimated by the diocese that roughly $100 million would be needed to settle the claims.

Latest Local News

Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
The Stanislaus County Sheriffs Department received authorization this week to sell a mothballed air support unit helicopter to another agency.

In a consent item, the county Board of Supervisors declared the 1972 Bell Jet Ranger as surplus property and authorized Sheriff Jeff Dirkse to negotiate sale of the helicopter to Merced County.

The 52-year-old Jet Ranger aircraft is one of three helicopters in the Sheriffs Departments air support unit. It was essentially replaced two years ago when the Sheriffs Department purchased and outfitted a 2014 Bell 407GXP helicopter.

The Merced County sheriff has expressed interest in purchasing the (Jet Ranger) aircraft, a sheriff staff report said. The department is still in talks with Merced County but intends to move forward with the sale.

The Bell Jet Ranger was recently appraised at $533,500. Dirkses staff report recommended selling the copter as-is for $400,000. The helicopter needs more than $150,000 in maintenance repairs, including an engine overhaul, the report said.

The repairs and maintenance would be Merced Countys responsibility.

Stanislaus Countys air support unit also features a 1979 Bell Long Ranger helicopter that was damaged in a hard landing at Modesto Airport in 2016. It was brought back into service after more than $1 million in repairs and improvements.

E.&.J Gallo Winery donated the 1972 Bell Jet Ranger in 2002, and it was upgraded using funding from the California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team and Stanislaus Drug Enforcement Agency.
A downward trend in homicides at the state and national levels is reflected in the Valley. Fresno and Stanislaus counties have seen a big drop in homicides in recent years, with the latters 2023 toll being the lowest in a decade.

Stanislaus County recorded 17 homicides in 2023, based on numbers provided by every law enforcement agency in the county. There were 27 in 2022, 26 in 2021 and 33 in 2020, according to the California Department of Justices data set. The highest number of homicides in the past decade was in 2017, when there were 41.

In the city of Fresno, there were 25 homicides in 2023  down 43.3% from the previous year and less than half of the 74 reported in 2021 and 2020. The Fresno County Sheriffs Office investigated 21 homicides  13 of which were in its jurisdiction.

So between the two agencies, 46 homicides were investigated. By comparison, Fresno County recorded 83 homicides in 2022 and 87 in 2021. Previously, the lowest number of homicides recorded in the county in the past decade was 54, in 2018.

According to an NPR report, 2023 saw a 12.2% decline in murders nationwide compared to 2022. But the cause for declining rates of homicide and other violent crimes is uncertain. The news outlets report attributes it partially to improved policing. In San Francisco, police there say theyve been better at making arrests, it says. ... Baltimore voted for a new prosecutor who vowed to be tough on crime [and] the police say they are targeting violent hotspots ...

Fresno Chief Paco Balderrama also attributes success to effective and preventive policing, saying case clearance rates played a part in the reducing number of murders. When your clearance goes up, justice is being executed, he said during a Dec. 29 news conference. Theres no need for a retaliation shooting, and it really helps us all the way across.

Stanislaus Sheriffs Office boosts specialty teams

Stanislaus County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz said that from his perspective in local law enforcement, he can only theorize on whats caused the decline in homicides. But he seems to agree with the NPR sources.

We can attribute the decrease in annual homicide statistics to the hard work of the men and women in uniform who aim to make their communities safer, Schwartz said. The Sheriffs Office has expanded and filled positions and specialty teams which have not been staffed before. Our investigations bureau are able to assume control of patrol cases more rapidly, they utilize information readily made available from crime analysts and then they aggressively pursue any and all leads to ensure timely arrest and prosecution.

Staffing increases in the Sheriffs Offices Community Resource, Special Investigations and Major Crimes units were contributing factors as well, Schwartz said, as were increased efforts on threat assessment and smart policing. Smart policing, he said, means an increase in analytic analysis, increased patrols in hot spots, adjusting resources based on data and conducting research and completing workups of suspects and locations.

Though an increase in staffing is helping the Sheriffs Office, it doesnt explain why homicides are declining even in some communities where the number of police officers has been in decline, as the NPR report notes. This is true even in Modesto.

The Modesto Police Department has been having trouble recruiting and retaining officers, The Modesto Bee previously reported. Fifteen of the officers who left since 2020, left to work for the Sheriffs Office  one of the top two agencies MPD officers left to go work for.

However, Modestos homicide rates have been falling as well. The city recorded 16 homicides in 2020, nine in 2021 and 10 in 2022. In 2023, it had eight.

This trend applied to other major U.S. cities. Minneapolis Police Department staffing decreased by almost 40% after George Floyds murder at the hands of officers in May 2020. Still, homicides in Minneapolis fell 8% from 2022 to 2023, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The circumstances surrounding homicides have become less clear over time. The share of homicides with an unknown circumstance doubled from 22% in 1985 to 43% in 2022, reads a mid-2023 report by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan group.

CCJs report also found that murders in 30 large American cities declined by 9.4% in the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022 and that If that trend continued through the end of 2023, the nation will have experienced one of the largest single-year homicide reductions in the era of modern record keeping.

Data from CCJ for the second half of 2023 had not been published as of February 2024.

Sharing information, getting illegal guns off streets

Ivan Valencia, assistant chief of the Modesto Police Department, credited new technology and, like Schwartz, a recent increase in collaboration among the various agencies in Stanislaus County.

Theres a lot of variables in place and a lot of things that are done very well, said Valencia. Its a combination of different things. I do believe in this county, we work really well together with with all our public safety partners, whether it be federal, state, Sheriffs Department and different police agencies where we do share a lot of information.

Valencia said the way information is passed among agencies became much more efficient in recent years because of user-friendly database dashboards, accessible by all agencies, that include information from investigations down to beat-cop reports.

In the past, we would need an analyst to go through different databases and even just the hassle of going from one database to another and entering a password oftentimes becomes an obstacle, he said. You (now) have a dashboard that can access all these different databases and actually centralize the information.

Valencia credited software advancements, new license plate readers and recently acquired air support as contributing to the reduction in homicides. He also pointed out that an increased effort to get illegal guns off the streets was a big part of it.

We identify an individual that has a perfect propensity for violence. We refocused our efforts on those people. And in the past, I think we did have a lot more gang violence, but there are people out there doing traffic stops, conducting interviews, talking to people and they get an awful lot of illegally possessed weapons off the streets, Valencia said.

Guns remain weapon of choice in most homicides

Shootings remained the main method of homicide in Stanislaus County and for homicides investigated by the Merced County Sheriffs Office. All but one of the homicides in the Modesto Police Departments jurisdiction last year were the result of gun violence. Stabbings were most prevalent in domestic-violence homicides investigated by Stanislaus Countys law enforcement agencies and the Merced County Sheriffs Office.

According to the CCJ report, 78% of homicides nationwide were committed with firearms  the highest proportion since 1980.

In the city of Merced, the homicide numbers are less consistent. The Merced Police Department reported eight homicides in 2023, up from six in 2022 but well below the 13 in 2021. That year was tied for first in number of homicides in the city in the last decade. Merced also had two years with only one homicide apiece: 2016 and 2018.

There also were no clear trends in Madera County Sheriffs Office numbers, though homicides in its jurisdiction are historically less than 10 a year. It investigated seven in 2023, three in both 2022 and 2021 and four in 2020.

Several agencies in the region reported zero homicides for 2023, including the Newman and Oakdale police departments in Stanislaus County, the Ripon Police Department in San Joaquin County and the Sonora Police Department in Tuolumne County.
Polish farmers have completely blocked the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing around 1 p.m. on March 1, State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on national television.



"As the Polish side informed us, Polish farmers rejected to pass any trucks in the direction of Ukraine or out of it," Demchenko said.

Polish farmers started a new wave of protests in February in response to Ukrainian agricultural imports and the disagreement over the EU's Green Deal.

The ongoing protests continue to threaten Ukraine-Poland relations, as some protestors dumped Ukrainian crops and displayed anti-Ukrainian slogans.

According to Demchenko, earlier on Feb. 29, only 47 trucks passed the border in both directions.

The number of trucks crossing the border has declined at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint as well, the spokesperson added.

"Within a day, 111 trucks which were going from Poland to Ukraine crossed the border. As before, no trucks going from Ukraine to Poland were allowed to cross there. The figures of passings in the direction of Poland had been equal to zero for the last two days," Demchenko said.

Earlier on Feb. 20, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko appealed to Polish authorities to assess the legality of the ongoing blockade and to take steps against anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and actions surrounding the protests.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal to meet at their countries' border to solve the ongoing blockade led by Polish farmers.

Tusk said the Polish and Ukrainian governments agreed to meet in Warsaw on March 28.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The state has dropped charges against a Guatemalan man who was accused in a St. Johns County deputys line of duty death in May.

Vergilio Aguilar Mendez, now 19, will no longer be prosecuted for aggravated manslaughter of an officer or resisting an officer with violence, according to a news release from the office of State Attorney R.J. Larizza.

On May 19, St. Johns County Sheriffs Office Sergeant Michael Kunovich died shortly after fighting on the ground with Aguilar Mendez during an attempt to place him in custody.

St. Johns County Sergeant Michael Kunovich

According to his arrest report, Aguilar-Mendez later told deputies that he was resisting due to a fear of being deported. He also admitted he understood the verbal commands he was given, but chose not to comply in an attempt to escape, the report said.

Bryan Shorstein, Executive Director and PIO for Larizzas office, released a statement Friday, citing concerns about Aguilar Mendezs intellectual capacity as one of the reasons the charges are being dropped:

Recent expert testimony regarding the defendants inability to comprehend the English language, his cultural background and concerns about his intellectual capacity have raised significant issues to consider in the case. Furthermore, based on the courts recent ruling that the defendant is incompetent to proceed based on that expert testimony, dismissal of the charges is appropriate. Arrest and time served is sufficient. Bryan Shorstein

RELATED: Man now charged with manslaughter in St. Johns Sgt.s death, competence to stand trial in question

The St. Johns County Sheriffs Office released a statement saying though state charges against Aguilar Mendez have been dropped, he will remain in federal custody due to his immigration status:

The State Attorneys Office decision to nolle prosequi (dismiss) the case was based on concerns about the intellectual capacity of Vergilio Aguilar Mendez and the recent ruling finding him to be incompetent. Aguilar Mendez was arrested on the 19th of May, 2023 and has been in custody for approximately eight (8) months. Even though Aguilar Mendez will be released on State charges, he will remain in Federal custody due to his immigration status, pending deportation proceedings. Aguilar Mendez is an illegal alien who resisted Sergeant Kunovichs lawful efforts to detain him and as a result, Sergeant Kunovich tragically suffered a fatal heart attack. St. Johns County Sheriff's Office

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SJSO also released a statement from Sheriff Rob Hardwick, saying he stood behind Kunovichs actions that night:

There have been attempts by some to portray Aguilar Mendez as a victim and vilify Sergeant Kunovich. I continue to stand behind Sergeant Kunovichs actions on the night of May 19, 2023. The danger associated with law enforcement is a risk we assume when we enter this profession. Sergeant Kunovich died a hero protecting the citizens of St. Johns County and there is nothing more noble than that. Please continue to hold our agency and Sergeant Kunovichs family in your thoughts and prayers. Sheriff Rob Hardwick

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Action News Jax told you in February that a federal civil rights lawsuit had been filed on Aguilar Mendezs behalf.

The lawsuit against the county and two deputies says the sheriffs office discriminated against him because of the disability and they denied him access to language translation services, saying they should have, according to their own policy.

The lawsuit also says after the arrest, the sheriffs office didnt give him an interpreter before an interrogation.

Action News Jax also told you last month that the results from Kunovichs autopsy report revealed that he may have had a heart attack before the struggle with Aguilar Mendez.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
There are about 76,000 state employees in North Carolina. Many are in state agencies led by elected officials, or by someone hired by those same politicians.

Those agencies have grappled with a vacancy rate between 20% and 25% since the COVID-19 pandemic. The vacancy rate was 22.4% in November, according to the most recent data available from the Office of State Human Resources.

Major issues surrounding the retention of state employees have included salaries, pay scale, amount of annual raises and benefits.

The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer asked all candidates for governor in the March 5 primary election the same question about what they think should be done to address state employee vacancies. Three of the candidates are already elected officials on the Council of State, who lead offices and agencies where state employees work.

What should be done to address staff vacancies in state government?

Heres what they said. You can read the full candidate questionnaires in our Voter Guide: newsobserver.com/voter-guide

 Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Republican candidate:

My goal will be to create a culture of excellence in state government (that) will better recruit and retain employees while better supporting those who have already dedicated years of service to North Carolina. Our state agencies exist to serve the citizens of our state, and state employees and taxpayers alike deserve a culture of high professional standards that will serve the people of North Carolina well and allow our agencies to better recruit and retain qualified professionals for years to come.

 State Treasurer Dale Folwell, Republican candidate:

Do a better job of highlighting our benefits and selling the virtue of public service with our youth.

 Mike Morgan, Democratic candidate:

Conduct a comprehensive audit to evaluate the need to fill these vacancies and, where appropriate, allow unnecessary positions which are vacant to lapse. Thereafter, aggressively and adeptly recruit attractive candidates for state government employment to fill the remaining vacancies through initial and periodic incentives, both financial and non-financial.

 Attorney General Josh Stein, Democratic candidate:

We have got to pay our workers who serve the public better. The disparity between the same job in the public and private sector is stark, and our state employees are undervalued. We are seeing too many vacancies throughout state government in critical jobs, like in prisons and schools, because their pay is too low. We need competitive salaries and benefits, family and medical leave, and meaningful opportunities for professional development and career advancement.

 Marcus Williams, Democratic candidate:

The current General Assembly needs to manifest more respect for state government employees pertaining to raises and career encouragement.

 Shannon Bray, Libertarian candidate:

Vacancies give us an opportunity to reduce our government footprint. It will depend on what the role is.

 Mike Ross, Libertarian candidate:

It depends where the vacancies are and the functions performed.

Gubernatorial candidates Chrelle Booker, Gary Foxx and Bill Graham did not respond to the Observer and N&O candidate questionnaires.

Lt. Gov., Labor, other candidates

We also asked primary candidates who want to be lieutenant governor the same question about state employee vacancies. You can read their answers to that and other questions in our Voter Guide: newsobserver.com/voter-guide

The Department of Labor is one agency that has felt the vacancy rates acutely. Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson asked state lawmakers repeatedly to increase salaries to help retain and hire for positions that are particularly hard to fill, like elevator inspectors.

Dobson isnt running for reelection. Only Republicans have a contested primary on March 5. Heres what those candidates answered to a similar question of What should be done to address staff vacancies in your agency and in state government as a whole?

 Jon Hardister, Republican candidate:

As labor commissioner, I will do my best to promote a positive, collaborative work environment. I will also work with the N.C. General Assembly to ensure that our salaries are competitive.

 Luke Farley, Republican candidate:

The most pressing staff vacancies at the Labor Department are elevator inspectors. The challenge for the department is how to attract qualified inspectors from the private sector. As labor commissioner, Ill convene a working group of trade groups, safety advocates, and others to develop a plan with broad buy-in, including potentially creating an apprenticeship program for elevator inspectors.

 Travis Wilson, Republican candidate:

First determine if existing staff are being utilized efficiently and then engage in conversations with high school students who are choosing an education path to pursue after graduation.

You can also read answers about state employees from other Council of State candidates in our Voter Guide:

 Secretary of State

 Superintendent of Public Instruction

 Auditor

 Treasurer

 Insurance Commissioner

 Attorney General

 Agriculture Commissioner
AUSTIN (Nexstar)  A Democratic state representative currently undergoing fertility treatment is calling on Texas to safeguard in vitro fertilization access after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled embryos are children last month.

Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Plano, is trying to garner public support for protecting IVF therapy in Texas, through a petition she created on Tuesday.

Her petition is in response to the Alabama ruling that said frozen embryos have the same rights as children under state law. The court is allowing three Alabama couples who lost frozen embryos in a storage facility accident to sue for wrongful death of a minor, a decision that caused several of the states fertility clinics to pause IVF treatments.

This is having real consequences for women in Alabama. Its having real consequences for women in Texas, she said. We have to make sure that we are protecting the golden standard of care for this type of technology, and technological advances in medicine for Texas women.

IVF is the process of combining sperm and eggs in a lab to create embryos. Doctors then implant multiple embryos in a womans uterus in hopes that it will result in a pregnancy. After embryos are made, patients are given the option to freeze embryos to use later or to discard them altogether.

Plesa is asking Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican-dominated legislature to consider codifying protections for reproductive fertility treatments like IVF.

Ive heard a lot from the governor protecting parental rights in the state of Texas, Plesa said. I havent heard so much about protecting the right to be a parent.

Gov. Abbott supports IVF, but uncertain about codifying protections

Nexstar asked Abbott if he would support such legislation in the upcoming session next year. Texas legislators only meet every other year to pass laws, according to the state constitution.

We want to promote life and promote parents having more children and IVF is a pathway there, Abbott said.

But the governor fell short of endorsing openness to passing protections for the treatment. He stressed how complicated the issue is, questioning what would happen to unused embryos if the people who created them died or if the couple divorced, for example.

This is an issue that the state legislature, not just in Texas, but candidly across the country will take up and evaluate, he said. That we can make sure that we get it right, in a way that fully addresses it.

About 19% of women from ages 15-49 struggle with infertility, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 500,000 babies are born per year as a result assisted reproductive technologies.

Other states, Congress grapple with legislation addressing IVF

At least 15 states have proposed or passed laws that affirm fetal personhood, the concept that fetuses have the same rights as people.

Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are revitalizing a push to codify protections for IVF in light of the Alabama ruling.

The bill was first proposed in 2022 by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois. Duckworth brought the legislation back to the floor on Wednesday, but her request to vote on the bill was rejected by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Mississippi, who called the proposal overreach.

On Thursday, Alabamas House and Senate passed two bills intended to protect patients, doctors and other professionals involved in IVF from prosecution and civil suits in the state. The Legislature still needs to have a final vote on a unified version of the bill before sending it to the Alabama governors desk.

Plesa said she hopes Texas can get ahead of the issue, although the Legislature cannot pass any laws while it is not in session.

I have not recently heard from any Republican lawmakers on this issue, but I look forward to working with them, said Plesa. We need to make women feel like theyre heard, theyre seen, but most importantly theyre protected in the state of Texas.

Capitol Correspondent Monica Madden will have a full report on KXAN at 6 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
SYDNEY, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A male pilot was critically injured after a light plane crashed in Western Australia on Friday, according to local media.

Daily newspaper The West Australian reported that emergency services attended the crash site in Bunbury Airport at approximately 2:45 p.m. local time.

The privately-owned aircraft "crashed at the end of the runway on the eastern side of the South West Highway," Western Australia Police Force was quoted as saying.

The man was believed to have suffered critical trauma, including a shattered pelvis and facial injuries.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also noted that the pilot was trapped inside the wreckage for almost half an hour before being extracted out at about 3:10 p.m. local time.

He was later airlifted to a hospital in Perth. Bunbury Airport is located about 170 km south of Perth. 
Elijah Kinlaw, 24, smokes after his shift at a local roofing company in Central Florida. He enjoys menthol cigarettes and would like to quit, he said, but its tough. Research shows menthol cigarettes can be more addictive and are disproportionately marketed to and used by Black smokers. (Nada Hassanein/Stateline)

This story originally appeared on Stateline.

CLERMONT, Fla.  It was just after sunset, and the evening traffic was buzzing on Highway 50 as 24-year-old Elijah Kinlaw popped into his local Walgreens in Clermont, Florida, to pick up some smokes. He had just finished a long day working at a local roofing company, and he was still wearing his neon green work T-shirt and a red beanie.

After his shifts, Kinlaw typically smokes to wind down. His cigarette of choice: a cooling, minty Newport.

Kinlaw, who started smoking at 19, wants to just breathe and take one day at a time instead of relying on cigarettes, but quitting isnt easy. Hes tried twice and plans to try again.

Eventually, it catches up to you, said Kinlaw, one of the disproportionate number of Black smokers who prefer menthol cigarettes. Its not good for you. Its not a high. It doesnt feel good.

Menthol cigarettes can be more addictive than regular cigarettes because the menthol masks the harsh burn, making the smoke easier to inhale. Black people smoke at similar rates to white people overall, but most Black smokers  more than 80%  smoke menthol cigarettes, and they are more likely to die of smoking-related disease, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For years, public health experts have advocated for higher sales taxes on menthol cigarettes or even an outright ban. In 2021, the federal Food and Drug Administration announced a proposal to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes, a move that could prevent up to 650,000 deaths nationwide over several decades, according to research cited by the agency.

But following heavy lobbying  and perhaps fearing the loss of Black votes in an election year  President Joe Biden in December delayed the final decision on a ban. The administration hopes to announce a decision next month.

The delay has drawn fierce criticism from public health organizations. Meanwhile, some states are acting on their own.

Small-shop owners fear bans will hurt their businesses, and some Black leaders say they worry about more policing in their communities.

Massachusetts in 2020 became the first state to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. California enacted a similar ban in 2022. This year, bills that would empower state officials to ban the sale of menthol along with all other flavored tobacco products have been introduced in at least four states (Hawaii, New York, Vermont and Washington). Last year, bills were introduced in at least 10 states.

In addition, more than 190 cities and counties across at least eight states have restricted the sale of menthol cigarettes, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Other minority groups also disproportionately smoke menthols: In 2020, 51% of Hispanic adult smokers reported using menthol cigarettes, compared with 35% of non-Hispanic white adult smokers, according to the CDC. Research has shown that female smokers and those who are Asian, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native, LGBT, or who have mental health conditions also are more likely to smoke menthols.

Kinlaw said hes in favor of a ban. Weve got to take precaution, he said.

Industry influence

But the tobacco industry has long marketed menthol cigarettes to Black communities. The marketing of Kool and Newport brand menthol cigarettes to Black people began gaining ground in the 1950s, and included focused advertising and corporate sponsorships of events popular in Black communities, such as jazz concerts. One 2013 study of Black middle- and high-school students in California found they were three times more likely than non-Black students to recognize cigarette ads featuring Newport as opposed to Marlboro.

To shed light on that fact and to call for change, dozens of people last month took part in a funeral march in Washington, D.C., held by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. Rather than marking a single death, the marchers  led by trumpet players and people carrying a casket reminiscent of a cigarette pack  were demanding the demise of menthol cigarettes.

A man at a lectern in front of a sign saying death

Kirsten John Foy, founder of The Arc of Justice, a community organization, speaks at a menthol funeral demonstration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2024. The event, organized by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, aimed to raise awareness of menthols disproportionate harmful effects on Black communities as a federal ban is delayed. (Courtesy of Josh Brown/African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council)

Phillip Gardiner, a behavioral scientist and expert on racial health disparities who co-chairs the council, said multiple presidential administrations have dragged their feet on the issue.

Instead of burying African Americans, lets bury menthol, said Gardiner, whose own father died from smoking-related disease at 65.

In nearby Maryland, state law prohibits the sale of flavored e-cigarettes but there is an exemption for menthol-flavored products. Only one other state, Utah, has a similar law. A Maryland bill that would have banned the sale of all flavored tobacco products failed last year.

Maryland Democratic state Sen. Joanne Claybon Benson represents the Washington suburb of Prince Georges County, which is majority Black. Her husband died from lung cancer complications when he was only 59.

I can personally tell you the story of how harmful menthol cigarettes can be to an individual, an individual of color, said Benson, her voice tinged with frustration. Benson doesnt smoke, but she was exposed to secondhand smoke from her husband and is a cancer survivor. We dont want smoking, period, of any kind in our community.

An analysis published last week in the Oxford University Press journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that bans on the sale of menthol cigarettes can help smokers quit entirely. Researchers examined local bans in the United States, Canada and the European Union, and found that a quarter of menthol smokers quit smoking after a ban was enacted.

Sarah Mills, an assistant public health professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a lead author of the study, said policymakers considering bans should be aware of the tobacco industrys long history of providing funding to different groups and of using front groups to oppose them.

The history of menthol cigarettes is part of the history of the slow strangulation of Black people.

 Keith Wailoo, medical historian, Princeton University

Princeton University professor Keith Wailoo, a medical historian and author of the book Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette, said tobaccos disproportionate harm to Black people cannot be disentangled from the money Big Tobacco has spent in Black communities.

If you want to understand how menthol both started and built a foothold, you have to understand the way in which the industry developed tentacles from the street corner level, by identifying influencers and then funding politicians who would defend their rights to advertise, to supporting civil rights organizations, Wailoo said in an interview.

The history of menthol cigarettes is part of the history of the slow strangulation of Black people.

Pushback on bans

But some opponents of bans wonder why legislators are singling out menthol cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products while allowing the sale of other dangerous items. Beatriz Rodriguez, who owns the Dat Hoot Smoke Shop in Apopka, Florida, said the proposed federal ban would harm her business.

As a small-business owner, obviously that would hurt me, Rodriguez said. It would upset me because theres so many other things that are way more dangerous. Tobacco kills  but its like, OK, alcohol kills, prescription pills kill.

Other critics argue a menthol ban would lead to over-policing of Black communities. In New York, for example, Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus Chair Michaelle Solages, a Democratic assemblymember, has been an outspoken opponent.

We are very cautious about enforcement on the average New Yorker, Solages said in an interview, adding she worries about over-enforcement in marginalized, underserved communities of color.

But the FDA has made it clear that any ban would target the retail sale of menthol cigarettes and not the people who use them. Importantly, the FDA cannot and will not enforce against individual consumers for possession or use of menthol cigarettes or flavored cigars, a news release on the proposed rule states.

Gardiner and Wailoo said people who warn of increased policing are echoing arguments that the tobacco industry has made. He said the industry often tries to tap into anxieties and concerns about police violence or aggressive policing that already exist.

Meanwhile, other public health experts say increasing taxes on menthol cigarettes  a strategy that has been used to reduce overall smoking  wont pack nearly the same punch as a ban.

Youre taxing people who have been targeted by companies, said Ruqaiijah Yearby, a health law professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. Youre not actually getting at the people who have caused the harm  which are the cigarette companies.

Yearby also criticized state laws that tie the hands of local officials who want to crack down on tobacco use. Republican lawmakers in Ohio recently blocked cities and counties from passing their own tobacco control ordinances. The American Lung Association says that 39 states have such laws.

Florida, where Kinlaw is trying to quit smoking and Rodriguez worries about her smoke shop, is one of them.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Follow Stateline on Facebook and Twitter.

The post States consider menthol cigarette bans as feds delay action appeared first on Alabama Reflector.
A Bourbon County state senator thinks Lexington has overstepped with its policies regulating short-term rentals, like Airbnb and VRBO.

Its yet another step for GOP legislator to interfere with cities policies they think are too left-leaning, even to the party that used to tout local control.

Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, whose district includes the northern tip of Fayette County, has filed Senate Bill 236 to stop Lexington and other cities from enacting policies that limit short-term rental properties. Last year, Lexington passed regulations that require short-term rental operators to register their properties and pay a fee. There are also limits on the number of people that can be hosted, and if the owner doesnt live on the property, they have to get a conditional use permit.

Wests bill says that short-term rentals should be allowed under any residential zones. Conditional use permits for non-occupied properties would be allowed to a point. But it says a planning unit shall not pass, interpret, or enforce its ordinances in a manner that is intended or has the effect of prohibiting or unreasonably restricting short term rentals.

It does allow permits and permit fees, but would require them to be no greater than $150. Lexingtons current permit fee is $200. The bill does allow the city to take action on noise and other safety complaints.

Some Lexington neighborhoods would like to see Lexingtons ordinance changed so it would limit the number of short-term rentals in a neighborhood.

Louisville changed its ordinance in September 2023 to put stricter limits on how many unhosted short-term rentals can be in a neighborhood after getting multiple complaints about the proliferation of short-term rentals and loss of housing in popular downtown neighborhoods.





West, a real estate lawyer who was part of House Bill 18, which has successfully stopped Lexington and Louisville from source of income discrimination bans, said the bill came about after a conversation with an Airbnb lobbyist. Louisville and Georgetown also have short-term rental regulations and would be affected.

He called the policies reactionary.

Kentucky state Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris, Ryan C. Hermens/rhermens@herald-leader.com

I think that some of the cities have gotten out of their lane, they need to stay in their own lane when it comes to certain issues, West said. Where does the state line stop and the citys lines begins when it comes to protections of individual property rights?

The bill has been assigned to the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee. West said hes happy to discuss possible changes, calling it a work in progress, and an initial shot across the bow.

Local control: good until its not

SB 236 is the latest of whats called preemption bills from a conservative General Assembly trying to rein in what it sees as the too-liberal policies of cities.

West is at the forefront. In addition to overturning Lexington and Louisvilles source of income bans, and regulating Airbnbs, he has also filed SB 233, which would limit solar facilities in counties.

House Bill 581 would prevent any differential zoning treatment between gas stations and EV charging stations. House Bill 102 would basically scrap most local planning and zoning regulations.

The legislature has also reupped action against Louisville, everything from breaking up the school district to requiring nonpartisan local elections.

Even House Bill 5, the omnibus crime bill, would override city and county policies on homelessness by making it a crime that police must address.

The Kentucky League of Cities is trying to talk to legislators about this approach.

We believe local decisions are best made at local level by the people who have been elected locally, said J.D. Chaney, executive director of the KLC.

Whats strange is that the Republican Party used to embrace local control, from schools to counties and cities. But the power of a legislative supermajority means the attractions of local control pale next to overturning policies they deem too progressive.

University of Kentucky political scientist Steve Voss said this conflict has always been part of the urban/rural divide; the capitol of Louisiana is in Baton Rouge, for example, because rural legislators ruled it had to be a certain number of miles away from the morally suspect city of New Orleans.

But I do think its (the political conflict) getting worse nationwide as politics becomes more rooted in place, as cities become overwhelming Democratic, he said.

Whats unusual in Kentucky, he said, is that legislators are blocking things before or as they happen, as they did with Lexingtons source of income ban.

We see the Republican supermajority anticipate left leaning policy and heading it off, Voss said. They are primed to expect trouble.

On the one hand, elections have consequences. On the other, our gerrymandered political districts, designed to shortchange Democrats, mean that people in cities are already disenfranchised in Frankfort. Regulating Airbnbs or formulating homeless policy is something dedicated local officials spend a lot of time and energy working on. In our reactive political times, its too bad legislators cant respect that work and its results.

But as West said, absolutely local control  its all good as long as you stay in your lane.
NEWPORT  Full-time teacher to full-time student? Seeking a new career at age 55?

Nick Willis of Providence didn't rush into this life-altering decision. He said he and his wife, nurse practitioner Heather Glenn, like to carefully weigh all factors before making their decisions. In this case, once they put all relevant information on the scale, the decision, while pushing them a tad out of their comfort zone, was clear.

This past September, with a long career as a software engineer for Raytheon and, most recently, two very satisfying years teaching mathematics at the Blackstone Academy Charter School in Pawtucket in his rear-view mirror, Willis showed up at the IYRS School of Technology and Trades, enrolled in its six-month Marine Systems program.

He recently completed the on-campus program and is now honing his electrical systems drafting skills, and making a few dollars again, in the school's externship program.

Willis said he had a great career at Raytheon and labeled Blackstone Charter teaching the best job he's ever had. He said the students were amazing, the faculty passionate, and the leadership committed to maintaining a wonderful school." Leaving BACS was not done without emotion.

IYRS really tugged at my heart, though, and I felt it would create an opportunity in the future to be teaching something a little bit more pragmatic than factoring quadratic equations, Willis said. There's a lot of talk about the importance of STEM. Well, if you want STEM, you need look no further than a marine diesel engine or electrical system.

Nick Willis works on a marine diesel engine.

How the International Yacht Restoration School programs work

IYRS was founded, in 1993, as the International Yacht Restoration School. Founders Elizabeth Meyer and John Mecray envisioned a a true wooden boat restoration program. The school over three decades has grown to now offer four programs of study  boat building and restoration (20 months), composites technology (9 months), digital modeling and fabrication (9 months), and marine systems (6 months). All four programs have been accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.

According to Julia McCann, IYRS director of marketing, the majority of the school's students are career changers, and the externship program is a key component of making the switch effective for students. She noted that IYRS collaborates with highly-regarded industry partners for both externships and job placement. Students and alumni can access the IYRS job portal. The school, she said, has an 85 percent job placement average for grads, with hobbyists accounting for a portion of the 15 percent.

IYRS graduates typically excel fast in their new careers, she said, rising to new roles and opportunities with their employers.

More: RIC's cybersecurity institute plans to grow with AI courses and new 'cyber range'

In a blog post on the IYRS website, Willis noted that marine systems students enjoy multiple field trips to boat yards, electronics shops, and suppliers and get to hear from guests speakers and enjoyed a career day filled with employers from Maine to California. One day, he said, three vice-presidents from nationwide Safe Harbor Marinas visited the students. The students, he said, also had the pleasure of Al Thomason, co-founder of engine-base charge control company Wakespeed, spending a day with them.

The IYRS' very concentrated education model  essentially five full work days per week  rapidly takes students from Day 1 to work force ready. Willis said that with their savings and his wife's income and some spending adjusting when needed, they were able to financially handle his paying for school and being out of work for half a year. They saw it and now see it as a wise investment. He described his wife as incredibly supportive during the new career adventure.

Nick Willis works on a sim board built to install a full suite of boat systems.

Students of all ages and experience levels

Willis said his fellow IYRS students included those right out of high school as well as people retiring from the Navy and Coast Guard. He said he immensely enjoyed the support of his cohorts. Some of his fellow students are taking a career paths to Maine, to the Caribbean, with others sticking around to help continue the state's history of master boat building.

Willis said he was experiencing some nerves leading up to his back-to-school start date. Those nerves were soothed, he said, on Day 1 when IYRS brought all the students into the boat building and restoration area and emphasized the inclusive school culture. That, he said, was followed by two weeks of message reinforcement.

They could write the book on what it takes to create a safe learning environment, and I don't just mean safety with tools, although they are good at that, too, he said.

The International Yacht Restoration School, founded by Elizabeth Meyer and John Mecray, offers four programs of study  boat building and restoration, composites technology, digital modeling and fabrication, and marine systems.

Combining technical knowledge with practical skills

Born in England and raised on Massachusetts' North Shore, Wills said that while he lived most of his life near the ocean, his passion for boats and the maritime world did not surface until 2020. Due to COVID, he and his wife were itching for outdoor activities. They took sailing lessons. (She enjoys it, I'm a bit of a nut about it, he said.). They subsequently bought a 37-foot sailboat built in 1999.

When he was teaching algebra and pre-calculus at Blackstone Valley Charter School, Willis said that when he showed students pictures of some of the electrical work he was doing on his boat, some of them said they weren't smart enough to do such work. Wills said he knew his students were plenty smart enough, and got him thinking seriously about IYRS and that perhaps what he really should be doing is helping children connect into the maritime trades.

That dream still lives.

I am exiting the Marine Systems program with what I feel is world class fundamental skills as a marine electrician/mechanic, he said. There is huge demand out there for this, with the opportunity to become highly skilled and specialized.

I still want to teach, and eventually would like to be involved in a 'semester-at-sea' style program that is accessible to kids who may not have had the chance to be out on the water, and also includes a maritime trades element in the curriculum.

Want to be a guide?: Newport Historical Society tours are expanding to meet demand

The cost of the marine systems program starting in the fall is about $25,700. Federal financial aid and other grants and scholarships are available.

Willis said the starting pay for marine systems graduates ranges from $25 to $30 per hour. He said he plans to work part-time and then enter the IYRS' 20-month Boatbuilding and Restoration Program. Local boat builders, he said, have told him marine systems plus BBR is a highly desirable combination.

Nicks story, McCann said, is typical in that most of our students are seeking to align a passion or interest to work with their hands with a way to earn a living or follow through on a life-long dream. In Nicks case, he was initially looking to combine his love of teaching with his passion for sailing. After completing IYRSs marine systems program, he is exploring other opportunities that he wasnt aware of prior to enrollment.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: International Yacht Restoration School offers chance for second career
He knows its a pop culture phenomenon, but Stephen Fry has declared that he has no interest in Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The actor and comedian said he didnt understand the hype surrounding the famous family, as he admitted that the subject would stump him if it came up during a quiz show.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians follows the Kardashian family, including sisters Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall, as they navigate their respective relationships, breakups and business ventures.

The show propelled them to global fame, with Kim and Kylie in particular regarded as successful business moguls due to their brands, which include Skims and Kylie Cosmetics.

Despite this, Fry told The Guardian that he wouldnt know one Kardashian from another although he added: I know they exist, and I know most of their names begin with K.

Im not being fake ignorant, I genuinely just dont understand, he said. I dont see why I should go to Wikipedia and read up on the history of the Kardashian family.

The Kardashians (Getty Images)

He continued: I know its a phenomenon. And all phenomena are worthy of interest in the human story, I suppose. But there isnt room for everything.

The broadcaster also added K-pop, Girls Aloud, indie and hip-hop to his list of topics to avoid.

However, he said his husband, Elliot Spencer, had taught him to love and respect Kendrick Lamar, the Grammy-winning rapper behind hits such as Humble and Swimming Pools.

He also said he admired Eminem, who according to Fry has genuine poet skills and is quite exciting to listen to.

Stephen Fry says his husband Elliot had encouraged him to broaden his music taste (Getty)

The Golden-Globe nominated actor was rushed to hospital in September last year after falling six feet from the stage at the O2 Arena in London. Fry had been delivering a speech on Artificial Intelligence when the incident took place.

He was left with a broken leg, pelvis and ribs as a result, but said he was now whole and healed following physiotherapy in an interview with Good Morning Britain in December last year.

The doctors said I was lucky, he told the GMB hosts. People have had a fall from a lesser height and might not walk again. I was very fortunate.

Fry next stars as the voice of Leonardo da Vinci in new stop-motion movie The Inventor.

Directed by Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco, famous for working on The Lion King and Ratatouille, the movie follows the story of the insatiably curious polymath as he leaves Italy to experiment freely, invent machines and study the human body.

The Inventor is in Vue cinemas from 8 March.
With this week's severe weather, many throughout central Ohio are dealing with property damage from high winds and tornadoes.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service confirmed that an EF2 tornado struck Malaga Township in Monroe County, bringing the total number of confirmed tornadoes in Ohio to six, The Dispatch previously reported.

Four of the tornadoes struck central Ohio, and with tornadoes comes inevitable property and home damage. But there is another unfortunate impact following extreme weather events  "storm chaser" scam artists looking to prey on homeowners for their insurance money.

If your home was recently damaged in the storm, here's tips how you can avoid scams:

Photos: Tornadoes cause damage as severe weather hits the Columbus area

What is a storm chaser scam?

According to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office, storm chasing scams are when contractors travel to communities affected by severe weather and offer their services to homeowners who experience damage, such as downed trees or roof damage.

In many cases, they tell homeowners they can complete the work immediately, and may ask for a large down payment or for homeowners to sign over their insurance checks.

Ultimately, they do shoddy work or no work at all. Then they're gone.

How can you avoid storm chaser scams after severe weather?

Jefferson Township employees Jack Neville and Nate Matthews work to clear trees in Pataskala, Ohio on Wednesday.

According to the Better Business Bureau, here are a few tips you can consider when approached by contractors offering damage repairs:

Contact your insurance company: Ask about your policy coverage and specific filing requirements. Your insurance company may also have recommended contractors.

Do your research: Find businesses you can trust on BBB.org or other reliable websites. You can also check with your local government for licensed contractors, or get references from friends, relatives and neighbors.

Resist high-pressure sales: Some storm chasers use tactics such as the supposed good deal t hey offer homeowners  but only if you hire on the spot, according to the BBB. Disaster victims should not feel forced to make a hasty decision or to choose an unknown contractor, and should proactively consider all options available to them. Consider getting multiple estimates.

Be especially careful of door-to-door contractors: Ohio requires a solicitation permit if salespeople go door-to-door, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. Ask for identification.

Dont sign over insurance checks to contractors: The BBB recommends you get an invoice from the contractor and pay them directly with a credit card, which offers additional fraud protection. Additionally, never sign any documents giving the contractor rights to insurance claims  if you have questions, ask your insurance agent.

Be wary regarding inspections on places you cant see: Be careful allowing someone you do not know to inspect your roof and other areas of your house because an unethical contractor may create damage to get work.

@Colebehr_report

Cbehrens@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio weather: How to avoid storm damage scams after tornadoes, severe weather
A Georgia teen faces serious charges after he was accused of stabbing a classmate in a school bathroom, district officials told news outlets.

The teen was charged with disruption of school, aggravated assault and weapons on school property after the Feb. 29 incident at Brookwood High School in Snellville, WSB-TV reported, citing police.

Officers were called at about 10 a.m. after a student was found stabbed in the bathroom, according to WAGA.

Administrators were walking through the hall, and they heard a commotion in the restroom, Bernard Watson, spokesperson for Gwinnett County Schools, told the station. They went in, and they found a student with several injuries to his body and looked as if he had been stabbed.

The injured student was taken to a hospital, WANF reported, citing school officials. Their condition wasnt known as of Friday, March 1.

McClatchy News reached out to the Gwinnett County School District and was awaiting a response.

Principal Brett Savage addressed the incident in a letter to parents, writing that such violence will not be tolerated.

As is the case in this incident, those who engage in this type of behavior will face appropriate criminal charges, Savage said. I want to reassure you that we are taking this situation seriously.

School officials said the suspect ran after the incident but was arrested about 30 minutes later, according to WSB-TV. Authorities also found a knife.

This is a very unfortunate incident and administrators are already reviewing the safety measures that we have in place to ensure that something like this doesnt happen again, Watson told the station.

Snellville is about 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta.

Pastor shot confronting accused car thieves at church, Tennessee cops say. A fighter

Fatal stabbing of transgender woman unsolved 3 years later, NC cops say. Devastating

18-year-old shot his brother and left him to die in bedroom closet, Texas cops say
The death of a transgender student after a fight at an Oklahoma school has placed new focus on the states hostile stance toward LGBTQ+ people. Meanwhile, a government report finds that social media and gaming companies continue to host extremist propaganda and recruitment efforts. And extremism is a top concern for voters, according to a new nationwide poll.

Its the week in extremism.

A photograph of Nex Benedict is projected during a candlelight service in Oklahoma City on Feb. 24, 2024.

Students death shines light on Oklahomas treatment of LGBTQ+ community

Nex Benedict, a teenager from the Tulsa, Oklahoma, suburb of Owasso, died earlier this month, a day after they were involved in a fight in a high school bathroom. Nex, who used he/him and they/them pronouns, identified as gender expansive, an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity expands beyond traditional gender norms, according to the National Institutes of Health.

While it remains unclear whether the fight contributed to Nexs death, the case has placed new focus on Oklahomas treatment of the LGBTQ+ community.

Several students in Owasso told The Oklahoman they had experienced bullying because of their gender identities and sexualities. I was bullied pretty much every day, consistently, said Ren Stolas, 20, who is transgender. Thats why this hurts a little extra.

On Wednesday, 350 local, state and national organizations sent an open letter to senior officials at the Oklahoma State Legislature calling for the removal of state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, who they say has been hostile towards the states LGBTQ+ community.

Last month, Walters appointed Chaya Raichik, the far-right influencer whose controversial posts have preceded dozens of bomb and death threats, to a statewide library advisory board. That move had sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community.

As USA TODAY reported, Raichik does not meet the states own basic requirements for the position. In an interview with a Washington reporter last weekend, Raichik acknowledged she has only been to Oklahoma once, and shed no new light on her qualifications for the state position.

The open letter also calls for an investigation into the Oklahoma Department of Education, to determine what actions and policies have led to a culture where rampant harassment of gay and trans students.

Police officials have said in a statement that Nexs death was not the result of injuries from a fight, adding that the findings were preliminary and investigations by the medical examiner's office and the police department remain under way.

A scene from the game Call of Duty: Warzone. Researchers say multiplayer games also expose users to hateful social interactions.

Report: Gaming sites, social media often used by domestic terrorists

A report released this week by the Government Accountability Office concludes that domestic terrorists often use social media and online gaming sites to spread propaganda and to radicalize, recruit, and mobilize people online.

The FBI identified lone offenders and small groups who have been radicalized online and commit violence over political grievances as one of the most significant terrorism threats facing the country, the report says.

While the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have mechanisms to share information about extremists on social media and gaming sites, neither agency has developed a strategy that articulates how it identifies and selects companies to engage with or the goals and desired outcomes of those engagements.

The reports primary recommendation: To develop just such a strategy. The FBI should should share information related to domestic violent extremism with social media and gaming companies, the GAO said.

Rioters, including Dominic Pezzola, center with police shield, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.

Poll: Extremism top concern for voters

The primary concern to U.S. voters currently is political extremism/threats to democracy, according to a new nationwide Reuters/Ipsos poll.

21% of respondents to the three-day poll said extremism was their top priority, while 19% said it was the economy and 18% said immigration. Crime and corruption (7%) and war and foreign conflicts (5%) were far behind.

Democrats mostly named extremism as their top concern, while Republicans overwhelmingly chose immigration.

The majority of Americans (71%) told pollsters the country is on the wrong track, and only 13% said it is heading in the right direction.

Statistic of the week: At least 17

Thats how many people were killed by domestic extremists in 2023, according to a report released late last week by the Anti-Defamation League. The number of fatalities is down from 2022, in which domestic extremists killed 27 people, per the ADL.

Will Carless is a national correspondent covering extremism and emerging issues. Contact him at wcarless@usatoday.com. Follow him on X @willcarless.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict's death raises questions about LGBTQ rights
Matthew Georgia sits at the defense table on Monday at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay. Georgia was charged with homicide by negligent operation of a motor vehicle in the 2020 death of Christian Warzniak. A jury acquitted Georgia of the charge on Thursday.

GREEN BAY - A Suamico man was acquitted Thursday night of a charge related to the death of 5-year-old Christian Warzniak.

In February 2020, Warzniak was run over by a truck in a driveway in De Pere and died. After nearly six hours of deliberations Thursday, a Brown County jury found Matthew Georgia, 42, the driver of the truck, not guilty of causing the accident with criminally negligent behavior  on fourth anniversary of Warzniak's death.

A charge of homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle was dismissed. The trial lasted four days.

According to attorneys, Georgia and Christian's mother, who had been in an on-and-off-again relationship got into an argument on Feb. 29, 2020, after Georgia saw a text on Christian's mother's phone. When they returned to the driveway of her home in De Pere, the argument continued, and Georgia threw the phone out the window, Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said.

Christian's mother got her son out of the vehicle and grabbed some items out of the truck. Lasee said Georgia backed out before Christian's mother had a chance to shut the truck door. Christian was knocked down and run over by the right front wheel of the truck.

Georgia called 911. Christian was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Lasee argued Georgia should have known backing out of a driveway in that manner was likely to cause death or great injury.

The 12-person jury deliberated for about 5 hours before returning to the courtroom and telling the judge it could not reach a decision. Brown County Judge Timothy Hinkfuss told them to go back and try again based on juror instructions.

Hinkfuss, who has been a circuit court judge since 2007, said it was the first time on cases he presided that the jury said it couldn't come to a verdict.

After going back to deliberations, the jury returned with the final verdict in a half-hour.

According to Wisconsin law, criminal negligence is "conduct that the actor should realize creates a substantial and unreasonable risk of death or great bodily harm to another."

Over the course of the trial, Georgia's two defense attorneys, Jolly and Shane Brabazon, argued that not enough evidence existed that showed Georgia knew backing the truck out of the driveway was going to kill Warzniak.

More: Trial for Suamico man charged in death of 5-year-old De Pere boy begins with opening statements

Kelli Arseneau contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Matthew Georgia acquitted by Brown County jury in death of 5-year-old
Get ready to cast your ballot, Massachusetts voters. Super Tuesday is here!

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, Bay State voters will head to the polls to vote in the presidential primaries, and some cities and towns will also have local elections.

For the presidential race, the elections are a crucial moment for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who are the overwhelming front-runners for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations, respectively, the Associated Press reported. As the day with the most delegates up for stake, strong performances by Biden and Trump would move them much closer to becoming their partys nominee.

Trump has dominated the race and his last major rival in the race, his onetime U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, is struggling to keep up, the Associated Press reported. She lost the Feb. 27 primary in Michigan by more than 40 percentage points. She even lost her home state of South Carolina, where she was twice elected governor, by more than 20 percentage points.

In this combination of photos, President Joe Biden speaks on Aug. 10, 2023, in Salt Lake City, left, and former President Donald Trump speaks on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas, center, and Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, speaks on Feb. 18, 2024, in Columbia, S.C., right. (AP Photo)

Locally, there is a special state election for state representative in the 6th Worcester Representative District, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Rep. Peter Durant. Republicans David S. Adams of Southbridge and John J. Marsi, Jr. of Dudley are vying for the seat.

Election 2024: What to know about Super Tuesday

Massachusetts is among 15 states taking to the polls for Super Tuesday, including Vermont, Maine, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The U.S. territory of American Samoa will also vote that day.

A vote sign and American flag are shown outside a Michigan primary election location in Dearborn, Mich., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Michigan is the last major primary state before Super Tuesday and a critical swing state in November's general election. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Secretary of State William Francis Galvins office offered the following tips for voters:

Am I Eligible to Vote

To vote, you must be a US citizen, a resident of the state youre voting in, and 18 years old before election day.

When to Vote

Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for all state primaries and elections. Cities and towns are allowed to open their polling places as early as 5:45 a.m. Polling hours will vary by community for municipal elections. If youre in line when the polls close, you will still be able to vote.

Check with your local election office for voting hours for local elections.

Where to vote

Massachusetts is divided into voting precincts. Each precinct has an assigned polling place. Youll get a notice in the mail with your polling place information after you register to vote. You have to vote at your assigned polling place if you are voting on Election Day.

You can find your polling place online if you dont know the location.

How to Vote

Check-In

When you get to your polling place, get in line to check in. Some polling places are for more than one precinct, so make sure youre in the right line.

When you reach the check-in table, give the poll worker your address and your name.

If youre voting in a primary as an unenrolled voter or a member of a political designation, youll need to choose one partys ballot.

The poll worker must repeat your name, address, and party choice back to you before marking the information on the voter list.

You might need to show identification when you check in.

There are a few reasons that you may be required to show identification when you check in. If you registered by mail and it is your first time voting in Massachusetts, federal law may require you to show identification. You may also be asked to show identification if you are an inactive voter, you are casting a challenged ballot, or you are casting a provisional ballot. Please see Showing Identification below, for more information on these types of ballots.

Mark Your Ballot

After you check-in, the poll worker will give you your ballot. If your ballot is going to be put into an electronic tabulator, the poll worker will offer you a secrecy sleeve so you can cover your ballot after you vote.

Go into the voting booth and mark your ballot. Ballots are marked either by filling in ovals, connecting arrows, or marking an X next to the candidate or question. Read the top of your ballot to find out which way you should mark your ballot.

If you need help marking your ballot due to physical disability, inability to read, or inability to read English, you may bring anyone of your choosing into the voting booth with you. Alternatively, you may ask for the assistance of two poll workers (by law, the political parties of the two poll workers assisting you should be different from each other).

If you would prefer to mark your ballot independently, you may use the AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal, which is available in every polling place. The AutoMARK will read the ballot to you and mark the choices that you indicate. Watch this AutoMARK Video for more information on the AutoMARK Voter Assist Terminal.

Check-Out

When you have finished marking your ballot, you may be asked to proceed to a check-out table, where you will once again be asked for your address and then your name. Again, if you are and unenrolled (commonly referred to as independent) voter or a member of a political designation and you are voting in a primary, you will be asked to inform the poll worker of the ballot that you chose. The poll worker must repeat all of this information back to you and mark it on the voter list.

Cast Your Ballot

After you check-out, go to the ballot box. Most cities and towns use optical scan ballots. Put your ballot into the machine so it can tally your vote.

If your city or town counts ballots by hand, fold your ballot in half and put it in the ballot box.

After polls close, poll workers will print out a machine tally from the ballot tabulator. Theyll hand count any write-in ballots and ballots that couldnt be counted by the machine.

If your polling place hand counts ballots, the poll workers will unlock the ballot boxes and hand count the ballots in teams.

All vote counting and tallying procedures are open to the public. After all the ballots have been counted, the ballots will be sealed in containers and the tally will be announced.

Showing Identification

You may need to show identification when you check in at your polling place if:

You are voting for the first time in Massachusetts

Youre on the inactive voter list

Youre casting a provisional or challenged ballot

The poll worker has a practical and legal reason to ask for identification

Identification needs to show your name and the address where you are registered to vote. Examples of acceptable identification are:

A drivers license

A state ID card

A recent utility bill

A rent receipt or lease.

A copy of a voter registration affidavit

A letter from a school dormitory or housing office

Any other printed identification which contains your name and address

If you need to show identification because youre voting for the first time and you dont have identification with you, you can cast a provisional ballot. If you return with identification before the polls close, your ballot will be counted.

If you need to show identification for any other reason and youre not able to do so, you can cast a challenged ballot. Your name and address, the challengers name and address, and the reason for the challenge will be written on your ballot. Your ballot will be cast as normal and only examined if there is a recount, court order, or audit.

Not on the List of Voters

If your name does not appear on the list of voters and your registration cannot be verified, you have the right to cast a provisional ballot. For more information, see this page on provisional voting.

Political Parties and Designations

You can enroll in a political party or designation when you register to vote. You can enroll as a member of a recognized political party, such as the Republican or Democratic parties, or choose no party to be an unenrolled voter (also known as Independent).

If you register in a party, you can vote in that partys primary elections. If you choose no party, you can choose which partys primary election you want to vote in. Voting in a partys primary election wont enroll you in that party.

You can also enroll as a member of a political designation. Write the name of your chosen political designation on your voter registration form or select one from the drop-down list on the online registration form. You can change your political party or designation enrollment by submitting a new voter registration form at least 10 days before an election.

Here is a list of Political Parties and Designations.

Mail-in Ballots

If you still have your mail-in ballot, they are due by 8 p.m. tonight so youll have to drop it off at a local election office or drop box. Once the polls close, workers will start tallying all the ballots, and we will likely find out the winners shortly after.

Questions or Concerns

If you feel that your right to vote has been violated in any way, call the Secretary of the Commonwealths Elections Division as soon as possible at 1-800-462-VOTE (8683).

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
The Supreme Court will likely produce thousands of words when it decides this year whether former President Donald Trump may claim immunity from special counsel Jack Smiths election subversion charges.

But for now, court watchers are stuck parsing the first 29.

Thats how many words the court used to lay out the question presented in Trumps immunity appeal  the question that the nine justices will focus on when they meet in April to hear arguments and then sit down to craft an opinion that will either greenlight Smiths prosecution of the former president or shut it down.

Although the question appeared straightforward, some experts saw worrying signs for Trump below the surface in how the wording seemed to reject his most aggressive claims. But the tea leaves presented a mixed picture for prosecutors as well. They suggest the possibility of an outcome that will require even more of a delay and additional legal wrangling before the case can go to trial, even if Trumps claims of absolute immunity are rejected by the justices.

The framing of the case was extremely carefully crafted, said Norm Eisen, who served as White House ethics czar during the Obama administration and is a CNN legal analyst. And, he said, it signals the only reasonable outcome here, which is to reject presidential immunity.

More than two weeks after Trump requested that the Supreme Court block a lower court ruling against him, the justices announced Wednesday they would decide the dispute. In a terse, one-page order, the court expedited review and said it would hear arguments during the week of April 22.

It also defined the question it intends to answer.

Whether and if so to what extent does a former president enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office, the court wrote.

Every time the Supreme Court grants an appeal it settles on a specific legal question to resolve. Often the court will simply adopt the question crafted by the party appealing. Other times it will limit the question or recast it in a different way.

In the immunity matter, the court didnt embrace Trumps framing  nor the question Smith posed when he sought review on the same issue in December.

For starters, the Supreme Court completely ignored one of the questions Trump asked it to resolve: whether Smiths prosecution amounted to double jeopardy, in violation of the Fifth Amendment, because he was acquitted by the Senate in 2021 after his second impeachment.

Impeachment is a political process, not a legal one. And Trumps novel claim that his acquittal precluded prosecution clearly didnt resonate with the high court.

But the more substantive issue deals with a longstanding debate over whether Trumps efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election were official acts, as Trump has defined them. Trump has argued that absolute immunity for former presidents covers just about any action in office  that the definition of official acts, in other words, is exceedingly broad.

By including the words whether and to what extent in the question, the court may be hinting that it intends to define the term more narrowly.

The question implicitly rejects Trumps position of absolute immunity because of that language whetherand to what extent, Eisen said. They are signaling that even if, to some extent theres an official element, that that may not be enough.

But former FBI deputy director and CNN legal analyst Andrew McCabe interprets the wording differently. Lower federal courts avoided defining the outer perimeter of presidential authority, he noted. The Supreme Courts question, he said, could open the door to determining not only if there is immunity, but what allegedly official acts would be covered.

And that might require sending the Trump case back to lower courts for additional review  and, potentially, significant delay.

Trumps strategy of trying to delay the four criminal trials against him has been well-documented. By taking the appeal, the Supreme Court has effectively pushed back the start of a trial in the federal election subversion case by weeks, at least.

The Supreme Court justices  fairly, although unfortunately in my view  probably had some concern about having a criminal defendant go to trial in this uniquely consequential separation of powers case of first impression without either the trial judge or the defendant having any idea where that line was, said former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb.

I think they decided it was time to illuminate the hallway on this issue, he said.

Trumps former chief of staff Mark Meadows has also argued that his election actions were part of his official responsibilities. He took that position in a separate case in which he is attempting to have federal courts review the 2020 election subversion charges he faces in Georgia. But 11th Circuit Chief Judge William Pryor, nominated by President George W. Bush, rejected the claim last year that official-adjacent activity is protected from prosecution.

At bottom, whatever the chief of staffs role with respect to state election administration, that role does not include altering valid election results in favor of a particular candidate, Pryor wrote for a unanimous three-judge panel. There was no causal connection, Pryor said, between Meadowss official authority and his actions involving the election.

And in an extensive DC Circuit ruling in December, a unanimous three-judge panel drew a distinction between campaign acts  such as Trumps January 6, 2021, rally outside the White House  and his official actions. Trump had similarly argued in that case that he was immune from civil liability for anything he said while president.

The appeals court flatly rejected the argument.

When a first-term president opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act, wrote DC Circuit Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, nominated by President Barack Obama. When he acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.

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MANILA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' foreign investments yielded net outflows of 76 million U.S. dollars in January this year, the Philippine central bank said Thursday night.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the January net outflows resulted from the 1.3 billion dollars in gross outflows and the 1.2 billion dollar gross inflows for the month.

The recorded net outflows are lower than the 205 million dollars net outflows posted in December 2023, the BSP added. 
I dont think most Americans realize how close we are to losing everything we most value about our system of government.

It is not just that the leader of one of our two political parties has declared that if reelected he will assume the powers of a dictator. It is not just that he and his followers actively support enemies of the United States. It is not just that he and members of his party in the U.S. Congress seek to strip away more fundamental rights from American women and men, or that they have already demonstrated they are willing to tolerate egregious abuses of presidential power, or that they will abet efforts to steal election results with which they disagree.

It is all these things. But as we saw again this week, while opponents of fundamental American values control the House of Representatives, have a significant voice in the U.S. Senate, and aspire to reclaim the White House, the branch of government that has been most corrupted by the American right remains the United States Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court Is Doing Trumps Campaign Work for Him

The Courtthrough its decision to hear the ludicrous, anti-constitutional arguments of Donald Trumps lawyers that his actions to steal a presidential election were protected by so-called presidential immunityreminded us that throughout this century the right wing on the court has done grave damage to our country and the judicial system whose oversight has been entrusted to them.

Cases like Citizens United (granting the rich more influence in elections), Shelby County (undermining voting rights), Heller (expanding gun rights), Bruen (striking down sensible gun controls), Dobbs (overturning Roe v. Wade), and Students for Fair Admissions (gutting affirmative action) are just a few of the notable examples of their service to their benefactors and their political agenda.

Pro-Trump supporters storm the U.S. Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum / Getty

The Courts decision to hear the Trump immunity case was outrageous, legally indefensible, and handled procedurally in a way that made it clear they were no longer acting as a court, but rather as the judicial arm of the Republican Party.

They took a case they should not have accepted, agreeing to hear arguments that were already rejected in an expertly argued appeals court decision. Just as damagingly, they did so in a way thatregardless of their final rulingwould mean American voters would likely not hear a verdict before Novembers election.

If the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Had Never Happened, Trump Still Attempted a Self-Coup

It is a dark irony. They have chosen to hear the Department of Justices case against Donald Trump for election interference in a way that is itself election interference.

But such contradictions are the norm for this courts right-wing majority. They condemn judicial activism while serving as its leading practitioners. They call themselves textualists and yet have demonstrated a complete disregard for the actual words of the Constitution, the meaning of those words, or the reasons they were chosen. They describe their philosophy as originalism not because it cleaves to the original intent of the framers, but because their willingness to twist the law to suit their ideology requires a kind of free-wheeling creative originality.

Time and again, the Supreme Court has been at the vanguard of the right-wings movement to reverse social progress, while also increasing the wealth and power of the movements patrons. And, repeatedly, the Court has been brazen in its willingness to play politics, the letter of the law, legal tradition, and any semblance of legal logic or ethics be damned.

If this weeks decision resonated with any moment in this courts recent history it is with the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000. In that case, the Republican-appointed majority on the Court weighed in to reject the demands of Florida voters to have all their votes counted. The Courts decision effectively cast the five deciding votes in that years presidential election on behalf of George W. Bush.

Only one justice from that Court still serves today. Tellingly, it is Clarence Thomas, arguably the most corrupt Supreme Court justice in history, famed recipient of the eye-watering largesse of right-wing billionaires and husband to a woman who was an active participant in the coup attempt at the center of this weeks case.

Now Would Be a Good Time to Investigate Ginni Thomas

Did Thomas recuse himself? Of course not. Because if there is one principle to which this Courts majorityand the political movement of which it is a partadheres, its that the impunity of its leaders is valued above all else.

Why conclude that the decision to hear the immunity case was purely political? Several reasons. First, the argument advanced by Trump and his lawyers that a president is above the law is, in the well-chosen words of Yale history professor Timothy Snyder, a proposition that, if affirmed, would destroy the moral, legal, and political foundations of the court itself.

US President Donald Trump arrives to speak to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. Brendan Smialowski / Getty

Further, the arguments made by Trumps lawyers were expertly dissected and discarded by a bipartisan panel of three judges on the D.C. Circuit of Appeals. Their decision was so thoroughly grounded in law and precedent that frankly, only a Supreme Court with no regard for law or precedent would determine they had to consider any additional aspect of the matter.

In fact, the Trump immunity claims are so laughable that few expect even this Supreme Court to uphold them. This may be why, in lieu of helping Trump with a decision, they decided to throw him the one lifeline upon which he most depended, a delay that would push a verdict in the trial to the other side of election day.

Forcing delay was a conscious choice. They did not have to. Special Counsel Jack Smith asked them to rule on the issue as far back as December. They could have ruled on it then, or in an instant following the D.C. Circuit decision by simply agreeing not to hear the case and thereby accepting the D.C. Circuits findings.

Or, had they wanted to hear the case but not wanted to push the trials likely verdict until after the election, they could have accepted it immediately after the D.C. decision came down on Feb. 6 of this year. Instead, they waited three weeks to announce they would hear the case the week of April 22.

With a decision unlikely until May or, more probably, late June, and with the judge presiding over the election interference case promising roughly three months of additional prep time for lawyers before the case begins, that could well push the start date for the trial until September or October.

The trial itself is expected to take three months, which means the earliest likely date for a verdict would be December or January. And that is assuming no more delays.

Could they have moved faster? Of course. The Court accepted the case of Bush v. Gore on Dec. 9, 2000. It heard arguments on Dec. 11. It issued a decision on the next day.

Republicans Hunter Biden Witch Hunt Is an Epic Fail

The Court made a choice that they knew would have political consequences. They knew those consequences would redound to the benefit of Donald Trump. And with eyes wide open they provided him with those benefits.

They thereby increased the likelihood that Trump, who appointed three of the justices on the court, would win in Novemberand then end all the cases against him for his abuses of power.

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff / Getty

In other words, Clarence Thomas and his right-wing colleagues have picked up where the mob his wife helped support left off on Jan. 6.

Should Trump winand should he follow through on his plans to further weaken democracy in the U.S. and strip away core freedoms of Americansthis weeks indefensible decision will be cited by historians as a time when a corrupt court openly played politics, the American people lost, and our enemies won.

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McDONALD COUNTY, Mo.  Authorities in McDonald County arrest a man they say is responsible for an armed robbery on January 2nd.

Detectives with the McDonald County Sheriffs Office arrested Kenneth Evans, 24, of Goodman in connection to The Tiff Store armed robbery early last month. Today, prosecutors charged Evans with 1st degree robbery and armed criminal action.

The Tiff Store

FOUR STATES CRIME

The arrest is a culmination of physical, video, and biological evidence nearly two months in the making. Detectives also credited numerous leads from the public.

Evans is being held in the McDonald County jail without bond, awaiting arraignment

MCSO added Oklahoma police assisted in the investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Two men are wanted by Memphis Police after being accused of stealing over $1,200 worth of beer and drink products from a delivery truck in the airport area on Tuesday.

Officers say they responded to a theft of property complaint around 8:05 a.m. at 5190 Airways Boulevard.

Young Avenue Deli hit by thieves with crowbars

According to reports, while a delivery truck was making a delivery, two men took approximately $1,200 worth of beverage products including beer from the truck.

The suspects were driving in a dark gray Honda Odyssey minivan with an unknown temporary tag in the back, police say.

If you have any information regarding this incident, call Memphis CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
A federal judge ordered a metro-east business owner to repay the government more than $1.2 million after he admitted to using his small grocery in a fraud scheme to obtain SNAP benefits.

Almahde H. Nijmeh, 65, of Swansea, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful acquisition of SNAP benefits in August 2023. In addition to repaying the government, Nijmeh was sentenced to five years in federal prison and two years of supervised release.

Millions of Americans rely on SNAP benefits to provide nutritious food for their families, but individuals who misuse the program to commit fraud and enrich themselves are breaking federal law, said Rachelle Aud Crowe, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

The federal government funds SNAP  or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program  to provide food benefits to low-income families.

According to court documents, Nijmeh had been disqualified from the program in the past, but successfully reapplied by listing the business to family members. He then used East Side Meat Market in East St. Louis to accept SNAP cards loaded with benefits in exchange for cash and other items from at least August 2017 through November 2021.

According to state records, the business was licensed to members of Nijmehs family, but the criminal charges alleged that Nijmeh himself was the de facto owner and operator of the business.

Nijmeh and employees under his direction routinely purchased SNAP cards from customers in exchange for cash equal to 50% or less of the benefits. They also accepted SNAP benefits for ineligible items like alcohol and tobacco products, at times up-charging customers for the illegal transactions.

In other words, the criminal complaint said, customers would pay more for ineligible items purchased with SNAP benefits than they would if purchasing the same items using any other form of payment.

In total, Nijmeh acquired $1,239,546.79 in the illegal transactions, records say.

USDA-OIG, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Illinois Department of Revenue contributed to this criminal case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter T. Reed prosecuted the case.
Teen shot dead in Brooklyn after Nets game; third Crown Heights slaying in a week

A 13-year-old boy heading home from a Brooklyn Nets game was shot dead in Crown Heights in the third homicide to take place in the Brooklyn neighborhood this week, police said.

The shooting happened 10:40 p.m. Thursday when someone opened fire at Troy Gill, hitting him in the chest and arm at the corner of New York and Bergen avenues.

The teen managed to run about two blocks before collapsing on the street. Medics rushed him to Kings County Hospital, but he could not be saved.

Police believe Troy was running home, which was a half-mile away on St. Marks Ave. near Albany Ave., when he collapsed..

Troys friends and family were too distraught to talk about his murder Friday.

This just happened, one woman at the teens home said. The family is in shock.

Cops recovered six shell casings at the scene and on Friday were continuing to scour the area for surveillance video that could help them identify the shooter.

Troy, a student at MS 354, had gone to Barclays Center to watch the Nets beat the Hawks, cops were told. He was apparently alone when he was shot.

Teachers and classmates at his school were shocked over the shooting.

He was a good kid, said Prince Meyers, 11, a sixth grader. He was kind and he talked a lot. He was in the seventh grade. He loved basketball. We played together right here in the park. Its sad. He didnt deserve this.

Another classmate, Gianni Egglestone, 12, a seventh grader, said she was trading messages with Troy on Snapchat not long before he was killed.

Troy was such a good kid. she said. He wasnt part of that gang stuff. He posted on Snapchat last night that he was coming home from the basketball game. He said Im chilling, just trying to get home. He said he was enjoying himself. Its sad.

Troys mother told cops she didnt know that he went to the game until he FaceTimed her from the arena around 9 p.m., authorities said. He Facetimed her again about an hour later from an Uber, according to cops.

He called her again at 10:36 p.m., and told her that he had been shot, and was running toward the Brooklyn Childrens Museum.

Cops found him on Brooklyn Avenue, about a half-block away.

All the killings in Crown Heights this week happened within a two-mile area.

On Monday afternoon, a gunman in a black-and-white varsity jacket shot bodega worker Nazim Berry in the head over a $2 cigarillo, according to police and family of the victim.

The suspect was at the Amin Deli at Franklin Ave. and Lincoln Place when he asked for a Black & Mild for free, cops were told. When Berry, 36, said no, the man left, but returned with a handgun and shot the bodega worker in cold blood.

On Wednesday, a gunman opened fire on a group of men near the corner of McKeever Place and Sullivan Place, hitting Lamine Bah, a 33-year-old father of three who friends said worked seven days a week to support his family.

I cannot explain to you how good he was, the victims cousin Amadou Bah, 38, told the Daily News on Thursday. Hes the eldest in the family. Everything, everything  he would do everything. Its a big, big, big, big loss for the family.

No arrests have been made in either case.

This weeks violence has doubled the number of killings in 2023 in the NYPDs 71st and 77th precincts, which cover different parts of Crown Heights.

As of last Sunday, only three homicides had occurred in the two commands, cops said. Just one had taken place in either precinct as of this time last year.
Action News Jax Family Focus has awarded the first monthly winner of the Doing Good in Your Neighborhood recognition program.

Madison Kirksey is a bright young lady who started an organization called Get Back Up Again Organization Of Hope, which helps those who are homeless.

Members go out every third Sunday to hand out a meal, clothes, shoes, hygiene bags, pillows, blankets and snacks. It was her vision at 8-years-old for a school project and the organization was officially established in 2019. Madison is a straight A student in the early college program. She loves to give back and has a promising future.

Her parents are extremely proud of her successes and love for her community.

On Thursday, her family joined her at Family Focus partner Beaver Toyota in St. Augustine, where she was presented a $500 check as a donation to go directly to her organization.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Congratulations to Madison and her organization for all they do to help the Jacksonville area!

The Doing Good in Your Neighborhood program recognizes a person each month for what they do to help the community. To nominate someone, click here.

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Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
SYDNEY, March 1 (Xinhua) -- One civilian and two soldiers were injured in a two-vehicle crash near a military training area in the Australian state of Queensland, local authorities have said.

According to the Queensland Ambulance Service, paramedics were called to the crash site on Hervey Range Road in Townsville at about 5:56 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The two people sustaining minor injuries were transported to a hospital by road, while the third person was airlifted in a serious condition with abdominal, chest, arm, and facial injuries, the authorities told Xinhua Friday.

A spokesperson from the Australian Department of Defense said the accident occurred when the two soldiers were on the way back from a training activity in the Townsville Field Training Area.

"Three people sustained injuries as a result of the accident, including the two soldiers and a civilian. The two soldiers received non-life threatening injuries," the spokesperson noted.

"Defense takes the safety of the Townsville community very seriously and takes safety precautions when using civilian roads. Defense will conduct a full investigation into the causes of the accident," the spokesperson added. 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  As soon as this July, all childcare facilities in Tennessee will be required to be equipped with carbon monoxide monitors.

A bill from Sen. Paul Bailey (R-Sparta) and Rep. Darren Jernigan (D-Nashville) would require carbon monoxide monitors to be installed in every room where children are cared for in licensed childcare agencies. The installation would necessitate the carbon monoxide alarm be listed according to the International Building Code and the International Fire Code.

TN AMBER Alert: Day 4 of Sebastian Rogers missing

Failure to comply with the section would be a Class C misdemeanor, according to an amended version of the bill passed in the Tennessee Senate Thursday morning. Each day the facility lacks an appropriate monitor installed would constitute a separate violation, according to the bill.

Still from Tennessee Senate session Thurs. Feb. 29, 2024. (Source: Tennessee Senate)

According to Sen. Rusty Crowe, who sits on the Senate Health & Welfare Committee, the State Fire Marshals office will be adopting the 2021 International Building Code and International Fire Code in the coming months, and the bill is designed to align state law with those upcoming changes.

Bailey said he has worked with the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance as well as the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and everyone is in a good place on the bill.

The bill was passed unanimously in the Senate on Thursday, Feb. 29. The House version of the bill is set for discussion in the Health Committee on Wednesday, March 6.

Hundreds of bills will be up for debate during the 113th General Assembly. Tennessee lawmakers shared their thoughts on some of the major issues up for discussion at this years legislative session.

You can also find daily coverage from the session here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Flowers lie in front of a picture of leading Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who died in prison while serving a 19-year sentence, during a prayer service at Schillerplatz in Stuttgart. Christoph Schmidt/dpa

Security forces in Russia's capital on Friday mounted a show of force as mourners gathered for the funeral of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison.

Metal fences were erected over a wide area ahead of the ceremony at a Moscow church and cemetery, while dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed personnel took up position from the early morning.

Officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by and mobile internet services were also reportedly shut down in the area.

The proceedings were to start at 2 pm (1100 GMT) at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in the south-eastern Marino district. A notice was reportedly posted there asking people not to film or take photographs. The funeral was planned for two hours later at the Borissovskoye cemetery.

In recent days, police arrested hundreds of people laying flowers in Navalny's memory at sites across the country.

The heightened security measures indicated that even after his death, Navalny, a main challenger to President Vladimir Putin in recent years, remains a major cause of concern for the authorities.

Navalny's supporters, relatives and human rights activists accuse Putin of ordering the killing of the opposition leader. The Kremlin rejects this, while continuing preparations for elections on March 15-17 that are expected to install Putin for a fifth term.
AI-generated images used to advertise Willy's Chocolate Experience on its website compared to a real-life image shared by attendee Stuart Sinclair on Facebook.

A Willy Wonka-themed event in Scotland that invited guests to indulge in a chocolate fantasy turned out to be a sparsely decorated warehouse with nightmarish knock-off characters and limited supplies that didnt even include chocolate. The AI-generated images used in the events marketing materials are partially to blame for the disappointment.

While many visitors were duped by the colorfully manipulated images, experts have shared what people can look out for when it comes to future AI-marketed events.

What 'Willy's Chocolate Experience' looked like to visitors

Guests who paid up to 35 ($44) for a ticket to the immersive attraction in Glasgow told various media outlets that it was poorly done and terrifying. Some parents were so angry, they called the police. Social media posts about Willy's Chocolate Experience have generated millions of views over the past week.

Police were called to an 'immersive' Willy Wonka Experience after families showed up to an 'empty warehouse'



The event reportedly charged $40 for entry, advertised with AI art, and said it would be a 'journey filled with wondrous creations and enchanting surprises at every pic.twitter.com/udz8KeWVxQ  Culture Crave  (@CultureCrave) February 27, 2024

Actor Paul Connell, who was hired to play Willy Wonka, told the Independent that he was given a script with 15 pages of AI-generated gibberish and asked to improvise when props werent available. Kirsty Paterson, who portrayed an Oompa Loompa, told Vulture that the children in attendance were quite upset, but she tried to make the best of the situation.

Viral footage showed a character called The Unknown, who isnt in any Wonka-related movies or Roald Dahl-authored books, wearing all black and a chrome mask as they hid behind a mirror. When they appeared, children recoiled in fear.

This Willy Wonka story is incredible. What's going on here? What part of the film was this hahahahaha. pic.twitter.com/A66AxwYVhN  Ben (@bene25_) February 28, 2024

House of Illuminati is responsible for the Wonka event and other experiences that appear to be advertised with AI-generated art. A Rolling Stone investigation found that its director, Billy Coull, has published more than 15 books with AI-generated text. Coull said he was sorry that his vision of the artistic rendition of a well-known book didnt come to fruition in an appearance on STV News.

We fully apologize for what has happened and will be giving full refunds to each and every person that purchased tickets, the company said in a statement on its Facebook page, according to the New York Times. The page has since been removed.

The Oompa Loompa from the knock off Wonka land experience looks like shes running a literal meth lab and is seriously questioning the life choices up until this point. If you scripted this, I would say it was too on the nose pic.twitter.com/WwkGO8Hjck  Disappointed Optimist (@disappoptimism) February 27, 2024

How to avoid falling for an AI marketing scam

Willys Chocolate Experience closed on Feb. 25, but as the fallout from the event continues, experts say consumers need to be skeptical of the advertisements they see online. Karim Adib, a digital marketing expert in England, told Yahoo News that the recent event reminded him of Fyre Festival, a 2017 music event in the Bahamas that was advertised as a luxury paradise, yet turned out to be disastrous.

[Fyre Festival images] were not AI-generated, but the false information still deceived many consumers, he explained. Seek out reviews, independent social media posts not from the event organizers, and news coverage from credible sources before paying to attend.

Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, the Berlin-based head of AI and machine learning at deepfake detection company Sumsub, provided advice on how to spot AI-generated images like the ones used on the Willys Chocolate Experience website.

Look for inconsistencies in facial features, blurriness or distortions in the background or objects, wrong direction of lighting and shadows, etc., he said. You could also check the images metadata to see if it has been manipulated or altered in software.

The devil is in the details when it comes to faked images, he added.
An activist from the "Stop Tesla" initiative stands on a tree house in a pine forest near the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg plant. Around 80 activists have occupied a wooded area near the company's car factory in Gruenheide to protest against the planned factory expansion. Patrick Pleul/dpa

Environmental activists protesting the expansion of the US e-car maker Tesla outside of Berlin say they plan to occupy the forest near the factory for a week.

"The longer the occupation lasts, the better," said a spokeswoman for the Stop Tesla initiative on Friday.

The occupation of the wooded area in Grunheide near Berlin began late Wednesday night. Protestors said they've prepared themselves for the longer than expected stay.

The initiative called on other supporters to visit the camp and bring additional materials such as timber, saws, climbing equipment and hammocks. "We hope that more people will come by."

On Thursday, up to around 100 environmental activists, some of them masked, were at the camp, erecting tree houses several metres above the ground. The participants want to prevent the forest from being cleared for a Tesla expansion.

The electric car manufacturer wants to build a goods station, warehouses and a company kindergarten next to the existing 300-hectare factory site. More than 100 hectares of forest are to make way for this.

The police see no reason to dismantle the tent camp in the forest but are continuing to monitor events there. "They are still keeping an eye on it," said a spokesman. The protest in the pine forest can continue until March 15, according to a police decision.

"We are open to dialogue, but we will not be forced out of the forest," a protest group spokesman said.

A walk through the forest in protest against Tesla and a piano concert in the forest are also planned for this Saturday afternoon.

When asked, Tesla has not yet commented on the protest camp next to the factory - nor has the municipality of Grunheide. The environmental activists are receiving support from a local citizens' initiative.

A woman stands at the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg plant. Around 80 activists have occupied a wooded area near the company's car factory in Gruenheide to protest against the planned factory expansion. Sebastian Gollnow/dpa

Activists from the "Stop Tesla" initiative carry a tree trunk through a pine forest near the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg plant. Around 80 activists have occupied a wooded area near the company's car factory in Gruenheide to protest against the planned factory expansion. Patrick Pleul/dpa
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Hunter Biden had a tense exchange Wednesday during the latters testimony before the House Oversight Committee, with the presidents son taking issue with Gaetzs line of questioning.

In the closed-door session, Biden called the impeachment probe into his father a partisan political pursuit being pushed by MAGA-motivated conspiracies, according to a transcript released by the committee Thursday.

Gaetz, a frequent defender of former President Donald Trump, questioned Biden about serving on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company. Gaetz wanted to know if Biden, a recovering addict, was on drugs while on the board.

Bidens lawyer, Abbe Lowell, first took issue with that.

One of the things that I spoke to staff that you just asked about as to whether its outside the bounds. If you want to spend the next part of the last hour you have asking about his drug use, go at it, Lowell said. Its outside the scope. It certainly has no relevance to an impeachment inquiry nor does it have anything to do with oversight of ethics legislation that may address family members of presidents or vice presidents. So go at it, but its outside the scope and youre wasting your time.

Gaetz then repeated his question to Biden: Were you on drugs when you were on the Burisma board?

Biden replied: Mr. Gaetz, look me in the eye. You really think thats appropriate to ask me?

After Gaetz said it absolutely was, Biden shot back: Of all the people sitting around this table, do you think thats appropriate to ask me?

Biden may have been alluding to a series of salacious allegations against the Florida firebrand, including a Daily Beast report earlier this month revealing that in 2021 a young woman told prosecutors working on a sex trafficking investigation that she had sex with Gaetz at a party which she was paid to attend and where drugs were present. When approached for comment at the time, a Gaetz spokesperson said: Rep. Gaetz does not know anything about the woman youre referencing.

Last February, federal prosecutors decided to close that investigation into Gaetz without filing charges. Gaetz is still facing an ongoing House Ethics Committee inquiry into allegations of sex crimes and drug use, among other things.

Gaetz has maintained that the inquiry is retaliation for his role in last years ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The Ethics Committee is engaging in payback against me for ousting the person who singularly appointed every RepublicanKevin McCarthy, he told ABC News earlier this month.

After Biden asked Gaetz whether his question was appropriate, Gaetz replied, Yeah. Are you going to answer it?

After a little more back-and-forth, Biden responded at length.

I will answer it this way: I have been absolutely transparent about my drug use. Again, I spoke to you all earlier this morning about that. Im sorry; Im an addict. I was an addict. I have been in recovery for over four and a half years now, Mr. Gaetz. I work really, really hard at it, he said.

Let me answer. I work really hard at it, under an enormous amount of pressure. Was I an addict? Yes, I was an addict. What does that have to do with whether or not youre going to go forward with an impeachment of my father other than to simply try to embarrass me?

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, teased a potential 2026 primary challenge to Texas Sen. John Cornyn after the lawmaker announced his bid to succeed Minority Leader Mitch McConnell come November.

Paxton took to X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday night  prior to Cornyn revealing his intention to run for leader  addressing speculation about it. Paxton said the senator would have difficulty remaining in his role "since he is anti-Trump, anti-gun, and will be focused on his highly competitive primary campaign in 2026."

Despite Paxton's claim, Cornyn endorsed former President Trump for president last month, calling on Republicans to rally around him.

FEDERAL JUDGE RULES ON TEXAS LAW ALLOWING STATE POLICE TO ARREST ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSERS

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, teased a potential 2026 primary challenge to Texas Sen. John Cornyn.

The attorney general's accusation of Cornyn being "anti-gun" is likely a reference to his involvement in crafting and bolstering the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun reform bill taken up following the Uvalde elementary school shooting in the Lone Star state. Cornyn pioneered the bill alongside senators Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

HOUSE PUNTS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINE AFTER JOHNSON FORCED TO SEEK DEM SUPPORT AGAIN

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Paxton didn't note in his post who would be competing against Cornyn in a primary, but he also hasn't dismissed speculation he would challenge Cornyn. Representatives for Paxton did not respond to Fox News' inquiries about a potential Senate run.

"Republicans deserve better in their next leader and Texans deserve another conservative Senator," Paxton wrote on X.

"Hard to run from prison, Ken," Cornyn posted to X shortly afterward, referencing Paxton's legal trouble. In April, the attorney general heads to trial on charges related to securities fraud in a case that has been delayed since an initial indictment more than eight years ago. Paxton was acquitted late last year of 16 articles of impeachment that alleged various acts of bribery and corruption following a highly publicized Texas Senate trial.

After McConnell's surprise announcement Wednesday that he would step down as Republican Senate leader, Cornyn told reporters, "Not today," noting the day "is about Mitch McConnell." But, he added, "I've made no secret about my intentions."

On Thursday morning, the Texas Republican announced his bid for leader of the Republican conference.

"I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell," Cornyn said in a statement.

JORDAN SUBPOENAS MAYORKAS FOR DOCUMENTS ON MIGRANT SURGE, RAZOR WIRE CUTTING



"I believe the Senate is broken  that is not news to anyone," he said. "The good news is that it can be fixed, and I intend to play a major role in fixing it."

Cornyn was the first to announce his campaign for the role, though several others are expected to join the race.

Paxton responded to the news on X, posing a poll to his followers.

"John Cornyn has waved the white flag on election integrity, border security, protecting the 2nd amendment, and everything else constitutional conservatives care about. Do you think he's conservative enough to lead Republicans in the Senate?" Paxton asked.

The poll had received more than 13,000 votes by the afternoon, with the overwhelming majority saying "No."

A Paxton campaign spokesman told Fox News Digital Thursday that "Texas deserves another conservative senator. All options are on the table."

Cornyn's office declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.





Original article source: Texas AG Paxton teases primary challenge to Cornyn as senator announces leadership bid
Texas will appeal a ruling by a federal judge to block the state from enforcing a law that would make illegal immigration a state crime, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday, further escalating his legal fight with the Biden administration.

Hours earlier, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra of the Western District of Texas granted a preliminary injunction to block Texas' Senate Bill 4 from taking effect next week. The law would allow state authorities to arrest and jail illegal immigrants, and would give state judges the power to order deportations.

In his ruling, Ezra wrote that states "may not exercise immigration enforcement power except as authorized by the federal government."

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT SIGNS BILL MAKING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION A STATE CRIME

Migrants sleep on the streets in El Paso, Texas.

Abbott, who has said Texas will enforce immigration laws within its borders in the absence of federal enforcement, said Texas has a constitutional right to defend itself.

"Texas will immediately appeal this decision, and we will not back down in our fight to protect our state  and our nation  from President Biden's border crisis," he said in a statement. "

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"The President of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting states, including laws already on the books that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants," he added. "Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden's ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border."

Ezra, a Reagan appointee, acknowledged that the case will ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, Abbott said.

TEXAS HAS SPENT NEARLY $150M BUSSING MIGRANTS TO SANCTUARY CITIES: REPORT

Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra of the Western District of Texas. On Thursday, Ezra issued an injunction against Texas SB4, which would make illegal immigration a state crime.

Senate Bill 4 was signed by Abbott into law in December. At the time, he said the aim of the legislation was to "stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas."

The injunction came in response to a lawsuit by immigration and civil rights groups. Under the law, migrants in Texas law enforcement custody could either agree to a deportation order or be prosecuted for misdemeanor charges of illegal entry into the U.S.

Those who don't comply could face felony charges.

The law was one of several moves by Texas to curb the flow of migrants into the state. Abbott has repeatedly accused the Biden administration of failing to enforce immigration laws amid record numbers of migrant entries and encounters at the southern border.

Other measures taken by Texas authorities include the installation of barriers on the Rio Grande, leading to a separate legal fight with the federal government, and the bussing of thousands of migrants to Democratic-controlled cities across the country.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to appeal a federal ruling that blocks a state law that would have allowed authorities to arrest illegal immigrants and give state judges the power to order deportations.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott said he wasn't worried about Thursday's ruling.

"This was fully expected," he wrote. "Texas has solid legal grounds to defend against an invasion."





Original article source: Texas will appeal ruling to block law allowing police to arrest illegal immigrants, Abbott says
A district court in the state of Texas has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Ken Paxton against Yelp, after he claimed the company misled the public that crisis pregnancy centers in the state offer limited services.

A judge in Bastrop County dismissed with prejudice all claims against Yelp in an order filed Wednesday.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision, Yelp began notifying users that crisis pregnancy centers typically provide limited medical services and may not have licensed medical professionals onsite.

Paxton sued Yelp last September, arguing that the language was misleading. Yelp, which is represented by the law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP, changed its language to say Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers.

The Texas attorney general argued that the review site violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practice Act for inaccurate and misleading language. Paxtons lawsuit said the company cant mislead the public because it disagrees with our states abortion laws.

Yelp preemptively sued Paxton last year in federal court in the Northern District of California, in an effort to get the state lawsuit tossed. It was dismissed under a Supreme Court precedent that prevents federal courts from hearing a case by someone being prosecuted in state court. Yelp is appealing the dismissal of its federal lawsuit.

In an emailed statement, a Yelp spokesperson said the company is pleased with the Bastrop County judges decision that this meritless lawsuit should not have been brought in Texas.

The trust and safety of our users is one of Yelps top priorities, which is why we take extensive measures to provide consumers with relevant and reliable information when they search for local businesses on our platform, the spokesperson said. This is especially critical when people are searching for healthcare services on Yelp.

The company vowed to continue vigorously defending constitutionally protected rights and fight government officials who try to censor truthful information from consumers.

The First Amendment exists to prevent government officials like Mr. Paxton from suppressing true statement they may dislike  whether that be just in Texas or, in the case of Mr. Paxtons prosecution of Yelp, anywhere that Yelp applies to the notice, the statement said.

The company said Paxtons lawsuit sets a dangerous precedent by using his power and office as a government official to politicize and punish speech on issues that he disagrees with.

The Hill has reached out to Paxtons office for comment about the dismissal.

Updated at 1:43 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Yelp on Sept. 28 for supposedly violating Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act in its labeling of "crisis pregnancy centers." A Bastrop County judge dismissed all claims against the company Friday.

A Bastrop County state District Court on Friday shot down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit against Yelp for labeling "crisis pregnancy centers," which often counsel women against having abortions, with disclaimers stating that they "typically provide limited medical services" and do not provide abortions.

After the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 dismantled federal abortion protections established in Roe v. Wade, Yelp posted disclaimers on its site to alert potential customers that the centers "may not have licensed medical professionals onsite." In February 2023, Yelp updated the notices to state that the crisis pregnancy centers do not provide abortion services.

The attorney general's office sued Yelp on Sept. 28 for supposedly violating Texas' Deceptive Trade Practices Act, arguing that the notices were "misleading and often untrue because pregnancy resource centers frequently do provide medical services with licensed medical professionals onsite," though that information does not directly contradict the language of the notices.

Republican Judge Reva Towslee-Corbett dismissed all claims against Yelp "with prejudice," which means that the court's decision was based on the merits of the case and that Paxton cannot file the same lawsuit in the 355th District Court again. Towslee-Corbett also granted Yelp's objection, thereby agreeing that the state of Texas did not have the jurisdiction to bring its claims.

We are pleased with the courts decision, which rightfully recognizes the case should never have been filed in Texas, said Haynes Boone media law attorney Laura Prather, who represented Yelp. "We are dedicated to protecting our clients' right to free speech."

In his complaint, Paxton had asked the judge to block Yelp from posting the disclaimers and sought monetary damages of $1 million or more from the tech behemoth.

"Yelp cannot mislead and deceive the public simply because the company disagrees with our states laws, Paxton wrote in a Feb. 14 press release.

Texas bans all abortions except in cases where the pregnant person's life is at risk.

Yelp called the lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office an attempt to subvert First Amendment rights.

In an emailed statement, Yelp stood by its decision to label the pregnancy centers and called the lawsuit meritless.

The company noted that Paxton had referred to labels stating the centers do not provide abortions as "accurate." Yelp called the lawsuit filed by Paxton's office a concerning attempt to subvert First Amendment rights.

Paxton's office did not immediately respond to the American-Statesman's request for comment.

The "crisis pregnancy centers or "pregnancy resource centers" have become a focus in the renewed debate about abortion rights. The goal of these facilities is typically to dissuade women from having abortions, though supporters say they provide necessary care and counseling.

In 2020, before Roe was overturned, there were about 800 abortion clinics in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on reproductive rights. Researchers put the number of crisis pregnancy centers at anywhere from 2,500 to 4,000.

Paxton's office had announced it won a "major victory" in the case on Feb. 5, after a California court dismissed a lawsuit that Yelp filed to have Paxton's case preliminarily blocked. But the court's decision also said "Yelps allegations of bad faith" on the part of the attorney general "tell a persuasive story."

Paxton has used the law cited in his claims against Yelp, the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, to go after out-of-state organizations over other hot-button medical issues, including gender-affirming care.

In November, he invoked the law to demand that hospitals in Georgia and Washington state provide him with the medical records of minor Texas residents who might have received gender-affirming care there, arguing that the hospitals misled children and their parents about treatments like hormone therapy in advertisements. Seattle Children's Hospital asked a court to block Paxton's requests in December, and an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, PFLAG, filed a lawsuit Wednesday evening over the demands, which it called "outrageous and unconstitutional."

The attorney general could appeal the Yelp lawsuit to the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin, but its six Democratic judges would be unlikely to rule in his favor.

Statesman staff writer Hogan Gore contributed reporting.

More: PFLAG National calls Paxton's demand for gender-affirming care records unconstitutional

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Paxton lawsuit over Yelp labeling of 'crisis pregnancy centers' thrown out
Hundreds of structures have been destroyed by the largest wildfire in Texas state history, which continued to rage Friday as forecasters warned more dangerous weather is coming this weekend.

The Smokehouse Creek Fire has already torn through over 1 million acres of land. It is just one of several wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle and across state lines into Oklahoma.

Rain and snow that fell Thursday helped firefighters get more of a handle on the massive inferno, which was 15% contained on Friday, up from 3% the day before, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

"Most of the fire received some precipitation yesterday and there was no fire growth," the forest service said.

Gov. Greg Abbott said in a news conference Friday afternoon that between 400 and 500 structures burned down, according to early assessments, but investigators are still working to determine the true toll.

"When you look at the damages that have occurred here, its just gone, completely gone. Nothing left but ashes on the ground," Abbott said. "Those who are affected by this have gone through utter devastation."

Two women have been reported dead in the wildfires, but officials haven't yet done a thorough search of burned areas to look for victims. A handful of firefighters also suffered injuries, including three who were treated for burns and released from hospitals, said W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

President Joe Biden, in Texas on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do everything possible to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.

When disasters strike, theres no red states or blue states where I come from, Biden said. Just communities and families looking for help. So were standing with everyone affected by these wildfires and were going to continue to help you respond and recover.

Snow covers a home that was destroyed by the Smokehouse Creek Fire in Stinnett, Texas on Feb. 29, 2024. The wildfire spreading across the Texas Panhandle became the largest in state history.(AP Photo/Ty O'Neil) ORG XMIT: RPTO110

More fire weather expected this weekend

A round of light rain and snow fell in the area on Thursday, giving firefighters more favorable conditions to battle flames. But the relief was only short-lived as forecasters warn of increased fire danger starting later Friday.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo, Texas, said Friday that "elevated fire weather conditions" were expected to develop by afternoon in the western and southern Texas Panhandle, with critical conditions developing Saturday and lasting through Sunday night.

"We face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend. No one can let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant," Abbott said Friday afternoon.

In the Texas Panhandle, where the Smokehouse Creek Fire and others are burning, the land is flat, grassy and brush-filled, giving any fires that do start ample fuel to burn.

On Saturday, the grass will be very dry, winds will bring up to 40mph gusts and humidity will be under 10%, the weather service said, warning people not to engage in any activities outdoors that could spark flames.

"Over a million acres have already burned  please don't make it worse," the weather service in Amarillo said.

2 women identified as fire victims

Officials said one woman died Thursday morning of injuries sustained on Tuesday from the fire. Cindy Owen was driving in Hemphill County, south of the town of Canadian, when she encountered fire or smoke, according to Department of Public Safety Sgt. Chris Ray. She got out of her truck and was overtaken by flames. A passerby found her and called first responders, who took her to a burn unit in Oklahoma, where she later died.

Owen's sister-in-law told CNN that she had been on a video call with family members when she was caught in the fire, and family members scrambled to find help.

She basically couldnt breathe, and she evacuated the truck and tried to run for safety and didnt make it, Jennifer Mitchell said. So she was found with burns, and it was about 90% of her body.

She was everybodys friend, and everybody knew her, Mitchell said. Theres nothing bad to say about her. She was the best person ever.

The other victim was identified by family members as 83-year-old Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said deputies told his uncle on Wednesday that her remains were found in her burned home.

Thousands of cattle killed in Texas blaze

The record-breaking fires that scorched miles of land in the Texas Panhandle have also killed thousands of cattle, officials said this week.

"Over 85% of the states cattle population is located on ranches in the panhandle," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. "There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people. The losses could be catastrophic for those counties."

Miller estimated thousands of cattle have died from the fires, and those severely injured will have to be euthanized.

The Texas Department of Agriculture is seeking donations for its State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund, or STAR Fund, to assist farmers and ranchers in the Panhandle.

Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses, but he predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry and consumer prices for beef would be minimal.

Texas' largest fires in history

Before the Smokehouse Creek Fire took the title, the largest fire in Texas state history was the East Amarillo Complex fire. The fire ignited in Hutchinson County on March 12, 2006, and blazed through more than 907,000 acres, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

It also caused 13 fatalities, making it the deadliest in the state's history.

Historically, slightly more than 1% of the states land has burned each decade since 1984. Climate models project an increase as soil and vegetation become drier by 2100.

Contributing: Cybele Mayes-Osterman, Elizabeth Weise and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Smokehouse Creek Fire destroys hundreds of buildings. Live updates
RezLive.com, a leading global B2B online travel wholesaler, said it garnered significant interest from regional hoteliers at Saudi Travel Market (STM) held recently in Riyadh. Standalone and boutique hotels in Saudi, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar showed a strong desire to connect, it said.

The event (February 25 to 27) presented an excellent opportunity for networking and forging valuable partnerships within the travel sector, said RezLive.com.

RezLive.com also explored collaborative opportunities with destination management companies (DMCs) from KSA, Turkey, Maldives and Egypt.

One of the notable highlights of RezLive.com's participation at STM 2024 was the collaboration between Turkish Airlines and RezLive.com, as they jointly planned for a Familiarization (FAM) trip in Europe.

This partnership underscores the company's commitment to providing unparalleled travel experiences and expanding its global footprint.

RezLive.com's was honoured with the prestigious Gold Sponsorship Award by the organisers of STM, in recognition of its exceptional contributions to the travel industry. Presented by CEO Mohammed Al-Harbi, the accolade serves as a testament to RezLive.com's dedication to innovation and excellence in the travel sector.

Moreover, RezLive.com took the opportunity to highlight its rewards incentives schemes and Mada bonus benefits.

Reflecting on the success of STM 2024, Jaal Shah, Group Managing Director at RezLive.com, said: "Our participation at Saudi Travel Market 2024 has been immensely rewarding, allowing us to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new alliances within the travel industry. We remain committed to driving innovation and delivering exceptional value to our partners and clients worldwide."  TradeArabia News Service
* Chinese companies have brought world-leading technologies and concepts to the forefront of the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, igniting wow moments among attendees.

* In recent years, Chinese enterprises have demonstrated formidable innovation and research and development capabilities.

* China has built nearly 3.38 million 5G base stations by the end of 2023. China's achievements in 5G development could serve as an inspiration to other countries and regions worldwide.

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 here witnessed a vibrant display of cutting-edge innovations from Chinese firms, creating awe among attendees and inspiring the global mobile industry.

This year's mobile tech gala, running from Feb. 26 to 29, attracted around 2,400 exhibitors. Over 300 Chinese firms, spanning a wide range of industries including telecom operators, equipment manufacturers and fiber producers, attended the event, nearly double the number from the previous year.

"Chinese firms have become an integral part of the exhibitors in Barcelona," said Sihan Bo Chen, greater China head of GSMA, an international mobile operator association and the event organizer.





WOW MOMENTS

Two girls couldn't contain their excitement after witnessing an eyewear-free 3D tablet integrating 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies at Chinese telecom company ZTE's booth.

"It's a wow! It's incredible and quite impressive," said Seulgi Lee, head of the South Korean startup Thingsflow, after experiencing the 3D selfie technology. After activating the 3D mode with one click, Nubia Pad 3D II, the company's latest 3D tablet, instantly started to convert a large amount of 2D content such as streaming media, games and movies into 3D.

"The eyewear-free 3D experience in games is even better and very impactful," added Jiyoung Lee, manager of Thingsflow.

A visitor tries the new version of the Nubia 3D pad, a 5G+AI eyewear-free 3D Pad displayed at Chinese telecom company ZTE's booth during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 28, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

Li Hongyu, product line general manager of ZTE mobile devices, explained the innovative features of the second-generation 3D tablet, emphasizing its neural network deep learning algorithms and attributing the tech-enabled AI eye-tracking engine to high-speed visual sensors and eye-detection algorithms.

At Xiaomi's booth, the bay blue Xiaomi SU7 car captured attention with its sleek design, drawing praise from technology influencer Adam Butcher, who deemed it "hot" and expressed great interest in purchasing one.

"This smart car is truly making waves at this year's MWC! Since the moment we opened our booth this morning, we've been inundated with interviews from both domestic and international media outlets, with scarcely a moment's respite," said a Xiaomi staff member responsible for the European market.

Mats Granryd, director general of GSMA, praised the top-notch offerings at the Chinese booths. "If you go around and see what they are showcasing, it is really cutting-edge," he said.

Xiaomi's new energy vehicle SU7 is displayed at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

"In recent years, Chinese enterprises have demonstrated formidable innovation and research and development (R&D) capabilities. This surge is evident in significant investments in R&D, the establishment of global research centers, as well as the growing number of patents filed," said Luigi Gambardella, president of the Brussels-based international digital association ChinaEU.





5G AND BEYOND

Apart from consumer products, Chinese companies also showcased advanced 5G solutions.

"Chinese companies have brought world-leading technologies and concepts to the forefront of MWC," said Sihan Bo Chen, highlighting examples such as Honor's On-device AI, Xiaomi's "Human x Car x Home" concept, and Huawei's Telecom Foundation Model.

According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China made its commercial launch of 5G in 2019, and the country has built nearly 3.38 million 5G base stations by the end of 2023, solidifying its global leadership in this domain.

Ericsson CTO for Asia Pacific Magnus Ewerbring commended Chinese operators for their successful deployment and business initiatives in 5G.

"China is very advanced in applying the 5G technology to different industries, such as manufacturing, and I think other operators in the world can derive a lot of inspiration from what's being done in China," he said.

People visit the Huawei booth during the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb. 26, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Jing)

After five years of 5G development, challenges have also emerged, including the saturation of 5G user growth, decelerating traffic and revenue growth and a lack of killer applications in the 5G era, said Li Qiang, general manager of Mobile Planning and Construction at China Mobile.

Speaking at the "5G Beyond Growth Summit" hosted by Huawei during the MWC, Li outlined the company's strategy for addressing these challenges by focusing on the commercial deployment of 5G-Advanced (5G-A), with the goal of achieving full commercialization by 2026.

5G-A technology promises a tenfold increase in network capacity compared to traditional 5G, with the peak downlink rate soaring from the initial gigabit level to ten gigabits, according to Huawei.

During the MWC 2024, Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding to build a "5G-A Country" project with UAE's leading telecom company to shape the Middle East and global 5G-Advanced commercial network demonstration benchmarks and accelerate the digital transformation of the UAE.

"In terms of the number of base stations, connections, and commercial applications, China is almost in an absolute leading position globally," said Sihan. She believes that China's achievements in 5G development could serve as an inspiration to other countries and regions worldwide. (Video reporters: Peng Zhuo, Shan Weiyi, Kang Yi, Hu Jiaqi, Gao Jing, Zhang Zhaoqing, Ismael Peracaula; video editors: Zheng Xin, Hui Peipei, Liu Ruoshi, Wang Han)
Strong winds spread the largest wildfire in Texas history across more than 1 million acres of rangeland in the Panhandle, the heart of the states cattle-producing region, and into Oklahoma in late February 2024. Light precipitation on Feb. 29 helped firefighters as they tried to contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire and other blazes threatening homes and livestock, but the heat and winds picked up again on March 2. At least two people died and scores of structures, including homes, burned.

Karen Hickman, a grassland ecologist at Oklahoma State University and president of the Society for Range Management, explained why the fires spread so fast, the risks to livestock and how quickly these ecosystems can recover.

How did the fires spread so far so quickly?

This region of Texas and Oklahoma is mostly rangeland where cattle graze. A combination of higher-than-average temperatures and low humidity had dried out the dormant plants. When the winds picked up following a couple of hot, dry days, all it took was a spark to start a wildfire.

The Texas Panhandle is mostly shortgrass prairie species that evolved with fire. But Texas also has Conservation Reserve Program fields planted with perennial species that might be mid- or tall grasses. Those taller grasses have a higher fuel load that can feed a fire more than the short grass species.

Across the border, that area of Oklahoma is more rugged and has another problem: a lot of eastern red cedar that are native but have expanded as invasive species because of the lack of periodic fire. When mature cedar trees burn, they can send embers flying, increasing the risk to homes and towns.

When fires spread that fast, it often means embers are blowing ahead of the actual fire and across any potential firebreaks that exist.

The winds shifting direction  it sometimes changed direction two or three times in a day  also made the fire harder to control. Fire crews and ranchers can try to protect the area ahead of the fire, only to see the wind shift and blow the fire in another direction. Its dangerous to people and livestock, and it makes it hard to stop the fires spread.

What is in the path of these fires?

Those lands are either being rested through the dormant season or being grazed by livestock this time of year, and there are new calves, as well. Texas livestock producers have been trying to move their cattle to safety, but in some cases they had to cut the fences and let the cattle go on their own.

In Oklahomas rougher terrain and canyons, it can be even harder to get the cattle out because they go into the canyons to get away from the fierce winds.

For livestock producers, the immediate needs will be saving and then gathering their herds again.

Some herds will die in the fire, and cattle will be injured. Fires like these also burn fences and damage the windmills that power wells, and they can melt plastic water tanks. So, many producers will have to find new sources of both food and water for their animals. Homes are also at risk and several have burned.

Cattle rest in a field as smoke rises from a nearby section of the Smokehouse Creek Fire near the town of Canadian, Texas. Homes near several small towns burned in the fire. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

The rangelands are dominated by people who are supportive of their neighbors, so typically, the surrounding counties will offer donations. There are some concerns about hay from areas farther away and the risk of invasive species. The Panhandle saw that with red imported fire ants that arrived in hay bales after fires in 2018. But the immediate concern for ranchers is to provide food and water for their livestock.

How quickly can the rangeland recover?

The grasses will be able to sprout back and recover fairly quickly. Over winter, they are alive below ground. Only the dead part of the plants above ground burned.

In those systems with perennial plants, once it rains and temperatures rise, the grasses and forbs will sprout back within a few weeks. The plants will recover nicely as long as were not in a long-term drought.

The grassland may even see a benefit if the fire removes invasive species like eastern red cedar in Oklahoma. In some areas, people have been hesitant to conduct prescribed fires, and that has led to an overgrowth of woody plants, such as sumac and sand plum. If the fire clears out some of that overgrowth and the eastern red cedar, the prairie grass and forb species will regenerate in those areas, restoring wildlife habitat.

Where the vegetation burns away, the black surface will increase the soil temperature, activating perennial grasses and promoting resprouting. This speeds up their growth.

These are really resilient ecosystems. But the immediate concern in the coming weeks is for cattle producers to find ways to feed and water their livestock while the rangelands native plants regrow.

This article, originally published March 1, 2024, has been updated with damage to homes and wind gusts picking up again.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Karen Hickman, Oklahoma State University

Read more:



Karen Hickman 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.
The historic wildfires ravaging the Texas Panhandle aren't just destroying homes. Officials say the fires are devastating the agricultural community  a vital component of the state  and leaving "dead animals everywhere" as farms and ranches take massive losses.

Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson of the state's 13th District said in a video update on Wednesday that after viewing the impact of the fires from a helicopter across several counties, "the damage is much worse than what is being reported."

Since Wednesday, the most prominent of the active fires, the Smokehouse Creek Fire, has merged with another blaze and is now the largest wildfire in the state's history and believed to be the second-largest wildfire in U.S. history. It's so far burned nearly 1.1 million acres, and weather conditions in the days ahead could help fan the flames even further.

"There are literally hundreds of structures burned to the ground  houses, barns," Jackson said in the video posted to social media. "There are dead animals everywhere  cattle, horses. Unfortunately, there are many animals that are seriously burned, that aren't dead yet, that will have to be put down."

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller said on Thursday that it's believed thousands of animals have died. He said in a press release on Wednesday that many grain and seed operations have also "reported total losses."

"Just my prediction, but it will be 10,000 that will have died or we'll have to euthanize," he said, according to CBS News partner BBC. "...A lot of those cattle are still alive but the hooves are burned off, the teats are burned off, their udders are burned off. It's just a sad situation."

Massive wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle sent cattle fleeing from the smoke. https://t.co/5PrXIHBO85 pic.twitter.com/RP62inDfKO  CBS News (@CBSNews) February 28, 2024

Miller said in Wednesday's statement that more than 85% of the state's cattle population is in the Panhandle.

"There are millions of cattle out there, with some towns comprising more cattle than people," Miller said. "The losses could be catastrophic for those counties. Farmers and ranchers are losing everything."

Photos show undetermined numbers of dead cattle along charred lands.

In an emotional video posted on Thursday, Morgan Broome of the disaster relief group Rancher Navy said many of the cattle in the Panhandle "have been lost." Among other donations, the group is looking for heavy equipment to help bury the deceased livestock.

Cattle that were killed by the Smokehouse Creek wildfire lay in a burned field, outside of Canadian, Texas, U.S., February 28, 2024. / Credit: Nick Oxford / REUTERS

"We don't have accurate numbers, but we're hearing reports of thousands of cattle and horses dead," she said through tears. "And because of that, the hay needs are less than what we anticipated them to be. ... This is emotional for all of us."

And it's not just farm animals. Many locals have lost their pets in the fires.

"I lost two dogs and two cats," Richard Murray, who lives near the town of Canadian, told the Associated Press. "It's still emotional. This is our life. I mean, we've been here for 50 years."

After being exposed to smoke during the Texas Panhandle wildfires, this small farm animal was given an albuterol treatment to help with lung inflammation. / Credit: Marni Prater

The toll has been devastating, but many Texans, especially those in the agricultural community, have been rallying to help each other, offering their time, land, labor and supplies.

One woman, Marni Prater, wrote on Facebook that she is treating livestock in the towns of Stinnett and Fritch with a nebulizer, for free, and has also offered up medical supplies for livestock.

Prater told CBS News she purchased the treatment about two years ago for a horse that was struggling with allergies.

"I was in contact with my vet after the fires as 5 of our horses had to be left behind and the fire line came right up to our property in both sides and they were in smoke and active fire for hours on Tuesday night," she told CBS News in a message. She said her horses "seem to be doing great" and will be checked out by veterinarians over the weekend.

The vet said she could use the albuterol on other animals who had inhaled wildfire smoke, and Prater was able to secure more albuterol donations and is now working to help others in her community.

One of those animals is a 2-week-old goat whose mom died in the fires and whose owner "lost everything they had," Prater said.

"[They] couldn't care for her any longer and asked us to help take her in so she had a chance to survive," Prater said, adding the goat is doing "much better."

"We have been doing breathing treatments 3 times a day and she immediately perked up and yesterday she finally started eating well," Prater said. "I've been bringing her to work with me and everywhere I go so I can make sure we stay on top of her care."

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CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand  The Royal Thai Air Force has laid out its future aspirations in a document released Feb. 29, with counter-drone systems, new fighter jets and medium-range air defense systems among the most pressing concerns.

The 74-page whitepaper, which the service unveiled during its annual symposium this week and which builds on a similar document published four years ago, details planned procurements out to 2037.

The Air Force is aware of [the importance of] long-term development planning and spending of the national budget to achieve maximum value, said the services commander, Air Chief Marshal Panpakdee Pattanakul.

Indeed, part of the whitepapers raison detre is to stake claims for long-term funding as its aircraft inventories age. For instance, the 2020 version stated the fighter fleet had an average age of 26 years, a figure that continues to increase.

But the governments procurement process is disjointed, according to Greg Raymond, an expert in Asia-Pacific affairs at the Australian National University. He cited factors like political instability, inadequate strategic planning, annual rather than multiyear budgeting measures, and weak civil oversight that allows each armed service to makes its own decisions.

In the latest whitepaper, the Air Force gives priority to a medium-range air defense system possessing a minimum 30-nautical-mile range from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028. Afterward, from FY33 to FY37, the service plans to carry out a second phase for a medium- or long-range air defense system.

From FY28 to FY32, the force plans to buy a short-range air defense system boasting gun-, missile and laser-based weapons. Credence is given to counter-drone systems, too, and a nine-year project to procure these is to commence in 2025.

The service is also eyeing 12-14 new fighters to replace the F-16 jets of 102 Squadron based at Korat. The procurement is scheduled to take place from FY25 to FY34, two years later than originally planned. The squadrons F-16s from the late 1980s are to retire by 2028.

Two contenders have emerged for the aircraft requirement: Lockheed Martins F-16 Block 70/72 and Saabs Gripen.

Were confident the F-16 Block 70/72 will complement the RTAFs existing F-16 fleet and deliver the advanced 21st century security capabilities and performance needed to address Thailands most pressing defense requirements, a Lockheed spokesperson told Defense News.

Thailand ordered its first Gripen C/D fighters in 2008. Following a January 2021 contract, the aircraft were upgraded to what the manufacturer calls the MS20 configuration.

Thailand currently operates 11 JAS 39C/D Gripen fighters in 701 Squadron as part of a quick-reaction force. (Gordon Arthur/Staff)

Robert Bjorklund, who markets the Gripen to Thailand for Saab, told Defense News the existing fleet is integrated into the Saab-supplied Link T data system and that the aircraft provides its user with a very wide range of weapon options, including its highly effective RBS15 anti-ship missile.

A second fighter replacement project for 12-14 aircraft is slated for FY31 to FY35 to replace F-5E/F jets of 211 Squadron at Ubon that are to retire around the end of the decade. An identical number of fighters are needed to replace F-16A/Bs of 403 Squadron at Takhli from FY37 to FY46.

Thailand tries to maintain relations with several competing nations, including the United States, China, Russia and India, the whitepaper noted. Thailand previously purchase materiel from China, such as armored vehicles, air defense systems and a submarine.

Asked whether the Royal Thai Air Force would consider buying a Chinese fighter like the J-10CE, Raymond said the service values its relationship with the U.S. and likeminded allies too much to do so. He noted that Thai-U.S. relations have largely stabilized, despite the latter denying the formers request to buy F-35A jets last year.

They wouldnt want to see themselves placed on the outer [circle] in terms of not getting invitations to things like [exercise] Pitch Black in Australia. I tend to think theyd be perhaps more careful about getting Chinese aircraft than the Thai Navy was about getting a submarine, he said.

The whitepaper also detailed an effort starting this year to refurbish C-130H Hercules transport aircraft. The 2020 version recommended the service buy 12 replacements, but that idea was dropped.

As for pilot training, last years delivery of 12 T-6TH trainers allowed the Air Force to retire its Pilatus PC-9 fleet last month. New Zealand-built CT-4E trainers are to retire in 2031, so basic trainers will be needed from FY33. New lead-in fighter trainers are also sought from FY25, with Thailand already operating the South Korean T-50TH in this role.

Thailand plans to being work to modernize its pair of Saab 340B Erieye airborne early warning aircraft. (Gordon Arthur/Staff)

The new whitepaper also emphasized unmanned technologies. One effort underway is the Thai-developed M Solar X solar-powered drone. Loitering munitions are also schedule for purchase by 2026, as are medium combat drones from FY26 to FY29 and high-altitude pseudo-satellites from FY24 to FY35.

The Air Force also mentioned procurement programs for micro- and nano-drone swarms from FY26, and a research and development effort for weaponized tactical drones from FY29.

And two Saab 340B Erieye airborne early warning aircraft are to receive enhanced command-and-control capabilities, with their dorsal-mounted radars to be replaced. This would take place from FY26 to FY29.

The governments FY24 defense budget bill calls for a 198 billion baht (U.S. $5.5 billion) fund, of which $1 billion is for the Air Force. The service has already applied for an allocation of approximately $530 million for a first batch of four fighters.
OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR)  A Wednesday night burglary resulted in thousands of dollars in items allegedly stolen from a decades-long running charitable organization.

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Its frustrating. We dont want you to buy an airplane, we provide all of the equipment for free. We dont want you to have to join the club unless you want to. All of the events we hold take place out of the charity of the club members pockets. We dont even ask the city for donations, said Robert Harrison, Vice President of the Oklahoma Radio Kontrol Society (TORK).

Since the 1970s, TORK has met to either swap planes, fly planes or teach. The group also donates to kids, hosts fly nights with thousands of kids at the Paycom Arena with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

A picture of the generator that Harrison said was stolen. {Bob Harrison}

The group has hosted its events at the Tom Jones Memorial Field off of Lake Hefner Parkway on the southern point of the lake.

They stole it all, said Harrison.

On Wednesday night, Harrison said that someone or a group broke the lock to a storage container the group keeps on their property just off Lake Hefner Drive.

He said that he woke up early Thursday morning and found their over $5,000 generator stolen. Along with that, he said a highly expensive jack and two full boxes of toys/donations he constantly gives to kids who need them were also stolen.

We dont make money off of this. Thats not us. We are here strictly to fly airplanes and do supportive work for kids and to see those kids faces when they come out here for a day and can walk away with a free plane. I cant describe it, said Harrison.

The group told News 4 that soon the city will also be increasing the amount they must pay for the permit to hold events at the field. Harrison said that this theft hurts all the more.

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When out at the storage container, News 4 could see that the latch that is made of steel holding onto the container door had been broken.

One of the many events held at the field. {Bob Harrison}

One of the many events held at the field. {Bob Harrison}

We dont know who would have done something like this. Every weekend I pull that generator out and in the parking lot alone I have 80 to 90 people standing there, spectators to it, said Harrison.

Harrison said that they immediately called the police after finding the items stolen. KFOR reached out to Oklahoma City Police Thursday afternoon and was told a report wouldnt be available until Friday morning.

The generator stolen is said to be a Honda EX 4500 commercial generator. Harrison also said that an Astron power amplifier was stolen.

This is everything we need to hold these events for the kids, now gone, said Harrison.

Aero Space Night has been held several times at Paycom Arena. {Robert Harrison}

Harrison asked that if anyone sees the generator or knows anything about the theft to call him at 405-812-7303.

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You can also visit their website at TORKS.org.

We cant just pay for this stuff out of our own pockets, said Harrison. We dont have the money to pay to keep these things going.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Owners of a sneaker store are devastated after burglars ransacked the shop and escaped with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Surveillance cameras captured the break-in on Feb. 22 at around 2:30 a.m. as four masked thieves smashed their way through the glass entrance of HypeBeast Kickz.

Located on Maclay Avenue in San Fernando, this is the second time the high-end sneaker shop has been targeted by burglars since it opened three years ago.

Even though the shop is located about 600 feet from the San Fernando Police Department, that did not appear to deter the suspects as they pulled up in a white Kia sedan.

A suspect is seen hurling a large rock to shatter the stores glass windows. As the burglars swarmed the shop, display shelves were knocked over or destroyed as they grabbed as many pairs of sneakers as they could.

At one point, a suspect appeared to cock a handgun while inside the store.

A suspect uses a large rock to shatter the storefront windows of a sneaker shop in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Four suspects ransacked and destroyed a high-end sneaker shop in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Four suspects ransacked and destroyed a high-end sneaker shop in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Suspects load stolen merchadise into a trunk of a getaway car in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Security image of the getaway driver. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Mario Hernandez and his father opened HypeBeast Kickz in San Fernando in 2021. (KTLA)

Four suspects ransacked and destroyed a high-end sneaker shop in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

Four suspects ransacked and destroyed a high-end sneaker shop in San Fernando on Feb. 22, 2024. (HypeBeast Kickz)

The suspects ran back outside to load the stolen merchandise into a getaway car before returning to continue knocking over display cases and grabbing more items.

After quickly filling up the trunk with the stolen goods, they speed off into the night.

The family-owned shop began as a passion pursuit for Mario Rodriguez and his father. After repeated break-ins, however, the duo said they are tired of what feels like an endless crime wave targeting retailers in Southern California.

Im 20 years old and I grew up here my whole life, Mario said. Its pretty dangerous nowadays. You cant really go anywhere or wear nice things or jewelry.

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Mario and his father believe laws need to be tougher on criminals targeting retail shops.

Were a family-owned business, a small business, and it sucks to see businesses like ours get broken into with people just trying to destroy it and bring us down.

The owners said the suspects escaped with around $20,000 worth of valuable merchandise.

For now, the father and son have been focused on rebuilding and restocking the store. They said insurance wont be covering all their losses.

Theyre purchasing a new steel gate to help protect the storefront and are working to replace all the broken glass, estimating it would cost them around $8,000 out-of-pocket.

The theft remains under investigation. Police confirmed the getaway car was also a stolen vehicle.

Anyone who recognizes the thieves or has additional information can call the San Fernando Police Department at 818-898-1267.

Footage of the break-in can be seen in the video player above.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Thomas Kingston pictured here with his wife, Lady Gabriella

Thomas Kingston, Lady Gabriella Kingston's husband, died from a "traumatic head wound", an inquest has heard.

A gun was found near to his body in an outbuilding at his parent's home in the Cotswolds.

Aged 45, Mr Kingston was the son-in-law of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. He died on 25 February.

The inquest into his death opened on Friday at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court.

His death was not being treated as suspicious, and no-one else was involved.

Mr Kingston married Lady Gabriella in 2019 in a ceremony that was attended by Queen Elizabeth II.

In a statement issued by Buckingham Palace shortly after Mr Kingston's death, Lady Gabriella, 42, described her husband as an "exceptional man who lit up the lives of all who knew him".

King Charles and Queen Camilla sent their "most heartfelt thoughts and prayers" to his family.

Senior coroner Katy Skerrett said in the lead-up to his death, Mr Kingston had lunch with his parents and his father went out to walk the dogs.

When his father returned, Ms Skerrett told the inquest, Mr Kingston was no longer in the house.

"After approximately 30 minutes his mother went to look for him," Ms Skerrett said, then his father had to force entry on a locked outbuilding - as there was no reply from Mr Kingston.

His father then found his 45-year-old son "deceased with a catastrophic head injury" with a gun "present at the scene", Ms Skerrett added.

Mr Kingston was a director at private equity firm Devonport Capital. He had previously worked in Baghdad in Iraq, with the diplomatic missions unit of the Foreign Office, where he was involved in securing the release of hostages.

He married his wife, Lady Gabriella, at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel. Prince Philip and Prince Harry were also among the royals to attend the service.

Lady Gabriella is a part of the Royal Family but is not a working royal.

Her father, Prince Michael, aged 81, is a grandson of King George V and first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It has been 70 years since Edward R. Murrows withering broadcast report about Cold War demagogue Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, a program that has been called televisions finest half-hour.

Legendary though it may be, it took more than a television show to take down McCarthy and short-circuit his relentless drive to rid the federal government of communist sympathizers.

The 70th anniversary of the program that aired March 9, 1954, is likely to be recalled by some historians in nostalgic terms  how Murrow, supposedly alone in American journalism, had the courage and national stature to confront McCarthy and expose him for the Red-baiting menace that he was.

McCarthy, an otherwise obscure Republican U.S. senator from Wisconsin, had unsettled 1950s America with thinly documented charges of communists infiltrating and subverting the State Department and other federal agencies. As chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations from 1953-54, McCarthy grilled and bullied witnesses in a relentless effort to root out Americans who supposedly sympathized with Soviet communism.

As the popular version of the story goes, McCarthys power was unchecked until Murrow aired his searching report on the CBS newsmagazine show See It Now.

As my research has demonstrated, however, that interpretation about the impact of Murrows report is a tenacious media myth  a well-known tale about the news media that is widely believed and often retold but which, under scrutiny, dissolves as apocryphal.

The Murrow-McCarthy myth overlooks the belated nature of Murrows report and minimizes the aggressive work of journalists who took on the senator long before the See It Now program in 1954.

Two of those journalists paid a steep price for doing so.

As I wrote in my media-mythbusting book, Getting it Wrong: It wasnt as if Americans in early 1954 were hoping for someone to step up and expose McCarthy, or waiting for a white knight like Murrow to tell them what a toxic threat the senator posed.

They already knew.

Drew Pearsons muckraking journalism

Murrows program aired more than four years after McCarthy had launched his campaign against communists in government  and more than four years after muckraking journalist Drew Pearson had challenged the senators claims as flimsy and outlandish.

Pearson, who wrote the nationally syndicated Washington Merry-Go-Round newspaper column, lacked the popularity and pedigree of Murrow, who made his reputation in vivid radio reports from Britain during World War II.

Pearson was an unlikable figure, eager to meddle in policymaking and often overbearing.

But Pearson quickly recognized the dubious character of McCarthys allegations.

In a column in February 1950, Pearson disputed McCarthys assertions that scores of communists apparently had infiltrated the State Department, writing that when the senator finally was pinned down, he could produce  only four names of State Department officials whom he claimed were communists.

Of the four, Pearson wrote, one had never worked for the State Department, two had resigned years earlier and the fourth had been cleared of any allegation of being a communist.

Pearson also scrutinized the senators income tax filings and his acceptance of suspicious campaign contributions.

Pearsons columns angered the hulking McCarthy, who in December 1950 confronted the columnist at the end of a private dinner party in Washington.

McCarthy assaulted Pearson either by punching him or slapping him or kneeing him in the groin. Versions varied.

The man who broke up the encounter was future U.S. president Richard Nixon, who had been sworn in as senator a few days before the dinner party. In his memoir, RN, Nixon wrote that Pearson grabbed his overcoat and ran while McCarthy muttered, You shouldnt have stopped me, Dick.

Soon afterward, McCarthy took to the Senate floor to denounce Pearson as a diabolically clever voice of international communism, a fake and a Moscow-directed character assassin.

McCarthy also took aim at the sponsor of Pearsons lucrative Sunday night radio program, Adam Hat Stores Inc. The senator declared that anyone who buys from a store that stocks an Adams hat is unknowingly contributing at least something to the cause of international communism by keeping this communist spokesman on the air.

A week later, Adam Hat said it would not renew its sponsorship of Pearsons radio show, citing a planned change in advertising media.

The decision cost Pearson thousands of dollars.

The wrath of McCarthy

Pearson wasnt the only prominent journalist to challenge McCarthy years before Murrows program. Another was James Wechsler, editor of the then-liberal New York Post, which in 1951 published a bare-knuckled, 17-part series of articles about McCarthys allegations and excesses.

The closing installment likened the hard-drinking McCarthy to a drunk at a party who was funny half an hour ago but now wont go home.

In retaliation, McCarthy hauled Wechsler before his Senate subcommittee and grilled him about his former association with a communist youth group.

Wechsler described the closed-door session as little more than a reprisal against a newspaper and its editor for their opposition to McCarthy and his methods.

Murrows finest hour

CBS See It Now program 70 years ago featured extensive and impressive use of video clips to puncture a series of half-truths and exaggerations that McCarthy had told during the early 1950s.

U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy responds to Murrows report by calling the CBS newsman a communist propagandist. Bettmann/GettyImages

It made for good television, critics agreed. It also projected a certain familiarity.

Murrow said nothing, and his cameras showed nothing, that this and some other newspapers have not been saying  and saying more strongly  for three or four years, Jay Nelson Tuck of the New York Post said in his review at the time.

The news, he added, was in the fact that television was saying it at all.

The most dramatic blow against McCarthy in early March 1954 wasnt Murrows program.

Two days after the show, the U.S. Army publicly accused McCarthy and a top aide, Roy Cohn, of applying pressure to gain preferential treatment for Cohns friend and assistant, G. David Schine, who had been drafted into military service.

The charges became a centerpiece in spring 1954 of the televised Army-McCarthy hearings, which were a prelude to the senators censure that year and his political eclipse.

McCarthy died in 1957 from complications of alcohol abuse and hepatitis. He was 48 years old.

Murrow left CBS in 1961 to become head of the U.S. Information Agency. He was 57 when he died in 1965 of lung cancer.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: W. Joseph Campbell, American University School of Communication

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W. Joseph Campbell 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.
People place flowers and tributes in front of the Russian embassy on the day of the burial of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. imanek Vit/CTK/dpa

Thousands of people defiantly bade an emotional farewell on Friday to Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident who died two weeks ago in an Arctic prison, at times unable to contain their anger at the authorities they blamed for his death.

At the church dedicated to the "Assuage My Sorrows" icon of the Mother of God in Moscow's south-eastern Maryino district on Friday, mourners carrying flowers crowded around metal bars to bid farewell to the opposition leader.

In the church, pictures of Navalny's body in the open coffin, covered in flowers and surrounded by numerous people during the service were also shown for the first time. Navalny's face was visible.

His mother Lyudmila Navalnaya, who had fought to have her son released, was holding a candle and sitting with his father by the coffin during the ceremony. People hugged them after the funeral service.

Dozens of emergency vehicles with uniformed personnel took up position from the early morning ahead of the funeral service. Police also erected metal fences over a wide area ahead of the event.

Officers checked documents and personal belongings of passers-by and mobile internet services were reportedly shut down in the area. A notice was also reportedly posted at the church asking people not to film or take photographs.

"Russia without Putin!" "Putin is a murderer!" "Russia will be free!" and "No to war!" people chanted people in chorus outside the funeral service amid a tense atmosphere.

In a livestream on YouTube, Navalny's team showed thousands of people chanting "Navalny, Navalny, Navalny" behind barriers. They chanted: "We do not forget. We do not forgive."

"I was afraid to come, but Navalny was a symbol of fearlessness," said 20-year-old Artyom. Now he said he wanted to honour his memory. The student stood in the crowd with red flowers, and because of his eye-catching top hat, he was repeatedly filmed and questioned by the media.

Pensioner Alla had white carnations with her. She was worried about getting arrested. "I've already received two administrative penalties, and they booked me on the third one," she said, as prison vans circled the crowd.

After the funeral service in the church, the brown coffin was transported to Moscow's Borisov cemetery for the burial. Thousands of people walked the half hour or so to the cemetery.

His colleagues and close supporters, who are abroad due to the threat of arrest, wrestled with tears as Navalny's relatives kissed the body. The live images were shown on a YouTube stream. The body was covered with a cloth before the coffin was closed and lowered into the ground.

The "Terminator 2" theme song was played. "[Navalny] thought Terminator 2 was the best film on earth. The music from the final scene was played at his funeral," his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.

His widow published a video clip with scenes from their life together in a moving farewell to her husband.

In the post on Instagram, 47-year-old Yulia Navalnaya wrote: "Thank you for 26 years of absolute happiness. Yes, even for the last three years of happiness. For the love, for always supporting me, for making me laugh even from prison, for always thinking of me."

Navalnaya, daughter Daria and son Zakhar were not in Moscow for the funeral - for security reasons.

The widow has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of Navalny's murder and must expect to be arrested if she returned to her homeland. She has also announced that she will continue her husband's political fight against Putin.

The Kremlin rejects responsibility for his death, while continuing preparations for elections on March 15-17 that are expected to install Putin for a fifth term.

In recent days, police arrested hundreds of people laying flowers in Navalny's memory at locations across the country.

The heightened security measures indicated that even after his death, Navalny, a main challenger to Putin in recent years, remains a major cause of concern for the authorities.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously warned against unauthorized protests.

According to the authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in a prison camp in the Yamal region, 1,900 kilometres north-east of Moscow, at the age of 47. The circumstances of his death have not been clarified.

The politician, weakened by an earlier poison attack and repeated solitary confinement in the camp, is said to have collapsed in the icy prison yard and died despite attempts to resuscitate him.

According to Navalny's team, the death certificate states that the cause of death was "natural." Navalny's mother said that she had repeatedly resisted Kremlin plans to have him buried in secret.

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell expressed condolences to the family and friends of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as he was buried in Moscow on Friday.

Borrell said the EU ambassador to Russia and other EU diplomats paid their respects.

"Navalnys beliefs will not disappear - ideas cannot be tortured, poisoned or killed," he said.

Navalny "remains an inspiration for many in Russia and beyond," he added.

People place flowers and tributes outside the Russian Embassy on the day of the burial of the Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in Helsinki. Mikko Stig/Lehtikuva/dpa

A placard reading "Putin killed Navalny" is placed among Flowers, candles and pictures, laid in tribute to deceased Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, near the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. . Sven Hoppe/dpa
Tensions continue to soar between thousands of striking South Korean doctors and the government, as a vast majority of the protesting junior residents have refused to go back to work on Friday despite threats of prosecution for their ongoing collective action and promises of immunity from penalty if they had quit their walkout by now.

Only 294 doctors out of some 9,000 striking doctors have returned to work as of Thursday night since the strike began on Feb. 20, Vice Health Minister Park Min-soo told reporters. Authorities had given an ultimatum earlier in the week, promising striking doctors that they would not be held accountable if they returned to work by Thursday evening but that the government would begin to take legal action against remaining strikers starting Friday.

The doctors are protesting a government plan to address the countrys longstanding doctor shortage by increasing the annual quota for medical students from 3,058 to 5,058 beginning in 2025. Critics say the protesting doctors are worried that the quota expansion will hurt their competitive pay, while doctors argue the plan will do little to address the poor working conditions in fields where the personnel shortages are most pressing.

As of Wednesday evening, around 10,000 residents80% of all junior doctorshad tendered their resignations as part of the protest. Around 9,000 were on strikea slight decrease from the previous day, per health authorities, who also noted that the number of striking doctors had decreased two days in a row.

Across 100 teaching hospitals in the country, there were 32 hospitals where more than one person has returned to work, and 10 hospitals where more than 10 have returned, Park said on Thursday, adding there are also hospitals where up to 66 doctors have resumed work.

Authorities have issued over 9,400 back-to-work orders to striking doctors, but many have avoided accepting the text message orders by simply turning off their phones and changing their phone numbers. In response, officials are now visiting the homes of trainee doctors to personally deliver the orders. The Ministry of Health has also posted back-to-work orders for about a dozen trainee doctors on the ministry website, local media reported. These steps would allow authorities to subsequently file criminal complaints with those who refuse to comply with the back-to-work orders.

Defying a back-to-work order can be punished by up to three years in prison, a 30 million won ($22,000) fine, or a minimum three-month medical license suspension.

The government has stood firm on its quota expansion plan, which remains broadly popular among the general public, with the health ministry lodging its first criminal complaint against five alleged organizers of the strike on Tuesday. On Friday, police raided several offices at the Korean Medical Association and Seoul Medical Association, which have been accused of violating medical law for their alleged role in instigating the strike.

At the same time, authorities also appear to be trying to assuage concerns among doctors about the quota expansion plan, with the health ministry announcing on Thursday that the government would add up to 1,000 medical professors at key national hospitals by 2027 in response to worries raised by doctors that increasing the intake of medical students would affect the quality of medical care and education. Meanwhile, Park said that officials had invited 94 representatives of the striking doctors to a meeting on Thursday, but only a handful of doctors showed up.

Hospitals across the country are being stretched to their limits, with some patients having their treatments postponed amid a shortage of doctors. The heads of hospitals have written emails begging doctors to return. Your sincerity is well-delivered, Kim Young-tae, the president of Seoul National University wrote on Wednesday. A handful of patients suffering from high-risk diseases and incurable illnesses await you. Now, please come back.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
The Brown Deer School District has named the three finalists under consideration for its next superintendent.

The board has been searching for a replacement for Monica Kelsey-Brown, who announced in December that she had accepted a new role as superintendent of the Waunakee Community School District, in the Madison area, effective July 1.

Finalists for the Brown Deer position are Matthew Boswell, senior director of student services at Milwaukee Public Schools; Katrice Cotton, chief school administration officer for MPS; and Keona Jones, assistant state superintendent of schools with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Here's more about the candidates:

Matthew Boswell

In addition to his position with MPS, Boswell serves on the city of Milwaukee Social Development Commission. He has held previous roles with MPS, including as regional director of schools, as a principal at Vincent High School and as a guidance counselor at Bay View High School. Boswell also served as a psychotherapist at the Counseling Center of Milwaukee and the Ethan Allen Correctional Facility. He holds a master's degree in guidance and counseling, as well as a bachelor's degree in human development, both degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, according to the district's news release.

Katrice Cotton

Cotton has served in other roles at MPS, including as regional director of schools and principal at Audubon Technical and Communications Center, as well as a language arts/social studies teacher at the same school. She holds a doctorate in education and master's degree in science, both from National Louis University, a master's in educational leadership and administration from Marian University and a bachelor's in elementary education and teaching from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Keona Jones

Jones previously served as the Racine Unified School District's deputy chief of schools; principal of Lakeshore Middle School in the Mequon-Thiensville School District; principal at Thurston Woods School and as an early childhood coordinator and as a special education teacher, all in Milwaukee Public Schools. Jones also served as the executive director of Malaika Early Learning Center in Milwaukee. Jones has a doctorate in education, a master's degree in special educational leadership and a master's in educational leadership, all from Cardinal Stritch University. She also has a bachelor's degree in special education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, according to the district's news release.

What did the superintendent search process involve?

The district's board partnered with School Exec Connect and used an online survey to identify what characteristics the next superintendent should have. The board also completed interviews with candidates recently, the district's news release said.

There were 22 candidates for the position, 10 of whom were interviewed in the first round and five in the second round. The three finalists will be interviewed in the final round, according to an email from Brown Deer School Board President Todd Beadle.

What are the next steps?

Each finalist is invited to tour the district's campus and participate in a forum with the school board and community. The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 16 at Brown Deer Middle School's South Commons. The Brown Deer School Board plans to choose the district's next superintendent the week of March 18.

The new superintendent is expected to be named in April, which is also when the transition process is expected to begin, according to the Brown Deer School District's website.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at@AlecJohnson12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Three finalists selected for Brown Deer superintendent position
KIEV, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov signed a plan for the implementation of the adapted Annual National Program of Cooperation with NATO for 2024, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported Friday.

Aiming at reforming Ukraine's security and defense sector, the Ukrainian defense ministry mapped out 50 steps to achieve 17 goals in its plan.

The plan includes creating a joint NATO-Ukraine center for analysis, training and education, developing national documents based on NATO standards and completing the transformation of its command and control system in accordance with NATO principles and standards.

The Ukrainian parliament earlier declared rapprochement with NATO as one of the key priorities for Ukraine this year.

NATO recognized Ukraine as its Enhanced Opportunities Partner in 2020. In September 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance is not ready to accept Ukraine as a member while its conflict with Russia is in an active stage. 
Putin is changing the concept of government from an autocratic president to an "autocrat." Seemingly minor but fundamental differences can be described by three groups of theses.

Recently, rumors began to spread about the possible death of Igor Strelkov/Girkin. There is no confirmation. But, in my opinion, it is too early for the relatives and friends of this terrorist to relax. Here's why:

Putin is changing the concept of government from an autocratic president to an "autocrat." Seemingly minor but fundamental differences can be described by three groups of theses.

Read also: Putin confirms Russian army's use of Zircon missile in Ukraine strike

1. Relations with elites. The autocratic president in Russia played the role of an arbitrator-moderator in the war between clans. An arbitrator can listen to the parties' arguments and find some kind of compromise in disputes between the Kremlin Towers. The moderator is the one who stimulates the war so that no clan gets a full set of resources sufficient to seize and maintain power. The Kremlin's "towers" can fight to strengthen their positions, but in any case, they can turn to a mediator to end the conflict, taking into account their interests. The format of the autocrat is different. The "Kremlin Towers" no longer turn to an intermediary, but ask for a favor/protection from someone above the clash. There may be no compromise here - instead, there will be the "will of the king."

Read also: How Putin and Trump help each other

2. The requirement of elite loyalty. This goes both for whole groups and their individual representatives. After all, an autocrat can execute and pardon. The latter is possible only if there is loyalty, controllability, and gratitude. A typical example of mercy could be seen in the case of Yavlinsky. The oppositionist asked, "whether it was possible to run for election and criticize the tsar." He received a "no" answer and said, "Thank you."

Violating the balance of loyalty  controllability  gratitude can lead to death. Let's take Prigozhin. He was loyal to Putin to the end (let me remind you that the march on Moscow was not against Putin), but he became unmanageable and died.

Navalny was already under control (relatively) but not loyal. He died.

The tsar has already tried on the crown and is waiting for the coronation

Blogger "Murz" (one of the most talented Russian propagandists and a successful "volunteer" for the other side). Loyal to Putin, but not controlled (his channel survived the "third war for Telegram" when the Kremlin was putting "military commanders" under control) and only relatively controlled. He died.

The same goes for those whom the tsar considers "traitors." That is, people who publicly demonstrate their disloyalty and set an example for others. The case of the Russian pilot killed in Spain fits in quite logically.

3. Citizens or subjects  fear or love. Concerning the population, the scheme has also changed. Previously, Putin wanted to be loved first and feared second. The series of deaths changes the schema. Russian citizens will, of course, claim that each of the victims "died alone" or "it was an accident." But alone with themselves, while drinking vodka in the kitchen, they will whisper "murdered." And be afraid. Afraid of being disloyal. Simply put, for Putin, fear, not love, comes first in communication with the population. However, paradoxically, in Russia, fear creates love. Let's recall the Russian sayings, "If you hit, you love," and "If you're afraid, you respect," and so on.

In addition, the autocrat fears the future. After all, the tsar usually goes only to the grave. The reason can be either a palace coup (and here, the execution of disloyal people from the inner circle is a good demonstration of "strength") or a "Russian revolt."

But a strong personality is an essential symbol for a "Russian revolt" (not to mention a revolution). Nemtsov's death (remember, it was a long time ago) showed that "a dead symbol will not work." Logically, Prigozhin's death was next. After all, he is also a symbol  a symbol of "victory" against the backdrop of the army's failures. Then Navalny. Albeit without structures or influence (as demonstrated by his negligible performances even abroad, where Russian emigrants are certainly not in danger). But still a possible symbol.

Read also: Looming withdrawal from Avdiivka, Ze approval falls, WH says Reps siding with Putin

Merz, an effective Russian volunteer and propagandist  committed suicide (?). But he was also a symbol. A symbol of the "military commanders" who did not fall to the Kremlin during the "third war for Telegram" at the end of 2023. By the way, the Russian pilot killed in Spain could also become a symbol. To choose the right side and get out of the cesspool called Russia. This is not a political symbol, but an example at the grassroots level. And he, too, is gone.

Finally, Strelkov. Another symbol. The so-called "Great Russian patriot." This is dangerous because Strelkov's audience (and support) are radicals with combat experience. Putin should be afraid of them.

Against this background, there were rumors about the death of the said terrorist. He may be alive. But he will have little choice: either Yavlinsky's case or a conditional noose.

Thus, the tsar has already tried on the crown and is waiting for the coronation. The Russian tsar is capable of any savagery since there was no tradition of "chivalry" in the Russian dynasty. More precisely, those who tried to demonstrate this ended up in trouble.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
WASHINGTON  The jockeying to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell as Republican leader has begun after the Kentuckian announced he will step down in January following a record 18 years in the position.

The list of prospects begins with three Johns  as theyve become known on Capitol Hill  who are current or former deputies to McConnell and are widely seen as the front-runners for the post. One thing they have in common: All have endorsed Donald Trump for president as the ex-presidents influence with the Senate GOP grows.

Though Trump could be a factor if he decides to weigh in on the race, Senate Republicans will vote for their next leader behind closed doors in November. McConnells successor will take over in January.

Here are the names in the mix for top Republican leader, including the three Johns and some non-Johns who may make a long-shot bid.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, became the first Republican to announce his bid Thursday, doing so in a statement. He said he hopes to fix a broken Senate.

I am asking my Republican colleagues to give me the opportunity to succeed Leader McConnell, Cornyn said. We will improve communication, increase transparency, and ensure inclusion of every Members expertise and opinion. We will restore the important role of Senate committees and reestablish the regular appropriations process, rather than lurch from one crisis to another. And we will return power back to our members; there will be no more backroom deals or forced votes on bills without adequate time for review, debate, and amendment.

Cornyn, 72, was first elected in 2002 and served as McConnells whip in the minority and majority from 2013 until 2019, when he was term-limited out of the post. As he said in his statement, he has also spent two terms as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helping to raise money and elect GOP members to the upper chamber.

Asked how he will navigate the wing of the party that disagrees with his vote for Ukraine and Israel aid, Cornyn said: The leader is not a dictator  the leader should be more of a facilitator. And if youre going to be in leadership, youre going to have to do things  because the membership demands it  that maybe is not what you would do as an individual senator voting on a piece of legislation.

History with Trump : In February 2021, Cornyn said Trumps language was reckless on Jan. 6, adding: I think he miscalculated, assuming he calculated at all, about what the impact of a mob would be. Mobs dont act like rational people. Cornyn has long questioned Trumps ability to win a general election in 2024, but he endorsed him on Jan. 23, saying that Republican voters have made up their minds.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the current minority whip, makes no bones about the fact that he wants the job. He will be term-limited out of the whip job after this year, which means anything other than the No. 1 position would be a step down for him.

I think its probably one of the worst kept secrets in Washington, Thune, 63 and first elected in 2004, told reporters on Thursday. Were having all the conversations with our colleagues and well continue to do that  and talk about the future of the Senate and what our members want in the next Senate Republican leader.

A spokesperson for Thune added: He looks forward to having substantive conversations over the next few days and weeks about the future, but he intends on keeping those conversations private.

Bottom line: Thune is running, just not formally yet.

History with Trump: Thune voted to acquit Trump in the 2021 Senate impeachment trial but said it should not be viewed as exoneration for his conduct on January 6  or in the days and weeks leading up to it. What former President Trump did to undermine faith in our election system and disrupt the peaceful transfer of power is inexcusable. Thune initially endorsed Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the 2024 race. On Feb. 25, Thune endorsed Trump. Asked about his prior criticism of the ex-president, Thune said the voters have spoken and its now a binary choice: Trump or Joe Biden.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who has held the No. 3 GOP post since 2019, was not in Washington on Thursday, instead making a trip to Arizona to campaign for far-right election denier Kari Lake, the likely Republican nominee for Senate, according to his office.

Barrasso, 71, first arrived in the Senate in 2007. He could conceivably run for the No. 1 or No. 2 position  either would be a step up from his current job. Hes in a position of strength and will make an announcement on his own timeline  not somebody elses, a source close to Barrasso said.

Barrassos home state colleague, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., said Thursday he has not indicated to her whether he will run for leader but that he can count on her support if he does. Whatever he decides to do, I will be supporting him, Lummis said.

On Wednesday, Barrasso said, My number-one focus is the election in November for president and for majority control in the Senate, as well as majority control in the House of Representatives.

History with Trump : Barrasso was the first of the three Johns to endorse Trump for president, doing so on Jan. 9. In late 2021, Barrasso had no criticism of Trump when asked on ABC News about the former president defending Jan. 6 rioters chants of hang Mike Pence. Barrasso was also the only member of GOP leadership to vote against the recent aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

Steve Daines

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., the current chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, was coy when asked Thursday whether hed be interested in running for GOP leader.

Therell be no majority leader without a majority. Im focused on getting the majority, Daines said.

When pressed about the fact that he wasnt ruling out a run for leader, Daines responded, Were focused on getting the majority back.

Daines, 61, is a newer member of GOP leadership, joining the Senate in 2015, but has quickly ascended the ranks and is navigating the NRSC chairmanship with a favorable map for Republicans.

History with Trump : Daines was the first member of GOP leadership to endorse Trump, doing so in April of last year. He also rejected the idea that Pence could have overturned the election on Jan. 6, saying after he voted to acquit Trump, Vice President Pence faithfully upheld his oath of office and certified the election. I voted to acquit President Trump of a second impeachment because I believe the trial was unconstitutional.

Rick Scott

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who ran against McConnell in the last leadership election, is part of a group of conservatives calling for a special conference meeting to discuss the path forward. Hes a vocal critic of McConnell, and hes more controversial within the caucus than other prospects. If he runs again, hed be an underdog at best.

When I ran before, I thought we needed a change in leadership, so Im looking forward to a change in how we operate, Scott said on Thursday. He has called McConnells exit an opportunity to refocus our efforts on solving the significant challenges facing our country and actually reflect the aspirations of voters.

Scott, first elected in 2018, failed to unseat McConnell in the leadership elections in November 2022, getting 10 votes compared to 37 for McConnell. Scott was the NRSC chairman during the 2022 cycle, when Republicans had high hopes of winning back the majority but fell short. Some blamed Scott for that failure; he blamed GOP leaders for failing to inspire conservative voters.

I believe its time for the Senate Republican Conference to be far more bold and resolute than we have been in the past, Scott said in a letter asking for members votes during his failed bid. We must start saying what we are for, not just what we are against.

History with Trump : Scott endorsed Trump in November 2023. He was one of the first governors to endorse Trump in 2016 as well.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4)  Tim Ballards spokesperson is disputing claims made in a recent lawsuit  which attacks a characters portrayal in the film Sound of Freedom  saying they are just another attempt at a big payday.

The most recent lawsuit against Tim Ballard was filed by a Colombian woman who claims a character based on her was portrayed in a defamatory and slanderous way in the film Sound of Freedom. The controversial independent film, which features Ballard as the main character, was an astounding box-office success in 2023 and was shown worldwide.

The lawsuit was filed this month by Kely Johana Suarez Moya and her mother, Luz Miriam Moya Solano, in Utahs 3rd District Court. The suit states that one of the films characters, Katy Giselle, is portrayed as a locally known beauty-queen sex trafficker and was openly based on Moya. The suit claims the movie has exposed [Moya] to hatred, contempt, or ridicule in the public eye.

Angel Studios, which produced Sound of Freedom, is also named in Moyas suit. ABC4.com reached out to Angel Studios for comment, but the studio has not responded on the record.

PREVIOUS STORY: Woman sues Tim Ballard, Angel Studios over slanderous portrayal in Sound of Freedom

Ballards spokesperson, Chad Kolton, says Moyas lawsuit and others filed against Ballard are nothing more than an organized shakedown.

Kolton provided ABC4.com with the following statement in response to the lawsuit:

More unfounded allegations against Ballard by the same attorneys for the same reason  hoping for a big payday. These cases are already falling apart, with eyewitnesses proving a key claim is entirely false. And were just getting started outlining the additional evidence that will show these cases are nothing more than an organized shakedown. Chad Kolton, spokesperson representing Tim Ballard

The Sound of Freedom movie fictionalizes a real-life Colombian sting operation from 2014 in which Moya was arrested. The lawsuit states Moya was later released by habeas corpus and was never convicted of a crime.

However, Kolton claims the contrary, saying she is being prosecuted by Colombian authorities and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement identified her in a release about trafficking arrests.

The anti-human trafficking sting operation was centered on a fake sex party that Ballard and his associates allegedly fabricated to catch pedophiles and child traffickers and save victims. Colombian authorities were involved and made arrests following the arrival of the children and the exchange of money, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims Moya was not involved in planning the sex party, as Ballard says, but rather was invited to the party to get paid to have sex, as she was 20 years old but appeared to be much younger.

Kolton pointed to a video that was taken during the 2014 operation and later included in the film. The video shows Moya discussing the party with Ballard and the other undercover men posing as pedophiles.

At the end of the video, the men talk about sex with underaged girls and note the girls are young and inexperienced. When one man stumbles for words in asking the perceived pedophiles to be gentle with the girls, Moya asks them to use delicacy before laughing and saying please.

Kolton claims the video raises questions about the veracity of the plaintiffs claims in her suit, in particular the claim that she did not help plan the party but was there as one of the underaged girls. He said the conversation discusses the girls in the plural sense and does not mention sex with Moya specifically.

Due to the pending litigation, Ballards legal team said they could not expand on the lawsuits other claims.

RELATED CONTENT: Everything to know about the Tim Ballard controversies

This civil lawsuit is one of several others against Ballard. However, this is the first to focus on the Sound of Freedom film. Three lawsuits allege sexual assault and misconduct and another suit addresses the allegations of silencing witnesses of fraud and deception. Moyas suit is the fifth currently before the courts.

Ballard has denied all allegations. The litigation is still pending and has yet to be presented in court.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
Daylight Saving Time kicks in next week, and most people across the United States will spring forward an have to adjust their sleep schedules once again.

Everthing you need to know about DST is below, so you can be well-rested in time for those upcoming spring break vacations.

What is daylight saving time saving? Hint: it may not actually be time or money

Here's what you need to know about DST in 2024:

When does the Daylight Saving time change 2024 occur in U.S.?

Participating states turn clocks forward an hour on the second Sunday in March during the spring. Daylight Saving Time ends on the first Sunday of November in the fall of each year and that's when states turn clocks back an hour.

When does time change spring forward for DST 2024?

It's hard to wake up the Monday after daylight saving time.

In the U.S., clocks will officially spring forward at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 10, 2024.

Do I gain or lose an hour of sleep for Daylight Savings Time at 2 a.m. March 10, 2024?

We lose an hour of sleep when the clocks "spring forward" and are turned ahead at 2 a.m. for one hour when Daylight Saving Time begins.

In the fall when DST ends, clocks "fall back" an hour in November. That is when people gain an hour of sleep.

When does Daylight Savings 2024's time change fall back?

Clocks fall back on Sunday, Nov. 3 in 2024.

Why does Daylight Saving Time change at 2 a.m.?

In an interview with Time Magazine, author Michael Downing cited his book, "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time," to explain how Amtrak and the railroads were the main reason clocks change at 2 a.m. for DST.

There were no trains leaving the station at 2 a.m. on Sundays in New York City when Daylight Saving Time was established.

"Sunday morning at 2 a.m. was when they would interrupt the least amount of train travel around the country, Downing said.

Why does daylight saving time exist?: Unpacking the century-long beef over DST

Which U.S. states don't change clocks for Daylight Saving Time?

As of July 25, 2022, the U.S. Department of Transportation noted that only Hawaii and parts of Arizona do not participate in daylight saving time. The Navajo Nation is the lone exception in Arizona.

The territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also do not participate.

According to the website, states may exempt themselves from observing daylight saving time by state law in accordance with the Uniform Time Act, as amended.

What to know about daylight saving time.

What time is it in Louisville?

Visit timeanddate.com to see the current time in Louisville.

Daylight Savings Time and time change in Kentucky

Kentucky first observed daylight saving time in 1918, when the Standard Time Act established daylight saving time to conserve electricity during World War I. After the war was over, daylight saving was no longer national law and became a local option.

Between 1918 and today, Kentucky observed daylight saving time for 75 years, according to timeanddate.com. For a while, cities across Kentucky were inconsistent, with some observing the time change and others not.

But starting in 1970, Time and Date AS has tracked observance of daylight saving time in Kentucky every year.

Over the years, researchers have tried to tie your body getting an hour less of sleep that night to a variety of issues, including an increase in car crashes and health problems such as heart attacks and strokes.

In 2019, Kentucky Republican Reps. Bart Rowland of Tompkinsville and Brandon Reed of Hodgenville pre-filed a bill to do away with resetting clocks every six months and instead use daylight saving time all year long. To do so, however, requires authorization by the federal government.

Under federal law, states are allowed not to observe daylight saving time, with Arizona and Hawaii being the lone states to do so. States are not allowed to stay on daylight time throughout the year.

When does Daylight Saving Time end permanently?

Despite the Sunshine Protection Act being unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate in 2022, there is no permanent end in sight.

The bill was not signed into law by the U.S. House of Representatives, citing other priorities that needed to be addressed before tackling DST, according to The Hill. Thus, the bill has not been signed into law by President Joe Biden.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) told The Hill in July that efforts to find a consensus for Daylight Saving Time continue to fall flat with an emphasis on geographical issues rather than political party lines.

"The problem is that a lot of people say to me, Oh, we should just have, you know, we shouldnt switch back and forth, we should just have standard or daylight saving, but then they disagree over which one to enact," Pallone told The Hill.

"And so thats the problem. We need a consensus that if were gonna have one time, what is it? And I havent been able to get a consensus on that."

A 2023 version of the Sunshine Protection Act sat idle in the House of Representatives for the entire year.

Spring Break 2024: When's your favorite student on spring break? Here's a list of Louisville area breaks

Did Daylight Saving Time start because of farmers?

No, according to almanac.com.

"Many Americans wrongly point to farmers as the driving force behind Daylight Saving Time. In fact, farmers were its strongest opponents and, as a group, stubbornly resisted the change from the beginning," Catherine Boeckmann wrote for almanac.com.

"When the war ended, the farmers and working-class people who had held their tongues began speaking out. They demanded an end to Daylight Saving Time, claiming it benefited only office workers and the leisure class. The controversy spotlighted the growing gap between rural and urban dwellers."

Chris Sims is a digital content producer for Midwest Connect Gannett. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Daylight Savings 2024: What is DST? When time change springs forward
Hurricane-level gales and steady snowfalls rocked the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Thursday but marked only the beginning of a blizzard that potentially could shatter weather records and send avalanches gushing through backcountry this weekend.

The highest points on Interstate 80 and Highway 50  Donner Pass and Echo Summit, respectively  measured about one to two feet of snow overnight with gusts upward of 50 mph, said Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento.

Treacherous gusts could snap trees and damage power lines. The heaviest snowfall is expected on Saturday, the weather service said.

Thats what makes (the blizzard) so bad, because its lasting so long, Shoemaker said. Theres going to be very little break in the snow.

Mountain communities on Friday appeared ready to hunker down for the weekend after prepping for the storm on Wednesday and Thursday. Even for foothill areas closer to Sacramento, many werent taking chances.

Now heads up, were expecting storms, Murriel Oles said as she stood Friday before election aides in her training session in Rocklin.

She told the Placer County poll workers that voters might stay home because of the inclement weather. But, she told volunteers, as the workers set up polling places over the weekend and on Election Day, they needed to keep an eye out for the storm  and they might have to bring outdoor signs inside.

Oles singled out a large, lightweight rectangular sign with clear plastic pockets for 15 pages of election information.

Be careful putting this one together, she warned them, or else you may find yourself parasailing over Placer County.

Power outages

Outage data from the states largest utilities showed customers steadily losing electricity as the blizzard continued its warpath in the High Sierra.

Just after 5 p.m., there were 6,491 customers in the Sierra counties  Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Sierra, Tuolumne and Yuba  interrupted from the grid, the majority powered by Pacific Gas and Electric. The evening uptick in outages accounted for about half of all outages statewide at dinnertime, according to the data, which is compiled by the Governors Office of Emergency Services.

In El Dorado County, roughly 2,300 customers of PG&E and Liberty Utilities were in the dark. In Placer, there were 115 homes were without power just before 2:30 p.m.

The strongest jet stream is predicted to unleash over mountain passes Friday night, which could topple the states highest recorded wind speed of 199 mph, measured in 2017 on Ward Peak, just west of Tahoe, said Colin McCarthy, a popular stormchaser on social media who is a student at UC Davis.

How long will the storm last?





According to the weather service, the winter storm will continue into Monday.

Blizzard conditions are expected in areas above 2000 ft this afternoon through Saturday. It is EXTREMELY dangerous to travel through the mountains at this time! AVOID travel! Stay up to date with the forecast at https://t.co/7FMe5twj20 by entering your zip code. Stay safe! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/ANf1qmEmBe  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 29, 2024

Blizzard conditions are expected in areas above 2000 ft (Friday) afternoon through Saturday, the weather service wrote on X, formerly called Twitter.

Sunday and Monday could see moderate conditions.

Heres the weather services timeline:

On Friday, parts of Northern California could see heavy rain, extreme snow and strong winds, reaching up to 60 mph.

Saturday could see moderate to heavy rain and snow with strong gusts over the Sierra.

On Sunday, the weather service predicts moderate impacts with lingering rain and snow showers.

Monday could see mountain snow.

Whats in the forecast for Sacramento?

The weather service has issued a wind advisory in effect until 10 a.m. Saturday for the Southern Sacramento Valley and Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Wind Advisory in effect for the northern and central Sacramento Valley Thursday through Saturday morning. Strong southerly wind gusts up to 50 mph are expected. Be prepared for difficult driving conditions, localized power outages, & downed tree branches & weakened trees. #cawx pic.twitter.com/0o1FwSvu4k  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 28, 2024

This includes the cities of Sacramento, Fairfield, Suisun, Stockton, Modesto, Grass Valley and Jackson.

Gusts are expected to range from 20 to 50 mph.

Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, the advisory stated. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

As the storm courses through Northern California, rain is in the forecast for Sacramento.

McKinley Thompson-Morley walks to work in the rain on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 in downtown Sacramento near the state Capitol.

On Friday evening, the forecast shows a 100% chance of precipitation and possible thunderstorms. About half an inch of rainfall is possible. Gusts could reach 40 mph. The low will be around 44 degrees.

Saturdays forecast shows an 80% chance of precipitation with gusts ranging from 11 to 32 mph. Thunderstorms are possible, and about a quarter of an inch of rain or more is expected. Temperatures show a high near 52 degrees and a low around 40.

Sunday will see partly cloudy skies with a 40% chance of precipitation. Winds could reach up to 18 mph. The high will be near 54 degrees and the low will be around 38.

Monday  the last expected day of the storm  will see a slight chance of showers but mostly sunny skies. Temperatures see a high near 56 degrees and a low around 42.

How much rain has fallen in Sacramento so far?

Sacramento saw little impact from the rain on Thursday night, Shoemaker said.

He added Sacramentos downtown measured about 0.18 inches of rain and the Executive Airport experienced 0.2 inches of rain over 24 hours.

From Friday until Sunday, the capital city is predicted to get about 1 inch of precipitation. Wind gusts are expected to peak Friday at 40 mph, as gales decrease about 10 mph each day through the weekend, Shoemaker said.

But area residents driving east will see heavier rainfall  Folsom experienced about 0.35 to 0.5 inches of rain with Roseville and Auburn experiencing similar totals, he said.

How much snow has fallen in Tahoe so far?

In the past 24 hours, the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory  located at Donner Pass near  reported approximately 19 inches of snowfall.

Snowpack at the lab is now 102% of median to date, the Central Sierra laboratory wrote on X.

We have received 19.1" (48.5 cm) of #snow in the last day. Snowpack at the lab is now 102% of median to date.



Conditions have already deteriorated this morning with gusty winds and significantly reduced visibility. The next 24 hours will be the heaviest portion of the storm. pic.twitter.com/B9BiHMH216  UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab (@UCB_CSSL) March 1, 2024

Overall, the laboratory reported a total of about 21 inches of new snow within the past seven days.

The next 24 hours will be the heaviest portion of the storm, the lab wrote.

Snow falls on homes on Sierra Pines Road in El Dorado County on Thursday.

As of Friday, heres how much snow has fallen at ski and snowboarding resorts in Tahoe so far this season, according to their websites:

12 on the upper mountain, 11 at the Alpine base, and 9 in the Palisades base as of 5am, Palisades Tahoe wrote on X.

It is still snowing everywhere and tonights conditions are expected to be intense.

12 on the upper mountain, 11 at the Alpine base, and 9 in the Palisades base as of 5am. It is still snowing everywhere and tonights conditions are expected to be intense. pic.twitter.com/9zLiK7rDY1  Palisades Tahoe (@palisadestahoe) March 1, 2024

Whats in the forecast for Tahoe?

A blizzard warning is in effect for the greater Lake Tahoe region through 10 a.m. Sunday.

This includes the cities of Stateline, Markleeville, Incline Village, Tahoe City, Glenbrook, Truckee, and South Lake Tahoe

A Blizzard Warning is in effect for areas above 2000 ft today-Sunday. Conditions will begin to deteriorate quickly in the mountains this afternoon, with high winds and heavy snow causing white out conditions at times. Travel is HIGHLY discouraged!! #CAwx pic.twitter.com/3dC8ZO9W7o  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 29, 2024

A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring, the advisory says. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds are likely.

Whiteout conditions and power outages are possible, and travel conditions could be dangerous.

Between 2 and 5 feet of snow are expected for communities around the lake with gusts around 60 mph; snow levels above 7,000 feet elevation could reach 4 to 8 feet with gusts at around 110 mph.

The forecast for the greater Lake Tahoe area shows cloudy skies, snow and gusty winds.

The Base to Base gondola climbs the mountain from Palisades Tahoe on its way to Alpine on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Many Tahoe-area ski resorts have limited runs open due to a lack of snow and warmer temperatures.

On Friday, the evening forecast shows heavy, blowing snow. Up to 34 inches of new snow is expected for areas above 7,000 feet. Gusts could range from 25 to 55 mph in the slopes, and can sweep at speeds up to 140 mph in the ridges. The lowest temperatures will be between 16 and 26 degrees.

Saturday will also see heavy, blowing snow with up to 20 inches in accumulation possible in areas above 7,000 feet. Winds could gust at speeds of 15 to 50 mph on mountain slopes and up to 125 mph on the ridges. The high will be around 35 degrees and the low near 13.

Snow is likely on Sunday with gusts continuing to sweep through the region at speeds ranging from 15 to 40 mph in the slopes. Ridge gusts could reach up to 90 mph. Temperatures will reach a high near 34 degrees and a low around 9.

On Monday, the forecast shows mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow. The high will be near 40 degrees and the low around 11.

Avalanche warning for Tahoes backcountry

The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee has issued a backcountry avalanche warning in effect until 5 p.m. Sunday for the Sierra Nevada, including the greater Lake Tahoe area.

HIGH to EXTREME avalanche danger is expected in the backcountry through 5 PM Sunday for the Central Sierra slopes between Yuba Pass and Ebbetts Pass, including the Greater Lake Tahoe area. More info at: https://t.co/ilp7hXfgCr#Nvwx #CAwx pic.twitter.com/c5nIj5ivU4  NWS Reno (@NWSReno) March 1, 2024

The centers daily forecast, which ranks avalanche risks on a scale of 1 to 5, shows Fridays avalanche danger is at a 4, or high, in the backcountry areas of the Sierra.

High intensity snowfall combined with gale force winds has created dangerous avalanche conditions in the backcountry, the forecast says. Natural avalanches are expected in the backcountry as these conditions further intensify today and tonight.

Yosemite closed through weekend

The storm has forced the closure of Yosemite, National Park rangers said Thursday. The closure remains in effect through noon Sunday, rangers said.

Visitors currently in the park should leave as soon as possible, and no later than noon tomorrow, March 1, the park service said on social media.

Hows the Sierra Nevada snowpack?

Hydrometeorologist Angelique Fabbiani-Leon, left, and water resources engineers Anthony Burdock and Andy Reising take measurements for the California Department of Water Resources as snow falls during a snow survey at Phillips Station in El Dorado County on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. The survey recorded 47.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 18 inches, which is 77% of normal.

New snow survey results from the California Department of Water Resources show an improvement for the Sierra Nevada snowpack.

According to a news release from the department, results from the survey measured the snow depth at around 48 inches. The snow water equivalent  a key component of the departments water supply forecast  was at 18 inches.

While we are in a much better position today than we were a month or two ago, the snowpack is only at 70% of average for the April 1 peak, Angelique Fabbiani-Leon, a hydrometerologist with the department, said to reporters at Phillips Station on Thursday morning.

The current storm could help with the snowpack, she said. However, several additional storms will be necessary to get the Sierra Nevada snowpack to 100% of average by April 1.

Residents are ready to embrace the storm

Highway 50 mountain community residents, armed with the experience of storms in years past that buried their homes with snow, said they were prepared for the blizzard.

Its commonplace to stock up on food, generators and wood to keep warm this time of year. Its people who are unprepared who may encounter difficulties  area resident Scott ONeill said hes seen motorists who dont have equipment such as snow chains and walk around in dangerous temperatures in sandals.

Lydia Samaniego, who lives on Strawberry Road in El Dorado County, walks to her house as snow falls on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. She said she was leaving for San Francisco with friends to escape the forecast blizzard.

The Strawberry resident  an unincorporated El Dorado County community  said hes looking forward to taking out his snowmobile and traversing the soft white blanket.

Neighbor Lydia Samaniego agreed  she recalled how peaceful the world becomes when enough snow prompts authorities to close highways, seemingly stopping time.

Its beautiful, she said.

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.

The Fresno Bee contributed to this story.
As Timothee Chalamet gears up for the release of "Dune: Part Two" on March 1, his rumored romance with Kylie Jenner continues to remain in the headlines.

The two have been linked together for months and appeared to enjoy a romantic date night at Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour in September 2023. But they made their first appearance together at a major Hollywood event when they attended the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 7.

Once the show began, the two cozied up next to each other at the same table and cameras captured a sweet moment they shared during a commercial break.

Jenner flirtatiously twirled Chalamet's necklace in her hand as they chatted and stared into each other's eyes. At the end of the candid moment, which was uploaded to the Golden Globe Awards' official X account, they shared a peck.

This is "The Kardashians" star's first public romance since her breakup with rapper Travis Scott. The former couple share 6-year-old daughter Stormi and 2-year-old son Aire.

Chalamet was previously linked to actor Lily-Rose Depp, whom he shared the screen with in his Netflix film "The King." He spoke about public scrutiny of their relationship in a 2020 interview with GQ.

Despite Chalamet and Jenner's appearance together at the Golden Globes, they have not publicly commented on their romance. When Chalamet sat down with GQ in October 2023 for an interview, he mentioned valuing privacy and keeping his love life to himself.

Sometimes, people are going to be hella confused when you say youre trying to live a private life, he said at the time.

Read on to find out how the rumors between Chalamet and Jenner began and everything else we know about their relationship so far.

April 2023: Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner were first spotted

Reports first emerged linking the "Dune" star and Kylie Cosmetics founder in mid-April 2023, per People. Amid headlines, fans resurfaced a video online of the two interacting with each other at Paris Fashion Week in January 2023.

July 2023: Travis Scott seemingly shades ex Kylie Jenner's new relationship with Timothee Chalamet

Scott makes a reference to Willy Wonka factory in his song "Meltdown," featured on his July album "Utopia."

The internet speculated Scott was referring to his ex, Jenner, and Chalamets character in Wonka.

Chocolate AP and chocolate the Vs got the Willy Wonka factory (Vs)/ Burn a athlete like its calories / find another flame hot as me, b----, Scott raps.

Sept. 4, 2023: The couple kisses at Beyonce's LA concert

In what was their first public outing, Chalamet and Jenner attended the final stop on Beyonce's "Renaissance World Tour" in Los Angeles, People reported.

Videos shared on social media showed the two enjoying the concert together from a box at SoFi Stadium, stealing a few moments to kiss during the show.

Months later in a December interview, Chalamet referenced the concert. "That was great. Hard to be present," he said. "I'm not like BeyHive level. I thought I knew way more. I guess I knew the basic hits."

Sept. 10, 2023: The couple attends the U.S. Open in New York City

A week after Beyonce's concert, Chalamet and Jenner were spotted, once again, sharing smiles and laughs at the U.S. Open finals in New York. They both watched Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev face off through similar dark sunglasses.

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet (Gotham / GC Images)

Nov. 1, 2023: Timothee Chalamet supports Kylie Jenner at WSJ Magazine's Innovator Awards

The Little Women star sat beside Jenner at the Wall Street Journal Magazines Innovator Awards Nov. 1, where she was being honored as brand innovator of the year.

Jenner was recognized for her new clothing line, Khy, and Chalamet presented the award for film innovator of the year to Martin Scorsese.

Kylie Jenner and Timothee Chalamet (Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images)

Nov. 11, 2023: Kylie Jenner is spotted at 'SNL' afterparty after Timothee Chalamet hosts

After Chalamet hosted Saturday Night Live for the second time on Nov. 11, 2023, Jenner was seen in photos attending the afterparty in New York City.

The Kardashians star was spotted wearing an all-black outfit with black sunglasses and her dark hair styled long to attend the event.

Jan. 7: The two step out together at the 2024 Golden Globes

All eyes were on Chalamet and Jenner at the Golden Globes held Jan. 7, where the actor was nominated for best performance by a male actor in a motion picture (musical or comedy) for his role in "Wonka."

During a commercial break, the cosmetics entrepreneur was captured on camera touching he beau's necklace.

Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner (Christopher Polk / Getty Images)

Then, they exchanged a few words back and forth as Chalamet laughed and leaned in for a kiss before suddenly pulling back. He then went in for another kiss moments later.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
American tennis player Frances Tiafoe in action against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during their men's singles final match of the Stuttgart Open. Defending champion Frances Tiafoe and runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff have been confirmed as entries for the Stuttgart grass court ATP tournament in June, organizers said on Friday. Marijan Murat/dpa

Defending champion Frances Tiafoe and runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff have been confirmed as entries for the Stuttgart grass court ATP tournament in June, organizers said on Friday.

American Tiafoe won his first title on grass at last year's edition of the event which serves as a Wimbledon tune-up, beating Germany's Struff 10-8 in a final set tie-break.

"I have fond memories of this tournament," world number 16 Tiafoe said. "Everything was so relaxed, so I'm happy to be coming back to the Boss Open in Stuttgart this year."

Struff will also be present again at the June 10-16 event, after Germany's top player Alexander Zverev had announced his participation at an earlier stage.

However, Zverev's presence could depend on how he fares at the French Open, with the men's final at the Paris grand slam set for June 9, the day before the Stuttgart start.
TYLER, Texas (KETK)  The Tyler Junior College Apache Belles announced on Friday people can now purchase tickets to watch their Every Person is Connected spring show.

Nonprofit to hold student photo exhibition in Tyler supporting mental health

Courtesy of Tyler Junior College.

According to a release, the show will explore the different ways people are linked to each other. The showings will take place at 7:30 p.m. starting March 21 through March 23 at the Wise Auditorium. Also on March 23, the team will be performing at 2 p.m.

Our spring show is the culmination of a year of hard work for these college freshmen and sophomores, showcasing all of their unique abilities in dance styles such as jazz, tap, musical theater, hip hop and so much more, Jasilyn Schaefer, Apache Belles director, said. We hope everyone will make plans to bring the entire family for an evening of inspiration and joy through this performance.

Each ticket is $15 and they can be purchased with this link. For more information, people can visit ApacheBelles.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  The Tennessee Senate wants Texas leaders to know the state stands with them, according to a resolution passed Thursday morning.

Along party lines, the Senate voted to approve SR 188, which supports Texass efforts to secure its border against the invasion of illegal immigration.

The language of the bill urges Gov. Bill Lee to send National Guard troops to the Lone Star State, although the governor recently announced he would be deploying Tennessee National Guardsmen to the southern border to assist in the efforts. The governor visited Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the southern border along with 12 other governors at the beginning of the month.

TN Attorney General in support of Texas border security

He also committed to deploying two waves of state active-duty soldiers to Texas to assist in their efforts, according to a press release.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson (R-Franklin) said on the chamber floor the resolution says that we applaud that effort by Governor Lee, and we stand with our National Guard troops as they are deployed to the Texas border.

State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) questioned whether it was legal for Lee to send Tennessee National Guard troops somewhere that did not have direct implications in the Volunteer State.

The final vote on SR0188 from Thurs. Feb. 29, 2024 (Source: Tennessee Senate)

When its an issue thats a federal issue like this, like immigration, is it actually legal to have a state send their National Guard to another state? Campbell asked of Johnson.

In my view, Johnson said, the governor has the authority to deploy the National Guard when its in the interest of Tennesseans and the safety and security of Tennesseans.

Further, Johnson said, he agreed that immigration should be a federal issue but the Biden Administration has failed miserably in doing their job of securing the southern border.

Read the latest from the TN State Capitol Newsroom

In light of that absence of leadership and effective governance of the border, it is certainly within the purview of governors all across this state [sic] to do what they deem essential and imperative for the safety and security of their citizens, he added.

Campbell hit back, saying Congress recently had an opportunity to approve an overhaul of the federal immigration system but failed to take action due to political considerations at play.

Ultimately, the Senate approved the resolution 24-4.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Friday is the deadline for Gov. Ron DeSantis to sign a proposed social media bill.

It would ban children under 16 in Florida from using some social media platforms and force companies to create age verification systems.

The governor has expressed concern over parental rights and potential legal challenges.

PREVIOUS: Social media ban vote sets up possible DeSantis veto

Last week, DeSantis indicated the bill was not ready and said as a parent, he believed the state shouldnt be cutting parents out of the decision to allow teens on social media.

House Bill 1  Online Protections for Minors  was filed on Jan. 5 and handed over to DeSantis on Feb. 23 after being passed by state lawmakers.

Stay with WFTV.com and watch Eyewitness News for updates on this story.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
HOUSTON, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Both U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, making partisan showcases on immigration and border security, a key issue in the 2024 presidential races.

Biden met border agents at Brownsville in southeastern Texas, urging Republican lawmakers to pass more border security funding and reconsider a bipartisan border package killed in the Senate earlier this month, while Trump toured Eagle Pass about 482 km away near the southwestern Texas border.

"The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits not on whether it's going to benefit one party or benefit the other party," Biden said.

The deal was derailed by "partisan politics," Biden said. "We need to act. It's time for the speaker and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show a little spine."

The timing of Biden's second border trip since he took office was meant to maximize its political impact a week before the State of the Union address, CNN noted.

"Nice weather. Beautiful day. But a very dangerous border. We're going to take care of it," Trump, the GOP's dominant frontrunner in presidential primaries, told reporters after arriving in Texas. He visited Eagle Pass with Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

The former president again fiercely slammed Biden's handling of illegal immigration at the southern border, saying that Biden was trying to connect the inflow of undocumented migrants with rampant city crimes across the country.

"The United States is being overrun by the Biden, migrant crime. It's a new form of vicious violation to our country," Trump said. "It's migrant crime. We call it the Biden migrant crime, but that's a little bit long."

Trump promised that once returning to the White House, he would enact a widespread expansion of his administration's immigration policies so as to restrict both legal and illegal immigration.

During the campaign, Trump has also vowed to conduct the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history" if he wins back the White House.

Meanwhile, Trump spoke highly of Abbott's legal actions and tough measures against illegal border crossing. The governor has bused thousands of migrants to Democratic-run cities including New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago.

Abbott announced that the Texas government is planning to build an 80-acre (about 32.37-hectare) base to house up to 1,800 Texas National Guard members near Eagle Pass.

As Biden and Trump are marching toward a likely rematch in November, immigration has emerged as a central issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Political advertisers from both parties have spent nearly 52 million U.S. dollars on campaign ads about immigration so far in 2024, according to AdImpact data.

Only 30 percent of U.S. voters approve of Biden on the immigration issue, the lowest issue approval rating for him in a recent CNN poll. 
The Tale of Genji, often called Japans first novel, was written 1,000 years ago. Yet it still occupies a powerful place in the Japanese imagination. A popular TV drama, Dear Radiance  Hikaru kimi e  is based on the life of its author, Murasaki Shikibu: the lady-in-waiting whose experiences at court inspired the refined world of Genji.

Romantic relationships, poetry and political intrigue provide most of the novels action. Yet illness plays an important role in several crucial moments, most famously when one of the main characters lovers, Yugao, falls ill and passes away, killed by what appears to be a powerful spirit  as later happens to his wife, Aoi, as well.

Someone reading The Tale of Genji at the time it was written would have found this realistic  as would some people in different cultures around the world today. Records from early medieval Japan document numerous descriptions of spirit possession, usually blamed on spirits of the dead. As has been true in many times and places, physical and spiritual health were seen as intertwined.

As a historian of premodern Japan, Ive studied the processes its healing experts used to deal with possessions, and illness generally. Both literature and historical records demonstrate that the boundaries between what are often called religion and medicine were indistinct, if they existed at all.

A 17th-century scroll, Maboroshi no Genji monogatari emaki, showing the funeral of Genjis wife, Aoi. Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Vanquishing spirits

The government department in charge of divination, the Bureau of Yin and Yang, established in the late seventh century, played a crucial role. Its technicians, known as onmyoji  yin and yang masters  were in charge of divination and fortunetelling. They were also responsible for observing the skies, interpreting omens, calendrical calculations, timekeeping and eventually a variety of rituals.

Today, onmyoji appear as wizardlike figures in novels, manga, anime and video games. Though heavily fictionalized, there is a historical kernel of truth in these fantastical depictions.

Starting from around the 10th century, Onmyoji were charged with carrying out iatromancy: divining the cause of a disease. Generally, they distinguished between disease caused by external or internal factors, though boundaries between the categories were often blurred. External factors could include local deities known as kami, other kami-like entities the patient had upset, minor Buddhist deities or malicious spirits  often revengeful ghosts.

In the case of spirit-induced illness, Buddhist monks would work to winnow out the culprit. Monks who specialized in exorcistic practices were known as genja and were believed to know how to expel the spirit from a patients body through powerful incantations. Genja would then transfer it onto another person and force the spirit to reveal its identity before vanquishing it.

A 19th century print by Kubo Shunman shows objects representing the New Years ceremony of exorcising demons. Heritage Images/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Court physicians

While less common than spirit possessions, the idea that physical factors could also cause illness appears in sources from this period.

Since the late seventh century, the government of the Japanese archipelago had established a bureau in charge of the well-being of aristocratic families and high-ranking members of the state bureaucracy. This Bureau of Medications, the Tenyakuryo, was based on similar systems in Chinas Tang dynasty, which Japanese officials adapted for their own culture.

The bureaus members, whom scholars today often call court physicians in English, created medicinal concoctions. But the bureau also included technicians tasked with using spells, perhaps to protect high-ranking people from maladies.

Not either/or

Some scholars, both Japanese and non-Japanese, compare the practices of members of the Bureau of Medications with what is now called traditional Chinese medicine, or just medicine. They typically consider the onmyoji and Buddhist monks, meanwhile, to fall under the label of religion  or perhaps, in the case of onmyoji, magic.

But I have found numerous signs that these categories do not help people today make sense of early medieval Japan.

Starting in the seventh century, as a centralized Japanese state began to take shape, Buddhist monks from the Korean Peninsula and present-day China brought healing practices to Japan. These techniques, such as herbalism  treatments made of plants  later became associated with court physicians. At the same time, though, monks also employed healing practices rooted in Buddhist rituals. Clearly, the distinction between ritual and physical healing was not part of their mindset.

Similarly, with court physicians, it is true that sources from this period mostly show them practicing herbalism. Later on, they incorporated simple needle surgeries and moxibustion, which involves burning a substance derived from dried leaves from the mugwort plant near the patients skin.

An 18th-century engraving identifying parts of the body treated by moxibustion. Science & Society Picture Library via Getty Images

However, they also incorporated ritual elements from various Chinese traditions: spells, divination, fortunetelling and hemerology, the practice of identifying auspicious and inauspicious days for specific events. For example, moxibustion was supposed to be avoided on certain days because of the position of a deity, known as jinshin, believed to reside and move inside the human body. Practicing moxibustion on the body part where jinshin resided in a specific moment could kill it, therefore potentially harming the patient.

Court physicians were also expected to ritually rent a place for a pregnant woman to deliver, producing talismans written in red ink that were meant to function as leases for the birthing area. This was done in order to keep away deities who might otherwise enter that space, possibly because childbirth was believed to be a source of defilement. They also used hemerology to determine where the birthing bed should be placed.

In short, these healing experts straddled the boundaries between what are often called religion and medicine. We take for granted the categories that shape our understanding of the world around us, but they are the result of complex historical processes  and look different in every time and place.

Reading works like The Tale of Genji is not only a way to immerse ourselves in the world of a medieval court, one where spirits roam freely, but a chance to see other ways of sorting human experience at work.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Alessandro Poletto, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

Read more:



Alessandro Poletto 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.
The new health officer for Benton and Franklin counties is stepping down by mutual decision of Dr. Aren Giske and the Benton Franklin Health District Board.

The board picked Giske in January 2023, but Giske did not start work until September, first remotely, and then on site in the Tri-Cities in November. He had asked for time to sell his house and move cross country.

After careful consideration and discussion by both BFHD and Dr. Giske, both parties have mutually and amicably decided to part ways, according to a joint statement by the health district and Giske Thursday afternoon.

They said they are united in continuing to remain supportive of each other and the health of those in the greater Tri-Cities area.

BFHD is grateful for the opportunity to get to know Dr. Giske, and likewise Dr. Giske in learning more about public health and BFHD, the statement said.

Giske replaced Dr. Amy Person, who resigned in August 2022 after leading the Tri-Cities area through much of the COVID pandemic.

Dr. Aren Giske

As the district waited for Giskes arrival, Dr. Larry Jecha, a former long-time health officer for the Tri-Cities area, filled in on a part time basis.

At the Benton Franklin Health District Board meeting Wednesday, Giske gave an update on public health topics, including recent measles cases in the state of Washington and guidelines being considered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the recommended isolation time for people with COVID-19 infections.

Later in the meeting the district board met in a closed session to review the performance of a public employee, who was not named, according to the agenda. It held no discussion after the closed meeting.

Giskes last day was Thursday, Feb. 29.

No decision was immediately made about the process for finding a new public health officer for the two counties.

District officials have been talking with Dr. Bob Lutz, who is regional medical officer for the Washington state Department of Health for the area that includes Benton and Franklin counties, as it prepares for the district to be without a health officer for a time. Dr. Person resigned to accept a different regional medical officer position for the state.

Longtime health district employee Heather Hill remains as Benton Franklin Health District deputy to the health officer.

The health officer helps identify health needs of residents to develop district programs; establishes protocols for environmental health programs such as food safety; enforces state public health regulations; and provides information to area doctors and to the public.

Giskes background was in occupational medicine rather than in public health.

When he was hired his most recent job shown on LinkedIn was medical director of MaineGeneral Workplace Health, which is the largest community occupational medicine program in the state of Maine.

He previously worked in Port Orchard, Wash., as an occupational medicine physician for Washington Permanente Medical Group for about five years starting in August 2016.

District administrator also needed

The board also is working to hire a district administrator, after Jason Zaccaria resigned in July a week after being placed on administrative leave.

Janae Parent, the districts assistant administrator, is serving as interim administrator.

The district has had 53 applications for the position, according to information shared at the Wednesday board meeting.

No information has been made public on why Zaccaria was placed on leave by the district board.

In November, Suzie Saunders, representative for PROTEC17, a union representing public health workers, read from a letter submitted to the health board that claimed Zaccaria had a history of sudden terminations, absences during the COVID-19 pandemic and favoritism toward some workers.

Zaccaria said then that there were many inaccuracies in the letter.

The district administrator oversees staff and reports directly to the district board. They plan, organize and direct the operation, administration, policy development, personnel and business management of the Benton-Franklin Health District.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  City leaders are closing in on their choice for the next Topeka City Manager.

A spokeswoman with the City of Topeka announced the Governing Body has narrowed the list of City Manager applicants from 42 to 14 semi-finalists. This comes after the Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt announced earlier this week that the city council reviewed the 42 applications during the executive session.

All 14 semi-finalists are external and not currently employed by the City of Topeka. During the upcoming weeks, the Governing Body will conduct in-depth follow-ups with each of the semi-finalists, according to the city.

I-470 bridge in west Topeka is closed until December

The Citys goal is to wrap up the follow-up process by late March and make smaller lists of finalists to be interviewed from early to mid-April. Once finalists for the City Manager role are selected, the public and City of Topeka employees will have opportunities to meet the candidates and provide the Governing Body with feedback.

Topekas previous city manager, Stephen Wade, was terminated in July of last year after serving less than a year in the role. A city spokeswoman said the reason for the termination was an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
TOPEKA (KSNT)  Police arrested a local man shooting at his neighbors in a north Topeka area on Thursday.

Rosie Nichols with the City of Topeka said in a press release that the Topeka Police Department (TPD) arrested a 36-year-old Topeka man around 9:15 p.m. on Feb. 29 in the 1000 block of Monroe Street. Police were initially called to the area on reports of a disturbance.

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Shawnee Co. Appraiser to send 67,000 notices to property owners

Upon arrival, police found the Topeka man had allegedly fired a gun at another individual. It was later found the man had warrants for his arrest and was not allowed to have a firearm. The victim was known to the felon.

The Topeka man was arrested and booked into the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on the following charges:

Criminal use of weapons; possession of firearm by person convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence

Possession of marijuana

Unlawful discharge of firearm in city limits

Use/possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body

Two warrants

For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News.
The waiting time in the online reservation system for a place in the border crossing queue for international cargo carriers sometimes reaches a month

Ukrainian truck drivers endure weeks-long waits at checkpoints along the Ukrainian-Polish border. But what are the true costs of this delay?

Viktor Koptenkov, director and co-founder of freight forwarder Dart Logistic Ukraine, warned of catastrophic consequences if truck traffic between the two countries were to come to a standstill.

It will be a severe blow to Ukraine and even more so to Poland, he said in an interview with NV on March 1.

Read also: Some 2,250 Ukrainian trucks stuck in queues at all six Polish checkpoints, State Border Guard Service reports

He predicted a surge in prices for transportation, with routes through Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania becoming overcrowded. The cost of a trip from Warsaw to Kyiv could skyrocket to 8,000-10,000 euros ($8,654-10,817), several times higher than usual. Koptenkov deemed such disruptions suicidal.

Ukrainian truck drivers have so far been waiting for weeks for their turn at checkpoints on the Ukrainian-Polish border. Waiting is costly for businesses. For a carrier such as Dart Logistic Ukraine, downtime costs an average of 200 euros ($216) per truck per day on the international route.

The company will be able to calculate all the losses from the situation on the Ukrainian-Polish border only when the traffic is back to normal, but today they have definitely exceeded 200,000 euros ($216,300), and may eventually reach 500,000 euros ($540,700), said Koptenkov.

Read also: Poland may ban more Ukrainian imports  PM Tusk

Blocking the border by farmers does not make any economic sense, the head of the transportation company argues.

I have a question: who covers their losses from the downtime of each tractor? he said.

Who pays for them? This is a purely political story. I think Russia is behind it. All this is beneficial to one side  the Russians. No one else.

There are about 2,200 trucks waiting in line at the six checkpoints on the border with Poland, according to earlier reports.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)  A section of a Columbus road is closing on Tuesday, March 12 as upgrades to the storm drains are made.

Linwood Boulevard from Dudley Avenue to 13th Avenue will be inaccessible until the completion of the upgrade, which is estimated to take four days.

The City of Columbus asks drivers to proceed with caution. A detour route will be available.

Anyone with questions can call Assistant Director of Engineering Vance Beck at (706) 225-4441.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL.
" " We'll be honest: Binge-watching the tragic and disturbing story of a sociological phenomenon is one of our favorite ways to spend a Thursday night. filadendron / Getty Images

A good documentary is a window into the human condition; following real-life communities and events and featuring interviews and archival footage, they give viewers an in-depth look into worlds and people they may never get to know.

While some documentaries are motivational and can inspire action, others can leave you feeling devastated. Cult documentaries, for example, often fall into the latter category as former members share their harrowing experiences. But despite the dark material, documentaries about cults in America and elsewhere can also show the resilience of humans.

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Whether you want to learn how cults form or why people join them in the first place, there are plenty of documentaries you can watch to gain a better understanding of cults. Here are nine documentaries  both film and docuseries  on cults.
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA)  Three months after a tragic collision, a busy, some call dangerous intersection is getting a traffic signal.

Everybody was complaining about this intersection almost ever since I got here, said James Creamer.

Creamer moved into the Riverstone subdivision four years ago.

For him, newly installed traffic lights are a welcome and highly anticipated sight.

I am really happy that its finally going in. Its sad that it took the incident that happened a couple months ago to get everybody moving more quickly, said Creamer.

Downtown Lakeland business owners concerned about idea to eliminate free parking

On the morning of Dec. 5, Jaxon Crabtree, 15, was hit by a school bus while trying to cross West Pipkin Road and Medulla Road to get to the Central Florida Aerospace Academy.

There were traffic control cones, but no traffic lights or crosswalks.

What steps can we take to have all the kids make it to school and make it home from school in one piece? said Crabtrees father, Jason Crabtree, shortly after his sons death.

Per his agreement with the City of Lakeland from 2018, Riverstone developer, JD Alexander, was required to install a traffic signal in the intersection.

He told News Channel 8 in late 2023 that supply chain issues had pushed it back.

County commissioners were briefed on the progress Friday.

Starting in the middle of February, construction and installation of mast arms and pavement markings has begun, said deputy county manager of infrastructure Ryan Taylor. The divider sticks that separates the median traffic and directional control. Those will be removed a week prior to the signal being in full operation.

He said the traffic signal should be fully operational by March 20.

The county is also adding a sidewalk in the area that should be completed by the next school year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
A violent transgender prisoner whose transfer to a women's jail was blocked has died in custody.

Tiffany Scott, who was previously known as a man called Andrew Burns, died in HMP Grampian on Thursday.

The 32-year-old was serving an indefinite sentence under an order for lifelong restriction (OLR)

Scott was handed the sentence in 2013, after admitting stalking a 13-year-old girl by sending letters while serving a prison sentence.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: "Tiffany Scott, 32, of HMP Grampian has died on 29 February 2024. With each death in custody, Police Scotland are advised and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Fatal Accident Inquiries are held in due course."

Scott, then known as Burns, was convicted of attacking a nurse in Cheshire in 2010.

In 2017, Falkirk Sheriff Court was locked down amid safety fears as Scott was sentenced over a series of violent incidents in Glenochil Prison in Clackmannanshire.

They included striking a prison nurse on her back with a hurled chair, punching a prison officer in the face, and spitting at another officer and trying to bite him.

Scott also smeared excrement over a cell and ripped up "tear-proof" clothing.

Scott's request to move to a women's prison was blocked after the row involving another trans prisoner.

Scott's OLR meant the prisoner would only have been released when no longer considered an "unmanageable risk to public safety".
Sean can now access the adult Welsh gender service, but there is no equivalent for children

Children with gender dysphoria are being "let down" by a lack of access to help in Wales, campaigners have said.

Anyone looking to speak to a doctor or professional about changing their gender has to go to London.

Sean Donovan was 14 when he knew he had gender dysphoria and said it was a "cop out" that Wales did not have a service for young people.

The Welsh government said it was committed to improving gender identity support for young people.

A report by the children's commissioner for Wales said NHS England's interim service - which is also the only option for children from Wales - was "highly concerning" and contrary to their human rights.

It also said it was at odds with the Welsh government's LGBTQ+ action plan.

The gender identity service offered in Wales goes through London's Tavistock clinic.

Sean (pictured here as a child with his mum Sarah) says he was aware of his gender when he was younger but did not have the words or knowledge to explain it

Sean, 19, from Caerphilly, said he and his family had to access treatment privately because of the long wait on the NHS.

"If I didn't do anything I knew I wouldn't be able to stay well mentally," he said.

"I wasn't thinking about my future - there was no future."

He said young people were being "let down" because they have to go to London for treatment they could get closer to home.

Sarah said young people such as her son Sean were being failed by having to wait for a service in England

Sarah Donovan said "her world crashed" when her son told her he identified as transgender, adding that a children's gender service was needed in Wales.

"Children and young people are waiting in limbo, there is nothing for them," she said.

In a review of the current service, Dr Hillary Cass found that the NHS needed a fundamentally different model of care for children with gender dysphoria to meet their needs.

She said more services were "needed for you, closer to where you live" but has not made recommendations on the use of hormone treatments.

Rachel Thomas, head of policy and public affairs for the children's commissioner for Wales, said using England's services "doesn't necessarily give the opportunity to fulfil all the aims and goals for how Wales wants to approach this issue as a nation".

This, coupled with increasingly long waiting lists, was "one of the strong reasons for looking at a Wales-specific gender service," she added.

"We're talking years, not months, on waiting lists. You can't just carry on as you are and hope for the best, waiting until you get that first appointment."

Christina Witney, from Cardiff, said her 13-year-old son, whose name she did not want to give, was stressed most of the time and cried himself to sleep as he waited to see a doctor about his gender dysphoria.

She took him to the GP when he was 10 but does not think that people "understand the severity of the issue" and more help was needed for children questioning their gender identity.

"Having treatment would dramatically improve his health and how he feels... his body is changing and it is really distressing - it outs him to other people."

Sean said access to services did not necessarily mean hormones, surgery or puberty blockers, but therapy, counselling and support

Ms Thomas said gender services was one of the few areas of healthcare where services were better for adults, whereas usually you would expect to see "services fall away as you move into adult services".

She said a Wales gender service would be a place for support, not necessarily treatment: "It could be just counselling, it doesn't mean hormones or puberty blockers."

On the review being led by Dr Cass, Ms Thomas said the children's commissioner had contact from people who were concerned about the direction it was going in.

"We are watching closely to see what does come out, particularly with the Welsh government pinning their approach so strongly to that."

The review of transgender services in England is being led by Dr Hilary Cass

The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee for NHS Wales said there were no immediate plans to develop a children and young people's gender service independent to NHS England's.

This will be aligned to Dr Cass's final report, which is expected to be published soon.

NHS England said the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock Centre would close on 31 March and any patients wanting to continue their care would be "transferred to a suitable alternative NHS provider on 1 April 2024 where they will receive the specialist support they need".

A spokesman added: "The NHS has outlined plans to establish around eight regional services and we are engaged with a number of NHS children's hospitals to roll these out over the next few years."
LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)  State Police are investigating after a Lebanon County crossing guard was assaulted on Tuesday.

A news release from State Police in Jonestown states that Troopers got a report Wednesday of a physical assault between a crossing guard and a motorist that happened the day before.

There is surveillance video of the assault that happened at about 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of North Pine Grove Street and East Main Street in Fredericksburg Borough that Troopers are going to review, the release reads.

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The assault is currently under investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact Troopers at (717)-865-2194.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Thousands of years ago, the eastern coast of Eritrea was home to one of the worlds most important port cities.

Adulis was originally a small village, and folklore says that its name means free people because slaves would settle in the city after escaping Egypt, according to the Eritrea Ministry of Information. Eventually, the city became a trade center along the Red Sea, facilitating imports and exports with Egypt, and the Greek and Roman empires.

Today, the port city is buried  but that hasnt stopped archaeologists from attempting to uncover the secrets of the ancient hub. Since 2011, experts have been working to excavate the city.

In their latest find, they unearthed a trove of ceramics, according to a Feb. 29 news release from the ministry.

Archaeologists have been excavating the buried city since 2011, according to officials. Photo from the Eritrea Ministry of Information

Uncover more archaeological finds

What are we learning about the past? Here are three of our most eye-catching archaeology stories from the past week.

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The newly discovered ceramics date to between 1500 B.C. and 500 B.C., officials said.

The ceramics are significant because they bridge previous historical periods and findings at the site, Tsegay Medin, the projects coordinator, said in the ministrys release. The discovery has the potential to significantly enrich the history of the country and the region with thorough research and study.

Photos show researchers sorting their finds at the site.

During the peak of the powerful Aksum empire in northern Ethiopia  between about the third and sixth centuries A.D.  Adulis connected the empire to other ancient civilizations, the ministry said. Between 220 A.D. and 589 A.D., Adulis even established trade relations with China.

The city was invaded by Arabs around 640 A.D., and by the time the Aksum empire fell in the seventh century A.D., the city was destroyed, according to officials.

Eritrea is on the northeastern coast of Africa. It borders Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Emerald green artifact was ignored for 80 years. It was a rare 500-year-old find

Trove of 1,000-year-old skeletons  an unprecedented discovery  unearthed in Mexico

1,900-year-old Roman house burned down  mostly. See its well-preserved basement
Former President Trump has appealed an Illinois judges ruling to remove him from the states ballot over his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Trumps legal team filed the appeal on Wednesday night to the Appellate Court of Illinois, asking that Judge Tracie Porters ruling be overturned. Porters ruling, issued Wednesday, ordered the state election board to remove the former president from the states March 19 primary ballot.

Porter put her order on pause until Friday to allow Trumps legal team to appeal the matter.

The appeal, filed Wednesday night, asks the appeals court to reverse and vacate Porters ruling and reaffirm the states Electoral Board decision.

In a separate request dated Wednesday, Trumps legal team asks Porter to extend the pause beyond Friday until the Appellate Court hands down a final order.

Trumps lawyers argued keeping Trumps name on the ballot would reduce the great risk of voter confusion and logistical difficulties for election officials ahead of the states primary.

Porter, later on Thursday, sided with Trumps legal team and said her ruling will be paused and he can remain on the ballot until the appeals court rules on the matter, according to the court order obtained by The Hill.

The ruling made Illinois the third state to attempt to kick Trump off the ballot, following Colorado and Maines rulings in recent months.

The U.S. Supreme Court is currently weighing Trumps appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court decision, which ruled in December he is not eligible for the states ballot under the U.S. Constitutions insurrectionist clause. The states high court ruled the former president participated in an insurrection through his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

A court in Maine ruled last month Trump can stay on the states ballot  following the state secretary of states decision to disqualify him  until the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its ruling.

Porters ruling was in response to challenge filed by national nonprofit Free Speech For People, which has numerous ballot challenges in numerous states, including Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Oregon.

Porters ruling overturned a decision from the Illinois State Board of Elections, which unanimously ruled last month Trump could remain on the states primary ballot. The board  made up of four Republicans and four Democrats  said last month it did not have the jurisdiction to weigh in on the matter.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung on Wednesday criticized Porters ruling, calling her an activist Democrat judge.

The Soros-funded Democrat front-groups continue to attempt to interfere in the election and deny President Trump his rightful place on the ballot, Cheung said in a statement to The Hill.

Today, an activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the states board of elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions. This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal.

The Hill reached out to Free Speech For People for comment.

Updated: 4:27 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas  Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the southern border Thursday in a dramatic split-screen moment as the 2024 presidential campaign ramps up over an issue that has confounded administrations of both parties for decades: immigration.

Bidens briefing from border officials here began just moments after Trump began his remarks in Eagle Pass. Biden thanked border agents and said he would get them more resources come hell or high water.

Its long past time to act, he said, adding that border control desperately needs more resources.

Biden made a direct appeal to Trump, asking him to join him in telling Congress to pass the bill, which was tanked after Trump rallied his allies in Congress against it.

You know and I know its the toughest, most efficient, most effective border security bill this countrys ever seen, Biden said. So instead of playing politics with the issue, why dont we just get together and get it done?

Biden touted the bipartisan border bill as a win for the American people, calling it a truly bipartisan initiative. He called on the Senate to reconsider the bill, asking senators to set politics aside and for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to put the bill on the floor.

We need to act, Biden said, adding that Republicans in Congress needed to show a little spine.

Trump's national press secretary hit back at Biden's appeal.

"Instead of shifting the blame on everyone but himself, Joe Biden should take responsibility for the border crisis, deaths, and destruction that his policies have caused, say Laken Rileys name, and use his executive power to shut the border down today," Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

In his remarks, Trump said the death of Riley, 22, a graduate nursing student who was killed this month while on a jog near the University of Georgia, was barbaric and referred to her as a beautiful young woman.

Conservatives across the country have pointed to Rileys death as an example of migrant crime after an undocumented Venezuelan migrant was charged in connection with her death.

Trump revealed Thursday that he spoke to Rileys parents Wednesday. Theyre incredible people that are devastated beyond belief, he said.

Trump also called the migrant crisis a Joe Biden invasion and a vicious violation to our country.

Texas National Guard troops stop immigrants trying to pass through razor wire (John Moore / Getty Images file)

The trip to the border was Bidens second since he took office. His first was to El Paso in January 2023. This time, he visited Brownsville, a border town in the Rio Grande Valley that has long felt the impacts of migration up close.

Critics of the administration have pointed out that Biden is visiting Brownsville at a time when the direst consequences of the migrant influx have shifted elsewhere. Many more immigrants are now crossing at other parts of the border, such as Arizona and Eagle Pass, according to Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that includes the Border Patrol.

Trump has visited the border many times before  and he announced his trip before the White House did. Biden said this week that hed been planning to go but that he didnt know his good friend would be there the same day. Two senior administration officials said the timing of the trip was meant to maximize its political impact a week before the State of the Union address. One of the officials said we welcome the split screen with Trump.

"Nice weather. Beautiful day. But a very dangerous border. Were going to take care of it," Trump told reporters in Texas.

Trump joked of Biden on a radio show this week: Well, we found out how to get him off his ass. It took me announcing that Im going down to the border.

On Wednesday, the White House insisted Biden's trip had already been planned.

We just cant all of a sudden put something on the presidents schedule, Jean-Pierre said, responding to a question about whether Trumps visit prompted the White Houses announcement. It takes time to do that.

U.S. Border Patrol agents guard migrants that crossed into Shelby Park as they wait to be picked up for processing in Eagle Pass, Texa (Michael Gonzalez / Getty Images)

An NBC News poll from January found that 57% of registered voters said Trump would handle securing the border better, while 22% said the same for Biden. The poll found that 48% of people said they would trust Biden to treat immigrants humanely, while 31% said the same of Trump.

The Biden administration has been making the case that House Republicans  at Trumps urging  torpedoed a bipartisan bill that included $20 billion for border security. It was hashed out in the Senate and endorsed by the Border Patrol Union. The White House said it would have added 100 immigration judges, 1,500 Customs and Border Protection personnel and 4,300 asylum officers, as well as more detention beds. It would have also funded the installation of more inspection machines to detect fentanyl at ports of entry.

But Johnson, the House speaker, said the Senate version didnt go far enough to deal with the border crisis. Democrats accuse the GOP of refusing to compromise to keep the immigration issue front and center during an election year to claim that Biden hasnt done enough to stop the migrant influx.

With Congress failing to act, Biden has been considering executive actions to tighten asylum rules. Migrants' advocates and progressive Democrats have urged him not to do so, arguing that making it harder for immigrants to claim asylum opens them up to dangerous conditions in Mexico.

The Democratic National Committee said Thursday that it would display a mobile billboard in Eagle Pass during Trumps visit criticizing him over his efforts to kill the bipartisan border bill and his immigration agenda.

The billboard will say Trump "broke the border" during his administration, "and now for pure politics, he's killed the bipartisan border deal," according to the committee.

If given the chance, Trump would double down on his cruel, chaotic, and inhumane immigration agenda of ripping away children from their parents, rounding up people into detention camps, and using the military to carry out mass deportations, DNC spokesperson Alex Floyd said in a statement. When voters head to the ballot box this November, theyll remember how Trump put himself and his political ambitions ahead of securing the border and delivering for the American people.

Republicans insist that the Trump administrations border policies deterred illegal immigration and secured the border. Illegal crossings were lower during most of his term, but they did start to rise in late 2019 before the Covid pandemic. Before that, even Trump himself backed off one particularly controversial hard-line immigration policy  what was known as zero tolerance  which led to the forced separation of migrant families at the border in 2017.

When Biden took office in 2021, he promised a return to more humane immigration rules and immediately signed executive orders rolling back some Trump-era policies. In 2022, the Biden administration also ended a rule that was known as Remain in Mexico, which mandated that asylum-seekers wait across the border while their claims were adjudicated.

But the White House soon found that its policies didnt stem the flow of migrants after the pandemic limits lifted. Instead, record numbers of immigrants began arriving at the southern border. The Border Patrol reported 1,659,206 encounters with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in the 2021 fiscal year, topping the previous highs of 1,643,679 in 2000 and 1,615,844 in 1986.

Trump and his supporters blamed what they saw as Bidens lax policies for the influx. The Biden administration argued the migration was due to other factors, including seasonal fluctuations, recent hurricanes in Central America and misinformation promoted by human smugglers.

Regardless, the migrants have kept coming. And coming. Border cities in Texas, such as El Paso and Eagle Pass, have been overwhelmed at times with an unprecedented influx that has stretched local resources thin and prompted frantic calls for federal help. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott escalated the border battle by assigning state troopers to patrol the border in defiance of the federal government. He also started busing migrants to what he called sanctuary cities across the country, which the White House has called a political stunt.

Since then, major cities such as New York, Chicago and Denver have struggled to care for tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived. The White House said the stalled bipartisan border bill would have included $1.4 billion for cities and states and expedited work permits for immigrants who qualify.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  In dueling border visits, President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump are both in Texas.

The leaders are highlighting immigration issues but have vastly different stances on how to fix them.

President Biden went to Brownsville and 300 miles away his republican rival former president Trump visited Eagle Pass.

A very dangerous border, were going to take care of it, Trump said.

Both leaders agree the U.S.is facing an immigration crisis with an overwhelming surge of people trying to cross the border each day.

President Biden is using his trip to push Congress to act says White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Highlight the need for Congress to pass the bipartisan security agreement that was negotiated out of the Senate, she said.

Last month Senate negotiators came up with a bipartisan border bill but Republicans blocked the legislation after the former president came out against it.

Donald Trump deliberately sabotaged the very same border reforms he spent years calling for, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Trump blames President Biden for the border issues and Republicans argue the president already has the power he needs to crack down on immigration.

He needs to take executive action right now. He needed to take it yesterday and the day before. He needs to secure that border and protect our communities, because lives are being lost and we cannot wait, said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

As President Biden and former president Trump fight to win the 2024 election immigration is a central campaign issue.

Republicans meanwhile are continuing to fight for strength and control we want to keep criminals out and our family safe, Johnson added.

However, Democrats disagree.

Republicans have no right to say theyre focused on solutions when theyre the ones creating the issue, said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.).

Trumps team says Biden is copying him by visiting the border, but the White House insists this trip has been in the works for a while now.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.
Both Donald Trump and President Joe Biden addressed migration across the southern border during dual visits to Texas on Thursday.

Trump spoke in Eagle Pass, a border town in the Rio Grande Valley that has become a flashpoint recently due to Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts dispatch of the Texas National Guard to wrest control from U.S. Border Patrol agents.

During his speech, Trump said that Biden was allowing millions of people from places unknown to cross the border illegally. He keyed on those who speak the language of their country of origin.

We have languages coming into our country, nobody that speaks those languages, Trump said. Theyre truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them.

Trump: People who don't speak languages. We have languages coming in to our country, nobody that speaks those languages. They're truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them pic.twitter.com/IzRKM5TOue  Acyn (@Acyn) February 29, 2024

Biden, meanwhile, visited the city of Brownsville, located at the southern tip of Texas, where he addressed Trump directly and criticized him for pressuring Republicans to kill bipartisan border reform legislation, which failed to advance in the Senate earlier this month. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republicans also widely rejected the bill, which Trump feared would help Bidens election prospects.

Instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or Ill join you, in telling Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill, Biden said on Thursday. We can do it together; instead of playing politics, lets get it done.

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Donald Trump floated possible support for a 15-week limit on abortion in a Fox News interview on Thursday night, though the former presidents campaign wouldnt elaborate on his plans.

Trump, who is coasting to the GOP presidential nomination, has been consistently cautious about advocating for any specific abortion policy during his campaign. But during an interview on Fox at the Southern border, he said hes heard a lot about a post-15-week ban.

More and more, Im hearing 15 weeks and I havent decided yet. Also we got it back to the states where it belongs, Trump told Foxs Sean Hannity.

Largely theyre coming in with a certain number of weeks, and the number 15 is mentioned, Trump said. I havent agreed to any number. Im going to see. We want to take an issue that was very polarizing and get it settled and solved so everybody could be happy.

Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Courts decision, which was seen as a victory for anti-abortion rights conservatives, while also blaming the issue for Republican losses in the midterm elections that fall.

A spokesperson for Trumps campaign did not respond to a request for comment about Trump's position on a 15-week limit on abortion access, instead highlighting his "unmatched pro-life record" and saying Trump "has always advised fellow Republicans that they must learn to talk about this critical issue the right way and remind voters that it is Democrats who are the extreme ones on abortion, not Republicans."

Trump also criticized the Alabama Supreme Courts decision against in vitro-fertilization procedures in the state as harsh. He said hes totally in favor of IVF.

Democrats over-performed expectations in the midterm elections, largely campaigning on broadening abortion access after the fall of Roe, and multiple statewide referendums on abortion have won assured access, including in conservative and swing states.

A lot of states are taking very strong stances, Trump said. You look at Kansas, Ohio, and its going to be the law within the state. And they have gone much different than a lot of people thought..

President Joe Bidens reelection campaign is focusing heavily on abortion access, already running advertising promoting Bidens support for the medical procedure.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali are set to meet in Bahrain to discuss how to navigate the ongoing controversy surrounding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.

Earlier this year, a female Red Bull Racing employee brought to the attention of parent company Red Bull GmbH allegations of inappropriate behaviour against team principal Christian Horner.

An independent barrister subsequently conducted an eight-week investigation, ultimately dismissing the claims. However, just a day later, the situation took a dramatic turn.

A dossier of messages and pictures  allegedly leaked evidence from the investigation - were sent from two anonymous email addresses to over one hundred members of the F1 paddock and the media, including team bosses and the sports chiefs.

This raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the information and fueled the controversy further, with the maneuver seen as an attempt to assassinate Horners character.

Due to the confidential nature of the complaints, Red Bull, Horner, and the independent barrister have remained silent on the specifics of the investigation and leaked materials.

While the situation initially remained an internal matter for Red Bull, the intense media scrutiny and negative publicity surrounding the controversy have sparked questions about potential intervention from the FIA and FOM (Formula One Management).

Although FOM lacks direct control over individual teams, it has a vested interest in protecting the sport's image.

The Horner saga, if left unchecked, could overshadow the actual competition and tarnish F1's reputation.

Similarly, the FIA, as the governing body for motor racing, also has a stake in ensuring that F1 maintains a good reputation and avoids disrepute.

The upcoming meeting between Sulayem and Domenicali at the Bahrain Grand Prix may lead to various potential outcomes. They might issue a joint statement expressing their stance on the situation and commitment to upholding F1's integrity.

Alternatively, they could commission an independent review into how the allegations and subsequent leaks were handled, aiming for transparency and objectivity.

It's also possible that the meeting concludes with no immediate action, with both parties choosing to monitor the situation and assess the need for further steps based on future developments.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Attorneys for former President Trump and his Georgia co-defendants made their final pitch Friday to disqualify Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D), attacking her credibility and motives given her romantic relationship with a top prosecutor.

After listening to three hours of legal arguments, Judge Scott McAfee indicated he hoped to issue a ruling in the next two weeks.

I think it has been very much made clear by the argument made today  that there are several legal issues to sort through, several factual determinations that I have to make, McAfee said. And those arent ones I can make at this moment. And so, I will be taking the time to make sure that I give this case the full consideration its due.

The judge is now tasked with determining whether Willis and her office should be blocked from continuing to prosecute Trump and his allies, a decision that will dictate the future of the historic election interference case in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges as well as his three other criminal indictments.

Fridays arguments capped a battle that has now lasted nearly two months over whether Williss romance with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest. Both now acknowledge the relationship but have described the calls to step away as meritless.

The motion to disqualify should be denied. And Ms. Willis, as the district attorney of Fulton County, and Mr. Wade, as the special prosecutor assigned to this case, should be allowed to remain on this case and continue to prosecute the case, Adam Abbate, the countys chief deputy district attorney, said on behalf of the state.

Defense attorneys argued that McAfee only needed to find an appearance of a conflict to disqualify Willis, while the state contended an actual conflict was necessary. The judge previously said he could consider both methods of weighing the evidence and his ruling could hinge on which method he chooses.

Do you have to find that Wade and Willis lied? No, Steve Sadow, Trumps lead attorney in the case, told the judge.

What you need to be able to find is that there is a concern of a legitimate concern based on the evidence in this case, about their truthfulness, Sadow continued. A legitimate concern about the truthfulness, which equates to an appearance of impropriety.

Fulton County prosecutors countered that the appearance of impropriety is not the standard in Georgia.

The defense has to show an actual conflict, and in this instance, they have to show that the actual conflict would be that Ms. Willis received a financial benefit or gain andgot it based upon the outcome of the case, Abbate said.

The defense purports that Willis and Wade did not testify truthfully under oath about the timeline of their relationship. While the prosecutors said they began dating in early 2022, defense attorneys contend their relationship started years earlier  before Wade was hired to prosecute Trump.

Testimony from an ex-friend of Willis, Robin Yeartie, and text messages from Wades former law partner, Terrence Bradley, align with defense attorneys suggestion the relationship began in 2019, after a judicial conference.

Yeartie said Willis and Wade no doubt began dating in 2019, while Bradley  in text messages with defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who filed the original motion to disqualify the prosecutors  said their relationship absolutely began that year.

However, Bradley described his texts as speculation on the witness stand, drawing his credibility into question. Sadow, Trumps attorney, urged the judge to take Bradleys private communications, not his testimony, at face value.

Now, absolutely is not a speculative word, Sadow said. Thats not speculation; thats a definitive statement.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, described Bradley as a disgruntled, vengeful speculator and similarly attacked the credibility of the defenses other witnesses.

John Merchant, an attorney representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, told the judge he can separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to credibility.

If you look at everything put together, judge, they did this, they knew it was wrong, they hid it, and even when they were called out on it, they tried to create an excuse for it by saying it happened after the fact, Merchant said.

Even if the judge did find that prosecutors lied, its still unclear whether he would go as far as to disqualify them.

Where in the law do we find the remedy to an untruthful statement, McAfee pressed the defense Friday. Generally, we send you down the street to the bar.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
WASHINGTON  Despite recent complications, there is still a good chance Donald Trump will be tried on allegations of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss before he faces the judgment of voters on Election Day, legal experts say.

But Trumps efforts to throw one wrench after another in prosecutors way means that they will be scrambling to bring to trial the separate election interference cases they have spent years building against the former president in federal court in Washington, D.C., and state court in Georgia.

The biggest roadblock to getting the federal trial underway was the Supreme Court decision on Wednesday to schedule arguments for the week of April 22 on whether Trump can be prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith  or whether presidential immunity is so absolute that it covers all of his alleged misdeeds while trying to stay in office, as Trump claims. Smith had asked the court to hear the arguments at least a month or so earlier.

In the state case in Atlanta, efforts by Trump and a former senior campaign official to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her top prosecutor because of an affair they were having has pushed that case back at least two months, too, while an Atlanta judge decides whether their allegations have merit.

I think if the Supreme Court decisively decides the (immunity) issue, and I cannot fathom a way that they would rule in favor of Donald Trump, that there is still time to have a trial before November, said Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., a former federal prosecutor.

Jeffrey Breinholt, a former senior career Justice Department lawyer until his retirement two weeks ago, agreed that a federal trial could still get underway by Election Day on Nov. 5.

Finishing it by then is another story, Breinholt told USA TODAY.

Breinholt, who has been closely following all of the Trump prosecutions, had similar expectations for the sprawling state election subversion case against Trump and 14 co-defendants.

The Atlanta case, I think, is going to go forward, Breinholt said. I think the judge is going to rule that she's not disqualified. But it's going to take a lot of the wind out of her sails because she's had to fight this for so long.

Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee, has sought to delay all of his federal and state criminal cases until after the election. If voters return him to the White House while trials are still pending, he could ask his political appointees at the Justice Department to dismiss them. Whether Trump, as president, can affect his state cases is far less definitive.

Here's where both cases stand and why legal experts think they might still start before Election Day:

Delays in the federal election subversion case

In the federal Jan. 6 case, Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges  three for conspiracy and one for obstruction  of falsely claiming election fraud and trying to overturn the legitimate 2020 election results.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan initially had set a March 4 date for that trial. But she took the case off the calendar in December, effectively stopping the clock, while awaiting an appeals court decision on Trumps claim of immunity and a likely review by the Supreme Court.

The delay in the federal trial already has lasted nearly two months and is expected to have a domino effect on preparations by both the prosecution and the defense. Thats because Chutkan has said she will give back to Trump whatever time he has lost in preparing for the trial because of his appeals.

Smith had appealed to the Supreme Court last year to intervene preemptively on Trump's broad presidential immunity claim in the hopes of expediting the process and getting to trial long before campaign season heated up. The high court denied that motion.

Some expert observers say it's possible to conduct the trial before November if the Supreme Court rules in Smith's favor before this term ends in late June or early July.

Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks to the press at the US Department of Justice in Washington, DC, on June 9, 2023, announcing the unsealing of the indictment against former President Donald Trump.

I think the Supreme Court is going to react quicker than the historical schedule would suggest, because theyre going to be embarrassed by all the talk about how they're throwing a wrench into it, Breinholt said. Then theyll likely decide shortly after April 26, and thatll give time for the D.C. case to go forward.

Two legal experts who were involved in congressional efforts to impeach Trump also issued a statement about the federal trials prognosis as part of a Defend Democracy Project effort.

Our experts believe there is still a good chance that Trump faces a trial in this case this year, said Norm Eisen, former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee and Tom Joscelyn, principal author of the final report by the House Jan. 6 committee investigating Trump. As shocking as it was, yesterdays (Supreme Court) decision was not the end of the January 6 election interference case.

Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney and now a law professor at the University of Michigan, said the Supreme Court's decision to set oral arguments for late April seems awfully slow. The case could still be tried before the election "if they hustle the decision, she said on X, formerly Twitter. Otherwise justice delayed is justice denied.

Smith's team estimates the trial would last about four to six weeks.

The 'find me the votes' case against Trump in Georgia

In Georgia case, Trump was charged initially with eighteen others of conspiring to illegally overturn his election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia and other key states and of taking other steps to illegally stay in power despite the election outcome. In one infamous phone call, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to find enough votes for him to topple Biden in the state  more than 11,000.

Four defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating. Trump and the other 14 co-defendants, have pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set in the Georgia case, but Willis, the district attorney, had sought to begin by August.

That effort was derailed on Jan. 8 when one of Trumps co-defendants, former 2020 campaign official Michael Roman, filed a motion seeking to disqualify Willis on the grounds that she and the private lawyer she hired to oversee the case, Nathan Wade, were romantically involved. Roman also accused Willis of having an improper financial interest in bringing the case because she was benefiting from Wades use of some of the more than $650,000 he has been paid to take her on vacations.

Wade and Willis have said that their affair began after she hired him on Nov. 1, 2021, and that they have done nothing to disqualify themselves from the case.

Since then, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has been holding hearings on whether to disqualify Willis, Wade and the entire DAs office  and possibly even dismiss the whole case.

McAfee has scheduled a hearing Friday to hear closing arguments on the disqualification issue and could issue a ruling within a few weeks. Legal experts have said that if he disqualifies Willis, it could set the trial date back months, or longer, as a state oversight board seeks another district attorneys office in Georgia that could take on the case.

Attorney Ashleigh Merchant hands documents to attorney Fani Willis who testifies in a hearing in the case of State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., February 15, 2024.

Willis office had no immediate comment on whether nearly two months of fighting the disqualification question has set back its preparations for trial.

Chris Timmons, a defense lawyer in Atlanta and former prosecutor in neighboring Cobb County, said a trial this year "is possible" and even likely  if McAfee opts not to disqualify Willis or Wade and makes his decision soon.

"I think all the discovery is done. All the motions are done except for the conflict. So then it's just a matter of the judge blocking out time on his schedule. That's the only wild card there," said Timmons, who is also a legal contributor to ABC News. "I mean, he's got to block out a significant amount of time on his schedule to get the thing tried. So I think it's possible. But this is a working courtroom. It's not like this Trump case is his only case."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A Trump Jan. 6 trial may still arrive before Election Day. Here's how
At the conclusion of closing arguments in a hearing to decide whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants, Judge Scott McAfee says he hopes to have a final decision in two weeks.

At another high-stakes hearing in Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon voices skepticism on special counsel Jack Smiths proposal to start Trumps trial on July 8. Here are the latest developments in the legal cases facing the man hoping to be reelected to the White House.

Georgia election interference

Judge hears closing arguments on whether to disqualify Fani Willis from prosecuting Trump

Key players: Judge Scott McAfee, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, lead prosecutor Nathan Wade, Fulton County prosecutor Adam Abbate, Trump lawyer Steve Sadow, Trump co-defendant Mike Roman, Romans lawyer John Merchant, Trump co-defendant David Shafer, Shafers lawyer Craig Gillen, Trump co-defendant Bob Cheeley, Cheeleys lawyer Richard Rice, Trump co-defendant Jeffrey Clark, Clark lawyer Harry MacDougald

In closing arguments Friday in the motion to dismiss Willis from the Georgia election interference case she brought against Trump and 18 co-defendants, defense attorneys accused Willis and Wade of ethical misconduct and lying on the witness stand, while Fulton County prosecutors argued that there was no evidence of either.

If this court allows this kind of behavior to go on, the entire public confidence in the system will be shot and the integrity of the system will be undermined, Merchant told McAfee.

Sadow argued that Willis and Wade had not told the truth on the witness stand about when their relationship began, but he made the case that the judge didnt need proof of that to disqualify them from the case.

Im not saying you have to find that she was untruthful or that Wade was untruthful. You dont have to make a finding of fact that they lied, Sadow said. All you have to do is make a finding of fact that you have genuine, legitimate concerns about their credibility.

Gillen, like Sadow before him, took aim at a speech given by Willis in an Atlanta church in which she suggested defense lawyers had targeted Wade because he was Black.

She chose to play the race card and the God card, Gillen said.

On the cellphone records entered into evidence that showed that Wade and Willis allegedly communicated with one another thousands of times in the first 11 months of 2021, Rice implied they disproved the claim that Wade and Willis had not started their romantic relationship until 2022.

I dont even think lovestruck teenagers communicate that much, Rice said.

MacDougald called Williss assertion that there was no evidence she received any financial benefit from hiring Wade flat-out false.

Throw another log on the bonfire of conflicts of interest, he said.

In his rebuttal of the defense arguments to dismiss Willis and Wade, Abbate said the defense lawyers had failed to show why Willis and Wade deserved to be disqualified.

Theres absolutely no evidence that the defendants in this case, their due process rights, have been harmed in absolutely any way, he said.

But he also spent a great deal of his time on the question of whether a judge could or should disqualify a district attorney on the sole basis of an appearance of a conflict of interest.

Speculation and conjecture leads to an appearance of impropriety, not an actual conflict, which I would submit to the court what is required for disqualification, he said.

After challenging lawyers on both sides of the motion to dismiss Willis and Wade, McAfee indicated that it would take some time to reach a final decision.

There are several legal issues to sort through  several determinations that I have to make  and those arent ones I can make at this moment. And so, Ill be taking the time to make sure that I can give this case full consideration, McAfee said, adding, I hope to have an answer for everyone in the next two weeks.

Why it matters: If McAfee decides to disqualify Wade and Willis from the case, it is unclear whether Trump and the remaining defendants (four have already pleaded guilty) will ever face charges in a court of law for their alleged roles in attempting to subvert the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

Classified documents

Judge Cannon seems skeptical about Jack Smiths proposal for July 8 start date for trial

Key players: Judge Aileen Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith, federal prosecutor Jay Bratt

In a Friday morning hearing attended by Trump, Cannon appeared skeptical about Smiths proposal to start the classified documents trial on July 8, Politico reported.

A lot of work needs to be done in the pretrial phase of this case, Cannon said during the hearing.

Cannon expressed doubts about the July 8 timeline at various points throughout the hearing.

To try to do 13 motions in a day or even two days seems unrealistic, she said.

The case was originally scheduled to go to trial on May 20, but the judge has issued a series of rulings that make that date all but impossible. In addition, Trumps hush money trial is now slated to begin on March 25 and is expected to take six to eight weeks.

Trumps lawyers had asked the judge, who Trump appointed to the federal bench, to delay the start of the trial until after the 2024 presidential election. Short of that, they wrote in a legal filing this week, they said they would be amenable to begin the trial on Aug. 12.

At the hearing, Bratt took issue with that proposal, saying, What it really seems to me is that those were fake dates and really almost bad faith dates. We just need to bring this case to trial this summer.

Cannon did not immediately announce when she would announce a new start date for the documents trial.

Why it matters: Even if Cannon decides to begin the documents trial in early August, it is unclear whether further delays will mean that a verdict may not be reached ahead of the 2024 election.

Recommended reading

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Thursday, February 29

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Lawyers for columnist E. Jean Carroll respond to a request by former President Donald Trump to delay payment of the $83.3 million judgment against him. In their filing, the lawyers tell Judge Lewis Kaplan that they have serious concerns about Trumps cash position. In Illinois, lawyers for Trump ask an appeals court to stay a ruling by a state judge that would remove Trumps name from primary ballots on the grounds that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The United States Supreme Court is expected to release a ruling soon on whether Colorados Supreme Court overstepped its authority by ordering Trumps removal from ballots in that state on the same grounds. Here are the latest legal developments involving the only U.S. president ever to be charged with a criminal offense.

E. Jean Carroll defamation

Carrolls lawyers counter Trumps request to postpone payment of $83.3 million judgment

Key players: Columnist E. Jean Carroll, Carrolls lawyer Roberta Kaplan, Judge Lewis Kaplan, New York Attorney General Letitia James

In a legal filing Thursday, Carrolls lawyers responded to Trumps request to delay payment of the $83.3 million judgment in the defamation case against him, saying they had serious concerns about Trumps cash position, The Hill reported.

On Friday, Trumps lawyers asked Kaplan to pause payment of the massive judgment on the grounds that an appeal of the verdict would likely diminish the amount he owed Carroll or wipe it away completely.

He simply asks the Court to trust me and offers, in a case with an $83.3 million judgment against him, the court filing equivalent of a paper napkin; signed by the least trustworthy of borrowers, Kaplan wrote.

Carrolls lawyers also noted the $454 million judgment against Trump in his financial fraud trial.

Trump is appealing the decision in that case as well, but an appeals court judge ruled this week that Trump must pay the entirety of that amount as bond while he pursues his appeal. If Trump fails to post the $454 million bond, James could require him to sell off his assets.

Why it matters: While Trumps lawyers have successfully delayed the start of the majority of the criminal trials in which he is charged, the civil verdicts in New York threaten his business empire and personal fortune. Appeals may indeed lessen the amount he will be required to pay Carroll and the state of New York, but they likely wont spare him from having to raise significant sums in the short term.

Jan. 6 election interference

Trump appeals Illinois judges ruling to kick him off ballot

Key players: Judge Tracie Porter, the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois State Board of Elections, the Colorado Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court

On Thursday, Trumps lawyers filed an appeal of Porters ruling that he should be removed from state primary ballots for violating Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars those who have previously taken an oath to uphold the Constitution but later engaged in insurrection from ever holding office again, CBS News reported.

In their appeal, Trumps lawyers asked to stay Porters decision "until the appeal is fully and finally resolved by the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, the Illinois Supreme Court, and/or the U.S. Supreme Court."

The Supreme Court has heard arguments to decide whether to let stand the Colorado Supreme Courts decision to remove Trump from ballots in that state.

Illinois holds its presidential primary on Mar. 19 and Trumps name currently appears on early voting ballots. Porter, a Democrat, put her own ruling on hold until Friday to give Trumps lawyers a chance to appeal it, and acknowledged that the Supreme Court could soon issue a ruling to decide the question.

In her ruling, Porter said the Illinois State Board of Elections had made a mistake by finding that Trump was eligible to run in the state.

Why it matters: The U.S. Supreme Court is widely expected to overturn the Colorado Supreme Courts decision to remove Trumps name from ballots. Because the Illinois judges ruling relies heavily on findings by the Colorado court that Trump did engage in insurrection, it would also be nullified if that happens.

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Wednesday, February 28

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The U.S. Supreme Court says it will take up an appeal by former President Donald Trump on the question of whether presidential immunity protects former presidents from being prosecuted for criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. An appellate court judge denies Trumps request to stay a ruling obliging him to pay a bond of $454 million while he appeals the decision, but the judge does grant him the right to seek loans from New York banks to raise that sum. Earlier in the day, lawyers for Trump said it was impossible for their client to raise the full bond amount set by Judge Arthur Engoron and proposed paying just $100 million instead. In response, New York Attorney General Letitia James argued that there was no merit to that request and that Trump should be forced to pay the full amount. Here are the latest legal developments involving the billionaire hoping to be reelected to the White House in 2024.

Jan. 6 election interference

Supreme Court to hear Trumps presidential immunity appeal

Key players: U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, special counsel Jack Smith, Judge Tanya Chutkan

The Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it would hear Trumps appeal of a lower courts ruling that presidential immunity does not protect him from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, USA Today reported.

In a statement, the court said it would limit arguments to the question of Whether and if so to what extent does a former President enjoy presidential immunity from criminal prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office.

The court will hear oral arguments the week of April 22.

Chutkan ruled that presidential immunity did not protect Trump, but the former presidents lawyers appealed that decision.

In December, Smith had asked the court for an expedited ruling on the presidential immunity question. At that time, the court declined.

Instead, a three-judge panel with the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit took up the case, siding with Chutkan. Trump then asked the Supreme Court to pause that ruling so that the full appeals court could hear the case.

Why it matters: Trump has sought to delay the start of the federal election interference case until after the 2024 presidential election. But if the court rules against him, it is conceivable that a trial could begin in August or September.

New York financial fraud

Judge denies Trump motion to delay payment of $454 million bond

Key players: Appellate Court Judge Anil Singh, Trump lawyers Clifford Robert and Alina Habba, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron, Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division

Singh denied a motion by Trumps lawyers for a stay that would have allowed them to pay just $100 million of the court-ordered $454 million bond imposed for years of fraudulent business practices in New York.

But the judge did stay portions of Engorons ruling, saying Trumps sons Eric and Donald Jr. could remain in control of the family company as the appeal played out and that Trump could apply for loans from New York-based banks to help him cover his bond.

In a court filing Wednesday morning, Robert and Habba proposed that as he awaits his appeal to be heard by a New York appellate court, Trump should be allowed to pay a $100 million bond instead of the $454 million mandated by Engoron, USA Today reported.

In a letter to the appeals court, the lawyers said that because Engorons verdict prevented him from doing business in New York for three years, including borrowing money from state banks, he was unable to raise the full bond amount.

The exorbitant and punitive amount of the Judgment coupled with an unlawful and unconstitutional blanket prohibition on lending transactions would make it impossible to secure and post a complete bond, the lawyers wrote.

Instead, the lawyers continued, Trump planned to post a different amount. Appellants nonetheless plan to secure and post a bond in the amount of $100 million, they wrote.

James, who has said she will look to seize Trumps real estate assets if he fails to post bond, dismissed the request in her own filing.

There is no merit to defendants contention that a full bond or deposit is unnecessary because they are willing to post a partial undertaking of less than a quarter of the judgment amount, James wrote. Defendants all but concede that Mr. Trump has insufficient liquid assets to satisfy the judgment; defendants would need to raise capital to do so.

Engorons ruling that Trump be prohibited from obtaining loans from New York-based banks was warranted, James continued, as it was the central issue of the fraud trial.

These are precisely the circumstances for which a full bond or deposit is necessary, where defendants approach would leave OAG with substantial shortfalls once this Court affirms the judgment, James wrote.

Trump has until March 25 to pay off the full amount of his bond, and every day that he doesnt pay, the amount goes up more than $100,000 in interest.

Why it matters: The ruling by the appeals court judge means that Trump will have to secure bank loans or he could be forced to sell off his real estate holdings in order to make bond.

Recommended reading

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Tuesday, February 27

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Nathan Wades former business partner Terrence Bradley again takes the witness stand at a hearing to decide whether Wades romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should disqualify both from prosecuting the case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others. But in a setback for the defense, Bradley testifies that he had no direct knowledge of when that relationship began. Here are the latest legal developments for the former president looking to win reelection to the White House in 2024.

Georgia election interference

Star witness at hearing at Wade and Willis dismissal hearing denies knowing when their relationship began

Key players: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, lead prosecutor Nathan Wade, Wades former business partner Terrence Bradley, Judge Scott McAfee, Trump co-defendant Mike Roman, Wades attorney Ashleigh Merchant, Trump attorney Steve Sadow

During his second appearance on the witness stand, Bradley repeatedly stated on Tuesday that he did not know when the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade began.

I do not have knowledge ... of when it started, Bradley said.

That testimony appeared to contradict text messages sent between Merchant and Bradley in the lead-up to the hearing seeking to dismiss Willis and Wade over a romantic relationship that, the defendants in the case claim, represents a conflict of interest.

That left the defense lawyers in the position of scrambling to try to establish that the testimony of their most important witness was not credible.

Merchant revisited the email correspondence, but Bradley contended that the meaning of his answers were different than what Merchant contended, and that he had merely speculated to Merchant about when Wade and Willis had started their relationship.

McAfee, who compelled Bradley to retake the stand after meeting with him for a private interview on Monday, pushed Merchant to try to cover new ground.

Youre making the point that he had made some comments to you along the way that led you to believe he had more knowledge than today he is testifying that he had, McAfee, who had earlier referred to Bradley as a star witness for the defense, said at one point. And so, if youve hit the high points of that, then I dont know what else we can actually cover that moves the needle.

Sadow also questioned Bradley about why he initially speculated to Merchant that Wade and Willis began their romantic relationship prior to Willis hiring him to prosecute the Georgia case.

You do, in fact, know when it started and you dont want to testify to that in court, Sadow said. Thats the true explanation, but you dont want to admit it in court, correct?

No, I have no direct knowledge of when the relationship started, Bradley answered.

Watching the proceedings, reporter Michael Isikoff, co-author of the book Find Me the Votes: A Hard-Charging Georgia Prosecutor, a Rogue President, and the Plot to Steal an American Election, posted a courtroom observation.

There will be a lot of time to dissect the lawyering but at a minimum Merchant should have tried to get an affidavit from Bradley back in January, Isikoff wrote on X. Who knows what he might have said then but now she and Sadow have nothing  from him.

McAfee will hold a final hearing on Friday, March 1, on the question of whether to remove Willis and Wade from the case.

Why it matters: Ultimately it will be up to McAfee to decide whether the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade represents a conflict of interest serious enough to remove both from their roles in prosecuting the case against Trump and his co-defendants. Without the sworn testimony of their star witness to bolster the claim that Willis hired Wade so as to financially benefit from their relationship, that may be a harder point to prove.

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Monday, February 26

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Lawyers for former President Donald Trump ask Judge Scott McAffee to allow cellphone records to be used in his decision on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Wilis and lead prosecutor Nathan Wade from the Georgia election interference case. Trumps lawyers also appeal New York Judge Arthur Engorons $454 million judgment in the financial fraud case. Here are the latest developments in the legal cases against the man seeking to be reelected to the White House in 2024.

Georgia election interference

Trump lawyers seek to admit cellphone records obtained by private investigator

Key players: Trump lawyers Steven Sadow and Jennifer Little, Judge Scott McAfee, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, lead prosecutor Nathan Wade, private investigator Charles Mittelstadt

On Monday, Sadow and Little filed a motion with McAfee, asking the judge to admit cellphone records for Wade that they say show he and Willis lied in court about when their romantic relationship began, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Lawyers for Trump and other defendants have argued that Willis should be removed from handling the case because, they allege, she benefited financially from her relationship with Wade, who paid for vacations with Willis, who hired him. Willis and Wade testified earlier this month that they split expenses on those trips and that their relationship does not represent a conflict of interest.

Willis and Wade also both testified that they did not begin their sexual relationship until 2022, after Willis had hired Wade to lead the prosecution of Trump and 18 others charged with crimes stemming from their efforts to overturn the presidential election results in Georgia.

Trumps lawyers hired Mittlestadt, who used online analytics tools to track Wades cellphone activity. In an affidavit, Mittlestat said the data he obtained showed that Wade visited Williss neighborhood multiple times in 2011, that the two talked on the phone more than 2,000 times in the first 11 months of 2021 and that they exchanged almost 11,000 text messages.

The Fulton County prosecutors countered that the cellphone records do not show proof that Willis or Wade lied about their relationship.

McAfee has stated that in order for him to disqualify Willis or Wade, the defense needs to show that the two lawyers brought their prosecution of Trump in order to financially benefit from the case, USA Today reported.

The judge has scheduled another hearing on Friday, March 1, on whether to remove Wade and Willis.

Why it matters: If McAfee decides to remove Willis or Wade from prosecuting Trump and his co-defendants, that could deal a potentially fatal blow to what many legal observers consider the strongest criminal case the former president faces and would almost certainly delay it until after the 2024 election.

New York financial fraud

Trump appeals $454 million fraud judgment

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump lawyer Alina Habba

On Monday, Trump appealed Engorons ruling that he must pay $454 million in penalties and interest for years of fraudulent business practices in New York, CBS News reported.

Trump asked an intermediate-level state appellate court to overturn Engorons ruling, which gives the former president, his adult sons and members of the Trump Organization 30 days to begin paying.

In order to qualify for a stay of Engorons decision during the appeal, however, Trump will be obliged to pony up the entire amount of the judgment as a bond. So far, Trump has yet to do so, according to a spokesperson for James.

If Trump were to fork over the $454 million as his appeal played out, the money would go into an escrow account and would be returned to Trump if the appeals court ruled the massive fines were an overreach by Engoron.

Every day that Trump does not pay the full amount of the judgment, he accrues more than $100,000 in interest.

We trust that the Appellate Division will overturn this egregious fine and take the necessary steps to restore the public faith in New York's legal system, Habba told CBS News in a statement.

Jamess office did not offer any comment on Trumps appeal.

Why it matters: While Trumps appeal contends that Engoron committed errors of law in his decision to wallop Trump, his adult sons and members of the Trump Organization with hefty fines, simply filing the appeal does not get them off the hook from paying it in the short term.
A judge will rule within two weeks whether a Georgia district attorney who is prosecuting Donald Trump for alleged election meddling should be thrown off the case.

The central question is whether a romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the special prosecutor she hired, Nathan Wade, compromises the integrity of the case.

The two have acknowledged they had a romantic relationship, but insist the affair only began after Ms Willis hired Mr Wade to the case and deny they violated conflict of interest laws or misused funds.

The first female district attorney in Fulton County, Ms Willis charged Mr Trump and 18 co-defendants last year with conspiring to overturn the former president's 2020 election loss to Joe Biden in Georgia.

What's the latest?

Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the Trump case, heard closing arguments on Friday to weigh whether the Willis-Wade relationship has, essentially, tainted the case.

Judge McAfee decided not to rule on the issue on Friday, saying a decision would come within two weeks.

At an evidentiary hearing this week, Mr Wade's former divorce lawyer was asked about texts he had sent to another attorney, in which he said Mr Wade and Ms Willis' relationship "absolutely" started before she hired him, and that the pair were "arrogant".

But during evasive testimony, the divorce lawyer, Terrence Bradley, cited attorney-client privilege and said he did not know or could not remember when Ms Willis and Mr Wade's affair began.

Last week, Mr Trump's legal team said in a court filing that phone data shows the pair exchanged more than 2,000 calls and nearly 12,000 interactions such as texts in the year before they say their relationship began. Ms Willis' office said the records were not relevant.

What are the allegations against Fani Willis?

In early January, one of Mr Trump's co-defendants, Michael Roman, filed a motion accusing Ms Willis of engaging in an "improper, clandestine personal relationship" with Mr Wade.

His attorneys filed subpoenas requiring them to appear at an evidentiary hearing on 15 February to be grilled about their romantic relationship. The legal papers cited records from Mr Wade's divorce proceedings.

Ms Willis asked the judge to scrap the hearings, but he declined to do so.

Mr Roman was an operations director on Mr Trump's 2020 presidential campaign and is seeking to have the charges against him dismissed.

He is accused of helping put forward a slate of fake pro-Trump electors (officials who certify election results) in Georgia and other battleground states.

Ms Willis has also been subpoenaed separately by the US House of Representatives' judiciary committee over allegations that she fired a whistleblower who tried to stop a campaign aide from misusing federal funds.

Ms Willis has described Mr Wade (right) as a "trusted friend"

How have Fani Willis and Nathan Wade responded?

During her combative testimony last month, Ms Willis acknowledged a romantic relationship with Mr Wade, but argued that allegations of impropriety were unfounded and had no bearing on the election interference case.

She also denied testimony by her former friend, Robin Yeartie, that Ms Willis' affair with Mr Wade began before he joined the Trump case.

Ms Yeartie told the court she saw the pair hugging and kissing years before the case, and had "no doubt" the relationship started in 2019.

On the witness stand, Ms Willis insisted she and Mr Wade split the cost of their holidays together, which included two cruises to the Bahamas, and trips to Napa Valley, California, and Caribbean resorts in Aruba and Belize.

Mr Wade denied that he shared his compensation for working on the case with Ms Willis, adding that he never cohabitated, shared household expenses, or held a joint account with Ms Willis.

Ms Willis said in January that her critics were playing "the race card".

In an emotional speech at a church's Martin Luther King Jr Day celebration, she said she appointed three prosecutors but "they only attacked one", adding that the other two outside lawyers were white.

A lawyer for Mr Roman denies race was a factor in his accusations.

How does this affect Donald Trump?

Mr Trump has seized on the allegations.

He said on his social network, Truth Social, that the "lovebirds" were targeting him "in order to ENRICH themselves, and to live the Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous".

Mr Trump joined his co-defendant's motion to disqualify Ms Willis, arguing she violated state bar rules by claiming racism was motivating the effort to oust her.

Could the Georgia case collapse?

The challenge could set back the proceedings, but there is so far no indication the case itself will collapse.

Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law, told the BBC: "A disqualification poses a real danger to the work done by the Fulton County DA's Office."

He said the legal threshold to remove her over a conflict of interest would be high. But if the defendants persuade a judge to disqualify Ms Willis, her entire office would be off the case.

Another office would have to be appointed, Prof Kreis explained. In that scenario, it is possible the trials would proceed as planned.

Or the new prosecutor could "make light plea deals, or even give up on the endeavour entirely", said Prof Kreis.

Who is Nathan Wade?

Once a municipal court judge, Mr Wade is a trial attorney who has "decades of experience helping clients facing divorce, separation, and child-custody issues", according to his firm's website.

In her speech at the church, Ms Willis hailed him as a "great friend and a great lawyer", and a legal "superstar" with "impeccable credentials".

But his website and career show little experience with complex criminal cases like Mr Trump's.

Still, Mr Wade was a "super competent judge" who was "timely, efficient with the docket and respectful", Holly Waltman, a criminal defence lawyer who knows him, told the BBC's US partner CBS News.
Former President Donald Trump has made immigration a central campaign message and spent nearly every appearance on the trail talking about the issue while touting what he would do about it should he win another term.

Both he and President Joe Biden are making competing trips to Texas on Thursday to visit the border, with each faulting the other's policies.

Biden is using his trip to make another push for the Republican-led House to pass a bipartisan Senate border security agreement -- a deal that Trump helped tank because he claimed that it wasn't truly effective or "great."

The Biden campaign fired back at Trump on Thursday, in part, by accusing him of "playing games for his own political gain," a spokesperson said.

More broadly, surveys show concern about immigration has been rising among some voters.

According to Gallup's February polling, 28% of Americans overall say immigration is the most important problem, up from 20% in January and 8% last June. But there has been little movement among Democrats, only 10% of whom cite immigration as the most important problem. By contrast, 57% of Republicans do -- up from 37% in January.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll from January found Biden had just an 18% approval rating for his handling of immigration at the southern border -- and he has the lowest rating on immigration for any president in past ABC News/Washington Post polls to ask the question since January 2004.

MORE: High-level migration meeting between US, Mexico, Guatemala to result in 'several important announcements,' officials say

PHOTO: Texas National Guard members direct a group of migrants to Border Patrol after crossing the US-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, Feb. 8, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

On Thursday, Trump is expected to take part in briefings with border officials and deliver remarks in Eagle Pass, Texas, as well as participate in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity along with Texas lawmakers including Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott.

He has vowed to implement a series of policies including reinstating and expanding his controversial travel ban on people coming into the U.S. from certain majority-Muslim countries; conducting what he calls the largest deportation operation in the country's history; and -- in a revamp of his 2016 campaign -- continuing work on the southern border wall.

"We're gonna straighten things out," Trump said on Saturday in South Carolina.

He went on to boast that in 2016, "We had a bad border and I talked about the border a lot, talked about it a lot and said we're going to fix it. ...We fixed it very quickly."

He echoed that as he arrived in Texas on Thursday: "Nice weather, beautiful day, but a very dangerous border. We're going to take care of it."

MORE: Ahead of Biden and Trump's dueling visits, what's the situation at the Texas border?

What Trump has done and wants to do about immigration

The former president has made sweeping promises on immigration before, though he didn't fulfill some of those key pledges -- either because he faced legal roadblocks, Democratic-led resistance in Washington or he said he could achieve something highly unusual, such as having Mexico pay for the border wall.

Overall, there were fewer deportations during the Trump administration compared to his predecessor former President Barack Obama, according to data released by the Department of Homeland Security.

Under the Biden administration, the number of deportations further declined.

During his first presidential campaign, Trump made the ambitious vow that he was going to build a new wall along the southwest border; by the end of his term, however (and after various funding fights in Washington), he had only implemented about 450 miles of barriers -- much of which was just upgrading existing barriers that already existed.

Still, Trump continues to tout the barriers as one of his biggest accomplishments during his presidency, frequently reminding voters at 2024 campaign rallies that he built and renovated nearly 500 miles of the border wall. Supporters often bring up that rhetoric when asked why they back Trump.

PHOTO: Former President Donald Trump Speaks At The Black Conservative Federation's Honor Gala In South Carolina (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Trump did implement a signature "travel ban" during his first term, rejecting visas to people coming from countries he claimed didn't have enough screening, including Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and North Korea.

On Biden's first day as president, he ended Trump's restriction, which was criticized by advocates as unfairly targeting Muslim countries.

Thousands of migrant families were infamously separated under Trump's crackdown on unauthorized border crossings during the first two years of his presidency, with children and infants taken away from their parents and sent to shelters and other facilities while the adults were prosecuted.

Trump eventually ended the separations in the summer of 2018 amid widespread outcry, but the policy led to numerous lawsuits from migrant families alleging the government's negligence, abuse and harm.

Trump has projected that if he is elected again, he will deport millions of unauthorized immigrants and end so-called "catch and release" practice, in which migrants are arrested at the border and released from the government's custody to appear in court later.

While in the White House, Trump helped usher in new policy changes in the DHS to expedite deportations but for a while in 2019, his administration resorted to "catch and release" amid a drastic surge in arrivals of migrants at the border.

For his 2024 reelection bid, Trump has campaigned extensively on the message that he will "terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration" -- beginning with what he claims would be the "largest domestic deportation in American history." (The Biden administration has pushed back on such criticism, saying they seek to enforce all laws at the border.)

Trump's deportation plan has raised questions about the feasibility of such a project, as it would likely require the mobilization of numerous law enforcement officials and expanded detention facilities across the country -- just to process the new arrests.

To carry out his promise, Trump has vowed to direct "massive portions" of law enforcement toward immigration enforcement, including from federal agencies like the FBI and moving troops who are currently stationed overseas.

MORE: Immigration emerges as key 2024 election wedge issue for Trump, vulnerability for Biden

As he heads into a potential second term, Trump has said he is determined to fulfill the policies he started to implement on immigration during his first term -- while using disparaging language to describe unauthorized migrants.

Making claims about criminals and terrorists "pouring in" through the border, Trump has been campaigning on the promise of bringing back his "Muslim ban" and even implementing an ideological screening for those coming into the country.

Throughout the 2024 election cycle, the former president has repeatedly claimed some immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of the country, which echoes Adolf Hitler's use of similar language in his book "Mein Kampf."

The Trump campaign has rejected the comparison as "ridiculous."

In recent weeks, Trump has also labeled migrants in the country illegally as "violent criminals" and focused on "migrant crime," including by pointing to the recent killing of Georgia college student Laken Riley.

Police have charged Jose Ibarra with murder in connection with Riley's death, but he has not entered a plea. He was previously arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for unlawful entry from Venezuela, officials said.

ABC News' Christine Filer, Isabella Murray and Nathaniel Rakich contributed to this report.

As Trump returns to the border, a closer look at what he's pledging to do on immigration if elected originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary, said on Thursday that he is considering Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) as a potential running mate.

In a joint interview with Fox News Sean Hannity during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump said the governor is absolutely included on his vice presidential shortlist.

Certainly, he would be somebody that I would very much consider, Trump said in a joint appearance with Abbott.

Trump praised Abbott as a spectacular man, adding that he was honored to receive his endorsement this past November.

Abbott, though, told CNNs State of the Union Sunday that he remains focused on Texas and helping Trump win re-election in his current position as governor.

That means helping him find the right vice presidential candidate who will help President Trump get elected and then help him be successful when he does get elected, Abbott said. I think theres so many people other than myself who are best situated for that.

Abbott also told CBS Wednesday he intends to run for re-election as his current term is set to expire in 2026.

Asked who else is part of his VP shortlist, Trump told Fox News Sean Hannity that Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who withdrew from the GOP presidential race last year and has since campaigned with him, was another contender.

I mean, he was OK as a candidate, but he didnt want to talk about himself. Hes a very good man, Trump said, according to The Hill. For me, hes unbelievable. Hes a surrogate.

In a Fox News town hall earlier this month, Trump acknowledged Scott, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Rep. Byron Donalds (R), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential candidate who has since left the party, were all solid choices for him to consider.

But DeSantis, who ended his presidential run after failing to gain traction with GOP primary voters, has reportedly said he is not interested in the job.

Related...
Greg Abbott and Donald Trump at the White House in 2020.

Greg Abbott and Donald Trump at the White House in 2020. Photograph: Doug Mills/EPA

Greg Abbott, the hard-right governor of Texas, is absolutely on Donald Trumps shortlist for vice-president should Trump as expected win the Republican nomination to face Joe Biden.

Related: Biden calls for compromise while Trump goes full red meat at US-Mexico border

Calling Abbott a spectacular man, Trump told Sean Hannity of Fox News the three-term governor, an anti-immigration extremist, had done a great job, adding: Yeah, certainly he would be somebody that I would very much consider.

So hes on the list? Hannity said.

Absolutely, he is, Trump said, as Abbott listened.

Abbott has engineered showdowns with Democratic authorities, sending undocumented migrants to Democratic-run cities, and with the federal government, blocking border patrol access to the Rio Grande river at a common crossing point for migrants, then refusing to comply with orders to back off.

He really stepped it up, Trump said of Abbott on Thursday, during a visit to the spot in question, a park in Eagle Pass, part of a Texas trip the same day Biden visited the border elsewhere.

Abbott, Trump said, had been amazing.

Abbott, however, told CNN last week theres so many people other than myself who are best situated to be Trumps running mate, adding that he would help Trump pick. On Wednesday, Abbott told CBS he intended to run for a fourth term in Texas.

At Trumps direction, Republicans are attempting to use conditions at the southern border for political gain in an election year, to the extent of the congressional GOP blocking a hardline, bipartisan deal negotiated in the Senate.

In his own border trip, Biden said Trump should join me in addressing the problem.

Trumps dominance of his party is near-complete. This week he enjoyed a major victory when Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Republican Senate leader since 2006 but at odds with Trump since the attack on Congress of 6 January 2021, said he would step down this year.

In Texas, Trump said Abbott should replace McConnell.

Id rather be governor of Texas, Abbott said.

I think youre doing well, Trump said. I want to keep you in Texas.

Trump is all but certain to again capture the Republican presidential nomination, having won all primary contests and with the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, his last opponent, seen as likely to drop out after Super Tuesday next week.

Trump enjoys such dominance despite facing 91 criminal charges from four indictments, multimillion-dollar civil reversals over his business affairs and an allegation of rape a judge called substantially true, and attempts to remove him from the ballot for inciting January 6, most recently in Illinois.

Informal auditions for Trumps running mate continue.

Hannity asked Trump about his shortlist. Trump gave a less-than-glowing assessment of the presidential campaign mounted by the South Carolina senator Tim Scott, who dropped out early and pivoted to fawning support.

Tim, for himself, he was fine, Trump said. He did OK. I mean, he was OK as a candidate, but he didnt want to talk about himself. Hes a very good man. For me, hes unbelievable. Hes a surrogate.

Other candidates Trump has mentioned include Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota; Elise Stefanik of New York, the No 3 House Republican; the biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a former primary rival; Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii; and Byron Donalds, a far-right congressman from Florida.

Others said to be in the running include JD Vance, a populist senator from Ohio; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the governor of Arkansas who was Trumps second White House press secretary; and Katie Britt, a senator from Alabama.
Former President Trump said he spoke with the "devastated" parents of Laken Riley  the Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered, allegedly by an illegal migrant  saying he is "not going to forget her," and blasting President Biden for "never" saying her name.

The former president began his remarks from the border Thursday afternoon by saying he spoke to the parents of Riley, who he described as "an incredible young lady."

"The parents are devastated and theyre incredible people," he said. "This is a Joe Biden invasion. A Biden invasion. I call him crooked Joe the most incompetent president we've ever had."

University of Georgia murder suspect Jose Ibarra lived within a five-minute walk of the approximate scene where he allegedly murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on Feb. 22.

Trump's visit to the border coincided with President Biden's own trip to a different section of the border between Texas and Mexico. Biden did not mention Riley in his public remarks.

Trump detailed the brutal murder of 22-year-old nursing student Riley last week.

"A beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia was barbarically attacked. She was on a morning run she was a beautiful young woman," he said. "I spoke to her parents yesterday, they are incredible people. They are devastated beyond belief. She was so beautiful in so many ways."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump said she was "brutally assaulted, horrifically beaten, kidnaped, and savagely murdered."

"The monster, the charge, charged in the death is an illegal alien migrant who was led into our country and released into our communities by Crooked Joe Biden," Trump said, adding that he "took the name from Hillary because shes no longer relevant I guess."

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, visited Eagle Pass, Texas, Thursday and toured Shelby Park with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and state officials. He also received a briefing and met with Texas officials, as well as Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council.

The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner also met with Texas National Guard leadership.

Trump made remarks Thursday following the briefing and tour, slamming Biden for being "incompetent," and for destroying the "most secure border in history" under his administration.

"I call him Crooked Joe because he's crooked and he's a terrible president, the worst president our country has ever had, probably the most incompetent president we've ever had," he continued. "But it's allowing thousands and thousands of people to come in from China, Iran, Yemen, the Congo, Syria and a lot of other nations."

Trump said many of those crossing are "entire columns of fighting-aged men."

Trump added that the border crisis "is like a war its a military operation."

Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Augusta University, was found dead on the University of Georgia campus Thursday after her roommate reported to authorities that she had not returned home from her morning run.

ICE CONFIRMS GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT ENTERED US ILLEGALLY, WAS PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED IN NYC

The University of Georgia Police Department arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra and charged him with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another, UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said during a news briefing Friday evening.

The suspect is not a U.S. citizen. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday confirmed that the Venezuelan national entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had previously been arrested in New York City.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, ICE confirmed he had been encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in August 2022, after entering near El Paso and was "paroled and released for further processing."

ICE also confirmed that Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year later, on Sept. 14, 2023, and "charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation."

When ICE learns that what it believes to be a removable illegal immigrant has been arrested on criminal charges, the agency will normally lodge a detainer  a request asking local law enforcement to keep the suspect in custody until they can be transferred to ICE and put into deportation proceedings.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA LIVED WITHIN 5-MINUTE WALK OF UGA CRIME SCENE

In this case, however, ICE's statement says Ibarra was released before a detainer could be issued. NYC is also a "sanctuary city," which generally restricts law enforcement from complying with ICE detainers.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.





Original article source: Trump says he spoke to 'devastated' parents of Laken Riley, blasts Biden for border crisis like a war'
Donald Trump is once again asking a federal judge to delay the trial over his alleged mishandling of classified documents until after the 2024 presidential electionbut, if he must, he can stomach an Aug. 12 start date.

The surprise admission by the former presidents lawyers comes as a response to a request by Special Counsel Jack Smiths office to start the trial on July 8. The dueling proposals were filed Thursday evening ahead of a Friday hearing by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Fort Pierce, Florida, where she is widely expected to wipe the previously slated May 20 start date off the schedule.

That said, Trumps attorneys spent the vast majority of their eight-page filing arguing that the former president could not possibly be expected to get a fair trial this calendar year, given his status as the presumptive Republican nominee and President Bidens chief political rival.

Cramming all of the necessary proceedings in Trumps four discrete criminal cases into his packed schedule has proved to be a steadily compounding headache, especially as he fights tooth and nail to have them tossed out. He has denied wrongdoing in all four cases.

Also set for Friday, as Cannon reconsiders the Florida schedule, is a hearing in Fulton County, Georgia, where charges that Trump interfered in the 2020 presidential election there have been waylaid by accusations of prosecutorial misconduct. A start date in his Georgia trial has not yet been set.

As Trump continues to push for dismissal, one of his teams primary arguments has been that he is immune from prosecution for allegedly illegal actions he took while in office. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear oral arguments on the matter in late April, a timeline that will undoubtedly bump his D.C. election interference case back to a late summer start.

Meanwhile, the only start date currently set in stoneat least for nowis March 25, when Trump will face trial in New York on 34 charges that he falsified business records in connection with a hush money payment with adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Capping off seemingly endless back-and-forth about how Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis dating history does or does not affect her fitness as a prosecutor, defense attorneys for Donald Trump on Friday made a final 11th-hour push to derail Georgia state election interference charges against their clients.

Lawyers for the former president and his various co-defendants claimed Willis romantic entanglement with Nathan Wade, the private lawyer she hired to help prosecute the former president on charges of election interference, has created an insurmountable conflict of interest and that she must be disqualified.

Prosecutors dont act like this, lawyers dont act like this, defense attorney Craig Gillen argued before Judge Scott McAfee. These people, Your Honor, [engaged in] systematic misconduct. And they need to go.

Another, defense attorney Harry MacDougald, claimed Willis office had become a global laughingstock because of the situation, and that her participation in the case has left an irreparable stain on it. John Merchant, who is representing Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, told McAfee that if he allowed Willis to remain on the case, public confidence in the system will be shot.

Defense Team Floats Salacious Claim at Fani Willis Hearing

However, legal experts, including Norm Eisen, who served as President Obamas special counsel and special assistant for ethics and government reform, law professor and former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, and Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, have said the existence of an intimate relationship between the two is irrelevant, and has no connection to assuring the defendants a fair trial.

On Friday, Senior Assistant District Attorney Adam Abbate echoed that argument in firing back at the claims by the defense, who did not cite case law in court.

Theres absolutely no evidence that the defendants in this case, their due process rights, have been harmed in absolutely any way, he said. Abbate told McAfee that defense lawyers have presented arguments that were misleading and inapplicable to the proceedings at hand, and that some of them actually support the states position. Cellphone records presented by the defense, purporting to show Wade was secretly seeing Willis late at night, were not properly peer-reviewed, and did not establish that Wades number was the one in touch with Willis number, Abbate argued.

The defense has alleged that Willis improperly received financial benefits from bringing Wade onto her team because he treated her to luxury vacations and meals paid for by his taxpayer-funded salary. Willis office says she didnt do anything wrong, and reimbursed Wade for her share of all expenditures that could possibly have been construed as questionable.

Terrence Bradley, Wades former law partner and one-time divorce lawyer, insisted during testimony on Tuesday that he couldnt recall when the relationship began between the two. But Bradley, who was billed as a star witness for Team Trump, proved nothing on the stand, Abbate said on Friday.

Abbate suggested that Bradley may have lied to defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who relied on information provided by Bradley to file the January motion that first exposed the fact that Willis and Wade had been dating. Bradley also had an axe to grind with Wade, having been pushed out from the law firm where the two worked after accusations of sexual assault. Other testimony from Willis former friend Robin Bryant-Yeartie was vague, according to Abbate, who argued that Bryant-Yeartie offered no description or qualification about when it occurred, or what she actually saw.

Willis did not set out to hire her boyfriend in an attempt to seek any sort of personal benefit, according to Abbate, who emphasized on Friday that Willis hired Wade only after two othersincluding former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnesdeclined the appointment over financial and security concerns.

Its ridiculous, Abbate said. Its absurd.

To sum up the point, when Willis and Wade went to Napa together, they stayed at a Doubletree, Abbate argued Friday. If she really wanted to live a lifestyle of the rich-and-famous, Willis would have stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, according to Abbate.

Theres been absolutely no evidence [that] the district attorney has benefited financially at all, or benefited financially in conjunction with any outcome, whether it be now, or ultimately, as it relates to the prosecution of this case, Abbate said.

In response to Trump attorney Steve Sadows claim that the appearance of impropriety is enough to disqualify, Abbate said that actual conflict is required to be shown under Georgia state law. He presented a PowerPoint deck containing specific case law showing that there has never been an appellate opinion in the State of Georgia that relied solely on the appearance of impropriety by a prosecutor or district attorney.

The misconduct allegations against Willis emerged last month as her office tries Trump and several others for their attempt to undermine election results in Georgia that led Joe Biden to victory in 2020. It is one of four criminal cases the erstwhile reality star is facing as he mounts another bid for the White House.

Whether or not Willis is disqualified, defense attorneys endeavored to plant a seed in the publics collective mind about her credibility, and allowed Trump to further delay the proceedings against him. As for the bias claimed by lawyers for the Trump team, Abbate argued on Friday that prosecutors are partisan by design.

[T]he state is always going to appear biased as it relates to getting justice for the victims, he said.

After the three-hour hearing, McAfee said there are numerous legal and factual issues to consider, and that he hopes to have an answer for everyone within the next two weeks.

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This article takes a look at the 20 best warm liberal places to retire. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis on determining post-retirement living, you may go to 5 Best Warm Liberal Places to Retire.

Checking All the Boxes Pre-Retirement

At first glance, retirement may seem simple. The kids are out making their own life, work has ended, and the urge to party till two in the morning has disappeared - all in all, life is good. However, the reality can be very different. New Retirement defines retirement as a 1,560-week long vacation, suggesting that years of planning go into making this period all that we imagine it to be.

The reality is that many Americans do indeed spend years of their life planning and preparing for their golden years. This involves juggling finances, healthcare, and personal preferences, all at the same time. However, recent years have seen a new player enter the room: global warming and climate change, and their subsequent impact on the average US citizens retirement plans.

Companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) are the most gullible, with both reportedly emitting massive quantities of CO2. While investors and other third parties often put pressure on companies such as Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), the impact of widespread, mass pollution is already being felt by the population today.

The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. -Greta Thunberg, Environmental Activist.

Royal Bank Canada Montreal Que (NYSE:RY) owned RBC Wealth Management shared insights on how climate change is impacting retirement. Kim Shappee, Wealth Management Adviser at RBC Wealth Management, reveals how a couple she had spent over a decade working with changed their destination retirement plans when a hurricane hit during one of their visits to the location. Even though the couple had made financial commitments and the change of mind led to them losing out on some investments, the influence of the suddenly undesirable climate stood their ground. Royal Bank Canada Montreal Que (NYSE:RY) owned RBC Wealth Management equates that this decision is probably due to the safety hazards and the possible impending costs of living in such an area.

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As such, an increasing number of American retirees are thinking about weather and climate when planning their retirement. This new addition to the retirement checklist only makes preparing for this period more elaborate - but if done right, it can save retirees thousands of dollars and days of inconvenience. One of the most ideal climate conditions for retirees is warm and sunny, typically characterized by tropical, sub-tropical, and Mediterranean climates. Not only does this safeguard them against the freezing cold, but it also allows senior citizens to engage in outdoor activities such as outdoor picnics, walks, birdwatching, fishing or even running errands on foot. As such, US retirees often search for the best places to live in the world for weather or they even try to find the best sunny cities for retirees in the US. Others look for the best of both worlds - they venture in search of warm places that offer a high quality of life, pointing towards their categorization as liberal as a testament.

To know more about the best warm liberal places to retire, read below.

20 Best Warm Liberal Places to Retire

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Methodology

To compile this list of the 20 best warm liberal places to retire, we consulted several sources including our list of 20 Most Liberal Countries in the World, MoveHub, Wisevoter, U.S. News & World Report, GoVisaFree, and Positive News. Once a list of countries was compiled using these sources, we first shortlisted our selection based on weather, keeping only those countries that had a tropical, subtropical, or Mediterranean climate.

With our shortened list in hand, we selected metrics against which to measure the liberalness of a place. For this purpose, we used the following four factors: life expectancy, corruption rates, economic freedom, and human rights freedom. For reference, we took life expectancy figures from the CIAs Life Expectancy at Birth report, corruption rates from Trading Economics Corruption Rank, economic freedom data from Heritages 2023 Index of Economic Freedom, and human rights figures from World Population Reviews Freedom Index by Country 2024.

As liberal countries protect the freedom and rights of their citizens, corruption rates have been included to illustrate these rights and freedom being upheld, where said rates are low. Similarly, there have been multiple studies linking better health and longer life expectancy to liberal policies, including the University of Gothenburg's study on the cross-country correlation between democracy and health. As such, we have included life expectancy as one of our markers.

We ranked each of our selected countries using these metrics, giving equal weightage to each to reach a cumulative score. The top 20 highest-scoring countries were then selected for our final list, with the number one spot going to the highest-scoring country. For countries with an equal cumulative score, the Freedom Index was used as a tie-breaker. The resulting list is presented in ascending order of total cumulative liberalness score.

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 one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

Here are the 20 best warm liberal places to retire:

20. Mumbai, India

Insider Monkey Score: 0.6

Life Expectancy: 67.7 years

Corruption Rank: 93rd

Economic Freedom Index: 52.9

Human Rights Freedom Index: 6.29

Starting off our list of best warm liberal places to retire is Mumbai in India, which is also one of the cheapest warm places to retire for US citizens. US retirees can experience an entirely new culture, indulge in delicious food - cue all the curries and dosas - and experience great weather all year round. The Times of India recently released a list of 7 best Indian cities which included Mumbai - so interested retirees can rest assured as they make Mumbai their new home.

19. Manila, Philippines

Insider Monkey Score: 0.9

Life Expectancy: 70.5 years

Corruption Rank: 115th

Economic Freedom Index: 59.3

Human Rights Freedom Index: 6.46

Another Asian pick, Manila in the Philippines is the perfect retirement forever home for US retirees who are sick and tired of inches of snow and gusts of cold wind. Retirees who are looking for a nature-filled lifestyle can immerse themselves in the city's many parks, whereas those interested in historical avenues can visit the National Museum of Natural History.

18. Kingston, Jamaica

Insider Monkey Score: 2

Life Expectancy: 76 years

Corruption Rank: 69th

Economic Freedom Index: 68.1

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.56

Jamaica is an island nation that is a true Caribbean paradise. It boasts a tropical climate perfect for those who enjoy the warmer days. US citizens can experience all the benefits of a Jamaican retirement in the country's capital, Kingston, including days by the beach, delicious food - hello, jerk chicken - and an affordable cost of living.

17. Athens, Greece

Insider Monkey Score: 2.1

Life Expectancy: 81.7 years

Corruption Rank: 59th

Economic Freedom Index: 56.9

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.49

Our first European pick for the best warm liberal places to retire is none other than the breathtaking city of Athens in Greece. With a pleasant Mediterranean climate, stunning architecture, and its place in history as the home of Western civilization, Greece offers the US retirees all that they could desire. Those interested in pursuing a liberal place of stay will be delighted to know that Greece boasts of being the birthplace of the theatre, democracy, and the Olympic Games.

16. Port Louis, Mauritius

Insider Monkey Score: 2.6

Life Expectancy: 75.1 years

Corruption Rank: 55th

Economic Freedom Index: 70.6

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.61

An island nation by the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is most famous for its tropical climate and natural landscapes. Home to a variety of beaches, reefs, and lagoons, Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius is the perfect retirement destination for US citizens who are looking for a breather from American life. Located in Africa, Mauritius is hailed as one of the most peaceful places in the region.

15. San Jose, Costa Rica

Insider Monkey Score: 3.2

Life Expectancy: 79.6 years

Corruption Rank: 45th

Economic Freedom Index: 66.5

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.04

With an average life expectancy of 79.6 years and a healthy human rights freedom index of 8.04, Costa Rica offers retirees a high-quality lifestyle. One of the best warm places to retire near water, San Jose in Costa Rica boasts closeness to the best of everything in the country - rivers, waterfalls, national parks, volcanoes, beaches, and rainforests.

14. Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Insider Monkey Score: 3.5

Life Expectancy: 79.8 years

Corruption Rank: 26th

Economic Freedom Index: 70.9

Human Rights Freedom Index: 5.73

The UAE, or the United Arab Emirates, is one of the most developed countries in all of Western Asia, and Dubai is among the most advanced cities. Popular with expats, US retirees wont face trouble fitting into the community as they enjoy a life of luxury in this Asian gem. The best part is the warm weather, great for those who crave the gleaming sun.

13. Bridgetown, Barbados

Insider Monkey Score: 3.7

Life Expectancy: 78.8 years

Corruption Rank: 24th

Economic Freedom Index: 69.8

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.72

Number thirteen on our list of best warm liberal places to retire is another Caribbean gem, Bridgetown in Barbados. Hailed for its stunning beaches, Bridgetown is home to the beautiful Pebbles Beach. US retirees can enjoy warm tropical climates as they live out their golden years on the beautiful island of Barbados.

12. Rome, Italy

Insider Monkey Score: 3.7

Life Expectancy: 82.8 years

Corruption Rank: 42nd

Economic Freedom Index: 62.3

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.95

The European city of Rome, Italy is a popular tourist destination, but it also makes for a wonderful retirement spot. Home to exquisite food - cue the most authentic and fresh pizzas and pasta - architecture, fashion, and art, Rome is a cultural landscape that has much to offer to the average US retiree. With over 5 million foreigners in Italy, American citizens will fit right in.

11. Gwangju, South Korea

Insider Monkey Score: 4

Life Expectancy: Not ranked

Corruption Rank: 32nd

Economic Freedom Index: 73.7

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.12

Gwangju in South Korea is the perfect mix of present-day modern services and traditional heritage, a welcome delight for US retirees planning to spend the latter period of their lives here. Combine this with its excellent healthcare system and robust public transport, and life in South Korea comes with a lot of ease.

10. Malaga, Spain

Insider Monkey Score: 4.1

Life Expectancy: 82.8 years

Corruption Rank: 36th

Economic Freedom Index: 65

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.03

Spain is good for more than just a summer trip. With commendable healthcare, pleasant, warm weather, delicious food, and a welcoming community, Malaga in Spain serves as the ideal retirement destination for US retirees who are looking for an overseas forever home. It's no surprise then that Malaga claims the number 10 spot on our list of best warm liberal places to retire.

9. Toulouse, France

Insider Monkey Score: 4.3

Life Expectancy: 82.5 years

Corruption Rank: 20th

Economic Freedom Index: 63.6

Human Rights Freedom Index: 7.86

Continuing with the European selection we have Toulouse in France, perhaps most popular for its food. With an overall high quality of living, France offers retirees the option to explore different types of living from one city to the next - perfect for the travel bug retiree.

8. Larnaca, Cyprus

Insider Monkey Score: 4.3

Life Expectancy: 80 years

Corruption Rank: 49th

Economic Freedom Index: 72.3

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.15

Known formally as the Republic of Cyprus, Cyprus is an island country situated in the Mediterranean Sea. Renowned for its architecture and natural beauty, Larnaca in Cyprus is the perfect escape destination for retirees wanting a quieter and more peaceful retirement.

7. Lisbon, Portugal

Insider Monkey Score: 4.6

Life Expectancy: 81.7 years

Corruption Rank: 34th

Economic Freedom Index: 69.5

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.27

A European country sharing a border with Spain, Portugal takes the seventh spot on our list of best warm liberal places to retire. With its stunning architecture, Mediterranean climate, and affordable lifestyle, Lisbon in Portugal is a top retirement destination. The best part is the diverse community, with over 500,000 foreigners in the country, US citizens will fit right in.

6. Berkeley, California, United States

Insider Monkey Score: 5.1

Life Expectancy: 80.8 years

Corruption Rank: 24th

Economic Freedom Index: 70.6

Human Rights Freedom Index: 8.39

While the US may not be the first place to come to mind when talking about warm places to live, it does enjoy tropical and Mediterranean climates along many states. This includes Florida, California, and Hawaii, making it the perfect destination for US citizens who want to move for retirement without crossing international borders. As one of the most liberal cities in the US, Berkeley in California is a particularly good choice for the best warm liberal places to retire in USA.

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Disclosure: none. 20 Best Warm Liberal Places to Retire is originally published on Insider Monkey.
I don't care much about the notion of American "dominance" or "prestige" but I do care a lot about the prospect of the planet being blown up and destroying the institutions and alliances that make it possible to reverse catastrophic climate change. Such a doomsday scenario is becoming closer to reality as Donald Trump continues to dictate American foreign policy from his gaudy social club in Palm Beach.

One of the best things about the Trump administration was how copiously it leaked to the press. In real time  and later through the many books and articles that were written about that tumultuous term  we had a very detailed understanding of the man's worldview when he went in and now we know that even after four years in the most important job in the world, he didn't learn a thing about world affairs.

According to "A Very Stable Genius" by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, by July 2017, it had become clear to Trump's national security and economic team that he desperately needed some tutoring to understand the importance of America's key alliances. So they prepared a briefing with visual aids to ensure that Trump didn't get bored and assembled the top military brass as well as relevant Cabinet members to instruct Trump about U.S. military and diplomatic alliances. He didn't want to hear it, demanding to know why the U.S. hadn't won the war in Afghanistan, calling it a "loser war," and interrupting the briefing to complain about the Iran nuclear deal and NATO. He yelled, "youre all losers. You dont know how to win anymore. I wouldnt go to war with you people. Youre a bunch of dopes and babies." After Trump stormed out of the meeting, then secretary of state Rex Tillerson famously turned to the room and declared, "He's a f-ing moron." Tillerson was not wrong.

This was the same meeting at which Trump asked why South Korea isn't more appreciative of America's military alliance and indicated that he wanted to restore the U.S. nuclear arsenal to 1960s levels. (He later denied that he said that, claiming that he only wanted to completely modernize it, a task that had already started under the Obama administration.) Throughout his term, Trump never understood why the country that he led benefited from the alliances that America had made in the nuclear age, apparently failing to grasp that if you have the most nuclear bombs on the planet, you have a special responsibility to keep a lid on the possibility of WWIII.

Despite his insistence that he hated nuclear proliferation (he claimed he knew all about it because his uncle was a nuclear scientist at MIT) Trump was fatalistic about the prospect, telling CNN back in 2016 that he thought that Japan and South Korea might as well develop nuclear weapons for themselves:

It's going to happen anyway. It's going to happen anyway. It's only a question of time. They're going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely. But you have so many countries already, China, Pakistan, you have so many countries, Russia, you have so many countries right now that have them. Now, wouldn't you rather in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?

This fatalism stems from the ongoing, puerile obsession that America is being cheated and that the rest of the world should just fend for itself or pay big bucks to the U.S. for protection. This is why he continues to threaten to withdraw from NATO and says that he'd encourage Russia to "do whatever the hell they want." He clearly still fails to grasp the existential threat of nuclear proliferation and simply cannot understand that U.S. security guarantees benefit America largely because they prevent the spread of nuclear weapons  and mitigate the risk of a planet-destroying nuclear war. He still doesn't get it, even now, after being president for four years.

And it's scaring the hell out of the world, especially our allies.

In the Atlantic this week, Anne Applebaum offers the view from abroad and it's sobering. America's European allies are taking Trump's threats very seriously, not because they are new but because they are seeing that he controls the Republican Party even out of office and the Republican Party has now adopted his worldview. The unwillingness to allow Ukraine military aid in this dire moment tells them that America is no longer a reliable ally, even if the Democrats are in charge:

For outsiders, this reality is mind-boggling, difficult to comprehend and impossible to understand. In the week that the border compromise failed, I happened to meet a senior European Union official visiting Washington. He asked me if congressional Republicans realized that a Russian victory in Ukraine would discredit the United States, weaken American alliances in Europe and Asia, embolden China, encourage Iran, and increase the likelihood of invasions of South Korea or Taiwan. Dont they realize? Yes, I told him, they realize.... Since then, Ive had a version of that conversation with many other Europeans, in Munich and elsewhere, and indeed many Americans. Intellectually, they understand that the Republican minority is blocking this money on behalf of Trump. They watched first McCarthy, then Johnson, fly to Mar-a-Lago to take instructions. They know that Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent figure at the Munich Security Conference for decades, backed out abruptly this year after talking with Trump. They see that Donald Trump Jr. routinely attacks legislators who vote for aid to Ukraine, suggesting that they be primaried. The ex-presidents son has also said the U.S. should cut off the money to Ukrainians, because its the only way to get them to the table. In other words, its the only way to make Ukraine lose.

The Europeans are taking all this very seriously and one has to assume that America's allies elsewhere are as well. This may very well lead to fullscale re-armament  and they are in active discussions to build their own nuclear arsenals. This is a catastrophic consequence of Donald Trump's narcissism and ignorance.

What's most profoundly disturbing about this is that it's not the result of a serious shift in ideology by the Republican Party. The change from the days of Ronald Reagan and John McCain and even George W. Bush on foreign policy and national security has been abrupt and done without any thought or care at all for implications. It's happened because the party has turned into a cult that worships one man and that man has such staggering character flaws and intellectual defects that it could take the whole world down the road to perdition.
Welcome to Trail Mix, your 2024 election sanity guide. See something interesting on the trail? Email me at jake.lahut@thedailybeast.com. To get Trail Mix in your inbox, subscribe here for free.

This week, we revisit 2024s biggest grudge that wont go away. Plus, in vitro fertilization politics, and a look at why Trump keeps underperforming his polling numbers.

RON HIS WAY OUT

After more than a year spent reveling in their relentless tormenting of Ron DeSantis, Donald Trumps political operation seemingly began enjoying his irrelevance after the Florida governor ended his presidential bid.

But days before the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24, DeSantis curiously convened his modest pool of delegates on a conference call and began complaining about the man he had just endorsed for president, according to reporters who listened in.

DeSantis Dishes on Why He Doesnt Want to Be Trumps Vice President

On the call, DeSantis repeatedly raised concerns about Trumps viability as a general election candidate. He criticized right-wing media for protecting the former president, saying they made the decision that their business model just doesnt work if they offer any criticism of Trump.

Referring to Trumps infamous remark about being able to stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody without losing any voters, DeSantis quipped he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and the conservative media wouldnt even report on it, that it had happened.

At that point, DeSantis had certainly caught Trumpworlds attention. Beyond the private call, they also hadnt missed DeSantis public rejection of a Florida lawmakers push to pay Trumps legal bills, or his conspicuous pre-primary trip to South Carolina to advocate for term limits.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference on Feb. 5, 2024 in Miami Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Amid all the slights and postmortems and gripes, DeSantis has scarcely shown anything resembling enthusiastic support of Trump as he gears up for another presidential contest.

Once seen by some conservatives as the future of the GOP, DeSantis may now be lucky to have one within the party at all if he doesnt become more of a team player in 2024, Republicans close to the Trump campaign told The Daily Beast.

People have made very clear in Trumpworld that if he opens his mouth again or makes those types of comments, I think theyre going to bury him, an operative close to the Trump campaign told The Daily Beast. And thats that.

Top Trump aides sprang into action after the call last Wednesday. In a post on X, Trump adviser Jason Miller warned if his popping off continues, Thors hammer will return.

Chicken fingers and pudding cups is what you will be remembered for you sad little man, top campaign adviser Chris LaCivita wrote in his own post, referring to a Daily Beast report which included an anecdote about DeSantis eating chocolate pudding with his fingers in front of staff on a flight.

According to Republicans close to Trump, all of whom requested anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, retaliation toward DeSantis could go well beyond tough talk if he continues to snipe at Trump. In particular, operatives are thinking about when DeSantis second term as governor ends in 2026 and he looks for his next move.

DeSantis Kills Florida Republicans Bid to Fund Trumps Legal Bills

I think there will be a poisoning of his other options, for sure, the first Trump operative said. I think therell be public statements made against him. I think certainly in Florida, the rugs been pulled out under him.

Another operative for the former president told The Daily Beast theres no preemptive strikes from us on Ron, but if he chooses to attack, hes gonna get hit back 10 times harder.

If he wants to relive the primary, the source close to Trump said, he must be a masochist, maybe thats what hes into.

Being a glutton for punishment doesnt totally explain, however, why DeSantis chose to make such an unsubtle re-entry to the campaign trail.

Hes gotta rebuild some cachet with donors, said a former DeSantis staffer, who requested anonymity to privately describe private conversations. Everyone thinks hes the worst candidate ever and hes a joke. I just think he wants to keep himself relevant and in the mix.

While few may have expected DeSantis to don a MAGA hat and enthusiastically stump for Trump after their nasty and personal primary battle, its notable that their flimsy detente seems to have barely lasted a month.

With so many unsettled scores remaining from the primary, the coming months will put the Trump campaigns more recent emphasis on party unity to the test. It will also serve as a uniquely compelling case study in what future there even is for popular and successful GOP politicians who do not fully bend the knee for Trump.

To the former presidents loyalists, even if DeSantis turns into something of a loyal soldier through 2024, theres little appetite to make room for him in the party going forward.

Donald Trump is not only the power center of the Republican Party, a Trump-aligned GOP aide told The Daily Beast. He is the power center of the Florida Republican Party. You would think that Ron wouldve learned his lesson after getting his ass kicked in Iowa. His poll numbers against Trump nationally and in Florida were horrific. Hes done. In 2028, the MAGA base will never allow him to become the nominee.

Trump-DeSantis Feud Over Heeled Boots Spills Into Real Life

Several other Republicans in and around Trumpworld said DeSantis chances in 2028 are toast, though some think he could still enjoy a limited future in Florida.

People here in Florida love DeSantis, they just didnt want him to run for president, said Al Baldasaro, a Florida Republican who advises Trump on veterans issues and was one of his earliest supporters from 2016 in New Hampshire. Baldasaro, who once said Hillary Clinton should be shot for treason, took a more optimistic view of Trumpworlds posture toward DeSantis in the long term.

Its just a matter of time. Right now his feelings are hurt, he wanted to be No. 1, Baldasaro said, describing Trumpa man notorious for holding petty grudges and casting aside loyal supportersas a fair guy whose grudges dont last long.

The former DeSantis staffer said a DeSantis run for president in 2028 is certainly possible, but the conversations with those in the governors orbit have drifted more toward Floridas first lady.

Casey DeSantis (R) listens as her husband, Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan. 14, 2024 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Everybody just talks about how his team is positioning his wife to run for governor, the ex-DeSantis aide said of Casey DeSantis, the frequent campaign presence widely known as her husbands most important political adviser.

The first Trump operative said they doubt the first lady would get much support from the former presidents network, given her reputation for micromanaging staff on the DeSantis campaign.

I dont think she has any type of political capital to be used on any front, the Trump operative said. I mean, they really should just become good, loyal soldiers for the sake of the country and the party, and be out there openly supporting President Trump.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump delivers remarks alongside supporters, campaign staff and family members during his primary night rally at the Sheraton on Jan. 23, 2024 in Nashua, New Hampshire. Alex Wong/Getty Images

A representative for DeSantis did not return a request for comment.

DeSantis has also been keeping in touch with his political network and donors from the primary ahead of a future run, according to CNN.

I think Ron has a better chance of being the president of Hillsdale College than he does the United States, the second Trump operative said, referencing the conservative liberal arts institution in Michigan.

Although Trumps loyal soldiers are ready to go after DeSantis again at the snap of a finger, many think the Florida governors fade into irrelevance will do most of the work for them.

No one in political history has destroyed their political career as fast and hard as Ron DeSantis, the first Trumpworld operative said. I mean really, on every angle too. In the House, with donors, with voters. And to be honest with you, same with the people that work for him.

The former DeSantis staffer warned not to underestimate Trumps wrath, especially if he wins in November.

Once hes in office, the DeSantis alum said, well see if that changes.

THE IVF RECEIPTS

Democrats trying to hold the U.S. Senate see a tantalizing opening in the fight over in vitro fertilization, and theyve begunaccording to top Democratic strategistscompiling research with a specific target: Republican candidates who have said life begins at conception.

Republican Memo Urges Senate Candidates to Defend IVF

It was that belief that helped lead an Alabama court to rule that frozen embryos are considered children, raising questions about the future of IVF and handing Democrats an incredible political gift.

But the list of GOP Senate candidates who have taken the position that life begins at conception is longand Democrats plan to remind voters frequently about the similarities between that position and the language used in the Alabama IVF opinion.

I am 100% pro-life and will defend Life from conception to natural death, said former Rep. Peter Meijer, who is running for Senate in Michigan, according to an archived copy of his 2020 campaign website.

Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Senate candidate, tweeted in 2022 that conservative Republicans should never back down from their belief that life begins at conception.

During her 2022 gubernatorial run, Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake said she believed life begins at conception.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks in the Capitol on Feb. 27, 2004, to discuss the Alabama Supreme Court ruling on in vitro fertilization. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

And Eric Hovde, the top Republican running for Senate in Wisconsin, reportedly described his abortion position on his 2012 Senate campaign website as protecting all human life from conception to natural death.

All four campaigns defended IVF in the wake of the Alabama decisionhewing to guidance issued by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which urged its candidates to reject the ruling.

Republicans should clearly and concisely reject efforts by the government to restrict IVF, the NRSC memo read.

A Meijer spokeswoman said the former congressman believes we should protect their ability to have babies, including through IVF. A Hovde spokesman also said the Republican supports IVF. Moreno responded to the Alabama ruling by tweeting that IVF is a vital tool for families that struggle with infertility. And Lake tweeted that she opposed restrictions on IVF.

Meijers spokeswoman rejected the idea that the former congressmans position conflicts with his belief about life beginning at conception. Others did not respond when asked how their position on protecting IVF squares with their comments on life.

While the Alabama ruling was a logical extension of a pro-life movement that successfully overturned the right to an abortion on the national leveland caused serious electoral backlash for the GOPmany top Republicans, including Trump, have insisted they support IVF.

But Democrats are already looking to test that position, putting Senate Republicans on defense by asking for unanimous consent to pass a federal law that would protect access to IVF. Republican senators responded by arguing it is an issue for the states, not the Senate, and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) blocked the bill on Wednesday.

Republican Senate candidates have spent years issuing statements, making pledges and giving interviews threatening to take away women's right to make their most personal decisions about their health care and their families, said David Bergstein, communications director for the Senate Democratic campaign arm. Democrats will ensure voters hold them accountable for their records.

 reported by Dan Merica

MAGA OF ERROR

Its been a feature and a bug of the Trump coalition.

Ever since the 2018 midterm elections, a small but statistically significant portion of ardent MAGA supporters show up in polls, but not always at the polls.

In the 2016 campaign, there was plenty of hand-wringing among pollsters and Republican operatives over Trump voters going unnoticed by pollsthe so-called invisible Trump voter.

Stephen Colbert Finds Some Rare Good 2024 News for Joe Biden

But so far in the 2024 primaries, a reverse version of the phenomenon has been taking placewhich could presage continued polling uncertainty in the 2024 general election.

In state after state primary election so far, Trump has consistently underperformed polling.

Ahead of the Michigan primary last Tuesday, Trump had an average polling lead of 57 points over Nikki Haley, according to FiveThirtyEight. He ended up winning by 41 pointsa commanding margin, but one that was nearly a third smaller than projected.

In South Carolina, the FiveThirtyEight model had Trump leading Haley by 30 points until the final days of the race, when the average settled at 27 points. Trump ultimately won by 20 points.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event at the Westin Hotel Feb. 29, 2024 in Richmond, Virginia. Win McNamee/Getty Images

In both Iowa and New Hampshire, meanwhile, Trump performed 4 points below the FiveThirtyEight average.

For most polls included in major models like FiveThirtyEight, researchers seek to poll likely voters in order to get the best snapshot of the possible result. The process of determining a likely voter is a complicated one, even more so given Trumps ability to draw in Americans who usually dont participate in the political process.

Julia Azari, a professor of political science at Marquette University, said the divergence between Trumps polling and Trumps actual results could be chalked up to pollsters difficulty in screening likely votersalong with Trump supporters being more unreliable voters overall.

If people look to estimate whos going to vote in a Republican primary and look at people who started voting around 2016 or havent voted before and dont have college degrees, that might oversample Trump voters, Azari said. But to me, that seems like a different side of the same coin of Trump having supporters who are low-propensity voters.

Azari also pointed to the weird nature of the primary where the motivations to vote in a race that is effectively over make it even harder to get a good sample of likely voters. Theres potentially a connection to the strange nature of the primary itself and Haley hanging on in the race, she said.

Brad Coker, a longtime Florida pollster, pointed to another problem with surveying Trump voters. Incumbents, he saidor a quasi-incumbent, in Trumps casetend to be less likely to over-perform their most recent polling totals before voting day.

Trump Keeps Dominating Primaries While Getting Crushed in Court

Its not uncommon for an incumbent to poll closer to what theyre gonna get, but then the undecideds go to the challenger, Coker said. The Florida pollster also pointed to women with college degreesone of Trumps worst demographicsas a trickier group to properly sample in polls. The fact that Haley performed well in counties where that demographic is stronglike Washtenaw County in Michigansupports that read.

Everybody says, oh, theyre not getting enough blue collar workers and people with high school educations, Coker said, but Ive always found that demographic is never shy about telling you theyll vote for Trump. Where you get that disconnect he has lesser appeal to women with college degrees.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

Reverse coattails? Theres some novel Republican political logic coming out of what could end up being the most expensive governors race in the country.

North Carolina is one of the Biden campaigns top targets in 2024. Trump won the state by just 1.3 percent of the vote in 2020. Its also likely to be the most competitive governor race of the year.

President Joe Biden speaks briefly with reporters before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter and departing the White House on Feb. 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This time around, in the GOPs gubernatorial primary, a candidate is making an inverted version of the common argument that Trump is toxic for down-ballot candidates.

Bill Graham, a Republican candidate polling well behind frontrunner Lt. Gov. Mark Robinsonwhom Trump promised to endorseargued during a recent podcast interview that its Robinson, not Trump, who might cost Republicans the state against Biden.

If Robinson is our nominee, President Trump is going to be at risk for winning this state, Graham said, according to audio exclusively obtained by The Daily Beast. And if he doesnt win North Carolina, he will not be our next president.

North Carolina Guv Frontrunner Had Secret Meeting With Ginni Thomas After Jan. 6

Robinson has no shortage of baggage: Hes called the LGBT community filth, has a long record of antisemitic and Islamophobic comments, and has had to clarify he did not, in fact, call for the assassination of government officials.

I got them AR-15s in case the government gets too big for its britches, Robinson said at a church event in April. Because Im going to fill the backside of those britches with some lead. Im going to say it to you plain: Your boy aint going down without swinging.

While Robinson is beloved in the MAGA base, other Republicans clearly fear hed be an unprecedented drag up and down the ticket in the general election in a state that likes to elect moderate Democratic governors.

Graham and Robinsons campaigns, along with the North Carolina GOP, did not return a request for comment.

Its not Joever. Some Democrats are seemingly anxious about the prospect of finding themselves on a stage next to an unpopular incumbent president this election season. One battleground Democrat facing a tough race recently told CNN Hell no! when asked if theyd campaign alongside Biden in their district.

But one key Democratic leader is singing a different tune: Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota. Hes the chair of the Democratic Governors Association for the 2024 election cycle, tasked with winning governors offices in states like North Carolina and New Hampshire. The Biden campaign is targeting both those states, making a presidential visit likely.

At a recent DGA briefing, The Daily Beast asked Walz how hed feel about his governor candidates campaigning with Biden this year. While he said it was up to each candidate, the second-term governor and former congressman quickly expressed his own clear view.

My personal point on this is, were in this together, he said. The one thing I learned being in Congress, it doesnt matter how you vote, theyre gonna say whatever they want to about you anyway.

Its really hard to nationalize a governors race they tried it with me, both of mine. They tried to nationalize Andy Beshear, it did not work because he was focusing on the kitchen table issues, Walz said, referencing the incumbent Democrat who just won re-election in Kentucky last year.

The Dems Anti-DeSantis Has a Plan for 2024And Maybe 2028

So I think its irrelevant, Walz said. I think when we come togetherlook, you agree with the president on issues, so be there with him.

CAMPAIGN LIT

Sleight of hand. Trump is not only trying to get out of paying his $464 million bank fraud penalty, but also quietly moving business assets to Florida, Jose Pagliery reports.

Commitment issues. The Biden campaign got a wake-up call in the Michigan primary on Tuesday, as 13 percent of Democratic voters cast an uncommitted ballot in protest of the presidents handling of Gaza, Riley Rogerson reports.

Hunted to Hunter. Hunter Biden will be taking on a more aggressive and visible role during the 2024 campaign seasonwith the support of the Biden campaign, Jake Lahut reports.

Move, Mitch. The decision of longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell to step down is opening up a heated succession race that could shape the party in 2024, report Sam Brodey, Reese Gorman, and Riley.

Superfed. Roger Sollenberger and Will Bredderman uncovered a new wrinkle in Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lakes bribery scandal involving Superfeed Technologies, Inc., a GOP tech firm.

Bend it like Johnson. Republicans are getting tired of House Speaker Mike Johnson kicking the can down the road as Congress barrels toward a government shutdown, Riley and Reese report.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Former Democratic presidential candidate and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbards political journey has taken a sharp turn from once a prominent figure in Hawaiis Democratic Party to now a fierce defender of Donald Trumps foreign policies. The changes have not gone unnoticed by MAGA Republicans, the former president and his inner circle.

The former darling of the Democrats is now set to deliver the keynote speech at a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner on March 7, with tickets costing from $1250 to $25,000, fueling frenzied speculation about her potential role in a future Trump administration.

The GOP frontrunner confirmed that Gabbard was on the V.P. shortlist during a Fox News town hall in February, along with five others: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Byron Donald of Florida.

According to Colin Moore, a political science professor at the University of Hawaii, Gabbard is a singular character in American politics.

Its hard to find anyone who is comparable to Tulsi Gabbard, who has been at various times embraced by evangelical Christians to progressives to now it seems like Donald Trump himself, Moore said. Im not sure anyone can really explain it except for Tulsi Gabbard.

More: Trump's veepstakes: 5 reasons to pick a running mate, from Nikki Haley to Tucker Carlson

The fundraiser also happens to be the same night as President Joe Bidens State of the Union address, which Trump is considering a direct response from his Mar-a-Lago home, according to NBC News.

Gabbard, 42, took the stage at the Conservative Peoples Action Conference (CPAC) at the National Harbor in Maryland in February and echoed pro-Trump sentiments while equating the Democratic Party to evil-doers and dictators.

Today, we see the Democratic elite leaders say, with great concern in their voice, that if the American people elect Donald Trump again, they warn us, he will destroy democracy, Gabbard said in her speech. The perpetrators of this attack are those who, in the name of saving our democracy, are destroying it.

Such comments wouldve been unthinkable in 2012 when Gabbard was working to establish herself within Democratic circles both in Hawaii and nationally before going on to win the Aloha States second congressional seat until December 2021.

Tulsi Gabbard meets with supporters at a rally in support of Governor Kristi Noem on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls.

More: CPAC touted as the 'most influential gathering of conservatives': See the 2024 conference

The U.S. Army Reserve officer once served as a vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 to 2016, but eventually resigned to endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president in 2016. Gabbard ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 only to withdraw her candidacy in March 2020 and throw her support behind Joe Biden.

However, over time, she became an outspoken critic of the Democratic Party, citing reasons such as growing wokeness, racism, and intolerance.

Gabbard tweeted a video in 2022 saying she can no longer remain in todays Democratic Party, which is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.

In the minute-long video, Gabbard said Democrats are divisive by racializing issues and stoking anti-white racism. She said she believes the left-leaning party works to undermine our God-given freedoms in the Constitution.

She called on fellow commonsense independent-minded Democrats to join her in leaving the Democratic Party.

If you can no longer stomach the direction the so-called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country, then I invite you to join me, she said.

This shift opened fresh political opportunities for her to appear frequently on Fox News, even filling in for former host Tucker Carlson. In 2022, she officially left the Democratic Party, marking a significant pivot in her political allegiance.

I think ... the great question about Tulsi Gabbard is how much of this is an admirable independence and how much of it is opportunism? Moore said. But, you know, its a political story that people love to cover because its so, so unusual.

Tulsi Gabbard speaks at a rally in support of Governor Kristi Noem on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, at the South Dakota Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls.

The former congresswoman came in third in a straw poll at CPAC in which 9% of attendees voted for her to become Trumps running mate.

Ive gotten a sense for what motivates him, and its got nothing to do with what the Washington establishment is accusing him of, Gabbard said. This is a fighter; his strength and resilience can only come from one place: Sincere love of country.

Gabbard did not respond to USA Todays request to comment.

Jeremy Yurow is a politics reporting fellow based in Hawaii for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at JYurow@gannett.com or on X @JeremyYurow

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tulsi Gabbard for VP? Keynote speech at Mar-a-Lago raises eyebrows
Richard Sankar and Tim Haymon were at home in the sun-swept Turks and Caicos Islands amid the COVID-19 pandemic when the two, looking at the possibility of another Donald Trump presidency less than 600 miles away, decided it was time to get married while same-sex marriages were still allowed in the United States.

But nine months into the marriage, performed in Fort Lauderdale, they ran into problems. Based on his marriage to Sankar, a Turks and Caicos citizen, Haymon applied to legally reside and work in the islands without the need for a work permit. The territorys immigration office denied the request, saying that Haymon did not meet the definition of spouse.

The immigration departments refusal to recognize their marriage has led to a lawsuit against the government of the Turks and Caicos. The couples argument is that the islands immigration laws do not define what a spouse is, and that failure to recognize their marriage is a violation of their right to privacy. The lawsuit, which is expected to be ruled on Friday after 16 months, is sure to be appealed either way it goes.

Home to about 40,000 people, the socially conservative Turks and Caicos prides itself on upholding Christian values and defines marriage as a biblical union between a man and a woman. It is among several British overseas territories and Caribbean islands whose constitutions do not expressly guarantee same-sex rights.

The case is the latest battle in a largely conservative region where politicians and pastors have been unapologetically vocal about what they have claimed are efforts by British politicians to force gay-marriage laws on their self-governing overseas territories.

We were so naive, said Haymon, 60, who said he didnt think the government would refuse to recognize his November 2020 marriage.

Sankar, who has called the island chain home for 27 years and made a successful career as a Realtor, added: We were more concerned about Trump getting in and us losing our legal rights in the United States.

The couple say that unlike in other islands where gay marriage has been litigated and the cases have made their way all the way to the London-based Privy Council, this isnt about the right to marry. They are already married, they say, and should be afforded the rights of any spouse. In the Turks and Caicos, the spouse of a Turks Islander can reside and work without a work permit and eventually gain Turks Islander status.

Tim Prudhoe, a lawyer with the island-based Stanbrook Prudhoe, argues that there is no definition of spouse in the Turks and Caicos Islands immigration legislation. Instead, marriages between two men are considered void in the islands marriage ordinance.

His clients, he argues, have a valid overseas same sex-marriage, which should be recognized in the territory, and they also have rights enshrined in its Constitution. Those rights include equality before the law and a right to their private family life. To bolster his argument, Prudhoe has cited many decisions from Europe, specifically the European Court of Human Rights, which currently has Bermudas same-sex legislation before it.

We had Italian cases. We had Norwegian cases. All of them said a right to privacy involves and encompasses someones decision to be married to someone of the same sex, Prudhoe said.

In terms of wider impact, certainly this is a game-changer, he added. Until we have a decision on the issues raised by this case, I see no real prospect of the TCI gay community being generally known and acknowledged, he said. Theyll be a weirdly quasi-hidden community in a country claiming to be inclusive.

Concerns like any married couple

Haymon and Sankar said when they initially tied the knot in Broward County, they did not think about the challenges that awaited them in the Turks and Caicos. Despite the countrys conservative values and constitutional ban on gay marriages, they had not really run into problems.

But as they marked their nine months of marriage in August of 2021, they began to think about their union, wondering, what if one of them became ill? What if Haymon couldnt reside permanently and had to return to Florida?

Its all the normal things that couples take for granted that we are not entitled to as spouses, said Haymon. Those are the things were mostly concerned about. Are we affected? We stay at home a great deal. Were not out a lot other than his work and our close friends. So we dont really encounter a lot of outward homophobia nowadays.

Unlike in the British overseas territories of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, where civil unions and domestic-partnership laws have been enacted, there is no such legal recognition in the Turks and Caicos, even though same-sex relations were decriminalized in the territory in 2001.

Like many of his Caribbean counterparts, Turks and Caicos Islands Premier Charles Washington Misick, who leads the Progressive National Party, has pushed back over the years on efforts he has construed as attempts by the United Kingdom to have greater oversight in the affairs of overseas territories.

While in the opposition, Misick said UK politicians are engaged in a strategy of attrition to neutralize the authority of elected politicians and marginalize the voice of the indigenous people of the Caribbean Overseas Territories.

In 2022, when a British politician introduced legislation empowering UK-appointed governors in overseas territories to enact legislation enabling gay marriages, Misick again voiced his concerns. He said he would be guided by the views of the voters. The leader, who is expected to call for elections soon, also invoked the Bible and social mores.

I think equality before the law is possible while still preserving the biblical principle of marriage, Misick told the TCI Weekly, defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Despite its laid-back beach vibes the Caribbean isnt as progressive as its image often depicts. In fact, only a few islands would qualify as being progressive. Most espouse traditional views about the role of women and the sexes. In 2000, such attitudes led to the United Kingdom stepping in and decriminalizing same-sex acts between adults after its overseas territories had refused to do so.

Fourteen years later after Britain legalized marriage equality, the overseas territories still refused to follow suit. In the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, however, the climate has been different. Gay and human-rights activists have openly campaigned for change and have slowly found acceptance.

In Bermuda, the same-sex marriage battle has led to three reinstatements over the years after same-sex marriages laws were abolished and then legalized. The UK Privy Council finally issued a ruling in 2022 upholding the ban on same-sex marriage by both the Bermuda and Cayman Islands constitutions.

Despite the rulings both countries have come up with alternatives, though without the legal title of marriage. In Bermuda, the Domestic Partnership Act of 2018 provides legal recognition to couples. And in the Cayman Islands, where the first gay pride parade took place in July 2021, the territory passed the Civil Partnership Law in 2020, recognizing same-sex civil partnerships.

Prudhoe said before pursuing the litigation in the Turks and Caicos, which names the islands immigration director and attorney general as defendants, he suggested that the islands do what Cayman has done.

The Cayman Islands enacted civil-partnership legislation which says For a list of countries  which the U.S. was listed as one  a legal same sex marriage there, wont be described as a marriage in Cayman, but we will recognize it as the equivalent, he said.

Its only because [Turks and Caicos] failed to do that  they didnt even respond to us  that the litigation had to happen. All that they needed to do to take the wind out of our sails, to stop us from litigating, was exactly what we asked them, just copy the Cayman Islands.

Haymon and Sankar say they didnt set out to be activists or trailblazers. They just want to enjoy life as any two people who love each other. But along, the way, they also want to help change things for others.

We werent born and raised in the Turks and Caicos Islands, said Haymon, who is originally from Flint, Michigan and moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1994. However, a portion of this is for the people who are born and bred so that they dont feel that they cant be who they are and love who they are.
TUSCOLA, Ill. (WCIA)  A longtime member of the Tuscola Fire Department is back at home after receiving treatment for brain cancer.

Captain Bill Schweighart has served in the Tuscola Fire Department for 28 years, but his biggest battle started in December, when he was diagnosed with glioblastoma. Its the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer.

Tuscola firefighters put spotlight on cancer prevention

Schweighart underwent surgery in Chicago a few weeks later, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. On Thursday, the Tuscola Fire Department said Schweighart is back home and spending time with his family.

The department said it appreciates all of the support the community has shown for Schweighart throughout the last four months. There is a new way that people can support him: a meal train organized by his family.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)  The new prime minister in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu said on Friday his country shares democratic values with Taiwan and reaffirmed that his government would maintain diplomatic ties with Taipei, ruling out a shift to Beijing.

Prime Minister Feleti Teo spoke to The Associated Press via Zoom, his first interview with international media since his government took office earlier this week.

Our ties with Taiwan are purely based on democratic principles and they have been very loyal to us, Teo said.

Teo, a 61-year-old first-time lawmaker, and his eight Cabinet ministers were sworn into office on Wednesday, a month after general elections in the strategically significant nation of 11,500 people half way between Australia and Hawaii.

Election campaign issues included whether Tuvalu should switch its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing. An elected candidate proposed scrapping a treaty, which has yet to be ratified, that would give Australia veto power over any security-related agreement Tuvalu wants to make with any other country, including China.

The new administration announced it would maintain diplomatic ties with the self-governing Taiwan. China has claimed Taiwan since a 1949 split amid civil war.

We dont see any reason why we need to invest in time to discuss and engage in the two-China discussion, he added, referring to the counter-policy from the One China principle, which is Chinas view that it has sovereignty over the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Seve Paeniu, who was finance minister in the previous government and was considered a leadership contender in the election, had argued for Tuvalus relationships with both Taiwan and Beijing to be reviewed. Paeniu was excluded from Teos Cabinet.

Tuvalu's Parliament has 16 lawmakers and no political parties so a prime minister must garner the support of at least eight independent lawmakers to command a majority.

After Teo was chosen by 10 of his fellow lawmakers to be prime minister on Monday, Chinas foreign ministry urged Taiwans diplomatic allies to stand on the right side of history and make the right decision that truly serves their long-term interest by switching allegiances to Beijing.

When the tiny atoll country of Nauru switched alliances to Beijing in January, Tuvalu was left one of only three Pacific island nations aligned with Taiwan, a self-governed democracy that China claims as its own territory.

Teo, a former long-term Tuvaluan public servant and regional bureaucrat, said the question of changing allegiances was definitely not an issue for his people.

Teo said he hopes to renegotiate development assistance agreements with Taiwan and that impacts of climate change and sea level rises remain top priorities for his nation of low-lying atolls.

The treaty with Australia, announced by previous Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in November, offered Tuvaluans an option of resettlement in Australia to escape rising oceans and worsening storms.

Australia would initially allow up to 280 Tuvaluans to immigrate each year. The treaty would also commit Australia to helping Tuvalu in response to major natural disasters, pandemics and military aggression.

But Teo wants Australia to drop a clause that both countries must mutually agree on any third-country security agreement that Tuvalu may seek.

Teo said he had been involved in drafting the treaty as a legal consultant for Tuvalu and the original intention had been only for Australia to be informed of such third-party agreements. Australian approval had not been expected.

Teo would not speculate on whether Australia wants veto power to avoid a repeat of the security pact signed between China and the Solomon Islands in 2022 that raised the prospect of a Chinese naval foothold being established in the South Pacific.

Teo said while his government is "certainly behind the broad principle and objectives of the treaty, it still has ways to go. In his view, the treaty would become acceptable if Australia dropped the mutual agreement provision.

We need to revisit that provision," Teo said. "The general perspective here in Tuvalu is that it might encroach on Tuvalus sovereignty.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong's office did not immediately respond to a request or comment on whether further negotiation was possible.
WASHINGTON D.C. (WHTM)  Two people were charged in a superseding indictment with attempting to damage to U.S. Constitution at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

According to the Department of Justice, Donald Zepeda of Maryland and Jackson Green of Utah allegedly dumped a fine red powder over the documents display case on February 14.

The cost of the clean-up has already exceeded $50,000 and caused the National Archives Rotunda to be closed for four days, according to the Justice Department.

Zepeda and Green were allegedly attempting to draw attention to climate change during the incident.

Pink powder is seen on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (Ellis Brachman/National Archives via AP)

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (Ellis Brachman/National Archives via AP)

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (William J. Bosanko/National Archives via AP)

Amy Lubick, a supervisory conservator at the National Archives, looks over the stained floors at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Amy Lubick, a supervisory conservator at the National Archives, looks over the stained floors at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (William J. Bosanko/National Archives via AP)

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (Ellis Brachman/National Archives via AP)

Pink powder is seen on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (William J. Bosanko/National Archives via AP)

National Archives employees clean pink powder on the casement of the U.S. Constitution inside the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (William J. Bosanko/National Archives via AP)

Sarah Stauderman, deputy director of preservation programs at National Archives in Washington, takes a video of a portion of a display case that still has red power on it on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution.(AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Stephanie Hornbeck, a preservation program officer, goes over the eraser crumbs used to clean the rotunda at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Amy Lubick, a supervisory conservator at the National Archives, runs a cotton swab over a display case that held the U.S. Constitution at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Amy Lubick, a supervisory conservator at the National Archives, runs a cotton swab over a display case that held the U.S. Constitution at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Museum officials go over sections of a display case that still was covered in red powder at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Preservationists and museum officials look over the rotunda at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Red powder is seen on a display case at National Archives in Washington on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated on Feb. 14 after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

A crew of workers cleans the National Archives Rotunda in Washington, Feb. 14, 2024. The National Archives building and galleries were evacuated after two protesters dumped powder on the protective casing around the U.S. Constitution. (Ellis Brachman/National Archives via AP)

Both are charged with felony destruction of government property, while Green was previously charged with destruction of National Gallery of Art property for a separate incident on November 14, 2023.

The Justice Department says on Nov. 14 Green allegedly smeared Honor Them in red paint on the wall next to the Shaw 54th Regiment Memorial in the National Gallery of Arts West Wing.

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The patinated plaster piece created in the late 1880s commemorates one of the first Civil War regiments of African Americans enlisted in the North, which drew recruits from many states and included Frederick Douglass own sons.

Green, a member of the group Declare Emergency had previously been ordered to stay away from the District of Columbia and all museums or public monuments. He was ordered to be held in a D.C. jail following the February 14 incident.

The case is being investigated by the FBIs Washington Field Office, specifically the FBIs Art Crime Team, with assistance from the National Archives, the National Gallery of Art Police, and the U.S. Park Police.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
A pair of Columbia breweries have joined forces under a newly established parent company.

Peak Drift Brewing Company, which operates a production brewery on North Main Street, and Columbia Craft Brewing Company, the microbrewery and taproom on Greene Street, have come together under the establishment of Craft Brew Inc., a company that will work to strengthen the craft beer industry in the Midlands and throughout South Carolina, per a Thursday news release.

Craft Brew Inc. came together through joint efforts from both brewery management teams and was established to be a holding company of multiple brands, the release said, adding that the company will serve as a one-stop shop for craft breweries and beverage companies that want to scale up their production, directly print their cans in-house and utilize resources within a family of brands where economies of scale are created.

Brewery leaders say it was a move made with the future in mind.

Peak Drift is forming strategic partnerships for long-term success, Peak Drift owner and CEO Jordan Styles said in a statement. We are committed to industry collaboration and the creation of Craft Brew Inc. will help cultivate the security of craft beer in South Carolina.

Peak Drift and Columbia Craft will each maintain their respective brand identities, the release noted. Columbia Craft will continue to operate the taproom on Greene Street, and Peak Drift will continue its production brewery on North Main. Craft Brew Inc. will look to add other breweries in the future, the release noted.

Were thrilled to be a part of the Craft Brew Inc. family and we look forward to growing our footprint and creating amazing products for craft beer enthusiasts everywhere, former Columbia Craft managing member Richard Strauss said in a statement. This partnership will further develop the region and industry by continuing to position South Carolina as a leader in producing award-winning craft beer.

Peak Drift formally opened production at its 25,000-square-foot facility at 3452 North Main St. in January 2023. Meanwhile, Columbia Craft opened its Greene Street facility in the Vista in 2017.
Two attorneys are facing off on the Democratic ballot in the only contested Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge race among nine available seats.

Ohio House Rep. Richard Brown, a Canal Winchester resident who is not seeking reelection to his 5th House District seat, and Stephanie Hanna, of Dublin, are competing to replace county Common Pleas Court Judge Dan Hawkins, who is running for Ohio Supreme Court justice.

Whoever wins between Brown and Hanna will face no opposition in the general election as no Republicans filed to run for county judge this year. Eight incumbent Democrats are running for reelection to the Common Pleas Court unopposed.

Both Brown and Hanna have previously run for judge in the county and lost.

Hanna ran as a Republican twice: in 2016 for the Common Pleas Court General Division and again in 2020 for the Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division.

Several judges have switched parties from Republican to Democrat in recent years as Franklin County has become a Democratic stronghold that makes it more difficult to win as a Republican. With Hawkins' departure, there will be only one Republican left on the county Common Pleas Court out of 24 judges.

Hanna said when she was first recruited to run for judge more than a decade ago, she was working for a Republican judge. She said party labels do not define her.

Brown ran in 2008 for the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals (which covers Franklin County and most matters involving the state of Ohio), back when the county was still Republican dominated.

Brown may be best known among Columbus voters as the state representative for Ohio's 5th House District since he was appointed in 2017. Brown was reelected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He could have sought reelection and won one more term this year before he would have been term-limited by state law, but the 67-year-old said he wanted to run for judge while there's an opening and he still can.

Ohio's age limits on judges mean candidates cannot run if they would be 70 or older when they take office.

The Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to endorse Brown last month for judge after Hanna called on the committee not to endorse before the primary.

Whoever wins will join other Common Pleas Court judges dealing with a backlog of cases left from the COVID-19 pandemic, including a portion of the approximately 250 homicide cases on the county dockets. Here's what the candidates said in interviews with The Dispatch.

Richard Brown

Brown said many voters may not realize he has practiced as an attorney for 42 years, including part-time while serving in the General Assembly. He's worked predominantly in civil law, but he's also done some criminal law, including criminal appellate work.

Brown has also served as a hearing examiner for the Ohio Department of Commerce from 2009 to 2017 which he said was a role very similar to a judge during which he would hear administrative matters and arrive at decisions.

Ohio Rep. Richard Brown, who represents the state's 5th House District, is seen here on Jan. 25, 2024, asking the Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee to endorse him for an open seat on the county Common Pleas Court bench. Despite his opponent, Stephanie Hanna, calling for no endorsement, the committee endorsed Brown.

"I have practiced primarily in civil litigation which makes me perfect for this job because being a judge is handling cases in court both civil and criminal. Ive tried lawsuits all over the state of Ohio," Brown said. "Im as well qualified for this job, in my view, as you might find ... To me, running for judge now would be the culmination of my legal career."

Brown said that, like any good judge, he would bring "fairness, integrity, impartiality, compassion and respect" to the bench.

There is no magic formula to keep cases moving through the court, Brown said. It's about putting in the work to resolve procedural motions that hold up cases, he said, and he would do that. He said it's one of his pet peeves as a civil attorney when motions are pending for months.

Stephanie Hanna

Hanna, 40, said she has worked as an attorney for 15 years, mostly in public service. Since 2022, she has worked as a staff attorney for Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Brown, her opponent in the 2016 race. She helps manage the judge's civil docket and draft decisions.

Hanna has also worked as a criminal defense attorney, civil litigator and an assistant city prosecutor in Tiffin, Seneca County, in northwest Ohio.

"I can offer Franklin County something different. Less than a third of Ohios judges are women, and I want to change that. I also want to be the first Egyptian American judge in Franklin County (and only second in Ohio)," Hanna said.

Hanna said with her experience, she would be able to hit the ground running on day one to work on the backlog of cases. She also pointed out that she can serve more than one term, unlike her opponent.

Stephanie Hanna is seen here on Jan. 25, 2024, imploring the Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee not to endorse her or her opponent, State Rep. Richard Brown, in the race for county Common Pleas Court Judge. Despite her plea, the committee endorsed Brown.

Asked about her party switch from Republican to Democrat, Hanna said over the past decade she's had two kids and become more solid in her values.

"Over the last decade, labels have not defined me, whether it's supporting women-owned businesses, pride events, engaging in mental health advocacy, hosting African American and Arab American law students at my home, or serving as a PTO member and room mom at school and volunteer at church," Hanna said.

"If thats not a Democrat I dont know what is," she said.

According to voting records, Hanna voted in the Democratic primary between 2010 and 2012. She first voted as a Republican in 2014 and continued to vote in Republican primaries through 2021. She voted in a Democratic primary in 2022 and has voted as a Democrat since.

From 2011 to 2013, Hanna worked as a staff attorney and magistrate for Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Christopher Geer, a Republican.

Hanna said her main priority as a judge would be bringing a reentry docket to the court to help people granted early judicial release from prison reintegrate into society. She said Franklin County is the only large Ohio county without a reentry docket.

Brown criticized his opponent's advocacy for such a docket, saying there are many organizations out there already doing that admirable work. That's not a judge's role, he said.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Two competing in Democratic primary for Franklin County judge
VILLE PLATTE, La. (KLFY)  Two wanted men were found and arrested in Ville Platte on attempted murder charges.

According to the Evangeline Parish Sheriffs Office, detectives received information on the location of two fugitives on Tuesday.

Rayne pedestrian killed in Terrebonne Parish crash

Tylan Thomas, 21, and Jaylen Thomas, 22, both of Ville Platte, were wanted on the following charges:

Tylan  Attempted first degree murder (2), Illegal use of weapons, Illegal possession of stolen things

Jaylen  Attempted first degree murder (2), Illegal use of weapons, Accessory after the fact of 2nd degree murder

Tylan Thomas

Jaylon Thomas

Both subjects were seen inside a silver Chevy Impala, parked at a residence in the 700 block of MLK Drive in Ville Platte. The Evangeline Parish Sheriffs Office drone was deployed to the location and was seen leaving this residence. The drone was able to follow the vehicle to the 700 block of Court Street, where the vehicle parked again with the two suspects inside.

Evangeline Parish Deputies, City Police, and City Marshalls immediately went to this location and apprehended Jaylon Thomas without incident. Tylan Thomas ran away, but was eventually found and apprehended a short time later, hiding under a residence in the 200 block of W. Hickory Street.

After the arrest was made, detectives obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and found an AR-15 style rifle, a 9mm handgun, and illegal narcotics.

This investigation is still ongoing and more charges will be added.

Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com.
Whether you're worried about the U.S. economy or just want to diversify your portfolio, it can be a good idea to consider investing in companies based in other parts of the world. And some of those stocks also offer some great yields. Three foreign dividend stocks that pay more than 5% that you should consider for your portfolio are Orange (NYSE: ORAN), Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), and Ambev S.A. (NYSE: ABEV). Here's a look at how much each of these stocks yields, and why they are attractive investment options.

Orange: 6.5%

Orange is a French-based telecom provider and a big brand in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. The company has nearly 300 million customers worldwide, and operates in 26 countries.

Last year Orange reported revenue of 44.1 million euros, which rose around 2% on a year-over-year basis. Operating income improved by nearly 7% on a comparable basis, with management saying that it had met all of its financial targets for the year. Orange has streamlined its portfolio and consolidated some operations in an effort to strengthen its bottom line, which has clearly paid off for the business.

The company pays a dividend in euros, so investors are likely to see some volatility in their payouts. But with a dividend yield of 6.5%, you're still going to be getting some good bang for your buck, as that's well above the S&P 500 average of 1.4%. At less than 10 times expected future earnings, this is also a fairly cheap stock to buy.

Enbridge: 7.8%

Canadian pipeline company Enbridge helps connect the oil and gas industry with its infrastructure. It claims to operate "the world's longest and most complex crude oil and liquids transportation system," connecting producers in Canada and the U.S. Through its Mainline and Express networks, the company transports over 3 million barrels per day of crude oil and liquids.

Enbridge gives investors some good stability, as its business relies on long-term contracts. The company is coming off a strong year in 2023, with the business saying it hit its financial guidance for an 18th straight year. Adjusted earnings of 5.7 billion Canadian dollars were unchanged from a year ago, and distributable cash flow, which the company relies on to assess its dividend payments, improved by CA$0.3 billion to CA$11.3 billion for the full year.

Story continues

A decline in oil prices has made investors bearish on oil and gas stocks, but Enbridge is one of the safer ones to invest in. And with a dividend yield of 7.8%, investors can collect a lot of recurring income from this stock.

Ambev: 5.9%

The last dividend stock on this list comes from South America, with Brazilian-based Ambev providing investors with yet another solid dividend investment to consider for their portfolios. The beverage company is in 18 countries, including Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and many countries in the Caribbean. Anheuser Busch-InBev holds a 62% stake in the business, and North American customers will be familiar with many of Ambev's brands, including Corona, Stella Artois, and Budweiser. Ambev also has a relationship with PepsiCo to bottle, sell, and distribute its products in many Latin American countries, including Brazil.

Through the first nine months of 2023, Ambev's net revenue totaled just under 60 billion Brazilian reais ($12 billion), which rose 5% year over year. Ambev's profit also rose by 6.4% It has been a consistently strong performance for the business, as Ambev has reported 13 straight quarters of double-digit organic revenue growth.

The beer business is generally a resilient one to invest in and usually sees strong demand in both good times and in bad. For investors, Ambev can make for a good stock to buy that helps minimize risk while also providing a good payout. Today Ambev stock yields 5.9%.

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3 Foreign Dividend Stocks That Yield More Than 5% and Can Diversify Your Portfolio was originally published by The Motley Fool
EL CENTRO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI)  It was a work day gone wrong for a ride-share taxi cab driver after U.S. Border Patrol agents found high-dollar narcotics in their trunk.

According to a news release by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), El Centro agents encountered the ride-share, carrying four passengers, in the inspection area of an immigration checkpoint on Highway 86 around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Body of missing soldier recovered in ocean, four more still unaccounted for

CBP said the vehicle was referred for further inspection and a K-9 unit alerted agents to the trunk area, where there were several bags. A K-9 then alerted to a particular backpack and speaker that belonged to a U.S. citizen, who claimed the property.

From there, agents further searched the speaker and backpack. CBP said several wrapped packages of pills were found concealed within the items. A sample was taken from one of the packages and tested positive for the presence of fentanyl.

The total weight of the narcotics was 9.7 pounds with an estimated street value of $130,000, border officials noted.

The U.S. citizen, whose name was not released, was arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with the fentanyl pills. No one else in the vehicle was arrested.

CBP said the seizure is part of a joint regional operation known as Operation Apollo.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
According to UK Defence Intelligence, Russia's military-industrial complex is unable to fully meet the needs of its war against Ukraine but will be able to maintain superiority this year.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review dated 1 March on Twitter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: It is noted that the Russian defence industry will significantly increase production in 2023 by increasing the number of people employed in the sector to 3.5 million, growing the number of shifts, and expanding existing production lines.

At the same time, increased production is due to the restoration and modernization of existing reserves, not new production. For example, the vast majority of the main battle tanks released in 2023 are restored machines.

Furthermore, as previously stated, artillery ammunition production is expected to increase in 2023. "However, munition production is likely to peak in the next 12 months due to capacity constraints," the report said.

"Although the defence industry is unable to fully meet the demands of Russian operations against Ukraine, it is almost certainly capable of delivering a materiel advantage over Ukraine throughout 2024."

Background:

Earlier, UK Defence Intelligence analysed the Russian army's losses over the two years of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

In a review on 22 February, UK intelligence analysed how Russia justifies prolonging the war against Ukraine.

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The Rwanda policy aims to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats

The UK will pay at least 370m to Rwanda as part of its plan to relocate asylum seekers there, the government's spending watchdog has revealed.

Up to 150,000 will also be paid for each person sent to the east African country over a five-year period.

Labour said the new figures in the report by the National Audit Office (NAO) were a "national scandal".

However, the Home Office said: "Doing nothing is not without significant costs."

A spokesperson said: "Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach 11bn per year by 2026.

"Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle."

The NAO report comes after MPs have been calling for greater transparency over the cost of the scheme.

Under the five-year deal, the UK would be able to send individuals who arrive in the country illegally to Rwanda to claim asylum there.

The aim of the policy is to deter people from crossing the English Channel in small boats - something Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made one of his key priorities.

However, the scheme has been stalled by legal challenges and no one has been relocated there yet.

The government says it is aiming for deportation flights to take off by the spring.

Legislation seeking to revive the plan has been approved by MPs and will be debated in the House of Lords next week, where critics are likely to seize on the latest costs.

Under the scheme, the Home Office has agreed to pay money into a fund to support economic growth in Rwanda, as well as providing extra payments to cover the cost of processing and relocating individuals there.

The UK has already paid 220m into the economic development fund since April 2022, with further annual payments of 50m scheduled for the next three years.

This amounts to a total of 370m over five years.

If more than 300 people are eventually sent to Rwanda, the UK would pay a one-off sum of 120m into the fund, with further payments of 20,000 per individual relocated.

On top of this, the UK government would also provide up to 150,874 per person to cover costs such as accommodation, food and education.

These payments would stop if the individual chooses to leave Rwanda, with the UK instead paying 10,000 per person to facilitate their departure.

The NAO's report also reveals that the cost of setting up the scheme could rise from 20m to 28m.

There are also expected to be other future costs, including an estimated 11,000 per individual for flights to Rwanda.

The NAO does not come to a judgement on whether the scheme is value for money as the watchdog said this would depend on whether it is successful in deterring people from coming to the UK illegally.

Labour has pledged to scrap the Rwanda policy if it wins the next election, describing it as an expensive "gimmick".

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "This report reveals the national scandal the Tories have been trying to hide.

"Its shocking analysis shows the costs of the failed Rwanda farce are even higher than previously thought."

The report was produced in response to a request from two cross-party committees of MPs - the Public Accounts and Home Affairs Committees.

In December the Home Office's most senior civil servant wrote to the chairwomen of both committees to reveal some of the costs associated with the scheme but they said this did not provide enough information on how much had been spent so far.
Deportation flights to Rwanda are still to get off the ground - Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

The UK will pay Rwanda 171,000 per asylum seeker relocated under the partnership scheme, a report from the Governments spending watchdog has found.

The Government will hand over 20,000 to Rwanda for each illegal migrant sent there, and then a further 151,000 over five years to cover essential items including food and medical services.

The Home Office has also said it would pay Rwanda 120 million once the first 300 people have been deported to the country  on top of the 370 million already agreed as part of the deal.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report released on Thursday, reveals that the costs of deporting asylum seekers to Rwanda are even higher than previously thought.

The findings have been described as staggering, with Labour condemning the scheme and its associated costs as a national scandal.

Senior Home Office civil servants had refused to tell MPs on the home affairs committee last year whether any extra payments had been made since 2022, which is understood to have prompted the NAO investigation.

Last December, The Telegraph revealed that Britain agreed an extra 100 million to Rwanda in April, on top of the 140 million already paid, without a single flight having taken off.

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said: This report reveals the national scandal the Tories have been trying to hide.

She added: In order to send less than one per cent of UK asylum seekers to Rwanda on a few symbolic flights, the taxpayer will be forced to fork out over half a billion pounds  with no ability to recover any of the money already sent. This is the equivalent of nearly 2 million per person sent.

The Illegal Migration Act is designed to give ministers powers to detain and deport anyone who arrives in the UK illegally - BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

Dame Diana Johnson, Labour MP and chairman of the home affairs committee, said: These are staggering figures. For all its rhetoric about ensuring value for money in the asylum and immigration system it is unclear how schemes such as Rwanda or Bibby Stockholm achieve that.

Huge initial outlay and ongoing costs raise serious questions about how this can be cost-effective, even compared to high hotel accommodation costs.

She added: For a scheme whose importance is apparently self-evident, we would expect the evidence base to be far clearer, not presented in dribs and drabs and getting worse every time.

The 150,874 per person sent to Rwanda would be spent on essential items such as food, medical services, education, language training and professional development, according to the report, and would be paid over five years.

The department has agreed that it would stop the payments if an illegal migrant decided then to leave Rwanda, but would pay the country 10,000 to help facilitate a voluntary departure.

The Home Office also estimated that it would have to spend 11,000 per reclocated asylum seeker in flight costs alone, including the price of fuel and chartering planes.

The Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset has been home to asylum seekers since August 2023 - Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

The Rwanda plan is central to Rishi Sunaks illegal migration act, which is designed to give ministers powers to detain anyone who arrives in the UK illegally and deport them to a safe third country or their homelands.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly insisted that flights to Rwanda will take off before the next general election, including appearing to agree to a 1,000 bet with Piers Morgan on it.

But to be able to achieve this, the Government will need to pass the Safety of Rwanda Bill  currently in the House of Lords  to confirm Rwanda as safe for asylum seekers.

The Bill passed through the Commons in January, despite criticism from some in the Conservative Party who wanted it to go further.

A spokesman for the Home Office defended the scheme, insisting that doing nothing is not without significant costs.

Unless we act, the cost of housing asylum seekers is set to reach 11 billion per year by 2026.

Illegal migration costs lives and perpetuates human trafficking, and it is therefore right that we fund solutions to break this unsustainable cycle.

We have a strong relationship with Rwanda and both sides remain absolutely determined to deliver on this partnership.

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The UK has privately urged Germany to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine  a move German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected, saying it would involve Berlin too deeply in the war with Russia, Bloomberg reported.

The advanced Taurus missiles have a range of 310 miles, and would allow embattled Ukraine to continue its campaign of strikes deep behind Russian lines. While Kyiv has received similar weapons from France and the UK, both countries have limited stockpiles to draw from.

At a town hall meeting on Thursday, Scholz said that the missiles if used incorrectly could reach a specific target somewhere in Moscow, and that German troops would need to assist in selecting targets  an unacceptable level of involvement for Germany. We have to make sure that we know where it will land, he added.

Scholz irked British officials after appearing to divulge sensitive details of British and French troops assisting Ukraine in operating long-range weapons, saying that what the British and French are doing in terms of target control and accompanying target control cannot be done in Germany.

One British lawmaker called the comments wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies on Thursday.

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

Long-range missiles key for Ukraines strike campaign

Sources: Reuters, Tagesspiegel, War on the Rocks

Ukraine has been asking Germany for months to provide Taurus cruise missiles, which have a longer range than any of its existing arsenal and would allow Kyiv to strike deeper into Russian-occupied Crimea. These missiles are capable of striking inaccessible locations of enemy aircraft, missile systems and ammunition depots, Ukraines deputy defense minister said in an interview with Tagesspiegel. But while long-range strikes complicate life for Russian forces, they are not a substitute for a major ground offensive if Ukraine is again able to build up manpower and supplies to break through Russian defenses, three prominent military experts wrote in War on Rocks. Kyivs attempt to break through Russian defense lines last summer ended in failure, but the three security experts argued that Kyiv could be ready to mount a new offensive next year if given enough Western assistance.

European allies squabble over missiles, ammunition, and boots on the ground

Sources: Financial Times, Politico, Welt

As well as the spat over missiles, European partners have argued over how to supply Ukraine with ammunition and whether to rule out putting boots on the ground in the warzone. France has demanded that EU funds only be spent to reimburse purchases of ammunition and weapons for Ukraine from within the European Economic Area, maintaining that EU defense funds should help foster Europes military industry, the Financial Times reported. By contrast, Italy, Poland, and Finland have argued that the EU needs to look beyond Europes borders for military supplies because EU producers cannot meet Ukraines demands, the FT said.

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said nothing should be ruled out regarding the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, forcing Western leaders to address an issue that previously has been largely in the background. The notion was quickly disavowed by leaders from the U.S., Germany, and other NATO countries. Macrons troops stunt was about portraying him as a staunch defender of Kyiv and distracting from the money, one EU diplomat told the FT. It has infuriated the Germans.

If Germany and France present themselves with bickering and disagreement in the eyes of the Russians, where will the champagne corks pop? Not in Washington and not in Italy, but in Moscow, a former German diplomat told the German news outlet Welt.
(Bloomberg) -- The UK government has privately urged Germany to provide long-range Taurus missiles to the government in Kyiv as London expressed irritation over comments made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about British activity in Ukraine.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Senior British ministers and officials have repeatedly made clear to Germany that Ukraine badly needs its Taurus missiles, according to people familiar with the matter. The UK offered solutions to Berlins resistance to sending them, including a swap deal that would see Britain supply Kyiv with more of its own Storm Shadow missiles, and Germany then restock the UK with replacement long-range missiles.

Germany should stop making excuses, said one British official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations between the countries.

Scholzs behavior has showed that as far as the security of Europe goes he is the wrong man, in the wrong job, at the wrong time, former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told the Evening Standard newspaper on Thursday.

Scholz this week ruled out sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine, arguing it would mean Germany would become a party to the war with Russia.

At a town hall meeting with citizens in Dresden on Thursday, Scholz explained his reasoning that Germany could not give Ukraine a weapon with a range of 500km (310 miles) that, if used incorrectly, could reach a target in Moscow. He added: We have to make sure that we know where it will land, suggesting the only way to do that would be to have German troops assisting with target-control.

That speaks to a wider argument that has developed between the UK and Germany over Scholzs apparent reference this week to British and French troops assisting Ukrainians with the operation of long-range weapons systems against Russian targets.

What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and accompanying target control cannot be done in Germany, Scholz said on Monday.

Those remarks have been seen by some British lawmakers as Scholz publicly commenting on the classified activities of UK soldiers in Ukraine. A small number of personnel are supporting the armed forces of Ukraine, Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks spokesman Dave Pares said on Tuesday, offering no details.

Scholzs comments are wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies, Alicia Kearns, chair of the UKs foreign affairs select committee, said in a post on the social media site X. Scholz should give Taurus and stop holding back the security of Europe.

Nils Schmid, a senior lawmaker from Scholzs Social Democratic Party who sits on the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said the chancellors remarks on British activity in Ukraine had only referred to publicly available arguments.

The reaction of some British Conservative politicians is completely exaggerated, Schmid told Bloomberg, calling the matter an artificially manufactured furor that distracts from the real issue of ammunition for Ukraine.

In substance, the cooperation between the British and German governments in support of Ukraine has been very good since the war began, he said.

--With assistance from Iain Rogers, Arne Delfs and Patrick Donahue.

(Updates with comments from German lawmaker from 11th paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
UK government has privately urged Germany to supply Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, Bloomberg reported on March 1, citing sources.

Read also: Artillery shells and drones in new German aid package

Senior UK officials have repeatedly made it clear to Germany that Ukraine desperately needs its Taurus missiles. London offered a way to overcome Berlins resistance to supplying the missiles by proposing a swap deal. The UK would provide Kyiv with more of its Storm Shadow missiles, while Germany would then restock them with replacement long-range missiles.

Germany should stop making excuses, said one UK official on condition of anonymity.

Read also: Finland sets no limits for Ukraine to use its weapons for strikes on Russian territory  Finnish Parliament

A wider dispute has developed between the UK and Germany over German Chancellor Olaf Scholzs statement on UK and French troops assisting Ukrainians in operating long-range weapon systems against Russian targets, Bloomberg said.

What the British and French are doing in terms of target control and accompanying target control cannot be done in Germany, Scholz said.

Some UK lawmakers interpreted these comments as a public disclosure of classified activities involving UK soldiers in Ukraine.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in September 2023 that Berlin did not refuse to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but was not ready to do so.

The reason could be Scholzs wavering, as previously reported by the media, he expressed concern that Kyiv could attack Russian territory.

Ukraine has repeatedly stated that it will not use Western long-range missiles to strike Russian territory

Read also: Ukraine to finally receive more long-range weapons after Macron announces allied coalition

The Bundestag did not support a resolution on Jan. 17 calling for the supply of long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Only 178 out of 666 MPs voted in favor.

Christian Freuding, head of the Special Staff for Ukraine at the German Defense Ministry, said on Feb. 5 that long-range Taurus missiles cannot turn the tide of war in favor of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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The Houthis will continue carrying out attacks in the Red Sea unless they are faced by forces on the ground in addition to the current Western air campaign, according to senior members of Yemens internationally recognised government.

The US and UK are engaged in military strikes to combat the threat from the militia against international shipping in one of the worlds busiest trade routes which is causing severe damage to the world economy.

But the Houthis are well able to sustain losses due to the huge arsenal they have built up, warned the Yemeni officials. The militia started their campaign in retaliation for the Israeli invasion of Gaza and have vowed to carry on until there is a ceasefire, but they are highly unlikely to abandon the leverage they have gained through their ability to hit international shipping.

The only effective way the US and UK can counter that would be to arm and train the forces of the UN-backed government to take part in ground operations against the Houthis while providing air cover, they told The Independent during a visit to London.

The strife in the Red Sea shows no sign of ending at present. The Biden administration claimed this week that Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, have sent teams to Yemen to help the Houthis launch their assaults.

Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, told a Senate subcommittee in Washington that the Iranian and Hezbollah operatives are equipping and facilitating drone and missile strikes aimed at commercial vessels and American and British warships.

Credible public reports suggest a significant number of Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah operatives are supporting attacks from inside Yemen, he said, adding that the Houthis are not being deterred by the Western armed response they have faced so far.

The fact that they have continued this [campaign] and have said publicly that they will not stop until theres a ceasefire in Gaza is an indication that were not yet at the point, unfortunately, where they do intend to dial back, said Mr Lenderking.

A decade of brutal civil war in Yemen had resulted in the death of more than 150,000 people by bombs and bullets. Another 227,000 are estimated, by the UN, of dying from famine and lack of basic healthcare.

RAF Typhoon FRG4s are prepared to conduct strikes over Yemen (UK MOD  Crown copyright 2024)

A military intervention by a Saudi led coalition of Gulf states, Egypt and Pakistan, backed by the West, lasted for more than seven years before a recent ceasefire agreement between the Saudis and the Houthis.

Two officials from the Southern Transitional Council (STC), part of the UN-recognised Yemeni government, are in London to meet Foreign Office diplomats and politicians, before going to Washington for talks with the state department and members of Congress.

Preliminary talks on the Houthi crisis took place between with foreign secretary David Cameron last month at the Davos economic forum where the scale of the commercial harm caused by the Red Sea attacks was one of the main topics under discussion.

The senior STC officials, Amr Al-Bidh and Nabeel Bin-Lasem, stressed that their visit to the UK and US follow growing concern in the Middle East and beyond about the long-term danger posed by the Houthis. Egypt has been particularly hard hit by vessels diverting from the Suez Canal to sail around Africa.

The Houthis are part of the Axis of Resistance comprised of Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Iraqi and Syrian Shia, a common front against America and Israel, set up in the region. And, apart from Hamas fighting in Gaza, the Houthis have been the most militarily active among the Axis.

Operations on the ground does not mean that the UK or US have to do it themselves. It does not mean it means empowering the Yemeni government so they can do this, said Mr Al-Bidh. We have forces which are capable and also experienced against the Houthis, so preparation for any operation that needs to take place should not take too long.

Cutting the smuggling from the Iranians to Yemen as much as possible would be a big step, it is the smuggling which is keeping the Houthis supplied.

The southern part of Yemen, outside Houthi control, has suffered greatly from the disruption to shipping with an acute shortage of essential products including food and fuel. The UN-backed government want security operations to be accompanied by a raft of economic measures against the Houthis, including sanctions on individuals and organisations, and encouraging international bodies to move out of Houthi run areas.

A comprehensive approach would be the deterrence which would tackle the Houthis and limit the threat they pose now and in the future, said Mr Al-Bidh.  Otherwise the West may have to keep going back to carry out air strikes each time they threaten freedom of navigation.
The U.S. House of Representatives will not vote on additional military aid funding for Ukraine this week, instead returning to the issue "as soon as the [U.S.] government is funded," House Speaker Mike Johnson told Voice of America on Feb. 29.

Read also: Congress learned about Russian anti-satellite weapons weeks ago  Johnson

According to Johnson, the Congress will focus on securing the U.S.-Mexico border and avoiding a government shutdown.

If we're going to fix everything in this world, we need to fix America first, said Johnson.

That means two things: protecting the border and funding our government. So, we're working very hard this week to do both.

He added that the House is considering all available options to allocate aid to Ukraine and will revisit the issue once the "government is funded."

Read also: Pentagon considers dipping into 'last funding source' for Ukraine  report

CNN reported that on Feb. 29, the House voted on a stopgap bill that would extend federal funding and prevent a shutdown until March 22, giving legislators more time to pass a full appropriation bill.

Read also: NATO's future at risk if Ukraine falls, warns former U.S. commander Hodges

On Feb. 28, speakers of 23 parliaments and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola appealed to Johnson to pass the $60 billion Ukraine aid bill.

For months, the U.S. Congress has been unable to pass a bill to provide aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. Republicans have blocked the vote, demanding stricter immigration policies and enhanced border security with Mexico.

Read also: Lack of ammunition caused by U.S. Congress stalling aid for UA causing extremely serious situation

Republicans are under the influence of former President Donald Trump, who has urged the party to reject a compromise deal on immigration, according to American media reports. Biden has accused Trump of trying to intimidate Republicans in the House and Senate from voting for the bill regarding Ukraine.

The U.S. Senate in a final vote on Feb. 13 supported a bill that provides aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan amounting to $95 billion, with $60 billion designated for Kyiv.

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Ukraine reported the downing of 13 Russian warplanes within the last two weeks, among the highest Russian Air Force losses since the early days of the full-scale invasion.

This list includes 10 Su-34 fighter bombers, two Su-35 fighter jets, and one more rare A-50 military spy plane. Another A-50 aircraft was downed a month prior. The last three Su-34s were reportedly destroyed in a single day on Feb. 29 over eastern Ukraine.

The rapid destruction of aircraft comes amid Russia's attempts to advance on the battlefield after the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka and three villages in Donetsk Oblast, in addition to Ukraine's widely mentioned ammunition shortage.

Russia's total losses during the all-out war amount to about 670 aircraft units  345 planes and 325 helicopters, according to Ukraine's General Staff. Most of the planes were downed in the early days of the all-out war.

Air Force branch commander, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk, said on Feb. 27 that Russia should start thinking about decreasing the number of sorties.

But what led to the sudden February uptick in Ukrainian successful strikes?

Ukraine's 'new tools'

In the recent more aggressive attacks against Ukrainian troops in the east, Russian forces have "overcome the fear" of using aircraft directly over the battlefield, Ukraine's Centre for Defense Strategies wrote in one of its latest summaries.

This helped the Russian troops but resulted in the loss of aviation.

Guided aerial bombs, which Russia regularly drops from Su-34 and Su-35 planes to attack front-line settlements, remain one of its weapons that Ukraine is not yet able to counter.

Yuriy Ihnat, Air Force spokesman, said on national television on Feb. 29 that these days, hundreds of such bombs have been launched at Ukrainian positions in the Avdiivka sector.

"To drop a bomb, Russia needs a distance of under 100 kilometers  this is 3040 kilometers, sometimes even closer. It all depends on the modification of the bomb, the flight distance, the altitude of the aircraft," Oleksandr Kovalenko, military analyst and co-founder of the Information Resistance project, told the Kyiv Independent.

Ukraine now has "tools" to destroy planes "at quite long distances," Ihnat told the Kyiv Independent, explaining the recent uptick.

"Ukraine has more means to reach the enemy. And it is very important to provide Ukraine with more systems and ammunition (for those tools)  anti-aircraft-guided missiles. They are produced slowly, and we have a serious expense," the Air Force spokesman added.

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the U.K.-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), told BBC that Russia's recent losses in aviation may be due to the fact that "Ukraine is being more aggressive with risking Patriot launchers close to the front lines."

Ukraine's Air Forces don't comment on such claims, and it is unknown what kind of weapons the Ukrainian military used for the rapid destruction of Russian aviation.

Ukraine has a layered air defense system: medium-range systems include IRIS-T, NASAMS, and long-range ones  Patriot, SAMP/T, and S-300.

Primarily, these systems are used to repel Russia's regular missile strikes across Ukraine and can be moved closer to the border or the front line after a decision of the military leadership.

In May 2023, the Patriot air defense system destroyed immediately as many as five aircraft units over Bryansk Oblast in Russia  Su-34 and Su-35 planes, two rare Mi-8MTPR-1 helicopters, and one Mi-8 helicopter, Air Forces confirmed, calling it "a brilliant operation."

New -50 loss

Ukraine's most prized hit was the A-50 spy plane that was destroyed on Feb. 23 over Russia's territory, near the town of Yeysk, about 200 kilometers from the front line.

Ukrainian soldiers could have shot it down using the Soviet S-200 air defense system, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Feb. 23, citing an unnamed source of Ukraine's military intelligence agency.

Earlier, Russia claimed that Ukraine had allegedly used revived S-200 anti-aircraft systems, which Ukraine withdrew from service in 2013.

The Ukrainian authorities and military have not officially confirmed the possible modernization and use of the S-200.

"Withdrawal (of S-200 from use) does not mean its destruction or disposal, so everything can be possible," Kovalenko said, commenting on the rumors.

In January, Ukraine reportedly shot down the first A-50 over the Sea of Azov and damaged an Ilyushin Il-22 plane that operates as an airborne command post along with it.

The destruction of two A-50s in 2024 cost Russia about $700 million, while the total number of such aircraft is down to six, according to Ukraine's Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov.

Russian airborne early warning and control aircraft Beriev A-50U on March 10, 2017. (Sergey Lutsenko/Wikimedia Commons)

Experts say it's too early to link the recent uptick in aircraft losses to the downing of the A-50, which provides several critical functions for Russia's Air Force, such as detecting air defense systems, guided missiles, and coordinating targets for Russian fighter jets.

"The number of A-50s Russia has left is enough to cover the airspace around the clock and conduct reconnaissance activities," Kovalenko told the Kyiv Independent.

"The nuance is the distance at which you need to be. Intelligence information depends on this."

After the destruction of the second A-50, Russia has not used these aircraft for several days. Air Force spokesman Ihnat believes that this could have helped Ukraine shoot down Russian planes at longer range.

'Closed circle'

The destruction of numerous aircraft over the past two weeks has helped push Russian planes away from the front line and decrease the intensity of the use of aerial bombs, Ihnat said.

"Russia realizes that we have something to destroy them with. Therefore, after the destruction of so many aircraft, they will be less aggressive," he told the Kyiv Independent.

At the same time, he said, Russia still has enough planes in its arsenal for war, and the issue is the number of weapons  bombs and missiles.

A Ukrainian army's press officer stands next to the debris of Russian air strike aircraft Su-34 at a collection point of destroyed Russian armoured vehicles at an animal feed plant in the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region, on Oct. 5, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images)

Kovalenko calls the Su-34 Russia's "main working aircraft" for guided bomb attacks on Ukrainian military fortified areas and defense lines.

"They (Russia) understand that every flight of the Su-34 is risky and could end in a shootdown. On the other hand, they can't do anything if they don't use them, as they can only attack with them. For Russia, there's no alternative. Fly and die."

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Activists occupy an area in the forest in Groenheide, Germany, Friday March 1, 2024. Environmental activists are staging a protest in a forest near Berlin against plans to expand the grounds of electric car maker Teslas first plant in Europe and are vowing to stay in place for weeks. About 100 activists have been occupying part of the forest since early Thursday, according to an initiative called Stop Tesla. (Cevin Dettlaff/dpa via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BERLIN (AP)  Environmental activists are staging a protest in a forest near Berlin against plans to expand the grounds of electric carmaker Tesla's first plant in Europe and are vowing to stay in place for weeks.

Between 80 and 100 activists have been camping in the forest since early Thursday, according to an initiative called Stop Tesla. They put up tents and built treehouses, some of them several meters above the ground  a tactic used in previous German environmental protests.

Police have decided that the demonstration can continue until at least March 15 and are keeping an eye on what is going on, but see no need to break up the protest camp, German news agency dpa reported Friday.

Tesla opened the factory in Gruenheide, just outside Berlin, in March 2022  launching a challenge to German automakers on their home turf.

The company now wants to expand the facility to add a freight depot, warehouses and a company kindergarten. Those plans would entail felling more than 100 hectares (247 acres) of forest.

That has drawn opposition from environmentalists and some other local groups, who also worry about possible effects on the area's water supply. In a nonbinding vote in mid-February, residents of the Gruenheide municipality rejected Tesla's plans, which still need approval by local authorities.

About 12,500 people work at the plant.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Mark Rutte. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, have signed a bilateral agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands on 1 March in the city of Kharkiv.

Source: European Pravda with reference to the Office of the President

Details: Zelenskyy said that the agreement provided for the supply of 2 billion of military aid to Ukraine by the Netherlands in 2024 and for further defence aid during the next decade.

The document defines the priorities of aid supply in the sectors of air defence, artillery, naval and long-range weapons, with a focus on strengthening the Ukrainian Air Force.

Quote: "The document has expanded blocks on sanctions, compensation for damages and bringing the aggressor state to justice. The agreement clearly reaffirms the Netherlands' support for Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO."

The document also defines a 24-hour emergency response mechanism in the event of repeated military aggression against Ukraine.

Hanke Bruins Slot, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, announced the signing of the agreement last week. She stated back then that the agreement would become a powerful signal for Russia, which hopes that the Western support of Ukraine will stop with time.

Background: As of today, Ukraine has also signed security agreements with the UK, Germany, France and Denmark, as well as with Italy and Canada.

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Ukraine eliminated more than 900 Russian soldiers over the past 24 hours, bringing Russian personnel losses to 412,610 since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraines General Staff reported on March 1.

Since Feb. 24, 2022, Russia also has lost:

Tanks:  6610 (+17) units

Combat armored vehicles: 12,582 (+30) units

Artillery systems: 10,106 (+36) units

Multiple rocket launchers: 1000 (+0) units

Anti-aircraft defense systems: 691 (+1) units

Aircraft: 345 (+3) units

Helicopters: 325 (+0) units

Tactical-level UAVs: 7794 (+26)

Cruise missiles: 1912 (+0)

Ships/boats: 25 (+0) units

Submarines: 1 (+0) units

Automotive equipment and tanker trucks: 13,206 (+54) units

Special equipment: 1,611 (+10).

The information is being updated, General Staff added.

Read also: If the Russian army loses another A-50, they will have to stop round-the-clock patrolling

Ukrainian Armed Forces took down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets in one day, the first jet was shot down in the eastern sector of the front, two more Russian Su-34s - in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors.

Ukraine has shot down a total of 13 Su jets in February, marking a record number since October 2022, Defense Ministry reported.



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Key developments on March 1:

Rutte signs Dutch-Ukrainian long-term security agreement in Kharkiv

Military: Ukraine partially retakes ground near Avdiivka while Russia pushes toward Chasiv Yar

Defense Ministry: Ukraine downs 13 Russian aircraft in February

Russian proxy says air defense active in occupied Crimea amid reported explosions

WSJ: Russia's peace terms include Ukraine outside NATO, smaller military, 2022 document shows.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a 10-year agreement on security cooperation between Ukraine and the Netherlands in Kharkiv, Zelensky announced on March 1.

"The document includes 2 billion euros in military aid from the Netherlands this year, as well as further defense assistance over the next ten years," Zelensky said.

"It also prioritizes the provision of air defense, artillery, sea, and long-range capabilities, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Ukraine's air force."

The Netherlands joins the U.K., Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, and Canada, which have signed similar deals to help Ukraine repel Russia's aggression based on a pledge made by the Group of Seven (G7) last July.

Rutte is reportedly the leading contender to become the next NATO Secretary General when the mandate of Jens Stoltenberg ends on Oct. 1, after 10 years in the role.

Under Rutte, the Netherlands has taken a proactive role in supporting Ukraine, for example by spearheading the fighter jet coalition and pledging to deliver 24 F-16 jets to Ukraine.

Rutte told journalists on Feb. 26 that the Netherlands will provide 100 million euros ($108.5 million) in aid to support Czechia's plan to procure hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds for Ukraine from outside the EU.

Military: Ukraine partially retakes ground near Avdiivka while Russia pushes toward Chasiv Yar

Russia has ramped up attacks in the Avdiivka sector, but Ukrainian forces continue to hold ground and have even retaken some lost positions, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria group of forces, said on Telegram on March 1.

Ukraine was forced to withdraw from Avdiivka, a key front-line city in Donetsk Oblast, on Feb. 17 and from other nearby villages soon after. Russia has intensified offensive actions along the front as Ukraine's Armed Forces face serious ammunition shortages due to delays in U.S. aid.

According to Tarnavskyi, Russian forces are increasing artillery strikes and infantry assaults near Avdiivka while calling up reserves. The Ukrainian general described the situation as "dynamic," as Ukraine's forces retook lost ground in some areas and set up additional firing positions and observation points.

Over the past day, Ukrainian troops repelled 25 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector, the commander said, killing or wounding 319 soldiers and destroying 36 pieces of equipment.

Moscow's troops have also been focusing their efforts near Chasiv Yar, a city west of occupied Bakhmut.

The Khortytsia group of forces' spokesperson, Illia Yevlash, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russia accumulated a large force in the sector and is currently launching a "powerful thrust" toward Chasiv Yar.

Russia sees the city as crucial for further advances toward Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, Yevlash said.

"Preparations for Chasiv Yar's defense have been underway for a long time, even when the enemy captured Bakhmut," Yevlash noted, adding that the city is protected by minefields and anti-tank barriers.

Russian forces are trying to find weak spots in the defenses and focus efforts there to break through, according to the spokesperson.

Defense Ministry: Ukraine downs 13 Russian aircraft in February

Ukraine's Armed Forces shot downed 13 Russian aircraft in February, the Defense Ministry reported on March 1.

This is the biggest number of planes Ukraine managed to destroy in a single month since October 2022, according to the ministry.

The 13 aircraft downed in February include 10 Su-34 fighter jets, two Su-35 fighter jets, and one A-50 early warning and control aircraft, the report said.

"We are grateful to our soldiers for their efficient work. And to our partners - for strengthening the air defense capabilities of Ukraine," the ministry said.

Earlier on Feb. 29 Ukraine shot down three Su-34 jets in a single day, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat confirmed to the Kyiv Independent. Each plane is estimated to cost around $36 million.

Russia has decreased the usage of A-50, as it lost two aircraft of this type in January and February, Ihnat said on television on Feb. 27.

One A-50 aircraft costs around $330 million.

According to the General Staff, Ukraine has downed a total of 345 Russian planes since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion.

Read also: Ukraine destroyed 13 Russian military aircraft in 2 weeks. How?

Russian proxy says air defense active in occupied Crimea amid reported explosions

Air defense was active in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, the Russian proxy leader in the city, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said on March 1 amid reports of explosions, urging people to stay in shelters.

Blasts could be heard in Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia, and near Simferopol in occupied Crimea, Suspilne and local Telegram channels reported, citing local residents.

According to the Crimean Wind Telegram channel, there was a successful hit against the Hvardiiske airbase not far from Simferopol. Suspilne also said that explosions were heard near Hvardiiske and that smoke could be seen above a bridge.

"The military is working to destroy aerial targets," Razvozhayev said on his Telegram.

Crimean Wind wrote that smoke could be seen over a bay in Sevastopol, publishing accompanying footage.

Razvozhayev claimed that smoke visible in Sevastopol is the "(Russian) military using standard means of camouflage," claiming that no damage was recorded.

The Kerch Bridge and the Dzhankoi checkpoint in Sevastopol have been closed, Ukrinform reported.

Read also: How has Crimea changed after 10 years of Russian occupation?

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims, and Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on the incident.

In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on occupied Crimea, targeting Russian military assets in and around the Black Sea.

Ukrainian forces damaged at least three Russian military aircraft at the Belbek military airfield near Sevastopol on Feb. 2, Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed.

WSJ: Russia's peace terms include Ukraine outside NATO and smaller military, 2022 document shows

A peace plan proposal drafted during Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in 2022 would see Ukraine turn into a militarily neutered country, permanently vulnerable to Russian aggression, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 1 after reviewing the document.

The proposals illustrate the tough concessions Kyiv would have to take to conclude the 2022 talks, which ultimately failed as Ukraine began turning the tide in the war and Western support poured in.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Moscow's plans have largely remained the same. As Ukraine faces an increasingly precarious position in the war, compared by some to the first days of the full-scale invasion, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly signaled a willingness to restart peace talks on his terms.

According to the 17-page document dated April 15, 2022, Ukraine would be allowed to seek EU membership but not entry to NATO or any other military bloc. Ukraine's Armed Forces would have to be reduced to a certain size, no foreign weapons would be stationed on its territory, and Crimea would remain de facto in Russian hands.

Russia would see Ukrainian forces limited to 85,000 troops, 342 tanks, and 519 artillery pieces, while Ukrainian negotiators wanted 250,000 troops, 800 tanks, and 1,900 artillery pieces, according to the document.

Read also: Opinion: 6 obstacles to peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia

Russia also reportedly wanted to limit the range of Ukrainian missiles to 40 kilometers (25 miles).

Moscow pushed for the Russian language to be treated on par with the Ukrainian one in Ukraine's government and courts, a condition that Ukrainian negotiators did not agree with, the WSJ said.

The status of eastern regions occupied by Russia since 2014 was to be agreed on in a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. The meeting did not take place.

The treaty would be guaranteed by foreign powers, including the U.S., the U.K., China, France, and Russia. These countries would be given responsibility to defend Ukraine's "neutrality" if it were violated, the WSJ wrote. Russia reportedly aimed to add Belarus to the list of guarantors, while Ukraine wanted to include Turkey.

Ukraine has previously received similar assurances from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which called for international assistance if Ukraine "should become a victim of an act of aggression" in exchange for the country relinquishing its nuclear arsenal. Russia broke this treaty in 2014 by illegally occupying Crimea and part of Donbas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently offered to host a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine repeatedly said the peace talks should be held on the basis of its 10-step peace formula, which includes a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Moscow has rejected this proposal.

Ukraine works with Switzerland to organize a global peace summit in the Alpine country. Over 160 countries will be invited to discuss Kyiv's peace formula and create a joint document on what needs to be done to restore the countrys sovereignty.

Read also: Opinion: Will Europe ever get serious about defense?

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Ukraine war in maps: Kyiv fears Russian advances in summer should it not get more ammunition

Kyiv warns of potential Russian advances in the summer

Ukrainian officials fear that Russian troops may be able to make significant gains this summer should Kyiv's Western allies fail to provide new artillery ammunition soon, new reports say.

According to Bloomberg, Ukraine's current assessment of the situation on the battlefield looks "bleak" as its troops are unable to hold off Russian attacks as they try to ration the number of shells they can fire before completely running out.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last weekend that Russian forces are preparing for a new offensive that is expected to start in late May or summer 2024.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russian troops could make major advances as soon as this summer, with Russia's President Vladimir Putin still planning to take the Ukrainian capital.

At the moment, some of the heaviest fighting in Ukraine continues west of Adviivka, where Russian forces have reportedly captured several settlements.

Geolocated footage analysed by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows that Russian forces have so far advanced into fields south and southwest of Stepove, to the northwest of Avdiivka, and northwest of Lastochkyne, which lies west of Avdiivka.

Ukraine and the Netherlands strike security deal

Zelenskyy and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte signed a deal on Friday under which 2 billion in military aid from the Netherlands will be delivered to Ukraine through 2024, to be followed by further defence assistance over the next 10 years.

"I am grateful to Prime Minister Rutte for this agreement, which will strengthen the protection of Ukraine, including the city of Kharkiv, where we met today," Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post on X.

"According to the document, the Netherlands also supports Ukraine's future membership in the EU and NATO."

The deal was signed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

"Ukraine is now assured of our ongoing support and engagement: not only across the spectrum of defence cooperation, but also in the areas of reconstruction, sanctions and the fight for truth and justice," Rutte wrote on X.

"We stand side by side with Ukraine, together with a broad, international coalition of like-minded countries," he continued. "My visit today made it all the more clear to me that Putin cannot be allowed to win this barbaric war. Ukraine must prevail. Humanity must prevail. Peace and justice must prevail."
The Ukrainian President's Office has described the clause on Russia's responsibility for the war against Ukraine in the agreement with the Netherlands as the "strongest" of all the bilateral agreements signed so far. It also mentions a special tribunal for Russia's aggression in The Hague.

Source: Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, commenting on the agreement, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The official stated that the document enshrines "the most powerful provisions" on sanctions, damages and bringing Russia to justice.

"The section on Russia's responsibility in this agreement is the finest and strongest out of all the agreements... In particular, the agreement enshrines the proposal of the Netherlands to host the future special tribunal for the crime of aggression in The Hague!" Zhovkva pointed out.

The agreement is also notable because it is the first to enshrine support for Ukraine's cultural heritage, particularly within the framework of the 1954 UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

Zhovkva explained the details of the agreement's military part, noting that it explicitly mentions providing long-range weapons and F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. It also refers to the attraction of Dutch investments in developing Ukraine's defence industrial base, particularly regarding UAV production.

"Signing such an agreement in the frontline city of Kharkiv is a symbolic step. The Netherlands has sent a clear signal to the world and the aggressor that they will stand with Ukraine until victory," he concluded.

The text of the agreement itself has not yet been released. The Ukrainian President's Office has only provided a summary of the document.

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On 29 February, the Ukrainian military successfully targeted a Pantsir-C1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system located near the village of Golovchino in Grayvoronsky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russian Federation.

Source: press service of Ukraines Defence Intelligence

Details: According to Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, on 29 February 2024, a Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system was damaged after a precise strike by Ukrainian forces.

Reports indicate that the anti-aircraft missile and gun system was disabled as a result of the strike, and the crew suffered sanitary losses. Two Russian soldiers were also injured.

Ukraines Defence Intelligence emphasises that the Pantsir-S1 is intended to protect military and military-industrial facilities and costs approximately US$15 million.

Golovchino is located about ten kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

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(Bloomberg) -- Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. delayed its annual report and indicated that a material weakness in its internal controls wont have a broad impact on earnings.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Chicago-based company, one of the worlds top agricultural commodity traders, said the issue with internal controls relates to the way it reports sales between segments, according to a regulatory filing Friday. As a result, it doesnt expect an impact on balance sheets, earnings statements, income or cash flow.

The brief update comes after ADM stunned investors and the commodities trading world earlier this year by placing its Chief Financial Officer Vikram Luthar on administrative leave pending an internal probe. The US Attorneys Office in Manhattan has launched an investigation into the reporting of inter-segment transactions, people familiar with the matter said last month.

The companys accounting investigation is centered around its nutrition unit, which makes higher-value products including flavorings and pet-food ingredients.

The filing suggests that a zero-sum outcome to ADMs investigation is becoming increasingly likely, Morgan Stanley analyst Steven Haynes said in a note, adding its still not clear how much earnings will be shifted from the nutrition unit to the other company businesses.

ADMs shares rose as much as 3.1% on Friday, but are still down almost 25% this year.

The probe has also thrown the spotlight on the decade-long push, largely under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, to lessen ADMs dependence on its legacy agricultural commodities trading business.

Read More: ADM Probe Highlights Struggle to Expand Beyond Crop Trading

Story continues

ADM expanded the nutrition business with its $3 billion purchase of European natural ingredient maker Wild Flavors a decade ago, its biggest-ever acquisition. It also spent almost $1.8 billion buying out French animal feed maker Neovia.

But profits have so far failed to live up to initial expectations due to weak demand, including for plant-based food and animal feed ingredients.

The unit also played an outsized role on recent executive bonuses even as it accounted for a relatively small part of the agribusiness giants business.

Read More: ADM Unit Being Probed Helped Make Leaders Over $70 Million

ADM said its form 10-K, which was originally expected in February, will be filed by March 15, within the extension period allowed under US rules. It anticipates correcting certain inter-segment sales that were not recorded at amounts approximating market.

ADM also said its working to remediate the material weakness, which will be explained further in its annual report.

--With assistance from Ilena Peng.

(Updates with ADM shares in fifth paragraph, company statement in last.)

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Russian imperial ambitions are limitless, and if given the opportunity, Russia would not hesitate to attack other former Eastern Bloc countries.

Source: Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, as reported by European Pravda with reference to Czech news agency Ceske Noviny

Details: Lipavsky emphasises the importance of continuing to support Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia and its allies through sanctions.

Quote: "A defeat for Ukraine would bring new resources to the victors and open the door for more special military operations in Central and Eastern Europe," Lipavsky said, citing the term typically used by Moscow to define its war in Ukraine.

The chief Czech diplomat said it is necessary to set limits on Russian imperial ambitions. "The war in Ukraine is also our war. Our future is at stake," he stated.

"If we allow Russia to destroy Ukraine, if its aggression goes unpunished, other predators around the world will follow," he added.

Lipavsky argues that Europeans have been prone to "strategic procrastination" since the Cold War ended. "We believed that the fall of communism brought an era of peace, democracy, and prosperity," the politician stated, but this led to ignoring clear warnings, such as Russia's war in Georgia, the annexation of Crimea, and the murder of opponents of the Moscow regime.

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin believes that if Ukraine loses the full-scale war with Russia, the latter will be forced to fight the entire North Atlantic Alliance.

Speaking in the UK House of Commons on 28 February, UK Foreign Office Minister of State Andrew Mitchell described ensuring Ukraine's success in the fight against Russia as "the biggest test of our generation."

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The list of those involved by the Kremlin in the Maidan-3 subversive campaign against Ukraine includes Sergey Kiriyenko, the first Deputy Head of the Russian presidential administration, and former Putin aide Vladislav Surkov.

Source: Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), on air during the national 24/7 newscast

Quote: "As for specific names: yes, Kiriyenko, and yes, Surkov. It's clear that all the collaborators and traitors sheltered by Moscow for now will be involved in this, one way or another.

Unfortunately, there are also names of people currently on the territory of Ukraine. They are considered people of influence. This does not mean they have already agreed [to collaborate with Russia]. This information is being verified and clarified."

Details: Yusov also mentioned that counterintelligence measures in Ukraine are continuously ongoing and do not cease.

Background:

On 16 November 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was seeking to split Ukrainian society, wreak havoc inside the country and ultimately overthrow the president. According to Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, this plan is called Maidan-3 in Russia.

On 21 November, Zelenskyy said that Russia wanted to remove him from the post of president of Ukraine by the end of 2023, for which it had come up with a destabilisation plan codenamed Maidan-3.

Kyrylo Budanov, Head of DIU, stated that the main goal of the Russian operation Maidan-3 is to sow doubt about the legitimacy of Ukrainian authorities within the country, but that operation is failing.

DIU reported that it has lists of people who Russia may use to spread its narratives and influence the social and political situation in Ukraine.

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Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan traveled to Lviv to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Ihor Klymenko and sign a declaration on directions of cooperation between their departments, Klymenko said on March 1.

Czechia has been one of Ukraines staunch supporters, providing the country with military, financial, and humanitarian aid to help it resist Russias full-scale invasion.

During the meeting, Klymenko thanked Rakusan for his countrys support in hosting Ukrainian refugees and other assistance.

"We will continue to implement EU and NATO standards and principles into the activities of Ukraines Interior Ministry as well as exchange experiences in the fields of hybrid threats and cyber security. The Czech side will contribute to the restoration of infrastructure facilities destroyed by Russias invasion," Klymenko said on Telegram.

Read also: They mourned loss of their apartment. Then, Russia destroyed their whole city

Czechia supplied medics of Ukraines National Guard with equipment worth almost one million euros (around $1.08 million) in February, he added.

The ministers also visited the Lychakiv Cemetery to pay tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers.

Rakusan published on X (formerly Twitter) a video address from the cemetery, saying that "this is what the sad toll for our safety looks like."

"The defenders of freedom, not only in Ukraine but also in the rest of Europe, lie on it (the cemetery). Unfortunately, it will continue to be filled with young people until Ukraine expels the Russian occupiers from its country," added Rakusan.

"When it will happen depends on us and our help. I am glad that from the beginning, we have been at the forefront of those who understand and help."

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Ukraines Defence Forces have destroyed four Russian Shahed kamikaze drones that Russia launched into Ukraine on the night of 29 February-1 March.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force press service on WhatsApp

Details: It is noted that on the night of 29 February-1 March 2024, the Russians carried out an attack using five S-300 anti-aircraft missiles fired from the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast and Russias Belgorod Oblast. In addition, they launched four Shahed attack UAVs from the districts of Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk in Russia.

Quote: "As a result of air defence efforts, mobile fire groups of the Defence Forces destroyed four Shahed drones within Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts."

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Truck drivers wait for weeks for their turn to cross the Ukrainian-Polish border

Viktor Koptenkov, the director and co-founder of Dart Logistic Ukraine, discussed the challenging conditions faced by his companys truck drivers at the blocked border with Poland in an interview with NV.

The situation on the Polish border is deteriorating, especially following recent statements by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk about the potential temporary closure of the border for trade. Although this closure hasnt happened yet, discussions between Ukraine and Poland have occurred, but the number of trucks crossing the border daily continues to decline.

According to Ukraines State Border Guard Service data from the morning of Feb. 29, around 2,200 trucks are queued at six checkpoints along the border with Poland. Among them are 15 trucks from Dart Logistic Ukraine, whose drivers have been at the border for three weeks, as stated by Koptenkov.

With over 25 years of experience in international transportation, Dart Logistic Ukraine primarily operates routes to Poland, transporting goods for Ukrainian companies, including consumer goods, FMCG (Fast-moving consumer goods), and chemicals.

All checkpoints with Poland are currently blocked, Koptenkov noted. Krakovets is somewhat moving, but the situation is worst in Yahodyn, where the congestion is the most significant.

Read also: Some 2,250 Ukrainian trucks stuck in queues at all six Polish checkpoints, State Border Guard Service reports

The Poles have even restricted the passage of vans carrying small loads, which were previously allowed, Koptenkov added. He shared queue data from the online booking system for international freight carriers at the border, indicating significant waiting times at various checkpoints.

The situation is not better at other points, Koptenkov said.

Now the Poles let through about 12 cars a day from Ukraine, he said.

Drivers spend their time in the queue in the complete absence of conditions to meet their everyday needs: there is no opportunity for rest, taking a shower, or maintaining personal hygiene. Eating at a table, as opposed to in a car, or warming up food in the kitchen of a roadside cafe without the use of a gas cylinder, which drivers now carry with them, is no longer an option.

In response to the situation, drivers are seeking alternative routes through Slovakia, Romania, and Hungary. However, Koptenkov noted significant queues with waiting times of 10 to 18 days for truck drivers in those areas.

The impact on carriers is substantial, with each day of downtime costing an average of EUR 200 ($216) per truck on international routes. Koptenkov estimates his companys losses to potentially exceed EUR 200 thousand ($216 thousand), possibly reaching half a million euros until traffic returns to normal.

The mood among the drivers is bleak, Koptenkov said.

There are carriers from the border regions, it is a little easier for them, he said.

While the queue progresses, some drivers can return home, like to Lutsk or Uzhhorod. When the queue resumes, they return to their vehicles. However, for those from Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kharkiv, or Dnipro oblasts, theres nowhere to go. They need a place to eat, wash, and so on.

Read also: Poland may ban more Ukrainian imports  PM Tusk

The Polish police remain uninvolved and indifferent to the unfolding situation, Koptenkov said.

The attitude of the Poles is extremely negative, he said.

Yesterday, a car was passing by, and the inspector confiscated the drivers documents [for the cargo]. Dissatisfied with something, he simply threw them away. The driver contacted me, explaining that the inspector took a glance, seized the documents, and threw them out. I dont know any other details yet. This took place at the Uhryniv checkpoint yesterday.

The situation is tense and extremely heated, Koptenkov said.

Grain transporters deserve recognition for enduring lengthier waits, particularly due to veterinary control, Koptenkov emphasized.

He predicts that transportation prices will surge, making certain routes prohibitively expensive, and urges against actions that could exacerbate the situation further.

I have a question: who covers their losses from the downtime of each tractor? he said.

Who pays for them? This is a purely political story. I think Russia is behind it. All this is beneficial to one side  the Russians. No one else.

Koptenkov describes the potential complete halt of trucks between the countries as catastrophic, posing a severe blow to Ukraine and twice as much to Poland.

Everyone will rush to the border crossings through Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, the entrepreneur said.

(Transportation) prices will surge even higher and skyrocket. They will break through the ceiling. The WarsawKyiv route will cost about EUR 8-10 thousand, several times more than pre-border blockade rates. You will have to make big detours after all. The queues at other crossings will persist for a month or more. I think doing such things is suicide.

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The Ukrainian Armed Forces have the means to reach Russian aircraft at a great distance, said Yuriy Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, on March 1.

As the Air Force commander said, there have been meat air attacks, meaning that the occupiers fail to understand that they are not welcome here and that they will increasingly fall into the area of our air defense, as we have the means to reach them, he said on national television.

Read also: Ukrainian forces down three more Russian Su-34 jets in one day  Air Force Commander

Ukraine has few means at its disposal that can hit targets at a long distance, but they are available in the north, south, and east of Ukraine.

Russian pilots feel that they are in the crosshairs, Ihnat said.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets on Feb. 29.

On Feb. 27, Oleshchuk reported the downing of two enemy Su-34 fighter jets in eastern Ukraine.

Read also: Russia hopes to revive production of A-50 AWACS aircraft

With such losses of combat and special aviation, the Russians should consider, at least for a while, halting the aviation meat grinder. Well, we continue to work on it, he said.

Seven combat aircraft  Russian Su jets  were shot down in a week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Feb. 21.

BBC reported on the same day that Russia had lost at least 216 military pilots since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, including at least 62 killed in action.

On Feb. 24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces and HUR reported the downing of another of Russias prized A-50 AWACS aircraft and a Su-34 jet in a joint operation.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat revealed that on Feb. 17, fighter jets targeted Avdiivkas airbase and other locations with guided bombs.

On Feb. 19, Ukrainian defenders successfully downed a Su-34 and a Su-35S on the eastern front. The pilot of the Russian Su-35 reportedly perished at sea, while the second aircraft crashed north of the occupied city of Mariupol.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces also downed a Russian Su-34 fighter jet on Feb. 21.

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Sr. Lt. Volodymyr Fokin (nom de guerre: Foka), company commander with Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, explained to NV Radio how his unit managed to oust Russian forces from Krasnohorivka, Donetsk Oblast, and how Ukraine could counter the enemys numerical advantage on the battlefield.

NV: Thirteen Russian aircraft were shot down over eastern Ukraine in the past two weeks, including three Su-34 fighter bombers on Feb. 29. Do you think the enemy will have to rely less on their air power going forward?

Fokin: On the one hand, its very good that we finally started shooting down enemy aircraft. But there is no effect as such at the moment.

The Russians continues to use both FAB-500 aerial bombs and missile attacks. Therefore, we dont yet feel that their aviation has weakened. But we hope that well continue to destroy their planes in the same way and will see some change in the near future.

NV: Lets compare the current situation with what was happening in Avdiivka, when almost 100 GABs [guided aerial bombs] were dropped along the entire front line and about 60 on Avdiivka in the worst days. Are the bombings less intense now?

Fokin: In the worst days, from 80 to 120 GABs were dropped directly on Avdiivka per day. But what exactly was the problem with Avdiivka? Our forces were deployed in the settlement itself, which was already half-encircled from two flanks. Therefore, the area the Russians had to cover with their bombing was quite small. Therefore, the concentration of GABs was extremely high in this area.

Read also: Russians aim to consolidate captured territory near Avdiivka with large numbers of infantry, Ukrainian military says

Now, since the Armed Forces of Ukraine have withdrawn from Avdiivka and secured other lines of defense, the area to saturate with bombs has increased, and those 80-120 GABs per day, which were dropped on the settlement, are now stretched across the entire defensive line in the area.

The Russians have a lot of GABs. How to deal with this effectively at the moment? Frankly: we dont know yet. The number of GABs is so large that they can afford to drop them on individual mortar and drone squads. So, its a very big problem now.

NV: As for Krasnohorivka, the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade announced the enemy was pushed out of the town. Many of us were taken by surprise when we learned that enemy troops were there in the first place. How did the Russians get there?

Fokin: It was a situational, short-lived incursion. The Russians made a good attempt, inflicted a very heavy fire damage on our positions in Krasnohorivka and could enter the settlement from the south with a lot of troops and armor support. They managed to do this despite minefields on the towns outskirts. The enemy had several armored vehicles, which blew up, the infantry hurried and simply continued to run to the settlement from the south. They managed to enter two streets and gain a foothold in a residential building.

NV: What happened next? Can you detail the battle for Krasnohorivka?

Fokin: I wont get attached to a specific date, when and what kind of order we received, I think you understand me. But when we received information that the enemy had entered the settlement, it was urgently decided to transfer a part of the unit to Krasnohorivka into an area previously assigned to another brigade.

Read also: Lack of defensive infrastructure in Avdiivka, trenches dug amid Russian army fire

I will say neither the exact number, nor the streets names. Isolating the enemy, destroying them, and reclaiming previously lost positions  this was done promptly. It was the 3rd Assault Company of the 1st Assault Battalion that was transferred to Krasnohorivka with the support of other forces, which I wont name either. We quickly entered the battle and began an assault.

The Russian infantry that entered Krasnohorivka was very well prepared and motivated. Every Russian fought there to the last, no prisoners were taken at all. Every soldier really fought to the last and we had extremely heavy clashes for every house. It was very difficult to drive them out, to be honest.

NV: Why did they assault Krasnohorivka in the first place, what was their operational rationale?

Fokin: First, the enemy can afford such actions. If we consider the number of troops the enemy has built up, the number of armored vehicles, artillery, aviation, all forces and means, they can really afford to conduct active assault actions almost along the entire front line. Secondly, its an important settlement. Lets not say what the Russians could do if they take it. It will make life much easier for them on other flanks, lets say. Therefore, they committed very significant forces to it.

In addition, if we talk about manpower, they have an extremely large number of personnel, despite how many of them are taken out of commission every day.

NV: If they can supply this many troops, have no shortage in resources, does it mean they can gradually advance and capture more territory? How long can they last for, going at this pace?

Fokin: As for how long it can last... Lets remember that Russia currently has a million reserve officers. Even if we generously account for most of them being less than capable, we can still assume that 125,000 reserve officers remain. What does it give them? This makes it possible to form line brigades, as well as motorized rifle and infantry units. Where to send them? Thats right, to war. With manpower... There are about 140 million of them [in Russia], they have no problems with that. Therefore, we have certain problems.

Read also: Ukrainian forces reclaim control of Orlivka, Donetsk Oblast  Syrskyi

But I wouldnt say the situation is hopeless. First, now more than ever (if no one has understood in 10 years), we must seriously reform the Armed Forces, revise the approach to mobilization in general, as well as reform our military industry. Its very important. If we can solve this problem in a systematic way, well succeed. Even despite the Russians currently having an advantage in artillery, aviation, equipment, and personnel.

An infinite number of [Russian] troops wont be able to come to the contact line and die there. They will still have some pauses. Its clear they have enough reserves, and there may be several more attack waves. For example, like the one where Avdiivka was lost. But we can work with this if we maintain order and really reform our country.

If its possible to put our country on a war footing and if our people and the government mobilize for victory... If the whole country wants victory, well get it, believe me.

NV: OSINT analysts claim that not everything was fine with the fortifications southeast of Krasnohorivka  the area which the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade had to deal with. Is that true?

Fokin: If were talking about what we can see on satellite images, thats how it really is, this information is quite open.

First, the fortifications built in 2014 are one thing. Theyre of high quality, without question, but they were designed for the war we had in 2014-2016. We now have a technological war, aerial bombs that no one has heard of before, FPVs that no one has ever heard of, and an infinite number of GABs.

If we want victory, we must be one step ahead of the enemy on all fronts. We cannot afford to fight infantry against infantry just because the enemy has much more infantry, dozens of times more. Therefore, the problem is complex.

Read also: Ukraine plans to reform national defense education

A complex problem in modern warfare requires modern solutions. We need to carry out reforms. According to the Soviet rulebook, engineering units have certain rules for building a line of trenches. If we just take trenches, even if theyre totally equipped, its just a mousetrap for our own infantry in a modern war. You sit in a trench, a drone approaches you, drops a grenade, followed by an FPV drone. We must construct overhead protection as often as possible. What does it entail? Well, time and resources to spend on it. But its real and possibleif we review our entire approach to erecting battlefield fortifications.

Lets take the example of the Russians. For example, the Bakhmut area, where we spent almost a year conducting assault actions. Some 10-15 kilometers deep, they build huge and very high-quality fortifications, in large numbers, in several lines.

NV: Does that mean we must allocate more resources to fortifying the front lines?

Read also: Only 10% Europeans optimistic about Ukraine's victory, majority favors 'compromise settlement'  poll

Fokin: Of course, and it should be all-Ukrainian struggle. The struggle of the entire country, the desire of the entire country, the entire population, the government, to win this war. We have UAH 17 billion ($446.7 million) left from last year, which hasnt been used for road construction. Redistribute that money to something else, something that will help us win. Its simple.

We must accumulate all the available funds for our victory. For the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the development of our military industry, equipment, weapons, to pay our engineers, who are 70 years old, to create and develop missiles. We can do this; we just need the will to do so. Everything will be fine, trust me.

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Ukrainian pilots and engineers are continuing their training on F-16 fighter jets, with pilots practising tactical manoeuvres.

Source: Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, on air during the national 24/7 newscast

Quote: "The process is ongoing. Pilots are practising tactical manoeuvres, carrying out missions against both air and ground targets. This is very, very necessary, because not only do they need to fly and control the airspace, they have to engage in combat. Our pilots are currently honing these skills.

Similarly, aircraft personnel and engineers are learning how to service this aircraft, its weaponry, how to program it, and how to deliver precise strikes with high-precision weapons. All this preparation is necessary for the aircraft to operate most effectively in the Ukrainian sky, destroying enemy air, ground, and sea targets. Ukraine is also adapting infrastructure at specific airbases to facilitate the use of these aircraft."

Details: Ihnat emphasised that the training programme for the F-16s spans a minimum of two years. However, Ukrainian flight and ground crews are undergoing accelerated training, with the retraining process having taken about six months. In other words, Ukraine is doing everything possible to ensure that these aircraft enter our airspace as quickly as possible and fulfil their missions.

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Ukraines SBU security service has charged two militants from the Russian army, captured by Ukrainian forces near Avdiivka and Kupyansk, the SBU reported on March 1.

According to the investigation, one of them was a scout in a Russian assault group, originally from Melitopol but residing in Russia for 12 years. He was captured in the fall of 2023 near Kupyansk, with his unit of 30 soldiers being destroyed by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Read also: Russians saboteur responsible for preparing strikes on Ukrainian positions arrested for treason

The other individual, a resident of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, was implicated in a human trafficking case in 2018. To evade punishment, he fled to the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk Oblast, where he subsequently joined the ranks of militants as part of the 114th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Federation, involved in storming Ukrainian positions near Avdiivka.

The militants have been indicted for treason and participation in armed groups. The defendant from western Ukraine also faces charges of collaboration and involvement in a terrorist organization. Both could be sentenced to life imprisonment in Ukraine.

On Feb. 22, the SBU reported that five militants who fought against the Ukrainian army in Donetsk Oblast were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Read also: SBU arrests Russian spy plotting strikes on Ukrainian positions for treason

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Call me old-fashioned, but no good ever came of the distinctly nouveau prefix ultra.

Ultra-violent, ultra-high-net-worth, ultramodern. Admittedly, Im agnostic about ultra-white toothpaste but ultra-processed foods really take the biscuit. Its impossible to escape the damn things.

In short, UPFs, as they are not-at-all affectionately known, are killing us  but in so many different ways that its impossible to guess which affliction will get us in the end.

Would Sir like a stroke, no not that kind of stroke, with his ready meal? Or how about cancer from those white bread ham sandwiches, Madam?

Gorge yourself too far and youre a shoo-in for Type 2 diabetes, which would be a real worry were it not for the fact chemically manipulated cheap ingredients are linked to mental health disorders.

The 32 damaging health outcomes in that sharing bag of crisps get rather lost in the generalised misery.

Did I say sharing? I have yet to meet a soul who ever did. Even in the car. One each or there will be cheese & onion anarchy on the M3.

And therein lies the nub of the issue; the harm lies in the quantity rather than the quality of the stuff that were eating. Mass-produced bread, sausages, ham, ice-cream, crisps, fizzy drinks, fruit-flavoured yoghurts and instant soups are some of the worst culprits.

Oh, and plant-based meat and cheese substitutes can be far less healthy than their marketing would suggest.

Now, an occasional foray into the treacherous realms of high salt, fat, sugar, additive-laden and nutrient-free deliciousness is absolutely hunky dory. Unfortunately, according to Britains School for Public Health Research, in UK adults 57 per cent of our daily energy comes from ultra-processed foods.

For adolescents, its 66 per cent, often because their taste buds have been hijacked at an early age by soft, sweetened cereals and cakes, leaving them reluctant to eat (aka horrified by) crunchy fruits or bitter green vegetables.

Given that poor nutrition carries with it a 22 per cent greater risk of depression and a 50 per cent higher likelihood of anxiety, it looks suspiciously like the first frontline treatment for the current epidemic of low mood among young people should be meat (other proteins are also available) and two veg than handfuls of antidepressants.

Real food is whats needed. Which brings me to the furious demonstration mounted outside the Senedd in Cardiff this week by tractor-driving farmers and agricultural workers.

They were protesting against climate policies which will wreck their industry, which, according to an economic impact assessment commissioned by the Welsh government, will lead to 5,500 job losses and cuts of 200 million from the rural economy.

A new sustainable subsidy scheme will require farmers to plant trees on 10 per cent of their land and treat 10 per cent as a habitat for wildlife to help tackle the climate crisis, something farming unions say is unworkable and will lead to businesses folding.

No Farmers. No Food is the prevailing slogan. Theyre right. We need food  proper field-to-fork, unprocessed food  more than ever. For the sake of our health as well as our food security, against an increasingly turbulent international backdrop.

Across the UK, across Europe and beyond, governments are being urged by health experts to tackle the UPF crisis. It seems insane then to hobble the very men and women in a position to produce it.

Genuine food for thought  if only our politicians would listen.

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(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabis ADQ is considering a listing for Etihad Airways PJSC, potentially making it the first of the Gulfs major hub carriers to become publicly-traded, according to people familiar with the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The wealth fund has held discussions with banks about a possible deal as soon as this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information isnt public. ADQ has been evaluating whether to pursue a traditional IPO as well as a direct listing, the people added.

Deliberations are ongoing and details such as the size and timing of any listing are still undecided.

Spokespeople for ADQ and the airline declined to comment.

An Etihad listing would be the first privatization of a major legacy airline in the Gulf, and is the latest example of the United Arab Emirates using its national champions to boost the domestic stock market and diversify the economy away from oil.

Etihad ownership was transferred to ADQ from Abu Dhabis Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs in 2022, part of an effort to boost the sheikhdoms status as a transport hub.

Saudi Arabias Flynas, backed by billionaire Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, is also planning an IPO in the kingdom as soon as this year and has hired Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Saudi Fransi Capital to work on it, Bloomberg News reported in December.

International travel has rebounded since the pandemic, helping global airlines boost earnings, and pushing profit to record levels for carriers. Etihad last announced earnings publicly in 2022, reporting record profit for the first half of the year.

In neighboring Dubai, an IPO of rival Emirates was floated in 2021 as part of a plan by the business hub to sell stakes in state-owned companies to boost trading volumes.

Story continues

Tumultous Times

A listing of Etihad would cap a tumultuous few years for the carrier, which has retrenched from a costly growth path hatched more than a decade ago.

Under former Chief Executive Officer James Hogan, the airline bought stakes in smaller, cash-hungry carriers across three continents, with the aim of cobbling together enough passengers to propel the Abu Dhabi-based company into the ranks of the global aviation elite.

The carrier also undertook one of the biggest fleet expansions in the industry as it sought to narrow the gap with local rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways. But Etihad struggled to close the gap to rivals, having been founded in 2003  18 years after Emirates and 9 years after Qatar Airways, which operates a connecting hub in nearby Doha.

--With assistance from Leen Al-Rashdan and Siddharth Philip.

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A little over a year after the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees directed university leaders to develop a School of Civic Life and Leadership, the new school now has its inaugural dean.

The universitys governing board voted Friday to hire Jed Atkins for the job, starting March 28.

Atkins, an associate professor of classical studies at Duke University, also directs the Civil Discourse Project at Duke. That programs mission is to promote civil discourse through modeling or teaching the capacities and virtues necessary to engage in healthy exchange across difference.

Atkins is a scholar of Greek and Roman political and moral philosophy, the history of political thought, and contemporary debates on tolerance, civility and civil discourse, a UNC news release said Friday. UNC interim Chancellor Lee Roberts said Atkins deep and long-standing commitment to civil discourse and civic education makes him an ideal leader for the new school.

At a time of increasing polarization and declining public trust in our institutions, the development of [the School of Civic Life and Leadership] represents a remarkable opportunity for Americas first public university to continue to lead our country in preparing a rising generation for lives of thoughtful civic engagement required for a flourishing democracy, Atkins said in a statement Friday.

The hire marks the latest development in the rapid development of the school, which is officially intended to foster and teach skills in public discourse and civic engagement to students.

A group of nine inaugural faculty members for the school was announced in October. It drafted the schools first minor, in civic life and leadership, which is expected to launch next semester.

Trustee Marty Kotis said Friday the fast-paced creation of the school and the hiring of Atkins was proof of what happens when you cut through red tape and you have a level playing field.

The board worked with the provost and the university overall to accomplish this and accelerate it, Kotis said. And a lot of people said this couldnt be done in the time frame we were talking about, and it has been.

Faculty involvement in the schools development

The school has been a point of contention at the university since trustees first proposed it last January, particularly for faculty.

Faculty, including then-faculty chair Mimi Chapman, have said they were not informed about the school ahead of the trustees announcement in January, which is contrary to traditional shared governance structures at the university, in which faculty direct the curriculum and propose new academic units.

Some faculty have also questioned potential political motives behind the school. In the days after the Board of Trustees approved a resolution calling for the school last January, Dave Boliek, the then-board chair, touted the school as a way to remedy a shortage of right-of-center views at the university and among faculty.

Boliek said Friday the campus community has embraced the idea of the school and its stated purpose over the past year.

State lawmakers were also involved in the development of the school, with the state budget, passed in September, giving the school $2 million in each of the next two fiscal years and directing the university to hire between 10 and 20 faculty members from outside the university to teach in the school.

At an October faculty meeting, the dean of the universitys College of Arts & Sciences  where the School of Civic Life and Leadership will be housed  said concerns about legislative and political influence over the school were valid, and that he hoped faculty and university leaders would be given the time and space needed to show what we can do at this great university.

Trustee Perrin Jones, who had previously tried to quell some hardening of lines regarding the school and its development, said Friday that Atkins hiring was a truly momentous day for our university, our state, our nation and our civil society.

This is an example of what this great university can achieve when we are aligned in purpose and cohesive in action, Jones said.
Hello and welcome to your Under the Dome newsletter. Avi Bajpai here.

Attorney General Josh Stein and Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson continue to dominate fundraising in the final stretch ahead of next weeks primary election for governor.

The Democratic and Republican frontrunners both maintained a significant edge over their primary opponents in the first reporting period of the year, which ran from Jan. 1 to Feb. 17.

But it was Stein who continued to raise the most out all of the candidates, raising more than three times the amount Robinsons campaign took in, and growing his cash on hand advantage over the lieutenant governor.

In the first seven weeks of the year, Stein raised nearly $2.2 million. By mid-February, Stein reported having $12.7 million in the bank.

Over that same period, Robinsons campaign raised just under $717,000, and reported having $4.4 million on hand.

With nearly thrice as much money in the bank than Robinson, Stein has amassed a substantial, early lead in the fundraising battle. Of course, once voters choose Democratic and Republican nominees to advance to the general election on Tuesday, there will be another eight full months of campaigning and fundraising left.

And then theres also spending by party organizations like the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations, political action committees, and other outside groups.

Fundraising among other gubernatorial candidates

Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan, Steins main opponent in the Democratic primary, reported raising $33,000 over the first seven weeks of the year. Morgans campaign reported having just over $44,000 in the bank by the end of the period.

In the Republican primary, Salisbury businessman and attorney Bill Graham continued to self-fund most of his campaign, loaning his campaign $1.7 million, and posting total receipts of $1.8 million. By mid-February, Graham reported having just under $115,000 on hand.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell raised nearly $95,000, and ended the reporting period with around $468,000 on hand.

Thats all for today. Check your inbox Sunday for more #ncpol news.

You can sign up to receive the Under the Dome newsletter at newsobserver.com/newsletters . Want your friends to get our email, too? Forward them this newsletter so they can sign up here .

We want to know what you would like to see in the Under the Dome newsletter . Do you like highlights from the legislature? Political analysis? Do you have a question youd like The News & Observer team to answer? Tell us here. You can also email us at dome@newsobserver.com

Dont forget to follow our tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast for more developments.
Photo by Emma Peterson | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism

Arizona lawmakers last month rushed to enact an emergency fix to a looming crisis with the states election timeline. Now, city and town clerks across Arizona say the legislation passed to fix that problem has created a new one that will unnecessarily cost taxpayers.

The emergency law requires county, city, and town clerks offices to be open the weekend before this months presidential preference election, and all federal elections until 2026, even though city and town clerks dont provide any services before Election Day.

This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.

City and town clerks across the state, who werent involved in the last-minute negotiations for the new law, are now begging state lawmakers to fix it  and quickly, as they are already arranging staffing for the weekend before the March 19 election.

A bill to make a few changes to the new law passed the state Senate this week, but still needs to go through the House. And that version doesnt clearly remove the requirement for cities and towns offices to be open the weekend before Election Day.

The new requirement for cities and towns came as state lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs made several tweaks to state law designed to condense the election calendar to make enough time for new statewide recounts. To do so, they shortened the timeline for voters to fix issues with their mail-in ballot signatures and provisional ballots from five business days to five calendar days. To offset the lost days, the new law requires that cities, towns, and counties be open the entire weekend before and after the election to provide these services.

But in Arizona, counties run elections, and cities and towns dont handle ballots or voter records for federal, state, and county elections. City and town clerks sometimes partner with their county in order to allow voters to correct provisional ballot issues in their office, but that occurs in extremely rare instances, and only after the election.

That means that before the election, city and town clerks will be required to open on the weekend before the election without any voter services to provide. In smaller cities and towns, where there is just one employee in the clerks office, the new law means clerks must work 19 days straight, from March 11 to March 29, and will perhaps be the only person present in their city and town halls, raising security concerns.

Thats the case for Wickenburg Town Clerk Amy Brown, one of the clerks who emailed the Secretary of States Office with concerns about the new law. Hiring security or a second staff member would cost money the city didnt budget, she said in an interview.

We recently had a very credible threat from a member of the public threatening staff and he even had a hit list, Brown wrote to the Secretary of States Office in an email Votebeat obtained through a public records request. I think it is a danger for someone to be at Town Hall alone in order to have it open.

In her time as clerk, spanning three election cycles, Brown said she has never had a voter come to her office to cure their provisional ballot. Asked why she thinks her office would be required to be open the weekend before the election, Brown said she didnt know.

I have no idea, she said.

Hobbs, a Democrat, requested the provision in the new law, according to Jen Marson, executive director with the Arizona Association of Counties. Asked why, a spokesperson for Hobbs office said she fought to enfranchise voters by giving them every opportunity to have their voice heard.

While we understand clerks offices are currently only used to cure conditional provisional ballots, there is no prohibition on clerks offices being used to cure early ballot issues in the future, spokesperson Sophia Solis said in a statement, adding that stakeholders are working to clarify in the trailer bill that if a clerks office is only used to cure conditional provisionals, it need not be open the weekend before the election.

State Rep. Alex Kolodin, a Republican, sponsored the bill to fix the timeline issue that ultimately became law. Asked about the issue, he said that lawmakers were still looking at it and reviewing the cities and towns requests.

Cities and towns had months to engage on the process and that engagement was unfortunately more limited than we would have liked, and the fact that they are coming to us now with requests that we are analyzing is unfortunate, Kolodin said.

Cities and towns weighed in on the election timeline problem in the fall, when it was first being discussed, but at the time there was no proposal for their clerks offices to be open the weekend before the election. That came in the last few weeks before the bill passed.

We were never asked to be at the table, never invited to be at the table, said Rene Guillen, a deputy director with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. When the League saw the language, released publicly just one week before the bill passed, they were concerned that this was an unfunded mandate as well as a waste of taxpayer resources.

Even larger cities and towns only get a few voters in their office for the provisional curing service, said Nancy Davidson, general counsel for the League. Davidson and Guillen have been helping the Secretary of States Office collect cities and towns feedback on the law.

The House has scheduled a special committee meeting on Monday that may take up the issue. The House is otherwise not planning to meet next week because of an Israel trip many lawmakers are attending.

If the issue isnt fixed next week, that puts clerks offices in a tricky position with staffing.

In Avondale, for example, which is typically open for four-day work weeks, the clerks office is planning to split the six extra weekend days between six staff members, according to clerk Marcella Sarmiento. That means staff working over the first weekend will plan to take off time during the week of March 11, to even out their hours, Sarmiento said.

Theyre unlikely to have many people to help over the weekend. In the 10 years she has worked in clerks offices, five as clerk for Avondale and five in the clerks office in Peoria, Sarmiento said a voter has only come in for help with their provisional ballot once.

To fill their time on the weekend, her staff plans to take on busy work, such as scanning and data entry, she said.

Fingers crossed a bill to fix the issue is passed, Sarmiento said. But if not, she said, we do what we have to do for our voters.

The post Under a new law, cities and town clerks must be open the weekend before election. No one knows why. appeared first on Arizona Mirror.
Fights broke out on two Ryanair flights from Edinburgh to Tenerife last month (Getty Images)

A union has raised concerns about the increase in booze-fuelled brawls on flights, branding the air rage incidents totally unacceptable.

The recent mid-air fights on two Ryanair journeys from Edinburgh to Tenerife prompted discussion of the problem of alcohol and aggression on planes. Local police boarded both planes to remove the offending passengers, with one flight diverting to Porto, Portugal due to a heated argument in the cabin.

According to the European Union Air Safety Agency, the air rage of drunk and disorderly passengers impacts 1,000 flights a year, with hefty diversion costs plaguing the most affected airlines.

Unions are now growing concerned for the safety of cabin crew.

An industrial officer with the Unite union, Pat McIlvogue, told BBC Scotland: The proliferation in incidents of anti-social behaviour and threats towards workers at airports and on flights is deeply concerning.

Its totally unacceptable that any worker has to confront threats of verbal or physical abuse, and the situation needs to be urgently addressed.

British drinking culture has normalised drinking alcohol in the airport from as early as 5am.

The Independents Simon Calder said: Many travellers regard a drink while they wait for their (possibly delayed) plane as an essential part of the holiday experience.

It is unlawful to be intoxicated aboard an aircraft, nor drink excessively once on a flight, with fines of up to 5,000 applicable if drunk passengers are found to be endangering aircraft safety.

Measures including breathalysing passengers and security seals on alcohol purchased from duty-free could be introduced in departures, while some airlines including Saudia, the national carrier for Saudi Arabia, have banned alcohol completely.

A senior member of cabin crew for a budget airline told The Independent: Passengers need to be made to understand that tanking yourself up in the terminal isnt going to get your holiday off to a good start.
The flight was operated by a Boeing 767 - similar to this one - which resumed its journey to Newark

A flight from London to New Jersey was diverted and landed in Maine after two seemingly drunk passengers "became disruptive", United Airlines said.

Flight UA883 left Heathrow on Friday morning and was due to land at Newark, but instead was diverted to Bangor International Airport.

In an emailed statement to the BBC, United Airlines said police removed the two passengers after landing.

The customers will be banned from future United Airlines flights.

After a seven-hour journey across the Atlantic, FlightRadar shows flight UA883 on a path toward New York before making a sharp detour south-east toward Bangor.

"United flight 883 landed in Bangor this morning after two passengers, who appeared intoxicated, became disruptive," the airline said in a statement.

"Law enforcement officials removed the two passengers and the flight has already re-departed for Newark Liberty International Airport. The customers will be banned from future United flights while we review this matter."

The flight - which had 150 people on board and 10 crew members - left London at 07:52 GMT and landed safely in Maine at about 10:00 local time (15:00 GMT), the Federal Aviation Administration added in a statement.

It described what happened on board the Boeing 767 as a "passenger disturbance".

Bangor Police Department said their officers assisted Customs and Border Protection and the FBI, who are now handling the investigation, in removing the two passengers.
The University of Miami is investigating allegations that one of its fraternities engaged in vile hazing activities, reports say.

UM said Thursday it received several widely shared videos depicting conduct violations, one of which they confirmed was authentic.

A full investigation is underway, the university wrote in a statement.

Officials did not specify which fraternity is under scrutiny nor did they detail the violations. However, the investigation comes after The Miami Hurricane, the universitys campus newspaper, first reported Thursday that the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon was involved in hazing allegations.

A video revealed members of the fraternity participating in a possible hazing incident in their houses backyard, the newspaper reported. One member stepped into a trash can while three others crowded around chugging milk until they eventually vomited the fluids onto the student.

The university told The Hurricane, The Dean of Students Office is aware of the incident. We take these situations seriously and are looking into the matter.

If the members were found to be hazing, their actions would violate the Chad Meredith Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Jeb Bush in 2005. The law is a Florida anti-hazing statute in which the students could face felony or misdemeanor charges.

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Service Center, the fraternitys national chapter, told the Miami Herald it received a report stemming from an alleged incident involving the University of Miami chapter.

We have placed our Chapter on a Cease & Desist and are working jointly with the University to investigate, the national chapter said.

The latest allegations come two years after UM closed its Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter in 2022 after a video surfaced of an off-campus pool party that showed fraternity members chanting about having sex with a woman.

READ MORE: University of Miami frat shut down after video surfaces of frat chants about having sex with dead woman
The University of Tennessee at Knoxville plans to add four future-looking bachelor's degrees that prepare students to work in artificial intelligence, data science and other emerging fields.

Three of the programs will be in the new College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies, which focuses on customizable degree paths in fields of study like AI.

The degrees  in data science, artificial intelligence, customizable studies and environmental engineering  are all about preparing students to fill gaps in the workforce.

Three require internships to complete, which aligns with UT's goal to keep graduates working in Tennessee.

All four of them are student focused. All four of them are, I think, what we would call workplace directed. I believe that these are academic programs that will bring more students to the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and send more of them out into Tennessee to work on really important projects and problems," UT Knoxville provost Dr. John Zomchick said during a UT System board committee meeting Feb. 29.

The programs were approved by the UT Board of Trustees at its March 1 meeting and go to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission for approval on May 16.

Here's what you need to know about the four degrees coming this fall:

Bachelor of science in data science

College : Emerging and Collaborative Studies, which already offers a data science minor.

What is the degree? : The degree will teach students how to create meaningful information, models and analysis using data.

What students will learn ?: Students will develop skills and understanding of data science through statistics, data modeling, core data mining and machine learning skills to extract, prepare and visualize data.

Required courses: Nine core courses in data science create the bulk of the program, and students will take one of eight core courses in order each semester with a final capstone project at the end. Additionally, students will meet Volunteer Core Curriculum requirements, take approved electives and complete six research, internships or service credits.

Bachelor of science in applied artificial intelligence

College : Emerging and Collaborative Studies

What is the degree? : The program offers a basic understanding of AI concepts, data sources and tools across various fields. The degree teaches students about AI technology as well as the privacy and ethical aspects of AI.

What students will learn : Students will learn about AI practices, models, ethics, machine-learning skills and computing skills. The program provides a less technical context for AI in order to reach a broad audience of students while focusing on real-world applications.

Required courses: The 120-credit hour program features 27 hours in core courses along with a required six to 12 hours of research, internships or service credits.

University of Tennessee students could soon have the option to major in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.

Bachelor of science in innovative transdisciplinary studies

College : Emerging and Collaborative Studies

What is the degree? : A customizable degree program with stackable certificates to prepare students for multiple opportunities in the workforce. The degree allows students to design their own degree program pathway in a flexibile and adaptable way across various fields, perfect for "the modern day student," according to Zomchick.

What students will learn : The current list of eight certificates: Applied Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence Integration in Music, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine, Applied Cybersecurity, Data Science, Game Craft, Sustainable Development and Literacy on Emerging Topics.

Required courses: Students in the program will complete 27 credit hours in core courses and a required six to 12 hours of research, internships or service credits. Students will complete the degree by completing electives, minors or stackable certificates. Certificates require 12 credit hours to complete, including a 101 course and three on topic courses.

Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering

College : Tickle College of Engineering, which already offers an environmental engineering minor and a Master of Science in environmental engineering.

What is the degree? : The program will prepare students for careers in environmental engineering in order to solve environmental problems and adapt to rapidly changing challenges within society and the environment.

What students will learn : Areas of focus include fluid mechanics, microbiology, environmental chemistry, environmental pollutants, environmental systems engineering and risk assessment. Additional topics include air pollution, energy systems, hydrology and more.

Required courses: The degree takes 128 credit hours to complete. Students will take 41 hours of fundamental courses in scientific fields, math and engineering, 30 hours in required core classes for environmental engineering, four hours in a laboratory, 25 credit hours in required supporting courses and four hours in senior design project courses.

Keenan Thomas is a higher education reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.

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

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: University of Tennessee Knoxville proposes degrees in AI, data science
(WHTM)  UPMC Magee-Womens Hospitals welcomed 12 Leap Year babies on Thursday, February 29.

The newborns were given a special Leap Year onesie to recognize their special birthday, which will only come once every four years.

UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital shared images of eight of the Leap Year miracles.

UPMC Carlisle  Rome Myers was born at UPMC Carlisle on Thursday.

UPMC Hanover  Ledger McDevitt was born at UPMC Hanover on Thursday.

UPMC Lititz  Aubrey Gearhart was born at UPMC Lititz on Thursday.

UPMC Lititz2  Macie Lynn Weaver was born at UPMC Lititz on Thursday.

UPMC Lititz3  Ariana Annette Ortiz was born at UPMC Lititz on Thursday.

UPMC Lititz4  Briella Carr was born at UPMC Lititz on Thursday.

UPMC Memorial  Adrian Bowie-Bull was born at UPMC Memorial in York, Pa. on Thursday.

UPMC Harrisburg  Rian Gutshall-Range was born at UPMC Harrisburg on Thursday.

At UPMC Magee, we celebrate every baby born, said Kenneth J. Oken, M.D., chair of Obstetrics & Gynecology, UPMC Magee-Womens in Central Pa. Babies are a reminder of love, life and hope. Its a joy to celebrate them and a privilege to be given the responsibility to serve our communities.

Leap Years occur every four years because, despite what you learned in school, the earth doesnt revolve around the sun exactly 365 days a year. It takes an extra six hours, which calls for an extra day, February 29.

Without the leap years, after a few hundred years we will have summer in November, said Younas Khan, a physics instructor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham told the AP. Christmas will be in summer. There will be no snow. There will be no feeling of Christmas.

The next leap years are 2028, 2032 and 2036.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
The News

The U.S. will begin airdropping humanitarian aid over Gaza in the coming days.

Aid flowing into Gaza is nowhere nearly enough lives are on the line, U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday during an Oval Office meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

The announcement signifies mounting pressure on the Biden administration to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to Israels perceived failure to safely deliver supplies. Biden did not clarify when the airdropping campaign would begin.

U.S. officials had been debating an airdrop campaign for days, Axios reported. Bidens announcement comes just one day after chaos at an aid distribution convoy turned deadly. Israel and Gazan authorities have offered different accounts on what took place; the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza said Israeli troops fired on a crowd trying to get food, killing more than 100 Palestinians, while the IDF claimed its troops fired at a group several hundred yards away and that most Palestinians were killed in a stampede.

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Some have warned the U.S. that airdrops are insufficient for Palestinians to survive because one airdrop mission is equivalent to one to four truckloads of supplies, while Gaza could receive more than 250 truckloads per day, the Wall Street Journal reported. But others in the White House have said airdrops are better than nothing.

Top U.N. officials on Tuesday warned that a quarter of Gazas 2.3 million people are on the brink of famine, and that one in six children face acute malnutrition.

The U.S. Agency for International Development announced this week that Washington would send an additional $53 million in additional humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

Meanwhile, the White House is continuing to push for a temporary ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. But Biden on Thursday admitted that the deadly aid convoy tragedy would likely complicate those efforts.
President Biden said Friday that the United States will begin airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza amid negotiations for a temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Biden confirmed the planned airdrops during an Oval Office meeting with the prime minister of Italy. The effort will provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza as watchdogs and aid agencies have warned of increasingly dire circumstances there as Israel carries out military operations throughout the enclave.

Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families, and you saw the response when they tried to get aid. And we need to do more, and the United States will do more, Biden said.

In the coming days, were going to join with our friends in Jordan and others in providing airdrops of additional food and supplies into [Gaza], he added.

The truth is, aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough now. Its nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and childrens lives are on the line, he added.

The airdrops are seen as a way for the U.S. to get aid into the area while officials continue efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to allow for food, medicine, water and other supplies to get into Gaza, and for hostages to be released.

White House spokesperson John Kirby called it extremely difficult to effectively conduct airdrops in such a crowded area. The materials need to land somewhere accessible to aid organizations while also arriving in an area with high concentrations of people in need, he said.

The Pentagon will develop a plan for the airdrops, which are set to begin in the coming days, though Kirby did not know of a specific schedule.

We fully expect the third and fourth and fifth one wont look like the first and second one, he said. Well learn and well try to improve.

The Biden administration has been involved in months of negotiations for a temporary pause in fighting of about six weeks to release the remaining hostages taken during Hamass deadly attacks Oct. 7.

The president had initially suggested a cease-fire could take hold as early as next Monday, but more recently indicated that timeline was unlikely. He acknowledged talks would be complicated after more than 100 Palestinians were killed at a food distribution site in Gaza when Israeli troops opened fire.

Asked if he was worried that the deaths would complicate talks, he said, Oh, I know it will.

Kirby said the U.S. has asked Israel to look into the incident and take it seriously so similar violence can be avoided in the future.

This event underscores the importance, we believe, of expanding and sustaining the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza since so much of it is in need, Kirby said. And by no means should what happened yesterday preclude or prevent additional humanitarian assistance from getting in.

Biden has faced growing pressure from Democrats to call for a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas as the situation in Gaza worsens, and the Palestinian death toll from Israels attacks climbs above 30,000.

The president has publicly supported Israels right to respond to the Hamas terrorist attacks that left more than 1,000 Israelis dead, but his administration has tried to balance that with private warnings to Israels leaders about protecting civilians.

While an airdrop will buy time and save lives, there is no substitute for sustained ground deliveries of what is needed to sustain life in Gaza, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement.

Israel MUST open the borders and allow the United Nations to deliver supplies in sufficient quantities. The United States should make clear that failure to do so immediately will lead to a fundamental break in the U.S.-Israel relationship and the immediate halt of military aid.

Updated: 3:08 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- JD.com Inc. took less than a day to respond to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.s price cuts in cloud computing services with its own sharp reductions, an aggressive round of competition that will benefit customers and erode profits at Chinas leading technology companies.

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Alibaba began slashing prices by as much as 55% on more than 100 services Thursday in a bid to win back customers in the hotly contested market. JD.com, a rival in e-commerce and cloud services, responded later the same day with its own round of price cuts, unveiled on the companys WeChat account. Alibabas stock fell as much as 1.9%, while JD was little changed.

The moves by Alibaba mark one of its more aggressive bids to fend off competition from the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd., Baidu Inc. and JD.com. Alibaba had planned to spin off its cloud business into an independent, publicly traded unit, but called off the split last year in a reversal that stunned investors.

The company is now focusing on growing the public cloud  the domestic services arm aimed at enterprise customers  given US sanctions curtailing the supply of advanced chips to Chinese firms. Chief Executive Officer Eddie Wu, who took the helm last year, has taken direct control of the unit and revamped major lines.

Read More: Alibaba Unveils Big Cloud Price Cuts as AI Rivalry Deepens

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says

JD.coms Feb. 29 declaration of a cloud price war, likely a response to Alibabas plans to slash fees for its offering earlier in the day, raises the likelihood that the latter will need to forgo more profits than budgeted to boost the business revenue growth. JD.com will price its cloud services 10% below an undisclosed rivals from March 1.

Story continues

Catherine Lim and Trini Tan, analysts

Click here for the research.

Alibaba has struggled over the past year to revamp its vast e-commerce, logistics and cloud empire in the face of fierce competition and geopolitical risks. The company is looking to revive growth after two years of regulatory scrutiny and Covid-era economic turbulence. It seeks to hive off non-core assets to raise capital, while dividing its sprawling operations into more clearly defined areas.

But the cloud  the business spawned over a decade ago from the need to support a mammoth e-commerce operation  remains a focal point, particularly as demand for computing power rises alongside a surge in AI development. Yet in recent years, its shed clients to not just its usual rivals but also state-backed entrants and relative newcomers like Huawei Technologies Co.

Now Alibaba may have galvanized the competition. In its post on Thursday, JD declared its intent to compete, though with few specifics.

Cut all you like, lets fight to the end! the company proclaimed in a big banner-like declaration.

(Updates with share action and analysts comment from the second paragraph)

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Over 86 million people legally immigrated to the United States between 1783 and 2019. Conflicting visions and piecemeal legislation over the years have left the United States with a piecemeal immigration system developed over the years. The major problem with Americas southern border is an out-of-date immigration system while dealing with a record-setting number of migrants.

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman lamented that in no other realm of our national life are we so hampered and stultified by the dead hand of the past as we are in this field of immigration. From the colonial period through the Industrial Revolution, the Roaring '20s, the Great Depression and up to now, many of the debates, public responses and political accusations have been the same.

The question arises as to why America needs an immigration system today. Immigration is primarily related to economics. Secondly, it is a humanitarian program. People are the resources that build and protect nations. Wars, diseases and many other factors reduce a nations population. A nations immigration program offsets the loss of people and much needed skills.

More: 'Americans are ticked off that this is not resolved.' Lankford speaks after bipartisan border bill fails in Senate

Initially, immigration was a method of populating and growing the original American colonies. Individuals from different countries arrived by very various paths. Some were forced to immigrate, either through transportation or slavery, while others came voluntarily. Transportation was a British term for forced immigration used to expel its social undesirables, criminals and others to populate its American colonies. Criminals sentenced to death could either choose transportation or hanging. Forced immigration was a common choice, since death was the only punishment for a felony conviction under English law. Britain transported about 50,000 convicts to the American colonies in this manner.

Immediately after issuing the Declaration of Independence, the Founders thought that pledged allegiance to America should confer citizenship. Thus, a pledge of allegiance was the ticket to receive full rights in America. Thomas Jefferson summarized their overall position when he stated that the present desire of America is to produce rapid population growth by as great importations of foreigners as possible.

Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1790 covering immigrants who had resided in the United States for two years and took an oath of allegiance. It was the most liberal naturalization law to date. It created a short and uniform path to citizenship that lacked gender requirements, religious tests, skills tests or country of origin requirements.

However, a series of bills in 1798 collectively known as the Alien and Sedition Acts expanded the federal governments involvement in immigration through national surveillance and arbitrary arrest. They granted a new power to the president to deport noncitizens.

More: EDITORIAL: Lankford leadership in border efforts deserves applause, not censure

Between the War of 1812 and the Civil War, immigrants were mainly German, Irish, English, Canadian and French. These immigrants had different cultures and religions, particularly the German craft workers and Irish Catholics. Nativists, a term defining American-born citizens worried about wage competition, immigrants use of existing welfare programs, and the religious dichotomy between the Catholic immigrants and the Protestant Nativist. The Nativist formed a group that became known as Know Nothings. When a member of the group was asked about his activities, he responded, "I know nothing." The Know Nothings created urban gangs that harassed immigrants and spread propaganda against them. By 1860 most Know Nothing members had jumped ship to join the Republicans.

President Abraham Lincoln's administration appointed Anson Burlingame as the U.S. minister to China in 1861. Burlingame negotiated a trade treaty with China in 1868 that allowed Chinese citizens to immigrate to the United States. The Chinese immigrants' labor played a key role in constructing the western half of the first intercontinental railroad across America.

The Civil War increased the demand for workers. Pro-immigration Republicans sought to discredit Nativists' negative opinions about immigration. President Lincoln contended that our immigrants are one of the principal replenishing streams which are appointed by Providence to repair the ravages of internal war and its waste of national strength and wealth. Under the Lincoln administration, Congress passed both the Homestead Act in 1862 and the Act to Encourage Immigration of 1864, also known as the Contract Labor Act.

In 1952, the United States adopted the Immigration and Nationality Act that offered limited protection to refugees fearing or fleeing from persecution. The H-1B visa program, a labor shortage program, has its roots in the H1 visa in this Act. Later, the Immigration Act of 1990 split the H1 visa into the H-1A (for nurses) and H-1B.

Immigration has been a contentious subject since colonization. The United States of America is and will always be a nation of immigrants. It will take a bipartisan effort to update the current system.

Richard C. "Dick" Hall

Richard C. "Dick" Hall, of Norman, is an Army veteran who served 30 years in federal civil service and retired as a division manager.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: US desperately needs to fix its immigration system
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (3-R) and Colombia's President Gustavo Petro (2-R) among fellow leaders at the CELAC Summit in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Randy Brooks)

US anti-drug policies have caused a "genocide" of Latin Americans, Colombia's Gustavo Petro alleged Friday at a meeting of regional leaders on the Caribbean island of St Vincent and the Grenadines.

"We have lived through a genocide of a million Latin Americans in the last half-century," the Colombian president told the annual summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

He blamed the United States for basing its drug strategy on "repression" and not on "prevention and public health."

"The result could not be more dramatic, more failed," Petro, the first leftist president of Colombia -- which is the world's largest cocaine producer and exporter -- told the summit in Kingstown.

The meeting was also attended by other leftist leaders, such as Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Countries governed by right-wing leaders sent lower-level emissaries, such as Ecuador, represented by an ambassador.

Guterres praised the region's peace efforts, amid tensions between Venezuela and Guyana over the sovereignty of the oil-rich Essequibo territory.

But he warned about spiraling violence in Ecuador as it fights to rein in drug traffickers.

And he reiterated calls for aid to Haiti, the most impoverished nation in the Americas, as it combats a surge in conflict from armed gangs, which now control large swathes of the country.

bur/mel/st/bgs
An American citizen was arrested on Wednesday after attempting to smuggle $130,000 worth of fentanyl pills through a California immigration checkpoint, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Thursday.

Border Patrol agents at the El Centro Sector checkpoint in Indio said a ride-share taxi driver with four passengers entered the inspection area  which is on Highway 86 near the Salton Sea  at around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The vehicle was sent to the secondary inspection area for further investigation, where a K-9 team specializing in concealed humans and narcotics detection received permission from the taxi driver to search the vehicle.

BORDER PATROL SEIZED ENOUGH FENTANYL TO KILL ENTIRE US POPULATION IN FISCAL YEAR 2023

A backpack and a speaker containing 9.7 pounds of fentanyl pills, with an estimated street value of $130,000, were seized at a California immigration checkpoint on Wednesday, CBP said.

The K-9 alerted authorities to the vehicle's trunk, which contained several bags, and then specifically alerted to a backpack and a speaker. A passenger, who was not named and only identified as a U.S. citizen, said both belonged to him.

When searching both items, Border Patrol agents found "several wrapped packages consistent with wrapping commonly used to transport illegal narcotics," the agency said.

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A sample taken from one of the wrapped packages tested positive for fentanyl.

OPINION: OUR BROKEN BORDER IS A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY  HERES HOW TO FIX IT

The packages were determined to have 9.7 pounds of fentanyl pills, which have an estimated street value of $130,000, CBP said.

The passenger was arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The passenger, who was only identified as a U.S. citizen, was arrested by El Center Border Patrol agents and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The El Centro Sector said the seizure is part of Operation Apollo, a joint regional operation with federal, state and local agencies aimed at fighting the threat of fentanyl and other illicit synthetic narcotics.

In the past few days, the checkpoint said agents have apprehended the following: a fugitive wanted for federal probation violation stemming from cocaine smuggling, a criminal with a no-bail felony warrant out of San Bernardino, 9.3 pounds of marijuana, 6.5 pounds of meth and $31,794.





Original article source: US citizen arrested at California checkpoint after attempting to smuggle $130k in fentanyl pills
Both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved a short-term stopgap spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown, sending it for signature to President Joe Biden, Reuters reported on Feb. 29.

The bill, setting deadlines to fund one part of the government by March 8 and another by March 22, does not include additional funding in Ukraine, which has been stuck in Congress since last autumn.

The U.S. Senate on Feb. 13 passed a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes $60 billion for Ukraine, as well as funds for Israel and other allies, but the proposal is yet to be approved by the House of Representatives.

After delaying the vote for weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Feb. 29 that his chamber would consider the foreign aid bill "as soon as the government is funded."

Holdups in U.S. assistance have put a significant strain on Ukraine's efforts to resist Russian aggression, causing ammunition shortages and contributing to the loss of a key front-line city of Avdiivka.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned during his visit to Lviv in February that Ukraine is at risk of losing the war without American aid, urging the House Speaker to put the bill to a vote.

Despite the opposition by some hardline House Republicans, Schumer believes that there are enough votes in the lower chamber to approve the funding.

Read also: US Senator Schumer in Lviv: Without aid, Ukraine will lose war, with aid it will win

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U.S. forces carried out more strikes against anti-ship cruise missiles and a drone in the Red Sea Thursday evening, Central Command said.

CENTCOM forces conducted two self-defense strikes against six mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that were prepared to launch towards the Red Sea between 6 and 7:15 p.m. local time.

Earlier in the evening, CENTCOM forces shot down a drone over the southern Red Sea in self-defense, CENTCOM said.

"CENTCOM forces determined that the missiles and UAV presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and to the U.S. Navy ships in the region," the command said. "These actions will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy and merchant vessels."

The statement comes as Houthi militants, based in Yemen, continue a series of assaults on vessels in the Red Sea over Israels war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The ongoing assaults have caused massive delays and added fees to commercial ships forced to reroute their vessels.

STAMPEDE, GUNFIRE AT GAZA HUMANITARIAN AID DELIVERY KILLS OVER 100, REPORTS SAY

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The U.S. is building an international coalition to protect international shipping from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

In January, the U.S. and its allies began carrying out strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, though the militant group has been unrelenting in its attacks.

Earlier this week, a rocket exploded off the side of a ship traveling through the Red Sea. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which oversees shipping in the Mideast, reported the attack happened around 70 miles off the coast of the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida. The rocket exploded several miles off the bow of the vessel, it said.

"The crew and vessel are reported to be safe and are proceeding to next port of call," the UKMTO said.

The private security firm Ambrey reported that the vessel targeted appeared to be a Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier in the area at the time. Another ship, a Panama-flagged, Emirati-owned chemical tanker was nearby as well, Ambrey said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military's Central Command said an American and an allied warship shot down five Houthi bomb-carrying drones in the Red Sea on Tuesday night.

Last week, Houthi rebels severely damaged a ship in a crucial strait and downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars. The Houthis insist their attacks will continue until Israel stops its combat operations in the Gaza Strip, which have enraged the wider Arab world and seen the Houthis gain international recognition.

The Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite group, seized Yemen's capital in 2014 and have battled a Saudi-led coalition since 2015. Their Zaydi people ran a 1,000-year kingdom in Yemen up until 1962.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: US forces carry out more strikes against anti-ship cruise missiles, drone in Red Sea
FILE PHOTO: Protest demanding free and fair results of the general elections in Jamshoro

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Thirty-one members of the U.S. Congress have signed a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging them to not recognize a new government in Pakistan until an investigation of election interference has been conducted.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Voters in Pakistan went to the polls earlier this month in a vote marred by a mobile internet shutdown on election day; arrests and violence in its build-up; and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that the vote was rigged.

The United States, Britain and the European Union have expressed concerns about reported election irregularities and urged a probe.

BY THE NUMBERS

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government even as candidates backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan gained the most seats.

Khan-backed candidates won 93 seats, but did not have the numbers to form a government. He and his party rejected the results of the elections, alleging widespread rigging.

PML-N's 79 and the PPP's 54 seats together make a simple majority in parliament to form a government, which, however, will also rope in smaller parties in the coalition.

KEY QUOTES

The letter dated Wednesday urged Biden and Blinken to withhold recognition of a new government in Pakistan until a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation of election interference has been conducted."

It asked them to "urge Pakistani authorities to release anyone who has been detained for engaging in political speech or activity, and task State Department officials in Pakistan with gathering information about such cases and advocating for their release."

The letter also urged Biden and Blinken to make clear to Pakistani authorities that Washington could use the leverage for military and other cooperation to be halted if relevant steps were not taken.

CONTEXT

The letter signed by 31 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives was led by Representatives Greg Casar and Susan Wild. The signatories included Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Rashida Tlaib, Ro Khanna, Jamie Raskin, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush and Barbara Lee.

Khan was ousted in 2022 after falling out with the country's powerful military, which denies meddling in politics. His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the 2018 national election. Multiple legal cases were brought against Khan, which disqualified him as a candidate and sentenced him to long prison terms. He denies wrongdoing.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Russia's dealmaking with Iran and North Korea has attracted mockery from the West as "desperate."

But the alliance actually benefits all three countries, experts say.

It's helped Russia in Ukraine and has likely benefited North Korea economically and militarily.

In fall 2022, Vladimir Putin was in a bind. Expecting to have already overrun Ukraine, his Russian forces were instead being routed from huge swathes of the country.

"They just didn't have the weapons they needed. They didn't have the soldiers prepared. They didn't have the defensive positions prepared," Bruce W. Bennett, a defense researcher at RAND, told Business Insider.

Isolated from much of the world by sanctions, Putin turned to rogue states like Iran and North Korea for munitions.

The US watched closely. But publicly, officials were sanguine, even dismissive.

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, quipped in September that the ragtag partnerships came off like a "Star Wars bar scene of countries."

"Nothing from Pyongyang will be a game changer in Ukraine," Mark Milley, the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in September last year.

More recently, Grant Shapps, the UK's defense minister, posted on X that Putin had been forced "into the humiliation of going cap in hand to North Korea" to support his war machine.

But as Western support for Ukraine wavers, the impact of Pyongyang's ammunition supply  along with an influx of Shahed drones from Iran  is likely helping Russia get an edge over its adversary, experts say.

And beyond Ukraine, it's having ripple effects on the international order.

Tipping the scales

The three-way axis is "fragile in many ways," Beth Sanner, a former intelligence official under the Trump and Biden administrations, said at a recent Atlantic Council event.

But, she said, it has "a quite serious and very real effect."

As Russia's invasion stalled in mid-2022, Putin had already started the groundwork to procure Shahed drones from Iran.

Russia has fired thousands in Ukraine since then.

Given that neither Russia nor North Korea has admitted to arms transfers, there's no way of knowing how significant the country's contribution is to Russia's munitions.

But "the volume of stuff that's been going over is huge. It's significant," Joseph Byrne, an open-source researcher and North Korea specialist at the Royal United Services Institute, told BI.

Kim Jong Un at an aircraft manufacturing plant in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Russia, on September 15. Government of Khabarovsk Region via REUTERS

South Korean officials have said that since September, it has observed North Korea sending about 6,700 containers to Russia, potentially holding about 3 million 152mm artillery shells or half a million 122 mm shells.

Bennett said this is a "major contribution" to Russia's war efforts, even factoring in the possibility that many of the shells  likely drawn from Soviet-era stockpiles  may be duds.

And North Korea's factories are now working to bring Russia fresh weapons and shells, South Korea said on Wednesday.

When asked if these supplies were a "game changer" for Russia, John Herbst, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, put it bluntly.

They're a "game continuer," he told the Atlantic Council.

Given Ukraine's ammunition shortages, that may be all Putin needs.

Last year, Russia was estimated to be going through 30,000 shells a day in Ukraine  roughly the amount the US was able to produce in a month at the time, Bennett said.

The US has since ramped up its production, but "it's going to take us years to get anywhere close to what North Korea has been providing to Russia," he told BI.

Byrne added: "You see Russia's ability to continue to fire artillery, fire rockets on Ukrainian positions just massively increase and sustain over a long period of time, very likely because of this uplift from the North Koreans."

Going rogue

Putin at his year-end press conference in Moscow on December 14. ALEXANDER KAZAKOV

Putin shows little sign he is bothered by the criticism leveled at his allies.

To work with North Korea, he has contravened UN Security Council resolutions he had previously signed.

For Bennett, Putin's thinking is simple. "If Russia failed to achieve success in Ukraine, meaning it got pushed out of Ukraine, is Putin going to survive physically?" he asked. "The answer is probably no. So Putin's desperate."

Motivated by self-preservation, the Russian president has little reason to mind the jibes from Ukraine's allies.

"What matters is power," Bennett said.

A boon for North Korea

Much the same can be said for Kim Jong Un, whose regime may gain a great deal from the partnership.

The terms of the exchange are unknown, but Byrne outlined several ways North Korea might benefit.

Cold hard cash is one.

Because of international sanctions, North Korea is obliged to hold most of its money abroad, Byrne said.

Western intelligence officials recently told The New York Times that Russia had unfrozen millions of dollars worth of North Korean assets, possibly in exchange for ammunition supplies.

A rocket carrying North Korean spy satellite Malligyong-1, in a handout image released on November 21. KCNA

North Korea could also benefit technologically: It might gain sophisticated technology transfers for electronic-warfare systems, air-defense systems, and ballistic missiles, Byrne said.

The opportunity to see how its ballistic missiles perform on the battlefield is "absolutely invaluable" for Kim, Byrne said.

South Korea has accused its northern neighbor of using Ukraine as a test site for its nuclear-capable missiles.

Meanwhile, Russia has been boosting North Korea on the international stage, including in September when Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, suggested that UN sanctions against the country were outdated.

Operating like this "really emboldens North Korea, Iran, and any other autocratic state," Sanner said.

An opportunistic cartel

It's unlikely that ties between Moscow and Pyongyang run deep because they share little in terms of ideology, experts said.

Kim Jong Un's regime is unlikely to be supplying Russia with weapons because it dislikes Ukraine, Bennett said.

"But they sure love Russian money and they sure love Russian grain," he said, describing it as "more a cartel kind of relationship."

But as shallow as the ideological kinship might run, there's little doubt that Russia's dealmaking with Iran and North Korea has altered the global landscape, he said. Signs of that were already emerging  in January, Russia and Iran announced their intention to sign a wide-ranging treaty.

"Two years ago, people would've said, 'Well, Russia's got some power, but not a big deal. Iran, oh, it's a nuisance, but it's not a big deal. North Korea's a nuisance, we're worried about their nukes, but not a big deal,'" Bennett said

Now, he said, "all three countries look more powerful, more threatening. And so yeah, it's changed the landscape."

Correction: March 5, 2024  An earlier version of this story misspelled the US secretary of state's name. His name is Antony Blinken, not Anthony.

Read the original article on Business Insider




Image source: Getty Images

In late 2022, I was driving along the road after picking my daughters up from school when a car pulled out into the street and hit me on the passenger side. Because I was going slowly, and the other driver was only pulling out from a parking spot, thankfully, no one was hurt. But due to the size of the other vehicle, my entire passenger-side door got smashed to the point where it couldn't be opened, and there was some cosmetic damage to the right side of my vehicle.

What made the situation not only frustrating, but awkward, was that the driver of the other car was an acquaintance of mine. She felt awful about the accident (one of her kids had distracted her enough to take her foot off the brake) and was quick to reassure me that she'd call up her insurer and claim full responsibility. But I still had to go through my auto insurance company to file a claim.

That process, however, was far from pleasant. And because of that, I almost switched my auto insurance for 2024.

A stressful situation made worse

The problem with needing auto repairs is that you're at the mercy of your local auto body shop. And it, in turn, is at the mercy of car part manufacturers. What should've been a fairly quick and easy repair to my car took almost a month because the auto body shop I used (namely because it was approved by my insurer) had to wait that long to receive a replacement door for my vehicle.

During that time, I was forced to go without a car, period, and share my husband's vehicle because the stingy rental car allowance my insurance company provides wouldn't have covered the cost of a rental. Not only was the daily allowance low, but I needed coverage for more days than what my policy allowed for. And I didn't want to shell out money out of pocket for a rental when we could technically get by on one car, albeit in a hassled manner.

Read more: check out our picks for the best car insurance companies

I tried contacting my auto insurance company to see if we could somehow put the cost of a rental car onto the other insurance company -- the one ultimately responsible for paying, since the other driver was at fault. But my claims adjuster didn't return my calls or offer any assistance in that regard.

Story continues

Meanwhile, I had to shell out $750 for my auto insurance deductible to cover the cost of my car repair. I was told by my insurer that I "should" get reimbursed that money eventually once my insurance company recouped its funds from the other driver's insurance. But every time I called to follow up on that, I got no answer at all.

Thankfully, I had the money in savings to cover the $750 charge that went on my credit card. But in the end, I didn't get reimbursed my $750 for many months. Someone in that same situation without the money in their savings account would've paid interest on that balance and had no recourse.

I stayed for the savings

All told, I was so frustrated by my auto insurance company's lack of communication and responsiveness during this incident that I started to shop around for new car insurance in 2023 in the hopes of making a change for 2024. Only in doing my research, I found out that I was paying a lower premium with my current insurer than what I'd be paying elsewhere. For this reason, I decided to stay.

Interestingly, a 2022 J.D. Power study found that while Americans were generally satisfied with the service they were getting from their car insurance companies, premium costs were an issue. I seem to have the opposite problem -- I'm OK with what my premiums cost because they're competitive, relatively speaking, but I'm clearly not a fan of my insurer's customer service.

However, I'm giving my auto insurer one more chance because of the cost, and also, because it may just be that I got stuck with a lousy claims adjuster this last time who was particularly uncommunicative. I'm hoping there won't be a "next time" in terms of another incident that results in damage to my car. But if there is, then I hope I'll get assigned to someone better. And if not, then I might really need to make a switch even if it costs me some money.

If you're unhappy with your auto insurance for whatever reason, it certainly doesn't hurt to at least do your research and see what other options are available to you. You may ultimately decide to stick with your current insurer like I did, but at least then you'll have all of the right information.

Our best car insurance companies for 2024

Ready to shop for car insurance? Whether youre focused on price, claims handling, or customer service, we've researched insurers nationwide to provide our best-in-class picks for car insurance coverage. Read our free expert review today to get started.

We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

I Almost Switched Auto Insurance in 2024 for This Reason was originally published by The Motley Fool
SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah (ABC4)  A man was charged Wednesday after allegedly shooting the gap in front of a school bus, causing a crash that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old Saratoga Springs woman who was a passenger in his car.

Caden Jim Simmons, 20, of Eagle Mountain, was charged in Fourth District Court on one second-degree felony count of criminal negligence while operating a vehicle resulting in death.

ORIGINAL STORY: Victims identified in Saratoga Springs school bus crash

In September 2022, Simmons was traveling northbound on South Redwood Road with a passenger in the front seat. He pulled in the center lane to make a left turn into Maverick, but was struck by a school bus going southbound, the Saratoga Springs Police Department said.

The bus collided with the cars front passenger door, killing the passenger, identified as 20-year-old Lauren Scott of Saratoga Springs. Neither the bus driver nor the four students inside were hurt.

Police said when Simmons turned left in front of the school bus he failed to leave enough space to make the turn. The bus, which police said had the right of way, braked but was unable to avoid Simmons car.

One witness at the scene told police the car tried to shoot the gap in front of the bus, investigators said. A different witness told police the car tried to beat the bus but hit it, making the crash the cars fault.

The charging documents state an accident investigation was conducted and showed Simmons was braking until about 1.5 seconds before the collision.

At 1.5 seconds before the collision, he took his foot from the brake pedal. At 1 second before the collision, he pressed the accelerator to 99% engagement, where it remained until the collision, corroborating the statements of witnesses that he tried to shoot the gap,' the charging documents said.

Additionally, dash cameras from the bus showed that the bus driver did not have time to react, investigators said.

According to charging documents, an accident reconstructionist determined Simmons had a perceived gap of only 1.63 seconds to make the turn. The documents also state extensive studies on gap acceptance indicate no drivers would attempt to make a turn with a gap that size.

A toxicology report revealed THC in Simmons blood, charging documents state. He was taken to the hospital in stable but critical condition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY)  In January, the Virginia General Assembly delayed a vote on House Bill 19, which would have funded a study to be conducted by the Virginia Marine Resource Commission (VMRC) and Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) on the menhaden fishery in Virginia.

Menhaden are a small silvery fish that are often not harvested for their meat, but to be ground down into oil and fish meal. The fish are an important part of the diet of hundreds of other marine animals in the Chesapeake Bay.

And so what that means is basically theyre out there in the ecosystem to be eaten by other fish, birds and marine mammals. said Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Executive Director Chris Moore.

The process of reducing fish to oil and fish meal is known as Reduction Fishing, and the only menhaden reduction plant on the Atlantic coast is operated by Omega Protein out of Reedville.

Every other state on the East Coast has banned the practice.

Omega has made headlines in the past, like in 2022 when they admitted to several fishing nets breaking, spilling thousands of dead fish onto local beaches. Omega has been operating for over 100 years and employs several hundred workers in Virginia. According to the Virginia Public Access Project, they also spent more than $85,000 between 2023 and 2024 lobbying the General Assembly.

Omega Proteins Menhaden processing plant on Cockrells Creek in Reedville, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

I think they wanted to delay the implementation of this study Moore said.

When 10 On Your Side asked who they were, Moore told us he meant Omega Protein.

Virginia lands about 70% of the coast wide catch of menhaden, Moore said. And a lot of that catch comes from either here in the Chesapeake Bay or very close to the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.

And we dont have any data that is specific to the Chesapeake Bay when it comes to how many fish come into the bay each year, how many are then caught and then how many go back and how that affects the ecosystem. And thats a lot of what this study was pushing for, trying to answer some of those unanswered questions about the health of the population in Chesapeake Bay.

An Atlantic menhaden (Photo: George Noleff/WFXR)

In a statement issued last December, Omega said no scientific evidence indicates that [a] portion of the coast-wide menhaden stock in the Bay is declining.

It cites the lack of data regarding menhaden populations as the reason for this. Omega insists that they support the General Assembly funding the study.

Moore said that even if the study is funded in the 2025 legislative session, it could take years before the results come in and any meaningful change can be made.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
A bipartisan group of 56 House lawmakers is demanding Veterans Affairs leaders improve its support services for sexual assault victims, including adding more trained staff and response kits to department emergency rooms.

In a letter sent to VA Secretary Denis McDonough on Thursday, the 56 representatives expressed concern over a December report from the departments inspector general that outlined shortcomings in the Veteran Health Administrations treatment of survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault at VA facilities.

Among their findings were a lack of sexual assault kits at VA medical sites, only 42% of facilities surveyed reported having the equipment on hand, and a lack of staff who knew how to use them, only 6% of facilities had certified personnel on hand.

Mental health outreach efforts need more focus on women vets: report

Investigators also expressed concern that despite department rules mandating mental health referrals be made at victims request within 24 hours of an assault report, staffers failed to document whether those resources were made available in more than half of the cases reviewed.

For survivors of acute sexual assault, proper and thorough care, including psychological care, is imperative, the lawmakers wrote.

The congressional letter comes just a few days after the release of a Disabled American Veterans report on female veterans challenges which noted that as many as one in three women enrolled in department health care have reported some form of military sexual trauma. However, researchers found only about 30% of women who report that trauma successfully have it included in their medical records.

Advocates behind that report argued that changes in how the department handles sexual assault and harassment cases could help improve overall mental health care and results for women veterans.

The inspector generals office recommended new training for all front-line staff to properly handle acute sexual assault cases and maintain procedural knowledge to fix all of their reported shortfalls.

Lawmakers said they want a report on proposed reforms by mid-March. VA officials have not yet responded to the request.
(Bloomberg) -- A political change in Venezuela would be the biggest incentive for the nations migrants in the US to return to their homeland, according to a recent poll seen by Bloomberg News.

Most Read from Bloomberg

More than 65% of Venezuelans say they would go back to their country if the opposition wins this years presidential elections. Less than 15% say they would do so if President Nicolas Maduro secures a third term, even if the economy significantly improves, according to a poll conducted by public opinion firm GBAO for Colorado-based nonprofit organization PAX sapiens.

A massive exodus from Venezuela and the crisis it unleashed in major US cities spurred the Biden administration to engage in direct talks with Maduro last year. In late September, the two sides reached a secret deal that triggered the resumption of direct deportation flights and the easing of some sanctions, in an attempt to improve Venezuelas economy enough to slow the flow of migrants to the US border.

The PAX sapiens poll found that Venezuelas economic stabilization in and of itself will be insufficient for a return of migrants in the US. More than 58% of them would be likely to go home if its economy significantly improves, while just 14% would do so if that happens but Maduro remains in power, the study shows.

The poll was conducted between Oct. 17 and Nov. 14, after news of the agreement between the Maduro government and the opposition to work toward freer and fairer elections this year.

PAX sapiens is a philanthropic foundation established by Marcel Arsenault that is meant to invest in projects that can deliver long-term, sustainable peace, according to the website of Real Capital Solutions, an investment firm he founded and leads as chief executive officer.

About three quarters of the 444 migrants surveyed said they would vote for opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who is banned by Maduro from running for public office, if they could. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.

Flights carrying Venezuelan deportees from the US have effectively stopped since Maduro ratified Machados electoral ban in January, prompting the Biden administration to threaten Venezuela with renewed sanctions. The US has been able to send back about 1,800 people since October, according to non-governmental organization Witness at the Border.

Without political change, migration is expected to continue and some analysts estimate that another two million Venezuelans could leave the country if Maduro is reelected.

Migration has not stopped, nor will it stop, said Benigno Alarcon, director of the political studies center at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas. In fact, without a political change, there will be another significant migration wave.

(Corrects location of nonprofit headquarters in 2nd paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to travel to Durham, North Carolina, on Friday.

The visit is part of the administrations Investing in America tour.

She will be joined by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and Governor Roy Cooper.

ALSO READ: Vice President Kamala Harris announces mental health funding for NC schools

This will be her tenth trip to the state since being sworn in and her second trip this year.

Last month, she visited a Charlotte-area school to announce an additional $285 million in funding to help schools across the country hire and train mental health counselors.

The funding was a result of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in nearly 30 years.

VIDEO: Vice President Kamala Harris announces mental health funding for NC schools








Victoria Beckham wore a black top and trousers during the presentation of her Autumn-Winter collection in Paris - GONZALO FUENTES/REUTERS

Victoria Beckham has been forced to style it out on crutches at her own fashion show in Paris.

While the event may traditionally call for eye-catching outfits, the British designers costume plans appear to have been scuppered after she suffered a broken foot.

Beckham nevertheless sought to style out the injury, and arrived at Paris Fashion Week on black crutches that perfectly matched her black leather jacket, sunglasses and trousers. Earlier this week, she was seen wearing a high heel on one foot, while the other was supported with a medical boot.

She jokingly said, Im finding these very empowering, at a preview of her latest collection, shown at Paris Fashion Week on Friday evening, as she wielded them to point out details on a dress.

Two weeks into life on walking aids, with five more to go, she said she had really had to embrace a legging and a kitten heel.

The designer had been planning to wear a new ultra-long trouser style from her collection to take her bow after presenting her latest designs on the catwalk last night.

However, she said she was a bit worried that if I get the crutch stuck on the right leg Id go flying and I dont want another accident. Instead she wore a slightly less precarious pair of tailored black trousers and a black tank top as she slowly made her way to her family at the end of the show.

The Victoria Beckham show, held at the grand Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, was a chance for her family to assemble around its matriarch.

Victoria Beckham has been seen in Paris wearing a high heel on one foot, with the other in a supportive boot

David Beckham and their daughter Harper, 12 sat alongside eldest son Brooklyn and his wife Nicola Anne Peltz Beckham, who was rocking a pair of sky-high heels and body-con red dress. The footballer Ronaldo also joined the family on the front row.

The new collection showcased on the catwalk included a slinky navy dress that was crafted to look like bed sheets billowing in the wind as they dry on the washing line, leather bomber jackets with exaggerated high collars and blazers which hung from the front of the models bodies to expose their backs. A new bag was inspired by a vintage briefcase she had bought for David in Tokyo last year.

The former Spice Girl, 49, later shared a video with her fans in which she toasted to the start of the annual fashion showcase in the French capital with a glass of 160 tequila.

She had previously told fans that she had broken her left foot because she fell over at the gym and was forced to wear a supportive boot.

Her husband, David, elaborated on the incident, telling fans on Instagram: Apparently my wifes little accident in the gym was a clean break.

Im just feeling very proud

She was joined in Paris by her husband, alongside their son Brooklyn, plus their daughter-in-law Nicola Peltz, who may take part in Beckhams planned autumn/winter 2024 show in Paris.

Beckham is approaching her 50th birthday, a milestone that she will reach in April, but the designer told The Telegraph last year that she was not obsessed with looking young.

She also explained the pressure of Paris, saying: Paris is the creme de la creme. It definitely raised my game, but weirdly I feel less nervous showing there than I did in London or New York.

She added: I have an amazing CEO in Marie Leblanc [who previously worked at Printemps, the Parisian department store, as well as Isabel Marant and Celine].

She really ironed out all the kinks and restructured us. Thats huge  during the pandemic every day felt like we were putting out fires. Now sales in the store are up 80 per cent on the previous year.

Right now, Im just feeling very proud.

Animal rights activists disrupt show

An activist supporting PETA demonstrates at Victoria Beckham's show at Paris Fashion Week - PETA via PA

Animal rights activists from Peta demonstrated at Beckhams runway show on Friday.

The activists entered the runway as the models were walking down it, holding up placards that read Viva Vegan Leather and wearing t-shirts with the message Turn your back on animal skins and Animals arent fabric, before being escorted away by security.

As Beckham greeted the audience at the end of the show, another activist managed to slip onto the runway bearing the same placard.

Peta said it had also stormed the catwalks of Coach in New York, Burberry in London, and Fendi in Milan this season.

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If countries can be said to go in and out of fashion, then Vietnam is certainly having its moment in the spotlight.

Once better known for sitting quietly in the strategic shadows, its leaders almost unknown to the rest of the world, Vietnam is now being courted by everyone.

US President Joe Biden and and Chinese leader Xi Jinping both visited last year. The US saw its relationship with Vietnam elevated to the highest level possible, that of a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

Vietnam has agreed to 18 existing or planned free trade arrangements. Its collaboration is being sought on climate change, supply chain resilience, pandemic preparedness and a host of other issues.

It is viewed as a vital regional player in the growing US-China rivalry; in the South China Sea, where it contests China's claim to some island groups; and as the best alternative to China for outsourcing manufacturing.

What has not changed is the iron grip the Communist Party keeps on power, and over all forms of political expression.

Vietnam is one of only five Communist, one-party states left in the world. No political opposition is permitted. Dissidents are routinely jailed and the repression has become even more severe in recent years. Decision-making at the top of the party is shrouded in secrecy.

However, a leaked internal document from the Politburo of the Central Committee, the highest decision-making body in Vietnam, has shone a rare light on what the party's most senior leaders think about all these international partnerships.

The document, known as Directive 24, was obtained by Project88, a human rights organisation focussed on Vietnam. References to it in several party publications suggest it is genuine.

It was issued by the Politburo last July, and contains dire warnings about the threat posed to national security from "hostile and reactionary forces" brought to Vietnam through its growing international ties.

These, Directive 24 argues, will "increase their sabotage and internal political transformation activities forming 'civil society' alliances and networks, 'independent trade unions', creating the premise for the formation of domestic political opposition groups".

The document urges party officials at all levels to be rigorous in countering these influences. It warns that for all Vietnam's apparent economic successes, "security in the economy, finance, currency, foreign investment, energy, labour is not firm, there is a latent risk of foreign dependence, manipulation, and seizures of certain 'sensitive areas'".

This is alarmist stuff. In none of its public pronouncements has the Vietnamese government sounded so insecure. So what does it mean?

The document was signed off by the Vietnamese Communist Party's General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

Ben Swanton, co-director of Project88, is in no doubt that Directive 24 heralds the start of an even harsher campaign against human rights activists and civil society groups.

He cites the nine orders at the end of the document to party officials, to police social media to counter "false propaganda", to "not allow the formation of independent political organisations", and to be alert for people taking advantage of the increased contact with international institutions to stir up "colour revolutions" and "street revolutions".

"The mask is off," says Ben Swanton. "Vietnam's rulers are saying they intend to violate human rights as a matter of policy."

Not everyone sees it this way.

"Directive 24 does not signal a new wave of internal repression against civil society and pro-democracy activists so much as business as usual, that is, the continuing repression of these activists," says Carlyle Thayer, emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales and a renowned scholar on Vietnam.

He cites the timing of the directive, published right after the US and Vietnam had agreed to their higher-level partnership, and just two months before President Biden's visit.

This was a momentous decision, he says, driven by the party's fear that the impact of the Covid pandemic and the economic slowdown in China would prevent Vietnam from reaching its goal of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045. It needed closer ties with the US to move its fast-growing economy up to the next level.

Hardliners inside the party feared the US would inevitably encourage pro-democracy sentiment in Vietnam, and threaten the party's monopoly on power.

Professor Thayer believes the combative language used in Directive 24 was intended to reassure hardliners that this would not happen. He thinks the decision to have General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, not just the most powerful political figure in Vietnam but also a known communist ideologue, personally sign the new partnership was intended do the same thing.

What Directive 24 does illustrate clearly is the dilemma Vietnam's communist leaders face as their country becomes a global manufacturing and trading powerhouse.

Vietnam is not large enough to do what China has done, and seal itself off behind its own "great firewall". Social media platforms like Facebook are easily accessible there; Vietnam needs foreign investment and technology to keep growing quickly and cannot afford to cut itself off.

Vietnam hopes to become a developed, high-income country by 2045

Some of the free trade deals Vietnam has agreed to, like the big one with the EU finalised in 2020, come with human and labour rights clauses attached to them. Vietnam has also ratified some of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) conventions, though notably not the one requiring freedom of assembly.

But Directive 24 suggests it is reluctant to honour these clauses.

In it, the party demands explicit limits on how independent trade unions can be, ordering officials to "strictly pilot the establishment of  employee organisations; take proactive initiatives when participating in the International Labour Organization's Convention that protects freedom of association and the right to organise, ensuring the ongoing leadership of the Party, leadership of party cells, and government management at all levels."

In other words, yes to co-operation with the ILO, a firm no to any trade union which is not controlled by the party.

Ben Swanton argues that Directive 24 shows would-be Western partners of Vietnam that their agreements on human or labour rights are nothing more than a fig-leaf, politely covering the deals they have made with a political system incapable of respecting individual rights.

Which civil society groups, he asks, will be allowed to monitor these free trade agreements, when we have already seen six environmental and climate campaigners jailed on spurious grounds at a time when Vietnam has just signed a huge energy transition partnership with Western governments?

There was a time, several decades ago, when one party Marxist-Leninist states were thought by many to be the future, bringing modernity, progress and economic fairness to the world's poorest societies.

Today they are a historical anomaly. Even China is seen as a political model by very few, however admired its economic successes may be.

Vietnam's leaders are hoping to pull off something of a conjuring trick; maintaining the strict control they have long held over the political lives of their people, while at the same time exposing them to all the ideas and inspirations that may come from overseas, in the hope that these will keep the economic fires burning bright.
Amicus Therapeutics (NASDAQ:FOLD) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: US$399.4m (up 21% from FY 2022).

Net loss: US$151.6m (loss narrowed by 36% from FY 2022).

US$0.51 loss per share (improved from US$0.82 loss in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Amicus Therapeutics EPS Misses Expectations

Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 13%.

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 22% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 18% growth forecast for the Biotechs industry in the US.

Performance of the American Biotechs industry.

The company's shares are down 4.3% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

We should say that we've discovered 1 warning sign for Amicus Therapeutics that you should be aware of before investing here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
The votes are in!

Shelby Gideon, of Martensdale-St. Marys Jr./Sr. High School, is the Des Moines Register's first Student of the Week.

Gideon, described in her school's nomination as "a positive role model and an active member of the school," earned 11,105 of the 12,552 votes to earn the top spot. A 10th grader, Gideon is a member of band, speech, the academic bowl team, drama, softball, and soccer.

"Shelby works hard to achieve academic excellence, she does an outstanding job in drama as our current stage manager/actress in the upcoming show, and she helps tutor students during her free time," her principal Joshua D. Moser said.

Shelby Gideon is the Des Moines Register's first Student of the Week.

The Register asked principals, teachers and guidance counselors from across central Iowa to participate in the Student of the Week program by sending nominations for their student.

The readers got to pick the best of the best in our polls. Stay tuned for our next one to come Monday.

Here were the other nominees:

Abdullah Azizi, Roosevelt High School

Abdullah Azizi exhibits Rider Excellence daily through his integrity and is committed to his academic success. He takes initiative when he needs clarification and turns in high quality work.

 Lisa Hesse, associate principal

Patrick Lee, Adel DeSoto Minburn High School

Patrick Lee received a distinctive honor when he found out from his high school counselor that he is among the less than 1% of 1.5 million students across the country who earned a perfect PSAT/NMSQT score this school year. Patrick is a well-rounded student who participates in band, cross-country and more. His ADM teachers are so proud of him and this huge accomplishment.

 Melonie Gill-Carreon, counselor

About Student of the Week

This is a weekly contest. Polls will open on Mondays and close on Thursdays. Students from public and private high schools in the Des Moines area are eligible to participate.

Do you want your student to be considered as Student of the Week? Ask your principal to contact studentoftheweek@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Martensdale-St. Marys student named first Register Student of the Week
North Carolina is on the big stage just days before Super Tuesday with visits from Vice President Kamala Harris, presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former president Donald Trump this weekend.

On Friday, Harris visited Durham to announce a $32 million investment for small businesses and to discuss the administration's economic successes in the area.

She stood in front of Durham's "Black Wall Street Sign" that sits in the city's historic Black business district. She was joined by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, and several investors in the program.

The $32 million comes from the American Rescue Plan under the State Small Business Credit Initiative. An additional $60 million will come from a match of private sector venture capital partners. The announcement is the administration's last stop in their "Investing in America" tour. President Biden recently visited North Carolina in January to tout the administration's investment in high-speed internet for underserved communities.

For many, the "American Dream" includes starting their own business, Cooper said at the event. That dream, though, has not been a reality for many Americans.

Black-founded companies have typically received less than 1% of venture capital funding annually, while women-only-founded businesses receive just about 2%," according to a White House press release.

N.C. Governor Roy Cooper, Vice President Kamala Harris and Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo speak after visiting Ella West Art Gallery in Durham, N.C., on Friday, March 1, 2024. Harris was in Durham to announce $32 million in funds to support North Carolina-based minority entrepreneurs.

This program, Harris said, is about intentionally investing in underserved groups. These groups can achieve big things if they have the resources, she said.

But when provided with access, the talent is there, the capacity is there, the drive is there, the ambition is there, and growth and economic growth results," Harris said.

When Harris and Biden first took office, they pledged to increase federal contracts for minority-owned business by 50 percent, and this investment puts them on track for that, Harris said.

NC Super Tuesday Guide: A look at the presidential candidates

Barber Ty Adams, left, and customer Chris Pittman try to get a glimpse of Vice President Kamala Harris as she arrives at Ella West Art Gallery in Durham, N.C., on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Voters feelings on Bidenomics

The public was not invited to the outdoor event, but some stood watching from outside the fences, inside the businesses surrounding the area and on rooftops of apartment buildings. Linda Hubbard Curtis, a Black onlooker who owns a small business in Durham, flashed her pink Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority gloves, while sharing that she and Harris are sisters  sorority sisters that is.

She said her support for Bidenomics is enthusiastic. She believes the administration has done an outstanding job and she already voted for Biden in the primary election during early voting.

Weve got to get them in so this economics will continue to grow," Hubbard Curtis said.

The polls, however, may tell a different story about the public's opinion on Biden's economy.

In comparison to Trump's handling of the economy, a February Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that 39% percent of respondents said "Trump had a better approach to the economy, compared to 33% who said Biden did."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Vice President Kamala Harris in North Carolina ahead of Super Tuesday
Two of the biggest pharmacies in the United States announced Friday that they will soon start dispensing the abortion medication mifepristone in select stores.

CVS and Walgreens both confirmed Friday that theyve completed the Food and Drug Administrations certification process to start filling prescriptions for the pills, which can be used to terminate some pregnancies in the first trimester and account for more than half of abortions in the U.S.

Walgreens expects to begin dispensing within a week, consistent with federal and state laws, said the pharmacy, which operates more than 8,000 locations across the country. Its rollout will begin in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois  all states that have protected access to abortion in the wake of Roe v. Wade falling in 2022.

CVS said its starting with a smaller rollout on a slightly later timeline.

Well begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and will expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis, said the company, which operates more than 9,000 pharmacies nationwide.

Boxes of the drug mifepristone, the most common way to carry out an abortion. via Associated Press

The New York Times was the first to report the news.

Neither pharmacy will offer mifepristone by mail. That practice has been a source of debate in recent years, though a recent study found that using telehealth to obtain abortion pills through the mail is as safe and effective as seeing a doctor in person for the same purpose.

President Joe Biden praised CVS and Walgreens for their announcements Friday and encouraged more pharmacies to seek the certification.

Today is an important milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone, a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for more than 20 years, he said in a statement. With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacyjust as they would for any other medication. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification.

More than a dozen states have successfully outlawed abortion following the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in 2022 removing federal protections for the procedure. Several other states are enforcing bans on abortion after just a few weeks into pregnancy, leaving the procedure accessible in about just of half of the states.

Mifepristone is one half of the two-drug combination usually used in medication abortions, along with misoprostol. But mifepristone has been targeted more intensely for restriction, and even in states where mifepristone remains legal, political maneuvering has stymied access.

After Walgreens announced last year that it would seek certification to sell it in pharmacies, a group of 20 attorneys general from conservative states threatened legal action against the pharmacy if they proceeded with distribution in their states. That included four states where mifepristone is legal: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana.

Walgreens acquiesced to the threat, with a spokesperson calling the matter a very complex and in flux area of the law.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) chastised Walgreens for bowing to the pressure and canceled a a $54 million contract with the company.

Related...
While network news shows and the political press at large continue treating the 2024 presidential race as if its a contest between two normal politicians, heres a friendly reminder that its not. At all.

Those of us who closely follow former president and current criminal defendant Donald Trump regularly see not only how mean, unserious and unhinged he is, but also how truly weird the guy can be. And not the good kind of weird. More like the Oh, lord, what is this guy on about? kind of weird.

Too often, the things Trump says in rallies and in campaign videos gets truncated into short clips or quick quotes. That sanitizes the rambling nuttiness of his drawn-out, self-obsessed, always-aggrieved soliloquies.

And thats a disservice. Voters should be fully aware of how much worse and how much more bizarre Trump has gotten after losing an election and living with the pressure of myriad legal issues.

Donald Trump, in his own weird and troubling words

Here is a full transcript of a video Trump posted Wednesday on his Truth Social page. Its a response to an interview President Joe Biden did with late-night host Seth Meyers, one in which Biden needled Trump a bit about his age and quipped that Trump had recently forgotten his wifes name. That didnt actually happen, but Biden was on a comedy show and, in the grand scheme of things, who cares?

US President Joe Biden speaks with host Seth Meyers during a taping of "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in New York City on Feb. 26, 2024.

Apparently Trump cares. Deeply. Here, in all its oddness, is Trumps full response to this grave and important issue:

The radical left Democrats are at it again. They're constantly making up stories about me because their candidate is a mental and physical basket case. There's never been anything like it. He's also the worst president in the history of our country. He went on a very poorly rated show last night, and he talked about Donald Trump and his wife, I don't know the name of my wife.

Trump sneakers, really? 'What are those?' Trump's gold high-tops show how out of touch he is.

He was referring to the fact that at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference), where I had a sold out speech, the biggest audience they've had in years, I think maybe ever. I made the statement that Melania was very popular because when I mentioned her name, the audience went wild. I then looked at the two people, man and wife, Matt and Mercedes Schlapp, and I said, Wow, they really like the first lady. So this got taken as the fact that I thought Mercedes was the first lady, has nothing to do with that.

These people are really dishonest. They are absolutely something. They have a horrible candidate who's a horrible president. They make up things constantly. You take a look at when I use Barack Hussein Obama and I interject him into where it's supposed to be Biden, and I do it purposely for comedic reasons and for sarcasm because a lot of people say that Obama's running the country, not Biden, because he's sleeping all the time. They say, Oh, I don't know the name of the president. Or when I imitate this guy getting off a stage, what they do is they say, Oh, he had trouble getting off a stage. I have no trouble getting off a stage. Anybody that watches what I do at rallies would say, Wow, that's amazing. He can go two hours without a teleprompter, not making even a little mistake. Very few people, maybe almost nobody, can do what I do.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks to kiss the American flag before speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 24, 2024.

So here's the story. The disinformation of the Democrats is unbelievable. They do it because they have a horrible candidate.

Don't associate me with the mental midget that you portray because I want to tell you, he should not be leading this country. And hopefully on November 5, he's not going to be. We're going to have a big election, we're going to have a big victory, and we're going to make America great again.

Listening to Donald Trump speak is painful, but revealing

That string of bizarro-world babbling nonsense is coming straight from the mouth of the man who a sizable swath of Americans think is the best choice to be president of the country.

Supporters of former president Donal Trump await his arrival in Eagle Pass near Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas on Feb. 29, 2024.

Read those words. Watch that video. There's nothing about any of it that's normal. Its the ranting of a thin-skinned man who believes himself to be all-powerful and forever without fault.

If the CEO of a major corporation was recorded saying all that, the companys board would have him removed immediately and committed for his own safety.

Trump and Biden: Trump's NATO threat gets less attention than Biden's gaffes. Only one puts Americans at risk.

Sure Trump is in all kinds of legal trouble. He's also super weird.

My point in sharing the full text of those comments is to remind people that when it comes to Trump, beyond the election denying, and the vast number of criminal charges, and the hundreds of millions owed in penalties for fraud and defamation, and the cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the endless lying, there is a profoundly weird and insecure man who has no business being anywhere near a seat of power.

You dont have to like Biden or his age or his less-than-great oratorical skills or his policies. But you cant read the transcript above and tell me this is a race between two politicians with differing styles. It takes staggering gall to question the 81-year-old current president's mental acuity while sitting back and applauding a 77-year-old man who just burped up a rambling two-minute screed about how everyone is amazed by his stage stamina.

This is a race between a politician and a deeply strange and wildly narcissistic spoiled brat. Proceed accordingly.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's response to Biden's Seth Meyers interview is actually painful
Washingtonians are particularly productive, according to a new study. Businesses advisory site Upflip conducted a study of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and the results were kind to the Evergreen State.

The study took the economic value-added of each state and divided it by the number of hours laborers in that state worked, to determine how productive the workforce in each state was on an hourly basis.

Washington took second place, with the average worker contributing $107.12 per hour of work. With 5,502,872,000 hours worked, Washingtonians created $589.5 billion worth of value. Workers in the state were nearly $28-an-hour more productive than the national average of $79.48.

How productive are other states?

The only state with a higher productivity rate was New York at $120.67 per hour work. Delaware took third place at $104.09 per hour, while California, Connecticut and Massachusetts were the only other states to pass the $100-per-hour mark.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Mississippi was the least productive state in the country at $58.80 added per hour of work.

The study used data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2023, based on 2022 economic output.
Since the Kraft family moved to Maryland several years ago, Maryland Public Television's "Maryland Farm & Harvest" has been one of the shows the family watches together, Nate Kraft said.

On Tuesday night they will be watching the season 11 finale that features the family's Pathfinder Farm Distillery near Keedysville.

"We haven't even seen the episode yet," Kraft said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Nate Kraft of Pathfinder Farm Distillery, right, show "Maryland Farm & Harvest" segment host Al Spoler the Bloody Butcher corn used in Pathfinder Farm's moonshine. The farm will be featured in the March 5 episode on Maryland Public Television.

The distillery will be featured in the "Local Buy" segment that focuses on local agriculture products available for purchase.

Segment host Al Spoler visited the farm, where the Krafts took him through their process "from sunshine into moonshine," Nate Kraft said.

Spoler helped ground corn, make whiskey mash and run the still.

The weekly series "takes viewers on a journey across the Free State, telling engaging and enlightening stories about the farms, people, and technology required to sustain and grow agriculture in Maryland, the states number one commercial industry," according to a Maryland Public Television release.

"They like what we're doing, the family farm thing and the value-added agriculture," Kraft said.

Kraft said they were a little nervous at first about being on the show. But they were excited to meet Spoler and the videography team, and to tell their story about making a living with family farming in Maryland in the 21st century.

The film crew visited Pathfinder Farm twice last year, including during harvest.

USA Today's Women of the Year: Meet Maj. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, the Maryland honoree for Women of the Year

How to watch 'Maryland Farm & Harvest'

Owners Natalie and Nate Kraft walk the property of Pathfinder Farm near Keedysville. This shot was taken with a drone for an episode of MPT's "Maryland Farm & Harvest" season finale airing March 5, 2024.

"Maryland Farm & Harvest" airs Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on MPT.

For Antietam Broadband customers, that is channel 3 and channel 31-1, according to Antietam's channel listings.

MPT airs an encore broadcast on MPT-HD, a different MPT programming channel, at 11 p.m. on Thursdays and at 6 a.m. on Sundays. Episodes air on MPT2/Create at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays. For Antietam Broadband customers, MPT2 is 31-2 or HD 818.

The episode can viewed via livestream at https://video.mpt.tv/livestream.

Episodes of "Maryland Farm & Harvest" also can be watched via the PBS App and MPTs online video player after the episode airs.

The episode also features a segment about Peace and Plenty Rural Historic District in New Market, in Frederick County, Md., according to the MPT release.

Early voting centers: County's early voting sites this year will be in Hagerstown, Boonsboro and  Smithsburg

More about Pathfinder Farm

"Maryland Farm & Harvest" 'Local Buy' segment host Al Spoler with Pathfinder Farm Distillery co-owner Nate Kraft.

Nate and Natalie Kraft opened the distillery in 2021, having their first legal sale of moonshine that March 26, Nate Kraft said.

The distillery produces fruit-infused moonshine, bourbon and corn whiskey.

The "Local Buy" segment features the distillery's blueberry lemonade cocktail, Kraft said.

Farmer Lorn Cartee does the planting and harvesting, Kraft said. The corn is not genetically modified. While it doesn't yield as much as modern corn, it makes a great tasting whiskey, he said.

The Krafts do the drying, storing, mashing, fermenting and distilling as well as feed about 13 head of beef cattle. After the whiskey hash is made and distilled, the solids and liquids from the hash are fed to the cattle, who also eat corn, hay and grass in the pasture, Nate Kraft said.

The family has a tasting room open Thursdays through Sundays in downtown Boonsboro at 14 S. Main St. The farm's beef also is sold at the tasting room.

The farm, off Mount Carmel Church Road, hosts an annual special bourbon release and tasting the weekend before Thanksgiving as part of the Valley Craft Network Studio Tour, Kraft said.

Kraft said he and Natalie, both military veterans, stayed with his sister-in-law's family at a farm in southern Washington County for several months after he got out of the Navy. They enjoyed the area and decided to settle in South County in 2016. After living in Rohrersville for a few years, they bought the 42-acre farm off Mount Carmel Church Road in 2019.

"We enjoyed it here and wanted to live close by and have a rural lifestyle," he said.

And the business has been growing every year, he said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Pathfinder Farm Distillery near Boonsboro featured on MPT show
The head of the union that represents Border Patrol agents across the country exploded on President Biden during a Thursday press conference, declaring agents were "mad as hell" and "p----d" over his policies that allowed the situation at the border to deteriorate so badly.

National Border Patrol Council (NBCP) President Brandon Judd appeared alongside former President Donald Trump in Eagle Pass, Texas, which he described as the "epicenter" of the border crisis, as Biden held a dueling event a few hundred miles away in less affected Brownsville, Texas.

"Sir, I want you to know your agents, my agents, they're mad as hell  absolutely mad that President Biden went to Brownsville, Texas, rather than going to Arizona, rather than going to San Diego, California, rather than coming to Eagle Pass, Texas, which has been the epicenter," Judd said after Trump invited him to the microphone to speak.

PROGRESSIVE HOUSE DEMS MADE SECRET HUMAN RIGHTS TRIP TO CUBA AMID WORSENING BORDER CRISIS AT HOME

President Biden, left, and National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd.

Judd said the trip allowed Trump to see how his policies worked compared to those implemented by the Biden administration, and that he had the clarity on how to expand them should he be elected president in November.

"Your agents  they are pissed. Border patrol agents are upset that we cannot get the proper policy that is necessary to protect human life, to protect American citizens, to protect the people that are crossing the border illegally," Judd said. "We can't do that because President Biden's policies continue to invite people to cross here."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"Thank goodness we have a governor like Governor Abbott. Thank goodness we have somebody that's willing to run for President of the United States, forego everything else he's been doing to serve the American people. Mr. President, thank you," he added.

TIM SCOTT RIPS 'TWO-TIERED STANDARD" BETWEEN TREATMENT OF TRUMP, BIDEN ON BORDER EXECUTIVE ACTION: VIDEO

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd speaks at a press conference alongside former President Donald Trump in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Earlier in the day, the NBCP issued a fiery warning to Biden, telling him to "keep our name out of your mouth," hours before the president was due to meet with officials at the border and urge passage of a Senate border bill.

The union also issued a statement earlier this week, calling the visit "too little, too late."

Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.





Original article source: WATCH: Border Patrol union chief explodes on Biden in fiery press conference, says agents 'p----d' at policies
[Source]

A viral TikTok video featuring security cameras lining the shores of Hainan's Haitang Bay in China has ignited a discussion on the growing presence of security cameras on Chinese beaches.

About the video: TikTok user @louiserct, identified only as 22-year-old French exchange student Louise, posted a clip of herself relaxing on the beach lined with surveillance cameras mounted on lampposts.

"POV: You're at the beach in China. OF COURSE there are security cameras every 50 meters and lifeguards patrolling," the text overlay reads.

In the caption, she wrote: Were at the beach in China of course we arent allowed to swim in the ocean 

Trending on NextShark: Japan breaks ground on world's first museum for video game art

Netizens reaction: The video has since attracted over 7 million views and thousands of comments, with users divided on the cameras' merits.

Worst dystopian nightmare, commented a user. Every move being monitored.

Trending on NextShark: Pho restaurant in Portland forced to close after neighbor complained of smell

I rather see security cameras than see women getting sexually assaulted while out jogging on the beach, a user commented. You? I like feeling safe.

Wow they keep people safe from drowning how dystopian, wrote another.

Meanwhile, other users provided context, explaining the need for such surveillance and the possible reason swimming is prohibited.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

There are plenty of beaches at China where you can swim and of course there's also some you can't swim at because it's dangerous to, a user claimed.

Thank you for creating a safe space for sinophobia. assuming you can't read, there are clear signs that say the water is dangerous. you can swim if u want but good luck surviving, another pointed out.

Not complaining: Louise, who is studying at a business school near Shanghai, told Newsweek that while she was "surprised" by the number of cameras, she appreciates the great security they bring.

Trending on NextShark: Watch: French student shocked to find cameras lining Chinese beach

"The beach experience in China is truly interesting. So many things are different from my Western culture I think it's important to note I wasn't complaining about these security cameras. China is a very strict and surveilled country, but this does bring a great security in the country that I much appreciate," she was quoted saying.

CCTVs for public safety: China has been building the Hainan coasts as a budding tourist destination and has implemented safety initiatives to protect its visitors, including the deployment of security cameras. These cameras may aid in drowning prevention and swift responses to emergencies. The presence of surveillance technology also serves as an environmental monitoring as well as a deterrent against criminal activities.

Surveillance and control: The proliferation of security cameras in public places also aligns with broader surveillance and control measures in China. These cameras assist authorities in upholding national security interests. The extensive surveillance network present in public spaces like beaches has raised concerns regarding privacy infringement.

Trending on NextShark: Watch: Chinese makeup artist transforms 57-year-old man into '27-year-old'

Download the NextShark App:

Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Those following along with AMN Healthcare Services, Inc. (NYSE:AMN) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by Caroline Grace, President of the company, who spent a stonking US$992k on stock at an average price of US$56.68. That purchase boosted their holding by 181%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

See our latest analysis for AMN Healthcare Services

AMN Healthcare Services Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the Chief Information & Digital Officer, Mark Hagan, for US$1.1m worth of shares, at about US$67.92 per share. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. The silver lining is that this sell-down took place above the latest price (US$56.27). So it may not shed much light on insider confidence at current levels.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 28.11k shares for US$1.6m. On the other hand they divested 17.00k shares, for US$1.2m. Overall, AMN Healthcare Services insiders were net buyers during the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

AMN Healthcare Services is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Does AMN Healthcare Services Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. It appears that AMN Healthcare Services insiders own 0.6% of the company, worth about US$13m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At AMN Healthcare Services Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchases. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Given that insiders also own a fair bit of AMN Healthcare Services we think they are probably pretty confident of a bright future. While we like knowing what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. For example - AMN Healthcare Services has 2 warning signs we think 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.



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CHICAGO (WGN)  A worker with the Illinois Department of Transportation rescued two women from a burning car on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago early on Friday morning.

Illinois State Police said the car, a Toyota Camry, struck a concrete median near I-90 southbound around 2 a.m. The vehicle then spun out and caught fire in the middle of the expressway.

Steve Newcomb, a minuteman with the Illinois DOT, was on patrol at the time and noticed several cars pulled over on the shoulder of the expressway. He turned around to investigate and saw the Camry on fire.

He wasnt initially aware the vehicle was still occupied.

I saw the car go up in flames, so being that it was under the bridge, I wanted to push the car out of the way so the flames didnt damage the bridge, Newcomb told Nexstars WGN. And then I see people moving inside [the car]. With everybody standing on the shoulder, Im like, Why are there still people in a burning car?'

Oh my God! Video shows speeding truck destroy New Mexico gas station

Once out of his truck, Newcomb said he heard a woman screaming for help.

WGN photographer Tremaine Williams, who was on his way to work at the time, managed to capture footage of Newcomb pulling the women to safety.

I felt bad, but she was in pain, he said of the driver. I grabbed her and brought her to my shoulders as gently as I could.

The second woman, he said, didnt initially appear responsive.

The one in the passenger seat was not [responsive] at first, but I pounded on the window and got her to unlock the window to get her out, Newcomb said.

A worker with the Illinois Department of Transportation rescued two women from a burning car on the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago early on Friday morning. (WGN)

The women, ages 18 and 19, were transported to the Masonic Hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

I dont know what would have happened with a couple more minutes in that smoke, he said.

How long should you let your car warm up before driving? The answer may surprise you

Newcomb added that this was the first time he had to pull people out of a burning car in his 22 years with the Illinois DOT.

I just feel like I was doing my job, thats all, he told WGN. Its no different than somebody broke down on the side of the highway. Id get them off the highway so theyre safe, and I pulled [the women] out of the car so they were safe.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Russian Pantsir anti-aircraft missile system on combat duty in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Luhansk region - REUTERS

Surveillance footage shared on social media showed the moment a Russian-built air-defence system overturned while attempting to round a corner in the city of Sochi.

The Pantsir S-1 anti-aircraft system reportedly toppled onto its side near a bridge over the Mamayka River early in the morning, Russian sources told website Defence Blog.

The incident could raise questions over the maneuverability and high centre of gravity of Pantsir truck-mounted defence systems, which are capable of adapting to different truck chassis and are valued between 8-12 million.

While footage of the incident initially circulated online, it has reportedly disappeared from several platforms.

The first Pantsir-S1 was unveiled to the public in 1995, during an air show in the city of Zhukovsky, near Moscow. It has since undergone extensive developments and nations including the United Arab Emirates and Syria have placed substantial orders of the anti-aircraft systems in the early 2000s.

The air defence missile-gun system is designed to protect key military areas, industrial targets and land force units, while providing reinforcement against low-altitude, precision-guided air attacks.

The video emerged as Vladimir Putin on Thursday threatened to strike Nato countries with nuclear weapons if the alliance sends troops to Ukraine during his annual state of the nation address.

The Russian president said the deployment of Nato soldiers to Kyiv could provoke the destruction of humanity, adding that Russian strategic nuclear forces were in a state of full readiness for guaranteed use.

Ukraines military claimed on Thursday it had shot down three Russian aircraft, two of which were Su-34 fighter-bombers, in its latest reported success against Moscows air force.

Writing on the Telegram messaging app, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraines army chief, said: After successful combat operations against an enemy aircraft in the night on Feb 29, two more Russian aircraft were destroyed: Su-34 fighter-bombers in the Avdiivka and Mariupol sectors.

After months of heavy fighting, Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine fell to Russian forces this month, while Russia took full control of the southeastern port city of Mariupol in May 2022.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
[Source]

South Koreans are now putting their own spin to "cash stuffing," a viral TikTok trend in which people are encouraged to save money by hiding them in binders, envelopes or folders.

Going viral: Cash stuffing, which went viral in the United States last year, is now being referred to by millennial and Gen Z South Koreans as the cash challenge after it gained traction on South Korean Instagram and TikTok.

How it works: After withdrawing a months worth of expenses, one divides and places them in binders, envelopes or folders for safekeeping and later use. Money that has not been used will be put in another binder as savings.

Trending on NextShark: Video of Mexican American toddler crying because she's not Chinese goes viral

Context: While cash stuffing gained internet popularity last year, the personal finance strategy has been around for decades and is known as the "envelope" method.

Why it matters: Lee Young-ae, a consumer studies professor at Incheon National University, told the Chosun Daily that the new South Korean trend has a positive psychological effect on people, noting, Its appealing because it offers dual benefits of cutting down expenses and the psychological reward of watching the money accumulate through savings.

Trending on NextShark: Asian restaurant slams influencer's request for free meal in exchange for exposure

What people are saying: In an interview with the Korea Herald, YouTuber Choi Su-ji, who runs QQ_Studio, a channel that highlights budgeting efforts, noted that the inconvenience of having to call a shop when ordering food  since she only has cash now  has helped her save money. She even gradually shifted to cooking at home.

"With cash, it is hard to count on delivery staff having exact change, so I would travel to the shops to pick up the food. This extra travel I have to make made me think twice before spending," Choi said.

Trending on NextShark: Watch: Chinese makeup artist transforms 57-year-old man into '27-year-old'

Download the NextShark App:

Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Forensic officers examine the site in Aberfeldy where Brian Low was shot

The Police Scotland watchdog will investigate the force's handling of a murder in Aberfeldy after officers did not notice the victim's gunshot wounds.

Brian Low, 65, was shot while he walking his dog in Pitilie on the outskirts of the Perthshire town at about 08:30 on Saturday 17 February.

His death was initially thought to be non-suspicious and medically-related.

A post-mortem examination then took place six days after his death, prompting a murder investigation.

The Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) confirmed on Friday it had been directed by the Crown to investigate the circumstances.

It will submit findings to the Crown once its investigation has concluded.

Local area commander Greg Burns told a police press conference on Thursday: "From the officers' initial assessment, it presented as a non-suspicious, medically-related death at that point in time.

"I think that probably gives you an indication how the body presented at that time."

Police at Pitilie

Mr Low worked as a groundsman at a nearby sporting estate before retiring in February last year.

His body was discovered on a remote track next to his black Labrador, which was unharmed.

Police have declined to release information about the location of Mr Low's wounds or the type of weapon used in the killing.

On Wednesday 21 February, a medical examination established that Mr Low had injuries consistent with being fatally shot. A post-mortem confirmed this two days later.

The murder inquiry was launched that Friday and Mr Low's family was updated on Saturday.

Detectives have set up an online portal where members of the public can submit information.

Timeline of events

Police at Pitilie

Saturday 17 February - Brian Low's body is found with his dog on a remote track in the Pitilie area near Aberfeldy

Wednesday 21 February - Medical examination establishes that Mr Low had injuries consistent with being fatally shot

Friday 23 February - A post mortem confirms that Mr Low had been shot

Saturday 24 February - Police tell Mr Low's family that he had been murdered

Tuesday 27 February - Police announce they have launched a murder investigation into Mr Low's death
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY)  Take a look at some of the top stories on WAVY.com from the week of February 26. Click here for more local news.

VB board game cafe lays off all employees without notice

They laid off everybody at once, even the manager. The now former employees of a Virginia Beach board game business are calling it an unprofessional move.

Ultra processed foods connected to 30+ health conditions, including heart disease, anxiety

Theres new evidence that the bag of chips or frozen dinner you may be heating up will put you in an early grave.

Fundraiser held for boy shot in head at VB home

A Virginia Beach business held a fundraiser Thursday for an 8-year-old boy after a stray bullet struck him in the head last month while he was inside his home playing video games.

Critically endangered horse species gets a newborn, keeping herd numbers in check

It is a win for wild horse conservation as herd managers along the Outer Banks celebrate a new pony.

Navy wife wrongfully arrested, jailed in Virginia Beach

A military wife, mom, business owner and medical professional is working to clear her name after she was wrongfully arrested in Virginia Beach.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
While Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, says the Tennessee General Assembly will "probably" hammer out an agreement on the governor's school choice proposal in a conference committee  the final stop for legislation when the House and Senate are at odds on final language  House Republican leadership remains optimistic that the two chambers will find common ground before then.

McNally's prediction is hardly a surprise as the Senate carries Gov. Bill Lee's relatively tailored bill to expand a school voucher program while House Republicans have filed a sweeping 39-page omnibus bill that would wrap the program with a slew of other education initiatives.

House Democrats agree the details are likely destined to be hashed out in conference committee.

"I think if any of this moves forward, it's definitely going to a conference committee," House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville said Thursday. "The Senate seems to have its heels dug in. The Senate has made its position very clear. The House has its heels dug in. And then Lord knows what the governor's doing in all this. He's getting yanked around by the tail, as he usually does, by the legislature."

House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, talks to reporters on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Though the two chambers are regularly juggling different versions of legislation, there's a gaping chasm in content and scope between the leading Senate and House versions, and it comes on the heels of an icy impasse between chambers after the unproductive August special session.

While House leadership continues to indicate a strong commitment to public education reforms included in their omnibus amendment that includes big changes to public school testing and accountability requirements, leaders on Thursday said they are optimistic that the two chambers will be able to bridge the gap.

"My hope is still that this will come together before a conference committee," said House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. "But the good news is the House and the Senate are talking to one another. I look forward to those discussions. ... I don't think either side is just locked in stone. We're all working together."

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, take questions after session concluded on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, told reporters Thursday that he's spoken with Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, to request that the two chambers seek to get on the same page before the bills get to their respective finance committees.

"I don't really want us to make it to a conference committee," Faison said. "Can we have some teams come together so that members know, they have more exposure, and we have a real idea ... what's gonna be on the House floor."

"I feel like that's a good possibility that there can be an agreement," Faison said. "I'm encouraged with that. I'm cautiously optimistic that we're going to move forward with what the House is doing."

Johnson brushed off concerns about the jarring differences between the two proposals.

"I'm not at all alarmed or concerned about the differences between the House and the Senate bill," he said.

Sexton defends his role, speaker pro tem attending committees

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, rebuffed criticism from his Republican colleague Rep. Bryan Richey, R-Maryville, who on Tuesday insinuated that pro-voucher Republicans are conspiring to "ram it through" the committee process. During the K-12 Subcommittee on Tuesday, Richey indicated that leadership had "invited an additional member" to the committee, noting the unusual presence of House Speaker Pro Tempore Pat Marsh, R-Fayetteville, who does not sit on the K-12 Subcommittee.

While House rules specifically permit the House Speaker and/or Speaker Pro Tempore to sit and vote on any committee at any time, neither often exercises that right.

"We knew it was going to pass," Sexton said. "I think most people think it's because you think you're gonna break tied vote. That's not the case."

Rep. Pat Marsh, R-Shelbyville, is the House speaker pro tem. He is seen here in 2019.

Sexton said sometimes he attends committees to "show some support" or to "see what's going on and answer questions," or at times "to make sure that there's no behind-the-scenes things going on."

"We knew we had the votes," he added "That wasn't what it was about."

Sexton told reporters that he and Marsh discussed Marsh's attendance at that committee prior to the meeting, and indicated he or Marsh may attend another committee meeting on the voucher bill in the future.

"If you're for it, that's great. If you're against it, that's great," Sexton said. "Let's cut down all these side games and behind-the-scenes games where you're trying to play 'gotcha.' And let's just do it the straight way."

Clemmons was doubtful.

"It's also pretty indicative of how much confidence they have in their own support for their own plan: They thought they would need a tie-breaking vote," Clemmons said. "I think maybe they may have a problem with the vote counting and know that they've got pretty thin ice, even in their own caucus for this scam. I'm sure Speaker Marsh didn't appreciate being shoved in there."

The legislation will be up in both the full House Education Administration Committee and the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

Judicial review for thee, not for me

Can the Tennessee House hold secret proceedings whenever it wants to?

Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, thinks so, per his interpretation of case law.

Bulso made the eyebrow-raising comment in Wednesday's State Government Committee while defending his bill to block state courts from hearing challenges to any internal rule or regulation adopted by the General Assembly, a concept called judicial review.

Bulso filed House Bill 1652 after a Davidson County judge last year temporarily blocked the House from enforcing a ban on protest signs in committee meetings. The case was later dismissed after the special session ended, but Bulso is now arguing the General Assembly rises above any state judicial review.

Rep. Gino Bulso R- Brentwood, argues in favor of his bill during a House session at the state Capitol in Nashville , Tenn., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.

Bulso has repeatedly said the state Constitution is exceedingly clear on the issue  he just needs to pass a law to clarify it.

"This idea that there is a First Amendment right to hold up a sign in our gallery  no. The Constitution says, and the courts have held, that we could  if we wanted to, and whenever we want to  hold floor sessions in secret and there's nothing the judiciary can do about it," Bulso said.

The state Constitution says that the "doors of each House and of committees of the whole shall be kept open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret."

Democrats on the committee opposed Bulso's bill, with Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, calling it "dangerous" and antithetical to the idea of co-equal branches of government.

"It frightens me a little bit that what we are saying is the legislature is going to be able to check itself. At that point, why do we even need the courts?" Rep. Darren Jernigan, D-Nashville, said. "You're not always going to be in the supermajority. Either way, what rules that come out should be subject to judicial review. "

More: Tennessee bill would block state courts from overturning legislature's rules

Bulso argued any challenges to legislative rules should be filed in federal courts. The Tennessee Supreme Court is technically excluded from Bulso's bill, but as an appellate bench the high court could only hear cases on appeal.

Allison Polidor was one of three women who sued Tennessee on First Amendment grounds after the trio was forcibly ejected from an August special session committee.

Allison Polidor is escorted out by State Troopers during a House Subcommittee meeting for holding a sign during the meeting at Cordell Hull State Office Building in Nashville , Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023.

Polidor testified against the bill on Wednesday, arguing the bill was brought "solely to silence the voice of the people."

"You are not in charge of the judicial system," Polidor said. "If anything, you are inviting more lawsuits against the state when you pass egregiously unconstitutional laws."

Bulso called testimony against the bill "not valid."

Bulso pointed to the 2001 Tennessee case Mayhew v. Wilder, where the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the General Assembly did not intend to apply the Tennessee Open Meetings Act to itself and secret meetings on the budget were constitutional.

"The authority to make rules in the General Assembly is vested exclusively in the General Assembly. Courts are not entitled to intervene," Bulso said. "Does the body have an obligation to adopt rules that are constituional? Yes. Who determines if the rules are constitutional? The body does. That is not subject to judicial review."

Bulso referred to a recent opinion issued by Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, who argued House leadership was within its bounds to establish a ticketing system to the public gallery. Democrats on the committee pointed out Skrmetti's opinion is neither legally binding nor does it expand beyond a very specific issue.

The AG's opinion did not address the legislature completely meeting in secret.

Meanwhile, the committee's legal staff said they believes the bill could be "constitutionally problematic" if the legislature adopted a rule that "abridges another constitutional provision or abridges a person's constitutional rights."

Bulso's bill is the latest example of Republican legislation moving forward after legal staff advised of constitutional concerns.

While the bill has moved swiftly through House committees, it has yet to receive a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it was assigned on Feb. 1.

Education chief's residency questioned

Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds is facing questions about her residency after House Democrats this week held a news conference to accuse her of not living in the state.

Democrats alleged Reynolds has an active Texas voter registration and maintains a primary residence in Texas, which doesnt have a state property tax.

The second-highest paid person in the governors cabinet, paid with Tennessee taxpayer money, isnt a Tennessee taxpayer, Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, said.

Reynolds however, lives in Inglewood in Nashville, according to a home address listed on her state declaration of interest disclosure filed shortly after she was appointed. According to Davidson County property records, Reynolds does not own the home listed on the disclosure form.

Brian Blackley, a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Education, told The Tennessean that the commissioner is in her office in the Andrew Johnson Tower, and that she is there on a daily basis.

The department provided a copy of the commissioners voter registration form, which shows that she is registered to vote in Davidson County, at an East Nashville precinct.

Reynolds husband and teenage child remain in Texas, where her child plans to finish high school, Blackley confirmed. The family decided this arrangement to avoid her childs education from being disrupted.

Reynolds has faced extensive criticism from Democrats due to her previous role at ExcelInEd, a national organization that advocates for school choice policies. Democrats have also asserted that Reynolds is not qualified under Tennessee law to serve as education commissioner because she is not currently licensed to teach in Tennessee.

Hemmer has requested an official opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General's Office over whether Reynolds background meets the qualifications for the job as outlined in state statute.

Lee's office has confirmed that Reynolds is currently enrolled in a teacher certification preparation course at the University of Tennessee at Martin. It is unclear when Reynolds enrolled in the program, or whether Lee requested Reynolds do so.

House candidate testifies in D.C.

A Clarksville woman and Tennessee House candidate testified before a U.S. Senate committee this week on abortion access.

Allie Phillips and her husband were excited to expand their family when she became pregnant in the fall 2022, but a routine anatomy scan the following February showed heartbreaking news: Their daughter, Miley Rose, was not developing correctly. Her organs were not functioning, she had no lung development and doctors identified a rare brain condition incompatible with life.

Under Tennessee's abortion law, Phillips did not qualify for an abortion, even though her doctors warned that the longer she stayed pregnant, the worse her daughter's condition would get and the more Phillips risked dangerous repercussions to her own health.

Phillips decided to travel to New York for an abortion.

Phillips has said the experience drove her to become involved in state politics and eventually announce her candidacy for Tennessee State House District 45 as a Democrat.

"Tennessee has a very vague exception to protect the life of the mother. Even though my life was at risk  I did not qualify," Phillips said in a campaign email on Wednesday. "Reproductive healthcare is not black and white, and we cannot lean on the "exceptions" written into one-size-fits-all policies. Because these exceptions simply do not work  and I'm a living testimony to that."

More: Why doctors are decrying Tennessee's 'dangerous' abortion ban as lawmakers debate change

Hundreds gather for gun reform rally

Hundreds of gun reform advocates gathered outside the Tennessee Capitol for a rally Tuesday.

Drew Spiegel, a freshman at Vanderbilt University, said he was at the Independence Day parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois in 2022. Seven people died, while 48 others were hurt. Not even nine months later, he watched in horror as the Covenant School shooting left three children and three adult staff members dead in Nashville.

"I am now part of the generation where mass shootings feel inevitable," Spiegel said in an impassioned speech. He urged Tennessee lawmakers to take action on gun reform and gun safety measures.

The rally represented more than 100 organizations and was hosted by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety. It featured several speakers, including the mother of a gun violence victim, a pediatric trauma surgeon and a young child.

School-based gun safety training bill passes House

A measure to require public schools to offer age-appropriate gun safety training to children as early as pre-kindergarten passed the Tennessee House of Representatives on Thursday morning, despite bipartisan opposition.

Sponsored by Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, House Bill 2882 would require schools to instruct children in basic gun safety principles such as not to touch found guns, and to go tell an adult if they find a gun.

Todd likened the gun safety principles to fire safety education that have long been taught to young children, including practicing fire drills in schools.

If you see a gun, dont touch it, its dangerous. Go tell an adult, he said, summing up the principles to be taught to younger children.

Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, presents a bill to require public school children to receive age-appropriate gun safety training as early as pre-kindergarten on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024.

Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, who supported the legislation, called it an equalizer," arguing that children in rural counties have had long had gun safety classes available, while Memphis children have not.

Republicans voted down multiple proposed amendments that sought to allow parents the ability to opt their child out of the training. Some Democrats, including Clemmons, argued that without such a provision, the bill eliminates parent choice.

We teach our own children about gun safety, Clemmons said.

Todds bill includes a requirement that any safety training offered to public school children be viewpoint neutral concerning the Second Amendment and gun violence. On Thursday, Republicans voted against taking up an amendment by Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, that sought to specifically exclude the NRAs Eddie Eagle gun safety curriculum, as Pearson argued that the NRAs curriculum is not viewpoint neutral.

Ultimately, the bill passed the House on a vote of 79 to 12, with Rep. Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, joining 11 Democrats who opposed. It has not yet been taken up in a Senate committee.

Early Voter turnout down 30% from 2016

With an incumbent president and former president both on the ballot on Tuesday, early voter turnout across Tennessee in the 2024 presidential primary elections was down 20% from the 2020 presidential primaries  and down nearly 30% from 2016, according to voter turnout numbers from the Tennessee Secretary of States office.

While early voter turnout was up slightly in the Republican primary election  24% more people voted in the Republican primary than in 2020  turnout among Democrats was down by 63% from four years ago.

The 2024 Presidential Primary elections in Tennessee will be held on Tuesday, March 5. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Catch up on the week

Sweeping school voucher, public education overhaul in Tennessee passes first House hurdle

Tennessee House passes bill along party lines to ban pride flags in public schools

House files 39-page voucher amendment overhauling key areas of Tennessee education

Covenant-inspired fire alarm bill heads to TN Gov. Bill Lee's desk after Senate passage

TN House GOP passes bill to block local governments from reappointing expelled lawmakers

Tennessee's US Rep Mark Green officially reverses course, will seek reelection to Congress

Got a question for us?

Got a question about state politics you would like us to tackle? Let us know. Email us at mabrown@tennessean.com, vjones@tennessean.com or statehouse@tennessean.com.

Rachel Wegner contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee politics: House, Senate far apart on school voucher bill
As the anniversary of Bloody Sunday approaches, several elected leaders and organizations are planning events across the weekend to mark its significance. Here are some of the ways they're commemorating the events of 59 years ago this weekend in Selma and Montgomery.

Friday

9 a.m. - noon, Youth Freedom March, Songs of Selma Park, corner of Broad and Water Avenue

10 a.m. - noon, Education Summit, virtual event

The Southern Poverty Law Center will begin Jubilee weekend with its annual wreath laying ceremony at The Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery at 1 p.m. The event honors the late Rep. John Lewis and the 40 martyrs of the Civil Rights Movement featured at the Civil Rights Memorial Center. Speakers include Margaret Huang, president and CEO of SPLC, Tafeni English-Relf, director of the Civil Rights Memorial Center and the Alabama State Office, and Jerrick Lewis, executive director of the John R. Lewis Legacy Institute.

2 p.m., Walk for Peace starting at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma

Black Voters Matter will host a news conference at 3 p.m. at The Ralph Abernathy Auditorium at Alabama State University in Montgomery to discuss the state of voting rights/discrimination in Alabama and the United States. The event will be introduced by political and civil rights activist Rev. Mark Thompson, with speakers including U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler, D- CA and LaTosha Brown of BVM.

The Faith & Politics Institutes Annual Pilgrimage walks across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Saturday March 5, 2022.

Saturday

8 - 9 a.m., Foot Soldiers Breakfast, Selma High School Cafeteria, 2180 Broad Street

10 - 11 a.m., Empowering Voters, Wallace Community College, Hank Sanders Conference Room, 3000 Earl Goodwin Parkway, Selma

11 a.m. - 6 p.m., Jubilee Street Festival (free admission), Water Avenue at the foot of the Pettus Bridge Performances

Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, will welcome the congressional delegation on Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Saturday at noon. The pilgrimage retraces pivotal parts of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, giving participants convene, engage and reflect on the state's history.

The Faith and Politics Institute will host the 2024 Congressional Civil Rights Pilgrimage at the Legacy Plaza in Montgomery at 3:30 p.m. This annual event is a tribute to honor the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama. There will be remarks from House representatives Steny Hoyer, MD-05, Jim Clyburn, SC-06 and Jay Obernolte, CA-23.

More: Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit Selma for Bloody Sunday commemoration

Sunday

10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Selma morning services at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Clinton Chapel, Brown Chapel Church, First Baptist Church

1:30 - 2:30 p.m., Pre-March Rally, Brown Chapel AME Church, 410 Martin Luther King Street

1:30 - 2:30 p.m., March for Voting Rights (Solidarity march over the Edmund Pettus Bridge), Starting Point: Brown Chapel AME Church, 410 Martin Luther King Street

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at vhagan@gannett.com. To support his work, subscribe to Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 2024 Bloody Sunday events schedule
A program designed to speed repairs after Hurricane Ian celebrated the completion of its first home Wednesday in Deltona.

The formerly flood-damaged home belongs to Sabine Mathieu, a disabled Navy veteran who has an 11-year-old son. She couldn't leave her home, so she did her best with the help of neighbors, cleaning to keep mold away before she could get repairs done.

She went to the Volusia County Council in October seeking help.

"I have very limited funds in order to repair my house. That's why I stay in there this way during the whole time. So I'm doing my best to manage," she told them.

Sabine Mathieu smiles after cutting a ribbon during a ceremony to celebrate the completion of repairs from Hurricane Ian flood damage at her home. Standing around her, from left, are Charles Puckett, operations manager for Volusia County's Office of Recovery and Resiliency; Sarah Nolan, special projects coordinator for the Office of Recovery and Resiliency; Chris Williams, activity project manager for the county's Transform386 program; and Orange City Councilwoman Lisa Stafford, who helped connect Mathieu with help.

County officials and Orange City Councilwoman Lisa Stafford helped connect her with resources.

That led her to SBP, a nonprofit disaster recovery organization that has a history of recovery efforts in Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Houston and the Bahamas.

The organization coordinated with Volusia County government officials to bring the Florida Recovery Acceleration Fund to Volusia County residents, said Thomas Corley, chief recovery officer for SBP. Mathieu's home was the first to be completed through the program, he said.

The program offers loans to people so they can get repairs done while awaiting financial aid through a local government from HUD's Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program  the county government's Transform386 program is managing those funds. When the federal aid comes in, it pays back the repair loan.

The damage on Mathieu's home led to about $12,400 in repairs, said Brian Deubert, director of construction for the Florida Recovery Acceleration Fund. Crews did the work in February. They pulled off baseboards and trim to check for mold. They pulled up and replaced damaged flooring and replaced a bathroom vanity, in addition to addressing other concerns, he said.

Transform386 has about $329 million for Hurricane Ian recovery in Volusia County coming from HUD's Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery program. The program is intended to address needs that haven't been met by other funds.

Of that, $200 million is earmarked for housing.

The county launched the Homeowner Recovery Program as part of the Transform386 housing efforts to help residents repair their homes from Ian damage or to reimburse residents for repairs they've already made. The program prioritizes helping lower-income households, people with disabilities and households with people 17 years old or younger or 65 years and older.

SBP expects that Mathieu's loan will be reimbursed through that program. Transform386 officials have yet to start issuing funds through the Homeowner Recovery Program.

More than 1,000 applications have been filed with the Homeowner Recovery Program so far, and the county is still accepting applications. So far the county has confirmed that over 200 applications are eligible.

"This journey of recovery we're on with our residents is a testament to what can be achieved when government, nonprofits, and communities collaborate with a shared vision of resilience and renewal," Transform386 Director Dona Butler said in a prepared statement. "Every application we receive is a story of strength and hope, and we're here to support those stories, ensuring they have the happy ending our residents deserve."

Mathieu celebrated the repairs with officials from the county, SBP and others on Wednesday with a ribbon cutting and a cake that said "Welcome Home Sabine."

"I'm so grateful," she said.

Mathieu said she wants more people to know about the available help.

"It makes a great difference," she said.

Corley said SBP wants to help at least 50 homeowners in Volusia County through the program.

What is SBP's Florida Recovery Acceleration Fund?

It's an investment fund with backing from the UPS Foundation, Dow Chemical and Farmers Insurance. It provides loans for home repairs from Hurricane Ian damage for "HUD-qualified homeowners." Credit Human is the lending partner.

SBP launched operations in Volusia County because of the county government's Transform386 program. SBP anticipates that the county will use HUD funds to reimburse SBP for the repair work.

To qualify for a loan, the resident must have owned the home when Ian hit and still own it today, among other criteria.

For information, people can call SBP at 863-660-3133 or go to sbpusa.org.

How do I apply for the Transform386 Homeowner Recovery Program?

The Transform386 effort is separate from the Florida Recovery Acceleration Fund and is run by the Volusia County government.

People who have not yet made repairs from Ian and those who would like to seek reimbursement for repairs they have made can apply for the Homeowner Recovery Program.

This program also has income eligibility criteria and other requirements.

People can learn more and apply at transform386.org. People can also call 386-943-7029 for information.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Loan program starts in Volusia County to speed up hurricane repairs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is updating its COVID-19 guidance so people who test positive for the virus will no longer be directed to isolate at home for five days.

On Friday, top health officials announced a new policy focusing on actions people can take to reduce spreading a variety of common respiratory viruses, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19. Those actions include staying at home when sick, staying up to date with vaccines, practicing good hygiene and improving indoor air quality.

The change marks the first time the agency has revised its coronavirus guidelines since 2021. It is intended for people and employers, not for hospitals or nursing homes that have separate guidance, the CDC said.

CDC officials called the change a streamlined approach thats easier for people to understand and more in line with circulating respiratory viruses that spread the same way and have similar symptoms.

The announcement reflects progress made in reducing hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 over the last two years, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said in a Friday news conference. Still, she emphasized continued use of vaccines and treatments.

We're in a different situation, but we must use the tools that work to protect against respiratory viruses, she told reporters. Thats why our updated guidance emphasizes some core prevention actions to protect against severe illness from respiratory viruses.

CDC Director Mandy Cohen is still emphasizing continued use of vaccines and treatments for respiratory viruses.

In February, the Washington Post first reported on the CDC's plans to change the guidance.

What guidance does

Friday's guidance, CDC officials said, is meant to target respiratory viruses more broadly because the flu, RSV and COVID-19 all have similar symptoms such as cough and fever; have similar means of spread; and require the same protection strategies.

The CDC is recommending that people who test positive for the coronavirus should base their isolation period on clinical symptoms. The CDC doesn't recommend testing as a standard for deciding when someone is no longer contagious, in part, because CDC surveys show fewer people use at-home tests if they have symptoms, according to Dr. Brendan Jackson, who leads respiratory virus response for CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease. The CDC's decision is more streamlined to tell people to stay home if they are sick.

Americans can return to public life if they have been fever-free for at least 24 hours and symptoms are improving, regardless of a positive test, agency officials told reporters on Friday. When they return to normal activities, the CDC recommends people use preventative strategies for the next five days. This includes limiting close contact with others, enhancing hygiene like hand-washing, improving ventilation, masking and testing as needed.

Officials said the federal action followed similar updated guidance from California and Oregon, which were the first states to announce new COVID-19 guidelines in early January that also did away with specific isolation times.

Dr. Lara Jirmanus, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, said people may struggle to interpret this new guidance.

Exclusive: Health is political, Americans are divided. How new CDC head aims to fix that.

This guidance is going to be confusing to people because when they hear it, they're going to hear, the CDC now says COVID is not a big deal, said Jirmanus, a primary care doctor in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That's not true. It's a deadly and disabling virus.

She added people who are repeatedly infected increased their risk of developing long COVID, a potentially disabling condition that inflicts millions of Americans. Infants not yet eligible for vaccination remain at risk, as well.

Recent weekly reporting periods indicate nearly 19,000 people are hospitalized and more than 1,000 die from COVID-19 each week. However, Jackson, of the CDC, said COVID-19 figures are now approximately the same as those for the flu and far lower than early in the pandemic.

These data reinforced that COVID-19 is still an important public health threat, but it is not the emergency that it once was, Jackson said. Its health impacts increasingly resemble those of other respiratory virus viral illnesses.

How public should respond

Anyone who has a respiratory illness  a cough, stuffy nose, often a fever  should assume they have either COVID-19, the flu, or RSV, all of which kill tens of thousands of vulnerable Americans a year, said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

He recommends that people at risk for severe disease from COVID-19, including those who are pregnant, immunocompromised, or over 65, get tested quickly if they develop these symptoms so they can benefit from the very effective available treatments, Paxlovid and the antiviral Molnupiravir.

The CDC Friday changed its guidance, suggesting people should stay home when sick with any respiratory virus but no long recommended a 5-day isolation period for COVID-19.

Anyone not at high risk should just assume they have one of these highly contagious infections and should wear a mask to protect the vulnerable, Offit said.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said he's one of the few people in his Nashville, Tennessee, region still masking in public. He and his wife are caring for a family member undergoing chemotherapy for cancer and he doesn't want to bring anything home.

He agrees that a policy change was needed to bring it more in line with what people are already doing. "These new guidelines will be welcomed."

State health officials cheered the new guidance as a practical yet important step.

"The thing that I heard across the board from our members is it's time to really try to align COVID with other respiratory illnesses," said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. "It's in step of where we need to be going and where our society is going anyway."

Dr. Anand Parekh, chief medical adviser for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said most members of the public likely aren't following the previous isolation guidelines anyway.

"We're not going to prevent COVID anymore  people are going to get COVID," he said. But, he added, what's important is preventing hospitalizations, severe illness and deaths in the face of a virus that "is much more transmissible than the flu or than a regular rhinovirus that gives you the common cold."

Western states moved first

The CDC's shift mirrors updated guidance from California and Oregon, which were the first states to announce new COVID-19 guidelines in early January that also did away with specific isolation times.

In California's order, issued on Jan. 9, the changes were attributed to the reduced impact of COVID-19 compared to past years, the availability of treatment and the changing expectations to keep people most at-risk safe while posing minimal disruptions to the public.

Those who experience no apparent symptoms are no longer required to isolate at all, according to the state policies.

We are now at a different point in time with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years due to broad immunity from vaccination and/or natural infection, and readily available treatments available for infected people, the director of the California Department of Public Health Dr. Tomas Aragon said in the state order.

A pharmacist gives a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in September 2022.

Looking ahead

The concern remains for people returning to work while contagious, which is often the case for people who cant afford to take time off.

Cohen said the CDC is encouraging companies to allow employees to stay home when theyre sick, regardless of whether it's COVID-19 or another respiratory viral illness.

The decision also comes as the CDC earlier this week recommended a booster shot of the latest COVID-19 vaccine for people ages 65 and older. Cohen said its important to get vaccinated, with an updated COVID-19 and flu shots expected this fall.

Karen Weintraub contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CDC COVID-19 guidance shortens five-day isolation period
It will be described as a bombshell, but the warning signs have been there for many years.

I have long tried to warn people that UK politics was heading in a sectarian direction, but it was too inconvenient for our political and media class to accept my comments. Mass immigration, diversity and multiculturalism have become gods that we are all supposed to bow down to. The difference this time is that this religious sectarian victory is here to stay.

Ive been openly saying, too, that this new form of sectarianism will lead to the hard-Left Islamist party getting a foothold in Westminster. Again, people chose to ignore me.

As we saw in previous decades in Northern Ireland, sectarian politics can be ugly and violent. And this by-election has been very ugly indeed.

Galloway supporters turned on Reform UK candidate Simon Danczuk at the only public hustings of the campaign. This was followed by a clear death threat made against Danczuk, who was described in an online post as a devil. A local business that backed Reform claims it was threatened with being burnt down. Worse still, on voting day itself, we saw Galloway supporters openly campaigning at polling stations in direct contravention of the law. The police seemed to just stand by and do nothing. After all, they fear being called an Islamophobe much more than protecting our democratic system.

In the upcoming British general election, there will be a well-funded campaign that will focus on up to 30 urban constituencies that have large Muslim populations. By 2029, this could really hurt the Labour party, which will serve them right in many ways for an irresponsible immigration policy.

The sharp increase in postal votes which are open to abuse must also be investigated; it is going to make our country more divided than we have ever seen. In the Oldham by-election of 2015, even Left-wing publications described how very few people spoke English and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had low recognition, yet everyone was voting Labour. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that they had been told to vote Labour by their religious leaders and that, conveniently, their postal votes had been collected from their front doors.

Ukip came second and I branded the election bent. My words were written off as being a bad loser. But in 2019, in the Peterborough by-election, it was even more blatant. At the count, there was even a Labour teller who was a man who previously served time in prison for postal vote fraud. Mass postal voting is wide open for misuse and intimidation and, when used in a religious context, can transform individual elections.

Labour had signed up 24,000 people to postal votes in the Rochdale constituency. Until now, they have been the big winners of this new, badly thought through politics. But now it has come back to bite them. At the time of writing, I do not yet know what percentage of votes cast came through postal votes, but I bet it is a very significant proportion. This means that in some ways, the by-election contest was partly-finished two weeks ago.

But I digress. We should not be surprised by Galloways victory. He has done this before. The Bradford West by-election of 2012 was the first time that I had seen people in England voting purely along sectarian lines. The scenes of the victorious mob outside the count and the following day were unlike anything I had seen before, too. The tensions over the conflict in Gaza have mobilised huge numbers of Muslims and members of the hard-Left of British politics.

If you want to look into our political future, just consider the words of Chris Williamson, the deputy leader of Galloways Workers Party of Britain. On election night, he told GB News that more children are being killed every day in Gaza than were being killed at Auschwitz. It is vile, it is repugnant. But Im afraid we can expect to hear much more of it.

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Apple Inc. is constantly looking for new and innovative ways to spend its $73 billion war chest. From the Vision Pro to the Apple Car, it's rolling out new products and producing the next generation of consumer technology. Last week, it was reported that its decade-long Apple Car project is coming to an end. But it looks like the trillion-dollar titan has a new focus: artificial intelligence.

In a bold move toward integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into its ecosystem, Apple is setting the stage to unveil a series of generative AI-based tools at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. This initiative, part of iOS 18, signifies a significant leap in Apples AI strategy, showcasing a new version of Siri enhanced with generative AI capabilities. The upgrade promises a range of new functionalities, aiming to revolutionize user interactions with Apple devices.

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Apples AI ambitions extend beyond Siri. The company is reportedly planning to introduce an AI-based tool for completing lines of software code, akin to Microsoft Corp.s Copilot. Microsoft continues to be a magnate in the AI space. It has invested billions in OpenAI in a profit-sharing agreement that has also helped power the company's suite of AI-based tools.

This tool, expected to be integrated into Apples Xcode software, could simplify the development process by automatically completing code blocks, potentially transforming how developers work on the Apple platform. In addition to code completion, Apple is exploring AI features for automating Apple Music playlists and enhancing its business presentation software. These advancements indicate Apples broader goal to infuse AI across its product range, enhancing user experience and productivity.

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Apples approach to AI development is characterized by strategic partnerships and technological innovation. The company has been in talks with major publishers for rights to train its generative AI systems using their content, aiming for multiyear agreements. This step underscores Apples commitment to refining its AI capabilities through access to vast data sets, ensuring that its AI tools are both powerful and informed by a wide range of information sources.

A technical breakthrough has also been reported, with Apple AI researchers developing a method to deploy large language models (LLMs) on iPhones and other devices with limited memory. This innovation could bring sophisticated AI functionalities directly into the pockets of millions of users, overcoming previous constraints related to device capabilities. Such advancements highlight Apples focus on not just integrating AI into its devices but doing so in a way that is accessible and seamless for everyday use.

As Apple gears up for these AI-driven enhancements, the anticipation grows not only among its user base but also within the broader tech community. The upcoming WWDC is poised to be a landmark event, potentially setting new standards for AI integration in consumer technology. Apples strategic investments in AI research and development, coupled with its efforts to ensure ethical and responsible use of AI, reflect a vision that extends beyond mere technological leadership. The company aims to redefine the intersection of AI and user experience, promising a future where Apple devices are not just tools but intelligent companions in the digital age.

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This article Apple's Launching A Futuristic Siri And Apple-Based Artificial Intelligence As It Looks To Take On Microsoft's AI Dominance originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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Everyday we are reminded of the stark difference between our principles and our values compared to the conduct of our politicians and the Kansas Legislature.

Just a couple weeks ago, the Kansas House of Representatives passed HR 6035 along party lines, a nonbinding statement in support of Texas and its efforts to combat illegal immigration. It even encourag(ed) the governor to offer the services of the Kansas National Guard.

Meanwhile, those in my community  real, everyday, working people of Kansas  don't fit into the priorities I see being focused on in the day-to-day grind of the legislative session. That vote is a perfect example. Many elected officials aren't worried about the Kansans I know who are trying to balance monthly bills, or who cringe when they hit a pothole because they can't afford the expensive repairs and lost hours at work.

We used to put Kansans first and focus on building up our communities. Now, it seems, we are more worried about the interests of people who can afford to donate thousands of dollars to buy the attention of legislators and put themselves at the top of the priority list. When did we forget about standing up for our neighbors?

Let me expand on the frustrations I hear when talking to those in my community.

Expanding Medicaid would have a real impact on Kansas families and communities. The federal government would pay 90% of the expansion cost, so Kansas is turning away real money by refusing to close this gap. Expansion would bring millions of dollars to Shawnee County alone, leading to more financially stable health centers that can better serve the needs of our community.

Funding special education programs would mean families aren't desperately struggling to get their kids the services they need. It would let school districts focus on their main work of educating all students  instead of struggling to cut budgets, pinch pennies and raise taxes to make up for unfunded mandates.

Working toward legalizing marijuana would keep us from watching millions of dollars flow out of Kansas while spending millions policing and prosecuting our neighbors for something that is legal if they just drove out of state.

All of these things have one thing in common  the Republican Leadership in the Legislature refuses to let our representatives vote on any of it. Instead they have picked fights on behalf of their friends getting the biggest part of the pie while promising the rest of us the scraps.

Kansans never used to be afraid to lead. Sadly though, we are watching dozens of legislators sit quietly and do as they're told.

If our elected representatives are afraid of upsetting donors who don't worry about their grocery bills, car repairs and keeping the lights on, then it's time for us to let someone else serve and live up to what makes us proud to be Kansans.

Jacquie Lightcap is a member of the Auburn-Washburn Board of Education. She is running as a Democrat for House District 52.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Republican leaders won't let Kansas lawmakers vote on local bills
Spring is in the air in the UK, with blossom, bulbs and bees making their presence felt in recent weeks as the weather has warmed up. But while the temperature is steadily rising, its safe to say that British weather can be unpredictable  so we cant guarantee any scorching hot days very soon.

For wall-to-wall sunshine in May then, your best bet is a trip abroad  many parts of Europe offer hot weather from this month onwards. Whether you fancy a city break or sun lounger escapism, there are plenty of places to peruse.

The hottest temperatures recorded on the continent throughout May are typically seen in Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Turkey. With temperatures ranging from 23-27C and up to 11 hours of sunshine a day, a spring getaway to some of these destinations is an appealing prospect.

From Gozo and Seville to Thessaloniki and Bodrum, weve rounded up the spring holiday destinations you wouldnt expect. Keep scrolling for some hot weather travel inspiration for May.

Gozo, Malta

Soak up Mediterranean views and visit a medieval citadel (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May : 24C

Hours of sunshine per day: 9

The Malteze island of Gozo offers a quieter holiday pace than the mainland  which is just a 45-minute ferry ride away  and you can expect average temperatures of 24C throughout May, as well as around nine hours of sunshine per day. Soak up beautiful Mediterranean views, tuck into local Gozitan cuisine and enjoy meandering along the islands rural hiking paths. Gozo is just 67sqkm in size and there are 15 bus routes offering a travel network across the island. Visit the capital Rabat (or Victoria as its also known), where youll find a medieval citadel which is home to the Gran Castello Historic House, the Gozo Museum of Archaeology and Gozo Cathedral. Theres also an open-air market just below the citadel in Independence Square, selling produce, clothing and souvenirs. You can also travel by boat to the smaller nearby island Comino from MAarr Harbour and take a dip in the tempting turquoise Blue Lagoon water.

Read more on Europe travel:

Seville, Spain

The Andalusian capital boasts 16th century architecure and modern buildings (Getty Images)

Average temperature in May: 26C

Hours of sunshine per day: 8

Travel to Seville and soak up eight hours of sunshine a day in May, while also enjoying an average temperature of 26C. The Andalusian capital boasts an array of architecture ranging from modern buildings to historic monuments. Visit Unesco World Heritage Site Seville Cathedral, which is a gothic 16th-century building dating back to Moorish times. Meanwhile, the citys Alcazar Palace is an 18th-century crowd-pleaser where guided tours are available. Tuck into cheap tapas and visit El Rinconcillo, the oldest bar in Seville, and swing by the Museum of Fine Arts, which hosts paintings from the 12th-18th centuries and also has a courtyard for catching some rays. Head to the Alameda neighbourhood if you fancy doing some shopping, while nearby Triana has a food market.

Thessaloniki, Greece

Lap up sea views and enjoy historic sights in Thessaloniki (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May : 25C

Hours of sunshine per day: 8

Thessaloniki reaches a tempting 25C in May, and there are around eight hours of daily sunshine. If youre seeking sea views and a cultural city break, this is the place to visit. The White Tower of Thessaloniki sits on the seafront and historic sights also include the 4th-century Arch of Galerius and the Rotunda, while the Walls of Thessaloniki surround the city and were built during the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, the Church of St Paul is a modern building, finished in 1987. Head to main street Egnatia for shops, restaurants and bars  theres a vibrant nightlife scene. There are several beaches situated within reach of the city, so you can combine relaxation with seeing the sights.

Bodrum, Turkey

Picturesque whitewashed houses make an ideal holiday backdrop (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May: 27C

Hours of sunshine per day: 11

TurkeysBodrum reaches a whopping 27C in May, and offers up to 11 hours of sunshine a day. The peninsula is located on the southwest coast and looks out onto the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, making it an ideal destination for a May beach break. This pretty port city has picturesque, whitewashed houses and 15th-century Bodrum Castle, a Unesco World Heritage Site. Bodrum is known for its vibrant bars, restaurants and nightlife for those looking to party. There are smaller coastal villages, such as Yalikavak, Turgutreis and Gumusluk, nearby if you prefer staying somewhere a little quieter.

Formentera, Spain

This is a less crowded Balearic option, compared to Ibiza (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May : 24C

Hours of sunshine per day: 9

The smallest of the Balearic Islands, Formentera is situated to the southeast of Ibiza and is a quieter, less crowded holiday destination. Temperatures heat up to an amiable 24C in May, and you can also expect to see around 9 hours of Spanish sunshine per day. There are breath-taking beaches and turquoise waters, plus several towns and resorts to explore, including La Savina, Es Migjorn, Cala Saona, Es Pujols and El Pilar de la Mola. Formentera can be reached by ferry, and its worth knowing that vehicle numbers are restricted during the summer to help protect this picturesque isle.

Secret Balearic Islands: an insiders guide to lesser-known Menorca and Formentera

Sorrento, Italy

Survey sweeping scenery and sunbathe on popular beaches (Getty)

Average temperature in May: 26C

Hours of sunshine per day: 8

Sorrento is a historic Italian town situated on a peninsula, offering visitors a stunning view over to the Bay of Naples. With average temperatures reaching 26C in May, its an ideal time to see the blooming orange blossoms and lemon trees. Plus, there tend to be fewer visitors in May than during the peak summer months. Take in the sweeping scenery, comprising rocky coasts and beaches popular for bathing. Meanwhile, Piazza Tasso is Sorrentos central square, featuring shops, bars, and restaurants. Just a five-minute walk away youll find Chiesa di San Francesco, a 14th-century Franciscan church.

Protaras, Cyprus

Fig Tree Bay is the most well-known coastal spot, with bars, restaurants and nightlife (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May: 26C

Hours of sunshine per day: 10

This eastern Cyprus resort town has glorious beaches for lazing on a lounger or taking a scenic coastal walk. In May you can expect to lap up around 10 hours of sunshine a day, while temperatures reach 26C. Fig Tree Bay is the most well-known coastal spot, where bars, restaurants and nightlife are also found. You can visit Hellenistic tombs nearby, as well as the Church of Profitis Ilias which leads to a nature trail. Plus, famed party town Ayia Napa is only a 15-minute drive away.

Cascais, Portugal

Enjoy hiking trails, watersports and a round of golf (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Average temperature in May: 23C

Hours of sunshine per day: 9

The Portugese city of Cascais is just 40 minutes from capital Lisbon, and it offers a pleasing 23C daily average temperature in May, as well as nine hours of sunshine. Cultural spots include 19th-century stately home Casa de Santa Maria and the Santa Marta Lighthouse Museum. Outdoor activities include hiking trails, kayaking, paddle boarding and paragliding, and Cascais is famous for its many golf courses too, if youre looking for a sporty sunshine break. For foodie fans, Fortaleza do Guincho has a Michelin star, and there are plentiful seafood picks across the harbour.

Read our reviews of the best hotels in Europe
Once again in front of the Texas Supreme Court, embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton is asking the state's highest civil court to toss out his pending, court-ordered deposition or at least greatly limit the scope of what can be asked of him under oath by four former agency employees who argue they were wrongfully terminated after approaching the FBI to report Paxton's possible misconduct in helping a campaign donor.

Responding to Paxton's motion to the Supreme Court on Thursday, attorneys for the whistleblowers laid out a litany of arguments to derail what they said was Paxton's "repugnant ploy" to keep delaying the proceeding in hopes to avoid addressing the whistleblowers' claims on the record for the first time since the issue arose in 2020.

While Paxton argues the Travis County state District Court ruling mandating his sworn testimony is unnecessary after he filed a motion stating he wouldn't challenge the facts in the case and would accept any judgment, the whistleblowers maintain that there remains a dispute in the case and that Paxton is not immune under any legal statute to evade the ordered deposition.

"The trial court did not abuse its discretion; it kept OAG (Office of Attorney General) from abusing the judicial system," the whistleblowers' attorneys wrote. "The court refused to endorse OAGs disloyal scheme to orchestrate a judgment against the state of Texas just so the attorney general and a few of his close colleagues can avoid depositions."

In January, Paxton had also sought the high court's intervention to delay his deposition, resulting in a divided ruling forcing Paxton and three of his deputies to comply with the lower court's order.

In dissenting from the majority of the court, Justices John Phillip Devine and Jimmy Blacklock said they would have granted Paxton's request to block his deposition along with those of First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, Paxton's chief of staff Lesley French Henneke and senior adviser Michelle Smith.

The justices "would instruct the district court to reconsider the necessity for, and scope of, those depositions only after depositions of lower-ranking officials have taken place," the brief ruling stated.

More: Texas Supreme Court sides with Attorney General Ken Paxton, halts deposition

This time around, however, Paxton has altered his request, arguing that a motion to unequivocally accept a final judgement in the case negates the need for the depositions, and if the testimonies were to continue, they should focus on a future settlement and not on the events leading the whistleblowers to approach law enforcement.

"This case then took an extraordinary turn when plaintiffs refused to take yes for an answer," Paxton's attorneys wrote to the court last month. "Although OAG has both consented to and moved for entry of judgment against itself, plaintiffs have remarkably opposed entry of judgment in their favor."

Paxton's current appeal paused the depositions that were previously scheduled to begin with Paxton on Feb. 9.

Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, is asking the state's highest civil court to toss out his pending, court-ordered deposition or at least greatly limit the scope of what can be asked of him under oath by four former agency employees in their whistleblower lawsuit.

The Legislature last year rejected a $3.3 million request from Paxton's office to fund a settlement agreement with the whistleblowers. Instead, the Texas House opened an investigation into the whistleblowers' allegations and ended up overwhelmingly voting to impeach him on 20 charges, including bribery and abuse of office. Ultimately, the Senate cleared Paxton of wrongdoing.

Paxton attorneys have said the attorney general is willing to agree to a new settlement issued by the court.

But the whistleblowers  across the current and previous court filings  argue that a ruling in the case cannot be issued while Paxton is maintaining his innocence on one hand and admitting guilt on the other.

More: Whistleblower lawsuit against Ken Paxton can continue, Travis County judge rules

"Unable to construe OAGs pleading as an admission that OAG violated the Whistleblower Act, the trial court cannot lawfully find such a violation until plaintiffs prove it," the lawyers wrote in advocating for the unencumbered depositions.

The attorneys are also taking issue with Paxton seeking the Supreme Court's assistance after the Legislature rejected funding his previous settlement.

"It would be inequitable for the states judicial branch to assist its executive branch in engineering a judgment that its legislative branch views as a sham," the attorneys wrote.

Additionally, the whistleblowers on Thursday pointed out several areas of a potential settlement that are yet to be addressed, including the possibility of reinstating the employees with full compensation and benefits, forcing Paxton to amend "retaliatory" personnel and investigation records, and ensuring Paxton refrains from further retaliation against the four whistleblowers.

In closing, the whistleblowers asked that the high court enforce the deposition order, which Paxton had appealed for that court's intervention twice in January. Paxton's second, and current request, seeking to stop the depositions came one day before Travis County state District Court Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled to allow the case to continue.

"From a litigation perspective, this case isor at least should beover," Paxton's attorneys, led by Bill Helfand, argued. "Faced with no other way to end a disruptive and expensive lawsuit, OAG has made the decision not to further contest Plaintiffs case, and thus filed an amended answer electing not to contest liability, damages, or reasonable attorneys fees on Plaintiffs sole claim under the Texas Whistleblower Act."

Helfand and Paxton's office did not respond to an American-Statesman request for comment. Attorneys for the whistleblowers declined to comment on the latest filing.

One of the lingering issues with tossing out the case and Paxton's deposition, the whistleblowers argue, would be a chilling effect on state employees that may be faced with a future decision of whether to report a superior's inappropriate conduct.

"OAGs ploy is repugnant to the guarantees of our civil justice system and the purposes of the Whistleblower Act," the attorneys wrote. "Ending litigation over Plaintiffs objections and without discovery will send a dark message to future whistleblowers: Dont bother."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Whistleblowers call on Texas Supreme Court to make Ken Paxton testify
A New Zealand court has ordered NZ$10m (4.8m; $6m) in compensation to the victims of the White Island volcano disaster, where 22 people died.

Some 47 people were touring the volcano when it erupted in December 2019. Many of the survivors were gravely injured.

The firm that owns the island and those that operated tours there were found guilty last year of negligence and safety breaches.

The court said their failure to provide proper checks had ruined many lives.

It also found that the operators had ignored the signs of heightened activity in the weeks leading up to the eruption on the island, which is also known by its Maori name Whaakari.

On Friday, the Auckland District Court ordered the company that owns the island, Whakaari Management Limited (WML), to pay NZ$4.57m in damages to victims.

WML - which manages the privately-owned island on behalf of a family - licenced tour groups to visit the volcano.

The court also ordered White Island Tours, the company which had brought the tourists to the island for a walking tour, to pay NZ$4.68m in reparations.

Three other tour companies, Volcanic Air Safaris, Aerius Limited and Kahu NZ Limited, were also ordered to pay damages.

Separately, GNS Science - a government-owned research body that monitors New Zealand's volcanos - was ordered to pay a fine of $54,000 for inadequately communicating with contractors about the risks on White Island.

"GNS observes that as a public body there will be a negative impact on the important service it provides given any fine would need to come from its operating budget," Judge Evangelos Thomas said.

"However, the public interest in holding all entities, including important public entities, to account outweighs that."

A 2021 memorial in the New Zealand town of Whakatane to the tourists affected in the disaster

Seventeen of the tourists who died on White Island were from Australia, with the others from the US, New Zealand and Germany. Tourists from the UK, China and Malaysia were also among those affected.

Judge Thomas said the compensation was "no more than a token recognition" of the victims' suffering.

Families were broken after the deaths of loved ones, he acknowledged. Many of the survivors suffered terrible burns and were still enduring a painful toll.

"The treatment was often painful, arduous, disheartening. For many it remains ongoing," he said.

"Many people grapple with disfigurement of one kind or another. It's not just simply the physical injury that has caused such harm the emotional consequences deepen the suffering. We acknowledge that harm."

Payments will be divided among the victims, with larger amounts for the families of the 22 people who were killed.

In testimonies earlier this week, relatives of those who died told the court the "grief never goes away".

The mother of Hayden Marshall-Inman, a 40-year-old tour guide killed in the eruption, said: "When Hayds died on White Island, a part of me died. My heart carries the loss of him day and night."

As well as being ordered to pay damages, WML were fined NZ$978,000 for breaching workplace safety laws.

The firm's owners - brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle - previously faced individual criminal prosecutions over the deaths, but the charges were dropped last year.

Earlier in the week, the court heard that WML had no money or assets to offer by way of compensation as it was only a corporate trustee for the Buttles' Whakaari Management Trust.

According to Radio New Zealand, it also did not have liability insurance at the time of the disaster - meaning the damages would have to be paid out of pocket.

Judge Thomas said on Friday that there was "nothing to stop the Buttles, as WML's shareholders, from advancing the necessary funds to cover that obligation".

"There may be no commercial basis for doing so, but many would argue there is an inescapable moral one," he said, noting that the brothers "appear to have profited handsomely from tours to Whakaari".

"We wait to see what the Buttles will do. The world is watching."

Judge Thomas acknowledged that the other companies that had been found liable may also struggle to find the required funds.

The White Island disaster prompted the most extensive and complex investigation ever undertaken by WorkSafe NZ, which was also criticised for failing to monitor activities on the island between 2014 and 2019.

Tourism activities on White Island have not resumed since the eruption.

Some of the tourists who bought their tour ticket to Whakaari through Royal Caribbean Cruises have already reached settlements after suing the Florida-based company in the US.
BLUFFDALE, Utah (ABC4)  An 18-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault in Bluffdale this week for an incident that allegedly happened at a Halloween party last year  Bluffdale Police say theyve tracked him down through TikTok.

Jairus Lee Parker, 18, was charged with aggravated assault (gang-related), a first-degree felony. The charges were filed on Thursday.

Bluffdale Police responded to a medical call on Oct. 27 where they found a 17-year-old with blood running down his face. Police say he appeared to be in shock and was treated and cleared by paramedics at the scene.

READ NEXT: NHL arena bill heads to governors desk for approval

According to charging documents, the victim later met with police and said he was outside a Halloween party putting on makeup with his friends when they saw two cars speed past before parking. He said he heard there was going to be a fight and they walked toward the cars to see what was going on.

The victim said he heard someone say I will take your life and lifted their shirt to show guns in their waistband, and saw others pointing guns as well. He said the group outside the party began to run and he stepped aside saying he was not a part of this when someone from the other group yelled Yo, get em and began punching him.

Documents say the group then surrounded [the victim] and they punched [him] all over his body, face, and head.

Utah man charged after allegedly causing fatal bus crash

The victim told police the attackers were wearing ski masks and therefore were not identifiable. However, documents say the victim posted an image of the blood on his face after the assault on TikTok and someone commented saying that his whole friend group left him.

Police used the username of the commenter to track down and interview several people, including some who allegedly participated in the assault, according to charging documents. One of the witnesses allegedly told police they assaulted the victim because they just grabbed somebody after the other group ran away.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
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Maplewood might be the most strangely shaped city in Minnesota.

At least that is the contention of T.J. Malaskee, executive director of the Maplewood Area Historical Society.

"It is this weird kind of lump mass in the northern part of the city and then there's this weird thin leg and that goes down," he said.

Defying easy description, the boundaries of this east metro suburb of roughly 40,000  bordering St. Paul  prompt a lot of questions. Bill Pawlyshyn is one of several readers who have written to Curious Minnesota, the Star Tribune's reader-fueled reporting project, asking how Maplewood got its peculiar shape.

"I'm just kind of a geographic geek, so I love geographic anomalies," Pawlyshyn said. The Twin Cities native who lives near Maplewood said the city's "really weird shape" has stuck out to him on maps.

"I've heard it's shaped like an L," said Maplewood Mayor Marylee Abrams. "[Or] it's shaped like a key  I don't quite get that."

Maplewood is the land that was leftover as St. Paul and suburbs in the east metro developed in the early to mid-20th Century. Its incorporation in the 1950s ensured that 3M's new headquarters would belong to Maplewood, not St. Paul.

The townships evolve

The Star Tribune visited the "lump mass" portion of Maplewood to learn the story at the Maplewood Area Historical Society, located on the historic Bruentrup farm.

This area and the rest of the Twin Cities was the home of the Dakota people prior to white settlement in the early 1800s.

The federal government first surveyed the Maplewood area in the late 1840s, creating six-mile square unincorporated townships, according to a history by former Historical Society president Bob Jensen. When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the two townships that make up modern Maplewood were named New Canada and McLean.

It wasn't too long after these townships were formed that neighboring cities and villages began taking bites out of them.

The main aggressor was St. Paul, which through the 1880s annexed land extending north and east to present day Larpenteur Avenue and McKnight Road, according to a Ramsey County Historical Society map. Following annexations by St. Paul and other communities, the thin leg of land that was left from McLean Township joined New Canada.

The incorporation of North St. Paul in the late 1880s to build a working man's utopian community consumed another chunk of New Canada Township. The village's founder fought in the Civil War.

"He had seen the destruction of what had happened to the United States," Malaskee said. "And so he comes back and he really wants to think about how can he create a working man's utopian community that could be a healing model for the country."

More than half a century later, in 1953, residents in the northwestern chunk of New Canada Township broke off to form Little Canada.

Becoming a village

The city of Maplewood took shape in the wake of World War II, when returning veterans drove massive demand for housing. This put a target on undeveloped land surrounding the urban core.

"As utilities are coming out, farmers are land rich but cash poor," Malaskee said. They'd sell bits of land to run utilities such as electrical and telephone lines out to their farms, which were developed into housing.

One hub of that suburbanization in the east metro was Gladstone, the longtime hub of New Canada Township and home to its town hall. Gladstone was located at what is now Frost Avenue and English Street in Maplewood.

Residents of this area wanted more services like city water and sewers, as well as nicer roads, according to Jensen. Incorporating as a village would help those efforts. In 1957, residents in what remained of New Canada Township voted to incorporate the village of Maplewood by a 5-to-1 margin.

There was an additional incentive to form a village: At the time, 3M was planning a move out to the southern "leg" of leftover township land. Left unincorporated, the land was vulnerable to annexation. And whichever community claimed 3M was bound to reap tax benefits.

Maplewood adds a 'leg' to include 3M

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, which came to be known as 3M, was founded in 1902 in Two Harbors. It moved to St. Paul in 1910 to appease its new metro-based investor, Lucius Ordway, who wanted to keep a closer eye on the company, said 3M Innovation Center Communications Manager Andy Hennig, who has researched the company's history.

By the middle of the 20th century, 3M had outgrown its location on St. Paul's East Side.

"In 1947, the city had built out around us," Hennig said. The company was looking to expand somewhere that could accommodate both research facilities and a headquarters. By the early 1950s, it had settled on New Canada Township.

St. Paul had already extended its border nearly that far east. It was discussing another annexation of New Canada Township land to bring 3M's new headquarters into its borders, according to Jensen's history. But St. Paul wouldn't win this time.

"3M moves out to the leg, and then the village of Maplewood annexes the leg," Malaskee said. "So they pull a fast one over on St. Paul."

3M made up a third of Maplewood's tax base by 1965, according to Jensen's history. It was the largest corporation in Minnesota at the time.

The murky origins of 'Maplewood'

As for how Maplewood got its name, it's not from a landscape full of maple trees.

"There were no maple trees in Maplewood," Malaskee said. The land was largely prairie and oak savanna.

Malaskee said it's likely the new villagers opted not to become East St. Paul because the name sounded too urban in an era of white flight. "They want to be seen as kind of quaint, village, New England," Malaskee said.

Malaskee has heard three versions of a story: One is that a man on the village council owned a nursery that sold maple trees. Another ascribes the name to a man on the council who was from Maplewood, New Jersey. And another theory is that the name comes from a neighborhood and school in the area called Maplewood.

"We don't actually know if it was a combination of all three or one or the other," he said.

If you'd like to submit a Curious Minnesota question, fill out the form below:

Read more Curious Minnesota stories:

How did Minnesota get its shape on the map?

Why do tiny cities like Lauderdale, Landfall, Lilydale, & Falcon Heights exist?

Why is St. Paul located where it is? Hint: It involves liquor

Why didn't Minneapolis and St. Paul ever merge?

How did Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn Park get their names?

Where did streetcars once travel in the Twin Cities suburbs?
Whats happening

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley hasnt won a single Republican primary or caucus.

She finished behind former President Donald Trump by 32 percentage points in Iowa; by 11 points in New Hampshire; by 20 points in her home state; and by more than 40 points in Michigan. In the Nevada primary  a contest that Trump skipped  Haley lost to none of these candidates by 33 points.

Meanwhile, Trump is lapping Haley by an even larger margin in the current GOP delegate count: 122 to 24.

And theres no sign that this dynamic will change anytime soon.

Super Tuesday is just a few days away. Fifteen states and one territory  including the big delegate prizes of California and Texas  are set to vote. A full 874 delegates, or 36% of this years GOP total, will be up for grabs.

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Polling is sparse, but recent surveys from Vermont, Maine and Virginia  three Super Tuesday states with relatively moderate reputations  show Haley trailing Trump by 30 points, 58 points and 59 points, respectively.

Until now, Haley has been able to focus on one state at a time. She spent heavily in New Hampshire and South Carolina, placing second in both with about 40% of the vote  due in large part to her outsize support among independent voters, who were allowed to participate in those states open primaries.

But in Michigan, where Haley had far less time to campaign and invested far less money, she hit only 27%.

This same pattern is now likely to play out with increasing frequency in the next phase of the GOP nominating contest. Winner-take-all and winner-take-most primaries will become more common; contests that award delegates proportionally like Iowa and New Hampshire (where Haley came away with 8 delegates and 9 delegates, respectively) will largely peter out.

Some primaries will be open to independents, but many will be limited to registered Republicans (who overwhelmingly favor Trump). Unless something seismic happens, the former presidents lead will probably explode as a result.

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So can Haley keep soldiering on?

Why theres debate

In public, Haley  a former accountant  makes a seemingly simple argument for staying in the race: Its the math, stupid.

You need 1,215 delegates. Coming out of New Hampshire, [Trump] had 32, I had 17, she told NBC News in February. Weve got multiple states after South Carolina  within 10 days, were going to have hit 20 states. Let it happen.

Dont discount that I ended up with 20% in Iowa when yall said I wouldnt make it, Haley continued. Dont discount that I got 43% in New Hampshire, and dont discount me now.

Why would I get out as long as we keep it competitive? she added.

Haley has a point. In a presidential primary election, candidates compete in a months-long, state-by-state calendar of primaries and caucuses. Whoever gets the most votes in a specific state is typically awarded the most delegates, and whoever is first to collect a majority of the total available delegates  or whoever remains after everyone else has dropped out  becomes the partys presumptive nominee.

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But runner-up candidates can win delegates too. And technically, the race isnt over until the last states vote and the delegates make the nomination official at their partys summer convention.

The problem for Haley, however, is that while Trump has only 122 delegates today, hes about to win a lot more.

In a memo shared with the press, senior Trump advisers estimated that even if Haley performs relatively well in upcoming contests, Trump will secure the 1,215 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nomination on March 19. If Haley underperforms, they added, Trump will hit the 1,215 mark a week earlier.

Whats next

Haley has vowed to compete through Super Tuesday. But she has pointedly refused to commit to anything beyond that.

March 5 is as far as Ive thought in terms of going forward, Haley told reporters after casting her own vote in Saturdays South Carolina primary.

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And Americans for Prosperity Action, a conservative group founded by the billionaire Koch brothers, announced Sunday that it would no longer be spending money on her behalf.

So its possible that Super Tuesday will be Haleys last stand, or that she will drop out as soon as Trump reaches the 1,215 delegate mark.

Or not. Theoretically, Haley could also remain in the race even after Trump becomes the presumptive nominee. Anti-Trump conservatives have been floating various rationales: to weaken the former president for the general election; to set up a third-party run of her own; to tee up a post-Trump comeback in 2028.

Haley offered a justification of her own this week: that Trump winning the Republican nomination would be like suicide for our country.

This may be his survival mode to pay his legal fees and get out of some sort of legal peril, but this is like suicide for our country, she told the Wall Street Journal. Weve got to realize that if we dont have someone who can win a general election, all we are doing is caving to the socialist left.

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And though Trumps four upcoming trials on 91 criminal charges have mostly been delayed, its still possible that he could be a convicted felon by the time the GOP convention starts in July  in which case Haley might seek to position herself as a more electable plan B.

People are not looking six months down the road when these court cases have taken place. Hes going to be in a courtroom all of March, April, May and June, she told the Associated Press ahead of the South Carolina primary. How in the world do you win a general election when these cases keep going and the judgments keep coming?

Perspectives

Who knows what will happen if Trump is convicted

As hard as it is to envision a scenario in which she wrests the nomination from Trump [at the convention], there isnt much precedent for a nominee with four criminal indictments either. A felony conviction would breathe oxygen into the case for Haley, particularly if it led to a scenario where Haley continued to lead Biden in the polls and Trump was trailing, or where independents, women and suburbanites turned even more sharply against him.  Charlie Mahtesian, Politico

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I do: Republicans will just rally around him (again)

Most of Trumps trials wont get formally started for a while, and they wont be decided until much later this year, after most of the primaries have been held. I do not put much stock in the idea that a criminal conviction of Trump would prompt grassroots Republicans to abandon him and look around for other options. A conviction will probably just make the MAGA base love him even more, providing further evidence of how the sinister deep state is out to get him.  Jim Geraghty, National Review

Haley doesnt have to win. She just has to hurt Trump.

The longer Haley stays in, the more she becomes a rallying point for Republicans who do not wish to be ruled by a degenerate cult. And the more Republicans grow accustomed to opposing Trump, the more precarious his situation becomes. A wave of Democratic voters might be needed to swamp Trump. But only a trickle of Republicans, withholding their support, can achieve a similar result.  Francis Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

She doesn't even have to hurt Trump. She just has to use him to improve her own brand.

"Every day that she officially remains an alternative to him ... is a day when Americans with an unfavorable view of him (the majority, mind you) have a newly favorable view of her. ... Its a big, bold billboard for the new model Haley, who is taking on a titan and telling inconvenient truths."  Frank Bruni, New York Times

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And maybe, in the process, Haley sets herself up for a third-party run ...

The No Labels group that has contemplated backing a third-party ticket for president should recruit Nikki Haley. ... No Labels is a bipartisan effort to offer candidates who would appeal to a broader swath of voters, including moderates and independents. Haley has designed her campaign around being that kind of candidate, which has turned off the far right of the GOP  the ones who traditionally show up for primaries. It will be a different story in the general election.  Ingrid Jacques, USA Today

... or 2028

Instead of gunning for some sort of role in MAGA world, Haley can portray herself as the last person standing in the war against Trumpism  a position that many men before her have fought for and failed to achieve. If she can do that, she can consolidate a leadership future for herself, post-Trump.  Elaine Godfrey, the Atlantic

Or perhaps she lays the groundwork for another 'traditional conservative'

While the internal party reckoning that comes with a loss can be delayed, it cant be denied. Over time, the opposition girds for its turn in power.  Haleys determination to stay in the race probably wont lead to her being president one day. But if the GOP is ever going to have a traditional conservative as a standard-bearer again, it will be because she helped preserve a safe space for them within the party.  Jonah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times
Leslie Dellinger, a 41-year-old entrepreneur from York, South Carolina, wants to see Donald Trump defeat the Democratic presidential nominee this November  shes just not convinced the nominee will be Joe Biden.

Instead, Dellinger  one of the few thousand people who showed up to a Donald Trump rally the day before the South Carolina primary  believes Democrats may swap Biden for Vice President Kamala Harris, who Dellinger says is not even a little bit qualified to be president.

I wouldnt be surprised if they tried to remove him and put in Kamala Harris and have her run, she said.

Talk to almost any Republican at a grassroots event and youll hear some version of this theory: that Democrats will end up nominating someone besides Biden at their August national convention. Some believe theres even a nominee-in-waiting to replace the 81-year-old president  who hasnt suggested he intends to step aside, despite mounting concerns about his age and health. Their predictions for who this person might be range from the plausible  California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who many see as a likely candidate in 2028  to the totally ridiculous, like former President Barack Obama.

This conspiracy, though, has some grounding in the real concerns that Democrats whisper about in private, and the grim warnings beginning to surface in polls of the election eight months away. A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll released Thursday found Trump beating Biden in seven key swing states that helped Biden defeat Trump in 2020. Respondents largely found Biden to be too old, while many considered Trump, the likely GOP nominee, to be dangerous.

Trump has helped to legitimize the notion that he wont be facing Biden in November, even as polls show the former president gaining on Biden, which should be enough of a reason for Trump to hope the election is a repeat of 2020. I personally dont think he makes it, Trump told Sean Hannity during a Fox News town hall back in December.

Since then, Bidens possible replacement has become the subject of wild speculation on the right. Organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) surveyed attendees at its annual confab last weekend about who they think will be the eventual Democratic nominee. A majority named former first lady Michelle Obama, who famously hates politicking in all its forms. Others cited Harris, Newsom and ex-Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Some Republicans believe that former first lady Michelle Obama will become the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee  even though she's expressed zero interest in running. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Michelle Obamas name kept coming up in conversations at Trumps rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, last Friday. Trump supporters who spoke with HuffPost feared Democrats would tap Obama because shed make a better candidate than Biden. (Despite her dislike of politics, Obama is one of Americas most popular political figures.)

I believe if she does it, shell win because society is just more about looks and no substance. We just look at popularity more than anything else, said Doug Smith, a postal worker from Rock Hill.

CPAC even dedicated a panel  with the deranged title Cat Fight? Michelle vs. Kamala  to dissecting the imaginary political rivalry between two of the partys most prominent Black women. Radio host Monica Crowley warned Republicans to be ready for Obama to swoop in and clinch the nomination: Michelle Obama is the worst-case scenario because she poses the most threatening challenge to Trump, she said.

Bidens campaign, in an email to HuffPost, called this theory bizarre and said it was happy to confirm thats not the case.

Republicans, however, may be taking some of their cues from real election influencers who are slowly beginning to question the wisdom of another Biden run and suggesting a way that Democrats might coalesce behind someone else. This month, The New York Times Ezra Klein, one of the papers most prominent liberal columnists, argued its time for Bidens inner circle to intervene and convince the president to allow delegates to get behind another nominee. Election analyst Nate Silver also wrote this month that Biden needs to campaign more aggressively or stand down.

This weeks Michigan primary revealed warning signs for both Biden and Trump. Biden lost 13% of the Democratic primary vote to uncommitted voters protesting his Middle East policy and another almost 6% to Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson. Trump, meanwhile, lost 30% of the GOP primary vote to former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.

The Trump supporters who spoke with HuffPost recently regarded the potential for another Democratic nominee with a mix of glee and also fear over whom Democrats might find to run, though some of their predictions would not be remotely possible.

A South Carolina woman who would only identify herself as Debbie because she was afraid of online backlash from her remarks, believes that its really Barack Obama whos eyeing a return to office for a third term, which is not allowed under the Constitution.

In his speeches he talks about a third term. He talks about controlling. He talks about all those things, she said. Even though its illegal, she said she wouldnt put such a scheme past Democrats, who are sneaky little bastards.

She also touched on another theme thats widespread on the right  that Biden isnt even in charge at the White House. Is he even running? I just think its all a sham. I think theyre trying to figure out what is going on and how people are going to react.

Joe Schaub, a 67-year-old from Columbia, South Carolina, said its clear that Biden is simply too old now to do the job. He was a schmuck senator, Schaub said. Now hes old and dumb. Thats a bad combination. You just cant replace old.

The problem is, who else do they have? said Danna Hopkins, a 60-year-old financial controller.

Erin Adamek, a 55-year-old homemaker, said it wont make a difference who Democrats wind up choosing because Trump would beat them all. I dont really care who runs, because were still gonna win, she said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story cited a South Carolina city called Winthrop. Winthrop was actually the university where Trump spoke.
MULWALA, Australia  On the grassy plains of Australias vast interior, an industrial evolution in the American war machine is gathering momentum. In munitions factories with room to grow, Australia is on the verge of producing heaps of artillery shells and thousands of guided missiles in partnership with U.S. companies.

Made to Pentagon specifications, the weapons will be no different from those built in the United States, and only some of what rolls off the line will stay in Australia. The rest are intended to help replenish U.S. stockpiles or be sold to U.S. partners in an era of grinding ground wars and threats from major powers.

It is all part of an Australian push to essentially become the 51st state for defense production, an ambitious vision that is now taking shape with a giant yellow mixer for explosives and a lightning-protected workshop for assembling missiles known as GMLRS (for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) or gimmlers.

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Were not buying a commodity; were investing in an enterprise, said Brig. Andrew Langford, the Australian director general responsible for domestic manufacturing of guided weapons and explosives. And thats where its really novel.

The embrace of joint production reflects a wider awakening in Washington and other capitals: The United States by itself cannot make enough of the weapons needed for protracted warfare and deterrence. Vulnerable partners like Taiwan are already facing delayed orders for U.S. equipment even as Chinas military capabilities continue to grow.

So while the Pentagon waits for changes to Cold War-era laws that prioritize protecting  not sharing  military technology, and as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip push U.S. factories to their limits, officials are leading a worldwide campaign to make more U.S. weapons with friendly nations.

Poland, Japan and India are a few of the countries in various phases of production partnerships. But Australia, the closest of U.S. allies, having fought alongside Americans in every conflict since World War I, has gone further and faster with the Defense Department and U.S. contractors such as Lockheed Martin.

Together, they are testing a more collective approach that demands greater trust, investments in the billions of dollars, and cross-continental sharing of sensitive technology for U.S. weapons systems, along with complex production and testing methods.

Were really pleased at the momentum and speed were generating with Australia, said Bill LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. Efforts like these act as a kind of blueprint for additional U.S. co-development, co-production and co-sustainment agreements around the world.

For Australia, a distant island of 26 million people, going first adds opportunity and stress.

At a time when Chinas military keeps leaping forward, with seemingly endless production lines for warships and missiles, Australias push into joint production could make the country more of a porcupine, with sharper defenses that would deter China or another adversary. It could also create a much bigger weapons export industry with a U.S. stamp of approval; Australian officials have been lobbying for a broad exemption to military export laws, a status only Canada has now.

We are there to supplement, not supplant, the American industrial base, said Pat Conroy, Australias minister for defense industry, who recently returned from a trip to Washington. They should see this as an opportunity for us to be a second supply line.

The risk is that the United States loses interest. Some Australian officials worry that their costly bet on Americas cooperation  which accelerated in 2021 with plans for nuclear-propelled submarines  could be endangered by another isolationist Trump presidency or simply by an objection from a member of Congress who sees foreign factories as a threat to American jobs.

Analysts argue that weapons co-production will deliver the benefit of greater deterrence only if the manufacturing process advances with alacrity in Australia and around the region.

There is strength in numbers, said Charles Edel, the Australia chair and a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, but only if those numbers materialize rapidly and in sufficient quantity to give Beijing pause.

LaPlante stressed that joint production agreements signaled a long-term commitment, with multiyear contracts for munitions. In Australia, its something of a revival: During World War II, the island hosted U.S. troops and served as a military supply center.

That legacy can still be found at a factory in Mulwala, a small town a few hundred miles from Australias eastern coast where the United States shipped over the machinery for making weapons propellants in the 1940s to support Allied operations in the Pacific.

One of the original buildings, with the musty smell of a museum, has photos on the walls from that era, but the rest of the complex points to the future.

Mulwala is a hub of Australias public-private explosives industry. Its where the volatile materials that fill artillery, bombs and rifle rounds are made in heavy concrete buildings set far apart from one another and protected with hair-trigger alarms and wet floors to minimize static electricity.

Most of the 2,500-acre site is managed by Thales, a multinational defense contractor, which also oversees munition production at a second location nearby in Benalla. Both sit on government land with a large pastoral buffer that could allow for expansion during what Australian officials described as the crawl, walk, run process of collaborative manufacturing.

First, the United States and Australia are finalizing joint production of unguided 155 mm artillery shells, which Pentagon officials described as an early win.

Next, in the coming months, Lockheed Martin will start assembling GMLRS with U.S. components at a location where other missiles are maintained, ramping up from a few units to a few hundred.

And as walking turns to running, Australia expects to be producing around 3,000 GMLRS per year with at least some local parts  most likely those that rely on energetics, a term that includes the explosives that are used to fly a missile and blow up its target.

The intellectual knowledge is here, said Col. Tony Watson, who is leading a program to upgrade government factories at Mulwala and Benalla. So its easy to grow and expand.

Production, by all accounts, will increase with caution. James Heading, director of programs for Lockheed Martin Australias missiles and fire control division, said that coordinating safety procedures for dangerous liquids, differences in voltage and other issues had already required considerable back and forth.

He added, however, that Pentagon approvals for Australia now often take weeks rather than months or years  and that the hurdles are worth overcoming primarily because the end products are in demand.

GMLRS are launched from tubes on trucks known as HIMARS, and they can hit targets 50 miles away with 200 pounds of explosives using GPS for precise strikes.

Last year, the United States supplied Ukraine with at least 20 HIMARS systems, along with GMLRS, and they rapidly shifted momentum in the conflict.

Taiwan has ordered at least 29 HIMARS launchers since 2020, adding another potential customer for Australia. Israel makes its own rocket systems, but American and Australian officials have discussed potential sales to allies in Europe.

GMLRS, an established, relatively straightforward product, would be what the Australians call a pipe cleaner; it will help clear out problems with joint production, paving the way for more missile and munition manufacturing.

In the Pentagon and Australian vision of the future, Australia and other U.S. partners will soon be the nodes of a global supply chain, producing interchangeable weapons with greater ramp-up capacity in more places where extra firepower could be needed.

The weapons would be at least partly American. They just wont have all come from America  and that may make avoiding a war or fighting one a lot easier.

The West has a great opportunity to harness its collective industrial base, to ensure we maintain a rules-based global order, said Air Marshal Leon Phillips, Australias most senior military official in charge of guided weapons and explosive ordnance. Were moving toward a just-in-case model and away from just-in-time.

c.2024 The New York Times Company
Key Insights

Ashtead Technology Holdings' estimated fair value is UK5.61 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Ashtead Technology Holdings is estimated to be 25% overvalued based on current share price of UK7.00

Analyst price target for AT. is UK6.79, which is 21% above our fair value estimate

How far off is Ashtead Technology Holdings Plc (LON:AT.) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's 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.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. 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.

See our latest analysis for Ashtead Technology Holdings

The Model

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK20.0m UK25.1m UK26.3m UK27.3m UK28.2m UK28.9m UK29.6m UK30.3m UK30.9m UK31.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x5 Analyst x5 Est @ 4.74% Est @ 3.81% Est @ 3.16% Est @ 2.70% Est @ 2.38% Est @ 2.16% Est @ 2.00% Est @ 1.90% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 7.6% UK18.6 UK21.7 UK21.1 UK20.4 UK19.6 UK18.7 UK17.8 UK16.9 UK16.0 UK15.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK186m

The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = UK31m (1 + 1.6%)  (7.6% 1.6%) = UK540m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK540m ( 1 + 7.6%)10= UK260m

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 UK446m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK7.0, the company appears slightly overvalued at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Ashtead Technology Holdings 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 7.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.081. 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 Ashtead Technology Holdings

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Trade Distributors market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the British market.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Whilst important, the DCF calculation shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. 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 exceeding the intrinsic value? For Ashtead Technology Holdings, we've put together three relevant items you should assess:

Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for Ashtead Technology Holdings we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Management:Have insiders been ramping up their shares to take advantage of the market's sentiment for AT.'s future outlook? Check out our management and board analysis with insights on CEO compensation and governance factors. 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 British 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.
Don Gourd watches hay being loaded onto his trailer at a donation site for livestock feed and ranch supplies for people affected by the Smokehouse Fire in Borger on Friday. Gourd plans to drop off the hay to neighbors. Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune

The largest wildfire in Texas history has devastated the states agriculture, blazing through more than 1 million acres of land in the Panhandle, killing thousands of livestock, destroying crops and gutting infrastructure.

The agriculture industry, a big driver of the states economy, was already facing pressures from prolonged and widespread drought that forced ranchers to manage smaller herds, contributing to a decrease in beef production nationally. The series of wildfires in the Panhandle this week is another blow as many ranchers tried to rebuild their herds and operations during the cooler months of the year.

Over 85% of the states cattle population is located on ranches in the Panhandle, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. In 2021, agriculture accounted for 9% of Texas' gross state product, adding $186.1 billion to the state's economy, according to Texas A&Ms Agrilife Extension report.

[New Panhandle wildfire emerges, forcing evacuation of tiny town of Sanford]

While numbers on how many cattle were lost in the fires are unknown, experts say ranchers will face significant economic pressure from the damage.

Even if you were fortunate to be able to get your animals out fast enough, the economic impact on those affected are big, said David P. Anderson, a professor of agricultural economics and extension livestock economist with Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension.

The fires have left little food or water for livestock. Some farmers lost everything. Property fences are gone. Hundreds of miles of power lines have burned, leaving no electricity to pump water from wells  which farmers rely on to hydrate their cattle. And it will take years for the land to recover and grow new vegetation for livestock in the area. Feed stores are already seeing many people in need of cattle food.

Wade Maul, 53, had never seen a fire like this one  a massive dark plume with no end.

The owner of Maul Feed and Seed in Pampa said ranchers' hay supply has burned up and lots of people are in desperate need to feed cows and other animals that didn't get injured.

Its quite a bit of loss, Maul said. Any inventory that [ranchers] had saved up, being hay or grass, has gone. They're gonna have to feed them every bite they get for the next little bit.

[Texas wildfires: how to help and how to stay safe]

The store is offering discounts on hay, making free deliveries and taking donations. Maul feels fortunate he doesnt own any cattle and that his land was not impacted.

On various Facebook groups, community members are sharing details on where to donate hay to farmers whose land was engulfed by flames so they can feed their cattle. Others are offering shelter to their livestock.

Some ranchers are coming as far from San Angelo to help.

Pierson Sparks, 21, woke up early Friday and loaded two wheat round bales, 50 bales of alfalfa, two tons of cow feed, two pot loads of water and $300 worth of vet supplies onto two trucks.

Sparks comes from a rodeo family and owns cows, horses, goats and a donkey.

San Angelo resident Pierson Sparks unloads hay Friday at a donation site in Borger for ranchers affected by the Panhandle wildfires. Credit: Justin Rex for The Texas Tribune

We have a bunch of livestock as well and so this hit close to home knowing that some of these people are losing all their animals, Sparks said. We're just trying to reach out because we know if we were in their shoes, we would want the same.

After loading up the supplies, donated by family and friends, Sparks drove more than 330 miles to Canadian, a town near the border with Oklahoma.

At a Friday press conference in Borger, Gov. Greg Abbott said that people who lost livestock and horses are not eligible to receive FEMA disaster assistance. But he added that the state is providing many grants to help ranchers in the recovery process and is securing a location in each affected county where ranchers can go and get help from Texas Division of Emergency Management staff to apply for those grants.

We know that the loss of cattle is extraordinary, but it goes beyond that, Abbott said. We are looking at the big picture, holistically, ways in which we can assist both the ranchers and the farmers to be able to recover from this.

The Texas Department of Agriculture is assisting Texan farmers affected by the wildfires through relief funds, which can be used to rebuild fences and cover other expenses related to agricultural disasters and restarting operations. TDAs Hay Hotline website helps farmers and ranchers in need of hay for their livestock.

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller estimated that cattle losses are in the thousands, with many more to come. Some farmers might be forced to euthanize cattle due to burned hooves and udders.

Its a tough situation, he said. Ranchers income from crops and livestock is gone. So they'll just have to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and do the best they can.

The Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension is recommending ranchers to begin inspecting and monitoring cattle that have been displaced by wildfires across the Texas Panhandle for the next several weeks. Some animals may not begin to show signs or symptoms of injuries for days to weeks following the fire.

A single, immediate evaluation will not be enough, but it is a necessary starting point, said Jason Smith, an AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist in Amarillo and associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, in a press release.

The last time cattle inventory was this low was in 1951 at 82.1 million head, according to the USDAs National Agricultural Statistics Service. The 2024 inventory was at 87.2 million, an estimate made about a month before the fire.

Arthur Uhl, president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a trade organization for cattle raisers and landowners, worries about the fires impact on the market because they have wiped out pasture land and cattle feed, which will decrease the ranchers ability to feed their cows. Female cattle are important for rebuilding and growing herds. Uhl predicts fire-related losses will decrease cattle supply even further.

"Texas is cattle country, Uhl said. When you lose what I call a significant part of your cow herd, the supply goes down and prices go up.

Anderson, the livestock economist, said it will take years for Texas ranchers to recover but the wildfires probably won't have much effect on overall cattle and beef prices nationally.

Even a fire that burns a million acres and is as big and terrible as it is, it is a relatively localized thing if we think about cattle production over the whole United States, he said.

Anderson pointed out that the cattle lost in the Panhandle is a very small fraction of the overall cattle herd in the U.S.

Disclosure: Facebook, Texas A&M University, the Texas and Southwestern Cattleraisers Association and Texas A&M AgriLife have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

We cant wait to welcome you to downtown Austin Sept. 5-7 for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival! Join us at Texas breakout politics and policy event as we dig into the 2024 elections, state and national politics, the state of democracy, and so much more. When tickets go on sale this spring, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The weather might not cooperate, but Death Valley National Park officials said there will be plenty to see and do this weekend at the Dark Sky Festival.

The festival is scheduled March 1-3 with a virtual event planned Thursday night featuring NASA astrobiologist and organic geochemist Dr. Lu Chou.

A sign for the Furnace Creek Visitor Center stands out against blowing dust at Death Valley. (NPS photo)

A Facebook post listed the pros and cons of strong winds that were expected to continue from Thursday into Sunday morning:

PROS: Many of the programs at the Dark Sky Festival will be accessible despite the potential wind! You can attend indoor programs like an Astrophysicist Q&A or learn about the next total Solar Eclipse.

CONS: Events with telescopes, such as the Star Parties, may be changed to no longer include telescopes or moved inside, depending on weather. Check at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center or the park website for the most up to date information.

Clouds of sand blow along the Death Valley floor with snowcapped mountains in the background. (Photo: J.Hallett / NPS)

A photo at Furnace Creek showed conditions at the park, where wind gusts over 25 mph are expected Thursday. Gusts could exceed 40 mph on Saturday.

See more about planned activities for the Dark Sky Festival.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a bid Friday by Democrats to reconsider the states congressional maps, delivering Republicans a win in the state.

The states high court said it would not be revisiting the states congressional maps after Democrats earlier this year had asked the court to reconsider the lines.

In a separate elections map case, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had ordered new state legislative maps, writing they would be rejecting a least change approach, which means offering as few changes to the current map.

Democrats sought to use that part of the opinion as justification to have the states high court reconsider the states House map.

With the least change approach that justified the maps adoption overruled, the map now lacks any basis in Wisconsin redistricting law or precedent, lawyers wrote to the state Supreme Court, asking to have the congressional lines revisited.

However, that ask was denied by the high court, which has a liberal 4-3 majority.

Notably, liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose position on the states election maps has generated controversy, did not participate in the decision.

I decline to participate in this proceeding because I was not a member of the court when it issued its March 3, 2022 decision and order, she wrote.

Protasiewicz garnered criticism from Republicans while running for a vacant seat on the state Supreme Court last year when she called the states maps rigged.

Republicans mulled impeaching Protasiewicz if she did not recuse herself from the case over the state legislative maps but later decided against it.

While the court rightfully denies this motion, it likely wont be long until the new majority flexes its political power again to advance a partisan agenda despite the damage inflicted on the independence and integrity of the court, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley said in her dissenting opinion.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY)  Make-A-Wish needs your help to make the dreams of local children come true. The organization told WAVY.com it is looking to add more wish granters to its current pool of volunteers in Hampton Roads.

Sydney Groves, a 10-year-old who lives in Portsmouth, just got back from her Wish Trip to Alaska with her family.

Sydney has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs. She takes daily treatments to clear her lungs and keep her breathing properly.

She chose the Alaska trip through Make-A-Wish, because she says she loves Huskies. On her seven-day trip, she saw a number of animals, and even got to spend quality time at a dog sled camp.

Thats the most Huskies Ive ever seen in my life, and it was just wonderful, Sydney said. I cant even describe it.

Sydney came home from her trip with a number of stuffed animals and memories to last a lifetime. Its something her parents are so grateful for.

I never thought anything like this would happen for us, said Russell Groves, Sydneys father.

It was just the most incredible experience to be able to say yes to everything, said Kristi Groves, Sydneys mother.

Sydney was excited to talk about her big trip to Alaska. She said even though she was cold, and her eyelashes froze, the views were amazing. She said its a trip she will never forget, and she is thankful for Make-A-Wish.

I think its awesome and definitely whoever created Make-A-Wish is the best person ever, Sydney said.

The volunteer coordinator for Make-A-Wish Hampton Roads told WAVY.com the organization is looking to add 22 additional volunteers to its current list of 21. Kristi Groves hopes you consider signing up.

I would say, just do it, Groves said. The volunteering is so much fun. In fact, I am looking forward to volunteering eventually.

If you would like to sign up to volunteer with Make-A-Wish Hampton Roads, or to learn more about volunteering, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.
A woman has been charged with OUI following a head-on crash with an ambulance last week in Foxboro.

According to Foxboro police, Jenna Wilson, 40 was driving her SUV southbound on Main Street when she crossed into the northbound lane striking an ambulance head-on.

The accident occurred in the area of 215 Main Street around 6:30 p.m on February 23. The ambulance was carrying a patient, with two ambulance personnel on board.

Wilsons vehicle had her 8-year-old daughter in the vehicle. She was med-flighted to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police say the other four people including Wilson were also transported to the hospital for care.

Wilson is facing charges including OUI liquor causing serious injury, child endangerment while operating under the influence, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, marked lanes violation, and reckless endangerment of a child.

Wilson will be arraigned at Wrentham District Court on March 1.

No additional information is available.

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
CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS)  A woman has died after authorities said she fell ill mid-flight on an American Airlines plane that was traveling from Punta Cana to Charlotte this week.

According to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, American Airlines flight 2790 with service from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to Charlotte, NC, was diverted to the Turks and Caicos Islands Wednesday evening, Feb. 28, after a woman on the plane fell ill.

The 41-year-old woman received CPR before she was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she died, police said.

Statement from American Airlines sent to Queen City News:

On Feb. 28, American Airlines flight 2790 with service from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ) to Charlotte (CLT) diverted to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) for the medical needs of a passenger. First responders met the aircraft and one passenger was taken to the local hospital. The flight continued to CLT the following day.

A post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the womans cause of death.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
The incident occured onboard an American Airlines flight after it left the Dominican Republic (Getty Images)

A female passenger died after she fell ill during an American Airlines flight from the Dominican Republic to Charlotte in the United States.

The 41-year-old woman became unwell onboard Flight 2790, which had to be diverted to Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos on Wednesday due to the passengers medical needs, confirmed a spokesperson for the airline.

Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said that at 6.12pm they received a call from the Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for the 41-year-old, who at the time was receiving CPR.

The patient was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre, where she died. Police said that a post-mortem will be conducted to find out what caused this passengers death.

First responders met the aircraft, and one passenger was taken to the local hospital. The flight continued to Charlotte the following day, American Airlines said in its statement.

Flight Aware, an online flight tracker, shows the flight being diverted to Providenciales International Airport, landing around 6.18pm on Wednesday.

The womans name has not been made public, but she was from Indiana, reported WXIN-TV.

The incident comes just days after a British tourist died while on a LATAM flight to Chile on Saturday.

The 59-year-old man was travelling from the Falkland Islands to Punta Arenas, a southern Chilean city, when the incident occurred.

The man passed away before the aircraft landed. Authorities said that there was nothing to suggest that his death was a result of a crime, as his wife told officials that he had several underlying health issues.

A post-mortem was due to take place this week and was expected to confirm he died of natural causes.
The full-year results for ASM International NV (AMS:ASM) were released last week, making it a good time to revisit its performance. Revenues of 2.6b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at 15.18, missing estimates by 4.2%. 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 gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what estimates suggest is in store for next year.

View our latest analysis for ASM International

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from ASM International's 20 analysts is for revenues of 2.80b in 2024. This reflects a credible 6.4% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are forecast to fall 20% to 12.25 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of 2.88b and earnings per share (EPS) of 13.05 in 2024. The analysts are less bullish than they were before these results, given the reduced revenue forecasts and the minor downgrade to earnings per share expectations.

The average price target climbed 7.4% to 562despite the reduced earnings forecasts, suggesting that this earnings impact could be a positive for the stock, once it passes. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values ASM International at 740 per share, while the most bearish prices it at 410. This shows there is still a bit of diversity in estimates, but analysts don't appear to be totally split on the stock as though it might be a success or failure situation.

One way to get more context on these forecasts is to look at how they compare to both past performance, and how other companies in the same industry are performing. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that ASM International's revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2024 expected to display 6.4% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 22% over the past five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 11% annually. Factoring in the forecast slowdown in growth, it seems obvious that ASM International is also expected to grow slower than other industry participants.

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The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. On the negative side, they also downgraded their revenue estimates, and forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on ASM International. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for ASM International going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

However, before you get too enthused, we've discovered 1 warning sign for ASM International that you should be aware of.

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.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD)  A woman who disappeared in 2017 has been reunited with her loved ones after police located her in a Michigan motel, the Michigan State Police said Thursday.

The woman, who was not identified, is now back with her family, police said.

In a thread on X, MSP said the woman managed to call her stepmother earlier this week, telling her she was being held against her will at a motel in the Detroit suburb of Inkster.

Detectives were able to track her to the Evergreen Motel, where a girl was heard screaming and crying from a motel room, MSP said.

Troopers made forcible entry into the room and recovered her, MSP wrote.

Attempted kidnapping thwarted at Florida Walmart, video shows

In a search of the motel room, the MSP said officers found drugs, guns and multiple cell phones. Police said they also identified a suspect, though a spokesperson for the MSPs Second District said no one was in custody.

She was alone when we located her, the MSP spokesperson said in an emailed statement obtained by Nexstar. We are currently looking into what occurred during the time she was reported missing.

The MSP also suggested the possibility that the woman had been the victim of a human-trafficking operation. The agencys Trafficking and Abduction Group (TAG) is further investigating to determine whether that was the case.

The victim was transported to a hospital before being reunited with family, officers said. They did not say whether she had suffered any injuries.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA)  A woman filed a lawsuit on February 29 against Washington County, Ozarks Electric and an unnamed contractor for Ozarks Electric for trespassing on her property and taking pieces of it as part of a road expansion project.

According to the lawsuit, Lisa Dennis owns 89 acres outside of the Fayetteville city limits along both sides of W. Weir Road, which was a dirt road before Washington County began a widening project in 2021.

The widening project is when Dennis says the county removed her mailbox, fence, culverts and trees and began to excavate, reshape and park trucks on the land.

The lawsuit alleges the county took about 25 feet of land from both sides of the road equal to 0.75 of an acre. It states the county was aware that there was no easement authorizing it to take Dennis property in the several easements given to Dennis to sign.

Fayetteville nurse asks Congress for help with getting more young bone marrow donors

According to the lawsuit, the county refused to compensate Dennis for the easements and continued to take her property, damage her entranceway to the point that it was unusable and change the embankments and ditches, causing soil erosion.

The lawsuit says on February 21, 2024, Ozarks Electric through its contractor began clearing trees and branches, installing larger poles, power lines and other facilities on the north side of the property along the road to accommodate a new subdivision.

According to the lawsuit, Dennis told Ozarks Electric that it does not have an easement to access her property and that Ozarks Electric acknowledged it does not have an easement.

The lawsuit states the electric company has not made an offer to compensate Dennis and is continuing to enter and work on her property through its contractor.

According to the lawsuit, Ozarks Electric intends to take a 30-foot corridor or 0.5 of an acre of the property along the north side of the road.

The lawsuit also asks for a permanent injunction, suspending the widening project until a ruling is made on the matter.

KNWA/FOX24 reached out to Washington County who said they had no comment. We also reached out to Ozarks Electric Cooperative and have not heard back.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24.
Nearly one in two Britons surveyed felt that 'when it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in my country' - Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank RF

About half of Britons believe that society has gone too far in promoting womens equality and that men are now discriminated against, a survey suggests.

According to the results of the survey, nearly one in two (47 per cent) agreed with the statement: When it comes to giving women equal rights with men, things have gone far enough in my country.

This marks an increase on the 38 per cent who said the same last year, and a rise in the proportion who felt this way as recently as 2019 (29 per cent).

A total of 47 per cent also agreed with the statement: We have gone so far in promoting womens equality that we are discriminating against men.

The research is being published as part of a global study carried out in 31 countries by the polling company, Ipsos, in collaboration with the Global Institute for Womens Leadership at Kings College London for International Womens Day, on 8 March.

Responding to the data, Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said: We have a gender pay gap thats closing at a glacial pace, there are fewer than 10 women leading FTSE 100 companies, half of women will experience sexual harassment at work, and online abuse and misogyny is rife.

It doesnt feel like a golden era of equality to me. Yes, weve made progress, thanks to the incredible and relentless work of generations of women. Inevitably where there is progress there is pushback but its abundantly clear that there is much more to be done and this data shows the majority of women agree.

The survey asked 24,269 adults a series of questions in a range of countries around the world. More than 1,000 of those surveyed were Britons.

The report concluded that progress towards gender equality is slow. Across a 31-country average, more than half of people (54 per cent) believe that when it comes to giving women equal rights things have gone far enough in their country.

For those who believe that society has gone too far in promoting womens equality at the expense of men, 59 per cent of men agree with the statement, compared with 35 per cent of women.

Sixty-six per cent of Britons agreed that women will not achieve equality unless men take actions to support womens rights too (including 65 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women). However, the term feminist remains challenging, with only two in five (43 per cent) identifying with the phrase  an increase of eight percentage points since 2019. This rises to 49 per cent among women.

Dr Charlotte Proudman, founder of Right to Equality, said that 'over 60 per cent of women suffer sexual harassment' - Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

Responding to the figures, Dr Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and founder of Right to Equality, said: How can anyone possibly say gender equality has gone too far when one in four women are raped or sexually assaulted, over 60 per cent of women suffer sexual harassment, and every week two women are killed by men?

We have yet to reach a place where everyone, no matter their gender, can live without fear or oppression.

Tory MP Sir John Hayes said the survey 'shows that good and bad people of both sexes prevail' - TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images

However, Sir John Hayes, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs and a former security minister, said: The myth that every man is to a, lesser or greater degree, a villain, and all women are invariably virtuous is perpetuated with such vigour that many have come to see it as fact.

Fortunately for most of us, common sense and this survey also shows that good and bad people of both sexes prevail.

Huge cause for concern

Professor Rosie Campbell, director of the Global Institute for Womens Leadership at Kings College London, said: That virtually half the British population think efforts to promote womens equality have gone far enough is a huge cause for concern  particularly given the trend is going in the wrong direction, with the public seemingly becoming more, rather than less, sceptical of the need to push for further progress.

Kelly Beaver, chief executive of Ipsos UK and Ireland, said: The findings of our research serve as a salutary reminder that the concept of gender equality in the workplace and its impact on our wider society is more complex than we sometimes think.



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As spectators packed a Connecticut courtroom for closing arguments in the Michelle Troconis murder conspiracy trial this week, there was a noticeable common theme  many of them wore purple.

Some wore purple hats or scarves while others were fully decked out in the colour. It was intentional, they said: it was all for Jennifer.

For 27 days, the court heard dramatic testimony about how mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, 50, was allegedly killed in 2019 by her estranged husband Fotis Dulos amid a contentious divorce and custody battle. After being charged with her murder, he died by suicide in 2020, leaving his girlfriend Michelle Troconis to take the fall.

On Friday, the jury found Ms Troconis guilty of conspiring with Fotis to kill Jennifer and cover up the crime.

She was convicted on all six counts of conspiracy to commit murder, hindering prosecution, tampering with physical evidence, and conspiracy to commit tampering with physical evidence.

She is scheduled for sentencing on May 31, and could face up to 50 years in prison.

Since the trial began, family and friends of Jennifer, along with supporters who had never even met her, had been wearing purple ribbons and clothing in court to raise awareness for domestic violence.

Many of the supporters are members of Justice For Jennifer Dulos, a Facebook page that started over four years ago, and has since grown to more than 1,000 members.

On Tuesday, they packed the courtroom and overflow room at Stamford Superior Courthouse in Connecticut for closing arguments.

If there were room for 1100 of us in the courtroom, we would have all been there everyday, Shell Meador, one of the Facebook admins told The Independent.

Many of the supporters who showed up in court are members of Justice For Jennifer Facebook page (Justice for Jennifer/Facebook)

Ms Meador explained that the admin team is a group of personal friends, many of whom were brought together by their individual experiences of having a loved one be murdered.

For most people especially Connecticut moms, Jennifers story brought an awareness of wow...things like this do happen here, Ms Meador said, And the family court system in CT is broken in ways that are hurting children, hurting families.

Creating an online community gave them a chance to share their stories and advocate for Jennifer  and heal from some of their own pain.

For me, its always been about creating a safe, respectful place to raise awareness of a missing person, follow and discuss case facts of a justice journey, Ms Meador said.

Jennifer Dulos has been missing since 24 May 2019 (New Canaan Police Department)

Caroline Rutenberg, who grew up in Farmington, close to where Fotis and Jennifer lived, another admin of the Facebook group has also helped out with searches.

She was in high school in 2019 when Jennifer disappeared.

It was the first time I heard of domestic violence, she told The Independent.

Jennifers story touched my heart and seeing all the people that came out to support yesterday wearing purple brought me to tears, she said of the dozens of women who showed up for closing arguments on Tuesday.

I wore a purple ribbon around my neck that was the same ribbon we used at the memorial our group created honoring Jennifer, she added.

The memorial was set up in February 2020 in West Hartford, near a reservoir that was heavily searched when Jennifer went missing after dropping her five children off at school. The Facebook group members keep it adorned with banners, candles, notes, painted rocks, lights, signs and flowers. They plan to spruce it up after the trial is over.

The memorial was set up in February 2020 in West Hartford (Justice for Jennifer Facebook page)

Now: The memorial has been tended to for years and is overflowing with love for Jennifer (Justice for Jennifer Facebook page)

On Tuesday during closing arguments, another admin, Tracey, wore a purple ribbon around her waist.

Its the only purple I had, she said, as she tugged gently on the frayed ribbon. But its perfect because its from her memorial  feels like shes here with us.

Tracey never met Jennifer but felt a pull to her and has been attending trial nearly every day.

Maybe it was that they were around the same age, or maybe it was because she lived on the Upper East Side just a few blocks from Jennifer Dulos mother, Gloria Farber. But ever since Jennifer disappeared on 24 May 2019, Tracey has been heavily invested in the case.

I really thought for a long time, we must have crossed paths, she told the CT Insider at the start of the trial. The more I learned about the circumstances...it pulled me in. I felt for her.

Tracey has said that she has felt likes she has become, in a way, a representative of the people who are not friends or family who just deeply care about answers and accountability.

Tracey, along with other members of the Justice group, spent many hours walking the woods in Farmington and West Hartford when Jennifer first went missing in the hope of finding something.

Jennifer Dulos' mother, Gloria Farber, testifies during Michelle Troconis' trial (Hearst Connecticut Media)

The women said the group was never intended to be for opinions and theories about the crime, but instead think of it as a group of friends who all want Justice for Jennifer.

Another woman who was at the courthouse on Tuesday shared with The Independent that she joined the group because she was looking for other women in the community to connect with, to go hiking and running with in a safe environment.

Unlike many true crime groups, most of our members are local to Connecticut. We created a bubble to protect them, Ms Meador explained. After almost five years together tenaciously fact finding and keeping our group updated none of us will ever be the same.

And every year on or around 24 May, some of the members gather to mark the anniversary of Jennifers disappearance.

Were a tight knit group of justice seekers, Ms Rutenberg said.
In a candle-lit Moscow church, mourners stood Friday in silence around the coffin of late opposition leader Alexei Navalny as thousands paid tribute outside.

Two weeks after his death in an Arctic prison, Navalny's family could finally say goodbye.

The unassuming, domed Orthodox church in a quiet corner of Moscow was not completely full, and many stood outside waiting to enter.

Those who were permitted included Navalny's parents. His body lay in a coffin, his face waxy and drawn.

When the brief funeral service was over, the casket was immediately closed, even as many shouted: "Let me say goodbye, don't close it!"

Outside, a stream of defiant mourners that had begun slowly massing earlier in the day clapped.

Many wept, holding flowers. Outside the cemetery where he was buried, some mourners shouted: "We won't forget you!" and "Forgive us!".

An elderly man in the crowd yelled out: "He was telling the truth about Russia. Thank you."

His death in a high-security prison colony above the Arctic Circle sparked despair among his supporters, many of them young Russians who saw Navalny as their best chance for change.

But that despair turned into defiance on Friday, despite a heavy police presence and concern about arrests.

"People like him shouldn't die," a mourner named Anna told AFP, as a large queue of thousands began snaking round the streets on the way to the church.

"Honest. Principled. Ready to put themselves on the altar. He went all the way," she said.

- 'The last hero' -

Bustling in winter coats and hats, many in the crowd held up their phones to film -- a scene reminiscent of the rallies Navalny amassed in the capital just a decade before.

"It's a bit scary, because you don't know what it will turn into," said 37-year-old doctor Maxim.

"But I think it's a way for people to wake up and not be silent."

Since the Kremlin launched its full-scale military intervention in Ukraine just over two years ago, public dissent is rare.

Dozens of police vehicles and officers could be seen patrolling around the perimeter of the church and Borisovo cemetery, which was surrounded by metal barriers.

The Kremlin, which has denied involvement in Navalny's death, warned against "unauthorised" protests around the funeral.

Some of those in attendance were fearful. Most said they were simply there to pay their respects.

Alena, a 22-year-old archaeologist, said she would regret if she stayed at home.

"I realised that I can and I need to be here. If I don't ... I won't forgive myself," she told AFP.

"I was asked: why are you doing this, because the idea is dead. The idea is not dead! The man is dead, but the idea will live on thanks to those who are here," she said.

Navalny, a lawyer by training, leveraged fatigue with Russian politics and perceived corruption to galvanise millions of supporters.

Some who came Friday were angry.

There is "overflowing resentment", said Inessa, a 60-year-old former lawyer.

"I came because he was a hero, the last hero of our fatherland."

bur/cw
The News

World leaders condemned the deaths of dozens of Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza City, calling for an independent probe into the incident.

Questions remained as Israel and Gaza offered vastly different accounts of how the distribution of food turned deadly on Thursday. Gazas Hamas-controlled health ministry said Israel Defense Forces opened fire on the aid convoy, killing 112 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more. Israel denies shooting into the crowd, saying most people were killed in a crush or run over by trucks, and that troops only fired at a group several hundred yards away that threatened a checkpoint.

The United Nations has warned for weeks that public order is breaking down in the enclave, where food is scarce and children are emaciated and starving. On Thursday the U.S. blocked a motion at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council that would have held Israel responsible for the deadly aid distribution.

The View From the EU

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was deeply disturbed by images from Gaza, urging a transparent investigation into the deaths. Humanitarian aid is a lifeline for those in need and access to it must be ensured. We stand by civilians, urging their protection in line with international law, she wrote on X. Josep Borrell, the EUs foreign affairs representative, said he was horrified by news of yet another carnage among civilians in Gaza desperate for humanitarian aid, and called the deaths totally unacceptable, adding that depriving people of food aid constitutes a serious violation of international law.

The View From China

China urges the relevant parties, especially Israel, to cease fire and end the fighting immediately, earnestly protect civilians safety, ensure that humanitarian aid can enter, and avoid an even more serious humanitarian disaster, Chinas foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

The View From the US

U.S. President Joe Biden said he believed that the incident would complicate ongoing ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

The incident proves how desperate the situation in Gaza has become, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed over the course of this conflict, not just today, but over the past nearly five months, he said, adding that Washington has been in touch with Israels government and understands that an investigation is underway. Gazas health ministry said that more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began on Oct. 7.

The View From Colombia

The president of Colombia said that his nation would suspend the purchase of weapons from Israel following the incident. More than 100 Palestinians were killed by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, Gustavo Petro wrote on X. This is called genocide and is reminiscent of the Holocaust even if the world powers do not like to recognize it. Israel and Colombia signed a free trade agreement in 2020, and Colombia uses Israeli-built weapons to fight drug cartels.
Following the United States Armys historic decision last year to overturn the convictions of 110 Black soldiers court-martialed for their roles in the 1917 Houston riots, the Department of Veterans Affairs sought to correct the injustice with new headstones for 17 of the soldiers.

The VAs National Cemetery Administration held a memorial ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, last week to dedicate headstones for the resting places of the World War I soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, who were among those executed after being charged with murder and mutiny for their roles in the riots, the VA said in a news release.

The 17 soldiers bodies were put in a mass grave until they were exhumed, identified and buried at Fort Sam Houston in 1937, the Military Times reported.

U.S. Army overturns convictions of 110 Buffalo Soldiers In 1917 Houston Race Riot. (Photo: YouTube screenshot/History)

The segregated unit today is widely known as the Buffalo Soldiers, Atlanta Black Star reported previously.

The soldiers convictions were overturned last November as an acknowledgment that the soldiers faced mistreatment and were denied fair trials due to being Black, the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office said in a statement.

Consistent with standard procedure of that time for soldiers who were sentenced to death in a court-martial, their graves were marked with headstones that listed only their names and year of death  as opposed to full honors, according to the VA.

The new headstones they were honored with at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery on Feb. 22 include their names, home state, rank, unit, date of death and a sign sharing their story.

The updated interpretive sign is meant to educate the public and offer closure to the soldiers next of kin, the VA said.

We right the wrongs of the past and honor the service of these soldiers  who served our country with honor, said Matthew Quinn, the VAs Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs.

Quinn added that the gesture demonstrated the departments full commitment to helping correct the injustice of that era.

The WWI-era Houston riots that unfolded on Aug. 23, 1917, and left 19 dead followed months of racial provocations against members of the 24th  including the violent arrest and assault of two Black Soldiers, U.S. Army Public Affairs Office notes.

The assaults and rumored additional threats facing the soldiers prompted more than 100 Black soldiers to seize weapons and march into Houston, triggering deadly clashes.

Historians and government officials later noted that the Buffalo Soldiers trial was plagued by legal irregularities that resulted in the hanging of 13 Black troops at once, with six more troops later executed.

The killings of the 19 men, who were put to death without due process, resulted in the largest mass execution of American soldiers by the U.S. Army.

Right the Wrongs of the Past: 17 Buffalo Soldiers Whose 1917 Houston Riot Convictions Were Overturned Honored with New Headstones
The Wall Street Journal has analysed the draft version of the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia of 15 April 2022, believing that the Kremlin's goals have not changed much in two years and that it would again prefer to turn Ukraine into a neutral and vulnerable state in the event of negotiations.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Quote: "The outlines of a deal the Russian leader likely wants can be seen in a draft peace treaty drawn up by Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in April 2022, about six weeks after the start of the war.

Western officials and analysts say those objectives remain largely unchanged after two years of fighting: Turn Ukraine into a neutered state permanently vulnerable to Russian military aggression.

While the broad outlines of the ultimately unsuccessful peace negotiations have been disclosed, the full 17-page document, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and others familiar with the negotiations, hasnt been made public.

The document, dated 15 April 2022, sketches out how negotiators on both sides sought to end the fighting by agreeing to turn Ukraine into a permanently neutral state that doesnt participate in military blocs, barred from rebuilding its military with Western support and leaving Crimea under de facto Russian control."

Details: The WSJ stated that the document demonstrates how deep concessions Ukrainian negotiators were willing to make in the first weeks of the full-scale war and what compromises Russia could have made with Ukraine if Western military support had dried up and Russia had made significant territorial gains.

The draft treaty states that Ukraine would be allowed to seek EU membership but would not be allowed to join military alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

According to the draft, foreign weapons would not be allowed on the territory of Ukraine. Ukraine's Armed Forces would be reduced to a certain size. Russia was seeking to limit everything, from the number of troops and tanks to the maximum range of Ukrainian missiles.

The Crimean peninsula, already occupied by Russia, would remain under Moscow's influence and would not be considered neutral. The future of Ukraines east, part of which was occupied by Russia in 2014, was not included in the draft, leaving the issue for a personal discussion between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who never held a meeting.

Moscow also insisted that the Russian language should function equally as Ukrainian in government and courts, and this was a point that Kyiv did not agree to.

The treaty was to be guaranteed by foreign powers, among which the document listed the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France and Russia. These countries would be obliged to defend Ukraine's neutrality in case of a breach of the treaty.

But while the treaty would be in force, the document said, the guarantor countries would be obliged to "terminate international treaties and agreements, incompatible with the permanent neutrality of Ukraine," including any promises of bilateral military assistance. International security guarantees would not apply to Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The WSJ stated that the final document "appears loosely based on the 1990 treaty that created a united Germany, where Soviet Union troops quit East Germany on the condition that the country renounce nuclear weapons and cap the size of its army."

The draft treaty with Ukraine provided for the prohibition of foreign weapons, "including missile weapons of any type, armed forces and formations."

Moscow wanted the strength of the Armed Forces of Ukraine not to exceed 85,000 military personnel, 342 tanks, and 519 artillery systems. The document indicates that, during the negotiations, the Ukrainian side demanded 250,000 military personnel, 800 tanks, and 1,900 artillery systems.

Russia wanted the range of Ukrainian missiles to be limited to 40 kilometres.

Other issues remained unresolved.

In particular, what would happen if Ukraine faced an attack. Russia wanted all guarantor states to agree on a response, meaning that a unified response would be unlikely if Russia itself was the aggressor. In the event of an attack on Ukraine, Ukrainian negotiators wanted its airspace to be closed, requiring guarantor states to ensure a no-fly zone and provide weapons from the guarantors' side, not approved by Russia.

Russia wanted to add Belarus as a guarantor; Ukraine wanted to add Turkiye.

Ukrainian negotiators highlighted in italics the text indicating that they refused to discuss the Russian point that required Kyiv to withdraw claims to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes war crimes.

They also disagreed on ratifying the point about lifting all mutual sanctions.

The negotiations continued, even through Zoom, but eventually came to a halt in June 2022, as reported by the WSJ.

At that time, no agreement was reached. However, as the WSJ notes, the document reflects deep-rooted Russian fears that the West, led by the United States, has been developing Ukraine for years as a so-called "anti-Russia" to undermine, restrain and attempt to gain control over Russia. Moscow, after its failed attempt to bring Kyiv under control, sought to halt Western support for Kyiv through a deal.

On 17 June 2023, during a meeting with several African leaders, Putin presented a document that, as he claimed, was initialled by the head of Kyivs negotiating team. He said that the project consisted of 18 clauses with appendices, specifying the number of military personnel and armoured vehicles, but in Kyiv, "They rejected it."

Currently, Ukraine states that it will not start peace talks until Russia withdraws its troops from its territory. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that halting hostilities will merely allow Russia to rearm and better attack Ukraine in the future.

Although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed resuming negotiations earlier this week, any new attempt to achieve peace appears unlikely in the near future, as reported by the WSJ.

Moreover, citing analysts, the WSJ notes that a military victory for either side appears increasingly elusive. Although the front line has barely moved in a year, pessimism about Ukraine's prospects is growing. Russia recently made its first significant breakthrough in months, and Kyiv's forces are running low on ammunition and human resources.

The WSJ adds that, according to the Chatham House think tank, since its initial invasion of eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has violated over 400 international agreements and conventions.

Furthermore, all previous ceasefire agreements or peace treaties involving Russia in Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine have later been exploited by the Kremlin for its own benefit.

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Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) (Catalist:5UL) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: US$91.0m (up 40% from FY 2022).

Net income: US$18.1m (up 62% from FY 2022).

Profit margin: 20% (up from 17% in FY 2022). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue.

EPS: US$0.035 (up from US$0.021 in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) shares are down 3.7% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Atlantic Navigation Holdings (Singapore) you should know about.

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A peace plan proposal drafted during Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in 2022 would see Ukraine turn into a militarily neutered country, permanently vulnerable to Russian aggression, the Wall Street Journal reported on March 1 after reviewing the document.

The proposals illustrate the tough concessions Kyiv would have to take to conclude the 2022 talks, which ultimately failed as Ukraine began turning the tide in the war and Western support poured in.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Moscow's plans have largely remained the same. As Ukraine faces an increasingly precarious position in the war, compared by some to the first days of the full-scale invasion, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin allegedly signaled a willingness to restart peace talks on his terms.

According to the 17-page document dated April 15, 2022, Ukraine would be allowed to seek EU membership but not entry to NATO or any other military bloc. Ukraine's Armed Forces would have to be reduced to a certain size, no foreign weapons would be stationed on its territory, and Crimea would remain de facto in Russian hands.

Russia would see Ukrainian forces limited to 85,000 troops, 342 tanks, and 519 artillery pieces, while Ukrainian negotiators wanted 250,000 troops, 800 tanks, and 1,900 artillery pieces, according to the document.

Russia also reportedly wanted to limit the range of Ukrainian missiles to 40 kilometers (25 miles).

Moscow pushed for the Russian language to be treated on par with the Ukrainian one in Ukraine's government and courts, a condition that Ukrainian negotiators did not agree with, the WSJ said.

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The status of eastern regions occupied by Russia since 2014 was to be agreed on in a meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin. The meeting did not take place.

The treaty would be guaranteed by foreign powers, including the U.S., the U.K., China, France, and Russia. These countries would be given responsibility to defend Ukraine's "neutrality" if it were violated, the WSJ wrote. Russia reportedly aimed to add Belarus to the list of guarantors, while Ukraine wanted to include Turkey.

Ukraine has previously received similar assurances from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K. in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which called for international assistance if Ukraine "should become a victim of an act of aggression" in exchange for the country relinquishing its nuclear arsenal. Russia broke this treaty in 2014 by illegally occupying Crimea and Donbas.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently offered to host a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine repeatedly said the peace talks should be held on the basis of its 10-step peace formula, which includes a full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Moscow has rejected this proposal.

Ukraine works with Switzerland to organize a global peace summit in the Alpine country. Over 160 countries will be invited to discuss Kyiv's peace formula and create a joint document on what needs to be done to restore the countrys sovereignty.

Read also: Opinion: 6 obstacles to peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia

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The WTO ministerial meeting in the United Arab Emirates has been extended into Friday amid disagreements between member states (Giuseppe CACACE)

World trade ministers were locked in disagreement on fisheries subsidies, agriculture and digital customs duties as a major WTO conference was extended beyond its scheduled deadline and into Friday.

With no signs of a breakthrough on Thursday at the World Trade Organization's 13th ministerial conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, officials pushed back the formal closing session to 2:00 pm (1000 GMT) the following day.

"These negotiations are a bit like a roller coaster," said a source close to the talks.

The meeting in the capital of the United Arab Emirates opened on Monday with disagreements between the body's 164 member states on key issues that dominated the agenda of the talks.

They include fisheries subsidies, agriculture and a moratorium on customs duties for digital transactions.

"Ministers are working extremely hard and are making real progress," WTO spokesperson Ismaila Dieng said early Friday.

"However, the negotiations are difficult because of interlinkages between the areas under negotiation. Ministers will review texts overnight and will regroup early in the morning."

On Thursday, Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal told journalists that participants were "working with a very positive outlook to try to see what's the maximum we can get done", predicting "significant outcomes" on areas of concern to developing countries.

- Fisheries deal 'difficult' -

With farmer protests sweeping Europe and India, agriculture agreements have emerged as a particularly sensitive topic of debate.

Member states are trying to negotiate a text listing the subjects that merit further discussion.

Two draft texts are on the table, one more extensive than the other, according to sources close to the discussions.

India, which is keen on permanent rules governing public stockholding of food reserves, is pushing for a standalone food security deal at MC13.

But others, such as the United States and the European Union, are demanding a broader agriculture package.

Meanwhile, a new deal on fisheries was initially viewed as the most likely outcome of the MC13 talks.

But Goyal on Thursday said it was "very difficult to get a resolution".

After a 2022 deal that banned subsidies contributing to illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing, the WTO hopes to conclude a second package focusing on subsidies that result in overcapacity and overfishing.

But there is little consensus on what constitutes small-scale artisanal fishing that would benefit from specific exemptions.

- E-commerce regulations -

Another sticking point is the extension of an e-commerce customs moratorium, which EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Thursday called "vital" to economic growth.

Since 1998, WTO members have agreed not to impose customs duties on electronic transactions. The moratorium has been extended at most ministerial meetings since then, but objections by India and other member states are now throwing it into jeopardy.

When asked if India would compromise on an extension, Goyal said: "Let's see what the others are budging on."

He warned, however, that an extension cannot be "taken for granted".

On Thursday, India, along with Brazil, once again threatened to block the moratorium's extension, according to several sources close to the talks.

Big questions also remain over how the MC13 will address the issue of dispute settlement reform -- a main point of contention between the US and India.

Washington, under former President Donald Trump, brought the dispute settlement system to a grinding halt in 2019 by blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO's appeals court, its highest dispute settlement authority.

During the last WTO ministerial in 2022, member states reached a commitment to having a fully functioning dispute settlement system in place by 2024.

"What we're going to see, I think, is a quite succinct (MC13) declaration which is not going to sort out the substance," said a Western diplomatic source who asked not to be named.

"It will recognise the progress we have made and that there is more work to be done, and that we have committed ourselves to get the system up and running in the course of this year."

ho-apo/smw/lb
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized Israel for withholding work permits and blocking travel by Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, saying the measures hurt both sides and risked tipping off a broader regional conflict.

"We dont want to see an extension of conflict into other parts, Yellen told Reuters in an interview late on Thursday. "Israel is a friend and we talk to them regularly. If we see something that worries us, we tell our partners what we think of that."

On Tuesday she told reporters she had written to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express her concerns and to welcome Israel's agreement to resume tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority.

Israel's economy came to a standstill after gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and sparking Israeli attacks in Gaza that have killed over 30,000 Palestinians.

Hundreds of thousands were called up from the reserves in one of Israel's largest military mobilizations. Thousands of Palestinian workers were laid off and have not been allowed to return to work.

The World Bank estimates the Palestinian economy shrank by 6.4% last year, reversing a forecast of 3.2% growth due to the war in Gaza and deterioration in the West Bank, a separate Palestinian enclave. The situation in Gaza is far worse, with more than 80% of the housing units destroyed or damaged and 2 million people displaced.

Yellen said Israel's travel and commerce restrictions were hitting the Palestinian economy hard and halting a number of construction projects in Israel by creating a worker shortage.

"My understanding is there are construction sites that have had to shut down because they have insufficient labor, so its not good for Israels economy, or the West Banks economy," she said in the interview. "I dont think any of this is in Israels interest."

The U.S. is also concerned about neighbor Egypt's economy, which has seen hits to revenues from a 55% drop in traffic through the Suez Canal and sharp declines in tourism, Yellen said.

Egypt is close to reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that would expand its current $3 billion program, she said, without giving details.

"Were certainly supportive of the IMF helping Egypt, and its problems have intensified, especially with the situation with the Suez Canal and the Red Sea. Its driven down their revenues and tourism and things like that," Yellen said.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters this week key issues with Egyptian authorities had been resolved and the fund should finalize an augmented financing package within weeks.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by William Mallard)
Chile's Finance Minister Mario Marcel and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen meet in Santiago

By Andrea Shalal

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Friday that Washington was strongly committed to G20 finance ministers' work, despite the group's failure to reach consensus on communique language regarding wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Yellen said finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies had worked together successfully on shared priorities, including negotiation of a historic international tax treaty, creation of a fund for future pandemic threats, and joint efforts to reform multilateral development banks.

"That's really just the beginning of the list," she said. "So I think we've made substantial progress."

G20 finance leaders failed to agree on a joint statement as they wrapped up two days of talks on Thursday, with divisions over the wars in Gaza and Ukraine overshadowing efforts to forge a consensus on global economic development.

Brazil, which hosted finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the G20 major economies, issued its own summary in lieu of a shared communique. India took a similar tack in its G20 presidency last year, but still rallied most of the G20 in condemnation of Russia for invading Ukraine.

G20 officials debated late into the night and down to the final hours of the meeting how to describe the wars in a joint communique, with Russia and major Western nations at loggerheads over the language, according to people familiar with the matter.

Yellen said the issue had proven intractable.

"Many countries, including the United States, expressed disapproval of Russia's behavior in Ukraine, and also noted its highly negative economic repercussions for the globe as a whole including the least developed countries," she told a news conference at Chile's finance ministry. "We and many others also expressed tremendous concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. And I think there was broad agreement on these concerns."

"It has been challenging, however, to find language on which there can be unanimity," she said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, writing by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of brand-new, high-quality employee homes in Mammoth Hot Springs.(Photo: NPS / Jacob W. Frank)

A $40 million private donation will go toward building at least 70 new modular housing units for employees at Yellowstone National Park, the National Park Service announced Thursday.

Yellowstone National Park officials said work on the units would begin later this year and that the extra money will help speed up the process of constructing more employee housing at the nations oldest national park, which saw its second-busiest season ever last year.

The gift will be transformational in helping us continue improving employee housing across Yellowstone, YNP Superintendent Cam Sholly said. Our thanks to the donors for their generosity and commitment to meet the needs of park employees and to the Park Foundation for its leadership and continued partnership.

Getting affordable housing for NPS employees close to where they work has been increasingly difficult, the park service said, as property values near many parks have increased and other homes have been turned into short-term rentals. The NPS and National Park Foundation said the $40 million for Yellowstone would go directly to new housing and that the donors wanted to remain anonymous.

Newly installed two-bedroom modular home in Mammoth Hot Springs. (Photo: Yellowstone National Park/NPS)

Newly installed two-bedroom modular home in Mammoth Hot Springs. (Photo: Yellowstone National Park/NPS)

A 2023 report said home values in West Yellowstone and Gardiner were double the national average and that a quarter of park employees earn less than $51,000 a year, while half earned less than $64,000 annually.

In 2020, Yellowstone National Park announced it would spend tens of millions of dollars to replace five-dozen old trailers with modular cabins, improve 150 old housing units and historic homes, and add new housing.

At the time, about half of the parks 750+ employees lived in park housing, but some in far-reaches of the park. There was also about $500 million in deferred maintenance at the time. The 2022 flood also took out employee housing in several areas of the park.

The 2023 Yellowstone State of the Park report released last March said at the time, the park had spent $30 million on new modular housing units, were set to complete 66 of the new units by 2023, and said 15 other modular housing units to replace trailers would be finished by 2025.

The park shifted to building more modular homes instead of building on-site to save time and money  to the tune of $36 million since 2019, YNP said.

Morgan Warthin, a spokesperson for Yellowstone National Park, said the new housing units will all be located within the park in several areas based on where officials find housing shortfalls, but the exact plans are not yet finalized.

Will Shafroth, the president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, said he believed the $40 million gift could be a catalyst for other philanthropy to boost housing at other national parks. Nearly 9,000 of the National Park Services 20,000 employees, volunteers and concessionaires live in employee housing, according to the NPS.

The exterior of a non-trailer, non-historic employee home in Yellowstone National Park before improvements. (Photo: Yellowstone National Park/NPS)

The exterior of a non-trailer, non-historic employee home in Yellowstone National Park before improvements. (Photo: Yellowstone National Park/NPS)

The foundation has estimated that housing upgrades and construction at Acadia, Yosemite, and Grand Teton national parks alone would cost more than $115 million for about 200 new units.

The housing challenges facing each park are unique, and so are the solutions, said Chuck Sams, the director of the National Park Service. The ability to recruit and retain a talented workforce remains essential to our ability to protect parks and to ensure a world-class visitor experience.

There were 325 million visits to national parks in 2023, the NPS said earlier this week, an increase of 13 million from 2022.

Yellowstone saw 4.5 million visits, the second-most on record after 2021, and a 37% increase from 2022, when the park was heavily damaged by flooding and three entrances were closed for more than three months.

The park typically employs around 750 people during the summer between seasonal and full-time employees, and about 3,000 work there year-round. But as Backpacker reported last summer, the park has at times faced challenges hiring, in part because of the increase in visitors and deteriorating infrastructure that includes housing.

Park visits have increased by more than 1 million during the past decade, and wage costs have gone up by about $10 million along with an increase in the cost of building materials, which the NPS says has created a simultaneous need for more employees and a bigger budget for those employees wages and housing.

These skilled, dedicated professionals at the National Park Service who protect our parks and make visitors experiences great deserve housing they can be proud to call home, Shafroth said.

The winter season at Yellowstone is wrapping up in the next two weeks, as roads and visitor services centers will close to prepare for the April 19 planned spring opening for certain roads that are not open year-round.

The post Yellowstone National Park gets $40 million gift to build more employee housing appeared first on Daily Montanan.
While former President Donald Trump may rack up millions of dollars in interest penalties by reportedly failing to pay more than $450 million in a judgment, New York Attorney General Letitia James has been racking up major wins in court.

James, a Black woman who had been leading efforts to punish Trump for alleged crimes, landed a victory this month in the penalty phase of a civil fraud case after a judge determined last year that he and his company fraudulently inflated his net worth and assets more than a decade ago to obtain loans and insurance.

And James second win in court against a powerful gun rights advocacy group has boosted her reputation for winning high-profile cases that hold wealthy figures accountable for alleged criminal acts. Its unclear about her specific political ambitions, but those victories could potentially influence her political future. She had a short stint seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022 but decided to turn her attention to her reelection campaign as attorney general.

Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference following a verdict against former U.S. President Donald Trump in a civil fraud trial on Feb. 16, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

New York State Supreme Court First Judicial District Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay more than $450 million in total, which represents $363.8 million in whats called disgorgement and prejudgment interest, according to a press release from the New York Attorney Generals office.

In addition to the payment, some of the other penalties included barring Trump from operating any businesses in New York for three years, and hes banned from applying for loans from any New York bank for three years as well.

On Monday, lawyers for Trump officially filed notice that they are appealing the civil fraud judgment against him and his organization, saying they want to find out whether the judge made errors of law or abused his discretion, NBC News reported.

On Wednesday, Feb. 29, appellate court Judge Anil Singh denied Trumps request to post only $100 million of the total judgment as he appeals. As things stand, Trump is incurring interest penalties of nearly $112,000 per day until he posts the full appeal bond or pays the judgment, CNBC reports.

Trump has long launched bitter attacks on James and another Black woman attempting to hold him accountable for allegations involving attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election  Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. However, Willis has been facing challenges by Trumps legal team to dismiss the case and disqualify Willis due to her romantic involvement with another attorney prosecuting Trump, which opposing attorneys argue constituted a conflict of interest.

After the verdict in the civil fraud case in New York, the Trump campaign said, in a written statement: The Justice System in New York State, and America as a whole, is under assault by partisan, deluded, biased Judges and Prosecutors. Racist, Corrupt A.G. Tish James has been obsessed with Getting Trump for years and used Crooked New York State Judge Engoron to get an illegal, unAmerican judgment against me, my family, and my tremendous business.

Recently, James won a significant case against the National Rifle Association and its former CEO, Wayne LaPierre. A press release from her office stated the jury in the case against the NRA and three current and former senior leaders found the defendants liable for violating the law and were liable for financial misconduct and corruption.

And jurors concluded that LaPierre abused his position for his personal benefit and steered lucrative contracts to friends and relatives. LaPierre was ordered to pay $4.35 million. One of the other defendants, Wilson Woody Phillips, who is the NRAs former treasurer and chief financial officer, was ordered to pay $2 million in damages, according to NBC News.

In a major victory, my office won our case against the NRA and its senior leadership for years of corruption and greed, James wrote on X. Wayne LaPierre and a senior executive at the NRA must pay $6.35 million for abusing the system and breaking our laws.

Following the verdict, the NRA posted a statement on its website: A jury verdict in a high-profile New York trial confirms what the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) contended all along  that it was victimized by certain former vendors and insiders who abused the trust placed in them by the Association.

Meanwhile, James was elected attorney general in New York in 2018, becoming the first Black woman elected to statewide office, the first Black attorney general of New York, and the first woman elected to the post.

During her short-lived Democratic gubernatorial campaign, James highlighted her past accomplishments as attorney general, mentioning that she had sued the Trump Organization 76 times.

New York Attorney General Letitia James Keeps Coming Out on Top, Scores Major Legal Victories Against Trump and the NRA
Kevin Monahan, left, listens to opening statements in his murder trial in Fort Edward, New York, on 11 January 2024.

Kevin Monahan, left, listens to opening statements in his murder trial in Fort Edward, New York, on 11 January 2024. Photograph: Will Waldron/The Albany Times Union via AP

A man who fatally shot a 20-year-old woman after the SUV she was riding in mistakenly was driven into his rural driveway in upstate New York was sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison.

Related: Woman shot dead in New York state after friend drove into wrong driveway

Kevin Monahan, 66, was convicted of second-degree murder in the death last April of Kaylin Gillis. She was riding in a group of two cars and a motorcycle that was trying to leave the property after the drivers became lost on their way to a party and pulled into Monahans long, winding driveway in the dark.

The group was looking for a party at another persons house in the town of Hebron, about 50 miles north-east of the state capital of Albany, not far from Lake George.

Prosecutors asked the judge on Friday for the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison, with additional time for tampering with the murder weapon. The defense asked for leniency. Monahan was offered the opportunity to speak in court but chose to turn down the offer.

I think its important for people to know that its not OK to shoot people and have them killed for turning down your driveway, the judge, Adam Michelini, said.

Apart from the wider deterrent effect, Michelini said it was important that Monahan remain behind bars rather than be free to harm more people.

Gilliss death came days after the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City. Yarl, who is Black, was wounded by an 84-year-old white man after he went to the wrong door while trying to pick up his younger brothers.

On the night of Gilliss death, the group of friends had realized their error and had turned around when Monahan fired a second shot, striking Gillis in the neck as she sat in the front passenger seat of an SUV driven by her boyfriend.

Monahan maintained the fatal shot was an accident and that the shotgun was defective. He also said he believed the house was under siege by intruders and was firing a warning while his wife hid inside. Prosecutors argued that Monahan was motivated by an irrational rage toward trespassers.

Gilliss father, Andrew Gillis, has described his daughter as someone who loved animals and had dreams of becoming a marine biologist or a veterinarian.

Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that shes no longer here. We will never see her beautiful face, hear her laughter, Gillis said in court on Friday.

Her boyfriend, Blake Walsh, was behind the wheel of the SUV that night. I will never be able to forgive you, he told Monahan, who looked on with a stony face.
AUSTIN (KXAN)  A contract between professional services company Cognizant and tech company Alphabet ended Thursday, leading to layoffs of YouTube Music workers, Cognizant said in a statement to KXAN.

Cognizant and Google both tell KXAN that the contract reached its planned expiration date.

These associates will become part of our deployable talent pool, better known as our bench, where they are given seven weeks of dedicated, paid time to explore other roles within the organization and build new skills through our training ecosystem, said Cognizant in a statement. Our priority is our people, and we will continue to provide support to our associates as they find their next project.

In April 2023, the National Labor Relations Board announced that the YouTube Music Content Operations Team, won its election for a union.

During its scheduled meeting on Thursday, the Austin City Council passed a 9-1 resolution in support of the laid off workers.

While workers were at City Hall testifying, they received word that their team had been laid off. Instead of getting the chance to stay and celebrate the passage of their resolution, they instead needed to leave to go retrieve their personal belongings from their office, the Councils statement reads. Now, many of the workers feel that they could lose their homes due to the sudden and unexpected layoff, which some of them believe could be retaliation for standing up today.

A Google spokesperson called it a business-as-usual contract end, dismissing suggestions of a premature end as false.

As weve shared before, these are not Google employees, a Google spokesperson said. Cognizant is responsible for these workers employment terms, including staffing. As is the case here, contracts with our suppliers across the company routinely end on their natural expiry date, which was agreed to with Cognizant.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin.
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the Whakaari, also known as White Island volcano, in New Zealand

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A New Zealand court on Friday ordered the tour booking agents and managers of an island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people to pay survivors more than NZ$10 million ($6.1 million) and fined them around NZ$2.6 million.

Tour operators White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Kahu New Zealand and Aerius, along with the corporate owner of the island, Whakaari Management Ltd, were found to have not sufficiently ensured the safety of visitors to the island, court filings showed.

There were 47 people on White Island, also known by the Maori name of Whakaari, when the volcano erupted on Dec. 9, 2019. Many of the survivors were badly burnt by searing gas and ash. Most of the victims were international tourists from countries including Australia, the United States and Malaysia.

Whakaari Management must pay compensation of NZ$4.88 million, while White Island Tours must pay NZ$5 million and Volcanic Air Safaris NZ$$330,000, Judge Evangelos Thomas said in his judgment in the District Court of Auckland.

The prosecutor for workplace regulator Worksafe had said during the hearing that the tour operators indicated they did not have the ability to pay fines but argued the judge should impose financial penalties even if they were not paid.

Though the tour operators did conduct risk assessments, they were fundamentally inadequate, Thomas said.

"The safety information tour operators provided to their paying customers was wholly inadequate, not sufficiently informing paying customers about the hazards, the risk, the consequences of an eruption," the judge said.

The five companies involved were either in liquidation, no longer trading, were in a weak financial position or had no assets, the judgment said.

White Island Tours and VASL have insurance cover of NZ$5,000,000 and NZ$300,000 respectively to pay reparations to victims, though they and the other three companies did not appear to be in a position to pay the remaining fines and compensation, the judgment added.

($1 = 1.6437 New Zealand dollars)

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Alasdair Pal and Lincoln Feast.)
Reading tea leaves blurs the lines between art and science  especially on the investment scene, where the analysts combine historical insight, statistical savvy, and gut intuition to find the main chances that the markets will take.

Covering the markets from Bank of America, the firms equity strategist Savita Subramanian focuses more on the scientific approach  to suggest that the current bull has some more distance left to run. She noted that BofAs Sell-Side Indicator, a proprietary data tool that tracks the Streets equity allocation recommendations, hadnt yet hit the top, where high levels would start triggering sell notes.

Pointing out the contradictions, Subramanian says of current conditions, Sentiment has warmed vs. last year, but we dont see levels of euphoria that bull markets typically end with.

With room remaining at the top, its no wonder then that Bank of America analyst Michael Funk is tagging some stocks as buys going forward. Weve used the TipRanks databanks to take a closer look at two of Funks choices, to find out where they stand, and just what the Street is predicting for them. Here are the details.

monday.com (MNDY)

Well start with monday.com, a firm that offers its customers a set of cloud-based work management products, used in everything from office system optimization and project management to CRM, marketing, and sales ops. The company caters to enterprise clients of all scales, an its cloud software is available through the ever-popular SaaS model. From the customers perspective, mondays products allow a more efficient business process, and the company has found acceptance from some easily recognizable names, such as Uber and Coca-Cola.

Since its 2012 founding, monday.com has built a quality reputation based on its low code-no code platform, that makes it easy for users to customize their work management systems to better match their idiosyncratic needs and scales. The company has more than 225,000 customers, of whom 2,295 generate more than $50,000 each in annual recurring revenue and boasts a market cap of nearly $10.5 billion.

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This company has expanded from its start-up roots, and today can claim a global reach. monday.com has offices in major financial and tech hubs around the world, including New York, Chicago, London, Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Sydney, and Sao Paulo. From those offices, the company manages its operations across more than 200 industries, and in over 200 countries and territorial jurisdictions.

On the financial side, this company reported recent 4Q23 results that were better than had been expected. The top line, at $202.6 million, was up 35% from the prior year and beat the forecast by $4.8 million, while the bottom-line earnings, a non-GAAP EPS of 65 cents, came in 33 cents over the estimates. At the same time, while the results were strong, the forward guidance was considered less impressive. The Q1 revenue outlook was set between $207 million and $211 million, in line with the $209 million analyst consensus. The shares fell sharply after the earnings release, mainly as investors appeared let down by that guidance.

Nevertheless, BofAs Michael Funk remains onside, predicting that monday will see solid growth going forward. He writes of the company, A leader in the $12.5bn+ collaboration software market, our analysis suggests MNDY is positioned to grow revenues at a CAGR of 30% through FY26. Our Buy rating is based on: 1) consensus estimates appear beatable, 2) market share gains will continue, 3) shares are inexpensive relative to rule of 50 (revenue growth + FCF margin) peers, and 4) the companys march upmarket (increasing penetration of enterprises) and launch of new specialized/targeted products provide powerful levers for long-term growth.

Quantifying his stance, Funk puts a Buy rating on the shares with a $280 price target that implies a 25% gain in the coming year. (To watch Funks track record, click here)

Overall, monday.com gets plenty of support on Wall Street. The stocks Strong Buy consensus rating is based on 14 recent reviews that include 12 Buys to 2 Holds. The shares are priced at $223.01, and their $248.46 average price target suggests that MNDY will gain 11.5% in the next 12 months. (See MNDY stock forecast)

Asana (ASAN)

Next up is another software company. Asana is headquartered in San Francisco, and like monday.com above, it offers a platform and tools for work management. The firm entered the public trading markets in 2020, by a direct listing, and was valued at $5.5 billion at that time. After experiencing extremes of growth and contraction in 2021 and early 2022, the company today has a market cap of $4.21 billion.

Asana boasts that its platform gives the companys enterprise customers a smarter way to work. The tools have applications in marketing, operations, IT, and product departments, and have helped user firms improve both clarity and accountability. More recently, Asana has improved its own product offerings by integrating AI technology into the platform. Asana Intelligence can improve efficiency through the use of a semi-autonomous workflow management system.

There is strong demand in todays digital workplace for reliable workflow management  and Asana has leveraged that to gain acceptance with some iconic names, and to steadily increase its revenue generation. The company can count such important firms as Amazon, Merck, and Dell among its customers, and over the past several quarters has seen gains at both the top and bottom lines in its regular financial results.

The last set of results made public, from fiscal 3Q24 which ended on October 31, 2023, showed a top line revenue total of $166.5 million, up 18% year-over-year and $2.4 million better than had been anticipated. On earnings, Asana ran a net loss, as it has consistently for a long time; the Q3 net loss came to 4 cents per share by non-GAAP measures; that said, this loss was narrower, by 7 cents per share, than the forecast  and it compared favorably to the 26-cent EPS loss recorded in the prior-year period.

While there is risk investing in a company that runs a regular quarterly loss, analyst Funk believes that those risks are worth taking here. He writes of this company and its stock, We view Asana as a show-me story with an attractive risk-reward profile at current levels. It remains significantly underpenetrated within its Core existing customers (which have approximately 80mn total employees relative to paid seat count of 3mn), providing material runway for topline growth. We are 3% and 6% above consensus revenue estimates for FY25 and FY26, respectively, and argue that key risks (such as headcount reductions in tech) are well understood by investors.

Putting these thoughts into a concrete recommendation, Funk gives ASAN a Buy rating, and he sets a $25 price target that shows his own confidence in a 27% upside potential on the one-year horizon.

Thats the bullish take. In general, the Street is less so. The analyst consensus rates the stock a Hold, based on 13 recent reviews that break to 4 Buys, 6 Holds, and 3 Sells. These shares are priced at $19.70 and their $20.83 average target price suggests a gain of 6% in the offing for the coming year. (See Asana stock forecast)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
Kharkiv is not yet safe enough for residents to return to the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on March 1.

"As for the return of Kharkiv residents: you see, I don't think Kharkiv is so protected at the moment that I can advise people to return," Zelensky stated. "This is the choice of Kharkiv residents."

Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, is located in the east of the country, just about 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Due to its proximity to the border with Russia, Kharkiv Oblast and the regional capital have faced near-daily attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion. Part of the region was also occupied in early February 2022 before its liberation in early September.

Last month, a Russian drone struck a gas station in Kharkiv, creating a large fire that engulfed 15 residential homes and killed at least seven people, including three children.

President Zelensky said today that Ukraine's military must not only strengthen air defense in the region but also work to push Russian troops further away from the cities to bring security back to Kharkiv.

"Otherwise, it will be very difficult to fully defend Kharkiv, even if we reinforce it with appropriate modern air defense systems. We are looking for opportunities to strengthen Kharkiv's air defense in any case. This is our task today."

More than 20,000 buildings have been destroyed in Kharkiv since Feb. 24, 2022, according to Ukrainian government figures.

Read also: Who are they fighting, children? Family of 5 killed in devastating Russian attack on Kharkiv

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the situation in the Transnistrian region with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu during the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit held on Feb. 28 in Tirana, Albania, the Presidents Office reported on its website on the same day.

The heads of state discussed Russias efforts to destabilize the situation in Transnistria and analyzed ways to counter Russias influence.

Thank you for your words of support, Zelenskyy said.

We are fully on your side. We support you and your people.



Zelenskyy and Sandu also discussed operating transport routes through Moldova to export Ukrainian goods.

Read also: Transnistria to ask Putin for annexation on February 28  opposition figure

Deputies from the unrecognized breakaway region of Transnistria appealed to Russias Federation Council and State Duma, requesting protection for the region on Feb. 28.

They claimed this is necessary due to alleged pressure from Moldova. In response, Russias Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated it is carefully considering Transnistrias request.

Moldova does not anticipate any escalation or destabilization in the Transnistrian region, Daniel Vode, a spokesperson for the Moldovan government, said following the so-called summit.

On Feb. 22, reports began to circulate in the media that deputies at all levels during the summit on February 28th in the capital of unrecognized Transnistria might request the acceptance of the region into the Russian Federation. In particular, this was stated by local opposition figure and activist Gennady Chorba. The General Staff of the Ministry of Defense refuted this information.

Read also: Ukraine will not send troops to Transnistria without Moldova's request  Zelenskyy

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in one of its February reports indicated that the Kremlin is carrying out information operations against Moldova that resemble those Moscow deployed before invading Ukraine in 2014 and 2022.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Contrary to previous rumours, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not visit Armenia or Azerbaijan.

Source: Radar Armenia, as reported by European Pravda

Details: According to the publication, the visit will not take place because Baku decided otherwise.

The cause of the decision is not specified.

Previous reports said Volodymyr Zelenskyy was scheduled to visit Yerevan and Baku in March.

According to Radio Azatutyun's sources, Zelenskyy will most likely visit Armenia on 4 March.

It should be noted that Ukraines leader has previously met with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia at international events. For example, in early October 2023, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Zelenskyy first met on the sidelines of the European political community's summit in Granada.

Pashinyan repeatedly stated that Armenia is not an ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine. He recently stated that Armenia is "freezing" its membership in the CSTO, a military alliance that is de facto led by Moscow.

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels

By Byron Kaye and Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Meta Platforms said it will stop paying Australian news publishers for content that appears on Facebook, setting up a fresh battle with Canberra which had led the world with a law that forces internet giants to strike licencing deals.

News publishers and governments like Australia have argued that Facebook and Google unfairly benefit in terms of advertising revenue when links to news articles appear on their platforms. Meta has been scaling back its promotion of news and political content to drive traffic and says news links are now a fraction of users' feeds.

Meta will discontinue a tab on Facebook which promotes news in Australia and the United States, it said in a statement, adding that it cancelled the news tab last year in the UK, France and Germany.

As a result, "we will not enter into new commercial deals for traditional news content in these countries and will not offer new Facebook products specifically for news publishers," the statement added.

The decision pits Meta against the Australian government and its 2021 law.

"The idea that one company can profit from others' investment, not just investment in capital but investment in people, investment in journalism, is unfair," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters.

"That's not the Australian way," he added.

The government is seeking advice from the Treasury Department and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) about its next steps.

Rod Sims, the former ACCC chair who oversaw the design of the law, called Meta's reversal selfish and he was concerned about the impact on society as the decision undermined the quality of journalism which appears on social media.

"This is Meta thumbing its nose at the Australian parliament," he said.

Under the 2021 law, the country's government must decide whether it will appoint a mediator to set Meta's fees and potentially fine Meta if it fails to cooperate. Most of Meta's deals with Australian media ran for three years and are set to expire in 2024.

Meta is, however, not obligated to pay news publishers if it blocks users from reposting news articles as it did briefly in 2021. It has done the same in Canada since 2023 when the country passed similar laws. Meta said on Friday that publishers could continue posting news content on Facebook.

Tama Leaver, an internet studies professor at Curtin University, said Meta will be reluctant to escalate the dispute by stopping its users from posting news links in Australia and will more likely challenge the government in court if it intervenes.

"Meta is going 'what are you going to do?' and the Australian government has a real decision to make," he said.

Australia's biggest media outlets lambasted the decision, calling it an attack on the industry.

"Meta is using its immense market power to refuse to negotiate, and the government is right to explore every option for how the Media Bargaining Code's powers can be used," said News Corp Australasia Executive Chairman Michael Miller.

Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby said the decision failed to acknowledge the value that the media firm, which owns the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review mastheads and a free-to-air television channel, created for Meta.

While no deal values have been disclosed, Australian media outlets have reported Facebook's deals are worth A$70 million ($45 million) a year to the industry.

Google's Australian media licencing deals mostly ran for five years, expiring in 2026. A spokesperson said the company has already started negotiations for deal renewals.

Many governments around the world remain keen on protecting their local news industries from being elbowed out of the online advertising market. Indonesia said last month it also plans to make large tech firms pay for news content.

($1 = 1.5370 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Byron Kaye, Lewis Jackson and Alasdair Pal; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A number of government agencies in the European Union and elsewhere have voiced concerns about security risks as Apple opens up its iPhones and iPads to rival app stores to comply with EU tech rules, Apple said on Friday.

Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), from March 7 Apple will be required to offer alternative app stores on iPhones and allow developers to opt out of using its in-app payment system, which charges fees of up to 30%.

The U.S. tech giant, which on Jan. 24 detailed the changesto bring its App Store in line with the EU rules, said "sideloading" - installation of applications on a mobile device without using its dedicated app store - has sparked concerns from both EU and non-EU government agencies and users.

Allowing the practice is among reforms that some lawmakers hope will help open up the market for apps.

"These agencies - especially those serving essential functions such as defense, banking, and emergency services - have reached out to us about these new changes," Apple said in a guidance paper.

It said the agencies wanted assurances that they would be able to prevent government employees from sideloading apps onto government-purchased iPhones and that several said they planned to block sideloading on every device they manage.

"One EU government agency informed us that it had neither the funding nor the personnel to review and approve apps for its devices, and so planned to continue to rely on Apple and the App Store because it trusts us to comprehensively vet apps," Apple said.

The company did not provide details on the number of concerned agencies and the countries where they are located.

Firms such as Fortnite creator Epic Games and Spotify Technology, have for years said that Apple's commissions and restrictions impede their businesses.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason Neely and Tomasz Janowski)
Hanfords historic B Reactor went critical 75 years ago on Sept. 26. It is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Courtesy TRIDEC
Bree Black Horse, a lawyer who has worked with the ACLU, poses for a portrait inside her home in Yakima, Wash. on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022.
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This story was first published on the Benzinga India portal.

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, recently had an enlightening visit to India, engaging with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of ministers on a variety of critical topics.

What Happened? Gates, known for his philanthropic efforts and keen interest in global health and technology, found his discussion with PM Modi particularly inspiring. The duo delved into how artificial intelligence (AI) can serve the public good, women-led development, and innovations in agriculture, health, and climate adaptation, aiming to share Indias success stories with the world.

In a gesture of mutual respect, PM Modi echoed Gates sentiments, expressing his pleasure in their conversation.

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A wholesome visit: Gates didnt stop there; his agenda in India was packed with meaningful dialogues. He met with Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to talk about enhancing healthcare through digital innovations and affordable diagnostics, emphasizing a shared goal to combat TB, sickle cell, and maternal anaemia through leveraging Indian research and technology.

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See also: Bill Gates, Dolly Chaiwalla And A Cup Of Tea

The tech mogul also spent time with Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and entrepreneurs like Zomato's Deepinder Goyal, to explore ongoing partnerships and potential for future collaboration. Gates highlighted Indias growth story as a beacon of collective effort and cross-sectoral cooperation in addressing global challenges.

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His meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar covered Indias G20 Presidency and broader issues like DPI, health, education, and women's economic empowerment.

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Gates bullish stance on India shines through his admiration for the countrys economic growth, innovation, and leadership in vaccine production, signalling a hopeful outlook for Indias role in global health advancements.

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Read next: Bill Gates Explores Indias Digital Infrastructure In Odisha, Champions Use Of AI In Agriculture

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The top executive at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan took home slightly less pay last year as the insurance giant experienced an underwriting loss amid a 12% jump in medical and pharmacy claims, including growing cost pressure from popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

The Blues reported Wednesday that total all-cash compensation for CEO Daniel Loepp, 66, was $15.7 million in 2023, down $1.2 million from the year before. Of that payday, $12.3 million was bonus, $1.7 million was his base salary and $1.6 million was "other" compensation, such as the value of benefits like life insurance.

Daniel Loepp has been CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan since 2006.

Loepp has been The Blues' top executive since 2006 and is preparing to retire at the end of this year. The board of the insurance company has already begun a search for his successor. Blue Cross is the largest health insurer in Michigan for number of covered lives.

Overall, the consistently strong performance of the company under Mr. Loepps leadership is reflected in his total compensation," Blues spokesman Andy Hetzel said Friday during a call with reporters. In 2023, he led the Blue Cross enterprise through tremendous cost pressures  and lingering uneasy economic times, while the health care ecosystem was relying on us more than ever.

Blue Cross reported a $544 million underwriting loss in 2023, which reflected a $3.2 billion increase  a 12% year-over-year jump  in medical and pharmacy claims compared with 2022.

However, strong performances from the insurer's investments and subsidiaries made up for the underwriting loss, allowing Blue Cross to end the year in the black with a net gain of $100 million, or 0.2% of revenue.

A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan office in Detroit is illuminated to celebrate the Lions' NFC North Division title.

Our company sits in an uncomfortable position between two extraordinary pressures: the skyrocketing increase in prescription and specialty drug costs, and the desire of our customers to maintain the affordability of their health insurance plans," Hetzel said.

More: Popular weight-loss drugs' costs threaten health insurance sustainability

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More: Proposed Henry Ford, Ascension combo raises concerns of higher prices, concentration

Pharmacy claims had a $1.8 billion year-over-year increase, which included $750 million more for specialty drugs, especially for autoimmune conditions, plus $350 million more spent for a class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 agonists for obesity and/or diabetes that have brand names such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro.

Blue Cross has been tightening up its coverage of GLP-1 drugs and last fall began requiring patients seeking the drugs for just weight loss (not for diabetes) to first undertake a six-month lifestyle modification effort  attested to by their health care provider  before it will approve coverage. (Without insurance, GLP-1 drugs can cost around $1,300 per month out of pocket.)

Even so, Blue Cross anticipates more growth in 2024 for GLP-1 claims as the effective drugs continue to gain popularity.

For just medical claims, The Blues had a $1.4 billion year-over-year increase in 2023 and saw claims for outpatient surgery grow by 13%.

Asked whether the recent flurry of hospital mergers across Michigan has had an effect on medical claims costs, the Blue Cross spokesman said they haven't noticed any so far.

Academic research suggests that hospital consolidation ultimately results in higher prices for health care as bigger hospital networks gain negotiating leverage with insurers.

"The impact of consolidation in the industry is downstream impact over several years," Hetzel told the Free Press. "Its not felt immediately ... its felt over the long term."

Hetzel added: The bottom line is that we all serve the same people and health care economics cant be a zero sum game where a health system wins and a health insurance company loses, because we all serve the same people. And if their health insurance plans are too expensive for them to afford, they are not going to be patients in a health systems business.

Coinciding with last fall's United Auto Workers strike, more than 1,000 Blue Cross workers went on strike from mid-September until late November. They included workers in customer service, billing, claims and maintenance.

Joe Radtka, vice president of enterprise finance and chief risk officer, said that the 2-month strike had "no material impact" on the insurer's financials.

Blue Cross remains in compliance with Affordable Care Act rules aimed at preventing profiteering by insurance companies and administrative bloat. Those Medical Loss Ratio rules require insurers to pay out on claims at least 80% of the money they take in as premiums from customers, or issue rebate checks. (The minimum is 85% for large groups.)

According to the latest figures available, Blue Cross paid out an average of 88% for its large group PPO plans and 86% for large group HMOs between 2020 and 2022.

The figures were 83% for small group PPOs and 88% for HMOs. And for individual plans, the figures were 76% for PPOs and 84% for HMOs. (Those individual plan PPO customers were to receive rebate checks last September for the premium overcharges.)

As a nonprofit mutual insurer that is taxable, The Blues reported paying $150 million in taxes last year to federal, state and local governments. It plans to make a $100 million payment next month to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to help support wellness programs and insurance discounts.

Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @jcreindl.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Blue Cross CEO Daniel Loepp saw pay cut to $15.7M in 2023
Carnea de piton, aliment de viitor

Preparatele din carne de piton ar putea deveni intr-un viitor apropiat o mancare ca oricare alta. Inclusiv in Romania. Oamenii de stiinta de la Universitatea Macquarie din Australia au propus cresterea pitonilor pe post de animale pentru hrana oamenilor pentru a imbunatati securitatea alimentara. Potrivit unui studiu publicat in [citeste mai departe]
By Abhijith Ganapavaram, Allison Lampert and Valerie Insinna

(Reuters) -Boeing said on Friday it was in preliminary talks to buy its former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems as the company tries to get control of a sprawling crisis sparked by a Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout.

The planemaker said in a statement it believes its reintegration with Spirit would strengthen aviation safety and improve quality. Spirit AeroSystems confirmed the discussions with Boeing in a separate statement.

In a related development on Friday, Reuters was the first to report the company told suppliers it was delaying expected increases in plane production as it tries to regain the confidence of the industry and satisfy regulators' desires for better oversight of its safety and quality control systems.

For weeks, Boeing has been reeling from the fallout of the 737 MAX incident when a door plug blew off at 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) above the ground. U.S. aviation regulators have already curbed production and air carriers have been in discussion for more aircraft deliveries with its bigger rival, Airbus.

Reuters reported last month that years of decentralization of Boeing's planemaking capacity  along with an exodus of experienced workers and aggressive cost-cutting  has affected quality. Bringing Spirit back into the fold could address some of those quality issues as it would give Boeing more control over manufacturing.

Spirit was spun off in 2005 and in recent years has struggled with cost pressures and problems that have slowed aircraft deliveries and thinned its balance sheet. The company has hired bankers and has had preliminary discussions with Boeing, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Friday.

Such a move could also help Boeing lower Spirit's production costs, a senior industry source told Reuters. Boeing had previously considered repurchasing Spirit AeroSystems, but the optics of buying back at a higher price discouraged such a move, the source said.

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However, Spirit's shares have fallen 70% over the last five years, and its $3.3 billion market value is far short of Boeing's $124 billion.

"Boeing probably realizes that divesting its Wichita operations that make up the core of Spirit AeroSystems was a strategic mistake," Scott Mikus, equity research associate at Melius Research said.

Shares of Spirit AeroSystems closed up 15% on Friday in regular trading and were up 2% after hours. Boeing closed down 1.8% and were flat post market.

BOEING AND REGULATORS

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in late January barred Boeing from increasing production of the 737 MAX as it presses for changes.

On Feb. 12, FAA head Mike Whitaker visited Boeing's Renton, Washington, factory, where the 737 MAX line is produced, and expressed concerns about some things he saw on the tour to CEO Dave Calhoun earlier this week, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters.

According to Boeing's latest 737 supplier master schedule seen by Reuters, the company had to delay plans to increase production from 38 to 42 aircraft per month to June, from the initial target date of February. Boeing has also pushed back subsequent production increases throughout 2024 and 2025.

Spirit, one of the industry's major manufacturers of large aircraft structures, has struggled with cash flow problems over the past few quarters and quality issues surrounding the fuselages it makes for Boeing's 737 narrowbody jets.

The company is also exploring selling operations in Ireland that makes wings for the Airbus A220 jet, as it would be unusual for Boeing to supply its competitor.

"For Boeing, this does give them the opportunity to bring Spirit in-house and fix its problems, but Boeing of course has its own issues and has hardly covered itself with glory when it comes to execution of late," said Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard.

Investigators are still trying to definitively sort out responsibility for the Jan. 5 incident. Spirit made the panel, but Boeing removed it to fix rivet damage and then put it back, according to a preliminary report by U.S. investigators who found pictures showing the panel at Boeing apparently missing key bolts.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna in Washington, Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by David Gaffen and Lisa Shumaker)
Stiri pe aceeasi tema

- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, said on Friday, in Sfantu Gheorghe, the central Covasna County, at a press conference, that his country has every interest in having a better relationship with Romania, invoking in this regard also "practical reasons". We

- The youngest mayor in the history of Norway, Havard Handeland, aged 19, was received on Monday by the head of the Department for Emergency Situations (DSU), Raed Arafat. Being with a delegation in Romania, Havard Handeland discussed with the head of the DSU about the existing close bilateral relations

- Intrebat, la un post TV, daca municipiul Bucuresti ramane vulnerabil la un posibil cutremur, Arafat a afirmat: "Da, fara discutie, din cauza cladirilor care inca necesita consolidare sau daramare si reconstructie - una din cele doua solutii, nu este un proces usor, pentru ca o cladire care trebuie consolidata

- MEP Corina Cretu informs on Saturday that the European Commission approved two state aid schemes notified by Romania, intended for farmers, one worth 241 million euros, and the second one worth 56 million euros, on Friday evening."Yesterday, the European Commission approved two state aid schemes

- The infringement procedure in which Romania was in, related to the industrial emissions produced by three combustion plants, has been stopped, informs a press release from the Ministry of Environment, Waters and Forestry (MMAP), sent to AGERPRES on Friday."The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry

- Energy Minister Sebastian-Ioan Burduja and Transgaz Director General Ion Sterian signed financing contracts worth 93.58 million euros for the construction of the Black Sea - Podisor and Ghercesti - Jitaru natural gas transmission pipelines."In the current geopolitical context, it is vital that projects

- There was a legal basis for the closure of the Ferma Dacilor boarding house since 2019, when it was controlled by the employees of the Prahova County's Inspectorate for Emergency Situations - ISU Prahova, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, claimed on Friday, in a press

- marcel Ciolacu, despre tragedia de la Ferma Dacilor: Ne trebuie o Romanie ordonata si coordonata. Nu se mai poate!Marcel Ciolacu a vorbit, joi seara, la Romania TV, despre incendiul de la Ferma dacilor, acolo unde sapte oameni au fost arsi de vii. "A fost o catastrofa, condoleante familiilor.
Hungarian authorities have arrested a Swiss national convicted for blackmail, robbery, theft and drug trafficking, in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, police.hu said.

The 29-year-old man sentenced to over five and a half years in prison was detained in a raid in a luxury apartment block in the city on Feb. 20, the site said.



The man wanted on an international and European list was handed a 2-year prison term by the Zurich regional court in 2019 and an additional 44-month term in 2020, said the site, adding that he was facing extradition.



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Companies that fire Hungarians and employ guest workers in the same job should pay back government grants with interest, according to a bill proposed by the opposition Jobbik party.

The repayments should be used to fund the training, housing and family support of Hungarians, Jobbik lawmaker Daniel Z Karpat told a press conference.



Guest workers could be sent home altogether from certain sectors if inactive Hungarians can be reintegrated into the labour market, and if Hungarians working abroad can be persuaded to come home, he said.



Rather than streamlining the arrival of guest workers, the government should work on ensuring the livelihood of Hungarians in their homeland, he added.



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Hungary will start implementing the strictest immigration law in the European Union on March 1, a state secretary of the interior ministry said, adding that the new law aimed to close all loopholes and prevent migrants from arriving in Hungary, even as guest workers.

Bence Retvari noted that the law which came into force on Jan 1 but allowed a two-month grace period for implementation, replaces a 16-year-old law and unifies regulations.



The law was prompted by growing migration pressure, as hundreds of thousands of people have been trying to enter the EU since the crisis of 2015, Retvari said.



But Hungary has made it clear it will protect Hungarians interests and the EUs external borders.



The new law declares that companies can only take on third-country employees if Hungarians are unavailable for the job in question, he said, adding that government offices will determine whether Hungarians can be found for jobs accordingly.



As a result, the number of third-country arrivals may never exceed the number of vacancies, Retvari said.



The law also contains a list of posts that may not be filled by third-country workers, he added. Guest workers must leave the country within six days of losing their jobs, and employers must assist their departure or risk being fined, Retvari said.



Further, guest workers will not be allowed to bring their families into the country, he said. Staying in Hungary is not a fundamental right for any third-country citizen, Retvari added.



Residency permits are issued for fixed terms only, and under no circumstances are they prolonged automatically, he said.



One person may have only one justification for residence in the country, and those violating regulations will be expelled with immediate effect, he said.



Retvari also slammed the opposition for not supporting the government legislation in parliament, saying left-wing parties are obliged to be pro-migration to fit their financers expectations.



Retvari insisted that the left wing had been pro-migration ever since attacking the construction of the fence on the southern border and voting in favour of the EU migration pact in the European Parliament.



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The Museum of Fine Arts this year is presenting exhibitions on the Hungarian-American photographic legacy, the heritage of Mesopotamia, and a retrospective marking the 180th birth anniversary of painter Mihaly Munkacsy, the museums director said.

Laszlo Baan told a press conference that the museum attracted a record-breaking 800,000-plus visitors last year, partly thanks to the El Greco and Csontvary exhibitions.



This years programme will include a show The Hungarian American Photographic Legacy in cooperation with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.



The show will present the works of some 30 photographers, including Andre Kertesz, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Martin Munkacsi and Robert Capa, as well as lesser-known photographers of Hungarian origin who worked in the US, he said.



An exhibition opening in October presenting the heritage of Mesopotamia will display over 150 objects on loan from seven European collections, including Berlins Vorderasiatisches Museum, Pariss Musee du Louvre and Viennas Kunsthistorisches Museum, Baan said.



Starting from November, an exhibition of more than fifty works by Munkacsy, as well as archive photographs, documents and objects will explore the painters life work and success, he said.



More - in Hungarian:

Fine Arts Museum



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Henderson Volunteer Fire Department

HENDERSON  The Henderson Volunteer Fire Department will hold their annual Pancake Feed on Saturday, March 2 from 6 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Henderson Fire Department. A free will donation will be taken. Funds raised will help cover the cost of a power load (Self Loading Cot for Ambulance) and some other small tools and equipment that need upgraded.

Friend Historical Society

FRIEND  The Milligan Brass Band & Neal will perform on Sunday, March 3 at the Friend Historical Society, 511 2nd Street in Friend. A free will offering will be taken. Contact Harold at 402.366.7137 with any questions.

Gresham Seniors

GRESHAM  The Gresham Senior Dinner will be held on Monday, March 4 at noon at the Community Center.

Hispanic Community Meeting

YORK  A Hispanic Community Meeting will be held on Monday, March 4 at 5:30 p.m. at the York Area Chamber Office. This months discussion will be with he York Cultural Arts Committee.

Gresham Rural Fire Board

GRESHAM  The Gresham Rural Fire Board will meet on Monday, March 4 at the fire station at 7 p.m.

Fairmont American Legion Auxiliary

FAIRMONT  The Fairmont American Legion Auxiliary will once again be hosting their Monday Meals. On Monday, March 4 they will be serving Polish or smoked sausage with homemade sauerkraut or regular fixings (mustard, ketchup, relish, onion, cheese), potato salad and a dessert. Coffee, tea or water will be served to dine in customers. Serving will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Fairmont Legion with dine in or carry out. Call 402.268.2811 to place a carry out order. Profits are being used to improve the Legion Hall and meet national and state obligations. The current project is making the womens bathroom handicapped accessible.

Gresham Village Board

GRESHAM  The monthly Gresham Village Board meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Community Center.

York County Republicans

YORK  The biennial Convention of the York County Republicans will be held on Tuesday, March 5 in the Cornerstone Event Center on the York County Fairgrounds. The meet and greet will be from 6-7 p.m., with the meeting and elections beginning at 7 p.m. All Republicans who have filed for office and would like to attend, please call 402-366-5735 to reserve time and space, as the group would like to meet you! Delegates are the voting body, and the deadline to sign up as a Delegate with the County Clerk is March 1. All registered Republicans are invited.

Waco Seniors

WACO  The Waco Senior Citizens will meet on Wednesday, March 6 at noon for an order-off-the-menu luncheon at Hunters Restaurant & Lounge. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Legion Birthday Dinner

GRESHAM  Members of the American Legion, Sons of the Legion, and American Legion Auxiliary are invited to the Legion Birthday Dinner at the Dey Warehouse on Thursday, March 7. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m. with the meal at 6 p.m. Please RSVP to Cindy Buss by March 1 at 402-366-8513.

Utica Senior Center

UTICA  The Utica Senior Center will hold a Potato Bake on Sunday, March 10 serving from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Baked potatoes, toppings, salads, desserts, and beverages will be served. A free will donation will be taken. Proceeds will help support Senior Center activities. The event is being sponsored by Joyce Schriner to celebrate her 85th birthday.

Waco Village Board

WACO  The Waco Village Board will meet on Monday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.

Benedict Village Board

BENEDICT  The Benedict Village Board will meet on Tuesday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Benedict Community Center.

Benedict Volunteer Fire Department

BENEDICT  The Benedict Volunteer Fire Department will meet on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.

York Young Professionals

YORK  The York Young Professionals will hold a board meeting on Thursday, March 14 at 3:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut. The YP Board is always looking for input and new ideas and want to hear from you. No RSVP necessary.

Gresham Volunteer Fire Department

GRESHAM  The Gresham Volunteer Fire Department will meet on Monday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the fire station.

Waco CBO

WACO  There will be a CBO meeting on Monday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at the east end of the Waco Community Building. New members are always welcome.

York Area Chamber of Commerce

YORK  The Salute to Educators after hours event will take place on Friday, March 22 at the York Country Club from 5  7 p.m. This popular event connecting the community members with area education professionals will have complimentary appetizers for those attending (while supplies last). Prior to the raffle, the Chamber Ambassadors will announce their selection for the areas Educator of the Year. Join us as we show our appreciation to teachers of York county for all they do for our students.
Hyundai's N Line range is gearing up to welcome its eagerly awaited debut of the 2024 Hyundai Creta N Line. As anticipation builds ahead of its launch, enthusiasts are eager to explore its variants and color options, providing a glimpse into the dynamic world of this performance-oriented compact SUV. Bookings have commenced, with prices slated to be revealed on March 11, marking a significant milestone for Hyundai enthusiasts across India.

Variants and Colors Availability

The 2024 Hyundai Creta N Line is poised to come with two distinct variants: the N8 and N10. This strategic move caters to varying preferences and ensures that drivers can select a model tailored to their specific requirements.

In terms of aesthetics, the Creta N Line boasts a striking array of color options designed to captivate the senses. Enthusiasts can opt for timeless classics such as Abyss Black Pearl, Atlas White, and Titan Grey Matte, exuding sophistication and elegance. For those seeking a bolder statement, dual-tone paints such as Atlas White, Shadow Grey, and Thunder Blue, paired with an Abyss Black roof, offer a fusion of style and personality.

Hyundai Creta N Line Power and Performance

The 2024 Creta N Line features a 1.5-liter turbocharged petrol engine, with a power output of 158 bhp at 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 253 Nm at 1,500  3,500 rpm, this powertrain ensures a thrilling driving experience that enthusiasts crave.

What sets the N Line iteration apart is the inclusion of a six-speed manual transmission alongside the standard seven-speed DCT unit.

Hyundai Creta N Line Interior

The Hyundai Creta N Line steering wheel will come with premium leather and red stitching. Red inserts strategically placed throughout the cabin, along with a redesigned gear lever exclusive to the N Line variant.
New Delhi: Following the tremendous success of Love Sex Aur Dhokha, the makers are now gearing up for the next chapter, titled, Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2. Giving a first glimpse of its immensely intriguing story based on relationships in the modern era of the digitalized world, the team had dropped a motion poster that indeed set the right tone for the film. Now, to boost the ever-rising fervor, the makers are back with a new killer concept poster on the Leap Day of 2024.

Team Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 have again arrived with a new killer concept poster on the Leap Day of 2024. Bold, exposing, and fascinating, the poster is well-adorned with social media icons all over that offers a more comprehensive glimpse of the film's theme that talks about the presence of social media in our lives. The new poster indeed keeps us on the edge while leaving us assuming about the cool and vibrant campaign the makers are all set to kickstart ahead. Moreover, this new poster has indeed piqued our excitement to see what the makers have ahead in the stores for us.

Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms and Cult Movies Present a Dibakar Banerjee Production, Love Sex aur Dhokha 2, produced by Ektaa R Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor. The film is directed by Dibakar Banerjee. The film will be released on April 19, 2024.
New Delhi: India's Paytm and its payments bank unit have mutually agreed to discontinue various inter-company agreements in the process to reduce dependencies, the embattled payments firm said on Friday. Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications, did not specify what agreements were being terminated.

The payments bank agreed to simplify the shareholders' agreement to "support (Paytm Payments Bank's) governance, independent of its shareholders," the company said. (Also Read: RBI Revises Bill Payment Rules: Key Changes, Effective Date, All You Need To Know)

Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns a 51 percent stake in Paytm Payments Bank while Paytm owns the rest. (Also Read: BIG Bonanza To Farmers Ahead Of Kharif Season! Centre Clears Rs 24,400 Crore Fertiliser Subsidy)

The move came days after Sharma stepped down as non-executive chairman and board member of the payments bank unit, as part of a major overhaul that follows a central bank clampdown.

The Reserve Bank of India had asked Paytm Payments Bank to wind down operations by March 15 due to persistent compliance issues and supervisory concerns, triggering a meltdown in Paytm's stock.

The action against the unit followed concerns including inadequate customer identity checks and a lack of arms-length distance from parent company Paytm, sources previously told Reuters.
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry said on Friday that the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has slapped a Rs 5.49 crore penalty on Paytm Payments Bank for breaching anti-money laundering rules, news agency PTI reported.

The FIU-IND started a review of Paytm Payments Bank after getting specific information from law enforcement agencies about some entities and their network of businesses involved in various illegal activities, such as online gambling.

The ministry said that the money earned from these illegal operations, i.e. proceeds of crime, were transferred and deposited into bank accounts held by these entities with Paytm Payments Bank Ltd.

The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND), has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 5.49 crore on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd for the violations of its obligations under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), the ministry said.

The FIU issued its order imposing the penalty on February 15. The FIU action came after RBIs January 31 directive that barred Paytm Payments Bank from taking new deposits or credits in the accounts of its customers from February 29. The deadline was later extended to March 15.
(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. is in discussions to acquire Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., a move that would reclaim control of its struggling former aerostructures unit and the main supplier at the center of numerous quality issues affecting the 737 Max airliner.

Most Read from Bloomberg

We believe that the reintegration of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems manufacturing operations would further strengthen aviation safety, improve quality and serve the interests of our customers, employees and shareholders, Boeing said Friday in a statement.

Buying back Spirit, which Boeing spun off in 2005, would mark the most dramatic step yet by the US planemaker to stabilize its supply chain after a series of damaging production faults. The latest and most serious lapse occurred early in January when a 737 Max 9 model lost a large fuselage panel during flight. While Spirit built the airframe in question, Boeing has said ultimate responsibility for safety and the right production protocols reside with the planemaker.

Spirit issued a separate statement confirming the talks, which were reported earlier by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

Shares of Spirit rose 2.2% in postmarket trading following a 15% jump in the regular session, giving it a market value of about $3.8 billion. Boeing fell 1.8% Friday and is down about 23% this year, the worst performer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Wichita, Kansas-based Spirit is separately exploring the sale of a business in Northern Ireland that makes wings for Airbus SE, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. The European planemaker has held preliminary discussions with the supplier about buying the business, the people said.

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Selling its Wichita operations to Boeing would be a coup for troubled Spirit, and give the planemaker a chance to fix the problems that have plagued its key supplier, Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard said in a client note. But the merger would provide an added distraction as the companies work to bolster quality controls and safety culture under intense scrutiny from regulators.

Integrating Spirit would add additional pressure onto the Boeing Commercial Aircraft management team, while the Boeing balance sheet could do without the cost of acquiring the company, Stallard said.

After Spirit was split off from Boeing, the company was sold to private equity investors, ending almost 80 years within the US planemakers fold. The move was part of Boeings drive to shed assets and ultimately become more profitable.

But the disposal left the contractor without the protective cover of Boeings balance sheet  particularly when the company faced a major crisis like the pandemic. During its 2020 nadir, Spirit cut 6,800 employees and put salaried workers on a four-day work week to preserve cash.

The supplier is now run by Pat Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, in a sign that the two companies are working more closely together. Last year, Spirit restructured key contracts with Boeing, still its biggest customer, to help bolster its ailing finances.

When asked if Boeing had gone too far selling off assets in past years, Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun told CNBC in January that yeah, it probably did. But now its here and now. And now, Ive got to deal with it.

Until Boeing provided a cash infusion and restructured Spirits contract terms, the company had faced years of losses on a contract to build the nose-cone of the US planemakers 787 Dreamliner jets. Spirit has also been in contract talks with Airbus aimed at stemming its losses from the A220 and A350 programs.

Wing Factory

Airbus has also moved some suppliers of its airplane structures back in-house. Boeing is Spirits largest customer, accounting for 64% of the suppliers revenue last year. Airbus was its second-largest with 19%. Spirit makes parts across the European planemakers product line, including wings for the A220 narrowbody at the Belfast plant it purchased from Bombardier Inc. in 2020.

Boeing and Spirit have faced withering scrutiny over quality control, particularly after the Jan. 5 accident. Spirit assembles most of the 737 Max planes fuselage before shipping them by rail to Boeings factory in Renton, Washington, for final assembly of the aircraft.

US investigators have said the so-called door plug on the plane involved in the accident was apparently missing four key retention bolts meant to hold it in place when it was handed over to the customer.

The incident capped a series of quality lapses involving Boeings former aerostructures unit. A drilling mishap on an aft pressure bulkhead supplied by Spirit slowed deliveries of the 737 Max last year, the planemakers most important generator of cash flow. A separate issue with tail-fin fittings also affected output earlier in 2023.

--With assistance from Siddharth Philip, Brooke Sutherland and Catherine Larkin.

(Updates with confirmation from companies beginning in second paragraph)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
New Delhi: The World Trade Organization (WTO) 13th Ministerial Conference at Abu Dhabi has been extended until Friday, March 1, to allow further discussions and facilitate outcomes on main issues. The decision was taken after WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala held consultations with MC13 Chair, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, and the minister facilitators, WTO announced in a statement.

The 13th Ministerial Conference was initially scheduled to close on February 28 at 8 pm (local time). (Also Read: BIG Bonanza To Farmers Ahead Of Kharif Season! Centre Clears Rs 24,400 Crore Fertiliser Subsidy)

In a statement, WTO said, "At the meeting of Heads of Delegation (HoDs) on 28 February, DG Okonjo-Iweala called on members to go the extra mile to find convergence on the various negotiations at the ministerial gathering and to be mindful that time is running out to conclude meaningful agreements." (Also Read: RBI Revises Bill Payment Rules: Key Changes, Effective Date, All You Need To Know)

Ministers and delegates from across the world gathered in Abu Dhabi for the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting that began on February 26, to discuss and deliberate upon global trade rules.

WTO, a global watchdog, founded about three decades ago, now has 166 member countries, including India. This year, Timor-Leste and Comoros have been added as members of the WTO. The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) was held in Geneva, Switzerland from June 12-17, 2022.

At the ongoing 13th ministerial conference of the WTO, India stressed that all policy options should be available for the WTO members to pursue promoting digital industrialization.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry press release, India stressed that currently, a few firms based in developed countries dominate the global landscape of e-commerce.

India explained that there was a huge digital chasm between developed and developing countries, which makes it challenging to increase the participation of developing countries in global e-commerce.

India reiterated that with the digital revolution still unfolding and with the increasing diffusion of technologies such as additive manufacturing and 3D printing, data analytics, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, there was a need for a re-examination of the implications of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, particularly for the developing countries and the LDCs.

India said that developing countries need to focus on improving their domestic physical and digital infrastructure, creating supportive policy and regulatory frameworks, and developing digital capabilities.

India's own digital transformation is powered by its unshakeable belief in innovation and its commitment to speedy implementation.

Through the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach, India is promoting innovation, democratising technology, and fostering a competitive ecosystem for digital businesses.

DPI has spurred a national technology revolution in areas like commerce, credit, healthcare, payments, e-governance, and citizen services among others.

India's own experience shows that a broad thrust on digital infrastructure, skills, education, and enabling policies has spurred rapid, population-scale digitalization.
New Delhi: A bomb blast at a popular cafe in Bengalurus Whitefield area injured nine people on Friday. A CCTV video of the blast showed the chaos and fear that followed the explosion, which occurred during a busy afternoon. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confirmed that the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED). He said that the police told him that someone had left a bag containing the IED inside the cafe.

Siddaramaiah appealed to the opposition parties not to politicize the incident. He said that the CCTV footage from the cafe was being analysed and the culprits would be punished.

Explosion at Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe caught on CCTV camera



(Video source: Police) pic.twitter.com/lhMtK3rsOs  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

He also said that such explosions had happened in the past under different governments. He said, This incident has happened in our government. We will take strict and disciplinary action against those who are involved. Politics should not be done in this matter.

Sources said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would visit the blast site as per the standard operating procedure (SOP). Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar assured the people of Bengaluru that the investigative agencies were looking into the matter seriously.

Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan, who visited the spot, said that the explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe was a bomb blast and the police were investigating it.

He said, At 1 PM, a bomb blast occurred at the cafe, nine people are injured, and no one is serious. We are investigating. Forensic teams have come and are checking. City police commissioner and other officers are at the spot. We will certainly identify who did it.

He said that none of the injured  both staff and customers  had serious injuries and they were being treated in hospital.
Chennai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a dig at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin amidst the controversy surrounding a newspaper advertisement displaying a 'Chinese flag'. On Friday, the BJP extended birthday wishes to CM Stalin in Mandarin, subtly mocking him amid the ongoing debate. In a post that said 'Happy Birthday in his (CM Stalin's) 'favourite' language, the BJP posted a picture message with wishes written in 'Mandarin' along with the Chief Minister's photo.

"On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu, here's wishing our CM MK Stalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!" the post on X said.

On behalf of @BJP4Tamilnadu, heres wishing our Honourable CM Thiru @mkstalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life! pic.twitter.com/2ZmPwzekF8 March 1, 2024

Row Chinese Flag Newspaper Ad

The controversy ignited on February 28 when a newspaper advertisement by the DMK government featured what appeared to be a 'China flag' alongside rockets from various countries. The advertisement, which celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for ISRO's second launch pad complex in Kulsekarapatinam, stirred widespread criticism.

PM Modi's Criticism Of DMK

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his recent two-day visit to Tamil Nadu, condemned the DMK's advertisement. He accused the ruling party of appropriating credit for India's achievements while displaying disregard for national pride. PM Modi specifically targeted the DMK for allegedly showcasing a 'China flag' in the advertisement, insinuating a lack of respect for India's space sector progress.

DMK's Response

DMK MP K Kanimozhi defended the advertisement, refuting claims of portraying China as an enemy. She highlighted previous diplomatic engagements between India and China, suggesting that the use of the Chinese flag was not indicative of hostility. Additionally, Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan acknowledged an oversight in the advertisement, attributing the inclusion of the Chinese flag to a mistake by the designers.

"A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in the Kulasekarapatnam area. The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us," said the DMK leader.

Political Fallout

The episode has escalated into a political spat, with the BJP leveraging the controversy to taunt CM Stalin. The use of Mandarin in the birthday wish serves as a symbolic jab, adding fuel to the ongoing debate over the DMK's advertisement tactics. As both parties continue to exchange barbs, the incident underscores the heightened political sensitivities surrounding issues of national pride and diplomatic relations.
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tejasvi Surya on Friday accused the Congress government of Karnataka of changing its narrative on the blast that took place at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru, injuring 10 people. He said that the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah must allow the investigation agencies to do their job without any interference. He also questioned the governments intentions over the incident.

Tejasvi Surya, who is the Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru South, posted on X, At first, they tried the narrative of cylinder blast. Now, they are trying the narrative of business rivalry. Why cant the Congress Govt allow the investigation agencies to do their job? Why preempt? Why prompt? Vote Bank compulsions? CM Siddaramaiah must give free hand to investigate and give clear answers to people of Bengaluru.

At first, they tried the narrative of cylinder blast. Now, they are trying the narrative of business rivalry.



Why cant the Congress Govt allow the investigation agencies to do their job? Why preempt? Why prompt? Vote Bank compulsions?



CM @siddaramaiah must give free hand to March 1, 2024

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, State Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara and DGP Alok Mohan visited the blast site in the Whitefield area for inspection. A team of National Investigation Agency also reached the spot to probe the incident.

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said that the culprits behind the blast at Rameshwaram Cafe will be caught and punished, and asked the opposition parties to not politicize the matter.

He told the reporters in Mysuru, CCTV footage from the cafe is being examined. It has come to be known that someone had left a bag at the cafe. The accused in the incident will be punished. He also said that multiple explosions have also taken place in the previous governments, and added, This incident has happened in our government. Disciplinary and strict action will be taken against those who involved. Politics should not be done in this matter.

Meanwhile, BJP leader PC Mohan expressed his concern over the blast and urged the authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of the citizens. He posted on X, Concerned to hear about the mysterious blast at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. My thoughts are with the affected individuals and their families. Urging authorities to investigate and ensure the safety of all citizens. Stay safe, Bengaluru.

A security guard who was working at the Rameshwaram Cafe at the time of the blast said, I was standing outside the cafe. Many customers had come to the hotel. Suddenly there was a loud sound and a fire broke out, causing injuries to the customers inside the hotel.

The Rameshwaram Cafe is one of the popular hangouts and is usually very crowded during lunch hours.
The BJP has finalized the names of 50 candidates from UP and also approved seat sharing with allies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of BJP's Central Election Committee until 3:15 in the morning. Sources indicate that six out of 80 seats in UP will be allocated to allies. Rashtriya Lok Dal may receive two seats, Apna Dal (Sonelal) may be allocated two seats, and Subhaspa and Nishad Party may each receive one seat.

In a strategic move, BJP has negotiated with allies to include them in the UP cabinet. The cabinet expansion is anticipated to occur within the next three days. This could involve two RLD MLAs, the SubhaSP President, and one BJP MLA. The decision raises questions about the selection of these six seats and BJP's reliance on its allies in these areas.

Bijnor Lok Sabha Seat To RLD

One significant decision is to allocate the Bijnor Lok Sabha seat to Rashtriya Lok Dal, a party with considerable influence in Western UP. Despite BJP's previous success in the region, RLD's stronghold in Bijnor, known for its sugarcane cultivation, makes it a promising candidate. Ghaziabad and Meerut are also part of this constituency, currently represented by Dr. Satyapal Singh of BJP.

Apna Dal Candidate For Mirzapur Seat

Apna Dal (Sonelal) national president Anupriya Patel, a prominent BJP ally, holds the Mirzapur seat and is likely to contest for the third time. Another seat, Robertsganj, also remains with Apna Dal (S), underlining the party's strong base in Purvanchal and Patel's personal popularity.

The Ghosi Lok Sabha seat may be given to BJP's ally, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, owing to the favorable caste dynamics in the region. With significant Scheduled Caste and Muslim voters, the equation here favors Om Prakash Rajbhar's party, which could play a decisive role in the elections.

Nishad Party In Sant Kabirnagar

The Nishad Party, a part of the NDA, holds sway in Sant Kabirnagar and nearby areas, representing the lower-class people, particularly fishermen of the Nishad community. With PM Modi acknowledging Nishadraj in rallies, the party's influence has grown, highlighted by Praveen Nishad's previous victory on the BJP symbol. Party president Sanjay Nishad's claim of over three and a half lakh Nishad voters across 37 Lok Sabha seats in UP underscores their significance in the electoral landscape.
ARAMBAGH: In a fiery address at a public rally in West Bengal's Arambagh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the Sandeshkhali incident and the controversial arrest of main accused Sheikh Shahjahan.

#WATCH | PM Modi in West Bengal says, "Should I let the loot by TMC continue?...Meri guarantee hai ki jo lootne wale hain unko lautana padega..." pic.twitter.com/mwNbXVd9bh  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

TMC Betrayed People Of Bengal: PM

PM Modi asserted, "TMC has betrayed the people of West Bengal. 'Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai.' Today, the people of West Bengal question their CM 'Didi' - is the vote of some people more important than the atrocities against women in Sandeshkhali?"

#WATCH | PM Modi attacks TMC on Sandeshkhali issue while addressing a public rally in West Bengal's Arambagh



He says, "...'Har chot ka jawab vote se dena hai'. Today, the people of West Bengal are asking their CM 'Didi'- is the vote of some people more important than atrocities pic.twitter.com/5yjJWVgxx6  ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2024

TMC Shielded Sheikh Shahjahan: PM

PM Modi also accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of shielding the main accused, Sheikh Shahjahan, who faces charges of sexual assault and land grab in Sandeshkhali case. Referring to the TMC's 'Maa, Maati, Manush' slogan, the PM expressed sorrow and anger over the treatment of women in Sandeshkhali. "What has been done to the women in Sandeshkhali by the Trinamool Congress has made the entire country sad and angry. Raja Ram Mohan Roy's soul must be in tears because of the deeds of these people," he declared.

"A Trinamool leader crossed all limits of audacity with women in Sandeshkhali, and when they sought help from Mamata Didi, she and the Bengal government did everything in their power to shield him. It was due to pressure from BJP leaders, who fought for the women and braved assaults on their behalf, that the Bengal Police was forced to arrest the accused yesterday," PM Modi asserted.

The Prime Minister also slammed the INDI alliance leaders over their silence on the Sandeshkhali incident, likening them to Gandhiji's three monkeys. He quoted the Congress chief's dismissive statement, "Arey chhoddo, Bengal mein toh yeh sab chalta rheta hai."

Viksit Bharat 2047: India's Progress Under PM Modi

While referring to India's progress, PM Modi reiterated the government's commitment to achieving 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047. He emphasized the priority given to the poor, farmers, women, and youth, highlighting the success in lifting 25 crore people out of poverty in the last decade. "The direction, policies, and decisions of our government are right, and the intentions are right," PM Modi stated, showcasing the positive impact of the government's efforts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also dedicated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Arambagh, West Bengal.

PM Modi's two-day visit to West Bengal includes a rally in Kolkata as he aims to make electoral inroads in the state. His campaign kickstarted from Arambagh, a Lok Sabha seat reserved for Scheduled Castes candidates. It may be noted that in the last general elections, TMC leader Aparupa Poddar narrowly defeated BJPs Tapan Roy by a margin of 1142 votes in this constituency.
In an effort to bolster its presence in the Indian Ocean Region, the Indian Navy plans to establish a new base, INS Jatayu, in the Minicoy Islands of Lakshadweep.

Furthermore, the Indian Navy will convene its commanders' conference aboard the twin aircraft carriers, namely INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. During this conference, high-tempo operations such as take-offs from one carrier and landings on the other will be conducted. This event will also involve participation from other warships and submarines within the carrier battle groups.

Speaking to ANI defence officials said that the Indian Navy is also going to formally commission the multirole helicopter MH-60 Romeo at Kochi in the next week. The force would also see the buildings of its naval war college in Goa and facilities in Karwar inaugurated around March 4, the officials added.

Sharing details of the base being put together at Minicoy Islands, the officials said it is being commissioned with a small component of officers and men but would be expanded in future.

"This would also give us a strong foothold in the area to keep an eye on the military and commercial activities of adversaries in the area, as this is around 50 miles from the islands of the Maldives," an official said. The base would be similar to the INS Baaz created in the Andamans and would have similar capabilities in the Arabian Sea.

The Indian Navy would also be inducting four of its MH-60 Romeo multirole choppers acquired from the US under a government-to-government deal.

The Indian Navy is also going to demonstrate for the first time the twin carrier operations in the areas near Lakshadweep. This would be the first time, after the induction of INS Vikrant, that the Navy would be carrying out the operations of the two aircraft carriers together.

The two carriers were also present in the exercise Milin in Vishakhapatnam to showcase India's capability to manufacture aircraft carriers for global militaries.
New Delhi: A confrontation between students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-affiliated groups at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) late last night resulted in several injuries. The clash occurred during a General Body Meeting (GBM) held to discuss the upcoming student organization elections.

Both factions have filed complaints regarding the incident. The university administration has yet to release a statement on the matter. A university official said that several students have been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital, reported PTI.

One video captures a man assaulting students with a stick, while another shows someone hurling a bicycle at students. Students representing both the ABVP and Left groups have lodged police complaints against each other.

Blame Game After JNU Clash

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad JNU blamed the attack on students on the Left unions and said that they would stand for the rights of students.

"ABVP JNU condemns this brutal attack on students and will always stand for rights of students. Common Students who came to attend SL School GBM at School of Languages were brutally attacked with sharp objects by LEFTIST GOONS. Just because they were asking for a fair chance to participate and vote in the school GBM. Some students faced severe injuries," ABVP JNU posted on X.

"Atleast six people have been injured. The fight was started by them (AISA) and we have filed the complaint. The selective video have been released. These communist attacked us from the back and at that time were not able to record the video when we were attacked. They were all hitting us. In the self defence we attacked them as security people were not coming to help us. The issue started after questioning the process of EC process," Umesh Chandra, ABVP President told reporters on Friday.

While the Left-wing students accused the ABVP student wing of creating a ruckus and allegedly disrupting the selection process for the election committee.

"The last day of the GBM at the School of Languages witnessed another round of violence by ABVP goons. Initially attempting to disrupt the selection process for the election committee, the ABVP resorted to physical violence against students when thwarted by JNU students. The ABVP goons were seen wielding rods and targeting and beating common students indiscriminately," the AISA stated.

"The entire day these lumpens kept on disrupting the process of the GBM. They singled out the muslim students and they opposed whenever any muslim student propose their names for upcoming election committee. They also vitiated the atmosphere of school GBM premises by threatening students, by sexist and casteist slurs," AISA further stated.

The Left-wing students further alleged that two senior students of Ph.D. scholars and a senior AISA activist were chased and beaten up by the goons of ABVP.

"This is not the first incident of violence that occurred yesterday. Another lumpen who abused students for singing the national anthem, also misbehaved with security officials at the GBM premises, as multiple videos clearly depict his misconduct," they alleged.

The student union said that the JNU community must stand up and rise against this violence and the politics of intimidation.

"The VC office must acknowledge this act of vandalism and violence by the ABVP goons, whose faces are clearly visible and are seen in the videos circulating online. These perpetrators must be punished; they should be booked under relevant sections for unleashing such unprecedented violence," they said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said they have received a formal complaint on the matter from both sides.

"We have received complaints from both sides. We are examining the complaints. The Police have come to know about three injured," the Delhi Police stated.

The university administration did not provide an immediate response, and the exact number of injured students from the incident remains unconfirmed.
PM Modi on Friday made wielded remarks on the INDIA-bloc stating whatever has been taken from the public must be returned; this is Modi's commitment ("Jo janta ka loota h, lautana padega, ye Modi ki guarantee h"). Speaking at a public rally in Sindri, Dhanbad, he shared the stage with Chief Minister Champai Soren. Modi remarked, "We have witnessed piles of coal before, but for the first time, we see piles of cash... This belongs to you," assuring the public that he is determined to recover the funds that were unlawfully taken from the public.

He attacked the dynasty-led and appeasement politics of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM-Congress) accusing the party of worsening the situation in the state. He said, In Jharkhand, extortion has increased. Because of appeasement, trespassing has increased. JMM-Congress leaders are busy filling their safe vaults. PM Modi hailed his slogan for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls of Abki baar 400 paar. Adding that, "The slogan of '400 paar' is being raised because the country has faith in Modi's guarantee. He further claimed that the INDIA-bloc is anti-development and anti-poor. Their only vision is to snatch the rights of the people and enjoy...The middlemen are not able to have the commission anymore... he added the citicism does not reach me as the blessings of Indians is my sheild.

Earlier today, PM Modi unveild development projects worth 35,700 crore, Prime Minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for several rail projects worth over 17,600 crore rupees in the state, he also flagged off three trains during the programme. Later in the afternoon, the Prime Minister is set to engage in a public program, where he will inaugurate, dedicate, and lay the foundation stone for a range of development projects valued at more than Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh, Hooghly, West Bengal.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea by self-styled godman Asaram, who is serving a life sentence in a rape case, to suspend his sentence due to his failing health. The court told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented Asaram, to seek relief from the Rajasthan High Court instead. Rohatgi had said that Asaram was ready to follow the public prosecutors suggestion of getting treatment at Madhavbaug Heart Hospital in Maharashtras Khopoli under police custody.

The court asked Asaram to file an application before the Rajasthan High Court for permission to get treatment at Madhavbaug Heart Hospital and said it would be decided as per the law. The court also expressed concern over Asarams deliberate attempts to stall the hearing of his appeal against his conviction and sentence in the high court.

The court ordered a speedy hearing of his appeal after Rohatgi claimed that Asaram had suffered multiple heart attacks and was suffering from anaemia with gastrointestinal bleeding, along with other age-related diseases.

In his plea, filed through advocate Rajesh Gulab Inamdar, Asaram said he had spent more than 11 years and 7 months in jail in the case.

The petitioner respectfully submits that he is suffering from a number of life-threatening health problems, such as heart disease, hypothyroidism, anaemia with gastrointestinal bleeding, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and a history of diabetes, hypertension, COVID-pneumonia and urosepsis, a deadly urinary tract infection, the plea stated.

It added that Asaram had been diagnosed with ischemic heart disease and acute coronary syndrome, which meant that his heart was not getting enough oxygen-rich blood, and melena-black, tarry stools- due to constant intestinal bleeding.

The petitioners situation is extremely dangerous and fatal, where his imprisonment is deteriorating his condition with every passing moment and can lead to his horrible and agonizing death. The petitioner is afraid that he might face the same fate as Stan Swamy, who died in jail while his case was pending for hearing, the plea said.

On July 5, 2021, priest-activist Stan Swamy (84), who was arrested under anti-terror law in the Elgar Parishad case, passed away in a Mumbai hospital while he was fighting for bail on health grounds.

Asarams plea said that he was in a weak and anaemic state due to his old age and was plagued by fatal diseases that were eroding and tormenting his body and mind. He did not think that he would survive the heart bypass surgery.

He has a strong case on merits and has every hope of winning his appeal, which is pending before the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur. However, it may not be wrong to say that given his continuous imprisonment that is destroying his body day-by-day, he may not live to see the day that he is finally cleared of all charges and his appeal is upheld and becomes final up to this court, the plea said.

Asarams plea said that under these circumstances, he had no one to pray to but God and this court alone, and if they did not come to his rescue immediately to save his life, it might be too late. He would, it said, be forced to accept the most severe punishment of all known to mankind, the death penalty, pending appeal.

It is respectfully submitted that the petitioner has not been given relief for even a single day and his request for even a grant of parole has been denied by the high court inter alia because the grant of parole also will be a useless exercise, it said.

In 2018, the self-styled godman was found guilty by a special POCSO court in Jodhpur of sexual assault, including rape, and sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his natural life.
Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG) is a company with a history of delivering solid long-term results for shareholders. Over the past 20 years, the stock has delivered a total return of over 16,000%. Comparably, the S&P 500 delivered a total return of approximately 551% over the same time period.

The company enjoys competitive advantages driven in large part by its scale. Despite strong competitive advantages and above market growth prospects, Booking Holdings shares trade at an earnings multiple which is in line with the broader market.

The company faces risks due to increased competition, increased regulatory threats, and a highly cyclical business. However, I believe the company will be able to navigate these challenges.

I view the stock as undervalued at current levels and believe that Booking Holding's historical outperformance can continue.

Booking Holdings: Can Historical Outperformance Continue?

BKNG Data by GuruFocus

Company Overview

Booking Holdings, based on Norwalk, Connecticut, is the world's leading provider of online travel reservation services. Key platforms owned by Booking Holdings include Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, KAYAK, and OpenTable.

For FY 2023, the company generated total revenue of $21.4 billion. The company classifies revenue into three buckets: merchant revenues, agency revenues, and advertising and other revenues.

Merchant revenues, which account for roughly 51% of total revenues, are revenues derived from transactions in which Booking Holdings facilities payments from travelers at the time of booking. Agency revenues, which account for roughly 44% of total revenues, are derived from transactions in which Booking Holdings does not facilitate payments from travelers. Advertising and other revenues, which account for roughly 5% of total revenues, include revenues that KAYAK earns for sending referrals to other travel companies, revenues related to OpenTable, and other revenues.

Competitive Advantage and Strong Historical Financial Performance

The online travel services business is highly competitive. Booking Holding's competes with Expedia, Google, Trip Advisor, Lastminute.com, American Express Travel, and many other industry players. Booking Holdings derives its competitive advantage due to its scale as well as strong brand awareness and reputation.

Story continues

Booking Holding's scale allows it to have better negotiating leverage with partners such as airlines and hotel operators than is the case for smaller travel service providers. This is especially true when it comes to smaller hotel operators as these companies often lack the ability to generate strong traffic to their own websites given low brand awareness.

Another key benefit to scale is that Booking Holdings is able to spend more on marketing than smaller players. It is important to note that while Booking Holdings is able to spend more on marketing than other players, it tends to represent a lower percentage of revenue compared to smaller peers which leads to superior margins. For FY 2023, Booking Holdings spent approximately $6.8 billion or 31.7% of total revenues on marketing expenses. Much of this expense consists of payments to Google for search engine optimization purchases which ensure Booking Holdings platforms receive strong placement for travel related searches. Comparably, Expedia spent $6.1 billion or roughly 47.6% of total revenue on marketing expenses for FY 2023.

As a result of these competitive advantages, Booking Holdings has been able to deliver very strong historical financial performance. Over the past 10 years, the company has grown revenue at a 12% CAGR and EPS at a 12.5% CAGR. Additionally, as shown by the chart below, Booking Holdings has historically delivered very strong returns on invested capital well in excess of the company's cost of capital.

Booking Holdings: Can Historical Outperformance Continue?

Attractive Valuation

Booking Holdings trades at approximately 20x FY 2024 consensus EPS. Comparably, the S&P 500 trades at approximately 23x FY 2024 earnings. Thus, on a relative basis Booking Holdings trades at a modest discount to the broader market.

In addition to trading at valuation discount to the broader market, the company also has better growth prospects. Consensus estimates currently for the company to deliver EPS growth of 14.7%, 18.8%, and 12% for FYs 2024-2026 respectively. Comparably, the S&P 500 is expected to grow FY 2024 earnings by roughly 12% and historically has grown earnings by a high single digit percentage.

The global online travel market is expected to grow at a nearly 13% CAGR through 2030. Thus, I believe the company is well positioned to continue growing earnings faster the broader market. For this reason, I find Booking Holdings current valuation attractive vs the broader market.

Aggressive Share Repurchase Program

Over the past few years, Booking Holdings has been an aggressive repurchaser of its own stock. The company's share count has decreased by more than 20% over the past 5 years. During FY 2023, the company repurchased $10.4 billion worth of shares. As of December 2023, the company had a total remaining authorization of $13.7 billion which represents roughly 11% of shares outstanding based on current market prices. The company expects to complete the repurchase program by the end of FY 2026.

I view the aggressive repurchase program as a key positive as it indicates that management views the stock's valuation as attractive relative to the company's long-term growth prospects.

Key Risks to The Bull Case

One key risk that Booking Holdings faces is potential for increased competition from Google. Given Google's significant capital resources and position as the leading search engine, it represents a unique threat to online travel agencies such as Booking Holdings. However, Google Travel currently operates primarily on the agency model in which it displays travel options but directs consumers to book directly with the airline, hotel, or travel agency.

Another key risk that Booking Holdings faces is regulatory risk. As previously discussed, Booking Holdings has strong negotiating power relative to partners including smaller hotel chains. An example of the increasing regulatory threat can be seen in recent $526 million draft decision penalty imposed on the company as part of antitrust regulators in Spain. Booking Holdings has already announced plans to appeal the penalty once it becomes final and has noted that the appeal could take years.

Finally, the company also faces macroeconomic risks as travel demand tends to be highly cyclical. A sharp economic slowdown would likely result in significantly lower EPS over the next few years. However, I believe the company is well position to navigate any potential slowdown due to its strong liquidity position, which includes $13.1 billion in cash and roughly $2 billion of availability on its revolving credit facility. Moreover, the company has a fairly low fixed cost structure and is able to maintain profitability even with large declines in revenue. As an example of this, it is interesting to note that the company remained profitable for FY 2020 despite a roughly 55% drop in revenues due to COVID.

Conclusion

Booking Holdings has delivered strong results for shareholders historically. The company enjoys competitive advantages due to its scale which have allowed the company to generate very strong returns on invested capital despite operating in a highly competitive industry.

The global travel industry remains a growth industry and the company is poised to benefit from increased levels of consumer spending on travel in the years ahead.

The stock currently trades at a market multiple despite having growth prospects which are better than the broader market. While the company faces a number of risks, I believe it can manage through these challenges.

For these reasons, I view the stock as undervalued at current levels and believe that it can continue to outperform the broader market.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


New Delhi: Praveen Kumar Gole, a young man from Telangana capital Hyderabad, has passed two competitive exams while working as a security guard. Gole has emerged as an example for millions of hopeless and frustrated youth in the country. Praveen Kumar works as a guard at the Osmania University in Hyderabad. But one might be wondering that despite being so educated, why did he chose to work as a security guard? Also how did he prepare for the competitive exams along with his job?

Hoping To Get Third Appointment Letter

You will be surprised to know that 31-year-old Praveen Kumar is on his way to a hat-trick and has the possibility of changing his career path with a third job. Praveen will soon be seen teaching classes in a government institution, while he has already received an appointment letter for the post of postgraduate teacher. Meanwhile, he has also secured a place in the final list of junior lecturers, whose appointment letter is expected to arrive by March 2.

Officials Also Trust Praveens Ability

The university officials have also expressed their full confidence in Praveens ability. They believe that Praveen will also secure the job of a trained graduate teacher. It is a little difficult for Praveen Kumar to choose one job among so many better options. These appointments make Praveen eligible to teach higher secondary students (class XI and XII). On one hand, these jobs offer a salary of around Rs 73,000 to Rs 83,000 per month. Whereas, currently he gets only Rs 9,000 monthly salary. He comes from a small village in Mancherial district of Telangana, his father is a mason and mother is a bidi worker.

In a conversation with Times of India, Praveen said that despite having many degrees like MCom, BEd and MEd, he worked as a watchman (as an outsourcing employee). He explained the reason behind this, saying that he wanted enough time to prepare for the government jobs, which he got during this job.

Here's Why Praveen Worked As A Security Guard?

Praveen said, I never felt that I was doing a job. I had a room, access to books-study material and time to study. This is all that matters for studying. Praveen himself said that he had requested for a job as a night guard at the Educational Multimedia Research Centre in the university campus, so that he would get more time to study in the morning.


New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the importance of Jharkhand's development in making India a developed country during a public rally in Dhanbad's Sindri on Friday. He stated that his government has prioritized the development of the state over the past 10 years. "In the last 10 years, we have worked for Jharkhand, focusing on the development of the tribal community, the poor, youth, and women," said PM Modi.

Highlighting the country's growth in the quarter of Oct-Dec, PM Modi mentioned, "the economic growth rate for the quarter of Oct-Dec was 8.4 percent." He added, "India is among the fastest-moving economies in the world and has performed better than all expectations."

Underlining the importance of Jharkhand's development, PM Modi remarked, "For a 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India), making Jharkhand a developed state is equally important."

PM Modi Unveils Development Projects In Jharkhand

PM Modi unveiled development projects worth more than Rs 35,700 crore, an initiative focused on the fertiliser, rail, power, and coal sectors in Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister dedicated to the nation the Hindustan Urvarak and Rasayan Ltd (HURL) Sindri Fertiliser Plant. Developed at a cost of more than Rs 8,900 crore, the fertiliser plant is a step towards self-sufficiency in the urea sector.

It will add about 12.7 LMT per annum of indigenous urea production in the country, benefiting the farmers of the country. This is the third fertiliser plant to be revived in the country, after the revival of fertiliser plants at Gorakhpur and Ramagundam, which were also dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister in December 2021 and November 2022, respectively.

Rails Projects Worth 17,600 crore

The Prime Minister also inaugurated, dedicated and laid the foundation stone of several rail projects worth more than Rs 17,600 crore in Jharkhand.

The projects include the 3rd and 4th Line connecting Sone Nagar and Andal; the Tori-Shivpur first and second railway lines; and the Biratoli-Shivpur third railway line (part of the Tori-Shivpur Project); Mohanpur-Hansdiha new rail line; Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail line, among others. These projects will expand rail services in the state and lead to socio-economic development in the region.

Three New Trains In Jharkhand

The Prime Minister also flagged off three trains during the programme. This includes the Deoghar-Dibrugarh train service, the MEMU train service between Tatanagar and Badampahar (Daily) and the long-haul freight train from Shivpur station.

Moreover, PM Modi dedicated to the nation important power projects in Jharkhand, including Unit 1 (660 MW) of the North Karanpura Super Thermal Power Project (STPP), Chatra.

Developed at more than Rs 7,500 crore, the project will lead to improved power supply in the region. It will also boost employment generation and contribute to socioeconomic development in the state. Also, the Prime Minister dedicated to the nation projects related to the coal sector in Jharkhand.

Later, the Prime Minister will participate in a public programme where he will inaugurate, dedicate and lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth more than Rs 7,200 crore in Arambagh, Hooghly, West Bengal. The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Bihar on March 1 and 2.
New Delhi: Jamnagar city, which hosted the high-profile pre-wedding celebrations of Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani with industrialist Viren Merchant's daughter, Radhika Merchant, has become the talk of the town, gaining immense global attention.

Jamnagar is Anant's grandmother's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani birthplace, and the town where his grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani and father Mukesh Ambani started their business.

Reliance, which operates the world's largest single location oil refining complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat with capacity of 68.2 million tonnes a year, looks to become a net zero-carbon company by 2035.

Transforming Jamnagar From Barren Land To A Bountiful Landscape

But Jamnagar Township as we know today, was not the same flourishing hub decades back. It was Ambani familys vision and incessant hardwork that made a barren land into a bountiful landscape. Jamnagar is today known as the Green Belt of Gujarat.

Nita Ambani, spearheaded the designing and construction of the township in the late 1990s --the aim of which was to give home to about 5,500 families of Reliance employees.

Nita Ambani, who had topped the list of Fortune India's Most Powerful Women 2022, shared her arduous journey in transforming Jamnagar with Fortune. She said that she along with her team had to work out of tin sheds.

In the scorching 42 Celsius temperatures, with no trees in sight, the Ambani family took up the mision to plant saplings across the arid region that received less than 400 cm of rain, she told Fortune. Jamnagar now has a thriving flora and fauna echosystem, with rainfall also being doubled ever since.

Jamnagar Houses Largest Mango Orchard In Asia

Jamnagar boasts of having the largest Mango Orchard in Asia -- Dhirubhai Ambani Lakhibag Amrayee . Spread over 600 acres, there are more than 100 varities of mangoes. The Ambani family started with 50,000 mango trees, which now has nearly 1.5 lakh trees. While upto 70 percent of the produce from the orchard is domestically consumed, the surplus is exported.

Furthering with Dhirubhai Ambanis dream of planting 2 million trees and transform into a greenery hub, the Reliance family has planted crores of saplings in the area. As per the company's annual reports, RIL has planted over 2.3 crore Saplings till year 2020-21, involving mangroves on 875 acres of land around its Jamnagar refinery plant.

Vantara: Anant Ambani's Brain-Child

The massive project, dubbed 'Vantara,' or 'Star Of The Forest,' covers 3,000 acres in Reliance's Jamnagar Refinery Complex. Inspired by mom Nita Ambani, Anant Ambani has conceptualised the project. Reliance Industries and the Reliance Foundation are supporting Vantara -- the project intends to provide a safe haven for mistreated, injured, and endangered animals. The initiative is more than just a zoo; it's a full-fledged rehabilitation facility meant to replicate the lush ecosystems from which the saved animals originally came.

Jamnagar Upcoming Projects

Reliance Industries Ltd in an earnings statement and investor call recently said that it will commission a new energy giga complex in Gujarat in the second half of 2024. Reliance is building a giga complex spread over 5,000 acres in Jamnagar in Gujarat. The complex comprises five giga factories for photovoltaic panels, fuel cell system, green hydrogen, energy storage and power electronics.
New Delhi: Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, accusing them of violating their initial contractual agreements concerning artificial intelligence (AI). Filed in a San Francisco court in the United States, the lawsuit centers on OpenAI's recent development of the GPT-4 natural language model.

The owner of company X has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of improperly licensing GPT-4. This is despite an agreement that the artificial general intelligence capabilities would be non-profit and aimed at serving humanity. (Also Read: Google Removes Some India Matrimony Apps, Executive Calls Move 'Dark Day')

Musk has long recognised that AGI poses a grave threat to humanity -- perhaps the greatest existential threat we face today, read the lawsuit. (Also Read: UK Woman Discovers Baby's Rare Eye Cancer Using Phone Flash; Read The Full Story)

In Musk's lawsuit, he outlines grievances including breach of contract, violation of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices. Musk served as a founding board member of OpenAI until 2018.

According to the lawsuit, OpenAIs initial research was performed in the open, providing free and public access to designs, models, and code.

When OpenAI researchers discovered that an algorithm called Transformers, initially invented by Google, could perform many natural language tasks without any explicit training, entire communities sprung up to enhance and extend the models released by OpenAI.

Altman became OpenAI CEO in 2019. On September 22, 2020, OpenAI entered into an agreement with Microsoft, exclusively licensing to Microsoft its Generative PreTrained Transformer (GPT)-3 language model.

Most critically, the Microsoft license only applied to OpenAIs pre-AGI technology. Microsoft obtained no rights to AGI. And it was up to OpenAIs non-profit Board, not Microsoft, to determine when OpenAI attained AGI, the lawsuit further read.

Musk said that this case is filed to compel OpenAI to adhere to the Founding Agreement and return to its mission to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity, not to personally benefit the individual defendants and the largest technology company in the world. (With Inputs From IANS)
Bougainville Copper (ASX:BOC) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Net loss: K8.28m (loss widened by 20% from FY 2022).

K0.021 loss per share (further deteriorated from K0.017 loss in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Bougainville Copper shares are up 33% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

Before we wrap up, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Bougainville Copper that you should be aware of.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- Brian Mulroney, the former Canadian prime minister who oversaw the treaty that tore down barriers to trade across North America, has died. He was 84.

Most Read from Bloomberg

His daughter, Caroline Mulroney, announced the news on social media. He died peacefully, surrounded by family, she wrote.

As Canadas leader from 1984 to 1993, Mulroney built a rapport with US leaders that improved what had been a sometimes fractious relationship between neighbors. That laid the groundwork for the North American Free Trade Agreement and other major treaties on acid rain and ozone layer depletion.

While the trade pact known as NAFTA became a pillar of Canadas economy, the Washington charm offensive that enabled it did not sit well with many Canadians, who viewed it as a surrender of sovereignty.

The environmental treaties spearheaded by Mulroney  in particular the 1991 accord on acid rain, signed with US President George H.W. Bush  came to be regarded as significant first steps toward international climate change agreements. In 2006, a panel of prominent environmentalists named Mulroney Canadas greenest prime minister. In his acceptance speech, Mulroney said his ability to work closely with the US administration was crucial to his success.

It isnt by lecturing the Americans on their record on emissions reduction that we will succeed, he said, especially when our own record is nearly twice as bad as theirs.

Mulroneys international achievements contrasted with a more turbulent record in domestic affairs.

His government introduced a widely disliked national sales tax and embarked on an ill-fated attempt to renew Canadas constitution. The failure of constitutional negotiations helped to revive the question of Quebec separatism, leading to a 1995 referendum in which voters rejected independence by the narrowest of margins.

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A deep recession in the early 1990s proved fatal for Mulroneys Progressive Conservatives. He left office in June 1993, and months later the party was drubbed in an election, going from a parliamentary majority to just two seats. Massive budget deficits accumulated during his nine years in office left behind a debt crisis that necessitated deep spending cuts in the mid-1990s by the Liberal government of Jean Chretien.

Electricians Son

The son of an electrician, Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939, in the small Quebec town of Baie-Comeau, and was raised in both French and English.

He studied law at Laval University in Quebec, and was then hired by a prestigious Montreal law firm. He launched his first political leadership bid in 1976 but lost to Joe Clark, who went on to become prime minister for a short time.

Mulroney stayed in the private sector, but returned to politics to wrest the Progressive Conservative leadership from Clark in 1983. The following year, he led the party to its first majority government election victory since the 1950s.

As prime minister, Mulroney quickly befriended then-US President Ronald Reagan, a relationship that paved the way for a free trade agreement that was later expanded to include Mexico.

In one 1985 meeting that became known as the Shamrock Summit due to their shared Irish backgrounds, Mulroney and Reagan famously sang When Irish Eyes Are Smiling on stage. The performance was supposed to symbolize the strong partnership between the two countries; critics saw it as evidence of Mulroneys docility toward the US.

NAFTA Agreement

The NAFTA accord signed in the early 1990s brought Canada new export opportunities, made its businesses more competitive and helped attract foreign investment. It was renegotiated under US President Donald Trump and renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.

Mulroney pushed through reforms at home to address budget deficits and boost productivity. Working with Finance Minister Michael Wilson, he replaced a manufacturers sales tax with a broader value-added sales tax called the Goods and Services Tax. It was praised by economists but proved deeply unpopular with the public, who saw it as a new levy on everything from food to haircuts, and created turmoil within his party.

Mulroneys failed attempts to solve the countrys constitutional impasse, which had begun with Quebecs election of a separatist governmen in the 1970s and the provinces refusal to endorse an updated constitution in 1982, also lessened his popularity. Mulroney had hoped to repair national unity by bringing Quebec fully into the constitution, but his effort backfired and only reinvigorated Quebecs separatist movement.

In 1987, he negotiated an agreement, known as the Meech Lake Accord, with the 10 provincial premiers that would have given a distinct constitutional status to Quebec. The agreement, which needed to be ratified by provincial legislatures, fell apart in 1990 when Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to approve it. Two years later, a second attempt, known as the Charlottetown Accord, was rejected in a national referendum.

Deep Divisions

Those failures caused deep divisions both within the country and in Mulroneys party. A one-time key ally, Lucien Bouchard, left to found the separatist Bloc Quebecois and many conservatives in the western provinces flocked to the populist Reform Party.

Mulroney chose to retire before the 1993 election. Kim Campbell, who was chosen as his successor and was Canadas first female prime minister, wasnt able to reverse the partys downward spiral, and the rival Liberal Party won the first of four straight election victories.

Mulroneys legacy was tarnished by allegations of wrongdoing. A public inquiry concluded in 2010 that hed acted inappropriately by accepting cash from German-Canadian arms lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber after he left office as prime minister, in large part because the payments were never disclosed until years after the fact. But no charges were ever laid.

After leaving office in 1993, Mulroney joined the Ogilvy Renault law firm and took on corporate roles at companies including Quebecor Inc. and Barrick Gold Corp.

Mulroney and his wife Mila had four children  Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas. Caroline launched her own political career and in 2018 made an unsuccessful bid to lead Ontarios provincial Progressive Conservative party. Today, shes a cabinet minister under Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

--With assistance from Thomas Seal and Derek Decloet.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Villars Holding is CHF837 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

With CHF680 share price, Villars Holding appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value

Industry average discount to fair value of 40% suggests Villars Holding's peers are currently trading at a higher discount

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Villars Holding S.A. (VTX:VILN) as an investment opportunity by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. 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 Villars Holding

The Calculation

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last 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, 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 (CHF, Millions) CHF4.05m CHF3.85m CHF3.73m CHF3.64m CHF3.59m CHF3.55m CHF3.53m CHF3.51m CHF3.50m CHF3.50m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -6.82% Est @ -4.73% Est @ -3.27% Est @ -2.25% Est @ -1.54% Est @ -1.04% Est @ -0.69% Est @ -0.44% Est @ -0.27% Est @ -0.15% Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 4.2% CHF3.9 CHF3.6 CHF3.3 CHF3.1 CHF2.9 CHF2.8 CHF2.7 CHF2.5 CHF2.4 CHF2.3

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CHF29m

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 (0.1%) 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 4.2%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = CHF3.5m (1 + 0.1%)  (4.2% 0.1%) = CHF87m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHF87m ( 1 + 4.2%)10= CHF58m

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 CHF87m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of CHF680, the company appears about fair value at a 19% 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

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 Villars Holding 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 4.2%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.875. 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 Villars Holding

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Current share price is below our estimate of fair value.

Lack of analyst coverage makes it difficult to determine VILN's earnings prospects.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Villars Holding, we've put together three additional elements you should consider:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Villars Holding you should be aware of. 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! Other Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Swiss 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.
Dan Wendorf, a commercial real-estate broker with JLL in Columbus, stands in the 1,090,000 square foot warehouse he is representing in West Jefferson, Ohio. A record 19.3 million square feet of industrial and warehouse space was built in central Ohio last year.

A typical Walmart Supercenter is 220,000 square feet.

Now imagine 88 of them.

That's how much industrial and warehouse space was built in central Ohio last year  a record 19.3 million square feet worth, nearly 7 million more square feet than the previous year, according to the commercial real-estate firm JLL.

Now ... who's going to fill all those warehouses, most of which were built "on spec" without tenants?

"We're in a new chapter right now," said Dan Wendorf, executive managing director for JLL's Columbus office. "How do we navigate these waters?"

More: The warehouses of central Ohio

Last year, about 8 million square feet of industrial space was leased in central Ohio, less than half the amount built. As a result, about 7.4% of central Ohio's total industrial space is vacant, the highest rate in a decade, Wendorf said. For-lease signs can be found throughout the area's largest industrial parks in Rickenbacker, West Jefferson, Etna, Obetz, New Albany and elsewhere.

Other warehouses are available to rent around the same industrial area in West Jefferson, Ohio.

From inside a new 1.1-million-square-foot warehouse JLL is leasing for the builder, Stonemont, in the West Jefferson Commerce Park, Wendorf recently surveyed the neighborhood.

"Five years ago, most of this didn't exist," he said looking out over a sea of new warehouses. "Now you've got Amazon, Target, Mars Petcare, Restoration Hardware, Medline, Kellogg. .... If you buy something, there's a good chance it came from a warehouse somewhere in central Ohio."

Central Ohio's boom in warehouse construction started during the pandemic, as retailers had to instantly accommodate an explosion in online shopping, and suppliers fought to fill sudden gaps in the supply chain.

In the first few years of the pandemic, builders could hardly keep up with demand. Now, supply has more than caught up.

"In '21, '22, it was not uncommon for buildings to be leased five or six months before they were finished," Wendorf said. "Now, they might sit empty five or six months before leasing."

A 1,090,000 square foot warehouse being represented by Dan Wendorf of JLL in West Jefferson.

About 6.5 million square feet of industrial space are under construction now in central Ohio, but builders for the most part are taking a breather when those wrap up. As Wendorf notes, "new construction has all but come to a halt" as demand catches up to supply.

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Landlords may not welcome an abundance of supply, it's a plus for those who use the spaces.

"For a number of years, especially in '21 and '22, it was a very constrained market," said Jeff Clark, executive vice president of ODW Logistics, the Columbus-based logistics firm that operates 16 central Ohio warehouses totaling more than 5 million square feet.

"There's more capacity now, that's a benefit for us. There was a period you couldn't get space. That's come full circle now."

ODW Logistics operates a 583,000-square-foot warehouse in the Lockbourne area.

Despite a glut of space now, Wendorf, Clark and others are bullish on central Ohio's market for industrial and warehouse space. The area's central location, cargo airport, retail industry, and highway and rail access have long given it a niche in the logistics and warehouse world, and helped it become the nation's 15th largest distribution hub with 292 million square feet of industrial space.

For the same reasons, the Midwest overall is a hub for distribution. Chicago is by far the nation's largest distribution center, and Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Kansas City are all in the top 20, along with Columbus, according to JLL.

"Demand has been very consistent in Columbus," Clark said. "Columbus has been a great distribution location, it's a stable labor market with great access to highways, rail and air. ... You can also develop here more easily and less costly than, say, Pittsburgh, which is so hilly."

A 1,090,000-square-foot warehouse in West Jefferson with 40-foot ceilings is typical of some of central Ohio's biggest new warehouses.

As Clark and Wendorf note, a tremendous variety of tenants occupy central Ohio industrial and warehouse space.

Some recent major leases illustrate the range. Two of last year's biggest leases were consumer products companies: Black & Decker leased nearly 1.1 million square feet in Etna and Babylist leased 750,000 square feet near Rickenbacker.

Logistics companies such ODW, who manage warehouses for their other companies, are also big tenants.

"For us, we work with food and beverage users, food especially, and we do a lot of work in health and beauty such as cosmetics companies, and IT hardware," Clark said. "The clients principally sell to retail such as Walmart and Kroger, or they will sell direct or through Amazon from the distribution center."

And finally, there are manufacturers. Illuminate USA, for example, occupied a 1.1-million-square-foot warehouse in Pataskala for a factory that will make 9.2 million solar panels a year.

While new tenants continue to take up space, central Ohio has also seen several large departures in recent months.

Newell Brands notified the state in January that it plans to shut down its Yankee Candle distribution center in Licking County in March. In October, DHL Supply Chain announced that it was laying off 264 workers at a Groveport warehouse that lost its tenant. In December, Zulily announced that it is shutting down and closing a distribution center in Obetz, and TJX plans to vacate a 1-million-square-foot Rickenbacker warehouse.

"There's a lot of sublease space now," Wendorf said. "That's something we haven't seen much of."

jweiker@dispatch.com

@JimWeiker

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus distribution industry continues COVID boom
Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) continued to load up on energy giant Chevron (NYSE:CVX) at the end of 2023, buying another 16 million shares in Q4. Chevron now accounts for about 5.4% of Berkshire Hathaway's investment portfolio, making it the firm's 5th largest holding. It was one of only three stocks that Buffet was adding to in the quarter.

Chevron: Buffett's Favorite Energy Stock

Let's take a closer look at the Oracle of Omaha's top energy holding.

Company Profile

Chevron is an energy company that operates both upstream (E&P) and downstream (refining) businesses. The company's E&P operations own acreage throughout the world and produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

The company's downstream operations, meanwhile, mainly consist of its refinery and marketing operations. It refines and markets such products as gasoline, jet fuel, diesel, and fuel oil.

Chevron also owns midstream and marine shipping assets, as well as renewable fuel and chemical operations.

Opportunities & Risks

On the upstream side of its business, like most oil E&Ps the biggest driver of Chevron's results are oil prices. While for its downstream business, the biggest driver of results are crack spreads, or refinery margins. Neither of these Chevron has much control over.

Oil prices have remained mostly between $70-100 over the last few years, and currently sit just under $80. Most of the best oil basins in the U.S. have breakevens of $60 or under on new wells, so prices above $70 are typically good for the industry.

On the downstream side of the business, Chevron has enjoyed historically high crack spreads the last couple of years. While off their peak, spreads are still currently well above their historical average of around $10.50, with spring and summer futures in the high $20s pointing to another strong year for refiners.

One of the biggest areas of growth the company is targeting is the Permian, where it is looking to grow production a robust 10% this year. The Permian is the most prolific oil basin in the U.S. with some of the lowest breakevens, and Chevron has a large acreage position in the basin.

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Outside the U.S., CVX is looking to greatly raise production in Kazakhstan through an expansion of its Tengizchevroil (TCO) project. The project's Full Gas Pressure (FGP) startup is expected in the first half of 2025, so its full impact likely won't be felt unil 2026.

Once its deal to acquire Hess (NYSE:HES), which is expected to close in June, is complete its 30% stake in an offshore oil project off the coast of South American country Guyana is expected to be a huge growth driver. The project, operated by Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), has some of the best oil economics outside the Middle East, with estimated breakevens costs at about $28 per barrel.

When it comes to risks outside of oil prices and crack spreads, project delays and overruns are a big one. Its TCO project is complex, and the company has already run into a number of delays and cost overruns. Meanwhile, the company also faced infrastructure and operations issues in the Permian throughout much of 2023.

Chevron may also face some geopolitical risk in Guyana once its deal with Hess closes. There has been some fears that Venezuela could invade Guyana over a territorial dispute over the Guyana's newfound oil riches. The situation appears to have settled down, but the risk remains.

And then there is of course the long tail risk of the current energy transition to greener sources and where that will eventually leave energy majors such as Chevron. A transition like this will likely take many decades but Chevron and other energy companies will need to adapt in the future.

Valuation

Chevron trades at about 5.7 times the 2024 Ebitda consensus of $53.39 billion and about 5.2 times the 2025 Ebitda consensus of $59.09 billion.

Revenue is projected to grow 4.9% this year.

Historically, the company has averaged an EV/Ebitda multiple of between 6-9x.

Chevron: Buffett's Favorite Energy Stock

I'd value the company in the middle at between 7-8 times 2025 EBITDA. However, some adjustments do need to be made to account for its acquisition of Hess. The deal will add about $8 billion in net debt to its enterprise value as well as close to 313.5 million new shares. Taking that into account, it would place a fair value on the company at around $175-205 based on a 7-8x multiple on 2025 EBITDA.

Conclusion

Chevron has been operating in a strong refinery environment and attractive oil price market the past couple of years, which in turn has led to solid results and a lot of cash flow generation. Its acquisition of Hess and its prized Guyana asset should only bolster the company's production and cash flow moving forward.

The company returned a record $26.2 billion in cash to shareholders last year, including $11.3 billion in dividends and $14.9 billion in share repurchases. This was all while seeing record production. Chevron has a long history of raising its dividends, increasing it for 37 straight years. The stock has a nice 4.2% yield and I'd expect this streak to continue into the foreseeable future.

At some point I'd expect crack spreads to return to more normal levels. However, changes in trade flow from sactions associated with the Russia-Ukraine war, now combined with shipping disruptions in the Red Seas, could see these spreads stay elevate for quite a while.

All of this is good news for Chevron and its largest shareholder Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio).

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), a global marketplace for unique and creative goods, has seen a recent insider transaction according to the latest SEC filings. Chief Product Officer Nicholas Daniel sold 1,500 shares of the company on February 27, 2024. The transaction was reported in an SEC filing, which can be accessed here.Over the past year, the insider has sold a total of 5,260 shares and has not made any purchases of the company's stock. This latest sale continues a trend observed over the past year, where Etsy Inc has experienced 27 insider sells and no insider buys.

Chief Product Officer Nicholas Daniel Sells Shares of Etsy Inc (ETSY)

On the date of the insider's recent sale, shares of Etsy Inc were trading at $71.82, giving the company a market cap of $8.494 billion. The price-earnings ratio of Etsy Inc stands at 31.70, which is above the industry median of 17.8 but below the company's historical median price-earnings ratio.The stock's valuation, when compared to the GuruFocus Value (GF Value) of $133.70, indicates that Etsy Inc is significantly undervalued with a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.54. The GF Value is calculated considering historical trading multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on past returns and growth, and future business performance estimates from Morningstar analysts.

Chief Product Officer Nicholas Daniel Sells Shares of Etsy Inc (ETSY)

Etsy Inc operates a two-sided online marketplace where people around the world connect to make, sell, and buy unique goods. The platform includes handmade items, vintage goods, and craft supplies. Etsy's business model focuses on empowering sellers and engaging buyers with a focus on sustainability and community.The insider's recent transaction may be of interest to investors monitoring insider activity as an indicator of company performance and valuation. However, it is important to consider the broader context of the market and the company's financials when evaluating the significance of insider transactions.

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.


China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs is heading off on another "shuttle diplomacy tour" to push for a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, but observers say expectations are low.

Li Hui will travel to Russia, Ukraine and the European Union headquarters in Brussels during the trip, which begins on Saturday. He will also visit Poland, Germany and France.

It is Li's second peace mission to the region after a visit in May last year that did not make any immediate progress.

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.

Li Hui, China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, will head off on a "shuttle diplomacy tour". Photo: AFP alt=Li Hui, China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, will head off on a "shuttle diplomacy tour". Photo: AFP>

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Thursday said the trip was aimed at "building consensus to stop the war and to pave the way for peace talks". She said China was willing to take a "unique" role in peace efforts.

Two years on from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of people have been killed and there is no end to the war in sight.

Ukraine, running low on ammunition and soldiers, in February lost its stronghold of Avdiivka to the Russians, and Western allies are struggling to keep on top of their promised military support to Ukraine.

Meanwhile in Russia, soaring government spending on the military offensive in Ukraine has driven economic growth despite the US-led sanctions imposed on the country since the start of the war.

Wang Yiwei, an international relations professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said war fatigue could create possibilities to negotiate a ceasefire. "However, those negotiations will depend on the situation on the battlefield," he said.

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Beijing has sought to portray itself as neutral and a peacemaker in the conflict. But it has drawn criticism for its close ties with Moscow and refusal to condemn the Russian offensive, and the European Union has warned China against aiding Russia's war effort or undermining sanctions against it.

Li Lifan, a Russia specialist with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said the special envoy's trip could also be part of Beijing's efforts to improve ties with Europe.

That includes a tour by President Xi Jinping this year. Serbian leader Alexander Vucic this week said Xi would visit his country, making it the first confirmed stop on the Europe trip.

According to Li Lifan, China could propose some changes to its approach to mediation during Li Hui's trip as well as "respond to the complaints made by European countries".

But he said the future of the war depends on Moscow and Kyiv, "rather than being subject to the influence of a third country".

Justyna Szczudlik, a China analyst with the Polish Institute of International Affairs, said Li's tour was "not real mediation" but "part of the 'smile diplomacy' or 'charm offensive'".

Li has largely stayed out of the spotlight since has last tour to Europe a month after he was appointed to head China's peacemaking efforts. He was absent from most global peace conferences on Ukraine in the past year, including a June meeting in Copenhagen and the Malta summit in October.

"Li Hui's unexpected reappearance a few days after the second anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not to mediate, but to try to improve his image in Europe, given the upcoming European Parliament elections, the upcoming inauguration of Lai Ching-te as Taiwan's president, ahead of the US presidential election," Szczudlik said.

Li did attend a summit in Saudi Arabia in August, presenting a vague and ambiguous 12-point plan released by China in February last year that calls for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war.

"China may also feel that this is a good time for Beijing to show its goodwill when it comes to Ukraine, as the situation on the battlefield is not very favourable for Ukraine," Szczudlik said.

"However, China is trying to present Europe with a beautiful package/box without changing its real contents."

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.
College only good for being an unemployed alcoholic for four years, says Florida woman who dropped out and claims to earn a doctors salary. Is college worth it anymore?

As tuition fees and student debt climb higher and higher, some Americans are questioning the value of a college education.

Dont go to school. Dont go to college. Dont get a degree, said college dropout Laura Anderson in a recently posted TikTok video. Unless the only way you can make your parents proud is by being an unemployed alcoholic for four years, OK, then go to school.

Don't miss

Anderson is currently a Fort Lauderdale- and Miami-based digital marketer. By learning about AI and automation in digital marketing, she claimed in another video that she earns a doctors salary  even without a degree. She believes that its better for people to teach themselves skills through free online resources.

If you go to school and you get your degree, youre going to be stuck working a sty job for the rest of your life, she said. Because thats exactly what they teach you in school.

Undergraduate enrollment numbers have declined in recent times. In fall 2023, there were more than a million empty seats on campuses compared with five years ago, according to a Washington Post report citing data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.

So should kids flock to YouTube instead of Yale?

Will you make more money without a degree?

In her video, Anderson claimed that servers, bartenders and hair stylists make between $70,000 to $100,000 a year  and none of them had to pay for a degree.

Youve got your college students who are in $30,000 of debt, making $45,000 a year for the next 10 years because theyre still entry level, she said. Then theyre all mad that the person serving them is making more money than them.

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However, her numbers are way off, for those with and without college degrees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wait staff make a median salary of $29,120 per year and hair stylists $33,400 per year.

Yet, new graduates with a bachelors degree make an average salary of $61,869, according to the most recent numbers from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Read more: Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market  and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

Andersons assertion that youll make more money without a degree isnt usually the case. A report from Georgetown Universitys Center on Education and the Workforce discovered that, the more degrees, the higher the median salary.

However, there are instances where Anderson is right. That same Georgetown report discovered that a quarter of people who are less educated can surpass the earnings of those with more advanced degrees. For instance, a quarter of people with high school diplomas outearn those with associate's degrees.

Rich and famous people without degrees, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, prove that this can happen  but its the exception more so than the rule.

Is student debt worth it?

Anderson pointed out in her video that college graduates usually carry a good chunk of student debt.

This is an important point when considering college. The Federal Reserve found that 30% of all college graduates took out student loans. They owe a median amount between $20,000 and $24,999.

The federal government has even realized how badly the student loan crisis is hurting the economy. Former President Donald Trump paused student loan payments in 2020. President Biden honored that pause up until October 2023. But he has also forgiven $138 billion in student debt for almost 3.9 million borrowers so far.

The Education Data Initiative reported that it takes a student loan borrower an average of 18.5 to 21 years to pay back their debt. Thats a lot of money to give the government, as well as a lot of time that youre not saving and investing as much as you could be.

Should you go to college?

Theres no denying the data overwhelmingly disagrees with Anderson: a college degree will bring you more money in the long-run.

Picking a lucrative major is the way to get the most bang for your tuition bucks. Engineering, pharmacy and computer science are the top three majors with the highest payoffs. So if youre worried about your student loans, choose carefully.

If you plan to work in a field that requires a degree, such as teaching or medicine, consider going to a less expensive school or attending one that offers hefty financial aid and scholarships.

School isnt for everyone, but in many cases its a pathway to a higher net worth.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
mcpix / iStock.com

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many professions and talents  tradesman, publisher, writer, artist, scientist, inventor, political revolutionary, statesman. Bugs Bunny, on the other hand, is a lazy cartoon rabbit who likes to eat carrots. They seem an unlikely pair to be mentioned in the same breath, but the two will forever be entwined due to an error at the U.S. Mint that created whats now known as the Bugs Bunny Franklin Half Dollar. If you ever run into one, it could make you thousands of dollars richer.

Check Out: Check Your Pockets Before You Use This 2004 Coin

Explore More: If You Find a Rare Doubled Die Penny, It Could Be Worth $1.14 Million

As noted in a blog on the GR Coins website, the Bugs Bunny Franklin Half Dollar features a die clash error that produced the rather comical effect of a buck-toothed Benjamin Franklin, with teeth sticking out of Franklins profile ala the famously big-toothed Bugs Bunny.

The coin was designed by John R. Sinnock and first minted in 1948, with the last minting in 1963. It features a profile of Franklin on the front and the Liberty Bell on the reverse. The Franklin Half Dollar is popular for several reasons, including its patriotic images and the fact that Benjamin Franklin himself graces the front. Franklin is also on the $100 bill, but chances are most Americans dont have a lot of those lying around.

Another bonus: All Franklin half-dollars were struck in 90% silver, which gives them melt and recyclable value.

The Bugs Bunny version has all the usual features except that there is a buck tooth-like appearance on Franklins portrait. The error occurred when the eagles wings on the reverse die impressed the obverse die in the region of Franklins mouth, GR Coins reported, resulting in a spike that suggests buck teeth.

The error is known to have occurred on multiple dates between 1948 and 1963, with the 1955 and 1956 Franklin half dollars as perhaps the best examples, according to GR Coins. These dates also coincide with the rising popularity of Bugs Bunny as a Looney Tunes character.

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In terms of value, the Bugs Bunny die error happened over and over again, so its not necessarily rare compared with other error coins. As GR Coins noted, the 1955 Franklin half dollar is the lowest mintage coin of the entire series, with 48,200 coins struck. This coin is worth up to $5,000 depending on its condition, with uncirculated versions selling for up to $1,950 and Full Bell Line examples going for as much as $5,000.

Youll get a lot less for 1955 and 1956 Bugs Bunny Franklin Half Dollars in good condition  typically $50 to $100 for the 1955 version, and $65 to $130 for the 1956 version.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Could You Possess a Bugs Bunny Franklin Half Dollar Worth $5,000? Heres What To Look For
Jennifer Bourget, owner of Counting Stars Inc., and some of her students.

Jennifer Bourget of Green Bay dreams of doing her part in creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere.

Thats the motto of her new business, Counting Stars Inc., which was developed to give children and adults with disabilities the same access to education, community events and activities, and employment that people without disabilities have.

In describing the business, Bourget said, Counting Stars will work tirelessly to decrease barriers that hinder inclusiveness in all aspects of life. We believe that people labeled as challenged arent just a number or someone who needs to be taken care of but a human being with interests, preferences, self-worth, and the desire to be loved.

The journey that led her to start the nonprofit (she has filed the paperwork and is awaiting approval as a 501c3) goes back to high school.

My junior year in high school, I volunteered in the cognitive disability room," she said. "That was the first time I got to work with these kids and I fell in love. I had one kiddo who would swing around and when the bell would ring, he would wrap his legs around the chair so I couldnt leave. Thats where I fell in love  it was the kiddos.

Having grown up on a dairy farm in the small community of Nelson, Wisconsin, she said she had led a relatively sheltered life and wasnt aware of the needs that were in the greater community. It was this experience that convinced her what she wanted to do after high school graduation.

In 2005, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelors degree in learning and cognitive disabilities. She went on to earn a masters degree in professional development from the UW-La Crosse in 2008. Since then, she has obtained other certifications and spent 18 years in the field.

My career has changed so many times because after four years or so at a job, I am burning out, Bourget said. The hardest part is the lack of parent involvement. Our schools special ed programs arent funded to the level they should be, and its hard to find staff.

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Rather than continuing to work in institutional settings, in 2023, she decided to pursue the business startup, because she felt that would allow her to have a greater impact. She worked with Green Bay SCORE mentors and connected with the Greater Green Bay Chamber Startup Hub.

Her challenge, she said, was finding a one-stop shop where there was a checklist with directions. There were areas, like finding insurance, that were not anticipated. After having a hard time obtaining coverage, her choice of a location proved to be beneficial.

About a year ago, a friend had recommended that I talk to Amy at the YWCA about space, Bourget said. We talked about my idea and about the spaces we could use and it just grew from there.

She found a home and a recommendation for an insurance agent. Amy worked with her in executing her plan. Last September, the remodeling began in the spaces she leased. Friends and family were instrumental in painting and helping get the rooms ready.

With the partnership, she says they are part of the YWCAs mission and vision  their passion for ending racism and empowering women. In addition to having two classrooms, the clients also will have access to a therapy pool, large gymnasium, three fitness rooms, a board room, and a small kitchen.

She added, We are also partnering with the day care center here and will do a lot of co-planning on outings, craft projects, and other activities. It is good for all of our kids to have that inclusion and integration piece.

The first session, a daily living class, debuted on Jan. 15. Already, there are 20 children ages 5 to 14 in the class, 17 families utilizing advocacy services, seven families engaged in the safety planning and prevention service, and 13 families interested in group parent trainings that will start soon.

The programming covers a variety of areas. In daily living classes, students are taught functional communication; social, employment and hygiene skills; simple meal and snack preparation; recreation and leisure; and self-advocacy.

Parent/caregiver programs will include training on understanding roles and rights and the various programs available, safety in the home, and many other topics. A unique aspect is that Bourget will offer in-home training in some areas. There will be more to come.

This summer, we will be adding a whole chunk of community-based and daily living skills; things like community service, getting out in the community, learning to use the bus, touring potential job sites, and exploring careers, Bourget said.

The response, so far, has exceeded expectations. It has led to an incredibly busy time and Bourget said she could use four or five of herself. She is the executive director, board president, person who reaches out to new families, instructor in daily living skills, attendee at numerous meetings, a home visitor about three times a week, human resources director, networker, and the list goes on and on.

I think we will outgrow our two classrooms quickly, but I do love our partnership here," she said. "We might need a location somewhere else where there are a few other classrooms. For now, we are happy here. But the sky is the limit.

The business was financed with a home equity loan and she is anxious for the time when it will be self-supporting. For now, the salaries for her teachers are financed from that loan. She said she is grateful for the support of her husband in carrying her until that time.

I am a risk-taker," Bourget said. "I think this will be very successful. I see a need and I am filling it. I know Ill never be a millionaire, but the community needs this.

Part of filling that need will be giving kids opportunities in the community. Many arent familiar with kids who have disabilities and Counting Stars aims to integrate them so that others appreciate the value they bring.

We have to stop hiding our kids and being scared," Bourget said. "People are afraid their kids will be bullied, but I have the same fear as a parent; we have to give them these opportunities. They might get hurt, but we have to be there to help them work through those barriers.

Her advice to other new entrepreneurs is to look for support and never try to go at it alone. She says she could have never gotten to this point without her husbands and friends support. As a group, they celebrated after the first day of operation.

Try to find that group of people who can commit to your business with you, Bourget said. I am motivated by a quote offered by Margaret Mead, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, its the only thing that ever has.'"

Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Counting Stars of Green Bay looks to create an inclusive world
The logo of Vivendi is seen in Paris

MILAN (Reuters) - A first hearing on the case filed by Telecom Italia's (TIM) top investor Vivendi against the sale of the former phone monopoly's fixed network to U.S. fund KKR has been scheduled for May 21, two legal sources told Reuters.

Worth up to 22 billion euros ($23.79 billion) and blessed by the Italian government, the sale is a key plank of the strategy planned by TIM's head Pietro Labriola to revamp the telecoms firm.

Vivendi, which was seeking a higher price, has filed a complaint with a Milan court to challenge the TIM board's decision to sell the network without a shareholder vote.

In its complaint Vivendi had sought April 22 as the date to hold the first hearing on the case, a day before TIM's annual general meeting, sources have previously said.

TIM declined to comment. Vivendi was not immediately available.

($1 = 0.9249 euros)

(Reporting by Alfredo Faieta, writing by Elvira Pollina, editing by Gavin Jones)
Michael Bies, an Alamogordo resident is furious after he said his grandmother, Gloria Bies, was taken advantage of by David Pena, owner of Alamogordo Technology Solutions, a technology store that sells and repairs devices.

Gloria Bies said she paid for a laptop on Sept. 14, 2023, to be repaired but never received it. She said shortly after she asked her grandson for help because he has a background with technology software, but receiving the laptop back or even receiving a refund, was nearly impossible.

Michael Bies said it took six months for Alamogordo Technology Solutions to even begin looking at the laptop.

"At one point I told him I needed my computer, but he told me it was not his problem," Gloria Bies said. "I guess the second time they tried to process all my old data onto a second computer to loan me, but it didn't work out."

She said when her grandson made public posts on Facebook they became aware of other customer issues with the company.

"We did not want to take it to court because we had asked a few people about their experiences with the shop and how it took forever to get something done," Michael Bies said. "One person we spoke to by the name of Silvia Moore had a similar situation. It shouldn't be this common in such a small town."

Bies said after the post he went into the shop to retrieve the laptop and when he received it, nothing had been done to it.

"After nearly a year of having the laptop how was nothing done? My grandmother paid nearly $1,500 and not even a penny back," he said.

Moore and Bies believe Alamogordo Technology Solutions should be shut down but Pena argues some customers just don't understand the process and patience it takes to fix their devices.

Catch up on the Alamogordo man responsible for the death of an Alamogordo Police Officer:

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Moore said she purchased a new laptop for her granddaughter from Alamogordo Technology Solutions on July 26, 2023, a purchase that ignited a civil complaint between the two parties.

"It was about a week before school started and I went in to check on the status because we hadn't received it yet or any updates. When I went into the store, he (Pena) told me it was being delivered and en route," Moore said. "So, school started and nothing again, so I went again and asked for an update and he told me it was on back order. I said to him, 'how could it be on back order if it was on the delivery truck? How is it on back order?'"

She said he told her it would take another week after that. Moore said shortly after she decided to take him to court.

Moore filed a civil lawsuit in the Otero County Magistrate Court that was dismissed on Dec. 15, 2023, after Pena signed an agreement stating he would have the laptop ready no later than Jan. 5, 2024, according to the Otero County Magistrate court.

Moore said instead of receiving the new Lenovo she had purchased, she received a used HP. Following that she decided to drop the situation altogether.

Julian Scott, an airman from Holloman Air Force Base said he had the same issue with Pena in 2021. He said he wound up asking for his computer back so he would not have to not deal with further legal issues.

"When I took my computer to his shop, I had only been here for about two months. I wasn't familiar with the city and had to look his business up and find a place," Scott said. "My battery was starting to drain faster than usual so it was time for a battery replacement."

Scott said he paid $220 over the phone but did not receive an emailed receipt immediately. He said Pena reassured him the battery would take two to three days to arrive.

"I called two days after I dropped it off to check on the status because I hadn't heard anything," he said. "He told me they would have it in on Monday, two days later. So, I call on Monday and he said they would have it Tuesday, I call Tuesday and he said they would have it on Wednesday, and I started to notice a pattern."

Scott said he gave Pena the benefit of the doubt because he sounded like a "cool dude" over the phone but after not receiving a receipt right away and not having the battery by the date promised, he started to get worried.

He said after 10 days of waiting he went in person and asked for an update but Pena told him the battery was still on its way.

"After he told me that, I just told him to give me my money back and he told me they couldn't do that because of store policy. I told him that they never even emailed me a receipt the day I paid over the phone, so he printed me one there in person, but I never signed the receipt," Scott said.

Scott said Pena told him it would be here any day now and asked Scott to wait. He said he did.

"I gave him another chance and said to myself, 'okay, he said it's coming so I'll just wait,'" he said. "After waiting and not hearing anything back I called, and he told me he was not in the shop and was around the corner, as I was parked outside his shop staring at him speaking to me on the phone."

After Scott confronted Pena, he said he asked for his money back or the part he originally paid for and he received an aftermarket part he was not promised.

More: Alamogordo Code Enforcement Department makes much needed changes to its safety protocol

Photos of Isaac Kincaid's computer still show residue a year after he left it with Alamogordo Technology Solutions. Kincaid said he left his device for a year, and it was never worked on, nor did he receive a refund. His case is ongoing.

Isaac Kincaid has a civil case pending against Pena and Alamogordo Technology Solutions.

"I was in training in California and spilled liquids on my computer so when I got here to Alamogordo. I brought it into him because he is pretty much the only guy in town who does these repairs. I'm not a computer repair guy but I knew it would need pretty extensive repairs if it was salvageable at all," Kincaid said.

He said he brought in his computer and Pena "sounded super optimistic" that he could get the job done.

"I paid a nonrefundable $200 diagnostics fee so I knew that wouldn't be refundable, that's fine," he said.

Kincaid said shortly after he took his computer Pena told him he would have to send it to a third-party vendor for repairs that would cost him nearly $400.

"I told him I wouldn't do that because from what I know from electronics I didn't think it could get fixed. I spilled cranberry juice on it and sugar is conductive so when you spill something conductive on an open circuit it fries stuff. I told him I would only do it if I could get a guarantee that I would get my money back," Kincaid said.

He said Pena agreed but that the receipt said otherwise.

"It was kind of an oxymoron because on the receipt it says nonrefundable but where I signed it said if the product could not be fixed there would be a refund of $350," he said.

He said he never received any updates after multiple calls. He would call twice a day for over a year.

"I brought it in June of 2022, and I don't get an update until Dec. of 2022 to Jan. of 2023. I'm a people person so I try and remain optimistic," Kincaid said.

Kincaid said he was fed up and decided to go back to the business to ask for his money back and his computer. Kincaid said he was only given his computer back with no refund and missing parts so he took Pena to court.

The case is still open. A pretrial was scheduled for Feb. 18 of this year but Pena failed to show.

Kincaid said he must now reschedule a pretrial date but is having trouble doing so as he is an active-duty airmen. He said he must leave for training in two weeks and has no clue how long it will be. Once he returns, he said he may get stationed elsewhere losing out on his money and parts to his computer.

"It's just such an inconvenience because I can get sent somewhere else and now, I have to worry about all this," he said. "What am I supposed to do if that happens?"

More: Altus Trophy awarded to Holloman Air Force Base, City of Alamogordo

The Better Business Bureau website gives Alamogordo Technology Solutions an F rating. It lists seven complaints in the last seven months against the company, according to the site. Complaints range from lack of transparency and communication on dates products will be ready to refunds and money allegedly being mishandled.

"On 08/18/2023 this business's accreditation in the BBB was revoked by the BBB's Board of Directors due to failure by the business to adhere to the BBB requirement that Accredited Businesses meet and abide by the following standards," according to the website.

In the case of Alamogordo Technology Solutions, they failed to provide a response that "is professional, addresses all significant issues raised by the complainant, includes appropriate evidence and documents supporting the business' position, and explains why any relief sought by the complainant cannot or should not be granted," all of which is a necessity of any business.

The Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit founded in the early 1900s for consumers to find businesses they can trust. The Better Business Bureau's reviews can impact your business largely based on your response, or lack of response, to reviews.

Alamogordo City Clerk Rachel Hughs said there is no business registered with the City of Alamogordo by the name of Alamogordo Technology Solutions.

"There have been complaints regarding this business, and we referred the people to the Alamogordo Police Department," Hughs said.

The Alamogordo Daily News did find Alamogordo Technology Solutions listed as a domestic limited liability company in good standing with the New Mexico Secretary of State's office.

Pena addresses upset clients and refund policies

Pena said he takes pride in his business and is hurt to find that residents in the community are unhappy with Alamogordo Technology Solutions.

He said some of the upset clients have already settled their differences, but others may not understand the steps to repairing devices causing a long saga for both the company and client.

"For us, I think at the end of the day, there is going to be customer discrepancies," he said. "Like I explain to my customers, we're in the tech business so it's a little bit tough when we had a no refund policy but that policy was in effect due to parts that were sold and came back broken or had phones sold that came back broken. Now when we realize that these policies started becoming an issue, we decided to change the policy."

Pena said the new policy covers customers refunds on a case-by-case basis. The previous policy on customer receipts read: "All sales including payments are final. Payment is due at time of service. Repairs will not begin until payment is received. There will be no refunds for any reason after device has been accepted for repair by Alamogordo Technology Solutions. Signature represents complete and full understanding of the terms and conditions listed above."

He said instead of having one policy for every customer, he explains the policy depending on the customer's needs.

"Unfortunately, there are some clients that they just weren't happy with what the solution was just like with any business. We do our best from a business perspective to try and resolve every issue," he said. "There are some customers that unfortunately some of those claims were unfounded and we have evidence to the contrary. We just state the facts, we go by our agreements that were signed."

Pena said refunds take longer than usual to process, so if he's able to resolve those in store he will.

He said in some cases it may not be an issue with his store directly but with a third-party vendor. He also said he was the only one in store who works on the devices.

"We had shipping delays for a long time, one of our vendors got bought out by another company," he said. "We were unaware that the sale had happened in the background and all of the equipment was placed on back order."

Pena said in instances like this, he tries to get a customer an alternative device until their product is ready.

He said the delays are not intentional and unfortunately, they do happen. He said the goal is to always deliver on time but when dealing with larger companies sometimes it's hard for them to do that.

"We've always offered or always made the attempt to rectify whatever situation there was," Pena said. "Every time that this has happened, we have made every attempt available to rectify it."

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Alamogordo tech repair company sued by local customers
Dave Ramsey is a well-known radio host who gives personal finance advice to Americans. He is known for his pragmatism and honesty as well as his breadth of knowledge in the finance and investing sphere. Thousands have turned to Ramsey for advice on debt consolidation, budgeting, investing and essentially any other issues related to personal finance.

Despite his impressive resume and experience, Ramsey could be wrong with a recent blog post about crypto. In the post, Ramsey is direct, saying that investing in crypto is not a good idea. Additionally, in his whimsical style, he said, "You could lose your shirt (and pants) messing around with crypto. Steer clear, Big Tuna. Head for open waters. Crypto is risky business."

To end the article, Ramsey said that when it comes to crypto, you should "just say no," reminiscent of former first lady Nancy Reagan's campaign against drugs in the 1980s.

Ramsey is clearly against crypto. However, is this view entirely correct? What are the experts saying?

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If you invested $100 in DOGE when Elon Musk first tweeted about it in 2019, heres how much youd have today .

About 22% of the adult population in the U.S. own a share of Bitcoin, how much would $10 get you today?

Not everyone agrees with Ramsey's anti-crypto stance. For example, analysts at Standard Chartered see Ethereum (ETH) appreciating to $4,000 by the end of May because of upcoming upgrades to the chain as well as the potential for ETH spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to receive approval. This would bring in a new wave of institutional investors and could cause the price to continue rising. From ETH's current price of around $3,400, this would mark a nearly 18% increase in just a few months.

Additionally, the fintech company Finder conducted a survey analyzing the market sentiment from several dozen experts in the field who gave an average price target of around $87,000. Many believe that now is a good time to buy crypto because a soon-to-com Bitcoin halving could further propel prices.

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Another point that Ramsey fails to mention is that there is no minimum investment for cryptocurrency; you can invest $10 or $10 million across a variety of cryptocurrency brokers. This means that you can tailor investments to your own specific goals and risk profile. If you are reasonable and understanding of your situation, crypto does not have to be something you simply "just say no" to.

It is hard to argue against the prominence of Bitcoin and other tokens. They are constantly in the headlines and have performed extremely well over the past several months. Bitcoin is up nearly 140% in the last six months alone. Dogecoin was another big story, appreciating more than 1,300% in just one month in 2021. Many are now as they are restarting their crypto portfolio  will dogecoin go up?

Though Ramsey's article is a bit sensationalized, mentioning stories of how people's lives have been ruined by crypto, it does have some merit. Crypto is extremely volatile and presents a major risk for investors. However, if you can put some extra cash into some promising projects, you could be sitting pretty in the future.

Read Next:

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This article Dave Ramsey Says, 'Crypto Is Risky Business'  Do Crypto Experts Agree? originally appeared on Benzinga.com

 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
MILFORD  When the sheriffs department knocked on her door, Annette Billings knew what they wanted even before she opened the envelope.

It was Jan. 24, early in the morning. Her three dogs  boisterous waist-high Labradors  were bounding at the door. Billings didnt have her glasses on yet. But even bleary-eyed she could make out the words Superior Court on the envelope that the deputy carried.

The deputy kept asking: Are you Annette Billings?

I dont know, am I? Billings remembers thinking. I didnt know if I wanted to be Annette Billings right then.

Billings, a chicken farmer for the past 30 years, does not live in Milford  a sleepy southern Delaware river city with a picturesque downtown and a history of shipbuilding.

But she knew nonetheless: The city of Milford had come for her land.

Annette Billings speaks from a segment of her 8 acres of land near Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Billings was facing an eminent domain case for her land that has been vacated.

It was land where her grandparents once milked cows, and her grandchildren now play. It is land she wants to leave to her children one day, she says. Finally, she put her glasses on and sat down with the documents shed received. She saw the fateful words: eminent domain.

I was shaking. I was mad, Billings said now, from her kitchen a few miles outside Milford. Its a terrible feeling.

Her familys former dairy farm, like her house, sits just outside Milfords southeastern border. But Milfords city charter, ratified by the state, gives Milford permission to take possession of land outside city limits in cases of public necessity.

In this case, the necessity was a bike trail.

In plans percolating for years, the city of Milford had mapped out a network of biking and running trails just outside the city, meant to connect a future 19-acre park to both the city and a new crop of densely uniform housing developments outside town with names like Watergate and Windward by the River.

Billings snaking 8-acre parcel of tree-thick wetlands, at the edge of her familys former dairy farm, was the missing piece the city needed to fulfill an idyllic municipal vision of bicycles and swimming pools and pickleball courts.

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For years, city officials had tried to buy Billings land. Theyd bought her brothers neighboring 19-acre plot in 2021 for $550,000 to form the proposed new park.

A panorama of a segment of Annette Billings' 8 acres of land is featured near Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Billings was facing an eminent domain case for her land that has been vacated.

But stubbornly, Billings refused to sell her plot. She rebuffed multiple attempts  and finally told city officials to stop asking.

They stopped asking. In September 2023, the City Council instead voted to take the land in a process called condemnation. The city would get the land, and Billings would be reimbursed $20,000, a figure the city has since called generous.

Billings received no notice of the September vote on her land until a deputy showed up at her door, she said. She calls $20,000 for 8 acres not generous, but insulting. She had privately assessed her family land at about $50,000 an acre in 2007.

Billings tried to find a lawyer but didnt know how. No firm would take her case. Finally, someone at her church gave her a phone number. It was a local firebrand of a radio host named Dan Gaffney.

Call this number at 6 a.m., she was told. And so she did.

They tried to bamboozle me, she told Gaffney on his radio show Feb. 5, saying the city wasnt being honest in their dealings.

The rest is town history, setting off what locals call the biggest controversy Milford locals say theyve seen in years: a citizen uprising over the eminent domain proceedings that has led to protests at Town Hall, and threatened to uproot the town order with a new slate of candidates for the City Council.

The case has also led to a newfound source of community for Milford, Billings said.

Annette Billings case has become a lightning rod in Milford

The city of Milford is by all accounts a quiet place. The sidewalks of its picturesque downtown stood serene and mostly empty on a recent February weekday, save for the steady foot traffic in and out of a little Puerto Rican bakery cafe called My Sisters Fault.

But Billings plight has struck a raw nerve in a fast-changing city whose population has about doubled since the turn of the millennium.

An information box and tourist center downtown in Milford on Feb. 26, 2024.

In 2000, the city had just 6,700 residents. Now, its up to around 13,000, expansion that has mirrored rapid growth all over southern Delaware, as previously rural tracts have sprouted into rowhomes and suburban-style infill.

Your charming little town is getting dangerously close to becoming just another run of the mill sprawling conglomerate of single family homes where nobody even wants to know their neighbor, warned Milford resident Larry Passwaters at a City Council meeting on Feb. 12.

Just outside Milford, a sign decries eminent domain proceedings against a chicken farmer named Annette Billings on Feb. 22, 2024. The eminent domain proceedings were abandoned by the city of Milford.

That day, he was among a hundred or so citizens who flooded the council meeting to voice their discontent with Billings' eminent domain case.

If this was a Hallmark movie, Passwaters told the City Council, youd be the bad guys.

Among those upset was state Sen. David Wilson, who said he didnt know why the city of Milford would go after land outside city limits.

Some public commenters declared the process of eminent domain as indecent or immoral. Others, without any particular evidence, have linked the attempted condemnation of Billings land to proposed transitional housing for the homeless, or to the citys presumed expansionist impulses. A series of modest annexations have expanded the towns borders by about 60 acres since 2018.

Eminent domain attracts conversation and media attention

Ask a person in Milford about Annette Billings, and they tend to have an opinion on the case.

One sidewalk passerby, a lifelong Milford resident, believed the city was trying to cheat Billings out of a fair price. The next, a former facilities employee at the University of Delaware, figured everyone probably blew the situation out of proportion.

Its the biggest thing to hit Milford since  ever, said Angela Kalesis, a bartender at downtowns Milford Tavern, who says these days even high school students talk about the case at school. Whens the last time you heard of high school students talking about city council? Kalesis mused aloud.

After a pint or two in late February, her patrons walked out of nearby Milford Tavern en masse to give the city government a piece of their mind, Kalesis said  the first time shed seen her customers erupt with a sudden civic conscience.

A billboard depicting the city council members who voted for an eminent domain case for Annette Billings' 8 acres of land, now vacated, is featured southbound on route 13 and south of the Redners in Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The billboard was put up by a realtor and accuses the city council members of theft.

And then theres that billboard. At the southern edge of town, a billboard on land dotted with signs for local Realtor Jamie Masten had the character of a Wild West wanted poster.

WANTED MILFORD CITY COUNCIL  ATTEMPTED THEFT, read the billboard, which went up in mid-February. The billboard showed head shots of Milfords mayor and its city manager, alongside the seven members of the City Council who'd voted to appropriate Billings land.

City of Milford is taking local widows land Stop the Madness, read the billboard, erected within view of the city solicitors office.

Masten has not responded to inquiries about the billboard, but posted his dissatisfaction with the towns actions on his Facebook account. Billings was his neighbor, he wrote, and Milford should respect a womans right to say no.

A panorama of a segment of Annette Billings' 8 acres of land is featured near Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Billings was facing an eminent domain case for her land that has been vacated.

The billboard became a curiously viral phenomenon, appearing on TV news stations from Maryland to Philadelphia. Local outlets in Milford, meanwhile, offered day-by-day coverage of each twist in the Billings saga.

Milford officials say they are enacting the will of voters

Milford city officials, for their part, say nothing nefarious is afoot. They were merely responding to taxpayer wishes for more green space, desires that residents had expressed in 2021 during the citys comprehensive planning process.

Over the last four years, City Council and Staffs only interest in pursuing the project was with the intent of providing open space and walking/biking paths, as well as other passive and active recreational opportunities for not only now, but far into the future, read a statement from the city on Feb. 21.

Without her land, the new park would not be easily accessible from the city.

That sounds like a you problem, not a me problem, Billings said she told them. The citys misjudgment in acquiring landlocked property should not take away her rights as a property owner, she says.

The city's lawyer, David Rutt, argued that Billings is fighting dirty by pleading her case publicly with what the city calls misinformation. Indeed, Billings had speculated broadly about the city's intentions on her initial radio appearance with Gaffney.

In filings at Sussex County Superior Court on Feb. 19, Rutt wrote that Billings has engaged in an unfettered and unwarranted media blitz since being served notice that the city intended to take possession of her property, and that media coverage had led to harassment of public officials.

Billings denies that the media was her first resort.

Im not a public speakin'I'm a farmer, she said. I don't talk. I work.

But lawyer after lawyer turned her down at first, she said. Her attorney, Ron Poliquin, became aware of her case, and offered to take it, only after her initial radio appearance.

Eminent domain cases outside city limits are far from unusual

Perhaps the aspect of the case that has drawn the most attention is that Billings property is not within Milford city limits, and yet is subject to eminent domain by the city.

A panorama of a segment of Annette Billings' 8 acres of land is featured near Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Billings was facing an eminent domain case for her land that has been vacated.

But this practice is far from uncommon, said Robert McNamara, deputy litigation director of public interest law firm The Institute for Justice. The firm handles civil liberties cases all over the country, including in Delaware, on matters that include eminent domain.

City leaders are, unsurprisingly, perhaps more willing to condemn land that belongs to people who cannot vote against them, McNamara said. He notes that eminent domain outside municipal limits is most commonly used for things like roads and power lines, in states such as Delaware that dont prohibit the practice.

Unlike many states, Delaware does not allow eminent domain on behalf of private enterprises such as casinos, but only for public use and the public good.

But the public good can be quite broadly interpreted. Milfords city charter asserts its ability to condemn land for any municipal purpose whatsoever, within or without the limits of the City.

In Delaware, Milford is hardly alone in asserting this legal power. From Wilmington to Newark to Bethany Beach, most cities in Delaware whose charters were reviewed by the News Journal reserve the right to take land by eminent domain, both inside and outside city limits.

In general, these charters expressly require that just compensation be given when taking possession of property. Some, such as Wilmingtons, offer fairly tight proscriptions on using eminent domain  restrictions the city tried to fight in a failed bid to gain greater authority to take possession of "blighted" or vacant buildings in 2022.

More: Why Wilmington wanted expanded eminent domain authority to seize vacant property

Other charters, such as Milfords and Dovers, assert nearly no limitations. Bethany Beachs charter specifically enumerates that it can take possession of any property, inside or outside the city, for the purpose of constructing paddleball courts, among a great many other things.

Because eminent domain powers are often broadly described and difficult to defend against, he said, defendants are often reduced to fighting over what constitutes just compensation, McNamara said.

Annette Billings speaks from the kitchen of her home in Milford, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.

I have seen it repeatedly, in my own practice, for governments wielding eminent domain to act as if their powers are infinite, he said.

Annette Billings prevailed in Milford, after public uprising

At least for now, Annette Billings will not have to try her chances in court.

In a Feb. 19 legal filing, City Solicitor David Rutt argued that Billings hearing should happen speedily and without delay, on the originally scheduled date of March 1.

Poliquin, Billings lawyer, argued that he needed more time to sort out the particulars of the case, and that a bike path is hardly an exigent city need that demands haste.

In petitioning the court to deny Poliquin additional time, Rutt made an argument Poliquin called unusual. Rutt argued that if the case didnt wrap up soon, the building public pressure would be unfair to elected city officials who are up for re-election on April 27 of this year.

Elected officials' non-comment on a hot-button issue, while litigation proceeds, could permit the continued attacks to occur without response, Rutt argued, presumably giving an advantage to their opponents in the election.

Poliquin said he had never seen this type of justification for contesting a court continuance.

At least four of those council members are up for election in April, as is the town's mayor. Since the Billings case came to light, multiple townspeople have enrolled to run against sitting council members.

On Feb. 21, the city released a three page document outlining the citys position, describing the proposed park's accordance with the citys comprehensive plan, and its purpose in providing green space. The document also described Billings refusal to cooperate, over years of city requests for her land.

That same night, the City Council met for a special closed session to discuss litigation. As at every public meeting, public comment was allowed.

Again, the public arrived in force. At least one commenter seemed at the edge of tears. One called the councilmembers "domestic enemies." Ed Williams, a government acquisitions professional from the nearby beach town of Lewes, drove up to say he believed that Milford had not followed the appropriate federal and state guidelines  nor conducted the requisite wildlife studies.

Council receded from view, then returned with a surprise: They voted to terminate the eminent domain process. Billings would keep her family's land.

I do not condone the notion of taking land unjustly, said Councilwoman Katrina Wilson in a statement, before reversing her previous vote and moving to terminate eminent domain. She said she'd been moved by Billings' testimony about her family's land, and drew parallels to generations of unjust actions against people of color.

After the vote, Poliquin, Billings' attorney, said it was the people of Milford, and the court of public opinion, that had prevailed in his client's case. In an order signed Feb. 27, the city dismissed the eminent domain case and agreed to pay Billings' legal fees.

The 19-acre park outside Milford will still be built, said Milford City Manager Mark Whitfield. But the trail connecting that park to the city, and to new housing developments outside the city, will no longer exist.

Billings, for her part, says she's thankful for the people of Milford who fought on her behalf.

"The people really just did this. The people came together," she said. But she's shaken by the ordeal. On Feb. 22, the morning after receiving notification that the citys litigation would stop, she found herself just sitting frozen in her truck, not moving or turning the ignition.

Im still in shock. I cant sleep, Billings said, finally, after opening her trucks door to speak. Ever since my husband died, I just feel like Ive been kicked around. I need to stop complaining, I realize that. I need to be grateful.

Matthew Korfhage is business and development reporter in the Delaware region covering all things related to land and money: openings and closings, construction, and the many corporations who call the First State home. Send tips and insults to mkorfhage@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware citizens rose up after Milford tried to take a widow's land
Renewable natural gas, battery-electric and hydrogen-powered trucks all target fleets switching from diesel ahead of coming regulations requiring costly additional emissions after-treatment. Which alternative will win? Possibly all of them.

Vouchers make first Nikola fuel cell trucks cheaper than a diesel

Back in 2018, Anheuser-Busch placed an initial order for up to 800 Nikola fuel cell trucks. Ever so slowly, that is becoming a reality.

After numerous missteps and setbacks, Nikola produced 42 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks in the last three months of 2023. Of 35 delivered to dealers, most customers ordered them in ones and twos. The $450,000 trucks qualify for $240,000 vouchers from the state of California.

Longtime Nikola supporter Biagi Brothers took 10 for operations in Southern California. It hopes to apply some of its remaining 10 vouchers to add five or six more by the end of the year.

We wanted to get in on the incentive funds, Gregg Stumbaugh, Biagi corporate equipment director, told me. With the $240,000 grants from California, the truck ends up being cheaper than a diesel.





Biagi is a longtime third-party dedicated freight hauler for Anheuser-Busch with 90-100 Class 8 day cabs serving the beverage maker.

Biagi Brothers took delivery of 10 Nikola fuel cell electric trucks it is using for third-party hauling for Anheuser-Busch. (Photo: Nikola)

Crushed aluminum cargo

The 10 Nikola fuel cell trucks each haul 9,000 pounds of empty beer cans . They travel 145 miles from Ontario, California, to Anheuser-Buschs Van Nuys production facility several times a day. Like the Frito-Lay snacks cubing out trailers hauled by Tesla battery-electric Semi trucks, Biagi is starting with light loads for the fuel cell trucks.

Why not haul beer?

Weve loaded the truck with beer  81,600 pounds  and driven over the [Interstate 5] Grapevine. We have to be selective on what applications we use it for, Stumbaugh said.

Biagi helped test the road worthiness during development of the Nikola fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). It ran two-truck pilots in 2022 and 2023. They have plenty of oomph. But the roughly 25,000-pound weight of the tractor, a 13,000-pound trailer and 9,000 pounds of empties is enough for now. A typical load of beer weighs in at 47,000 pounds. The math doesnt work.

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Two things have to happen, Stumbaugh said. The truck has to get lighter or the weight allowance has to go up to at least 85,000 pounds. Since neither is likely soon, the beer loads will move on the 22 diesel trucks Biagi deploys out of Van Nuys.

Is CNG about to have a moment?

The Nikola FCEV production units replaced some of Biagis 16-18 compressed natural gas (CNG) powered trucks. They have been switched to other uses.

Biagi is quoting an order of 10 trucks with regular production of the Cummins X15N natural gas engine by midyear. Kenworth delivered the first X15N-equipped T680 on Feb. 20 to UPS, a longtime CNG user.

Running on renewable natural gas (RNG), smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions should fall below expected Environmental Protection Agency standards set to take effect in 2027, according to Greg Bippus, executive vice president of sales and systems development at natural gas tank and system developer Hexagon Agility.

Alternative powertrains and fuels have best use cases, according to Hexagon Agility. (Chart: Hexagon Agility)

Diesel trucks will need a second after-treatment system to meet the proposed standards, he said.

Cummins projects fivefold increase in new engine option

Though compressed natural gas (CNG) tractors cost more than diesel units, the return on investment is a relatively quick 18 months. CNG fuel costs less than diesel. When renewable natural gas (RNG) made from dairy waste and other organic matter is used, the emissions profile can result in negative net carbon emissions.

RNG infrastructure is growing. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. is opening two new fueling stations. One is near Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The other in south Dallas is close to Interstates 45, 35 and 20 adjacent to dozens of distribution centers. Clean Energy has more than 600 RNG fueling stations.

Cummins projects a fivefold increase in the take rate for its X15N big bore engine. It is capable of 400-500 horsepower and 1,450-1,850 pound feet of torque. It expects to make 3,000 X15N engines this year. The company sees a potential 10% penetration of the Class 8 market compared to a historical take rate of 1% to 2%.

This is an engine that has been used over a million miles in China already, Bippus said. So this is a technology thats advanced, thats mature. And when you look at todays heavy-duty truck fleet, 97% of all heavy-duty trucks going down the road today are still diesel. So when you talk about 10% of a 300,000-to-350,000-unit market, its quite significant for us.

Hexagon is building a 113,000-square-foot addition to its plant in Salisbury, North Carolina, where it will make CNG tanks, augmenting production in Lincoln, Nebraska.

For marketing purposes, Cummins on Thursday rebranded its next-generation fuel-agnostic B6.7, X10 and X15 engines as HELM, a loose acronym for Higher Efficiency. Lower emissions. Multiple fuels.

Electric truck infrastructure advances with NFI depot opening

With the possible exception of the Tesla Semi, battery-electric trucks are not ready for regular long-haul use. But they are solidifying their place in port drayage. After months of delays, NFI Industries on Tuesday showed off its new  and heavily subsidized  electric truck charging depot in Ontario.

NFI uses about 90% electric trucks for drayage runs from Californias Inland Empire to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Two runs require about 220 miles of driving range, easily accomplished by its Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia and Volvo VNR Electrics.

Its battery-electric fleet collectively has accumulated more than 2 million miles, eliminating the equivalent of 307,692 gallons of diesel fuel while avoiding 3,415 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Generous incentives benefit NFI and Schneider

NFI and Schneider received significant incentives for 50 trucks each from the Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative, which received $27 million in funding from the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission. Schneider opened a smaller electric depot in El Monte in June.

The NFI installation eventually will use 7 megawatts of electricity to direct-charge as many as 38 trucks at a time at up to 350 kilowatts. A solar-powered microgrid will add 1 megawatt of stationary power to the site to reduce charging at peak times.

NFI Industries new electric truck charging depot will include a 1-megawatt microgrid to make electricity from capturing solar power. (Photo: NFI)

Briefly noted 

The MirrorEye Camera Monitor System from Stoneridge that replaces bulky side mirrors will be featured on Volvos new VNL over-the-road Class 8 truck in 2025.

Workhorse Group has added its fifth dealer partner in California to sell its lineup of battery-electric commercial step vans and chassis.

Navistar has begun fleet deliveries of the S13 integrated powertrain in its International LT Series, its last internal combustion engine program.

S&P Global Mobility reports the U.S. commercial vehicle market grew 14% in 2023 with Class 6 leading the way at 18%.

Startup electric infrastructure provider Voltera has invested $150 million to bring its number of charging sites to 21, with plans to double that by the end of 2024.

Range Energy has $23.5 million in new funding to accelerate its work on customer pilots of its electric-powered trailers.

Kodiak Robotics is working with Martin Brower to use human-supervised autonomous trucks to haul quick service restaurant food between Dallas and Oklahoma City.

Truck Tech episode No. 56: Is natural gas the next big thing  again  in truck fuel?

Thats it for this week. Thanks for reading and watching. Click here to get Truck Tech via email on Fridays. And catch the latest in major events and hear from the top players on Truck Tech at 3 p.m. Wednesdays on the FreightWaves YouTube channel.Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Write to aadler@freightwaves.com.

The post Diesel distancing propels alternative fuel options appeared first on FreightWaves.
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DN Solutions, a global leader in CNC machine tools manufacturing, announced the establishment of its Vietnam subsidiary (DN Solutions Vina) aimed at bolstering product sales and enhancing technical support across the Southeast Asia region.

DN Solutions, a global leader in CNC machine tools manufacturing, enhances product sales and technical support across Southeast Asia with new subsidiary in Vietnam.

DN Solutions held the DN Solutions Southeast Asia Opening Ceremony on February 29th in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, attended by DN Solutions President and CEO Wonjong Kim, employees from the Korean headquarters and the Vietnam subsidiary, and key customers and partners in Southeast Asia.

DN Solutions, the world's third-largest machine tool company, offers an extensive lineup of approximately 500 types of turning centers, machining centers, and specialized equipment. DN Solutions provides a wide range of products tailored to diverse industries including automotive, aviation, medical, energy, semiconductor/IT, and construction. With production plants in South Korea and China, and local subsidiaries in Vietnam, the United States, China, Germany, and India, the company ensures global accessibility. Additionally, DN Solutions maintains a vast sales network of 155 partners across 66 countries, providing unparalleled support to its worldwide customers.

DN Solutions is steadfast in its commitment to solidifying its status as a premier machine tool manufacturer in Southeast Asia, with Vietnam serving as its strategic cornerstone. Situated in Ho Chi Minh City, at the heart of Southeast Asia, the company's new subsidiary aims to further enhance its foothold and reputation in Southeast Asia by amplifying product sales and fortifying technical support in key markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

DN Solutions will build up a diversified sales network through robust collaboration with local partners, while simultaneously expanding the market reach of its premium offerings and automation/turnkey solutions. This strategic approach aligns with the growing demand in the Southeast Asian market for high-productivity and high-precision products. In addition, DN Solutions will elevate customer satisfaction and trust by bolstering its 'close-to-the-customer' support services. This comprehensive support framework encompasses equipment inquiries, installation, and after-sales assistance, all tailored to meet the specific technical and commercial requirements of customers.

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To achieve this objective, DN Solutions will actively recruit talent from the Southeast Asian region, empowering them to become proficient machine tool experts.

President and CEO Wonjong Kim remarked, "Southeast Asia is a rapidly advancing region with immense potential. DN Solutions has earned global recognition for its cutting-edge technology, diverse product portfolio, and competitive pricing. Through the establishment of our subsidiary in Vietnam, we are poised to actively address the needs of our Southeast Asian customers with proximity and service excellence, surpassing their expectations. This proactive approach not only drives innovation in the market but also reinforces our standing as a prominent global machine tool company."

Cision

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SOURCE DN Solutions
It's been a good week for Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (NYSE:PLOW) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest annual results, and the shares gained 4.8% to US$25.10. The result was positive overall - although revenues of US$568m were in line with what the analysts predicted, Douglas Dynamics surprised by delivering a statutory profit of US$0.98 per share, modestly greater than expected. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. 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 Douglas Dynamics

Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus from Douglas Dynamics' three analysts is for revenues of US$630.6m in 2024. This would reflect a decent 11% increase on its revenue over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to leap 42% to US$1.43. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$633.9m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.52 in 2024. So it looks like there's been a small decline in overall sentiment after the recent results - there's been no major change to revenue estimates, but the analysts did make a small dip in their earnings per share forecasts.

It might be a surprise to learn that the consensus price target fell 7.8% to US$37.50, with the analysts clearly linking lower forecast earnings to the performance of the stock price. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Douglas Dynamics, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$39.00 and the most bearish at US$36.00 per share. Even so, with a relatively close grouping of estimates, it looks like the analysts are quite confident in their valuations, suggesting Douglas Dynamics is an easy business to forecast or the the analysts are all using similar assumptions.

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Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's clear from the latest estimates that Douglas Dynamics' rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with the forecast 11% annualised revenue growth to the end of 2024 noticeably faster than its historical growth of 2.8% p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 3.2% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Douglas Dynamics is expected to grow much faster than its industry.

The Bottom Line

The biggest concern is that the analysts reduced their earnings per share estimates, suggesting business headwinds could lay ahead for Douglas Dynamics. 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. Furthermore, the analysts also cut their price targets, suggesting that the latest news has led to greater pessimism about the intrinsic value of the business.

With that said, the long-term trajectory of the company's earnings is a lot more important than next year. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Douglas Dynamics going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here..

And what about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Douglas Dynamics (of which 2 shouldn't be ignored!) you should know about.

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.
Shareholders of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) will be pleased this week, given that the stock price is up 19% to US$19.39 following its latest full-year results. Revenues were in line with forecasts, at US$8.5b, although statutory earnings per share came in 15% below what the analysts expected, at US$0.39 per share. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. We've gathered the most recent statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their earnings models, following these results.

Check out our latest analysis for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' 14 analysts is for revenues of US$9.28b in 2024. This reflects a solid 8.6% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to soar 174% to US$1.07. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$9.29b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.05 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

The analysts reconfirmed their price target of US$20.63, showing that the business is executing well and in line with expectations. Fixating on a single price target can be unwise though, since the consensus target is effectively the average of analyst price targets. As a result, some investors like to look at the range of estimates to see if there are any diverging opinions on the company's valuation. There are some variant perceptions on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$32.00 and the most bearish at US$14.00 per share. This is a fairly broad spread of estimates, suggesting that analysts are forecasting a wide range of possible outcomes for the business.

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These estimates are interesting, but it can be useful to paint some more broad strokes when seeing how forecasts compare, both to the Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' past performance and to peers in the same industry. The analysts are definitely expecting Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings' growth to accelerate, with the forecast 8.6% annualised growth to the end of 2024 ranking favourably alongside historical growth of 1.2% per annum over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same industry, which are forecast to grow their revenue 9.5% annually. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is expected to grow at about the same rate as the wider 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. Happily, there were no real changes to revenue forecasts, with the business still expected to grow in line with the overall industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$20.63, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings going out to 2026, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Plus, you should also learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings .

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.
Elon Musk co-founded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015 - AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski

Elon Musk is suing the co-founder of the ChatGPT developer OpenAI, alleging he compromised the companys original pursuit to prioritise developing safe artificial intelligence (AI) over profits.

The Tesla billionaire accused Sam Altman of stark betrayal after the pair co-founded OpenAI in 2015, with Mr Musk agreeing to bankroll the group with the intention of developing AI that would benefit humanity.

The business was set up as a non-profit and shared details of its AI breakthroughs with other scientists.

However, in a lawsuit filed in California, Mr Musk claimed Mr Altman, who is chief executive of OpenAI, has since plotted to radically depart from their mission, raising billions of dollars from Microsoft and making OpenAIs research a secret.

In the lawsuit, Mr Muskss lawyers wrote OpenAI had collected tens of millions of dollars to develop AI for the good of humanity, but had since become a closed, for-profit partner of the worlds largest corporation, thereby personally enriching the defendants.

The filing accuses Mr Altman and OpenAI of breach of contract and demands a ruling that would block Microsoft from using the start-ups most powerful AI tools.

Mr Altman has repeatedly warned about the dangers of powerful AI and its threat to humanity - Markus Schreiber/AP

OpenAI is the developer of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that can answer questions in plain English, generate code and engage in uncannily human conversations.

Mr Altman has repeatedly warned about the dangers of powerful AI and its threat to humanity.

The lawsuit claims Mr Altman and Mr Musk set up OpenAI over a shared concern of the existential risks posed by powerful AI in a bid to challenge Google, which had just acquired the AI lab DeepMind.

The group set out to develop so-called artificial general intelligence technology in a safe way, and not for profit. Mr Musk left OpenAI in 2018 amid a falling out with its leadership.

Last year Microsoft became the biggest investor in OpenAI, pumping as much as $10bn (7.9bn) into developing its technology. In November, Mr Altman was ousted by OpenAIs board, before returning as chief executive just days later amid pressure from staff and Microsoft.

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The lawsuit, which was first reported by Courthouse News, claims that, since then, OpenAI has been turned into a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft that is seeking to maximise profits.

Last year, Mr Musk launched his own AI venture, xAI, under which he has developed an alternative to ChatGPT, called Grok. He has claimed it will be politically neutral.

When Mr Altman was sacked in November, Mr Musk demanded the board explain its reasoning. The true reason has never been made public, aside from the board claiming Mr Altman had not been candid.

OpenAI was contacted for comment.

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Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, with the Tesla founder alleging they violated the artificial intelligence company's original mission statement by putting profits over benefiting humanity.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Francisco, comes amid a larger debate over the potential impact of AI, such as that it could produce misleading or harmful information. In the lawsuit, Musk alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty, among other claims, against OpenAI, Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.

Musk, who helped found OpenAI in 2015, cites the lab's founding agreement that the company would use its technology to benefit the public and that it would open its technology for public use. Yet OpenAI has veered away from that mission with its latest AI model, GPT-4, which it hasn't released to the public, the suit alleges.

At the same time, OpenAI has formed commercial ties with Microsoft, which has invested billions in the AI company. Microsoft has integrated OpenAI's GPT-4 tech into its software programs and developed an AI app called Copilot that's geared to helping consumers automate various tasks.

The relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI represents "a stark betrayal of the founding agreement," Musk suit claims.

"Mr. Altman caused OpenAI to radically depart from its original mission and historical practice of making its technology and knowledge available to the public. GPT-4's internal design was kept and remains a complete secret except to OpenAI  and, on information and belief, Microsoft," the complaint alleges. "There are no scientific publications describing the design of GPT-4. Instead, there are just press releases bragging about performance."

Instead of helping humanity, OpenAI's tech is now primarily serving Microsoft's commercial interests, the lawsuit claims. GPT-4 "is now a de facto Microsoft proprietary algorithm," it alleges.

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OpenAI and Microsoft didn't immediately return requests for comment.

Musk is asking the court to order OpenAI to make its AI models open to the public, and to prohibit it from using its technology to benefit its executives, Microsoft or any other person or company. He also is asking the court to force OpenAI, Altman and Brockman to repay all the money they received from their dealings with Microsoft.

Musk has more direct interests in the future of artificial intelligence. In 2023 he formed xAI, which recruited researchers from OpenAI and other top tech firms to develop an AI tool called Grok that the startup said wil aim to "maximally benefit all of humanity."

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In May of last year, electric vehicle maker Fisker announced that the first customer had taken delivery of the brand-new Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV  lauded as the highest range vehicle available on the European market, with 440 miles per charge. Fisker also claimed that the Ocean had the lowest carbon footprint of any electric SUV on the market.

A lot of differentiators in a crowded market, to be sure, but unfortunately for Fisker since then, it appears things have gotten worse  not better.

In an announcement outlining its preliminary financial results for 2023 Q4 and year-end, Fisker outlined some dark prospects. Despite increasing its quarterly revenue, the carmakers gross margin is -35%. The mounting losses have led CEO Henrik Fisker to call 2023 a challenging year and reveal more details of the companys plan to pivot from direct sales to a dealer network, hopefully in an effort to unload the inventory it's sitting on after producing about double the number of Oceans delivered.

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Fisker also revealed that it was in negotiations with a large automaker in the hopes of shoring up some investment funding and leveraging North American manufacturing capabilities.



And hopefully those negotiations go quickly: Fisker is casting substantial doubt on its ability to continue without an infusion of cash, saying it has insufficient resources to last for the next 12 months.To that end, Fisker says it will cut expenses by laying off some 15% of its workforce and adds that, if the funding efforts arent fully realized, that more layoffs could be on the horizon, as could cuts in development and production  a possible death knell.

So who is this mystery potential partner? And will Fisker be successful in establishing the deal it needs to survive and support a goal of 22,000 vehicles sold in 2024? Henrik Fisker says the company has good reason to be optimistic after emerging success with its new dealer-centric selling model, but that we prepare for another difficult year.
HELSINKI (AP)  Alexander Stubb was sworn in Friday as Finlands new president and said that the Nordic country "is facing a new era" after becoming a NATO member  something he will demonstrate by making his first foreign trip to inspect the military alliance's drill in neighboring Norway's Arctic region.

The 12-day NATO exercise is called Nordic Response and begins on Sunday. Stubb said that he will go for one day, on March 7.

If someone had told me two years ago that the president of Finland would make his first working visit to NATO exercises a week after his inauguration, I wouldn't have believed it, Stubb told reporters at a news conference in the seaside Presidential Palace in Helsinki following inauguration ceremonies.

The 55-year-old former prime minister replaced President Sauli Niinisto, a highly popular leader who held the job for two six-year terms.

Stubb, a conservative, was elected head of state in a narrow Feb. 11 runoff victory against independent candidate and former Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto of a left-leaning party.

Stubb has held several government posts, including foreign minister, and led the Finnish government in 2014-2015. He and Niinisto arrived together in high hats at the 200-seat Eduskunta legislature for transition ceremonies that included inspection of a military guard.

Stubb took his oath in Finnish and Swedish, Finland's two official languages, becoming the country's 13th president since it gained independence from the Russian Empire in 1917.

Finland joined NATO in April following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Finland has the military alliance's longest land border with Russia  1,340 kilometers (830 miles)  and is one of the most active European providers of military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

Stubb said in his speech to lawmakers that as a result of allying ourselves militarily and joining NATO, we have taken the final step into the Western community of values" to which Finland has belonged "in spirit throughout its independence.

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The president of Finland, a nation of 5.6 million people, holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy together with the government. The president also commands the military.

In remarks at the Presidential Palace to the diplomatic corps, Stubb noted that we live in an era of unrest and disorder.

The things that were supposed to bring us together  interdependence, trade, technology, energy, information, and currency  are now too often tearing us apart, Stubb noted. As a result, in my mind, we are now looking at a landscape which is shaped by pretty much three dynamics, which are cooperation, competition and conflicts. "

Stubb said that as Finland's new head of state, I will do my best to make sure that conflicts are translated into competition, and that this competition provides genuine opportunities for cooperation.

Stubb is expected to remain above the fray of day-to-day politics and stay out of domestic political disputes while acting as a moral leader of the nation. Among other duties, the president appoints the prime minister and Cabinet members.

Niinisto said in his speech that there is concern about the future of NATO, and referred to a comment by former U.S. President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican Partys nomination this year, that he once warned a NATO ally that he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want to countries in the alliance that dont spend enough on defense.

The comment they must pay their bills was probably drafted for domestic use," Niinisto said. It is high time to awaken to securing the state of peace, in other words, to strengthen ourselves."

Speaking to Stubb, Niinisto said, I wish you strength and wisdom in these unpredictable times.

Until recently a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, Stubb holds a doctorate in international relations from the London School of Economics.

___

Jan M. Olsen contributed to this report from Copenhagen, Denmark.
(Bloomberg) -- Fisker Inc. is in talks with Japans Nissan Motor Co., people familiar with the matter said Friday, as the electric vehicle maker seeks a lifeline from liquidity challenges that have put its survival in doubt.

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The development comes a day after Chief Executive Officer Henrik Fisker said his eponymous company is discussing a capital infusion from a rival carmaker and issued a going-concern warning. Its the latest sign of stress in an electric vehicle market plagued by slowing growth and questions over consumer demand.

Fisker, which plans to cut 15% of its workforce, reported weaker-than-expected earnings results Thursday as it struggles with production issues, technical glitches and criticism from short sellers. EV makers of all sizes are also grappling with an industrywide slowdown in sales growth as consumer demand wanes.

Nissan may invest as much as $400 million in Fiskers truck platform and building a planned pickup starting in 2026 at one of its US assembly plants, Reuters reported earlier Friday.

Word of a potential rescue from Nissan stemmed losses in Fiskers shares, which had plunged as much as 48% in early trading. The stock closed down 34% in regular New York trading to a record low of 48 cents. It had fallen 76% last year and trades well below its 2021 peak.

The company said in a statement Thursday that its current capital may not be enough to sustain it over the next 12 months without additional funds. It reported cash and equivalents of $325.5 million as of Dec. 31, well below a $502.3 million average analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

With the capital challenges, Fisker said, there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.

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Fisker estimates it has about $500 million split between its vehicle and parts inventories, with current sales generating more cash.

It recorded $200.1 million in fourth-quarter sales, short of analyst estimates for $272.9 million. The company projected deliveries of between 20,000 and 22,000 EVs this year. It delivered 4,929 for all of 2023.

--With assistance from Chester Dawson.

(Updates from first paragraph with Nissan discussions, according to people familiar with the matter.)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
jetcityimage / Getty Images

SNAP recipients can now purchase groceries from healthy and sustainable online grocery store Thrive Market. According to a recent company news release, Thrive Market is the first online-only retailer approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to accept SNAP EBT.

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Thrive Markets SNAP EBT acceptance is a groundbreaking move in making healthy groceries more accessible and affordable, said Nick Green, Thrive Market co-founder and CEO. Our acceptance will redefine how Americans can access healthy options, irrespective of their geography, with deliveries directly to their door.

Thrive Market began accepting SNAP EBT in the contiguous U.S. at the end of February 2024. All EBT cardholders who join as new members are also eligible for a free one-year membership (normally $60 annually) through the Thrive Gives program. According to the company, the platform offers prices up to 30% below retail.

To sign up for a new Thrive Market membership, visit thrivemarket.com/ebt, and enter your EBT card number and PIN to gain access to more than 5,000 high-quality organic and sustainable products. Look for the SNAP eligible product label before adding items to your cart. Youll need a secondary form of payment to cover delivery fees or to purchase non-eligible SNAP items.

According to Nevin Cohen at the City University of New York, the USDA has been testing whether grocery delivery could help SNAP users, Marketplace reported. Stores like Walmart, Target and Costco have allowed EBT cardholders to purchase food online and in-store for the past several years. Online shopping is especially important for SNAP users with transportation or mobility issues, whether thats seniors, people with physical disabilities or caregivers of young children, Cohen added.

LaMonika Jones, director of the nonprofit D.C. Hunger Solutions, explained to Marketplace that residents of poor D.C. neighborhoods have just one or two local grocers to choose from. The alternative is taking a 30 or 40-minute ride on public transportation to purchase groceries. Jones said delivery fees can also be a barrier, but delivery services help SNAP users shop around for cheaper groceries outside their neighborhood.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Food Stamps: Major Online-Only Grocer Joins Walmart, Target and Costco in Accepting SNAP Benefits
Zach Brandon kept clicking refresh on his computer, trying to place his order for a free device that will dramatically reduce his worries about finding a charging station to power up his all-electric 2023 Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition.

A warning message on the Ford website repeatedly popped up on his screen early Thursday that said, "Due to surging demand, our site is temporarily unavailable. Please check back soon."

"The initial influx ... briefly interrupted the ordering process and we were able to quickly address it with customer orders flowing across the day. The huge interest highlights the importance of improving access to public charging," Ford spokesman Marty Gunsberg told the Detroit Free Press on Friday

Ford on Thursday launched an order link online for its EV owners to order free adaptors that would allow them to charge their vehicles at the Tesla fast-charging network, in addition to finding random charging stations. Access to the Tesla network, known for its dependability and thousands of locations, has been touted by Ford CEO Jim Farley since he brokered the deal with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in May.

We think this is a huge move for our industry and for all electric customers, Farley said at the time.

On Thursday, he tweeted an image of himself charging a Mach-E at a Tesla site and said, "I've tested it myself and it works great. Making something this easy to use takes a lot of hard work behind the scenes, so congrats to the @Ford and @Tesla teams for making this happen. I would also like to thank @ElonMusk and the Tesla team for their close collaboration and leadership to help change the lives of so many EV customers through improved access to charging."

Ford electric vehicle customers began placing orders Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 for these adapters, available for free through June, that provide access to the Tesla Supercharger network in the U.S. and Canada.

Brandon, 50, of Madison, Wisconsin, told the Detroit Free Press on Thursday, "This is a game changer."

After about two hours of trying to get into the Ford system, Brandon placed his order and received the email he wanted: "Your fast-charging adaptor is in production" with an estimated shipping date of June.

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Zach Brandon of Madison, Wisconsin, stands beside his 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition in his garage at home on Feb. 29, 2024. He has a home charging system and soon will receive a free charging adapter to access to the Tesla Superchargers network.

Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, said the small device will give him the freedom to drive longer distances without worrying about charging deserts. He has owned his all-electric SUV about a month.

"The opportunity to tap into additional charging infrastructure is exciting and, I think, validates why I bought a Ford EV," he said. "Now the Mach-E is my everyday driver and I dont have to ask my wife if we can trade cars or plan out my day beyond the charging infrastructure."

Concern about access to charging has been identified as a major obstacle to Americans buying electric vehicles. While people, including Brandon, begin their days with a full charge after plugging in their vehicles at home, and driving locally with little problem, longer trips require more planning. Or, as Brandon said, swapping cars with family members. He just sold his 2016 Mercedes E-400 and now his wife drives a 2017 Land Rover.

"My Ford window sticker says 260-mile range fully charged," Brandon said. "But the reality is, I have been averaging around 220 with city driving. Cold weather is likely the main reason for the difference. There is only one gear so little fuel efficiency is found with highway driving. I actually see less range when I drive on the highway. So this is another reason why access to Tesla Supercharger network helps."

This is the message Zach Brandon of Madison, Wisconsin, received on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 when he tried to order from the Ford Motor Co. website a free charging adapter for his 2023 Mustang Mach-E. The adapter provides access to the Tesla Superchargers network.

Timing couldn't have been better for Brandon. While he said he has zero concerns about charging in his community, which has a robust charging network, a business trip to Milwaukee had been an issue before he installed a charging system at home. He had to go to a charger at a Home Depot parking lot, then stop at a mall during dinner to charge. Then he had to drive out of his way past a bunch of Tesla charging stations to get to an Electrify America network that is standard for most electric vehicle drivers now.

"Now I don't have to view my EV as a local car. It's not out of the realm of possibility to do something cross-country now," Brandon said.

Zach Brandon of Madison, Wisconsin, stands beside a public charging network in his hometown on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. He said getting a free charging adapter for his 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Premium SUV to access the Tesla Superchargers network is a "game changer."

Ford said it will begin shipping the adapters at the end of March. The lag reflects the high number of orders that need to be fulfilled, Gunsberg said.

"Customers ordered around 25,000 adapters in the first few hours, meaning about 15% of eligible customers already have an adapter reserved," he said.

How many Tesla chargers will Ford drivers be able to access?

Doubling fast-charging options beyond the BlueOval Charge Network with more than 15,000 Tesla Superchargers has generated overwhelming enthusiasm from customers, based on response after Ford brokered a deal with Tesla, Gunsberg said.

"Even though most charging occurs at home, access to reliable public fast charging is a key barrier and this move makes a huge difference," he said.

A Cox Automotive study in 2023 found that 51% of consumers were considering either a new or used electric vehicle, up from 38% in 2021. But electric vehicles sales haven't cracked 10% of new-vehicle sales yet.

More: Ford inks deal selling 1,000 electric F-150 Lightnings, Mustang Mach-E SUVs

Ford has sold 165,940 electric vehicles from December 2020 through January 2024, including the Mach-E SUV, F-150 Lightning pickup and E-Transit van, Erich Merkle, Ford U.S. sales analyst, told the Free Press on Friday. The SUV and pickup together total 151,343 vehicles.

Soon, others will join

While Mach-E, F-150 Lightning retail customers and E-Transit van commercial customers may reserve a fast-charging adapter at no cost if ordered by June 30, future Ford EV customers may purchase the adapter from Ford for $230, including estimated tax and shipping, the automaker said.

I've tested it myself and it works great. Making something this easy to use takes a lot of hard work behind the scenes, so congrats to the @Ford and @Tesla teams for making this happen.



I would also like to thank @ElonMusk and the Tesla team for their close collaboration and pic.twitter.com/0x9hlAD8Ps  Jim Farley (@jimfarley98) February 29, 2024

Future Ford vehicles will have the North American Charging Standard connector built-in, eliminating the need for an adapter to access Tesla Superchargers, Ford said.

Other automakers, including General Motors, have said they'll follow Ford's lead in joining the Tesla network and switch to the proprietary Tesla plug, now called the North American Charging Standard, which is smaller and easier to use than the current plugs on most other EVs sold in the U.S. and Canada.

Adapters may be purchased privately by any electric vehicle owner. But Thursday was the first day that Ford vehicles could be charged at the Tesla sites.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X at @phoebesaid

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford owners crash order system trying to get adapter for Tesla network
(Bloomberg) -- Foreign firms and chambers in China expressed concern over a lack of feedback from Beijing on their plans to comply with new cross-border data rules, underscoring the risks and uncertainties of doing business there.

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The issue came up during a meeting between foreign firms and the Ministry of Commerce this week, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing a private event.

Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji acknowledged the concerns and said theres a lot of work involved in the introduction of the regulations, which needs to be coordinated with several departments, one of the people said.

Chinas new data laws, which give President Xi Jinpings government the power to shut down or fine companies that leak or mishandle sensitive information, have sparked widespread anxiety at foreign firms as they sought to comply with a November deadline. Beijing hasnt said much about the policy after proposing some exemptions in September. The draft measures havent been adopted.

The restrictions have prompted companies including Apple Inc. and Tesla Inc., as well as major global banks, to spend millions of dollars to localize data domestically. The strict rules, part of Beijings broader national security goals, have seen regulators seek out granular detail such as exact IP addresses for transfers and specifics about how much data companies have stored in China.

Some companies have submitted plans based on the stricter rules, while others are waiting for the exemptions to be finalized before making their move. Only some of those that submitted plans  such as the China operations of Hyundai Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.  have passed the security assessment.

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A German Chamber of Commerce survey conducted from late November to early December found that just 7% of those surveyed have submitted their application, and only 8% of those applications have been approved.

The Ministry of Commerce didnt respond to a faxed request for comment. It said in a statement Wednesday that more than 60 firms and nine foreign chambers participated in the meeting, and that the attendees said government measures to improve the business environment have achieved good results.

The Commerce Ministry has pledged to hold a roundtable meeting with foreign companies every month to hear and address their concerns. Authorities are seeking to allay fears about doing business in China amid an economic slowdown, foreign capital exodus and worsening geopolitics.

During the Wednesday meeting, foreign firms called for greater access to bid for government procurement projects, and highlighted other challenges including varied interpretations of state policies, according to the people.

--With assistance from Colum Murphy.

(Updates with survey findings in seventh paragraph)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
The former chief executive of Troy-based Flagstar Bank is now officially the top executive at the New York regional bank that bought Flagstar and recently came under financial pressure.

Long Island-based New York Community Bancorp. announced Thursday afternoon that Alessandro "Sandro" DiNello is now its president and CEO. The former president and CEO, Thomas Cangemi, has stepped down from those roles, but will remain on the bank's board, the announcement said.

Sandro DiNello

DiNello, now 69, was Flagstar's CEO at the time of the 2022 acquisition and had stayed on as NYCB's nonexecutive chairman.

More: Under pressure, Flagstar Bank's new corporate parent turns to familiar face

Earlier this month, DiNello was tapped to be NYCB's executive chairman in the wake of the bank's surprise $260 million quarterly loss, credit downgrade, stock price nosedive and anticipated future losses tied to its portfolio of commercial office and apartment building loans.

The bank also announced Thursday that it was decreasing its previously reported earnings by $2.4 billion, and that an ongoing assessment found "material weaknesses" in its internal controls pertaining to loan reviews, "resulting from ineffective oversight, risk assessment and monitoring activities."

"It is my mandate as president and CEO, alongside our board, to continue our transformation into a larger, more diversified commercial bank," Mr. DiNello said in a statement Thursday. "While we've faced recent challenges, we are confident in the direction of our bank and our ability to deliver for our customers, employees and shareholders in the long-term. The changes we're making to our board and leadership team are reflective of a new chapter that is underway."

Cangemi, who joined the bank in 2001 and had been its CEO since 2020, will stay on the board, a news release said. One member of the bank's board, Hanif Dahya, resigned this week, saying he didn't support the idea of making DiNello the CEO.

NYCB this month completed a rebranding and customer-facing systems conversion to the Flagstar name.

Flagstar had the seventh largest bank market share in Michigan last year based on federally insured deposits.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Former Flagstar CEO now officially top exec of embattled parent bank
HOLLAND  The Good Earth Cafe will, in fact, return to downtown Holland; this time on the second floor of The Towers on River.

The Towers on River made the announcement on social media Friday, March 1. The business will have new owners, with an opening expected in the spring or summer.

The Good Earth Cafe will, in fact, return to downtown Holland; this time on the second floor of The Towers on River.

The business first teased a reopening in mid-February, when its Facebook page once again became active several weeks after owners Dave and Cheryl Koeman retired.

The menu, ownership says, will remain largely the same, including breads, bagels, muffins, cookies, soups, smoothies, coffees and cream cheese.

The business will have 10 dedicated spaces of covered parking in The Towers, accessible off Seventh Street. Customers can also park in the municipal lots adjacent to and across from the building.

Updates will be posted under "The Good Earth  Holland, MI" on Facebook.

 Cassandra Lybrink is the local editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Good Earth Cafe to reopen in Towers on River
A logo of Google is seen on its office building in Hyderabad

By Aditya Kalra and Munsif Vengattil

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Google began removing the apps of 10 companies in India on Friday, including some popular matrimony apps such as Bharat Matrimony and job search app Naukri, in a dispute over service fee payments in one of the company's fastest-growing markets.

Indian startups have for years been protesting against many of the U.S. giant's practices, including its in-app fee charges. Google says its fees help develop and promote the Android and Play Store app ecosystem.

On Friday, India's Matrimony.com matchmaking apps Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony and Jodii were removed from Google's Play Store, its founder Murugavel Janakiraman told Reuters.

He said it was a dark day for India's internet.

"Our apps are getting deleted one by one. It literally means all the top matrimony services will be deleted," he said.

Matrimonial apps and websites have been growing in popularity in India as younger people shun traditional matchmaking by parents.

Matrimony.com's Bharat Matrimony app had been downloaded more than 50 million times, Janakiraman said. The company said it has more than 40 million customers.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, sent notices on Friday of Play Store violations to Matrimony.com and Info Edge.

Info Edge's job search app Naukri and real estate search firm 99acres were also removed, according to Google Play Store listings.

Matrimony.com shares fell as much as 2.7% initially but closed up 2.2% on Friday, while Info Edge dropped 1.5% before paring losses.

The dispute centres on efforts by some Indian startups to stop Google from imposing a fee of 11% to 26% on in-app payments, after the country's antitrust authorities ordered it to dismantle an earlier system of charging 15% to 30%.

But Google effectively received the go-ahead to charge the fee or remove apps after two court decisions in January and February, one by the Supreme Court.

Story continues

Earlier on Friday, Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani told Reuters it had cleared all pending Google invoices in a timely manner and was compliant with its policies.

In a blog post, Google said 10 Indian companies had chosen for an extended period of time not to pay for the "immense value they receive on Google Play". It did not identify the firms.

"For years, no court or regulator has denied Google Play's right to charge," the company said.

Google said allowing some developers "to get differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who are paying their fair share creates an uneven playing field."

Google dominates the Indian market as 94% of phones are based on its Android platform.

Only 3% of the more than 200,000 Indian developers who use the Google Play platform are required to pay any service fee, Google said.

In 2020, Google briefly removed popular Indian payments app Paytm from its Play Store citing some policy violations. The move led to the company's founder and the wider startup industry joining together to challenge Google by launching their own app stores and filing legal cases.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill, Elaine Hardcastle)
(Bloomberg) -- The rebound in Chinese stocks is puzzling given the lack of support from earnings growth, according to an emerging markets fund manager at GQG Partners LLC.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Its difficult to ascertain the state of the market recovery as measures taken by the Chinese authorities have led to a confusing environment impacting price discovery, particularly when earnings growth remains weak, Sudarshan Murthy, co-manager of the $18.8 billion GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, said in an interview by phone last week.

Benchmark Chinese stock gauges soared more than 9% in February, snapping months of losses, after the authorities clamped down on quants and high-speed trading, with analysts also pointing to purchases made by state-backed funds. Murthys questions underscore how global investors are unconvinced by the gains, given an economy struggling with deflation and a property crisis.

Its symptomatic of a broader problem, Murthy said, referring to the recent policy measures. Were still waiting and evaluating the data. Maybe its confusing for all of us. I think the key is to get some comfort on the sustainability of earnings growth because the last five years havent been good.

On Friday, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, a gauge of US-listed Chinese stocks, gained 1.1% in early US trading.

GQGs emerging markets fund beat 99% of peers with a 38% return in the past year, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. It had only 5.7% of its portfolio in China equities as of end-January.

Earnings for the MSCI China Index are estimated to have grown a mere 1.6% in 2023, with the five-year average showing a 3.3% decline. In the previous decade, the average annual gain was 6%.

Story continues

For a variety of reasons, the larger companies in China were not delivering on earnings growth, said Murthy. While there are reasons for regulators to crack down on quant funds, it may lead to unintended consequences as investors like a stable regulatory environment, he said.

Others have questioned the sustainability of the rally. UBS Global Wealth Management is staying defensive, citing multiple false dawns. Hedge funds have added short positions amid the rebound, Morgan Stanley said last month.

--With assistance from Kit Rees.

(Updates to add detail on Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index in fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Harvard Business School MBA Accused Of Defrauding Alums In $2.9M Ponzi Scheme

A Harvard Business School MBA has been accused by New York states attorney general of operating a $2.9 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 29 investors  including one who allegedly committed suicide when he discovered he had lost all of his investment.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday (February 29) accused HBS Class of 2003 MBA Vladimir Artamonov of tricking investors by promising them returns of 500% to 1,000% by claiming to learn which investments Berkshire Hathaway  Warren Buffetts holding company  planned to make.

Among those who the court order indicates provided affidavits against Artamonov are three of his Harvard classmates from 21 years ago: Mei Shibata, currently a partner at Oliver Wyman; Arndt Nicklisch, chief investment officer of James Campbell Co., a real estate firm based in Hawaii; and Rahul Mehendale, a managing director at Deloitte.

The legal action represents a big fall for a once high-flying New York City social climber who played in the Pretty Young Thing society circuit, made evident by the numerous paparazzi snaps of him at various city galleries and hot spots. Hes been photographed at the Electric Room, The New York Edition, and HG Contemporary Gallery with one-time model Quinta Witzel and former Olympic skater Alexandra Duisberg who once dated ex-Google executive Eric Schmidt. He attended the midsummer summer solstice celebration at the PUBLIC Hotel with David Roeske, a mountain climber cum finance exec known for his ascents of Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Broad Peak, and K2.

PERILS OF AN MBA NETWORK

Harvard Business School MBA Accused Of Defrauding Alums In $2.9M Ponzi Scheme

Vladimir Artamonov. LinkedIn

According to Attorney General James, Artamonov used persuasive skills to get otherwise intelligent friends and acquaintances to part with their money. Even sophisticated investors can be conned by fraudsters, especially when personal relationships and networks are used to build a false sense of trust, Letitia James says in a statement from her office. Vladimir Artamonov used his alumnus status from Harvard Business School to prey on his classmates and others while seeming legitimate and dependable. Instead, he has been scamming people out of their investments, with horrific consequences. Today, we have put a stop to this scheme and encourage anyone who has been defrauded to come forward to my office.

Story continues

James, best known for recently securing a half-billion-dollar judgment against Donald Trump for fraud in one of the former presidents many ongoing legal cases, says her office has obtained a court order blocking Artamonov from harming investors through his fraudulent scheme, and from withdrawing and transferring funds in his bank and brokerage accounts.

A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors. Artamonov is accused of losing millions in investors funds by buying short-term options but not disclosing his losses and instead using new investments to repay existing investors. Artamonov also used his investors money to fund unauthorized personal expenses for vacations, shopping, and dining, James office says.

From September 2021 through the present, James office says, Artamonov solicited money for an investment fund that he called Project Information Arbitrage or the Artamonov Fund; he identified many of his investors through the HBS alumni network, many of whom did not have a close personal relationship with him and only knew him as an acquaintance.

ARTAMONOV FOUNDED HIS OWN HEDGE FUND IN 2009

Since 2021, Artamonov has secured at least $2.9 million from at least 29 individual investors and engaged in a Ponzi scheme by paying the existing investors with the new investors fund, James office says in the statement. For instance, in October of 2022, Artamonov received $100,000 from an investor, and lost virtually all of these funds within a few weeks on short-term options. But when the investor asked for an update, Artamonov told the investor that he had yet to invest and solicited an additional $50,000 from him.

The fraud came to James office attention when it learned about an investor who killed himself after discovering he had lost $100,000 in Artamonovs alleged scheme. Yet, Even after the tragedy, Artamonov continued to solicit new investors and lied to them regarding the funds strategy and performance, James office says.

Contacted for comment by CNBC, Mark Cautela, HBS spokesman, responded in an email: We just found out about this earlier today. We have no additional comment.

Artamonovs LinkedIn account identifies him as an investment professional at Greenlight Capital, a New York City-based hedge fund with a $4.5 billion portfolio; however, he has not worked there for more than 15 years since leaving the firm in December 2008. Since 2009 he has worked as a portfolio manager at Coastal Investment Management, a California-based value-focused hedge fund that he founded along with Todd Plutsky. According to data insights firm Preqin, Coastal employs a long/short equity strategy that focuses on special situations. The firms flagship fund, Coastal Investment Partners, was launched in July 2009.

Before attending Harvard Business School in 2001, he worked for two years at Merrill Lynch as a financial analyst in its M&A group, a job he got after graduating from The Wharton School in 1999.

DONT MISS B-SCHOOL DEAN FOUND GUILTY OF MBA RANKINGS FRAUD

The post Harvard Business School MBA Accused Of Defrauding Alums In $2.9M Ponzi Scheme appeared first on Poets&Quants.
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. For example, biotech and mining exploration companies often lose money for years before finding success with a new treatment or mineral discovery. Nonetheless, only a fool would ignore the risk that a loss making company burns through its cash too quickly.

So, the natural question for Alcidion Group (ASX:ALC) shareholders is whether they should be concerned by its rate of cash burn. In this article, we define cash burn as its annual (negative) free cash flow, which is the amount of money a company spends each year to fund its growth. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for Alcidion Group

Does Alcidion Group Have A Long Cash Runway?

A company's cash runway is calculated by dividing its cash hoard by its cash burn. When Alcidion Group last reported its December 2023 balance sheet in February 2024, it had zero debt and cash worth AU$7.9m. Importantly, its cash burn was AU$6.5m over the trailing twelve months. That means it had a cash runway of around 15 months as of December 2023. Importantly, analysts think that Alcidion Group will reach cashflow breakeven in around 20 months. That means it doesn't have a great deal of breathing room, but it shouldn't really need more cash, considering that cash burn should be continually reducing. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

How Well Is Alcidion Group Growing?

Notably, Alcidion Group actually ramped up its cash burn very hard and fast in the last year, by 156%, signifying heavy investment in the business. That's not ideal, but we're made even more nervous given that operating revenue was flat over the same period. Considering both these metrics, we're a little concerned about how the company is developing. While the past is always worth studying, it is the future that matters most of all. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

Story continues

How Hard Would It Be For Alcidion Group To Raise More Cash For Growth?

Alcidion Group revenue is declining and its cash burn is increasing, so many may be considering its need to raise more cash in the future. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Commonly, a business will sell new shares in itself to raise cash and drive growth. By looking at a company's cash burn relative to its market capitalisation, we gain insight on how much shareholders would be diluted if the company needed to raise enough cash to cover another year's cash burn.

Alcidion Group has a market capitalisation of AU$67m and burnt through AU$6.5m last year, which is 9.7% of the company's market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.

Is Alcidion Group's Cash Burn A Worry?

On this analysis of Alcidion Group's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. There's no doubt that shareholders can take a lot of heart from the fact that analysts are forecasting it will reach breakeven before too long. While we're the kind of investors who are always a bit concerned about the risks involved with cash burning companies, the metrics we have discussed in this article leave us relatively comfortable about Alcidion Group's situation. Its important for readers to be cognizant of the risks that can affect the company's operations, and we've picked out 2 warning signs for Alcidion Group that investors should know when investing in the stock.

Of course Alcidion Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

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.
PARIS, March 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

HSBC Continental Europe informs the public that the universal registration document including the 2023 annual financial report was filed with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on 1 March 2024 under number [D.24-0076].

This document is made available free of charge to the public under the conditions provided for by the regulations in force and can be consulted in the "Investor Relations" area of the website of the Company (www.hsbc.fr) and that of the AMF (www.amf-france.org).

The tables in the appendices of the HSBC Continental Europe 2023 Annual and Second Half Results press release published on 21 February 2024 have been updated following the completion of audit procedures relating to the accounts and can be consulted in the "news and media" area of the website of the Company (www.hsbc.fr).

Communique de presse publie par

HSBC Continental Europe

Siege social :

38 avenur Kleber

75116 Paris

Site internet : www.hsbc.fr

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240301490102/en/

Contacts

HSBC Continental Europe
jeremy hunt

Jeremy Hunt has been forced to abandon plans for a package of support for first-time buyers in the Budget, after economic forecasts left him with little room for tax cuts.

The Chancellor had been considering a raft of initiatives to help first-time buyers, including shaking up the Lifetime Isa savings product to reflect the rise in house prices and offering government-backed 99pc mortgages.

There had also been speculation that the Chancellor could make an announcement on stamp duty, which is set to rise substantially when a temporary cut ends in 2025.

The One Nation group of more than a hundred Conservative MPs this week called for stamp duty to be axed for buyers looking to downsize and changes to allow first-time buyers to put a quarter of their tax-free pension savings towards a deposit.

The Telegraph has already revealed that plans for 99pc mortgages have been scrapped after a backlash from banks. Treasury insiders said any other support for first-time buyers in next Wednesdays Budget was now unlikely.

Public finances are so tight the Budget has to be slimmed down further, they said.

It comes after the Treasury on Friday received its final set of forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which scrutinises the Governments spending plans.

While political expectation management ahead of any fiscal statement is common, economists have also warned that the Chancellor has little room for manoeuvre.

Mr Hunt had been expected to announce a set of housing measures aimed at younger voters after Keir Starmer made the property crisis central to Labours election campaign.

The Treasury had been briefing that it was planning to reform the Lifetime Isa, which is designed to help 18-to-39-year-olds save for their first home or retirement.

Lifetime Isa savings can be used to buy a home worth up to 450,000, a threshold that has been frozen since 2017.

House prices have risen by more than 30pc in that time, meaning many young people are forced to pay a fine to withdraw money to buy a home.

Story continues

Campaigners including Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert have warned that the savings product is penalising thousands of young savers. The Government made 33m from withdrawal penalties in 2021/2022, according to HMRC data.

Ministers had also been drawing up plans for a 99pc-mortgage guarantee for first-time buyers struggling to save enough for a deposit, but abandoned the plans after a backlash from banks warning it was irresponsible.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove recently warned that young people would abandon democracy if they could not afford somewhere to live.

Experts have also said that spiralling housing costs are a key reason why the UKs birth rate has fallen to a record low.

In a scramble for cash to fund tax cuts for millions of workers, Mr Hunt is understood to be considering a tax raid on non-doms, as first proposed by Labour, and extending the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

A reduction in the rate of National Insurance or income tax are believed to be the leading options for tax cuts.

A HM Treasury spokesman said: The existing scheme providing a 95pc loan to value mortgage was introduced in April 2021, has so far enabled over 39,000 households to buy a home  over 86pc of which are first-time buyers.

At the Autumn Statement the scheme was extended for a further two years to provide additional support for first-time buyers.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Codelco, the world's largest copper producer, is seen at their headquarter in downtown Santiago

By Fabian Cambero and Alexander Villegas

CALAMA, Chile (Reuters) - Beneath the world's largest open-pit copper mine in Chile lies a tunnel complex filled with dust so dense that machines frequently break down and workers can't operate without spacesuit-like helmets.

Conveyer belts often stall and have caused at least one fire. Construction mistakes have led to collapses and two large electromagnets designed to clear damaging objects haven't been functional in four years.

This, according to over a dozen workers interviewed by Reuters, is the situation at Chuquicamata Subterranea (PMCHS), a $5 billion dollar flagship project of Chile's state copper miner Coldelco that was meant to transform the open-pit mine into an underground operation.

Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco, asked by Reuters about the workers' complaints, did not dispute their accounts and said the company had learned from its past mistakes.

PMCHS is one of four mega projects Codelco has launched, called structural projects, designed to extend the life of its key mines and compensate for a drop in ore grades.

As the world races towards cleaner energy, demand for copper - used as a conductor in everything from wind farms to solar panels - is skyrocketing. The average electric car uses four times as much copper wiring as an internal combustion car.

Chile is the world's largest supplier of the red metal and Codelco accounts for just over a quarter of the country's output.

The overhaul at PMCHS should extend the mine's lifespan by 50 years but the underground mine has been dogged by delays, collapses and construction difficulties.

After it was inaugurated in 2019, PMCHS was expected to produce 385,000 metric tons in 2023. Instead, it produced 268,000 in 2022 and just 178,000 in the first nine months of 2023 due to the slower rollout of the project.

Reuters spoke to more than a dozen Codelco employees at key mines, headquarters and unions, and reviewed hundreds of pages of internal company reports, financial statements and regulatory documents and investigations to assess the causes behind the delays.

Story continues

The employees, who asked not to be identified due to confidentiality agreements, said there had been no accountability for the management team and top-level executives despite financial troubles, worker injuries and even deaths.

Chile's Sernageomin mining regulator told Reuters that Codelco had been sanctioned 29 times since 2021 and has had seven fatal accidents. Most of the incidents were in project construction and not routine mining operations, it said.

"While the accidents have different causes, there are certain common factors related to breaches in control mechanisms," the agency told Reuters.

In an interview at Codelco headquarters in Santiago, Pacheco said there had been a lack of maintenance partly due to supply chain and staffing issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. This caused a series of delays and equipment failures that are still being felt, he said.

"We didn't do programmed maintenance during COVID because we focused all our efforts on maintaining production," said Pacheco, appointed in March 2022. "Now we're paying for that."

Delays in structural projects also affected maintenance since the company was forced to keep using machinery it had planned on retiring after new projects came online.

Pacheco said a drop in ore grade, extreme weather events such as a drought and then heavy floods in 2023, combined with accidents at mines also hurt production. Overall production fell to 1.325 million metric tons last year from 1.62 million in 2021.

Pacheco and other executives said they expect the slump to revert in 2024 as more projects come online and Codelco's Ministro Hales mine normalizes operations after a massive landslide in 2022.

On Jan. 18, Codelco said it would invest an additional $720 million in PMCHS. The project, originally launched with several others in 2008, was supposed to see construction finished by 2017, but that's now delayed until 2025.

Pacheco said the company would dedicate more resources to maintenance and put a strict monitoring process in place.

"We make mistakes here," Pacheco said, refering to the workers' complaints about executive impunity. "I understand people want every mistake to be paid with blood. I prefer that mistakes are paid with lessons learned."

CHUQUICAMATA'S MAINTENANCE WOES

Five of the workers Reuters spoke to said many of the problems stemmed from when management from Codelco's El Teniente mine, the world's largest underground copper deposit, took over the PMCHS project in 2019 but failed to adjust for Chuquicamata's geology compared to the rocky mountains of El Teniente.

Located in Chile's northern desert region, Chuquicamata's underground operation has sandier and finer soil than El Teniente.

A high-level executive, who asked not to be identified, said the PMCHS management team had made mistakes due to overconfidence in their experience of underground mining at El Teniente.

Reuters' request to interview the local mine manager was denied.

The workers told the news agency that maintenance had been "completely abandoned" in the mine. They described a dearth of spare parts and a lack of back-up systems, meaning many malfunctions completely halt operations.

One worker told Reuters during a December trip to Calama in northern Chile, where the mine is based, that some machines that were supposed to be retired in 2019 were still in use.

The worker said only four of the mine's 10 large mining trucks are operational due to failure or maintenance and machinery frequently breaks down due to the abundance of fine material.

The worker said two belts should be moving 11,000 metric tons of material a day but haven't been able to move more than 6,000 tons.

Reuters could not verify this information independently.

A previously unreported 2023 sanction by government regulator Sernageomin, reviewed by Reuters, said a serious tunnel collapse in Chuqui was caused by major construction changes that weren't submitted for approval by the regulator.

The report says the company used fewer, weaker rebars that were spaced further apart than originally planned. It also replaced steel frames with insufficiently stable retaining walls.

The report pointed to five previous "collapses or landslides" in 2020 that showed changes made by the company were major and inefficient.

Pacheco did not comment on the specifics of the report and the company did not reply to further questions on the investigations.

STRUCTURAL PROJECTS: FROM SAVIOR TO BURDEN

All four of Codelco's megaprojects have been delayed by years, faced cost overruns totaling billions and suffered accidents and operational problems while failing to deliver the promised boost in production, according to the company's own projections.

Codelco hands over its profits to the state and the company has often complained that this has hampered its investment abilities and led to its debt problems.

Juan Carlos Guajardo, head of the consultancy Plusmining in Santiago, said that while mining projects are rarely finished on time and on budget, Codelco "has had some significant strategic errors," especially attempting simultaneous projects.

One of the other megaprojects is expanding El Teniente. An 8-kilometer tunnel that aims to expand the mine's life by 50 years was supposed to go live in 2017. It was advancing at about half a meter a day with 500 meters of tunnel left to go, then-CEO Andre Sougarret said in August.

The expansion, done with explosives, generated unexpected seismic events due to built-up pressure from rock blasts.

A 2021 report by regulator Sernageomin, reviewed by Reuters, showed that the tunnel fortification wasn't strong enough to withstand blasts it was designed for.

The previously unreported document says the tunnel was designed to withstand a 1.9 Magnitude (Mw) event, but a tunnel roof and sidewall collapsed during a 1.7Mw event on Sept. 26, 2020. The report noted there's a high chance such events would continue happening.

In July, a seismic event caused by a rock blast led to a collapse that left one worker temporarily trapped. Twelve others were evaluated at health centers but with no serious injuries.

In response, Codelco said it was preparing a report by the end of the year investigating the cause and analyzing measures to improve fortification systems. The report has yet to be published.

"If it's complex to do one megaproject, it's a lot more complex to do four simultaneously," Pacheco said, adding that the projects were already well underway by the time he took over. "We would have preferred to do them successively."

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Alexander Villegas; editing by Christian Plumb and Claudia Parsons)
Andrew Harrison, the Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK), has sold 6,500 shares of the company on February 28, 2024, according to a recent SEC filing. The transaction was executed at an average price of $38.36 per share, resulting in a total value of $249,340.

Alaska Air Group Inc, the parent company of Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, and other subsidiaries, operates as an airline company primarily in the United States. The company provides passenger and cargo air transportation services. It also focuses on providing frequent, reliable air service to multiple destinations and crafting an appealing customer experience.

Over the past year, Andrew Harrison has engaged in the sale of 6,500 shares and has not made any purchases of the company's stock. This latest transaction continues a pattern of insider selling activity at Alaska Air Group Inc, with a total of 3 insider sells and only 1 insider buy over the past year.

Shares of Alaska Air Group Inc were trading at $38.36 on the day of the transaction, giving the company a market capitalization of $4.714 billion. The price-earnings ratio of the company stands at 20.66, which is above the industry median of 13.83 and also exceeds the historical median price-earnings ratio for the company.

The stock's price-to-GF-Value ratio is currently 0.63, with a GF Value of $60.53. This suggests that Alaska Air Group Inc is categorized as a "Possible Value Trap, Think Twice" according to the GF Value metric. The GF Value is calculated based on historical trading multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor, and future business performance estimates provided by Morningstar analysts.

Insider Sell: EVP and CCO Andrew Harrison Sells 6,500 Shares of Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK)

Insider Sell: EVP and CCO Andrew Harrison Sells 6,500 Shares of Alaska Air Group Inc (ALK)

The insider selling trend at Alaska Air Group Inc, as well as the current valuation metrics, may be of interest to investors monitoring insider behaviors and assessing the company's stock value.

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.


Attack on the Assyrian Defense Forces Must Be Condemned: Kurdish Party

The Co-Presidency of the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) Executive Council issued a statement to condemn the attack by Turkey on 28 February targeting three Sotoro (Assyrian/Syriac Defense Forces) members in Derik.

The statement said: "Following another attack by the genocidal imperialist Turkish state on February 28, 2024, three Sotoro members were martyred while two members were injured after the Assyrian defense forces were targeted in the city of Derik.

To begin with, we honor and commemorate all the martyrs of the revolution and of democracy, including the three Sotoro members who gave their lives while on duty. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Assyrian people and the people of Northern and Eastern Syria. We deeply condemn the enemy of the people, the fascist AKP-MHP regime, and this horrific massacre by the Turkish state."

The statement added: "In solidarity with all the peoples of the world, we acknowledge the suffering of our Assyrian-Syriac people. With this attack, the Turkish state and the fascist AKP-MHP administration have once again shown their aggressive, homicidal, and fascist face and proven that they are hostile to the peoples. The Turkish state's murderous mindset and politics have become so ingrained that it has a profound fear of the liberation of the peoples and uses this fear to target all peoples alike. Like a scorpion, it spits poison. With these racist, genocidal, and fascist sentiments, the Turkish state assaults the Rojava Revolution and the peoples of Northern and Eastern Syria, carrying out murders on a daily basis. We denounce all the assaults and killings carried out by the Turkish government and urge all peoples to strengthen their solidarity and unity in the face of this brutal and deadly enemy."

The statement continued: "The Assyrian-Syriac people are one of the most ancient peoples of Mesopotamia. With their rich cultural legacy and deeply ingrained history, the Assyrian-Syriac people have also endured numerous atrocities and immense suffering. In the past too, genocide was committed against the Assyrian-Syriac people by the murderous imperialist Turkish regime. With the Rojava Revolution, the Assyrian-Syriac people gained the freedom to live according to their language, culture, religion, and history and to exercise their will like any other people after a century of atrocities and suffering. The Turkish government, unwilling to accept this, is attempting to repress the peoples and force them back into slavery through occupation, attacks, and massacres. The Turkish government is slaughtering people in public, destroying lives, and committing atrocities in broad daylight.

The solidarity of the Kurds with the peoples of the Middle East and Mesopotamia and their shared desire for freedom is the main reason of the Turkish state's enmity towards the Kurdish people. The AKP-MHP government now seeks to sever the peoples' solidarity through these attacks, playing century-old games and policies to turn the people against one another. Targeting the Assyrian people and their defense forces in Rojava is part of this game. Nevertheless, the stance of the Kurdish people and the Kurdish Freedom Movement has always been one of solidarity, and this stance has rocked the foundations of genocidal colonialism."

The statement concluded: "The freedom of the Kurdish people, as well as the Assyrian-Syriac people, is a source of anxiety and hatred for the AKP-MHP government. The fact that the Assyrian language was spoken in the Turkish parliament on World Mother Language Day, among other languages, was met with outrage by the AKP-MHP government. Now this attack on February 28 is a result of the same enmity.

Through a united effort, we believe that our Assyrian-Syriac people will destroy the AKP-MHP government's intentions for genocide by further enhancing their solidarity within the framework of the paradigm of the 'Democratic Nation'.

We again offer our condolences to the Assyrian-Syriac people for their martyrs and hope that the wounded heal quickly. The Assyrian-Syriac people, like the Kurdish people, should not flee their country; rather, they should protect their homeland alongside the other peoples of Northern and Eastern Syria."
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Hormel Foods is US$66.34 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Hormel Foods is estimated to be 47% undervalued based on current share price of US$35.32

The US$31.38 analyst price target for HRL is 53% less than our estimate of fair value

How far off is Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present 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.

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.

See our latest analysis for Hormel Foods

Crunching The Numbers

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:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$891.5m US$842.0m US$1.16b US$1.28b US$1.38b US$1.46b US$1.54b US$1.60b US$1.66b US$1.71b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 10.32% Est @ 7.91% Est @ 6.23% Est @ 5.04% Est @ 4.22% Est @ 3.64% Est @ 3.23% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 6.0% US$841 US$750 US$972 US$1.0k US$1.0k US$1.0k US$1.0k US$1.0k US$985 US$959

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$9.6b

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 (2.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 6.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = US$1.7b (1 + 2.3%)  (6.0% 2.3%) = US$48b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$48b ( 1 + 6.0%)10= US$27b

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$36b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of US$35.3, the company appears quite good value at a 47% 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

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. 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 Hormel Foods as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 6.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Hormel Foods

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

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 Food market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Trading below our estimate of fair value by more than 20%.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market.

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. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For Hormel Foods, we've compiled three essential elements you should explore:

Risks: To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Hormel Foods . Future Earnings: How does HRL'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.
Key Insights

Tambun Indah Land Berhad's estimated fair value is RM1.58 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Tambun Indah Land Berhad is estimated to be 43% undervalued based on current share price of RM0.90

Analyst price target for TAMBUN is RM0.91 which is 42% below our fair value estimate

Does the March share price for Tambun Indah Land Berhad (KLSE:TAMBUN) 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. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

View our latest analysis for Tambun Indah Land Berhad

The Model

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM53.2m RM59.8m RM59.2m RM59.4m RM60.2m RM61.5m RM63.0m RM64.7m RM66.7m RM68.8m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 0.41% Est @ 1.35% Est @ 2.01% Est @ 2.47% Est @ 2.79% Est @ 3.01% Est @ 3.17% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 11% RM47.9 RM48.5 RM43.3 RM39.2 RM35.7 RM32.9 RM30.3 RM28.1 RM26.1 RM24.2

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM356m

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.5%) 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 11%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM69m (1 + 3.5%)  (11% 3.5%) = RM955m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM955m ( 1 + 11%)10= RM336m

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 RM692m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM0.9, the company appears quite good value at a 43% 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

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. 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 Tambun Indah Land Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.175. 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 Tambun Indah Land Berhad

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 4 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Dividends are not covered by cash flow.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.

Next Steps:

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. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" 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. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Tambun Indah Land Berhad, we've put together three fundamental items you should further examine:

Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for Tambun Indah Land Berhad we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does TAMBUN's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of HSBC is seen on its headquarters in the financial Central district in Hong Kong

By Selena Li

HONG KONG (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase has selected HSBC and Standard Chartered to operate its custody businesses in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with assets worth more than $500 billion, a spokesperson for the U.S. bank said.

Reuters reported in December JPMorgan, the world's third-largest global custodian, was set to outsource the operations of its local custody business in Hong Kong and Taiwan with Citigroup, HSBC and StanChart in the race for the mandate.

The Wall Street bank has decided to outsource its local custodian in Hong Kong to HSBC and Taiwan to StanChart, the spokesperson said. Financial details of the deal were not immediately known.

Totalled assets under custody across the two North Asia markets stood at around $520 billon in December, Reuters reported at that time, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.

JPMorgan is aiming to complete the transition to the two banks before the end of this year, according to two separate sources with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Fiona Horsewill, global head of Securities Services at HSBC, said the bank looked forward to being appointed by JPMorgan in its home market of Hong Kong and further deepening its relationship in this space.

Margaret Harwood-Jones, global head of Financing and Securities Services at StanChart, said the bank is thrilled to extend its relationship with JPMorgan through this appointment in an important Asian market.

The appointment by JPMorgan was first reported by Global Custodian on Wednesday.

Asset custodians hold investors' securities for safekeeping to prevent them from being lost. They also manage transactions, and settlements to ensure client accounts' compliance with tax and other regulations.

JPMorgan provides both global and local custodian services for clients in Hong Kong and Taiwan but has decided to withdraw from the local level as the cost-income ratio has gone up amid a decline in assets, two sources said in December.

The bank in 2020 ceased to offer local custody services for external clients in Australia while maintaining one of the largest global custodian operations in the market.

(Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Stephen Coates)
Some investors rely on dividends for growing their wealth, and if you're one of those dividend sleuths, you might be intrigued to know that Volcano Berhad (KLSE:VOLCANO) is about to go ex-dividend in just 4 days. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. This means that investors who purchase Volcano Berhad's shares on or after the 5th of March will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 20th of March.

The company's next dividend payment will be RM00.005 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed RM0.011 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Volcano Berhad has a trailing yield of 1.6% on the current stock price of RM00.67. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing.

See our latest analysis for Volcano Berhad

Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Fortunately Volcano Berhad's payout ratio is modest, at just 32% of profit. A useful secondary check can be to evaluate whether Volcano Berhad generated enough free cash flow to afford its dividend. Dividends consumed 52% of the company's free cash flow last year, which is within a normal range for most dividend-paying organisations.

It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously.

Story continues

Click here to see how much of its profit Volcano Berhad paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. Volcano Berhad's earnings per share have fallen at approximately 10% a year over the previous five years. Such a sharp decline casts doubt on the future sustainability of the dividend.

Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. Volcano Berhad has seen its dividend decline 8.9% per annum on average over the past two years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

To Sum It Up

Is Volcano Berhad an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? Earnings per share have fallen significantly, although at least Volcano Berhad paid out less than half of its profits and free cash flow over the last year, leaving some margin of safety. It might be worth researching if the company is reinvesting in growth projects that could grow earnings and dividends in the future, but for now we're not all that optimistic on its dividend prospects.

With that being said, if dividends aren't your biggest concern with Volcano Berhad, you should know about the other risks facing this business. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Volcano Berhad you should be aware of.

A common investing mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a full list of high-yield dividend stocks.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Kimlun Corporation Berhad (KLSE:KIMLUN) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: RM852.6m (up 13% from FY 2022).

Net income: RM7.06m (up from RM7.23m loss in FY 2022).

Profit margin: 0.8% (up from net loss in FY 2022). The move to profitability was driven by higher revenue.

EPS: RM0.02 (up from RM0.02 loss in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Kimlun Corporation Berhad Earnings Insights

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 25% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 10% growth forecast for the Construction industry in Malaysia.

Performance of the Malaysian Construction industry.

The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

It's necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Kimlun Corporation Berhad (at least 1 which is significant), and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.
(Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co. is exploring a possible sale of its stake in Metro Pacific Health, the biggest private hospital operator in the Philippines, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The private equity firm is seeking financial advisers to help prepare a potential sale of its stake in the health-care services provider, the people said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. New York-listed KKR could seek a valuation of at least $3 billion for the company, the people said.

The stake could draw interest from other buyout firms and industry players, one of the people said. Deliberations are ongoing and KKR could decide to keep its holding for longer, the people said.

A representative for KKR declined to comment.

A KKR-led consortium including Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte bought into what was then Metro Pacific Hospitals in 2019 at a valuation of $1.6 billion. It was renamed Metro Pacific Health in 2022.

Read More: GIC-Backed Philippine Hospital Mulls Reviving $1 Billion IPO

Metro Pacific Health President Augusto Palisoc told Bloomberg News he wasnt aware of any sale plan by KKR and declined to comment directly on the matter. The companys management continues to focus on growing our network and our business, and becoming more efficient, so we can continue to deliver quality and affordable health care, he wrote in a text message.

Read More: Metro Pacific to Double Hospitals in Eight Years, President Says

Metro Pacific Health has 23 hospitals around the Philippines, 26 outpatient facilities and six cancer care centers, as well as health colleges and a laboratory, according to its website. The companys parent is Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which Bloomberg reported this week is considering combining its toll road business with San Miguel Corp.s.

Story continues

--With assistance from Dong Cao and Cliff Venzon.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Key Insights

Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad's estimated fair value is RM6.17 based on Dividend Discount Model

Current share price of RM7.14 suggests Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad is potentially trading close to its fair value

Industry average of 5.9% suggests Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad's peers are currently trading at a lower premium to fair value

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad (KLSE:AMWAY) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. 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 Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad

Is Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad Fairly Valued?

We have to calculate the value of Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad slightly differently to other stocks because it is a specialty retail company. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. This often underestimates the value of a stock, but it can still be good as a comparison to competitors. We use the Gordon Growth Model, which assumes dividend will grow into perpetuity at a rate that can be sustained. The dividend is expected to grow at an annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.5%. We then discount this figure to today's value at a cost of equity of 11%. Compared to the current share price of RM7.1, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

Story continues

Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)

= RM0.5 / (11%  3.5%)

= RM6.2

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. 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 Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.251. 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.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad, there are three pertinent elements you should look at:

Risks: You should be aware of the 2 warning signs for Amway (Malaysia) Holdings Berhad (1 is a bit unpleasant!) we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does AMWAY's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Key Insights

Koninklijke Heijmans' estimated fair value is 13.27 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Koninklijke Heijmans' 15.52 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Peers of Koninklijke Heijmans are currently trading on average at a 19% discount

How far off is Koninklijke Heijmans N.V. (AMS:HEIJM) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will 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.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. 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 Koninklijke Heijmans

What's The Estimated Valuation?

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. Seeing as no analyst estimates of free cash flow are available to us, we have extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the company's last 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) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (, Millions) 32.6m 25.2m 21.2m 18.9m 17.5m 16.7m 16.2m 15.8m 15.6m 15.6m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ -32.82% Est @ -22.75% Est @ -15.70% Est @ -10.76% Est @ -7.30% Est @ -4.88% Est @ -3.19% Est @ -2.01% Est @ -1.18% Est @ -0.60% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 5.8% 30.8 22.5 17.9 15.1 13.2 11.9 10.9 10.1 9.4 8.8

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 150m

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 (0.8%) 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 5.8%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 16m (1 + 0.8%)  (5.8% 0.8%) = 309m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 309m ( 1 + 5.8%)10= 175m

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 325m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of 15.5, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Koninklijke Heijmans 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 5.8%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.104. 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 Koninklijke Heijmans

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Dutch market.

Good value based on P/E ratio compared to estimated Fair P/E ratio.

Threat

No apparent threats visible for HEIJM.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. 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. For example, changes in the company's cost of equity or the risk free rate can significantly impact the valuation. For Koninklijke Heijmans, there are three additional elements you should consider:

Risks: You should be aware of the 5 warning signs for Koninklijke Heijmans we've uncovered before considering an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does HEIJM'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 Dutch stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
It's a new year, and if your resolution is to finally make the leap into homeownership, this might be the best time to do it.

In 2024, there is expected to be more predictability and stability for potential homebuyers. Additionally, Zillow predicts that more homes will hit the market this year, as more homeowners who locked in all-time-low mortgage rates may put their homes up for sale, growing tired of waiting for such low rates to return.

"I do believe we're going to get back to a normalcy of the market where people are going to buy, sell, rent and relocate based on what's going on in their life," said Rob Norman, eastern region president of Coldwell Banker Realty, based in New Jersey. "I don't think we're going to be as shocked or surprised by what's going on in the market, as perhaps we were in the past."

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Many first-time buyers don't even know the steps they need to take to begin the process. If you'd like to buy your first home in 2024 but don't know where to start, don't be intimidated. Here's a look at how the homebuying process works:

Save for a down payment

A home in Mount Tabor in Denville.

Ensuring you have money tucked away before starting the homebuying process is important.

Down payments are a percentage of a home's purchase price, so the amount you'd need to pay for a down payment largely depends on the price of the home you're looking to purchase. A 20% down payment is traditionally what's recommended, and the more you're able to put down means the less you'd have to pay each month for your mortgage.

While this is recommended, it doesn't mean you actually have to have that much saved up. According to a 2023 study from the National Association of Realtors, the median down payment for homebuyers across the country is just 14%. Additionally, many loans today require a much lower percentage to qualify, such as 3% for some conventional loans and 3.5% for FHA Federal Housing Association  loans.

Get preapproved for a mortgage

It's important to get preapproved for a mortgage before you start house hunting so you know exactly what you can afford, and to save time later in the process.

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This requires submitting income verification, like pay stubs, tax returns and bank statements, to a lender, as well as looking at your debt-to-income ratio.

"You have to get preapproved by a mortgage professional," said Betti Russo, a broker sales associate with Keller Williams Prosperity Realty in Wayne and Oakland. "It's to be able to know exactly what you can afford. You might think you can afford more than you can or you might be shortchanging yourself and thinking you can afford less than you actually can. The preapproval is going to really dig deep and tell you exactly what you can afford."

Russo said that in today's market, it's important to act quickly when you find a house you love. Getting preapproved also means that you'll be ready to submit your best offer right away, giving you the best chance at securing your property. Because houses are leaving the market so frequently, she said there's no time to waste.

Not only will getting preapproved help you understand what you can afford, it'll also give you a better idea of how much you'll pay for other homebuying fees. This includes closing costs, which typically cover property taxes, insurance and fees from various entities.

Explore potential neighborhoods

Once you know how much house you can afford, you'll have a better understanding of what areas you can consider buying in. Russo said she always recommends that homebuyers take the time to visit and explore areas they'd consider buying in to make sure it's the right fit for them.

"Just because there's a beautiful house there and the price fits within your budget doesn't mean that you're actually going to love living in that area," she said. "You want to pick an area that talks to who you are as a person, what you like to do and how close you want to be to certain things."

Would you rather more of a city or a suburban environment? Are you a commuter who needs easy access to public transportation? Would you like to be within walking distance of certain amenities? Russo said these are just a few factors to consider when picking a location.

Map out your wants versus your needs

The kitchen of a townhouse in Old Tappan.

Chances are, you're not going to find a home that comes with everything you want right off the bat. So, it's recommended to write a list of what features you need, as well as what features you want, but can survive without for the time being.

"The things that are your must-haves are concrete, and your wants should be like 'I would like this someday, and maybe the house doesn't have it right now, but I can change this about the house down the road,'" Russo said. "You don't have to have everything right away, especially if you're a first-time homebuyer."

Certain aspects about the property can't change, such as being too close to a highway or having a small backyard, but cosmetic things, like carpeting and kitchen cabinets, can be updated at any time. Russo said figuring this out and knowing what you want in advance is necessary to give yourself the best chances at securing your home.

"It's a very, very big sellers market still, so homebuyers don't have time to waste," she said. "They need to do a lot of preparation in order to be able to get the home that they want. They need to figure all of this out in advance so that when you step into a home, you either want it or you don't want it. And if you do want it, you have too act very quickly, there's no time to think about out."

Find a realtor

While you're not necessarily required to work with a realtor to find a home, having one does make the process easier.

Because buying a home involves a lot of moving parts, such as finding homes for sale, writing up offers, making edits to the contract and ensuring other parties are prepared, having a realtor will alleviate some stress, especially for first-time buyers.

Additionally, realtors often have a network of trusted people like real estate lawyers and building inspectors, meaning they'll be able to recommend other individuals that you may need to consult during the process.

Russo said that just because one person had a great experience with a particular realtor doesn't mean they'll be the best fit for you. She said it's important to find someone that you can mesh with, especially because you'll be working so closely with one another.

"I think referrals are really good and knowing somebody that has worked with the agent before and that they've had a good experience with them. Online reviews are also great," she said. "Experience is not always the answer, but experience is definitely a good answer. You can pick the most experienced agent in the area, but you could have a serious personality conflict or just don't like their style. Just because they've sold the most homes doesn't mean they're the best fit for you and your needs."

Do your research to find a realtor that is familiar with your desired area and that you feel will be able to fulfill your needs.

Make an offer

For sale sign

Russo said that when making an offer on a house, you want to put your best foot forward because you might not get a second chance.

"You need to be prepared to go in with your best foot forward. I always ask people, 'What's the house worth to you? How are you going to feel if you don't get it?'" she said. "Obviously besides your budget, that's going to determine how strong you go in with an offer."

Russo said to also remember that money is not the only factor involved in making an offer. Things like how soon you can close on the home and whether you're willing to waive an inspection also play a role.

"You need to be very flexible in your demands and do whatever you can to make the seller happy, whether that be offering a quick or flexible closing based on the seller's needs or offering inspections for information purposes only," she said. "Just make it really easy for the seller to accept your offer."

Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay , on X @maddiemcgayy , and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at MMcGay@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: How to buy a home in NJ in 2024, for first-time buyers
By Danilo Masoni

MILAN (Reuters) - A series of potential deals across Europe's fragmented telecoms industry has put the battered sector in the spotlight, as consolidation could help boost profit margins.

European telecoms stocks are at fresh record lows relative to the market after years of investor neglect in markets dominated by megacaps that offer fatter returns.

Since early 2000, Europe's telecoms have seen their market cap collapse six-fold to $270 billion.

"We strongly believe that M&A can draw attention to a completely forgotten equity sector," said Fabio Caldato, portfolio manager at investment company AcomeA SGR.

"We're building the position. There may be cross-border M&A that finally reduces competition and raises margins for telecom operators," he added.

Vodafone this week announced exclusive talks to sell its Italian arm to Swisscom for 8 billion euros ($8.7 billion), adding to other potential transactions in the making.

Mediobanca Securities analyst Fabio Pavan said the deal "was a step in the right direction" as it would create a group with a more than 30% share in both fixed and mobile markets in Italy, home to the European Union's third largest population.

"The telecom sector continues to show a strong need for remedies; M&A is the only effective one, opening a virtuous cycle of price-ups," Pavan also said.

The sector has been plagued by many players fighting for market share, while facing costly network upgrades to meet growing demand for data. Analysts say industry consolidation could end price wars, allow companies to cut admin costs, and get synergies by sharing technology and infrastructure.

Telecom Italia is selling its fixed-line network to private equity investor KKR for up to 22 billion euros in "game-changing" deal BofA analysts believe will help the Italian group "remove the shackles of debt".

Orange and MasMovil got Brussels' conditional clearance in February for their 18.6 billion euro tie-up in Spain, while unlisted telecoms group Iliad took a $1.3-billion stake in Sweden's Tele2, as its top investor, French billionaire Xavier Niel, seeks to push consolidation.

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Caldato said the French, Spanish, Italian and British telecoms markets could offer opportunities, especially where companies have done most of the capex to upgrade their networks.

A European Commission document suggested regulators may loosen merger rules, although antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in Brussels said last week such a move was not under consideration.

Investors are still chronically underweight European telecoms, but data from Morgan Stanley on funds with a combined $1.2 trillion in assets has shown positioning is on the rise. The percentage of global funds overweight telecoms has reached 31%, the highest level since at least December 2013.

In the past year, European telecoms have lost 8%, logging a 17 percentage-point underperformance relative to the region-wide STOXX 600 index. On a forward PE basis, they trade at a 7% discount to the market, according to LSEG data.

($1 = 0.9237 euros)

(Editing by Amanda Cooper and Jan Harvey)
President Xi Jinping's letter presented to American students

Xinhua) 08:21, March 01, 2024

Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian (R front) hands Jennifer Fridley, principal of Susan Clark Junior High of Muscatine Community School District, a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to the students of Muscatine High School at a reception marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations in Chicago, the United States, Feb. 27, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Jing)

CHICAGO, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Students from Muscatine High School in Muscatine, U.S. state of Iowa, received a special gift -- a letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At a reception here on Tuesday marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. relations, Chinese Consul General Zhao Jian handed the letter to Jennifer Fridley, principal of Susan Clark Junior High of Muscatine Community School District, in the presence of hundreds from all walks of life in Chicago.

In her speech, Fridley said that the school is honored to be among the first students and educators participating in the 50,000-student exchange program.

"We learned so much about the Chinese rich culture and heritage," Fridley said. "Actually to go there and visit China is something none of us will ever forget."

During his trip to the United States in November 2023, Xi announced that China is ready to invite 50,000 young Americans to China for exchange and study programs in the next five years.

With Xi's support, more than 20 Muscatine High School students visited Beijing, Shanghai and Hebei Province on Jan. 24-30. On Jan. 28, just before the end of their trip, the American students wrote a letter to express their joy and gratitude to Xi for the invitation.

In his reply, Xi said "seeing is believing," encouraging the Muscatine High School students to revisit China and encouraging more young American people to come to China.

"Some of our sister schools have invited us back on some trips," Fridley told Xinhua. "As we get invited, we're gonna have plans to take kids along to China, and then we want to invite Chinese students and families and teachers back to Muscatine, Iowa."

As a token of thanks, American students sang a song specially composed for the friendship between China and Muscatine in Chinese at the reception.

Students from Muscatine High School sing a song in Chinese at a reception marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. diplomatic relations in Chicago, the United States, Feb. 27, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Jing)

On learning of Xi's reply to their letter, "my students were all very excited," Guo Qianyu, a Chinese language teacher at the school, told Xinhua.

The January China trip is "eye-popping." "Many students ask me, 'can I come again?' 'can we stay longer?'," Guo said. During their stay in China, the American students exchanged WeChat with their Chinese peers, hoping to keep in touch.

"I'm gonna be back (to China) for like a month (this summer) and so I'm really excited to do that," Cole Loos, a 10th grader who was among those on the January trip, told Xinhua.

"I felt like kind of honored, especially that he (President Xi) responded personally to it," said Leo Regennitter, a sophomore at the school.

"I would love to go back to China. I loved it there. It was so awesome," he said.

Addressing the reception, Consul General Zhao said that the U.S. Mid-western region has always played an important role in growing China-U.S. relations.

Zhao expressed the hope that "the exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States could thrive like a soaring dragon."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Boris Jovanovic / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Whether it makes you cheer or groan, its tax season! Over the next several weeks, Americans will scramble to prepare and file their tax returns, hoping for a refund (or praying they dont owe additional money). But, once they hit submit on their electronic return (or drop the paper form in the mail), most filers will let out a sigh, wait for their tax refund (or pay their bill), and forget about taxes until next year.

Read Next: IRS Increases Gift and Estate Tax Exempt Limits  Heres How Much You Can Give Without Paying

Learn More: Owe Money to the IRS? Most People Dont Realize They Should Do This One Thing

If you fall into this group, you could be making a costly mistake. When you view tax preparation as an isolated event rather than an ongoing process, you may end up paying more tax than necessary.

We spoke with several tax experts about year-long tax preparation, who shared why you should think about taxes more often. They also offered practical tips to make tax preparation painless (or at least less painful).

Sponsored: Owe the IRS $10K or more? Schedule a FREE consultation to see if you qualify for tax relief.

Tax Prep Is Treated Like a To-Do List Item

Before we dive into why and how you should look at taxes as an integrated part of your finances, lets explore why more people dont do that.

Mark A. Luscombe, certified public accountant (CPA) and principal analyst at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, said, I think that, for a lot of people, taxes play a secondary role to other issues in life. Many taxpayers, I think, view the tax return preparation process as such an unpleasant experience that, once they have their tax return filed, they do not want to think about it until the next filing deadline.

Find Out: Billionaires vs. the Middle Class: Who Pays More in Taxes?

Tax Prep vs. Tax Planning

Atiya S. Brown, CPA and owner of The Savvy Accountant, wants taxpayers to understand the difference between tax preparation (a standalone event) and tax planning (a continuous process). Brown believes effective tax preparation helps you stay compliant with tax law and is a puzzle.

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The pieces need to be put together, but we know what the picture [looks like] because the year is closed. [On the other hand], tax strategy is like a blank canvas where you decide what topics you can strategize about throughout the year to make sure you are getting the tax savings you need, she explained.

How To Gear Up for Tax Day Throughout the Year

Follow these 11 steps to engage continuously in the tax planning process.

Adjust Your Tax Withholding

Jeff McDermott, CFP and founder of Create Wealth Financial Planning, LLC, said, If you have a regular W-2 job with withholding from each paycheck but find yourself owing a big tax bill every year, look at adjusting your withholding. The IRS has a withholding calculator that allows you to use a recent pay stub to forecast how much withholding will be done for the year and gives guidance on adjusting your withholding up or down based on your anticipated tax bill.

He continued, The goal here is to avoid that unexpected tax bill that can derail your savings plans or zap the emergency reserve. Doing this earlier in the year helps give you more time to make smaller adjustments, but dont forget to factor in bonuses or income that might come later that isnt a part of your regular paycheck.

Pro Tip: You should also consider your tax filing status throughout the year. For example, taxpayers who recently lost their spouse may need to prepare for the survivors penalty.

Get Organized

Marguerita Cheng, CFP and CEO of Blue Ocean Global Wealth, encourages you to, Organize your [tax-related] records throughout the year. This can help you be proactive and better manage expenses. By staying organized, you wont overlook any important tax deductions or credits.

Pro Tip: Choose a document storage system that works for you, whether thats a physical file or a folder on your computer.

Collect Information Continuously

Elliott Appel, CFP and founder of Kindness Financial Planning, LLC, offers some advice for organizing your tax-related documents. Appel said, I recommend people make a digital file that is backed up to the cloud and as they receive tax documents, scan or take a photo of them, and upload them to the file.

He added, For example, if you make a charitable donation in 2024, scan the [receipt] into the 2024 tax folder and consider making a spreadsheet of your total donations. When you prepare your 2024 tax return, you already have a good start on the documents you need.

Leave Notes for Yourself

A year is a long time, making it easy to forget events that could impact your taxes. Appel suggests, If something was out of the ordinary compared to other years, you could even make a note of it for your tax return file for next year.

For example, Appel said he did a rollover in 2023 and had issues with the plan administrator not accounting for things properly in the past. So I put a note Double check 1099-R in my tax folder as I did the rollover. I also had to file a final tax return for my dad, who passed away last year, so I put a text file with the subject File final tax return for dad in the folder.

Know Your Numbers

Brown said, You need to have a grasp on your numbers and know what you are expecting to earn during the year so that you can see your tax return and know if something is missing.

Keeping tabs on your income is simple if you only work for one employer. However, if you work multiple jobs or have several freelance clients, it may be helpful to keep a running log of the entities that will pay you this year  and ultimately send you a tax document.

Pro Tip: Knowing your income (or projecting it) can help you determine your tax bracket, which dictates how much you pay in taxes.

Maximize Retirement Plan Contributions

Luscombe said, One strategy to save on taxes is to maximize your qualified retirement plan contributions for the year. This is relatively easy to do even after year-end for IRA contributions. [However], to maximize 401(k) contributions, it is much easier to look at your 401(k) withholding at the beginning of the year and revisit it during the year to make sure the 401(k) withholding from your paycheck is going to achieve the maximum level by year-end.

McDermott added, If a Traditional or Roth IRA contribution is part of your plan and youre used to making the contribution for the previous year when you file taxes, consider monthly contributions throughout the year instead. This will help get the money invested sooner and will help make savings a regular part of your monthly habits instead of a once-a-year scramble to fund a contribution.

Maximize Tax Deductions and Credits

Many taxpayers take the standard deduction when they file their returns. However, through tax planning, you may discover that it pays to itemize your deductions.

Luscombe said, If you are thinking of trying to have your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction every other year through bunching, [it] requires planning throughout the year to get your charitable deductions lumped into every other year and perhaps even to get elective surgery lumped to every other year to maximize the medical expense deduction.

He added, Many tax deductions and credits are also better utilized with year-long tax planning. For example, if you decide to make energy-efficient home improvements, keep in mind the new $1,200 annual limit on the credit for new windows, doors, energy audits, and other energy-efficient systems. It is much easier to plan those improvements throughout the year rather than suddenly be in a rush at year-end.

Make Estimated Quarterly Payments

If youre a business owner or do not have a regular paycheck with tax withholding, make quarterly estimated tax payments. By making quarterly payments throughout the year, you avoid the penalty that can accumulate for underpaying taxes during the year, and more importantly, youll avoid the shock of a huge tax bill due all at once in April. If you havent been setting money aside during the year for this, you might struggle to come up with the necessary funds, McDermott explained.

Automate Your Accounting

Freeman Linde, CFP and tax advisor at La Crosse Financial Planning, offered another piece of advice for entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

Linde said, Automate your accounting. If you have self-employment or small-business income, using personal budgeting software like You Need a Budget (YNAB) for your business can automatically import and categorize all your transactions throughout the year. A simple export to your tax planner at the end of the year is all you need.

Work With a Professional

Brown said shes not against taxpayers taking the DIY approach when filing their tax returns or implementing tax planning strategies. However, she cautioned, If your situation has anything that changes or there are any tax law changes, you may need to work with a trusted professional.

Linde suggests partnering with a full-service financial planning or advisory firm. He said, They can pull tax forms for you and know so much about your life that their tax questions are minimal. There is no coordination between advisor and tax preparer needed in the spring because they are one-in-the-same working with you throughout the year.

Plan What To Do With Your Refund

Its wise to figure out what youll do with your tax refund before you get it. That way, you can put every dollar to the best use.

Most Americans pad their emergency funds or pay off debt with their tax refunds. But, if youre already on solid financial footing, you may want to consider investing or splurging to fulfill a lifelong dream.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Im a Tax Expert: Heres Why You Should Prepare for Your Taxes All Year Long
High Court judge said Mr Gove 'misinterpreted and wrongly applied planning policy'

Marks & Spencer has won a crucial legal victory against Michael Gove in the battle over the multi-million pound redevelopment of its Marble Arch store.

The Housing Secretarys decision to block the project was found to be unlawful by a High Court judge and has been quashed.

M&S was successful on five of the six challenges it brought, successfully convincing the courts that Mr Gove was wrong to reject its plans.

Sacha Berendji, the retailers operations director, said: Todays judgment couldnt be clearer, the court has agreed with our arguments on five out of the six counts we brought forward and ruled that the Secretary of States decision to block the redevelopment of our Marble Arch store was unlawful.

The result has been a long, unnecessary and costly delay to the only retail-led regeneration on Oxford Street, which would deliver one of Londons greenest buildings, create thousands of new jobs and rejuvenate the capitals premier shopping district.

M&S wants to demolish its Art Deco building near Marble Arch and replace it with a new 10-storey complex.

The retailer had argued that the age and layout of the building meant demolition and a full rebuild was the only viable option.

M&Ss proposals had been supported by the council, the Mayor and an independent inspector. However, Mr Gove stepped in to block the project, arguing it would fail to support the transition to a low carbon future, and would overall fail to encourage the reuse of existing resources, including the conversion of existing buildings.

M&S had warned that Mr Goves intervention cast doubt over its future on Oxford Street.

The High Court judge agreed with M&S that Mr Gove had misinterpreted and wrongly applied planning policy by blocking the scheme.

Mrs Justice Lieven found that Mr Gove was wrong in saying that there was a strong presumption in favour of repurposing buildings in planning laws.

In the ruling, the judge said the Housing Secretary had failed to grapple with the implications of refusal, with the independent inspector having raised the possibility that if there is no significant change to the store it might be occupied by multiple traders, including American candy and luggage type stores.

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She found Mr Gove had also not provided adequate reasons why he thought there would not be a major impact on the area if M&S did not invest or decided to quit the site.

Mr Gove will now have to make a fresh decision about whether to approve the project or not.

Mr Berendji said: The Secretary of State now has the power to unlock the wide-ranging benefits of this significant investment and send a clear message to UK and global business that the government supports sustainable growth and the regeneration of our towns and cities.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesman said: We acknowledge the judgment and are considering our next steps. It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.

The ruling followed months of arguments over the scheme, with criticism from M&S bosses that the block on its scheme was senseless.

Writing in the Telegraph last year, Stuart Machin, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, branded the decision anti-business and claimed it would have a chilling effect on investment across the country.

He argued that Mr Gove had created confusion for developers over what they needed to do to get the green light for projects.

Mr Machin said: The Government is elected to govern and show leadership, not act like a pressure group, particularly on climate. It is one haphazard decision after the next with no clarity or clear direction and Goves decision only compounds this further.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson said Thursday that the city will provide more support for restaurants and stores in the Loop, an area still struggling to fully recover from the pandemic.

Six restaurants, including Ceres Cafe in the Chicago Board of Trade building and The Roanoke at 135 W. Madison St., will receive grants of up to $250,000 for storefront and interior renovations, marking the first time the city has used the Small Business Improvement Fund to support downtown, Johnson said at the annual meeting of the Chicago Loop Alliance, an advocacy group.

The city will also pay for upgrades at the future site of a downtown museum showcasing the Board of Trades history. Other Loop businesses can apply for a new round of funding in September.

Were just getting started, Johnson told the roughly 400 attendees at Convene in Willis Tower.

Most companies have brought workers back to the office for at least a few days per week, and downtown foot traffic is up 22% since 2022, according to a Chicago Loop Alliance report. But Mondays and Fridays can still look sparse, with few customers for street-level businesses, and about one-quarter of downtowns retail spaces remain vacant.

The mayor has battled with downtown business leaders, most recently over his Bring Chicago Home proposal, which would raise taxes on all property sales of more than $1 million, but said he wants their help to revive the Loop. This spring the city will create a new downtown advisory committee, consisting of 40 members from the business and tourism communities who will help shape an updated plan for the central business district.

Johnson noted that Loop businesses have recently gotten a lot of good news. JPMorgan Chase announced Monday it will launch a multiyear renovation of Chase Tower, its iconic 60-story skyscraper at 10 S. Dearborn St., instead of seeking out new office space for the buildings 7,200 employees. The move follows Googles 2022 decision to take over the now-empty James R. Thompson Center and transform it into a hub for thousands of well-paid tech workers.

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They believe in the promise of this city, Johnson said. Im always glad people are willing to bet on Chicago.

Google was committed to a major expansion in Chicago because of the large pool of well-educated workers but was initially reluctant to take over the Helmut Jahn-designed Thompson Center, which for years was plagued by heating and cooling issues, said Quintin Primo, executive chairman of Capri Investment Group, during a question-and answer session at Thursdays meeting.

But a late-night visit to the 17-story glass-and-steel building, and one glance at its soaring atrium, persuaded company officials, said Primo, who along with commercial real estate veteran Mike Reschke is co-developer of the site.

Mike and I convinced them this was indeed a Google-quality building, Primo said.

Its location over downtowns busiest transit hub was also a plus, he added. And although other high-profile firms such as Boeing and Ken Griffins hedge fund Citadel recently moved their headquarters out of Chicago, Googles decision should cause a much bigger ripple effect, bringing even more business and activity to the Loop.

The fundamental strengths of Chicago are unassailable, Primo said.

The venture led by Primo and Reschke will start a floor-by-floor gut rehab of the Thompson Center later this month, and Google plans to start moving in by 2026.

The duo is also behind the redevelopment of the former BMO Harris Bank building at 111 West Monroe St. into hundreds of apartments and a hotel, part of the LaSalle Street Reimagined project. That initiative, launched by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, aims to transform vacant financial district office space into about 1,000 apartments, including hundreds of affordable units.

Were making big bets, and will continue to make big bets on the Loop, Reschke said.
A controversial move by Meta last year, when it switched to charging users in the European Union for an ad-free subscription to Facebook and/or Instagram unless they agreed to be tracked and profiled so it could keep running its attention-mining microtargeting ad business, has triggered a set of complaints from consumer rights groups. The complaints are being brought under the bloc's data protection rules.

Currently, Meta charges regional users 9.99/month on web (or 12.99/month on mobile) to opt out of seeing any adverts per linked Facebook and Instagram account. The only other choice EU users have if they want to access Facebook and Instagram is to agree to its tracking -- meaning the offer is to literally pay for privacy, or "pay" for free access by losing your privacy.

Eight consumer rights groups from across the region are filing complaints with national data protection authorities against this "consent or pay" choice, the European consumer organization, BEUC -- which is a membership and coordinating body for the groups -- announced today.

"It is crucial that any consent provided by consumers is valid and meets the high bar set by the law, which requires such consent to be free, specific, informed and unambiguous. This is not the case with Metas pay-or-consent model," they argue in a paper about the complaint, which goes on to suggest Meta is seeking "to coerce consumers into accepting its processing of their personal data."

"Meta keeps consumers in the dark about its data processing, making it impossible for the consumer to know how the processing changes if they choose one option or the other. The company also fails to show that the fee it imposes on consumers who do not consent is indeed necessary, which is a requirement stipulated by the Court of Justice of the EU," they also write, adding: "Under these circumstances, the choice about how consumers want their data to be processed becomes meaningless and is therefore not free."

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The eight consumer groups*, located in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, France, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain, argue Meta has no valid legal basis for processing people's data for ad targeting under the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) -- asserting the company is processing personal data in a way that is "fundamentally incompatible with European data protection law."

Specifically, they're accusing Meta of violating the GDPR principles of purpose limitation, data minimization, fair processing and transparency.

Penalties for confirmed breaches of the regulation can reach up to 4% of global annual turnover. More importantly, companies can be ordered to stop unlawful processing -- with the potential for regulators to reform privacy-hostile business models.

Commenting in a statement, Ursula Pachl, deputy director general of BEUC, said:

Meta has tried time and time again to justify the massive commercial surveillance it places its users under. Its unfair "pay-or-consent" choice is the companys latest effort to legalise its business model. But Metas offer to consumers is smoke and mirrors to cover up what is, at its core, the same old hoovering up of all kinds of sensitive information about peoples lives which it then monetises through its invasive advertising model. Surveillance-based business models pose all kinds of problems under the GDPR and its time for data protection authorities to stop Metas unfair data processing and its infringing of peoples fundamental rights.

BEUC said a legal analysis it undertook with members and the data rights law firm, AWO, concluded that Meta's processing of consumers personal data breaches the GDPR in multiple ways. As well as lacking a valid basis, some of the processing for ads "appears to rely invalidly on contract," the analysis suggests.

The analysis also queries what legal basis Meta relies upon for content personalization -- finding this is "not clear" and "there is no way to verify" all of Metas profiling for this purpose is both necessary for the relevant contract and consistent with the GDPR principle of data minimization. The same questions are attached to Meta's profiling for advertising purposes.

It also found Metas processing in general is not consistent with the principles of transparency and purpose limitation -- highlighting a lack of transparency, unexpected processing, use of a dominant position to force consent, and "switching of legal bases in ways which frustrate the exercise of data subject rights," which it also said it not consistent with the GDPR principle of fairness.

As we've reported before, Meta's self-serving "consent or cough up" offer is already facing a number of other GDPR complaints, including one brought by privacy rights group noyb that's focused on the premium price Meta has put on privacy; another is focused on the asymmetry in the choice Meta has devised, which makes it super simple for users to agree to its tracking but a lot more arduous to protect their privacy, including if they wish to change their mind and withdraw previously given consent.

Earlier this month three DPAs also requested that the EU's regulatory body for data protection, the EDPB, issues an opinion on the legality of consent or pay.

That guidance is still pending. But fresh complaints -- and this pincer action by consumer protection and privacy rights groups -- could pile pressure on the EU's data protection regulator not to rubber stamp a tactic privacy campaigners have long warned is a cynical attempt to circumvent the bloc's data protection rulebook for commercial gain.

Meta has already lost the ability to use other legal bases it had claimed authorized its ads' processing -- following earlier privacy complaints (and a competition challenge). This means obtaining users' consent is, basically, the last chance for it to continue operating its tracking ads business in the EU, where the law requires a valid legal basis for processing people's data (the GDPR names six legal bases but the rest aren't relevant for an adtech business like Meta's).

If Meta's latest consent coercion fails, it could -- finally -- be forced to reform its surveillance business model. As we've written before, the stakes are high: for Meta and for web users in Europe.

Today's complaints are not the first filed against Meta's consent or pay tactic by consumer protection groups -- some of which argue it's breaching the bloc's rules on consumer protection, too. Broader, coordinated action from the sector last November saw BEUC and 18 of its member groups filing complaints against what they dubbed unfair, deceptive and aggressive practices by Meta that they assert breach the bloc's consumer protection rules.

Those complaints were filed with the CPC, a regional network of consumer protection authorities. If Meta does not engage with the CPC's process, such as by offering concessions aimed at remedying the groups' complaints, it could face enforcement action by consumer regulators (which are empowered to issues fines of up to 4% of global turnover).

At the time, the BEUC said it may also look to bring a data protection complaint against Meta's controversial consent offer -- which is the development we're seeing today.

"Meta must stop any illegal processing of consumers personal data, including for the purpose of advertising," it wrote in a press release. "Any illegally collected personal data must be deleted. In addition, if Meta would like to use consumers consent as legal basis for its data processing, it must ensure that this consent is indeed freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, as required by the law."

Meta has previously argued its consent or pay offer is lawful under the GDPR. However, its blog post defending the controversial tactic does not make any mention of how it complies with EU consumer protection law.

There's a further consideration here too: The European Commission oversees enforcement of Meta's compliance with the Digital Services Act's (DSA) rules for larger platforms and Digital Markets Act (DMA) -- two newer, pan-EU regulations that stipulate consent has to be obtained for processing personal data for ad-targeting purposes. These regulations also ban the use of sensitive personal data or minors' data for ads and state that consent must be as easy to withdraw as it is to provide. So another very pertinent question, vis-a-vis Meta's consent or pay offer in the EU, is what the Commission will do?

The EU's executive is empowered to enforce the DSA and DMA on Meta -- which could include issuing corrective orders. Breaches of the DSA can also lead to penalties of up to 6% of annual turnover, while the DMA can see fines as high as 10% (or even higher for repeat offenses).

So while the latest consumer group GDPR complaints against Meta will likely have to wend their way back to the tech giant's lead data supervisor in the EU, Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which continues to face criticism over how weakly it enforces the GDPR on Meta and other tech giants, there are a number of other avenues where the company's consent choice is facing scrutiny. And -- potentially -- faster and firmer enforcement action too.

*The BEUC members filing GDPR complaints against Meta are CECU, dTest, EKPIZO, Forbrugerradet Tnk, Forbrukerradet, Poprad, Spolocnost ochrany spotrebitelov (S.O.S.), UFC-Que Choisir and Zveza Potrosnikov Slovenije (ZPS). A ninth consumer group, the Netherlands-based Consumentenbond, is not filing a complaint but will be sending a letter to the Dutch data protection authority, per BEUC.
Most readers would already know that Reinsurance Group of America's (NYSE:RGA) stock increased by 8.2% over the past three months. However, the company's financials look a bit inconsistent and market outcomes are ultimately driven by long-term fundamentals, meaning that the stock could head in either direction. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Reinsurance Group of America's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. In short, ROE shows the profit each dollar generates with respect to its shareholder investments.

See our latest analysis for Reinsurance Group of America

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Reinsurance Group of America is:

9.9% = US$909m  US$9.2b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2023).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.10 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

So far, we've learned that ROE is a measure of a company's profitability. Based on how much of its profits the company chooses to reinvest or "retain", we are then able to evaluate a company's future ability to generate profits. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that dont share these attributes.

Reinsurance Group of America's Earnings Growth And 9.9% ROE

At first glance, Reinsurance Group of America's ROE doesn't look very promising. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 13%. As a result, Reinsurance Group of America's flat net income growth over the past five years doesn't come as a surprise given its lower ROE.

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As a next step, we compared Reinsurance Group of America's net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 8.2% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. Doing so will help them establish if the stock's future looks promising or ominous. If you're wondering about Reinsurance Group of America's's valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Is Reinsurance Group of America Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

In spite of a normal three-year median payout ratio of 29% (or a retention ratio of 71%), Reinsurance Group of America hasn't seen much growth in its earnings. Therefore, there might be some other reasons to explain the lack in that respect. For example, the business could be in decline.

Additionally, Reinsurance Group of America has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 18% over the next three years. As a result, the expected drop in Reinsurance Group of America's payout ratio explains the anticipated rise in the company's future ROE to 13%, over the same period.

Conclusion

On the whole, we feel that the performance shown by Reinsurance Group of America can be open to many interpretations. Even though it appears to be retaining most of its profits, given the low ROE, investors may not be benefitting from all that reinvestment after all. The low earnings growth suggests our theory correct. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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.
By Christoph Steitz and Tom Kackenhoff

DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - Uniper is opposed to being bought by a rival as part of Berlin's efforts to sell down its 99% stake in the German energy trader, which was bailed out at the height of Europe's energy crisis, its chief executive said.

Uniper had to be rescued by the German government for 13.5 billion euros ($14.6 billion) in 2022 after former main supplier Gazprom halted flows, but considerations of how Berlin can start selling down its holding have started due to the group's recent turnaround.

Options range from the sale of a 20%-30% stake on the open market to the disposal of larger blocks of shares to bigger investors, sources have said. Under German takeover laws, suitors must launch a full takeover bid if they acquire 30% of a listed company.

"We do not want to be taken over or integrated into another company. We believe that Uniper can make a special contribution to the energy transition as an independent company," CEO Michael Lewis told Reuters.

This marks the first time Lewis has spoken out against a potential takeover as part of Germany's efforts to exit the group, keen not to repeat the ill-fated partnership with Finland's Fortum which previously sought to buy Uniper.

He said it was possible that the state would remain on board as a shareholder, in line with demands by workers for Berlin to keep a blocking minority, or that investors subscribe to shares in the group once the German government decides to sell.

Uniper is still recovering from the energy crisis and while it no longer receives Russian gas directly its contract with Gazprom worth around 250 terawatt hours, or roughly 30% of Germany's demand in 2022, still legally exists.

Uniper has sought billions of euros in damages from Gazprom and has launched arbitration proceedings that it expects will result in a court ruling in the summer.

The crisis has forced Uniper to procure its gas from other destinations, including the United States, while talks with Qatar, one of the world's biggest exporters of liquefied natural gas (LNG), are ongoing.

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"We are still in talks with Qatar about potential supply contracts," Lewis said. "However, there are still some differences of opinion on the issues of duration, indexation and destination clauses."

Qatar recently expanded its LNG output by 2030, which market experts expect it to lead to lower contracting prices and more Asian buyers inking deals. At the same time, competition from the United States has made it easier for European buyers to strike supply agreements with comparably shorter durations.

($1 = 0.9245 euros)

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
(Bloomberg) -- Fifteen months after a deal that was supposed to be the capstone of his successful run at Flagstar Bancorp Inc., Alessandro DiNello now finds himself thrust back into the top job and grappling with the turnaround of a bank in crisis.

Most Read from Bloomberg

DiNello this week was named chief executive officer of the bank that bought Flagstar in late 2022: New York Community Bancorp, whose troubles erupted at the end of January when the company  a major lender to New York apartment landlords  said it was stockpiling cash to cover potential problems with loans. The banks issues deepened this week as it announced material weaknesses in how it tracks loan risks, took a $2.4 billion goodwill impairment tied to past transactions and pushed Thomas Cangemi out as CEO, naming DiNello his replacement.

Even before the latest announcements, NYCB was already touting DiNello, 69, as key to reworking the Hicksville, New York-based lender. In a Feb. 15 investor presentation, the bank pointed to the many accomplishments DiNello  or Sandro, as the slideshow called him  achieved while atop Troy, Michigan-based Flagstar: selling $278 million of real estate loans to Customers Bancorp Inc., launching a homebuilder-lending platform, buying bank branches from East West Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co., and ultimately striking the deal with NYCB.

We view NYCBs change in leadership as a net positive given the significant issues the bank has disclosed over the past month, Raymond James & Associates analysts Steve Moss and Thomas Reid said in note to clients late Thursday. We believe the appointment will be viewed favorably given Mr. DiNellos prior history of turning around Flagstar, which was a troubled institution at one point, and building a commercial franchise.

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During the roughly nine years that DiNello ran Flagstar, the stock price of the regional lender climbed 232%  more than double the gain in a benchmark regional-banking fund  before he sold the company off, according to the presentation.

Read More: NYCB Flags Weaknesses in Loan Oversight and Names New CEO

DiNello  already non-executive chairman of NYCBs board  was appointed executive chairman in early February, and his rising clout was was immediately on display. On a Feb. 7 conference call to discuss the banks troubles, DiNello fielded almost all the questions from analysts, effectively sidelining Cangemi.

Its hardly the first time DiNello has led a bank through a crisis, having run Flagstar through the Covid-19 pandemic.

I just tell myself all the time that Im just doing my job  and right now its just a little different than it was yesterday, he told The Jungle, a business podcast, in April 2020. The Lord blessed me with the ability to put my head on the pillow and get a good nights sleep, and get back at it the next day, and not dwell on what didnt go well  concentrate on the positives, and every day lead with a tremendous amount of intensity, knowing that every minute Im going to give it the best Ive got all day long.

Help Management

He had told Crains Detroit Business in 2022 that his role as NYCBs non-executive chairman gave him oversight of the banks management.

I want to help management be successful, the Detroit native told the newspaper at the time. And then if theyre not getting it done, then Ive got to have the courage to shape it differently if thats what needs to be done.

DiNello, who has a bachelor of business administration from Western Michigan University, began his career as a bank examiner, later joining Security Savings Bank in Jackson, Michigan, eventually rising to president, according to a biography on the universitys website. In 1994, Security Savings was taken over by First Security Savings Bank, which later became Flagstar. DiNello remained with the combined bank as an executive officer responsible for expanding the banks funding sources, eventually serving as president and chief administrative officer, then CEO in 2013.

During his time at Flagstar, DiNello served as head of branch banking, retail-product strategy, marketing, communications, internet banking and branch expansion, and also oversaw the lenders technology, operations and commercial units. He also led government affairs and community relations.

DiNello has been active in the local business community, serving on the boards of organizations including Business Leaders of Michigan, the American Bankers Council, the Detroit Regional Chamber and its economic-development CEO advisory board.

CEOs Burden

In the 2020 podcast interview, DiNello spoke about how Covid-19 had affected Flagstar. He was working from an office above the garage of his Birmingham, Michigan, home, which was outfitted with four computer screens, a treadmill, a couch and a TV tuned to CNBC  a space he called his bachelor pad, not because hes a bachelor, but because of his wifes tastes in television.

This is where I come when my wife watches The Bachelor, he said, adding that his own weekend viewing at the time veered more toward The Walking Dead and Ozark.

DiNello said the pandemic was very different from past challenges Flagstar had faced.

It is not a financial crisis  it is a health, humanitarian crisis, and its very different, he said. The burden I feel as a CEO of 4,700 people is very different when its about their health, and not the companys health. Right now a companys health comes behind all of that. On every other crisis, youre fighting for the companys health.

At the time, Flagstar executives held a balance-sheet meeting  where are the risks, what do we need to get our arms around, he said  at the end of each business day.

Im the one whos got to think 360, he said. I have to have a vision to question everything that might be a problem and get the right people together to talk through, Is that a real problem? Is it just me thinking about the worst that might happen? Which is my job. And if its a real problem, how do we deal with it? How do we mitigate that problem? Thats what leaders have to do.

--With assistance from Bre Bradham.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Oil and gas upstream majors  ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, BP, TotalEnergies and Eni  will continue to exercise caution in exploration spending this year, with drilling activity poised for a busy year ahead. According to Rystad Energys research, these major producers will have spent on average a combined $7 billion each year between 2020 and 2024, a sizeable drop from the previous four-year period during which average total spending was $10 billion.

Despite tightened budgets, frontier drilling is fueling optimism for a productive year, particularly deepwater projects in the Atlantic Margin, Eastern Mediterranean and Asia. Last year saw a significant increase in awarded acreage to major players, totaling 112,000 square kilometers  an uptick of 20% from the previous year. Notably, all awarded blocks were offshore, with 39% in the shelf segment, 28% in deepwater and the remaining 33% in ultra-deepwater.

The trend suggests a significant push toward deeper waters, with more than half of the awarded blocks targeting deepwater or ultra-deepwater reserves. This focus is reflected in global exploration activity, with Rystad Energy analysts predicting approximately 50 more deepwater and ultra-deepwater exploratory wells this year compared to 2023. Approximately 27% of all offshore exploration wells drilled last year were deepwater/ultra-deepwater, while this year we expect the share of such wells to rise to around 35%.

"As majors tighten their financial belts, they're cautiously venturing into deeper waters and re-evaluating their approaches for frontier exploration. While we anticipate them to appraise and mature their frontier acreages, we also expect them to continue to focus on familiar territory  regions with established expertise and existing infrastructure that offer quicker monetization with lower risks, says Santosh Kumar Budankayala, Senior Analyst at Rystad Energy.

Learn more with Rystad Energys Upstream Exploration solution.

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Conventional discoveries plunged in 2023, with majors hitting a bleak 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe), shattering the post-2020 recovery trend and representing a stark 68% drop from the 3 billion boe in 2022. Notably, frontier basins, which contributed 45% of discoveries in 2022, only accounted for 20% last year.

With dwindling discoveries, the future of oil and gas exploration likely lies in venturing beyond the familiar. Frontier and underexplored basins, teeming with hidden potential, offer the promise of substantial untapped resources. Unlike mature basins where exploration yields smaller, scattered finds, these new areas hold the allure of large, geographically concentrated prospects.

While recognizing the short lead time between discovery and start-up for finds made in mature basins, majors recognize the importance of frontier exploration. Over the past two decades, frontier exploration has yielded notable successes, such as the discovery of gas in Area 1/Area 4 off Mozambique between 2010 and 2013, gas finds off the coast of Mauritania and Senegal between 2015 and 2017, the Liza oil discovery in Guyana in 2015 and more recently the Sakarya gas field in Turkey's Black Sea sector in 2020. Additionally, discoveries such as Brulpadda and Luiperd in South Africa in 2019 and 2020 and Venus and Graff in Namibia, both in 2022, have led to the opening of new hydrocarbon plays.

A significant portion of the acreage awarded in frontier basins last year was in Uruguay, with Shell securing the largest single share at 42,000 square kilometers. Notably, more than 50% of Shell's awarded acreage came from Uruguayan territory. This is in contrast to the historical focus of major oil companies on mature fields, suggesting a potentially significant shift in Shells exploration strategy. While Uruguay accounted for nearly half of the total frontier basin awards in 2023, it remains an anomaly, as major players generally remain cautious in 2024.

Shell remains a key player in deepwater exploration and production, with significant projects slated for this year, particularly in Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas. Currently, Shell is drilling the ultra-deep prospect Pekaka on Block SB 2W offshore Sabah, East Malaysia. This prospect shares similarities with the 2022 Tepat discovery in deepwater Block M and holds substantial potential for a gas-condensate discovery, aligning with Shell's gas-focused portfolio strategy in Malaysia.

Following Pekaka, Shell will pursue more ultra-deepwater exploration on Block SB X with the Bijak prospect. These blocks were secured by Shell in Malaysias 2021 bid round. Additionally, exploration drilling is anticipated in the shelf region of Sarawak, East Malaysia. Shell is also continuing appraisal activity in Namibian waters to further prove the extent of its significant discoveries, including Graff.

BP also has deepwater exploration plans in Africa and the Americas. The company aims to drill multiple wells in Egypt, including appraisal drilling at the Raven gas and condensate field, as well as wildcat exploration drilling in the King Mariout offshore concession in the Western Mediterranean. BP's Pau-Brazil well marks its first operated well in the Santos Basin off Brazil, expanding its presence beyond the Campos Basin, where it was previously a non-operating partner with Petrobras.

Chevron and Shell are collaboratively spearheading plans to drill off the coast of Suriname in Block 42, which contains the Walker carbonate prospect. A discovery in this block has the potential to catalyze further exploration efforts in Suriname, adding to South America's burgeoning basin for hydrocarbon reserves. Furthermore, Argerich-1, Argentinas first offshore ultra-deepwater well, in which Shell has a 30% nonoperating stake, if successful, holds a pivotal role in outlining deepwater exploration success for the region.

By Rystad Energy

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:

Read this article on OilPrice.com
Oil futures jumped more than 2% on Friday as signs of supply tightness sent prices higher.

West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures surged above $80 per barrel during intraday trading for the first time since November. US crude settled at $79.97 per barrel. Brent (BZ=F) futures also rose more than 2% to settle at $83.94 per barrel. Friday's jump follows two consecutive months of price gains.

Near-term contracts are currently trading at a premium compared to later months, a market condition called "backwardation" that signals crude supply tightness.

Greater-than-expected demand out of Asia coupled with expectations that oil alliance OPEC+ will extend its output reductions past March has helped lift contract prices.

"I think the rally in crude oil prices is on the expectation that OPEC+ will continue with their voluntary production cuts well into the second quarter of 2024," Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates told Yahoo Finance on Friday.

"In addition, new refineries in Kuwait and Oman have taken crude oil off the market and refiners in Asia and elsewhere need to look for alternative supplies," he added.

Large oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, Iran. (German Vogel via Getty Images) (German Vogel via Getty Images)

Traders have also been reacting to continuing Middle East tensions. On Thursday President Biden said reports of Israeli firings on people waiting for food in Gaza would complicate talks of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Over the past two months the crude markets have priced in cargo and tanker reroutes away from the Suez Canal amid vessel attacks along the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthis supporting Palestinians in the war.

Analysts are watching for the possibility of tensions impacting the Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran. The waterway is considered one of the largest oil chokepoints in the world.

"While the ongoing Red Sea shipping disruptions amid the escalating war in the Middle East have had only a modest impact on energy prices, a potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz would have much more significant energy price effects that would likely lower global growth," wrote Goldman Sachs analysts this week.

The bank's analysts recently reiterated their call for a range of $70-90 per barrel for Brent this year, noting "geopolitics still pose upside price risk."

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - February 29, 2024) - In a significant move within the digital wallet and blockchain industry, Ottr Wallet has been acquired by Tools for Humanity (TFH), a key contributor to the Worldcoin project aimed at creating the world's largest human network to foster trust online and expand access to the global economy in the AI era. This acquisition marks a pivotal moment for both Ottr Wallet and TFH as they endeavour to revolutionize digital identity and finance.

Ottr Wallet team with Tools for Humanity team

Aleksei Zakharov, Alex Blania (TFH CEO), Uddhav Marwaha, Tiago Sada (TFH Head of Product)



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9038/199907_c3f360b6b469fb84_001full.jpg

Founded just 18 months ago, Ottr Wallet rapidly emerged as a leading self-custody wallet solution, achieving notable milestones such as the integration of US bank accounts, implementation of gas-free transfers and trades, introduction of passwordless cloud backups, and the launch of a comprehensive decentralized application (dApp) store. The wallet's innovative approach attracted over 25,000 active monthly users, demonstrating significant growth and impact within the digital wallet space.

The collaboration between Ottr Wallet and TFH began after the teams met late last year. Ottr quickly understood the value in helping Worldcoin build the world's largest human network to improve trust online and access to the global economy in the age of AI, and TFH was particularly impressed by Ottr Wallet's achievements. TFH proposed that the Ottr team lead the development of their consumer application and mobile wallet, World App, which currently serves over 3 million users monthly. With the first universal proof of personhood verification (World ID) and the user-friendly World App, Worldcoin and its contributors like TFH have created a powerful growth engine to provide more people access to the digital economy.

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With the acquisition, Ottr Wallet will be sunsetted as the team fully transitions to focus on the development of the World App. Ottr Wallet's backend service will continue to operate for the next three months to facilitate a smooth transition for its users to other Solana-compatible wallets, with comprehensive guidance provided for exporting seed phrases and private keys.

As part of Tools for Humanity now, the team is excited to continue building innovative financial experiences and contribute to the growth of one of the fastest-growing applications in the digital space.

Guide to export Ottr Wallet: https://help.ottr.finance/hc/en-us/articles/8846513984539-How-to-manually-retrieve-your-wallet-secrets-ie-private-key-or-recovery-phrase

Media Contact:

Company name: Ottr Finance

Contact name: Uddhav Marwaha

Email: Uddhav@ottr.finance

Website: https://ottr.finance/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/199907
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the ArcelorMittal South Africa Limited (JSE:ACL) share price has gained 14% in the last three months. But that's not enough to compensate for the decline over the last twelve months. During that time the share price has sank like a stone, descending 69%. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Arguably, the fall was overdone.

It's worthwhile assessing if the company's economics have been moving in lockstep with these underwhelming shareholder returns, or if there is some disparity between the two. So let's do just that.

Check out our latest analysis for ArcelorMittal South Africa

ArcelorMittal South Africa isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. When a company doesn't make profits, we'd generally expect to see good revenue growth. That's because it's hard to be confident a company will be sustainable if revenue growth is negligible, and it never makes a profit.

In the last twelve months, ArcelorMittal South Africa increased its revenue by 2.1%. While that may seem decent it isn't great considering the company is still making a loss. It's likely this muted growth has contributed to the share price decline of 69% in the last year. Like many holders, we really want to see better revenue growth in companies that lose money. When a stock falls hard like this, it can signal an over-reaction. Our preference is to wait for a fundamental improvements before buying, but now could be a good time for some research.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

This free interactive report on ArcelorMittal South Africa's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that ArcelorMittal South Africa shareholders are down 69% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 1.1%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. 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 ArcelorMittal South Africa better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with ArcelorMittal South Africa (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

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Of course ArcelorMittal South Africa may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on South African 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.
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Indian digital-payments provider Paytm said it is cutting back business ties with its banking affiliate, seeking to appease regulators who are pursuing a cleaner distinction between the two.

The listed company said Friday that owners of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. agreed to simplify the shareholders agreement to support its governance. Both Paytm and Paytm Payments Bank are part of billionaire Vijay Shekhar Sharmas fintech empire, but the bank isnt controlled by the publicly traded mobile wallet pioneer.

The moves are part of Sharmas effort to create an arms length between Paytm and its tightly regulated affiliate. Indias regulators this year barred the bank from accepting fresh deposits in its customer accounts from March 15. The strictures effectively made the bank  the backbone for much of Paytms financial and payments services  redundant, disrupting Paytms business and sending its shares cratering.

Shares of Paytm, publicly traded as One97 Communications Ltd., rose 3.6% early on Friday. Still, the stock is down about 45% since the regulators imposed the prohibitions on the bank on Jan. 31.

Sharma owns 51% of the bank, while Paytm holds the rest. Earlier this week, Paytm Payments Bank reconstituted its board, appointing four new directors. As part of that move, Sharma resigned from Paytm Payments Bank board and also stepped down as a part-time non-executive chairman. He continues to lead fintech pioneer Paytm, which he founded and has run for more than a decade.

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Its not immediately clear whether the moves will placate the regulator, the Reserve Bank of India, which has previously said the action on Paytm Payments Bank was taken after it didnt correct course despite having been given enough time.

Sharma has tried to meet with RBI and government officials to seek support, and is working to forge new bank partnerships to keep his fintech running.

(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
Kolbie Deamon and Mary Susan Leahy

Estate planning when you own real estate located in two states can be tricky. Owning properties in New Hampshire and Massachusetts is no exception. For one thing, the estate and gift tax laws in New Hampshire and Massachusetts are different. New Hampshire imposes no state estate or gift tax. Massachusetts, on the other hand, imposes an estate tax but no gift tax.

The first $2 million of assets in a Massachusetts estate is exempt from Massachusetts estate tax. This exemption applies regardless of whether the estate is the estate of a Massachusetts resident or the estate of a non-resident owning property in Massachusetts.

Lets first consider the situation of a New Hampshire resident owning real estate in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. If that is your situation, you should consider transferring your Massachusetts property into an LLC or other legal entity. This simple act can protect the Massachusetts property from being subject to Massachusetts estate tax. Placing your Massachusetts property in an LLC converts it from being categorized as real estate. This is because membership in an LLC that owns real estate does not constitute the ownership of the real estate by the LLC member.

In the above example, you might conclude that because you are a New Hampshire resident and your Massachusetts real estate is worth less than the $2 million Massachusetts estate tax exemption, you are home free and dont need the protection of an LLC for your Massachusetts property. However, that may not be the case.

If, for example, you are a New Hampshire resident and the combined value of your New Hampshire and Massachusetts properties exceeds the $2 million Massachusetts estate tax exemption amount, Massachusetts will impose an estate tax on the excess. This is because Massachusetts requires that the value of all of the real estate you own, wherever located, be included in the Massachusetts estate tax computation. A tentative Massachusetts estate tax is computed on all of your real estate. The fraction the Massachusetts property is of all of your real estate is the fraction of the tentative Massachusetts estate tax your estate will pay to Massachusetts. As already noted, simply putting your Massachusetts real estate into an LLC or other legal entity can avoid Massachusetts estate tax in this situation.

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Next, lets consider the situation where you are a Massachusetts resident owning real estate in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Massachusetts will impose its estate tax on your entire estate with one exception  that exception is your out-of-state real estate. This means that if you are a Massachusetts resident owning real estate in New Hampshire, your New Hampshire property will not be subject to Massachusetts estate tax. but the rest of your estate will be.

However, thats not the end of the story. As noted above, Massachusetts requires that you aggregate the values of all of your real estate, wherever located, and then include the percentage that the value of the Massachusetts real estate is of the aggregate in computing your Massachusetts estate tax. The bottom line is that in this situation the value of your New Hampshire property is factored into the computation of your Massachusetts estate tax.

Is there a way for a Massachusetts resident owning real estate in New Hampshire to reduce the impact of the Massachusetts estate tax in the above situation? Massachusetts does not impose a gift tax, so you could consider gifting your New Hampshire property during your lifetime, but that would be at the expense of a step-up in the basis of the New Hampshire property that otherwise could benefit your intended beneficiary if you instead devised it at your death to that beneficiary.

Another strategy to consider is putting the New Hampshire property into an irrevocable trust to keep it out of your estate for Massachusetts estate tax purposes and still retain enough rights to cause the property to be includible in your Federal estate to garner a step-up in basis for the property at your death.

Fortunately, with thoughtful planning, New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents alike may be able to adopt estate planning strategies that can reduce, or eliminate entirely, the burden of the Massachusetts estate tax. Different strategies are required based on personal circumstances.

New Hampshire and Massachusetts residents owning real estate in both states are wise to consult with their own estate and tax planning attorneys to decide which strategy may be right for them and their families.

Mary Susan Leahy is a member of McLane Middletons Trust & Estates Department. She can be reached at susan.leahy@mclane.com.

Kolbie Deamon is a member of the firms Tax Department. She can be reached at kolbie.deamon@mclane.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Planning for the Massachusetts Estate Tax regardless of where you live
Allied Analytics LLP

The global power generation equipment market is experiencing growth owing to increase in need for reliable power sources, advancements in technology, and a growing emphasis on sustainable energy solutions. Industries across sectors such as energy, manufacturing, and construction rely heavily on power generation equipment to ensure a stable and uninterrupted power supply.

Wilmington, Delaware, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled,  Power Generation Equipment Market by Type (Turbine and Engines, Generators, and Others), and Application (Utility, Industrial, Commercial, and Residential): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032. According to the report, the global power generation equipment market was valued at $110.4 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach $173.1 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023 to 2032.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A45918

Prime determinants of growth

The global power generation equipment market is experiencing growth due to several factors such as surge in demand for decentralized power generation and rise in industrialization and urbanization. However, high initial costs of investment and capital intensity in power generation equipment hinder the market growth. Moreover, the power generation equipment market is witnessing promising opportunities propelled by integration of energy storage solutions. This integration addresses several challenges in the power sector such as intermittent issues with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Moreover, integration of energy storage with power generation equipment enables greater flexibility and responsiveness in meeting dynamic energy demands.

Report coverage & details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $110.4 billion Market Size in 2032 $173.1 billion CAGR 4.8% No. of Pages in Report 270 Segments Covered Type, Application, and Region Drivers Surge in demand for decentralized power generation

Rise in industrialization and urbanization Opportunity Integration of energy storage solutions integration Restraint High initial costs of investment and capital intensity

Turbine and engines segment maintains its dominance by 2032

By type, the turbine and engines segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for less than three-fifths of the global power generation equipment market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. The decentralization and digitization of power generation infrastructure drives the adoption of turbines and engines in distributed energy systems. Distributed generation such as combined heat and power (CHP) plants, microgrids, and cogeneration facilities, relies on turbines and engines for onsite power generation, heating, and cooling. These distributed energy systems offer benefits such as increased energy efficiency, grid resilience, and energy independence which drives the demand for turbines and engines in various industrial, commercial, and residential applications.

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Procure Complete Report (270 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/power-generation-equipment-market

Utility segment is expected to lead the trail by 2032

By application, the utility segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global power generation equipment market revenue and is estimated to dominate during the forecast period. The transition towards cleaner and more sustainable energy sources drives the investments in utility-scale power generation equipment. Governments and global utilities are adopting renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and biomass to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. This shift towards renewable energy necessitates the deployment of utility-scale power generation equipment tailored for these sources such as solar panels, wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, and biomass power plants.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow faster throughout the forecast period

Region-wise, Asia-Pacific was the fastest growing region in terms of revenue in 2022 representing 5.18% of the CAGR. Technological advancements and innovations in power generation equipment play a pivotal role in market expansion. The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing rapid advancements in power generation technologies such as advanced gas turbines, combined cycle power plants, ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants, and energy storage systems. These innovations are aimed at enhancing energy efficiency, reducing emissions, and ensuring grid stability, thereby catering to the evolving energy landscape of the region.

For Purchase Inquiry: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/power-generation-equipment-market/purchase-options

Leading Market Players: -

ABB

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)

Caterpillar

Cummins Inc.

General Electric

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD.

Schneider Electric

Siemens Energy

Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation

Wartsila

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global power generation equipment market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

Trending Reports in Power Generation Equipment Industry:

Power Grid Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

Floating Power Plant Market : Opportunity and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

Green Energy Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

Renewable Energy Transformer Market : Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2032

Renewable Energy Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030

Green Hydrogen Market : Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032

About us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of " Market Research Reports " and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market 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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Profits from frozen Russian assets should be used to help buy weapons for Ukraine, European Commission head says

Russian assets should be used to buy military supplies for Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen said.

The proposal is part of the rising debate over how to use Moscow's frozen funds.

Ukraine's military supplies are being depleted as Russia's offensive picks up.

Russia's frozen assets should be used to purchase badly needed military equipment for Ukraine, European Commission Ursula von der Leyen proposed on Thursday.

"There could be no stronger symbol and no greater use for that money than to make Ukraine and all of Europe a safer place to live," she said in a speech to the European Parliament.

The comment raises yet another recommendation for how to use over $300 billion in Russian reserves frozen by Western states in retaliation for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Recent weeks have amplified calls to funnel the assets to Kyiv, as Western financial support for the country has slid. Although the European Union approved $54 billion for Ukraine's budget last month, the deal didn't come without opposition. Meanwhile, partisan bickering in the US has delayed further aid.

At the same time, Ukraine has cautioned that its ammunition stockpile is quickly draining, whereas Russia's offensive is turning increasingly forceful.

While the assets could provide breathing room, their use has drawn disagreement among Group of Seven leaders. Ideas, such as a proposal to seize the frozen reserves as a whole, have especially spurred worries about legal and financial repercussions.

On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen argued the use of the assets has a "strong international law, economic and moral case," comments that garnered criticism from French Finance Minister Bruno Le Mair.

"This legal basis must be accepted not only by the European countries, not only by the G7 countries, but by all the member states of the world community, and I mean by all the member states of the G20. We should not add any kind of division among the G20 countries," he said on Wednesday, quoted by Reuters.

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So far, the EU members have agreed to set aside profits raised by the assets. As to von der Leyen's suggestion, a formal proposal is set to appear in two weeks, a source told the Financial Times.

Moscow has also promised retaliation for any actions targeting the funds. That includes threats of legal challenges, as well as the symmetric use of Western funds frozen in Russia.

Read the original article on Business Insider
New opposition has emerged surrounding a power plant Minnesota Power, Dairyland Power Cooperative, and Basin Electric Power Cooperative are teaming to build along the banks of the Nemadji River in Superior, Wisconsin. Environmental groups Sierra Club and Clean Wisconsin have been fighting construction of the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC) since at least February 2020, but now, the StarTribune, a Minneapolis, Minnesotabased media outlet, reports local leaders, some of whom previously supported development of the facility, have turned against the project. In an article published on Feb. 28, the StarTribune noted at least four members of the 10-member Superior City Council oppose the project with several undecided. Superior Mayor Jim Paine was also said to be against the project now, after suggesting state and federal scrutiny of the project has been lax.

A State-of-the-Art Plant

NTEC is a proposed natural gasfired combined cycle power plant with an expected capacity in the range of 525 MW to 625 MW (Figure 1). The project was originally announced by Minnesota Power and Dairyland Power in June 2017, with expectations that construction could begin in 2020 and the unit could come online as early as 2024. After the project stalled, Basin Electric signed a deal in September 2021 to buy a 30% stake in the plant from ALLETE, Minnesota Powers parent company. Dairyland Power remains a 50% owner in the facility. [caption id="attachment_216052" align="aligncenter" width="720"]

1. Nemadji Trail Energy Center is planned in partnership with Dairyland Power Cooperative, ALLETEs Minnesota Power, and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Courtesy: Dairyland[/caption] In filings submitted to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), the proposed project is said to include one H-class gas turbine generator, one heat recovery steam generator with duct firing, and one steam turbine generator. The plant is expected to provide backup power for the utilities efforts to expand their use of renewable energy resources. The PSC documents also say NTEC is part of a larger group of projects, which include the construction of a 345-kV transmission line, the relocation of an existing Superior Water, Light & Power 10-inch gas pipeline, and the construction of a new SWL&P 16-inch lateral natural gas pipeline that will tap the existing Great Lakes Gas transmission pipeline. The project seemed well-supported from the start. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the facility in October 2018, as part of Minnesota Powers EnergyForward Resource Package. Local officials were behind the project early on as well. As POWER reported in 2019, Superior city councilors in October signaled their support for the Nemadji Trail plant, unanimously approving a resolution that states the city fully supports the Nemadji Trail Energy Center, which is the largest private investment in the citys history.

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Environmentalists Object

But environmental organizations were not as supportive. Honor the Earth, a Native Americanfocused environmental group, along with the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, Union of Concerned Scientists, and Sierra Club, fought the PUCs decision, and a Minnesota court, on Dec. 23, 2019, said the plant needed more environmental review before construction could proceed. Meanwhile, after the Wisconsin PSC approved the project in January 2020, Clean Wisconsin and Sierra Club filed suit on Feb. 28, 2020, to stop construction, arguing the plant would pose significant risks to the environment and that the PSC should not have issued a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to greenlight the project. Still, project developers have navigated the obstacles fairly well. On May 17, 2022, a Wisconsin Circuit Court upheld the PSCs approval of the project, and on Dec. 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Rural Utilities Service (RUS) issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the NTEC project for the second time. Dairyland Power in a press release following the approval said, The FONSI conclusion document reissuance is an affirmation of the natural gas plants essential role as an always-available, critical capacity resource supporting the clean energy transition. The FONSI was said to affirm that no significant impacts to the quality of the human environment would result from construction and operation of the facility, according to Dairyland Power.

Supporters Step Forward

From filling in critical gaps when solar and wind output is low to serving as a safety-first resource during storms and extreme temperatures, NTEC is key to sustaining grid reliability and supporting renewable energy production, John Carr, Dairyland vice president of Strategic Growth, said in a statement announcing the FONSI decision. Minnesota Power COO Josh Skelton said, Throughout this multiyear process, the project owners have sought input from all stakeholders, as well as fully complying with state and federal approvals, permitting requirements and extensive environmental reviews. NTEC is an important component of our EnergyForward strategy as we continue to advance a clean-energy transition while safeguarding reliable service to our customers. Meanwhile, Basin Electric Senior Vice President and COO Gavin McCollam added, This project aligns with our commitment to provide affordable, reliable energy to our member-owners through an all-of-the-above energy strategy. Utilizing the latest high-efficiency combustion turbines with the potential to burn hydrogen will ensure this facility remains an important energy source for the region long into the future. There are many outside supporters of the NTEC project as well. On Feb. 6, 2024, a rally was held in Superior, organized by the Northern Wisconsin Building trades. Approximately 175 people reportedly attended, including union members and representatives of the business community. Following the rally, union members attended the regularly scheduled city council meeting and some spoke in support of the project during the public comment portion of the agenda. NTEC is expected to create more than 350 construction and 25 permanent jobs in Superior. The regional economic advantages include approximately $1 million in annual local tax benefit, according to the owners. Facility construction is currently expected to begin in spring 2024 with a 2028 in-service date anticipated. Aaron Larson is POWERs executive editor (@POWERmagazine).
PSP Swiss Property (VTX:PSPN) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: CHF375.3m (down 9.3% from FY 2022).

Net income: CHF207.6m (down 37% from FY 2022).

Profit margin: 55% (down from 80% in FY 2022).

EPS: CHF4.53 (down from CHF7.19 in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

PSP Swiss Property EPS Beats Expectations

Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) surpassed analyst estimates by 35%.

Looking ahead, revenue is expected to fall by 1.6% p.a. on average during the next 3 years compared to a 6.1% decline forecast for the Real Estate industry in Switzerland.

Performance of the Swiss Real Estate industry.

The company's shares are down 1.6% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

It's necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 3 warning signs with PSP Swiss Property (at least 1 which is a bit concerning), and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

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.
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 the reality is that when a company loses money each year, for long enough, its investors will usually take their share of those losses. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, so investors in these companies may be taking on more risk than they should.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like u-blox Holding (VTX:UBXN). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

See our latest analysis for u-blox Holding

u-blox Holding's Improving Profits

In the last three years u-blox Holding's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Outstandingly, u-blox Holding's EPS shot from CHF8.52 to CHF14.29, over the last year. Year on year growth of 68% is certainly a sight to behold. Shareholders will be hopeful that this is a sign of the company reaching an inflection point.

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 u-blox Holding is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 4.9 percentage points to 19%, over the last year. That's great to see, on both counts.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

While we live in the present moment, there's little doubt that the future matters most in the investment decision process. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for u-blox Holding?

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Are u-blox Holding Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a necessity that company leaders act in the best interest of shareholders and so insider investment always comes as a reassurance to the market. So it is good to see that u-blox Holding insiders have a significant amount of capital invested in the stock. To be specific, they have CHF18m worth of shares. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. While their ownership only accounts for 2.9%, this is still a considerable amount at stake to encourage the business to maintain a strategy that will deliver value to shareholders.

It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. For companies with market capitalisations between CHF354m and CHF1.4b, like u-blox Holding, the median CEO pay is around CHF1.1m.

u-blox Holding's CEO took home a total compensation package worth CHF966k in the year leading up to December 2022. That is actually below the median for CEO's of similarly sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Should You Add u-blox Holding To Your Watchlist?

u-blox Holding's earnings per share growth have been climbing higher at an appreciable rate. The sweetener is that insiders have a mountain of stock, and the CEO remuneration is quite reasonable. The sharp increase in earnings could signal good business momentum. u-blox Holding certainly ticks a few boxes, so we think it's probably well worth further consideration. You still need to take note of risks, for example - u-blox Holding has 3 warning signs (and 1 which is a bit concerning) we think you should know about.

Although u-blox Holding 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 Swiss 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.
General Motors has a problem at Factory Zero, its electric vehicle plant, that Detroit fire officials and local union leaders want fixed.

Since last summer, there have been eight incidents at the plant prompting GM to call the Detroit Fire Department, said Dennis Hunter, Detroit's chief of fire prevention. Hunter did not provide details of the incidents, but indicated many of them were fires.

Aerial photo of the loading dock at General Motors Factory Zero plant in Detroit on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

One of them, as the Detroit Free Press reported on Dec. 19, was a three-alarm fire that warranted an evacuation of the building and a halt to production that day of the GMC Hummer EV pickup and SUV, and Silverado EV work trucks. According to the incident report obtained by the Detroit Free Press through a state Freedom of Information Act request, there were 22 fire trucks and 88 firefighters at the scene, many of whom were exposed to "the tremendous hazards of a toxic environment."

President Joe Biden sits inside General Motors 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup at the grand opening of Factory ZERO on Nov. 17, 2021. Factory ZERO used to be called Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly. GM spent $2.2 billion to retool it to build all electric vehicles starting this month with the Hummer EV.

But even before that fire, the city had been pushing GM to invest in equipment to prevent or contain the fires often sparked by the lithium ion battery cells GM handles at the factory, Hunter said.

GM has a basic plan now, which they sent to us, which is basically an evacuation plan really," Hunter told the Free Press. "What weve discussed is investment in containers that are designed to contain and extinguish fires or thermal runoff. Wed like to see some investment in those and investment in monitoring systems.

Hunter said there are monitoring blankets that can be placed on the battery cells that alert if a cell's temperature is rising so it can be immediately placed outside and cooled before it overheats or ignites.

GM doesn't dispute that it has had to call the fire department eight times since last summer, but clarified that not all of those calls were for fires, some were for medical emergencies and "other incidents" not related to a battery fire, said GM spokesman Kevin Kelly. Also, GM has been working with the city to enhance the company's safety plan and is looking at possible investment in new safety equipment, Kelly said.

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The United Auto Workers union also wants to discuss improved safety at the plant with GM leaders.

"The UAW-General Motors Department has, and will continue, to address the health and safety concerns at Factory Zero," Mike Booth, UAW vice president of the GM Department, told the Free Press in an email. "From air quality monitoring to emergency evacuation plans, the UAW is committed to the continued well-being of the membership."

Inside the plant  which straddles Detroit and Hamtramck  one local union leader said the workforce wants improved prevention measures.

Aerial photo of the south side of Hamtramck neighborhoods with General Motors Factory Zero plant in Detroit on Wednesday, Feb.7, 2024.

"Our overriding concern is the safety, getting people out. Then, to prevent it," said a union leader who asked to not be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly. "We've got to get better at the prevention and make that risk as small as possible. I think were getting there. Are we going to be 100%? No."

GM's unique problem

GM likely won't get to 100% because the automaker does something unique at Factory Zero that carries an increased risk: assemble lithium ion battery cells into modules that are then put into a battery pack. That battery pack then goes into the EV to power it.

Most automakers use lithium ion battery packs that have already been assembled by a battery cell supplier. But with GM's proprietary Ultium propulsion system, which underpins its newest EVs, GM and its joint venture partner LG Energy Solution make the cells at the Ultium Cells LLC factory in Ohio. GM then ships the cells to an EV plant, in this case Factory Zero, where they are assembled into modules and put into packs before going in the vehicle.

GM will welcome President Joe Biden to Factory ZERO on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, as the company opens the doors to its all-electric assembly plant in Detroit and Hamtramck, Michigan. Here, a worker builds a 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup.

That extra assembly creates the potential for a problem, said a person at GM familiar with the process. This person asked to not be identified because they were not authorized to share that detail publicly.

"Putting the cells into the modules is where the issue is because putting those dozens and dozens of cells into the pack, thats where you run into the possibility of issues due to complexity of it," this person said. "Once you get everything into a pack, the pack is safe."

GM is studying ways to mitigate the risks involved in that battery module assembly, the person said.

Fires in the factory

There were no serious injuries from fires at the factory, Hunter said. But two of the fires caused a total of more than $1 million in damages, according to two incident reports the Free Press obtained.

According to GM's website, Factory Zero is 4.5 million square feet and about 1,880 people work there.

Shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 25, a Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle caught fire on the assembly line, according to that incident report. GM had been building Cruise Origin EVs at Factory Zero until GM's self-driving subsidiary Cruise halted production last fall following an Oct. 2 accident in San Francisco where a Cruise vehicle dragged and injured a pedestrian.

Employees at Factory Zero in Detroit and Hamtramck assemble an early model Cruise Origin, a self-driving vehicle.

Firefighters extinguished the fire with the help of the building's sprinkler system, but the ventilation system was not working correctly, the report said, which "did not allow smoke to exit the building in a timely manner." The report indicates the building had been evacuated when a hazardous materials team arrived. But the fire consisted of a "battery fire, toxins and smoke was in the air," though monitors in the building detected no measurable levels of contaminants.

The report lists $120,000 in property damages from that one fire. The cause was not a battery, but rather "related to a supplier part that malfunctioned," the person at GM who is familiar with the situation told the Free Press.

Firefighters tackle a 'tremendous blaze'

The far bigger fire on Dec. 19 occurred in a dock area and it did involve lithium ion batteries, as the Free Press reported. GM said that fire was caused by a forklift accidentally puncturing a container with battery materials in it.

About 3:40 p.m., firefighters responded to a call at the plant and arrived there about 10 minutes later to find "multiple battery pallets" on fire, according to the incident report. There were pallets stacked from the floor to almost the ceiling and the fire department described a "large fire in the loading dock" area.

The report said firefighters used "copious" amounts of water and foam along with GM-provided EV car fire blankets to help extinguish the flames. Two of the blankets ignited from the flames. The report described the scene as a "tremendous blaze."

"GM had no way to mechanically vent the environment. Upon being inside the facility, (the hazmat team) noticed that all production line machines were still showing signs of having power to them, the (hazmat team) did not see any lockout tags on any electrical machine. This hazard was not able to be controlled and the sprinkler system was in full extinguish mode," the report said.

After the fire was extinguished, the hazmat teams, "created a game plan as to how to safely remove the pallets that were on fire. GM instructed some firefighters on how to operate their fork trucks so the fire department could remove the hazards as safely as possible. During removal, some of the remaining battery packs did ignite and the others were continually 'off gassing.' Detroit Fire's hazmat team was able to mitigate the hazard as best as possible," the report said.

The fire is estimated to have caused $1 million in combined losses to GM property and damages to the building, according to the report.

GM's Kelly declined to comment on the damages or provide a figure for how much GM is looking to invest to mitigate future fires.

On Jan. 13, 2021 this prototype "mule" of the Lordstown Motors Endurance pickup caught fire along 12 Mile Road in Farmington Hills, just minutes into a test drive.

GM's competitors have had EV fires too. In February of last year, Ford Motor Co. temporarily halted production of its F-150 Lightning after one of the pickups ignited on fire, initially spreading to a second vehicle, while in a holding lot in Dearborn. In November, an EV prototype at Stellantis' North America headquarters in Auburn Hills caught fire in a lab, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

In 2021, one of the first all-electric pickups to hit Michigan roads, a Lordstown Motors prototype, became engulfed in an inferno, as the Free Press reported. The three engineers test driving it escaped uninjured and the company blamed the fire on human error in hand-building the prototype.

Detroit could fine GM

The city and GM have met "at least three times" since the fires started last summer, to come up with a better safety plan for GM workers and first responders when there's a battery fire, Hunter said.

He said Detroit could levy violations and fines against GM if necessary, but is working with the company first. If any business is not compliant with the city's fire code, he said, they may receive a violation with a limited amount of time to bring the item into compliance. If the business does not come into compliance, a ticket is issued and fines range around $500 and up, depending on violations, Hunter said. GM is not in violation of any fire codes at the moment, Hunter said, but he added that there has to be "a better response and action solution in case of a EV battery fire."

"We are working hand-in-hand with General Motors to come up with a response plan," Hunter said. "Our guys can put on proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and extinguish a fire. But for the GM workers, they need a better plan. Its not safe for them to breathe those gasses.

Another problem for firefighters is that lithium ion battery fires are harder to extinguish than a regular fire, Hunter said. He has been in contact with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) about the problem, he said, since other automakers make EVs too. The IAFF did not respond to a Free Press request for comment on what sorts of safety protocols it is working on in regard to lithium ion battery fires.

GM's response

GM is working with the city to find a solution that will keep everyone safe, Kelly said in an email to the Free Press.

As part of our safety protocols, when we are alerted of a potential incident, our first and immediate step is to contact the local fire department to ensure we have the assistance we may need, and we are grateful for their ongoing support," GM said in the statement Kelly sent.

"We also evacuate the plant out of an abundance of caution any time there is an elevated battery cell-related incident for the safety of our workers," the statement said. "We have been in regular dialogue with the leadership of the Detroit Fire Department, including an on-site meeting with them in January, and will continue to work collaboratively on our safety practices. We are actively working on increasing site capability to manage incidents, including the purchase of additional mitigation and response equipment.

GM is also considering hiring and training its own fire personnel in-house, said the person familiar with the situation, adding that whatever the company learns about increased safety at Factory Zero, it will be applied to its Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee and other EV plants. GM builds the Cadillac Lyriq at Spring Hill Assembly.

A drain on city resources

The reason EV fires are difficult to put out is because when an EV battery malfunctions, it can "kick-start a chemical reaction, known as thermal runaway, that produces a lot of heat in a small space," University of Michigan Dearborn's Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Lei Chen wrote in a Jan. 30 newsletter. "Chemical fires dont need oxygen to burn and can easily reignite, even after being doused with water," he wrote.

Chen, whose research is partly funded by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy, has studied the cause of thermal runaway, which is the formation of lithium dendrite, a metal that can grow in tree-branch-like patterns along the battery. Lithium dendrite can cause a short circuit that sparks a fire, Chen wrote. Lithium dendrite could form from overcharging beyond the batterys maximum capacity or from defects such as cracks within the battery, he said.

Hunter said firefighters have to put copious amounts of water on a battery fire to extinguish it, which is a drain on city resources.

"Now youre talking about hours and hours of manpower at one location and firefighters having to rotate in and out, in and out and exposure," Hunter said. "Which is why were trying to get GM to have a better plan so when we do get there, we can send one or two engines to extinguish it rather than if its out of control and we have to send 15 or 20 firetrucks. That takes away from city resources.

More: GM's high-level meetings with railroads to get new cars to market faster

More: GM plans to put totally driverless Cruise vehicles back on U.S. roads: Here's how

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit wants GM to make safety upgrades at Factory Zero after fires
FILE PHOTO: Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala speaks during the opening ceremony of the WTO ministerial meeting in Abu Dhabi

By Emma Farge and Rachna Uppal

ABU DHABI (Reuters) -It was billed as the "reform ministerial" that could lay a platform for updated global trading rules fit for modern challenges, from climate change to rising agricultural and industrial subsidies.

But from day one at the World Trade Organization's biennial gathering of ministers, the warning signs were clear that major trading nations were not in a mood for the sort of compromise required to achieve progress on any track.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo Iweala had curbed expectations as the conference opened, with wars and tensions fragmenting the global economy into separate blocs and the U.S. and other elections limiting room for manoeuvre.

The first day of negotiations did not go smoothly.

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal only arrived during the course of Tuesday, by which time his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao had departed.

Almost all members arrived in Abu Dhabi wanting to restore the WTO's ability to resolve trade disputes, which the United States has hobbled by blocking judge appointments to the appeals body that acts like a supreme court for global trade.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide sought to broker a compromise and secure a WTO commitment towards a return to this system, but was rebuffed by U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a meeting sources said ended abruptly.

Tai declined to comment on the meeting but was positive about ongoing negotiations. And WTO members did agree to continue talking on the matter in 2024.

Light relief did at least come by the evening as the WTO toasted the accessions of East Timor and Comoros with sparkling wine and the jubilant East Timor delegation led a conga line around the room.

The WTO treated the two accessions as a success, but it does swell its ranks to 166 members, each of whom have veto rights under its consensus-based system to stymie agreement. Indeed, in its near 30-year history the WTO has only struck two multilateral accords, one to cut red tape and another to curb fishing subsidies.

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By Wednesday, a multi-nation agreement designed to boost investment in poorer countries was blocked, despite some 120 countries having agreed to a text in November.

Meanwhile, language on climate change, expected in a final WTO communique, was parked in an annex with an explanatory note referring to "deep divergences" among members.

As negotiations continued behind closed doors on Thursday and into Friday, the United States trade representative departed, leaving trade chiefs from the European Union, India and a handful of other countries battling through to the close just beyond midnight.

India had previously signalled it was not in a mood to compromise, particularly towards extending a waiver on digital tariffs, a moratorium developed countries in particular had sought. But it dropped its opposition at the last minute following a personal request from the UAE hosts, a senior Indian official said.

At the end, Goyal expressed satisfaction that India had not lost out on anything.

But one EU official said the overall impasse was sobering and not good for the future of trade, on which the European Union relies.

"I think trade will be more and more characterised by power relations rather than the rule of law, and that I think is a big problem notably for smaller countries and for developing countries," the official said.

"The spirit was really everyone for themselves, zero sum game."

(Reporting by Emma Farge and Rachna Uppal; Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark John and Daniel Wallis)
Roundhill Launches Pair of Magnificent Seven ETFs

Roundhill Investments, the thematic ETF issuer with $870.7 million in assets, is doubling down on the Magnificent Seven with a pair of funds, including one for bets the stocks will rise and the other for investors who want to profit on their decline.

The asset manager known for its metaverse and gaming exchange-traded funds launched the Roundhill Daily 2X Long Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGX), which offers twice the daily performance of the famed seven tech equities, by investing at least 80% of its portfolio in equal weight exposure to Nvidia Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Tesla Inc. The Roundhill Daily Inverse Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGQ) give inverse exposure to the same basket of stocks.

The funds, which began trading today, are designed for "sophisticated traders," the company said in a statement. MAGX dropped 1.6% to $25.15 in afternoon trading while MAGQ rose 0.1% to $24.86.

The seven stocks were coined the Magnificent Seven as they largely drove the bull market that started last year. The group makes up about a quarter of the value of the 3,700 or so publicly traded U.S. companies. Fueled by artificial intelligence excitement and the launch of AI products such as Chat GPT, investors bet big on chipmakers like Nvidia and chatbot creators such as Microsoft.

We saw an opportunity to provide both investors and traders with the full toolkit to express their opinion on the Magnificent Seven, explained Dave Mazza, Chief Strategy Officer of Roundhill in an interview with etf.com about the new launches.

The launch follows the November conversion of Roundhill's BIGT fund into the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS), which has not had a day of outflows so far this year, pulling in $106.2 million while gaining 13%, according to etf.com data.

While MAGS is for investors, MAGX and MAGQ is for traders, Mazza said.

Particularly the 2x version is only appropriate for traders who have the ability to monitor their positions on a daily basis, explained Mazza.

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More Like 'Mag 4'

While the Magnificent Seven drove the S&P 500 to record highs and pushed the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) to gain over 50% last year, in 2024 only four of the seven stocks have really pulled their weights.

Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have been responsible for 75% of the S&P 500s gain in 2024, according to a research note from LPL Financial.

Yet some members are dragging the group down. Most notably, Tesla has fallen nearly 20% year to date. The Mag Seven index is only outperforming the S&P 500 by 5% so far in early February, while at the same time last year it was outperforming by 23%.

However, Mazza said he doesnt think the "Mag Seven" grouping is an already fading trend.

I think that Mag Seven, whether its on stock leading the charge, three, or the entirety of them, is more emblematic as a term, said Mazza. We have confidence in the names that are identified.

Contact Lucy Brewster at lucy.brewster@etf.com.





Permalink |  Copyright 2024 etf.com. All rights reserved
The place for all things cold chain.

All thawed out

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

A key part of the Research Triangle, Raleigh, North Carolina, has become home to the next great partnership in health care. Q-linea, a company that develops instruments and systems for in vitro diagnosis of infectious diseases, has partnered with Uniphar Logistics, a crucial move in Sweden-based Q-lineas commercial launch in the U.S.

According to a news release, ASTar, Q-lineas groundbreaking automated instrument, is revolutionizing healthcare by swiftly providing sensitivity profiles from positive blood cultures. This innovation empowers healthcare providers with rapid, precise solutions for diagnosing and treating infectious diseases, significantly reducing time to care.

Uniphar specializes in temperature-controlled and medtech distribution. This is a huge leap for health care organizations looking for stronger diagnostic solutions.

Temperature checks

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Big Expansion news in Surprise, Arizona. Rinchem, a global chemical supply chain management company, has expanded its Arizona presence with a custom-built hazmat warehouse. The new 123,500-square-foot facility has 16,000 pallet positions and a 103,000-square-foot storage yard with 432 spaces for ISO shipping containers. It also has a dedicated gas pad with 48 storage bays and temperature-controlled storage for flammable and corrosive materials.

Were confident it will play a crucial role in supporting the growth of the local semiconductor industry and contributing to the regions economic prosperity, Rinchem CEO Chris Easter said in a press release.

The Surprise warehouse opening follows Rinchems successful launch of two other hazmat warehouses in 2023, located in Cornelius, Oregon, and Penang, Malaysia. Rinchems second Phoenix-area warehouse further solidifies its position as a partner for leading companies in the semiconductor industry.

Food and drugs

(Photo: The Frozen Farmer)

The year of Barbie didnt end in 2023; its just moving to the freezer aisle. The Frozen Farmer has debuted a line of Barbie-themed Freezer Squeezers to celebrate Barbies 65th anniversary. The frozen treat is a strawberry lemonade sorbet in a tube.

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The Frozen Farmer originally started as a way to reduce food waste by using misfit fruit from the family farm.

Katey Evans, founder of The Frozen Farmer, said in a news release, What started as a way to use produce that looks unique has become our mission  . Barbie is a brand that celebrates the differences of all children that make them uniquely themselves  and as a mom, I love that as much as my daughters love all things Barbie.

Cold chain lanes

(SONAR Tickers: ROTVI.SAN, ROTRI.SAN)

This weeks SONAR market heads to Southern California. Capacity in San Diego is staying relatively flat despite rising reefer outbound tender rejection and volume levels. Reefer outbound tender rejections have risen 72 basis points week over week to come in at a rate of 3.6%. Reefer outbound tender volumes are also rising to levels that match the middle of the month. Ultimately there will be little impact on spot rates as long as outbound tender volumes continue to rise alongside outbound tender rejections. Should rejections pass 7%, San Diego could become a hotbed for spot rates that start becoming inflated.

Is SONAR for you? Check it out with a demo!

Shelf life

USADA adopts Ember LifeSciences cold chain technology for human specimen transport

Put your pallet in a parka

Vertical Cold Storage picks second DFW facility

PR: Biocair looks to the future of drug development and distribution with a new process for risk mitigation in supply chains

How can this energy-intensive sector improve its green credentials?

Wanna chat in the cooler? Shoot me an email with comments, questions or story ideas at moconnell@freightwaves.com.

See you on the internet.

Mary

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you must be pretty chill. Join the coolest community in freight and subscribe for more at freightwaves.com/subscribe.

The post Running on Ice: Barbie comes to the freezer aisle appeared first on FreightWaves.
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair will carry 198 million to 200 million passengers in the financial year from April versus the 205 million previously forecast, after announcing cuts to its summer schedule on Friday due to Boeing delivery delays.

The company was due to receive 57 Boeing MAX 8200 planes by the end of April, but a deepening crisis at Boeing, which has been prohibited from ramping up 737 MAX production, means it will deliver just 40 jets before the end of June, Ryanair said.

The Irish airline, Europe's largest by passenger number flying 184 million this year, said it will have to reduce around 10 aircraft lines of flying from its 600-strong fleet for the peak summer months of July, August and September as a result.

"We expect these latest Boeing delivery delays combined with the grounding of up to 20% of our Airbus competitors A320 fleets in Europe will lead to more constrained capacity and slightly higher air fares for consumers in Europe in Summer 2024," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said.

"Boeing continues to have Ryanair's wholehearted support as they work through these temporary challenges, and we are confident that their senior management team, led by Dave Calhoun (CEO) and Brian West (CFO), will resolve these production delays and quality control issues in both Wichita and Seattle."

Ryanair shares were 1% lower in early trade. O'Leary had said last week that he was reasonably confident of receiving between 40 and 45 jets for the summer.

The carrier will work with Boeing to accept deliveries from July to September and deliver some traffic growth in September and October, though it said this can only be achieved at lower fares during the shoulder months.

It said it had already implemented the schedule cuts at some of its higher cost airports, including four in Portugal, Dublin, Milan, Malpensa and Warsaw Modlin. All affected passengers have been offered alternative flight times or full refunds.

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ:SBCF) Full Year 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: US$527.8m (up 30% from FY 2022).

Net income: US$104.0m (down 2.3% from FY 2022).

Profit margin: 20% (down from 26% in FY 2022). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses.

EPS: US$1.24 (down from US$1.67 in FY 2022).

SBCF Banking Performance Indicators

Net interest margin (NIM): 3.77% (up from 3.69% in FY 2022).

Cost-to-income ratio: 57.4% (up from 53.0% in FY 2022).

Non-performing loans: 0.65% (up from 0.35% in FY 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida EPS Misses Expectations

Revenue was in line with analyst estimates. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 6.9%.

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 2.9% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, compared to a 5.8% growth forecast for the Banks industry in the US.

Performance of the American Banks industry.

The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

Before we wrap up, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida that you should be aware of.

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.
OpenAI has seen the future, and it involves putting artificial intelligence in a humanoid robot.

The developer of ChatGPT, the generative AI technology that has set the world abuzz, said it's investing in Figure, a Silicon Valley company that makes robots for the workplace. OpenAI and Figure will also join forces to develop AI technology aimed at helping robots "process and reason from language," the companies announced in a news release.

Launched in 2022, Figure is building what it calls "general purpose humanoids" that can labor alongside people, as well as do dangerous or unpleasant work. "There are over 10 million unsafe or undesirable jobs in the U.S. alone, and an aging population will only make it increasingly difficult for companies to scale their workforces," the company says on its website.

Other blue-chip players joining OpenAI to invest in Figure include Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions, his family office), Intel, Microsoft and Nvidia, with the $675 million venture round announced Thursday valuing the robotics company at $2.6 billion.

Figure is one of a growing number of companies developing robots to work in warehouses, factories and other industrial settings. The company announced in January that it had signed a deal with BMW to deploy robots in the German automaker's plants, including the German company's facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

"Our vision at Figure is to bring humanoid robots into commercial operations as soon as possible," said Brett Adcock, the startup's founder and CEO, in a statement on its latest funding round. "This investment, combined with our partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, ensures that we are well-prepared to bring embodied AI into the world to make a transformative impact on humanity."

Here's a look at what Figure's robot can do.
Shell SHEL is reportedly planning to leave the Niger delta by selling off its subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Corporation, operating in the area, to a consortium of local companies, also known as the Renaissance Africa Energy Company. However, the London-based energy giant is facing widespread criticism due to a report published by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), a Dutch non-profit organization. According to a SOMO report, Shell cannot be allowed to divest its assets and leave the delta without assuming the responsibility for the extensive pollution caused by it and ensuring safe decommissioning of its abandoned assets in the region.

The report highlights that the historical pollution in the region is a serious issue. Shell has been allegedly trying to avoid environmental responsibilities, even though it has earned huge profits from oil extraction in the Niger delta, leaving the region as one of the most polluted places on Earth. With SHELs exit, the only ones left behind to suffer the dire consequences of their actions will be the communities that reside there.

Shell, for long, has been holding its stance that the theft of oil and interference with the pipelines are the major reasons behind oil spills. However, the report stated that no matter what, Shell must take the responsibility to clean up the oil spills, per Nigerian law.

However, unlike its previous sales, Shell, this time, is transferring all its subsidiary shares to Renaissance, indicating a change in ownership. However, even with this change, SPDC will carry the current staff and assume the responsibility for remediation efforts in relation to the previous oil spills.

Although SOMO has noted the arrangement, the report by SOMO mentions a big transparency gap around the funding needed for decommissioning. The researchers at SOMO did not find any confirmation about funds allocated to cover the decommissioning of the oil mining leases sold by Shell.

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The Dutch non-profit organization emphasizes that allowing Shell to simply walk away from this unjust energy transition, without holding it accountable for historical pollution, the lack of funding for safe decommissioning and poor financial transparency, will set a dangerous example for all multinational companies in the region.

British politician and Labour MP Clive Lewis has added to the conversation and raised concerns regarding Shells proposed sale of its Nigerian subsidiary, leaving behind an environmental disaster. He underscores the severity of the situation at Niger delta, highlighting that Shells actions are brutal and regressive for the residing communities.

Protesters, activists and international environmental groups want Nigerias government to delay the divestment of Shells onshore assets to ensure that the company takes the environmental and social responsibility for the polluted Niger delta.

Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Currently, SHEL carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors might want to look at some better-ranked stocks in the energy sector, such as Energy Transfer LP ET, Archrock Inc. AROC and Repsol REPYY. While both Energy Transfer and ArchRock presently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Repsol carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Energy Transfer is a midstream player that owns and operates one of the most diversified portfolios of energy assets in the United States. With a pipeline network extending more than 125,000 miles, its network spans over 44 states. With a presence in all the major U.S. production basins, the companys outlook seems positive.

Archrock is an energy infrastructure company based in the United States, with a focus on midstream natural gas compression. It provides natural gas contract compression services and generates stable fee-based revenues.

Repsol is a global multi-energy company, involved in exploration and production activities as well as refining and marketing petroleum products. The company is also actively involved in transitioning toward cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions. Recently, it announced the expansion of its network of renewable fuel refilling stations in Europe, demonstrating its commitment to a sustainable energy model.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Energy Transfer LP (ET) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Repsol SA (REPYY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Archrock, Inc. (AROC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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Zacks Investment Research
Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX:OV8) has announced that it will be increasing its periodic dividend on the 17th of May to SGD0.032, which will be 4.2% higher than last year's comparable payment amount of SGD0.0307. Based on this payment, the dividend yield for the company will be 4.0%, which is fairly typical for the industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Sheng Siong Group

Sheng Siong Group's Payment Has Solid Earnings Coverage

While it is always good to see a solid dividend yield, we should also consider whether the payment is feasible. Before this announcement, Sheng Siong Group was paying out 70% of earnings, but a comparatively small 54% of free cash flows. Since the dividend is just paying out cash to shareholders, we care more about the cash payout ratio from which we can see plenty is being left over for reinvestment in the business.

Looking forward, earnings per share is forecast to rise by 9.2% over the next year. If the dividend continues along recent trends, we estimate the payout ratio will be 70%, which is in the range that makes us comfortable with the sustainability of the dividend.

Dividend Volatility

The company has a long dividend track record, but it doesn't look great with cuts in the past. The annual payment during the last 10 years was SGD0.0295 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was SGD0.0625. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 7.8% a year over that time. A reasonable rate of dividend growth is good to see, but we're wary that the dividend history is not as solid as we'd like, having been cut at least once.

The Dividend Looks Likely To Grow

With a relatively unstable dividend, it's even more important to see if earnings per share is growing. We are encouraged to see that Sheng Siong Group has grown earnings per share at 14% per year over the past five years. EPS has been growing at a reasonable rate, although with most of the profits being paid out to shareholders, growth prospects could be more limited in the future.

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We Really Like Sheng Siong Group's Dividend

In summary, it is always positive to see the dividend being increased, and we are particularly pleased with its overall sustainability. The company is easily earning enough to cover its dividend payments and it is great to see that these earnings are being translated into cash flow. All of these factors considered, we think this has solid potential as a dividend stock.

Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. For example, we've picked out 1 warning sign for Sheng Siong Group that investors should know about before committing capital to this stock. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers.

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.
VANCOUVER, BC, March 1, 2024 /CNW/ - Sitka Gold Corp. ("Sitka" or the "Company") (CSE: SIG) (FSE: 1RF) (OTCQB: SITKF) is pleased to announce that the Company has received approval to list its common shares (the "Shares") on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") following satisfaction of regulatory requirements. The Shares will be de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange at the close of markets on March 4, 2024 and begin trading on the TSX-V at the open of markets on March 5, 2024.

Sitka Gold Corp Logo (CNW Group/Sitka Gold Corp.)

"We are looking forward to working with the TSX-V and expect this listing to improve the Company's visibility across both domestic and international capital markets," stated Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka. "With exposure to a broader base of potential investors, we believe this will provide a means of expanding the company's investor base and ultimately assist in unlocking the value of Sitka's gold discoveries in the Yukon and Nevada along with the other mineral assets within its portfolio of projects."

Upon listing, the Company's trading symbol "SIG" will remain unchanged and shareholders will not be required to take any action in connection with the Company's listing on the TSX-V. The Shares will also continue to be listed on the OTCQB Marketplace in the United States under the symbol "SITKF" and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1RF".

Appointment of New Director

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Angus Campbell, P. Geo., to the Board as a Director.

Mr. Campbell is a Professional Geologist with over 30 years of global project experience. He has extensive exploration and operational knowledge gained by working on greenfield, brownfield and mine development projects. Most recently he was Vice President of Exploration for Sabina Gold and Silver Corp. which was acquired by B2Gold Corp. in 2023 for $1.2 billion. During his 10 years with Sabina, Angus led exploration initiatives that resulted in a new deposit discovery and over 2.5 million ounces of resource growth. Prior to Sabina, Angus was Exploration Manager for Chile with BHP Billiton based in Santiago. Throughout his career he has held senior technical positions with a focus on Health Safety Environment and Community, business development and discovery. He has worked throughout North and South America and parts of Asia. Angus was a member of Rio Algom's Spence copper deposit discovery team in Chile who were honoured with the PDAC Bill Denis award in 1998. Angus holds a B.Sc. in Geology and is a registered Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia.

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Cor Coe, Director and CEO of Sitka, stated, "We are very excited to welcome Angus Campbell to the Board of Directors. His distinguished career brings an incredible amount of experience and knowledge to our team at a key stage in the Company's growth. We look forward to working with Angus as we continue to advance the major gold discovery at our flagship RC Gold Project in Yukon and unlock value across our portfolio of other mineral properties."

In connection with the appointment of Mr. Campbell to the Board, the Company has granted Mr. Campbell 400,000 incentive stock options (the "Options"). The Options are exercisable at $0.14 per Share for a period of three years from the date of grant and are subject to the terms and conditions of the Company's new stock option plan. In order to comply with applicable TSX-V policies, the Company adopted a new 10% rolling stock option plan which will be put to shareholders for approval on an annual basis in accordance with TSX-V policies.

Upcoming Events

Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at the following events*:

Tombstone Gold Rush Breakfast - Fireside Chat - Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024

Invest Yukon Precious Metals Luncheon - Toronto, ON: March 5, 2024

PDAC, Toronto, ON: March 3 - 6, 2024 Exhibitor Booth #2346: March 3-6 One-on-One Meeting Program: March 4-5 Core Shack Booth #3310: March 3-4

Swiss Mining Institute, Zurich, Switzerland: March 20 - 21, 2024

121 Mining Investment, London, England: May 16-17, 2024

*All events are subject to change.

Agreement for Investor Relations Services

The Company announces that it has entered into an investor relations agreement (the "IR Agreement") with Jennifer Coe, B.Sc., (the "Consultant"), pursuant to which the Consultant has agreed, effective September 1, 2023, to provide marketing and shareholder communications services to the Company for a term of 12 months, and thereafter for subsequent terms of 6 months, subject to termination in accordance with the terms of the IR Agreement.

The Consultant has been engaged to heighten market awareness for the Company and to broaden the Company's reach within the investment community. In conducting her marketing and communications program, the Consultant will employ a number of different communication methods, including digital marketing, broadcasting, newsletter dissemination, phone calls and emails.

The Consultant brings over 15 years of marketing experience to Sitka from a variety of industries including nine years as Director of Member Services at Hollyburn Country Club in West Vancouver where she managed marketing, communications and public relations. In the past four years she has been actively involved in the junior mining sector and now will focus on leading Sitka's major marketing, branding and communication initiatives.

The Company will pay the Consultant a monthly cash fee of $5,000 which the Company intends to pay out of its general working capital account. Pursuant to the IR Agreement and subject to the approval of the Company's Board and the necessary regulatory consents and approvals, the Company may issue to the Consultant, from time to time, Options to purchase Shares in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan.

The Company and the Consultant act at arm's length. The Consultant currently holds (i) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.19, expiring on April 6, 2026; (ii) 50,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.12 expiring on February 25, 2025; and (iii) 200,000 Options with an exercise price of $0.20 expiring on January 4, 2027. The Consultant has no other interest in the Company or its securities, or any right to or intent to acquire such an interest at this time.

The Consultant has agreed to comply with all applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX-V in providing the services to the Company.

About Sitka Gold Corp.

Sitka Gold Corp. is a well-funded mineral exploration company headquartered in Canada. The Company is managed by a team of experienced industry professionals and is focused on exploring for economically viable mineral deposits with its primary emphasis on gold, silver and copper mineral properties of merit. Sitka currently has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the RC, Bee Bop, Barney Ridge, and OGI properties in the Yukon and the Burro Creek Gold and Silver property in Arizona. Sitka owns a 100% interest in its Clear Creek and Mahtin properties in Yukon, the Alpha Gold property in Nevada, and the Coppermine River project in Nunavut.

The Company recently announced an NI 43-101 compliant initial inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1) beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t at its RC Gold Project in Yukon (see news release dated January 19, 2023). A total of approximately 6500 metres of additional diamond drilling within 16 drill holes has been completed at RC Gold since the announcement of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023. Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District, Yukon Territory

The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Cor Coe, P.Geo., Director and CEO of the Company, and a Qualified Person (QP) as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF

SITKA GOLD CORP.

"Donald Penner"

President and Director

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the development of the business, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing of the Shares from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, about: general business and economic conditions; the timing of the receipt of regulatory approvals, the listing of the Shares on the TSX-V and the de-listing from the Canadian Securities Exchange.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk the Shares will not be listed on the TSX-V and de-listed from the Canadian Securities Exchange as currently anticipated.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

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(Bloomberg) -- Thomas Jordan will leave the Swiss National Bank later this year after more than a decade as president, ending an era where his institution was at the heart of currency and banking turmoil that rippled around the world.

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Switzerlands longest-serving central bank chief since World War II, the 61-year-old native of Biel in the countrys northwest will step down in September. An SNB spokesperson declined to comment on who could succeed Jordan; given past practice, Vice President Martin Schlegel is a likely candidate.

Whoever does get the job will take charge of an institution that remains pivotal in managing one of the worlds most-traded currencies, and that has navigated the recent inflation surge while avoiding the worst of consumer-price increases seen elsewhere.

Jordans departure is nothing short of seismic for Switzerland. He is one of its best-known and most influential public officials, having steered the economy through the euro-area debt crisis, removed the cap on the franc in January 2015, adopted the worlds lowest interest rate, and driven the response to the Credit Suisse crisis last year.

A towering figure at the SNB itself, his dominance of a highly conservative institution had begun to trouble some of the countrys political class in recent years. Consequently, the presidents exit will also leave a gaping hole for his successor to fill.

Jordan did a superb job and will be very difficult to replace, said Karsten Junius, chief economist and head of economic and strategy research at Bank J. Safra Sarasin in Zurich. But maybe the end of his era is also a chance to broaden decision making at the SNB.

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A Harvard-educated economist and career SNB official who took charge in 2012 when former president Philipp Hildebrand quit in the midst of a currency-trading scandal, Jordans tenure saw plenty of turbulence too.

With Europes debt crisis raging just beyond Switzerlands borders, he held to the currency ceiling imposed by his predecessor until an unstoppable flow of money pouring into the franc forced him to abruptly abandon the policy in 2015, causing global market ructions.

Last year, Jordan was once again in the eye of the storm as Credit Suisse floundered after banking turmoil spread from the US, and oversaw its rescue takeover by UBS. The legacy there is that the financial system of one of Europes smaller countries is now dominated by a mega bank.

Under his leadership, the SNB also aggressively raised rates even before the European Central Bank did so in 2022, and then ended years of negative borrowing costs. The SNB is expected to start cutting them again later this year, though analysts dont yet see a move at its next scheduled meeting in March.

While the departure is a surprise, its not uncommon for SNB presidents to step down of their own accord in a country where there are no term limits for central bank chiefs. His tenure was previously thrown into question in 2021 after he temporarily stepped back from his duties for medical reasons.

Having met the various challenges of recent years, now is the right time for me to step down, Jordan said in the statement.

Later, speaking at a press conference in Zurich, the president hinted that he might have wanted to leave earlier, if things hadnt got in the way.

Challenges in past years, including Covid, the war in Ukraine and the crisis at Credit Suisse prevented me from resigning, Jordan said. Having successfully restored price stability and ensuring price stability, this situation has now changed.

The outgoing chief declined to comment on who should succeed him, and added that he has no plans about what to do next.

As with Jordan himself, its been common in the past for the vice president to take the top job. Schlegel currently holds that role, putting him in pole position. The other member of the rate setting panel is newly appointed Antoine Martin.

For full story on potential successors, click here

The move also reopens the matter of succession at an institution that lacks diversity. Andrea Maechler, the only woman to serve on the governing board, left last year to join the Bank of International Settlements. The departure means all three members of the SNBs top echelon will have served for less than two years.

His two colleagues on the Governing Board have hardly been in office for long  this makes it even more difficult to read the monetary policy course from statements of SNB officials, which are already rare compared to other central banks, said Raiffeisen Switzerland economist Alexander Koch.

--With assistance from Fergal O'Brien and Angela Cullen.

(Correct to specify that Jordan is longest-serving president since World War II in second paragrah)

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2024 Bloomberg L.P.
FILE PHOTO: Members of the Starbucks Workers Union picket and hold a rally outside Starbucks store in New York

By Waylon Cunningham and Daniel Wiessner

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Starbucks union representatives want to create a national template for labor contract negotiations with the coffee chain, according to union organizers - an idea a Starbucks spokeswoman said the company believes is "speculative."

The union, Workers United, has organized nearly 400 stores out of the company's 9,700 U.S. locations since 2021, and is seeking to organize more.

Starbucks so far has sought to negotiate only individual contracts store-by-store. The union has argued this is a delaying tactic.

The union and Starbucks said on Tuesday they had agreed they would create a "framework" to guide organizing and collective bargaining and potentially settle scores of pending legal disputes.

Workers United wants the framework to include hashing out a national template contract for bargaining that individual stores would adopt, two union organizers told Reuters.

Starbucks spokeswoman Rachel Wall said the only agreement between the company and union leadership has been to begin discussion on a framework.

"We're eager to schedule that meeting soon, in the coming weeks, I'd hope," she said. She referred to the talk of a national template for bargaining as "speculative."

Workers United declined to comment.

Reagan Skaggs, a union organizer at a Starbucks in Valparaiso, Indiana, said the conversation currently appears to be moving toward a national union front, "which is fantastic."

Quinn Craig, a former barista and organizer at Texas' first unionized Starbucks, said under the preliminary discussions, Starbucks has agreed "instead of going through (the bargaining) process with all stores, we would bargain a national baseline contract for everyone, and then go around get all of the specific needs met."

The union claims that Craig was illegally fired last summer for participating in a walkout. A spokeswoman for Starbucks said Craig was separated from our store for clear violations of established cash-handling and workplace violence policies and failure to adhere to store alarm protocols, not in retaliation for union activities.

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MILESTONE CONTRACT

Beyond Starbucks, a national bargaining process would mark a significant milestone for nascent efforts to organize the service sector.

"No other chain has had something like this, but we have to understand that there's no other chain that's been organized in so many different places so rapidly," said Ileen DeVault, a professor of labor history at Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

In recent years, union-backed organizing groups such as Fight for $15, which focuses on fast food workers, and OUR Walmart have sought to pressure major companies to engage in large-scale bargaining by staging strikes and protests and filing legal complaints against employers. But those efforts, including at fast food giant McDonald's, have largely stalled.

Newer campaigns, including efforts to organize workers at Starbucks, Amazon.com, sporting goods retailer REI and Wells Fargo, have largely focused on unionizing individual workplaces.

DeVault said a national bargaining table would be beneficial for both sides, considering the hundreds of sites.

"It's not like Starbucks has a whole troupe of labor relations people who can run out to these different locations and bargain."

DeVault said similar arrangements have been made outside of retail and food industries. Last year the Teamsters, the union representing roughly 340,000 UPS workers, ratified a master contract alongside local supplemental agreements.

Lane Windham, a labor historian and professor at Georgetown University, and a former labor organizer, said U.S. contract negotiations function differently than in many other countries, usually through individual workplaces.

Other countries such as Germany and France tend to have sectoral bargaining, Windham said, where unions negotiate contracts with employers across an entire industry.

"It's been a long time since we've seen something like this, and certainly never in the service sector," Windham said. But, she continued, "It hasn't actually happened yet."

(Reporting by Waylon Cunningham in San Antonio, Texas, and Daniel Wiessner in Albany, NY; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Nick Zieminski)
FILE PHOTO: TD Bank Group president and CEO Masrani speaks during the bank's annual meeting of shareholders in Toronto

By Nivedita Balu

TORONTO (Reuters) - From a U.S. money-laundering probe and the cancelled acquisition of First Horizon Corp in May, Canada's TD Bank has faced turbulence that is making questions about who will succeed CEO Bharat Masrani top of mind for many investors.

The CEO told analysts on Thursday in a call, after TD reported its first quarterly profit beat in a year due to strong domestic business, that he is focused on the job.

"I'm focused. Every day I wake up, I'm focused on strengthening the bank," Masrani told analysts.

"As you would expect, we have very detailed and robust succession plans across the bank."

At 67, he is the same age as his predecessor, Ed Clark, when he retired. Jefferies analyst John Aiken said Masrani could soon "decide to call it a day and walk into the sunset for a well deserved retirement."

TD did not comment beyond Masrani's remarks on Thursday.

The departure of Michael Rhodes in December, the Canadian retail operations head who was long seen as a potential CEO candidate, has left investors with new questions about Masrani's eventual replacement.

Rhodes was replaced by Ray Chun, who joined TD in 1992 and has held top roles across its wealth management and insurance units.

Jefferies' Aiken said that a lack of ready replacements for the CEO can create significant concern in the market, as its choices are not as wide as they once were due to notable turnover in its executive ranks in recent years.

"It doesn't sound like he's in a hurry to leave... (But) I think the board will probably want to accelerate the process," said Brian Madden, chief investment officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel.

"I would say it's more likely someone internal. It's better for continuity."

Analysts and shareholders expect Masrani to stay until the U.S. money-laundering probe is done, which some speculate will culminate in a hefty fine and tighter transaction controls at the bank. TD shareholder Anthony Visano of Kingwest & Co said he hopes it will finish by the end of the year.

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Visano endorsed the idea of the lender developing an internal CEO candidate, saying there isn't enough time to groom an outside executive.

Following the traditional pattern at Canadian banks to promote from within among long-serving executives, Masrani rose to CEO after building the bank's U.S. franchise over seven years as U.S. head.

While Masrani has been CEO, TD has hit a C$146 billion ($106 billion) market capitalization with 64% share price growth, on par with the broader Toronto Composite Index and in the middle of peers like BMO and Royal Bank of Canada.

COULD NEXT CEO COME FROM OUTSIDE TD?

Three of Canada's bank CEOs, at RBC, TD and CIBC, mark 10 years in the job this year. At TD, it may be premature to rule out a new CEO coming from outside the bank as analysts do not see a deep pool of candidates among its executives.

But the TD board will probably see last year's move by Bank of Nova Scotia as a cautionary tale and avoid going outside the industry.

Scotiabank named board member Scott Thomson, former CEO of Caterpillar dealer Finning, as its chief last year. The appointment rattled investors.

($1 = 1.3577 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Denny Thomas)
VANCOUVER, BC, March 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Critical Reagent Processing Corp. (CSE: CRPC) (OTC: GRXXF) (Frankfurt: G0A) is pleased to provide an update on progress with the Laguana Santa Maria Soda Ash Project, located in Salta Province, Argentina. The project is strategically located in the "Lithium Triangle," a geographic area of significant lithium carbonate project development by such companies as POSCO, Arcadium Lithium PLC, Ganfeng Lithium and Lithium Americas. Soda ash is a critical reagent required to produce lithium carbonate; each tonne of lithium carbonate produced utilizes two tonnes of soda ash in processing. Currently, much of the soda ash supply for the production of lithium carbonate in Argentina is sourced outside the country.

CRPC Logo

The 260 hectare Laguna Santa Maria appears as a salar or salt flat. Work to date has included a Vertical Survey and a site visit with limited sampling. The project concept is one of a salar that hosts brine exploitable as a "in liquid" soda ash deposit. The project area is a Mining License with a history of small-scale soda ash production by the prior owner.

Results of a recently completed Electromagnetic Sounding indicates a depth potential of over 280 meters comprised of two layers of granulitic material. The upper layer is an unsaturated zone down to approximately 35 meters and is not the target zone. Below this layer is a zone of saturation with high salinity. It is comprised of medium sediments and is the target zone.

Eleven surface/solid and fifteen liquid/well samples were obtained during the 2023 site visit. The surface samples were hand dug as pits and had values ranging from 501 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) CO3 (carbonate) to 325,406 mg/kg CO3 indicating a carbonate surface formation.

The Fifteen liquid samples were obtained at various locations around the project by the perforation of the surface structure with a hand dug well. Of the fifteen liquid samples taken to date, thirteen were deemed to represent near surface waters within the unsaturated zone. The other two samples have returned high values of calcium carbonate, carbonate, bicarbonate and sodium, and are deemed to represent leakage upwards from the saturated target zone below.

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Sample LMS 0-2 returned 24,414 milligrams per liter (mg/L) Ca Co3 (calcium carbonate), 11,951CO3 mg/L CO3 (carbonate), 5,484 mg/L HCO3 (bicarbonate), and 22,858 mg/L Na (sodium), with total dissolved solids at 58,723 mg/L.

Sample LMS 05 returned 15,981 mg/L CaCO3, 7,980 mg/L CO3, 3,270 mg/L HCO3 and 15.844 mg/L Na with total dissolved solids at 39,727 mg/L.

All test work was completed under the supervision of Mr. William Feyerabend, a director and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. All samples were analyzed by Alex Stewart Laboratories, an ISO certified laboratory located in Mendoza, Argentina. Quality Assurance and Best Practices were employed in the sample program including blank insertion prior to assy.

This small sample set would indicate that a soda ash product may possibly be produced by the evaporation of liquid contained within the target zone. The next phase of work will include an onsite bulk sample of brine for evaporative testing.

Company President Adrian F.C. Hobkirk is quoted, "We are pleased with the initial results from the first phase of evaluation of the Laguna Santa Maria soda ash deposit. The close proximity of the Mining Licenses to significant lithium production and development represents a unique strategic business opportunity for the Company.

Company Director Mr. Willaim Feyerabend, a Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person under N.I. 43101 participated in the production of this press release and approves of the scientific and technical content contained herein.

About Critical Reagent Processing Corp.

Critical Reagent Processing Corp. (CRPC) has completed its purchase option agreement to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Mina Laguna Santa Maria project, which consists of two mining concessions licensed for the production of sodium carbonate, "Soda Ash". Pursuant to the option agreement, the Company is now the holder of 100% of No 17.643 Ignacio VI and 86% of No 1.255 Santa Maria and has filed documentation to obtain the remaining 14% of No 1.255 Santa Maria, located in Salta Province, Argentina. The 260 hectare property hosts a natural deposit of sodium carbonate, or soda ash. Soda ash is a necessary reagent for the production of lithium carbonate. The U.S. Geological Survey reported in 2022, 165,000 tonnes of soda ash were exported from the United States to Argentina, with a value of $US 48 million. CRPC believes the Laguna Santa Maria Project holds a competitive advantage over soda ash importation into Argentina as it is located in country, and in an area of significant lithium carbonate production and project development. Management is continuing to evaluate the property and market for soda ash in Argentina. Results of a bulk sample chemical evaluation are expected shortly.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Adrian Hobkirk President and CEO

T: 954-684-8040

E: info@crpc-corp.com

W: www.crpc-corp.com

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE Critical Reagent Processing Corp.
As crucial as the ocean is to countless industries, we lack the kind of systematic knowledge of it that we have of the surface. Syrenna has built a versatile robotic platform that you might think of as a mobile weather station for the sea, and is ready to emerge from stealth to enable precise, real-time monitoring of Earth's largest liquid asset.

It may surprise you how little we know about the ocean. Certainly we know a lot in general, trends and patterns over seasons and decades. But when it comes to specifics, like what is the temperature, salinity and microplastic count two miles off the coast of Barcelona at 20 meters deep right now, we're clueless.

This is partly due to the simple fact that the ocean is gigantic and there's simply no way (or need) to monitor all of it. But even areas important to fishing, oil and gas, tourism and other maritime industries are checked by labor-intensive or expensive methods like sending out a ship or robotic underwater vehicle. Cheap solutions like buoys are great but limited to surface measurements, and are subject to the whims of weather and currents.

Syrenna's solution distills several methods into one: a robot that can control its own depth while maintaining geographic location, allowing for persistent, near-real time sensing and tracking of any number of important marine metrics.

"There is such a clear need for safe, reliable and continuously updated data about water quality," said Ester Strommen, CEO and co-founder of Syrenna. "Widespread use of technology will drastically increase our knowledge of how our oceans are actually doing; we could detect harmful bacteria, runoff and pollution, track global warming, monitor species and conduct subsea surveillance."

In case that last use case rings alarm bells, think more along the lines of catching illegal fishing than invading your privacy. The lack of real-time marine intelligence leads to illegal activities at sea, like dumping and poaching, which we can only now estimate the scale of using satellite imagery.

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Free-floating, free-diving

Syrenna's co-founders at their lab in Oslo. From left: Becky Wightman, Moustafa Elkolali, Alex Alcocer and Ester Strommen. Image Credits: Christian Carpagnano/Syrenna

I saw a prototype of the WaterDrone, as they call it, while visiting startups last spring in Oslo, where Syrenna is based. The robot is based on the research of Alex Alcocer, who hooked up with the other founders through early-stage investor Antler's incubator program. (Parts of the robot are licensed from Oslo Metropolitan University's OceanLab, where Alcocer first developed them.)

It's totally sealed against the water, except for the sensors that must sample or observe it, and incorporates a sort of swim bladder that allows it to rise and fall to any depth. Meanwhile, a proprietary tether keeps it anchored near its target location even in rough seas  which, for that matter, it could simply sink the bottom to avoid. The whole thing is powered by a battery that lasts for a full year of operation, and the team is working on having it recharge when it comes to the surface and transmits its latest data (via Iridium's satellite network).

Since I visited and saw the WaterDrone (about the size of a bedside table) in its little tank, Syrenna has finished up the next version of the hardware and taken it out for a real-world pilot in Oslofjord, working with Norwegian marine research organizations NIVA and IMR. They conducted a second test bringing the drone down to 180 meters in an offshore location west of the country, and long-term tests in the wild are also underway.

A few of these bots lurking in territorial or leased waters could provide a stream of data of reliable value to energy company interests, from oil and gas to wind and thermal power. Governments are also interested, for basic research and awareness purposes, as well as law enforcement and military reasons.

A mockup of the Syrenna interface. Image Credits: Syrenna

The final cost of the robot is not set yet, but Strommen was clear that it's a fraction of the cost of autonomous surface or underwater vehicles and the crewed ships that have to deploy and maintain them. Think on the order of hundreds of thousands for years of active deployment. At that price, it's not wild to think of countries buying a few dozen or a hundred WaterDrones to scatter around their ports and other aquatic areas of interest.

The business model is refreshingly straightforward: people buy the robots. Though there will probably be some more complex arrangements, this is what customers are used to today, Strommen said. No need for an elaborate leasing or joint-ownership scheme when the clients have cash in hand and are ready to slap it on the counter.

The company also hopes to open up data to the public that has been collected on the private dime  tracking ocean temperatures, pollution and other trends at such a granular level is something many researchers would love to do, and it's no use stashed in some energy company's private database. So they plan to work with Hub Ocean and other organizations to collect and release metrics important to science and the public interest.

Alex Alcocer works on the WaterDrone prototype. Image Credits: Syrenna

Syrenna has been operating in bare-bones mode since it was founded in 2022, and focused first on executing the hardware, meaning their work and hiring has been engineering-centric. Now that the company is actually going to sea and showing its robot at work, they can focus on the important part: convincing execs to buy in.

"We are really eager to have improved visualizations and BI tool integration, so the data is not just understandable to engineers and marine biologists but also for the C-suite and general audience," Strommen said. "To do this, we need more full-stack developers."

Their current raise, totaling just over $1 million with both private and public investments, is aimed at getting them to that next phase. "After this, we plan to raise a substantially higher amount," she added  presumably to kick off manufacturing.

"These funds are raised from our initial investor Antler as well as the industry-specific accelerator Katapult, angel investor Harald Norvik (former CEO of energy giant Equinor), grants from Innovation Norway, Research Council of Norway and European Space Agency Business Incubation Center Norway," according to Strommen.

Collecting more and better information about the ocean, whether for industry, science or conservation purposes, has been the focus of a number of startups and nonprofits. Companies like Bedrock aim to map the ocean floor, while Saildrone is improving its autonomous surface vehicles and the aforementioned satellite-based monitors are also picking up  but Syrenna is unique in its ambition to provide this kind of semi-stationary weather station. Between these different modalities (and surely some to come) we may be able to form a more comprehensive  and actionable  picture of the planet's waters.
MOANDA, Congo (AP)  The central African nation of Congo is offering 30 oil and gas blocks around the country for auction. It's a prospect that concerns environmentalists and some of the people who live near the drilling that has so far been limited to a small area near its far western border on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Associated Press visited Moanda territory, including two villages near drilling sites, and heard from residents who said air and ground pollution has hurt their crops and caused health problems. They say Perenco, the French-British company that began drilling in 2000, has failed to address those problems, and advocacy groups say they want to see changes before drilling expands.

Perenco disputes any problems.

Some takeaways from AP's visit:

POOR PEOPLE, RICH COUNTRY

Congo is a mineral-rich nation, but little of that wealth has trickled down to ordinary citizens. Longstanding issues of corruption get part of the blame. More than 60% of Congo's 100 million people get by on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank.

Congo's leaders argue that's one reason that drilling should be expanded  to contribute to economic growth. The sites up for auction contain an estimated 22 billion barrels of oil.

Congo's treasures go beyond what can be mined or drilled. It's home to most of the Congo Basin rainforest, the worlds second-largest, and most of the worlds largest tropical peatland, made up of partially decomposed wetlands plant material. Together, both capture huge amounts of carbon dioxide  about 1.5 billion tons a year, or about 3% of global emissions.

More than a dozen of the plots up for auction overlap with protected areas in peatlands and rainforests, including the Virunga National Park, which is home to some of the worlds rarest gorillas.

WHAT VILLAGERS SAY, WHAT AP SAW

AP journalists spoke with dozens of residents, local officials and rights organizations on their visit. Residents say drilling has inched closer to their homes and they have seen pipes break regularly, sending oil into the soil. They blame air and ground pollution for making it hard to cultivate crops and causing health problems such as skin rashes and respiratory infections.

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In the village of Kinkazi, locals told AP that Perenco buried chemicals in a nearby pit for years and they seeped into the soil and water. They displayed photos of what they said were toxic chemicals before they were buried and took reporters to the site where they said theyd been discarded. It took the community four years of protests and strikes before Perenco disposed of the chemicals elsewhere, they said.

Most villagers were reluctant to allow their names to be used, saying they feared a backlash from a company that is a source of casual labor jobs. One who was willing to speak, farmer Gertrude Tshonde, said Perenco began dumping chemicals near the village in 2018. She said her farm was behind the pit where chemicals were being thrown and her cassava began to rot.

AP could not independently verify that chemicals had been buried at the site.

AP journalists saw drilling sites, some just a few hundred meters from homes, that had exposed and corroding pipes. They also saw at least four locations that were flaring natural gas, a technique that manages pressure by burning off the gas that is often used when it is impractical or unprofitable to collect it. AP did not see any active spill sites.

Between 2012 and 2022 in Congo, Perenco flared more than 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas, according to the Environmental Investigative Forum, a group of environmental journalists that analyzed data from satellite imagery. Flaring of natural gas, which is mostly methane, emits carbon dioxide, methane and black soot and is damaging to health, according to the International Energy Agency.

WHAT PERENCO AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SAY

Perenco spokesman Mark Antelme said the company doesnt bury chemicals underground and that complaints about the site near Kinkazi were related to old dumping more than 20 years ago by a predecessor company. Antelme also said Perenco hasnt moved operations closer to peoples homes. Instead, he said, some communities have gradually built closer to drilling sites.

Antelme also said the companys flaring does not release methane into the atmosphere.

Perenco said it offered to support a power plant that would make use of the natural gas and thus reduce flaring. The government did not respond to questions about the proposed plant.

Congos minister overseeing oil and gas, Didier Budimbu, said the government is committed to protecting the environment.

HOW IS THE AUCTION GOING?

Congo has struggled to secure bidders since launching the auction in July 2022. Three companies  two American and one Canadian  moved on three methane gas blocks in Lake Kivu, on the border with Rwanda. The government said in May that they were about to close those tenders, but did not respond to AP's questions in January about whether those deals were finalized.

There are no known confirmed deals on the 27 oil blocks, and the deadline for expressions of interest has been extended through this year. Late last year, Perenco withdrew from bidding on two blocks in the province near where it currently operates. The company didn't respond to questions from AP about why it withdrew, but Africa Intelligence reported that Perenco had found the blocks to have insufficient potential.

Environmental experts say bidding may be slow because the country is a hard place to operate with rampant conflict, especially in the east where some of the blocks are located.

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Follow Sam Mednick on X: @sammednick

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The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Nicole Zimmerman, Director of Marketing; Jamie Gaffney, Director of Business Services; Nathan Stumme, Director of Risk Management (Photo: Business Wire)

Two new hires and internal promotion to drive strategic goals.

GOLDEN, Colo., March 01, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Tap Credit Union isn't your average bank. A trusted financial partner since 1954, their team crafts personalized financial solutions tailored to each individual's personalized goals. They guide members every step of the way and make the financial journey a breeze. As they look toward the future and their commitment to growth, they are expanding the leadership team with top-notch talent.

New Director Positions:

Nicole Zimmerman, On Taps new Director of Marketing, joined the credit union in October 2023 after having served as a Senior Marketing Manager in the start-up industry for the last year and Marketing Manager at iLending, an auto refinance organization in Englewood, CO for two years. Prior to that, Ms. Zimmerman held numerous Marketing roles in her 8-year career span at Red Rocks Credit Union in Highlands Ranch, CO. She started as the Marketing Coordinator in early 2013, working her way up to Marketing Specialist in 2017 before her departure in late 2020. She holds a bachelors degree in marketing and finance from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Jamie Gaffney, On Taps new Director of Business Services, joined the credit union in November 2023. Originally from Wyoming, Jamie had her sights set on city life and spent 10 years managing New World restaurants in New York City. When it was time to come back west, a career change was in mind, and she started at her local credit union as a teller in 2011. She quickly moved up the ranks as a Financial Service Associate III, a Member Service Advocate and Lead Member Representative in credit unions both in Wyoming and Texas. An opportunity arose in the commercial world at Jonah Bank of Wyoming and Ms. Gaffney spent 6 years on their commercial team honing her skills in all things business and building trusting relationships with customers.

Promotions:

Nathan Stumme joined the credit union in April 2023 initially as a Fraud Prevention Advocate and was promoted to Director of Risk Management in December 2023. He started in banking in 2016 as a Retail Banker for Woodforest National Bank in the Houston, Texas area for two years. From there, he started a 5-year career at JSC Federal Credit Union, initially as a Consumer Loan Processor. As JSC FCU grew, they rebranded to Wellby Financial and Mr. Stumme helped create their first Risk Department, taking a role as Internal Auditor with a focus on regulatory compliance and vendor management. In 2022, he spent a year with the Kansas Bankers Association as a remote Compliance Operations Specialist, helping small banks across Kansas build and maintain their compliance programs. He moved to Colorado in March 2023. Originally from Iowa, he studied Computer Science at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

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About On Tap Credit Union

Formerly Coors Credit Union, On Tap Credit Union is a full-service cooperative financial institution serving people living and working in Jefferson, Denver, Boulder, and Larimer counties. Founded in 1954, the credit union has $379 million in assets and 20,000 members who are also owners of the organization. The credit union provides personal consultation and financial solutions including vehicle, mortgage, and home equity loans, credit cards, insurance, savings and investment accounts, and financial guidance, as well as a full suite of business services including a variety of commercial lending solutions. For more information, please visit www.OnTapCU.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240227518461/en/

Contacts

On Tap Credit Union News Media Contact

Nicole Zimmerman

303.215.4675

nzimmerman@ontapcu.org
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Thai Loyalty Programs Market

Thai Loyalty Programs Market

Dublin, March 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Thailand Loyalty Programs Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Loyalty Programs Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2024 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The latest comprehensive research on the Thailand loyalty programs market has been published, offering a detailed analysis of over 50 key performance indicators (KPIs) across various end-use sectors, operational metrics, retail product dynamics, and consumer demographics. As of Q1 2024, the Thailand loyalty market is expected to exhibit significant growth, with an expected annual increase of 11.1%, reaching a market value of US$1.54 billion.



Historically, the market has demonstrated robust growth with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5% during 2019-2023. Forecasts suggest that the market will continue on this upward trajectory, projected to achieve a CAGR of 9.6% over the period of 2024-2028. This remarkable expansion will potentially elevate the market valuation from US$1.39 billion in 2023 to an estimated US$2.23 billion by 2028.

Key Insights from the Report:

In-depth analysis of Thailand's loyalty programs market, factoring in online, in-store, and mobile channels, and covering key sectors such as retail, financial services, healthcare, and more.

Comprehensive evaluation of the loyalty spend market size, with a spotlight on significant KPIs such as value accumulation and redemption rates.

Assessment of loyalty program types, including points, tier-based, spend-based, and subscription programs, to name a few.

Examination of market dynamics by retail sectors encompassing diverse categories from supermarkets to specialized stores.

An extensive review of loyalty schemes by business models and consumer types.

Strategic insights into the loyalty programs market size by software use cases and deployment, emphasizing cloud and on-premise solutions.

A look at consumer demographics and behavior trends, segmented by age group, income level, and gender.

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Why This Research Matters

For businesses operating in or entering the Thai Loyalty Programs Market, this databook is an indispensable tool. The insights provided will inform strategic planning, help companies to benchmark their operations against key competitors, and support informed decision-making to capitalize on market opportunities.

The in-depth analysis focuses on the evolving patterns of consumer loyalty and retention strategies, enabling businesses to tailor their offerings to meet and exceed customer expectations. By leveraging the data and analysis provided, companies can design loyalty programs that not only resonate with their target demographics but also adapt to the digital transformation impacting purchase behaviors in Thailand.

As businesses look to navigate the post-pandemic market landscape, understanding the forces shaping loyalty program trends will be critical for sustained growth and profitability. With an emphasis on the future dynamics of loyalty programs in Thailand, this report is a strategic asset for any stakeholder seeking to enhance their footprint in the loyalty space.

The extensive data-driven insights and forecast models presented in this report are designed to equip industry leaders, marketers, and strategists with the intelligence needed to thrive in the ever-competitive loyalty program market. Thailand's loyalty programs scene is on the brink of a transformation, and the businesses who harness the power of market intelligence will emerge as frontrunners in the race to customer loyalty and retention.

Key Attributes

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 117 Forecast Period 2024 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $1.55 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $2.23 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 9.6% Regions Covered Thailand

Key Topics Covered:

About this Report Thailand Retail Sector Market Size Analysis Thailand Loyalty Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Loyalty Program Type Thailand Loyalty Schemes Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Channel Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Business Model Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Sectors Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend in Key Sectors by Online Channel Thailand In-Store Loyalty Schemes Spend in Key Sectors Thailand Mobile App Loyalty Schemes Spend in Key Sectors Thailand Retail Sector Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Accessibility Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Consumer Type Thailand Loyalty Schemes Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Membership Type Thailand Loyalty Platform Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Software Use case Thailand Loyalty Platform Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Vendor/Solution Partner Thailand Loyalty Platform Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Deployment Thailand Loyalty Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Software vs. Services Thailand Loyalty Spend Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Custom vs. Off the Shelf Software Platforms Thailand Loyalty Spend Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behaviour Further Reading





For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wj532s

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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CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Company to support advancements in country's science and technology sector, with a focus on progressing healthcare, environmental solutions, and food safety

JAKARTA, Indonesia, March. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, will significantly expand local operations in Indonesia with the opening of its first official office. The inauguration of the new facility in Jakarta is scheduled for April, signifying a key milestone as the company transitions from its current representative office to a larger workspace.

Thermo Fisher Scientifics new office in Jakarta, Indonesia

"The company is committed to advancing Indonesia's thriving science and technology landscape and support its progression in key areas such as healthcare, clean energy, biopharma and food safety," said Sho-Wen Yeo, vice president and general manager of Southeast Asia & Taiwan for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Over the past year, Thermo Fisher has taken significant steps to strengthen its presence in Indonesia, including the establishment of a legal entity in the country. This strategic move aims to enhance customer proximity and deepen relationships with Indonesian stakeholders. The establishment of the new office in Jakarta is set to nurture local talent and support scientific advancements within the community.

To lead its growth and operations in Indonesia, Thermo Fisher has appointed Devi Darmadi as the country general manager. In this role, Darmadi will spearhead strategic initiatives and go-to-market evolution, geared toward expanding the company's footprint in Indonesia.

Thermo Fisher has previously also forged a strong partnership with National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia (BRIN, Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional) to strengthen research infrastructure and capabilities in the country. By leveraging its expertise and extensive portfolio, Thermo Fisher has become a key partner in supporting BRIN's goal of improving competencies and capacities for Indonesian researchers.

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On February 24, Thermo Fisher also organized two scientific forums in Jakarta, bringing together industry experts and professionals. The forums facilitated discussions on transforming healthcare and pushing boundaries in lab solutions. Sessions included demonstrations of solutions available in Indonesia and their impact on labs and healthcare. Thermo Fisher also presented its extensive range of comprehensive solutions in areas of molecular diagnostics, oncology, clinical diagnosis, molecular spectroscopy, microbiology, toxicology, and sample storage.

"Plans in Indonesia to transition to renewable energy, strengthen research infrastructure and elevate healthcare and biotech ecosystems are highly promising," said Yeo. "I have great confidence in our growth trajectory here, and I believe we will continue to cultivate meaningful partnerships, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer."

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Cision

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SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific
Toyota is recalling roughly 381,000 Tacoma trucks in the U.S. because of a potential rear-axle shaft defect that could cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle, the car maker said in a notice posted by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

"Welding debris left on the ends of the rear-axle assembly during manufacturing could cause certain retaining nuts to loosen over time and eventually fall off, potentially causing a part to separate from the axle. If separation occurs, this can affect vehicle stability and brake performance, increasing the risk of a crash," Toyota said in a statement.

The recall covers 381,199 Toyota Tacoma trucks from the 2022 and 2023 model years. Drivers operating vehicles with loosened nuts may detect a vibration, abnormal noise or leakage of differential oil, also known as gear oil, which is found in the axle housing.

Customers will be notified of the recall through the mail by late April, Toyota said. For all impacted vehicles, Toyota dealers will inspect the rear axle assembly and retighten the axle retaining nuts for free. Any axle components damaged as a result of the problem will be repaired or replaced.

For more information, owners of affected Tacoma trucks can visit Toyota.com/recall or nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter their Vehicle Identification Number or license plate information.

For any additional questions, Toyota customer support is also available by calling the Toyota Brand Engagement Center at (800) 331-4331.Owners may also contact NHTSA's safety hotline at (888) 327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.nhtsa.gov. The NHTSA recall notice is No. 24V15200 and can be viewed here.
How Trump, suddenly strapped for cash, could raise more than half a billion dollars to satisfy judgments against him

Donald Trump is facing a cash crunch as deadlines are quickly approaching to find over half a billion dollars he owes in judgments.

On Wednesday, a New York appeals court judge refused to give the former president additional time to satisfy a $454 million judgment from a civil fraud case. A federal judge is poised to decide whether to grant Trumps last-ditch legal effort to delay or post a fraction of an $83.3 million judgment he owes E. Jean Carroll from a defamation case.

The scramble over the past week reveals challenges Trump is facing in raising the combined judgments totaling $537 million. In pleading for relief, Trumps lawyers told judges it could cost him an additional $104 million to post the bonds  their estimate of fees he would need to pay. Trumps lawyers said he may have to dump some of his properties under exigent circumstances to raise cash quickly, tap the capital markets, or find another source of cash. Last month Trump began hawking $399 gold sneakers.

Trump sneakers - Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It is a really substantial problem. Hes really between a rock and a hard place, said Adam Kaufmann, a criminal defense lawyer.

The cash crunch challenges Trumps long-projected image of a successful businessman with deep pockets and a mavericks ability to outmaneuver legal and financial troubles. He rode that reputation to the White House in 2016.

Now, the leading Republican presidential candidate in 2024 could end up heavily indebted to a bank, donor, or some other source of capital. Adding to the uncertainty over Trumps future earnings are the four criminal indictments he is facing.

On Thursday, lawyers for Carroll pointed to Trumps growing legal issues when urging the judge to reject Trumps request to delay or lower the amount of the bond in her case.

If Trump is convicted of even a subset of the 91 felony charges lodged against him, the implications for his ability to satisfy the judgment here could be significant. And even prior to a conviction, Trumps brand purportedly his most valuable asset, though not one that can easily be utilized to satisfy a civil judgment  may suffer as a result of the various legal proceedings in which he is enmeshed, Carrolls lawyers wrote.

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Trumps reputation for not paying lawyers and others could impact his ability to raise cash. Trump can post the cash himself or get an appeals bond, which are often backed by cash, or easily tradable securities, but the size of the judgments complicates the process, underwriters say.

Its unclear how much cash Trump has on hand. He testified under oath last year that he had more than $400 million in cash. According to the New York attorney generals office, in 2021 Trumps 30% stake in a partnership with Vornado, a real estate investment company, was worth about $200 million, but Trump would need to sell that stake to turn it into cash. Its unlikely Trump would deplete his entire cash position since the properties have bills and payroll.

Trump offered to post a $100 million bond to cover the New York attorney generals case, but the appeals court judge rejected it. The deadline for the judgment in the Carroll case is in less than two weeks unless that judge grants Trumps request to delay or lower the payment. He has until the last week of the month to make good on the civil fraud judgment or face the possibility that the state may move to seize properties.

The sheer size of the judgments raises practical questions about how the Trump could feasibly come up with the cash. On Wednesday, the appeals court judge lifted one condition at Trumps urging  a ban that prohibited him from taking out loans from financial institutions regulated in New York.

Big lenders

Many of the worlds biggest banks stopped lending to Trump decades ago. Deutsche Bank, which he turned to repeatedly to finance property deals, ended its relationship with Trump after January 6, 2021. Signature Bank, another past lender to Trump, also ceased doing business with him after the attack on the US Capitol.

Trump turned to Axos Bank, a California lender, in 2022 for a $100 million loan to refinance Trump Tower, but it isnt clear whether that bank would lend to Trump again. CNNs calls to the bank and its chief executive, Greg Garrabrants, were not returned.

Lawyers say Trump could try to take equity out of certain properties, but if there are outstanding mortgages or existing loans that could make it more difficult because a bank wouldnt want to be second in line to collect money.

Another possible complication: The Trump Organization stopped preparing a personal financial statement for Trump two years ago, so a lender would need to become comfortable with the finances and could request an appraisal of properties, which also takes time.

Fire sale

Trumps attorneys said without postponing the judgments Trump may have to sell some of his properties in what could amount to a fire sale.

If he had to sell a property, its kind of a tough market, but even if it wasnt, potential buyers would smell blood in the water and press for some pretty stringent terms, Kaufmann said.

Trump has owned most of his properties for years so if he is forced to sell, he could incur a big tax bill unless he is able to offset it with losses.

There are practical issues to property sales, said Jeremy Saland, a criminal defense attorney. Thats a nightmare. How many properties is he going to have to come up with to do that?

Any sale would have to be reviewed by the Trump Organizations court-appointed monitor, retired judge Barbara Jones, who will remain in place for three years. Transfers above $5 million also must be reported to Jones.

Process of getting a bond

Another possible scenario is securing a bond. Appeal bonds make up only one percent of the bond business, according to the Surety & Fidelity Association of America. As uncommon as appeal bonds are, the need for an individual to secure such a massive bond is significantly less common.

Its harder for an individual than a company to secure a very large bond, said David Shick, co-founder and president of ProSure Group, a broker that secures bonds.

Underwriters typically want cash or easy to sell assets to back the bond, but if they were to accept property it could become more costly. For example, the bond issuer might want, say, $200 million worth of assets as collateral for a $100 million bond to account for the time and effort needed to sell the property, if the client loses an appeal, he said.

Shick said for large judgments its possible several insurance carriers could pool together.

Its unusual but so is the bond size, he said, adding, the court will determine what they will and will not accept.

In any situation where a company is deciding to back a large bond, especially if the collateral is illiquid like property, Shick said, it comes down to it being a business decision on who youre doing business with.

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FILE PHOTO: The Marks & Spencer logo is seen at a store near Marble Arch on Oxford Street, in London

LONDON (Reuters) -The British government's decision to block retailer Marks & Spencer from rebuilding its flagship store in Marble Arch in central London was unlawful, the High Court ruled on Friday.

Michael Gove, Britain's Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary, last year refused planning permission for the scheme on heritage and environmental grounds, overturning approval from the local council.

M&S wants to redevelop the Art Deco building that dates back to 1929 and is located at one end of Oxford Street, London's most famous shopping thoroughfare.

The company took the government to court over the decision, with its Chief Executive Stuart Machin, one of the best-known names in British business, calling Gove's decision "utterly pathetic".

Following a hearing in February, Judge Nathalie Lieven ruled on Friday that Gove misapplied Britain's planning policy and overturned his decision.

Lieven said Gove had also failed to give adequate reasons for why refusing permission would not cause wider harm to London's West End, despite M&S saying it would leave the site if it could not redevelop the store.

M&S Operations Director Sacha Berendji said in a statement the retailer's planned redevelopment "would deliver one of London's greenest buildings, create thousands of new jobs and rejuvenate the capital's premier shopping district."

"The Secretary of State now has the power to unlock the wide-ranging benefits of this significant investment and send a clear message to UK and global business that the government supports sustainable growth and the regeneration of our towns and cities," Berendji added.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "We acknowledge the judgment and are considering our next steps."

In January, M&S reported a better-than-expected 8.1% rise in sales over the Christmas trading period, driven by market-leading growth in food and a strong performance in womenswear.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sachin Ravikumar)
Unexpected millionaire: 36-year-old Florida man isnt sure how to manage his $3.6 million windfall. Dave Ramsey believes he can build a $24 million fortune within 21 years with a simple plan

A tragic event led to an unexpected windfall for Jonathan, a 36-year-old former restaurant worker living in Fort Myers, Fla.

On a recent episode of The Ramsey Show, he described how his mother was killed by her new husband in a murder-suicide a few years ago. He then learned that they had both left him hefty inheritances.

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I never made more than about $85,000 a year and then was left with a couple million dollars, he told host Dave Ramsey. Like many Americans, this accidental millionaire is now worried about making the right financial choices.

Unprepared for inheritances

Roughly 15% of American adults expect to receive an inheritance in the next decade, according to a 2023 survey by New York Life. Just 42% of those expecting wealth to be passed down to them feel very comfortable financially handling it. The rest may struggle with anxiety and self-doubt.

In Jonathans case, these feelings were probably exacerbated by the shocking loss of his mother and the circumstances of her death.

The first year [I] wasn't too well, he said. [I] kind of went backwards probably a little bit, and I tried to get myself together and be better for my kids, and I think I've been doing pretty well the last two years.

Since his mother's passing, the father of two has stopped working and lived off his inheritance. His mother left him $2.5 million while her new husband left him $1.1 million. Today, his assets are collectively worth $3.5 million.

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To avoid depleting this wealth further, Ramsey shared a simple plan.

Read more: Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market  and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

Wealth management

Jonathan doesnt need to work, but Ramsey believes he should. ... at 36, doing nothing is not a plan. Emotionally [or] spiritually, he said. "You're going to have to get a job, you're going to have to get a purpose."

Going back to the service industry might not be necessary, but Jonathan said hes already invested in a new business venture. He recently purchased a boat for $220,000 and plans to launch a tour business soon. Meanwhile, he's bought properties to rent out for additional income.

Ramsey recommended mutual funds to grow his wealth. He said that if Jonathan can achieve a 10% average annual return for the next 21 years on a $3 million initial investment in mutual funds and real estate, he can accumulate $24 million by the time he is 57 years old. Ramsey's math here is a little off. Jonathan should have around $22.2 millon at the end of that period.

Regardless, Ramsey thinks Jonathan has the potential to become a very wealthy man in about two decades if he follows this relatively low-risk plan.

The personal finance expert, who says he only invests in real estate and mutual funds, warned Jonathan against investing in anything he doesn't understand. The trick here is to put money in stuff that's steady and is predictable, he said. Not super conservative but we're not taking any big risks here. We're not trying to reinvent the crypto world or some bullc--p like that.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
(Bloomberg) -- The top US diplomat in Hong Kong sounded the alarm over growing internet censorship in the city, underscoring fears Chinas crackdown on freedoms is diminishing the hubs appeal as a global finance hub.

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In his first interview since taking up the post in 2022, US Consul General Gregory May cautioned that connectivity issues and data security concerns had prompted some American companies to use burner phones and laptops when visiting the once free-wheeling enclave.

Hong Kong is starting to go down the slope of trying to take certain content off the internet and blocking certain websites, he told Bloomberg News on Thursday. It is kind of a slippery slope once you start that internet censorship. Where does that end?

The governments campaign to wipe Glory to Hong Kong, a song popularized during 2019 anti-government protests, from the citys internet has highlighted operational risks for Western tech giants such as Alphabet Inc.s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. The citys internet service providers have also blocked access to a small number of websites, including from the UK-based rights group Hong Kong Watch. Officials have defended such actions on national security grounds.

While Hong Kongs internet remains largely free, initial curbs have sparked concern the tight controls of mainland China, where many Western platforms are blocked and censors routinely scrub content critical of the government, could spill over into Hong Kong.

The American diplomats criticism comes as Hong Kong tries to bolster its position as an international business center and attract tourists to boost its flagging economy. The citys global reputation took a hit after years of pandemic isolation drove an exodus of talent and a sweeping crackdown on political freedoms turned it into a flashpoint in fraught relations between the worlds two superpowers.

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Releasing Jimmy Lai and these other people facing jail for political expression  releasing them would do more to improve Hong Kongs image than all the financial summits and tourism promotion campaigns put together, May said. Pro-democracy activist Lai, 76, is facing life in prison under a national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.

The Hong Kong government on Friday night condemned Mays remarks as scaremongering and said its efforts to safeguard national security will protect the rights of businesses in the city.

May, a career diplomat who worked as a journalist before serving in mainland Chinese cities Shenyang and Guangzhou, called on the government to reassure businesses it was committed to a free and open internet and business-friendly data controls.

We definitely want to have a better relationship with Hong Kong. We just need Hong Kong to stop the slide, May said, referring to the citys restrictions on freedoms. While we want the economic relation to continue to do well, frankly, our priority is more in the political space.

The US has sanctioned the citys leader John Lee over President Xi Jinpings clampdown on dissent, while Beijing has accused Washington of orchestrating mass protests against Communist Party influence that rocked the hub in 2019. Congress last year passed a bill that could shut down Hong Kongs three economic and trade offices in the US if the financial hub isnt deemed significantly autonomous from Beijing.

Hours before Mays interview, the US State Department raised concern over the citys proposals for a new domestic security law, saying it adopts broad and vague definitions of state secrets and external interference that could be used to silence critics. The local measure adds to the China-drafted national security law and has stirred fears over a chilling effect on open discussion of economic and policy issues.

The last thing Hong Kong needs after the NSL are more, very broad, new crimes, May said. He declined to say what the US government would do if Hong Kong passes the law.

The citys government on Thursday called the State Department comments irresponsible and an interference in the internal affairs of China. The Chinese foreign ministry on Friday said the new law targets a handful of criminals harming national security and will protect Hong Kong residents rights and freedoms.

Authorities have vowed to press ahead with the Article 23 legislation mandated in its mini-constitution after ending a month-long consultation process Wednesday. Lees administration said it had received majority support from the public and would strive to finalize a bill as soon as possible.

The US government actively decided not to participate in consultations, May said, adding it was up to the Hong Kong people to provide feedback. While sanctions on Lee have curtailed his engagement with the leader, the US diplomat said hes used other channels to communicate with city officials.

Despite the challenges, May said he believes the former British colony retains important business advantages. Relations with the US could improve, he said, if officials honor the 1984 agreement on the handover of Hong Kong that promised the city a high degree of autonomy from Beijing for 50 years.

Still, he warned that American companies could face blowback at home because of the citys clampdown on dissent, which has included placing bounties on the heads of overseas activists living in the US.

If you are operating in Hong Kong, US firms have to be mindful of their reputation on Capitol Hill, he said. Some of them are rightly concerned about coming under the cross-hairs in the United States because Hong Kong is doing things like bounties that show a very negative side  and the US is reacting to that.

--With assistance from Philip Glamann.

(Updates with Hong Kong government statement in 8th paragraph)

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Vanguard

Buckley headshot

Vanguard Group, the No. 2 U.S. ETF issuer, said that Chief Executive Officer Tim Buckley will retire from the company after six years in the role and 33 years at the asset manager.

Vanguard in a statement offered no specific reason for the departure of Buckley, 55, who joined Malvern, Pa.-based Vanguard in 1991 as legendary founder John Bogle's research assistant and will leave by the end of the year. The company said a selection process for a successor is ongoing, and that Chief Investment Officer Greg Davis will take on an expanded role as president.

"Its time for others now," Buckley wrote on his LinkedIn page.

Vanguard has grown to become an asset management behemoth under Buckley. With more than $2.4 billion in 86 ETFs, it's second only to BlackRock Inc.'s iShares. Under his leadership, the firm's client base climbed to more than 50 million investors worldwide and assets surged by more than 80% to over $9 trillion across the firms asset management business.

"Buckley's had one of the best runs of any asset manager CEO ever," Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas tweeted, adding that the departure was "kind of a shocker."

He wrote that under Buckley's leadership, Vanguard assets grew by $4 trillion, about one-third of all ETF flows. Balchunas, who wrote a book on Bogle's leadership at Vanguard, also wrote that Buckley's departure was likely not linked to the company's decision to decline to offer spot bitcoin ETFs to its customers.

International Expansion

In addition, Buckley oversaw Vanguards international expansion into Europe, Australia, Canada, and Latin America.

"Vanguard went through a period of unprecedented innovation, growth, and transformation, building high-value-added services and businesses and expanding our advice offers," during Buckley's tenure, lead independent director Mark Loughridge said in the statement.

Buckley not only helped Vanguard accumulate assets, but he kept products affordable for investors with the average ETF expense ratio one of the lowest in the industry at 0.09%. By continuing to roll out low cost, broad products, Vanguard has pushed rivals State Street Global Advisors and BlackRock to lower fees as well.

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According to etf.com, Vanguards flagship Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VOO), which has garnered $412 billion in assets since its launch in 2010, is its largest fund.





Permalink |  Copyright 2024 etf.com. All rights reserved
Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE: NCLH) were cruising higher this week after the travel and tourism company delivered better-than-expected results in its fourth-quarter earnings report, showing that demand for its cruises remains strong.

Norwegian edged out revenue estimates and offered better-than-expected guidance for 2024, showing that its recovery is expected to continue. As of Thursday's close, the stock was up 20% for the week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Image source: Getty Images.

Norwegian's recovery continues

This week's gains at the world's No. 3 cruise line operator came on Tuesday after it turned in impressive fourth-quarter results.

Revenue in the quarter jumped 31% to $1.99 billion, which was better than estimates at $1.97 billion.

The company said it continued to see "exceptional demand" for the Norwegian Cruise line brand and bookings and pricing are at higher levels for all four quarters of 2024 so far than in 2023 as it entered the new year with its highest all-time bookings and pricing.

Fourth-quarter results were also solid, with revenue per passenger cruise day up 21% from 2019 and overall revenue up 34% from 2019. Yield, the industry term for pricing, was up 8.2% from 2019 levels.

Further down the income statement, the company controlled costs as the adjusted net cruise cost, excluding fuel per capacity day, was $154, down 21% from the year-ago quarter. On the bottom line, it narrowed its per-share loss from $1.04 to $0.18 in a seasonally slow quarter, which was slightly worse than expectations at a loss of $0.14 per share.

CEO Harry Sommer said, "Norwegian Cruise Line Holding experienced a momentous year of growth and achievement in 2023. We successfully took delivery of three new ships, one for each of our brands, representing the most deliveries in a single year in our company's 57-year history."

With those new ships, the company now has 31 ships in its fleet across its three brands: Norwegian, Oceania, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

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What's next for Norwegian

Looking ahead to 2024, Norwegian's guidance was also promising, as the company sees net yield rising 5.5% and expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.2 billion, up from $1.9 billion in 2023. It also forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.23, a significant improvement from $0.70 in 2023 and matching analyst estimates. However, its first-quarter guidance of $0.12 in adjusted EPS was much better than estimates of a loss of $0.20 per share, showing that its full-year guidance may be conservative.

It's clear from Norwegian's results that the company continues to benefit from the recovery in the cruise industry. As the business recovers and Norwegian's debt leverage improves, the stock should continue to move higher.

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Novo Nordisk's (NYSE: NVO) position as a hot healthcare stock got a boost from an analyst as the trading week came to a close. On a significant price target boost, the Danish pharmaceutical company's share price closed the day almost 4% higher. That was more than good enough to outpace the bellwether S&P 500 index, which rose by a relatively light 0.8%.

An analyst raised his price target at a double-digit rate

The analyst giving Novo Nordisk that nice shot in the arm was Morgan Stanley's Mark Purcell. Well before market open that day, Purcell lifted his price target on the company's shares by 16% to 930 Danish kroner ($135) from his previous 800 kroner ($116). Like numerous other prognosticators, he's a Novo Nordisk bull; he maintained his solid overweight (read: buy) recommendation on the shares as he lifted his price target.

It isn't hard to be optimistic about Novo Nordisk these days. The European pharmaceutical company has an absolute smash-hit product on its hands with Wegovy, the obesity drug that has found quite a receptive patient base in the U.S. (with its high proportion of overweight citizens).

Weight loss has been a great gain for Novo Nordisk in recent times. This was starkly illustrated by the company's full-year 2023 performance in which it grew sales a robust 36%. Of its four therapy areas, obesity care was by far the hottest grower, with its revenue growing 154% over the 2022 tally.

Competition is on the way, however

The pharmaceutical sector is stuffed with solid, well-capitalized companies, and some are already coming for Novo Nordisk's lunch. Eli Lilly's Mounjaro diabetes drug has won U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for obesity treatment and is hitting the market under the jazzy brand name Zepbound. Meanwhile, Viking Therapeutics reported very promising results from a phase 2 clinical trial of its own weight-loss drug candidate.

So, although Novo Nordisk is still the pacesetter in this game, investors need to keep a wary eye on the moves of other entrants.

Story continues

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Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.

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Why Novo Nordisk Stock Topped the Market Today was originally published by The Motley Fool
Wincanton board approves GXO buy-out offer (Photo GXO)

The board of U.K. logistics firm Wincanton said Friday it unanimously recommended that shareholders approve GXO Logistics Inc.s (NYSE: GXO) $965 million all-cash offer to acquire the company.

The Wincanton board withdrew its recommendation of Ceva Logistics S.A.s lower-priced offer for the company. Based on current foreign exchange rates, the GXO offer is priced at $7.75 a share, while the CEVA offer is priced at $6.07 per share, or approximately $764 million.

The Wincanton directors are pleased that the public offer process, triggered by their recommendation of Cevas offer on 19 January 2024, is maximizing value and delivering a significant premium to Wincanton shareholders, the board said.

Greenwich, Connecticut-based GXO proposed its buyout offer on Thursday, two days after Wincantons board had recommended approval of Cevas proposal, which was revised higher after word went public about GXOs possible interest in Wincanton.

Founded in 1925 as a milk hauler, Wincanton is a key player in the aerospace, electric utilities and industrial categories, verticals that GXO highlighted in its Thursday announcement.

Wincanton is a world-class business, and we have long been impressed by their high-quality people and diverse customer relationships across key industries, said Malcom Wilson, GXOs CEO. Wilson added that our superior offer reflects our conviction in the value of this business and the opportunities the combined company will realize.





GXO, which serves 27 countries, including those in the U.K. and continental Europe, said the proposed acquisition will provide it with a springboard to offer industrial services across Europe. Wincanton customers will be able to leverage GXOs network to expand their operations, GXO said.

The post Wincanton board approves GXOs competing buyout proposal appeared first on FreightWaves.
The Sisters of the Road tour kicks off on Friday. (Photo: Uber Freight)

In partnership with Uber Freight, the photo collection Sisters of the Road by photographer Anne Marie Michel begins its U.S. tour on Friday outside San Francisco, honoring the womens trucking community for Womens History Month.

Deb Desiderato photo from Sisters of the Road collection. (Photo: Anne Marie Michel)

Sisters of the Road dives into the lives of female truckers across the U.S., highlighting their struggles, industry improvements and the need for ongoing progress. Michel found inspiration in the resilience and independence of these women. Her interest was sparked by her mothers journey post-divorce, driving Michel and her sisters across the country. The books subjects advocate for equity measures such as attractive salaries for female trainers and same-sex training options, aiming to foster a more inclusive industry.

The collection will make its way across the country and be displayed in an Uber Freight trailer provided by the companys Powerloop offering.

After Friday, the gallery will be picked up by trucker Deb Desiderato, who was also featured in the series, and will make its way to three stops throughout March with a convoy of women drivers trailing along.

Deb will be hauling the semitruck and the gallery is inside of it. In the actual book, there is 40 women, their stories and the landscapes that they travel through. The gallery inside the semitruck will showcase eight metal prints of the 40 in the book, said Michel.

The first stop will be in Houston on March 8 for International Womens Day at the international photography festival FotoFest. Next up, the convoy will roll into Little Rock, Arkansas, on March 17, making a special stop at Idella Hansens Petro Truck Stop. Hansen is a highlighted driver in the collection. The convoy will conclude its journey at the Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, Kentucky from March 21-23.

Sisters of the Road photo of Idella Hansen. (Photo: Anne Marie Michel)

I think its really cool what [Michel] is doing. I know some of the other women in the book, like Idella, who has been trucking for 57 years. She is my trucking hero. Shes never going to quit and I hope I never quit either, Desiderato said,

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Desiderato said she is also excited to be followed by a convoy of women truckers, who will all be sporting yellow gold bandannas throughout the trip.

Uber Freights Powerloop trailer will be hauled by Desiderato for the tour. (Photo: Uber Freight)

We are actually starting the tour in Point Richmond [a city just outside San Fransico] which is where the Rosie the Riveter Memorial is. She is a cultural icon of women trailblazers in male-dominated industries. We have yellow gold bandannas, which match Rosies iconic bandanna and the color of the book and the truck. We will be handing them out along the tour and at MATS as a sign of solidarity and sisterhood among trucker women, said Michel.

Uber Freight and the Powerloop team will assist women drivers interested in joining the convoy in finding loads that will let them link up with the group during the entire tour.

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(Bloomberg) --

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The World Trade Organizations 11th-hour negotiations resumed early Friday as ministers tried to bridge gaps on key measures governing food security, fishing subsidies and the global internet.

The final gathering, pushed back twice, is set for 2pm Abu Dhabi time. At morning sessions, officials were still fine-tuning texts of agreements on several issues, as well as trying to fix a crippled system to litigate trade disputes. Previous biennial meetings of the WTO have stretched beyond the official agenda, with some even ending without agreements.

There is a lot of pessimism around here, Simon Coveney, Irelands trade minister, said in an interview Thursday on Bloomberg TV. But sometimes that happens before agreements, when you have difficult discussions which undoubtedly are taking place now. But I think in all likelihood this will probably be extending tomorrow.

WTO spokesman Ismaila Dieng said the talks have been challenging because of interlinkages between the areas under negotiation, adding that there is a commitment to keep pushing for a successful conclusion.

India reiterated on Thursday that it is willing to engage on all issues and asked countries to work toward achieving some objectives to cement trust between less-developed, developing and developed economies in a highly fragmented geopolitical world.

For the worlds most populous nation, the top priority is restoring the functioning of the WTOs appellate body, part of a dispute-resolution system that was disabled by the US in 2019.

All decisions have to be fair and equitable. Decisions should be transparent and should lead to generating confidence that WTO matters, Indias Trade Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters on the sidelines of the 13th WTO ministerial conference.

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I am getting a sense that we are losing track of core issues of WTO and getting diverted into non-core issues, he said. We need to generate trust and confidence for the future.

Competing Interests

His comments come as more than 160 member nations of the Geneva-based trade body conduct 11th-hour bargaining sessions on the last scheduled day of the conference. Theyre trying to converge on issues ranging from renewing e-commerce moratorium and cutting down subsidies leading to overfishing to public procurement of grains for free food program.

If you have a small number of countries this week trying to block an extension of e-commerce moratorium, the other countries on a plurilateral basis will probably go ahead and do it anyway, Irelands Coveney said.

Speaking about a domestic food-security issue, Goyal said countries should work toward finding a permanent solution to the public stockholding of grains for food security program, an issue that has been pending for more than a decade now.

He said it was time the nations agreed to revising the methodology for calculating subsidies and update it based on current prices. India is the worlds No. 2 wheat consumer and is also the top exporter of rice.

According to a draft WTO statement on agriculture seen by Bloomberg News, a permanent solution on the issue of public stockholding for food security purposes shall be available to all developing country Members. The text of the draft was still being negotiated as of 3:30 local time.

A spokesman for the Indian delegation couldnt be immediately reached for comment.

Coveney urged a careful approach balancing food security and a level playing field.

We need to make sure that doesnt lead to the effective dumping of large amounts of that stock on international markets in a way that undermine the price of those commodities in the future, because that undermines global trade, he said.

With several sticky issues still being worked out, delegates have been discussing various options including either concluding the ministerial meeting without a final joint statement of unanimity or a watered-down version with a chairs declaration on some unresolved topics, Bloomberg News earlier reported.

The heads of the delegations are scheduled to meet at 9 p.m. local time try to hammer out any deals ahead of the midnight closing session.

--With assistance from Vonnie Quinn, Sarah Halls and Gaia Lamperti.

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(Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said any plan to seize or monetize some $282 billion in frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine cannot be viewed as a replacement for urgently needed assistance for the embattled country thats been held up in Congress.

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I dont see a real substitute for Congress providing Ukraine the aid it needs this year, Yellen said in an interview Thursday in Sao Paulo. I dont think anyone can fill that gap.

With the war now in its third year and the Russian offensive showing no sign of abating, Ukraines financing needs remain high, and the US and its allies are looking to reassure the war-torn nation they remain committed in helping it in its fight.

While the European Union has offered Ukraine very meaningful financing, and Japan has also contributed, the total just doesnt seem like enough, Yellen said. Those funds can help the country manage in the near term while Kyiv awaits more comprehensive assistance, she indicated.

More than $60 billion of proposed US emergency aid to Ukraine has been stuck for months in Congress, as Republican leaders seek to force President Joe Bidens hand on immigration policy. Yellen warned that without the assistance, Ukraine may face severe shortfalls. House Speaker Mike Johnson showed no sign hed drop his demands for border-policy changes in exchange for Ukraine aid, after a one-on-one meeting with Biden on Tuesday.

US lawmakers on Thursday approved a temporary spending measure to avoid a government shutdown this weekend, and sent the bill to Biden for his signature. It did not include funding for Ukraine.

With Russia on the front foot militarily, and further aid from the US in question, theres a growing willingness to consider what once were viewed as high-risk moves, including seizing, or somehow unlocking value out of $282 billion in frozen Russian assets.

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This could be something that could help longer term, Yellen said in the interview. Earlier this week, she said the legal and moral case is strong  seeking to assuage European doubts. She met with Group of Seven counterparts in Sao Paulo, where the broader Group of 20 emerging and developed nations also gathered.

Read More: What Secondary Sanctions Mean, for Russia and World: QuickTake

While G-7 members agree those funds should remain off-limits from Russia unless it pledges to help with Ukraines reconstruction, theyre at odds over whether its lawful to seize the assets outright  and over how they could potentially squeeze value out without depleting them.

Biden wants the G-7 to make progress on plans to tap frozen Russian sovereign assets by the time the leaders meet in June, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

France and Germany, along with the European Central Bank, have expressed concern about retaliation by Russia against European assets there, and about the impact on financial stability and the euros status as a reserve currency  especially as more than two thirds of the assets in question are in Europe.

Yellen acknowledged the European concerns, but said her counterparts are open to working with the US.

Hearing that we think theres a good international justification, that we can look for alternatives to try to mitigate the various risks, theyre certainly willing to work with us, she said.

G-7 officials and lawyers are examining a range of options they can offer to national leaders at their June meeting in Italy, since any move will ultimately require a political decision at the highest level.

--With assistance from Christopher Condon.

(Adds comment on long-term use of Russia assets in eighth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the headline to remove quote marks.)

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Editor's note: Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

With more than 10,000 locations around the world, Marriott Bonvoy has a lot to offer frequent travelers. And if youre looking for premium value on your Marriott hotel stays, its hard to beat the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card and Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card.

Now, new cardholders can get a huge boost on earning points with limited-time welcome offers from these cards:

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card: Earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points when you make $6,000 in purchases with your card within the first six months.

Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card: Earn 155,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points when you make $5,000 in purchases with your card within the first six months.

If youre a frequent traveler who prefers staying at Marriott Bonvoy hotels, now may be a great time to consider adding a Bonvoy Brilliant or Bonvoy Bevy card to your wallet. Heres what to know about the deals and more:

The new welcome offer from Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant is one of the highest youll find from any card today.

For a limited time, you can earn 185,000 Marriott Bonvoy points after you spend at least $6,000 within the first six months. This new offer is worth 90,000 more bonus points than the card previously offered, with the same spending threshold.

Heres a look at what else you can get with the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card:

Annual fee: $650 (see rates and fees)

Rewards:

6x points at eligible Marriott Bonvoy hotels

3x points at restaurants worldwide

3x points on flights booked directly with airlines

2x points on every other purchase

Benefits:

Up to $300 annual dining statement credits ($25 per month) for eligible restaurant spending

Up to $100 property credit at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis properties when you make a qualifying purchase and eligible direct booking

1 Free Night Award every year after card renewal (up to 85,000-point redemption)

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite Status, which offers 50% more points on eligible hotel purchases, late checkout, welcome gifts, enhanced room upgrades, and more

25 Elite Night Credits toward your next status level every calendar year

Brilliant Earned Choice Award: Choose between five nightly upgrade awards; one free night award up to 85,000 points; or $1,000 off a Marriott Bonvoy retail brand mattress after you spend $60,000 on your card each calendar year

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee statement credit

Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership

The Bonvoy Bevy card from Marriott and American Express is a more affordable option, but it still packs a punch in rewards and benefits  including its limited-time welcome offer.

You can earn 155,000 bonus points when you spend at least $5,000 within the first six months. Thats a 70,000-point increase from the previous offer with the same minimum spend. In addition to the welcome bonus, heres what the Bonvoy Bevy offers Marriott travelers:

Annual fee: $250 (see rates and fees)

Rewards:

6x points at eligible Marriott Bonvoy hotels

4x points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (up to a combined $15,000 spent annually, then 2x)

2x points on all other purchases

Benefits: While it doesnt have the wide range of benefits offered by the Bonvoy Brilliant, this card still has a lot of perks to help cover the annual fee cost:

Earn 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy bonus points per paid eligible Marriott Bonvoy stay (booked directly with Marriott)

1 Free Night Award when you spend $15,000 in a calendar year (up to 50,000-point redemption)

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status (25% more bonus points on eligible hotel purchases, late checkout, and more)

15 Elite Night Credits toward your next status level every calendar year

What are these Marriott Bonvoy welcome bonuses worth?

Marriott uses dynamic award night pricing, so Marriott Bonvoy points have no standard redemption value. To help you gauge just how valuable 185,000 or 155,000 Marriott Bonvoy points can be, we found a few examples of how you could use your points throughout the year ahead.

Each of the examples below are accurate as of publication, but dynamic prices are always subject to change. If youre planning a vacation, it can pay to compare prices over time before you book and keep your dates flexible for the best redemption values.

For exactly 156,000 points, you could enjoy a four-night Labor Day beach weekend in Miami.

Or maybe you want to take your family to see the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. You could use your bonus to cover three nights (Wednesday through Saturday) near Central Park over the holiday week.

If youre looking at international destinations instead, you could spend seven nights in Athens, Greece (July 27 through August 2) and still have some points leftover.

Or, for a more tropical vacation, you could use your welcome bonus points to cover a portion of an eight-night stay at a Costa Rica beach resort in October. Youll pay more than your bonus is worth for the total eight nights, but it could significantly cut down the cost of this longer trip.

Dont forget: Both the Bonvoy Brilliant and Bonvoy Bevy also offer annual Free Night Awards and status benefits, plus the points you earn on purchases. You can always maximize these benefits when its time to book, too, and get even more value from your card.

How to choose the right Marriott Bonvoy credit card

Both the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card and the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy American Express Card can help loyal Marriott customers save money while traveling  especially with the limited-time welcome offers.

Over the long term, the Bonvoy Brilliant may be better for very frequent travelers. If you regularly travel and stay with Marriott for business or want added perks at Marriotts luxury properties, this card can help you access extra benefits and earn more on your frequent stays.

Because it has a significantly lower fee, you dont need quite as many travel bookings to maximize the Bonvoy Bevy  though you should still travel and stay with Marriott at least a few times each year. For travelers who value elite status with Marriott and want to use their regular spending to earn more Bonvoy points toward future trips, this could be the better option.

If youre not a frequent traveler or loyal Marriott customer, youll probably find it difficult to outweigh these cards annual fees  especially after the first year. Because most of the benefits are focused on savings with Marriott, youll get the most value on stays at Marriott Bonvoy properties. If you travel only once or twice per year and tend to stay with family or at vacation rentals, a more flexible rewards card may be a better value.

Before you apply for any new card, make sure to compare all of your options, including travel credit cards and rewards credit cards with more flexible rewards programs and redemptions.

Editorial Disclosure: The information in this article has not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The details on financial products, including card rates and fees, are accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the banks website for the most current information. This site doesn't include all currently available offers.
Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger introduced a bill Thursday that would rename a Fredericksburg post office after a revered city teacher and civil rights activist.

If the bill becomes law, the College Station Post office at 1285 Emancipation Highway in Eagle Village would be renamed the Gladys P. Todd Post Office. Todd died in January 2015 at the age of 101, less than two months shy of her 102nd birthday.

This Black History Month, I am honored to introduce legislation to rename the College Station Post Office after the remarkable Gladys P. Todd, Spanberger said in a news release. Her contributions to the local civil rights movement and her unwavering commitment to justice make Mrs. Todd an inspiration to us all, and naming a post office after her is a small way to honor the incredible woman she was.

Gaye Adegbalola, Todds daughter, said she and her family are surprised, humbled and honored by Spanbergers efforts.

Just to have my moms name live on in this way has special meaning to me, Adegbalola said. She worked so hard for so long for so many people, and we are very humbled that Congresswoman Spanberger took the time to research this and make this recommendation.

According to her obituary, Todd was baptized as a child at Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site) and attended the Fredericksburg Colored School up to the age of 12. She later went to a boarding school at what was then known as Virginia State College in Ettrick, just outside of Petersburg.

She told people that witnessing a Ku Klux Klan parade as a child helped fuel her commitment to civil and human rights. She later became a primary coordinator of sit-ins at local lunch counters in the 1960s, which Adegbalola participated in as a teenager.

Todd was also active in city politics and was instrumental in organizing support that resulted in the election of Fredericksburgs first Black mayor, Lawrence A. Davies. She also led a movement to establish a playground for Black children at what is now Hurkamp Park, and she set up a community center for Black youths on Winchester Street known as the Youth Canteen.

An academic program at Germanna Community College, the Gladys Todd Academy, is named in her honor.

Juno Pitchford, Todds grandson, said he knew as a small child that his grandmother was special. But it wasnt until he was older that he became aware of how many lives she had touched and how special she really was.

Co-sponsoring Spanbergers bill are fellow Virginia Democrat representatives Gerry Connolly, Jennifer McClellan, Bobby Scott and Jennifer Wexton.
Students at the University of Virginia are voting now on a referendum demanding the school divest any and all monies in its $13.6 billion endowment invested in companies engaging in or profiting from the State of Israels apartheid regime and acute violence against Palestinians.

Israel has been at war with Palestinian terror group Hamas since Oct. 7 of last year, after the latter launched a deadly attack on civilians. To date, more than 30,000 people have been killed, the overwhelming majority of them Palestinian. Israel continues to bomb and blockade the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, a territory twice the size of Washington, D.C., but home to three times the population, more than half of which is under the age of 18.

While the United States has no troops on the ground and President Biden has urged for a cease-fire while calling Israels response over the top, it has remained a steadfast ally of Israel. That alone has many calling the U.S. complicit in the killing  even genocide  of Palestinians.

Those opposed to Israels actions, including those opposed to the existence of a Jewish nation-state altogether, have called on American organizations to withdraw their investments in the country. Colleges, in particular, have been a hotbed for what is known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Students and faculty at Columbia University, the University of Michigan and the University of California, Los Angeles, have cast votes urging their institutions withdraw any and all support from the state of Israel amid the conflict.

While the referendum at UVa could be adopted with a simple majority of voters, it is unlikely to have any immediate effect whatsoever. The referendum has no power over the schools governing Board of Visitors or the UVa Investment Management Company, the agency charged with regulating the schools endowment fund.

The institution is not bound by the results of this student referendum, UVa spokeswoman Bethanie Glover told The Daily Progress.

Whether or not the school complies is almost beside the point for some students who support the referendum. The vote is a line in the sand, the say, illustrating the divide between the will of the student body and the decisions of university officials.

The referendum has been spearheaded by UVa Apartheid Divest, a group that has roots in the student protests against the racist apartheid regime in South Africa and has been revived in recent years in response to other worldwide conflicts.

A third-year representative of that group, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, told The Daily Progress that the group will use the results of the referendum as a lobbying tool as we continue to push the unaccountable, undemocratic institutions that have control over our universitys investments to be transparent about our investments and divest from apartheid and genocide.

Students with UVa Apartheid Divest also led a walkout on Monday, in which roughly 100 people gathered on the steps of the schools Rotunda and marched roughly a half-mile across Grounds to the Observatory Hill Dining Room. Students from other organizations supporting the referendum, including the Asian Students Union, Minority Rights Coalition and Students for Justice in Palestine, participated.

A student with Medical Students for Palestine addressed the crowd from the steps of the Rotunda and called the Israel-Hamas conflict the moral crisis of our time. The student, who also refused to identify herself, referred to the universitys history of opposing human rights violations and divesting from states participating in those violations. In 1990, the Board of Visitors voted to sell $14.7 million worth of stocks in companies doing business in apartheid South Africa. During the Vietnam War, then-UVa President Edgar Shannon took the side of student protesters and wrote directly to President Richard Nixon opposing the invasion of Cambodia.

I think, to an extent, everyone on a personal level should feel involved in this, the student speaker told The Daily Progress after delivering her remarks to the crowd. I mean, we are, as Americans, complicit at baseline by paying the tax dollars that fund a large portion of the atrocities being committed against the people in Palestine.

As students marched across Grounds Monday they chanted:

Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israels crimes.

From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine.

Israel, you cant hide, youre committing genocide.

But in a moment that may be symbolic of the fight ahead for the student protesters, as they made their way across Grounds Monday, a passerby on the phone asked the person on the other end of the line, What the fk is genocide?

Students fighting for divestment not only face pushback from supporters of Israel but from students who are largely disinterested in the conflict.

In order for the referendum to come up for a universitywide vote, it had to collect 950 faculty and student signatures. While it managed to attract 1,161, that represents just 4.5% of UVas total student body, including undergraduate and graduate students.

Several Jewish students and faculty have referred to the referendum as antisemitic and disgusting.

First-year student Matan Goldstein, an Israeli Jew, went to counter protest at another walkout on Oct. 25 organized by Students for Justice in Palestine. While protesters rallied on the steps of the Rotunda, he stood to the side holding up the blue and white flag of Israel.

Do people know how such referendums lead to tremendous amounts of antisemitic attacks on Jewish students, regardless of them being identified or not identified with the state of Israel? Goldstein told The Daily Progress a few days before Mondays walkout.

Goldstein did not counter protest Monday. No one did.

Goldstein and other Jewish students and faculty have told The Daily Progress that they have been targeted, harassed and intimidated on Grounds for expressing any support for Israel or even expressing their Jewish faith. Jewish students say they have been yelled at, spat on and physically assaulted. Complaints have been filed with the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights, the Division of Student Affairs and the Task Force on Religious, Diversity and Belonging at UVa as well as the U.S. Department of Education.

Students with UVa Apartheid Divest say they met with Board of Visitors members leading up to the referendum vote hoping to build support. The matter does not appear on a board agenda for an upcoming Feb. 28 meeting.

The results of the student referendum will be announced Thursday.
After seven years of trying, legislators pushing for a program that would cover some employee earnings if they have to stay away from work to care for a family member have finally gotten a bill through the General Assembly.

Its an idea most businesses resist, and it heads to the desk of a governor, Glenn Youngkin, who has said he doesnt like the idea of new laws that hinder business. His press secretary, Christian Martinez, said only that the governor would review any legislation that comes before him.

The bill, SB373, says people can get up to 80% of their pay for up to eight weeks if they need to stay home for family reasons or because of their own serious health condition.

It means you can stay home with a new baby or to take care of a family member, said the bills sponsor, state Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Fairfax. It means dignity, it means people can be people.

During legislative hearings earlier in the session, Chrischa Ives of Virginia Beach told the story of her late daughter Gabby Aldea, hoping lawmakers would back a paid family leave program so that people can afford time off work to care for their families or to deal with their own major health crises.

Gabby had Hardikar syndrome, a rare multiple congenital malformation syndrome that resulted in obstructive liver and kidney disease, intestinal and urinary abnormalities and congenital heart defects. Gabby, who died in 2020 at 21, would have loved to be here, Ives said. Shed want to say to (legislators) you have power, but we the people do, too.

The bill would provide the benefit for several situations, including:

to care for a new child during the first year of birth, adoption or placement into their foster care;

to care for a family member with a serious health condition;

to handle all the many tasks that need doing when a family member is deployed or returns from deployment or is called to active duty in the military.

Employees requesting leave to care for a child need to present a birth certificate, or documentation of adoption or foster care placement or certification from the childs health care provider.

A doctor or health care provider has to certify that an individual or family member has a serious health condition, describing it and its likely duration if the person asks for paid leave because of a health situation. Documentation of a need to deal with a family members military orders is required for those claims.

The benefit would be capped at 80 percent of the regional average weekly wage. For the Richmond metro area, that was $1,229 in the second quarter of last year, the latest data available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which would cap the benefit at $983 a week.

To pay for claims, the state will set up a new Family and Medical Leave Insurance Trust Fund, with the money to come from employer contributions and payroll deductions, in much the same manner as the state unemployment benefits are financed.

The commissioner of the Virginia Employment Commission would determine what those contributions and deductions would be, based on an analysis of likely claims and costs. The fund is to be launched in 2026, and claims would begin to be paid in 2027.

Employees are entitled by federal law to take time off to care for newborns or seriously ill family members, but the federal law only authorizes unpaid leave.

Many families simply cannot afford to go without pay for that long, Boysko has argued for years now.

Currently, paid leave is available only through private insurance offered as a fringe benefit by a minority of employers, or else by employers who eat the cost of employees leave from their own profits.

That leaves millions of Virginians out, Boysko said.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington, DC, mandate paid family leave when an employee has a new child or is caring for a family member or themselves. Hawaii and Puerto Rico also have paid leave coverage for employees own serious health condition. New Hampshire and Vermont have a voluntary paid family and medical leave insurance program.

Boyskos bill passed the Senate on a 21-19 vote and the House on a 51-49 vote, both on party lines. Even so, it marks a shift: until last year, the idea struggled to win enough Senate Democrats support. The House, meanwhile, amended Boyskos bill to reduce the maximum period for benefits to 8 weeks from 12, and the Senate accepted that change on Wednesday, sending the measure to the governor.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen will be in Fremont on Monday for a town hall meeting with local residents, elected officials and business leaders.

Pillen will be the keynote speaker at 1 p.m., Monday, March 4, at All Metals Market, 1225 County Road Y. Attendees are asked to enter at Gate A of the facility.

According to a press release from the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce, Pillen will update local residents and officials on his legislative priorities and goals for the state during his term.

To attend the event, an RSVP needs to be made with chamber officials by calling 402-721-2641 or emailing inquiries to info@fremontne.org.

State leadership program accepting applications

Fremont and Dodge County residents interested in taking their leadership skills to the next level can now apply to be a part of the 2024-2025 Leadership Nebraska class, sponsored and coordinated by the Nebraska Chamber Foundation.

In a press release, foundation officials said they hope that a robust group of applicants apply to be accepted into the year-long program, which includes six individual training seminars that last for 2 and-a-half days each.

As Leadership Nebraska embarks on its 16th year, it continues its mission of cultivating well-informed leaders eager to dive into Nebraskas pressing issues, identify solutions, and assume roles of greater influence, officials said in the release. Participants in this program are carefully chosen from across the state, bringing diverse backgrounds and talents. Prospective participants are expected to demonstrate prior community and professional leadership involvement, coupled with a deep commitment to Nebraskas future.

The sessions cover a broad range of key Nebraska issues, such as economic development, health care, education, agriculture, government, work force and policy.

Leadership Nebraska serves as a cornerstone in fostering and connecting our current generation of exceptional leaders, Bryan Slone, president of the Nebraska Chamber, said in the release.

Those accepted to the program are required to pay tuition for the six sessions; however, some applicants can qualify for a discounted tuition rate.

Any applicants seeking reduced tuition are required to send applications to the Nebraska Chamber no later than April 1, 2024. Those interested can apply with a hard copy packet or use the online form. Applications received from April 2 through May 1 will not be eligible for reduced tuition.

The first Leadership Nebraska session for the incoming class of fellows is an orientation retreat scheduled for a yet-to-be-determined date in August to be hosted at the Lied Lodge in Nebraska City. Other sessions will be hosted in September, October, November, January and February, with the commencement slated to take place in Lincoln in February 2025. The application form and all session dates are posted at leadershipnebraska.com.

The discounted tuition for the 2024-2025 class is $5,250, a total which pays for all expenses related to the program, including lodging, meals, speaker fees and bus transportation. Tuition for applications submitted between April 2 and May 1, 2024, is $6,250. Individuals without organizational sponsorship may qualify for a scholarship based on financial need. For further details, please contact Tara Lea, Director of Leadership Nebraska at the Nebraska Chamber, at 402-480-6918.
The City of Fremont will be refunding a nearly $1 million grant to the State of Nebraska after Fremonts Tech Park did not meet certain employment requirements related to specific salaried jobs being created by the development over the past 12 years.

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, the Fremont City Council approved in a 6-0 vote refunding a total of $975,352 to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Angie Olson, the citys grant coordinator, stressed in a phone interview Thursday that the more than $975,000 being refunded to the state will not incur or cause any new financial burden to the citys taxpayers or residents.

The money that is being refunded to the state will come from a designated pool of LB 840 funds that city leaders set aside in 2011 when the grant was originally awarded in case the necessary jobs were not created and the grant would need to be repaid.

(The funds) were kind of holding there since 2011, Olson said.

Originally visualized as a data park for high-tech industry companies, the Tech Park project pivoted to a different model in the years after the initial nine-year grant was awarded in 2011. The grant was renewed with two different two-year extensions, and it was slated to end this coming April.

Still, official say the Tech Park, which is now called the Fremont Business Park, has been beneficial in many ways to the citys business development goals.

Since receiving the grant in 2011, the city has worked diligently to create 48 jobs and attract many new and local businesses to the Fremont Business Park, including Summit Medical, ALLO Communications, Simply Strong and Levanders Body Shop, Mayor Joey Spellerberg stated in a text message to the Tribune.

Unfortunately, we did not meet all the necessary grant requirements and those dollars will be returned to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, he said. Our goal is to be good stewards of the property so it can make an impact and bring value in our community. We look forward to what the future holds for the Fremont Business Park.

In the resolution authorizing the repayment of the grant, city officials wrote that the grant conditions included creating 31 jobs that meet the national objective to primarily  at least 51%  benefit low-to-moderate income persons; and this project did not meet the national objective, resulting in $975,392 of the CDBG funds to be returned to the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

Olson said many jobs were created, just not the LMI job level required.

This grant required that jobs be created, and jobs have been created, she said. We ended up being about 20% or so level of LMI jobs created, not the more than 50% required.

The Tech Park area is a large swath of land that is north of 23rd Street, primarily on the east and west sides of Lincoln Avenue going north to the intersection of 29th Street.

Olson said the parks original plans of the data park morphed with the aid of state officials into what currently exists in the area, which is mainly a mix of businesses ranging from a cheerleading and yoga gym to Allo Communications and Signal Security, which is owned by Fremont Police Capt. Shane Wimer and his wife.
Two local car owners earned awards at the 55th Annual OReilly Auto Parts Rod & Custom Car Show held Feb. 24-25 at the Monticello Berndes Center in Monticello, Iowa.

Alan Schwedhelm of Kennard placed second in the custom category for his 1951 Mercury custom. John Panko of Fremont finished fourth in the competition category for his 1970 Panko dragster.
Judge indicates he will rule within next 2 weeks on bid to remove Fani Willis from Trump case

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump has indicated that he will rule within the next two weeks on whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case over a romantic relationship with a top prosecutor
It was a high-flying year for the Colorado Springs Airport in 2023, as more travelers departed the facility last year than at any point in nearly a quarter century.

The numbers are big, Greg Phillips, the citys aviation director, said Friday.

In 2023, enplanements  passengers who boarded flights at the Springs Airport to travel elsewhere  totaled 1,179,108, according to figures released this week by airport officials. Last years enplanements were 10% higher than 1,071,826 in 2022 and the most since 1,214,948 in 1999.

Decembers enplanements totaled 106,474, almost one-third more than the same month in 2022.

Among the factors that drove last years enplanements was a return to travel nationwide three years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phillips said.

As evidence, the Transportation Security Administration reported that a record, single-day total of 2.9 million travelers were screened at security checkpoints nationwide on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, according to several news reports.

During COVID, which seems like a thousand years ago, people really reduced their travel, Phillips said.

I think (theres been) a lot of tourism, business and other needs that bring people back to traveling. The airlines have seen growth kind of across the country.

Locally, Colorado Springs has enjoyed economic gains, including more jobs and new employers that have been announced over the last year, which brings more travelers through the airport, he said.

Likewise, the addition at the Springs Airport in 2023 of Avelo Airlines and Sun Country Airlines, along with more routes to cities such as Long Beach, Calif., San Diego and San Antonio, have made it easier to fly local, Phillips said.

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Across the board, more people traveled, and in Colorado Springs, the fact that we have more opportunities makes it easier for people to choose Colorado Springs, he said.

And Phillips expects more growth in 2024.

In June, Southwest Airlines will launch daily, nonstop service to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport starting June 4, while Delta Airlines in July will add a second daily flight to Atlanta.

Those are two big destinations, Phillips said. Those are our East Coast connections, so we certainly expect to see more travel eastbound out of Colorado Springs.

Southwest, meanwhile, has extended a flight to Houston from the Springs Airport through at least March, Phillips said; for the past few years, that route largely was operated by the carrier only during the holidays, he said.

Airport officials also continue to talk with airlines about additional flights and routes, he said.

We think there are still a number of other great opportunities for Colorado Springs, Phillips said. Our goal and our full-court press effort is to try and sort of bring those routes in.

As long as airlines see that Colorado Springs travelers are using the Colorado Springs Airport, theyll be inclined to think well of the Springs and to be open to opportunities to add service in Colorado Springs, Phillips said. The message I say just in short, if you want to see the airport grow, use the airport.

Last years spike in enplanements comes on the heels of a $34 million reconstruction of the concourse that airport officials began in September.

Upgrades will include new LED lighting, terrazzo flooring to enhance the ability of special needs travelers to pass through the concourse, additional restaurants, larger restrooms, new gate counters and charging stations. Those improvements are targeted to be completed in May 2026, according to the airports website.
Grocery giant King Soopers will open one of its large-format marketplace stores at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Falcon Marketplace shopping center, northwest of Woodmen and Meridian roads in unincorporated Falcon, just outside Colorado Springs.

A grand-opening ceremony  with a ribbon-cutting, donation to the USO and gift card giveaways  will take place a half-hour later at 9 a.m.

The 124,000-square-foot King Soopers will be roughly twice the size of the chain's traditional stores that average about 65,000 square feet, though smaller than some of the area's Walmart Supercenters that are in the neighborhood of 200,000 square feet.

King Soopers will feature clothing, home goods, dinnerware, small appliances and other items to go with full lines of groceries. A Starbucks, Murray's Cheese shop, bakery, a sushi station, pharmacy and an 18-pump fuel station also are part of the new store.

"Our customers are looking for the convenience of a one-stop shopping experience and this larger-format store allows us to provide a traditional grocery experience plus a little more to help meet the needs of todays busy shopper," King Soopers spokeswoman Jessica Trowbridge said via email.

King Soopers will employ 315 people at its Falcon store, which will operate from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, she said.

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The Falcon location will be King Soopers' 153rd store. The chain opened its first Springs-area marketplace store in 2017 at Marksheffel Road and Constitution Avenue in the Claremont Ranch Marketplace shopping center; in addition to Falcon, King Soopers plans marketplace stores in the Flying Horse development on Colorado Springs' north side and in Fountain, south of the city.

King Soopers will anchor Falcon Marketplace, where Slim Chickens, Panda Express, Dutch Bros Coffee, Chipotle, Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Discount Tire, Mattress Firm and Super Star Car Wash have opened. A 23,000-square-foot Goodwill of Colorado retail thrift store is planned on King Soopers' west side and is expected to open by year's end.

Denver-based King Soopers, which is part of the Kroger grocery chain that's headquartered in Ohio, becomes one of the latest retailers to expand to Falcon, where the area's rural lifestyle and large acreages have given way over the last few decades to thousands of homes built in suburban-like subdivisions such as Meridian Ranch, Woodmen Hills and Falcon Highlands.

As those homes went up, retailers followed. King Soopers now joins Walmart, Safeway, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, Auto Zone, McDonald's, Domino's, Arby's, Pizza Hut and dozens of other stores, restaurants and service-oriented businesses that have added locations in Falcon.

"As a Colorado company we are excited about extending our roots and expanding the communitys access to fresh, affordable and delicious food," Trowbridge said. "Additionally, the growing Falcon community has been asking for a local King Soopers to call their hometown grocer."
Three nominees to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission  from left, Jessica Beaulieu, Gary Skiba and Jack Murphy  are seen alongside CPW Director Jeff Davis during their confirmation hearings Thursday. The Senate ag committee voted down Skiba and Beaulieus nominations, although they will head to the full Senate, albeit with an unfavorable recommendation.
An Alamosa man pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder and dismemberment of five people in a heinous crime which rocked the San Luis Valley during the first summer and fall of COVID.

Prosecutors said that Adre Baroz, 29  whose nickname was "Psycho"  committed the murders over a period of two months from August 25 to Nov. 13, 2020. Korina Arroyo, 31, of Monte Vista, Selena Esquibel, 19, of Alamosa, 24-year-old Xavier Zeven Garcia of Saguache, Myron Martinez, 31, of Del Norte and 34-year-old Shayla Hammel of Alamosa, were brutally killed and dumped on properties near the New Mexico border.

Baroz is accused of burning their bodies in a pit on remote land in Los Sauses, a tiny community south of Alamosa. Prosecutors said that he burned them for so long, it was difficult to identify their remains. Baroz was arrested in New Mexico in November 2020 following the discovery of the skeletal remains on two properties near Los Sauces.

Former Alamosa Police Chief Ken Anderson, who is now a Division Commander with the Alamosa County Sheriff's Office, led the investigation.

"This case had a huge impact not just on the city of Alamosa, but on the San Luis Valley. (That) we're getting justice brings confidence back to every law enforcement official," he told The Denver Gazette Monday. "It's about damn time."

Court proceedings took three-and-a-half years to get to this point. The Alamosa Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, a forensic anthropologist and forensic odonatologists compiled upwards of 50,000 documents in the investigation, according to prosecutors.

At one point, Baroz plead not guilty by reason of insanity  but he withdrew that plea.

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In addition to the five murders, Baroz also pleaded guilty to five counts of tampering with a deceased human body, two assault charges and one count of kidnapping, making his tally a total of 13 charges.

Two of his co-defendants, his brother, Jullius, 33, and Francisco Ramirez, 41, also pleaded guilty to charges in relation to the murders. They followed Baroz in front of 12th Judicial District Judge Michael Gonzales in a Monday afternoon proceeding which took less than two hours.

Julius Baroz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Martinez' murder. It carries a prison sentence of 16 to 25 years, with 5 years mandatory parole.

Ramirez pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with deceased human bodies. Gonzales advised Ramirez that he will serve eight years in prison.

During the proceeding, each man answered questions from Gonzales about whether they understood the charges against them and each acknowledged that he did.

Fred Johnson, chief trial deputy district attorney with the DAs office in the 20th Judicial District was assigned as special prosecutor to the case.

Sentencing for Adre and Julius Baroz is May 3 in the Alamosa County Courthouse. Victims' families will be able to make victim impact statements to the judge at that time.
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to reopen a conservative group's lawsuit against Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, following revelations that her office misstated the number of voters recently removed from the state's registration lists due to address changes.

Initially, Washington, D.C.-based Judicial Watch filed suit against Griswold, joined by the American Constitution Party and Libertarian Party in Colorado, plus three Colorado voters. The plaintiffs alleged her office was failing to discontinue the registrations of people who neither voted nor responded to inquiries about their change of address, as required by the National Voter Registration Act.

Specifically, they calculated the number of registered voters in several low-population counties exceeded the number of voting-age citizens.

In August 2021, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer rejected the state's request to dismiss the lawsuit, finding the plaintiffs had alleged a legitimate injury: undermined confidence in the integrity of Colorado's elections.

"While it may ultimately be proven that Colorados figures are reasonable when compared to other states figures, making such a determination at the motion to dismiss stage would be improper," he wrote at the time.

After the parties exchanged evidence, they informed Brimmer in March 2023 they had reached a settlement. Griswold's office, on April 1 of each year, would provide Judicial Watch with the latest data on discontinued voter registrations stemming from address changes.

Although the parties asked Brimmer to retain jurisdiction of the case so he could potentially enforce the settlement, Brimmer noted such a request only applies to "extraordinary circumstances." Because the parties did not identify any such circumstances, Brimmer dismissed the case outright.

Then in June 2023, the plaintiffs filed a motion with Brimmer alerting him to "new evidence." Prior to settling, Griswold's office shared that it had removed 306,303 voter registrations between November 2020 and November 2022. However, its first post-settlement data disclosure revised the number down to 161,607  roughly half the previous amount.

"Defendants error was egregious," wrote the plaintiffs' attorneys. The incorrect data "was submitted, moreover, under oath in discovery, and in circumstances where the Defendant actually possessed the correct data."

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The plaintiffs added that Griswold's initial disclosure of 306,303 registrations removed suggested the state was taking its obligation seriously to cull invalid voter registrations. Now, the plaintiffs were rethinking the settlement.

Griswold's office responded by acknowledging its mistake, saying its earlier number reflected all discontinued voter registrations, not just those at issue in the lawsuit.

"The Secretarys office regrets the error that was made in discovery, but is committed to fully performing its obligations under the Parties Agreement," wrote the Colorado Attorney General's Office, noting Colorado state courts were the proper venue for enforcing a settlement agreement.

In a Feb. 27 order, Brimmer, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected the plaintiffs' request to reopen the case.

"Here, the Court explicitly declined to retain jurisdiction over the settlement agreement because the parties did not identify any exceptional reason why the Court should retain jurisdiction over the settlement agreement," he reminded them. "Moreover, plaintiffs do not now identify any exceptional reason why the Court should retain jurisdiction over the settlement agreement."

Griswold's office also informed Brimmer it was providing Judicial Watch with "additional data above what was required" by the settlement, which Judicial Watch did not dispute.

Griswold, a Democrat in her second term, is currently overseeing the state's March 5 presidential primary election and the upcoming primary elections for other offices in June. She recently announced $3.5 million in grant funding for Colorado counties to improve their election security.

The case is Judicial Watch, Inc. et al. v. Griswold.
The Colorado Springs Police Department is asking for the public's assistance locating a man who snatched a woman's purse at a Colorado Springs grocery store in early February, according to a Wednesday afternoon announcement.

Police said on Feb. 7 just before 4 p.m., officers received a report of robbery at the Safeway at 4405 Centennial Blvd.

The victim of the robbery, an elderly woman, told police she was walking into the store when the suspect grabbed the purse off of her arm, dragging her to the ground.

Surveillance footage collected from the scene shows the suspect fleeing on a bicycle. Police witnessed the suspect speak with a woman in the parking lot prior to leaving the scene, who investigators believe to be a witness to the crime.

Department detectives are asking the public for help in both identifying the suspect, and the woman he's seen speaking with in the parking lot.

"Anyone with information about the suspect or witness pictured below or who is a witness to this investigation is asked to call the Colorado Springs Police Department at (719) 444-7000; or if you wish to remain anonymous, you may call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at (719) 634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477," officials said.
A Boulder company just landed federal funding to further develop Nobel Prize winning technology that continuously detects and quantifies methane emitted by oil and gas facilities using a laser that interacts only with methane gas molecules.

The U.S. Department of Energy issued a $189 million conditional loan commitment on Jan. 5 to LongPath Technologies, Inc. of Boulder to fund the manufacture and deployment of its Active Emissions Overwatch System in key U.S. oil and gas production basins. The technology was developed at the University of Colorado Boulder.

LongPath is a greenhouse gas detection technology company, said President and CEO Ian Dickinson in an interview. We provide greenhouse gas detection, primarily methane detection for a variety of industries. Our focus is really around oil and gas, but we also have applications in landfills, mining, agriculture, and wastewater.

In 2013, the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy called for proposals on monitoring methane emissions from oil and gas facilities less expensively than was currently available.

After receiving funding from ARPA-E, LongPath co-founder Dr. Greg Rieker  a professor at the CU School of Mechanical Engineering  and his team began working on adapting whats called the frequency comb laser into a commercial product that could be deployed in oil and gas regions to provide continuous monitoring for methane emissions.

LongPath was formed in 2017 to write grants to fund the company  which it received in 2018. The company then developed and fielded its commercial methane detection system while Rieker and his team continued work on frequency comb lasers at CU to adapt the technology for other uses.

Some potential uses include: detection of other air pollutants; measuring flow rates of individual gasses in a mixture of gasses flowing through a pipe; measuring products of combustion in a hydrogen tractor engine; and measuring high-speed chemical reactions in hypersonic engines.

LongPaths first phase of deployment will set up 1,000 transmitter/receiver nodes that can cover up to 20,000 oil & gas sites. Each node can effectively monitor up to 20 sites within in a six-mile diameter circle, and the entire phase one system will encompass more than 18 million acres.

The loan will support the scaling of LongPath methane detection and quantification technology to include 1,000 large-area remote methane monitors across Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota, and New Mexico, serving as a game-changer for emissions detection, localization, and quantification, said Rachael Shayne, spokesperson for LongPath.

Brian Halchak, manager of environmental services at the Williams Companies, a natural gas infrastructure developer based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told The Denver Gazette his company is investing in LongPath to better monitor their own emissions.

One advantage of having more frequent monitoring is better data, Halchak said. And as we utilize and leverage more actual monitoring technologies, we can get a better understanding of the frequency of the emissions that we have and the magnitude of those emissions, which helps give us more information on how we most effectively reduce emissions at our facilities.

LongPaths technology was adapted from technology used at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology in Boulder to precisely measure time and distance.

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Based on theoretical quantum physics about photons postulated by Albert Einstein in 1917, the breakthrough in frequency comb lasers came in 1999. That's when Nobel Prize winner and NIST Senior Fellow Emeritus John L. Jan Hall figured out how to create extremely short pulses of laser light that comprised a spectrum of light dubbed the laser frequency comb.

Somewhat like listening to cacophony of hundreds of slightly off-tuned instruments in an orchestra and then picking out the one particular instrument thats in tune by ear, a frequency comb laser outputs millions of discrete frequencies of light, each of which is absorbed by a different kind of gas molecule in the atmosphere. By measuring the difference in the amount of the tuned light output and the amount received back from a retro-reflecting mirror, the concentration of a specific gas can be calculated.

Because every molecule is different  like methane has carbon and four hydrogens, water has an oxygen with two hydrogens  each molecule is different, LongPath co-founder Dr. Greg Rieker, a professor at the CU School of Mechanical Engineering, told The Denver Gazette. So, it has different colors of light that it will absorb. That's the beauty of the frequency comb. You've got all these colors of light that are being absorbed in different patterns. You send all that light out, you get it back, and you can tell whats in the air.

Because the light absorption frequency is different for each gas, a molecule of nitrogen, which makes up 79% of the atmosphere, will not absorb photons tuned to the absorption frequency of methane  thus not interfering with the measurement of methane.

The next step, Rieker said, is to take all of the laser light now being put through a large array of lenses and mirrors on his experimental table and condense it down to fit on what's called a photonic integrated circuit, where the light is injected into specialized wafers that create the same processes in miniature.

So, come back in two years and I think we'll have a small box, but we're not quite there yet, said Rieker.

As an aside, Rieker pointed out that the physics he uses every day prove the greenhouse gas warming theory.

I get this question all the time as a scientist, 'Do you believe in climate change?' The answer is it's definitely real. We measure it every day and we leverage it to actually find the greenhouse gases, he said.

The greenhouse gas problem is that sunlight comes in mostly at visible and ultraviolet wavelengths, said Rieker. It goes right through the atmosphere, doesn't interact with the molecules, hits the ground, warms it up, and then the earth is radiating infrared light back out and it gets absorbed by the molecules just the same way our laser beam gets absorbed.

Riekers focus is on creating technology that will allow leak detection so it can be fixed.

I mean the cool thing about methane is it's a solvable problem. CO2 is hard, Rieker added. We have to burn fuel to run our cars, to run our engines, to heat our houses. So, we're going to end up with CO2 one way or another. But with methane it's also the product. So why not keep the methane in the pipes, deliver it to market and keep it out of the atmosphere.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced new proposed rule changes Thursday that are designed to protect disabled passengers on airplanes. Under the proposed rule, airlines would be punished for any mishandled devices.

This makes it clear and direct that that is a violation that allows DOT much more straightforwardly to hold airlines accountable when there is that kind of violation, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a call with reporters.

The DOT rule change would be a robust overhaul of the way these claims are handled and give the agency clear mechanisms to enforce the law. DOT could fine the responsible airline up to $124,731 per instance of a device that was damaged, lost or delayed.

Julie Rieskin, a 59-year-old Denverite with multiple sclerosis, uses a specialized wheelchair that has been severely broken during flights at least three times. She said she was encouraged by the proposed rule and that it could not come soon enough. The new rules add robust training requirements for any airline employee who interacts with wheelchairs.

It is a huge step in the right direction, Rieskin said. It is super exciting.

According to the DOT, other elements of the proposed rule change include:

Airlines would be required to pay for the repair or replacement cost for broken wheelchairs through the passengers preferred vendor.

Airlines would have to give the passenger a loaned replacement chair that fits their needs as much as possible during repairs.

Airlines would be mandated to provide safe and dignified assistance that includes help getting on and off of the plane as well as prompt updates when the wheelchair has been boarded or if it can not safely fit on the plane.

Rieskin said she was particularly excited that airlines would be required to promptly bring her wheelchair to the gate unharmed after a flight because she often waits for her device long after other passengers have departed. Most importantly, Rieskin said she is hopeful that automatic fines will motivate airlines to stop breaking assistive devices.

Weve needed this forever, she said. If they start getting fined every time they engage in this behavior, theyll stop the behavior.

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Airline employees mishandle wheelchairs and scooters thousands of times each year. A Denver Gazette analysis of DOT damage reports found about one device was damaged for every 100 wheelchairs and scooters brought on board in 2022  the last year with complete federal data.

I think it reflects a culture where this is just treated as part of doing business, Buttigieg said.

He said the proposed rule change would be a financial incentive for airline employees and contractors to pay attention. Buttigieg said it would be on airlines to figure out how to comply with the new rules.

The focus here is on the results, he said.

Another aspect of the proposed rule change is practical annual training for all workers that interact with passengers in wheelchairs or other assistive devices.

This is about making sure that both the physical safety of passengers and the physical condition of mobility devices is contemplated, Buttigieg said.

While Reiskin is excited by the proposed shift in regulations, the real dream is for the eventual reconfiguration of airplanes that would allow her to fly on a plane in her own wheelchair.

Thats really whats going to make this really work well, she said.

Buttigeg said that is a future federal regulators are working towards, but they remain years away from putting in place such a policy.

Getting to that will require an enormous amount of research, but I believe it is a worthy goal because that is the ultimate way to ensure safe and dignified access for wheelchair-using passengers, he said.

The announcement triggered a 60-day comment period where the public can submit their feedback on the possible rule changes on the federal registers website.
Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter.
Nikki Haley is running for president. She served as Governor of South Carolina and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
A veteran-owned cybersecurity and technology company will bring at least 130 jobs averaging nearly $170,000 a year to Colorado Springs in what business leaders and local government officials call the latest economic development coup for the Pikes Peak region.

Invictus International Consulting, based in Alexandria, Va., announced Thursday that its selected the Springs for an expansion, saying it was attracted in large part by the presence of longtime military installations such as U.S. Space Command, U.S. Northern Command and the Air Force Academy.

At the same time, Invictus was impressed by the citys growing aerospace and cybersecurity network that includes companies such as Northrop Grumman and business parks like the Catalyst Campus Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation, which serves as a hub for defense and aerospace businesses.

Founded a decade ago, Invictus offers cybersecurity and internet service provider engineering and operations support for government agencies, defense organizations and private-sector clients.

Invictus is one of the nations preeminent cybersecurity companies, said CEO Jim Kelly, and protection of its clients data is a critical function of its employees.

The future is in technology, Kelly said after the companys expansion was announced at a Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC news conference, attended by local business and government officials. We are bringing a real technical workforce to the area.

Expanding to the Springs will allow Invictus to collaborate more closely with its military partners and leverage the areas employee talent pool, Kelly added.

This decision was not made lightly, but with careful consideration of the rich military heritage, innovative spirit and strategic significance of the region, one that truly rose to the top as we assessed many of the competitive locations for growth, he said. Colorado Springs, with its esteemed military installations and thriving technological ecosystem, provides the perfect backdrop for Invictus to thrive and grow.

Invictus  which has 300 employees, 65 of whom are in Colorado  expects to create 130 jobs in Colorado Springs at an average annual salary of $168,923, according to a news release. The positions will include administrators, analysts, engineers, managers and technicians.

But the worlds drama, as Kelly described global conflicts, could lead Invictus to double its Springs workforce, though he added there are no guarantees.

The company also expects to spend $3.9 million on capital investments as part of its Springs expansion, said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, the Chamber of Commerce & EDCs president and CEO.

Over the past two years, more than 4,200, high-wage jobs have been announced for the Colorado Springs area by existing businesses or newcomers, she said in December. Those companies also plan to spend more than $2 billion on capital investments.

This is how we grow our economy, ladies and gentlemen, Reeder Kleymeyer said at Thursdays news conference.

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Invictus hasnt yet settled on a permanent office site in Colorado Springs; Kelly said hes targeting 20,000 square feet initially  which would include warehouse space  that would open by early 2025. He said hes intrigued by the citys Peak Innovation Park business campus at the southeast side Colorado Springs Airport because it would put Invictus near other defense and aerospace companies.

Invictus received local and state incentives for choosing the Springs; the company also had considered Reston, Va., and San Antonio for its expansion.

The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved up to $2 million in performance-based Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits for Invictus over eight years, the news release said. Those incentives are contingent on the company meeting job creation and salary requirements.

In addition, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC facilitated a local incentive package with the city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County valued at $370,493, according to the release.

As a cybersecurity company, Invictus plays a key role to help ensure the nations security and will be at home in Colorado Springs defense ecosystem, said Mayor Yemi Mobolade.

Invictus  is a one-of-a-kind defense company, investing in cyber and security threats, Mobolade said. But more than that, this company is founded on strong values and principles, including loyalty, dedication, service and devotion to duty  the same values that are inherent in our communitys strong ties to the military.

Invictus, Kelly said, was named after his fathers favorite poem, which encourages those to believe in themselves in overcoming adversity.

While the Springs military ties and financial incentives played roles in Invictus expansion decision, Mobolades personal touch didnt go unnoticed, Kelly said.

When Invictus was in talks a few months ago with local officials, Kelly said Mobolade told him he wanted to meet to discuss the companys plans.

Kelly agreed to see Mobolade in the Springs on Dec. 15, but warned the mayor that he also needed to return to Highlands Ranch in suburban Denver. Thats where his mother, Kathleen, lives and was celebrating her 97th birthday.

When he learned that, Mobolade offered to sing happy birthday to her over the phone.

As soon as he said that, I dialed her, Kelly recalled. I said, Mom, the mayor of Colorado Springs is here on the phone. She goes, what? So I explained. And he sang happy birthday, and it was awesome.

Did Mobolades birthday vocals put Colorado Springs over the top as it wooed Invictus?

It didnt hurt, Kelly said. You dont make business decisions on that. But, Ill tell you, it was a value add in the decision.
Senior CPC official meets U.S. Chamber of Commerce delegation

Xinhua) 08:23, March 01, 2024

BEIJING, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with a U.S. Chamber of Commerce delegation led by the chamber's President and CEO Suzanne Clark in Beijing on Thursday.

The two sides agreed that China-U.S. economic and trade relations are vital, and they should enhance understanding through communication, advance mutually beneficial cooperation, and promote the steady development of China-U.S. relations.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Tourists visit the Palace Museum in snow in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

Cultural events have made their presence felt in the travel market, as the Chinese government has picked up on trend of rising public needs for quality cultural and tourism experiences and launched a series of favorable policies.



During Spring Festival, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had mobilized many regions to tap into local intangible cultural heritage and folk customs to boost tourism spending.

As a result, domestic tourism market saw 474 million trips during the holiday, up 34.3 percent year-on-year and 19 percent up over 2019.

In December, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development announced a plan to build national demonstration zones to further boost the integration of the cultural and tourism industries.

Fifty cities, city districts and counties from around the nation have been selected as potential zones.

The three ministries called on provincial-level authorities to strengthen collaboration on the construction work of the demonstration zones, formulate and introduce supporting measures at the provincial level, enhance supervision and guidance, and regularly evaluate the construction results.

The country is also planning to pilot up to five cultural heritage-themed national-level tourism routes as part of the country's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), according to government authorities.

In May last year, the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly released a circular about the establishment of such routes, which are designed to revolve around China's immovable cultural relics, including ancient cultural sites, such as tombs and cave temples.

Other elements, ranging from historical and cultural towns and cities, agricultural and industrial heritage, to museums and memorial halls, natural landscapes and scenic spots, are also expected to be integrated into the project, based on the subject of each route.

Guo Na, assistant researcher with the China Tourism Academy, pointed out that the government has introduced policies to promote consumption and drive the high-quality development of the tourism industry.

Plans around policy and institutional innovations have also been formulated to promote the integration of culture and tourism, and to promote the expansion and upgrading of the domestic tourism market, she observed.
In a visit to three North Iowa businesses Friday, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commended the progress and innovation being shown in the ag sector locally, while listening to comments and concerns and offering support from his office.

First stopping at Pure Prairie Poultry in Charles City, Naig praised its recent $50 million expansion of the facility, made possible with the help of a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan.

"I was really impressed with what they've undertaken here," said Naig, "... taking of an idle facility, bringing it up to date and online to provide high-quality chicken."

The plant added to Pure Prairie's existing network of over 75 barns within a 250 mile radius, and added up to 520 jobs in the surrounding area, according to a press release.

Pure Prairie's processing facilities in Charles City are capable of providing 100% air-chilled refrigeration for its chicken, which it says delivers a better-tasting and higher-quality product than the industry-standard water and chemically cooled chicken.

The chicken is cooled through a frigid, circulating, purified air-cooling process that eliminates excess water while retaining the meat's natural juices and tenderness. The chickens are 100% bred and raised on independently owned family farms in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The finished product touts a "No Antibiotics Ever" label, as well as a pledge by the company to eschew using animal byproducts in their feed, instead opting for only vegetable and grain feeds.

Pure Prairie products can be found at major retailers in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas, with expansion into more markets in the works.

Naif also made a stop at Valent BioSciences in Osage. The facility conducts biochemical engineering of naturally occurring microorganisms to create a wide variety of "bio-rational" chemicals for use in agriculture, public health and forest health markets. Most products manufactured at the plant made through fermentation are biologically derived and thus considered "low impact" and carry few ecological side effects. The company, along with its parent Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd of Japan, has a goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 50% in the year 2030 and carbon neutrality by the year 2050.

The Osage plant  the largest of its kind in the word  serves as one of Mitchell County's most competitive employers, providing nearly 110 jobs, with more positions to be filled as the plant undergoes a $34 million expansion to be completed later this year, which will significantly increase the facility's manufacturing capacity.

Naig's final stop, Manly Terminal, has since 2007 served as a hub for area industry and energy production.

The yard's 1,000-car capacity and it's central location on the Iowa Northern Railroad makes the site a "hub and spoke" for rail and truck travel, and stores over a dozen different products, including gasoline, ethanol, methanol, caustic soda, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and other oils used in the agriculture industry.

The site also has a major client in the wind industry, with a large section of the yard dedicated to delivery and storage of wind turbines serving five surrounding states, according to Lee Kiewiet, Manly Terminal president.

"The ability of us to take distiller's corn oil and other fats, oils and greases, we're now able to service the large renewable diesel plants that are now taking corn oil," said Kiewiet.

"We're working on (bringing technology) to clean up these fats, oils and greases, and utilize feed stocks that other people can't. Brown (trap) grease, used cooking oil, soap stock, and turning that into renewable diesel."

Brown grease is usually landfilled or combusted, and Manly Terminal's planned expansion would see it instead turned into sustainable energy.

"We've just submitted a $200 million USDA loan (application) for a $260 million-$280 million project," said Kiewiet, on a "35-million-gallon facility that will make renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and it will also make naphtha, used in gasoline refining and commercial applications."

"We were hoping to break ground this June/July, but now it's looking like it will be towards the end of December when we hit our timeline," said Kiewiet.

"We're adding value to our commodities," said Naig. "(Pure Prairie) is taking the corn and soybeans and the commodity crops we produce and creating something of higher value. Valent's doing the same thing, with their bio-based products and crop protection tools."

"At the Manly Terminal," Naig said, "we're talking about a huge expansion to add value not only to a commodity, but also waste streams like cooking oil, turning them into biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel. All three are adding value to our agriculture products, and it's really exciting to see these expansions."
A Woden man arrested last fall first-degree murder charges has received a trial date.

Roger Laverne Crews Jr., 56, is accused of killing his estranged wife sometime on Oct. 27 or 28, 2023.

The Hancock County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to 633 Way Ave. in Woden for a welfare check at 11:11 a.m. Oct. 28. Upon entering the premises, deputies found Karen Abby Crews, 56, deceased. Her cause of death was not listed in the court filings.

Roger and Karen Crews were separated and living apart, the report said.

Court documents identify Crews as the individual who contacted law enforcement asking for a welfare check, admitting there had been a conflict and noting that Karen's physical condition was of concern after he left the scene.

Trial has been set for 9 a.m., Wednesday, July 24 at the Hancock County Courthouse.

Karen Crews had accused Roger Crews of burglarizing her home in August 2023, for which he faces separate felony charges. Trial for the burglary charge is set to begin at 9 a.m., Wednesday, May 1.
An investigation into an apparent homicide in Mitchell County is underway.

At 7:14 p.m. on Feb. 23, on the 500 block of Walnut Avenue in Riceville, the Mitchell County Sheriffs Office responded to a call of a shooting. Officers found Acea Spiegeler, 34, dead from a gunshot wound, according to a press release.

Mitchell County Sheriff Greg Beaver said in the statement the alleged shooter, whose name has not been released by authorities, knew the victim and that the community remains safe.

As soon as I can, however, I want to get [the suspect's name]out, because I want to ease peoples minds and let them know where were at in the investigation, Beaver said.

Assisting with the investigation is the Howard County Sheriffs Office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Deputy Tyler Rothmeyer at the Mitchell County Sheriffs Office at 641-732-4740.
DES MOINES  A proposal by Iowa House Republicans to reorganize the funding and oversight of Iowas area education agencies was passed out of the chamber on Thursday, the first major milestone for the proposal as lawmakers have spent the last two months weighing major changes to the states special education network.

House Republicans proposed the bill after they blocked a more expansive and dramatic proposal from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, that would have allowed school districts to spend their special education dollars outside the AEAs.

The House bill, House File 2612, would keep Iowas AEAs as the sole provider of special education support in the state. State funding for special education services would go to the school districts, and they would be required to use that funding with the AEAs.

School districts would receive their allocation for media services and other education services that are currently devoted to the AEAs, and they would be able to choose whether to use that money with the AEAs or with another party once the bill is fully phased in in the 2026-2027 school year.

The bill passed out of the House 53-41 with only Republican votes. Nine Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

House Education Committee Chair Skyler Wheeler of Hull said as he introduced the bill on the floor that it was the product of countless hours of conversation with stakeholders. He said there is broad agreement that changes need to be made to the AEA system.

One thing was true throughout all of this. Everybody agreed that there were areas to improve and that we could make changes, Wheeler said. The AEAs have been included in this conversation more than anybody  Weve worked diligently and Im proud of the work that weve done.

In a statement after House lawmakers passed the bill, Reynolds said test scores and a "needs assistance" designation from the U.S. Department of Education show that the AEA system is failing Iowa students.

"The system must provide transparency and accountability to school districts, those closest to our students, and drive consistency across the AEA regions to improve services for students with disabilities," she said. "Thats what Ive heard from over 100 school districts as Ive traveled the state, and I look forward to more conversations as the legislation moves forward.

Democrats call for study of AEAs

Democrats said there is no need for changes to the AEA system, and that the call for changes was based on faulty assumptions about test scores and performance of students with disabilities.

Democrats said they supported the piece of the bill that calls for a task force to study the structure and services of the AEAs, but they did not want to make any changes before convening that study group.

"There is no reason for the rest of the bill," said Rep. Sharon Sue Steckman, D-Mason City. "The task force will do it for us. Then next year, we can make an intelligent decision instead of a rushed one."

Reynolds has cited scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to explain the need for Iowa to improve its special education instruction.

Iowas students with disabilities have scored below the national average over the last several years, according to a report from Guidehouse, a Virginia-based firm that contracted with the state to study its special education services and created a report that suggested many of the changes in Reynolds original bill.

But Democrats said that test is taken by so few students with disabilities that it should not be used to measure performance or the effectiveness of the AEAs. Around 530 students with individualized education plan took part in the most recent national survey  less than 1% of the states students in special education.

We dont know how the tested students were selected. We dont know if they were representative of all the students with disabilities, said Rep. Monica Kurth, D-Davenport. But what we do know is that those students were about one-third of one percent of our students with disabilities.

NAEP scores are one factor the Federal Department of Education uses to determine whether states are properly educating students with disabilities. The Guidehouse report also found a 41% proficiency gap between Iowa students with disabilities and those without in the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress.

Mike Beranek, the president of the Iowa State Education Association  the union representing the state's public school teachers  said in a statement that the bill is "not as draconian" as Reynolds' first proposal, but that it was still unnecessary.

"As this legislation moves forward, we implore the Senate and Governor Reynolds to commit to doing what is right for all Iowans and take no action that would reduce services for any students," he said. "Doing anything else is irresponsible."

What is in the bill?

Iowa's nine AEAs, which are governmental agencies separate from the Department of Education, provide special education support to school districts in their boundaries and assist with classroom equipment and media services, professional development and talented and gifted instruction, among other services. Right now, the services are largely funded by property taxes and federal special education dollars.

Beyond the funding changes, the bill would bring the AEAs under the Department of Education and create a new state Division of Special Education to oversee them. The division would handle oversight and federal and state compliance for educating students with disabilities.

The bill would move the AEAs governing boards to an advisory capacity and require state approval of AEA budgets. The salary for AEA administrators would be capped at 125% of the average salary of all superintendents within the AEAs boundary.

The bill would also establish a task force to study the AEAs, led by the legislative leaders of both parties.

The group would assess and make recommendations related to the property owned by the AEAs, the services they provide, the accountability and oversight measures in place, the organizational structure of special education in Iowa and a timeline for staffing modifications at the AEAs.

Republicans amended the bill on the floor on Thursday that would bring back the option for school districts and AEAs to share staff like social workers and special education coordinators.

The amendment also makes the number of regional employees in the state Division of Special Education flexible, with up to 40 employees split between the nine AEAs. The division would hire 13 new employees based in Des Moines.

Moderate Republicans give cautious support

Two Republicans who have, in the past, opposed some education priorities of their party, said during debate they were not thrilled about the bill, but they ultimately supported it because they did not think it would hurt special education offerings in the state.

Rep. Brent Siegrist, a Republican from Council Bluffs, said he was not happy with how the bill came about, but that the House version was a major improvement. He said the bill gives him some heartburn, but that it is a step in the right direction.

Its fair to say this was on nobodys agenda coming into the session, Siegrist said. None of us heard about it going door to door. But this issue was brought to us, and I congratulate Representative Wheeler and everybody else thats worked on this to try to make something that is certainly palatable to move ahead.

Republicans widely opposed Reynolds initial proposal to change the AEA system at the beginning of this year. Reynolds quickly proposed an amendment after receiving a flood of feedback from lawmakers and legislators, and that proposal has been amended further by the Senate.

The Senate proposal, Senate File 2386, has moved out of committee, but it has not reached a floor vote. The bill differs significantly from the House proposal, and it would allow schools to seek special education services outside the AEAs. The chambers will need to agree on a single bill in order to send it to Reynolds to be signed into law.

Education Committee chair says bill will improve outcomes

Wheeler said the criticism coming from Democrats revolved around the priorities and motivations of the governors original bill and not the House bill. He said the House bill was not based on any test scores or the report that motivated Reynolds proposal by Guidehouse, a Virginia-based firm.

Wheeler said a number of school superintendents were on board with the bill, who said they would be able to personalize their special education services and spend their money more efficiently. He also noted that several organizations who were originally against the bill had switched their registration to undecided.

Giving them the money, letting them have the money and disperse it as they need throughout their school district, I believe will improve outcomes for students, he said.

Wheeler, who has a daughter who has autism, said that he took the bill on early in the session because the issue was so personal.

I gave myself this bill, not because I wanted to punish myself, not because I was the chair of (the Education Committee) and therefore I had to do it, he said. I gave myself this bill because I believed if there was going to be something that affected my daughter's future directly I was going to have my hands on it.
Since being in limbo can be confusing, here are six tips for what you should do to get off the waitlist:

1) To wait or not wait:

2) Follow the business schools process:

3) Retake your tests:

4) Update the school on your activities:

Professional/Extracurricular Accomplishments: Got promoted or a raise? Received an award or commendation? Led or accomplished any significant projects? Volunteered with an NGO? Taken an online course to upskill yourself in your professional area of interest? Summarise any changes in your life and share some highlights of your accomplishments in a succinct essay or letter. Ensure that it doesnt exceed one page or 500 words. While mentioning projects, focus on your accomplishments and try relating them to the ethos of the business school, showcasing skills and traits that the business school values.

Demonstrated Interest: Mention any webinars or events you have attended. If you have connected with alumni or current students post submitting your application, you can include that as well. Again, it is key to highlight the takeaways and how these interactions have convinced you that the business school is uniquely positioned to help you achieve your goals. It is imperative that you clearly state that the business school where you are waitlisted is your business school of choice and you will definitely attend if accepted.

5) Additional letters of recommendation:

6) Letter of support:

Provide context of your relationship with the alumnus or current student. For example, it should state how long they have known you and in what context.

Demonstrate your fit for the school. Since the alumnus knows both you and the business school, they are in a unique position to validate your fit. They need to highlight how you are aligned to the ethos of the business school and must speak from their personal experience on how they think you will be a good addition to the school.

State how the business school can help you achieve your goals.

Elaborate on how you will contribute to the business school, both within and outside the classroom.

Endorse you.

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Are you interested in a masters degree or an MBA? Then follow us here on +91 9820491179Prasad Chambers #309, Opera House, Mumbai - 400004. Book an appointment.Are you interested in a masters degree or an MBA? Then follow us here on LinkedIn for updates throughout the admissions cycle. Signature Read More

MBA round one and early results are out and some of you may be celebrating with exciting news while some may be processing being rejected from your dream business school. However, some of you might have been placed on a business schools waitlist. We understand that its unsettling and disappointing when there is no clear decision, but keep in mind that being placed on the waitlist isnt a rejection. Rather the admissions committee has decided to continue evaluating your application. While there is no guarantee you will be taken off the waitlist, you should use this time wisely in the event that the waitlist opens up.First off, decide if you are willing to give up a guaranteed spot at another school for the possibility of being accepted from the waitlist. If the MBA programme you are waitlisted for isnt your first choice, then it may make sense to decline the offer to be placed on the list. Weigh your options carefully before you decide what to do.Every business school has a different waitlist process so make sure that you review and observe their guidelines carefully. Some schools only want to know if you would like to remain on their waitlist, while others are open to receiving additional information and updates. Some others may also offer suggestions to strengthen your candidacy.What were your scores like? If your GMAT score is lower than average, then it might make sense to take it again. Do you need to demonstrate English language skills? Take or redo the TOEFL to demonstrate your English language proficiency. Business schools look for candidates with strong quantitative abilities, so if your GMAT quant score is on the lower side, take courses or certifications to demonstrate that you have made an effort to build these skills.Some schools allow an update letter or essay, so think about what has changed since you applied.You should send this letter a few weeks after you get your notification as it gives the admissions representatives time to get a clearer sense of how many spaces they have left to fill.Some schools may allow you to send additional letters of recommendation . Reach out to recommenders who can offer a new perspective on your candidacy. The admissions committee is not interested in reviewing the same instances they have read in your previous letters of recommendation . Alumni of the MBA programme who know you well can also offer the admissions team a good perspective on your fit for the programme.Alternately, you can request a letter of support from an alumnus or current student, asking them to endorse your candidature by demonstrating your fit for the programme. Remember that the letter of support is NOT the same as the letter of recommendation submitted with the application.If possible, ask for a letter of support from a senior industry alumnus as this will help it to carry more weight. Remember that the alumnus or current student should know you well, either professionally, personally or both. It is not necessary for you to have worked with the alumnus as the letter of support does not necessarily have to talk about your work.The letter of support should:By remaining on the waitlist and updating the admissions committee, you are communicating your commitment to their MBA programme and your willingness to work hard to achieve your goals. Dont panic and rush to send in new material. Doing so without reviewing and polishing your work may squander any opportunity to show change or improvement in your candidacy, thereby hindering your chances.If you want help with how to maximise this time, get in touch with The Red Pen MBA Admissions team._________________
Re: Medical ethicist: Medical schools should not allow their students to [ #permalink

1 Kudos

It can't be C. That is an inference based off of the passage.



This problem asks us to restate the conclusion of the passage. This means that the answer choice must only contain explicitly mentioned information in the passage. There cannot be inferences or any assumptions. You just have to restate the exact same conclusion from the passage in different words and that is your answer choice.



If you correctly identified the conclusion in the passage, you would see that the first sentence of the passage is actually the conclusion. If you have trouble seeing that, the reason is that it gives the "call to arms" or what should be done given the information provided. This makes it the conclusion.



So your job now is to find the answer choice that simply restates in different words this sentence:



"Medical schools should not allow their students to accept even minor gifts from pharmaceutical companies."



option A is pretty darn close. "No medical school should allow its students to accept even minor gifts from pharmaceutical companies."



To get this one right you have to be able to properly identify the conclusion in the passage. If you had trouble doing that, you may have a deficiency. Regardless of the question type you should always know the conclusion of the passage before moving on to the answer choices.
A Callands man died in a two-vehicle wreck in Pittsylvania County on Friday morning.

The crash occurred at 11:15 a.m. on Walkers Well Road, one-tenth of a mile south of Cherrystone Lake Road in Pittsylvania County, according to a news release from Virginia State Police Sgt. Rick Garletts.

Vincent Brian Adkins, 59, of Callands, died after the 2001 Toyota Corolla he was driving crossed the center line on Walkers Well Road and crashed head-on into a 1989 GMC 2500, according to the news release.

Adkins died at the scene.

The driver and the passenger in the GMC were wearing their seat belts and were not injured.

The crash remains under investigation by the Virginia State Police.
In a surprise decision Thursday afternoon, Amari Pollard, 20, the sole suspect in the Huguenot graduation shooting, pled guilty and now faces 25 years in prison.

Pollard pled guilty to two charges, including first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony. Judge W. Reilly Marchant sentenced Pollard to 43 years in prison, with 18 suspended.

Pollard entered his plea after the Richmond Circuit Court judge made two decisive rulings earlier in the day in the case against him.

Marchant ruled that the jury would not be given instructions on self-defense, a blow to defense attorneys who have argued Pollard was acting in self-defense when Shawn Jackson was killed on June 6.

The law is very clear. Words alone are not enough to justify deadly force, Marchant said at the closure of an argumentative morning session.

Jackson did not carry a gun at graduation. However, Pollards lawyer, Jason Anthony, had argued that Pollard was not being afforded the same flexibility that would apply to a police officer who sees a crime suspect reach into his waistband.

Anthony said that ruling out self-defense would set a dangerous precedent.

This is Virginia. You dont get to go up to people and tell them youre going to kill them, when its five-on-one, and you're making furtive movements. We dont want to make the law in Virginia, someone says theyre going to kill you, and you cant do anything, Anthony said.

Prosecutors argued that Marchant asked defense attorneys to show him an overt act. Defense attorney James Bullard said that the chaos of a fight between Jacksons friends and Pollard amounted to an overt act.

Anthony argued that it was a brawl.

Marchant ultimately ruled against Anthony.

There is no evidence of self-defense when the victim is shot six times in the back while walking away, Marchant ruled.

The decision triggered a court recess as Pollards defense lawyers restrategize. Before the ruling, the lawyers had anticipated only presenting one witness, but that may now change and prolong court proceedings as defense lawyers seek to relitigate the validity of the self-defense argument before Marchant.

Photos: Richmond reacts to mass shooting after graduation ceremony
March, known as Blue March, is a month dedicated to colorectal cancer prevention and screening. Approximately 220,000 people in Europe are diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year, and the number is increasing. In Luxembourg, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths, but if detected early, it can be cured in 9 out of 10 cases. Screening therefore plays an essential role.

Increasing participation in the National Colorectal Screening Programme to combat the disease more effectively

Luxembourg has had an National Colorectal Screening Programme (PDOCCR) for three years, managed by the Health Directorate's Cancer Screening Programme Coordination Centre.

Since then, about 200,000 invitations have been sent out. Participation in organised screening is still relatively low (currently about 34% of tests are carried out following an invitation), but has increased steadily since the programme was launched. Screening tests remain essential in the fight against this disease. Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that develops very slowly, often without pain or digestive symptoms, from lesions called polyps that can bleed into the intestine. Bleeding from a polyp or cancer is not visible to the naked eye, hence the importance of the test, which is designed to detect such bleeding.

How does the organised screening programme work?

Every 2 years, people aged between 55 and 74 who live in Luxembourg and are affiliated to the National Health Fund (CNS) receive an invitation to take part in this screening programme. Non-Luxembourg residents in the target age group who are affiliated to the CNS can also take part in the programme, by contacting the Cancer Screening Programme Coordination Centre by telephone on 247-75550 or by email at colorectal@ms.etat.lu.

Screening consists of a stool blood test. The test is easy to use and can be done at home. People who have received an invitation can order a free test kit from an authorised laboratory. The results of the screening test will be sent directly by the laboratory.

If the result is positive, people are invited to contact their doctor to discuss whether they should have a diagnostic colonoscopy. The list of centres and doctors approved by the Ministry of Health to carry out PDOCCR colonoscopies can be found at sante.lu/colorectal.

Preventive measures planned by the Ministry of Health and Social Security for the Blue March

To mark the Blue March, the Ministry of Health and Social Security is organising a communication campaign to encourage people to take part in the screening programme: awareness posters will be displayed in pharmacies and doctors' practices; explanatory videos will be posted on social networks; meetings will be held in markets to give people the opportunity to obtain further information.

For more information, please visit: sante.lu/colorectal

Press release by the Ministry of Health and Social Security
Early on the morning of this year's Chinese Lantern Festival, which fell on Saturday, a folk ensemble from France stood out among the groups of performers waiting for the two-day celebration to begin on the illuminated streets of Qingxu county, Shanxi province.

"After receiving an invitation from Qingxu county, we can't wait to experience the festive atmosphere," said Cathy Bravo, a member of Birousans, the French folk performance group.

In an effort to promote cultural exchange, Qingxu invited folk groups like Birousans from France, Italy and Kazakhstan to celebrate this year's Lantern Festival in the county, alongside local performers and groups from all over China.

Birousans, established in 1921 and based in France's Pyrenees Mountains, is a group known for its distinctive songs, dances and costumes.

"The attire we're wearing today represents our traditional festival clothing. It's typically worn during significant moments," said Audrey Fourtane, another member of Birousans. "As far as I know, the Lantern Festival is also an important day for the Chinese people. We are honored to celebrate this festive occasion here with our Chinese friends."

The ensemble's dance style is lively with a strong sense of rhythm. The musicians play traditional music from the central Pyrenees on instruments such as drums, oboes and accordions to accompany the dancers, who wear long, pointed wooden shoes and folk costumes.

"Our performance today showcases what France was like in the late 19th century and early 20th century," said Laurent Mayer, the group's leader."Being able to participate in the Lantern Festival performance here fills us with excitement, and we also feel the warmth and enthusiasm of the Chinese people."

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France. The two countries are working together to host celebrations throughout the year and have launched the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, promoting people-to-people cultural exchanges between the two sides.

Many members of Birousans have come to China for the first time. They have spent their visit enjoying folk performances from all over the country and savoring various northern Chinese cuisines, giving them a deeper understanding of China.

Bravo said she first visited China 20 years ago and is amazed with the "remarkable changes" the nation has undergone.

"If there are future opportunities, I eagerly look forward to spending more time in China and experiencing more of its rich culture," she said.
At the invitation of TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and his wife Eva Pavlova are paying a State visit to Luxembourg from 29 February to 1 March 2024. The presidential couple is accompanied by a delegation including around thirty Czech companies.

Friday 1st March 2024

The second day begins with a visit to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) in Capellen. The agency brings together NATO's logistical support and procurement activities. The President of the Czech Republic and his wife, together with HRH the Grand Duke, are received at the headquarters of the NSPA by the Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, and the Director General of the NSPA, Stacy Cummings. The programme includes a presentation of activities and a visit to a weapons systems workshop.

 SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Ronald Dofing, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in Prague; HRH the Grand Duke; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Stacy Cummings, Director General of the NSPA; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (fr. l. to r.) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence; Stacy Cummings, Director General of the NATO Acquisition and Support Agency.  Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (fr. l. to r.) Emanuele Piffaretti, Director of Procurement, NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA); Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Zoltan Nagy, Chief of Staff, NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA); Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Stacy Cummings, Director General, NATO Support and Procurement Agency; HRH the Grand Duke; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence.  SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen Group photo  SIP / Julien Warnand Signing of the guest book by the presidential couple and HRH the Grand Duke  SIP / Julien Warnand Signing of the guest book by the presidential couple and HRH the Grand Duke  SIP / Julien Warnand (fr. l. to r.) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Stacy Cummings, Director General of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency; HRH the Grand Duke; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence  Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue Group photo

Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlova and the Grand Ducal couple are welcomed at the Luxembourg II European School in Mamer by the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch, and the school's director, Maurice van Daal. During a general presentation of the institution and its educational offer, the presidential couple and HRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess have the opportunity to attend a musical performance by Czech pupils. They also get the chance to familiarise themselves with various school projects and meet around a hundred children of Czech origin from the various sections of the European School.

SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) n.c. (security); Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duke; HRH the Grand Duchess --- (back) Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth; Monique Smit-Thijs, Mayor of the municipality of Bertrange; Maurice van Daal, Director of the Ecole europeenne II in Mamer; Luc Feller, Mayor of Mamer SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Monique Smit-Thijs, Mayor of Bertrange; Luc Feller, Mayor of Mamer; HRH the Grand Duchess; Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen Maurice van Daal, Director of the Ecole europeenne II SIP / Julien Warnand Illustration SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Monique Smit-Thijs, Mayor of Bertrange; Luc Feller, Mayor of Mamer; Maurice van Daal, Director of the Ecole europeenne II in Mamer; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duchess; HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Colonel Robert Kohnen, aide-de-camp to the House of the Grand Duke; n.c. (security); HRH the Grand Duke; Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth; HRH the Grand Duchess; n.c. (security); n.c. (interpreter); Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) n.c. (security); HRH the Grand Duke; Vladimir Bartl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Luxembourg; HRH the Grand Duchess; Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth; Maurice van Daal, Director of the Ecole europeenne II in Mamer SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (middle) Claude Meisch, Minister of Education, Children and Youth Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) HRH the Grand Duke; HRH the Grand Duchess; n.c.

Prime Minister Luc Frieden then has the honour of welcoming, on behalf of the Luxembourg government, the Head of State of the Czech Republic and his wife for a lunch which is also attended by ministers Yuriko Backes and Elisabeth Margue. Discussions focus on bilateral relations, both political and economic, as well as the major issues on the European and international political agenda.

SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; n.c. (security) SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence; Elisabeth Margue, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies; n.c. (security); Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Elisabeth Margue, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Christophe Schiltz, President of the Council of State; Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Elisabeth Margue, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister for Media and Connectivity; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Yuriko Backes, Minister of Defence; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Luc Frieden, Prime Minister; Vladimir Bartl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Luxembourg; Francis Delaporte, President of the Administrative Court; Paul Duhr, Marshal of the Court; Marc Baltes, Advisor to HRH the Grand Duke, House of the Grand Duke; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic

Later, Petr Pavel is welcomed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by its President, Koen Lenaerts, and has the opportunity to meet judges and staff of Czech origin.

SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Justice SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Petra Skvarilova-Pelzl, Judge at the General Court of the European Union; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Justice; Jan Passer, Judge at the European Court of Justice; David Petrlik, Judge at the General Court of the European Union; Jaroslav Zajicek, Director of the Foreign Affairs Department, Office of the President SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Justice; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; n.c. (protocol) SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Justice SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) n.c. (security); n.c. (security); Tomas Pernicky, Director of the Protocol Department, Office of the President; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Justice

The President of the Czech Republic and HRH the Grand Duke are then received at the Chamber of Commerce by the Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, the President Fernand Ernster, and the Director General Carlo Thelen. As part of the Czech Republic-Luxembourg Business Forum, Petr Pavel, Lex Delles and the Vice-President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce, Radek Jakubsky, are giving speeches. The forum is also the setting for the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and the Czech Chamber of Commerce.

SIP / Julien Warnand (from left to right) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duke; Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism; Fernand Ernster, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce SIP / Julien Warnand (standing, l. to r.) HRH the Grand Duke; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic - (seated, l. to r.) Fernand Ernster, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce; Radek Jakubsky, Vice-President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce SIP / Julien Warnand (speaker) Lex Delles, Speech by the Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (speaker) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Sasha Baillie, CEO Luxinnovation; Paul Duhr, Marshal of the Court; Vladimir Bartl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic in Luxembourg; Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Chamber of Commerce; Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism; HRH the Grand Duke; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (left to right) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Fernand Ernster, President of the Chamber of Commerce SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen (from left to right) Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Chamber of Commerce; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Fernand Ernster, President of the Chamber of Commerce; HRH the Grand Duke; Lex Delles, Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism

For their part, HRH the Grand Duchess and Eva Pavlova, accompanied by Stephanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education, are visiting the Belval campus of the University of Luxembourg. At the Maison des sciences humaines, HRH the Grand Duchess and the First Lady of the Czech Republic attend a presentation by the Epsylon network (Experimental Psychology Laboratories Network) and have the opportunity to find out about current projects at the Luxembourg Centre for Educational Testing (LUCET), the research and transfer unit dedicated to the evaluation of multilingual education systems.

They visit the cognitive neuroscience laboratory, where they receive explanations of recent research into mathematical cognitive disorders, as well as the VR Bias project on eating disorders. The visit ends with a brief tour of the Luxembourg Learning Centre and an exchange with students and staff of the University of Luxembourg of Czech origin.

Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (left to right) HRH the Grand Duchess; n.c. (security); Stephanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education; Jens Kreisel, Rector of the University of Luxembourg; Simone Asselborn-Bintz, Mayor of Sanem; Meris Sehovic, Alderman of Esch-sur-Alzette; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic. Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) n.c.; n.c. (security); HRH the Grand Duchess Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Petra Bartlova, spouse of Vladimir Bartl; Marie-Pierre Pausch-Antoine, Director of the Luxembourg Learning Centre; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duchess; Pavla Stechova, Department of Protocol, Office of the President; Stephanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education; Meris Sehovic, Alderman of the City of Esch-sur-Alzette Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Jens Kreisel, Rector of the University of Luxembourg; Stephanie Obertin, Minister for Research and Higher Education; HRH the Grand Duchess; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Christine Schiltz, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE), University of Luxembourg Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Christine Schiltz, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE), University of Luxembourg; HRH the Grand Duchess; Sonja Ugen, Research Scientist and Head of Diagnostic Projects, University of Luxembourg; Simone Asselborn-Bintz, Mayor of Sanem Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) n.c.; HRH the Grand Duchess; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; n.c.

The State visit concludes with a concert by Martinu Strings Prague at the Cercle Cite, followed by a reception hosted by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and his wife Eva Pavlova in honour of TRH the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, in the presence of the Hereditary Grand Ducal couple.

Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Crown Princess Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; Tomas Pernicky, Director of the Protocol Department, Office of the President; HRH the Grand Duke; HRH the Grand Duchess Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) HRH the Crown Princess; Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duke; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duchess; HRH the Crown Prince Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (speaker) Vladimir Bartl, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Luxembourg Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (speaker) Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue (from left to right) Eva Pavlova, First Lady of the Czech Republic; Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic; HRH the Grand Duke; HRH the Grand Duchess; Eduard Hulicius, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Claude Wiseler, President of the Chamber of Deputies; Isabel Wiseler-Lima, wife of Claude Wiseler Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue Illustration Maison du Grand-Duc / Sophie Margue Illustration

Press release by the Information and Press Service (SIP )
GREENSBORO  With law enforcement officers from Guilford and Forsyth counties by his side, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein on Thursday called for more funding from the state legislature to address the fentanyl crisis impacting the Triad.

We are asking the legislature for funding to start up a Fentanyl Control Unit in my office to help district attorneys tackle these complex and time-consuming cases, Stein said.

For Stein, who seeks to become the states next governor, the visit doubled as a campaign stop, allowing the Democrat to highlight his efforts to curb whats been a pressing issue across America, North Carolina and Greensboro.

On Thursday, Stein touted various measures being taken by his office to combat the problem such as initiating over 670 wiretaps as well as suing several drug manufacturers and distributors.

Still, overdose deaths from opioids, and fentanyl in particular, continue to grip the country. Last year, overdose deaths eclipsed 112,000 for the first time.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 187 people die in the U.S. each day from opioid overdoses  most involving the various and illegal versions of fentanyl. Cheap to make and easy to obtain, and significantly stronger than morphine, fentanyl is often mixed with other substances, such as cocaine and heroin, and fashioned into pills that resemble prescription opioids.

We seized approximately 20 pounds of pure fentanyl last year, said Johnathan Hasty, a captain of Guilford County Sheriffs Office Special Operations Division. But we also seized 427 pounds of cocaine ... probably about a third of that cocaine was either cut or laced with fentanyl.

Police Chief John Thompson said during Thursdays event that fentanyl deaths remain a major issue in the city.

Over the last two or three years we have seen more overdose deaths related to opioids and fentanyl than traffic fatalities and homicides combined, Thompson said. Thats very telling for our community.

In an effort to save lives, Thompson said officers have begun to carry naloxone  a medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose  so it can be administered to users they might encounter.

Of growing concern has been the access adolescents and teens have to fentanyl, legal or otherwise. In 2021, overdose deaths by teens occurred a startling 84%.

And things have only gotten worse since then.

Theyre college students, theyre high school students, who are taking a chance, said state Sen. Gladys Robinson, a Democrat who represents Guilford. A lot of us were risky when we were young, but fentanyl wasnt out there.
SUMMERFIELD  The Town Council has agreed to hire a public relations firm to help fight a bill pending in the General Assembly that would remove nearly 1,000 acres of land.

The councils vote during a special meeting Thursday afternoon is the latest step in a dispute over a proposed residential project from developer David Couch.

Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County, who also represents the town, is pressuring Summerfield leaders to work with Couch.

A four-member majority of the council  Mayor Pro-Tempore Lynne DeVaney, Councilwoman Janelle Robinson and newly-elected Councilmen Jonathan Hamilton and Heath Clay  have taken votes opposing zoning changes for the project or have otherwise criticized the plans.

Berger recently told Hamilton that he plans to move the de-annexation bill forward when the General Assembly goes back into session in April.

DeVaney said the bill will set a horrible precedent for small towns across North Carolina  not just Summerfield, but all towns.

The council voted 4-1 with DeVaney, Hamilton, Clay and Robinson in favor of hiring a public relations firm and designated DeVaney to select the company. Councilman John Doggett was opposed. Mayor Tim Sessoms was present but did not vote since there was no tie.

Explaining his opposition, Doggett said: I think that we are spending money that doesnt need to be spent on a PR firm because I really believe that Berger is holding all the chips.

Doggett said he was concerned that Berger would be able to use his influence as Senate leader to bring other legislators in line by threatening funding for projects.

Robinson pushed back on Doggetts position, saying: I do think it was clearly the will of the majority of the people to fight it with all weve got. People even said raise taxes if you have to. The people wanted us to fight it.

In response, Doggett said: I think we were elected to do what we feel  listen to the people  but were supposed to do whats best for Summerfield despite what the majority says because theres a lot of things that wouldnt be passed in history if they had listened to the majority.

Town Manager Scott Whitaker also suggested the council identify a limit of how much they would want to spend on the firm but members ultimately did not include that condition.

The meeting featured several tense moments between council members, particularly between Sessoms and Hamilton. Prior to the meeting, Hamilton issued a statement accusing Sessoms of trying to pass the buck wherever he can and failing to effectively work with Couch.

The impression we have of you is a very insincere person Mr. Mayor, Hamilton told Sessoms.

Sessoms responded: Im interested in solutions and thats what I have worked for.

Hamilton shot back: No, no, youre interested in blame.

Later, Sessoms pointed to the fact that the land in Summerfield has not been de-annexed.

Im not really about casting blame, Sessoms said. Im about resolving issues and fixing problems. Thats what Ive worked on for the last 10 years working with the town of Summerfield.
The Narcan vending machine in the Law and Justice building on Fuller Avenue has distributed 885 free boxes since February 2023, officials with the Lewis and Clark County Department of Criminal Justice Services reported recently.

The Department of Criminal Justice Services said in its quarterly newsletter in January that 743 boxes of Narcan had been distributed since the vending machine had been introduced, but on Thursday that it has increased to 885 boxes.

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is often referred to as a miracle drug for its ability to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. This reversal means normal breathing can be quickly restored. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say administering naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, can restore a persons breathing within two to three minutes.

There is another vending machine at the Our Place Drop-In Center. Officials said they did not have numbers for boxes distributed by that machine. The placement of the vending machines is part of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils efforts to address opioid misuse disorders.

A Criminal justices Services official said they have added fentanyl test strips to the machine. The total number dispersed since October 2023 is 230 strips.

The vending machines were purchased through a grant from the Institute for Intergovernmental Research and the Department of Public Health and Human Services provided the Narcan, Criminal Justice Services officials said.

According to their website, the Lewis and Clark County's Department of Criminal Justice Services focuses on improving the safety of Lewis and Clark County residents and "ensure the equitable and efficient treatment of defendants, offenders, and victims."

Visit their website at https://www.lccountymt.gov/Government/Criminal-Justice-Services.
The city of Helena is applying for a $1.3 million federal grant that would pay for designing and planning to complete a connector road from the South Helena I-15 interchange at Saddle Drive with U.S. Highway 12 on the east side of the Queen City.

The Helena City Commission voted 5-0 Feb. 26 to back a letter of support from Mayor Wilmot Collins to the U.S. Department of Transportation for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) planning grant.

Efforts to advance construction of the East Side Arterial Connector have been going on for more than two decades, City Manager Tim Burton and Grants Administrator Amanda Opitz said in a Feb. 22 memo to the city commission.

They noted the concept was first proposed in 2002 when the community participated in a planning effort to create a vision for future development of the area east of I-15 and south of U.S. Highway 12. The interchange was partially built but the economic downturn of 2008 caused a lack of funding that halted the project, they said.

Recent development in the adjacent Mountain View Meadows subdivision, increased community interest and investment in reclamation of the former East Helena ASARCO smelter site, population increases and development constraints in the northern Helena valley have sparked renewed interest in the completion of an east side arterial, the memo states.

They said the city and Lewis and Clark County "have jointly determined in our growth policies that most feasible and sustainable location for growth is on the east side of Helena between I-15 and U.S. 12 due to its easy access to municipal services, generally unconstrained land, and proximity to primary regional transportation routes."

Advantages to the project include traffic congestion relief at the Capital interchange and along Highway 12; regional connectivity between Helena, East Helena and Montana City; improved access for emergency services, job creation and economic opportunities through private commercial development; and sustainable growth and opportunities for affordable housing.

Opitz said Thursday the city's "best estimate is that it will be about a mile long, but the arterial connector has not yet been designed."

The RAISE grant will fund pre-construction activities for the connector including necessary planning analysis (environmental review, lane configurations, traffic control needs, pedestrian and bicycle facility needs, transit and freight accommodations, public infrastructure extensions, etc.), community engagement activities, permitting requirements, and design.

The commission also approved a Feb. 22 letter from Collins to Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, that noted the project will also open up nearly 1,000 acres of open land for new mixed-use and low-income housing development.

The citys growth policy identifies the east side of Helena as the most feasible and sustainable area for growth, but development in this area is constrained due to lack of access, Collins stated in his letter. Construction of the East Side Arterial will foster that sustainable growth that is so desperately needed.

The city memo states RAISE grants are awarded on a competitive basis for "planning or building surface transportation infrastructure projects that will improve safety; environmental sustainability; quality of life; mobility and community connectivity; economic competitiveness and opportunity including tourism; state of good repair; partnership and collaboration; and innovation."
Jean C. OConnor, a retired English teacher from Helena, has written two historical fiction novels based on her research about a forgotten patriot, James Lovell.

She discovered the story of James and his father John, both teachers at the Boston Latin School before the Revolution began, in a few lines in her grandmothers journal.

Because of her research into James Lovells life, and since he was her five times great-grandfather, the National Security Agency contacted her about their plan to induct him into the 2023 Cryptologic Hall of Honor.

The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Paul Nakasone, told her of the honor. She and her sister Barbara attended the event at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, on Jan. 29.

Nakasone and Deputy Director Wendy Noble hosted the induction of Lovell, along with four other people who had contributed in significant ways to national security.

Nakasone said induction into the Cryptologic Hall of Honor was a real honor, saying that of the 330,000 who have worked at NSA since its founding in 1952, only 115 have been inducted.

In his early life, James Lovell supported patriots, resisting British taxes and authority, while his father, John Lovell, the master of the Boston Latin School, was a staunch Loyalist.

Imprisoned for spying, he spent many months in prison, and upon his release joined the Continental Congress.

OConnor presents this part of Lovells life in The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution.

Lovells five years in the Continental Congress during the American Revolution became her second historical fiction novel, Congresss Cryptographer: A Novel of James Lovell and the American Revolution, soon to be released.

During these years Lovell was the secretary of the Committee for Foreign Affairs, in charge of diplomatic correspondence with Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, John Adams and others in Europe; he befriended Abigail Adams in a vital correspondence; and he deciphered captured messages for generals, including one from Cornwallis that revealed British weakness and assisted Washingtons vital victory at Yorktown.

John A. Tokar, chief of the Center for Cryptologic History for the National Security Agency and Central Security Service, said this about Lovell:

James Lovell is considered the Father of American Cryptanalysis by no less an authority than David Kahn, and William Friedman called him the Revolutions one-man National Security Agency. His pioneering work as a codemaker and a codebreaker gave cryptology a singular role in the emergence of the new nation. He is a landmark figure in the history of American cryptanalysis and cryptography, and a model for present and future generations.

For more about Lovell and to purchase "The Remarkable Cause and Congresss Cryptographer," visit jeanoconnor.com.
Montana State University Extension will host a feral swine education tour through March 8 in northeast Montana, with seven stops held for landowners, farmers, ranchers and anyone else interested in attending. Registration is not required, and there is no cost to attend.

Feral swine, also referred to as wild pigs, can cause significant landscape and agricultural damage, according to Jared Beaver, MSU Extension wildlife specialist. While feral swine are not currently present in Montana, the risk of feral swine is a serious concern.

Wild pigs are not native to the United States and are a highly effective invasive species, Beaver said. They have been declared one of the biggest threats to terrestrial biodiversity in the world and are expanding across the United States and Canada.

According to Beaver, the ecological and economic impacts of feral swine could be significant in Montana if they were to establish a population. He regularly emphasizes the threat when working with Montana landowners.

They can live just about anywhere, eat just about anything and are prolific breeders, Beaver said. Wild pigs have few natural predators and are intelligent, mobile animals that are highly pressure sensitive. They are extremely difficult to control and eradicate once established.

MSU Extension agents will host the tour stops and provide continuing education and resources to local communities. Representatives from the Montana Department of Livestock and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will also present information.

This program is working to inform producers and the public on what these impacts are and how best to respond and manage wild pigs, said Marley Voll, MSU Extension Richland County agent. Montanans should be prepared before wild pigs enter the state.

Tour stops will be held as follows:

Tuesday, March 5:

 Havre, 10 a.m. 4-H Chuckwagon, 1676 U.S. Highway 2 W.

 Chinook, 3 p.m. Chinook Senior Center, 324 Pennsylvania St.

Wednesday, March 6:

 Malta, 9 a.m. Phillips County Library, 10 S. Fourth St. E.

 Fort Peck, 3 p.m. Fort Peck Interpretive Center, 157 Yellowstone Road.

Thursday, March 7:

 Scobey, 10 a.m. Ambulance Room, 106 Railroad Ave.

 Plentywood, 2 p.m. Cousins Family Restaurant, 118 S. Main St.

Friday, March 8:

 Sidney, 10 a.m. Richland County Event Center, 2118 W. Holly St.

Montana residents can report suspected sightings of feral swine to the Montana Department of Livestock at 406-444-2976.
"I always wanted to do a full French classical album," Chinese pianist Lang Lang said in late January during an event to promote his new album, "Lang Lang  Saint-Saens." "Initially, I wanted to focus on the Impressionist composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, but later felt the need for some more vibrant works, so I thought of Saint-Saens' 'Piano Concerto No. 2,' which I have always very much enjoyed playing."

A photo of internationally renowned pianist Lang Lang. [Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group]

Released on March 1 by Deutsche Grammophon, "Lang Lang  Saint-Saens" is available in both physical and digital versions. During its pre-sales period worldwide, the album managed to shoot to the top of music charts on Amazon. Pre-sale for a CD version of "Lang Lang  Saint-Saens" is now available on the Chinese mainland.

"Lang Lang  Saint-Saens" sees Lang join forces with his wife, pianist Gina Alice, the Gewandhausorchester, and conductor Andris Nelsons.

"The Gewandhausorchester was indeed very serious this time, as if they were performing Beethoven or Brahms concertos," the Chinese virtuoso praised. "This orchestra has premiered the most works by Saint-Saens, including the symphonies and the other two piano concertos. The Gewandhausorchester has a very distinctive sound, with strong focus and a solid presence even in softer moments, making it very suitable for such works. Nelsons really resembles his mentor Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons, with that kind of emotion and dedication to art fully embodied in him."

Lang's version of "Piano Concerto No. 2" celebrates the historic association between Leipzig and Saint-Saens' music, as the French composer premiered his "Piano Concerto No. 2" in Paris in May 1868, with its second performance alongside the Gewandhausorchester taking place in Leipzig in October of the same year.

On upcoming international performances in such cities as Berlin, San Diego, and Paris, Lang will perform Saint-Saens' "Piano Concerto No. 2" and "Carnival of the Animals." As part of Lang's Saint-Saens project, a film of the work recorded live in concert at Leipzig's Gewandhaus will be broadcast on ARTE on March 24, 2024, and will be available to watch internationally on DG's audio and video streaming platform STAGE+ on World Piano Day, March 28.

Album cover art for "Lang Lang  Saint-Saens." [Image courtesy of Universal Music Group]

Lang Lang's new release also shines light on music by five female French composers largely overlooked until recently. On the new work, Lang Lang performs such compositions as "D'un jardin clair" by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918) and "Romance sans paroles" from "Quatre pieces romantiques Op. 30" by Charlotte Sohy (1897-1955).

"The world today is more diverse, and we must pay great attention to female composers. On this album, we specifically included works by five French female composers. People may not be familiar with them, but their music is truly fantastic," Lang noted. "This is my first time getting up close with the music of French female composers. In the current era, regardless of race, skin color, or gender, what matters is your artistic presentation. To record this album, I was able to uncover these beautiful treasures, and I am very pleased to introduce these great female composers to more people and to share their works with everyone."

Lang Lang attended a press event to premiere his album in Dolby Atmos format at a Beijing cinema with Dolby equipment, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Universal Music Group]
A Butte judge has permanently struck down three 2021 laws related to access to abortion in Montana, including one that would have banned the procedure after 20 weeks gestational age.

Under the guise of concern for the patient, they invade the private treatment room, imposing severe burdens ... without clear justification supported by credible evidence, Butte-Silver Bow County District Court Judge Kurt Krueger wrote in his order filed Thursday.

The laws would have had the practical effect of inhibiting  or outright preventing  access to care for some of the most intimate and personal choices, rendering moral judgment on patients by subtly stigmatizing already-difficult decisions, Krueger continued.

The laws struck down include:

House Bill 136, which would have banned abortions from 20 weeks on, with limited exceptions. The bill was tied to the legislative conclusion that a fetus is able to experience pain at that point in gestation, Krueger wrote.

House Bill 171, which would have put into place restrictions on abortions conducted via medication. That included not allowing tele-health for those abortions, requiring a 24-hour waiting period between informed consent and treatment, requiring a detailed form, setting credentialing requirements for providers and more.

House Bill 140, which would have required providers offer patients the opportunity to view an ultrasound and listen to a fetal heartbeat and imposed civil penalties for providers who violated the law.

The lawsuit challenging the bills was brought by Planned Parenthood of Montana and its chief medical officer, Dr. Samuel Dickman. The organization welcomed the order Thursday.

We are relieved that Montanans will no longer live with the threat of these harmful restrictions taking effect. But make no mistake, our fight continues. For years anti-abortion politicians at all levels of government have made banning abortion their No. 1 priority, despite the current protection held in our state Constitution, said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, in a press release.

The state Department of Justice, which defended the laws, said Thursday it will appeal Kruegers order.

Attorney General (Austin) Knudsen remains committed to protecting the health and safety of women and unborn babies in Montana, DOJ spokesperson Emilee Cantrell said in an email.

State Senate President Jason Ellsworth, a Republican from Hamilton, also criticized the ruling.

"Montanans dont support unrestricted abortion up to the moment of birth. The courts are twisting the provisions of the state Constitution to the breaking point as they shoot down all reasonable regulations on abortion, such as simply giving pregnant women the option to view an ultrasound before deciding to terminate a pregnancy," Ellsworth said in an emailed statement.

Access to a pre-viability abortion in Montana is legal under the state Constitution's right to privacy. That has been upheld by the 1999 state Supreme Court ruling known as Armstrong.

Though Republicans in Montana have held a legislative majority since 2011, the state had Democratic governors from 2005 to early 2021 who vetoed bills limiting access to abortions. After Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte took office three years ago, bills restricting access to abortion were passed and signed into law. Several have been challenged, including those in the most recent 2023 session. The laws struck down Thursday had already been placed on a temporary hold while the litigation proceeded.

"Unfortunately, the activist court put its desired political outcomes ahead of the law and common sense by throwing out these three reasonable, popular measures that Montanans duly elected representatives overwhelmingly supported," a spokesperson for Gianforte said in an email Thursday.

As Krueger noted in his order, the Department of Justice argued in court that it felt Armstrong was wrongly decided and that abortion is not a fundamental right. But Krueger wrote that district courts must adhere to precedent and Armstrong is unequivocal that the right to a pre-viability abortion is included in the right to privacy as a component of procreative autonomy.

House Bill 136

Of the 20-week ban, Krueger wrote that because the bill regulates elective abortion without a basis in recognized medical risks, arbitrarily discriminates between patients who choose abortion and those who choose pregnancy to term, and imposes criminal penalties without reliable standards, it is unconstitutional in its entirety.

The law appears intended to invade the relationship between a patient and her licensed provider, substituting the states judgment for that of the medical community and the patient themselves, Krueger wrote.

Debate in the legislative session included discussions of when a fetus becomes viable. Krueger wrote that viability is a complex concept, applicable on a case-by-case basis, that requires medical judgment and may involve some margin of error. It is not reducible to gestational age. He went on to note that no fetus born in Montana has survived at 22 weeks or earlier.

Krueger was also skeptical of the fetal pain argument. It remains undisputed that there is no medical consensus that fetuses can feel pain prior to 20-24 weeks gestational age, he wrote.   Key connections to the brain do not develop before that time, and a fetus likely never experiences true wakefulness in utero.

The judge went even further, saying that even the possibility of fetal pain does not create a health risk sufficient to justify intrusions on a patients right to privacy.

If that were the case, the state might well be justified in banning pregnancy altogether for fear that the mother (or the baby) could experience pain in childbirth. The state seems interested in pregnancy-related pain only where a patient exercises their right to a pre-viability abortion.

While the state argued that the law would protect mothers from barbaric and gruesome procedures and argued that later-term abortions were more difficult, risky and physically traumatic, Krueger pointed out that between 2010 and 2020 there were no deaths caused by abortion in Montana and only 25 of the 8,402 abortions reported between 2016 and 2021 resulted in complications, or a rate of 0.3%.

House Bill 171

Krueger found that the tele-health restrictions law violates the right to privacy by imposing numerous and severe burdens on patients and providers, which lack a basis in demonstrable medical science and do not apply to any other treatment.

These restrictions effectively ban an entire method of treatment which otherwise serves a critical gap in care, under the guise of protecting the very patients whose rights they undermine.

Planned Parenthood argued the ban would have caused delays in accessing care and required providers to tell patients a pharmaceutical abortion is reversible, which the organization said is false. It also said the credentials required of physicians would have been practically impossible and that the reporting requirements would have exposed patient and provider information to the public.

For its part, the state argued the law would have protected maternal health, citing hemorrhage, infection and the potential need for uterine aspiration to remove remaining fetal tissue. The state also argued the Food and Drug Administration has never approved mifepristone for late-term abortions and that its approval is the subject of current federal litigation. The state also said Planned Parenthood was minimizing peer-reviewed research about the promise of reversal via administration of progesterone.

Krueger also wrote the state could not point to any other requirements for in-person visits for specific medical procedures.

The law would have put major burdens on those trying to access care, he wrote.

Montana has only seven facilities that provide abortions. The court takes judicial notice that the state covers 147,040 square miles. Each facility must therefor cover an average of 21,006 square miles, or an area of 145 square miles on each side, Krueger wrote. Those with disabilities or added personal responsibility faced additional burden, he said.

Delays caused by requiring in-person visits and the waiting period could result in a patient missing the window for medication abortion, thus requiring a procedural abortion, which typically costs more and requires more time off, Krueger wrote. These are serious impairments on the right to abortion without clear justification.

The credentialing the law required would have been so extensive that one major form of abortion would be abolished by impracticality, Krueger continued.

The law listed 29 conditions a doctor would need to be credentialed to treat, such as renal failure, the development of breast cancer, any psychological condition, coma, death and more.

The court claims no special medical expertise, but surely a doctor with credentials in all these areas would be among the worlds renowned medical experts, Krueger wrote.

The judge also took specific aim at a form patients would have been required to sign that says their decision would result in the death of an unborn child, calling the statement legally incorrect.

A patient exercising their protected right does so in relation to a fetus which is not viable and cannot be legally considered an unborn child. Moreover, the implication would suggest to the average lay person that they are ending a life tantamount to a criminal act. Such language is, at best, wrong and misleading.

House Bill 140

Of the requirement to offer the opportunity to view an ultrasound and listen to a fetal heartbeat, Krueger wrote that the law infringed on the right to privacy by requiring providers offer medical interventions that may violate their own best judgment and could stigmatize patients in the process. Because it required providers offer certain treatment, it also violates their rights to freedom of expression, he wrote.

Krueger wrote that there is no medical consensus that fetal heart tone listening is a medically necessary component of clinical decision-making related to abortion, and that Planned Parenthood already uses ultrasounds when necessary.

The judge further noted that the state would not collect the forms required under the law and they would only be kept in a patients file.

The purpose of that requirement, therefore, seems to be focused on making the patient second-guess their decision to decline, Krueger wrote.

Because the ultrasound and fetal heart tone requirements do not correspond to bone fide health risks and only apply if a patient decides to terminate a pregnancy, the court is left with the strong impression that the law aims to advance the ulterior motive of discouraging abortion, Krueger wrote. That is unacceptable under the law.

This story will be updated.
PABLO  Anna Schiele left her room early Friday morning. It was the day before Veterans Day, technically a holiday, and she planned to start the morning with a shower and then enjoy some food prepared by her dad, Ron.

Anna walked into the bathroom, twisted the faucet to turn on the water, and a 300-pound steel beam exploded through the wall. The 3-by-3-inch beam slashed through drywall and tile, less than a foot from Annas face.

In a moment, the beam rested at the base of the tub and extended through an interior wall of the familys home outside Pablo.

The glass breaks out, and a beam flies by my head and the bathroom is on fire, Anna recounted to the Missoulian. So I am screaming, I dont even really remember, but my first thought was, Oh my god, its Paul.

With the steel beam above the cab, Anna's next-door neighbor, Paul Ailport, drove his pickup truck covered in gasoline and loaded with fireworks at full speed into the side of the Schieles' house, the final act of an alleged years-long campaign of terrorizing his neighbors.

The fireworks exploded as he speared the hood straight through the wooden siding and concrete foundation.

Fire spread on the bath sheets and towels as Annas family banged on the door. Curtains went up in flames. Ron and Annas boyfriend, Braedan, pulled her out of the burning room.

Anna ran into the living room. She looked behind her and saw the destruction: A pickup truck smashed inside their Mission Valley home.

Ailport had harassed the Schiele family and other neighbors since 2022, spurred by a struggle with drug abuse and mental health, two neighbors alleged in restraining orders and backed by Lake County charging documents.

Law enforcement had arrested him twice in the preceding six months in their neighborhood before home security video captured the moment that Ailport rammed his car into the Schiele home.

Yet, nothing stopped him from aggression toward neighbors, not even a court-issued restraining order. Officers responded to Ailports house 21 times following the first complaint from the Schieles and other neighbors in August 2022.

Lake County Sheriff Don Bell told the Missoulian that the sheriff's office did as much as they could, including attempting to revoke Ailport's bail and raising it to $50,000 before he bailed out for the last time.

While the family is glad he is now in custody on charges of arson, attempted homicide, possession of dangerous drugs and more, they said they wished the sheriffs office and mental health providers could have prevented his final violent act.

There's a whole bunch of red flags that should have happened, Ron Schiele told the Missoulian. You dont feel safe, and you are projecting that to the authorities and they literally say there is nothing they can do until he does something.

Even when Ailport did commit crimes against the family, the consequences did not keep him in jail long. Part of the reason is because resources in Lake County are slim.

The county jail is so overcrowded that officials must book and release criminal suspects. One local mental health physician said the area needs more awareness of treatment programs and a physical space for detoxification.

In the Schieles' eyes, theres no forgetting Paul Ailport, even when the physical scars are healed. He transformed in front of them  from once selling the family their current car, to trying to kill them with his.

The car lot

The first time the family met Ailport, he owned a used car dealership along Highway 93 near Pablo. He also lived on the corner car lot with his wife and son.

Ailport's car lot was just around the corner from where the Schieles built their family home. Ron said the family built it themselves on a quiet dead-end road to raise their two children.

Ron works for Therma Wood Technologies, a wood pressure treatment company that operates on the property directly west of the Schieles. Ron could take his ATV to work, while wife Annette operated a boutique in Polson.

Ron said the family purchased their SUV from Ailport around 2019.

I thought wed buy local and from the neighbors and wed help them out, Ron said. It was kinda hard to deal with, but we made the deal.

The Schieles didnt hear much from Ailport until late 2021 or early 2022, when he moved from his car lot onto a 2-acre lot directly north of the familys property.

The lot sits on a small knoll along where the neighbors turn into the road. Things were normal until Ailport started moving his car business of 30-40 vehicles onto the new property.

The neighbors weren't very happy about it, either, and we looked at our covenants, but we couldnt do anything because they werent advertising that it was a car lot, Annette said.

The Schieles' neighbor, Shawn Blixt, also recalled running into Ailport at various car shows and races around Montana. Blixt was raised in the Mission Valley and has worked as a lineman for more than 20 years.

Blixt said he never really liked Ailport, but for some reason Ailport would come to him to discuss neighborhood gossip.

He would come over wanting to know all about Ron and the other neighbors, Blixt told the Missoulian.

The Schiele family said Ailport grew more suspicious of them and started accusing them of theft or trespassing on his property. Anna recalled when Ailport called law enforcement and accused the family of breaking into his trailer through a vent.

When deputies arrived, Anna said Ailport showed the vent in question, which turned out to be the size of a license plate. Another time, Ailport thought the family tried to steal a metal sheet covering his storage container.

Other days, Blixt would see Ailport flip off the neighbors and randomly curse at others.

Sometimes at night, the neighbors caught Ailport driving around his dirt lot for hours. Blixt said he would watch Ailport start one of his lot cars and jack the radio to max, walk away and let the car run out of gas.

We started noticing about every five to seven days, almost on the dot, you could know he was going to do something crazy, Ron said.

The first standoff

The initial sign of serious concern from the neighborhood was when Ailport started getting more aggressive toward people.

On Aug. 2, 2022, he stopped by the Schiele house as Annette and Anna unloaded groceries from their car. He told them he was looking for Ron, but wouldn't say why, Annette said.

I said, As soon as he gets home, I can have him give you a call, she said. And he says, No, no, we need to get this figured out now.

Annette said Ailport eventually became disgruntled and went home. The next time they ran into him was on Aug. 22, 2022.

The Schieles were at home making dinner with family from Wyoming when Ailport appeared with his truck and attached trailer. Ron said at first he couldn't see Ailport, who was on the other side of the home.

Ailport then drove the truck and trailer off his property and onto Rons companys property, where he got on an ATV trail with the truck and trailer. The family said Ailport brandished a gun and yelled at Ron that its time to settle this.

Ron said he did not get off his property and told Ailport that he did not have a problem with his neighbor. He said he was concerned that the situation could escalate and someone could get hurt.

The castle rule in Montana, if someone comes at you in a threatening manner, you can defend yourself, Ron said. Is he just trying to lead me off my property to walk over there so he can say Im acting in a threatening manner and he can shoot? I dont know whats going on in this guys mind.

The family relocated to the other side of the house. Ron and Annette said they stayed on the side facing Ailport, though the truck and trailer were 80 yards away.

Eventually, Ailport did leave. He did so by cutting across the familys land, driving across their septic lines on the way to his house, they said.

The family called the police, and they said officers arrived two minutes later. When officers got to Ailports house, his wife said he had taken off his prosthetic legs and gone to bed.

Officers said there was nothing they could do until they talked to him.

The next day, the family said officers talked to Ailport and issued a criminal trespassing citation, which equates to up to a $500 fine. Ron said he couldnt believe the lack of consequences.

Ron began carrying his gun at that point. He said he and his neighbors became more and more wary of Ailport.

The threat

Blixt told the Missoulian that Ailport came to his house on June 16, 2023, with a conspiracy theory.

Ailport alleged Ron Schiele and another neighbor were having an affair with his wife, Delfina. Blixt said Ailport reported that he had been watching dark figures walk down the road past his camper, where Ailport often slept, and into his house.

Blixt said he did not believe the story, and instead thought Ailport confused lustful-appearing neighbors with his teenage son, who would sneak out of the house from time to time.

Blixt said he told Ailport there was no way the affair could be true, but Ailport was convinced.

He told me that he was going to kill Ron, our other neighbor and then his wife, Blixt said, adding that Ailport asked which room Ron lived in.

Blixt said he immediately told Ron and the other neighbor about the issue. Ron said he had never even had a conversation with Ailports wife.

Ron said he called the sheriff but felt dismissed by officers.

When I called the sheriff, they were all in a hurry to get off the phone, Ron said. Within two minutes of me hanging up, (police) cars pulled in (to Ailports place). Well (the wife) had called the cops on him because he was trying to strangle her that night.

We know hes pretty serious, because he is doing what he is saying hes going to do, Ron said. We gotta stop this guy, and (law enforcement) basically told me at this point, We cant arrest crazy, and I said, I feel pretty damn threatened right now.

Ailport kept telling people of his conspiracy and started showing up at his neighbors' workplaces, the neighbors wrote in their restraining orders.

Annette recalled when she had to lock the front door to her boutique to stop Ailport. Ambree Blixt, Shawns wife, said Ailport also came to her workplace and accused all of the neighborhood men of sleeping with his wife.

He came in, shut the door and wanted me to let all the wives know what their husbands were doing with his wife, Ambree Blixt said.

After the incident, Shawn and Ambree Blixt began the process of getting a restraining order against Ailport.

He always did what he said, Shawn Blixt said. That was probably the only thing he had going for him.

Defend yourself?

On July 13, 2023, Ron Schiele said he heard shots being fired after returning home from work and texted Blixt, who said it wasn't him. The two said goodnight.

Roughly an hour later, Ron said he woke to more firing, and this time Blixt told him it was Ailport taking shots from his house.

Blixt recalled the exact time to the Missoulian: 12:26 a.m. He said he used his night-vision scope and saw Ailport pointing his gun at the Schieles' house.

He said he watched Ailport fire a hunting rifle at the Schiele house before turning the barrel straight toward him from about 135 yards away.

And next thing you know he takes a shot, WOP, right at my house, Blixt said. I said, Oh my god, he just shot at my house.

Blixt said he called 911 and asked if he could shoot back while Ailport continued firing. He said Lake County dispatch told him to shelter in place and that shooting back could land him in prison.

No transcript of the 911 tape is available because of the active nature of Ailports case, according to Lake County officials.

Law enforcement eventually arrived and surrounded Ailport. Charging documents from the incident said Ailport thought he saw five dark figures looking through items in his yard. He then watched the dark figures go across to the neighbor's house, the affidavit said.

Ailport told investigators he had not slept for five days after using meth. Investigators wrote Ailport had been calling the police repeatedly for these issues, which turned out to be unfounded and to be delusional in nature.

Witnesses reported that the defendants behavior has been unusual lately and his mental health has declined rapidly, the document said. Witnesses suspect that substance abuse may have played a role in the Defendant's unusual behavior.

Ailport was not held for long, however. He was released less than 10 hours after his arrest. The court ordered a restraining order for his neighbors and required Ailport to stay off drugs.

It is unclear if he received a mental health evaluation as required by the court to leave jail. He was required to take drug tests.

To the Schiele family, it appeared Ailport was free to keep harassing the neighborhood. Ron said the incident solidified his opinion that the Lake County Sheriff's Office was not going to take action.

My faith in that whole system is nil, he said. So if you ever have a problem, dont depend on someone to come and help you. They will show up after the fact.

Limited support

While Ailport could have sought help on his own, there are a limited number of mental health providers and facilities in Lake County.

The county has roughly half a dozen private-practice physicians dedicated to mental health issues and substance abuse, but little to no space to detox those addicted to drugs.

The Lake County Jail was at 135% capacity on one day this month, a county commissioner said, making it difficult to hold new detainees for any reason.

On Feb. 23, 13 inmates slept in the jail's recreation room, according to a daily roster.

The Flathead Indian Reservation overlaps with most of Lake County and has its own mental health system for tribal members, which includes a detoxification center. Ailport is not Indigenous.

Kim Harding, a mental health provider from Polson who specializes in chemical dependency and people in crisis, told the Missoulian there needs to be more outreach to confront people struggling with drug addiction.

There are available services, but a lot of times it comes down to communication, Harding said.

She said the stigma behind addiction is one of the main barriers to helping vulnerable people. Every person can be close to a crisis episode, Harding said, and people need to talk freely about mental health to make a difference.

But Harding said communication is just one part of improving the addiction crisis.

She said the system should also be more strict about getting mental health evaluations and needs more places for people struggling with addiction to get clean.

Lake County Commissioner Gale Decker said on Feb. 23 that there were 65 inmates at the jail, which has a bed capacity of 48.

The Missoulian previously reported a lawsuit by inmates from Lake County Jail reached a settlement to expand the jail and create an outdoor space for inmates.

The agreement was reached one week after Ailport drove his car into the Schieles' home.

Bell, the sheriff, said in an email that the county does provide mental health services to inmates who need it.

Decker said part of the reason for the high number of inmates is a delay in transporting some members of the jail to the Montana Department of Corrections. He said the jail usually is a few people above the limit, which does limit the power the county has to keep certain offenders.

There are instances when (offenders) get booked and released when they probably shouldnt, Decker said.

Harding said she also has a problem with people putting off mental health evaluations. She said most people who need to take an evaluation for court need to do so within two months, but she said that deadline often gets pushed back or delayed.

Sometimes it is a year later and they still havent done one, Harding said. Ill get desperate calls the day before a persons court date asking to get an evaluation done."

While Harding said she has seen her fair share of cases, she described Ailport's substance abuse as extreme. Despite the concern, Ailport kept getting out of jail with the help of his family.

Cant be stopped

Ailport was arrested for shooting at his neighbors on July 13 and was next arrested on Oct. 2, this time for partner or family member assault, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Bell and the Lake County Attorneys Office confirmed the state moved to revoke Ailports bail on Oct. 3, but the judge did not see the motion in time, and Ailport was released.

Bell said Lake County then arrested Ailport on a $50,000 bond when he showed up to an Oct. 27 hearing for the July shooting incident. The next day, however, Ailports wife bonded him out of jail.

Bell said he is not sure what more the sheriff's office could have done to prevent Ailport's actions.

"Deputies appropriately responded to complaints filed against Ailport and arrested him when there was probable cause to do so," Bell said in an email. "Ailport was able to post a bond to be released from jail after an earlier incident involving his alleged use of a firearm."

The Schieles said they acted cautiously following Ailports release. Annette said Ailport tried to confront her at her store in Polson on Oct. 5, according to her restraining order.

Two weeks later, Annette said she noticed a steel bar resting over Ailports pickup truck while it was parked outside her store.

On Nov. 10, the day of Ailports attack, court documents allege Ailport had been up all night. The affidavit reported Ailport listened to tapes of dogs howling in his car for two hours before the incident.

He then had a conversation with his wife, who allegedly told him to take a drive, the affidavit said. He told her that he would not be coming back. He then took his truck, lit the fuses of the fireworks and barreled straight into the north side of the Schiele house, documents say.

Braeden, Annas boyfriend, said it felt like a train hit the house.

Ive been in buildings where it was struck by lightning, but it was nothing like this, Braeden told the Missoulian.

Braeden and Ron ran outside after stomping out the fire to confront Ailport. Ron said he saw flames rising from either end of the truck, moving quickly toward the cab. Ron said Ailports hair started to catch fire.

Ron pulled Ailport out of the vehicle and dragged him across the yard. Police and fire then arrived on the scene. Shawn Blixt said he got a call from his mom about the incident and raced from a job in Kalispell to his neighbors house.

By the end of the day, the Schieles had a giant hole in their house with cold weather approaching. The family is still rebuilding that side of the home, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because Ailport purposefully crashed his car into their house, Ailport's insurance won't cover the damages, Annette said.

Ailport was arrested and sent to a burn unit in Salt Lake City for more than a month. He was extradited to Montana and has since been jailed in Lake County.

Ailport pleaded not guilty to one charge of possession of dangerous drugs, one count of attempted deliberate homicide and one count of arson. Ailport also still faces his July 2023 charges, including criminal endangerment and criminal mischief.

Judge John Larson on Jan. 24 ordered Ailport to undergo a mental health evaluation at the state mental health hospital in Warm Springs when a bed is available. Ailport had yet to be transported as of Wednesday.

While Ron and Annette are grateful for the positive  all of their family is alive and well  they still worry about their safety, even with Ailport in jail.

They also expressed frustration that Lake County has charged Ailport with only one count of attempted deliberate homicide, rather than four counts for each person inside the house that day.

I am still on the defense, Ron said. You still cannot let your guard down. Within one hour, I think he would do it again.
DECATUR  Lee H. Brown left a trail of destruction in his wake and is described as laughing and telling the cops he struggled with and ran from that he had been going into beast mode.

The Decatur defendant, who is 6-foot-3 inches tall and weighs 260 pounds, appeared to live up to that description. A sworn affidavit filed by Decatur police said he had been shot twice with a stun gun during the struggle and subsequent foot pursuit but each hit had no effect on him as he broke away and fled on foot from a traffic stop on the night of Feb. 2.

Brown then charged toward the apartment of a stranger in the 1900 block of North Warren Street. The affidavit said the male resident of the apartment heard police sirens and commotion, saw Brown rushing toward his home, and locked the doors to try and safeguard the lives of his children and their mother.

(The resident) shut the storm door and locked the deadbolt on the door. He said he then shut his front door and locked it as well, added Officer Nathaniel Kane who signed the affidavit.

(The resident) said Lee ripped the storm door open and forced the main door open. (The resident) said he was up against the door when the door was forced open, pushing him back aggressively.

The terrified man told police he was in fear of his life, along with the lives of his children and childrens mother and he had told Brown to go hide in his bathroom. The resident said this was a ploy to protect his family and give them time to flee their home.

Kane said pursuing officers could see Brown in the bathroom of an adjoining bedroom before Brown shut the bedroom door. Officers then heard the sounds of destruction and burst in to find that Brown had smashed his way through a bedroom closet and interior wall and entered the next door apartment.

Kane, giving evidence Wednesday at Browns preliminary hearing in Macon County Circuit Court, said the defendant was finally arrested after pursuing cops had found him hiding in a bedroom closet of the second apartment.

Amid all this chaos was a large stash of money that had been kept in the closet by the apartment owner, plus another stash of cash  totaling more than $4,500  that Brown had brought with him and stuffed inside a bedroom laundry hamper.

It should be noted that throughout the process of taking Lee into custody, Lee made several comments about Going into beast mode and was laughing about the situation of committing a home invasion and fighting with officers, Kane said.

Brown had earlier been seen to throw an object away as he fled and Kane said this turned out to be 8.5 grams of crack cocaine. And another 3.5 grams of powdered cocaine was seized from the vehicle he had been driving.

Brown pleaded not guilty to charges of drug dealing, resisting police, criminal damage and criminal trespass, obstructing justice and residential burglary. Judge Lindsey Shelton found probable cause to try him on all counts and also ruled that Brown was too dangerous to be allowed out on pretrial release.

He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing March 28.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods Wilson Derrickson Colby J. Park
DECATUR  In a news release Thursday, Richland Community College revealed its still suffering from the effects of some kind of cyber attack that has knocked out its phones and caused significant problems.

The college said it had experienced a network security incident on Feb. 17 that caused a disruption to our systems, according to the statement.

Richland did not specify the nature of the attack and said its information technology security team had responded with immediate comprehensive security measures to assess the interruption.

The school added: As part of this investigation, we are working closely with external cybersecurity professionals to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.

In-person classes continue as usual and Richland students can access online courses through the college's "Canvas" system at richland.instructure.com. However, the school said major roadblocks to normal operations remain.

Network servers, phones, some department emails and the college website (www.richland.edu) are currently inoperable until the servers can safely go back online, the statement said.

Student and faculty/staff emails are still available.

Students with questions about registration, classes, scholarships, transcripts and other issues can speak to staff in the Student Success Center in the north wing of the main building.

Richland said it was working around the clock to get everything back to normal but also said it had no further information to share at this time.

The attack on the college follows on the heels of a major cyber attack on the Hospital Sisters Health System at the end of August. Most communications systems were hit and hospital and clinic operations impacted for the giant health group, which runs St. Marys Hospital in Decatur, St. Anthonys Memorial Hospital in Effingham, Good Shepherd Hospital in Shelbyville and HSHS St. Johns Hospital in Springfield.

HSHS phone service didnt come back until Sept. 5, and even then there were still some issues that had to be resolved.

Photos: Michael D. Andreas Agriculture Building ribbon cutting
DECATUR  The very first thing that happened when the Rev. Courtney Carson showed up at American Dreamer STEM Academy to serve as Principal for a Day was a mock scolding from Principal Rida Ellis for being late.

The two have known each other since they were teens serving as park activity leaders.

Carson, laughing, protested that he'd had something come up at his real job at Richland Community College that he had to take care of, but Ellis couldn't resist also announcing it to Erica Byrne's fourth-grade class, where she took Carson so he could read I Am Ruby Bridges to the students.

Mr. Carson got in trouble with Miss Ellis for being late, she told the kids.

Principal for a Day is an annual event at Decatur Public Schools, where community leaders like Carson and the junior school board members  high school students who serve on the school board in an advisory capacity to give the student perspective  spend the morning at Decatur schools to meet students and staff, and get a look at what's happening in schools. The hope is that the event will provide an opening for greater community involvement in the schools, and give students an opportunity to meet people they might not encounter otherwise.

It's a multi-faceted approach, so our babies can see someone that they can look up to, that's been through what they're going through, and had a level of success, Carson said. And, too, so I can get to know these babies as well. And to experience what's happening in the schools. I feel our babies are receiving a quality education, and education takes a hit by one student acting up, and the narrative is that one student affects all education, and that's not it.

Education is an important issue to him, Carson said, not just because he's a former school board member and assistant vice president of external affairs at Richland, but because he knows education leads to opportunities.

We have to be readily available to our young people, Carson said.

After he finished reading the book about Ruby Bridges, who was the first Black child to attend the formerly all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana, Carson asked if any of the students had ever felt uncertain and out of place, and if so, how they handled it.

Laela Smith raised her hand and said she had.

I felt better after my teacher told me I was welcome and I was loved, Laela said.

That, Carson said afterward, is why teachers are important.

Teaching isn't easy, Ellis told Carson between classroom visits. There are children at American Dreamer with a variety of challenges, from autism to mental health issues, and the staff has to be able to handle situations differently depending on the child. One size does not fit all.

American Dreamer also had a visit on Thursday from Kimako Patterson, chief of staff at Illinois State Board of Education, who is visiting Decatur schools as part of the Principal for a Day event. She is a former teacher and superintendent in South Cook County, and in her position at the state board, she said, she wants to ensure she stays in touch with Illinois districts and individual schools, understanding their needs and taking them back to the state board.

My goal is to go and expand beyond South Cook, she said. I started teaching in Chicago and have spent the majority of my career in South Cook. So as chief of staff, I'm going to take every opportunity I can to move out throughout the state just to look and see what is happening in the different districts, because every district looks differently.

PHOTOS: Decatur schools' adults vs. kids basketball game a lesson in sportsmanship
BRISTOL, Tenn.  Food City will host a NASCAR race fan party at the Bristol Chamber of Commerce on March 15, in advance of that weekends Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

They are partnering with the chamber in an event scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is expected to include NASCAR drivers, food vendors and more  essentially a much smaller scale version of Food City Race Nights which used to precede every NASCAR weekend in Bristol.

We did Food City Family Race Night for years downtown and there are a lot of complexities of making a race night happen, Kevin Stafford, Food Citys vice president of marketing, said Friday. We started talking with the chambers. What can we do different? You think about years ago and the excitement of NASCAR coming to town. We kind of feel like some of that excitement has slipped away and we want to bring that excitement back.

Food City Race Nights typically attracted crowds of 20,000 or more to downtown Bristol and date back to the early 1990s when Food City first became a sponsor.

Stafford said this springs schedule  which includes no on-track activity on Friday and all the action concentrated on Saturday and Sunday  presented this opportunity.

What messed up Food City Family Race Night was the change in schedule and we understand why NASCAR had to do that but it took away the Thursday event, Stafford said. We have several food samples from our vendor partners, we have some drivers committed and well announce those soon. Well have it outside at the chamber. Well have some tents and just welcome people to Bristol.

The chamber office is located at 20 Volunteer Parkway, just inside the Tennessee state line.

The event is for visitors and locals alike.

You have NASCAR fans who come to the race and fans inside the NASCAR community that come to the race and celebrate race weekend and this is a great way for them to come out and have a good time, Stafford said.

Additional details are expected to be released in the coming days.
"Their connections were all familial and religious," Waller says. "And it's really because of the Quaker involvement that they were involved in the abolition movement."

The "first five" as the five friends were later called, were connected through the Quaker Society of Friends in Philadelphia. Lucretia Mott was a Quaker minister and one of the founders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. She was a charismatic speaker and, at the time, one of the most well-known women in America. Mott met Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another ardent abolitionist (though not a Quaker), at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London where she and her husband Henry Brewster Stanton, were honeymooning. Stanton's husband, a professional abolitionist speaker, was invited to speak at the conference but when the two women were blocked from participating fully in the convention, they turned their righteous anger into making plans to hold a women's rights convention in the U.S.

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" " Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) was a Quaker preacher, American abolitionist and organizer of the convention, shown here in 1865. Universal Images Group/Getty Images

It was eight years before they met up again. By that time, the Stantons lived in Seneca Falls and Mott was invited to speak in the area. Mott's sister, Martha Wright, also lived in nearby Auburn. The M'Clintocks were renting a house and property from the Hunts in Waterloo, New York. The five women met together at the Hunt home in Waterloo and decided to organize the women's rights convention while Mott was still in the area.

"The five planners were well-schooled in activism from the abolition movement," Waller says. "It's where they learned about petitioning, conventions and professional speaking. It's where they learned the tools of activism."

Those tools came in handy as they had only 10 days, from the time they decided to hold the convention, until the convention itself  July 19 and 20 at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls. Fortunately, they were women with networks  notably their abolition and Quaker networks.
Friday, March 1

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 2

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St., S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785.

A GriefShare Support Group will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oak Grove Baptist Church, room 23. Sessions will be Saturdays through May 11. Register at GriefShare.org, use ZIP code 28075. The church is at 200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. For more information, call 704-455-2763.

The first Saturday monthly community breakfast will be held at Cold Springs Global Methodist, 2550 Cold Springs Road, Concord, from 7-10 a.m. The cost is a donation to help support community.

Mt. Mitchell Global Methodist Church will be holding a Soup and Sandwich Lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Free with donation.) The church is located at 6001 Old Salisbury Concord Road, Kannapolis. For more information, call 704-933-0155.

Sunday, March 3

A Griefshare program will be hosted by Cold Springs Global Methodist Sundays through April 21 from 3:30-5 p.m. for those dealing with life stresses following the loss of a loved one. For more information and to register go to griefshare.org/findagroup or call the church office at 704-782-1811.

Monday, March 4

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner.

Tuesday, March 5

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St., Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

How Great Thou Art Drawing Class led by James Fore in a weekly drawing class 1:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, NC 28025. All are welcome. Bring paper and pencil. Call the church office at 704-782-6923 for more details.

Wednesday, March 6

The Sportscenter weekly Bible study will be at 11:30 a.m. at the Sportscenter 233 Country Club Drive, NE, Concord. Hosted by Pastor Debbie Frye.

Centering Prayer Weekly via Zoom meets at 7:30 p.m. For the Zoom link, check the Calvary Lutheran Church Facebook page or website http://www.clconcord.org, or call the church office at 704-782-6923.

How Great Thou Art Drawing Class led by James Fore in a weekly drawing class 1:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, NC 28025. All are welcome. Bring paper and pencil. Call the church office at 704-782-6923 for more details.

The Cabarrus Senior Center Photo Club is alive and clicking away. If you like taking photos, come join the members on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Cabarrus Senior Center, 331 Corban Ave., SE, Concord, and share your photographic creativity. Whether you are a seasoned photographer or strictly amateur, all are welcome.

Thursday, March 7

Epworth United Methodist Church will have a hot dog sale from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Epworth is at 1030 Burrage Road, NE, Concord. Credit cards accepted. For deliveries, call 704-786-5500.

Friday, March 8

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 9

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St., S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785.

A GriefShare Support Group will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oak Grove Baptist Church, room 23. Sessions will be Saturdays through May 11. Register at GriefShare.org, use ZIP code 28075. The church is at 200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. For more information, call 704-455-2763.

The Fishers of Men BBQ will be held at Rodgers Park Baptist Church from 10:30 a.m. until sold out. Whole pork rack $22,  pork rack plate $15. Beef rib plate $18. Chicken quarter plate $8. All plates come with homemade potato salad. Smoked beans, soda and slice cake (based on availability). The church is located at 309 E 24th Street, Kannapolis.

Sunday, March 10

A Griefshare program will be hosted by Cold Springs Global Methodist Sundays through April 21 from 3:30-5 p.m. for those dealing with life stresses following the loss of a loved one. For more information and to register go to griefshare.org/findagroup or call the church office at 704-782-1811.

Monday, March 11

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner.

Tuesday, March 12

TOPS #437 (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Tuesday at 10 a.m. (weigh-in begins at 9:30 a.m.) at Lakeview Baptist Church, 2532 Lane St., Kannapolis. Visitors are welcome.

How Great Thou Art Drawing Class led by James Fore in a weekly drawing class 1:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, NC 28025. All are welcome. Bring paper and pencil. Call the church office at 704-782-6923 for more details.

Wednesday, March 13

The Sportscenter weekly Bible study will be at 11:30 a.m. at the Sportscenter 233 Country Club Drive, NE, Concord. Hosted by Pastor Debbie Frye.

Centering Prayer Weekly via Zoom meets at 7:30 p.m. For the Zoom link, check the Calvary Lutheran Church Facebook page or website http://www.clconcord.org, or call the church office at 704-782-6923.

How Great Thou Art Drawing Class led by James Fore in a weekly drawing class 1:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall at Calvary Lutheran Church, Concord, NC 28025. All are welcome. Bring paper and pencil. Call the church office at 704-782-6923 for more details.

Thursday, March 14

Epworth United Methodist Church will have a hot dog sale from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Epworth is at 1030 Burrage Road, NE, Concord. Credit cards accepted. For deliveries, call 704-786-5500.

Friday, March 15

The Concord Duplicate Bridge face-to-face games through Concord Parks and Recreation at Hartsell Recreation Center, 60 Hartsell School Road, at noon. Cost is $5 per player. You must have a partner and provide proof of vaccination.

Hot dogs at McGill Baptist Church, 5300 Poplar Tent Road, will be sold along with fried bologna and barbecue sandwiches and desserts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Saturday, March 16

The Piedmont Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to noon at 518 Winecoff School Road. It features lots of local produce, meat, flowers and other products.

Hot dogs at Center United Methodist Church at 1119 Union St., S., are offered on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dine in and take out. Call-in orders are welcomed at 704-782-1785.

A GriefShare Support Group will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Oak Grove Baptist Church, room 23. Sessions will be Saturdays through May 11. Register at GriefShare.org, use ZIP code 28075. The church is at 200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. For more information, call 704-455-2763.

Does your community group or nonprofit agency have an upcoming event that would be of interest to the public? Email it to mplemmons@independenttribune.com.
The African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa: https://www.ituc-africa.org/) stands in solidarity with the Nigerian workers and people rallying nationwide under the banner of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to draw attention to the worsening socio-economic situations in the country. The challenges faced by Nigerian workers and citizens in the face of rising living costs (especially food, fuel and basic needs), insecurity, and a weakening national currency (the Naira) underscore the necessity of highlighting the plight of Nigerians and the call for the Government to address these socio-economic concerns.

We salute and welcome Nigerias organised labours utilisation of peaceful and open means to communicate to the Government the biting hardship, misery and sufferings that the Nigerian workers and people face. ITUC-Africa is aware that the worsening socio-economic situation remained dire in the last decade but has become more catastrophic in the past months. At the moment, the monthly take-home-pay of an average Nigerian worker compared to the current national minimum wage in the face of volatile and spiking goods and services market prices, the cost of living cannot sustain a weeks living for a family of three people.

Lots of Nigerians are hungry and feeling hopeless. Sadly, this situation is an avoidable and diffusible recipe for chaos and lawlessness. We imagine that the NLC-called national protests should be seen as helping to constructively manage peoples frustrations from boiling over and should not be criminalised.

Nevertheless, we want to reiterate that under a democracy, freedom of association, expression, assembly, and protests are central to the consolidation of democracy, which hinges on advancing peoples participation, mobilisation for change, and accountability. It is imperative that the Nigerian Government upholds these rights and refrain from overt or covert actions to undermine these rights.

Additionally, the Government must provide adequate security to protect protesters from any elements seeking to disrupt the legal and peaceful protests across the country. Threats and warnings should not impede the exercise of legitimate labour rights; instead, we encourage open dialogue to address the root causes of the current challenges that the nation faces. Prepping and utilising amorphous group-for-hire entities such as the Nigeria Civil Society Forum to undermine and disrupt legitimate protests not only fuels violence, it is also counter-productive and archaic.

We urge the Nigerian Government to embrace genuine and sustained dialogue with organised labour and other critical stakeholders in the Nigerian socio-economic landscape. We know the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is ready to propose pragmatic alternatives to resolve the nagging socio-economic issues. They should be listened to.

Akhator Joel ODIGIE

General Secretary
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday that the United States should create conditions for fair competition of the auto industry and correct its non-market policies and practices following a call to block imports of Chinese automobiles.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing recently urged the U.S. government to take measures to block the import of low-cost Chinese automobiles from Mexico.

MOC spokesperson He Yadong, in response to this matter at a press conference, said that China hoped the U.S. side would respect the market economy and principles of fair competition.

"Chinese cars are widely popular around the world, not because of low prices and dumping, but because of technological innovation and excellent quality formed in fierce market competition," He said.

He said that in recent years, the United States has set up numerous obstacles in the form of tariffs, restricting participation in government procurement, and discriminatory subsidy policies, which have seriously hindered Chinese cars from entering the U.S. market. "In contrast, China has always opened its door to global auto companies, and U.S. auto companies have fully enjoyed the dividends of China's large market."

"In fact, the sales of American brand cars in China far exceed the sales of Chinese brand cars in the United States," the spokesperson said.

He added that the U.S. trade protection, politicization of economic and trade issues, and erection of trade barriers have hindered fair competition, and in the long run, will also hinder the development of its own auto industry.
COMPANY NEWS: UiPath, a leading enterprise automation and AI software company, and Google Cloud today announced an expanded partnership to extend customers ability to transform their enterprise with AI-powered automation. UiPath, a Premier Level partner of Google Cloud, is now available on Google Cloud Marketplace, making it easier for Google Cloud customers to purchase the industry-leading UiPath Business Automation Platform and reliably deploy and scale their automation initiatives on Google Cloud infrastructure.

UiPath is expanding its partnership with Google Cloud to help customers facilitate their AI-powered automation journey while integrating with Google Clouds Vertex AI and Google Workspace business collaboration offerings.

UiPath automation brings AI directly into business processes to help enterprises execute on whatever ideas and innovations they can imagine. Our partnership with Google Cloud is an essential part of our strategy to help joint customers achieve AI-powered automation across the business, said UiPath chief customer officer Kelly Ducourty. This expanded partnership reinforces our shared mission to bring the transformative force of AI to life in the enterprise through advanced technologies that automate all knowledge work, integrate intelligence into everyday operations, and deliver solutions that help people work smarter.

Generative AI and automation are key pillars to business transformation because they allow enterprises to work more productively, whilst also uncovering new insights to fuel growth, said Go to Market, Google Cloud president Adaire Fox-Martin. Our expanding partnership with UiPath will help create new opportunities for businesses to utilise these capabilities to streamline thousands of processes with AI and automation, helping to save costs and unlock new innovation.

Integration with Google AI

UiPath recently announced its connector for Google Cloud Vertex AI, Google Clouds unified AI platform, which allows automation professionals to inject Gen AI outputs into their automations by submitting prompts that return summaries, answers to questions, and classifications. With the connector, users can:

Access curated activities to the PaLM 2 large language model (LLM), including text generation

Easily build, deploy, and manage ML models and make fast, cost-effective predictions. UiPath customers can now incorporate machine learning models built with Vertex AI into business processes without the need for manual effort and complex code

Enable Google Vertex activities in UiPath Studio to build automations that interact with Google Vertex data

In addition, UiPath customers can effortlessly integrate:



Google Vision: use a prebuilt UiPath connector for incorporating business insights derived from images and videos. The Google Vision Connector encapsulates powerful machine learning models through an easy-to-use Rest API.

Google Text Translate: translate a specified text from one selected language to another and extract the results as a String variable.

Google Text Analysis: extract the language of specific text enabling insights into sentiment analysis. Sentiment is measured by strength, positivity, and negativity, and typically, can be automated to alert sales teams and message customers.

UiPath is now available on Google Cloud Marketplace

The UiPath Platform combines Specialised AI and Gen AI with enterprise automation, machine learning, and natural language processing. When Gen AI is combined with specially trained models built on real business data, automations can understand, reason, and create content to address complex business challenges.

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UiPath offers customers best-in-class, API-based connectors supporting 100+ Google Cloud and Google Workspace integration activities. The accessibility of user-friendly activities significantly boosts workflow productivity for citizen developers who integrate Google Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Drive into their automation processes. With these integrations, customers can:

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Facebook parent Meta has decided to pull the plug on Australian media deals it did three years ago, with the company saying on Thursday it would deprecate Facebook News, a dedicated tab for news, in April.

In a statement, the company said Facebook News had been deprecated in the UK, France and Germany in 2023.

"People will still be able to view news on Facebook in feed in these countries, and publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and Pages, where they can post their news article links and content," the company said.

"This update does not otherwise impact the existing agreements we have in relation to Facebook News with news publishers in Australia, France and Germany until they expire."

Facebookwith a number of companies in Australia in 2021, after havingnews feeds altogether until the government. Google took a much quieter approach and signed a deal with some media firms.

The search giant did something similar in Canada late last year, after the country itnroduced rules similar to those in Australia, though Facebook again went nuclear, cutting off access to news feeds in August 2023 and not restoring them after the Canadian Government refused to play ball.

On Friday, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones advised affected media firms that the government would do what it could under the legislation.

Were not talking about some plucky little start-up, were talking about one of the worlds largest and most profitable companies, Jones said.

It has a responsibility to ensure that it pays for the content that  has been used on its platform, and frankly, that its making millions and millions of dollars out of it and so the government is adamant it will be backing the code well be taking all of the actions that are available to us under the code.

The ministers said advice was being sought from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and Treasury on what steps it could take.

The Meta statement added: "The number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the US has dropped by over 80% last year. We know that people dont come to Facebook for news and political content  they come to connect with people and discover new opportunities, passions and interests.

"As we previously shared in 2023, news makes up less than 3% of what people around the world see in their Facebook feed, and is a small part of the Facebook experience for the vast majority of people."

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the Meta decision was disappointing, but blamed the government for not acting after the events in Canada.

"This is a world leading competition policy, and the government needs to use it. The warning signs were there and the government ignored them. Labor has been all talk and no action," he added.

Australian Greens Media and Communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young called on the government to designate Meta under the News Media Bargaining Code. Designating a media company means the government can force it to negotiate with media companies.

"A big tech company like Meta cannot be allowed to bully users, journalists and democratically elected governments by deciding which laws of the land they will choose to comply with," Hanson-Young said.

The News Media Bargaining Code was legislated to ensure that platforms like Facebook are not able to profit off the sharing of news content without paying a fair price for it.

The minister has the power to designate Meta under the News Media Bargaining Code and with this announcement... its clear that this needs to happen immediately.

"The News Media Bargaining Code should also be strengthened to ensure that a diversity of publishers, especially independent media, are included in future platform deals."
(Photos courtesy of Mister Donut)

Though its still chilly in mainland Japan, cherry blossom season is on its way. Tokyo, for instance, is forecasted to start seeing the pale pink blooms Mar. 18, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

While we wait for the arrival of springs main event, sakura season has arrived early at local doughnut chain Mister Donut.

Through the end of March, head to Mister Donut for the Sakura Mochitto Donuts lineup. The cherry blossom mochi-flavored doughnuts feature different decorations to represent the phases of the blooms.

Sakura Mochitto Tsubomi bud donut - This glazed doughnut is light brown and generously dusted with soybean powder. Takeout 162 yen/dine-in 165 yen each.

Sakura Mochitto Gobuzaki partial-bloom donut - It features a cherry red bean paste center, is half-dipped in strawberry chocolate and lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Takeout 183 yen/dine-in 187 yen each.

Sakura Mochitto Mankai full bloom donut - Coated in cherry blossom bean paste containing cherry leaves, the donut is topped with cherry-flavored chocolate flakes and glitter. Takeout 183 yen/dine-in 187 yen each.

Sakura Mochitto Maizakura falling blooms donut- This artistic creation is sandwiched with Hokkaido azuki bean paste and partially coated with white chocolate, topped with cherry-flavored chocolate flakes and two chocolate lines to represent two bare tree branches. Takeout 183 yen/dine-in 187 yen each.

The doughnuts are available for purchase separately or for 711 yen, you can take the set of four home with you.

Grab a taste of spring early at Mister Donut and get ready for the arrival of cherry blossoms!

More information: website.
 The BBC reported that three burglars broke into a shoe store in Huancayo, Peru, in the middle of the night and made off with 200 shoes. Unfortunately for them, they were all right shoes.

Surveillance video captured them using a tricycle to remove the boxed shoes.

The shop owner estimated the value at more than $13,000, although the thieves may have trouble selling the shoes for only one foot.

The local police chief was confident that they would be caught. [BBC, 5/4/2023]
Washington state's unemployment insurance system has a crystal-clear mission: to provide a temporary income to workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The state Senate should reject a bill that would fundamentally alter that mission to include workers who choose to go on strike.

Such a change would undermine this longstanding social safety net, and increase costs not just for employers with striking workers but for the whole unemployment system, a state analysis predicts. It would also upend the delicate balance between different labor unions and management at bargaining tables around the state, a move with potential consequences at big employers like Boeing, smaller local school districts and many others in between.

For 86 years, Washington's displaced workers have been able to draw financial assistance from the state if they were laid off without cause. A tax on businesses in the state fills the coffers of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which today has about $3.5 billion. The state's Employment Security Department expects to spend about $1.3 billion this year to cover claims. And it's more than just dollars, because the state requires participants to network, look for jobs or take courses to add new skills to collect a weekly benefit.

Saying she wanted to "level the playing field for our workers," state Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, sponsored a bill tapping into unemployment insurance for striking workers. The bill, which passed the House 53-44 on Feb. 12, included an amendment to cap those workers at a maximum of four weeks of benefits. After passing the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, the bill could be taken up on the floor.

Only three states, New Jersey, New York and Maine, have allowed striking workers to access jobless benefits. New Jersey averaged 1,120 claims for striking workers in its first two years with the law, the ESD reports. Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wisely vetoed such legislation in 2023, arguing the fund California uses to pay its unemployment benefits was closing in on $20 billion in debt and couldn't afford added expenses.

The ESD generated scenarios for lawmakers in Olympia, including the prospect of a 30,000-member strike (think Boeing-sized), with $1,019  the maximum benefit  sent to each person for four weeks. That would add up to a $122 million hit on the unemployment insurance trust fund. Employers around the state would have to foot the bill to replenish the fund.

In that example, $38 million alone would need to come from the company whose workers went on strike, another major hit besides any losses incurred because of the work stoppage. ... Those costs could have ripple effects on the wider economy.

There's no way to know how many workers would be emboldened to strike, given the promise of four weeks of unemployment benefits. Currently, some unions maintain strike funds to help workers through such actions. But with this bill, those costs could be shifted and shouldered by the state's unemployment insurance fund.

This bill is too costly with too many unknowns. It would alter the management-labor landscape by exploiting an important benefit for unemployed workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and extending it to workers who decide to strike. Lawmakers in the state Senate should reject the bill.
Alexei Navalny, imprisoned critic of Putin and the Kremlin, is dead. An attempt to silence/kill him occurred earlier in 2021. The cause of death has not been announced, but the world suspects Putin thuggery. There is a history of Putins critics dying suddenly and unexpectedly under suspicious circumstances, and Navalnys death is no different.

It is alarming and disconcerting that Trump praises and idolizes Putin and his power and subscribes to his ruthless, strong arm tactics. Trump said that, as president, he could direct a SEAL Team or other assets of the government to eliminate/assassinate his political enemies with impunity. Trump further vowed as president to lock up his political enemies, weaponizing the DOJ and FBI against his political foes whom he characterizes as vermin.

Such an authoritarian presidency abandons the rule of law, democracy, and decency, and the retribution and retaliation Trump would direct against his political enemies of both parties is not presidential, nor in keeping with the expectations of the highest office in the land. The apprentice president, by word and deed, proposes to become another dictator on the world stage. That is his aspiration, given the admiration he lauds and expresses for other dictators, Putin and Kim Jong Un among them. Non-material aid and comfort to the enemy or just bluster and bravado? Either is damnable.

The constitutional qualifications to serve as president, age and birthplace, are minimal. Amendments 14 (section 3) and 25 (section 4) attempt to sporadically raise the bar for candidacy and performance in office but are tenuous and tentative in their application. There are few jobs, careers, and professions that require fewer qualifications than serving as president of the United States, and most of those require a criminal background check.

-- Gary Foster, Charleston
In 1963, German philosopher Hannah Arendt coined the phrase the banality of evil to describe Nazi Adolf Eichmann, one of the major organizers of the Holocaust who refused to take responsibility for the killing of 6 million Jews, saying he was simply following orders and doing his job.

With the quietly disturbing The Zone of Interest, British writer-director Jonathan Glazer brings the banality of evil to the screen by focusing on the lives of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Hoss; his wife, Hedwig; and their five children in the period between 1943-44, when they lived in a luxurious villa just outside the walls of the concentration camp, where hundreds of thousands of Jews were being killed.

Glazer's stroke of brilliance is to not show anything that happens inside the camp, leaving the horrors to be delivered by blasts of Mica Levis abrasive score and Johnnie Burns deeply researched sound design thats filled with industrial noises and gunshots that were the daily background sounds for the family.

Visually continuing that observational approach, Glazer and cinematographer Lukasz Zal planted 10 hidden cameras around the set, shooting the actors mid-length from unexpected angles, with very few close-ups.

Not showing the inner workings of the death camp and holding Hoss and his family at a distance eliminates any sort of romanticization of the violence and horrors, a pitfall of many Holocaust films, and prevents any sympathetic characterizations, leaving Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller to demonstrate the day-to-day lives of Rudolf and Hedwig without any kind of justification or even explanation for their amoral behavior.

That approach makes small scenes, like one of their Jewish prisoner-servants washing blood off Rudolfs boots and Hedwig trying on a fur coat that she knows belonged to a wealthy Jewish woman who died in the camp, chilling.

The familys willful denial  some of the kids know whats going on  and, especially, Hedwigs proud pronouncement that shes The Queen of Auschwitz hammer home the films haunting horror.

The final third of The Zone of Interest shifts the focus from Auschwitz to Berlin, where Hoss is transferred, promoted to be the deputy commandant of the entire Nazi concentration/extermination camp system.

In comes the banality-of-evil bureaucratic style, as the uniform-clad officers flip through the pages of their folders, discussing operational efficiencies, an emphasis on more labor from the prisons and the challenge being presented by the forthcoming deportation of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews.

Friedel is particularly effective in those scenes, showing not only the brutal inhumanity of the matter-of-fact operations of the camps but also Hoss ambition that allowed him to do ever more important jobs without considering what he really was doing.

The Zone of Interest received five Academy Award nominations for best picture, director, adapted screenplay (its loosely based on a Martin Amis novel), sound and international feature. While its received a little late best picture buzz, its more likely to take the international feature Oscar.

The movies final scene finds Hoss elated by another promotion, one that will eventually bring him back to Auschwitz. He did, indeed, return to Auschwitz, first as a commandant.

Then, after Germanys defeat, a year in hiding and his trials, in 1947 he was taken back to the camp where a gallows was constructed on the site of the Gestapo headquarters and he was hung for the crimes that occurred inside the walls, while he and his family lived seemingly happily just outside. The banality of evil indeed.
A 24-year-old who followed a Lincoln woman into a Haymarket parking garage after a bar closed in 2022 and tried to pull her into the backseat of a car went to prison for it Thursday.

Shawn Young, of Eufaula, Oklahoma, seemed on the edge of tears when he told the victim: "I'm very, very sorry. I did not mean to hurt you or to scare you for my actions."

He said he felt bad enough about what happened that for the first couple of months out of jail on bail, he was hallucinating for a lack of sleep.

"I woke up every day for the first six months or so bawling my eyes out because I couldn't quite believe that it was real," Young said.

He spoke of losing $125,000 to legal fees and not being able to get a job in the field he'd gotten a college degree in because he's now a convicted felon after pleading no contest to false imprisonment and terroristic threats, as well as a misdemeanor assault.

Young's attorney, Justin Kalemkiarian, called it one of the oddest cases that he's had because of the violent nature of the offense and the lack of issues to explain it, like a traumatic childhood or prior criminal record.

"How do we get from that to randomly attacking a woman in a parking lot? It just doesn't make sense to me, judge," he said.

He said Young's account  that he had startled the woman and she, in response, attacked him  made sense.

"That certainly doesn't absolve him of responsibility," Kalemkiarian said, arguing for probation. "He made a bad decision to drink that night. He reacted terribly when he startled (her). He injured her. He scared the bejesus out of her. And this could have gone a lot worse. Luckily it didn't."

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Amy Goodro said Young had been drinking, and the victim's account was more credible.

"His statements, quite frankly, can't be trusted," she said.

While Young said he was looking down and bumped into the victim, the victim, a 20-year-old college student who had been working that night, said he ran up to her and suddenly lunged at her.

"Which is quite different," Goodro said.

Video surveillance from the garage near Q Street and Pinnacle Bank Arena Drive early Nov. 19, 2022, showed Young following behind her closely into the parking garage and up through the stairs.

"It's eerie to watch him follow her so closely behind her," Goodro said.

The woman told police she had noticed a stranger following her and continued up to her car on the third floor. When she unlocked her door, she heard a noise behind her, turned and the man grabbed her and pushed her against her car.

When she started to scream, she said, he put his hand to her mouth to hush her, tackled her to the ground, then tried to drag her into the backseat.

She kicked and bit down on his hand, and he ultimately took off running.

"The state would submit the evidence proves that (the victim) fought back against Mr. Young's deliberate attempt to kidnap and sexually assault her," Goodro said.

She said a lot of times people convicted of serious sexual crimes come to the court without any prior record.

"This could have been the beginning act," the prosecutor said, but luckily the victim was strong enough to fight back.

Goodro said sentencing Young to anything less than the maximum seven-year sentence on the charges "would send the message that Nebraska courts don't take the safety of its female citizens seriously."

In the end, Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong gave Young the max, with a year and a half of post-release supervision.

"If I believed your statement of the facts here, I would have to believe that this young woman is lying and made this story up," she told Young. "That is just not consistent with all the other evidence we have."

Strong said the woman's story is the one that makes sense.

"And that is that you followed her closely into a parking garage at 2 a.m., that you attacked her, that you threw down her keys and her wallet, so you weren't concerned about stealing her car or getting money. Instead, you tried to drag her into the backseat of the car. She fought back and was able to resist your attack," the judge said.
Kirby Urbanek didn't know right away he'd been stabbed.

At a court hearing Thursday, the Lincoln police officer with the department for coming up on two years described the brief encounter early Oct. 17 with Simon Kafka, a man without a ticket refusing to get off the bus at Arrow Stage Lines, that left him with the wound to his neck and the other man shot.

Urbanek said he had gotten on the bus intending to ask the man very nicely to get off the bus, "as we had done many times before (of others)."

But when he asked to see Kafka's ticket, he said, Kafka stood up and Urbanek took a step back to create some space in the tight quarters, trying not to step on the feet of the woman on the other side of the aisle.

That's when it happened.

"It felt like I got punched in the side of the neck, and it turns out he stabbed me," he said.

Urbanek said he grabbed Kafka and threw him in front of him so he could see what was going on.

"And that's when I see he has a knife in his hand," he said. "At that point I try to get ahold of his hands so he can't stab me again or stab anyone else."

The momentum pushed Kafka on top of another passenger, a woman on the bench seat across the aisle, the officer said.

"And we're wrestling over the knife," Urbanek said.

He said he was telling Kafka to let go of the knife or he was going to get shot. In response, he said, Kafka told him to "do it" and asked what he was waiting for, which he took to mean Kafka was looking for "suicide by cop."

Urbanek said he was trying to get control of the knife and of Kafka, fighting on top of and over other passengers.

"In the course of the shuffle, I feel my gun being grabbed," the officer said.

He said he felt Kafka's left hand reaching for his gun and called out "gun grab," to let Officer Kate Schwenke, who was on the bus behind him, know.

Urbanek threw a punch to distract Kafka.

And Schwenke fired a single shot that struck Kafka, causing him to go limp for a moment and Urbanek to be able to get the gas-station, foldable-style, pocket knife out of his hand and chuck it away.

"But he was still putting up a fight, resisting going into handcuffs," Urbanek said.

He said after it was all over he remembers asking Schwenke if he'd been stabbed, and her saying "yeah."

Now, Kafka stands accused of attempted second-degree murder, second-degree assault on an officer and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony for what happened that day.

Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Matthew Meyerle asked the judge not to bind over the attempted murder charge to district court because it required him to have taken a substantial step intended to culminate in an intentional killing.

"I would submit ... there hasn't been sufficient evidence that Mr. Kafka did intend to cause the death of Officer Urbanek," he argued.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jeff Mathers said that the evidence showed Kafka had stabbed Urbanek in the neck.

"I believe that action alone shows an intent to kill," he argued.

In the end, Lancaster County Court Judge Thomas Zimmerman said whether it was Kafka's intention to commit suicide by cop was a matter of speculation, and went to the officer's view, not Kafka's.

And he found the evidence was sufficient to send the case on to district court, where Kafka is set for arraignment later this month.

Review of police shootings in Lincoln since 2013 1. Douglas DaMoude, May 30, 2014 2. Tyson Hubbard, March 5, 2015 3. Tareik Artis, Sept. 22, 2015 4. Zachary Grigsby, Nov. 29, 2015 5. Germichael Kennedy, June 26, 2016 6. Thomas Sailors, Jan. 5, 2018 7. Christopher Brennauer, Dec. 29, 2018 8. Joseph Francis Cimino, Oct. 8, 2019 9. Hailey Stainbrook and Christian Alexander, Feb. 20, 2021 10. German Pedraza, Nov. 24, 2021 11. Chace Abney, May 1, 2023 12. Stephen Kafka, Oct. 17,2023
An Omaha woman was charged Thursday with trying to pass methamphetamine to a Lincoln inmate during a visitation at the Reception and Treatment Center, according to court documents.

On Wednesday at about 9 a.m., 40-year-old Alicia Cain was visiting someone at the Reception and Treatment Center, located at 3218 W. Van Dorn St. Nebraska State Patrol investigators believe Cain placed two plastic bags containing approximately 2.1 grams of meth in a bowl filled with candy to slip the drugs to an inmate, the probable cause affidavit said.

Cain was able to smuggle the meth bags into the visitation area by hiding them in her belly button, according to the affidavit.

Investigators spoke with Cain at the prison and she consented to a search of her vehicle.

Troopers found two pipes and 2.4 grams of synthetic cannabis in her car, according to the affidavit.

Cain was charged with intent to deliver a controlled substance and unlawful acts in the Department of Corrections.

Judge Thomas Zimmerman set Cain's percentage bond at $75,000, meaning she would have to pay $7,500 to be released.

She is being held at the Lancaster County jail.

Photos: Nebraska's new Reception and Treatment Center
You are here: Business

Passengers check in at Tianjin Binhai International Airport in north China's Tianjin, Jan. 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China recorded more than 57.3 million air passenger trips in January, a surge of 44.1 percent year on year, data from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) showed Thursday.



The civil aviation sector's total transport turnover topped 11.6 billion tonne-kilometers last month, up 57.1 percent from a year earlier, Zhang Qing, a development planning official with the CAAC, told a press conference.

Some 753,000 tonnes of cargo and mail were transported by air in January, an increase of 53.9 percent year on year, Zhang said.

China's civil aviation sector is entering a phase of sustained, rapid and healthy development, with the gradual recovery of the vitality of market entities, and production and operation returning to normal, said Zhang.

This year, major performance indicators such as total transportation turnover and passenger traffic are expected to surpass their pre-pandemic levels, according to Zhang.
The decision of Prince William to pull out of an important family gathering Tuesday, and the absence of an explanation, has engulfed the British royal family in a tidal wave of gossip, speculation and wild conspiracy theories.

Some of that is par for the course, for a family that has never been far from the headlines in the modern media age. But the discourse reached a frenzied level this week  particularly in the unchecked realms of social media.

As the event  a memorial service for Williams late godfather, former King Constantine II of Greece  was getting underway at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor on Tuesday, royal insiders revealed the Prince of Wales would miss it due to a personal matter. William, a source told CNN, had called the Greek royal family to let them know of his last-minute change of plans.

Skipping events doesnt normally spark the sort of theorizing that has ensued. Go back two years and there simply wouldnt have been the same level of online speculation that has been witnessed in recent days.

But many have been left unsettled by the seemingly never-ending run of recent royal heartache and health scares. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, and both King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales getting ill soon after, plus the fact that the public havent seen Kate since Christmas Day, have all contributed to the speculation. Charles, who is undergoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, has canceled all his public engagements.

The series of devastating blows was further compounded with the sudden death of Thomas Kingston, the husband of the Kings cousin Lady Gabriella, at the age of 45. It is understood that Williams non-attendance was not tied to the news of Kingstons death, which was revealed publicly on the same day as Constantines memorial.

The royal source wouldnt be drawn on exactly what had prevented William from going to the service. With that lack of clarity, people have linked his absence with that of his wife, Kate, who is still at home recuperating from surgery.

Prince William condemned antisemitism during a visit to a London synagogue on Thursday, the first time he appeared in public after he unexpectedly pulled out of a royal event earlier in the week. William also spoke out last week against the fighting in Gaza and called for the Israel-Hamas conflict to end as soon as possible.

Many saw the princes recent return to royal duties as a signal that the prognosis in the Wales household was improving quickly.

Others have suggested it should have been easy for the heir to the throne to join his wider family at Windsor Castle as he only lives a roughly five-minute drive away at Adelaide Cottage and as his three children were at school when the event was taking place.

If the role of monarchy is presence, continuity and unity, it was a stark visual seeing the royal family enter the chapel without several key senior faces among them.

Its worth emphasizing that the royal source told CNN that Kate continues to be doing well in her recovery. And even though the palace was clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales recuperation would take her away from public duties for several months after her abdominal operation, people are still trying to fill in the gaps.

Kensington Palace made a rare move in the face of the speculation on Kates whereabouts and health, with a spokesperson saying on Thursday that the palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess recovery and wed only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.

While William wasnt present at the memorial service on Tuesday, his diary hasnt been cleared of public events and he was back in action on Thursday.

The palace has been trying to give out as much information as it can without compromising medical privacy. This is the challenge of an age-old monarchy operating in a transformed landscape, where people expect information immediately. Its not always that the public is being insensitive, but rather that people care and want to know why someone they are used to seeing has disappeared from public view.

As a society, were accustomed to having information at our fingertips and there is an instinctive desire to fill the void. An example of plugging holes in gaps of knowledge is best represented in Netflixs The Crown. It was initially based on historical record but as seasons moved closer to the present day, writers and producers were forced to dramatize moments for storytelling purposes.

The reality is that no one  beyond those immediately involved  knows exactly why William pulled out of this family event or how Kate is feeling day-to-day. The latest developments have emphasized that, while the Waleses are public servants, they are also people vulnerable to the same struggles we all face.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Here is the order of succession to the British throne 1. Prince William 2. Prince George 3. Princess Charlotte 4. Prince Louis 5. Prince Harry 6. Prince Archie 7. Princess Lilibet 8. Prince Andrew 9. Princess Beatrice 10. Sienna Mapelli Mozzi 11. Princess Eugenie 12. August Brooksbank 13. Ernest Brooksbank 14. Prince Edward 15. James, Earl of Wessex 16. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor 17. Princess Anne 18. Peter Phillips 19. Savannah Phillips 20. Isla Phillips 21. Zara Tindall 22. Mia Tindall 23. Lena Tindall 24. Lucas Tindall
A Nebraska lawmaker's bid to make it illegal to film police officers within 10 feet of them was blasted as unconstitutional by critics at a public hearing Thursday.

Sen. John Lowe of Kearney introduced the bill (LB1185) to give law enforcement "some breathing room" as they interact with  or arrest  members of the public, he told the Legislature's Judiciary Committee at Thursday's hearing.

If made law, Lowe's proposal would make it a class 1 misdemeanor  punishable by up to a year in jail  to video or audio record an officer within 10 feet of them while they are "actively engaged in work as a peace officer."

The criminal offense would not apply to people who officers are engaging with, such as a motorist pulled over during a traffic stop.

But critics said the proposal  which Lowe said was the product of conversations with law enforcement officers in his district and across the state who he said are being "harassed constantly"  quite clearly runs counter to the constitution.

"The courts have been clear: people have a right to observe and record police while they're on duty. Full stop," said Spike Eickholt, a lawyer and lobbyist for the ACLU of Nebraska who testified in opposition to Lowe's bill at Thursday's hearing.

"You don't have any right to interfere with an arrest," he continued. "You don't have any right to distract an officer who is trying to do their job. You don't have a right to intervene and bother the cops when they're trying to do their thing.

"But if you want to record or observe them, the courts are clear: you have that right. You can't be arrested for that."

A federal judge last year ruled that an Arizona law limiting how close people can get to recording law enforcement is unconstitutional, citing infringement against a clearly established right to film police doing their jobs.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner was the only proponent of Lowe's bill to testify Thursday, doing so on behalf of the Nebraska Sheriff's Association, the Nebraska Police Officers Association and the state Police Chiefs Association.

He said Lowe's proposal would provide nothing more or less than "a safety zone" for law enforcement on the job, who he said increasingly are being filmed by bystanders who "in some cases, get right up close to them."

"There are those who would say that this bill was introduced because law enforcement doesn't want to be recorded doing something wrong or denying individuals First Amendment rights," Wagner said.

"On the contrary, we welcome being recorded," he added, citing body-worn and in-car cameras utilized by police agencies across the state.

Deputies in Wagner's agency tackled and briefly detained a Journal Star reporter who was providing livestream coverage of the 2020 protests while wearing an orange vest labeled "PRESS" in downtown Lincoln.

And in response to questions from Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, Wagner acknowledged that he has "no way of knowing" how often residents are disrupting law enforcement interactions by filming police within 10 feet of them.

Judiciary Committee members and opponents of Lowe's bill were skeptical, too, of Wagner's comparison of bystander footage to body-worn camera footage, which is shielded from the public's view by a vague exception in Nebraska's public records law that allows law enforcement agencies and municipalities to indefinitely withhold records that "constitute a part of  (an) investigation."

Lancaster County officials have opposed recent attempts to change the law to prevent withholding bodycam footage linked to deaths in police custody.

"I think part of the reason people began to record law enforcement officers ... was because law enforcement is hesitant to release bodycam footage," McKinney told Lowe at Thursday's hearing. "And at one time there was not bodycam footage. So would you be open to making bodycam footage more public  or, public?"

"The law enforcements that I spoke to were not uncomfortable with being recorded," Lowe said. "They think it's OK to be recorded. They want to be held responsible. The uncomfortable people are those that are interacting with the law enforcement officers, and what could be just a normal stop could escalate into something more serious just because of the recording."

McKinney, in response, again asked the Kearney lawmaker if he "would be open to making bodycam footage public."

"I think that's a new bill and should be discussed next year," Lowe said.

Photos and videos of protests in Lincoln over George Floyd's death
A joint effort between state leaders and the University of Nebraska is aiming to boost the number of large animal veterinarians working in rural areas of the state.

The "Elite 11" program will cover the education costs for students who pursue a career working as veterinarians in the livestock industry in exchange for those students committing to work in Nebraska communities.

"This program is going to be a game-changer," Gov. Jim Pillen said at an announcement of the program Thursday.

The scholarship program, paid for through a state appropriation approved last year, will open on Friday for students enrolling in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall, according to Tiffany Heng-Moss, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

"It represents an amazing opportunity for our students in Nebraska to be able to pursue their career aspirations to be a veterinary without the burden of student loan debt," Heng-Moss said.

The 25 students who receive scholarships this fall will have 50% of their tuition covered for the first two years of their college careers, Heng-Moss said, as they pursue bachelor's degrees in animal or veterinary science.

After completing their second year, which will also include a professional development program, students will compete for one of 11 scholarships covering the full cost of tuition for their remaining two years.

Students awarded an Elite 11 scholarship will also have the tuition and fees for their doctor of veterinary medicine program covered, Heng-Moss said, before starting their careers as an animal production veterinarian in a rural community.

Elite 11 winners must commit to work in rural Nebraska for eight years, or else they'll be required to pay back the scholarship.

"This is an amazing program, it's going to have a big impact on our state for the agricultural industry and for the next generation of production animal veterinarians," Heng-Moss said.

Mike Boehm, the vice president for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at NU, said only about 13% of students enrolled in veterinary programs said they wanted to work in production agriculture.

Helping steer more students into that field is part of NU's mission as a land grant university, Boehm said.

"Anytime we can think about learners and their success and trajectory, that's pretty amazing," he said.

Larry Marshall, a practicing veterinarian in Bertrand since 1985, said the need to incentivize more students into the job field is evident, as there are currently more job openings than production agriculture veterinarians to fill them.

Over the past five years, Marshall said he's only had two applicants apply for associate positions. Raising more homegrown veterinarians and giving them financial assistance to pursue those careers will help fill those positions, he said.

"Our goal is to find, cultivate, educate, mentor and lead these students down a path that will make them successful food animal veterinarians in Nebraska," Marshall said.

Sen. Teresa Ibach of Sumner, who introduced a bill (LB1062) in the Legislature this year to boost the numbers of veterinarians working in Nebraska, said similar programs are available in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

"They work very hard to attract students, and maybe even some of ours," Ibach said. "The practicing veterinarian numbers in those states well exceed what Nebraska has.

"I'm pleased that we all recognize the urgency to meet these needs," she added.

NU Interim President Chris Kabourek said the Elite 11 program would address a major workforce need in the Cornhusker State, and created new opportunities for Nebraska students.

"I want us to go compete," he said, "and this is the type of program we need to compete for Nebraska kids."

Top Journal Star photos for February 2024
A referendum seeking to repeal a Nebraska law granting tax credits to individuals who donate to private school scholarship funds will appear on the November general election ballot.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen said Thursday the challenges to the referendum seeking to overturn the Opportunity Scholarships Act (LB753) were not for his office to decide and that the referendum would go before voters.

The challenge to the legality of the referendum came from Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn, who sponsored the bill last year and has led a coalition seeking to defeat the referendum.

In January, Linehan wrote to Evnen that the repeal "raises constitutional concerns" and asked him to remove it from the 2024 election ballot.

"Nebraska's constitution explicitly places the power of taxation in the hands of the Legislature," Linehan said in the Jan. 9 letter, adding that giving voters a chance to repeal the law would undermine the Legislature's "ability to set revenue policy."

But Evnen said the constitutional issues raised by Linehan were beyond the purview of the secretary of state's office to consider.

"The issues raised are substantive constitutional questions yet to be determined," he said. "Such issues must be left to the courts to decide."

Evnen also said that while the referendum "interferes" with the Legislature's taxing authority, legal analyses done by the Nebraska Attorney General's Office relying on a Nebraska Supreme Court decision found the meaning of that word to be overly broad.

"The word must be read to mean that the initiative or referendum in question completely destroys or emasculates the taxing authority of the Legislature," he said. "In other words, mere interference, as commonly understood, renders the statute unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable."

The referendum on LB753 does not completely destroy the Legislature's taxing authority, he said.

The secretary also said the state's highest court has held that the power of the referendum must be liberally construed, "that the power is precious to the people and is one in which the courts are zealous to preserve to the fullest tenable measure."

"I have concluded that the referendum is legally sufficient and should be placed on the 2024 general election ballot," Evnen wrote. "I will place the referendum on the ballot unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction."

Support Our Schools, the coalition of groups backing the initiative, celebrated Evnen's decision Thursday.

"This decision reflects the will of Nebraskans and the work of our 1,900 volunteer petition circulators," said Jenni Benson, president of the Nebraska State Education Association and board member of Support Our Schools.

A total of 117,415 Nebraskans signed the referendum in a campaign across the state last summer. The group needed just 61,308 signatures, including 5% of voters in 38 of Nebraska's 93 counties, to qualify for the ballot.

"Voters have been clear that they want to vote on the issue of diverting public tax dollars to fund private schools," Benson added.

Rebecca Firestone, executive director of OpenSky Policy Institute, which backed the referendum petition, said there was statewide interest to vote on whether or not the Opportunity Scholarships Act remains law and thanked Evnen for his decision to allow voters to weigh in on the matter.

Linehan said Evnen's letter does not settle the matter, and said she and Keep Kids First, the committee opposing the referendum, will consider their options, including pursuing a legal remedy.

"Any time it takes four pages to explain something, it's not clear-cut and dry," Linehan said in an interview Thursday evening. "I think the secretary of state lays out a pretty clear case this decision needs to be made in the courts."

But the Revenue Committee chairwoman also said the decision, which relied on an opinion from the attorney general's office  lawmakers have rankled at the executive branch relying on opinions from the AG that offices created to do legislative oversight were unconstitutional  raised other questions the Legislature may need to deal with.

"The idea that we can do referendums on tax policy when that's not what the constitution says, and it's definitely not what the statute says, is not good for us going forward," Linehan said.

Linehan said in addition to discussing Evnen's letter with the Legislature's Executive Board, she would also consider pushing another bill (LB1402) which would appropriate $25 million for private school scholarships, rather than have the issue be handled through tax policy.

Opponents have raised concerns about that measure, however, calling it an end-run around the referendum.

"Policymakers are considering whether to pass another bill to directly appropriate state dollars to organizations granting private school scholarships," Firestone said. "LB1402 could block Nebraskans from the opportunity to vote on this key issue for the future of our state."

Benson also panned the latest attempt to put public dollars into private school scholarships.

"State senators also need to respect voters on this issue and reject new legislative attempts to impose voucher schemes on Nebraska taxpayers," Benson said.

Top Journal Star photos for February 2024
Nebraska's chief medical officer declined to participate in a discussion of regulations governing gender-affirming care for transgender youths with the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday.

Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services' chief legal counsel submitted a letter to the committee stating that because the rulemaking process was ongoing, Dr. Timothy Tesmer would not appear before senators.

"Given the regulations are still not finalized and currently still under legal review, per the (Administrative Procedures Act) promulgation process, the department must respectfully decline participating in today's requested briefing," the letter states.

The formal briefing was requested by Sen. Ben Hansen of Blair, the committee chair, last week to update lawmakers on the regulations required as part of LB574, the bill that banned certain medical procedures for transgender youths in Nebraska.

In exchange for requesting Tesmer's update to the committee on the status of the regulations, Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh  who led weeks of opposition against LB574 in the 2023 session  withdrew a bill (LB879) seeking to repeal it this year.

Hansen said the letter from HHS was "better than nothing," but added that the committee had hoped to ask questions collaboratively in order to inform their work in the Legislature and answer the questions of constituents.

"It would have been worse if they didn't do anything," Hansen said. "At least they provided a letter with some explanation."

But Cavanaugh said it was "unfortunate" Tesmer did not attend the hearing despite being the person tasked by the Legislature with developing the regulations outlined in LB574.

"At (Tesmer's) confirmation hearing, he committed to keeping us abreast to everything," she said. "We have not heard from him at all."

She also cast doubt on the reasoning outlined by Bo Botehlo, chief legal counsel for HHS, in the letter from the department, saying that it was not unusual for public officials to talk openly about government processes.

Botehlo, in the two-page letter, said HHS began drafting regulations under the so-called "Let Them Grow Act" soon after the bill was signed into law by Gov. Jim Pillen last May.

The temporary regulations unveiled in the fall of 2023 required patients under the age of 19 to undergo at least 40 hours of therapy and a seven-day waiting period before they could fill a prescription for puberty-blocking or hormone medication.

At a 12-hour public hearing in November, more than 60 people criticized the proposed regulations as overly burdensome, adding they imposed arbitrary barriers for transgender youths and their families and put children needing gender-affirming care in potentially dire situations.

Tesmer did not attend that public hearing.

The regulations were later forwarded unchanged to the State Board of Health for review in January before HHS determined it had inadvertently failed to capture the totality of comments from individuals who testified in person and submitted testimony online.

The proposed regulations, which could become the permanent regulations next month, were returned to the Board of Health for a special meeting Feb. 14 and have been delivered to the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office for review.

If approved, they will go to Pillen for final review and approval.

During the window for Thursday's briefing, Cavanaugh read from four pages of questions asking about the department's regulation-making process, a frustration over lack of updates on the rules, Tesmer's philosophy on treating transgender individuals, which medical and mental health professionals were consulted, and other issues.

Among the questions Cavanaugh intended to ask:

* What consideration was given to the local physicians actually working with families and children dealing with gender identity in their daily lives?

* What steps are being taken to ensure that decisions regarding regulations are driven by Nebraska experts and nationally and internationally recognized experts in gender-affirming care?

* How do the regulations respect and support the role of parents, caregivers and providers in this regard?

Cavanaugh said her goal is for the regulations that place undue burdens on transgender youths and their families in Nebraska to be removed or adjusted as well as for clarification on what could be included within the 40 hours of therapy required.

"The rules and regulations they put forward are beyond the scope of the bill that was passed," she said.

Tesmer's declining an invite to appear before the committee comes amid several controversies between the Legislature and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Lawmakers have raised concerns about HHS blocking the Office for Inspector General for Child Welfare from conducting oversight into those programs and facilities for six months, though the department recently agreed to allow inspectors general back in to do that work.

The seven-member committee also has yet to confirm Steve Corsi as the CEO of HHS following a contentious confirmation hearing in early February that focused on Corsi's work history and posts on social media.

Hansen said he hopes the Health and Human Services Committee and the Department of Health and Human Services can continue to communicate in the future.

"We're hoping this can be the start of it and we can maybe even have a briefing sometime down the road when things get more settled," he said.

Top Journal Star photos for February 2024
A 32-year-old woman who lives in a tent in downtown Omaha pleaded with Nebraska legislators Thursday to oppose a bill aimed at prohibiting homeless camps on city property.

"You make this law here, we'll be forced to hide, go further and further from our resources," said Arielle Nichols, who has stayed with a group of people through the winter in tents at 17th and Izard Streets. "All we have is right there. We get tremendous support from the community."

Nichols was among the more than 25 people who testified Thursday at a public hearing of the Nebraska Legislature's Judiciary Committee on Legislative Bill 1357. The vast majority of those opposed the bill, arguing that it would in effect criminalize homelessness, and make it even harder for people to get housing.

Introduced by Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha with the support of Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, the bill will make it a misdemeanor criminal offense to camp on cities' or other political subdivisions' property that's not designated for camping.

McDonnell said the measure would help deal local governments remove tent encampments on public property like sidewalks or alleys if people refuse to move, while also allowing cities to create designated temporary camping areas with bathrooms and services. Those could by like federal emergency housing after natural disasters, he said.

McDonnell said the law is patterned after a current state law that prohibits camping on state or county public property like roadways.

Hanson said Douglas County is planning to build a mental health annex on its jail that could help people who were arrested.

The law would help address long-term homelessness, McDonnell said.

"There's no help or services in those tents," he said. "There are people who want to help, but we have to do it in a more organized, compassionate manner."

Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, a member of the committee, levied critical comments and questions to McDonnell and other proponents.

"I don't think this bill deals with the long-term problem of homelessness," McKinney said. "One of the things is: It's jumping the gun."

Omaha has no designated area for camping as described by McDonnell, McKinney noted. There has been no public discussion about creating one.

"I'm not saying they should be camping in front of anybody's business or outside people's homes, because I see it, because there are encampments in my district," McKinney said. "Unless the city and county are going to step up and designate spaces, we shouldn't pass this bill because we're going to directly incriminate people who shouldn't be incriminated."

Hanson said he has spent a lot of time in homeless tent encampments in his 28 years in law enforcement.

"I have encountered individuals in these tents that are living in some of the most unhealthy conditions you have ever seen," he said. "Wounds that are unhealed, health conditions that are terrifying, mental health conditions that are unaddressed, addiction issues that are unaddressed. And that's the deplorable situation that these folks are living in."

"So the solution to people living in deplorable conditions is to increase penalties on them?" McKinney asked.

"No, I think that we need a safety net," Hanson replied. He said adding the law would complete a "three-legged stool" of public safety with intervention, prevention and suppression.

He said the state needs to invest more in diversion programs and needs a regional center for behavioral health in Omaha. But, he said, the state does have resources for prevention and intervention that could help people if they were arrested.

The Rev. Keith Winton, the rector of St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Omaha, was one of 19 people who testified against the bill during a more than two and a half hour airing of the measure. Four spoke in favor of it.

"This bill does not create a three-legged stool," Winton said. "It creates a pogo stick to push down people who are already at the bottom. . . . As Human Rights Watch says, criminalizing homelessness does not solve the problem, it makes suffering more brutal and drives people living in the streets further into the shadows."

That was a common theme among the five homeless people who testified and the people who provide services to them.

Pete Miller, a member of the Street Outreach Team that helps homeless people in Omaha, said his group and others regularly go to places where people are staying in tents to provide them help. He said he believed the proponents of the bill had good intentions, "and think tough love can solve this issue."

"I also think it's those proponents that need tough love," he said. "They need to hear the difficult truth that they can't arrest people out of homelessness and can't just sent the police to hide the problem from public view. . . . Tough love means making hard decisions towards real solutions, not the cruelty of LB 1357."

The bill may face an uphill climb, if the committee voted to advance it to general file. There are only about two weeks remaining in the legislative session and no senator has made the bill their priority legislation.

Photos: Hearing for bill to prohibit tent camping in Nebraska
RACINE  Linda LaRoche is attempting to get a new trial in her 2022 homicide conviction, claiming that a serial killer, rather than herself, could be responsible for the death.

LaRoche was convicted in the 1999 homicide of her housekeeper, Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder. She was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse, and was sentenced to life in prison May 2022.

At a motion hearing Monday for a new trial, LaRoche argued that her initial attorneys were ineffective because they were aware of another case in Illinois which, she claims, could be connected to the death of Johnson-Schroeder.

Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder

In July 1999, a womans body was found in the Town of Raymond on the side of a road. It was estimated that the body had not been there for more than 12 hours, according to the criminal complaint.

The woman was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 120 pounds.

Dr. Doug Kelley, a forensic pathologist at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office, conducted an autopsy and found marks, bruises, lacerations, burns and abrasions across the womans body.

Kelley reportedly found blunt force trauma to the head and burns that covered about 25 percent of the womans body. He also reported marks that looked like a three-quarter circle.

Kelley found that the woman had trauma to her genital area and had injuries in different stages of healing.

Kelley determined the manner of death was homicide and the cause was sepsis pneumonia as a result of injuries sustained from chronic abuse.

The identity of the woman was unknown until 2019 when she was identified as Johnson-Schroeder through familial DNA testing, according to the complaint.

LaRoche was arrested in 2019 and has maintained her innocence since.

During LaRoches trial in 2022, Johnson-Schroeder was described as cognitively handicapped.

Mary Kate Sunderlin

In December 1999, the body of an unidentified woman was discovered by the side of the road in Lake County, Illinois, wearing a blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. Lake County is just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border, along Lake Michigan.

The woman was 4 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 93 pounds.

Dr. Mark J. Witeck performed an autopsy Dec. 10, 1999, and found burns on the body, loop-shaped abrasions on the left cheek in various widths and bruising across the body. No trauma was found on the genital area.

The woman reportedly had hair cut short and irregular on the sides of her head and scaly skin on her head, according to court documents.

The woman also had pneumonia, but her cause of death was ultimately determined to be blunt force trauma.

The woman was identified as Mary Kate Sunderlin in 2006 and was described to have developmental delays.

In 2000, Jason Strong of Illinois was convicted of Sunderlins homicide. According to reporting from the Associated Press, he confessed to the killing but maintained his innocence after the confession.

The case against Strong was dismissed after new forensic and medical evidence was presented and witnesses recanted their statements from the trial.

Arguments

There are remarkable similarities between the two cases, and, in my opinion, theres a strong probability that the two deaths were caused by the same person, Dr. Lindsey Thomas testified during a motion hearing Monday.

Thomas is a forensic pathologist who Laura Walker, LaRoches current attorney, contacted to review the two autopsies and give an opinion.

Thomas reviewed the autopsy report and photos. She did not review the police reports or other evidence in the cases.

Thomas previously worked as a pathologist on two cases with serial killers, and said she would not be surprised if there were more victims.

Thomas said the two women looked similar in death, but was unable to identify the women when showed pictures of them while they were alive.

Thomas said she was unable to rule out that LaRoche could have committed both homicides.

Prosecuting attorney Diane Donohoo pointed out the differences in height and weight between the women and said the women looked nothing alike in life.

Donohoo also argued that the two women had differences in injuries.

Nothing about these two women is alike, except for the fact that they are both white women, Donohoo said.

Kelley, the forensic pathologist in Johnson-Schroeders case, said he could not offer an opinion on the comparison between the two women because it was out of the scope of his job responsibilities.

Denny motion

During a motion hearing in October, LaRoches former attorneys, Jillian Scheidigger and Carl Johnson, were called to testify about their roles in her case.

The two said they split responsibilities. Scheidigger said she was made aware of the Sunderlin case but did not pursue a Denny motion because it did not fit with their theory of defense. Johnson said he was not aware of the Sunderlin case until after the trial.

A Denny motion can be used to argue that a third party who had motive, opportunity and direct motive committed the crime. In Wisconsin, a defense attorney must motion through a judge in order to argue Denny at trial.

During closing arguments Monday, Walker argued it was unreasonable for LaRoches original attorneys to not forward the information about the case similarities.

Anybody with eyes can look at these pictures and see similarities, Walker said.

Walker argued that LaRoche had nothing to do with Sunderlin or Johnsons death and asked Judge Timothy Boyle to find that LaRoche did not receive a fair trial.

Donohoo argued that the evidence presented did not meet the requirements of a Denny motion and that LaRoches original defense attorneys made the right call at trial by not pursuing that motion.

Boyle said he would give an oral or written decision to determine if LaRoche would be given a new trial, but did not say when he would give his decision.

Six photos of Raymond School Board recall voting Residents voted Tuesday in a Raymond School Board recall election. Diane Nameth Election worker Diane Nameth checks in a voter Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 2255  Raymond election worker Election worker Gail Rygiewicz checks in a voter Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 225 Voter Tammi Kortendick submits her ballot Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 2255 76th St. Raymond School Board recall voters Voters check in Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 2255 76th St. Janell Wise defeated J Vote this way A sign directs voters Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 2255 76th St. Janell Wise defe Raymond recall election A sign informs voters Tuesday during voting for a Raymond School Board recall election at Raymond Village Hall, 2255 76th St. Janell Wise defe Raymond School Board recall voting
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

View Results
President Xi Jinping has called on officials at all levels to foster a Marxist style of learning to integrate theory with practice, thereby contributing to advancing Chinese modernization with solid actions.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in the preface he wrote to the reading materials for the sixth group of trainee officials.

Noting that Chinese modernization opens a new path for humanity toward modernization and creates a new form of human advancement, Xi said it is both a glorious historical mission and a severe realistic test for the Party.

Xi underlined efforts to truly master the key skills of Marxism and to ensure political unity and unity in action with a high-level unity in thinking.

He also urged comprehensively enhancing the officials' political competence as well as their leadership caliber and working ability in line with the advancement of Chinese modernization.

The purpose of learning the Party's theoretical innovations is to apply them to practice, Xi noted.

Xi further emphasized the necessity for officials at all levels to maintain their focus on addressing obstacles hindering high-quality development, addressing issues drawing public grievances, and resolving prominent problems in the process of Party building.

"Efforts should be made to effectively prevent and diffuse major risks and work in innovative ways, thus transforming the blueprint mapped out at the 20th CPC National Congress into reality," Xi said.

The reading materials for the sixth group of trainee officials, currently awaiting publication, consist of nine publications. Among them, four books are intended for theoretical study, while five focus on selected cases concerning the promotion and expansion of Chinese modernization. These cases span a range of topics, including the economy, education, rule of law, culture, and national security.
With the short session of the Nebraska Legislature slightly more than half over, repeat after me: When it comes to taxation, its all about whose ox is being gored.

The governor wants a 40% reduction in property taxes by the end of the year. Im in! Cut me a check.

Sorry. Thats not how this works. The cuts will be made and somehow credited to your tax bill by the county, which will somehow find a way to use it up before you see it. Just watch.

Even more sorry. The state must pay for the cuts. Thats even dicier because the quick solution seems to be raising the sales tax and possibly adding sales tax to some previously exempt items.

Some critics say thats unfair to poor people. I think theyre right! OpenSky Policy Institute and others have criticized the proposed sales tax increase as regressive, saying it would hurt the poor and people on fixed incomes disproportionately, including senior citizens.

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and the local chapter of Americans for Prosperity also oppose it. AFP-Nebraska and others have argued that a sales tax increase without hard spending caps on school districts and local governments would cost taxpayers more and accomplish no meaningful change.

An AFP-Nebraska poll showed 70% of those responding opposed raising sales taxes to decrease property taxes.

Former state senator turned State Treasurer Tom Briese told the Nebraska Examiner he supports what Gov. Pillen and Sen. Lou Ann Linehan and the Revenue Committee are proposing here. Nebraskans deserve a fair and balanced tax structure, and they dont have that now.

Its the old three-legged stool of Nebraska taxation  property, income, and sales taxes  that needs leveling according to Pillen and Briese. Pillen said Nebraska collects $4 billion to $5 billion a year in property taxes, $3 billion a year in income taxes and $2 billion a year in sales taxes.

Briese cautions that if lawmakers hesitate or fail to make major systemic changes in the tax system, voters will back a petition drive for something like the EPIC consumption tax. Really? Is that dead fish still floating in the pond?

Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard has resurrected what was originally known, decades ago, as the transaction tax. It would give the state a single source of tax revenue collected every time a transaction is made. Exactly what purchases would be taxed  cars, equipment, food, real estate  is still a bit fuzzy. Nebraskans need to look at history (1966) when voters did away with all taxes leaving new Gov. Norbert Tiemann with the dilemma of how to fund state government. Not a happy time.

The Examiner reported that a recent poll conducted for the Nebraska Association of County Officials found support from 65% of respondents to the question: Would you support or oppose increasing the state sales tax rate by 1% in order to allow local governments to continue to provide important services?

Meanwhile, a poll conducted for the Holland Childrens Institute found a plurality of 45% of respondents who opposed reducing Nebraskas state property taxes by raising state sales taxes from 5.5% to 6.5%. In that poll, 43% of respondents supported the idea.

Each poll interviewed 500-600 Nebraska residents and reported a margin of error between 4% and 4.3%. Both polls found opposition to Pillens planned hard cap to prevent major increases in spending by local government and schools. Chalk one up for Nebraskans support of local control.

The Legislatures Revenue Committee is crafting the property tax proposals during executive sessions. The governor has said that hes seeking a 40% reduction in property taxes if it takes till Christmas.

That might be prophetic.
La Crosse business and civic leaders heard a simple message Tuesday: Fly local.

Our ask today is very simple put your flights through La Crosse Regional Airport, said Tim Kabat, head of La Crosse Area Development Corp.

Roughly 50 people gathered at the La Crosse County Administrative Center to discuss strategies to keep passenger air service viable at the city-owned facility.

The airport took a hit last year when Delta Airlines suspended flights in La Crosse, reducing potential seats by one-third in 2023. That left American Airlines, which operates in La Crosse as Air Wisconsin, as the lone commercial carrier.

The airport got some good news earlier this month when American announced it would add a third daily flight in La Crosse and use a larger aircraft for two of the three flights. Kabat said the announcement gives the airport a chance to show there is a robust market for passenger air service.

Were trying to build cases with American Airlines and others to show that we have the demand for more air service here, and the only way we can prove that is by having people get on the airplanes, Kabat said. Please help us fill those planes.

Local businesses have formed an Air Services Work Group. It seeks to:

Raise awareness of air service issues in La Crosse.

Gather data and information for destinations.

Market the airport to leisure and business travelers, especially this spring and summer.

Seek commitments for a minimum revenue guarantee program.

While the announcement of a third American Airlines flight was welcome, it still leaves Chicago as the only direct destination from La Crosse. Delta offered flights to Minneapolis and had offered direct flights to Detroit until January 2022.

Airport business manager J.D. Roberts acknowledged complaints about delays and other issues at Chicagos OHare International but said reconfigurations at OHare are making traffic move better. He also said Americans third flight to Chicago will give passengers more options for connecting flights.

Roberts said airport officials have approached airlines about establishing service to Dallas/Fort Worth. He said there is interest if we make the numbers.

If they can make a dollar, great, Roberts said. If not, theyll move on.

One option is to offer airlines a minimum revenue guarantee. Roberts said other regional airports have made such arrangements work. However, he said federal rules dont allow guarantees to be paid from airport funds.

Kabat said La Crosse used the approach to guarantee Deltas La Crosse service to Detroit. He estimated Delta was guaranteed $50,000 to $100,000 but said a much higher guarantee would be needed to draw a new airline.

Were shooting for $1.5 million, Kabat said.

He said the money could be raised from grants or contributions from the business community. Roberts, in response to a question from the audience, said federal rules allow municipalities to fund the guarantees.

Roberts said La Crosse faces the same challenges as other regional airports across the country.

Some cities have lost all air service altogether, he said. Theyre in a panic. They dont know what to do.

Formation of more than 100 Bonanzas takes off from La Crosse headed for Oshkosh

In Photos: Deke Slayton Airfest
You are here: China

A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson on Thursday refuted the validity of the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line."

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the comments in response to a media query regarding allegations by the U.S. press that China's military planes have constantly crossed the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line."

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China's territory, said Zhang, adding that the so-called "Taiwan Strait's median line" is invalid.

The military training and exercises conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait are legitimate actions to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, Zhang said.

These moves are deterrence and countermeasures against external interference and provocations by "Taiwan independence" forces as well as necessary steps to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Zhang added.

We will continue to intensify military training and preparedness to resolutely safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang said.
With wind gusts battering their signs Friday, educators and union leaders held clipboards and stood against the breeze as colleagues bemoaned the state of funding for the Universities of Wisconsin system.

The United Academic Professionals of the UW-La Crosse union held a rally under the campus clock tower and called upon state legislators and the UW Board of Regents to increase public funding for the states colleges.

Since 2010, state funding has fallen from the UW systems No. 1 source of support to its No. 3 source. State tax support accounts for about 18% of revenue for the Universities of Wisconsin.

These are our choices: A Wisconsin built on a multiracial democracy and the Wisconsin Idea, where every student has access to the best high-quality education, or the lowest possible expectations where universities like UW-L and UW-Green Bay are nothing but glorified job training centers for corporate donors, said Jon Shelton, vice president for the American Federation of Teachers Higher Education Council.

DEI funding deal

On Dec. 13, the UW Board of Regents accepted a deal with the Legislature to release $800 million for pay raises and building projects throughout the system. The funding package was held up by state legislator demands that DEI positions be restructured or eliminated in favor of workforce development programming.

UW President Jay Rothman and Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos brokered the funding deal. It was rejected once by the UW Board of Regents, but later accepted.

Rally speakers voiced frustration with the deal, saying school funds should not be held up by politics and proposals to eliminate extra curricular programs.

We need to get our noses out of DEI issues on campuses and let our students tell us what they want, said state Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse. You know how to do it well; we need to give you the ability and autonomy to do that on campuses.

Prairie Springs Science Center funds denied

Students and educators also brought up grievances about the states inaction in planned improvements at the Prairie Springs Science Center. In March, Republican legislators shot down a capital budget proposal for a second phase of construction at the Science Center that wouldve started construction.

Public institutions are made to serve the public, UW-L student senator Terra Clark said. Legislators often pull funding from the public in favor of personalized political agendas that negatively affect the marginalized members of the public. That, to me, is not a UW system value and not a Wisconsin value.

As the wind raged on, attendees stood their ground and kept speakers rotating through the afternoon. Students passing by stopped to listen in or grab flyers showing them how to get the Fund UW Now, message out to their colleagues.

There are a lot of reasons not to be here with the cold, the wind, the noise and other things. But were still here to show our solidarity and send the message we need to send, said UW-L psychology professor Grace Deason.

UW-L union demands more state funding for university UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding UW-L union demands more government funding
The UW-La Crosse chancellor search committee announced Friday it has selected three finalists for the position, including interim chancellor Betsy Morgan. The candidates will visit UW-L campus next week for community question-and-answer sessions.

James Beeby

James Beeby is the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Keene State College in New Hampshire. He began as provost in August 2021.

Beeby also served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Southern Indiana from 2016-2021. He has worked as a professor and chair at Middle Tennessee State Universitys Department of History.

He earned a doctorate in American culture studies from Bowling Green State University, Ohio in 1991.

Beebys community forum will be held March 4 at UW-L.

Christopher Olsen

Christopher Olsen is the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Indiana State University. He has served both roles since February 2021.

He previously served as dean of Indiana States College of Arts and Sciences from 2016-2021 and chair of its Department of History from 2002-2016. He is an affiliated faculty member in African and African American studies and continues to teach on campus.

Olsen earned a doctorate in United States history from the University of Florida in 1996.

Olsens community forum will be held at March 5 at UW-L.

Betsy Morgan

Betsy Morgan is the interim chancellor at UW-L. Morgan has worked at UW-L since 1993 as a psychology professor, department chair, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Morgan is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association and previously served as president of the Psi Chi International Honor Society. She has authored two textbooks, several peer-reviewed journal articles and presented over 50 conferences across the nation.

She earned her doctorate in social ecology from University of California-Irvine in 1994.

Morgans community forum will be held March 6 at UW-L.

Community forums

All three finalists will take part in question-and-answer forums and a final round of interviews before making a selection recommendation to the UW Board of Regents. Public forums will take place from 1:30-2:30 p.m. each day March 4-6 in Strzelczyk Great Hall in the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center on the UW-L campus.

Forums are open to the public and will be available via video conference for those not able to attend in-person. Live video and more information about the finalists can be found at www.uwlax.edu/search-screen/chancellor.

The Board of Regents is expected to name a new chancellor in late March.
A bill rewriting the tuition reciprocity agreement between Wisconsin and Minnesota will be considered by Gov. Tony Evers after unanimous support from the Senate. The bill would change the hands of negotiating authority and how universities earn tuition differences.

By retaining the Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity Agreement, Wisconsin residents can attend school in Minnesota at in-state tuition rates and vice versa.

The new reciprocity bill would let individual UW campuses keep the differences in tuition earned from Minnesota students.

Students using reciprocity pay the higher of the two in-state tuition rates at the campus they attend. The rate usually ends up being the Minnesota undergraduate rate for both Wisconsin and Minnesota students.

Since Minnesota students end up paying more at Wisconsin schools than Wisconsin students, there is a difference in tuition that needs to be accounted for. Currently, the difference in tuition goes back to Minnesota, with the rest of tuition taken by the Wisconsin General Fund, the states operating budget.

The additional revenue is generated by Minnesota students who have decided to enroll and learn at our schools in Wisconsin, said bill author state Sen. Rob Stafsholt, R-New Richmond. This legislation is an attempt by me to continue to get our fair share out of Madison here in western Wisconsin.

If this bill becomes law, that difference in tuition would instead stay with the campus that accrued the tuition.

For example, in 2020 Wisconsin gathered about $18.6 million in tuition differential. Of that, $11.5 million was deposited in the Wisconsin General Fund, with the rest given back to Minnesota. Under the new bill, the $11.5 million instead would be kept by the UW schools.

Reciprocity students enrolled before July 1 would be grandfathered into the current agreement should the bill pass. In 2022, the tuition differential was $26 million. State deposits and returns to Minnesota are still to be determined.

The bill does not change the reciprocity agreement otherwise. When UW schools control negotiations, Minnesota schools will approve or deny renewing the agreement in those discussions.

The new Senate bill would also hand negotiation authority from the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board to the Universities of Wisconsin.

The individual UW System campuses are impacted by this agreement, so they should be negotiating its provisions, Stafsholt said in a statement.

The proposed bill is supported by three lobbyist groups representing the interests of UW academic staff. It is opposed by the League of Women Voters and noted as neutral by the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The bill was approved by the Wisconsin Senate with 32 yes votes and zero no votes. Evers will have to approve the bill for it to become law.
State Sen. Brad Pfaff and Rep. Jill Billings introduced two new pieces of legislation Thursday to address PFAS contamination in the town of Campbell and across Wisconsin.

Pfaff announced the bill after Gov. Tony Evers voiced opposition to another Senate bill aimed at addressing PFAS.

The proposed bills would start a new approach to releasing PFAS trust fund cash, pay to help fire departments get rid of PFAS firefighting foam, establish groundwater standards for the state and eliminate future use of PFAS in commercial products.

No municipal water system exists on French Island and roughly 1,600 private wells in the town of Campbell have been contaminated by PFAS. Residents have been forced to consume bottled water for more than three years.

In May, legislators approved a $125 million investment to clean up PFAS chemicals throughout the state, but held up spending the money right away. Instead, the money was put into a separate fund that required future bills to release the money.

One of the new bills would release the $125 million to fund new water wells, PFAS testing, provide health care for people affected by PFAS and education to prevent future contamination.

Safe water should not be a partisan issue, Billings said. This should be something we can agree on: Wisconsin families should be drinking water that does not cause cancer and catastrophic illnesses.

The bill also would add $1 million to remove firefighting foam containing PFAS from local fire departments. For departments without substantial funding, buying foam without PFAS can be too expensive. This bill would collect all PFAS-containing foam currently stationed in fire departments and replace it with non-PFAS foam.

Groundwater standards for the state would be established under the bill. By creating new standards for chemicals entering groundwater, the bill elevates the Department of Natural Resources ability to enforce rules on chemical spills.

No future PFAS use

In a separate bill, Billings and Pfaff introduced a phaseout of intentional PFAS use in commercial products. It would prohibit the sale or distribution of products with added PFAS chemicals.

Businesses would have until July 1, 2028, to comply with the ban. Common products that implement PFAS include food packaging, cleaning products, cosmetics and textile furnishings.

Thirty-two unique retail chains in this country with more than 150,000 stores and more than $654 billion in sales have already committed to eliminating and reducing PFAS, Pfaff said. Im happy that the private sector recognizes this and theyre already moving forward.

On Wednesday, the FDA announced grease-proofing substances containing PFAS chemicals are no longer being sold on the market after a voluntary phase out. Paper and cardboard food containers with grease prevention lining are no longer manufactured with PFAS substances.

The state DNR would identify products where PFAS use is unavoidable and exempt them, the authors said. The bill also would have the department test products for PFAS and enforce fines of $100 per product per day.

We deserve better than to have PFAS in our well water and a Legislature not moving forward, Pfaff said. The Legislature should not adjourn and cannot adjourn until we get this done.

Evers threatens veto

Evers said Tuesday he would veto Senate Bill 312, legislation aimed at correcting PFAS contamination, unless compromises were made to strengthen the legislation.

Senate Bill 312 would have changed the states ability to enforce damages from PFAS polluters and did not release the $125 million trust fund for testing and treating PFAS contamination.

The bill also added language that could exempt polluters from DNR spill damages enforcement.

In 1978, Wisconsin passed the Spill Law that holds parties responsible for cleaning up their own spills. It also allowed the DNR to impose fines and further persecution of polluters.

In Senate bill 312, if polluters let the DNR clean up PFAS contamination, the department could not take penal action against the polluter. DNR clean-ups are paid for in state taxpayer dollars.

In Wisconsin, if someone pollutes our water, property and natural resources, Wisconsinites expect them to pay to clean it up. Thats just common sense. Im not signing a bill that lets polluters off the hook for cleaning up their contamination and asks Wisconsin taxpayers to foot the bill. No way, Evers said.

As of Friday afternoon, Evers has not yet vetoed the bill.
As Brie Brown walks into her living room, her roommates give her a tease and ask where shes been all day. Greg Peroulx, one of the roommates, hugs her from the side and lobs one last tease about her being shy in front of the group. Brown maintained that shes not acting strange at all and joined her roommates in the common space to chat.

As things settled down from Browns return, Peroulx headed back into the kitchen to start assembling some lamb chops hes cooking for the house that night. Peroulx boasts about how much hes enjoyed cooking in this house.

I think he can even eat in his sleep, teases Dessie from Chicago, who declined to share his last name due to his involvement with the program. After a half-second pause, the house erupts into laughter.

This is Karuna House, a supportive housing program for people with housing insecurity seeking more permanent solutions for shelter. Tucked into a block of student housing duplexes, the Karuna House currently hosts 10 people at a time.

Residents moved in four months ago. So far, all of the original roster remains in the house. Julie McDermid, director of Karuna Housing, says theyre welcome in the house as long as they need the support.

The no. 1 condition we look at is if a person has been in supportive housing before and didnt do well in that environment, McDermid said. This is permanent supportive housing that addresses long-term problems in a place we can help them as long as possible.

Checking out of Econo Lodge

McDermid and Karuna Inc. started Karuna House after being contracted to run the Econo Lodge hotel supportive housing project in 2021. The Econo Lodge project did not end up as the group hoped it would have.

Originally, Karuna Housing wanted to purchase the Econo Lodge and convert every 2-3 bedrooms into one residential unit each. This would have housed 25 to 40 people full-time.

Instead, the city decided to rent the hotel, leaving the group unable to make room conversions. More than 100 people ended up using the hotel for support every day.

It was a lot for us. It also got blown out of proportion quite a lot, too, McDermid said. We were accused of running an open air drug market, but simultaneously had complaints that the police were always present at the building.

McDermid said the large influx of police calls to the hotel was caused by mental health response procedures. One person racked up 36 police calls to the hotel because a police response was necessary to provide them mental health services. Some responses would take multiple calls with police to coordinate.

The Econo Lodge contract ended in May 2022. In the end, 17 people were fully treated for substance abuse, 52 fled domestic violence and 139 single adults were housed. Nine families with 12 children also received housing support.

While it was a crazy thing, we took a lot of successes out of it as well. We learned that people operate their best when they have personal room to themselves with a lock and key. We also saw that on the flip side, people really want and need connections to friends and a community, McDermid said.

Karuna House now

The new Karuna House takes principles from the Econo Lodge project and runs with them. The house is set up as permanent supportive housing  people can stay as long as they need.

Staff are present in the house 24/7 to assist with everyday tasks, provide access to treatments and connections to other types of support. Staff can even assist in simpler ways such as helping encourage friends to leave when the pressure to party or use substances comes up.

People at Karuna House are not guests. They are full tenants of their rooms and pay rent the same as anyone else. Rent is subsidized at an income-driven rate typical under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rental help program.

Everyone signs a lease with Karuna Housing and begins building rental histories when they enter.

Tenants are also required to do 20 hours of community service every month. They can work extra service hours to earn credit toward rent payments.

People try to say were lazy or say, Get off the streets and get a job you bums, Peroulx said, pretending to kick someone on the floor. The truth is most of us work and have worked no matter where we are.

Roommate solidarity

The Karuna House hosts one of the friendliest living rooms you could find yourself in. Tenants refer to each other as brothers and sisters and treat each other as such.

We all interact together all the time, Dessie said. These are my brothers here. We have our little things, but we do it to look out for each other.

We butt heads sometimes in little spats from time to time, Peroulx added. Like rams. We butt heads so we can smooth it out in the end.

The Karuna duplex is split into two sides: one side for sober tenants and the other for recovering tenants. This split was a request from tenants so they can achieve their housing goals with their own boundaries. Tenants do not have to be sober to live in Karuna House, but they cant use inside the house.

Four months into the project, all of Karunas tenants enjoy the self-fulfillment and responsibility that comes with it. Most work jobs in the community and some are pursuing education that could land them lifelong careers.

Brie Brown is headed to Western Technical College to become a certified nursing assistant. Brown left her family at 18 and moved to Indiana, Minnesota and then La Crosse. Shes pursuing a nursing degree after caring for her foster sister who has cerebral palsy.

I never woke up one day and decided I wanted to be a CNA. I learned it as I went that people really do need care and help, and without us they wouldnt be able to navigate the world. Brown said.

For the tenants, the best part of having a permanent place is the quiet. Outside, there is no place for them to have a moment of peace. Harassment from passersby and other homeless individuals means constant head-turning awareness.

You dont get that place to just think and release the day. You put up with all of this, and you dont even get to go to your head, said tenant Julius Whitedog.

A new roommate

The Karuna House is working to add another bedroom to the house. Both sides of the duplex host one room for office space to coordinate support and intake. McDermid said two offices proved to be redundant and shes revamping one as an additional bedroom.

If we wanted, we could double the amount of people we have living here right now, but thats not something were interested in, McDermid said. People need equal living space to thrive and start on their own again.

Karuna Housing is applying for a rooming license that will allow the organization to host one more person given the square footage of the duplex. A conditional use permit to enable the rooming license will be seen by La Crosses Judiciary & Administration committee March 5.

The waiting list for Karuna House is long, but McDermid hopes adding a bedroom will speed up the wait times for others. She hopes to purchase the duplex in the future and expand to more houses that can serve the same model as this first Karuna House.
Starting Friday, paramedics with the Madison Fire Department will carry another tool to curb opioid addiction: buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.

Paramedics have long used naloxone, or Narcan, to reverse opioid overdoses in people experiencing them. A few years ago, agencies such as Fitch-Rona EMS southwest of Madison started giving kits containing naloxone to patients or families who might later need them.

Now, the Madison Fire Department will administer an initial dose or two of buprenorphine to people having withdrawal symptoms of opioid addiction, including those who just overdosed and received naloxone. Then paramedics will try to connect the people to ongoing outpatient treatment and other services.

Buprenorphine, an ingredient in Suboxone, is one of three medications approved for treating opioid addiction. A synthetic opioid, it can reduce cravings and ease or prevent withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, muscle aches and sweating. The Madison agency will use a pill form that dissolves under the tongue.

The goal of the program is to provide the patient with that initial relief, or improvement in their symptoms, hoping that they will then go to the emergency department with our paramedics to receive a prescription for the medication that they can pick up at any pharmacy, said Dr. Megan Gussick, medical director of Madison Fire Department.

The hope is that this is a bridge to ongoing treatment ... that will hopefully prevent them from having that fatal overdose, Gussick said.

The West Bend Fire Department started carrying buprenorphine in July. Greenfield and the city of Milwaukee have followed suit, Dan Pojar, EMS director for Milwaukee County, said Thursday.

The Madison Fire Department will be the fourth agency in the state to start the program, equipping ambulances, community paramedics and CARES teams with the drug, Gussick said. Community paramedics make home visits to people with complex needs to help prevent unnecessary 911 calls. CARES, or community alternative response emergency services, sends crisis workers instead of law enforcement to mental health emergencies.

Wisconsin had 1,461 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, topping the previous record of 1,427 in 2021. Dane County had 126 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, down from its record of 139 the year before.

In nearly half of fatal overdoses in Dane County, the people who died had an emergency room visit within the past year, according to a review of overdoses in 2022. A third of the time, they had a recent encounter with emergency medical services.

The Madison Fire Departments program to carry buprenorphine is part of a move to address opioid addiction in pre-hospital settings, the department said. The agency said it is also encouraging hospitals to offer buprenorphine in the ER to patients who need it.

Other medications approved to treat opioid use disorder include methadone, also a synthetic opioid that can reduce cravings and prevent withdrawal. Naltrexone, or Vivitrol, an injection taken every four weeks, blocks the effects of opioids in the body.

Use of the drugs, in what is called medication-assisted treatment for addiction, is one of the main ways Wisconsin is spending nearly $40 million it has received in opioid settlement funds or is expected to receive this year. Overall, the state is expected to get more than $740 million by 2038.

Madison has seen some changes in its addiction clinics recently. Monarch Health, which opened in Downtown Madison in September 2020, closed in May.

In June, Arizona-based Community Medical Services, or CMS, opened on East Broadway, north of the Beltline and east of Highway 51. Its one of 28 methadone clinics, or opioid treatment programs, in Wisconsin and among five in Madison. Like the others, it also offers buprenorphine and naltrexone.

Other addiction services providers include NewStart, UnityPoint Health-Meriters addiction treatment program in Madison, and Tellurian Behavioral Health in Monona.
Eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race in college admissions, a conservative Wisconsin law firm is drawing attention to what it says are Universities of Wisconsin programs that continue to consider race in other areas, while the states flagship university says its reviewing programs that might be affected by the courts ruling.

The Wednesday letter from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty says the courts June 29 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, was not limited to admissions but impacts all university policies and programs where race is a factor.

The firm points to 10 programs or scholarships run by the Board of Regents, UW-Madison, UW-Parkside, UW-Whitewater and UW-Green Bay, but says there are likely more.

We call on you to investigate any remaining race-based policies or programs and open them up to all students, regardless of race, says the letter by Daniel Lennington of WILLs Equality Under the Law Project.

UW system spokesperson Mark Pitsch declined to comment on the WILL letter. In January, he told the online news site WisPolitics that the system expected to eliminate race as a factor in most scholarships by the end of the academic year.

UW-Madison spokesperson John Lucas referred questions about the letter to the UW system. Shortly after the courts Harvard ruling, the university said it would remove race as a factor in its admissions process.

UW-Madison political science and law professor Howard Schweber said its not surprising that an anti-affirmative action group such as WILL is trying to promote a maximalist reading of what the court said in the Harvard case that goes beyond just admissions but said the courts decision is murkier than WILL and other such groups let on.

He noted that in the courts decision, Chief Justice John Roberts complicated the issue by insisting that colleges remain free to consider race as an element of a students individual experience and give weight to that experience.

WILLs challenge raises a key question for how the decision is interpreted in other areas in higher education and elsewhere in society, Schweber said: Does the (courts) principle banning race preferences apply only at the point of admission, or does it apply to all programs having to do with educational success and participation?

The point of WILLs letter is to set the table for more litigation on the constitutionality of race-based programs more generally, he said. Lennington in his letter urges UW to complete some of the changes its made since the Harvard decision, saying refusal or delay may result in liability, including federal investigations or lawsuits, under Title VI and other federal civil rights laws.

UW reports 164 race-based programs

Its not clear how many scholarships, grants, study-abroad programs, fellowships and hiring programs in the UW system are awarded at least partly based on race. WisPolitics reported in January that in response to a public records request, the Universities of Wisconsin, not including UW-Madison, identified 164 programs such programs as of Oct. 23.

WisPolitics also asked for the same information from UW-Madison but withdrew the request when the university said it would cost the political news site $1,000 in university staff time to compile the information.

Lucas told the Wisconsin State Journal that the university continues to review programs that could be affected by the Supreme Court ruling and therefore doesnt have a current count to share at this time.

He and Pitsch also could not immediately provide the total number of such programs  ones that take race into account and ones that dont  although Pitsch said that if considering just scholarships and grants, a very rough estimate would be 4,000 to 6,000 across the Universities of Wisconsin, with as many as 1,000 or more duplicated across more than one university.

Race considerations in admissions unpopular

Its not clear if theres been polling conducted to ascertain how Wisconsin residents feel about using race in college admissions or other programs, but national polling shows more opposition to using them in admissions than support.

The Marquette Law School Poll from February found 75% in favor of the Supreme Courts decision in the Harvard case and 25% opposed.

Pew Research Center polling last year before the courts decision found 50% of adult Americans disapprove of selective colleges considering race and ethnicity in admissions decisions. Thirty-three percent approved and 16% were not sure.

The consideration of race in admissions only really comes into play at elite private and state colleges, including UW-Madison, because most colleges are not selective and admit most of their applicants.

Among the programs WILL highlighted are:

The Board of Regents 2024 Diversity Awards, worth $7,500 each to students who are members of historically underrepresented populations (including African American, Native America, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, and Southeast Asian), first-generation and/or economically disadvantaged.

The UW-Madison Kemper-Knapp Fellowship open to students from underrepresented backgrounds, such as students of color and low-income first-generation students.

The UW-Parkside Chase Diversity Scholarship, which states that the recipient must be a student of color and must show evidence of leadership activities.

Photos: UW-Madison's Bakke Recreation and Wellbeing Center
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday rejected Democrats request to toss the states congressional maps after the courts newest liberal justice declined to participate in the case.

The decision marks a win for Republicans, who feared the liberal-controlled court would select new congressional maps to benefit Democrats.

The court order didnt state how each justice voted, but conservative justices Annette Ziegler and Rebecca Bradley both signed onto the decision to reject redrawing the states maps.

While the court rightfully denies this motion, it likely wont be long until the new majority flexes its political power again to advance a partisan agenda despite the damage inflicted on the independence and integrity of the court, Bradley said.

Liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz said she wouldnt participate in the decision since it was requested in a case she hadnt presided over.

Wisconsin Republicans celebrate the demise of Governor Evers latest attempt to throw out his own hand-drawn congressional maps, Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Brian Schimming said in a statement. We look forward to a spirited campaign centered around restoring the economy and shoring up our southern border.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other liberals encouraged the justices to revisit the congressional maps it selected in 2022 since it recently overturned the rationale for choosing those maps.

The challenged congressional maps, drawn by Evers, were enacted two years ago after a court battle triggered by the governors unwillingness to sign into law any maps passed by the GOP-led Legislature.

Taking charge of the states redistricting process, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which had a conservative majority at the time, asked for new map submissions. But in doing so, the court set a least-change standard, which called for boundaries with as few changes as possible from the prior set of maps.

That earlier set of maps had strengthened Republicans majority in the 7th Congressional District in northern Wisconsin while giving Democrats a boost in the 3rd Congressional District in western Wisconsin. Republicans passed the maps through the Legislature in 2011 without receiving any Democratic votes, and Republican former Gov. Scott Walker signed them into law.

Because the court in 2021 called for congressional maps similar to the previous set, Evers was unable to draw the boundaries Democrats likely would have preferred.

Still, the high court in 2022 chose his congressional maps, which increased the number of competitive districts from one to two. Six of the states eight congressional districts under those maps are held by Republicans. The boundaries heavily favor the GOP, according to the redistricting analysis site PlanScore.

A year after the high court chose Evers maps, though, liberals took control of Supreme Court and shortly after rejected the least-change approach used in the prior redistricting case, saying the standard could run afoul of other legal requirements that must be met in the redistricting process.

We cannot allow a judicially-created metric, not derived from the constitutional text, to supersede the constitution, liberal Justice Jill Karofsky said in overruling the approach in December.

Karofsky also noted that the justices who created the approach never reached a consensus on what least-change meant in practice, adding that the concept amounted to little more than an unclear assortment of possible redistricting metrics.

After that decision, liberals asked the court to reject the states congressional maps since they were selected under the least-change approach. Fridays decision all but guarantees the current congressional maps will remain in place for the 2024 election.

On X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Evers said, I signed fair maps for Wisconsin last week to end a decade of us living under some of the most gerrymandered legislative maps in America, so Im disappointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Courts decision not to review our congressional maps to make sure those are fair, too.

Today in history: March 1 1932: Charles A. Lindbergh Jr 1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1971: Weather Underground 1974: John D. Ehrlichman 2005: Dennis Rader 2010: Jay Leno 2012: Andrew Breitbart 2012: Martin OMalley 2015: Boris Nemtsov 2017: Ryan Zinke 2021: Carlos Ghosn 2021: Vernon Jordan
Gov. Tony Evers on Friday vetoed a Republican-authored measure aimed at dramatically expanding Wisconsins second income tax bracket.

The Democratic governor also vetoed two related measures to expand the states marriage income tax credit and exempt up to $75,000 in retirement income from state taxes. Republicans passed the bills last month, which they touted as a way to attract and retain residents in the state, but Democratic lawmakers argued they were fiscally irresponsible.

Evers has rejected two similar GOP-authored tax cuts. In a statement Friday, the governor pointed to previous tax cuts he has supported, including a more than $2 billion cut he approved when he signed the 2021-23 biennial budget.

When we deliver tax relief for the people of Wisconsin  just as we have  it should be real relief aimed at helping Wisconsins working families afford rising costs, and it should be responsible and sustainable, ensuring we can keep taxes low now and into the future without causing devastating cuts to priorities like public schools and public safety down the road, Evers said. Republican members of the Wisconsin State Legislature today once again fail to balance these important obligations.

Evers did not take action on a fourth proposal, which would increase tax credits to $10,000 for one child or dependent or $20,000 for two or more children or dependents. Under the proposal, annual tax revenues would go down by about $73 million in 2024, or $656 per person, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Evers has hinted he may sign the measure, which passed the state Assembly and Senate with bipartisan support.

Legislative Republicans unveiled the series of tax cuts earlier this year. Currently, those earning between $14,320 and $28,640 as an individual (or $19,090 and $38,190 as joint filers) are taxed at a rate of 4.4%. Under Assembly Bill 1020, the brackets rate would have expanded to individuals making up to $112,500 and joint filers making up to $150,000.

Those making between $60,000 and $70,000 would have saved an average of $189, while Wisconsinites making between $250,000 and $300,000 would have saved an average of $965, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Thats because Wisconsinites with incomes outside of the proposed tax bracket would still be paying lower taxes on the amount covered by the modified bracket.

The average Wisconsinite would have paid $454 less in taxes under the proposal, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, but the amount varies depending on income.

The governor, through the power of his veto pen, has yet again proven he does not want to see meaningful tax relief for retirees on fixed incomes, Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, said in a statement. This veto is not only a slap in the face to our parents and grandparents, it keeps Wisconsin at a disadvantage when they are looking for where to retire.

Democratic lawmakers have largely opposed the tax cut proposal, arguing those state funds could be better used elsewhere, such as additional aid to child care centers.

In his veto message, Evers wrote that he was striking the bill because I object to fiscally irresponsible measures that would leave the State of Wisconsin unable to meet its basic obligations to adequately fund education, health care, public safety and aid to local governments in the 2025-27 biennium and beyond.

Evers also vetoed:

, which would have removed taxes on up to $75,000 in retirement income from, for example, 401(k) accounts and pension funds for individuals 67 or older. For couples, the first $150,000 in retirement earnings would be exempt. The average Wisconsinite would have saved $1,582 under the proposal in 2024, while tax revenue for the state would have dropped by about $466 million, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

, which would have expanded the marriage income tax credit from $480 to $870. The average couple would have saved $338 under that proposal, according to a fiscal bureau analysis, and it would have reduced the states overall tax revenue by about $160 million in 2024.

Even more concerning is the Governors disregard for Wisconsins seniors, who stood to gain significant relief from the proposed tax cut, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a statement. By ignoring their needs and prioritizing political posturing over practical solutions, Governor Evers is failing to fulfill his promise to return the surplus to Wisconsins families and seniors.

Evers said the three bills would reduce state revenue to the point that the state would potentially be forced to dip into its budget stabilization fund, a rainy day fund to be used in times of emergency. The fund sat at about $1.8 billion, the largest in state history, at the close of last fiscal year, according to the state Department of Administration.

In November, Evers vetoed a Republican proposal to reduce the income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.4% for people in the states third tax bracket, a vast category covering individuals earning between $28,640 and $420,420 a year and married filers earning between $38,190 and $405,000. He vetoed the same proposal when he signed the state budget in July.

In July 2021, as Evers approached a November race for his second term in office, which he ultimately won, the governor signed the states GOP-authored budget, which included more than $2 billion in income tax cuts.

The proposed tax cut brought down the income tax rate from 6.27% to 5.3% for individuals who made between about $24,000 and $263,000 a year, or married filers who made between $32,000 and $351,000.

Today in history: March 1 1932: Charles A. Lindbergh Jr 1945: Franklin D. Roosevelt 1971: Weather Underground 1974: John D. Ehrlichman 2005: Dennis Rader 2010: Jay Leno 2012: Andrew Breitbart 2012: Martin OMalley 2015: Boris Nemtsov 2017: Ryan Zinke 2021: Carlos Ghosn 2021: Vernon Jordan
Lake Geneva officials have put the brakes on a land annexation petition for a proposed development.

Members of the Lake Geneva City Council voted down, Feb. 12, a proposal to send a petition to annex about 2.42 acres of land in the town of Bloomfield to the Lake Geneva Plan Commission for review.

The proposal was voted down by a 6-1 vote with Alderwoman Joan Yunker voting yes.

Representatives from Basso Builders, Inc. had requests that the property, which is located near Wells and Mobile streets, be annexed from the town of Bloomfield into the city of Lake Geneva for a proposed residential development.

The development was set to include seven two-family residential units, for a total of 14 units. The property wouldve had to be zoned for a two-family residential development in order for the buildings to be constructed.

Joshua Basso of Basso Builders in Lake Geneva first presented plans for the proposed development last October.

Several residents who live in the area of Wells Street and Mobile Street have expressed concerns regarding the proposed development including increased traffic, flooding and strain on city services.

If the Feb. 12 proposal was approved, the annexation petition would have been referred to the Plan Commission members for review and recommendation, and then the annexation would have been voted on by the City Council.

The Plan Commission would sent it back and say, Yes, its a good idea to annex the property, and then you would have to pass an ordinance by a two-thirds vote, City Attorney Dan Draper told the council members.

Alderwoman Mary Jo Fesenmaier proposed that the council not approve referring the petition to the Plan Commission until the residents concerns regarding the property have been addressed.

Just put the brakes on it for now, Fesenmaier said. It doesnt mean its completely done but there needs to be items addressed before we even talk about annexation. This is not something that has to happen, so dont feel pressured into it. I think its not a good idea at this time.

Alderwoman Linda Frame said she also does not want to refer the annexation petition to the Plan Commission when there has been concerns with flooding in that area.

Ive walked that area of that parcel. I wouldnt let my dog walk out there because its too mushy, Frame said. So I dont understand why were sending this to the Plan Commission at all. We just need to stop it.

Alderman Tim Dunn does not want to consider annexing the property into Lake Geneva until flooding and other issues have been addressed.

Im afraid by annexing this property, were annexing a problem with the wetlands, Dunn said. I think we should settle all of that before we even annex it. That could be a legal problem some time down the road for us.

Draper told the council members that if the property is not annexed into Lake Geneva then town of Bloomfield officials would be able to decide how it is used.

Its your choice whether you annex it or not annex it, Draper said. Thats your decision to make, but you better understand what the consequences are if you dont annex it.

Residents express concerns

Several residents who live in the area of Wells Street and Mobile Street expressed concerns regarding the property and proposed development during the City Council meeting.

Mary Ann Zwiebel of Lake Geneva said she is concerned that the development would increase water drainage issues and traffic issues in that area.

She feels many motorists already travel too fast in that area, which has a posted 25-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Getting out on Wells Street now is like taking your life in your hands as people go racing out there, Zwiebel said. Truthfully, I wonder how many people are going 25 miles per hour on Wells Street as they are going out towards the high school.

Terrie Mess of Lake Geneva also feels the development would increase traffic and water runoff in that area. She feels officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources should study the property to determine if it could be considered a wetland area.

Its a bowl that is very soggy back there and we already have issues in our neighborhood with wet basements and flooded roads, Mess said.

Michelle Peetz of Lake Geneva is concerned that the development would increase traffic concerns and put a strain on city services.

I feel the property is really being planned for over development. Its a strain on our local infrastructure as far as the traffic from Wells Street going onto Mobile Street, Peetz said. The developer wishes to use Mobile Street as a through way which will increase our traffic issues even more. This impacts Mobile Street homeowners tremendously because theres already limited options for ingress and egress on the street.

Barry Mess of Lake Geneva is concerned that the development would be used by short-term rental property owners.

You guys dont have a handle on short-term rentals and theres no way you guys are guaranteed that when thats annexed and developed that it does not become short-term rental property, unless it is in writing, Mess said. Until you get a handle on short-term rentals, annexation should not be considered.
Frontier fields such as life sciences, artificial intelligence, quantum science, astronomy and energy were celebrated Thursday when the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) released the country's top 10 science advances in 2023.

The use of AI models for enhanced precision in forecasting weather was highlighted by the annual list.

Huawei's Pangu model demonstrated high precision compared to traditional numerical prediction methods for forecasts, which could take anywhere from an hour to a week, and its prediction speed is 10,000 times faster.

Also among the advances was the precise energy spectrum for the highest-energy gamma-ray radiation from the brightest gamma-ray burst observed to date, captured by China's Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), a high-altitude cosmic ray observatory.

In life science, the list included how certain elements with viral origins in our genomes become awakened and contribute to the aging process; how DNA's unzipping machine works; how light suppresses blood sugar metabolism; the precise integration of large DNA sequences in plant genomes; as well as the discovery of a "tangible" biological clock in the brain and a key gene in a crop that might substantially improve yields from alkaline soil.

The advances also included the extension of the quantum information's storage time and the chemical reaction processes in lithium-sulfur batteries.

The NSFC is a major source of funding in China for basic research and frontier exploration. More than 2,100 experts, including over 430 Chinese academicians, voted on the results.

About 45 percent of researchers attached to the studies are aged less than 45, revealing that young scientists have become a driving force in China's basic research, according to the NSFC.

Some achievements were contributed by enterprises including Huawei and Qi-Biodesign Biotechnology, which reflected the increasingly important role that firms are playing in innovation.

In an interview with Xinhua, the NSFC announced new measures to extend funding for outstanding undergraduates to conduct pilot project basic research, and to offer long-term funding for excellent researchers with a maximum of nearly 30 million yuan (4.17 million U.S. dollars) over a 15-year period.

The foundation also vowed to establish a global fund for science projects between Chinese and overseas scientists, and support overseas scientists to work in China on a long-term basis, in a bid to build a platform for international cooperation in basic research.
China has increased the number of nursery care slots per 1,000 people to nearly 3.4 and is promoting the formulation of a national law on child care services as part of efforts to improve its fertility support system, health officials said this week.

Li Bin, vice-minister of the National Health Commission, said the central government has devoted more than 5 billion yuan ($700 million) to support the establishment of affordable nursery care facilities across the country since a key guideline was released in July 2022.

China has around 100,000 nursery care facilities, providing about 4.8 million nursery care slots.

By the end of September, the number of nursery care slots per 1,000 had reached 3.36, compared with 2.5 by the end of 2022, Li told a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Thursday.

The goal is to raise the number to 4.5 by next year,

Policies to encourage births and reduce the costs of giving birth and rearing and educating children have been hot topics among policy advisers and legislators ahead of the two sessions  China's largest annual political event  which will open on Monday.

Li added that the threshold for special additional personal income tax deductions for taking care of children under age 3 has been raised from 1,000 to 2,000 yuan a month.

"Twenty-one provinces are exploring issuing child care subsidies," he said. "Meanwhile, a large number of regions have extended the length of maternity leave to at least 158 days."

Yang Jinrui, deputy director of the commission's department of population surveillance and family development, told a news conference on Wednesday said that it is advancing the inclusion of a law on nursery care services in the legislative plans of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature.

The commission has laid out standards to regulate the establishment, management and official registration of nursery care facilities, as well as several guidelines for offering standard services.

Commission spokesman Mi Feng said that by the end of last year, the infant mortality rate in the nation had dropped to 4.5 per 1,000 live births.

The mortality rate of children under 5 had dropped to 6.2 per 1,000, and the maternal mortality rate had dropped to 15.1 per 100,000.
On a recent cold winter night in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, long lines of people began to form in a public parking area. The crowd was gathering for the arrival of cheesemaker Pantelis Panteli and the load of Halloumi he had for sale.

Panteli is a relative newcomer to the tradition of Halloumi-making. He had a career as a pilot with Cyprus Airways until 2013, He lost the job as the former company started closing down. Panteli decided to try a very different line of work: cheese-making. The man had found his new career.

But, now the newcomer has become an unlikely defender of traditional cheese-making for Cyprus's prized Halloumi.

The European Union named Halloumi a product of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in 2021. That means that only approved producers from Cyprus can market the cheese under that name. In exchange for the PDO, Cyprus agreed to increase the quantity of ewe or goat milk to just over 50 percent by July 2024.

But Cypriot farmers are protesting the agreement over a dispute about the ingredients. Industry stakeholders say ewe and goat's milk is highly seasonal, and could therefore affect production levels. Cheese makers had threatened to shut their operations because there was not enough milk. And cattle-raising farmers were angered at the threat to the milk cow market.

So Cyprus officials now plan to delay the agreement to 2029.

Halloumi debate

Soft, rubbery Halloumi can be eaten raw. There are also many ways to cook it --- over a fire or heated in liquid or oil. The cheese keeps its shape well in cooking. It is a popular food and the island's second largest export. Medicines are first.

But there is a dispute within Cyprus about what makes true Halloumi cheese. Should it be made from cows milk which has a mellower taste? Or should it be made from goat and ewe milk, as traditionalists argue?

Panteli started making Halloumi with guidance from a family member. "It was all trial and error with a small pot, then a bigger pot - and just like Steve Jobs - in our garage," he said.

He uses ewes milk to make his Halloumi. He cooks the milk in rennet which thickens the liquid to a solid form called a curdle. After resting, curdles are cut and reheated. Panteli adds salt and puts them in a solution called brine for a few hours. Then, they are done and he prepares for market.

Panteli only has a permit to sell directly to consumers. And he is limited to producing 150 liters of milk a day.

But his product is popular. He makes videos on TikTok and the social media service X to let people know where to find him. He usually sells all his cheese within two hours of opening sales.

"Nobody is making the real thing anymore, and that is our aim," Panteli said. He spoke to the Reuters news agency while standing near about 300 noisy sheep at his farm west of Nicosia.

But some farmers on the Mediterranean island say that Pantelis method is not workable for all.

Nicos Papakyriakou is head of the organization that represents cow farmers. He said that based on an older 1985 trade agreement, Halloumi cheese is made out of not only goat and ewes' milk but cows' milk as well.

He says the mellow taste of cows' milk has permitted Halloumi to capture overseas markets. "The PDO says it should smell like a farm," he said. He questioned if people would buy it if it smelled like goats!

Im Caty Weaver.

Michelle Kambas reported this story for Reuters. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English.

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Words in This Story

ingredient - n. things that are used to make a food product

stakeholder - n. person or business that invests money in something

mellow - adj. having a pleasing flavor

garage - n. part of a building in which a car is kept

rennet - n. a substance used in cheese-making to separate milk into curdles

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services


Our story today is called The Open Boat. It was written by Stephen Crane and is based on what really happened to him in eighteen ninety-six.

Crane was traveling from the United States to Cuba as a newspaper reporter. One night, his ship hit a sandbar. It sank in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida. Most of the people on board got into lifeboats. Crane was among the last to leave. There were three others with him: the ships captain, the cook, and a sailor.

These four men climbed into the only remaining lifeboat. The boat was so small that no one believed it could stay afloat for very long. None of the four men thought he would ever reach the shore. But the men fought the seas bravely, with all their strength. Would they finally reach land? Here is Shep ONeal with the first part of the story.

The small lifeboat bounced from wave to wave in the rough seas of the Atlantic. The four men in the boat could not see the sky. The waves rose too high.

The waves with their white tops pushed at the open boat with angry violence. Every man thought each wave would be his last. Surely, the boat would sink and he would drown. The men thought that most adults would need a bathtub larger than the boat they were sailing. The waves were huge, and each created a problem in guiding the direction of the boat.

For two days, since the ship sank, the four men had been struggling to reach land. But there was no land to be seen. All the men saw were violent waves which rose and came fiercely down on them.

The men sat in the boat, wondering if there was any hope for them. The ships cook sat in the bottom of the boat. He kept looking at the fifteen centimeters which separated him from the ocean.

The boat had only two wooden oars. They were so thin  it seemed as if they would break against the waves. The sailor, named Billie, directed the boats movement with one of the oars. The newspaper reporter pulled the second oar. He wondered why he was there in the boat.

The fourth man was the captain of the ship that had sunk. He lay in the front of the small boat. His arm and leg were hurt when the ship sank. The captains face was sad. He had lost his ship and many of his sailors. But he looked carefully ahead, and he told Billie when to turn the boat.

Keep her a little more south, Billie, he said.

A little more south, sir, the sailor repeated.

Sitting in the boat was like sitting on a wild horse. As each wave came, the boat rose and fell, like a horse starting toward a fence too high to jump. The problem was that after successfully floating over one wave you find that there is another one behind it just as strong and ready to flood your boat.

As each wall of water came in, it hid everything else that the men could see. The waves came in silence; only their white tops made threatening noises.

In the weak light, the faces of the men must have looked gray. Their eyes must have shone in strange ways as they looked out at the sea. The sun rose slowly into the sky. The men knew it was the middle of the day because the color of the sea changed from slate gray to emerald green, with gold lights. And the white foam on the waves looked like falling snow.

As the lifeboat bounced from the top of each wave, the wind tore through the hair of the men. As the boat dropped down again the water fell just past them. The top of each wave was a hill, from which the men could see, for a brief period, a wide area of shining sea.

The cook said the men were lucky because the wind was blowing toward the shore. If it started blowing the other way, they would never reach land. The reporter and the sailor agreed. But the captain laughed in a way that expressed humor and tragedy all in one. He asked: Do you think weve got much of a chance now, boys?

This made the others stop talking. To express any hope at this time they felt to be childish and stupid. But they also did not want to suggest there was no hope. So they were silent.

Oh, well, said the captain, Well get ashore all right.

But there was something in his voice that made them think, as the sailor said: Yes, if this wind holds!

Seagulls flew near and far. Sometimes the birds sat down on the sea in groups, near brown seaweed that rolled on the waves. The anger of the sea was no more to them than it was to a group of chickens a thousand miles away on land. Often the seagulls came very close and stared at the men with black bead-like eyes. The men shouted angrily at them, telling them to be gone.

The sailor and the reporter kept rowing with the thin wooden oars. Sometimes they sat together, each using an oar. Sometimes one would pull on both oars while the other rested. Brown pieces of seaweed appeared from time to time. They were like islands, bits of earth that did not move. They showed the men in the boat that it was slowly making progress toward land.

Hours passed. Then, as the boat was carried to the top of a great wave, the captain looked across the water.

He said that he saw the lighthouse at Mosquito Inlet. The cook also said he saw it. The reporter searched the western sky.

See it? said the captain.

No, said the reporter slowly, I dont see anything.

Look again, said the captain. He pointed. Its exactly in that direction.

This time the reporter saw a small thing on the edge of the moving horizon. It was exactly like the point of a pin.

Think well make it, captain? he asked.

If this wind holds and the boat doesnt flood, we cant do much else, said the captain.

It would be difficult to describe the brotherhood of men that was here established on the sea. Each man felt it warmed him. They were a captain, a sailor, a cook and a reporter. And they were friends. The reporter knew even at the time that this friendship was the best experience of his life.

All obeyed the captain. He was a good leader. He always spoke in a low voice and calmly.

I wish we had a sail, he said, to give you two boys a chance to rest. So they used his coat and one of the oars to make a sail and the boat moved much more quickly.

The lighthouse had been slowly growing larger. At last, from the top of each wave the men in the boat could see land. Slowly, the land seemed to rise from the sea. Soon, the men could see two lines, one black and one white.

They knew that the black line was formed by trees, and the white line was the sand. At last, the captain saw a house on the shore. And the lighthouse became even larger.

The keeper of the lighthouse should be able to see us now, said the captain. Hell notify the life-saving people.

Slowly and beautifully, the land rose from the sea. The wind came again. Finally, the men heard a new sound  the sound of waves breaking and crashing on the shore.

Well never be able to make the lighthouse now, said the captain. Swing her head a little more north, Billie.

A little more north, sir, said the sailor.

The men watched the shore grow larger. They became hopeful. In an hour, perhaps, they would be on land. The men struggled to keep the boat from turning over.

They were used to balancing in the boat. Now they rode this wild horse of a boat like circus men. The water poured over them.

The reporter thought he was now wet to the skin. But he felt in the top pocket of his coat and found eight cigars. Four were wet, but four were still dry. One of the men found some dry matches. Each man lit a cigar. The four men sailed in their boat with the belief of a rescue shining in their eyes. They smoked their big cigars and took a drink of water.

Please come back next week for the second and final part of this story.

Quiz - The Open Boat by Stephen Crane, Part One Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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For Teachers

This lesson plan, based on the CALLA Approach, teaches the strategy, selective attention, to help students understand Stephen Crane's story, The Open Boat.

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Words in This Story

lifeboat - n. a small boat that is carried on a ship and that is used for saving the lives of the passengers and crew if the ship sinks

seaweed - n. a type of plant that grows in the sea

oar - n. a long pole that is flat and wide at one end and that is used for rowing and steering a boat

ashore - adv. on or to the shore of an ocean, sea, lake, or river

brotherhood - n. feelings of friendship, support, and understanding between people

Now it's your turn. Write a comment on this story, using some of the words above.
There was a time when activists and reporters in Cuba had to speak in code or meet in European embassies to avoid government observation.

Now, the internet and encrypted messaging services offers some assistance. But as technology has made private communicating easier, Havana has found ways to interfere with, or block, messages.

Cubas independent reporters take care to protect their phones so they do not go into the hands of officials. If government agents seize an individuals phone, they will search through its data for evidence of wrongdoing.

The Cuban Institute for Freedom of Expression and Press, or ICLEP, says it documented at least 210 incidents of internet restriction cases in the country in 2023.

Those restrictions can include cutting internet access, blocking social media sites, or hacking the accounts of reporters or the media websites they work for, the ICLEP report found.

Normando Hernandez is founder and director general of Miami, Florida-based ICLEP. He said the government tries to silence independent journalists."

"It is historically well known that the Cuban state listens and spies on all the conversations it wants to," Hernandez said. "Cubans have no way to defend themselves against any breach of their rights."

Reporter Henry Constantin says his internet was cut suddenly after La Hora de Cuba, the media site for which he works, began criticizing the Cuban government.

La Hora de Cuba is published on Facebook and Instagram. Its team of 15 reporters has an audience of between 46,000 and 48,000 on social media.

Constantin says disconnecting journalists telephone lines or internet access is designed to limit free speech. Hernandez said the government controls all access to digital expression.

Havana controls the Cuban telecommunications company ETECSA, which controls all digital communications on the island.

Access to the network for users represents both a threat to Havana and an instrument of control for officials. But with that control, said Hernandez, officials can easily "cut communication in general at historically important moments  or when something is happening in the island of interest to Cuban society."

That appears to be the case with Constantin.

In 2021, he was detained for 10 days for public disorder after reporting on demonstrations against the government over food shortages and medicinal problems.

ICLEP has documented digital harassment since 2016.

In 2021, the activity was especially strong. ICLEP documented 1,129 violations of freedom of expression that year. During that year, protests against the Cuban government and Communist Party were the biggest since the 1959 revolution.

Prisoners Defenders International is a Spain-based human rights group. It said Cubas government has been spying on reporters and activists for many years. Javier Larrondo is president of Prisoners Defenders. He said the government monitors text messages for sensitive words.

Using encrypted services like WhatsApp or Telegram is not always enough. When reporters or opposition activists are arrested, their phones are always seized and the memory inspected by experts.

"As such, it is essential never to go out with a mobile phone but to leave it at home, hidden." Or to go out with a second phone without memory, he said.

Im Dan Novak.

Graham Keeley wrote this story for Voice of America. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

code  n. a set of letters, numbers, symbols, etc., that is used to secretly send messages to someone

encrypted  adj. to change from one form to another especially to hide its meaning

access  n. a way of being able to use or get something

hack  v. to secretly get access to the files on a computer or network in order to get information, cause damage, etc.

breach  v. a failure to do what is required by a law, an agreement, or a duty : failure to act in a required or promised way

harass  v. to annoy or bother in a constant or repeated way

essential  adj. extremely important and necessary
The U.S. Army recently announced new structuring plans for its forces. The plans involve cutting many unfilled jobs after hiring efforts failed to bring in enough soldiers to fill all job openings.

The Army is cutting about 24,000, or almost 5 percent, of jobs, and restructuring to be better prepared for the future.

The cuts will mainly be in already-unoccupied jobs  not soldiers. These include jobs related to counterinsurgency. Those jobs grew in number during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. About 3,000 of the cuts would come from Army special operations forces.

However, the new plan will add about 7,500 troops in other missions. These include air-defense and counter-drone units and five new task forces around the world with increased cyber-, intelligence and long-distance strike capabilities.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said she and General Randy George, the Army chief, reduced the number of openings.

Were moving away from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. We want to be postured for large-scale combat operations, Wormuth told reporters recently. So, we looked at where were there pieces of force structure that were probably more associated with counterinsurgency, for example, that we dont need anymore.

George added that Army leaders did a lot of careful study to choose the places to cut.

The things that we want to not have in our formation are actually things that we dont think are going to make us successful on the battlefield going forward, he said.

An Army document said the cuts are spaces not faces, and the Army will not be asking soldiers to leave the force.

Instead, the decision reflects the reality that for years the Army has not been able to fill thousands of empty jobs. While the Army can have up to 494,000 soldiers, the total number of active-duty soldiers right now is about 445,000. Under the new plan, the goal is to bring in enough troops over the next five years to reach a level of 470,000.

The measures come after more than 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan forced the Army to change. The changes included counterinsurgency forces to fight al-Qaida, the Taliban, and the Islamic State group.

The militarys attention has moved to great power competition from countries such as China and Russia, and threats from Iran and North Korea. The war in Ukraine has shown the need for greater attention to air-defense systems and the latest ways to use and to counter drones in the air and in the sea.

Army leaders said they looked carefully at all the services job specialties in search of places to cut. They examined the ongoing effort to modernize the Army with new high-technology weapons and to make decisions about additional forces.

The changes are partly a result of the recruiting problems all military services are facing.

In the last U.S. government budget year, which ended September 30, the Navy, Army, and Air Force all failed to meet their recruitment goals. The Marine Corps and the very small Space Force did meet their goals. The Army recruited a little over 50,000 soldiers, falling short of the publicly stated goal of 65,000.

Im John Russell.

Lolita C. Baldor reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

counterinsurgency  n. action by an army, etc., against people who are fighting to take control of a government

cyber prefix related to computers, computer networks and securing the information on them

posture  v. to position

formation  n. an arrangement of people, ships, or airplanes

drone n. a vehicle that is operated remotely which has no pilot or driver

recruit  v. to find suitable people and get them to join the armed forces
WASHINGTON  U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts and 3rd District Rep. Adrian Smith have introduced legislation to rename the Lexington Postal Service Building as the Bill Barrett Post Office Building to honor the former 3rd District congressman.

The bill is also supported by Sen. Deb Fischer and Reps. Mike Flood and Don Bacon.

A Lexington native, William E. Barrett represented Nebraskas 3rd Congressional District for 10 years from 1991-2001. The Lexington Postal Service Building is located at 203 E. Sixth St.

During his service in the Legislature and later in Congress, Bill Barrett always put Nebraskans first, Ricketts said He was also a friend and adviser to me and so many other leaders. His legacy should be honored. Through this legislation, I hope to see the Lexington Post Office renamed in commemoration of his years of public service to Nebraska and our country.

Known for his ability to cultivate consensus and connect with anyone, Bill Barretts legacy is put best in his own words, Service to others is the best work of life, Smith said. Today, the 3rd District leads the nation in agriculture production, owing no small thanks to his work on issues important to Nebraskas farmers and ranchers. He set a lasting standard of statesmanship for all who look to his example, and I thank my fellow delegation members for joining me in this effort to memorialize his impact on our state.

Whether serving as a member of the U.S. Navy, speaker of the Unicameral, or a U.S. congressman, Rep. Barrett dedicated his life to helping others  a relentless fighter for his district and for Nebraska. Im proud to co-lead this legislation to honor his legacy of public service, said Fischer.

From the Navy to the Unicameral to the halls of Congress, Bill Barretts life was devoted to public service. As former speakers of the Nebraska Unicameral, he and I shared a special bond, said Flood. During Barretts decade in the House, he was an advocate for Nebraska agriculture who helped author the Farm Bill. Naming the Lexington post office after him is one small way we can honor his legacy, and Im grateful to Congressman Smith for leading the charge to get this done.

Bill Barrett faithfully served the great state of Nebraska first in the Unicameral where he rose to be speaker of the Legislature and then as a Member of Congress, said Bacon. As a Member of the Agriculture Committee, he helped to write the Freedom to Farm Act of 1996, which revised and simplified direct payment programs for crops and eliminated milk price supports through direct government purchases. He also served our great nation in the Navy. I am honored to support the naming of a post office in his honor.
Some well-known presidential candidates and some less familiar ones will appear on Nebraskas May 14 primary ballot, according to Secretary of State Bob Evnen.

On Tuesday, he listed the names of candidates for all political parties recognized in the state. They are:

Republican Party: Nikki Haley, Perry Johnson (by petition) and Donald J. Trump

Democratic Party: Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Dean Phillips

Libertarian Party: Charles Ballay, Jacob Hornberger, Lars Mapstead, Chase Russell Oliver, Michael Rectenwald and Mike ter Maat

Legal Marijuana NOW Party: No recognized candidates but interested individuals can petition onto the ballot.

State law requires presidential candidates to be put on the ballot if supporters present a petition to include them or if the Secretary of State determines that they are generally advocated or recognized as candidates in national news media throughout the United States.

Evnen said partisan presidential candidates have until March 14 to petition to be added to the primary ballot. Currently listed candidates who want to remove their names have until March 11 to file an affidavit with the Secretary of States Office. The ballot is to be certified on March 22.

Robert F. Kennedy, who made a stop in Lincoln in December as part of his effort to collect signatures to get on the ballot as an independent presidential candidate, does not have to compete in May's primary. Kennedy needs to collect 2,500 signatures by Aug. 1 to appear on Nebraska's general election ballot in November.
An amendment to China's criminal law, which strengthens criminal penalties for offering bribes and corruption in private firms, took effect on Friday.



Amendment XII to the Criminal Law adds seven serious offenses related to bribery, such as repeatedly offering bribes and offering bribes to more than one person, among others.

According to the amendment, offering bribes to those involved in the country's key work areas, major national projects or programs, as well as those in the fields of organization and personnel affairs, discipline and law enforcement, justice, food and medicine, and education, constitute severe offenses, said Ma Yan of China's Supreme People's Court.

Enterprise staffers engaging in the same type of business illegally, profiting unlawfully for friends and relatives, and converting companies' assets to shares at a low price or selling them at a low price for personal gain are now classified as criminal offenses.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, adopted the amendment in December 2023.
The US has produced the biggest ever man-made explosion so far in the Pacific archipelago of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands.

It is believed the hydrogen bomb was up to 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.

It was so violent that it overwhelmed the measuring instruments, indicating that the bomb was much more powerful than scientists had anticipated.

The 15 megaton bomb delivered a force far more powerful than expected.

One of the atolls has been totally vaporised, disappearing into a gigantic mushroom cloud that spread at least 100 miles wide and dropping back to the sea in the form of radioactive fall-out.

The Atomic Energy Commission announced this was the first in a series of tests to be carried out in the area.

Tests first began in Bikini in 1946 after the natives were moved to the island of Rongerik, then to Ujelan a year later and to Kili in 1949.

This is the second H-bomb test in the area.

A 10.4 megaton bomb was exploded on 1 November 1952 at Enewatak, west of Bikini.

It destroyed one island and left a crater 175 feet deep.

It was hundreds of times more powerful than that used over Hiroshima.

Unlike that device which tapped energy by splitting atomic nuclei, the Enewetak weapon forced together nuclei of hydrogen to unleash an even greater destructive force.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The 1954 Bikini bomb was the biggest man-made explosion until the USSRs 50-megaton test in 1961.

Three weeks after the Bikini bomb it emerged that a Japanese fishing boat, called Lucky Dragon, was within 80 miles (129 km) of the test zone at the time. Its 23 crew were severely affected by radiation sickness.

They were among 264 people accidentally exposed to radiation because the explosion and fall-out had been far greater than expected.

The original natives were granted $325,000 in compensation and returned to Bikini in 1974. But they were evacuated four years later when new tests showed high levels of residual radioactivity in the region.

Twenty-three nuclear tests were carried out at Bikini between 1946 and 1958.
Prosecutors in Thailand announced this week they will indict a former national police chief on charges of impeding legal action against an heir to the Red Bull energy drink fortune who was accused of killing a Bangkok police officer in a 2012 hit-and-run.

Several government officials and police officers have been accused of a conspiracy to help Vorayuth Boss Yoovidhya escape justice by fleeing abroad in a case widely held up as an example of how the rich and well-connected enjoy impunity in Thailand.

Vorayuth is the grandson of Chaleo Yoovidhya, one of the creators of the globally famous Red Bull brand. Forbes magazine puts the familys net worth at $20 billion.

Somyot Poompanmoung, the police chief in 2014-15, and other suspects were charged with abuse of power in order to aid an individual to avoid prosecution. Somyot was accused by the National Anti-Corruption Commission last year of involvement in tampering with evidence by altering the record of the speed of the car that Vorayuth was allegedly driving at the time of the accident.

The Office of the Attorney General said it also will indict seven other people including police officers, a lawyer, an engineering specialist and a former deputy attorney general in relation to the case.

Vorayuth was believed to be at the wheel of a Ferrari that struck the back of a traffic policemans motorcycle on a main Bangkok road. The officer, Wichean Glunprasert, was flung from his motorbike and died at the scene. The car sped off but police followed a trail of oil and brake fluid to the Yoovidhya familys luxury compound on a nearby side road.

Wicheans family have told Thai media that they received compensation of 3 million baht ($83,000) from the Yoovidhya family in exchange for them not pursuing further legal action.

For years Vorayuth avoided court by not turning up to meet prosecutors. At the same time he continued to lead a busy, globetrotting life, flying in private Red Bull jets to attend F1 races, snowboarding in Japan and cruising in Venice, among other activities. It was only after his lifestyle was revealed by an Associated Press investigation, and Vorayuth was confronted on a London doorstep by AP reporters, that Thai police issued an arrest warrant in 2017.

He left Thailand three days before the warrant was issued and his whereabouts since then have not been publicly known. His Thai passport was revoked. Interpol issued a Red Notice for him in August 2017.

Meanwhile, almost all charges against him have expired due to the statute of limitations. The last remaining charge  causing death by reckless driving  will expire in 2027. MDT/AP
Water consumption is expected to increase 5.5% this year, driven by the continuous recovery of the citys tourism sector, according to executive director of Macao Water Nancy Kuan.

Speaking on the sidelines of a media spring luncheon yesterday, the executive said water consumption had increased 12% year-on-year in January this year.

It is forecast to increase 7% to 8% in the first half of the year and is expected to increase 5.5% for the whole year, mainly driven by tourists.

She also revealed statistics on water consumption during the New Year period and how the increase in water supply volume compared to the previous year. Although there were many tourists during this holiday period, the water consumption did not increase significantly.

The forecast for the first half of the year is predicting a higher water consumption due to the relaxing of pandemic restrictions, allowing more tourists into the city. In the second half of the year, water consumption is expected to slow to normal levels.

So our full-year forecast for this years water consumption is about 5%. Its mainly driven by commerce and tourists, she said.

Kuan also mentioned replacing old infrastructure, including water pipes and meters, and cooperating with government on improving water supply in the new urban areas, specifically in Zone A.

She elaborated on existing issues, such as the fact that 96% of the citys water supply comes from Zhuhai, which the city facilitates by means of four pipelines that run untreated water from Zhuhai to Macau.

Projects to boost water conservation that started in 2023, alongside Macaus numerous water treatment facilities, have been credited with keeping water bills relatively stable.

Additionally, the water subsidy scheme for low-rise buildings has been running for three years and has received a good response from owners. The plan is to extend the program for another year. Staff Reporter
You were walking next to a swimming pool when you slipped and dropped your phone into the water. Or it slipped out of your hand when you were next to a filled bathtub or toilet.

However your smartphone got wet, you now need to dry it. But what do you do? Theres lots of advice on the internet, some of it conflicting. Apple inserted itself into the debate recently when it put out an advisory that included a warning against using rice.

Here are some things to keep in mind next time your phone has an unintended encounter with a liquid.

What you should do

Dry off the exterior with a towel or clean cloth, even your shirtsleeve  anything thats absorbent. Take out the SIM card and holder. If possible, remove the back housing and battery to wipe them dry. Also, if possible, turn the phone off.

iPhones cant be disassembled so Apple recommends tapping it gently against your hand with the connector ports facing down so liquid can flow out.

Samsung, which is the biggest maker of Android phones, recommends using a cotton bud to get moisture out of the earphone jack and charging port. In contrast, Apple says cotton buds shouldnt be inserted into iPhone openings.

If its not water but another liquid  a drink, seawater or chlorinated pool water  Samsung advises soaking the phone in clean water for a few minutes then rinsing it to get rid of any impurities or salinity that could speed up corrosion of the circuitry inside.

Both companies say its best to leave the phone out in a well ventilated area (perhaps with a fan) to dry it out. Google says leave the device to dry at room temperature.

What you shouldnt do

Dont use a hair dryer or compressed air on your phone. Dont put it in a freezer  this might stop your device from short-circuiting but the problem will be back once you try to thaw it. And while this might seem obvious, dont put your device in a tumble dryer or on top of a radiator.

Dont power it up or try to charge it with a cable  although wireless charging is OK if your phone has it and you really need to turn it on in an emergency.

So what about using rice to dry your device? You may have heard that putting a phone in a bowl of rice will help draw out moisture. Its been a tip thats been out there for years.

Apple, however, says thats a no-no. The company warned against it in an advisory published in early January. It drew little attention at the time, but then people noticed the line that said: Dont put your iPhone in a bag of rice. Doing so could allow small particles of rice to damage your iPhone.

Is there anything I can use besides rice?

The best option is silica gel, a drying agent that can absorb lots of moisture. Silica gel beads are typically found in packets that are included with products like beef jerky, seaweed sheets or sneakers to keep them dry. You can also buy them in bulk online. This works best if you put them in an airtight box with your phone.

When do I know its dry?

Its hard to tell but its best to wait as long as possible  at least a few days. Samsung advises bringing your device into a service center for inspection even after its been air-dried.

Arent phones waterproof nowadays?

Most phones nowadays are designed to be water-resistant, which means they can resist water entering critical areas for a certain amount of time. But beware, this isnt the same as being waterproof.

Apple says the iPhone 7 and and newer models are splash and water resistant. iPhone XS devices and up have the IP68 rating, which means they can be submerged for as long as 30 minutes and, depending on the model, as deep as 6 meters (20 feet). These models also pop up a warning if theres liquid detected in key ports, and warn against charging. Samsung says most of its Galaxy Android phones feature the same rating, though the maximum depth is about 5 meters (16 feet).

Googles newer Pixel phones carry the same water resistance ratings, but Google warns that they arent waterproof and the water resistance will diminish over time because of normal wear and tear, device repair, disassembly or damage. KELVIN CHAN, LONDON, MDT/AP
Two scientists at a high-security infectious disease laboratory in Canada lost their jobs after reviews found they failed to protect sensitive material and information and did not acknowledge links with China, newly released records show.

The scientists, Xiangguo Qiu and her husband, Keding Cheng, were stripped of their security clearances in 2019 at Canadas National Microbiology Laboratory over questions about their loyalty to Canada and the potential for coercion or exploitation by a foreign entity, the documents say.

More than 600 pages were made public yesterday [Macau time] following a special all-party review of the records.

The records show Canadas spy agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, assessed that Qiu repeatedly lied about the extent of her work with Chinese institutions and refused to admit involvement in various Chinese programs, even when evidence was presented to her.

The documents are likely to further chill relations between the two countries. Last September, Canada announced a public inquiry into whether China, Russia and other countries interfered in Canadian federal elections in 2019 and 2021 that re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberals.

Opposition parties hoped the documents released yesterday would shed light on why Qiu and Cheng were escorted out of Winnipegs National Microbiology Laboratory in July 2019 and subsequently fired in January 2021. The two have not publicly commented and are reportedly in China.

Three former senior judges had the final say on public disclosure of the newly disclosed documents, which are partially redacted.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service concluded that, despite being given every opportunity in her interviews to describe her association with Chinese entities, Ms. Qiu continued to make blanket denials, feign ignorance or tell outright lies.

A November 2020 Public Health Agency of Canada report on Qiu says investigators weighed the adverse information and are in agreement with the CSIS assessment.

Investigators concluded that Qius loyalty remains of grave concern due to her direct contact with the entities linked to a foreign state.

A Public Health Agency report on Chengs activities says he allowed restricted visitors to work in laboratories unescorted and, on at least two occasions, did not prevent the unauthorized removal of laboratory materials.

The report also says Cheng was not forthcoming about his activities and collaborations with people from government agencies of another country, namely members of the Peoples Republic of China.

Dr. Chengs actions reflect those of an individual who is careless with information and assets in his custody and not forthcoming and truthful when questioned about these communications.

Health Minister Mark Holland said the documents revealed a lax adherence to security protocols.

But Holland insisted that at no time did national secrets or information that threatened the security of Canada leave the lab.

I think that there was an inadequate understanding of the threat of foreign interference, he told reporters. I believe that an earnest effort was made to adhere to those policies, but not with the rigor that was required. MDT/AP
For a few days in October 2023, the capital of the science fiction world was Chengdu, China. Fans traveled from around the world as Worldcon, sci-fis biggest annual event, was held in the country for the first time.

It was a rare moment when Chinese and international fans could get together without worrying about the increasingly fraught politics of Chinas relationship with the West or Beijings tightening grip on expression.

For Chinese fans like Tao Bolin, an influencer who flew from the southern province of Guangdong for the event, it felt like the world finally wanted to read Chinese literature. Fans and authors mingled in a brand new Science Fiction Museum, designed by the prestigious Zaha Hadid Architects in the shape of a huge steel starburst over a lake.

But three months later, much of that goodwill turned sour as a scandal erupted over allegations that organizers of the Hugo awards  sci-fis biggest prize, awarded at Worldcon  disqualified candidates to placate Chinese censors.

The event embodied the contradictions that Chinese science fiction has faced for decades. In 40 years, its gone from a politically suspect niche to one of Chinas most successful cultural exports, with author Liu Cixin gaining an international following that includes fans like Barack Obama and Mark Zuckerberg. But its had to overcome obstacles created by geopolitics for just as long.

With a big-budget Netflix adaptation of his The Three-Body Problem set to drop in March, produced by the same showrunners as Game of Thrones, Chinese sci-fi could reach its biggest audience yet.

Getting there took decades of work by dedicated authors, editors and cultural bureaucrats who believed that science fiction could bring people together.

Sci-fi has always been a bridge between different cultures and countries, says Yao Haijun, the editor-in-chief of Science Fiction World, Chinas oldest sci-fi magazine.

A SMALL STEP FOR A PROVINCIAL BUREAUCRAT

Chinese sci-fis journey abroad started with another convention in Chengdu three decades ago, but politics nearly derailed that one before it could get off the ground.

Science Fiction World planned to host a writers conference in the city in 1991. But as news of the crackdown on student protesters in Beijings Tiananmen Square circled the globe in 1989, foreign speakers were dropping out.

The magazine sent a small delegation to Worldcon 1990, hosted in The Hague, to save the conference.

Its leader was Shen Zaiwang, an English translator in Sichuan provinces Foreign Affairs Department who fell in love with sci-fi as a child. He packed instant noodles for the weeks-long train journey across China and the fragmenting Soviet Union.

In The Hague, Shen used toy pandas and postcards of Chengdu to make the case that the city  more than 1,800 kilometers from Beijing  was friendly and safe to visit.

We tried to introduce our province as a safe place, and that the people in Sichuan really hope the foreign science fiction writers can come and have a look and encourage Chinese young people to read more science fiction novels, Shen says.

In the end, a dozen foreign authors attended the conference. It was a small start, but it was more than anyone could have imagined a few years earlier.

A GIANT LEAP FOR THE GENRE

Chinas science fiction community faced suspicion at home as well.

Science fiction magazines such as Chengdus Science Fiction World started being launched in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as China began opening to the world after the Mao era.

But in the early 1980s, Beijing initiated a nationwide spiritual pollution cleaning campaign to quash the influence of the decadent West, and sci-fi was accused of being unscientific and out of line with official ideology. Most of the young publications were shuttered.

Science Fiction Worlds editors kept going.

They believed if China wanted to develop, it needed to be an innovative country  it needed science fiction, Yao, the editor, said in a recorded public address in 2017.

In 1997, the magazine organized another international event in Beijing, headlined by U.S. and Russian astronauts. The conference got attention in the Chinese press, giving sci-fi a cool new aura of innovation, exploration and imagination, Yao says.

LIU CIXINiS BIG BANG

Chinas growing sci-fi fandom was devouring translated works from abroad, but few people abroad were reading Chinese stories. Liu Cixin was going to change that.

A soft-spoken engineer at a power plant in the coal-dominated province of Shanxi, his stories were hits with genre fans.

But The Three-Body Problem, first serialized by Science Fiction World in 2006, reached a new level of popularity, says Yao.

Authorities took note. The China Educational Publications Import & Export Corporation, the state-owned publications exporter, picked up the novel and its two sequels.

The translations were intended from the start as a big cultural export from China to the world, something very highly visible, says Joel Martinsen, who translated the trilogys second volume, The Dark Forest.

But no one could have anticipated the critical and popular success: In 2015, Liu became the first Asian author to win a Hugo Award for a novel.

There was something quite fresh and raw and eye-catching, and even sometimes very dark and ruthless in his work, says Song Mingwei, a professor of Chinese literature at Wellesley College.

The next year, Beijing-based writer Hao Jingfang beat Stephen King to win a Hugo for short fiction with a story about social inequality in a surreal version of Chinas capital.

Lius translations were a political breakthrough for the genre: In two decades, it had gone from barely tolerated to a flagship export of Chinas official cultural machine.

The government encouraged the growth of an industry spanning movies, video games, books, magazines and exhibits, and set up an official research center in 2020 to track its rise.

Worldcon Chengdu was to be the crowning achievement of these efforts.

The event itself was seen as a success. But in January, when the Hugo committee disclosed vote totals, the critics suspicions seemed to be confirmed. It turned out several candidates had been disqualified, raising censorship concerns. They included New York Times bestselling authors R. F. Kuang and Xiran Jay Zhao, both politically active writers with family ties to China.

The Hugo awards organizers did not respond to requests for comment by the AP.

A NEW HOPE?

Despite the frictions, Chinese sci-fi remains poised to continue its international rise. Netflixs adaptation of the The Three-Body Problem could bring it to a vast new audience, a coming-out orders of magnitude bigger than Shen Zaiwangs trip to The Hague.

And insiders like Song and Yao are looking forward to a new generation of Chinese sci-fi authors thats starting to be translated into English now.

Its led by younger, female writers who were educated abroad such as Regina Kanyu Wang and Tang Fei. Their works explore themes that resonate with younger audiences, Song says, such as gender fluidity and climate catastrophes.

When doing anything with the endorsement of either the market or the government, imagination can dry up very quickly, Song says. I think often the important thing happens on the margin.

Yao continues to believe in sci-fis role as a bridge between cultures, even in turbulent times.

As long as there is communication, he says, well be able to find some things in common. SIMINA MISTREANU, CHENGDU, MDT/AP
A new ferry company will join the Macau Cruise local maritime tourism program in 2024, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has said in a reply to an inquiry.

The addition will provide new sightseeing routes for fireworks, according to MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, responding to lawmaker Ella Lei.

Macau Cruise, operated by Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management (Macau), has already conducted over 600 voyages since resuming operations in August of the previous year, accommodating more than 5,000 passengers.

However, the director did not disclose specific details about the newcomer.

The Macau Cruise, which connects the Barra Pier and the Coloane Pier, also facilitates various water activities, such as watching fireworks displays, study tours and ecological visits.

In response to the legislators inquiry, the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) expressed its commitment to fostering collaboration between ferry companies and local gaming operators.

Its goal is to incorporate local elements into maritime tourism projects.

Tomorrow, SJM Resorts collaboration with Shun Tak-China Travel to launch the SJM x Macau Cruise will begin.

Late last year, MGM also launched its sightseeing cruise. Staff Reporter